- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per week
- Writing Levels
- Advanced
- Adaptable
- Preferred Character Gender
- Male
- Female
- Genres
- Superhero[OC, DC maybe Marvel], Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Open to Steam Punk or Cyber Punk
This is a private RP and recruitment is done by invite only. If you have not recieved an invitation, please do not post in the OOC.
VIGILANCE:
~Rise of the Mavericks~
| GM: Lord Wraith | Co-GM: Stein | Associate-GM: Hillan |
| Genre: Superhuman, Modern Fantasy | Type: Linear, Sandbox |
VIGILANCE:
~Rise of the Mavericks~
| GM: Lord Wraith | Co-GM: Stein | Associate-GM: Hillan |
| Genre: Superhuman, Modern Fantasy | Type: Linear, Sandbox |
A pale warmth came from the lingering rays of the sun while the lapping waters of the Pamlico Sound seemed to eagerly swallow up the floating orb, transitioning the city of Larissa into a deceptively peaceful twilight. A breeze filled with the salt, spray and seafoam swiveled around Caleb Michaels and his pensive soul atop the Rhodes Lighthouse. The city and area sprawled beneath him and so high up, he still felt the weight that had been plaguing him for a month. Caleb had to close his eyes as he tried to block the sounds of the city from his keen auditory senses. The screams and sirens haunted his every waking moment since they had retreated to coast, forced from their home.
'An entire month of darkness, since the corruption believed it had snuffed out the light. A month since she left a knife in their backs.'
Caleb exhaled sharply, struggling to stop his hand from locking in its clenched state. They had so desperately needed the month, he had to assure himself. Each morning he woke, he'd had to tell himself that. Even when Thomas swore he was ready three weeks ago, his ever-taut muscles and jittering hands told a different story. So Cal had denied him, turning back to the tinkering and working he'd been obsessing over, leaving all else to the side.
And then there was Maki. Looking back, Cal could only imagine his pain as Makarios had made the decision to respect Xander's dying wish. In the end, when Xander and Adam had offered up their lives, Cal wouldn't hear it. He'd fought and fought. It was Makarios who had to drag him away to safety. He realized he often overlooked that fact of the night, the thought being overshadowed by the ingrained feeling of heat against his face as the flames took their base and the singe of burning wood and sewage as they escaped underground.
They'd each lost something other than team members that night: a family, a love, a home.
'Is this…worth it?'
The question had played around him every day since that night. Day by day, it etched farther into his mind. For a moment, he'd had no answer.
"Glitch," Cal seemed to speak to the wind, "Care to give me an update on our target for tonight? Call me anxious because these bones haven't seen field action recently, but I'm itching to get out there again."
"Certainly, Anxious" came the slightly metallic reply as Glitch's holographic form materialized in the palm of his hand. Cal rolled his eyes and smirked, waiting for a response. "I've scanned the chatter and information indicates that the shipment will arrive as planned. Location and time both remain unchanged. Caleb, are you still proceeding with your operation tonight?"
The red cowl in his hand seemed to bow with the weight of all decisions made with his face hidden behind it. The call to bring them together, to lead them in the war against Locke, to bring Allison in…to let some of them burn up so the flame of the Mavericks could live on. And now, as he donned the familiar form-fitted cowl, the slight tang of sweat familiar to his nose, he made the call to breathe life into the fire they'd left untended for a month.
"Of course, Glitch," Caleb answered, looking to the night sky. "So," he called with a slight abandon, "How about we do something ill-advised?"
The Mavericks were coming back.
***
There was an undiluted poetic beauty to the night as he angled himself down, the wind buffeting him slightly in his descent: Of course Anthony "Tony" Cleaver, better known as the "Behemoth," was their target. Of course he was their reintroduction into this life they'd almost run from, tail between legs and whimpering. Of course he was the punching bag they got to dust their gloves off on. Thomas Campbell almost salivated at the prospect of releasing the taut aggression in him on the man who'd brought them all together, so many ages ago.
His descent was almost inaudible to human ears, yet Makarios turned at his presence nonetheless. Thomas took off his headgear, running a hand through his hair and smiled at the pair of them. "Sky's all good and we don't look like we'll be gettin much interference. Shipments comin in on time too. 'S a lovely night ain't it?" He let out a deep sigh of relief. The longer he stood in his gear, the ….lighter he felt. Both physically and in his soul. "We're finally coming back, huh? Larissa's got her main men back, eh?"
