They would indeed find an exit wound, but in their searching they would see Nagual’s teeth would now be akin to fangs, as he thrashes from the pain, looking to Immanuel and the rest as they surround him.

“Just d-do whatever You have to, n-no hospital!”

Kneeling down, Immanuel would place a hand over the wound, grimacing as if he feels it himself for a moment before bracing both hands on it and closing his eyes.

“I need someone to keep pressure, and you,” He points to Hauntress. “See if you can get it out of him, somehow.” When he opens his eyes, they are a gradient gold, as slowly a pair of dove like wings begin to sprout from his back, encircling the group, as they feel their wounds and fatigue lessen.

His very presence is restorative, as he pours energy into Diego to stabilize him and stop him from bleeding out, though he is still in need of being kept out of shock and healing.

Diego’s eyes widen first at seeing his best friend of four years sprout a pair of wings, and then at receiving a kiss while bleeding out. Yeah, this just about sets the tone for the night he thought, but to his credit he did manage to slightly kid back.

“Sorry if it felt like you were kissing a dead guy.” He jokes, before sobering up. “Wait, am I going to die?” He asks aloud, as Immanuel shakes his head and looks to Lovetap, while he makes a gesture for some tape and gauze from Broach.

“You will be fine-it will scar but your body is healing the damage thanks to my powers, and help from your friend.” He nods to LT, his wings fluttering a bit as he finishes the last of the healing and steps away from Diego.

“This is all I can do for now, he still needs to be watched for shock, but you’ll survive. And clearly, you’re well enough to do what you do best.” Immanuel jokes referencing Kate, before speaking to the group.

“Thank you guys, for not giving up on us and rescuing us from this place. I could feel what that man felt, he did not intend to keep us alive past this night if he didn’t get what he wanted.” He looks down, and looks to his wings.

“I can’t go home like this...none of us can go home anymore.” He realizes, as Diego speaks up, struggling to stand slowly.

“You don’t have to, you can stay with us, or my family, or the team. You don’t have to run away anymore.” He states the last sentence with emphasis, before adding.

“Your mom still-”

“My mom’s a junkie and wasn’t looking for me when I wasn’t captured by a maniac doctor. She hates who I am, and her carousel of boyfriends are worse.” He looks back to the group of newly powered teens, who have now formed up behind him.

“These guys feel more like family than mine ever did, and I have faith that my path is somewhere else, Diego.” He states, as his wings fold in for a second.

Diego looks down, then looks to the team.

“We can’t just let them go, right?” He asks, still weak from the gunshot, of course.

The group of teens look at eachother, before answering, each one by one.

Eli, the speedster, shakes his head, and lowers it as he speaks.

“I had everything in the world and I blew it, my parents want nothing to do with me, not with a kid who’s a now a powered addict.” Immanuel’s hand slips into his own, and it seems to be more than just a easing of emotional pain.

Dara, the short haired girl speaks up, firm and to the point. “Fuck no, my mom’s exploited me my entire life, and now that I’m like this? This just gives me more reason to never go back.” She leaves it at that.

Speaking bluntly, the lead teen, Malik speaks last, almost hesitantly.

“I..c-could, but where do these guys go? I have a condition, my bones are as brittle as can be, I can’t play on the field nd get my football scholarship, and I still have to work to feed my siblings. When the experiments were offered, it seemed like so much money...and now I can punch throw walls.”

He flexes his arm, and Lovetap would sense a flash of pain, and it would be clear that the boy is in a state of near constant pain.

“The experiments didn’t stop my pain, just turned it into fuel for my powers. But just because I have the chance to go home and pretend like everything’s normal, doesn’t mean I can leave my friends behind.” He finishes.

Immanuel looks up and looks at them, speaking calmly.

“I don’t think any of us are going home, at least not now anyway, but we also can’t ask you all to risk yourselves for us.”

The teens would perk up at the mention of food, with Eli the speedster being the first one to take the leap and zip over and through the portal in a golden blur, with the other teens walking in and following with decidedly less speed.

