Multiplex
Rebel
World-class petty criminal
Posts: 9
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Post by Multiplex on May 29, 2018 1:11:44 GMT
Street-level crime, though generally unspectacular and void of finesse, is nonetheless the lifeblood of the Superstar industry. This is most especially true when the perpetrators are also of the mask-and-cape toting variety, however, as nothing that occurs so regularly can draw the eyes and hearts of the public like a confrontation between a super-powered hero and villain. There are such occurrences all across the nation every day, the parties involved struggling both against their adversaries and the ever fickle media, and even those on the top of the totem pole of either ideological spectrum often find themselves in such a situation.
It should come as no surprise to any, then, when the endless cycle repeats itself yet again.
Though this is merely a minor rebel committing simple robbery, the response soon to come is all but inevitable, and likely consists of similarly new or minor Superstars. As this is an abrupt and miscellaneous encounter, it is highly unlikely that anyone involved will recognize each other or know another’s power, a double-edged sword for both hero and villain alike. It is quite likely, however, that things will go to rough and tumble quite promptly…
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Gas stations aren’t really the most glamorous thing to choose when looking to start a holdup. And yet, even so, Liu found himself outside of one at four in the afternoon masked and in full rebellious attire.
One has to make ends meet somehow. Low-profile nonsense like that was fairly easy, and thus a bit more attractive than it sounded.
Having not really bothered to try and hide himself while walking to the door (something he felt was unnecessary, given that the name of Multiplex was still nice and obscure. He’d received little more than a few looks approaching the building, but more than likely they’d settled on him being a bush league Superstar), he quite similarly didn’t much care for trying a dramatic entrance. The door swung wide, he stepped in and wiped his shoes, and then he promptly took a step forward—and more importantly, formed a mirage in his wake, which quickly expanded to cover the entire space before the door. A decent bit of charge was invested into it, motionless, invisible, and deadly.
He always trapped the door.
This done, he made a quick sweep over the premises. Not another soul save the cashier seemed to stand anywhere, unless someone were in the bathroom or crouched behind a shelf, or for whatever reason was otherwise out of sight. He preferred not to investigate the former and couldn’t imagine a reason for the either of the latter. As for the cashier himself, he just stood behind the register rather gormlessly, looking horribly tired and bored out of his mind.
Hoping the man might even be content to have things shaken up a bit, he approached the register, its occupant rubbing his eyes and giving him an exhausted blink or two. Resting an elbow on the counter, Liu snapped a finger, and with the motion created a minuscule mirage in the palm of his hand, vibrating it enough for it to give off a constant, sparking crackle, looking dangerous even with its size. He let it fade and fizzle out, serving only as a warning of sorts, and spoke up.
“Well, as you may have guessed, Mister, this is a robbery.”
He reached down and tugged out a plastic grocery bag that he had tucked into his belt, laying it flat between them.
“Please go ahead and empty that register into this, if you would. I’m quite sorry for the inconvenience.”
The man glared at him for a moment, muttered something about him certainly not looking it, but then jabbed open said register with a thumb—and then immediately (and loudly)mashed the panic button beneath the counter as well without so much as a change in expression.
Liu just nodded and did nothing. He could handle the usual Superstar hopefuls, and it was high time he try for just a little media attention. As the unfortunate fellow began filling the bag, however, he tried for a little small talk.
“…So, who do you think’ll respond? Nobody too big I’m sure, but there’s a few good up-and-comings I’d bet on. Godfist, maybe, or Howlin’ Wolf, those two have been around here a lot lately, right? Oh, or maybe the Shockmaster. You know, my Electro-Manifestation is just objectively superior to his—“
“Second time we’ve been robbed this week,” the cashier suddenly cut in. “I don’t really want to hear it from you.”
Liu shrugged haplessly.
“Ah, come now, I couldn’t have known. Hey, I’ll be quite careful to avoid damaging anything once the Supers show up, how’s that?”
No response was forthcoming save another evil eye. If looks could kill…
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Lin Jiang
Beyond Human
"If I could only be a little more selfish...would that be okay?"
Posts: 8
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Post by Lin Jiang on May 29, 2018 9:48:13 GMT
"Hmm-hmm, hmm-hmm-hmmmm..."
Humming nonchalantly to himself as he finished washing his hands, Lin was blissfully unaware of the tense confrontation between robber and cashier that was transpiring outside. Frowning at the empty paper towel dispenser, Lin thought about using the hand dryer briefly, but shrugged and just wiped it halfheartedly across his pants on his way out. They were dark navy business trousers, so the water stains wouldn't show up anyway, even if it somehow didn't dry during the next two-hour-long commute to the heart of the Pudong District.
What was Lin Jiang, a run-of-the-mill Han and Co. consultant based in their Hong Kong branch, doing in Shanghai, of all places? Well, long story short, Han and Co. had landed a pretty sweet deal with a fledgling energy management company, its headquarters based in Pudong, and he had been sent through as an emissary of sorts to open up negotiations and such. All in all, pretty big deal; two hour flight in business class plus a week of room and board in Pudong, all paid for in a joint package by Han and Co. as well as their client.
And now, after having caught a taxi into Pudong, Lin had to answer nature's call before he got to his hotel, and this gas station just so happened to have a handy bathroom inside. Smoothing down his grey suit and tightening his tie, Lin pushed open the door of the bathroom, already thinking about preparations for the meeting. Maybe he should buy some breath fresheners too, he hadn't checked his breath since he got off the plane about half a day ago.
Then, he stopped dead as he took in the scene that greeted him at the counter, bathroom door behind him slowly swinging to a close with a soft creak.
A man in a strange costume (which he presumed had been cobbled together by hand) seemed to be in the middle of committing a robbery, but the station attendant didn't seem too impressed about it. So much so that he loudly sounded the standard-issue panic button under the counter...which, alarmingly, didn't seem to faze the robber very much. It was safe to say that whatever his mutation was (for at this point it was pretty obvious that he was a Metahuman), the robber felt that he would have no trouble in dealing with any of the up-and-coming Superstars on their way to stop him.
Hoping that the robber hadn't seen him yet, Lin attempted to duck behind some shelves for cover. However, his fearful breaths, coming in heavy and hard bursts, would probably give him away if the robber decided to investigate.
