The Goldmar Incident: A Superhero Role-Play { Accepting Applicants via PM }

[elementsoul]

Marcus couldn?t have called the ride to the hospital pleasant, considering the fact that they never made it there. Instead Dominic?s healing power woke him up as the bullet dug itself out of the bone in his shoulder. Instead it turned into a drop off at his apartment where he packed up his bag, called Dontez for a ride, and picked up his bike from the park on their way back to the Fields.

Life from there turned out to be a mix bag of sorts. He felt safer after his roommates had moved out for the time being, and he had moved into a well-armed fortress that was the building his brother half-ran. On the other hand his powers were growing more out of control in some aspects

Body sweat, condensation from glasses, and basically everything else water based that he made contact with would randomly decide to stick to him. At the same time he was becoming better at thinning it out and dropping it off of his skin.

His speed on the other hand was something that he was just getting used to still. Exaggerated movements were a no go, and he had to concentrate hard to keep himself from launching off like a rocket while walking. Out of the two, Marcus seemed to at least acclimatize to his speed well ahead of his ice manipulation.

[hr]

Marcus? phone rang and he managed to fish it out of his pocket and answer it after a couple rings.

?L?Ran, shout at your boy! ?

?I heard you were part of that cluster fuck at Goldmar and moved back to the fields where it?s safer,? L?Ran joked.

?Shit if the fields can?t kill me, you think I?d go down like a ***** in Milli. So what are you calling me for??

?Remember when we broke into JR?s scrap yard looking for the plane that?s rumored to be there?? The question came off smugly.

?************.?

?The fence around the place was being jacked up hard. We had a guy who lived in a building off of the place take a look in and the plane showed up from under one of the scrap pile.?

?Where the hell are you??

?Come on don?t you have a better question than that??

?Nope. I know your ass. Now tell me where the fuck you?re at ?cause I know you?re ?bout to do something retarded and I want to get active.?

?I?m at Moses?. Tic tock if you want in.?

Marcus had already hung up the phone and was out the window, down the fire escape and running down the street. The indoor stairs led you out front would take a minute or two long, and Marcus wasn?t going to risk missing this shit.

[hr]

It took a bit longer than it could since Marcus was trying to contain his speed over his excitement of doing something after trapping himself indoors after the last couple days. Still as he approached he turned a corner about three blocks up from his destination, and found that every street past it had someone blocking the incoming lanes. By the time Marcus got to L?Ran he still wasn?t sure about what it was for.

?What the fuck do you have planned?? Marcus asked L?Ran, which caused L?Ran to laugh.

?College boy isn?t smart enough to figure it out?? L?Ran said jokingly, before a garbage truck sped past at a speed Marcus didn?t know they had. ?Put this on and get in the car?

Marcus caught a red and white stripped bandana and got into the car L?Ran basically jumped into. All the other people in the car were Titans members; their white bandanas tied around their face, covering below their eyes. Marcus did his up in the same style as the car sped up behind the garbage truck.

L?Ran turned back to Marcus from the front seat and even though Marcus couldn?t see under the bandana, he knew he had a giant shit eating grin. ?We jammed the steering wheel straight and put a brick on the gas. I don?t care how strong they made that fence; this thing will go right through it!? A wild laugh followed the statement and Marcus was half excited and half terrified at what was about to happen.

Next thing he knew the truck slammed into the reinforced fence and a whole section got down turned as it gave way backwards, the poles ripping from the ground and the fence going flat.

?I knew it would fucking work.?

The car came to a stop just outside the fence and a tow truck with a bed on it appeared from behind them backing up.

One of the Titans in the car ran out and grabbed the tow cable from the back of the truck and the group in the car excluding the driver dashed into the yard right for the river and the plane.

Marcus had never seen anything like it before in person. Even after having all that rust covered crap it seemed to almost glow in his eyes. This was the thing he almost got killed over when he broke in here with L?Ran.

As the Titan with the cable was about to hook it up the nose of the plane, a large tower of cars and other junk toppled over and nearly crushed the group.

?The fuck was that?? One Titan asked.

?Shit there I see someone, shoot!?

Bullets from several pistols fired at the previous place the junk had been. Suddenly a barrage of bullets seemed to fly back at them without a gunshot coming from that direction. Marcus dove into the river and took cover under some ice armor, which he instantly shed before resurfacing. Next thing Marcus saw was someone beside an engine on another tower and the engine go flying, almost hitting him as he dived out the way.

?L?Ran it?s a super. Get the fuck out of here.? Marcus yelled as he tried to run for the exit but had to abort and another wave of junk landed between him and the Titans.

L?Ran yelled at Marcus as he fired more shots at the new location. ?Hurry up!?

A retreat signal followed and Marcus waved him off as a returned bullet nearly struck his face. ?I?ll get out the same way we did as kids! Get out of here!? Marcus yelled back as he ran out of the river towards a nearby tower of scrap for cover.

Immediately L?Ran ran out firing for cover on the way out. A tire screech was audible as both vehicles tried to leave as fast as possible, plane still unchanged from the carnage thrown its way.

Marcus could have run and have gotten away, but nearly getting iced by some random super wasn?t going to sit easy with him. Instead he darted out from behind the tower and ran across the river. A gap in the stream appeared as he was suddenly coated with a thick ice armor and was charging in the direction of the super.

