#worldheart

[black-kitties]

Worldheart - Chapter 13

Start reading at Chapter 1

Black Canary and Green Arrow had emerged out of the elevator shaft to an unguarded corridor. They reached the unmistakable glass corridor the kid had described. Jutting out from the middle of it was Maxmellius’s office suspended in the air above the factory floor.

“Wait.” Canary held out her hand to stop Arrow, “Where are the guards?”

“You think it’s a trap?” Arrow scratched his head, “They must’ve rushed off to deal with the cause of all those explosions.” He shrugged, “Besides, anything comes, and I got your back.”

“You mean I’ll save your hide while you stand back looking for your bow?” Canary countered. They approached the office, Canary on high alert for any signs of a silent alarm being triggered.

“Hey!” Arrow chuckled, “I’m just as good with my fists as you.”

“Right, and we’re ten-zero because you let me win, is it?” Arrow cleared his throat, changing the subject.

“Judging from the oversized chair the guy must be compensating for something.” He smiled seeing Canary’s eyes roll. She sat down in the huge chair while Arrow stood watch, keeping an eye out down the corridor as well as the factory floor. He watched her work at a thread on her jacket, undoing the seam to reveal a small thin metal plate that she inserted into the computers USB. The screen went black before a bunch of red symbols appeared. A moment later, ‘ACCESS GRANTED’ appeared on the screen and Canary went to work.

“That’s a nifty trick.” Green Arrow peeked over Canary’s shoulder.

“I asked Cyborg to make it for me. In case it gets in the wrong hands he made it with only three uses, but it can hack anything in the world.” Canary explained.

“So, we only have two uses left then, we can work with that.”

“One. I used it on a mission before this.” While she worked, Green Arrow noticed the nameless sidekick drop down from a vent and begin scrambling across the factory floor.

“Kids got spunk.” When he noticed how poor her hiding skills where he chuckled, “But she’s got a lot of training ahead of her.”

“Ollie, look at this.” Arrow turned from the window back to the computer screen.

“Wait, is that..?” On the screen was an image of Superman bound to an operating table with a red kryptonite crystal strapped above his chest. Tiny machine arms with saw blades, alligator forceps, lasers and the like were hovering over him. He looked like he was struggling under the red glow.

“It gets worse. Looks like they captured him using Kryptonite, and they were experimenting on him with it too.” Canary began transferring the files onto the stick, “He’s here still, and I know where.”

“Then let’s go find him.”

“Let’s.” Canary agreed. They’d made it halfway down the hallway when a giant form crashed into it from below, smashing through the glass and damaging the scaffolding that supported the hall and office. The walkway underneath them tilted towards the beast as the entire hallway began to fall. Canary lost balance, falling forward towards the new foe. It snapped at her, but she twisted her body out of the way just in time landing wit her feet on its shoulder using it to launch her between the scaffolding to safety. She landed on her hands, carrying her momentum into a roll until she was on her feet facing the crashing hallway. Green Arrow had managed to grab onto a holdfast, leaping through the windows of the office just as the impact caused them all to explode in a rain of glass. He rolled to a stop beside Black Canary taking cover behind one of the larger machines. The beast that had attacked them didn’t get out in time as metal scaffolding and glass buried it.

“Arrow! Canary!” Jaz had rushed out of a side room they hadn’t noticed before, “Over here!” Their attention returned to the heap of metal on the floor. Several machine arms had toppled over and the remaining hallway that the office was connected to began to fall to the floor, burying it even further. There was no sign of movement. “You guys ok? Did something attack you?”

“Whatever it was, I don’t think it’s getting back up.” Green Arrow said as they followed Jaz into the cell room.

She gave a worried glance outside the room, “Alright. Well, your bow’s here, inside that.” She pointed to a guard booth that overlooked the cell room. Black Canary had rushed to Icon’s side, checking his pulse and asking him questions. “The notepad inside has all the codes, I got a couple cells open but I need to get inside to see the other pages. Everyone seems fine, just really weak.”

“Good job, kid.” Arrow slapped her on the back. He could tell she was scared and putting on a brave face.

“Mind if I leave them to you guys? I still haven’t found Hero.” Arrow noticed she kept giving worried glances outside the door.

