Eddie Brock

Absolute Comics: Odyssey [Invite Only]

Absolute Comics - A Multi-Fandom Singular Universe Roleplay

Oh, I suppose.

Absolute Comics - A Multi-Fandom Singular Universe Roleplay

@Colonel Sep

Profound.

Vanguard: Calder City

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EXTRA-ORDINARY
^{PART I}

Dani sat on the curb, alternating red and blue lighting playing across her face from the police cruiser parked just across the street. Nearby, a once-beautiful, cherry red Mercedes was smoking, its front end caved in by a bollard on the sidewalk. Dani was not looking at the Mercedes, nor at the officer circling the scene and making notes on his clipboard; she was merely staring at a fixed point in space and imagining how nice it would be to be anywhere else at that precise moment. At the feel of something wet, she brought a finger to her nostril. Her fingertip came away bloody, and a few rogue droplets dripped onto her oversized, vintage Deftones t-shirt.

“Shit.”

Hours later, Dani sat beneath cold fluorescent lights at the precinct. They had parked her on a wildly uncomfortable bench in the processing area, not far from the bathrooms and within earshot of a vending machine which was not long for this world, judging by the sound of its humming. Dani was cold, but she was damned if she was going to let anyone see her shiver. Instead, she just pulled her arms and legs tighter and tried not to count the minutes. Every so often, another cop would pull her to a desk and ask the same series of questions:

“What's your name?”
“Have you been drinking tonight?”
“Who was driving the car?”
“Do you know where he went?”

They'd given her cotton balls until her nosebleed stopped, at least, and had even provided a cup of coffee – which had been sitting too long in the pot – upon request. Dani knew that a quick word would have been enough to secure her release, but she wasn't going to play that card. Not if her life depended on it. She was going to wait it out like any normal person. That also meant that her one phone call couldn't go to Harlow, which left an even less desirable option.

Elena Reyes stayed up past ten P.M. exactly one night of the year, New Year's Eve, and even that begrudgingly. As she came into the precinct, long coat wrapped around a pair of sweats, it was clear that she'd gotten dressed in haste. Dani was surprised to see first concern, then relief in Elena’s eyes upon finding her daughter; anger, however, did not wait long to make an appearance. Once it was clear that Dani was more or less alright, the two women shared perhaps no more than ten words from Dani’s discharge to when they finally reached the car.

Dani would have been all too glad for the silence to continue, but the inevitable talking-to started right away. “This boy you were with,” Elena began, voice dripping with contempt on the word “boy,” “the one who was driving… was he drinking, too?” Dani’s silence was all the answer she needed. “You realize he could have killed someone? Including you!”

“I would have stopped the car,” Dani insisted, though even she could not explain how she would've accomplished that safely. Sitting in the passenger seat with her right leg up, she hugged her knee and stared out the window at the passing buildings.

The older woman merely shook her head. “To say nothing of what a disaster it would have been if any of them had recognized you.” But they hadn't. They never did, not without the light show. “You know, I went to bat for you with the Paragon people. I thought it was great that you wanted to focus on your education. If I had any idea this is how you would be spending your time… I mean, what were you thinking, hija?”

A boy liked me, she answered silently, and it felt nice. Of course, it had been less nice when he up and left her there with hardly a word of apology. She hadn't ratted him out, even with all the police’s relentless questioning; not that it would take them long to track him down from the vehicle registration. She supposed she didn't blame him. They hardly knew each other, anyway. Sighing, Dani finally said, “I wasn't thinking, okay? For once in my life, it was nice not to think.”

Elena shot her a glance as though they were speaking completely different languages. Now, it was her turn to sigh. “I don't know where I went wrong. Dios mío, ayúdame. I was never meant to be a single parent…”

At that, Dani began to tune her out. The invocation of her father's memory had become a staple of their fights. In the beginning, when the wounds were fresh, it had really gotten under Dani’s skin. Mentions of Michael would devolve every situation into a screaming match. But overuse had left a callus, and now it was merely her signal that any hope of a productive dialogue was over. Closing her eyes and letting out a long exhale through her nose, Dani opened them again to see their car blowing past signs for Calder State University. “Mom, campus is that way,” she pointed out.

