The Reality Vortex: The Black Rose

“Whoa, whoa, hey!” Kire held his hands up towards Spina who was about to blast the ceiling. “Jaz, put that guy in a tube, he’s actin’ crazy.”

“You got it!” Jaz replied.

Suddenly, beneath Spina’s feet, the floor opened and a glass tube, similar to the ones Zenta and Bernkastel were in. Spina fell inside the tube as Jaz’s robotic tendrils sealed the glass tube from the top, poking four holes for air. Even if Spina tried to blast the container he was stuck in, nothing worked. It seems Doom’s science magic worked wonders, and it didn’t help that Kire’s knowledge of technology only amplified its strength.

“Jeez, relax, would you? Don’t blast a hole in my lab. You’re literally foaming at the mouth! Jaz, check that guy for rabies.” Kire scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Annnnyways, what do you say, Breakers? I promise it will be worth your while! If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. See, aside from Jaz, I’m planning something big, but… it’s still in the works.”
 
Beach City Outskirts

Sinister Bernkastel sighed before nodding, pulling her eyes away from Vegetto Black to look at a puddle near their feet. He was right -- this wasn't supposed to go any further than getting rid of Whis. She couldn't parse how or why this riled her up more than it should have. "Sorry, I'm not thinking straight. My... head hurts." Obviously a lie but she didn't want to drag this out. Clearly the man's disapproval stung.

"They'll destroy themselves soon enough anyway. Where do we go for the next part of the plan?" SiniBern asked quietly as the rain around settled down to a dull drizzle.
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The Lab

Mooli stood in awe of the healing technology, eyeing the tubes in astonishment. "Wow! Mondo cool!"

With Kire's request and the subsequent containment of Spina, she gazed up at the ceiling to eye the animatronic he referred to as his daughter. Considering all that he said, her expression softened. "Well... if you can use Doom's magic gadgets for something good, sure. Helping a dad give his kid a happy life is the least I can do to repay you. Life can get really hard out there. A family you can come home to makes things easier to bear... anyhow, is there something else you're looking for besides machine stuff?"

Not to mention I have to help Daiman get back to wherever area he's from. Someone might be wondering about where he went off to... she thought with worry.
 
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The Lab

Cayde chuckled at Victor's proposition, his tone light hearted and aloof.

"I'm sure there are in this crazy place. Robot drugs might be more sketchy than regular drugs though..."

As Kire explained the situation, however, Cayde turned his attention back to the man that saved them. He stood silent for the most part, but as Kire specifically mentioned building a robot body for his daughter, his expression soured ever so slightly. Yet despite the clear displeasure, Cayde soon shook it off; dispersing the thought or personal issues he may have with the proposition.

"Well...sounds easy enough. Finding a few labs for saving our backs against those two students...not a bad deal."

Vegetto looked on with a small frown, displeased entirely with the idea itself. He wrestled with the idea of what just happened; the intense battle where the team was outmatched by the duo of doppelgangers presented the issue of survivability. If the pair was to attack them again during their search, there would be little to no hope of fending them off a second time. What was the point of helping this strange man if all would be lost again if they were attacked by the stronger force, much less the others?

Vegetto did not speak out against the idea, however, as more and more voices collectively spoke in favor of taking on the tasks. He watched Spina in silence, also in clear discomfort in the idea of engaging in any sort of task involving Doctor Doom's influence. However, his eyes shifted a bit as he watched Whis move forward; the angel having cleared his throat audibly at the end of Kire's request.

"Perhaps this is less about the task itself, Spina. More of an...opportunity to change. The little skirmish back there demonstrated that a sheltered life away from this reality, only leads to weakness. Try as you might, there is no stopping the inhabitants of this world from forcing you to involve yourself."

He kept a small smile, taking his attention off Spina and directing his next inquiry to the gathered Breakers.

"Why not choose to involve yourself this time? A new age for this place began when you chose to take part in this world...perhaps it is time you remember what it was that led you to thrive."

Vegetto perked his right eyebrow.

"And what would that be?"

Whis kept his smile.

"Curiosity. Even now, as old faces leave and new faces join...the driving force is still the same. Your curiosity of each other...of this world...gave you purpose in this reality. Perhaps it is time to give up on the dreams of control and peace, and let your curiosity drive you to see more of what this reality has to offer?"