"Someone's pretty chipper," Makarios responded, a smile playing on his lips. Feral looked out to their target location. Thomas himself could just make out the scene from so far away, but he knew Makarios was taking in every detail.
"Y'know Maki, Sometimes, the big man'll give you a pitcher of lemonade from all the lemons life's been throwing at you. And sometimes, he'll even set that pitcher, sweatin' ice cold, on the top of the head of your own prize pig"
"Tony's our prize pig? I can get behind that. We're definitely making him squeal tonight," Makarios laughed, finally looking at Thomas, and the farmboy say his own excitement mirrored in Maki's.
Delving in to his mind, Thomas reached out with his….well he wasn't sure what it was yet, but he knew it worked kinda well in most instances. He could feel an energy at times, as if his body was attuned to it, and by simply reaching out with his mind, he could locate and somewhat pinpoint it. The energy seemed dark and twisted. The best way he described this energy was simply as 'malice.'
Reaching out and letting the wind coax his mind into a state of calm, Thomas began to feel an ebbing of malice from their target spot and as he focused more. A particular signature that spiked above the rest caught his attention. "Yeah, he's there all right. Just arrived on the scene."
"You were able to sense him out and get a ping?" Cal asked, prepping his gear for the fourth time. Thomas could feel the anxiety, but it was a mixture of nerves and excitement coming from Cal as well. He could definitely relate. They all could.
"Yep, and maybe it's just me but our little prize pig is feeling particularly nasty today," Thomas told them as his tendrils extended from his back, relief hitting him like water flowing from a pent-up bottle. "This should be fun."
There was a small buzzing sound and a holographic form coded it's way into life. Glitch paused a second before announcing: "It looks like the shipment is right on time. I would advise immediate action before the shipment exchanges ownership."
Caleb straightened himself up, cowl donned and weapons at the ready. "All right team, you heard her. A darkness has been brewing and it's about time we shook it up a little. Mavericks, let's light up the night."
Thomas unfurled his tendrils, giving a low whoop of joy and dived from their perch, cradling the beginning of their plan in his hand. In the pit of him, the honest place where he remembered everything his mama ever taught him, he could sense the …offness. But he tried to burn it up with the heat of his excitement, shaking his head and gritting his teeth in a mischievous smile.
He spoke into his comm, noting the other two behind him as they neared the site. "C'mon Ill, you gotta do it."
"Do what?" Caleb asked.
"Oh Buddha, here we go," Makarios chimed in over the comms.
"You gotta say it, bud," Thomas told Cal, descending in flight. He was nearing the shipment site. This particular shipment seemed to be going for subtlety over defense. It wasn't large, so the muscle was slightly lacking. But then again...they had a behemoth in their midst that no one sane would ever cross.
"I'm not doing it, Angel." Cal said with apparent finality.
"You have to! C'mon, it's like good luck. You have to. You don't want us to mess up do you?"
"Yeah, you kind of have to do it," Makarios chimed in.
"Fine!" Cal relented, he sighed heavily over the comms. Adopting a voice of grandeur he yelled into the comms, "Man...this is so ill advised. Mavericks, move out!"
"AYYYYYOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Thomas hollered as he descended on the shipment site, garnering the attention of a few armed men. Before they could react however, Thomas had already launched --with inhuman speed-- a black canister from his hand, pressing the button on the top. As it struck the ground, a clanging sound rose in the stunned silence of the metal of the shipping containers and armed bodies. It released a thick smoke and the cloud enveloped the entire site, billowing out and almost seeming solid and gelatinous in some areas. Thomas dove in, activating his infrared and going for his target.
"Let's get buckwild boys."
***
Raphi Escobar had been feeling off the entire day. His abuela had always told him to trust his gift, his Third Eye, no matter where he went. And damn, was it going off today. He'd felt it from the moment he'd stepped out of bed that something was going to blow through his life soon, but he couldn't tell whether it was terrifyingly good or bad.
This shipment was a small scale one, they were just supplying for their own men tonight, an assault Tony wanted to launch. And being one of his inner circle guys, Raphi had spoken to him earlier. The gangs in the city were getting too lax too quickly. It had only just been a month since those Mavericks had been squashed by Locke. But...something hadn't felt right to Raphi from the beginning. The press hadn't touched on it like they should have and too much of that night was a question for Raphi's tastes.
"We go through with it regardless," Tony had told him dismissively. The hulking beast of a man didn't often come into opposition, and Raphi wasn't going to be one of the few times he did. So, he'd acquiesced and simply resigned to being part of Tony's inner circle of bodyguards. Not that the guy needed it.
