November 22, 2012

This wasn't the way James expected the day to go. He expected A.T.L.A.S. to show up, which they did. Using them and the others he would encounter on Coronado Island, he had hoped that other Atlanteans watching on TV would be gathered to his cause. However, he didn't expect A.T.L.A.S. to have Atlanteans working for them. Because of that misstep, not only did it appear that he got captured, but he also was forced to fight other Atlanteans. So in the end, he doubted he impressed anyone watching enough to join him, and he certainly didn't think he convinced any of those he fought to help him out.

James clenched his fist around the remote control. He sat in the living room of the same place in which he woke up. There, he flicked through the television channels aimlessly, mostly passing through news programs to see if anything of interest was on the news. All the while, he thought of the day's actions and couldn't help but feel frustrated. Deep down, he felt things could have played out better. Looking bad while others were watching wasn't ideal. Sure, James proved he was capable, fighting off a few Atlanteans and scores of human security and military forces. Yet in the end, he was still captured. Sure he was free now, but he didn't like the fact that others might have been watching.

The worst though was having to fight the other Atlanteans. He wasn't sure of all of their fates, maybe they survived, maybe they didn't. What really bothered him was that he had to fight them in the first place. He had killed countless people up to this point and it didn't even register an emotional response from him. He shot them with his abilities, they died, and that was it. This time...this time was different. He couldn't explain exactly why, but for some reason, he actually felt uneasy. Regret seeped into his mind, as did sorrow, and even sadness. James felt some pity that they had to die. Even now, as he watched the television, he could see all of their faces.

A particular news channel caught his eye. It was a compilation of sorts of many different Atlantean-related incidents. The news report itself was tying the Atlantean rise and their destructive tendencies across the globe to God's judgment, the rapture. Apparently, according to the well-dressed, loud and spiritual anchor, the Atlanteans were sent by God to cleanse the Earth of all who would sin. The program itself was bullsh*t in James' eyes, but the compilation provided a nice way for him to catch up on all the recent feats his fellow Atlanteans had managed to accomplish. There was many scenes shown, including London, Paris, Berlin, and even recently in San Diego. There were others too, all across the world, causing mayhem. Some were caused by the Atlanteans. Others were initiated by humans an Atlanteans only rightly retaliated. There was one in particular that caught James' attention, causing him to sit up and view the television more intently.

Strange beasts, some who traveled and rampaged on the ground, and others who did so underneath, appeared from exotic scrolls unleashed by an Atlantean of some Middle-Eastern descent. She attacked in Doha, Qatar, the helicopters above capturing her destruction quite well, and James was immediately impressed. "Marwa Al Thani…" James read the name across the television. "I want you," He grinned toward the television, taking the remote and pausing the screen just as her image showed up.

Suddenly, the television began to react to something, as if its signal was being disrupted. Static filled the screen multiple times in a row, then James appeared to see one of the face of the Atlanteans he fought earlier. It appeared as a projected image of sorts onto the screen itself. For a moment, James thought he was imagining things. Then the image spoke. "James Hazen," a pixelated projection of her face took up the television screen, its lips moving albeit slightly laggy, "You could have done more, but you didn't. I thought you were the enemy but it turns out I was working for the enemy. Meet me on top of the One America Plaza in half an hour, I want a truce."

The image was gone soon after, leaving James staring blankly at the television. It only registered in his mind for a moment long what had happened, and in his epiphany, he scrambled off the couch excitedly. "F*cking yes!" He cursed happily, dishing through the room toward the door. "Mitchell, get your car ready I f*cking got one!"

​

December 21, 2012

A spiral of events led to this fateful day. It had been just under a month since James Hazen recruited his first Atlantean, Gamer. Earlier in that day, he had fought ATLAS and their group of Atlanteans across Coronado Island. The fight ended anticlimactically with James being captured by the human group and later on being freed by Henry. He originally thought the entire fight had been for nothing. However, Gamer had reached out to him following the fight and agreed that being in the human organization was not in her best interests. No human or human organization, as he put it, deserved the privilege of such a partnership. They had no right to control that which was infinitely their superiors. Thus, James formed his first partnership. Gamer was cautious at first, but James insisted she was free if she ever chose to.

It wasn't long before more recruits came to James. Waiting back at Lucifer's apartment was a young boy, Fletcher. The boy was brought there by another Atlantean, Jeremy, who later also joined up with James. This was followed by Kieran, who also defected for Fletcher's sake. It was a far more better start than James could have hoped for. In a matter of days, he had four new Atlanteans on his side. What's more was that they came from the Syndicate. This proved to be quite useful later on in tracking down additional Atlanteans.

Then came a particularly strange event. James awoke one day to find himself in a completely unfamiliar location. Soon after, he found out he was not only in a strange location, but also a foreign body. It turned out that he had somehow awoken inside of Oakley's body. The experience was bizarre, outlandish. But it was also intriguing. James spent one entire day inside of that body. For a good portion of it, he was thrown into a whirlwind of panic and dismay, believing that he would have to remain inside of that body for the rest of his life. James never entirely warmed up to the idea of it, even toward the end of the day. Yet he did learn a unique perspective about the distinctions between powers. The way James interacted with his own ability was different in many ways than how Oakley dealt with hers. Inside the body of the young woman, it felt like a constant, stinging struggle for control over the metal creeping over her arms. There were also similarities, though. Just as he felt inside of his own body, he could the unique distinction of something… dynamic flowing deep inside. It was the strange yet magnificent feeling that perhaps all Atlanteans likely felt, that feeling that they were unique. Perhaps it was only how James interpreted it from jumping into that body for such a short amount of time, but it further assured him that Atlanteans truly were distinct from humans. They were the next step, the evolution of Earth.

When James awoke the following day, he was once again back in his own body. He also felt an even stronger justification for his own actions. He was entirely convinced that what he was doing was the right thing not only for himself, but for all the Atlanteans. James also learned that he wasn't the only one who experience this body swap. As he encountered Delta and Dominique a few days later, he discovered that they had gone through a similar occurrence. The three spent the day chatting away about their experiences in a surprisingly casual conversation, something rare given their past encounters with each other. James decided then as perhaps a final 'f*ck you' to the entire system of the World Changers battle that he would decide when to fight or recruit them, and on his own terms. Instead, they caught up and spoke about what happened to each other ever since Paris, including the most recent experience of being inside of another person. James followed up that thought by asking the two of them if they'd like to experience being inside of another person again, and mentioned something about a lightning rod. It always bring a smile to his face whenever he recalls that night.

Soon after, it was back to business again. Gamer proved a really useful recruit, as she was able to track down one of the World Changers, Austin. At first, James tried to recruit him. Austin didn't budge. In fact, it was almost as if he knew that James was coming toward him from the begin as was instantly hostile. James had no choice but to fight him, even if he would have preferred to have him join him. It was a tough match up, with Austin putting up a vigorous fight. However, with some help from Gamer at a few key points during the fight, he was able to turn the tables and kill Austin. It wasn't long after this that he ran into Nate again. Nate and James instantly began a pretty heated argument, as they had done many times in the past. For James' part, he believed the two wanted very similar things, and so he tried to also partner up with him. Apparently, Nathaniel disagreed, and a battle ensued. To date, it was one of the two toughest battles of his life. James relied on the Harbinger sword and jewel during the fight however, which probably tipped the battle in his favor. Perhaps he could have won without it too, but it was tough to call. James however chose not to finish Nate off in the end, despite him too being a World Changer (not that he likely could have, he was pretty damaged himself). He felt in his mind that the sword and jewel gave him an advantage. If it had to come down to a fight between Nate, he wanted to fight him on his own terms, with only his own power. He owed his friend that much.

It was a few days after those intense fights that another strange occurrence happened, where James was sent back in time and even encountered Nikola Tesla. Even now, James couldn't fully wrap his head around what exactly occurred, even if it was explained to him. In the end he decided that the experience was simply a more realistic version of the training sequences he had with his past lives in the Temple of Storms as he dreamt. It also confirmed to him that Atlanteans had indeed been around for a long time. They were influential in the progression of human history throughout the times, but even so, they always seemed in the background. James concluded that it was time for them to take the leadership role of the future.

After training for another week, James became confident and comfortable enough in his abilities and the abilities of his partners that he decided to finish what he started with ATLAS. Together, James' group took down the organization, sending a shocking revelation through both the human and Atlantean world about his capability. With the help of Gamer, he was further able to recruit two of the surviving members of the ATLAS Atlanteans: Tank and Victory. Around the same time as his assault on Atlas, he learned from Gamer via old contact from Jeremy and Kieran that the Syndicate and Raphael launched an attack on the Renegades. He learned that Luciana and Raguel were both killed in the attack, leaving the Renegades broken and weakened. James saw an opportunity to gain some more recruits, but his team was too worn out from their ATLAS attack to try anything now, especially if it came down to fighting. Instead, he elected to wait and monitor the situation.

A week after the Renegades were attack, the remaining members, led by Andre Cabrillo, decided to strike against the Atlantean Royal Family. James heard quite a few Atlanteans had died there, including Andre himself, Leo, and to his glee, Katarina. He heard the attack also caused Edward to flee, and River to run away to the Syndicate. There was a power vacuum in the ARF, which he later learned Nate capitalized on to take over. Even if they were against each other, the news made James happy. He also tried to capitalize on the attack, turning to the remaining Renegades in the hopes of recruiting them. Explaining that with Raguel dead and Andre had only led them to more death, he urged them to join James, not as subordinates or followers but as fellow partners trying to bring real change to the establish norms of the world. To become true renegades. Enrique, Scott, Nora, and Marwa all agreed to accompany James.

This entire whirlwind of a month built to these coming moments. James had gathered outside of Istanbul, where he had learned that the city was on lockdown after a Syndicate transport carrying an Atlantean that could spread disease crashed. He also learned that all of the other remaining Atlantean factions were also gathering there, preparing for the inevitable final outcome. James saw an opportunity to recruit a few more Atlanteans to his cause, perhaps even convince some of the remaining World Changers to join him. However, he knew that some simply wouldn't budge. They were too headstrong, or too idealistic, or too wrapped up in their own causes. It was going to come down to a fight. The last fights. This is where it would all end. Or begin.

​

December 20th, 2012

Rain pattered down on the rooftop as Wyatt looked down the scope of his rifle at the city littered with people milling about. No, those husks shambling around on the city pavements were no longer people; they were zombies, revenants, the living dead. His breath hung in the air as the rain matted his hair and chilled the bones of his face, yet the uniform he wore emblazoned with the Syndicate crest reflected any moisture that tried to embed itself in the material keeping him warm in the cold evening air. It had been a while since he had fired his last bullet, opting to conserve the ammo for the onslaught there was sure to be tomorrow. Tomorrow, the twenty-first, the day one of the World Changers would be chosen to lead the world into a new era. It still felt surreal that they had made it to this day, but he hadn't really thought about it much after the plane crashed.

With New Zealand far behind them, they had had the troublesome virus Atlantean securely locked up in the cargo hold of their aircraft. It had been about fourteen hours of flying; Wyatt having just woken up since they left New Zealand and were flying over what the Directive had told them was Turkey. He wasn't sure what exactly went down but suddenly the plane lurched with warning sirens blaring and the Directive yelling at them to grab a parachute and get ready to jump. It was all a blur in his half-dazed state, but the next moment he was out the door and into a freefall, stabilising his descent by spreading his arms and legs wide: the city of Istanbul fast approaching from beneath. As he got closer he pulled the cord that allowed his parachute to burst forth from his back, slowing his descent and manoeuvring towards the park that the others below him were aiming for. In the air he watched as the plane plummeted towards the outskirts of the Turkish Airport, crashing into the terminal on its side.

When he landed however, everyone grouped up and began a mad dash through the city towards Levent; one of the major business districts and the location of the nearest headquarters. By the time they had reached the Syndicate Headquarters in Istanbul, the plague had already begun. What few staff were left in the building aided in blocking any entrances as, while the sun began to set, panic tore through the streets as people began contracting the signature virus. While some became shambling, rotting horrors, others developed extra abilities like enhanced speed or acidic vomit. They weren't just zombies, they were monsters and the only thing that seemed to stop them was shooting off their legs or blowing their heads to smithereens. It was a horrific Zombie plague and if they didn't stop Sean, they could be faced with a full on Zombie Apocalypse.

That was only the recent happenings in the latest month of Atlantean activity. Wyatt could see that as each day had dragged on, the world began to fall into more of a state of disrepair. Even the long standing Atlantean Royal Family had fallen. The Syndicate also talked about a group long funded by the government called 'ATLAS' and even one of the World Changers called James had managed to wipe them out. It seemed like all of the other World Changers had been busy since their fateful meeting back in the Library of Souls. Closing his eyes he steadied his breathing, ignoring the numbing feeling in his fingers and the pattering of rain on his head and felt his body begin to relax as his spirit drifted from his body.

"What troubles you, Master Cale?" the tall, hairless monkey like Lemurian stood in the middle of a room that curved overhead and around them. Along the walls and all over the ceiling were portholes, some looking out into black fog, others grey and Wyatt could have sworn he even saw one with blue fog.

"Where are we? This isn't the same Library as last time." Wyatt asked as he cautiously looked out the nearest porthole.

"This is The Oculus. Each Library tailors itself to the user of the ability. Since you took your latest ability, the library incorporated the previous memories of both abilities into one place." Even the sound of the Lemurian's voice sounded different within his mind and Wyatt wondered if the creature itself had been incorporated with another Lemurian guide.

Wyatt clenched his hand, "I need to know how to use this ability. It's useless if I can't activate and use it by tomorrow."

"Then I'll let him teach you," The Lemurian waved his hand and a younger, less ravaged-appearing version of the guy he had fought back in New Zealand appeared. His black hair was short and crew cut rather than shaggy, skin no longer covered in dirt and face looking less haggard. Wyatt was puzzled as the guy seemed somewhat happier than he had been despite Wyatt taking his ability through sheer willpower.

Suddenly all portholes except for one blinked out of existence; the one remaining growing in size until the glass and purple fog enveloped the whole room. As the fog began to clear and drift away the room seemed to evaporate as well until the two of them were left standing in the middle of a field overlooking a city. The sun shone above them and people had grouped here in droves, though like any other past memory, none of them noticed Wyatt and the guy appear. It looked like everyone was on summer break as the sun blazed in the cloudless sky and many people were wearing little to no shirts and walking around in bare feet.

"There are three facets to the ability: Implosion, Explosion and Combustion." People around them shouted in fright as above them fireworks began to explode in mid-air. The guy pointed to one of the houses which sat up against the hill overlooking the field. Using his vision, Wyatt focussed on the flat that the guy was pointing to that contained 3 people. The first was a tall, lanky dark-haired girl with a basket of tennis balls at her feet; she was tossing these tennis balls out above the crowd which she had to have been Atlantean to be able to throw so far. Next to her stood the half-Maori guy, Vaughan, the one Wyatt had taken his ability off and was now conversing with. Each time the girl tossed a tennis ball his eyes seemed to glow before the ball combusted in mid-air. With arms wrapped around Vaughan's torso and face nuzzling into his shoulder was the virus-Atlantean, Sean, they had apprehended and subsequently let escape.

"You and him were a couple?" Wyatt asked, surprised that someone as mentally unstable as 'Viral' could be that intimate with anyone.

"For a long time. Even when he lost it completely, I was there for him." Vaughan was distant; obviously not happy about Wyatt and the others beating him up and taking his ability, but still like he was happy to be where he was. "But my love life is irrelevant. The ability is all about control and power. If you feel even the slightest hint of weakness or lack of control, you'll either mess up badly or fail to activate the ability. Know which facet you wish to use and stick with it; no changing half way through."

"Okay, I think I've got it. Anything else I should know?" Wyatt asked hesitantly.

"Just do me one favour; tell Sean I'll be waiting for him." Vaughan smiled and Wyatt could have sworn he saw a tear beginning to form in his eye.

Snapping out of the library was a bit of a disorientated feeling; coming back into the pouring rain after having spent the time in the summer of New Zealand. Using his rifle as an aide, he looked down from the roof top as his vision 'zoomed in' on the shambling bodies below. Place his finger on the trigger, Wyatt focussed on the feeling of aiming a target in his site, pulling on the trigger and feeling the gun kick as it fired. The control over the weapon in his hands, the power the bullets possessed, he focussed these feelings instead into his eyesight: mixing his primary ability with the experience of weilding a gun. In his head he imagined the shambling corpse of a middle-aged business man bursting apart as an explosive round tore through his chest.

Wyatt watched as below the man seemed to rip apart in slow motion leaving nothing but a puddle of rapidly diluting blood and body parts in the middle of the street. Checking his rifle, he found the bullet still sitting, cocked and ready to be fired. With head down he noticed something dark drip from his face. Wiping it off the gun with his thumb, he took a closer look and realised it was blood. Dropping the gun he brought his other thumb up to wipe away the trail of blood leftover running down the side of his cheek.

"Woah, that was cool!" Daemon leaned further over the edge of the ledge, him and his sister having approached when Wyatt was in the library. "You should do again!" he jeered in the rain.

"I've got everything ready for tomorrow, we can't back out now." Pyrrha spoke bluntly, looking angry at having to be out in the rain and ignoring her brother's outburst.

Wyatt quickly removed any trace of blood and propped his weapon against the ledge. "Now is the time to back out, if you guys want to. No hard feelings if you do." Wyatt anxiously played with the nozzle of his gun as he looked at the two Greek-Russians standing opposite him.

"Father and his organisation are gone and you saved us from the boat. There is nowhere else for us except by your side. And let's be honest, you won't get far without us." Ever since Wyatt had recruited the help of the siblings, Pyrrha had seemed to take over the organisation of the plan and bringing it to fruition.

Wyatt didn't want to admit it, but she was right: he had done such a good job of organising everything that he wouldn't be here without her. "Fair enough. Once we've helped the others get Thayne to the Hagia Sophia, we'll split off and go look for the Oracle. If the Blind Prophet is right then she should be in the nearby Galata Tower; I can take her out from across the street." Wyatt wasn't worried about being overheard, the rain almost deafened their conversation to the point that even Pyrrha and Daemon could hardly hear.

"Come on Daemon, let's get out of the rain." Pyrrha motioned for her brother to follow her; him looking dejected as he wanted to keep watching Wyatt practice his ability.

Picking up his gun from the roof, Wyatt brought it up and into the crook of his shoulder, lowering his body to the ground and getting comfortable. As he looked down the barrel he felt an itch of sorts behind his eye. He had been so sure last time of his control and power that he wondered why exactly his eye had bled. Whatever it was his body seemed to be telling him that it didn't want to go through the same stress again. Heaving a sigh, he stood back up again, slinging his gun over his back and hooking it into place before heading towards the exit. They had a few hours to get some rest before their big day tomorrow and Wyatt didn't want me be tired. Opening the door, he looked through the wall of rain towards the grey outline of the Hagia Sophia. It was his first trip to Istanbul and could very well be his last.​

December 21st, 2012
In a span of a month Delta Mayor had changed her life in a multitude of different ways. Somehow she managed to survive the events in Budapest with her life firmly intact, but it had given her a few more scars to add to the ongoing collection. During her brief period of recovery she found a folded slip of paper tucked deep inside her pants pocket, a date and a rendezvous point lightly scribbled on it. Before that date took place something else happened, a gathering of sorts. Delta was beckoned into a room that contained Mel, Dom, and Thayne. The latter had disappeared during Budapest and Delta had assumed he was dead; it turned out he had instead joined the Syndicate. It seemed as if he had a mission to join and defect from every faction out there. He approached the three of them about coming with him to the Syndicate. From what Delta could interpret they were just a bunch of glorified spies. The fact that Wyatt was a member was enough to deter Delta from ever being apart of that organization, plus, Delta needed to know what the letter in her pocket meant. Dom and Mel however both agreed, albeit after a lot of discussion, that they would accompany Thayne to the Syndicate HQ.

Another subject was brought up, the World Changers and everything that came with that. It angered Delta that they wanted to speak about it in front of Mel, a non-World Changer. Opinions on the matter were scattered, but the trio of World Changers managed to decide on one thing: No matter what they wouldn't kill or attack each other until the final day. The truce was meant to allow everyone to train and master their abilities. Delta agreed to it because didn't want to fight them when they were weak but when they were at their prime. Within an hour Dom, Mel, and Thayne were all gone but not prior to saying final goodbyes to Elpis.

The next night Delta arrived a few minutes late to the meeting point, mostly because Elpis wouldn't settle down and sleep that night. The Atlantean known as Alesina stood there, clearly keeping true to the words she had spoken in Budapest, and told Delta about the League. An Atlantean organization that essentially were assassins for hire, but here and there did their own missions. It wasn't long before Alesina offered Delta a spot in their ranks, one she accepted without hesitation. With that she was whisked away to some mysterious location and introduced to the rest of the core members, Levin, Eileen, Branko, Nyatichi, and... Charles, or how she used to refer to him as, dad. That revelation wasn't an effortless one to go through, Delta experienced anger like she never had and also a bit of happiness. Her mother was dead, but she didn't die in the manner that Delta was told.

Her father killed those who were responsible for such a grievous act. There was too much to discuss at that moment in time, and all Delta's questions were answered to some degree over the course of their next few encounters with one another. An opportunity was brought to her that night, if she took on the role of a double agent inside of the Atlantean Unification Project then they would reveal to her powers she had only dreamed about. To Delta it was a no-brainer, she had grown tired of the AUP and its attics, it was officially time for her to upgrade herself to a group that understood her passion and desire. Following her return to the AUP an event that could only be described as ludicrous happened, she woke up in a disgustingly fragile body. The small sliver of goodness that came from it was the information Delta received. She only spoke of this to Dom and James Hazen, who also shared this experience. The three of them also shared another experience. It became a mission for Delta, one that, if completed, would be very helpful to her in the future. When they had finished their fun they went their separate ways.

For Delta it was time for her to meet up with the League to rely any information she might have gathered and that Delta did. With both Thayne and Dom gone, Aoife was the only person (besides Elpis) that could remotely hold Delta's interest. The two of them got closer as Delta started overseeing Aoife's weaponry training, eventually so much so that Aoife, Delta, and Elpis were never more than a meter from each other. Days were passing and Delta knew she still hadn't mastered her ability, a fact that could hinder her in the upcoming World Changer event. When she wasn't training Aoife she was pushing herself twice as hard and made several dream trips to the Sanctuary of Crystallization per day.

It wasn't long before an Atlantean interruption disturbed her training and delivered her to a time period that was thousands of years ago. On an island is where Delta found herself and she wasn't alone. She crossed path with a hostile woman with tan features, dark eyes, and a horrible attitude. At first it appeared as if there was a language barrier, but the woman seemed to possess some sort of talent that allowed her to speak any and all languages. Through muddled conversation Delta found out her name, Pandora. Apparently, the exact same Pandora that Delta descended from (or says the Librarian). She told Pandora as much and even mentioned Elpis and Pandora's box, which triggered a visceral reaction from Pandora and soon revealed to her was Pandora's story.

The Lemurians and Atlanteans had come together to try and create a new race. However, the Lemurians had tried this prior to the Atlanteans arriving on earth but all that came from that was primates also known as the ancestors to the monkey and apes of present day. Atlantean DNA was the key to making the first humans and improved the process they used to create their first experiments. These newly fangled beings were placed across Earth, but the Lemurians didn't stop there, no, they wanted to design the perfect specimen. The direct result of that was Pandora. The Atlanteans and the Lemurians came to an agreement that she was flawed. Pandora became pregnant and delivered a daughter, which she named Elpis. Her offspring was viewed by the Lemurians as the perfect being and they took her from Pandora. Distraught and angered Pandora tried her best to retrieve her child. She was caught and exiled to the very island they were on. She asked one thing of Delta, for her to take care of her daughter so that she wouldn't be a tool for the Atlanteans. To aid her in this task Pandora bestowed a gift upon Delta, the gift of Crystal Manipulation and the knowledge of how to use this ability. A smile can't help but grace her face every time Delta thinks back to those memories. It gave her a boost; she had to win for Elpis and to make sure she didn't let Pandora down.

An itch to try out her new ability Delta overwhelmed her so she took the next mission that popped up in the AUP, it was a recruitment mission and Delta did it alone. Some Atlantean was pretending to be a superhero (even had the disguise) and caused a big stir in the town that he lived in. It didn't take long for Delta to track him down; all she did was pretend to rob some poor woman at the location where he most frequented. The kid was young and dumb and he thought he was the hero that the town needed. He claimed he wanted to do good with his ability, but he was nothing more than a vigilante. Words did not get through to him so Delta instead used her fist until it did. A few punches were enough to subdue him and talk him into coming with her to the Atlantean Unification Project where he could utilize his power in a more effective manner. The boy's name was Omar and he displayed a mastering over his ability that impressed Delta.

A week went by and thoughts swirled around in Delta's head about the future and what would happened after the World Changer battle. It became more and more apparent that she needed her own team if she was going to continue on in the League. The current members of the League were ultimately too loyal to Charles and Delta doubted she could trust them. What she needed were individuals that she could rely on and that would propel her forward toward her goal. After a quick chat with Alesina, apparently her father was a busy man, Delta was allowed to invite Aoife, Simon, and Omar to the League. As soon as Delta returned to AUP she pulled Aoife aside to inform her about everything that had happened since the World Changer reveal (except that night with Dom and James Hazen). Between the two of them they agreed that it was best they didn't clue in Simon until it was absolutely necessary.

It wasn't long before James Hazen was back in the news, this time he had dismantled, or, rather, completely demolished an American faction known as ATLAS. He had a group of ragtag Atlanteans with him, only one of which was familiar to Delta. It became a domino effect, and soon Delta learned of how the Syndicate attacked the Renegades and the Renegades in turned attacked the ARF. It was all a mess. This led to the AUP swooping in to recruit more members and they gained a few, Delta only knew the names of two, Kieran and Roxxy. The former turned out to be a spy that was planted in the AUP by James Hazen to get knowledge about not only Delta, but the entire faction. In a fit of rage Delta confronted Kieran and a fight ensued, one that completely wrecked a significant portion of the HQ. In the end, Kieran escaped with his life. There was one (or two) things he did not leave with that Delta had snapped off his arms, his bone blades. In fact, they made for the perfect weapons once Delta crystallized them. The plan was to slit Kieran's throat with him. With so little time to spare there was no way Delta could go after him.

Soon after the League contacted her because it was time to take out the AUP. She was told by Alesina, once again her father was too busy, that it was crucial to the survival of the League to have the resources that were located inside of the HQ. The invasion of the AUP by the League was confirmed and Delta devised a plan with Aoife, Omar, and Roxxy, who Aoife had bonded with and persuaded to join to the League, to pretend that they were on the AUP's side incase something went sideways. On the day of the attack Imogen approached both Oakley and Delta in her naturally nasty demeanor and lured them to a section underneath the AUP HQ that Delta had never seen before that moment. It didn't take long for Delta to see that Imogen, who it turned out had been aligned with Cooper (who wasn't as irrelevant as Delta thought he was, hell, she didn't even his name) all along, was up to some truly sick experiments. Above them sounds of fighting had begun, a signal that the League had come, which triggered fear inside of Cooper who in turn released his experiments. He and Imogen had been experimenting on both humans and Atlanteans alike (Delta saw familiar faces such as Agnes and Brad) and using Atlantean blood to make these humans into what they called berserkers. These berserkers were able to use Atlantean power in enormous ways. Cooper controlled both the berserkers and another weapon he had under his control, Devon.

