The Create-A-Hero RPG Season III IC Thread!

[wiegeabo]

Even though he had given the team its long weekend, D couldn't afford take it off himself. Broiles did a lot of damage during his short tenure as Director. And now it was time to clean up his mess.

So, D sits at his desk late on Friday, knowing full well he'll be there the next day, and maybe the next. But it's just another of life's little sacrifices.

"Sir?" Alberts pokes his head into the office.

"Ah, Alberts. I can always count on you."

"Of course, sir. Paperwork is the backbone of a well functioning society."

"That's the attitude I like to here."

"In fack, I'd wager that paperwork has saved as many lives a bullets."

"That's enough, Alberts."

"Yes, sir."

D waits a few seconds. "Is there a reason you're standing there?"

"Oh! Right. Sorry, sir. A package arrived for you, sir."

"For me? Already? I've only been back in the office for a few hours."

"Regardless, it is addressed to 'Director D', sir."

Di sighs slightly at the prospect of what might be inside. He signals for Alberts to come in and hand it to him. Then he sends Alberts away.

D rips open the envelope and a phone falls out. Disposable.

BEEPBLEEP

Suddenly a text appears on the screen.

Need to meet. ASAP. The Place. E.

 

[Blacklight]

Chapter 25: A Wasp's Sting...


4 Hours Ago...


"Mr. Vayne, sir?" Julius Vayne's loyal secretary and assistant, Miss Lynnette Devlin, said as he slowly turned around in his swiveling chair. "It's the Wasp..." she trailed off, handing him what looked like an article printed off of the internet, complete with photos and a giant headline reading "Julius Vayne: Mob Affiliate?"

Pictures of the illustrious CEO of the Ammuntions Corporation, or simply AmmoCorp. for short, exiting his white limousine near what could be identified as the King's Rook Club, where, as of recent years has developed quite the reputation. A very bad reputation, in fact. A bad reputation that formed when revealed on thewaspiswatching.com that a multitude of alleged "mob bosses", the owner of the notorious club, Galen King, included, happened to all be some of the club's more respected benefactors and members. Leading the Wasp and her public to suspect the establishment to be a front for mob activity.

Needless to say, for Vayne to have been spotted near the club would certainly cause people to think things of him. Bad things. Things that very well could or could not be true...

The headline "Julius Vayne: Mob Affiliate?" wouldn't help convince people otherwise.

Without so much as a word, he simply glared at his assistant. That was all she needed to know that she was no longer needed and find her way to the door.

Upon her exit, Vayne chucked the articles out of his sight, and reached for his phone. Dialing a very familiar number, a voice soon answered after the first two rings.

"Who now? Unless you're calling off the hit on the superhero..."

"No, Nex. Feel free to save that one for later. For right now, I have a higher priority target that needs... eliminating. Double the original payment." the businessman growl through gritting teeth.

"Fine. Who needs a bullet now?"

"I just have one question to ask you first."

"What's that?"

As the CEO looked upon the papers that cluttered his offices carpet, he looked at the web address that, if action was not taken on his end, could be the source of his undoing.

"Have you ever happened to have heard of a website by the name of 'thewaspiswatching.com'?"


Now...


No sooner after getting that text did I find myself wandering the condemned Public Library in search of the message's sender... which, lack of proper lighting and mountains of debris and dust aside, was no easy task, I assure you.

Thank god for the sunglasses that came standard with this uniform. Josh and his dad decked them out with all kinds of spectral vision. Including infrared...

Adorning the eyewear that normally rested upon my forehead, I clicked a small button within the right temple arm to activate the glasses' Heads-Up Display. Then, using a slider on the opposite arm, I switched the glasses from normal to night-vision, then finally infrared. And instantly, a small heat signature appeared off in the distance, and I immediately began running towards it, as from what I could tell, it was moving both sporadically and very quickly.

Unfortunately, after minutes of straight running through the old rooms of the library, I had lost the signature, and I frantically stopped and scanned everywhere for it. Whoever this person was, they were either really crafty... or they had a lot of resources. And by resources, I mean tech.

Of course, I haven't exactly ruled out "Ninja Assassin" yet...

"I'm here! Come out and show yourself!" I yelled as I continued to survey my dark surroundings.

"Hello..." a voice whispered into my ear, instantly making me jump as I freaked out.

"AHH! What the fu--" I screamed out after being scared half to death, stumbling back to see the figure of a girl, arms crossed as she so confidently stood before me.

"So... you're Blacklight, huh? Funny. Expected someone taller... and less of a p***y." The mysterious girl cut me off.

"Screw you, lady. You got the jump on me is all! I'm no p***y..." I debated as I picked myself back up and rested my glasses upon my head once more to look into the face of my blackmailer.

...Wait a minute. I know her!

I mean, she's hiding behind her own pair of sunglasses, but I'd recognize that face anywhere!

"The name's Wasp. Of thewaspiswatching.com."

"I... I know you..." I muttered as I continued to stare at her in disbelief.

"And I know you. But it's nice to see my reputation precedes me." She retorted, not losing her cool. "Anyways, I sent you that message because I believe your life is in danger. We'll have to move quickly if we're going to--"

"...Jess? Jess Gerbutovich?" I cut her off after almost completely ignoring everything she just said. I was too busy being shocked at the fact that my co-worker and close friend moonlights as the world's top investigators and information brokers...

Can't say I saw that one coming.

"What the... How did you know?"

But as she asked how I figured it out, I noticed something strange. At first I thought I was seeing things, but I noticed that there was a sort of... red-dot on the side of Jess' temple.

Oh God...

*BANG!*

"JESS, LOOK OUT!!" I screamed as I jumped at her, pushing her out of the way of what looked like a speeding sniper bullet.

