Private/Closed The Paragons - Act I

[Gamingfan]

Massi turned over to Chief Li's command, growling slightly, and back to Crosshair. The large mass of humans and meat tempted him, but he knew when he was at a disadvantage. He heard Crosshair yell, and turned to see a grenade being thrown at him. The creature yelled in return, repeating his voice, giving a distorted " Go tO HElL!" before wrapping a tentacle over his second victim, and using the rest to leap out of the way. The explosion sent him higher, singeing his body as well. He crashed out of a wall and turned to see Chef Li and her officers. He screeched, repeating his distorted, Crosshair-esque " Go tO HElL!", before bloating up and spitting a blob of condensed, powerful stomach acids at Li, and promptly fleeing on three tentacles.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Four was getting bored he had already taken a lot of pictures, mostly with teens wearing too much black and a lot of make up, saved several kittens and been heckled about his methods. He was considering going back into the tower when he saw her. The car had pulled up a little while ago and he hadn't paid it much mind until the passenger caught his eye. But it couldn't be "Lilian" he said out loud and the girl he had been taking a picture with turned to him "actually my name is..", Four started to walk away "not you, uh sorry I've got to go check on something" he said before walking over to the car. At this distance he was certain so he knelt down and knocked on the window "Lilian? Is that you?" he mouthed through the window.
(Lilian and Four knowing each other was discussed behind the scenes)

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

The police had arrived sooner than Shuzo expected; as Crosshair hurled a grenade at Massi, the alien copied the vigilante's exclamation in a gurgled, distorted response before using the grenade's explosion to propel himself upward. Shuzo sheathed his blades and cursed under his breath, as the creature spewed a burst of acid at the NYPD lined up outside the warehouse and began to flee; he rather disliked the police force's need to insert themselves into any situation they found, which often put a cog in whatever he did, whether it was busting a drug/weapons deal or taking out a dangerous superhuman intent on sowing chaos (lucky him; he got to do both today), and there was no doubt in his mind that Massi would be wreaking some sort of havoc wherever he fled. However, his job called for the least amount of casualties, and that included the ever so annoying New York Police Department.

Kicking his electricity into overdrive, Shuzo's eyes glowed an extremely bright red as the lightning around him danced in a wild frenzy, and with a deep breath, he sprinted out of the warehouse and straight at the slowed down faces of the police. In a matter of milliseconds and a bright flash of scarlet, Shuzo had relocated Police Chief Li and the other officers to a location not too far away, but well out of the path of the incoming stomach acid. Skidding to a halt before the now-moving-at-normal-speed police, Sparkblade leveled a cool stare at Li and spoke through his mask, in which a voice modulator was equipped to deepen and warble his speech. "Left a present for you in Corridor E. Merry Christmas." The mentioned area had been occupied with the bound, unconscious bodies of the Double Drakons gang, left there before the clash with Massi. Briefly watching as the alien scurried away on three tentacles, the vigilante said no more and promptly slammed a palm down onto the concrete, seemingly struck by a scarlet bolt of lightning upon impact. When the flash of light and thin plumes of smoke faded away, Sparkblade was nowhere to be found, and the only evidence of his presence was the branched out patterns burned into the ground where he had been.

★ ★ ★

Shuzo arrived at his apartment several minutes later, dressed in a black button-down shirt tucked into navy jeans, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Letting the bag drop to the ground with a thud after entering the living room, he collapsed onto a couch and reclined backward, closing his eyes. He had overexerted himself with that little Barry Allen stunt, leaving him more exhausted than usual; Massi was still out there as well, and the thought prompted an exasperated rub of his temple. Though he couldn't let it roam free for any longer, any mission to take it out would just be suicide. What even was that thing, anyway? Shuzo still had no idea, but it sure wasn't human, and he needed to cross it off as soon as possible.

 

[comic]

CL-9 - Paragon Tower
"Of course, Ms. Lilian." CL-9 nodded with a polite, though artificial, smile. "Please pull the car over, Mr. Monroe." She ordered the driver, who silently complied just as a face practically smooshed himself against Lilian's window, and CL-9 looked at it with her never-ending smile. "Oh my." She said plainly. "It would appear Foursythe Carter, the Infinity himself, would like to speak with you." She stated the obvious, grabbing the handle of the door and opening it for Lilian. "You're making friends already, Ms. Lilian."

