[Other FULL] Titans: Reborn [Prologue]

[GreyBidoof]

Titans: Reborn

A Superhero Roleplay














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Welcome to the city of Hyperia. It used to be it's just your ordinary metropolis, with one little twist...

Not so long ago, Hyperia was protected by a team of five superheroes, the Champions, led by the charismatic Titan. This band of gifted individuals worked tirelessly for nearly a decade to keep their city safe from the clutches of evil.

However, all that changed.

Around five years ago, the Champions were faced with their most dangerous enemy yet, a powerful mind-controller known as Animatus. Tricked by their foe, the team of heroes vanished into a mysterious vortex, leaving the city of Hyperia unguarded.

Fearing for the safety of Hyperia, the last remaining Champion, Binary, activated a failsafe program that called out to 16 gifted individuals with a an offer:

Become the protectors the city needs.

Criminals and villains swarmed across the city after word of the Champions' disappearance spread, putting the new heroes to the test.

Some rose to the challenge, fighting crime and defending the Hyperians. Others simply walked away, never to be heard from again. Binary worked tirelessly to coordinate his team of strangers and outcasts, and for a brief moment, a new hope shone in Hyperia.

This was not to last.

While the "New Champions" were spread thin across the city, fighting crime and superpowered foes, the architect of the event made his move. Animatus had taken control of a crucial part of the city: it's government. Undetected by the heroes, he had taken control of the mayor and city council, and with the help of an unknown ally, began changing things to his liking.

It wasn't long before the order came to formally disband the Champions. In it's place, a government-controlled force of metahumans, hand picked by Animatus, was deployed to enforce justice in Hyperia. This meta-force was nothing like the Champions or their young counterparts, and served the will of their master before the law of the land.

Binary, the last remaining Champion, had disappeared. The New Champions had stopped receiving communications from him shortly before the news of their disbanding. With no one to give direction, the team split, and faded back into anonymity, leaving Animatus to have his way with Hyperia. It seemed nothing could stop him. Those who knew of the situation feared for what was to come.

Darkness fell over Hyperia.

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Back to the Present:

Not many were aware of Animatus' discreet rise to power within the city's inner workings. Even fewer dared oppose him. Those who did were swiftly wiped out by the meta-force.

However, there were those that refused to give in.

Rumors begans to spread throughout the city of a new contender. Known only as "The Resistance", nothing was known about the shadowy organization, other than their goal: rid Hyperia of Animatus and his Meta-Force. And if the rumors were correct, they were in need of allies.

Gifted individuals from all over Hyperia have jumped at the chance to join the resistance.

What awaits them?

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Locations:

Hyperia has remained relatively unchanged since the events regarding the Champions' disappearance. While the effects of the --- can be felt throughout the city, for many people daily life goes on.

- Downtown: The heart of Hyperia. Skyscrapers and city buildings line the busy streets, along with the Champions headquarters, which occupies a spot just off of main street. Downtown Hyperia closely resembles your stereotypical urban center.
- Suburbia: Home to rows and rows of middle-class homes, Suburbia is full of residential neighborhoods. Families and middle-class citizens live here, making this one of the most populated regions of Hyperia.
- Financial District: The bread-winner of the city, the financial district is home to numerous banks, the stock exchange, and other wealthy businesses. Unfortunately, this has also made it a common target for heists and robberies.
- Cape Royale: Cape Royale is a collection of private villas and resorts, owned by wealthy magnets and tycoons who reside in Hyperia. Only the elite can afford to live here, and the atmosphere drips with luxury. High-profile theft runs rampant throughout the area.
- Bayside: A haven for blue collar working folk, Bayside's claim to fame is their trade indutry. Fishing, carpentry, metalworking, etc, all can be found within this large district. Bayside is still a modern, well-off town, but contains a larger number of immigrants and laborers than other parts of Hyperia.
- Mount Cedar: Built at the top of a mountain of the same name, Mount Cedar is a quiet, relaxed farmer's residence. The area is famous for its agriculture, and giving off a rural, ranch-style feel at times. The district's center is more urban than the edges, balancing out the community.
- Old Town: Old Town was the first part of Hyperia to be developed, many years before it would come to harbor superheroes. It is a small, dusty community that seems to be stuck in the past, not having evolved with the rest of the city. Small time criminals often start off their career in Old Town, since any kind of modern police force doesn't exist there.
- Outlands: Barren and undeveloped, the Outlands sit just beyond Old Town, as the only part of the city with no official inhabitants. Located here is Zephyr forest, a favorite spot for outdoor-folk and hikers. It is also rumored that a famous supervillain might have once had a base in the Outlands.

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Rules:

- Follow all PC and RPT rules and guidelines.
- Whatever the GM says goes.
- Respect your fellow players.
- This RP is rated M. That said, keep things appropriate.
- Be creative, and have fun!

If you are ever wondering whether the rules apply, consult this.

Spoiler:

This roleplay is a sequel to one by the similar name of "Titans", which can be found here . Events that happened in this thread are canon, and contain useful information on the setting and characters.

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Players/Characters:

- GreyBidoof as Burst
- Oddball_ as Lightforce
- Foxrally as Nerites Ekitai
- Sir Bastian as Quantum
- Godzil as Star Gazer
- Gimmepie as Giron
- Frozen Heart as Crimson Circuit
- Etherion as Kingside
- Elektra Heart as Dolly
- HTS123.0 as Ant Venom
- Legend as Overdrive
- Shak as Spectrum
- Ozymandias as Abraxas
- Aeternum as Deuseas
- Desinishon as Thunder Demon
- TheSignWriter as Helios
- Merlin as Druid
- Nakuzami as Cthonia
- Ice as Smiley
- Remus Prime as P.A.L.A.D.I.N.
- Infinite as Shade
- Estrello as Wixter
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[GreyBidoof]

Prologue: Assemble


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It was a cool autumn evening in Hyperia. The sun had just about set, leaving the city's darkening skyline glowing at the edges. Streetlights began to flick on, and the streets grew emptier as residents completed the commute home from the workday.

For some, however, the coming darkness would not bring sleep, but instead a unique opportunity.

Rumor had it that on this night, at a particular abandoned warehouse on the edge of the Bayside district, that the mysterious group known as "The Resistance" would be present. Furthermore, word was that they were looking to recruit those talented or skilled enough to join their ranks, to join the supposed fight against the Meta-Force.

No one knew what would happen at the meeting, or if the resistance would even show, but that wouldn't stop quite a few individuals from making their way there as the moon came out...
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Objectives:
- Mention how your character learned of the resistance and their motivations for wanting to attend the meeting.
- Reach and enter the abandoned warehouse, and wait for the Resistance Representative to arrive.
- Interact with the others present while waiting.
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[Oddball_]

Lightforce was here

Light Force

A young man in a large black coat sat atop a broken streetlight facing a seemingly abandoned warehouse. His hood was down and his golden hair was almost glowing in the waning sunlight.

"Now you might be wondering something along the lines of, why is this kid in some run down neighborhood where he might get mugged? Why is he sitting on a lightpost? Why is he speaking to me through the fourth wall? Well the answer is, quite simply, I'm Lightforce. ****ing deal with it." The boy said with a wink.

"Now then i'll go ahead and summarize my story while we're waiting for the other twenty or so people to show up... Geeze I'm glad i'm not the one organizing this party... Anyway I got my powers six months ago during a freak storm, you know the one that knocked out the entire cities power grid for like ten hours or something ridiculous. Yeah well it turns out that storm was the result of something poking through the walls of the universe, quite similar to a bullet hole. And the stuff that bled through was highly concentrated Lightforce energy, which happened to bleed through as a storm that used me as a sponge." The boy explained whilst flapping his arms about and explaining.

