NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Sign-ups: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=537372 . The idea wasn't mine, I just made this thread because the creator of said sign-ups didn't make an IC as of yet.

In World War Two, there were often rumors of the other side experimenting with the occult. Turned out however, the SS were.

They discovered, during a series of tests on the human genetic structure, a gene. Not in everyone, just in a select few. Naturally, they carried on further, even managing to create a few subjects with unnatural abilities. The allies stopped this project when the Nazi regime fell. However, during the 50's, the American's began a project named Operation: Saviour, using components from the SS test results.

However, certain people are born with this gene activated, others need a trigger. But one thing is for sure. More and more 'supermen and women' coming into being.

Rafzekael sat on a roof, listening to the rain. It had been raining with the Joneses found him. He shivered when he thought of this, and closed his eyes. After a minute, his eyes snapped open and he had broke out in cold sweat. He shook his head and stood up. He thought of that time he had went to a psychologist for seriously disturbed people. He made the poor guy cry and wet his pants. He chuckled.

Alehkra wandered the city streets, it was dark, only the moon to light the path. But that just made it easier on him. He saw a man walking down the street. He grinned. Walking up to him he said, "You know, its not very safe to be out this late." Turning the man said, "Hey, listen, I'ma grown ma-" He saw Alehkra's blood red eyes and froze. "What the hell?" He didn't even have a chance to scream before his blood splattered the pavement.

Solus strode down the street purposefully, though somewhat slowly. As it was night there were few passerbys, and this was to his liking. He looked up at the skyscraper he was next to from behind hair beaded by rain. His eyes narrowed as he glanced up the structure, the top clouded by the rain about it. He continued down the street after a moment. He strode down an alley not much farther ahead, seemingly seeking something. Just as he entered, however, a man called out from behind him. "Listen up, man. You better not make a move or I'll..." He trailed off as he realized that the mark wasn't...normal. The fused black of his lower body tended to have that effect. Solus turned slowly to stare at the ganger and his puny switchblade. "Object: Human. Obstruction intolerable. Terminate." He walked toward the ganger purposefully, who responded by lunging with his knife. Unfortunately for the criminal, his hand was batted sideways with sufficient force to twist his whole body. Solus then caught the man's throat in his other hand. The ganger started gagging as he was lifted one-handed into the air. A crushing noise echoed down the alley as the man's throat was squeezed into oblivion. "Subject: Terminated. Proceed." And with that Solus resumed walking once more...

Alehkra laughed as he mutilated the man's body, blood splashing everywhere. Finally, he he stopped. Blood covered his face, and he didn't bother to clean his katana as he sheathed it. He started walking again, looking for another lamb to slaughter.

The candle burned humbly, throwing enough light to force back the shadows but no more. Before it sat a man in a flowing, white robe. He was an older man, an obese man from the look of him. And his eyes stared all but unblinkingly at the candle.

The room was small--barely large enough to accommodate the man and the candle. The walls were unadorned and colored a simple off-white. The only irregularity was the door behind the man.

Gradually, he began to move. First, his eyes closed. Then, his arms began to slowly rise from the tops of his legs. There was something unusual--something mechanical--in the symmetrical fashion in which they came into the air, twisted, and lowered again. Then, the legs straightened and bent, and then they straightened again as the man went into the splits and rose from the floor by bringing his feet together from the sides, rising into the air so that his feet were slightly off the ground when he did. Rotating a half turn, so that he faced the door, he set down on the floor again. Walking to the door, he placed his hand on its simple surface and slid it to his right. It opened into a closet that doubled as a hallway, and a link to his obscured chamber.

Coming out of a fugue was never easy, but this time had at least not been totally uncomfortable. He still felt the drain--as if his emotions would never reassert themselves--but he knew that this was part of the process and that it, too, would pass. Fortunately, as best he could tell, his intellect had survived more or less intact.

A shower, a change of clothes and a few steps down the hall found the man walking towards the local 24-hour supermarket. It was over a mile away, but he wanted to enjoy the night air. The sun had set long ago, but he was undeterred. The local gangs had come to terms with the strange man who sometimes walked through their turf. They lived and let live. Every now and then, one of them would walk the path back to his apartment, and, from there, take the path away from the gangs and into a normal life. It seemed to work.

As he wound his way through the streets, past an old, abandoned alleyway, he heard a man laugh. It was a disgusting, arrogant laugh, and it was followed by the sound of metal against a casing of some kind--a sword being placed in its buckler. He walked over to the alley and turned in time to see a man begin to walk away from the mutilated body of what had once been another man. A katana hung on a sheath from the stranger's waist.

He looked at the man. As he did, the fingers on his right hand stretched in a way that no human hand could, bending at the lowest knuckle. A sword cut through at the bending point. Made of the finest titanium alloy, the sword did not shine, but had a monochrystal diamond around its entire blade surface. Combined with a laser in the man's--actually, the not-man's--wrist, it was capable of cutting almost anything.

"Mutilating people can be a dangerous hobby," he said to the stranger. "You never know when you'll run into someone with a blade of his own."

Alehkra turned. He laughed again. It was a laugh tinged by madness, and Alehkra knew this, and he didn't care. "Oh, but that just makes it more fun, more blood is shed, such pretty blood, such a nice red." He drew his katana, "How far do you think I can get your blood to spurt? I bet I can get it all the way across the street."

"...bet I can get it all the way across the street." Foxfire (http://photobucket.com/mediadetail/?media=http%3A%2F%2Fi111.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn125%2Fbakahime%2FMale%2Fgotokuneko.jpg&searchTerm=male%20kitsune&pageOffset=4) heard the unmistakable sound of a sword being drawn. He stepped into the alley, weary of danger. He possessed Fox ears and elf ears(enhanced hearing), fox tail (heightned sense of balance), sharp teeth(more painful bite), very good reflexes and grace, the ability to transform into a fox. As well as being very good with a katana. He saw one of the strangest things he had ever seen: A man, dripping blood, slightly insane looking, standing in front of a old man, who had a sword sprouting out of his hand. I mean, I've heard about bad parts of town, Foxfire thought, but whoa! These guys take the prize. And that other guy with the katana looks a few fries short of a Happy Meal...

Alehkra saw the fox-man. "Ooh, another one. More blood, so pretty, don't you agree?" He asked the man conversationally. "How far will yours spurt? Hmm?"
OOC: Ya know, I just realised something. With the way he acts and talks, Alehkra should be a girl... Hmm. I wonder if Jenua would let me change that.

OOC: He could be trans...:p
IC: Foxfire shook his head. "I'm afraid I must disagree. Blood is not always a good thing. As for how far it will go, I'll make sure you never find out. If you are a wise person, don't attack me."

OOC: Haha, no.
IC: Alehkra grinned. "Oh? Really now? When is blood not a good thing?" He hefted his katana, and looked between them. "Who to kill first? Desicions, desicions."

Andrew Stood quietly above the scene below. His suit had correctly identified the sound of sword on sword, and he prided himself over his success. With his Auto recorder playing, he figured a little live-action movie wouldn't be that bad to watch later. There was no need to get his hands dirty with some unnecessary intervention when he could be enjoying himself; after all, this wasn't his problem He had however set himself up for a speedy escape if one of these fools ever decided to look up.

Cameron screamed, his throat raw and exhausted from the effort, but it was all he could do, had been able to do in some time. His powers focussed only on making the heat bearable, but they were pressed to the limit. They'd turned up the heat, kept the humidity down-his powers froze his sweat, brought his temperature down, only to have the ice that formed become scalding steam in seconds, boiling him in his own effluvia. The irony of the Master of Cold frying in his own fat was lost on him.
He was so caught up in his own little box of pain, he couldn't register the other screams, and they had died down when the temperature began to lower.
"You are well?" The voice that spoke was clear and deep, like tombstones falling on black velvet. Gloves ran over his naked form, the fingers oddly angled and unnerving. "You are tender, and may need emergency care-why did they take you?"
He panted in relief. "I'll be fine-already feel my body restoring. Why? They said they wanted to push the meta-gene to it's limit, isolate it--then they could identify it through dissection."
"Who were they?" Cameron could see his savior, a small angular man in a British cut three-piece suit, his face hidden behind a featureless yellow mask. "They didn't exactly introduce themselves-tasered me from behind-all I saw were black uniforms-some sort of badge-red cross on black field. Never saw it before."
"I...see. Let us get you out of here-calling an ambulance here would cause too many questions--questions I have no time to answer." The figure released the restraints and caught Cameron. Though Cameron could feel the man's bones through his suit, his strength never faltered, supporting Cameron's own weakened form.
Together, they walked through corridors lined with corpses, their faces frozen in ghastly rictuses of fear. "What--what happened here?" He asked. If he'd eaten he would empty his stomach at the sight.
"A temporary laboratory dedicated to experiments on such as you." The figure answered. "You are the first living subject I could speak to--and you know precious little."
"No-I mean to them." He pointed at the bodies with his jaw.
"Ah yes--I have that effect on people." The figure sounded sheepish."They will answer no questions, save to John Edwards. I'll go through their records at leisure once I have you safe-wait until one of their other operatives comes in to find out why they do not report-follow him to his superiors. You I shall deliver to an emergency room--you seem much worse than you claim. I shall be in touch later, perhaps."

Foxfire drew his own sword. "Come on, scumbag."

OOC:Well, everyone else is here, so I might as well be too.

As Solus continued down his alleyway he could hear some faint talking a short distance away. He cocked his head, listening, but the sound was too diffused to discern. After a moment he changed course and headed towards the source of the noise. Once he got closer, he could pick up the last of the conversation. "Come on, scumbag." Solus turned about the corner at the end of the alley closest to Alehkra. His green eyes narrowed for a moment as he saw the katanas both parties were wielding. He glanced for a moment at the mutilated cadaver upon the ground, and then at the sword of Alehkra. "Query: Purpose of termination. Why?" He then took a step backwards to allow the combatants some room.

Rafzekael laughed as he leapt over the rooftops, hearing the sounds of swords. Sounded like fun. He jumped down and used is sword to slow his descent, slashing it into the wall. He landed behind a blood splattered person, wielding a katana. He pulled the brim of his hat to its original jaunty angle, then sniffed and said, "You smell funny. Haven't smelt that in years." He gestured to the mangled corpse. He then lent against the wall. He wanted to see who was winning before he got involved.

Foxfire looked around nervously. First it had just been him and these other two men, now there were two more. All appearently armed, with katana's. What are the chances? Foxfire thought. And this may turn into quite the melee...

He peered out from under the bridge of his hat. His eyes glowed in a mis-matched way, one blue and the other red.
"Hey buddy. You coming down from there or you setting up a deckchair?" He smiled, and nodded to the figure on the rooftop.

The Metal Man had given up speech when the stranger had asked how pretty his blood would be. He had no idea, and he wasn't going to listen to reason.

This man was violently insane, and needed to be institutionalized. A quick blast from the Metal Man's shields would immobilize him, and then...

...and then another man joined the fray. And answered the madman...and fed his insanity...and made it impossible for the Metal Man to use his shields without harming someone who was innocent of any wrongdoing.

As the two began to square off, it seemed that the crazy man all but forgot about him. When he moved in, so did the Metal Man. At inhumanly fast speed, he levitated over to the madman's side. He moved sideways, but his legs did not walk. Since his left hand wasn't in weapons mode, he still had the fingers free to use. He put his hand on the upper part of the madman's sword arm and pushed, sending him toward a nearby brick wall.

Alex stamped his feet and rubbed his hands togather in an attempt to keep warm. It was cold tonight. Far too cold to patrol on foot and yet that is what he had been stuck doing. By god he hated Grunt work. He knew he could be so much greater and, by equal measure, knew that he could never be so great. 'Weird' he thought as he walked forward again, trying to get some of the blood back into his hands. His Wife would have a seizure if she could see him now without the gloves she had knitted for him. Alex snorted, his wife had many talents but sewing was not one of them. Those gloves were heavy enough to sink an Oil Tanker.

As he approached the corner, he noticed a small drop of water about to hit the ground from a nearby roof top. He forced his hand out from under his jacket and noted with satisfaction that the water simply hung in the air. Like a rain drop frozen in time. He relaxed and wandered around the corner, allowing the drop to hit the ground with a small splash.

Then he caught a strange sight. A man with a big sword, another man with a big sword and Fox ears and a tail?/I] and an old man with a big sword. One was dripping blood. Tnen there was a man [I]made of metal?
"Flippin' 'eck!" he thought "Always on my watch"

"Freeze!" he shouted, pulling his gun out "Police! Put the swords and...uh...metal down now!" he looked at one then the other "anybody want to tell me the story here?"

Alehkra grinned, this would be fun. He didn't even try to pull, as he knew that the man was much stronger than he was. He was however, extremely fast, and good at getting out of stuff like this. Instead of struggling, he went back, pulling the other man with him, putting the other off balance, and shoving his foot into his stomauch.

Alex stamped his feet and rubbed his hands togather in an attempt to keep warm. It was cold tonight. Far too cold to patrol on foot and yet that is what he had been stuck doing. By god he hated Grunt work. He knew he could be so much greater and, by equal measure, knew that he could never be so great. 'Weird' he thought as he walked forward again, trying to get some of the blood back into his hands. His Wife would have a seizure if she could see him now without the gloves she had knitted for him. Alex snorted, his wife had many talents but sewing was not one of them. Those gloves were heavy enough to sink an Oil Tanker.

