@Gentlemanvaultboy@KillamriX88@Hammerman
8 days ago “Thobias, slow down!” The boy in a simple leather jacket paced behind Thobias, clearly having a hard time keeping up with him. He was a large guy, over 2 meters in height and hulking in every way possible. His clean shaven head and think beard coupled well with his rough facial expressions and bursting muscles. He was an intimidating presence at other times, be he followed behind the much shorter Thobias like a puppy after it’s mother which broke the illusion in matter of seconds.
Thobias groaned and finally stopped in front of the large cast iron gate to a crumbling factory, turning a 180 to face his follower. “Brutus, what the heck did I tell you?” He asked an a brash tone, shaking his head in disapproval. “They said only me, no bodyguards. Liam and Sarah understood that. If you come with me, the deal is off and then you’ll have your monster sized hands full of trouble!” He leaned against the brick wall of the factory, still bearing the remains of the bronze insignia that bore the name no longer. “I’ll be fine, that’s my whole gimmick, remember? In and out, nobody caught me before and they never will.” He explained to Brutus and waited for an answer from the beast in man’s clothing.
“Boss, you know I trust you, but I don’t like a single bit about this deal.” He exclaimed, hoping to put some sense into Thobias. But he wouldn’t have any luck, he already made up his mind about this deal. Still he tried, pulling out a pistol from his pants. “At least let me wait around the corner. If anything goes down, you know I can deal with them in a heartbeat.”
“With that peashooter? ” Thobias asked and let out a smug laugh. “Brutus, your hands are your weapons, don’t make me laugh mate!” He exclaimed and shook his head, than took a step closer Brutus and looked into his eyes with a killing gaze that bore no empathy for his concerns. “Now put the fucking gun away unless you want a bullet hole in both of us.” He quickly looked around and leaned closer, following up in a more quiet tone. “If you want to stay so bad, wait around the corner. In and out, easy breeze, I’ll be back in a jiffy.” With that he pat the arms of Brutus and flashed him a quick smile before turning on his heels and lighting a quick cigarette before making his way inside the compound, blinking through the bars and out of sight.
A more run down place you couldn’t have imagined for a drug deal. Well, it was exactly the sort of place that that cops would love to check from time to time, and that didn’t help ease his worries that this deal wasn’t what he imagined it to be. But the cops would want all his mates around, so it was probably something else. Or maybe he was just thinking too much about it for no reason. That must’ve been it. He took a deep sniff of his cigarette as she casually walked around a broken warehouse, leaving behind a puff of smoke.
And there they were, bunch of gangsters who he had to put up with so long with little disputes here and there. But they offered him a deal the other day that he couldn’t refuse, something to put and end to their little squabble. And Thobias had to take it, he wasn’t exactly running a gang to rival the size of others. What his team had in powers, these people made up for in manpower and equipment. At least a dozen men, all armed with automatic weapons. Not a pretty sight to meet on such a fine day, but he had no other choice.
He looked around as if he was examining the architecture if the place and threw his cig away. “Why are we meeting out here mate? Was the plaza closed or something?” He asked jokingly and looked over at the one man he knew from the group. A short guy in white clothing and a dark skin complex with a very ugly face. Yeah, he wasn’t the biggest fan of this “Juan” character, but again, he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. He walked out into the middle of the little area that the people already present set up a barrier around with the cars and guards and beckoned at the short man. “We doing this deal or not?”
He probably looked more confident than he was. Dodging a knife or a few thugs with a pistol was one thing. When there are people actively aiming their gun at you, that’s a whole different thing. His muscles tensed as he waited for an answer and his mind was already focusing on a nice and quiet place where he could escape to if the situation turned hot. And after what seemed like forever, the man finally spoke up.
“Thobias, thobias…” He begun, shaking his head as he pushed himself away from the car he was leaning against. “We’ve been rivals for the longest time, and despite all my attempts to squash you out, your seem to resurface somewhere else and slip for my grasp.” Uh-oh, that didn’t seem like a good start? Was he too cocky to come here? Probably yes, this wouldn’t be the first time he got shot for being a dumbass. But he wasn’t in the mood for getting turned into swiss cheese either, he felt like a few hundred bullet wounds aren’t something Liam could fix up.
