webboysurf

The Occult Investigations Agency

Just wanted to let you know that applications are being accepted again. Right now we're mainly looking for Violent Crimes or OTO Characters.

@webboysurf Your character is with R&D and if that's still what you want then I'll accept it as you've had a reservation made.

@TheDarkTemplar

If you're looking for Violent Crimes and OTO characters, I could try to rework Lucius to fit into either units (or at least help fill in one of those slots by working with either of those teams, as needed). Just let me know what you need for certain.

Also, I tried the discord link, but it wasn't working for me. Could probably use another invite if that is the best way to coordinate things out. In the meantime, I'll read through and catch up on the IC.

The Occult Investigations Agency

If you're still accepting. Was a fun writing exercise if not.

Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis

Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis

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OIA Designation

Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 1,901 (Appears Middle-Aged, if not older)
Psychological Profile(Personality)

Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis is a sarcastic, pretentious older man with a love for the finer things of life and the sciences. It is rare to find him without a book within arm's reach. He isn't a focused worker, instead dividing his attention among various projects at once. This division of attention comes across in his conversations as well, as Lucius rarely makes eye contact and instead insists on doing something else while speaking to his co-workers. That being said, when he needs to put the effort in, he has a wickedly sharp silver tongue used only in dire circumstances.

Lucius believes he is the smartest person in the room, which is sometimes true. He is an expert in metaphysics, and was one of the most influential figures in the development of alchemy. In regards to his research and areas of study, Lucius focuses on the understanding of past events rather than with the future. He is a firm believer that everything that happens has a cause that can be understood, especially the supernatural.

Background(Character Bio)
Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis was a man of privilege in the Roman Empire in the 2nd Century of the Common Era. He was a politician, rhetorician, poet, philosopher, physicist, and small time practitioner of the occult. He used some minor charms and hexes for some time, a common practice among those on the outskirts of the Roman Empire. Shortly after being accused of the use of magic by his step-son and a rival of his, Apuleius (as he was called then) was approached by what was later learned to be a demon. A deal was made: eternal in the pursuit of the sciences and knowledge would be granted to Apuleius in that he would never age further, if he would do whatever the demon asked of him when necessary. Apuleius agreed, but to this day regrets that choice.

For nearly a thousand years, Apuleius had the chance to learn and study under the greatest practitioners of magic at the time to unlock the secrets of the universe. He lived a life of pleasure, using his increasing magical aptitude to get anything he wanted when he wanted it. While he refuses to talk about it, a study of occult history hint that he was certainly involved in the deaths of powerful Roman individuals and inadvertently aided in the fall of the Roman Empire.

During the "Dark Ages," Apuleius was discontent with the state of the world. The world was changing, and not for the better. So he isolated himself and experimented. He began unlocking some secrets of necromancy, and learned how to slow his aging on his own rather than having to rely on a demon. He then dedicated his time to learning how to get himself out of his contract and banish the demon to Hell for eternity. In the meantime, Apuleius did his best to push magic and physics in the right direction during the Renaissance and the age of Enlightenment, always hiding in the shadows.

Apuleius was actually one of the first cases covered by the Occult Investigations Agency. His efforts to banish his demon led to unnecessary casualties, but he was ultimately successful. Following the chaos, he was given a choice: join the OIA, or spend time in prison. While not ideal, Apuleius chose the first option. He has taken on the name Lucius, and joined the Research and Development Division as a consultant at first. He now works full time, and spends almost all of his time in the lab (to the point he has actually placed a cot in one of the storage closets for longer shifts). He doesn't specialize in forensic sciences in any regards, but does provide his expertise to cases as needed.