As he approached the corner, he noticed a small drop of water about to hit the ground from a nearby roof top. He forced his hand out from under his jacket and noted with satisfaction that the water simply hung in the air. Like a rain drop frozen in time. He relaxed and wandered around the corner, allowing the drop to hit the ground with a small splash.

Then he caught a strange sight. A man with a big sword, another man with a big sword and Fox ears and a [i]tail?/I] and an old man with a big sword. One was dripping blood. Tnen there was a man made of metal?
"Flippin' 'eck!" he thought "Always on my watch"

"Freeze!" he shouted, pulling his gun out "Police! Put the swords and...uh...metal down now!" he looked at one then the other "anybody want to tell me the story here?"

Alehkra let off another maniacal laugh, "More blood! More, more! I want to see more!" For a second he seemed completely sane. "Do you need any more explanation then that? I killed this man, they decided to step in, and I'll kill them to, and you." He again slipped back into insanity "Yes! More death, more blood!"

OOC: Forgot to quote, sorry.

As the Metal Man rushed into the fray, Solus stepped backwards again quickly, taking up a fighting stance (OOC:By the by, I have no weapons. No katana for me!). At the mention of a figure on the rooftops, his eyes darted up for a moment, analyzing the threat levels of the various individuals. What had been a situation relatively under control had quickly devolved into a flat-out near-brawl. This was intolerable. "Query: Purpose of presence. All. Why?" Solus's eyes then roved across the six (I think...) present individuals. If he didn't recieve an answer then he might just have to join in...

Alehkra glanced at Solus. "Ah, you. Yes, reason of termination you ask? I felt like seeing blood."

Alehkra let off another maniacal laugh, "More blood! More, more! I want to see more!" For a second he seemed completely sane. "Do you need any more explanation then that? I killed this man, they decided to step in, and I'll kill them to, and you." He again slipped back into insanity "Yes! More death, more blood!"


"Ah...okay then...right...uh..." Alex was taken back by this person who did seem rather mad "...well..." he said uncertainly "...I'm Police, put the big ass sword down and put your hands up!" he said this bit a little more comfortably "Always on my bloody watch" he thought resentfully "Where is this man you've killed?" he could smell the blood but t'hell if he was gonna go looking for it.

Alehkra slipped out of the metal mans grasp, and pointed to the mutilated body. "Right there officer. What do you think of my work?" He let off another laugh. "You wouldn't believe how much blood a single body holds."

Alex turned away slightly "eh" he said, grimacing before looking back at the grinning bloke "You DO know you're under arrest, right? Or did I skip that part?" he held the gun up until it was aiming at the man's head "Now put the Mutilator down, please"

Alehkra laughed, and hefted his katana, "Oh? And what if I don't really want to?" With blinding speed, he leapt forward and drove the hilt of the katana into the mans stomauch.

Alex gasped and dropped his gun. He stumbled a few feet back as the blood began to pour from the wound. It was the worst pain he had ever felt in his entire life. He was gonna be killed by a Lunatic. "Who knew Horoscopes could be right?" he thought through the pain.

Then suddenly his body felt different. It was although he had suddenly lost all hi sbodyweight and was now light as a feather. Even better, the pain was beginning to receed. After a few seconds he felt as though nothing had happened. He looked at his hand and, sure enough, it was pure liquid. Like water except in a hand shape. He could only assume his body was the same. he looked back at the Lunatic
"You're still under arrest" he said taking a few steps forward.

Alehkra laughed, "I wonder if your blood will still be that pretty red." He made several ineffectual slashes at the water man, and grunted in surprise. "No blood? Oh you're no fun."

"I'm no..." Alex repeated in wonder "...you really are a Class A nutjob do you know that? And you're still under arrest. Are you going to come clean...ish" he said looked at the body then at the bloke covered in blood "I mean...seriously mate...shit!"

"Will I be able to see more blood in jail than out here?" Alehkra asked. He actually seemed to be considering it.

"Will you be able to see more..." He repeated again "No!...Hell no! Have you considered ever cutting yourself up? Then you could kill two birds with the one stone?" "How am I going to get this guy into custody?" he thought as he took a step closer "More to to point, How am I going to keep him there?" He moved forward and began to circle, remebering his police training "Are you going to put your sword down?"

Alehkra grinned, and once again seemed completely sane. "To use your words officer, Hell no. Jail doesn't sound very pleasant." Still with that inhuman speed, he rushed and made a swing at the water things neck, then reversing and going for the knees.

Alex felt his knees give way from under him and he fell to the ground. Once he hit the ground however instead of impacting, his body simply exploded like a raindrop. All that was left of him was a large puddle. A puddle that was moving. It slowly began to rise and take shape. First a set of feet, then legs, then a body and finally a head. The water settled back into it's calm form and Alex relaxed
"Do you have any idea how irritating that is?" he asked. This was getting annoying "I'm still placing yoy under arrest. You can give that sword now. Or I'll come over there, kick your arse up and down this street, THEN take your sword. Your choice" he took a few steps forward and assumed a fighting stance, resting on the balls of his feet.

Alehkra sighed, "Well, it would seem that this battle would be rather pointless, wouldn't you say? I'm too fast, and you're seemingly invincible. So what do you say we go our seperate ways?" Two statements that were completely coherent, and untainted by insanity, that was an all-time high for him.

He peered out from under the bridge of his hat. His eyes glowed in a mis-matched way, one blue and the other red.
"Hey buddy. You coming down from there or you setting up a deckchair?" He smiled, and nodded to the figure on the rooftop.

"No, I'm really fine right here." With that, Gear raised his visor and began lighting a cigarette. "The View is Great, and besides. I think that five in an alleyway is enough already" With that he took out one of his medium gravitons, and stuck it on the wall about 2 feet below him.

Alehkra sighed, "Well, it would seem that this battle would be rather pointless, wouldn't you say? I'm too fast, and you're seemingly invincible. So what do you say we go our seperate ways?" Two statements that were completely coherent, and untainted by insanity, that was an all-time high for him.

"Ah..." Alex began pacing up and down "You see...there's a problem with that idea. You have butchered an innocent man...against the law you agree? but...you see...I am a law ENFORCER...in other words, I bring people like you to justice...I earn 30 grand a year for that pleasure right?...seeing my problem here?" he asked stopping to stare at the man for a second.

Alehkra thought about that. "Hmm... I suppose you have a point there. I see your dillema. So, how exactly do you propose to inforce the law?"

Alehkra thought about that. "Hmm... I suppose you have a point there. I see your dillema. So, how exactly do you propose to inforce the law?"

"AHA!" Alex clicked his fingers "That is exactly what I have been trying to solve for past few minutes. How the hell do I keep a bugger like you in jail? More to the point, how do I get you there in the first place? You wouldn't have nay suggestions would you?"
It was a stupid conversation about a stupid subject in a stupid place but, hell, he'd just been brought back from the dead twice so he was in a stupid mood.

Alehkra tapped his foot. "Hmmm... Its quite a conundrum isn't it? How to get a faster than the eye can follow psycopath in jail, much less keep him there?" Absently he slashed again at the mans legs. "Or maybe I could just keep killing you, and see if we get anywhere, hmm?"

OOC: I've got to go for a couple hours.

As Alex fell this time he seemed to split apart in mid-air, hitting the ground as raindrops. For a moment nothing. Then from one of the rooftops:
"Haven't we tried this already?" Alex sat on the edge of a roof looking at his fingernails "I thought it hadn't worked first time? Now will you stop jumping about like a kid on Speed and come to jail?" He stood up, still on the roof "Don't make me come down there!"

OOC: I've got to go for a couple hours.

OOC: Fair enough, so have I

Solus relaxed his fighting stance once he realized that the two were more worried about each other than him. Besides which, it didn't seem like anyone else was overtly hostile. With an upward glance he vaulted effortlessly to the roof of the building upon which Alex (and probably Gear) were standing, landing somewhat heavily on his feet. He couldn't quite fathom why this man seemed to be composed of...water. "Query: Human. Behvior of form. Why?"

Solus relaxed his fighting stance once he realized that the two were more worried about each other than him. Besides which, it didn't seem like anyone else was overtly hostile. With an upward glance he vaulted effortlessly to the roof of the building upon which Alex (and probably Gear) were standing, landing somewhat heavily on his feet. He couldn't quite fathom why this man seemed to be composed of...water. "Query: Human. Behvior of form. Why?"

"Wha?" Alex asked looking at the newcomer "Oh right! you mean this..." he pointed at himself "Dunno, it just sorta...happened" He looked at Metalman, "and yourself? Always been metal?"

Foxfire leaned against the wall, watching all this with a bemused smile. A robot, some random guy, an old man, a water cop, and a crazy person. And himself, of course. This scene would sell great postcards... he thought.

Alehkra turned and saw Foxfire. "Ooh, hello Fox boy. Since water man won't come down, and he doesn't even bleed, I guess I'll have some fun with you." He hefted his katana and grinned. "Are you ready to see how far your blood spurts?"

Foxfire drew his own sword. "Bring it."

Moving again with incredible speed, Alehkra rushed and made a slash at Foxfires neck, saying, "You know, I get alot of blood from the neck. How much do you think you have?"

Foxfire twisted away easily, surprised by the man's speed. "Alot of blood is stored there, but I'd go for the heart if I were you."

Alehkra laughed, "Oh you're good, not many good have doddged that. Heart hmm? Maybe I'll try an artery. Thanks for the suggestion though." Contrary to his words, he made a slash at the man's forehead.

Foxfire lost some hair, though he ducked at the right time. He went on the offensive, slashing several times at the legs, then once at the head.
OOC: We just keep getting into sword fights, don't we?

Seeing as the Roof had become overly crowded and that it was time he showed his stuff, Gear jumped down to the ground and started walking towards the two combatants. After taking out another graviton and setting it on high, he stopped about 5 meters away from the person he had dubbed "Dr. Crazy".

"Now Now good sir, you've done nothing but swing your sword at people. Surely there must be other things for you to do in life?"

"I'll bet this is just a hobby." grunted Foxfire as he slashed and parried furiously.

"ENOUGH" Gear shouted as he activated his heavy graviton and threw it in the middle of the fighting duo. (Essentially about 10,000N force outwards on everything near it)

Just as Solus had decided to watch this new swordfight unfold, his elevated neighbor decided to intervene. By the looks of it, with some severe force as well. This one would bear watching...

"Wha?" Alex asked looking at the newcomer "Oh right! you mean this..." he pointed at himself "Dunno, it just sorta...happened" He looked at Metalman, "and yourself? Always been metal?"

OOC:

He does not appear to be metal right now. He appears to be an obese man in his early sixties. His athletic prowess should be very surprising. The metal is in the frame UNDER the skin (think "Terminator").

IC:

The blow to his midsection barely registered. He still thinks I'm human. Good. Still, he could not slow his momentum, even with his levitators, in time to keep from bouncing off the wall. He's as quick as I am. I'm going to have to favor strength. That means getting in close and getting a hand on him. Still, he was able to slow himself enough to prevent any damage.

For a moment, he felt dizzy. The fugue had not completely left. He blinked to clear his mind, and, in that moment, the madman jumped to attack two others in the alleyway. As he did, the Metal Man became aware of a third one.

Watching the attacks, the Metal Man became aware of his companions' special powers. He also noticed that the policeman, who had come late into the scrum, appeared new to his abilities. If he survived, he would have to see if he could help the man develop them--but that was for later.

As he stepped toward the madman, something dropped almost at his feet. A graviton generator! If I can't stop it, it might crush some of these people under their own weight!

And then it hit. Despite the Metal Man's robotic strength, he only just barely managed to keep his footing. The servo motors in his right hand whined as the contents adjusted. A small object--something like a cross between a lens and a gun muzzle--extended just above where the sword protruded. The arm moved to track his eyes as he stared at the small device...and then it fired. A burst of plasma shot out of the muzzle and exploded on the gravaton generator. It ceased to function.

"Let's not destroy these people in order to break up the fight," he said. His eyes shot to the madman, and his arm tracked them. Servos whined as the weapon adjusted. "Forget someone?" he asked. The weapon fired again--not at the man, but at the base of his katana, where the blade merged into the hilt.

Alehkra, while managing to get himself out of the way, still had his katana blown in two. "What? My..My sword." He looked at the metal man with a very sad expression on his face. "What did you do? I've had this sword for as long as I can remember. I killed my first person with it... How could you?"
OOC: In case you can't tell, Alehkra has a severely split personality.

OOC: Sorry about not making this clear, but the graviton projects force outward (the name just sounded cool) and it only lasts for about 2 seconds. Think of it as a bomb without the shrapnel. Gear wanted to push the two apart, not kill them.
IC: While the madman was distracted, gear snatched up the former top half of his sword. Taking out a new graviton and setting it on medium, he placed it at the end of the blade and placed it up against the Mad-man's chest.

"Blood is Good Eh? I have a good mind to cut your guts open with your own bloody sword. What do you think about that?"

After waiting a few seconds in angry indecision, gear dropped the sword and walked away. No matter how horribly insane the man was, he couldn't kill him like that. Non in cold blood.

OOC: Ah, I see. Its been edited.