But, Tony had some karma coming his way, for all the shit he'd been stirring up in the past weeks. Raphi was sure of that.
So, when he heard the first shout and he saw Tony's head whip around, Raphi knew it was trouble. His eyes zipped to the source of the commotion and saw a figure in the sky. He paled, knowing-- just knowing-- what this was all about. A cloud of thick, black fog billowed up and engulfed the men and it rushed to where Raphi stood.
"Ay dios mio!" he cursed under his breath. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and opened them again, this time activating his Hype gene and seeing through the smoke. His Hype ability was what Tony took an interest in originally, the ability to see through most solid and obscuring objects. It was contingent on his focus and how stationary the object was he was trying to see through.
"Oh...God," he muttered. Raphi paled at what he could make out:
Tony's men had no chance from the beginning. It happened too quickly to comprehend. The figure from the air dive-bombed into the smoke, stopping just in time to land with grace. Some….tendril shot from his back, whacking the first man back. He spun on his leg, kicking a second man in the chest. The man flew back, bursting from the smoke and skidding on the ground. Raphi brought his eyes back to the fray as the man used another tendril to block the attack of an incoming male.
Soon, another Maverick dropped in, this one shorter than the first individual, but moving with just as much efficiency. He shot something at a pair of Tony's boys and they fell instantly, spazzing on the ground. He produced something from his person and it morphed into a staff. If Raphi thought the Maverick had been fearsome before, the sheer fluidity he moved with now made Raphi pale. In a matter of seconds, one of Tony's men seemed to have a broken leg, another sporting a pair of bruised jewels and a third promptly knocked unconscious with only two hits.
He turned his attention for a moment back to the one with the tendrils and saw him lift one of Tony's men up and toss him into another, using the momentum to bring his body around for a kick took another man down. He produced a cudgel and spun it around, blocking an incoming attacker and delivering a quick jab to the man's throat. He spun, tendrils out, and knocked back another of Tony's boys before darting in with the cudgel and swatting the man back.
Ignoring the flicker in his vision, Raphi deactivated his ability, now able to see in the thinning smoke. He became vaguely aware of Tony roaring in the background of the frenzy. Raphi looked around to see his companions trying to fire their guns and failing. Even his own gun was covered in some gooey, black material. The smoke!
Now, he could see with certainty that they were dealing with the Mavericks. They wasted no time in moving. The second Maverick, a red cowl covering his face, produced two small spheres and Caled them at two more of Tony's boys, hitting them before they had a chance to react. Their bodies went rigid and they fell down, spazzing much like the two before them. The Maverick came up as one of the armed men rushed him from behind, butt of his gun raised to strike. Without warning the Maverick's foot shot back, catching the man in his knee. A scream rose quickly from his lips as he fell down and the Maverick turned around to deliver another blow before taking off and subduing another pair.
Raphi heard a cry and turned his head in time to see one of Tony's men flying through the air. He found the source of the commotion. A third Maverick in orange, barreling into the fray. This third one fought differently than the rest. It was like...a dance for him. He spun and weaved his way, jabbing opponent after opponent. For some reason, Raphi couldn't help but see a beauty in the destruction. The man, for all his feral intensity, moved like a gazelle, his feet lightly touching the ground and his bounds into the air almost effortless. He flipped and turned in the crowd, delivering blow after blow. Racking up a casualty count to match that of his companions.
In a matter of minutes, a group of thirty men had been taken down by three.
Raphi felt himself shoved to the ground as Tony roared once more. "Who in their right mind is going to try me!?" He took a step forward. His lack of surprise told Raphi everything he needed to know. "Mavericks, I'll break you worse than Locke ever could." His voice sounded like gravel and Raphi knew that meant business. "Stand back, men. I got a lesson to teach." He cracked his knuckles a sickening popping sound emanating from them and took off running, the ground shaking lightly in his wake.
Almost as if in response, without a word, the Mavericks reorganized, turning to face the Behemoth head on. The red cowl, IllAdvised, jumped to the side as did the one in orange. However the...tendril guy remained in Tony's path of destruction, feet planted in defiance.
Each pound of his massive feet brought Tony closer, and faster, to the Maverick. He produced a crossbow. With no hesitation, he fired three bolts in rapid succession at Tony. One in both kneecaps and one in the chest. Raphi smirked. Crossbow bolts were like shooting pellets at a giant. There was no way these punks could take on the boss. Especially not with half of them missing.
