The Heroes of Our Times. (POSSIBLE MATURE CONTENT)

Z

Zorilla

Guest
Original poster
ooc; First is Azz's post and hten is mine.

BIC;
Caligo walked down the non-descripthalls accompanied only by the click of her boots on the floor. Sheoffered little contrast to the plain surroundings:while the walls were gray, she was mostly black and white. Her hairwas completely white, falling just short of her shoulders, and herface was covered entirely by a pitch-black mask, leaving only twomilky white, pupil-less eyes visible. The drab black of herskin-tight bodysuit was broken off only by the white of knee-highboots and an equally white jacket. Hanging from her neck on a blackribbon was a white medallion, looking vaguely like a cameo, butinstead of showing the portrait of some charming lady, it wasengraved with the semi-profile of a rough looking man, and a fewobscure symbols along the edges.


She was a slightwoman, just tall enough to be of average height and build, and not atall physically imposing. She relied on... other methods forintimidation. As she walked, the shadow underneath her foot crawledup her leg. It was visible as a black stain traveling up her boot,but it melted into the black of the bodysuit. It reappeared onCaligo's shoulder, extending itself into the air and reshaping into avague animal form, like a hamster with a very long neck, or maybe afigurine of a dog, made by an untalented five-year-old out ofplay-doh.


“Be a good girl,Kiki,” Caligo instructed, stroking the shadowpuppet with twofingers. The creature—Kiki—made a sound almost like a purr as itrubbed against the black gloved hand.


“Don't want toscare the newbie. And that goes double for the rest of you,” sheadded, tapping her medallion. There was a distant hiss that onlyCaligo could hear, but she was satisfied with this answer.


She stopped in frontof a door.


“This must be it,”Caligo concluded. “Best face on, guys.”


Kiki paused a momentin incomprehension, before it opened its maw, filled with more starkwhite teeth than any animal her size was entitled to. She was tryingto smile, and she had no real concept of how frightening she looked,even for a creature no larger than someone's hand. Caligo did noteven notice as she opened the door and stepped in to meet her newprotege.



ooc: Now my post


BIC;

After what seemed like fifteen years he had FINALLY made it to Earth, fifteen years was pushing it, it was really only a couple of days. Hey, when you had nothing to do in the vacuum of space but float there, unable to sleep because you had to make sure you were on course, and little to no new space anomalies were to be seen for nearly hundred of thousands of parsec’s, you’d be bored too. Hours turned to days, days to… well life times almost. When the big blue ball of worthless technology, practically a breathing cesspool came into view, he was never happier in his life. His body easily went through Earths one atmosphere, the heat easily tolerated, he wouldn’t make light of the situation however, he had honestly never seen a more beautiful ocean, a more exquisitely arranged set of land masses, in his life.

Quickly looking at a silver wristband that had a faint red light which was a directional compass he pointed himself at the North American Continent. It was only a matter of minutes before eh was there, the building he was meant to meet his ‘teacher’ in. Sure, he was probably older than her, then again who wasn’t he older than? His race were the product of star gas merging with a space energy that seemed to be sentient, this allowed the living life lending matter to become a body, a body that had its own form, its own unique set of looks, views, everything. It just so happened that his body appeared to be somewhat human. That is, if black eyes with a white iris, white dread locks, dark skin, large build, and a six foot tall body counted as human.

As he waited in the building for her, an apartment room that S.H.A.W. *Super-Hero Allegiance Worldwide), provided for him. The place was small, but he didn’t exactly mind the size, he figured he wouldn’t be in the tinny space often enough to care. Its area was run down, and messed up, dirt was everywhere, they provided him with a cheap class one technological stove with pollution emissions enough to destroy ones liver. Yay, this was a good place to be. He even had earth cloths. A stained messed up white T-shirt, that he actually liked, and a pair of blue jeans, that he hated. About the time he looked around, he was reminded of why he really wanted to come to Earth, its life force.

See Vita Compello, his full name. had one power and one power only, and it made him quite strong on this planet. He could see life force, mold it, extract ti, and force it into physical stages and forms of matter. Sure whatever the life force was taken from would die, but, he could also put the life force he used into a living entity thus allowing for the new thing to live. If he did so to something like a planet he could actually make it grow, bud, seed, or prosper dramatically, basically renewing the cycle. So he wasn’t necessary a destroyer, he just couldn’t take the life force of humans, if he did they’d die. More importantly he couldn’t remove the life force from a strong willed individual at all, he knew so he tried already.

