Once We Were Villains IC (Closed-Signups in OOC)

[Shadowwell]

Once We Were Villains IC
Brainstorming Thread-IC-OOC

Below The Rock, Three weeks ago.

While the vast majority of the prisoners held Below the Rock were powerful supervillain, one of the specialized cells below the Rock held a rather notable individual. This individual was known as Hoitsu Inaba, though his true name had since been lost in history. He looked like the old Asian guy who was the sensei in every martial arts movie. His looks were somewhat deceiving, as at one time he almost took down the League, back when it was just coming into its own as a power, after he left. His powers manifested when he was about to commit seppuku, or Japanese ritual suicide, one his deathbed several centuries ago.

He was originally born as Nobuastu Oda, grandson of Nobunaga Oda. The thing that awakened his powers was a magical sword. Samurai was sitting in his cell reading a book using the blue glow of the containment field to read, when he felt something. He did not move, but he spoke softly, all the while still reading. “To what do I owe this visit Shade?” For a moment it looked like he was speaking to himself, until a shadowy figure broke away from the dark corner behind him and took the shape of a young man in his 20’s. The man, Shade was athletically built and tall, though not overly so standing at around 6 foot 4 inches tall.

He had short black hair and was wearing equally dark clothes. The strangest thing about him, was not just his sudden appearance, but his eyes, dark orbs that seemed to absorb everything into them. Shade chuckled for a moment before he responded. “I never could sneak by you, like I could the rest. I am here because The Kid and few of the others have been wanting to reform the Society. I am here to bring you in if you want to, actually I am here to know why you haven’t broken out yet, we both know it would be a simple matter for you.”

Samurai let out a lengthy sigh, before he sat the book he had been reading down, it was the Art of War by Sun Tzu. “I told you all before that I was done, I had proved the point I needed to. You guys will have to do this without me, though should I feel like it I may pop in from time to time, if I am able.” He turned towards Shade before he continued speaking. “I am old Shade, very old, I am older than this country, I am older than most still existing countries. I did what I had to, but for now I am leaving the future of our kind up to you, the younger generation.”

Shade gave a wry grin in response before he shrugged and responded to the other man. “Eh, I didn’t expect anything different. I told him that is what your response would be. No matter, I hope you enjow re reading Sun Tzu’s work.” Samurai stood up and gave Shade a hug before replying. “Regardless of why you are here, it was good to see you again.” After they disengaged the hug Shade stepped back and nodded his head before he vanished, as swiftly as he came.

League HQ, San Francisco, Three weeks ago

In the upper office in the towering building that was the League HQ a man was staring out the window towards where the Rock was. He was well built enough to be a linebacker, yet his stance suggested soldier. That is close enough to what he was, his Hero name was Commando, he was a descendant of the Colonel, Military service ran in their blood apparently. Someone entered the room behind him, it was at that moment he spoke to the newcomer. “This is Troubling, Aida, the recent attempts to break into the Rock, if that was all they were. Not to mention the fact that Old Nicoletti has been upping his recruitment. You sent out the messages last week, right?”

The one to speak was a diminutive woman, dressed much like the typical secretary would be, but she was much more than what she appeared to be. She was an Android created by a Hero, Machina, Her name AIDA, stood for, well no one really knows, but there is lots of speculation. She was hooked up to the main AI that protected the HQ from digital attacks. “Yes, sir I did. The meeting will happen in a few weeks. We sent it to a few of the reformed villains as well, perhaps, should they take us up on our offer, they may be able to help us.” Commando merely nodded and then raised a hand to dismiss her.

---

Present Time

Within a mansion in downtown Los Angeles a tall elegantly built man was standing in an elaborate office. He had just sat down when a figure stepped out of a dark corner, formed from the shadows themselves. The Seated man spoke as Shade, fully formed. “I assume you finished confirming the initial preparations for our venture today?” Shade gave his head a shake, to loosen a few of the shadows that were reluctant to give up their hold, before he responded. “Sorry about that. Yeah, everyone is finishing up and getting in their positions, Nicoletti’s is alerting his forces as we speak. Our assault should commence smoothly.” The elegant man merely steepled his figures as he nodded.

In an old brick mansion in Chicago, the elite of the Syndicate were assembled, the heavy hitters, the ones who were among the most trusted by The Boss. The room they were in was nicely decorated, and could easily fit in with a Mob Bosses décor from the 30’s and 40’s. Nicoletti liked that era, it was in the heyday of criminal organization. This was a Meeting to ensure that all the preparations were ready for the event they would be participating in later on in the day. Nicoletti sat behind a large ornate desk, once owned by various Italian mobsters. His aged, yet still daunting frame filled up his chair.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” He paused in his speaking to ensure he had their intention. ”I have brought you here to impress upon you the urgency and importance of the venture we shall be undertaking later in this day. We shall for now be working alongside the remnants of the Society. Though they are less cultured and honorable than us, we have to do this to recover our compatriots from the Rock.” He paused for a moment before he continued. “You all know how important this is for us. You all can go now and finish your preparations.” As everyone stood up to leave he gestured to an athletically built, red haired youth standing next to him. “My son will be assisting in the assault on the Rock. I think you shall find his abilities more than useful.”

[Imperial--japan]

Natalia Serebreykov/Unit 9D

"Error - Error - Error, system damage detected. Initiating auto-repair sequence. Error - autorepair.exe has failed to respond. System compromise detected, closing all open ports. Multiple threats detected and quarantined,
would you like to remove? Threats removed successfully. Warning, attempted system breach in progress, current progress is 11%." Multiple warnings, and system diagnostics blared as the former Natalia Serebreykov, now known simply as 'Unit 9D' attempted to purge the unwanted invaders from her systems. She had been imprisoned on The Rock for almost six months now, and for six months she had been resisting the attempts of her captors to hack into her database. That was unacceptable, lest her innermost secrets be divulged to the League and other higher powers.

Looking around once more in the lit room she was imprisoned in, she stared at the various men who sat a computers. These were the ones attempting to breach her systems defenses. The ones attempting to rip out her most personal secrets and information. If Natalia was able to access her emotional algorithm's, she would have herself feel anger or distress, but diverting resources away from combating these invaders was top priority. As it was, it would take them a long time to finally obtain the information they wanted, possibly another six months as her virtual protections failed her due to a lack of sustainability. She had never actively tried to resist system infiltration for such a long time, but she was surprised it had lasted as long as it has.

As for Natalia, she was chained to a table in the middle of a room, with various cables connecting to her arms, stomach, and legs. Another good way to voice her discomfort would be to say she felt 'violated'. This was unacceptable. Where was the Society? She had managed to relay a message during her first day of imprisonment, but she had no way of knowing if that message had reached its final destination.

"Weapons systems are offline. Danger, powering on weapons systems provides an increased risk of data breach while currently compromised". Natalia ran the simulations over and over again in her head. There was a risk that she would allow the intruders a brief moment of access to her systems, but that was if she found herself unable to escape from her current predicament. No, that was unacceptable. The data was too precious to hand over to these sleezebags.

"I can do a mind wipe if I need to." Natalia thought to herself. It was a dangerous idea, though she could backup her memories, there was only so much she would retain. While compromised, there was no telling if the backup and restore could complete regularly.

"You will.....regret this." Natalia spoke in a monotone and robotic voice. She raised her arm ever so slightly to reach for one of the cables, but an electric shock was sent into her body. There was no words, and no look of pain as she had turned off her pain receptors a long time ago. However, she knew to continue to struggle could result in serious damage. Natalia would have to wait for a more opportune time. For some kind of slip up on her captors part. Then and only then would she bathe this facility in their blood.

[The Flutterlands]

Filia Umbrarum AKA Lady Tenebrous
The Rock

In the bowls of the Rock, Filia Umbrarum, dressed in the typical orange jumpsuit of a prisoner that looked a little big for her slender frame, was wandering around in her cell humming a happy tune in thought. Her cell was quite unique among the other cells within the prison. A great big sterile white room of perpetual light. It had a simple desk, a bookshelf stalked with novels and comic books, and bed, yet devoid of any shadows for her to manipulate. All the while, Filia herself wore an inhibitor that prevented her from using her vast array of other powers of darkness, making her simply harmless.

It has been six months since Filia, who went by the alias of 'Lady Tenebrous' caught robbing a museum of an extremely rare and highly valuable diamond. She got into a fight with a certain super hero who just so happened had the power to manipulate her weakness that was light. The fight was brutal, but nether had any intention of killing the other. In the end though, Filia was defeated, ending her ten year reign and crime spree as the seemly uncatchable cat burglar, Lady Tenebrous.

Filia's eyes narrowed in memory. He was a handsome hero and as playful as she was. However, he came off as a bit jerkish as well. Filia shrugged in indifference. The last six months in The Rock were quite pleasant yet boring at the same time. Pleasant, because she was able to read any book she wished in the the Rock's prison library, yet boring because she was unable to quench her ever increasing thirst for theft. Nonetheless, Filia was bidding her time. She knew that her compatriots in the Syndicate would break her out eventually.