As we both crashed into the floor, I noticed the laser-sight had vanished. Before she could recover, I immediately got back up, ready to dodge anymore incoming sniper-fire.

"Blacklight, what the fu-- Oh, s**t..." Jess muttered, taking notice of the bullet embedded into the ground. I looked behind me to see her picking it up and beginning to study it.

"Wasp, I think we have 'company'." I warned, my fists clenching as I shielded my friend, who was trying to get back to her feet, ready to face the shooter.

"Blacklight... It's Nex." she pointed out to me as she stayed close, identifying the shooter.

"Who?" I asked, confused.

"Didn't you read my last blog article? Nex! The super mercenary that was hired to kill the new District Attorney!"

"Looks like my reputation precedes me." A voice sounded as we both quickly turned to see the shooter had already infiltrated the building and stealthily cornered us in this room. He looked about mid-thirties, with a slicked, parted dark hair, a combat uniform complete with bandoliers, pistols and body armor, a high-tech aiming reticle covering his right eye, and in his hands, his sniper rifle. The one used to fire off that shot just now.

"Well, well, well. Blacklight AND the Wasp. Looks like I got me the opportunity here to kill two birds..."

*CLANK!*

"...with one gun."

To be continued...
​

 

[wiegeabo]

It's a small little diner in a busy little area of the city that one would never think of using as a covert meeting spot.

Which makes it the perfect covert meeting spot.

D sits calmly at one of the table's, reading the morning paper, and slightly chuckling at the things the reporters get wrong. If they only knew.

He sips at his coffee and smiles as the waitress puts down a plate of toast and jam.

"How very continental," the voice from the neighboring tables says.

D turns the page, focusing on the next article. "I don't often get to enjoy breakfast outside. So, why did you need to meet, Elizabeth?"

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Eve rolls back into the Church and shuts down The Serpent.

She says to Brother Paul, "Gas her up and check under the hood."

He shakes his head and begins checking over the cycle and Deacon Hawk approaches.

He says, "Nice job handling the robbery and the two muggings on your way home. You're really starting to make a difference here."

Eve says, "I'm starting to warm up to this but still no contact with the Guardians."

Hawk says, "Patience Eve. Sooner or later contact with them will happen with the war that they are dealing with they will need all the help they can get. Why don't you take some downtime? You could use it."

Eve nods and says, "Got it. Oh by the way? Did you think the jump was that good?"

Hawk chuckles and says, "I admit I was impressed Brother Paul though it's better left unsaid."

Paul says, "I hear you!"

Eve chuckles and leaves the room.

Deacon Hawk approaches and Brother Paul says, "It seems like she is really taking to her new role very nicely."

Hawk replies, "Indeed I think we got a winner."

Brother Paul says, "You realize sooner or later he's going to know, and he will follow through with his threat of revenge."

Deacon Hawk says, "I try not to think about it, but I know you're right. We'll just have to hope Eve will be ready."

Brother Paul asks, "And if she isn't?"

Deacon Hawk walks away as Brother Paul continues working.

Little do they realize Eve has been listening in on this conversation.

Who are they worried about, and why are they worried about revenge?

She leaves and begins her diagonostic downtime.

 

[ShiningJudgment]

Meanwhile while the three sisters were sleeping for the night, one bounty hunter was out scoping the back allies in search for their location. With his Ak-47 held ready for fire, the man in the white suit as he kept himself hidden as he spotted the three women in sleeping bags around the corner.

”Sir… the targets have been spotted in the east side of the back alley...” The man called over the squad leader on the talkie.

“Roger that, we’re on our way, over!”

Aina started to nudge a little bit, but she was still asleep throughout the time passing by. Things were about to get crazy here a moment as three bounty hunters from Squad F were falling in for an ambush. However once a click was heard from the guns before the pull of the trigger, it woke Aina up.

“FREEZE!” One of the bounty hunters yelled out as the sisters started to make a move, aiming his AK-47 at them.

“Aina!” Pho called out in panic. “We mustn’t make any sudden movements.”

“Damn… we’re surrounded…” Minga grit her teeth as she was backing more towards the wall. There was nowhere to run now as the three bounty hunters were cornering them in.

“No, I’m tired of running!” Aina responded, standing her ground as she heard the guns loading up. ”This time, I’m taking action.”

Just then a tornado of wind came hurdling from Aina towards the bounty hunters. Once the tornado of wind struck the bounty hunters, they were slashed by wind blades in the heart of it. It was now a good time to run as they were down and badly wounded. Minga looked over at Aina with a shocked look that she revealed her wind power where her jaw practically dropped. Pho turned to Aina once the three men were badly wounded on the ground.

“Aina, did you just realize what you did?!” Pho was raging with panic when she saw that her sister revealed that she was not an ordinary human since she possessed a wind power.

”I know I wasn’t supposed to expose myself as a meta human, but we were cornered.” Aina responded, lowering her head a little bit.

“You realize now that once it gets out that we’re meta humans, they’ll wanna do more than just trying to annihilate us.” Minga explained as the talkie was starting to go off for a response from other squad rants out there. “We got to move out, now!”

“Right!” The other two sisters responded as they quickly gathered the personal items they can get and ran for it.

 

[NiteMare Shape]

It's a small little diner in a busy little area of the city that one would never think of using as a covert meeting spot.

Which makes it the perfect covert meeting spot.

D sits calmly at one of the table's, reading the morning paper, and slightly chuckling at the things the reporters get wrong. If they only knew.

He sips at his coffee and smiles as the waitress puts down a plate of toast and jam.

"How very continental," the voice from the neighboring tables says.

D turns the page, focusing on the next article. "I don't often get to enjoy breakfast outside. So, why did you need to meet, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth Powers watched D eat his toast out of the corner of her eye. To any passers by, they would go completely unnoticed. She pretended to read the morning paper as D took a sip of his coffee.