OOC: Sorry about not making this clear, but the graviton projects force outward (the name just sounded cool) and it only lasts for about 2 seconds. Think of it as a bomb without the shrapnel. Gear wanted to push the two apart, not kill them.

OOC:

Yes, but the Metal Man isn't an expert on that kind of device. He couldn't tell without looking that it was an anti-graviton machine rather than a graviton machine.

IC:

"Killing people is wrong," the Metal Man said to the madman, "an abuse of power. When you abuse your power, it gets taken away. Let me help you learn to use your powers properly."

OOC: By the way, Alehkra doesn't yet have what could be called powers, aside from his speed. I intend to give him some later though.
IC: Alehkra held up the two pieces of the katana with the air of a child showing a parent an owie, "But, you broke it! How could you break it?" He actually seemed on the verge of tears.

OOC: Sorry about not making this clear, but the graviton projects force outward (the name just sounded cool) and it only lasts for about 2 seconds. Think of it as a bomb without the shrapnel. Gear wanted to push the two apart, not kill them.
IC: While the madman was distracted, gear snatched up the former top half of his sword. Taking out a new graviton and setting it on medium, he placed it at the end of the blade and placed it up against the Mad-man's chest.

"Blood is Good Eh? I have a good mind to cut your guts open with your own bloody sword. What do you think about that?"

After waiting a few seconds in angry indecision, gear dropped the sword and walked away. No matter how horribly insane the man was, he couldn't kill him like that. Not in cold blood.
OOC: Edited this previous post

IC:After making it onto the street, Gear turned around. After waiting for a few seconds, his jet boots kicked in and he flew off into the distance. This would definitely be a night to remember.

Another man came out of the rooftops. He started to use a graviton device on the madman, then seemed to think better of it and flew off on jetboots. The Metal Man would deal with it later. Now, he looked at the madman.

"I'm going to put you to sleep," he said. "When you awaken, you'll be in a place with men who will help you...to recover from the loss of your precious sword. It should all be quite painless."

As he spoke, the weapon inside his hand whirred to a new setting, "stun." Without saying another word, he fired on the madman.

OOC: I gotta crash. L8r.

Alehkra didn't even try to dodge the thing. He simply crumpled without resisting.
OOC: Alright, I've got to go anyways, seeya.

Alex watched the fight from the rooftops in horror "Alright! Alright!" he shouted down "enough with the swordswinging shit! But everyth...hey you!" the old man jumped down "AM I TALKING TO MYSELF HERE!" he bellowed "Big the swords down!" then he saw the mad bloke collapse. "Finally!" he muttered and jumped down to the ground "I am going to arrest this man for murder he said as he turned back into an ordinary cop, taking out handcuffs. "I reckon he'll get life at least"

Foxfire had been knocked down by the grav generator, he got back up and sheathed his katana. He watched the cop handcuff the madman. Wait a minute...he thought, looking at Alehka's face closely for the first time. No...It can't be!

Having recieved all the answers he needed, Solus could now continue on with his patrol. Since the aqueous police man seemed to have the crazy dealt with, there was no further need to stay. Solus shook some of the water out of his hair before nodding to the crowd below. He then hopped off the roof over to the street, whereupon he continued walking...

Foxfire had been knocked down by the grav generator, he got back up and sheathed his katana. He watched the cop handcuff the madman. Wait a minute...he thought, looking at Alehka's face closely for the first time. No...It can't be!

Alex noticed the look on Foxfire's face "You know this Guy?" he asked indicating at the handcuffed nut. Before getting an answer he pressed the button on his radio
"This is Alpha-Tango-2, requesting a Black and white to pick up an apprehended Murderer and stiff. Thank you"
he propped the man up against a nearby post and sighed "I've had easier nights" he said sadly.

"Life?" said the Metal Man, a look of infinite compassion coming over his features. "More likely, he'll be found not guilty by reason of insanity--specifically, he's a paranoid schizophrenic with delusions of persecution and possibly even Dissociative Personality Disorder. Hopefully, he'll get the help he needs. He's so lost--." His voice trailed off. He withdrew his weapons back into his arm. Immediately, the wound closed. In a few minutes, it would be completely healed, leaving not even a scar.

He looked at Foxfire. The...other's...unusual appearance did not phase him. "Thank you for coming to my aid," he said. "We should meet again and discuss how best to help each other. I've got to go now, though." He slid a ring from his left index finger. "Take this. If you ever need me, press the stone for four seconds. I won't be long." Then, before the police officer could get his identity, he broke away. He still had candles to buy, but, before this, he needed to satisfy his curiousity.

Then, he moved at a dead run until he had caught up with Solus. Having heard the man speak previously, he imitated Solus' speech patterns in hopes that the man would better understand him.

"Querry: Mode of behavior--observation without involvement," he said. "Why?"

Rafzekael giggled and clapped.
"Nice. Nice." He looked at the madman's face.
"You guys really shouldn't of broken his sword. That was nice at all." Then, a headache. He sat down against the wall clutching his head. A faint, disjointed voice could just be heard.
"Tommy... You should have done that. You should of cut that innocent up. Cut someone up at least. I mean, come on..." The voice got louder. "WE'RE HUNGRY, TOMMY!"

OOC: Three pages are posted while I'm offline. Figures :p.

OOC: Marionetonia, nice job with the imitation, by the by. It's not so easy to come up with this sort of dialogue. And by the way, Solus looks pretty taffed up. He's not wearing clothing, and his lower body is covered in a black and white substance. Just a reminder.

IC: As the Metal Man ran up behind Solus he spun around and brought up his guard, until the man began speaking. Speaking something correct, as well. the beginnings of a grin played across the corners of his mouth while suprise could be seen in his eyes. A laugh sounded from within his frame, a somewhat eerie sound that seemed as though it had been copied from someone, but had been cleansed of all personality. It sounded somehow...hollow. "I...Solus. Solus objective: Monitor human activity. Learn behavior. Find answers. Deduction: Interference harms objective. Once knowledge is acquired, new objective becomes viable. Query: Interference in combat. Why?" Solus tilted his head slightly as he waited for a response.

Alliance, on patrol, noticed a disturbance. The night had been quiet, and he decided it was worth checking out. He landed and saw a police car, an officer, a man with red hair in handcuffs, and a another figure. He walked forward and immediately spoke.

"What's going on here?"

(OOC: He's famous, so no one should ask 'Who are you'.)

-----------------

Axis smiled. Or actually, William Lord smiled. He was in front of the cameras and had just signed a deal with the mayor of the city and was getting a lot of publicity. The more the better. Contrary to Daniel King, or Axis himself, this persona was meant to be a people person. This new deal allowed him to open up a new, massive, Lord Enterprises complex in the city. It would be a useful base of operations, and was also part of his newest operation. In the mean time, the Crimson Network and the Red King had turned its eyes onto a new target.

Alex noticed the look on Foxfire's face "You know this Guy?" he asked indicating at the handcuffed nut. Before getting an answer he pressed the button on his radio
"This is Alpha-Tango-2, requesting a Black and white to pick up an apprehended Murderer and stiff. Thank you"
he propped the man up against a nearby post and sighed "I've had easier nights" he said sadly.
"That..." Foxfire was shaking. He pointed his finger at Alehkra. "That's the man who killed my parents..." he unsheathed his sword and came at the defenseless, unconcoius man, murder in his eyes.

The voice was audible to everyone around now.
"Come on, Tommy. Redeem yourself, spill some blood. DO IT TOMMY!" Rafzekael lurched up, then dropped back down. He had broken out in a sweat again, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was mouthing the words "Oh god, oh god, oh god, make it stop", over and over again soundlessly.

Telekinetically stopping Foxfire's movement, Alliance spoke, angry.

"I asked what was going on. Someone better answer me. I will not let you harm this man until I know what has happened here."

Foxfire growled deep in his throat, a gutteral, inhuman sound as he struggled against the invisable bonds that held him. "This man is a murderer! He killed my parents! And now I'm going to kill him! Let me go!"

Studying both the struggling figure and the man in handcuffs, Alliance thought for a moment.

"How do you know that this is the same man?" he asked.

Foxfire was quiet at first, but as he continued to speak he got more and more angry.
"I...saw...him." Foxfire gasped, his teeth clentched, still trying to get at the man. "The papers, four years ago. Double homicide, two killed with a sharp sword, blood splattered everywhere, teenager orphaned..." He glared at the man. "If you are any kind of cop you know about that. It was a famous case. I was there. I wasn't killed because I hid. And after he killed them...he just laughed..."

Alliance thought for some time. He knew the harsh reality. He also knew that there were times when violence in exchange for violence was best. He also realized that he had heard of the case, and that the killer had killed multiple times since then, with seemingly no remorse. Alliance thought for a bit. He wasn't a priest, he was a superhero, and he made his decision.

Foxfire found himself released, and Alliance spoke grimly.

"Make it quick."

Finally, Rafzekael stood up. Grinning, he drew his sword and slashed at Alliance, aiming for his neck.
"Thats it Tommy... Good boy, Tommy." The voice was so loud it echoed now.

Foxfire strode forward, lifting his sword to plunge it into Alehkra's neck...
OOC: Uh, what do I do now?

Alliance looked at the man. He was bleeding, and it was possible that he was still alive, but that didn't matter. Alliance had just come to an epiphany, and he needed to reflect. Not even waiting, he flew off into the sky, deep in thought.

(OOC: Get out! Dead body+Bloody sword=Jail Time. Additionally, to be fair, let's leave whether you killed him or not up to his RPer.)

(OOC: Sorry, didn't see that. Ignore that then.)

Alliance swiftly dodged the new man's sword. For a second he thought to himself that it was interesting that three different people here were wielding swords, but ignored that as another slice came near him. He retaliated by hurling the man telekinetically.

Rafzekael smashed into a wall, then dropped to the ground. After a moment, he got back up and clicked his neck. He charged again at Alliance. The voice egged him on.

Alliance avoided again, though this time he was a bit slow and got nicked by the blade. The wound bled briefly, and then stopped. Still, it hurt and Alliance grasped at it momentarily before continuing. He lifted up a trashcan and hurled it at the man. (OOC: We're in an alley, right?)

OOC: Yeah.

The trashcan hit Rafzekael full in the chest, carrying him. The voice yelled, "Can't stop, Tommy! You got some!" He smiled and dusted himself off, though bleeding from the corner of his mouth. He hefted his sword and ran, although noticeably slower, towards Alliance for a final swing.

Foxfire strode forward, lifting his sword to plunge it into Alehkra's neck...
OOC: Uh, what do I do now?

OOC: By the way, this one is Alehkra's true personality, not one of the multiple people in his head.
IC: Alehkra woke up just in time to see the blade heading for him. In panic, he jumped back. For the first time, he got a good look at the mans face, without insanity clouding his mind. His mind flashed back, him, mutilating two adults, slicing, again, again, and laughing, laughing at the sweet blood. And he remembered a child, staring horrified at the slaughter, underneath a couch. "You... I remember..." He looked at Foxfire with true regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I apologise, though I know no amount of apologies could fix it. I was...Not myself. Quite literally." Then, he abruptly gave another mad laugh, "Ooh, do you miss your parents boy? I remember them, I remember. They died so well, screaming, blood everywhere. I loved it, and I'd happily do it again boy."

Seeing the man coming slower, Alliance simply tripped him up by telekinetically disturbing the ground below him.

Rafzekael fell flat on his face. He yelled in pain, then smiled, sat up and said, "Thanks for that." He then heard the maniac laugh again.
"Hark, I doth hear the cry of a lesser spotted nutter." He got up and hefted his blade onto his shoulder.

Holding the man in place, Alliance laughed grimly and said,

"You don't get off that easily. Why were you attacking me?"

"That wasn't me. Well, it was me, but it wasn't. See?" He noted the puzzled look on the mans face.
"Ah. Well, its hard to explain. Did you hear that voice while we were fighting?"

"No, but I understand what you mean. You are not the first person I have met to be under a Thrall. I excuse you for that."

"Thanks. Awfully kind of you." He moved his arm experimentally.
"Agh. I think you broke something with that trash can. Never mind, I can still kill things." He looked at the guys face for a minute.
"Say, are you that Alliance fella? I saw you when you washed up on the beach. I was there."

Immediately, all of Alliance's experience and knowledge dropped away.

"You did?" he asked, completely bewildered. The last person to know about this had died almost 30 years ago.

"Yeah. I saw most of that war. Fought in a few bits too. All because of that voice." His face dropped. "I was 16 when it got me. My mother was ill, and it appeared to me. Said he'd cure him if I agreed to feed him. I did... I took a life. And he cured him." He sighed. "Then she died giving birth to my little brother, a few days after. I think it knew she was going to die, thats why he made the deal."

"I'm sorry. If you wish to be free I can contact a magic using contact of mine."

Alliance was taken completely by surprise and got a nasty slice across his face, almost blinding him. Reacting immediately, he hurled Rafzekael into the wall.

The voice screamed, "CANNOT! MUST NOT!" Rafzekael got up and swung his sword at Alliance again.

He smashed into the wall again and came to.
"Sorry. It's quite temperamental." He looked at Alliance's face.
"Ow. Sorry about that."

