The Edge of Night

"Remember, you've got this." Speed reassured the young prodigy. He sat at Speed's former desk with his arms crossed. "I'm not worried about the heroing part, it's the running an Agency part."  He replied. "I've got the tech stack memorized, I've got the patrols time cards memorized... I've never had to be a leader before..." The young hero looked down. It was a respectable thing to be concerned about but he was forgetting who he was talking to. 

"What's your end goal, Panda?" Mayoi was grabbing his backpack, and a box of the final items. The former hero always had a small desk in the back in case he wanted to do business there... He'd have the keys as well. He'd take care of SPR in the background while Storm Surge Panda would become the flagship leader like intended. 

"To create a peaceful Japan... but only a Pillar can do that..." An honest reply. 

With a smile, Mayoi-"Then you already know what you're doing. They'll trust you, they always have." 

There was an odd sound, rather a consecutive amount of sounds. Plinking... no more like digging into something. Both of them would pause to try and figure it out. A squirrel would climb that high with no avialble trees, and a bird would just fly off. What the hell was that? Most of the side kicks and interns were out interning already, and the only staff remaining were the desk agents on the support floor... Something was off here. 

Both heroes flinched as the glass broke, the both of them reacted differently. A draft of wind entered in the same way the black-cloaked specter did. Speed would drop the box, there would be a clang followed by the metal sparking off of his knuckles. The blade was deflected a few inches too high grazing his shoulder.  "HEY! You really think you're faster than me!?" It was if he'd forgotten all about his wounds, though the blood from his mouth made it an obvious indicator that his internal wounds reopened from making such a quick movement.

With his abdomen screaming at him, the former hero fell to his knees. He smiled big. He and Panda had been fighting long enough for him to already know what the youngster was going to do. Raiun didn't need to hesitate, he needed to focus on what he was good at. With that in mind, he'd feed some words to Raiun-


Storm Surge Panda's reaction was strange. He hesitated but found his grounding when Speed reacted the way he did. In fact, seeing Speed have any moves left with such fresh injuries almost make him laugh. The old Speed would have dodged completely, this bandaged bastard was slow and still making snappy comments in the face of danger.  Speed's comment seemed to light an uncontrollable flame under Raiun's ass. In terms of priorities, this villain came first. He needed to be downed, or at least immobilized. Despite his life being in danger, Speed was only concerned with his pupil... -he wanted Raiun to show him the pillow he spoke of becoming. This meant Raiun didn't have to worry. He didn't have to second guess anything. He only had to act. 

As a proper thanks to his sensei, Raiun was going to prioritize the save with a wordless game plan. 

"Yo, Stabby Mcgee! There is only one hero you should be concerned with." His smile resembled his sensei, strong and focused. Storm Surge Panda closed the distance fairly quickly. With his arriving presence came a distinct drop of almost ten degrees, and a distinct pressure. One hand was at his weapon, the other seemed to be clutching the air? It would be a bit easy to miss in this frontal assault.

With Kanabo in hand and already reeled back, Raiun twisted his hip to swing the spiked bat with all his might. He was aiming to bash right into the same arm he used to unleash the extending blade. The villain wouldn't know it, but this was Speed's cue to get going. Speed would hack up blood, before gritting his teeth and blitzing toward the window. The window -rather the villain's entry point, was a puffy white void at this time, a pillowy structure that gathered water vapor and wind pressure to become a solid cloud.

Speed was no longer the soapy blur he once was... -not with these injuries, but he was still faster than most average people in this wounded state. Mayoi leaped for the window, tucking his body and crossing both arms over his chest in defense in case the villain tried something. 

The resounding clang between metal was satisfying. Speed smirked. This villain was crafty, but SPR was craftier. "NICE SAVE!" He called out, giving the incoming blade a strong right hook. Consequently, it would shattered the neighboring window as he again was only grazed. Panda almost instinctively leaped back realizing, he too was in danger. Right back, he- "NICE SAVE!" But he didn't want Speed guiding him. He clutched his freehand hard commanding the nimbus to drop. Speed would be caught by the cloud and slowly descend. 

This person could attack and defend on a dime, the cool metal of Edge's blade grated against his konabo as he held in defense. Another breeze rolled in as the room had more access to the outside elements. "You're more than welcome to chase him. You're also more than welcome to try and secure that death wish." He took a few steps back. What was Edge's range? He wanted to figure it out soon. Though, he already had 80% of a game plan in his head. He slipped his free hand into his utility belt and as he pulled it out, his knuckles were decorated with a grey knuckle with this thumb resting on a switch. 

"Decisions, decisions." Raiun taunted. If this were some sort of personal vendetta, then he probably could be patient. If this were a hired job, there were probably rules to getting paid. Something like proof of death at a certain time... Time was of the essence if it were the latter, and Raiun technically made Speed an easy kill by plopping him on a cloud outside of a tall building.  Whatever Edge did would be quite telling for the prodigy. Was he bluffing? This was an agency that specifically prided itself on rescue, and defense planning rather than villain suppression. What exactly did that mean?