Yin Li - Silver Sand Docks
The Chief's eyes narrowed at the sight of the man who'd appeared before her, letting her know of a 'present' in the warehouse, before disappearing. She and a handful of her men were standing a good twenty feet away from what appeared to be a large hole in the ground, which the acidic gunk had burned through. The man was gone before anything else could be said, and she gazed off into the sky for a moment, scowling. "Sparkblade." She muttered, before turning to one of her officer's. "Get in that warehouse. Looks like we're cleaning up after supers. Again."
"Yes ma'am!" The officer saluted as though this were the army, and ran off, collecting his fellow officers along the way while Yin continued to stare into the night, eyes narrowed, searching for Sparkblade or that acid-spitting monster, but she saw nothing. With a silent curse to herself, she followed her men inside.

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Lilian stared up at Foursythe, not really hearing CL-9 anymore. Seeing him here was the last thing she expected, after all, he had died, right? She jumped out of the car, many possible actions raced through her head, though due to him being so close already, she ended up giving him a tight hug. “Foursythe, is that really you?” She asked, disbelief, joy, and a few other emotions mixed into her voice.

 

[BurbleBurble]

The girl only seemed to want to antagonize Necrodytis. She was not amused by such bravado, nor particularly offended. This was just useless chatter, simply buying Techno time. Which, in turn, was wasting Necrodytis's time...And in that, that was what got Necrodytis upset. She still ignored the other boy- Just a civilian, nothing of her concern unless he got in the way.

"THEN ENOUGH PRATTLE. DIE."

She sprinted towards the girl, claws wide. In the remaining sunlight, the blood was clearly dribbling from the gauntlet already. Just one swipe at the midsection, that's all Necrodytis needed...

-----

"Come on. It's six on a friday night and this is what I have to deal with?"

Ansel- Or rather, the Deluge, was looking at a number of fires breaking out in the business district. What the hell was going on? And why the hell did it have to be now? Obviously a hero's work was never done, but what monster did this sort of thing on Friday at six?? The poor bastards cooped up in the offices didn't need this in the first place. And more importantly, Ansel didn't need this! Damn did it piss him right off. Enough to make him kick a nearby fire hydrant.

The cap popped right off, water sputtering into the street. "Well if it's here, I gotta deal with it!!" The water from the hydrant began rising, bubbling up at his command. He sent a jet of water spiraling at one of the burning buildings- The flames drowned out by the current. He did the same for the next building- The fires unable to handle the torrent. The worst of them were extinguished, but what did that leave? The cause.

Now, Ansel nor the Deluge were really a firefighter or an expert in that field. It was quite possible the fires were just coincidental. But as he saw a tree ignite, he also spotted something making little sparks...Bugs?

Approaching the burning tree, he promptly extinguished the flame...and sank a few of the bugs. On closer inspection? Little lizard lookin' bastards. He picked one up. "Dragons? Tiny dragons, really?" That was up there in some of the crazy stuff he had seen, as he crushed it in his palm. A few other ones were grounded by the water. Similarly easy to stomp. "Where are the rest of these lil' jerks?" Deluge asked, glancing about the district.

It was getting a little late for this crap, and he really didn't want to spend more time on this than he had to.

 

[Gamingfan]

Loufe was anxious "Oh no."
O.S was ecstatic Oh yes.
Loufe reacted instinctively, cancelling his retreat and leaping forwards, using his increased strength to close the distance he had moved before and landing in front of Hitori. He swiped his arm upward, summoning a wall of cyan psychic energy as a barrier in front and slightly above them. His other arm was at the ready, sparking with power.
O.S sighed impatiently You don't wanna fight. Let me. Now. Please.
Loufe considered his options, before shaking his head, sighing a "Nope".
He wasn't skilled in close combat, while O.S was, but to let O.S fight would be risky, considering the sharp claws the enemy had and the century-old wolf's recklessness. Limb loss sounded likely.
The best he could do was be defensive, hopefully tiring out Necrodytis in the process. Of course, Hitori was an uncontrollable variable in this plan. He could only hope she doesn't do anything crazy.