OOC: By the way, this one is Alehkra's true personality, not one of the multiple people in his head.
IC: Alehkra woke up just in time to see the blade heading for him. In panic, he jumped back. For the first time, he got a good look at the mans face, without insanity clouding his mind. His mind flashed back, him, mutilating two adults, slicing, again, again, and laughing, laughing at the sweet blood. And he remembered a child, staring horrified at the slaughter, underneath a couch. "You... I remember..." He looked at Foxfire with true regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I apologise, though I know no amount of apologies could fix it. I was...Not myself. Quite literally." Then, he abruptly gave another mad laugh, "Ooh, do you miss your parents boy? I remember them, I remember. They died so well, screaming, blood everywhere. I loved it, and I'd happily do it again boy."

Foxfire had been lowering his sword, now he lifted it again. "RAAGGH!" he screamed in rage and fury as the sword's point swiftly decended towards the man's neck.

He laughed and jumped away easily. "Ooh, anger makes you clumsy doesn't it? Do you remember as well as I do boy? Do you remember all the blood? Your parents had so much of it. Do you think you'll have as much?" He made the motions to heft a katana, and dropped his arms, making another personality change. "Oh, yes, my blade is gone." He looked at Foxfire. "Do you remember your parents? Cherish the memories boy. I know exactly how you feel." This one didn't seem exactly regretful, but it wasn't happy about it either.

Moshe was walking down the street. This was the way he generally went when he went to prayers. He was set up with a bit pf a suprise this time, however. On the sidewalk there were some people talking, and fighting. The talking did not scare him, but the fighting did. He fixed his overcoat and began to move swiftly away from the action.

He laughed and jumped away easily. "Ooh, anger makes you clumsy doesn't it? Do you remember as well as I do boy? Do you remember all the blood? Your parents had so much of it. Do you think you'll have as much?" He made the motions to heft a katana, and dropped his arms, making another personality change. "Oh, yes, my blade is gone." He looked at Foxfire. "Do you remember your parents? Cherish the memories boy. I know exactly how you feel." This one didn't seem exactly regretful, but it wasn't happy about it either.
Foxfire suddenly understood. The man had DPD! Foxfire put his sword at a defensive angle. "You are dangerious. You, as a person, are not responsible for my parent's deaths. You need help. Please, I know a place where you can get help! You don't have to kill anymore!"

He cocked his head and looked at Foxfire. "Place? What place?"

Rafzekael bowed and took his leave. He ran over to the battle between Foxfire and the crazy guy. The voice kicked in again.
"Who you gonna help, Tommy? The good guy or the bad guy. Remember what you are, and spill some blood today." He thought for a moment, then said, "Um... Excuse me, which one of you is the evil one?"

Alekra considered this question carefully. "Depends. Which me are you talking to?" He grinned, "Blood, the blood of the innocents will flow without end!"

Foxfire glanced at Rafzekael. Great, another crazy one. he thought. Aloud he said, "It's a ward to help people get in touch with their calmer, more peaceful sides."

"Whichever one is available. So?" He looked between the two.
"Which is good and which is bad of you guys?" He hefted his sword.
"I need to know who to kill." The voice yelled, "The fox one! The fox one!"

Alehkra, the true Alehkra, tried, he honestly did, to regain his sanity. But, eventually, the bloodlust was too much to handle. He laughed, "I'm evil! Yes, kill the fox one, kill the fox one! Spatter the street with blood, mutilate him! Let blood seep into the ground!" He gave a barely noticable shake of the head, the originol personality trying to regain control.

Foxfire suddenly understood. The man was schizophrenic!(Did I spell it right?) Foxfire put his sword at a defensive angle. "You are dangerious. You, as a person, are not responsible for my parent's deaths. You need help. Please, I know a place where you can get help! You don't have to kill anymore!"

OOC:

The spelling looks good; however, I'm not sure that you understand what the word means.

A schizophrenic's mind suffers from illusions that he or she cannot distinguish from reality. He or she sees and hears things that aren't there.

What our man Al has is Dissociative Personality Disorder, which is the modern name for Multiple Personality Disorder. (Look in up in the skeptic's online dictionary, www.skepdic.com.) Cybil Dorset, after whom a novel was named, and Eve of The Three Faces of Eve are examples of people with DPD.

Many people confuse schizophrenia with DPD. They are not the same.

Thus, when TMM described Al as a Paranoid Schizophrenic with Delusions of Persecution, it meant that TMM thought that the man had visions that haunted him.

OOC: That he does, actually, they're just not as severe as multi-personalities. One could say that Alehkra is simply fucked up. They'd be right.

OOC: Ah. I see. Thank you both. The error has been corrected. I have to leave, sorry, be on tommorow.

OOC: Marionetonia, nice job with the imitation, by the by. It's not so easy to come up with this sort of dialogue. And by the way, Solus looks pretty taffed up. He's not wearing clothing, and his lower body is covered in a black and white substance. Just a reminder.

IC: As the Metal Man ran up behind Solus he spun around and brought up his guard, until the man began speaking. Speaking something correct, as well. the beginnings of a grin played across the corners of his mouth while suprise could be seen in his eyes. A laugh sounded from within his frame, a somewhat eerie sound that seemed as though it had been copied from someone, but had been cleansed of all personality. It sounded somehow...hollow. "I...Solus. Solus objective: Monitor human activity. Learn behavior. Find answers. Deduction: Interference harms objective. Once knowledge is acquired, new objective becomes viable. Query: Interference in combat. Why?" Solus tilted his head slightly as he waited for a response.

OOC:

Dude, TMM is a pile of internal organs in a tank. You think he's going to care what someone looks like?

As to your complement on the imitation, thank you. I am a natural symbol manipulator. It's how my mind is wired, for lack of a better description.

I wish I had the imagination that it took for you to come up with someone like Solus. Alas, I'm doomed to edit others' novels for the rest of eternity.

IC:

Interference? The Metal Man had been the one who initiated the combat.

"I...Metal Man. Metal Man objective: peace and harmony. Deduction: murder harms objective. Once murderer is encountered, assess: heal or destroy--extreme prejudice, heal.

"Query: Solus' new objective (reference: Solus response, previous Metal Man query)--what?"

"Wish I'd picked that guy." The voice muttered, before resuming a chant of "Kill the fox one!" The headache was coming back, and eventually the voice took over.
"Ok Tommy, lets get some food, shall we?" He lifted his sword and pointed it at Foxfire.

"ENOUGH WITH THIS!!" Alex roared, having sat back for the past few moments, he came forward and grabbed the laughing Lunatic by the arm and lifted him to his feet "I DON'T CARE IF HE HAS TWO OR TWO DOZEN PERSONALITIES, HE IS UNDER ARREST AND I AM GOING TO SEE HE AT LEAST GETS A TRIAL!" He was going red in the face and looked as if he would continue. Instead, he began to pull the man around the corner towards the road.

He looked at the man now holding a sword to the Foxbloke "Now what are you doin'?..." he asked tiredly

Rafzekael looked thoughtfully at the cop, then the voice spoke in the cops head.
"Your not any good. Your made of water. Go away." He looked back at Foxfire and shifted his grip on his dai-katana slightly higher.

OOC:lol, pretty good point. We're all pretty much funny-lookin'. Thanks 'bout Solus. I think he's pretty cool, if a bit odd. I had a source of inspiration, though. He's not all mine.

IC: As Metal Man responded to Solus' query, Solus looked a little puzzled. Peace and harmony? An odd objective. "Solus tertiary objective: Activate Nexus. Release brethren. Protect Nexus. Query: Purpose of objective: peace and harmony. Why?" Solus' head remained at its' slightly tilted angle while he waited. Just a moment after he did so, he glanced back at the alley he'd just left, from which sounds seemed to be emerging.

Rafzekael looked thoughtfully at the cop, then the voice spoke in the cops head.
"Your not any good. Your made of water. Go away." He looked back at Foxfire and shifted his grip on his dai-katana slightly higher.

"I'm not any..." Alex repeated, almost in a daze before shaking his head viciously "I'm going to have to place you under arrest as well" he said firmly but also hesitantly.

"You may be made of water, but what happens to water when its heated or frozen, pray tell?" Rafzekael grinned, then his left hand tried to let go of the sword.
"NO TOMMY! YOU ARE FIGHTING!" The hand snapped back.

"ENOUGH WITH THIS!!" Alex roared, having sat back for the past few moments, he came forward and grabbed the laughing Lunatic by the arm and lifted him to his feet "I DON'T CARE IF HE HAS TWO OR TWO DOZEN PERSONALITIES, HE IS UNDER ARREST AND I AM GOING TO SEE HE AT LEAST GETS A TRIAL!" He was going red in the face and looked as if he would continue. Instead, he began to pull the man around the corner towards the road.

He looked at the man now holding a sword to the Foxbloke "Now what are you doin'?..." he asked tiredly
"What does it bloody look like I'm doing?" asked Foxfire, irritated. "I'm trying to @#%!!ing defend myself!"

"I know" he said looking at the man who seemed to be in two minds about what to do next. He laughed at the question "I'm not water you clown, I'm... something else" he thought, he didn't freeze and he didn't evaporate so what was he?

"Well, whatever you are, I'm sure stabbing you repetedly in the head will solve the dilemma." He slashed towards the cop, aiming for the chest.

"ENOUGH WITH THIS!!" Alex roared, having sat back for the past few moments, he came forward and grabbed the laughing Lunatic by the arm and lifted him to his feet "I DON'T CARE IF HE HAS TWO OR TWO DOZEN PERSONALITIES, HE IS UNDER ARREST AND I AM GOING TO SEE HE AT LEAST GETS A TRIAL!" He was going red in the face and looked as if he would continue. Instead, he began to pull the man around the corner towards the road.

He looked at the man now holding a sword to the Foxbloke "Now what are you doin'?..." he asked tiredly

OOC: This'll be my only post for today, I'm heading off on a trip.
IC: Alehkra tore free of Alex's hold. "Get off of me! I want to see blood! I want to see the walls painted in the fox mans blood!" "Go for the neck!" He yelled to Rafzekeal, "His parents had the most blood there! I'm sure he will to!"

"Bail time!" Alex shouted as he broke down into a puddle before the slash could come. He would let the Nutcase go, sure but he would rather live than bring a maniac who would stay in jail for all of 30 seconds before he was gone.

By the time he had thought of this, he was on the roof again "Don't mind me!" he shouted down "Just keep it up!"

The voice growled, "You haven't blood anywhere!" Rafzekael turned and slashed at Foxfire's neck.

Fuck! thought Foxfire as he blocked the slash, and he flipped backwards, landing on fire escape. He looked down at the two crazy men. "Why don't you just kill each other? It would make it so much easier on everyone else." he said in a tired voice.
OOC: Last post for a while.

The voice was thoughtful for a moment.
"Maybe. But, hes evil, I'm evil, so I reckon I shouldn't." Rafzekael suddely drew a dagger from his belt and lobbed it at Foxfire.

Gear sat on top of his couch, pondering the recent events. He had certainly left an impression on the new community of superheros/psychopaths, but he just couldn't get over the fact that he hesitated to kill the murder. He always thought that those who kill in cold blood should be executed immediatly and without any second thoughts, but now he had to come to grips with the fact that he couldn't bring himself around to do it.

He sighed and went to bed, knowing that there would be a very interesting set of headlines in the news tomorrow.

As the Metal Man waited for Solus' reply, he heard the sounds of a renewed struggle in the alley that he had just left.

"Excuse me," he said. "Situational anomaly. Must reassess."

He turned back to the alley--and what he found there actually surprised him. A second madman with a sword. At this rate, the store will be sold out of candles before I get there. One of them even described himself and his partner as evil. This would present an opportunity.

He reextended the blade from his right hand.

"Bonjour, mes amis," he said, lapsing into his native Canadian-style French for a moment. "Seems to me you've one blade too few, not to mention longer-range weapons," he said, returning to english. He smiled an arrogant little smile. "Why don't you just let the good guys win? You know we always do."

"That's only in films, buddy." He looked at the newcomer with mis-matched eyes. "Wait a minute. Why does everyone here have swords?" He looked at the blade.
"Or in your case, pointy bones."

The voice was thoughtful for a moment.
"Maybe. But, hes evil, I'm evil, so I reckon I shouldn't." Rafzekael suddely drew a dagger from his belt and lobbed it at Foxfire.
Foxfire easily intercepted the dagger, sticking it in his own belt for later. "You shouldn't throw your weapons away like that." he said, shaking his head. He noted the new arrival. "Finally, some help." he said with satisfaction.

Alex jumped down and landed beside Foxfire, still in liquid form "I don't know anything about this" he said shrugging "but you seem to be a decent bloke so I'll do what I can to help" he indicated the two nutcases

"That's only in films, buddy." He looked at the newcomer with mis-matched eyes. "Wait a minute. Why does everyone here have swords?" He looked at the blade.
"Or in your case, pointy bones."

OOC: If you're referring to TMM's blade, it's not made of bone, but of Titanium. It has a monochrystal diamond blade and with a laser at the hilt. Heats it up when he needs it, making the blade able to slice through almost anything. One more time: TMM is a glob of internal organs in a tank in the torso of a robot body that looks like a man. The blade is stored in his arm when he's not using it.

Foxfire easily intercepted the dagger, sticking it in his own belt for later. "You shouldn't throw your weapons away like that." he said, shaking his head. He noted the new arrival. "Finally, some help." he said with satisfaction.

The Metal Man shrugged. "If you wanted me sooner, you should've used the ring I gave you," he told Foxfire.

