[Worm-verse RP] Grand Super Villians IC

[Writtensanity]

I dropped down into the basement after everything had quieted down. I knew how this ended, at least I'd been told. All they'd had to do was make a big enough distraction and Menagerie wouldn't have anything at the window. All it took was knowing the future. Pretty simple thing in the end.

Chariot flew toward his companion as soon as he knew the coast was clear. He left the basement, but I didn't follow. I'd meet them outside in a minute. For the time being I got over the master's body and put a shot in his head. Insurance.

I didn't know the word for the feeling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn't remorse. It wasn't disappointment. It was something else that I couldn't place. I wasn't in the villain game to kill people I knew while they were in a computer chair. I was in the villain game for back flip grenade snipes. "He's good and down, can we get someone here to take him upstairs? I want the body." Two people came down the stairs. I didn't know whether they were from us or the Urchins, but I guessed it wouldn't matter. I planned on sending his body to the PRT with a paper stapled onto his head. I couldn't decide between writing "Here, have a second one," or "Swapsies?" on the sheet. I'd do it on the fly.

"Nothing personal," I said to the body as they dragged it out of the room. It was half a lie. **** him. He had been personal. If you signed up for a team you didn't try to get the rest of them killed by making everyone angry. ****. I didn't want to lose another person. I was happy with a team of seven. I was going to need to ask twitter for a cape to add to our table, otherwise there would be an empty chair, which was awful.

There would be money and equipment to grab before the night was out, but for now I grabbed a cactus as a trophy. I couldn't keep the Urchins waiting.

OUTSIDE:

"Just doing our part for a safe and enjoyable Brockton." I snickered at the end. I was hilarious when I was tried, "seriously though, don't wanna step on too many toes. I'm a friends kinda guy, not a war kind of guy."

[GameOfChampions]

House

I hear the grenades go off downstairs and then a moment later Backlight comms us to let us know that Menagerie was down and out, I stop abruptly. That had been much faster then I'd thought, I guess a precog on our side does that though. I stop my little journey through the shrubbery and concentrate on the fog, soon it starts to lower and dissipates. The fog leaves behind a huge mess of blood all over the plants and the floor where it mixes with the water on the floor and leaves behind something reminiscent of a horror movie. I look around at the carefully cared for plants around that have now been ruined by my fog and the Urchins that have started moving in now that it was safe. It was sad to think they would no longer be cared for, say what you want about the psychopathic sadist but he cared for his plants and his creatures.

While I was looking through the plants and everything was clearing out I notice a small greenish thing among the plants, I take a closer look and notice it's a small pudgy Dachshund, it wasn't moving at all and probably won't ever again. Feeling sad for it I grab the little guy and tuck him under my arm before heading out with Backlight while scratching his unmoving head 'I wonder if I can just water you?' Already panning on putting him on my window sill at home. I walk out, me covered in blood from head to toe with a little plant monster also covered in blood under my arm, I think I found a new pet.

Outside

Backlight looks exhausted, this was his second fight today so I couldn't be very surprised. I clap him on the back as I join him and the Urchins "You said it Point Blank. We're really glad that you got your leader back safe and sound." I say with a big smile, some of which was real but some of which was very forced. I was conflicted because while I was happy that a, relatively, innocent girl hadn't had her entire being destroyed and pervaded with monstrous vines she had come between us and out teammate which had lead to this fiasco. "It has been a long day though and while I'm sure you don't want to promise anything with your leader still unconscious I think we worked well today and maybe that could be an indication for our future. Would you mind if we maybe called on you in a few days after we sort everything out to discuss possible shared ventures like this in the future?" I quickly grab an old receipt from my pocket and scribble down the number of my burner phone were he could reach me and hand it over "Give me a call sometime, even if you don't want to associate with us as a group we don't need to be enemies. I think even just me and you guys could just have some fun, I could use some light hearted stuff after this." I give a much more meaningful smile, as stressed out as they had been tonight I think the Urchins and I would be a good fit what with the similarities we shared such as age, temperament and villainous outlook.

[Madwand]

Back-light & Miasma

Wallcreeper, still in form of the bird, flew and perched on the Point Blank shoulder. As far as villains could tell, she looked on Zora and was worried. Chariot gathered the gangers around them, they are well visibly relaxed. They probably expected harder and more brutal fight.

"You don't tell." Point Blank responses to Backlight flashing predatory grin. "You blew up Kabuki Mono' favourite car.

"Okey, Bl.. Miasma. Seems like legit idea. We should meet in few days, right? We probably need to go - the grenades were laud, and some neighbour probably already called the cops." Point Blank said.

[Writtensanity]

"We just killed the guy who smoked Kabuki's favorite car," I pointed out. I wasn't in the mood for this kind of thing. If they were in kahoots with Kabuki then we needed to just make sure they weren't also our enemies. I wanted to run recruitment and give Calibre time to actually use his powers. 'Man with a gun' wasn't a very compelling skill.

"Honestly it's way too late for me to even keep track of what's gone on today. All of this bull**** started at around midnight, now we're two big fights, a betrayal, and a planning session later. I would really like to get some time in the sack before I claim to understand what's going on." I said. "That being said. I don't think I need to spell out that Kabuki and I aren't on the best terms right now."

"Right now? I want time off and a drink. If any of you guys wanna talk about working with us I can sneak you booze, not the worst thing I've done."

[Madwand]

Kabuki captured

Autarch did get last living clone captured. He informed Omen where he left bound, disarmed and unconscious Kabuki. He didn't want to add another injury, because clone was in pretty critical state already.

It was last time any of you had contact with Autarch.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Feel free to continue interrogation scene.

Backlight&Miasma

"Right, right." Point Blank said "I can't promise anything, because drugs from Kabuki are like, totally important and how we get our profit. But between you and me" the red-and-white chinese mask didn't hide the ugly and predatory smile "I am ok with cutting out the middlemen, if you catch my drift. And after he left Zora on field, I am sure she will agree. See you around."


END OF ARC 2

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Ok, we have 2-3 days of time-skip, without major fights and plot-critical events. Please describe what your character is up to and we will start next arc on Saturday.