Beach City Outskirts

Vegetto Black's smirk rose at Sinister Bernkastel's apology, but not in warmth or empathy for her desire to repent for the mistake. Instead, his smirk rose at her direct submission; seeing her simply bow to him in the matter alone fueled the doppelganger's pride and ego. He kept one arm still on the smaller Red Witch's shoulder, the other raising two fingers to his forehead.

"To another city. Lots of simple little creatures you'll probably enjoy messing with. But above all, we're going to make a new friend. I'm sure you'll love her."

Vegetto Black stifled a small, dark chuckle as the pair suddenly vanished into thin air.
 
“You think this little tube can trap me?” Spina immediately started firing highly concentrated energy attacks, but it did nothing. It simply ricocheted within the tube before striking the old Saiyan.

“….” Spina slammed his fists against the glass. “Let me out.” His eyes landed on Whis who spoke to him, but Saiyan had none of it. “I don’t care, now let me out.”

As everyone ignored Spina, Daiman was amazed that artificial intelligence can speak so freely. “Almost like an actual person…”

Hearing Kire’s proposal and Whis’ advice on tackling the task, Daiman raised his hands up. “W-wait a second! I’m not even the Breaker! I just got caught up in this mess, really…” He stumbled his words towards the end. “I, um, will just be on my way since I don’t really belong here…”
 
After being shoved out of the car and crashing onto Damian, Coella took hold of Avalon's hand, hoisting herself off the ground with what little energy she had. She seemed a bit dazed, but gave a tired smile as she looked around the laboratory. "Lucky us..." She giggled out as she examined her surroundings. Hearing Kire's task for the group didn't move her in the slightest. The witch glanced over as the group talked amongst themselves, only half listening as they decided what they would do. She completed her task and kept little Asher safe, and there was nothing of interest being said to her.

Coella moved around silently, leaning against Spina's tube. The witch smiled softly as she tapped on the glass, observing him like a goldfish stuck in a bowl.
 
Victor asks Kire "Do you have the locations of any other doom labs or locations you suspect they may be in? It seems that our group is mostly muscle for this enterprise." Victor thinks "There is a chance he thinks we will bumble into the lab and not destroy it somehow."

Victor summons a team of gnome engineers. Victor pays them what looks to be a single gold coin and points to the hole Spina made. The Gnome go to work fixing the hole.
 
“You’ll help me, good!” Kire said with a sigh of relief, gesturing to the giant monitor on the wall. “Now then, there are a few things I should inform you on. Yeah, I want the help, but I ain’t gonna have you guys do it for free. Just sit still, shut up, and I’ll answer all your questions.”

With some swift clicks and types on a separate keyboard, the screen before the group began to display multiple screens. One screen in particular showed a city that the Breakers have never seen before. It showed the citizens, each one looking rather mean and angry. Other parts of the city showed massive crime and underground trades. Needless to say, it did not look like a peaceful or safe city.

“This is Federation City,” Kire began, using his monitor as a slide show to inform the Breakers. “I have an informant livin’ it up in Fed’ City, so I managed to crack down on the location of one of the labs. It’s dead center in that city, underground, and prime for the pickin’s. Unfortunately, it’s got a barrier protecting it, so I can’t just walk in. That, and, lots of bad guys like to collect in the city, so people tend to avoid it. It’s mayor, Moby Dick, runs the joint. You heard of ‘im, right? Whelp, he’s havin’ big problems, bigger than usual in his city of baddies.”

Avalon stared up at the screen in confusion, wondering how the images appeared in thin air. He was more of a pen and paper man, and technology was a little too advanced for him. Asher, on the other hand, was in awe, his rainbow eyes glittering with glee upon seeing something new.

“What’s the bigger problem…?” Avalon asked, almost nervous about the reply. Maybe it’s not that bad…

“Apparently there is a Yowl in Federation City runnin’ amuck. That’s also the reason I can’t get the lab because it’s guardin’ it, y’know, aside from the barrier.”

“A what?” Avalon tilted his head. “A Yowl?”

