Mason Conners's Story

Mason groaned as he walked out of the Baskin Robbins and locked up. He hated closing almost as much as he hated the pink,white and brown uniform, but tonight was worse than usual. Some drunks had come in and trashed the place just before he was supposed to lock up. He ended up closing late and he knew his boss was going to chew him out the next day. He was already working more than he should while still in high school, but over-time was not good.

"Scum! All of them are scum!" A disembodied voice spoke to him. It wasn't so much speaking as it was hissing in a scratchy jagged voice. If a voice could be described as frigged and menacing, this was it. Mason knew he was the only one who ever heard it. Mot of the time he heard it while he was in his room, it seemed to come from the snow man in a snow globe he kept on his dresser, but there were times, like tonight, when he heard it without the snow globe.

Mason took a lollipop out of his pocket, unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth as he walked down the street on his way home. He heard police sirens in the distance and they seemed to be coming closer. He turned the corner to and saw that a large fight had been going on but had already dispersed for the most part when the sirens got within earshot. As he got closer he saw a small group of people he recognized from school. He wasn't exactly friends with them, but he knew who they were.

Mason wasn't terribly popular in school, he was one of those kids that faded into the background. He didn't stand out as being incredibly great in anything or for getting into a ton of trouble, he was just average. He was on the swim team, but that was the extent of his athletic achievements.

Of all the people in the group, the one that stood out most was guy with the red eyes, Alonis. Part of it was because he was attractive in a spooky sort of way, the other reason was he was the only person he had seen with unique colored eyes like his own, unless you counted the albino girl, but hers were a lack of pigment. Mason's eyes were a deep violet color. Others seemed to get scared when they saw those eyes, but Mason never seemed to understand it as he never got scared when he saw them. As he walked past, he smiled, gave a little wave and nodded slightly in silent acknowledgement of knowing these people. He knew they had been at the bar and if the cops caught them leaving, he didn't want to get caught up with them and go to jail.

"You should join them, you'll have fun." The voice sneered at him.

"Since when should I listen to you about what's fun?" Mason replied, forgetting momentarily that he was the only one who could hear the voice.

Voice, or rather voices in head, concert being the worst, and now tagging along with one that made her uncomfortable once, she slowly disliked the idea of staying outside…following them for no good reason, but she was curious.

And…

As she followed, there was a someone’s voice coming from somewhere, talking about something, it took a while to find its source. Once found, she saw an athletic man with violet eyes, staring at them.

Her head tilted right as she stared at him, and waved.

Jennifer explained how she had sneaked out of her own volition, out of some act of teenage rebellion. Though, she could've picked a better time to try it then to attend a Punk Concert. Such concerts tended to be more than a little messy, this one being no exception. It didn't take long for the mosh-pits in the crowd to turn on the band, and before long the situation escalated, knocking one of the band members unconscious and unceremoniously ending the concert.

"I guess the concert's over then?" Jennifer seemed slightly confused, to be expected, as she didn't get out much. Dani clicked her tongue in disappointment before answering her. "Yeah, I guess! Geez, no wonder these tickets were so cheap. That band was ungodly awful!"

Having brought Kali here, Dani felt at least partially responsible for her, and made sure to find her. "Come on Kali, it looks like the concert ended early." Alonis wanted to sneak into a club nearby, for someone who didn't like to be busted by the police, that certainly sounded like a way to get us all busted by the police.

That tiny voice sounded in her head again, Why should you fear the police? It'd only take a few days to have them in your pocket! Ultimately, what Dani did next depended on Ms. Ross. "It's up to you Jen, if you're going home right now I need to call my chauffeur; I could probably convince him to give us all a ride home. Otherwise I'm up for whatever." She beamed an over-excited smile, feeling more than a little loopy from the whiskey.

Their group was leaving the concert half-way wandering, but not quite, as they tried to figure out a way to go. They were moving at a leisurely pace so Dani didn't notice right away, not that she was paying very careful attention to anything, but Kali had stopped. She was waving at someone, another guy from their school, waving at, "MAASSON!? Swim-team Mason!?" Dani's outburst attracted more than a bit of attention from random pedestrians, which she ignored, cupping her hands together to be even louder "Were you at that train-wreck of a concert also!? I punched a creep! Did you!?"

