Gods Among Men Downtown Washington

With a nod back at him, Archangel allowed the gag to fade, slightly lowering his burning palm.

"Tell me where the bombs are. All of them."

The young hero allowed his radiant wings to spread wide, casting light onto the terrorist. "Do not lie to me, mortal. An angel knows a truth from a lie, and we do not look kindly on deceit," he lied, hoping that superstition would do the rest of the work for him.
 
Solstice made her way to the ruckus. She listened close, feeling against a wall as she stopped just outside the door where she heard talking. All she could hear was something about bombs, and angels.
She rose her eyebrows in shock, her heart pounding against her sternum. There was someone here that was like her, one of the types of people who the government and people hated.
She kept quiet, her back pressed to the wall next to the door as she continued to merely listen. If she could find out where the bombs were before the other hero, she could disable them while he disabled some as well. She nodded to herself, keeping stoic in her spot.
 
"Jefferson keeps us mostly in the dark, I just know they're in the lower levels. Basement. My guess is to take this place down or get into the hotel's vault." The Minuteman said to Archangel, "The revolution isn't free."

"The law is keeping their distance." A man said over the stolen radio Archangel had on him, "Status on the explosives?" The female voice asked, "They're in place, Jefferson. Once Revere is ready we can move." Another woman answered.

"Don't try to stop us. We're fighting for you." The Minuteman told Luca, "A lot of us are like you. The people outside think we're the enemy."
 
"Killing innocents in our name is not the answer," Archangel growled. "And it never will be. Whatever you people think you are, you have the blood of innocent men on your hands, and that cannot be forgiven."

With that, Archangel headbutted the man on the brow, aiming to knock him out and let him drop. He didn't wait for the man to hit the ground before he turned and dashed back for the stairwell, heading down to the basement, skipping the stairs and instead opting to vault over the handrail and drop down.

Once in the basement level, he moved out more cautiously, watching for any signs of movement or bombs.
 
Once she heard BASEMENT, Solstice was off. She made sure to keep distance between the two, wanting to get a head start so he wouldn't find her.

We want to look better, more safe, we don't want to kill people. Well, most of us. She thought to herself as she made an ice ramp going down to the basement, retracting it once she heard him coming.

Solstice pressed herself against a wall, narrowing her eyes as she looked around the dark basement. She shifted against the wall, using it to guide her way through the dark. She kept her footsteps light, hoping she couldn't be heard.
 
Both Solstice and Archangel would hear the sounds of footsteps constantly growing closer and then more distant. The terrorists were patrolling, protecting the explosives so they wouldn't be disarmed.

"Minutemen, check in." Jefferson said over Luca's stolen radio. After a few seconds of silence she spoke again, "We're compromised. Time to go. Grab Godfrey and head to the basement." The woman ordered.

The footsteps began to grow more distant again, the patrol were moving to arm the bombs or leave before they went off.

Either way, the two heroic young people had little time to waste. They would either be overwhelmed or destroyed by the explosion in just a few minutes.
 
Hearing the voice over the radio, Luca suppressed a curse. He started after the footsteps in a hurry, doing his best to stay silent as he followed them, and keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of the bombs. If they were anywhere along what had previously been the patrol route, he'd hopefully spot them. If not, then hopefully these men would lead him to them.

If the terrorists were retreating, that could mean that the hostages were safe - or at least freed. Except Godfrey. But one man's safety had to come after the whole building - who knew how many people were still on the upper floors, or might be hurt if the whole place came down?

He needed to find those bombs.
 
Solstice cursed under her breath as she heard the radio. Her ears caught on to the pattern of footsteps amongst them, navigating her way through the basement. She stalked in the shadows, trying to find out where the men were going.

She glanced over, seeing Arch Angel and cringing. She couldn't let him know she was here. She slid past him, hopefully undetected. Her footsteps were light, similar to a ballerina as she moved through obstacles in her path. She prayed she could find those bombs, she couldn't risk many people losing their lives, whether they were for the meta-humans, or against...
 
The more they followed the patrols, the louder the sound of Washington's subway system became. It was perfect for masking loud noises.

If there was an explosion no one would know until the building came down or until the Sons of Liberty were long gone.

Finally the patrols stopped, taking up positions in a hall leading to a maintenance area.

