The Uprising

[Lilium]

​

Brooklyn

Every street in New York bore the scars of the Civil War, some burnt out remnants of tanks and civilian vehicles still abandoned on the sides of roads or embedded in buildings; just waiting for the official salvage crews to show up and take away the carcasses, salvage crews that would never show up. Anything of value or use from the wreckage had long since been stripped away, leaving nothing but the bare bones. No police force was brave enough to stop a few petty crimes in Brooklyn now; the improvement of recent decades had been slashed by the ongoing conflict between Unnaturals and the government.

Now, at least, the conflict raged on away from public eyes, the Unnaturals having been forced underground with the special forces trying to sniff them out. Save for the occasional fight, chaos had been tamped down to a simmering burn mostly due to the efforts of the Syndicate.

Brooklyn was a good place for any careful Empowered to disappear with enough gangs and cartels based in the area to scare off any pursuers.​

 

[Lilium]

Brooklyn, after curfew

Night had fallen over the city of Brooklyn like the massive shadow of monstrous wings. The streets were mostly empty save for a few stragglers who hurried home in fear of being caught outside after curfew. After the so called plague of unnaturals had broken out, the government issued a curfew to be followed after sundown. For when the sun set was when the night police came out to play. The night police were a special branch of squads made up of soldiers and empowered working for the government, their task being to sniff out and capture any unnaturals they came across. Routine patrols were scheduled in areas most likely for refugees to be hiding out in, which would've worked were it not for the Syndicate's involvement. Most of the empowered were too smart to be caught by the patrols, knowing how to navigate the city without crossing paths with them.

However, those who were new to the entire thing were easy pickings. Those unfortunate enough to not be taken under the wing of more experienced empowered or didn't make it far enough to the multiple safe houses scattered across the city were captured and hauled away none too gently. The patrol squads weren't taking it well at being evaded at every turn by their prey, leading them to become even more brutal and relentless. A hotline had been set up for citizens to report any suspected unnaturals, or even those who were out past curfew.

Tonight, the patrol squads were excited at finally having caught the trail of their prey. More than a couple of calls had come in about suspicious young people wandering around after curfew. The first sighting had been reports of a couple of youths heading into a deserted station. There had also been reports of a strange man wandering about with a girl, what had drawn the caller's attention was due to the fact that the man had been dressed in the cloth of the church – men of the cloth followed the curfew and stayed out of trouble, usually. Though the squads were armed fit to deal with unnaturals, they had very specific orders to capture, not kill.

 

[LupusIntus]

Brooklyne Heights​

Yar! Here be a long intro post!

A cold wind whipped down the riverside street sending the young man's unzipped jacket fluttering about his chest: surely a sign of the harsh winter that was coming to the sleepless city. The young man who walked casually down the street with three plastic grocery bags filling his hands hardly seemed to mind, rather the subtle smile curling his lips and his long intent breaths indicated just how much he relished the icy bite; the feeling of needles against his unprotected skin. It was a feeling of freedom, one that reminded him of what had been taken from him those four long years. He could still remember those cracked white walls, the dead fluorescent light on his skin day and night. It had been almost 6 months since his escape but he suddenly could taste that stale, sterile air. Now a chill did run up his spine, the blood quickening through his veins as the unwanted memories trickled back.

Atticus Tyren stopped and shook away the images he saw all to often, though some ghosts remained as they always did. His dark brown eyes peered out over the rushing water; thin, pointed eyebrows furrowing against the light of the sunset reflecting off the waves. Slowly those eyes moved up to the Manhattan skyline, to the glittering windows of a dozen imposing skyscrapers that formed an almost impenetrable wall separating him from the world he'd once known. Atticus wondered if his father stood at one of those windows, looking down over the city beneath his feet and pondering where he might catch his estranged son. "Not likely..." He admitted to himself for even those sorts of thoughts would have been more attention than his father had ever been willing to give him in 22 years. Just for a moment, the young man's dark eyes narrowed and he imagined holding his father over the edges of one of those skyscrapers before once again turning away and continuing his short walk home.

Atticus pushed open the door to the lobby of his apartment building and found it unsurprisingly vacant. Once a property on the up-and-up, home only for upper middle class families and above, the Civil War had done a number on the local housing market. Though long neglected, Atticus liked the feeling of sophistication the spacious marble-floored lobby provided as his shoes clicked across the scuffed surface. The elevator was in a state of disrepair and so he plodded up the stairs to his 4th floor flat, pushing through the stairwell door and sighing at the smell of must that hit his nose. Dim lights overhead flickered occasionally as he stopped before #43 and attempted to fish the keys from his pocket with hands full of groceries. He managed to retrieve them just as one bag went tumbling to the floor, sending a few cans rolling across the stained carpet. Cursing aloud, Atticus dropped down to his knees to retrieve them when a sudden voice from behind caused him to jump. "I think you dropped this..."

"Damnit, Sarah!" The young man snapped as he spun to face the freckled smile of his neighbor from #44. He quickly snatched the can from her outstretched hand, his scowl doing little to dissuade her cheerfulness as she giggled.
"Sorry! Didn't mean to sneak up on ya, Blake! Sarah casually flicked a lock of curly red hair out of her face before bending down to help with the rest of the groceries. Atticus didn't immediately respond as he grabbed the last can, stuffing it into the bag with a tightlipped frown on his face. This time Sarah looked over to him a much more sincere look of apology on her face. "Sorry... I really didn't mean to upset you..."