He looked at the second madman. "And as for you, if you wish, I can use...more exotic weapons." He brought out the plasma weapon and fired it up at low charge. A little, red dot appeared on the second madman's chest.

The Metal Man smiled. The challenge was answered.

Alliance watched the happenings with interest. He then spoke up to Foxfire.

"Have an extra blade I can borrow?"

OOC: I thought that the MM was giving the ring to Alex, the cop. Sorry.
IC: Foxfire tossed Alliance the knife and a wakizashi. Suddenly the tables had turned. 2 cops, the MM, and Foxfire were now up against the two madmen. Foxfire spoke to Alliance. "Sorry, I don't usually carry an extra katana, you'll have to make due."

Twirling the two blades at superhuman speed, Alliance took up a combat position, while not as practiced as that of the other two, still quite able. Smiling, he readied to attack the madmen.

Alex grinned as the others prepared for a fight. He pulled out his own nitestick and wielded it like a sword. He was quite good at fighting with it.

Rafzekael sighed.
"You never learn, you goodies don't." He whispered to his dai-katana, then twisted it around, aiming at himself.
"I reckon I need some back-up."

The stabbed himself with the sword, above the joint of his knee. The shadows around the alley began to pulse, growing in size and forming shapes, not of they projected, but of monsters. He muttered painfully, "You ain't never fought a guy like me."

Foxfire's fox ears flattened against his head and he growled as the shadows grew in size and shape. He stabbed at one, his blade nearly invisable with it's speed.

Alex laughed "That's an impressive trick Kneecap, but can they fight at all I wonder?" He looked at the various monsters "I'm shaking"

Moving rapidly, Alliance sliced up one of the creatures, and then threw the dagger at Rafzekael, guiding it telekinetically. Holding his wakizashi with two hands now, he prepared for whatever came next.

The sword made a slice in the shadow. Then, as if in response to Alex's taunt, a skeletal shadow sliced down with an Axe at Foxfire.
"Sure seems they can." Then a cry of pain, it was stifled abruptly. The voice was angry.
"TOMMY? NOT THE TIME!" The dagger dug into his arm, and he pulled it out with a slight twitch.

Holding out a hand, Alliance telekinetically pushed the Rafzekal into the nearest wall, slamming him, and then holding him there. He then telekinetically picked up the dagger again and aimed it at Rafzekal's heart, then released it and let it fly.

Foxfire cut the axe in half, the wood handle clattering to the ground, he unleashed a fury of attacks onto the shadows.

The dagger stopped short of Rafzekael, then turned and retraced its flight.
"I can't allow that." A trashcan was thrown towards Alliance telepathically.

The shadows fell to Foxfires strokes, but many more were rising from the darkness of the alleyway.

Alex looked at the creatures with axes and made a mock sound of fright as one loomed over him. One swing cut him clean in two. His body remained in the same position it had been before the creature had attacked him.

Alex tutted and swung his nitestick at the creatures' head, knocking it to the ground. He then attempted to pick up the axe then stopped and thought for a moment
"nah" he shrugged and fly-kicked a creature as it advanced on him.

(OOC: If you hurled it at me telepathically, it does nothing. The word you are looking for is Telekinetically.)

Alliance saw the dagger, and made it land in the ground instead of in him. However, the trashcan caught him by surprise and he was slammed by it. He was knocked into the wall, and left a dent there. He stood backup, and was pissed off.

"Playtime is over."

Telekinetically, he collapsed the building wall behind Rafzekael, and then tore up the ground below him, burying the man in a pile of rubble.

Foxfire bared his teeth and charged, his sword everywhere at once, slashing and breaking and felling shadows left and right.

OOC: Yeah, I always get those mixed up.

IC: The building collapsed onto Rafzekael, and the shadows disappeared. Then, a sphere of rubbles shot out and a bruised, but otherwise healthy, Rafzekael stepped out.
"Nice shot. It's gone now." His voice was back to normal.

Alex walked towards him, returning to his normal form "He's what now?" he was looking and the man "You still seem to be here to me?"

Foxfire stood, his sword in a agressive posture. "What?"

"Long story short, I have a anthropomorphic personification of evil inside me, and it takes control. It's like a demonic parasite. It can command the shadows." He dusted his coat off, and looked at his hat. He gasped and muttered, "My hat, oh my hat... It's ripped..." He looked up.

"It's an antro...anthropo...anthropopo..." Alex shook his head, looking as though he was having a hard time concentrating. He looked back "Head's still fried after the whole rain for Machine gun thingy" he indicated to the puddles on the ground "So how did we beat him?" he asked, looking confused again.

Alliance spoke tiredly. Pulling down a building wasn't exactly easy.

"Well, I suppose it might be a good idea to think about removing that. No offense, but a personification of evil, by definition, is not a good thing."

"Theres a pain barrier he has. The weaker I am, the more control over myself I have. Of course, that means the only way to get rid of him is to beat the shit out of me." He smirked. "It takes over when I'm scared or in danger." He sighed. "The only way to get rid of it requires something nasty, and I ain't willing to do it."

"What gets rid of it?" asked Foxfire with bright eyes, having followed the exchange.

"Shooting myself with certain gun. The way to get the gun isn't very fun though." He brushed his hat and put it back on.

Doing what would remind many people of Darth Vader's Force Choke, Alliance telekinetically grabbed Rafzekael by the neck.

"I'm sorry, but I have to say that you're dark friend is obviously a threat to civilians, and I can't allow him to stay around. So I'm going to make you get that gun."

Foxfire put his blade against the possessed man's throat. "Don't make me do it." he growled.

Rafzekael clawed at his neck, then waved for Alliance to stop. His eyes strayed to his hat which had fell to the floor. One of his eyes turned a pure black, its pupil turning yellow.

"What the hell is happening with your eye?" Alliance asked, no longer choking the man but still holding him in place.

Rafzekael groaned.
"You mentioned the gun. It doesn't like that, its trying to gain control, full control I mean. Thanks a lot, mate. As for getting the gun... That'd be difficult. I'd have to spill a lot of blood." He slapped himself in the face a few times, and the eye changed back to it's natural red. Or, unnatural. Depends how you look at it.

"Trust me. We can restrain you. And if need be, I'm willing to kill to protect the innocent. Now how do we get the gun?"

"First, I'd have to have a dead thing. Human, animal, it doesn't matter, then I have to drink its blood. That would lull the monster. Then I just look for it. It's buried in Normandy. The longer I take, however, the more blood I would need. Also, if you you were to kill me, it would posses someone else. Either that or it could physically manifest and level the city before getting bored and going back to whence it came." He picked one of his teeth with the tip of a dagger.

"In that case, the two of us are going to Normandy. You," Alliance motioned to everyone else present, "are welcome to come as well."

"uh..." Alex was giving the man a weird look "...sure, I guess...never know when you might need water" This man was seriously messed up. Normady! Who the hell buried the thing in Normandy?

"That's good to hear. Anyone else coming?"

(OOC: Let's wait for Xiscapia and see what his character wants to do.)

Noting the look on Alex's face, he said, "It's from WW2. Very special Luger, owned by my uncle. He was very superstitious. Only guy I know who used silver bullets dipped in holy water with crosses engraved into them. One shot from that should make it leave my person."

"Sounds pretty crazy to me." said Foxfire, who had resumed leaning against the wall. "How are we going to get there? I doubt your average airliner will take us. In case you haven't noticed, we're a pretty strange looking bunch. And I am not about to take a ship across the Atlantic."

Alliance smiled.

"I have my options. You forget, I've been around since the Invasion of Normandy, which means I've had some time to build connections with the right people."

With that, Alliance took out a simple cell phone and made a call. Minutes later, a shadow was cast over them despite a clear sky. Then a hovering craft suddenly appeared, its cloaking feature turned off. An elevator of sorts lowered down and a man stepped out, seemingly cybernetic.

"Well then, it seems you lot are headed back to the beaches of Normandy. Get aboard."

Gear couldn't get any sleep that night. After tossing and turning for a few hours, he decided to check the Video camera disguised as a graviton he had placed there earlier that night.

He watched the entire shadow fight-scene and then the visual went out after Alliance smashed the demon-possessed sword fighter into the wall it was stuck on. The Audio however worked fine and he heard the rest of the discussion. Once Normandy came up, he looked up the next flight to France. He figured that if he couldn't kill to protect innocents, he might as well help this band of do-gooders; Staying in the US wasn't going to help him much and this was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

The Next Morning, Andrew Jones got aboard flight 641 and awaited his travel to one of the most famous battlefields in the world.

Foxfire boarded the craft, taking a look at the accomidations. "You do have connections. You know," he said, turning to look at Alliance, "that you are breaking the law by taking me along? I am a wanted criminal. Actually a escaped experement. They want be back. And they'll do alot to get me back. Failing that, well," He shrugged "Use your imagination."

Foxfire boarded the craft, taking a look at the accomidations. "You do have connections. You know," he said, turning to look at Alliance, "that you are breaking the law by taking me along? I am a wanted criminal. Actually a escaped experement. They want be back. And they'll do alot to get me back. Failing that, well," He shrugged "Use your imagination."

"The only difference between you and me," the Metal Man said, "is that they never caught me the first time. I'm wanted for a crime that I didn't commit, convicted in a trial that made a mockery not only of justice, but of the life-saving deed that I truly did."

With the abundance of talent available, the Metal Man had been able to abstain from violence--not that he couldn't have shot down the entire ensemble of creatures in a single, two-second volley, but it seemed a waste of power when there were others so eager to do the job themselves. Instead, he had kept an eye on the second man, whose sword he had originally broken. The police officer had failed to arrest him--and to call in back-up. Most unusual.

"On the other hand," he said, "I've got a similar craft of my own. If you don't mind, I'll follow behind you."

Now, another shadow fell upon the ground nearby, as another cloaking device was deactivated. The silvery form of Brain Jar appeared over the rooftop of the nearest building. "By the way, if you run out of room..."

"In the meantime, what should we do with the other gentleman?" he asked, indicating the poor wretch who was merely insane, and not possessed.

IC: As Metal Man responded to Solus' query, Solus looked a little puzzled. Peace and harmony? An odd objective. "Solus tertiary objective: Activate Nexus. Release brethren. Protect Nexus. Query: Purpose of objective: peace and harmony. Why?" Solus' head remained at its' slightly tilted angle while he waited. Just a moment after he did so, he glanced back at the alley he'd just left, from which sounds seemed to be emerging.

As the Metal Man ran back towards the alley, Solus stood and pondered for a moment. Why would someone have such an objective? It simply made no sense. There was only one way to find out, after all. Once he had come to this conclusion, Solus turned and headed back towards the alley. At this point, however, the fighting had already ceased and there were now two aircraft sitting atop the roofs of the surrounding buildings. Another question to ask. Solus strode over to the assembled company, some of whom seemed to be boarding the craft. "Query: Destination of journey. Where?" With that he turned back to The Metal Man and spoke again. "Feel...incomplete. Need answer. Purpose of objective: peace and harmony."

"Hmph. I've seen better." Rafzekael got up, and checked his hat once more. He picked his katana out of the ground, stumbling from the wound in his leg. He noted a crack in the blade and swore. As he limped back towards the ship, he muttered, "We'd best stay out of shadows from now on."

"Right" Alex said, glancing up at the plane, "Normandy, here we come"

"In the meantime, what should we do with the other gentleman?" he asked, indicating the poor wretch who was merely insane, and not possessed.

"Bring him. He's a nice change of pace, and will give It something to talk to."

The Metal Man turned to Solus.

"Replies," he said. "Destination: Normandy. Specific location: indeterminate--marked by object."

"Purposes of objective: improve quality of life, allow for political, philosophical, technical advancement of species."

"Query: Solus desire: travel with group to Normandy, study interactions? Yes or no?"

Solus pondered for a moment after listening to the Metal Man. It seemed that this would provide an interesting experience. "Yes. Solus will travel to Normandy with group. Study conditions. Formulate theories." With that Solus hopped up to the roof upon which one of the aircraft was sitting.

Alliance smiled. "For those of you who spoke of crimes, we all have comitted our fair share. I remember the days when being a vigilante was punishable by death. This is the Captain. Now let's get aboard."

Alliance stepped onto the elevator and motioned for the others to join them.

"As I said, I'll follow along in my own craft," the Metal Man said. "If the gentleman with the fox ears will be so kind as to press the stone on the ring that I gave him, I will be able to track you using my sensors. Hopefully, there will be time for us to get each other's names while we're in transit--twist the stone and the ring doubles as a communicator."

With that, he levitated up to his ship, hovering where it was over the rooftops. In a moment, he had flown through a hatch that opened for him and, using his uplink, pulled Solus in through the transmat. Solus, he reasoned, could use a little lesson in the verb "to be." His training would start now. He said that he wanted to learn.

He would find himself in a room with white formica walls, inside a clear cylinder about four meters in diameter and three meters high. A sliding panel on the clear cylinder would allow him to exit. In front of the cylinder, a podium would arise. If he were to cross the chamber, he would find that the top of the podium, obscured from sight of those in the chamber, was a data console that could be used to control the transmat that he had stood in or access Brain Jar's main computer. It was a simple, elegant set-up.