Assigned Division: Research and Development
Specialization
Alchemy
Minor Necromancy
Physics (and Metaphysics)
Charms and Hexes

Training(if applicable)
No Practical Combat Experience
Trained in the art of magical item and ritual identification

Relevant Experience(if applicable)
Nearly two millennium's worth of research on supernatural and occult practices

Notes
The character is based off of the historical figure, Apuleius, but with obvious changes. His background is kept somewhat vague to allow for weird allusions to historical events as needed in conversation. Apuleius is not immortal in the sense that he can't be killed: he actually tries to not go in the field due to a fear of getting killed. He is only unable to age naturally.

X-Men: The New Era

Nikolai "Demo" Markov & Nathan Caldwell

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Location: Avalon

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Interactions: Each other, Cleo @Damo021, Aya @c3p-0h, Kaylee Everose @Almalthia

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Mention: None

---

---

Nik hopped up to his feet, hands still glowing on their own for a moment until his eyes locked on to his professor. The anger deep inside began to simmer as the energy receded almost into thin air. Nathan, on the other hand, took a deep breath himself and let the swords of blood turn liquid and drip to the ground. He reached into his pocket, tossing the keys of Elijah's car to the faculty member sheepishly as he was the DD for the night.

Nathan spent a few moments trying to muster up the words, while Nik quickly rushed outside after Drake and someone he didn't immediately recognize. Nathan sighed. "Well, what seems important is that Una was kidnapped, and we need to go get her. Now. Some place called Nocturne, apparently."

As Nik rushed outside, he went to catch up towards his roommate while keeping an eye on the newcomer. "Let's roll, D." He gave a thankful nod to the stranger. "I hope you're really trying to help. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." With the threat, Nik hopped into the car.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

_{ACCESS RESTRICTED - Present Day, 8:32 Hrs}

Issue 1.02.6: Kings go Forth

---

_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Issue 1.02.5: Lost Boundaries

”This is all part of the plan.” The masked figure stood at attention, his hands at his side as his superior paced in front of him. The office was rather luxurious, but looked as if it came from another era. Nazy memorabilia lined the walls, desk, and drawers. Sitting on the desk, facing outward, was a picture of five men standing next to each other. Zemo knew them all: his grandfather, Helmut Zemo was on the far left, wearing a similar mask that had been incidentally burned into his face after an encounter with Captain America. Joining him in the picture were the Red Skull, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, Dr. Arnim Zola, and Adolf Hitler himself. It was a time when it seemed that the Germans could have never lost the war.

The pacing man was the Red Skull himself, wearing a simple black and gray uniform that seemed to compliment his bright red skin. His face was twisted in rage. ”What plan is that, Helmut? We lost twenty soldiers in that conflict, and our numbers are not strong enough to take heavy blows.” Zemo saw the gears turning in his general’s mind as he was himself planning out his next moves.

Helmut Zemo broke his attentive stance, making his way to a world map on the wall. He fetched a marker sitting next to the map, and circled the entirety of the world with the red marker. ”SHIELD has facilities and operatives in every country on the planet. It took my father years to make sure this base stayed hidden, that the bunker you hid in was wiped off the map. He did his best with those still loyal to us instigating wars and conflicts to keep SHIELD busy and make them think they had finally killed us. The strategy that has kept HYDRA alive has always been to distract them.”

Zemo began marking spots on the map. He marked Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Vietnam, Korea. He then placed a small circle around Rome, Italy. ”We need to give them something to focus on, and making sure that these attacks demoralize and hurt them. We are forcing SHIELD to kill their own agents and operatives, and destroy their own weapons. More importantly, we are giving them clues at the right time to let them think that they are unravelling a mystery, when in reality they are unravelling a trap.”

The Red Skull leaned against the front of his desk, raising a hand to stop Zemo’s lecture. ”That sort of defensive strategy cannot last forever. How are we going to take the fight to them.”

Zemo gave a curt nod, the wrinkles of his mask seeming to somehow form a smile. ”The Tinkerer has made remarkable breakthroughs using one of Arnim Zola’s projects. If we can keep SHIELD at bay for a little longer, Project Rewrite should allow us to fix the mistakes of our past.”