"So my then human body had a surplus of this super crazy dimensional energy right, which should have just burned me up and dispersed, but for some reason my body melded with the energy. I bonded with this crazy space energy on a molecular level and suddenly found myself with the ability to manipulate it. Which was, you know ****ing awesome." The boy stood up and began walking around, his feet dimly glowing gold as he walked through the air.

"So like any good superhero I started taking down bad guys, petty criminals and thugs, but wheres the fun in just beating on trash like that. So that brings us to why i'm here tonight. Theres this group called the resistance, and they basically want to fight and save Hyperia or whatever. Now that sounds pretty cool right? But here is the kicker, theres apparently something BIG that they are resisting. Like, Oh my gosh. How much more fun does that sound?" He said whilst falling from the air and dropping to the ground, his coat flapping in the light breeze.

"Anyway, that pretty much catches you all up on the important stuff about me. The rest of these hero scrubs don't actually need to know most of that, but what the hell, you guys seem like a bunch of nerds with no lives, and I can relate. Now go do something else while we wait for the next post." The boy said as he leaned against the broken lightpost and pulled a bottle of chocolate milk from his coat.

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[Etherion]

Renier "Reid" Cullen (hover)

Kingside

PROLOGUE 0.1

The sun was already setting as Reid began his long walk home. Rather than take any transport he was enjoying basking in the cool, crisp air. To his delight, it was the fall, the sun was already falling in deep slumber as the dusk sky was painted by splatters of orange and blue. A gust of wind blew at his scarf that was comforting him from the bite of night. He battled the sea of people walking towards their homes in the pavements of the busy Downtown Hyperia.

A few minutes have past, and at last, he had arrived in his apartment. The warmth from inside was definitely inviting. He changed into his pajamas, snuggled into his bed and turned on his TV. He had done his school work the night before so that he can make time to watch his favorite show that aired once a week. He propped up his glasses and sipped a glass of coffee as the epic theme song began to play, the show was starting.

"HOLD THE DOOR! HOLD THE DOOR!" His glasses began to fog up as the show reached its end. Another beloved character died in the midst of a daring escape, the action only reminding him to stay tuned next week for the next episode. "Hold the door," the voice from the TV trailed off, leaving him with a blank screen. Cliffhangers. He was left in a state of sadness. Then he finally felt stupid, why would he have feelings for just a fictional character that shows up in shows? He didn't know.

As he tried to stand up from his bed the screen flashed. He starred at it for several seconds then it flashed again - the black screen suddenly turning into static. Loud white sound flooded throughout his room. He frantically searched for the remote and tried to turn the damn TV off - but to no avail. He pressed the off button again and again, but the TV stayed in a frozen state. He went to the back of the device and located the plug, but when he was about to unplug it, the TV flashed and returned to black. To his surprise, a message, seemingly directing him, appeared.

We are "The Resistance", we are recruiting gifted individuals from all over the city to help with our cause: rid Hyperia of Animatus and his Meta-Force. It has recently come to our attention that you are a particular person with superhuman capabilities. Proceed to a particular abandoned warehouse on the edge of the Bayside District, and wait for the Resistance Representative to arrive.

Hyperia needs you, Kingside.

He hastily read the message, the sole mention of his 'alias' sent a shiver down his spines. He had heard rumors about a shady organization, although, can he trust the message? How would he know that this was sent by the so called "The Resistance"? How did they knew that he had powers? So many questions rang in his mind. And as if on cue, the message was gone in a blink of an eye, and the TV program proceeded as usual. But he paid no mind to the preview of the episode next week. He had other things in his mind. He changed into his clothes and aimed his arms toward his scarf, it hovered into the air and slowly approached him. The muffler, superficially having a mind of its own, wrapped itself in his neck. And he was off.

Outside, it became considerably cooler. The streets were lit with lights lining from corner to corner. He proceeded south then east, he knew the local well. He'd visited his father in his job at the Bayside several times. Once he eyed a line of warehouses, be began to reduce his pace of walking.

He'd arrived. Only time will tell if he made the right choice of trusting the message.

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[Ice1]

Smiley​

Prologue: Resurgence​

Margret was a lovely lady, with what was undeniably a great taste in tea. Yesterday she had turned 70, which James thought warranted a visit. He didn't come by on her actual birthday, as he didn't feel like they were acquainted that well, but the day after seemed ideal for the stage their friendly relationship was in. They talked about nothing, as is typical for birthday conversation. She reminisced about yesteryear, long gone, and James pretended to not have lived through those years. Eventually, as Margret always did, she asked him about Britain, for which James always smiled, took a sip of tea, and started to talk about what he could remember from happening on BBC America. He hadn't been to his home country in 75 years, so he was a bit (and with a bit he meant a lot) behind on the state of affairs there. He longed to talk about his youth in England, and how beautiful the cities were, but the changing world left no place for those stories. When he went home, Margret gave him, as she always did, that dear Margret, a piece of toffee that tasted older than she was.

As James walked back home, he immediately noticed someone had entered his house. It wasn't obvious, but there were slight clues that gave it away, like the yellow car on his driveway, and his door being wide open. He'd walk in carefully if he would ever worry about getting hurt.

She sat at the dinner table, sipping tea, and reading his copy of the paper. International News.

"I don't think we've had the pleasure," James said, as he hung up his coat.

"I don't think so," the woman said, as she stood up to shake his hand. "The name is Vanessa of Wiltshire. And you..." she paused just for a second, "are William Gladstone."

That was a name he hadn't heard in a while. He remembered the last time someone uttered it, moments before he left England to go to America. No one should still remember that name.

"I can't say that name gets much use out of me these days. I go by James now," he said, and he gave Vanessa friendly nod. "What's T.E.A. doing on American soil, though?"

She smiled. Of course he'd notice.

"With the recent events-"

"If you could call five years recent."

"With the recent events we decided that the threat needed to be contained, and neutralized before it would spread to the Queen's soil."

"I don't see how I factor into this."

"We want you to get out there," she said, and she threw a mask on the table. It was the yellow hockey mask James purchased five years ago. He got a good four or five uses out of it before he gave up on the superheroics.

"I'm going to ask you to leave, Miss."

She clenched her fist.

"No, you don't understand. This city is in trouble, and you got the ability to help!"

"Listen, miss, I am not interested in this whole situation. I-"

"So you're just going to sit here? Let a city go down just because you're too lazy, too- too- too stubborn to do something about it. Where is that heroism you were supposed to have?"

"There's enough people twirling and dancing at this gala," James said angrily. "The dancefloor doesn't need this old man."

"You're infuriating," the female agent yelled. "There's no reason to hideaway here in your little cottage while others fight a fight you are a part of! What gives you an excuse to give up?"

James stayed silent for a while, staring at the ground.

"This isn't my time anymore. I've lived long past anything worth concerning me."

"Even when there is a resistance? Even when there are people like you giving their life for their freedom? Have you stopped caring that much?"

He sighed, grabbed Vanessa by her shoulder and guided her towards the door.

"Say hi to Abberson for me," he said as Vanessa stepped into her car.

"He's dead. Has been since 1996."


The day just slowly strolled along as any other from there on. The conversation had triggered something in him though. He had been sipping tea with milk and sugar for years now, and barely did much else. He had jobs to kill the boredom, but his education wasn't very suited for the modern job market. He shivered at the thought of computers.

Maybe his life started to feel a bit pointless. There wasn't much he had left behind in his 120 years. The world could crumble and fix itself and he would just be there, peacefully mowing the grass, and watering his roses.

