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| The Joker |
| Posted: Aug 27 2009, 01:12 AM |
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Admin With a Grin
Group: Head Admin
Posts: 2463
Member No.: 1
Joined: 10-December 03
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Dolens Nex entered his apartment silently, taking a somewhat normal shape before shifting back into solid matter, and rubbing the excess water from his eyes. He'd been gone for nearly two and a half weeks, so even the dank little hole he paid for every month seemed like a blessing to lay his eyes on after all this time. His dad had always been after him to upgrade to something a little higher class, especially given that money wasn't really a problem with either of them... but he couldn't stand the idea of paying so much for a place that he'd never stay in. After all, even when he WAS in town, he was usually at Noir on business of one kind or another. So when it really came down to it, he was only here four to five nights out of any given month, and that was no where near enough time to throw all that cash out the window.
Sighing, he peeled off his shirt, pants and underwear, and left them in the hamper on the way back to his bathroom. For someone that could make himself up of entirely water, he tended to take showers more often than most. It was mostly because of where he went when he was in water form. Traveling through some of those filthy pipes really sickened him, so whenever he could spare the time, he was in someone's shower trying to cleanse himself of whatever the hell he went through. At least when someone stepped in something, it was only on the surface of their shoe. When he went through something, it entered his body, and swirled around a bit before exiting... leaving him feeling stained from the inside out almost at all times.
He stood beneath the scalding hot stream until the water began to turn cold, which, upon getting out, he realised was only about five or six minutes after he'd gotten in. One of the draw backs of his power was being unable to tell how hot was too hot. It didn't normally effect him, unless it was something like this... where a certain thing didn't last very long at such a high temperature. Anyone else would've been screaming, and left that stall with third degree burns, but not him. He was simply bitter that he hadn't had more time.
After grabbing a clean costume out of the four that he had, he tucked his mask into the harness on the back of his hand, and made his way into the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. As he walked past the far counter, he pressed the on switch for the small television, and proceeded over to the fridge in a sad attempt to find something to eat in his obscenely baron kitchen. Because he was so rarely home, it was unlikely he'd have more than a can of soup, or maybe a jar of pickles floating around somewhere in his place. Most of his food he purchased on the go, or bummed from his father when he went to visit him. However, it seemed he was in luck. There, in the back of the second shelf, sat a small thing of yogurt, and a bag of blueberries. Truthfully, he didn't remember buying that, but it wouldn't stop him from eating it. He hadn't eaten anything for a good eight hours, and he was starving. All that moving around through tubing really worked up his appetite.
The usual news woman sat at her desk in one of her stereotypical business suits. The ones that made her look like she was so desperately trying to be equal to her male counterparts, even though she never would be.
"-lier today. They've yet to make an official comment on the matter, but there has been some speculation on what this superhuman was doing at Noir."
Colin's ears perked as he heard the name of that company, his neck craning around just in time to see the screen flip over to a man they called 'Jack Winters - CEO of Intec', who proceeded to explain his reasoning behind whatever it was they were talking about.
"I think it's a stunt. No way the real Obsidian would just barge on over to Noir Industries, then vanish without a trace. If it were really him, that whole place would be burning, and us with it."
A microphone that was being held from off screen moved a little closer to the man,
"What makes you think that?"
Jack scoffed, and made a face.
"Well, it isn't like they could be working with that thing, now is it?"
Colin didn't even bother shutting off the set as he yanked his mask back onto his face. He morphed into his liquid self, and leapt down into the drain of his kitchen sink. Knowing Castro, there was no way Obsidian entering Noir was a stunt, or promo of any kind. But knowing Obsidian, it was unlikely that they came to some kind of peaceful resolution... what if he'd actually managed to kill them all without causing a massive public scene? Then again, why would he NOT want to cause a scene? Wasn't that what he was known for? Causing problems where ever he went, and being damn proud about it? Either way, hearing that he was in Noir, and that now he's no where to be seen frightened Colin to the very core of his soul... if something had happened to Jim while he was away... he would never forgive himself.
He navigated through the sewer system of Lutonopolis faster than he normally did, thankful that he'd taken this route enough times to know it by heart. By now, he could get to Castro's office with his eyes closed, which he practically was doing, because he wasn't taking any time at all to pay attention to a single one of the tell tale markings inside of each row of pipes. When he got there, he wasted no time pooling to the ground, reforming, and ripping open the bathroom door as if he expected to see Obsidian choking Castro right there on the other side of it. However, as the image in front of him began to sink in, the look of worry written all over his face was slowly replaced with a mixture of relief, and embarrassment. Jim sat calmly at his desk, one eyebrow cocked in Colin's direction as if his hasty reaction was causing him a bit of confusion.
"Sorry... I... I just got back. Saw the news when I got home, and I thought maybe... I dunno. I'm sorry."
"Heh, nothing to apologise for my boy, we can't all be blessed with foresight... Or being in the right place at the right time. I'm safe, the building... Is mainly intact, so settle down and pull up a pew..." He motioned to the chair the other side of his desk.
He did as he was told, stopping just in front of Castro before lowering down into his seat.
"So, it's taken care of?"
"Sort of... More a case of having delayed the inevitable so we can make it a bit more evitable..." Jim rose from his chair and wheeled it out from his desk, pulling it to the other side to face Colin and then dragging a small, glass and metal table between them. "How long have you been back?"
"Just a few minutes ago." He replied, pulling the mask from his face, and setting it on his lap. "I stopped by my place to get a few things. When I turned on the news, and saw Obsidian, I came right over."
"Take it you wouldn't say no to a drink, then?"
He shook his head, running his left hand through his hair in a sad attempt to straighten it. He hadn't even had the time to brush it after getting out of the shower.
"No, I wouldn't."
"Heh, didn't think so. You stressed enough to be hitting the bottle like I have all afternoon, or are you still on tea, coffee and soft drinks level?"
Colin laughed a little,
"No, the last thing I need is caffeine."
"Bottle it is then." Jim smirked lightly, rising from his chair and grabbing a couple of glasses and a dark brown bottle from his desk. "How was America?"
He sneered, playing with the fabric of his mask mindlessly as he replied.
"Maybe it's just me, but I swear that country gets filthier and filthier every year. You wouldn't believe the things in their pipes."
"Heh, so seeing the sights and hooking up with some pretty broads was off the agenda then?"
Taking the glass from Castro carefully, he placed it up to his lips, and drank a good two thirds of it before taking a breath.
"I thought it best to just take care of Peterson, and come back straight away. Things kind of happened last minute, so I wasn't sure if you'd need anything else."
"Much as I'd love you to be out there still enjoying yourself, turns out your timing couldn't be better. I might have a few bits and pieces you can do around here." He swirled the murky brown liquid around in his glass, staring into it before raising his head to look at Colin once more. "I can't even begin to tell you how big a spanner Obsidian has put in the works, Col. A few things happened while you were away, things that might bury Cynthia's little group of tearaways once and for all... Heh, assuming Obsidian doesn't wipe 'em out first..."
His expression brightened, and he leaned forward in his chair. Clearly he should ask about Obsidian first, but hearing that Cynthia might get what was coming to her made his heart sing.
"What happened?"
"Heh... Tell me, just how badly do you want a shot at them?" He took a small sip from his glass, his smile widening. "... At her..."
Nex swallowed deeply, and partially bit his lower lip. He wanted to eagerly state that he would do just about anything to tear her and her little gang to shreds... but he had to approach this a little more carefully than that. Castro wanted her alive, and he knew it. Even though he hated it.
"Just as much as I always have... Did you find them?"
"Not quite... We know where they're going to be though. Nathan has a psychic under his building right now, the powerful 'all knowing' in the most literal sense kind. She's told him the Reserve are going to mount an attack on the place in two days and that sniveling little bastard has already been on the phone asking for help."
Again he made a face, only this time it wasn't because of the filth in someone else's country, but their own. Nathan... he hated that man. Slimy, untrustworthy, and most of all, just plain annoying.
"Of course he did. He lost the ability to defend himself years ago. All he can do now is ask other people to do his fighting for him."
"Heh, why do you think I can never seem to pry Gretta away from him?" He shook his head, placing the glass down on the table. "Fact is, putting aside the fact Nathan's a sniveling weasel with a streak so yellow it glows, the psychic is important. The kind of important I'd throw all my resources into protecting if I could. But if the Reserve are bold enough to stage an attack on Nathan, that means Obsidian ain't doing his job properly. Which might mean he's coming back here. So this is all on you my boy, make sure Nathan doesn't gift wrap that girl and give her too them on a silver platter."
"Stopping them from getting the psychic won't be a problem." He said, finishing his drink, and setting it on the small table. "But what about Obsidian? Should I be looking for him in the meantime?"
"Heh, don't you worry about that - I already have it covered. But there is something you can do about him... Indirect, but something..."
"Name it." He said quickly.
"Your girlfriend down in the research bunkers... Cute little broad in the black one-piece with the puppy dog eyes and the twisted smile of a meglomaniac... You're still speaking, right?"
The corner of his mouth twitched a bit, and his chest tightened. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going.
"When I have to..."
"I think it's about high time that ditzy, delusional little madame started earning her keep... I don't suppose you could have a few words, convince her that maybe coming to a few blows with a hulking chunk of walking volcano might be in her best interests..."
He ran his hand along the back of his neck, and bit his lower lip again.
"I... I could try. She's pretty temperamental. If I upset her, she might... well... you know."
"Jesus H... Col, she's a bloody teenage girl. Just take your damn shirt off and she'd probably follow you off the edge of a cliff."
He frowned, once again messing with his mask, only this time out of nervousness. This was a very awkward subject for him. It wasn't that he wouldn't be interested if she weren't a crazy sociopath... she was a very beautiful girl... but.... she was a crazy sociopath. One that had turned people inside out right in front of him with just her will to boot.
"I'll go talk to her tonight. See what I can do."
"Don't look so worried, I've got every faith in you m'boy." Castro leaned across and patted him firmly on the shoulder. "Hm. Getting a bit sick of these four walls, how about you and I go grab some lunch. Heh, unless you've got other plans..."
"No." Nex replied, finally letting himself smile. "Lunch sounds great, dad."
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"I never claimed what I did was right, Bats! Just fun!" - The Joker, Batman: Fading Smile |
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| Ignite |
| Posted: Sep 22 2009, 10:34 PM |
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Aren't You Sorry You Woke Me Up So Early?
Group: Moderators
Posts: 251
Member No.: 12
Joined: 14-December 03
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The footsteps were growing closer, but she wasn’t sure they were real. The quake wasn’t real.
But the screams were.
Shilah lay in the fetal position clutching her head, mumbling quietly. Trying to sort out the voices from her own.
I hope Jimmy didn’t get caught with the…
I can’t believe I just slept with …
... quakes don’t happen here. Must be …
Caroline didn’t sound …
Some of the voices were far away, some sounded as though they were whispering in her ear. One voice, a man, was getting closer.
He was looking for her.
She shot up and crawled under a table. “Can’t see me. Can’t find me.”
No. They always look under the table first. The sound of a door being pushed open made her jump again. Knew it was coming, still jumped.
Rigid stepped through the aging doorway, a thin string of cobwebs sticking to his arm as he passed by. He sighed, brushing it from him with irritation.
"Hello?" He called out, suddenly wondering if the girl would approach him while he was still wearing his mask.
She was hidden in a far corner of the building. Her knees pulled up to her chest. "No masks. Be quiet. Go away." She called out, hiding her face in her knees.
After checking several times around the room, and seeing no one... Nathan slowly removed the mask from his face. It was a higher risk than he'd normally take... potentially linking his true identity with his more shadowy alias... but he had been told this girl was essential. He took a few steps forward, but was careful not to get too close.
"Miss Harrow? My name is Nathan. Nathan Beatty. Do you..." He paused, tilting his head gently to one side, ".. do you know why I'm here?"
She pulled her head tighter against her knees. "Go away. Don't want to help." She groaned as more thoughts from around her assaulted her mind. "Everyone's scared. They don't understand." She whispered then looked up sharply at the man. "Be quiet."
His brow furrowed, and his mouth opened as if he was going to respond... but instead he just nodded once, and sat down on the floor across the room from her. Taking after her, he pulled his legs up against his chest, and leaned forward on them.
"You know, Shilah... can I call you Shilah?" When he paused to let her answer, she never did, so he simply continued, "I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that we don't need your help. Because we do. But maybe you could use ours as well."
She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to sort out his thoughts from the din in her head. "You want to ... help me control the voices? The thoughts ... you have a tricky mouth, but your head says the same things," she said the words slowly, letting her body relax.
He nodded, and folded his hands together. "I believe in honesty, Shilah... and that's all you'll ever get from me. I might not always be the nicest person, but I believe in what I'm doing, and the cause that I'm fighting for. I'm here because I want you on my side... and I want to know what I can do for you to make that happen."
She crossed her arms. "You know someone who can make all the voices be quiet?" She rubbed her hands over her face. Focusing only on this Nathan's thoughts was tiring her. "I want the voices to go away. Don't want to hear and see and ..." her voice trailed off into a groan as a few voices broke through her concentration.
"There's a girl... a psychic... she has the power to change the perception of other psychics. She can even block or weaken a superhuman's ability entirely. Right now our team is working on a way to extract this trait in a way that could allow it to be selectively applied. I think something like that could be exactly what you're looking for... but... right now there's a group of terrorists that is trying to stop our research from moving forward."
Nathan assumed this girl had heard of The Reserve, even if she'd never seen his face before. Every man, woman, and child in Lutonopolis had been impacted by the actions of The Reserve in one way or another... even someone as secluded as Shilah.
"I help stop The Reserve you can finish the research." She stared at him. "The Reserve don't think they're terrorists ... but they make the earthquakes ..." her voice descended into mumbles for a few moments. "You don't lie?"
"I didn't say I don't lie. I'll just never be dishonest with you." He shrugged, and let out a light sigh, "There are just some people that can't handle the entire truth... but I'm sure you've learned that the hard way over the years."
She nodded. "People don't want to know." She relaxed further curling her legs underneath her. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.
Smiling, Nathan pushed himself up off of the floor, and dusted off his legs.
"Right now, all I want you to do is come with me. I can take you somewhere that's quiet, secluded, and a lot more comfortable than it is here. We'll worry about how you can help us against The Reserve after you've had a decent meal, and a good nights rest."
"Not a lot of people?" She stood slowly, pressing herself against the wall. "Don't want to be around people. Too loud." She took one cautious step forward. "And no touching. Touching isn't allowed."
Nathan tugged the mask back over his face, taking extra care in making sure that the plastic face plate was straight.
"Nope, no people. I set aside a place just for you. A little apartment that I fitted with something that was made for a telepathic client about six years ago. Think of it like sound proof walls that work both on external, and internal sources. That's as quiet as it gets."
She nodded. "Quiet." She took a few more steps forward. "Okay. I'll go. I'll help."
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| Artificial Idiot |
| Posted: Sep 23 2009, 04:46 PM |
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Absurd Mind
Group: Head Admin.
Posts: 1352
Member No.: 75
Joined: 10-August 04
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Aura couldn't get back to her own room fast enough after leaving Chris alone, the chaos surrounding her actually working to her advantage in this case as she made a beeline straight for it. She had no idea how she could've been so stupid and careless... Must've been the drugs she'd taken from Tim's bag. Either way, she had more important things to worry about, or at least occupy her mind and take it off what she'd seen. Things had always been awkward with Chris, now they were going to be just unbearable. Letting out a frustrated grunt, she pulled her door open,slipping through it and then slamming it in one fluid motion. She rested her back against it, closing her eyes and allowing the air to seep from her lungs, expelling all the pent up tension within her, if only briefly.
"Aura..."
Her hand was at Sage's adam's apple almost as quickly as her eyes flew open. The old man was, of course, unphased by this as usual and upon actually seeing who it was she soon relaxed herself, letting her tensed arm relax to her side.
"Sage, you keep this up and you're going to get yourself killed..."
"Mmm... Perhaps. Perhaps I have more faith in your self control than you do. It does not matter." He dug around his leather jacket for a few moments before producing a medium sized brown envelope and holding it out before him. "You should find a brief assessment, with photographic references, of the Docks as a point of ambush within."
"Think you could summarize?"
"Yes. I think I can." He flashed his crooked teeth in a sly smile. "Having the sea at our backs would be the most major advantage, if you choose the people you take along carefully. They could escape relatively easily if things go wrong, while Noir would be... Troubled to follow us. However, with our small numbers there doesn't seem to be any reasonable point of ambush that would give us a great advantage... And if I may speak from personal experiance..."
"You going to tell me how personal?"
"Ah, this time I will have to think not." That damn smile again. She often wondered if the old man had more than one set of limited expressions. "In my experience the docks are rarely empty, even in the dead of night. Given the overhang from the roofs of warehouses and storage facilities close by, I'm given to believe it is quite popular with the homeless..."
"And you'd know nothing about being homeless, of course..." She teased. It was almost a game they'd played over the years. She'd try to catch him off his guard and get him to reveal even the smallest hint about his past, and he'd always be infuriatingly vague.
"Hm. If I may bring you back to the point, whenever we strike we could be risking innocents."
"It may be a risk we have to take depending on Samson's report... Thank you Sage."
"I'll take that as my que to leave."
