AKA Nixer
Stalwart
Instinct took over as Jackson found himself falling all of a sudden, and after forcing his body to twist around the right way up he made sure to land as lightly as possible on the building without accidentally cracking its roof with a shift of his foot. Once he'd steadied himself, he brushed himself down and then looked up and all around him—realising quickly by the skyline (no matter how dilapidated) where exactly he was.
...wait a sec. Why'm I back in...?
Gunfire was below them, along with panicked screams and cries of terror. He was swift to put his foot on the roof's ledge, eager to push off, but then remembered that he wasn't alone. Pausing for a moment, he looked back at the rest of the group with a quizzical expression on his face.
“...you uh... you guys alive or what?”
Great question, Jack. Christ that's a dumb thing to ask...
His suit was still a little scuffed from the whole previous fight with Baron Von Whateverthef$&% (he hadn't the slightest urge to even try and remember the guy's name) but it was mostly in one piece, at least. Including the nice cape. He liked it.
Probably needed to be retracted again, but it fluttered nicely in the wind. Added to his completely unimposing figure when he was without it.
bork
The Salamander hit the concrete of the ruined building with a painful thud.. For a moment he was devoid of any proper sense of the world around him, his vision twisting, time torn asunder. His perception of the mortal world had never been particularly potent, and whatever Diabolic had done to him really wasn't helping that fact. His senses gradually returned to him as he staggered to his feet and looked around. He was clearly somewhere urban, but the ruins that surrounded him were far more decrepit than any city he knew of. What the hell was going on?
Sudden concern, or at least something approximating it, filled him before he noticed that his allies were indeed beside him. Perhaps they might be better able to gauge the situation. He turned to them, speaking in a voice like the crackling of embers. "Are you all in an adequate condition? I believe that we have been displaced in space, does anybody have some idea as to our current location?"
Winner of Elim Game Round 78
Bennett finds himself falling onto the roof as he hits the surface, using his hands to break his fall, but nonetheless, stinging from his entrance. He groans a bit in pain before slowly getting himself up on his feet, shaking off the dirt he got on his trenchcoat. He takes a few steps forward as he observes his surroundings. All the chaos in the streets. People fighting each other for whatever reason. He didn't know what was going on. But he looked at the others who came in right as he did.
"Are.... are we dead? Is this Hell?"
Bennett truly wondered where he and the others were. Right before their arrival, here they were, fighting off Dr. Diabolic and then he set off the bomb. And all of a sudden, here they were. Unsure if they were all among the deceased in an apocalyptic afterlife or if this was reality, that they happened to find themselves into some new place. Whatever the case, Bennett was determined to find some answers.
Edited by MatthewLMayfield on May 26th 2021 at 10:02:40 AM
Breath of the Sun
Budoka
The six-armed woman landed on her knees with seemingly no discomfort, quickly rising and assuming a combat stance.
Then she looked around, noticing the ongoing violence in an unfamiliar setting, and paused, turning to her comrades.
"We appear to be in New York City. But I've never seen it this..." Budoka gestured to the streets below with one long arm. "Bad. Something must have happened while we were fighting Dr. Diabolic."
She looked around again, noting the villain in question was not among them. "I thought the Doctor was caught in the blast along with us. He must have had some defense against it."
Diabolic had taken a very hard hit before the bomb went off, so she wasn't worried about him at the moment. No, her focus now was on the gang violence unfolding before them. "Regardless, we have to do something about this. Come on, everyone."
Budoka leapt, landing in the middle of the gang war with her six arms raised. Then she clapped them all, and the sound was like a thundercrack.
"This is the United Defense Force!" She announced. "Lay down your weapons, or we will subdue you by force!"
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Revival
Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. It wasn't the chaos in the streets, or the sudden blinding light. It wasn't the sudden absence of the very megalomaniac they had been about to heroically defeat. No, it was something much worse.
Revival was pretty sure her ankle was broken.
Wherever she'd landed, she'd landed hard, despite the wind she'd tried to summon to cushion her fall. Her left foot had caught a stray brick, and she'd felt it wrench unnaturally as a sharp pain shot up the jarred bone. It had been years since she'd felt such pain. And years since she'd felt the panic that accompanied it.
How-?! Everyone knows I'm invulnerable, I've given them no reason to believe otherwise, I can't be-
Ruthlessly she shoved the feeling down, making use of techniques that she hadn't had to rely on since her debut to tamp down on the swelling fear. For her more than anyone, showing weakness was not an option. Not if she wanted to survive.
