Letter Bee

The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

((Collab Post between Letter Bee, Rofis Mazoy, and perhas NarcissticPotato))

Present Day

Alto sighed as a brick whistled past his head, his heightened reflexes allowing him to dodge the missile with ease. This is so troublesome. he thought. Some protestors were behind him, clearly against meta-humans, trying to do something or other. Ever since some kind of announcement happened that he hadn’t been there for, it seemed that the entire population of Los Angeles was divided into people with meta-humans and people against them. That meant that stuff like getting a brick thrown at your head was now becoming common for meta-humans everywhere.

Looking over his shoulder, the people he was ‘up-against’ really looked like they were spoiling for a fight. If he didn’t do something, some other unlucky bastard was probably going to end up lynched. But lasering them wouldn’t even count as self-defence if the other guys all had top-of-the-line heavy machineguns. His power was an A-rank and self-defence only works if your weapon is less deadly than theirs.

If he even punched them out with his robot arm it wouldn’t count considering they were all armed with bricks and glass bottles. That just left his right arm which in comparison with his left was not much weaker, pretty redundant and about 1000% lamer. Ever since he got his robot arm, he’d been ambidextrous and while his right arm had more feeling, his left arm didn’t get muscle cramps.

Still, he did know some basic martial arts. He’d done a little before he’d dived straight into science when he was 10, and since he’d gotten kicked out of Aperture straight after the incident, he’d had some time to learn some more. There was also the fact that most of his programs were lethal and since he’d started doing actual hero work, he couldn’t just go and kill everyone.

Walking towards the jeering thugs, he started to recount the events that led to him getting fired from Aperture...

Flashback

Constantine Ramiel King, thanks to his 'mental conditions', had a larger battery than most. But, when he got to the fourth level of Aperture base, it was quite clear that the enemy was catching up to his bag of tricks, and, in fact, were carrying heavier arms than his threat level merited. Of course, heavier arms made them less nimble, so the veteran spy - although he didn't look like it just now, managed to get away from more groups, and even managed to steal some heavy arms from a group whom he managed to pull the 'they're becoming Eldritch monsters' trick on - this time, he used an illusion of a mutating gas, a gas that resembled some of Aperture's projects - Constantine had ways of finding out stuff besides hacking; specifically, seduction.

Anyway, better armed now, he transformed himself into a monster made up of living poop; hopefully, the oncoming enemy would be so disgusted that they would flee, not bothering to notice that it didn't smell bad - because there was no smell at all. And that, was when he encountered Alto.

Alto had been watching from his perch for a while now. He had his arm on the camera under him to keep an eye on the guest, and he kept an eye out because he wasn't exactly welcome here. He'd run into a few squads, now they were mostly in half a little bit out of the way somewhere. Anyhow, he'd managed to find a camera connected to the underground surveillance system and used it to observe the super spy on the loose.

Didn't think he'd pull that eldritch stuff again. He thought, observing his transformation from his perch nearby. The invader had conveniently made his way near Alto's little hiding spot. The spy started transforming, changing his shape and becoming bigger. Alto thought that the super-spy was doing something cool, then he turned into" a massive turd. Dude, seriously? He thought incredulously. No one would fall for that! And yet the soldiers did. Even though they had guns. Some of them were learning however, and now they were training their guns on the massive turd. Intervention time! He thought, as he jumped out of cover, his energy blade whipping out.

Taking the soldiers by surprise, he quickly cut down the few that were left and then stood facing the currently shitty spy.

"What the hell are you on right now?" He questioned him.

Constantine saw Alto cut through the enemy troops turning to shoot him, and his first thoughts were...uncharitable, specifically that it might be a trap by Aperture to get someone to trust him. Then, he loooked at the young man's eyes and listened to his voice, and decided that those, as well as his body language, carried an idealism and innocence that sounded genuine. And so, the man shed his disguise, revealing himself to be a handsome man clad in stolen body armor - meaning that the enemy's bullets wouldn't have harmed him - and wearing spectacles.

"Nothing, really, I don't do drugs or intoxicants; although I can make others think I've done so. I just, well, I copied a monster from a Web Serial I've read, Brennus. Same for the Eldritch Stuff, too. Anyway," he continued, cloaking the two of them in an invisibility field, "my name's Insert, an infiltrator. What's yours?"

Alto had never really considered having an alias yet. He'd actually done some mercenary work under aliases but he hadn't really like any of them. He considered just telling Insert his name, but that would be pretty stupid. Well, he wasn't really with Aperture and if he helped him the guy probably wouldn't tell. He'd have to come up with an alias later, because they really didn't have all day in there.

But besides that, even though he had a vest on, using a massive turd as a disguise still wasn't a good plan. Someone who would use novels for inspiration in a life or death situation would normally make you think that they might have a mental problem. Still, in a world of meta humans, he guessed being a massive turd was better than being shot at? Actually, maybe not.

