I was zipping up and away from a group of fallen Clockwork Gorillas and just as they had before, they went off in a rapid series of minor explosions. My head briefly whipped toward the beacon.

"Swan, I need you to start heading south and meet up with Freak," I said, looking over toward the dark thunderhead creeping its way toward the city. "Codex, get Freak to start evacuating the area. If he hasn't spotted Hydramental already, tell him to look toward the roofs, I need to know what elements are there. Also, I know it's probably going to be pointless, but Dusk is getting faster, see how long it will take to get those two over here."

"Wait, where are you going?" Swansong asked as we started to lift up and into the air.

"Hell's Kitchen. Hydramental is going to strike there at the same time. I'm not sure what his plan is but he took down a building a few blocks over from mine and Codex's place," I said, my brow furrowing.

"Fire Hydramental is spotted, though it was only because the dude was using torrents of flame to land on a roof, that new outfit of his makes it a lot harder to tell the difference between them," Jon reported, the background noise coming over his comms louder than ever. "Dusk and Pinky can get across the country in about 13 and a half minutes… should I tell them to start the run? The token out there hasn't been claimed yet, seems like it was pretty far north…"

"Do it. If the numbers are anything like it sounded like, this isn't something that's going to be over in a few minutes," I ordered. I wasn't exactly sure when it had happened, hell, maybe it was with this very rewind, but there was no part of me that pulled away from the thought that I was the leader of our team.

"Roger, passing it on now. Freak's spotted the Ice Hydramental."

"Perfect, we probably only have about thirty more seconds. The only Hydramental I saw landing in Hell's Kitchen was his electric form. Unless he's added another one, that just leaves his Earth and Wind forms," I said, looking back over at Swansong who hadn't started to move just yet. She was looking between the beacon and myself, a look of unease evident. I moved up a bit closer to her, knowing time was of the essence and spoke out loud. "There's going to be an entire horde of droids swarming out of one of the buildings close to Freak and at least three Hydramentals, he's going to need your songs Swan, all of them. I can handle his electric form on my own, maybe even one more of them. I'd have to think he might have Wind paired up there, it would explain how he launched himself across the sky like a damn lightning bolt."

"Like a lightning bolt?" Jon asked as Swansong gave me one more uncertain look before raising up and heading straight toward the beacon has fast as she could

"Yeah, dude must have some sort of build up power like Pinky cause he came down hard, I'd be willing to bet it would overload Flash Frame Overcharge, but I think I can at least redirect it with the Catch version," I said, lifting my way up and into the air as I scanned the horizon.

"Hmm, let me check something," Jon murmured to himself just as the Droid Rampage mission appeared in my display, Angie taking the time to inform me just how annoyed she was at having to reread a mission that she had just read. "Freak just put eyes on the brown Hydramental… is that one, what, earth?"

"As far as I remember. I think it's yellow for electricity and green for wind… or… was it purple?" I said, my brow scrunching as I started to make my way toward Hell's Kitchen. The storm was still barreling toward the city and I was briefly left wondering how Hydramental was getting the clouds to follow him. Maybe Mr. Factory had built him some sort of droid that created the moving clouds.

"Well Freak can see bands with blue, red, and brown, so we've got those ones accounted for. There's gotta be at least a hundred droids coming out of that place and… wait why is Hydramental-"

"-is that one, what, earth?" I had barely even let Jon speak Hydramental's name when I realized what I had missed and backed things up, only rewinding a few seconds to budget my bank.

"Tell Freak to start highlighting droids the moment that they appear. Hydramental is going to try and force them to equalize up to his level," I ordered, putting on the speed as I shot over the park. The rain was steadily picking up and while the wind didn't seem to affect me while flying, the same wasn't true for the rain and I could feel it smacking against my face as I raced toward the rooftop that I hoped would still be Hydramental's target.

"On it," Jon confirmed, the soft click echoing in the back of my head as I realized I was, for once, almost completely alone.

"What if this is a trap?" Angie asked, almost hesitantly.

