Order And Chaos: A Superpower RP (Started, Closed)

[CounterAttack]

Mr. Isherwood And Mr. Robinson, Dr. Sallian? "Countess" And Intet Yxi Are Not Allowed Into The Building. Security Has Been Alerted, And Will Be Relieving You In A Few Minutes. Am I Clear?"

"On it." Mark quickly hung up on the intended call: KAMI had provided the answer for which he was looking, and was dealing with one of the two non-Seraphim individuals present. That left the mage, Intet Yxi, who continued to examine the damages, paying no heed to the conversations at hand. Mark approached him. "'Scuse me, but I have to ask you to step back - "

"Doth mine senses deceiveth me?" the black-clad mage interrupted, rounding on the traceur. "You are not of my kind, though you possess some connection to that which I know well... dressed lightly, by the looks of you. No pendants, nor armour... remove thine gloves, and let me see your hands."

No. Don't let him.

"Mr. Yxi, that is not relevant to the topic at hand - Hey! Knock it off!" Despite Mark's protests, Intet grabbed his right hand by the wrist and yanked off the glove. Gold glinted in the sunlight.

"I thought so... Talsper Rekuhai. The old man cast out for that which he didn't commit." Intet gave a sour laugh. "I'm surprised they sent you to this old dumping ground we call a plane."

Mark wrenched his hand out of Intet's grip and replaced the glove. "One: watch your language. Two: move away from the building. Right now." The mage had just taken information directly instead of finding a better way to acquire it. Of course, giving something to a possible enemy of Seraphim was almost never a good play.

Thankfully, Intet stepped back, rummaging through his pockets, allowing Mark to step between him and the building. "Th'art a cripple without a proper connection to our Aura, Talsper. Mayhap this will help." He pulled a fist-sized sapphire from a pouch on his belt, resulting in raised eyebrows from Mark, and tossed it over. "No tricks, no traps. A gift, plain and simple. Use it well."

A gift from a mage whose allegiance we don't know... Mark caught the gem with both hands, careful not to drop it. Looking closer, there were thin lines of gold wrapping around the sapphire. Damn, look at this. Never seen anything like it.

It is a conduit for the Aura; I recognise these patterns. I helped design them. The gold and the crystal are bound and enchanted to assist in the manipulation of the Aura... an analogy would be your 'battery'. The gem stores magical charge and releases it gradually. Oft used to train apprentices.

Fascinating. "Um, thanks, I guess."

"Fare thee well, Talsper and his Warden. Until we meet again." With that, Intet spun his staff in his hand and took to the air, retreating from the Seraphim building until he was a black spot in the sky. Mark, in the meantime, hurried back into the Seraphim building with his prize secure in both hands.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Faraday couldn't really seem to answer, almost frozen in terror from Justin's words. "I think he actually believed what I said..." Justin tried stifling a laugh at the thought. "Oh my God, you aren't that dumb, are ya Marcus?" He shook his head. "Mr. Case, "Whu-" Help Mr. Travers To The Infirmary, Please. The android began giving out orders, starting with the lightning duo. "Already on it, sexbot." Justin replied, physically turning Marcus away from the carnage left in the streets in order to walk him into the building.

"His Condition Is Not Life Threatening, But He Needs Medications And Rest." She continued to their backs, only half heard by Justin, and not heard at all by Faraday. "Wrong. What he needs is some deep, painstaking, analyzation sessions. Complete with grueling experiments, blood and tissue samples, and a plethora of other, mentally scarring events! We gotta know what caused you to explode, the effects of the explosion on you, and see if we can replicate said explosion! Yup, it's gonna be a sphincter-clenchingly difficult next-five-weeks for you!" Justin described to the still-speechless electrokinetic, chuckling all the way up the emergency stairs.

 

[Captainguy42]

Back from target practice, Coyote went to his PC and booted it up. "BoB do we have eyes on the Seraphim HQ yet?" he asked as his desktop appeared on screen.

 "As per protocol Watchmen, I have scrambled SPD's to the locations of Seraphim's activity, and hacked relevant security cameras; in order to collect data on Seraphic agents."

"Good boy, now let's see what Santa left under the tree." Coyote opened up a stream and began scrubbing through the footage for something interesting. Security footage of the fight cut out with a massive white-out, the only camera nearby that could see what caused it seemed to have been fried. Choosing to give up on that particular investigation he decided to look at the aftermath to see which heroes showed their faces. An SPD camouflaged in the rubble was able to get a partial view of the lobby's interior. A black haired, rather plain-jane looking woman was playing bouncer, Coyote assumed she was a security staffer, "BoB, add her to the staffer database."

 "Affirmative, contextual audio analysis of name is Kami with 78% certainty."

Standing next to her were two other women, talking to her, neither getting much traction. One of them, certainly a hero judging by the glowing armor and the guns that made Widowmaker look like an off the shelf Walmart 12-gauge. The other one's outfit screamed "I fight crime from the shadows!" Coyote made sure BoB added both to the database. Finally a scan of the place added several more faces to add to the data-base, including the magician that he saw fighting Virus. Once he was satisfied he sent had BoB extract the SPD's and send them back to their safe houses.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

The Robot seemed to have things well in hand, and had all the gratitude of a gutshot buffalo, so this stage was pretty well wrapping. Authorities were on the way at any rate, and a car with mounted minigun might draw unwanted attention. She'd done all she could at this point anyway. She turned and began the walk back to her car, waiting until she was out of earshot before pulling her mask back on and making a call.

"Pot of gold."

"Oh, for the love of...Lucky Charm."

Damn code phrases.

"What's up, K?"

"Dragon's gone. I got a pretty good look at him, but I don't think he's a regular. Could be the same as the Anchorage incident."

"No, that was a confirmed takedown. White Lancer put a PPC into its eye, smoked the brain."

"So what, shapeshifting Kaiju?"

"I got feed from a Chi-com spysat showing an encounter between a Seraphim team and basically Mothra about a month ago, so maybe."