“I’m not entirely sure what they are, but they are beings created in this weird-ass world. I still need to read more from that Detective’s journal entries, but hackin’ into the Detective Agency isn’t hard.” Kire’s fingers glided across the keyboard, pulling up snapshots of the being known as a Yowl. It was a female, but to the Breakers, she looked entirely familiar. Eerily familiar. Finally, a screen enlarged, showing a perfectly captured face of the female Yowl, sending a shiver of nostalgia through the Breakers, at least the ones who knew her.

“Her name is Kassava.” Kire said, gesturing to the photo of Yowl Kassava. “I don’t know much about who, or why, this Yowl is guarding the lab, but I’m ain’t the only one having problems. Darkseid is also trying to get the lab, but is stuck thanks to that Kass' chick. I'm not sure why he wants it, but I won't let him have it, not when I’m so close to nabbin’ it.”

Kire quickly turned to the Breakers, his green eyes softening ever so slightly, as if his mind was thinking of something else, something more personal.

“I need to get as those labs so I can find a way into Doom’s castle, that’s where the real stuff is at. I'm tryin' to beat my rival, Brainstorm, in gettin' that castle. See, there’s this thing I’m trying to build, a very special machine…” Kire pushed a button on his robotic arm, making it spit out a Vortex Coin, which he caught. He held out the coin for the Breakers to see. Engraved on it was a gorgeous woman sporting a beautiful smile, and the name ‘Evelyn Nicestone’ etched on its edge.

“These Coins… I know what they are, and I know that they are people. My bae is stuck like this, and I want to bring her back. I’m working on a machine to bring these coins back to life. It’s… It’s just a theory, and I’m still workin’ on it, but I believe, with more of Doom’s tech, I can make it happen. I mean, if I can make a sentient A.I. capable of understanding, feeling, and perceiving emotions like a human being, then…” Kire paused slightly, looking at Evelyn’s coin, his rough demeanor faulting slightly. “Then I can bring my wife back…”

“Look, I’m not askin’ you guys to do this for free, but I can't do this alone. If I can make this work, then I can help you by bringin’ you guys back when things get bad. Help me get more of Doom’s labs, and his tech, and I’ll be in your debt.”
 
“Don’t stand there. Get me out, rabbit.” Spina told Coella, but his attention shifted away from her at the mere mention of the name Kassava.

“What?” Spina thought to himself. “That’s impossible.” He thought, but when Kire shows off the image of this thing called “Yowl”, it was clear as day that was the very same Kassava. The only difference is that Kassava had red hair rather than the usual black and had an unusual outfit than her standard attire.

“How the hell… she was erased. How could she come back?” Spina thought to himself.

After a series of rapid-fire information, Kire ending it with an idea of creating a machine that can revive people from their coined state, the old Saiyan became somewhat interested. His eyes became livelier and less agitated. “Federation City, that’s where Turles is heading.” Spina thought to himself. “Brainstorm huh? Doom’s brat… Darkseid? That sounds like a strong name. If everyone is trying to get to that lab…”

“Sounds like an opportunity to show what you’re made of, Spina. Don’t let the opportunity slip away…” Brutality said, hearing that a Yowl is in Federation City. “Go two-for-two. It’ll be an experience for you, and me.”

Spina didn’t understand what he meant by that, but he’s seemingly excited about it now. While he was cringing at Kire being lovey dovey about his wife, the old Saiyan is now on board with the idea. "Wait... he said that Yowls are being created here? I thought there were no natives on this world..."

“You can bring people back as coins?” Daiman stopped in his tracks upon hearing that information. “Um… so if we get this lab free from that… Yowl… you can build it?” Daiman pondered if he should stay after all---hearing that kind of news clearly changed his mind. “But wait, if the place is crawling with bad guys, and they are having trouble with this Kassava person… how are we supposed to get in without notice?”
 
"Unfortunately, my dear champion, I'm shit out of luck, as the kids say. I'll have to replenish my magic gradually from this point forward. I gave the rest of luck I had to you, so for right now I'm just a normal little bunny!" Coella replied poking the glass where Spina's nose was in front of. She paused a moment after seeing the intense focus on the saiyan's face as Kire spoke of this Kass creature. She looked to the images of the Yowl and then back to the elder saiyan warrior. "Is that creature significant to you?"
 
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