Supermaxx

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

<Snipped quote by ErsatzEmperor>

You get the sloppy seconds.

@Retired

Yeah, those are my Bieber dicks.

Gobonauts: Invisible Invasion (Recruiting!)

@Fabricant451@Rebirth@Zza

Just checking in to see if ya'll are still sticking with us and, if you are, how progress on your character sheets are going. I'm hoping to kick stuff off in the next two weeks or so, ideally, so I'll need an accurate head count.

Superboy's Shitty Characters

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The Blue Beetle stars in...The Runaway: Issue #4

Previous Issue

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Unknown SHIELD Facility

The elevator doors sliding open was matched by the sliding of rifle bolts. That threshold was met with the cavernous roar of a dozen guns, each pouring hellish amounts of fire into the tightly backed interior. Jaime didn't have even a moment to prepare himself before he felt the sting of exploded rounds striking against his body.

If he wasn't wearing the Scarab's chitin Reyes would've been torn apart in less than a second. Still, he felt every individual shot ring against his chest and against his skull. The armor squirmed, hardening like steel around every super-sonic bullet, catching it in that liquid shell. Most of the energy was successfully diluted and absorbed; but a volley of thousands was nearly enough to overwhelm the Scarab's natural defenses.

Reyes let out a blood-curdling scream, equal parts pain and terror, as he felt burning lead stab into his gut. He threw his arms up in front of his face, letting the bullets stop inside of his arms instead of his skull. Anguish spread like fire through his sinew and marrow, forcing the boy down to his knees. He'd never been shot before...it was a pain without compare.

Another sound played in synchrony with his cry. A far less human shriek, like that of the damned. It's meaning was less clear to Jaime than the one upon his own lips. The Scarab's emotions were...less than human, and difficult to read.

Was it pain that Khaji Da felt?

Or was it rage?

Either worked in equal measure, Reyes realized, as he felt his own arms lower of their own accord. He felt them shift unnaturally, melting and melding with the chitinous exterior until a pair of wicked blades were all that was left.

Both pain and rage were sufficient motivators to violence.

This was the first time Jaime didn't immediately black out when Khaji Da took control. It was the first time he would get to see what the Scarab was like in action.

It was somewhere between a beautiful dance and a stomach-churning massacre.

Every movement of the Beetle was quick, precise and measured. Jaime felt himself lurch, his arm splaying out toward the closest SHIELD agent. These men were armored, surrounded in a shell of plastics and titanium plating. Soldiers. Yet even still, those wicked, wicked blades wielded on Reyes's arms seemed to slice through them as if the armor wasn't even there.

Both of the first man's arms were sliced deep, straight to the marrow. Hee let out a terrible, agonized cry as he hit the floor. Khaji Da knelt down, the blades retracting to let his fingers take hold of the agent's fallen firearm. It was automatic assault rifle of unknown make and model- likely a SHIELD exclusive tool for dealing with beings like the Scarab.

Their weapons proved less than adequate this day.

Thin, snaking tendrils coiled from the chitin, grasping the gun like a hundred tiny fingers. They pulled and tugged at it, dragging the rifle down into the ever-growing mass of otherworldly material. Jaime felt just a little sick as he watched the two become one.

His ears rang painfully at the cacophony of gunfire that followed. Each of the eleven soldiers sent to apprehend them went down, his or her limbs exploding in a crimson mist as they went down. Reyes wanted to protest the sickening sight, but the pain in his stomach told him that Khaji Da had done what was needed.

'At least they're still...alive...'

The sentiment rang hollow, but there was no time to think on it any further. Life and death hung by a thread, and it was all Jaime could do to press onward. He ran from the elevator, making a break for the large gate on the other end of the room. Stacks of cargo crates strapped together filled the room, standing sentinel beside barrels of what Reyes assumed to be oil or gasoline.

