RPG-Superhumans (Page 17 of 40)

Jack laughed.  He moved to the bench and tossed Jericho the slide. 

"Thanks," Jericho said. 

"I believe we shall all become very good friends."

Oni wasn't buying it, "Grabbing a slide hardly proves your allegiance.  I would believe you if you beat up one of your friends."

((Kaster, Mel, hurry up and get Sunburn over here.  MUAHAHAHAHAHA))

Haze reached for Chromium's arm. "I think we need to get over there."

"Will you come with us?" Chromium asked Sunburn.

Sunburn nodded, "Okay I'll come. Jack might have gone that way."

Once again Chromium rapped his arms around Haze and they few with Sunburn close behind them. They landed on the ground only a block away and Haze could have sworn that she'd seen the tall muscular man as they flew over, but she couldn't be sure.

As usual Chromium transformed into the silver belt, while Haze and Sunburn went into the Happy Harry's. Haze gritted her teeth. Something very bad was in here, she'd never felt such evil before. It was almost tangible. "I don't like this," Haze told both Sunburn and Chromium.

((The big meeting'll go down this afternoon when I have to post the uber-post, but prepare for the shat to hit the fan.))

Starbright returned to her apartment, and noticed Flame had escaped. She had hoped to keep him there as a bargaining chip against Oni, but it appeared that Oni had foiled her plan. Fine. She would just have to wait for the big meeting.

Frost led Don in the direction of Happy Harry's. "Okay", he said, "something's gonna go down here. I know that this is where Oni is holed up, so that means something's up, man."

"Okay... so what are we gonna do?"

"Well, I'm a sniper, so I'll find a concealed, preferably high spot, and watch. And you need to go find Haze."

"I thought you said leave that to you!"

"I did, ummmm, start at Starbright's apartment, and then pretend to be a bloodhound. There, I took care of it. Now sick 'er, dude!"

"Whatever..." Don began to walk off dejectedly.

Frost then jumped into the air, making ice materialize in the air below him. Deploying the ice skates from his boots, he landed on the ice, making more in a spiral trail leading up to the top of a building, he skated up the trail of ice, using powerful leg muscles built from years of skating. Then, withdrawing the skates, he landed on the top of the building. He took the sniper rifle off his back, set up his tripod, aimed at the door of Happy Harry's, and got comfortable, watching...

((I'll be gone this afternoon too, so you can just add my dialogue/actions in if you want too.))

Jericho put the freshly-cleaned DE on the bench next to his 30mm APFSDS Sniper Rifle.

"Oni, You got one of those scopes that can see through walls and have infared capabilities?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I have a feeling I'm gonna need it."

As Haze and Sunburn stood in the bar Haze realised that Sunburn would be recognised if she took him in. "You might need to stay in the bar. Oni knows your face now."

Sunburn nodded, "Okay, but give me a shout if you need me."

Haze gave a nod in return and headed downstairs. Flame stood looking a little out of sorts. You okay?

Been better. Flame admitted.

It was then that Haze saw something that surprised her, Jack was here. He turned in his seat and Haze knew where the evil was emanating from. Jack's face was pale, his eyes sunken and touches of sickly yellow were flecked through his irises. "Hello Haze," he said.

A chill went through Haze's body, something was very wrong with Jack.

At last, at long last, the time was at hand. Happy Harry's was closed & deserted, as far as anyone from the outside looking in could tell, but in actuality the bar was filled with every big-time despot in Mission City. They sat around a large round table, food and drink prepared for them. Haze, Jack, Jericho and Flame stood at the 4 corners of the bar. After the guests had time to eat their fill, Oni decloaked, appearing the middle of the table.

"I'm proud of you guys for showing. And I know you're here because you're frustrated with what you have versus what you know you deserve. I know that feeling. And for you, for us, that feeling is right.

"But now that we're here...now. All of us together...organized under one roof...things are going to change."

Oni paused and removed his mask, showing his crew cut blonde hair, barely visible. His eyes were blue, and filled with the kind of confidence that instills it in others. A peach-fuzz mustache adroned his upper lip.

"My name is Aleksander Uy. They call me the Oni." He continued, placing his mask back on his face. "And I have a vision for the future. A vision which includes all of you. And all of you get that which is rightfully yours.

"We're going to organize. Work togehter. We'll help eachother get what we want, when we want it. Because I know you're sick of Rykenkroft and you're sick of The Cell and sick of living in the shadows wondering where you'll get your next loaf of bread or wondering which brightly colored %$&*# is going to bust up in your business and destroy everything you worked so hard for. But I've got news for y'all. That time is past. Darklight is dead and every super-yutz is busy looking for his killer.

"Ever since this business began, we've had no structure. None. I say we replace all that madness with something new. With us. The plan is simple: If you're having trouble with something, you don't take it head-on and end up behind bars. You come to me, or one of the people in the corners. These guys, Flame, Jericho, Haze, and Jack...(maybe not Jack)...are my informants, my second in command, my horsemen if you will. You go to me or them and we make a plan to target and eliminate the problem before it screws you up. We work together, with teamwork and strength in numbers.

"Also--no plan on the street goes down without my OK so we don't trip over eachother like idiots. No job gets without paying up front. If you have problems with eachother, you come to me and I'll deal with it.

"You're not paying for nothing. You're paying for leadership & organization. You're paying for the group."

"Why it gotta be you?" Piped up Slow Burn, heavily stoned.

"Eh?"

"Why it gotta be you in charge? What if I don't like how you do business?"

"Oh...I thought of that. Jericho, the envelopes."

Jericho began to pass around envelopes to each villain.