“Don’t worry about what’s out there, we have things under control. Know where Hero might be?”

“I have a feeling he’s just beyond that door. I’ll be right back,” Arrow nodded, watching her disappear down the back hall.

Green Arrow turned his attention back to the guard cubicle. He punched it with all his might, but the glass just warped and vibrated from the hit. “It’s reinforced.” He was searching the room for something to throw at it when another voice spoke up.

“Maybe I can help with that.” Out from one of the unlocked cells Huntress strode forward, though she stumbled and leaned against the cell wall.

“Huntress! It’s been a while.” Black Canary stood, approaching her to offer a hand.

“Wish it was under better circumstances.” She leaned on Canary, “The drugs they forced in us have left me too weak to be of any help, but I know they keep the key in that locker there.” She pointed to the third one in from the edge of the wall beside the cubicle.

“These guys sure know security,” Green Arrow joked. The locker door bent in half under the force of his elbow, and he easily slipped the lanyard and key off its hook.

“Well, you get what you pay for.” Huntress said, wincing. “Or don’t pay for. Guy was going to have a mutiny on his hands soon if you two hadn’t taken out the power when you did.”

“That wasn’t us. More importantly though, are you hurt? How long have you been down here?” Canary helped Huntress limp towards Icon at the center of the room.

“I don’t know, days at least. Weeks maybe. Hard to keep track of time down here.” While Huntress rested beside Icon, Canary unlocked the remaining cells using the notepad, helping carry several small-time heroes to the center of the room. Green Arrow began rifling through the chest, shouldering his own bow and quiver with a sigh before handing Huntress her crossbow and the rest of the equipment out. “But… If those explosions weren’t you then, who?”

The sound of shifting metal caught everyone’s attention outside, joined by the echoing noise of a dozen metallic footsteps entering the factory floor. “They’ve found us! Anyone strong enough to fight, we need all the help we can get.”

“Can’t you just use your Siren song?” Huntress chimed in struggling to stand.

“Not this time, they got to me too.” Black Canary retorted.

“Wait.” Arrow held out his hand, stopping them from engaging. The sound of gatling guns erupted just outside. “I’ll go check it out.” Sure enough, the metal lizards weren’t here for them. They had surrounded the scrap pile and were unloading bullets into it. Underneath the hellfire the metal framing was shifting until a massive beast burst forth unfazed by the bullets pelting its fur, it lunged at the nearest Raptor soldier, biting it in half before leaping at the next. “They won’t buy us much time. Let’s go see if theres a back way out, shall we?”

Through the back hall they found Jaz sitting in the center of a glass cylinder holding a small furry form in her arms. There was a layer of dog kibble all over the floor that crunched under Black Canary’s feet. “He won’t wake up.” Jaz looked up; tears had welled in the corner of her eyes.

Black Canary held her hand just in front of his nose and mouth, “He’s still breathing, but its faint.” Canary searched the floor, “I don’t see any water nearby, he might be severely dehydrated.” Arrow grabbed a water bottle left on one of the desks surrounding the cylinder tossing it to Canary. She cupped her hand underneath Hero’s muzzle pouring the fluid between his teeth. Jaz tried to tilt his head so it would pour down his throat. The dog began to cough, blinking its eyes. “Hero!” The dog tried to stand slipping on the kibble on the floor, “Shh, just drink. Focus on drinking, I got you.” Jaz took a shaky breath, smiling as she watched the dog begin to lap up the water.

Meanwhile, Green Arrow began yanking on one of the unpowered sliding doors at the opposite end of the room. Another set of hands grabbed onto the other door, and with their combined force the doors finally slid half open. “Icon? You shouldn’t push yourself.”

“I’ll be fine, this much I can still do.” Icon held his hand up stopping Arrow from helping him. “Worry about the others, they need it more than I.” He returned to help another Hero to their feet, shepherding them through the small opening they’d made.

A roar erupted through the hall they’d just come through, followed by the broken torso of a Raptor that smashed into the glass hard enough to crack it. Black Canary cursed, making sure the rookie was able to scoop the dog into her arms. She shielded them, getting them both out of the cage as the form of the beast leapt into the room crashing into the glass shattering it. Huge shards rained down on the party, forcing Heroes to duck under tables or jump out of the way of a particularly large piece.

