Introduction
Most children and I were obsessed with these new heroes. Some had astonishing super powers, like “The Grizzly” who was nearly twice the size of a normal man and could leap whole city blocks at a time. “Inferno” was a woman who could conjure and/or manipulate existing fire as easily as you or I breathe. And then some powers...Well, they were less than stellar. Eventually, ordinary men who were extremely gifted even took to the streets.
Of course, at that time, the media ate up the hero craze. The local t.v. anchors would fuel our fascination by reporting about “masked mystery men” on the nightly news. I'd tune in every night to watch the news like it was some kind of live action comic book. Even after the super villains showed up on the scene, I was still entranced. Back then, honestly, in a sick way, it made it even cooler to me, but as I grew up, I realized just how dumb that was.
Looking back I can't believe how much has changed since those simpler times. Most days I don't even know how we got here. When I really think about it though I can see how the events unfolded even now.
The year was 1997 and I'd only been seriously patrolling as “The Bronze Bear” for about one to two years. At the time it seemed that for every one hero patrolling the mean streets of Kansas City there was one or two equally powered super villains taking advantage of the chaos. One hot summer day was all it took to change everything. It all started when one low level super villain who liked to refer to himself as 'The Raging Bull' (the freak was hairy as hell and had big horns on his head, clever name huh?).
After robbing a bank in the crowded downtown area and flipping over two police cruisers in his escape he was quickly pursued by a hero who had been affectionately named 'Brickhouse' by the locals. Brickhouse was one of those hero's who really lucked out in the power department:between his super strength and ability to fly he also had the luck of being granted an extremely accelerated healing rate. Honestly, I was kind of jealous of the guy. But one bad thing about Brickhouse was he never knew when to quit, he loved being in the thick of things and honestly would forget how dangerous his powers could be to the very people he intended to protect. The two of them waged an epic fight against each other throughout two city blocks neither willing to give an inch, for all the things said about Raging Bull the monster of a man could sure take a beating. Finally Brickhouse grabbed Bull by the horns and threw him with all his strength and sent him crashing into the heart of the nearest building.
That's when North Kansas City's Childrens Mercy hospital exploded.
To this day no one knows whether or not what happened next was intentional, or if the spark that even started the explosion was because of the two super beings brawl, but what everyone knew for a fact was that the the broken gas line was directly the cause of the two meta humans. Between the explosion from the gas line and the fire that followed suit along with all the structural damage the entire building came down within seconds. And that was the spark that started the real fire. Every masked and unmasked hero alike knew what had happened in Americas heartland was a tragedy but no one saw what was coming next, although in hindsight wed been headed there for years. It was the day after the 'Childrens Mercy Massacre' that President Cooper addressed the nation, and what followed changed the lives of any and everyone that had the slightest hint of a 'super power'.
The next day the president addressed the nation, as I watched on the tv I could tell by the haggard look on the old mans face that he probly hadn't slept since the incident occurred.
“My fellow Americans its with a heavy heart I address you today, but by now I'm sure you have all heard of the travesty that took place in Kansas City. There are no words that would adequately describe my heartache over the situation. That being said the time has come to address an issue long overdue. Over the past several years we as a nation have completely ignored the ever growing meta human threat. I believe that its partly because we somewhat admire these masked men and women that patrol our streets across the country, on an understandable level they somehow make us feel safer. But as last nights incident showed this is simply not the case, I honestly don't truly know if it ever really was.” He paused, letting out a heavy sigh. “My fellow politicians have already begun the proper legislation that I myself full heartedly support, and that my fellow Americans is one of the main topics I wish to cover tonight. Its time we as normal human beings take our destiny back into our own hands. And it is for that reason and many more I support the upcoming 28th amendment which shall clearly state...”
Pausing again for a brief moment he picked up a small piece of paper from his dark brown desk then cleared his throat before continuing. “'A man in a mask has no rights as an American citizen. A meta human, by definition, is not human, and therefore shall receive no rights as an American citizen. Furthermore any and all attempts at vigilantism shall be treated as domestic terrorism and dealt with as such.” As the President finished he set the documents he'd been reading from back onto his desk. “Now id like to end this talk by asking a favor: to all you costumed crime fighters out there please stop your vigilante activity at once. I'm well aware that by your actions lives have been saved, and more often than not your villainous counterparts evil deeds are thwarted by you 'hero' types. I thank you for your service to this country, however misguided and unwarranted it may be.” His voice immediately switched from caring sincerity to deathly serious. “But it will no longer be tolerated. Thank you for your time America, and my prayers are with the victims of this deadly tragedy. Do not forget the Mercy Massacre.”