"I'm not sure about the club. I mean it sounds fun, but we'd probably get arrested - unless any of you guys know how to whip up a good fake drinking license. Besides, I'm already in deep enough water with my dad at this point having done this." Jenniffer shuddered. "I'll just walk home, Dani, but thanks anyways."
She started walking off, waving goodbye to her new friends. They had stopped to talk to some other kid.
Voice grumbled. You could have at least given it a shot, she said.
"And, what, gotten arrested?" she asked. She only felt slightly drunk, because she'd only had about a half-glass of punch. It wasn't even good punch. "I'm already in big trouble with Father. If I wound up in prison, he'd either leave me to rot or take me home and beat me near to death.
Silence. After some five or ten minutes of walking, Voice spoke up again. I don't understand you, she said with some strange cross between curiosity and annoyance. You say you rebel, but you never truly do. You never get another round. You never stand up for yourself. Why?
"Because Father beat that out of me years ago," Jenniffer snapped.
But you don't have to do what he says! Voice cried. You can do anything you want! He can't hold you down! Run away! Do your own thing!
"I can't!"
Yes you can! If y-
"I SAID I CAN'T!!!"
At that moment, walking along a dark path in the park, Jenniffer broke down. Tears fell down her face as she sobbed.
Voice's tone became more soothing, more piteous. It did not, however, sound ashamed.
Look. I understand why you think you can't do anything. Why you feel like your trapped. I get it! Anyone in your position would probably feel the same way. God knows I've been in similar positions myself. She added this last part in a quieter voice, as if to herself.
But they can't hold you forever. One day, you'll bend the bars; trick the guard; get the key; run away and never come back. That's what I'm trying to help you do here, JayRo, Voice said smoothly, using Jenniffer's old childhood name.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. Jenniffer reached into her pocket and pulled out the eraser, examining it more closely than before in the moonlight. It was well-worn - not by use, but by age. It had an ancient feeling to it, as if it had been carried many times before she had gotten it, even though it had appeared it was just collecting dust on that library shelf.
Jenniffer hadn't started hearing Voice until she'd picked up the eraser only - was it really only 6 hours ago? It felt like an eternity ago. She remembered how when she'd picked it up, she'd felt like it was whispering to her, tempting her.
She was almost too afraid to ask.
"Is this you?" Jenniffer whispered, terrified and awed at the same time.
Voice was silent. Then, she said,



Y E S .

Alonis chuckled at all of them, "I said we'd get in without hassle because I assume we're all 18 here. As long asyou got the proof, they'd let you in. I know the owner there, good buddy of mine since I'll DJ every weekend. Come on, place won't let you drink, but it's like every high school student's paradise."
With that, he gestures to what seems to be a club called "Hellish Fun" with loud EDM blasting through the walls. The bouncer looks over to the group only to smile, "DJ Loki! It's been awhile. These some friends of yours?"
With that, Alonis nods before looking back at them, "Classmates of mine, pull out your IDs everyone. This night is going to perk right back up again, I'll tell you that."

Kali’s gaze quickly went through all who still were here, wanting to party. As she noticed that some were missing already, and idea was to go into a club…she took a step back. Raising hands in protest, not wanting to show idea for there was no need. She didn’t intend to linger here any longer, sleep is what she needed, and a bit more silence with a pen and a sheet of paper.

“I think…I’ll be going, I’m tired.” She said, and yawned. Then quickly turned around and started walking towards home.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Home, sweet home... – she thought as she lied on the bed, already in a middle of sketching something, but she did not see what it was…not looking and sketching was what she did, perfect if not for the one thing burned in her mind – shark.

Geez, you’re so dead inside sometimes… - Voice once more began its friendly monologue.

Still not wanting to talk, still neglecting me, should I wave at you from you beloved desk…where I sit. – It spoke, and it did caught her wanted attention, Kali did glanced…and saw a slim person, where there should be nothing but an empty desk.

When people see someone in their home, someone they do not know…they panic, but not here, not her…she only tilted her head and continued to stare at the unknown.

“What are you?” Kali asked, and heard a chuckle.

Oh, please…I’m you. – unknown replied.

Kali flinched.

“No, you’re not, you’re the other me at best, but here it is not the case…I’m not that stupid so my question stands.”

Fine, I’m the twisted you? Satisfied?

“No, I’m not…leave.”

Oh, I can, but you won’t get rid of me that easily, not when you have already began it…

“Began what?” Kali at that point had a vague idea, yet asked without looking at what she drawn.