Tony closed the gap, heedless of the bolts and raised a fist preparing to slam it down on the head of the first Maverick foolish enough to stand against the Behemoth.
***
"Feral, now!" Caleb told him in the comms.
The wave played the slightly familiar tone through his head, and with his Nox he tuned in, synchronizing himself with the energy and power held in the waves. The strength, durability, aggression all washed over him and a sense of release swelled within as he let go of his inhibitors. A wispy outline of the Bull enveloped around his form for an instant and dissipated. He was ready.
Launching himself, Makarios Lilis rushed forward, adjusting his body to the heaviness he felt from the presence of the Bull in him. The trigger gauntlets he wore hummed with activity. With each step and push, his power grew, his excitement grew and the eyes behind his mask glinted with a small delight.
Tony brought down his fist, aiming to crush Thomas in that breath, but Makarios appeared at the last moment. Tony's fist met his own, and a sound like a tree trunk snapping suddenly emanated from their impact. Maki's feet dug into the ground and briefly, he feared his body would give out as he drew on all the power he could from his synchronization --until the gauntlet activated the three sensors embedded in the bolts Thomas had fired at Tony earlier. The sensors glowed for a brief moment and sparked, sending electric signals and impulses to the Behemoth's body.
Feral sensed the Behemoth's fist tense and slacken. He jumped back, releasing the tone in his head. The rune on his back warmed as he activated it, synching with the Fox. The form of the Fox wisped around him and dissapated once more as he crouched down.
"Sensors a success," he reported.
"Whittle him down, Feral!" IllAdvised commanded and Maki nodded, rushing in and delivering a series of quick jabs with his gauntlet all around the Behemoth while the hulk of a man struggled to move.
This was his part in the plan. Cal had run an analysis of Tony's powers, noting their rapid progression and had devised a countermeasure. The bolts sent an electrical impulse that reacted with certain joints and muscles in the body, locking them or causing them to spasm. Because of Tony's nature, he would grow accustomed the pain after a certain amount of time. Thomas' marksmanship landed the bolts in their ideal location and Feral's job was to land as many hits as he could -- the gauntlet strikes serving as energy to send a surge through the bolts-- before Tony recovered.
***
The electrical pulses were interfering better than Caleb had hoped. It was foolish for them to attempt to battle him with brute strength as they'd lose. And, another added addition to his plan was the neurotoxin he'd laced the bolts with. A mild concoction he'd been working on that induced double vision and nausea. But, he knew Maki would object to it vehemently on the off chance that it could kill the giant.
Caleb came down on Tony's head with his Bo staff, unleashing the full force of a electrical pulse from its modified end. A dull grunt was his only answer as the giant of a man lumbered back. He kicked off of Tony's chests before the man could react and landed, crouching low and ducking in for another whack. Feral jumped over IllAdvised, twisting his body and delivering a swift kick to Tony's face. The behemoth reared back and Cal was sure they'd have him down in a matter of moments.
Until everything starting falling apart at once.
Tony's hand shot out, grabbing Feral without warning. Feral grunted, trying to loose himself in mid-air. Tony swung him around, tossing him with abandon into the nearest crate. There was a painful thud as Maki slumped to the ground.
"Feral!" Cal cried out before his own form was swatted aside by Tony's massive hand. He found himself making quick contact with another body.
"I got ya, buddy," Thomas' told him as he caught Cal. They looked up to see Tony turning his sights and focusing on Maki.
"Heh!" Tony barked with laughter as he shook his body. How had he recovered so quickly? In all the analysis he'd run, there was no way Tony should have been able to adapt to the electrical pulses and the neurotoxin that quickly.
Yet, here he was, making his way to Makarios. Feral rose to his feet, wiping his lip of the blood that had begun to well from it. Cal noted the slight glaze and purplish hue to Maki's eyes. Feral crouched down as Tony neared, the hulk of a man cracking his knuckles and laughing.
"Oh God," Thomas said beside Cal and Cal could sense it too. Maki's stance had shifted, becoming ever-so-slightly hunched and his body seemed rigid. "He's not synching right. I can....I can feel the bloodlust seeping from him."
IllAdvised grimaced. He knew what could happen when Makarios didn't fully synch with his animals. Suddenly, Feral took off running, going to meet the Behemoth head on. Tony smiled his crooked smile in return and met Maki's pace, ready to go full force. Cal couldn't let them meet head-on.