“Get in! Everyone through the door!” Arrow yelled, helping shove the remaining Heroes through, practically throwing one through the crack before realizing Canary and the rookie had taken cover on the wrong side of the room. The beast reared up about to pounce on Canary who’d put herself between it and the kid when it was slammed into the wall by one of Green Arrows explosive shots. It turned its attention on him. He jumped out of the way as the beast smashed into the desk Arrow was standing on a second ago, splintering the wood and destroying the tech on it. “Canary! Rookie! Get through the door while I distract it!” Arrow yelled, raining three more explosive shots on the Beast. They each exploded against its side, forcing it to stumble back but leaving no damage otherwise.

On the other side of the room Canary grabbed onto the rookie’s hand, pulling her towards the door. Seeing this, the beast turned its attention back to Canary. Arrow cursed, shooting another explosive shot at its head to distract it but the beast simply caught this one in its mouth, letting it explode through its teeth before it launched itself at her. She shoved the kid backwards, making her fall on her butt across the floor while Canary dodged forwards doing a barrel roll out of harms way. Half a second later and the beast had crashed into the spot she’d just been, sliding across the kibble lined floor into the wall. Canary jumped, landing a kick to the beast’s head smashing him further into the wall. She gave the Rookie time to get up and run, except she was running in the wrong direction to the exit.

“Kid, this way! Focus on getting to the door, I’ll deal with the Beast!” Arrow commanded. He shot another arrow right at the beasts face as it reared up. It exploded in the air blanketing the creature in a thick net. As it struggled against the net the ball bearings underneath did their job wrapping around each other, tightening its grip. “Come on!” Arrow held out his hand, grabbing onto the Rookie’s arm, pulling her alongside him as they raced towards the door again. Canary was already waiting for them there. The Beast bit into the net, stomping on one side and tearing it enough that he could leap at them again. He landed in front of Arrow and the Rookie blocking their path to the exit. Arrow pushed the girl behind himself, shooting another arrow at the creature that burst into a spray of pepper mist. It shook its head, recovering immediately to slam a paw into Arrow’s chest knocking him away from the kid. It turned from her, lunging at Green arrow again.

Green Arrow slid across the kibble coated platform, knocking an arrow a moment too slow. Just as the beast’s jaws were about to close around Arrow’s leg Black Canary landed another flying kick knocking it of course, instead biting uselessly at the kibble on the floor. It still slammed into both of them sending them sliding into the far wall. Just as Green Arrow hit, he loosed a rope arrow that pulled him up to the platform overlooking the room grabbing Black Canary on the way.

With them out of the way, the beast turned its attention back to the girl who was once again making a break for the exit. It lunged in front of the exit, blocking her way. Green Arrow managed to disarm it again with his final net arrow before swinging in on a rope arrow to slam down on top of the creatures back with Canary. He quickly shot three more rope arrows that he pulled tight, pinning it to the ground on either side. “That outa hold.”

Canary hopped off the beast, placing a hand on the rookies shoulders, “Let’s get out of here now.”

The beasts eyes blazed golden as it unleashed another deafening roar. The ropes pulled taught against the strain of if trying to stand until one tore; slapping into Arrow knocking him off its back. Canary once again pushed the girl behind her before she kicked up off the wall to her right, grappling on the beasts neck. She’d grabbed the loose rope, wrapping it around his snout trying to use it to contain him. The other two broke a second later allowing the beast to rise up. It swung its head wildly trying to shake off Canary.

Arrow reached behind his back, hitting the beast with several normal arrows but they barely stuck beneath its fur. It managed to shift Canary off the back of its neck to its side, swiftly smashing her into the wall. Her grip finally released but it kept her pinned. Arrow taunted it, hitting it square in the eye with a boxing glove arrow. It lunged towards Arrow, releasing Canary to slide down the wall. Its teeth grazed his boot as he barely escaped using another rope arrow.

Not willing to leave Canary unprotected, Arrow had shot the arrow behind the beast after luring it to the center of the room. He pulled her to her feet before training one of his last remaining arrows at the creature.