As one woman approached his apartment he saw her clearly through the door, her life force was strong, very nice. He watched her very, very calmly as she walked through the door and spoke. “I take it you are meant to be the teacher/” he asked, his voice was very calm, very collective but dark and airy, yet full of some kind of positive emotion. He stood in his sloppy white t-shirt and held out his hand, his finger nails black like space, and long, his skin white from the lack of direct sunlight. “it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. “ He spoke again.
 
Re: The heros of our times. (POSSIBLE MATURE CONTENT

Caligo took his hand and shook it.

"Ah, hello. Yes. I'm Caligo. And you must be Vita?"

Kiki slithered down the sleeve of Caligo's jacket and stopped on her wrist, looking down on Vita's hand with her strange, sightless senses.

"And that's Kiki," Caligo sighed. She shooed the shadowpuppet away, and Kiki retreated underneath Caligo's jacket. "Sorry about that. So... I'm given to understand you haven't been on Earth for very long."
 
Re: The heros of our times. (POSSIBLE MATURE CONTENT

The girl was nice, taking his hand in a very delicate manner and shaking it, he was extremely tempted to withdraw some of her life force, it seemed to be almost radiating from her, although he soon found what the source really was, her little puppet thing of a friend. Hi looked at it a moment and then back to the owner, a look in his eyes that could only be described as apathetic. He nodded his head, his dreads moving slightly. “Indeed, a little while as in maybe a few hours.” He commented. His eyes were carefully moving from her to the puppet until it left. “I see, that must be your power.’ He hinted. He didn’t like how she said his name, she couldn’t pronounce it like his people, with a proper accent , it was too be expected however. “You may call me “V” .” He said smoothly. “I am happy to meet you. Caligo.’ His mouth tried hard to form the words, although it came out on syllable at a time still.
 
"Alright, then, V," Caligo grinned underneath her mask. He seemed like a very personable individual, though there was something subtly different about him, hinting that he was not human. The shadowpuppets in her medallion made confusing noises, not quite hostile, but wary. The eldest shadowpuppet, currently occupying ('possessing' seemed like such a strong word) her body sent a confusíng warning to her: 'predator'. She put this warning aside for now, however, since the shadows tended to be a bit paranoid even on a regular day.

"Wait, a few hours?" she repeated in disbelief. "S.H.A.W. certainly works fast! Would that be Earth hours, or er... wherever-you-come-from hours?"
 
He stared at her, and her amulet as he calmly said. “So that thing is special to you? I ask because you’ve looked at ti several times since coming in here, as if it were drawing your attention. I assure you, I am no thief.” His tone was very appalled as he watched her move and speak. How the heck could this woman accuse him of doing something he had not rack record of doing. ”I didn’t know humans were so repugnant, they judge you before even getting to know you. How…. Droll.” He thought o himself, his eyes betraying no hint of negative emotions as he all but lied to her face. This girl, though pretty, and having a good life force, was going to be trouble wasn’t she?

He looked at the clock and then back at her. “Earth hours. My wrist band.” Which he pointed too rather casually, “Is a directional compass and a clock, that’s about all it can do. I am capable of super-light speeds. Which is easier maintained in a vacuum so that there is little resistance, but all the same, such a speed is impossible here/” he asked hinting that he picked up on her discomfort in his time analysis. So he was fast, what was the deal? It was like taking a good burst of life force and propelling yourself forward, was it that impressive to her? His white iris looked her up and down, she was covered with a mask, what was she hiding? Really the masked part didn’t strike him until just a few seconds ago, he had seen a few humans on the way in, they didn’t wear masks, so why did she?

“Human,” he used a rather insulting term. “I assure you I will not contaminate you with any virus, bacteria or anything harmful. You are, indeed, safe with me in the room. You may remove your gas mask and stop filtering the air around us.” His voice had dropped any tone pointed calmly, barely lifting his left hands index finger to point. “I can grantee that you are safe, I wouldn’t poison you with anything interstellar.” He seemed to be really offended by her mask, as he pointed it out, she had no need for it. Even though he didn’t understand the principle of ‘secret identity.
 