 

[NeoAC]

There was a rumbling sound coming from beyond the fence near where the plan had rested. Kayla had a bit of trouble placing it, but years of dealing with the heavy buggers meant JR knew exactly what it was, and it was growing louder.

"GET OUTTA HERE!" he shouted as he hopped on the golf cart and floored it. As he sped off, the faint cursing of "Sonnofabitch. Damn them to hell," could be heard.

Kayla had no time and too much distance to be able to catch him, so she ducked behind a pile of metal as the garbage truck crashed through the fence before smashing into another pile of old Civics and washing machines next to her. Kayla ducked trying to avoid the falling debris, before remembering that nothing metal was going to touch her at this point and tossing anything that looked like it might hit her aside. After regaining her bearings, she peeked around the tower and saw some men in bandanas hooking a tow truck up to the plane. Her plane. Oh fuck no.

That's when her tower just so happened to fall towards the group and their vehicle. They fired shots at her direction, but Kayla was unfazed. You'd think they'd learn. She returned their fire and that sent enough of a message. Someone jumped into the river with an audible splash, they got an engine towards their area for their trouble. Meanwhile the car and the tow truck screeched in fear and bolted the junkyard area. More bullets went flying backwards before Kayla returned them to it's owner, putting out a pair of tail lights but missing any human targets.

Kayla tried to get a look at the car's plates but they were already gone. She then looked back at her plane, it was still there, still shining like a beacon in a sea of decay. Then there was a moving blur of...ice? What the hell? She sent an avalanche of metal parts flying towards the moving iceberg, and that seemed to stop the charge long enough for for her to get a good enough look at the attacker. A familiar face, surprisingly.

"Marcus?" she asked in shock before getting angry again over the fact that he was here making moves on her perceived properly. "What the fuck...did you think you were doing in here trying to take my plane?"

 

[Lambi]

"Nice place." Chris said to Lisette after she'd entered her place with the others. Must be nice to live on your own. She had a seat on the couch and turned to Joe. "Nice to meet you." she said to him with a smile.

"As Lisette said, I'm Chris. It's the shorter version of my name, but I don't like the full version, so you're only getting the short version. As far as powers go, I can apparently control rocks, ground and it seems most things related to the earth. I also apparently have enhanced agility, being able to dodge things I couldn't before all this happened. What about you?"

She heard what Lisette and Dom were talking about, but she didn't have any comments on it at the moment.

 

[CounterAttack]

"I think we should move out of the city. Or, at least out of Millennial. As much as I like the city, it's too much exposure for us. You really can't hide those wings, Liz."

"And we really can't walk the streets knowing someone might be watching. Our abilities are growing to the point that we won't be able to do anything without gaining some sort of attention. It wouldn't be immediate, of course. The school's close, and some of us still need jobs. And, the thought's still pretty drastic. But, maybe we could find some sort of property out by the lake? Or something further out."

Lisette's eyebrows shot up behind her glasses. She didn't do rural; she was a city girl, born and raised. "You raise a fair point that we will inevitably be tracked by the media, and plenty of other individuals who might be less than reputable by comparison." The internet's a strange place... and that's before taking supers into account. "But I can't give up this apartment. It took a lot of money and effort to get it. Still does to maintain it." She slid a glass of water to Dom, pausing to pass identically-filled glasses to the other three before returning to the kitchen, leaning on the counter with a drink of her own.

"Besides. If we all upped and relocated to the rural side of Silverhollow, who could we depend on for help if trouble finds us? If Brightfields wasn't under police jurisdiction, the gangs would spread there pretty quickly. I mean, we all know they've been in the papers and on TV for years now... And you mentioned work. The Festival's gonna reopen at some point, once they patch up the floors, and even if these have arrived - " Lisette flicked her wings, indicating them with her free hand for good measure " - I've still got my job there." And who knows? Maybe having the 'Snow Angel' working the bar will attract more customers. More patrons means the boss is happy.

"I think we can handle staying in the city. We just need to be careful about a lot of things now. Double-check security at homes, watch who we talk to about certain subjects... watch what we talk about in public and on social media, even." Lisette hoped she was right. If the walk with Joe had been anything by which to judge, she was probably the most prominent of their little group by now. There had been a lot of camera phones.

[hr]

As the rest of the Titans sped away from JR's scrapyard, and Kayla recognised Marcus, a new pair of cars approached. They looked equally as busted as half the stuff JR kept, only in working order and spray-painted black and silver. Vehicles belonging to the Watchers, another of the three street gangs partaking of the Brightfields turfwar. Nine people dressed in similar attire hopped out and headed for the Titan-made hole in the fence, led by a man in a snazzy midnight-purple suit. He had a smoke in one hand and a rifle loosely held in the other: his cronies carried similar firearms, openly wore body armour, and carried large empty backpacks.

An open display of force from the Watchers... whatever they wanted, they wanted it bad enough to come in person.

"Mr. John Ross?" There was no answer from JR. "We're here to collect the last of Mister Bowden's possessions. Seems he left something of his in your ole junkyard. Iff'in you don't come out and hand it over, we'll be taking more'n what Mister Bowden owed us. There'll be more here that we can use than just the one prototype of his."

The leader of the Watchers paused, cocking an ear while he took a drag. He heard nothing. "Aright, buddy, suit yourself. Whatever trick you pulled to scare the Titans away just now ain't gonna work on us." He turned to his followers. "Search the place, lads and ladies. You know the drill, take anything that can be repurposed, quick and quiet. Two hundred fifty in bonus pay for the biggest haul. And one more thing: the first to find me that plane gets a week's vacation with anyone they want. Now hustle!"

