Round One

Round One:

FIGHT!

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"We're just on the outskirts of the cloud, Charlotte, we have confirmed it has stopped expanding. The city is being evacuated as we speak, with at least eighty percent confirmed to have been removed from the affected area, but we are no closer to any possible answers as to who is behind the attack or what their intentions are." Loudly shouted a reporter, as he covered one ear from the torrential downpour of rain, and held his microphone close to his mouth with the other hand, his lightly tanned face cast into a bad glow as it was shone directly by the cameraman's flashlight. "And while it seems that the gas is as of yet non-hazardous, we have unconfirmed reports that explosions were heard near midtown, but I do stress that they were unconfirmed. " The tan skinned reporter trailed off as the sounds of explosions were heard in the background, he turned around and looked up into the dark night sky.

Bright, fiery objects were hurtling towards the ground in tight groups of three, with one central object slowing its descent as it came to a halt over the city. The smaller, grouped objected continued their rapid descent before impacting with a loud thunderclap. Many of the fleeing onlookers cried out as the ground trembled lightly from the impact of the meteorites, while several police officers exchanged glances, pointed at the hovering object, or reached for radios.

"Uh... It appears as if some kind of... Drone, has arrived and come to a halt a few miles above the city." Said the reporter, as he signalled to his cameraman to follow him to the nearest police officer. "Excuse me, Officer, is there anything -" The reporter was cut off by another distant thunderclap, and just as he and several others ducked, in the distance a figure could be seen hurtling through the air, leaving a wet contrail behind him as he soared towards a building and slammed into it, crumpling its side and shattering all of its windows in turn, creating a mixed shower of falling water and razor-sharp glass.

The officer only watched the chaos for a second before making a snap decision, spinning around in a spray of rainwater, grabbing both of the reporter's shoulders. "You need to get out of here -" He yelled over the rain and the thunder, before there was another explosion and he ducked on instinct, in the damaged building, hundreds of pounds of debris blasted out of its upper floors. At the edge of the floor that had been smashed open stood a solitary figure, just barely visible so far away. The officer, after taking a brief look behind him and not liking what he was seeing, shoved the reporter away, " - now!"

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Hours Earlier

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It is just plain amazing how much money people can make with a little foresight. Thought the lone man as he stood in the barren and empty penthouse, simply watching as the sun began to rise over the horizon, painting the distant ocean a brilliantly deep red-orange. His shoulders and back were slumped, and his hands were limply resting inside the pocket of his cargo pants. He grinned lightly, his youthful, tanned face wrinkling as an amusing thought crossed his mind. Hell, it's amazing how much foresight money can buy, but that's besides the point. He turned his gaze upwards to the darkening clouds, which themselves managed to counterbalance the hope and warmth of the approaching sun with the ominous cold of a coming storm.

Appropriate. Thought the man, as he dug a thick rubber band from his pocket and reached up to bind his thick, unruly hair with it. He heard a distant chime echo from the elevator, and after a quick mental countdown, he concluded that there were thirteen floors left before whomever was riding upwards would reach him, giving him, and the city below, two more minutes of peace.