The Ultimate Comic Book Roleplaying Universe (IC)

[mr_pibbs]

~ The Ultimate ~

~ Comic Book ~

~ Roleplaying Universe ~



OoC

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Arc #1: The Rise of C.O.B.R.A.

Millennium City.

April 28th, 2015.

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Police sirens wailed through the streets as the multiple squad cars sped through the busy streets, urging civilians to get out of their path they weren't injured by accident. The whole of the MCPD (Millennium City Police Department) had heard about the bank robbery over the police radio, but they were still unable to believe it. A man in a giant robotic suit just strolls into a bank, manages to hack into the server and transfers thousands of dollars from each of the vaults to a remote account that the police couldn't access? Either the man who orchestrated the break-in was a genius, or he was just as screwed up as everyone else in this city. Despite not knowing anything about the robot-suit or the man controlling it, the police force did know that it was their job to stop the robotic criminal before he could escape. But, given the fact that the suit was just a few inches shorter than the size of a fully grown elephant, it was hard to imagine that "losing him" was even possible.

And yet, the criminal had seemingly disappeared shortly before the police showed up. Now, squad cars were roaming the city in a desperate attempt to locate him

"Commissioner Gordon! Do you copy?" one of the police officers heading northbound called out into his communicator, staring ahead at the road while his partner drove the vehicle. Police Commissioner Shannon Gordon, who was in a squad car driving westward (to create a perimeter and try to locate the robber), grabbed her police communicator and spoke into it clearly. "Carter, can you see the metal-man? Did we find him?" she demanded, her voice calm and full of authority. "Negative, he's still hiding. But a witness claims she saw the perp heading towards the OSCORP building. Think there's some kind of connection?" Officer Carter asked, looking around at the city nervously. He didn't know wether or not to believe that a man in a gigantic suit of armour was roaming around the city, but after the Lizard incident... He was wiling to expect anything.

Commissioner Gordon sighed and slammed her hand against the wheel as she continued to drive, frustrated with the apparent lack of success. "Fuck!... Well, follow the lead, Carter. If he's headed to OSCORP, than we need to find him... And no, I don't think OSCORP had anything to do with it. Wallis Osborn might be under a lot of stress dealing with cleanup from the Lizard incident, but he's not about to orchestrate a bank robbery. He's not that type of a man..." Commissioner Gordon explained before telling all available squad cars to move towards OSCORP. At the very moment she pulled out of the right lane to head for the OSCORP building, a giant robotic man came crashing through the alleyway adjacent to her vehicle. Swinging its arms, the robot sent multiple cars flying, flipping the vehicles and knocking their passengers around dangerously. Commissioner Gordon had little to to react and soon after watching the robotic man charge towards her, she was flung into the air, screaming at the top of her lungs. She shut her eyes, refusing to see the ground she would soon be impacting against... But instead, she felt herself jerk forwards as her momentum was suddenly stopped. Opening her eyes with confusion, Commissioner Gordon looked ahead of her, noticing that she was inches away from the ground. Before she could ask what was going on, somebody knocked on her window. Turning her head, she saw the form of a masked man, donned in a red and blue uniform emblazoned with the patten of webbing, a large white spider in the middle of his chest. The masked man motioned for her to roll down the window, turning his hand like a crank. As the police commissioner obliged, he began to speak. "Hey! Commissioner Gordon! Alright, I'm gonna make this quick because I gotta go hunt down Mr. Big and Tall over there. First off, I'm a huge fan. Love what you've done for the force. Secondly, you need to tell your men to stand down for the time being. The best thing they can do to help is getting civilians out of the way. I'll try to subdue him as fast as I can."

Looking towards the masked man with an expression of shock mixed with confusion, Commissioner Gordon asked "Who are you?" The masked man, giving her a nod, looked off I to the distance and squeezed two of his fingers against his palm, which fired a strand of what resembled webbing towards another flying car, safely catching it in a net like he had done with all the others. Turning his attention back to the Commissioner, the masked man said "Well, the answer should be fairly obvious given the fact I'm catching people who are about to crash and burn... With spider webs. But, if you're asking, then I guess I should tell you! I'm just yyour friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, ma'am. Now if you'll excuse me." Looking off into the distance again, Spider-Man ran on the roof of the squad car and jumped into the air. Pointing his left hand towards a building, Spider-Man fired off another web and tugged on it, forcing himself to rapidly swing forwards. He continued this action, shifting from the left hand to his right, swinging through the city while he pursued the gargantuan robotic menace currently tearing up the streets. Once he was above the criminal, Spidey dropped out of the air and landed on the robot's shoulder, latching onto the thick metal plating with incredible ease. The robot's head turned to face Spider-Man, who leaned a shoulder against the large man's head and said "Hey, how's it going? Name's Spider-Man. You can call me Spidey, but I also go by "Amazing" and "Friendly Neighbourhood". Listen Metal-Head, we need to have a little chat. How's about you pull over and we-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Spider-Man was roughly grabbed by the head and tossed forward like a baseball. Once again, Spider-Man had gotten a little cocky and had completely ignored the tingling sensation in the back of his head that warned him of danger. Luckily for him, Spidey managed to flip himself in mid-air and land on his feet, taking up a battle stance as the robotic man stopped in his tracks. "HEY, LUGNUT! Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to interrupt people?" Spider-Man called out. The robotic man simply growled in anger before a deep and booming voice began to speak to the super hero. "Spider-Man! I've 'eard of ya, punk! You're 't little puke what locked up Shocker!" screamed the man from within the ginormous suit of armour, balling his fists in rage. Smiling under his mask, Spider-Man looked at the criminal and shrugged. "You know "the Cushion"? Man, I haven't seen that guy in months. How's ol'Shocky handling prison?... Actually, I don't want to know. I've seen Shawshank. There's no beating around the bush, he probably got scr-" taunted Spider-Man before the giant metal man rushed towards him. Using his reflexes to his advantage, Spidey jumped out of the way and fired off a blast of webbing at the suit's feet. Easily, the suit tumbled over, landing with an audible thud and leaving a small crater in the ground. "And he's down! Ladies and gentleman, looks like there's a new champion in the ring!"

Pushing himself back up off the ground and tearing the webbing off his feet, the armoured criminal looked at Spider-Man and grunted angrily. "You're jus' as annoyin as they's said you was! I was gon' to try and git outta here, but I think I'd rather kill ya. Got any smart-ass comments about that, Spider?!" the man screamed, looking back at Spider-Man with cautious eyes. The masked hero placed a hand on his chin, pretending like he was thinking. Looking at the criminal, Soider-Man said "Not really, but I do have a question for you, Screw-Head. Do you have a cool super villain name? Everybody's gotta have a cool super name, so if you don't have one then I guess I'll make one up for you. How's "The Rusty Hummer" sound?"

Smashing his fists together menacingly, the criminal only chuckled at Spider-Man's comment and replied "They call me "Juggernaut", Freak. An' right now, I'm gon'a squash ya!" Racing forwards quickly, the Juggernaut swung his massive fists towards Spider-Man, forcing the young hero to jump into the air to dodge the attack. However, Spidey was slammed in the chest by the man's fist when he performed a rather unfair uppercut, but he got Juggernaut back by blasting him in the face with a layer of webbing. While Juggernaut shouted vulgarities towards the hero for blinding him, Spidey got to work. He moved around to the Juggernaut's backside and climbed up his back, looking at the wires on the neck of his costume. Obviously, they were important, so Spidey did what he did best: Mess with the bad guys. "Ooh! What does this wire do?" he called out in a childish voice, quickly ripping one of the wires apart. Instantly, Juggernaut's legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground, still screaming at Spider-Man. "Oops! Hang on, I can fix it!" he exclaimed before he began to rip even more wires out of the suit, deactivating different parts of the costume as it lost power. The arms looked up, them the chest, and finally, the head. Now immobile and rendered completely safe, Spider-Man climbed off of the Juggernaut's body and walked over to his head, tapping on the thick steel plating. "Alright, pumpkin, I gotta go. Playtimes over. Don't worry, though! The cops will be here soon to help bring you to your nice, comfy prison cell, so everything is fine! You might also want to have whoever designed that hunk of junk suit to reconsider the design. I mean, come on. Valuable wires that you can't afford to break? That's basically begging me to tear them out." Spider-Man explained, kneeling down so he could speak directly to the head. Even though his voice was muffled by the ground, he could make out a few words: "Go", and "Yourself", with a very rude word tossed into the middle of those. Shrugging as he stood up, Spider-Man looked back at the Juggernaut and said "Oh, and say "Hi" to Shocker for me." before he began to spray a message on the side of a nearby building in webbing. Once the message was finished, Spider-Man walked over to a civilian and told her to call the police so they could arrest the Juggernaut. Once everything was sorted, Spider-Man pulled out a smartphone from his utility belt and checked the time. Oh crap, he thought, kicking himself mentally, "I'm gonna be late for school. Again." Running as fast as he could, Spider-Man jumped into the air and began to swing off towards Midtown High, hoping he could get there and change before the first bell rung.

The Message

Dear MCPD,

This is "the Juggernaut". I've deactivated his suit of armour by locking its joints, so you should have no problem transporting him to prison. If you're going to get him out of there, I'd recommend using either a can-opener or a buzz saw. That armour's petty thick. It's not Vibranium, but it seems to be a synthetic version of the metal, so you should be able to cut it open. Anyways, hope this helps!

- Your friendly neighbourhood, Spider-Man

PS. Any webbing you see around the city will dry up and fall apart in an hour, so don't worry about cleaning it up. Its all organic and safe for the environment! See? Even super hero's like to help out nature.

 

[BarrenThin]

Enter the Punisher​

Frank was sick and tired of these games. It was a wonder he hadn't shot a civilian, running through the crowds after his escaping captive. The man was key to taking down the Bratva in Millennium City. He knew things... base locations, trade partners, typical armaments. He couldn't let him escape. No matter what that meant.