"Just call me Alto for now." He said finally. Then he realized he'd forgotten what he'd actually come down for. "What's your problem with Aperture anyway?"

"They've taken two Metas prisoner. One is Ruby, a Techopath who, though a murdress and a criminal, is one because of mistreatment from the faction I'm intent on reforming. While setting her free would allow her to kill more people, it's better than letting Aperture control her, while we...we've lost the right to lock her up. The other, is an actual Heroine, Cypress, who used to work for Aperture but broke away from them, only to be captured later. I believe now that she's shown her disloyalty, they're going to brainwash her." Constantine answered in a wary voice. Dangit all, he was a veteran; how can he keep making rookie mistakes?

Frowning a little, Alto thought for a bit. He knew of Cypress, or Friction at any rate, not Cypress herself. She was quite famous around Aperture, for being their resident miracle worker. She'd broken away some amount of time ago but he'd hardly paid attention because he was busy with his robot arm obsession. Ruby, he didn't know. He knew that being a technopath murderer criminal was very easy in the modern age, but the three of those didn't necessarily have to be interconnected. Still, he didn't really care about the criminal records, he was mainly thinking about what Aperture wanted with them.

Cypress was a given, she did work for the company. If she betrayed them, they'd want her back. But Ruby was a different story. Alto knew Aperture's current technopath, and if Aperture would capture any other technopath and take them to the facility, they would probably be a more powerful or useful one. Their current techno-path had once taken a look at his arm and the technopath had said it wasn't really technology. That was when Alto found out it was actually biological, and it ended with Alto calling his arm the Bio-Weapon.

Realizing that he'd probably been thinking too long, he turned back to Insert to reply.

"Cypress I do know, Ruby I don't know." He said finally. "I have a general idea of where they're held. I checked the system earlier and there's some major security covering a lower sector in the facility." Thinking back, he had found what seemed to be an elevator shaft with a high concentration of surveillance cameras for some reason or another. He hadn't checked them, because the Super-Spy was in another sector. That shaft was probably their best bet. "If there's high security, that means something to hide. That'll probably be where your targets are."

Constantine grinned.

"Thanks, thank you a lot. Now," he said with an enthusiasm that belied his actual age (30) "let's go!" and with that, he used his image-altering powers to disguise himself and Alto as two of the enemy; the last two remnants of the strike team. That would give them more freedom.

They then started to walk to the shaft...

Timeskip

Cypress had been contained in a deep glass cell, knocked out by a special suit that had been modified to give her an electric shock that disabled her powers. Thankfully, Constantine and Alto had broken into the room - after hewing down some guards who disbelieved their alibi - before any more damage can be done. Nevertheless, Cypress was still knocked out, which enabled Constantine to disable the suit's shock systems.

Then, he carried the woman over his shoulder, and spoke to Alto:

"Do you think we should rescue Ruby as well, or are we pushing our luck?" Constantine knew the answer to the question, but wanted to test Alto's instincts.

"Considering the fact that you triggered literally all the alarms back in the main part of the facility, I don't think we could really be pushing our luck any further than we already have." Ruby was yet deeper in the facility. They'd entered from the top but there was still more to go. However, he could see the elevator itself at the bottom. That meant someone was actually there besides Ruby. But, as far as he knew, almost all of the guards had been stationed to take care of Mr. Super-Spy and Alto and him had left them behind a ways back. There couldn't possibly be much more down there. "We may as well, right?"

Present Day

Alto finished his flashback as his right fist crashed into the last hoodlum's face, perhaps knocking a few teeth loose, definitely putting him out of commision. The rest of the small gang lay at his feet, dazed and groaning. He'd made sure not to use his left arm, keeping it behind his back for pretty much the entire fight. There were enough witnesses clustered around to say that he was acting in self-defence and now he could leave with impunity.

Walking along the street, he sighed to himself. I'm a hero now, aren't I? He thought wearily. He was out of Aperture, and now he was kind of freelance. He'd joined the heroes but he was still doing some mercenary work. Still, he didn't have an alias yet. Raising his left arm in the air, he tried to think of something cool. Metal arm? Lame. Super fist? Even worse. Lazer dude? No. Sighing, he out his arm down again. This arm was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Before the arm, yeah he'd been a genius, but that wasn't what he wanted. Granted, the robot arm wasn't exactly what he truly wanted either but it was as close as he was going to get. Best of all, the Bio-Weapon was his. No one else was going to have it but him.

Hmm... What about Bio-Weapon? He thought suddenly. Yeah, I like the sound of that. It made him sound truly dangerous, something to be feared. And there was even a splash of irony, he was technically a Bio-Weapon right now. It felt right, he knew now he'd found his alias.