The Watchers spread out and began to move through the scrapyard, guns up and safeties off.

 

[Lost In The Void]

He took the girl's hand and shook it firmly, "Joe," was his response to her greeting, as another member of this little group addressed the whole room.

It was something about leaving the city and heading all rural like. Their 'leader' or maybe the person he assumed was the leader since he had met her first and now they were all in her little apartment. She protested against this, first for a very petty reason, her apartment, really? He couldn't understand why she would want to keep this, but the rest of her reasons seemed solid so he decided to back her up. Least then they were likely to get her way, "Afraid I'm gonna have to agree with the Snow Queen, or whatever you call yourself," he added to the girl, "The fact is, most of our resources are in the city anyways, whether the police on your end, or my own stash of various things on my end."

He continued, "Further more, a mass exodus of college students towards the country either means a communal or trouble to observers and I personally like showering so the communal is out," he smiled at his own joke, "My powers, unlike Snow here, are invisible, I can still blend in with the average people so I'm afraid that I'm not going to the country at any point."

 

[tsatoma]

"You guys are all way too needy, half the place needs to be repaired whenever I take one of you out of the house," Izzy said aloud, trying to make her numerous Sims fix and clean their house. "I'm just going to make a maid character whose sole purpose in life is cleaning all of your shit," she added as she began the process of making a new addition to her household. As she neared the end of the character creation, Izzy's phone rang as a new text message was received. "Alright, new member is added. Time to send this one jogging for a bit," she muttered, picking up her phone to see the message afterwards.

There was a decent-sized part of her that thought about just staying home all day and playing games, but something involving the group like this could be important. "Alright, better get dressed. Just gonna have you push it to the limit with another jog, and you will take a thoughtful shower before work," Izzy said, getting out of her chair and going to her room to find some clothes to put on.

Once a decent outfit was put together, Izzy went back and closed out her game before turning off the computer. Looking back at Liz's text, she tried to visualize where that was. Not too far away. I can make it there pretty quickly if I take the rooftops, Izzy thought, grabbing the last of her things as she left her apartment. Taking a right to reach the stairs to the roof, Izzy wondered if something was going on. Guess I'll find out.

The day was quite beautiful once she exited from the stairs and looked out at the city from atop the roof. "Never get tired of seeing that," she mentioned, walking towards the center of the roof. Getting out her phone quickly, she made sure of her route to Liz's before heading off. Getting a bit of a running start, she booked it across the roof and jumped over to the one next to her. The processed was repeated a few times until she stopped to take another look at her GPS to make sure she was going the right way. Just another few blocks.

Izzy never worried about people potentially seeing her jumping around, usually moving too fast for anyone to get a good view. No one looks up anyways. Sometimes the speedy travel was a detriment, seeing as she has ruined some clothing when accidentally going to fast and skidding. "Just gotta keep practicing," Izzy told herself, landing on the roof adjacent to Liz's apartment. Even though Izzy had been practicing opening locked doors with her tendrils (often slipping one under the door to open locks from the other side), rooftop access doors tended to be a little tougher than normal doors.

"Front door it is," she said, looking over the side of the roof to see the alley down below. Once she was sure no one would see her, she hopped over. Using her tendrils against the wall to slow down her descent, Izzy landed softly onto the ground. Her tendrils were retracted back under her jacket after a few moments, safely hidden away as she left the alley and headed into Liz's apartment building. Making sure she had the right door once more, she knocked a few times as she waited outside Liz's door tapping her feet on the carpet.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Again, it was just a suggestion." Dom was almost irritated as he answered the two. "The 'move into the country' idea might be far-fetched, but I don't think you're thinking this whole thing through, Liz. I mean, the paparazzi is one thing, but we've already established that there are evil solider dudes actively searching for us. And don't tell me they aren't, because I wouldn't believe you. Amanda herself only got in touch with us because she had her own little run in with these...these...fucking goombas!" He was pacing as he talked, the spiel growing ever so intensely. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

"Who knows what kind of information these people have on us, Liz? If some camera mob can locate our homes, what makes you think these expertly trained killers can't do the same thing?! They've located us once, do you really think they won't do it again? What makes you think they're not listening to this conversation RIGHT NOW?!" He wandered over to the front door as he talked, and opened said door. "Maybe you don't have family in Silverhollow like some of us do, but you gotta realize that we're putting everyone at risk by being in the city, especially our kin!" It was Isabella who was at the door. He gave her a brief, blank look (talking all along the way) before proceeding back towards the living area.

"The fact you're so blasé about this stuff, despite the fact that several of us were shot at (and actually shot!) just a few days prior, both confuses and frustrates me. Just...like...do you NOT care? Like, do you think that if you close your eyes and cover your ears, it'll just...all go away? Because it is not gonna work that way." He sat back down, leaning on the kitchen counter. He took a long exhale as he held his head in his hands.

"I'm scared, Liz. For real. I can't go to sleep at night, knowing there are people out there that to either capture, or kill us. I don't even wanna go home anymore, not when I know my mom lays her head down there every night. She's...all I have left. I thought we had family in the police force, but I saw way too many badges among the dudes that tried to do us in. I can't go to them for help anymore, not when I don't know who's hiding among them." It seemed like his head only sunk deeper into his hands. "Goddammit, this is driving me crazy." He muttered.