Look at what you’ve done…

What she saw was a mask, a shark mask that been partly broken and marked with scratches.

But…

It was but one mask, while there were two more, one on left and right of the first, different yet similar at the same time. Left was but a simple hockey mask, right an elegant mask, that is often used during masked balls. All were marked with scratches here and there, as if a sign of something, an endurance or pain maybe.

“I won’t craft it…”

Good luck with that, and good night…

Humanoid shape that was sitting on her desk slowly fell apart, forming into a black goo that within seconds of reaching floor was no more.

Her gaze focused where it was…for a long time was, before she finally managed to rest, to sleep.

Mason heard his name called out and he realized that Dani was there. The rich girl that was far too perky.

"No, I didn't get to go to the concert, I had to work late. I did get to deal with some drunks though. It probably wasn't as much fun punching a guy." Mason chuckled in reply to her questions.

"I see some of your group have decided to go home, I'll join you guys."

"See, was that so hard?" The voice hissed with a smug tone.

Mason followed the group to the club that Alonis had mentioned.

"Hellish Fun? Alonis has good taste."

"DJ Loki! It's been awhile. These some friends of yours?" the large bouncer asked.

Alonis nodded before looking back at them, "Classmates of mine, pull out your IDs everyone. This night is going to perk right back up again, I'll tell you that."

Mason smiled at his confidence. He felt a little out of place still wearing his Baskin Robbins uniform at such a trendy club, but he didn't worry about it too much as they went and found a place to sit down. He didn't worry too much about his parents, his mom passed away when he was younger and his father didn't care what he did as long as he stayed out of his hair.

"So, DJ Loki, huh? I'm amazed they let you work here. Cool nickname though, you seem like the chaotic type." Mason said with admiration.

"Well my ability to mix is far beyond these other DJs. I can fully break down any beat anytime. As for the nickname, I carry that with me at all times. Commonly known as Loki the trickster in my class. I'm constantly causing trouble, but can never be fully blamed." he said, a smile glued to his face as he walked up to the DJ stand where it was on auto. Soon enough, he stopped the music, making everyone in the club look at him annoyed for a moment, until they realize who it was.
The crowd starts cheering as Alonis begins record scratching along with a remix playing in the background. It sounded like it was gonna cause some major damage, but instead the crowd went into a full frenzy, bouncing around and cheering as they moshed.

Kali and Jennifer decided they needed to be home, not surprising considering how introverted and/or overbearing their parents were. Unfortunately, Jennifer left in quite a hurry, leaving before Dani could borrow her phone. Well, the night wasn't getting any younger, so Dani followed Alonis to his favorite club.

Mason, as it turned out, wasn't at the concert but rather, working late and dealing with the bull-crap associated with that when there's a punk band playing nearby. The thought made Dani giggle a bit. Soon they found themselves outside the club: Hellish Fun, sounded alot like the punk concert they just came from, hopefully it didn't disappoint. "DJ Loki! It's been awhile. These some friends of yours?"

Dani gave the bouncer her ID, making sure she was inside and fully out of his sight before taking another long swig from her flask of stolen whiskey. Mason and Alonis made small talk before Dani spyed a pay-phone in the corner of the bar. Excellent! "I'll be right back," she excused herself dancing over to the phone. A short phone call of screaming over DJ Loki's set and the associated mosh-pit later, and her chauffeur was set to pick her up.

Well... Now that, THAT is out of the way, how about a little mayhem? That voice sounded inside her head again, her free hand subconsciously twiddling with the steel wire she had picked up earlier in the night. Why not...? She resolved in her head, taking another drink of her dad's 18-year old whiskey.

DJ Loki had music worth dancing to, and she quickly found herself dancing with some random guy, probably over twenty years old. They danced for a bit before he placed his hands around her waist, and she elbowed him in the chin. "Oops, sorry!" She giggled not meaning it even a little. The man stepped away rubbing his chin, and after a few girl dance partners who respected Dani's space a bit more, her chauffeur was dragging her out of the club.

That was a good start... A piece of rope sat in the back seat with the thoroughly intoxicated Dani, it seemed to have a slight luminescence to it. It must be the booze, Dani thought as she picked it up and pocketed it. "Thanks, I thought so too!" Her chauffeur looked back for a second, confused. "What was that miss?"

"Nothing Jeeves!" Nothing at all... not quite yet.