"Then it's a trap and I'll back things up. As long as he doesn't have a Dead Zone device, we should be fine… and shit, if things still work like they did when my action bars disappeared, even that won't be a problem," I said briefly attempting to activate Orbit Me to see if the rain counted enough as an "inanimate object" to be caught in the field and protect my face. It unfortunately did not and I filed that away as something to search for a solution for at the book store.

"Yes… about that… I am still not quite sure how that has occurred. As I may have mentioned, when you performed the rewind from within that Dead Zone, I didn't maintain my memory banks. I would rather that not happen again, so if you could try to handle this without rewinding things from a Dead Zone, I'd appreciate it," Angie said, trying her best to sound chipper even if I did hear worry clearly in her tone.

"I'll do my best…" I said, trailing off as I added that as something else I'd need to follow up on, though it might be prudent to just add it to my list of things to talk to The First about.

The thunder was beginning to grow as I quickly crossed the distance to Hell's Kitchen. I had to slow down to find the rooftop as the rain continued to pick up, soaking my hair through as I found my target and zipped toward it. The energy in the air was starting to shift again and I could hear the growing rumble. My need to curb my speed due to the rain had slowed me down, but not so much that I wasn't able to come skidding to a stop atop the large building just in the knick of time.

I could feel the charge of static in the air, cutting through the sky like a knife through butter as I planted my feet. I could hear the click in the back of my head as Jon rejoined my channel, though I didn't hear a word of what he was saying as I slammed my hands together. I couldn't risk miss timing it, because I was positive a strike this big would be more than enough to put me down, and I let instinct take over completely.

Just as the surge of energy was about to strike, I yanked my hands apart, activating Flash Frame Catch as a thin, practically translucent sheet pulled through the air between them. I wasn't in the exact right spot, but I managed to pull myself backwards just in time as I caught the bolt of lightning with the sheet. It took at least two seconds for the entire bolt to vanish into my ability before I quickly turned, aiming back up into the air, and fired the energy back out.

I had thought that Hydramental had been, I don't know, riding the bolt of electricity down somehow. It would have easily explained the form I was sure I had seen coated in electricity back before I rewound the first time. But as I blasted the trapped electricity back out, I was surprised to see the energy itself convalesce and merge together only a dozen or so feet away from me, slowly taking the shape of a human as it floated in midair.

"That's not Hydramental," Jon said, stating the obvious as I stared at the younger woman who was glaring down at me with mild surprise. Even though I didn't need to highlight her to know who she was, I still did, just to cover my bases.

"Tempest's Wrath. Level 24 Thunder God."

"And here I had thought I was going to need to destroy a building to draw you out. You 'ave come to me, or… were you expecting me?" Tempest's Wrath asked, her voice coming out with what I thought was a light French accent.

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There was a constant buzz of static coming off of her feet as she seemed to float in the air above it. She wore a tight spandex costume, not unlike Swansong's but hers was a mixture of black and greys, with bright gold accents moving like electrical arcs down the side. Her dark black hair fluttered out behind her, arcs of electricity seeming to pull it away from her body like she was overcharged with static. Given her apparent powers, I was pretty sure she was.

Even as I stared down the woman that had been Axio's apparent favorite and a terror on the highlight reel, I didn't find myself suddenly panicked or preparing to fight. No… as much as I maybe should have been more prepared for a sudden attack, I found myself, without intending to, laughing.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," I said between laughs, reaching up to wipe the water off of my face as the rain continued to fall. "I mean, seriously!?!"

"What… why are you laughing?" Tempest asked, her intense stare breaking slightly as I looked back her way trying to regain my composure. "I am a god of thunder and you dare to laugh?!"

That, probably unfortunately, made me laugh harder. I wasn't sure why this in particular was what had broken my demeanor, but the simple fact was I had already had enough to deal with. Throwing yet another destruction happy enemy my way frankly just felt like overkill and I simply couldn't help myself.