With yet another flash of his teeth, he picked up an empty can of Red Wolf from her desk and tipped it upside down until a single, copper coloured drop fell from the can onto his tongue. From there his body rippled and changed, from his mouth downwards it took on the same, shimmering copper form, slowly losing density until he was nothing by a puddle on her floor that soon slipped through the the cracks between her door and it's frame. She could only shake her head slowly, she sometimes wished the old man wouldn't use his powers so casually. If only because it set a bad example for the younger members. Yet if there was one thing that Christian and herself had both learned from experience, it was that outside of mission circumstances, you could rarely tell Sage anything. He was a powerful, but temperamental ally at times.
Placing the envalope on her desk, she was ready to settle down into the chair adjoining it and examine what Sage had uncovered in detail, when a heavy set, robust knock rattled through her door.
"Samson?!" She snapped, hoping he'd finally made it back to base with Azi, only to be slightly deflated when Christian poked his head around the door. The older man made a bit of a face as he opened the door, her greeting obviously not quite what he'd expected.
"Hate to say this, but we've got another problem."
He face fell at the prospect of there possibly being any more problems today. They already had so much on their plate she wasn't sure how much more the team could take.
"You better come in then..." She sighed, collapsing down into a chair.
Stepping gingerly into the room, he shut the door behind him, and frowned.
"Holocaust is over by the east entrance. Saw her when I went to see if Bernice was okay."
"Did she see you?"
"Yeah. But it was from across the street. We were underground again before she could get close." Christian wiped the beads of sweat from his brow, and shook his head slowly. "I know she didn't see where we climbed down, but that doesn't mean we can rule out the possibility that she knows it's there anyway, you know?"
"No... We can't..." They both knew all too well the dangers of Holocaust finding their way down into the tunnels. It'd make what happened today look minor in comparison. She rubbed a hand across her face, turning to the desk by her chair and strumming her fingers across it. "I'll have security around the east entrance tightened, and have it designated off limits to everyone until we can be sure. If the worst happens, we can cave in or block off the connecting tunnels..."
"Well, she'd still have to navigate through the sewers to get here even if she did get through it, but it doesn't make me feel any better to think that their side is clued in to us being down here somewhere. They have enough manpower to come looking, and probably eventually find something, and we all know what happens after that." For a brief second his eyes went out of focus, and his face appeared saddened. She knew exactly where his mind was, and honestly could never imagine having to carry that around with her herself. "We need to make our move against them sooner, rather than later."
"There's something I can agree on..." She picked up the brown envelope that Sage had delivered before vanishing, pulling the photos from out of it and spreading them across her desk. They depicted various views of the Lutonopolis docks, key strategic points, possible places they could hide... Truth be told, under such close scrutiny it looked a lot more open then she realised. "Sage just reported back from the docks before you got here... Said while having the ocean at our backs was a huge advantage, it's far too sparse with too many open areas for an ambush and from 'prior experience' he knows that the docks are rarely empty, day or night. I'm leaning towards the aquarium, I just wish Samson would get back so I knew they were safe..."
"Try not to stress about it too much. I'm sure they're fine." Christian reached behind him and opened her door, taking half a step outside of it before saying, "I'm going to go check on Chris. Make sure he's feeling better. You're gonna need him at the aquarium."
Her back stiffened at the very mention of Chris. In all the excitement and chaos that had occoured, she'd completely forgotten that he was central to the mission. And while they had both agreed to forget the... Incident earlier, she wasn't sure if she was ready to work that closely with him again so soon.
"Christian..." She uttered, hoping to call him back before he vanished. "... About that..."
"What?" He asked, raising a curious eyebrow at the tone of her voice.
"I know I made promises to Bernice... We both did..." She began, brushing her hair out of her face as she stared down at the pictures on her desk. She could feel her throat becoming drier by the second. "But... Given the... Circumstances of today, I'd feel a lot better if you accompanied us instead of Chris."
Again Christian frowned, leaning his weight on the doorframe as he spoke.
"It's not just because of Bernice that I can't go, B. I haven't exactly been on my game as of late, and the last thing you need is some old bastard dragging down your mission."
"I don't need you to be on your game, Christian... Deadline, Sage and I can do all the heavy lifting. I just need somebody who was there the night the psychic was taken... And we're not sure that Chris is stable yet."
He stood there silently for a second, thinking carefully about what she was saying. She knew how fond the man was of Chris, so she was a fool to think he'd simply accept her suggestion.
"Well, since I don't feel any shaking, I'm guessing Tim probably got whatever was wrong with his powers under control. That seems stable enough to me, and if Chris says he's up for it, then you need him there."
"Considering everything else that's happened today, I'm not sure it's stable enough for me..." She gripped onto the edge of her desk, chewing on her lip for a few moments before rising from the chair and pacing further into her room. "Christian, I know you still feel guilty about what happened a few nights ago... But I'm just trying to do what's best for the team..."
"No." He said, his jaw clenching at the mentioning of the Reserve members he still felt responsible for letting die. "The best thing would be including the only one of us that actually saved a life that night. He pushed himself over his limit for me, which is what brought us here in the first place. I'm not gonna sit by and let him get benched for that."
"This isn't about last night, and it most certainty isn't about whatever personal little guilt trip you're putting yourself on!" She snapped, the words almost tasting bitter in her mouth and springing out before she had any real control over them. The irony in them was so sharp it stung. "This is about now Christian! This is about what happened today! I can't deal with anything like that happening again... Especially in public!"
"You're hardly the person to lecture someone about unnecessary guilt, B." He said, making sure the door was shut far enough to keep others from hearing him. "What happened today is a direct result of that night. Whether you wanna say it was because of me, or them, it doesn't matter. There's no excuse not to take him if he's better, other than paranoia... and if it's that, it's something you need to get over."
"It's not paranoia, it's caution!" She exclaimed, trying to keep her voice in check least the tremors damaged her sound proofing. "I thought you of all people would be able to understand that! Especially after the lecture you gave me for throwing it to the wind last night! I have two options here Christian, I can take a man who's over-exerted himself twice in as many days and almost levelled our HQ as a result. Or you. Are you really so damn scared of letting us all down that you'd force me to choose Chris?"
"That's not even close to the same thing, and you know it. I tell you running off to fight these people by yourself is careless, and you compare it to me wanting you to include someone that's more powerful than most of us combined?" He ran his hand over his forehead, rubbing away tension that was building. "I'm getting too old for this shit. Seems like every time I go out, something happens... and yeah, I might get lucky enough to live through it every time, but I don't know how many more times my marriage will, you get me? After everything that's happened, I'm not gonna do that to her again, B. Not this time."
"Christian... I'm sorry." She paced back over to her chair, pulling it out and sinking back into it, all the pent up frustration fading at the mention of Christian's marriage. "I just don't know what's wrong with me lately... If my head isn't in the game I... Urgh! Things just seem to be going so wrong or becoming so complicated I..." She cleared her throat, completely unable to get what she wanted to say out and unsure if she wanted too. She wasn't like Christian, she didn't have somebody she could bare her soul too when times were hard... She'd never had that luxuary, even as a child, so she did what she always did - Put a lid on it and bottled it up. She took a deep breath before facing the man before her once more. "Go check on Chris. Have Bernice take him home to rest up and let him know I'll... We'll need him later tonight."
Christian looked as if he were about to say something, but after a second or two of awkward silence, he simply nodded, and left without another word. Whatever was about to happen with Holocaust would happen, the only thing they could do was wait. As for Chris... She'd just have to suck it up and deal with it, all the while hoping her little nightmare scenario didn't come true. All she could do was deal with things that were at hand and in her control. Even the slight inkling that Holocaust might be breathing down their collective necks made it all the more important to draw Noir's attention elsewhere. The ambush would have to happen tonight, she just hoped Samson got back fast enough to get the wheels in motion for a strike tonight.
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I think heroes would be more fun if everyone had a floating box over their head saying 'GOOD' or 'EVIL' in big shiny letters and it made a 'DING!' sound when it switched. - virtualoctopus |
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| Peter Parker |
| Posted: Sep 23 2009, 05:03 PM |
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Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Group: Member
Posts: 121
Member No.: 89
Joined: 31-August 04
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"In other news at this hour, a laboratory explosion has resulted in the sealing off of a four block area.
Police and fire personnel have not commented on the cause, except that they could not rule out terrorist activity and that there is no way of knowing how many casualties have occcured due to teh accident, though they have stated that a number of fatalities have occured. The surrounding area is being evacuated by......."
She pressed the heels of her hands to her pounding temples, clenching her teeth.
Every sound penetrated her skull, every motion hurt.
Dear merciful God, please, let it stop!
She was burning, her flesh burning, though she was dimly aware that only her clothes and some of her hair and lashes had been damaged by the fire...Explosions, shouts, screams and shots rang in her ears, her stinging eyes blinded by soot and smoke and tears, her head ached, the temples burning fit to split.
She lurched clumsilly through the darkness, deeper and deeper into the maze of alleys and tunnels.
And, free of the fire though she was, her flesh continued to burn....from within.
Please, just make it stop!
She didn't know where she was, what had happened, only that she hurt, she was afraid, and that she had to run. Amid her panic, fragments of dialogue, bits of images, faces, sneers, darted tantalizingly across her mindscape in tantalizing, will-of-the-wisp fragments, adding to her confusion, fear and frustration.
Maybe the poison they injected her with, maybe a concussion, whispered some rational voice in her head.
Other voices, fragments of memory, flitted across her dazed mindscape.
I'm sorry, Doctor Elliot....You see, I can't let you do that....
....You're going to be our first subject.....
....Seal the lab! We have a breach!
Her back and chest ached horridly, wounds stinging like acid dipped thorns on a newborn's flesh...dimly, she knew somehow that she had been shot. She remembered it, almost, the pointing, the men in paramilitary uniform, the screams, her pleas for help only coming out a twisted screram from her newly remade mouth. She tasted blood in her mouth, where her newly elongated canines had injured her tongue. Far in the distance, the sound of sirens echoed mockingly, adding to her terror.
She had to get away, but where?
What had she done to deserve this?
Her spine, her joints, her feet...especially her feet, and the base of her spine ached with a violating, bone-deep ache that hintyed at something deeply wrong wiuth her body, on some fundamental level. She remembered needles, screaming, pain.
Her screams, her pain. Something moved at the base of her spine that...shouldn't. What in God's name had those monsters done to her?
Robin Elliot, MD, PhD didn't know...didn't care.
She only wanted the pain to stop.
She only wanted to die.
Lost, frightened, hunted and alone, she sagged heavilly, stumbling against a wall, the masonry crumbling beneath her impact and newly enhanced mass, sending clouds of dust flying. She barely felt it.
Her flesh felt seared to the bone, the very air stung like some hideous instrument of torture. Curling up around herself, she huddled into the shadows, behind a dumpster, buried her face in her hands and began to sob.
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| Nyerguds |
| Posted: Sep 25 2009, 01:04 PM |
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Green Forum Alien
Group: Member
Posts: 88
Member No.: 432
Joined: 22-August 07
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About halfway to her destination, anoher tremor spiked up on Cindy's monitoring program. She stopped, and investigated the data. From the nature of the shockwave, it was probably an explosion... but quite a big one.
She didn't hesitate. Sure, she wanted to find out where Jedi had gone, but she had the location, and she doubted she'd find anything more or less if she waited a bit longer. If they wanted to evacuate, they'd surely be doing it in a way that wouldn't be easy to figure out for anyone breathing down their neck, so she probably wouldn't spot them either. If they weren't evacuating, well, then she could just check it out later. She also didn't like another run-in with the woman that had been after Jedi. But if the Reserve knew how to find their people, they must know how to protect them too... she hoped.
The following minutes, news messages from TV broadcasts kept flashing into her mind. Some lab exploded, and some sort of chaos ensued from that. The details were all prety vague, but apparently there had been some sort of shooting, too. Strange, to say the least.
She quickly made her way to the lab, staying on the rooftops and setting her light bending coils on minimum power level. This way, the distortion around her was pretty obvious to the naked eye, but with the sky as background, no one would notice.
She crouched down on a building close to the lab, and saw security guards screaming around, and police officers trying to figure out what it was they were supposed to be assisting with. From the frantic radio messages, it eventually became clear that they had encountered some sort of 'monster'.
"Well now." Cincy thought. "Let's see if we can find this 'monster'."
She scanned the area with infra-red scans. Near the explosion, this was pretty useless, since a part of the lab was on fire, but a bit further out, she could see the distinct heat signatures of the people around it.
She kept jumping around the site until she noticed a heat signature that was too warm to be human. Well, it could be a human, if he had a fever of more than 40 degrees C (104 degr. F).
She jumped to the ground, slipped though the police, and carefully approached the location.
The monster was not at all what she expected. Yes, it did look like it was probably a seven foot demonic creature with giant horns on its head, but the fact it was sobbing in fetal position made it look slightly less impressive. And it generally didn't look in very good shape... perhaps it really did have a fever.
Her light bending coils still active, she carefully climbed onto the dumpster the creature was hiding behind, making sure she didn't make any sound. Then, staying completely invisible, she softly spoke to it.
"You seem to be in quite a situation here. Do you need any help?"
A nagging voice in the back of her head warned her that she was being too nice... again. Just like the Reserve guy, this was Trouble with a capital T, no matter how the creature would react.
She ignored the warning. This was definitely superhuman-related, and thus, exactly what she signed herself up for. |
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| The Joker |
| Posted: Oct 23 2009, 07:31 AM |
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Admin With a Grin
Group: Head Admin
Posts: 2463
Member No.: 1
Joined: 10-December 03
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Christian knocked lightly on the frame of what was left of Chris' door, and waited until he was sure he heard some kind of response from inside before stepping forward. He'd already seen the damage in here, but it didn't stop the whole image from being jarring. It was easy to forget the kind of power that man had inside of him. Especially since he so rarely used all of it.
"You decent?"
Chris popped his head out of the bathroom in the corner, that of which still looked pretty much in tact.
"Yeah."
Nodding, Christian paced his way over to Chris' bed, and plopped down on top of the shredded covers still laying across it. Although it did strike him that there was a small pile of them over by the closet, he quickly assumed that Chris had simply left them there when he'd gotten up to get dressed.
"How're you feeling?"
He came out of the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging limply from the corner of his mouth, his hands pre-occupied with straightening the collar of the jacket over his shoulders.
"Pretty good, actually. A little jittery, but other than that... I haven't felt this energised in a while."
"That's good." Christian said absent mindedly, his eyes scanning the wreckage. "Considering everything that went on."
Chris ground the bristles into his teeth, his jaw clenching for a few seconds before he spoke again.
"About that... there's something I need to tell you."
Actually looking up at him now, Christian leaned forward, and put his elbows on his knees.
"I'm all ears."
It didn't look like he knew what to say, so for a long time there was nothing but silence between them. Christian knew that speaking was hard for him sometimes, so he wasn't going to push it, or try and coax him into feeling better. He could wait until Chris felt more comfortable. He'd been doing it for years.
"When I went up to the surface... I ran into Holocaust."
"Yeah, I saw her too. Did she hurt you?" Christian asked, adjusting in place to take the weight off of his injured leg.
Chris shook his head rapidly,
"No, not really. But that isn't all of it. Obsidian was there with her. As in, working along side of her."
The breath caught in Christian's throat, and his jaw slackened ever so slightly. Obsidian was working for Castro? That... that couldn't be possible. If it was, they were in trouble... and not the typical kind where he could reassure himself that they were all going to live through this... but more the kind where the world might be ending as they know it. Where this whole mess could fall down ontop of their heads so hard that they'd all pop like grapes.
"You're sure it was Obsidian?"
"I wasn't at first." Chris replied, returning to the bathroom to drop off his toothbrush, and rinse out his mouth. He returned with a towel in his hand, tossing it over his shoulder before he continued. "But after I threw a car into him, he changed."
Christian ran his hands over the sides of his head, and stopped them on the back of his neck.
"Changed, huh? From what? What did he look like before?"
Chris' eyes went unfocused as he tried to recall,
"He was a pretty big guy. Tall, brown hair..."
He had seen him. Granted, at the time, he didn't KNOW he'd seen him... but he had. That man that he was so easily to dismiss as a henchman... was the big nightmare that Aura had been asking him to research for their own safety. Not that it would have made much of a difference in the end, but at least he wouldn't have felt so stupid for ignoring something so damn important.
"Shit. This is bad... have you told Aura already?" Chris nodded once at him, and Christian bobbed his head in response. "Good. She needed to know... I just hope this doesn't get in the way of tonight."
Chris raised an eyebrow, and looked at him strangely,
"Tonight?"
"Yeah. Tonight." He repeated, once again looking his friend directly in the eye. "The ambush?"
With his mouth taking the shape of a small "o", Chris floundered about for the right words before speaking.
"I thought you could go instead of me. Seems safer."
Rolling his eyes, Christian pushed himself up from the bed with a pained grunt, and shook his head.
"Christ. Don't you give me this shit too. You're going. End of story."
For a second it looked like Chris was going to attempt some kind of argument, but then thought better of it. He instead let out a small sigh, and a single nod.
"Okay."
That was a little easier than he thought it was going to be. Far easier than it had been with Aura, but he didn't want to think about that again. He was still a little flustered. The last few days had been hell on him, and he wasn't taking it very well. A fact that made him irrational, irritable, and most of all... obscenely impatient. It wasn't like him to be short with her, but he hadn't been able to control himself. He knew he just needed some rest, and a stiff drink to make it all better. That and a few hours alone with his beautiful wife.