"There's some information that you need. Anderson has gone completely out of control, and he needs to be stopped."

 

[Hound55]

Isaac Fontaine became the Vigilante once more as he pulled on another all-black outfit in a dark room lit only by the television's glow of dark news.

Bad. Real bad.

Snapping on his first layer of latex gloves, he began strapping his wrists and ankles.

Had no idea it was this bad. Makes it even worse.

Leather gloves get pulled on, an acrylic black ski-mask is pulled from a drawer.

Unthinkably bad. Stupid.

A bag gets dumped into the back of a car. An engine roars into life.

For someone who relies so much on good information, I've let myself exist in a bubble too long. And that kind of stupidity is unforgivable. I'm bouncing around blind. I go from doing recon at a known S.T.R.I.K.E facility (smart, right?) to trying to argue for the fate of the world (don't remember? Never mind, pretty much no one else knows jack about it either...) to throwing myself straight back into action blind, as if S.T.R.I.K.E would just get over it... When do I ever have that much luck?

With a wrench at the wheel the car takes a hard turn.

Have to get back. It's a delicate situation we have here and I don't know what the others will do about this news. Between S.T.R.I.K.E and the Guardians, this city... hell this country is a powder-keg about to go off over the meta-human issue.

A car skidded to a stop outside of Guardians Headquarters, a window drops as a hand protrudes and enters a long code into a numeric keypad. Heavy garage doors open and the car rolls inside. The driver wears a black balaklava but is not an intruder. After a much needed rest, the man known as the Vigilante re-invigorated with both sleep and information.

He can’t forgive himself for not keeping on top of current events in his position, but he can try to atone. The first step is to get his team on the same page. Undoubtedly they see the signs of war as well… But against a political power player a scalpel is more useful than a sledgehammer.

 

[NiteMare Shape]

Director Anderson gazed on the creature that had once been his friend, Marcus Ryder in amazement. The physical transformation since what was left of Ryder was brought to this hidden S.T.R.I.K.E facility was nothing short miraculous.

Marcus Ryder was no more, he was now the ultimate weapon against the meta human threat...he was Anderson's Endgame.

Anderson stood behind the two way mirror looking in on the laboratory as the doctors went over the creature with a number of instruments and gauges, checking it's vital signs. And he watched in amazement as a doctor attempted to inject it using a needle as thick as a pencil, only for the massive needle to bend upon contact with the creature's flesh.

"He certainly is a tough specimen." Dr Charles Teufel said as he entered the observation room.

"Indeed. You've done excellent work Charles."

"Thank you Director." Teufel says with a grin.

"I trust he's resting comfortably?"

"Indeed. We haven't been able to pierce his skin in days, despite our best efforts, as you saw. So we've been keeping him down by using a heavy sedative gas mixed with a neural inhibitor, which keeps him nice and tranquil. At least until we can program his mind with the control codes we've developed."

Anderson listens as Teufel explains the process of inputting the control codes into the creature's mind, codes that will allow S.T.R.I.K.E to control the beast with a simple key stroke, ensuring that they never lost control of the creature, which was a problem in the past.

Should Endgame be allowed to operate without such contingencies, there would be no telling what would happen.

"Yes...I shutter to think what might happen if he were to be unleashed without those codes...he very well may be unstoppable."

 

[Hound55]

A S.T.R.I.K.E Facility - Location undisclosed

Traces of the doctor dripped from the hands of Henry Patton as he walked down the halls of the S.T.R.I.K.E building which housed him, he still couldn’t bring himself to think of it as home despite the possibility that he may never know another. One hand wrapped around the USB flash drive which would justify his actions and the other empty but for the traces of hair that stuck to his palm by blood he walked down the corridor trying to keep a smile from his face.

His skin positively tingled even now in the afterglow of what he’d just done, but it was nothing compared to the ecstatic release he’d felt as it happened. As the pencil went through the doctor’s throat he’d felt a high he’d never experienced before, an inner power coming to the surface which was similar to the high he felt when chewing out his own men only to a far grander scale. But that only urged him on to greater things…

When he’d pulled the pencil from his threat and felt the weak pulse of the doctor as he lay there on the floor the urge, that instinct, told him there was only one way to prolong the high. Extinguish the pulse. Snuff the light. And so he did.

Taking the blood-soaked pencil in his left hand and holding the doctor’s head by the hair in his right he stabbed him out of life’s fragile grasp. And beyond. Twenty five stabs in all, not that he was counting – he was too busy clinging to what remained of the high, to the throat and shoulders until he was no longer knifing a man, only human meat. With the realisation the high passed, and Sureshot’s baptism in blood was complete.

Once the high left and Patton’s mind began to return to what was (generally speaking) his normal rational state, he realised this was not something he could hide so instead had to find another way of dealing with what he’d done. His own reason would have to be enough… They’d think him crazy when they eventually saw the body. But Anderson had seemed to want to turn a blind eye to people criticizing his mental health before. Besides, what choice was there, really?

Stiffly walking into Anderson’s office with blood-coated hands he called out.

“Sir!”

Turning swiftly at the unexpected interruption, an expression of irritation from the unwanted disturbance changed to a seldom seen pale. A USB flash drive flipped with precision into the Director's hands as he quickly re-gathered his composure. Anything in Sureshot's hands could be a man's end.

“We've had a leak… But don't worry. I plugged it...”