"Please, that powerset makes you as much of a god as mine makes me a planner," I said, shaking my head as I finally managed to get myself under control. "Let me guess, you want to fight? If that's the case, can we just get on with it, my friends are dealing with a mess of droids and they need my help."

"Your help? You won't be able to help yourself when I am done with you," Tempest said, her eyes glowing a bright yellow before her body erupted into lightning and surged toward me yet again.

I once again slammed my hands together, activating Flash Frame Catch yet again as I caught her surging form. It was far less energy this time and I took a risk by aiming toward a nearby door that led into the building. Sure enough, as she surged back outward, reforming into her human shape, she slammed into the wall with a loud Oof.

"See, I don't know if you missed it, but I just dealt with a Giant Chicken that spit electricity at me, I'm kinda used to that element already," I said, feeling my confidence rising. While it wasn't a perfect skill to hurt her, the fact that Flash Frame Catch didn't have a cool down meant that at least had a way to keep her from striking me with one of her powerful charges.

"If you think that is all I am capable of, you 'ave already lost," Tempest practically growled, her form once again bursting into electricity. This time however, she didn't rush me. At least, not completely.

The mass of electricity surged toward me and I once again activated Flash Frame Catch, pulling the sheet a part in time to catch the wave before it could hit me… only for the entire ball of energy to explode outward, wrapping up and around my body before I suddenly felt a sharp pain hit my back and a jolt of electricity surge through me. I began to shake and I mentally reached for Timekeeper's Control hoping she hadn't managed to stun me just yet as my vision went blurry.

As things cleared up, I found myself backed up just a few seconds, the mass of electricity surging my way. I still slammed my hands together, just as I had been doing, but this time, as she erupted into an electrical cage to surround me, I used two more abilities that I hadn't touched in a while. Fun House activated as several versions of me appeared scattered across the rooftop and I immediately used Echo Step to jump away from the electrical cage just before a sharp, blade-like appendage could stab me through my back.

Her attack connected with my illusory double just a moment before Echo Step's secondary effect activated and the illusion exploded, causing her to reform into her human shape and stumble backwards, her head whipping around to look between my various illusions.

I didn't have a way to duplicate my voice like Hydramental did, so I knew I was going to be taking a risk, but I had to try it all the same.

"This is pointless Tempest," I said from behind her, her head whipping over before she surged my way. I once again used Echo Step jumping to another one of my doubles as she took yet another explosion to the face.

"Huh… if she reforms when she takes damage, why weren't Vice Grip and Duke Juke'em able to stop her? Unless… maybe she can't take physical damage in that form but the explosion is something else?" Jon's voice seemed to break through to me as I carefully watched Tempest, her head whipping around to my remaining forms as a look of uncertainty seemed to pass over her.

"I don't know, I'm just trying to get her to stop… How are Freak and Swan?" I asked, risking the distraction as Tempest tried to decide her next target.

"Surviving, Hydramental is still at least pretending to help, but Freak has taken a few strikes by splash damage. Swan just got there and is trying to help. Pinky and Dusk are on the way and so is Miss Mist," Jon reported.

"Miss Mist is going too?"

"Once she heard Hydramental was there she dropped everything and started flying that way, she was practically chomping at the bits," Jon said just as Tempest burst into electricity and rushed through one of my illusory clones. I at least pretended to dodge, though the way the form dissolved without exploding made it clear she had gotten the wrong one.

"Gah, what are these powers!? They do not make sense," she spat in frustration as she turned to take in the two remaining forms I have.

"They're the ones I have," I said, giving away my position again as she whipped her head toward me. She was just about to rush my way when I held up a hand. "Can you slow down for like, a minute and at least tell me why you're attacking me? Or why you've just been trying to destroy everything?"

"Why would I not? This is a game and fighting is a part of it. The points, the superpowers; it is what we were uploaded to this simulation to do, is it not?"

"Simulation? Super powers and Augments have been around for a decade, was it just a simulation before you were Augmented?" I asked, almost surprised to find Tempest actually did hesitate.