I still remember how I felt after watching that press conference and shocked was an understatement. Sitting alone in my one bedroom apartment on my ratty looking couch I just stared at the tv for a few more moments, blinking completely dumbfounded and not paying attention whatsoever to whatever followed on the news. I immediately suited up and hit the streets, only to return a few hours later after a somewhat uneventful night (a couple muggings and a bank robbery.). Like I did most nights I ordered a pizza and sat in the same spot on my couch, flicking the tiny tv on that sat a few feet away from me. Immediately the local news anchor, Rick Reynolds, appeared before me in poor pixilation.
“...Events you are about to see are not for younger viewers and is extremely graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.” The picture suddenly cut to a shaky hand held camera focused in on two figures being swarmed by a mob of fifteen or so shouting people. One of the figures wore a tight shirtcoat of deep blue that was covered in silver stars and loose fitting pants that were striped red and white all the way down to his black boots. To top it all off he wore a large top hat that was also red and white striped, ending in a blue band covered in silver stars above the brim of the hat. Next to him lay a blonde long haired woman who appeared much smaller next to the well built man. She wore an outfit of completely baggy white material that somewhat resembled a toga, across her eyes was a long white piece of thick cloth that was tied behind her head, completely hiding her eyes. The crowd that surrounded them kicked and beat at the two limp bodies with various objects from baseball bats to crowbars and everything in between. Dark red blood pooled around the group, staining the American flag that lay next to the star spangled man. The footage only played for a few seconds before shifting back to the well dressed news anchor.
“And that for viewers just tuning in was footage taken not more then two hours ago of two local masked mystery men meeting their ends by the hands of an angry mob. I just received word that the two quote unquote heroes went by the names 'Uncle Sam' and 'Blind Justice'. Supposedly the Flag seen on the ground next to the victims that was attached to a small flag pole was consistently used as a weapon by the now deceased 'Uncle Sam' who, if I'm reading correctly, was a constant partner to 'Blind Justice'. Ironically between the two heroes their was only one 'super power', of which belonged to Blind Justice and that was a sort of X-ray vision. Apparently she didn’t see that mob coming though.”
He began to slightly laugh as I threw the television to the floor, rage coursing through my body as I watched the screen shatter on my dirty wooden floor. I couldn’t believe what id just seen, Id never met Blind Justice but on one or two occasions I had bumped into Uncle Sam while out on patrol, the man was the definition of patriotic and would do anything for his community-the fact that he was killed by the very community he fought nightly to protect made me want to vomit. But this was nothing compared to what came next...
Within the next month the 28th amendment was passed, effectively making any form vigilantism illegal. Hell, even having powers singled you out for persecution by the good old USofA. The government quickly put into action an elite organization code named “Cape Killers” that consisted of men and women from all sorts of military backgrounds, they were the best of the best and received top funding which effectively made any type of equipment they used top of the line. Eventually every 'hero hot spot' from Kansas City to Chicago and New York to LA had an elite unit of Cape Killers on call 24/7 to combat and hunt down any public display of meta human activity or vigilantism. The Cape Killers proved to be as ruthless as they were effective and within months had killed hundreds of meta humans, both hero and villians alike.
I'm ashamed to say in that time period I spent most days hiding out in my apartment glued to the television, to afraid to mask up due to the potential chance I might run into the Cape Killers. Of course the media had a field day with the event because media wise the only thing better than masked heroes with super powers was dead masked heroes with super powers. There was even a new show that really made me sick called “Unmasked: The Face Behind the Freaks.”. The show covered every hero killed or captured over the past week and briefly talked about who their true identity was.
