e x p l o s i o n

Christine was a trained fighter and a professional one too, so when she saw the person take off with someone’s purse, she turned to chase after them.  She barely got into her stride when she heard this guy, who was closer to the thief yell out an order. She stopped herself and fumbled with her phone before she spotted some officers not too far from her. She got their attention and pointed toward Harper’s direction. “Ok, so, yo, he needs some help. This guy stole this girl’s bag and I think he’s getting it back to her!” 

“Harper,” Vance’s voice quivered as he spoke.  There was a quick building of fear that spasmed in the back of his throat that Vance swore caused the sparkling of electricity in his head.  He took a deep, heavy breath as he turned around to face his much taller, more muscular friend.  With a slowly raised hand, he pointed to the attackers that started to head their way, “Are those guys friends of yours, Harper?  They look just as angry as you do, friend.”  Vance bit his bottom lip hard enough to stop the growing fear from expanding.  "You,“ Vance said as he looked at Harper, "You go do that.  You fight these guys and explode them like you always do.  Boom!  Boom!  Explode!”

"That's why I told you not to follow me, you shithead," Harper muttered as he caught sight of Vance's expression. The fear of others wasn't something that deterred Harper. If anything, the fear that came from other encouraged Harper to step up more - his confidence (mixed with arrogance, of course) was bolstered by the fear came off of Vance. "They're not friends," Harper said as he turned to face the attackers, "I was in the middle of doing a fucking job to make sure these assholes didn't get here first and you got in the way, Vance. But I do gotta thank you, man." A grin cracked on Harper's face as he nodded. He shook his hands out, held them to the side and he smirked, "I am going to make them explode. It's just what I need."

“ attempt to study the french rev. there’s a difference. “ she replies with a low chuckle , once harper was comfortably seated across from her. “ everything is history , right ? today will be history tomorrow , and this year will be history the next year. “ she leaned back on the sofa , taking a sip of her latte. “ literally , more than half of historic battles , & crap , was pointless. ceres isn’t any different. s.h.o.t & all that , it’s best not to think of it. their stupidity is mesmerising. “ she didn’t understand people ; their bloodthirst , their greed & their need to dominate. maybe it was darkness speaking from her , maybe it was the ghosts - but , she wasn’t all that conventional when it came to train of thoughts.

she frowns , not really informed about whatever he was talking about. “ help with what ? please tell me it’s not another charity. “ it’s been a few weeks since she’s attended classes - the ghosts were restless lately , & whenever they would swarm on her , she’d found herself incapacitated to do mundane things ; so she’d excuse herself , & isolate from the rest of the world.

Harper stared at her as she spoke and shrugged, "I don't care about any of that. Doesn't matter if it's history," Harper said as he looked over to her. He folded his arms over his chest as he looked over at her. "Whatever you wanna call it, my history is mine and I will keep it," Harper decided. He'd never been someone who faltered at owning anything that believed to him - from his successes and right down to his failures, he owned it and won't let anyone else take it. He looked at her, "If it was pointless, it wouldn't have happened and if it was pointless, Ceres wouldn't have been forged from those battles."

“Just your face or are you building a super suit? Maybe they’ll make comic books out of you.” Her brother loved comic books. She couldn’t remember if he collected anything with Harper’s face on it. “You definitely are. I hope you have plans on paying your PR team a lot of money, Explody Mcsplody Face.”  She could see him as a hero, and the way she saw it, he already was one, but he didn’t seem to be satisfied. “I don’t need your blessings, but I appreciate it. Having a mentor is really important… I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t meet any of my teachers.” She thought back to Bronson and hoped that his name on the memorial didn’t actually mean that he was gone for good. “I did make my own. That’s why you guys have a file on the most annoying alter ego name ever. I swear…”

“Wow, you sound like a quotable motivational poster. Well done.” She chuckled and gently clapped her hands together. Harper was fun to hang around even if he was rough around the edges. She wasn’t sure if he’d admit to it, but Genny thought that he was one of the better men that she knew. Aurora and him were good for each other. “Maybe. I just think that we need more opportunities for kids with abilities. Not all of them have to become super heroes or join agencies to use their powers. They can do a lot of good in different ways.” Genny then shook her head at his last question. “No. It’d hurt too much to talk to my parents. They’re probably raising the kid me, but I don’t think they’re interested in dealing with me as an adult. It’s complicated.”