The night wore on and soon Mason was aware that everyone he had come here with had left, save for Loki. Mason didn't exactly have a problem with that, but there was no way to get to know the guy better when he was over at the DJ booth and Mason couldn't yell at him over the music. He instead opted for another option. Mason watched the DJ booth from where he was sitting, he had a great view of Alonis in his element. The smile on his face was nearly the same as the one anyone could see on Mason's face when he was swimming, it was the look of a person who was enjoying life with nothing between them and what they love.

"Seriously!? Him? That's your type?" The voice sounded colder than ever with those words.

"Look how happy he is up there. He's in his element and just letting the music flow out of him."

"And he barely even knows you're alive! For crying out loud does he even know your name?" The voice's words cut deep.

"Does anyone?" Mason muttered under his breath.

"Well that one girl did, what was her name? Dani? But then you aren't interested in her are you? Besides, she left without so much as a goodbye. But you can make him notice you. You can make them all notice you."

"How?"

"You know how. I've been asking you to do this for a long time. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You aren't real, you're just a voice in my head. Why should I listen to you?"

"I may be a voice, but I was right about coming here wasn't I? You're having fun watching that boy perform, aren't you? Just because I'm not 'real' doesn't mean I'm not right."

Mason let this sink in as he continued to watch Alonis work the crowd into a moshing frenzy. He couldn't deny that the voice was right, and that was what was scaring him right now. Mason wanted to be noticed, by Alonis, by the other people at school, by anyone really. He was tired of fading into the background and now he was being given a chance, even if he didn't understand it. He waited until he was able to catch Alonis's attention and he pointed to his watch and waved with a big smile on his face as his way of saying it was late and he was leaving.

When he finally made it home, he went directly to his room without even looking to see if his dad was home. Mason went to his closet and began rummaging through until he found an old blue blanket with white snowflakes on it.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm making that mask you've been nagging me about. Now, leave me alone so I can do this right."

"About time."

Mason went about cutting out the fabric and stitching a good seam around the outer edge of the domino style mask and the inner edge of the eye holes. He then found an old pair of sweat pants and cut out the elastic from the waist band and trimmed it down to the right size to hold the mask against his face without blocking his vision. After a half hour, he had the mask finished.

"There it's finished. I still don't see how this is gonna make anyone notice me."

"Put it on and you'll see."

Alonis, now noticing that everyone left, decides to call it a night. He has something he needs to do back at his place. Packing up the equipment that he kept there, Alonis got out of the booth and began his walk home. About half way there, something flares up inside his head.
"Aw, you should've stayed the entire night, but all fun comes to an end I suppose."

"Yeah yeah Mr. Alter Ego, but we have other plans. Remember that mask we picked up?"

"Bout time you make that thing, been trying to tell ya to do it all night, but something needed to cause some chaos.

"We are Loki the trickster after all, but we don't need the cops on our trail. Now then, it's time we finish this."

With that, Alonis arrives to his room where he begins working with various plastics and what not to finish this broekn mask. Using a mold he has for his face, Alonis forms the mask to fit like it were from the "Phantom of the Opera" in such a way that it would have to be forcibly taken off of him. It looked like the comedy mask, but with a more sinister smile to it.

(OOC Note: This post contains the physical abuse of a minor. If this makes you uncomfortable, please notify me and I will gladly water it down.
Also, before anyone transforms into supers, remember to read the rules on how masks work in the Discussions tab! Thanks!)