"Good. Now go get a change of clothes, and whatever else you'll need for the night, cause we're sure as fuck not letting you sleep here tonight after you're done at the aquarium."
"Um... Christian?" Chris uttered, his eyes casting to the floor as his face turned a little red. "I didn't... uh... I mean... was anybody hurt?"
Christian smiled gently, and gave a mild shrug. He knew Chris was asking if anyone had gotten the bad end of the explosion he caused, and he didn't want to make him feel any worse than he probably already did about it.
"Just Tim, and me. So nobody important."
Frowning, Chris wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and let out a deep sigh,
"I'm sorry."
"Hey," Christian said, patting Chris on the back briefly before remembering that he hated to be touched. After all these years, he still couldn't help himself sometimes. "You were only like that in the first place because of me. So we're even, all right? Get your stuff. We're going home."
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"I never claimed what I did was right, Bats! Just fun!" - The Joker, Batman: Fading Smile |
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| Artificial Idiot |
| Posted: Oct 23 2009, 03:25 PM |
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Absurd Mind
Group: Head Admin.
Posts: 1352
Member No.: 75
Joined: 10-August 04
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Gretta stared dully into the empty alleyway, her eyebrow arched. She never forgot the face of a man she'd killed, and despite all appearances she had killed him last night, and he had been across this road as clearly as he had been dying at her feet last night. And yet the moment she gave chase, he was gone... Nowhere to be see. Vanished, like a spectre. She shook her head, she was used to this - The Reserve members were like pests. Rats, roaches, whatever any given person found most unpalatable. Fit only to be crushed under the sole of your boot, yet also gone in the wink of an eye.
"Is there a problem?" Obsidian rumbled behind her. She turned slowly, taking a sharp intake of breath.
"One of the Reserve members... Their former leader in fact, I thought... Nein. I saw him across this street."
"Another Reserve member? Perhaps he was in search of his fallen ally." He said to himself more than to her, his gaze shifting to the distance as if he expected to see something. "How many do we have to come across before you prove useful to me?"
"Well..." Her brain raced for an answer as she crossed her arms across her chest. If she kept her stance solid she wouldn't fidget, and he wouldn't know she was afraid. "If I had not been with you, you would have hopelessly stumbled past two of your quarry without recognising them... And so many in one area, strikes you as no coincidence, ja?"
"Indeed, however was that not the point of you accompanying me in the first place? To aid me in locating, and capturing them? So far you have only managed half of your assignment." He paused for a second, his brow furrowing in thought. "The second one could very well have been looking for his friend, but it seems unlikely that the first would have strayed so far on foot simply for his addiction."
"It can not be ruled out..." She warned him. That line of thinking had been dangerous for them in the past. She remembered in the old days, when the Reserve were holed up in the warehouse, the old man they always had with them had been seen in three different petrol stations buying candy - All miles from where they had actually been located. "... The Reserve are careful and considerate. It's altogether possible he may come this far simply to throw us off the trail... Or perhaps they have a rabbit hole nearby, as the sudden disappearance of our friend here would suggest."
"Either that or he had the assistance of a nameless friend, like the last one." He said airily, frustration painting its way across his face. "I would like to see a map of the area, including the underground storm drains, if at all possible. Even if there's a small chance that they're somewhere near by, I don't want to leave any stone unturned."
"I shall phone ahead and request what you need imediately, herr Obsidian." She nodded, absentmindedly rubbing at her neck and soon regretting it as she felt the sharp sting underneath her fingers. "Perhaps it would be wise to get out of the street and out of plain sight in the meantime?"
He lingered in place for a moment, his eyes shutting, and his breath slowing.
"Very well. In the meantime, I would like to also be provided with a list of all known Reserve members, including their abilities, and any listed family members. I get the feeling that our luck of simply stumbling upon them might not do the trick. I would like to smoke them out, if at all possible, by... what is that saying? Hitting them where it hurts?"
A slow, carnevious smile crept across her face. While most Reserve members didn't have any known relations, she couldn't help but feel slightly elated at the idea of having a weapon as powerful as Obsidian to point in their direction.
"I very much like your way of thinking, Herr Obsidian." She said, turning away from the alley and back towards him. She brushed some stray hair back past her ears, thinking for a moment where she could even take a man such as this to lay low... Especially considering what he had done to that diner on the way into town. Thinking back there was a small coffee shop just up the road, the service was adequate enough that it didn't irrtate her and it was generally quite quiet. It would do for their purposes.
"I know just the place we can arrange our plans... Follow me..."
* * *
Bernice waited until Christian had left Chris' room before getting up from what was left of the sofa and pacing over herself. Even though he'd had to report to Aura first, she knew he probably felt guilty over all that happened... Tying it all into what happened last night in his head, so she let him. William wasn't out of school for another hour, and she wasn't really in the mood for picking up groceries anymore. She waited until Christian limped away from his door frame before approaching him.
"He good?" She asked him, and was met with a soft smile.
"He's ready to go, but they'll need him back tonight..." She nodded slowly, she wasn't sure Chris was in any state to cope with whatever they had planned tonight... But she knew by the look on his face that the only other alternative was Christian himself. And well, that was the ultimate rock and a hard place if ever there was one.
"You can come and get him later..."
"Thanks babe." He whispered, holding her in his arms for a few seconds and kissing the top of her head. "You two take care."
"You sure you don't want to come home with us?"
He shook his head, almost mournfully. "Paperwork."
"Gee, and I never thought I'd be sorry to see Aura retiring you behind a desk." She chuckled softly before stepping back away from him. "See you tonight."
He gave her another light peck on the cheek before going back to the Reserve's library where she'd left him. For her part she straightened her shirt against herself and tried to make herself more presentable and less 'I've just been chased through some sewers by a homocidal maniac' and stepped tpo his doorframe. She tapped lightly against it, knowing how much he loved his privacy, she didn't even try to peer inside.
"Chris?" She called into the room when he didn't answer. "It's the girl of your dreams come to take you away! Hope your decent."
"I am." He said simply, she looked inside just as he was bringing a duffle bag over to his bed, and shoving in a handful of clothes. He didn't need much, she tended to keep a few bits and pieces lying around the spare room for him anyway, so it didn't matter if he didn't pack enough.
She stepped around the frame and paced into his room, lightly resting a hand on his shoulder just long enough to force him to look at her.
"You okay, hun?"
He shook his head, and lowered it down so far that his chin almost touched his chest.
"No."
She tilted her head to one side, settling down on his bed and looking up at him with her brow furrowed sympathetically.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"I almost..." He said quietly, his voice trailing off as he slid his shaver into the front pouch of his suitcase. "I could've killed everyone."
"Oh honey..." She cooed, patting the space next to her on the bed. She wasn't all too surprised when he didn't imediately take it. "Look, I'm not going to tell you you're not a stupid, stupid man for pushing yourself so far... But what happened today was an accident. It was beyond your control, and nobody with half a brain is going to hold it against you."
"I... I followed her, Bernice. I followed her, and she caught me." He wandered over slowly, and finally came to rest just beside her with his head in his hands. "I should've just left it alone... I was just afraid she'd found us..."
She rose a finger up to his chin and tilted his head towards her. She hated when him or Christian got like this, but guilt trips seemed part of the daily routine for a revolutionary hero.
"Chris... You know damn well that most of the other people in this building would've done the exact same thing in your shoes." She let a sympathetic smile cross her lips. "You were looking out for your friends... That's nothing to apologise for in my book."
He frowned, clearly having difficulty looking her in the eye.
"I should've known better. If Christian hadn't been thrown out of the room, he... he'd be..."
"But he's not, is he?" She sighed, all she wanted to do was give him a reassuring pat on the back, to hold him close and hug him until he felt better... Almost every trick she knew to make somebody feel better involved touching them, and she always had to fight it back with Chris. It still drove her crazy even today. "Honey, if you focus on what could have been, or what might have happened... It'll eat you alive. If I spent every night dwelling on... Well, just how many times I'd almost lost my husband, how many times he'd almost been killed... I'd fall apart. I just wouldn't be able to cope. You need to focus on what did happen... Everyone was fine Chris, everyone. We all had a lucky escape, and we can make sure this never happens again, right?"
"I guess." His voice was practically a whisper, but his expression did seem a little more relaxed than before, which was something she supposed. "I think some of the others are afraid of me now."
"Well hey, at least you'll get all that extra privacy you wanted."
For the first time since he'd woken up, Chris smiled.
"Not much privacy without a door."
"Ah, don't you worry about that, Cynthia's got deep pockets - You'll have a new one in no time."
Chris' cheeks went a little red, and he swallowed deeply. "Yeah."
Bernice's expression instantly changed from concerned to curious, her eyebrow arching as she stared at him.
"What's up with you?"
"Nothing." He said very quickly, standing up from the bed to finish with his packing. "Just... um... embarrassed, I guess. About messing up the place."
"Ooooh, no, no, no..." She said, her voice taking on a very playful tone. "You flushed! I've never seen you flush before..."
Unable to keep himself from turning an even deeper shade of red, Chris zipped up his bag, and shook his head.
"It's nothing. Really."
She smiled mischeviously, she wasn't quite sure what had set him off, but she thought if nothing else it might take his mind off almost blowing them all off the face of the Earth. And it'd be great fun for her in any case.
"Nothing, huh? So if I were to say the word... I dunno, deep again? No? Okay... What about pockets?" She stroked her chin inquistively, giving it a moments thoughts. "Still nothing? Well, what about... Cynthia?"
"I... no... it's not... come on..." He stuttered, his fidgeting fingers now locked around the handle of his duffle bag. "We should just go."
She put her hands on the duffie bag and leaned on it to look up at him.
"Hey, I caught you out fair and square... You're not allowed to clam up on me."
He gnawed on his lip, and searched the room as if he thought there might be someone listening in.
"All right. FINE. But you have to swear not to tell anyone... or act funny... or do anything to make it worse..."
She crossed her arms firmly across her chest, pouting slightly.
"Make it worse? What could I do to make anything worse..."
"Lots." He said dryly, "Promise me."
"Alright, alright, fine." She sighed, holding her hands up in the air. "I promise not to tell anyone or make things worse... Like I could."
Chris took in a deep breath, and sat himself back down on the bed next to her. It wasn't until a good two minutes later that he spoke again, his words carefully quiet.
"When I woke up... she was... on me. Sleeping across my chest. I don't know... I guess I panicked. Might've had something to do with the fact that I was naked. So... I tried to get up, and she jerked, so I fell, and then... yeah. That's it. Okay? Can we go now?"
"Woah, woah..." Bernice exhaled, a little too loudly for Chris, who's eyes darted nervously towards the door. "Hold on, back up a minute there cowboy... She as in Cynthia?"
He couldn't even choke out the words this time, so he simply nodded, and left it at that.
"Oh..." She sat there for a few moments, quietly rubbing one hand through the other before finally casting a sideways glance towards him. "I'm not sure if I should be shocked, confused or slightly jealous."
Making a face at her, he shook his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'm in a nightmare today."
She laughed, continuing to run her hands through each other.
"So what happened? Are you two cool?"
He nodded quickly at first, but the pace of it gradually began to slow until he gave off a little shrug.
"It'll be awkward for a while."
"So, business as usual between you two then..." She smiled, before shaking her head. "Just cut her some slack, okay? I know you're really mortified right now, but she's probably never seen a naked man before."
He laughed out loud despite himself, giving Bernice a playful poke to the side.
"Just remember you promised."
Yeah, yeah, lips sealed, don't make things any worse... But..." She let the word linger for awhile. "... You get back in there quick and she might return the favour, if you know what I mean."
Chris made what almost sounded like a choking sound, his face turning a far deeper colour than it had the entire time they'd been having this conversation. He even seemed unable to recover, his attempts at getting air only succeeding after about ten seconds of strained gasping.
"Sooo..." She said, waiting paitently until he was finished. "That's what you meant by making things worse, huh?"
Glaring at her, he cleared his throat as best as he could manage, and croaked out a single word response.
"Yeah."
"Well, gee... I'm awfully sorry for trying to get you laid. I mean, I was under the impression I was talking to a man here, y'know?"
"Ha ha." He said, his voice still strained. "Real funny."
"Come on Romeo..." She said, hoisting his bag onto her shoulder before he could even protest. "Let's get you home before you get the urge to flash anyone else..."
She walked out of his room, flicking his light out on the way and making for the exit. Chris was right about one thing, those few faces they did pass did seem dubious of him... Almost afraid. It pained her to see that expression in their face, Chris was one of the sweetest young men she'd ever met and despite his flaws, and all the time she spent teasing him, she doubted there was anybody else on the planet she'd be prouder to call a friend. She knew that he'd have to start rebuilding some serious bridges, but she did wonder if he even had it in him...
"Afternoon, Mrs. Christian."
She looked up to see Samson coming into the complex with Azi in tow. They looked bewildered and confused, obviously not up to date with what had happened, but all Bernice could feel as she laid eyes on him was a sudden surge of nerves. All this talk about Chris and his little encounter with Aura brought back memories of one of those completely innocent drunken things that seemed a lot less innocent at the time and... It took her awhile to notice that Chris was staring at her with an arched eyebrow.
"What?!"
"Flushed." He said, with a sly smile.
"Hey, you can start on me later..." She shot back. "I'm not finished with you yet..."
* * *
Aura pushed her chair back so fast it clattered to the floor as her door, once again, found itself knocked on. She covered the space between her desk and door in one long stride, throwing it open in the process. This was either Christian again with some important news regarding Obsidian or...
"Samsom!" She snapped as his bulky frame and bald head on the other side of the door. He stepped back from her in shock, almost dropping the folder in his hands.
"Jesus boss, scared the life outta..."
"Where were you?" She cut him off, inviting him in and then closing the door firmly behind him. "I've been trying to contact you for hours..."
"Sorry Blue, guess I kinda got carried away..." He uttered, stratching at the back of his neck. "See, they had a face painting booth, and well Azi..."
"Have you seen the news?" She could already see his mouth outlining the shape of the word 'No' as she asked, so she didn't give him time to answer. "Obsidian is out there, Samson. And he's teamed up with Holocaust."
"Okay... Boss, I know you're trying to make me feel bad but..." He stared at her just long enough for his face to fall. "You're... Serious, aren't you?"
"Always." She nodded, taking the folder from his hands and laying it out on her desk. "So much has happened while you've been gone, and... I don't have time to explain, but..." She looked up at him, taking a short breath. "I was worried."
He nodded slowly, patting her firmly on the shoulder and making her slightly uncomfortable. "Thanks Blue. Know that was hard for you to get..."
"Don't."
"Sorry, you kinda leave yourself..." She cast him a stern look again and he instantly changed the subject. "What happened to this place? Somebody at Noir find us?"
"Almost. Nothing quite so serious." She stated, pulling the pictures from the folder. "What you got for me?"
"Got for... Right..." He said, hesitantly snapping too it. She knew he was curious, wanted answers, wanted to know if anyone was hurt but that could wait. "I think I've found a pretty good sweet spot, as it happens."
"Finally, some good news. Hit me."
"If you see this picture here..." He pulled one out from the pile, it was of a rather breath taking tunnel, with dome glass walls filled with water, brightly coloured coral and plantlife as well as aquatic life of every shape and size. "This tunnel leads into a fairly confined space... A circular theatre with a projector in it. The only way in or out is via that tunnel or the fire escape at the back."
"Hm... I think I see what you're getting at..." She pulled a picture of the theatre next to the tunnel, it was dark and there was a large statue of a manatee settled in the centre. The seats were completely flat, more like benches, which wasn't advantageous... But if she had the line of sight from the other end of the tunnel right, they could use the dark, the curve of the room and the statue to hide enough people to pull it off. As for the tunnel itself... It'd force any soldiers into a narrow space, and she also had another idea swimming in her head. "What about getting out?"
"There's some drainage under the floorboards... Not sure it would take us. Otherwise it's a quick flight out of the back entrance..."
"Hm... Risky..." She mused. If they were surrounded, or their fliers somehow crippled... The whole opperation could end in disaster. Still, the advantages seemed to outweigh the disadvantages, and they were fast running out of time if they wanted to pull this off tonight. "It'll do. I need you to find Snap and send him to me... And where the hell is Deadline?"
"Not seen him zipping around the corridors..." Samson shrugged. "Look, boss, you sure you don't want to have this out with Christian first..."
"I'm sure." She said through gritted teeth, still shaken from her last conversation with Christian. Besides, she knew him well enough to know that he'd agree with what she had in mind. "Just go out and find Snap... I need him to spread a very important message."
"Alright..." The man lumbered towards the door, pausing only when he'd reached it and rested his hand on the door knob. "You're serious right... Obsidian?"
She bowed her head and closed her eyes sollemly. "Go and watch the news Samson... There's... A lot to catch up on."
He nodded and left her alone once more.
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I think heroes would be more fun if everyone had a floating box over their head saying 'GOOD' or 'EVIL' in big shiny letters and it made a 'DING!' sound when it switched. - virtualoctopus |
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| The Joker |
| Posted: Nov 14 2009, 07:49 PM |
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Admin With a Grin
Group: Head Admin
Posts: 2463
Member No.: 1
Joined: 10-December 03
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Christian made a face as he stepped back into archives, the piles of paper surrounding him more than a little disheartening. He hated this kind of work more than life itself, but if this is what it took to make Bernice happy, then this is what he'd do. Although he didn't know how long he could really tolerate it... which just made him think even harder about something he'd been dwelling on since last night. More than once in their marriage Bernice has asked him to quit. To just up and leave the country with her and William... never look back... and every time he brushed it off. Never seriously considered it. But... that was before. He knew he wasn't quite as old as he felt, but that in their world where the slightest misstep got you killed... even being a little off your game meant everything. He couldn't keep up with these kids anymore, and with every fight he was a part of, he became more and more aware that eventually he would only be holding them back. If he wasn't already.
