The Reality Vortex: The Black Rose

Vegetto snapped at the final scathing taunt Spina made, his eyes widening fully to the brim and red veins lining the whites of his eyes.

"You!-"

Yet as the Potara fusion shot his fist forward, fully intent in trying to break the tube, his knuckles only made contact with Whis' scepter. His fist shook and trembled, trying to push forward in vain against the simple orb between his fist and the tube, but suddenly fell flat on his ass as Whis pulled Vegetto back by his gi towards the portal formed.

"That's enough for now, come along."

Vegetto roared in frustration, first glancing over his shoulder in his fit of rage.

"What the hell?! Unhand me Whis!!"

The Potara fusion flailed angrily and wildly, thrashing about while Whis dragged him towards the portal as he angrily swore at Spina the entire time in incomprehensible fury. Cayde sighed audibly, but soon perked his attention as Bernkastel's tube shattered and the witch spilled out onto the floor. The android instinctively moved up, looking her over and prepared to help her stand if she needed the assistance.
 
Brachi, Bara and Dielec moved in silence to the portal, watching the whole drama unfold, unsure what to say about it all, which to them felt it would be better to say nothing at all, lest it would be interpreted in a bad light. Given how tense the situation already was, it would be in anyone's interest not to escalate things any further, and even if it would end up like that, the three didn't want to be part of the cause.
 
Bernkastel's eyes snapped open, darting around the room as she coughed and drew ragged breaths. Glass and debris scraped along the floor when she dragged herself up into a sitting position, a quiet groan with a hand on her head where Guardian's fingers were. Like two ice picks had been etching away at her scalp. She made a disgusted grimace, shuddering from the leftover sensation of the creatures touching her. Vegetto's tantrum caused her to wince in aggravation of her lingering headache. Regardless, Bern kept silent and just let Cayde help her regain bearings.

Several moments of silence passed while she pieced things together, turning to stare at the tube Spina was in. They seemed to be in no imminent danger, though she noticed Coella's apparent exhaustion. Bern furrowed her brows, looking vaguely troubled as she came close to place a hand firmly over the glass. Excess liquid slowly dripped down from her hand marbled with red droplets of blood from the glass embedded in the palm. The Witch looked back at Kire expectantly to release Spina.
 
Asher took hold of the phone given to him by Jaz and stared at it, watching it smile back at him. In a way, he already seemed accustomed to the phone, his fingers touching the screen and, miraculously, knowing what to press. Like any youngster, he was indulging in his newfound hobby.

“Alright, let’s head out, Jaz!” Asher laughed.

“Yay! I am excited to travel and venture the world with your group!” Jaz spoke from the phone. “You are very nice, Mr. Asher. I hope we can become close friends and have a fun time together.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Kire was quick to rise to his feet and approached Asher with every ounce of his protective parental instinct. “Listen here, you little shit, don’t get any bright fuckin’ idea with my daughter or else I’m going to hunt you down and kill—!”

Zenta stepped towards Asher and stood before his grandson, lowering his head and baring his fangs at Kire, letting out a blood curling growl from his throat. The color instantly left Kire’s face, and he immediately cleared his throat, a very nervous chuckle escaping his lips. He took one step back, trying to think of a quick recovery.

“…Kill you with kindness for being so considerate of my daughter! Yes, yes, kindness! You and your… grandfather, a fuckin’ dog, are super great! Right gramps?!” Kire carefully approached Zenta and closed his jaw, trying to mimic his voice. “’Yes, we will take care of your lovely daughter, Kire. Woof, woof.

“Anyway, we will get going now.” Avalon said, turning to Kire and gestured to Spina. “We need him, you know.”

“Oh, right,” Kire fiddled with his robot arm briefly before Spina’s tube disappeared into the floor, releasing Spina. “I swear, that man has rabies…”

As Spina was released from his confines, Zenta approached the freed Saiyan, standing next to Bernkastel, as per usual. While he was not particularly worried about Spina, he did not trust him, especially as of recently. With his wounds healed, his temper quelled, and his relaxed features returned, Zenta clasped his arms behind his back, his tails swaying harmoniously with grace.

“Lady Bernkastel, Mr. Spina, we should head out. This lab smells… odd.”

“Yeah, if Kire can help us out, I don’t see why we don’t do him a favor.” Avalon said, scratching his neck. He then turned to Asher, gesturing him to the portal. “C’mon kiddo, let’s not keep your grandpa waitin’…”

Asher gleefully ran past Zenta and Avalon, hopping through the portal. Avalon glanced over at Coella, a small smile gracing his lips.

“We could use your luck, y’know. What do you say, Coella? Think you can sprinkle some of that luck on us again?”
 
Victor says, "Form what little I know about Spina I have to agree with your judgement on that Kire." Victor thinks thanks "to wishing to bum a meal off this group I was dragged into this madness."

Victor enters the portal.
 
The Lab

Spina fell forward but managed to keep steady on his feet. Seeing Whis dragged Vegetto away, the old Saiyan spat on the ground. “Heh, your babysitter must keep you on a lease, now?”