Massi scurried off, breathing heavily, before retracting his tentacles and landing in a dark alley. He hissed as he landed, his burns were healing but slowly, and painfully. The dead man fell on the floor, and Massi began to feed, and his burns began to disappear.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Forsythe looked down at Lilian as she hugged him, "yeah it's me but I think we need to establish a few things, how are you here, when I left that the masters house all that time ago i thought I'd never see you. I spent years thinking i could have done a better goodbye than just that stupid letter but...I'm rambling a bit. Let me cut to the chase I'm immortal but I was certain you weren't how have you lived this long" he asked as he moved her to arms length so he could see her face.

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Lilian up at Foursythe, giving him a smile “I was so sad when you left, those years with you were the best I had, even though it hurt to look back on them.” She heard him say he was immortal, though she had already guessed, she still was happy about it “I’m immortal as well! Though, I have not been around for the last while.” She looked down, tilting her head as she reached out a traced the symbol on his chest “Infinity, what earned you that name?”

 

[Void_Nugget]

Forsythe looked down at her hand on his chest, "Infinity? Well it was a name someone gave me cause I live a thousand lives in one body or something. He was very spiritual but I thought the name suited me, so yeah uh I'm a member of the Paragons an elite group of superheroes lead by a douchebag, but anyway what have you been getting up to, god I would never have left if I knew I wouldn't have to say goodbye" he said finding himself reaching for her hair before pulling back unsure of their relationship after so long apart.

 

[Martin Pine]

Alan's story was a unique and interesting one. Samuel was glad that it had all worked out well, given that there were many points where something could've went terribly wrong. He could just about recall something in the news about an incident in New York a while back that sounded like it could've been Alan. Samuel decided not to focus too much on it, moving to topic onto something else. "So ... how do things work around here? Are patrols are thing? Are we called or ... yeah"

@The Alright Attorney

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Lilian sighed, taking a quick glance to make sure no one could hear "I've not really been up to anything, you see, I live inside the amulet over there..." She motioned to the amulet CL-9 was wearing "... And after a few generations, the family forgot about me." She looked up into Foursythes eyes "I've just been sitting on some shelf in an abandoned museum for the last few centuries." Lilian saw his move, grabbing his hand, squeezing it to say that she understood.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Forsythe listened intently, "so the master of the house all those years ago had this amulet then and I'm assuming he gave it to his son. Wait so if I were to 'borrow' the amulet indefinitely then you wouldn't have to keep changing masters, seeing as I went die of old age after all" he said as he glanced at CL-9, "it shouldn't be that hard to get it off her" he said unconsciously stroking Lilian's hair as he thought. Also if he had the amulet he would never get lonely again, he would always be certain of a friend and companion.

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Lilian looked back at CL-9 the thought that Foursythe had said was appealing to her, she would never switch masters, and she would have a friend to keep forever. She looked up at Foursythe “I can’t take the amulet off her, but let me try something.” She turned around and coughed “Charles told you to do as I said, so I would like you to hand the amulet to this man, and to tell Charles that I appreciate him, but I meet with an old friend I simply must catch up with.”

 

[Cmeriwether]

Logan released his metal around him, falling away from him as he decided everything was secure. He then left the warehouse and headed towards The Bronx, to where his deceased girlfriend, April, was buried. Logan made his journey from the warehouse to Woodlawn Cemetery. When he got there, he sat down at a gravesite. He sat, talking with the grave, as if it was still alive. On the gravestone read,

April Renee Hathaway
January 15, 2009-September 29, 2026
A young lady taken way too soon...
​

The gravestone had some paint on it. Logan had tears from his eyes, he started manipulating nearby electricity towards his current location.

---------

Adrianna had been on her way to the Paragon Tower when she heard unnatural crackling of lightning from the direction of the Bronx, she knew she had to get to Paragon Tower, and figured she head that way, alerting people there about an unnatural Lightning storm in the Bronx.

