Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Ezekiel
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Ezekiel

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“I don’t get your fucking problem, Danny, seems like Vought set you up pretty nice to me.”

“Daniel, or Dan.”

“Yeah? You damn well let the girls call you that.”

“Yes, well, unless you’re offering to bend over, Armory, there’s a pretty key distinction there.”

It wasn’t the smartest thing to say, but the flare of frustration and anger from the other man was well worth it. Daniel had spent his life carefully manipulating men like Armory, but too long in his company and the inevitable fallout of recent events had driven his patience beyond that. If Daniel wanted to pull someone’s strings, he could really pull them.

“Shut the fuck up, and stop listening to that bitch, she’s going ruin this thing for the lot of us.” Armory growled, finishing lacing up one boot as they both prepared for the impending task at hand. Their first ‘real’ gig. Daniel didn’t even have to look up to guess what was going on. He felt the easing, if not fading, of Armory’s sense of anger, replaced by a sudden surge of lust.

“Nocturne.” Daniel spoke, before looking up, the figure of one of two female team members standing behind Armory, one hand draped lazily on his shoulder, although her eyes with very much on him, a studious look to her features. Judging by the sudden change in Armory’s tempremeant, she had only just made herself visible. Normally he did a good job of hiding his sixth sense from the others, but the impending mission was putting him on edge.

“Cortex, looking sharp. The uniform suits you.” Her voice was almost a purr as she studied hum further, her hand upon Armory lazily stroking back and forth. Judging by his own appreciation of Armory’s ‘true thoughts’ he was experiencing, she had him well and truly played. “It’s a shame you’re both not more on board.” Her use of his ‘Vought’ name was telling, she wasn’t playing at the moment.

“They’ve going to screw it for the rest of us.” Their honoured team leader exhaled with frustration to cap her point, his attention once again fixing on Daniel. “You were supposed to bring her under control.”

“She’s a person, not a prop, no matter how you’d prefer her.” Daniel answered simply, holding both hands up, before he made to stand, rolling his shoulders as he adjusted to their mission equipment. It had been sudden, setting them up out of a new location, equipment arriving shortly after, and a message to simply wait. This was not the high glamour of the Supes everyone saw each and every day, this was something far more serious.

His mind was suddenly struck with a considerable number of ‘minds’ inbound, serious, aggressive, but not entirely hostile, minds. It was a force of will not to react visibly, although, he was thankfully given an out quickly.
“There’s a van on its way.” Themite’s grating voice called out across the room as he stood back from a window, allowing the blind to close. He turned, his usual snear of an expression falling on Daniel before, as ever, his gaze deferred to Armory.

“Get Flux, make sure she’s ready.” Armory barked to Daniel, before reiterating; “Actually ready.”

“On it, Boss
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by Ruby
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Ruby No One Cares

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The only thing right about the day had been the sky; an endless pattern of dark gray broken up by darker gray laying across the DC Metroplex like a blanket hiding them from the sun and the moon and the stars beyond. Even on the slanted roof of cheap shingle the breeze had a cold bite to it, and there was starting to be the lightest drops of rain as the light of the sky dimmed. It was a point of fixation, a tool to increase mental focus not unlike meditation. But what Flux forced her mind into wasn't meditation. It wasn't restorative, nor was it entirely exhaustive.

It was simply another state of being. She called it, "living on The Wire." On The Wire she felt and heard and saw things others simply couldn't. Electro-magnetic fields became symphonies of sound and light that soaked into her mind with an intuition that always proved to Flux that she was just as superpowered as Vought claimed that she was. Electric signals were shooting stars she could "reach out" with her power and take into her mind as easily as she used to reach out and cup dragonflies into her hands in the front yard with her parents. And in her hands...something as close to magic as she could imagine happened.