The Red Skull nodded slightly as the gears in his head finally clicked into place. He smiled. ”Very well, Baron Zemo. You would have made Heinrich proud.”

---

Next Chapter: Home of the Brave

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

_{Fury’s Office, Triskellion, Washington D.C. - Present Day, 14:00}

Issue 1.02.5: Lost Boundaries

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Issue 1.02.4: Ballad of a Soldier

Cap folded his hands behind his back as he stood at an attentive state in front of Colonel Fury’s desk as his commanding officer finished typing up a report and sighed. His last good eye rose to meet Captain Rogers’ gaze, and each man realized the exhaustion the other was experiencing. Fury broke the brief bit of silence as he leaned back in his chair. ”You have a problem, soldier?”

”When did we start killing our own, Fury?”

”When our own started slicing through innocent bystanders.” Colonel Fury’s expression shifted from exhaustion to frustration.

Cap’s position relaxed slightly as his hands returned to his sides. ”You can’t seriously believe that Sgt. Green was in control of his own actions. Based on the intel Masters and I gathered, it’s clear that our agents are being manipulated by something.”

Fury gave a curt nod, sighing as he stood up and walked around his desk, leaning against the front to get closer to Steve. ”I came to that conclusion the moment we received intel that Sgt. Green was caught on surveillance footage and didn’t check in with us first. The man who served us wasn’t the one who attacked those cops. But you need to understand, Rogers, that I gave you the chance to defuse the situation and make sure everyone walked out alive.”

”I just needed-“

”I needed to make the call, Steve.” Fury folded his arms as he geared up for another lecture. ”The Gauntlet went rogue and started killing civilians. You were temporarily indisposed, as were Romanoff and Carter. As the world’s Shield, we have the responsibility of making the hard choices to make sure people are safe. So I told Masters to take the shot because I know he could live with that decision.”

Steve walked past Fury to look out the office’s picturesque window towards the Potomac. For a moment, the two men were silent. Rogers finally spoke up as he shook his head and turned around. ”I still don’t think it was the right call. We should have tried to save him. He’s one of our own.”

”I’m not asking you to agree with my decisions, Captain Rogers. I’m just asking you to follow orders.” Colonel Fury walked back around his desk to tap away at the keyboard on his desk. ”You need a break, Steve. You’ve been working nonstop the past three years, Captain. And as your Colonel, I’m ordering you to take some leave. The world has changed a lot over the past seventy years: you should try living in it.”

_{Medical Wing, Triskellion, Washington D.C. - Present Day, 14:34}

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Tony Masters shifted uncomfortably in the oversized cushions of a couch in a small office in the medical wing. Sitting in the chair next to him was an older man with wire frame glasses resting on the tip of his nose. The doctor was already flipping through the files, before stopping and looking at the SHIELD agent concerned. ”Can you valk me through vat happened ven you entered the safehouse?”

Tony tilted his head slightly. ”I don’t see how that’s relevant. Fury asked me to see you because I had to fire my weapon on the job to keep people safe. I don’t see the use in beating around the bush.”

The psychiatrist gave a small smile as he leaned back in his chair, pulling out a small pad of paper and a pen resting in the breast pocket of his coat. ”Let’s not beat around ze bush. Describe to me in detail vat you remember from the safehouse.”

Tony tapped his foot nervously for a moment before stopping abruptly and answering with a monotone that oozed anger. ”Captain Rogers and I followed protocol before entering the safehouse. We gave the appropriate knocks and received no answer. Upon entering, the place looked like it had been turned over. We were surprised, and I spoke with the ag-.”

”How did zey surprise you?”

The simple question through Tony for a loop. He stared at the ground for a moment, his lips moving as if to speak but no sound came out. He ended up shaking his head and returning his gaze to the psychiatrist. ”I don’t recall.”

The psychiatrist leaned forward a little in his seat, clearly engaged in the conversation. ”And vat do you recall?”