[Writtensanity]

I went to sleep way too fast after everything. I didn't want to end up doing anything crazy or saying something I'd regret. I sent the PRT twitter a picture of Menagerie asking if they wanted to trade him for Exhilarate. If I was lucky I would be able to get people riled about them harboring dear leader. A protest or something was on my list of things to do, but I wasn't about to dedicate myself to that when we were at war.

Right now we were running low on people. We down to four with Autarch gone. Better than starting a war or betraying us I guess, but four people wouldn't take over Brockton. We lacked a LOT on our team. We were fine, but without Anna we were incredibly underpowered as a villainous group. We needed allies who were going to have just as much fun as I was with this. Twitter was my first choice, but Parahumans.net was probably the best place to actually do it. I took a sip of my Rockstar and confirmed my account on the website.

New Topic by Cerberi-Backlight

Brockton Villainy.


Hi, some on you might know me from twitter or a couple topics on here. For those of you who don't, here is a reminder:

Link:Doublebackflipgrenade.mp4

That isn't anywhere else yet, and should tell you that this is actually me.

Due to a recent betrayal, unfortunate death, and a quitting it seems like my original method of taking anyone in to the clan isn't working. That being said, for the first time the Cerberi are on the hunt for new Cape members.

Day job got you down? Bored with your life? Feel like you aren't really using your powers? Dislike the PRT? Yes? Maybe? If you answered several of those questions with a Yes then I want to hear from you. Join us as we put a new spin on Brockton villainy. The world is bad enough, might as well have some fun with what's left of it right?

List of Requirements:

Cape Abilities
A twitter account
Willing to meet our group Unarmed.
Not a Cop.
Or a hero.
Any person who has a thing for plants is banned.
Not named Kabuki
Above a 5 but below a 9 on the crazy scale.
A sense of style
A lack of remorse for minor crimes like murder or drug dealing.


If this sounds like you send me a message on here. No cacti allowed.

[n0ble]

John cracked his neck as he finished fine-tuning the new gun. It had taken him three days of on and off work, and at several points he'd needed to go out and buy more materials, but with what would have been Menagerie's funds covering most of the costs he was able to make it the self-replicating magazine. Time would tell as to whether or not it was a more cost effective solution to buying hand guns.

He'd already field tested it on a pimp smacking around one of his whores. Fifteen rounds into his legs later and the gun had shown no signs of stopping in terms of ammo capacity. He'd present it at the next meeting, presumably when the new talent was introduced to everyone at large and not just Backlight. He might've talked too much for John's taste but- well there was no but. He did talk to much. But the mover's deal with Omen had turned him into a wonderful lightning rod other groups could focus on.

Suits me fine.

[3SecondCultist]

Omen puts the van in park. It had taken her some time to carefully clean out the interior of Menagerie's old van. Whatever flora or fauna that was left inside has perished and been tossed out - if twelve years of marriage teaches you anything, it's how to clean up someone else's mess. But since Menagerie is no longer putting the vehicle to any use, she might as well have a way to get around. It's lack of side windows help, and so far nobody's recognized her at the wheel. Just another driver, doing their best to get around in the new Brockton Bay. Getting gas has been pricey, but given the money they've made since Exhilarate, it's still a relative drop in the bucket. Tonight, she'll load up her comms unit inside, so that she can communicate with the rest of the team from anywhere in the city as long as she has somewhere out of the way to park the van. Privacy meets mobility. It's not perfect, but it'll do for now. For now though, she's carrying other cargo.

The car door closes behind her with a click, as she surveys the site. It's the fourth abandoned block she's investigated in the past few days, and it looks depressingly similar to the others. When Leviathan hit, he hit hard. The resulting water and structural damage to the city's grid meant that any buildings left over were likely to be porous and unstable, and therefore unsuited to serving as a new hideout for the Cerberi. They came up with the name together, the morning after, when they met to touch base and make sure everyone was up to speed. She'd waited until almost noon to call the boys; they'd had quite the evening. Caliber was continuing to work on his project, and Blacklight was on recruitment, which suited her fine. That freed her up to try and find somewhere for all of them to rest, and turn it into a proper lair. That's what supervillains did, right? Looking up at the threshold, she tries to remember her old home. Jonathan. The thought of him, standing here, watching her, should fill her with shame. But Omen knows that he can't, not until she's amassed enough power to find him.

Wherever he is, she won't stop until she gets there.

The handgun Caliber have her at her side, Omen pulls open the back door to reveal the trussed up Kabuki clone. Reaching in and grabbing him roughly by the scruff of the neck, she starts to march him inside. This won't be enjoyable, but it'll be necessary. Without Autarch on hand to help, she'll need to rely on her own powers to maximize the cold-blooded torture she's about to inflictc on the replicator. Her eyes never leave him, although she can be reasonably sure that her visions will tip her off if he tries something. That's what the gun is for.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Madwand, my post assumes that Omen found a base within the Cerberi's territory over the next few days. Ideally, I think the group would like to find somewhere relatively out of the way like an abandoned warehouse that's not falling apart to use until we have enough money to build ourselves something better. Hopefully that's alright with you!

[GameOfChampions]

Wrap Up

I stumble into my bedroom and start peeling off my costume piece by piece before flopping down onto my bed and promptly falling asleep. I had some weird dreams about Backlight getting into a twitter war with Bernie Sanders while I was riding around on Fungus, my new pet/plant, that had grown to the size of my house. I think Menegerie put some weird stuff in the sprinkler water and this was some sort of latent revenge...

Cribs

Either way I woke up the next day ready to go warehouse shopping with Anna. We went through our newly expanded territory and for every one that was relatively nice and fit our needs we must have seen 5 that didn't look fit for even the massive rats and coakroaches living there. However after several hours of cruising around in Menegeries cleaned out van we put together a short list to show the group. I was just hoping that once we finish this war with Kabuki we can spend some cash on a real hideout, preferably one that didn't have vermin living in it and good odds of so much water damage it may as well have taken a tidal wave to the face.

First Blood

As I lay on my couch my mind started to drift, reluctantly I started to think of the future. Mostly I thought about my plan for the local businesses I wanted to enact and then the meeting with the Urchins. While they had been some impressive Capes my mind lingered on their gang, they had attracted a large group but it seemed like they were peddling drugs or breaking knee caps. If I wanted to enact my plan then I didn't need thugs, I needed trustworthy people who could think while I wasn't there and more importantly be trusted. Failing that a trusted lieutenant to watch them. The more I think it about it the more I start to believe that I should start gathering some people. The Cerberi were on the rise and this would let me be ready to immediately start expanding once things settled and we had some money.