With a long sigh Atticus faced her again and grumbled. "It's not that... I just..." He ground his teeth at the thought of opening up to this girl he'd only known a few months but he couldn't much stand the sad twinge in her eyes. Besides, he'd already started explaining so he might as well finish. "I just try not to let anyone sneak up on me, alright? I try to stay alert and you caught me unprepared."

Sarah gave a sort of awkward chuckle as she regarded him with a slight tilt of her head. "Why? It's not like someone's after ya."
"Right..." Was all Atticus replied, forcing his mouth into a rather convincing smile. He, of course, could not tell her just how wrong she was on the matter; reminding himself that she would never be able to understand his situation. The young man really was angry that he'd be so focused on some spilled groceries that he wouldn't notice someone approach, that he wouldn't feel the thick red liquid pumping through their body. Enemies were looking for him and all it would take was one slip-up to bring him back to that horrible white cell.

Groceries in hand once again, Atticus turned back to the door and put the key into the lock...

And froze.

Suddenly it was as if the world came into focus and Atticus became hyper aware of his surroundings. Something wasn't right and his instincts screamed at him to notice the signs. But what is it? Nothing in the hallway looked out of place, out of the ordinary, but he could sense something.

There! Behind his apartment door he could barely make it out, the faint rush of blood through heart valves. One. Two. Three separate feelings behind that thin wooden portal. Realizing that Sarah had been speaking for some time but having not heard a word Atticus spun and cut her off. "Hey Sarah, I'm sorry but it's been a really long day. I'm going to turn in for the night."

"Oh!" She said blinking her bright blue eyes and seeming only a little bit hurt. "Y-ya, okay then. Have a good night Blake!"

"You too!" He smiled, turning the key and quickly shutting the door behind him. Atticus felt a twinge of guilt at how he'd left her but knew that she couldn't be dragged into this. The small entry hall was heavily shadowed from the failing light streaming in the living room windows but he did not flip the light switch, instead setting the grocery bags down as casually as he could manage while his eyes scanned every corner. They were there, he was sure of it now, three unknowns hiding in his bedroom, kitchen, and pantry. Knowing they would wait until he'd fully entered the apartment, Atticus reached up to the shelf of hall closet and retrieved a small duffel bag that was stuffed there: always ready to go. He threw it over his shoulders before pulling a small black flip knife from his pocket. "I know you're there..." The young man called out as he walked slowly into the living-room, hands out to his sides. "I'm impressed you found me so quickly. Father must have really shelled out for the best..." As if on cue the three figures in black combat gear and masks appeared, each one bearing a large stun-pistol that they wasted no time pointing in his direction.

"Put your hands up and we'll make this quick." The one in front said, stepping in threateningly. Atticus slowly raised his hands above his head, one still clutching the knife. "What's that in your hand? Drop it or we'll drop you." The young man's face remained cold as, after a moment, he let the blade clatter to the floor. With a signal from the one in front, the second soldier moved in on Atticus while holstering the tazer and producing a pair of handcuffs. The first clicked the radio on his shoulder, stun gun never leaving the young man who stared back at him calmly. "We've got him. Send in the retrieval squad."

The soldier reached up and cuffed one of his arms, pulling it down to his back, but just as he reached for the second he noticed the tiny trickle of blood coming from the hand that had been gripping the knife ever so tightly. Before he could speak, the red tendrils shot out and wrapped him around the neck. He let out a choked cry of surprise as they quickly constricted his windpipe. The leader fired his stun-gun in alarm but Atticus was already moving, whipping the tangled soldier around to use as a shield. The prongs went into his chest and the young man wasted no time launching the twitching, jerking body at his comrades. Struck hard by the projectile, neither of the remaining soldiers could react as Atticus jumped through the glass window and landed on the fire-escape. Without a moment of hesitation he rolled over the edge as if to plummet to the alleyway bellow but instead more tendrils of bright crimson stretched out from a few of the dozen small cuts on his arms and face and wrapped around the metal, lowing Atticus safely to the street.

The sound of sirens already filled the air as the retrieval squad answered the call of the containment team and Atticus knew they would be combing the entire area for him in a matter of minutes. He took off on foot, running deeper into downtown Brooklyn and hoping he could reach the gang-controlled territory before they ran him down.

 

[Gonzo]

The reaction that he got from Nilin concerning his (almost) genuine question surprised Diego. Usually when any woman was referred to a side piece, the last thing they would do is smile. However, he had no chance to find out her true feelings because of Julius' outburst.

The outburst didn't really surprise him, it was understandable and warranted. What surprised him is that he had the guts to stand up to Diego like he was now doing. Diego stayed silent as Julius talked to him. Diego's eyes burned as his anger steadily increased, but that's all that he let show of his emotion. It was all the same things he had been saying over and over, and Diego was sick of it.

Diego took a step forward, just in time to be handed $100. He took the cash, but didn't take his eyes off of Julius at all, even when Mari had stormed out of the room. He waited until Nilin had teleported out, and the three were left. He reached out and took his friend by the collar of his shirt, lifting him up slightly so that his eyes were level Diego's. He turned his head to Faust, then back to Julius.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that again," he said in a low tone. "I will end you."

Diego turned his head back to Faust. "Sorry. No pizza today."

"I don't know what he's here for. But he's your problem. Not mine. Don't think that I'll keep you alive. I'm not your body guard. You're weak. Just like the rest of them. The weak don't survive in this world. Not anymore." He held up the money in front of Julius' face and, in an instant, they erupted into flames. "I don't need your damn charity," he growled as he shoved Julius back. "I don't need any of this. I'm not going to sit around and wait for the thugs to double-cross us like they normally do. If you want to do that, that's fine by me."