“Guys! Go on ahead without me!” The girl called from the hallway. They were right beside the exit, but she was once again on the wrong side of the room, having run there to avoid the fighting.

“What? No! That’s suicide!” Arrow protested.

“Being a hero doesn’t always mean you need to lay your life down! You can still make it if you run behind it!” Black Canary pointed around behind the beast where there was a clear path towards them.

“No! Guys, its ok. The beast is Timber Wolf, he’s not in control when he’s in his Furball form. Haven’t you noticed; he keeps attacking you guys when you try to help me escape with you.” It moved itself to block their view of the rookie, almost as if to protect her.

“This is the hero you’re the sidekick for?” Arrow asked incredulously.

“He’s in a rage right now, yeah. I swear he’s normally nice. Well. Sort of.” She shook her head, “Don’t worry about me. You get the others out, we’ll find another way.” Furball growled at Canary and Arrow, lunging again. Grabbing Canary’s hand Arrow pushed her through the half open door, escaping through not a moment too soon as the beast slammed into the metal denting it easily.

Arrow swore, “I’m taking that as a promise! I better see you on the outside kid!”

“See you!” Arrow watched through the opening as Furball turned to face its sidekick. He trained an Arrow at it, waiting for it to attack… But it didn’t. He watched the rookie begin backing up down the hallway, Furball following close behind. He waited until both figures had disappeared before he lowered his bow. “We’ll I’ll be. She was right.”

“Arrow, look.” Black Canary sounded shocked. Turning to see what was up, Arrow took a step back himself. At the center of the room, suspended in red glowing liquid and with a red shard embedded in his chest was Superman. “We’ve found him.”

[fromtheboundlesssea]

So apparently it’s 3 books in 1? Maybe I should get it if it’s all three in one? It was only $3.99.

Here are the synopsis of each book.

The Ginger Star

Eric John Stark, Outlaw of Mars, travels beyond the solar system for exciting science fantasy adventures on the planet of Skaith, a lawless sphere at the edge of the known universe. Raised as a savage on the hostile planet of Mercury and honed into a fearless warrior in the low canals of the Red Planet, Stark is one of science fiction's greatest adventurers and is Leigh Brackett's most famous character. In The Ginger Star, Simon Ashton, Stark's foster father, has been kidnapped by the Lords Protector, and only Stark can rescue him!

The Hounds of Skaith

Having killed the king-dog Flay in his quest to save an old friend and mentor, Stark now wanders the Worldheart in the company of nine ferocious canines that respond to his every command. Ruling the hounds of Skaith means tapping into the savagery of Stark's own mysterious past, and even a moment's hesitation could turn the pack against him!

The Reavers of Skaith

Safe at last, or so Stark thought. But before he could escape from the dying planet of the ginger star, he was betrayed by that treacherous Antarean Penkawr-Che. That villain among men intended to kill Stark, and this time there would be no excape. Or so Penkawr-Che thought... Abandoned by friends and beseiged by enemies, Stark was a fugitive once more. Running from all those who hunted him, he embarked on a nightmare journey through deadly jungles and across predator-infected seas to risk his life for those who hungered for his death!

This feels very Jonsa-esque. The guy even has the name (Erik) Jo(h)n Stark.

[codesquarry]

Don't let cardiovascular diseases ruin your life, stay happy and healthy. Happy World Heart Day. #

[interasco]

Η καρδιά αποτελεί την κινητήριο δύναμη του ανθρώπινου σώματος και τον πιο δυνατό του μυ. Για να εξασφαλιστεί η σωστή της λειτουργί�� όμως, πρέπει να την προσέχουμε και να φροντίζουμε για την υγεία της, με σωστή διατροφή και άσκηση. 