Fast forwarding to 2007 I Found myself a shell of the man I once was, I honestly hadn’t realized just how much of my identity was tied up into my powers until I was forced to hide them on a daily basis. The Cape Killers had all but eradicated vigilantism and meta human activity in all fifty states except for the most powerful and resourceful of heroes and the occasional Super villain stupid enough to attempt some sort of crime. At the time I spent most days working a shitty job at a local gas station that was in walking distance from my run down apartments, constantly fearing that just maybe the cape killers had found out my identity and were coming for me. Needless to say I was extremely paranoid, but who in their right mind would expect a middle-aged out of shape balding man as the once up and coming Bronze Bear? That was a fact I constantly reminded myself to fight whatever paranoia plagued me at the time, and most of the time it worked.
That is until one night I returned home from work to find one of the few active heroes in Kansas City standing arms folded in my apartment, and what happened next was nothing short of a nightmare.
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Vincent Doran, also known as the Midnight Masher among the papers, sat high atop the streets on the roof of the slightly upscale apartments adjacent to where the man known as 'Scream' made his home. He had been following the mans exploits over the past year and he had to admit that he was rather effective and the fact that the man hadn’t stopped patrolling the streets over the past years made him greatly respect the man. Although he had been following the mans hero career for years it hadn’t been until the last week he had physically begun to watch the man, he needed to make a final decision on whether or not to invite him to be apart of the team he had been putting together the past month.
As he thought of the word 'team' a scowl spread under his masked face, thoughts of his old team flooding his mind. Back in the day he had been apart of the only real Super Hero group that resided within Kansas City, they stupidly had referred to themselves as the 'Super Seven'. Despite the dumb group name they had been some of the best men and women Vince had known in his life and as a group they had decided to continue to fight crime and serve the public. These days however the entire team, save for Vince himself, were dead and buried, hunted like common criminals at the passing of the 28th by the newly formed Cape Killers.
Over the years Vince had gone from protecting citizens from crime to protecting meta's from their own government. In the old days when he had been part of a team he fought with nothing more then his fists and a shield along with the occasional use of his powers but now when he'd stalk the streets at night he was damn near a walking armory. His huge arsenal contained just about everything, from the two .45 caliber pistols strapped to each leg and the sub machine gun tucked into his belt to the large caliber rifle strapped across his back and a medium sized curved blade attached to his lower right leg. He also carried his old signature black shield but used it far less these days. Over the past ten years the amount of cape killers that had died at his hands was rumored to be in the triple digits and Vince felt no remorse over a single one, there was a reason he had earned the title of 2nd most wanted meta in Kansas City Missouri.
Kneeling atop the roof in his kevlar looking black armor that covered nearly every inch of him he grasped a pair of binoculars in his hands. Putting the large black binoculars up to his eyes he continued to peer across the street into Screams apartment, not that he could really see anything but he was determined to find out who the newcomer was he had brought home-over the week he'd been following Scream he never once had seen someone else follow him into his apartment, and he knew the best way to find answers was to be patient.
"Thought you might be thirsty." Aaron placed his hand behind his head, leaning back on the couch. It was at this point he realized that Natalia may be staying with him for a while. "Living with another girl? Well, it wasn't so bad the first time." Aaron thought to himself as he looked at Natalia, noticing her bright bluish grey eyes when he felt a slight pain in his chest. "No. No, that's cliche and you know it." Aaron could already feel the inklings of feelings towards Natalia starting to develop, but quickly pushed them down, knowing they would lead to nothing but mistakes. Aaron wasn't the type of guy to let his emotions control him, but sometimes, he wished he was. He would just be cordial with Natalia. Nothing more and nothing less.
Natalia nodded her head at Aaron's question about her parents. "Yeah, they were," She said as he brought her a glass of water, "Thanks," She said, taking a drink of the water. Natalia slowly slipped out of her shoes and pulled her legs up under her, getting a little more comfortable. "They were apparently pretty famous in the late 60's early 70's, though I don't really know much about it. They didn't want me to be a hero, they wanted to protect me and keep me from that kind of stuff, but they still taught me right from wrong. I just, I can't walk away when I see someone in trouble." She said with a small shrug of her shoulders, not really sure why she's telling Aaron all of this. Natalia hasn't really talked about her parents much at all since they were killed, she had no one she could really talk to about it and once she's started talking, she just can't stop. "They were killed by the Cape Killers when I was 10." She added, taking another drink of her water, mentally kicking herself just moments after saying it. 'Why don't you just go ahead and tell him your whole life story,' She scolded herself before quickly turning to Aaron, "So, tell me a little about yourself. Don't want to be staying with a complete stranger." She said with a small laugh, mainly just trying to direct the conversation away from her.