Jenniffer came home that night. She quietly slipped through the front door and sneaked up the stairs. As she got up, a rough hand grabbed her arm and yanked hard.
Jenniffer yelped as she was pulled down to the ground. A boot kicked her hard in the side. She gasped with pain, tears welling in her eyes.
As her vision cleared, she saw the mountainous form of her father. Oh no...
"I told you never to go out," Father growled. "I told you that you are to stay at home and not talk to anyone outside of school. I guess that rock concert was too much to stay away from, huh? Slutting it up in the mosh pit, were you?"
"P-p-p-" she stammered.
His belt came down on her face. She cried out. It came down again. She tried to run, but he knocked her feet out from under her.
It felt like some horrific ritual; pain, gasp, cry, lash, pain, over and over and over. When he was done, she lay on the ground, covered in blood, weeping.
Father spat on her. "That'll teach you," he muttered. He then left, footsteps echoing down the hallway.
Jenniffer crawled into the bathroom, hoisting herself up to the bathroom ledge. She closed the door and took out some gauze and painkiller. As she shifted around, the eraser fell out of her pocket. She picked it up carefully.
You can't let him hurt you, Voice said immediately, almost sympathetically. You have to fight back, Jenniffer. You ought to wipe evil men like him off the face of this world.
"How?" she choked out the words. "I can't. I'm hopeless."
You know what you need to do. You always have, deep inside of you. Make. A. Mask. These last few words were spoken sharply, commandingly. It's the only way. Trust me. Make a mask.
Jenniffer looked down at the eraser in her hand, then at the gauze, toilet paper, a permanent ink marker and a few rolls of duct tape she'd found in the cupboard.
She set to work in a feverish manner. She took materials, tore them up, rearranged them. The toilet paper was rolled off to reveal the cardboard cylinders, which she tore up and rearranged and connected with tape. Over it went the rough, scratchy gauze, and then the softer, plush toilet paper.
When she was done, she stood, panting, over her creation. It was a full-form mask, made to cover the entire head. There were no apparent mouth-, eye- or nostril-holes. Where the eye-holes would be, she'd colored in with the marker, to make pitch-black ovals. Where the mouth would go, there was a zig-zagged line that looked rather malicious. There was a bulge at the forehead, where she'd taped the eraser down, but still showing some pink. The whole thing gave off an archaic and anarchic vibe.
Come on, JayRo, Voice said in a tone that almost sounded like teasing, except for it's dead seriousness. P u t . I t . O n .
With trembling hands, Jenniffer picked up the mask and slipped it on over her head.
Everything went dark.

Mason looked down at the mask he had fashioned, with the eye holes each in the center of a snowflake. It was then that he realized that the blanket he had cut up to make the mask was an old baby blanket his mother had given him. When he was a baby it was the only thing to get to fall asleep and as a child he used to carry it everywhere but then, after his mom died, he stopped taking it anywhere. He had all but forgotten about it, but for some reason he had sought it out with the intent of using it specifically. It brought him comfort and he feared he was going to need some soon.

"Put it on, Mason!" The voice insisted. But something was different this time.

"Your voice is coming from the mask, it usually comes from the snow globe."

"Look, do you want to get noticed or not? Don't worry about the details. PUT ON THE MASK!"

Mason held the mask and it seemed to radiate some sort of power. It felt like it was reaching out to him. He stood in front of the mirror and put the mask on. The second it was on, it was like Mason was pulled deeper into his body, then there was nothing.

Mason woke up with his mind in a chili fog. There were some new clothes hanging off the desk chair. They looked pretty cool and fashionable so he put them on and he noticed that the mask was sitting on his night stand. He felt compelled to take it with him for some reason so he folded it and put it in his inside jacket pocket. Today was Saturday so he didn't have school, so he figured he'd go down to the arcade. He grabbed a package of strawberry pop-tarts and a handful of suckers from the basket he kept by the door.

As he walked to the arcade there were cars still encased in ice with their owners looking at them and cursing in confusion trying to figure out what had happened. A fire hydrant had busted and was spraying water everywhere. Mason couldn't help but snicker a little as he made his way to the arcade but he had no idea why he found any of this amusing. He had the feeling things were looking up for him now.

Alonis walks the streets with an easy going smile. This causes some people to say good morning to him. As he walks, there was something odd in the air, a slight chill that seemed to be unnatural. With this, a voice in his head speaks up again.
"Our friend is here. We needs to find him. Put the mask on, now."

"Hold on, let me find an alley way."

With that, he diverts into a dark alley way where he puts up his hood and slips on the mask. Everything goes black as the alter ego takes ahold of the body. A slight menacing laugh takes over the alley before a group of thugs enter, hoping to mug this ego. They were so wrong to do so. Ego turns around and looks at the men with a wicked laugh.
"Oh look at this. I'm gonna get mugged. Oh somone help me... NOT!" he said as illusions of dragons, demons, and other mythological creatures came to appear in the small alley. The men soon begins to shake as Ego laughs.
"Shouldn't have left your beds today boys. Now you pay my price of chaos." he said before causing heavy amounts of what appear to be unnatural attacks to flood them, when in reality he teleported behind them and mercilessly beat them down. Only when cops sirens were heard that he decided to teleport away, leaving a note telling of the botched mugging. Soon after, Ego removed the mask and gave Alonis control of the body.