Keller quietly cursed. Giant monsters really weren't her forte. "I'm on my way back."

 

[Lizmichi]

Alice didn't like all of the Countess's questions; she seemed to want to know too much. When she was out of ear shot Alice told Fox to pull any files he could on the Countess that matched her face. It was a long shot, but one that could bear some fruit. She didn't feel like waiting around for security, but it was best to not mess with someone on her fist day of work. Alice crossed her arms as Fox ran a search for users of Countess, but nothing certain was found. She may not have been fighting crime for long, but she knew not to trust the unknown.

Alice deployed her gauntlets allowing her to move heaver objects, she might as well help clean up; it was far better then doing nothing. She started to lift objects that were about her size, or bigger grunting. She found remains of lamp posts, and mail boxes, but thankfully not people. Today wasn't turning into her day.

 

[Lambi]

Christopher couldn't do much other than watch as the events transpired. A dragon attacking the streets by Seraphim's HQ, several heroes going up against it, two outsiders interfering and a blast happening, with the dragon taking flight and both outsiders disappearing eventually. He'd seen Mark call him, but hadn't been fast enough to answer before Mark had hung up. Christopher had already made the call to start fixing the damage that had been caused in the attack, and work was already begun within a few minutes, moving everyone who was in the lobby out of it and into the upper floors of the building. Alice was allowed to stay and help with removing the debris, but once that was done, she had to go up in order to let them fix what else there was left to fix, such as putting back up whatever glass was shattered.

Christopher sat back down in his chair. It was never easy when Seraphim was attacked, but this time seemed to have been minimal compared to most other times. Of course, the heavy casualty caused by that dragon knight's initial attack wasn't easy on anyone. The police had arrived, and were evacuating whatever bodies were there that had been intact. Seraphim security was giving them a report, as Christopher was usually unavailable to do so, especially now when the elevators were currently out of commission, though they were being worked on getting back up and running.

Once the report had been made, and the bodies had been evacuated, things became peaceful again, if for but a moment. Repairs were being done, and it looked like no one was fatally wounded.
[hr]
Once the elevators were back up and running, Christopher went down to the medical floor, where Arlana had been staying for the past month after her encounter with Virus. She was awake when he entered it. Due to risk of infection from whatever Virus had injected into her, Christopher had to sadly stay behind a glass wall when talking to her, while the medical staff wore suits to protect them. "I know this will sound like a very stupid question, but how are you feeling now?" he asked Arlana, using a mic that transmitted what he said to a speaker in the room. She looked in pain, hence why he said that it would sound like a stupid question.
[hr]
Virus had been aware of what happened at the Seraphim HQ building since he had a large TV set up in the planning room, and the news was on. "

A dragon. We'd never thought one would appear in our day and time. A potential threat to us, but of little concern with it gone now. Perhaps it can be made ill with our diseases? We do not dare go close to try.

" The news flash continued until the dragon disappeared and the regular program continued. The few villains who had joined him had watched it as well, and were in awe of the creature. Some felt it was a good idea to attack Seraphim now, but Virus quieted those voices. "

That is a foolish idea. The window of opportunity is not big enough for us to go against them. Unless some of you wish to be taken under custody, or worse, taken care of permanently.

" Something would have to be done, though. But they needed more time, more materials, more planning. Until then, no attacks were to be made from them onto Seraphim.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

In the few hours since awakening Arlana had managed to regain a semblance of her dignity, her face twisted in pain, but she held back her screams. The plague inside her was ravaging her body, and from what she had gleaned seemed to be incapable of actually killing her directly, instead just causing excruciating, debilitating pain.

She was stronger than the disease, of that she was certain.

"Just..." She breathed. "Just tired of laying around. I want to get back into the war."

 

[booksv2]

Spoiler: sheet

Name: Marcus helmic
Alias: Hell Hound
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Appearance: Topped with black hair kept short and still thick he has brown skin and his face looks slightly pinched and his nose has several kinks in it. His eyes deep and green it looks like its a emerald hole where his iris should be. His mouth slightly to big and with a ever so slight smirk on one side which is permanently from his feelings of superiority. something just past 5'o clock shadow on his chin and lip, also black and very prickly cause of its shortness.
A short squat man he is only 5'7" and weighs close to 260 pounds. When acting as a civilian he usually wears some kind of buttoned up shirt and jeans with a belt, boots tied tight on his feet and no kind of hat or anything like that. His boots have a locked false heel which has a lighter inside.
His super-villain costume is a pair of fireproof pants in black with red vein like stitches which lock into large metal covered boots. The upper part of his torso covered in a also black loose shirt, fire resistant and long sleeves come down to full finger gloves. The gloves have a metal plate on the back and across the knuckles, this has half inch long spikes sticking out for when he is punching, and on the back of both gloves is strike plates so be can create sparks. For a mask he has a special helmet like what you would see for a motorcycle, but it is also black and red while the visor cant be seen through. The helmet done up to look like a hell hound snarling the visor is there to protect him from being identified.
Personality:
A violent person Marcus is left along in the neighborhood he lives in after the second person who tried to shake him down went to the hospital with a broken jaw. This doesn't mean he likes being alone, in fact he likes to talk and have company, but with practicing and having to do all the work to become a super-villian all made it impossible to do also. Around the criminals he was using to make his contacts he was angry and always willing to show those who try to act tough to him that he is better by beating them down. More than willing to use strength to make someone else do what he wants he will talk to them if that will be enough, but always ready to land an overpowering punch to their body to make them listen.