I start thinking of trustworthy people... and start coming up blank. Well not a complete blank I guess, there was Ben. However I hadn't talked to him since I got my powers because of what had happened to the rest of our friends. He probably thought I had died in there with the rest of them since I had never reached out to him. I desperately tried to think of someone else but I couldn't think of anyone I'd met as a cape to do it and most of my friends from before my cape life had died in the shelter. Realizing that if I wanted to follow through with my plan I needed him I go to visit him and finally have that meeting I'd been avoiding.

An hour later I was outside his house ready to knock on his door. Steeling myself I knock on his door just like I had a hundred times in the past. Ben himself answers and at first he just looks curious to see who was at his door but then his face soon grows slack and stunned as he sees me. "Ryan? What... how... Huh?"

I grin a little but it fades after a second "I know I'm sorry Ben I should have come to visit after everything settled down but some things... came up. I'm here right now because I need some help. Let's sit down so I can explain."

We sit down in his living room and he starts off by telling me what had happened to him, apparently his parents had managed to get out of the city, just like mine, and he hasn't heard from them yet. He was just waiting for their return while doing some construction work, after he mentioned it I did notice that he was looking far more fit then he had been. After he finishes I take a second to collect myself before I start to explain everything that has happened the last few months. I tell him about my hatred for the PRT, with biterness in my voice, and my independent excapades as well as joining the group and everything we've done since then. Everything up to this point except my suspicions as to my causing our friends deaths. Finally I get around to explaining my plan for the future "I need someone I can trust with this, some parts will be dirty and illegal but I think it could do some good getting the community back on its feet. I would have you as my lieutenant and then find a small handful of people we could trust working under you, not thugs or dealers but people who arent afraid to break the law and have a brain. However I am a villain, this won't be changing and you have to know that the base of anything I do will be connected to that. Please if you can handle that I need you but if not I'll vanish and never contact you again so that I won't put you in danger."

[Writtensanity]

I cracked my knuckles as I got into the warehouse that Anna was using for Kabuki. It wasn't a perfect setup but I'd visited a hardware store before coming in. I was a coupe hundred dollars down but I had some sweet power tools to show for it. I was here to play the host of the hit new gameshow: Can we break Kabuki Mono? I'd put on my mask on the way in, but I was wearing white clothing for effect, I wanted blood to show.

"Morning Kabuki," I said to him as I came up behind him, "you know I really a sorry about this. Tell me, how does your power handle pain to the other versions of you?"

Kabuki spoke to the gag in his mouth.

"Rude," I said after deciding that he told me to go **** myself, "I could find someone if I wanted to."

More murmuring.

"How do you think people are going to react if I pull of your face? I can use the facebook thing to find you on there and tell people to send you sorry messages. I think it would be fun."

The last murmur was closer to a yell.

"Don't worry, that's a last measure. That being said I do need to break this," I snapped his mask in two, "it's not fun if people can't see some of your brave face." I spun away from him and finally made sure that my camera was ready and hooked up. If we were going to stream this- I nodded to Omen in the shadows and I switched everything on, some lighting, the camera, and the small microphone I was wearing.

"Good afternoon everyone who clicked the twitter link. My name is Backlight and welcome to my new gameshow, 'Will Kabuki spill the beans?' The premise is pretty simple, I want Kabuki to tell me everything about himself, and he doesn't wanna tell me, so we're going to get a little bloody." I pointed back to him, "isn't that right Kabuki?"

Muffled yelling into a rag.

"I thought so. Now here's where it gets FUN! We've got a Bitcoin donation box on the right side of the screen, if you give us something over $50 as a donation you get to decide what happens to him next, as long as it won't kill him. I also reserve the right to stay away from anything too icky. I'm cool enough to stream my life, but I have morals."

"Finally please keep the eyes of all children away from the screen and remember, the first three rows are a splaaaaash zone."

I spun on my heel and went up to Kabuki. I spoke into his ear so the camera wasn't listening. "Look, we don't NEED to do this. You start talking now and we can put this allllll behind us. Otherwise," there was a ding behind me, "we just got our first donation"

[Madwand]

Kabuki Mono Must Talk

Blood-soaked bandages covered clone’s wounds. Morbid paleness of Kabuki Mono’s face contrasted with his intense, insane eyes. The muffled sound wasn’t another heartily “f*ck”, it was laughter. Unhinged, unhealthy, unmistakably mocking laughter.

The first donations rolled in almost instantly. $100 with attached message and youtube link:

“Hey, Backlight. Remember how badass Liam Neeson was in "Taken"? I am sending $100 to see it live. Cheers viewers!

The other, negative comments were mostly variations of “Is it a sick joke?”, ‘I can’t believe he is doing it” and “Somebody Call the PRT!”.

Haters gonna hate.

ARC 3 - BLOOD

New Gun

Calibre’s new gun worked perfectly. It allowed him to forget about reloading and just spray bullets all day long. It required hours of maintenance after longer uses, but it required it much less frequently than now useless Menagerie power extending gun.


First Blood

Ben confused but convinced. Miasma could trust his friend and after short time he had six more people answering to him. He recruited six Exhilarate’ henchmen to patrol the territory and report directly to him. Ben bring one of his construction crew buddies, who looked for fast cash, but was ex-military and convict (two years in prison), so he could handle the guns quite well and didn’t ask any questions.


Diplomacy

Urchins showed in force. Three teenage villains steeped into per-arranged meeting place - and they insisted on open space like abandoned parking or Brockton Bay's Trainyards. Zora looked regal and confident in new crispy outfit. Point Blank and Chariot walked two step behind her.

No one could see Wallcreeper, but it was almost certain that she was observing the area from above.

[Writtensanity]

"You read my mind Dark Matter 2424, nice username," I said before I pulled the battery out of the bag. I made sure to nod to Anna before I did anything rash. She was telling me what was okay, and what was going to get him to break, what was going to get him to flinch. When the PRT might come. We were going to be causing pain the entire time we were here. Torture was probably the safest we've ever been.