With an intake of breath, Revival purposefully shifted her weight onto her injured foot, clenching her teeth through the pain as she assumed a balanced stance. The move only increased her pain, and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep up the facade for long, but she had to do damage control. For them to doubt her now would be catastrophic.
Revival summoned a placid smile to her face, the same smile that had charmed reporters worldwide, and took in their surroundings.
"Don't panic, everyone. We're alive, and no matter what mess we've found ourselves in, I have no doubt that we'll prevail."
Her ankle throbbed.
I am so fucked.
Robert Henderson - True Steel
As the bomb blast went off, Robert's thoughts were on his son Nate and then the infant child Justin, his grandson. God, I hope the insurance my company set up makes sure Nate and Justin are set for life. And as the flash blinded him he found himself wondering if he was truly dead. He thought he upgraded his armor to the best of his ability.
Then he was falling.
Out of the sky it seemed. They were all there. Budoka, Jack, everyone. Robert in his blue and white, somewhat bulky armor he'd selected for an intense fire fight, cross visor on the face displaying data. But the date was blurred - like something was making some elements of his tech go on the fritz!
Where was he? Was this Heaven or—-no. No, it looked more like Hell. Maybe, for his past and what he and his father had done, he deserved that much.
But even if those people crying out for help were demons themselves, Robert would still help them. Rocketing down, boosters on the legs of his armor bringing him floating near Budoka, "What the lady said. Weapons down, powers off, don't make this any more violent than it needs to be."
Edited by NickTheSwing on May 26th 2021 at 8:32:46 AM
Gilgamesh
Where...
Gilgamesh wasn't sure what was going on. One minute, she was in the thick of it, clad in her kingly regalia and holding up her shield as a white light surrounded them all. A mighty explosion, powerful enough to rock the earth. But now, as quickly as it began, it was over.
She turned her head, getting her bearings. Thankfully, all of her comrades were present. Even the lad was safe and sound. But that was as much as she could be thankful for. Everything else around her had changed, replaced with the unfamiliar. It wouldn't be the first time, but she had hoped she wouldn't have to go through it again.
"Trust me, Bennet. I've seen the Underworld, or Hell as you call it. And it's a better place than this." She spoke with a bold, commanding voice, at once filled with strength and purpose. The sort their new realm was lacking. She heard the gunfire below, and took as much stock of the situation as she was able. From what she could see, this city was falling apart at the seams. And the people were paying the price. She could hear the full story later, but for now, the citizens came first.
Sword and shield in hand, she leapt down, pointing her blade at the ruffians with the utmost poise. She wouldn't dare use it against lesser men, but it was a useful bargaining tool. "You had best listen to my comrades. Surrender now and we will be merciful. But if you dare to continue this foolish crusade, we will end you. Perhaps not your lives, but you'd be surprised what you can live through."
Edited by kkhohoho on May 26th 2021 at 10:51:41 AM
Fwomph
Rooftop Arrival
There is a faint, high-pitched whine from a corner of the arriving group before a voice rings out with buzzing synthetic modulation.
"Doctor? I have multiple questions."
Fallen to one knee on a corner of the roof was a figure familiar by infamy if not actual interaction; Minutes Midnight, the villain saboteur and roboticist. They slowly stagger to their feet, gloved hands clutching tight their stun baton as they look at the assembled heroes and then briefly off the side of the building.
"Okay so Diabolic is gone so I'll just ask you lot before you inevitably try and punch me again: What in all nine hells is going on?"
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
An Ordinary Oddball
Sanji Sawamura
As if to answer Minutes Midnight's question, the sound of a motorcycle approached, ridden by a very familiar figure to all the heroes present. The stranger was not dressed in the traditional Japanese clothing they knew he favored, and had seemed to eschew them in favor of the more modern clothing worn by everyone living in the present times. One thing didn't change, however. He still wore an orange scarf around his neck, and his hair was still tied up in a slightly unruly ponytail.
And as the figure approached, the stranger's identity was no longer in question.
It was Sanji Sawamura.
One of the more suspicious members of the team—both suspecting of others and suspicious to outsiders—he had detached from the main team in Dr. Diabolik's base to investigate a strange crystal that was suspended in an even stranger casing. The last anyone had heard of him was an agonized scream over the radio line, before all had fallen silent. He did not, in fact, drop from the sky with them, that much was true.
