Hope City

Nyxeth · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Nyxeth** on Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:28 am

((OOC thread can be found here: Hope City :OOC/Sign Ups: : Now without further ado, no more OOC here in this topic, No Exceptions.))

The night was young as the two suns of the Lyna system descended over the horizon, forever locked in their intricate dance millions of miles across, polar opposites forever locked together, the binary stars, sister stars, whatever they may be called, their cool blue hue illuminating somewhere else upon this planet we called Hope, now as night descends upon the city of its name sake, Hope City, a much darker force than the lack of light begins to take effect. Have you heard of biomodification? you havn't?! have you been living under a rock? needless to say, Biomodification is what made the human race such a powerful player in the galactic game of cards, genetic alteration, forced evolution, terminal illness cured over night, now, super powers, oh if the 21st century could see us now. Jealous they'd be, jealous of how far we've come, jealous of the fact Superman could probably exist here, not like he does, but we'll soon find out. Sadly, the means to aqquire such powers and feats are alass, illegal, black market produce and product of original military funded research into altering human DNA, Hope City as we know it, is only a Hope for the criminals who make it flow, the focal point of this new age of modification as criminals, thugs, things that go bump in the night prowl the sky walkways and lurk in the dark recesses to prey on the unfortunate souls, ofcourse like any situation... those who, lets say, disagree with the criminals modus opperandi have gotten their hands on similar powers, those not afraid to break the law to enforce it, as such, we go to Hope City tonight where in the deep dark alarms can be heard, a store no doubt being robbed, a bank being pillaged of its credits by some drug pumped loon.

Just remember, Hope is only found in places without they've said... we've yet to see proof.

Malcolm Chapel, business man, elite upper class, running for the current open position of mayor? ofcourse, ofcourse he had the previous mayor killed off and all his competition in the upcoming election, suicide they said, accident, natural causes oh my! drip goes the drugs, the drugs of never ending sleep, or inducing illness, ones he'd made and kept secret, his alter name does after all, give credit to his calling as one who could do this, Plague, in olden days, a Plague was known to be a illness that would wipe out entire cities, here... its much more controlled, except when it wants to break loose. Malcolm ofcourse, kept all of this hidden, like any evil man he stuck to one of the main rules of business, keep your real face hidden. His closest compatriots to his calling, the other biomod enhanced villains of this dark city, didn't even know he was Plague, the city didn't know he was Plague, those damn Vigilante's he has been hearing oh so much of on the news lately don't know, sometimes he didn't know. But thats what made it fun. Plague to their sakes, was a name, a figure head, some shadowy figure who lead evil into the night sky to wreak havoc, they didn't even believe he existed, much like the old religious figures, in reality he was closer than any of them expected.

Turning in his swivel chair to the windows of his office, the windows that went from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, the entire wall of glass as he gazed from the pinnacle of the Spire as he'd named it, the headquarters of his business by day, MediTech Industries, the slogan every so apt "Bringing Good Health To All", it was under this very building though, where his secret research center lay, run by... one or two assistants he could call them, paying top credit for the AI to be developed sufficiently for them to follow his orders, all worth it ofcourse now he had seen the results. Looking down at his wrist, away from the window and the descending suns as the night blossomed, the glorious night, he noted the time, in five minutes a bunch of thugs he'd picked off the street and fed with more biomods than a human body should contain would be attacking a local shopping plaza in this city's trade district, all in the name of science, he didn't care what happened after but he wanted to observe what might happen to them. Biomods were everything to him after all, being the founding father of the black market biomods, the strange, eerie things which give people 'superpowers'.

As his watch chirped, the five minutes passing so suddenly as he was lost in thought, he began to hear the alarms, the screeching claxon sound, good thing is that his office is sound proofed, as was the entire building. Leaning his head back against the chair as he gave a evil grin whilst his finger tapped at the pad on the arm of the chair, inputting a series of numbers as it proceeded to lock his door and blacken the windows and any other way he might be observed, including the security camera's, ofcourse, the guards wouldn't notice, he'd paid them not to. After this enforcing of his privacy, he tapped in another few numbers of code causing the windows to flicker, turning the entire set into a large television, what was showing though was aptly, the break in. You see, in his cunning he'd wired all of them for sound and video, ofcourse not the kind that could be found, no, he'd literally implanted sensors into their skulls to feed their visual and hearing senses to these monitors, right not he was getting a lovely split screen view of one seemingly tearing off a hardened steel door that was protecting one of the shops in the plaza, mhm, he'd take note of the formula for that biomod later.

As he watched, his inner voices debated slowly to themselves, 'What do you think?' Malcolm inquired inwardly, a clear loon until another voice suprisingly answered, rough, nearly robotic in sound, seemingly like it had been synthesized by a computer, 'I see no point in this... why test when we could do this ourselves' it grumbled, angry clearly, 'Oh dear dear Plague, don't you see, if we perfect this technology, we wouldn't have to live with a planet, i'm thinking...' pausing deliberately, to tease, even though Plague already knew his thoughts for the continuation 'The entire galaxy.. or more, if I get greedy, or you do.'

As they continued like this, grumbling, mumbling, sniding at each other, Malcolm began to idly wonder if some of these' Vigilantes', he'd heard of so recently would make a ever so apt appearance.

Conumbra · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Conumbra** on Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:41 pm

Searl sat comfortably in his vintage 21st century sea-blue couch that he had bought from a local merchant for quite a pretty penny. Or in this case pretty millions of pennies. It seemed that antiques dating from the 21st century and even before it were being priced at obscene amounts. That was even more apparent in the black market. He smirked to himself before taking a gander at his collection of priceless Rytorakk gems. By selling some of those gems he had afforded a quite expensive house in the North Eastern housing district. It seemed to emulate a Victorian style mansion back on Earth in the 21st century with leaf green paint, square windows and even an antique doorbell. They were so rare nowadays he almost had to kill one of the bidders for the house just so that he could get his hands on it. It was a good thing he had soundproofed, radiation proofed and scanner proofed the entire house because it seemed that the Rytorakk gems he used to buy it possessed some unique qualities. In every spectrum he switched his vision to they produced a maddening assortment of colors. In visual it was bright blue, in thermal it emitted a bright green and when he viewed it using X-Rays it produced the brightest white imaginable. What was the most confusing was that when he viewed the world as a sound scape, he saw that the gems gave off sub-harmonic frequencies. That was most curious as he knew of no other gem in the world that could do such a thing.

He turned on the hologram generator which was like a 21st century television only you actually experienced the program rather than just watching it. What he saw startled him immensely. In hindsight he was probably more startled than he should have been seeing as how Hope City was a place full of criminals. The news station was reporting that some robbers were tearing up the Shopping Plaza in the Eastern District. That was something he could not afford. For if the police arrived then they would surely search the nearby housing areas for a place that the thieves could have hidden themselves. He did not need that. If the police searched his home and they found his gem collection he would be apprehended for sure. Although he had a good chance of breaking out of the prison it was an annoyance that he could not afford. He promptly turned off the hologram generator and suited up for a mission. He then grabbed his sniper rifle and slung it over his back for easy carrying. As he ventured outside his house he made sure to automatically lock all the doors and windows at once using remote control.

