December 24th, 2018 Christmas Eve
On the tallest building in San Francisco a man most if not all would recognize was currently sitting perched on the edge. That man was Robert Mcintyre, Mr Invincible, though his large frame was perched precariously on the edge of the building there was no danger to himself even if he did fall. He sat overlooking his city for a time, he looked up as something came flying towards him, a small ring billed gull. As it reached the edge of the building it suddenly became much larger and took on a humanoid form, that of Cameron Williams, a Metahuman most know as Mr Omnifarous.
Robert stood up from the edge of the building and turned to face the man who had been his rival for more than a decade. Anyone knowing the public history between the two men would not expect what happened next. Cameron let out a laugh and opened his arms in a hug.
"HAHAHA Bobbie, its been too long since we have met out of costume link this."
Robert or Bobbie as the other man called him gave his own chuckle and briefly hugged the other man. He was much larger than Cameron, standing nearly a head and a half above his old friend.
"Indeed it has been old friend. It's probably been close to a dozen years, since the League was officially founded way back in 2005."
He paused in what he had been staying to go back to where he had been sitting and picked up a beer and handed it to Cameron. The other man swiftly opened it and took a sip of the still cold beverage.
"Ahh, thanks, you were saying?"
"The last time we got together like this was probably just before you decided to take the villain role for our little play. Seriously tht name of yours was a bit on the nose wasnt it Cam?"
"Hey, not like i'm the one who went for a jog and stopped a car chase by standing in the middle of the road."
Bobbie gave a laugh as he responded, the amusement still present in his voice.
"Touché Cam, Touché. I think we have done this for long enough, The Society never really needed you, the Ronin will serve well enough in your absence. Though the Emergence was an accident i think we have kept things in line we enough for things to settle into their groove. They can spare us for a time, i know you didnt mind the attention."
Bobbie took a drink of his own beer, something he drank for the taste, before continuing.
"You can take any form you wish and vanish into the wind, maybe visit one of your wives. I still don't know why you went through with so many marriages."
"Because old friend i love life, and women are an integral part of that, but you are right, some of them may even be happy to see me. What about you? Aegis and MAID should be able to pick up any slack, but what will you do after our last fight?"
"I, I have some accounts which i need to settle. After that who knows, i might retire somewhere where they will not take note of an unaging man."
"So when do we fight then, now, New Years, when?"
"Not now Cam, it is too late, it needs to be a public affair which keeps their attention long enough. Tomorrow works well enough, a fight on Christmas should get plenty of attention."
The two men stayed on the room for a time after that talking of the past and thinking on the future. Neither of the two men two men noticed a certain onlooker, he was tall and athletically built with short silver hair. He was some distance away from the two powerful metas, but still close enough to watch them.
Present day June 26, 2019
League of Heroes HQ
League of Heroes HQ
The League of Heroes HQ in San Francisco was arguably one of the most secure buildings within the entire Bay Area rivaled only by the Rock and other facilities. None of its safe guards or physical security guarded it well enough against a man who had been waiting his chance outside. As the guards outside did their walk about they missed the intruder to be as he stepped into the walls of the HQ and through them into the interior.
The moment the intruder stepped out into open air, he vanished, but not entirely. Anyone with a keen enough eye or sharp enough senses might have been able to see the nearly imperceptible form or feel the slight displacement of air. When he encountered a barrier of any kind his form would shift allowing him to get past it in some way. Sometimes he slipped through as air others
After a time he reached his destination, a secluded room on one of the upper floors. It was a surprisingly secure room behind multiple levels of physical and technological security. It meant little to him as he could pass through nearly any natural material and a few manmade ones. He went into the room as he had all the others he had passed through on the way to his goal. Unknown to the intruder, his passing into the room had activated a silent alarm.
In stark contrast to the security measures on the door the interior of the room itself was abnormal in how mundane it appeared. For all intents and purposes it was a normal storage room, there were various boxes, safes, drawers and other containers. None of the containers were marked, some were secured more than others, but otherwise there were no other indicators of what could lay within the containers.
The intruder started reaching into the various containers, he did not open them, rather he stuck his hand through and pulled an item out on occasion. None of the items he extracted were his objective as he soon after tossed one object aside after another. Eventually he found what he had been looking for, an old lightly rusted can of air freshener. He pressed down on the nozzle, while at the same time twisted the bottom revealing a hidden compartment. He resealed the canister and turned to face the door as it opened from the other side.