"Solus IS aboard Brain Jar. Solus may study Brain Jar, but must not interfere with her operation," he said over the intercom. "Brain Jar will convey Solus to Normandy. Solus can find travel directions at the console directly ahead. Fact: Brain Jar IS bigger inside than she IS outside. Please note proper use of verb 'to be.'"

When Solus arrived within the odd chamber he darted his head about quickly, taking in his surroundings.When the Metal Man had finished giving him his little tour, he exited the cylinder and walked towards the console. "Solus will not interfere. Deduction: Interference hampers travel. Solus will use console." With that Solus went to the console and activated the computer, which he would use to review their travel plans.

Rafzekael tended to simplify things. For example, there was a Punch 'n' Judy style fight going on in his head right now. It was winning, insofar, and he hummed along merrily to the scenes of bloodshed in his head. Under his hat, an eye began to change color.

"whoa!whoa!whoa!" Alex began to shout as he saw the eyes of the man start to change "Fight the bugger, you can beat it!" he was starting to back off a little bit at the same time.

Rafekael snapped out of the daydream and thought for a moment, conversing with it.
"No, this is permanent now. It's doubling its efforts, now we're going for the gun. I can stop him for around 2 hours, after that, he'll gain more ground."

Alliance thought for a moment, then motioned to the Captain, who retrieved something from a machine in his ship. (I assume we're all aboard now). Alliance nodded understandingly to Rafzekael, and then made a quick motion and the Captain plunged a small syringe into the man. It was a powerful nerve agent that would keep him down for the duration of the journey, hopefully.

(OOC: You RP whether it works or not. Its your character.)

OOC:Well, he's in human form as of now, so it'll work.

Rafzekael walked shakily for a moment, then slurred, "Do me a favor. Fix m'hat." Then he slumped onto the ground, except for the possessed eye, which still stared back at Alliance.

Alliance kneeled down and closed the possessed eye, as one would do on a dead body. He mentioned to the Captain, who commanded his vessel via cybernetics and Rafzekael was dragged into a holding area at the back of the craft. With that, the jet exited hover mode and blasted off towards Normandy.

"Solus, please travel to transportation chamber two," came the voice over the intercom. "Brain Jar acceleration extreme. Safety restraints necessary."

Brain Jar actually arrived in Normandy first. Her cloaking device kept her off of NATO's radar screens even though she went sub-orbital. The Metal Man had time to return to Solus, and to renew his querry as to what the Nexus (which he took to mean a large number of creatures similar to Solus) would do once they had awakened.

Foxfire, who had pressed the ring at the beggining of the journey, now twisted it so as to speak to the MM. He had been asleep most of the time, trying not to look out the window. Foxes do not do very well in water, he didn't at least. "Jet to the Brain Jar. Do you copy?"

Alex sat back and relaxed as the plane started to move. He chuckled to himself "Strange" he said to no one "a few hours ago, I was on routine Police patrol with iciciles on my nose, now I'm heading to Normandy with a group of people I was trying to arrest!" he laughed and sighed deeply, it had been a busy day.

Foxfire noticed Alex. "Yeah, we're a pretty weird bunch, aren't we?" he laughed.

Solus complied with the request as the aircraft took off. He had plenty to think about in any case. "Nexus objective...unknown. Solus objective: awaken Nexus. Once objective achieved, Nexus assign new objective." When the Metal Man asked this question, Solus looked genuinely disturbed, as though he had never considered what Nexus would do once he had activated it.

Caen, France

The Orne River was beautiful in the evening, the moon's reflection cast over the water. Abbeys and cathedrals towered over the houses along the streets as the tramway rode by with its late night passengers. There are few sights as beautiful as this. Yet even in such a beautiful town, evil can be found.

"Please let go of me!!! HELP!!" yelled a woman in an alley

It was the classic damsel in distress scenario. She was being held down by two men, while surrounded by three more. As she struggled, one of the men continued searhing through her purse.

"Shut the f*** up!" yelled the biggest man. He smacked her across the face and kept looking through her purse. "Lookey what we have here boys! A woman that doesn't carry money on her!" he yelled angrily.

"Dammit. What the hell do we do Sean?" asked one of the smaller men.

Sean smiled evilly and said, "Well, if we can't have her money," he paused a moment and grabbed the woman by her hair, bending her over a trash can. "we'd might as well enjoy her for the trouble we had to go through!" The men laughed as they ripped her skirt off. The woman struggled to break free. Try as she may, she couldn't break free of Sean's hold.

It's a shame in these parts, the evils humans commit to one another. Using fear and strength to harm the innocent. The world is cruel and men even crueler...

Footsteps and applause echoed through the alley. The men one by one stopped laughing until even Sean zipped his pants up and yelled, "Hey!! Who the hell are you!?!"

"Quite a show you are putting on. Quite a show," The masked figure walked closer to the group. "It takes some sort of skill to rape such a frail being so easily"

"What's it to you?" Sean yelled as he approached the masked figure. "I outta smash that face in for you to give you a good reason to wear that stupid mask!"

The other guys cheered Sean on completely ignoring the woman slumped on the ground. Sean grinned evilly as he balled his hulking fist.

"I advise against such action as every choice you make has an equal and opposite consequence to it," the man spoke politely. His figure was more noticeable as the moon appeared from the clouds. He had a white trench coat and a white fedora, with a black dress shirt and pants and white tie. His mask was covering the entire face and had white tribal markings on it. And for some unknown reason, he had red sunglasses on.

Sean spat on the man and said, "Aight. Here is my choice!" His hulking fist rose and speared through the air, ready to crush the man. The man moved fast, dodging the punch completely and leaping in the air. He kneed the face of Sean, breaking his face and forcing blood out of his eyes and nose. Sean staggered as the man sped back on the ground, looking at the others. His glasses glowed.

Whispers could be heard around the alley...

"Servo pallens; Trucido scelestus; Fulcio vestri lex"

He lifted one of the men with his mind before the others could react. He then jumped and dropkicked him towards the others, knocking them over. The masked man moved like lightning with a strange coronal discharge coming from his hands. The other men drew their guns but it was too late. The psychic energy sliced off one of the arms of the men. He howled in pain as the figure grabbed him by the face and snapped his neck.

"Fire! Fire!!" Sean yelled, but no bullets came out from their guns. The figure rush towards the man with the purse and grabbed his neck, ripping the very head off of his body. He then threw it launched it at breakneck speed at the other man, knocking him down. The figure levitated one of them and just with his mind shoved his entire body into a thin pipe. The noise of the crunching bone and organs seeping out of the pipe filled the air as Sean and the woman screamed in horror. The remaining man tried to attack the figure, but he grabbed his arms and ripped them from their very sockets. Sean began running in fear, covering his bleed face. Sean did not get very far as he ran right into the man. Sean fell on the ground, trembling in fear.

"Who...who the hell are you!?!" Sean yelled.

The figure lifted Sean up and opened his right palm. In the hand there were the bullets from the clips in their guns. He said softly "I am the eyes of God and the hand of justice. And by the end of this night, I am the one that will send you to hell." Blood flowed from Sean's eyes as his brain began feeling a sharp pain in it. Sean tried to scream but the figure slit his throat. He said to Sean, "You are going to feel a massive pain in your brain. It’s perfectly normal. You are having a stroke that could kill a blue whale in 30 seconds." Sean was flailing in the air as he choked on his own blood. The figure just stood there and watched until Sean died.

He walked towards the scared woman. She began scuttling away on all fours, but the figure stopped her. He spoke.

"Go home young one. And remember that Psykarch will always be here."

The woman fled as fast as she could. Don't blame her of course. After witnessing such an event, most would react the same way. Psykarch walked away, the whispers now quieting themselves.

The next morning Sean's body was found hanging at the town square. His bare chest had the words "Your Laws Have Failed" etched in his skin.

Psykarch stared at the sunrise towards the beach. He sensed something was coming. Something interesting...

Gear got a lot of sleep off during the flight, and as the plane started crossing over Brittany, the person sitting next to him woke him up.

“Hey buddy, we’re almost there” He had a moderate New York Accent.

Gear, who was always cranky when he woke up, grunted and went back to sleep. But the guy wouldn’t let up. After almost thirty minutes of this, Gear finally grabbed the guy’s collar and pulled him up to his face.

“You see this?” Gear held up the gravitron he had snuck aboard the flight. “If you don’t stop bugging me, I’m going to shove this down your throat. And then whenever I feel like it, I can blow your guts out. Kapeesh?”

Just then an announcement came over the speakers: Nous sommes maintenant arrivés à Cherbourg. Avez -vous une belle journée. Gear turned to the man, now trembling with terror, and said “Pleasure to have met you,” got up, and exited the plane.

Foxfire, who had pressed the ring at the begining of the journey, now twisted it so as to speak to the MM. He had been asleep most of the time, trying not to look out the window. Foxes do not do very well in water, he didn't at least. "Jet to the Brain Jar. Do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Jet," the Metal Man's voice replied. "What can I do for you?"

----------------------------------

"Suggestion," the Metal Man said to Solus, "allow others' presence when awakening Nexus to serve in advisory capacity to both Nexus and yourself."

Alex looked out the window and stretched a bit, he didn't really like flying. He turned and noticed Foxfire was talking to the ring he'd been given earlier

Without a word, Alex pointed at the ring and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Loud and clear, Jet," the Metal Man's voice replied. "What can I do for you?"

----------------------------------

"Suggestion," the Metal Man said to Solus, "allow others' presence when awakening Nexus to serve in advisory capacity to both Nexus and yourself."

"So who and what exactly are you?" Foxfire asked. He saw Alex and pointed to the ring, then to the general direction of the Brain Jar.

Solus shook his head vigourously, as if to clear it. "Solus will allow advisors. Condition must be followed: No interference with Nexus. Query: Will you comply?"

"If by 'interference,' you mean 'attempts to harm,' Solus, I will comply if I am available. As an adviser, however, I reserve the right to attempt to advise." He did not say that he reserved the right to attempt to defend himself if it should become necessary, as he did not feel that it would become necessary.

The Metal Man changed the channel on the intercom from "internal" to "external." "I'm a failure," he said through the communicator. "Over two hundred years ago, a race of robots tried to turn me into one of them. The attempt failed, and, here I am, not a man and not a robot. Because of me, they won't be back for more. What do you think I am? And may I ask your name?"

The memories came back to him. In Vienna, in the late 1800's, he found a young woman who had just been run over by a carriage. The driver had left her for dead and driven on. He took her into the nearest office building, put her dieing body on the first flat surface he could find, and opened his veins to her.

His blood has healing properties. She was so far gone that he knew that injecting it into her would be the only way to save her life. It would drive her insane, putting her into a catatonic coma, as it sometimes did to him, but she would recover to lead a full and normal life.

When he finished, the local constabulary broke the door down. What they saw--a man standing over a young woman's body with needles protruding from his open chest--shocked and sickened them. They never gave him the chance to explain. He wasn't putting his blood in, he was trying to take hers out. Never mind that it would have killed him.

It wasn't long before certain people in the government put two and two together--and decided that it was in their interest to study the Metal Man as if he were a lab rat. He was convicted in absentia of attempted murder. He went into hiding.

It was over thirty years later that he came back across the Atlantic ("the pond," as they referred to it) and struck a clandestine deal with the secret service: he would give them access to certain technologies, and they would look the other way.

As Brain Jar hovered over the beaches of Normandy, another silent prayer was said for the soul of a woman who had endured more than her share of pain. And an old, obscure poem was once again quoted.

Who will care for another tear
Cried out on rain swept grounds
When no one can see
The stream, the river, the sea.

--Thomas Childs

The Metal Man would.

"Personally, I think it sounds like your a cyborg. However, seeing what you can do, I'd say that would grossly inaccurate and there likely is no possible good analogy. As for myself, even I'm not sure what I am. What you see is the result of a successful, but illegal, military experiment. Wandered too close to a secret base. They knocked me out and looked up me in some kind of database. No one knew or cared where I was or what condition I was in. So they took me in as a free being to experiment on. I woke up like this, strapped to a table, surronded by scientists and armed guards. I managed to break out, but at a cost. My appearance cannot be reversed. Originally, my parents were killed by that lunatic in the corner, as I huddled beneath a bed, watching them die before my eyes. I ran away that night, taking nothing more with me than the family car, some cash and clothes, and my katana." he said bitterly. "That was my only reason for existing any longer: To find my parents murderer and bring him to the most painful justice possible. But now I find that he, himself, is innocent. All I can do is try to bring him back to good health so he does not kill more."

Rafzekael's eyes opened. The possessed eye had been open for a while anyway, but now his normal one was too. His hand was turning a nasty shade of purple and his nails were growing into claws. He felt around on his head, then around on the floor. He got up, still woozy from the injection, and walked out of the door.

He was looking for his hat.

Foxfire noticed him. "Hey buddy." he said, standing up. "What are you doing out?"

"Looking for my hat." He looked at Foxfire and said, "You seen it?" He gestured with his good hand to his head, where a hat should be but wasn't.

"Then your parents raised you well," the Metal Man replied. "Not everyone would have your compassion. Keep your heart pure. One day, it may be the only thing that saves you."

"Agreed. Advisement doesn't harm objective. Solus will allow advisors." It seemed that these beings were willing to put effort into his objective. Odd, considering how humans normally reacted to Solus. He'd been looked on with horror and fear all throughout his travels, despite the fact that he wasn't hostile. Of course, he'd slain the obstgruction here or there, but they had interfered in his works, after all. Like that mugger back in the alley. Well, Solus would respond in kind and advise these beings in their current objective.