 

[sabetoonth]

​

Walking through a hall in my most natural feeling shape, the human one, I come to a door and knock on it. There's the sound of things falling over and someone hitting the ground. I just stand there and wait, I haven't seen him in a few days and with Mitch could get to be somewhat of a worry wort over that kind of thing. To be honest I don't think he's left my side since we both landed jobs at the paper. He's not from New York, so when we first met and hung out I was the lucky bastard who got to see him act like a kid again in all that excitement for being in the Big Apple. It was actually kinda fun. He settled down thought as he settled in to life here in NYC. I wish I could tell him ya know? He's been my best friend for awhile, longer than most have. He outlasted 5 other relationships (though one keeps getting revisited by both parties on occasion until lately.) There's more shuffling before the door opens and Mitch is there squinting at me in his underwear and a t shirt, and...He must have thought it was a wooden baseball bat but I do not feel the least bit threatened by a mop.

"You think danger's at the door and your grab your mop, Mitch?" Its the greeting I give him with a questioning looks in the second before he recognizes me, drops the mop on his floor and rubs his stubbled face.

"El? Dude where you been? Ain't seen you in days!" He's still half asleep but he's waking up, he hasn't asked me the time or what the hell I'm doing at his door this late. He steps aside and I take that as an invitation to enter. There's a question, at least one I want to ask while I'm here in addition to letting him know I'm just fine. The walls are the same color they've probably been for ten-twenty maybe thirty years. Some dull grayish blue color, Mitch never really was one for going over something if it didn't really bother him, he never spent a lot of time at home anyway. Many times he could be found at work during the day or later into the bright, when the sky would begin to dim, when he was off work, he could be found at a friend's or at a bar with friends or just not at home, trying to live up that one life he's got.

"I've been busy, workin' hard. How you been?" He picks the mop up and puts it in a closet in the short hall that goes to his bedroom. Im standing around in what would be called his living room, he's got a chair and a small love seat for when there's actually more than just him or us there. Which in my experience has not happened often. Even then, it seems like Mitch has some bad luck with women from this city. Never understood that, cause there's far worse men who are far more lucky with women.

"The hell do you do again?" He's still kind of groggy but for all intents and purposes he is awake. He finds his way to his fridge and pulls out a beer. My friend makes a gesture to ask if I wanted one but I just decline with a wave of m hand, and a shake of my head.

"I'm an assistant to a man with a lot of money." That Grim gave away anonymously to various charities. And what didn't go to charity went to paying what needed to be paid, my paycheck, everyone else's, business expenses, the usual. "You awake enough to answer something man?" He gives me a bit of a look, I didn't ask that in like some friendly 'oh hey can you answer this question about something not really highly important?' It was a little more along the lines of asking if I could borrow his gun while really pissed off at the guy down the hall. But he nods regardless. That was a yes. "Your cousin, Jen, she still a cop?" She moved into town after he did, transferred to this city following her big older cousin who looked out for her at home.

I get this funny look before he gets up and decides he's gonna need another beer before he finishes the one already in his hands. I sigh as he reaches into the fridge. "Dude, you wantin' to hook up with my cousin? You got a thing for a chick with cuffs?" He gives me this knowing smile and there's this light in his eyes he gets when he thinks he's being cool or funny or whatever. He's so wrong. At that I shake my head, he's not one to often be serious but is good at it when he is.

"Nope, I'm more into the gingers with guns." Its a little more friendly as I throw out a counter line of banter. He takes his seat back, setting the cold one on the floor next to the chair and leaning back to enjoy the one he's already opened. He doesn't actually have any tables, just the counter in his small kitchen.

"Yea, uh so what, What you need a cop for?"

"Boss wants me to look into something and I need to talk to the police about it. I figured already kinda knowing your cousin..might make it a bit easier" I ******** my way through this rather well, I didn't think I was this good. He starts to ask what I was looking into that would need a cop but he stops just before his lips part for the 'wha' sound. "Mitch, dude. Just kind of keep this between us for now, alright?" I've thought about telling him a few times, but the way the world is I'm not so sure this is a good idea. He thinks STRIKE is just as full of it as every other sane person on the planet but I'm still not sure how well he'd receive the news his best friend in this entire world is a half demon crime fighter who spends a good deal of time beating criminals and ne'er do wells with his fists. But it would leave things so much more open for explanation. "Just need an address, this has to stay low key, bosses orders." I'm deadly serious about it being a low key meeting, but Grim doesn't know about this. Well there's actually a good chance he does and I just haven't told him. I'm surprised he hasn't dropped in on me out of thin air since I got back, like at all. Its almost worrying when you forget he's the embodiment of death, the Grim Reaper and entity just as old as life itself.

In the end we go from this serious business type talk to just two friends hanging out at an ungodly hour in the night. Laughing, drinking reminiscing. Things we haven't done for a while, and stuff I missed.

"You remember that time we took Trish out for drinks after she got that big break?" We laugh harder, oh that was a night. Mitch stands up and he dances badly with the air but behaves like a goof with lips puckered out. She had gotten very drunk and was dancing these random guys out around the bar despite there being no dance floor,always trying to lay a wet one of them. God, when she was the sober the next day and asked about the night before, Mitch had decided to take her aside and tell her she's..an "interesting drunk", She seemed a little mortified and I haven't seen her near a drink since. I've had my share of beers by this hour, and the sun is just now beginning to peak through the windows, god knows how long its actually been in the sky. But as I notice that I lean back to make sure that's what I see in my peripheral. I need to be getting gone, I don't feel tired at all, but do you ever until you're about to pass out? Mitch sees it too and you can feel the words in his head go "****" he's got work today. I kinda do too but he has actual work he can get fired from to do.
"We should probably both get outta here." His voice suddenly sounds tired and a little less enthused. I nod and get to my feet, there's a little wobble there but I remain good and solid standing. "I'll try to stop by more. We can go downtown, Brass Monkey I hear's a decent bar. Better yet, we just grab a couple six packs and head out on a roof." He would say the same thing, that's why I say it. Hoping that keeps him going through the day with something like that to look forward too. But hell, its Mitch, he can keep going with a lot less in the tank.