Tony took a deep breath before answering. ”The place was turned over. I went left, Captain Rogers went right. I felt the computer, and it was warm. The next thing I remember, there was an agent unconscious on the ground and I was reaching for his service weapon. Cap...”

”vat vere you going to do vis zhe service veapon?”

Tony looked at the psychiatrist blankly for a moment, before straightening up. ”Remove all live ammunition to mitigate danger if there was another assailant, or in the event one of the assailants broke free. I discovered that the assailants were the local SHIELD operatives.”

The doctor gave a slight nod, seeming to buy Tony’s blatant lie for the moment. He raised a single finger to emphasis his last question. ”Last question… Do you often experience lapses in memory in high stress situations? Between us.” The psychiatrist closed his pad of paper in that moment, as if to say that this was off the record.

”I... I do. It’s more than just lapses. I find I can’t remember my childhood very well anymore either. I always figured I was just forgetful. Always have been.” Tony’s shoulders slumped slightly as a result of this, as if admitting his time as an agent was over.

The doctor gave a small nod and smile. ” Ve vill order some tests, but you should be clear for service. Have a vonderful day, Agent Masters.”

---

Next Chapter: Kings go Forth

Marvel: Rebirth

Are we still alive?

@WiccanRose15

I'm still around. I've been waiting for @TheUnknowable to post anything, but it's been long enough that it's looking like this might be dead in its current state.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

Was just chatting with Doc on Discord when I brought up the idea of Injustice in this RP's universe, and I figured I'd bring the discussion here.

So. The biggest and bestest superhero went nuts and created a totalitarian dystopia. Who did it and where would your characters be in that mess?

@Simple Unicycle

I mean, knowing Cap's source material, he would definitely be against the regime. He'd probably go underground to start up a resistance and use whatever resources he could pull from SHIELD and his allies to support it. It would either be that, or he'd try to directly confront the regime and then end up dying as a martyr.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

_{SHIELD Safehouse, Rome, Italy - Present Day, 18:41}

Issue 1.02.4: Ballad of a Soldier

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Issue 1.02.3: Grave of the Fireflies

Cap raised an eyebrow as he looked at the screen. ”So, HYDRA is using an old fort right near the Vatican as a base of operations?”

Fury gave a curt nod as he dug his spoon into his takeout container of rice. ”The fort has been closed to the public since the attack on the Aeneid, which would give HYDRA the perfect hiding spot.” Fury set his food aside for a moment as the rest of the Commandos continued their hasty dinner. He tapped a few buttons on a console near the wall, and the screen’s satellite images transformed into a semi-translucent 3D model of the fort. All entrances and exits to the fort were highlighted in red. ”The situation has escalated, and it’s become clear that HYDRA knows we are here. The prime minister’s youngest son has been taken hostage by a team led by an individual matching Gauntlet’s description. Italian authorities are going to mobilize and cover all entrances and exits for us. Romanoff and Masters are going to enter in from the Tiber to take down the HYDRA spotters and snipers. Rogers and Carter are going to enter in through a sewer maintenance tunnel. Secure the hostage, and take down the Gauntlet.”

_{Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome, Italy - Present Day, 20:34}

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Two miniature grappling hooks latched themselves on to the ledge of the fortress, and seconds after Romanoff and Masters began scaling walls after a brief swim in the polluted waters of the Tiber. In nearly flawless execution, the two SHIELD agents swung themselves over the ledge and onto the wall while pulling out their silenced sidearms. Two shots, and two HYDRA guards were down. Romanoff quickly approached the corpse of her target, finding the guard’s communicator. She placed a small metal disk on the back of it while Masters tapped at a small device on his wrist. After a few moments, the Commandos had access to their communications channels. The two worked in tandem as they split off to execute the HYDRA guards.