Caligo's hand shot up to the medallion automatically when he mentioned it. "Oh, no, no, it's just... er, it's complicated. Trust me, I'm not worried about anybody stealing it. It would end badly for them."

She was more curious about his accessories, however. She didn't have a good grasp of relativity, but she knew enough to realize how impressive it was to move at lightspeeds. And he was just so casual about it!
She listened to his reassurances with mounting disbelief. Apparently, they did not have the concept of 'secret identity' where he came from, but she was astounded with his ability to assume the absolute worst about her at every turn. She felt mildly insulted, and mostly amused, just like she did when she read speculative articles in trashy tabloids that implied she had some sort of sinister agenda.

"I wouldn't know anything about that," she said, then burst into a short bout of laughter. She smothered it, however. "This isn't a gas mask. It's just a plain ol' regular mask. I, uh, I'm sure S.H.A.W. wouldn't allow you to walk around willy-nilly if you were dangerous. But I need this mask so people don't know who I am. I'm in the kind of line of work where I make enemies on a regular basis, y'know?" she shrugged.
 
He nodded understanding what she was talking about as he commented rather bluntly. “Am I someone you wanted to hide from? I’m sorry, I do not meant to insult you, however, for me the hidden identify is, how do you say? Unsettling?” He questioned a moment and then nodded, “Yes Unsettling.” His voice was very, very calm still, not yet portraying any emotions it might be withholding. His eyes scanned again as she explained about her pendant, it wasn’t something that he really cared about however it just seemed that this girl for whatever reason didn’t trust him, despite what she was telling him now. Think of it more as a… feeling. He couldn’t shake. He felt alarmed, insulted, and on edge byt this girl, but perhaps it was the conflict of cultures? He should lighten up and let her in more, hoping maybe that it would relate back to a more friendly environment.

“I see, what is so special about your pendant that you must contagiously grab it and stroke it so. I have already deduced it’s about your powers, I noticed that because you were doing things with it through the door.” He so simply told her it was like he could see right through her, as if he knew everything she was trying to hide, or he felt like she was trying to hide. His eyes carefully watched her movements again. “And to be honest the mask, gas mask or not, is rather just… off setting. It doesn’t effect my view of your face, but I can tell that ti is there.” He said again his answer was so strange, how did it not obscure her face, but he could see it at the same time. “You see, it simply bothers me, it tells me odd tings, things of distrust. I apologize, I must be coming off rudely.” He said again as he silenced himself. “Sha’ll we get going, perhaps that will shift the attention away from ourselves/”
 
Caligo wavered for just a moment. She felt quite a bit unsettled herself, but in the end, there was no two ways about it. She was, at the moment, the good will ambassador to the entire planet, and it wouldn't do to make a guest feel unwelcome. Strictly speaking, it wasn't as if he could reveal anything about her just by seeing her face, and he probably wouldn't, anyway, if S.H.A.W. had vetted him.

"You make a good point, actually," she said, and tapped the amulet with her fingers. The gesture was unnecessary, as the shadowpuppets were linked to her empathically, and so could follow commands even if they were not spoken, but it was a gesture she used to reassure herself that they were there.

Inky shapes seeped out of the amulet to the floor, like black fog. They did not so much materialize, as coalesce into different shapes. There were half a dozen, varying in size from Kiki (the size of a mouse), to some the size of cats and medium-sized dogs. They gathered in a circle, fixing V with their invisible eyes. Their tension was palpable in the air, even if they had no muscles or facial expressions. Their shapes were vaguely animal, though some had more legs or heads than necessary, and a smaller one even had a tail shaped lik a mace, for some reason. They were opaque, in the same sense that darkness on a moonless night was opaque. They were living creatures, though lacking physical bodies, and they were visibly unhappy abot being called out to meet V. They disliked strangers as a rule, but they seemed especially distrustful of him. They sensed, on some deep level, that he could harm them if he had a mind to.

"These are the shadowpuppets," Caligo gestured towards them. "Ah, not all of them, though."

Just as it had seeped from the amulet, the same fog of darkness began billowing out of her eyes. As it descended to the ground, Caligo's hair began turning a more ordinary shade of chestnut brown, and the mask she wore unpeeled itself, joining the body of the shadowpuppet now forming in fron of her.

This one was by far the largest, as large as the biggest Great Dane possible, and it settled into the shape of one, albeit completely black and with an unnaturally thin body.