"You know," I said starting the quote, "we used to outsource this kind of thing," I kept going without really thinking about it. Who hadn't seen Taken at least seven times? I was grabbing a car battery out of my bag as I said it. It wasn't much but I guessed that it would hurt. I wouldn't know, not like I'd ever done it to myself.

"So Kabuki, question one, tell me, can the rest of you feel this?" I put the second cable on his cheek and let it run for a moment. I pulled it off, "so?" nothing. He laughed, that was disappointing.

"God you have no idea of showmanship," I scoffed, "you're gonna have to do more or I'm gonna get annoyed. I have paying viewers." I left the battery on him as I went back to check the screen. There were almost a dozen new donations. Most of them were small, people were being careful, seeing what their 50.00 could buy in terms of suffering.

A stab in the hand. A splatter of blood. A razor along the cheek. Everything got a nod from Anna. Everything was approved. The laughter turned into gasps, and the gasps turned it half of screams. We were making progress.

"Just a reminder," I said as I put my knife into the his hand for the second time, this time I gave it a twist. "We're directly recruiting, and I feel like I wanna throw a party. Who wants parties?" There were a couple comments to that. It was an idea. Hm. Maybe. It was a fair idea. We were over a thousand dollars in now. I turned to Anna for the most recent request. She nodded to tell me that it was okay, but it wouldn't break him.

"Sorry about this one Kabuki, I'm channeling my inner bible for this time," I pulled out the electric saw and put it in front of his bottom rib. "Feel like talking?"

[3SecondCultist]

Kabuki Mono Must Talk

Omen holds the camera steady as Backlight starts his routine. Despite her disgust at the methods they've already had to resort to, she can't help but smile. Backlight has a way of bringing out the best in people. The lights flicker as she watches, but thankfully the tripod is operating on an independent battery, so the camera is steady and doesn't short out. She winces slightly at the replicator's screams, but maintains her resolve. You've suffered through worse.

The shadows conceal her face to a certain extent, but Omen still does her best to maintain her anonymity in the face of the Kabuki. Until he answers Backlight's first proper question, there's no way of knowing whether the rest of them would see (or recognize) her face, and she can't afford them having her public identity on hand. It's not a risk she can afford to take right now.


Diplomacy

Omen brings the van to a stop, five full blocks away from the agreed meeting place at the train tracks. The Urchins will no doubt be on time, and the rest of the team will be forthcoming. Backlight brought his recruit, which should be promising for all parties, and Miasma is bringing a few of his crew in order to convey to the Urchins that we trust them enough to show up in person. Well, most of us anyhow.

She asks the rest of the team to check in over the comms, as they've often done recently. It's a habit of hers to ensure that all of them are able to ensure their survival, and she's gone over the self-mutilation policy should any of the Cerberi be taken non-lethally. That being said, she has a fairly good feeling about this meeting. Still, there's no harm in a little caution. "You guys all good out there?", her voice echoes over the collective earpieces of the group.

[GameOfChampions]

First Blood:

I breathe out a sigh of relief as Ben accepts everything I've said, moving on from our friends that I may or may not have killed. We spend the next several hours collecting a few more people to join us, after we've collected several people I address them "My name is Miasma though you may know me as Bloodbath... I've gathered you here because the Cerberi are expanding and I find a need for people of your skills. We will be expanding our holdings and I need some companions, I'll need you to do some dangerous things at some point but at other I'll also need you to be smart and able to work within the confines of a company, manipulating the system for he Cerberi. However we can address this later, right ow I just need proof of your loyalty and your allegience to me and the Bloodborne!"

I start to form a large fog bank a couple hundred feet long and gesture to it "If you are ready to follow me and be a part of this gang you will need to prove you an handle it... Run through the fog and come out the other side as a Bloodborne, you'll have the chance for advancement and wealth." I gesture to the fog and as each one runs through the bloody fog I give them a hard hug and wipe the blood off their face while saying "You've passed, you are one of now... have fun on the journey." I say the last bit with a wry smile as I think of what I've faced in the last little while.

Later

After the little initiation ceremony I get them all equipped and while Ben his friend join me with going to the meeting. I get the other guys that had been used by Exhilarate back onto the streets to feel for information and start compiling a list of small businesses that could be useful to my scheme in the future.


Diplomacy:

I arrive at the meeting spot and grunt as me, Ben and his friend start to lift some equipment out of the car we arrived in. The Urchins attempt to speak to us as we carry the equipment closer but I grunt at them "Just a sec I need to set this up..." We set down the large speakers and quickly hook them up with a laptop. Finally I straighten up and turn to the Urchins while the two Bloodborne back off a respectful distance, waiting by the van.

I crack my neck and saw with a sense of long suffering weariness "Sorry guys Backlight has decided that he cant go anywhere without his 'theme song' playing... just play along we'll be able to deal with this in a few seconds." I then press the play button on the laptop and Anaconda by Nicki Minaj starts to blast out of all the speakers, the bass shaking the pavement as t plays. After a few seconds Backlight launches himself off the roof of a nearby building landing quickly enabling his power state which lets him float down to the meeting in the style he desired. "Sup"

[Bobbybobby99]

Diplomacy.

Lothair was feeling fidgety. He had just had his meeting with his new leader, of the new team he was on; it was his first time doing anything beyond solo work. It would be fun, he reassured himself; also, money. Exorbitant amounts of money, that he could actually spend, unlike the artwork he had stolen and could only gaze upon. All of the best restaurants, the greatest wine, the most efficient cars...

He was already having slight reservations, given the entrance Backlight had specified, but he took a deep breath, briefly turning homogenous, feeling the world in his hands for half a second, and then solidifying once more. Everything would be fine. Counting the minutes and finding that he had rested sufficiently after his recruiting demonstrations, he entered what he sometimes referred to as his 'passive rhythm'; while it had taken several days practice, he had developed a system where he regularly cycled in an out of his mellow form for half a second every three seconds. He had even mastered it enough that he almost did it when he was sleeping, just as a precaution in case he was poisoned or ambushed. Feeling the innate giddiness that came from having your brain rhythmically meld with your internal organs, he began grinning.