Alignment: Super-villain.
Superpowers:
Pyromancy
Super strength( 3X normal human at maximum exertion.)
Weaknesses:
Must rest for twice as long as he uses his super strength, up to a maximum of one hour.
Must have some source of fire to start using his pyromancy. Open flame or something like that.
Outside 5 feet he is unable to make a plasma torch style flames, only broad uses. Maximum range 10 yards.
Biography:
Growing up to a relatively well off family he was an only child, his parents working high stress jobs and after he was about 10 years old he was left on his own to do as best he can at his home and everything else. this presented no problem other than a few instances of bullying at school which were normal for any kid, that changed when puberty hit. With the deluge of hormones and other things that come with puberty a before unknown defect in his Genes caused him to develop super-strength. Not at the level of superman or anything it was still several times more powerful than anyone else that went to his school. As usually happens when someone who was bullied gets the power to fight back over the next few weeks he systematically went through the bullies who used to bully him and beat them up for all the times they had done that or other things to him. Unfortunately a few of these were fairly severe and more than one had to be admitted to the hospital.

When he was in high school he went looking for single person sports where he could use his strength to his advantage. Finding boxing and choosing it because of the chance to beat on others, which he had gotten a taste for when he first got his powers, and his power fit fairly well with it. Starting when he entered high school he was soon a ranked boxer because of his strength and willingness to put the other fighter out of commission soon and brutally. Many of them ending in a few rounds with a KO for him or dragging out into the later rounds and ending with a decision win for them. But His temper and the anger he was feeling in a fight after 3 decision loses made him lash out with all his might as soon as he was able to catch up to the other man, the punch flying through a hole in the guard and landing over his heart. The amount of strength used made his heart burst, killing him in the ring and putting Marcus on suspension for a year because of it. This happened one year after he had graduated high school, meaning he had to find a new way to make money. After a month of searching he got a night watchman job at a research and development company at the edge of the city, which unfortunately was being used in illegal research.

His suspension was pushed out to indefinite when they found out his opponent heart had exploded for some reason. He was never able to professionally do boxing again, instead working out at a few different boxing clubs and getting some extra cash for teaching when he could. One night when doing his rounds at the research plant there was a loud crash followed by the sounds of fighting, loud sounds. A super-hero and super-villain had crashed into the facility in the middle of their fight and while they were throwing each other around had cracked the seal on some of the research that had been being done there. When Marcus ran in to see what was going on he ran right through the hole in the wall he thought would lead to the fighting, instead it was a high pressure tank that had been breached with a gas that there were trying to make into a perpetual fuel. Running in he gagged once before falling down passed out. The gas floating around him and seeping into his skin slowly over the course of the night. What wasn't absorbed dissipated into the air and when emergency personnel were finally able to find him he was groaning and slowly waking up a full 9 hours after he had first passed out. Being sent to the hospital a lawyer from the company he had been working for came by to fire him, citing that he had been in charge when the fighting had broke out and several hundred millions worth of research and development had been destroyed.

When he was finally discharged from the hospital it took several more weeks for any more changes to make themselves known. One part because he was taking a break and not doing much of anything, the other because his body was still undergoing fine changes in his mental and physical development. It was a shame that it had settles down just as some idiot decided that mugging him was a good idea, after getting a right straight to his face that cracked his skull and broke his face literally the anger that surfaced over the injustice that had happened made his new ability surface. As the rage in himself peaked the cigarette that the mugger had been smoking flared into a raging inferno and the fire bent over and consumed the man on the ground before he could even scream. Surprised at what had happened Marcus turned and booked it out of there. It took him years of trial and error before he was even able to control it with a little degree of control. Taking jobs as boxing instructors and bodyguards while he did to make rent, all the wile working on his new found power and remembering what had happened to give him them. 8 years later he was finally able to control his power, from using it like a blowtorch to a fire wall. He was 28 by the time he was at this point, still angry at the superhero who had crashed into the facility he had been working at and going over the plans he had made to get revenge. The suit he uses having been constructed over the years he had taken to master his powers.

Planning his first crime and getting the contacts needed to sell off what he gets took the most of the next year, but eventually he had the contacts to sell the products he planned on taking and a high profile crime with which to start his new life.

Other notes:
He is a smoker.

Leaning against the wall in the holding cell at the precinct of a new york police station Marcus keeps quiet as he watches the low life's moan and groan in the cell. A policeman outside the bars doing some paperwork and just plain being annoying at everyone in the holding cell. Rolling his eyes at the low life's gripping about being held here while keeping an eye on the policeman outside he goes over his plan again in his head to make sure he remembers everything before he starts.
Get picked up for being disorderly in public, check. Get thrown in a holding cell in the 52'd precinct, check. Break out and and make my way to the evidence room and take a few hundred pounds of drugs and as much money as i can find.
Smiling thinly as he goes over it Marcus makes a face at not having been able to bring his suit or helmet. Looking over the room again his eyes settle on a druggy in the back all hunched up wearing a very baggy hoodie. Standing and slowly walking back he sits down next to the druggy on one of the benches, leaning forward on his knees and keeping an eye on the policeman as he talks quietly. "Hey" Nudging the druggy with his foot he waits till he is looking up at him "Give me the hoodie.". The druggy snorts and goes back to whatever he was doing with his head down, the hood only half up on his head. Marcus's lips twitch in a snarl but he forces it back down, keeping a calm blank look on his face he reaches down and grabs the mans arm. Using just a little super strength and bearing down on his forearm, he can feel the skin compress over the mans bones and the bones shift slightly. The druggy's head snaps up and he starts to yell, Marcus's other hand coming around and pinching his throat so he cant get any sounds out as his legs kick a little. Glancing at the policeman Marcus angles his body and keeps what hes doing hidden "I'm going to let go you insect, and your going to take off the hoodie and give it to me. Then I'm going to let go and your going to keep your mouth shut about this. Do you understand, you stinking pile of bile?".