"Angel?" Jefferson asked over the radio, "The Minutemen told me what you did. You're good. Not many people can take the three of them down." The woman said.

"How about you join us? Fight for your freedom, Angel. Those people you're trying to save will see you as a hero today, a threat tomorrow. They'll make you sign papers, wear tracking devices, you'll be a slave. You don't have to make that choice now. Think on it, think of life once the revolution is over. You can be our Washington, or you can be our Benedict Arnold. But, right now, you need to save someone. Everyone. I have the Minutemen ready to execute everyone in the lobby. Leave the bombs, or they all die. You can't do both."

The radio cut out, Jefferson ending her monologue with an ultimatum to the young hero.
 
"Shit..." Luca stared down at the radio in his hand. "Shit, shit, shit..."

The lives of dozens in the lobby, or an unknown number elsewhere in the building. And that was if he could trust what the woman said. What if she was lying to him, trying to bait him away from the bombs? His lie detection didn't work over radio. Could he take that risk?

There had been children in that crowd.

A flash of movement caught his vision, then, and he looked up to see another figure slipping through the narrow hall. He'd almost missed her entirely. His first instinct was to defend himself, but... she wasn't wearing the terrorists' symbols. Her outfit looked familiar. Another hero, on her way to deal with the bombs?

"Hey," he hissed, trying to keep his voice measured to avoid the guards hearing him but still be heard by her. "Who are you, what are you doing here?"

Hopefully whoever it was would answer quickly, and not with violence. The last thing he needed now was a fight.
 
Solstice whipped around quickly, only her long white locks and bright blue eyes being seen under her cloaked hood. She took a deep breath, she had been caught. She cursed under her breath before she shifted to him. Her movements were sleek and flexible, her feet not making a sound.

She had heard what was said on the radio. She took a deep breath, praying he wasn't a terrorist, "They call me Solstice, The Snow Queen." She whispered, narrowing her eyes, "And I believe we're here for the same reason: The Bombs. Are you not?" She could only imagine the amount of people inside the building, families, people WITH families. She had none of that, just an ice cream shop,
"There are families and children up there, we need to act fast." She whispered, looking at him dead in the eyes.
 
Solstice. The name was familiar. Another relatively new hero, if he remembered rightly. He didn't like the idea of trusting her with something like this, but he didn't have any choice. And besides, she probably had no more reason to trust him. He was probably newer than she was.

"You deal with the bombs, since they don't know you're here. I'll go back up and handle the people in the lobby," he said quickly. "Their leader is heading down this way, so be careful."

He gave the woman a final nod through the tinted faceplate of his mask, but wasn't going to waste any more time with words. He turned and took a few steps before launching himself forwards, his wings bursting from his back with a flash of golden light. With stealth abandoned in favour of speed, he shot through the air towards the stairwell and the lobby beyond, leaving a trail of gleaming light in his wake. As he flew, his blazing sword formed in one hand, burning hot with celestial fire.
 
Solstice nodded over at the new male. She didn't catch his name, but she didn't have time to ask. She took a deep breath, releasing it as she began to slide across the floor once more.

She followed the men, her footsteps unable to be heard. Years of being a gymnast paid off. She bit her lip, trying to listen in to the conversation of the bombs. She knew she could take them out, but if only she could make one talk. She didn't have a power like that, so she had to settle on finding the bombs.
 
As Archangel left for the lobby, the remainimg Sons of Liberty made their way into the basement with Godfrey in cuffs.

"You won't be a martyr, you'll be exposed as the puppet you are." Revere said to his hostage, voice echoing behind Solstice.

She didn't have much time and there were several terrorists in the hall between her and the maintenance room.

In the lobby itself the Minutemen were rounding up as many civilians as they could. They displayed extreme speed, faster than even Archangel.

That explained their name. It wasn't just a cute reference to the Revolutionary War. They were speedsters.

"Round two." One of them said into his radio, knowing Archangel was listening. "We're ready for you this time, Angel."
 
"Good," the hero growled back into his radio. "I've always preferred a fair fight."

Archangel burst through the door into the lobby in a blazing aura of light, knocking the doors back on their hinges with a crash. He cut an imposing figure, golden wings spread wide and wreathed in shimmering translucent armour of pure light, casting a bright glow across the room as he paused to take in the situation. First priority has to be the civilians. They need to get out of here, and quickly, in case Solstice doesn't manage to stop the bombs.

