UrbanEvolution

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

People were coming in now. Several of them.

The first was a strange man. He smelt like sweat and blood and fire and metal. The kind of iron that he himself forged. His accent was very forced, judging by the slight squeak at the end of each word he spoke. It wasn't natural to him as it would be for someone who normally had that accent. The asked a stupid question, which his aggressors laughed off, and then inquired as to whether or not this was a trap. Something Benedict himself was wondering.

Then another person entered. This one... this one smelt like blood.

He turned his head at an angle so his eyes could look past his hood and at the two newcomers. These two were vastly different from the three men he had already seen.

The new man was older looking than he expected. All the hair from his receding hairline had migrated to his lips and jaw. He was portly, but tall and muscular. A bit like a heavyweight cage fighter. He spoke too much. Asked too many questions to which answers were either obvious or wouldn't be truthfully told. The other person was a slender woman. She was pale and had very long, dark hair. She was tall for a woman too. A little over waist level for him. Her eyes were very red. She had an... unnerving aura to her being. Nothing he was bothered by, but his predatory instincts told him she was... stranger than the other two in a way they didn't share.

He didn't like these people. He didn't like all this talking and white noise. He was used to quiet mornings and evenings. With the attack every now and again. He was a quiet person.

"Excuse me." Ben stated, pulling one of his massive hands out of his coat's pockets and placed it on the back of the pew, which groaned under his weight as he pushed himself upwards. Ben slowly and purposefully stood up to his full height, towering over everyone else by three feet or more. While sitting, his size was less apparent. But now his true mass was shown. Each of his arms were as thick as a normal man's torso and judging by the curvature of his torso in the very masculine 'V' body shape, he was extremely muscular.

Ben took a few strides to the pews ahead of the ground. Another four rows or so. It would lessen the chance that they'd come after him. He saw them pulls guns. They were armed. He didn't want to be around them. Not until he knew why he was called here.

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

<Snipped quote by UrbanEvolution>

Hey, refuge in audacity, right? It's always my first resort...

@Sombrero

Ben's just gonna be real quiet until someone talks to him or interacts with him again because that's his thing.

When you wear the right hat, no one can tell you're a synth...

God damnit I wish I would've known that.

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

Three dudes with guns aiming at some other dude chilling out in a pew that's six times everyone else's size.

Dom's reaction:

"Ayyyyyyyy!"

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

Meanwhile, in Dom's subconscious:
Gah, it's a trap! I knew it!
Hurry! Make a roll for bluff!
Is there a disadvantage for improvisation?
Of course there is! What do you think I am, some kind of genius?
Well, I'd hope so... *clackety clack* Is that a 2 or a 5?...
It's a 1. Critical failure.
Your handwriting is terrible.
It's dark in here, okay!?

@Sombrero

"Bullshit. You smell like blood and piss."

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

Urban and I did a collab, left a hook for whoever to make their debut.

@SepticGentleman

Literally took us like an hour to start collabing what even is this

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

Just made a few minor edits.

Post complete.

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

---

The Dragonfly

---

For Ben, the letter came in a tree.

He didn't bother remembering that much anymore. Most of the time it wasn't worth looking at for more than a few seconds. He liked to think that was good thing- living his life the way he did. No due dates, no one to tell you when or how to do something besides yourself.

It was nice, living like that. For the city of Chicago, things had been peaceful for the past few months. Christmas had come and gone without any trace of tooth or scale. Damselfly was out of town- but most of the world didn't know that. He had no reason to disturb the peace. December rolled around in January, and the only way he could tell was the slight difference in the air's smell. A certain crisp tangent from the regular that only the colder months had that grew stronger and then weaker as winter rolled in and out. He didn't keep calendars.

At least, he didn't use to.

