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SpFarce - Mantis - Zach

Collaboration between @Banana@Spiffy@solokolos

Judah pressed the button to close the garage behind them and started bringing his gear through the door into the house. Then he turned to Zach and said almost as an afterthought, "Come on in." As Judah continued through the door it was sparsely furnished. It seemed to only include the basic necessities a house of this decent size. There was a kitchen table, flat screen TV, a single couch and chair..not much else.  Oddly enough there was a dog dish. He stowed his gear away in a closet. Then he lazily sprawled on the couch, "Make yourself at home," he said to Zach. Suddenly, a black German Shepherd bounded down the stairs and nuzzled Judah's hands. "There's a good boy," Judah said smiling as he scratched the dog's neck and head.

Zach folowed Judah in slowly, noting the dog bowl with the slightest twinge of a smile. He remembered fondly the dog his family used to own, before the fire. He didn't sit down on the couch out of awkwardness but instead leaned against the wall. A dog bounded into the room, and ran up to Judah. It nuzzled his hand, and Zach smiled again, happy the dog wasn't paticularly concered with him. It might hurt itself if it tried to attack him, after all.

Outside of the house, unbeknownst to the two men inside of it, Gaia was busy running up to it with her mask on and nightstick drawn. "Dunn, should I just go for the front door and try to force my way in, or should I just try and get answers peacefully?" "It's really up to you, as I'm not the one with the control over our body right now." "Goin' in with the intent of peace it is." Gaia put her nightstick back into her bag and she walked up to the front door of the house, proceeding to knock on it with a weird rhythm while taking off her mask.

The dog turned toward the door and began to bark. That's when Judah perceived that someone was at the door with his ability. Then they all heard a few irregular knocks. Judah pulled a 1911 firearm from his holster and nodded at Zach. Then he imparted into Zach's mind, 
"Someone at the door this soon after we entered saw us arrive." Judah moved up to the window and glanced through, dog at his side. When he peered through he saw a girl with a bag. He reholstered his weapon but kept it in view and said, "Stay." The dog remained motionless, very obedient. A sign of good training. Then Judah opened the door enough to see through and said, "I didn't know the girl scouts were out this late selling cookies.." The remark was made in order to discern the motives of the girl. Just a tactic to get her to reveal her true intentions.

"Not a girl scout. Just moved into the neighborhood... actually... I came earlier but you weren't home, so I left," said Gaia with her hand behind her back clenched very hard. Girl Scouts? She liked the idea but god damn did this man annoy her with that comment. That was in the past though, and Dunn remained silent as Gaia continued to talk to the man in front of her. "With that aside, my name is Gaia, and I think your dog is cute." That last part was true though, as that dog was adorable.

The dog turning towards the door and barking surprised Zach, especially since it was followed by knocking. His eyes locked onto Judah's, before a thought was placed into his head. it was disorientating at first, before his brain justified it as being his own. He nodded to himself before moving to a spot in the house just out of sight.if the door was fully opened. He leaned against the wall, prepared to intervene. Judah opened the door, and made a sarcastic remark about girl scout cookies, which the girl on the other side dismissed quickly. He leaned out a bit, giving Judah a confused look as what he presumed to be a little girl commented on Judah's dog. Zach sighed, annoyed at what seemed to be a false alarm, and waited for Judah to end the encounter.

Judah wasn't buying her story. He could feel her anger flare up at the mention of not being a girl scout. The real question remained, what was her angle? He intended to find out. Judah opened the door slightly, feigning trust and asked, "New to the neighborhood, you say? What honor do I owe for visiting my door, of all places?" As he spoke he imparted the thought into Zach, "She's not telling the truth, I'd better keep my guard up."

"I just wanted to be friendly is all, and say hello. That being said, I have a small sister that lives with me and the speed you drove into your garage scared me. I'd like to ask why you were driving so fast..." Gaia responded, trying to look as earnest as she could. She could tell something was up with this man, maybe that he caught onto her ruse, or maybe that he was really hiding something that he didn't want her to know. Either way, it'll be found out soon what the truth is. 

