Just Look On The Bright Side! (Pop Quiz: Shadow)

On the dark shores of Steel City, even though it is in the middle of the night, crime is running rampant. Drug deals are being made by the various docks, stolen televisions are being transferred from dealer to dealer, why, even the Steel City Lighthouse, the place where most would consider to be flocking point of safety is consumed with dark dealings this night.

"Operative Solstice? Are you in position?" spoke a tall man into his usual headset. He was standing casually outside of the lighthouse, presumably keeping watch and keeping clear of the various bottom-feeders that were around.

Inside the lighthouse, any signal from the outside world was completely blocked out. On the top of the tower was the girl that had just been referred to as 'Solstice'. Her icy white skin and sheer blue hair were lying in stark contrast to the individuals outside. Standing in front of the large light that was circling to light the harbor, she seemed to have an apparent angelic aura.

"In position Maze, and would it kill you to call me Angel?" she replied shyly. She tried to make her feelings obvious to her employer many times but it just seemed like he was completely oblivious...

Maze formed a grand toothless smile and left no reply. Their newest guest should be awakening quite soon actually. Many floors below Solstice and actually about three feet away from the wall that Maze was leaning from, on the other side of the wall was a girl with black wings and imbued with very dark abilities. Maze was hoping that this test would prove to be quite challenging to her. As she lay on the bottom floor of the lighthouse, she would find that she was completely locked in! (Maze had reinforced the outside and inside walls to ensure no extra exits than those planned.) On the bottom floor, the lighting was very dim, but, she would find the rooms getting brighter and brighter as she came closer and closer to the top. Every floor would present a new challenge and Maze's drone was ready for combat on the first floor for when Shadow should awaken.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Guest

A groan escaped Shadow as she stirred slightly, her wings ruffling themselves as she put a hand to her head. She had a killer headache. She subconsciously searched for a pillow, nearly muttering 'five more minutes' until she felt cold stone under her hands and realised why she was so stiff and her brain was pounding its way out of her skull and her mouth felt like a colony of snakes had been nesting in it.

A quiet but vehement expletive slipped out of the winged teen before she shot upright, taking a cursory glance around the room. At least it was dark. For the moment. Shadow could tell it was some time during the night; the shadows outside were abundant, and she could probably have sensed Maze in them if she hadn't been so busy running her hands over the walls and, when she concluded that she was completely locked in, kicking a nearby trash can in frustration.

It toppled over and spilled its contents right in front of Shadow. She made a face that quickly formed into an inquisitive frown as she saw the label on a crumpled pamphlet. Well, that was just great. Shadow wasn't even in Jump. Not that the girl minded Steel - it was much more her style - but the memories were still kind of fresh.

No time to brood, you need to figure out how to get out of here and who did this. And give them a good beating.

She didn't even notice the robotic eyes drilling a hole in her from across the room.

As all of the preparations seemed to be made, Solstice turned to the small computer that had been installed for this occasion to monitor the guest's work and activate the separate machines that she should encounter. She smiled darkly as she saw the dark winged girl stir and kick a trash can that was on the bottom floor amongst the other junk in the room. She slowly turned up the power to her initial test that would hopefully prove to be a sort of practice run for what was to come as she spoke into her headset to notify Maze saying, "Unit I powering up. Subject has awoken..."

Along with the lever that Solstice was pushing up, back down in the tower base room, a small robot resembling a sort of primate's eyes began to light up and solidify into a deep red. A low whiring noise came from its torso as it rolled away from its corner. It plummeted toward the girl in an immediate offensive movement, diving towards her face and attempting to claw at her eyes while it made a loud realistic screeching noise.

Guest

The unnatural flicker of blood red light scraped a skeletal line through the darker recesses of the room, the first hint that something wasn't quite right. The barely audible sound of the contraption's inner workings clanking to life followed soon after. Shadow turned, just quick enough to grasp what resembled a pair of metallic wrists and keep the robot's reaching claws away from her face. Its momentum and her own unready posture knocked the girl off balance, sending them both to the ground. The winged girl fought just long enough for a tendril of darkness to snatch the robot up and slam it into the nearest wall. Shadow was up by then, settled into a battle stance and her whip hissing with black energy. She took a cautious step, then another, waiting for the robot to spring up and attack her again.

Solstice smiled as she saw Shadow skillfully defend herself on the first level of the tower. "Reaction went nearly as predicted, sir. Strengthening the drone for a final attack now..." she said as she powered up the chimp droid to its full strength. She was just finally getting used to the intensely bright light in the room. She was focusing on getting every advantage that she could get, but, if Maze's calculations were to be accurate, Shadow might not even make it to her floor. She, after all, was only a Titan...

Back on the bottom floor, the drone rose to stand up right and, with a loud screech, flew straight at the girl's wings, trying to disable her so she would be weaker on the future floors. Although the impact would be stronger than the first, the drone's steel casing was greatly weakened from Shadow's first strike. Another strike would probably result in a small explosion and permanent deactivation.

Guest

(Uh, sorry to be nitpicky, but Shadow isn't a Titan.)

Shadow stepped back as the drone picked itself up, her whip ready and waiting for the robot to pounce. When it did the cord of darkness sliced through the air, knocking it down to the ground none too gently. Shadow coiled her whip around the fallen trash can and sent it smashing down onto the sparking drone. Just in case. Not that she was expecting it to blow up. The girl flinched, her wings wrapping themselves around her in a reflex reaction, but she needn't have worried. Lowering her arms and relaxing her wings, Shadow slowly paced toward the staircase spiralling through the middle of the room. What a blatant invitation. The winged girl began to climb the steps with a scowl. Someone was playing games with her, and she didn't like it one bit.

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