 

[~Patriot~]

The receptionist raised an eyebrow at the newcomer's request, momentarily confused. It was as though déjà vu had taken hold of his mind, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out exactly why. Still, it didn't seem as though this Ryan Donahue character was lying. "Sure, follow me to the security office," the man said as he stood from his seat.

Nikolai thanked the receptionist for his cooperation and began to follow. From the corner of his eye he noticed another man standing across the hallway, near the restrooms, watching him. Nikolai got the feeling that something was...off...about the watcher. The man was average in just about every way, a person who could blend into any crowd, one whom you could walk past on the street every day and never notice. And yet, Nikolai got the sense that the unassuming looking man didn't belong there, and yet wouldn't have his presence questioned. The feeling was brief, however, as it was a very short walk to the security office.

"Part of our protocol is to call in things like this," the receptionist explained as he took hold of a phone on the wall. "I'll be able to help you assess the footage in a moment, but you can begin yourself." Nikolai gave the man an appreciative smile before he stepped out of the room into the hallway. Nikolai quickly crossed the room to the set of monitors and other computer equipment, working quickly since he knew he would only have a minute or two before things got complicated. Nikolai glanced over his shoulder to see if the receptionist's back was turned -it was- before slipping a flash drive into one of the external hard drives that lay strewn about the desk.

Just as he located the footage from that day, Nikolai heard the receptionist connect to whomever he was calling. "I've got a Mr. Donahue down here working PR for the Paragons. He said he needs the security footage from the incident today to reimburse the Bank." There was a pause, interrupted only by Nikolai clicking the mouse, as the receptionist listened to whomever has on the line. "What do you mean I already called this in?" He asked incredulously.

Nikolai's head snapped up as he realized he'd been made. Just my luck that an actual Paragon rep already came out. He had planned to watch the footage then and there, but he wouldn't have the time to both watch and copy over the files, especially not after he had already watched some footage from a few minutes prior to his arrival that caught his eye. I'll have to keep him busy while the files transfer, Nikolai decided, turning his back on the monitor. The receptionist reentered the room with an accusing look on his face. "Are you really with the Paragons?!" The man demanded, crossing his arms. "Because we've already had a Paragon agent request that footage just a few minutes ago."

For all the weaponry stashed on his person, Nikolai's quick-thinking remained his greatest tool. "Did you ask the 'agent' to prove his identity?" Nikolai asked. The man furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to speak, but Nikolai continued, giving an understanding expression as he informed the receptionist, "I'm sorry to say you were duped-" Nikolai slipped a hand into an inner jacket pocket and produced a card that identified him as Ryan Donahue, Paragon PR agent. Haven't had to pull this in a while, he mentally remarked, handing the ID to the receptionist for inspection. After a momentary pause, the receptionist handed it back. "Oh no," he groaned. "They're gonna have my head for this."

Nikolai grinned and told the man to cheer up and that, "These villains are getting craftier by the day. It's nothing to beat yourself up about. Now can we..." He gestured towards the monitors. The receptionist's face reddened and quickly apologized, joining Nikolai at the desk. Nikolai informed him that the files were already transferring, explaining that he didn't want to waste too much of the man's time. While the receptionist insisted that there was no rush, Nikolai removed the flash drive as soon as the transfer finished. "I won't take up anymore of your day," Nikolai said, insisting that he must be on his way. He followed the receptionist out of the room and back into the lobby.

Again, Nikolai noticed the forgettable man hanging about. With his interests peaked, Nikolai bid the receptionist adieu and started in his direction.

 

[comic]

CL-9 - Paragon Tower
The android smiled artificially at Lilian, casting her gaze unto Infinity. "I am sorry, Ms. Lilian, but that conflicts directly with Mr. Warren's primary objective- safeguarding this amulet." CL-9 informed. "My mission is to chaperone you at your leisure, but not to abandon you."
The driver of the vehicle got out of the car, staring over the hood of the vehicle at the 3-man exchange, hand resting on his holstered weapon. "I'd recommend not betraying Charles Warren's trust." He barked over at them, glaring at Infinity. "Unless you want an enemy a little out of your league, Paragon."