After reporting in, Melio strode in from a nearby corner, looking distinctly out of place in the twenty-first century. His face covered by a psychedelic hockey mask, with pink bell-bottoms and a spiral orange button-up, he would have fit in comfortably in an anti-nuclear weapons protest. His blonde hair flowed long and freely past the mask, and it would have been unsurprising if he started ranting about how the man was oppressing the people, or if he started calling everyone dude. He was precisely on cue with Backlight's landing, and something about his form seemed to ripple every few seconds, though you couldn't quite put your finger on it.

His grin fading slightly behind the mask as the 'music' continues playing, he very distinctly strides over to the laptop, firmly pressing the stop button. The grin came back, and he rippled again.

"Hello there," he said in a voice that left people hazily guessing if he was male or female, continuing, "I'm new. Also, I feel your pain. "

[n0ble]

"Diplomacy"

Idiot. Backlight annoyed him even when he wasn't talking, which was a rare occurrence in and of itself. This was too much. One of the new recruits achieved some modicum of respect from John when he turned off the laptop. And then promptly lost it again when he started rippling. It wasn't helped by his...outfit? Costume? Whatever. There was work to be done and focused on.

He was standing next to Miasma as Backlight touched down.The thugs were a new thing for him. It gave John a very good idea of his own. They'd already worked out that one of the negotiation points would be the exchange of tinker gear between himself and the one called Chariot. It just so happened that john had developed a new type of gun that both they and the Urchins could arm henchmen with. The comparative gains of such an exchange would be great, plus it wasn't like he couldn't build contingencies into the guns if need be. Such actions would help them in the event that things turned sour with the Urchins.

On that note, he'd come with a kevlar vest and two of Kabuki's grenades on his chest. Grey gun in the right holster. He hadn't had time to inspect the assault rifle that Miasma had bought, but John had a good feeling about the armour piercing rounds. He'd also brought the latest addition to his arsenal: the self-reloading gun. Perhaps a demonstration would suffice.

"Calibre reporting in."

[Writtensanity]

Meeting:


"Well that would make everyone wouldn't it?" I asked. I avoided mentioning the person I had just met on the way here. She was going to be the one bringing the real music to the crew. She was gonna bring it up. "Plus, I mean like.... this is the kinda music kids listen to now isn't it? I feel like I'm always one or two years behind the times now. I used to be so in tune with that."

"But this, now this," I said motioning to the group of us together, "is the kind of things that Brockton historians are going to shiver at. Can you imagine the headlines if they figured out we were going to be working together on something? Oh man, talk about owning the news for a day. **** you Miss Militia, 'Tonight's Top Story, ****ing sweet team-up happens'"

I smiled and people seemed to be... temperate. I sighed and sat on top of one of the speakers that Miasma had brought out, "so Urchins, let's talk about US I feel like we've been neglecting our relationship."


You Gotta Fight for the Right:

There was a list on Backlight's desk.

1. Drugs
2. Booze
3. Kick Ass Destructive Party.
4. Repeat
5. Profit?


SHOPPING!

I'd been shopping for the past few days and the boxes were finally arriving into the stores I'd ordered them to. Sure one was the next town over and that was annoying, but I couldn't order too many cool things without people asking questions. As it turned out, my power affected throwing, which was an interesting thing to learn. Guns were good, but I hadn't been that accurate over time.

That being said, I'd needed to make some costume adjustments to make sure I could fit everything I wanted to on my person. The plain leather jacket I'd started with had been modified to have light metal plating in the larger parts. It wouldn't stop a bullet but it would slow it. I was now wearing one of Kabuki's vests with all of the pockets removed. My black jeans had been replaced with a slightly more robust model, and my cheap sunglasses had bulletproof lenses (I couldn't believe those were a thing, but they were)

There were knives in the boots, knives across my chest, guns in their holsters and a sword and shotgun on my back. The newest part of my attire was the tomahawks slotted beside the guns on my hips. I was a better shot with those than I was a bullet, and I got the kind that had a point at the handle in case I really ****ed up.

Finally above those I had a lightweight fireman's axe as another hand to hand weapon. I was sharp.

Now it was just time I spend the afternoon etching 'Backlight' into all of them, and 'From Brockton with Love on the shotgun.'

The only issue I had were brutes.. but the LEET collective hadn't returned my ****ing email yet.

[Let'sGetKraken]

Diplomacy

So this is them, then. Cerberi. They're... less intimidating than I expected.

As she quietly slips into the parking lot, having followed a short distance behind Backlight, she's just in time to watch the charismatic villain make his entrance.

And they have terrible taste in music.

Stopping at the man she presumes to be Calibre's side, Julia stands still as a statue. She knows that to the Urchins, and her new allies, she would look like a featureless doll - unmoving and totally silent. Image is everything, after all - right now, she's an unknown quantity. The more inhuman she could seem from the start, the less work she'd have to do down the road.

The meeting with Backlight had certainly been interesting. Omen. No wonder the PRT couldn't catch them - they could anticipate any violence. Julia could see the low buzzing of the earpieces of her new teammates; of course, Omen was much too valuable to be anywhere near the front lines.

At Calibre's side is a much younger cape in a black and red costume - Miasma. A relatively unknown quantity, but their respective powers seem synergistic. And, of course, his power was suitably terrifying.

And then there's one she doesn't recognize. Another recruit, by the looks of it. I wonder what his superpowers are. A time traveler from the past? Julia couldn't think of another reason for the horrendous outfit.

As Backlight begins speaking, Julia turns her attention to the Urchins. Let's see how this goes, then.

[Madwand]

Kabuki Mono Must Talk

Backlight's life-stream went viral. He had tens of thousands viewers an more than $5000 in outstanding 'donations'. He may get more cash from it than from any previous job.. shame that Kabuki couldn’t possibly live thrugh all of it.

"Yeah" Kabuki spat the words in pained voice. His voice was harsh from screaming "I still think the cage match would be better, but it seems you have different taste. "

"The show must go on. he looked directly into the camera, addressing the audience as much as Backlight "Other of me can't feel it, we share.. memories, if only those we voluntary.. broadcast. They will remember. I want them to remember, when they get to you, you sick f*cking psychos. "

First Blood

The report about state of business in Cerberi/Bloodborne territory brought unexpected and alarming information. One of the largest locals which paid them protection money - a local supermarket in the south end of their territory - went to the Pure instead. The manager explained Miasma' henchmen that they were pressed into it and he didn't see the alternative, seeing that Cerberi were at war with Kabuki Mono and already had lost an restaurant.