The vigilante's getup certainly turned some heads.

the Punisher

It got way more attention than he could afford. This was one of the first times he'd been seen in public. He could see Cell Phones being pulled out, people pointing at him as he shoved a woman over while barreling after his Russian escapee. One man even stepped forward as though to stop Frank, only to catch a quick punch to the jaw, putting him on his back. It had been a tap by the vigilante's standards, but the surprise and pain were more than enough to stop him.

Raising his M-16, he heard screams rise. People reeled away from him and started calling the police. Time to end this. The man was going to escape, and it was just going to do the Bratva good. There was no way he could carry an injured man through the crowd, either. He aimed and squeezed the trigger. People shrieked and screamed in terror as a new hole opened up in the fleeing man's head.

Without hesitating, Castle got out of there as fast as he could. He did all sorts of maneuvers to cover his tracks. He ditched the vehicle he had used, which was actually the now-dead Bratva member's car, on one side of town, them walked to his safe-house several miles away.

As though nothing happened, he started to look for his next mark after preparing a meal. His victim's death had no apparent bearing on his conscience, though it probably affected the veteran more than he cared to admit. This was just another day in the life of Frank Castle. What now, though? He turned on the news. That was always a good way to find his next target. This time, though, all he found was himself. He scowled. Just what he needed. The newscaster read from a teleprompter behind the camera, saying, "The vigilante simply known as the Punisher has finally been caught on camera. Here he is seen pursuing Deniska Bogdanov, a man convicted of murder and suspected member of the Bratva. He attacked Millennium City resident Duncan Fleeman when the man attempted to stop him before murdering Bogdanov." This made Frank scoff. It wasn't murder not in his eyes.

The news reporter was about to continue, but something happened. Frank couldn't tell what, but everyone got very excited. He couldn't tell until they went to their field reporter a few minutes later, at least. What he saw gave the vigilante cause to pause. There was a giant robot... fighting a man dressed up as a spider.

"Well, shit. Now I've seen everything." He muttered before changing the channel. He loved watching Dexter re-runs. Gave him some wonderful ideas.​

 

[Razilin]

Five years.

It was a little disconcerting when Bruce Wayne actually reflected on what he had accomplished in half a decade. Five years ago, he had lost everything - the use of his hand, his parents, his career. At forty, he didn't have many options ahead of him for a crippled neurosurgeon. The fact that his abrasive attitude had burned most social and professional bridges only hammered the final nails into the coffin of his career. He had thought to take his life, to end it all then and there.

Then, one day, while he was drinking the last of his saving at a seedy bar in Gotham City, he met a Japanese man named Kirigi. Kirigi offered him a new chance at life, a chance at becoming...whole...again. With nothing left to lose, Bruce followed Kirigi across the world. He guided Bruce for five years, showed him a path. Showed him the Path. From desert to tundra to jungle to mountain monasteries to the African bush, they wandered in search of mystics and magicians who showed Bruce an entirely different universe than the one he had known.

At first, he had been skeptical of magic. But Kirigi had showed him. Mana, energy, a type of power beyond anything science and medicine could ever produce. As a man of the scientific world, Bruce initially had difficulty mastering even the basics. It was only after he remembered Clarke's third law of science fiction that the rudiments became manageable: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

And then it all clicked. Magic was just science beyond modern understanding. Bruce Wayne was one of the few foraying into the unknown realms of numbers, elements, and empiric study. He attacked ancient lore like a scientist - hypothesizing, testing, researching, learning. With each successful trial, he grew in power and skill.

Five years of that had brought him here, to a windswept mountain in Tibet. A monastery loomed behind him, its doors closing with a boom as he walked out. His clothes - simple homespun under a tattered woolen robe with poorly-fitted boots made from heavy cloth wraps - were grime-stained, weather-beaten. They were barely more than rags. Dirt, sweat, and fatigue lined his face. Gray swept the temples of his otherwise black hair. A thick beard spun from his cheeks and chin. To the common eye, he was little more than a vagabond.

Behind him was the monastery. His training under this particular mage was complete. There was no more to learn here.

Ahead of him, waiting patiently, was Kirigi.

"You have completed your lessons," Kirigi said more than asked. He already knew the answer.

"I have, Master," Bruce replied. The training had been brutal. His spirit and body had been tested as thoroughly as his mind. His lean physique was aching from the strain controlling so much magic had inflicted. He felt like he could barely walk, but he willed himself forward, one painful step at a time. "The secrets of Agamotto are now mine."

"Then your journey with me is now at an end, Bruce Wayne," Kirigi announced. "When we first met, five years ago, I told you what I was - the Sorcerer Supreme. The mystical guardian of Earth." He gestured widely to the sun-emblazoned horizon, a breathtaking sight this high up in the mountains. "This, all this, was my purview. From demons and otherworldly forces, I protected this realm. For five hundred years, I did this. My time, however, is coming to an end."

"And I am to be your successor," Bruce reasoned. "That's what this was all about, all these years."

"Yes. When we leave this mountain, I will no longer be Sorcerer Supreme. You will."

Bruce was silent for a long moment. "Things are happening in the world. I've sensed it. Change is coming. Already, its effects are out there." He nodded vaguely to the horizon. "In the village, we heard about these superheroes and supervillains. There's more now than there were in World War I, and there's no sign of them stopping."

"Now, more than ever, Earth needs its guardian," Kirigi said solemnly.

Bruce asked, "Master...why me? Of all the people you could have selected, why a washed-up, arrogant surgeon with no knowledge or experience in magic?"

Kirigi was somber when he answered, "All those others you speak of are men and women of an older tradition, of a different world. The world of magic. Though many walk the same streets as normal humans, they are not normal humans. They are...apart. I chose you because you are of that world, and you were at a point in life when you were ready to walk into a new one. Now, you are a man of both the world of humans and the world of magic. Earth needs a Sorcerer Supreme who understands both."

Bruce closed his eyes, reaching out with mystical senses, hearing and feeling the ebb and flow of change, fear, panic, horror - all carried on the magical aether. His blue eyes opened. "I accept this appointment, Master. I will be the next Sorcerer Supreme."

Kirigi smiled.

 

[ch0sen1]

"Backpack?"
"...yeah..."
"Books?"
"Umhmm."
"Utencils?"
*sigh* "Yes..."
"And the three C's?"
"Really....?"
"Say them."
"Caution, Care, Control."

Dr. Phillip Lawson fixes a distraught Linda Carol Danvers hair as she sits there drab like. Today was the day. After a year of being in an icy terrain, Phillip decides to move over to the United States in order to assume a high position as a head researcher and developer in Astrophysics and aeronautical engineering. Simple things to them, it was easy to grasp and understand the dynamic of the space time fabric in correspondence to the laws of the physical plane and devices and such that would coordinate with such laws. Linda straps on her backpack, closing her eyes to focus out the dozens of voices she could hear in the surrounding 10 miles. She was getting better and honing her senses now, being able to achieve things that humans would deem extraordinary. But to her, no to them it was commonplace. She runs a hand through her hair and walks to the mirror and fixes the wavy mane of light brown hair to her liking. Her NASA T-Shirt, and fit denim jeans making her feel like the outsider that she really was. She looked down at her navy Vans sneakers as they felt restricting. Why couldn't she just wear her suit? The same one she arrived to this place with...

She turns around to see Phillip smiling at her, hands on his hips. she starts back in confusion for a moment as her perplexed face shows all signs that she has no idea what the occasion is to be so happy smiley.

Phillip: "Sorry, you look beautiful ....'Linda'."
"Ugh..."

Phillip laughs at Linda's reaction as she hears the bus approaching, despite it being two and a half blocks away. Phillip hugs her on the way out and slips two envelopes in her side pouch. she looks down at it and back up at Phillip.

Phillip: "Something to impress the kids, it'll help."

Linda picks up the envelope to see that it's a college letter from the prestigious Culver and MIT institutions. Linda walks outside to the crisp air and steps onto the curb where she sees the bright yellow auto-monstrosity arrive closer and closer. The doors open and she can feel the eyes of every single soul looking at her, stepping on and scanning for a seat. She hears the torn plush in about 75% of the seats, and of the good ones there was only one in the left back that was vacated, so she moved to sit there. She could hear whispers, mostly questioning who she really was, but she decided not to focus on those. She started to think on the past 3 years. Space, training, Earth, Russia, now USA. Not exactly a suburban home in the meadows. Her mind briefly wondered over her parents, sadness hitting her heart at contemplation of Krypton. Gone. This machine was moving slow, she could have already been there if she'd have went on foot....or air. The bus pulls up to Midtown High and stops in the parking lot, unloading kids that joined into a mass of bodies. The sounds were all around. She could see everything. A gum wrapper in a kids pocket 45 yards away, a small gnat in a girl's hair walking inside. Linda cups her hands and walks vaguely through the fold, going inside and heading to her assigned locker Phillip got for her. She finds it and begins putting in the combination on the slip of paper, before pulling the lock, only for it to snap completely. Crap.

Linda quickly makes sure no one saw and closes the locker back and takes the broken lock and tosses it away. So much for that. She heaps on her backpack and treks to the first class on her paper. She walks in to see a bunch of teens throwing paper balls and sitting on desks, loud and obnoxious. Linda strains her face trying to block out the heft of sound. They all pause slightly when she walks in, baffled by a new face in the school. She could hear their voices mumbling to each other.

Who's that?
Who is she?
Whoza...babe...
New student....hmm...

The teacher walks in and instantly spots Linda and smiles, and right when the teacher was about to talk the bell rings and drowns out her voice. The students sit down and Linda makes her way towards a seat, but is stopped by the teacher, Mrs. Womack. Linda starts to feel nervous when the teacher reaches out for her and brings her to the front of the class.

Mrs. Womack: "Alright class we have a new student today, her uncle is a chief researcher over at NASA...hence the shirt. This is Linda Danvers, so tell us a bit about yourself!"