“You're not going back tonight. You're coming home,” Elena stated, never taking her eyes off the road.

Dani scoffed. “You're grounding me?”

“Danielle,” her mother said in that tone which suggested further counterargument was unwelcome, “I am tired. We will talk about this in the morning.” And that was that.

The rest of the drive passed in grateful – if tense – silence. With the towering skyline of downtown fading in the rearview, they rode across the Lexington Avenue Bridge towards the quiet, tree-lined borough of Elmhurst. PRG had offered to procure the family a high-rise apartment, but Elena would have none of it. Too noisy and impersonal, she claimed. Life moved slower in Elmhurst, which was much more to her taste. Gone were the monoliths of steel and glass, replaced by cozy brownstones and single-family homes.

The Carter house was a small, detached Colonial with an enclosed brick porch and faded yellow siding. As Elena pulled the car into the driveway, she said, “Leave your shirt by the utility tub. I'll soak it with cold water and salt in the morning.” The fight was far from over – dawn would bring renewed tempers – but for the night, she was calling an end to hostilities. With hardly a glance back, Elena killed the engine and made for the front door, with her bedroom immediately to follow.

For her part, Dani was less ready for bed. The cops’ coffee had been stronger than it looked, and besides, she kept a college student’s hours. A growing pain behind her forehead suggested that some water might be in order. Kicking off her Doc Martens by the door, she padded down an unlit hallway towards the kitchen. Halfway down, on the right, a single lamp had been left on in the den. Dani hesitated a moment before mustering up the courage to enter.

In most respects, the room was like any other. It had a TV which might've been cutting-edge in 2010. It had a couch, the same one they brought with them from Austin. (You had to know exactly where to sit to avoid the spots where the padding had all but worn away.) One wall consisted entirely of a built-in bookshelf; neither of them were prodigious readers, so it held nearly as many knickknacks as books. But it was the back wall, the one on your right as you entered, which gave Dani pause.

It would have been an exaggeration to call it a “shrine,” but not by much. As any proud mother would, Elena had collected some of her favorite newspaper clippings and had them framed. Each and every one concerned Aurora’s exploits:

“TEXAS'S NEWEST STAR.” – Austin American-Statesman.

“‘AURORA’ OFFICIALLY TAKES TO THE SKIES.” – Texas Monthly.

“BLINDED BY THE LIGHT: GUNMEN FOILED BY TEEN HERO.” – USA Today.

“AURORA DEFEATS MAELSTROM IN HARBOR CLASH.” – Calder City Chronicle.

Outside the Statesman, which had a screenshot from the viral ACL Music Festival incident, Dani recognized herself in none of the accompanying photos. She was allowed only a single set of earrings when in costume, her hair was professionally styled, and she always had that perfectly neutral “no-makeup” look which took twice as long anyway. Aurora was a product, not a person.

The power, that at least she recognized. Even now, she felt it like a hum under her skin. It was always there, waiting at her beck and call. She had not used her powers in months. Her fingers itched at the thought of it. With furrowed brow, Dani suppressed the thought. She would let the light out again… just not tonight. Turning away from the wall of her accomplishments, she crossed the room towards the still lit lamp.

As she bent to turn the knob, Dani saw it out of the corner of her eye: a flag, folded in a triangle and displayed behind glass. On the shelf next to it was a portrait of Michael Carter in his dress uniform. Beneath a bit of black ribbon tucked in the corner of the frame, the dead man smiled at his daughter.

I'm sorry, Dad, Dani thought and turned out the light.

Vanguard: Calder City

First post is written! Just needs review, formatting, and -- most importantly -- a banner.