 

[CounterAttack]

"Dominic, let me ask you something," Lisette began, tipping her glass into mid-air and freezing it as it fell. Her tone was calm and composed. "What makes you think I'm entirely indifferent to the whole situation? I've taken steps to secure my apartment. There are emergency packages stowed throughout the place. I take about half a dozen precautions any time I have to leave the house." Using one hand to fidget with her newly-frozen ice as she spoke, Lisette waved to Izzy with the other before drawing a new glass of water for the new arrival.

"We can trust Kara. She was on our side during the fight... which I was there for, remember? We all were, except Joseph over there. It was terrifying, but only at the time. In the long term, I don't get angry or scared or anything like that. It's all about thinking differently. I believe that encounter is something we can learn from. We've proven we can fight these people. They have their weapons, we have ours..." A thought occurred to her. "You do have yours, right? I'm not even sure what you can do. Have you tried practicing with your abilities at all?"

 

[elementsoul]

Marcus cleared a pile of scrap metal and stopped himself from producing a thin sharp ice blade from his arm, and from running Kayla over like road kill.

"Marcus?" "What the fuck...did you think you were doing in here trying to take my plane?"

Marcus retracted the ice around his face and mouth so he could freely talk. Much like the smaller woman, he himself was also enraged.

?Your plane? Your plane! How about we try what the fuck are you doing in the Fields Kayla? We survive the attack at Goldmar and a fucking fire fight with Nefarious? goons, yet you decide to follow it up by going to the part of the city in an all-out fucking war? Are you trying to get killed? Actually did you just fucking try to kill me? I?m going to fucking drag your ass out of this place so you leave in one piece.

Also that isn?t your plane; it?s Bowden's. Dumb motherfuckers been trying to find that thing for years, just because you actually found it doesn?t mean it?s your plane. Gotta make out of the Fields alive with that thing if you want to call yours.? Marcus said pissed off grabbing Kayla?s arm and giving her a face that said, fucking try me.

Kayla threw Marcus' hand off and backed up a step. "Say you're in a gang and forget one of the oldest rules in the book. Finders Keepers, Marcus. That's just how we do it on the West Coast. Now watch me fly this sucker out to the Lake."

?Finders keeper ain?t mean shit if you?re dead. This isn?t fucking preschool, and do you even know how to fly a fucking plane? And what are you going to use as a runway? Also I?m not in a gang.? Marcus said getting more pissed off at her shitty attitude, like she was on a platform above this place while being shit deep in it. Before he could continue someone else?s voice could be heard coming from the make shift entrance L?Ran had made.

Quickly darting away from Kayla and peaking around a pile of scrap Marcus saw the group of Watchers. Fuck me! Back in a second Marcus was once again in front of Kayla.

?Our fucking luck. If you want that fucking plane you can have it; you just have to play by what is actually one of the oldest rules in the book. Kill everyone else who wants it, and it?s yours. You just have to kill A Pimp Named Slickback, over there and all of his Hoes. If you want it that is.? Marcus said with a chuckle to himself as he got ready to take some revenge, brushing the scar across his face .

I don't need to know how... Kayla thought to herself as the junkyard suddenly became a lot more crowded from the sounds of things. Marcus confirming it was fine, but then laughing at some sort of imagined joke was annoying. "Easy as a San Mateo pool boy," she responded as she pulled out a chunk of a '95 Sunfire that was nearby. "I don't know if you've noticed," she proceeded to separate the sheet metal panel into smaller and smaller pieces. "But I've got a lot of ammunition here. And I've been practicing how to use it." Once the fragments were small enough to make a passable shard storm, she directed them over the pile of metal at where she thought the mob would be.

Yes let?s just start throwing metal around randomly. Like letting them know we?re here without actually knowing anyone is actually going to get hit sounds like such a good idea.

Sighing, Marcus covered his face once again with a layer of ice and darted out to where Kayla had sent the metal shards. A severely injured Watcher was found on the other side. Their gun was on the ground, and the bag on their back had open and its contents spilled out. Kicking aside an old stereo and a single speaker Marcus walked up to the face down Watcher and lifted up their head.

A bloody mist exited their lungs as they struggled to breathe out. ?Can you speak? What are you doing at the junkyard?? Marcus asked with a half growl as he retracted the ice around his mouth and jaw.

?Michael, what are you doing here? We?re looking for the plane and were told to steal anything good. If you find help me find the plane and we?ll split the re...? The watched stopped talking as he just started coughing out blood and died.

Shrugging off the death Marcus started to run back towards were Kayla was and saw a Watcher about to the around a pile of old cars towards were she was previously standing. Instinctively a spiked mace formed around Marcus? hand as he went to punch the back of the Watcher?s neck at full tilt speed. The head exploded as he hand drove the back of their neck, and pieces of skull and brain sprayed everywhere in that direction; unfortunately a spray of fire from their rifle also followed.

Sparing no time Marcus was around the corner and in front of Kayla again. ?Just so you know they split up and have a reward on whoever finds your plane. You also killed whoever that was on the other side of the pile if you care. Personally I don?t and suggest you cap as many as you can. Well if I leave any for anyways. I?m gonna take out whoever shows up here and you can knock over another pile and kill a couple like you tried to do with me.? Marcus quickly said arriving back at the metal manipulating woman.