"Um..well I'm Linda, I'm 17. A senior.....my uncle is Phillip Lawson, that's who's raised me the past few years, I really like science and space....oh! And boxing and hockey..."

A few laughs spread through the room, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"We moved from Russia here so that my uncle could start with NASA, and so I moved to this school. I-- I don't know what else to say."
Mrs. Womack: "That was lovely. And we are honored to have you here Linda. Take a seat."

The looks as she walked down the isle were stifling, it made her heart pump with fury. She finds a desk and sits down as the teacher starts to talk about the lesson. She was already to get this day over with. Everything that was being studied here she probably knew extensively, except for history. She knows nothing of Earth's history. She opens her backpack and takes out the textbook, before grabbing a pencil and placing it on her desk. She looks out the window at the sky, meditating on the voices that surround her. Sounds of peace, and happiness, but also sirens, sounds of murder...and if she didn't know any better, a mass sound of webs being produced spontaneously.

 

[Razilin]

The clean-up after the battle between the Juggernaugt and Spider-Man was an excitable affair. Civilians who witnessed the fight were busily being interviewed by various news stations that had brought their rigs with them, creating an impromptu wall of humans and vehicles around the police cordon over the battlefield. Cops, firefighters, and paramedics were out in force, taking care of the injured and searching the rubble for those caught in the battle.

The fight had been as brutal as it had been quick. Spider-Man, for all his quipping, did sharp, precise, efficient work. Already, the cops were moving the incapacitated Juggernaugt in a specialized armored van. As the authorities went about their duties, one of the officers finished fastening the last superlock onto the metal straps pinning down the supervillain. The superlock was tested at over ten thousand pounds of force. These were of the design typically applied to carabiners used on rescue helicopters for towing rubble and vehicles in flight.

The officer, however, doubted it would be enough to contain the Juggernaugt. He laid a hand on the locks and briefly his eyes flashed red-yellow. The magically-reinforced lock would now hold even a greater demon, so it would certainly keep the Juggernaugt in place. He waved the armored van to finish loading the captive and he slipped into the crowd of authorities combing the battlefield. As he passed by a slab of concrete standing on its end, he emerged from behind it in the uniform of a paramedic, without missing a step.

He went from person to person, triaging the wounded and healing what he could. Bones mended at his touch and wounds closed. Those with head injuries he took particular care with. Most healers would have difficulty with traumatic brain injuries by virtue of the organ's complexity; this healer, however, was intimately familiar with the neurological system. It took longer than a simple abra-cadabra, but it was shades faster than what even Kirigi was able to accomplish. It was one of the few spells Bruce Wayne had naturally been better at.

After mending the wounds of a young woman, Bruce stood up and saw Commissioner Shannon Gordon. He was somewhat familiar with the attractive police commissioner. She was about a decade or so younger than him and looked even younger with a fit build. He had heard about her from when she worked in Gotham City, a "hero cop" whose penchant for justice stepped on the wrong toes and lightened the wrong wallets. Her virtual exile from Gotham merely landed her an even more powerful position in Millennium City, where her work actually got traction.

Bruce passed by an overturned van and when he stepped beyond it, he was dressed in the shirt, tie, and press badge of a mild-mannered reporter. He slicked back his spit-curled hair and adjusted his square-framed glasses for effect before walking up to Gordon.

"Commissioner! Carlos Kent, Daily Sun!" he greeted. "I was hoping you could tell me a little more about what happened here today. Some of the people here are talking about that new young hero, the alleged Spider-Man. Is that true?"

 

[N/A]

____________________________
APRIL 27th
VIETNAM ; THE PARK
____________________________[/FONT]

Jade walked casually amongst the path which lead to a park. It was a warm day, nice weather really and kids laughed and played about. She stopped at a wooden bench, and sat quietly eyeing down her phone as she played tacky phone apps. Even a grown woman, full time assassin, could satisfy herself with the littlest of things like a normal human being. Then a man sat behind her on the other side of the bench, reading a book titled, 'SHERLOCK HOLMES'. The noises can be heard from her phone has she swiped along and played candy crush casually. Then the man spoke. "I've heard the news that you succeeded in killing two birds with one stone... or, two men with one pen." he chuckled to himself amused. "Ah, yes. After interpol you really did disappear for a while. So tell me, where did the Cheshire cat go now?" He asked. Jade said nothing and sighed."When the cheshire cat wants to disappear, she'll disappear." She answered smoothly. The man scoffed, looking down at his book and turning the page before saying,"I was just wondering if you could help me find my way." he stated. "Well that depends on where you want to go." she responded. The man looked over his shoulder, closing his book and grinned switching over to her side and siting next to Jade.

"How did you do it? Take down two rivals." asked the caucasian man. "The two mafias are simply curious."
"Oh yeah." Laughed Jade."They believe I have spiritual powers."
"..And do you?" The man asked rhetorically.

Jade looked up at the man, and grinned as she raised her eyebrows in response. The man only laughed."Yes, I know. What are your plans? Will you return back to the states after your long vacation?" He asked. Jade looked away momentarily before shrugging."Well, not until I figure out something new." she answered, referring to new targets and gear and such."Now everybody is after the same target... Its a shame really, theres no fun when your kill is about to be stolen by another merc." She sighed."For all I know, you could even do nothing for months worth of work and wait for someone else to kill your target before snatching up the body." added in Jade. The man laughed."Well, I think you need a new challenge then. One thats all about you." He assured. Jade looked back at him, eyes gleaming as she grinned with interest."The Gladiator Lounge is just a stone's throw from both mafias. And behind the lounge there is a secret hidden theatre within the building." he explained.

"So..?" Jade asked.
"So, We're reliably informed that theres a copy of criminal and government information relaxing in an office. In a safe. But it gets better."

Jade listened more keenly."We know that one of the cops, who is jealous of the current commissioner is stocking up on information." he grinned."Jesus fucking christ. Seriously? This happens amongst police force too?" Jade asked."Believe it or not, yes." answered the man."What an extraordinary stroke of luck it would be for us if you managed to lay your hands on it and disappear with it." he pointed."You have a perfect alibi. Confusing opponents while becoming the air." persuaded the man.

"Safe.. huh?" she repeated before chuckling.

____________________________
APRIL 28th
Millennium City | Gladiator lounge ; ON SAGE | PRESENT.
____________________________
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! THE CHINESE WATER TORTURE CELL WILL GO ON IN AN HOUR! ONE HOUR!"

But not in that safe... It was a different safe.
--
CLICK, CLANK, CLICK, CLICK, CLANG...
CLICK!

In the office of the gladiator lounge.... owned by the cop i'm targeting apparently.
But let me start from the beginning.

>> HALF AN HOUR AGO <<
Jade had memorized the mapping of the Gladiator lounge. She found the window of the office which she could've been in by now but the window was sealed and locked from the inside and for this task it was a grab and go. Don't stall, don't even kill anyone. That was the interesting part. She again had to go undercover, so she had to be without her outfit. However in her small handbag she had her cheshire mask just in case. The only blades she really had were her heels at the back and front. How she loved to bend the rules a bit. If anyone touched her, she'll kill them without a moment of hesitation.

The girl merely blended in the setting. But she didn't take to long making her way to long corridors and complex twists and turns around corners which were dead and empty. She's gotta be in the right place then if no one was around here and eventually stopped in front of two large wooden doors ahead of her. Jade looked over her shoulder, crouching against the door to see if it was locked, and of course it was. She got on her knees looking through her purse and took out an Elite III lock pick set, illegal everywhere and got straight to work with picking the door. It was a very slow and long process, But since she was used to the slowness she heard a tiny click! and took a deep breath out relieved as she placed the lock picking devices back where they were and grabbed her purse walking into the room much more quietly. Even her heels barely made noise.

Cheshire tiptoed behind the desk as she looked it over. Papers..... documents....... just boring letters and unimportant work. She looked up from her desk and saw the safe, a large and silver safe as she sighed. Good thing it was still daytime, she just wanted to get this over with and crouched over to the safe as she looked into the lock hole and was ready to get her stuff out all over again. But looking back over to the safe as she placed her hands on it, it moved in. Jade furrowed her eyebrows, looking at the edge of the door and noticed it was cracked open before perking up for a better view and seeing a small wooden box. Jade opened the box, seeing a small flash drive then upon looking more on the shelf of the safe there was a medium sized external hard drive.

Jade was interrupted when she heard a man's voice and woman laughing. "Right in here." he said. She looked over her shoulder in surprise and had no choice but to crawl into the safe and hide there as she closed the safe and cracked it like how it was before, holding her breath with everything on her lap. Purse, lock pick set, the flash drive and external hard drive. Jade heard kissing noises and closed her eyes. Disgusting as usual. Then she heard approaching footsteps and held her breath calmly as she saw a shadow. Then the door of the safe shut, and locked. She let out a breath hearing the gears and such echo from inside with concentration and began to shallowly and heavily breath.

CLICK, CLANK, CLICK, CLICK, CLANG...
CLICK!

She looked around through utter darkness. Was she fretting? No. She was feeling doubtful as she heard giggling and moans. All she had to do... was get out of a safe. A safe she never been in before. And there wasn't any air or flaw in this one either, there were people directly outside this safe. Jade looked through the darkness at the lock and closed her eyes.

My brain is the key that sets me free.
My brain is the key that sets me free.
Try and remember the arrangement.

She began to visualize and use her knowledge of locks.
Locks.... Gears...

She recalled how it sounded more importantly and furrowed her brows. In a Helen safe. Finally when Jade got it down she leaned forward and felt round her lock picking tools. She had to rely on touch and feel and proceeded to silently unlock herself. Then she heard more footsteps from outside and the door shutting. Finally that old cop finally remembered where the bedroom was... As she used one of the hooking picks to grab and feel a gear, she lost it and grunted in frustration, trying again. The hook eventually grappled onto the gear and she pulled it towards her, having the outside handle unlock with a small click and opening the safe back -but this time from the inside-. Jade crawled out, as everything fell to the floor. She breathed in air harshly before breathing out and reached for her mask in her purse, putting it on as it covered half her face and breathing normally. The air in there was thick and harsh till' she got out.