At that point Delta realized that Cooper wasn't an ordinary human like she had assumed. His words were his power. One command sent the teenage Atlantean into a rampage. A quick observation told Delta it was similar, if not exactly the same, to the state Devon was in on the boat. There wasn't any other choice (not that Delta wanted one) than to subdue him by herself as Oakley was absolutely useless in a fight (not to mention pathetic). It was a back and forth battle, full of claws, teeth, and crystal. Thankfully Delta had extra power this round, which aided her in taking down the beast Devon had become. The only way to stop him was either to kill him or kill Cooper, and Cooper had surrounded himself with a handful of berserkers... so the easiest option was to put down the dog. The move to end it all was about to be made when Oakley, for whatever reason, interfered with Delta's attack. Oakley decided to waste more of Delta's time and rattled off some speech about how this wasn't like Delta and how she was more than a murderer, essentially anything to save Devon's life.

If that was how Oakley wanted to act, to sacrifice herself for Devon, then so be it. Enough anger had brewed inside of Delta while Oakley spoke that she had no choice but to unleash it. The conclusion to that was Oakley losing her arm, a fate that could've been avoided if Oakley had kept her mouth shut. Issued next was a strict warning to Oakley, the next time they fought Delta wouldn't end the fight until Oakley's head was removed from her body (and something about a dog cage). A familiar face arrived on the scene, Charles, who without a second thought went and attacked Cooper. What Delta had failed to realize was how close Cooper had gotten to her and by the time she had it was too late, she was trapped under his spell. He used her like a puppet and a shield against her father. To prove that he was in complete control he had Delta kill Imogen, who, in Cooper's words, had become a liability then he preceded to escape with Delta in tow.

The ousting of the AUP from their headquarters had turned out well. A few casualties happened on the AUP's side due to Branko's inability to control himself. Charles (through Simon) was able to locate Delta. Cooper was heading to Lindholm (aka New Atlantis). Charles led the League along with Oakley and Devon (even though Delta had cut off the former's arm and almost beat the latter to a pulp) to Lindholm to retrieve Delta. When they arrived at New Atlantis it was being raised by Emil who was still under Cooper's mind control. In order to stop him Lev lobbed an axe at him, which embedded itself in Emil's thigh and ended his concentration. Cooper was found in no time at all and it was agreed upon by Charles that if, and only if, he freed Delta from his grasp that he could leave alive. The reunion between Charles and Delta was short lived, as Charles wasted no time in making it abundantly clear he was going after Cooper and would not stop until he had his head on a silver platter. Delta preferred the reunion between herself and Aoife as well as the events that followed it later that night.

As a reward for helping secure the League's future Delta was to be taught God Mode. Prior to his leaving Charles had ordered for Delta to be thoroughly trained in his absence. The task fell to Alesina, as Branko, Nyatichi, and Lev left to take down Cooper with Charles. God Mode was a tricky state to slip into, it involved pure belief, and the only thing Delta had faith in was that she was going to win this World Changer event. There were certain steps that needed to be taken in order to "unlock" God Mode and it turned out that all along that the training Alesina had put her through since the day one of her League membership was for this. The final trainings sessions were ruthless, and took more strength than Delta had to continue on with. It crossed her mind that perhaps she shouldn't put her body through so much pain and exhaustion days before the final battle, but where there wasn't pain there wasn't any gain, right?

Through some means Delta found herself in Turkey, where it was been prophesied that the final battle was destined to occur. She wasn't foolish enough to locate herself in the city, as it turned out the Syndicate were the fools and had released an Atlantean that was pathogenic. Luckily, Delta had evacuated most of the surrounding cities and a portion of Istanbul days earlier (bomb threats plus Atlantean terror always worked). The thought of what happened in Paris, Budapest, The Vatican, and the cities prior to her role as an Atlantean repeating itself in Istanbul made her stomach seize up. What ever happened next was between her and the rest of Atlanteans that were fated to take place in the last fight. Not the civilians. The lives Delta would play the part in taking wouldn't be human. This was everything that Delta had built herself up for. It was time to give it all she had. It was time to win.​

December 21st, 2012

"All you have to do is move with the matter," said a young Asian-American woman as Thayne watched. "You need to remember to let your body flow with each and every attack. The dark matter is an extension of yourself and once you realize that you'll be able to master your ability." Thayne watched as Nara demonstrated, moving her body as if she was using her power. It was almost as she was dancing. Each movement simply merged with the next and never broke the flow. The teen was amazed by it. For once, the burden of Thayne's powers seemed as if they could've been different.

The girl walked over to him and flicked his nose. "How about you stop looking at me like that and actually pay attention to what I have to show you." She said dismissively. "I thought you were a better kind of guy than that." She walked a short distance away as he apologized quietly. She simply shook her head before continuing. "You know, you've been acting a little off lately. Is something the matter, sugar?"

Thayne laughed at the question. "Quite a bit actually," he said honestly. Ever since he had become an Atlantean, his life had met more challenges than ever. The last month was probably the worst of it. "Would it be easier to tell you, or to simply show you?"

Shika shrugged as she looked at him. "It's whatever you think is easier for you, hon."

Thayne nodded before moving closer to her. Pressing his forefinger against her temple, his recent memories flowed into her mind in an instant. She had done the same thing to him several times, but it was new this time. Everything he knew became a part of what she knew.

In a matter of seconds, the world around them had shifted. The library of massive bookshelves and dark apparitions that were once there disappeared. She found herself standing in the middle of a large city as gigantic monsters wrought havoc upon it. The name of Budapest found its way upon her lips as her eyes focused on several cars driving towards her. She could tell Thayne was in one of them.

The cars drove through her as if she was a ghost. Taking a short amount of time to comprehend what was happening, she turned around only to see a monster's large paws lift Thayne's car into the air and against a building. She felt helpless as she watched the scene unfold, but soon found herself somewhere else. Here, Thayne and man, who strikingly looked similar to him, fought alongside each other against an unknown Atlantean. The battle ended rather quickly with Thayne leaving with his new comrade. Again, another word found it's way upon her lips. Father.

Again and again, she found herself in new places. At first, things seemed to happen slowly for her successor. He had found himself within a new organization backed by his own missing father. It seemed that he had found things a little too different and returned to the AUP. In what felt like a quick meeting of sorts, he managed to convince two others to join him in the Syndicate. A third person whom had attended the meeting didn't leave with him, but it seemed to be that they had come to an agreement of sorts.

Shika didn't care for much of the conversation, but the fact that three of that group was made up of World Changers spoke to her. She felt sorry for the girl that hovered close to Thayne. She probably didn't understand much of what was going on, but that was no different from what she herself had learned about the World Changers' existence.

The rest of the month seemed like hell for Thayne as the world went into a state of dilapidation. It all started as Thayne found himself in a new body and a new set of powers for a day. He looked scared beyond belief after looking in a mirror. The name of James appeared on her lips and a sudden rush of information entered her mind. He was a murderer, anarchist, and a World Changer. She shivered at the similarities in her life. Did someone always go mad with power? She could tell Thayne was having a hard time dealing with the situation at hand, but she was nonetheless proud of him. Even though he was only in the body for a short time, he managed to gather what useful information he could about the man.

Once Thayne was back in his own body again, he was quickly transported to New York where a battle ensued among the many factions made up of Atlanteans. In a freak accident between two Atlanteans whose powers somehow reacted with one another, Thayne found himself in a place awfully familiar to Shika.

Even without Thayne's memories, she could remember what was happening as if it was yesterday. She could already see herself, looking exactly as she did now, bar the clothes, walking up the grassy knoll in anger towards the boy that appeared. She was partly surprised by her own ferocity, but continued to watch despite her former self's offensive against the younger Erebokinetic. She felt an anger at her own actions, but was amused to see the younger keep pace with her doppelganger. It seemed that the battle had lasted longer than she remembered, but the ending was the same. The two had practically collapsed next to each other at the time. Thayne had finally been able to reason with her enough to convince that he was her successor. She had been astonished that someone could've travelled through time. The pair had laid there for several hours as they talked about the past Shika's anger and her reasoning behind it. She had actually gone as far as to talk about Kenny, the man who seemed so much like James, not that she had known back then.

At the time, she was honestly surprised how much she had talked with the young man whom she had not met before. However, his familiarity with her seemed to beckon to her. She had felt oddly close to him. When the time had come for her to leave, she had gone as far as to ask him a single question.

"Cash or check?"

Shika had laughed when Thayne didn't understand the question. She had ended up answering it herself because of his lack of knowledge. "So a check then," she had said. "I've got something I need to do, hon. How about you stay up here awhile? Maybe I'll come back." Shika watched herself flash a wink before disappearing into the night. Thayne's memory of that day flashed forward until the stench of burning wood crossed their path.

Within a second, Shika was whisked out of Thayne's memory and back to the library. "You know I still remember that," she told him. "It was practically yesterday for me."

"What do you mean?" asked Thayne, surprised by her sudden withdraw from his mind.

"Well…" She began as she walked away. It was a long story, but she knew she needed to tell it. "To say the least, it's the day I died."

Thayne's eyes lit up in surprise. "You died?" He asked, his voice faltering. "How… What happened? You seemed perfectly fine when you left me on the hill."

"Well, there is a reason you smelled the burning wood before you disappeared." She looked at him carefully, not letting her emotions show. Part of her didn't want to retell the story, but she knew it was only fair. "I had told you about Kenny. He was the Pyrokinetic of my time as well as a World Changer. After learning that last bit of information, he had gone mad with paranoia. It didn't help when he was attacked by another World Changer.

"They were supposed to be friends. All of them were. His paranoia pushed him though, making himm think that the only way to survive was by killing the others. Each World Changer was eventually killed by him in one way or another, but that wasn't the only thing. Somehow, he had uncovered a way to take another's Atlantean ability and thought of it as a way to protect self even more.

"The power twisted him, making him consider himself more than an Atlantean, but a God in a mortal body. In a way, he had thought that his status of being a World Changer was what caused him to reach such power. With himself as God, he believed that he could rule the entirety of the world. If you had known him before all of that World Changer business, you would've of been easily able to see that he had gone mad from the power he had gained. It's why I needed to do something. The only person he had trusted was me and that meant I was the only one who had a chance at getting close to him. I was the only who could kill him."

Her voice faltered for a moment as she began to think about the coming event. "It was the day that you and I had met that I had finally decided to go through with it."

"Kenny and I had been staying near the place where I had met you. It was a cabin in the middle of nowhere. It was the perfect place for me to end his life. I had attempted to slit his throat, but he was ready for me…" She could feel a small amount of tears streaming down her face as she spoke. "He kept muttering that the other World Changers told him this would happen, that they still were there with him. I didn't hesitate before striking again, but neither did he. It was close, but I had been able to plunge one of my tendrils through him while narrowly dodging the fire that he had shot at me. The majority of people wouldn't have survived, but he had the body of an Atlantean. He was able to live long enough to make sure that I would go with him. With the last of his power, he grabbed me. I was able to pull my arm away from him, but… I knew I was already dead.

"One of the World Changers whom he stole an ability from was a Toxikinetic, someone who could create and manipulate poison. As soon as he had grabbed me, he introduced a powerful, paralytic neurotoxin into my bloodstream. I had no chance of leaving that place with my life." Despite the fact that her death was practically a century before, she still felt incredibly sad whenever she thought about it.

"You loved him, didn't you?" Thayne asked the young Asian woman. Shika merely nodded before looking away. It was obvious that she didn't want Thayne to see the tears. The fact that World Changers even exist ruins lives, he thought as he looked at her. She wasn't even a World Changer, but she lost her friends, her lover, and her life because of their existence. How many people lost loved ones since the Atlanteans became common knowledge? How many since the current generation of World Changers started to play a bigger role? Hell, he was going to be entering a death match with the others World Changers anytime now. Part of him wished he could be honest if he were to tell Shika that her death was worth it, but what did it do? Buy humanity another ninety years before someone like James would attempt the same thing?

"You did the right thing," he told her. "By doing what you did, sacrificing what you did… You stopped Kenny from taking control of the world. You probably saved millions of lives by putting an end to things back then."

"I just wish you didn't have to go out there and do the same thing." She said to him, wiping her eyes. "You're a World Changer and after seeing what few memories I have of yours, I'm stunned at the progress you've made. You never resorted to attacking others without reason, particularly against the other World Changers. You've even attempted to talk to a few of them. Hell, what else has happened to you? Just tell me, there isn't any need to show me again."

Thayne nodded, surprised by her sudden transition. It was obvious she didn't want to talk about herself anymore. It only took a few more minutes to recount the last of his time with the Syndicate. The attack against the Renegades and the death of Raguel was trivial anymore. All he got from that was a dead aunt, not that he would've cared if she was or not. It took a game piece out during the final day, but in the end, it would've been left to the World Changers anyways.

The events of the most recent couple days was different, however. After a large group from the Syndicate was sent to New Zealand, they discovered a disease spreading Atlantean. His signature? The zombie plague. They managed to capture him, albeit with a few close calls that caused a few problems along the way. Of course, the heads of their group decided to bring the Atlantean with them back to the UK. As always, problems occurred and the man managed to break free. The Syndicate members were forced to jump out of their plane and into the city of Istanbul, which quickly turned into a real version of Zombieland.

Zombies were roaming the city around them, the world was in chaos, and people who are barely in their twenties (if even that) would be fighting to the death.

"The World Changers who wins this fight will only be there to fix the world," Thayne said. "It would've been easier if none of it ever happened."

"But what more could come of it?" Shika asked in an attempt to look at the positive.

"Anything from good to bad," he told her. He wanted to look at the positives. The chance of human and Atlanteans living peacefully would be an amazing one, but how plausible would it be? Atlanteans have only caused trouble since the reveal. But wasn't that why he was fighting? For the better tomorrow? He needed to win if he wanted that to happen. Hell, Wyatt had already placed his cards on Thayne. James was wanting the total extinction of humanity. Dom had disappeared and was likely dead.

The others? He couldn't even think of what they wanted. He hadn't heard anything of Nate since the attack on the Royal Family and Delta? Thayne didn't know. She was tough on others, but she was good and caring. Thayne never even asked what she wanted to happen.


Out of nowhere, Thayne felt a tugging at his body, the usual signal that it was time to leave the Library. "Before I go, what did you mean by 'Cash or check'?" He asked the woman next to him. He knew it would be better to leave on a different note than that of the battle.

"It's an old saying," she said to him as she moved closer. She gave him a peck on the cheek, laughing as Thayne blushed. "You'll be sure to receive another check when you get out of this mess you're in."

"Next time," he said to his fellow Erebokinetic before letting the pull take him. This would be the day that decides it all.​

Someday in December (can't figure it out efficiently lol)
​

December 20th, 2012


Nathaniel couldn't sleep. It had been a long time since he last had a good night's sleep. Most nights he spent tossing and turning. Others were spent in the strange library his mind swept him too as he tried to make sense of his ability, the events surrounding and the world he found himself in. He didn't enjoy it, and considering the drama he found himself wrapped in with World Changers and Harbingers, any Atlantean or human in the right mind wouldn't blame him. Yet, right minds were difficult to come by.

In a rundown motel a few miles outside the city, the New Atlantean Order had swarmed in and rested on the eve where Nathaniel had predicted everything would come to some sort of conclusion, for better or worse. He anticipated a grueling outcome, only confessing his thoughts to a select few. Perhaps that had better what kept him up. That theory was as good as any. Standing outside the motel with a small cup of decaffeinated coffee, Nathaniel stared into the night sky admiring the constellations he did not get to enjoy back home. New York City blocked the stars with its heavy pollution and noxious air, but the outskirts of Istanbul were clear enough for Nathaniel to purge some shred of happiness despite it all.

"You should be getting some sleep," a voice said from behind him.

"I could say the same to you, Jegudial," Nathaniel replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

"We True Atlanteans do not require as much as sleep," Jegudial said.

"Well, maybe I am one of your people," Nathaniel said with a shrug of his shoulders as he took another sip. His cup was now half full, barely warming his cold hands. Though, he couldn't really complain. The night air clearly affected the True Atlantean a little more, as indicated by his thicker clothes as Nathaniel casually wore his regular outfit.

"You are not one of us. We established tha-"

"Easy. I was being sarcastic," Nathaniel said, assuring his benefactor.

"Oh."

"I was trying to make a joke. But, it wasn't my best attempt. Just trying to get my mind off things," Nathaniel confessed, finishing the rest of his coffee. He placed the cup on the ground and gazed back into the night sky.

Jegudial moved to stand beside Nathaniel, looking up at the stars as well. He then turned his head, looking at the tall Atlantean: "Overthinking things will not help you. Trusting your instincts will aid you far more."

Nathaniel turned away, running his hand through his hair as he did. "I wish you were around to tell me that months ago," he admitted. "Ever…ever since this all started, I tried to convince myself I understood things. And so I pondered and pondered, carefully measuring my every move. I tried my best to do the right thing. And look where it got me."

"You're alive," Jegudial reminded Nathaniel.

"This is surviving. Not living," Nathaniel shot back. "When I was trapped in Delta's body all I did was sit around and think about I got there. I didn't take advantage of my position and try to get information or anything like that. I was too worried about not getting caught and her or myself killed. I thought. I didn't act." Nathaniel paused and sighed, regretful he didn't focus on attacking. He remembered how he again tried to figure out the situation, despite previously telling himself he would need to start accepting the irrational. All he gathered was their location was nowhere the Royal Family Mansion and Delta was seemingly well respected, though she did seem to have her fair share of feuds. Nathaniel did not care to find out much, only developing a rudimentary clue on her ability. Though that was admittedly unintentional. All he knew about Delta is that she did not like him and would present a problem should they meet.

"Same thing happened a few days later when James and I met…" Nathaniel's thoughts trailed just thinking about that day. "I focused so much on trying to convince James that he was wrong and I was right. I thought…there I go again thinking. I thought I was capable of doing good there. But we fought. He could of killed me. He didn't. I like to think I know why, but it doesn't matter. If it wasn't for Eris, I would be dead."

The whole situation played in his head again, looking back to when Eris and Fletcher's powers came together to throw Nathaniel, and presumably James, back in time. He woke up to find himself on the Titanic of all places. People often gawked at Nathaniel's dress, considering his tendency to believe it was 1990s and the Titanic sailed in the early 1910s. Yet, it was there he met Kenneth, a fellow cryokinetic. Kenneth, unfortunately, was not immediately fond of the young man, viewing him as a threat to the ship and its passengers. Nathaniel fought back, and the two unleashed their abilities on the other. Nathaniel and he fought on near even ground, yet a massive blast of ice from Kenneth crafted a massive iceberg in the distance…the one that infamously brought down the entire vessel. Kenneth and Nathaniel did battle on the sinking ship, exasperating the dismal situation. Moments before Nathaniel was about to go down with the ship, Eris, the time traveling Atlantean, rescued Nathaniel flashing him back to modern times.

"Your daughter has been watching you for some time," Jegudial said as Nathaniel's focus returned to the conversation.

"Eris refuses to answer most of my questions. Something about disrupting the fabric of time or some other science I won't understand. It would certainly help understand what is going," Nathaniel said, raising his arms up in anger. "You can't tell me that I am going to have a daughter at one point in the future and not answer a few other questions at the very least."

Jegudial's face did not shift its expression. "She said that to obtain your trust. She has the best of intentions."

"I understand that, but…never mind. This is all just so much…" Nathaniel said, becoming increasingly frustrated. "Ever since the Renegades attacked the mansion…I-I don't know what I am supposed to do. Supposed to think. Supposed to say." Nathaniel stomped on the ground and started pacing, the ground icing over slowly.

"You did everything you could," the True Atlantean said.

"Did I? Did I really? Do you know how many Atlanteans died that day? All because of some old grudge between brothers or whatever dumb reason they had for wanting to kill each other? To matters worse, we were abandoned and betrayed by those we believed we could trust! Only Justin bothered to stay and fight with Antonia and myself! And looked what it cost him," Nathaniel said, gesturing to Jegudial, who inhabited the fallen Justin's body. The other Atlantean remained silent as Nathaniel ranted, his makeshift compilation of thoughts flowing over. Despite the jumbled mess of speech Nathaniel was spewing, Jegudial could understand Nathaniel and where he was coming from.

"Now I am leading some ragtag group of a bunch of scared kids…and I don't know if what I'm doing is the right thing or not." Nathaniel sunk down to a seat on the ground, digging his face into his hands. "None of this is fair. None of this is right."

Jegudial smiled weakly, though he of course hid it from Nathaniel as he took the seat next to Nathaniel. "I think you know what you want to say. I think you know what you want to do. And I think you know what you believe is right." Nathaniel looked over to Jegudial. "You have spent so much time wallowing in self doubt when you are among the more capable Atlanteans I have met. Only a few can muster the ability to lead in times of strife. And I believe that you are among them. I did come to inhabit Justin's body because I thought you could not succeed. I did it to offer you guidance."

Nathaniel sighed. "Well, you true Atlanteans are not exactly the best when it comes to explaining things or offering guidance you know."

"You confuse me for…I guess you could call him my brother. You know him as the Librarian, I believe."

"You are his brother?" Nathaniel asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jegudial nodded slightly. "That's putting in rather simple terms. Enough. Such things are not important," he said, tossing such thoughts aside. "My intention is not confuse you or overwhelm you more than you already are. Rather, I want you to do one thing for me: Believe."

"Believe?"

"Yes. Tomorrow will test you like nothing you have done before. You will fight those with more passion for all…this than you can imagine. Some you will recognize. Others you may not. But regardless, you cannot underestimate them. Nor should you think that you could change their minds about what is right and wrong. Good and evil has little place here. You must purge your mind of what Nathaniel Calaway once thought he could do. Instead, you must believe in what Nathaniel Calaway can do."

"What do you mean?" Nathaniel asked, unsure if he was acting the right question. So often, he asked questions hoping they would lead to answers. However, so often, one question leads to another. The revelation of Eris as his daughter from the future was a prime example of that. He wanted to know when she was born. Who her mother was. Is the world they live in a peaceful one? Why did she come back from the future to see a younger version of her father? They were so many questions. Yet Eris insisted she couldn't answer them, as much as she wanted to ease her father's mind. Questions always haunted Nathaniel and he was certain he would never have the peace of mind.

"I mean, believe in yourself," Jegudial insisted. "Believe in that the actions you intend to take are right. That they are justified. The ones you may fight tomorrow believe that much. Any shred of self-doubt is inviting a moment of weakness. You must understand that sacrifices must be made and that people will die. But, if you believe in yourself, you can win and the world of peace and order that you believe so greatly in can come to pass. Do you remember the speech you made after the Royal Mansion fell to those renegades?"

Nathaniel nodded his head: "This tragedy will not be forgotten. It will not be forgiven. In order to protect our own and this world, we must fight to take it back from those who seek to bring it down. Lest we will this world be overcome with fear, our kind will never be safe. Join me and I will establish a world where Atlanteans will rule over Atlanteans. They will follow our laws and our principles. A world of peace! A world of order! A New Atlantean Order!" Nathaniel recounted the end of his peace vividly, before turning his head to Jegudial.

"Remember those words. Never lose sight of your goal. Your cause is a just one. But they will feel the same way about their own. They will fight a desperate one. Buildings will crumble. Cities will burn. And hundreds will die," Jegudial said softly.

Despite their limited time together, the True Atlantean had gathered a good sense of Nathaniel's character. He knew the man was concerned with doing the right thing, doing whatever he could to protect people. He knew that Nathaniel was haunted by his mistakes, both fatal and not so fatal. He knew that Nathaniel wanted to understand things before throwing himself into them. And he knew that Nathaniel did not want to do the things he had to do since the Altantean Royal Family became nothing more than a distant memory; a lost relic of an older generation. It was perhaps because of all this that he helped the young Nathaniel in these moments. It was because of Jegudial that Nathaniel and the New Atlantean Order even made it to Istanbul and would take their place amongst these new factions in one last battle to determine the fate of the Earth, humanity and Altantean kind.

Nathaniel stood up rather suddenly and looked at Jegudial, before turning and opening the door to his room. "Not hundreds," he said. "Thousands."



​

November 12th, 2012

Bleary eyed Seamus twisted his body from one side to the other, twisting until he heard the satisfying crack of his spine. They had had a hard night sleeping on couches, desks, chairs, anything really that they could somewhat comfortably sleep on. There were probably around fifty odd people holed up in the Syndicate Headquarters, including their team and Mister Cain. He had only been with the group for a couple of weeks and had already been pulled into all sorts of situations. Looking around though, he could tell that this one was different from the rest. A kind of tension sat in the air around his teammates and everyone seemed cautiously protective of the new kid, Thayne. All Seamus knew was that he had to help protect the kid with the others.

Seamus watched as they all began slipping into their Syndicate uniforms, noting how the rest of the team seemed to be brimming with guns or other weapons. Wyatt of course had his own Assault Rifle, Pyrrha had her usual arsenal of handguns, small blades, needles, collapsible metal Bo Staff, and probably even deadlier weapons hidden up her sleeves. Adrian had about four of anything he could carry and use while Daemon seemed to sit happily across the room manipulating his bone structure and covering parts of his body with heavily calcified bone matter. October seemed to be the only other person like Seamus who wasn't brandishing any weapons. He of course could turn his skin into some Atlantean metal, according to Dr. Meier, but October on the other hand had little in the way of protection.

Once they were all geared up and waiting by the front doors, the Directive made an appearance looking rather tired. From what Seamus knew, he had been up most of the night talking with the Boss back in Birmingham. By the look of his haggard expression, talks hadn't gone smoothly. No doubt the man would be facing at least a demotion when they got back if not something more serious. That was assuming they made it out of here alive.

"Okay guys, as the plan stands you'll make your way down to the basement car park and take two cars to the Hagia Sophia. In the first car will be Adrian, Seamus, Daemon and Wyatt and the second car with Thayne, October, Pyrrha and Mel. October and Adrian will be taking lead." The Directive's voice was gruff and a little hoarse.

"What about you, sir?" Seamus asked since the Directive often accompanied them on missions.

"I'll be back here; you can reach me via your earpieces. I have things here that I need to get done so you guys will have to work as a team." As much as he wanted to go and make sure the kids were safe, the Directive had already received his orders already. "You guys should be ready by now, I suggest you head off soon…" the Directive stopped after a couple of steps, "…good luck guys." Turning on his heels he made it back to the stairs.

"Right all, you heard the man, let's get this show on the road." Adrian chimed in as he lead the others down to the basement.

Everyone seemed to remain quiet during their descent until they arrived at the set of cars the Directive had lined up for them. For most of the group the severity of not just the scenario they were in but also what the day ultimately entailed had set in. Seamus wouldn't lie, he was incredibly nervous and a little bit scared, but ultimate he was proud of where he was. After the eventful life he had lived so far, he was glad to be among these people.

Just as they were about to hop into cars, Adrian gathered the attention of the group, "October and I will be driving, Daemon will be in the passenger's seat while Seamus and Wyatt are in back. Thayne will be in the passenger's seat next to October with Mel and Pyrrha in the back. If we encounter any trouble along the way, Wyatt and Pyrrha will utilise the sunroof while Seamus and Mel respectively will hold them steady. If there are any road blocks, Wyatt, you'll take the wheel while Seamus and I clear the way; the girls will keep guard."

Without another word Adrian slid into the driver's seat of the front car, turning the key and revving the engine. With everybody in the two cars began the twenty minute journey to the Hagia Sophia. They managed to escape the parking garage with few scraps on the vehicle, however they were unable to reach the speed limit as it became a game of weaving in and out of traffic. Seamus tapped his foot anxiously on the floor of the car, there was something about the eerie silence of the city now that everyone had either left or died that made everything surreal. It was like they were in some sort of book or movie and everything was building up for this major battle and climax that was coming. At times he just wanted to jump out of the car and run, run until he was as far away from the place and the city as possible.