 

[Void_Nugget]

Forsythe just stared at the man "Sir, I've been protecting the less fortunate and downtrodden since before your bloodline was conceived so if you would please be quiet and get back in the car" he then turned to CL-9 "And to you madam I ask politely that you do as Lilian has asked before I take matters into my own hands" he said with a stern expression.

 

[comic]

CL-9 - Paragon Tower
"I am sorry, Mr. Carter, but protocol is clear. I have been instructed to guard this amulet with my life." CL-9 informed Infinity, her glassy eyes resting on him as the driver made his way around the car to stand beside the android. "However, if you have a complaint, you should make an appointment with Mr. Warren, the owner of this amulet. Would you like me to set up an appointment for you?" CL-9's ever-present smile remained glued to her face as she grinned fakely at Infinity, simulating a friendly demeanor.
"Don't both, Warren doesn't deal with Paragons." The driver hissed, hand still on his holstered weapon. He paused however, seemingly listening to something, before he scowled. He'd just received a message from Charles Warren in his earpiece, and without another word, returned to the car.
"I am so sorry if I am inconveniencing you, Mr. Carter and Ms. Lilian. I would love to help, but if you desire the amulet, you need to speak with Mr. Warren. He spent a great deal of money and time finding and retrieving it. I am also certain he would be very thankful for a peaceful negotiation, as violence is never on his agenda." CL-9 added, still smiling at Infinity blankly.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Forsythe sighed "very well, I myself also prefer the peaceful approach. I will speak with this Mr. Warren, do I follow you or will you give me the address so I can get there myself" he said politely before turning to Lilian "do you think this is worth it. Would Mr.Warren be willing to hand over the amulet. It's up to you Lilian" he said with a hand gently placed on her shoulder.

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Kerco gave a small smile, if there was one thing he knew when he heard it, it was a liar, and this man was uncertain. Kerco sneaked up to the door, listening to the conversation, confirming his prior thoughts, walking back to his spot in time to not be noticed to have moved, he was pleasantly surprised to see the an walk up to him, he looked over at the man, acknowledging him, but letting him have the first words.

Lilian looked up at Foursythe, then back at CL-9. Looking back up where she thought his tower would be, she sighed “I don’t know, I only really woke up today, so I haven’t known him for long at all” she quietly said to Foursythe.

 

[comic]

CL-9 - Paragon Tower
"I'm surprised you're not more aware of Mr. Warren, Mr. Carter." CL-9 spoke to Infinity. "He owns half the businesses in the city. He even helped fund and build Paragon Tower itself. If you wish to negotiate with the brilliant man himself, you will need to come with me. Mr. Monroe, our driver, will be happy to return us to Warren Industries. Let's waste no time!" With simulated enthusiasm, CL-9 ducked back into the car. The driver, Mr. Monroe, glanced back darkly at Infinity, but said nothing.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

As Massi was blasted out of the warehouse, Crosshair gritted his teeth. That didn't look like it was enough to finish the job. No way he would let that thing escape. Sparkblade shot out of the warehouse, but Crosshair needed to gear up a little bit. The vigilante grabbed some extra canisters for the Flamethrower, as well as pocketing a few grenades. He was going to need them to kill this thing.

Loaded up, Crosshair ran to the entrance of the warehouse and opened the door. Only to come face-to-face with a group of police officers about to make their way into the warehouse. The officers looked about as surprised as Crosshair, but the vigilante was able to act first. He quickly slammed the door shut, turning tail and sprinting deeper into the warehouse. He didn't exactly have the best relationship with the police, and had no wish to hang around them.

 

[The Alright Attorney]

“Well, here you’re free to work solo as per usual, go out on your own and do some heroing. Of course, if there’s a larger scale threat, it’s expected for most Heroes to be there. When that happens, whoever is there will work together, and represent the Paragons. Then there’s the big deals. That’s when it’s all hands on deck and we’re all called in to deal with something. It’s rare to happen, but always be prepared. Every now and then we’ll have meetings or an odd training excersise here and there to help keep us on our toes. That’s pretty much the basic gist of it. I know that was a lot of info to take in at once, but it’s fairly basic.” Alan explained everything he could think of off the top of his head, sounding a bit like he was ramblings on, but it got the point across.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Four shrugged "Yeah I don't pay attention to anything about business but I do think I met him some time around when the Tower was being designed but I wasn't even considering being a Paragon at that point so I didn't pay much attention" he said before turning to Lilian and slipping his hand into hers and giving it a light squeeze, "Let's go and speak with Charles, maybe he'll here us out and be willing to part with the necklace" he said before gently leading Lilian towards the car.