The woman put the drives in her small hand purse before using and putting the lock picks she used in her bra--stuffing it in awkwardly. It didn't look awkward but felt awkward and she quickly walked out the room, closing the door shut behind her. As Cheshire walked and walked with her bag in her arm, she turned a corner where two men locked eyes on her."Uh-oh." She uttered staring between them before one lunged towards her.

Cheshire spun to the side, the blade making a noise at the front of her heel before she kicked the man behind his leg. It was like the mafia thing all over again, and as she turned around, she ducked and punch the other man straight at his crotch as he fell to his knees. The girl then handstand and split, stabbing both her opponents. One straight on his head, the other on his lower back before standing up straight and kicking the man on his face. The consequences being quite gruesome as he held onto his eye socket. She looked down at her heel, and grinned."Wow--an eye caught right on my heel.~" she said delightfully before picking it up with her nails and tossing it aside. Cheshire turned around and proceeded to run, deciding to ignore the guy but he had seemed to have a device and press a button which alarmed other guards as he explained,"Cheshire is here and making exit, capture her.".

Once Cheshire made it out the corridors and back to the theatre, she froze in place as she saw people coming her way slowly in all sorts of directions amongst the crowd."Shit." She uttered. She was off guard for a moment and soon tackled down from behind. Jade struggled as she turned to her back in order to fight back, but was rendered useless. Her mask was off and she was being suffocated. At first Jade decided to fight against the crowd, but now she decided to be captured and then handle her opponents one by one rather than all at once. It was only until then she fell unconscious.

____________________________
APRIL 28th
Millennium City | Gladiator lounge ; STAGE | AN HOUR LATER.
____________________________

Jade slowly woke up to blurred vision upside down. Well, she was sitting on the ground cuffed and wrapped with chains and such. Her feet were also cuffed to a platform and she heard a man's voice exclaiming with excitement as he pointed."Look sir! She's waking up!" This alarmed Jade, and the spokesperson turned around with amusement."Ah! she is! Roll the curtains up, bring her to the center stage!" he ordered, stepping out of the curtains and onto the stage. Jade was now being hauled into the air and as she looked below her, she realized she would be going into another safe-like situation. Now came the 'chinese water torture cell'. This one, was an actual cell rather than one with the locks messed around with to escape ASAP.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! CHANGE OF PLANS!
WE HAVE CAPTURED SOMETHING AMAZING, SOMETHING TRULY STUNNING.
I PRESENT TO YOU--
THE C H E S H I R E CAT !
WATCH HER DROWN TO HER DEATH!"

The curtains opened, and the crowd cheered. There were familiar criminals, and even the cop was sitting right up front with her stuff. The flash drive on the table, the mask, her lock picking tools, everything. Even her dress! She was hanging upside down in plain lingerie! But she did feel the pieces of the picking tools she used from before. "I better be paid extra... and I hate to admit it but saved on time." She whispered to herself, wriggling around the chains. She then hung there upside down and the man looked at her."BOYS! LOCK HER IN!" he shouted as she was being reeled down and into the cell. Jade took a deep breath in, ready to hold her breath and was now in the cell as the men held the top part down. They padlocked each side and corner from the top, and soon left the woman there to die as people watched.

There were even cameras so she assumed maybe they were either recording or this was live tv paging into news channels. Who knew. Now fully in water, Jade shuffled around. The lock picks floated out and she carefully grabbed the needed one to pick the cuffs from her hand."SHE HAS LOCK PICKS!" a woman shouted furiously. This only amused the cop even more and Jade tried to keep her composure. She hadn't done this in a while, never did she think she would be in this type of situation as a death-hazard.

The chains from her wrists fell below her, then she unlocked the lock around her neck. Jade quickly bent over to her feet to uncuff them free and the cuffs fell as well. But here came the part which were tricky, her feet were cuffed to the top platform. What do I do.. What do I do..... she thought to herself, looking at the top edges from the inside of the water tank. Jade could only hold her breath for 5 minutes, It nearly took the whole 2 minutes to undo the cuffs on her upper body. Then she did something which one would never think she would do. She submitted, got panicked and pounded against the glass.

Then something gleamed through the water and she reached to unlatch it. a minute passed by, she had 2 left... This cell was flawed deliberately, and she looked at each corner seeing a hook which she unlatched before bending back over to the top and pushing it open. You had to unlock the cell from inside out and then Jade found her feet free as she fell into the water and floated upside up to the top, picking the edges of the lid. As she stood in the tank, she pushed the lid up as hard as she can and it fell to the floor as water spilled out before she gasped for air loudly and coughed, hanging at the top edge of the tank.

When the cop she was supposed to target witness this, his little mob guards took no time to stare and ran up on the stage to ambush Cheshire. Cheshire lifted herself out of the cell, and turned as she landed on the floor all wet. The woman immediately ran back stage and along the way had taken a robe she found resting on a chair. Weapon... Weapon.... she pondered panting and looking around the makeup table. Cheshire took the chair, and slammed it against the floor, breaking one of the wooden legs off before running back to stage. The minute she turned around, three guards were there ready to take her down again.

"Hello boys~" She said smoothly before jumping towards the center one."Goodbye boys!~" She grinned, easily impaling the first one through the neck before turning around and tossing the stick straight to the other one's stomach and standing up quickly. The third one attempted to punch Cheshire, but she kept countering his punches having a mini-hand on hand battle. She then ducked and crawled under the guy's legs as she stood there. The other guard behind her, and with one punch he went down due to the second one's gullibility."Ouch, thanks for the help..." She retorted, grabbing his arm and hopping behind him as she cracked his neck roughly. Cheshire saw the cop still sitting there, ready to leave and immediately ran to the stage. She saw him, standing, and took no time to jump off and do a chase. So she pounced on him without a single thought and surprisingly managed to catch him by luck and drag him across the floor. She pinned him down, and sat up with a hand over her head.

"NO NU-UH!" he shouted. Cheshire looked around, easily spotting the stuff from afar located under the table and smirked, punching the man in the face and knocking him out with ease."Sorry--I found what I was looking for." She stated, standing up and dragging the man behind her heels and looking through her purse. There was a special phone in it and she took it out. It wasn't her personal phone, and she dialed up the man who assigned her the task.

"Come pick me up."
"Somethings off--Can't you do it just deliver?" he chuckled.
"Not funny. Come. Now."
"We got it, we got it. We're just a block away." He assured.

{ THIS IS GETTING TO LONG. AFTER SOMEBODY POSTS I'LL POST THE INTERROGATION TORTURE SCENE. I'M SORRY

ALSO BASED ON HOUDINI :0}​

 

[mr_pibbs]

​

"Okay buddy, that'll be $3.48."

"What?! You actually want me to pay?! I just stopped a giant robot from destroying the city! Give me a break..."

"If you don't have any money, then you don't get a hotdog. Sorry Spidey, that's how it works. I can't afford to lose business, even to a mutant like you."

"First off, I'm not a mutant. I'm what you'd call a "Cross Species". Secondly... Dude, do I look like I've got pockets on this thing? Don't you have some kind of a "superhero discount" or something?"

"You either pay the four dollars and get a hotdog, or you don't. Its not rocket science, buddy."

"Ugh... Hang on, I'll see if I've got any change in my belt. Can I at least get some curtesy toppings?"

"For an extra 25 cents, yeah."

"Why I continue protecting you people is beyond me... Here's 5 bucks. I want a Pepsi to drink, and onions and ketchup on my hotdog."

"Sure thing, Spidey! Here you go. Thanks for coming!"

"Sure, whatever... Thanks for lunch, I guess."

Finishing the transaction with a nod, Spider-Man reached out a hand and took the hotdog from the vendor. Un-freaking-believable... Dylan thought to himself as he turned around and walked away, firing off a web towards a nearby building and swinging away. And to think that I saved his sorry butt from that fire last month... Do I even get a stupid $5 hotdog for free? No...

Swinging away from the hot dog stand, Dylan moved quickly, webbing the hot-dog (covered in a tinfoil wrap) to his chest so it didn't fall off. He tucked the Pepsi into his utility belt, keeping his lunch safe while he swung through the streets of Millennium City. He was late enough as it was, he really couldn't afford to waste any more time. The only reason he stopped off for a hot dog was because he forgot to pack a lunch that morning and the school cafeteria was still under construction (Thank you, Rhino. Spidey sarcastically thought, remembering the chase that nearly destroyed his high school). Swinging as fast as he could, Dylan arrived at Midtown High ten minutes after leaving the hot dog stand. Working quickly, Dylan landed on the roof of the school and ran over to the large air duct that led to the ventilation system. Pulling the cover off the duct and reaching inside, Dylan pulled his backpack off of its make-shift hook and put it on. He then jumped inside the duct. Dylan quietly crawled through the rather large vents, making sure to not make a noise and disrupt any classes. Once he was above the janitor's closet, Dylan kicked open the trap-door and dropped down, closing it behind him. Finally out of sight, Dylan began to change out of his costume and back into civilian clothes.

-------

​

Sneaking into the classroom without even a sound, Dylan crept towards his desk cautiously. The other students gave him a tired look before returning to the lesson at hand, listening to the teacher as she wrote on the board and spoke. Just as Dylan reached his desk, the passive-aggressive voice of Mrs. Womack spoke up. "Mr. Robertson, would you like to explain why you're late once again?"

Cringing as she spoke, Dylan knew he had been caught. Damn, she was good. She must've had eyes in the back of her head or something... But in this day and age, that wasn't such a far-fetched accusation. Turning back to face the older woman, Dylan dropped his bag on the chair at his desk. "Well, my mom got stuck in traffic. Some kind of a super-robot-thing went rampaging through the Business district earlier, the police kept everyone off the road for a while. We had to wait until he was gone." explained Dylan, shrugging casually. Mrs. Womack looked at him with an exasperated expression, sighing and shaking her head. Just as she was about to comment on him making excuses, a male voice spoke up. "Actually, Mrs. Womack, Dylan's right... Somebody uploaded footage of it. There's some huge guy and some idiot dressed in red and blue." one of the students said, pulling out his phone. "That's not some idiot, Jake!" the girl beside him exclaimed, flipping her hair. "It's that Spider-Guy... What did he call himself again?"