despite being much shorter than harper, the first time they met, rory could not stand this man.  she thought that he was arrogant, brash and needed to be taken down a few notches;  everything about him was the opposite of the people that she usually found herself interested in.  yet, when the dome came up and she got to see his true colors - that was what caught her immediately.  "i know,” she replied, a smile came upon her, “i wouldn’t want you any other way.  no one can be as charming of an asshole as you are.”  though, they never put a label on what they were, it was very obvious that he was her person.  rory’s cheeks tint a rosy blush as he spoke.  it wasn’t even something to swoon about and yet, she was flustered over it.  that was just an effect he had on her.

as he turned to face her, rory hugged him even tighter.  she buried her face against his chest and just held him close with a sigh.  she smiled as he spoke and said, “you know, harper, i think i am going to be okay.  you’re right.  i’ll be sad for a little bit, but i’ll be okay.”  she looked up at him and said, “weren’t you going to get that thai food?”  rory giggled and smiled up at him.

"It takes a special kind of person to be who I am and that's not something that's going to change, ever," Harper reassured Aurora. The man might have matured over the years, but the very core of who he was had never changed. He smirked at her. He wanted to be a hero and somehow along the way, she was teh one who saved him. "You blush way to easily," he commented, "I didn't even do anything worth making you blush. Don't worry, we're getting to that time." This was a situation that Harper wouldn't mind making more permanent. Timing was key and right now, it wasn't the time to bring it up.

‘That’s what heroes fucking do.’ The words echoed around the confines of Manning’s head, sparking an internal laugh as he remembered how boisterous and immensely prideful Harper was. Back in their days at Altimira, initially he didn’t like the explosive attitude the other displayed. However, over the course of their training, Manning had grown to respect Harper’s actions, interpreting them as a sense of valor.—Only could he pull off a stunt such as the one he just exhibited while still managing to get his aspirations of heroism across. Harper had always been better than him at getting his points across, something Manning was highly envious of. Despite the difference in both of their personalities, one thing was for certain, when it came to the hero thing, neither of them wavered.

“I’m working on it!” He shouted over the roar of the beam as he ran through the center of it, wishing he had similar acrobatic capabilities to get this done and over with instead of having to tank it. Craning back his right arm once again, Manning aimed to finish the robber in one go before the beam began to chip away at his durability. One decisive strike should do it.

It was easier said than done, however. The robber seemingly got smart, directing the beam up higher and into Manning’s face, obstructing what field of vision there was. In he next moment, the beam dissipated and were it not for his quick reaction time and hardened skin, Manning would have suffered a nasty slice to his left eye as the robber executed his last resort with a combat knife. His buddy was down for the count, he clearly grew desperate, it was only natural he’d try one final act of violence. As he moved out of the way, Manning reached out to take a hold of the man’s wrist of the hand holding the knife.

“What’s with all the cheap shots tonight? You guys really are idiots.—First you rob a bank, then you have the audacity to resist and retaliate. Stupid.” With that Manning used his other arm, bringing his forearm down on the blade, breaking it from the hilt. Then in one swift motion, he let the arm return to normal to avoid dealing serious or fatal damage and delivered a chop to the side of the robber’s neck, catching practically dead weight as he slumped into Manning’s arms; passed out.

“They had balls, I’ll give them that.” Manning admitted to Harper as he approached him and the other robber, plopping his buddy on the ground beside him. Kneeling and reaching over to where the pieces of his wired mask lay on the ground, he shifted the hardness of his body to be only in his hands as he worked to bend the metal scraps into makeshift handcuffs around the pair’s wrists. The last thing they needed to deal with were anymore surprise attacks until CCPD arrived. When done, he stood and faced Harper, holding out a fist with a smirk. “Killed it as usual. Bro fist for the win.”

Harper's parents had initially sent him to Altimira in order to curb his attitude. He didn't need to learn to control his abilities - he had always been in control of his abilities to the point that he could come up with multiple finishing moves without batting an eye - but what he need to learn was how to deal with his personality flaws. Apparently, he was too arrogant, too aggressive and had no idea how to say the right things the way the heroes do. Although, he protested in every single way that he could, he wasn't disappointed to move to Ceres Centropolis where the Heroes and Villains resided. Then he wasn't disappointed when he enrolled into Altimira and saw the type of people that he would be around. Not that he would mention it, but everyone in the academy really helped curb his initial attitude.

"Okay, whatever. Just don't get your ass beat," Harper shouted as he looked at the robber he'd knocked out. He didn't have anything to restrain him and in the frantic of quick thinking, he stepped on the man's chest. It was only enough pressure to hold the man down and stop him from moving. He looked at the robber with disappointment before he looked back over to the fight that Manning was having. A flash of tension crept onto his face, not that it should have. Manning could take the fight. For as long as Harper knew him, Manning was not the type to be taken down by some second rate robber. Still, that flash of worry showed up on his face. He let out a quiet growl as he stopped his foot on the robber's chest. "Shit," he muttered when he realized he stomped his foot a little too hard but when Manning knocked that robber out, he let out a loud, "Yeah! That's right, fucker!"