[rallycg]

UKRAINERUSSIA Peace on Earth

[neweraeducationalconsultant]

Believe in your heart that you're meant to live a life full of passion. A healthy and active lifestyle is always beneficial for your heart. Happy World Heart Day. . . #healthadvices #worldheartday #heartdays #heartday2020 #hearts #worldheartday2020 #worldheart #healthylivingtips #healthyspace #takecareofyou #stayfitstayhealthy #hearthealthyliving #heartdiseasesurvivor #indianheart #heartdiseaseawareness #worldheartday❤️ #stayhealthystaysafe #healthyliving #heartday❤️ (at New Delhi, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFtdPGvB2vR/?igshid=1r06rbgvjy4rr

[angrycasual]

Bound by flame is so frustrating because it could be such a good game if the devs had just played it a little before shipping it. There are so many little issues and the balance is, well, there's none of it. Nothing in the game was touched at all for balancing purposes. The dodge is a million times better than the parry and basically makes it obsolete. On console the fact that the parry is on a shoulder button that you can't remap makes that fact even more pronounced. The archers are so unbelievably overpowered it's insane. The arrows are aimed at you no matter how the enemy itself is positioned. The arrows go through walls and the archers themselves and enemies. The archers are always positioned in a fight so as to be impossible to sneak up on (and thereby take out before alerting the whole squad).

The shield guys are unbelievable overpowered. They are basically impervious to attack from the front and back, as well as the sides that should be undefended. Daggers cannot break shield, nor can your companions. Your two handed weapons can sometimes break shields, but the game decides when it wants to allow it. Most fights against shield guys goes --> kill everything else --> stand in place blocking while your companion kills it.

The companions are not created equal. Mathras and Rhelmar are literally zero help because not only can you not command them to block, but you can't tell them to fall back when they've taken aggro nor can you tell them which enemies to attack (ie archers and lower health targets) thereby making their impact nonexistent except in the most perfect of circumstances.

Every fight that's forced (mason's recruits, randval 1v1, captain 1v1) is needlessly frustrating because everyone does entirely too much damage and the terrain is specifically created so as not to help you. There's no cover, and in the captain fight the tiny tunnel makes the camera fight against you the entire time by making sure you can only see rock and wood. You literally have to use the meager sound cues or just guess to make sure you don't get hit, unless you make sure to stand on the edge of the cliff where there's no ceiling.

And then the perfect parrys and perfect dodges only hinder you, the absolute opposite of what it should do. In basically all the boss fights (the concubines and last boss especially) you need to try your hardest to not get perfect dodges, because the devs who must have played the game only on recruit, decided to have every perfect parry and perfect dodge have an instant counterattack. Which is so unbelievably not good (and actively is trying to kill you) because after most of all of the bosses attacks are followed up with more attacks, which you are immediately hit by because your character decided to get up close and personal when you desperately needed them not to. And god forbid this is an attack that knocks you down, making certain that your perfect dodge (which /should/ only be beneficial to you) gets you instantly killed. This means your only chance of not dying after accidentally perfect dodging is to increase your interuppt chance, and not only is interrupt chance difficult to get, but is in no world something that should be required after a perfect parry or dodge. During the last boss if I make the mistake of perfect dodging the dagger assault I need to face my character 180 away from the boss so the momentum of her attacks takes her out of the range of the boss, because if I allowed the counterattack I would literally, instantly, die. This is such an insane oversight I wonder at if this game was play tested at all.

And the end boss. Literally everyone agrees that it is absurdly difficult for no good reason. With 54% damage resist (plus her -25% damage due to poison), she halves my health in one hit. That's about 60 damage. there are no checkpoints, so don't die. Which means, don't get hit twice in a row, and don't let the dragon breath touch you for over 1.5seconds. You have no companions so not even an iota of extra damage or healing despite having a companion for the entirety of the game. When any game tries to emulate dark souls they always have the mistaken idea that difficult means unforgiving. And it is absolutely unforgiving. Stunlocks, wonky hit boxes, dragon breath having no visual indicator you're in its range, and absurd damage done by everything, is not only not a fun boss, but it's not well designed.

Any one of these issues would have been caught before release by people who cared, but because fun came second to trying to be stupidly difficult, nothing was fixed. And that is so frustrating when you can see the potential the game had. Basically, I think devs should always be forced to play their own game on their hardest difficulty before they're allowed to sell it, because otherwise you get frustrating, unfun experiences like this

[liightningchosen]

       @thexhoodedxvigilante​​ & @worldhearts​ & i are creating chaos right now

[fcmilybonded]

i just hit 200 followers (on my remake) today and i just wanted to thank u all v much! ilu all! i just wanted to do a quick informal thingy but if you’re a MUTUAL, like this post for the chance to randomly receive a background image!! i’ll likely pick ones out that i have inspiration for and :shrug: it could happen at any time! ( multi’s pls comment which muse/muses for )

again thank you all, i’m glad you love my interpretation of elijah!