Romanoff remained low to the ground as she turned a corner and caught site of two HYDRA guards standing next to each other. They were dressed like traditional Italian military police, but spoke German to one another in hushed tones. The Black Widow crouched up behind the two and activated her shock gauntlets at the last possible second, placing one hand on each’s shoulders. They convulsed for a moment before falling to the ground unconscious, before rising up and pulling out her silenced sidearm. She spotted another soldier down the walkway beginning to turn in her direction. Before he could even see what was coming, Romanoff fired off three shots into his torso before rushing up to place one more shot in the crumpled figure’s head. She lifted her wrist to her lips to speak into her commlink, ”Eastern Walkway is Clear.”

Masters wasn’t exactly as elegant. He crouched along a wall near the back of the fort, only for the door in front of him to open up as two HYDRA guards emerged. Tony locked eyes with them, and immediately sprung into action. He charged forward, pulling out his knife. He slit the first guard’s throat before moving the knife to cut the strap off the second guard’s gun. His other hand reached for the barrel of the gun, ripping it from his enemy’s hand to toss is aside. When the guard reached for his own knife, Master’s took the opportunity for the opening to plunge the knife through the HYDRA soldier’s armor and into his heart. It took a few moments for the guard to finally go limp as he held on to Master’s hands, trying desperately to remove the knife but to no effect. Once dead, Tony ripped the knife from the guard before tossing it almost nonchalantly along the walkway as another guard began to jog in his direction, having heard only barely the sound of a struggle. Masters rose to his feet, looked about, and muttered into his commlink, ”Western Walkway is Clear.”

_{Sewers beneath Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome, Italy - Present Day, 20:36}

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”I haven’t been in shit like this since I was on the front lines in Germany.” Cap’s face was scrunched up in disgust as he continued along the passageway with Sharon at his side. She gave a small chuckle at his joke, until she suddenly silenced herself at the sounds of footsteps down the hall. The two pushed themselves back against the walls of the maintenance tunnel, blending in amongst the pipes as best they could. From around the corner, two guards emerged with guns in hand. Cap gave a curt nod to Sharon before slowly reaching to the shield at his back and removing it. By the time the guards had noticed him, Cap launched the shield towards them. It hit the guard on the left and bounced into the one on the right, and both fell unconscious at the sheer force. The Captain caught the shield as it returned and slid his left hand into the shield’s brace.

The two continued pushing forward until Sharon placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder to stop him. She pointed upward and he gave a nod in acknowledgement. She pulled out a small black cylinder no bigger than a toothbrush and pointed it towards the ceiling, pressing a button on the side. A blue light emerged from the end of the cylinder, pointing towards the ceiling. She twisted the top, and it began to create a square outline onto the ceiling. She tapped another button, and the blue laser turned red as it cut through the ceiling. After a few moments, the laser finished cutting through the floor and Cap pulled Agent Carter out of the way as the ceiling fell down to reveal the interior of the cellar above them. Steve was able to hop up into the cellar with barely any effort, immediately kneeling down and offering a hand to help Sharon climb up.

_{Castel Sant’Angelo Courtyard, Rome, Italy - Present Day, 20:44}

---

Widow stood in the center of the courtyard, lifting her wrist to speak into the commlink, ”Captain, Report.”

At that moment, the doors leading to the interior of the fortress from this level slammed open as Cap was forcibly thrown into open air. He slid a few feet until he reached Widow’s feet, grunting in pain. A figure loomed in the doorway, and behind him lied the crumbled form of Sharon Carter. The figure stepped out, revealing a beast of a man with his right arm covered in a strange golden sleeve of armor. He pumped his arms slightly, and the armor began to shift to reveal some sort of blaster emerging from the wrist. Gauntlet pointed it in the direction of the Black Widow, and she managed to roll out of the way just in time to avoid the blast.