Seamus looked down as he felt a warm hand lie over top of his. He could see Wyatt's hand visibly shaking; most likely from the same anxiety and nerves he felt, yet when he looked at him the guy seemed calm. "Breathe, Seamus, we can get through this. Remember the Waite Pharmaceuticals raid a couple of weeks back? We made it out of there alive, and we'll sure as hell make it out of here."

Seamus couldn't help but smile at the guy, ever since he had arrived in the Syndicate Wyatt had been nice enough to Seamus despite his awkward attempts to fit in. "Thanks Wyatt, we'll kick some Atlantean ass and be back in no time."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Adrian chimed in as he brought the car to a stop. Ahead of them, the Galata Bridge that would get them across to the middle island was jammed with cars from one end to the other. "October," Adrian pressed his finger to his ear, activating the inbuilt mic, "we've got a problem: the bridge is jammed with cars. It'll take too long to clear, we'll have to go by foot."

"Sure thing, get Wyatt to take guard on left flank, I'll have Pyrrha guard right flank. If you and Seamus take point and send Daemon back my way, he and I'll take the rear. Mel will keep Thayne company in the centre." Seamus could hear October's voice clear through his earpiece as if she was sitting next to him.

Stepping out of the car and Seamus could have sworn that even the air around them felt wrong. The water lapped gently against the support of the bridge, fog milling about on the shore and sun rising from the east. Everything seemed off. Seamus couldn't hear any chirping of insects or squawking of birds, even the lack of human noise seemed to throw him off. He walked past Daemon who waited patiently by the car and up to where Adrian stood at the front. Once the girls and Thayne caught up, Thayne immediately made his way towards the other group.

"Don't you think I'd be more useful if I wasn't so far away from the action?" The younger man asked, a look of worry on his face. "I wouldn't be helpful to anyone if they were attacked." It was obvious that he didn't like the idea of the other members merely being a shield. Everyone made it seem like he was the most important piece, but he knew the value of everyone else.


"We have the Directive's orders, Thayne. We can take care of ourselves, each one of us has been trained to do so, our mission is to get you to the Hagia Sophia safely. If any one gets hurt then someone else can help them." Adrian understood Thayne's willingness to help, but the Directive had made it adamant that Thayne stay in top shape till they got to the Hagia Sophia.

"The Directive's orders..." Thayne shook his head. Even though he disagreed with him, he knew that the others wouldn't disobey. He took a look at Mel as she reached his side, brandishing what weapons she chose. Thayne knew that she could take of herself as well, but he was still glad to have her by his side. "I suppose my ability can be used at long range.. If we need it. Just be careful."

With that said, the group moved into their positions with Adrian and Seamus moving to opposite side. Seamus couldn't help but looking into almost each and every car he passed or climbed over. To his surprise, he didn't find any trapped civilians or rotting corpses, just empty cars. At first he thought that they had ditched their cars and escaped, then he realised that he was hoping they had escaped. As he looked into more and more cars he began to think that they may have escaped their cars but maybe not the city.

It was when he turned his head to the side to look over at Adrian when Seamus felt the warm body collide with his own. Instinctively his body seized up and the cool blue metal washed over his skin like a protective second skin. The remnant had knocked the both of them down behind a car, Seamus yelling out to the others as it salivated blood all over his face and clawed at his skin. Turning his face to the side, Seamus tried to minimalise any blood getting into his mouth, but what he saw instead made him freeze. The mutilated body of a small child lay splayed out on the concrete, its ribcage open to the sky. Bile surged into his throat as he panicked, his ability fading out until he began throwing up between screams of pain.

Adrian was the first to react once Seamus had gone down, leaping over cars and shooting the zombie in the head with little remorse. As it slumped down on Seamus, Adrian made his way over, practically throwing it off of him. Seamus could tell from the horror on Adrian's face though that his stomach was beyond repair as he began choking on blood.

Weakly he managed to lift his arm up, pointing to the railing, "dump… me… in river…" he managed to splutter to Adrian. If anything he refused to become another zombie wandering around Istanbul.

With nothing more than a nod of his head, Adrian lifted Seamus' ravaged body up as if he were a rag doll. Once he was at the railing he waited for everyone else to draw near, Wyatt nodding in confirmation that that was indeed the only zombie left on the bridge, "As the old Atlanteans would say, may the light of the universe guide your path. We all came from the universe, and so we shall return." Looking down, he could see Seamus pull together a weak, bloody smile before Adrian dropped his body over the railing.

As his body hit the water, Seamus refused to take a breath as he felt the ice cold liquid envelope his body. He had made it this far and was happy with the journey so far. In that moment, the water flooded his lungs and as he was on the brink of losing consciousness, Seamus felt an overwhelming sense of euphoria as he finally let go.

----------

To be brutally honest, Adrian hadn't liked the Irish kid in the slightest. He was loud, impetuous and made overly sexual comments at the most inappropriate times. But losing a comrade, despite how much Adrian might have disliked the guy, was like losing a limb and right now they needed all the man (and woman) power they could have. Turning away from the edge he began walking back to his position at the front of their group, his eyes darting back and forth as he tried to figure out the best way to reorganise their group yet October beat him to the punch.

"Wyatt, move to the front, be vigilant and make sure we have no more surprises. Daemon, you'll take the left flank." October barked the orders as they all began moving back. "Let's get moving, people."

Adrian waited for the others to get back into position before starting forward, this time keeping a wary eye on Wyatt. How hadn't the guy seen the zombie there before Seamus? Surely his vision should have picked up on it. Adrian just hoped that Wyatt was focussed on the mission at the moment and didn't have any ulterior motives. Looking back he noticed that everyone had inched a little closer together than they had started out, obviously wanting to reduce the chance of another event like Seamus' death panning out.

They managed to make it across with bridge with no more issues, Wyatt urging them to move into the left lane as they walked off the bridge. This wasn't just to lead towards their destination but also because there was a horde of zombies milling about to the right of the bridge. From there it took them just over fifteen minutes to traverse through the streets over towards the Hagia Sophia, Wyatt picking up on hazards as they went with Adrian adjusting their course as need be. Once they had arrived however, they soon realised they weren't the only ones. A large group of Atlanteans composed of differing aged teenagers had made their way over and now milled in the carpark. October informed the lot of them that they were the remnants of the Atlantean Royal Family, now apparently under the leadership of World Changer Nathaniel Calaway as the New Atlantean Order. Opposite them were a ragtag group of Atlanteans that looked like they were ready for a fight, with the unmistakeable James Hazen leading them out front. Adrian heard Wyatt catch his breath; no doubt he had spotted his sister Oakley while October pointed out to them the presence of Delta. However it was Wyatt whom named each of the World Changers.

"Seems like everyone is here," October muttered as the groups stood around the carpark at the front of the Hagia Sophia.

"Except those who are already gone," Thayne said aloud in reference to Dom and the others. "What are you all going to do during this? If I remember right, this is supposed to be between the World Changers and no one else."

Wyatt let out a laugh, "You think this'll just be between you guys? Look around you, Thayne, everyone's brought an army. This is more than just a scuffle between you five, it's an all out war." He cocked his gun in hesitation for the oncoming battle. "This'll be a massive cluster f*ck."

"Why do you think I asked?" Thayne replied sarcastically. Part of him knew that many of these faction members weren't on a level that could be compared to the World Changers, especially when many people have been focusing on their growth instead of their own. "I really don't want unnecessary bloodshed."

"And I really don't want to get old, but it's still going to happen. Unless you plan on saving everyone from everyone else, Superman, then there's not much you can do." Wyatt turned to look Thayne in the eye, "People can look after themselves. Unnecessary bloodshed is unavoidable, princess, so get over it and focus on winning." He was being harsh, even he could see that, but the Directive had given them orders to help Thayne win in whatever way possible.

"It won't stop me from trying," he told his older teammate. "There isn't any reason for us World Changers to be fighting besides a stupid prophecy, let alone anyone else. Even if you guys can handle yourselves, this is going to be a full out war. There is no coming back from that unscathed. Anyways, you want to say that you guys can take care of yourselves? If I remember right, someone said that and another ended up dead."

"Guys, quiet." Adrian ordered, his hands reaching for the guns holstered at his side, "Someone's coming out of the museum." Adrian and the others watched as a short, mid-40s looking man stepped out and stood at the top of the stairs.

"Is that... The Librarian?" Wyatt asked rhetorically, surprised at the man's guest appearance.
​

December 21st, 2012

"Are you sure?" It took some time before the words trickled out of Delta's mouth. With one look at her face it was quite clear she was devastated by the news. No longer were her eyes bright and full of life, all of that had faded. The question itself was rhetorical, of course, he was sure, she could tell that by the never-ending apologetic look that was being given in her direction.

His lips quivered, and when Simon eventually spoke his voice cracked, "I felt it.... I relived his final moments. Dom's dead." It was quite clear to Delta that he had never delivered this type of news to anyone before and was unsure of how one proceeded with a notification of death.

Dom's dead. Dom's dead. Over, and over went the conversation, it kept replaying for hours after the actual exchange. Goddamnit, James Hazen would pay for his crimes. It wasn't as if Dom and her were the closest of friends, but... it wasn't fair. Dom was supposed to see the final day, after all that crap he had been put through Dom deserved at least that much. He had found out that his mother was alive and hadn't perished during the assault on Paris as he originally suspected. The three of them, Thayne, Dom, and Delta, had made that pact, that they would make it to the final day without killing each other and fight then. Delta felt an overwhelming sense of anger and resentment toward Dom. How could he die on her? Who was going to teach Elpis how to swear in French? Who was going to teach her the dos and don'ts of fashion? Who was going to be her favorite "uncle"? A tightly formed fist found itself smashing into the nearest wall and the wall came crumbling down.

A pair of arms found themselves around Delta's abdominal region. Soon to follow that was a set of lips that pressed into her neck. There were only two people in the entire world that would dare touch her in this moment and by the lingering of the lips Delta knew which one it was, Aoife. It was a refreshing touch, but most importantly, it was one that calmed her. Today, was more than likely the day that Delta would die and here she was obsessing over the death of a former comrade surrounded by rumble. It... it wasn't like her. But, wasn't it? Dom was the first death since her father, who wasn't quite as dead as she thought he was, whom she gave some sort of a damn about. Delta had been advised not to get riled up the day of her own possible death, but she couldn't help it.

Inside of Delta she felt white-hot rage, not just any rage, but all of her rage. Rage at her father. Rage at the Atlantean society she had been thrust in to. Rage at anyone and everyone, specifically, James Hazen. His death would be today that much she was certain. His death would also be symbolized as a man who committed treacherous acts and as a result he died the treacherous death he so deserved. It would not be quick, and it would not be painless. It would sting a thousand times over. She had no qualms with having the streets of Istanbul painted with his blood. Delta's misty eyes began to clear up at the thought.

Another thought tugged at the back of her mind, was that all she was good for? Killing? In the minds of others Delta was sure she was viewed in the same light as James Hazen. Demented. Psychopath. Antagonist. Murderer. Delta, in good faith, couldn't dispute half of those. She had willingly taken the life of someone else and would do it again if she needed to do it. They deserved the fate that they had coming to them. Matthias, her first kill, had protected the meteor man who was killing hundred of thousands of Parisians. Those guards on that boat were aiding in the torture of young Atlanteans to the point of psychotic break and death. Blood of innocents was on all of their hands and Delta wasn't ashamed she had snuffed out their flames. Perhaps there were other routes that she could've taken but none of them were permanent enough for her. Everyone else had made up their minds about her long ago, and to them all she would be doing was justifying murder. Who knows, maybe they were right to think of her as all of those things.

"Stop that!" A voice hissed in her ear, which shook Delta from the thoughts she had been hiding from.

"Stop what?" Delta turned around, grateful for the distraction, and greeted Aoife's warm blue eyes and furrowed brow. The look on her face was too cute not to lean in and kiss her, so that's exactly what Delta did.

"Doubting yourself," Aoife said, and continued on in between kisses, "I'm touching you." Kiss. "Right now." A longer kiss. "I can feel what you're feeling." Kiss of the century.

Delta broke the kissing-talk cycle and smirked, "Only when I have clothes on." With that she removed her signature leather jacket and pounced on top of Aoife while trying to avoid the rubble and dirt. Delta slid her fingers underneath the straps that were keeping Aoife's dress on her shoulders, kissing each spot as she went. All of... this felt natural to Delta. Soon all traces of clothes, except their underwear, were removed in haste.

A whistle broke the moment. "Wow, if you told me free viewing for lesbian action was part of the deal I would've left that AUP gang all the more sooner!" Leaning on the doorframe was the kid that had thought he was some sort of vigilante who Delta then recruited to the AUP.

"Shut it, Omar." Delta snapped at him. She sighed, pried herself off of Aoife, and fetched her and Aoife's clothing that was scattered all across the room.

"No, no, don't stop on my account," Omar grinned, but that stopped when he noticed Delta's glare and after rearranging himself began to speak again. "Any who, Eileen says there's a crap ton of activity. They're all on the move. The Cryokinetic brought lackeys, as did James Hazen, but thanks to Simon you already know about him, there's more Atlantean activity than ever before. Eileen's getting a little overwhelmed by it all. Elpis had to take it away for a bit, by the way, how does that work?"

As Omar spoke Delta got dressed and gave Aoife a helping (and lingering) hand. She nodded at the appropriate parts. Eileen's Power Chart had proven especially useful over the past week. With her ability of Power Detection and the Atlantite Delta had given her, the range at which she could sense Atlantean presence had vastly improved. That allowed her to create an active live-tracking map of where each Atlantean was located at, ignoring the Turkish ones. Simon was able to keep tabs on those of which Delta had taken an article of clothing from, notably Dom, Thayne, and James Hazen. All those nights ago when she had taken part in that experience with James Hazen and Dom, an event she had yet to inform Aoife of, Delta had made it her mission to obtain an article of his clothing, the same for Dom, and she had. The need to keep tabs on James Hazen was crucial as he was the least stable and the biggest threat of the World Changers. An ability as powerful as Simon's had become over time was quite invaluable to Delta's operation. She had learned a lot of useful information about her opponents and it was how Delta had learned of Dom's death...

"Oh! The Syndicate. Yeah, the idiots who made Istanbul into The Walking Dead, they're on the move too. Eileen can fly you to the church place that Library guy told you about." Omar made a variety of gestures with his hands as he spoke.

"Gotcha." And that was all Delta had to say.

She exited the room and headed to the operation center where everyone else was located. Eileen, Elpis, Roxxy, Simon, and now, Omar, Aoife, and Delta. As soon as she entered Elpis flew into her arms and Delta spun her around before setting her back down again. A month had passed yet it seemed like longer because of how much Elpis had grown. Everyone had ceased talking, as if it were Delta's turn to say something important like a speech, but that wasn't like her so she didn't. Instead they all followed her into the plane. The ride was shorter than Delta expected. She had ordered Eileen not to drop her right next to the church because Delta couldn't take the risk of someone pulling them out of the sky.

"Aoife and Elpis, stay back at base," Delta commanded. "I mean it." Heads all around her nodded in agreement. That was easier she than had expected.

"At the present time there are multitudes of Atlanteans gathered at the location. Do you still not care for assistance?" Eileen turned back and asked, she had already landed the plane.

"Not to mention those zombies!" Omar chimed in.

"I'm coming with yo-" Aoife started.

"No! The easiest way to get to me is through you guys. I'm not letting my girlfriend or my daughter (technically, great (times a lot) aunt) get killed because of me!" Delta shouted.

"Girlfriend, eh?" Aoife laughed, the term had slipped out but Delta had contemplated about saying it for a while now and it wasn't something she regretted now that it was out there.

"Good bye," Delta was the first to step off of the plane and the others followed.

"Knock 'em dead, Del," Simon rushed over and grabbed ahold of Delta and forced her into a hug. "Come back or I'll never hear the end of Aoife's tears. She's quite the crybaby, you should've seen her after her first girlfriend dumped her that was a sight." Simon was met with a death glare and a smack to the head from his twin sister.

"Go get 'em, Boss," Roxxy playfully punched Delta in the shoulder and gave her a single nod as a wish of good luck.

"I'll see you when I see you, and hopefully that includes more lesbian action!" Omar winked at her, which only made Delta internally groan.

"When my girlfriend wins this thing, she better not be bloody, bruised, or battered or I'll hurt those stupid World Changers," Aoife grabbed Delta's hand and held it in hers. She gazed into Delta's eyes and smiled the entire time before giving her a parting kiss.

Last, but certainly not least, was Elpis. Delta had ordered them not to mention anything about death around her. Elpis had been picking up English rather quickly as of late and Delta didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. The only thing Elpis knew was that Delta was going on an adventure all alone.

Delta lowered herself down to Elpis's level and embraced her in a hug. "Be a good girl. Listen to Aoife. Eat your food. No dessert until after dinner." Tears trickled down her face, though Delta managed to wipe them away before Elpis could see them. She broke the hug and looked Elpis in the eye and spoke to her in Polish, "I love you."

Toward Hagia Sophia Delta went without another word or look back. The city of Istanbul looked all but deserted. There was little movement except for a cat or a dog that would be scavenging in a nearby trashcan. A zombie had lurched out at Delta and was put out of its misery when Delta stabbed her crystallized bone sword through its head. Thayne and Wyatt were looking more and more like potential starting targets for being apart of a group that would allow this to happen. On the side of one of the buildings she passed was some weird symbol, clearly Atlantean made. Before Delta knew it she had arrived on the scene, one that included James Hazen and Ice Boy. There was barely time to acknowledge their presence when Oakley appeared on the scene almost out of nowhere. Following her were Thayne and Wyatt. It seemed as if everyone had brought people, didn't they realize that this battle was between World Changers? The lackeys were easy targets. One, if Delta had her way, would be the first casualty.

Here they were, all the World Changers that had made it to the final battle and for some of them it was their final day. Determinedness was on the face of almost everyone that or they were incredibly stoic or nervous. A lot had built up to a moment like this. A lot of anger, a lot of deaths, and a lot of sacrifices. None of that would be taken for granted by Delta. Her fingers itched to pull the trigger on her gun, or to wrap her hands around the two bone swords she had strapped to her back. There wasn't any way in hell she was going to be caught off guard by any one here.

"Okay, can I just say how zombie guts stink? This is my favorite gear! I'm never going to get that smell out!" That whiny voice sounded familiar to Delta, in fact, she had heard that voice every day without fail for a month. She whirled around to be greeted by Simon, Aoife, Elpis, Omar, and Roxxy. Goddamnit. They never listened to her!

"Why are you here?" Delta said through clenched teeth, she was trying to keep her face emotionless but it was tough seeing how she was beyond fuming. "Why is Elpis here? Why!" Delta couldn't help but hiss the last bit.

"We're here because we want to be," Roxxy spoke up quietly before else could. Delta had to admit she had guts. "And if we die, it's because we were willing to." A hand clamped over her mouth as she glanced down toward at Elpis. Her facial expression twisted into an apologetic look.

"Elpis, sort of, refused to get on the plane and ran off after you..." Aoife muttered, and crossed her arms. "But! Don't worry, we're all geared up. We weren't letting you come alone that had been established prior to your little outburst."

"We're a team... or something," Omar added and gave his best smile and a thumbs up.

Delta couldn't help but push Elpis behind her, hoping that no one would get any ideas. She wouldn't be able to fight properly until Elpis was safe and out of reach from anyone that was here. The rest of them she should've listened to her, but a part of Delta was glad that they had not. Who would have imagined that Delta Mayor would have people, friends even, that had her back and wanted to protect her? Not Delta, that much was for sure. It was something worth fighting for, something Delta was willing to fight for. So, this was it. All Delta had been training for months. There was nothing left to do but win.​

December 21, 2012

James stepped through the portal Scott had just created, and found himself right in the middle of mayhem. Istanbul was the latest in a list of cities victim to the ire of a powerful Atlantean. Or as James would call it, evolution. Buildings were torn apart, screams could be heard in the distance, the streets were filled with corpses and burning cars. He stepped firmly into the streets and found himself deep into the heart of the city with his ragtag group of Atlantean renegades behind him. James took in the surroundings around him and felt a familiar sensation sweep his body. It was the same one that overtook him during the brief incident in London, and later in Paris and San Diego. It was the same feeling he felt when he fought and destroyed ATLAS, and the same one he felt when he fought other Atlanteans. It took James the last two months to figure out that it wasn't the actual death or destruction that he craved. James could hear an announcement on TV of a news anchor report the deaths of hundreds, or thousands, and he wouldn't bat an eyelash. He could hear about an explosion that dismantled one of the tallest buildings in the world and yawn.

It was the unpredictability of it all that James loved. The very fact that it surprised people, that it went against the norm of everything they thought could happen or should happen, is what he enjoyed witnessing. If he didn't see the reactions, the responses of people looking around in shock and fear and trying to find an answer, some sort of explanation for why this was happening, all of it would be meaningless. People taught that fighting, killing, and destruction were all evil acts, that they were the most unnatural in the natural order of things. But for James, they were when he felt most alive. This was his natural order.

"This sh*t's crazy, yo!" Tank exclaimed as he looked around Istanbul in shock, amazement and fear all in one.

"Why are you acting like such a noob?" Gamer asked her ex-ATLAS teammate. "It's not like this isn't something new at this point."

"I think he meant the zombies," Victory chimed in as he scanned his surroundings. He held a serious demeanor across his face as he prepared himself for anything that would come his way, determined to prove himself apart of this group.

"It's the same game, we're just playing Zombie Mode now," Gamer replied back. She began to tap into her ability as she scanned the area for street cameras or local electronics to try and triangulate their position and figure out where to proceed.

James looked across the mess of a city Istanbul had become. He glanced around at the annihilated cars and streets and siphoned off some energy from the nearby lamps and cars, adding onto his already-full tank of electrical energy surging inside of his body. "Don't tell me you're getting bored of my field trips, Gamer." He said with a grin.

"Kinda hard to be bored with you, James," Gamer shot back as she continued executing her power. "I'm just wondering why Tank's acting like such a scrub."

"Hey, quit trippin'," Tank jumped back into the conversation. "I was just surprised when we came out of the hole, yo!"

"That's what ella said," Enrique quickly said with a smile, which caused Scott to let out a chuckle as well.

"Good one, man!" He exclaimed, fistbumping with his Renegade companion.

James stepped forward down the main path leading to a large plaza. A large fire had begun to close off the entire path leading forward, which caused James to begin to take out his bronze sword to clear the path.

"Hey, let me do it, Santiago," Enrique stopped James from using his Harbinger weapon. He had begun calling him Santiago shortly after teaming up with him after Raguel's death.

"Someone's feeling threatened," Nora teased the wind controller as Enrique proceeded to call up his powers and blow the fires out and clear the path.

"Just warming up for the batalla, chica!" He cried out as he suddenly caused a massive burst of gust to flow in front of him, not only burning out the fires from the cars, but also flinging the automobiles down further in the street and into a nearby building. The noise caused a nearby group of zombies to suddenly burst forward in the direction of the cars. Nora stepped forward to get rid of them, but James held her back. Instead, he observed their behavior with interest.

"They're not harming anybody," He pointed out to her. Nora raised an eyebrow.

"They're zombies, James," She replied back.

"Yeah, but they're also zombies of an Atlantean," He answered in turn. "In some ways, they're more higher up the chain of power than humans are. It's almost like taking out any of Marwa's paintings. Not the nicest thing to do to a fellow Atlantean, don't you think? Especially if we're trying to recruit him."

"Wow... that's cold James," Scott chimed in as he scratched his chin, before he looked over to Enrique. "But is it weird that I kind of get what he's saying?"

"So... what's the plan exactly?" Jeremy asked the rest of the group. He seemed tense, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings as if he expected something to suddenly jump out and attack them.

James turned around and addressed him as well as the rest of the group. "What we've always been doing. We have a high class Atlantean somewhere in the city. This one's top priority if there's ever been one. And then there's the World Changers, who are also here according to Lucifer. From what we've found out, they have others with them just like we do. And from what I know about three of them, they won't be easy to take down. In fact, I don't see this going down any other way than with a fight." He explained, as a grin formed on his face. He couldn't contain his excitement even if he tried.

Marwa liked to remain quiet, she found out things went smoother that way. No one paid her a lick of attention as they were all vying for James's. If she had a preference Marwa wouldn't have picked another option. It allowed for her to write down what she saw, heard, and felt. That Atlantean novel she had been writing was becoming closer and closer to a reality. There was a question that kept popping up in her head yet no one had asked it, which meant that she had to. "W-w-what are we to do? I mean, what do you want us to do?" Marwa got flustered easily, and she could feel her cheeks getting flushed. "This is a fight between World Changers is it not?"

"If this was just a fight between the World Changers, I would have stayed home," James replied with a wink toward Marwa. "What I want you to do... what I want you to do..." James repeated twice, as he pondered the question. He then looked back up at the group, smirked at them and shrugged. "I dunno," He said simply.

"What?" Kieran asked incredulously, holding the ends of his arms where his bones were taken from him by Delta. He had Fletcher close within his sight in order to protect him, although there was little he could do with his powers at this point. James and the others had done a fairly good job of keeping him safe in his stead, however. "What do you mean you don't know?"

James smile seemed to only grow wider. "I don't know meaning, I don't know," He replied casually. "I have no idea what to expect. I can't tell you how the other World Changers would act or react because I really don't know. I can make predictions and we can make a plan based on that but that sounds... kinda lame, really. Maybe we can convince some to join us. Maybe none will and we'll have to duke it out then and there. Maybe the zombie Atlantean has a few surprises in store for us to shake things up even more. The point is... none of us can really predict what happens next. And you know what?" He asked his group as he eyed each one of them in front of him.

"That's OK. I'm not your boss. I'm barely your leader. You didn't sign up so that I'd go telling you what to do and what objective to complete. You're all now, just like you were when you joined, free to do and act however you want," He explained. His last words however suddenly reminded him of something he had written down to himself what seemed like a long, long time ago. He checked the back pocket in his jeans and was amazed to find that same piece of paper between his fingers. A piece of paper with two words crossed out and one word remaining.

"If you wanted my opinion though," James continued as he put the paper into his back pocket. "Do anything you want."

"Estás muy loco, you know that right, Santiago?" Enrique asked James with a grin of his own.

"You only remind me every other day, Enrique," James stated back with a smirk. "Let's go f*ck sh*t up!"

---

James' group navigated the city with a polished madness, as they proceeded toward the direction of the World Changers, or where it was assumed they would be. Gamer also managed to track down the general location of the zombie Atlantean, but since they appeared to be closer to the other World Changers, James elected to go there first. The others didn't complain, even taking what James said literally, which required a few stops along the jagged way to fulfill their impulsive whims. James didn't mind one bit.

Scott wanted to recreate the same symbol he crafted in the former Renegade flat, the upside down anarchy sign. James obliged him and with Nora and Gamer's help, the three used their powers to mark it into the side of a building. Their combination of powers crafted a burn-like marking through broken concrete and windows to make a crude-looking similar symbol as proof of their territory.

Enrique challenged James to a contest on which wind power, Enrique's or James' sword, could toss objects the furthest. James' sword held up, but Enrique's power couldn't be denied, as he managed to prove that the weapon was no substitute for El Huracán. The two flung chairs, cars, corpses, and even zombies coming after them.

The others did other actions, all of which James approved of and ultimately encouraged. It was about more than just doing whatever took their fancy. It was about letting go of everything the human society considered as taboo, and breaking free from their thinking. To James, it was also one of their last steps to get rid of their attachment to what they were in order to focus on what they would become: the inheritors of the Earth. They stood now in front of the Hagia Sophia brimming with confidence, as the other factions also began making their way toward the final spot of conflict.