[black-kitties]

Worldheart - Chapter 12

Start reading at Chapter 1

The halls were bathed in red light and the constant blare of the siren added to Jaz’s anxiety. Green Arrow and Black Canary followed her through the halls as she retraced the steps back to the elevators, thankful she was quick enough on her feet to make herself memorize the way. They’d encounter no Raptors most of the way, but that luck ran out when Jaz peeked down the hall leading to the elevators. There were four guards, two thugs, one Raptor, and another bigger Raptor with a gatling gun mounted on its shoulder. Canary moved to fight them, but Arrow held his arm up to stop her. He smiled and winked at them both before he began to fix his uniform, cleared his throat, and limber up by bouncing in place and mock stretching. Jaz glanced at Canary who just rolled her eyes.

Green Arrow rushed out from behind the wall holding his hands up and yelling, “Don’t shoot!” The men looked startled. They aimed their guns at him but didn’t attack, instead looking to each other confused. “There’s a giant wolf man back there! He completely destroyed the laboratory!” He pointed in the opposite direction. “You have to do something!” Arrow turned around backing up towards them as if he were more scared of what he was just running from than them. It worked. The men nodded to each other before training their guns on the hallway opposite ours waiting for this mystery foe.  They stepped forward moving to pass Green Arrow when he twisted, landing a punch to ones throat and an elbow in the others gut before following it up with another punch to his face knocking him out. He was close enough to side step behind the smaller Raptor using it as a shield while the Gatling gun unloaded into it. It shot a torrent of bullets into the chest of the smaller Raptor quickly piercing through its chest armour and tearing through the electronics within. Quick on his feet, Arrow faced the wall running himself up it, vaulting over the heads of both Raptors. He grabbed hold of the shock tail before it could strike him stabbing it between the gatling gun and the big Raptors shoulder. Its entire body became electrified but it could still move. It slammed Arrow into the wall pinning him and transferring some of the shock to him in the process. Jaz moved to help but Canary held her back. “Let him handle this.” Arrow reached up ripping the gatling gun off its shoulder by using both of his feet to kick it away. The second his feet hit the ground Arrow dropped low, lunging forward underneath its tail as it tried to whip him to position the gun in the crook of its neck. The bullets easily pierced through the thin, scale-like armour there, destroying its core. Both machines fell to the floor in a smoking heap, the light in their eyes turning off before they’d hit the ground. “Impressive.” Black Canary said, stepping over the two unconscious men to join Green Arrow.

“Spar me when we get back on the Watchtower and I can show you a thing or two,” Green Arrow joked, kicking the pile of metal Raptors aside just in time for the elevator to show up. Jaz hit the button to Maxmellius’s office, as well as the button to the floor just below it.

She explained the layout of the walkway. “There’s no way down to Hero’s cage from Max’s office, so I’m going to stop one floor early and try to find it myself. I think I’d spotted the way from the walkway anyways. You two can meet me there once you find what you need in his office.”

“We shouldn’t split up.” Green Arrow shook his head. “We’ll head to the office first, find out where the rest of the heroes are being kept, then we’ll get your friend.” He placed his hand on Jaz, she could tell he was trying to be reassuring again, but she had no intention of taking no for an answer this time. Another explosion ripped through the facility knocking Jaz off balance into Arrow’s chest. The elevators went pitch black and the emergency breaks sent everyone into the ceiling, before crashing back down.

“Damn! The emergency power is out now.” Green Arrow spoke as he helped Jaz to her feet. He pried open the doors pulling them halfway open. The Elevator was between floors, the top half of the doors opened to the lower floor where Jaz wanted to go.

“I think I can squeeze through. You two try and get to Max’s office while I help Hero out. I’m just going to slow you down if you ask me to climb an elevator shaft.” Jaz hopped up, grabbing onto the ledge. Using her foot against the wall as leverage she pulled herself over the ledge and out of the elevator. “Meet me at Hero’s cage, if you keep going straight from Max’s office you’ll be right there!”