Foxfire shook his head, his ears perked as he listened to the MM from the ring. "Sorry, haven't seen it." To the MM, he had no response. Finally he said "Well...what do you plan to do here? What is your objective?"

"Like you," the Metal Man replied, "I'm here to exorcise a demon that possesses a man."

"Boss?" said the AI.

"Yes, Pete."

"You'd better listen to this. I'm monitoring local radio broadcasts. Here's a recent news story."

A buzzing sound came over the intercom, then

"Police are still searching for clues as to the identity of the man whom they are calling only The Anarchist. Last night's killing brings the body count up to twelve in the last two weeks. Witnesses say the man can move objects with his mind and kill with his gaze. At the scene of every murder, a sign has been found that reads 'Your Laws Have Failed.' In other news, ..."

"Oh boy," the Metal Man replied, "here we go again."

He got on the intercom. "Foxfire, did you hear any of that?"

"Got all of it, man." he paused. "Can I call you that? Man? Never mind. That sounded pretty serious. Maybe we should locate this guy too. Add to our collection of murderer lunatics."

Rafzekael smiled. "I resent that." He whooped and saw his hat. He walked over, dusted it off and put it on with a content look.
"So when we landing?"

"I'm sure you do. As for landing, I have no idea. The only people who might know is whoever's flying this thing and the MM."

"Call me what you wish," the Metal Man said. "We're in a holding pattern, cloaked over Omaha beach. I'd prefer not to have to test NATO's defense forces--but I'm not the one who should indicate the landing zone. That honor is reserved for your guest of the changeable eye.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to investigate this vigilante. Of course, I'll need for Solus to decide whether he wants to stay with me or with you."

At the mention of his name, Solus broke out of his reverie. Flashes from his past...before Nexus. He shook his head to clear the images out before responding. "Solus...will acompany object: Metal Man. Find Anarchist. Learn."

"I know its buried somewhere on the D-Day landing beaches. Apart from that, I don't know. May as well investigate the murders. Give me something to do as well as looking."

Alliance thought this over and then took charge.

"All right, here's what we'll do. Metal Man and Solus will start however they wish, using whatever of their technological goodies they want to locate this figure. They can work with the Captain here as well. Foxfire, Rafzekael and I will begin searching on foot throughout the localized area. I think we can handle Raf's demon if it shows up, so we can focus on the Anarchist. He seems like an immediate threat. Beyond that, we'll work on trying to locate the gun as well, but we don't have much to go on as of yet. You three computer boys, work on that as well. Any questions?"

"Nope, that sounds good."

OOC: 7000, when are you thinking of bringing Axis in?

"Sounds good to me." Foxfire echoed.

(OOC: Soon. I have an idea in mind. A lot of these abilities would be useful to the military, no? And Metal Man mentioned NATO, right?)

Grinning slightly, Alliance spoke up. "All right then, let's move."

Psykarch sat atop the abbey, looking down onto the city. He could sense them around him. People unknown to these parts. Perhaps they were here to get him, or maybe it was pure coincidence. However, he reasoned that he should lay low for a bit.

The illusion surrounded him. To others, he would look like an ordinary man. Psykarch walked amongst the citizens, watching his back and tracking the location of these new men...

Foxfire bared his teeth and kneeled, watching the people wearily. "Any way to disguise me? I tend to stand out in a crowd."

Alliance thought for a moment, then hit a button the wrist communicator that the Captain gave him.

"Captain, do you have any sort of holographic projector we could use to help disguise our friend here?"

Cloaked and invisible, Brain Jar hovered over a horrific scene. Bodies littered a dark, dank alleyway. Some looked as though they were once men, but one was little more than a lump of protoplasm. The Metal Man's head sank for a moment as he offered a moment of silence to these poor, dead men. The evidence suggested that they had been criminals, but that they had never been given the chance to be anything else. What a crying shame.

But there was more pressing business. The Metal Man was a teacher and a creature of the light. It was time to find out what happened, and where the culprit was. It was also time for Solus to make good on his promise to learn, though he did not yet realize just how much of the world the Metal Man wished to show him. As Solus stood next to him on the bridge, the Metal Man raised his head and regarded his travel companion.

Unfortunately, the business at the beach would have to wait.

He was naive but intelligent, and he had someone else's skill set kicking around inside of him. The Metal Man wondered if he had a conscience--he seemed too young to be aware of the value of life. Hopefully, either the Metal Man was wrong, or he Solus could learn this in time.

"Solus," the Metal Man said, "I find that the best way to learn is through participation. So, I would like you to learn by studying the scene below and conferring with me as to the events that led to the bodies in that scene being arrayed as they are.* I would like to develop a profile of the individual who made that mess down there. I will try to add a social context, so that you can learn something of the moral code under which I operate, and experience firsthand the reasons why I strive for peace and harmony. Is this acceptable to you?"

---------------------------------

OOC:

* See Ed's** previous post.
** Darned if I'm going to type out (or even cut 'n' paste) that humongous name! :) ;) :) :P

* See Ed's** previous post.
** Darned if I'm going to type out (or even cut 'n' paste) that humongous name! :) ;) :) :P

Mwuahahaha!!! :)

OOC: see sign-up thread. You shouldn't be posting pure OOC's in this thread.

IC:

The Metal Man got on the radio.

"Foxfire, I'm going to have to take a rain check. The mess over here is so big that I need all my internal sensors just to make sense of it."

"Damn." muttered Foxfire. He looked around. "Seems like I'll have to sit this one out until I can get some kind of disguise." He walked back into the interior of the jet.

"Wait! Here's what you need!" The Captain shouted. He came back from a side passage in the jet and came up to Foxfire with a small device.

"Strap this on your wrist, hit the silver button, and it'll project a hologram around you that'll hide your 'unusual' features."

Alliance watched the happenings with interest.

"Are we ready then?" he asked Foxfire.

--------------------

Axis, or more appropriately the Red King in his current disguise, observed this newest development with interest. The Captain, despite all his attempts, couldn't hide his movements from the Crimson Network forever. And by extension, neither could Alliance. Now was an interesting oppurtunity. For a reason that he could only guess at with his current knowledge, Alliance had gone to France, interestingly enough in the area of Normandy Beach where he had originally been recovered years ago. Whatever this meant, it provided an oppurtunity. For many years, he had desired the Captain's technology. It wasn't necessarily more advanced than his own, but it was certainly powerful and acquiring it would be useful. He had a plan in mind.

Calling over one of his screens, he got into contact with the regional commander of the Crimson Network in France. The white hooded face of the Mystere appeared. He was a former villain who had seen the wisdom of joining the organization as opposed to going it alone. He was a powerful wizard, and had the correct connections for what Axis had in mind.

"Mystere. Get the Zenius Organization after the Captain. He's in France with Alliance and I want to know why. You know how to go about this, I hope."

"That I do, miseur (SP?). That I do."

"Wait! Here's what you need!" The Captain shouted. He came back from a side passage in the jet and came up to Foxfire with a small device.

"Strap this on your wrist, hit the silver button, and it'll project a hologram around you that'll hide your 'unusual' features."

Alliance watched the happenings with interest.

"Are we ready then?" he asked Foxfire.

--------------------

Axis, or more appropriately the Red King in his current disguise, observed this newest development with interest. The Captain, despite all his attempts, couldn't hide his movements from the Crimson Network forever. And by extension, neither could Alliance. Now was an interesting oppurtunity. For a reason that he could only guess at with his current knowledge, Alliance had gone to France, interestingly enough in the area of Normandy Beach where he had originally been recovered years ago. Whatever this meant, it provided an oppurtunity. For many years, he had desired the Captain's technology. It wasn't necessarily more advanced than his own, but it was certainly powerful and acquiring it would be useful. He had a plan in mind.

Calling over one of his screens, he got into contact with the regional commander of the Crimson Network in France. The white hooded face of the Mystere appeared. He was a former villain who had seen the wisdom of joining the organization as opposed to going it alone. He was a powerful wizard, and had the correct connections for what Axis had in mind.

"Mystere. Get the Zenius Organization after the Captain. He's in France with Alliance and I want to know why. You know how to go about this, I hope."

"That I do, miseur (SP?). That I do."
Foxfire strapped the little device to his wrist and pressed the button. His image seemed to waver and suddenly he was a pale skinned, black haired, green eyed 20 year old. He looked at himself approvingly. "It'll do." he said, feeling his teeth, running his fingers over his sharp, pointed canines. "I'll just have to be sure not to smile at anyone too widely."

"All right then. We're good to go. Foxfire, with me." Alliance said. Taking a brief second to change his appearance, he looked at Foxfire for a second, and then removed his mask. No one really knew who he was anyway. Then, stepping out of the craft, he lowered himself down with his power of flight. Looking up at Foxfire he said,

"Shall we go?"

Foxfire nodded. "Let's roll."

"Yes, Solus will confer as to reason of bodies." Solus strode over to the console that would allow him to manipulate the sensors of the ship (I'm assuming the console mentioned earlier has this capability). He seemed quite adept at doing so, as though he was highly familiar with the Brain Jar, which of course he was not. Once he had gotten locked on the bodies, he reviewed the scans curiously.

Solus looked for an extra moment at the body that had the inscription upon it. "Deduction: Object: murderer. Sociopath. Human taunts authority. Mocks laws failed to catch him. Destroys humans. Analysis: Very strong. Potentially deranged. Use blades-arm missing. Very fast-no weapons fired. Threat detected: Ceta-level. Protect Nexus from threat. Deduction: Nexus best defended by find Object: murderer."

After Solus was done making his observations about the situation, he turned to the Metal Man while he awaited his deductions. Solus didn't seem to be particularly phased by the horrific scene below, and if any emotion could be seen upon his face it would be curiousity mixed with determination.

Foxfire nodded. "Let's roll."

"Hold on!" Alex shouted, running down the ramp "I know a bit of French, so you might need me!"

"I concur, but there's more," the Metal Man said. He interfaced with the console in front of him. In a moment, a holographic representation--the alleyway below them in miniature--appeared. "First," he said, pointing to one of the bodies, "the murderer has a varied arsenal. Look at this...body. Its cellular membranes have all been simultaneously burst." He moved his hand to one that lay by the wall. "And this one," he said, "was killed by simple blunt force trauma. He was propelled into the wall with such force that it virtually cracked all of his ribs, destroying his pulmonary system. Furthermore, two of these bodies have guns drawn, and both of them have been fired. Yet, the projectiles lie only a few inches from the bodies themselves. They were stopped in mid air and then fell to the ground.

"The murderer has esper powers: telekinesis, Look of Death.

"Finally, there is blood spatter here by this dumpster that doesn't match any of the bodies. A trail of droplets leads off in this direction. It is consistent with the killer's method of operation that he would have attacked those people because they themselves were attacking someone else. For our purposes, however, this means that there is a witness to these killings, and the fact that the local news media haven't announced this yet could mean that the police are not yet aware of this.

"Suggested course of action: find witness and gently interrogate. Do you concur?"

----------------------------

OOC: Just a little reminder: as noted in his bio, the ***ONLY*** special power that TMM has in and of himself is that he lessens esper powers in and around himself. Thus, Ed's character should be able to sicken but not kill him, and should be able to move him, but not overpower his maglevs. I was figuring, considering the spirit of RPing, that, if they ever should meet, this would be a stalemate.

"Hold on!" Alex shouted, running down the ramp "I know a bit of French, so you might need me!"
"True, I don't know French, so that would be useful. I say you should come, unless you have anything to say about it?" He glanced at Alliance, waiting for the answer.

"Deduction: Metal Man correct. Observations astute. Solus concur with Objective: locate and interrogate witness. Query: How to locate Object: witness?" As the Metal Man had described his conclusions about the murders, Solus had listened attentively, not moving except to occasionally blink.

"We can start by following the blood trail, Solus," the Metal Man said. "It leads out of the alleyway, across the street and in through that door." He pointed to a building across the street, and the computer AI automatically adjusted the holoimage to show the door in better detail. It was old, and the gray paint was flecking off of its metal surface. Pushed into the brick wall of the building's front, it looked more like something from a prison than a place where people actually lived.

Solus nodded as he heard this deduction. "Agreed. Query: Must we leave ship to investigate? Or are Brain Jar sensors advanced enough to see within?" While he waited Solus studied the structure into which the blood lead in greater detail. Possible entry points and the like. Perhaps a fire escape would make a fine entrance, if they decided to enter.

"Sensor status: irrelevant," the Metal Man replied. "Disembarcation: necessary. Reason: witness cannot be queried remotely."

Solus nodded at this statement. It would be rather difficlut to covertly interrogate someone from up here. "Solus ready when Metal Man is." Solus looked around for the exit he'd come in on, and then waited for the Metal Man to join him.

Like a frightened child, she cried in his arms. Like a doting father, he held her and tried to take the tears away. In between sobs, she told a story.

They sat in a run-down but spotlessly clean apartment in a run-down old building, just the three of them. The couch that the girl and the Metal Man sat on was covered in a tweed-like fabric, and there was a small, dark wooden table in front of it. Behind them, a portrait of a large, red flower, done in the French Impressionistic Style, hung on a wall that had a bright, beige paint attempting vainly to conceal cracks in the plaster.