"He's called "Spider-Man", Amanda! And he's totally awesome!" said a blonde haired boy at the back of the class, who Dylan recognized as Flash Thompson, the MVP of the Midtown "Bulldogs" Football team. "Dude, Spider-Man's a menace. He doesn't help people. This shows the guy actually catching cars the robot knocked into the air. Spider-Man's a criminal, why else does he always seem to show up at the scene of a crime?" Jake commented, looking back at Flash. "He's doing his best to save people, Jake! The reason he's always at a crime scene is because he's chasing down the bad guys! But obviously, the poor guy is getting no respect because of people like you and J. Jonah Jameson."

"BOYS!" Mrs. Womack called out, silencing the argument. "I don't care about Spider-Man or what you think about him. He's a vigilante who thinks he's above the law and has no respect for public property or the damage he causes. Pretty soon, he's going to get arrested and face the punishment he rightfully deserves. Now then, may we resume the lesson?" The two boys did not respond, letting Mrs. Womack know that they had no intention of continuing the conversation. "Dylan, please sit down and get out a pencil. We're continuing our lesson from yesterday on Greek Mythology."

Elsewhere

Climbing out of her squad car shortly after Spider-Man had run off to face against the Juggernaut, Commissioner Gordon wandered towards the battle, watching in awe as the two duked it out from a distance. When Juggernaut was finally apprehended, Shannon raced forwards to grab Spider-Man before he could get away. The web-slinger was too quick however and moments after he finished spraying a building with his webs, he swung away. "HALT! YOU ARE UNDER Ar...rest" she grumbled, lowering her gun just as the press began to show up. Soon, some guy named "Kent" walked up to her and asked if Spider-Man had been there, she turned and looked at him with a frustrated expression. "I'm not confirming, nor am I denying the assistance of the vigilante known as Spider-Man, but I can assure you that he is in no way affiliated with the Millennium City police force."

 

[BarrenThin]

Serenity and happiness were states of mind Castle experienced more often than people might guess. Perhaps that was because no one that ever saw him feel that way lived for very long. Such was the unfortunate truth of his existence: Castle found more peace listening to the rattle of a machine gun than he did in a sermon, as the members of the Aryan Brotherhood in Millennium City were quickly discovering. Somewhere in the somehow crime-infested streets, a small battle had broken out.

Castle had been monitoring the supremacist groups pretty heavily. They were willing to do some heinous things. Things not all gangs were okay with. So he had marked and kept tabs on all of the members he could discover. What had spurred him into action, though?

The desire to send a message.

He had become a more public figure, thanks to the various clips of him killing the Bratva member. At first, that had seemed bad. The more the vigilante thought about it, though, the more it seemed like an opportunity.

Before long, he was standing near four fresh corpses. Several dropped their guns. The group of ten was quickly thinning.

~Later~

The police would arrive to several dangling corpses. One man was alive and well, though, for whatever reason. He babbled incoherently.

On a nearby wall, though, was a hastilY hung banner. It had the Punisher's signature skull on it, and read the words, "Do you know the difference between justice and punishment?"

 

[TravisBM]

"Thank you again for a job well done Mr. Deathstroke," A mob boss by the name of The left hand said to Deathstroke with joy over his last mission. To be honest he could care less over what this guy had too say about what he's done or how pleased he was about a few dead men because all he wanted was to be paid and move one. "Now Mr. Deathstroke sir here is your share as promised," He motioned for one of his men to hand him a case that was amounted to what he counted up to be 100,000. "I think you've left my share a little lighter than was agreed upon by about...900,000 dollars," Slade pointed out and stared blankly when the man began to laugh at him. "Ya know I like you and all Deathstroke as you have done right by me from the get go, but i'm afraid some plans have changed," with the snap of his fingers Slade was flanked on all sides by mobsters with Left Hand just smiling at him, "Don't take it personally its only business alright."

To be honest he had expected this to happen after taking a job from some D-list crime lord that had power hungry ambitions and wasn't too surprised about the betrayal. Sighing he pulled out one of his guns while the thugs surrounding him held assault rifles ready to fire if he moved anymore. "This is what I get when working for two-bit criminals, but at the very least i'll be able to get my morning workout," he taunted showing no fear and instead pulled the pin of a flashbang he kept hidden in his pouch giving a small smirk, "Time to go to work." He moved with superhuman speed as he dodged many bullets while killing many of the other gangsters swiftly and made short work of his little bodyguards since most of their bullets bounced of his armor. Showing no emotion he walked over and kicked over the desk to reveal Lefty cowering for his life and tried to run away after being found, but was stopped as Deathstroke stomped upon his hand yelling in pain as he tried to break free. "Please let me go and i'll..uh..hire you yes for double what you asked for and even throw in a bonus," he pleaded still trying to break free until Slade simply pinned him down and put him into an armbar position. "That's alright i'll just take my payment this way," he replied and proceeded with his statement by breaking his left arm and stood up satisfied as he left hearing only the screams of the former "Left Hand" who's just gonna have to get used to being called righty from now on.

"Well at least this job wasn't a complete bust," Slade thought walking outside carrying his case and threw it into his car before hopping in his car. He heard word of some vigilante doing battle against a giant robot over the radio but ignored it preferring to change it onto the classical station while driving back towards his home.

 

[ch0sen1]

Linda watches as some kid creeps in the classroom. He was frail in physical frame, yet his body was lean and tensile. She tilted her head in wonder of the kid as he explains to Mrs. Womack that there was some disturbance downtown that involved some huge mechanized assailant and the being known as Spiderman. She had heard of him as soon as she moved to Millennium City. Some guy in a mask that goes around and exacts his own justice on the common antagonistic humans of Earth, well at least in the city. Doing justice to protect the people was good in Linda's eyes, but apparently this nation (and planet) had certain rules and guidelines that couldn't be broken. Spiderman seemed to blur that. She began to wonder how the world would prepare to accept an alien that was superior in every way, even though she fought for justice too. If they were paranoid of one of their own, then no way they'd embrace her. A bunch of students go back and forth about the actions of this Spiderman until Mrs. Womack ceases it with an apparent negative disposition. So that's what she heard minutes ago...

Linda sits through the class as the lecture discusses Greek Mythology, something that she had never heard of before today. All it would take it one lesson or reading for her to scan and the knowledge would be stored in her noggin for a long time coming. She watches the kid sit down, his heart beating very rapidly as if he was running or in some type of rush before he'd gotten to class. Linda starts to feel a sensation on her hair, as she turns around to see the one called Flash Thompson playing in her hair and nudging on it. He smirks and her and whispers a simple "hey" as her eyes bear into the human's soul. She contains her emotions and turns back around, expecting him to stop. She hears the scrunch of the desk move closer to hers and the sensation pick up once more. She rolls her eyes, and then smiles, lowering her hand down under the desk, prompting a gesture that suggests Flash to grab it. Flash smiles and obliges, placing his hand in hers.

Flash: "Now we're talking..."

Linda squeezes down on Flash's hand, not even bothering to turn and look at him, but remains focused on the lesson. She could hear Flash's grunts of pain heavily in her senses, and her smirk becomes more apparent as she applies very light pressure, equaling extreme tension for Flash. He brings his second hand to try and pry the other one free, but her hand doesn't budge. She starts to hear mild cackling of bones as Flash's face turns red, and she finally relents. He takes a silent breath of relief and mugs Linda's head, as she folds her arms and leans back in her chair comfortably, not worried about any violation in privacy anymore. Linda peers over at a student watching the video feed from the Spiderman battle. She eyes and analyzes the film with her vision, storing the costume and armor of both men in her mind. She also scans the video for details, catching sight of a woman in a police car, and another thing...in the back, near an alley. A blur. A black blur.

Her focus is snapped by a sound of ruffling. Paper. Envelope. She looks down to see Flash looking at her college letters and then giving a nod of approval, before playing it off by leaning back in his chair and looking forward to Mrs. Womack.

This is boring...this sucks.

She instead thinks about when she first got to Earth. Sounds so funny to say in her mind. Tomsk, Siberia, Russia. What she considered her home. The people were solitary, crazy even, but they were welcoming, and especially after they were attacked by armed men upon landing, they found a community of people that took them in and accepted them, had they known they were aliens they still maybe would have opened them into their fold. Eating like them, their cuisine. Watching TV like them, blending and speaking their language. It was all new and thrilling for her, but she would forever miss her home. Her people. Zor-El, and Alura In-Ze, the two most important people in her life. Then came Mar-Vell, and she adopted the name under his care. No one knew, nor would probably ever know who Linda Carol Danvers was: Kara Zor-El Mar-Vel.

Siberia, Russia. Last Year.

Covered in a parka and some furry boots, Linda treks through the frozen tundra alone, with high blizzards swirling white all around her. Even then she couldn't see two feet in front of her, not even focusing her vision. The wails of the wind and the drift of snow and ice filled her ears, ringing sensitively as she grabs her head in disorientation. She shakes her head trying to stop the high pitched ringing, but it was everywhere. She drops to her knees and grunts in frustration. Her aura begins to turn bright gold as energy from her cells display through the alien skin she possesses.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Acres of trees split apart and wave violently at her outburst. The wind shifts and swirls ferociously. Linda closes her eyes and focuses her will. She stands back up with balled fists and a conjured drive of spirit that compels her to take control. She had literally gone off the reservation, away from society and Mar-Vell. Now she was alone, and scared. She was trying to cope with the loss of her race, and her loved ones. Trying to cope that she would never see them again, and that she almost died in a galactic war over it. She felt distanced, isolated.

But she wasn't.