It was 11 at night. He couldn't sleep, because well, he didn't need to, but he couldn't get rest either. He tippled down the stairs and grabbed the mask from the kitchen table. He was done with fighting crime, he thought to himself. He put the mask down again.

The newspaper provided a distraction. Not because of the intellectual and well-written articles (as if there were any), but because of the papers that were hidden in it. It was a packet of 6 pages, one serving as a cover, all written on in the tiniest writing, with incredibly small pictures spread throughout. The watermark on the cover was what caught his eye.

T.E.A.

It seemed like Vanessa couldn't just leave it at no. He really didn't want to read the files, but curiosity got the better of him. The file was nostalgic, to say the least. Vanessa had managed to dig up one of the few things relevant to his past. One of the few things that walked this earth that were older than him. The Clockwork Man was a relic these days. Absolutely ancient. James was stunned that it was still around, but the file did say so. And while it seemed to have broken down years ago, functioning for more than a hundred years was incredibly impressive for such an ancient machination.

James remembered reading about him in the papers when he was a kid. There were rarely any pictures of it, just sketches and drawings, but they were still very vivid in his mind. The Man of Wonder. The Man of the Hour. The Clockwork Man. He watch out for the common folk in London, apprehending those without proper respect for the law. The basis for the modern superhero, really.

The file told James that the robot was in Hyperia, hidden away between fresh fish in a cold containment cell in Bayside.

He tapped the portrait that was contained on the last page.

"Watchmaker, huh? Well played, Vanessa, well played."

 

[TheSignWriter]

Helios

The Sun's Radiance​

A Drunk Rumor ​

--The Night Before--

Nick tapped his fingers on the counter before him, counting the minutes before he got off his shift. He figured it would be another slow night. Eventually, 48 minutes later exactly, a familiar customer came in unexpectedly. His name was Dan, and he always came in for a 6 pack of beer. He also loved to talk his head off.

"You're a little late, aren't you, Dan?" asked Nick, curious of why he was running late. Usually he showed up an hour earlier. Dan didn't reply, however, as is the norm. He had to get his beer first. Of course, silly Nick. Dan grumbled under his breath as he headed straight to the beer section, way in the back. Nick rolled his eyes, and started tapping his fingers again. This would take a few.

Eventually, Dan emerged from the depths of the beer isle with a case of Miller Lite in his hand. Looking pleased with himself, he set the case on top of the counter. Nick giggled to himself, and rang it up.

"Why does it take you so long to just pick the same thing every time," Nick asked, as he rang up the beer. "Also, that'll be 7 dollars please." Dan quickly pulled out his credit card and paid for his addiction. Wasting no time, he opened up the 6-pack and popped open a bottle. Gulping it down, Nick cringed as Dan made those annoying gulping noises. He does it every time, but Nick still isn't used to it. After chugging down over two thirds of the bottle, Dan sat it down on the counter and leaned on it as well, slightly losing his balance. He belched just like they do in the cartoons, and finally smiled and looked at Nick.

"Heh, ol' buddy pal Nickaroo... How you doin' buddy?" Giving no time to reply, he continued. "I'm great now, heh. Waiting for this all day." His expression turned a little darker. "Addiction sucks, man." Nick nodded. He was once addicted to cigarettes. He was glad he could resist them now, but he knew one was all it would take to get him hooked again. Clearing his throat, Dan spoke again. But this time it was about something different.

"Hey, tattoo man. You're a freak, aren'tcha? Well, not in a rude way, but you have some weird power right?" Nick nodded. "Right. You're like a human flashlight. Pretty useless in a fight, but still. I mean maybe you could blind them or something. You also can turn different colors, maybe you'll be a disco..." Dan started to trail off, before Nick snapped him back. "Get back on track, man. Also, I prefer 'Helios', not human flashlight."

"Right, right." Dan said, not paying any attention to Nicks wishes. "Anyway, flashlight, there is a point to all this. I was walkin' down the street towards here, when I overheard a stranger talking to himself about some weird things. Apparently there is the meetin' for 'The Resistance' which is a group made to fight against the Meta-Force. They're lookin' for people like you, Nicky. Freaks with weird powers, and who knows. Maybe they're desperate enough for you. I personally believe it'll be worth your time. Who knows, maybe they'll give you more powers to be more useful? And they could train you, and you'd lose that little gut of yours. Or it could be somethin' for a gang, then you'll be in the middle of a gun fight. Light doesn't exactly make you bulletproof."

Nick scratched his chin, actually thinking about what this drunk was saying. "Where exactly is this so called meeting, then?" He wondered out loud.

"Oh, right! It's like, just down the street. It's in one of those warehouses, I just didn't hear which one. I'm sure you'll find it, it's nearby." Looking down at his watch, Dan put his empty bottle in the 6-pack and grabbed it, heading out. "I gotta go, it's gettin' too late. Let me know if you go to that meeting." And with that, he was off, leaving Nick alone to his thoughts. He didn't need to think about it, though. His life was extremely boring, and this would spice it up a bit. He decided to take the night off tomorrow. He felt something agree with him, and that it was a good idea.

Was that the sun?


-- Tonight --

Nick smiled as he walked past his work. He had a black hoodie on, with the sun printed on the back. He had his hood up, so they didn't notice it was him, which was good. He called in as "sick," but in reality he was just skipping to go to some mysterious meeting. He glanced down at his hand, and watched as his tattoos began to glow a dim golden color before turning invisible by bending the light rays around him. Satisfied, Nick started a jog towards the warehouse. As he approached it, he saw another person - a woman with a package in her hands. Confused, he watched her as she also approached the warehouse. Nick could feel himself being drained of energy, so he followed without any hesitation.

"Well, if I'm gonna die tonight, might as well be next to someone good looking." He joked to himself.

 

[gimmepie]

Giron: Back in Business
AKA Basil DeLeon | Aged 30 | Male | Reptilia

"Basil!" the voice said yet again, getting progressively louder with each repetition "Basil!" At last Giron realised that the man was talking to him and turned away from his computer screen. He'd used the name Basil as an alias for around six years at that point and had almost never returned to his true form since the Champions separated, but sometimes it still sailed over him when people called him by that name.
"Uh, sorry sir. I was lost in thought." He said with a sheepish grin. A tall, well-built man with a bald head and stern gaze was standing in front of Giron's desk.
"Daydream on your own time, you're doing important work here."
"Yes sir, it won't happen again."

The man, Giron's direct superior, Graham Johnson, took his leave apparently having nothing else in mind but reprimanding the young Basil DeLeon as he believed Giron was named. Even to someone as naïve as Giron, working for Johnson felt strange and dangerous. Johnson reported directly to the Meta-Force, Animatus' henchman. When the Champions had been forced to disband, Giron had gone into hiding under his false identity and returned to the University of Hyperia to complete his degrees in Politics and History. He then used those degrees to get employed at City Hall and found his way onto the Committee for Superhuman Tracking and Control: Civilians whose jobs were essentially to follow paper trails and tips in the hunt for former Champions or members of the Resistance. Giron was only a junior member on the committee, however he was able to make slight alterations to documents or conceal some leads in order to aid the Resistance or other fugitives that the Meta-Force was after. He'd even spotted the names and descriptions of his fellow former Champions on occasion.

Unfortunately for Giron though, he had not been able to actually contact anyone. Members of the committee were watched like hawks most of the time, it was for that reason that he so rarely returned to his physical form. His computer was also monitored and the original communication devices of the Champions had all but been abandoned it seemed, although Giron had kept his. It was a little disappointing, but he'd never been a great fighter or anything either. His power was put to better use helping people from a distance, as he was, however he wished he could do more – like use his position to feed information to the Resistance.