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Lilian looked up at Foursythe for a moment, nodding her agreement before stepping back into the car, moving over to let her friend into the car. She allowed herself to lean on Foursythe just a little as she gazed out the window, really he was the only thing familiar in the entire world right now, as far as she could tell anyways.

 

[comic]

Yin Li - Silver Sand Docks
"Ma'am! Vigilante!" An officer called out as the door was slammed in her face. "Well get them!" Yin barked back, checking her pockets for a moment. Radio, taser, mace... she was ready. "Clever, Kakuna, on me. Let's cover the south side." Chief Li ordered to a couple of officers, who gave her a nod, falling in behind her as she jogged around the side of the warehouse. She'd missed all the action, sure, but there was still one super in there. Probably an illegal one, too. Like hell she wouldn't catch them.
As Yin and her troop moved to the other side of the warehouse, the remaining officers busted their way inside the main entrance, weapons and flashlights raised, quickly scanning through the building as they went in.

CL-9 - Paragon Tower
Once everyone was settled inside, Mr. Monroe continued to drive, turning them around and heading back for Warren Industries. The drive was in a tense silence as CL-9 looked slowly from Infinity to Lilian, then back again, her ever-present smile plastered onto her synthetic face. There was no of telling if either of these people were aware she wasn't human. On the surface, she appeared plenty human, though her skin was of a latex foundation, and was cold to the touch. Her eyes were made of glass, her bones of a non-magnetic rare metal alloy known as Repelium, discovered many years ago during one of Mr. Warren's expeditions. It was a rare mineral that counter-balanced magnetic attractions, instead repelling them, giving it the name of 'Repelium', and it was about as dense and heavy as steel, though slightly more durable, also capable of withstanding far more extreme temperatures.
Her mind was made of wire and chips, placed in a complex algorithm to form her brain, which had once been far more advanced than it currently was.
Finally, CL-9 broke the silence over them. "So. Have you two known each other long?" She asked, a hint of curiosity to her otherwise static voice. "Mr. Warren never mentioned that Ms. Lilian would be encountering old friends."

 

[~Patriot~]

The forgettable man's gaze met Nikolai's for a brief moment, and in that moment Nikolai studied his eyes. In Nikolai's experience, it was not a person's eyes that betrayed their intent far more often than their words. But if eyes are the windows to the soul, the forgettable man's were blacked out. For the first time in a long time Nikolai couldn't read an opponent, and it did nothing but increase his curiosity even further. He broke the eye contact with a small nod, and kept walking.

Nikolai passed the man and stopped a few feet behind him at the water fountains that were installed between the doors of the men's and women's restrooms. He bent down to take a drink, and after a quick swig asked, "You're the other 'Paragon agent', aren't you?" He didn't look up at the man, but kept drinking.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Crosshair dove behind some crates as the door was thrown open. Gritting his teeth, Crosshair snuck a look over his hiding place as police officers filed into the warehouse. While Crosshair and the police force had clashed before, the vigilante had always done his best to avoid injuring any of the officers. Of course, that made things like escaping from the police a lot more difficult than escaping from gangs or weapon smugglers. The officers began to fan out, weapons and flashlights drawn, scanning the warehouse. This wasn't looking good.

Seeing an opening, Crosshair darted deeper into the warehouse. He just had to make it back down to the basement. Once he got down there, he could escape back into the sewers and lose them there. It was a tricky process, but Crosshair slowly and stealthily made his way towards the entrance to the warehouse basement. A few times, it was only by luck that he wasn't spotted.

Glancing back to the group of police officer, Crosshair jumped from hiding and made a dash for the entrance to the warehouse basement.