"So, tell me a little about yourself. Don't want to be staying with a complete stranger." Natalia broke Aaron from his unfortunate chain of thought. "Well, I grew up in California. I'm a first generation meta in my family, so I decided early on not to tell them about what I could do. It didn't help that I could..."Aaron stopped his thought when he realized he hadn't told Natalia about his other ability. He hesitated at first, but thought she deserved to know the truth. "Natalia, I'm going to preference this by apologizing in advance. When I was a kid, my first "gift" popped up. One of the things I found out when I was a kid was that I could tell when people were afraid. Not only that, but I could read peoples fears. That's how I knew the Cape Killers were after you and that's how I knew you needed my help." Aaron hunched over in his seat and stared at the no blank television, thinking back to his earlier years when he had no control. "I could always feel how people were afraid of us. Of people like us. Some think of us as they should; as people. But, sadly not everyone was like them. I was just a kid. I was just a kid and I knew most people hated me."
The room fell silent for a moment. Realizing where he'd taken the conversation, he quickly gave an awkward cough and sat back up normally. "Eventually, I learned what I was doing. I developed new talents. Learned some control. I didn't get into the "hero" thing until I moved out here for college." Aaron didn't know exactly what to say for a little bit, until he figured out something. He had never told anyone about his abilities, about his other life. Natalia was the first one he had told. The first person he shared his secret with. He thought about telling her this, but knew it would sound crazy. But he had to admit, it felt nice, even if she might hate him for pervading her mind.
Natalia watched Aaron as he talked. When she was younger she'd always been a little jealous of the other kids, the ones who were 'normal', who had happy families, with both their parents. As she got older, she realized that just because someone's life may look 'normal' and happy on the outside, if you look a little closer, that's hardly ever the case. Like with Aaron, he had both his parents, but it didn't make his life any easier. It didn't really bother her too much that he could get into her mind, it wasn't his fault he was born with this gift, any more than it was her fault that she was born with hers.
Natalia stayed quiet until Aaron finished talking, "Well, first off, you don't need to apologize. It's fine, really." She said, giving him a kind smile. "And secondly, I can't imagine how hard that must have been, growing up with that gift." She continued, shaking her head slightly. She only paused for a moment before moving on, not wanting to dwell on upsetting topics of conversation. "So, what are you studying in college?" She asked. She'd wanted to go to college, but her grades weren't good enough for any type of scholarships, and Mr. and Mrs. Still, her father's friend and his wife, had enough trouble trying to send their own kids to college, they couldn't help Natalia. She's just happy to have found this job. At that thought, she cursed quietly, realizing she'd now missed work, and more than likely won't have any job to go back to when this whole thing blows over.
He felt like he had soured the mood a bit, so he was happy to answer Natalia's question about college. "Studied, actually. I got my doctorate in psychology pretty recently." Aaron didn't talk about school often, mostly because for a long time, it was most of his life.
Aaron noticed Natalia's lack of shoes and was happy to see she was feeling comfortable. He stretched his arms and placed him behind his head, resting on his hands in comfort, looking over to Natalia. "I work for a marriage counselor right now. That's how you get your own business which is what I'm hoping for. What about you? You go to school or do you work?" When he brought up work, he thought he saw Natalia twitch a little bit. "Is everything alright? I mean, besides the obvious?" Aaron was concerned as he hadn't thought of the mess Natalia's life the Cape Killers and himself by extension, had probably put her in.
Natalia nodded her head as Aaron talked about college, his degree, and his work, it all sounded really intesting. When he asked about hers, she frowned slightly, sighing when he asked if everything is alright. "Yes, I mean, no," She said, sighing again, running a hand over her face. "I was on my way to work when all this happened. I doubt I'll have a job to go back to now." She murmured. "I'm not in college, can't afford it." She added to completely answer his question. "I don't know what I'm going to do now." She said, shaking her head as she reaches over and sets her, now empty, glass down on the coffee table.