Diplomacy

"Let's talk, Backlight. " Zora said, putting hand on Point Blank's shoulder. The gesture's meaning was clear - He wanted to say something, but she took control of conversation. "and we don't have an relationship. I am not really sure we want one, seeing how you went from cop-killing to torture in less than a week after getting rid of Exhilarate. I would mention killing a teammate, but it seems I can't complain about that one."

[Writtensanity]

"Now now, the cop? The cop had it coming, in the way that accidents happen all the time," I said, she was making accusations, and sure, all of them were reasonable, which was why we could work with them. "Kabuki, Kabuki is a different story? Do you know how that started?"

"A brute walks into the PRT, tells them about all of us. We're none-the-wiser to this betrayal. This same brute needs to meet Kabuki and ****s with him about as much as he ****s with us. Know who Kabuki blamed? Us." I shrugged. "Now, sure that wasn't the way we wanted things to go, but I told him we could work together to **** the brute and the PRT. No Dice. Ultimatum. So we plan to play nice with Kabuki and get the brute back and put HIM on the live stream. Next thing we know Menagerie is killing Kabuki's and ruining nice cars. He's a nasty guy," I point at Zora, "I think you knew him."

"So Kabuki is pissed, we're pissed. He goes to blow up a restaurant and we ain't gonna let that happen. Bullets are shot. We take a short break to save you from the aforementioned Menagerie, During this time we picked ourselves up a Kabuki," I said, "and we are at war with the collective Kabuki. I just skipped the couple steps between 'Brutal fight' and Liam Neason quotes, figured it would save both of us time."

"In short, war is war, I just livestream it."


I felt the crowd out, nobody was smiling, and Dissonance was still terrifying. Sweet. "But you know what the key is? We don't do unreasonable things unless you're unreasonable. We killed Menagerie for trying to take Zora, we tortured Kabuki in the middle of a war that he had a way out of. You know, usual things."

"That being said, perhaps the biggest thing here, with Kabuki out of the picture we could make your middle man for the drugs a little more friendly, maybe even thankful. Hell, you could join us and we could split the drugs like a pretty little pie. I'd say we make it a peace sign with the Pure. Point is, we're the ones with a ladder in Brockton, feel like climbing?"

[3SecondCultist]

Kabuki Mono Must Talk

Omen powers off the camera and kills the link to the feed as Kabuki starts to finally open up to questioning. At her side, the thinker has a pen and a pad of lined paper, which she's titled 'Kabuki Info' and starts to write down a few bullet points to pass along to the rest of the team. While there's no point in trying to shield anyone from the information at this point, she might as well spare anyone whose loyalties might be tested by watching graphic content when it doesn't need to happen. Besides, it might come in handy later. Flipping it over and ripping out the page of likely questions to ask, she circles the most pertinent ones and numbers them in the suggested order that Backlight pose them to the imprisoned replicator. He gave in exactly when I saw he would; that's promising, at least. Of course, she doesn't want to think about the fact that direct intervention from her might have stopped it sooner. She's unsure of how much damage the image of the Cerberi will suffer for this, so it had better be worth it.

Only once she's sure the feed has been stopped does Omen speak again, as she hands her teammate the list of questions, as well as a map of the city should Backlight need to mark any locations. "Alright. Backlight, would you care to do the honors?" While this clone will be able to relay the answers in time to prevent any kind of immediate fell swoop, he will still be at a distinct disadvantage when they do engage the master cape. The other business with the Urchins needs attending to first, but they should still be able to catch the rest of them relatively unprepared. At the very least, they'll be forewarned and forearmed as to any tactics Kabuki might try to employ next. He should be more forthcoming now.

Spoiler: Questions

Show

1) Where is your main base of operations? Please provide a current address, as well as as any strategically relevant details (number of floors, any hidden entrances or safeguards against intruders, passcodes, typical amount of security, etc).

2) What, to your knowledge, is the upper limit of clones you can generate at any given time? Can all of the clones operate independently, or does the 'prime' version of you need to micromanage and direct all of them at the same time?

3) How long is the maximum range at which you can maintain control over your clones? What is the longest known length of time you've been able to maintain control over your clones?

4) Within the boundaries of your territory, do you and the rest of the Kabuki clones use any regular routes to or from your main base? If so, please list the approximate trajectories of these routes.

5) Beyond your known affiliation to the Urchins, are you currently in any other alliances, or planning to enter into any other alliances, with any groups (capes or otherwise) within Brockton Bay or beyond it?

6) Are you in possession of, or are planning to be in possession of, any advanced technologies (cape-made or otherwise)? If so, please specify known models and their estimated capabilities.

7) Do you know of any undergoing or planned operations by the rest of your clones in Brockton Bay, whether against the Cerberi in particular or other groups (capes or otherwise) as a whole?

8) Who are your drug suppliers, and what is the best method of getting into contact with them? Are they a cape? If so, what do you know of their powers? If you have more than one supplier, please list details for all involved parties.

9) Have any of your clones ever broken from your control? Could they, given certain circumstances, be persuaded to operate outside the boundaries of the influence of the 'prime' Kabuki? If so, what are those circumstances?

[Madwand]

Diplomacy

"I am not unreasonable." Zora said, her tone was non-committal, and her face gave nothing away "and I talked to Kabuki too. He said, he wanted his money back, ASAP. It don't strike me as unreasonable. Nor is avoiding fight with PRT - they did killed Crawler and no-one in town want to test if they have more of those bombs on hand."

She floated in air, few inches above the ground, instinctively making herself center of attention, making herself taller than Backlight.

"But you get new recruits and a 'ladder'. She made quotation marks in air, a gesture that reminded villains that she had only sixteen, seventeen? years. "So I am listening, cause Kabuki is not out of the picture, he isn't going to commit seppuku any time soon.. sucker once told me that he is immortal.'

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It's part of today update.

[n0ble]

As John watched the girl hover into the air over all of them, a multitude of emotions ran through John. Anger. Hate. Perhaps a bit too much rage. Yet as it did he felt focused. Sure his heart threatened to beat its way out of his chest but it wasn't fear that governed that. More a heightened sense of things. A very selective focus. John started to step forward in calm, measured steps that left no doubt of how sure he was. He held both his hands up in front on either side of his face as he did. He passed Backlight and didn't even bother looking at him. Instead he locked eyes with the sixteen year old girl hovering before him. Literally thinks she's above me. Above us. Hah.