Her ears picked up on a particular vibration. A sound. It bellowed through the swirling winds and echoed like fate was reaching out to Linda. She focuses on the sound, and detects it to the west of her location. It was crying, it was yearning, and it was pleading for help. Linda bursts forward at 'inhuman' speeds as the wind and ice ripple through her momentum, a sound of rushing snow behind her.

Voice: "bozhe, pomogi mne!!! [God help me!]"

She comes to a halt, to see a greyed silhouette in the snow with a trail of red leading up to it. It was dragging along the tundra in need of help. That's when Linda knew, that's when she figured what this planet had to offer and the potential that could be established. She slowly approached the figure, his pain apparent through cries and screams. The figure turns to see nothing but, not even a silhouette, but two golden eyes piercing through the void of white and freezing terrain. They stare at each other for a while, not saying or doing anything, until one fair scoop, the silhouette vanishes in a blur, and comes to at the nearest hospital. Linda watched the nurses take him in from afar, a feeling of inner tranquility yet hunger in her soul. She could be better, a protector. Someone that could prevent what happened to her world, to protect the feeble humans. If she only didn't have to be human herself under the command of Mar-Vell aka Dr. Phillip Lawson. She wanted to be a light, but had to remain the shadow.

 

[N/A]

____________________________
APRIL 27th
Millennium City ; Abandoned building
____________________________

SLAP!
"AUGH!"
THWAK!
"ACK!"
WHACK!
"P'TOO!"

The man Cheshire apprehended for the agents was now being tortured and interrogated. It was slow, as of now Cheshire was just using her barehands. Things will get interesting the more stubborn he gets."I'm bored, take him down and put him in a chair." Cheshire panted, taking a step back and walking away. She had just used him as her own personal punching bag and 2 of the agents proceeded to put him down and watch him while the head eyed Cheshire."Don't over do it Ches..." Said the head."I got it, I got it.. Not until you figure out whats inside the drives." she sighed walking over to one of the hackers overlooking what she was doing."Besides, I was just warming up." the woman chuckled."I know." The man gave her a sort of duh look before walking out the abandoned building which was heavily guarded and secure from all sorts of angles and miles away.

"Seriously, we could've interrogated him in the interrogation room. But no--Its 'Abandoned building'. 'Take me to a abandoned building.'. Jesus, what is up with woman?" He said to a coworker. His coworker chuckled and shrugged."Well boss. She's the worlds second greatest assassin... Besides, it wouldn't hurt to obey that one wish. And we did." assured his coworker, a female."She'll kill the guy we need."
"No she won't. I'm sure she'll play nice with him. I'm pretty sure she knows that if she kills him we'll lock her up." added the woman.
"Yeah..." said the man.

Cheshire was now in her usual outfit and she stared at the screen."Find anything?" she asked."No.. I just need to unlock some things first and I should be there in about....." Clickity, clack, click! "Now!" The female hacker grinned to herself triumphantly and nodded."I'll look through!" She nodded. Cheshire grinned down at the hacker, smiling."Ok." She answered, turning back and walking towards the bent cop."Now it starts!" She announced, clapping her hands together as she approached the bent cop, the one who tried to drown her to death."So tell me--What type of information do you know?" She asked."Bitch, you'll never get shit from me." he growled in retaliation. Cheshire cupped his face, feeling him flinch back and leaned closer towards him. Her finger claws gently scraping his skin, but not scratching-."Oh no.... No no..." She said with puckered lips before slowly moving close to his ear."You see. I just wanna know if you'll tell the truth." She whispered."Fuck it. I'd rather die." he stated."In silence." added the man.

The woman grinned, before she nibbled his ear then leaned back, tracing around his face with her claw."And you'll get what you want... Slowly and painfully." She stated in a whisper, poking his nose as he trembled with fear but had a face of stone."You see, If she finds information--I will torture you for each time your silent, and each time she tells me." nodded Cheshire, getting off his lap and spinning on her heel."Now: What type of information do you exactly hold? And not just Criminal and Political information ; no.. Theres gotta be much more in depth meaning to that~" Cheshire explained. The man was quiet, and Cheshire crossed her arms leaning back with a smirk."Illegal Trafficking..." The hacker said."Such as organs..." the hacker added slowly. Cheshire's eyes gleamed with interest before she took one of her kunais from her waist and walked forward slowly,motioning it around. Then everything happened fast. She pressed it against the man's collarbone for starters and slit the blade deeper, slowly dragging it across to his other collarbone."One." She counted.

"What else?" She asked nonchalantly.
" . . . " He refused to speak as he grunted at the pain.
"After five, I'll stab." she warned.
Then the hacker took a deep breath in, warning of speaking."For--"
"Forgeries."

"Ah!~ Did I just hear a peep from you already?" Cheshire asked with interest as she stared back at the man."Well ok then. Continue." she demanded."Forgeries, mappings of companies to do a break in, police head quarters and blind spots, banks, trafficking, trades both illegal and legal, how systems work: like banks, government, the streets, and thats about it. Theres more too." He gulped. "Ok.. We're getting somewhere." Cheshire bit her lower lip."Thats actually good." she grinned, tapping the kunai against the other palm of her hand."What do you have on criminals?" She asked."And why would you want to know?" he asked panting."Oh honey--I know that you have information beyond what the cops and whatnot currently have." she leaned forward grinning as she placed the blade around his neck and gently dragged it up to his chin."How'd you get the information on criminals and vigilantes?" she asked. "I don't wanna say."

"Fine. I'll bring it up later." she stated, twirling the kunai around one finger before bringing it down to his left thigh harshly. Blood splattered on the woman, and the man's clothing and Cheshire stood there, her foot over the blade."I have 5 more of those. 2 Katanas. and 2 sais. I also have 6 shurikens, and a dagger.." Informed the woman."So... Test me, i'd be happy if you do." she scoffed, pressing down on the blade with her foot as it stabbed deeper and deeper through his thigh."AUGH! YOU-YOU BITCH!" he shouted."Tell me." she ordered."FUCK OFF!" He grunted between his words in pain as his face got red. Jade got out another kunai, licking it as she twirled it around with her pointer finger again and proceeded to slowly drag it along his stomach and chess, making cuts. It would be gentle before gradually becoming deep wounds as she dragged it. She hummed to herself lovingly."FROM MOBS! THE NEWS! I JJUST CONNEC--ACK! THE INFO..!" he shouted."I'D OFFER LOWER CRIMINALS TO CLEAR THEIR RECORDS FOR INFO AND SUCH! MONEY! ANYTHING!" he stated."AND THE VIGILANTES! WITNESSES! PEOPLE! ANYONE!" the man added fretting.

"WHY!?" Cheshire yelled before pressing her blade against his hand which were tied to the handle bars. At this point she didn't care. She was personally having fun."B..Because..." he panted, twitching his hand which was stabbed."You guys are menaces... The world can't have you--You all are a danger! DANGER!" he shouted before Cheshire pressed down against the blade in his hand."Quiet down!" She hissed through gritted teeth."Hey--Check this out." Said the hacker looking over her shoulder. Cheshire looked over her own shoulder and turned around, walking to the other young woman and leaned forward to see the screen."They aren't just records, and information on heroes and villains..or political things... Or criminal plans.. There are also future plans." she explained, tapping on the '>' arrow key as titles came up and such. She then typed on the keyboard."And check this out--" she pulled up various tabs and pointed."War plans.... plans to obliterate areas... manipulating the government. It's not just him. He's probably working with other people and/or for other people." Cheshire theorized."Yeah--exactly!" The hacker answered.

"Change of plans, everything you don't answer in detail, i'm gonna cut each finger off slowly." Cheshire concluded as the head agent watched. She looked at him, and he nodded."Looking at the info and hearing.. Go ahead." he nodded in approval. Cheshire eyed him."Nice." She grinned, looking back down at her target."Who exactly are you working for?" She asked."I can't tell." he stated. It was only then that Cheshire blatantly took no chances or patience to pry information out of him and immediately unsheathed her dagger, bringing it to his left pinky finger. Blood sputtered, and one of the agents quickly proceeded to wrap it up and slow the bleeding.

The interrogation went on for an hour and the man was getting limp. He was more brutally injured then ever. Kunais about his feet and shin, shurikens over his fingers and back stabbed through, and she was down to her dagger. He was more bruised around the face as well and brown and purple. Not only did she cut, and stab, she punched and kick too. She broken a few of his bones, probably 2 ribcages and yawned. They gotten as far as up to why he was doing such things, but never who he worked for. Not to mention he went on and on about the commissioner and what he planned to do. He also explained some of his future plans too. But why... Why didn't he tell her who he was working for in exchange for more information? Cheshire saw someone who took the role of god to seriously, and she sighed before walking to the agent who took a swing of vodka from his flask.

She grabbed it from him, walking over to the man and sighed."Thanks, any last words?" She stated."Yeah. Fuck you and those masked characters in the streets. They'll come for you and you guys will fall. All of you. Every--"
"I'm bored now."

Cheshire spilled some of the alcohol all over the man's lap before taking out a lighter from her pouch and lighting it up. With one flick, she tossed it on the man's lap and walked off. The agent looked at her. "He was useless and you recorded the audio anyways." She stated as in the background the man was becoming one with the flames, shouting curses at the top of his lungs and cursing Cheshire as well as 'masked and disguised' people like her. The agent coughed, running over to the man but he had completely turned into the flames and Cheshire looked down at the hacker smirking as she reached for her hand which revealed a small flash drive. Apparently the hacker the agents brought in, was also a close connection of Cheshire and the computer began to pull up codes which erased everything and made the computer destruct and die out.

"YIKIES! THE COMPUTER! THE DRIVES ARE ERASING!" Said the hacker as Cheshire appeared surprise with her. The agent ran over and the hacker woman immediately took out the external drive."Damn it!" he hissed."Its fine! i knew it would happen--it usually always does! I made the copy of info here... But i only managed to get the plans and political info and stuff.. sorry.." said the hacker. The agent seemed relieve."Oh ok.. What was in the other one? Do you know? Did you see?" he asked."No sir. I was in the process of doing that but it wouldn't let me once i tried to hack into it." she stated."Well, am I done here?" she asked.