At his words and the thought appearing into his head, Zach tensed his body again, He couldn't tell which thoughts were his, and which were being given to him via Judah. He flicked his wrist and extended the baton that had been attached to his pants, the weapon making a quite click as it locked into its largest extension. He thumbed the release trigger nervously, wanting to be able to talk to Judah already, and wanting the girl gone.

Judah thought to himself, "So she saw us speeding. How can she have the guts to knock on a man's door,  with a large dog, at a late hour, by herself..that as well as the fact that she got angry at my comment. Why do I keep meeting such strange people?" The fact that Judah himself was weird did not cross his mind. Judah decided that a new tactic was in order. He would invite her into his house. It would also give him a better shot at figuring her out. In his own home, he would have the upper hand. Every moment she stood outside his door, only drew unwanted attention. For the first time during their encounter Judah smiles, "You are absolutely right, driving at that speed was unsafe," he pauses and continues, "You said you think my dog's cute, if you felt safe, you could come inside and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate while you meet with us." As he speaks, he releases a subtle wave of happy emotions into their vicinity. It feels as though they were being enveloped by a nice warm blanket. Then he motions for his dog to come forward and begins to pet him. The dog wags his tail and pants, apparently pretty happy. 

"I would love to, thank you!" Gaia responded as she entered the house. For the first time in this entire conversation, Dunn spoke up within Gaia's mind. "So you're just going to ignore that he was wearing a balaclava while he was speeding?" "Patience, Dunn. We don't want to get a bad message across." "True, but don't be fooled by any of this guy's powers if he has any." "I won't be an idiot, Dunn." With that side conversation done, Gaia waved hello to the other man in the house, assuming he heard her name when she said it, and she began to look around while Judah prepared hot chocolate. She then realized that she never got his name, and as such she asked for it before continuing her perusing, "I never got your name, by the way."

At Judah's invitation Zach quickly condensed the Baton, and put it into his back pocket. As the girl came within sight, he was leaning against the wall, seeming relaxed. The girl waved at him, and he nodded in her direction. He bit back a jab about a lack of girl scout cookies, and instead stared at the ceiling as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Someone who was pretty obersvant would notice how tense his shoulders were, and how prepared he was to defend himself. His arms were even crossed across his stomach, an obvious signal about how unsure he was.

Judah turned from heating the kettle and replied to her question, "I'm Judah, this is my dog Axel, and here is my good friend Zach," Judah said as he gestured towards him. He tried easing the tension by continuing to release good feelings into their midst. It did seem to help. Axel, meanwhile, trotted around sniffing the newcomers. He nudged Zach playfully and then bounded over to Gaia. Any signs that there was anything amiss were completely lost on him. He was just excited there were other human beings around to play with. His master didn't entertain company after his trigger event and he was going to enjoy himself. As the kettle boiled Judah got a few mugs and poured them each a cup of cocoa. He set the three mugs down at the table. Then he went into the garage and grabbed two folding chairs. He gestured to the seats and sat down waiting for the other's to join him. He wasn't exactly comfortable, "social gatherings" as he called them, weren't his specialty. When they had taken their seats he asked, "What brings you to Denver, Gaia?" Axel sat obediently nearby watching their every move.

"That's a long story, I'll tell you that much. It also involves some death too, so I don't really want to get into it," Gaia answered before lifting up the mug of cocoa and blowing on it to cool the mug before taking a swig from it. The mood shifted to a bit of a different air when the voice that followed the next sentence was considerably different. "That's pretty good co... oh fuck me." The twins had transformed in the middle of Gaia drinking the cocoa from the mug, and with Dunn now present in his police coat, he had raised his arms in the air after he put down the mug. "Did we just-" "Yep." "Goddammit."

At first Zach hesitated to sit down in the chair, but he conceded when he saw the stranger move toward it. He sat down, and Judah asked Gaia why she was in Denver. She waved off the question, more than hinting it wasn't a happy story, before drinking the hot chocolate. In the midst of drinking. without Zach even blinking, Gaia changed from female to male. It was instant, with no showmanship. No curtain or lovely assistant for this magic trick. Zach opened his mouth, but closed it immedietly before looking to Judah with an expression that could be surmised as 'The fuck did you bring in here?'

