I've got a post in the works right now! Be prepared!  I'm burr, btw!

Zandibar~

Skylar and I trade blows, dodging and weaving around the computers. I'm vaugely aware of snakes and knives and blood and screaming in the background, but I can't let myself get distracted again. I got lucky with just a punch on the jaw the last time. 

It's only a matter of time. She knows it. I know it. Only a matter of time before she wears me down and it's all over. Only a matter of time before the bullet wound in my poison-weakened body and the deep, bloody slashes all over my hands cause the whole thing to shut down. And then it's over.

Don't think that way, Zandi. Don't think. Attack, defend. Protect. That is all.

I lunge forward, body narrowed behind my knife. She locks her blade with mine, our arms press together, both of us fighting for control, trying to force the other knife away. I step forward, trying to use my height as an advantage, when it happens. 

A puddle of blood under my feet, a misstep, my feet fly out from under me and I am on my back on the floor. My knife clatters out of my grip. I try to spring to my feet, hands scrabbling for my weapon, but then Skylar's boot is pressed against my chest, her knife at my throat. I go still.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time, Skylock," she says, her face close to mine, "Should I kill you quickly? Or slowly, to draw out the pain? Maybe if you beg, I'll be merciful. But then again... maybe not."

"I... will never... beg you for anything, Skylar. Never," I gasp. She smirks.

"Always with the bravado, Zandibar. I didn't know we were on first name terms. But that doesn't matter. You're going to die." She moves her head away from mine, allowing me to see. "So take a look around. Your friends are defeated. You failed, Zandibar. You failed to protect them, even with your powers. You couldn't even keep Will on your side. You failed."

I force myself to watch. She's right. I have failed. Gem's mother is shoving her daughter into a wall. Rex is fighting hard, but it's easy to see he's weakening. Saana is still lying on the floor, barely conscious. I don't see Dawnstreak anywhere. 

I hear sirens. Red lights. The knife's pressing down harder, slowly cutting into my neck. Suddenly, I'm light. Skylar's boot is off my chest, her knife is gone. Have I died?

~~~~~[Ok, I'm going to stick Will back in and say Dawnstreak called the police. We can ignore my post from here if there are objections.]~~~~~ 

"Zandibar? Zandi, are you ok?" Will's voice. Oh, Will. I guess you're dead, too, then.

"Is she- dead?" Dawnstreak's voice. 

"I don't know! Zan, wake up!" Something brushes my face, something cool, yet gentle. It tickles a bit and I feel my face twitch. 

"She's alive!" Am I? I force my eyes open. Everything's different, yet I haven't moved. I'm in the same building, same position. But Will's face is over mine, not Skylar's. The cement floor is cold and there's something wet and hot trickling down my neck. The warehouse that was dark before is filled with red and blue lights, and unfamiliar voices surround me. I'm so confused, so tired, and the world is fading. 

I'll post when I have time. Probably tmrw.

Rex/Andy

~

I'm slipping, I know I'm slipping. Falling behind. Shaia has a manic energy I didn't reckon on. She's wounded, but somehow, I don't think she'll ever stop moving. 

In an instant, everything changes. The air is filled with screeching sirens. Blue and red lights brighten my vision, illuminating the dim laboratory. With sudden energy, I dash away from Shaia. I think I feel cold metal for a second, but maybe I'm making it up, because I'm beyond her, away from the fight. 

Saana is still on the ground. It's my instinct to protect her. She needs it now. Both of us are incredibly vulnerable to the cops, considering our history. Still, I'm blessing them silently. They probably saved us all. I know we were losing the fight.

Policemen and women come storming in, blue caps starched, carrying pepper spray and guns. "Break it up, break it up!" they shout, their voices full of pompous authority. This must look like a crime show.

I straighten myself up to my full height and stick up my chin. The policeman who walks over to me is slightly shorter than me, which helps.

He pauses, searching my face. A realization hits him. "You're Rex! The Rex!"

I gesture around me. "Working for the forces of good. Ask the vigilantes."

He stares around the room, gawking as he recognizes familiar masks and outfits. Zandibar is on the floor, with Tariana and Will bending over her – Will? She's back?! I grin despite myself.

The policeman turns back to me, apparently convinced for the time being. "You're all hurt. Before we straighten out the situation, we have to get the severely wounded to a hospital." He turns and strides back to confer with his fellow officers.

I'm gradually aware of a slow, stabbing pain. It starts in my side and begins to reach all over my body, getting worse and worse and beginning to envelope all my thoughts. I glance down and realize my shirt is drenched with blood. Shaia must have sliced me with her knife, and it went deep. A parting blow.

A different police officer comes over to me now, her face hard and her eyes cold. "We've reached the conclusion that we simply cannot place criminals such as you in a common hospital without endangering the other patients. The prison doctors will be able to provide adequate medical care, and we will decide on your fates." I notice she's pointedly avoiding looking at my side. Out of guilt, probably.

It's that not-looking that breaks me. My voice comes out ragged, desperate, but loud. "I might die in jail. We might all. We've all been wounded really badly." I repeat my point. "If you put us in jail, we're probably going to die."

She flinches, but the ice in her eyes doesn't thaw.

I can't. I can't... I'm shivery even as warm blood soaks through my shirt. Shaking and burning and unable to form any coherent thoughts but one. The sirens are too loud, the lights are swirling into a kaleidoscope and all I know is odds are I will die and I should probably have some decent last words.

I can barely even hear my own voice, I just know that I'm falling so this could be the end. I always thought I'd die like this: in battle, young and desperate. "Saana," I say, or maybe whisper, maybe yell. I don't honestly care if I'm crying out to the heavens, she deserves to hear... "Saana, I love you."

The world is gone. 

Whoa, Eevee said fake!

~Gem

I wince as my mom pins me down. "Mom, please." A glint comes to her eye, the one that used to come when she would take my wages from the laundry mat.

"I know that tone Gemma," she says mockingly. "Ah, how I've been able to enjoy it this whole time I've had responsibility over you."

I flinch as her gaze grows colder. I try to at least shake the building, but the pain of everything is too much. We're losing this battle, I know it. Then police sirens begin in the distance, slowly coming closer. Soon the red and blue lights are visible through the lab windows... 

Holy heck, I'm proud of you guys! I loved this RP! I can't believe it's so long now...

What's going on? Any chance I could rejoin as Will?