The news of the death didn't particularly bother Kayla, as her non-reaction to the news showed. Killed more than one agent, so I guess I'm just upping the tally. At least Marcus had admitted it was her plane, sarcastic as he was about it. That meant he could at least be close to trusted with this plan. "I'm not hiding in the shadows when I've got no reason to. Besides, if they're using guns, then I think you know they are in a lot more danger than me. So how about I go out there and draw some attention so you can take out the entire group of them from behind. When they fire at me, I'll just stop it and directed it right back at whoever I think looks the most threatening. Sound like a plan?"

?Sounds like a plan, although I?d like to take the one in the purple suit alive. Knowing the Watchers, I?d bet that A Pimp Named Slickback is probably leading this pack of clowns and I?d like to ask him a few things.? Marcus said looking to Kayla for her agreement to his one amendment, ready to head out and flank where needed.

"I'll try to keep that in mind," she told him as she stepped out from beyond the pile.

A couple of the lower level Watchers had come over to check on their fallen gang mate and immediately pointed their guns up upon hearing Kayla emerge.

"Freeze, *****!" one of them shouted.

"Get on the ground now!" the other commanded.

"And get my outfit all messed up?" Kayla tauntingly asked. "Nah, don't think I'm going to be doing that."

"Fine! Fire Jerome!"

The two Watchers fired at will towards the young Asian-American and Kayla just threw her hands up with a sick smile emerging on her face. She had gotten better at stopping projectiles, and though the gang members quickly realized their mistake, the guns didn't cease firing until there were bullets numbering in the double digits in front of her.

"Thanks for the ammo, idiots."

In one motion she moved her hands apart, separating the bullets into two groups, before turning them on their owners, avoiding the body armor and going straight for the throat. The attack left the two lackeys gurgling blood as they collapsed to the ground.

"Well, that should bring the rest of them over Marcus," she said to herself. "You better be in position."

Marcus had left and gone around to scout out and flank the Watchers. Stopping behind an old rusted El Camino, Marcus watched the interaction between Kayla and the two Watchers who appeared. Having passed out before when Kayla had previously pulled a Magneto. The sight of her stopping the bullets midair was awe-inspiring, the return to sender was the cherry on top and Marcus knew he had to get ready as he spotting more of them approaching her location.

Moving around the back of them and Marcus honed in on the leader in the purple suit and decided he would follow him. Looking down at his right hand forearm, Marcus visualized an ice blade moving out from his forearm, and was met with a round spike in its place. Concentrating Marcus tried to make it flatten out, and was met with only a failed attempt. Having already noticed Kayla?s skill with her own power, it was clear this was something Marcus would actually have to practice instead of just dealing with it as it popped up and trying to live his normal life.

Sure enough, the leader of the Watchers was best known to the other gangs as 'A Pimp Named Slickback', as Marcus had theorized. Almost definitely for his choice of attire in the field. He sauntered along at the back of the group with his rifle over one shoulder, letting his men take the lead as they scavenged in junk piles and jumped at small noises.

"Ah, c'mon, don't be a pack of babies. Any time someone dies and it ain't you, your chance of getting that reward I promised gets better... although to be honest, the sooner we're out of here the better off we'll all be." The last part was said to himself rather than his cronies, as A Pimp Named Slickback casually turned to see if they'd passed the plane or anything else of value.

His eyebrows shot up when he saw movement behind a car. "Company, lads and ladies." The gun over his shoulder was in both hands quickly, though he didn't open fire straight off the bat.

"Hey idiots, I'm right in front of you," Kayla shouted at the horde as she stepped back out in behind the corpses in front of the group. She had to keep their attention away from Marcus.

"Now you see here, gang," the leader stated. "You see where Jerome and Keenan's demises came from? They clearly let a ***** cloud their judgment, and because they could not contain the *****, they have paid the price with their lives. Learn this lesson well, homies."

"Excuse Me!?! Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"Oh I'm so glad you decided to ask. My associates refer to me as A Pimp Named Slickback."

Kayla looked at the leader with a skeptical eyebrow raised. "Slickback?"

"NO DAMNIT!" He was clearly frustrated by Kayla's remark. "A PIMP NAMED SLICKBACK! You say the whole thing! It's like A Tribe Called Quest!"

"Who the hell is A Tribe Called Quest?"

A Pimp Named Slickback held his head in his free hand. "Lord, give me the patience that I may not strike this ***** down with my pimp hand until I find out what in the name of Katt Williams she is doing in this here junkyard."

"Who the hell is Katt Williams?" Kayla herself was starting to get annoyed at all these references she wasn't getting. "Is he in this tribe you're talking about? You don't look Native American..."

"Holy father of," Slickback had to steel himself. "*****, it's not important to you because if you do not tell me what you doing here, whether or not it be pertinent to my search of this here junkyard, then you will be able to ask the almighty pimp in the sky himself. Now, do you know where my plane is?"

"I don't know anything about YOUR plane," Kayla taunted. A bluff might have been the best bet, but all this tribal talk had ticked her off. "My plane is over there a ways, but your ass sure as hell isn't getting it."

"Oh well that is where you are wrong little *****, because all this firepower around me says that I am taking 'your' plane back to my crib." The cronies around A Pimp Named Slickback raised their weapons at the girl. "Now kindly direct us to it and you may buy yourself another couple hours of life."

"I don't think so."