Giron, not wanting to attract anymore-unwanted attention from Johnson, returned to work. Filtering through tonnes of data, tips and videos hoping that he wouldn't find anything pointing towards his friends or the Resistance that seemed viable. He had to be careful and never make any major changes, or he'd be exposed as a sympathiser. Since he could assume any form he chose, this wasn't exactly scary in the sense that he was risking his life. If he were discovered, he could disappear with ease (assuming he didn't get jumped by the Meta-Force). However, he'd undoubtedly find it near impossible to get back onto the committee. It was as Giron dwelled on this that he opened a file, what was inside proved to be the most opportunely timed piece of information the alien had ever encountered.

File Type: Tip
Classification: Unsubstantiated
Topic: Resistance Meeting

I heard a conversation between two people down an alley discussing an imminent Resistance recruitment meeting being held in an abandoned warehouse in the Bayside District tonight. There was no address mentioned, however I think you should know.​

A claim of this sort was not uncommon, and was usually extremely inaccurate or just downright lies. However, as Giron read the brief bit of information he couldn't help but feel as though there was more to it than there usually was. There was nothing major to suggest that this was actually an accurate tip for once, but something in Giron's gut told him that he could not allow this report to be taken seriously. Even a precautionary investigation could have been problematic, so he did the only logical thing he could do with his limited computer knowledge. He marked the file as "investigated" and changed the date on it to imply the tip had been received days ago rather than on that day. Normally, Giron would have left it at that… but something was different this time.

---

When Giron got off work a few hours later, the alien started walking towards his home. However, once he was certain that he was not being followed he ducked down a side street. Seconds later, he emerged passed the tops of the nearby buildings as a humble pigeon. He would have preferred to be a pelican, they were his favourite bird, but they weren't really common anywhere near City Hall.

Giron took off and flew towards the Bayside District. He couldn't help but feel excited and elated, he hadn't taken the shape of a bird in years. There was something amazing and fun about flying and that exhilaration was only added to by the possibility of him finally being able to make contact with Resistance, maybe even with some of his former compatriots.

Flying was much faster than walking, even when you were as out of practice as Giron. Landing however was far less efficient. Although, you could not really call what Giron did "landing" as much as "crashing". He misjudged the angle of his decent and the speed at which he would take it and ended up crashing into the side of a warehouse instead of landing neatly between it and its neighbour.
"Ow." Giron moaned, changing form from a pigeon to a tall African-American man he'd spotted outside City Hall. "Last time something like that happened I ended up stranded on a foreign planet. It's still not very fun. Who am I talking to?" Giron muttered to himself, stepping out from between the two old buildings and proceeding to walk through the area.

There were a lot of warehouses of varying sizes in the Bayside area, but this was a particularly old and run down part of the district. A lot of the buildings were rarely used, straight up abandoned or even marked for demolition. It made sense that this would be where the meeting would occur if it was going to.
Giron wandered the district until the sun had well and truly set, becoming more and more disconcerted as time went on. He was just about to give up when he saw a small number of people walking into a smaller warehouse that he'd almost missed due to it being sandwiched between two far larger buildings. A single lamppost provided all the light in the area.
"If this isn't the perfect place for a secret meeting I don't know what is!" Giron exclaimed happily, excitedly and honestly a little too loudly. It was probably a good thing nobody seemed to be around. Giron headed towards the building with a spring in his step.​

 

[Ice1]

Smiley​

Prologue: Reactivation​

It definitely felt weird wearing the mask again. It felt heavy, and James was almost sure he had put on it on too tightly. On the other hand, it felt exciting too. Or maybe it was more the prospect of seeing this childhood legend that was responsible for the tingles in his stomach.

The umbrella he was holding was the one Binary had made for him years ago. It was fortified steel, ideal for fighting and keeping dry on rainy days. The curved handle had provided him with a couple of very interesting ways to utilize it. It had gone a while without use, though. He could count the people he had bashed with it on only two hands. Well, maybe he would have to use a couple of toes too. Still, it was quite the exclusive group.

The facility he was going to enter reeked of fish already from several miles away. The building was big. Several stories tall, and incredibly wide, it felt daunting. It was a great place to hide something. Between the fish, the crates and the other products, a box with a robot in it wouldn't be that hard to obscure.

Quickly spotting and accessing all the possible entrances, James decided that the truck entrance would probably be the best way in. As long as there was something being loaded, it was open, and it allowed for access straight to the goods. The supervision was lesser compared to the front door, and it was a lot easier to reach than the windows of the work offices on the upper floors. He could also just walk through it without getting stopped.

He took off his mask, and put it under his arm, changing it out for the clipboard he was carrying. He just slipped past the workers unloading and loading trucks. Even after all those years, the old clipboard trick still worked as well as in the thirties. Especially on workmen that had yet to get their coffee, and didn't feel like asking the man with the clipboard if he was supposed to be here.

It was cold inside, which was quite logical, considering they stored fish. Rotten fish didn't sell that well. The cold didn't bother James much. His British skin had prepared him for the lower temperatures. Of course nothing as bad as this, but the Brits would have you believe it was.

Surveying the storage, it became immediately clear that this was going to take a while. He split off into 8 copies, each steadily walking in another direction, observing the crates of fish and lobster as he went past. He tried to overlay his knowledge about the Clockwork Man and the layout of the warehouse, to see where they could be hidden. A two meter tall robot man wouldn't be hidden away in a crate of fish. Definitely not if they're supposed to be worked on. That thing would stop working when salmon would get stuck between its gears. Working on that thing, you'd wouldn't want to drag it large distances every time. Even moving it with one of the forklifts would get suspicious after a while. It had to be close to tools, so either the repair station at the end of the facility, or there was a well-hidden room somewhere. Smiley #4, as he lovingly and arbitrarily called the fourth copy, climbed nimbly on some crates. He tried to stay out of view of the workers, while getting a good higher vantage point to scan the room with. He noticed a forklift parked away in the corner of the facility, close to Smiley #7.

The forklift self was really just that. Nothing particularly odd about it, except for its placement. What was curious, however, were the crates nearby. They were stacked perfectly on top of each other, but were both places just slightly too far from the crates around it. James tried to push them aside, but they were not eager to give in. It felt as if they were stuck to the ground, not just incredibly heavy.

He was puzzled for a second. He assumed the forklift would be there to lift away the suspicious crates or something akin to that, but he was sure these couldn't be lifted away. Maybe it was a door, somehow?

He sat down on the forklift, and fiddled with the buttons on the control panel a bit. None of them seemed to really do much. It couldn't be the ignition either, because starting this thing would be a dead giveaway. His next guess was the button to change seat height, which not only lowered his seat a bit, but also made the crates in front of him sink into the ground, and reveal a small, claustrophobic hole.

James quickly moved down it. In the storage facility, a weirder part of James' abilities showed themselves. To make sure he would be able to copy himself, he had to get rid of some copies. And the only way to get rid of his current bodies was manslaughter. While he silently and slowly climbed down, he rounded up his other bodies near the entrance, with Smiley #2 and #3 mercilessly snapping the necks of numbers 4 to 9.

The room James lowered himself into was small, and dark. It was lit by a single light bulb, hanging from a loose thread on the ceiling. The light revealed a table with several brass gears, and glass bulbs on it, and more importantly, the Clockwork Man.

Smiley was in awe of the machination. You could see the gears through his glass exterior, all clicking into place, with little rotors and parts in between. The man who made this must've been a genius. Not only was the work impressive technically, it was also beautiful to look at. The body was a long thick glass bulb, starting thin and becoming wider at the top, which was where most of the gears were located. Its head was a brass oval, placed around shoulder height. It had two protrusions where its eye would be, with small wires in it that allowed them to light up. His arms and legs were strong steel pipes, with tubes and gears attached to them, allowing them to move. On his back hung a ceremonial sword, fully decorated, albeit rusted severely.