"It was not supposed to be as it is," she sobbed. "None of this is as it should be."

"Shh-sh-shhhh," the Metal Man replied. "I understand. Sometimes, things do not go as we plan them." His face showed a world of compassion, and more. He wondered if Solus understood French, because that was the language that they were speaking in. "Please, tell me again how it happened."

"It was terrible!" she exclaimed. "Four large men abducted me as I was walking home from the market." It was this, in fact, that had led to their being accepted. The Metal Man had noticed the broken and discarded grocery bag in the alley, and had arrived with food and supplies to make up for it. The gifts had helped to allay the woman's fears on this most fearful of days. "They took me to an alley, where more were waiting. They hit me," she sobbed. "They beat me! They pushed me onto the ground by a dumpster and they were starting to tear off my clothes...when it arrived. Not a man, not a beast! It!!" She broke into another fit of sobs. The Metal Man stroked her back. Slowly, she calmed.

"Continue, please." he said.

"It walks on two legs, and wears a mask to hide it from normal people. It told them to stop. Instead, they tried to attack it! Then, with barely any effort, it threw one of them through the air like he was a child's toy--and it never touched him! Then, it looked at another of them, and he just flew into a drainpipe right there in front of it! It just killed them all, without a second thought. I tried to run, but I couldn't. Then, it looked at me and my blood ran cold. I saw into its eyes! It has no soul! It told me to run and I did. I ended up back here, and I haven't been able to so much as open my door until you and your friend came by and--," she broke into another crying fit.

"Did you see where it went after it...finished?" the Metal Man asked.

"That is the scariest thing of all. I turned to look back as I ran away. It just stood there, and then it rose to the roof without even jumping."

"Thank you, Angelica," the Metal Man said. "My friend and I have to go."

"Please...don't leave me alone with...it still out there."

"Not to worry," the Metal Man replied. "You are now under my protection. Take this ring." He removed a band from his finger, where he had placed it after he had climbed aboard Brain Jar. "If ever you are threatened, press the stone and I will never be long from your side." He gently set her back against the couch and rose to his feet. Solus, too, stood.

"But what can you do against a creature such as that?"

The Metal Man smiled. "Pete, two to depart," he said, and, in a moment, the two of them simply disappeared, leaving behind the gifts that they had brought.

"Dear God," Angelica said, "what terrible forces are clashing around me?"

Solus found himself back in the transmat room.

"Regarding your forthcoming querry as to the disposition of object: murderer," the Metal Man said, "the witness served only to confirm what we already knew. The trail has gone cold. He could be anywhere."

-------------------------------------

OOC: If he meets Psycharch, TMM will try to reason with him first.

OOC: Bullets werent stopped in midair, they were teleported out from their own guns. And the guy that was dissolved was actually forced through a small pipe. And sorry for not posting much,. Its been a hectic week :D

IC

He walked amongst the people, watching over these new men but keeping his distance. He did not want to get caught. Not while he was doing his work. Still one man intrigued him. He sensed him at the scene of the alley brawl, searching for the mysterious murderer of Caen. Murderer...a murderer is someone that kills humans for evil. This was not murder for they aren't humans. This was justice.

This was retribution.

There was a disturbance in another alleyway. A man was being held by gunpoint, Psykarch sensed. A mugging. Three men, one armed. The other two had a smaller sould. A child. Probably the victim's child.

"Dammit," Psykarch spoke. "So much for laying low."

* * *

"Please...take whatever you want! Just...just leave my son alone!!" The father begged and pleaded for his son's life.

"You don't get it do you punk?" the gunman pistolwhipped the father across the face. The child screamed and began crying. "SHUT THAT KID UP!! Now, you had your chance to pay the loans you owed Monsieur Lambourne and you decided that you weren't going to pay them. Lambourne doesn't like it when his loans aren't paid."

"Please, just give me one more week. I promise you I will have the money by then. Please!"

The gunman glared at the begging father and then motioned the other men to come forward. They brought the crying child to the gunman. "I am afraid you are too late," the gunman drew his weapon to the child. "Now because of you, you get to watch your son die!"

"NO!!" The father leaped at him.

The gun fired


The child opened his eyes. He was at the riverside along with his father. The father looked around, puzzled at what was going on.

"Where...how...how did we get here? Are we dead?" he asked.

At the Alley...

"Where did they go?" the gunman angrily pushed the men aside and pointed the gun at Psykarch. "And who the f*** are you?"

Psykarch's head tilted slowly to the side as the whispers around the alley grew louder and louder. Mist surrounded the confused gunmen.

"Where...where are those voices coming from?" the gunmen yelled at Psykarch while the other two men backed away.

The whispers grew louder.

Servo pallens; Trucido scelestus; Fulcio vestri lex

Psykarch's head straightened. In an instant, his hands were surrounded with a psychic miasma. His hands moved like lightning, slicing off the arm of the gunman. The gunman screamed as blood shot from his nub of an arm. Psykarch grabbed him by the neck and spoke.

"Normally, I warn scum like you. But threatening to kill a child...that is just wrong. You have lost your priviledge to live," Psykarch stared at the man as the gunman began screaming in more pain. The other two watched as his skin was being torn off piece by piece. The gunman's horrific sonata resonated across the city as all at one, his bone structure was ripped out of his body. The gunman fell, his boneless corpse staining the alleyway.

"How befitting for a spineless coward," Psykarch turned to thr other two and said, "I suggest you start running before I slice your legs off."

Gear was flying above the city of Caen when his suit picked up heavy weapons discharges coming from inside a nearby building. Hovering over it, he calmly landed on top and began a careful survey of the area. After identifying the discharges as AK47 rounds roughly 3 floors below, he carefully hovered down the side of the building head first looking for anything suspicious. As he reached the fourth floor down he noticed a group of men conversing in the corner and decided to investigate the building.

However as he turned around, his rather bulky suit hit the side of the building rather loudly and the men took notice. Before Gear could hide, two of the men pulled out automatic weapons and began firing in his direction. Gear swore as he flew up barely in time. The glass shattered immediatly and the men fled down a massive flight of stairs, with Gear following on the outside of the building. After going down 10 floors Gear hurled a medium graviton on the wall 2 flights down, and activated it, collapsing the floor beneath a straggler. He fell the remaining 10 stories to the end of the staircase, and the rest of the group headed through an adjacent door. Knowing that in such close quarters he had no chance of catching them, he turned his attention to the critically wounded gunman on the ground. Gear picked him off the ground and assessed the damage of the fall: 2 broken arms, 1 broken leg, a nasty gash on his forehead and a damaged ribcage.

"Who are you?"

"L'Américain stupide, je ne parle pas l'anglais"

realizing an interrogation wasn't going to happen, Gear started to leave. However, he turned around and walked back to the incapacitated gunman, and broke his other leg. He then flew back the way he came, and said to himself in a very calm voice:

"Asshole"

"Sensor contact! Psionic pulse almost off the scale! Pete, zap us over!"

"Oui, monseur."

In a moment, Solus and the Metal Man appeared in front of Psyarch. In another, the man-machine regretted wearing a suit that had ben built to blend in with humans rather than one of his less recognisable but safer combat suits.

The Metal Man blinked as he took in the scene. The man--he was a man, and, judging by his bone structure, not a particularly old one--had literally flayed his prey alive, removing his entire skin, save for one hand and the gun it held, which had been sliced off--and then tearing his bones away from his flesh. The pain must have been incredible--and the corpse was beyond identification. The cyborg's motion sensors picked up two other men behind him as they ran from the scene. Nearby, the completing component: a man sat crouched over a young boy. Tears streamed down the child's face. They had obviously witnessed the entire murder--were probably intended victims of the man who ended up becoming the victim himself. The vigilante, no doubt, thought he was helping, but the child's mind would be scarred for years to come. Totaliement ridicule!

"It's not like you to let them go," he said, regarding this powerful psyonaut. "Might be a good habit to assume. I am called the Metal Man. My traveling companion is known as Solus. What are you called?"

OOC:

It's hard to keep track of little details at 3 AM. Sorry, dude.

Solus was quite bewildered by the events going on about him. They'd entered the apartment, and the Metal Man had begun conversing with their link...in a language Solus failed to grasp. He spoke several languages, English and Japanese among them, but he didn't know this particular method of human communication. While the Metal Man seemed to comfort the victim, Solus looked about the room. He paid particular attention to the flower upon the wall. Memories... Solus shook his head as he stood up along with the Metal Man. The next instant he was aboard the Brain Jar. "Trail...cold!? Must...complete objective. Protect Nexus!" He seemed to become particularly agitated at the revelation that they were no closer then they'd been. After a moment he calmed down and began to think...

Solus landed in a combat stance when they arrived at the site of the psionic disturbance. He darted his gaze about for a moment, taking in the scene. Blood was sprayed across the surrounding buildings in horrific quantities, though this didn't particularly phase Solus. What disturbed him most was the incessant whispering, for which he looked for a source. It seemed there was none, however. Solus's eyes widened beneath his white hair as he regarded Psykarch. You... "Query: destination. Where. Hypothesis: Nexus." He spoke almost immediately after the Metal Man, as he had been seeking the origin of the voices. As he spoke, he pointed a finger at Psykarch to ensure the target knew he was being addressed.

"Sensor contact! Psionic pulse almost off the scale! Pete, zap us over!"

"Oui, monseur."

In a moment, Solus and the Metal Man appeared in front of Psyarch. In another, the man-machine regretted wearing a suit that had ben built to blend in with humans rather than one of his less recognisable but safer combat suits.

The Metal Man blinked as he took in the scene. The man--he was a man, and, judging by his bone structure, not a particularly old one--had literally flayed his prey alive, removing his entire skin, save for one hand and the gun it held, which had been sliced off--and then tearing his bones away from his flesh. The pain must have been incredible--and the corpse was beyond identification. The cyborg's motion sensors picked up two other men behind him as they ran from the scene. Nearby, the completing component: a man sat crouched over a young boy. Tears streamed down the child's face. They had obviously witnessed the entire murder--were probably intended victims of the man who ended up becoming the victim himself. The vigilante, no doubt, thought he was helping, but the child's mind would be scarred for years to come. Totaliement ridicule!

"It's not like you to let them go," he said, regarding this powerful psyonaut. "Might be a good habit to assume. I am called the Metal Man. My traveling companion is known as Solus. What are you called?"

OOC:

It's hard to keep track of little details at 3 AM. Sorry, dude.

OOC: No worries. Although the child and father arent there :) Look

The child opened his eyes. He was at the riverside along with his father. The father looked around, puzzled at what was going on.

"Where...how...how did we get here? Are we dead?" he asked.

At the Alley...

"Where did they go?" the gunman angrily pushed the men aside and pointed the gun at Psykarch. "And who the f*** are you?"


He teleported them away. Its all good though believe me 3AM suck :D

IC:

Psykarch stared at the men. Strange looking indeed, he thought to himself.

The whispers around him died down as his energy levels calmed. Psykarch spoke in clear English, "I have no idea what this Nexus is pale one." He turned to the one known as Metal Man and answered, "My name is Psykarch. What brings you here to France?"

The cyborg regarded the psychonaut not as an enemy, but as a potential ally.

"I came here to disposess a demon of its host and help a friend achieve the enlightenment that he craves. Since then, I have found it necessary to start to heal an injured soul and to seek out a vengeful one and try to stop it from poisoning itself completely, for vengeance is a poison unto the soul. That last would be you.

"Forgive my bluntness, but my friend has posed a question. In terms that you should be able to better understand, it is phrased, 'brother, where are you going?' I, too, would like to know. Like my friend, I might wish to tag along."

------------------------------

OOC:

Watch for evil brothers and gifts used for the purpose for which they were given.

Foxfire heard the screams, like the agonizing of the damned. "If you'll excuse me!" He ran up the street, several blocks, before he stopped. It was like...a wall of smell. Blood. Indeed, Alehkra was not the only one who loved blood. Foxfire grimiced as he repeled his animal instincts that told him to find the kill and store as much of it before other predators could get at it. As he walked, the smell became overpowering. He held his nose shut and came to an alleyway. Alleys...why is it always alleys? he thought to himself. There he saw the MM standing deep into the alleyway. Two unknown men were with him. One the ground lay what seemed to be so much gore, except this gore seemed vaugly human-shaped. Foxfire pulled a bandana out of his pocket and placed it over his face, covering his mouth and nose. "Who are you?" he asked, pointing at Psykarch and Solus in turn.
OOC: Remember, he hasn't met Solus yet.

Alex quickly ran after Foxfire and came around to be greeted by the same scene as Foxfire. His reaction was slightly different

"Sweet Jesus!" he turned and emptied his stomach into a nearby bin before turning back to the scene

"What is it with you people and blood?" he asked weakly, looking rather pale in the face

"Ahh, Foxfire," the Metal Man said. "I was hoping that we'd run into you. Behind me is Solus, whom you almost met before we left, and before me is Psyarch, who is responsible for the recent vigilante killings. I was just attempting to explain to Psyarch that it will be better for him personally if he finds other ways to punish those who try to harm others."

Firefox felt a small vibration from the ring that the Metal Man had given him.

"I believe," the cyborg said, "that I can now offer the first of many reasons to prove my case--but we'll have to hurry. Are you coming, Psyarch? You will not be harmed."

--------------

OOC: Watch for old friends revisited.