Maybe Bernice was right. Maybe they should go to Sharpe... leave the country.
Sighing, he pulled out the chair that was stationed in front of the table, and sat himself down. There was plenty of time to think on that later... right now he had the arduous task of trying to find anything and everything they might be able to use to help them against Obsidian. He didn't want to admit that this was most likely a giant waste of time, and that nothing but paper cuts would come of this. No, he'd rather check... just to be sure. Well, he'd rather someone ELSE check just to be sure, but he'd already pouted enough about that for today.
Every page looked the same to him. The stories... the pictures... all things they already knew about Obsidian. They didn't need to research just what someone like him could do to their operation, as most of them were already well aware. Even if a man had been living in a cave these last 100 years, he would still have heard of the destruction caused by this thing. Hell, there was even something he found earlier that dated back to the Mayan indians. Whether it was actually Obsidian that attacked them or not wasn't clear, but if it wasn't him, it was someone with his exact... skills. There was a folded page tucked within that folder that he couldn't read, so he'd set it aside for later. Granted, he didn't KNOW anyone that could read Maya, but he figured he could look it up online or something. Worst case scenario, he'd waste a couple hours looking, then go home at the end of the day.
Christian ran a hand over the growing stubble on his face, and frowned. The possibility that this thing was THAT old didn't bode well for them, or their chances of success against him. He wasn't sure how things could get worse, not that he would say any such a thing out loud. The last thing he wanted to do was let any of them know just how sure he was that Obsidian could wipe them all out with just a thought. And with a power like that, Christian was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to wield it, meaning there was no way he could help them fight back if they were directly assaulted. Not without potentially killing thousands of people in the process, including everyone he's ever loved.
"Fuck." He hissed under his breath, pushing the papers and folders in front of him far enough across the table to scatter. What was the answer? What could they do to fix this?
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Obsidian watched the waitress that had taken their order share a laugh with one of her co-workers, no closer to making their drinks than when she'd asked them what they each wanted. He narrowed his eyes a bit, and did his best to stifle the surge of rage that was building in him. He couldn't let his frustration about today get the better of him. Not that he was overly concerned about the life of anyone in this coffee house, but if he started letting these new emotions control him, he would eventually become what he hated more than life itself.
"So tell me... just how much do you know about this Reserve?" He asked Holocaust, trying to focus his mind elsewhere.
"Hm... Personally or as an organisation?" She asked, turning a cardboard standee that had been in the centre of the table around in her hands.
"Both." He replied. "I want to know more about them."
"Well..." She said, placing the standee towards the edge of the table before leaning back slightly and stretching out her arms in front of her. "They're a small group of terrorists... Used to be much larger but..." She let out a small humourless laugh as a sadistic smile crept across her face. "... We soon saw to that. I've fought most of their key members personally... And killed many minor ones."
"I'm not interested in the ones you've already dealt with. Only the ones that are still alive. If you've personally come in contact with them, then you know which ones might be their weakest links... and who might pose the biggest problem." He folded his hands beneath the table on his lap, and mindlessly began adjusting the bones beneath each one of his fingers. Sometimes they didn't settle correctly after his transformation, and left his joints sounding almost as though they were filled with gravel. It wasn't painful, simply irritating.
"Of course... Well there are only..." She closed her eyes for a minute, as if doing a mental tally. "Four key members who are likely to pose you any problems. Their former leader, a man called Christian. He's ever so slightly decrepit and not as on the ball as he used to be... But his mind... His mind is as sharp as ever, and combined with his ability to copy the powers of others, it makes him a particular annoyance. There's the telekinetic, who you've met already. Then the old man. We know remarkably little about him, only that he seems to be able to shift his form at will. And then... Then... There's their leader." Her teeth ground together as the final word fell from her lips, her fingers rapping against the table.
The waitress decided this was her moment to walk over, balancing a small tray with the two cups placed perfectly on each side. She handed the first one down to his companion across the way, then proceeded to pull out a small towel from her hip, and wrap it around his cup before setting it down on the table. He'd asked for boiling water, no tea, lemon, or honey on the side, so please don't ask.
"Here you go, honey. Now you be careful, that's really hot." Ignoring her, he reached for it anyway, and once again her voice rose up. "I wouldn't do that. It's really really hot."
Without hesitation he picked up the cup of thickly steaming liquid, and drank a good half of it in two gulps. His eyes never left hers, which had now grown to the size of large saucers. She then proceeded to immediately excuse herself, leaving he and Holocaust to resume the conversation that woman had so willingly interrupted.
"What about their leader?" He pressed, taking another sip of his drink before setting it back down onto the table.
"She wouldn't pose much of a physical threat to somebody like you, but she's an incredible tactician and field marshall. As much as I'm loathe to praise her, she's a natural born leader and worse than that..." She leaned in closer to him, staring up into his eyes. "She just will not die."
"I'd like to test that theory." He said simply, placing his finger in his drink to heat it up a little more than it already was.
"As long as I can watch the experiments..." She said, shifting in her seat slightly before raising the mug up to her mouth.
The corner of his mouth raised ever so slightly, an expression that wasn't all together common for him.
"If that's what you wish." He said quietly, pausing for just a moment before continuing. "It's fair to assume this leader you speak of is the person that is withholding my property. However, I am not inaccurate to think that she would never share information with the enemy, correct? Especially if she can not die, as you claim."
"I'd say that's a fair assumption. On both parts. She has little to no fear of death... I know, I've stared into her eyes and watched her die." A slight smile crossed her face, as if remembering some happy memory, before continuing. "If you'll allow me to impart some advice... I've always found the best way to strike at the Reserve is at their compassionate streak and sense of nobility. They have a rather... Outdated idea of protecting the innocent, especially of their own kind, and protecting each other. It can sometimes overwhelm their survival instinct." She placed the mug down and ran a finger around it's edge. "Basically, if you strike out at Aura or Christian or any of their top lieutenants as individuals? They will fight you and resist to the bitter end. Put one of their own in danger, however, and... Well, they may be willing to trade your property for the welfare of their comrades."
"Who would be worth the most to her?" He asked, partially spinning his cup in between his hands.
"That... I must admit I do not know." She admitted, with a pained look on her face, her hand creeping towards her neck. "My experience with her only goes as far as the battlefield... Her lapdog is especially protective of her, but capturing him would be more trouble than it's worth."
Obsidian stared at her for a second or two, then arched a single eyebrow.
"And his power is...?"
"Super speed. And he never stops. Like an over sized hummingbird." She spat, downing another gulp full of coffee before making a face.
That did indeed sound like more trouble than it was worth. For as much as he prided himself on his strengths, speed was never one of them. At least not above ground.
"What about the other three that you mentioned? What are their weak spots?" He finally asked, unable to keep himself from adding, "If you even know."
She bit down on her lip, anger flashing across her face before forcing herself to calm down.
"Like I said, Christian is old. He's not as fast, strong or reactive as he used to be. The key will be getting past his power... Which will be your power I imagine." She added, her voice tinged with snideness. "The telekinetic has a habit of overwhelming himself, as you saw and as for the old man... Again, he'd be difficult to contain if he was captured. So more trouble than he's worth."
His body went a bit stiff, and his jaw clenched when the words 'your power' left her mouth. She had mentioned this ability already, but it hadn't exactly struck him what this could mean. Would this man be able to use his full power? Or would it simply be what he was limited to now? He wasn't exactly worried about his safety so much as the thing he was looking for.
"The telekinetic seems to be the most viable option right now. Unless you have a better suggestion."
She shook her head, and folded her arms against her chest.
"Nein. You've shown you're more than capable of handling him."
Nodding slowly, he polished off the rest of his beverage, and let out a light sigh.
"Indeed. But don't you worry, I plan on keeping my word to you. After all, it isn't every day that I hear of a human that can survive being burned from the inside out. I'm very curious to see what exactly this woman's limits are."
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"I never claimed what I did was right, Bats! Just fun!" - The Joker, Batman: Fading Smile |
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| Artificial Idiot |
| Posted: Nov 16 2009, 05:58 PM |
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Absurd Mind
Group: Head Admin.
Posts: 1352
Member No.: 75
Joined: 10-August 04
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Tyme ducked out of the drivers side of the car, rubbing his hands together out of nerves more than any discernable chill. While part of him was deeply bitter that he'd been pulled off an important crime scene at the snap of Holocaust's fingers like some goddamn sycophantic puppy, the majority of him was eager for the change of pace. Picking over Obsidian's leftovers was a task his stomach simply wasn't up too, and as he looked up at the entrance of the Common Solutions building he couldn't help but feel a wave of relief wash over him. Go in, find a woman who might be a Reserve sympathiser or at least have some information on one of their number, get out. Simple. Routine, even. And hopefully nobody would get stupid and nobody would have to die... For a change.
He sighed, pulling his coat around him and pushing his way through the entrance into a modest reception. Artech Industries this was not. He walked over to the receptionist, she hadn't seen him enter and didn't even notice when he leaned lopsidedly against the desk. She was engrossed in a phone call, and by the sound of it it was far from work related. Some guy called Gerry was seeing another man in the flat above and oh my gawd!!!! can you believe that?! Because gay people just don't damn well exist in Lutonopolis and who'd've thought that such a goddamn endangered species would ever grace our presence. And then she went into that high pitched jabber that only other women, and possibly dogs (the poor bastards), could hear and he being a man and completely baffled by these things was completely lost.
He'd only just got here and he already felt like he needed a damn cigarette.
She eventually caught him out the corner of her eye and her voice slowed down to a crawl. Muttering a muted 'Hold on, someone at the desk' she placed her hand over the reciever and smiled awkwardly. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to reassure or unnerve him. He doubted she knew either.
"Hello, welcome to Common Solutions. How may I help you?"
He pulled his badge from his coat pocket and let it flop on the desk. "Thomas Tyme, Chief of Police. How you doing?" He asked, without a hint of interest in how she was actually doing. "Looking for one of your employees, a miss Cynthia Watkins. Do you know where I can find her?"
"Oh..." She said, her face going pale as she locked eyes with his badge. Funnily enough, she put the damn phone down too. "Cindy? Is she in trouble... She's such a..."
"She's not in trouble." Tyme all but snapped. It was always the same, 'Oh, but he's such a nice boy!' ignoring the fact you've got CCTV footage of him beating an elderly man to death yeah - Bet he's a freaking saint. He shook his head, he was losing focus. He'd been doing that a lot recently. The job was getting to him. Or the freaks. Probably the freaks. "We just need to ask her some questions pending on ongoing investigation."
"Ah, well, I think she's out right now but I can..."
"I'll wait." He said, sombrely. Taking up a seat in the lobby he pulled a book out of his pocket, some cheap murder mystery bollocks about a Belgian waffle maker who reconstructed crime scenes out of pastries. The receptionist continued to eye him nervously for a good five minutes before asking.
"I... I can get the manager for you, Detective..."
"Sure." He shrugged. "You do that."
He licked his finger and flicked over another page, half heartedly reading as Grande Chef Jean Hans Pierre Guttenberg (seriously, who the hell writes this stuff?) was impressing an indent of a multiple stab wound victim into a giant waffle when he was quite frankly saved by his phone vibrating in his pocket.
"Tyme. What you got?" He asked as he saw it was from one of his contacts. Rigid's suggestion, put a few moles out there in strategic places. See if they could gather up any information on the Reserve's movements and whereabouts. Occasionally they struck gold, especially in the early days, but the Reserve had become better and better at covering their tracks over the years. This time though? Pay dirt.
His operative described how there were whispers coming through the grapevine that the Reserve were making a move tonight. No set time yet, but apparently there was a big deal going down with some sympathisers from Europe. Who knows what they were trading for... Money, supplies, sanctuary, the point was it was big enough for little girl Blue to make an appearance... And he knew a couple of people who'd be very interested to hear that.
He thanked his informant and ended the call, instantly dialling in another number. It ran and ran for what seemed like forever, before finally going into answer phone. Causing him to growl in a way that caused the receptionist to hide herself in a pile of papers.
"Goddamn Nazi bitch..." He muttered under his breath. He knew she was something like 90 years old and all this new fangled science they took for granted was probably beyond her, but was it really too much that she could answer a damn phone? He tried a few more times with no luck, before finally dialling in a new number.
"Hello, Artech Industries, how may I help you?" Came the sickly seductive twang of a French accent. He sighed. If he was in Artech's lobby he could be looking at that. Not the wire-haired, overdrawn thing sat across from him who couldn't even make eye contact any more.
"Put me through to Nathan, I got some news he'll want to hear..."
* * *
Eventually Gretta had had to excuse herself from Obsidian's company. While the idea that Aura might face a particularly excruciating kind of death at the hands of this monster made her heart sing out with joy, she'd come here to conduct their business in a more quiet, low-key arena - Not fuel her own fantasies of seeing that little schlampe suffer. She regrettably pushed the thoughts from her head, stepping into one of the small, pointless nooks that seemed to plague this buildings architecture for what she could only assume to be aesthetic purposes. The very thought of it made her scoff, a waste of time. When the new, industrial order swept in such trivial features would be swept away.
For now though, they did serve a purpose - Partially concealing herself from Obsidian. She wanted to appear on the ball, as if she truly knew what she was doing, and constantly phoning for help may have put a dent in that. Especially in front of him. They needed to find the Reserve, and fast. Unfortunately aside from the rather remarkable close encounters with them today, finding the Reserve had never been one of Noir's strong points. Especially not quickly. She knew if she wasn't careful Obsidian would grow tied with her ways, her methods that led to dead ends, her constant stories about how elusive they were and go his own, magnifcently destructive way about it. She needed help, and then it had hit her. Quite obvious really. The psychic. If Nathan had made any progress... It was perhaps too much to hope, but still...
She dialled a familiar number with one hand, whilst another absent mindedly ran itself up and down the hem of the curtain.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end answered after a few rings.
"Nathan. It's Gretta." She said simply. Initially surprised he hadn't instantly greeted her by name as he usually did, but then remembering she was on a different phone. In truth, she went through them so quickly she never really grew attached to one long enough to notice the difference. One part dangers of the job, one part anger issues. Mostly anger issues though. Especially as they'd become more complicated over the years.
"You have another new number, I see." He said, "Might explain why Tyme couldn't get ahold of you. He's been a bit distraught about it."
She muttered a low curse under her breath in German. "Tyme? Again?! That incompetent..." She clenched her teeth, breathing deeply to stop her flowing into a torrent of curses. She'd been bottling so much anger since Obsidian had put her in her place that she could easily lose control with others if she wasn't careful. "After this morning he should have been more distraught over needing to phone me."
"You know, I don't typically defend other people... and this time is no exception, but he did at least have some interesting news to pass along to you should you call. News that also kind of ties into something I wanted to talk to you about regardless. About The Reserve."
"Has your psyhic friend found out where the Reserve are going to be?" She asked, thankful that he was getting straight to the point. "As that is why I was calling."
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Although my news does make Tyme's a bit irrelevant, if you want my honest opinion. His sources told him that there was something going down tonight at the aquarium. They don't know exactly who's going to be there, but you can bet little Blue will be leading whatever it is they think they're doing. Although I have a pretty good reason to believe that any attack on them tonight will be useless... considering the psychic informed one of our mind readers earlier today that The Reserve will be coming for her two nights from now... including your favourite person."
"Hm... Now that is interesting." She mused, leaning back against the wall and letting a smile cross her lips. Part of her was worried that they would be so brazen, especially after today, but she supposed desperation was key. If the psychic could reveal even this little nugget over such a short period of time... She frowned. But why do it willingly? She shook her head, Nathan was most likely already tackling that problem - And she had a slightly bigger one on her hands. "Thank you Nathan, I shall inform Herr Obsidian at once."
"Obsidian? You're still... with him?" He asked, his voice cracking a bit. For such a genius in the art of making weapons, Rigid had always had a slight yellow streak about him.
"Ja. Herr Castro has assigned me to assist him in his business for the time being. Which reminds me..." She felt the phone closer to her ear and turned away from Obsidian's eye line. "I have a small favour to ask you."
"Sure. What do you need?"
"I need you to compile all information that we have regarding the Reserve. Everything on every member we know still to be alive, as well as the organisation itself." She ran a hand through her hair, knowing that what she was about to say may well disturb him. "Put it all in a file, we'll be there to collect it shortly."
There was a long pause on the other end,
"We? You're bringing him here?"
She sighed, sinking further into the wall.
"Will that be a problem?"
Nathan exhaled deeply,
"No, I guess not. I mean, getting that stuff for you won't be a problem. It'll take five minutes, tops... but... I'm not going to lie, Gretta, that bastard intimidates the shit out of me. And to a lesser degree, I'm worried about my lobby. I just had marble flooring done last week, and I heard he trashed Noir's entire first floor."
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath inwards before responding. She could feel her neck throbbing where Obsidian had embraced it in his firey grip as she thought about how ridiculous he was being. So worried about his pathetic marble flooring when he didn't even truly understand what they were dealing with. She suspected none of them did, none of them but her. She supposed it was fair to say that Nathan was her closest friend, if a bit superficial, and if she couldn't share this with him... She wasn't sure who she could.