“But… I realize that this rivalry is killing us both. I’ve lost too many men and supplies to our little disputes, and since I’ve tried everything to get rid of you and nothing worked, I’m going to extend a deal to you.” He said and then beckoned for his men.
CLICK He hated that sound. Why did it have to be a trap? Man, these bad guys never played clean did they? A dozen or so guns pointed at him, and he started to feel the burn under his feet. He couldn’t dodge them, not at this range...if only he had any idea how he did that thing with his fight against Rurik! Man, that would make this a walk in the park…
“You are a talent, I recognize that. We have a place for talents like you. Heck, I’ll throw in your little friends too just so you know how nice I am. You’ll be my dealer and we’ll agree on a cut.” Oh yeah, so I can get bossed around for pocket change? This guy thinks he is doing this for money? Man, he must have something wrong in his head. He didn’t like the deal, not one bit, but he had to make a decision soon, or one of these armed thugs will get an itchy trigger finger soon. “Tick, tock, time is ticking Thobias. Make a decision!”
“Chill mate, gimme a sec.” He exclaimed. Maybe he should’ve brought the others along too, they could’ve cleared out these miserable excuses of gangsters in seconds. As if Brutus heard his thoughts he turned around the corner, already in full sprint. “Nobody move!” Man, he wasn’t messing around, but he clearly didn’t think about this. Oh well, it was a fun life while it lasted. He already heard the hammer’s hit the pins in the guns, the bullets whistling their way through the air at him and Brutus. He concentrated, hoping to blink away just in time, but things didn’t look up for him. He closed his eyes and waited to see if he was faster or the bullets.
And then...nothing. A terrible shockwave seemed to have hit him, but it wasn’t the familiar searing pain of the a bullet. Or multiple in this case. No, it was something else...but still familiar. Like when he tried to use his abilities one too many times and the universe metaphorically punched him in the kisser for messing around with it too much. So, he opened his eyes to see what was going on.
An eerie yet familiar gray hue greeted him. Everything around him just...stopped. Not a single movement, the bullets frozen in the air and Brutus still in the act of running, his legs not touch the ground. He wanted to say he did that but...he didn’t. So...what the heck was this, and why was it so familiar.
“Hey there kiddo! Seems like you’re in a big bloody mess, aren’t ya?” He quickly turned around on his heels to look for the source of this unknown voice. And there he was, standing in front of him...yes, literally he himself was standing in front of himself, but...older? And wearing a weird outfit too, but he could definitely tell it was himself. Only one person was as handsome as himself and that was, well, himself. But before he could speak up, the man, or himself if you want to put it like that, interrupted.
“Kiddo, I’m sure you have tons of questions, but I can’t answer them all.” He exclaimed and his hands shifted over to a holster he was carrying and he pulled out a revolver...or at least something that reminded him a lot of a revolver. The man, himself, errr...he’ll have to come up with a name for sure...anyways, he checked the mag of his gun before he started walking over to the thugs, still frozen.
“Let’s make this quick. I’m you, in a way, from the future and from a whole other dimension.” Yeah, they should totally talk some other, time it was being a little too complicated already. “Call me the Caretaker if ya would. I make sure none of you idiots make some stupid mistake that ends up wiping your whole gen.” He exclaimed, and walked over to one of the thugs, sending a bullet through their head. Well, Thobias expected it, but the bullet just stopped an inch away from their head, frozen like everything else. What was the point then? And more so, what was he talking about with gens? “Usually I don’t have to, but you live in a super annoying world where everybody seems to have powers. Which is great, because at least you can defend yourself as well. But clearly not well enough, not yet at least.” He exclaimed, walking up to each tug, and doing the same motion he did before with his gun. What was he on about.