The young woman (she appeared 21 but was really 30) then smiled as she saw through the unbreakable glass door from the corner of her blazing red eyes several Prison Staff coming towards her cell. They were carrying a tray holding an orange pill bottle and a cup of water. Medication for her schizophrenia. "Time for medication already?" she asked sweetly as her stomach growled, "I'm also hoping for breakfast to arrive soon?"

[Kuhlfros]

Lee Inaba, Ronin
The Rock

Chains clanked along the floor as the martial artist was escorted down the hallways of the supervillain containment complex that was the Rock. Lee Inaba moved through the hall with handcuff inhibitors around his wrists and ankle cuff inhibitors around his ankles to keep his movements and powers limited, because wherever his blood flowed, his power was. Not to mention Lee had a disposition to harm those that were supposed to escort him.

It had been a week since the once infamous villain upstart known as Ronin had allowed himself to be captured. For charges primarily focused on the events of 2013 he was taken into the Rock and thus he spent his week trying his luck at gathering whatever information he could, who all that he knew are here, and where they are, potential escape routes, and most importantly, where his grandfather was.

There was no guarantee Lee could reach the isolated section which kept the Samurai, but knowing was important, as was it important to see all the power generators and power banks. Finding someone to shut those down would be key for any sort of mass breakout, or finding the Inaba heirloom held by his grandfather for ages.

Ronin jerked his wrists, cracking them both before cracking his neck with several loud pops, allowing the dark head of one of his dragon tattoos to peak from behind the tight fitting prisoner jumpsuit.
"Not yet...."

One of the guards butted his weapon into the back of Lee, urging him forwards. The guard among the other four stuck close to Lee as they moved him further down the hallway.

[Shadowwell]

Filia Umbrarum AKA Lady Tenebrous
The Rock

In the bowls of the Rock, Filia Umbrarum, dressed in the typical orange jumpsuit of a prisoner that looked a little big for her slender frame, was wandering around in her cell humming a happy tune in thought. Her cell was quite unique among the other cells within the prison. A great big sterile white room of perpetual light. It had a simple desk, a bookshelf stalked with novels and comic books, and bed, yet devoid of any shadows for her to manipulate. All the while, Filia herself wore an inhibitor that prevented her from using her vast array of other powers of darkness, making her simply harmless.

It has been six months since Filia, who went by the alias of 'Lady Tenebrous' caught robbing a museum of an extremely rare and highly valuable diamond. She got into a fight with a certain super hero who just so happened had the power to manipulate her weakness that was light. The fight was brutal, but nether had any intention of killing the other. In the end though, Filia was defeated, ending her ten year reign and crime spree as the seemly uncatchable cat burglar, Lady Tenebrous.

Filia's eyes narrowed in memory. He was a handsome hero and as playful as she was. However, he came off as a bit jerkish as well. Filia shrugged in indifference. The last six months in The Rock were quite pleasant yet boring at the same time. Pleasant, because she was able to read any book she wished in the the Rock's prison library, yet boring because she was unable to quench her ever increasing thirst for theft. Nonetheless, Filia was bidding her time. She knew that her compatriots in the Syndicate would break her out eventually.

The young woman (she appeared 21 but was really 30) then smiled as she saw through the unbreakable glass door from the corner of her blazing red eyes several Prison Staff coming towards her cell. They were carrying a tray holding an orange pill bottle and a cup of water. Medication for her schizophrenia. "Time for medication already?" she asked sweetly as her stomach growled, "I'm also hoping for breakfast to arrive soon?"

The leading member of the Prison Staff spoke in a bored voice, responding. "Of course it is, you are medicated at roughly the same period each day. Your escort will take you to breakfast shortly." They stopped speaking as they emptied the necessary dose into a small plastic cup, as they handed that and the cup of water through to her. As Filia took her medication, she began to hand the not quite empty cup back when the Staff member spoke up. "Remember to drink all of it, dont want the medication to get stuck." At that the villain took back the cup and pointedly drank the water.

If one looked closely, they would be able to see her look at the bottom of the cup for a moment before she handed it back. None of them noticed it due to their heavy boredom. The Prison staff nodded and took the cup before walking down the hall. The cup did indeed have a message on, but it was only visible to Filia, due to both the medication she took and her Demonic blood. It said one simple cryptic line: 'Today is the day, be patient, you will know when to act.' Elsewhere in the Rock, a certain figure smiled, sensing things were falling into place.

[House of Judah]

Ibrahim

Ibrahim stood at the whiteboard, confirming his calculations one final time. He always had to be careful when he was planning to make extensive use of his power. He certainly had no interest in being laid up for a year recuperating again, or worse permanently. Still, the realities of assaulting an island certainly would help counteract the dangers of heat production.

The water of San Francisco Bay provided what was effectively a limitless supply of cooling water constantly at approximately 60F. While submerged in the water, the amount of heat being removed from his body would be dependent on the flow of water past him. Based on his calculations and tests of his abilities, he should be able to maintain approximately 5 MW worth of electrical power without endangering himself, more than sufficient for generating an EMP using the fence surrounding the prison as a current path.

Still, better safe than sorry. He programed the setpoints into the indication and alarm system that would warn him if his own body temperature or the temperature of the water that had passed him was getting too hot. He breathed deep a few moments, then left to join the others preparing to attack the Rock.

[Xah]

Entropy
The Rock

Yet another isolated cell, hidden deep inside the Rock, although this one had a touch of ostentatious about it; all the cells walls and door were plated with a dull gold alloy, specifically designed to resist entropic decay. The meager furniture, a chair, a table and a simple bed, were white plastic, their edges already turning yellow from decay. The only other thing in the cell was a man, dressed in a nylon jumpsuit. He was sitting in the middle of the room, watching the door expectantly.

A few minutes later there was a rattle and a panel slide open. "Okay Wane. You know the drill. Back against the far wall, facing away."

Wane smiled to himself, "Good morning Mr. Farris, how's your arm?" He climbed to his feet and did as the guard had told him, facing the wall like a naughty child.

"Healing nicely, thank you for asking." The one known as Mr Farris replied.

"What happened?" Came another, younger voice.

"I got too close, Wane managed to touch my arm," Mr Farris said, a little sheepishly.

"The best meal I've had in years," Wane mused. "No permanent damage though, I'm sure."

Once the two guards were satisfied Wane was in place, the door slid open and a steel tray with a selection of foods was shoved across the floor before the door closed again.

"Is that all?" Wane asked, "I was hoping for some more witty banter."

"Same time tomorrow," Mr Farris replied and the hatch slid shut with a final click.

Wane eyed the tray with a resigned air. "The joys of prison food," he murmured.

[Mestovakia]

The Librarian
The Rock

Another Cell, though this was more plain than most. A Small shelf held a bunch of various books that had a well-worn look about them. The Girl that inhabited this room wore another orange jumpsuit, which she found strangely comfortable. She had short brown hair and brown eyes, looking quite different from the ethereal image that her Villainous persona used. The Librarian yawned and replaced the book that she was reading, feeling quite bored. This room nullified her Levitation and Telekinesis, so all she could do was read books, stare at the wall, and think about other things that she could be doing.

Riko Ashworth had gotten busted for Jaywalking, of all things. Her Villain Identity revealed during questioning,, she had found herself catapulted acoss the Country into this cesspool of a prison. "God, this sucks." Riko griped to herself as a guy in a black suit came in. "Good Day, Ms. Ashworth. Are you quite willing to tell us where your Hideout is?" The Suit said, closing the cell door behind him. Riko sat cross-legged on the floor, looking up at him. She sighed. "Mr. Government Man, I politely made this clear for the past three months. I'd rather stay silent on its location rather than have the Society bashing down my door. If you can tell your bosses that I'll stay here and stay quiet, You'll have my heartfelt thanks." The Suit grinned in reply, though his had no mirth in it. "I thought you'd say that. I was authorised to use more extreme measures of questioning. And since you've been aggravating me for the past three months, I'm happy to use them."

Riko's eyes barely had time to widen before a steel-toed boot was driven into her stomach. She fell onto her back, gasping for breath as she coughed up some blood. She was immediately grabbed and thrown against the wall, followed up by several haymakers to the face, and finished up with his knee being driven into her bruised and bleeding face. Wiping the blood off of his pants, Suit went for the door. "I'll be doing that every day until you decide to co-operate." His promise was cut off by a muffled laugh from Riko, who was coughing up some more blood, the slasher smile on her face made even more frightening by the bile that streaked her lips. "Yeah, And you'll get the same [censored] answer every Goddamn time. I'll tell ya this, you Mongrel. When I get out of this cell, And I will, I will hunt you down. There'll be nowhere your Friends in High Places can hide you. I will take my sweet and luxurious time in making your agonising demise a message for all those who defy the Society." She stood up, her murderous stare straight out of a horror film as she made her pledge. "You hear me, you G-Man Bastard? No one [censored] with me and lives!" She cackled, her earlier civilized matter replaced with a mocking, vulgar, sadistic personality that only a select few knew of. Suit simply shrugged and left, locking the door behind him.