"Do you want me to be perfectly honest, Nathan?"
"Yeah, please."
She rubbed her eyes, unsure of how to even begin expressing what she felt, or even if she should...
"He terrifies me Nathan..." She hissed, eventually. "I've never felt so... Weak, so... So useless, so scared... So alive around another person. He has a power and a personality that puts him right off the scale in terms of anything we have dealt with, and I am not prepared to take my eyes off him or even risk slighting him over your precious marvel floors. I won't bring him into your office, but he's single mindedly intent on this information... I suggest you reconsider even inconveniencing him in getting it."
"It wasn't my intention to make things more difficult for anybody, Gretta, trust me. Especially not you. I'll have what you asked for ready whenever you get here."
"Thank you, Nathan. I could also use some information regarding the cities sewer system if that's not too much trouble."
"The sewers? No, that's not really a problem... can I ask what it's for?"
"He has a theory they're hiding underground."
"He's not going to kill us all if he's wrong, is he? Because we've had men look down there, and found nothing."
"I can guarantee nothing..." She let a light laugh travel down the phone.
"Okay. I'll see to those files myself. That way I know they're done right." He replied, slowly clearing his throat before adding, "And don't feel weak, my friend. Anyone else in your position probably would've been dead by now. So you still have the biggest balls I know of."
"Ah, now Nathan - We've been through this. You're not allowed to judge until you finally grow a pair of your own." She shot back playfully, before glancing over at Obsidian. He seemed to be getting restless. "We shall speak soon."
"All right. I'll see you later."
She closed the phone and tucked it back into her trouser pocket, pacing over to the table she'd left him at. He had finished his water, the waitresses still casting him strange glances as their friend had whispered her twitterings into their ears. She shot them a stern glance and they all turned away. So much for low key...
"The files you required will be ready in five minutes." She informed him as he stared down from at the empty glass. He looked up slowly and nodded with a kind of implacable, slow certainty that could only come from something that was truly ageless. Like a sheer cliff face.
"Then we should go retrieve them."
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I think heroes would be more fun if everyone had a floating box over their head saying 'GOOD' or 'EVIL' in big shiny letters and it made a 'DING!' sound when it switched. - virtualoctopus |
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| The Stapler |
| Posted: Nov 28 2009, 01:59 PM |
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Group: Member
Posts: 38
Member No.: 190
Joined: 2-September 05
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He always treasured these kind of moments. Whenever the activities of his high-class life, Maximilian always liked to take a walk and get himself a petty distraction. Fed up with the directive board's prattle of earlier, and with the hypocrital dance a businessman had to do every single day since they first judged to invert their first pound, euro or dollar, he had become bored pretty quickly. Lutonpolis was being a pain throwing in the back of his head, as it had even was. Nevertheless for the CEO of Schwert Inc, it was a necessary distress. One simply didn't prosper by doing everything they like, did they?
Flicking the newspaper through the economics section idlely, he lingered in the cacophonic noise that was street people talking outside the window of the coffee shop he had entered on a whim. People who carried on with their bland lifes with total indifference. In a twisted irony, one could be a really important people, who moved strings at will and were capable of hideously abusive examples of power, just like him, and his foes. A fedora, a longcoat and some tinted glasses had sold the bill, and appealed to their unattentive gazes to conform an illusion that he was just one of them, despite being used to the taste of Irani caviar. Sipping his cheap Startrucks coffee who had been delivered with haste, he flicked the page of the newspaper, again.
And then, like a foul smell batters a nose, the news bulletin rang painfully in his ears, even if it was not loud. Lowering the newspaper so he could get a better view, he sighed as the monotony of the cotidian layperson had been broken. A coffee shop burnt to ashes. An attack on Noir. While he couldn't care less that Noir had been scorched a new entry, the sheer magnitude and the attempt to pin it to the Reserve after all ticked him off. Feigning disinterest, he downed the coffee in small fast sips, and with care, he proceed to fold the newspaper and tuck it under his arm. When he did pick his suitcase from the casual position at his feet, he signaled his intention to leave. Wasting little time in paying, he uttered a small polite reply as he strode for the door.
It certainly was worth a visit. For whatever the reason. Maximillian Weber, alias Kaiser, had taken a break from his business, and he did not intend to resume work until the next day. The freaky situation compelled him to go and find the whereabouts of the appointed culprits. It was amazing how the propaganda had reminded him to check on his allies and associates. Manipulating his cellphone with swiftness despite wearing gloves, he called his assistant.
"Oui, messieur Weber?"
"I will not be back until tomorrow morning, proceed as you see fit."
The girl snorted, her french accent mixed in with a little of annoyance. "Of course, messieur. But I feel to remind you that we have the appointment tomorrow and you should not avoid it..."
"I'll bear that in mind. Merci, Clare." Smirking so slightly, he stored his his cellphone safe in his pocket. It was good when they didn't ask questions as where he was going. Because, depending on the person, he could answer or not. Briefly recalling the setup he had been shown by the former leader of the Reserve, Christian, Maximillian calmly and idlely walked through the crowded streets. The key to not raise suspicion was to look sheepish, and not in alert of possible chasers. Entering a back alley, he double checked with the reflection of his shades, now resting in his hands, that he wasn't followed.
Bringing his suitcase to his chest's height, he used a finger to press a hidden button in the handle. A mechanical click was heard, and a second, hidden compartment revealed a balaclava he always kept for situations like this. Being made of cloth, it wasn't easily detected within the hidden pocket of his suitcase.
Maximilian put it over his head, wasting no time. He missed his usual hat. He'd appear more like Kaiser if he donned it, but clearly there wasn't time. Sliding some assembled rubbish in the alley, he revealed a hidden panel, that when pressed, opened a hidden door. He double checked he wasn't followed. But even if he were, there was a camera at the door, and even beyond that, there was more walks and more doors.
Folding his arms, he awaited clearance to enter. A soft buzz was heard. The intercom was on. Leaning forward to it, he whispered his alias.
"Kaiser".
And then the door opened after a few moments. Kaiser breathed deep, and proceed to walk towards the tunnels. The only thing he regretted was that his suit would pick up the stench, he thought as the door slided close again, the rubbish covering the set up as some kind of automated mechanism.
Checking his clock, he continued to walk for a good ten minutes through the tunnels, eventually reaching his desired spot . It would be a thrilling afternoon, to say the least. Walking towards the door, he noticed a face protuding from it. Had he been a normal person he'd be freaked out, but he recognized the modus operandi of one of the Reserve's oldest members.
"Guten tag, Sage. I was in town conducting some business and I saw the news. I have some time to spare so it wasn't a bad idea to honour you with a visit. May I pass?"
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Break time! |
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| Artificial Idiot |
| Posted: Nov 28 2009, 03:41 PM |
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Absurd Mind
Group: Head Admin.
Posts: 1352
Member No.: 75
Joined: 10-August 04
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Aura ran her hands over her face, thankful that at least those painkillers she'd taken had kicked in. The clean up operation was going slowly, everyone seemed too damn shell shocked or busy doing other things to put too much effort into it right now, but at least the plan for the ambush was coming together. She'd already sent Snap out there to get the word around, and after going over the pictures and notes Samson had brought back she was pretty sure she had a good plan of attack. She was hoping the... Other incident with Chris hadn't damaged their weapon supplies, as she'd need explosives. And Deadline, wherever the hell...
"You guys been throwing parties without me again?" Speak of the devil. He was in her room before she'd even realised, giving the illusion that he was leaning on her desk.
"Something like that."
"Hm. Sorry I missed it, but thought I saw somebody coming close to our tunnels... Watched him for awhile, but he seemed to get distracted and wander off." A six pack of Red Wolf appeared on her desk. "Also got you these. Thought you'd need them."
"Thank you." She said, slipping one out of the cardboard casing and placing the rest under her desk. "Did see Holocaust? She chased Christian right up to the East entrance."
"Not even I can be everywhere at once." He replied, sardonically. She hated when he took that tone for no reason, it was probably why nobody but her wanted to associate with him. "How the hell did she get the close? Did she find us."
"She spotted Christian from across the street, it was bad luck. As for the second question, I was hoping you could tell me."
"Not a clue, sorry. I can go check now..."
"No. I need you here. This ambush is going to require all our heavy hitters in one place. Noir will always outnumber us, so we're going to hit them hard and fast, not give them time to regroup."
"Get in and get out with what we came for before they know it, eh?"
"Exactly."
She heard a heavy sigh, as a fleeting brush against her shoulder told her he'd touched her there. "Listen, boss, it's not my place to say but I'm worr..."
There was a knock at her door and she raised a finger up to silence him.
"Yes?"
"It's Sage." Came the voice from the other side. At least he'd remembered to knock this time, maybe he realised that Deadline might not have as much self restraint as her. "You have a visitor, a man claiming to be The Kaiser."
"Show him in."
Sage pushed open the door and he entered. Dressed in a sharp suit with a hat pulled down over most of his face despite the fact it was covered in a balaclava (force of habit she supposed) he had a trench coat draped over one arm, while the other carried his suitcase.
"Aura." He said cheerfully, she imagined a smile stretched across his face but couldn't be sure. "You look beautiful, as always."
"What the hell you doing here, Herman?" Snarled Deadline, the two of them had never got along and she could never understand why.
"Ah, your wit is as sharp as ever, Herr Deadline." He placed his case down by one of her chairs, before sinking into it and crossing his legs. "As it happens, I'm here to help."
"We got it covered... Thanks." Deadline spat.
"That's enough. Deadline, I need some explosives from the weapons cache. Preferably on detonator, do you think you could dig some out?" His head darted in her direction, and it looked as though he was going to shoot back a response. In the end he simply gave a half-hearted salute and vanished.
"Charming fellow." Kaiser sighed, pulling off his hat and balaclava.
"He's my friend. Don't make fun of him."
"Of course not... Did you say explosives?" She nodded. "It's just I saw on the news... You're not... Planning on taking Obsidian directly, are you?"
"No. He's not our problem, yet. Hopefully it stays that way." She turned her back on him and picked up her can from the desk, cracking it open and almost downing half the contents in one gulp. She wiped her mouth and continued. "As it happens, there is something you can do for us."
"Hm, well my services are at your command, as they always have been." She glanced back towards him just in time to see that strange look he often gave her. It was rather unnerving, and she could never quite place it's intent. She knew Kaiser only had a basic grasp of combat techniques, so it was unlikely he was appreciating her physical prowess and condition - That said, she had a very limited grasp of marksmanship and she often found herself admiring his technique.
"I need you to use your networks to spread a piece of information. It needs to reach Noir's ears, but it must not seem like it came from us..."
"You want it to look like a leak?"
She nodded. "I want them to think I'm setting up a very important meeting at the Lutonopolis Aquarium at midnight. You can tack on whatever details you like, just make sure you include the place, the time and that I will be there personally."
"Hm... Should be simple enough." He replied, an edge of arrogance to his voice. She supposed when you had an intellect as supposedly high as his, you earned the right to it. "Can I ask what you're really doing?"
"Setting up an ambush." She replied. "Noir took something very important to us last night, something that could be a complete game changer for all of us. We're taking steps to get it back."
"Well, I don't suppose you're going to tell me what, but if I might offer some of my Eagles to assist..."
"No, Kaiser." She stated bluntly. "They'd only get in the way with what I have planned."
"With all due respect, Aura, if you're planning an ambush against Noir you'll need as many people as you can on the ground..."
"If you really respected me Kaiser, you'd trust me to do what's best with my organisation. I don't have time to explain what I have planned, but if all works according to it - Noir's numbers shouldn't be an issue."
"And if it doesn't?"
"We improvise." She smiled. "If you wish to join us, meet us at the aquarium at closing time. But just you, do you understand?"
"Perfectly." He said, with half rolled eyes. "I'll think about that. In the meantime, I'd like to discuss Obsidian. His reappearance is worrying, and the attack on Noir..."
"As I said, Kaiser, he's not our problem yet." She drained the rest of the can and placed it back on her desk. The tower knocked down completely by Chris. She supposed she could rebuild it later. "Now if you don't mind, I have to get changed. You may see yourself out."
"Will do." He replied, before motioning to the empty Red Wolf can on her desk. "By the way, you do realise how bad those things are for you, right?"
She was glad he couldn't see the scowl that crossed her face as she closed her bedroom door on him. She supposed he'd at least read a dozen studies on the subject and not just read it on the internet on some trashy news site once. She pulled off her shirt and threw it across the room, opening her wardrobe and pulling a fresh uniform from the small corner devoted entirely to the blue suits. If they were going to get to the aquarium before Noir had their men all over it, they needed to get there soon. There was going to be a lot to set up, afterall.
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I think heroes would be more fun if everyone had a floating box over their head saying 'GOOD' or 'EVIL' in big shiny letters and it made a 'DING!' sound when it switched. - virtualoctopus |
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| Artificial Idiot |
| Posted: Dec 21 2009, 04:57 PM |
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Absurd Mind
Group: Head Admin.
Posts: 1352
Member No.: 75
Joined: 10-August 04
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Black Ace felt a chill run down her spine as she sat on the edge of the gurney. Truth be told, she hated this room. It was so cold, so featureless so... So... Dull and grown up. Not to mention creepy. Yet she could never bring herself to redecorate or reshape the room. Everytime she'd tried she'd just found it deeply wrong, not to mention harder to clean. Say what you liked about the smooth, concrete walls - But the blood just wiped right off, with no fuss at all. Sometimes it even dripped off all by itself and made funny little stains on the floor, but they usually ended up smelling foul after awhile... So she'd learned never to leave them there for long. Still... Still... As practical as it all was, she hated the way the screams, the whimpers the strangled dying moans of her little toys reverberated off the walls and more than that... She couldn't stand the way her own voice echoed around her. Like a ghost. Like it was half a person. And when she sung... Well...
We will find it... We will bind it... We will stick it with glue, glue, glue...
... We will... We will...
She sighed a sigh that was carried through the room like a sad breeze through a forest of dead trees. Turning the dismembered arm around and around in her bloodied hands she cursed herself for never being able to remember the words. She'd always wanted to lead into the end, about being able to fix it like new, new new... But could never remember the bit before. And could never, ever fix her toys up like 'new' in any case... So probably best she couldn't remember. She'd only give them false hope, and that would make them sadder than they already were.
She turned back to the balding, slightly overweight strapped down behind her, and patted him on his stub of a shoulder.
"I'm sorry... My mummy always said I was rough with my toys growing up..." She glanced back at the limb, and then to the man once more with the hint of a smile. "... But at least it's an easy way to lose a few pounds, right? .... Right?"
Even through all the pain contorting his face, and the tears welling up in his eyes through the pain he must be suffering - The way he looked at her... With a kind of hateful contempt that pierced right into her very being... It almost broke her heart. She should've expected it really, she'd had to seal his mouth up not long after he'd first arrived because he kept saying mean, horrible things about her.
Some people just really didn't know how to play nice.
She slid off the gurney, feet hitting the floor with a solid 'thud', wondering why everyone in the world was always so mean when all she tried to do was take them in and involve them in her life and in her work. He'd probably bleed to death in a few minutes anyway... She could've stopped that. If only he'd been nicer, she could've stopped it.
She left the room and closed the door forcefully behind her, pulling out her little ring of keys and locking it tight before using her powers to warp it into the very wall.
His loss.
She found herself feeling at a loss as she wandred along the carpet benath her feet, a series of featureless, tea rose walls and alcoves surrounding her. It was a colour she wasn't very fond of, but the name was just too beautiful to pass up... Tea rose. It made her smile. The toy she'd broken was her very last, and she had no more to play with. She couldn't even add that one to the garden until he was dead, because she wouldn't want to rob him of one of the fundamental experiances of life... The end. Her mummy had been in one of her usual bad moods this morning as well, so she wasn't quite ready to check on her yet but there was so little else to do... What to do... What to do...?
Almost as if in answer to her musings, her doorbell rang throughout the building. A slowed down, slightly whimiscal version of 'Hush Little Baby' played through a musical box. She floated to a panel on the wall, a small screen flickering to life with the touch of a button, showing her who was outside. Her soft smile turned into a grin, and her heart rose in her chest - She should've known he'd come. He always came when he needed her. Although not usually before she'd told him so. Maybe he was getting better.
She materialised the door, throwing it open to the entrance of her little compound.
"Nex!" She exhaled excitedly, throwing her arms, all three of them, around his neck.
He instinctually tensed up, his eyes landing on the bloody limb that was wrapped around him, and leaning uncomfortably up against his cheek.
"Did I interrupt something?"
She let her arms slip from around him, backing away slightly before casting him a confused glance. Why would he think that? She was wandering around bored, not in the middle of... She caught a glimpse of the apendage in her hands, and made a small 'oh' sound.
"Sorry... I... Um, I broke my very last toy... I didn't mean too, they just seem to come off so easily and..." She raised herself up onto her toes, peering over his shoulder and coming back down with a huff. Her face a picture of disappointment. "I kinda hoped you'd brought more..."
His cheeks flushed a bit, and his eyes cast downwards to the floor.
"Oh... uh, I'm sorry. I didn't actually realise you needed more so soon. If you'd like, I can go get you some."