With that, he turned and stormed out of the room, and out of the building. Once outside, he paused, taking a deep breath and clenching his hands into fists. He turned his head toward the group of homeless people he had run into earlier. They stared back at him with a mixture of fear and interest. His eyes shifted to the trashcan. The fire was dying. He smiled darkly and walked closer to the group.

"Stand back. Now."

They complied, and Diego shot two streams of fire into the trashcan. It was like and explosion. Fire rose up at least a good fifteen feet, then died down to a roaring fire once Diego was finished shooting fire. He turned to the homeless, who almost cowered away from Diego. He smiled. Good. He thought to himself. "The fire should last you the rest of the night. You're welcome."

Before they had a chance to say anything, he turned and shot off into the sky.

---

Diego gritted his teeth as he flew, replaying the events that had just transpired in his head.
He almost didn't notice the faint sound of sirens as he shot thought the night sky. He slowed significantly, looking around for the source of the sirens.
There, close to downtown Brooklyn, were multiple sets of blue and red lights flashing. It had to be another Super in trouble. Diego quickly shot in the direction, smiling darkly.

---

It didn't take him long to find the Super, especially since no one was out at this time of night, and no one would be running like this guy was. Diego shot down into an alley in the Super's path and waited. Sure enough, the male came running in front of the alley, and Diego lunged out, grabbing the kid by the arm and pulling him in. He shoved him up against the wall and covered his mouth.

"Don't say a damn word," he growled. "I'm here to help."

The police cars shot past the alley, not bothering to slow down at all for fear that they might lose the Empowered. That didn't mean that there would be foot patrols; they would be there within a couple of minutes. He could already hear them.

Diego stared into the other Empowered's eyes and took his hand from his mouth. "Stay still. Don't move. You won't be able to outrun me if you do." He flashed the guy a sinister smile, then backed up, letting a couple of sparks of electricity fly from his hands.

As if on cue, a retrieval squad stopped at the entrance of the alley. They raised their guns and paused. One of the soldiers started to speak, but was quickly cut down by a stream of electricity. He fell down in a convulsing heap. This prompted the other soldiers to fire their weapons. Diego shot up into the sky, and landed behind them. Two of the soldiers were picked up from their spots, and repeatedly slammed into the ground, head-first. They were dead in a matter of moments, but that didn't stop Diego from continuing his assault on their bodies. The other two soldiers turned around and raised their guns again. The one on the right was hit with the flying bodies of the two previously killed soldiers. He was knocked back in front of Atticus, unconscious. The last soldier made a last ditch effort to stop Diego, and pulled the trigger, not letting go. Diego dove to the side, but not before being grazed by one of the bullets. He let out a hiss of pain and fell back. The soldier smiled and took a step forward, ready to kill. Diego stared at the man, urging him to try. The solder raised his gun again and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. The soldier paused for a second, the fact that there were no more bullets in the gun registering in his head. By the time he was able to pull his pistol out of the holster, Diego was already standing. With a smile, he reached his hand out, then yanked up. The soldier widened his eyes for a moment, and then his head, and spine, were ripped clear out of his body. Diego threw it onto the ground, then made his way back into the alley. He gave Atticus a nod, then put his hand over his wound.

"Hey there. The name is Diego, and you are?"

 

[LupusIntus]

Brooklyn - Downtown​

The air burned in his lungs as he ran down street after street, alley after alley, but still the sound if sirens drew ever closer. This was the division of the military created for one sole purpose; to capture or kill all those deemed 'unnatural'; and they were relentless. Slowing just a bit to catch his breath, Atticus glanced over his shoulder when a strong hand wrapped around his arm and pulled him into a darkened alleyway. It was too sudden for him to react as he was thrown against the brick wall, one large hand clamping over his mouth. On instinct alone Atticus grabbed the man's wrist, the tiny red tendrils wrapping around his skin and constricting but he quickly stopped himself when the man spoke.

"Don't say a damn word," he growled. "I'm here to help."

Atticus' dark eyes stared warily into the stranger's but he made no move to escape as the sirens blared past them.

Diego stared into the other Empowered's eyes and took his hand from his mouth. "Stay still. Don't move. You won't be able to outrun me if you do." He flashed the guy a sinister smile, then backed up, letting a couple of sparks of electricity fly from his hands.

He squinted through the flash of light as the first one went down in a shower of sparks, flesh smoking. Now Atticus did speak, a stream of curses spilling from his mouth as he hit he pavement just when the bullets started flying. The young man watched, amazed, as the stranger literally flew into action and began tearing the retrieval squad apart. One of the luckier ones was simply knocked away by the body of his squad mate, his limp form landing in a heap right in front of Atticus. Without wasting a beat, the young man crawled over and began riffling through his gear, retrieving what appeared to be a flash-bang grenade and a long double-edged combat knife and holster.

The gunfire having stopped, Atticus pushed himself to his feet, slipping the grenade and knife into his jacket pocket, just as the last solder tried to fire an empty weapon. Hearing a groan from the one at his feet, his features turned into a scowl as he viciously curb-stomped the man back into unconsciousness. He looked up just in time to see the stranger take off the head of the last soldier with his bare hands, the blood making an audible splash as it poured onto the street. Atticus lowered his chin as he stared at the empowered and wondered just what sort of creature he was.

"Hey there. The name is Diego, and you are?"

There was a short pause as Atticus considered his options. "Blake." He lied casually. His dark eyes finally looked away to examine the carnage. "Do you plan to take their ears as trophies or should we depart before more show up?" The sarcasm in his voice was palpable but already the sounds of more soldiers could be heard and in the distance one could even pick up the faint thrum of a helicopter's blades.