As he went to the tops of the nearby roofs he made his way south to the Shopping Plaza to confront those criminals and get them to stop their activities by force. He did not like the fighting but he saw it as the only logical path that offered him the best chance of getting away unscathed. As he got closer to the Shopping Plaza he began to hear an alarm blaring. Before he got too close to the action he remembered to turn on his kinetic shield that protected his face otherwise he would mist likely be dead if a firefight broke out which it most certainly would. He also remembered to activate his skin material override biomod. His skin changed so that it was now made of some extremely strong steel from a bar that his hand had touched. When he got to the Shopping Plaza he made sure to take cover behind an air conditioner and then looked over it to see what was going on. He saw five people tearing apart the Shopping Plaza. He took his sniper rifle out and he targeted the man who had torn through the steel door protecting one of the shops. He lined up a clear shot to the criminal's head and then fired right after whispering "Bang" to himself. It wasn't logical to talk to himself but he still did it.

ZoraGenin · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **ZoraGenin** on Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:16 pm

Laredo sat alone in his motel room. Perched on the end of his cheap twin bed he watched the television drone on. Crimes, and more crimes illuminated the box before him, he felt his consciousness fading - his body's way of rejecting so much negativity. However he snapped to attention when he heard that Malcolm Chapel had declared his intention to run for mayor, thinking back Laredo couldn't think of the last mayor to hold the almost perpetually vacant position. He didn't know much about Mr Chapel, other than he was the owner of the largest legitimate biomodification & medicare business in the city. And that he had more money than he knew how to spend. A rich do-gooder gunning for the position of mayor. This prospect interested Laredo not only from a political standpoint, but also as a business opportunity. A rich man with the motive and means to cleanup the streets was bound to make numerous enemies. Protection was a precious commodity in Hope City, and fortunately was something that Laredo could provide. Not only would a steady paycheck improve Laredo's financial situation, he knew that their would be many benefits of being on the future mayors good side. It was decided, Laredo had a job interview.

Gathering his things Laredo quickly exited room 16. He crossed the dingy motel's lobby and approached the check-out desk. As the young clerk looked up at him, he drew his rifle and hit him squarely in the nose. It was understood that Laredo's payment for his room, was not taking the clerk's pitiful life. Laredo didn't enjoy doing things like this, he felt that it increased his debt to society. Despite his distain for such behavior he was running dangerously low on funds and couldn't afford to waste any. Laredo turned and began to leave the building. As he did so he locked eyes with the few other occupants of the lobby, making sure that none of them tried to be heroes. Fortunately his intimidating demeanor scared the meek lambs that filled the room. Almost sickened, but still relieved that no one had the courage to prevent the crime they had just witnessed he ran his fingers through his unclean hair as he exited the building.

After Laredo had left the building he was reminded of the last piece of information he held on Malcolm Chapel - his residence was an ominous citadel called the Spire. It was very hard to miss, a dark column contrasting with the dull oranges and yellows of the midmorning. Laredo picked up his pace as he began to head towards the Spire. While he was walking he flipped over April and rubbed off the blood from the clerk's nose. An almost extinct tradition, Laredo still believed in respecting weapons. That was the reason that his rifle was always in better shape than he was. Slinging the clean gun onto his back Laredo increased his pace once more. He knew that first impressions were everything, and he didn't want to be late.

Fluesopp · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Fluesopp** on Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:18 pm

”Dawn, it’s me. Open.”

The front door opened and Aronin entered his appartment. Tired and irritated he threw his bag on the couch and went to the fridge to grab a beer. ‘Guinnes, the earthly taste of beer,’ he read as he went back to the couch and threw himself down on it.

“Have you had a pleasant day?” Dawn asked, and Aronin waved his arms. “Pleasant?” he almost shouted and started on his beer. “The transit broke down just after the first station. Terrorism, I heard. But they wouldn’t let anyone get on or off, and I could not do anything but to stand there between a particularly smelly man and an old geezer. Had there at least been a pretty girl.”

“Don’t you think I’m pretty?” Dawn replied, indignant.

“No, I mean yes. You are pretty and all that, but you are a computer for god’s sake!”

Aronin disliked when his APC, Apartment Personal Computer, started to be self obsessed. But it was a cheap apartment and the software that was included was of the same quality. He had flashed her a few times, but it always turned out like this in the end. Better flash her before she realizes what that’ll do to her, he thought as he finished his beer and picked up the newspaper reader.

Uproar in shopping plaza! the headline read. He quickly read through, but when he found it was in the eastern district, he decided against going to the scene. Anyways, he wasn’t very much fond of what he called ‘operating’ in public places. His job was best done in silence, with as much myths and secrets as possible. After all, what he did was illegal so to announce himself as a vigilante would be the equivalent of saying he was a criminal. Not to the mass public, of course, but to the police it didn’t matter if you were fighting crime or doing crime as long as you had biomods.

“How about you just find yourself some lonely robber to embarrass?” Dawn asked, and Aronin was about to get his dark coat when there was a loud knock on the door. Checking the camera feed, Aronin realized it was his friend Chris who lived just a block away.

“What’s up?” It was their standard greeting.

“No much. How bout you?” Their standard reply.

“Nothing. Transit broke down from school and I’m tired as hell.” Aronin said as the closed the door behind him.

“Ah, been trying to catch you for the whole afternoon. So, ready for the bar?”

“Yeah..” Aronin said hesitantly. He looked back at his apartment where his cloak would lie over his coach. He could be out there, spreading fear in the very soul of the criminals. Why was it so hard to let it be? “Sure. Where to?”

“It’s the new ScummBar, they say the beer is great there. Grog they call it.”

----

“So, how do you like the place?” Chris asked after they had ordered a beer. Aronin looked around and found himself searching for shady persons who might possibly take out a gun and shooting around the bar, or anyone who might carry a knife for the wrong reasons.

“There’s not many possibilities,” he said at last.

“True. Not as prosperous as I had expected. Not many flowers here.”

Aronin laughed. “Yeah, there are more cactuses here. I’m not trying my luck with any of these guys. I’m not gay.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll bet a fiver that you’ll get the number of that scarred dude without a nose.” Chris said with a laugh and covered as Aronin hit him on the shoulder.

News! The police have proven ineffective against the five vandals. Reports are coming in that the persons have obtained illegal biomods, and other reports are claiming that several others have arrived at the place. The police have enclosed the area for the danger to civil life.

Aronin stopped his assault on his friend and listened. The hologram showed five persons making a mess out of the shopping center for what seemed like no reason. Then, one of the five seemed to stagger as if it were hit by something invisible. The reporter came in again, claiming that gunshots were heard in the centre, even though no police troops were present.

“Dude, that’s sick. I hope they get those biomodders soon,” Chris said as he got up from the floor. “Ouch, that hurt. You’re not one of those, are you?”

Aronin didn’t reply, he only had eyes for the news. It didn’t matter now that the event were on the other side of town. He had to get there, because the police wouldn’t.

Big Boss · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Big Boss** on Tue Aug 04, 2009 7:04 pm

Hello my name is Gabriel Black or at least it was...

In the south district the Gentek labs were silent as most had left for the night all but a few scientist who were working on something, something Gentek didn't want there other workers knowing about. Guards patrolled the outside of the building Gentek having to beef up there security because attacks against Gentek facility's by raiders looking for Biomods to sell on the black market. Back in the labs stood three scientist with note pads staring into a large sedation pod writing down notes as they studied the subject in side known as Prototype-001 there it was floating in side the pod in liquid that held a million little nano-bots inside. There it slept in a induced coma unaware of its surroundings or that's its even alive. "are we almost ready to draw a sample form it?" The scientist with glasses asked as he put his hand on the pod staring into it like a moth to the flame. "Yes shall I began?" The female scientist asked. "Yes let see if we can get a better sample today." The scientist with the glasses said. The female scientist then started the extraction processes as two needles built into the pod made there way to the subjects neck. The needles pierced the subjects neck and slowly started to draw blood from it, they had almost finished getting there sample. The scientist with the glasses then screamed and fell backwards the others were shaken by his shout of horror as they quickly brought there attention to the sedation pod. To there dismay they realized the subjects eyes were opened and looking right at them. The female scientist screamed as she ran out of the lab and another hit the alarm.