As Judah listened to her speak, she paused to sip the delicious hot liquid. Suddenly, in the middle of her drink, Gaia transformed into a man with a police coat. The transition was instantaneous, with no warning. In fact, it seemed to even surprise the man when he swore immediately afterwards. Judah happened to be in the middle of a long sip when the transformation occurred. Unfortunately for Gaia/Dunn, Judah was so surprised he spat the beverage directly into their face. Judah dropped his mug, the cocoa spilling unto the floor as he reached for his gun. He stopped himself before unholstering it. Judah instead stood up and questioned him,"What was that!?" Axel barked in confusion and growled at Dunn. He had obviously never experienced such a strange thing.

Dunn lowered his hands to grab his shirt, rubbing his face clean of the scalding cocoa (which clearly left his face with some burns). "... y'know those parahuman things? I'm one of them. Well... we're two of them; we switch back and forth. Randomly. I'm Dunn by the way." Dunn was clearly not happy when he said that, and he was somewhat right to be unhappy as he just had cocoa spat in his face. His hands were back in the air as he spoke again. "Thanks for the burns."

Zach's gaze locked back onto 'Gaia' as 'he' cleaned himself up from Judah's coffee-saliva mix. 'He' explained 'his' power, that there were two different people in the same body, and this one was apparently named Dunn. He hesitated before speaking up for the first time. "I can understand why you didn't immediately come clean about being a parahuman." He wanted to offer some friendly remark but hesitated. That may be a bit too forward, and he felt like it would make Judah suspicious. He thought for a second before continuing. "Since Judah is being so kind as to let you into his home, maybe you should explain your power in its entirety-or at least what you understand about it." His voice was hesitant, and he spoke slowly.

Judah gradually relaxed his posture as he listened to Dunn and Zach. The room's mood went from alarmed into something more akin to stillness. Even Axel picked up on this and stopped growling. Judah nodded at Zach's comment and agreed,"Yes, why don't you give us the full rundown of your powers." He had completly ignored Dunn's comment about the burns. He thought he'd probably deserved it anyway.

"I transform between me and my sister randomly, and when we transform we go to the last state the other was in... I can also talk to Gaia in my mind," explained Dunn. He didn't really know how it worked to be honest, all he knew was that it worked out pretty well so far. "That's all I know about it at the moment, and how I got it was... awful. Just awful."

"It is unfair to ask about, um" Zach paused, trying to think of the word. "Trigger events." He said, remembering what he had forgotten since high school. "I thought most trigger event were caused by happy stuff, like the strong ones, but-" He stopped himself before he let loose too much information about himself. Zach had got strangely comftorable already, which was an odd thing. Normally the thought that he should be anxious would make him anxious but that didn't work either. The infinite regression was therein stopped and he drank some of the hot cocoa before him instead of worrying about it. Before the liquid could touch his tongue its momentum was stopped inside the cup. Presuming no one had seen the small moment of the liquid being still, he sighed as he set it back down on the table.

Judah scratched his stubble in thought as he listened to Dunn explain the workings of their powers. All this parahuman's psychological and emotional signs pointed to him being honest. Could their group use a parahuman who transformed randomly? It sounded like more trouble than it was worth. However, the ability to communicate with an entirely other being within the mind could prove invaluable. After all, Judah did it all the time. He slowly lowered himself to the chair and for the first time since the fight with Necro, felt the numbness in his neck. He rubbed it absentmindedly. The black handprint on the side of it could easily be mistaken for a very well done tattoo. Judah waved his hand dismissively after Zach spoke about skipping the trigger events and added, "You're right, those things are very personal and trust must be gained before they're spoken of," he paused for a moment and continued, "However, that means you have to earn our trust too. You wouldn't mind if I looked through your bag would you?" It sounded more like a command then a question. As he spoke he imparted the thought into Dunn/Gaia, "We'd better do as he says." Axel was still confused but calmed down somewhat.

Almost instinctively, Dunn almost eased up to the idea of this guy talking to him and asking to search through his bag, responding to the question with a simple "Alright," before continuing. Gaia, on the other hand, actively opposed this idea. "What the hell Dunn? What's gotten into you?" "I dunno, I just think it's a good idea." "I swear this is going to go so far south." "Oh hush, maybe it won't." When Judah would look through the bag, he would find a half-eaten bag of Chex Mix, a standard issue handgun with bullets accompanying it, a series of crumpled up cash, and a notebook of various intel for the mission the twins were on beforehand. While Judah would be sifting through the bag, Dunn spoke up to ask a question to the two men. "I assume you guys are also parahumans? What can you guys do?"