After the druggy nods as much as he can Marcus lets him go, leaning back against the wall and watching the policeman as the druggy takes off his hoodie quickly. Grabbing it and standing Marcus puts it on, making a face at the smell but still pulling it on and lifting the hood. Using the deep hood to hide his face Marcus walks back over to the corner near the bars he had been standing at before. The black hoodie still baggie over his shorter but larger frame the hood itself deep and covering up his whole face and keeping it out of sight. Taking a deep breath Marcus looks at the clock behind the policeman sitting at a desk, it reading just half an hour before shift change. Standing up straighter and walking to the bars Marcus bangs on then "Hey! I'm starving in here!" Glaring at the policeman who looks up and starts to look back down at his files when Marcus turns around and grabs the closest person in the cell, throwing the scruffy person against the bars. The policeman jumps up and yells at Marcus to stop as he grabs someone else and starts to do the same, this causes the policeman to run over and pull out his tazer. Lunging at the bars and out through them Marcus grabs the Policeman, who's name tag which can now be seen as reading Jake, throat. Using a burst of super strength to shatter his jugular and breathing pipe he pulls the jerking and bleeding body closer and takes the keys off the belt.

Turning to the cell full of stunned criminals Marcus smiles slowly, a dark frightening smile. Lifting his left leg he pulls out a cigarette and one match, lighting the match on the soul of his boot before lighting the cigarette and taking a slow drag. Holding the cigarette in one hand and waving that hand across his body fire forms in front of his body and shoots out, catching several of the people in the face and burning them horrible as they suffocate. More of them getting his on the clothes and other parts of their body's they also are soon pillars or fire choking and trying to scream but the lack of air making that impossible. Turning to the cell door and opening it with the keys from the Jake on the floor Marcus walks out and closes it behind himself, taking the badge and wallet from the policeman he riffles through it and snorts. "Seriously, 30 bucks? Well he is a pig." Pocketing the badge and stepping to the door Marcus cracks it open to look outside, the cigarette still in his hand as does. Stepping into the hall and walking down once he see's its empty he has to pause and remember where the evidence room was. Looking at the elevator and sighing heavily he turns to the stairs and starts walking down, guessing wrongly that no one else would be using them. Half way to the basement a woman taking a smoking break sits facing down, ignoring the sounds of Marcus walking down the stairs. Stopping one step above her and looking down at her Marcus can feel a smirk on his lips This is why no one likes cops, idiots every one.

Bending over Marcus grabs her head and jerks it to the side hard, breaking her neck and keeping her from calling out and calling in some very annoying reinforcements. Laying her on the steps and going through her pockets he takes her badge and some pocket money she had, as well as the half empty box of smokes she had been hiding. Taking the gun off her belt along with the extra clips she had also Marcus keeps it in hand, just in case. His head jerks up when a fire alarm starts sounding.
"Fuck! Someone already found the body's."
Pocketing everything but the gun Marcus starts running down the stairs, checking to make sure the gun has bullets in it he switches off the safety and bursts through the bottom stairs. Lifting the gun and firing at the man behind the fence work with the evidence he keeps pulling the trigger until he is at the gate. After the first 2 shots the man had ducked under the counter but Marcus was sure he and at least got him in the shoulder. Kicking the fence gate when he gets there it takes 2 super powered kicks to get the gate open, stepping in and jumping back when a pullet zips past and embeds itself in the wall. Snarling because he doesn't have the time to waste with some half dead pig he takes a deep drag on his cigarette and using the burning ember on the end he fuels it and making a beach ball sized ball of fire in the air it fly's in and around the corner. It splashes over the floor and wall on that side, as well as the injured policeman, and he had hear flesh sizzle before the screaming starts. Stepping inside again this time Marcus is looking in that direction, lifting his hand and focusing it on the man who is half crouched behind some boxes. Making sure to boil his brain in his skull before pulling the fire away and stopping it from burning anything useful.

Looking around Marcus smiles wide and starts to laugh wildly at the shear amount of illegal things in the room in front of him. Grabbing a few large duffel bags in the corner and starting in the back he dumps large blocks of several very illegal and expensive drugs into them along with some cash and any small valuable thing he finds. He easily fills 3 large duffel bags like this before he stops, drugs all and good but wanting something more. The fourth bag was for money and jewelry, several evidence boxes filled with them. Soon he had 4 very full duffel bags sitting just outside the fence, all together just over 15 million dollars. Picking up 2 in each hand and putting them over his shoulders Marcus grumbles at how heavy they are, having to use some super strength to keep them all in hand. Walking across the room to a large freight elevator he drops the bags there as he hits the garage button on it, pulling a new cigarette out and using a little flame from the old one to light the new. Waiting standing between the bags as it raises he slowly puffs on the smoke as it opens to the garage, the alarm off now and the new silence making him worry a bit. Grabbing the bags again and rushing over to a van parked in the corner for swat he dumps the bags in the back, running across the room to the office on that floor and after breaking in taking the keys to the van.

Running back to the van he gets in the driver seat and just turns over the engine as some police cars drive in through the front drive ins. Keeping his hood up and pulling out slowly at first he waits till he is past the last of the 3 cars before pushing the petal down and driving out of the garage and onto the street a bit past legal speed. Turning the radio on in the van he heard something about firefighter units and police going to Seraphim's headquarters because of a.... Dragon attack? Shaking his head at that Marcus keeps driving away from the station, towards the west part of town, only a few miles from his car and suit as well.

 

[CounterAttack]

With the threat of the dragon and the renegades over, business was back to normal for Seraphim operatives, as far as Mark could tell. Which was good, as he had a magical battery to examine. Up in his room, Talsper had patched up the traceur's burned leg with the one healing spell he had available. It still stung a little.

The large sapphire sat on one of Mark's small tables, under close examination by the non-magical of the duo. "So this gem stores the Aura? Is it possible to transfer the stored power to one of us?"

That is the purpose of this device, yes.

"So how do we transfer it, then?"

Allow me. Mark and Talsper switched places. Once the transfer was complete, and Talsper was in control, he reached out to the gold-woven gem and tapped each of the nine intersections where the gold lines crossed over. A brilliant blue light began to shine from inside of the stone... then the glow expanded, quickly tinting the whole room its sapphire shade.

The gem lifted off the table and a low tone began to resonate from it. Talsper... what'd you do...

"A touch of flair hast been added to this one, I see! Ytharra! O'morros kathe!" Talsper snapped his fingers, paying no heed to Mark's mental comment.