“Wait, not yet? You mean I could do...this?” Thobias asked and pointed around himself. The Caretaker laughed and shook his head, holstering his gun. “You wish Kiddo. Not in a lifetime you won’t...at least, not like I can.” He walked up to Thobias up close, and squinted his eyes as he took a good look at him. Wow, creepy figure. “But you have potential. Whatever you did back during that fight with that Rurik guy, it really set things in motion. That’s the whole reason I’m here.” Finally he took a step back away and Thobias let out a sigh. “You have potential, but I always need to be at hundreds of places at the same time, so I can’t exactly teach you right now. You’ll need to break free before I can properly teach you, and I doubt you have the balls for that.” First of all, that was incredibly rude. Saying he didn’t have the ball, hah! Second of all...he didn’t understand a word of that. Nope, not one bit, he was absolutely clueless. Did this guy really expect him to know what he was talking about?
“But, I’ll give you a parting gift Thobias, cause you’re on my watchlist now and I want you to live just a little longer than what is written for you.” Without a warning the Caretaker teleported up to him, using the same ability he always used, and placed his hand on his forehead. Suddenly it felt like he had a glimpse at everything, images flashing by his eyes at speed even he couldn’t comprehend, and then everything went black. Suddenly, he felt a weird feeling deep in himself, as if his heart was pounding more than before, but...it felt off.
Before he could ask the caretaker took a step back and tipped his hat at Thobias. “Feel that beat? Think very hard of someone and you’ll feel their presence wherever they are. The closer your connection, the less vague it will be. And if you can’t feel that beat, well...you know what that means!” And then just like that
POOF he was gone. What the hell was that all about? And what did he mean! No, he didn’t understand.
He didn’t have too much time to think about it as he saw the field shimmer around himself, and he realised that bullets were still flying at him. Thobias quickly teleported over to Brutus, just in time to see time return to normal.
The sound of a dozen distinct shots ringed with the other sounds, and the gangsters all dropped dead at the same time, a familiar bullet passing through their craniums. The bullets mean for him? They harmlessly splashed on the ground where he used to be. Brutus stopped in surprise, kicking up a cloud of dust as he came to a halt, and Juan...well, he looked more than surprised. “Would you look at that?” He mumbled under his breath. He had to admit, that was some grade A badassery from whoever this mystery guy was.
He let out a snarky laugh and lighted a cigarette as he approached Juan with smalls steps, Brutus following behind him. “The deal’s off Juan. If I see your goons on my turf again I’ll think twice about letting you live.” He exclaimed with a chuckle and patted Juan’s cheeks a few times before turning over to Brutus. “Alright mate, I think we’re done here. Thanks for the worry, but this bum is nothing I can’t deal with.” He exclaimed and then walked away from the site, with Brutus in tail. And he had no inclination on telling him this wasn’t his doing.
The day of the tournamentThobias was sitting on the top ledge of the stadium, watching the match from a bird’s eyes view. He was dangling his legs as he watched the tourney, eating a bag of popcorn. Yes, he bought it just to mock everyone else who would see him. No, he didn’t care. He really had the best place in the entire stadium after all. He noticed that a few other people with similar abilities sparsely populated the roof along with him, and there was a silent union in it. Everybody here had the silent agreement that they had the coolest ability ever. Even if everybody thought theirs was the be all to end all, nobody would dare say anything to the other because they had a common laughing stock in the form of the people who couldn’t fly or teleport.
He spent the last few days practicing his abilities, especially the one he got from the Caretaker. He still didn’t manage to recreate the ability he used to win against Rurik, but this new ability he had… man, it was something else. Whenever he thought of someone really hard, he could feel their heart beat within his own chest, and have a vague idea of where they were. It wasn’t omnipresent, they tested it with Liam, Brutus and Sarah. He teleported across half the world to see how far the range was, but in the end it seemed to be only effective within the city, and a bit extra. But at the outskirts of town, it was just the faintest feeling, a hard task to pinpoint anyone. Still, it seemed to improve over the days, and he gradually kept pushing his range out. Just like when he was training his blink ability, using it more and more helped, yet it put a similar strain on his body, so he could only do it so much.