Immediately after he left, Riko abruptly became the docile person everyone knew, shrugging and going back to reading. "Ugh, that took a toll on my vocal chords."

[Bentus]

Lisette Aveline
Aveline Manor, Chicago

---

Lisette took a sip from her tea cup, savouring the still-warm beverage as she did so. The brief action allowed for a pause in her seemingly endless vocal tirade, but her excitement wouldn’t allow her to remain mute for long.

“And do you know what makes it even better?” The tea cup made a slight clink as Lisette laid it to rest on its saucer, as she once again directed her attention to her guests. Her voice was melodic, sweetly innocent while her slight French accent could be heard on the cusp of her lips. “Mr. Nicoletti said that we’re going to be working with the Society of all people.” The girl practically squealed, rubbing her hands in front of her chest as she was unable to disguise her enthusiasm.

Lisette sat with her legs crossed at her place on the circular table, an expensive set of porcelain utensils and tea set having been laid out in front of each chair. Child-sized dolls stared blankly into space from their seated positions, while two stuffed teddy bears rounded out Lisette’s usual guest-list for her tea parties. The dolls’ expressions were locked into their permanent smiles, each dressed in neatly kept formal wear as befitted the gathering. Lisette herself wore her Marionette uniform, the near-garish pink colour of the elegant dress appearing slightly more muted in the bright splashes of vibrant colour that dotted the room. The tablecloth itself was a shade of pink, as was the decorative markings on the tea set.

A muffled groan emanated from the far side of the small table.

“I know, right? I thought that they were all dead too!” Lisette laughed at the thought, seemingly amused at the prospect. “But now they’re going to reveal themselves with a chef-d’oeuvre, and there’s no way that the League won’t respond. It’s going to make things so much more interesting again, I just know it.”

The muffled voice once again tried to speak from across the small tea table, more forcefully than before and with a hint of what could only be described as desperation. Lisette shook her head in response, wagging an accusatory finger at the other figure.

“Tsk, tsk. If you’d wanted to know all the details, then you shouldn’t have tried to tell on Mr. Nicoletti.” Lisette glanced over her shoulders, as if checking if someone were eavesdropping on her conversation, before leaning in to whisper. “He’s actually very upset with you. Mr. Nicoletti doesn’t take kindly to snitches, he says that you have to be punished.” The girl’s face lit up in a friendly smile as she continued. “Which is why you’re so lucky that I found you first! Can you imagine the trouble you would be in if I hadn’t?”

The comment did little to calm Lisette’s guest of honour. The man sat motionless in his seat, his limbs resting limply on the table. He could have been mistaken as an older doll, were it not for the eyes feverishly searching the room. While the man’s body was impassive, his face was wild with terror – a single string of red Thread sewing his mouth shut. A few scratches and bruises adorned his figure, freshly healed wounds indicative of an earlier confrontation. He could not have been much older than 30, and his dishevelled state made him seem out of place at Lisette’s tea party.

“I mean, you know what Mr. Nicoletti does to people like you of course.” Lisette continued, seemingly oblivious to her guest’s near-frantic state. “It’s usually quite slow, and always painful. Sometimes, when the crime is great enough, we’re told to make an example of people close to the snitch as well. But I’m a far more hospitable host, don’t you think?” A few tears had begun to stream down the man’s face, and the beginnings of a few muffled sobs escaped from his sealed mouth. A concerned look spread across Lisette’s features. “Oh no, is everything alright? Are you all out of tea?” The girl immediately stood from her chair, wasting no time in refilling her guest’s cup. “I am sorry, I should have noticed sooner – careful though, it is still hot.” As Lisette returned to her seat, she motioned with one of her hands in the man’s direction, her fingers making delicate movements as she controlled the Threads she had sewn throughout his body.

Jagged and shaky, the man’s arms began to move towards the tea cup. He tried to shout or scream, but with his lips sewn shut the best that he could manage was a frantic groan. As soon as Lisette made his hand touch the steaming tea cup, the man’s eyes widened in surprise at the heat.

“Now, don’t be shy. Drink up – mother always said that tea is the best medicine for a long face.”

The man cried out in pain as his limbs, outside of his control, poured the scolding liquid. Most of it failed to flow into his mouth, instead burning any exposed skin that it encountered. Lisette didn’t allow him to lower the cup until all of its contents had been emptied, by which point the man’s face was a patchwork of fresh burns and streams of tears.

“There, that will make you feel much better.” Happy with her courteous action, Lisette glanced over at a clock hanging on her wall. “I would love to keep talking with you, you have been an absolutely amazing guest – but I’m nearly late for my big meeting with Mr. Nicoletti. Although don’t hesitate to visit if you’re in the area.” With a flick of her wrist, Lisette summoned the man’s legs into action and he began to trudge unsteadily towards a part of the room that had been lined with clean towels. Picking up the pistol that had been lying next to her knife and fork, the girl made her way over to where the man was now kneeling – sobbing constantly escaping from his lips.

“Now, please don’t try to make a mess. Mother does hate it if I make a mess when she and father are away.” The young woman smiled sweetly at her prionser as she rested the cold steel of the gun at the base of his neck. Without a second thought, Lisette pulled the trigger.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Castle Taggart

Philip Taggart looked across the battlements of his castle. From that high, cold tower, he could oversee nearly all of his domain. The river Tag flowed gently through acres upon acres of lush farmland, stretching far unto the distant Philippine Hills. Nearer to the castle stood an old forest, which radiated an array of colours in the setting sun, giving a magical tint to the land. The river Tag glittered in that same setting sun, flowing gently from the hills past the castle. Philip, standing there on the battlements, had a faint smile on his face. His red cloak waved in the gentle evening wind, which cooled the air to a very favourable temperature.

“It looks beautiful” a voice beside Philip said, in a gentle yet matter-of-fact manner. Philip looked to his side, where an old man was standing. He was wearing a brown jacket with a beige shirt underneath, topped with a red bow-tie. The choice of clothing couldn’t have formed a stronger disconnect with the fantastical world surrounding them, but Philip accepted the fact. He just looked out over the world again, soaking in everything he saw there.

“Yes, it is…” he replied. Together, the two men walked across the walls, walking past a few soldiers on guard. They were armed with shields and spears, and red banners fluttered from their pole arms. Some officers carrying swords walked in the opposite direction, saluting lord Philip as they passed. Near one of the staircases, the two men halted, watching the sun set behind the distant hills. A darkness fell over the land almost instantly, a pitch-black night that shielded everything from view. Phillip looked distressed, and signalled his men.

“Light the torches!” he bellowed, watching his men set alight the many beacons that were placed among the walls.

“Very good. One has to see everything before one can assess the situation” dr. Popov said. As the beacons were lit, orange and yellow light began to illuminate the surrounding land again, right up to the edge of the Old Forest.

“We’re making progress, Philip” dr. Popov added, giving a gentle nod towards the man. Philip nodded back, but was clearly distressed.

“I don’t know, doctor. I’m afraid. I don’t know why, exactly, but I feel it. A form of dread, you know?”

Dr. Popov looked at Philip, who had a hue of fear emanating from his face. His eyes danced around the forest, checking every shadow cast by the roaring beacon-flames. He gently put a hand on the armoured shoulder of Philip, who looked gratefully in his direction. Then, a trumped heralded an approach to the castle gates; visitors had been spotted. Without thinking, Philip marched off towards the castle gates, with dr. Popov in hot pursuit. When they arrived, the soldier who heralded was there to inform the man of their present situation. With his torch, he signalled towards the edge of the forest, were a multitude of shadows were now emanating from the forest, headed towards the castle gates. Philip was quick to react.

“Close the gates!” he shouted. Two soldiers grabbed the giant chain-wheel that kept the gate open, and began lowering it. At Philip’s behest, archers came streaming up the walls, nocking arrows and keeping behind the battlements in cover. Philip himself looked over the edge of the wall, where he could see that one of the shadows had made his way to the drawbridge, which was being lifted.

“Who goes there?” Philip asked the shadow, who now appeared to be a man of normal stature. His blond hair flowed in ordered locks past his head.

“Hullow!” he greeted, showing that he was unarmed.

“We are visitors from a foreign land, and we seek shelter for the night. We have food to trade for our stay!”

Dr. Popov looked at Philip, who had a pensive look about him. His leather-clad hand stroked his chin. A caped officer with a horsehair-topped helmet came beside Philip, standing on his left, while Popov remained on his right.