With a beat of his wings, Archangel shot forwards, aiming to arc past the Minutemen and land between them and the hostages, hoping that his speed combined with the likely unexpected flight path would be enough to counter their superior ground-speed. He'd land ready to project a barrier at the first sign of any of them opening fire, and if successful, he'd yell to the civilians. "Go, run for the door! I've got you covered!"
 
Solstice cursed in her mind before taking a deep breath. How was she going to get past this many men in one area? She looked at her hands, she knew she could freeze their feet to the floor.
She chewed her lower lip, looking at her hands before back at the men. She rose her hands, pointing them towards the mens feet and allowing them to freeze to the floor. She was in a panic, what else could she do to stop them?
She could freeze them to their necks, torture them until they decided to squeak,
or go the simple way.
 
"There!" One of the Minutemen shouted at the sight of Archangel, the three men raised their weapons at him, ready to fire.

"We're too fast for you to save everyone and yourself." A Minuteman told Archangel, "Jefferson gave you a choice. Join or die."

With those words the Minutemen opened fire, unloading every round in their machine guns in hopes of wearing down the barrier and eventually getting to the young hero behind it.

Down in the basement, the Sons of Liberty found themselves baffled by the frost growing on the floors. Some, nearly all of them, found that they couldn't move.

"What the shit? There's another meta..." One of them said, realizing that Archangel wasn't alone in his heroics.

He turned to look down the hallway, it was a little dark, but it was the only direction someone could approach from.

"Not today." The terrorist lifted his gun and opened fire at Solstice, or at least where he thought she was. His colleagues began to do the same, some using their weapons to bash the ice at their feet.

Revere and his men heard the gunfire, coming to an abrupt stop. "More metas or police?" He asked himself, "Doesn't matter, we're on time." The man said.

Revere pulled his radio from his waist, listening to the gunfire in the basement. "Blow it." He ordered.

The subway train below the basement grew louder and louder as it approached. It was almost time.
 
The gunfire struck against Archangel's barrier with a sound not dissimilar to bullets digging into bulletproof glass, sending ripples through the translucent golden glow with every impact. "You shouldn't underestimate me," he growled. "It'll take more than three jumped up zippy assholes with guns to put me down."

He turned his gaze on one of the Minutemen's rifles, and in a flash, golden light burst from his eyes and crossed the room to strike at the barrel of the weapon, swiftly rendering it little more than molten slag.

"You might be fast," he said with a smirk, even as sweat beaded on his forehead at the strain of keeping the barrier up. "But even you can't outrun light."

His eyes turned upon the next of the men, ready to strike his weapon in the same fashion.
 
Solstice almost yelped as she felt the bullet go through her shoulder. The only spot they managed to hit on her. The rest were guarded by a thick wall of ice.

Solstice rose her hand, ice crawling up the mens legs and to their neck. She clenched her fist, the ice beginning to constrict around them. She hid in the shadows, speaking,

"How do I stop the bomb?" She spoke in a deep, dark voice. Obviously she was not playing games.
 
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"Impressive!" The Minuteman called out to Archangel, tossing his destroyed weapon aside. "But, we still outnumber you. You can't keep that shield up forever."

The Minuteman sped towards Archangel, practically throwing his body against the barrier. With enough speed and force against it eventually had to give in.

He would repeat until he was stopped, but he didn't plan on stopping any time soon.

The other Minutemen began to circle Archangel, searching for any opening before he could melt their weapons too. Every once in awhile they took pot shots at him.

They had numbers on their side and they were taking advantage of that fact.

Solstice was about to learn that for herself, despite her best efforts there were still too many of the Sons of Liberty.

"You don't." Said one of the men she was interrogating, "He's right." Revere said, approaching Solstice from behind with the rest of the terrorists.

"You're like us. Join us." Revere said to the woman, the ice on the floor crackling beneath his boots as he moved. The others were more cautious, but Revere was confident.

That's probably why he led them.

"You're too late, we got what we came for. Him." Revere told Solstice, gesturing to Godfrey. "He hates you. He wants to see people like you get locked away. People like us he wants enslaved. Step aside."
 
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