His arm transformed once more, the newly assimilated rifle mutating into the Scarab's plasma cannon. Reyes raised the heavy device, his teeth gritting together as he felt streams of heat bow over him. An explosive sphere of energy tore the door in twain, melting through several inches of solid steel like it was tissue paper. Climbing through, Reyes was hit in the face by two things:

A massive gust of wind, and the realization that he couldn't see anything but clouds for miles. No land, no sea, no trees; at first he thought a fog must've fallen over the airstrip, but it was made readily apparent that was not the case.

"Uhh...Where are we?"

'We appear to be twenty four thousand feet above sea level."

Reyes could only scoff at the ridiculousness of the claim. "Well how the hell are we gonna get outta here, ese? Can...we fly?"

'Not yet. Approach that pad to your right.'

He turned, eyeing up the ground. It took him a second to take notice of the square indent in the metal. "A trap door?" He muttered, starting toward it at a jog. He felt unsteady in the beating, merciless embrace of the zephyr. "What's under here-" Hesitant fingers reached down into the indent, finding some purchase underneath. With a heave Jaime lifted, surprised by how easily it seemed to give way. Metal screeched in protest as gears were turned. Something-likely a safety lock- snapped.

The doors were forced open, revealing the vehicle nestled inside. Some kind of fighter jet, Jaime could tell, though it wasn't a model or design he was familiar with. "So this is how we get outta here? Can you fly this thing?"

'Not exactly. Place your hand upon it.'

Reyes reached down and did so, and immediately felt a shock run through his fingers. He watched the armor on his arm bend away, revealing the flesh underneath as it splayed out over the metallic hull of the airplane. Tendrils of ebony snaked around toward the back end of the jet, wrapping their inhuman feelers around the engine.

With a heave and a monstrous tug, Khaji Da broke the engine off the back of the jet, dragging the hefty object toward Jaime. Another merger, much like what had happened with the gun, made Jaime's skin crawl- literally, in this case.

"What're you-" His mouth snapped shut when he felt something stab into his back. Craning his neck over his shoulder let the teenager catch a glimpse of the mutating hunk of technology now protruding from his back. It looked like what an ant might conceive to be a jetpack- covered in a hard shell and pulsating like a living entity. It was a disconcerting sight, to say the least.

Khaji Da wasn't going to give his human host time to process what was happening. 'I will explain when we are out of danger. Running flight protocols.'

Jaime's body jerked upward without any further warning fast enough for his head to whip forward, his chin smacking his chest. He briefly wondered of this was how his dog felt whenever he tugged on her leash- if he was tugging her at somewhere between mach 1 and 30 through open air.

His terrified, less-than-dignified screams were cut short after they'd risen high enough for Jaime to get a full look at the structure he'd been kept prisoner on. Or, more accurately, the flying aircraft carrier he'd been on.

"Shit." He whispered under his breath, eyes as wide as saucers. "That's...cool."

Then he heard something of a sputtering from behind him. Then he stopped going up.

And started falling down.

'Odd.' Khaji Da started, amidst the screams for help from his young partner in crime. Ignoring the prayers for help from the boy, the Scarab attempted to rationalize what was happening. 'Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier, Jaime Reyes, but when I was reactivated in the interrogation room, I noticed that several of my files had been corrupted. Included in these were memory, mission parameters, and several of my unit's basic functionalities such as flight controls-'

"Holy shit!" Jaime screeched, his arms flailing helplessly through the clouds as he plummeted toward the earth at terminal velocity. "I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. You killed me- you fucking killed me-"

'Not to worry, Jaime Reyes. This unit is designed to survive atmospheric reentry. We should be perfectly safe.'

"S-SHOULD BE?!"

'Theoretically.'

So Jaime Reyes screamed. And he screamed. And he screamed some more, until his throat was too raw too continued. He screamed until the clouds broke and he saw the ground approaching.

Then he hit.

And everything went black.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

<Snipped quote by Hound55>

But then how will I get exposed to lethal levels of radiation and become a superhero?