"Look, I'm gonna go grab some groceries. There's a place I know around the corner." Aaron said, making sure he had his wallet and keys in his pockets. "Don't let anyone in unless it's me and again, make yourself at home. Cocoa, blankets, bad TV, the whole nine yards or whatever girls like. Just try to relax." Aaron walked over the door and turned the knob, opening it and giving a kind smile and wave as he exited his apartment. When he reached the street, he still had that feeling of something not feeling right, but ignored it and kept onward towards the store.
"Alright," Natalia said, watching as Aaron walks out of the apartment. She sighed quietly, running a hand over her face once more, before picking up her empty glass. She walked into the kitchen and quickly washed it before putting it away, though it takes her a few moments to figure out exactly where the glasses are supposed to go. Once she's finished, she glanced around the kitchen taking it all in. Natalia knew that if she's going to to be staying here for a while, she's going to have to get used to everything, know where everything is.
After exploring the kitchen for a while, Natalia slowly moved through the apartment, getting the lay out. While exploring, she found herself a pillow and a blanket and made her way back to the couch. Natalia quickly makes herself comfortable on the couch, the pillow under her head and the blanket wrapped tightly around her. After all the excitement and adrenaline, she's pretty worn out. She grabbed the TV remote and turned it on, flipping through the channels for a few moments before settling on a romantic comedy movie. With the TV on for noise, Natalia cuddled up and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.
Silently running up and up the metallic staircase Midnight quickly found the window he was looking for, a quick glance through the glass showing that the unknown woman was fast asleep on the couch. Which was good, midnight thought, he really hadn't wanted to have to incapacitate her for this little recruitment session, not that he would have hesitated too. Kneeling in front of the solid glass window Midnight pulled a tiny almost pizza cutter looking object out of one of the many pouches on his dull grey belt. As quietly as he could he took the 'pizza cutter' to the window, the object making a slightly loud scratching sound as he traced an ever deepening hole around the base of the window frame. After a mere minute or so the circle he'd been outlining made a slightly dull 'pop' sound before falling into Midnights outstretched hand, leaving a large fist sized hole in the window. From there all Midnight had to do was reach through the hole with his free hand, unlock it, and slowly slide the window open before letting himself into the apartment-he made sure to keep it open just in case he needed a fast getaway. From there he walked into the living room surprisingly silently, almost shadow like. His hands carried a chair from the kitchen, which upon reaching the living room he set down without a sound.
Finally taking a moment to rest he sat himself in the chair, his sharp green eyes focused on Natalias sleeping body. As he stared at her he wondered if she too was in fact a meta, and if so just how strong? Pushing the thought from his head he pulled one of his sleek jet black .45 caliber pistols out of its leg holster as he turned his gaze towards the apartments entrance-it was after all best to focus on the man who'd be coming home who Midnight was well aware was a threat, other then some unknown variable on the couch.
As he reached his apartment building, he walked through the door, gave a quick wave to a neighbor passing by and walked up the stairs towards his door. He opened and walked through it, but definitely was surprised by the man in black armor and a mask pointing a gun at him as he entered. Aaron knew this man wasn't a Cape Killer due to the facts that 1. The man didn't fire on sight and 2. Natalia was asleep on the couch, seemingly unaware of the intruder. Aaron decided to slowly put down the groceries next to the door frame and close the door behind him, not wanting anyone else to get involved. "I'm going to take a wild guess here and say you used my fire escape?" Aaron said, rubbing his chin as he thought. The intruder remained silent, so Aaron took that as a yes. "Okay, then. I don't have any bullets in me yet, so obviously you want something else from me. I recommend we talk this out, because when people break into my home and don't have the decency to be polite about it, I can get very...agitated." Aaron said, making sure to deepen his voice into a monstrous tone with his last word as well as blacken his eyes to try and put some fear into the masked man. "And please don't wake the girl up. She's had a rough day."
Remaining seated in his chair he kept his gun on Scream, not necessarily pointing it at the man but instead resting it across his lap in a relaxed way, but at the same time it was clear where the barrel was pointed-and that was at Screams chest. "Very astute." Midnight finally answered in an extremely deep, almost unnatural, voice. In the mere seconds before Midnight spoke up again his mind soaked up the fact that the man cared about the girl on the couch, and based on that he assumed cared about people in general.