"Today? Today?! Of all days this could happen, today...?!"
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Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
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Post by Redstar on May 29, 2018 15:44:32 GMT
The two both stared at the lower part of the aisle as civilians, crouched beside several various forms of chocolate, yet each composed of one, singular type of chocolate; Milk Chocolate. Mimi was utterly furious, meanwhile her companion, Xukong, simply stared at Mimi as she seemed to wonder when this nonsense would ever end. “…Where’s the dark chocolate?” Mimi asked in disbelief, scouring through a row of the classical brand of ‘Hersey’. Everything she looked at was basically the same thing over and over, and while normal people would just take it, milk chocolate was too sweet in her eyes, nasty for your teeth, and overall an extremely unhealthy chocolate compared with her favorite.
“They don’t have any.” Xukong sighed.
Mimi refused to believe her, searching harder for at least one bar of dark chocolate as she pulled out the box full of milk chocolate bars. She refused to let Xukong be right, there had to be something, it didn’t even have to be the brand she liked!
“Can we go yet, the transport is going to be here any minute…” Xukong pestered her, poking at Mimi’s shoulder until her victim swiftly turned her head, staring her in the eye and declaring “NO.” Before returning to her search. Xukong sighed more loudly this time, bored out of her mind as she peered out around the corner of the aisle to what she was surprised to find as the beginning of a robbery, suddenly dropping the emotionless face she wore almost constantly, and instead to one of nervousness, tugging at Mimi’s leotard to warn her.
“Oi, Just hold on Xukong, I think I just found one-“
The alarm began to erupt from whatever sources it had, Mimi interrupted mid-sentence as she held her treasure that been hiding among the enemy, turning to Xukong as they both seemed to realize that ‘oh, this is an actual robbery, isn’t it?’ and scrambling to get better cover, and a better idea of what was going on. Xukong directed Mimi toward the situation, the two peeking out from behind the aisle toward the commotion. There was a poorly dressed man, in Mimi’s opinion, who was threatening the register man, and seemingly that was it, Mimi scoffing at the simplicity.
“What are you doing?” Xukong urgently whispered to her as Mimi stood up, still crouched slightly behind the aisle.
Overly confident in her abilities, Mimi barely thought of a plan as she observed the offender who seemed to be unarmed, unaware of his ability, and possible lethal-ness. He just seemed like an unpowered villain, what else was there to it? Meanwhile, Mimi didn’t reply to her friend as she gave Xukong her large hat. Then, as she was holding her chocolate bar while she moved cautiously out of cover, along with her new addition of a bottle of soda, she made her presence known by quickly stating; “...Hey buddy, I don’t suppose you’d mind if I paid for my stuff, would you?” as her hands were raised in a friendly, non-threatening way while they still held on to the items.
“I mean like, we’ve got a transport in ten minutes to think about here.” She tried to reason.
Xukong meanwhile, as she heard Mimi play out her unreasonable plan, nearly facepalmed but instead quickly vanished, still in proximity, but invisible and as void as her name while she watched the idiot that was her friend attempt to pull stupid off, which considering certain things, she was stupid.
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Post by Thundercrack on May 31, 2018 6:16:21 GMT
She had received the message some time in the afternoon: the latest entry in a manga series that she had been following since her days as a primary school student had finally been released! Having spent much of the past week messaging the library staff in what had essentially amounted to a lobbying campaign at best and a steady stream of borderline emotional blackmail at not quite as best, they had eventually caved and ordered it on the condition that she did not message them for queries until at least the end of the month. She hadn’t replied yet. I finally have it! she thought gleefully as she skipped along the sidewalk, returning home from the library. Oh, how long I have awaited your arrival! I will finally find out if the Star Shooters make it out alive or if- Her stomach growled, cutting off her internal ramblings. She was hungry. She groaned as she meandered along the busy streets, swinging a plastic bag with a single paperbound volume inside, woefully wishing that there was some kind of convenience store nearby. She squinted, seeing the glow of a distant sign across the street. Honestly, for an enterprise referring to itself as convenience stores, they fail to be particularly convenient. What if she wasn’t on that side of the street? There wasn’t a convenience store near her. Just a gas station. In silent protest of inconvenient stores, she settled for gas station snacks. High prices for small helpings, but it couldn't be helped. Amani stepped through the automatic doors, walked past the counter casually, catching a glimpse of the two girls nearer to the back. And they were standing right in front of the shelf she needed. As she passed by to linger in the next aisle along, she wanted to politely slip between them and just take some snacks, but she felt that there is an illogical frequency of people conveniently bumping into each other by accident and introducing each other before going on to share a deep meaningful conversation about their respective roles in the universe and move on as allies forged in rhetorical steel. She didn't know what that was all about, but she felt somewhat intimidated by having that pressure. But she really wanted some snacks. Dang. Those two look like they’re having a bit of a discussion. I'd better hope they leave without taking something I want - these selections are pretty sparse. If that happens, convenient bump-and-introduction conversations are going to be the least awkward thing I'll have to face today. She sighed, moving on to another aisle and slipping out-of-sight. This, of course, slipped her conveniently in-sight of the counter, and of the cashier's front, and of the robber's back. She stepped into the next aisle—
Wait, robber? Go back a second, Amani. Rewind. Take a peek around the shelf, he won't even notice you're there. Probably. Take a look.
That dashing fellow on the wrong side of the law and the right side of the counter made a point to show off his magnificent magnificence with an act that certain meta-human circles liked to refer to as a ‘flex,’ an unnecessary display of power in a public setting. Amani’s heart skipped a beat when she saw that electricity arc between his fingertips, dancing along the palm of his rubber-clad hand. Oh my gosh, another electrokinetic! But, wait, he’s robbing the place! I can't let that happen! Well, technically, yes I can - in fact, I probably should, considering that I can probably lay low, right here, and not get involved. He also very fairly got here before I did, so if you look at it that way, I have absolutely no right to intervene… She was almost on the verge of tears as her desires and principles and the developing crush on her fellow electrokinetic struggled mercilessly in her head. But… but this is so unfair! I mean, it's fair. But the injustice of it! It's so irrevocably fairly unjust! I need to act. But what can I do? Amani grinned as her eyes fell on the shelves of goodies before her. Oh, I know exactly what I can do. She reached one hand forward and began sweeping bags of chips off of the shelves and into the bag she had carried from the library. Might as well make the most out of this, she rationalized.
