Infinite Justice: Beyond (Marvel,DC,DBZ X/Over, IC, Open)

by **The Republic of Atria** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 2:18 pm

"Thank you. I've never really had a lot of friends before now." He explained to the both of them. "So I'm just kinda winging it." Once all the food was done, he started the actual show. "Episode five and eleven are my favorite. Hadri, I'm assuming you already know what happens in those two. But I'm not going to spoil it for Julie. I mean. It's not like it's that hard to guess. The title pretty much gives away the whole series. But somehow it keeps being interesting." After that he decided to just be quiet. It was fun to spend time with friends. Even more so when they decided to get into his favorite show! He had forgotten to take off his apron, but he didn't care. "You'll have to let me know if you like it Julie."

Hadri had already seen One Punch Man, but Julie was new to it. And she was really nice to him. Was he developing a crush? Probably. Would he admit it? Probably in a very embarrassing way. She was a space cop. And supposedly a very good one. He was a god. Kind of. Otis had very little idea of the true power he possessed. He was considered to be in league with some of the most powerful beings in the universe. Darkseid was quite powerful, but he didn't know the half, or even quarter of it.

by **New Rnclave** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 2:23 pm

Charmera wrote:
Zarkenis Ultima wrote:

"Thank you for the compliment. I do have to credit my tails for most of my attractiveness however." Masami remarked with a smile, using her foxfire to incinerate the skeletons she could not reach with her sword. "And yes, I realise I didn't have the most normal relatives living with the Neko. But on the bright side things would never be dull with me."

Akari blew skeletons apart with artfull flourishes of her guns, blasting through as many as she could, Aiming for torso and pelvis to dismantle them. She dodged the occasional hit and used her catlike reflexes to cover for Akhiko, whom she sticked around. Not that he needed her help, she just felt like it.

Soon the skeletons were nothing but a heap of bones. And Masami looked around. "is that it?"

"Oh you'll find plenty of surprises in this house young Fox. You may even find the truth if you live long enough."

Masami frowned. "What truth? What?" She gritted her teeth at the lack of an answer, then looked at the doorways.

She calmed herself and inhaled through her foxlike nose. Then pointed. "That way is the place where the most spirity smell is."

"So we're just going to go to the least pleasant areas of this house."

"Well you know well that these sorts of places have wierd exits. Our aunt is probably guarding it." She replied. "She wants us to know something..." She moved towards the direction in which she had pointed, Akari following.

Etla listened attentively to the explanation that Serene gave her about the demon attacks, occasionally looking away to make sure that Cloudy was still safe nearby and was not heading off into the forest to get lost and make her go look for him again. That had been a very annoying few days of searching for the robotic bunny, who could travel unexpectedly quickly from one country to another despite all logic. Either way, after hearing Serene's tale about the demons and the Demon, the golden-haired Rainborn felt that not much had been explained, but she didn't exactly feel like questioning the siblings any longer, so she figured she'd have to learn more on the way there.

If one could read the last line of her thoughts as a narrative, one would see that she had already decided that she was going to tag along with them.

"Well, in that case, we can help you beat up those demons so they stop going after you!" Etla suggested, wrapping an arm around Ihra's shoulder. "We're pretty good fighters and we don't mind going up against some silly demons. Right, sis?" She said with a smile, glancing at Ihra.

Ihra sighed. "You always get me into trouble, don't you sis?" She remarked, half jokingly. She was quite flattered that her sister thought of her as a good fighter. "I fought a queen of Darkness. So I suppose Demons can't be much worse." She spoke. She nodded to the two of them. "Plus, we don't want to leave you two alone against waves of demons."

Auia smiled. "So it's decided! We'll be the Fellowship of the Spectrum." She spoke, which earned an odd look from Ihra, if not the others. "Spectrum? Lights. Colours. We got me, living embodiment of what makes the world so lovely, hue, shade, tone and contrast!" She sped towards the two brother and sister and wrapped arms around their shoulders. "We got the contrasting duo! Light and Dark." She slid towards the two sisters, moving so smoothly she seemed like some sort of skater. "We got the one with the rainbow sword," Auia then pointed at Etla, pausing. "Um..." She thought. Then she shrugged and smiled. "Okay. I haven't got a thing for you. Maybe the name needs work. But I think we'd make an awesome team to... do whatever we're doing? Something about demons right?"

"We're fighting demons so they'll stop harasing Serene and Darian."

"Yes! That!" She spoke excitedly.

New Rnclave wrote:
Hiroshi:

When his feet left the ground, and Claudia forgave him, Hiroshi felt inexplainable guilt swell in his chest. It was obvious she forgave him, and that she still cared. But he didn't feel like he'd earned any forgiveness. Tilting his head up, his blue-green eyes scanned her features, quizzically looking over her.

"Y-you did?" Hiroshi almost whispered, clearing his throat as he reined in the last of his emotions, his impassive disposition returning. " But I hurt you... More than I've ever hurt anyone in a fight. I attacked you with words. I purposefully struck at you, lashing out at weaknesses you'd confided in me..."

Shakily raising his arm, Hiroshi unconsciously felt his fingers cup her cheek, his rough hands softly tracing patterns on her skin. It was almost surreal to be here. For him to not only be near her, but being able to talk to her, it was something he'd never imagined accomplishing in the same day.

" The last few weeks taught me a lot." Hiroshi remarked. " I achieved a power far beyond my own. The pinnacle of Saiyan ability. And..." Pausing, the Hybrid met her eyes. " It was accepting failure that allowed me to ascend. My uncle described it as the failure of the Saiyan race as a total, and the failures he and I had and would expirence throughout our lives. I thought at first that he meant overcoming them. But now... No, then. I realized it was accepting these failures and moving past them was the key. It also allowed me to accept the blame I'd pushed away from myself. I've... I've grown more in the last few weeks then I've ever before."

Closing his eyes, Hiroshi felt the pit of despair he'd built around himself almost evaporate as a weight disappeared from his shoulders. He was hardly out of the woods yet, but he could finally feel an almost happiness, an acceptance bubbling in his chest. Opening his eyes once more, Hiroshi felt as if control of his life had been returned to him, turning them upwards, he felt his hair fall to onyx once more as he parted his lips, finally ready to accept Claudia's decision.

" I've changed as a person too. I'm not the same Hybrid Saiyan-Kaioshin you left almost five months ago. And... I think I'm ready to accept your judgement so to speak. I knew you said you missed me too, but like I said, I'm not the same man, and as much as it pains me, if you don't think you can love the new me like you did the old, I accept your decision."

"Hiro. That's the point of love. If a person changes, you're suppose to still love them." Claudia explained. She sighed. "The problem I had was when you betrayed my trust. That's what made me upset. I hated feeling so... disrespected by the one I loved. "

She paused. "But. Though I can love you, and I think we should be together, I think we need to talk about our relationship. Work things out a little." Claudia had surprisingly thought about this. She had considered these things. It was why she was so ready to accept his apology. "Firstly, we're going to live together. Mostly for Tomia's sake. Two parents are better than one, even if one is more of a giant red nanny." She explained. "We also need to be more honest and open with one another. Tell each other everything. Got it?"

Hiroshi:

For a moment, Hiroshi almost forgot where he was. Flooded earth and dying grass being replaced by soft grass and a gentle breeze. Instead of Claudia, he stood several feet back from his uncle, both of them wearing an impassive glare. If Oniyo had made him realize one thing, it was that he wanted more than what he had. He didn't want a girlfriend and a child that he could barely call his own. He wanted a family, he wanted something to come home too.

"I want a family." He finally answered honestly, his eyes staring up at her. " I don't want something short term anymore. I want to be able to make something here, on this planet."

He didn't want to argue, or fight, the idea now. He could always deny it before, that he wanted to be anything more than a warrior, but losing Tomia and Claudia in the space of a few days had opened his eyes, and the tension building in his frame was so apparent it might have manifested itself in a physical form. When he looked back at Tomia, then back to Claudia, he could feel a wave of anxiety flush within him, the longer she waited to respond only piling more on him.

by **Tomia** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 5:53 pm

Darian and Serene
Serene was a bit surprised when Etla, Ihra, and Auia all decided to join them. She was about to say no, but then she thought about it for a moment. It had been just her and Darian for a while. I'd be nice to have some new company, and it was clear that these three could take care of themselves. She was about to agree, when Darian had other ideas.

"Sorry, but it's best if we travel alone." Darian told the others. He had always been very suspicious of strangers, ever since that day they wandered into that temple in Egypt.

Serene turned back to her brother. "Darian, they want to help. And it's clear that we need it. They're getting stronger every day." Serene to her brother who was silent for a while before giving a resigned sigh.

Serene smiled and turned to their new friends, "We appreciate you guys wanting to come with us. We're on our way towards a mountain prek. Supposedly there's a guru there who can... well, help us with a problem we're having." Serene said, still unsure about telling their new companions about the truth of their predicament.

by **The Fallen Jedi** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 8:31 pm

Supreme Demonic Dark God Alastir

The sounds of metal crashing against metal could be heard throughout the Demon Realm, the sounds of war echoing throughout the realm, war was being prepared, a war that would dwarf all other wars in the history of the observable Universe. With millions of Demons at the helm of the twilight of war, Alastir's demonic servants, they all adorned armor of various metals, vibrainium, Adamantium, Nth Armor, every metal that ever existed was being mended into armor that would defend the almighty demon army against the onslaught of Earth's defenders, the battle was expected to be a test of the might of the Demon Realm, everything that represented the forces of darkness was now at the command of the newly anointed Supreme Demonic Dark God of the Universe, Alastir crowned himself as the Supreme Dark God, and he would unleash his unholy wrath upon the unsuspecting masses of the Earth. Rivers of blood would flow forth from the roads of Earth, the skies would turn red with the power of bombardment, not by the Demon Army, but by the Masaki Dynasty's Forces.

"Stop him, we can't let hi-" A Masaki Guardian ceased speaking as a tendril from Alastir's dark aura shot forth and tore the Masaki Guardian to pieces. Said Supreme Demonic God of Darkness stood atop the temple of the Grand Warlord with his arms crossed, he stared down at the carnage with a glint of satisfaction in his eyes, no wonder why the Dynasty was so weak, not even the technology from the Big Gete Star was enough to even give the Masaki Guardians a chance to even fight against Alastir's far more superior forces. As the skies of Rhen Var turned red from the sheer output of Negative Energy, all seemed lost as the Masaki Dynasty seemed to be pushed to it's last legs, and there was no one there to stop Alastir's relentless push towards the Earth, constantly gaining power with each passing second, he felt as if he were about to go absolutely mad with his newfound power, but he knew better than allowing his enjoyment get the best of him "Weaklings..." Alastir muttered, slowly levitating down to the ground, shrugging off the blaster fire from the Masaki Guardians as he softly landed on the snowy ground of Rhen Var, a frown plastered on his face "This time I will correct all mistakes I've made, starting with this pathetic excuse of an Empire!"

As his eyes continued to burn with fire, the intensity of Alastir's onslaught intensified with each and every passing second, he was not missing any detail of his attack, his unholy retribution made reality, a simulation of what hell that the Earth would be awaiting, a massacre of such proportions that it would dwarf every war ever waged, and all it took was to amass as much numbers as possible. Turning to the mighty Citadel of Rhen Var, hundreds upon thousands of tendrils shot from the ground and then dug themselves into the Citadel, shooting themselves into the Central Server of the Masaki Dynasty, the network responsible for managing every aspect of the Dynasty's Military Command structure, and Alastir was going to 'improve' it's performance substantially "Now the Dynasty shall fold into my army of darkness!" The tendrils shot forward and dug themselves into the Dynasty's Massive Supercomputer, injection copious amounts of darkened fluid that began to rapidly infect the Central Server, the virus tearing it's way into the motherboard of the Supercomputer, taking only a matter of seconds for the effect to take place.

Within moments, every single Masaki Guardian, every Starship, every technological capability that was the Masaki Dynasty shut down and then reactivated instantly, but this time, the Starships became mere extensions of Alastir's Wrath, the Masaki Guardians underwent massive improvements that turned them into twisted parasitic-android entities that responded exclusively to Alastir's every thought, every detail of Alastir's livid wrath, It only took a matter of seconds for the Old Masaki Dynasty to come to an end, and out of the ashes, was Alastir's Dark Empire, combined with the might of the Demon Realm, the technological capabilities of the Dark Empire, Alastir now had an Empire of monstrous proportions. "Enough with the waiting..." Alastir thought out loud, every single Masaki Guardian looking up towards Alastir with blank expressions on their now morphed face "Every Demonic Entity who can hear my voice, regroup outside of the Sol System and prepare to launch a crusade of such massive proportions that the planet of Earth, a lush field of green and blue shall be rendered a great red dot in the Galaxy!" And with these words, all of the Demonic Beings that served him took off at godly speeds towards the Sol System, followed by the fleets of the newly dubbed Dark Empire.

by **The Republic of Atria** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:21 pm

Sometime after the One Punch Man Marathon...

Otis was cleaning up after the "party" he had. If watching anime with a goddess and an alien space cop could be considered a party. He stopped cleaning and wondered why he didn't just use his omega powers to do it, thought he was an idiot and finished the rest with his powers. Then just as things were about to quiet down, his motherbox started beeping quite quickly and loudly. "What is the matter with you?" He muttered while picking up the device, to which it immediately warned him that a massive army was approaching. "God...Dammit. Well. I guess I gotta go save the planet again. Better go get Xander." He said and opened a boom tube to Praetoria. Within second Xander and Naja had found him. "Wow. You guys are quick. Anyways. Hate to bother you, but there's an army coming and stuff. I can't believe it's Wednesday already. Since you two are the only ones I know with an army that can fight in space..." He trailed off.

"Yeah... I'm aware. My long range scanners picked up some movement. Earth is definitely in it's path. I'll scramble the troops. Time for Praetoria to earn it's stripes. I haven't fought anything since.... a couple hours ago. I could use some action. Naja. Phalanx."

"Gotcha. Good luck you goon. Don't die, or I'm gonna kick your ass." She said, kissed her husband before flying off to get the defense team ready.

"Here's the plan Otis. We're gonna have about one hundred thousand Praetorians working in tandem to create a massive shield around the planet. Nothing short of a supernova is getting through that. Don't touch it. The frequency is designed to disintegrate. The rest of us will be leading the assault. Hopefully you'll be there Mister Omega Effect. The plan is simple. We jackhammer. We hit hard and fast. Blast anything that moves. You. Lord willing. Won't have to do much. But in the event that I can't actually hold the line, I need you to take my place and keep them busy." He explained. "I know you aren't a big fan of violence. So if this all goes to plan, you won't actually have to do anything. Are you okay with that?" Xander asked. He trusted Otis, but the fact that he was not very experienced with combat coupled with the fact that he was a pacifist didn't bode well. The good news was that Otis was very unlikely to use that power for stupid reasons.

"I'm cool." Otis replied. "I could just move the Earth... Normally I'd put it in the New God Dimension until this was dealt with... But Yuga Khan is still a thing. And leaving Earth unprotected like that is pretty stupid. But here's my idea. I'll see if I can find their leader and talk some sense into him or her. I mean, it's pretty much universe wide news that I killed Darkseid and took his powers. If that doesn't convince them to back off, I don't know what will. Sound good?" He asked. It did to him. While he was still opposed to violence, he understood that it had to be done whether he liked it or not. But hopefully his status was enough that it would be unnecessary for him to actually fight.

"Good man." Xander replied and pat him on the shoulder. "Meet me in the blue area of the moon in a few minutes. I'll be there in a few minutes." He did just that. Otis waited on the moon like Xander had asked him to, and a few minutes later, millions of people surrounded the Earth. Kree, Skrull, Shi'ar, their home worlds meant nothing anymore. They were under new management. Otis watched with Uatu as the glowing people decorated the sky. Like mini stars. Just like Xander said, he landed on the moon with Naja right beside him. "Alright. You ready Otis?" Otis nodded. "Great. Plan is simple. As soon as they get within range. First wave acts as live bullets. They smash through the fleet's defenses, second wave unleashes hell. I want a second sun to fill the sky. After that, both teams pick off the stragglers. Debris will be absorbed by the shield."

"Sounds good to me." Otis shrugged. "I'll still go after the head honcho. See if I can talk them down. Good luck." Otis said.

"You too." Naja said and they both flew off to wait for the fleet to arrive.

by **The Fallen Jedi** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:45 pm

The Republic of Atria wrote:- Snip -

Supreme Demonic Dark God Alastir

Alastir could sense it, he felt the unique energy signature that was Otis, his position as the God of Apokolips was so great that no entity could even ignore, It caused his eyes to flare up in unrelentless anger that made even the sun resemble a small candle in the darkness, Alastir's rage was growing with each passing second, but no once did he allow his anger gain control of him, he would make sure that every detail of his wrath would be made reality, there would be no way that Alastir's grand plan would stop here, he would unleash his full might against the defenders. He then suddenly felt the sheer amount of super powered individuals that defended the Earth, and it was massive to say the least, more than millions of people who defended the Earth, and their power was virtually infinite, but this did not bother the Supreme Demonic God in the slightest, Alastir was ready to prove himself to the Earth, how he would avenge the people of the Masaki Galaxy and assure that everything that the humans wrought upon the Galaxy would be repaid in full.

Alastir knew for a fact that his forces would be torn to pieces if he simply launched everything he had at the moment he appeared in the general vicinity of Earth, so simply by thinking out his proposal, his entire Dark Empire Army complied, coming to a halt at the Asteroid Belt that lied between the Earth and Mars, while he advanced on his own, with no one protecting him "Here I come!" Alastir darkly stated, his telepathic abilities extending to the mighty defenders of Earth. Just as he said this, Alastir's energy signature could be seen a mile away, an expression of grim determination on his face as he came crashing to a halt only a few feet away from Otis. His head was hung low, the unruly bangs of hair covering his face, the cracks of light that made up his cement-like body began to pulsate and turn red, his demonic energy leaking out from these crevices, his red eyes beginning to glow bright purple in slight satisfaction, but not once did he smile, his face remaining at a frown. Alastir's head then rose up, glaring at Otis, his purple eyes burning with a passionate fire that brimmed with absolute determination.

"Hello... God of Omega." Alastir stated, his head rising up as he stared down at Otis, Alastir's composure signified that he was no longer the overconfident God of Darkness that many came to know, but rather, a cold, manipulative, calculating individual took his place, it could be clearly seen through the Fallen God's eyes, it burned brightly with unkempt anger and murderous intent, but not once did he lose himself to these urges, he was totally in control of himself "It has indeed been quite some time since we've met, the last time I was nothing but a fool who knew better, you actually thought that by disconnecting myself from the fusion of Satera that I would have given up so easily, my life has spanned throughout sheer millennia." Alastir's hair began to stand up on edge, the atmosphere darkening around him as negative energy shrouded his entire body like a thick viscous fluid "I have never given up in my righteous crusade against this blasted dustball, you and your so-called defenders believe that you are all so high and mighty, able to hold back even the mightiest tides of darkness, but I am here to remind you that when the Earth is indirectly responsible for any events in my former home that my Divine Retribution will be quick, whether you like it or not." Alastir announced, his voice remaining calm and collected throughout his entire statement.

by **The Republic of Atria** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 10:08 pm

"You look different. New haircut? By the way, I'm gonna be honest with you, I was only half paying attention to everything you just said." He admitted with an innocent grin and shrug. "I got the One Punch Man opening theme stuck in my head. It's actually pretty catchy and I like it so it's not really as bad as one would have you believe. Anyways. I know you gots an army and ya wanna blow up the Earth. Gonna be straight with you man. Bad. Idea. Like... Seriously bad idea. See them?" He pointed to the literally millions of glowing warriors ready to strike. "Yeah. They're gonna be our army. Plus Xander himself, and heaven help you if Valka gets involved... Seriously dude. I'm powerful, but I'm pretty sure she's more powerful than me. When she finds out what you're doing, I can promise you that she's gonna shove something in your something. Probably her spear into a part of your body absent of holes." He explained all the while still wearing his pink "Kiss the Cook" apron he forgot to take off while he was cleaning up. Why Xander didn't tell him about it was lost to him. "What I said probably would've been more serious if I took this off first... What do you think?" He asked.

"Destroy them. I don't want anything left." Xander said and true to his word, lead half of his forces to fly at near lightspeed. Effectively turning them into living railgun projectiles. One of them ramming a planet at that speed would split it in half. And there was at least 3 million of them flying at the armada with the other three million just waiting for their turn to erase every trace of the army. Xander was excited. This only went to show that he had the right idea when he started Praetoria. He now has forces more than capable of defending the Earth and was just itching for a reason to demonstrate not only the might of his country, but the fact that he was right as well. He united several species who were once at war. He helped rebuild their empires. He even got married to a woman he found beautiful.