Heavily armed soldiers entered the lab and started to talk to the scientist, the scientist seemed to be shouting at the solider but then they just opened fire killing the scientists. They then started to upload all the info off of there computers, once they got what they needed they destroyed all the computers. They then took aim at the sedation pod the subjects eyes widened as he banged on the glass just as they opened fire ripping through the glass and the subject inside. Its limp body fell to the ground covered in bullet holes as it laid in a pool of its own blood, the soldiers examined the body making sure it was dead as they fired another shot into the back of its head. "Are the rigs set?" The squad leader asked one of the other soldiers. "Yes sir." the soldier replied. "Ok lets move!" The squad leader shouted they then made there way out of the building and headed for the exit. When they made it to the buildings exit they were surprised to see the bloody mess they left back in the lab was now blocking there only exit. They quickly went for there guns but before they could even align there sights it was on top of them. It had punched a hole right through the squad leaders chest and quickly consumed him breaking down his Biomass as the others opened fire on it but it seemed there bullets had no effect on him. It grabbed its head in pain as visions entered his mind they seemed to be the memories of the now consumed squad leader. It was a memory of the squad leader getting his briefing and orders. "Sargent it seems the Zeus project has been compromised your orders are to eliminate all project personnel and destroy any ties to us including Gabriel Black." "Yes sir!...." Gabriel then snapped out of the trance and his arm started to change into something else "Whats happening to me!" Gabriel shouted as his right arm transformed into a huge blade. The soldiers looked on in shock as they tried to retreat "Don't Run Now!!!!" Gabriel shouted as he lunged at them cutting one in half right down the middle, blood sprayed from there wounds as he consumed them one by one. As he consumed them he learned that they had planted charges in the building wiring it to explode. He quickly made his way out the building and just in time to see it go up in smoke.

Gabriel didn't know what was going on he stared at his blade arm in awe at what he was able to do what he had done. "What am I what have these people done to me." He asked himself not able to remember anything about himself beside his name.

Nevyn · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Nevyn** on Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:07 am

T.C. entered a hotel lobby somewhere in the Northern District. He waited a moment to look around, checking the people to see who might be off any tread to him. Since they where all snobbish rich people the only one posing a tread would be the skinny guy after the desk. But he was so preoccupied with his job that T.C. didn't worry.

Now that everything seemed save, T.C. walked over to a table where a man in a fine white suit was seated.
"You are early!" Called the man as he offered T.C. a place to sit.
T.C. sat down with his back against the wall so he could keep watch of what was happening in the lobby. “Things where easy."
The man leaned forward, his brown eyes twinkling with eagerness. "You got the package?"
"Off course." And T.C. took out a brown envelope from his pocket. "You got the money."
"I want to see it first, show me the chips and then I'll give you the money." The man stretched out his hands towards the envelope.
T.C. held the envelope back outside the man's reach. "You know how I work, first the money then you get your package. If you don't got the money stop wasting my time."

The man laughed out so loudly everybody turned to watch him and T.C. "You never change do you, well that is what makes you so good I guess.” The man signalled to the skinny guy after the front desk. He nodded and ran over to the table, holding a black briefcase.
“Here you go sir, anything else you need?” His squeaky voice goes perfect with his skinny appearance.
“No that is all.” Then the man opened the briefcase, showing the money inside at T.C. “I guarantee you that everything is inside.”
T.C. closed the case. “It better be, you know what will happen if you lie to me.” T.C. stood up, took the briefcase and threw the envelope on the table.
“A pleasure doing business with you. You know where to find me if you got an other job for me”
The man took the envelope and looked inside it. He turned to say anything to T.C. but T.C. was already gone.

---

Back at his house, T.C. opens the briefcase and counts the money. All he asked for it is inside it with even a little bonus. He smiled as he sat the briefcase in a corner of his bedroom.
He put the TV on and heard the news reporter talk about something going on in the shopping plaza and something about an accident in a military facility.
But this was just nothing special, what would he care about this. It had nothing to do with him and it wasn’t his job to care.
Since he got nothing to do, T.C. lay down on the bed. Just waiting till his cell would ring for a new job to do.

Oddly8Heroic · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Oddly8Heroic** on Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:41 am

Benjamin Roy stood against the concrete walls of his shop, a modest store filled with all the basic necessities, lamely named Roy's Goods. Silently, he whistled to himself, staring at the florist across the street, pondering a visit. Gloria would love a nice dozen roses... Benjamin thought to himself, folding him arms. I haven't seen her in months... I don't even know if she lives in Hope City... he thought, shooting down the idea in his head.

For about an hour Benjamin stood against that wall, nodding to random passing citizens that he might've known, whistling old show tunes, and counting pebbles on the ground. Today was a pretty slow day. He'd made sure to put out the little sign that said "Open," yet no one seemed to notice. He didn't care. Yesterday's sale had set him up with enough money to last a few years. Maybe he'd take himself out to dinner, it'd been a while since he'd—
"Benji, look at yourself." An officer in a blue police uniform, liken to those of the 21st century, approached Benjamin with an uncomfortable look on his face. "You have those hulking, steel arms... and I bet your looking through all those walls over there!" he exclaimed, gesturing to the walls across the streets. "You could be a super cop... remember all those old movies? You could be the fuckin' Robocop!" the officer shouted, but Benjamin had hardly noticed.
It was all noise in his ear.
"Joe, how many times do I have to tell you?" Benjamin sighed, resting his forehead against the base of his palm. "I'm not going back, the HCPD doesn't need me." Suddenly, memories of the old days flooded into his head. How everyone loved him when he busted a crook, busted a dealer, or just saved a civilian. Now he could barely hold a gun without crushing it in his hulk grip. He would only cost them money.

"What're you talking about? Benji, look. Crime is going up, and with all those fuckin' vigilantes running around doing God knows what, we need cops like you! Determined, strong, and vigilente. We need you Benji, we do," Joe cried, gently placing his hand on Benjamin's shoulder, instantly taking it
away when he felt the hardness of its steel exterior.

Benjamin sighed and shook his head. "Joe, I'm tired of that life. I'm tired of being forced to do the right thing; I just want to live. I'm never going back; I'm never going back...

----
What the fuck happened to ‘I’m not going back?’ didn’t I understand?

Benjamin groaned and rubbed his eyes with the base of his palm when he heard people attacking his front door. The sheer annoyance of its shredding steel seemed to cut through his ear drums. He wanted to rip them out with his own two, metallic arms. He turned his head over, and triggered the X-Ray vision in his eyes.

Five guys were standing outside his door; one was slashing through it with his arms. Biomods… he thought immediately, jumping up from his bed. He kicked down the door between his bedroom and the shop with a single kick, and almost lost his balance when the sound of a gunshot ripped through his ears. Suddenly, the man ripping through his door fell to the ground, blood gushing from his head.

The other four didn’t seem to notice the geyser of blood and their fallen comrade, because they proceeded to attack his shop with various blunt objects. They were all showing strength above that of the average criminal. Bio junkies, all of them…

Suddenly, adrenaline took over. Like a raging elephant, Benjamin charged forward, his metallic arms sweeping the other four criminals back, throwing them out of his shop in a wave of sheer strength. He could see the people surrounding his house, and even the police, despite the fact they weren’t doing anything.

Rules… Benjamin thought, scoffing. I’m not going back.