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Post by thelaughingman on Jun 2, 2018 9:53:17 GMT
The convenience was entirely lost when you lived near the convenience store. Then it felt more like a 'highway robbery' as time went by. If one paid close attention to their finances as Lang did then that fat was all the more apparent and even nastier for it. He had sat in his room all day trying to recover from a particularly nasty hangover. Meanwhile the devilish voice which had no respect for his budget whispered to him that a single beer would not break him any further. It was the same voice that told him that he could afford that candy bar, that he might need a backup phone charger, and other nasty little lies that all joined to joined together to form a disgusting facade. The convenience store was robbing him once again.
The heat was unbearable on this day due to his disposition otherwise he would have dressed in his normal attire, but the free and flowing style of his robes were too appealing given his current condition. This fact couple with the strong aversion to taking his time to make sure he was presentable and his hair was put up and hidden under a hair resulted in him donning his mask as well. In truth he felt naked without it since so many had become accustomed to his attire that he did not even provoke bewildered and excited stares from the regulars anymore.
Lang squinted against the light and finally succumbed to its harsh demands after a quick survey of his direction and surroundings. With his eyes shut tight in an attempt to quell the pounding ache in his temples he made his way to the store. Suddenly a piercing bolt of agony shot through his skull has his headache flared. His eyes popped open and he looked about in a moment of sheer confusion and panic.
The store's alarm was ringing out in a declaration that all was not well. Adrenaline began to pump through his veins as his body realized that he was in the middle of whatever excitement was taking place. He peered curiously through the glass and saw a man in a rough homemade costume holding up the store and this brought the first smile of the day to his lip.
"It seems the robber becomes the robbed this day, old friend." He murmured to himself.
The violent throb in his head had been temporarily displaced and forgotten now replaced by his overwhelming interest in the situation that was about to play out. Perhaps that robber was simply a misguided sheep that needed to be brought to his flock or perhaps some suggestible young hero would appear and he could speak to them before the media had a chance.
Folding his arms he began to peer about to see who would respond to the alarm's cry for help and how this thug would proceed. He was right in the first place no matter what that devious whisper told him: The beer could wait.
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Multiplex
Rebel
World-class petty criminal
Posts: 9
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Post by Multiplex on Jun 2, 2018 16:11:22 GMT
Two things occurred in quick succession, both of which forced Liu to contemplate the quality of his skills of observance.
The first even was perhaps the most simple—the thin, feeble creak of a door drawing open, and then immediately shut. His head snapped off to the side towards the source of the noise, only to meet with naught: the bathroom entry was once again motionless, and no one was in sight. His heartbeat sped up a touch to meet the potential challenge, for someone was very blatantly there, and he had no idea who. Seeing the distraction, the cashier shot his eyes back and forth between Liu and the source of the noise, his grimace of distaste softened just a tad, a hopeful glimmer thrown in. Liu, meanwhile, was switching his own gaze between the half-filled bag before him and the tall, suddenly suspicious shelves across the room. Acquiescing, he turned to the cashier a final time.
“Yeah, that’s good enough.”
The latter tossed the bag onto the counter as one might hurl away a large insect from one’s person. Liu snatched it up, hastily tied a knot, and wrapped the bag over thrice into a tight bundle with practiced hands. Before he could actually stow it away, however, the second event struck. Rising from behind another shelf entirely like a kraken from the tide was a girl, fairly young, arrayed in black as a civilian, with similarly dark glasses over her eyes.
…Looking to pay and go, evidently. Still alarmed and wanting to kick himself, he spoke up, voice dripping with disbelief.
“You… you want to pay. During a robbery, where I’m not blocking the exit and didn’t see you, and you’re also in a hurry. Really.”
Though the sudden arrival appeared innocent enough, every alarm bell in Liu’s head was screeching that her motives were as tinted as her glasses. Utterly without proof besides being dreadfully suspicious of just about anyone at the present, however, he nodded as politely as he could manage and strove to play things coolly, though he nonetheless took a moment to hastily pocket the bag that had still yet been sitting in his hand.
“Well… I’m not one to stop you, Miss. How about you just drop your payment over… there, perhaps?”
He gestured off to a random spot on the floor about ten or more odd feet away. The gesture itself, however, was more precise, for with it he formed a second motionless mirage before him, smaller and more hastily made than the first but just as hazardous.
“And then the nice fellow here—“
—He nodded towards the cashier, who looked as confused as Liu felt—
“—can just pick it up later. Then, you can just walk right on out, and still catch that transport of yours to boot. How’s that, hmm?”
He set the mirage in motion to the very slightest degree, it beginning its meandering drift away from him and towards the newcomer with all the haste of a tortoise, but still without visibility. It never hurt to prepare for the worst… especially given that he now couldn’t even search for the other potential foe. Part of him was now legitimately wishing he’d checked the bathrooms beforehand, but the rest of him knew he wouldn’t have dared to regardless.
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Lin Jiang
Beyond Human
"If I could only be a little more selfish...would that be okay?"
Posts: 8
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Post by Lin Jiang on Jun 4, 2018 10:12:27 GMT
Lin’s heart raced and his pulse jittered all over the place, the rush of warm blood surging through his ears magnified a hundred times to become as loud as television static. Gulping, he tugged at his collar a bit, grimacing. What powers could this robber have? Fire? Lighting? Lasers? Nothing good for him, that was for sure.
His arms instinctively wrapped around himself as he felt the dark tendrils of panic tug at his heartstrings; thank god his suit was fully organic cotton, otherwise he would have ended up wrapped in nothing but tatters. However, right now, that was not the top concern on Lin’s (very recently updated) bucket list. Covering his mouth and nose with his hands, he closed his eyes and thought calming, relaxing thoughts.
Be still, Lin. Still as a rock. Still as a rock at the bottom of a muddy pond. Still as a frozen, motionless rock just quietly gathering moss, stuck in mud, unnoticeable, at the bottom of a very deep, stagnant pond. He didn’t see you, and that is good. Stop being a nonce and breathe properly.