Talsper! A gold flash burst from the gem, and the blue light faded to nothing. Mark flinched at the flash. Something brushed his face and arms. He hurriedly glanced around, to ensure nothing was damaged. Wait... I'm back in control. How am I back in control so fast? Talsper, what the hell just happened?

There was no answer. "Talsper? Are you there?"

"Yes... I am here. That was fascinating to experience. The gem's enchantments were altered. Instead of a gradual release, like a held breath, it was instantaneous and explosive. A wave of unleashed power. You felt it?"

"I felt something... wait. How are you talking?" Talsper's speech wasn't in Mark's head: he heard it instead. Something had gone wrong with the battery's activation, he was sure of it. He got up and poked his head around the door, in case someone else had been disturbed by what had just happened.

[hr]

"That is a foolish idea. The window of opportunity is not big enough for us to go against them. Unless some of you wish to be taken under custody, or worse, taken care of permanently."

"Mayhap I can assist you there, o mutable one," a voice declared from the doorway. Having flown directly from the scene of the attack, Intet casually strode in, his staff resting over one shoulder. "Seraphim are content with their defense of the building and the surrounding area. Give them time, and they will rebuild to the same state they were in before... though perhaps with an emphasis on fire prevention," he added with a chuckle.

The mage was playing an act: the confident loon. He was aware of Virus and his rather unique skillset - the prevalence of magic ensured disease was practically nonexistent on his home plane - and had every confidence that the reverse was also true. So Intet's plan was to gain Virus' trust, and then the scattering of the second seeds could begin: distribution. The first had been the careful planting: handfuls spread throughout the city-plane. News would undoubtedly reach his ears of their use, confiscation, or study.

 

[Lambi]

Christopher knew she'd answer like that. But in her condition, he couldn't let her. "I can't allow you to go back out there until you've been healed of whatever it is that...thing injected into you. We don't know if it's contagious, but if there is a way to cure it, we can and will cure it. I only ask that you remain patient until we do. Trust me, I'd like you to get out there as soon as possible, but what if you become too weak to fight? What if you get a sudden burst of pain and the enemy takes advantage of it? I can't allow that to happen."

For the past month, their medical staff had been doing tests in order to find a cure for her, but so far, it hadn't given any results. This cyborg who attacked Arlana was too dangerous to keep alive in the city. Heck, too dangerous to have anywhere, be it this planet or another. But until he knew where he was hiding, all he could do was wait.
[hr]
If Virus wasn't as much of a cyborg as he was, he'd have been startled by Intet's sudden appearance. But he simply looked towards him, while the other villains in the room were quite startled. "

Intet Yxi, Sorcerer-King. Why do you wish to aid us?

" While he wasn't aware of Intet's plans, having him appear there suddenly was strange. He hadn't passed an invitation towards him, but was somewhat aware of who he was. At least by name and face. "

And how do you propose we attack them? We're but a few people in here, and they have a skyscraper filled with superpowered heroes. We don't have the power to take them down.

"

 

[Captainguy42]

From the corner of the room a small quadracopter small enough to fit in a man's lap whirred to life and elevated to an altitude just above their heads. As it silently hovered it's array of projection lasers lit up and soon a rainbow cylinder flashed briefly before it was replaced with Red Coyote, standing in the room in his full costume. "Sorry I couldn't make it in person, I'm feeling a bit under the weather, didn't want to get anyone sick." The newly minted hologram lied with a casual and obvious disdain for the truth.

" As for our little problem, I agree with Virus, attacking now won't fulfill our long term goals of wiping them out. They're on high alert they'll be calling back many of their agents in the field and will respond to any threat with extreme prejudice. Don't think they aren't expecting another attack at this moment. And only a fool attacks an enemies fortress when he's expecting it.

" No, what we need to do is to let them revel in their victory. And then when they think they're back in control we start to pull them out. We pull them out, make them think it's just crime as usual but in reality every heist, every caper, every con, must build to something bigger. That day when they're away from their nest and the jaws of our trap snap close on their neck so quick and so precise that their eyes are still blink as their heads roll across the floor. So in short we must take out time." Red Coyote's hologram said. While back in his lair Ryan thought to himself but not too long, this organization has a time bomb at it's core.

 

[CounterAttack]

"I wasn't suggesting you all attack this instant. Not when they've just won their latest victory," Intet scoffed. "Do as thou dost wish. I will observe your efforts, if thou dost allow it, and contribute in ways other than having another soldier on the field. I bring an offering, Virus, to perhaps demonstrate my capabilities." The mage fished around in his pocket for a second before withdrawing a pendant. A circle divided into three sections - one white section, one blue and one red - dangled from a silver chain. Intet tossed the pendant to one of Virus' followers.

"That is a Tripartite Amulet, one of several in my possession. Its bearer gains control over three of the primary magical elements, to be used as weapons. In this case, you will have ice, lightning and fire at your fingertips. The destructive potential is limited in scope, but highly effective in its concentrated form," Intet explained. "From what I have gathered, Seraphim has but one active mage in their arsenal. Wielding a selection from my magical artifacts may give you an edge over him, and potentially other heroes, in your next encounter."

As he spoke, a new thought occurred to Intet. Both sides of this plane's conflict could easily be played against each other, without anyone the wiser for it, and his overall goals could still be achieved. Intet set that idea aside for now, as his current situation was rather more a pressing matter.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Soarele managed to make a hasty landing upon a building but a few blocks away from the epicenter of the white blast. He dove through the air, with only the cushion of roof gravel to break his fall. Gradually, he reverted to his human form, shrinking into a scarred, naked mass of a defeated man. Whatever time he landed in, it certainly held individuals he was not prepared for. Powerful people. People capable of fighting back. Those capable of defying him, capable of defying his cleansing fire. Just the thought of the acts made him seethe.

"How...dare they?" He panted, managing to rise to his feet. He could look out into the skyline, to see the massive sea of stone, glass, and steel. Indeed, this vast kingdom was like anything he could've ever imagined. As air fully filled his lungs, be began to think.