He looked behind him before he proceeded, noticing a man a few roofs behind him holding a sniper rifle. “Thank you!” Benjamin shouted to him before he turned back to the men who tried to destroy his shop. He could hear helicopters above, possibly recording this, and he knew the police were surprised. They haven’t seen Benjamin in action in a while.

But he enjoyed the adrenaline rush, the feeling of blood against his steel. He proceeded to violently pummel the men, reluctantly stopping himself when he realized they were almost dead. Benjamin dropped the man he was carrying and let out a deep breath. Now he knew why he wouldn’t go back to the HCPD.

Jairo · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Jairo** on Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:33 am

Nicholai smiled, a bright flash of white and arrogance across his shadowed face as he counted the money he had acquired from his recent mission. Another new suitcase, it seemed, to add to his collection. Above, the night air was only just now cooling the dregs of society with its icy claws, lulling some with sleep and others with renewed vigour. In truth, the acquisition wasn’t that grand – he certainly had far more generous buyers for far less work, but it seemed that, what with the recent political killings and all, people were expecting more for far less.

Standing up, he looked about at the ruins of the ‘battlefield’, an alleyway riddled with holes and graffiti and blood, stinking of drugs and decay, the bitter taste of smoke and powder thick on his tongue. A familiar sight in a war-torn city. He held up his hand, letting the heavy array of bullets circle around an unseen magnetic centre before forcing them to spin in a cryptic and mesmerizing pattern. Most were still dripping with blood.

With a sudden motion, he twitched his fingers, clawed and palsied in their new stance as the bullets each in turn were manipulated into small spherical granules, the metal now pure and polished from their once blast-wrought misshapen figures. A small, almost rain-like sound followed as the blood and powder and grit filtered through his palm and fingertips as the tainted metal was purified.

His fingers slackened and he let them dance a bit more before putting them in one of his cross-pouches over his chest, hearing the heavy new load clink with the old ones, almost chirping in their greeting.

Standing up, he turned to leave, snapping his fingers once behind him, the sound crisp and clear in the deadened silence of the alleyway. All around him, the darkest corners of the shadows themselves seemed to move, twisting and forming and recreating themselves as one before refracting, revealing more and more of the slithering shadows. Moving almost as one, the snake-like tats (which seemed at once part of the graffiti and yet part pure, absolute darkness) slithered through their corners and hiding places, slinking over dust and rubble and debris smoothly. Nicholai extended his hand as he walked, letting his smooth, pampered hand scrape through the roughened texture of the wall and in that instant the snakes seemed to frenzy in their movement, all converging in that one point before crawling their way up his arm, back to their original positions without so much as a hiss or rattle.

He breathed in the sickly-sweet night air, tainted in a magnificent cacophony of sin and shame. Turning the corner he walked in the moonlight openly, all bravado and confidence in his action, unafraid in this poisoned city of steel and iron.

Around him, he heard the sound of police sirens echoing noisily. A regular sound in the city, yes, but tonight he was curious. One last police car roared past, heading towards the spot where all of the other cars were parked, and Nicholai quickly placed a hand at the back, placing one of his snakes at the bumper. He focused and, with a bit of effort trying to manipulate it from a moving vehicle, he slithered it near the front, hiding it in the shadow of the crevice where the windshield wipers lay unused in the crisp night air.

“Hm...” he said, closing his eyes and replacing his vision with the snake’s, “The small shopping district? Now why would people want to...” he questioned, before shaking his head. It’s pointless trying to read into some peoples’ objectives. Some just want to warm up in the blaze, as they say.

Opening his eyes and blinking a little, he focused back to his own vision. He smiled as he waved his hand near a metal wall, focusing to displace the metal to create a small hole, a passageway into another small alleyway on the other side. He would get there in no time at all. Nicholai smiled in anticipation, the motion bright and terrifying on his shadowed face.

Vizzer123 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Vizzer123** on Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:38 pm

Jake looked at the clock he had on his left wrist. "Time to call it a night" He sighed as he stretched his back, producing a series of snaps. He had been sitting bent forwards for almost an hour, trying to fix a programming error in the VI (Virtual Intelligence) computer of the last vehicle for the day. He moved his right hand over the computer panel and a thin layer of glass slid forward to protect it. Just as he was about to turn off the ancient radio that had been playing in the background for the whole working day a news report caught his attention.

We have just gotten reports of a break in at one of the shops in the central shopping Plaza, police have not been able to interfere as the criminals are seemingly in possession of dangerous biomods... Jake shut of the radio and cursed at not having access to his mask. He would have to remember to bring it tomorrow. He quickly put his jacket on and took a dirty piece of cloth which he cut a long opening for his eyes in and covered his face with it. As he left the repair shop through the backdoor he punched in a code in the panel by the door and the whole shop was surrounded by reinforced steel plates.

Withing seconds he was running inhumanly fast through the alley, causing all the rubble and waste to be pulled up by the wind and get thrown away to the sides. He had done this many times before, and knew that the distance was just enough to build the speed he needed. Just two feet away from a wall in front of him he kicked away with his feet, and landed on the wall while continuing to run. 30 feet, 60 feet, 90 feet and lastly at 100 feet he reached the rooftop, just as his speed had dropped to the slowest possible but still allowing him to continue upward. His left hand grabbed the edge of the roof and instead of continuing up he stopped in a crouching position on the edge of the roof. Ahead of him was the plaza. He started moving again...

A few minutes later he was at the roof of the house next to the plaza, he positioned himself as far away from the edge as possible and then used all his speed and jumped just as he was at the edge. The jump didn't take him very high, but the speed made him almost fly forward. A s he landed at the roof of the Plaza he oddly enough didn't make a sound, and he was very satisfied with that. He had practiced on his landings for quite some time now and it seemed that he finally had perfected them. His eyes scanned the roof and he quickly noticed a trapdoor in the roof which he quickly approached. He tried to open it directly but he didn't have such luck, it was locked. He rolled up the left sleeve of his jacket, revealing a robotic arm. He pushed a few buttons on what seemed like a PDA and then the trapdoor gave off a quiet 'click'. He opened it and slid in.

A moment later...

He was now hanging upside down in the ceiling, watching what went on below him, being careful to stay in the shadows and not reveal himself.

Big Boss · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Big Boss** on Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:55 pm

ATTACK!!!!

Gabriel could hear something in the distance but he wasn't sure what it was, but then it got louder the sound of spinning propellers could be heard above him. He looked up but was blinded by a bright spot light from the attack chopper above him. "Target spotted red crown requesting permission to engage." The pilot said into his head phones. "Weapons are free black hawk you are a go." The handler replied. Gabriel's eyes widened as the chopper opened fire with its 50. Cal mounted cannon. Gabriel just threw his hands in front of him as the explosive rounds hit all around him ripping the ground up and creating a giant cluster of smoke. "Red Crown this is black hawk target elimina..." The chopper pilot paused in mid sentence as shock set in it seemed that he had failed to destroy Gabriel, the smoke cleared and Gabriel was standing there encased is full body armor not a scratch on him. "what the fuck?!... Red crown scratch that target seems to be covered in some kind of armor attack run failed." The pilot turned the chopper and lined up with Gabriel again getting ready for another attack run."Black hawk missiles free, turn that area into a parking lot." The handler ordered. "Roger Red crown fox one off the chain." The pilot said as he fired a sidewinder at Gabriel.