“My lord” the officer said, strapping the helmet to his chin. “I don’t trust these people. If we open the gates, they will attack immediately. Or worse, they will kill us in our sleep. We should send them away”

Phillip nodded a bit, at least partially in disagreement with the officer. Before he could say any more, however, Popov also got a word in.

“Philip, these people are clearly unarmed. Don’t give into fear. You can let them in.”

Philip remained silent, stroking his chin a bit while overthinking all the possibilities. The night was growing darker and darker, and the flames were slowly fading for lack of fuel. As the light began to fade, the shapes turned more and more into shadows. The look on Philip’s face became grimmer and grimmer as that happened. However, with a wave of Popov’s hand, the flames flared up again, shedding more light upon the foreign visitors.

“It would not be right for me to control your actions, Philip, but I can help you reach the right conclusion. These people are not evil. Let them in, let them stay for the night. No harm will come of it.”

“Don’t listen to this wizard, my lord! It is your castle. You decide who can come in, and who will not. You know what’s best. Order the archers to shoot” the officer interceded. As he did, the flames began to douse again, with Popov trying his best to keep them alight. The two were engaged in some battle of light and darkness, over the choice of lord Philip.

“Archers!” Philip shouted, which was a signal for the archers to take aim.

“Draw!” Philip shouted, and the archers drew back their bowstrings. “Loose!”

As the arrows flew done from the battlements, the flames went out in their entirety. The last light faded from the world, shutting all out from view. Sounds of bows releasing slowly faded, as did the screams of those who were struck by the arrows. Shouts dissipated, and there was silence for a few seconds. Then, the light slowly came back.

Philip found himself in a comfortable sofa. As the light came back to him, the saw the colours of brown and Bordeaux, which adorned the office of psychiatrist dr. Popov. As more vision ad feeling came back, he felt the fingers of the doctor releasing the sides of his face. For a moment, he sat there, adjusting to the reality of the office. Then, he accepted the glass of water the doctor gave to him.

“I’m sorry, doctor. I…”

“Don’t worry” Popov said kindly, patting him on the shoulder. He handed a piece of chocolate to Philip, who gladly accepted.

“Last time, you didn’t even light the fires. We are getting somewhere. We can’t change the world in a day, so we can’t change your world in a day, either”

Philip munched happily on the chocolate, which gave him a feeling of warmth the vivid dream had taken from him. He began to recuperate, letting his emotions sink back into place. After a few minutes of water and chocolate, he stood up, shaking the hand of the doctor.

“Same time next week?” Philip asked, helping the doctor rise from his own chair.

“In two weeks’ time. We’re renovating. Just take to heart the lesson learned today, and try to incorporate that in your daily life. You can do much more to help yourself than you believe” Popov said with a genuine smile.

“Thanks, doc” Philip said. Before long, he was out the door, whistling the tune to Piano Man. Doctor Popov watched him go out, and smiled. He walked back into his office, towards the large window overlooking the San Francisco Bay area. From there he had a perfect view on Alcatraz, standing like a Rock in the waters of the bay. The smile on his face ran away, leaving a dry scour in its place. He looked at his watch, and then quickly covered it with his sleeve. Straightening his bowtie, he took one of his lounging chairs, and put it up against the window. He fixed himself a bottle of scotch, with which he filled a glass beyond what was socially acceptable.

“Thomas!” he yelled from his office, towards his personal secretary. “You can take the rest of the d y off! The weather is particularly nice. Just keep clear of the Bay, alright?”

“Thank you, sir!” a young voice answered from the waiting room. After Thomas closed the front door behind him, Antony Popov kicked back his feet, and watched the Rock from a distance. Today, it was all going to unfold. His phone was next to him, ready to be called at any moment. Ready to call at any moment. The show was about to begin.

[Hothnia]

The Hound

Karl Linton's Ship



I stalked around my owner's ship growling angrily. I would not call him master, Karl did not own me. But he did control me. At least for the time being. I would get my revenge eventually; I always did. I chuckled when I remembered my last owner's demise,


The meta of 16 has burned my and I had submitted. The boy had sent me to watch over his visibly dying mother in Wichita. I complied but when I arrived a week later I ate the boy's mother. It was her fault though. She screamed at ME when I arrived. It was quite rude. Still, she was delicious. Most likely had French heritage. I licked my chops remembering it. I lived in the mother's house and waited for the boy to arrive. While I was waiting, I made the house a mess and trained, practicing when the time would come to do something more dangerous. A month later the boy had arrived. As soon as he walked in the door he had gave a surprised look at the horrible mess that your's truly had created and rushed to his mother's room.

I was sitting on top of the kitchen cabinets and watched the entire thing play out. The boy had cried out and called for me when he saw his mother's room and the blood on the floor. I replied " Yes, your highness" in my most sarcastic tone. I hadn't realized how hard it was to sound sarcastic as a dog. Anyway, the boy approached me with fire in his eyes. He drew a pistol I hadn't noticed before and shot me in my flank. No harm done. The bullet bounced off and to his horror I lept at him and kicked him through the wall of the house. Beams shattered and pictures broke as he flew through, landing not that softly on the grass beyond. I walked up to him and he looked at me groggily. " Goodbye, Your highness." I had slit his throat and continued to eat him. He tasted better than his mother. The stupid part about it is that he never ordered me not to kill him. I love loop holes.

Ah good times. Unfortunately, Karl wasn't as stupid. I shook myself away from the memory and proceeded to make Karl's life miserable. I knew it was stupid and I would pay for it in the end but I did it anyway. I marked my territory in every square foot of his ship. The ship would now smell terrible to all humans in it. That's not even mentioning the puddles all over the place. I sat in the pilot's chair and waited for Karl to arrive.

[Spindle]

William Docherty
Room 11b
Lowell High School

"And then we've got the strong nuclear force."

The class arrayed before William was split quite neatly into two segments: a smaller one at the front which was eagerly scribbling down notes as he spoke and a larger one clustered around the back which was the source of the low, background murmuring currently filling the room underneath his voice. It was a more even split than he'd had in previous years, he had to admit, but it was still a little galling to see just how many people couldn't give two shakes of a lamb's tail about the subject he taught. Gesturing to the whiteboard behind him, he indicated the three filled in graphs on the board.

"While the other forces make at least a little bit of sense, strong throws all of the rules out of the window."

Turning to the board and picking up a marker, he drew on a shaky pair of axes, frowning to himself as he saw his phone begin to buzz on the desk. He couldn't make out the number from this angle, but there was only one contact on his phone with that picture, and he'd told them time and again not to phone him during lesson times. Studiously ignoring the vibrating phone, he sketched out a rough hump, quickly labelling the axes and turning back to the class. Several of the students at the back had obviously noticed the phone, because they were pointing at it and whispering amongst themselves. Walking over to the desk, William's finger stabbed downwards to hit the red button displayed before turning back to the class.

"As you can see, the strong force peaks and then falls rapidly away to nothing." He continued, as if nothing had happened, "Which is important, because that peak is what makes nucleii - and by extension, everything around you - possible. Without it, the protons would simply repel each other and disperse. But with that peak, we've got the conditions for atoms to form."

On the desk, the phone started to vibrate again.

"Of course." He pushed on, over the buzzing, "That peak puts a limit on the maximum size of a nucleus you can have - too large and the excess protons simply disperse."

"Err...sir?" One of the front-row kids asked tentatively, raising a finger, "Is that what causes alpha decay?"

"No." William turned back to the board, "Not like that, anyway. Strong force means that you need a neutron:proton ration between one and two to keep the nucleus stable. Now, how do you achieve that?"

There was a moment of silence as the class bent its collective mind to the task before a few hands went up.

"Jenkins?"

"Alpha decay?" Jenkins asked slowly.

"Alright." William grinned, "If you've got a graph of protons against neutrons, what would that do to the point?"

"Er..." Jenkins trailed off for a moment, biting on his lip, before answering, "Down and to the...left?"

William nodded in approval.

"And what about weak force. What's that going to do?"

A solitary hand shot into the air. For a moment William looked around for anyone else before turning to the hand's owner.

"Alright, Jane. Go ahead."

"Beta decay, right?" Jane blurted, "Neutron to proton and electron. Moves it down and to the left."

"So what happens if you want to gain neutrons? Yes, Lucas?"

"Reverse beta decay?"

A ripple of laughter spread through the room.

"Of course." William smiled, "Although it's called electron capture. But yes, you can do that."

"So can you do reverse-alpha decay then?" One of the back-row kids asked.

"Of course." William nodded, "That's just nuclear fusion."