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Lilian looked over at CL-9 “Well, back when I was awake we had meet each other and become close friends, though we were separated. She looked at Foursythe then back at the artificial intelligence “There’s no one I would have wanted to show me this.... new world than him.” She said with a small smile.

Kerco raised a brow, despite the mans inability to see his face from where he was “Now that is quite the accusation, what could have possibly lead you to that conclusion there?” He said, and amused tone entering his voice.

 

[~Patriot~]

The journalist smirked at the man's denial. The innocent route, eh? Won't work on me, he thought as he reached into a jacket pocket and produced a flash drive, the same one that he had plugged into the security console. "I'm not sure how you managed to make that receptionist forget about you," Nikolai began, standing back at his full height and once again locking eyes with the man. "But however you did it, it only affected him." Nikolai showed the man the flash drive and continued. "Meaning you overlooked the fact that the cameras were still running, and caught you talking to him then walking in and out of the security office. And while I was in there, I copied over that footage."

Nikolai slipped the flash drive back into his pocket and kept speaking. "Maybe the receptionist is a little forgetful, but I doubt he would've forgotten leading you back there since it was only a little while ago." Nikolai extended an arm and pointed at the man. "And you would have no reason to make him forget if you really are with the Paragons. So who are you, really?"

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Kerco crossed his arms, his smile not decreasing "And I know a liar when I hear one, your not who you say you are either." He looked over at the security room. "If you know me at all, its as Aroto, though I doubt you do." He looked back at the man "And who might you be?"

 

[=Nightshade=]

Hitori was ready to defend herself, but before she could bring her wrist blades halfway up, Loufe had leaped in front of her. She wasn’t sure whether to feel flattered, irritated, or insulted; it really just depended on his motives for stepping in, which she didn’t exactly have time to figure out. So far, though, she was leaning toward flattered.

“Thought I told you to run,” Hitori said through a feral grin. “Now you’re caught up in my shit. Well, guess that’s your problem; now let’s take down this crazy and get the hell out of here.” Brash talk, but that was how she coped. Making fun and poking tough spots was how she gave herself openings to escape. It wasn’t the first time assassins or vigilantes have come after her. Every time, she would outlast them, until their employers became irritated and took them off the job. Or she’d bribe them with promises of cool new tech, or hack their accounts and blackmail them.

But this one was different. This one was serious. Hitori grinned wider.

This was going to be fun.

(OOC: srry for the long overdue posts guys, screw notifs lmao)

 

[~Patriot~]

"Aroto, eh?" Nikolai echoed. He searched his memory for the moniker, but his mind was as devoid of the man's name as it was devoid of the man's face. "You can call me...Zero. I'm sorry to say I've never heard your name before, though I'm sure that's by design." Nikolai wasted no time in cutting to the chase. "It seems you and I have similar methods. Maybe we have similar goals." He glanced around himself, noting the locations of several cameras. "This isn't a good place to discuss that kind of thing, though. Never know who's listening."

 

[The Dark Fairy]

Kerco gave a smile, nodding "Of course, the cafe next door has booths and no cameras, I'm sure our affairs will be safe there." He got off the wall, making his way to the door, opting to lead his new companion.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Four turned to the women and nodded politely, "well we met in the 16th century I'd say and then we were both servants in the same house, after a while things happened and I left. Neither of us knew of the others immortality so we never thought we would see each other again. She's one of the best people I've ever met, and I'm nearly 3000 years old" he said with a hand gently resting on Lilian's hand. He then thought of something "oh yeah I meant to ask, did Mr. Warren know about the amulet and search for it or did he happen to stumble across it, it just had me curious. That's all" he added.

 

[comic]

CL-9 - Paragon Tower
CL-9 smiled brightly, seemingly gaining more personality as the conversation went on. "Oh, Mr. Warren has been searching for her amulet for many years, ever since he recovered text about it with his late wife over a decade ago." She explained. "He's quite the explorer, that Mr. Warren. They say he discovered the philosopher's stone, though that's mostly rumors. I wonder what else he's discovered..."
The driver, Mr. Monroe, glanced in the rear view mirror, narrowing his eyes. "CL-9, initiate routine 37." He ordered. CL-9 seemed to freeze for a moment, her eyes glossing over as she stared forward, but then returned to her old self in just a couple seconds. "Sorry about that." She told the pair politely, her voice returning to its usual monotone tune. "I used to be allowed more autonomy, like the other CL series models, but after an incident that cost Mr. Warren billions in repairs, he dumbed down the artificial intelligence to avoid another catastrophic event. In my case, however, I still have a learning module that allows me to grow and adapt according to people's behaviors. I must run my routine in order to keep myself in check and avoid permanent termination." She explained.