"No!" She practically sqeaked. "No, no, no, nooooo!" She grabbed him by the hand, pulling him inside, before dimissing the doorway behind him with a flick of her wrist. "I'm bored and I need someone to play with me..." She glanced towards the floor, brushing a few strands of hair from her face, smearing blood along the side of her forehead in the process. "You're... You're not too busy to play with me, are you?"
"Never." He said with a smile, taking it upon himself to wipe the red blob from her forehead with the tips of his gloved fingers.
"Oh... Good!" She grinned, clasping her hands to her chest, looking down at the odd feeling of the extra limb against it. She was clearly at a loss for what to do with it, shifting it from one hand to the next before finally closing her eyes and letting the purple energies of her powers swirl around it. It crystalised until it was nothing but clear, sparkling glass - Then tossed it aside, letting it shatter into fragments against the wall.
"So..." She continued, smiling as if nothing had happened. "Do you want to go to the garden? I've been trying to make it even prettier... It has a few flowers now."
"Oh? What kind of flowers?" He asked, waiting for her to make the first move in that direction before following close behind.
"I... I don't know their names..." She admitted, taking his hand and almost skipping daintly across the room with him. "But I have pink ones, and red ones... Some blue ones, a yellow one... Oh! I'll just show you! But, um, you have to take your shoes off now. The footprints upset the grass"
Nodding slowly, he waited until they were a little closer to their destination before releasing his hand from hers, and kneeling down to remove his boots.
"Is it all right if I just leave them here for now?"
"Oh, yes, it's not like they're going to walk off on their own, is it?" She gave a little nervous giggle before leaning against the wall and slipping off her own silver boots. "Cause they need feet..."
"In most instances I'd agree with that." He said, placing them off to the side, and out of the way. "But since I started coming here, I've changed my outlook on what is and isn't possible. After all, there's nothing you can't do." He added with a grin.
In the past Mr. Castro had sent down a lot of men... And some women. She'd hated them, hated them all. Especially the women. They'd all tell her mean things, like she was insane... Or yell at her like she was some kind of child, as if she was benath them. She was benath nobody! And as for the ones that cowered in fear like her toys... Well, if they wanted to act like her toys...
Nex was different though. She liked him. She liked him a lot. He was hers. She could feel the blushing building up in her cheeks as her neck sank lower into her shoulders, he always said nice things like that. And she knew, she knew he meant every word. She turned away from him to hide it, placing her boots right next to his before apparating yet another doorway before them, this one into her garden.
"C'mon, I'll show you all the things I've done..."
She enthused, taking a step out into a room that seemed to go on further than the eye could see. The ceiling was high and had been painted blue - The rafters twisted into the shape of the kind of idealised fluffy clouds you might see in a childs drawing. Pure and white. Dirty green astro turf crunched benath her bare feet as she paced further inside, throwing her hands out and seemingly taking in a deep breath of fresh air - Even though the air inside was as stale as the rest of the compound. All around her there were crude aproximations of trees, gnaled twisted things put together like chickenwire sculptures covered in brown crete paper and statues. Dozens of statues.
She knelt down next to a small arrangement of luridly coloured plastic flowers and beckoned him over.
"Aren't they beautiful? Isn't it beautiful?"
He carefully made his way through the room, curiously eyeballing the grass beneath his feet as he joined her by her flowers. When he finally lowered himself down beside her, he gave a simple nod in response to her question.
"Quite. I've always preferred these ones. Any other plant I've been given always dies, but these... these ones are always perfect."
"Oh, they used to be real ones... But they broke without me even touching them..." She rose to her feet, voice a soft whisper. "... So I did what I do to all broken things..."
Frowning lightly, he pushed himself back up, and placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"Hey, it's all right. It wasn't anything you did. There isn't enough sunlight in here for real plantlife. You'd have to open up the ceiling to let the light in."
She leaned her head on his hand, letting out a small sigh, enjoying the warmth on her cheek radiating through his glove. He touched her a lot. Nobody else ever dared touch her, unless they were stupid enough to think they could possibly restrain her. But that was okay, she let him do it, he was her Nex afterall...
"We're underground, silly. I'd have to open up the entire Earth and leave a little hole in the ground, and then people might get in and spoil my garden..." She shrugged, picking one of her plastic flowers and weaving the stalk into her hair. "It's better this way. I think. Tea?"
Once again he smiled, his hand falling back down to his side.
"Sure. That'd be great."
She took his hand again and led him to another part of the garden, where there was a blanket stretched out across the astro turf, surrounded by intricate, lifelike statues - Each one carved from a different material and posed as if enjoying a pleasent picnic in the park. Their faces were all stretched into an aproxmination of a smile. A testament to exactly what Ace did to things that were 'broken'.
"You remember Ruby, Crystal and Goldie, right?" She asked, gesturing to the statues as she folded her legs up underneath her on the blanket.
Nex waited for Ace to completely settle down onto the spread before he did, never wanting to assume that anything was all right to do before she herself made it clear that it was.
"Of course."
She shot him another quick smile, picking up an ornate teapot and pouring out three cups of, surprisingly, steaming hot liquid into three tiny china tea cups.
"One for me," She said, pulling the first cup towards her. "One for you," She handed the next to Nex himself, before gingerly slipping Goldie's fingers between the handle of the next, carefully balencing on the base on her palm. "And one for you. And don't you two start, you broke my two best cups and all my saucers... If I couldn't have fixed them I'd have broken you... Um... Again..."
Once she was finished chastising the other statues, she picked up a tiered silver serving tray, full of small cakes of several different varieties.
"Cake?"
He put his hand on his stomach, and shook his head quickly.
"Oh no. I just spent the last week in foreign sewers. The thought of eating doesn't sit well with me right now. But thank you."
Her eyes lit up at the word 'forgien', even despite the fact they were accompanied by the word 'sewer'. She'd spent some time in one before Mr. Castro had set her up with this nice cozy home, she thought the Doctor's might be playing hide and seek down there - But they weren't. She'd tried to make it nicer, turned the water into rivers of Wescoke, made the walls of the sewer nice and high and square... Mr. Castro had told her that that little stunt alone had cost them millions of pounds, but at least she'd dealt with the rodent problem down there. That was when he still came to visit her, of course... He never came anymore, and she couldn't say she missed him. Nex was much more agreeable.
"You've been away again?! Where have you been? Anywhere nice?"
Sneering a bit, he ran a hand through his hair, and sighed heavily.
"No, not really. Just America."
"Oh..." Her mouth formed a little 'oh' as she said it. She didn't know a lot about America, just that she'd never been there. She could travel there in an instant, of course, but she hated travelling alone, bad things always seemed to happen. "I hear it's... Big."
He shrugged a bit, and reached down gently for the cup of tea she had placed in front of him.
"Yeah, I can't deny that. Truthfully, the country itself would be nice if it weren't for all the people there. If you like sight seeing, and that sort of thing."
"Yeah..." She replied wistfully, running a blood stained hand down Ruby's cheeks. ".... People spoil almost everything..."
"Speaking of..." He said softly, his relaxed tone giving way to a slightly more anxious one. "That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. People that are spoiling things."
Her head darted towards him, eyes wide and wild.
"I haven't done anything!" She screetched, her voice taking on a different pitch entirely. "I did everything he said, and if he says anything different well he's a big, fat liar!"
"No... no, it's nothing about you." Nex said calmly, "We all really appreciate you."
"Good... Cause I wouldn't leave! Not if I hadn't done anything wrong..." She curled up into a little ball, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees, head buried deep within them. He looked at her strangely for a moment or two, finally deciding it might be all right to scoot himself over next to her, and wrap an arm around her shoulders.
"No one's asking you to go anywhere. Especially not me."
"Good." She repeated, resting her head on his shoulders and glancing up into his face. "But if I'm not in trouble... Are you... Is something bad happening to you?"
"I don't know." He said honestly, "I hope not, but... if this person turns on us, like my father thinks he will... a lot of people in this city are going to die. Probably including me."
"Oh." She said, lowering her head and thinking for a moment. "So... You need me to go and stop him?"
"I think you're the only one who can. You're the only person I've ever met with more power."
"I have more power than anyone." She shrugged, taking a french fancy from the top tier of the cake rack and folding her legs back underneath her. "But hey! Why worry about other people?! You can stay down here and be safe with me!"
She'd expected him to jump at the offer, but instead a silence fell over them for a second, Nex not sure how to approach so boldly going against her suggestion without angering her, or hurting her feelings. In truth, she was starting to worry she'd offended him somehow - He was her friend and her home was perfect, surely he'd love to live here with her. She knew she'd love to have him.
"I... I can't do that, Ace. My father means a lot to me... I couldn't just leave him to die while I cowered underground."
Her gaze intensified, a look of anger and hurt flashing across her face. She could feel the dull hum of purple energy bristling at her fingers, and for a moment it looked as though she was going to take offense at something he'd said. Afterall, nobody accused her of 'cowering'. She wasn't a coward. She just liked the peace and quiet and priacy of it all. Nex's grip tightened on the blanket for a moment, the possibility that this was finally it - And he was about to join all the other failed attempts at communicating with her. However, she calmed down as fast as she'd grown irritated, a quizzical look crossing her face.
"Hm... I guess I wouldn't want him down here anyway. He smells funny." She said, gazing up into the 'clouds'. "How much trouble is your daddy in?"
"A lot. I mean, he has it under control for now... if you can call it control... but things aren't going stay calm for long. Especially not when this guy finds out he's been lied to, and The Reserve can't help him. I've seen supers that can use elements, obviously," He said, referring directly to himself, "but I've never seen one that can use the power of the planet like him."
She started to shift from side to side uncomfortably on the blanket, like a small child building up the courage to ask a very important question to an adult.
"So if I... Helped him... Could I, well... Ask for things in return?"
"Of course. Anything you wanted."
"I want to go outside." She blurted out as quickly as she could, almost as if the oppertunity would pass her by if she didn't. "I want to go outside... With you."
The initial shock on his face gradually melted away into a warm smile,
"Really? That's all you would want? Hell, that's doing me two favours in a row."
"You... You don't mind?"
He laughed airily, then moved himself from the position at her side, to one more directly in front of her. That way she couldn't look away from him as he spoke.
"Of course I wouldn't mind. It would be my pleasure."
"I... I..." She stammered, staring down into the icing on her cake, if he hadn't wanted to live with her - She'd assumed going out with him would be too much. She was surprised he'd said yes, but then her Nex had always been too to her... That's why he was hers. "You'll take me somewhere nice and everything?"
"Absolutely. Was there anywhere special that you had in mind?"
"Well..." She glanced up at him, her head tilted at an angle. "... I've always wanted to see where dreams go to die..."
Nex's eyebrow arched upward, his jaw going slack for a second or two before his head began to bob.
"Okay. I think I can work with that."
"I knew you wouldn't let me down!" She grinned, finally stuffing the whole french fancy in her mouth while tugging on the tight fabic of her uniform while attempting to ask a muffled question between mouthfuls of cake.
"Are you asking what you should wear? You can wear that if you want. Or I can take you shopping tomorrow for something you like better."
She swallowed the last few mashed up bits of cake with some effort, coughing lightly.
"Couldn't you just... Pick something out for me?"
"I... I could if you wanted me to. If you trust me to pick something you would like." He said a little sheepishly.
"You always bring me such wonderful toys, I'm sure you'll bring me some pretty clothes too." She smiled brightly, taking a small sip from her teacup. "Can we... Still do this even if I don't have to fight this monster man thing?"
"Of course we can." Colin returned to his seat by her, and took a gulp of his tea before curling up with her again. "How does this weekend work for you?"
"Um... You'll let me know when the weekend is, right?" She asked, not entirely sure why a weekend was so special it got seperated from a week in the first place. She supposed time wasn't as important for her, she rarely kept track of it. Always losing days, weeks... She made a good effort at trying to keep up with what month it was, but none of it seemed to matter. As long as Nex's visits were regular, and people brought her new things when she needed them... She was content.
"I'll be here to pick you up at around nine. Is that okay with you?"
"It sounds... Perfect." She said airly, laying back on the blanket. Not quite sure when nine would be, but she'd just get ready as soon as whatever she was wearing was delivered and hope it wasn't long after then! "Is that all you needed?"
"Yeah. That was it. But I'll stick around for a while if you want me to."
"I'd like that..." She cooed, looking up into her manufactured sky. "I could show you some of the other things I've done! I made a little alcove down by the maze..."
His eyebrow arched as he lay on his side, placing most of his weight on his elbow, next to her.
"You have a maze?"
"Oh! Yes!" She exclaimed, surprised she hadn't told him. She'd copied it from one of the puzzle books one of the last people Mr. Castro had sent down had left behind, she was quite proud of it. "I had to extent the compound to house it though... And your daddy says I shouldn't do that... Please don't tell him..."
Nex just smiled once more, and took her hand in his. This wasn't the first time this had happened, and while occasionally it did interfer with the water, gas and electrcity of the city of Lutonopolis... They'd had the good sense to try and move everything well back months ago.
"You're secrets safe with me."
She smiled back at him, squeezing his hand lightly. She loved her toys, and had a lot of fun with them but sometimes... It was just good to have a friend.
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I think heroes would be more fun if everyone had a floating box over their head saying 'GOOD' or 'EVIL' in big shiny letters and it made a 'DING!' sound when it switched. - virtualoctopus |
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| El_Nazgir |
| Posted: Dec 30 2009, 07:52 AM |
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Group: Member
Posts: 16
Member No.: 8450
Joined: 5-August 09
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Alexei didn't go home as planned though. He was restless, and kept walking around aimlessly.
He found himself at the aquarium after a while. He had always liked the place, and he always ended up there after his aimless strolls. The place had some kind of strange attraction to him ever since he got his suit. Attraction to any place with a lot of water, but the aquarium somehow had the most. Alexei really couldn't explain it, but it was one of the reasons why he had decided on naming himself Leviathan, a great beast from the sea.
There was no cue, and he got in right away. After remarking it was a quiet day to the person behind the booth, he continued to his favourite spot, at the shark tank, the pride of the Lutonopolis aquarium. He knew this place quite well, he was a regular visitor after all. He even got to know a couple of the guards.
He gave the sharks one last look and continued to a more quiet place, one of the tanks in the back. It had a couple of beautiful fish in it he didn't know by name, and he couldn't be bothered to look it up on the little sign in front of the tank. Alexei sat down on one of the benches, and it didn't take long before he fell asleep.
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Life is like a vacuum cleaner, it sucks. |
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| The Joker |
| Posted: Dec 30 2009, 02:17 PM |
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Admin With a Grin
Group: Head Admin
Posts: 2463
Member No.: 1
Joined: 10-December 03
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Chris landed on the outskirts of the parking area, taking a quick look around to make sure no one had noticed him before making his way toward the front Aquarium entrance. It was closing time, but thanks to the frequent need to escape the staring eyes of young women... he knew the guard who worked the night shift during the week, so he wasn't too concerned about it. The only thing that he was lightly worried about was whether or not he would take the bribe Chris had brought for him. A lot of things were about to go down tonight, and he didn't think he could forgive himself if old George got himself killed because he heard lots of banging and crashing.
He smiled at him as he approached, his clenched fingers wrapped tightly around the crumpled up bills in his left jacket pocket.
"Evening, George."
"Chris!" The old man exclaimed, his face brightening up as he saw him. "I was beginning to think you'd died or something!"
He faked a small laugh, and gave another dodgy look around the lot. No one in sight yet.
"Not yet. I need a favour."
George cocked his head to the side, and leaned in to whisper,
"You in some kind of trouble, son?"
Chris reluctantly nodded his head, and pulled out the cash he'd been saving since last year. He wasn't really sure what he had been putting it away for, but at least he knew now it was worth it.
"You need to leave."
"Leave?" He asked incredulously, his eyes dancing across the Ł500. "What in the hell are you talking about, kid? What have you gotten yourself into?"
Digging into his other jacket pocket, Chris produced a note that he'd written before he'd left Bernice and Christian's and passed it under the glass that separated the customers from the guards. He waited until the man had read it all the way through before asking,
"Okay?"
"You... you're Reserve?" He asked shakily, Chris nodding only once in response. A smile crept up onto the old man's face, and he removed his hat from his head. "Keep your money, lad. You folks need it more."
He hadn't really been expecting that kind of reaction. Granted, George always seemed like a nice enough guy, and Chris had spent many evenings talking with him about a good number of things... mostly fish... but a lot of people have a tendency to turn on a person when they find out a truth about them that they don't like.
"Really?"
George stepped away from the front of the booth, and switched off a good number of the lights, including the sign out front.
"Really. Just do me a favour."
"What's that?" Chris asked.
"Try not to kill too many of my fish. It'll take months to replace them." He replied, opening the side door, and stepping down onto the pavement. "Oh, and since you're the reason we're closing up five minutes early, you can go tell the customers left in there that they have to go home. Got it?"
He nodded, and stepped back to let the man pass him. When he wrote the note explaining that The Reserve was intending on using the aquarium tonight as a way to acquire information that might save someone they need... he didn't think it would be this well received. He thought for sure the money would come into play, or at the very worst he'd have to lock the old man up in a closet or something until they were done. But this... this was a very pleasant surprise. Especially since he got to keep his Ł500.
"Got it."
After waiting for the guard to crawl into his vehicle, and pull out of the car park, Chris turned his attention to the accordion gates that usually block the way in for anyone that happened along after closing time. One of them slid shut easily, but the other was so incredibly rusted that he had to use his power just to get it open most of the way. How a man of George's age could manage that without a superpower was beyond Chris' imagining... then again, maybe that's why he was so supportive of The Reserve in the first place. It would make sense that a man who spent most of his time alone, barely speaking to anyone that paid more than two seconds of attention to him before moving along would have a secret to hide from the world. Hell, it was what most of them did, just to a less extreme degree.