The agent sighed."Yeah.." he answered, pressing on the device at his ear."Stand down, and let Cheshire out." he ordered. Cheshire chuckled and pounded against her chest before throwing up the peace sign to lighten up the murder."Peace out yo!" She chuckled, walking out the building and casually disappearing, seeing as smoke bombs would be useless.

> 30 minute skip <
Cheshire was now at home, convenient really. Now she could rest some more, but she won't exhausted. All she really did was get cleaned up and dressed up in case she wanted to go out. White lace crop top and long black maxi skirt. Yet she stayed in. It was a rare surprise that she didn't get any anonymous messages. With one blowing up her phone, this was her rare break or 'vacation'. Then a thought came to mind and she packed her Cheshire suit in a bag before leaving her house. Why not walk around? Restaurants to eat in, and surely she was hungry. Very hungry. And then maybe some victory Ice Cream Cake! With food in mind, Cheshire then walked around the city--Gear in bag just in case her day off would be interrupted.​

 

[Kid muffintop]

Catherine Andres

"Ok Miss. Andres, seems like everything is going well with the medication. Tell me, how is your sleeping pattern? Are you having any nightmares or recurring dreams? Anything that you may be concerned about?" Despite being Catherine's doctor for a little over a year now, the lady still asked her the same old questions. Sighing the young red haired girl shook her head then spoke softly yet annoyed. "None as of yet, everything is normal, sleep is good, no bad dreams and certainly nothing to be concerned about." Well, as far as she could admit that was. The medication that was giving to the girl was greatly helping with her PTSD but lately she would have strange dreams that didn't feel like dreams and almost felt real. It was as if they were memories all on their own but of what exactly she wasn't sure. In a way, she felt like they were faint memories of her friend that had found their way into her unconsciousness but no way to tell for sure, she merely pushed it aside. After all, how could she explain that she was having visions of someone else's past in her dreams? They would think she was going insane and that the they would need to prescribe her stronger medication; she could barely afford her normal ones, any stronger and she would be completely broke.

Listening to her patient, the doctor nodded while writing down everything she was saying onto her personal file and double checked the status of the girl. "Vitals are stable and everything seems to be in check. I must say, out of all my patients, you seem to the fastest to recover so quickly and actually continue to show great progress." The doctor smiled warmly at the young girl and patted her on her shoulders. She could still remember the day when they first meet, Catherine looked like a body without a soul, moving around lifeless and nearly unresponsive. It was as if her body returned but not her soul, which made treating her top priority and also her most difficult task. Since day one, the girl was distant, even more so when they had to run normal tests on her to check to see just how badly damaged she was. Catherine would shout, fight, lash out and rage uncontrollably whenever they had to do any test work on her. It was hard getting her to calm down without resorting to tranquilizers but, by some miracle from the unknown, Doctor Silva, was able to get through to her and show her that she had nothing to be afraid of anymore. She could see why she was so scared of her though, after giving the poor girl a full analyzes, she saw the marks of the horror that the girl must have gone through in her two years of missing.

"Since everything is good, can I go now, Doc? I have school today and I really don't want to miss anymore days." After all, she had missed two full years of high school but had managed to make up for it to be a senior with the rest of her peers. Checking one last time the list, the doctor nodded at the red head and handed her a doctors note along with her a renewal slip for her medicine. "You truly are an interesting young girl, Miss Andres. Well run along now, wouldn't want you to be even more late. I shall see you next month then. Have a nice day and if anything comes up, just give me a call, k?" With that said the two parted ways.

As Catherine walked out of the doctors office, a high pitched voiced called out to her which caused her to look up from her bag. "Sis!! How did it go? Everything good? Did you tell her about the...*ahem* 'visions'?" The young girl was Brenda, Catherine's younger sister who happened to be the only person who actually knew the truth about everything that happened to her. "Shouldn't you be in school? Mother is going to kill you if she finds out you ditched...again." Avoid the question, Catherine smacked the top of her sisters head lightly then grabbed on her shirt while playfully shoving her in the direction of her school. "Oow! Cat, that hurt! You know, you're a lot stronger now so 'hitting softly' isn't really soft at all! Besides, I was worried about you so I followed. Is that really that bad?" The older sister sighed in disbelief. "Mhm...Sure you were, now I have to take you to school and explain why you're late and in turn will make me even later to school. Such a worried younger sister indeed." Catherine smiled softly at Brenda as she tried to get a taxi's attention in order to get to their schools on time.

"Why are you signaling for a cab? If you want to get to school on time along with dropping me off, why not just, you know, fly?" Brenda had the cheesiest smiles plastered on her face from her suggestion. She did everything and anything to get Catherine to fly her around the city and what perfect timing it was to use this as an excuse. Frowning then sighing, Catherine gave up and gave in to her sisters idea of just flying the two to school. "Fine but only this one time, got it?" Brenda's face lightened up while nodding vigorously, it wasn't going to be the last time but whatever gave Catherine a peace of mind, she would do it. Walking towards an empty alley way, Catherine quickly changed into her 'alter' outfit, picked up brenda bridal style (much to Brenda's embarrassment) and took off in top speed towards her younger sisters school.

After dropping off her sister, changing back to her normal clothing, explaining to her teacher where she was, and then changing back to her other suit, Catherine made it to school only an hour late. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either since now everyone in class would probably stare at her for being late and having the excuse of going to the doctor. Groaning slightly, Catherine changed once again into her civilian clothing and made her way towards her classroom with Mrs. Womack. Staring at the door for a moment, she took in a deep breath, exhaled and relaxed before walking in on the teachers lesson. 'Control...Stay calm, no need to get anxious, Mrs. Womack knows about my 'problem' no need to freak out.' For some reason, whenever she would be placed on the spot light, she would get sudden panic attacks, most of the time was able to control them but there were those rare ones that would cause her to lose some kind of control; mainly go blank with no memory of what happened. Looking over at her teacher, Catherine pulled out the doctors note and placed it on her desk before walking towards the back where she quietly took her seat and glued her eyes to the desk.

Catherine's little sister

Brenda; just felt like sharing a pic of her ^_^

 

[Razilin]

As Commissioner Gordon stalked off to deal with overseeing the clean-up of the battlefield, Bruce Wayne settled back into the relative anonymity of the crowd. He dispensed with the spell of illusion that gave him the appearance of a mild-mannered reporter, instead opting to simply blend in with the civilians as if he were any other onlooker. It was the secret to stealth, one he learned while in the mountains of Tibet. Invisibility was a matter of perspective. Another face in a throng of faces was as unnoticeable as a ghost and it was a technique that he didn't even need magic to pull off.

Gordon had been markedly evasive about the entire fight, but that in itself was telling enough to Bruce's observant ears. Her manner, her walk, her body language - everything screamed that she was hiding something. And it wasn't simply the police's antagonistic relationship with Spider-Man. She was trying to curtail the press, get them off the premises, and she wanted it done fast.

And that meant there was something Gordon didn't want the rest of the public to see.

Bruce walked through the crowd until he got back to the armored van. It was just about to depart, but that didn't matter to the Sorcerer Supreme. Suddenly, he was no longer in the crowd. Now, he was inside the van itself. In fact, he was sitting on a metal bench within the cargo hold right next to one of the guards, with the Juggernaut strapped onto a specialized gurney on the floor of the van. And none of them seemed to acknowledge his presence. This time, he was using magic to make himself invisible, just as he had used magic to quietly teleport into the vehicle.

He stretched out his senses, probing the Juggernaut's mind. The big man in the robot suit groaned instinctively at the intrusion, so Bruce cast a second spell, calming and sedating the massive man into an easy, dreamless, and temporary stupor. With that taken care of, Bruce went to work peeling back the layers of the Juggernaut's mind.

Names, places, past jobs. It was a muddled morass of memories. It would take time for Bruce to organize it into something he could use, a task that he didn't have time for. He was looking for something specific, something that would worry Commissioner Gordon, prompt her to push away any inquiring eyes. From what Bruce could tell, the Juggernaut was just another thug for hire, albeit with a fancy suit.

Ah, of course.

The suit.

Bruce focused his efforts on finding the memory of when the Juggernaut obtained his armor. And he frowned at what he saw.

An instant later, the Sorcerer Supreme stood atop a skyscraper, carried there by his teleportation spell. What he had learned disturbed him, left him with a growing sense of foreboding. The Juggernaut, he now knew, was not an isolated incident.

He was the first of many to come.

 

[ch0sen1]

The class was almost over now, I looked around and seen everyone reading in their textbooks silently. Was this really what school was like? Russia was more...hands on than anything. Linda guessed scanning text for information would be a reasonable basis to gain knowledge. Everyone was still reading, and here Linda was looking at worms underneath the classroom floor using x-ray retinas. She had finished her reading about 20 minutes ago, but just didn't know what else to do. This was her first rodeo, and she had to adapt quickly. She raised up in her desk a bit to the sound of a fast heartbeat, a flustered pulse, and calm slow steps. Someone was approaching the room. Linda stares at the door to see a redheaded girl walk in with nervousness on her face, handing a note to Womack.

PTSD...sounds unfortunate.

Linda had read the letter using her vision as Womack read it. She didn't know what it meant, but it sounded negative. She would probably study it later. The girl sits down and Linda goes back to pretending she's reading from the book. She had already got a grasp on who Zeus and the Big Twelve were. She had also read about Tartarus, Hades, Chronos, even the Titans of Myth. It all seemed fascinating, to read about gods who weren't The Presence Above All. My. Olympus seemed like a well enough place, but it seems that humans think it's all lore. If they only knew the things that're out there. After moments the class bell rings and Linda stands up equipping her backpack. Flash taps her shoulder and begins to speak.