Marcus was almost pissing himself and was facing severe trouble stifling his laughter at the ongoing conversation. Luckily for him, so where most of the lower level Watchers. Still he was ready to make his surprise entrance for when the time called, and before Kayla could even make her defiant statement Marcus was already moving.

Before they?d even noticed it, Marcus was travelling at sixty kilometers per hour. The force of his spear as it punctured the back of the first watcher?s scalp was enough to cleanly remove the back half of their head. The next one was dead a moment later and Marcus never slowed down as he was past A Pimp Named Slickback and breaking off the spike through the eye of the next Watcher. The Fourth was met with a flying knee to his face, the force of the impact sending the cartilage of her nose into her brain killing her.

Before the last one could properly aim and fire, Marcus already had the fourth Watcher?s gun and fire three quick bursts at the fifth watcher. Most of the bullets went wide or hit the Watcher?s body armour, but a single bullet blew a hole through their front teeth and out of the back of their head; killing him outright. Dropping the gun Marcus turned around and dashed at A Pimp Named Slickback.

Before he got there, a burst of fire was unleased and hit Marcus point blank in the face. The ice cracked and shattered as the bullets were slowed and eventually stopped by his skin; likely to create some painful bruising. Before another burst was made his way, Marcus had grabbed hold of the weapon?s gearbox. Instinctively ice from his hand spread through the bolt and into the chamber, freezing the firing pin in place. Ripping the gun out of his hands and throwing it away, Marcus held the Watcher off the ground by the collar of his shirt.

The remaining Ice that didn?t shatter retracted itself so his whole head was revealed and Marcus finally spoke, ?Let us pray the pimp?s prayer. Lord please pray for the soul of this ***** and guide my pimp hand and make it strong lord, so that he might learn a ho?s place. Amen.? With that Marcus raised his free hand and bestowed A Pimp Named Slickback with an open handed slap from his blessed hand.

?Now A Pimp Named Slickback I believe you owe my friend there an apology or do you need to be told twice?? Marcus said with a visibly smug look on his face.

The Watcher lieutenant spat out his smoke, a tooth and a large glob of blood, but remained defiantly silent. With both feet in the air, he drew them up and kicked Marcus square in the chest: not to cause damage, but to get himself free of the super's grip. He staggered to his feet.

"Y'son of a *****. The whole crew's dead, the raid's scuppered... and ya ruined a perfectly good suit." A Pimp Named Slickback shook his head in disgust. "If'n I'd known the Titans had supers backin' them up we might not have come. Fine. I'll apologise - " the word was spoken with a considerable amount of venom " - if'n you and your Matrix pal over there let me go free. You can have that plane into the bargain. Boss is gonna be pissed... but it won't be anywhere near as bad as the wrath the Titans are gonna get if'n I don't walk out of here."

Marcus couldn?t help but laugh. ?What?s with everyone thinking I?m in a gang today? What do you think of his terms?? Marcus asked, directing the first question at no one, and the second directly at Kayla.

"Well to answer your first question, you showing up here with gang members might lead to that theory," Kayla informed Marcus as she walked towards where he held Mr. Slickback. "As for the second question, what do I give a fuck if the Titans incur wrath? I'm not in that war. I should jam one of these guns so far up your purple-plated tailpipe that your coughs give 50 Cent flashbacks just for all the ***** comments you made about me."

She looked over at Marcus for confirmation of this plan but the actual Fields resident gave her a stern look that said that would not be a wise decision. "You're lucky I'm not enough of an expert in that field to make that call myself. So go. Get your stupid ass out of here. But if I catch you making eyes at my plane or my associates again, I will not hesitate to track you down and make good on that promise of semi-automatic sodomy. Got it?"

A Pimp Named Slickback made a hasty retreat and Marcus waited for him to be out of sight before dropping the ice armor and pulling out his phone. He opened up the app Burner and made a new number before sending a quick text message to a member of the Burning Brands.

?

A Pimp Named Slickback of the Watchers just had his crew iced and is solo heading back to Watcher turf going South of JR?s scrap yard.

?

Marcus turned back to Kayla, ?you really don?t know how to read the mood do you? Anyways let?s get the plane out of here before the Burning Brands show up next. I tipped them off about of about of purple suited friend heading home by himself. Whether they get him or not, they?ll be coming here after. I need to go back and meet with L?Ran so the Titans don?t send out a search party as my bro would want their heads if I go missing.?

"Fine by me," Kayla stated as they moved towards the plane, but then a thought crossed her mind. Where the hell am I going to put this thing? I can't keep it here if the freaking gangbangers are going to be coming after it every day and night... "Just need to figure out where I can stash this plane. Not going to be very inconspicuous on top of my apartment building..."

 

[NeoAC]

As Marcus turned around and began to head off, Kayla was trying to rack her brain as to where she could stash her new prize away from prying eyes. There weren't exactly any wide open spaces she had access to, especially now that the scrap yard was no longer safe. Stuck for ideas, she decided to ask for some outside help.

She pulled out her phone and dashed off a quick text to Lisette.

Hey, do you know where I can stash something big? Like plane sized?

 

[Lost In The Void]

Joe didn?t know these people, well save for the chick who had just walked in, he knew that he knew her from somewhere and that was bothering him. He couldn?t get a word to her though with the other two having a spat. One looked like she was trying to stay composed and the other was starting to slowly lose it all over the apartment. Deadly combo, he?d seen it before, although it was usually between couples of some sort and these two were certainly no couple.

