X ambush
Masks: Heartland Justice, 2025-01-09
no alcohol for minors
Around midnight after the CogX 2.0 fight, Blink found the Glint walking down the middle of a Chicago street calling out taunts to Rajesh. An interested crowd was forming, taking pictures and video. Blink convinced him to eat something and called the rest of the team together at an all hours restaurant/bar.
But the waitress refused to serve the teenage heroes alcohol. She lectured them on responsibility and said maybe Patton had a point. Abed rejected her influence but couldn't get her to budge. The heroes left.
At the Lightning family safehouse, Diego and Abed did not make up. But the team called:
- AEGIS HQ building engineer: no answer, voicemail
- Agent Chan, Rayburn's superior: gave number for Agent Wong, on unsanctioned stake out of SkumTech HQ, where X, Rajesh, and Void were all thought to be.
surveillance van
The heroes took over for Agent Wong and her team. Blink Lightning and Clarke the Bear patrolled outside. But el Luchador and the Glint couldn't wait: the former wanting revenge on X, the latter impatient to find Rajesh. Hearing them breaking in, Clarke caught up with them on the stairs, in time to crush the first security camera. Miles stayed outside but attentive on the radio.
X, not dead yet
On the top floor C-suite, X was waiting for them, with a 10-man security team, guns drawn. "Thanks for making this easy for me," X said, nodding to team to cuff the three heroes with super-grade cuffs. But Clarke transformed and they backed off. One dropped his cuffs and ran.
El Luchador launched himself at X. He got shot mid-air and X parried, but the bullet simply bounced off of him.
X threw a softball-sized sphere at the Glint, which opened mid-flight into a spider bot.
The Glint sensed Rajesh's presence in an office beyond X.
Blink zipped in and stole cuffs off the other two.
Clarke started killing people: a security team member.
El Luchador picked up X and pile-drove him into the floor. X sputtered blood and stayed down. Blink rushed him to the hospital.
The security team began an orderly retreat toward the elevators, opening fire. Clarke charged past them and cut them off. Somehow they were allowed to retreat.
daddy issues
The Glint found Rajesh penned in by unknown tech. Void sat behind the desk, slowly spinning in the office chair.
"Have you come for me, Father?" Rajesh said.
"Yes. If I free you, will you come with me to the Rift?"
"Come with you? I will take you, Father. I will be proud to show you my home."
fin
- In anger, the Glint smashed the containment tech, freeing Rajesh.
- Afraid, Diego avoided an uncomfortable and vulnerable conversation with Abed. But insecure about possibly killing X, Miles reassured him that Leon will be okay.
- Diego comforted a guilty Clarke.
At 2am, the heroes fled the scene for the Interdimensional Rift.