"Simple. We are prepared to exclusively arm you with my arsenal of guns in exchange for your teammates movement technology. This would presumably include maintenance costs on both of our parts. It is our hope that such a deal would be the first of many in a cooperative relationship". It takes almost all of John's will power to not spit the words out at her. Instead his little speech comes out at at an even, measured tone, as if he couldn't be bothered to have an opinion one way or the other when it came to the Urchins taking the deal he's offering them.

[Writtensanity]

Diplomacy

That was... unexpected, why was Calibre throwing that out there? We hadn't talked about that. We hadn't. I took a deep breath. It was a good deal, cutting right to the end game. I liked it. At least it gave us a way to make progress rather than Zora just being bitchy. WE SAVED HER LIFE. Least she could do was take our side in the Kabuki semantics. Whatever.


Kabuki Mono Must Die

"Well, what do we have here," I said as I looked over the sheet. I started to ask questions with minor threats, and he talked, hoo boy did he talk. Everything we could have wanted. It was fantastic. Once he was done I turned back to Omen.

"Can you get the camera back on? Not the stream." I said, "just gotta get the money shot. The payoff the-" the red light came on and I stopped talking. "Hey everyone, welcome back, sorry we had some business to attend to. Private meetings. Sorry if you missed the live stream. I'm sure someone downloaded that but I wanted it to be exclusive so-"

"Anyway let's get right to it with Kabuki Mono question hour!" I played the theme music from The Dating Game in the background as I sat down beside Kabuki. "Everyone this is Kabuki Mono, let's get him a big round of applause at home!" I'd add that part in post. "How are you doing today Kabuki?"

"Go **** yourself."

"That makes sense!"

"Is this some ****ing joke to you?"

"Most things are Kabuki, most things are. Tell me what's your favorite flavor of ice cream?"

"Go **** you-"

"Isn't a flavor of ice cream, you've had ice cream before... right Kabuki?"

"I'm not going to-"

"I swear to God Kabuki, you have more ribs and I will play them like a ****ing Xylophone." I said in a very 'gameshow host' voice for the threat. He flinched, but I kept going. "So what's your ideal date like Kabuki?"

"Dinner and a ****ing movie, I don't-"

"Boring. Next question. What's your favorite pokemon?"

"Pikachu?"

Now I wasn't sure if it was actually his favorite pokemon, or if he just only knew that one. Either way it was a ****ing cliche. "Wrong answer Kabuki," I said before pulling a knife off of the table and headshotting him with it. "Wrong ****ing answer."

"All right folks, that's been our show today," I said as Kabuki turned into ashes, "tune in some other time when our guest is going to be..." I looked at the paper Omen had given me, "it could very well be Kabuki Mono, he's kinda like that! Goodnight everybody!"

[Madwand]

Kabuki Mono Must Talk

Questions and Answers

Spoiler

Show

1) Where is your main base of operations? Please provide a current address, as well as as any strategically relevant details (number of floors, any hidden entrances or safeguards against intruders, passcodes, typical amount of security, etc).

We don’t have ‘main base’ as such. I have penthouse on the top floor in.. [he provide the full address, it’s middle of Japanise’ district]. Twelfth floor. It have full security, cameras, motion detectors, reinforce doors and bullet-proof window’ glass. I didn’t pay for all that, it’s old Lung’s suite. On every floor is someone from my gang or their families, plus four professional, ex-military and armed as full time security. The passcodes were already changed. We have two warehouses for drugs and weapons, but We would move them the moment We failed to kill this body. It’s easy to rent a storage in Bay.


2) What, to your knowledge, is the upper limit of clones you can generate at any given time? Can all of the clones operate independently, or does the 'prime' version of you need to micromanage and direct all of them at the same time?

We or I are all equal. Our ‘prime’ is all of us or none, I don’t know. It fluctate from dozen to two dozen plus-minus 2. Never figured out which and when We are going to split or dust, however it never seems to happen close to other people.

3) How long is the maximum range at which you can maintain control over your clones? What is the longest known length of time you've been able to maintain control over your clones?

We can travel as far as we want, but the clones can disappear unexpectedly, so we keep ourself to Brockton Bay. Better be in one place.

4) Within the boundaries of your territory, do you and the rest of the Kabuki clones use any regular routes to or from your main base? If so, please list the approximate trajectories of these routes.

I dunno, we switch those things regularly and since We are moving the warehouses, the routes will change.

5) Beyond your known affiliation to the Urchins, are you currently in any other alliances, or planning to enter into any other alliances, with any groups (capes or otherwise) within Brockton Bay or beyond it?

I prefer to work alone. Most of the capes in Bay are f*cking psychos, the Butcher, the Nazi-Pure, Fallen and you f*ckers. Leet Collective owns me big favour and Roland sells me gear. We contacted a Yakuza once, but they wanted too big cut of our profits. And Twin Serpents Cartel that provide us drugs, they are all controlled by parahumans, right? But doubt they will send some to help me.

6) Are you in possession of, or are planning to be in possession of, any advanced technologies (cape-made or otherwise)? If so, please specify known models and their estimated capabilities.

No, never trust a tinker. But I think We might go to Leets for something special just for you.

7) Do you know of any undergoing or planned operations by the rest of your clones in Brockton Bay, whether against the Cerberi in particular or other groups (capes or otherwise) as a whole?

We are mostly trying to control asians districts, northern end of Bay. Both the Pure and the Teeth are too tough for us. We aren’t stupid to pick a fight there.

8) Who are your drug suppliers, and what is the best method of getting into contact with them? Are they a cape? If so, what do you know of their powers? If you have more than one supplier, please list details for all involved parties.

No idea about capes, never fought them. We have contact number for a burner phone
to set up the meetings - they don’t talk business, if Big Brother can hear and track you. It does change, but I remember the last one [he give you the number], but no idea if Serpents wouldl want to speak with you.

9) Have any of your clones ever broken from your control? Could they, given certain circumstances, be persuaded to operate outside the boundaries of the influence of the 'prime' Kabuki? If so, what are those circumstances?