Vanguard: Calder City

A U R O R A
A U R O R A

^{"Seriously: you're gonna want to cover your eyes."}

C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ (FC: Inde Navarrette; Dialogue: 79dbbc) _________________________________________________________ S U M M A R Y S U M M A R Y _________________________________________________________ Danielle "Dani" Ximena Reyes Carter _________________________________________________________ November 5 (Scorpio) | 20 _________________________________________________________ Single | Female | Straight S T A T S S T A T S _________________________________________________________ Height | 5'2" (157 cm) _________________________________________________________ Hair Color | Dark Brown _________________________________________________________ Eye Color | Hazel _________________________________________________________ Hometown | Austin, TX -

H I S T O R Y H I S T O R Y ___________________________________________________________________________________ History Danielle Ximena Reyes Carter was born to Elena Reyes, a county clerk, and Michael Carter, a firefighter, in Austin, Texas. Dani, as she would eventually prefer to be called, was the light of her parents’ life. Theirs was not an affluent household, but what they lacked in money, they more than made up for in love. As a family unit, they were inseparable – but the connection between Dani and Michael was particularly special. He was the one who encouraged her love of music, who took her to see the movies her mother didn't like, who let her dye her hair. Though their antics sometimes exasperated Elena, it was all in good fun. Sadly, the good times would not last. One day, Michael left for work and never came home. While responding to a routine fire, he had been inside the building when the structure unexpectedly failed and collapsed. Reports from coworkers on the scene said that he had doubled back to rescue a trapped civilian. Michael's death devastated the family. Beyond the immediacy of the loss, bills started to pile up, and without her father's meditating presence, the relationship between Dani and Elena became strained. A little less than six months later, shortly before Dani’s sixteenth birthday, the situation was further complicated by the manifestation of her powers. While attending the Austin City Limits Music Festival, she was among the crowd when a malfunction at one of the main stages sent lighting trusses falling into the crowd. In what she would later describe as an out-of-body experience, Dani stepped forward and created her first light-shield. When another piece broke away and threatened the sound booth, she deflected it with a proton blast. She even flew for the first time, saving a young boy from being crushed. All of this was done in full view of tens of thousands of attendees… and their phones. Things progressed quickly after that. Within days, Dani and Elena were receiving interview requests, and news vans had taken up residence outside their home. Even more alarming were the legal complaints that followed: the stage contractor alleged that their equipment had suffered additional damage as a result of Dani’s actions, and one of the attendees cited vision impairment from exposure to her beams. That, in turn, led to more calls from legal offices wanting to represent Dani. The two women were swiftly overwhelmed. That's when PRG first entered into their lives. Dani and Elena were approached by a woman named Harlow Nash who claimed to represent the Paragon Representation Group, an agency which represented and promoted “superhuman talent.” Though she spoke with the practiced ease of an industry insider, she seemed genuinely sympathetic to the Carter family's plight and put their minds at ease about several of the issues they were facing. The press could be handled, she assured them, and these kinds of torts were common in the wake of a rescue like Dani's. With the expertise and experience of PRG, it was nothing the three of them couldn't handle. Soon, the Carters were presented with contracts to sign. They each had their reasons to be trepidatious, but after talking it over together, they decided to move forward. PRG could help them navigate their unique position, and the money they were offering would go a long way towards solving the family's financial troubles. More than anything, though, what settled the matter was Dani's insistence that she wanted to keep using her powers; she had enjoyed saving people – the way her father used to save people – and she wanted to do it again. Seeing that there was no way to talk her daughter out of this, Elena agreed that it would be better to do it with a team supporting her. Dani was fast-tracked, receiving a sleek costume and her very own codename: Aurora. Her life became a whirlwind of interviews, endorsement deals, and patrols. It was a lot of change in a short amount of time, but she was making a difference in the world. And she could fly! Though her powers were very new to her, it felt as though she had unlocked a part of herself that she'd always known had been missing. If the extracurriculars sometimes seemed frivolous and self-serving, it was still worth it to honor Michael's legacy as a hero. After a time, Dani and Elena made the decision to move to Calder City to be closer to the action. The incidents were more intense, the team-ups were more frequent, and Dani was really coming into her own as a hero. When