Good. Now. Back door. Where’s the back door?
Opening his eyes, Lin’s gaze darted about, looking persistently for a way out that didn’t involve revealing his position to the robber. As he made to move to a new piece of cover, behind a tall rack of chips, the sounds of a new voice being added to the mix made him pause and listen.
It seemed like there were other people in the store...one of these being a civilian girl, dressed casually, had gotten up directly into the robber’s line of sight and asked if she could pay for a purchase first. Either she was extremely brave and this was a veiled threat at the robber, or she was extremely stupid and going do exactly what she said she was going to do, and nothing else...it was beginning to look a lot like option two, frankly.
I have no time for this...gotta escape!
Sneaking away stealthily in the opposite direction, Lin made sure that his exposed hands didn’t come into contact with anything around him, just in case he were to disintegrate anything accidentally. But as he turned around to face the other end of the aisle, he was faced with a bizarre sight. A young woman, about the same age as the other, was busily shoving bags of chips into her library bag.
Now, there could have been several responses Lin could have chosen to put forth in this situation. But given the urgency of this particular time and place, his brain conveniently reacted with the default response for this kind of scene.
“What are you doing? Are you going to...pay for all of those?”
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Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
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Post by Redstar on Jun 4, 2018 19:41:15 GMT
“Pretty much.” Was her first response, smiling. However, the smile in question which had crept over her face wasn’t innocent, despite appearances. Mimi had somehow caught the robber off-guard with her reckless plan, and that alone was absolute gold, possibly even hilarious. She tipped her head slightly to the left as she observed his composure, his polite nod alone seemingly still rippling with unease, or maybe that was her ego talking. Though his quick attempt to pocket the bag of dishonest money actually gave the conclusion some leeway, and Mimi realizing if she was going to stop this man from committing a crime, she was going to have to act in the next minute. It didn’t help that the robber went further to give instructions on how to actually pay for her items, although it was notable how he mentioned placing a payment down as if she actually had cash. “I think you misunderstood me, I want to pay for my items, with this.” Mimi switched the chocolate bar’s holder to under her arm, single-handedly reaching down to undo her purse’s zipper while reaching into the bag to pull out a gray credit card. “I’d use cash, but I both don’t have any, and you see that ATM over there? It’s out-of-order.”
She displayed the card to him, trying to prove to him it wasn’t a trick before putting it back. “Besides, I’m just a normal, classic human. Are you really threatened by something as powerless like me?” She continued with lies, beginning to take a few steps forward. Mimi was thankful her identity wasn’t really known outside of Hong Kong, and even then, her stature as a hero wasn’t in the spotlight, leaving her options of surprise attacks or, undercover roles. Regardless, she wasn’t going to give him a chance to escape, taking a path that would seem like she was trying to avoid him, although giving her a chance to get her closer to the door in case he tried to bolt. But her patience was wearing thin, nagging at her to just tackle him and call it a day, that’s all she had to do. She was going too slow in her opinion even, not trying to give him a reason to bolt early or cause him to attack. Though realistically he seemed like a sensible person, even though he was robbing a gas station that probably got robbed every other week.
Why is he robbing a gas station?
Mimi wondered for only a second, being a partial way in from her chosen route. However, her patience was still wearing thin, her mouth opening as she started to talk impatiently, possibly being able to cause a distraction while doing so. “Actually, why are you robbing a gas station anyhow? I mean you could’ve made more money by stealing the stuff located on the shelves easily, possibly without the intervention of a hero getting in your way. Is it because you're trying to set the record for most petty thefts committed by one man over the course of a week?” she asked, silently scoffing at the idea. Meanwhile Mimi was slowly easing her way forward with each word; however, she would stop completely if he threatened an attack.
“It’s certainly an interesting goal if it is, but, maybe you should stop before the Superstars get here, I’m sure they’ll let you go if you just put the money back.” She reasoned. It was actually an honest offer, although if other Superstars appeared, she couldn't guarantee it.
"They can get really vicious if you don't."
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Post by Thundercrack on Jun 18, 2018 4:08:01 GMT
Amani Hasan was not an evil person. Evil people rubbed their hands together and pretended to be something they weren’t. They enjoyed it; taking things from others, whether it be money or power, it’s all just a game to them. They sold their morals for more power, ignored their moral compasses for such low prices and the price was falling every day. It was so simple. Amani wasn’t any of that. She cried when she stepped on bugs, bought strangers nice things, and enjoyed watching bad movies with her dog, curled up together on the couch. Amani Hasan was, however, a bad person. She was willing to lie. She was willing to steal. She was nothing more than a wannabe visionary with a big dream. She acknowledges that her methods were wrong, but they work. She couldn’t stand to sit by in a world where money was in the hands of just a few, where children starved, where— Oh, to Hell with the pretenses. She was stealing cheap snacks from a gas station. This isn't stealing, Amani justified, it's borrowing and never giving back. No one will know. Besides, I'm desperate. Those pretty bright neon sour gummy worms don’t come often, you know, and I just have to have them. Life without those sour gummies is meaningless and not worth living. But then she heard a voice from behind her… Amani’s face fell faster than some gangster in cement boots. The color fell from her face, her mouth hanging with lips slightly parted and eyes were as wide as they could stretch. There wasn't even a point in the fight-or-flight response; she had been caught. The play-it-off response, however, was operating overtime. Amani turned over her shoulder, a smarmy grin playing on her lips. She shot the average-looking fellow her best winning smile. “What, are you offering?” Amani turned over, facing the stranger head-on, where she could see him more clearly. She hated to use such banal words to describe someone, like ordinary, or average, or normal, but it was all she had to work with. She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. The hairs on her arms stood up on end. Her innate sensitivity to electricity, as an electrokinetic meta-human, was going haywire. She had pins and needles in the tips of her fingers, nerves on fire. She cleared her throat, ignoring the sensations. She pressed onwards, taking a single step toward the stranger. One of her arms was completely occupied with the bag clasped in her hand, but the other hand was free. Her fingertips brushed against the wall as she moved. “Oh, I know I’m walking out of here with these,” she gestured at the bag, lifting it slightly, “whether or not they get paid for is up to you.” Amani took another step. Her free hand, brushing against the wall, passed by an electrical socket. She stole a quick sideways glance; three-pronged, standard outlet. Two-hundred and twenty volts, fifty hertz, alternating-current power plug. In many less words; compatible with her mutation. Her fingertips passed over the outlet, and she smiled wider than before. It was more than just a slight tingle that ran underneath her skin. It was as though someone had attached a live wire to each of her nerves, and her body shivered as the otherwise deadly electrical current pushed through her. There was the stench of burnt ozone, and smoke rose from Amani’s fingertips; they were bright red from exposure. The lights dimmed, then flickered, then failed completely. The building was cast in darkness. The neon-lit signs outside that boasted “CHEAP CIGARETTES! 20% LESS!” and other similar bargains had died. The hum of the appliances, of the refrigerators, of the electricity dancing through every wire in the building… Gone. There was complete silence.