 

[Drone]

Rockaway avenue station, Brooklyn - 11:30pm

Sean drank some water before putting it back in his backpack. His eyes widened a bit and he looked more intently at Yolanda when she received her power "Damn, that's some crazy shit, like something right out of a horror movie." Sean said, sounding rather impressed. "That's pretty sick, haven't run across anyone with anything like that before." Sean said somewhat trailing off. He looked around the station, they were the only ones in it that he could see, places like this were usually safe once curfew went down, but there's no telling what could happen.

"So I know it's late, and probably not the best time to start looking... buuut I think I know which direction to head in when curfews up." Sean said, Completely forgetting to tell her about his power. He was referring to the man whose watch he traded with, he was sure there was something going on with them. And there really was only one way to find out.

 

[AllOurPrettySongs]

Yolanda held up a hand, signaling for Sean to stop speaking. "Hold on, I have to know what your power is. I'm not going to travel with someone who could, I don't know, make my brain melt or something." She leaned to the side as she finished speaking and opened her bag, removing the same jumper she had had on before when she ran to the bus stop. Putting it on, Yolanda pulled the sleeves over her hands before crossing her arms, trying to retain warmth. It was much colder in the train station.

She looked at Sean, trying to guess what his power could possibly be. She hoped that it wasn't something as drastic as she had exaggerated but from what she had seen during the civil war, she knew that there were powerful Empowered out there, some that she would be no match for.

 

[Drone]

Sean snapped his fingers quietly when Yolanda asked him about his power "Shit, sorry I kinda forgot." He then looked at her sternly for a moment "Y'see I can make people's organs explode." Sean said in a hushed yet dramatic tone. "Haha, nah I'm juat kidding check this out." Sean said as he laughed of his little joke and then took his backpack from his lap and slid it across the floor. It glided on the ground for a few seconds before slowing down and then coming to a complete stop. He watched to make sure Yolanda was watching the backpack and as soon as it stopped he spoke "Hey."

By the time she turned her head to face Sean, she would be met with his backpack. "Whatcha' lookin' over there for?" Sean called from the exact spot his backpack had been on the ground. It was a dumb, flashy trick but none the less got his point across. "I can trade places with things." He said, having returned to sitting in the bench. "As long as I can see it and it's not too far I can switch. I can also switch stuff I'm holding or have on me, it's kind handy y'know?"

 

[AllOurPrettySongs]

Yolanda almost believed Sean for a moment and tensed, her mind already racing with how she could get away. She let out a audible sigh of relief when it turned out to be a joke; perhaps an ill advised joke but a joke nonetheless. Turning her attention to the bag at his command, she was surprised to see it gone and Sean in its place. She nodded appreciatively, impressed by the power - sometimes, she wished that she could have a more useful power. What use was it, really? She'd need an excess of corpses for it to even be applicable to a situation.

"Impressive, Sean. Very impressive," Yolanda nodded again with a smile. She looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "So you could switch places with another person?"

 

[GreatWest]

Brooklyn - Downtown
​

Fuck, it's cold. Haylee thought as she hugged herself in an attempt of protecting her body from the cold. It was already past curfew and the streets were empty, save from the cats and animals that used the night to survive. The night was rather peaceful today, which was rare. Emerald eyes turned up towards the dark sky, not taking too long to spot a black dot flying around, said eyes gleamed for a short moment and soon the dot began to descend towards the earth. The raven landed on the woman's right shoulder, with its black eyes locked onto the green ones.

"I see. Thank you." And with what seemed to be a nod, the bird took off. Silently, Haylee sprinted towards a dark alley and hid herself behind a big trash bin, waiting for what was about to come. Soon enough, what the raven had said appeared to be true; police cars passed in a set of red and blue flashlights, with a few foot soldiers right behind. She changed her position to be able to see more, but ended up accidentally hitting the trash bin with her elbow, the metal plate that was on it dropping to the floor in a loud echoed clank. She froze. Subconsciously, her breathing stopped, now only the sound of the beating of her heart reaching her ears. Not after too long, the sound of two, no, four, feet joined her heart.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. She was fucked.

Haylee tightly closed her eyes as she listened to the sound of boots hitting the floor slowly approached. The curiosity killed the cat. The voice of an old man said inside her mind. Yeah yeah, I know that. Fuck you, Steve. You might be dead but I don't wanna be the next. She replied to her own mind before letting it roam free towards the world outside her head, searching for the nearest soon-to-be allies. There. And then she sent the call.

"Lay down on the floor and put your hands on your head. Now." Said a growling voice right next to her, the cold barrel of a gun on her right temple. Slowly, she put her hands on her head and lay down on the ground. She heard the other cop talking on the radio, saying something about a normal that doesn't know the time to go to bed. Oh, you have no idea. She thought with a mental grin. The sound of claws against the ground almost went unnoticed as the cop of the radio picked the handcuffs and went to sit on the girl's back. Slightly turning her head, she locked her gleaming eyes on the three cats and one big dog hidden on the shadows of the alley.

"You know good sir, it's kinda rude to sit on a lady's back without her consent." The cop hissed an angry shut up as he brought her hands off her head and towards her back. "Just saying, it's never too late to teach good manners. I always have my pets so well trained." She turned her head just enough to meet the cop's eyes, just in time to see they widen as he realizes what the gleam on her eyes meant.