His initial plan of "recklessly destroy everything" was a complete and utter failure, obviously. He had the lack of a eye to show for that. He needed to reevaluate his options. "I shalt approach these developments differently." The Whiteraze flew jumped into his grasp as he turned from the building's edge. He spotted a entrance on this roof. The door, as he so quickly discovered, was locked.

"Peculiar door...it shan't budge!" It seemed to be imbued with one of the world's many new age mechanisms. Not wanting to question the technology any further, his mouth hung agape momentarily, and a stream of flame fell from it, spilling upon the doorknob. It didn't take long for the metal to illuminate and melt.

Successfully infiltrating past the building's advanced security system, Richard proceeded inside. A few stair flights later, he found himself in a relatively empty office environment of sorts. A grey, drab area, filled with florescent lighting and organized, soul sucking floor planning. And yet, it was more sights for Richard to take in. "What sort of living arrangements are these...?" He wandered through the area, eventually stumbling into one of the restrooms. Conveniently enough, as he entered, a similarly sized worker fellow was exiting. "Fuck-!" The man fell back, unprepared for any else still being around, and especially unprepared for a halberd-welding, time-displaced, knight Templar in the nude.

"Ahh! Jesus, dude! Put some fucking clothes on!" The man yelled, covering his eyes from the man in the buff. Considering the situation, some would've considered the demand to be a little on the stupid side. Unhappy with the outburst, Richard brought forth Whiteraze. "Very well. I shall relieve you of your vestments." He decided, the halberd coming alight as he did so.

One cauterized beheading later, Richard found himself in a spiffy new gray suit. It was a little singed at some of the edges, but he'd have to make due. He looked into one of the mirrors as he dressed, and got a better gauge on his current outlook. His hair was falling out. His skin was losing color. His right eye was still ruined, and the one that remained still shimmered with a yellow glow. It was clear the side effects of his draconian mutations were still apparent on his human body. But, he decided to worry about those things later. Right now he needed to focus on the task at hand, the task of cleaning up this kingdom of its scum.

"But how?" He asked himself. He couldn't just go all out, he needed to be a bit more subdued in his actions. "Mayhaps a solution shalt appear, as I reduce this castle to rubble." He stepped out of the bathroom, and began his assault of the office, beginning to reduce the nearest cubicle to cinders. Unfortunately for him, he quickly learned of another new age security measure: the emergency sprinkler system. "Gah! It rains? Indoors?! What sort of blasphemous acts are these?!" Maybe it would be better for him if he were to acquaint himself with the new world, before he comes up with any plans to destroy it.

 

[booksv2]

"Very well. We will be waiting at my lab. Make yourself known before entering the area, however. What with traps and all for outsiders."

Having driven to the western part of the city Marcus pulled into an alley, pulling in far to the back where he had a car waiting. Parking and getting out he lit another smoke as he walked around to the back doors of the van, he threw them open and pulled the duffel's out one at a time. He walked them to the truck in front of the van and dropped one after another into the bed, pushing them against the cab he tied a tarp over everything before he turned to the van. Contemplating what he should do with it he leaned against the trucks side, thinking to himself.
I could keep it, useful to have a SWAT van just in case. But its obvious what it is and after what happened at the station they may be looking for it.

He shook his head as he decided that keeping it would be more trouble than it was worth. Taking a deep drag on his cigarette and using the ember from it Marcus moved the flame from there to the drivers seat of the van, expanding the flame and catching everything in the front seat on fire. Turning away and getting in his truck he started it and pulled away, driving into the street under the speed limit as he smiled to himself.

Driving south this time he headed towards his lair, or base as he called it. It took almost 20 minutes before he pulled into a parking garage across from some lawyer owned high rises. He pulled into an empty spot close to the back, the door of his car a few inches from the wall. Taking a deep pull on his cigarette and blowing the smoke at the wall he super heats it, causing the wall to heat up and activate a heat sensor behind the wall. Relaxing as the wall in front of him he drove in slowly, going down the turning ramp to a large base.

He turned off his truck and left it where it was, the money and drugs left right then as he remembered he had something he had told himself he was going to go to. After pulling the stinking hoodie off he started getting his gear on, from the metal boots to the helmet. He snapped the helmet to the body suit then did the same to the metal boots and the fire proof pants. After making sure he was ready he mounted a motorcycle and drove up a thinner ramp across from where had entered. It exited into an alley on some side streets, no windows and deserted usually other than some passed out drunks occasionally. He turned onto the street and speeding up quickly he rocketed down the streets towards where Virus had his lab.

He thought back of the message he had gotten in response a day ago from Virus. He had been approached with an offer of alliance with other villains, with Virus in the head. After turning into a less busy street in the south of the city he slowed way down and pulled into a garage, parked in the back he got off the motorcycle and stepped up to a metal fire door. He lifted his hand and hit the door a few times, saying to the cameras he knew was there.

"Let me in, I was asked to come and I'd rather not stand out here all day."

 

[Lambi]

"

With us around, we don't think you'd be making anyone sick. We are more likely to do it than you, so you'd best get here as soon as you are able to.

" Virus said to Coyote, or his holograph, rather. Nothing he could do about it if he wasn't on the spot.

Virus was fascinated by the pendant Intet procured and flung to one of the other members there. The one who caught it was a man who called himself Oracle, due to his psychic powers. He took a good look at it, then put it around his neck. Focusing a bit, he aimed towards one of the walls, and a ball of fire shot from his hand. Very pleased with the pendant, he thanked Intet. "

Impressive. This should prove handy in our plans.

" He turned back to Coyote. "

Your plan sounds good, even if it is a more long time plan. We'll have to work carefully so they do not figure out our location, but it is possible.

"

Virus got an alert on his system, indicating someone was at the door. He pulled up his screens to see who it was, seeing that it was Hellhound. He pressed a button to deactivate the traps set outside and inside, and opened the door long enough for him to get in before he closed it again.