Electricity silently burned, dancing up and down Amani's arm. She shook out her hand, dispelling the smoke, wincing slightly as the bright red burns on her fingertips met open air. "C'mon," she prompted, holding her empty hand palm-up. Sparks danced across her hand, arcing between her fingers. "Be a gentleman. Wouldn't let a girl go hungry, would ya?"
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Post by thelaughingman on Jun 20, 2018 1:06:11 GMT
Lang stared on trying to observe what he could of the situation inside when suddenly the gas station's alarm fell silent and the lights shut off in the building casting the interior in absolute darkness. He had expected to hear explosions, thunder, shattering, and maybe even gunshots but he had not anticipated absolute quiet as the hum of all the machinery around died down. This did not sit well with him akin to when you expect to taste something sweet and it is sour instead.
There was only one visible entrance into the convenience store when you did not consider the windows, but even still that was the front of the little store. A quick survey of the area revealed that he whoever was coming or going had just one route to achieve that entrance or escape and it happened to be his real estate at the moment. Prime real estate as a matter of fact. The only issue was the lack of a weapon with which to defend his advantage if need be.
Nearby there were small buckets of water and cloths positioned around the gas station with which people could wipe away the dusty and grime from the road. Admittedly the instruments were rather shoddy given what some of the fancier stores offered, but it would work well enough for his plan. With little time to waste while the occupants were busy within the building Lang began to shred the cloths into elongated strips and tie them together end by end until he had a decent length. Once completed he plunged the newly formed 'rope' into the water and held it up high so the length dangled down.
Once the rope had grown still he began to focus upon it and draw the heat from the molecules of water permeating the fabric until slowly, gradually, certainly.. It began to freeze. He continued to repeat the delicate process, his eyes darting up occasionally to keep an eye on the door to the darkened store, until this ragtag length of rope had finally accumulated a solid casing of ice around it. Finally once he was satisfied with the results he approached the edge of the building from an angle so that he could keep tabs on the movements within.
The makeshift bo-staff was crude, but he was well-practiced with the weapon enough that it -should- work. If it managed to fail him he now had a charge of fire he could release if he's not to distracted. His options had opened up wide and he was more than prepared to hold down the fort, such as it was, and intervene for whichever side he fancied the most, but who would that be?
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Multiplex
Rebel
World-class petty criminal
Posts: 9
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Post by Multiplex on Jun 20, 2018 22:28:04 GMT
Liu found himself more annoyed than alarmed at the way the situation seemed to be rapidly deteriorating. The girl in front of him who was even now still advancing forward amidst her bizarre condescension was very blatantly going to try something, oh yes. The request to pay was surely a ruse, and she was surely a Superstar or a vigilante, no doubt. And she very much did need immediate dealing with, most certainly.
The issue was really just everything else that was very suddenly going on.
Even as the formerly unassuming, imminent adversary was halfway through her last veiled threat, a raised, identifiably masculine voice spurted from somewhere around the store’s end aisle, colored with a garish mix of fearful alarm and surprise. Though his head swiveled like an owl’s towards the source of the noise, Liu nonetheless took a moment to register the fact that the voice wasn’t speaking his way.
One unexpected guest already stood before him. One he expected, one he didn’t mind. Then there was the other that he had heard but never seen. Two people he hadn’t spotted upon entering the premises? He had his unlucky days, so such events were bound to happen here and there, however seemingly unlikely. But three? Three was near enough to make his eye twitch. Now intently focused on the thought of a new arrival, he merely waved an arm at the girl before him in a vaguely aggressive manner, as if trying to shoo her. His only hope there was that she might be as distracted as he himself was, though he also took comfort in the fact that his second mirage was still homing in on its target, slow yet silent.
Nothing was immediately forthcoming from the unknown extra variable, however. No, instead, something worse confirming Liu’s hasty suspicion took its place, for a third voice then sounded, sounding feminine and lined with what seemed either smarm or sass. At this point, however, he was hardly even attempting to listen to what was said, for his annoyance was rapidly decaying into astounded confusion, a shooting gallery’s worth of obvious questions popping up across all corners of his mind.
And then, as if to show his private confoundedness made manifest, all the lights in the shop were promptly snuffed out, plunging it into darkness and silence. His reaction wasn’t long in coming, however, as in the midst of the sudden gloom lit only by the drifting daylight through the glass up front, another problem screeched its need of solving into his ear.
There was still someone who looked ready to try and jump him right before his eyes, and she had just passed through his mirage.
Hidden in the shade, a fist was formed with thumb raised, both by his side and without ceremony, the thumb of which rapidly came down as one upon a detonator. And sure enough, the mirage detonated, the result both a satisfying ka-DOOM and an outward burst of electricity from seemingly nowhere, all of it arced straight towards the tallest and most immediate applicable point: the girl clad in black.
For a moment, she grew rigid and soundlessly contorted as the voltage coursed through her and grounded, before the moment had passed, leaving her to stumble forward, appearing nerveless. Liu promptly slide to one side with some slickness, snapping up a leg to meet her with a high kick. The blow sank into her chest and stopped her forward careening then and there, Liu still feeling near able to sense the leftover spasms of charge still fleeing her body through his thick-soled boots, but instead replaced her momentum with repulsion, knocking her back and into the shelf behind her. It rocked briefly and went into a topple, falling back onto the shelf parallel to it, which fortunately seemed weighed down enough to resist a domino effect.