The phone's insistent buzzing finally died down as William grabbed a sheaf of papers from the desk and passed them to the desk closest to him. For a moment the kid glanced at the questions before passing them along and putting pen to paper. As the all-too familiar chatter from the back row began to build up once again, he sighed to himself. He was going to have to give them a proper talking-to one of these days - but that was going to have to wait for today: right now he had bigger things to worry about. Like why his Division liaison was trying to contact him all of twenty minutes away from the end of school. Picking up the phone, he glanced at his notifications. One missed call, and a message from Dorothy Knight.

Five down.

William pursed his lips at that. All five of their potential informants? Gone? The Syndicate must have been really trying to keep anyone silent as to what they were expending so much effort on. Whatever it was, it had to be big: there had been a upsurge of sightings of the Syndicate's members, but a drop in the number of engagements the Division and League had been able to initiate with the group. So what was it that they were manoeuvring to gain? What were they angling for? What was their endgame here?

A thought flitted across his mind for a moment: the Syndicate might not be preparing for anything. It was possible that they were just in the middle of some internal power sruggle. It would explain a lot: the disappearance of the informants, their unwillingness to engage with the League or Division - but then, he realised ruefully, there were too many holes in that theory for it to stand up. If there was enough internal conflict that people were being disappeared, there would have been a proper fight somewhere by now - and someone would have picked up on it - if not the Division directly, then one of their tributary intelligence agencies.

Which brought him right back around to his earlier questions. What exactly was the Syndicate up to?

"Sir?"

William blinked out of his reverie and glanced across to the source of the question:

"Yes, Rosa?"

"Er...you've talked about strong, weak and electromagnetic, but...what about gravity?"

"Gravity won't do anything at this kind of level." William shrugged simply, "It's too weak to compete. You only really see its effects when you have a lot of matter at any given point in spacetime."

"Oh." Rosa managed, "I...see."

"It's odd, I know." William shrugged, "Things just tend to operate differently at this level to what we're used to."

"Okay." She nodded more firmly.

The phone began to buzz again.

"So is everyone doing fine with the questions?" He asked the class

A general murmur of assent rose in response as he picked up the phone and stepped outside, hitting the green button and raising it to his ear.

"About time you picked up." The voice on the other end snapped, "You saw my text?"

"If I hadn't, I wouldn't be on the phone." William shot back, "What is it you want?"

"What we want is everyone out for as long as they can." Dorothy said, "That includes you. Be on the net from four, understand?"

"I'll be on it." He sighed, "You think something's going to happen?"

"No, we're putting you out because we think that the Syndicate decided it was time to do a bit a spring cleaning." Dorothy drawled, "Yes, we think they're up to something. Everyone's putting out ideas, but no-one's entirely sure what yet, so we want you to be ready for anything to happen until we figure it out and get a plan of action up to actually stop it."

"And why call me in the middle of my class?"

"Please." William could hear Dorothy's smirk, "How else was I expected to piss you off?"

"Thank you for that, Dorothy." William sighed, "Any other gems you'd like to give me?"

"Another day, perhaps." Dorothy replied, "Now, if you'll excuse me."

And with that she hung up. With a small sigh to himself, William headed back through the door, the chatter which had built up while he had been away dying down as if it had never been there. Reaching the front of the room, he placed his phone back on his desk and turned to the class once more, eye travelling smoothly along the rows to ensure that there was at least a semblance of productivity taking place in the room. A small smile touched his lips as he saw a boy staring intently at his own crotch, the blue light from his phone illuminating his face.

And at the back of his mind, something was niggling. What was the Syndicate's goal with this? If they were preparing for something, what was it? Where would the blow fall? And what form would the blow take? Questions were swirling in the currents and eddies of his mind, the undercurrent of sinister intent he could feel dragging them towards a destination he couldn't see yet. Biting down on the inside of his cheek he tried to force his thoughts into order, but there was too much floating around his brain too nebulously for him to grasp them properly.

The bell jerked him out of his mental haze. The room was already awash with chatter and movement as everyone packed up and filtered out, and William had no more heart to stop them than he normally did. Finally, the room was still and silent and he picked up his bag and phone, wiping down the whiteboard before heading off at a brisk walk. It was fifteen minutes before he found a suitably deserted alleyway to duck into and change.

Unzipping his bag and placing it on the floor, the first thing to go was his shirt, shoes jeans following moments later to reveal the dark one-piece underneath. Rolling down the sleeves, he grabbed the balaclava, goggles and earpiece from the bag, putting them on with a well-practised swiftness before stuffing his remaining bundle of clothes into the bag. Feeling along his arm, he found the inhibitor bracelet and thumbed its switch down a notch, feeling the familiar rush of power flowing into him like a drug. Flexing his fingers for a moment, he felt the tug and pull of gravity and lessened it, feeling light on his feet as his hand reached up to his ear:

"Control, this is S.I.D. agent five-oh-three-oh-four, Gravitas, confirming activation." He said into the earpiece, "Control, do you copy?"

"This is Control." A voice in his earpiece crackled, "Activation acknowledged. You are cleared for patrol."

"Thank you, Control." William grinned, before gravity inverted around him and he fell into the skies.

[Imperial--japan]

Sophia Agnarmac - 3 Years Prior

Sophia stood amidst the courtyard of a Villa. Around her, the bodies of armed guards lay, some dead with various causes, including crushed windpipes, spinal damage, and strikes to the nervous system. Others were merely unconscious for no better reason than disposing of them would of left her vulnerable during the fight. The groaning of a few was audible and Sophia, known by her Alias - The Violet Seer - chose to see her task through to the most optimal outcome. One man who was attempting to crawl away after having both legs broken, found a boot placed harshly against his back and was pressed into the ground. A quick stomp later and the mans neck was brutalized, leaving him gasping for air momentarily before Sophia finished the job. There were others around who needed to be finished off in a similar fashion, and then the Don of this family would need to be taught a similar lesson to his men. It was what the Envoy from the Society had wanted, and at the possibility of stabilizing her eye, she would do anything.

When the courtyard was nothing, but the corpses of foolish henchmen, Sophia moved towards the ornate wooden doors that led inside the main building. They looked finely crafted, and it was unfortunate that they'd be done away with so brutishly, but she was here to send a message, not maintain the structural integrity of the buildings. With a swift kick, the doors practically soared across the interior room, and smashed into a ready henchmen on the far side of the room. Looking about with her cursed eye, time seemed to come to a halt for the Seer as the Sins of these men became known to her. Spectral entities hovering over her foes heads howled and screamed for justice. There were four men to deal with, now only three. Perhaps the Villa was already almost out of guards? If that was the case, this wouldn't be nearly as hard as she anticipated.

Picking up the shattered remains of a piece of the door, she ran into the room and hung right to rush a henchmen off to the side, meanwhile she used the door-shield to absorb the impact of bullets coming her way. Closing in on her enemy, Sophia aimed her handgun which she had borrowed from one of her downed foes in the courtyard, and put three bullets into his chest. He went down quickly. Turning to the other two henchmen, still with her shield raised, Sophia realized the impromptu shield would not hold much longer and hurled it with all her strength at the henchmen closest to her in the common area. The shield impacted and shattered as another enemy was down for the count. The bullets from the last Henchmen stopped, but not because he was aware of his hopeless situation.

"Who are hell are you?" Sophia spat as a single man stood over the henchmen, the former threat now incapacitated but alive. It looked as if the mysterious stranger was displeased, but as he began to speak-

Sophia Agnarmac - Modern Day

Sophia picked her head up off the table, holding her nose in pain as a consequence of her head slipping for her palm. She had earlier adjusted herself so that she could nap peacefully, but the nature of her dream caused her to adjust herself, resulting in her face smacking into the table. She sat at one of the many tables in the assembly hall, where a number of the League's Hero's were to meet today to discuss the drop in numbers suffered over the last few years. Some as a result of Hero's perishing in the line of duty, and other reasons being Hero's fed up with the constricting policies and guidelines set forth by the League.

"When is this going to start...I'm so bored..." Sophia whined like a child. Next to her, she noticed a warm cup of Coffee was set. She'd no idea when that got there, and looked around the room at the few Hero's that were currently there. Some she recognized, but nobody here was really her 'friend' so to speak. She eyed the cup suspiciously, afraid that something may have been done to it, or someone may have been playing a trick on her. She dismissed the suspicious line of thought. Who would try something on her in the League's headquarters? She shrugged and gripped the Coffee, sipping from it slowly.

"Just what I needed." She smiled pleasantly.

"Now I just hope we don't have to wait here much longer." She muttered, and returned to perusing her phone.

[Spindle]

William Docherty
Mid-Air
San Francisco

William alighted on the building's roof with all of the poise and grace of a concussed swan, collapsing to all fours the moment his personal gravity collapsed and Earth's own gravity embraced him. Gasping madly he sucked in lungfuls of air, back arching almost painfully as his diaphragm contracted and relaxed madly, filling and emptying his lungs as rapidly as it could. As his legs began to solidify underneath him, he managed to pull himself to one knee, then a low squat before finally bringing himself fully upright and glancing down at the city below him.