Bio-Weapon walked down the street, hood pulled over his head, right hand in pocket, left arm glinting in the afternoon sun.

The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

Teal said
Posted. Kinda rushed it through. I'm not really good at introductions.

It's okay.

RumikoOhara said
Okay my Loathing of Titan Pad is complete so I'll write it down here in the OOCAperture Labs is if not obvious the Big Bad and Doc Taylor is a Villain of epic size and scope. For that reason I will now say that much of what I'm about to say is Out Of Character Information.Doctor Taylor is a Meta and an A class at that. He has money, connections, power and his own private army. His company has been developing weapons and tactics to take down Meta humans for the government and Avalon is a privatized prison run for several governments.Running a prison for Meta gives Doctor Taylor access to Meta which for reasons yet to be disclosed makes him very creepy and dangerous. Presently his facility Avalon isn't completely up to full spec so it would be a good time to attack, later an about half or all of the raiders would be captured. This is because none of you know how Avalon works or it abilities.I plan on making a huge chink in Avalon's armor on the next post so the heros and Mercs can raid it an get away.I will send Tater a packet of Data she has from her previous raid which will reveal Taylor's sicker aimsRaid Avalon if you want but remember you are raid a prison designed to hold MetasIn othe words it should seem like a cakewalk

Thanks! Anyway, I'll be posting the first part of the collab, then.

The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

Of course! We can actually do it now, if you want. Just follow the link on my PM to you!

Edit: I'm available till 7:30 PM, Philippine Time; today is 6:28.

The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

Yeah, why not?

The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

Posted! Go go Reform Council go!

The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

((Collab Post beteween Mass City and Letter Bee))

The 'Secret Headquarters' of the Internal Reformist faction in Los Angeles was situated in Elena's Apartment, an apartment that, though small and a little cramped, had as its advantage that it was regularly checked for bugs, and was booby-trapped itself, as a matter of course, its inhabitant being an FBI Agent. There, in the living room, was a round table, with only three human occupants and several video-screens open. Those three human occupants were Cedric, Constantine, and Elena, while the faces on the video-screens belonged to people of varying status; some of them were students or student leaders, others minor government officials and agents, while the last one was Gary Stuart, a Metahuman who, instead of working for a Coroporation, ran one.

Yes, he's a Registered Metahuman, a 'Hot'. Either way, the objective of this meeting was clear: How to respond to the riots and protests against Metahumanity going on?

"All their lives, Humans -Meta or Not - have defined themselves against an Other, a 'foriegn' prescence that is not of them, and thus is to be treated with different rules than they treat each other," Constantine was now speaking. "We've seen it before, during the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, and more. And this situation is made much worse by the fact that in this question of prejudice, no side is completely right; both sides commit atrocities." He could almost be one of the student leaders, the way he spoke. "We need to stop this, we need to break the cycle, and we need to show that we are better than our ancestors. We must cast aside fear and hate, and embrace the fact that if no one is innocent, then no one should throw stones."

"And that," he then smiled at one of the student leaders, "is how you're going to give your speech tomorrow, once we start the Pro-Metahuman Protests." He then turned to Gary. "Gary, can you arrange your own Corporate Metas to protect the protests, discreetly, of course? Elena, how much do you know of the planned Government response to the riots? Would they protect both pro-and-anti protesters?"

"They will dispatch the LAPD and LASD (Sherriff's Department) in full riot gear. Also from what I heard there is rumblings from Sacremento and the Governor declaring LA an emergency area. The Government I think will distance it's self from a terrible situation. They are getting ready for something and this could not have come at a worse time for them. The President canceled his Hawaiian Vacation and is flying back to DC. From what LAPD standing orders are and I quote Chief Richardson. "If and when there are protests crack heads, doesn't matter who, just crack heads." Elena took a sip of her soda.

"I still think we let the government make it's own mistakes. We are a year out from a major election, the world stage is crap, so we hope the court's and the next guy in the Oval Office sides with us." Elena knew her protests would be viewed ... well not positively.

"I agree with Elena," spoke Cedric finally. Part of his reasoning was simple attachment, but not all; Cedric had a rational argument, and the boy continued, giving it:

"I agree with Elena because, as you know, I am the most pessimistic one of the group - and for good reason. Push too hard, too early, and all you'll end up doing is demolishing the movement. Like it or not, we lack resources except for Gary, the only reason the Government isn't cracking down on us is because they think we're a bunch of naive idealists - which is true," he looked at Constantine, "and, face it, our secret-keeping relies on, well, people not asking about us; people understimating us."

"It's hard not to be underestimated when we actually do something of note," he finally finished. "If our raid on Aperture had succeeded, the backlash could destroy us completely."*

"I think that it's you who's been underestimating us," spoke Gary Stuart, a red-haired, green eyed person in a black suit, whose face was as handsome as a Reniassance painting. "You forget, the riots and rioters would be concentrating at Aperture, because Friction - the one who was seen talking to Ruby - works there. This can serve as a distraction from my attempts at a hostile takeover - StuCorp will have their hides for this."