"Fuck!" Gabriel shouted at he turned an ran for his life as the sidewinder chased him down and the chopper followed right behind it. The very ground shook and cracked as Gabriel ran through the streets of the south eastern housing district, people looked from there windows as they watched a missile went flying down the street after Gabriel. "I can't shake this fucking thing!" Gabriel shouted as he ducked into an alleyway but to his displeasure it was a dead end and the missile was closing in on him. A building blocked the end of the alley Gabriel had no where to go so he just kept running. He was running so fast that when he hit the wall he just ran right up the side of it running right up the building. The missile hit the wall blowing a hole in the building killing the family that lived in the apartment. "Red Crown target is now in a red zone unable to engage target with out civilian casualty's." The pilot said as he ascended up following Gabriel as he ran up the side of the building. "Black hawk you are to destroy the target level the building if you must." The handler informed the pilot. "Roger red crown." The pilot said as he opened fire with his 50.cal again. "God dammit stop there are people in there!" Gabriel shouted as he ran the choppers fire hitting just behind him ripping the side of the building apart. Gabriel pushed off the building and lunged at the chopper landing on the cockpit. "Target is on bored we cant shake him off!." The pilot shouted as Gabriel ripped open the cockpit with his bare hands and the formed his blade arm. "Oh god no no nooooo!!!!" was all that could be heard over the radio as Gabriel ripped the pilots apart. "Black hawk come in!, Come in Black hawk what is your status?!" The handler shouted and she then got a reply. "This is Gabriel Black your pilots are now apart of me, you should have sent more choppers." Were the last words he said then the radio went to static. Gabriel landed the chopper on the roof he could hear the sirens from the police cars they were heading right for him it was time for him to leave. So he changed back into his normal self and jumped from the building hitting the ground with a thump breaking the asphalt under him he then headed for the slums some where safe some where he could get answers.

Conumbra · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Conumbra** on Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:05 pm

Sear surveyed the scene that had just occurred in the Shopping Plaza. A new person had arrived to "help" Searl out. Unfortunately for the new guy he was now a hindrance to him. Someone who could be linked to him. The press as well as the police cordoning off the area were also witnesses he could not afford. Not with his precious operation going so well. One mistake in his finely tuned machine of a life and all the cogs would fall apart long with him. He looked up at the helicopters with his eyes and zoomed in the glass of their windows. They didn't seem to be bulletproof. That was incredibly unwise considering they were in Hope City, one of the most crime-ridden places on the planet. Now he could probably get a good enough shot in so that he could knock off the pilot which was probably the most logical course of action.

The odds that anyone else would have the experience and know-how to fly that helicopter were remarkably low. As soon as he made the shot he would then get out of the Shopping Plaza as quickly as possible. No doubt an event like that would draw in the press, the police and just about anyone else near that area who could see or hear. He did not like the publicity but it was something he could afford. His sniper rifle was a common enough model. It was widely distributed throughout the criminal Black Market because of the range its bullet could travel. It even seemed to rival military sniper rifles in its bullet range. He then zoomed in on the pilot's helmet which was extremely tricky considering that the helicopter was a moving target and being a sniper he was a lot more used to stationary targets. He zoomed in with his eye, lined up the cross hairs just in front of the pilot's face so that by the time it got their it would hit him square in the face. He then took the shot after whispering "Bang" again. He did not know why he said it but he could figure it out later. It turned out that his aim had been a little off so he had hit the pilot in the chest. The pilot had then slumped over on the controls and had sent the helicopter to a mad swirl down towards the plaza.

He then began to run away as quickly as he could after slinging the rifle across his back. He just gunned for it. If that explosion reached him there was a good chance that the steel that his skin was composed off would be torn off. It would leave his regular skin behind but the pain would send him into unconsciousness and he would be ripe for any vigilantes or criminals to pick him off. He needed to get out of their fast. Really fast. As he left he heard guns somewhere to the south but he paid it no mind as he ran out of that area.

souloe · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **souloe** on Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:51 pm

::Elia Rosewell::

Elia Rosewell, a researcher, sat fashionably on her massage chair as pedestrians fled quickly by. They paid no attention to her white bath robes and she paid no attention to the heavy ruckus of the attack in the local shopping plaza. They were, after all, just a holographic projection of what the reporters are releasing through the news broadcast.

News! The police have proven ineffective against the five vandals. Reports are coming in that the persons have obtained illegal biomods, and other reports are claiming that several others have arrived at the place. The police have enclosed the area for the danger to civil life.

Rummaging through the paperwork on her glass table Rosewell habitually brushed back her golden caramel blond hair to behind her ears revealing a pair of soft crystal blue orbs soaking in the details of the said documents. With the flicker of channels five holographic screens appeared over the realistic environment and projected Malcolm's private office revealing his unspeakable hobby.

Not that stalking was Elia's hobby but Chapel does have a certain unspoken relationship with the girl. He was her sponsor, funding various projects 'Bringing Good Health To All' and then some beneath the table. They were in a kind of coopetition relationship. She provided various breakthroughs to further his developments and he provided cold cash for her research. They bought products off each other but yet at the same time competed against each other on the black market where income was obscenely greater than those earned by a legitimate business.

Without Elia touching the remote control on the table, the holographic projection of the plaza suddenly changed to that of a certain location in the southern district. The sea of flames finally caught her attention when even the future mayor's scandal did not. Swirling the glass of champagne in her hand, Rosewell leaned back relaxing and smiled softly as though the explosion, the soldiers and Gabriel Black's escape were all within her calculations.

"What am I what have these people done to me."

Casually carrying the glass to her direct line of vision, Elia watched the distorted image of Gabriel Black almost symbolic of his unsettling state of mind. Her long eyelashes blinked once watching the man flee into the slums. There was a look of approval in her eyes. After what seemed like another blink, an unknown man approached Black. Rosewell lowered glass to her lips feeling the cold hard texture before allowing its fluid to flow gently down her throat.

Gripping tightly in his hands was an orange envelop with unknown contents. His face was composed as a middle aged businessman should but his hands and forehead was sweating as though he was afraid of something. Certainly a man wearing business attires seems rather out of place in the slums but he tried his best not to look vulnerable.

Hesitantly he walked up to Black and passed the envelop to him before slipping by muttering something about a bird; Falcon.

Elia crossed her legs and rested her elbows on the arm of the chair. That man had fulfilled his payment for the phantom hacker's services. The documents within carried information about the city and of paid-for-essentials waiting for Black to begin a new life in the city. While it carried no information about the provider it did have a blank piece of paper with a single line of words printed in the middle. Of course, if Gabriel chose to kill the messenger these words would mean something completely different.

~What goes around, comes around~

But otherwise... if Black wanted to he should still be able to catch up with the man.

[edited]

Nyxeth · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Nyxeth** on Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:58 am

Peaceful, quaint, idealic, words used to sell Hope City to the would be property buyers of the solar systems and colonies. What would they think now as police siren's wailed through the streets. Where attack helicopters pursued unknown targets. Where explosions filled the night air. Yes, explosions, it seems amongst the biomodified thugs rampaging the Central Shopping Plaza, they weren't all the same. Whilst none of them particularly cared for each other, heck their emotions were probably so riddled and destroyed they were more like biological machines, regardless. When one felt threatened, they all did.

The first one to fall was the one ripping up the protective sliding door at the front of the shop, a bullet from an unseen foe had shattered and crushed his entire skull from the impact, splattering the useless material inside across the wall as the corpse sunk heavily to the floor. The thought of all the thugs was quite simply, "Who is shooting at us and when can we fuck him up.", to that surprisingly, they scattered into two pairs. One pair was headed for the presumed direction of the unknown sniper, barging and beating their way through the police blockade at the nearest entrance which could of otherwise been flimsy cardboard cut outs to the thugs. The other two decided to square off against the ex-cop, both were wary after his initial show of power, however they were confident.