she turned 18, she began enrolling in correspondence classes at Calder State University. That small taste of normalcy made her crave more. Over the years, Dani had felt a widening chasm between her public persona and the person she felt she really was. The interviews and speaking engagements gnawed at her. Dani didn't mind being a superhero; it was being a celebrity that she couldn't stand. She was growing tired of being others’ light. At 20, Dani announced her intention to start attending CSU full-time. She wanted to see the campus, to be around people her own age. She let Harlow and PRG know that she would be taking a step back from public life. Aurora was officially going on sabbatical. All that remained now was to see if Dani Carter even remembered who she was without it. A B I L I T I E S A B I L I T I E S __________________________________________________________________________________ Electromagnetic Absorption: Underlying all of Dani's powers is the unique ability to absorb and store electromagnetic radiation, providing a deep reservoir of energy upon which she can call for various purposes. Her body does this constantly and spontaneously, primarily via sunlight, though she can also draw on the ambient environment for a quick power-up or use this ability defensively to protect against harmful energy. Absorbing excess or unstable energy can cause Dani to overload, losing control of her powers and/or creating dangerous, uncontrolled discharges. If deprived of electromagnetic sources long enough (e.g., total darkness or a Faraday cage-like environment), her reservoir will eventually run dry, leaving her powerless. Photon Manipulation: Dani can channel the energy stored in her body into a high-energy state consisting of photons, which in turn ionizes the surrounding air. This results in a luminous, iridescent effect from which she earns her namesake. She can direct these photons into concussive blasts, focused beams, or explosive bursts at-will. Electromagnetic Manipulation: Dani has limited control of her electromagnetic field, resulting in the following abilities: Flight: By organizing the ionized atmosphere that her powers create into specific electromagnetic currents, Dani is able to achieve self-propelled flight. In the same way, she can also use magnetic levitation to hover in place. Hard-Light Constructs: Her electromagnetic field can arrange individual photons into stable plasma lattices. Due to the concentration required, this is generally limited to simple geometric shapes such as barrier walls, domes, and spheres. Accelerated Healing: Due to the amount of energy stored in Dani's body, she can recover from injuries and fatigue at an above-average rate. P E R S O N A L I T Y P E R S O N A L I T Y __________________________________________________________________________________ Dani is naturally guarded. Despite the nature of her powers, she's not someone who relishes being the center of attention. If anything, the past four years have only made her all the more eager to blend into the background. She fears rejection and thus mostly keeps to herself. When walking around campus, she'll keep her earbuds in with the hope that it'll deter anyone from approaching her. Truthfully, she's not sure how to interact with normal people her age. Dani has a rebellious streak. It was that way even before her father died, and his absence did not improve the situation. After four years in the industry machine, she has developed a hair trigger when it comes to being told what to do. She feels like she spent that time repressing herself, and she's eager to make up for lost time. She's done worrying what the “adults” will think, and she's certainly done asking for permission. Dani cannot abide liars and people who are fake, and she feels disgusted at herself for ever indulging that behavior. She has resolved to live truthfully and to surround herself with people who do the same. Though she's slow to trust, to those who worm their way past her defenses, there is no truer friend. She also can't help but want to do the right thing and help people, even as she tries to put Dani before Aurora. M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S __________________________________________________________________________________ Right now, Dani just wants to be Dani for a while. She'd like to find a network of friends who ideally know nothing about – or, at the very least, don't care about – her second life. She'd like to go to parties, stay up late watching movies, and, yes, maybe get some schoolwork done. More than anything, she just wants to see if she remembers the person she was before her life went insane. She is certainly under no illusions that her superhero-ing days are over, and she's prepared to step in if the need is dire. But it is her steadfast hope that in a city as large and as well-equipped as Calder City, someone else can watch the skies a while so she can keep her feet on the ground.

Vanguard: Calder City

How ironic that my approval should come while I'm getting out of the theater after seeing Obsession. Granted, I'm now terrified of my own face claim, but I'm still very excited to get to work!

Vanguard: Calder City

The line...

His family builds monuments and Richard listens to ruins.

@Anciek

... goes especially hard.

Vanguard: Calder City

One of these days, I'll consistently remember that this forum has image hosting capabilities.