That cocky smile came onto his lips as he watched Manning walk over to him. He nodded in agreement, "They've gotten insanely ballsy since the Dome went down. Like, they forgot that there are heroes here to fight their stupid asses." He grinned as he looked over at Manning, then at Manning's fist. He rose his hand, balled it into a fist and connected the fist bump.  "Of course, we killed it. Nothing's changed," Harper grinned and then suggested, "We should probably book it before the cops get here. Can't let them get to your secret identity or nothing, man."

Secret identities were tricky. There had been a point in time where Harper tried to solve heroes' alter egos, but ultimately, he decided that it wasn't worth it. If someone had an alter ego, there was a reason why they had it - a few years back, he would have kept going but Harper had matured. He looked over at Manning and said, "I can't believe I didn't figure that shit out earlier, man. I had notes on you and I had notes based on Brick. I'm not sure why I didn't just put the two and two together. That's so embarrassing on my part. I'm supposed to be fucking smart." He shook his head and grinned, "You been doing good shit as Brick though. Real hero shit."

“why are you the way that you are?” rory asked as she slunk further into the seat of the sofa.  her cheeks were painted bright red.  there was no one else in the apartment for her to be embarrassed in front of but it seemed that harper always knew how to make her blush, even by just speaking.  the woman pouted, sighing as he accused her of liking it and she nodded.  "yes, okay.  okay,“ she threw her hands up in the air and said, "i like it, okay.”  then pouted and muttered, “why do you like making me admit it all the time?”

it was rare to get a compliment from harper.  not that harper has ever said anything to make rory feel awful, but those days when he would give her a heartfelt compliment?  it made her heart beat so fast, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to catch it.  rory put her spoon in the ice cream carton and left it on the counter as she walked over to where harper was.  "thank you,“ rory said as she reached out to hug him from behind.  she nuzzled her face against his back and sighed, "thank you, harper.”  rory’s heart may have been heavy but she could lean on those she loved for support, especially in times like this.

Harper's smirk at her was his answer to her question. In truth, he hadn't intended to be tangled with Rory and yet, it happened. Maybe it was her persistence, that optimism and that desire to do what was right that caught him. He rose his brows at her for a moment before he smiled and said, "I'm not changing the way I am." Harper had never been someone who shied away from who he was and that wasn't something that was going to change. He smiled at her and said, "Because I like hearing you talk. Especially when it's about me."

When he felt Rory's arms hug him, he stopped walking. He felt her voice as she nuzzled against him. Harper put his hand on hers and said, "You chose me, Rory. I've never been the type to disappoint the people who believe in me, especially you."  He turned around to face her before he hugged her back. He rest his chin on her head and said, "Don't worry. You can be sad, Rory. You can be sad and I'll take care of you. I'm never going to disappoint you."

rory tried to bite back that smile as it attempted to betray her.  her eyes looked up him as his hand cupped her face.  whatever softness she was feeling from him went away as he kept talking.  her mouth opened in surprise as she said, “shut up.  don’t say things like that!”  they were the only two people in his apartment but rory still felt herself blush at the dirtiness of his words - she was full-grown woman and that was embarrassing enough to make her ears turn red.  “you’re the worst sometimes,” rory said as he walked away.  she shoved the spoon into the ice cream as she let the thoughts and memories flood in.

“yeah.  they were such good people,” rory said, “remember how you always spoke about what a hero truly is?  i think they were the best definition of heroes.  i mean, i was the newest ranger and i looked up to them in every single way.”  she smiled before she took a bite of the ice cream.  after a few bites, she looked back over to him, “they never gave up.  they were only human but every single time they were knocked down, they got back up.”  rory felt the warmth in her heart beat with sadness;  she loved her team, even if she didn’t get to spend as much time with them as the others.  for their sake, she would keep going and keep striving to protect those that can’t protect themselves.  however, right now, being mopey and eating ice cream was a good idea.

Harper gave Rory a slight look, eyeing her as she told him to shut up. This woman was really strange. While Harper didn't understand most women, he made sure that he would understand this one - she'd become one of the most important people to him, somehow. He sighed and said, "Right, right. Next time, I'll just remind you." The slightest smirk tugged its way to the corner of his lips. That would be enjoyable for him just as much as it was for. He shrugged and said, "You keep saying that, but you fucking like it, Ror. You fucking like that."