"Dammit!" he called out "Feral, no!"
He spoke in to the comms "Team! Formation 'Zookeper'! Vanguard throw a force--" Cal balked as his words caught in his mouth.
He hadn't meant to say it. He hadn't meant to mention one of their dead comrades. And Xander of all names.
It just came out.
That name, that image, the memories with it. They all just...flooded out.
And they rushed Makarios, overloading him. Cal could see it. Ill saw Makarios' form falter and his feet stop. An aura of purple flickered around the maverick and disappeared. Slack-jawed for only a second, Makarios couldn't react in time for Tony's typhoon of a swing. It caught him precisely in his chest and Makarios was launched back like a rag doll.
"NO!" IllAdvised bellowed, as if his voice could stop the action and rewrite the last three seconds. He charged Tony, murder on his mind. But Tony was ready and caught his staff, twisting it and Cal with it. He held on and activvated the electrical pulse enough to cause Tony to slacken his grip. He looked away just long enough to see his unspoken prayers answered. Thomas had caught Makarios and was setting him down. Cal turned his attention back to Tony, adjusting his stance and charging forward. At the last ten feet he jumped back, throwing an array of shuriken. They exploded on impact and he came in again, sinking electrical hit after electrical hit from his hands.
Thomas descended from the air, bringing his elbow down on the Behemoth. The hype roared in pain and Cal realized that Thomas had actually been paying attention in his Maverick Anatomy Lessons, hitting Tony in a particularly weak area. His enhanced strength and Tony's weakened state caused the giant to buckle from the pressure and sink down.
Thomas landed next to Cal, who had his Kenobi trained on Tony. They'd brought him to his knees finally. He just hoped Makarios was okay.
Pain radiated from his entire being. This wasn't right. This whole night had started off with high hopes, but in a matter of moments and movements, it'd fallen apart so terribly fast.
"Talk." Cal said simply and he jabbed the Kenobi down, digging the bolt in Tony's chest deeper. The pulse from the bolt, Kenobi and even a little from him made Tony gasp in pain. "Now."
Before he could, however, they both turned to a sound behind them. Maki stood a few meters away, glaring murder at Tony. His slightly hunched form heaved once and the outline of some Equine animal outlined him in that familiar purple light. Without a word, he took off, charging toward Tony once more. Looking Maki in the eye, Cal knew it would be best to step aside.
Tony had just enough to look up from his haze of pain daze. Just enough time to register Makarios' approaching form. And just enough time to pale just a little further as Makarios jumped with a yell and kicked Tony in the square of his chest with all of his might and then some with both of his feet. Tony shot back, smacking his head in to the solid pavement. A groan was all that could be heard as his massive form slumped
"Don't ever fucking sucker punch me again," Feral stated gruffly.
"The kicking power of pissed off zebra, huh?" Thomas asked, eyeing Makarios warily. "We had some questions for him."
Makarios hovered over the Behemoth's form and wiped blood from his chin, turning and spitting viciously. "Yeah, and he wouldn't have given us anything. We clearly don't have the manpower to handle him for long. Let the cops deal with him. Why don't we deal with his inside guys?" He shoved a thumb in the direction of the few remaining of Tony's bodyguards. "Much easier to break," he turned to one in particular and snarled, "and I'm feeling a little forceful today."
"We'll settle this later, for now we disappear," Cal commanded. He recognized they had a limited amount of time to do anything. Tony wouldn't be out long, the cops would be there (assuming they weren't the dirty ones), and to top it all off Feral was losing himself. Cal felt like he could actually see Makarios slipping into a bestial blindness. They had to get him away from the stressors and fast. "Grab one and let's move out."
***
They stood atop one of the taller buildings just outside the shipyard district. An unconscious man from Tony's gang slung over Thomas' shoulder. They'd gotten all they needed from him and now it was simply a matter of slipping him in jail. The sirens were dying off in the distance as the cops left the shipyard.
"Feral was right in taking Tony out," Cal spoke in the silence between the three of them. "He wouldn't have given us anything. And he was right about something else. We don't have the manpower to do this, to keep doing this. Our enemies are getting stronger and we can't rise to meet them at the door anymore…" He looked over the calmed city. The backdrop of the dark night and mountains in the distance gave the city an ethereal twinkle against the darkness.
"What are you saying?" Thomas asked. Caleb could hear the measured fear behind it and he smiled in response.
"I'm saying we need new recruits. We're bringing in more Mavericks."
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