In the brief downtime that followed, Liu took a moment to survey his surroundings: one cashier, now hidden behind his counter, briefly stealing a glace with peeking eyes here and there, one would-be assailant, looking thoroughly dazed and in improvised recline upon her impacted shelf, and presumably two others, neither of which he could see in both the dark and the clutter. He nodded, briefly satisfied, and addressed the downed, though he was unsure if she was really listening.
“Yeah, if you’re powerless, then I’m the president. Oh, and I’ll have you know, I’m looting here because I can handle any of the second-rate Superstars that’d actually show up to stop me… like you, for instance.”
Behind his mask, he allowed himself a smile both grim yet foolish. He hoped she’d at least registered that. He had quite a few more things to say, however, at which thought he turned more to the grim side. He began marching past the counter and towards the room’s end like a stern parent, reforming a second mirage of similar size in his wake, until what he could only hope were the building’s two final excess occupants were at last in sight—though he was perfectly content just to see them at stay at their aisle’s far end. As they’d sounded, one looked male and the other female, though he couldn’t see much more than their silhouettes… and the one sparking arm of the girl that offered all of the light present.
“And for you two,” he began, voice exasperated, “I just… first, you,” he prattled, finger pointed in accusation towards the fellow in business casual.
“I didn’t even know where you ‘d gotten to, Mister, but boy, do I sure know now. I suppose all I have to say for that is ‘thanks.’ Glad you’re this daft, I really am. But you,” he said in turn, digit now aimed towards the girl playing conductor, “what… why?”
With that mere monosyllabic word, he gestured haplessly towards her, her arm, and the whole darkened building in rapid succession.
“What are you even trying to pull with your little flex here? Because, to put it plainly? Property damage is sloppy, not impressive.”
He chose to willfully ignore the shelf he’d toppled.
“But, like… we aren’t having fun and games here, people, this is a robbery. And I’d really appreciate it if you’d both go and step outside for a bit, you follow me? I’m waiting for Superstars to show, and if neither of you fit the bill, that means danger, high voltage.”
He made shooing motions with either hand, but continued with an under-breath mutter.
“So help me, if there’s another magic invisible person just idling about here somewhere, I’m gonna blow a fuse…”
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Lin Jiang
Beyond Human
"If I could only be a little more selfish...would that be okay?"
Posts: 8
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Post by Lin Jiang on Jun 23, 2018 9:57:42 GMT
At his words, the young Middle-Eastern girl he had confronted suddenly started, as if just acknowledging his presence. Lin waited patiently on the spot as she turned, tense and anticipating a response. In those few seconds, Lin's thoughts wandered, unfettered briefly by the stress of this perilous situation.
Judging by her startled initial reaction, it could be deduced that the girl hadn't even noticed him before he spoke...was he really such an inconspicuous speck of a human that, even in such a situation, it was so hard to notice a living, breathing person like him, just standing there? Those thoughts, however, were interrupted by the kid's smarmy response.
"Oh, er, um...no, but...you should...uh..."
Wringing his hands, Lin scrambled for an answer. This wasn't the kind of response he had been preparing for...it didn't seem like the girl was at all perturbed by his intrusion on her criminal act; in fact, she was challenging him directly, as if...as if she was daring him to do something about it. Which, of course, was absurd! What was he supposed to do, fight her or something? That was just ridiculous! He was just an upstanding citizen going about his business, not some flashy Superstar enforcer or dashing Rebel vigilante -
She was stepping towards him! Now she was definitely challenging him! Suddenly, Lin's mouth felt very, very dry. His mind filled with panic yet again, still strung tight with the knowledge that a dangerous Metahuman robber was at the counter just an aisle or two over. For reasons even he couldn't fathom, he didn't do the rational thing, for once. He didn't step aside, didn't put his hands up and beg for mercy like one of those crime-show hostages.
Lin set his feet at shoulder-width apart, putting up his fists in what was supposed to be a gallant defensive stance, but just ended up looking awkwardly melodramatic. His heart was beating so hard and fast, his teeth chattering so violently in fear, it was a wonder nobody had made a comment on it yet. And if Amani looked a little closer, she would be able to see flakes of skin starting to drift from Lin's hands and arms as his mutation, in panic, began confusedly disintegrating his body.
"I...I'm sorry, b-but you're going to have to go through..."
Of course, the sudden blackout chose that exact moment to manifest. The 'me' at the end of Lin's sentence was replaced by a frightened squeak as he comprehended what he'd seen the second before the lights were killed; the girl's hands brushing against a wall socket, and electricity visibly dancing at her fingertips...which she raised in his direction, issuing what sounded and felt like a genuine invitation for a scuffle.
His shell of bravery collapsed in a heartbeat.
"Y-You're a...a M-Metahuman? Y-You're with h-him, aren't you?! No, no, no, no, no..."
Dropping his stance like a hot potato, Lin stumbled backwards, waving his hands in vague warding gestures at the second electrokinetic criminal. He stopped just short of crashing into a shelf of sunglasses when he was addressed by the robber at the counter...who thanked him, and proceeded to threaten the two of them together. Looking back at the girl, a puzzled expression struggled with his fearful grimace for dominance on his features as Lin struggled to understand the rapidly changing situation at hand.
"Wait...so you two aren't...wh...what's going on..."
Today was, decidedly, not a great day for Lin Jiang.
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Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
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Post by Redstar on Jun 28, 2018 23:59:23 GMT
Close to getting to the upper-hand, Redstar was nearly gaining enough ground to tackle her enemy, each step moving her inches near to her own target, but it must’ve been a sign of misfortune moments later as the lights went out, her eyes darting toward the ceiling in alarm and an unnerved feeling in her stomach that both warned her of a negative event approaching, and allowed her nerves surrounding the very subject of darkness to get the better of her. “…Who forgot to pay the electric bill...?” she lightly joked, having stopped in her steps to give her eyes a chance to adjust to the sunlight peering inward. However, as she looked back to the robber to see his response, she felt the electricity course through her veins as a shockwave hit her straight in the back, eyes slammed shut and teeth clenching together as she rode out the electrocution, stumbling from the force of the impact forward. What the hell was that?!