"I was asleep before I was Augmented and I 'ave no memories of the time before, this is not evidence that will convince me."

"Oh for the love of… Look, I don't know what your P.A.I. has told you, but this is real life, you have to understand that… these people, the places you're destroying, they are real places," I said, gesturing back behind me. "You had to know that if you thought destroying a building would draw me out…"

"It's… this is a game," Tempest said, shaking her head defiantly. "You are the one who is being misled."

"How can you be sure?!" I demanded. Someone had to have said this to her before… right? Or had she just been so powerful from the start that no one had ever stopped to try to talk sense into her? Was I being crazy thinking that it could work? Probably. But I also thought I could talk sense into Hydramental, so maybe I was just a bit crazy.

"No, I know what I 'ave seen," Tempest said, shaking her head defiantly as electricity started to spark around her. It was becoming clear she wasn't quite open to listening to reason, which was of course my luck when it came to dealing with basically anyone that wanted to fight me and I immediately started to prepare to make my move, knowing I had to stop reacting and start controlling the flow of the fight. "How many times do you think you can stop my charge? How long do you think you can run Loophole? It is only a matter of time until I have-"

I didn't wait for her to finish before I jumped through the air with Echo Step, appearing directly in front of her as I launched a punch forward as fast as I could. Her eyes went wide as my fist connected with her stomach and I unleashed a 3000 point Mass Driver. She went spiraling backwards, her body trying to turn to electricity and failing to do so as I chased after her.

Whatever Tempest thought was going on, she clearly had a few screws loose. I had to assume that like the rest of us, she must have been in some sort of accident prior to getting Augmented; and like Hydramental, something about the process hadn't worked quite right. I punched forward again as she slowed to a stop, intent on unloading a Gravity Punch with the rest of my stamina when she turned back to electricity and surged away from me.

I slowed to a stop as I tried to track the rushing electricity, only for her to circle back in on me, trying to take me by surprise. It was only at the last second, but I once again caught her with Flash Frame Catch, launching her back down into the ground as she let out a roar of anger.

"STOP DOING THAT!" she complained, though this time, she sounded less like a furious valkyrie and more like a child who was getting annoyed. My stamina was getting low and I was going to need to use an injector if we were going to keep fighting, but I also knew if she saw me doing that, it might give her enough information to help her figure out how to overload my defenses.

"I'll stop when you stop trying to attack me! There's enough shit going on that-"

A loud explosion cut me off as I felt a rumble shake through my very body, even as I floated in midair. I risked looking away from Tempest and down toward the south where I saw the top of a building collapsing down and toward the city. While I couldn't make out any forms from this distance, mostly obscured skyscrapers, I could hear a loud screech of a roar that preceded a column of flames bursting up and into the sky.

"There's two more Giant Clockwork Chickens that just appeared Loophole," Jon reported as I grit my teeth together. I looked from the dissipating fire and back down to Tempest. Or at least, I looked back to where I thought she had been.

"Fucking great…" I muttered, activating Area Sense as I waited for the surprise attack. After a few seconds passed without one coming I started to feel a sense of unease come over me. "Tempest?" I called out hesitantly, my question accented by a small wave of thunder. The rain was still falling, but it had seemed to lessen ever so slightly.

"The squad definitely needs you Loophole. I know it's dangerous to leave it like this, but if she's gone, we need to just hope she's trying to regroup for later, you need to move and head south, now!" Jon ordered as I kept sweeping my eyes around, wondering where she could have vanished to so quickly.

"Okay…" I said hesitantly. Tempest running away didn't make any sense based on what I had thought I knew about her, but given that the only thing I really did know was the small bits of footage shown in the highlight reel, that wasn't exactly saying much. Like with practically everything else I had been dealing with, her attitude and her beliefs just raised more questions than answers and they'd be among the first things I'd be bringing up to Jon once we had the time to focus and talk. For the time being, my squad needed me. "Tell Freak I'll be there in two minutes."

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