Veritas [Vi, Clarie]

[William Talbot]

Will could feel the void out there, somewhere in the crowd, every and nowhere all at once, within his grasp, and yet just out of reach...


It would happen today, he knew it, and it of course would happen in the middle of the city, with people everywhere, the variables staggering, and the damage would likely be great, as most certainly, the danger was.


"She's here Vi... I can feel it." Will whispered via the link to her, knowing she was someplace where he wouldn't exactly know, or couldn't see, her scent only just teasing him whenever the wind shifted just right, but he could never lock onto her enough to know where to look, as she stayed downwind of him, and out of reach of sight and sound, as an added measure of protection, and as part of the trap that had been in play for the last few days.


Walking down the street, Will blended in well, his clothes simple but fitting, a navy colored hoodie, a black tee shirt, some new jeans, and a pair of black and sliver sneakers, his face hidden slightly by the hood, as he walked, and then turned down a street that was less crowded, his senses sharp as razors as the sense of impending doom slowly grew in his stomach, and a scent that sent both chills and a soft buzz through his mind and spine teased him now as well.


Slater was close, Will knew it, and for the first time since he could remember, his mouth felt dry.
"I love you Violet." he whispered mentally as time slowed to a snail's pace, and his skin crawled with tension....

[claire]

He was certainly a careful one, if not very bright. She could sense his vigilance from half a block away, where she tailed him through the crowd. Her mask was carefully tucked in her small leather purse, ready for application when the fun would start, and when she would end this little game of cat and mouse. There were dozens of people around, but they would be nothing but a distraction to him if she picked her moment right. Like roaches, they scattered at the first sign of danger, and they would be running from a threat that they couldn't pinpoint, and the chaos would make an idea atmosphere.

As he turned, her mask lifted out of her purse and secured itself to her face before a pure blast of telekinetic energy attacked her target, intending to fling him half way across the square. The excess force threw two other people through the air, a burly man and a slender old woman who landed with a shout of pain and surprise. As if on parade, knives poured out of Virage's purse, one at a time, end to end. The formed a circle in front of her face, adding menace to an otherwise neutral stance. Predictably, panic ensued and the bystanders fled in every which direction.

"Where's your little girlfriend?" she asked, her voice louder in his mind than to his ears. "We didn't have the chance to finish our conversation."

Her voice would seem as if it was coming from every direction, although it wasn't from an effort to hide her presence. She was the only stationary person in a sea of fleeing people, and anyone who came within ten feet of her were flung away. Hard. She could sense Blaze's fear, but he seemed much more calm than she would've given him credit for. The entire point of the last few days was to make him angry enough to search her out, but this worked just as well.

[William Talbot]

He felt it rush for him a scant heartbeat before it hit him, tossing him like a sand filled rag doll up and over a bus and onto the roof of a parked taxi, the brand new swoopy shaped car caving in like a cheep plastic container underfoot, the impact enough that he bounced out and landed awkwardly on one leg, hip and his side, his eyes glowing brightly as he rolled over onto his feet after catching himself.


As the masses scattered with practiced speed, Will walked around the emptying bus and glared at her, his eyes aflame, as he slowly stalked at her, his anger rising up in his throat like bile as he fought to keep himself composed, an unreal anger bubbling up inside his chest.

"She's busy... And anyways, it's clear that this is something that's between you and me, so why don't we stay on task here... Just what do you want? What have I ever done to you? Why are you doing all of this, to me of all people?"


He walked across the street, and stood there for a moment before bursting into flames, burning away the clothes, and leaving him in his suit, the titanium mesh jump suit a plain black with navy and silver stripes down his arms, sides and legs as he stood there , glowing and covered in flickering blue flames.

"Explain yourself, justify all of this so I know what to put on your headstone, because if you don't stop, I'll bury you..." His voice was gruff, almost more wolfish then human, as he stood there, almost bursting with power, his body begging to morph into the more powerful, faster, and stronger Lycan shape that was so much more impressive, and so much harder to harness when angry, which is why he did not let that urge to transform take over, Will knew it was too risky right now...