"Not gonna lie, amigo. I don't wanna fight you. I'm a pacifist. Xander and Valka on the other hand... Yeah. They'll be more than happy to take turns punching you in the face. You don't wanna be punched in the face by an angry Xander and Valka. They play for keeps. And.... Wait. Weren't you in some kind of alliance with Valka?" He said and sucked in air through his teeth. "Oh... Dude..." He shook his head. "Valka takes honesty very seriously. If and when she finds out about this... Gggggrrrrrrrk." He said making the cutthroat motion with his hands. "She can be scary when she's being nice. I don't wanna see her angry. That is a scary thought... I know scary. I fought Darkseid. And I would much prefer that to fighting an angry Valka."

by **Altito Asmoro** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 2:03 am

Deminis wrote:
Altito Asmoro wrote:"Huh, so it's kind of an ability from birth, huh? Well, anyway, from the point of my perspective I just don't find any way we can get from fight between each other, so truce, perhaps? I'm sorry for what I did before but you have to understand, I just ran away from Gotham and New York all the way to Siberia only to found myself fighting against superhumans and humans alike, so I just couldn't find anyone I can trust," said Len. He didn't exactly truth about the "ran away" part as he didn't really ran away from Gotham willingly but it had been done. He punched someone and had to escaped unless the Avengers/Justice League tried to captured him.

"I can certainly agree to a truce of sorts, However, I would still like a fight, even if only in mock. I have never been able to battle a Kryptonian before after all." Damain smiled lightly. "And are there any mutants that aren't born with power?" He continued to walk, pulling out his phone now and then to message his friend.

"Us Kryptonians are great and strong. The ones like Superman and Supergirl are strong and skilled, but the ones like me, for example, who's served for the Krypton military before its...destruction," said Len as he looked to the sky, with sad-looking eyes. It's been so long time ago he didn't remembered where are the rest of his comrades, and where's General Zod right now...

"Mutants that aren't born with power? You'll find them plenty in New York. Avengers, Justice League, hell, even the other groups of heroes probably have ones. But perhaps you have to check Gotham. I found they have few ones who have powers not by birth. You may even find yourself in an employment with one of factions in Gotham."

As they reached the empty park, Len slightly smiled to Damian, "Sorry, but I have to go now. But good luck with your mission, if you have one," said Len as he jump and fly to the sky and into the west.

by **Charmera** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 7:38 am

The Republic of Atria wrote:"Thank you. I've never really had a lot of friends before now." He explained to the both of them. "So I'm just kinda winging it." Once all the food was done, he started the actual show. "Episode five and eleven are my favorite. Hadri, I'm assuming you already know what happens in those two. But I'm not going to spoil it for Julie. I mean. It's not like it's that hard to guess. The title pretty much gives away the whole series. But somehow it keeps being interesting." After that he decided to just be quiet. It was fun to spend time with friends. Even more so when they decided to get into his favorite show! He had forgotten to take off his apron, but he didn't care. "You'll have to let me know if you like it Julie."

Hadri had already seen One Punch Man, but Julie was new to it. And she was really nice to him. Was he developing a crush? Probably. Would he admit it? Probably in a very embarrassing way. She was a space cop. And supposedly a very good one. He was a god. Kind of. Otis had very little idea of the true power he possessed. He was considered to be in league with some of the most powerful beings in the universe. Darkseid was quite powerful, but he didn't know the half, or even quarter of it.

Julie did, to her surprise, find herself quite enjoying the show. It wasn't that she didn't think the show would be good, but she didn't expect to actually be as into it as she would have thought. It was fun, a generally good fun time, which is a great thing to experience with friends. Although she wasn't one hundred percent sure whether or not the world dragon was someone she could consider friend, considering they hadn't talked very much, she was still good company, and Otis by now was definitely a friend.

She paused, glancing over at Otis. She knew nothing of Otis' crush or Hadri's mental pushing, but she did find herself watching him more than the program at times, though not enough to detract from the show. She paused, then at one moment during their marathon she looked down at her ring, then at Otis. She fiddled with the green ring for a second unconciously. She looked at her corps symbol, her mind deep in thought, even thought her own psychic powers and rather formidable willpower made it hard to investigate, those around her would be able to tell she was in thought about some perhaps pressing things. She slipped the ring of her finger and placed it on the rest of the sofa. "The food was great." Julie spoke. She stood, during a ad break in the streaming "I just have to go to the toilet. I won't be long." It wasn't a lie, but she was also going for another reason. She needed a little time to think, as if being away from the other two would give her thoughts more clarity. She walked towards the toilet, sitting down on the seat and thinking.

This is... nice. She thought to herself. But am I letting that cloud my judgement? If my thoughts are not clear, not precise, not willed with the fullest clarity, then I can't do my job. And this is the kind of distraction which could be harmful. And what of my work scedual? Which takes precedence, my social life or my work?

What if I one day have to choose? Between one or the other?

by **The Republic of Atria** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 8:31 am

"Stupid ads. South Park was right." He muttered and noticed Julie forgot her ring. Which he found strange. He wore a lantern ring for like ten minutes. Maybe it ran out of charge and it slipped off her finger? Better safe than sorry. A Green Lantern without their ring would be kinda weird. So he was just going to take it to her. He picked up the ring and looked at it for a moment in wonder. What other colors were there on the spectrum? He knew about the yellow, green, and blue. He shrugged and rattled off colors in his mind that would make cool lantern colors. Red, Orange, purple, white... He knocked himself out of his train of thought. "Hey Julie. You left your ring out here. I'm not sure if it was intentional or it slipped off. I'm putting it on the counter." He said through the door to the restroom. Which he hadn't seen the inside of in weeks. Not that it bothered him much. More time for him to spend not taking a dump.

However, while he held the ring and was contemplating the different colors that could exist, the Omega Effect took the liberty of removing the filter that allowed the ring to only tap into the Green Light of Willpower. He had no idea that's what it did when the red energy flickered around the ring. Brushing it off as either static electricity or feedback, he left it on the counter like he said he would and went back to watching One Punch Man. It was the Episode with Hammerhead and Speed O' Sound Sonic. Which was the most redundant name ever in his opinion. Sonic would've been just fine, but it was a parody so he couldn't be too heavy with the criticism.

by **Deminis** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:25 pm

Altito Asmoro wrote:
Deminis wrote:
"I can certainly agree to a truce of sorts, However, I would still like a fight, even if only in mock. I have never been able to battle a Kryptonian before after all." Damain smiled lightly. "And are there any mutants that aren't born with power?" He continued to walk, pulling out his phone now and then to message his friend.

"Us Kryptonians are great and strong. The ones like Superman and Supergirl are strong and skilled, but the ones like me, for example, who's served for the Krypton military before its...destruction," said Len as he looked to the sky, with sad-looking eyes. It's been so long time ago he didn't remembered where are the rest of his comrades, and where's General Zod right now...

"Mutants that aren't born with power? You'll find them plenty in New York. Avengers, Justice League, hell, even the other groups of heroes probably have ones. But perhaps you have to check Gotham. I found they have few ones who have powers not by birth. You may even find yourself in an employment with one of factions in Gotham."

As they reached the empty park, Len slightly smiled to Damian, "Sorry, but I have to go now. But good luck with your mission, if you have one," said Len as he jump and fly to the sky and into the west.

"I see." Damian said to himself "WAIT" He shouted suddenly "You have a phone?!" he called out in the direction. The kryptonian already a great distance away. sigh... i didn't even get to fight him... maybe the next kryptonian... "Hey Jerimiah, lets go... the Kryptonian left and i'm sure the other person is long gone by now..." Damian sighed again. why do the strongest ones never want to fight.

Jerimiah rose up from his newest spot. "Why didn't you ask for his number sooner? I mean this always happens to you this way." he said with a friendly cruelty as his rifle re-folded into a neat suitcase. as he made his way down the stairs he couldn't help but chuckle. "Anyways call Jaxon, we'll all head back to the Hive together." "Alright, alright, he is already on his way here anyways" Damian replied, probably pulling out his phone again.

Meanwhile in a nearby suburb, the streetlights flickered slightly as Jaxon made his way to Damains last position. I wonder if he'll actually get to fight them this time. His mind wandered at the concept when he heard a group of younger men sneak up behind him. "You boys lost?" he asked as he turned to face the gang members, a shotgun aimed in his face. A few of the members laughed, "Your a mutant, and we don't like your kind here." one of them said, "We're going to teach you to mind your own borders, Freak." Jaxon burst out laughing, "lets see what kind of lessons you have ready."

by **The Fallen Jedi** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:50 pm

The Republic of Atria wrote:"You look different. New haircut? By the way, I'm gonna be honest with you, I was only half paying attention to everything you just said." He admitted with an innocent grin and shrug. "I got the One Punch Man opening theme stuck in my head. It's actually pretty catchy and I like it so it's not really as bad as one would have you believe. Anyways. I know you gots an army and ya wanna blow up the Earth. Gonna be straight with you man. Bad. Idea. Like... Seriously bad idea. See them?" He pointed to the literally millions of glowing warriors ready to strike. "Yeah. They're gonna be our army. Plus Xander himself, and heaven help you if Valka gets involved... Seriously dude. I'm powerful, but I'm pretty sure she's more powerful than me. When she finds out what you're doing, I can promise you that she's gonna shove something in your something. Probably her spear into a part of your body absent of holes." He explained all the while still wearing his pink "Kiss the Cook" apron he forgot to take off while he was cleaning up. Why Xander didn't tell him about it was lost to him. "What I said probably would've been more serious if I took this off first... What do you think?" He asked.

"Destroy them. I don't want anything left." Xander said and true to his word, lead half of his forces to fly at near lightspeed. Effectively turning them into living railgun projectiles. One of them ramming a planet at that speed would split it in half. And there was at least 3 million of them flying at the armada with the other three million just waiting for their turn to erase every trace of the army. Xander was excited. This only went to show that he had the right idea when he started Praetoria. He now has forces more than capable of defending the Earth and was just itching for a reason to demonstrate not only the might of his country, but the fact that he was right as well. He united several species who were once at war. He helped rebuild their empires. He even got married to a woman he found beautiful.

"Not gonna lie, amigo. I don't wanna fight you. I'm a pacifist. Xander and Valka on the other hand... Yeah. They'll be more than happy to take turns punching you in the face. You don't wanna be punched in the face by an angry Xander and Valka. They play for keeps. And.... Wait. Weren't you in some kind of alliance with Valka?" He said and sucked in air through his teeth. "Oh... Dude..." He shook his head. "Valka takes honesty very seriously. If and when she finds out about this... Gggggrrrrrrrk." He said making the cutthroat motion with his hands. "She can be scary when she's being nice. I don't wanna see her angry. That is a scary thought... I know scary. I fought Darkseid. And I would much prefer that to fighting an angry Valka."

Supreme Demonic Dark God Alastir

Alastir continued garing at Otis before a small smirk formed on his face, followed by chuckling at Otis' evaluation of Alastir's intentions for Earth, he couldn't have been more wrong than he was right now, Alastir never intended on destroying the Earth, he knew that doing such a thing would make the Earthling's pain a thing of the past, Alastir did not want this to happen, rather he wanted to spill as much blood as possible, he wanted to mimic the same effects of his people's suffering and bring it upon the Earth, he wouldn't kill innocent wild life that inhabited the Earth, he would bring his vengeance to those who believed that they were far superior to other species, he already killed General Eiling, but he wasn't satisfied in the slightest, he wanted to extend his gesture of torment to the people of Earth, he would avenge every drop of blood that was shed in his Galaxy, nothing more, nothing less "You truly are a fool If you believe that I have come here to blow up the Earth, do you really think I am that stupid?" Alastir replied, staring at Otis while he continued "I never intended on destroying the Earth, rather wanting to shed the same amount of blood that was shed in my home Galaxy, for the people were the one's to suffer from Eiling's incompetence."

It was obvious that Alastir was holding his anger in, but he was using his anger and converting it into raw power that he would be able to use for the battle ahead, and It was at this moment that Asumar, Kazuko, Shimura, and Arctico joined in with the Praetorian Army, giving Alastir the chance to speak once more "Your General Eiling launched an attack on my Galaxy simply because of the actions of two people within your army, so think of this as returning the gift, I can forgive the destruction of Sigma Galli Prime, now that there is a way to return it back to it's former state, but by destroying Sigma Galli Prime, Eiling unleashed the Dark Gods upon our Galaxy, tearing at it limb from limb, and It only made things worse when you brought Apokolips into the scene, that they of damage is irreversibly catastrophic to say the least, the mistakes that people from Earth make is so catastrophically great that no one can ignore, but they do not confront the Earth about their actions, they are far too scared of the might of the defenders of Earth, I will tell you this right now." Alastir quickly closed the distance between himself and Otis, stopping mere feet from the God of Apokolips "I am not scared of the might of Earth, I am not scared of it's defenders, and I will not stop until the people of Earth learn their lesson in not attacking places that belong to them, lest they incur the wrath of a divine being."

It was at this moment that Xander ordered the armies of Praetoria forward, and with a mere flick of his fingers, the hordes of the Dark Empire seemingly appeared right behind him, the first three million demons that heeded his call instantly reacted by rushing forward with murderous intent, their powers were multiplied substantially thanks to the effects of the quick spreading negative energy as well as the darkened Magic that Alastir utilized, these beings were retrofitted with enough power to evenly take on their Praetorian Counterparts, at long last did the battle of Earth begin, with Alastir leading his forces directly, surging forward alongside his minions in order to fight for a cause that had been sealed in blood, to show the Earthlings that they weren't as mighty as they thought they were.

by **The Republic of Atria** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 4:46 pm

"Wow. You're like a Saturday morning cartoon villain. That is hands down the most absurd reason for attacking a planet I've ever heard of." He laughed. "Alright. Seriously. Call this off before I lose my good mood." Otis commanded. "We both know I'm more powerful than you. Let's not make this any harder than it needs to go. From what my Motherbox is telling me, you've got 3 million guys on your side. Xander has over 6 million. Plus me. Plus Valka, plus Hadri..." He counted on his fingers. "Dude. You are literally outnumbered and outgunned. I'm pretty sure I could smack down that army with one hand. Don't be an idiot. I can totally understand being angry because someone screwed you over. But trust me, being that angry all the time? That's not good for you. You'll get sick and die. Something anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Or something. I think that's what the quote was." He said while taking his apron off and teleporting it back to his apartment.

"Look man. I know you. You're not a bad person. You're just angry at the world. I understand where you're coming from. I was angry once. But everyone already knows that story. It's even on the internet. Anyways. How do you want this to go down? Do you want me to fight you so you can blow off some steam? Or are you legit so insane that I'm going to have to let Valka and Hadri know that you need to be killed? I'm really hoping it's the former. Cause I don't have anything against you personally. I don't want to hurt you. But I totally understand that urge to hit something. So." He said and made some very audible cracks in his neck and fingers. "How're we doing this?"

by **The Silhouette of Adventure** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 9:54 pm

A Gotham Carol

"I'm dreaming of a Red Christmas"

Gotham during Christmas. Boxer had his Runners working double time and Gordon had all hands on deck. Everyone knew the stories, and most of the usual suspects were under lock and key at Arkham Asylum.

Except one.

"Just like the ones I used to cause"

The Joker is always the last rat in the cage, the last criminal to be rounded up, the last killer loose on the streets. And tonight, he was planning one of his biggest jokes yet. In seventeen locations around Gotham City, Joker Toxin explosives were planted under landmarks and office buildings alike. There would be no warning. There would be no ominous countdown. There would be no saving Gotham.

See, the Joker had realized that he had always deliver his jokes the same way. He built up the punchline with a little backstory, a couple puns, and a well timed classic. Then, he executed the joke, usually at the end of a sharp knife or a dynamite plunger. Lastly, he sat in a comfy recliner chair and watched the chaos.

His laughter echoed through the corpses of the city.

"Where the bodies glisten"

Recently, however, he had begun to appreciate another type of comedy. December, he decided, was a time for cold-deliveries.

"And the fearful listen"

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Gotham City!" Every live feed in the city was interrupted. On the screen, a man with stark white skin, a purple fitted suit, and brilliant green hair was spreading his arms, as if in welcome. The camera slowly zoomed into his face, resting on his face.

"Have I got a joke for you." His smile, with lips the colour of blood, was imprinted on the television as explosions rocked the city.

"To hear the Joker laugh in the snow"

Underneath the original GCPD building, long abandoned, brimstone and fire were birthed of madness and choas. A virulent green gas began to fill the air, and those that breathed it suddenly realized the truth behind life- It was all just one big punchline. They might as well laugh about it. Laugh themselves to tears. Laugh themselves to breathlessness. Laugh themselves to exhaustion. Laugh until blood flowed from their lungs.

"I'm dreaming of a Red Christmas!"

On the seventh floor of Gotham City General Hospital, a man who was checked in under the name Joseph Kurr gave a hearty laugh before flat-lining. Sewn into his chest, the bomb went off three seconds later, destroying the entire floor and releasing a deadly torrent of the Toxin. The supports of the upper floors were suddenly gone. All escape routes were cut off. It was funny, in a way... And all the doctors and nurses and patients could do as the building collapsed around them was laugh at their final gag line.

"With every building I destroy!"

WayneTech, world premier in scientific and technological advancement. Millions of dollars were poured into the research that occurred in that building, and millions went into the security. Security in Gotham? What a laugh! About a week before the Joker unleashed his wrath, WayneTech security had been breached by four armed men with a large device, presumably to get past the main vault. They were arrested, but the device was never found.

From a forgotten supply closet on the first floor, WayneTech went up in a flurry of flames, smoke, and vigorous laughter. Lucius Fox, CEO of WayneTech, could only chuckle in tears as his pride and joy crumbled before him.

"May your days be funny and gruesome!"

All around the city, ash and toxin filled the lungs of the Gothamites. The police mobilized the instant Joker filled the screen, but by then it was too late. Most of them were caught in the toxin, and the few who were able to get their gas masks on could do nothing but evacuate the crumbling buildings that had already exploded.

"And may all your Christmases be Red!"

"Bruce? Bruce, come in! Tim? Dick? Is anyone there?" Oracle panicked, calling desperately for help. She had managed to seal the gas from entering her lair, but without an agent in the field, there was nothing she could do to stop this.

"This is Damian. What the hell is going on?" The current Robin's voice came over the communicator.

"Thank God." Oracle sighed. "I'm guessing you have a gas mask on? I need a sample of the toxin analysed. Without it, we can't cure this. I can't get in touch with Bruce or anyone else, so it's your game now."

"Wait, you can't raise Bruce? He went to a gala at some rich guy's house! He's probably-"

"Not now, Damian. The gas. Once we have it, I can synthesize a counter-toxin and end this." Oracle interrupted him. "I'm at the Clocktower Nest."

Three minutes later, Robin inserted a vial of the gas into Oracle's external systems. "Good." She muttered. "Alright. It's only a small variation of his last formula. He was going for mass panic, not mass casualties. If he hadn't..." She didn't need to finish. "My systems indicate 17 explosions. I've synthesized 20 counter-toxin samples. Find the original source sights and release them. Any spares, take to the GCPD for them to reproduce."

"I'm dreaming of a Red Christmas."

"Joker." Nightwing slammed his escrima stick against Joker's guard, knocking him unconscious as he stalked towards the Clown Prince. "Come quietly."

"Why, Bat-brat, that wouldn't be very funny, now would it?" The Joker smiled, pulling out a handgun and firing. Nightwing leaped out of the way, only to realize that it was just a gag gun.

"Dammit." Nightwing gritted his teeth as he leapt forward and slammed Joker to the ground with his escrima stick. "Oracle? The madman is down. Is-?"

"Bruce is OK." Oracle sighed in relief. "Damian got all the counter-toxin to the sources of the gas. I'm just... The kid has seen a lot, but one of the sites was Gotham General."

"...Shit." Nightwing sighed. "I'll talk to him. Any survivors?"

"They don't think so."

"Just like the ones he used to cause. When the Bodies glistened, and the fearful listened."

As the Joker was dragged into his cell at Arkham, there was absolute silence. And then, it was broken by an unforgettable sound.

"To hear the Joker laugh in his cell."