As James looked over the faces of his Renegades, he was convinced that while they weren't 'World Changers', they were definitely here to help change the world.

They were the future.

​

December 21st, 2012

"Welcome, brothers, it's been a while." The Librarian smirked as he addressed his siblings once all had arrived.

"Long time no see, Gabriel," Michael said as he rolled his sleeves up while he floated across to joined them. "Nice body Jeg, finally stopped being a tree I see." Reaching deep into his pocket he retrieved a cigarette and promptly lit it; at high altitudes he could feel the effects of the nicotine enhance.

Despite being the eldest of the brothers, Jegudial was currently looking like the youngest, "It has been, Michael, but apparently events have forced my hand. Justin was a good Hybrid and it was sad that it had to end this way." Lifting up his shirt the others drew in to look at the healing scar that marred his chest.

They were all hovering above Istanbul; high enough so that they could still make out the individual Atlanteans that were making their way to the Hagia Sophia. Gabriel stood opposite his brothers, Raphael looking rather formal in his suit on the left, Michael almost the opposite with his sleeves rolled up and cigarette hanging from his mouth in the middle with Jegudial on the right currently occupying Justin's body and youthful clothing. It pained Gabriel to think that Raguel would not be joining them; losing a sibling, especially a True Atlantean like them, wasn't a great feeling. Then again, she had always been rash and vengeful and even their darling sister Selephial had seen her sister's demise. Much to Gabriel's surprise though, their favourite half-brother, Lucifer, had decided to make his guest appearance amongst them.

"Welcome, Lucy, I wasn't sure if you would make it." Gabriel smiled at the new addition to the group, enjoying using the nickname he had created for him.

While the other brothers cast looks of disgust and dislike, Lucifer simply flattened his suit against his chest and smiled, "It's good to be back in the competition, Gabriel." He bit the side of his lip, annoyed at their brotherly joke to call him 'Lucy'.

"Good. Well then, Selephial will not be joining us unfortunately; her catatonic state won't allow her like usual. Also we must mourn the loss of Raguel, the anger finally caught up to her…." Gabriel lowered his head in mock sadness.

"Enough of your games, Gabriel, I think we can all agree that she was a great loss, but won't be missed." Raphael interjected Gabriel, his voice stern like he was telling off a child. He was perhaps the closest sibling in age to Raguel but the two had rarely gotten along. Raphael would have been the kind of kid who built towers with his blocks while Raguel would come along and kick them over with a diabolical laugh.

Michael sighed, "Guys, I know we all despise being around each other so can we save the therapy session for after? Gabe, just get on with it already." He took a long drag from his cigarette, promptly receiving the evils from his brothers.

"Alright, alright. First of all we have our Harbinger already chosen; James Hazen backed by Lucifer." Gabriel motioned towards Lucifer who was looking pretty proud, "I was sure Mister Hazen would give up becoming a Harbinger to focus on becoming a World Changer, but it seems your guidance has paid off. In that case, Lucifer is now in control of the new messiah." Gabriel floated over to shake Lucifer's hand. "Secondly, we have four World Changers: Nathaniel Calaway backed by Jegudial, Oakley North backed by Michael, Thayne Clarke backed by Raphael, and Delta Mayor. Seeing as no one is here to represent Miss Mayor, I shall take the mantle."

"Hold on, you can't do that, you're to remain impartial!" Raphael objected, well aware of Gabriel's tendency to influence things in ways that would benefit him most.

"She needs a benefactor, Raphael, that's how this works." Jegudial was rather blunt, Gabriel couldn't blame him after having been a tree for thousands of years. Then again, Gabriel also had a slew of tree and plant puns he had been saving up through the ages to use when his big brother finally woke up again.

"I second the motion," Michael spoke in agreement with Gabriel, Lucifer backing the motion soon after but none of the siblings really counting his vote.

"It's three against one, Ralph," Gabriel stated matter of fact like, choosing to ignore Lucifer's protest that it was four against one. "Besides, Micky and Ralph were allowed to be the benefactors to their children and that broke precedence. It's not like I'm going to interfere, you all have already had the chance to prepare your candidates."

"Carry on, Gabriel, we've already established that you may be Miss Mayor's benefactor." Jegudial was growing tired of their sibling bickering, making his time as a tree seem much more pleasant.

"Alrighty then. So now that everyone has gathered here, they can no longer interfere with the events of the battle. Whoever wins this round will pick the next round of candidates and set up the following event while being able to offer their candidate the Choice. Each Choice must be composed of two options for the winner to decide. If there are no more urgent matters to attend to, I suggest you all sit back and relax as I'll be back shortly." The brothers collectively watched as one moment Gabriel was standing in front of them and the next he had disappeared in a flash of golden light.

"I still think this should have gone down in Beijing," Michael muttered between drags on his cigarette, "I haven't seen China since the Communist Revolution."

"Honestly brother, it has just become worse." Raphael informed Michael, having had set up multiple offices in China. The people were much ruder than they had been before and the air around the major cities was filthy and polluted.


Gabriel stood behind the large front doors to the basilica turned museum ready for his grand entrance. He could feel the tension hanging in the air just beyond those doors; giddy with excitement for the battle that was about to take place. Over the recent generations of World Changers, none had amassed such a following as this generation; it made him anxious to see how the battle would take place. It seemed like only yesterday that he had personally visited each and every World Changer while they were still in diapers, confirming his choices. To think three months had gone by since this event had started and now here he was standing at the precipice with nothing but the finale in front of him. He was proud, proud of the contestants he had chosen, how they had survived and ultimately how they had all reached this final point.

The point where everything he had set in motion was to come to fruition.

Flinging his arms out wide, Gabriel made sure to hold his chin up high as the morning light of day broke through the doors as they arched open under the will of his power. Stepping out into the morning air, he could hear the collective breaths inhale as he made his appearance.

"Good Morning, what a lovely turn out! I'm so pleased you could all come today. I hope you are all prepared for the fight ahead of you today," his voice boomed out across the carpark in such a way that everyone could hear him. "Before we get under way however, there are a couple of things we must attend to." With a wave of his hand, everyone who was not a World Changer or Harbinger was frozen in place. They were still able to breathe and look around; he had simply frozen their muscles to prevent anyone from interrupting his procession.

"Misters Calaway, Clarke, Hazen and Miss' Mayor and North, could you all please make your way forward." Gabriel made sure to make eye contact with each of them as they left their crowds of followers. "Miss Mayor, could you please bring young Elpis up with you? Also I would advise heavily against any early attacks, you will have time to try and kill each other after." Gabriel eyed them all suspiciously and gave them a sheepish grin, knowing full well that some like Mister Hazen would try a preemptive strike.

Once the group of Hybrids had made their way over, Gabriel first addressed James, "Mister Hazen, please, hand over the Harbinger relics." Gabriel held his hand out, motioning for James to hand them over, "Don't be afraid, I shall return them."

James hesitated for a moment, looking back at his frozen comrades. Their eyes darted to him as they looked on helplessly. Only a few minutes into this altercation and James was already hating how it was turning out. Nonetheless, he silently strutted forward to The Librarian with the three artifacts. His eyes wandered to the other World Changers for a moment, his gaze lingering for a bit longer on Nate, Delta and Oakley.

Gabriel tutted James, "You really should have done this earlier." He spoke condescendingly to James as he placed both the jewel and mirror in their respective sockets on opposing sides of the sword's hilt. Once done he handed the sword back to James, "Through the everlasting shine of the Universe, I name thee, James Hazen, as the Harbinger of Light." For a moment the clouds parted and sunlight illuminated the patch where Gabriel and the Hybrids stood, "Wow, that was eerily coincidental. The sword is now yours, Mister Hazen, only you can use it and the pieces will disconnect upon your death."

Gabriel dropped the upbeat tone for something more serious, "As for everyone one else, it's nice to see so many familial faces. Just in case you weren't aware, one of you will stand triumphant after today as the World Changer. While in the running you're all considered World Changers, only one will turn out to be the World Changer. Whoever sucessfully stands triumphant shall recieve two options; the winner may only choose one." Gabriel turned to address James, "As the Harbinger, you Mister Hazen have the choice of backing one of the World Changers. Who do you pick?"

James examined his adjusted sword before he turned his attention to the other World Changers. The four of them stood on opposite ends with their own constructed factions, except Oakley who only had one other Atlantean with her. They all seemed to gather up their own forces similarly to how he did. He doubted they used the same tactics, but James wondered for a moment if the World Changers were able to naturally draw people to them, or if the fact that they managed to was tied to mere coincidence.

He brought his gaze once more down to the sword, and then at Henry. "That... would be telling," James replied to the Librarian as he gave him a look of resentment. "Who says I have to pick any of them? Who says I haven't already picked one? Or two? Or all? And frankly, who the hell are you to tell me what I can and can't do? I should have known you would have something to do with all this, Henry. You've been pissing me off basically since we met. So why don't you do us all a favor, step aside and let us handle our own business how we want to. Now if you don't mind, I've got some friends to catch up with," He ended as he walked past the Librarian and addressed the rest of the World Changers.

"Hey guys," He greeted with a grin. "Looks like we all made it. Well, what's left of us."

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Thayne asked him sarcastically. This was the man that had murdered Dom and who the hell knows how many others. Thayne had always had a dislike for the electrokinetic, but that dislike had quickly transformed into hatred after his various murder sprees and the death of Dom. "You've been picking people off as if it was a game after all."

Delta had a lot to say about this subject but that required usage of words that were not suitable for Elpis to hear. For some strange reason The Librarian felt the need to beckon her along with the World Changers and that came off as awfully suspicious to Delta. However, if it kept Elpis away from those that wanted to do her harm then what other choice was there? Delta needed answers first, "Why do you want Elpis?" She looked solely at the True Atlantean who apparently was the ring leader of... everything.

Gabriel sighed at James reply, the boy's angst was definitely clouding his judgement, but if this was the game he wanted to play then he would certainly accomodate that. "Be wary of your words, Mr. Hazen. Remember who you are talking to. But in any case, that'll have to do for now." As he began, the siblings, Mister Clarke and Hazen, bickered in the background, Gabriel was questioned by Delta following the nature of Elpis' being with them, "Simple, Miss Mayor, I want the same security for Elpis as you do. Once the battle begins she'll leave with me where I'll keep her safe from all the ruckus, don't you worry. I see her as much of a sister as you do. You remind me so much of Selaphial." He smiled down at the small girl, rapidly conversing with her in Atlantean. At first she spoke hesitantly, but ultimately ended in nodding her head at him.

"Picking people off?" James repeated what Thayne had said as he examined the Atlantean. "I haven't been picking people off. Well, only humans. But they don't really count. Anyone else was an unfortunate casualty," He explained diplomatically. His attention was momentarily caught by the conversation with Delta and Henry, and he decided to chime in as well.

"Don't take her too far away," James interjected with a grin, his eyes wandering to the young girl. "She still has a big part to play in all of this, don't you, Elpis? I heard all about you," He said specifically to her with a smile. "How would you like to come with me when this is all over, little lady? Do you like to travel? We'll be going all over the world!"

To believe him or not to believe him was the real question on Delta's mind. Trusting anyone in the world that they lived in was a dangerous decision. Delta was curious as to the words he had riddled off in an ancient tongue to Elpis, hell, it could've been anything and Delta would've been none the wiser. Back when they first discovered Elpis in the box and then subsequently removed her from it The Librarian seemed rather friendly and sincere when it came to her. Pandora's words came forth from the back of her mind where they had been lingering even since Delta experienced them firsthand. Would he try to use Elpis as a tool?

It wasn't long before James Hazen's words reached her ears. Now, that was the sound of someone who wanted to use Elpis. That also was the sound of a dead man. Audible heavy breathing came from her nostrils, the anger made her shake with rage, and her fingers curled around the grip of her gun. She was at a lost for words, but that never happened with it came to actions. It was easy enough to tug her gun out of its holster and even easier to point it at James Hazen, but pulling the trigger was tougher than Delta thought. A glance at Elpis was all she needed to see before she returned her weapon back to its place on her hip. Words would have to do after all.

"I... Will... Murder... You." Between every word Delta took a deep breath in, her voice shaking with anger. "Take another step or speak another word to her, I dare you to, and I will make you wish you were one of those unfortunate casualties." Delta had managed slow her breathing, but couldn't lose the shakiness of her voice. How did he possess the audacity to address Elpis in such a manner? In Delta's eyes remained nothing but coldness, they were daggers that were ready to plunge into their victim. "I will watch over you as you hopelessly try to breathe in that last shallow breath and perhaps prior to that you'll have rambled about something completely predictable, but you'll think it's unpredictable and alluring, and then I will crush every ounce of life out of you." Delta wasn't satisfied at leaving at that. James Hazen had heard about Elpis... Kieran. "Though, this isn't before I slit the throats of each member of your pathetic group and lay their bloody corpses at your feet. Without fail I will remind you how you brought them here like pigs to the slaughter. Sacrificial offerings."

"So I'm guessing this means you probably won't join up with me," James replied to Delta with a slight smirk after her huge rant.

As much as Thayne agreed with Delta, he knew that starting the fight now was pointless. There were questions that needed to be answered and this was likely the only time that they would get any. As inevitable as the battle was, they needed to know. "What the hell-"

"Librarian!" Nathaniel stepped forward, cutting off Thayne completely. The leader of the New Atlantean Order was not invested in the business of Elpis, nor did was he explictly aware of the havoc that James had wrought on the world since his defeat at the hands of the lightning enchaced Atlantean. Yet, behind him he had an army depending on his leadership and a task he could not ignore. He would restrain his opinions on James, Delta and Thayne. Dwelling on any of the things they have done or may have done would serve little in the moment or even in the grander scheme of things.

"I grow tired of these prophecies, enigmatic speeches and petty games! Ever since I have been given these abilites, I have been tossed around being told what I need to do with no reason behind any of it!" Nathaniel looked at the others. "While I have had my disagreements with him, perhaps James has a point. Why do I need to listen to you? Why do any of us have to listen to you? I don't need your history lessons and Atlantean magic to tell me if I can change the world," he continued, gesturing at his followers in the New Atlantean Order, before gesturing to his fellow World Changers and James. "I have a goal. No, a mission, to create a world where we Atlanteans can live as we are meant to be! Now tell me, Librarian, what's stopping me from marching out of this city and refusing to play your little game! What's stopping me or anyone else from changing the world on our own?"

James grinned at Nate's speech and nodded in agreement. "Preach on, Nate. Preach on."

Gabriel's mouth curved into a wide grin, "You. You are the one stopping yourself from leaving this city and trying to change the world." Gabriel locked eye contact with each and everyone of the World Changers standing before him, "You have all been drawn here, not by prophecy, but by your curiosity and belonging; curiosity to see what exactly this event and its outcome is. Deep down you all believe that standing here is where you belong. If you were to walk out of this city right now, what's to stop you from continually questioning for the rest of your life 'what if...'." Gabriel stopped, he wanted to go on but each moment was just another delay for the show, "For those that care about casualties, if you leave this city now, if you all try to change the world by yourselves, are you so sure that you will be left alone? String this fight out over years, decades even, across continents and ocean, and what will be left in the process? I'm sure some like Mr. Hazen here," he turned to James with the slightest note of sour in his face, "will not let you walk away when you pose a threat to their end goals."

"But what if we all choose to walk away," Thayne began. "What if we all made the decision to just live peacefully?" Thayne knew that probably wouldn't happen, particularly with James. There was no way he'd want to live without the destruction he wants. They'd likely need to get rid of him before anything. "What if we just decide that we're done with all this fighting?"

"Your decisions are yours alone, and you must face the consequences of what might happen if you choose to walk away. In my experience with the past... the fighting never seems to stop until the last man or woman is standing." Gabriel's eyes seemed to darken, like there was something else he knew about going on in his mind that he refused to share with the group, "The Choice always seems to bring that kind of chaos."

Nathaniel glared at the Librarian, almost throwing his arms up at the rhetoric the Altantean spewed at him. "The Choice? You expect to believe that the entire fate of the world rests on an A or B decision. That a single 'choice' as you put it will end all the fighting? I find that terribly hard to believe. There will be always be fighting. When there is law, there is chaos. When there is peace, there will eventually be war. What you are speaking of is nothing more than wishful thinking." Nathaniel paused and crossed his arms, looking for a moment at Thayne, who seemed to be on Nathaniel's side for the moment. "But let's say for a moment, I believed you. How does the Choice do what you say it does?"

"Everyday you make choices. Turn left or turn right. Kill or not to kill. Your entire fate rests on choices, if you choose to send the earth into another Ice Age, isn't that the entire fate of the world resting on an, as you put it, 'A or B decision'?" Gabriel couldn't blame the Hybrid, his human side was restricting the understanding he would have otherwise achieved as a True Atlantean, his human side that was polarising everything. "Like every other choice you make, it just happens. Despite being able to control and manipulate elements, there are forces out there that even us True Atlanteans can't control: this is one of them. In the same way that your choice to throw the world into another Ice Age or not works, so does this Choice."

"Except you haven't told us what that Choice is." Thayne looked between the Libarian and the other World Changers. "Don't you think it's our right to know? This entire time you seem to have been manipulating events to your liking, so you can't tell us that you do not know what it is. You want to tell us that it's our choice to be here, and I'm not disagreeing with you. We all ended up here of our own accord." Thayne thought back to the plane crash. Well, most of us anyways, he thought. "There is more than one reason why we're here, so how about you tell us."

"As much as I'd like to know, Mr Clarke, I cannot tell you. I've done this for many centuries and each time, the Choice only presents itself once the winner stands triumphant. It's one of the most frustrating things about this ordeal." Gabriel was quickly tiring of the questions and bickering, he wanted the fight to start sooner rather than later. He had said his part, relayed all the information he deemed necessary, now he was just waiting for someone to make the first move. "I suppose you could forfeit, but where's the sport in that? Don't you all stand up for what you believe in?"

"But why do you want us to fight? Couldn't we solve this some other way?" Oakley piped up, her eyes glistening at the thought of her killing someone. Some of these people she considered friends. And her brother was here too! Why was she being forced to fight them? The Librarian had made it sound like they were given a choice whether to fight or not but in reality, Oakley was not going to get out of here peacefully.

"My dearest niece, I don't want you to kill each other, but its always the way that this plays out." He shook his head and sighed. "But wouldn't you agree, that this is the most interesting way to go about this? I'm almost bursting at the seams in excitement to discover who will win. Out of all the things I don't know in the world, this is at the top of my list to find out!"

"Niece?" Delta couldn't help but groan, "You're telling me basically everyone here is related?" A single glance at the rest of the World Changers told her that the majority of them hadn't a clue of what she was referring to. "All I know is that you four are children of True Atlanteans," Delta pointed to Thayne, Wyatt, Oakley, and James Hazen. Through various means Delta had found out a lot about her fellow competitors. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together that Oakley and Wyatt were siblings, and the Librarian had just confirmed their parentage. When it came to Thayne, Delta had Simon tap into his ability after snatching one of few articles of clothing he left behind when he disappeared after Budapest. The information about James was supplied by her father who had told her The League had been hired to kill a True Atlantean. There were means and methods used that were never fully disclosed to Delta, as her father rarely had the patience or the time to talk about such things. James Hazen was linked back to a name she had heard before, Ralph, better known as Raphael.

"Oakley and Wyatt are siblings. Thayne and James Hazen are siblings. That makes you guys cousins or something. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Ice Boy was related to the rest of you lot as well." It all made sense in Delta's head, she wasn't sure how well it translated out loud. "How did I do?" Delta turned toward the Librarian and narrowed her eyes.

"Very well done." The Librarian gave Delta a sincere round of applause. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Ms. Mayor." Once the rest began discussing and arguing over ideologies, Gabriel took the moment to step back from the discussion. Taking Elpis' hand, he smiled at her before spiriting the two of them off and up to where his siblings stood. Once he was back up high, he introduced Elpis to his brethren before clicking his fingers and allowing the rest of the Hybrids to resume movement.​

December 21st, 2012

"Well ain't that just peachy," James stated as he crossed his arms and stared for a few moments are Thayne. He tried to find some family resemblance, but shrugged and gave up. That wasn't too interesting for him to begin with. In fact, a lot of the conversation surrounding what to make about the Librarian's intentions and their choices was beginning to annoy him. He had already made up his mind that he'd handle this entire situation how he wanted to. "In the spirit of supposed family bonds, and letting us play this entire fiasco out how we want to, what if I say that I would agree with you, Thayne?" He asked his apparent brother.

"Seems Henry is pushing us to make choices, and it is what it is. He's got his agenda, and I've got mine," James explained as his eyes darted to each of the World Changers. "Contrary to what you've probably heard, I'm not here to kill you, or really even to fight you. So I'll give you some choices too. You can leave now, just like you suggested," He said as he as motioned to Thayne. "Leave and live peacefully, whatever. I won't bother you ever again if that's what it takes, just as long as you leave this World Changer business behind. Or... you can join up with me. Not as a World Changer or any other bullsh*t these guys are spewing, but as a partner. A fellow Atlantean. I think if we actually sat down and listened to each other, we could see that we might be after similar things. Your choice. Unless, of course, you guys like being on a leash and playing their little 'World Changer' game."

"If you would agree with me, then maybe we'd all be able to get passed this," Thayne said in reply to his 'brother'. Thayne sighed and looked at Delta. He should have known she'd figure something like that out. "However, we can all tell that that's not what you're looking for, is it?

"You want us to join your fight, but what is it that you're actually after? Tell us how it's the right thing to do, how you justify the means with the end."

James smiled at Thayne, then shrugged his shoulders. "All I'm trying to do is let nature take its course. Natural selection. Evolution. And to create a better world for the Atlanteans. Is that so different than what any of you want?"

"What I want doesn't involve killing innocent humans or Atlanteans," Nathaniel interjected. "Eliminate that small fraction of your intention and then maybe we can come to some sort of compromise."

"Yeah." Oakley nodded, agreeing with Nate. "I just want to protect those who can't protect themselves."

"I'm so tired of these boring conversations about morals and ideals that we always find ourselves in again and again," Delta announced to her fellow World Changers. "We're all different people, we all want different things." Delta turned toward the Cryokinetic Atlantean, "In the past month, how much good have you done with your New World Order? How many goals have you accomplished?" She pivoted to turned toward a former comrade with blonde hair, "And you, how many lives have you truly protected? Attempted even?" Lastly, Delta shifted herself toward the Atlantean whose goals she knew the littlest about. "What about you, Thayne? Make any major progress?"

"I'm going to guess the answer to all of those questions is no or none. You're here because even if you don't believe in this Choice, if there's a chance that it might help your cause you want it. Otherwise, why are you here? To tell the Librarian that you reject everything? Don't you think you could've done that simply by staying at home? We all have things we want to achieve in this world, some more extreme than others. At this point, from what I've seen, all your dreams are just that, dreams. Now, you reject the chance at fulfilling them because of where it comes from? Seriously? You all sound like idealistic idiots to me."

"He," Delta pointed at James Hazen, "isn't a World Changer anymore, as we just saw. He has no choices to give to us and no input in this decision, unless he plans on stopping us. In fact, I have choices of my own to give." Unfortunately, the others were the types to foolishly try to reason and work with a man like James Hazen. They wanted to see good where there wasn't any, a fact some of them weren't willing to accept. It was the end of the line and hard decisions needed to be made. Delta locked her gaze onto James Hazen, "You can leave World Changer business to actual World Changers. You'll leave here completely unscathed and take those who you brought." She made sure to gesture to his group at the appropriate time. "If you reject that one, well... I'll kill you and whoever aids you right now," Delta finished and crossed her arms. A sense of power returned to her as soon as she noticed the absent of Elpis and the movement of the individuals who were not World Changers. At a slow pace the ground beneath her very feet had begun to crystallize.

"You're right about one thing," James began to reply to Delta. "I'm not a World Changer. But that doesn't mean I won't change the world. If you guys want to go fight for that title, be my guest." He held up a finger and continued. "But if you think I won't be getting involved... well you got another thing coming. I ain't missing this for the world. It's like I told Dom and Austin before... well, before things went down: if you're not going to be with me, then all you'll be doing is standing in my way. If this is where you World Changers want to fight, if this is how you want the future to begin, then you'd better believe I'm gonna be apart of it."

"Don't you dare bring them up," Thayne began in response, mostly in regards to Dom. He knew Delta was right about what had been accomplished in the last few weeks. The most he had done was kill Raguel in an attempt to stop the Renegade's attacks on the world, not that it made the difference he wanted. It seemed the majority of the group had already joined James. By killing one brutal anarchist, all he had done was give another the beginnings of an army. However, even if he didn't accomplish anything worthwhile, James would only do something to harm the world.

"The future you want is full of murder. You don't want to fix this world, you want genocide of an entire race and of those who oppose you." He could tell the words wouldn't do much, but it was something that he knew needed to be established. At that moment, the only way Thayne thought the world could be helped was by stopping his brother. If he were to win this, he'd figure out how to fulfill his role later on. Changing the world wasn't something you could do over night, it required too much planning. However, stopping a madman seemed like a much easier feat. Finally noticing the non-World Changers movements, Thayne prepared to defend himself, a few whisps of dark matter beginning to rotate around him.

Nathaniel walked over to James, looking at the smaller man right in the eye. "It would seem you are outnumbered. So I would turn around and walk out of this city while you are still able. Hide in some backwater country and allow us to handle what needs to be done," Nathaniel said, before looking look at the other World Changers and Delta in particular. "Considering the circumstances, I would not take your chances. Yet, if you continue to stand in my way, I will strike you down just as quickly as the any of the others. You are not among friends. That is the last piece of advice you will ever recieve from me."

"Not among friends, huh?" James repeated with a chuckle as he looked down to the sword in his hand. He examined the hilt where the mirror and jewel had been placed. "You know, this jewel is supposed to tell me whenever danger approaches. But it's been shining ever since I got into this city. So is it really that helpful anymore, I wonder?" He questioned, before he set his eyes on Delta, then gazed at Nate, and then Thayne.

"As much as we try to deny it, I think we all knew this was going to go down only one way," He continued to say towards the other World Changers. "But if you really wanna settle your World Changer business now," James took a few steps back and gestured forward to an imaginary spot in the center of the others. "Be my guest, I won't stop you."

James took a few more steps back, then glanced again at the other World Changers. He then turned around and looked over at his Renegades, his eyes lingering on each one of them. They looked back at him expectanctly, and James thought for a moment how he should react. It was only the briefest of thoughts, because he had made up his mind long before to act and do as he pleased. And there was only one thing he wanted to do now.

"Buuut then again..." James swiftly turned around again as he gripped his sword tightly, and swung it toward the other World Changers. Instantly, the sword's abilitiy activated, sending a powerful gust rushing in their direction. The blast of air flung every object in that direction hurling into the air. "F*ck that!" He laughed with glee.

Nathaniel was knocked to the ground by the sneak attack by James, yet rolled on the ground to quickly recovery. Coming to his feet, his placed one hand on his forearm, channeling his power to his right arm. Gathering some energy and ice, he launched a large ice blast directly at James with pinpoint accuracy. It only took a second for Thayne to right himself. Aiming at the attacker, Thayne sent several tendrils of dark matter in his direction. It pushed forward through the air until it reached the same distance as the ice shards flying through the air. Oakley, because of the sheer weight of her arm, had her feet slip beneath her but her arm kept her torso upright, leaving her slip a little but still remain verticle. Delta, unlike the others, had remained on her feet. From the moment they recovered their powers she had been setting up precautions. One of which was firmly anchoring herself to the ground through a crystallization trick she had learned. She looked on as both Thayne and Ice Boy launched potentially deadly attacks toward James Hazen. Delta couldn't allow for those attacks to land and do the job she had already claimed. Thankfully, the ground beneath them was almost entirely crystallized so all it took was the motion of raising her hands to manipulate the crystal upwards. It wasn't fast enough to block the full brunt of the attack, that James Hazen would have to do on his own, but it took out enough to leave his life intact.

