The Republic of Atria wrote:The Silhouette of Adventure wrote:Manifest frowned and raised his arm, summoning an island sized ball of steel and stone to block the attack. He flew above it, instantly releasing a volley of missiles towards him. Knowing it would do little more than distract the God for a moment, he took this opportunity to speak. "Otis Steredenn. Bolt. Please, listen to me. Everything about this... None of this was supposed to happen."
On the walls of the room, large guns were charged, ready to fire the moment Otis moved forward past the missile barrage.
"Well... You know." Otis said, placing a barrier around himself as the missiles hit them. "You really should've thought about that BEFORE you killed my girlfriend, Captain Hindsight." When the smoke cleared, he heard someone say his Inhuman name. Bolt. He knew the voice sounded familiar, but now it was coming back to him. Manifest. The man he met at Xander's wedding a few months back. The man who was responsible for his Inhuman name. "Manifest? Is that you?" Otis didn't recognize him with all the armor and through the fact that he never actually got a good look at his face until now. "You're the one who killed Julie?! What the hell man?! I thought we were friends!" Now he was conflicted. Manifest wasn't a bad person from what he remembered, in fact he seemed like a really cool guy. It was one thing to beat up a random strange who just so happened to be a dick. It was another when that stranger turned out to be a friend.
Manifest floated down, dispelling the steel and stone sphere beneath him. "Julie's death... It wasn't supposed to happen." Now that he was closer, Otis could see the scar crossing his completely crimson eye. He was unshaven, and his hair was unkempt. "Please, let me explain everything." In one hand, the flaming Infinite gleamed, drawing Otis' eye towards it. For a brief moment, he could almost see the blood dripping down it. For a brief moment, he could see it impaling Julie in his mind's eye, severing her arm and ending her life. For that moment, Manifest's face seemed to... Shift. The pleading desperation there now became a look of raw, emotionless calculation. The scar that crossed his eye spread across his face, even into the other eye, and seemed to pulse with malevolent energy. And then it was gone, like it was never there. Back once more was the guilt-ridden self-hatred he now displayed. Back again was the sadness and the clean blade. But gone was any supposed innocence.
"Please."