[claire]

"I want to break you," Virage said, her girlish voice delighted. "I picked you because you have so much to lose, but your mind is so fragile."

She watched him with satisfaction. She could sense his internal struggle with ease, the fight between noble and savage, light and dark. His darker half was fighting to get out, and she would prefer it that way. The darker part of his mind was much more pliable, and if it took control she would have more influence over his thoughts. A more primal entity, his animal side could take him over if he let it. It was his other side that could keep things in perspective and keep him from losing control of his anger. The less active it was, the more likely it was that she could break him. Plus, with all of these people around, an accident was more likely to happen.

"How much stress would it take to shatter you completely?" she asked, cocking her head. "It's been done before, so I'm guessing that all it would take is another little push. Maybe a repeat of history."

She projected a series of memories in his mind, bringing up flashes of his own memory as well as some of her own. All of Violet. Sitting, talking, her Mona Lisa smile, fighting... kissing. Wincing. Crying. Pain and terror on her face. Her knives rotated in sync slowly as she contemplated, a sadistic smile on her face. The unspoken threat was obvious.

[William Talbot]

The people on the streets where clearing out quickly, but not fast enough for Will's tastes, still he could do little to hurry them along himself, as it was clear that taking his eyes off of Virage was a supremely stupid move, but then the immediate area was clear for the moment, and after a quick scan of the area, Will closed his eyes for a heartbeat, and a pulse of soft, warm blue energy washed out from his mind at a speed no mere mortal could have followed, a simple message contained within it's frantically rapid meter: "I'm sorry."


The instant Will opened his eyes he locked his gaze on her, his own face like blistering hot stone, as he stepped forward, one step, then two, then three, his eyes shimmering with heat as they glowed, every power he possessed straining at the limits this human form constricted him with, the veins under his exposed flesh, glowing a faint dark blue, and waves of heat washing off of him as he at last stopped a few yards from her, his senses razor sharp, his empathy fully aware of every emotion and feeling within three whole blocks, and his skin crawling with energy as he locked his gaze on her, as if he could stare into her very soul, and after a fashion, he could, the hurt, the darkness, the pain and anger in her suddenly clear as a sign stapled to her forehead.


"You harm her, and I will end you... Take you're best shot Slater, but take it at me, and make it count... Because if you win today, I'm going to make sure you've earn every blessed beat of your heart and every dammed step you take away from here..."


And with that final statement, Will morphed into the massive mountain of Lycan warrior known as Blaze, his fists aflame, and his fur glowing with energy.


This was for all of them, for all he had done, right, wrong, success and failures, for his parent's, his friends, and for Violet, he was going to stand and face this head on, as he wanted to, and as he should...

[claire]

"You mistake me, Talbot," she said, mocking his casual reference to her secret identity. "I'm not going to kill you. I want you to live in the knowledge that you've lost everything..."

The knives scattered as the last word was spoken, littering the area in locations that were impossible to keep track of, given the number of weapons. A car lifted far above them both from behind Virage, winging itself toward her wolfish enemy. The tire missed her head by inches, but she didn't so much as blink as the red masda passed over her and shot toward him. Two others raised behind him, ready to be flung at her whim. She might as well beat him soundly enough that he would know that he had no chance of defending that girl that was her next target after she took him down this time around. Her toes were several inches off the pavement as she moved the cars and her intense blue stare never left his.

He seemed to be talking to her, but she could sense that even he didn't know where she was. That was odd, since she had learned that they usually maintained a link between the two of them. He was probably trying to protect her, which was the smartest option. Otherwise, she would backtrack and find her through that sense. She could sense the depth of his emotion as he decided to fight, and it stirred something at the back of her mind. She ignored it. She had more important things to worry about than her errant memory.

"When I take care of you, I'll find her," she said. "You should have known that knowing you would be the death of her. What were you thinking?"

It was her game to play on her opponents greatest mental and emotional weaknesses, to keep them mentally off-balance and off the top of their game. But this was getting more personal than even she usually went. Why did she feel the need to delve into his past so deeply, when she already knew enough to accomplish her ends? Why did she keep finding more questions?