Today he came around to check the matches. On one hand, he wanted to see how strong these people really were, and whether or not he could match up with against them. Of course, not that he wanted to, fighting head on wasn’t his style. He was more like the head of the body anyways. And secondly, he came to check on Katherine. He had to admit, he couldn’t get her out of his head as much as he wanted to. And yeah, he came all the way just to see her match. Now everybody shut up, the match is about to begin.
Honestly, he didn’t like it one bit. Not that it wasn’t a pretty fight with explosions and people getting punched in the face. No, it was that there wasn’t enough punching and explosions. He honestly expected more from Kath, he knew that she had a lot more in her. Even as he saw the sword from Yuuto, he didn’t intervene. He had every right to believe that Kath could just pop her final form, clear up their entire team and then be done with it. The demon be fucked, he was sure Kath could deal with it.
That was, until she couldn’t. He was perplexed, wasn’t Kath the best brawler in St Laurels? Of course, that’s not exactly much against a sword, but he expected a lot more. But what was worse...the bleeding didn’t seem to stop. Whatever was going on, it didn’t seem that the stasis field put up for protection was protecting Kath from the cuts. His heart tensed up, and he felt that second heart beat within his chest faster and faster: he knew it wasn’t going well for Kath.
He couldn’t watch this anymore, he had to do something without directly interfering...but what? Well, he knew the first thing he head to do. He took out his cell, and quick dialed Liam. It took only a few seconds before the he answered. “Yeah boss, what’s the matter.”
Liam, grab Brutus and Sarah, and get to the hideout. Chances are, I’ll be bringing a few guests who need some help, so get a few-” He glanced down at the tourney, where it seemed that Kath had been taken over by the demoness, leaving behind a trail of blood. “Scratch that, all the blood you can carry. You’ll have your hands full.” With that he ended the call and hopped to his legs, going down around the far end of the roof.
Before he could do so, he felt Kath move, and move fast. He turned around, just as to see her use some sort of a...demonic wings to escape. That was new… Funny the things you don’t know about a girl that you used to sleep with. Of course, he knew it was the demoness, and it was all the more unsettling. If she had taken over, who knows what kind of trouble Kath might be in. But still, it was a slight relief as well: the heartbeat so erratic before seemed to have calmed down. So whatever the demon was doing, it was at least helping a bit.
Thobias trailed behind the group until they ended up in a nearby park. It seemed like this was where they were going to finally have at it. Thobias didn’t like one bit that Clara wanted the demon from Kath. Maybe, if it was malicious. But it was her orders that hurt Kath, and now the Demoness was keeping her alive. No, he couldn’t just let that happen. Sure, she was her superior in school and all that, but he didn’t give the slightest fuck about that at the present moment. No, he had to act quick, and he knew exactly who to turn to to tip the scales.
Christine. Kath’s sweet, and admittedly more pervy sister that has already managed to cool her sister down on so many occasions. He didn’t want this to be one of that. All this time he was trailing from a safe distance, but now he leaped into action, messing with the brains of his foes as he liked to do.
With a quick blink, he appeared right by Christine and grabbed a hold of her arm, giving her and Clara a quick wave. “I’ll take you for a quick trip hun.” He quipped, and he was gone just as soon as he arrived. Yes, he could’ve taken Kath straight out of here. Yes, he could’ve teleported
most of Kath’s enemies far, far away, but he didn’t want to do that. He enjoyed watching a good trashing like anyone else, but he needed to make sure the match was fixed. So, he made it quick with Christine as he teleported with her just around the corner, still in sight of the fight, yet a good distance away.
As he did so, he quickly released her and took a jump back before she could potentially hit him.”Don’t hate me Christine, but I can’t watch you beat up Kath, blinded by that madwoman Clara.I can feel it, she’s not lying-” He exclaimed and put his hand on his heart. “Kath’s going to die if the demon leaves her body, it’s the only thing keeping her alive. I’ll explain all of it later, but you have to trust me!” And just like that, he said everything he wanted to, and felt like he could muster out of himself in one breath. He wheezed, and took a deep breath before staring at Christine for her answer. He couldn’t let her get back into the fight as an enemy.
Fish of Oblivion
AndyC
Alby47
Bartimaeus