She launched herself up and over them and stood facing the two male World Changers. "I can't let you kill him," Delta spoke them in a stern tone. "I've got that part covered."

"Protecting him doesn't make it seem like it, Delta! Now stand aside!" Nathaniel said. The air around them became cold fast, with the moisture in the air turning into specks of ice and mist. In due time, all but Nathaniel would feel the effects of the winter-like aura.

"Remember the first and last time you told me to do something?" Delta inquired. The events in Paris almost seemed like a life time ago. That's where she first encountered Ice Boy and Oakley, it was her very first important mission at the Atlantean Unification Project.

Delta surprisingly blocked off a good portion of the attacks sent at James, but a few of the ice shards Nate sent came after James. He targeted them in the air, then concentrated the energy of his lightning into the tips of his fingers. He began to send out bolts of lightning from them one after another. Each one targeted the shards coming toward him. Upon impact, the extreme temperature of the lightning caused the shards to melt and splash onto the ground as either water or spray into the air as steam. He narrowly avoided one last shard which whirled by his head, watching it spiral behind him. He turned again to the others and grinned.

"Looks like she won't bite, Nate," James said with a grin. "That's OK, I could use a hand to even the odds!" He yelled as he brought both of his arms in front of him and fired off what essentially was two sets of prolonged lightning bolts at Thayne with one hand and Nate with the other. The bolts appeared to shoot off like a electrical ray gun, constantly burning what it touches.

"Don't get too cocky," Delta snapped. While she hadn't seen either Thayne or Ice Boy in action Delta wouldn't be the one to underestimate them in a fight. There was a good chance they spent as much time training and learning to bolster their abilities.

"Don't you think starting an ice age is a little counter-intuitive, Nate?" Called Thayne as he raised separate black shields in front of the pair, barely protecting them from the blast. Instinctively, Thayne began looking for some sort of cover to take shelter in. There was no way he could use the shields without depleting a little too much of his own energy. He had no idea how strong the other World Changers were and that only left him with a few choices. Watch and conserve his energy, or push them to use more of their own.

The majority of buildings around them were blocked by the many Atlanteans already waging war on each other, leaving him with little to no options for protection. Thayne sighed before looking at Delta and James. He knew the girl could hold her own against any of them and James was a wild card, particularly with the sword that the Librarian had fashioned for him. It definitely put them at an advantage. "So, what's with the sword," Thayne called towards James. "Thought you needed a little extra to actually match us?"

"If you're scared, don't worry!" James replied to Thayne. He felt a small shiver roam across his back, no doubt the effects of the temperature slowly but surely beginning to decrease thanks to Nate's ability. James stopped shooting the continuous lightning shot, and ran a few steps forward. "The only thing I'm here to do is show you how lightning really works!" He yelled, before he jumped into the air and slammed his palms onto the ground. Instantly, sparks of electricity spiraled off of his hands and shot their way across the floor and towards both Thayne and Nate. During the past month, James had developed a greater mastery over his ability, able to release and store larger amounts of energy. This came with its prices as well, but James wasn't worried about that right now.

To attack her fellow World Changers felt unprovoked, but Delta needed to see how far they had come. Her second ability allowed for her to become a proficient ranged fighter, which was quite different from close combat. There was also the problem of showing off too much, Delta had plenty of tricks up her sleeves after a month of planning for this moment and she wasn't going to show her hand just yet. She rose crystals from the ground that had cracked under the pressure of James Hazen's electricity and molded them into thin, sharp-pointed needles while they hovered in mid-air. Patiently Delta held them back until the exact moment when the duo went to dodge the Electrokinetic's attack and sent them flying forward. One batch aimed at Thayne and another at the Atlantean who had lowered the temperature.

It didn't take long for James' electrical attack to reach them. Without a second thought, Thayne pushed himself into the air without looking at his temporary partner. He couldn't just protect him the entire time, after all. Unfortunately, Thayne wasn't able to notice the Crystallokinetic's attack until it was practically on top of him. It was close, but he managed to deflect at least a few of the needles. Another seemed to have pierced his shoulder, narrowly missing any major arteries.

Nathaniel followed Thayne's lead and leapt into the air, watching the ground quake with James' electrical wave. As he hovered in the air, Nathaniel quickly noticed Delta's attack prepping and ready to launch. Unable to muster an effective defensive plan in the few seconds he had, he coated himself in a sheet of ice armor. It wasn't thick and probably would not do much to prevent the likely stronger crystals from piercing his makeshift attempt at defense. The attack hit Nathaniel with a fair amount of force. He crumbled to the ground, with the ice armor and crystals falling to the ground as he shed the armor. Unlike Thayne, Nathaniel was in better shape, with only a few cuts on his arms and legs.

As he laid on the ground, Nathaniel placed his palms flat on the concrete, as if getting a feel for the land. An idea struck him and he smirked softly. Leaping to his feet, he turned to the New Atlantean Order: "Take defensive positions! Brace yourselves!" The members of the order that were capable of swift movement, backed away from Nathaniel, spurred on by Antonia, who seemed to know what Nathaniel was planning. Others, injured from the stray fire from James and Delta did what they could to move, with only a handful helping as they seemed to fear Nathaniel's smirk more than anything.

Nathaniel knelt down, placing his hands on the ground. Ice gathered and spread across the floor, coating the ground around the World Changers, James and all the groups that gathered with a sheet of ice. Hardly worthy of the fear invoked in the Order. But then a glacier of ice sprouted from the ground. Then another. Then one more. The glaciers and pillars of ice burst through concrete, in a jagged mess of ice. Istanbul had become an example of the so called Ice Age that everyone grew fond of calling Nathaniel's abilities. "If you are going to use your sword, James, then the least I can have is the homefield advantage." With the city resembling the arctic tundra, the area can become significantly colder with even Nathaniel able to see his breath. Instead of shivering, all he did was crack his neck, ready for a round two.

Delta tapped once on the earpiece she had in, "Get back." They only had the briefest of moments to talk before The Librarian had walked out the door, but Delta had warned them to stay away from all ice, dark matter, and electricity. A chorus of acknowledgements came through and she turned her position in order to make sure they had completed the task. As much as Delta hated to admit it Ice Boy was starting to prove he actually had strength when it came to his ability. This trick of his would have an effect on her battle strategies. The coldness however was a different story, as she easily could have crystallized body and be immune to it within seconds. Temperature wise, it didn't really compare to what she had to deal with back home, at least not yet anyway.

Two could play of making the playing field their own. Delta interlocked her fingers and stretched them outwards, palms out. In one swift movement she raised her arm to the left of her, which jolted up one large spiral of crystal and several smaller ones near it reminiscent of a metal spring. Stomping her foot down caused a line of jagged spikes of crystal to shoot forward her opposition. It didn't take long before she erected walls of crystals to use as shields, one right in front of her and another closer to James Hazen.

Watching the entire area be transformed by Nate's ability was truly a sight to see. James found himself grinning like an idiot the entire time it was happening. He enjoyed it when other Atlanteans demonstrated the extent of their power to others. The scary thing was, he was certain Nate could do even more. As he noticed Delta and Nate give orders to their groups, James turned to his own and smirked. "Go crazy!" He yelled at them as another shiver ran down his spine from the declining temperature. He already briefed them before that he would most likely handle the World Changers on his own. However, since he didn't really consider them his subordinates, he declined giving them instructions beyond that. They were free to do as they liked.

Oakley began to shiver, flicking out her right arm to let the armour grow to protect her from the cold. Honestly, she had no idea what to do and who or what to fight for right now. The rest had ignored her completely, perhaps seeing her as useless or weak. Of course, she didn't mind that much not being targeted, but she hated this fight. It seemed so futile. She glanced at the sky, searching for the Librarian. What had he been planning all along? A few dark spots dotted the sky above her. She narrowed her eyes, squinting to try and make them out. What were they?

"Um, guys?" She yelled out to them, pointing one of her armoured arms upwards. "We might have bigger things to worry about."

"What the..." Delta responded as she looked upwards toward the sky. Honestly, the shocked tone was more about Oakley's presence than the falling rocks. The fight had her enamored to the point where she forgotten Oakley was even a factor. Not that it mattered, the teenage girl wasn't much of a threat unless seriously provoked. As one of the rocks smashed into the ground it scattered some of the lackeys and if some of them were unlucky it might have crushed a few. A strange feeling of déjà vu overcame her, they had a similar appearance to the meteorites that had fallen in Paris... How was this possible?

"I don't have time for this," Delta sighed. Above the necessity of this fight was first and foremost the immediate protection of the individuals that had came to protect her. In haste Delta abandoned her position behind the thick wall of crystal and muster as much focus and concentration as she could. Subsequently, she flung it at one of the smaller meteorite that was bracing for impact near her team. The durable and power of the throw was enough to knock the meteorite off course and into one of the nearest buildings. A dome, reinforced with crystal columns came about as Delta proceeded to manipulate and crystallize more and more of the substance that was needed. This was precious energy she was wasting when it was better spent on fighting to win.

Spotted on the roof was the same glowing figure she had spotted months ago on top of the EIffel Tower. Goddamnit. He was back and so was his goddamn meteorites. It didn't take much of an effort for a crystallized platform to appear beneath her feet. She rose off the ground and grabbed the handle of the now modified bone swords, Delta hoped one well aimed throw would pierce his skull.

When the fighting started, Wyatt and the others had backed off, using their guns to hold everyone off at a safe distance. As the meteorites began falling around them, Wyatt began looking for their source; seeing the same Atlantean from from Paris glowing on top of the Hagia Sophia. "Cover me," Wyatt yelled at the others as he darted forward, watching Delta up on the steps obviously noticing the same danger and reacting. The last time he had encountered her outside of the Library of Souls, she hadn't enjoyed his nickname for her. Wanting to get in quick, Wyatt stopped where he was planting his feet and lifting his Assault Rifle to his shoulder and aimed at the Atlantean. He was a little too far away to accurately hit the guy, but if he ran any closer, Delta would get to him before Wyatt. Biting the side of his lip, he took the shot, holding down on the trigger and emptying the rest of his clip in the Atlantean's general direction.

"You're welcome, Skrillex!" Wyatt yelled at Delta as the man ceased his glowing and slumped to the roof, not knowing if she had heard or not.

To effectively position her weapon in order to hit the man in a place that would kill him was tricky. Though, Delta supposed it didn't really matter seeing as she could manipulate the material the weapon had become to be made out of... None of that mattered as the man fell backwards as he was hit from something that was not her sword. She scanned the landscape only to notice a rifle-wielding boy mouthing something in her direction. The various amounts of screams silenced his words, the final meteorites were still raining down from the heavens, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what Wyatt had said. A quick dismantled of her platform (and a trip to the ground) left her with enough material to create something special for him. The crystal was fashioned into several sharp daggers and another batch of sharp needles except these ones were barbed along the sides to inflict maximum damage. With a flick of her wrist Delta sent them barreling at a heighten speed, her only wish that one ended up buried in the chest or smashed his glasses.

Wyatt picked up on the daggers and needles flying towards him, but the speed at which they were traveling was too fast for him. He couldn't activate his second ability in time nor could he move out of the way without getting hit. As he jumped to the side, Wyatt felt the unmistakeable sting as a dagger caught him on the cheek, slicing a gash from the side of his face and across the bridge of his nose. Another sharp pain ripped through his right arm as two needles pierced through his skin; one through the shoulder and the other lodged in his bicep. He cried out in pain, crumpling to the ground and his broken glasses smashed against the concrete and gun fell from his hand. Her needles had torn much of the surrounding muscle and would be painful and near impossible to remove. Blood clouded his vision as thick globules dripped down his face. The pain wracked his body in a way he had never experienced. move out of the way without getting hit. As he jumped to the side, Wyatt felt the unmistakable sting as a dagger caught him on the cheek, slicing a gash from the side of his face and across the bridge of his nose.

James observed the actions by Wyatt and Delta toward the Atlantean from Paris. He cringed a little bit as he was brought down. He would have preferred to try and recruit him if given a chance. But he refrained from doing anything to Wyatt in retaliation. Fortunately, Delta wasn't so restrained, something James hoped for. As the crystal-manipulator fired at Wyatt, James scooted over to another World Changer: Oakley. He quickly changed his expression on his face from a grin to a scowl.

"What are you doing?" He asked her expectantly. "You're not going to let them do that to your own brother are you?" He was specific about pointing to not only Delta, but Nate and Thayne as well, even if they weren't involved in trying to harm Wyatt at that moment. "Is this how you want them to see you? When are you going to stop acting like a little girl and actually be what you really are? What did I say to you in Paris? You're stronger than this!" He yelled in her face. He then pointed to the three other World Changers again. "They might not know it. But I do. Now you just have to know it!" He repeated the words he said to her in Paris, before running forward again to attack Nate and Thayne. It's not going to do it yet, but it's a start, James thought to himself.

"But..." Oakley started, but James had already taken off, and Oakley turned back to her brother, watching in horror and conflict. Last time she had spoken to Wyatt, she had been furious at him and it hadn't ended that well. In saying that, she still loved her brother. She wanted her, her father and her brother to be together. And her mother too, but that was impossible.

Speaking of her father, the Librarian had continued to refer to her as his niece. Did that mean... her father was the Librarian's brother? Or was it just a term of endearment? Everything just went too fast for her. She could only take so much information

Try to ignore the declining temperature, James warmed the air around him by sending currents of electricity coursing through his body. As they navigated inside, they exited his body and struck and bounced across random solid object nearby him. When enough of this electricity was coursing in all random points in his body, he suddenly sent those volts streaming back toward his hands. He then extended both of his arms outward, and once all of the condensed lightning reached his arms, he slammed both of his arms together, causing a loud, thunderous boom which also sent dozens of smaller sparks of electricity towards the direction of Nate and Thayne.
​

December 21st, 2012

Prior to the boat incident, Jeremy had been so full of life and pacifistic. Now as he stood with the rest of James' Renegades, defectors and support, he was a hollow shell of the man he had been only a month ago. Full of rage and anger he wanted to do all that he could to help James; Jeremy's way of getting back at the people who had kidnapped and experimented on him. But first James needed to win this fight. While James and his friends seemed to be arguing on the steps, Jeremy was ready to jump into action, almost doing so when the Librarian unfroze them. Yet his attention was drawn elsewhere as a glowing man with a small girl clinging to his back dropped from the sky, landing on the roof of the Hagia Sophia. As they landed, the small girl seemed to lose her grip of the man, tumbling down the roof heading towards the edge. In the spur of the moment, Jeremy chose to leave the fight and teleported over to the side of the Hagia Sophia. His arms were wide open, catching her as she tumbled off of the edge.

"Are you alright?" He asked the girl who now looked up at him, her eyes still wild with fright.

"I-I'm fine. Where am I?" She asked as Jeremy lowered her to her feet. She looked about ten or eleven years old with olive skin, brown eyes and dark brown hair.

"Istanbul, Turkey. Where did you come from? Are you with the ARF? Or remnants of AUP?" She couldn't have been with the Syndicate, Jeremy had seen all the folders of recruits and possible recruits the Directive had in his filing cabinet. And of course she hadn't been in the crowd James had coalesced.

When Jeremy spoke the acronyms, she looked puzzled, "What's an ARF or AUP? I remember Istanbul, my dad used to tell me stories of a battle he had here long ago. What is the date?" There was a great pain in her eyes; Jeremy guessed she had started teleporting when she was younger and it had been a while since she had last seen her parents.

As the temperature chilled around them, Jeremy heard the cries, shouts and clash of abilities as no doubt the fight had started. "Let me take you somewhere safe," he offered the little girl his hand, teleporting the both of them to a nearby rooftop once she had accepted. From the rooftop they had a good vantage point to look down at the battle raging below. A lot of the surrounding area had been iced over by Nate while electricity seemed to arc in the air, striking against a strange black mass. "This'll be good," Jeremy lowered himself to sit on the edge, patting the stop next to him for her to sit.

"It's December Twenty-First, Twenty-Twelve, if that helps."

"Oh, it doesn't, but that's alright. I won't be around for long." The small girl looked down at her feet, kicking them into the air.

"What do you mean? There's not many places you can go around there. The place is overrun with zombies, and everyone is fighting down there, not doubt it'll spill out more into the city. The best we can do is sit and watch." Jeremy continued looking into the distance, focusing past the fighting to the horizon.

"My power won't let me stay in one place for too long." The girl stopped kicking her feet, "Before I showed up today I was in this land with massive creatures! Before that was Paris…" her voice dropped as she recounted her previous ventures.

"Wait, Paris? As in like two months ago? I was there too!" Jeremy was excited, he could have passed this girl at any point while he was there, "so you're the reason the meteorites stopped?"

"Sorry, I have no control so my power takes me to where I need to go. Usually to bad events…" Jeremy quickly cut her off.

"You're a hero! You stopped that guy from destroying more of the city, saved heaps of lives! If it wasn't for you there would have been more damage!" For the first time in the last two months he felt genuinely happy inside. This girl didn't realise that she had saved so many people with her actions and meeting her reignited something deep inside Jeremy. "I think you lie to yourself too much. You do have control over your ability. I don't think your ability teleported this Meteor Guy away from Paris, I think, no, I believe you took control and teleported him yourself." Jeremy turned, smiling at the little girl who sat next to him.

"You really think so?" she asked hesitantly, soaking in every word the guy had said about her being a hero. It reminded her of the stories her father used to tell and ever since she had been young, she had wanted to grow up to be a hero just like him.

Jeremy let out a small laugh, "Of course. What's your name? We'll come up with a superhero alias for you." Just sitting here talking with this girl, Jeremy felt like the world around him slipped away and it was just the two of them. If he had ever lived a normal life, he probably would have become a teacher; he enjoyed talking with younger children.

"I'm Eris, what's your name?" She looked up at Jeremy, amidst all this chaos, strife and destruction; this was the first time she had actually had a positive conversation with someone. She had been teleporting all over time now for the past three years and people had either reacted negatively to her, or treated her like a child.

"I'm Jeremy, nice to meet you, Eris." Jeremy and Eris laughed, their entire conversation seemed out of place. Jeremy should have been down there fighting and helping his comrades except he was up here watching it like some sort of God looking down on his creation. "Well Eris is the Greek Goddess of Strife and Discord, but I don't believe that you create strife, I think you experience it." Jeremy looked up at the sky, running his hand through his hair as he crossed off differing superhero names to give her.

"Goddess. You're named after one and your ability is powerful." He mouthed it out once again before smiling, "That works. Nice to meet you, Goddess." Jeremy nudged the girl with his elbow.

"I like it!" She said gleefully, "Goddess to the rescue!" Holding her fist out in the air, she swayed from side to side like she was pretending to be Superman flying through the sky. When she stopped, the two of them broke into uncontrollable giggling. Eris stopped before Jeremy, looking up at the boy who had been so nice to her. In the feeling of the moment, she flung her arms around his body and nuzzled her face into his arm. Taken aback by the hug, Jeremy froze not knowing what to immediately do. The last time a kid had hugged him like that was Fletcher when he thought Kieran had died.

With his free hand, Jeremy wrapped it across the girl's shoulders and lay his head on top of hers. "If I can control my power, you can control yours." He whispered to her.

"How? How do you do it?" She asked, a lone tear trailing down her cheek: his hug reminding her so dearly of her father.

Jeremy recollected all the times he had teleported, from his first erratic attempts to his latest where he caught the girl before she fell. "I tell myself that I am control. I know where I want to go, so I make myself teleport there. You just need to think about where and when you want to teleport to and make yourself teleport there. Where do you want to teleport to?" He asked softly.

"I want to see mummy and daddy again."

"Think about them, where they are, when they're there, believe 100% that is where you want to go and then you'll be there. Try it now." The two broke off their hug, Jeremy resting his hand on her shoulder.

"What if it doesn't work?" Eris queried hesitantly.

"I think it will, I believe in you." Jeremy smiled at the girl, trying his best to instil as much confidence in her as he could. "I'll be here waiting for you to return, I promise."

"Okay!" Eris spoke enthusiastically. "I can see daddy, he's standing at the door, mummy is sitting on my bed…" Scrunching up her eyes and fists clenched and shaking, Jeremy was worried he was going to burst a vein of defecate herself instead of use her ability. He watched her, secretly keeping his fingers crossed that she made it.

Jeremy had never really realised what it was like for others to see himself disappear and so seeing this younger girl suddenly vanish before his eyes took him mildly by surprise. To him, whenever he teleported it was like he was seeing his destination before he was leaving where he was. The destination seemed to layer itself over top of where he was, slowly becoming more solid and real until he was entirely in the destination. He took a quick glance of the area around him, making sure she hadn't missed her mark and teleported near where he sat. After a few minutes he stopped smiling, the loneliness getting back to him. As happy as he was for helping her with her ability, he was kind of sad that she hadn't immediately teleported back within a couple of seconds of leaving.

Looking back over at the battle, he watched everyone else fight while he waited for her. He wasn't aware of how long it would take, but he was afraid to even leave for a second least she return disappointed to find him missing.​

December 21st, 2012

Wyatt was lucky to have teammates, as soon as he went down, diamond spikes imbedded in his muscles and gash seeping large amounts of blood down his forehead, Adrian had sprinted forward to pick up the injured Atlantean before quickly withdrawing. As Adrian sprinted back towards the others, he forced a small case into Wyatt's arms.

"This is an emergency, so I suggest you use it." Adrian panted as they finally reached the others, laying Wyatt against an over turned car.

Hands shaking Wyatt tried giving it back, "Nah man, I'll be fine, it's more use to you." He recalled the Directive explaining the effects adrenaline had on the Atlantean body; it was a source of Atlantean power, and injecting a dosage of adrenaline into your body would give your powers a great boost. It accelerated and increased strength, healing and durability too but it was unpredictable and could wear off at any moment.

"For God's sake," October exclaimed, ripping the case from Wyatt, opened it, then proceeded to inject it into Wyatt again his wishes.

With one set of arms, Adrian cut the sleeves off of his uniform, turning them into several makeshift bandages while the other set carefully removed one needle at a time: bundling up a strip of the sleeve and placing that against the wound while he wrapped it tight with another strip. "Lucky she only hit you in the arm," he started on the shoulder wound, "much easier to bandage arms and shoulders than your torso." Tying two strips together, he tied the final remnants of the sleeve across Wyatt's face to stem the blood that had slowly started to coagulate.

He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins; quickening his breath and causing him to feel like he could sprint for miles. Looking into the sky he felt his abilities overwhelm his body as images flooded his eyes overlapping on the sky which itself was changing colour. Remembering New Zealand, Wyatt focussed on the moment they had come across Sean, the Pathogenic Atlantean. With only natural lighting streaming through the rafters, Wyatt could barely make out the place, but he soon realised the guy was kneeling at an alter muttering prayer. Returning back to their current location, Wyatt took in a deep breath before forcing himself to his feet. Holding his arm limply against his chest, he picked up his rifle with his other hand and nodded to both Pyrrha and Daemon. "I'm no use here. Directive wants us to take out the Virus Atlantean and I know exactly where he is. I'll take Daemon and Pyrrha with me."

Both October and Adrian looked like they wanted to object, but neither wanted to contradict a direct order from the Directive and they had to contain this Atlantean least he or his virus get out of the city.

"Alright, but be careful," Adrian warned the trio, "We don't want to lose any more of us."

With a simple nod, Wyatt, Pyrrha and Daemon headed off, skirting around the battle and back towards the bridge they had crossed to get here. Knees bench, they moved crouching between cars, buildings and any other obstacles in their way. Wanting to move quietly they decided to conserve ammo and take out any zombie threats with close combat. Sneaking up behind them, they would slice the back of the zombie necks in order to sever the spinal cord that seemed to keep them walking. Behind them they could hear the ruckus of the fight echoing out into the empty streets as various forms of energy, elements, minerals and who knows what else could be seen in the air over the fight. Even several of the buildings had been punctured with meteorites or frozen in place with ice facades. As they approached a half devastated church, Wyatt put his one working arm out wide to stop the siblings from walking further.

"This is it," he whispered to them, "You two secure the perimeter and I'll go in."

"That's crazy, you've only got one arm!" Pyrrha scoffed while Daemon seemed eager to get moving again.

"Then I'll scream for help, I'll be fine." Wyatt locked eyes with Pyrrha, making sure she understood. "I'll be back once he's down, so wait for me out here when you've finished." With a final nod the three split up; Wyatt carefully climbing over a destroyed wall and into the inner sanctum while Daemon took the left of the church and Pyrrha the right.

Without any artificial lighting, Wyatt had to switch into his night vision to properly see through the dark church. With his Assault Rifle slung across his back, he now wielded one of Pyrrha's handguns; her idea since he could barely hold the rifle up with one hand. Flicking into Infra-Red, he scanned the inside of the church finding only one heat signature. Flicking back into night vision, he made his way gingerly past rubble and pews as he snuck towards the figure that kneelt at the alter; his back turned. A small meteorite flew through the stain glass window above the alter, flooding the place with light and causing Wyatt to flick back into his normal vision. However the meteorite had startled the figure and Wyatt was now faced with an angry looking Atlantean.

"YOU!" He growled at Wyatt, finger pointed directly at him as Wyatt raised the handgun in response.

Wyatt smirked, "Yeah, it's me."

"You killed him! You killed Vaughan!" He screamed bloody murder at Wyatt, keeping his hand raised and pointed at Wyatt as he slowly limped forward.

Pulling back the trigger, Wyatt could see Sean momentarily hesitate as the 'click' echoed out. "And pretty sure, you'll join him." From their opposing positions it would be hard for the bullet to miss the advancing Atlantean. "Take another step forward and I'll put this bullet through your brain."

"I'm dead anyway!" The Atlantean cast his arms out wide, "At least I was able to give this world my gift! I was shunned, hunted, and imprisoned but now I am free. Kill me now, but you will never kill my disease. It will spread rife through the human populous and there will be nothing left!" He stopped in his tracks, his body shaking before he let out a massive, maniacal laugh. "This is your doom."

Wyatt looked the man in his wild eyes and couldn't shake the feeling that this man was right. Pushing his arm forward, Wyatt lined his body up with the gun and wrapped his finger around the trigger. "See you in hell."​

December 21st, 2012

Thayne merely sighed as he watched the others use there abilities in such a left and right matter, particularly Nate, whose ice was quickly destroyed by whatever crystal or meteors that came into contact with it. Sure, flaunting what you could do with your ability could help intimidate your opponent, but it definitely didn't help. Thayne looked towards the group of Syndicate members behind him and was pleased to find that they were doing alright. As little in numbers as they were, they were still on par with the rest of the groups. He even half-thanked Wyatt for his quick reaction to the meteor Atlantean.

Of course, the young Atlantean found himself once again on the defensive as James ran towards him and Nate, the loud boom from his ability shocking him. Thayne lifted his dark matter once again in a protective manner, managing to deflect the attack. From behind, the barrier, Thayne shot several tendrils at the attacking Atlantean. Hopefully, his momentum would only cause him to fall into the sharp tendrils.