Mimi nearly tripped over her feet as she forced her eyes back open, but that was the least of her concerns as she couldn’t react fast enough, even having been close enough to properly do a melee attack, except this time it came from the opposing party, sending her into the shelves behind her as the weight of the impact sent the metal rack collapsing backward, the category of items being sold clashing against the ground or against the back of the shelves or- Mimi’s head. Lucky her, it was mostly just the handles of hammers and equipment you’d find in a repair shop, nothing that screamed ‘I’ma kill u with sharp edge’ besides maybe like, the scissors- except those were in plastic casings. Again, lucky her if she weren’t effectively immune to serious damage, except that electrical burn across her back. The dumb thing might’ve repaired her skin, but it certainly didn’t take the blasted sunburn sting. Her nerves fried and trying to convince herself she hadn’t just been microwaved like a baked potato, her body protested even trying to move up from her position, like, it was just really, really comfortable compared to the - you know - electrocution business, couldn’t she just sit there with the fallen rubber mallets in her lap and tools that had decided to provide her with some classic company? They were so much nicer compared to that guy, who kicked her in the chest, that she really, really wanted to stab now. Man, they even wanted her to be like their queen, queen of the tools…
…What the heck is wrong with you.
There was no listening to his descending chatter, her body still and having an argument over who should be the ambassador of war, the Mallet or the Screwdriver… Probably the Mallet, right? It was immune to the Electric trolls that plagued the store at the moment, and they could bonk him against the stupid-looking helmet he had on, like seriously, who the heck wears a purple helmet, is it like a fashion statement or something? ‘Fear me, the Purple Buckethead!’ Bahaha. Screw him, even if he knew she was a- wait, for shit, he knew she was a Superstar? Does that mean she’s actually more famous than she initially thought? No wonder the tools wanted her to be the queen, she was famous. Don’t worry small subjects, Redstar the undying will undo these electrical tyrants with the power of rubber, and rubber alone!
…Side-note, where’d the troll go?
She ordered her Rubber mallets to prepare for war, gripping them by the handle as she quietly pulled herself up, grunting against the sunburn-like feeling, which didn’t approve of her action of actually removing the pressure against her back, - mind you, a weird and malformed pressure - and tried it’s best to make it difficult for her to stand up straight along with the feeling of being numb from head to toe.
‘Did you order a fried Redstar with the kick combo?’ Her brain asked, holding a happy-star bag out for Mimi to grab politely. Mimi took the bag from his hands with a harsh grip, inspecting the contents as she sipped her nonexistent soda until she spat out the straw and raised her hand up violently toward her brain, suddenly gripping a spear out of nothing. ‘Wdf, What the frick is this?!’ She spat further, holding the bag up to the guy’s face.
The Redstar had been turned into electrocuted charcoal.
‘Woa, hold up man, put the spear down, I’m just doing my job, that was on the list!’ The brain replied, hands raised behind the drive-thru window, only to turn around and run in a screaming panic.
Mimi glared at him, throwing the happy-star through the window from where it came as she drove off on her boat in a rush, absolutely appalled at- wait
…What the heck was she thinking about?
The robber had disappeared from her forward vision of sight, but she could hear voices as she was slightly hunched over, her grip on the rubber mallets all but tight, and her annoyance all too apparent. Her mind rushed with thought, some actually great ideas, others uh… We don’t talk about them. Regardless, Mimi moved in the opposite direction of the aisle he had gone down, finally getting it through her head to sneak quietly as she went toward the darker side of the room that the sun couldn’t hit, by the freezers. The problem was this: Mimi had a feeling if he knew she was approaching, she might get blown up again by whatever that thing was, so she needed to make like a tenno and avoid being spotted, just like in that game. Oddly, yet strategically, Mimi’s footsteps were covered by the voices that made themselves loud and... somewhat, obnoxious. She was an aisle behind him, her grip tightening on her ambassadors of war as they prepared to strike him on the shoulders, hopefully disabling him when the mallet would move forward and basically hook on to him, pulling him back into a wrapped headlock if she was lucky.
However, the two he was complaining about would judge whether or not she succeeds, including if he noticed her first. There were two choices in that instance, attack quickly and possibly alert him too early, or strike slow and allow the possibility that the other people will rat her out…
She already tried slow, this time she couldn’t allow time to mess her up, plus she would already be too close if he used an explosion again, which he’d have to choose whether or not to blow himself up with her which, Mimi already knew who would come out on top.
She jumped to the side, straight into the aisle behind him by a few feet, limiting her footsteps to as few as possible. There was no way he wasn't distracted, I mean the man was rambling about something along the lines of danger and high voltage.
Sorry man, this is going on your record for worse electrician work completed.
With another foot and one more, she launched forward, her mallets preparing to hammer down on his inner shoulders and hook onto them if they even got a hit in the first place.
Frankly, she wouldn’t be surprised if an explosion went off right behind her, and even then…
Which way would it throw her next?
(Message me if I need to adjust/change items.)