"Open 'em."

Inside was 25 grand.

"25 biggin's. Seed money. Go out, buy some new tech or pay back child support or whatever...do whatever it is you gotta do to be you. They you come to me and tell me what else you need and I send out a team specifically designed for that thing. And if a hero rears his ugly head, we handle it. The way it should always have been done. We go after their loved ones and their family. Break them spiritually...then they'll do whatEVER you want."

"If'n it was that easy, we'd a done it years ago." Chimed in the bloated cajun baddie called "The Colonel".

Oni said nothing. He merely activated his cloaker and dissappeared before reappearing behind the Colonel.

"That was then." Oni crooned behind the stunned villain. "This is now. Now things are different. Imagine. We get them one by one, pick 'em off like flies. All of 'em. None of 'em get a free pass. Not the top dogs, not the up-and-comers. We squeeze 'em like a stress reliever. We make them too terrrified of us to lift a finger. The buckle, fall apart, disorganize as we organize.

"Now, sorry Harry, but Double H's is closed. To anyone outside the know, it's the building site for another Starbucks. There's so many under construction, no one will notice. I'll put an image projector over this whole thing, making it look deserted 24-7, even if it never is. Noone'll find out, 'cuz you guys'll enter through the back. We clear?"

"What's keepin us from splittin with the cash?" Asked The Colonel.

"Heh. Well if you think you're only worth 25 large, than there's nothing from stopping you. But I promise, in 6 months, 7 tops, you will look back and laugh at the times when you that was big money. Laugh a big belly laugh. The money you will be making will be enough to buy an island the shape of your head and live on it. You'll be untouchable. Are you seeing it, mon freres ? Are you seeing the future? It's nice, isn't it? You get it?"

As Oni cloncluded and the villains arranged a date to regroup, no one noticed Happy Harry sneak out of the bar. He mosied a few blocks before miraculously scaling a building. He stood on top of it and watched as Starbright flew by. This was in her usual patrolling area, Harry figured he'd find her eventually. As she flew past, she notcied the balding bartender.

"I know you, you work for him! You work for Oni!" Starbright screamed, landing in front of Harry.

"N-no..." Harry smirked, color suddenly draining from his figure as he transformed into a living shadow akin to Voidhunter. "N-n-no-not really." He growled as he hit the heroine right in the chest with a blast of darkness.

"W...what on...?" Starbright could not collect her thoughts.

"Hehe..can you k-k-keep a s-sec-secret, Starbright?" Harry stuttered, the darkness of his body turning to silver, a la Chromium. Each of his hands grew into massive claws with razor-sharp fingers, and one hand grabbed Starbirght's legs, the other her arms. He pulled his arms gently in opposite directions.

"I c-ca-can mimmick abi-abi-abili-abilities, Starbright. Su-su-superpowers. All I ha-ha-ave to do is be n-ne-near them when th-they're u-u-u-used. Th-that's all. Isn't that sp-sp-special?" He yanked both ends of Starbright firmly when she did not respond.

"Ahh!" Starbrigh screamed.

"I n-n-know it's cliche, but I have to k-ki-kill you now that you know. G-g-g-g-g-goodbye." He pulled as hard as he could on the young super, until the desired effect occured. Then Harry reassumed his normal form and flew away.

As Starbright lay on the rooftop, a deep burgundy puddle forming between her two halves, she muttered one word before passing.

"Nicholas."

((Yeah.))

Flame stood in the back left corner of the bar. He leaned against the wall, flipping, igniting, then estinguishing the silver dollar he had. Oni's plan sounded very good, and he hoped that Haze would either join them, or remain neutral, as she had before. He leaned back against the wall, continued to watch, listen, and feel.

Oni's plan was interesting, but there were some rough edges. Killing their families would not accomplish anything, it would just make it worse, and bring new civilians to their cause. He would speak to Oni about this later, for now though, he felt some one below. Looks like Oni's guest is up. he voiced to Haze. He walked over to Oni, and leaned in, so the guests could not hear. "Vandal is up."

"Vandal is up." Flame whispered in Oni's ear.

"If you gentlemen will excuse me, I left the kettle on, I'll be back in a moment." Oni addressed his guests.

As Oni and Flame walked down into the bunker, Flame voiced his distrust about killing the families of heroes.

"Oh, don't worry, bubelah. I don't intend to kill their families, merely use them as leverage. Threaten to kill, but nothing more, unless absolutely neccesary."

"Now let's go see what's up with Vandal."

"Oni..."

"What?"

"Someone else just entered the bar. Sunburn."

"Ah well, there's an army up there. They can take care of him. Comeo n. We have an unhappy house guest."

The fiery one was defeated, his friend having fought him.  Good.  It was all moving in accordance to his plans.  Only a few more steps before the fall...

Vandal stood with her back to them. She didn’t need to see her captors to know they were there. She also knew that Sunburn would not be helping her, he was either unconscious or dead.

Vandal turned her head to look over her shoulder at the two men. One was the scaled menace she’d attacked before and the other was Oni who she was yet to face. She’d been tampering at the edges of Oni’s mind while captured and knew exactly what she was going to do.

Without even moving Vandal threw a barrage of images into Oni’s mind. It showed him the pain of all his victims. He would feel the flames of being burnt alive, he would know what it was like to be drowned and he would know the unending sorrow of his victims’ families.

Oni dropped to his knees holding his head. The scaled man raised his fists and Vandal turned, smiled and sent a burst of psychic energy into his brain that would send pain through every neuron in his body. He collapsed to the floor also. Vandal moved to the open door and ventured outside.