Upon seeing the intruder one of the responding guards raised their weapon. However before they could speak the Intruder gave them a wink and sank through the floor. The intruder fell through the floor into the room below, he started to head down when a voice called out to him.
"I dont think you are supposed to be here."
The intruder turned towards the sound of the voice and saw Karakazo, a telekinetic Hero with the League.
Meanwhile at Sphere
The nightclub Sphere was rarely ever devoid of life entirely. At its busiest there is a veritable sea of bodies at its most deserted there were still dozens of people. Even now at this early hour there were at least 50 if not more people. It did not look like there were many people because they were spread throughout the floors of the establishment. Officially there were 7 floors and each floor was called a Circle, each Circle represented one of the Seven Sin.
Lust was set up akin to a gentlemen's club, beautiful people of all kinds as servers and back rooms catering to other whims. Sloth was set up as a hotel of sorts, beds and rooms of all sorts lay within the Circle. Gluttony was a series of restaruants, each being high quality and dealing with not just entrees but deserts as well. Wrath had a fighting arena, Greed was set up like a casino and so on for each of the Circles.
None of that mattered currently as a Metahuman going by the alias of Bruiser was currently tearing through the club on his way to Purgatory, a secure Eighth circle few get to see. The denizens of each circle fled as Bruiser punched and bulldozed his way down. There was no finesse or technique in his blows, just pure simple raw physical power. He dealt with each of the guards and people who got in his way in the same way, a simple punch.
Most of those he hit did not get back up after he dealt each blow. The Meta was strong, and his body showed that, he was not bulky like some sort of Olympian body builder but could easily be described as ripped. He was no stranger to those at Sphere, though predominantly he could be found in the fighting arena on the Circle of Wrath.
He was once a Hero who got kicked from the league after a certain incident. Since that time he had attained some amount of infamy within the Society and frequent visitors of the Circle of Wrath. It took him some time before he reached Purgatory, he charged through a wall and the elevator doors concealed behind it. They buckled from the force of his charge and landed on the elevator car below. He fell onto it and peeled it open like one would remove the shell of a crab.
He pulled open the doors with the same relative ease which he had displayed during the rest of his journey down. After forcing his way through he stepped into Purgatory, the Eighth Circle of Sphere looked very different from other Circles. It was not lavishly decorated or extravagantly themed, rather it was largely functional but not completely bare. Relatively few of the many, many denizens of the Circles above even knew Purgatory existed, fewer still knew it was a major Society hub within San Francisco.
The moment Bruiser was about to move forward a single much smaller but no less muscular man stepped into his path. He was dressed much like a samurai from an era long since passed, and indeed he was, Nobuatsu Oda an Edo period Samurai. He had no visible weapons with him but the man had centuries of combat experience. He spoke in a wizened and accented voice as he addressed Bruiser.
"This is not a place one such as you should be Donovan-San."
Bruiser gave a confident chuckle before speaking.
"Sorry Ronin, nothing personal, i am here for business, you should understand."
From any normal man Nobuatsu's next words would seem arrogant or conceited, but his tone was even and factual.
"I do indeed understand, but I do not wish to harm you, please turn back Donovan-San."
The larger man began to stretch lightly and roll his shoulders, he then shook his head in denial and began to charge at Nobu. He moved with a swiftness and force one would not expect of a man Bruisers size. As he Thundered towards Nobu his footsteps shook and cracked the tile beneath them as they impacted. Although his charge was fast to Nobu he may have been the slowest horse in the Kentucky Derby.
Bruiser opened his arms to grab Nobuatsu in a bear hug, moments before the larger mans arms closed around him Nobu jumped in a clean arc over the larger man. As he did so he pulled several knives from his Kamashiro and threw them at Bruiser as he passed over the man's back. Only one knife found purchase in the man's flesh, though not too deep. The other knives only knicked the man and fell down. Nobu rolled into the ground and rose some distance away from the other man.
After rising from his landing and turning around Nobu spoke once more to the now wounded lightly wounded man. His voice held none of the politeness or courtesy it had contained when he first addressed the other man.
"This is the last warning you will receive Bruce, if you continue down this path you may not live to see your folly for what it is."
The other man said nothing in return and charged towards Ronin, the ground shaking and cracking as he went.
Unbeknownst to those at the League HQ and Sphere similar break ins were happening all across San Francisco at the same moment. The Dead Mans Hand, Epoch LLC, Master Tech and various other places with connections to Meta humans were being hit. The methods they used varied from brute force to tech manipulation, whoever they were and whatever they were after they were determined. In the coming hours those related to the factions and establishments hit would be alerted.
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