He left one side open just enough to allow anyone that remained inside enough room to squeeze past, and for those of his team members that were about to arrive to squeeze in. Truth be told, he wasn't really looking forward to having to speak to strangers, but he was hopeful that given the day, there wouldn't be many people. From what he'd experienced, the only ones that usually remained by this time were those who were doing drugs in one of the back rooms... or having sex in it.
Luckily for him, his assumption about no one being around appeared to be fairly accurate. Every chamber, and alcove revealed nothing but empty benches, and flurries of silvery schools. All... but one. In the very back sat a man who had obviously found himself far too relaxed by the sight of fluttering fish. His body was poised in a very uncomfortable looking position, yet somehow he remained in a sleep deep enough to avoid waking even as Chris cleared his throat at him.
"Hey... wake up."
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"I never claimed what I did was right, Bats! Just fun!" - The Joker, Batman: Fading Smile |
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| Artificial Idiot |
| Posted: Dec 30 2009, 04:36 PM |
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Absurd Mind
Group: Head Admin.
Posts: 1352
Member No.: 75
Joined: 10-August 04
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There was always something unnerving to Aura about walking around out in the open, even on a dusky late evening like this one. She'd spent most of her life in hiding, underground or on the run that to just be up on the surface, was always a shock to her system. Yet here she was, out walking the streets - Arms linked with Sage, who was currently posing as a vaguely Latin clean cut man in a suit. No tie, top buttons undone, shirt untucked... He'd never been able to reign in his slightly anarchic streak, no matter what disguise he chose to take on. As for her, turning herself into somebody else was a skill she'd picked up fairly quickly in life - It was one of the first things Charlie had taught her. She wouldn't claim to be a master of disguise by any stretch of the word, but she'd been using her current alter-ego for four years now, which wasn't bad if she did say so herself. Deadline had gone on ahead, Chris had insisted he'd meet them there, which suited her just fine right now and Birdy was walking along with them, being one of the lucky ones who Noir had little to no knowledge of. She envied them sometimes, but given the life most of them had led the majority never ventured outside any more than she did regardless.
"Lovely evening, isn't it?" Sage remarked, airily.
"I suppose." She replied, more bluntly than she'd meant too, but the knot in her gut had already started to tighten. So much was riding on this, so much could go wrong... The very last thing she wanted to do was make small talk. The fact he insisting on slipping his arm through hers was irritating enough, surely it was something that would appeal to Birdy more than her.
"Hm, yes... I suppose you wouldn't be a stargazer, would you?"
"It's barely even past five, Sage. There are no stars in the sky to gaze."
"There's the moon." Sage smiled, the facial structure and features he'd chosen making him look like he was trying to sell you something as he did. "I always find it rather wonderful when the moon comes out in the afternoon, it makes it seem more... Profound. To have enough light to see it in such detail, and to have it set against that kind of sky..."
He trailed off, perhaps expecting an answer or some kind of acknowledgement, thankfully her phone rang to save her the trouble and potential embarrassment this conversation could bring. She'd certainty had more than enough of the latter today.
"Aura." Deadline practically breathed down the phone as she answered, the sound of the wind whooshing past him in the background making him barely audible. "Jedi is in. I'm taking down the security as we speak, we're almost ready."
"Good work, we're almost there. Stay sharp, and make sure nobody is lurking in or around the back."
"Understood. Deadline out."
"Sorry Sage, you'll have to enjoy the moon another time - We have to go."
The three of them walked calmly into the Aquarium's parking lot, making their way to the back of the building where the fire exits and trash cans were. They'd thought of stationing a car here to escape in, but there was no point. Deadline, Chris, Sage and Birdy could all get out of here faster and easier than a car if Noir blocked off the exit - The only one who'd need it would be herself, but then if all went wrong she could always leave the extremely hard way. Not that she wanted too, dying was an excruciatingly painful experience... One she'd be happy to never go through again.
Hoping Deadline had taken the cameras down, the three of them huddled close to the back wall between two large dustbins outside. Aura and Birdy began to strip off their civilian clothes, revealing their Reserve uniforms underneath.
"Having fun, Sage?" Birdy smiled playfully, yanking the shirt from over her head.
"Hm. Neither of you are really my type." He replied calmly, morphing into his usual shape as Birdy pulled her mask into place over her face.
"Sage, incendiary." Sage pulled open the carry-all they'd brought with them and fished around for a small device within. He handed it too her, and then helped her throw open the lids of one of the dustbins. They were surprisingly stubborn, and extremely heavy. Whoever worked here had to be on par with Samson in terms of strength. She gathered up their clothes, including yet another white wig, and threw them inside with the device. Sage let the lid drop just as it sparked, and they both backed away as the metal container became white hot - Disposing of any evidence of either of their identities.
"Let's go." She whispered, sneaking back around the front and slipping in through the gap Chris had left for them. She had Sage close it behind her, assuming everyone had already left and that Deadline was already inside. "Sage, you carry on and get the equipment in position - Birdy and I are going to see if anybody is left in the building."
She didn't give them time to respond, instead taking off into the dimly lit aquarium building. She remembered the last time she'd come here, William had insisted she accompany him and Bernice on a family outing... She supposed it was a nice day. She'd stared a little too intently at the sharks for Bernice's liking, William had got his face painted like a tiger and when they got home, with William running off to tell Christian all about it and Bernice hugging her tightly and whispered a soft 'thank you' in her ear... She'd... Actually felt like part of a family.
She gritted her teeth, closing her eyes as she also remembered the wave of discomfort washing over her and quickly making her excuses and dashing out, leaving a bewildered Bernice in the doorway. Maybe the aquarium wasn't such a good place for this afterall. She didn't have any awkward memories of the docks. Though she suspected Sage might.
She'd always found aquariums slightly at odds with themselves in any case. There seemed to be two opposing ideals that played throughout them. The serene, almost zen-like lighting in the tanks themselves, as well as the arrangements of the fish themselves. And then there was the crass commercial aspect of the ticket offices, aforementioned face painted, animal mascots and large statues of them to boot. She assumed it's how they made their money, afterall, if you wanted to stare at fish you could get a fishtank. But she assumed she was probably missing the point.
She stalked the aquarium like a ghost for awhile, everything seemed clear until she got to the very back room. She winced internally, hoping that Chris would have gone straight to the ambush site - But instead here he was, with his back to her.
"Jedi?"
It took him a minute to turn to face her, a few mutterings that seemed to be aimed at no one escaping him before he finally responded.
"Yeah."
"I need your help removing some of the glass panes."
He looked over his shoulder at something, then approached her slowly.
"Okay, but..."
She peered past him, spotting the form of a man bent into a akward position on one of the benches in this place amonst the dim blue lights. She frowned, this is exactly what she didn't need.
"Have you tried waking him?"
He half shrugged, pulling his mask out from beneath his jacket, and sliding it over his face.
"Somewhat."
"Somewhat?" She arched an eyebrow, this was hard enough without his cryptic answers.
Again he shrugged,
"I didn't want to... touch him."
"Right." She couldn't exactly blame him, she wasn't too thrilled about touching strangers either. "Go back to the others. I'll have Birdy deal with him."
She didn't have to tell him twice. With a quick nod, and only a slight glance back at the man on the bench, Chris was gone almost in an instant. She was lucky enough to find Birdy roaming not far away, in the tropical fish exhibit. She paused to wonder if 'exhibit' was the right word for an aquarium, then decided she didn't care.
"Haven't found anybody." Birdy reported, a little too excitedly, upon seeing her. Not that she had at first, Aura almost felt bad about making her jump out of her skin when she appeared - But it happened a lot.
"I have. He's in the back room behind me asleep. Go wake him up and for gods sake get rid of him."
"But you were... Couldn't you..." She stared at the older woman for a few moments, she couldn't see her expression behind the mask but she did see her throat move underneath the suit as she gulped. "Right away, ma'am."
She slinked past her, back to the room Aura had came out of. She really should've ensured the man's safety herself, there was no guarantee Birdy would force him to leave on her own - But Noir could arrive at any moment, or at least they would if Kaiser and Snap had done their jobs properly, and she still had so much to set up. She ran back to the ambush point, glad to see that Deadline had finally arrived as well. Good, if nothing else at least almost everyone was in one place. She greeted him with a nod and then slipped through a door marked 'Staff Only', beckoning Chris to follow her. Behind it was access to the various tanks, for cleaning and feeding purposes. She scaled up the latter ontop of one adjoining the great tunnel that led to the room the others were setting up in. Chris flew ahead of her, and she tried not to look up as she passed. The last thing she needed was to catch a glimpse of him from this angle and... She was worried her imagination might run wild despite herself.
Once at the top she motioned to Chris and pointed at one of the glass planes.
"The access point for divers is too far away from where I need to be, and I don't want to risk carrying what I'll be carrying any further under water in a tank full of sealife. I need you to remove this pane so I can get inside."
He simply nodded lifted it gingerly up into the air, carrying it over their heads before placing it gently onto the floor below. She sat on the edge of the hold he'd just made, feet dangling in the water below. Suddenly she wished she'd brought an extra uniform for this assignment, but it was too late for such thoughts now. She pushed off the edge of the tank and was soon completely submerged. She doubled over in the water, wondering, as she often did, why using her powers was always so unpleasant. The air left her body in great bubbles that rose to the surface, the strange sensation of her lungs filling up with water and yet still being able to breath running through her body. She felt like she was choking, maybe even drowning, until... It all just stopped and it felt as easy as breathing in and out on the surface.
She kicked her way back to the surface, hauling her torso out of the water and violently coughing up mouthfuls of water at Chris' feet. She rested her head on the cool, wet surface of the glass, sucking air in as deeply and as often as she could. When she looked up at Chris, she was glad his mask was covering his face - As she doubted she wanted to see his expression after that.
He leaned down towards her, offering her a gloved hand. "You okay?"
She thought about waving his hand away, she'd only need to go back down soon anyway, but she took it regardless, allowing him to help her into a sitting position onto the edge of the tank again. She placed her hands on her knees, still panting heavily as dripping wet strands of hair clung to her face.
"I'm... Okay..." She said, eventually having caught her breath. "Just wanted to make sure everything was still working as it should be."
She turned back to him, brushing her hair out of her face.
"I'm ready. Go and get me the explosives."
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I think heroes would be more fun if everyone had a floating box over their head saying 'GOOD' or 'EVIL' in big shiny letters and it made a 'DING!' sound when it switched. - virtualoctopus |
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| Ignite |
| Posted: Dec 30 2009, 10:11 PM |
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Aren't You Sorry You Woke Me Up So Early?
Group: Moderators
Posts: 251
Member No.: 12
Joined: 14-December 03
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It had been so long since Shilah had been able to hear her own thoughts. Been able to discern her own thoughts from the multitude of others tearing through her mind unhindered. She sat on the floor in the middle of the small room, her legs folded under her, eyes open following a piece of nearly invisible lint float through the air.
A soft, steady knocking came at her door. It made her jump, and that made her giggle. She stood up slowly and padded over to the entrance. Nathan's gentle smile was there to greet her as she finally opened the door.
"Settling in all right?"
She smiled back at him, then winced as the voices assaulted her. She closed her eyes for a moment, once again letting her barriers down. It was easier to not fight. "I didn't hear you coming,” she said quietly. “Haven't not heard people in a long time. It's nice not to hear people."
"I can't imagine how difficult that's been for you. Couldn't say I'd want to, either." He said honestly, folding his arms up against his chest, "As long as you live here, it won't be a problem. Not within these walls."
She look around her, her movements sharp, as if she was searching for the voices’ origins. "The walls keep the voices out of my head. I like the walls." She backed up, stumbling only once, and sat down in a large chair, drawing her knees into her chest. "You're letting the voices in," she whispered. Then, louder, "Is it time to help you now?" Her voice dropped back to a whisper. “Close the door. Don’t let the noises in. I like the whispers.”
Nathan stepped into her apartment, but he didn't shut the door. Instead he opened it wider, leaving her enough room to join him by it. "Yes. There are things happening tonight that we need to know about, and the girl we have isn't... cooperating."
"You want me to break into her brain,” she paused pounding her fists against her head for a second, then remembered that she was supposed to be talking. Helping. “You want me to find out what's going to happen." She didn't state it as a question. She stood up slowly, but didn't come toward the door. "It's quiet in here ... I like the quiet. No voices. Quiet.”
Pausing, he bit on his lip for a second or two, then said, "Would you like us to bring her to you?"
She shook her head. He thought that would be a bad idea. "I can handle the voices. Don't need the quiet." She came forward slowly, her hands tucked under her chin and her elbows tight against her torso. "Don't need the quiet," she repeated when she came forward to stand next to Nathan.
"Okay. Only if you're sure." He was careful not to touch her as she grew close, having already learned from her that doing so would only make things worse for her. "She's about ten floors down from us, but we can take my private elevator. That way it'll be just us."
She nodded quickly. "No more people." She moved passed him, letting him close the door, keeping a good distance between them. "You should make a whole building out of the magic walls," she whispered, mostly to herself.
A smile crept up onto the corner of his mouth, and he shook his head.
"I would, but you have no idea how much it cost to build the four rooms we have."
"It would be a good building. I would like that building. A good building.” She nodded vigorously.
Following behind her, but being careful not to close too much of the distance until he had to, Nathan gestured for her to take a left at the end of the hall. When they reached the small elevator that required a key to summon it, he pulled out his keychain, and cleared his throat lightly.
"I could see about fashioning some kind of helmet for you instead. Something of your design, maybe? I don't think it would be able to shut them out entirely, since you'd need an opening in the front to see, but it might be able to quiet it down."
She rubbed at her forehead and her temple, massaging the headache the voices always caused. "Maybe ... don't know. Doesn't matter. I can live in that room back there. Help you and live in the quiet."
Nodding, he pushed the key into the slot, and pressed the button. They waited in silence as the lift came up for them, and continued to do so all the way down until the elevator car came to a rest on subfloor 3.
"It's going to be the first door on your right here. Do you want me to come in with you, or would you rather work alone?"
"Can work alone. Alone." She swallowed nervously as she stepped out of the lift.
"Okay." He leaned back against the wall just across the hall from the door, and gave her a slight nod. "I'll be out here when you're done."
She stared at the door for a moment, glanced back at Nathan one before she pushed open the door.
A thin, milky eyed red head sat on the floor facing the doorway, her legs tucked up underneath her, and her head cocked ever so slightly. The voice that spoke was one that only people like Shilah would be able to hear.
"He has sent you to retrieve information from me, but you won't learn anything that I don't want to tell you. Touching me will make no difference, as my knowledge of the future is not experienced, merely thought."
"He's helping me, it seems fair to help him." She closed the door quietly behind her and shook her head. “Oh. Can’t hear me,” She took a deep breath and slid down to a sitting position across from Hannah. "He has a room upstairs. Makes all the voices go away. I like the quiet. Don't like the voices." She rubbed at her upper arms. "He wants to know what's happening tonight."
The girl's eyes shut, and her lips pressed firmly together. "He knows what's happening tonight. A meeting at the aquarium between Reserve members. Many of his men will die attempting to capture them, though even if you tell him this, he will not change his order to send them there."
Shilah rocked herself back and forth, covering her ears in an attempt to concentrate on the girl's voice and block out the others in her head. "Is there a way for him to save his men?" She said silently after the girl's voice was the only one in her mind. She was more coherent in her own mind than she was out loud.
"No. The first wave will be killed by the telekinetic. The second by the team. There is no avoiding that unless they don't go."
"Want to go back to the quiet now. Back to the quiet," she whispered. "And what about their men?" The headache increased with her concentration, she dropped her forehead onto her knees.
"One of theirs shall perish. A girl. But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about. I could have blocked you out entirely, you know. But that would not accomplish what I need from you."
"I don't like being used." She chewed on the inside of her cheek. "No. Don’t like it. No. Just wanted the voices to be quiet."
Hannah sighed, and held her hands out in front of her in a moment of concentration. The whispers floating through the air gradually drifted away into silence, leaving only the voice of the psychic sitting before her.
"There. Now will you listen?"
Shilah opened her eyes and lifted her head slowly. "You made the voices quiet?"
"Yes. Unlike some of your companions, there is still a purpose for you in the year that is left for this world. So I need you to listen to me very carefully. Do you understand?" Hannah's eyes opened, and stared right at her... it was almost as if... she could see.
Shilah nodded, somewhat dazed, lost in the silence. "I'll listen."
What looked like something that could be considered a smile crossed Hannah's lips, vanishing almost as quickly as it had come.
"Good. Thank you. You know that The Reserve will be at the aquarium tonight... and Nathan Beatty thinks he knows that they will be storming Artech two nights from now. But he's incorrect. You must inform him that it will be tomorrow night. They will be coming for me, however they will not be successful. No matter how Nathan will attempt to avoid this outcome, I will be killed, and Christian will be the sole source of all of my knowledge by the end of tomorrow night. Are you following me so far?"
Shilah nodded. "Aquarium tonight. Artech tomorrow. Unavoidable death." The topic was uncomfortable, but it was something Shilah understood. She saw the deaths of every person she touched. It was never something that could be changed.