A hatch on its back was opened, revealing a missing piece in its interlocking gears. James got slightly tingly as he thought of reactivating the Clockwork Man. Not only would he have brought back this ancient piece of beautiful machinery, he would've also resurrected one of history's greatest crime fighters. It seemed like the ideal solution. He would've brought that Vanessa, with her emotional fits, a replacement for him, too. It felt like a good way to go about the situation, even if it was just attending to obligations he didn't have.

It was quite clear one of the bulbs on the table was the missing part. One was rusted and broken, the other had only a green hue on its copper. The copper one fit perfectly, and as James inserted it, the gears inside the Clockwork Man started ticking again slowly. It came to life again, moving with shocky spurs and unfluid steps. It turned around, as its eyes started to light up and stared at James. It slowly leaned forward, as if it was trying to see the man better, observing as much as of him as possible. All of a sudden its head turned sideways with a jagged movement, and it jumped up through the entrance.

The two bodies James had positioned by the entrance saw it shoot by, at ludicrous speeds.

 

[Sir Bastian]

Quantum
Prologue:The Meeting

​

"I thought you said you'd gotten rid of the alarm?!"

"Yeah, well, next time, why don't –you- sort out security, and I'll be in charge of 'bringing the guns', Alex?!"

Grunting, the ski mask-clad man stood up from his crouched position behind the car, firing a round from his assault rifle into one of the two nearby cop cars that was blocking off one side of the street. The policemen behind it ducked down, the moustached one grabbing the radio sat on his shoulder.

"Where's our backup?! These guys are heavily armed!"

As the fire subsided, the other policeman grit his teeth and sprung to his feet, leaned over the hood of the car as he fired several shots from his pistol, causing two of the robbers to duck down behind their car again.

Another guy had taken refuge in the wall of the entrance to the jewelry store they had just exited, reloading his own rifle. "We gotta get out of here before it gets too hot! Give them something else to think about!"

Alex nodded his head quickly as the other guy behind the car jumped up and fired at the three cops currently in hiding. Peeking over their car, the man took note of the civillians stood on the sidewalk nearby, behind the police cars. Smirking, he called out to his friends as he stood up, aiming his rifle at her. "Keep me covered, I've got something!"

Peeking over the hood of the car, the officer widened his eyes, realizing his plan. "… Ma'am, get down!" He shouted at the woman, about to run towards her, but a new hail of bullets kept him pinned down. Stumbling backwards after making eye contact with the robber, the woman was about to make a run for it as Alex pulled the trigger.

The woman screamed and threw her arms up in front of her, only to find herself floating. The nearby people gasped, and even the policemen were staring in awe. Opening her eyes again, the woman looked up and found herself held by a black-and-silver suit of armor with neon-purple glowing lines along it. The glowing eyes behind the visor were locked onto her, and a woman's voice rang out from behind the helmet, completely unmuffled.

"You're alright now. Stay back, please. I'll take care of this."

Unable to do anything but stare and nod rapidly, the woman was sat down again and ran towards the rest of the crowd, as Quantum turned around, the robbers still firing over the car. Two of the cops were responding to the fire, but the moustached one aimed his pistol at her.

"… Stop! You're under arrest, under order of-"

"Now's –really- not the time for this." Quantum replied, raising a hand at him while keeping her eyes on the robbers. She began hovering as the streaks of purple glowed somewhat firmer. "I'll be back soon!"

With that, she sped forwards, the guy behind the wall turning around to fire, only to let out a girlish shriek as Quantum was on him in no time, socking him square in the jaw, causing him to tumble down the steps. His friends both turned to stare at their partner in crime collapsing into a pile, the armored figure turning towards them.

"****! It's Quantum! Let's get out of here, Jerry!"

Scrambling, they both ripped open the car's doors and hopped in, one on the front and one on the backseat, the tires screeching before taking off. Quantum raised slightly into the air before darting towards them. Before they'd managed to get further than three houses away, she'd grabbed onto the back of the car, her fingers digging into the metal.

The car's wheels whined against the pavement as he kept speeding up, trying to make the car go faster. "Come on, what the hell?!"

"Uh, Alex, we've got a problem!" Jerry cried as he franticly reloaded his rifle. Swinging it around, he fired wildly out the back of the window, causing Quantum to duck her head somewhat. Even if bullets couldn't penetrate her armor, her visor was somewhat weaker, albeit still bulletproof, but she wasn't going to risk it penetrating.

"Ngh… there's no… parking allowed here!" Gripping firmly onto the car, she let out a grunt as she took a step to the side and turned her body, slamming the car into the side of a building, promptly stopping the car from trying to go anywhere. Letting out what sounded like a heavy breath, she stepped towards it, just as one of the doors was kicked open and Jerry had made a run for it, down a nearby alley. "Oh, no you don't…" Raising her right arm, the circular pattern on Quantum's palm began glowing before firing a single blast of energy after him. It hit the man square in the back, causing him to launch into a lamp post and topple over.

A bullet pinged off of her helmet. She blinked and turned around to see Alex shakily holding a pistol aimed at her besides the crumpled car. He fired off another shot, which flew straight past her. She met his eyes with her own and began moving towards him, the bullets ricochetting off of her armor, the man's eyes widening the closer she got.

"N-no! Don't come closer! I'll… I'll!"

She reached out as the gun clicked helplessly, pointing straight at her face, having expended his last bullets. She gripped the pistol and squeezed, causing the metal to crumple into a useless lump.

"No. You won't. And for your health, you shouldn't, ever again."

The criminal stumbled back and fell on his behind, nodding his head rapidly in silent fear.

The policemen had run up to the scene, the other two busy collecting the downed criminals while the moustached man had stopped in front of her, pistol by his side. Quantum turned towards the officer in charge, her expression invisible to him save for her eyes, but a smile clearly heard in her voice. "Sorry, you were saying something about arresting me earlier?"

Taking a good, long look at her, the man grunted something about it not being worth it and waving her off. Quantum smirked behind her helmet and proceeded to launch into the air, streaking across the city's darkening skyline.

"Well, that went well." She thought, rather pleased with herself. "Now, I guess I just need to-"

"… kzzrt- Quantum?" Her helmet's communication device buzzed. She blinked, not expecting to hear from anyone at this point. Raising a hand to the side of her helmet, she listened.

A few hours later, hovering above the warehouse in question, Quantum watched as people were slowly milling towards this particular one. They were spread out enough for them to not attract much attention, but she'd been watching for a little while, now. Taking a deep breath, or at least pretending to, given that she had no breath –to- take, Quantum lowered herself down. She was feeling… uneasy. Worried, but in a good way. But –definitely- nervous. Maybe this –was- a chance for something new. For change to happen in a city that desperately needed it.

She sank through the open skylight of the warehouse, dimly illuminated by a pair of ceiling lamps, she immediately saw a couple people looking wary and curious all at the same time. A woman with a package, a boy in a scarf, and an African-american man.

As she landed, she tensed up for a moment. There was a good chance that any of them had seen the news where she was either marked as a hero or a terrorist, or heard about her in one way or another, which meant their expectations of her would be through the roof. Unless they thought nothing of her, which was arguably even worse. After steeling her nerves, she raised a hand to the small group.

"… Uhm. Hello."
​

 

[Groc]

Finally... The Star... Has Come Back To Hyperia!