 

[booksv2]

After hearing a few clicks and snaps behind the door and around him Marcus hears a soft clang and the door in front of him opens half an inch. Setting his hand on it and pushing it open he walks in and down the blank white hall until he gets to another door at the end of the hallway. Leaving his helmet on as well as the rest of his equipment he walks through a few hallways and into a room with several other people.

Looking around at the people in the room Marcus nods slightly, the helmet dipping and he stays in the doorway.
"Interesting crowd. I'm just back from some rampaging in a police station. Virus was saying something about a group of super villains looking to take down Seraphim. I'm interested, even if I haven't been personally targeted by them yet."

Looking at Virus and stepping in the room more Marcus strips off his gloves and puts them in a pocket in his pants.
"How did you hear of me? I do need to know that, to see if there's a leak."

 

[Lambi]

With the traps set up again with the push of a button, Virus looked towards the doorway where Hellhound now stood. "

Greetings, Hellhound. We pulled up data about you from the Seraphim database, and we thought we would send an invitation your way. It is good that you have showed up, as we are in the middle of discussions.

" Even with his knowledge of technology, he was only able to pull data about villains from the Seraphim database, and even then, he couldn't stay there for long at a time without alerting his presence to them. He offered Marcus to sit down where the others were before turning back to Coyote's holograph and Intet.

 

[booksv2]

"Greetings, Hellhound. We pulled up data about you from the Seraphim database, and we thought we would send an invitation your way. It is good that you have showed up, as we are in the middle of discussions."


Frowning slightly at hearing that he had been found in the Seraphim's data base Marcus walks over to the chair offered and sits down. Looking at the hologram and other man standing in front of Virus Marcus leans back in his chair.
"Virus, later I'd love a look at the file you pulled down about me. After this discussion of course. What exactly are we talking about?"

Looking over at a wall where there's a large, fresh, scorch mark on the wall. Then looking at all the different people sitting and standing in the room, very few of them people he recognizes which he figures is a good thing. More people and power and diverse enough that almost everything would be possible. Plus it opened up opportunities for future crimes, potential allies and help all sitting here.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Veil walked the halls of Seraphim like she owned the place, her skeletal faux-butler following in her wake like, well, like the mindless construct he was. Calling Manny a slave to her will was accurate, but only in the same sense that a roomba was her slave. People got a little perturbed seeing a skeleton walking around, but seeing one in a snappy black rolling a floral printed luggage case with one bone hand and holding a black briefcase with the other seemed to make them merely puzzled rather than horrified. This was Seraphim, weird shit happened daily.

She was a few hours late to see the most recent action, which if the news had gotten it right and she could hardly see how they could screw -that- up, had been a Dragon attacking, according to the news being thwarted in the attack by a number of up and coming heroes.

It was a good thing being dead seemed to temper your emotions, or Victoria would have been really irritated.

She had a meeting scheduled with the commander, Christopher Adelbert, but he was up to his eyes after the dragon attack and her interview would have to wait. She had already been cleared for Seraphim - at least the low-security parts - so he had pointed out two other heroes to her to occupy her - the Wizard Mark Robinson and his spirit companion - at least that's what she was guessing - Talsper Rekuhai, and the spirit medium Spectre - Adelbert had gotten called away right after that. She had elected for the Wizard first. So here she was, and...

More by habit than need she turned her head and covered her eyes as a bright flash of blue light shone from the door ahead, and a moment later a head poked out. She glanced at the number on the door, then approached, Manny keeping his distance.

"Excuse me, Mark Robinson? Victoria Velour." She held out a gloved hand. "Sorry if this is a bad time, I'm a new recruit to Seraphim and I understand you and I are both magic wielders."

Spoiler: Veil

Name: Victoria Velour
Alias: Veil

Gender: Female
Age: 19

Appearance: Veil is slender and willowy, standing at just under six feet. Most of the time the only part of her skin that can be seen are her eyelids and from her cheekbones to her dress' neckline, where it is white and smooth. Most of her face is covered in an elaborate masquerade mask, black trimmed with silver.

Her body is covered by a slinky, ankle length black dress with a corset and a neckline that shows a hint of cleavage, with a long slit up the left side of the skirt revealing knee-length lace-up black combat boots. Over the dress she wears a thigh-length black leather coat with skirts hanging from it down to her ankles. Her hands are covered with black silk gloves that go to mid-bicep.

Her hair is jet black, wavy, and worn very long, down to the small of her back. Her eyes are a vibrant light green that fills her entire eye when she wields her magic.

She bears a number of accoutrements, - most notably a silver and black cross necklace with a red stone in the center, and a large book, a thoroughly ancient looking grimoire bound in gray lambskin.

Personality: Calm and clearheaded, but still friendly, pleasant, and good humored. She has a strong sense of humor and an appreciation for the comedic in many forms, from wordplay and puns, clever wit, sarcasm, and on. She has a particular fondness for what she calls 'deniable innuendo', which goes hand in hand with her flirty side. A strong, if somewhat naïve sense of honor, and a kind heart. She is not especially modest, most of the time merely confident in her abilities but occasionally slipping into overconfidence and arrogance. She has her demons, her regrets and guilts, but keeps them to herself. While outgoing, she is not much for sharing her past or problems.


Alignment: Superhero

Superpowers: Veil has two primary powers.

One: She is a Necromancer. While the majority of her magic is not suitable for field use, being complicated spells requiring large scale rituals, she can project bolts of necromantic energy from her hands - either in terms of rays or a vampiric touch that drains the victim and strengthens Veil - and she can manipulate dead tissue to reanimate corpses into undead warriors or create weapons and armor for herself. She is attuned to Magic, particularly the magics of life and death, and can perceive their use. While she has no skill at interacting with it she can perceive the spirit world in its immediate vicinity.

Two: She is herself Undead. Specifically a Lich. This has numerous effects on her - she has limitless endurance, enhanced strength, and is incredibly hard to permanently kill, as her body is little more than a puppet.