Now, before we continue. Ask yourself what would a flame of around 300 Celsius do to a human? Well we're about to find out, considering as one of the thugs squaring up the cop decided it would be a pleasant way to start the fight. Opening his mouth wide, wider than should be physically possible, one could see his entire mouth had all the usual parts removed, teeth to the tongue were gone. Instead lining the mouth seemed to be thick and protective scales, all to protect itself as ten meters of skin and bone melting fire roared out from the guys maw. During all of this, the other thug took several steps back from the sheer heat, arms raising to cover his face as the skin began to blister from the proximity.

Elsewhere, the two thugs which had gone rampaging after the shooter paid little attention as the helicopter roared by, anger focusing them on the target, now whilst sight failed them. Being too stupid to look up, biomods did not. With bat like, sonar precision even amongst all the background noise, the distinct ring of the second shot drove the thug into a frenzy having heard the initial shot in a similar manner. The other thug, confused by his would be actions, merely shrugged his shoulders and followed the other's instructions as they began to run down the alleyway of the building the offending sniper was on.

DeeviousDemon · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **DeeviousDemon** on Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:25 pm

~Milana Del a Rossa~

Meanwhile somewhere in the Southeastern housing district ...

Another one of those many skyscrapers, situated towards the center of Hope Cities Southeastern district. The sun had hid itself behind a veil of midnight blue and the only light leading those walking through the night, were the fluorescent lampposts build at every corner of any road in town. A slender figure standing by a 10 foot window, only wrapped up sloppily in soft cream colored satin sheets; putting her olive skin on display - empathetically looking down onto the cold Grey roads beneath. Milana was occupying the penthouse suite of the elaborate 87 story building (which is called the Demeter Star), granting her a rather gracious overview of the obnoxious city part she lived in.

She had just woken up, her raven black hair still a little messy - wild and untamed it was flowing down her bare back. Amber freckled eyes staring into the distance, drifting off further and further into the darkness ahead.To her it was something like a ritual but no one knew the real reason she would stare into the distance like that. It was somehow the only way for her to properly wake up - her brain functioned differently from any other 'normal' human beings, thanks to the Bio-modifications. Raising an eyebrow - nothing particularly playing on her mind - she emerged out of her thoughts with a sarcastic smirk, turning away from the window of her bedroom she was heading for the living room - holding on tight to the sheet wrapped around herself.

"Leo, do I have any new messages?" she sat herself down upon a black leather sofa, switching the virtual screen on - she flipped it to the news channel - mute.

"Yes, you have 15 unheard messages - would you like me to play them for you now?" a robotic, stoic, male voice answered.

"Scan for priority first" crossing her legs casually one over the other, her focus upon watching the different happenings of the passed day.

"2 Messages fall under the category 8, would you like me to play them for you now?" Leo asked her again, the resident Ai which was solemnly responsible for everything organization wise. Especially since she had programmed it herself - she trusted it more than anything else in her life.

"No send it to my mobile phone, I'll listen to them later" she said shortly before un-muting the news ... something had caught her attention.

News! The police have proven ineffective against the five vandals. Reports are coming in that the persons have obtained illegal Biomods, and other reports are claiming that several others have arrived at the place. The police have enclosed the area for the danger to civil life.

Leaning forward, letting go of the sheets covering her front she placed her elbows on her thighs and leaned her chin upon the insides of her hands. Studying the report she threw the screen a doubtful look, things like that had happened quite a lot lately. It almost felt as if these Biomods 'stolen' were somehow actually tried out in real life combat. But than again working in the assassination business and keeping allies to small numbers, did make someone like her quite paranoid and just like always she just wrote it off as such. A mere attempt of criminals trying to get something of high value - thus Biomods were landing on the Black Market in ship loads.

The night was young but Milana had no intend of going there to check out the situation - she was someone who worked for money, CREDIT only. She was no hero nor was she trying to become one - this city and this society could kiss her well toned behind, she couldn't care less. Rolling her eyes at the screen, which was now displaying a message from one of the men - who were running for Mayor in this god forsaken town. "Well looks like mister Malcolm Chapel will have enough on his plate for another two lifetimes." she mumbled under her breath, only barely audible.

Yawning full heartedly, she turned the virtual screen off - getting up from the comfortable 3 seater, dragging the sheets she had wrapped around herself earlier along the floor now. She was heading for the shower before jumping into another little mission she had scheduled for 2.45am. 'Plenty of time' she thought - throwing a quick gaze upon the digital clock which read "11.38pm" before disappearing into the bathroom.

Big Boss · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Big Boss** on Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:28 pm

Returning to those whoring streets

Gabriel walked through the streets of the slums the sent of decay was heavy in the air, building's cracked and worn children running through the dark streets half naked with swollen stomachs fighting for scraps of food. Mothers selling there baby's for money so they can wrap there lips around that glass pipe just to numb the pain of there broken lives. Gang members selling drugs on the corner most not even older then ten. This was the slums the whoring streets of hope city and for some strange reason Gabriel felt like he was home. He took it all in watching for anything out of the norm when he spotted something that was out of place. A man wearing a business suit the man then started to approach him, Gabriel was unsure what to make of this but he kept his guard up just the same. The businessman walked past him handing him a envelope, Inside was information about the city and of paid-for-essentials as well as a note. The note read "what goes around, comes around." Gabriel didn't know what to make of all this it seemed like someone was threatening him trying to tell him to just disappear.

Gabriel looked back at the businessman as he hurried away from Gabriel, Gabriel chased after him the man looked back and could see Gabriel and started to run for his life. Gabriel was just to fast closing the distance between them in a second, Gabriel grabbed the man by the back of the neck and turned him him around so he was facing him. "What is this all about?" Gabriel asked the man he didn't answer he seemed to be worried or scared of something besides Gabriel. "Who sent you?" Gabriel asked but again got no response from the man who quivered in Gabriel's hands. "I see you're not going to tell me anything, no matter you don't have to say a thing." Gabriel said as he patted the man on the shoulder, Gabriel turned as if he was going to walk away. The man let out a sigh of relief as he thought he was safe now, Gabriel then turned grabbing the poor man by the face. Gabriel slammed the back of the mans head against a brick wall every slam breaking down the mans Biomass as Gabriel consumed him. Once consumed Gabriel grabbed his head in pain as the mans last memories played out in his head like a movie.

It seemed it was a vision of him getting his orders from the person who sent him here...

It began as the man browsed a certain forum on the internet. He didn't think it would be real. At first it was just talking to a random guy on the internet about how life can be a drag. But he was the only one that was willing to listen and soon he talked about more things and even joked about an illegal desire that could get him back on his feet and fix a lot of life's problem for him. He wasn't actually serious but... he offered to help requesting help in return. He didn't think it would be real.

But it happened in the newspaper the next day just as he requested. Fear; Uncertainty; Guilt; They filled his mind and he quickly dismissed it deciding not to go on the forum again and he could be easily done with. Not his fault; No need to get involved. A sudden text message changed his mind.

~What goes around, Comes around~

Quickly he went back to the forum and sure enough there was a message for him. He was wondering if the man wanted to go back on his promise. He wanted him to help someone else in need just as he was helped.

Was that it? He was helped by someone in need so he must help someone else in need. What goes around, comes around. The man's heart relaxed and he waited for directions. He prepared everything needed for a person to restart their life and delivered the details in an envelop just as requested. But its strange he realizes. Its like he is watching him from above with keen eyes... like a falcon making sure the deal was complete. How did he know this man would pass by here anyways?