"That may be," spoke Cedric, "but, one more thing. If the Police do become brutal at the Pro-Metahuman Protesters, we gain sympathy. If the Police crack the heads of the Anti-Metahuman Rioters, that means a few less who will be walking the streets.Doing nothing would be a viable option."

"What we should be doing," spoke Constantine with unintentional harshness - he liked Cedric, "is finding out who the firebrand behind the Anti-Metahuman Protests is. All we know is that he is a charismatic person, with enough resources and know-how to hijack a TV Signal, and that's it. I also suspect that he's a member of a group, and probably one with some secret and widespread influence."

"Let's just say," the bespectacled man continued, "that we are facing a conspiracy here, even as we are a conspiracy."

"NSA, CIA, Homeland Security are all looking for this guy. We at the Bureau being told to find this guy by Director Grantham and AG Milner. I heard the order came from the right hand of the President. They don't want domesitc issues to bog down the public's attention. The administration wants to focus on Russia and ISIS. They don't want people looking at the meta problem. They want people looking at the good economy, the lack of terrorist attacks, and Russia wanting to be the Soviet Union again. This, screws it all up!." Elena pulled out a beer.

Elena opened the beer and took a swig, "Stu, you know regulators are gonna block you on your takeover. You are in Davis Lawton's sights." Lawton was the "right hand of the President." Stuart had hurt Lawton's position as a senator in the midterms. But the President brought him on as chief of staff. "Look LA is gonna burn. There must be riots people will protest but most of the violent actions will be by people looking to get a new TV. There may be agitators but they won't be government, at least as far as I know." Elena took a swig of the beer.

"I don't like this, and I'm the 30-year old CIA/FBI/Etc Spy," spoke Constantine.

"I don't like this, and I'm the 'heartless' corporate mogul," said Gary.

"Nevertheless," spoke Cedric with conviction, "We have to make sacrifices for both Liberty and Equality. A few riots where we win either way is not as big a sacrifice as most people in power make."

"Fine," spoke Constantine, "but I want to at least do something, if only to distract from the riots."

"Well, any other business?"

"I and Constantine would like to hunt down Nightingale and Elijah," spoke up Cedric. "Isn't there an official mission to do just that?"

"I could but I would have to sell it to my boss." Elena knew Constatine would be allowed but the child was viewed as a laiblity.

Cedric saw Elena's expression, and said:

"All right, I get ya. So, order of business done?"

"It's done," spoke a disappointed Gary, who was joined by several other student leaders.

"Good night then." Elena shut off the monitors.

And with that, Constantine and Cedric turned to leave...

END

*Cedric doesn't know stuff that at least Cypress had been rescued.

The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

Understood; I'll prepare a Timeskip post shortly.

A World of Progressive Magic: The Magical Peace Corps

Work is continuing and progressing.

The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

@Potato, Okay, does this mean that I should Timeskip Cedric and Constantine, ending their arcs? Or should I continue them as usual? What I'm asking is, what does your post mean for my characters?

The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

RoflsMazoy said
To anyone who's curious about the first arc, I've read enough of the IC to make a plot summary.

The first arc involved trying to protect/kill a mexican(?) gang boss called Caro. A new gang appeared in LA which apparently took over everything in east LA and this unlucky dude got in a car accident while he had cocaine on him. He was arrested and then it turned out he was the leader of the whole gang. The gang then started to do a whole bunch of stuff other than fight other gangs and it was so bad that they decided to make a deal for Caro. He would tell them info on all of their mercs and he would get away free.

Basically, all the PCs were supposed to try to protect him or try to kill him. Skip about 4 pages and most of the PCs from the start have mysteriously disappeared leaving Cypress (friction), Ruby (tech master), Elijah (fiery black guy), Nightingale (Dunno what's up with her), to duke it out and the winner was coming out with Caro's ass in tow.

Ruby and Cypress ended up talking it out on the roof and then they got taken away by Aperture, while Elijah ended up beating Nightingale and then he set Caro on fire. Things were definitely looking down for Caro, him being on fire and Nightingale knocked out, but then came a Deus Ex Machina in the form of the child soldier Cedric and William(not a child soldier). They put him out and resuscitated him and William carried him somewhere.

Then Cedric ran away and literally five seconds later he turns back around and Nightingale decided to team up with Elijah to go to Aperture and do something or other. Then he calls for backup because both of the guys in the next room could probably wipe the floor with his ass any day of the week. Ruby and Cypress are currently in cells down under a mining rig of some sort which now has take-down squads all over the place, new-guy Constantine right in the middle of them and Alto (my guy) coming down to help.

Reposted.

@Rozen, where do you live?