The Cosmic Presence, Part 1, written lore: Rogue Eclipse Attacks Picturesque

 🌟 The Comic Presence, Part 1, written lore:

Rogue Eclipse Attacks Picturesque

Picturesque hops down from a city rooftop, the night sky glittering above her, she lands softly on the concrete path thanks to the winged technological boots on her legs. She looks up, the looming sky stares back at her. She sighs and turns back to the earthly scene of towering buildings in front of her, taking a step forward before halting suddenly: she had landed in an empty alleyway, and the lamppost in the distance was flickering ominously. Picturesque squints, then her eyes widen, she takes a step back cautiously as she notices a figure standing in the flickering light like something from a horror movie. “What is going on..?” She whispers to herself. Mental technological screens begin appearing in front of her like pop-up ads as Connection activates, she begins recalling any Vigilante she can think of whose abilities are light or shadow based and who would potentially revel in standing ominously in lamplight (which, frankly, is a lot). By this point she’s taken four steps back- keeping her eyes on the figure while her mental gears turn- when the figure finally reaches a hand to their face, and Picturesque could’ve sworn they smirked right before pulling their hood across their face. The motion of the hooded cloak folding over the figure’s body to form a shadowed silhouette triggers what looked to Picturesque like a gust of wind snuffing out any nearby light, she braced for impact but no wind hit her body, she was simply left in the dark, the stars’ light taunting her from above. Picturesque’s heart begins pounding in her body as she failed to keep her composure in the darkness, she narrowed down her list of potential Vigilante’s significantly, and some of the possibilities were terrifying. She *really* hoped it wasn’t who she thought it was: a particularly dangerous shadow *and* light based Vigilante who has been caught on camera many times, one of which being pretty recent in her area… She shuddered just thinking about it, things never ended well in the videos. Picturesque whipped her body around defensively, deciding it was about time she pulled out her large camera case- which she uses as a shield in situations of conflict. The surrounding area was eerily quiet: even more proof to the guess she was desperately hoping would be wrong, of course they would stand in a lamppost ominously, they enjoy nothing more than letting their victims’ fear cultivate for a good amount of time in a game of cat and mouse before tearing their body to shreds or burning them to cinders- whichever was best for the situation. Picturesque’s stomach tied itself in knots as she tried to decide what the best course of action would be for the horrors that would come next. She realized she needed to put a stop to the Vigilante’s shadow hunt before she possibly threw up from all the “what if”s running through her mind. She looked at one of the mental screens in front of her, one Vigilante stood out from the rest of the options, it was enough to solidify her worries. ‘Enough of this game!’ She thought to herself before yelling out, trying to keep her voice from trembling “Oh get on with it already! I know who you are!” She swallowed harshly and braced herself. “Rogue Eclipse!”