Yeah, two of me once get under Valefor's control, until We were forced to kill them. Other way, I don’t know. Can you willingly betray yourself?

Another Kabuki bite the dust. Backlight was now an national sensation. Number one topic on parahuman.net and similar forums for two days. Super-villain was talked about in late night shows with morbid humour. PRT director Piggot vowed on camera to 'address the issue' imminently and with 'appropriate level of force'. Chief Direct Costa-Brown told the press that she was 'aware of Cerberi's activity' and will work with Protectorate East-North-East to, again, 'address the issue'.

Diplomacy

'Calibre, right?' Zora asked tinker 'yeah, we would like to trade some gear, if we are going to work together. We would like something non-lethal. Chariot had some lasers guns from Kid Win, but they run out of charge. Do you think you could fix those or build something like that? "

Chariot moved toward Calibre.

'Hi' kid said. 'Seem we will be trading tech, so what do your gang want?'

[n0ble]

John doesnt pay anyone else except Zora any mind. He holds her gaze. "I could. If we are working together. I need to know that first. That being said, if you choose to work with us I should be able to provide you with something akin to what you requested. I can do non-lethal no problem." The thought of working for other people, hell even working with the current group, angered John. Yet for all his anger he managed to keep his expression and voice neutral. All things considered he did a rather exceptional job of keeping himself composed, cool and collected.

He was done talking to the brute cape. Something about the way she hovered over him threatened to make John lose his cool. His eyes flicked away from hers at the sound of the other tinker's words. "I propose we both make a list and come to an agreement in terms of what is feasible. Both in terms of what we can realistically make and what we are realistically comfortable exchanging. Naturally this agreement would include the upkeep of both our technologies."

[Bobbybobby99]

"I'd certainly like some mobility," noted Ameliorate in a chipper tone, as he continued periodically rippling and spoke again, "I mean, I can't exactly fly, even if I can leap, so it would be rather helpful if I, say, had a jetpack, or a hoverboard, or something similar. As a new member, I am fully in favor of an alliance. I'm also fully in favor of pie, long walks on the beach, and regular cancer screenings. Particularly the later and the former. I actually hate the beach, don't know why I added that. Hello again! "

The pink and orange suited cape continued grinning, behind the mask, and continued rippling. You could just barely discern him humming the tune of "I will survive". It was still always, always about image, and it was better if they didn't think he was a threat, than if they did. Acting scatterbrained would help in that regard, alongside the atrocious costume; art was the implementation of perception, after all.

[Let'sGetKraken]

Inwardly, Julia winces at the words of the other new recruit - she has no way of knowing the strategy behind Ameliorate's comments, after all. What is he doing? I don't understand... is he insane, or is there some sort of purpose to his ramblings?

She also desperately wishes she wasn't so new to the team. If she knew these people better, or if her image was already established, Dissonance could chime in or offer suggestions; for now, though, unnerving silence and stillness was probably her best bet.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Pun fully intended :D

[3SecondCultist]

Kabuki Mono Must Talk

Nodding at Backlight, Omen turns off the camera and sighs. "Well, it looks like it was worth it. Are you satisfied?" The words carry no judgment or recrimination in them, and are posed simply as a desire for facts. If this man to whom she's hitched her wagon is truly a sadist, she'd like to know just how far he'd be willing to go. The notepad on her lap is full of point form notes that Kabuki made, and even as the body crumbles into dust once the execution is complete, she turns away to review the information. The wheels start to turn. The fact that all of the Kabukis are primes is not helpful, as are the security measures Kabuki implemented for the warehouses. That means that the Cerberi won't be able to get the drop on him now - not that they really in a place to do that anyhow.

Helping Backlight clean up the mess is the least she can do now. The body is gone, which is helpful, but the blood and viscera are still here. She brought cleaning supplies in her van - bleach and other cleaning products, as well as gloves and scubbers to make sure there are no fingerprints. It's not like they're counting on the authorities finding this place, but sometimes the little things can be the ones that get you, in the end. Besides, she's spent enough time cleaning up human remains to know that it helps her think. Thank you for that, Paul. The assorted tools, she leaves for the Cerberi's leader to assemble and put into inventory. If they're really going to be using this warehouse as a base, they should probably have some sort of armory here, but she doesn't say that out loud. Backlight brought the torture implements on his own, which means they're his to do with what he wills. As Omen wrings the bloody water into one of the buckets, an idea comes to her.

"Backlight, can you get me a map of the Japanese district? I think I know what our next move should be. Once we iron this out, we can call the team together. They're going to want to hear this..."


Diplomacy

"If one of you wouldn't mind," Omen says quietly over the comms to all gathered members of the team, "please tell Zora that Kabuki's version of a 'deal' was hardly reasonable given the circumstances, and that we did not choose to enter into hostilities with him. That choice was made for us by the late Menagerie, who we killed to save Zora's life." Hopefully, that should end the conversation on 'reasonableness', and allow them to move forward into an actually progressive talk that could lead to a partnership. Zora and Chariot seem to be amenable to Caliber's offer, which is a good start.

"As for taking down Kabuki... hold off on telling them the plan until they've at least agreed to our terms of non-aggression and non-interference." It's the very least the Urchins can offer, and she's willing to extend them the same courtesy until Kabuki is out of the way for good. Still, she would much prefer a proper partnership on this. Besides, they're already willing to split Kabuki's territory evenly between the two of them if the Urchins can help with this. Backlight knows the details.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Madwand, I'll send you a PM with some questions about my next plan for dealing with Kabuki.

[Madwand]

Diplomacy
'Yeah, I am not saying no. Everyone can see that five capes are better than one, even if Kabuki can have dozen clones - he is still, like weak. Human. BTW, what those two do?' Zora said pointing at Melio and Dissonance 'but Kabuki - he can be royal pain in the ass. We would want to end him as quickly as possible.

-Today would be great. Not that I expect that's going to happens, just saying. Zora said - Cause Kabuki wasn't, like, chilling last two days. He contacted all gangs in Bay and want that big meeting tomorrow. You're not invited, cause Cerberi are, like, main talking point.

-Jetpack for three laser pistols would be about right - Chariot said to Calibre and Melio.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

What is the plan to deal with Kabuki Mono? All players could and should make suggestions, of course. 3SC, I cleared the inbox, send the PM

GameofChampions (?)