To protect himself from the lightning bolts, Nathaniel quickly raised an ice wall right before him, absorbing the impact easily. With the renovated battlefield, Nathaniel abilities would be far less strenuous and easier to pull off some more elaborate creations. Yet Delta's counter cracked a fair share and the falling meteors, bringing back images of Paris, were not helping. As much as he wanted to impale the meteor Atlantean, the immediate attack from James whipped that possibility off the table faster than James came approaching, seeking whatever fun Nathaniel and Thayne could bring. Seeing Thayne's intention, Nathaniel decided to make that much harder for James to avoid the shadow tendrils. Behind his ice wall, Nathaniel coated the ground James was running on into thick and slippery ice with the intention if James could or even wanted to stop, it would not be easy. Or even Nathaniel was lucky, possible.

James noticed Thayne ability burst through his lightning, and prepared to counter it. However, as he stepped forward to get a good footing, he found himself skidding across as Nate transformed the ground beneath him into slippery ice. Unable to get a good footing, James gripped his sword for a moment, contemplating using the reflective abilities of the mirror to move away the incoming attack, or perhaps to use the sword itself to blow it away. However, at the last moment, he grinned to himself and let go of the sword. Instead, he lifted up his arms and fired off a series of wild, sporadic bolts of lightning at both Nate and Thayne again, while taking the shadow tendrils directly to the chest. James felt the sting of the impact and fell back onto the ice. He groaned for a second from the pain, but quickly began to raise himself up and see how they faired again his own set of shots.

Delta cautiously watched as the fight continued on, the biggest observation was that despite her launching several attacks at them Nate and Thayne had yet to retaliate against her. This allowed her to be distracted by movements that were happening outside of the World Changers. She heard James' order to his lackeys to go wild and Delta wasn't fond of an order like that, especially since she had members of her own here. Fortunately, they were fighting as a team, and had each other backs to the point where Delta couldn't help even if she wanted to.

Luckily, the combination attack not only hit James, but also managed to send his attack off course. Delta seemed to have looked towards her team, not even paying attention to them for a short time. As much as he wanted to check on his, he knew they were fighting with all their might. The majority of them would simply say that they were only there because of the Directive's orders, but they also wouldn't leave a man behind if they didn't need to. "If you're going to be a part of this battle, why don't you pay attention!" He called out to the girl. As much as he didn't want to fight her, they were enemies at the moment. Who knew how long that would last.

The bolt of lightning that James fired tore through the ice wall that Nathaniel thought was secure and planted the man firmly on the ground, the whole event taking him by surprise. With a groan, he found himself squirming on the ground, his fingers and toes going numb from the sudden surge of energy flow through him. Luckily enough, Nathaniel was sure that the brunt of the attack was either off course or sucked up the wall as he was able to get up and shake off the pain he felt. Coating himself in ice to protect himself from surprise attacks, Nathaniel walked slowly towards James with specks of the ice around them forming spears around James. "Perhaps you should take your own advice. You are in a two on one with several pointed objects directed at you. Last chance. Surrender or I will turn you into a pin cushion myself."

It didn't take much to have Delta draw herself back into the fight. Thayne's words rang true and he would be repaid for that, but not in a way that would benefit him. The first thing that caught her eye and needed to be dealt with was the ice spears that surrounded James Hazen waiting for the command to impale him. True to his character Ice Boy recited a little intimidation speech, which did not include her and that rubbed Delta the wrong way. It was well known that he didn't have what it took to be a killer so the threat was a bluff. He had to be even more foolish than Delta imagined to actually believe that James Hazen wouldn't call him on it. A grin spread across Delta's face, she flexed her fingers as it was time to show them that she was not only a contender in this brawl, but the future victor.

Delta jumped into action by dislodging the jagged crystals spikes she had made earlier from the ground and sent them toward the mouthy Erebokinetic. The moment they started their descent from the arch trajectory Delta had sent them on they were manipulated into a storm of thin crystal needles that rained down on Thayne. While Delta's hands were busy her feet had been spreading a thick layer of crystal on the ground until it reached all the way underneath James Hazen's feet. Once she had dealt with Thayne Delta pooled her focus to James Hazen and shot him into the sky by raising a cylindrical crystal column with all her might. Hopefully, he would take advantage of the situation and launch attacks for the moments before he began to free fall. In front of Delta she raised another crystal structure and immediately started the process of slicing small discs from the top of it at Ice Boy and Thayne. That way either James Hazen attacks or hers would have to hit them.

"Is this enough attention for you?" Delta yelled out as she finished with her onslaught of attacks.

James was surprised as Delta propelled him into the air by the column below his body. The initial shock however soon wore off and James was once again beaming like he was the happiest man on Earth while in the air. "Bad timing for an ultimatum, Nate!" He yelled to his rival down below. He then concentrated on the energy flow in his body, purposefully gathered as much as he could into his left hand in mass. The result of clustering so much energy into his hand caused the electricty to begin to spark and release from his arm before he even launched his attack. The electricity bounced across the sky and at random points across his body, all while still being magnetically attracted to the base force from which the attack was originating, the palm of James' hand. He then forced his palm down toward his two opponents, which caused all of that built-up electrical energy to burst forward in waves. It appeared as if he was calling forth a lightning storm from his hand and launching it at Nate and Thayne.

Following the powerful wave of energy leave his body, James found himself falling through the air while also being temporarily unable to move his arms due to the high stress of using that much energy at once. He cursed at his luck that caused the ability to overload at that moment. It meant that he wouldn't be able to used his hands to somehow release energy to cushion his landing. Instead, he had to get creative. James suddenly sent forth electrical currents across his body, attempting to cause two points of exit across his back. The two points began to permeate out of his skin and bounce around his back. He had to concentrate thoroughly to make the lightning obey his every command in his mind. He bent the lightning in a certain direction, causing the strand of electricity to begin molding together into large pieces of energy. When a few strands came together forcefully, more began to be forced into its direction by the magnetism. James burst forward a lot of this energy all at once, which caused two large blotches of the energy to form across his back and sprout. The effect made it appear as if he was flying through lightning wings across his back.

Thayne quickly developed another barrier as Delta's crystalline needles flew through the air. Part of him was surprised to see the needles break through the dark matter, albeit in small, broken pieces. It gave him a little time to move out of the way, but it was mere seconds before another attack from James moved towards him. Thayne felt as if he had been on the defense the entire time. As much as he wanted to fight, there was very little he could actually do at this point. He couldn't tell if his lack of direction simply made it easier or not. Shaking the thoughts away, Thayne prepared for his counterattack.

In a swift movement, several tendrils flashed towards the electricity in the air, interrupting its trajectory once more. It was finally time to change the flow of the battle and go on the offensive. He could only hope that Nate would follow in his lead. Lifting his hands in the usual fashion, Thayne felt the energy in his body changed into a usable form. In a fluid motion, the dark matter manifested quickly. In a similar way to Delta's attack, he molded the matter into dozens of sharp objects and sent them flying at the Crystallokinetic and Electrokinetic.

As Delta once again pelted Thayne and Nathaniel, the only response he could muster was once again coating himself in ice armor. Thickening the layer he already had one, he felt most of the crystal spikes scratch the surface and flyby, yet one slashed across his face and a few others scraped his arms and legs. No vitals were damaged thankfully, but it was a small blessing. Feeling blood drip down, the crackling of thunder alerted him to above as James charged up another onslaught of electricity raining down. Gathering a terrible idea in a second, Nathaniel placed a hand on the ground and from the icy surface sprouting a rod that reached into the sky. Acting as a lightning rod, much of James' attack was drawn into the rod, grounding it in moments. A few flickers of electricity flung through the air but hardly near the World Changers or anyone else of importance.

Nathaniel took a deep breath, calming himself as he watched James fly in the area with strange wings of lightning. He grew tired of these games and this display of who can throw the nastier projectile. Nathaniel's ice armor crumbled to the ground as Delta's attack hacked it to pieces. Droplets of blood from his face, arms and legs froze the moment they touched the ground. Nathaniel cooled the area in his vicinity once more, the temperature now rapidly dropping as he looked towards James. The remains of the ice armor flew up to Nathaniel's back and shaped themselves into bird-like wings. Leaping into the air, he aimed himself at James his arm outstretched with a ice-spear barrelling itself at the electrokinetic.

If there was a single thing that this Atlantean journey had taught Delta it had to be that she hated being off the ground. The fact that James Hazen was now airborne was her fault, however, she hadn't a clue that he would come up with the bright idea to stay there. She couldn't team up with him because Thayne had launched a series of attacks in both of their directions. Being on the defense wasn't a role that Delta played very often and she wasn't a fan. A sigh escaped her lips as she shifted the crystalline structure into a crystal wall that curved around her. The impacts of the Thayne's attacks surprised her by making holes appear. That meant that his dark matter was as tough, if not tougher, than her crystal and that was bothersome. A few of them managed to slice through the material of her jacket and pants. Swear words tumbled out of Delta's mouth as she pressed her hand against the cut and when she pulled it away she spotted blood on her hand. With the temperature lowering and Delta bleeding she had no choice but to crystallize herself.

To avoid the remainder of attacks Delta summoned another column identical to the one that hurled James Hazen into the sky to do the same for her. Once in the air Delta collapsed the column and called its pieces to her, more specifically to her back. The material was swiftly molded into a pair of stunning crystal wings that would have no trouble keeping her in flight or defending her from attacks. There wasn't time for Delta to marvel at her own creation as she had to get used to flying to intercept Ice Boy's incoming attack. With haste she found herself in front James Hazen just as the ice spear was well within a meter of striking distance. Her wings folded over Delta as if to initiate a defensive mode and let the spear crash into her wings taking the full brunt of the attack that pushed her backwards.

James looked on as Thayne began forming what appeared to be dark projectiles to launch at him and Delta. He began a series of evasive maneuvers to avoid the attacks. James dodged left and right with the assistance of his wings, which propelled his speed in the air. However, he found that there were a few that were too fast, and so he elected to redirect the dark projectiles with his electricity. He summoned a series of smaller spark projectiles in front of him and did his best to precision target the dark matter. The sparks did not deter the dark matter, but merely infused enough electrical energy into them to alter their direction to allow James to escape. A few still managed to go awefully close to James, including one that nearly struck his face, skidding across his ear, and even drawing blood.

James placed a hand across his ear and looked at his fingers. He saw the crimson color of the wound to confirm the hit, but shrugged it off as nothing too serious. However, while he was dealing with Thayne's attack, James did not have any time or preparation to deal with Nate's. Thankfully, Delta once again intercepted, taking the full force of Nate's attack. Using this opportunity while Nate clashed with Delta, James launched a precision lightning bolt directly at Nate's chest.

Nathaniel, having expected some counterattack, dodged the bolt of energy with a big flap of ice wings, putting himself above his two aerial opponents. With the spear shattered, he took the remains and molded a new, more impressive weapon: a hammer. With the ominous hammer looming over his head, Nathaniel brought the hammer down on top of Delta, sending the Crystalized Atlantean down towards Thayne. Shifting his attention towards James, Nathaniel charged forward swinging the hammer horizontally towards James' ribs. "Frozen Hammer!" He roared, almost as a joke, as he poured his strength into the mighty swing. James, who didn't expect a counter so quickly, could only bring up what little energy he could on the outside of his body to lessen the strength of the blow, but still ended up being flung across the air through the Hagia Sophia, further away from the World Changer battle.

Quickly creating some dark matter, Thayne proceeded to manipulate it, carefully molding it to his back in a similar fashion to his opponents. At any other time, the newly-crafted wings would have been an amazing sight to behold. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be given the chance. With a powerful flap of the dark matter, Thayne pushed himself into the air. He made it to their elevation swiftly, making it in time to see the massive attack brought on by Nate. Taking the opportunity, Thayne manipulated several tendrils in Delta's direction, quickly wrapping it around her. Maybe Nate could use the chance to deal with James.


​

December 21st, 2012

By the time James was up from Nate's blow, he realized just how far he had been tossed. He had to hand it to Nate: he certainly packed a punch. Oddly enough, where James landed was not too far away from where Oakley was, who appeared to be moving away from the battle with the World Changers for some reason. James' plan wasn't going as smoothly as he wanted. Oakley seemed a bit distressed, but not as much as he would have liked. He had to push her further, and now might have been the best opportunity to do that. "What the matter with you, huh?" He asked threateningly. "Are you just gonna be the girl on the side who watches while all the adults play? Are you that weak?" Sparks of electricity flew around James as he stormed towards the girl.

Oakley took a few steps back as James grew closer. The armour grew further along her body, past her shoulders and down her back. "I d-don't, I'm n-not I just," she took a deep breath, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. It was hard for her to talk, as her throat choked up. "I just don't know what to do! I want to scream, I want to tell them to stop, but I don't know what to say! I don't know what to do!" She shook her head, using her massive hands to cover her face. "This is just like the boat all over again." Her voice was strained and quiet and her fingers trembling. She hated being like this. She wanted to help, she really did, but what was there to do? The armour moved again, ripping her shirt as it travelled down her torso.

James gazed down across Oakley's body and watched armor continue to grow. He tried his best to contain a smile, instead maintaining the menacing look on his face. He had to push her a bit further, just a bit more. He snuck a look at the area where the other World Changers were real quick to ensure he had enough time before they caught up to him and what he was doing or tried to fire off another attack on him, then once more he set his eyes on Oakley. "Yeah, it is just like the boat," He began to reply without knowing exactly what boat she was referring to. He figured he'd try to use it either way. "Except this time it's worse! You're weak and pathetic! You're not only going to get yourself killed, but everyone else you came with, and anyone else you care about, all because you're doing nothing." James came right up to her and physically pushed her back with his hands to further antagonize her. "When I was inside of you, I saw how much potential you had, but here you are totally wasting it! That's what you are, just a useless waste of space!"

"I'm not! I can do things!" She shouted back at James, looking up at him. She let go of the rope she had on ability, letting it travel down her body and trickle just above her chin. She was feeling all these emotions at once. She had to remember what Dom had told her, how she could do something. Wait... Dom... She frowned at James, using her massive arms to shove him back. "And you! I shouldn't listen to you! You've killed people! You killed Dom! Are you... are you trying to manipulate me?" She wiped her face and held her arms up in defence, ready to fight. She exhaled, the armour receding. She was in control, not it. "Do you even care about anyone else? Other than yourself?"

James grunted and staggered back. The force from her shove was a lot stronger than he originally anticipated. She was getting stronger. But she wasn't there yet. He once more stepped forward to her, this time drawing electricity from his arms outside of his body. "What or who I care about shouldn't matter. What does matter is that I'm still here! If I wanted to kill you, don't you think I would have done it already? All I'm trying to do is make you as good as you're meant to be! It's the others you should be worried about. They're going to try to kill you to get that World Changer title, after all! You and everyone else you care about! Wasn't it Delta who cut off your arm in the first place?! If you can do things, f*cking prove it!" He shot her with the electricity he had gathered in his hands, aiming directly for her chest.

Oakley sidestepped, her reflexed moving for her, watch the electricity zip by her in slow motion has her adrenaline kicked in. It shot past her, skinny tendrils dancing off her armour as it floated by. How long would it take James to charge up another bolt? She dashed to him, using her stronger arm to swing at James, aiming for his torso, and the other to grab his right arm. She felt her knuckles collide, the bones of his ribcage hard, but breakable. They didn't break, but it was a peculiar feeling to feel how fragile the human body was. "She was just...trying to protect everyone else! It wasn't her fault!"

James once more grunted from the sharp pain of the injury to his side. Just from a single punch in her current state, and she likely gave him a cracked rib, and a half dozen other bruised ones. He backed away and held his arm to his side. He then looked back down at Oakley and shook his head, giving her a look of disappointment. "It wasn't her fault? F*cking listen to yourself! 'Oh, she cut off my arm, but it's OK, she's my friend, she was just protecting everyone!'" He mimicked Oakley mockingly. "She was using you and now she abandoned you like everyone else! And now she's going to kill you! You're going to f*cking die alone!" He yelled at Oakley, powering up another large lightning bolt and flinging it at her. Oakley pulled back to dodge, letting go of his other arm as she dipped her head back, the electricity skittering past her face. Again, the tendrils danced, but this time leaving burns. Like clockwork, she felt the armour cover her wounds to protect it, like it always did.

James felt the energy leave his arms and the tingling sensation that followed indicted to him that the entire fight with the World Changers was depleting his energy. It was also causing him to overuse his ability, which was beginning to numb his hands again. "No!" Oakley swung again as he hesitated, aiming for the same spot. This time the ribs against her knuckles crunched, shifting slightly. She squeezed her eyes shut as she swung at his shoulder with her other arm. "No! They were just... they didn't mean it! Why would they do something like that... they're my friends!"

James groaned from being hit twice in the same spot. This time, it was more forcefully, causing the Atlantean to spit out a bit of blood in the process. "It's what I've been trying to tell you, Oakley. They're not your friends. They're your next targets. And if they're not, then you're their next kill," He moved away just in time before her giant metal fist connected with his shoulder, and waited to see what Oakley's next move would be. He flickered a few more lightning sparks her way to try and motivate her to attack again.

"No!" She wailed, she swung again, but her attacks were disheartened and barely hurt. "No! They wouldn't hurt me they're-- they're--" tears filled her eyes again, blurring her vision. Dom had given her confidence. Delta had made her feel strong. Thayne had always been kind to her. And then there was her brother... what had he made her feel? Misery? Pain? What else had the others done? Delta had made her feel worthless. Dom had never taken an interest in her. And Thayne had left her there, in AUP HQ. And Devon? His mind was now a mess, and his body broken. Who did she have left? "I just... I just..." She wailed again, her fists sliding down his body in defeat, her armour trickling up her face and down past her stomach. "What do... What do I do?"

James watched her fists fall onto his body flatly. He saw her will to fight and tear him apart replaced by grief and depression. Unfortunately, that wasn't was he was going for. It seemed that he wasn't going to get through to her entirely through talking, but he didn't have to. While he was trapped inside Oakley's body, he did learn a few things about her ability, including how to progress her armor quickly. All she needed was a quick jump start. And James knew just how to do that. "Simple, Oakley. All you do is," He lowered himself to her level, placing his palm flat against her chest directly over her heart. Instantly, he began to pour energy into the base of his palm and his five fingers. Electric sparks began to fly from his hand, and he used the energy to give her a literal jolt to the heart. The electricity poured from his hand under heart metal plating, and into her body straight toward her heart, instantly accelerating her heart beat. "Kill them all."

Oakley felt her heart instantly begin to race, her breath following suit, her arm automatically grabbing James' one on her heart and gripping tight, feeling his bones beneath the skin. Her heart was on fire and she screamed, screamed as loud as she possibly could. Her armour raced, past her knees and covered her feet, her clothes bursting from their seams as her chest and arms continued to grow. She grew taller, pulling James from the ground with her, his legs dangling a foot or so off the ground. She screamed as long as she could until the armour grew and covered her face, muffling her screams until they were silenced. Her grip tightened on the arm on her chest but by this time, her mind was gone as the armour pulled in her golden hair, completely covering her entire body.

She let go of James' arm, dropping him in front of her as she stood motionless for a moment, like a suit of armour standing in the foyer of a castle. James took this opportunity to scramble out of there while favoring his left arm and clutching his side. However, a strangely optimistic grin was present on his face behind the pain. He turned back once more, only to see Oakley, or whatever she was now, take off at an impossible speed towards the other World Changers.

​

December 21st, 2012

With Oakley finally awakened and hopefully wreaking havoc on the other World Changers, James took this opportunity to finally head out of the Hagia Sophia and toward the location of his main objective. He could feel the stinging sensation from his cracked ribs every time he stepped, but still he moved on. He was far too motivated and excited to care about what was happening to his body. Even if his hand was also partially broken from Oakley's powerful arms, he couldn't feel it. Maybe that was because of the adrenaline pumping into his body, or maybe it was because the overuse of his power was beginning to completely numb his arms. Either way, he ignored the pain as if it didn't matter.

What did matter was where he was going... and who was inconveniently following. As James looked over his shoulder for a moment, he could see Nate bursting toward him in a hurry. He shook his head and continued forward, but knew it was only a matter of time before he caught up to him. He gritted his teeth for a moment in hesitation, but began to build up a mass of energy into the palm of his hand.

"James!" Nathaniel yelled from behind him, as he flew down to within meters of his opponent, holding an ice spear in his right hand. "Come back here!" He yelled again, heaving the spear towards the renegade Atlantean.

James thought about firing the energy he built up to counter his ice spear, but decided to withhold it for a bit longer. Instead, he ducked to the left to attempt to avoid the spear. However, it came a bit faster than he initially anticipated and grazed his shoulder. The hit across the shoulder caused him to spin around and face Nate. It also drew some blood through his shirt. James looked at his wound across his shoulder, then at his old friend, and grinned.

"I thought you wanted me to go away from the World Changer fight!" He yelled back at Nate. "Here I am, leaving and now you want to kill me? What's up with that?" He asked as he continued to build up energy in the palm of his hand. The amount he was concentrating in one spot was getting dangerously high, even for him to handle.

Nathaniel halted his advance, landing down to face James. Coating himself in armor and an aura of cold around his arms, he leered at the other Atlantean: "You didn't expect me to let you escape after everything you've said? And everything you've done? I've had enough of you, James. This little facade ends now!" Nathaniel raised his voice and the temperature, unintentionally, sunk down. "I am done underestimating you too. You have something planned in that head of yours. I will see that it doesn't happen."

James shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "The only thing I have planned is the same thing you do!" He exclaimed as he pointed to the ice Atlantean. "A new world for the Atlanteans! I'm just doing away the last thing holding us back now, and that's why I need the zombie Atlantean to do it," James extended his arms outward and examined the streets around him, only briefly wincing from the pain in his ribs to make his point. His left arm sparked a few times from the energy he had built up and continued to hold. "Think about it Nate: what happened here could just be the beginning. We can replicate this all across the globe, and then we can finally move forward!"

James put his arms down and once more turned to Nate. "If anything, you should be coming with me to start us on the path, not fighting me. We should be doing this together!"

Nathaniel had heard of the first fall of the Altantean Royal Family and understood that creatures resembling "zombies" ultimately brought upon that end. It was a horror that in Nathaniel's moralistic mind should never be replicated. Just the suggestion of what James had intended to do forced a grimace upon Nathaniel's face and his eyes narrowed even further. "You know that I can't let you do that," he said. "You are putting innocent lives in danger with your plan. If you truly want to start a new path and want to make a new world, you should ally yourself with one of us World Changers like those prophecy ridden true Altanteans preach. Do what you are supposed to do for once in your life."

James frowned at Nate and shook his head. "You know I'm not the biggest fan of doing what's expected of me, or any of that sh*t," He stated with a shrug. "And I'd hardly call any of what these humans have lives anymore. So... come with me or let me go. Or else I'll make you let me go." He added with a bit more vigor. Sparks began to fly from the palm of his hand where a massive amount of energy had now built up. His entire arm felt tingling from the intensity of the electricity swarming his hand.

"I'd like to see you try."

James paused for a moment in hesitation, but that moment of uncertainty passed as he extended his arm outward and released the built-up electricity he had been pouring into his system. The energy shot out like a beam of electricity right at the ice manipulating Atlantean. He held nothing back, as he expected Nate to do the same.

Having anticipated James attacking, Nathaniel released his own built up energy, matching James' beam with one of his own. The ice that was released from Nathaniel's arms coalesced in one of blue energy, both frozen and unfrozen. Solid yet not. The two matching beams collided with one another, the polarizing colors filling the air with sparks of energy that either fired or froze the surrounding area in a strange mix of elements.

James' beam appeared far more uneven and turbulent than Nate's. It fired off strands of electricity around the beam, the sparks bouncing off other objects as if purposefully using small bits of momentum outside as a further conductor to help propel the attack forward. The sparks flew everywhere in chaotic, disorganized impermanence, but eventually some magnetic force in the center of the beam called them back and continued to guide the attack forward. Everything it touched, however, left charred marks or damaged points, as this attack was intended to do was destroy everything it touched.

With James' beam receiving what felt like a massive boost, Nathaniel and his own blast of energy was being forced back. The ground under Nathaniel buckled and his feet dragged were pushed through the ground as he braced himself. His body was being consumed by ice as he poured more energy into the attack. Nathaniel's beam became coated in another layer of blue energy, brighter now, closer to a white glow as the outside solidified with a purer force of resembling a light beam shone through matching the onslaught of power coming from James. It was as if the beam was bracing itself, becoming a wall that James would have to expend more force to break through.

James noticed the additional energy Nate poured in as his beam took on another, more distinct color. Feel more resistance on Nate's side, James poured in an extensive amount of his remaining energy inside of his arms and released it at once. He knew instantly that the strain would be enormous on his arms, and he didn't care either way. As the energy was released, his blast grew in size right in front of his hands. From there, the path of the electrical 'bomb' of energy surged across his own beam and traveled to the very front of his electrical beam.

With the bomb barreling through James' beam, Nathaniel's response was purely defensive. He refocused his energy to protecting himself, weakening his blast to armor himself further. His beam slowed the advance enough, but as he protected itself, James' beam overwhelmed rocketing Nathaniel back into a nearby building and he fell to the ground, groaning in agony at the pain.

As he witnessed Nathaniel get pushed back and fall, James stopped his attack and began to pant heavily. His arms tingled extensively, and felt an intense numbing sensation sweep over parts of his hands. He looked down at them for a moment as he tried to move them. Some of his fingers responded, but some did not move at his command. He placed his arm back down and looked back up at where Nate landed. "If it's any consolation, you would have been my vote for World Changer. See ya, Nate." James turned around and took off.

​

December 21st, 2012

As James proceeded forward from the Hagia Sophia, he thought about where to proceed next. Gamer had updated him on the Zombie Atlantean's location just before they arrived at this point, but he could have very well moved since then. He figured the best chance he would have to narrow down the exact location was to ask another Atlantean around who might have seen something. Ask, or if necessary, 'convince'.

He spotted a woman with dark hair nearby the entrance of the church and decided to go to her first. "Hey there," He greeted casually with a wave of his hand. He noticed two of his fingers didn't move at all, possibly from side effects of overusing his ability. "Seen a zombie-controlling Atlantean around possibly?"

Seeing James approach, Pyrrha instinctively reached for her handgun and pulled in on the advancing Atlantean while reaching for a dagger with her free hand. Wyatt was still inside with the Virus Atlantean and she doubted he wanted to be disturbed. At any rate, Pyrrha knew of James and his rather heretical ideology, he was their enemy and not to be trusted.

"What's it to you?" She asked, keeping her gun inline with the advancing Atlantean.

"I wanna talk to him," James replied coolly despite the gun pointed to him. There might have been a point long ago where he would be afraid of them, but that was a distant memory from another life. Lightning travels faster than bullets. He began to build up energy into his arm, and smiled at Pyrrha. "Let's not make this harder than it has to be. I'm pretty sure you know who I am and what I can do, so tell me what I wanna know and I'll be on my way. I'm not your enemy here."

Pyrrha flicked her eyes down the the electricity starting to crackle on James' skin, her heartbeat increasing quickly as she had come to the same conclusion as him. As much as she would liked to have emptied a clip into this guy's body, Pyrrha knew she would be dead the moment she hit the trigger. Clicking the hammer back, she lowered her gun in a gesture of good will. She lowered it to her leg, not reholstering but keeping her hand firmly gripped around the gun. "No zombie Atlantean around here," she denied.

A small frown appeared on James' face. He stared intesely into the eyes of the woman before he sighed and shook his head. "I don't want to do this to a fellow Atlantean but..." Without another warning, James extended out his arm and attempted to zap Pyrrha with a bolt of electricity directly to the chest. He was aiming to hurt rather than kill. "Did that refresh your memory?"