"FUCK! ROGERS, STAND BACK! SHE'S A UN --" The soldier sitting on her didn't have time to finish his sentence since his partner was already struggling with a dog on his neck. Before he could do anything more besides opening and closing his mouth as a fish, the three cats were already on him, biting and scratching at his face. With little effort, Haylee got on her feet and watched the scene play before her, a smirk growing on her face. The cop with the dog was already agonizing on the ground, blood pouring from his throat as every second passed; the cop with the cats was more lucky, since he was already dead. She kneeled before the agonizing body and reached towards it, searching for the knife they usually keep. The red head shooed the dog away and cut the man's throat, making more quantity of blood pour from the wider gash. She waited for the body to stop twitching every second now and then to definitely shoo the animals away.

"---intuation with the Normal, sold ---" Haylee stepped on the radio, silencing it eternally. With a curse, she got on the fire-escape, going up towards the roof of the building. She spotted the same raven as before on the sky and called for it, all while running to the other side of the building. "I need you to stay with me, they'll be sending reinforcements. Patrol the sky, cry if you can see or hear the police. Got it?" With a nod, the raven took off again, staying in the sky but not out of Haylee's vision range.

Haylee went back to the ground after hearing the sound of helicopter's blades, choosing to run on the shadows of the buildings. She almost ran past an alleyway, but stopped when her boots stepped on what seemed to be a pool of something liquid. Frowning, she turned, just to find two strangers, and bodies, a lot of bodies, right in front of her. Putting two plus two together, her brows rose in realization.

"Oh, so you are the ones they were after. Damn, you did quite a number on them." The raven on the sky gave a loud cry, making the woman frown. "But I'm afraid cordiality will have to wait, since we'll soon have company if we do not move our asses." With a gleam of her eyes, two cats got out of the shadows. "You two, stay with me. I want you to be my eyes and ears here on ground level. And if anything, attack. Understood?" The cats nodded. Her scowl deepened as the raven cried once again, and the helicopter's blade got louder.

 

[Gonzo]

"Blake," Diego muttered to himself. His eyes shifted to the right so that he was looking at the wall, and for a moment, he spaced; thinking of if he knew a Blake at all, or if he had heard something about a Blake at any of the safe-houses he had stayed at. Nothing rung a bell, and he turned his attention back to the male. Blake's question, under any other circumstances, would have gotten him socked in his face, or even worse. However, because Diego was still on a sort of adrenaline high, the question elicited a laugh and a shake of the head.

"No, no. I'm not a trophy kind of guy. Just knowing that the Normals are as weak as they are is all the reward for me. But you're right. We should get out of here. I'm not sure what your power is, so I think you would be more of a liability if I fought them, than an asset." Diego paused for a moment then frowned. "No offense."

He turned and looked down at the unconscious soldier, then back at Blake. He wasn't dead, but unconscious was better than nothing. Plus, killing him would take up time, and by then, the authorities would have been upon them in no time. Diego turned to leave through the back-alleys, when a figure stopped at the entrance. He froze immediately, his right hand shooting small sparks of electricity. It became clear, however, when the figure, a woman much shorter than he was, started talking. From her words alone, he was able to gather that she was either an Unnatural, or one of the tolerable (tolerable being thrown loosely in this instance) Normals who sympathized with the Supers. He opened his mouth to say something, when she continued speaking, addressing two cats that appeared from nowhere.

Yeah. She's either an Empowered, or just downright crazy.

"Look lady," Diego said. "I'm not sure what you think you're doing running out on the sidewalk like that, but if you don't want to get spotted within the next couple of minutes, I suggest you actually head with Blake and I, and run through the back-alleys. The retrieval units don't like wandering around the dark alley-ways, no matter how much they like to make us think they do. Every city I've been to is the same, and so are the soldiers that patrol them."

Diego turned and floated a couple of inches above ground, then pointed in the direction of Julius' safe-house. "You don't want to go in that direction. I just came from there. Nothing but soldiers left and right. We head in the opposite direction. Find cover in an abandoned building. Do you both understand me?" Without waiting for an answer, Diego smiled. "Good. Now, let's go. Try to keep up, okay?" With that, Diego turned, mid-air, and shot off to the end of the alley, then to the left.

 

[Jinxer]

Safe house - Brooklyn

Julius said nothing as Mari and then Diego stormed out of the room separately, refusing to rise to Diego's threats and rage. He had hoped that his friend had calmed down in recent months but he still didn't think logically, as far as Julius was concerned, and had far too much confidence in his own abilities. As Diego left the room, Julius watched his friend go with a sad look spread across his face; it was just like it had been before and they had nearly come to blows then. The one thing he had learned was that he could not trust Diego simply to stand by them and support their efforts, he had his own ideas and would not sign up with anyone who believed in something even slightly different.

Absently, he noted that Mari had also left the building, although in a less dramatic fashion. Sighing, he sat down and massaged his temples with one hand, the other resting on the scarred bullet wound on his upper thigh; he found that when he was stressed it tended to ache more which dulled his mind. Faust was still there and Julius raised an eyebrow at him in sarcastic mirth.

"An interesting crowd, wouldn't you agree?" He asked rhetorically before spinning the chair around and opening the laptop. The two had both left the area he could observe with his power so he had to rely on the street cameras Alexis had hacked for him previously. He watched Diego's confrontation and closed his eyes as the carnage came to a close.

If this carries on we'll end up fighting. I doubt either of us would survive that fight though. No... he'd probably kill me. No matter how bad he gets I won't be able to bring him down.

He moved the streams from the cameras in Diego's area off the screen. If he got intro trouble then it was his choice and he'd reap what he sewed; more likely he'd fight his way out gruesomely and Julius had no desire to see such massacre. He couldn't find Mari which concerned him a little but he knew she could look after herself; his desire to control strategy completely was partially what had caused this divide in their group in the first place. At least he could hope that Mari's attitude towards those without powers, Julius still couldn't bring himself to call them 'Normals' for the negative connotations for those like him, had softened in the last six months. She had certainly showed a few signs to that effect, anyway.