Being a shield for those around him is something he should be used to by now, it being something he praises himself highly to be able to do. It still didn’t make it all the better when he actually has to end up shielding someone over such a close call. Out of anyone, Manning knew Harper was more than capable to handle the punks, it was the miscalculation that’d creep up and bite him in the ass. But that was what Manning was here for, to make up for the lack of defense there clearly was. He just took an energy ball to the face, after all.

Eyes fell to the robber who was preparing another energy ball, assessing the situation knowing well enough it were pointless to say anything at the moment while Harper rambled on. Energy balls and beams against explosive sweat and hard skin; two offensives against an offense and defense, the latter of the pairings being the ideal winners here. 

The robbers lack in any sort of defense was what would end this silly little stunt in a matter of minutes, “Even if they did think they can take us, after the commotion they caused to get in here, we won’t be the only ones they’ll be dealing with.” He said, placing his hands on his hips, eyes still on the two robbers with more attention on the energy ball pointed directly at them. A smirk appeared on his face at the commendation from the other. Those were rare to come by.

“—I got this.” With a roll of his shoulders, Manning began to advance toward the robbers, his entire upper body becoming rugged and tough like rock. In a panic, the one robber let the energy ball fly, connecting directly to his chest. Still, Manning marched on, entirely unfazed by the impact and power behind the attack. Had this been any other moment, he’d smile at the look of sheer fear on the men before him, but his expression remained stoic as ever. Finally propelling himself forward, he craned his right arm back, preparing to punch the energy ball guy to get him out of the way. It shouldn’t hurt too bad.

However, it were the actions from the other robber that caught Manning off guard. Without having a secure footing on to the ground, the energy beam he fired off ended up having a direct hit, sending Manning through the air, crashing and bouncing off the side wall. He’ll give it to the punk, it was a good shot, but futile nonetheless. There was another beam, more forceful and controlled this time, pushing him back into the wall. “Get the other one before he pees his pants.” He shouted to Harper before running down the beam toward the robber, who looked like he actually pissed himself at the sight of Manning taking the beam like it were nothing.

Between the training Harper had received at Altimira Academy and at the Inner Sanctum, he really should have made sure his plan of attack was more secure and more stable. Unfortunately, Harper's overconfidence had a tendency to wash over all logic and caution when it came to immediate action. It was a hard habit to break for the blond, but one that often led him into more trouble than needed. At the very least, it seemed that Lady Luck had decided to pay him a visit tonight. He could have handled this - at least, he thought he could - but he wasn't going to complain now that he didn't have to worry too much on the defensive aspect. Manning had always been better than him at it. Not that he would openly admit it, but it was nice to be able to rely on someone other than himself once in awhile.

"Eh, they're fucking idiots," Harper replied as he threw his hands up in the air, letting them go into the universal sign for "I don't know". Though, he did consider most of the villains (and would-be villains) to be complete morons, Harper had come to notice that since the descent of the Dome, they'e started to get bolder than normal. Only two robbers attempting to break into a bank? He didn't like the way this crime sounded. "I mean, they decided to rob a bank in Ceres Centropolis. You'd think they'd know not to do this shit by now."

Harper gestured for Manning to go first. Normally, Harper would have just rushed into this on his own but since Manning was a fellow Altimira alum, he would let the other get a few good hits in. That and Harper really didn't want to deal with energy balls to the face. Harper observed the scene for a moment. His eyes narrowed when that energy beam hit Manning in the chest - that shouldn't hurt him, right? It better not have. That flash of concern was fleeting. Harper's ears picked up the sound of quiet movement from the other robber. He turned his head just in time to see them moving.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do!" Harper shouted at Manning, "I'm not doing this because you told me to. I'm doing this shit because --," Harper threw his hands back. The sweat in the palm of his hands built up quickly. As his hands were coated with the nitroglycerin, the crackling the explosion filled the silence before the liquid exploded. Harper quickly jumped as the force of the explosion pushed him through the air. With his open palms placed behind, he moved through the air, instantaneously ending up above the robber. Harper threw himself forward. With the force of the last explosion, he ended up above the other robber. He held his right palm out, barely grazing the robber's  head. Then, a soft explosion. Not to kill guy, just enough to knock him out. He landed perfectly on his feet before he turned around to face Manning and finished his words, "That's what heroes fucking do."

