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Post by Tori Jacobs on Oct 1, 2019 13:45:22 GMT
"Are you in my head? Guess I shouldn't be saying this out loud, huh?"
Now that the innocents were gone from the area, Gaia decided to enter the building and follow the trails of bodies to the office where everyone were at. Sitting around like it was some civil conversation instead of people getting shot at and lives ending. Gaia turned her attention to the green hair man and the guy who looked like a bad 1980s action villain.
"All right, I'm taking you both in right now." |
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Post by Jean Vilain on Oct 2, 2019 3:05:58 GMT
The tension in the air was thick for the heroes. Vilain wouldn't have it any other way. The chaos that was wrought and the need for them to want to bring the perpetrators to justice only fueled Vilain's enjoyment. The thrill of seeing whether or not his plans would come through or if he could be outsmarted was only adding to it. The tenacious warrior Fionnlagh would be given the opportunity to kill and scheme in a war without end. He would prove a valuable asset.
Gaia, the so called hero of the city would be shown in a different light after today. The boy he once knew as Daniel, would be offered something that could very well change his entire life.
“A pleasure Mr. Gresham. The name is Jean Vilain. Can’t say that I have ever heard of such a place.”
With more and more people coming in from alternate universes, it was little surprise to Jean that he had never heard of the Rouge Isles. As he took another drag off of his smoke, his phone started to vibrate. He reached into his coat to answer it. A muffled voice could be heard on the other line.
“… Yes I see. I expected if he showed up he might do something like that. It doesn’t matter. I had ordered for it to be out of range in case this happened. Send the message out immediately.”
Jean hung up his phone and place it back in his pocket.
“Forgive me Mr. Gresham. Just tying up some loose ends. Our company should be with us shortly.”
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“This is Roger with Skycam again!. We have just received word that we can reenter the airspace above city hall. If you’re just joining us, it’s been total commotion as a protest against the mutant registration act has turned violent. As you can all see, the people in the area seem to be running away from the area and… even the police are running now too. Oh my god… they’re in full retreat. The only ones left appear to be Gaia and an unknown entering the building. Can you bring us in closer.”
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Jean could hear Caine and Gaia enter the building. It couldn’t take too much time for them to get up to the mayor’s office. After about a minute Jean put out his cigarette and stood up from his chair to pick up the mayor’s corpse.
“We shouldn’t have this in the way for our friends when they get here. Not very professional.”
As he moved closer to the opening in the wall where he had thrown the desk, his form began to change. Shadows consumed Vilain’s entire being as his shape began to change into a very familiar person. His next actions would change the world forever.
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“We’re getting in as close as we can. There appears to be some kind of opening in the mayor’s office. Wait… someone is coming up to the opening. Is that… Gaia? She’s…. She’s holding the mayor. What is she…Oh My God!!”
The corpse of the mayor was thrown out of the opening in full view for the world to see. The body slammed into the pavement leaving the cement red with blood. The imposter looked up to the helicopter and gave a wave before moving away from the opening and back into the confines of the office away from view and out of sight.
“Ladies and gentlemen… the mayor… he’s dead…”
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Jean moved back to his chair and took a seat. His form changing back to his normal appearance just in time. A few moments later, he could see someone through the damaged door. Caine entered with Gaia shortly behind him.
“Daniel… I don’t want to fight you. I think it’s time you understand just who you really are.... Please have a seat. And Gaia before you take us in, I think you should reconsider."
Jean picked up the remote next to his chair. He changed the channel from the static of the broken security cameras and to a news station. The headline at the bottom 'Gaia kills Mayor?' The picture was a little blurry, but there was no mistaking that outfit. Especially with the images seen of her at the scene and later going inside the building.
"I'll say again… have a seat…"
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CGN Satellite. 22000 miles above Earth...
Transmission 1:
Image 1: Unknown male arrives.
Image 2: Corrupted file detected. Unknown power flux from surface.
Image 3: Law Enforcement appears collapsed
Transmission 2:
Image 1: Corrupted file detected. Unknown power flux from surface.
Image 2: Numerous individuals abandon protest location.
Image 3: Law Enforcement in full retreat
Transmission 3:
Image 1: Helicopter entering in reopened airspace
Image 2: Unknown male enters building
Image 3: Female, Super, Gaia enters building
Image 4: Individual exiting from window.
Image 5: Impact of individual.
End of transmission….
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Post by Caine on Oct 2, 2019 4:24:49 GMT
Without so much as a word, Caine took a seat across from Vilain, looking him square in the eye. He would get some answers today. one way or another, and once he had them, Vilain would either end up in a jail cell, or a grave. It was his choice, he'd pay for his crimes either way. "Gaia, take a seat, please. Once I have the information I'm looking for, then you can help me beat his face in, but until then, let's keep things civil, shall we?"