Settling into the kitchen, they would take plates if offered and begin to eat, with the speedster again dominating the eagerness, this time in food consumption.

Looking to the portal, Nagual would glance at the others, before shakily standing and looking around the facility.

“They raised a point though...if we’re going to be a team we’re going to need a place to stay, a place where we can train and a home for those who don’t have one. That begs the question, are we a team?”

The powered teens would shake their heads at the allergies question and the girl would make a move to comment on the hanky panky but a swat from Immanuel would silence her, as he speaks.

“We all understand. Do you think I could maybe sleep on or near the roof by any chance, or perhaps in the attic?” Eli, the speedster, would chime in.

“He likes to roost.” He supplies, before adding. “If we could sleep near eachother, that would be nice as well. We don’t want to be separated again.”

The teens nod, and one by one after a meal they shower, and go upstairs to finally rest and sleep.

Nagual, nursing a wounded shoulder but looking noticeably better after the healing, looks to the rest of the team smiling for a moment, before his eyes go wide as he starts.

“Dios, mi padres, i haven’t checked in with them all night? It’s three in the morning!” He scrambles despite his injury, looking to Broach in a panic.

“Can you make a portal to 1227 Flores Drive, about two blocks away?? My abuelita is going to kill me!”

Having managed to change back into his own street clothes, Diego would nod as he slips on a jacket, jestering to outside so they could talk in private on the porch.

“So...that happened.” Wow Diego, all night to think of something and that’s what you come up with? “What does this make us?”He decides on and asks, sitting on the step and waiting for her response.

He blinks, taking a moment to look at her and take in the stock of the act and moment, smiling.

“I’m Diego, Diego Alejandro Padilla Garcia if we’re being formal.” He smiles. “I appreciate the help and watching my back in the warehouse. So, since you know I tend to be direct, what do you say we see what happens.” He sighs as he realizes what he said.

“In a manner of speaking.” He offers.

The teen chuckled, squeezing his hand back as a sort of response it itself as he sighed, his heartbeat slowly from fearful, to anxious, and finally to content as they sit underneath the stars, the long night almost seeming like years behind them.

Yeah, his family could wait up just a little bit longer.

————-

The reporter stepped into view of the camera tersely, knowing that the scene was unfolding in front of her eyes and she had to get her info out fast.

They were on a time crunch here

3

2

1!

“Welcome back to the story dominating local news circuits, I’m Stacy Strauss with Titan 10 News. We’re live on the scene of a harrowing and thankfully resolved night of terror that for parents, began three months ago.”

A cut to jumpsuit clad teens running and reuniting with their parents at a local high school gymnasium is seen, along with cuts of doctors monitoring other teens in secure chambers at a nearby hospital.

“What began as a series of reports on a string of runaways proved to be something far more sinister, as the teens you see here and up to almost 20 others were said to have been abducted by an unknown group of super villains.”

She continues, walking through the halls of the hospital as the camera tracks.

“Kept shackles and in a form of stasis, these teens were tormented, tortured, and experimented on, and left with lasting trauma and in some, even super powers. As they are minors, their faces and identities will remain anonymous, but the parents I have spoken to say that regardless of what state they are in, they are simply happy to have their children in their beds again.”

It then cuts back to her at the news station, as she closes out the segment.

“When asked for a statement, the TCPD has stated that all teens found at this facility have been returned to their families or guardians, save for four, who’s parents names and numbers can be found at the bottom of the screen if any information is known.”

“The TCPD spokesperson also stated that while they were tipped off to the location, the teens reported being rescued by a as of yet unknown group of young heroes. They added that these heroes seem to be yet another in a wave of adolescents who live in a world where powers are the norm, and being a hero is the expected, over the exception with social scientists in the area calling this phenomena Generation T.”

Shuffling papers, she speaks as the camera begins to close out.

“Once again, we will bring you more info on this as this is a developing story. I’m Stacy Strauss here with Titan 10 News, from all of here, we wish you a good night.”