Vanguard: Calder City

Oh, speaking of...

Definitely nothing light-based to see here.

A U R O R A
A U R O R A

^{"Seriously: you're gonna want to cover your eyes."}

C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ (FC: Inde Navarrette; Dialogue: 38d9a6) _________________________________________________________ S U M M A R Y S U M M A R Y _________________________________________________________ Danielle "Dani" Ximena Reyes Carter _________________________________________________________ November 5 (Scorpio) | 20 _________________________________________________________ Single | Female | Straight S T A T S S T A T S _________________________________________________________ Height | 5'2" (157 cm) _________________________________________________________ Hair Color | Dark Brown _________________________________________________________ Eye Color | Hazel _________________________________________________________ Hometown | Austin, TX -

H I S T O R Y H I S T O R Y ___________________________________________________________________________________ History Danielle Ximena Reyes Carter was born to Elena Reyes, a county clerk, and Michael Carter, a firefighter, in Austin, Texas. Dani, as she would eventually prefer to be called, was the light of her parents’ life. Theirs was not an affluent household, but what they lacked in money, they more than made up for in love. As a family unit, they were inseparable – but the connection between Dani and Michael was particularly special. He was the one who encouraged her love of music, who took her to see the movies her mother didn't like, who let her dye her hair. Though their antics sometimes exasperated Elena, it was all in good fun. Sadly, the good times would not last. One day, Michael left for work and never came home. While responding to a routine fire, he had been inside the building when the structure unexpectedly failed and collapsed. Reports from coworkers on the scene said that he had doubled back to rescue a trapped civilian. Michael's death devastated the family. Beyond the immediacy of the loss, bills started to pile up, and without her father's meditating presence, the relationship between Dani and Elena became strained. A little less than six months later, shortly before Dani’s sixteenth birthday, the situation was further complicated by the manifestation of her powers. While attending the Austin City Limits Music Festival, she was among the crowd when a malfunction at one of the main stages sent lighting trusses falling into the crowd. In what she would later describe as an out-of-body experience, Dani stepped forward and created her first light-shield. When another piece broke away and threatened the sound booth, she deflected it with a proton blast. She even flew for the first time, saving a young boy from being crushed. All of this was done in full view of tens of thousands of attendees… and their phones. Things progressed quickly after that. Within days, Dani and Elena were receiving interview requests, and news vans had taken up residence outside their home. Even more alarming were the legal complaints that followed: the stage contractor alleged that their equipment had suffered additional damage as a result of Dani’s actions, and one of the attendees cited vision impairment from exposure to her beams. That, in turn, led to more calls from legal offices wanting to represent Dani. The two women were swiftly overwhelmed. That's when PRG first entered into their lives. Dani and Elena were approached by a woman named Harlow Nash who claimed to represent the Paragon Representation Group, an agency which represented and promoted “superhuman talent.” Though she spoke with the practiced ease of an industry insider, she seemed genuinely sympathetic to the Carter family's plight and put their minds at ease about several of the issues they were facing. The press could be handled, she assured them, and these kinds of torts were common in the wake of a rescue like Dani's. With the expertise and experience of PRG, it was nothing the three of them couldn't handle. Soon, the Carters were presented with contracts to sign. They each had their reasons to be trepidatious, but after talking it over together, they decided to move forward. PRG could help them navigate their unique position, and the money they were offering would go a long way towards solving the family's financial troubles. More than anything, though, what settled the matter was Dani's insistence that she wanted to keep using her powers; she had enjoyed saving people – the way her father used to save people – and she wanted to do it again. Seeing that there was no way to talk her daughter out of this, Elena agreed that it would be better to do it with a team supporting her. Dani was fast-tracked, receiving a sleek costume and her very own codename: Aurora. Her life became a whirlwind of interviews, endorsement deals, and patrols. It was a lot of change in a short amount of time, but she was making a difference in the world. And she could fly! Though her powers were very new to her, it felt as though she had unlocked a part of herself that she'd always known had been missing. If the extracurriculars sometimes seemed frivolous and self-serving, it was