Flash: "Some grip you got...maybe you should play sports. We don't have Boxing or Hockey haha, but maybe softball?"

Linda returns a blank stare and proceeds out of the class. No point in going to her locker, she broke the lock. She didn't know where to go other than her class. She summoned the slip of paper and viewed its contents. Her second class was on the second floor. AP Physics, just what she liked. Phillip would smile if he seen the look on her face. On the way to find stairs, her x-ray kicks in and sees pasts walls the courtyard of the school, were many tables and kids were. Maybe some fresh air would be nice. She rounds the corner to outside and opens the door to the courtyard. She looks for the nearest vacant table and sits on the table rather than the bench. Shw whips out her phone and sends a message to Phillip:

Phillip=> 'This is boring. We read text. Text Phillip. Why can't I just do what you do?'

She starts to look at the sky and focus on her time in Russia. She was helping people, saving them. She only really saved about 3 people, but assisted more than 30 with things that most humans couldn't do. Phillip was against using abilities in public, paranoid that she would reveal their identity to the world. With the Russian forces already on the hunt for them, they couldn't risk anymore publicity. Even though the Russians couldn't find them, especially now, they confiscated their ship that crashed. Who knows what they could salvage or use to their disposal. That's when a thought occurred to Linda.

I have to get our ship back.

Why Linda didn't think of this before amused her. The Russians could do anything with the parts and devices of that ship. Two years now, they've probably torn it apart and reversed engineered everything about it. It's what she would have done. Give the fact that it's completely hidden from the rest of the world, that means anyone is a target and could be a target for Russia. Perhaps Phillip had already thought of this and done something about it, but he never told Linda so how would she know? She stops daydreaming to focus on the students around her, getting ready for the rest of the school day.

 

[BarrenThin]

Finally, Castle came back to the safe-house he was using. That was the end of today's work. Hopefully, the public deaths of the gang members would deter criminals in the future. He sat down at his counter and pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels out of the fridge. Jack was a reliable friend of his in troubled times. When he was in pain and when it was sad, it helped him feel better. When he was angry or feeling violent, it spurred him on. He poured himself a large shot. Then another. Then another. Before long, he was staggering drunkenly across the apartment, looking over files on criminals.

It was about that time that an unwanted guest appeared, apparently from nowhere. Frank looked at him, and, in his drunken state, didn't immediately react. The intruder was young and plainly dressed. He was pretty physically impressive, but not extremely. It was about that time that Frank decided to act. He dived under the table and slid his mask on. Hopefully he didn't get that good a look at him. Afterwards, he rolled out from under the table and went to hit Bruce in the gut. It seemed aggression was his first approach here.

 

[Razilin]

As Castle landed a perfect blow to the solar plexus, "Bruce" vanished in a haze. Another Bruce Wayne stood behind him, only to be expertly reverse sidekicked into nonexistence. A third appeared to the side, only to disperse after Castle tossed a plate at him with enough force to cut into the plaster wall. Castle took a defensive stance, quickly realizing he was dealing with an illusionist.

"Francis Castiglione," a ghostly voice began, "better known as Frank Castle. A high school bully-hunter from Hell's Kitchen. Joined the military when he came of age. Participated in numerous high-risk, black ops missions in a brief period of time. Left the military for reasons unknown. Now a vigilante."

The speaker emerged from the shadows. The younger appearance of the Bruce Wayne illusions was gone. The real man looked his age - mid-forties, gray sweeping through the temples of otherwise raven-black hair, his lean physique clan in a nondescript button-down shirt and black trousers. He looked like any other middle-aged man; a woman would categorize him as a "silver fox." There was something unsettling about his eyes, though. It may have been a trick of the light, but they seemed to glow a faint red-yellow.

Castle wisely did not lower his guard. If anything, the man's alertness was raised even higher, especially around an intruder who somehow knew so much about him.

"My name is Bruce Wayne," the older man greeted. "Like you, I am a...guardian. Like you, I fight the evils that stalk the shadows. Something big is coming, Castle. Bigger than any gang or drug runner. More dangerous than any terrorist or arms dealer. The world isn't ready for what's coming. It has its protectors - men and women who work in the shadows, like you, and those who work more openly, like Spider-Man. But we're scattered, leaderless, unprepared."

Bruce touched the wood of a nearby table, tracing a sigil onto it with a finger. Where his finger passed, a scorch mark remained, until a stylized cobra hood was fully emblazoned on the surface.

"A war is coming, Frank Castle. And the good guys will need soldiers."

 

[BarrenThin]

Castle didn't like this one bit. The man knew way too much about him. How did he know so much? He stayed defensive. He even considered rushing the man a few times once he appeared. Hearing him talk, though, made the vigilante hesitate. Whoever this guy was, what he was saying made sense, at least to the drunken Castle. He warily spoke up at the end, prioritizing how the man knew so much about him. "Where the Hell did you learn all of that about me?" He slurred. Frank had no living relatives, that he was aware of. "You really did your homework."

Being likened to a soldier made him scowl, though. "I fight my own wars. I ain't interested in being your fodder." Frank swung a drunken right hook at the man's jaw without warning. The blow was wild and without practice, but it certainly was powerful. The man easily sidestepped. The vigilante growled and nearly fell over the table. "I... Why should I help you? Or anyone else, for that matter?" His scowl never left Bruce. "I don't exactly bring much to the table, compared to the likes of Spider-man."

 

[Razilin]

When Castle asked about how Bruce knew what he did, the older man simply evaded answering. Castle was a man of the human realm, where magic was myth and legend. He didn't need to know the details of how Bruce passively applied some subtle telepathic memory extraction techniques to divine some of Castle's past. The technique was painless and reliable, but it only extracted piecemeal information and flashes of images. Bruce had to logically assemble them together, build a coherent story from it through deduction. Kirigi had trained him well in that regard.

"I...Why should I help you? Or anyone else, for that matter? I don't exactly bring much to the table, compared to the likes of Spider-man."

At those words, Bruce's lips split into a small grin. "That's where you're wrong, Frank Castle." He circled the man with slow, deliberate steps, subtly weaving a spell that made the shadows dance around him. It was an effect to instill a sense of ominousness to him lean frame, to make him intimidating to men who could be cowed, and inspiring to those who needed it. The effect gave his words the gravitas of heavy portent.

"All over the world, more superheroes and supervillains rise up from every walk of life," Bruce went on. "Each one has different skills, abilities, backgrounds. They are as unique as a snowflake. The question isn't about power or talent, but how to utilize an individual's abilities to the fullest." Bruce turned a heel to stand squarely in front of Castle. "You say you don't bring much to the table? Iraq, Afghanistan, Bialya, Latveria. Remember those? Battles that you participated in, for one side or another, where the odds were completely stacked against you. And, somehow, you prevailed every time. Even off the battlefield, you've demonstrated rare ability - Hell's Kitchen, the cartels of Millennium City, the East Side prostitution ring...all of them decimated by Francis Castiglione, a one man army against hundreds of enforcers."

Bruce walked over to the table and picked up the bottle of Jack Daniels. He poured himself a shot in a nearby glass and gunned it down with practiced ease and then set the glass upside down on the surface. "Spider-Man brings strength and agility. You bring a level of strategic acumen rarely seen and unparalleled combat experience. There are others out there with gifts like Spider-Man - a young woman from another world pretending to be human, a mercenary with enhanced physical attributes, a young assassin, a few others - and they will all have their parts to play in the disasters to come. As do you. Your background makes you the ideal tactician, a surgical blade among empowered people who can only think to use their powers as a battering ram."

He picked up the bottle of Jack again, pointing the top toward Castle. "You've fought here, in the gutters, and made a difference. You cut a blood-soaked path of justice for your own reasons. I'm giving you the opportunity to expand your sphere of influence and bring your brand of justice to bigger enemies, the ones who really matter. Stop fighting thugs and enforcers, and start bringing the hammer of justice to the kingpins, the warlords, and the masterminds that control them."

He set the bottle down on the table. "Or you can go back to your whisky and remain as you are. Its your choice. You can be Frank Castle...or be the Punisher."

 

[BarrenThin]

Bruce's intimidation tactics didn't work. Didn't really inspire him, either. The reason why was really quite simple: fear and selfless motivation didn't matter to him. What mattered to Castle was revenge. If it took killing every criminal in Millennium City to be satisfied, he would do it without hesitation. Still, despite the lack of a reaction, he listened to the man.

As the intruder proceeded to monologue (and drink his whiskey), Frank's scowl lightened and was slowly replaced with a grin. He liked what be was hearing. Not so much because the flattery got to him; it didn't do that anymore than his spell instilled fear. It was more the opportunity this man presented. That is, if any of it was true. "How do I know you aren't full of shit?" Frank reached over and poured himself another shot before quickly downing it. "Never met you before. Got no reason to trust a word you say."

 

[Razilin]

"You can use the evidence of your own senses," Bruce replied evenly. He reached into his pocket and left its contents on the table next to the bottle. It was a thumb drive. "Some information I've gathered through my...special resources. You'll find its contents intriguing. Blueprints for OSCORP's latest weapons design, completely under the table, no known contractor. You saw it rather recently...battling Spider-Man. More than just that powered armor are in OSCORP's R&D department. You saw the damage just one of their toys could do. If you want to make a real difference...." he tapped the thumb drive meaningfully, "...then you'll want to take a peek at this."

He turned on his heel, heading back into the shadowy corner of the safe-house , and then stopped. Without turning around, he said, "Your methods are effective and efficient. But they only leave bodies on the ground. Any good tactician knows the value of winning battles without fighting, thereby saving their energy and resources. If you come across any valuable targets in your investigations...leave them alive and call out my name. My methods won't leave bodies, but they'll leave fear and terror. They will end evil without a bullet being fired. And those who suffer my touch...won't ever want to sin again."

Again, he stepped into the shadows, his voice eerily fading as he said, "Together, you and I will end injustice the way it deserves, Frank Castle...."

When Castle checked the corner, Bruce Wayne was gone.