Merry Christmas.

by **Confederation of imperial states** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 5:30 am

Abandoned Subway Construction

The Destroyer stopped at a Freeway underpass, It's right side facing the large Construction tunnel leading down into the long abandoned half finished subway tunnel. The Knight and Lawbringer exited the destroyer, The Knight pressed a button on his right gauntlet, putting The Destroyer into security lock mode. The Knight and Lawbringer hurried into the tunnel, the previously put up blockade points in the tunnel were torn down, possible by the intruders, They started to sneak when they heard the murmur of Stahl's men up ahead. The Knight placed his hand up, stoping lawbringer, they saw two guards approaching as they shot their grappels up pulling them onto the shadow covered support beams above. The two guards passed under them, The Knight and Lawbringer silently dropped down and silently took them out, then continued down to the tunnel exit. The Tunnel exited out into a large carved out room, several makeshift support platforms, vehicular construction equipment, and Stahl's men were seen around it, The Knight and Lawbringer stayed in the dark area near the tunnel exit.

"take out the lights, then we go in and attack", "got it", Lawbringer loaded her dart launcher and took out the large floodlights in the room one by one. once they were all off, The Guards were caught off guard, when they dropped down from the elevated platform they were on and attacked in the dark. The Knight dropped down onto one thug, knocking him face first into the floor, The Knight grabbed the thug and threw him at 2 other men, knocking them down. Lawbringer quickly attacked a larger guard with a series of hits from her batons, she stopped as the guard looked at her and laughed, he stopped once lawbringer activated them causing them to electrically charge. Lawbringer ran and slid under the guard's legs, then jumped onto his back and smacked both sides of his head with the electrical batons, giving hima serious shock and knocking him out. this series of attacks continued until The Knight and Lawbringer had cleared the room, several guards ran down one exit tunnel leading eastwards. The Knight was caught offguard when 2 large floodlights engulfed him in light, The Knight turned when a man shoutedm "So this is the Legendary Knight". The Knight turned to see a man in Black and White armor standing on an elevated tunnel exit, with 2 large spotlights pointing down at The Knight.

The Knight made a small hand gesture where lawbringer could see, 'capture the guards fleeing, i'll stay', Lawbringer nodded as she crept through the still dark parts in the room after the fleeing guards. The Knight stared the man down, "I'll Assume you're Legionaire", "you would be correct, oh noble protector of Chicago" Legionaire said as he dropped down from the elevated terrain he was on, onto the same level of The Knight. "this is only going to end one way" Legionaire said as he took out a small baton with one hand, holding it out to his left, he pressed a button on it with his thumb as it extended to make a Metal Quarterstaff. "I'm giving you One change to Give Up now", "With all your Talents you use them for Vigilantism, doesn't matter as you won't be leaving here tonight". Legionaire charged at The Knight swinging his quarterstaff wildly, The Knight began to block and deflect the quarterstaff, Legionaire's attacks were fast, however The Knight was able to keep up to pace with the legionaire.

The Knight caught the quarterstaff with two hands, Legionaire thrusted forward however The Knight rolled back, flipping legionaire over him and keeping hold of the Quarterstaff. The Knight bent the Quarterstaff, bendng it to 90 degrees "I'm not Playing Games" The Knight smashed the bent part of the quarterstaff, breaking it, "and So am I", Legionaire said as he threw down a flashbang, catchign The Knight off guard. The Knight was only partly ready when Legionaire dropped down from The Knight's right, and extended both of his wrist blades and began to swing at The Knight's head, The Knight placed both the backsides of his hands up and began to try to block the attacks. The Knight rolled away, taking out his grappel and shooting it at legionaire, The Knight slammed his right arm into Legionaire as he was pulled towards him, knocking him back, The Knight put his hands together and slammed them into Legionaire's chest, Knocking him hard down onto his back.

The Knight grabbed then placed a foot on Legionaire's chest as he he grabbed him around his neck, "Where Is Stahl? Tell me or I'll Break every Bone in Your Body", Legionaire chuckled as an alert came on his Helmet comms. "You'll see soon enough, I have to depart". Legionaire activated a flashbang, catching The Knight off guard, when The Knight regained his focus he saw Legionaire was no longer in the area. The Knight stood up, contacting Lawbringer on his gauntlet comms.

["Lawbringer Report"],
["I've taken down the 6 Guards, The Police are Onroute to secure and detain them"]
["good, headback to The Destroyer, We need to rethink our Strategy"],

The Knight looked around before shooting his grappel and pulling himself away.

by **The Starlight** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 2:42 pm

The Fallen Jedi wrote:-snip-

The All-Mother sat upon her golden throne, a deep frown on her face as she observed the happenings, her eyebrows furrowing. "He dares....He actually dares to do such a thing," Valka growled, her grip upon Gungnir growing so that any other weapon would have shattered. And then standing, her World-scale battle armor arraying itself around her, she merely tapped Gungnir upon the floor, that small impact sending a boom through the floor, one of her guards quickly rushing in, drawing back when he saw her face, and her sword. Inside, he quaked, knowing that Valka was in a foul mood, and he asked in a quivering voice, "What would you have me do, All-Mother?"

"Arouse the armies of Asgard, have them stand ready. Midgard will be attacked, and they may require the assistance of our realm. I go myself to deal with a traitor." Valka said quietly, disappearing. As she teleported herself to the atmosphere of Earth, she located Xander's mind and sent a thought toward it: "Is thy shield around Earth powerful to defend it if I put forth near to my full power?"

The Praetorian Emperor thought for a moment, and then, thought back a response. "Probably."

Valka, after sending back the equivalent of a dark grin telepathically, closed the link between the two of them, materializing beside Otis, facing Alastir. "Greetings, Otis, my friend," she said with a smile, before her voice turned to iron as she directed her attention to Alastir. "Let us first address the matter at hand. The tragic attack on your galaxy that killed millions. But you are a fool, Alastir. Satera was omnipotent within the Masaki Galaxy, all-powerful. He could have raised thy dead, or recreated your planets easily. And if he had refused to do that, you could have gone to any of the various death or rebirth entities of the Multiverse and made a deal with them, to bring back thy people. But nay. Your response to that, is to attack the Earth, in bloodlust. I say to thee, nay. Midgard is under my protection, and while there is breath in my body, no significant harm shall come to it, or its people."

"You do not fear the Earth? Very well. You do not fear its defenders? Very well. But I tell you this, Alastir the Craven, fear me. For upon this day, you have broken your oath to Asgard, and that, traitor, is an affront I will not ignore. Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. That is all I ask of my people, my allies, and myself. For what are we without those three? But do you know what happens to oathbreakers? They die. By the end of this day, Alastir, you will know my wrath, and you will feel my blade. That is an oath, that is a promise. And I always, always bring my oaths. Otis, here is a pacifist. But I am not so. I was born with a sword in hand, and for 2,000 years I have known battle and blood and glory. If it were not for the presence of the Masakis, I would've torn you asunder and cast you into the sun. But I must settle for blood, and I would have blood, yours. Otis has, I am sure, asked you to restrain thyself ere I came. But I am here now, and I will spare none of thy arm, and today, Alastir, you will witness the fury of a Skymother made manifest. "

"And let us address thy army, which numbers in the millions. You have girded them in the finest metals, save uru. Were I not here, they would be a formidable foe to most. But I am here, and all demons know my name, Valka, Conqueror of Hell and Death. Moreover, you forgot one thing. Metal is mine to control, mine to forge, mine to bend, and mine to make into being. I am Goddess of Metal." And then, she snapped her fingers. One million demons, out of Alastir's army of three million, had their armor suddenly shatter, and then, those shattered pieces plunged themselves into their bodies, and the screams of one million demons was heard, and it was music to Valka's ears.

"Shall I do that again?" she asked with a dark smile, her fingers already raised.

by **New Neros** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 8:45 pm

Forever Knights
Road to the Anvil

The massive space station came into view for the Xyrixma, it's pulsating energy simply captivating and enticing her. Xala cast a weary glance to Otto Godblessed, his rugged yet soft facial features luring her into a sense of security and belonging, allowing her to forget the stressful experiences of her mission. Otto in turn looked back, a sweet smile as his face, Xala quickly looking away and turning a few shades of red. It tickled Otto to no end, finding Xala absurdly adorable, especially when she tried to hide her infatuation with himself. Despite that, he began a different subject, one with the space station in mind. "That there is our flagship. Our home away from home, of sorts." Otto began, gesturing toward the Anvil. "It's called the Anvil of Stars, and more often than not, it is our home."

Xala blinked for a moment, looking from the space station back to Otto, "Wait, so you, Val, and Max all live on that colossal vessel?"

"Ah, oh, no." Otto answered quickly, "We carry a large citizen base and members of Max's personal guards."

"Funny that a guy like that needs guards..." Xala sourly returned.

"I know, but it's their choice, not his." Otto explained, "They are known as the Forever Knights, and they serve as our military force when our presence is not needed or warranted."

"Mmm..." Xala hummed, "A rather...interesting name, no?" She asked, but then looked toward Otto once more, "So you, Max, and Val are not part of these Forever Knights, then? What do you call yourselves?"

"Tough question..." Otto said, the space station sending out a small vessel to come and retrieve the duo - Both Xala and Otto watching it speedily rush towards them. "But simple enough, I suppose. Maxwell has a team of super-powered individuals, of which, I and Val are apart, as are some others. That team is known as the Starbreakers." The transport craft made a sudden stop in front of Otto and Xala, it's underbelly opening up to reveal a short ramp leading to a chamber in it's innards. Climbing aboard, the doors hissed close behind the two and steadily applied atmospheric pressure, allowing the two to move freely about the cabin.

Otto greeted some of the men present, some of which were dressed in sharp, military-esque uniforms and seemed to be rather delighted to speak with Godblessed, but Xala's eyes looked elsewhere, noticing a flash of metal now and again pass her by or stay just outside of her line of sight. The slime girl grew curious, looking at first to Otto to ask him about what she was seeing, but found him in the middle of a deep conversation with some other uniformed officer. She sighed a bit, separating herself from Otto bit by bit until he and his conversational partner went around a corner, allowing Xala to quickly slip away down another hallway. She moved quickly and with intent, searching for whatever she had just seen.

Xala rounded a corner and stopped dead in her tracks, almost running into a suit of metal, his head mere inches from her own. Like a child caught doing something wrong, she felt a rush of embarrassment, but the man held up a hand. "Can I help you find something, Miss?" He asked politely, his voice a bit mechanical speaking through the suit. "I am Knight Reeves, and I am to escort Otto Godblessed and his companion safely to the Anvil. If you would please follow me, we will join them at the command center."

The Xyrixma nodded softly, still wondering if this was the man she had seen snooping around, trailing her even. She peered over his shoulder as she followed him, the man moving briskly and without hardship within the metal suit, the armored man stopping suddenly, Xala stopping as well. Knight Reeves turned his head to his shoulder, Xala knowing that he was peering at her through the corners of his eyes, studying her, scanning her, or something like that. "Um..." She began, growing a bit weary of this individual.

"I am a member of the Forever Knights." He began, walking forward once more, this time talking with Xala as he did so. Perhaps he realized that she just wanted answers to sate her curiosity, but he delivered those answers with an almost threatening amount of information. "I was asked personally by the Forever King to accompany this vessel...In order to assess the threat level of her passengers." Reeves said bluntly, Xala almost taking offense, but quickly remembering that her first meeting with the Starbreakers wasn't very diplomatic in nature. Before she could protest, Reeves waved his hand slightly as they approached a door, it sliding open on that gesture.

Turning to greet them was Otto and the man he was talking with, a grin on his face as he saw Xala and Reeves. "Got into some trouble, huh?" He asked sweetly, walking over to the Knight and Xala. "Well, that's no problem, we'll be at the Anvil soon anyways, so why don't we -" Otto continued, attempting to walk past Reeves, but stopping as the Knight extending his arm between Otto and Xala. Godblessed cast a glance towards Reeves, who returned his gaze.

"Do not let her wander my halls again, Godblessed."

"You were the one trying to spy on us and drew her attention, Knight Reeves."

"Unimportant. She is a liability until proven otherwise. I will not allow danger to befall the Anvil of Stars on my watch, are we clear?" Reeves said harshly, Otto growing a half-smirk of both frustration and arrogance. Reeves stared on at the Asgardian, unafraid of his wrath, politely informing him of so. "You may have the King's ear and his right hand, Godblessed...But we are his fists, and we will defend him and his flagship from threats foreign and domestic."

With those words, the tension in the room grew by the second as the two men stared the other down, Xala bringing her tentacle to her lips nervously, knowing she had accidentally caused this scene to unfold. Otto laughed loudly, though, breaking the silence and startling damn near everyone. "Ahaha, Knight Reeves, why don't you lighten up sometime? I understand you have some sort of...animosity towards members of Starbreaker, but that doesn't mean that I don't have the best interests of Morningstar at heart. If she is a threat, then I can handle it. With or without your help." Otto said devilishly, lowering his chin and narrowing his eyes at the Knight. Reeves straightened himself up a bit, but pivoted on his heel, turning around and walking past Xala without a word.

Xala looked around feverishly,upset that she caused such a ruckus, but Otto reached out and touched her shoulder, calming her immediately. "Hey now, don't worry about him." Otto explained, "Reeves is one of our best Knights, but he has issues with beings that go beyond human, and takes his job very seriously. Nothing against you or me, it's just the way he is." Otto said with a smile, Xala returning it, but thinking back on the Knights' words, how Xala could be deemed a threat. "Besides, we're already here." Otto informed her cheerfully, Xala feigning excitement at the prospect.

Starbreakers
The Anvil of Stars

A fearsome king sat upon his throne, watched over by a sculpture of the Celestial Madonna, his body lazily lying upon it's soft velvet as he overlooked his court. Before him was two rows of men clad in matching sets of armor, standing motionless as they formed two walls, one point ending at Mad King Morningstar, and the other leading to the door of his throne room. At his left side was a slender, more compassionate armored ally - wearing the armor of Val Valentine, the two and their Royal Guard patiently awaiting the arrival of Otto Godblessed and his companion, the Xyrixma scout known as Xala.

The door to the Mad King's chamber creaked open, revealing the masculine form of Godblessed, a more amorphous blob at his side. Their entrance caused the Royal Guard to quickly tense up and stand at attention, awaiting orders from their sovereign, greeting his guests with a show of force. Morningstar raised his open palm, holding his fingers tightly together as he motioned for his Guard to be at ease, Otto casually walking forward between the rows of soldiers, Xala scurrying behind him with eyes wide and almost fearful, witnessing the amount of power Maxwell could possess.

"Maxwell," Otto began, approaching his throne and standing with one foot at the steps leading up to it, staring intently at Max's faceless helm, both the Mad King and his Queen casting their own glances back down towards the Asgardian. "I have brought Xala with me as promised. I come to you asking a favor, though." He said passionately, looking at Xala and then back to Maxwell, "I wish for her to serve alongside us in the Starbreakers." Xala looked a bit shocked, casting her eyes to the floor, looking at her feet as the weight of the favor sank in. To Xala, it meant just...abandoning her race, and it seemed almost unfathomable. But, she looked up at Otto, and smiled to herself, knowing that she'd much rather be at his side than alone again.

Maxwell didn't seem to react too much, limply rolling his wrist to place his palm skyward. "Have you discussed this with Wild Fang? Or Shatterstar?" He asked, his voice carrying heavily within the room, thunderous in its delivery despite its simplicity.

"I have not." Otto replied, "But I seek your approval before introducing her to them."

"In Starbreaker, I look for very particular material." Maxwell said, rising from his throne and walking down its steps in a fluid motion, continuing his speech as he did so. "I want men and women with gifts that can tear apart suns, Otto, you and I both know this. I ask of you though, where do her loyalties lie? Can she be trusted to the utter brink? To follow me and her comrades into oblivion and back?" Maxwell was now standing before Otto, the two men locking their eyes - Max's hidden behind a helm, Otto's revealed fully. "Starbreaker is as much of a family as it is a team."

"I..I don-" Otto began, before being cut off by Maxwell.

He suddenly turned his gazed towards Xala, "You, Xyrixma." He said harshly, causing Xala to perk her head up, scared as the demon spoke directly to her. "You are a scout for your kind, no? One sent to find universes to devour?" Max pressed, Xala surprised at his knowledge of her race. "If you've grown tired of this life, and tired of finding nothing but dead universes in your wake, then you are welcome in my home." The words shocked Xala, finding that level of empathy in such a harsh tone to be, well, weird. "You will serve in the Starbreakers, my elite, should you choose to accept my offer. I will feed you the stars themselves, so long as you serve me."

"I...I..." Xala began, looking wildly around the room as she was put on the spot, she felt a panic attack growing inside of her, and she was ready to shut down and cry. Yet, her eyes found themselves latched onto Otto, a faint smile on his face, the calm in the storm of her mind. Xala deeply inhaled, closing her eyes as she abandoned her pride as a Xyrixma, forsaking her superiors, and finding a new life with Otto. She dropped onto her knees, eyes still closed, and accepted. "I will do as you ask, Morningstar."

"Then rise. You need not bow before me." Maxwell answered, Xala opening her eyes and rushing to her feet quickly, almost embarrassed at the humiliation. "Those who serve in the Starbreakers are not my subordinates, they are not my inferiors." He said, turning around and walking back up towards his throne. "The members of Starbreaker are but equals and allies. I am their leader, but they are there by choice instead of faith." Maxwell sat back in his chair, lazily and relaxed, "Make no mistake, I have placed my trust in you, do not betray it. If I trust you, then you must trust me. There is one thing I require of anyone who claims to be my ally, and that is loyalty."

Xala nodded her head fiercely, "Yes, I shall be loyal. I left my people...In order to find my home." She admitted, blushing and trying to hide her face, Morningstar smiling greatly behind his helmet.

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." Max informed her, "Welcome to the Starbreakers."

by **Zarkenis Ultima** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 1:31 am

Tomia wrote:---

Sarah giggled as she was pulled into her boyfriend's embrace, smiling as she heard him reply to her earlier question, looking up at him as her head was brought to rest against his chest. "Stupider decisions? You mean like trying to capture me and my sisters, for instance?" She teased him about the way they had first met at the Devil's Den in Gotham. She thought it was funny, how two people like John and herself had wound up together when one had been out to capture the other. In the end, though, she supposed it didn't really matter. No man could resist her charms anyway, so she could've tricked him and gotten rid of him easily, if it had come down to that, but he was one of the few people that she had been genuinely interested in, not to mention one of the few that neither of her sisters seemed to mind, so she was glad she had found him, and she intended to keep him.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it. Just eat healthy and the blood loss won't matter much. It's not like I want to leave you anemic, after all. That wouldn't be fun~" She said playfully, before gently moving away John's arms and sitting up once again, getting off the bed and heading to the wardrobe to get dressed for the day. "Anyways, we should get something for breakfast, and I need to check on my sisters. Sam doesn't sound like she had a very good night." She stated. While it might have seemed like some sort of sisterly instinct, in truth it was simply the mind link that she shared with her sisters at work, telling her about the tiring trials Sam had gone through.

Tomia wrote:---

Kirisvala listened to Mars' words, her smile turning into a bit of a grin as she heard him compliment her. It did mean a lot to her: her family did not often say nice things like that to her, especially after she refused to serve their ideals and conspire against the Eternal Queen, and she did not make any friends from the city that sat at the foot of the mountains belonging to her clan, so she never heard such a compliment from others, much less from a boy she appreciated, like Mars. His words, thus, made her very happy, as evidenced by the circular movement of her bony tail and by her grin, which widened when she felt Mars kiss her cheek, her heart momentarily beating faster than before.

"Oh, of course, the mission." The Hadrian girl said when Mars mentioned the mission they would be carrying out in order to take down the criminal empire that the parents of Nico and Cat had set up inside Jump City. After talking to Mars and getting carried away expressing her emotions, she had frankly forgotten all about it, but now that she remembered, she figured that it was probably a good idea for her to get ready for it. Thus, she nodded at Mars. "Okay, I'll let you get ready." She said to him and then walked towards the door, but before leaving, she turned to look at him. "Thanks for everything." She spoke sincerely.

Afterwards, she simply walked out the door and headed back to her room, humming happily all along.

Mavorpen wrote:---

Seriskira was silent as she ferried Jamal and Cypher's corpse across the skies of Adai, her wings beating at a steady pace. She was nowhere near the maximum speed she could reach while flying, which was quite high due to her godlike ascension. She could easily have reached Tarashkar in an instant, but she took it slowly to see if Jamal would apologize for being impolite to his host. It turned out that she was right, and soon enough he spoke, making a positive comment on her tea, which did quell her annoyance somewhat; she had brewed it herself, so she took the comment as a personal compliment. The next thing he said, however, was a personal compliment in some way, and the hesitation with which it was spoken caused the Hadrian huntress to burst out laughing. It was likely a strange sensation for Jamal, to be carried by someone who was losing her shit while flying, but luckily she calmed down quite quickly.