Picturesque felt the words leave her throat, the silence that followed haunting her as she couldn’t tell if the Vigilante was stunned, smirking, or even no longer around. Then slow clapping echoed through the darkness, followed by a cackle. She could even hear the smirk in his voice as the Vigilante spoke “Spot on! Tell me, what gave it away? Was it the lamplight or the darkness?” Finally Picturesque felt wind rush by her out of the darkness “No really, I’m curious!” Rogue Eclipse laughed in her face as his shadowed claw reached out, latching onto her camera case and prying it out of her hands with one slash. Picturesque gasped as the force pushed her backwards, and within that same second screamed in pain as she was clawed in the side, Rogue Eclipse’s second claw dripping with dark marbled blood the color of the cosmos as proof of its violent deed. Picturesque was sent flying from the sheer power of her opponent, the force of her landing bending a lamp post. She groaned, her vibrant pink hair flopping over her body and pouring over her face. She gritted her teeth as pain shot up her side, but a cry still slipped out of her mouth, she’s dealt with the occasional Vigilante or common crook, but none were as deadly or violent as a Rogue. ‘Why is he attacking me? I’m just a small time Loner, surely he has other targets!?’ She thought, contemplating what horrible luck she must have while attempting to pick herself up as Rogue Eclipse studied his claw that was dripping with her Vigilante Blood, like a lion attempting to entertain itself with a mouse caught in its claws. Rogue Eclipse clicked his tongue as Picturesque wobbled to her feet, the wings on her mechanical heels flickering as if they wanted to fly away. “Preparing that party trick of yours? You do know you can’t blind the blinded, right?” He frowned as if he couldn’t even bring himself to be amused at that notion. She gripped her bleeding side, her hair flopping over her back as she staggered, he was right, Rogue Eclipse was fully immune to her Flash Bomb, but that wasn’t her only reason to use it. She knew she couldn’t beat him or run from him, and the only reason she was still alive was because Rogue Eclipse enjoys watching his victim’s struggle and weep and beg under his burning claws. She needed to act, and she needed to act now before he became bored of his hunt. Unfortunately, Rogue Eclipse noticed her slightly lifting up her foot “Aw, it’s almost cute how you still want to try” Picturesque froze “oh no, don’t stop on my account, it’s much more fun when weaklings like you try” Rogue Eclipse smirked. Picturesque’s expression hardened, her side still oozing the color of the night sky through her hand, in a sudden burst of confidence, or perhaps pitiful hope, she tapped the tip of her technological leg onto the floor, sending a winged prism out of her heel and into the air. Before it could get high up, Rogue Eclipse launched forwards, slashing the prism- however in the corner of his eye there was suddenly another winged prism, which was then kicked high above by Picturesque before black ribbon-like shadows latched onto her body from the darkness, pulling her to the ground. Picturesque let out a strained yell as her injured side was slammed into the floor, the ribbons squeezed her body and restrained her now wingless legs, meanwhile Rogue Eclipse frowned at the sky as a burst of light went off like a star shaped firework. “Now why would you do that?” He asked in a disappointed taunt, turning to the softly crying Picturesque who was once again failing to keep her composure, “now I have to end this quickly, and that’s no fun at all.” Picturesque flopped to the ground in submission to her restraints, sucking in sharp breaths through her teeth as she began to bleed out on the rough concrete, “Why are you attacking me?” She sobbed, expressing her fearful confusion in an attempt to stall. “Why…? Hm” Rogue Eclipse propped his claw on his chin to act as if he was deep in thought “do I need a reason? Perhaps I just saw a sparkly Vigilante and was in the mood to snuff out her light like the moon eclipsing the sun” He chuckled at his obvious metaphor. “Now that I’ve entertained your attempt to stall, I suppose I should wrap this up... but you know what- to entertain you further, how would you like to go?” He flexed his claws and his shadowed body flickered in response “shadows are what I usually use for civilians and those like you, you’re all so easy to kill that I hardly indulge in my favorite abilities, but because you’re a special case and your attempt to act less pitiful is amusing me I could always let you go out in a blaze of glory so long as your corpse is still recognizable” Rogue Eclipse smiled at the thought of unleashing his full power. Picturesque stared at the warmly smiling Rogue, dumbfounded. He narrowed his white eyes at her “alright times up, guess I’m choosing for you!” His warm smile upturned into a smirk just like that, and Picturesque exclaimed in terror and squeezed her eyes shut as she braced for the killing blow. But it never came. Picturesque felt a strange power shift enter the shadowed alleyway, the feeling she always assumed came from her Connection ability, and relief flooded her aching body when she realized it was a particular presence she was very familiar with. Suddenly the inky darkness felt different, as if a powerful force pulled the stars down from the cosmos and turned the haunting shadows into a reassuring night. Her last ditch effort to save herself had worked. Rogue Eclipse groaned in annoyance “You just had to be the one to show up, it couldn’t have been the birds.. or literally anyone else” his claw twitched in what appeared to be a frustrated manner as Stardust hurriedly floated into view, her galaxy-like skirt filtering out of the shadows. Rogue Eclipse had been about to claw Picturesque before stopping mid-swing as if interrupted by her presence, and now acted as if he was being weighed down by some type of magical pressure. Stardust locked eyes with Picturesque, then her eyes went to the pooling blood, and for a split second Picturesque spotted what might’ve been guilt on her face before it quickly morphed into rage aimed at the moping Rogue. “Let her go. Now.” Stardust barked, her brow furrowing in concerned anger. Rogue Eclipse sighed “Ugh, whatever, it’ll get the point across better if you’re here to witness your wrongdoing firsthand” He said, continuing his own thought rather than answering Stardust’s demand. “This isn’t a fight you can win, Eclipse, and you know that, so just-“ Stardust was cut off by Picturesque’s pained scream as Rogue Eclipse pulled the inky ribbons towards him, it took him two tries before he was able to fully grasp Picturesque’s neck in his claw, which was still loose enough for Picturesque to breathe. “Stop fighting it Star! Or keep fighting it, either way I’ll prove to you that no amount of gripping onto the Potential that I won’t kill her will stop what’s about to happen!” Rogue Eclipse yelled out confidently, Picturesque’s mind was becoming foggy but she could still glimpse the faltering in his voice as she felt a powerful force wrapping around them tighter and tighter. “I’ll say it again: let her go, or I’ll have no choice but to use my last resort” Stardust pushed, Picturesque could feel her consciousness slipping, but somehow some strength began welling up in her like a voice begging her to stay awake, and she was able to eye Stardust again who had this determined and reassuring look in her eyes. Rogue Eclipse gritted his teeth in frustration, before his grip fully loosened on Picturesque’s throat and she fell to the ground with a harsh thud, the inky ribbon-like shadows falling off her body at the impact. Despite being able to hold onto what little consciousness she still had thanks to the unnatural strength she was gifted, Picturesque was in no shape to function properly and could barely pull herself away from Rogue Eclipse, who, either due to the now overwhelming force or some other reason, seemed to be unwilling to attack Stardust. Fury poured into Rogue Eclipse’s annoyed expression, but then his frown twisted into a smirk. “Alright” he shrugged, letting out an exasperated sigh as if to show he was agreeing begrudgingly before saying “she’s all yours, but don’t tell me I didn’t warn you” then turned around as Stardust darted over to Picturesque’s side. “Might want to get her to a healer quick, she’s fading fast” Rogue Eclipse said over his shoulder, dissolving into the deep shadows of the alleyway. “Hang in there, don’t black out now!” Stardust exclaimed, sliding next to Picturesque and picking her up in a cautious but hurried manner. The last thing Picturesque saw was worry and guilt washing over Stardust’s usually cold but confident exterior, and the phrase “it’s going to be alright, I’ll make sure of it!” faded in and out of her ears before black pushed its way around her vision, and Picturesque’s body went slack in Stardust’s arms.

End of lore~