On her way she saw cars encased in ice, which made her stop for a moment. It looked as if someone tried to create an art, one that would soon be no more, but at the same time it looked as if someone was crying inside, at least that’s what she saw through the ice, and forms it took on the cars and streets to some degree.

Curious what happened here…

Sudden stop made to enjoy this weird view came to an end, as she quickly moved further, to where grocery store was. Passing by one loud man, whose car was no longer iced, but visibly broken, she did not pay much attention to him, but he did took note of her. She entered grocery store, only to be soon followed by the man she saw briefly.

Right, what to pick? Bread and pepper, then…

Her trail of thought interrupted by sudden arm resting on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around. Who she saw, was a man she briefly looked at earlier, now wild-eyed, his second hand reaching to her throat.

Oh, great…

Man started to tighten hands on her neck, all while screaming…

“You witch, it’s all your fault isn’t it?” And he would certainly end up killing her if not for a lucky coincidence.

“Excuse me sir, I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me…” Spoke another man, a policeman that seemed to have been shopping for…water, judging by what he holds in his left hand.

Wild-eyed man immediately let go, confused and frustrated at the same time.

“W-what? You’re supposed to arrest her! She’s the one who caused all of this!” Man almost spat at her, but policeman pulled her away from wild-eyed reach.

“We have no proof.”

“But we have, look at that monster!” He pointed at Kali, most certainly meaning her particular condition, which many seem to be afraid of.

“Pale skin, and vampey looks are not considered as a proof under…” Policeman began with a smile, and the wild-eyed man already realized how it would go.

“Fine” He turned around, trying to leave all while policeman seemed to have considered whether to stop him or not. He let him go at the end.

“Hopefully he won’t cause much trouble, if he will I’ll really regret letting him go…” Policeman stared for a while at the exit, before realizing she’s still beside him, or rather partly hidden behind him.

“Oh, right, about you…” He began, turning towards Kali.

“Aren’t you the captain’s daughter…Kali?” He asked.

“Yes, I am…you’re under him or…?”

“Well, he is my superior, I think, honestly sometimes I’m not sure thanks to his laid back attitude…” He laughed, while Kali chuckled.

“Yes, he’s quite…relaxed, but I rarely get to see him.” She sighed.

Policeman’s smile faded away.

“Ah, yes I heard that you two rarely get to talk, anyway I’ll leave you to your shopping, for my work is calling me...totally not the donut “ With a friendly nod and smile Mike left, while she went back to shopping.

Once everything was bought, she intended to leave, but a small pocket knife caught her attention, lying near one of the shelves, close to where that man stood.

Most likely his knife, I…will take it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside was bit calmer now, man nowhere to be seen, yet she hurriedly went back home. All that she bought, quickly put where it should be in their home.

Hmm, could be a good time for a walk, with a sketchbook. – with this thought she left home once more, and with the sketchbook of course! ^^

Fishing in his pocket for change, Jake inserts two quarters into the, for a lack of better words -- unsanitary pay phone across the street from his apartment building. Holding the grimy phone to his ear, he gazed around the vicinity of his neighborhood. The chill in the air must've discouraged many from coming outside this morning. The phone began to ring a few seconds after he punched in his friend's number. "Ya got any change?" The scraggly voice from just behind Jake made him jump. "Jesus!", he exclaimed in exasperation. Fishing into his pocket for the rest of his change, he handed the vagrant a little over a dollar in coins. "Thanks", the man muttered, clearly ungrateful. Scowling in disbelief, he threw up his middle aggressively when a woman answered the phone. "Hello?" For a moment, Jake had thought he dialed the wrong number. "Uh, is Jeremiah there?", Jake asked anyways.
"Oh, no he's at work." It's his mom. Duh. "Oh, okay -- this is Jake, I just needed to ask him something. Thank you, Miss Ramone."

The sky seemed to only grow darker as the morning wore on. It looks like it's gonna storm. I better hurry up and get to the arcade before I get soaked.His mind seemed clearer today but he was still incapable of recalling what had happened the day before. An iniquitous laughter came from somewhere in the depths of his brain. Who the hell are you? The distant laughter only grew louder slowly. C'mon, you coward! Identify yourself!, Jake demanded. The laughter ceased. A coward? The voice spoke to him for the first time today, an almost curious tone. How...ironic. For some reason, that word jabbed at Jake, sending chills throughout his already cold body.