"I know you did not mean that. Simply don't make us look like barbarians in front of others." She told him as they came within seeing distance of the Thunderhold, capital of Adai. Then, Seriskira accelerated and, in but an instant, the two of them were right in the middle of the town square. Some curious, or more accurately, bewildered glances were sent their way, but upon seeing Seriskira standing there, most people were deterred from staring any further or questioning the presence of a fleshy clawless thing and an alien corpse.

"Being the champion of an entire world has its benefits." Seriskira casually commented to Jamal as she set him down. Her tail jerked upwards as it released Cypher's body, comically leaving him floating in the air for a moment so that the human could catch it. With that done, she began heading down the street, motioning for Jamal to follow. "We will get you something to eat, and then you will speak with the elders of Tarashkar. They will decide whether or not to give you a ship or accept your offer. I have little say in the matter, so try to be persuasive." She advised him.

Thus went Jamal's visit to the home of the Hadrians, Adai.

Charmera wrote:---

"If I may point out the obvious, this truth that your aunt speaks of might be related to what we were just talking about." Garnet remarked as she, too, followed the fox woman through the house of spirits, stepping over the bones of the skeletons that she had diligently slain moments ago. She, unlike Akari, Masami and Akihiko, was not quite as attuned to the spiritual energies lurking around, and so, though she could pick them up due to the fact that she was used to the presence of supernatural energies by now, they were perceived and affected her in a degree much smaller than the others. Akihiko, on the other hand, was grumbling unintelligible sentences that were mostly about how it bothered him having to work with the awful stench of dark spirits. Had he been less distracted with keeping his corrupted blood in check, he might've realized that such specific complaints likely would hint others towards his secret, but for now, that was not among his concerns.

The Republic of Atria wrote:---

As Otis arrived back at the sofa to continue watching One Punch Man, however, Hadrimmelis stood up and stretched her mortal disguise a little before turning to the Inhuman New God. "Otis, I must say this was quite a pleasant meeting. It must be the first time I attend to a gathering solely to have fun like this, especially with creatures that are both my friends and more or less my equals, so I have to thank you for this opportunity. However, pleasant as it might be, I'm afraid I must take my leave. It was nice to be with you and Julie, but there are matters that demand my attention, so I will leave you two alone." She said, before walking up to the Inhuman and giving him a pat on the back. "But before I go, a small tip for you, my friend. You may want to stick near Julie until she sorts out whatever is troubling her, and tell her that you will be there for her if she needs you. I believe mortal females appreciate hearing those words." The Black Dragon suggested, before gracefully disappearing through one of her Serpent Holes.

New Rnclave wrote:---

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Tomia." The girl with the mechanical arm said with a gentle smile as she looked at Hiroshi's daughter, noticing that she seemed to be nervous about something and surmissing that it was the two lovebirds who were currently going through some sort of post-separation romantic reconciliation process that she honestly couldn't bring herself to care too much about; she was only a new acquaintance of the half-Saiyan after all, and he didn't know Tomia or the red woman at all, though the child she was more than happy to talk to. She seemed to care a lot about what was going on with the other two, and when she asked her if her "Daddy" had brought them along, Black Sun finally understood why.

"Your daddy? Hiroshi I assume? Yes, he brought us along. My sister here is called Black Nova, but she's unconscious, probably because of a fight with someone." Black Sun stated, gesturing towards the unconscious armored blonde woman on the ground, before turning back to Tomia. "Your daddy said that this planet was not visited very often and that he had a safe place where my sister could rest while she heals herself, so I decided to follow him and bring her along, but it looks like he wanted to meet you and the red lady first." She explained, before looking towards Claudia. "Oh, if Hiroshi is your daddy, then is the red lady your mother?" She inquired. "She..." The cyborg trailed off, remembering what she knew about the general guidelines of reproduction and heritage in full organics. "...doesn't look a lot like you, to be honest." She concluded.

Charmera wrote:---

Tomia wrote:---

Etla simply grinned at Ihra as she complained about being put into trouble. The golden-haired Rainborn didn't particularly care; she didn't see this quest as trouble, she simply saw it as helping out some nice people and perhaps getting the chance to have some fun battles along the way, which honestly sounded like a pretty sweet deal to her. She then looked with amusement at the weird lady called Aiua as she started saying something about the fellowship of the spectrum and assigning names to the members of the group consisting on what type of power they had. She was a little disappointed that there was no cool title for her, and glanced at Ihra's Rainbow Sword with a blank expression. She would've liked to have a cool weapon like that one, but for now, her own mundane sword, Cyclone, would have to do. Still, she wasn't about to be left out of the fun stuff.

"Hey, I tossed a bunch of bolts of light at the demon earlier, that should count for something right?" She complained, before turning to Darian and Serene as they began talking to each other, before finally accepting the help offered to them. She smiled at this and picked up Cloudy, shoving him into her dimensional storage again for safekeeping before drawing out her sword, just in case they were attacked out of the blue while on their journey or something like that. "Well, if that person can help you solve everything, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" She urged them, excited to be on an adventure once again.

by **Siliarba** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 6:01 am

DeeDee

I've been awake for a wile now, but sensing that Sam wasn't in my realm any more there was no need to leave the room yet, to bad she didn't join me in bed, I hope she at least took a peak at me when she came back. Regardless not having been sure when the others would wake or if they were already awake I went back in to me demonic form and sat in to a meditative position. It helped me focus my powers, truth be told I have a lot of control over these powers but it feels like a lot of my demonic power I now posses is still beyond my reach, meditating, looking in to myself helped me find those powers, even if I still couldn't access them, knowing they're there would help a lot.

I started this meditation before getting dressed though, I was alone in the room and getting dressed only takes a second for me so I didn't see the point of getting dressed already. Besides I'm assuming the sisters are friendly enough to knock before entering, and if not I don't mind them seeing me like this, I only bother wearing clothes because humans are overly obsessed with nudity, especially public nudity.

by **The Republic of Atria** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 8:13 am

"See? Told ya." He says and points to Valka with his thumb. "I did try to tell him Valka. Really did. She's also right. I'm the honey. She's the vinegar. Usually it's the other way around. But I'm not a violent person. Her however... Violent isn't the word I would use. Closer to... Really good at kicking people's ass." He pondered for a moment. "Yeah. I think that's it. I mean if you called it off and ran away. I could maybe convince her to let you off with a moderate thrashing instead of the mounting your head above her throne. Seriously man. Cut your losses and go. I know you're angry at the world for what one man did. I'm not gonna lie, that was pretty awful. But If you do have an omnipotent deity, why not just have him fix the damage done and move on? That would have been better than just throwing your life away. I'ma go help with the war effort."

Though his way of helping was mostly that of support. Healing the injured soldiers. The demons couldn't hope to hurt him if they tried. It was mostly the fact that he didn't want to watch Alastir get brutalized by Valka. She was the goddess of vikings. The raping and pillaging kind of vikings. Which meant someone's insides were going to swiftly made into outsides. Not something he wanted to watch. Thanks to him, Xander's forces who already had the numbers advantage thanks to Valka, now had the advantage of a powerful healer. Xander saw it as he obliterated two of Alastir's demons. He would have referred Otis actually doing some fighting. It wasn't unlikely that he could have taken out the entire army with as little effort as wave his cosmic fingers around, but some help was better than nothing.

by **Charmera** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 8:44 am

The Republic of Atria wrote:"Stupid ads. South Park was right." He muttered and noticed Julie forgot her ring. Which he found strange. He wore a lantern ring for like ten minutes. Maybe it ran out of charge and it slipped off her finger? Better safe than sorry. A Green Lantern without their ring would be kinda weird. So he was just going to take it to her. He picked up the ring and looked at it for a moment in wonder. What other colors were there on the spectrum? He knew about the yellow, green, and blue. He shrugged and rattled off colors in his mind that would make cool lantern colors. Red, Orange, purple, white... He knocked himself out of his train of thought. "Hey Julie. You left your ring out here. I'm not sure if it was intentional or it slipped off. I'm putting it on the counter." He said through the door to the restroom. Which he hadn't seen the inside of in weeks. Not that it bothered him much. More time for him to spend not taking a dump.

However, while he held the ring and was contemplating the different colors that could exist, the Omega Effect took the liberty of removing the filter that allowed the ring to only tap into the Green Light of Willpower. He had no idea that's what it did when the red energy flickered around the ring. Brushing it off as either static electricity or feedback, he left it on the counter like he said he would and went back to watching One Punch Man. It was the Episode with Hammerhead and Speed O' Sound Sonic. Which was the most redundant name ever in his opinion. Sonic would've been just fine, but it was a parody so he couldn't be too heavy with the criticism.

Julie nodded. Then walked out, she quickly put her ring on, not realizing that it was now... different from before. Something was odd about it, definitely. Though she was not able to tap into whatever this might be yet, she was able to notice it. She also noticed the absence of Hadri, with some disapointment. "Oh. The World Dragon left. I was actually curious about her." She paused, "That just leaves... me and you Otis." She spoke, slowly sitting down. She still felt like there could be thinking to be done.

by **The Fallen Jedi** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 10:51 am

The Starlight wrote:- Snip -

The Republic of Atria wrote:- Snip -

Supreme Demonic Dark God Alastir

As soon as Valka arrived, Alastir stopped right in his tracks, not out of fear, but in recognition of the All-Mother's Arrival, Alastir prepared for every avenue prior to even stepping foot in the Sol System, and Valka arriving was within his battle plan, he expected her arrival, as Midgard was under Asgard's protection, not that Alastir cared in the slightest, but what bothered him the most was that Valka had managed to send a million of his demons into the netherworld already, but what gave him a better chance against her was that with every curse the now-dead Demons made when they suffered their slow death, It made Alastir more powerful than before, he could feel the dark energy within him grow more and more thicker with each passing second, causing a slight smirk to form on Alastir's face before it fell once more "Ah, so the mighty All-Mother appears before me on the battlefield, the protector and the caretaker of Asgard, the one whose power is universally recognized by entities of all types, including the mighty Galactus." Moving away from Otis, Alastir now had his full attention on the mighty All-Mother "Tell me, as you are the great All-Mother, did you see this coming? When a human attacked my Galaxy outright because of the actions of two people?"

Alastir slowly began to bare his teeth towards the All-Mother, his demonic aura shooting out in all directions, donating the energy of the fallen Demons to their remaining brethren who lived and fought against the mighty Praetorian Army. It was obvious that Alastir had no intentions of backing down, as his eyes still burnt brightly with determination "You, All-Mother, are a defender of Midgard, and the world under your protection has performed an atrocious act upon my worlds, and that action will not be simply ignored." Addressing everyone who fought, even the Masaki Brothers, Shimura, Arctico, and Ryuichi "For too long has the realm of Midgard been untouched of all divine punishment, and as the Supreme Demon God of Darkness, until the humans repay in blood, I will never cease my assault upon this planet, they must ALL suffer for what pain they brought upon my Galaxy, Midgard will know both my fury and my pain, on behalf of all those in my home who cry out in pain and desire justice..." A column of Demonic Energy shot up into the heavens, swirling around the battlefield like a mighty hurricane, and not once did Alastir lose his composure, but for this moment, Alastir let out his emotions in four words "I WILL DEFEAT YOU!"

The great vortex that swirled overhead began to spew out hundreds of thousands of demons from within the Demon Realm, abominations that Alastir literally willed into existence, and just with a single thought, they came into existence, serving Alastir until the bitter end, they would put their lives down for the Demon God if they had to. While Alastir, in a mix of tranquil fury and rage shot forward at speeds that rivaled even the long deceased All-Father Odin Borson, while rushing forth towards the All-Mother, Alastir threw Demigra's staff up into the air, said staff began to form hundreds of energy duplicates of itself and surged forward alongside Alastir, their targeting being aimed towards numerous members of the Praetorian Army, while at the same time, a mass of tendrils shot forward from all around Alastir, who also fired numerous blasts of darkened energy, and exhaled Hell-Fire towards the All-Mother, Alastir was multitasking to such an extent that while all of this was taking place, he tried to search deep within the All-Mother's heart for any darkened emotions that would be sufficient enough for him to corrupt and take control of Valka, he knew that they key to this battle would be to gain control of either Valka, Otis, or Xander, and neither Otis or Xander had strong hatred within their hearts, but because of Valka's recent action to his now dead million Demons, he figured that Valka would be a sufficient target.

by **Mavorpen** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 11:21 am

A Tale of Life and Death: Chapter II
Endless: Part IV
Planet Iaruta

Two days. I was two days away from being transferred to a new base. See, I'm a bounty hunter. Have been for as long as I can remember. Decided to stop flying solo a few years back and joined a group of bounty hunters. Now, I'm kinda regretting that decision. It all happened so fast. We were just minding our own business in one of our warehouses, hanging out after completing a big job successfully. Then, he just appeared.

I watched the man walk through the large entrance of the warehouse without a care in the world. He was dressed in a dirty and worn cloak, and initially, we assumed that he was just a homeless guy who'd wandered into the warehouse just looking for a place to stay. "Hey, buddy, you're not welcome here! Find another warehouse to stay at!" One of us shouted. Then, the man pulled back the hood to his cloak and revealed his face.

Those of us familiar with the various species around the galaxy knew that he was human upon seeing him. However, everyone in the room, even those of us who couldn't recognize distinguish humans, recognized the man who stood before us. After the Annihilation War, he'd rapidly grown in prominence and he became a household name among most bounty hunters in the galaxy. The sad part was that he didn't even actively hunt us down. He was much more preoccupied with helping planets rebuild after the Annihilation Wave attacked, but whenever he came across one of us, he'd take us out with relative ease. Then, for some reason, he apparently died over two years ago and came back to life without powers. Naturally, when we found out about that, we had to take advantage.

There was a collective silence in the room for a brief second as we stared at him in disbelief. Cypher, one of the most skilled bounty hunters in the galaxy, had taken a group filled with 30 or so of our best men to take out the human who was now approaching us, very much alive. The hesitation on our part didn't last long, and after that brief second, we collectively took out our weapons, aimed at him, and fired. Then, he did something that I just couldn't believe. He waved his hand in front of his body, and some strange yellow energy appeared in front of him. Then, our d'ast bullets were redirected back at us, encased in that same yellow energy that apparently caused their speed to become amplified to an exponential degree.

The bullets tore through most of us like butter, reducing our numbers from some 100 to barely half of that. Then, the former Nova jumped into the air and landed in the center of us, punching the ground and causing it to break apart. Most of us lost our balance immediately, and in the middle of the confusion, I could hear the pained screams of some of the others as they were systematically killed. Finally, we managed to get relatively organized, and we surrounded him. Putting up our shields, we collectively fired at the center of the circle directly at him. The bullets ripped through him. Or so we thought. His cloak fell to the ground, completely empty with the human himself nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, on the other side of the circle, a scream rang out. I watched as the human tore through my allies, and I got the first good look at him. It was truly odd how different he looked compared to his appearance before he died, but I imagine that for those among us who weren't familiar with humans, it made no difference. They were simply given an image of his current appearance and they memorized it without a second thought. Those of us not being attacked began once again firing at him, counting on the shields of our allies around the human to protect them from our fire. Unfortunately, the human made use of their protective shields, and whenever we fired upon him, he used the body of a nearby bounty hunter to block the oncoming fire. It quickly became clear that we couldn't win. It was impossible. And as I watched his fists rip through our armor like paper, I became afraid.

And so, I panicked, and in the middle of the confusion, I fled. I couldn't flee the warehouse entirely, else I would have been discovered. Instead, I fled to a corner of the warehouse and hid behind a large amount of crates. I watched the battle continue through a crack between the crates. I watched my allies get slaughtered down to the last bounty hunter, which he held by the neck. Then, I heard a shout. I turned my gaze to the front entrance of the warehouse and saw one of the groups housed in a moon of a planet in a nearby system enter. The human shoved his arm through the chest of the fellow bounty hunter he held by the neck, and then he turned to face the newcomers. And perhaps it was my mind playing tricks on me, but I could have sworn that the human actually grinned through the blood of my allies splattered all over his face.

I wanted to shout out--to tell the newcomers to run. But I couldn't bring myself to do so. Fear had taken hold of my very being and consumed me entirely. I watched bones being shattered. I watched limbs being torn off. I watched heads be crushed. I watched blood splatter everywhere as though it was paint being carefully laid across a canvas by a masterful artist.

And so, here I find myself hiding like a sniveling coward--watching the last of my comrades slaughtered like livestock. I'm scum--this I very much recognize and do not deny. But that won't stop me from justifying my own cowardice. I must live. I will live. I-- No... He sees me. He's looking dead at me. No. Stay back! NO!

Earth

I guess I should start off with my name. My name is Leo Antonov. If you're reading this, then I'm probably already dead. Or, at least, that's the plan. I've basically decided that this will be the last thing I will ever write. There's just no point in living anymore. You might be rolling your eyes right now, wondering what do I know about a heavy topic like the purpose of life? And, well, to be honest, that's a fair point--I'm only 15. But, I think that that only furthers why I should just end my life. I'm 15 and I have nothing to show for it.

First of all, I've never been in love with anyone. Love is pretty much a load of bullshit anyway. I mean, we have basic instincts like thirst, hunger, and desire for sex. Love, not so much. We just see people we find physically attracted, and then we develop a sexual attraction to them. Then if the other person feels the same way, they get together due to their insecurities and fear of the outside world and call that love.

Second, I don't even have anyone that I really hate. I mean, you might find that ironic that someone like me isn't a huge misanthrope who hates all of humanity, but that's not how it is for me. I don't think I've ever met anyone who's evil, per say. People just tend to be assholes. But that's all they are. Assholes. When one person hates another person, they tend to think of them in the terms of someone who's objectively bad. That isn't how the world works for the majority of us. There's no evil mastermind who sits in a chair twirling his mustache and petting his fat white cat. There's no stereotypical villain to point at and immediately identify as the bad guy like in the movies.

And ultimately, I guess that this is why I wouldn't understand you if you were to argue that none of this is a reason to end it all. But, well, you're wrong. If I can't even fall in love or hate someone else, then what's the point, really? I don't even have any ambitions. So there's no point in anything. And if there's no point, you might as well be dead. Inevitably, you're going to read this, mom. And, well, I want to make it clear that you shouldn't take this to mean that you're a bad mom. You aren't. At the same time though, I can't say you've been a particularly good one.

I read somewhere that suicide notes are a cry for help. I can't speak for other people's suicide notes, but this isn't one of those cases. Mine is a statement of belief. Or, rather, disbelief. Because, truthfully I'm just rejecting the adult narrative that we're spoonfed over our entire lives. I guess that's another thing that differentiates me from my mom. She's quick to buy into everything and believe whatever she's told. This week, it's ghosts. Not sure how long this phase will last.

The clacking of a keyboard could be heard inside of a bedroom as the final sentence was typed on a laptop. Then, the door to the bedroom opened and Leo turned around in his computer chair to see his mom walk into the room. "Leo? Everything okay?" She asked, wearing some sweatpants and a really ugly sweater that Leo had always wished she'd gotten rid of already.

"Hey mom. Shouldn't you be at the bakery?" Leo asked.

His mom smiled. "Nah, I gave myself the day off. Josh was more than happy to take over for me. Man, I'm glad that we've expanded enough to be able to hire other workers. What're you up to?"

"Just some homework. I was just about to take a break." Leo said as his mother began walking over to his desk. Leo saved the suicide note and then closed his laptop. Then, Leo stood up and grabbed a cup next to the laptop and walked over to the window to the side of the desk. On the window sill was a small flower pot and inside of it was a purple flower. Leo began slowly pouring water from the cup into the pot.

His mother leaned over next to him and watched. "You know, you should talk to them. I read somewhere on the internet that plants like it when you talk to them and they grow faster. "

"Mom, what plants 'like' is water." Leo said, rolling his eyes. "Don't you remember the dozens of plants I've had to throw out because they'd gone brown due to you reading some nonsense on the internet about plants liking X,Y, and Z crazy thing?"

"Oh come on, it couldn't hurt. Who knows, maybe it's a spiritual thing." His mom smiled, staring at the flower before standing upright. "Oh, speaking of which, I've been hearing some strange things in the middle of the night. I think maybe I should start using this." His mom reached into her pocket and took out a strange device resembling an old cell phone.

Leo facepalmed. "Please tell me that isn't what I think it is, mom."