"Sometimes I wished I could kill people like he does... it would make everything so much easier." He muttered, rubbing his wound again. How many more injuries would he sustain in the coming months? He thought of Allistair and thanked whichever cosmic being was listening that he had sent her away until it was safe again, although he could feel the support she had always given him slipping away and his resolve weakening with every day she was gone. He minimised all the programs on the computer so that his desktop picture of her, smiling with their labrador Caesar running between her legs to trip her up, was visible. He closed his eyes and reopened the cameras; he had a job to do, his mental stability could come later.

 

[Yuuki_Tatsunohi]

Brooklyn, New York

Akiko materialized on the rooftop of her apartment building, icy wind stinging her cheeks. It was a sign winter would be here. Akiko shivered, pulling her jacket a little closer. Akiko wasn't too fond of the cold, choosing on most winter days to staying in her warm and toasty little place she now called home over walking outside and getting her socks soaked. Nah, the only reason why she would really go outside is for a job from Syndicate, or to admire the scenery outside her apartment. Brooklyn was a city full of ruins, scars and wounds from the Civil War of the past year. There are still some usable buildings, such as the ones like her apartment, and many places still deemed stable were turned into such too. But most of the buildings here were crumbled and or racked with gaping holes.

Akiko had enough of staring at her ruins of a neighborhood and reappeared in the middle of her apartment. She kicked off her shoes and went to her fridge for something to munch on. Nothing. Her stock off food was dangerously low. She considered going out for grocery shopping, but looking at the time, Akiko decided it was best not. Being out past curfew was dangerous, especially to an Unnatural like her. Even normal humans were subject to the early curfew. She felt a little bad they had to suffer this kind of punishment, especially if they did nothing to deserve this. It reminded her a lot of her early teenage days when her freedom was taken away from her. But there were a lot of normals who made their voice clear on whose side they took. Akiko didn't have much pity for those.

Maybe a neighbor can lend me some food, she thought. Akiko pulled her shoes back on, approaching the door. She took hold of the handle, ready to go out when she heard voices from outside. Then she heard a muffled pop, followed by a series of loud thumps and finally breaking glass. Akiko backed away from the door handle. She listened again for any more sounds. When there was no more, Akiko then considered opening the door to check out what happened. Then she heard the wail of an ambulance coming closer to her apartment. Akiko peeked out the window and there was the medical rescue truck, followed by a number of large black vans in which armored men came out. Akiko immediately immediately pocketed her knife. She heard the hallway door crash outside and the sound of thumping feet running up the stairs. In a matter of seconds there was a hard knock on her door followed by a voice on the other side.

"Open up!" the voice shouted.

Akiko remained silent, imagining a place, a random place, a place she passed by today. There was another pounding on her door and another shout. Akiko pictured the place and with a crack, was gone, as the the door was pounded one more time before falling off its hinges.

She materialized once more, just outside a quiet looking building. Syndicate had told her this would be an okay place, a place where she could seek refuge. Akiko wasn't too sure at first, but she needed a place to crash until authorities left her apartment. And if they turned out to be dangerous, she'll just teleport out of there. Pulling her jacket close, Akiko walked into the building, remembering the directions Syndicate gave her. Third floor, apartment nine-and-a-half. She arrived at the door with the brass numbers nailed on it's wood setting and knocked.

 

[Drone]

Sean laughed, obviously pleased with himself. "Yeah I can switch with people..." Sean started to speak while pulling a little rubber ball from his pocket. In an instant it had replaced his backpack across the station, bouncing away lightly. He now held the strap of his backpack in his hand. "...But it makes me sick, like if I'm pretty close to them it's no big deal, but if they're far away then it just makes me wanna puke." Sean finished his thought, while putting his backpack back on. He pulled another ball out of his pocket and fiddled with it absentmindedly, he usually kept various knick-knacks on him for the purpose of switching quickly.

"I've never really asked how it feels to the other person though, I mean for me it's like all of a sudden I'm just there." Sean said just thinking out loud. "But what about you? Do ya like carry around a severed hand or something and make that shit crawl around?" Sean said grabbing his hand by the wrist while moving his fingers in a crawling motion. "Cause like, that'd be sick!" Sean said clearly enthused. "Or do you need like, an entire body to do your thing?" He said finally releasing his own hand, he kept looking at Yolanda, but was in the process of replacing the ball in his hand with a cigarette.

 

[LupusIntus]

I'm not sure what your power is, so I think you would be more of a liability if I fought them, than an asset." Diego paused for a moment then frowned. "No offense."

Atticus's eyes flashed a very serious look at the remark, clearly taking some matter of offense. "I can handle mys-" He was interrupted by the rather sudden appearance of another person: a woman at the end of the alleyway. The tendrils of thin red blood twisted from the wound in his hand, which he left open in case more soldiers showed up, but they subsided as she appeared non-threatening. When she started addressing a few street cats with some rather complex orders he simply sighed, running a thin hand through his swept-back hair. And the empowered wondered why the normals hate them... He thought, not so used to the bizarre time one often had with power-users.

When Diego started spitting out orders, Atticus wisely decided to keep his mouth shut though he took no pleasure in letting the psycho have the lead. The situation was escalating quickly and they had little time to argue as a black helicopter pounded into view just down the street and began working its way towards them; it's light scanning the row of houses and alleyways.