He stepped in as the dude, Dom, or whatever tried to start arguing again, ?Look guys, you?re both making points here, but this is escalating too quickly,? he turned to the guy to face him along, ?You?re freaking out man, that?s not the best time to plead your case. Just take a couple breaths, get a drink or take a smoke, I don?t care but you gotta take this easy.?

He stepped away from the group again, ?Look you guys said there?s more to your group, well if you?re planning on staying as a group it doesn?t do you any good to make decisions now. You gotta debate and discuss together, and then make a decision from there. Right now all you?re doing is causing divisions and splitting up the little chunk of people we have here. So let?s shelve that for now and lets figure out a plan that we can do for the moment until the entire group makes their way over here. Sure that?ll be healthier in the long run.?

He improved speech done, he walked over the new arrival, ?Hello again. Funny how I keep seeing you. First in that hellhole of an event that spawned this all and now I find out you have powers same as I do. Or at least I?d assume so, you could just be an adrenaline junkie chasing heroes after all.?

 

[Pm0n3y]

Job's lackluster attempt at trying to disarm the situation rubbed Dom in the wrong way. "I could hit him. Oh my god I could hit him so hard." Nonetheless he decided to simmer down. It's been a long while since he's been this volatile. The extra adrenaline made his chest hurt.

"Fine. Whatever. I need some air." He grumbled as he stood. "Yeah, y'know, your mom's gonna become a target and will most likely be tortured and killed in attempts to draw you out, but yeah! Calm down! Don't worry about it! Stop being such a spaz, she'll only be dead!" He grumbled and scoffed all the way to the door. "Fuck me man, argh!" Anguish was heavy on his cracking voice as he left, surprisingly trying his hardest (and failing) to not slam the door. The thought of losing Maria weighed heavier than he wished. He stormed off in a huff, taking in heavy breaths to hold back the imminent tears. He remembered seeing a balcony on the building when he pulled in earlier, and opted finding it instead of going to ground level.

 

[CounterAttack]

Lisette watched Dominic go, slamming the door on his way out. "He didn't answer... maybe he got the short straw in terms of powers." Or maybe he hasn't practiced at all... in which case, he needs to get on that ASAP. She approached the couch where Chris and Amanda were seated. "Maybe one of you should go talk to Dom... I don't think he wants to hear things from my perspective," she explained.

Her phone buzzed yet again in her pocket. A message from Kayla.

Hey, do you know where I can stash something big? Like plane sized?

What on earth? Where did Kayla get something that size? Was it a full-blown plane? Lisette tapped out her questions.

Hang on a moment. What is this plane-sized thing? Where did you find it? Do you want me to come help move it?

 

[tsatoma]

As Izzy stepped through the door into Liz's apartment, she quickly realized that she had just walked into the middle of an argument. Just my luck this is the first thing I'm bombarded with. Izzy stayed quiet as Dom went off on whatever he was talking about, trying to make sense of the conversation she had landed into. From what she could tell, Liz was talking about safety and the use of their powers or something. There was clearly a key point she was missing here, though she quickly stopped trying to figure it out once a familiar face came into the conversation.

She was surprised to see Joe here, as the two of them used to see each other at the various parties thrown around town (usually by Goldmar students). That was back in her partying days (which had ended only a few months previously), where a night wasn't fun until she did at least two keg stands and participated in some of the ever so slightly deviant behavior seen at places like that. The connotation that if Joe was here clearly meant that he had powers gave Izzy a feeling of relief now that she knew someone else in the merry little group of super-powered students she had joined. She watched as he brought up his own points to Dom and Liz, watching as Dom proceeded to spaz out.

Moving out of the way to let him past, she watched him exit the apartment with indifference before turning to address Joe's greeting. "I'm not particularly fond of chasing after heroes or villains at this point. It is good to see a somewhat familiar face though in this situation," Izzy replied, leaning up against the wall rather than go to the couch where everyone else was, "So, exactly what did I walk into here? I wasn't exactly expecting a nice sit-down once I got here, but this wasn't at all on my possibility list."

 

[Lost In The Void]

"You know kids, young dumb and full of cum. He's panicking. I understand why, he's got family here, but I think he's getting a little too far ahead of himself. I mean yeah, there's guys out to get us, found that out myself a little bit ago, but goddamn man, we have powers, we're practically gods amongst men, whats the worry. I mean hell we're all still alive, ain't nobody died yet and from what I hear, you guys have been in a larger shit show that I have."

He laughed and took out a flask and took a quick sip. It was rye whisky, he wasn't one to usually drink it straight but today also wasn't a usual day. He saw Liz was still on her cellphone, a strange look on her face and she punched back what he assumed to be a reply to a text message. He called out, "Yo host lady, you got any kinda soft drink, don't like admitting this but I really can't stand whisky straight. If you do I'm also liable to share this and believe me when I say this is the good stuff," he was sure to wink in the most obnoxious way possible.

 

[CounterAttack]

Lisette raised her eyebrows behind her glasses, both at the wink and the flask. There had been plenty of guys at The Festival who shared a similar attitude... come to think of it, there was a decent chance Joe had been one of them at some point. "Sorry, Joe, I don't bring my work home with me. Used to, back when I was still a rookie bartender, but not these days."

As she spoke, Kayla shot back a response to her questions:

I might have found it in the Fields. I think I can move it but I can't leave it here. Fucking gangs.