That intuition gave her access to the noise and the color and the straying blurs of energy. Usually that meant turning off a light, overloading a system, or blocking a signal. Tonight that had become finding the signals of those around their little safehouse. There was no fluttering lightning bug glowing with warm light within those signals. There were only snakes awaiting in the darkness to strike. That she would float down and barely notice the window ledge spoke to the distraction and haze of coming back down from The Wire itself. Like going out into the sun after a long cinema watch.

The light of the outside slowly poured into the darker interior, more than her eyes simply adjusting as she saw the figure walking into the empty door frame. Danny didn't smile, and she didn't blame him. He could try but he wasn't nearly as good at lying as he thought he was, she thought. At least not to her. She was past smiles and flirtations, and she couldn't yet tell him why. A tight clutch on his shirt with her nails as she walked past to tug him along was all she would allow, and if he was as attuned to her as he once claimed, his heart would quicken and that heavy feeling would begin to descend over the whole of his mind.

Some serious shit was about to go down.

Her emotions were as exposed as a live wire. She knew he'd read it all: there was no humor, there was only a sense of dread and a fight or flight switch that was well and surely jammed into the "fight" position. Brown eyes were hard and dark, unflinching, brown hair tied up high and back out of her face. For a first mission there was a suspicious lack of costuming for a superhero team, Flux hadn't been able to help but mention to him. Instead it was dark jeans, black tank top, denim jacket matching the jeans, simple white Reebok's. Even the very gait in which she moved had purpose.

"We're going to smash these fuckers. Nice to finally see you, Flux. How about next time you show up when called or get left behind?"

Armory was a moron, but even Flux couldn't think too harshly. Armory had no fucking clue the kind of danger they were in. Her dark eyes flicked up into the sky but for a heartbeat, before washing right past Armory. "I forgot you were bulletproof and didn't need magnetic shielding. No? Oh, okay." Nocturn straightened up like she was ready for a fight--a bitch fight, not a real fight, Flux knew. At Nocturn she truly stopped and focused, "I know your secret shtick is Insecure Girl, but right now we have much larger problems."

Thermite wasn't smart enough to pick up the scent of fear, but he was smart enough to know that if Flux and Cortex seemed worried..."What problems?"

Nocturn was focused on Flux for the wrong reasons, and Armory brooded darkly just behind her, probably having some violent fantasy or another. "We're being watched, and while there's an obvious element to that, it's worth noting that the people watching us aren't Vought. But they're clearly working with someone at Vought or Vought itself, hard to say yet. Apparently they're going with us but we're not supposed to know they'll be around us..."

It took a hard swing of her eyes to each one of them before the beating of her heart quickened to the point of irritation, even if the soft tone and quiet voice gave no hint at the frustration. "This isn't a normal mission. Do we even know what we're really after?"

Armory scoffed, cocksure and dismissive. "Doesn't matter. We've trained so hard, if you do your fucking job we'll be fine. I'll lead us, because that's what I do on the field, where it matters. Not any of this backroom gossip female shit."

"...what the fuck are we going for, Armory?"

Anger rose like flame in Armory's steel blue eyes. Sparks of fire were literally visible just off Thermite's eyes. He'd never go up to bat for her, but he was now concerned enough to at least want an answer. "A Chinese knockoff technology the US isn't going to allow the Chinese to just steal and get away with. We're protection. So no wonder there's extra security around us. Flux is just a paranoid cunt, Thermite. Get your head out of her ass, or are you fucking her to?"

Thermite snickered, flicker of flame gone from auburn eyes under a short mane of dark red hair. "Right, dude, but what does that mean? Chinese technology?"

"What the fuck does it matter? Are we going to tell Vought no? They'll have Homelander ripping our spines out within the hour, and I don't share the Static Queen's desire to be fucking dead. Maybe," Nocturn whipped her head at Flux and emphasized the word, "that's what got your parents killed."