Do you really want to know who I am? Now Jake wasn't so sure he wanted to know the answer. I thought so. See, you and I -- we can be friends. I can protect you.
Protect me? From what?
From those that may wish to interfere with our lives.
Puzzled, Jake thought, Who would try to do that?
People are strange. They fear that which they don't understand.
Well hell, I don't understand anything right now...
The voice let out a small breathless laugh. Soon, Jake... you're going to understand everything.

Sounds of early 80s arcade games rang throughout the room, though the additional rambunctious sounds of teens and kids hollering and playing could not be heard. Only a handful of people were playing games. Noting it to be strange, he looked for his friend at the refreshment concession -- his usual position, only in his place was an overweight, middle aged man. His Video Invader shirt was so small, his hairy protruding belly button could be seen. Jake approached the employee, who's breathing seemed to be labored. "Hey, is Jeremiah here?", Jake asked. "No", he answered, not even looking up from his The Incredible Hulk comic book. Irritated, Jake asked again. "Hey man, uh.. his mom said he was working today. You know, skinny black dude? Jheri curl?" This time, he wasn't even graced with a response. The man grunted what sounded like an "un-uh", as he took a big swig from his Jolt energy soda.

Without even a thought, Jake suddenly slapped the comic book out of the fat guy's hands. He looked at Jake with a mixture of fear and surprise as he reached over and grabbed his work shirt by the collar, yanking him out of his seat behind the counter. "Listen, dickcheese", Jake spat. "I'm not in the mood for your crap -- where the hell is he?" Now he had his attention. "I-I don't know man, I swear! He was s-suppose -- supposed to be here at 8!" There. Was that so hard? The man was trembling now. "Please don't hurt me", he uttered pitifully. Not knowing what came over him, Jake released the man who then scampered away. He looked around to see all of the people in the arcade were now staring at him. Among those people was a young man with striking violet eyes. Jake couldn't place his face but the guy felt somehow familiar to him. He can help. Assuming the voice was referring to finding Jeremiah, he approached the guy, attempting to appear as casual as possible. Scouring his subconscious memory, the voice found some information. This was Mason, a few years below Jake who had only ever met because he had bumped into him at school one day; unlike almost anyone else at school, Mason actually stopped and helped him pick up his stuff. Hey -- Mason, right?

"Hey -- Mason, right?", Jake asked.

Maybe his thoughts weren't entirely his own today.

Mason took his time walking to the arcade, he loved the chill in the air even when most people would think it was too cold. After downing the pop-tarts, Mason popped one of the suckers into his mouth, sour apple, his favorite. He had a zip-lock sandwich bag filled with quarters, enough to kill several hours if he was on his game today.

“Are you really going to waste your day playing video games?” The harsh voice hissed at him from inside his coat.

“Yes! Now leave me alone so I can focus.” Mason whispered to his coat. He pulled out a quarter and had it right up to the slot of the Donkey Kong game when he heard the commotion coming from the concession stand. He looked over to see an older guy he recognized from school. He had graduated a couple years ago, but he remembered seeing him in the halls, he thought his name was Jake, but he wasn’t sure.

He watched as Jake slapped the comic out of the fat guy’s hand and raised his voice to him. There were only a few people in the arcade this early in the morning, but they were all watching him until he let go of the man and he slinked away. Everyone else went back to what they were doing, but Jake seemed to be staring right at him. Jake walked up to him and Mason wasn’t sure if he was still mad or if he was going to get violent with him either.

“Hey-- Mason, right?” He asked out of the blue with a bit of a worried tone to his voice.

Mason took the sucker out of his mouth for a minute.

“Yeah, Jake is it? What can I do for you?”

“There’s something strange about this one. Keep an eye on him and I don’t mean stare and drool.”
Mason put the sucker back in his mouth to keep from responding to the voice coming from his pocket. He was becoming curious as to why he was suddenly well-known. Maybe the mask was successful after all.

(OOC Note: This post contains things that may or may not contradict the religion or beliefs of others. While I'm not making a statement here, this is how things went down in this roleplay, for all the gods and stuff. If anyone finds this uncomfortable, I will try to water it down without getting rid of the entire idea.)