Speed's descent was hurried but careful. As the blade came closer, the young hero clammed into a defensive stance, making a prong between his spark point knuckle and bat. Switching his knuckles on, the shock would buzz through the originator's blade and deliver hearty damage. As he did this, the metal sang as Raiun tried to close the distance. The temperature shifted again, though this time with Raiun's approach came a warmer front. "They usually make bigger capes for those of us who have a big head." He chuckled in the face of danger. 

Speed would finally be able to touch precious earth, and slide his way toward a main street. "Recognize, SSP" He said out loud, followed by an "Ambulance needed at SPR campus stat!" His phone would be able to identify his voice and make the message ping to local authorities. The building had a small unit of police and firemen at its base level. All they had to do was wait patiently for the order. This also meant an ambulance would never be too far away. Speed slumped down and rested his body as the incoming siren could be heard. There was no indicator to how close it was, but the chance to kill Speed was slipping. 

The drop from out of the window was a solid 5 or 6 stories. Panda knew that was nothing if he could climb with his blades. He knew he'd be fine as well with his quirk, but this guy was annoying precise and yet seemed a bit distracted. Honestly, the most annoying part was Edge wasn't catching the full brunt of his heroics if he wasn't focused. 

So electricity worked? Good deal, he could handle this guy. "Recognize, SSP- Lockdown and Emergency Amber!" He commanded. His phone would reconize his voice and send a code to one of the desk support members to initiate the lockdown. In a sprint, Raiun leapt out of the window, which was slowly closing with steel shutters as the villain was on the opposing building. Getting back in would be 100% percent tougher, but this person already made it clear who he was aiming for. 

The air around Panda changed as he became airborne, rather it grew soft and dense. A veil of white clouds whirled around his body and formed into a flowing sleeves around his arms and legs. His time in the air was a controlled one as he beat Edge to the earth below. "HEY! I said, there's only one hero you should be concerned with." As he said this, large amber letters graced the agency building letting bystanders know the SUPER HQ was a danger zone. There was more to it, but Edge would have to find out the hard way.

"Who sent you?" He held his arms wide open, clouds swirling around them. He was showing his hand to the villain, but if his goal was to be number 1, people were going to get to know his quirk anyway. For now though... he needed to stall. For a better weather effect, he needed a moment. 

The once clear night sky seemed to darker further as clouds accumulated, though it would get drowned out by the city's light pollution. "Underestimated, just how I like it." The young hero said spreading his arms in a welcoming fashion. Against the temperature shift, though this time it could be felt from a distance. Both combatants were completely in their own little world. 

The assailant- "Only the dead can know my reasons."

Raiun-"Oh yeah, I'm getting pumped up." He'd jump at the sight of incoming blades with his knuckles switched on. There would be a resounding clang against the few he could defend, while others would penetrate his defense. A few cuts for a direct shock wasn't a bad trade in his opinion, as his storm sleeve carried his higher. He'd continue upward as blood joined the ever-present water vapor building around him and above them both. The was cool, moist and the wind picked up ever so slightly. 

The leg sleeves would pull off of his body and float up while pulling as much water vapor as it could. Sitting above them at this point was a dark mass of cloud. The formation would find allies of accumulating clouds.  "Something's brewing... On the Panda doppler radar, I can predict an incoming storm." The floating hero called out. He was confident despite his newly acquired wounds. Nothing would happen yet, but the smell of incoming rain was ever present and the rumble of thunder could be heard. He handn't used his full power on someone in a while, but this guy...

It wasn't just the fact that the blade quirk was tricky. It was the level of precision and technique behind it. Maybe this assassin was a samurai in his past life. It was a bit too much to think about. The clouds around his sleeves seems to whirl faster while he lined his shoulder up to the villain to take aim.

The first drop would fall as the wind picked up. By this time Speed had completely vanished likely jogging toward an incoming ambulance. Panda's mind was fully locked in on combat at this point. He was already prepped for the next attack and luckily it was a single blade. Notably, regardless of what kind of attack Edge used, these blade were a part of him. They had to retract back into his body. With one foot, he'd take a wide step back with his palms facing outward. He tucked his left arm, and pull his shoulder back. This efficient movement would allow him to just narrowly dodge. In that split second his storm sleeve seemed to contort and collect onto the metal as the blade passed through it.

Rather his storm sleeve was. "Cirrus bear trap." The blade would collide with the ground and stay there as solid cloud pinned it(only for a single post). Finally rather than being the defensive, he'd launch his first formal attack. With his lead hand, he'd thrust his palm forward, launching the vortex of a storm sleeve with his right. "Turbulence Sleeve!"