He filed it away as something to use against Scream if need be, the barrel slowly, almost unnoticeably, finding its way in the direction of the sleeping Natalia. "Ill just assume by the fact that there aren't tentacles wrapped around my neck or any of the other number of things your powers could attempt to do to me..." He stressed the word attempt without skipping a beat. "...That your smart enough listen. Ill be blunt, Scream." He continued speaking as he revealed that he knew Aaron's alter ego. "Every moment I spend sitting here is quite possibly the death of another innocent meta human, so forgive me if i make this brief." The way Midnight spoke was almost robotic, the tone was completely controlled and emotionless like he was reading from a teleprompter or something equally rehearsed. The truth was however this was what he'd become, the reign of the Cape Killers had taken quite a toll on him-throughout the years he had to mentally adapt to survive. Even as he spoke with Aaron he was plotting three different escape routes, along with multiple ways to kill any would be intruders who busted in on the private conversation.
"Like I said, ill be brief. I want you Scream, not Aaron, Scream. I know you never resigned your mask like so many of the fucking cowards over the years." The way he spat 'fucking cowards' through his mask sounded slightly uncontrolled, almost psychotic. "Instead of patrolling petty street crimes why not make a real difference? Make no mistake, this fucking twenty eight amendment is all but a God damn legal contract for genocide against meta humans. Just think about it Scream, and get back to me within a day." Standing from his seat after he finished speaking he now did have the gun openly aimed at Scream, slowly backing up and making his way towards the still open window. "I've left a card with an untraceable number on your coffee table, if you don't call within the next day the number will be fried and you wont be able to call. Like I said, think about it." As he finished his sentence he ducked out the window, dissapearing into the growing night.
"Target is extremely armed and very dangerous." he read a loud what he had on this so called hero to himself. "He is responsible for the deaths of dozens of CK soldiers over our pursuit of him. Prior history and power set is unknown, but we believe he was formerly part of a group. This was gathered from some slices of information he yelled during combat. He is also mentally unstable and erratic, so kill by any means necessary." Aaron finished reading about the man who had just pointed a gun at him.
He knelt down and grabbed the groceries still by the door and placed them with the file on the kitchen table. He heavily slouched into a chair, starring at the file, wondering what to do now. Getting a burst of inspiration, he dashed into his room and rummaged around through a pile of mess until he found his tape recorder. He liked to use it for patient diagnoses when he didn't feel like writing and figured he should get his thoughts down in his mind while they were still fresh. Aaron then sat back down and began to talk into the device.
"Patient identifies himself as "The Midnight Masher". Files indicate a past history of violence as well as an anger towards former masked vigilantes who hung up their masks as well as the Cape Killer initiative, seeing it as a genocide. Paranoia is definitely not out of the question." Aaron said, slightly agreeing with the Masher on his last point as he took a momentary pause. "Luckily, the patient seems to value the lives of fellow innocent meta-humans, showing some capacity for kindness as well as seeking to recruit those for his "cause". He also seems to have supreme self control, pervading even my..."techniques". However, even this rule is sometimes broken as he endangered two of innocents in a single instance. Diagnosis at this time is impossible as patient history is required for further processing." Aaron rubbed his eyes with his left hand as the other pressed the stop button on the recorder. Aaron had dealt with his share of unstable people, but none of them ever entered his house and none of them knew of his other identity. This shook him a little bit, but his fear was pushed aside when he had a thought. Quickly, he grabbed the cell phone on the living room table and grabbed Bronze's business card from his pocket, quickly typing the number and hitting the call button. He waited, but all he seemed to get was the voice mail. "Hey, John. It's Aaron from the gas station earlier today. I just thought I'd tell you about...a guest who came to my home and I think he'll like to meet you. This is bad news, seriously, call me back when you get this." Aaron hung up the phone as he thought he heard a yawn coming from behind him as Natalia woke up from her nap.
Natalia yawned quietly as she started to wake up. She slowly sat up, glancing around at the unfamiliar, it taking a few moments for her foggy brain to wake up and remember the events of the day, to realize where she is. Natalia glanced over at Aaron, seeing him sitting there with the cellphone in his hand. "Hey," She murmured quietly, running a hand through her hair. "How long ago did you get back?" She asked, glancing at the clock, trying to figure out just how long she'd been asleep. After a few moments, she glanced back over at Aaron, looking at him once more, with the phone in his hand. "Is everything alright?" She asked as she started to wake up more. Natalia blinks slowly, she can tell that something is going on, she's just not sure what.