The bolt struck true, hitting Pyrrha in the chest and sending her heart racing. Her extremities felt numb and tingling while a couple of her muscles twitched irregularly as the electricity momentarily interrupted them. Her grip on the handgun loosened as her hand twitched, causing her to drop the gun, while her hand with the knife seemed to grip the hilt harder. Her knee buckled and she fell to her knee, a sharp cry escaping her lungs. Panting heavily, she hadn't enjoyed the sensation of electricity passing through her body and wasn't too keen on feeling it again.

Gritting her teeth together she picked her gun up from the ground, resting her elbow on her knee and aiming the gun up at James. "No. Zombie. Atlantean." Pyrrha huffed as she tried to regain her breath, pulling back the hammer on the gun.

Before Pyrrha could try to get off a shot, James once more fired a few sparks of electricity at the woman, particularly aiming for her weapona and her arms. "The only person you're making this hard on is yourself. I'm going to find out eventually where they are, and all you'll get in return is pain. All that can just stoped if you tell me."

As James concluded, he shocked the Atlantean woman once more with both of his hands. Momentarily removing his second arm from his side reignited the pain from his ribs, but he did his best not to show it.

From inside the church came a loud roar, like someone was yelling at the top of their voice. Pyrrha winced, mainly from the pain, but also that no doubt it signalled to James that he was indeed correct in his assumption. Overcome by the shock to her system, Pyrrha lay motionless on the ground as her vision clouded with dark spots. She was no match for James.

James glanced toward the church where the loud scream came from. If he were to wager, anyone who was screaming that loudly might have definitely done so in reaction to zombies. At least, that was his hope. It would have also made sense given that the woman seemed to be standing closeby the church from which the sound emitted. However, it also meant there was likely someone else inside. James gave one more look to Pyrrha before he moved past her and proceeded inside the church. There wasn't anytime to lose. He opened the front doors, and quickly gathered a bit of electricity from surrounding streetlights and lamps he saw, before he proceeded inside.

"I'm dead anyway!" The Zombie Atlantean cast his arms out wide, "At least I was able to give this world my gift! I was shunned, hunted, and imprisoned but now I am free. Kill me now, but you will never kill my disease. It will spread rife through the human populous and there will be nothing left!" He stopped in his tracks, his body shaking before he let out a massive, maniacal laugh. "This is your doom."

Wyatt looked the man in his wild eyes and couldn't shake the feeling that this man was right. Pushing his arm forward, Wyatt lined his body up with the gun and wrapped his finger around the trigger. "See you in hell."

"Not yet!" James exclaimed as he extended his arm outward and pointed his palm toward Wyatt. He fired off a large bolt of electricity from the center of his palm with the intent to either disarm the man or to move his hand far enough away to cause him to miss the Zombie Atlantean.

Wyatt's perception seemed to grind to a halt as he turned his head towards the disturbance. Standing just inside the door of the church was one of the two World Changers that Wyatt actually feared. He couldn't help but stand motionless as a large bolt of electricity arced forth from James' hand, swimming through the air like an extension of James' body that had a mind of it's own. The moment it passed in front of his vision, Wyatt didn't even have the time to blink before thin tendrils sparking off of the excessively brilliant light penetrated deep into his retinas. Time seemed to resume when the lightning struck his wrist, causing Wyatt to drop the gun to the floor while his arm recoiled in spasms. Dropping to the ground, he brought his other hand up to his face, covering his eyes.

"You bastard!" He screamed at James, his voice now hoarse, "I'll kill you! You fucking blinded me you prick!" Wyatt writhed on the floor in pain, his system having been shocked by electricity while white hot pain seared in his eye sockets. "I can't see you, but I will find you and I will murder you!" He screamed again, one hand frivulously scraping the floor in the nearby vicinity as he blindly felt for the gun.

Before Wyatt could reach the gun, James ran by him and scooped it up. He began to examine it in his fingers before he tossed it to the far side of the church. He then turned to the man who he assumed was the Zombie Atlantean who he had been searching for. James smiled widely and waved at him. "Hey, there!" He greeted the Zombie Atlantean enthusiastically. "My name's James Hazen. I've heard a lot about you. I've been wanting to meet you for a long time now."

Sean looked at his saviour James withnothing but distain and disgust, "You're just like him! Here to use and then discard when I'm no longer needed. You're all the same pathetic individuals." he spat, turning his back on James and walking back to the alter. "I would have been fine if he had killed me, I owe you nothing."

"Of course you don't owe me anything," James agreed as he followed the Zombie Atlantean back to the alter. "You don't owe anyone anything! I'm not here to fight you. Or hurt you. In fact, all I'm here to do is to help you."

"You can't help me!" Sean yelled, turning on his heels to face James, "There is nothing you can offer than will help me in the slightest." As he yelled, Sean removed the large hood that darkened his face, revealing his bald head to show the lesions, rashes and other various skin diseases that marred his face and head. Even his eyes were excessively blood shot and his iris' a dull grey lacking any colour pigmentation.

"I can help you share your gift with the rest of the world," James retorted. He was keeping his cool the entire time while speaking to the Atlantean, trying to reassure the man that he meant well. He barely flinched at the man's appearance once he had removed his hood. "Isn't that exactly what you were saying right before I stopped him from killing you?" He asked as he pointed to Wyatt.

"All I want to do is help you make that happen," James assured him. "They shunned you, they hunted you, they imprisoned you. Do you really think Istanbul is enough to help ease the wounds they've caused? Why stop there? Why not show them how great your gift really is?"

"Istanbul is just the beginning, you ignorant fool." Sean smiled, his lips bleeding as the skin cracked around them. "While everyone is busy focussed on the fight the agents of mine, those zombified people, are moving outward from the city. Even those unaffected are carriers, those will be those ones that will slip by undetected and infect the rest. There is nothing you can do to help, in time they will see my gift for what it truely is: a curse." Sean held his head up to the sky, the warm rays of the sun filtering through the broken stained glass window and illuminating his body, "My blight will ravage through the land. You know nothing, James Hazen."

James nodded and smiled again at the Zombie Atlantean. "Sounds like you got it all figured out," The electrokinetic answered. "Rest assured, I have no plans to stop you. In fact, I can even help you. For example, why wait for those undetected to reach those other places when I can send them there in the blink of an eye? I have the means to transport your carriers halfway across the world in seconds. I can make your disease appear in every continent, in every one country, and eventually in every city. I can make what you want to accomplish in years or in months happen in weeks, even days."

James took a few steps toward the Atlantean and continued to smile at him. "Everything you want to happen can happen, and it can be done that much faster. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

"NO!" he roared at James, frustrated at the Atlantean, "I don't want it done in days. I want humanity to suffer in the same way that I had suffered. I want them to count down the years, months, days until their entire disgusting race has been wiped from the planet." Sean was breathing heavily now, he didn't want any help, he didn't need any help. The seeds of everything he wanted had already been planted. "It is already happening and it doesn't need to go any faster."

As his breath slowed, Sean's anger begun to subside, "I see through you, James Hazen. You're too quick: you want everything done as soon as possible. You do not have the understanding to think more than a couple of days or weeks in advance, and that will be your downfall..." He looked down at James' limp arm, Sean had seen the destructive ability this Atlantean possessed and knew from experience that any use of an ability had its own drawbacks. "Unless, you won't be alive in the long run. You've worn your body to its brink, the thing that makes you so powerful is exactly the thing that is killing you."

Sean erupted into a maniacal laugh, "You're dead James Hazen, just like me you're dead!"

The brief reminder of his condition made its way to James' mind. He felt the stinging sensation from his arms, the numbness already beginning to set in on some parts of his arms. He felt the pain still across his ribs. But he shrugged and replied. "Well yeah, maybe but look how much fun I'm having. Can you say the same?" He asked with the smile still on his face. "Things are so much better when the wheels are turning and everything's happening. Who's got time to live for tomorrow?"

He sighed and shook his head. "But if you wanna play it that route, and you wanna make it to see your 'grand creation' come to life, then you're gonna wanna get out of this city to start with. Think these goons and their posse are gonna let you? I can get help, help you get out at the very least. Then if you really want nothing to do with me you can go on your own. Believe me when I say I don't wanna deter you in the slightest."

Sean was about to respond when a shot rang out, echoing between the stone walls of the church. Behind James, Pyrrha was leaning on the doorway panting heavily, hand trembling as it held her gun. She had fired at James, with all her might left following his shocking of her system, she attempted to kill the man.

Not suspecting that the Atlantean from before would return, James could do nothing as he was shot along his shoulder. He instantly yelled from the pain and faced his attacker. Before she could get off another shot or do anything else, he stuck out his good arm and launched a large bolt of lightning at her, going for the kill. He felt his hand react from the massive amount of energy he released without much build up or warning. The strain on his body was only getting higher.

"Pyrrha!" Wyatt and Daemon yelled out in unison as they heard the female Atlantean scream as she was struck by James' electricity.

While James had been distracted by Pyrrha, Daemon had launched himself down from the roof and into the inner sanctum of the church. With an eleven inch protrusion of sharpened bone sticking out from his wrist he had pierced through Sean's collar bone, cutting open the Atlantean's lung and throat, only just missing his heart. Daemon's weight as he landed on the Atlantean pushed them both to the floor, retracting his bone from Sean as James shot Pyrrha full of electricity. Getting to his feet he sprinted full force towards James, bone ready to thrust into whatever body part of James' he could attack.

James turned pretty quickly after seeing Daemon dispatch the Zombie Atlantean. "No!" He yelled angrily as the man pierced him. He watched as the damaged Atlantean fell, and instantly he became enraged. One of his main purposes for coming out here to Istanbul seemed to have just been taken away from him. He knew one thing for sure: the son of a bitch who had stolen this opportunity was going to pay.

He lifted his good arm at the charging Atlantean, but instead of immediately firing upon him, he began to first absorb energy from his body, siphoning electricity straight from his attacker. It was an ability he recently picked up, but which proved effective in stopping opponents in their tracks while simultaneously feeding James. Feeling slightly more rejuvenated from the energy he had gathered, James fired what he had gotten straight back at Daemon in what looked like a large ball of rotating sparks of lightning.

Feeling electricity siphoned forcefully from his body was an experience Daemon had no words to describe and never wanted to feel again. He had no time to react before the spinning ball of electricity slammed into the hard, bone pectoral exoskeletal plate Daemon had erected over his chest while back at the Syndicate HQ. The moment it hit his whole body felt like it was on fire before he was rocketed backwards, slamming into the far wall and falling down behind the alter. His vision blurred, muscles spasmed and appendages refused to move. His breaths came in short gasps as he felt truly vulnerable.

"You son of a bitch!" Wyatt roared from his foetal position on the ground. He was now on his hands and knees, feeling around the cold stone floor like he had lost his glasses, only this time he was fully blind. "When I find you, I will kill you, you bastard! He screamed again, his attempts at finding James by swiping in the air in front of him proving fruitless while small droplets of blood fell from his eyes.

James walked over to the downed Zombie Atlantean and knelt down beside him, to both observe the dead body and to take a moment to rest and recover. He gazed across the charred and broken skin of the Atlantean, then turned to the wound in his shoulder. The bullet had hit him just about the collar bone, passing straight through. It still hurt like hell. In fact, he had multiple injuries across his body that were beginning to set in. Except now, he had little to show for it.

James sat across the ground of the church and continued to observe the Atlantean. He paid little attention, if any, to the blind Wyatt also inside the church, instead more concerned about how he ought to proceed. He extended his arms over his knees and sat in silence for a few moments, before he sighed loudly. "Well great, that bit of fun was ruined. Now what?"

Wyatt stopped swiping in the air, instead focusing on the general direction of James' voice. Carefully he began crawling over towards where he was sure he heard James, "Now you give me back my gun so I can blow your brains out." Wyatt spoke more calmly, trying to entice James to talk some more, "Why did you want to help this guy in the first place? What did he ever do for you?"

James shrugged his shoulders as he continued to mope on the ground and stare at the Zombie Atlantean. "It seemed like a good idea at the time," He replied solemnly without taking his eyes off the dead body, as if he didn't connect in his mind the idea that Wyatt was against him. Maybe he just no longer viewed him as a threat. Or maybe he wasn't in any mood to care.

Wyatt inched closer and closer, hands still feeling the floor in front of him as he pushed towards James' voice. When his left hand landed on what felt like and open bible, he took the opportunity to throw the bible in the general direction he heard James' voice coming from. "Why are you even fighting this fight?" He asked again, stopping in fear of any repercussions for tossing the book.

A loud thud corresponded with the bible landing a few meters away from James. The electrokinetic looked up at the bible for a moment before he turned back around disinterestedly to the Zombie Atlantean and sighed. "Same answer. Seemed like a good idea at the time," He muttered. He had it all planned out perfectly. The way he would initiate the plan, the Zombie Atlantean taking him to that point. The resulting spectacle would have brought the world to its knees. Now, he didn't feel like doing much of anything at the moment. At least not until he figured out what he would do next.

Wyatt stopped for a moment as the pouch containing his syringe of adrenaline came open and the single content spilled out. The plastic tube containing the adrenaline needle began rolling across the floor, stopping as it hit the step up to the alter in front of James, the word "EPINEPHRINE" written across the tube in large letters.

James eyed the tube curiously, and looked over to Wyatt closeby. "What's Epineprine?"

He bit his lip, Wyatt thanked whatever Atlantean god there was that James was clueless about the drug. "It's um... Hayfever medication." He lied through his teeth as he felt his heart beat race. Lying to someone as powerful as James came with a lot of risks if the guy ever found out.

"Hayfever," James repeated as he raised an eyebrow. "You brought medication for hayfever. Here. In the middle of Winter. To Istanbul."

"Correct," Wyatt took a tentative gulp.

James was skeptical of Wyatt's answer. Thankfully, he did have a way to confirm what it really was. He only hoped his transmitter was still working, and that Gamer was still on the other end. James put a hand to his ear, where the transmission bug Gamer had given him earlier was placed. "Come in Gamer. Hanging in there?" He asked over the transmission.

"Doing great, Boss. What's up?" Gamer's voice crackled in his ear.

James sighed in relief. The transmission was a bit staticy probably due to the fighting, but it was clear enough to pick up. "Do me a favor. Find out what Epinephrine is. That's spelled with a P-H."

"DIE YOU FILTHY CAUSAL!" Gamer screamed over the mic, "Lol, you mean Adrenaline? Why have you got that? What's going on?" The sounds of battle could be heard in the background, the unmistakeable sound of Enrique yelling "Fuck Yeah!" somewhere close by in the background.

The electrokinetic looked up into the sky and silently thanked whoever it was that could have been looking out for him. He clicked the transmitter once more. "Gamer, remind me to get you whatever the fuck you want when we win this thing." He reached for the tube and opened it up, revealing the needle inside. He then clicked on the transmitter once more. "How does this work exactly? Say I'm trying to start someone up again who isn't exactly doing so well."

"Stab it into their heart, then inject the adrenaline. That's what they do in video games, so I don't know how accuracte that is." She again got distracted by another opponent, breathing heavily into the mic, "G-G Well PLAYED MOTHER TRUCKER!" Gamer screamed into the mic, obviously having repeled this new opponent before switching off the mic.

"Gotcha, have fun," James transmitted once more before he turned it off and pointed the needle toward the Zombie Atlantean. "Here's hopin' life's a video game!" He shouted before he impaled the needle directly over the heart of the Zombie Atlantean and injected him. He waited for a moment to see if anything would happen, but nothing seemed to for the moment. He moved his hand over to the Atlantean's neck, feeling for a pulse. It took a moment to find and listen to. It was weak and erratic, but it was there.

James clenched his fist and sparks flew from his hand. "No way, this isn't over yet!" As he summoned electricity across his fist, James suddenly slammed his enclosed fist over the Atlantean's heart as a last resort to get it beating again. The first slam produced no real reaction. James repeated the same motion one more. Again, there was nothing. He did so a third time. Again there was nothing. James then tried to use electricity in both of his hands, as he poured electricity from hands toward his chest at multiple points. It was trial and error at this point and he had little to no idea what he was doing.

But eventually, he must have done something right because as he passed electricity through the body, the Zombie Atlantean seemed to momentarily stir. As the electricity pulsed in him, his heart began to beat again, and James crawled beside him quickly. "Holy shit!" He announced in surprise but also happiness. "Hang on, you crazy fuck, you'll make it out of this yet!" He reassured him, as he began to try and connect to Gamer in order to get either Jeremy or Scott here to get him out of the city.

But the next thing James knew, an ice spear lodged itself into Sean's heart piercing the fragile organ with pinpoint accuracy. Nathaniel was not far behind, walking towards the collection of Atlanteans, recognizing the blind Wyatt but not saying a word. His attention was focused forward on James, and the presumed Atlantean he was trying to save. Nathaniel was slightly concerned that he killed an innocent person but he pushed such concerns out of his head: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but anyone you are trying to save isn't a good person now are they?"

Seeing Nate pierce Sean made James' blood boil. He clenched his fist and let go of the Zombie Atlantean. "Fuck! Why can't I have anything nice?!" James glared at Nate and stood up to face him. "NATE! Do you realize what you fucking did?!" He gestured to the dead Atlantean beneath him. "There goes my fun for the rest of the year! Now how am I going to destroy the human race?!"

"You aren't. It's that simple," Nathaniel said calmly, a stark contrast to the increasingly loud James. "As I told you before, I will not allow you to harm innocent people in your goal, mission, quest, whatever you want to call it, for what you think is 'change'. What do you think killing the human race will accomplish? Let me tell you, James. Nothing! All it will do is invoke more fear. More war. More pain. Your verison of fun is suffering for everyone else. And as long as I stand, you will not take even a single step towards that. Of that, I will promise!"

"Well then I guess there's only one way for me to keep having my fun then, huh?" James replied. He squared his shoulders to his old friend and rival. He began to draw energy from every energy source around in the church, and extended it to go even further to every possible electrical source around. Lights flickered and failed. Some even burst from James' draining. The energy began to gather within James, but also discharges of his power began to pour out of his body and bounce around his body like an outer layer of energy. The electricity kept pouring out from within his body and more continued to pour inside from outside energy sources.

He glared at Nate in the most determined gaze he had ever mustered, before his mouth contorted to a grin and he spoke again. "I think we both knew it would eventually come to this, probably from the very beginning. But maybe it's for the best. Both of us can't have what we want. Sorry Nate, but it's time to take you down!"

Nathaniel stood as the antithesis to James, unfazed from his light show with a solemn expression. He was in quiet agreement with his old friend, knowing deep down that he was right: It was going to come to this. He didn't want to and part of him sincerely wished the two could come to better terms. But it was apparent in this moment, there was no turning back. He and James had drifted so far apart, they couldn't be more different. James had become a being of pure choas, driven purely on whims. A true renegade. And Nathaniel fancied himself a man of order, seeking to establish laws and a future for all. A true paragon.

Nathaniel matched James' glare with a weaker glance that grew stronger over time. "You are a monster, James. And I'm going to stop you." Nathaniel took a makeshift fighting stance, and he dug his feet into the ground, a sheet ice overwhelmed the interior of the building, painting everything as if the tundra had planted itself in the room.

​

December 21st, 2012

There was no more bullshit, and no more stalling. James was far too gone to say anything else. He gripped his sword tightly, but then let it go and placed it along the inside of his coat, out of sight. There would be no excuses either. The last time the two of them fought, James was the victor. However, a part of him felt guilty about how the match turned out because of his use of his sword, an advantage Nate didn't have. Now, James wouldn't give Nate the satisfaction of pointing to anything as a reason why they weren't fighting on equal terms. This would be decided with their own fists and their own abilities, and nothing more.

James decided to make the first move. He firmly planted his right foot forward for a better footing, and brought his right fist forward along with it. Electricity gathered around his fist and bolted outward. The attack projected differently than his previous attacks on other Atlanteans. His bolts came out from the base of his palms which led to a larger stream of energy, but because of this was weaker. When he enclosed his fist on this attack, a bulk, but relatively condensed bulb of lightning projected outward. It was smaller than his other lightning attacks, but was also more powerful. James stepped forward again and repeated the motion three more times, which sent three additional 'uber' bolts toward Nathaniel.

The bolts of lightning were met by a thick wall of ice, shielding the Atlantean from the attacks. The ice shattered from the raw power from the impact with shards spreading across the church. Nathaniel gathered the shards with his manipulation, with some coating the ground in ice further with others levitating in air. With an extension of his hand, he waved the shards forward, aiming to make James a pin cushion. However, he did with little aiming involved, firmly believing that James would just find a way to avoid or deflect the attack. He know that much, as James had a lot of power, perhaps more than Nathaniel ever would. That's likely why he won last time. If Nathaniel was going to have a chance, he would have to think several moves ahead and use tactics to overwhelm this...Harbinger. Using the shards as a distraction, Nathaniel pushed himself forward, gearing up to make the fight a melee affair, knowing that his training with Antonia and physical advantage would throw part of the fight in his favor.

This time, James extended his hands outward, and from each of his fingers, strands of lightning poured out and intercepted the ice shards that came out them. As soon as they made contact, they melted the face-paced ice attacks in the air. James concentrated on removing all of the threats coming toward him, but while he did this he only later realized that Nate was using this opportunity to close the distance between the fighters. After clearing what he believed was the initial threat around him, James began to back up to once more create a distance between them. He had no training with a close-range fight, so he had no intention of making it one. He once more enclosed his right fist and fired off one more 'uber' lightning bolt to try and push Nate back.

But before James could fire the full blast, Nathaniel countered with a quick bolt of ice that froze James' hand, providing something of a natural insulator from the lightning. With his approach unheeded, Nathaniel charged like a battering ram, driving a shoulder into James' torso. Lifting the man up as he took a few steps forward, Nathaniel then slammed James down to the ground with impressive force. Crafting a small ice wall beside him, Nathaniel grabbed James by the collar and then tossed the electrokinetic like a ragdoll through the ice wall with all his strength.

With his hand frozen in Nate's eyes, James could not retaliate immediately with lightning, which left the electrokinetic wide open to be pulverized by the physically stronger Nate. James yelped and groaned at every fist and kick sent to him, and lingered on the ground after he collided with the ice wall Nate created. Instantly, pain returned to his side where Oakley had damaged him, and with that reemergence of pain, there was also half a dozen other spots on his body that began to ache. He wouldn't last long in a physical bout. He poured energy into the frozen hand and observed as the ice slowly began to melt as he was being tossed around. Now with Nate on pursuit once more, James released an enormous amount of energy at once from his hand in order to free his hand. The effect worked, and the ice swiftly began to melt. Just before Nate was upon him, James fired off the enclosed-fisted, powered up large bolt of lightning directed at him from point blank range.

Nathaniel, standing over James at the time, was unable to devise a clever trick or anything to avoid James' counterattack. With the blast centered at his chest, Nathaniel became a cannonball with the electric burst of energy flinging the large man through the ceiling of the building. After breaking through the roof, Nathaniel's body rolled down to the city street with a loud thud. Had he not protected his body with ice following the surge of electricity, Nathaniel would likely be moaning in agony from the injuries. With his body numb, he could barley move but the Altantean genetics that followed through his veins allowed him to recover well enough. His chest was singed, with his jacket fuming with burnt leather and his skin blackened. The pain was great, but he managed to make it to his feet through sheer willpower.

James staggered to his feet as well and moved out the front doors of the church. He cursed as he observed Nate reach his feet once more. He was hoping for a bit more time to rest and recover before he would have to entangle with the ice Atlantean once more. Since he didn't get that, however, James decided to hit him hard and fast, and hopefully not give Nate a chance to fire back. James extended his arms outward and brought both of his palms together. He then began to gathered energy into the small area he left open between his two palms. The energy that was condensed together there was stronger than his normal bolts because he focused on it with two hands instead of one. While Nate was still getting up and recovering, James fired the enlarged bolt of energy toward the Atlantean. James could instantly feel the reaction coming from his arms for releasing such a vast amount of energy at once.

Nathaniel's body was still too slow to make a dodge as he saw the attack charge up. His eyes widened and a feeling of panic overcame him. As a result, his body reacted on its own and encased himself in a thick crystal of ice. The ice had consumed his body entirely and a good amount of the space around. As the lightning struck the ice, a great deal of smoke and steam filled the region as the colliding temperatures reacted with a rapid rush of energy. As the air cleared, a series of ice spears fired themselves towards James in all sense of random directions.

James cursed under his breath at the sudden spears of ice propelling into his direction. He blasted one clean off course with his electricity, and dodged another as it nearly struck his torso. However, as he went to dodge a third, he found himself too close to it to do so, and instead relied on his electricity once more to parry the attack. With little time to let off a significant amount of energy, James blasted smaller, quick jolts of electricity across the spear in hopes of break it apart. The move was only marginally successful, as the spear was broken up, but one chunk of it managed to scoot past James' defense and lodge itself in his shoulder. The electrokinetic gritted his teeth from the stinging pain mixed with the burning sensation of the cold temperature.

James pulled out the chunk of the ice spear from the shoulder, and examined the injury briefly. He was thankful that the wound wasn't deep, but still felt he needed an appropriate retaliation. James extended both of his hands outward toward Nate's general direction, and release jolts of lightning from each fingertip. The result was a cluster of small lightning sparks fluctuating out of his body and gliding across the street. They bounced off of anything tangible that could get some reaction from them, and continued toward Nate. Eventually, from the amount of energy James poured out, there were dozens of small jolts scattering towards Nate.

With his ice shell in tatters from the repurposing into an ice spear barrage, Nathaniel had to improvise his defense against James' lightning wave. He wrapped what remained around him, covering his flanks with shields as the the jolts of electricity were absorbed by the insulation. Each bolt kicked up some mist which caused Nathaniel to smirk as it made his approach easier. However, it also made some of the jolts hard to see and two bolts of lightning struck Nathaniel in his leg and shoulder. The spark further singed his skin leaving a burn and another feeling of numbness. He couldn't let the pain get to him, so Nathaniel quickly blocked it out.

Quickly, Nathaniel let out a wave of cold, thickening the mist and reducing the temperature further. Both techniques would easily cover his advance. Due to his numb leg, he could barely move swiftly so Nathaniel was forced to think on his feet. He crouched down and crafted an ice pillar, launching him to the air once he was a good distance in the air, he dropped down and descended towards the ground. Midway, Nathaniel molded another Frozen Hammer and cocked it back. Once within a swing of James, he swung the hammer down yet due to the sting in his shoulder, missed the target. In the wake of his miss, the ground crumbled under the power of his swing.

James narrowly avoided the powerful blow Nate would have delivered, and he was thankful that he had after seeing the devastating damage it would have caused if the hit connected. He was beginning to understand that this was one fight that he couldn't falter or blunder. Nate seemed to be going for the kill, and that had to be the same mindset as James as well, despite his reluctance with taking out someone he considered a friend. There was only a brief moment of hesitation following Nate's attack where James glanced at Nate without moving. However, after his mind was made up, James extended an arm forward and sent out a flurry of sparks toward Nate, while simultaneously backing up in order to widen the distance between the two.

Nathaniel took the flurry of sparks with little resistance, with a coating of ice over his body as his only defense from the blow. While the effects of the electricity were minimized to a glancing blow, the force of the impact and Nathaniel being off balanced caused the Atlantean to be shot back into a nearby building. Quickly recovering with his ice armor falling to the ground, Nathaniel responded in kind, firing off a large bolt directly at James, mimicking his opponent's attack with his own flair.