"Now, Vilain, I'm sure you already know what I'm going to ask you, so let's just get it out of the way. I've seen that shrine you keep. That.... creature you worship spoke to me. It called me a 'wayward child.' How does it know me? Who am I? What am I?"
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Post by Tori Jacobs on Oct 3, 2019 0:14:30 GMT
By the time Gaia saw footage of herself being blamed for killing the mayor, she didn't even register what Jean or Caine had said. She was beyond furious. All she wanted to do was to punish the man who just made her enemy number one.
"I said..."
Gaia stomp her right foot and in the seconds to pass the ground began to crack and split and divide the room beneath Jean's feet trying to trap him and the green hair man who was sitting down.
"YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" |
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Post by Fionnlagh on Oct 3, 2019 2:34:56 GMT
Fionnlagh stayed on the passive side of things for now. He gave a casual "S'alright." on the bit of tidying up... which turned into a maniacal grin once Jean added an impersonation flair to disposing of the mayor's body. He held back from laughing with a hand over his mouth as 'Gaia' waved to someone outside. It wouldn't do to add more speculation to who was in the office if he could avoid it.
Thought the tense situation between Jean and Caine he stayed silent. When Gaia herself showed, Fionnlagh raised an eyebrow and inched a hand closer to his guitar case. He'd learned a thing or two about when people weren't in a mind to be reasonable. Fionnlagh had been keeping his calm hoping to overhear something interesting with all the hints Jean and Caine's talk was dropping.
Then Gaia stomped the floor and began to split the room apart. Fionnlagh pushed himself to his feet with a growl using his off hand. His stance wobbled here and there... Yet he was certain enough of his footing to gesture a hand over the guitar case. The loosely clipped shut case fell open. It's lid landed on the floor and a few items rolled into view with soft clings. A set of three foot long iron rods, spiraling along down at each end where they'd sharpened into spear points.
A soft buzz of the magnetism generators, a few finger movements. One of the rods quietly spun and aimed upward at Gaia... Force built around the rod. Then with a flick of a finger as a command, the rod was launched at Gaia as if a phantasmal ballista had launched the rod. The process only took a few seconds before the sharpened iron rod sped at Gaia's abdomen. Fionnlagh hadn't had time to aim for somewhere lethal, but some metal rammed through the gut slowed most entities down... or interrupted casters. The latter was more Fionnlagh's goal than anything. The rod would pierce into mortal flesh like a hot knife into butter. Though to Fionnlagh any armor Gaia might possess was an unknown factor.
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Post by Jean Vilain on Oct 3, 2019 16:35:38 GMT
Jean was well prepared to answer Caine's questions. However it looked as though Gaia had other plans on that front. He smiled a bit as he saw the young girl lose her cool and begin to shake city hall and the room apart.
"Temper temper Gaia. Tell you what? You and Mr. Gresham can have a little fun while Caine and I have our chat."
Looks like Jean barely had the chance to state his peace before Fionnlagh went on the offense to attack the framed superhero.
"As for you wayward child… it's time you know your origin. My master created you. You are his child… the heir to this world."
He let that first set of information sink in before he would continue to peel back the layers of the young man's mind.
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Post by Caine on Oct 3, 2019 17:42:48 GMT
Caine wasted no time catching the rods aimed at Gaia, reaching out with telekinesis just before they could hit the younger hero. With a flick of the wrist he sent the rods back towards Fionnlagh at twice their original speed. intending to wound him and make him an easier target for Gaia. "He's all yours. Now let the grown ups talk, alright?"
....What the hell was Vilain saying? 'Heir to this world?' What was he talking about? He remembered his family already, he would have know if his dad was some all-powerful eldritch being. Although, it would explain his powers, but... There was no way! "That..... Tha-that's bullshit! You're just trying to throw me off my game so you can make your escape and let someone else be the scapegoat! It's not gonna work... it's not gonna w...." Then they hit him, visions he had suffered from his old life, the ones given to him by his 'father.' As they hit, he broke out into a cold sweat, his breathing became heavy and labored as he relived the horror he experienced years ago. Vilain wasn't lying.... That.... thing created him. It gave him his powers,,, He was a monster....
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Post by Tori Jacobs on Oct 4, 2019 1:25:08 GMT
Gaia was all ready to block with a plant shield, but somebody else stopped it before she had the chance to. She glared at Caine when he made his remarks and was getting more frustrated at not being taken seriously.
"You know what, Emo? I don't take orders from you!"