We've parted ways and I'm looking at his cousin's address scrawled onto a piece of paper, Mitch is probably already at work as I walk towards the building Ive seen Grim call home since Ive known him. I don't intend to actually go down and see him but its become something of a homing beacon, when I have no were else to go I go in that direction it seems.

 

[wiegeabo]

Elizabeth Powers watched D eat his toast out of the corner of her eye. To any passers by, they would go completely unnoticed. She pretended to read the morning paper as D took a sip of his coffee.

"There's some information that you need. Anderson has gone completely out of control, and he needs to be stopped."

"Tell me something I don't know," D says. He takes a sip of his juice and turns to the sports section. "I see the Celtics lost again." D continues to read for a second, but when his goading gets no reply, he goes back to the topic of conversation.

"Ok. You called me, when you know you shouldn't. You're talking about your boss, when you know full well he's not much into respecting the privacy of his 'employees'. And you didn't fight for the honor of your team."

"So how serious is this? More serious than declaring war and thousands of citizens? More serious than creating his own private meta-army?"

 

[NiteMare Shape]

"Tell me something I don't know," D says. He takes a sip of his juice and turns to the sports section. "I see the Celtics lost again." D continues to read for a second, but when his goading gets no reply, he goes back to the topic of conversation.

"Ok. You called me, when you know you shouldn't. You're talking about your boss, when you know full well he's not much into respecting the privacy of his 'employees'. And you didn't fight for the honor of your team."

"So how serious is this? More serious than declaring war and thousands of citizens? More serious than creating his own private meta-army?"

He really has no idea. She thought to herself as her face fell. She knew that she was taking a risk when she contacted D the first time. It is true, Anderson had never been high on his employees' rights to privacy. She knew that it was a good bet that she was being watched. But she took the risk anyhow. Somethings were worth dying for, that is what she told herself when she copied the contents of his hard drive, including his private files. And when she found what she had, she knew that there was a very good chance that she would not make it out of this alive.

"I really wish that's all it was D. Anderson has his own final solution. I'm talking about genocide."

 

[Erin]

Pinup sped through the streets of Lost Haven with Walter Kennedy in the passenger seat, and she noticed the pedestrians for what seemed to her like the first time in many years. They weren't straggling in groups of one or two, marching to and fro on private missions only they knew about, as one might expect to see from any standard pedestrian. There were groups. Groups separated by two categories. Crowds of people wearing STRIKE emblems clustered together, forming a friendship based solely on their badges, while plain-clothes civilians formed an equally strong bond based on the lack thereof.

The world was separating itself like oil and water, and to Pinup, it was painfully obvious. And she knew what would happen:

Oil would ignite.

Water would freeze.

And the world would destroy itself in a hiss of scalding steam.


Walter was not dumb to the ominous differences in pedestrian traffic. He looked uneasily out the window at the groups. Everything had seemed so normal not so long ago, but it was like an old oil painting - a serene pastoral landscape, but look too closely and all the cracks in the paint show, the chips sitting there delicately, waiting to flake off the aged canvas.

The car neared the Guardians' headquarters and Pinup slowed. A group was already forming on the street, and it made her nervous. Picketers held signs scrawled with hate messages against metas and the Guardians and STRIKE recruits patrolled the perimeter of the crowd as though they possessed real power. Stragglers, unaffiliated with the group, did their best to dodge out of sight, also sensing something was about to go terribly wrong.

The car came to a halt as it met the resistance of the group. People closed in around the vehicle and Pinup and Walter glanced uneasily toward each other. Pinup sighed. If there was going to be any way of getting into the Headquarters, it wasn't going to be in the car. She unbuckled her seat belt and, hesitantly, Walter followed suit.

Pinup opened the car door. Her ears rang with cries from the protesters as she stepped out of the vehicle and continued toward the building on foot. It was just a small group, at least.

"Walter, I want you to go ahead of me. Buzz the intercom and tell them who you are - they'll let you in. I'm going to hang back in case things get ugly when they see what we want."

"If things get ugly, I should be the one to hang back." Walter argued quietly as they walked, shoulder to shoulder, along the street. "The serum wouldn't do anything to me."

Pinup didn't answer, and Walter didn't press her, knowing that when she kept silent, she had already won the argument. Walter did as he was told and neared the intercom at the side of the building.

"HE'S GOING IN! HE'S ONE OF THEM!" A man shouted.

Pinup arched an eyebrow toward him, wondering how discreetly she could use her powers in a crowd like this. She decided to chance it, honing in on the protester. The rest of the world began to drop away into a gray fog as she centered her thoughts on the link between herself and the man. She was only barely aware of a woman yelling

"No, it's her! I recognize her from the news! She's one of them!"

A pinch in her shoulder caused Pinup to lose focus. The connection broke like a thin string and the world came flooding back. For a moment, she didn't realize what had happened. She reached up and removed a sharp dart from her skin.

Nothing, she thought. It doesn't work on me. My degenerative processes are too slow, it won't metabolize. I'm -

The world seemed to shake violently and she fell to the ground mid-thought. Her heart clenched in her chest and her breathing became labored. Cold sweat poured down her body as she was caught by the shock of how fast acting the toxin was.

"EMILY!" Walter cried hoarsely. He resisted the urge to rush to her side long enough to press the intercom button

"Yes, it's Doctor Walter Kennedy! It's Emily! Help!"

He wasn't sure if he was doing it right, or who was listening on the other end, but it didn't seem to matter as he pushed through the crowd with the strength of a man half his age to reach the spot where Pinup fell.

She lay crumpled on the ground - the crowd stunned by the effect of the weapons STRIKE had provided them. Her face was ashen and her eyes barely open as every breath seemed like a mini-seizure.