 

[RenegadeWolf]

Faust watched as things seemed to be heating up between this dysfunctional family before him. He decided to simply stay out of this particular party for now as he hopped up onto a counter and just watched. Looking back and forth between them all. He listened to them, but more than the words he listened to how the words were spoken, how their heart beats raised and lowered with emotions. He smiled a bit amused as he didn't expect to get things like this on his first day. But again the words were somewhat important as well. Talking about the curfew and this and that. Insults were slung, voices were raised and it was all very entertaining for the mercenary.

Soon though people were storming off, and doors were slamming as he smirked that little half smile of his. Soon it was simply Faust and Julius in the room after it all and as "Trust me, I'm used to be around more savory fellows. Situations like this would of ended in at least one death." he said keeping that cocky little half smile as he looked over to the screens watching diego's little confrontation. He wondered a bit about the obvious hacking of the cameras. If anything Jeramy should be able to do some techno guru stuff and track that down, but he was distracted by Julius talking speaking again after a brief moment of thought. Faust laughed at his comment about wishing he could kill like that "I prefer to be tactical with my killing, more like a scalpel. One small strike and you can cripple a nation. He is someone you have next to you, his style of killing more public. Inspires more fear. But fear is a tricky thing, used incorrectly and it grows into hate and strengthen the resolve of your enemy " looking around giving his life lessons of prison and merc work.

As he stood there he looked at the computer again seeing that picture of Allister, recognizing her from the picture on her file. "You are too soft, I am surprised you have lived this long." He walked over leaning over some "Allister right? I would target her first, make it look like a known enemy did it. Lay low as as her death sets in, once I'm sure your guard and down as you let those crippling emotions of yours cloud your mind then strike ending you once and for all" He leaned back up as his expression was hard to read, it was as if he was simply discussing the weather. "Don't worry, for now you have nothing to fear from me. " he paused for a moment as he felt hungry "but on a more serious note, do ya'll have food at at all? It would be nice to eat."

Looking over he heard footsteps walking up the building, he didn't recognize the steps as he looked over to Julius "We are all pieces on the board, be a pawn or be a king. Me i'm just a Knight. I like how they move in little Ls" he was drawing Ls in the air as soon there was knocking and he opened the door. He looked across the hall knocking at the door to the empty room. "well now, I didn't know this place had call service. I think my dreams have just been met" he gave the girl a wink as he threw on a rather charming smile and a laugh. Raising his hand he snapped his fingers as the sound echoed and bounced around much more than it should. "I showed you mine, now lets see yours."

 

[GreatWest]

"Look lady," Diego said. "I'm not sure what you think you're doing running out on the sidewalk like that, but if you don't want to get spotted within the next couple of minutes, I suggest you actually head with Blake and I, and run through the back-alleys. The retrieval units don't like wandering around the dark alley-ways, no matter how much they like to make us think they do. Every city I've been to is the same, and so are the soldiers that patrol them.

Haylee shrugged and scoffed a laugh. She didn't need this weirdo telling her what to do, but he was right. Sidewalk was clearly not a good idea right now, she knew that, she wasn't dumb.

"You don't want to go in that direction. I just came from there. Nothing but soldiers left and right. We head in the opposite direction. Find cover in an abandoned building. Do you both understand me?"

Just as the girl was about to talk, Diego -- rudely -- interrupted her. Honestly, she was getting really annoyed, but it was obvious that this guy knew what he was doing. So she just nodded grimly, noticing that the other guy, the less annoying one, also didn't like the cocky attitude of the flying dude. Huh. Show off.

"Alright, you heard the guy; put these little legs to work, kitties." She said more to herself than the cats. As soon as Diego took off, Haylee started to run, trailing right behind the other, or at least trying to.

 

[AllOurPrettySongs]

Yolanda nodded in understanding before looking down at the ground, silent for awhile as she counted the small cracks in the cement.

"I have no idea. Maybe I could; I've never tried. All I know is that I can only manipulate one corpse at a time," She looked up at him. "But I could do anything with that one corpse. I remember when I first broke into the morgue to test out my ability, there had been a morgue worker nearby."

Yolanda smiled a little at the memory. It was a morbid story but she thought it still a funny one. "I made the corpse that he was working on get up, pull the scalpel from its chest and throw it across the room. The morgue worker dropped like a rock."

 

[Wolverbells]

Maribeth - Brooklyn

Maribeth hummed quietly as she walked back to the safe house. It was the only way she could calm herself quickly and put herself in a better mood. She shivered as the cold air began to pick up and cursed silently at the sudden cold front that came through. Of course, it was the end of Autumn so she should have expected this. It's didn't get as cold in Italy as it did here.

She had lost track of time as she made her way through the woods, nearing the house. Whether it had been one hour of four hours, she didn't know, but she felt it was safe to go back inside the house. Hopefully Diego and Julius didn't ask too many questions and could pretend as if nothing ever happened. She'd explain to both of them separately why she had left, but not tonight. The worst part is that she had left the two guys with Faust, or so she thought. A bit of urgency began to build and she started walking a bit faster, ignoring the cold as it bit at her cheeks and nose. The sudden sound of helicopter blades made her stop though, sending her flying for cover under a bush. Maribeth looked up through the branches and watched as it flew overhead with it's giant spot light on, looking for something, or someone. Every one knew that they only used helicopters when they were on a chase. If they were like the helicopters from Italy, the person they were looking for was doomed. More than likely it was another Empowered that was probably in trouble. Especially by the sound of sirens far off in the distance.

"No, no, no, no." She quietly muttered to herself as the thought of helping whoever was being chased popped into her mind. She wanted to go back inside the house. No. She needed to get back inside. But the urge to help was too much. "Maybe just for a second." Mari bit her lip as she thought it over and then shot out of the bushes and out of the tree tops from the woods. 'This won't take too long' she thought to herself as she neared the helicopter, staying clear of it's blades.