"I think you should go out for the rest of the afternoon, Leo. Who knows what kind of nasty ghosts I could find with this thing." His mom said as she began heading to the door. Leo sighed and then got dressed, putting on a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Then he left his room and passed his mom waving around the 'ghost detector' around the living room. He then opened the front door to the apartment and walked through it, closing it behind him. He then began walking down the hallway until he reached the stairs. After walking down the stairs, he found himself in the bakery that his mom owned and gave a lazy wave at the workers serving customers.

After leaving the bakery, Leo traveled through the city of Los Angeles until he reached a garbage dump. He stared up at the sign reading KEEP OUT that was displayed on the fence, and then began climbing it. After climbing over it, he then began climbing a large mountain of garbage. Upon reaching the top, he stood on the edge of a refrigerator that was stuck in the heap at a 45 degree angle. Leo sighed. This is stupid. He thought to himself. What the hell am I gonna accomplish he-- Suddenly, the fridge unlodged itself and buckled under Leo's weight.

Leo was sent tumbling forward and rolled down the side of the garbage heap until he reached the top of another, smaller hill of garbage that connected to the larger one. The fridge then fell as well and slid down the garbage heap until it landed on his lower body. Had the garbage not slowed its descent and cushioned the fall, the fridge would have instantly crushed his lower body. Leo immediately began panicking and tried to push the fridge off of him, to no avail. Then, he stared forward at the bright blue sky and started screaming, "HELP!" He repeated his cries for help for about 15 minutes straight, when he suddenly heard a female voice.

"Hello? Is someone down there?"

Tears started streaming down Leo's face as he felt an unimaginable amount of relief over having being found. The chances of being found were extremely small, and he had quickly lost hope, despite the fact that he had continued screaming nonstop. "Yeah, under here. I can't move!"

"Oh. Well, hold on. I'll go get someone."

"No!" Leo protested. "Don't get someone. Get me out of here!"

Leo waited for a couple of minutes and heard the shuffling of garbage as the person who found him waded through the garbage to get to him. Finally, a face appeared above him. He was right about the person being female, but she definitely didn't look how he expected her to look. Her skin was unnaturally pale and her lipstick was just as dark as her raven black hair. She also seemed to have a strange tattoo just under the bottom edge of her right eye farthest away from her nose.

"I see the problem." She said, staring at the fridge. "There's a refrigerator on your legs."

"Yes, I know. Can you move it?"

The girl looked down at him. "I don't know. Can you still breathe?"

"Yeah. Sort of. What the hell does that matter?" Leo asked, starting to lose his patience with the girl.

"Dumb place to go exploring." She responded, looking back up and scanning the garbage filled landscape.

"Who asked for your opinion?!" Leo remarked.

The girl looked down and smiled. "Oh. Gee. I didn't realize I wasn't wanted. Well, nice meeting you. Have fun under there." She then waved and walked away.

Leo once again began panicking. "Wait! Come back!" He shouted. "Look, I'm sorry. You're totally right, this was dumb of me. I shouldn't have done it. Come back!" Leo waited a couple of seconds for a response. "Um... are you still there? Please? Hello?"

The girl's face once again appeared above him. "Hello again. Okay, I'm going to see if I can push the fridge off you. Breathe in, and don't move." Leo watched as she reached her hands out and put them on the edge of the fridge. She began pushing, releasing a grunt as she struggled to move it. Eventually, she did manage to push it off of him, and it tumbled down the side of the smaller hill of garbage they were standing on. "Okay, can you get up?"

"I think so." Leo said. The girl reached down with her hand and Leo reached up and grabbed it. With her support, he stood up.

"There you go." The girl said with a smile.

"Thanks." Leo said, looking the girl up and down. He couldn't believe his eyes. She looked like she was ripped straight out of the crowd of an 80s metal concert and then sent forward in time to now. Everything from her big hair, to her black jeans, black thin-strapped top, and large beaded black belt and wristband just screamed that decade. Leo then looked down at his clothes and sighed, seeing a huge gaping hole in the right leg of his jeans. "Great. Just what I needed. Ripped jeans."

"I don't see why one more rip makes a difference." The girl said. "Besides, you have only yourself to blame. If you're going to go climbing around in garbage dumps, you should probably dress for it."

"Gee, thanks for the advice." Leo said, feeling a sharp pain in his right temple and touching it, feeling something sticky and wet.

"Hey, you're bleeding." The girl said, smiling for some reason while she said this.

"Yeah, so?" Leo responded.

"You should probably get that checked before it gets infected. You might even need a tetanus shot or something, but what the hell. Come on back to my place." She began walking away and pointed off in the distance. "I only live a couple of minutes away. I can get you antisepticed and bandaided. Heck, I might even throw in a courtesy jean-hole fixing. After that, you're on your own."

Leo hesitated for a moment but then decided to go ahead and follow her. He had nothing to lose, and it wasn't like he could just go back home in his condition anyway. His mom would just freak out and give him hell, and honestly, he wasn't in the mood to deal with that. The girl climbed over the fence, and Leo followed. As they walked through the streets of the city to her apartment, Leo couldn't help but ask the question that was bugging him. "So, what were you doing in the garbage dump, then?"

"Breathing." The girl responded with a smile.

"Breathing?" Leo frowned in confusion.

"Yup. Breathing. It's fun. What about you?"

"I was thinking." Leo said.

"About anything in particular?"

"Just that I don't want to live in the same world as Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Instagram."

"Cute." The girl said, and she turned left down a corner, with Leo following her. "Down this way." The street was adorned with a dozen or so street vendors and she approached a fruit stand. Behind it was a black woman who smiled upon seeing her. "Hi, Mrs Robbins. Can I take a couple of apples?" The girl who rescued Leo asked with a wide smile.

"You think I'm in this business for my health, huh? Yeah, go on Didi. Oh, by the way, there's a package for you out back. I went ahead and signed for you. If you wanna go get it, it's on the table." Mrs. Robbins then looked at Leo as Didi walked away. "Hello there. Are you gonna introduce yourself?"

"I'm Leo." Leo simply said.

"How long you known Didi?"

"Like, 10 minutes, I guess. She found me in a garbage heap."

"Well, you be good to her. She's been through a lot lately. Her whole family passed away last month. She didn't tell you about that, I'm guessing? Mrs. Robbins said, shakking her head. "Some drunk driver went up onto the sidewalk, ploughed into the crowd. Poor Didi lost her mom, dad, and her little sister. She's still living up there but--"

"Got it!" Didi said, returning carrying a sealed box. "Thanks for letting them leave it here, Mrs. Robbins."

"No problem, Didi. Oh, that woman from the social services came round here again today. Told her you were staying with a relative, but it's only a matter of time before they come back."

"Thanks, Mrs. Robbins." Didi said with a smile.

Mrs Robbins picked up one of the wooden rectangular containers housing the oranges and opened the door to her store. "You go on, now. I got to start taking this stuff in for the night."

"Want a hand?" Didi asked.

"Nope. Managed by myself for ten whole years. Shoo, Didi. Nice meeting you, Leo." With that, Mrs. Robbins walked into her store. Didi took three apples and then she and Leo went into the store. Didi led him to the stairs and they walked up it.

At the top of the stairs, Didi said something, but it was impossible to understand through the garbled speech due to her mouth being full of apple. "I said, don't apples taste great?" Didi said, holding up an apple in her left hand and the package, with the other two apples on top, in her left. "I mean, the way they taste, and the texture. And the way how when you bite into them and chew them, they kind of crunch. And they're so juicy. Isn't it amazing?" Didi said as she stopped in front of a door.

Leo just raised and eyebrow. "They're just apples. There's nothing amazing about them."

"Nope. It's definitely amazing." Didi said, licking her lips before opening the door. They walked into the room, and Leo stopped at the door, watching Didi walk over to a circular table on the other side of the room. "Ta-daa! Welcome to my humble abode. It's pretty tight, even for one person. Can't imagine what it was like with four people living here." She placed the box on the circular table. "Alright, get your jeans off."

Leo's cheeks grew red and he looked down to his left, seeing a fishbowl containing two fish. "Well, this is, um... y'know. If you're thinking of, well, uh..."

"Ha!" Didi laughed. "It's not like you're entirely uncute, but I hardly know you. Just go into the bathroom and pass me the jeans through the door." Didi said, taking a bite ouf of her apple. "There's some antiseptic and band-aids under the sink. There should also be a bathrobe on the back of the door." Leo walked into the bathrom and closed the door. He took off his jeans and cracked open the door, passing them through the crack. "You want some tea? Afraid I'm out of honey, though."

Leo put on the bathrobe and walked over to the sink. "Sure, thanks. I'll just take some regular sugar then." He took out a bottle of antiseptic from under the sink and a box of band-aids. After applying the antiseptic and placing a band-aid on his cuts, he put them back and walked out of the bathroom to see Didi sewing his jeans. "I... thanks for, well, everything. This is really nice of you."

"It's not like being nice is particularly difficult or anything. It's as difficult as being a jerk, I'd say. But a lot more fun." Leo walked over to her, took the cup of tea off of the table and sat down in the recliner next to it. "How did you know I liked honey in my tea, anyway?"

"Hm? Eh, it was kind of obvious." Didi raised his jeans up above her and looked it over. "There we go. I left the hole in at the knees. Figured you might want them. Isn't that a fashion thing nowadays?" She threw the jeans over at him and it landed in his lap.

Leo took a sip of the tea and looked over the jeans. "Woah. You're really good at sewing. Look, I'm really sorry to hear about your family."

"My family?" Didi asked, her eyes widening a little in shock.

"The lady downstairs told me about the guy in the car. About how he killed them. I'm... I'm really sorry. It must be awful losing your family like that." Didi walked over to the table next to the front door and picked up what appeared to be a family portrait. Leo took the opportunity to quickly put on his jeans while she wasn't looking.

"Oh, that family. Yes, that's right. There are still some photos of them laying around here. They look like nice people, don't they?"

Leo frowned. "They...'look like nice people'"?

Didi grinned and turned around. "Well, they do, don't they? I mean, they never really existed, but I like to think that they were good people. It's nice to have happy memories of other people, even if they never really existed."

"I...guess? Wow. Okay, so I guess appearance isn't the only thing you took from the 80s. Guessing you must do a lot of drugs." Leo began walking to the front door.

"Not really." Didi said, placing the photo back on the table. She then pointed down at the fishbowl. "Have you met the goldfish? The orange one is Slim, and the little yellow one's called Wandsworth."

Leo opened the front door and looked at her. "Look, thanks for all of your help and the tea, and the antiseptic, and the sewing."

"No problem." Didi said, picking up a can of fish food.

"Uh..." Leo said nervously. "When you said your family never existed. Were you just joking, or are you one of those people who randomly says something in the middle of a conversation to make yourself seem more interesting, or what?"

"Neither." Didi smiled, looking down at the fishbowl and pouring some fish food into it. "I meant what I said. They never existed."

"Well, if they never existed, then who are the people in the photographs?"

"No one, really. Just the universe's way of making me feel more comfortable. After all, I'm technically only about three hours old right now."

Leo snickered. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm going to be blunt. You know, it's not uncommon for people to get all messed up as a result of having their family killed. Stuff like that can do some bad things to people. You ever thought about getting help? I mean, like seeing a doctor or a priest or someone?"

"Oh, I don't have to think about seeing them. Eventually I meet all of those types of people. Sooner or later, I see everyone. At the end, anyway."

"The end of what?" Leo frowned.

"Life." Didi grinned.

"Oh, give me a break. Like you know what happens when you die." Leo raised and eye brow and the tip of the right side of his mouth raised up slightly in disbelief.

"Of course I do, Leo. I'm Death, after all." Didi smiled.

Leo pointed a finger at her. "You know, I thought maybe you were kind of nice and smart. Turns out I was dead wrong. You're just a crazy teenage girl broken by the loss of her parents."

"And I thought you were someone dumb enough to get stuck under a fridge on a garage dump, and I was dead right." Didi retorted.

Leo scowled and immediately turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Didi simple shrugged. Leo grumbled to himself with a frown plastered on his face the whole time as he walked down the hallway and down the stairs. While doing so, he came across Mrs. Robbins. "Hey, Mrs. Robbins."

"Leaving already, boy?"

"Yeah. By the way, how long have you known Didi?"

"All her life. Sixteen years last February, if I remember correctly. She's a good kid. She's just a little mixed-up right now." Mrs. Robbins said as she walked up the stairs and passed Leo.

"You can say that again. Well, seeya." Leo continued down the stairs as he drowned in his thoughts. He became frustrated as he began thinking of things he wished he would have said back there. It was a feeling that pretty much everyone has had at one point. First of all, he'd tell her that there's no such person as Death. Second, even if there was a physical embodiment of Death, he'd be a tall, cloaked, guy with a bony face and a scythe. Third, like stated previously, he doesn't exist either. Fourth, he'd tell her that she was, well, simply nuts. Once Leo reached the bottom of the stairs, he sighed. "Ah, what the hell?" He then turned around and ran back up the stairs.

Leo stopped at the door to Didi's apartment and knocked on it. A half a minute later, Didi opened the door with a smile. "Oh. It's you again."

"Listen here, you--" Leo began before Didi pushed him aside and walked out of her apartment holding a black jacket and tophat.

"I'm going out. Wanna come?" Didi asked as she put on the jacket and tophat, also wearing a different outfit.

Leo stared at her in utter disbelief and confusion, partly because on the left side of her jacket in front of her chest was a smiley face button. "I, you, uh..." He watched her walk away and after a few second's hesitation, he ran after her.

...

What the hell am I doing? I mean, really, what the hell? My evening didn't start out very good, I'll admit that. I wrote my suicide note, thinking that I wouldn't even be alive at the time I am right now. Then, my mom kicks me out of the apartment. Not for good, of course, but still. Now, I'm walking down the sidewalk of a park next to a girl I met in a garbage dump who makes my mom look like the epitome of sanity.

Leo looked down as a soccer ball rolled in front of Didi and him. Didi happily kicked the ball to two kids who the ball belonged to. One of the kids kicked it up onto his knee and waved at Didi, who responded back with a wide smile before once again facing forward and continuing to walk. Leo looked around at the Christmas decorations adorning the trees, benches, etc. of the park.

Her name's apparently Didi. She says that she's the human incarnation of the spirit of Death or something. She's about my age, and her family was killed recently in a car crash. Wearing a dumb hat and a terminally perky smile, she says we're going off to find a really good party. I guess I kind of feel relieved, because honestly, that's the most normal thing I've heard from her so far. Still, it's not like I'm with her because I enjoy her company or anything.

The two came across a hot dog stand and Didi's expression visibly lit up as she turned to Leo. "You want a hot dog?"

Leo turned away. "I'd rather die. Have you tasted the hot dogs from those stands?"

"Suit yourself." Didi walked over to the stand and approached the man in charge of the stand with an excited smile. "Hello, can I have a hot dog, please?"

"You got it. What do ya want on it?" He asked.

"Hmm. Oh, I'll just take whatever you got, please."

"One hot dog with the works, coming up." He turned around and began putting together the hotdog. "Hey. So, there's this zen monk, right. He orders a hot dog, and you know what he says?"

"Make me one with everything." Leo muttered.

"You heard it already, huh? Here you go, lady." The man said as he handed Didi the hotdog.

"What do you owe you?" Didi asked.

"Nahh, keep your money. Nice little lady like you on a good holiday evening is just the thing I need to make me feel good to just be alive. Plus, you got a nice smile, so sue me." The man grinned.

"Thank you so much." Didi smiled and gave him a small hug before she and Leo continued their walk.

"Hey, you should leave your sourpuss boyfriend before his negativity rubs off on you!" The man called out as they walked away. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Mmm." Didi groaned as she ate a piece of the hot dog. "Leo, is the chemical aftertaste the reason why people eat hot dogs or is it some kind of bonus?"

"Look, let's get some things straight." Leo said. "If I'm going around with you, it's not because I like you or anything. It's because I don't have anything better to do tonight, and there's no point in going home until dawn. You got that?"

"Want the rest of my hot dog? I'm pretty full." Didi asked.

"Listen. I don't like you, okay?"

"No reason to turn down a perfectly peachy keen half of a hot dog." Didi grinned. "So, where do you think we're going to find a really good party?"

"Why are you asking me? Don't you have friends?" Leo asked.

"Sure. Millions and millions of them. Like that nice hot dog man for example. Maybe I should go back and ask him..." Her attention was caught by the headlights of a taxi cab approaching them. "Hey! Taxi!" She called out, waving her arms above her. The taxi stopped in front of them and she motioned at Leo. "Come on, get in."

Leo walked over to the backseat door as Didi opened it, and he got in. "We don't even know where we're going."

"Such is the beauty of the human condition, isn't it? As my older brother would say, certain destinations are inevitable." Didi got into the backseat next to Leo and leaned forward, peering into the open window that separated the front seats from the back seats. "Head into the city, please. I'll let you know when to stop."

...

"She's coming. I can feel her." A man said as he looked up at the sky. The man could have easily been mistaken for a homeless individual with his wild, unkempt hair and beard, as well as his dirty and torn suit. The man stood next to another individual who was a teenager sporting long, slicked back and greasy black hair and wearing a plain white wife-beater and some blue jeans. The teenager did not respond, merely smoking a cigarette in his hand. "I said she's coming, Theo."

"So?" Theo responded, exhaling smoke before the man suddenly punched him in the jaw. "What'd you do that for?!"

"There are many appropriate responses should I tell you something. One includes thanking me. Or perhaps telling me that you are unworthy of having been granted the crumb of divine wisdom bestowed upon you. The word 'so?' is nowhere to be found on that list. Make sure you remember that."

"You didn't have to hit me." Theo said as some blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth.

"Pain is a great teacher, Theo. And you did come to me to learn, didn't you?"

"Yes...teacher."

"Don't move. I need that blood." The man placed a glass under the blood and captured it. "The blood is life itself. But alas, my own blood is black, lethargic, worn out stuff of no use for conjurations." He looked at the blood closely. "I was right. She is on her way. You know what to do, don't you?"

"Yeah. I have to bring you the girl. And if I can't get the girl, I just need to get you the key-thing 'round her neck."

"The ankh--symbol of life and the soul. It is no 'key,' Theo."

"Yeah, yeah."

The man snorted and then spat into the glass. "There. Your blood and my sputum in a vial I found in a desert a long way from her a long time ago. When you get near her, the vial will shine, and when you move away, it will dull." The man handed the vial to Theo. "You know where to bring her when you find her?"

"Yeah. I'm not stupid, y'know."

"I know that much. However, though I have forgotten more than you would know if you lived for twenty lifetimes, I have never forgotten the importance of being cautious."

"I'll get her, geeze." Theo said, walking away. "How hard can it be to get a single damn girl?"

...

"...So what happened then?" Didi asked.

"My brother, he write me letter, he say, is wonderful country, better you come out here pretty goddamn quick. So I come out here, and I say to my brother, he, what now, and he says, you drive pretty goddamn good, maybe you should drive a taxi." The taxi driver said.

"Well, I also think you're a really good driver." Didi smiled. She looked out of the window on the left side of the cab next to Leo. "Oh, what's that? What are all of those people going in there for?" Didi pointed at a building that had a line of individuals in front of it.

"Oh, I've been there. It's called the Undercut. Not very nice considering how hot it is because of all the people in it. They have some decent bands playing there from time to time, though." Leo said.

"Stop! This is where we'll get off, Mister Taxi Driver!" Didi said.

"Okay, I'm glad we find it so easy." The taxi driver said as he pulled over and parked next to the sidewalk.

"Thanks, what do I owe you?" Didi asked.

"Is a present. Is for nothing."

"Thank you!" Didi smiled. "Leo, say thank you to the nice man." She said as the two got out of the car. Didi walked around the taxi and stood on the sidewalk and Leo stood in front of the driver's door on the sidewalk.

"You... I don't get it. I've never seen that happen. You guys just don't do that. I mean, cab drivers just don't give free rides no matter where you are--New York or Los Angeles." Leo said.

"Her, I like." The cab driver said. "You, I don't like. So you can give me the tip. Five bucks." Leo sighed and handed him the money, then watched as the taxi drove away.

"When people do nice things, Leo, you should always say thank you. It makes life an awful lot easier." Didi said. Leo scoffed and turned around, heading to the building through the people gathered around it. "Do you know any of these people?"

"You kidding? Why would I--"

"Leo? Is that you?" Leo turned to see a pregnant Hispanic woman standing behind him.

"Hazel?" He said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Fox is playing tonight."

"Seriously? When did she start writing, y'know, actual music?" Leo asked.

"Well, guess she got tired of not selling the short stories that she liked to write. This is her first real gig that anyone's giving her any real money for. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have came all the way down here, what with being pregnant and all." Hazel said. "So, who's your friend?" She glanced at Didi.

"This is Didi. Apparently, no one every makes her pay for anything."