Paying attention as the news caster spoke John let out an audible laugh when the man started off the segment by saying that the young woman was 'extremely armed and dangerous', a vibe that John himself had not picked up on at all in his brief meeting with Natalia. He then went on to speak about just how she and another unknown meta along with the infamous 'Scream' had torn apart a local gas station and terrorized a whole city block, he also finished with a number panning across the bottom of the screen saying that if anyone had any information on the suspects they should call the number presented beneath him. John joked to himself saying in his mind that he would do his very best to not dial said number.
It was about that same time that the news segment had finished and was being followed up by the next days weather that John stood up to go to his room. He had decided on the way over to his home that he would pack a bag and finally leave the country, a thought he had constantly toyed with in his mind over the years but could never bring himself to do, but now he felt he had little choice-at least that’s what his paranoid side kept telling him. It had taken him about thirty minutes to pack everything worth taking in his room, quickly shoving everything into the large green duffle bag he had used many times before throughout his life. Finishing packing everything up in his room he went to go exit his room, deciding there were a few items also worth taking with him out in the living room. As he turned the door knob with one hand he also checked his phone with the other, a seemingly random number having been plastered onto the small screen. He was just in the process of dialing the number to hear the message the unknown caller had left him when he walked back into his living room, a man completely adorned in black armor staring at him with folded arms.
“Hello Bronze, you yellow bellied bear.”
"Natalia..." Aaron said, sitting beside her on the arm of the couch, looking down as she woke up completely. "This job requires something. Most people call it courage, but I just call it stupidity." Aaron let out a small smile from his frowning lips. "I chose to do this. Put on a disguise and help people, save them from...from people like me. I knew I'd be hurt and hunted and feared, but I did it anyway. I made a choice and I don't regret it at all.....but you didn't have a choice. You got dragged into this by the fears of cowards, the same fears that kept us afraid as children." Aaron took off his glasses, placing them on the table in front of him and turning towards Natalia. "Now, someone is going after them. A former hero, but he's different. Far gone. He asked me to join him, but he doesn't know about you. He doesn't know what you're capable of." Aaron rubbed his face with his hands, trying to find comfort where there was none to be found. "I have to do this. Make sure he doesn't hurt anybody, find out who he is, try and figure out how he found me out. I don't want you involved in this, but you deserve to know. You at least deserve this choice."
Natalia watched Aaron curiously as he moved to sit on the arm of the couch. She tilted her head slightly, studying him as he talked. A small frown was on her lips by the time he'd finished. She stayed quiet for a few moments, taking it all in. Natalia bit her bottom lip as she thought about it. Every time she makes an important decision, she always tries to think of what her parents would do if they were still here. No mater how hard she tries, she's not sure what they would do if in this situation. She knows that they always protected the innocent people, but the Cape Killers aren't innocent, they've killed people. Like her. Like her parents. With that thought, she's made up her mind.
Natalia finally nodded her head as she turned her attention back to Aaron. "I want to help," She said. "My parents, they always protected the innocent, normal and meta alike. The Cape Killers, they're far from being innocent, the best way I can protect innocent Meta's, is to help you, and this other guy, who ever he is." She finished with a small nod, glancing away from Aaron again, not sure if her reasoning would actually make sense to him. She wanted to do this, partially because of what she just said, but also for revenge on the people that took her parents from her, not that she would admit that out loud.
Natalia glanced at the TV when Aaron turned it on, a frown tugging on her lips when she sees her face though the 'armed and dangerous' thing made her want to laugh. She shook her head slightly, running a hand through her hair as Aaron turned off the TV. "Yeah, armed and dangerous," She murmured to herself with a roll of her eyes as Aaron walked off to the kitchen. When he came back and handed her the tape recorder, she looked at it for a few seconds before slowly nodding her head. "Alright," She said, before he walked off to take a shower, though, she'd already made up her mind and knew that no matter what was on the tape recorder, it wouldn't change her mind.
