She was screwed.
Almost every piece of information she got access to in the library confirmed what Zoe had given her, even the whole speech [The Stygian Bane] gave was the same ad verbatim. She found a few variations here and there, but most of those were attributed to interpretation from other languages when they wrote the [Idea] of the speech.
So in a nutshell? The bastard had infected the very [Core] of the planet, and in turn, almost all [Shadow Based] powered...And a few [Shadow Mages] got affected by that [Taint]. The reports she found on it told about how the subjects started to turn mad, their only link between each other was a [Shadow Themed Skill] or a [Shadow Affinity] according to the information she found.
Nonetheless, they all turned mad and started attacking left and right, the only saving grace was that they all turned mad in the same week...The one where most [Hero] and [Villain] associations were mourning the terrible losses made by [The Stygian Bane]. So while they caused some damage... They were shut down quite easily since most groups were together mourning the death of most the majority of the second iteration of [The Twelve] and those that lived in that city.
This however didn't stop in the first week, most thought that it was the result of [The Stygian Bane] infecting the shadow users with his [Skill] and probably wouldn't spread further. The current [Shadow Users] turned themselves in and used [Skill Restraining] collars to prevent their skill from manifesting...Most still turned crazy, but they were more easily subdued...
"But the new generation still got [Tainted]..." Murmured Elizabeth while turning in to the new page in her article.
A confirmed powered born after [The Event] turned psycho and tried to start a genocide was put down by her father, the skill of the maddenedd powered was then examined by one of the new members of the third iteration of [The Twelve] and the effects of [The Stygian Bane] confirmed on him.
This was the turning point for most [Shadow] powereds, as Elizabeth continued reading her fist was holding the table with more strength, and she didn't notice how at some point some of her shadows started covering the desk and reinforcing it...Because if they didn't...That desk would crumble.
"And so...We became pariah..." Laughed Elizabeth while reading the outcome of that second generation.
They all started to run and tried to suppress their own skills, it didn't matter. Father and Mother were too good at their work; they caught most of the powereds and mages. Ironically, this event worked to make the powered and magical community work together. They even founded the first Prison capable of holding both types of metahumans!
Yay, progress!
"...You are so not getting a present this year papa..." Murmured Elizabeth reading on the progress they took.
This persecution carried on till a group of heroes that managed to reign their [Taint] went [Rogue] and proved they could control it and suppress it. But by that point, the public opinion was stacked against them...
Ironically, while this group could suppress it to some extent they weren't free from it, so their temper was more...Volatile. So they decided to not return to the [Hero] life and instead went full [Villain]. And while they didn't commit over-the-top crimes they still settled into the underworld by doing mercenary work and dealing with other [Villains].
They still robbed banks in the end. A fact that Elizabeth found hilarious, that note at the end about their first act as true honest to god [Villains] was a riot, since the black-haired woman with a wolf mask was helping civilians evacuate while her minions moved the money to black vans and others dealt with the injured [Heroes].