---

The plane had landed at the airport, the taxi had stopped at the train station, the train had subsequently stopped at another station, and then the bus had stopped at Bayside Bus Stop. From there, Stella had lugged her luggage back to her old apartment building. Well, technically it was still hers. She still paid for it, even though she didn't live there. But all that was about to change. It had been a long journey, across the country, across the pond, but she was finally home. First things first: Hyperion coffee and donuts.

After getting her fix of caffeine and fried dough, she gave her dad a call. It would be good to hear his voice again. The reception on her communicator was pretty dodgy at times. "Hey, Dad! How've you been?"

"Stella! Good to hear from you, kid! So, uh... how was your trip?" He sounded excited, although the speaker on her old communicator was starting to die. "It was good, Dad. Steel City was... interesting. Pretty dark, though."

"Well, if anyone could brighten up a place, it is you! Are you planning on staying long?" Stella flashed an old man a grin as he stared at her. She kind of stood out, wearing an ushanka and talking to her watch. "Actually, I might stick around for a while this time. I'm not sure people even want Star Gazer anymore..." Her hand reflexively moved to her stomach, where she had taken a shotgun shell a month ago. Her metahuman healing factor had fixed it up, not even leaving a scar, but she still felt that the SWAT officer had been out of line.

"Stella, daughter, you can not think that way! You have a gift, you have, uh... potential! Star Gazer is good for people, she helps them! You help them. Is what you always wanted, yes?" Stella smiled, always glad to hear her father's pep talks in his broken English. They never failed to inspire.

"You're right, dad. Like always. While I'm here, I'll see what I can do around town. I'll come see you later?" She wanted to get sone rest before she did anything, anyway. "Oh, before you go... I probably should not say anything, but rumor is that there is secret meeting here in Bayside tonight. Is Resistance meeting, similar to your Champions, yes? Maybe you stop by, see what happens?"

"Uh, sure, Dad. I'll talk to you later. Love you!" Well. That would certainly be a fun time...

☆☆Later that night...☆☆

Star Gazer soared through the air above Bayside, letting the updraft from the water carry her aloft. It had been a while since she'd flown above her city, and she had definitely missed it. Of course, she had also forgotten how to navigate, and couldn't remember where the meeting was supposed to be. (It wasn't like she had any pockets on her armor she could carry a map in.) Her leisurely flight soon turned into an airborne sweep of the area. "Where could they be?"

Fortunately for her, she soon found a group of people gathered inside an old warehouse. It looked pretty close to the right area, so she felt confident she had found the right place. "Salutations, everyone!" She slowly descended from the ceiling, dropping down after her greeting. "How are you all doing tonight? I'm Star Gazer!"
​

​

 

[Remus Prime]

P.A.L.A.D.I.N.
Protection And
Logistics Artificial
Defence Information Network

Chance


Her existence was a solitary one. She watched the data, flowing around the city. The air was practically thick with it. Messages and pictures being sent to each other, emails, phonecalls. There was a ripple of something happening in the digital world. Some email chains between powerful individuals, requests sent out, information gathered. Each communication had the keyword she was looking for. Crackles of audio from phone conversations she had heard the spoken word.


"Resistance."


The cameras had been set up outside her warehouse for her protection. She could monitor them at all times, each feed visible twenty four hours a day. Unlike the cameras in the city she hacked in to, these were on her own circuit. But now, something was happening. At a nearby abandoned warehouse, not far from her own, there were shapes. There was movement. People.


Some were drifting around nearby, waiting for others to enter. No communication had come to her. Because no one knew where she was, she hoped. Or what she was. Or if she even existed. It was mere chance that this meeting appeared to be happening in her neighbourhood. There were several abandoned districts, and several abandoned warehouses. Something was bound to happen in many of them. There just happened to be a meeting she was interested in, happening next door.


This gave her a peculiar feeling. She was not meant to have these. She was not meant to not understand. She could read information. Everything was information. Even people were just binding of molecules, subject to the same physical laws of everything else. They acted as they did given their situation, pressures, influences. It was all chemicals and atoms.

So, why did it seem like this was not just chance? Why did it seem like fate had dropped this meeting in her lap? It did not take her long to reach a decision. If this was the Resistance, she could learn much from them. About the city, about the shadowy power that seemed to hold domination over it's people. Perhaps she could even be of assistance, and in turn, receive it. She was but a shadow of what she could be.


This was a task for her face, not her fist, so she must act accordingly. The tough chassis of her security body stood just inside her own warehouse, draped in a tarp, just in case someone went to pry.


And so it was that a metallic feminine figure strode confidently towards the abandoned warehouse. She had no need of secrecy, no cause for shyness or hesitation. She knew this place. And even if the worst happened, she would just acquire another body, sooner or later. An acceptable loss.


Her high heeled feet click-clacked on the floor, designed to resemble stilettos in shape, her form designed to give a slight swing of the hips. Her short cropped hair woven of tiny aluminium threads hung about like a shimmering curtain framing her open, silvery face. The lips just that shade of darker metal. Her eyes obviously mechanical, intricate, constantly moving, whirring, and watching. Glowing with artificial intelligence. Her form reflected the street lamps as she strode into the warehouse, her mechanical gaze following two female descending forms from the skylight, examining the other three male occupants.

 

[TheSignWriter]

Helios

The Sun's Radiance​

The Classic ​

Nick felt his energy begin to hit empty during his attempt to keep himself invisible. Beads of sweat dripped down from his forehead to the ground. Swiftly glancing around for somewhere to reveal himself in private, Nick began to slip his control over his invisibility. A few spots of his body appeared in thin air, and Nick gasped a little too loud. Regaining control of his power, he dashed over to the shadow of the warehouse created by the moonlight. He fell onto his behind, instantly releasing the waves of light and became visible again. He watched his tattooed hands as they briefly shined their golden hue. As they always do whenever he uses his powers. His other tattoos did this as well, but he couldn't see them as he was covered up in his hoodie. Nick didn't even realize that he was giving off quite a light show in the darkness, oblivious to the fact the others who were walking/flying nearby could've easily seen him. He wasn't exactly the brightest, which is quite the irony.

Letting loose a well deserved sigh, he patted himself on the back. Literally. "That was rough, jeez. I am so not a night person, despite my work schedule..." he thought to himself. Nick observed those who must have also heard about the meeting tonight about some sort of Resistance. There was quite a bit of diversity in the little group that seemed to be forming inside thus far. The first he saw that night he dubbed "Box girl," for obvious reasons. There was also "Scarf boy," "Jumbo," "Robogirl 1," Looney toon," and "Robogirl 2." Satisfied with his dubs for them, he wrote them hastily on page 2 of his black notebook. He scratched his chin, as a hilarious idea popped into his brain. A small prank only he would find hilarious. Nick stood himself up, then walked out of the shadows into the warehouse via a nearby door. it first led into some sort of office area, but that only helped Nick with his plan. In the corner closest to the exit, he found a small box sturdy enough to hold his weight. He dragged it along, as he was too worn out to carry the thing. For such a small box, it weighed a lot. A smirk already forming on his face, Nick put on his best poker face when he got close enough to the group. He stood ontop of the box, and cleared his throat.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen," Nick said, already suppressing a smirk. "I bet you're wondering why you've been gathered here today." He paused for the dramatically cliche effect. He laughed mockingly. "Yeah, me too." He said, replying to nobody in particular. "But! I do have an offer, to spice things up while we wait for the main event. I need a volunteer, anyone willing to pull my finger." He said with a wink.


"What a classic." He giggled to himself.

 

[Desinishon]

Rex Raze​

The sun was halfway gone now. The sky was deepening in colour, and the sun was a darker orange; it almost hurts to look at it because it was so bright. The clouds were beginning to fade into the shadows as the light vanished, and the sky near the sun was started to grow fainter, blending into the blues of the surrounding air.