“Kid, wait!” Green Arrow couldn’t react in time before she dashed down the hall. He turned to Black Canary, “Why didn’t you stop her?”

“I trust she knows what she’s doing,” Canary replied from the hatch she’d found on the roof. She was already out of it and on top of the elevator. By the time Arrow squeezed through the hatch she was already halfway up the wall.

Arrow climbed up after Black Canary, sparing a final glance after the girl. “I just hope she isn’t some hot shot kid who’s in over her head.”

Meanwhile, Jaz picked her way through the empty halls, peeking around every corner she came across just in case. She was no longer jogging confidently like she had when she had them with her, instead tip toeing around trying to make as little noise as possible. She knew she last saw Hero on the factory floor where they’d gotten captured and when she’d been up on the glass walkway she’d spotted another door on the other side of it that seemed to be in the right spot. She tried to remember the mantra she’d been repeating days prior, but the rumbling that kept rocking through the base and the fact that she was alone made it hard to concentrate. She stopped, pressing her back against a wall. “I can do this. I can do this. Jaz, just keep your head high, focus… What would Superman do in this situation.” A nervous laugh burst from her lips. “Superman wouldn’t be this scared trying to find his friends.” She took another deep breath, slowly letting it out before she started on her way again. Calmer now, she was able to pick her way through the halls until met with the same metal cylindrical doors that had opened for her previously. They were closed now, and it looked like they had no power to them anyways. She tried to pry one open, but aside from breaking a nail nothing happened.

Frustrated, Jaz looked around for what to do. How would they solve this problem in the comics? They would solve it with their powers... Ok, what about Batman though. He had no powers. Jaz ran her fingers through her hair, looking up in exasperation. Right above her was a ceiling vent. “Oh yeah.”

Jaz struggled longer than she’d wanted to trying to reach the vent. The code to the laboratory worked on the doors down the hall but she still had to push them open manually, which was a feat and a half on its own for her. Once inside she wheeled a chair to the vent and struggled to pull herself up through the tiny hole. The ordeal didn’t end once inside either. Her heart was pounding and it was hard to breath in the cramped space. It was so tight she was unable to turn around and that idea alone was sending her into a panic. Biting her lip, she pushed herself forward. The thought of Hero weakly staring up at her from that glass cage was enough to trump the fear she was feeling now. Every ten feet was another vent opening she could use to peer down and check her progress. The first one she came across she was already on the other side of ten fancy doors he’d had installed in the place.

Why the villain never thought to secure the filtration systems always dumbfounded her. Jaz was well past the doors when the vent took a sharp turn upwards travelling perpendicular to the curved walls lining the factory floor. At the end of the line, she finally had to leave the safety of the vents and drop down on the factory floor. She winced as she hit the ground at an angle, flopping over. Sharp stabs of pain radiated up her legs. Black Canary and Arrow had made dropping ten feet look so easy to do gracefully but Jaz had nearly twisted her ankle just there.

The factory floor was currently unmanned, and the recent power surge had stopped all the machines mid assembly. There were five conveyor belts feeding parts to the assembly bays with four giant machine arms sprouting from the floor for each one. Jaz crept through the room, dashing between machines and trying to use them as cover all while scanning the room between bursts for any signs enemies. She’d nearly made it to the other side where the small hallway was hidden when two thugs appeared in the door forcing Jaz to scramble behind cover again.

One was cursing and jogging past while the other yelled after him, “Come on Gary, we’re supposed to guard the room!”

Gary cursed back, “I’m not risking my life for some creepy old man with a dog fetish.”

“Think of the money, Gary!” His friend spoke as if he wanted to stay, but he quickly glanced behind his shoulder as if he was expecting something to jump out at him before he rushed to join his friend.

“What money? We ain’t getting paid, and now some fucking werewolf is coming right for us! I’m out, if you wanna die in this place suit yourself but I’m going back to Taboo. At least they’ll pay us on time.” They continued to argue all the way across the factory floor, completely oblivious to Jaz who hadn’t hidden herself well. They passed right by.