still worth it to honor Michael's legacy as a hero. After a time, Dani and Elena made the decision to move to Calder City to be closer to the action. The incidents were more intense, the team-ups were more frequent, and Dani was really coming into her own as a hero. When she turned 18, she began enrolling in correspondence classes at Calder State University. That small taste of normalcy made her crave more. Over the years, Dani had felt a widening chasm between her public persona and the person she felt she really was. The interviews and speaking engagements gnawed at her. Dani didn't mind being a superhero; it was being a celebrity that she couldn't stand. She was growing tired of being others’ light. At 20, Dani announced her intention to start attending CSU full-time. She wanted to see the campus, to be around people her own age. She let Harlow and PRG know that she would be taking a step back from public life. Aurora was officially going on sabbatical. All that remained now was to see if Dani Carter even remembered who she was without it. A B I L I T I E S A B I L I T I E S __________________________________________________________________________________ Electromagnetic Absorption: Underlying all of Dani's powers is the unique ability to absorb and store electromagnetic radiation, providing a deep reservoir of energy upon which she can call for various purposes. Her body does this constantly and spontaneously, primarily via sunlight, though she can also draw on the ambient environment for a quick power-up or use this ability defensively to protect against harmful energy. Absorbing excess or unstable energy can cause Dani to overload, losing control of her powers and/or creating dangerous, uncontrolled discharges. If deprived of electromagnetic sources long enough (e.g., total darkness or a Faraday cage-like environment), her reservoir will eventually run dry, leaving her powerless. Photon Manipulation: Dani can channel the energy stored in her body into a high-energy state consisting of photons, which in turn ionizes the surrounding air. This results in a luminous, iridescent effect from which she earns her namesake. She can direct these photons into concussive blasts, focused beams, or explosive bursts at-will. Electromagnetic Manipulation: Dani has limited control of her electromagnetic field, resulting in the following abilities: Flight: By organizing the ionized atmosphere that her powers create into specific electromagnetic currents, Dani is able to achieve self-propelled flight. In the same way, she can also use magnetic levitation to hover in place. Hard-Light Constructs: Her electromagnetic field can arrange individual photons into stable plasma lattices. Due to the concentration required, this is generally limited to simple geometric shapes such as barrier walls, domes, and spheres. Accelerated Healing: Due to the amount of energy stored in Dani's body, she can recover from injuries and fatigue at an above-average rate. P E R S O N A L I T Y P E R S O N A L I T Y __________________________________________________________________________________ Dani is naturally guarded. Despite the nature of her powers, she's not someone who relishes being the center of attention. If anything, the past four years have only made her all the more eager to blend into the background. She fears rejection and thus mostly keeps to herself. When walking around campus, she'll keep her earbuds in with the hope that it'll deter anyone from approaching her. Truthfully, she's not sure how to interact with normal people her age. Dani has a rebellious streak. It was that way even before her father died, and his absence did not improve the situation. After four years in the industry machine, she has developed a hair trigger when it comes to being told what to do. She feels like she spent that time repressing herself, and she's eager to make up for lost time. She's done worrying what the “adults” will think, and she's certainly done asking for permission. Dani cannot abide liars and people who are fake, and she feels disgusted at herself for ever indulging that behavior. She has resolved to live truthfully and to surround herself with people who do the same. Though she's slow to trust, to those who worm their way past her defenses, there is no truer friend. She also can't help but want to do the right thing and help people, even as she tries to put Dani before Aurora. M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S __________________________________________________________________________________ Right now, Dani just wants to be Dani for a while. She'd like to find a network of friends who ideally know nothing about – or, at the very least, don't care about – her second life. She'd like to go to parties, stay up late watching movies, and, yes, maybe get some schoolwork done. More than anything, she just wants to see if she remembers the person she was before her life went insane. She is certainly under no illusions that her superhero-ing days are over, and she's prepared to step in if the need is dire. But it is her steadfast hope that in a city as large and as well-equipped as Calder City, someone else can watch the skies a while so she can keep her feet on the ground.