The lights in the room flickered, as Flux felt a surge of anger so deep all she could do was blink.
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Ezekiel
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Daniel had already been on edge, wired up for what he presumed was a first mission entirely different from most 'first missions.' Even those with a relatively average understanding of the working of Vought knew plenty of the action was staged, perfectly controlled as much as possible to present the Supers and Vought in the best possible light, especially for new team launches. The presence of control could still be felt, but the tension was far more than the usual over 'good optics.' He didn't need to be told this, but Flux's impatience even in his presence, the tug of his clothing, was enough to enforce it. He followed a step behind her, returning to the group. Rather than be dragged into the building tension between the others, his eyes remained set on the door, watching for the eventually arrival as the wild emotions of the group washed over him, in contrast to the assorted wills of iron he could feel gravitating around them. Iron stained with contempt, not that he could blame them.

He shut his eyes for a few moments, trying to push away the escalating emotions of his team as zero hour approached. Daniel drifted in the details of their thoughts, picking out small motes of interest to distract from the tiresome cascade of their anger, grievances. It has always intrigued him how they had all internalised their 'hero' names, even Flux. Yet still when he thought of himself had remained Daniel. He wondered how long that would last. This moment of reflection was enough to rebuild the barriers of his mind, and focus on the real task of living.

"Enough, Nocturne, pissing off the one of us responsible for our shie-" Daniel was in the process of wading into the confrontation before the buzzer blew. A long harsh note calling for the door to be attended to, followed shortly by a familiar, if not always welcome, voice.

"Evenings kiddos, it's Mark, with you in a moment." Mark was the most Vought individual Daniel had ever met. Every inch of him was corporate perfection and the best part was, hardly any of it was artificial. Good looking in the All American sort of way, blonde hair, blue eyes, just about tapering off into the start of middle age. Presentation was always key with Mark, even when deliberately appearing casual having scheduled personal meetings with the members of the Reserve, it had been casual, but designer. So when Mark made his way through the front door dressed in a well tailored but unremarkable grey suit, every factor that had been warning Daniel of impending danger blared a note higher. Daniel could feel the pressure on Mark as well, although there was a smooth confidence behind that. For all Mark's character flaws, and Daniel was sure there were many as with all corporate shills, he at least had faith in the team to complete the task. That, or he was confident if they failed, they'd do so in a way which covered Mark's ass.

"It's a little below my pay grade these days, but after all I've done, I thought I could at least be your ride." Mark flashed his winning smile at the team, snapping a driving glove into place over his right hand. "The SUV is waiting, you can asks questions on the way." His tone suggested that there wouldn't be an awful lot of questions, before he was already turning to walk back to the elevator, and then down onwards to their ride.

The vehicle was as promised, an SUV. Pitch black and solid, the Ford logo the only note of colour to interrupt the black and silver. It was a car built to take a hit, but disguised beneath luxury fashion, like so much of Vought. It wouldn't look out of place arriving at a party in Hollywood, nor as a private security escort. The car clicked as it was unlocked, no one note horn blast.

"Now, kids, I won't lie to you, this is a big task, this is why Vought has put more into you than any new startup since the Seven." Mark spoke the moment he was sitting down, going through the motions of controlling the vehicle with a touch that suggested it was more than just vanity that had put him in his role for the evening. Daniel had to reevaluate him for a moment. Clearly more than just a branding expert. "There are international implications, which, is why you may notice a little oversight. Nobody wants the Chinese keeping what they have and getting it out of the country, and while Vought believes in you all greatly, not everyone has the same confidence." Armory was already only paying half attention, the lashing of praise and importance in Marks words were enough to distract Nocturne and Thermite.

"What is it exactly? It can't just be a knock off surely?" Daniel spoke up, although his eyes remained on the road rather than turning to focus on Mark, his thoughts preparing for the action ahead. Violence always made his head crowded.

"Not in the sense we usually mean it, no. I've not been made aware of the specifics, but the Chinses are attempting to reverse engineer something the Pentagon has put a lot of money into, and both the US and it's allies can ill afford for them to succeed." The worst part for Daniel was the lack of deception leeching from Mark. He truly didn't know.

Fuck
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