[William Talbot]

"You really should reconsider that tactic..." Blaze whispered as she hovered there and then flung the car at him...


The Red Mazda exploded in half cut in two by twin beams of sizzling blue light, the ends of the car crashing to the street as he stood there glaring at her with a predatory gaze that spoke not just of feral savagery, but of supreme and cold cunning as he watched her before he spoke again in his deep wild rumble; "She won't be as easy to kill as you think, not that you'll get the chance to find out..." he started stalking to the side, angling his body to present a smaller target to her as he backed to his right some, keeping the gap between them even, his right side closer to her as he looked at the cars she held with her power then back to her, a plan suddenly forming in his mind.


"And really, do you want to leave me alive? Let's say you do manage to kill her, you won't live to enjoy it, because I promise she'll hurt you good in the process, and then when her flame dies, I'll know exactly where you are, and then I will find you, and I will extract justice from you, and I won't make it clean and simple, nor will I drag it out, I'll simply crush you, slowly but surely... I will cave you're chest cavity in like it was a cheap plastic can, and then I'll pop you're head open like a grapefruit... SO think carefully about this... You really want to die? Because if you leave me alive, and kill Violet, I'll make you wish you'd done it the other way around... Because a person who's lost everything, has nothing to live for, and nothing to loose..."

He then paused halfway through his circle around her, his eyes flashing as the cars she held suddenly exploded with a wave of his hand.

"Or you can simply walk away, leave Jump, and find someone else to toy with..."


Despite his very first impression form the Library, Will didn't want to even think of Destiny and Slater in the same thought, because it was painful, and simply put, he couldn't see how sweet, quirky, funny Destiny could be this cold, hard, mean and cruel girl that was in front of him now, it just didn't click right.

But then, some place deep in the back of his mind, he suddenly realized that, he couldn't really remember what Destiny Martin had looked like, her face was a vauge shape, the details of her face blurry or simply unnaturally plain, like a blank slate, and while his mind was in the moment, fighting, deep down, a part of him was panicking at the sudden fault in his still clouded memories, the inability to correlate his memories with the hear and now, not new, but suddenly worse then they should have been...

[claire]

"Someone else?" she asked, tilting her head. "But why? I've not had this much fun in ages."

She seemed quite oblivious to his threats, not responding enough to even acknowledge that he had spoken. She blithely tossed the flaming wreckage into the building, her calculating eyes still on him as he circled. There was a plan brewing behind those harsh eyes, and she would implement it at the appropriate time. He could talk as much as he wanted, but in the end his threats would be completely empty and hers would be carried out. However, she couldn't help but point out the flaw in his logic, though she had no idea why she was telling him this much about herself.

"That would finally make two of us then, wouldn't it?" she pointed out. "However, I already have nothing to lose, so that puts me ahead of the game somewhat."

She smiled a cold smile before projecting something else into his mind. She erased herself from his mind for a moment, and it would've seemed that she disappeared. When she lifted it, multiple copies of herself appeared before his eyes, surrounding him. The illusion wasn't only visual, as she could fool his other senses in the same way. She couldn't mimic his powers, but with her own powers, he couldn't use those powers to sense her anyway. This was going to be fun...

[William Talbot]

"Well that's not really my fault now is it?"
Blaze slowly moved again, watching her closely and even as she replied, he could sense her start to focus her powers slightly, it wasn't much, but it was enough of a warning that when she suddenly vanish, he wasn't totally caught off guard, however when she reappeared with copies, that's when he stopped short and blinked at her, totally and utterly confused for a few moments as he looked to each one, listened to them, and tried to feel them out with his empathy...


In the end however, it was the simplest thing; shadows.

Looking from one to the other, he realized something was off, and it wasn't until he made his third turn around that he saw that only one of them cast a significant shadow onto the street, and it was that one that he ignored for a few moment's as he suddenly blasted one to his right with a gout of hot blue flame, before charging at full speed, his eyes shooting out beams of pure white light, right at the real Clarie Slater in a full on shoulder tackle that even if she could form a barrier to block, would rattle windows and crack the street with the same force as a train falling on her...