Yin Li - Silver Sand Docks
Crosshair made it halfway to the basement entrance before any of the officer's noticed him. They were too slow in raising their weapons and calling for his surrender, however, as he easily made it into the basement without much fuss.
Chief Li stood at the back entrance to the warehouse with her officers, weapons raised in preparation, before her radio crackled to life. "Ma'am, suspect fled into the sub level. We also found a bunch of Double Drakon gang members. Looks like the vigilante stopped a drug trade."
"Good for them. Now it's the professional's turn." Yin barked back into the radio, storming toward the back entrance in annoyance and kicking the door open. "Get the damn tear gas and masks, secure the basement! Move it!" She yelled, and the officers quickly scrambled at her request while she marched toward the entrance to the basement, aiming her weapon into the darkness. "We know you're in there!" She yelled to Crosshair. "Your buddy Sparkblade can run all he likes, but you've got nowhere to go. Surrender now or we will use lethal force. Understood?"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Making his way into the basement of the warehouse, Crosshair didn't hesitate. While it didn't sound like the officers were following him yet, he knew he didn't have much time. Locating his duffel bag where he left it, the vigilante threw his newly stolen Flamethrower and gas canisters into the bag, then the submachine gun. As Crosshair zipped up the duffel bag, he could hear Chief Li calling down to him. Chief Li herself was here? Crosshair had thought he had seen here when he opened the door. Nowhere to go, eh? The Police Chief was about to be disappointed.

The vigilante ignored the Police Chief's warnings. Crosshair threw on the duffel bag, making his way across the basement. A creak could be heard from the basement as Crosshair opened the same hatch he had used to enter into the warehouse, then a slam as the hatch slammed shut behind him. Crosshair climbed down the ladder into the sewer. For a moment, the vigilante considered leaving a booby trap. Attaching a flashbang to the hatch so whoever opened it would be stunned. But Crosshair decided against it. As much as the police tried to pick fights with him, he didn't like picking fights with the police.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Four watched the women, so she was an android, interesting. He looked around as they arrived outside of what he assumed was their destination, "um so we just go in and talk with him right" he asked with an eyebrow raised as he gave Lilian's hand a light squeeze, "ok let's go then" he said as he stepped out of the car and made his way into the building.

 

[BurbleBurble]

Claws scraping against an invisible wall. Necrodytis grunted, pushing with all her might. The person she had blown off was to blame- Somehow projecting a barrier to block her. "SO YOU RESIGN YOUR LIFE AS WELL. I PREFER NO LOOSE ENDS." She pulled back her hands, before immediately slamming her claws into the barrier. Again and again, angrily slashing at the psychic blockade. A layer of crimson was clearly forming on the blue barrier. She was certain that it could not resist the assault forever- Nor would they want to keep it up, lest the two would lose track of her.

"FALTER." Necrodytis said, as her attacks seemed to be even more incensed with every swing.

-----

The storm had drawn her out like a moth. What strangeness, she thought to herself. Why did her electricity flicker again and again? Why did a storm seem to converge here, yet no rain would fall?

The answer was a young man hunched over at a grave. Mumbling to himself like a madman, at least that's what it seemed to the Scavenger. In a deft move she hopped the fence- her armor far more flexible than one would expect. The perks of making it yourself. The downsides was lack of materials, but true to her name, she simply took what she could find. One could see that on her current armor as well. It was obviously a patchwork, and the mask was just a thin sheet of metal that covered a good amount of her face, with two crude eye holes, tied with a simple rope.

On another note, the Scavenger was also not one for being particularly sensitive.

"Hey!" She shouted from halfway across the graveyard, weaving between tombstones. "The hell are you doing?!"