"W-Walter" Pinup chattered through grated teeth. "What's happening?"

"The toxin is unraveling your DNA." Walter put it in the simplist terms he could.

"H-how long - "

"If you were anyone else you'd already be dead." Walter threw his arm across her shoulders and another under her arm, trying to aid her to stand. "But you're not going to die."

Pinup collapsed again. "Let me die."

Walter's brow furrowed. It wasn't a surprising request. For the past thirty years he had worked with Emily to help her do exactly that, but now the time had come, and this was never how he had imagined it. He had fooled himself into thinking that he was searching for a cure - not a death sentence.

"No." He said firmly.

"Walter, let me - "

But Walter wasn't listening. The sound of the door opening behind him had caught his attention and he turned the headquarters just in time to see a glimmer of salvation emerge from within its walls.

"She needs help!" He yelled. "Get her to the medi-wing!"

 

[NiteMare Shape]

Anderson had just returned from the hidden facility near the Canadian boarder known as Site 12, where he had been overlooking the progress of Project Endgame. Though not his main headquarters in Downtown Lost Haven, this facility served as a remote base of operations just outside of the vast metropolis. He had barely sat down behind his desk when his door swung open and the assassin Sureshot barged into his office, blood clearly visible on his uniform.

A S.T.R.I.K.E Facility - Location undisclosed

Traces of the doctor dripped from the hands of Henry Patton as he walked down the halls of the S.T.R.I.K.E building which housed him, he still couldn’t bring himself to think of it as home despite the possibility that he may never know another. One hand wrapped around the USB flash drive which would justify his actions and the other empty but for the traces of hair that stuck to his palm by blood he walked down the corridor trying to keep a smile from his face.

His skin positively tingled even now in the afterglow of what he’d just done, but it was nothing compared to the ecstatic release he’d felt as it happened. As the pencil went through the doctor’s throat he’d felt a high he’d never experienced before, an inner power coming to the surface which was similar to the high he felt when chewing out his own men only to a far grander scale. But that only urged him on to greater things…

When he’d pulled the pencil from his threat and felt the weak pulse of the doctor as he lay there on the floor the urge, that instinct, told him there was only one way to prolong the high. Extinguish the pulse. Snuff the light. And so he did.

Taking the blood-soaked pencil in his left hand and holding the doctor’s head by the hair in his right he stabbed him out of life’s fragile grasp. And beyond. Twenty five stabs in all, not that he was counting – he was too busy clinging to what remained of the high, to the throat and shoulders until he was no longer knifing a man, only human meat. With the realisation the high passed, and Sureshot’s baptism in blood was complete.

Once the high left and Patton’s mind began to return to what was (generally speaking) his normal rational state, he realised this was not something he could hide so instead had to find another way of dealing with what he’d done. His own reason would have to be enough… They’d think him crazy when they eventually saw the body. But Anderson had seemed to want to turn a blind eye to people criticizing his mental health before. Besides, what choice was there, really?

Stiffly walking into Anderson’s office with blood-coated hands he called out.

“Sir!”

Turning swiftly at the unexpected interruption, an expression of irritation from the unwanted disturbance changed to a seldom seen pale. A USB flash drive flipped with precision into the Director's hands as he quickly re-gathered his composure. Anything in Sureshot's hands could be a man's end.

“We've had a leak… But don't worry. I plugged it...”

Anderson stood up straight, trying to wipe the surprise from his face. For some reason, Anderson was just never comfortable around the assassin, he put him ill at ease, which is something that very few men can claim.

"Good work Sureshot. We're entering a critical phase, and we can't afford to have anyone running to the press."

 

[NiteMare Shape]

High above Lost Haven, Icon looked down at the area surrounding Guardian Headquarters, and was more than alittle disturbed by what he saw. On the streets below, several clusters of people had gathered around the complex. Some of the groups looked to be regular citizens, while others were wearing the familiar insignia or S.T.R.I.K.E. These people were clearly not regular agents, so Icon assumed they were members of Anderson's "community outreach initiative."

Through the chaos below, Icon saw an abandoned car in front of the main gate leading to the complex, Upon closer examination, he saw an older man helping a woman toward the front entrance of the headquarters while calling out for help, in a panic exclaiming that she needed to be taken to the medical wing.. After taking a closer look, he recognized the younger woman as Pinup, and she looked to be hurt badly.

Icon banked to the left and began his decent to the front entrance, landing just behind the older man and Pinup as they were rushed in the front door.

The old man was unfamiliar to him, but he could only think of one man who this might be.

"Doctor Kennedy, what happened?"

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Eve finished her downtime and approached Brother Paul who was working on The Serpent.

She asks, "Anything I can do to help?"

Brother Paul replies, "No not really Eve. Everything seems to be in good working order at this time. I have to admit you put it through some good paces and The Serpent seems to be in excellent order."

Eve says, "Does that mean I can borrow the car again dad?"

Brother Paul looks sternly at her and then gives a crooked smile.

He says going back to work, "One scratch on it and it'll come out of your allowance."

Eve says, "Brother Paul there is a serious question I have."

Brother Paul replies, "Well I guess there's a first time for everything. What's on your mind Eve?"

Eve asks, "Who is this person that has you and Deacon Hawk so concerned?"

Brother Paul stops and asks, "What do you mean?"

Eve engages her vocal processor and repeats the previous conversation Deacon Hawk and Brother Paul.

Brother Paul says, "That's eavesdropping Eve."

She replies, "I heard as I was getting ready for downtime. This kind of thing does peak human curiosity even a half-human."

Brother Paul stops and takes a deep breath. He looks at her and says with great sincerity, "I'm not sure it's my place Eve."

Eve says, "Look if this person is gunning for me I have a right to know what I may be facing."