Brightfields... Lisette knew next to nothing about the place, even with all the media coverage. And something plane-sized would probably attract quite a lot of attention if it were moved halfway across the city in broad daylight. Both from the police and elsewhere. So it needed to be hidden someplace close by, she reasoned. Although if it was going to stay in gang-controlled territory, maybe they needed to stake their own claim on part of the district...

There. Dominic would be satisfied with that. If they were lucky they'd find a somewhat secluded location, once they could drive the gangs out. If they could get a building close to the west side of the Fields, near the city center, that would be perfect. The SHPD's efforts to contain the fighting would probably be thickest closer to the borders.

I wanna see this for myself. Send me the address and I'll bring a few of the others to help out. Might also want to get Marcus in on this. He's a Brightfields guy, he could know a place. Maybe a disused warehouse or something, out of the way of the gangs.

Hopefully Kayla would be willing to let others in on her discovery.

Marcus already got involved. Ross Brothers Scrapyard.

No address. Lisette simply hit up Google Maps. And there it was. Middle-south of the Brightfields district, close to the Lake Alabaster border. She looked up from her phone.

"Change of plans, guys. I've been talking with Kayla just now, and she's found something I figure she could use a hand with. She's over in Brightfields. Not in trouble or anything, as far as I know, but I still want to check it out." She sent Izzy and Chris each a link to the map as she ducked into her bedroom to grab a fresh pack of supplies - and a hair-tie.

"Someone go grab Dominic, he can't have gone far. You guys'll have to drive over. Chris, Izzy, check your phones for the address. I'm gonna fly over there." Lisette somewhat awkwardly slung the pack over one shoulder, careful not to get her wing trapped in it, and opened the door to her apartment as if to say, Up and at 'em!

 

[Lambi]

Dominic leaned over the railing of the balcony, its metallic finish cool against his hands. His eyes reddened, he tried his hardest to shove the negative thoughts from his mind, and yet, the harder he tried, the more they lingered. It might've been the fact that his friends (and other, newer associates) seemed so careless towards the bigger picture. Did these powers just make them sociopathic? Did they not care about their families, friends, other innocent bodies? Or, was he just overthinking the whole situation? Questions bounced loudly through his head, each seeming to traverse every angle. And the more queries he produced, the less he could match answers to.

Chris nodded to Lisette before she opened the door to where Dom was, then closed it behind her. She approached him slowly and carefully, moving to his side and put her hand over his. "I can understand that you're frustrated and angry, so tell me what's on your mind." She gave him a soft smile, hoping to help him calm down.

Any anticipated, sporadic, volatile and (for lack of better term) spastic movements were instantly rendered null once Dominic heard Chris' voice, and felt her touch. He could never be mad at her. Even then, he was still hesitant to answer. "...What do you think? Don't you want to keep your family safe? How am I the only one feeling like this? Like anything can (and will) go wrong?" Once said hesitance passed, the words flowed from his mouth like a somber honey. "Why am I so scared?" He asked.

"Because you care about your family a lot. Not saying they don't, but if I had to guess, you're probably more attached to your family than they may be. I want to keep them safe as well, and I'm afraid for my family too, but I simply hope that things will turn out well. Not everyone can do that, though." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and placed her head on his shoulder. "Not everything has to go wrong. No one's asking you to be carefree about this, but worrying about it isn't going to help anyone, as you should have seen just there." She didn't want to see him be so distressed about it, and she didn't want anyone to argue over this. It was unnecessary and would only make them trust each other less.

"Hope..." He lingered on the notion, letting out a quiet sigh. "I wish I still had that optimism..." He kept that bit to himself. Chris was trying to cheer him up, and was it was actually working. He didn't need to weigh her down with his pessimism, no need to bring her down to his level. So instead, he smiled a small smile at her and chuckled a little chuckle. His hand mindlessly intertwined with hers, sliding against her fingers, tracing the folds in her palm. His smile grew ever so slightly. "I can hope. For us." He replied.

He made her blush a bit with that action, but she didn't move her hand away. As nice as it felt standing there with him, though, they were going to check what was happening over where Kayla was. She pulled out her phone to check the map Lisette had sent her. "Kayla apparently needs our help, and Lisette sent me this map to go by. Whatever it is, we should check it out, don't you think?"

He wasn't too sure if he really felt like dealing with everyone else at the moment, but his overarching sense of duty got the best of him. "Yeah, we should." He dried his eyes, and straighten his stature. "No time like the present; let's go." He almost began off, but he stopped. He looked back to the girl that he was certain could get him out of any slump. The girl who saved his life. "Thank you, Chris."

"You're welcome." Chris replied with a big smile. She was simply glad that she could help him, to be a good friend to him. She grabbed his arm and dragged him back into the apartment, ready to go.

 

[Lost In The Void]

Well they had a plan now. Well the others had a plan, apparently he wasn't part of the group yet. Joe sighed, took a swig of the rye and stored the flask back in his pocket. Well even if they didn't want him around or hell, didn't even really know him from a stick in the mud, he knew his survival chances were larger with a larger group, at least for now.

He turned to the one person he knew and asked a question that might have seemed small enough but in reality confirmed that he was sticking around for better or for worse. He was throwing his lot in with this party, "Hey, Izzy, was it? You mind if I catch a ride with you guys? My car is kinda outta commission for now."