[Violet Schultz]

Violet was watching the fight from far off, on a rooftop as a matter of fact. The plan was for them to work together to bring down Virage, but Violet wasn't stupid or naive. She knew that he would never signal for her to come down there, even if it meant his death. It was hard to hear him and not respond, but she knew that she would blow their advantage if she revealed herself that way. Instead, she kept an eye on the street and on Virage, alert for any tricks that Will missed. She could feel each of the explosions as they rocked the street, and she was grateful for whatever glitch it was that made Virage unable to enter her mind. She could get down there without being detected.

She crouched on the building, but stood as she saw what she was waiting for. He was getting ready to lunge for her, but he apparently didn't see the glint of the knives coming out of their bag, coming for him. She vanished in a flare of purple as she concentrated a mass of kinetic energy into her fist. She appeared just as they were about to impact, and punched what would probably seem the less likely target. She could see the small bits of debris, paper and small pieces of cardboard floating to the current of heat that Will exuded. They stopped dead all around Virage, not just on one side. If she hit Virage, it would do nothing. The knives were embedding themselves in the barrier, and whether or not Will could get through the barrier, the knives would bury themselves into him.

So, she punched Will.

Releasing the stored kinetic energy into his center of gravity was enough to alter his flight, though not enough to redirect it entirely. He would fly off at an angle, but he wouldn't impact her shield or the knives that she had prepared for him. Not to mention he would probably have some pretty sore ribs after this... Violet's own switchblade was drawn to deflect the blades that chased after him. She vanished in the next instant and reappeared next to Will, her eyes flashing with both anger and the use of her powers.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" she hissed. "I get that you don't want me in this, but I'm not going to sit by and let something happen to you."

A thin slash down her forearm dripped blood where one knife had caught her glancingly.

[claire]

He was coming at her, just as the knives silently raised in the air between them. She had him... This was the blow. Sure, she would probably be knocked into the wall, but if those five knives could bury themselves into his flesh, the silver would poison his system, and it would be over. His impulsiveness and direct approach was one of his worst weaknesses, and this time it would cost him the battle, and ultimately the life of the one he was protecting. How well could he defend her if he was dying of silver poisoning?

Then a flash of lavender alerted Virage to the proximity of another, that girl she had fought on the roof. The girlfriend. Virage maintained the barrier, knowing that it would be impossible for the girl to penetrate it. She couldn't stop this from happening any more than he could, if he even knew what was about to happen. But then she did something unexpected. She punched him out of the way. Virage's eyes widened. She wouldn't have expected that a girl of that stature would have the strength or the resolve to do such a thing. The knives trailed after Blaze, only to be stopped by some tricky maneuvering with the girl's own blade.

Virage looked over to where Violet reappeared, a thin smile on her face.

"Well, this saves me the trouble of looking for you," Virage said, shrugging. "Thanks for joining us."

The discarded knives stay where they had fallen, ready to attack again if Virage decided that it would help.

[William Talbot]

As the gap between himself and Virage closed, Will caught the glinting of knifes and instantly he formed a layer of heat and hard light around his body, starting on his hands and feet, and going from there.

However before his stomach could be covered, a flash of lavender and a solid blow to the ribs occurred and he found himself crashing through the brick wall of the building behind Slater, bricks, pots, pans and other cookwares flying about as he slid along the floor before he could get to his feet and then walk back out of the sizable hole he'd made.


Looking to Violet he held his tongue, his eyes expressing both understanding, and worry, as well as a mild level of annoyance, however, this was not the time for a heart to heart of the schematics of the situation.


Looking back to Virage he set his jaw and them reformed the shield of hard light energy and heat, knowing it wasn't ass effective as her own mentally powered kinetic shield, but that it would offer that much more resistance to her attacks.


Using the Link Will spoke to Violet softly, and clearly, inside the safety of her mind, as the link couldn't be tapped by just anyone, and while Slater might detect that they where again linked, she would be unable to tell just what was being conveyed; "Violet... Please don't change your tactics for my sake, just fight her as you would otherwise, or she'll use us against each other."