@Retired

Lethal levels of anything?

Sign me the fuck up.

Gobonauts: Invisible Invasion (Recruiting!)

@MelkorYup, just put 'em up here for approval.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

Using some painkillers that minimize the issues with my neck until my appointment, but I still intend to write through it. I'm not MIA-ing for 2-3 weeks.

@Inkarnate

That sounds like a real pain in the neck. _{im sorry hope you get better}

Gobonauts: Invisible Invasion (Recruiting!)

Yeah, I'd still love to do it if we've got some people still around. More or less just waiting on character sheets at the moment.

Time and setting is modern day, during the summer. Probably around mid-July.

Gobonauts: Invisible Invasion (Recruiting!)

Is this still a thing @Superboy?

@Melkor

There hasn't been a great deal of traction, I'm afraid.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

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The Blue Beetle stars in...The Runaway: Issue #3

Previous Issue

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Unknown SHIELD Facility

The klaxons blaring in the distance were a grim reminder of where Jaime was, if the bleak steel walls weren't enough. He was trapped in the center of a labyrinth of nearly identical hallways and rooms, being pursued by men who sought to end his life for a crime he didn't commit. The only thing that gave him even the slightest chance at getting out alive was the alien that had forcibly bound itself to Reyes's body. He didn't know what the creature was or what purpose it came to earth for: part of him wondered if it was best he never knew.

Right now, as he pressed the barrel of a cannon against the back of a agent of the federal government, the only thing Jaime was worried about was getting out alive.

"Hurry up, ese! Which direction? Which way?!" He snarled, trying to mask his anxiety with aggression.

Jasper Sitwell came to a screeching halt at the intersection of hallways, his gaze slipping over to the signs drilled into the walls, though Jasper didn't need the reminder. He knew this place like the back of his hand. "I'm...I'm thinking, damn it." The man hissed back, his dull hair slipping down his face as he heaved in another, tired breath. "Give me a moment."

Something searing and slimy touched the small of his back, shoving Jasper hard enough to make him stumble forward. "I don't have a moment!" Jaime reminded. "Your soldiers are gonna show up and blow me full of holes any second now if we don't get moving."

With a weary nod of his head, the agent pointed down the left most hallway, beginning down it at a jog. Reyes pushed him forward, upping the pace. He didn't have time to waste with Sitwell dragging his feet.

"Listen, kid..." He started, his jaw quivering as he tried to find the right words. He had to find a way to convince Jaime to stop. "Nobody wants to hurt you, okay? You're just a kid, but that thing you're wearing-"

"Do you think I want this?!" The teen snapped back. "What, do you think I woke up this morning all 'Do you know what I wanna do today, I wanna go have an alien crawl down my throat and force me to murder a much of people! That sounds like a fucking blast!'"

"Then let us help you!" Jasper turned, his gaze soft and his heart pleading. "SHIELD can get it off of you, but we need you to cooperate with us."

'He is lying, Jaime Reyes.' Khaji Da interrupted, his inhuman voice blaring like the alarms screeching overhead. 'These men wish you harm. I sensed it- that is why I activated.'

It felt like somebody had set a jackhammer off inside Jaime's skull. He grit his teeth, his brow furrowing as he tried to make sense of it all. Could he actually trust these SHIELD guys to help him? Why the hell would he want to listen to the alien robot trying to control him? Then again, why would Reyes trust the guy who ordered him to be shot?

"Just- just shut up!" Reyes finally screamed, slamming a palm against the side of his head. "Both of you, shut up!" He needed time. Time to think, time to reason, time to come to a good decision. But that was the trick: there was no time. Every moment he spent in indecision was a moment where men with guns got closer and closer.

They rounded another corner, coming up to an end in the twisting halls of uncaring steel. Several elevators were positioned along the walls, and there appeared to be no one nearby. Sitwell came to a stop, turning to face Reyes.