Alright, let's start at the beginning, Voidbringer said. Or, as some might say, "The Beginning of Time". Well, at least for this universe. But that's for another day.
Technically, this story doesn't even begin in this universe. It begins somewhere else. Where me and Loki and all the others live. The Spirit Realm; the Aether; Heaven; Asgard; whatever you want to call it. We all lived there.
And then you guys happened. The humans. You showed promise; the only things over in our realm were ourselves, but you guys, you had will, and the ability to be controlled. Through you, we could work together to achieve goals beyond any mortals or immortals could accomplish. Back then, we didn't always appear as masks, but usually something worn on the head. There were dozens of Maskers back then, like the Greek "Gods", as well as the Egyptian, Norse, Asian, Central and Native American ones, to name a few. The Roman Gods didn't count, because they were the Greek Gods, just in different bodies. There were even ones you might not recognize as godly beings, though some are probably obvious. People like Jesus, Geronimo, Hercules, et cetera. All of them had Masks. None of them were actual gods, mind you. Without us, they would have been nothing. We've been called many things over the ages; me, I've been called Itzpapalotl, Nut, Artume, Hecate, Nyx, Ratri, Rahu, Hine-nui-te-pō, Nótt, Nox, Trivia, and many, many others.
To get to the point; every so often, we show up as objects, get made and worn and give people power. Sometimes our control consumes them, making them effectively an automaton. Other times, their willpower throws us off of them. But most of the time, the human and inhuman mind work together to achieve separate goals we agree on. Sort of like what we're doing right now.
Each god gives a power. Me, I've given you these black hole powers, though the ancient civilizations often mistook them for soul-eating shadows or dark sorcery. Not too far off, to be honest.
So. How do you feel now?
"My head feels like it's going to blow," Jenniffer said shakily.
Eh. That's what they all say. Come on, I'm going to show you a trick. Think of one place you'd like to go.
Jenniffer thought for a bit. "The run-down McDonald's right by my house," she finally said.
Suddenly, she had the sensation of falling down a never-ending hole, then she landed with a thump on cracked tile flooring. She got up, and saw that she was, indeed, inside the McDonald's. When she looked up at the ceiling, she could see the hole, looking out to that alleyway.
Cool, right?
"Yeah," Jenniffer said, awestruck.

“Yeah, Jake is it? What can I do for you?”, Mason replied cautiously. Jake felt full of energy; he was literally radiating, almost as if he was emitting electric waves around him. To those more attuned to the vibrations of others, a sliver of Jake's very emotions could be felt from the aura around him. If you really wanna find your friend, stick with this guy. I must be going crazy... listening to a voice in my head. Hey! If nobody ever listened to the voice in their head, you'd all still be wiping your asses with your hands. Wise up, buddy.

Most of the people in the arcade had gone back to their gaming, but Jake noticed a pair of police officers just over Mason's shoulder, both of whom were speaking to the trollish, fat employee. "This is gonna sound really weird, but uh -- will you come with me? Quickly?", Jake asked, hurriedly. The fat guy he had gotten heated with was pointing his way! Jake was growing increasingly anxious, the uncomfortable warmth of his anxiety began wafting into the air. I need a cigarette! Don't worry about the cops. They can't do anything to you that I can't undo.

Mason was a little confused by the request to follow Jake and yet he felt compelled to do exactly as he was asked. He turned to see the cops that had obviously caught Jake's eye and it was clear why he felt like he needed to get out of there. If Mason was being honest with himself, he wasn't exactly comfortable around cops right at the moment either. There was a missing chunk of his memory from last night from the moment he put on the mask until the moment he woke up. He had no idea where the clothes he was wearing came from and he wasn't sure he wanted to know just yet.

"This person has bonded with another like me. He's safe for now."

Mason looked up at the older guy and suddenly felt like a child who didn't know what was going on. He nodded and followed Jake to the alley behind the arcade.

"Okay, what's up? I get shaking down the concession troll and hiding from the cops because of that, but strange things have been happening ever since last night. I'm missing a huge chunk of time, I got a voice in my head that won't shut up and keeps bossing me around and every time I listen to him something even stranger happens and now he's saying you've 'bonded with another like him' and I have no idea what that means and I'm starting to get scared ... and I'm rambling like an idiot." Mason rattled off looking at his feet the whole time, afraid to make eye contact and feel even crazier. He finally looked up after all this expecting Jake to have already run off, but he hadn't ...yet.

"You don't need to be scared of me, Mason, I'm here to help you. I can do amazing things for you and all I ask is the use of your body every now and then. If you don't try to resist, I can even share my power with you."