The wind rushed silently through the streets as a young boy wearing a black hoodie yawned a little. As he walked along the streets the wind moved softly through his light brown hair; his black eyes soon came upon his destination a large abandoned looking warehouse just on the edge of Bayside district. Looking toward the warehouse he could see another figures already waiting there.

It all started one month ago. When rumors about a group called "resistance" reached old town, Rex knows right away that it was something big. He wanted to test his powers without holding back. He wanted to meet powerful people. So, he left old town in search of resistance.

He arrived at downtown. He was searching for them since last week but he didn't found any clues about their whereabouts. It was so annoying.

Speaking of annoying, there was a person who was calling him since last night asking if his name was "Neo" and he was the "one"......wtf.

After few hours of getting annoyed with that call, he got a text which contain location of Resistance. He has no leads so why not follow this one.

So here he was walking toward that warehouse. When Rex arrived, he found that twice in the same day his expectations were confirmed… the warehouse was absolutely full of people. When he has gotten text he came up with a theory that like him other people with superpowers have also gotten message. So, here they are.

'Damn! They are so predictable, it's almost scary!' The young boy ventured to corner of room and stood beside a wall.

'Well, it can't be helped. I guess, I'm just gonna wait for "resistance representative" to arrive.' Making himself comfortable, he put his hand behind his back and observed the other people. Some people are trying to interact with others.

After some minutes, he came to conclusion that 2 persons who look like cyborgs probably rely on their robotic part. Then there is a......"tall guy" whose greatest weapon might be his strength. Other than that he can't tell anything about people present there.

 

[Ice1]

Smiley​

Prologue: Reacclimation​

All the lights in the warehouse sprung on, and James could see all the doors and gates closing in the distance. Red alarm lights flickered in the distance. "Oh my goodness," he said to himself.

He could hear several of the workers yell as they tried to make sense of the situation.

"What's happening?"

"The door's closed, and it doesn't want to open anymore!"

"Why are the alarm lights on? Shouldn't there be a horn tooting too?"

"Probably better to just not ask question, and go to the rendez-vous point."

The chatting continued, as the men slowly walked towards the emergency entrance near the office stairs.

James decided it was best to send one of him over, to see if they knew what was happening. Putting his mask back under his arm and switching it for a clipboard, he walked towards the group.

"Hello gentleman, William Chapeau, from the bureau of health. I was surveying your shipments, but it seems something has happened. Could you be so nice to enlighten me?"

"You'll have to ask the chief. He's upstairs in the office, if he hasn't left already."

"Okay, great, thanks for the cooperation, gentleman," he said and gave them a friendly nod.


"Hello?" James said as he knocked on the office door. No answer. He decided to enter.
The Clockwork Man stood over a pool of blood, with the corpse of the chief laid out in it. His throat had been slit in a very clinical fashion. The robot noticed James, looked up, and again his head tipped sideways before it shot out through the window, splattering glass all over the storage floor. The two Smileys downstairs had a good view of it leaping through the air, and disappearing in between the crates. It moved incredibly quickly, as they heard it's feet tap the concrete floor and the gears inside of him tick. James rushed over to the body, checking for anything of importance, but for nothing in particular. He recognized the face of the foreman, as it had been in the files Vanessa had hidden in between his papers. Watchmaker, he called himself. Or Luke Nyefield, according to his nametag here.

He quickly ran down the stairs, putting on his mask as he went down.

"My name's Smiley, I've made a mistake, and we're all in big trouble," he said as he ran down.

"Yeah, you could say that. Emergency exit won't open."

James sighed. "Anyone got any clue as to why everything closed?"

No one raised a hand.

"Okay, anyone know of any other ways out?"

No one raised a hand.

"Anyone know how to fight killer robots?"

No one raised a hand.

"Off to a great sta- Run!"

James quickly split himself up in threefold, to guide the groups of workers away as out of nowhere the robot jumped between them and start waving its rusted sword in a dangerous fashion.

"Follow me," every incarnation of James said, as they all ran in a different direction. The robot shot away again.

"Okay, I want to know how many people are in this building, I want names, and then I want dead silence."

"Six, we're with six. The chie-"

"Five, we're with five," James interrupted. "What's your name?"

"David."

"Okay David, I want you to do as I say."

Everyone in the warehouse was now split between 3 groups. Group 1 consistent of David, and a Polish man named Mikael, and James, group 2 was a woman named Zara, and again James, and group 3 was yet again James, of course, but with a rather fat man called Damion and a small rat like person called Craig.

Group one ran towards the garage doors, trying to spot a way out.

"David, does this door work with keys?"

"It doesn't, there's a beeper. We tried that already."

"I know, I know, but I can't break open an electric lock with my bare hands. Darn it."


Group two was heading towards the main entrance, but that door didn't give either.

"Zara, who has the key?"

"It's unlocked, there's no reason for it to not open!"

"Why won't it give then?"

He tackled the door again with full force, but besides a load thud sound nothing happened.

"Damn, I think it's sealed. There's another mechanism keeping it shut. We're going to meet up at a central point. We need to be able to move."

A shadow flickered by.

"What was that?" Zara exclaimed.

"Killer robot."

"Great."

With a loud steel echo it came down behind the two. James turned around, embraced his umbrella tightly and split himself in three. The robot set shocking steps towards him. Its head ticket with each step it took.
James quickly swept its legs away with his umbrella, making it fall over. Nimbly, it turned the fall into a roll and got up again. It grabbed the sword from its back and started to swing it around at great speed. It clinked off against James's umbrella, and while he kept the robot busy, another of his bodies jumped towards him, trying to throw him off-balance. The Clockwork man reacted to quick, though, and the sword went straight through his neck, as his body turned to dust.

He quickly split off into two more bodies, one which he sent away with Zara, the other went straight into battle again. The three bodies James was fighting with all started beating the Clockwork Man from different sides, as they tried to knock it down, or get its gears jammed. The casing was too strong for it too matter, though.

The robot jumped away, and they could hear the tapping of steel on concrete, and the ticking of gears go on in the distance.

"I have a plan. We can leave through that window," James said, and he pointed to a small window, far far above them at the other side of the facility.

 

[Strange]

Druid


Another long day of practicing his magic left Eric exhausted, lying on the sofa in his apartment. He regretted spending so much time working to pay for this stupid apartment. It's not like he needed it anyway. He practically lives inside his spellbook.

The phone started to ring, again. It was like the fifth time today that he was getting a call, and he had a feeling he knew who it was.

"I'm okay, mom, you don't have to call me so much. It's not like I'm going to burn down another apartment, sheesh."

Eric was then interrupted by a man with a gravely sounding voice.

"Are you Eric Magruder?"

He blushed, not that the man on the phone could tell.

"Yes, who's asking?"

"We hear you have, special, talents. The Resistance could use some new faces. Meet us at the abandoned warehouse if you're interested."

"Wait! What abandoned warehouse? And you never told me your name! And how did you know mine?"

There was a click, and Eric knew the man had hung up. So much for having a relaxing night. He pulled on the pants of his costume, then put on the rest of the ensemble. If he was going to meet the resistance, he was going to look his best.