As was the pattern, Zach hesitated slightly before responding. He figured keeping the general idea of his power concealed was a lost cause at this point. "Judah, do you have, like a baseball or something? I can demonstrate mine if it suits you two." He said, before blowing on his cocoa and trying to drink it again. This time his power let some through, just cool enough to not burn his mouth. He smiled slightly, before setting the cup down. His face turned more neutral as he made eye contact with the two people present, while waiting for a response.

Judah rummaged through the bag and found everything inside. When he pulled out the handgun he cocked it back finding ammunition and set it down on the table louder than necessary. He ignored his comment about being parahuman and spoke up, "You mind telling me what you were planning to do with this?" When Zach answered back admitting his status as a parahuman, Judah shot him a look of bewilderment, as if to say, "You're kidding me right?" The air shifted from stillness into volatility as Judah's anger kindled all around them. He was not always as in control as he wanted to be. Axel whimpered slightly in response. As Judah regained his composure the air coolled off around them. "There's no denying it now," Judah said with a resigned smirk. He turned to Axel and shouted, "Fetch!" Axel bounded away happily and brought a tennis ball over to Judah and 'handed' it to him. Judah took the ball, patting Axel's head, and suddenly threw it with all speed directly at Zach's face.

"I didn't get anything like laser-palms or stuff like that when I triggered, and I'm largely acting as an independent cape right now... so..." explained Dunn, trying his hardest to answer the question. What he said was true, that he couldn't really fight without anything to get him leverage on an opponent, so he carried around the gun for the firepower. He still wasn't sure why it changed to the nightstick when the twins swapped, but he really didn't question it. The situation quickly devolved into slight chaos as Judah threw a baseball with sheer force at Zach's head. Dunn didn't really react to it, but Gaia spoke up in his head. "That's gonna hurt a fuckton."

It was easy to tell Judah was more than a little mad, but Zach felt confident in his decision. Judah pushing anger into the air had the effect of making Zach feel attacked, and so made him feel more justified. At Judah's command his dog retrieved a tennis ball, and rewarded the dog. Zach sat with his arms crossed as the gruff looking man suddenly threw the tennis ball full force at his face. He flinched slightly after it collided with his shield, his power stopping it in its track. It was a elastic material, so the sudden stop didn't damage it at all, thankfully. The ball dropped into Zach's hand which he had moved to catch it. He lobbed it back to Judah, and gave a cocky smile to the two present.

Judah gestured to Zach and commented, "He's a walking forcefield and I.." he paused for a moment considering whether or not to go through with a reveal. It would be the best way to create trust, but Judah didn't know if Gaia/Dunn could be trusted. Zach had already proven himself by jumping in front of a deadly object, saving his life. He pondered in his head for a moment, "Life isn't worth living without running a few risks." Then he spoke up, "I can manipulate and sense other people's emotions." As he talked the vibe of the room became somber and slow. It was as if someone had layed a cold wet blanket on them. A few seconds later it became nearly suffocatingly hot and stiffling. Passion billowed in them and their midst. All at once, it ceased. Axel was visibly agitated, but when everything went back to normal he padded over to the spilled cocoa, and did what dogs always do. Licked it up. The room was quiet for a moment with the only sounds coming from the lapping of Axel.

Dunn was quietly experiencing these phases of different emotions, and he wasn't very surprised at the lot of these feelings (except the suffocating one, that got him). Gaia was busy in her own mind at the time, and it'd be preferred to keep what she was thinking about to herself for the time being. After all of the emotions settled, Dunn looked over at Axel and decided to say something about the dog that probably should be brought up. "... Isn't chocolate dangerous for dogs to consume...?"

Zach listened to Judah explain his power, interested to finally hear it. Suddenly a cold chill swept through the room, making Zach feel sluggish. He was surprised by how seamless this power was, how little he could notice its prescense. The room then became hot with passion, and making Zach want to jog or something. Axel responded in similar ways to Zach, before licking the hot cocoa up. At Dunn's comment, a sigh escaped Zach's lips before he responded, "No, not in small amounts.", He drank more of his hot chocalate, waiting for an actual response. 