He does remember finding the letter. It had been an especially cold day and he had been moving through the woods wearing a thick fur coat he had made for himself. He had been returning home from hunting a buck, gun in hand at the time. He nearly didn't notice it amongst the white of the snow around him. But there was no mistaking the fluttering of paper. Paper that had been placed neatly between two branched on the path home. Paper that was sealed nice and tight, and had been treated nicely- as something so small and delicate should be. As his claws had caressed and manipulated the paper folds, in a way he hadn't needed to in months, he came to the realization that it was something he hadn't received in a much longer time.

An invitation.

But that's where he deviated from his regular self. Because he acquired a calendar. And he remembered the date. He remembered sitting in his small log cabin during a winter storm and reading it over and over again. He didn't think about her even once. His mind was too occupied by... this.

...Whatever this was.

He had, after many attempts tuned his radio to one of the stations. NPR was its name. He could only define it as... chatter. Lots of chatter. Everyone was talking about something called the Coalition. Someone who did this. Someone who did that. Hashtags, whatever those were. It was... overwhelming. He had nearly turned the device off when he heard her name. She wouldn't be coming home this year. She was moving. To the same place he had been... invited too.

And for days he listened. He did his best to understand everything that the station reported on. He had no idea what Instagram was, or how to 'like' and 'follow' them on Facebook (whatever that was). But he did his best to... comprehend the changes that were being made. That were occurring.

This little home he had made himself was quaint and kind. One part of him told him that this was it, the opportunity to... fade away into obscurity. To let the world forget about Dragonfly.

But the other part of him told him that if this letter was a trap, and it probably was a trap, he'd at least go out with a bang. Just like how this version of him came in.

He set out on foot, with his travel packs and maps in hand a day early. He caught an open cart on a train and rode his way into the city during the night. When he arrived in St. Louis, it was early. Some time between 3:00 and 3:30 in the morning. He moved on foot through the alleyways and around the city. But once he reached the suburbs, it was much easier to navigate the quiet morning streets.

And so he walked the sidewalks, wearing his fur coats with his hood up and head down. No doubt looking rather... out of place to any early morning driver. He did his best to avoid interaction with anyone. If his size and disposition didn't turn anyone around, then his tail did. His hands stayed in his pockets, and his tail followed close behind him, raised off of the ground as to not leave any drag marks.

He was the first to enter that funeral home at 5:30 that morning. He was the only one to set his things down and to take a seat in the pew. He was alone in the building for a long time. He turned to watch the sun rise, and only tore his attention from the windows when the interior lights came on.

This isolation was to be expected.

The only men to smell of blood and gunpowder didn't enter the building until nearly one in the afternoon. He made no movements. If they were here for him, they would come to him.

He remembered that this was a... conference.

He wondered how many others who smelt of charcoal and cheap metal. He wondered if they were here to hurt him.

He also wondered if he locked the door to his cabin.

Only time would tell.

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

@shaitarn

Dragonfly and Cheetah are very similar both in personality and in backstory. I can see them bonding with one another, maybe even Dragonfly becoming protective over her- purely because she's the most like him.

If you WANT we could work something out and say they were both test subjects from a different iteration of the same super soldier serum. This could lead to Dragonfly saying things along the lines of 'You smell familiar." or whatnot. Even if they've never met.

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

There's no way Ben can possibly get on a plane, but luckily he's closer to St. Louis than anyone else except maybe Ginny.

@Polyphemus

Private jets are a thing maaaaan.

Ginny probably just walked.

Nemesis 13- Original Universe Supervillains

Flights over would be a good way to introduce our characters internally, so I'd at least like to do those. After that I'm not picky.

@SepticGentleman

Might give us a chance to have our characters interact some too.

I was planning on saying that Benedict traveled by open train cart to open train cart over to Missouri and then legged it to St. Louis since Illinois and Missouri are right next to one another (and Shawnee Forest, where his enclave is, is like two hours away). Whatever we do, I can explain Ben getting there right on time despite traveling by foot and train over flight.

Since Ben doesnt have much reason to really be on a flight to begin with since he's so close, he could be one of those who meets the group as they land. Idk.