And with that, Will gathered a fire ball that was half heat and light, and half kinetic force, and with a moment of thought he grew it to the size of a basket ball before he fired it away, the mass splitting into five smaller spheres of power, that dispersed into a random pattern before converging on Clarie's form, each with the force of a grenade...

[Violet Schultz]

Yeah, I know, she replied. Are you alright?

The fundamental difference between Will's fire and Violet's own was how it was created and maintained. Will's fire came from his spirit, and essentially resided there. Violet's fire came from her life itself, and resided in her mind. The link spanned both, so it was difficult for anyone to tap into, even a telepath. It was a very profound and deep connection that was only possible because of their unique make-ups and power sets. It was fortunate that Virage couldn't get into her mind, since it allowed them a way to talk to each other that she couldn't hear. In battle, that was definitely an asset.

She ignored his irritation. She knew that he understood why she had come down to help, and he was going to have to get used to the fact that she wasn't the type of person to sit by and let other people do her fighting for her. She wasn't the main target, but she was involved now. Besides, Will's fight was her fight.

Violet's eyes pulsed rapidly, at the speed of her heartbeat. Her powers were close to the surface, ready to be used at a moment's notice once she came up with a good plan of attack. The opponent's powers were entirely mentally based. Maybe it was time to take a page out of Virage's book and play this on a mental level rather than a physical level. They had both noticed that she had something not altogether wholesome about her mental probe, something unhealthy. If her mind wasn't healthy, maybe they could break her down completely. It seemed that the only ways to stop her from using her abilities were unconsciousness, death, or maybe mental breakdown...

"So, after us, what is your plan? You say you've got nothing to lose, but what would you gain?" she asked. "I mean, it's not as if you've got anything worthwhile already if you have nothing to lose."

[claire]

Virage laughed, the mental echo darker and harsher than her girlish voice. She could tell that this girl was smarter than she seemed, looking like a high school drop-out as she did. There seemed to be a plan brewing behind those purple eyes of hers, and Virage replied after she dispersed the air from around Blaze's fireballs, weakening the flames enough that the blasts broke across her shield like water balloons against a wall. She could still tell that they had pretty powerful impacts to them, though. He must be adding more than just simple flames to those...

"Give me a break," she sneered. "I don't need a lecture on what's important in life from a girl who whores herself out for a amnesiac werewolf."

She tended to get very personal in fights, and it often provoked people to attack in anger. People who attacked in anger were usually much easier to defeat, since their focus was more on their emotions than on their tactics. Still, although she had shown a little annoyance, this girl didn't strike Virage as quite so emotionally driven as her boyfriend. In any case, she was going to give it a shot. If it didn't work for her, it would probably at least make Blaze more upset.

This time, she would definitely kill his little girlfriend. It might be a bit more challenging to do it when fighting both of them, but she could pull it off. She would just have to be careful and keep them off-balance. She lifted some of the knives from where they lay on the ground and sent them flying toward them, swerving the knives around through the air to surround them at multiple angles before sending them toward them at all. She didn't really expect for them to hit, but if they did, that was a plus anyway.

[William Talbot]

"I'm fine, but did you have to hit so hard?" Will responded as he mentally blocked out the sore feeling he was getting in his ribs before he snorted out at Virage; "Hey YOU should talk! At least she has the sense not to get mixed up with a psychopathic one eyed pedophile!" Will fired back as he sent a heat wave out with an extra push of kinetic force, knocking the knifes off course before he latched onto the ground under and around her and then set off a shaped explosion that cratered the ground around her and flung enough asphalt, concrete and hard packed dirt up to either obscure them, from her sight, or knock her off balance, if not harm her somehow...


It was as the dust cleared that Will then dug deep and then launched a hot and fast empathic attack, frustration, fear and confusion, every scrap of it taken from the people still too close to the action, and every ounce he could spare of his own, lanced at her, her kinetic shield useless against the mental attack, and while it might not be as powerful as anything she could do, he was banking on it taking her off guard, since he had never tried to project feelings onto others, but then, it was something his mother had forbidden him from doing when he was younger and still learning, and at the moment, Will was thinking it was because of the dangerous nature of such an action.

Given the current situation, he didn't think he mother would have minded so much...