To say last night had been strange was an understatement: not only had he met Natalia and Aaron fought with some cape killers and then lost his job but on top of all that he returned to his house to gather up some belongings when he met yet another hero. This one however had been lying in wait inside Johns apartment, the man donned in his complete costume while carrying enough guns to make a soldier blush. From the kevlar armor like costume to the large round shield clutched in the mans left hand John had immediately recognized the man as Midnight Masher-he appeared so often in the news that John assumed most anyone would recognize him, but why was he here in Johns apartment? More importantly, how did he know that John was the Bronze Bear?
To say the least his brief meeting with Midnight had been somewhat confrontational. Things had started off civil enough, Midnight simply stating, not asking but stating, that Bronze had been in Screams apartment. “Uhm...yeah, I guess?” John had responded slightly nervous, noticing the strange monotonous almost robotic tone of voice Midnight had.
“Let me say this bluntly, stay away from Scream. He's going to be joining me and my team, a team for real heroes, not cowards so scared they wont even wear their masks anymore.” That had left John slightly speechless, and before he knew it Midnight was gone leaving John slightly dumbfounded and alone. A few minutes had passed and John found himself digging through his kitchen cabinets, finding what he was looking for he returned to his couch with a half full bottle of whiskey which he immediately uncorked and began drinking in an attempt to drown out the thoughts that Midnight had stirred up in his heads, thoughts that were often there but simply pushed into the farthest parts of his mind.
After vomiting up his liquid courage from the previous night John was a bit confused as to exactly how he had gotten into his old costume, having drank to the point of blacking out last night he must have drunkenly 'suited up' at some point in the night. As he stood up, his head aching and his throat dry, he looked in the large stand up mirror in the corner of his room. Seeing himself in his old costume felt right, no, something was missing. He put the tight leather mask back on. Now he felt right.
Picking his phone back up off the night stand he returned Screams call.
After grabbing a cup of water, he noticed Natalia still asleep on the couch. Thinking back, he remembered he hadn't made or eaten anything for dinner. His stomach grumbled in agreement, so he decided to head out and grab something to eat before Natalia woke up. He changed into some clean clothes, grabbed the cell phone and keys from the table in front of Natalia, and quietly went out the door, locking it behind him.
Walking around, he found a place a few blocks away that was good enough. He bough two coffees and some bagels. He figured this was enough, but also bough an apple just in case. He walked back home, sipping his warm coffee, his headache now gone. With each step, his whole body felt warm from the drink.
As he reached the door of his building, his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and he recognized the number as John's. He answered it, quickly.
"Hey, John. We need to talk about something. This guy calling himself the Midnight Masher broke into my apartment last night. You know anything about him?"
Walking into his living room he flipped the middle cushion up on his beige colored couch, revealing a sleek black looking leather notebook which he quickly picked up.
somehow.
"Yeah, definitely bring what you've got. We're gonna need all the help we can get." Aaron said as he walked up to his apartment and entered it, breakfast in hand and balancing his phone on his shoulder as he placed the bag and two cups on the kitchen table. "Get here when you can. The sooner we figure out what this guy's deal is, the sooner we can come up with a plan." Aaron continued, sitting at the table and taking a sip from his cup of coffee. "I'll talk to you when get here. Bye." Aaron hung up the phone as he thought he heard a stirring come from the couch. He figured it was Natalia waking up and even if she wasn't up already, Aaron thought she should be. So he walked over to the couch and placed her coffee in front of her.
"Natalia, wake up." he said, trying not to sound too rude as he knew he hated being woken up by someone else. "I bought breakfast."
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The Midnight Masher
An old hero out for revenge.
Aaron Waters AKA The Scream
"Fear rules over all men. That's why I became fear itself..."
The Bronze Bear
An ex-hero living in constant fear.
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The Midnight Masher
An old hero out for revenge.
Aaron Waters AKA The Scream
"Fear rules over all men. That's why I became fear itself..."
The Bronze Bear
An ex-hero living in constant fear.
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Aaron Waters AKA The Scream
"Fear rules over all men. That's why I became fear itself..."
The Midnight Masher
An old hero out for revenge.
The Bronze Bear
An ex-hero living in constant fear.
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49 posts · 9 characters present · last post 2014-03-29 20:42:40 »
Kansas City Owner: blackrider
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Cape Killers
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Cape Killers
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