Surreal. That were the only way he could sum up the feelings overtaking what was a calm demeanor not even five minutes ago. Sure, he’d been Brick here and there over the past five years since Ceres’ disappearance, but this time it was different. Coming back from the leave he had taken to find his city completely gone, it’d been the one thing that truly broke him no matter how unbreakable he claimed to be. The city, the people inside he swore to protect over anything else simply disappearing into thin air…he felt defeated for the first time in a long time. Never did the thought he’d be walking the streets again five years later, be it as Manning or Brick, ever cross his mind as horrible as it sounds.

It’d been quite sometime since he felt this determined, almost as if Ceres’ returned circulated the embers of a dying fire that once burned brightly. Donning his gear, there was a familiar itch for action he all but forgot the feeling of. To those outside the Dome, to those that time continued, and to those who’s fates were deemed for them, Brick had a lot of making up to do and he were ready to put everything on the line for them like the good old days. The sound of explosions echoing through the night were what brought his attention back to reality and out of his head. He raced to round the corner as he followed the direction the sound came from. For a split second, he saw it, blink and you would have missed it. There was only one person he knew who had the power and skill to propel themselves through the air in such a way. Of all the timing…it couldn’t be?

Booking it toward the bank, already over analyzing the possible situations and outcomes racing through his mind, Brick needed to get there and needed to get there faster than his legs were able. A crime as simple as a bank robbery could take a turn for the worse in the matter of seconds, especially if it’s who he thinks is in there; alone. He came up to the breach in the building, peering inside ever so quietly in time to see the other’s foot collide with the robber’s face. Out of his peripherals, the young hero caught sight of the second robber charging up something akin to an energy ball, directly aiming it at the familiar male’s back. “Harper! You’re si–” Whatever else that was going to come out of his mouth was silenced by the impact of the energy ball when it connected with his face as Brick only had mere seconds to get whatever part of his body in between Harper and the cheap attack. Once the smoked around his head cleared away, the wired guard he wore around his face as a mask fell to the floor in broken pieces. He meant to get that damn thing fixed a while ago.

“Still reckless as ever, I see.” Manning shot the other a smirk as his entire head returned to normal. There wasn’t a single person he can recall that knew who the identity of Brick…hell, he wasn’t even sure if he were well received among the people for them to even care. However, Harper was someone Manning trusted enough to know, to find out in such a lackadaisical manner. He was off his game and that didn’t sit right.

Harper hated the idea of panicking and yet, his eyes opened, surged with momentary panic. Although, Harper was very capable, he miscalculated this. His moved from the next attacker, then over to the energy ball being charged. "Shit," he muttered to himself. He braced himself for impact, bringing his arms upward and closing his eyes. Then, nothing happened.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, expecting to be hit by something and yet. His eyes blinked into focus as he looked at the figure in front of him. It should have been expected that a known hero would have come in, but an annoyed expression came on him. He could have taken care fo this on his own. He was strong enough. There were a million curses that rushed through his mind until he caught sight of the mask hitting the ground. At first, his brows furrowed until he saw that familiar face.

"Oh, perfect timing," Harper said as he realized who showed up in front of him. He let a sly smirk come up on his face before he said, "These shit-heads decided that they were going to rob a bank. Unfortunately for them, I had to make a deposit. They're just in the way."

Harper turned to kick the robber than he thought he had incapacitated but when he turned, the robber had reconvened with the one preparing an energy ball. "Ugh," Harper let out a groan as he walked up next to Manning. He thumbed over to the pair and looked at Manning, "These assholes really think that they can take us on? Like they honestly, whole-heartedly think they stand a chance?" He let out a laugh. He rose his hands in a form of a shrug before he smirked. Then he looked at them, "Y'all got like a second before I'm over this and you're all going to blow up. Or ...," Harper aimed to pat Manning on the back, "This guy'll show you just that whatever you guys have isn't strong enough." It might have been years since they were both students at Altimira, but it wasn't difficult to fall back into some schoolyard banter.

However, Harper had never been someone who had much patience. Instead of actually waiting, he sighed and looked at Manning, "Okay. I'm bored of this shit." He gestured to them and then asked, "You wan an do the honors or you want me to do it?"

“What a great way to re-frame your deficiency, you’ve got to teach me that.” She didn’t think that he was going to teach her, or that he was a good teacher, but she wanted him to know that while she was teasing him, she appreciated his good traits. He worked really hard to remember the important things and it was nice. “Ok, ok, you’re hard and as cold as a stone.” Genny chuckled as she continued to walk with him. “It’s because that’s why I’m at Altimira. I will bring it up with them… So outside from the nostalgia, are there any other reasons to why you’re hear, Splodey? Did you just want to check on how much little has changed?”