While Nate was being fired off into a nearby building, James took this opportunity to strengthen his own defense. Taking a page out of Nate's own playbook, James poured energy not just into his arms but all across his body, which caused sparks to form outside of his body in a layer of his own lightning armor. He doubted it would do much good against Nate's stronger attacks, but it may prevent James from accumulating too much wear in the long run. Now didn't seem like the best opportunity to use it as he saw Nate's large chunk of ice fire off at the electrokinetic, but James did what he could with what he had. He held up his arms to try and block the attack, adding extra juice to his arms to further increase his shield. But Nate's power couldn't be denied, and after some initial resistance, James was sent flying into a nearby building in much the same way Nate was.

James collided into the building, with bits of shattered glass and rock toppled over his body. He glanced at Nate briefly to see that he was already moving toward the electrokinetic, and in his mind James wondered how Nate had built up the physical durability to shrug off building tosses. He was definitely had more endurance than James did. Panting heavily, James decided to play one of the only cards he had left, which would hopefully buy him enough time.

"What say you and I take this up a notch?" James asked Nate with a confident, though somewhat forced, smirk gracing his face. He hoped Nate would back off momentarily and respond to his question, to give the electrokinetic a chance to respond, and begin to power up.

"Enough games, James. I did not come here to play games with you. " Nathaniel stated firmly as he approached half his body covered in ice while the other have remained exposed enough to allow him to speak. "I came here for one reason and one reason only. And you are standing in my way."

"I'm done showing the level people are adapting to," James retorted with a grin. He began to get his heavy breathing under control, and his body calmed down a bit from his injuries and power fluctuations. "But you know, If you and I are gonna beat the shit out of each other, we may as well do it properly. So tell me, is there any doubt in your mind about what you're doing? Any hesitation? Can you become a God, Nate?"

"I will whatever it takes to stop you and save this world." The ground around them became a thick sheet of ice; clean, pristine and solid despite the weight of the two men. The air grew cold with sprinkles of ice and snow floating in the air with a gentle glow in the light. A golden aura surrounded Nathaniel; first softly but then it grew stronger and almost physical, as if someone could grasp it and hold it in the palm of the their hands with the pressure of power pushing against their body. Nathaniel's once light blue eyes shifted to a bright green, before a golden hue consumed them entirely. His skin grew paler as well, as if ice crystals had coated his skin with a distinct mist mixing in with the golden aura as if his body had evolved into ice incarnate. Despite the stark changes in appearance, Nathaniel stood stoic as ever, his expression frozen with lack of emotion like the world around him.

James smiled at Nate's impression transformation. He pushed off the building he collided to, and extended his arms outward to siphon as much energy as he could at that moment, from anything he could. He concentrated further and then increased the range of his siphoning. Lights, lamp posts, cars, cell phones, all of the energy traveled from within the devices and made their way toward the electrokinetic. There were few greater feelings in the world than getting completely recharged with power. Perhaps one of the few that was was releasing all of that power out of his body in one, glorious push.

He clenched his fists tightly and inhaled sharply. Sparks of lightning began to permeate out of his nervous skin and bounce around his skin, causing his hairs across his arms and head to stand upright. He exhaled and more energy burst out from every part of his body. The electricity that he released soon began to morph together with another energy that engulfed his body, a golden aura not dissimilar from the one Nathaniel created. The two powers combined until they shared an uneasy, unsteady balance around James. Unlike Nate's aura, it appeared as if James' own power and the golden aura was in a constant tug of war around the electrokinetic's body, which seemed to fuel his power further. As his eyes change to their golden hue to complete the transformation, James faced off against his rival. The two stared down each other at the pinnacle of their powers, at the height of their potential. Their God Mode transformations were complete.

​

December 21st, 2012

A large rupture of golden energy in the form of one James Hazen seared through the air and collided into one of the buildings in Istanbul. The force of the impact, combined with the intensity of the power surrounding James at that moment caused a large hole to form from where James crashed straight through. Debris, shards of glass, and all other manner of remains of the building began falling through the enormous hole of James' impact. The hole was so wide and extensive in damage that the entire building began to collapse behind James. James had lost track at how long they had been battling already in their God Modes, but the building's collapse was just the latest in a string of the copious amounts of damage the two had caused to the city. It was likely that after they were done with it, Istanbul would never be the same.

Whether due to the severity of the God Mode itself, the adrenaline rushing through James, or a combination of the two, James was quick to stand up following his tumble through the building. He shrugged it off as if nothing happened at all, and quickly gathered a large chunk of energy at the base of both of his hands. The lightning danced and skipped across his hands and continued to bounce off while gathering together. The enormity of his attacks at this point were to the point of being ridiculous, but the two Atlanteans continued to fire away as if they were used to it. James released the accumulated energy with both hands pointed towards Nathaniel. Out of this came a beam of lightning almost a meter wide which soared through the air toward Nate.

Nathaniel had been standing on the ground, discarding his ice wings as James was nearly buried by the building he blasted through. The battle between the two Gods of Ice and Lightning had ravaged the sky and parts of the city below. The collateral damage they had caused was something that Nathaniel had wanted to avoid, but he needed to stop James no matter the cost. At the very least, the city had not been completely left in ruins. At least, not yet. A beam of concentrated lightning was suddenly shot downwards at Nathaniel. Swiping his hand forward, Nathaniel had created a shield and grounding tool. The lightning was sucked into the ground, sending pulses through the concrete due to the immense power of James' burst of electricity.

To counterattack, Nathaniel shot a single slate of ice forward, hopped on it, and essentially skated towards James riding the momentum and ice to approach his opponent. An aura of mist and snow surrounded Nathaniel, obscuring him ever so slightly. As he grew closer, Nathaniel shot a few bolts of ice towards James, weak yet enough to cover his approach.

James raised his arms and fired off similar lightning bolts to counteract Nate's ice. His precision in this form was greatly heightened, allowing him to be able to make contact with projectile-based attacks much easier, despite them moving at extraordinary speeds. One bolt of ice managed to get by James' initial flurry of attacks, but the electrokinetic had a quick fix. His precision had been raised, but so had his reaction and speed. James concentrated energy into the points of his fingers, and released energy.

Lightning came out as strings, lingering around his fingers before they extended further to form what appeared to be a web of lightning. He caught the ice bolt within these sets of high-temperature electric strings, melting the last bolt upon impact. James then harnessed the energy from these separate bolts of electricity, and began to merge them all together. The resulting energy merge caused the electricity to form into one, thick strand, an electric whip. Before Nate could get any closer, James moved his arm back and cracked the whip forward toward him. Sparks flew around the sky from the point of impact, rushing in every direction in search of a target. James kept the whip attached directly to the points on his fingers, constantly feeding more power into the whip as he slung it back and cracked it again at Nate, this time it extended even further by the power being fueled into it.

As the whip came crashing down, Nathaniel leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding the electricity fueled strike. The whip slashed the against the slate of ice snapping in half. The fragments of ice fell down towards the ground, shattering upon impact but leaving deep gashes into the ground. With the air filled with ice and electricity, the storm of elements made for a dramatic sight and for a moment Nathaniel felt as if he was moving in slow motion. Perhaps it was just the fact that everything seemed heightened in this ascended state. Or maybe it was just adrenaline.

Regardless, he was suspended in air and open to any attack. His initial plan foiled with a single swipe, Nathaniel was forced to improvise. Freezing some moisture in the air, Nathaniel crafted a small platform and bounced off, transferring what little momentum he had into a bold attempt to reposition myself. With a small hop, Nathaniel dove directly towards James, coating himself in a thick suit of frozen armor. Extending heavily armored gauntlets, Nathaniel made himself into a battering ram, throwing himself at his rival.

As James saw was Nate was planning on doing, the electrokinetic decided to hold his ground to make his stand, to test his potential of his own ability versus Nate's. He cracked back the whip one more time, and just as Nate was coming at him, and attempted to strike at his armor, or even wrap around it with the electricity-powered ability in the hopes of propelling Nate away from him, or to simply melt away as much of his ice armor as he could.

James' whip struck and wrapped around Nathaniel's one arm, there was a brief moment in which Nathaniel was concerned that his bold, if somewhat foolish strategy, was doomed to fail. However, the armor endured, the momentum persisted and Nathaniel continued. While the armor was undoubtedly weakened, Nathaniel blasted through before James had any opportunity to take advantage of his clever counter. Using a combination of gravity, momentum, strength and the sheer weight of his armor, Nathaniel tackled James with raw force breaking through the floor that James stood on. The concrete foundation shattered with a fair sized hole memorializing their battle for a moment. Rocks and ruin rained down onto the lower level as dust filled the air.

James felt the impact of brute force collide directly into him from Nate's uber ice spear attack. The tremendous impact sent the two crashing through the ground and into the large hole they created. Had James not been in his overpowered state he was in now, he wondered if his body would have been able to take such an impact. Sure enough, he felt the harm done to him, but not nearly as much as he felt the adrenaline pumping through his body to make him go further.

Still lying on his back from where the electrokinetic landed, James extended his arms forward and pointed them toward his rival, and began firing away dozens of concentrated, smaller bolts of electricity. He propelled himself onto his feet and continued this onslaught of lightning projectiles.

As Nathaniel rose from the ruins of the building, he was immediately treated to the barrage of lightning from James. The fervor of battle had seemed to overwhelm his opponent, yet it could just be desperation. Nathaniel had felt as if he had the upper hand for at least parts of the fight, yet James was not going to back down. Surprised at the quick recovery, Nathaniel was able to sidestep a few bolts, yet one solid shot planted Nathaniel square in the chest, knocking him back several meters from the impact. A wave of numbness swarmed his body and Nathaniel could feel pins and needles in his fingers.

As he came to struggle with the feeling, Nathaniel instinctively, focused on the air and began to slowly freeze it, lowering the temperature rapidly. The quick change in temperature came in the form of mist filling the crumbled room. Before Nathaniel's eyes, the visage of James became little more than shadow, and he assumed the same could be said for James. Slowly, Nathaniel returned to his feet and hide himself in the mist more so, hoping to design a skilled sneak attack.

James acknowledged himself briefly for landing a shot on Nate, but cursed under his breath as his rival began to get up soon after the hits. He was dishing everything he had at him, and Nate was taking it. He felt his ambition for winning surpassed that of any opponent he had previously faced. Thankfully for James, his own ambition was just as strong. Sometimes, however, ambition enough wouldn't get the job done. He had to outperform his opponent.

The electrokinetic rubbed his arms together to warm himself following the mist that enveloped the area. Because of the thick fog-like attack of Nate, James began to swiftly lose track of his opponent, until barely a thing could be seen in the haze. James looked around briefly to try and pinpoint his rival, but he knew relying on his eyes wouldn't help unless he supplemented them with something else.

James poured a bit more energy into his palm and released it out of his hands, but kept the lightning close to his body. He allowed the energy to act more as a light than an attack, and used it to shed a bit of clarity on Nate's location. Though the lightning didn't help identify Nate's exact location too well, it made shadows more visible, which James capitalized on by seeing the slow, steady movements of a creeping shadow. James could only assume it was Nate, and fired off the budding electrical energy at the target.

As the electricity shot forth, a loud impact shot echoed in the room. The mixing of temperatures exploded with steam and mist further filling the area with a crumbling sound hidden behind it. It sounded as if ice had been shattered from the raw power of James' lightning bolt. The mist had slowly revealed the ruins of James' display as something rolled towards the electrokinetic: Nathaniel's head, appearing to coated in ice as if the man was bracing for impact. The rest of his body unearthed itself as well, as if the frozen remains of his body immortalized itself in a iced statue. Cracks revealed itself in the foundation, likely a result of James' attack. Ice was melting, the high voltage carrying a higher temperature when it struck caused even the strong ice that was Nathaniel's body to melt under the pressure.

Before James had any chance to really react to the apparent defeat of Nathaniel, arms swept in and locked him into a full nelson hold. With a tight grip, Nathaniel controlled the fate of James. However, knowing the extent of James' abilities, he lifted the man up off the ground and threw him into a nearby concrete pillar in the building they were brawling in. As James likely recovering, Nathaniel fired a few ice bracers, locking James into the ground for a brief moment.

"I didn't know you were as simple as to fall for a little ice clone of me," Nathaniel commented, fashioning an ice spear in his hands with the intent of stabbing the helpless James. "But then again, I was always the smart one."

"Yeah, but you were also the ugly one!" James shot back. His hands went quickly to work to begin and pour electricity at the points where he had been pinned to the ground. The exceptionally high temperature of the lightning began to become apparent as the ice bracers slowly melted. He quickly poured in more energy as Nathaniel came dangerously close, and was preparing his spear to impale James.

His lightning went into overdrive, and he unleashed a bundle of sparks at once, melting the last bits of the bracers, which freed James from his predicament. He quickly rolled over to the side to narrowly avoid the ice spear, and then stuck out his hands to shoot a large spark bolt pointed directly at the ice master's chest.

Again, Nathaniel found himself flying back, hurtling through the air and crashing through an outside wall. Plummeting to the city street with a loud thud, Nathaniel could of sworn he broke something as he heard a loud snap upon impact. Much to his relief, his abilities broke his fall with a thick sheet of ice armor and he was able to raise himself to his knees with a groan and a grunt of pain.

James was already walking toward the area Nate had landed. He was thankful to have escape the last predicament and now it seems he may be on the verge of turning the tide in the fight. "What would have been the odds if you finished me off with that ice spear earlier?" James called out to Nate with a grin forming on his face. He felt an ease overcome him that he hadn't felt earlier in the battle, after his initial emotions overtook him to try and punish Nate for ruining his plans with the Zombie Atlantean. Now it seemed he was actually enjoying himself.

"Killing me with the same sort of attack that you used to kill that other Atlantean in London," James continued. "When we first met."

"It would of been poetic justice I would think. My first and last kills done in the same exact fashion," Nathaniel said, raising to his feet. Pins and needles swarmed his hands and feet as the blood rushed back through his body. His breathing was slowly calming and his heart regulated to a standard rhythm. The jump start of electricity that Nathaniel had taken to his chest needed to be his last, as he was sure he couldn't take much more abuse from the high intensity of James' attacks.

"But if you rather, I could end your reign of havoc in something far more elaborate if you really want to!' Nathaniel said. His hands glowed for a moment before unleashing a pulse of ice from his hands. A wave of frozen energy consumed everything in front of Nathaniel, clearly not aiming for anything in particular.

"Are you kidding?! I love elaborate!" James replied with a hysteric laughter and fired his own pulse of electricity at the incoming surge of frozen energy. Combined with his overpowered 'God Mode' form, the electricity enlarged in size, and hundreds of smaller sparks bounced around nearby energy sources in anarchic turbulence, before bouncing back to the source of the energy in the middle of the pulse of energy. The amount of power James was feeding the attack through the palm of his hands was unlike anything he had unleashed before, and almost instantly he was feeling the repercussions of doing so. Both of his arms tingled and tensed, as if a thousand needles were poking him simultaneously. Oddly enough, in some parts of his arms, he couldn't feel a thing any longer.

James' electrical pulse was far stronger than Nathaniel had anticipated, but it worked well into the grand scheme that Nathaniel had planted. He hardened his pulse into a makeshift iceberg, halting the advance of James' energy burst. The clash of elements spread throughout the city block they were fighting. Shards of ice scattered about, freezing everything in the immediate vicinity making the city appear like a tundra. However, the other half of the city block was torn up by electricity, with small fires and ruin consuming all. A thick mist was left in the wake of where Nathaniel once stood, and a moment of silence fell upon the battlefield once more. Suddenly, the iceberg that Nathaniel improvised with launching a wave of ice needles directly at James.

James cursed under his breath at the incoming ice needles. His attacks could be used for precision if necessary, but not against so many smaller attacks at once. It lacked the stability to have a concrete physical form to prevent that. In this case James had to improvise. He extended his arms outward, and unleashed another wave of electricity, though this time instead of a precision attack sent out like a beam, his next attack was a field of electricity, shocking anything that the hundreds of individual sparks came in contact with. He continued the attack outward to reach the vicinity of his opponent as well.

However, as he assumed, this particular attack could prevent all of the smaller ice needles coming his way, and James did his best to avoid the smaller attacks by running around. He held his arms up to cover his face to avoid any deadly blows. There was a familiar sting across his arms as he felt some of the needles penetrate his arms. Oddly enough, some of them which pierced his skin did not give James any sort of reaction from pain. His arms were going numb. At this point, though, the electrokinetic could care less. He instead returned his attention to Nate to see how his own electric field attack fared against Nate.

Nathaniel had burrowed himself in a dome of ice to block the electric field, reading James almost perfectly. The man seemed to only have only one response for anything that Nathaniel tossed at him and that was to blast it away. The ice needles were a fair attempt, but any damage dealt was likely minimal. The longer the fight went, the more it likely went into his favor yet Nathaniel knew that James could end him a lot faster than Nathaniel could kill James.

Breaking the ice dome apart, Nathaniel turned back to the sky, forming a pair of ice wings to put himself well above where James stood. Raising his arms above his head, a mass of ice was slowly being gathered. It lacked form or shape, a far cry from the meticulous nature of Nathaniel's use of his abilities. If anything, it resembled something that James would create but at the moment, the cyrokinetic was not going to be picky. With the mass of ice sizable enough, Nathaniel tossed it towards James. As it fell closer towards his opponent, he squeezed his hand and unleashed a rain of ice, sleet, hail, and everything else aiming to once again overwhelm James.

James shook his head and cursed again, this time louder. He would have preferred the entire ice block fired off at him. At least that way, he could potentially blast through it, or try and slow it down and then dodge it. But Nate seemed to understand his game and blew it apart into thousands of pieces. He thought about using another electricity field, but James knew that with the larger amount of ice attacks launching toward him, many more would get through and it wouldn't end well for him.

He decided on another approach. James concentrated on not just pouring energy from his arms, but all across his body. Slowly, electricity began to envelop him, bouncing across his skin and causing any hairs to stand up. The lightning began to emit from his body and move across him more and more, with dozens of small sparks forming across every second. Eventually, his body was surrounded by what appeared to be a thick layer of yellow energy, but in reality was a thousand different electrical sparks roaming across his skin, providing a thick, electrical barrier.

As the ice attacks started pouring at him, they began to be instantly melted under the intense heat from the lightning. However, James underestimated the sheer amount of the ice attacks, and watched with every seconds as more and more flooded at him. And with every piece of ice, sleet and hail a small spark doused, it vanished soon after from the collision to leave James with one less piece of defense. After enduring a torrent of ice moves flung at him, James saw the electric barrier he formed began to completely deplete... but all of Nate's ice moves had not. Seeing that he couldn't protect against all of them, the electrokinetic decided to launch the remaining sparks across his body into one, single larger bolt of lightning at Nate, while taking any remaining ice attacks to his skin. The ice impacted his defenseless body and the combination of attacks sent him flying through the air and straight into an abandoned car in the streets.

The arc of lightning that James fired was narrowly dodged by Nathaniel with a big flap of his wings. The bolt seemed to get lost in the cloudy sky, continuing to carry its powerful charge as it danced amongst the dark heavy clouds. Almost blinded by the flash of lights, Nathaniel shook his head and turned his attention to James. Barely able to see him due to combination blinded vision and the great distance between the two, Nathaniel grimaced slightly before positioning his body to descend down in a swoop. Fashioning an ice scythe, Nathaniel flew down like a frozen angel of death, aiming to slice the defenseless James in a wide slash.

James opened his eyes wide as he noticed Nathaniel swooping in so quickly and prepared to slash at him. He didn't have a chance to stand and run to avoid the dangerously looking scythe, and for some reason his arms didn't budge right away when he attempted to bring them up to form some sort of defense. Once more he had to improvise. He gathered his energy, but took it away from his arms and poured it instead into his feet. The electrokinetic then did a kicking motion and fired off a dual lightning bolt shot from his feet toward the incoming Nathaniel.

Seeing the dual bolts fire towards him, Nathaniel halted his advance and used the wings as a shield, absorbing a bulk of the impact. However the force of electric attacks took him aback and Nathaniel fell back on the ground. He slid back, and struggled to regain his footing. Frustrated at James' ability to fight back, he repurposed the scythe into a javelin and with all his might, threw the bladed weapon towards the sitting James.

James scrambled to his feet following his bolt-kick, and soon found himself jumping out of the way to narrowly avoid the javelin his rival threw at him. The spear impacted the wall behind him and pierced through the stone, causing James to shake his head. He didn't want to imagine what would have happened if it hit him. James grabbed hold of the spear, and infused electricity into it. Slowly, the object began to melt, but as James tossed it back, the lightning overwhelmed the javelin form into something solid. However, as it was thrown at Nate and evaporated, it maintained the appeared of a spear, this time covered in lightning.

Almost snickering at the theme of medieval weapons, Nathaniel continued to entertain the idea as he walked towards James, the electric spear flying towards him. In his left hand, Nathaniel created a massive tower shield, heaving in front of him with his God Mode enhanced strength. Parking the shield in front of him and planting into the ground, he felt the jolt from the spear as it made impact, the attack grounded easily. In his other hand, Nathaniel crafted a number of small projectiles, resembling small pellets. Heaving them over from behind the shield, the pellets scattered about the ground and rolled in random directions. Not exactly aware if they were anywhere near James, Nathaniel snapped his fingers and the pellets exploded in a shower of sleet, particles of ice and most importantly, more obscuring mist.

James felt his vision slowly clout as the mist enveloped the area. The remaining particles of ice that rained upon the electrokinetic stung, but James hardly paid them any mind. He focused instead of trying to see Nate from within the mist. He looked around every direction, and made sudden turns to ensure he wasn't creeping up from behind. "Are we playing hide and go seek now, Nate?" He questioned through the mist, to see if he could bait the man from speaking back, or doing anything to give away his location. James gathered energy into his palms again and prepared two lightning bolts in his hands.

The attack didn't come from above, behind or any side of James, but from below. A small hand of ice gripped James' feet and crawled up his legs, locking him in place. The electrokinetic unable to move for the second, a battering ram of ice flew through the mist and struck the man square in the chest.

"Wha- hey!" James yelled as he felt something grip his legs and hold him where he was. He began to fire off the two lightning bolts he prepared along his legs to free himself, but as soon as he did, it came too late. He felt a large pillar strike him directly at his chest in a mighty blow. James was flung into the air and flew a great distance, eventually coming down straight into a pile of rubble along one of Istanbul's many ruined streets. He lay there, barely moving, and panted heavily. "S-muk..."

The area around James froze, the ground itself becoming a sheet of ice as Nathaniel grew near. The ground cracked under the extreme temperature in random patterns, hardly reflective of intent from his opponent. At this point even Nathaniel could notice his powers were almost too much for the world around him, as the air could almost feel solid in the immediate area around him due to the extreme amount of cold (or lack of heat) in an aura around the Atlantean. Nathaniel's loud footsteps could be heard echoing through the abandoned streets as he loomed around James, a sword, mirroring the Harbinger's blade in his hands. He halted his advance within about a meter of James, brandishing his ice sword in his dominant hand. "I shouldn't allow you the honor of a last word, but you have five seconds to speak your peace before I kill you where you lay," Nathaniel said as he stepped closer to the broken body of James. "5..4..."

James coughed as Nathaniel grew closer. "Five whole seconds? You really are my friend, aren't you?" He chuckled, which slowly turned into coughs. He felt the energy from the God Mode slowly leave his body. The veil of electric energy vanished across him. "Well, that's that, I guess. That was one hell of a fight. But you know what?" James reached into the side of his torn coat, and unveiled his Harbinger Sword. Just before Nate was upon him, he unleashed the sword's power, sending a powerful gust of wind directly at the ice Atlantean. "I don't feel like I'm done just yet!"

​

December 21st, 2012

Jeremy sat and watched from his rooftop view as the streets below turned to hell as the sun began to set overhead. It had been hours since Eris had left him, yet he still felt the pang of loneliness as if she had only just left him. He had fully intended to go back to the fight once she had returned, but after the first hour the depression slowly crept into the fringes of his brain and he just didn't want to anymore. Content to just sit and watch he adjusted himself a little to the left and gazed off at the battle below. It seemed like a huge waste of life and potential and he wished he could teleport down there and stop it, but something deep down inside him told him this needed to happen. Shifting his vision away from the battle, he spotted a group of individuals floating in the sky above the city, no doubt these were the Raphael and his brothers.

"JEREMY!" A squeal erupted from behind him, giving Jeremy a fright.

As soon as he turned around Eris gleefully wrapped her arms around Jeremy as he sat on the edge of the building. After the hug she stood back while he stood up and brushed the dust off of himself, his eyebrows furrowed. She tried to contain her happiness at having returned to this time to be with him again but couldn't help but bob ecstatically on her toes.

"I don't know who… Eris?!" He asked as he realised the previously early teen girl he had been talking to several hours ago was now the late teen standing in front of him. "You made it! I knew you would!" A smiled stretched across Jeremy's face as he took his turn to embrace her in a hug.

"So you got back to your parents then?" He asked remembering where their conversation had lasted previously.

Eris' smile faded slightly, "Yeah… it wasn't for long but I did it. It took me another two years before I could willingly control my power, but I can now!"

"Well done!" was all Jeremy could manage; he just didn't know what to say to the girl. For him he had only met her briefly several hours ago and was still getting used to the whole age thing.

"Actually, I also came back because I need you." Just as she finished talking a large watch scarily similar to the one that took up half of Jeremy's forearm started beeping on Eris' forearm. Pushing one of the many buttons, a small hologram ejected from one of the screens as Eris began conversing with the hologram person. "… Just lock on to my signal and jump here, I'll be finished soon." Was all that Jeremy picked up before she ended the call.

"Who was that?" he asked inquisitively.

"Oh just a friend, you might know him." Eris seemed a bit flustered by the call but soon regained where she had left off, "Jeremy, I want you to join my team. It's kind of a superhero team and we kind of go back and forward in time." She concluded, leaving Jeremy puzzled.

"Kind of? Wait, so you're teleporting people through time? Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Jeremy had seen television shows and movies of how people had gone back in time to change something, only to have messed with the future they had come from.

"No, silly, they teleport by themselves. We're kind of like, the Guardians of Time. Sometimes things happen and we need to make them right, so we go back in time and fix it." She bit her lower lip trying to think of a way to explain it to Jeremy. "It's better if I show you, but like, we just know, I just know. You have to trust me on this." She was almost pleading with him.

Jeremy's jaw dropped, there were more people who could time travel? "I-I don't know. This is a big ask, eh. I mean like, how do you know I won't mess up the timeline or if you even need me at all?" It definitely sounded like a lot of pressure, and a lot of feeling what was right and wrong.

"Because if you do, we'll stop you." Jeremy turned round as a deep, raspy voice spoke behind him, "Or kill you." Looking down at Jeremy, Adrian seemed a lot older than he last remembered. His hair was a lot longer and shaggier, face battered with scars, and his arms were almost twice as thick as they had previously been wrapped in thin tendrils of veins and covered in scars.

"A-Adrian?" He asked hesitantly, unable to believe his eyes.

"Goddess, we have to go soon, there are much more pressing matters to attend to." This future Adrian seemed to ignore Jeremy's presence just after addressing him and focussed instead on Eris standing in front of him.

"Jeremy," Eris turned her attention back to him, her voice softening, "Can you please trust me? We could use someone like you." Her soft eyes seemed like they were almost on the brink of tears: a look that cut deep into Jeremy's feelings.

Standing up and brushing himself off, Jeremy looked around at the city surrounding them. Down below his fellow Syndicate agents had split and were fighting valiantly by themselves, in the horizon he imagine his parents now sitting down to lunch happily chatting with one another. He was finished with this place; there was truly no reason for him to stay any longer.

"I'm ready," he announced to Eris, watching the girl's face light up. Behind him he heard Adrian give off an exasperated sigh but ignored it as Eris embraced him. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and Jeremy soon found himself hugging her back.

And then they all just disappeared.


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