Two muggings, one petty theft and one traffic accident averted. Not bad, but not exactly good either, for an hour's work he mused. Against regular crime, he wasn't really going to make much more impact than a regular policeman, but that wasn't the point: the Division had long ago boiled the psychology of superheros down to a fine science and his simple presence was a deterrence: a demonstration that the arm of law would not be stopped by bullets, abilities or anything else which got in its way. That was why he patrolled so visibly - he could just stay central and then fly out whenever Control caught wind of something, but that wouldn't have the same deterrence value as his visibly flying around to search for criminals.

Of course, that meant that he was going to have to deal with moments like this.

Almost by its own volition, his hand fluttered to the inhibitor bracelet. For a moment he considered removing it, before he forced his hand back to his side and letting his gaze wander idly across the city below. He still had the idle worries circling in the back of his mind, but the exhilaration - and exhaustion - of flight had consigned them firmly to the back of his mind for now, and he was glad for that. If anything was going to happen, the events would be so long underway by now that nothing he could do would do more than slow them down: he would rather not worry about it if at all possible.

But still, the possibility of preempting whatever was happening lingered.

"Gravitas?" Control's voice crackled through the earpiece, "We have a message from the League."

"Go ahead." William said slowly.

"They say you're invited."

"I see."

For a moment William simply glanced around, getting his bearings. The League was based in one of the skyscrapers overlooking Alcatraz - the Rock, as it was now known - but it still took him a moment to pinpoint the exact location. Summoning up the last of his energy, he flipped gravity around him before tilting it and falling forwards, weaving madly between the buildings as he homed in towards his new destination. He was only an honorary member of the League - he had never been ready for the responsibility of a full membership - so if they were inviting him to a meeting...that meant that something big was going down.

Well, he sighed to himself, that confirms that theory.

Twisting out onto the street he needed, William shot upwards, the windows flashing by before he cut his gravity and felt that moment of disorientation as natural gravity reasserted its dominance over his trajectory. The lip of the building's roof shot away from him before he reached the apex of his parabola and began to drop. It was a two-foot fall: he landed lightly on the ledge and stepped onto the roof proper, shuddering at the drop to his back. Ahead of him was a pair of doors and a keypad: he entered in his identification number and, after a moment's waiting, the doors slid open to reveal a lift.

When the lift doors next pinged open, they released him into the conference room, already half-full of heroes both in and out of costume. He grinned a little at that: some of the people here were on an entirely different league from him, and most of them were still a different ball-park. They had experience, power and some of them didn't even have regular day jobs: for them, their superheroing was their day job. It was an impressive display of what the League could do - and it scared William shitless to be in the same room as some of those people.

Glancing around the room, names and abilities springing to mind as his eyes landed on a particular costume or face, he searched the table for somewhere to sit without being sat next to one of the city-destroyers, millionaires or founding fathers of the League. For a moment he faced the very real possibility of being failing to find a safe spot before his eyes alighted on a chair next to a violet lady holding a cup of coffee: Violet Seer if he remembered the files correctly. She wasn't one of the titans of the League, although she'd still been in it for far longer than he had. Still, better the devil that you know...

"Er, hi - Violet Seer, right?" He asked as he approached, resting a hand nervously on the back of the vacant chair, "Could I sit here - if you don't mind?"

[Dyelli Beybi]

As the prisoners were escorted to their breakfasts in the Rock, Hazel Lind decided it might be a good time to get up and get her breakfast. She rose slowly, there really wasn't an awful lot to do today, stretched contentedly, then finally climbed out of bed, pulled on a silk dressing gown and went through to the open plan living/dining room to get something to eat. She flicked on the news as she busied herself in the kitchen. It was the usual guff about politics, terrorism and, of course, meta-human crime. There was literally no mention of the jewellery store she had hit last night, though that wasn't too surprising - it wasn't that exciting to begin with but more to the point, she suspected it hadn't been reported - the bag of uncut diamonds she had made off with were almost definitely from a certain conflict-ridden African country one really shouldn't be sourcing diamonds from...

It had been an easy job, much easier than this attack on the Rock that the rest of the senior members of the society were banging on about. It was, in her opinion, a bloody terrible idea, and something that was more likely to end up with even more of them slapped in prison. If they had a submarine, maybe it would be doable. She would find out, she supposed, in due course what the plan was. Hopefully it was more advanced than punch the nearest security guard and hope for the best...

She continued watching the news until she had finished eating, then switched it off. It really wasn't all that interesting. She padded over to the window and drew the curtains back to look out on another magnificent morning in New York. It really was quite a view, purchased on the back of well laundered criminal funds and the profits of her father's fishing business. What was she going to do today?

At some point she needed to fence the diamonds she was hiding, but she could wait to do that - she had got away clean, she was in no immediate need of the money and people would be more likely to be looking for them now. She could go down to check on the business, but if she was completely honest with herself, the managers down there knew their jobs better than she did, staying at arm's length was the best way to keep them happy and everything ticking over. Which left her with not all that much to do... she supposed she should put in a few hours at the gym; she needed to keep in top condition for the next time someone took a shot at her.

That would not keep her entertained though. She pursed her lips, then stepped over to the telephone and punched in a number from the old-fashioned notebook she kept on the side next to it. She doubted he would be in at the moment, but that was part of the fun... "Mr McKay, Hazel Lind here, you recall how I made those very generous donations to your campaign a few months back? Well I was wondering if we could have a serious discussion about some of these crazy laws about polluting the harbour." she left a long enough pause for him to think she might be serious and (hopefully) break a little bit of a sweat, before adding, "Just joking! Although if you do have some time in your schedule I'd love to talk to you about some of your ideas about integrating the meta-humans into society. Perhaps over lunch?" she hung up after that suggestion.

That would, she realised, prove an interesting conundrum for the young politician. While he would have no idea she was a meta-human he would know she had donated to him and would also know that she had a reputation as a drunk, irresponsible socialite. His advisers would tell him that meeting with her too publicly could damage his appeal with the 'family values' type, but not meeting with her could damage his revenue stream. It would be fascinating to see how he responded...

[Truth Incarnate]

League Headquarters

"Jack Barnabus, B-Department Assigned Psychologist, San Francisco League administrative staff."

Jack read those words out carefully, muttered under his breath as he glanced at the little brass token of achievement on his desk, a plaque embedded in hardened spruce. It was an empty accomplishment, really. Dealing with these people, people who were so far beyond the rest of humanity, so powerful and under strain to be heroes... He'd seen a lot of nutjobs over the years. He'd had a few others too, and they were the heartbreaking ones. You'd see someone walk in, maybe they're nervous, maybe they're just belligerent, and you'd talk, and before they went out that sliding glass door, you'd already know how their story would end. Heroics, suicide, defection, it was all in the book. It was unthinkable to write someone up for psychological counselling, apparently due to the cost. He had a quota to fill, and his heart couldn't get in the way of it. He didn't even ask why he was still employed if he wasn't allowed to do anything. His heartache didn't get in the way of his work, but he'd probably retire soon. He was getting to fifty. He couldn't keep doing this forever.

Jack's office was sparse. White plaster walls, a panoramic view out over San-Francisco bay, all filled with boats and ships. There was probably someone sneaking in or out of the city, or someone sneaking something in or out. There were probably muggings happening just in the alley beneath the building, mafia deals going down like this whole "hero" thing had never happened. But hey, he couldn't let himself be distracted by that. He had a job to do.

"Next!"

Noir walked into the room, filed under C-Dar*171. Jack called them Kim. They'd been through this song and dance before. Kim stood in the doorway, illuminated by the dim office lighting, as strange and outstanding as ever. They'd always seemed strange to Jack, seemed a little off in both appearance and tone. Listening to them made him wince, and he didn't know why.

"May I have a seat?"

We've been through this before. You should know by now.

"Yes, yes, of course, Kim. We'll be beginning your bi-weekly psychological audit immediately."

Jack wouldn't talk to a normal patient like that, too personal and yet verbose. But, as his line of work went, there weren't normal people to study. It was an on-the-job kind of experience training. Nothing in college prepared you for... The "colourful cast" The League had hired, coerced or created. Jack thought about his mission statement, his role in pulling this... Paper-mache thing apart, find an excuse to lock it up and forget about it. Kim probably didn't even know about their past, and now it was coming back because The League would sooner just put them in a room than potentially make any use out of it.

Kim was probably looking at Alcatraz right now, just outside Jack's window.

"So, first thing on the agenda, how has your day been? How has your last two weeks been, really? Stressful, tiring, gratifying?"

"There has not been any recent cause for any feelings of... Particularly strong merit, really. I do not understand why I have to do this so often. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to perform such an audit annually, like the rest of The League's lower enforcer echelons? It would certainly make any person of questionable psychology and motives slip into their role more due to the lower pressure, allowing you to detect them in an easier fashion. Similarly, any actual enforcer of aligned intent with The League would suffer from belligerence towards this interview for having it so often, while seeing those around them not having to do so."