Gaia stretched out her hands and sent a torrent of thorns at both the green haired man and the dude that framed her not giving a crap about their conversation. |
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Post by Fionnlagh on Oct 4, 2019 1:52:17 GMT
A component along the border of Fionnlagh's magnetism generator began to vibrate as the device registered a resistance against the rod's movements.The rod starting to act against his will had been a surprise. With an annoyed growl Fionnlagh sidestepped and refocused the magnetism generator. Between the two actions the sharpened point of the rod missed it's mark. The rod tore a hole through his clothes while glancing against Fionnlagh's right side. There was a scraping sound of metal on metal as Fionnlagh suffered a scrape along the impact. Now staggering briefly from the impact, he gave on on pressing against Gaia to go on the defensive.
Fionnlagh magnetically grasped and pulled the guitar case toward him. Holding it up against his chest as the barrage of thorns headed his way. The case's contents did more to stop the projectiles than the guitar case itself. Several thorns pinging off the armored Superadine case alone. The guitar case sported several fresh holes while Fionnlagh's arms suffered several lesser blows as well. Jean was likely to be busy with the emo psycher, and scapegoat girl looked ready to froth at the mouth.
Fionnlagh's right had briefly vanished into the guitar case... Bringing out Ukonvasara in his grip while the left grasped the guitar case as a makeshift shield. A magnetic gesture clasped the thorn-ridden case shut. His feet both braced against the ground. Fionnlagh kicked off into a run hard enough that his foot left a dent in the floor. The axe hung low off to his right, the smaller of the uneven blades aimed the earthen heroine's way. Fionnlagh crouched forward during the run. Lowering his hit profile behind the makeshift shield while barreling at Gaia with inhuman speed.
Her window to react was small before Fionnlagh would close the distant and bring her within range of the axe. He started an uppercut blow with the weapon upon closing in. Shifting his grip mid-swing to bring the blunt side of the axe to bear against the heroine. The weapon poised to slam into her gut with the full momentum of the charge. Certain to send her airborne, even crack some ribs in the process. After all that trouble to frame Gaia she still had some value in coming out of this alive...
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Post by Jean Vilain on Oct 4, 2019 5:10:42 GMT
Vilain's body faded into the shadows of the room before the thorns could hit him. As Caine struggled with the realization of what he was, Vilain would continue to pull his mind apart. Though his body appeared to be gone, his voice remained.
"Daniel… Do not deny what you are. You were born a human, but your soul is that of the gods. This universe is yours to rule. All the knowledge of the Multiverse will be at your disposal. This piece of dust will be insignificant to the vastness of the cosmos you will conquer. The power you will wield will vanquish the gods of this realm and allow you to take your place. Pledge yourself to our Emperor and take your place as a King among the Infinite Empire."
The promise of unlimited power was right in Caine’s hands. All he needed to do was submit and join. Caine wouldn't be the only one to hear voices from the darkness. As Gaia battled Fionnlagh, she too would hear the whispers of the shadows.
"Gaia… you are fighting a pointless battle. The world will come to hate you. No matter what you do or who you save, they will only see you now as a murderer... a monster. They will hunt you. They will imprison you. They will kill you. The only way to live now is to kill the humans you wished to protect. Just like you did at the plaza. Let your power rage. Show the mortals why they should fear you."
There had been collateral damage all over the world thanks to mutants and other super powered individuals. Now that a politician had officially been killed on live television, there would be nothing to stop the opposition of the registration act now. Whether or not Gaia won this battle was of little relevance anymore. VIlain knew she would need to go into hiding. She was the shining beacon that put mutants and supers in a better light, but now that would be over.
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Post by Caine on Oct 4, 2019 15:55:03 GMT
And there it was, the part where Caine was supposed to be tempted by a promise of power. He already had power, a lot of it. Did Vilain honestly expect him to just bend the knee then and there? After everything he saw in that vision? The memories came flooding back to him. He stood against this empire before in his old life. They retaliated by destroying the things that held him to his mortal life. His friends, his family, but all it did was make him fight harder. He would never serve that.... thing. He had to fight, now more than ever! "You expect me to just bow down and worship him like you do? He took everything from me! His empire destroyed so many worlds, slaughter so many people... I know what kind of madness lurks beyond the veil, like hell am I gonna let it break through!"
"I don't think she's listening Vilain, and even if she was you'd probably get the same answer from her! You really think she would join you after you framed her like you tried to do with me?" He didn't try to sway her to his side, it seemed a bad idea given her current mood. He'd explain what way going on once she had calmed down and the dust had settled.
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Post by Tori Jacobs on Oct 5, 2019 0:15:26 GMT
Gaia increased the gravity around the axe forcing it to fall to the floor and be nearly impossible to budge as she listened to Vilain words. They were almost mocking.
"I don't kill!"