Deacon Hawk says, "Yes." They both turn to him and he says, "Yes you do have the right to know Eve."

Deacon removes his dark glasses and shows a scar running along his left eye.

He says, "Before you came into our presence there was one named Arron Collins. A brilliant man who designed a lot of the tech we use. Of course Brother Paul has improved on it, but Collins gave us the foundation to build on. He was very trusted by the Society and he also taught me how to deal with the Society and how to run an operation like this."

Eve asks, "So what turned him to the Dark Side?"

Hawk puts his glasses back on and says, "He felt he wasn't being rewarded properly for his work, and he also wanted to take greater and greater risks with some of our programs. Risks that we weren't ready for including HGH therapy, PED Drug Therapy, and Steroids. Collins would've made most Baseball players envious with the stuff he was using."

Brother Paul hears an alarm in the control room going off and says, "Excuse me for a moment." He starts to leave and looks at Eve and says, "I already know how it ends so I won't spoil it."

Eve and him smile as Deacon Hawk continues, "We finally confronted him. We fought, but we were ready for him. It took me, Brother Paul, and about 20 society warriors to subdue him. While he was en-route to a secured facility he killed the guards, he left a message written in blood inside the transport that said 'vengeance one day', and he escaped."

Deacon Hawk fixes himself a cup of water and says, "According to our sources Collins has changed his appearance and is here in the city somewhere. We see his tech all over town which means he obviously has wealth as well. How he has adapted to his powers we don't know. We do know this Collins is very dangerous and not to be taken lightly. If you find out who he really is do not engage him. We need to know more first."

Eve says, "Understood Deacon."

Brother Paul re-enters the room and says, "You two need to see this."

Brother Paul cuts on the monitors showing the unrest in the city.

Deacon looks at Brother Paul and asks, "Is the Serpent ready?"

Brother Paul says, "Absolutely."

Eve says, "Time to roll."

She jumps on The Serpent and tears out of The Church to The Guardians HQ.

Upon her arrival she sees the large group gathering around.

Eve guns it to the Main Gate and says to an Old Man carrying one of the Metas and another one who descended from the sky.

She says, "Get her inside quick I'll buy you some time! Quickly!"

Eve says to The Serpent, "Deploy Riot Control procedures. Perimeter Spread. Now! "

The Serpent begins dropping Flash Pellets, Smoke Bombs and Sonic Spheres near the main gate. The crowd begins to react and Eve begins gunning around the block.

She stops again at the Main Gate and Eve says getting off of The Serpent and flipping her Red Hair in the wind, "Anyone who wants to keep this up feel free I can go all-night!"

 

[wiegeabo]

He really has no idea. She thought to herself as her face fell. She knew that she was taking a risk when she contacted D the first time. It is true, Anderson had never been high on his employees' rights to privacy. She knew that it was a good bet that she was being watched. But she took the risk anyhow. Somethings were worth dying for, that is what she told herself when she copied the contents of his hard drive, including his private files. And when she found what she had, she knew that there was a very good chance that she would not make it out of this alive.

"I really wish that's all it was D. Anderson has his own final solution. I'm talking about genocide."

D stifles a laugh.

"Genocide?" he says with a smile.

"I believe Alex capable of many things. I know he's done many things. But wiping out all metas? No...that doesn't make sense. He'd want to control them all. Make himself his own personal army. Alex wants control and power. He can't do that with all the metas dead, and all the public attention that would bring."

 

[NiteMare Shape]

D stifles a laugh.

"Genocide?" he says with a smile.

"I believe Alex capable of many things. I know he's done many things. But wiping out all metas? No...that doesn't make sense. He'd want to control them all. Make himself his own personal army. Alex wants control and power. He can't do that with all the metas dead, and all the public attention that would bring."

"You don't understand. S.T.R.I.K.E has developed a serum that destroys the meta gene, and they've weaponized it. He also has a doomsday bomb filled with the stuff. He hates the metas with a passion, and I assure you he wants them dead. It's all in the file."

 

[wiegeabo]

"You don't understand. S.T.R.I.K.E has developed a serum that destroys the meta gene, and they've weaponized it. He also has a doomsday bomb filled with the stuff. He hates the metas with a passion, and I assure you he wants them dead. It's all in the file."

D's smile drops.

"File?...What file?"

 

[NiteMare Shape]

D's smile drops.

"File?...What file?"

"This file." She said as she revealed a manilla folder hidden beneath her newspaper. She stood up and began gathering her items, then handed D the newspaper with the folder tucked snugly beneath it.

"Happy reading. I'm sure you'll know exactly what to do with this." She said as she walked away from the tables and made her way into the crowed Lost Haven street.

 

[NiteMare Shape]

High above Lost Haven, Icon looked down at the area surrounding Guardian Headquarters, and was more than alittle disturbed by what he saw. On the streets below, several clusters of people had gathered around the complex. Some of the groups looked to be regular citizens, while others were wearing the familiar insignia or S.T.R.I.K.E. These people were clearly not regular agents, so Icon assumed they were members of Anderson's "community outreach initiative."

Through the chaos below, Icon saw an abandoned car in front of the main gate leading to the complex, Upon closer examination, he saw an older man helping a woman toward the front entrance of the headquarters while calling out for help, in a panic exclaiming that she needed to be taken to the medical wing.. After taking a closer look, he recognized the younger woman as Pinup, and she looked to be hurt badly.

Icon banked to the left and began his decent to the front entrance, landing just behind the older man and Pinup as they were rushed in the front door.

The old man was unfamiliar to him, but he could only think of one man who this might be.

"Doctor Kennedy, what happened?"

Walter Kennedy looked at Icon with fear in his eyes, though the fear was not for himself. He was afraid that he was going to lose his oldest friend. He clearly did not want to delay in reaching his destination, but he stopped for just a moment to address the younger hero.