"When's it due?" Didi asked.

"Any day now."

"Neat, this your first?"

"And last, probably. I'm Hazel. I was Leo's mom's first worker in her bakery. Had to go on leave due to, y'know. Do you guys want to come in and see Foxglove? She'll appreciate any support she gets. I'm on the door, plus two, so I can get you guys in for free."

"Oh, we'd love that!" Didi exclaimed with a smile. Hazel led the two into the building and down some stairs. "I like your hat, by the way. How long have you known Leo?"

"Well, I found him in a garbage dump this afternoon." Didi grinned.

Hazel chuckled. The group reached the bottom of the stairs and Hazel walked over to the front desk. "Hazel McNamara. I'm with Foxglove. These two are with me." She told the man behind the desk.

"Yeah, you're on the list. Go on in." The three of them walked through a large set of open doors into the main room where the event was being held. Though the room was large, it was still filled to the brim with people who were chatting amongst themselves and waiting for Foxglove to step onto the stage in front of them.

"I seriously don't get it. Ever since I've been with you, you haven't had to pay for anything. I wish I could live for free." Leo said.

Didi laughed. "C'mon Leo, that's silly. Nobody lives for free. Especially not me, unfortunately. I've even got about ten dollars and two cents on me just in case. Hope it'll be enough for some drinks."

"Oh, don't worry about that." Hazel said, handing Leo some money. "I'll pay. I'll have an orange juice."

"Coke for me, please." Didi said.

"Get whatever you like, Leo. Non-alcoholic, of course." Hazel said, watching Leo walk away to go get them drinks. "I gotta say, it's nice to see Leo with a friend. I've known him since he was a kid and he's always been kind of a loner, but he's a nice kid at heart. Oh! He just kicked!" Hazel exclaimed. "Wanna feel?"

"Sure." Didi grinned, placing her hand on Hazel's bump.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to take you guys backstage or anything. Fox gets pretty nervous before events like this, and she tends to throw up. With strangers around, it'll just make it even worse. After the show though..."

"Ooh! He kicked!" Didi exclaimed with a smile.

Then, Leo returned and placed two drinks on the table, one in front of Hazel and one in front of Didi. "Orange Juice. Coke. And your change."

"Thanks, Leo. Listen, I'm going to go ahead backstage and say hi to Fox. I'll catch you two later." After waving goodbye at the two, Hazel left Didi and Leo to head backstage.

"She's really nice." Didi said, taking a sip of her Coke.

"Yeah, one of the few ones out there." Leo said.

"What, nice people? Nonsense, almost everyone is nice at heart. Maybe in varying degrees, but still."

"What about that guy who killed your family? He a nice person too?" Leo asked. "Oh yeah, that's right, none of them 'existed,' so that's a silly question, huh?"

"Oh no, he existed. And he did kill a teenage girl's family. We even had a chat about it, and I got to know him really well. Not that that's anything particularly special. I know everybody really well."

Leo rolled his eyes. "You know, you really piss me off. I don't know why I'm hanging out with you."

"Because I want you to. Now hush, she's starting." Didi smiled, looking up at the stage.

The crowd watched as a man walked onto the state and gripped the mic. "Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Undercut. Her name's Foxglove, and this is her first gig. Treat her kind." The man pulled up the stool behind him and set it in front of the mic. Then, a woman in her mid 20s with short white hair and holding a guitar walked up the stairs and onto the stage.

"Um... good evening. The first song I'll be playing is about some people I knew. At least one of them is dead." She began playing, and the room became encapsulated by the music. In the context of a concert, the silence that filled the room would probably be considered a bad thing. But in this setting, that was an indication of how swept up the crowd was in her music. Everyone's focus was on her, and almost every had an expression of awe. Even Leo found himself smiling, which was odd considering the deep and depressing subject matter of the song. The song was from the perspective of someone who had died and who was talking to a lover who was alive and expressing how much she cared about the lover and how distraught they were being away from them.

After Fox finished playing the two songs, the crowd clapped and cheered. Leo turned to Didi and nudged her arm. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Didi nodded and he walked away to look for the bathroom. He found the bathroom next to the back exit of the building and he frowned as he saw someone carrying what looked like a beaker that was glowing red out of the corner of his eye. Leo thought he recognized the person, but he thrust the thought away and continued to the bathroom.

After Leo left the bathroom, and walked back into the large room, he saw Didi through the crowd standing across the room and laughing, facing someone to her left. Leo frowned and pushed through the crowd. Once he reached Didi, his eyes widened in shock as he saw her talking to Theo. He rushed over to her and grabbed her arm. "Hey Leo." Didi smiled.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Leo whispered in her ear.

"Sure. Be right back, Theo." Didi said, and allowed Leo to pull her over to the side.

"Do you have any idea who that guy is?" Leo hissed.

"Sure, his name's Theo." Didi said, taking a sip of her Coke.

"I know that. He goes to my school. He's crazy and a criminal. You seriously shouldn't talk to him."

Didi raised an eyebrow. "You're really trying to tell me who I can and can't talk to now? You're putting quite a lot of effort in for someone who doesn't like me."

"Look, I...I don't like you. But still, you hear stuff, y'know? That guy's bad news. I can't just let you go and get hurt under my watch." Leo said.

"Your watch?"

"Hey baby, you gonna be long?" Theo called out from behind the two a few feet away.

"No. Just a second." Didi replied back.

"Seriously, what more evidence do you need? He just called you 'baby.' He's a creep!" Leo whispered.

"Hey, baby, is this guy bothering yo-- Hey, I know you." Theo said with a scowl as he approached the two.

Didi turned and smiled. "Oh no, not at all. I quite like him."

"Whatever. Hey, listen, there's this place I know that's a lot cooler than this place. You wanna tag along?" Theo said, pointing back at the exit with his thumb.

"Well, I kinda wanted to see the rest of Foxglove's show."

"Yeah, but it'll be a much better time. I mean, a really great time." Theo said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"Mmm, okay." Didi said. Theo grinned and grabbed her arm, leading her away. Didi looked back at the scowling Leo, who was staring at the ground. "Come on, Leo."

"Huh?" Leo said, looking up.

"Huh?" Theo also said.

"Well, he's my friend, and I already decided that we would go around together this evening. So, he's coming with us. I wouldn't want him to miss any of the fun. Right?" Didi flashed a bright, wide smile as Leo walked up to them. Theo hesitated for a second, but then he simply released an annoyed "tch" and gestured for them both to follow. He led them out of the building and took a left on the sidewalk. Leo stared at Didi as he walked behind her, watching her look around with the smile that seemed to be permanently glued to her face. "So, where's the party, then?" Didi asked, leaning forward and closer to Theo.

"The party? It's just down here." Theo said, making a left around the street corner.

"Which do you like the best? Frozen or Inside Out?" Didi asked.

"What?" Theo asked with a confused expression. "Are those bands or something?"

"Movies, dude. Disney movies. You've never heard 'Let It Go'? Seriously?" Leo said.

"Yeah, 'course I have. I just don't watch that crap. That stuff's for kids." Theo spat.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Inside Out was by far the better movie. I'll admit that I liked the songs in Frozen more, though."

"Really?" Didi said. "I liked Frozen just a bit more, mostly because of the whole sisterly love thing. My brother--one of my brothers anyway--he's kind of purist about these things and loathes Disney movies because of all the happy endings. Me, though, I like happy endings." Theo stopped walking and opened a green wooden door to the building to his left.

"It's in here. I promise you won't be disappointed." He grinned.

"A party in here?" Leo said as he followed Theo into the building and looked around. The hallway was almost devoid of any light at all. "What is it? The morgue social night?"

"C'mon, Leo, don't be like that." Didi said. "Theo's going to show us a really great night. Isn't that right, Theo?"

"It's gonna be a night you won't ever forget." Theo said, opening a fairly large metal door. The three of them walked into the room and Theo took his cigarette out of his moth and turned to face them. "Hey, baby. C'mere." Didi walked up to her, punched her in the stomach, and yanked the ankh necklace off of her neck.

"Ow!" Didi exclaimed. Theo smiled and looked down at the Ankh as Leo pushed Didi behind him and positioned himself in a stance with a frown just in case he needed to fight.

"Very good, Theo. Now, give it to me." A voice called out from behind Theo. Theo turned to see the raggedy man from before. "Give me the Ankh, now."

Theo scoffed. "Yeah? You want it? You want it, you blind old man?" Theo dangled the necklace in front of the man.

"Theo, give it to me, and I will forgive you for the insolence you are displaying."

"Oh, really?" Theo played with the Ankh in his hands. "So this is what you've been hunting for. Hey, I wonder, if you're so adamant on getting your hands on this thing, then it must be worth something. I wonder what would happen if I went to one of the local gangs or mobs how much they'd give me for this. A hundred thousand? A million?"

"Yes Theo, that's very perceptive of you. They would indeed give you money for it. I on the other hand will give you knowledge. And knowledge is the true power. With knowledge comes money. Now give me the ankh." The man growled.

"Ha! Yeah, right. I get lots and lots of knowledge, you get to hit me some more, and I end up like you? A homeless man in a cheap suit filled with food stains and blind as a bat? Nah, I'm good." Theo said, turning and heading to the exit. Suddenly, the man ran up to Theo and punched him, knocking Theo into the wall next to the exit. Theo hit the back of his head hard on the wall with a loud CRACK!. His body went limp and it slid to the ground.

The man picked up the ankh that Theo had dropped on the ground and held it up. "At last. Had he the intelligence of a simple june bug, he might have realized that whatever this treasure is worth, you, in turn, are worth a thousand times that. But he was flawed." Silence. "Say something. I know you can hear me." The man said, confirming that he was indeed blind.

"Erm, I'd like my ankh back, please. And I think you should get Theo to a doctor." Didi said.

"Ah, there it is. That voice that I hear many years ago. It has been so long..."

"Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on here?!" Leo shouted.

"The triumph of good over evil. I have obtained life eternal and true power, young man. Know that there is little point in trying to escape, nor is there any point in trying to attract attention. No one can hear you. I will return." The man then opened the door and left the room.

Theo rushed over to the door. Even if the man had locked it, there was the chance that they could pick the lock. "Damn it! There's no door handle."

"Forget about that. Come here, I think Theo's really badly hurt." Didi said, kneeling down next to Theo's unconscious body.

"Seriously? Is that even really a problem? The guy's a cre--"

"That's enough!" Didi snapped with a frown--her bright expression gone for perhaps the first time that entire day. "I don't want to hear it, Leo. This is a real, livng person, and he'snot breathing properly. I believe you--he's probably done some bad things in his life, but I'm telling you, you're really pissing me off. And that snarky attitude is the last thing I need right now, okay?"

"Uh..." was all Leo could muster up as he stared at Didi in absolute shock.

"Forget it. Just get over here and give me a hand." Leo walked to the other side of Theo's body and knelt down next to it.

"What's wrong with him, exactly?"

"I'm not a doctor, Leo. Hes head's bleeding, he probably has a concussion and I think his nose is broken. I think you need to hold his head up or else the blood coming from his nose could choke him." Didi said.

Leo did as he was told and the two sat with their backs to the wall, with Leo holding up Theo's head in his lap. After an hour of silence passed, Didi spoke up. "Look... I'm sorry I snapped at you, Leo. I shouldn't have come down here. I especially shouldn't have brought you. It's just, sometimes I get a bit cocky and... I made a mistake."

"It's...it's fine." Leo said. Another hour of silence passed by, and Leo's stomach growled. "I'm really hungry. What time is it?"

Didi held her legs up close to her body as she sat, and had her head on her hands on top of her knees. "I dunno. Midnight, maybe?" Didi said.

"...That man. Do you know what he's going to do to us?"

"I got a hunch. But you don't want to know."

"...I see. And does he also think you're, well, Death?"

"Of course. You think he does this for just anyone and everyone?"

"Jesus. It's like the whole world's gone mad."

"It's always like this, Leo. You need to get out more."

"...I'm hungry."

"You said that already."

Another hour passed, and Didi suddenly got up and walked over to the other side of the room, where the only source of light--in the form of a hanging light bulb-- was. There were some metal shelves lining the walls and on the shelves were a bunch of boxes. Didi was going through one of the boxes when Theo started making a strange sound, almost like he was mumbling something, and then he went silent.

Leo looked down. "W--what was that?"

"You can let go of his head, Leo. That was a death rattle." Leo grabbed Theo's head and rolled over his body away from his lap. Then he stood up.

"I thought he was just having a dream or something... Say, if you were really, like, the spirit of Death, shouldn't you have been here for him when he died?"

"I was here, Leo." Didi said, picking up a Barbie doll that was dressed like a police officer out of the box.

"No, I meant... forget it. It's just... I've never seen a dead body before."

"I have."

"That man is going to kill us too, isn't he?" Leo said, his voice quivering a bit out of fear.

"Well, he's going to kill you, probably. Nothing personal, but you've seen too much."

"Dead men tell no tales, huh?"

"Everyone tells tales. It's just that the dead talk quietly than the living." Didi picked up a magazine out of the box and began flipping through it. "In any case, he probably won't kill me. At least, not immediately. I'm too valuable." Didi picked up a toy and walked over to Leo. "Look, you should take your mind off of this. There's a bunch of stuff in those boxes like magazines and toys. Like this clown. If you knock it down, it bounces right back up again. Just like us. We'll get out of this mess and everything will be fine." Didi smiled and set the toy on the ground. Then she knocked it over. It swayed back and forth to the right and left a couple of times, and then it flopped over to the ground, laying on its side. Didi's smile faded and Leo grabbed his head with his hands, looking down at Theo's dead body.

by **Mavorpen** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 11:22 am

A Tale of Life and Death: Chapter II
Endless: Part V

Another hour had passed and Didi and Leo sat in front of the metal door, staring at the ground, when suddenly Didi turned her head to face Leo. "Penny for your thoughts."

"What? I...I uh, I dunno. I guess I'm just wondering about why the hell I'm even here in the first place. More importantly, will I ever get out?"

"Same here."

"Why do you think you're Death in the first place? I mean, it's not the kind of thing most people pretend to be. It's like waking up in the morning and suddenly going 'I'm the moon spirit!' or something. Why do you? You're just a girl called Didi whose family was killed a couple of months ago."

"Well...that's true, but I'm also Death."

"How can they both be true?"

"I...I don't know. For some reason, I understood everything clearly earlier this afternoon, but bow it's all murky for some reason. But I am Death. I know I am. I..."Didi suddenly looked down at her chest. "My ankh?"

"He took it. That guy with no eyes. Remember?"

"The Eremite. I think he used to have another name, but that's what he calls himself now."

Leo stood up. "Hey, you know what? We should make a plan."

"Ooh, I like plans." Didi smiled and watched Leo walk over to the boxes on the shelves. "Like what?"

Leo started rummaging through one of the boxes and pulled out a Russian doll. "Maybe we could get lots of stuff from out of these boxes and throw it at him when he comes back. We hit him with something heavy right between the eyes and when he's stunned, we make a run for it."

Didi chuckled. "I hope you've practiced throwing Russian dolls with pinpoint accuracy. Leo grinned and chucked the doll, which Didi caught in her hands.

Leo had no idea why he was acting like this--so...positive. Maybe he was just letting the desperation get to him. He shook his head and started rummaging through another box. "Y'know, I think I remember seeing one of those cheesy B-rated movies once about Death spending a day in a mortal body or something like that. Maybe you got the idea from that. Trouble is, nobody died that day in that movie."

Didi glanced down at Theo's corpse, then back up at Leo. "Leo, what are you doing?"

"Trying to see if I can find a slingshot or maybe a knife or something to use as a weapon."

"Do you think you're going to actually find anything of use?"

"Sure."

"I mean, aren't you just trying to cheer me up?"

Leo hesitated. "Sure." Then his eyes lit up as he picked up a bag. "Marbles. That's it!" Leo walked over to the door and Didi moved to the left of the door, the side opposite of the hinges. Leo began placing the marbles on the ground in front of it.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, he's blind. When he walks through the door, if we're really lucky, he'll fall down and break his neck or something so that we can get away."

"Leo, someone could hurt themself!" Didi said.

Leo turned his head to flash her an unamused expression."Didi."

"Yeah, sorry." Didi said with a smile. Then she yawned. "I'm tired." She stretched out on the ground and lied on her side, facing away from the door. Leo looked down at her and stretched.

"Oh, what the hell." Leo said, and lied down on his back next to her. He closed his eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.

Leo's eyes jolted open as he heard a loud crash. He jumped up and saw the metal door of the room fly across the room, and someone's leg halfway visibly outstretched into the room from outside the door. The leg moved down to the ground and the individual began entering the room. The figure's foot stepped stopped inches above the marbles and then kicked them away. Leo silently cursed as Didi woke up and also sat upright, seeing that their plan had failed. Leo watched as a black man entered the room and down straight at the two sitting to the left side of the door.

"The hell are you doing here?" Jamal asked. Then he looked to the right, on the other side of the door, and saw Theo's dead body. With a sigh, he reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone, tapped on the screen a few times, and put it away. "I notified the police. Come on." Jamal turned and walked out of the room. Didi and Leo exchanged a look, and then they stood up and followed him.

"Erm, thank you, sir." Didi said after she and Leo caught up to him and walked along his right side.

"Sir? The hell are you talking about? It's me, Jamal. Don't tell me you don't recognize me because of a body you gave me." Jamal said as the three of them exited the building. Leo squinted his eyes as the light of the sun shined brightly down on them.

"I'm afraid I don't recognize you." Didi said. "Or, more accurately, I don't remember you."

"Never knew Death had such a short memory span." Jamal said.

"Hold up!" Leo interrupted. "You also think she's Death? Not another crazy person, for Heaven's sake!"

Jamal glanced down at Leo and raised an eyebrow. "You wanna explain what happened, exactly?" He asked Didi. The three walked through the city for about 15 minutes as Didi explained to Jamal what happened. Once she was done, Jamal sighed. "Seriously? For some reason, I started smelling a stench of death, and I followed it until I found you two in that room locked up."

"What time is it?" Leo asked.

"Breakfast time." Didi said, smiling as she stopped and pointed at the shop they were now in front of that had a sign reading 'David's Bagels!'. The group walked into the shop and sat down at a table. Leo eyed Jamal as conspicuously as possible, wondering what his relationship was with Didi. He didn't seem the type of person who'd know a girl like Didi, and he found his explanation for finding the two in that room to be strange, to say the least.

A waiter walked up to their table, and Didi ordered first. "A bagel, please. With cream cheese and a glass of orange juice."

"Scrambled eggs and hash browns, please." Leo said.

"Same order as her, but give me three bagels, and some scrambled eggs." Jamal said. The waiter nodded with a smile and walked away, having written their orders on a notepad. Didi and Leo both flashed him a look and he looked back and forth between them. "What? I'm hungry." He shrugged.

After a few minutes, the waiter returned and set their food on the table. They started eating their food. "Mmm" Didi groaned as she took a bite out of the bagel and chewed it. "I love food. Food is so great. I mean, it's so much more fun than photosynthesis or having a power pack in your back, or bathing in liquid crystals or any of those things."

"Like you'd know?" Leo asked, putting a forkful of egg in his mouth.

"Oh, I've been doing this one-day-a-century bit for quite a long time now." Didi smiled.

"What?" Jamal said.

"Hm? Oh, well... 'One day in every century, Death takes on mortal flesh. This is the price she must pay for being the divider of the living from all that has gone before, all that must come after.' Never heard that before?" Didi said.

"Nope." Leo said, and Jamal shook his head as he stuffed his mouth with food.

"How?!" A voice shouted. "How were you freed?!" The three turned to see the raggedy man--The Eremite walking up to their table. "You are powerless, I have your ankh. I have it!" He said, waving it in front of himself.

"Yeah, can I have it back?" Didi asked.

"No! I have your sigil of power. I have your ankh. And with it, I will unlock all secrets of Life and Death." He said, hugging the ankh close to his chest in a defensive manner.

"Yeah, but you don't have me." Didi smiled.

"You will not escape me." He scowled. Leo got a chill down his spine, and he glanced at Jamal, who was baring his teeth and wearing a deep frown. He was about to stand up, when Didi placed her hand on his and shook her head. Jamal looked her in the eyes and then sighed, calming down slightly.

"Look, I'm sure we'll meat again eventually, but right now, I'm having breakfast with friends."

"Why yo--" The Eremite began to say before being interrupted.

"Hey! You!" The Eremite turned to see the owner of the shop approach him from behind. "What the heck are you doing in here? Looking for a handout?"

"I am The Eremite. Mine is the glory. Mine is righteousness."