Weaknesses: Firstly her achilles heel - her Phylactery, a silver cross marked with black tracery, with a red gemstone set in the center, hanging from a thin silver chain. This serves as her soul's tether to this plane, and if broken will result in her immediate demise. While not easy to damage - being small and supernaturally resilient, it is also the tether to her body, and if moved more than ten feet from her body will result in her body falling dead, her spirit captive until the Phylactery is returned to her body or magically attuned to a new body.

As an Undead being she cannot enter sanctified ground or areas of powerful life magic without feeling intense pain and rapid bodily degeneration. This includes most Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, Temples, and so on.

Her body does not regenerate normally and has severe averse reactions to healing magic, up to and including disintegration. To repair her body she must make use of her Vampiric touch - which fortunately is as effective against plants and animals as it is on Humans.

Biography: Victoria's life was mostly boring, and not much to discuss. Highly intelligent, excellent grades, honors student, blah blah blah, you didn't come here to hear about all the scholarships she never took, you came to hear why she's a Lich.

How she got into the study of black magic and the occult is a question not even she can really honestly answer. It started innocently enough, not that her parents thought that any daughter of theirs walking around wearing those goth clothes was up to anything innocent. Games and dares, stupid little shows of smoke and gibberish pulled out of books with all the power of the dictator of a micronation and a tenth as interesting.

But one book fell into the hands of the little faux-coven that would change their lives - a book written in a bizarre ancient dialect covered in notes of a dozen different languages - some unrecognizable, but Latin, Celtic, Aramaic, and English were among them. A companion book that had been with it in the lucky find introduced it as the Grimoire of the Witch of Endor, and wove a grandiose tale of it being lost and found time and again down the centuries, being held by legends like Solomon, Morgan Le Fay, Baba Yaga, and eventually finding its way into the hands of the supposed writer of this companion book, the early 20th century mystic Aleister Crowley.

They laughed it off, but the first book was impressively spooky and old looking, and they gave one of the more simple rituals a try, conjuring a black flame.

There was no trick in it. A twisting rope of intensely hot black fire formed as the spell was cast. Quickly ending it, the group fell to whispering. This changed things.

And yet as much as it changed things it changed little. They were already growing tired of it, and while real magic was a fascinating prospect, they had college to deal with. Life. The group began to disband, spreading throughout the country.

Victoria kept the Book of Endor, as well as the companion book, and soon it almost faded from her mind. Then, a little over a year ago tragedy struck her - her best friend was killed in a car wreck. In a haze of grief she tore through the only resource she had - the book, and found what she sought.

It was hard to understand, but it seemed promising, the notes speaking of life in death, of preservation and eternity. She didn't waste time trying to decipher it all. She cast the spell.

Instead of her friend being called back and restored to life Victoria fell dead, her body found some time later.

The funeral went normally enough, Victoria dressed in her best mourning wear in her coffin, her favorite necklace about her neck. And then, mid service the spell finished and Victoria awoke.

The ensuing chaos as she got out of her casket can perhaps be better imagined than described.

After the chaos died down she discovered certain changes - she was far more clearheaded than before, her memory flawless, and the magic that had come uneasily to trembling lips was now much simpler. She discovered an intuitive grasp for the Book's contents, particularly the many Necromantic rituals.

Knowing that as an immortal undead college was probably not the best for her right now, she instead sent a brief summary of her recent experiences and a summation of her rapidly growing abilities to Seraphim, applying to join the Host.

Other notes: To those who can view the spirit realm Victoria's condition is rather obvious, her spirit not wholly part of her body. This also goes for direct contact or thermal vision, as her body is room temperature.

Her Vampiric Touch can be likened to causing a massively heightened metabolism where all energy produced is drained away. If she stops soon the only sensation is hunger, but if allowed to continue the victim's body will begin metabolizing fat, muscle, and eventually bone tissue while dehydration and malnutrition set in. The corpse appears to have died of starvation.

The majority of the time Veil is accompanied by her assistant, an animated skeleton dressed in a snappy black suit. Victoria refers to him as Manny, and primarily uses him to hold her luggage and coat.

 

[CounterAttack]

"One moment, Ms Velour, I'll be right with you." The girl in the corset seemed to be the only one who had noticed the show put on by Intet's battery. That was... probably a good thing, Mark reasoned, as he had no idea what Talsper had done.

"Ah... I think I see what my fellow mage hath achieved." Talsper's voice came from behind Mark, a hint of resonance to the words. Mark spun round to find the Eniadan-born mage sitting on his couch, relaxed as could be. The usual white hair and beard were there, as was the hue-shifting robes Mark had seen him wear before in his mind. Only... he was semi-transparent. Ghostlike, but retaining the colour scheme he knew.

"Talsper? You'll have to explain this one to me..."

"Intet's Aurasphere held enough of a reservoir for me to expand my abilities. Rather than take direct control of thine form as we used to, I can now assume an aethereal form myself and maintain my grasp on my spellcraft," Talsper answered, getting up and walking over to the doorway where Mark and the newcomer stood.

"Okay, so you're considerably more able than you used to be."

"Indeed. However, it takes a touch of focus. I require access to my ring if I am to maintain this state. So - "

"No spellcasting while you're in spirit form, got it. Okay... now that that's cleared up," Mark continued, turning back to Ms Velour. "I'm Mark, this is Talsper, originally from the Aura-infused plane Eniadan. You said you were a mage yourself? Talsper and I focus primarily on elemental magics, so what are you capable of?"

[hr]

"Impressive. This should prove handy in our plans."

I thought as much. "Shouldst thou require it, Virus, I can gather more of my artifacts to assist thine forces." Intet refrained from commenting further, what with the new arrival making himself known. Hellhound... if the flame-breathing cerberi from the plane of Jas'w'ra were any indication - wild hydra-like canines with lava-like skin, that spat fireballs from sacs in their throats - this new recruit had some control over fire. Such a power would not stand up in combat to Intet's adaptability, the black-clad Sorcerer-King theorised.