The room they’d left was full of cells that used the same force field-like technology as she’d faced in her room. There was a total of eight, but only six were in use. There was a small office to one side where it looked like the guards rested and watched their charges, inside it had several chests and what appeared to be Green Arrow’s bow resting against the wall.

At the back of the room was another hall leading further in where Jaz paused. Everything inside her wanted to move forward and find Hero, but she couldn’t just leave these men here. Especially after hearing that Brin could be headed this way. She let out a frustrated sigh, turning back towards the cells. Beside each one was a keypad just like her old cell and she knew by one look at each one they all used different codes. Some showed no signs of regular use except one.

“Icon?” Jaz’s voice was barely a whisper but even so the man stirred. “Oh! You’re awake. Just sit tight I’m gonna try and figure out a way to get you out.” The man struggled to pull himself up before slumping down. Kneeling in front of the keypad she could see some greasy stains on three numbers, but she had no clue how long the code was or which order they’d be in.

Her ears pricked. Glancing around she realized Icon was trying to say something. “What was that?”

“Notepad.” She stared into his dull eyes for a moment before she realized.

“Oh! They keep the passcodes on a notepad?” She didn’t wait to see him nod, springing back across the room towards the office. It was square, lined with desks and surrounded on all walls with thick glass; and it was locked. She cursed under her breath, this was the one door that didn’t need a passcode, it needed a key. She peered through the glass instead, spotting the notepad immediately. Pressing herself into the window, Jaz was able to make out the codes on the first page attached with which cell number they went to. The moment the shielding fell she rushed to his side. “Are you ok?”

“I’ll be fine, child. Go see that the others are ok.” His voice was barely a whisper, and his lips were chapped, his dark skin sunken in. They’d at least allowed him to stay dressed in his uniform, though all his gadgets were taken from him. She helped him up, carrying him to the center of the room before she went to work on the other cells. The sheet she’d read from only had three of the six passcodes she’d need.

Chapter 13

[cursedlines]

𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓 // STILL ACCEPTING.

24) ❝ i want to have your babies. ❞ // @worldhearts​ ( reese ).

[thewailer]

@worldhearts asked :    ❝ we’re not safe now. ❞ ( dusica )   HALLOWEEN SENTENCE STARTERS  ( accepting during all of October )

❝ I   get   it.   We’re   not   safe.   But   can   you   put   the   knife   away   sweetheart ?   I’m   starting   to   get   more   scared   of   you   than   whatever   it   is   that’s   out   there  ❞   Lydia   nodded   to   the   hatch   doors   that   stood   between   them   and   the   outside   world

[makochosena]

@worldhearts  ♡’d  ( for bayleah ) !

❝   OKAY, OKAY, take it easy now,   ❞   hands raised to show that she was unarmed and non-threatening,   ❝   I’m not your enemy.   ❞

[englishmansdcc]

Clan McDonald Comics & The Artist's Choice auction to support the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation

Our friends at @Clan_McD_Comics & The Artist's Choice are running an auction to benefit @LindaBlairWF's animal rescue. Some of the artists donating commissions include @sinKEVitch, John Romita Jr, George Perez, Bob Layton, Walt Simonsons, and many more!

Two of the things I love are animal causes, and comic book art/memorabilia. Thanks to Clan McDonald Comics and The Artist’s Choice/Spencer Beck, the two are coming together to support a great cause. Clan McDonald will be running an sale and auction with ALL proceeds going to support Linda Blair (yes, THAT Linda Blair) and her WorldHeart Foundation. The Foundation is an animal rescue organization…

[corialicetale]

worldheart demon by Eostet

[liightningchosen]

@worldhearts asked:   “We could be together, if you wanted to.” rick lmfao sorry

       BARRY ALMOST DOESN’T KNOW what to say. This man must really just be a flirt no matter who he’s talking to --- he’d flirting when Barry was the Flash, and now he’s flirting with him as a CSI. He just had a couple questions, to see if he knew what the metahuman wanted or what was going on in this city, not that he ever knew himself.   “Um. I’m here to ask about the CASE.”   He finally managed to stutter out, blinking a few times.   “And ask if you saw the meta.”   Please stop with the flirting, Barry’s going to die of embarrassment.