But now... sorry Maria, take care of the children..." Gabriel awoke from the vision and walked into the dark alley talking to himself. "What goes around, comes around?....it seems like I have made a new friend." Gabriel said as he threw the envelope away and everything it held inside.

~Edited~

Nyxeth · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Nyxeth** on Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:39 pm

Malcolm was truly amused by the events thus far as his keen eyes followed the events on the monitors; in nature of his experiments he had not trialled the biomods before letting the thugs loose, this was the trial itself he mused. Unlike his current thoughts and emotions, ranging from giddy amusement to solemn laughter throughout the affairs, his posture was all the while perfect, straight backed within his leather chair - pointedly the leather chair was most likely worth more than the average man's salary could afford in two years, the leather of the beast which it was made of had been an illegal material to traffic for several years.

Growing curious as the events began to unfold on the monitors, from the attack from the sniper to the ex-cop, he idly keyed in a few commands into the control pad of the monitors and other visual equipment available within the office. The commands, produced two holographic images, one of the ex-cop, high lighting the model of his biomechanical arms all the way down to the average BPM of his heart and the amount of sweat his body was producing. The other image, was that of the Sniper rifle model that had been used, from the impact, angle and round type of the bullet that had killed one of the thugs, the computer had calculated the data and had produced several types, it then whittled them down to the only one available in circulation. Legally or not.

Nodding his head to himself, Malcolm was quite thrilled over the prospect of seeing his creations in live combat, he doubted with their current mental strain and the fact that their bodies were probably breaking down around now that they would last the bout. Shutting off the holographic projectors, his attention returned to the monitors. Now something new had popped up, not out of the ordinary in recent days but still a nuisance, a beeping symbol of a broken key, a motif to represent only one thing, a hacker.

Now, Malcolm was all one for privacy, and in his days so far as the shadow leader of the criminal underground, many had snooped around, hackers that is. Few had been successful, in fact the only one who was successful was now a scientific correspondence of his.

That person, Elia Rosewell by name as he knew, was the person he was currently sending a hard call to. Now, often a phone call must be picked up on the opposite end, through the technology available to Malcolm however, the holographic screens he was aware Elia owned would spark into life, if they were off. Projecting a rather overly large impersonation of his head - an idea he had picked up from watching the odd film or two.

His voice, synthesized as he often did with such communication to make it impossible to voice recognize in the event the authorities got a hold of the line boomed loudly as he spoke into the sound devices within his office. "Elia, now whilst I appreciate the attention, especially with the upcoming election. I must remind you that I do not particular enjoy prying eyes during my working hours.", he paused as he let the words settle before he proceeded to continue. "You know full well I can pull the funding to all your... projects, in a heartbeat. Amongst other things I could also do, however you are useful to me in most cases and as such I will... let this prying slide, for today."

At his last word, the forceful intrusion on her devices stopped, his holographic image dissipating and the normal functions of her equipment would return. Turning back to the monitors, he was ready to continue watching the events unfold at the Plaza until yet another icon, the letters AI-S were flashing. AI-S was the call card of his secretary, one of his many Artificial systems to cut down on wage costs as the majority of the hospital below within the spire, the spire itself being situation on top of the Central Hospital amongst the other research areas were run by the AI, excluding much of the medical and research staff.

Tapping in the command to retrieve the message the AI was prompting at him, it was polite and curt, as he liked. "There is someone approaching the business entrance Sir, the security wishes to know if he should be given access. The scans reveal he is not on the database and he is armed.", on the side monitor of his desk, an image flashed as the message was given. A image, along with the scan results for Laredo were displayed, including a reference on the weapon he was carrying. By appearances, the man was a scruffy begger, yet the weapon he carried was by no means run of the mill.

Pondering the man, he idly wondered before pressing the button on the intercom, to return the message, "Stop the man at the entrance and inquire about his reason for being here, tell me what it is immediately. Inform the security to prepare in case he is more than he appears". The security, which was mentioned were not your average guards, like any evil mastermind one must understand you may be under threat from anyone and everything and as such to be prepared, Malcolm's preparation for lack of better words is a security protocol pumped to the eyeballs with biomods which not only gave them excellent abilities and physical prowess but utter obedience to him.

There was a small army of this security within the Spire, now the Spire at the top of the building was Malcolm's personal office, penthouse apartment and numerous other leisurely areas for his own enjoyment, the middle levels contained much of his legal research as he found both illegal and legal research to be entertaining. Amongst these labs were also storage areas for the components of this research. Ground and lower levels were adjoined to the hospital and R&D departments, a 'public' area so to speak. All of which of this massive building, was full of his army.

Fluesopp · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Fluesopp** on Thu Aug 06, 2009 5:16 pm

”Hey, did you see that guy?” Chris said as they left the bar. “He totally beat up those thugs in one hit!”

“Thought you weren’t so keen on people with biomods,” Aronin replied and scowled upon him.

“Yeah, but people like that. They are the good kind, the people who should be allowed to have them.”

“And you don’t think I should be allowed?”

Chris let out a laugh and patted Aronin on the back. “No offence bro, but you are just not the type. What would you have? Telekinesis?”

Aronin shrugged, “Maybe,” and laughed innocent back. If he only knew.

“Well, see you tomorrow then. Are you sure you have to do this homework right now?” Chris said as they arrived at Aronin’s apartment.

“Yes, I already told you,” Aronin replied. “The transit broke down and it’s due tomorrow.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

“Sure..”

Making sure Chris really had left he put on his coat and locked the door. He didn’t want anyone to see him so he checked the lightning outside his wall and satisfied, he walked through his wall into the air outside. The coat and the chill air gave him a different kind of energy; a satisfied feeling of justice flowed through him as he floated down to the ground. The criminals of the night had better find another night to do their shady business.

The transit station was just a quick walk away and Aronin was glad that there was almost no one there right now. I would mean fewer stops, meaning a shorter travel time. He dared not fly, as the sky was well enough lit with all those lights below; he’d stick out like a sore thumb against the sky. But the transit would take him there almost as quick, and more unsuspiciously. His work would be best done in secrecy.

Aronin was lucky; he arrived on his desired station only a mere minute later, a station just beside the shopping plaza. But unlike the south west district, this district was crowded. There were people everywhere, probably the evacuated citizens, Aronin thought as he made his way towards the plaza.

“I hate you people. What have you ever done against him?” He didn’t say it out loud; it was only a mental preparation. Before the night was over he might have to kill someone.

Vizzer123 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Vizzer123** on Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:35 pm

Jake observed as two of the villains started to move away, seemingly towards the Sniper who now also had shot down a helicopter. He found himself thinking why no one seemed to know the meaning of the word 'discretion'. He sighed as he swung back upon the roof supporting beam that he had been hanging on. He was planning to question one of the villains now going after the Sniper, as the two still below him would probably not be as easy to get to. He made his way along the beam until he reached the trapdoor that he had entered through, noted where the two had exited the Plaza and a moment later he was standing at the edge of the roof, his eyes scanning the are for the two. He caught a glimpse of the Sniper before he got out of his sight, and he decided that he would wait at that place for the villains. The problem now was how to the ground without being crushed. Had he had his usual equipment it would have been a piece of cake.

He now saw the two of interest running through an alleyway close to where he had seen the Sniper and decided he couldn't stay here anymore. He now noticed the walls on this side was a little sloped, which could allow him to slide down them. He took advantage of this and slowly lowered himself to the wall, and then let go of the roof edge. He went sliding down at an alarming speed and soon he heard a strange noise produced by the friction of his clothes against the wall. Just before reaching the ground he started running down, which would allow him to land and keep his momentum, after all he was used to these speeds. As he landed he took a detour around a few buildings so he could ambush the two villains at the spot he had noticed. As he got there he positioned himself in plain sight and in their way so that they would have to confront him when they arrived there and saw him.