"We have to get her to the medi-wing now." Doctor Kennedy said matter of factly before he started moving again, struggling as he made his way down the hallway.

"What happened?" Icon repeated.

"W-we were attacked by a group of S.T.R.I.K.E's newly deputized agents. She was hurt badly." He said, barely looking back as he continued leading Pinup down the hall.

"We'll get her to the vita ray chamber."

"No, you don't understand. They are carrying a weaponized form of the anti meta serum. But this serum is different from the one that I developed...this doesn't just reverse the meta gene, it destroys it. Right now, Emily's DNA is being torn apart by the serum running through her veins. If we don't stabilize her now, she'll die."

Icon stepped in front of the pair and put a hand on Walter's shoulder.

"Let me." He said as he picked Pinup up off of her feet, cradling her in his arms, then carried her the rest of the way to the medical wing with Walter in tow.

Once they arrived at the medical wing, Icon placed Pinup in a hospital bed as Walter immediately went to work trying to stabilize her. Icon looked down at his friend, and as she gazed up at him, even in her dizzied state she could see something in his eyes that she had only seen once before...on the night that she had accidentally allowed her powers to manifest at The Hub...Fear. This time, that fear was for her.

"Just relax, you'll be alright." Icon said, his voice softer this time, to Pinup he almost sounded like another person altogether. "I'll be right outside. If you need me, just say my name...I'll hear you." He said as he turned to Walter, nodded at the older man and made his way out of the hospital room.

***

It had been over an hour since Icon had brought Pinup into the medical wing with Walter Kennedy in the hope of saving her life. In that time, both Youngster and Vigilante had come by to see what was going on, only to leave when there was no news to be had.

But Icon waited. He couldn't explain why he sat there on the bench outside of the hospital room, only that he felt like he needed to be there.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door opened and Walter came out, a half defeated look on his face.

"Is she going to be OK?" Icon asked, concern for his friend clearly in his voice.

"For now." Walter said numbly.

"What do you mean?"

"I was able to stabilize her, but I'm afraid that the effects of the serum are irreversible. She will lose her abilities...which means...."

"She'll die."

"Eventually. When, I don't know. It could be 40 years or 40 minutes, depending on how her body ages. But yes, sometime in the future, possibly the very near future, she will die." Walter said as a single tear fell from his eye. He lowered his head, feeling a myriad of emotions ranging from sadness and anger to regret. For because of his actions, his best friend for over half a century was going to die.

And there was nothing that he could do to stop that.


​

 

[MadRhapsody]

It always comes down to money with these types. Jared thought to himself as he regarded the assassin.

"Fortunately, money isn't a problem for my employer. We'll pay you what you want, and once we are satisfied that the job has been completed to our specifications, we'll double it. Are those acceptable terms, Jack?"

"Let me get this straight..." Jack raised an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head with his left hand. "...you want me to take care of someone for your employer's sake. Oh, but it's not just an ordinary person. We're talkin' about a federal politician."

He reached into his right trench coat pocket for two things. His packet of cigarettes and his lighter. He drew out a cigarette, placed it between his lips and sparked a light from the lighter to the end. Once it was lit, he took a long drag, held it in and looked over at his dog.

Terry gave him a tilt of his head and nothing else. He knew something bad was about to happen, and unfortunately for him, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Jack blew the smoke out through his nostrils and offered the man before him a lop-sided smile. It was somewhat off-putting. "...I'm sure you're completely aware that messin' with anythin' involving the feds is deep ****. The United States Government wouldn't stop huntin' me down until I was a dead man." He clenched his right fist and placed it on the table. "...D'ya really think any amount of money is worth gettin' chased down by the government for offin' one of their people?"

 

[NiteMare Shape]

"Let me get this straight..." Jack raised an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head with his left hand. "...you want me to take care of someone for your employer's sake. Oh, but it's not just an ordinary person. We're talkin' about a federal politician."

He reached into his right trench coat pocket for two things. His packet of cigarettes and his lighter. He drew out a cigarette, placed it between his lips and sparked a light from the lighter to the end. Once it was lit, he took a long drag, held it in and looked over at his dog.

Terry gave him a tilt of his head and nothing else. He knew something bad was about to happen, and unfortunately for him, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Jack blew the smoke out through his nostrils and offered the man before him a lop-sided smile. It was somewhat off-putting. "...I'm sure you're completely aware that messin' with anythin' involving the feds is deep ****. The United States Government wouldn't stop huntin' me down until I was a dead man." He clenched his right fist and placed it on the table. "...D'ya really think any amount of money is worth gettin' chased down by the government for offin' one of their people?"

"I assure you Jack, the Federal Government will not be a problem. But, if you're not up to the job, I'm sure we can find someone else for half of what we're paying you."

 

[MadRhapsody]

"I assure you Jack, the Federal Government will not be a problem. But, if you're not up to the job, I'm sure we can find someone else for half of what we're paying you."

Jack took the cigarette from his lips to in between his left hand's fingers. He ignored Terry's whimpers and allowed a few strands of hair to brush in front of his blue eye. The red one stared at Jared and he smirked. "...just makin' sure you can cover me. Ten million, no less."

 

[NiteMare Shape]

Jack took the cigarette from his lips to in between his left hand's fingers. He ignored Terry's whimpers and allowed a few strands of hair to brush in front of his blue eye. The red one stared at Jared and he smirked. "...just makin' sure you can cover me. Ten million, no less."

"Son, ten million isn't even a drop in the bucket. You've got yourself a deal." He took a small object from his shirt pocket and offered it to Jack. "Now, take this memory stick, it's got all the information on the job that you'll need." He picked up his briefcase and held it out to Jack. "Take this, five million up front, the rest when the job is done."