"And where the Hell have you all been?" he seethed, shouting at the rest of the UDF on the scene as he blew past them, dismounting his motorbike. This was strange, since he almost never raised his voice unless he was fighting someone. "It's been decades! Decades, I tell you! I had to get here using the long way, as a—as a damned stone statue! I waited—I waited for so long, I—" He sighed. "—Never mind, just help get all of this under control, will you?"
Sanji threw his cigarette to the side as he charged into the fray, though he was still careful enough to just evacuate any lingering civilians, providing cover with his own regenerating body. And if anyone had a particularly sharp eye, one could spot a ring of scar tissue around his neck, which had never been there before...
...Almost as if he'd lost his head in the none-too-recent past, but had managed to reattach it.
He'd survived doggedly, somehow.
Really, that was just like Sanji, wasn't it?
Edited by JumpingFruit on May 26th 2021 at 11:00:47 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
AKA Nixer
Stalwart
...the hell's going—
Already, several of his comrades had leapt down into the fray. He grimaced, and then sighed.
—on... great. Juuust great.
“Listen, I gotta—” he gestured to the others, pointing down below to where some of the group had decided to take immediate action. “—I gotta go. Uh... anyone need help getting down, or you all good? 'Cause I'm guessing you're all good. Just that I forgot to fly a moment there a-and—”
He ran his fingers through his messy mop of hair as he let out a shaky sigh, before letting his feet lift off the building as he hovered loosely in place.
“—n-nevermind. Shout if you need anything I guess...”
He was dreadful at this teamwork thing, he decided. Even as he did his best to carefully hover down beside Gilgamesh, hoping her buff and intimidating form would somehow add muscle to his own distinctly unmuscular self. He crossed his arms, to give the illusion that his pecs were bigger than they were.
Also to protect his heart more from any concentrated bullets fired at him, but that was just a little trick of the trade. Make himself seem tougher than he actually was.
“Ditto. Whatever's going on, stop fighting! Or we'll have to get you to calm down by force!”
Was that too harsh? Maybe that was too harsh. God I should just shut up— focus, Jack!
bork
Winner of Elim Game Round 78
New York? Five decades? These thoughts went to Bennett as he was at least assured by Gilgamesh that they weren't in Hell or even dead for that matter. Whatever the case, everything he has witnessed right now made his time in the LAPD or even his seven years in the UDF look like a walk in the park. Bennett observes his other teammates heading down to the gang war. "Just arrived here and already, we're not here to waste time," he says as he pulls out his .45 pistol from his trenchcoat and preparing his shotgun for stand-by before he heads down to the others, aiming his gun at any and all possible threats. "I urge you all to put down the weapons and surrender immidiately," he says in a calm, yet assertive voice.
Edited by MatthewLMayfield on May 27th 2021 at 6:54:45 AM
Revival
Revival watched her compatriots descend upon the chaotic masses with some relief. The fewer people who were on this roof, the fewer there were to notice the unnatural bend of her foot. Unfortunately, one thing was becoming clear to her; she would not be able to fix this herself, not while hiding it from the others. As much as it scared her, it looked like she would have to make some strategic disclosures.
But first, it seemed it was up to her to deal with the threat that had decided to tag along.
Revival turned on Minutes Midnight and extended her hands, hoping against hope that whatever the world remembered about her, it was enough for her to do something.
To her immense relief, clouds coalesced darkly above the rooftop in response to her urging. It seemed someone out there believed in her still.
"If this was your doing, Midnight, I suggest you explain yourself. Quickly."
The smell of ozone began to permeate the air, a tangible threat of imminent lightning. Revival lowered her voice to a whisper, just loud enough to reach Salamander, one of the only other people still on the rooftop.
"Salamander, stay up here for a second. I need your help."
It was an admission she normally would never have made. But she was familiar enough with Salamander to hope that he wouldn't find that fact worth commenting on.
So, they had all been sent 50 years forward. He wouldn't think that Diabolic had done this on purpose, so this must have somehow happened by freak accident. He looked down upon the city with a solemn pity, New York as he had known it was a shining metropolis, a triumph of humanity, and in so little time it had been reduced to this. Humans had so easily destroyed all the gifts they had been given, so easily been lost in their cruelty. The world shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't have required a chosen few to uphold it, should have kept on running but all the evidence before him indicated that it clearly hadn't.