The shop owner walked up to the table and made an apologetic expression. "I'm very sorry about this." Then he turned to face The Eremite. "Look, buddy, I don't know what your problem is, but you can deal with it outside, where you can't upset my customers." He grabbed his arm and began escorting him out of the shop.

"But she's Death! Her touch is Death. Her flesh is corruption, and her eyes breed maggots!" The Eremite protested.

"Yeah, yeah." The shop owner said as he pushed the man through the door.

"But she will not triumph! I have her sigil! I shall conquer Death and bend Her to my bidding!" The Eremite shouted.

"Uh-huh, suuuure. Now. Out." After shoving him out of the shop, the owner turned around and walked back over to the table again. "Once again, I'm very sorry about that. Mostly we don't get that sort in here. He was a pretty odd one."

"It's alright. Thank you for making him go outside. We're finished eating anyway." Didi smiled.

"He been bothering you for long?" The owner asked, glancing at the window in front of the shop, seeing The Eremite standing in front of it and looking into the shop.

"Hours." Leo responded.

"Hm. C'mon, I'll take you through the back." The shop owner took them to the back exit and opened the door for them.

"Wait, we haven't paid you." Didi said.

"Hey, it's on the house. God forbid you should tell people I didn't take care of you. Again, I'm sorry about that creepy guy." The owner said.

Didi thanked the owner, and as she and Leo walked away through the alleyway in the back of the shop, Leo stopped and turned. "Thank you," he said, prompting Didi to smile. Leo walked after her, with Jamal staying behind next to the owner. Jamal reached into his pocket, took out $10, and handed it to the owner. Before the owner protested, Jamal held up a hand to silence him. Jamal walked away, putting up a hand as a gesture saying goodbye.

Jamal caught up to the two and Leo said, "Wow, free breakfast. You really never pay for anything."

"I told you, I pay. Everyone pays." Didi said.

"Do you want me to go back and get your ankh?" Jamal asked. "If it actually has power, then I'd rather a guy not him have access to it."

Didi smiled. "It's a symbol, Jamal. Specifically, it's a symbol of life--and symbols do indeed have power. But not in the way he thinks, unfortunately for him. There's no point in trying to get it back." Didi stopped in front of a street vendor and leaned down, inspecting the various pieces of jewelry on display.

"Even so, it seemed like it was important." Leo said.

"It's the most important thing in the whole universe." Didi said with a smile as she picked up a necklace with an ankh on it.

Leo sighed and looked up at the owner of the items on display. "Just get it over with and give it to her, man. You're gonna anyway, and the suspense is going to kill me."

"You crazy or somethin'?" The man replied.

"How much is this one?" Didi asked the man with a smile.

The man stared at her for a second before responding. "Ten bucks."

"It's nice. Thanks." Didi said as she handed the money to the man. The three continued walking.

"So, that cleans you out, huh?" Leo asked as he watched Didi took off her hat to put the necklace around her neck and then put the hat back on.

"Nah, I got a couple of cents left." Didi said. "Oh!" She suddenly exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Jamal asked.

"Leo, isn't your mother going to be worried about you by now?" Didi asked.

"Pfft, she's probably forgotten that I even left in the first place." Leo responded. "Say, if you're really Death... then what happens when people die? I mean, is there a Heaven and Hell and all that stuff? Or reincarnation? Or nirvana? Or do we just blink out like light bulbs?"

"You don't wanna know, kid." Jamal said.

"Besides, do you think I'd tell you?" Didi grinned.

"I don't even know anymore. Hell, a hundred penguins could march down broadway right now and do a choreographed dance to a High School Musical song and I don't think I'd even blink."

Didi laughed. "You know, underneath all of that layer of antagonistic, you're pretty okay."

Leo grinned. "Yeah? Well, underneath, you're..."

"Yes?" Didi smiled.

"Oh yes, do continue." Jamal said with a completely straight face. Leo looked off to the side and didn't respond.

Didi grinned. "I'm going up to the park. You want to go home now?" She asked him.

Leo looked at her. "Hell no. It's not like I enjoy hanging out with you or anything, but if I went home, then I wouldn't know how all of this ends. I wanna be there when the 24 hours are up and nothing happens so that I can rub it in your face."

Didi chuckled and the three of them headed to Griffith Park. As they walked through the park, gazing upon the trees that were previously illuminated by the Christmas lights the previous night, Leo suddenly began speaking. "My dad used to take me here... before he died. It's funny. I mean, I barely remember his face, but yet his death's stuck with me for so long. All of my memories from when I was a kid was centered around trying to help my mom get over it. I even foolishly tried to bring him back to life."

"Really? How?" Didi asked.

"Magic, I guess. I'd sit and pray, and concentrate, and just try to make it happen. I mean, my mom would go to sleep crying every night for years. Sometimes she's try to drink herself to sleep to avoid the crying. And there wasn't anything I could do about it. Then one day she tried to commit suicide. That was when I knew there wasn't any magic. And I went to my room and lay on the bed wishing I was dead. That didn't happen either."

"We can't get everything we want, kid." Jamal said.

"Woah, did you see that rat?" Didi said, pointing at a rat that ran past and into the bushes. "My sister has rats. She loves them a lot, like me and Slim and Wandsworth." Leo flashed her a confused look. "The goldfish."

The three of them came across a large fountain and they sat on the stone that surrounded the water, with Didi in the middle. "I had a really good time today." Didi said with a smile.

"You liked being locked up in a dark room and being threatened by loonies?" Jamal asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Well no, not that part. But, that's all a part of living. The good bits and the bad bits and the dull bits and the painful bits." Didi took a deep breath. "I like this place. And I like both of you too. Here." She reached into her jacket pocket and took out two pennies, handing one to Jamal and Leo each. "For you guys."

"Thanks, I'll use it as a deposit for my first car." Leo said sarcastically.

Didi took off her hat. "I had a lovely day. Thanks." She placed the hat on the stone between her legs and stood up atop it. She spread out her arms and smiled at the sky. Then, suddenly, she gripped her chest. "No. Please. I..." Her body slumped back and she fell backwards into the fountain.

Leo and Jamal looked down at the penny in their hands. A few seconds of silence passed before Leo spoke up. "Didi, it's really dumb to go swimming with your clothes on. I mean, even I know that." No response came. Didi? Didi?" Leo turned around and climbed into the water. "Didi?" Leo called out her name in a worried tone as Jamal simply stared down at the penny in his hand.

"She escaped me, then." Didi's body was picked up and Leo looked to see The Eremite carrying her body out of the fountain.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you." Leo scowled. The Eremite turned to him and then simply laughed.

"I can no longer hurt her, boy, if I ever could. No man can. You two. Give me your pennies." He demanded.

"She needs a doctor." Leo frowned.

"Call every doctor in Chritendom, boy, and he'll do nothing for her. Give me the pennies." Without looking up or saying anything, Jamal threw the penny at The Eremite, who caught it. Leo hesitated for a moment, but then he did the same. The Eremite placed the body on the ground face up, and then stood up once he completed his task. "There, boy. That's the cost of life. I will merely wait a century more. she cannot escape me forever. One day I too shall die. One day..." With that, he simply walked away, leaving Jamal and Leo alone. Leo looked back at Jamal, who was still sitting at the fountain, staring down at the ground. Leo then turned and walked away.

...

The fountain in Griffith Park was fuzzy and distorted. Though, unlike the rest of the world, it was the only thing that could be made out, outside of the figure sitting at it. The surrounding environment was colorless and lifeless. What seemed to be a fog formed a layer of whiteness on the ground. On said ground lay a body. The body suddenly sat upright, revealing itself to be Didi.

Didi's eyes were, strangely, covered by two pennies, though she showed no signs of concern, as though this was something to be expected. "So that was it." A familiar voice said from in front of her. Didi took the pennies off of her eyes and smiled.

"Yes."

"How was it?" The figure in front of her asked.

Didi brought her hands to her chest and her smile grew wider. "Oh, it was wonderful! It was filled with people. I got to breathe and eat and...all sorts of stuff. I wish it could have gone on forever. I wish it didn't have to end like that..."

"It always ends. That's what gives it value. When you get to be alive, even for a day...well, there's only one way to stop living."

"I suppose so." Didi sighed.

"Was it worth it?"

"I...I don't know. I think so. I hope so. I met such neat people. And I heard a song, and I went in a taxi, and I had a hot dog and a bagel, and... I just wish it could have gone on forever."

"Take my hand, Didi." Death smiled, reaching out at her. Didi walked towards Death and grabbed her hand with both of her hands. Didi began dissipating until she eventually became nothingness.

It was then when the figure sitting at the fountain finally looked up. Jamal stared straight at Death, and Death smiled at him and waved. Death then disappeared, and Jamal stared at the spot where Death stood just a second before. Sitting on the ground was a small rectangular box wrapped in colorful wrapping paper with a bow on top. Jamal stood up and walked over to the box and picked it up. He tore the wrapping paper and opened the box to find a brush. Jamal sat down on the ground, looking over the brush with a frown. As far as he could tell, there was nothing special about it. It was a mere ordinary brush. And then it hit him. Suddenly, he began laughing, for the first time in nearly two years. And then his laughter turned to sobbing as tears poured down his face.

...

"Someone had already called 911, but there was nothing anyone could do. She was really dead. Completely and totally dead. At the autopsy thing, the guy said that judging by the condition of her lungs, she must have been dead by the time she hit the water. Sad, isn't it?" Leo said, sitting down and looking up at a teenage boy in a wheelchair. His name was Bobby, and he lived in one of the apartments above his mom's bakery. Bobby was a childhood friend of Leo's, but a couple years back he was diagnosed with a disease that caused him to become quadriplegic and unable to really speak except for groans. Leo had always wondered how he could live like that. If it were him, he would have begged his mom to just end it already.

"Mrs Robbins explained some of it to me. I mean, she wasn't even surprised or anything when I told her." Leo stood up. "She said Didi had been sick since she'd been a little girl. There was something wrong with her heart, apparently. She'd been living with death ever since she was small." Leo chuckled, turned around and began pushing Bobby's wheelchair down the hall. "I almost believed her. Can you believe that? Her. Being Death. But that would be crazy, wouldn't it?" Bobby groaned in response and Leo smiled.

"I dunno why, but I've been thinking a lot about life since Didi died. And I found out something odd... my first memory is from when I killed my goldfish. I don't remember how old I was, but I was a naive little kid at the time. Their bowl was dirty, and I dropped a bar of soap into it, thinking they'd really like it if it were cleaner. I wake up the next morning, and they're floating belly up. Mom comes up to me and tells me something about death that I don't remember, but knowing her, it was probably something dumb." Leo laughed.

"Before I met her, I wanted it to all just be over, but now..." Leo sighed. "Maybe she really was Death. I mean, it'd actually be pretty neat, now that I think about it. I think I'd really like it if Death was somebody and not just nothing, or pain, or blackness. And if Death were someone like Didi, that'd be even better. Someone funny, and friendly, and nice. And maybe just a tiny bit crazy." Leo stopped Bobby in front of his apartment door. "I do wish I could see her again. But, well, if it means dying first, I guess I can wait for a while longer."

"Leo, lunch is ready!" Leo turned to see his mom standing halfway out the door looking at him.

Leo smiled. "Coming. See you later, Bobby."

A week later...

"Another." Jamal said, placing his shot glass on the counter in front of him. The bartender raised an eyebrow and then followed it up with an expression of concern.

"Uh... I can't help but feel like you've had enough. You've been drinking for over an hour straight. Surely you're too drunk to--"

"Do I look drunk?" Jamal scowled. "No, I don't. Because I'm not drunk at all. I'm not even sure if I can get drunk. So again... pour me another." The bartender sighed and took the glass and turned around. All of a sudden, the stool to the right of Jamal was pulled back and someone sat in it.

"Boy, you don't look good at all." The man next to Jamal said. Jamal turned his head to the right, ready to tell the person off. Frankly, he wasn't in the mood to be interrupted by a random person who decided to make it their goal to chastise him for the whole night. Jamal's eyes widened as he saw a set of large and pure white wings coming from the back of the man next to him. The man had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Lucifer." Jamal muttered as the bartender turned around and placed the full glass on the counter in front of him.

"Yes, I am Lucifer. And you are distraught, I see."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you look as though you are fed up with life. You remind me of, well, me." Lucifer smiled.

"Oh, that makes me feel better. I just love being compared to the Lord of Darkness." Jamal said, picking up the glass and taking a sip out of it.

"Oh, God, can we talk about that for a second?" Lucifer said, rolling his eyes. "I find it incredibly fascinating how one moment, humans consider me as a servant of God, and then all of a sudden, I'm supposed to be His adversary. Can you pick one, for Heaven's sake?"

"Alternatively, you can tell me right here and now which one is the truth." Jamal said, raising an eyebrow.

"I suppose both, to an extent. Truthfully, we're all servants of God. But the amusing thing is that He'll insist that we aren't, the stubborn old fool. Wait. Are you even a Christian?" Lucifer asked.

"You're joking, right?"

"Just wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth. In any case, that is quite fascinating. Here you are, sitting next to Lucifer and yet you maintain such a stance." Lucifer smirked.

"Out of necessity, really. The universe needs people like me, I'd argue. It's an ethical imperative if." Jamal took another drink of his glass. "So, what was that about me reminding you of yourself?"

"Ah, yes, that's for reminding me. Huh, I'm starting to become tired of that word, strangely enough. Anyway, the point I was making was that I too became disillusioned with life. I'm sure we have similar reasons behind this, though I am also sure that they may differ a great deal at the same time. You see, my issue was borne out of what you humans refer to as the free will problem. It is a dilemma by which the question arises of how it is possible for there to be free will with the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful being."

"I know what the free will problem is."

"Yes, of course you do." Lucifer grinned. "Now, as for the question at hand, I've often finding myself asking why humans love to blame me for their own failings. They use my name as if I spend my entire day sitting on their shoulders, forcing them to commit acts they would otherwise find repulsive. 'The Devil made me do it.' Bah, in reality, they live their own tiny little lives. So again: why? Why is it that these same individuals are so quick to insist that they have been granted free will by God and yet somehow they also believe that God just lets me take away that free will according to my own arbitrary whim."

"I think you've strayed from the original topic." Jamal interjected.

"Possibly." Lucifer responded. "As I was saying, I believe the most obvious answer to the question of whether free will exists is a resounding no. But before I delve deeper, may I have your insight into the question?"

"Well, from a scientific point of view, it certainly doesn't exist. First of all, we can't truly control our actions in the most fundamental of ways. Our reactions--our decisions-- are entirely out of our control. It's nothing more than the result of our cells, molecules, and atoms reacting to the environment around it. Depending upon how it's structured, you will react in a specific way. Hell, we can even predict to a good degree of accuracy an action you will make seconds before you are even aware of it using basic scientific tools. Second, there's the multiverse. We know it exists and is therefore no longer a mere hypothesis. Branching timelines have also been confirmed, which means that every decision you make is inevitable. It's going to happen no matter what, because the alternative choices will happen in other universes anyway."

"Hmm, a scientific approach. Interesting. I suppose I owe it to you to provide a philosophical approach then--though I was already going to do so from the beginning. Funnily enough, I tried my hand at being God once. After I initially abdicated my realm--a realm that was essentially forced upon me in the beginning anyway--God agreed to allow me to spawn my own Creation with the assistance of my brother. This Creation is outside of the rule of God's dominion, and therefore I could establish my own rules. I created my own Eden. And do you know what happened?"

"You discovered that becoming God didn't change anything."

"Yes. There still needed to be rules. My rule just happened to be different from that of the other deities. There was to be no worship or any sort. They were to live their lives without the constant fear of doing the wrong thing and upsetting their precious God. But the ironically, I had created a system where that fear still existed. As long as God exists, it's inevitable. And so, I confronted God about it. I was desperate for answers. And wow, was I disappointed. He told me that I am proof of the existence of free will because I dared to question him--to rebel against Him. That's when I realized... God has no answer. He has none because none exists. Ultimately, I reached the height of my disappointment. And so, I fled. I fled Creation. I traveled into the void. To this day I'm not sure whether I imposed any will upon the void or whether I became the emptiness. What I do know, is that I found something greater than God. As it turns out, even God is shaped by external forces."

"So then, where does that leave us?" Jamal asked.

Lucifer smiled. "Nowhere. There is no point after all. Everything, including God, is nothing more than a flaw. Which is why I've simply decided to continue my existence how I like. If you die, then you die. If you live, then you live. The metaphysical complications behind it all matters not."

Jamal stared down at his glass and then took a drink from it, finishing it. "Let me guess, you want another?" The bartender said.

Jamal shook his head. "Nah, I'm done." Jamal got out of his seat and walked away.

"Nice talk." Lucifer said with a smile as he watched Jamal leave the bar.

...

Jamal looked up at the tall arch that stood proudly before him. He walked through the arch and approached a large circular fountain. Inside of the circle were several smaller circular structures that actually ejected the water up into the air, and would fill the fountain. When the fountain was off and therefore not filled with water, steps were reveled that lined the inside of the outer stone circular rim. These days, due to the concerns of water shortage in California, the fountain was dry more and more often, and therefore, it allowed people to sit on the stairs more often than normal.

Today, the large concrete square within which the fountain sat was relatively empty, most likely because most people were preparing for the Christmas holiday that was quickly approaching. The exceptions to this were a handful of people walking around and/or sitting under one of the multitude of trees housed within the square. There was also a couple of teenage boys playing soccer outside of the outer stone ring of the fountain. All of these people became shifted to the back of Jamal's mind however, as he saw one individual that immediately caught his eye.

The man was sitting on the steps inside of the fountain, holding a loaf of bread and picking off pieces of it and feeding it to the birds fluttering around in front of him. The man had wild, pitch black hair that only further contrasted his pale white skin. Jamal had a feeling that he knew the man, somehow, but couldn't recall him wearing a casual jacket, t-shirt, and jeans the last they met. Jamal almost shrugged it off as a matter of him mistaking the man for someone else, until suddenly the soccer ball that was being played with by the teenage boys flew directly at the man's head from the blind spot on his left side. Without even looking however, the man raised his left arm and easily caught the ball.

"Yo, mister!" One of the teenage boys, appearing to be roughly 17 or so, called out as he ran over to the man. "That was a sweet catch! Can I have the ball back?"

The man looked up at the boy and then down at the soccer ball, a confused expression on his face. "Hmm? Oh... this? Here." The man dropped the ball and kicked it with his left foot, knocking it straight into the boy's hands.

"Thanks. Hey, you wanna play?" The boy asked.

"No, thank you. I am feeding the pigeons."

"That's cool. Sorry for bothering you!" The boy said as he hopped over the outer stone rim and went back to play with the others.

Jamal definitely thought the man was odd, especially having caught the ball without looking despite his lanky appearance suggesting that he was not an athletic person whatsoever. Still though, it ultimately changed nothing, and Jamal was about to continue walking when he saw someone he definitely did recognize. "You gotta be kidding..." Jamal said as he watched Death walk over the outer stone rim and approach the man from the left. She stopped a couple of feet away from him and sat down to his left, with her elbow on her knee and resting her face on her palm.

After a couple of seconds of silence, she spoke. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Feeding the pigeons." The man simply responded.

"You know what you get if you do that too much?" The man didn't respond.

"Fat pigeons!" Again, the man didn't respond. "Oh come on, Mary Poppins, y'know?! I love that movie. You've never seen it?"

"No."

"It's about this uptight guy whose name is Banker. He doesn't have any time for his family or, really, truly living, or anything. So then n comes Mary Poppins and she comes down from the clouds and shows him and his family what's important in life. Having fun. Enjoying activities with your family, all that stuff. It's a cute movie. Maybe not everyone's thing, but y'know."

"Ah." The man said, and then it fell silent once again.

Death sighed. "Alright, what's the matter?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, I know something's wrong. Look at you here, just sitting around and moping. That isn't like you. That's our older brother's job." Death said.

"I...I suppose it isn't. I'm not entirely sure what's wrong. Something is indeed the matter, though. Being imprisoned in a box...it makes you go crazy. It makes you thirst for one thing: revenge upon the one who locked you away." Death stood up and walked along the stone rim to the other side of the man, finding a flowerbed made out of stone and picked one of the flowers. She placed one of the flowers in her hair and leaned on one of the the three foot tall pillars that was directly beside the man. "By the time I'd freed myself, my original captor had died though old age, as mortals do. So, I took vengeance upon his son. Revenge, as it turns out, is not as satisfying as I had initially expected. Furthermore, after accomplishing this, what more was there for me? I returned to a world so vastly different from the one I remember. Dreams are as potent as ever, and as a result, I'm more powerful than I had been in eons. With my quest over, I felt drained. Disappointed. Let down. I was so sure that once I was free and exacted revenge, that I would feel good. But I don't. I feel even worse than when I started. I feel like...nothing. I'm sorry, I don't have a straight answer, but you asked."