Judah looked at Axel quickly at the mention of him ingesting the hot chocolate,"Sit." Axel obediently stopped licking it up and sat, but had a look that said, "Aw man." Judah sank back into his chair. It had been a long day and this was the straw that would break the proverbial camel's back. When he had finished rubbing his tired eyes, he spoke quietly but firmly, "Now that we've all become aquainted with one another's powers, I think it would be best if we verbalized our true intentions," he said as he looked into Dunn/Gaia's eyes, "It is no accident that you came here tonight. We are starting a group... a vigilante team, if you will. The PRT are incapable of protecting the people of this city from the monsters that inhabit it. They have too many guidelines, too many rules," he paused for a long moment, "We don't have that problem."

"... well damn. I feel like if I don't join I'm gonna be hunted down by one of you," Dunn replied jokingly. He got a bit of a weird vibe in the back of his head from Judah, while Zach simply seemed like that guy who would buy you a mug of beer and have you in a round of pool. "Thankfully, I'm interested besides that intimidation factor." Dunn didn't expect himself to join in a group like this (or any for that matter), more or less he decided to act alone as his own unit in order to bring down the human trafficking in Denver. In the trainee cop's head, Gaia piped up and asked something about Cassidy. "We're not going after Cassidy, I assume?" "No. That bounty was sent out to a lot of people, so someone at the PRT had to have received a message about it. She'd be okay in their hands." "Well... alright then."

Slowly Zach nodded in agreement with Judah, seeming to Dunn to have heard the sales pitch already. At the mention of no rules a smile flickered across his face. That was the ticket, the part he enjoyed. They were the good guys after all, nothing should inhibit their progress. He turned to Dunn as he started speaking, and smiled again as he spoke of being hunted down. That wouldn't be a problem, heroes don't hunt heroes. Dunn continued on to say he was interested in joining, and Zach nodded. With every second his us vs. them mentality was getting stronger.

Things were moving along quickly, just the way Judah liked them to. The question was now, where would they begin from here? A name is what they needed, every legitimate vigilante group had one. But what would their's be? Judah glanced at Zach and Dunn while petting Axel's head. After a few seconds he responded to Dunn, "No, we won't be doing any hunting of good guys. It's the bad one's we're after. I am glad you're interested in joining. We don't have a name yet, what do you guys think? I suppose we should include Gaia in this decision. Let us know what she says."

Dunn quickly discussed with Gaia about joining this group. "Last chance to speak up if you don't want to join." "I'm cool with joining, final answer." "Y'sure?" "Yes, you fuckin' nerd. Make sure the name is badass!" After their mini conversation was over, Dunn returned to the group of men with Gaia's response. "She's down for us joining this, and our only request for the name is that it's badass as hell." The group wouldn't be running around as something like 'The Hero Team', as that's just vague and shoddy, clearly not something that would be proper for a team like this. "Maybe something like 'The Union'?"

There was a buzz in there, and excited elation was starting to emanate from Zach. He stared at his feet, trying hard to come up with a name. Dunn suggested "The Union" but that was a bit vague. He shook his head, looking up at the two of them.  "The Confederacy? That sounds kinda racist though..." He said, trailing off.  "Maybe something cliche like 'The Omega force?'" He shrugged.

Judah shook his head at the names, "Too generic, what about Lethal Force?" Judah seemed pretty proud of himself for the name. It fit so well. They were not bound by the rules of the PRT or other groups. As long as they did not get caught using it, they would have an ace up their sleeves. "If there are no objections let's make it official. We could even start our own clothing line if things got real good," Judah smirked at his own joke. If there were no objections, Judah planned on bringing their meeting to a close. He was tired from his fight with Necro and needed rest. Judah gave Dunn/Gaia his number and told them that they should keep in contact. It would not be their last get together, but the first of many. There was an energy in the air now, untapped potential. The possibilities felt almost limitless. As the moon shone through the night sky, their team became a reality. Was Denver safer for it? Only time would tell, but one thing was for certain, Lethal Force was a freaking cool name.

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