Cap quickly hopped to his feet, raising his shield just in time for it to take the brunt of the blow. The blast simply dissipated into the shield, with its vibranium components taking in the excess force. Before the Gauntlet could fire off another blast, Cap hurled his shield towards him. This forced the armored gauntlet to rise and deflect the metal disk from impacting against his body. In that point of time, Cap was able to close the gap and deliver two quick blows to Sgt. Green’s body. He was able to duck under the Gauntlet’s first blow from his powered fist, but was still susceptible to being briefly stunned by an uppercut with Sgt. Green’s right fist. This left Cap defenseless just long enough for a punch from the Gauntlet knocked him back.

Sgt. Green’s eyes and expression seemed blank as he seemed to seamlessly lift his armored fist towards Romanoff in time to fire another blast in her direction, this time capable of throwing her back and knocking her unconscious as she slammed into a wall. Sgt. Green approached the front gates of the fort, firing another blast to knock the gates off their hinges. He was able to easily raise his fist up and fire a single laser in the direction of law enforcement. As Cap slowly began raising himself to his feet, he watched in horror as the laser cut through the Italian police officers with ease. Cap began rushing forward to get a running start to throw his suit. After getting some momentum, he jumped into the air and spun to begin the throw, but stopped as he heard the sound of a gunshot from behind him.

Sgt. Green stumbled for a moment before collapsing to the ground. On top of the fortress’ wall behind Cap and next to the slumped over corpse of a Hydra guard stood Tony Masters holding a rifle. He lowered it slightly and pressed a finger against the commlink in his ear. ”Target down, and the perimeter is secure.”

---

Next Chapter: Lost Boundaries

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

_{Police Station, Rome, Italy - Present Day, 16:14}

Issue 1.02.3: Grave of the Fireflies

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Issue 1.02.2: Unbroken

Sharon and Natasha both silently followed a rather portly individual a white lab coat, entering into a rather sterile looking metal room. Lying on a metal table in the center of the room was a covered corpse. The coroner who lead them into the room gave a nod towards the body, as if asking them to examine for themselves. His thick Italian accent made it clear he was a native. ”I am sorry about your friend. You must have a very stressful job.”

Sharon tilted her head slightly as she approached the body, moving back the linens. It revealed a body that had been clearly autopsied, but more shockingly there appeared to be a gunshot wound from the bottom of the jaw through the top of the head. She sighed as Natasha too approached and gave a nod when she noticed the wounds. ”Are you saying the cause of death was suicide?”

The coroner gave a sad sigh and nod, before beckoning for the others to follow him. He approached a computer system along the back wall, and there was a table with a tray that had a single item on it: a small electronic chip. He motioned towards it. ”It is my opinion that this victim killed himself with a single bullet through his cranium. Located at the base of his neck when performing the autopsy, we were able to find this electronic chip.”

Natasha instinctively grabbed the chip and pulled out a military grade cell phone and was able to slide the chip into a specially designed reader. She quickly tapped through her phone, analyzing the data before giving a sigh. She passed the phone off to Sharon, who looked over the data herself. ”Must have tagged himself prior to the assignment in case anything went wrong. We should be able to find their last known location, and hopefully find our target.” She turned around the begin leaving, the coroner frozen with a shocked expression on his face. Sharon just gave a polite nod in his direction before following her fellow agent.

Once outside of the station and back in the SUV, Sharon gave a worried look to her partner. ”You saw it too, didn’t you? The Mausoleum of Hadrian? Located right on the Tiber, and not far from where they washed up.”

Natasha gave a curt nod. ”We should still rendezvous with the Captain and Masters and get official orders from Fury. We don’t know what we will be facing in there, and don’t want to end up like our agents here.”

---

Next Chapter: Ballad of a Soldier

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

But back to my discussion topic, where are you guys intending to land your characters?

@Lord Wraith

My plans for the end of Season 1

But in all seriousness, things are going to sort of end up turned on its head by the end of the season. Without giving away too much, there's going to be a changing of the guard at SHIELD that will put Cap in a position to do things the way he thinks they should be done, rather than just following the orders passed down to him from his superiors. He's also going to have some big questions to answer by the end of the season.