Gaia pushed her hands out and broke the wall Vilain disappeared into with her geokinetics. Just when things couldn't get any worst, they did. A dimensional rift opened up where the wall was shattered pulling her in. She tried to fuse with the ground to stay rooted to it, but it was no good. The vacuum of the portal ripped apart the ground and dragged Gaia inside the rift seconds before closing. But when one door closes...
Another one opens. |
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Post by Fionnlagh on Oct 5, 2019 0:45:03 GMT
Fionnlagh let out another annoyed growl. The increased weight to the axe hadn't entirely stopped him. His weapon dragged along the ground beside the charging villain slowly. Gaia's choice of action however and necessitated a different approach. He stopped the charge and began working both his magnetism generators and revving the Berserker Engine to attempt to compensate the increased weight while Gaia grew distracted lashing out at Jean's voice.
Fionnlagh's growl escalated to a half crazed snarl when he saw the sudden portal appear. He dragged the axe along while taking a hop backward. Another followed as his objective changed into getting the hell away from the portal. "Those thrice damned things are still active!?" His chest beat with a dim rumble after the shout. The engine had shifted into activity and gone into the first 'gear' of Fionnlagh's extra enhancements. Fionnlagh kept his distance from the portal and his guard raised. The portal was just as likely to spit someone else out and he was not going to bet on them being friendly. "So. Vilain. Does another portal fall into your calculations?" Dumb question post likely.
This... probably wouldn't be too big of a monkey wrench in the metaphorical gears depending on who fell out of the rift.
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Post by Jean Vilain on Oct 5, 2019 6:46:13 GMT
And there was Vilain's answer. A firm no. The promises of godhood turned down for foolish human emotion. His master would be displeased to learn that the 'son' turned his nose up to his generous offer. It was always a chance. His time in the human world had weakened the soul. There was however contingency plans in place. His refusal was always a possibility, but Vilain was prepared. His voice echoed from the shadows once again.
"What a shame Daniel, but I'll let you in on a little secret. I've been doing this longer than you could possibly imagine. You're not the first King of a universe to refuse and you certainly won't be the last. Tell me this Daniel, what do you think happened to the souls of your human parents?"
As he was about to talk more, he noticed Gaia blasting apart the wall he sunk into earlier. She was attempting to draw him out, but he had more than enough shadows in the room to jump to. His interest was psychologically torturing them. Before he could go back to messing with Gaia's mind, something unexpected happened. And it was something even Jean could not of predicted. Gaia was taken out of the equation by a portal.
"Fionnlagh… even I couldn't of predicted this."
If anything emerged from the portal, he had a feeling the green haired warrior could handle it just fine. Whatever happened to Gaia was of little consequence now. She had played her part wonderfully. All that was left now was to get Caine's mind twisted. Vilain emerged from the shadows behind Caine. The moment he would turn around though, there would be a sight to shock his very core. Before him was a being in the shape of Caine's human mother.
"Daniel please! You have to help us. They have us trapped in hell!"
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Post by Caine on Oct 5, 2019 15:38:07 GMT
There was too much going on at the moment, too many revelations and twists, he was already close to losing control from the shock of finding out he was the son of a powerful eldritch god-king, then Gaia disappeared through a portal or whatever the hell that was, and added to his shock and confusion. The last nail in the coffin? The image of his human mother appearing out of nowhere. There was too much going for him to process, too many things happening at once, Caine tried to get a hold of himself but there was too much to process, he could barely even respond, he just tried to keep himself calm. He began to take deep breaths, all the while trying his best not to let his condition get worse...
It didn't work. In his mentally weakened state, he unleashed a massive torrent of psychic energy. The building around them collapsed onto itself.
When the dust settled, if Fionnlagh or Vilain survived, they would find Caine gone, vanished without a trace....
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Caine found himself back at the sub-basement of the mansion. He dropped to his knees in complete anguish, still unable to cope with the startling revelation of what he is....
"That was a close one. A second later and I would have lost my tail!"
Slowly he turned his head to see who had gotten him out of that insanity. He saw a young man around his age with blue skin, pointed ears and a tail, as he mentioned, one could easily confuse the man for a demon.
"Guess I should introduce myself. Kurt Wagner, pleasure to meet you."
"...Caine...Thanks for..."
"Don't mention it. It was a favor for the professor, but the Lord would wish me to aid my fellow man regardless."
"The professor.... right.... I should...."
"Whoa there, meine fruend, you might want to take a moment to rest. I do not know what exactly happened in there, but it obviously took quite a toll on you. Maybe you should just rest for a while. Can you make it to your room?"
"....yeah.... Yeah, I, uh..."
With that Caine pulled himself up and made his way to his room at the mansion, walking slowly to give himself time to try to comprehend what Vilain told him. This was way more than he bargained for....
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