"Good. Now, Nathan is going to have to retrieve Christian from Obsidian in order to make use of any of it. It is VERY important he not let Obsidian kill him, who will take him when he is too weak to defend himself. Holocaust will help him with this task. It is also extremely important you do not touch either Christian, OR Aura when they are here. If I explain too much, it will put your life in further danger, but when what I'm telling you now comes true, you will know that if I also tell you that absorbing their lives will end yours... that you can know it to be true. Do you understand?"
Shilah nodded again, slower this time. "Understand. He'll be unhappy when I tell him all of this. Angry?"
"Angry, yes. But not with you. Nathan isn't like the others. Someone such as yourself can trust him." She said, a fluttering of thought too quiet to hear coming and going in a flash. The only word that stood out was death. "Regardless, his choices will lead to something very unfortunate for him."
She was silent for a moment. thinking about this. She shook her head. The silence made it too easy to think. "The voices ... are they gone? Forever?"
The girl's face twisted in a bit of a frown, and she shook her head, "No. I'm afraid not. When you leave this room, they will return. Your only sanctuary will be your room for now."
Shilah's heart sank. She closed her eyes. "I knew that. I just hoped ..." She shook her head. "It's strange to only think my own thoughts."
"I'm sorry." Hannah said, "The only thing I can say is that it will be easier for you from now on. They will take care of you here."
"Why don't you help them? You're only telling me what you want them to know, there's so much more you're holding back. Am I right?"
"You are. There is a sea of information I have that they will never get. Men such as them aren't designed to appropriately handle such knowledge. To say the world would be destroyed is putting it mildly."
Shilah nodded slowly. "He's waiting outside for me, she said reluctantly. "I like the silence. It's a long ride back up to the magic room."
"Good luck with your future, Shilah." Hannah said simply, lowering her hands back down, and allowing the voices to return.
Shilah cringed slightly pressing two fingers against her left temple. She pushed herself back up to a standing position and left the room without another word.
Nathan righted himself as she came out, his face eager, yet obviously not trying to appear so. "That was fast."
"She was expecting me," Shilah responded with a shrug, shying away as he stood straighter. "Waiting for me."
"So?" He raised a single eyebrow, and leaned his head forward. "What did she say?"
"Only what she wants me to know. Unavoidables. Lots of them. You should stay home tonight. Much safer. You can sit in the magic room with me. Make popcorn. No deaths." She tightened her arms around her torso.
His jaw went slack, and his hand ran up to the back of his neck.
"Um... what? What does that mean?"
"A meeting tonight at an aquarium. If they go they all die. They shouldn't go. Shouldn't go." She pursed her lips. She cocked her head to one side. "You won't change your mind, she said. But doesn't popcorn sound good?"
"I know they're all going to die. I already told them that, but ultimately it's not my call. If I don't send anyone, it will be me that's killed, not them. I'm more concerned about the night after next."
Shilah shook her head. "Wrong night. Worry about tomorrow night. And don't worry about Hannah. Another unavoidable. Sad. She makes the voices go away without magic walls."
"Wait, what do you mean by that? Tomorrow night? What's tomorrow night?"
"They're coming for her."
He ran his hands through his hair, stopping near the back with it clenched between his fingers.
"Shit. Fuck. God damn it. Okay... and she's an unavoidable? You mean she's going to die?"
"Yes. Inevitable. Have to save Christian, not Hannah."
Nathan's hands dropped like a lead balloon, just about as rapidly as his jaw. "Christian? Why the hell... I'm sorry. Sorry... why Christian?"
"All of Hannah's information." She scratched at the back of her neck. "Have to save him from Obsidian."
"I..." He inhaled deeply... slowly, and tried again, "I'm not understanding. I have to save Christian from Obsidian, and that's somehow related to what the psychic knows?"
"I don't know ... specifics. Hannah's information ... is going to be in Christian." She pursed her lips. "If you want the information you have to save him from Obsidian."
Nathan pressed his thumb and index finger into his eyes, and pinched them together against the bridge of his nose. "Okay. I'm supposed to save the former Reserve leader from a monster that's going to kill us all, and this is all something I have to figure out by tomorrow?"
"Yes. Unless you want popcorn. Popcorn much better than death, right?"
Sighing, he began to gradually make his way back toward the elevator. "Not tonight. Maybe a couple of nights from now. If I'm still alive."
She followed him back to the elevator and watched him curiously. "It would be very sad if both people who make the voices go away died."
Nathan pressed the button for the seventh floor, and took a step back to lean a bit. His eyes shut, and his brow furrowed. "No. It's okay. I'll figure this out. I always do. We'll just get you back to your room so you can get some rest." He looked at her and smiled as best as he could manage. "Thank you for talking to her."
Shilah smiled brightly, but the smile fell quickly, as a particularly loud thought raced into her mind. "You're welcome."
As the doors opened on her floor, he hung back, pressing the button for his own level before asking, "Is there anything else you need for tonight?"
She stepped out of the elevator and looked at him, tiredly. "No ... thank you."
"All right, then. If you need anything, just pick up the phone in your room. It'll connect you to the desk. Good night." He replied quickly, letting the doors slide shut and ending their conversation.
Shilah sighed and opened the door to her room. She closed it behind her and sunk into the silence.
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| The Joker |
| Posted: Dec 31 2009, 09:40 AM |
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Admin With a Grin
Group: Head Admin
Posts: 2463
Member No.: 1
Joined: 10-December 03
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As each floor passed, the elevator let out a soft chime, the noise the only soothing thing Nathan could focus on after the conversation he'd just had. He'd spent a good part of the last decade trying to kill The Reserve, so to hear that he was now somehow responsible for the life of one of it's key players... a man who had caused more than his fair share of problems over the years... was a bit unnerving. He couldn't help but wonder how angry Castro would be with him if he were to just let Obsidian have the bastard... let him kill him like the dog he is. Even the thought of that brought a mild smile to his face, but it was quickly extinguished as he began to think of the ramifications of something like that. Mostly... what kind of death Castro would order for him. He'd probably have Holocaust do it. That seemed like something right up his warped alley. Forcing one friend to kill another simply to prove a point of loyalty.
The final chime for his office floor finally came, although he was so far within his own mind he didn't even notice that the car had stopped moving until the doors of the elevator opened. Sighing, he stepped forward, and the look of frustration on his face melted away into one of almost panic. Holocaust and the monster in question stood just on the opposite side of his desk, and God knew how long they'd been there. Any slight hope in the back of his mind that the creature had decided to wait downstairs was now squashed, much like his ability to speak without stuttering.
"Oh...uh, Holocaust... I'm sorry. They were supposed to call me when you came."
"We have only just arrived." She replied, folding her arms against her chest. "I hope you're not too busy."
"No." He said hurriedly, making quick work of crossing the room, and retrieving the information she'd requested from him. Both in paper, and disc form. "Here. It's everything you asked for, and more. Including several of my own personal files that I've been keeping over the years."
"Danke schön, Nathan. You are a good friend." She handed the paperwork back to the man she was with, who flicked through the copies with mild interest. "Perhaps we could leave my friend and go through to another part of your office, ja?"
"Yeah." He gestured toward the sitting area of his intentionally over sized office, and was careful not to shut the door too quickly when they entered. The last thing he wanted to do was offend that man in some way.
As the door closed she shot him a rather wicked grin. "Ah, if I'd have known bringing a mass murderer into your building would make you this nervous..." She paced over to one of his other desks, picking up a paperweight and weighing it in the palm of her hand. "I'd have done it more often."
Distracted for a moment by his own thoughts of gloom and doom, it took him a moment or two to acknowledge that she'd spoken. He was rarely this jittery, but with what Shilah had said about what's to come, he couldn't stop worrying about the chance that Castro would have his head for all of this.
"Hm? Oh... no. I mean, yeah. I'm not going to say he doesn't make me want to crawl out of my skin... but he's only a part of it."
"Well, as much as I'd love to reassure you he doesn't bite..." She slipped off her jacket, before undoing the first few buttons of her shirt. She pushed the collar aside, to reveal the twisted, red flesh of her burned neck and throat. "... I'm afraid I'd be lying."
"Jesus." He cringed, taking a seat on one of the black leather chairs set up in a small circle in the center of the room. "Should I ask why he did that, or is there even a sensible answer?"
"Not an answer somebody like you would understand, I'm sure." She pulled one of the chairs closer to her, and sat back in a different one - Using the one she'd pulled over as a footrest. "Let us just say it's been a rough morning, and most people would not even be standing had they put themselves through as much as I have."
He nodded a couple of times, leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees, and his chin in his palms.
"No, probably not. I imagine that's why Castro sent you instead of someone else. Sometimes his choices don't make sense to me, but they always turn out working in his favour, so I've learned to stop questioning them."
"Ah, if only I could believe that." She tilted her head to him and smiled slightly, something that still unnerved him after all this time. "The day you stop having doubts over the way Herr Castro runs his empire is the day the mountains crumble into the sea, my friend."
A small laugh escaped him, "I said I didn't question them. Meaning out loud... I'll always have my doubts." He paused, then frowned, pushing himself back in his seat and resting his hand on the top of his head. "I just had a word with a psychic."
"Oh?" She dipped her hand into her pocket, pulling out a cigarette and casually lighting it. "Found out what colour shirt you'll be wearing next week?"
He smirked at her,
"No, but I might not be alive then, so maybe that's why."
Her brow furrowed, her legs dropping from the seat as she leaned closer towards him.
"You're going to... Die?"
He was mildly reassured that she didn't sound pleased with that notion. Perhaps if asked to do it, she might not after all.
"I don't know. Depends on how well Castro's going to take the news that The Reserve is going to get away tonight. Oh, and that when they come here tomorrow night for the girl, she's going to be killed."
She leaned back in her chair once more, taking a long drag on her cigarette and letting the smoke slowly drift from her mouth through his office.
"She could be lying."
"I don't know... it's possible. But why did she correct our assumption about the day they were attacking us here? And why would she tell us about Christian having her power, and how we could get to him?" He asked, drumming his fingertips on his own head.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Christian having her power? I feel like we have perhaps... Missed a rung on the ladder, as it were? What are you talking about?"
Nathan sighed, and let out a small grunt as he leaned forward again,
"Shilah, the girl I brought in to read the psychic... she told me that Christian is going to have all of the girl's knowledge, however the hell that makes sense, and that we have to save him from... uh... your companion."
She looked at him strangely for a moment,
"Obsidian?"
He nodded,
"Yeah. She said we couldn't let him kill him. I'm assuming this means if we can get at him, we'll be able to retrieve information from him that we couldn't from Hannah."
Holocaust smiled confidently,
"Ah, then your salvation is at hand. You shouldn't worry so much, we will have Christian, Nathan, and with it the information we seek."
"The Reserve isn't going to just let us have him, you know. I think we can expect a war over this." He said softly.
"Expect a war?" She snorted. "We're at war, we've always been at war. If anything, perhaps the battles may become more pitched, more frequent... But make no mistake, we will break them and we will bury them."
She had a point. He couldn't exactly deny that they'd been fighting a winning battle with them for years, but he was reluctant to believe that they would so easily be squashed if they took an action this severe. A wounded animal is far more dangerous than one in hiding... and taking someone so important to them was indeed wounding them. They'd never tried something along these lines before.
"I need to talk to Anatomy. Make sure he has something that can... dampen Christian's power. He and I have been working on something for the last six months or so, but it's been all through emails. This will be the first time we'll actually be able to apply it as a weapon."
"Sounds fun. When do I get to try one?"
"As soon as we perfect the formula, I have a special design I set aside just for you." He said with a mild grin.
"Oh?" She leaned forward once more, she'd always had a very vested interest in his weapons, especially when he was arming her. "Do I get to hear more, or is it a surprise?"
"I think you'll find the gun... familiar. But that's all I'm going to say." He said, not wanting to spoil the surprise he'd been working on for almost three months now. "Other than that, we're pretty much just talking about your standard projectile weapon, except the ammunition for this sucker can turn any one superhuman into just a regular human in less than a second. Temporarily, of course."
"Aaah, let it be said my friend - You certainly know how to please a woman." She said in a haze of smoke, Nathan didn't even want to think what was going on in her mind after having such a weapon described to her. "Speaking of which... Is that a new secretary or have you just piled yet more silicon onto the last one?"
"Ah. Yeah, she's new... ish. A business colleague from Paris recommended her to me." He replied, tilting his head to one side, "I don't know. I thought she's been doing all right so far. Outside of forgetting to give me some of my messages."
"I suppose if she's only forgetting some of your messages she's more competent than most..." She sighed. "Doesn't change the fact you must've chewed on more plastic and rubber in your lifetime than the average house pet."
"Tastes like skin to me." He said slyly, unable to hold his tongue on the matter. "Besides, some of them have been real. Just not hers."
She was silent for a few seconds. He couldn't tell if she was repulsed beyond words, or deep in thought.
"Hm... As difficult as I find that to believe, I suppose I'll take your word for it."
Nathan stopped himself from asking why she wanted to know, or making a joke about how she was more than welcome to find out for herself. He didn't fancy a bruise on his face where she might punch him if he made a joke about her swinging the other way right now.
"So... in all seriousness... when they come here tomorrow night... I can count on you to be here, right?"
"Obsidian is very eager to get his hands on them. In fact, he's taken quite an interest in testing the theory that our good friend Aura can't die..." Her face twisted into a wicked smile that was more familiar to him. "If they escape tonight, we shall be here tomorrow. I assure you."
He wanted to point out that the only way for them to attack Artech in the first place would be if they were to escape tonight, but he decided to keep quiet... again.
"Okay. Then I need to call Castro. Tell him what I just told you... and hope he takes it well."
She shot him a disgusted look,
"If you're so worried, then perhaps you would like to change places?"
"Ha... ha. Very funny. Trading one potential death for a clear cut one." At least Castro's version wouldn't involve being burned alive... hopefully.
"No, I did not think so." She rose from her seat, flicking what was left of her cigarette into a plant pot containing some kind of plastic tree. "May I share something with you? Just between the two of us?"
He nodded,
"Of course."
Despite them being the only two in the room, her voice lowered to something close to a whisper.
"Lord help me I think I'm starting to find the whole thing... Vaguely exciting."
"What whole thing? You mean Obsidian?" He arched an eyebrow at her, "Exciting?"
"I... I should not have said anything." She said quickly.
He stood up beside her, and took a step forward,
"No, it's fine. You know me, I don't judge. I was just... I don't know. Surprised, given what he did to you."
She gritted her teeth, and took a deep breath in through them, as if this was something she wasn't sure she wanted to be discussing, despite the fact she brought it up.
"It is perhaps hard to understand in your modern society, but where... Or perhaps for your benefit it would be better to say when I come from there were some very... Strong beliefs." She paused, closing her eyes for a few moments before continuing. "I have... Had a lot of time to judge each one over the years, to pick them apart, to expose the merit and failings of each. But some... Some just run too deep."
"Fair enough." He said, folding his arms up underneath themselves. "As long as he doesn't... you know... kill you, and everyone else in this city, then I've got no problem with it."
"I'm glad you understand." She nodded, giving him a small salute. "Until tomorrow."
"Be careful tonight." He warned her, knowing full well she would wave off any concern he had for her. "Hannah said lots of people are going to die."
An almost evil smile crossed her lips.
"Then she was probably seeing the moment I arrived."
"Heh. Good luck." He said, cutting in front of her, and opening the door back up to see Obsidian still flipping through the pages he'd been given. Although some of them appeared to have small fringed corners.
"You should be wishing it onto the people we're fighting. I have a feeling they'll need it more."
"Indeed." He half whispered, placing his head against the side of the doorframe. "Then I suppose I'll just see you two tomorrow."
He waited for them to let themselves out before heading over to his desk. He had a few phone calls to make, including one that would be sending two task force teams to their death. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a little bad about it, but when it came between them and him, the answer was very clear cut.
Cursing a bit under his breath, Nathan picked up the phone, and dialed the number he dreaded the most.
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"I never claimed what I did was right, Bats! Just fun!" - The Joker, Batman: Fading Smile |
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| El_Nazgir |
| Posted: Feb 19 2010, 11:05 AM |
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Group: Member
Posts: 16
Member No.: 8450
Joined: 5-August 09
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Alexei woke up. He heard something making noise and coming closer, and he muttered "Timmy, let me be, I wanna sleep..." He tried to turn his body, laying himself more comfortable, but quickly found out that he wasn't in bed, and fell of the bench he had fallen asleep on.
"Ah, dammit!" This was not a pleasant way to wake up. He quickly checked his suit's internal clock and saw it was still a bit before closing time. He was about to stand up, using the bench as support, when he noticed a woman standing a bit further ahead, looking at him. She was wearing a costume.
Alexei's first instinct was to activate his suit, but getting into a fight with a unknown super wasn't exactly a good idea. He decided that it would be safer to play as an innocent civilian. They were less prone to be attacked than supers nowadays. He'd try to get as much info as he could out of this woman without getting too suspicious. He didn't know how yet, but if he could find out something more about the reserve, he'd gladly take this chance.
"Eh, oh. Hello there." Alexei stood up, and got a clearer look of the woman's face. Well, her masked face anyway. As he continued he tried to sound a little scared, but his acting never was good. He just hoped she bought it. "Oh, you're eh... One of those... Maskers."
Alexei cursed inwardly at his lousy acting. There was no way he'd get away with this.
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Life is like a vacuum cleaner, it sucks. |
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