His attention turned to Bernkastel turning being on the ground. It was strange, he senses no indication, unlike Zenta where you can sense his power building up. “Hmm… strange.” He crossed his arm when Zenta advised them to go. “Shut up, dog.” He addressed Zenta.

“You.” He approached Kire with anger in his eyes. “I don’t care about whatever nonsense you were sprouting. I don’t owe a damn thing to you—I’m only here to see this Yowl since she caught my eye. Anything else is a non-factor. Tell me what to do again, and I’ll destroy that lab.” He jumped through the portal without waiting for a response.

“What the heck did I get myself involved in…” Daiman thought to himself. Seeing that Coella was tired from that battle, he decided to give her a hand to help her get through the portal.

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Federation City

After all worlds combined nearly 4 years ago, cities across Reality Vortex have exploded at a rapid pace. Furthermore, unlike the previous incarnation of Vortex where it’s rare to see others, it is far more common to see another person here due to the wide range of technology, magic and supernatural abilities flowing through in this world.

However, this means that “evil” was brought along as well. Naturally, an influx of people will bring people with cruel hearts into the fray. People who wish to settle scores with their adversaries, people who are conquerors, people who are maniacs, etc. The plague of evil was practically at its highest it has ever been since it is now all concentration in this world.

All hope is not at lost. The Detective Agency was formed precisely to combat these threats of evil so far, they have made a consistent effort of curbing them to manageable levels. Yet, despite their efforts, all it did was drive the evil to form their own city without worries: Federation City.

Federation City, otherwise known as “The Evil City”, is a collective of all villains that reside there, whether temporary or permanent. It was founded by Moby Dick, a former member of the Doom Squad, to have a haven for villains to live without being under constant monitorization by the Detective Agency—initially. Over time, the city changed to become a battleground for villains to craft plans for conquest, destruction, spread their evil, etc., despite Dick’s protest. They hope that with their power together, they will be able to defeat the good and take the world in their hands. Yet even then that didn’t truly last long. Someone had discovered the location of Doom’s Laboratory deep in the city underground. It is protected by a very special barrier that prevents anyone from accessing it. Uproars spread across the city and villains broke into several factions to get into the labs themselves for their own plans. Doctor Doom created technology using the power of the Voice—meaning if they get their hands on it, they will accomplish anything if they are so, please. One faction, the New Gods led by Darkseid, is attempting to access the lab for reasons unknown.

Moby Dick attempts to drive away the various factions it was too much for him. Then suddenly, a Yowl, called Kassava, appeared before him and forced him out of the lab. While Kassava is unable to access the lab herself, she made herself a home and prevented anyone from going there for reasons unknown. Fights between factions, the constant battle with the Yowl, and the overall rowdiness forced Dick to call upon the Detective Agency’s help for assistance and restore the order of his city before it collapsed.

“I need to call them… Bring out their best guys for this.” Moby Dick thought to himself.

================

Deep underground, Yowl Kassava was sitting on the ground mediating. Several chunks of rocks were levitating around her as piles of coins scattered about. Only one survivor, Mr. Sound, remains standing.

“I can’t believe it…” Mr. Sound coughed up blood as his vision were fading in and out. “Not everyone came back from that stupid tournament, and everyone else was preoccupied with something else. Thought I had a chance…” He clenched his hands as his body started to light up—transforming his human body. “Hey, why are you even guarding this place?! You keep stopping people from getting close… but you never do anything after that? What gives?!”

Yowl Kassava gave him no response.

“Tsk… the same thing. Alright, bitch. I was saving this when I saw that brat again, but I’ll give you a taste of my mighty power. Origin Mode: Extreme Sound!” He turned his body into an instrument that can release hypersonic waves that can tear through the strongest metal. “Die!” He launched an attack towards her.

Outskirts of Federation City

Emerging from the portal, Spina’s eyes narrowed upon seeing the city. They were far away—to avoid alerting any alarms system from the city itself. It was far different from other cities they have seen. It was darker, had a dark atmosphere and had an iron wall surrounding it.

“Federation City huh…” Spina crossed his arms. He can’t seem to pick up Yowl Kassava’s signature at all. “Guess I’m still getting the hang of this dark energy.”

Daiman emerged the portal carrying Coella over his shoulder, bumping into Victor from behind. “Ah, sorry about that old-timer!” He apologized. “Um, we’re far away from the city. I wonder how we are supposed to sneak in there and find the lab? Do we need disguises?! I can’t act…” “Maybe I should head home after all… its not really worth it.”

“I’m fighting my way through.” Spina tightened his muscles.

“Um! I think that’s a bad idea?!” Daiman spoke out softly.

“Huh? You’re telling me what to—” Spina paused for a second and suddenly turned to the direction on his left. “….” He felt a familiar pressure, but something is not quite right with it. It was eerily similar to that of both Lucifer and Bernkastel, but it's clearly not them. It wasn't the duo, since he didn't felt any form of dark energy from either of them.
 
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