"You finished?" Death asked, still leaning on the pillar.

"Yes."

Death leaned down and placed her right hand on his leg. "You could have called me, you know.

"I didn't want to worry you."

"Seriously?" Death said, and she stood up. "I'm going to tell you something, Dream. And listen well, because I'm only going to say it once." Death forcefully grabbed the loaf of bread Dream held out of his hands and frowned. "You are utterly the stupidest, most self-centered, appallingest excuse for an anthropomorphic personification on this or any other plane. Absolutely pathetic. Infantile. Adolescent! How dare you sit here feeling all sorry for yourself just because your little game is over and you haven't got the balls to go and find a new one." Death chucked the loaf of bread at Dream who recoiled back in fear and covered his body with his arms as the loaf bounced off of his head. "I don't believe you. You're being just as bad as Desire. Maybe even worse! Did it ever occur to you that I'd be worried silly about you? That our family would be worried?!"

"I didn't think--" Dream began.

"Yes, that's exactly the problem. You didn't think. You lummox, you overgrown little--" Suddenly the soccer ball was mere inches from her head, having been accidentally knocked at her by the kids. She caught it without looking with her left hand. "Oooooh, you are so lucky I have a soft spot for you."

"Woah, another unbelievable catch!" The same boy from before said as he ran up and Death handed the ball to him. "You're as good a catcher as your friend."

"He's not my friend." Death said and then proceeded to lean down close to Dream. "He's my brother. And he's an idiot."

Dream avoided eye contact and nervously looked down to the left at the ground. "Just feeding the birds..." He meekly muttered.

Death sighed and sat down close next to him. "Look, I can't stay here all day trying to cheer you up or yelling at you, as much as I want to. I got work to do. So you can come with me, or you can stay here and sulk. I don't mind either way."

"I...I suppose I'll come with you." Dream said, looking up at Death.

"So, like, uh can we exchange numbers and maybe see each other again?" The teenage boy asked Death, taking out an iPhone.

"Yeah, sure, you'll see me again soon enough, Jacob."

Jacob grinned. "Nice!" Then he glanced at his friends to see their reaction. At the same time, Death turned her head and looked straight at Jamal, who was watching the whole time. "Wait, how'd you know my name's..." Jacob began to say as he turned back around to face Death and Dream. However, they had disappeared. "...Jacob...?"

...

"Why the hell am I here?" Jamal asked as he walked behind Dream and Death on the sidewalk of a street in the city. When the two had disappeared back at the fountain, Jamal then found himself also transported to next to them. Then Death began walking and Dream followed her. At first, Jamal didn't follow, as he saw no reason to do so, but then he realized that something was wrong. It was confirmed as they now walked down the treat. They traveled without any sound whatsoever. No heads turned to mark their passing. The crowd parted as they walked through it, yet the people looked everywhere else but not at them. It was as though they didn't exist.

"Because you're just as bad as my little brother here. Both of you need to learn to grow the hell up and get over yourselves." Death said. Jamal frowned but didn't respond. He merely continued to follow. As they passed by people, they shivered and then looked away from the three of them, muttering to each other. Jamal heard one person remark that it felt as though someone was walking over his grave.

Eventually, Death turned into some stairs leading up to the front door of an apartment building. She opened the door and led them to the main stairwell. As they walked up it, they heard the echo of violent music. It was frail and out of place. "I recognize this tune." Dream said. "Although it is being played very badly, I heard it last in London, two hundred years ago."

Eventually, Death stopped at a door and opened it. They walked into the living room to see an old and pudgy man lying on his sofa and playing the violin and singing. "Hello, Harry." Death smiled.

"Huh?" Harry grumbled, turning to see Death. "Weird. I didn't hear nobody come in... Wait, how do you now my name?"

"The more important question, Harry, is whether you know who I am." Death said.

"You? You're... No! Not yet!" Harry began coughing violently. "Yeah, I know who you are... 'Scuse me, got something I need to say." Harry said before closing his eyes. "Sh'ma yisroel. Adonai elohaynu, adonai e'had. Hear, o' Israel...The Lord our God...The Lord is one." Harry then grew silent and his body slumped down on the sofa, becoming limp and lifeless. What Jamal assumed to be Harry's soul then appeared in front of them, facing his dead physical body. "I look so empty...so old. Glad I managed to say the Shema. My old man used to say it guaranteed you a place in Heaven. Well, I'm dead. Now what?"

"Now's when you find out, Harry." Death said. She drew him close and then he disappeared. Jamal suddenly heard the beating of wings, and then he glanced at Dream to see whether he also heard it or whether it was just his imagination. Death then turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"I thought he was sweet, don't you guys?" Death asked the two men following her.

"I'm not sure how you expect me to be able to judge a person based off of a grand total of 30 seconds of seeing them." Jamal remarked.

"My sister... When I was captured, it was not me they wanted, it was you." Dream suddenly blurted out.

"Yeah, I know." Death said. "C'mon, don't want to miss the next one." The next thing Jamal knew, he found himself--next to Death and Dream--on a stage standing behind a woman who was in front of a mic. A stool with water on it was to her left, and the three watched the woman perform a comedy act.

"...I mean seriously, don't you ever wonder about Batman? How he got started? I can picture him at the dinner table across from his wife. 'Morning hon. Liste, I got something to tell ya. I quit the job at the ad agency. Don't panic, I got it all figured out. I'm gonna dress up like a bat and fight crime. 'You're gonna do what Ralphie? Have you talked this over with your analyst?' And what about Robin?"

"But sister, if they had captured you, the consequences--" Dream began.

"Shh, I want to hear this!" Death interrupted him.

"Really now, whose bright idea was it to let him run around with a kid while both of them are dressed up in skin tight cos--" The woman touched the microphone and screamed out in pain as a surge of electricity went through her. She fell to the ground, dead. Then, just as it had been with Harry, she appeared in front of the three, looking at her corpse. "Those assholes! That damn mike was live! Cheap, no good..." She turned to face Death and her eyes widened for a moment before she rolled them threw her hands up. "Dammit! Just my luck that I get to live out every comedian's worst nightmare. Dying on stage."

"I thought you were really funny." Death smiled.

"Bah, no I wasn't." She said, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. "I could have been though. Just imagine if I had just a few more lousy years. I would have made it to the top. Damn."

"I'm really sorry. Your time was up." Death said, and pulled the woman closer, causing her to fade away just as Harry had. Again, Jamal heard the sound of beating wings and looked over at Dream, seeing him looking down at the ground and running his hand through his hair. He had heard it as well. Jamal started becoming annoyed. He couldn't see the point of all of this. As far as he was concerned, it was a waste of his time. All of a sudden, Death spoke up. "Y'know, it gets me down. Most people aren't too keen to see me. They fear the sunless lands but they enter your realm each night without fear." Death said, speaking to Dream.

"...I agree. And I am far more terrible than you, my sister." Dream said.

Jamal then found himself next to the two of them standing in a bedroom. In said bedroom, a mother was hunched over a crib and playing with her baby. The mother walked out of the room with a smile on her face, leaving the door open behind her. Death then walked over to the baby and picked it up. The baby made a strange noise, and then it looked up at Death, reaching out at her face. "But... Is that all there was? Is that all I get?" The baby asked her.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Death replied. And the sound of wings returned.

Just then, the mother returned, holding up a bottle of milk. "Look, mama's got you some lovely..." The color drained from her face as horror visibly gripped her. "NO!" She screamed out and she dropped the bottle, collapsing to the floor and hunching over in the fetal position as she sobbed. Jamal felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he forced himself to look away from the grieving mother.

"Wait. Do you hear that?" Death asked, looking up at the ceiling. She then abruptly turned around and walked out of the room, through the living room, and left the apartment with Dream following. Jamal hesitated, making himself look down at the mother for a few seconds before also following. Death led them up the stairwell and they reached the next floor above. Death led them down the hallway until they reached an open door. Jamal could now hear the faint sound of a woman crying.

The three entered the apartment and reached a bedroom door that was also open. They entered to see a woman sitting on a bed crying into her hands. Dream and Jamal stopped at the door and watched Death enter the room and taking a seat on the bed to the left of the woman. "Erm. Hello. Do you want to talk about it?" Death asked the woman. The woman looked up and to her left, to face Death, revealing her horribly disfigured face.

"W--who are you? How did you get in?" The woman asked.

"Door was open, and I heard you crying." Death smiled. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you. You just looked like you needed someone to talk to."

"I...perhaps I do. W--would you like a cigarette?" The woman asked, pulling out a box of cigarettes from underneath the blanket on the bed.

"No thanks. Nice ashtray." Death said, picking up what looked like a white ceramic mask.

"Oh... That's not an ashtray. Well, I do use it as one, but it's also my face. See, sometimes, I have to look...normal, and so I grow faces. But they dry up and then fall up. But I couldn't just throw them away. They're a part of me. So I hang on to them." Death inspected the face closely and held it up in front of her face. Jamal looked around and saw some faces scattered over the ground and more hanging on the walls. "I'm probably not making much sense..." The woman said.

"No no, it's fine." Death said, setting the face down on the floor. "Humans always hold onto old identities, old faces and masks, long, long after they've served their purpose. But look, you've got to learn to throw things away eventually." Suddenly the woman gripped her face and started sobbing again. Death wrapped her arms around the woman and hugged her. "Oh dear, I'm sorry. It's okay. Here, take this." She handed the woman some tissue and waited for the woman to settle down. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No. It's just... what you said about throwing things away...I want to die. I want to kill myself, but I can't!" The woman said, sniffling. "It's not that I'm too scared. I'm scared of lots of things, but Death isn't one of them. I want to die, but I don't know how.See, I have the ability to change into any element--it's also how I make my faces. I've thought so hard about it. I can't slit my wrists--I don't have any blood. When I was in high school, I once heard about a guy who locked himself in a garage, took sleeping pills, climbed in the car, and turned it on. I can't do that. I can turn into carbon monoxide in my sleep...literally. And my body just processes poisons. I can't shoot myself. Bullets won't do any real damage. So then I got more creative. What if I sit in the center of a nuclear test? But if I survive that, I'd just be alive and radioactive all the time and no one would ever want to be around me even moreso than now. What if I just transmute myself into free oxygen radicals and meld with the air? Or do the same but with water? But I'd probably just still be conscious, and just spread out all over the world. How do I stop, but I can't. It's so stupid. Everyone all over the world is trying to run away from death only to have to face it eventually no matter what. But me--I want it, but I can't have it."

Death stared at the woman silently for a couple of seconds, digesting what she had just heard. Then she stood up. "You know, it's not that bad, Rainie. Even metamorphae die eventually--in fact, everything does eventually. Just takes a bit longer for you guys. But eventually your morphogenic field collapses, the metaplasm dissolves, and you move on. Just like Algon. He was a roman centurion and a metamorph like you. He was a mere 2,000 years old before he died in a volcano."

"H--how do you know that? Who are you?" Death smiled at the question. "Oh, my God." Rainie's eyes lit up and her expression became filled with joy. "I know who you are. Have you finally come to make it all stop, blessed, merciful Death?"

Death made a somber smile. "No, I haven't come for you, Rainie. There was a baby downstairs who died. Like I said, I was just passing by, I heard you crying, and the door was open. Also, I'm not blessed or merciful. I'm just me. I've got a job, and I do it. Even as we're talking right now, I'm there for everyone. Young or old. Innocent or guilty. I'm in cars, boats,, planes, hospitals, forests, and much, much more. For some, death is a release. For others, it is an abomination, a terrible thing. It matters not. In the end, I'm there for them all. In West Africa, a small village is being massacred by child soldiers. I'm there. In a distant galaxy, the Devouror of Worlds, Galactus is consuming a planet. I am there as well. I am Death for many, but I am not yet your Death."

"No... are you saying you won't help me? Please, I can't take another two thousands years of being a...a freak!" Rainie said.

Death crossed her arms and stood silently for a moment. "Okay. I'll help you, if that's what you really want."

"Really?" Rainie's voice was filled with excitement. "You'll kill me? Take my life? Give me oblivion?"

"Like I already said, your life is your own. It isn't your time yet. The unfortunate fact is, mythologies take longer to die than people believe. They linger on in a kidn of dream country that affects all of you. What do you know about Ra?" Death asked.

"Well, he was a sun god in ancient Egypt." Rainie responded.

"Yeah. That's right. He's seen better days of course. He's like an old, decrepit man still stuck in the past, which is why he keeps bringing the metamorphae into existence, even though the battle your kind was created for ended ages ago. His supposed never-ended battle against Apep, the serpent that quote-unquote never dies. Stuuupid. I already told him, the serpent is already dead. I took her over 3,000 years ago! You really want to end your life? Talk to him."

"B--but I can't just go to Egypt."

Death groaned exasperatedly as she pushed Rainie out of the bedroom and into the living room, with Jamal and Dream moving to the side to get out of their way. "It's like talking to a wall... Sorry, but sometimes humans are so slow. The orb of Ra is right outside your window. He's a sun god. Go talk to him before he sets. And make sure to ask politely." Death said, pointing at the window. Rainie walked over to the window and opened the blinds.

Rainie covered her face and looked away from the sunlight. "Erm, what do I say?"

"Just talk to him. Say what you really feel."

"Um...Ra? Hello?" There was silence for a brief moment and suddenly Rainie smiled. "Did you hear that? He actually spoke to me! Erm, please, sir--I don't want to be me. Thank you for making me special, but I don't want to be special. I just want it to stop. Can you end it, please? What? you want me to look at you? But, you shouldn't look directly at the sun...Well. Okay." Rainie moved away her hands and looked outside of the window at the sun. "Wow. I...I never realized before. It's just a mask too. And the face behind it is so...so beautiful. It's--" Suddenly, her body transformed into what looked like white clay and she grew silent.

"Have fun, Rainie." Death said, watching her body fall apart and scatter across the ground like snow. "Better luck next time." Death turned to face Jamal and Dream. "Let's continue." They continued visiting many other dying individuals in the city, each having their own various circumstances that led up to their death. The first two were both individuals who had committed suicide. One was an old man who had swallowed a ton of a variety of prescription drugs. The other was a man who had jumped off of the Colorado Street Bridge. Then they visited an elderly woman in a hospital who had a heart attack. Next, they visited a man in an alley who had been robbed and shot in the chest point blank. Then, a woman who had overdosed on heroin in her room. Finally, a woman who had been pushed down a flight of stairs. As they met person after person, Jamal noticed Dream beginning to smile for some reason, and his body language also conveyed an air of positive relief. With each new death however, Jamal felt as though a piece of him was dying. Each new death presented a new response to oone's death, and this led him to experience a torrent of a variety and contradicting emotions and thoughts.

The three then found themselves in front of the arch that led to the fountain where they had met. "You have taught me something I had forgotten. Thank you, my sister." Dream said.

"To me man, over here!" Jamal turned to see the teenagers from before running towards the arch at the three.

"Don't mention it, that's what family's all about, lil bro. Listen, I've got just one last appointment. If you wanna hang out some more, let me know." Death said.

"No, thank you." Dream smiled. "You have given me much to think about."

"Yo! Jacob!" One of the boys called out. Death turned and she and Jamal watched one of the kids kick the ball a little too hard.

"I'm tellin' you man, she said she'd see me again soon. And she knew my name. She wants me, bro." Jacob said as he tried to catch the ball but it flew over his head and into the street.

"Just go get the ball, stupid!" The other teenager said, grinning. Jacob ran into the street right in front of an oncoming car. The car screeched as the driver slammed on her breaks, but it was too late, and the car slammed right into Jacob, knocking him away hard. "Jacob!"

The ball bounced up to Jamal, Dream, and Death, and Jacob appeared in front of them. "Wow, that car came out of nowhere! Thought I was gone for sure!" Then when he turned around and saw Death, his face lit up. "Hey, it's you! Didn't expect you back that soon."

"Hold that thought, Franklin." Death said, turning the boy around and leading him away to his physical corpse, which was becoming surrounded by a crowd of people. "There's something you maybe oughta see..."

Jamal glanced at Dream, frowning at the sight of his smile. "Why are you smiling after having seen all of that stuff? I just don't get either of you."

"You know, I find myself wondering about humanity. Your attitude to my sister's gift is so odd. Why do you fear the sunless lands? It is as natural to die as it is to be born. But you fear her. Dread her. Feebly, you attempt to placate her. You do not love her."

"Of course we're afraid. Of course we try to avoid her. Death is...death." Jamal said.

"I recall hearing the song of a mortal in his dream. 'Death is before me today like the recovery of a sick man, like going forth into a garden after sickness. Death is before me today like the odor of myrrh, like sitting under a sail in a good wind. Death is before me today like the course of a stream, like the return of a man from the war-galley to his home. Death is before me today: like the home that a man longs to see after years spent as a captive.' This mortal understood her gifts. I smile partly because my sister has a job to perform, just as I do. The Endless have their responsibilities. It is inescapable. But, more importantly, I smile because she she smiles, despite her role in the universe."

Jamal stared at Death as she showed Jacob his dead body and then console the teenage boy. Afterwards, she sent brought him close and sent him along to the afterlife. Jamal then looked at Dream and nodded. "Thank you."

"Of course." Dream smiled. "Goodbye, Jamal." With that, he turned away and walked through the arch to go back to the fountain. Death walked back up to Jamal a couple of seconds after Dream had left.

"Well, I've got to head back out soon. Have anything you wanna say?" She asked Jamal.

"...Yes. I want to say that I now understand, for the most part. But I have to ask you personally: how do you do it? How do you deal with...this?" Jamal asked.

"Oh, that's easy. 'One day in every century, Death takes on mortal flesh. Better to comprehend what the lives she takes must feel like, to taste the bitter tang of mortality. And this is the price she must pay for being the divider of the living from all that has gone before. All that must come after.' Life is worth living, Jamal. And if Death is the one imparting this wisdom onto you, what does that say about you?" Death smiled, and walked away.

Jamal felt his phone vibrate and he took it out of his pocket. He opened a text from Jessica--the woman whose house he was staying at for the time being--and read it.

Code: Select all: Food's ready. If you let your food go cold again, I'm gonna kick you out. Also, happy birthday, dumbass.

Jamal stared at the screen and then started laughing. "Damn, I'm a mess." He said, shaking his head and heading back to his Jessica's mansion.

by **Confederation of imperial states** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 12:13 pm

Knight's Domain
The Knight (marcus), Lawbringer (Anna)

The Knight climbed out of The Destroyer as it pulled into the Domain's garage, climbing out he sighed as he took off his helmet. Lawbringer followed him, taking off her mask and hood, "So, What's the strategy now?" Anna asked, Marcus rubbed his chin, "we'll need to keep up the offensive against Stahl's men, even then, Finding him is going to be tough with this 'legionaire' hiding in the grass like a snake". as Marcus sat down at The Knightcomputer, setting his helmet down on a clear spot on The knightcomputer, he logged in and began typing.

[Marcus],
"sanza you finally call me by my na-",
[Sir, Something Dire has happened in Gotham],
Marcus was unnerved, he'd never heard Sanza speak with anything other than a calm tone, "bring it up on the main screen".

Sanza brought a New Chopper footage of a Street in Central gotham, spreading around the city, a Chemical weapon was attacking it's people. The gas seemed to have been dissipating, but from some of the bodies and the ransacked streets of Gotham, it didn't look hopeful. Anna walked up to The Knightcomputer, standing next to Marcus, "jesus....", Anna peered at Marcus, "what are we gonna do?". [sir, a Distress call from the Bat Family, they're calling in help from their associates]. Apart from the thought Marcus got when he realized nightwing considered him an associate, Marcus stood up, putting on The Knight's helmet. "Anna, Hold down the fort here in Chicago, and monitor Stahl's movements" The Knight said walking towards The VTOL Hangar, "where are you going?" Anna asked worringly,

"I'm going back to Gotham" The Knight said, walking through the doorway to the Hangar. The Knight climbed into the VTOL, Powering it on and turning on the NAV Computer, "Sanza Lock coordinates onto The Knight Computer's GPS for Gotham, and see if you can retrace the communication frequency from the Bat Family to try and recontact whoever sent out the signal". [yes sir, but, Aren't you worried about the left over gas?], "We'll cross the Bridge when we get to it" The Knight said flying the VTOL up ad out of the disguised Hangar exit.

Infinite Justice: Beyond (Marvel,DC,DBZ X/Over, IC, Open)

The Long Winter part 2

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