Maribeth flew under the helcopter and flew by the the giant light for a while, looking where ever it was pointing to, trying to see who it was after. "One.... Two.... Three...?" She counted the people who seemed to be running in an alley, after spotting them in the darkness. She couldn't make out who they were from where she was, but she could clearly see three different bodies making their way rapidly through the back alleyways. The pilot must have seen them because before she knew it, the light had found it's way to them and began to catch up to them quickly. Mari gasped and looked up, placing her hands on the light. It was too big to be moved, but on top, connecting it to the helicopter, were wires. Smiling, she flew a little slower to get a bit further away from the light and ripped the wires out with her telekinesis. The light successfully went out and Mari proceeded to sneak into the helicopter. Of course, sneaking wouldn't be the exact case, but she did her best to not be seen.

With a deep breath, she flung herself inside the helicopter, instantly kicking two men out of the way and into the night sky. 'They have parachutes anyways' she told herself as she watched them fall before turning towards the pilot. She had to make this fast, before the person noticed that there was a girl behind him rather than two giant men with riot shields and assault rifles on them. Luckily for her, the man wasn't wearing a helmet, just headphones to be able to hear. She took a few steps towards him and looked at his neck, studying it for a few seconds. Taking yet another deep breath, she let her mind reach out and grabbed the helicopter with her mind, making it stay in the air as she reached up and hit the man on a pressure point. Luckily, this time, Mari had planned ahead and the chopper didn't go spiraling down. She let out a huff of air as she pushed the giant aircraft forward towards what seemed like a body of water.

It took her a bit longer than expected but she managed to get the aircraft out of the air and into the body of water before her mind gave out on her or she passed out. She was now walking back the way she had came from, leaving the pilot on the ground next to the lake with the parachute out and torn so that it could seem like an accident. Hopefully no one had seen her. The other patrols must have known by now since she let the other two men live, but she didn't care. As long as she got most of the attention away from the poor Empowered that were running, she was content.

As she made her way back, staying behind the tree line but close to the sidewalk, she felt something warm trickle down on her lips. She reached up and touched it, pulling her hand away and bringing it up so she'd be able to see it. The dark color stood out against her fair skin and she stumbled a bit, the fact registering in her head. "Oh." The world began to spin around her as she walked, the edges around her sight blurring. Thinking fast, she made her way deeper into the woods before her mind completely gave up, everything going black and all senses going away.

 

[Skultech]

Katya - Brooklyn

Katya had hoped she would have arrived in Brooklyn before the curfew, but here she was now walking outside after curfew. Her previous safehouse in Manhatten had been found out and soldiers had invaded the place quickly. It was by pure luck that she hadn't been inside at the time or she would have been caught. The other unnatural she had been staying with hadn't been so lucky. Having heard a rumor about a safehouse in Brooklyn she decided to try there next. She had been sticking to the alleyways most of the time, but she hadn't been able to find the safehouse yet. Hearing some sirens in the distance Katya quickly figured out some unnaturals were being chased, she would have loved to help, but she had no idea where exactly they were and she didn't want to be caught herself.

Katya suddenly heard something she didn't like at all, the sound of a chopper. She quickly looked around and saw some woods nearby, deciding it would be safer to hide there from a chopper she ran over and hid underneath the trees. Looking up she saw the chopper wasn't going in her direction, but in the direction of the sirens. "Wow what did these guys do to get a chopper on them?" she wondered out loud. Still looking at the chopper she noticed something weird, there was a strange blur beneath it. She squinted her eyes trying to see what it was, but in that moment she saw the searchlight going out. The next moment she saw 2 blurs jumping out the chopper and opening parachutes. Now she knew what the blur was: an unnatural. Suddenly something weird happened and the chopper started to move towards the woods she was hiding in, but was also losing altitude. It passed over her and after a few seconds she heard a sound in the distance, but not an explosion, something more akin to a splash. She guessed it landed in a lake of some kind.

Deciding she wanted to see what exactly happened and started moving towards where she heard the sound coming from. That was of course until she saw someone else moving towards her location through the woods. She quickly hid behind a tree and looked at the person. Squinting her eyes she could make out it most definitely was not a soldier, so maybe it was the unnatural that took down the chopper. Now came the hard part, should she make contact with this unnatural or not. It wouldn't be the first one that would just fire first and ask questions later to strangers. Before she could make the decision she saw the person bringing a hand to her, she guessed it was a her from how she looked, and look at it before running back into the woods. Katya wondered what this was about and started following at a distance. This didn't take long as she saw the woman suddenly falling to the ground. Seeing this she ran over quickly and kneeled next to the woman.

Looking over the woman she saw her nose was bleeding, but also that she was shivering as well. Katya did two things at that point. First she took of her thick coat and laid it on the woman like a blanket, she really liked this coat since it was almost completely water resistant and prevented any cold wind from creeping through. She could stand a bit of cold like this easily though, having been born and raised in Russia. The second thing she did was get a lot of of papers from the one of the two paper blocks on her belt and moved them underneath her. When they were underneath her in the correct manner she made the paper lift the woman up a bit and then moved between some bushes. This way any soldiers coming through would be less likely to spot them. She pulled all of the papers that weren't wet from the still wet ground back into the block on her belt and the rest she just put on the ground next to her. She then started to lightly shake the shoulders of the woman and quietly said "Come on please wake up" a few times before looking around to be sure nobody was nearby. She would repeat this until someone came close by or too much time passed.