DeeviousDemon · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **DeeviousDemon** on Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:39 pm

~Milana Del a Rossa~

Every audio transmitter in Milana's apartment was blearing a loud melody underlaid by a deep purring bass ~ words of a long forgotten poet hammering through the air.

B!tch made ****** and that bullshit you going through,
Outlaws busting while we rushing,
We're Untouchable

It did make her chuckle whenever she did dig out the old school line and prepared for another night. The usual - she was given a mark, at least half of the Credit promised was paid in advance, the rest would be transferred to her account once the mission was completed. Of course anonymity was something which was highly respected and while she never would ask for any kind of identification from her clients; they would never demand anything of that kind from her.

Apparently the mark had a predilection towards blonds in skimpy dresses - sitting by a mirror she had just finished getting ready. A honey blond wig on, dolled up and dressed in a black glitter-dress with black stilettos. No place to really hide a weapon, she had to do it the old fashioned way - unless she wanted to spill blood, then she could always use a knife. Well if someone would say electrocuting a person was old fashioned, than that statement would be quite right. Sighing she picked up a small black clutch heading for the door, it was about time 00.52am.

"Leo, be nice and have a cab waiting for me when I get down" she sounded as if she was actually talking to a living, breathing individual - in ways he was very real to her. With a rather sickeningly sweet smile on her lips she closed the door, leaving her penthouse suite via the elevator. Checking her makeup one last time, while waiting for the elevator to get to the ground floor - eyes flickering back and forth from her compact mirror to the digital level display just above the elevator doors.

As the doors opened she walked through the entrance hall of the building - a rather grand sight indeed. Nodding at the concierge by the door, who happened to hold the door open for her. She thanked him briefly before her eyes settled upon the cab she had asked for - just 5 minutes ago. The man looked her up and down until he finally managed to mumble something between the lines of... "Are you Davina Cawson" Milana just nodded and hopped into the back of the cab.

The name was just one of the many Aliases she had used throughout the years, eye shifting from her purse to the driver who was waiting for instructions - others than just staring at her bust.

"Get me to the ViP club in the Northern district and make it quick - I am trying to be fashionably late not just flat out late." she grinned at him commandingly. He just nodded and set the cab into motion heading for the said club. Leaning back in her seat she fixed her hair back into shape and straightened out that already short dress. Rolling her eyes, she decided to take another look at tonights mark. Maxwell Van Der Welt, he was worth a few thousand Credits - he had a close affiliation with the Largo corp, an up n' coming Bio-mod Company which he funded using his own personal wealth. In his late 30, around 6'1 tall - fat and slow - 'money tends to do that to people' she thought slightly amused.

***

finally arriving at the club, she paid the cab driver in credits - she would never use anything personal as a credit card or the likes, simply because things could go ugly within the blink of an eye. The bouncer checked for her name on the guest list and just as briefed earlier her fake name was on the list. A sly smirk tucking on her full lips, she was now in the club - the mark was supposed to be here. Apparently they had something to celebrate, Milana didn't really ask what it was since again - need to know basis was always her insurance of coming out of anything alive.

Finally she found the men who matched the description and the photo. Of course he was surrounded by some men, and a few women - money hungry vultures (just like her) were rounding him up as if he was already a dead corpse. She couldn't help but giggle at that piece of subtle irony - a slightly dark kind of humor was what she preferred. Watching him closely from afar, she waited for a good moment to approach him. In these sort of crowded places a private room would be perfect, remembering that this club indeed had private rooms she decided to make her move when he went for a leak.

Stopping him by the door, lips pouting and oozing with willingness - her eyes saying more than words could possibly describe. She was good at the game she played, in fact she was deadly at it.

"So handsome, how about you and me, plus a quiet place?" fluttering her long lashes seductively, she brushed a hand over his chest suggestively. The man himself was looking like he had just experienced something close to an heart attack, but after realizing what was happening he grinned at her like a wolf would who was presented with a lamb on a silver platter.

After a few moments of brief silence he answered her with a sly smirk "Right sweetness, how about you follow me up there in a few minutes?" - his words somewhat drowned out by the music playing.

She just nodded, the fish had just taken the bate - already celebrating her victory and thinking of her account just swelling up a few more thousand Credits, she couldn't hide the satisfied grin on her face. After seeing him disappear upstairs, she waited for about 10 minutes before she followed him. Some of the rooms were occupied by other guests - noticing a door which was left open she walked up closer to it. Finding her mark sitting on the bed with one hell of an expression on his face.

***

Sitting by the bedside, the mans dead body beside her - lifeless like all her victims ended up. She gave him one last look over for anything she might have left behind, cleaning up the scene was just as necessary as everything else in her line of work. She had fried the man, his skin burned and blotched with tiny bubbles - his clothes slightly burned, it was time to leave her latest work assignment. Taking out a phone, she took a picture of his corpse and send it to a number she was given - Milana was supposed to send the evidence of the kill to her client. Minutes later a message arrived on the phone, saying that the last of the funds had been moved to her account.

Yawning a little she got up, leaving the room the way she got in - she made her way to the security office which was just by the end of the corridor. Waiting for a good moment - preferably when the guard left the room to go on his round, downstairs. As he walked down the stairs she sneaked into the room, electrocuting every pieces of equipment and burning the tapes to ashes. The smoke sounding the alarm, she used the distraction to get out of the club undetected. Yet everybody was screaming in fear of a wide spread fire - no one yet had noticed the corpse in one of the rooms upstairs. Police and the fire brigade already at the scene trying to salvage and safe whoever was left behind in the flame engulfed Club. Leaving the scene quietly she hopped on a motorbike, which stood in a dark alleyway just across from the ViP club, waiting for her.

The keys were sent to her, via a remote deposit box in town. The wonderful sound of the motor roaring up, piercing through the screams which were still lingering around her. Taking a deep breath, feeling rather accomplished, she sped off into the darkness - she couldn't wait to get home, checking her bank balance was another thing she loved to do.

ZoraGenin · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **ZoraGenin** on Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:09 pm

Detours, detours were at this moment what annoyed Laredo the most. They served only slow him down, when what he needed was to go faster. He didn’t care if some crummy east side store was being robbed. It was more than likely that the extended detour the copper had instructed him to take had three times the felonies being committed than his original path. Crimes were the main product of Hope City, and having some copper tell him what to do wasn’t going to keep him any safer. Laredo sighed as he increased his pace.

The closer Laredo came to his destination the more he realized that he had no idea what to expect. He had never had an actual job, never attended an actual interview. This was something completely alien to him. Laredo didn’t have foggiest idea as to how the process was structured. He began to frown as he realized that the majority of his life had improvised, and this would have to be as well.

As Laredo approached the Spire numerous questions circled restlessly through his mind. He knew less about the dark tower that loomed over him than the man who owned it. How tight was the security? Was the majority of the staff doctors and researchers, or were the floors sub-leased to other businesses? How likely was it that he would actually be granted an audience with Mr. Chapel? Laredo began to feel something he hadn’t experienced in a long time. Intimidation. His lack of knowledge, the absence of information caused his confidence to dwindle. He continued to approach the building, and began to notice a small congregation of security had been sent out to meet him. Straightening his back and broadening his shoulders, he did his best to put up a front and look like a hardened citizen of Hope City. Though he kept a tentative hand close to April. Laredo was now a mere foot from the man standing at the head of the security procession. Sticking out his right hand he stated his name through a toothy grin.

Hope City

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Hope City

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