The boy looked inhuman. It was difficult to reconcile the black, chitinous figure with the lanky young man he'd apprehended hours earlier. His shoulders were broader, arms more defined- like the armor had weaved musculature for the boy that he hadn't had before. Long tendrils with sharpened, razorish points gleamed in the artificial light; Sitwell was sure those could puncture him like a grapefruit if Reyes were so inclined.

Of course, Jasper was much more worried about the plasma cannon hanging limb at the teenager's side.

"I...could've taken you wherever I wanted." He started, his throat dry and rasped. One wrong word could mean his body imploding in on itself in a shower of slag and gore. "I could've- could've run us around in circles until backup arrived. Or I could've taken you to containment. It...it would've been easy, honestly." Sitwell locked eyes with the creature. Those unblinking, yellow slits. Impossible to read. "But I didn't do that, did I? No, I brought you here-"

Motioning back to the set of elevators behind him, Jasper continued more confidently, finding his stride. "This is the only way out. Up to level one. I did what you asked me to."

He could see Jaime was already jerking forward to head toward one of the elevators. 'Kids these days,' Sitwell mused. 'Always in such a rush.'

With a sigh, he held up a palm. Sitwell was surprised when Reyes actually stopped and looked at him instead of continuing on. It gave him a little bit of hope that this could be handled peacefully.

"I did it to show you that you can trust me. You have a choice to make. You can just walk out of here, yes. You can leave right now- but we're going to follow you. We're going to follow you and, eventually, we're going to catch you. Because that's what SHIELD does. And...if you leave, you'll be giving up any chance at being absolved of this. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

From the ever-blank look on the inhuman faceplate, it was hard to get a read on the kid. And he wasn't offering any words to help Sitwell along.

"I'm saying that you'll be blamed for what happened. You'll be sent to a very...very bad place that no one gets out of."

Reyes finally spoke up. He turned away, his voice but little more than a broken whisper. The kid was terrified to his core. "But I didn't...I didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't me."

Sitwell just sighed. "No one's going to believe you if you run away. So stay. Tell us what really happened. We can get that thing outta ya, and we can make sure that you go back to your family soon. You have my word on that."

The two locked eyes again, and Sitwell swore he saw the mask soften, as impossible as that'd be.

"I..."

'I committed no wrong, Jaime Reyes. You know that. If you let them take me-'

"You're a LIAR!" Reyes suddenly roared, sending Sitwell stumbling away with a start. Jaime ignored him, focusing his full attention on the voice inside of his head. "You're the whole reason this happened- you killed those people, not me. Not me. It wasn't..."

Another pause, as if Khaji Da was weighing his response. 'You know I am telling the truth. Our minds are as bonded as our bodies. You would know if I was lying. But I'm not- and you know that. These people will never believe me. I will be punished for crimes I did not commit.'

"What...are you asking me to do?"

'Help me find out what really happened while we were offline. We cannot do that if SHIELD parts us.'

"Kid...I don't know what that thing is saying to you, but don't listen to it, alright? Listen to me. You can't trust it."

'I can do things these people cannot. You've seen that. We will find the truth where they will fail. Help me, Jaime Reyes.'

"Kid. Are you listening to me? Kid!"

'Help me find justice for those that died.'

The sound of rapid footfalls and growing voices spurred Jaime to action. No time to think. He had to make his choice- right then and there.

And he started for the elevator at a sprint, casting one last look at Jasper Sitwell as he passed him by. Jaime expected to see betrayal, or disappointment, upon the agent's face. But all that was there was hardened resolve. This would not be the last time the two saw each other- Reyes was sure of that.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

<Snipped quote by Superboy>

I don't care what gender/ethnicity a director is so long as the movie isn't shit.

But then if the female lead or directors shit and you call it shit people call you sexist.

@Sep

I don't generally care either, but there are people who care about this sorta stuff, so I won't fault them for it. I'm not the target audience.

Yeah, that's shitty when that happens. No one should be above criticism.