"I call him Tam," Caligo said, petting the head of the giant shadowpuppet.

Tam did not react to the gesture, instead standing still and tense, like the others.

"So, this is what I look like," she shrugged. Her face was tan, with features that were pleasing, rather than pretty. She had brown eyes, slightly almond-shaped, and thin lips. She attempted a smile, but gave it up halfway, because it felt a bit forced. "Trust me now?" She shifted awkwardly, waiting for his reaction.
 
As one puppet came out after another, after another, and after another. His vision was soon covered in life energy, in the fierce belonging and state of what would otherwise be confused as vampirism. He wanted to eat one, drink its energy until it was all gone, and had no more. Why was she punishing him, torturing him with these, these things. Each one had it’s own look, a ‘face’ and each one seemed to not trust him, as though the pathetic things could comprehend what he was able to do to them. You know, devour their ‘soul’ and leave them lifeless. Sure, they may have had some instinctual defense that forced them into alertness, but no sense of alertness would aid them in avoiding what could happen, what might happen if she continued to present him with, with these things.

Soon after she was done, and her body was put back into its ‘normal’ form he just nodded once, and then twice. “Indeed, I see so humans ARE much more fragile than I originally thought, so then I can assume that your powers are rare amongst your people, kind of interesting I must say. You are much more, how do you say here? Appealing in your normal form than your hero form, but what do I know yeah?” He said his eyes scanning. “Well then, since I now know your powers, I guess you should see my main power… The reason I have my ‘superhero’ name.” He nodded. “it was given to me by a green lantern, they simply call me “Star Burst’” His voice was very dry still. He looked about the apartment room, trying to find a good example. Soon he stopped by a fly, who he held his hand out for and it handed like it was being called. “Everything, living or non living has life force, the thing that makes it work the way it should work. I can take that life force from any object, person, living being, and use it to my own will.” E said calmly as a bright blue light was given off from the fly. It was blinding at first, and then seemed to turn into lighting which skipped away, and disappeared rather quickly. Soon in his hand was a simply orb that looked like iron.

“The energy can be used for whatever I choose, this orb was made from it,” he reformed it into a small complex knife that was no bigger than his finger nail. “Or this knife.” The bright blue light flashed again and then was released a small statue of her, complete down to her eyes, and on it’s back was her in her super hero form. “Whatever I can think of, it can happen.” He spoke as he handed her the statue, it was heavy, dense, durable. “I usually do not take from anything… none replaceable, for instance YOU for example. I could withdraw your life force, given that your will is not as strong as my will….though we could calculate that. Anyway, but if I did, you’d die, and I couldn’t bring you back to life, so instead I may take the life force from a strand of hair, something that will grow back. Or from the street pavement, or a piece of glass. The list goes on, it’s all a matter of thinking and using my brains instead of my browns. “ he commented rather loosely.

“So than, now that we know one anthers power, what has the lovely agency of S.H.A.W. brought you here for, that is to say what are we supposed to do together.” His voice was very collective, very, profound. He wasn’t going to give ANYONE or ANYTHING on this planet the time of day of hearing him actually emotional, or caring, or undignified. No, none of them had that right and that’s how it was going to stay.
 
As she watched his demonstration, Caligo had to seriously ask herself if someone at S.H.A.W. was messing with her. It would not be the first time they'd thrown her in the deep end just to see if she'd sink or swim. The shadowpuppets were very aggitated by V's presence, and seeing him do... do that to a fly only made them all start to hiss in alarm. The sound was sending psychic echoes through her mind that were starting to give her a headache. Still,she could see why the agency wanted him brought into the fold. That was a lot of power for one person to have. She turned the statue he'd given her over in her hands, amazed at the detail. The shadowpuppets were displeased with this gift, but then again, it seemed like they only had two moods: displeased and bloodthirsty. At least they hadn't worked themselves up to the second one yet.

She sent a command, an the shadowpuppets started retreating into the amulet, slowly and with an eye constantly on V. Their confusing warnings about him were starting to make more sense now. Tam remained last, not having moved an inch, and still fixing his glare on V. Caligo did her best to ignore it.

"I'm supposed to show you around the city tonight, just get you acquainted with it. And this may sound like an odd question, but how good are you at navigating rooftops?"