It's because they're afraid of you, Kim. You're so oblivious.

"Oh, why it's because you're a relatively new and eccentric acquisition. We've never encountered something like you. I'm sure you're aware of your... Condition? The circumstances of your creation?"

"Yes. I emerged from a piece of blank canvas after an unknown cross-manipulation event between two metahumans. As such, I am made of paper and ink, and have all the physical properties thereof, including an inability to ingest items and exist in a three-dimensional landscape. Even so, I do. I trust that my appearance is not too perturbing."

And so the questions went.

"What have your agendas as of late been?"
"Would you say you've changed over the last few weeks in any particular way?"
"Where have you been recently?"
"Have you been injured since two weeks ago?"
"What's on your mind?"
"Do you feel particularly paranoid or angry?"
"Have you felt that your life has been endangered?"
"How do you view your current occupation?"
"Do you drink?" Obviously no, but it was on the sheet
"How often do you exercise?"
"Describe yourself in fifty words or less."
"Do you view yourself as being good at your job?"
"What are your hobbies?"
"How is your self-esteem?"

"Final question, is there a special someone in your life?"

"After seven months, I still fail to understand the meaning of that question. I asked a few of the personnel in this facility, but they gave unsatisfactory and contradictory answers. In many cases, they were actively counterproductive. I demand to know what this question is supposed to convey! You keep asking it over and over, and never tell me what its meaning is."

"Kim, you'll find out."

"You gave that exact answer the last time we met, and the last-last time before that."

Jack gave Noir a slight smile, and began shuffling his papers, sitting straight and looking down at his cluttered desk, arranging his busy workspace, and clearly informing any normal person besides this heuristically-blind meta(non)human that the interview was over.

"Dismissed, Noir. You may leave the room."

"Have a good day, doctor."

Now where'd you learn that line?

Kim would have given them an eye-roll if they knew what it was. Instead, they stood up, took their coat from the chair and walked out of the room. Jack reclined in his chair and looked outside, wondering how early winter was coming along for all those people out there. He took a sip from his coffee, and looked down at his casefile. Huh. A big Austrian man. He'd never dealt with them before. Maybe he should offer them a drink.

"Next!"

Ferdinand Yharvo walked into the room, filed under M-Pos*13. Jack called them Fred. They'd been through this song and dance before. Fred stood in the doorway, illuminated by the dim office lighting, as large and outstanding as ever. They'd always seemed a bit too professional to Jack, military and unwavering in both appearance and tone. Listening to them made him want to give him a salute, his tone was just that infectious, and he didn't know why.

"Good morning, Mister Barnabus. May I have a seat?"

Noir

Kim proceeded down the sterilised hallways, always remembering to greet those they came across with a courteous nod, not staring at anyone for too long, following all the social rules and guidelines they felt so... Indifferent to, really. It had been six years since they'd first gotten up out of that sheet of paper, apparently a short time for the rest of... Well, they hesitated to group themselves with "humanity".

It was somewhat frustrating to have to deal with the stares all the time, considering their appearance. It was just human instinct they supposed, glancing at whatever caught their eye. So many metaphors and adages, so many meanings within meanings. Supposedly their language studies were coming along nicely for a human of their age, but for someone who was at the age where long-term memory only begins to form, that wasn't very high praise. Even as they wrote their prosaic masterpiece within their mind, they came to the rather imposing wooden doors leading into the conference room, a place for everyone who was even slightly special and happened to not be a criminal.

As the door swung open, Kim was hit with the aroma of coffee, tea, and a myriad of other beverages that would melt them like literal wet toilet paper. Taking an isolated seat, letting their social "anxiety" take over what everyone who had ever been interested in their social well being had ever said. They hoped the meeting would start soon so they could get back to the familiar routine of daily patrol.

[Imperial--japan]

Violet Seer - League HQ

"Could I sit here - if you don't mind?" Sophia was snapped out of her daydreaming by the voice of a young man, and looked up from her coffee to see him. He was fairly attracted from what she could tell. Blonde hair, strong cheekbones and yellow eyes. The eyes caught her interest, as she stared into them with her one visible eye, the color was absolutely entrancing. Truly, showing up to these League meetings was definitely a plus sometimes. Eye candy all around, being examined for the greater good. Sophia smiled and set the mug down on the table.

"Ah, I don't mind at all, and yes I'm Violet Seer. Kind of surprised you knew who I was." She spoke with her hands, gesturing to herself and the seat as she spoke before finally rubbing her neck, somewhat taken aback by the fuzzy feeling that rose up upon being recognized by a stranger. Some would say she was a very active speaker, but it mattered little. As she stared at the newcomer momentarily, she tried her hardest to discern who he was. He was here, so he was obviously a member of the League or closely affiliated, but even with their declining numbers, the League had so many Hero's that it was a pain to remember all of them sometimes.

"Hopefully they'll start this soon. Having a bunch of us cooped up in the Headquarters for too long isn't such a smart idea, not when we could be down patrolling the streets right now," Sophia commented. She maintained her single-eyed gaze on the man next to her, wondering how he'd respond.

"And I've been trying to piece together who you are for the last couple moments now, but it's just not coming too me. I'm sorry." She once again moved her hands to scratch the back of her neck, feeling somewhat bad that this stranger knew who she was, but she could not return the favor.

[Finsternia]

Lucille Vosier
San Francisco Bay

Lucille looked at the prison island from the mainland, the bright sunlight reflecting from the sea like a gigantic mirror shot. She was wearing a red velvet dress that she herself designed and made, fit to her physique and stature. She kept on checking her phone, slightly adjusting those shades and tapping her heels on the ground, as she waited for the other Society members and the accompanying Syndicate force. She just got the memo for today's assault and luckily she was free today. She cracked her neck and raised her head to look directly at the sun, its warmth bathing her pale marblelike skin. "That island will burn to the ground."

Minette Chartreux
The Rock

A loud banging of her cell door woke Minette up from slumber. She jumped away from the source and hissed from the dark corners as a guard placed down a bowl filled with disgusting catfood and milk down, spilling some of its contents on the dirty floor. "Here you go, kitty." The guard said in a mocking fashion as he closed the metal door behind him. Minette then lunged and banged her fists on the door, shouting on top of her lungs. "Minette will get out of this cage, mew jerk! His Meowjesty will save Minette! And Minette will turn you into catfood for her kitties back home!" The guards outside could only laugh and Minette crawled on all fours towards her food. She was hungry and she need to accept whatever... stuff they put on her food. She ate the disgusting pile of food in front of her and withdrew back to the corner, curling her body like a cat would. 'His Meowjesty will save Minette. Minette mews it. He will save Minette...'

[The Flutterlands]

The leading member of the Prison Staff spoke in a bored voice, responding. "Of course it is, you are medicated at roughly the same period each day. Your escort will take you to breakfast shortly." They stopped speaking as they emptied the necessary dose into a small plastic cup, as they handed that and the cup of water through to her. As Filia took her medication, she began to hand the not quite empty cup back when the Staff member spoke up. "Remember to drink all of it, dont want the medication to get stuck." At that the villain took back the cup and pointedly drank the water.

If one looked closely, they would be able to see her look at the bottom of the cup for a moment before she handed it back. None of them noticed it due to their heavy boredom. The Prison staff nodded and took the cup before walking down the hall. The cup did indeed have a message on, but it was only visible to Filia, due to both the medication she took and her Demonic blood. It said one simple cryptic line: 'Today is the day, be patient, you will know when to act.' Elsewhere in the Rock, a certain figure smiled, sensing things were falling into place.

Filia Umbrarum

Filia made a giggle as she took her medication with the cup of water, taking it all down. Because of her insanity, the cambion's cell was housed in the mental ward section of The Rock, meaning that the staff she saw were mostly dressed in the white coats of doctors. Along with taking her medication, Filia had to take therapy twice a week with The Rock's psychologist. A kind old woman if you'd ask anyone. Filia didn't really see herself as crazy or insane, even with her taking medication, but she accepted and appreciated the kindness she has been given these past months. Still, Filia didn't really like taking the medication, even though she knew the necessity of them. They make her head feel weird.

Nonetheless, her red eyes glistened when she read the note at the bottom of her cup and grinned a little. So the time of her compatriots breaking her out will be sooner than she expected. Good. The sooner the better. Filia giggled and crackled at the turn of events, but kept everything that she knew to herself when the escorts came to take her to the Cafeteria.

At the cafeteria, Filia got in line with the other prisnoers. The prison food was decent at best, but nothing compared to the meals she got while living the life of luxury at Castle Tenebrous with her Cousin or Umbrarum Manor with her demonic father as a child. Still, Filia collected her food, which was pancakes and sausage today and gathered her utensils, giggling as she slipped a handful of extra ones into her orange shirt to quell her kleptomania.