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Post by Thundercrack on Jul 6, 2018 14:50:41 GMT
Why does one answer ‘nothing’ when they are asked what they are doing? People usually felt that they needed to be able to give a reason to be seen doing something. It was common for an individual to answer with a reason for their actions, and in fact, to claim there was no reason at all frequently aroused a degree of suspicion or discomfort. For example, if one were to ask someone ‘what are you doing out here’, to hear ‘nothing’ would not be a convincing answer (although precisely what it was that warranted convincing and why convincing was required at all were odd issues in and of themselves). People often followed up ‘nothing’ with ‘I was just’ before going on to describe a non-descript activity of suitably believable standards, whether it be true or false. If they were to reply ‘I’m not sure’ or some similar claim of ignorance or uncertainty, the most frequent primary assumption was that the individual in question was not all quite there. The answer of ‘nothing’ was also significantly disarming for the answerer. If they were approached by one who wished to impose upon them some sort of task, an individual in the state of ‘doing nothing’, as an activity of the absolute lowest priority in the busy working assembly line of society, could immediately and righteously be burdened with whatever task that the task-giver wished - after all, no matter how dull or lowly the task in question, it was undoubtedly of greater use than ‘doing nothing’. And yet, as Amani was face-to-face with her electrokinetic homie asking her what she was even trying to pull off, she could only splutter her answer, scorned like a naughty child: “ …Nothing.” Amani could barely piece together what happened next - a delirious, murderous battle cry, a malignant flash of crimson, and suddenly her fellow electrokinetic was in a much more dangerous situation now than he was a moment ago. Amani acted without thinking, dropping lower to the ground and finding herself in a single-pace sprint. Power crackled along her figure, electricity arcing across her body, rolling up and down her arms. “Look out! Get out of the way!” she yelled, her own voice drowned out by the buzzing in her head. She felt like a live wire - every nerve and every muscle tightening as electricity passed through her, without and within. Her mind blanked, filled with the white noise that came before she used her power. The pressure inside her body built— A rubber mallet cracked her across the face, snapping it back with the force of the blow and sending Amani reeling, black dots filling her vision. The impact was as loud as a thunderclap, and left a bright red welt on Amani’s cheek. She dropped her bag of snacks. She glared at her attacker, the woman who she dismissed for a moment as completely out of the picture after being thoroughly zapped by her opponent. She certainly looked worse for wear, but she was still standing. Not only was she still standing, but she had just hit her. She had hit her and she was still standing. If their circumstances were different, Amani would be inclined to think the girl was actually kinda cute. No such luck. “I think I kinda hate you for that. Just a little.” White knuckles from clenching her fists too hard, power coursing across her fingers all the way from her shoulders. Gritted teeth from effort to remain silent, her hunched form exuded an animosity that was like acid - burning, slicing, potent. Her face was red with shock and pain, she swung around to face her attacker and snapped. Power swirled around her like furious storm clouds, a wild force of nature. She sent her arms forward as if to push the girl who had struck her down to the ground, but she wasn’t near enough to her for her hands to touch.
Amani intended, simply, to knock her assailant off of her feet. A small, controlled thunderclap with juuuuust enough force behind it to unbalance herself and her foe.
This, of course, did not happen. Amani's control over her own mutation was staggered after her concussive blow, and, despite her best efforts, she could not regulate how much electricity she put into her own attack. It was like a dam broke inside her, and every volt, every amp, every stolen electron surged forward at once before she could stop it.
The look of horror on her face before the blast could be described as thus: priceless.
For a second, there was nothing. Then there was a white-hot spark in the center of her palms, a blossom of lightning, then everything exploded. There was a sound so loud there was no sound at all; only the briefest of thunderclaps followed by a ringing that pierced the ears. The shelves nearest to them exploded outwards, peppering opposing aisles with snacks and trinkets, knocking the shelf over completely. The windows shook so violently it seemed that they would break, but they held. The hairs on the body stood up on end from the aftershocks - static filled the air, smaller items clinging together. The force of the shockwave sent Amani backwards and into the wall behind her. The impact knocked the air from her lungs, and she rolled onto her hands and knees, coughing hard. She didn’t even see what it did to her opponent. She could only assume what it did to her, and to her electrokinetic friend (this was, perhaps, the wrong word to use. Taking a mallet to the face for a complete stranger, however, warranted a moniker other than something as professional and distant as “electrokinetic counterpart”) and to the poor sap she had been trying to borrow some money from. Her vision hadn’t returned to her quite yet - the red afterimages in her eyes from staring right at the core of the thundercrack had yet to fade.
Speaking of that poor sap, though… “So,” Amani began, coughing hard, rolling herself over so that she sat on the floor without fear of heaving her insides out onto the polished tiles, “can I get the, like, thirty yuan I want? It’s not even that much.” Amani massaged the sore spot on her cheek. “Wait,” she murmured. “Where’s my bag…?”
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Post by thelaughingman on Jul 9, 2018 22:56:22 GMT
The gray clouds had slowly coalesced into an ominous harbinger over the deceptively bustling gas station. The commotion within was muffled by the concrete walls thus concealing the secrets of what was taking place in the cramped enclosure except to those in the direct vicinity. Raised voices and the crashes that followed were the only notable events that dared break the sanctity of the silence that surrounded the building.
A faint wind blew across the lot, its strength broken as it crashed into the surrounding businesses which were now derelict as the workers departed for the day, and found its way to Lang as he stood idly at the side of the building with his makeshift staff. The breeze was the most welcome visitor this day as it brought with it the gift of temporary relief from the fire that raged within his arm.
He had stood there idly for some immeasurable amount of time. Perhaps it had only been fifteen or twenty minutes since he had come here to cure his hangover and found this excitement instead, but through the haze of the hangover, the rush of adrenaline, and dangerous heat that had welled up within him it seemed instead that every minute was an hour as he waited for his moment.
The alarm whose peal had desperately called for help had roused no attention that he could discern. The people in these parts were no stranger to the petty crimes that ran rampant as the sun began to sink down over the horizon giving way to the shroud of night under which criminals took respite and security in their heinous deeds.
It seemed that the rallying call had not been wholly in vain as shown by the aforementioned calamity unless the one responsible for this whole ordeal was more volatile or stupid than what Lang was willing to work with. In that case whether by merit of bravery or fault of stupidity the misguided soul who had served as a catalyst to these events might simply be a waste of time.
The thought that he was this close to someone potentially unreasonably violent and danger gave him another surge of adrenaline. He was well prepared to fight or flight from this position, but if there were no Superstars within combating this threat then his scavenger-like advantage was diminished considerably.
His head pounded as hot blood coursed through his veins spurred on by the excitement, exacerbated by the alcohol's toll, and all the while the energy in his arm cheered it on. His abilities were Yin and Yang, a precarious balance. As he saw it the cold that he created was structured, calm, and civilized. The flames within were the polar opposite: Untamed, wild, and primal.
It was growing difficult to contain himself and stand within the center of the two halves. He gripped his staff tightly as he waited for something further to occur. His eyes closed as he shifted the focus of his senses to his ears instead to collect the furtive mysteries within and around him. Presently the staff he clutched was a tether to the balance as it staved off the madness of the flames.
Only time could tell how much longer that tether would last.
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