Then he remembered that he had no idea which abandoned warehouse he was supposed to meet them at. It looks like he was going to have to visit them all. Every abandoned warehouse in the city. It was going to be a long night.

~~~​

The air was cold. It didn't help that Eric's costume was just a jacket, no shirt. He really wished he had better planning skills. Not only was he cold, but he was tired and running around in the dark. Three warehouses and still no sign of any living thing, save for a few rats of course.

He was ready to give up when he spotted a warehouse that looked to have too many people going into it for being abandoned. Perhaps that was the place? The people going in didn't look like Resistance fighters though. Although, he had never met any Resistance fighters so he really had no idea what they should look like.

He then saw someone fly into the warehouse through a skylight. This had to be the right place. He confidently walked forward, into the warehouse.


​

 

[Stinging Bea]

Crimson Circuit

High above the warehouse, standing in the shadows of the cast by the pale moonlight and stars, a lone woman stood watching the gathering before her. A stoic, seemingly blank expression graced what was visible on her face as she gazed down at the gathering of heroes before... a term she would most likely find herself using lightly in this situation. Chie was not oblivious to the fact that there were others like her, those who wanted to use their gifts or maybe depending on who one would ask, curses, to aid those in need. But the sheer amount of obliviousness to the situation made the woman wonder just how competent those below her actually were.

In most cases, Chie would have guessed them to be like her. Somewhere along their way to this location, either through the grapevine, perhaps some sort of stealthily planted poster, or even via cell phone's text message, they received a juicy tidbit of information to gather here. A group calling itself only the Resistance requesting those with incredible powers to aid them in some cause... As to what that cause was? Chie could honestly care less. It truly would not have been the first time that she had heard of some gathering of a force wanting to change something in life, either for the better or the worse. No, what drug her to this warehouse was curiosity... A curiosity to see what kind of people lived a life like she did, the life she figured one would call of a hero. Needless to say, Chie was not impressed by what she had seen so far.

Sure, the warehouse district was not exactly the most happening spot in the city. That much was most likely to be plainly obvious, seeing as how it was the location requested for those who found or received the message about the Resistance to gather there. What seemed to baffle the woman was how everyone who had appeared there so far were all so... casual about it. Not one member of those below seemed to be taking caution to the fact that this whole meeting of the powered people could have easily been a trap set up to pick them off one by one. In fact, some of them were even going as far as to try to strike up friendly conversations with each other.

"Someone could and should most likely say it'd be poetic justice to see one or two of them get taken out right now," Chie mused, quietly hunching over to get a better view of some gathered. It was almost funny enough to make the woman want to chuckle... if she even could remember how to do so. God knows it had been years since she had. "I don't doubt that some of these people are strong, but... once a panic gets started, no amount of strength may be enough to get them out of here safe... much less alive."

It was with that logic that Chie would keep herself hidden for now. Her training as an assassin was still fresh enough in her mind to show her that remaining unknown was the best method in making an escape should one be needed. After all, the Crimson Circuit did not use public knowledge as a reason for still being alive to this day.
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[Strange]

Druid


As soon as Eric walked into the building he was overwhelmed with curiosity. There were so many interesting people. There was a rather plain looking African-American man, a guy with a bunch of awesome tattoos, a girl with a sheep mask, and the list went on and on. At first he began to listen to the girl with the sheep mask, she was talking to a rather loud person on her phone. They sounded upset.

Although he forgot all about the girl's conversation when the guy with the tattoos stepped up onto a box and began to address everyone.

"I bet you're wondering why you've been gathered here today." He paused, an agonizing moment of silence.

This must be who's in charge then, Eric thought. He does look pretty awesome, and he's not afraid to show his face, unlike some of the cowards here.

then he laughed mockingly. "Yeah, me too."

What a jerk! he thought.

"But! I do have an offer, to spice things up while we wait for the main event. I need a volunteer, anyone willing to pull my finger." He said with a wink.

I should teach this idiot a lesson.

He grunted, and strolled over to the guy. He held out his hand, casting the hand magic spell that allows him to damage people's insides by touching a part of them, and then grabbed onto the guy's finger with his glowing black hand. He didn't accelerate the process at all, not only to preserve energy but also to not actually harm the poor idiot other than giving him a quick slap of pain.

How's your joke feel now? he thought.

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[Oddball_]

002: First impressions are the most important 1

Light Force

Lightforce had watched as several people had all entered the warehouse through seemingly everywhere but the main door.

"Well hey, lets not ruin the fun." He mumbled to himself.

With a sadistic grin he closed his eyes and began to glow with an aura of energy before charging forward and smashing through the side of the warehouse, scattering bits of metal and brick everywhere.

"OH YEAHHHH!" He exclaimed, the energy still surrounding him acting as a barrier to keep any debris from hitting the young man inside.

Through the glowing energy he could see several of the people inside just staring at him, others seemed to have leaped out of the way in order to avoid debris.

"The names Lightforce, I hope my entrance has helped you get it memoriezed"
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[TheSignWriter]

Helios

The Sun's Radiance​

The Classic Part 2 ​

Nick began to lower his finger before he saw a man approach him, dressed in... leaves? Never-the-less, Nick grinned. Someone actually paid attention to him and not to that weirdo on the phone that had someone yelling at them. He believed it was Box Girl, but he wasn't too sure. He had more important business to attend to, like doing a prank. As such, he extended his arm even farther and pointed towards the man approaching him, who was dubbed 'Hobo Gardener' in Nick's mind just at that moment. Smirking, he readied himself for the pull of his finger.

Except, that didn't happen. Instead, Hobo simply touched Nick's finger with his hand, which Nick noticed was glowing black as they came into contact. Immediately a great pain spread throughout his insides and he yanked his finger away. Nick fell onto his right knee, but kept somewhat on the box still. He clutched his stomach. It didn't help at all, but it was basic human reaction. If a blender was currently inside him, Nick wouldn't be surprised.

"Hobos must really hate that type of humor," Nick managed to say through gritted teeth. Just like the pain came, it went away just as fast. Now that Nick could think straight again, he thought about what he would do about what just happened. And of course, Nick went directly for the revenge route - even if revenge is never a good idea. With one swift motion, Nick rose his hand towards Hobo Gardener, palm pointed straight at his face. With a very faint glow of his tattoos, he released a burst of light energy. While not strong enough to hurt the guy, it would surely blind him just like someone keeping their brights on while they pass would.

"And, well, I guess you could say..." Nick loved to pause dramatically. "That your little idea wasn't very bright."

Nick would've laughed at his own joke if it didn't get interrupted by the loud crashing and banging of metal and brick scattering everywhere. Now able to function again, Nick stood up to get a glance at who caused all the racket and interrupting his perfect punch-line. What he saw upset him even more. It looked like some bratty teenager with powers just to vandalize. "Pipsqueak," was the name Nick came up for him.

"OH YEAHHHH!" The boy yelled out. Nick cringed, saying in his mind, "C'mon man, at least use something original."

"The names Lightforce, I hope my entrance has helped you get it memorized." Nick giggled, thinking, "Yeah, I'll remember it by wanting to force my light down your throat. I'll just stick to 'Pipsqueak.'"

 

[Oddball_]

002: First impressions are the most important 2

Light Force

"First things first, because I can see you're obviously overcompensating in the bright department, we won't mention the rape vibes I just got off of you." Lightforce said with a knowing wink.

"Second of all, if any of you ever call me Lightfarce or pipsqueak I will personally overload every molecule in your bodies until you end up in more pieces than a Pinata and a five year olds birthday party." He continued, dispersing the energy around him.

"But lets put all of that nasty buisness aside for now shall we? We were all brought here for a reason, so lets assume we're going to need each other. Assuming that it was actually this resistance that brought us here and not just some asshole who wanted to bring us together to kill us all. Which is actually far more likely now that I think about it... Lets just not think about it. Happy thoughts. Beating Sephiroth, Saving the princess, Not having to do the water temple." The boy began mumbling to himself as he sat down on a pile of rubble and began drinking his mysteriously unspilt chocolate milk once more.

"Oh by the way, will somebody tell the person on the roof that I spotted them about fifteen minutes ago?" He said through the carton.
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