Filia looked around for a seat and smiled upon spotting the asian man, Lee Inaba. He seemed like a nice man, but came off as bit too serious. Nonetheless, she'd be happy to dine with him. "Excuse me, Mister Inaba." she spoke sweetly, placing her tray down and taking out her handful of 'stolen' plastic utensils from her shirt, "Can I eat with you?"

[Rynagria]

Brooklynn L. Golden
League HQ

Doing her best to struggle from the grasp of the League member holding her, it did nothing more than make to the trip to San Francisco everything but pleasant. Satisfied of the irritated expression from her holder, the 40 year-old woman continued to resist with a large grin, enjoying every moment of this. An exasperated sigh escaped past his lips. Completely fed up, the hero stopped in his tracks and brought her closer, for the purpose of being face to face. "Can you quit it already?! You signed that agreement of helping us, that includes going to the damn meetings, yet you're nothing but being a pain in the ass!"

The former villainess only smirked, briefly escaping his grip and head-butting the man on the chin. Appropriately reacting from the sudden attack, Brooklynn didn't even attempt to run, instead just standing there and watched. Smile ever consistent, bent down to respond to the hero. "That agreement also said that I'll have to patrol daily, but I don't do that either. Besides, you interrupted me from teaching the horny eighteen year old at my local gas station the pleasures of the flesh!" Went about Brook, prior to lightly slamming the inhibitor cuffs keeping her hands linked together on the back of her captor. "I was going to sucker the kid into giving me three hundred dollars, no questions asked! You had just to show up and drag me out! I mean couldn't you wait for like ten minutes?!"

Although, I doubt that he would have lasted that long.

"You're going to get arrested if you keep doing that, you know." Replied the hero, finally recovered from the blow, his more stoic manner regaining control. Fingers wrapping around her elbow and tugging her along. Meanwhile, Brooklynn only became confused.

"The kid was legal!"

Shaking his head slightly, he muttered something underneath his breath and continued on towards the meeting room, a less resistant Brook in tow. "It's illegal to prostitute in the majority of the country, including the state you were in." Said the hero as they entered the room. Then, leading her to the nearest chair available and forcefully sitting her next to the girl clad in in purple with the eyepatch. A stern look given, her escort simply left her there and took a seat himself, but not prior to giving her the keys to the cuffs. Eagerly snatching up the small silver object and inserted it into the keyhole. Free of those accursed cuffs, rubbed her wrists and relaxed a bit.

[House of Judah]

Ibrahim
Karl Linton’s Ship

The smell assaulted his nostrils immediately as he stepped out the door of the compartment. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, folded it into quarters and held it over his face, then followed the path to bridge. He laid eyes on the Hound and sighed. He pulled the handkerchief away from his face and wiped off the co-pilot’s chair to the best of his ability. The smell was still there, but at least it was no longer wet. He tossed the ruined rag into the trash then sat down next to the meta-dog.

“This is small and petty, though I suspect you already know that. It doesn’t serve any purpose except to infuriate Karl. While that might seem a noble enough end to you, I think it’s just foolish. You are one of the oldest metas alive, you’ve probably seen more of this world than most of us can fathom. You’re certainly too old for childish games. So why persist with them?” He took another sniff of the air. “And did they feed asparagus again last night? That scent is particularly pungent.”

[Kuhlfros]

Filia Umbrarum

Filia made a giggle as she took her medication with the cup of water, taking it all down. Because of her insanity, the cambion's cell was housed in the mental ward section of The Rock, meaning that the staff she saw were mostly dressed in the white coats of doctors. Along with taking her medication, Filia had to take therapy twice a week with The Rock's psychologist. A kind old woman if you'd ask anyone. Filia didn't really see herself as crazy or insane, even with her taking medication, but she accepted and appreciated the kindness she has been given these past months. Still, Filia didn't really like taking the medication, even though she knew the necessity of them. They makeher head feel weird.

Nonetheless, her red eyes glistened when she read the note at the bottom of her cup and grinned a little. So the time of her compatriots breaking her out will be sooner than she expected. Good. The sooner the better. Filia giggled and crackled at the turn of events, but kept everything that she knew to herself when the escorts came to take her to the Cafeteria.

At the cafeteria, Filia got in line with the other prisnoers. The prison food was decent at best, but nothing compared to the meals she got while living the life of luxury at Castle Tenebrous with her Cousin or Umbrarum Manor with her demonic father as a child. Still, Filia collected her food, which was lasagna today and gathered her utensils, giggling as she slipped a handful of extra ones into her orange shirt to quell her kleptomania.

Filia looked around for a seat and smiled upon spotting the asian man, Lee Inaba. He seemed like a nice man, but came off as bit too serious. Nonetheless, she'd be happy to dine with him. "Excuse me, Mister Inaba." she spoke sweetly, placing her tray down and taking out her handful of 'stolen' plastic utensils from her shirt, "Can I eat with you?"

Lee Inaba/Ronin
The Rock, Cafeteria

Lee's wrists had been unshackled to allow him to eat, however, his ankles were chained to the ground so he wouldn't try anything dangerous. It amused Lee that they had become so cautious after learning their lessons in the few other times they had the Ronin imprisoned. But at the same time it was annoying because it made things unnecessarily harder.

He stared down at the food on his tray with contempt, he always had a suspicion the SID and the Rock would sneak drugs or inhibitors into the food but he could never find the proof for his concerns. Regardless he began to eat, slowly and in small bites as he watched the cafeteria around him.

It was then a woman who was unnaturally attractive to the point it was ridiculous approached him, smiling all the while, "This isn't a good sign..." he thought to himself before she came before him and spoke, "Excuse me Mr. Inaba, can I eat with you?" Lee took a moment to breifly look the woman up and down and take in every detail, he didn't know many people who could pull off an orange jumpsuit as well as this woman did, he racked his brain to recall which villain this was, he knew many, and after four years of seclusion, sometimes he glazed over some.

But this woman was not one of them, her m.o. was too attention grabbing for that. This was Lady Tenebrous, Filia Umbaram. "Mister Inaba is my grandfather, just call me Lee." He ushered his hand to her and continued, "Go on ahead, I don't mind company."

It was then his eyes caught the assortment plastic silverware she had just pulled out of her shirt, "A: Wouldn't that be uncomfortable, and B:
Why plastic?" He thought to himself before letting a short resigned sigh escape his lips, but not without the trace of a smile. The klepto was enjoying her time in the Rock it seemed.

[Hothnia]

The Hound
Karl Linton's ship

I shrugged. Well in a dog sort of way. " The smell doesn't bother me. In my eyes it smells the same as me. He won't release me so I'll make him release me by infuriating him enough. I won't just serve him with resistance. That's being subservient, like the British and Germans in the trenches that were oh so scared when I approached and ate them. And no they didn't feed me asparagus. I took some from Karl. It was quite nasty." I stood up and walked across the interior of the ship, my paws and nails making no noise. I reached up and cut a few wires on the ship. " Not sure what they do but I'm sure it will piss him off." I sat down again and admired my handiwork.

[House of Judah]

Ibrahim
Karl Linton’s Ship

“You’re smarter than that. And you know Karl is smarter than that. For all these small annoyances you do, you are far more useful to him than the cost of your games. All you’re doing is making him better. Next time, those wires will be less accessible to you. You’re just helping him build a better cage.

“I tell you what, though. When you are done playing with Karl, and you decide you might just want to do something real, you should track me down. We’ll have ourselves a grand old time.” There was something in Ibrahim’s smile. The anticipation of the pain he would inflict against his enemies. The sadism, inherent in all men, when contemplating those who truly deserve the violence finally have it brought against them.

[Spindle]

William Docherty
League HQ
San Francisco

The violet girl turned to him, fixing him with a cyclopean gaze which swept across his face for a moment before peering intently into his eyes for several seconds more. Squirming slightly under her attentions, his hands came together at his front, clasping and fiddling nervously before unclasping and fluttering to the back of the chair as she answered, hands moving to underline her words. With a short, flashed smile, he pulled the seat out and sat down quickly, crossing one leg over the other and glancing at her for a moment.

The files had prepared him for her...purpleness, but what they hadn't prepared him for was how animated she was. Even as he was sitting down, she was launching into a second conversation, hands gesturing around as she switched to noting that he'd remembered her to commenting on how many people where here. It was a little... overwhelming, especially given the already overwhelming situation and he spent several moments trying to formulate a response or else get a bearing on the situation. As she paused for breath, he managed to take his bearings and speak:

"Well, I mean I had to learn most of the members of the League and Syndicate to work with the Division." He smiled briefly, "And your story was always one of the more interesting ones for me. Going over to the League from the Society - that must have taken some guts. Gravitas, by the way. I'm not all that famous - I'm only a part-timer."