Four of his compatriots were already addressing the skirmish below, and he doubted he would have a great deal to contribute. Better to watch from above and provide additional support if necessary. He was somewhat uncomfortable with the use of force on what appeared to be ordinary civilians, he was used to dealing with superhumans, the kind of people who could take punishment. In the case of the crowd below, there wasn't much of a continuum of options between "ignore" and "reduce to a smear on the pavement", hopefully they would be willing to settle this peacefully.
Before he could get to lost in thought, he heard Revival, the woman who had been a bit of a mascot for the UDF in the later years. he wasn't quite sure what she would want to talk to him about, but he was happy to oblige. He briefly turned his gaze from the streets below. "Of course, what do you require my assistance with?"
Fifty years.
They'd been gone for fifty years, and this all happened. What happened to his son? What happened to the infant boy? What was going on and why was the world so damn fucked up now? Robert promptly approached Sanji, leaving the subdual of the toughs to his friends considering the relatively apparent threat level. He asked in a very desperate tone, "Sanji, please. Tell me. What happened? Where is everyone else? What's going on with—-with the world just, in general?"
It hit him - most likely his children were old now or dead.
His wife had been in New York - was she—-no. It was fifty years later. And the world was like this. He had to fear the worst. But even so, Robert decided he was one way or another going to try and find his son and grandson.
Edited by NickTheSwing on May 27th 2021 at 6:21:47 AM
Fwomph
Rooftop, Cloudy With A Chance Of Combat
"Whoawhoawhoa hey there I was caught out just as much as you were. I didn't even know Doc had a bomb with him at all much less one that flings us into the distant-future-where-his-evil-is-law. So don't get pissy with me Weatherlady..."
Minutes Midnight switched off the baton and clipped it back onto their belt. This was... Bad, really bad. Fifty years was a long time, especially when the world seems to have gone to pot during that period. They had to leave, get back and find out whether—
"Looks like my Millisecondpedes didn't get caught up in the blast slash temporal vortex. Which I mean honest after how you fried them they probably wouldn't be useful but still! ... I wonder if my boo's remained hidden..."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
Revival
Revival watched Minutes Midnight for a long, tense moment. Then, she closed one of her hands into a fist. With a clap of thunder, a bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky...
And struck harmlessly a few feet away from Minutes Midnight. The ozone in the air dissipated, and it began to rain.
Oh thank god, I can still do that. Though I feel more drained than I usually would...
Revival dropped her hands and addressed the villain.
"I believe you. For now. But, since apparently this mess is your boss's doing, I think now would be the time for a show of good faith."
She gestured with her chin to the scuffle below.
"Help first, run later."
Despite her commanding tone, Revival was in no position to interfere if they did decide to flee. She'd said her piece, and she could only hope that their actions did not ultimately come back to bite her. She turned to Salamander, the rain helping to prevent her lowered voice from reaching Minutes Midnight.
"I...need medical attention. But it is of the utmost importance that the others don't know that I need medical attention."
Revival, as she had been known, was resilient and invulnerable to most common injuries. She'd been known to take hits that would have left a regular human seriously injured and walk away unscathed from them. The time skip meant that this fact about her had apparently been largely forgotten, and she feared that the only thing keeping her from being as just as fragile as the average human was the belief of her teammates.
If they learned she was injured in this strange, dangerous new world, she was as good as dead.
Gilgamesh
Even as Jack floated down and threw in his two cents, she could sense a twinge of anxiousness within his heart. A feeling she too had long ago. "Not bad, lad. But don't be afraid to be forceful. It doesn't matter what you say if you can't instil the fear of Nergal with nought but your presence."
But even as she kept her blade and her gaze on the miscreants, her thoughts wandered. Robert had already left his post, the arrival of Sanji and news of their predicament stealing his attention. And why shouldn't it? Her own thoughts were in danger of racing, only kept steady by her commitment to duty. But it wouldn't be the first time she had been brought to a world not of her making. She breathed deeply, glaring at the thugs as she tried to keep her thoughts in the present.
"Good to see you well, Sanji! It seems you have much to tell us. But perhaps it can wait until after we've secured these streets?" She glanced at Robert, hoping he got the message. She was far from unsympathetic, but now was not the time to get into potential hysterics.
They could panic when the city wasn't resting on their shoulders.
Edited by kkhohoho on May 28th 2021 at 8:39:22 AM
Salamander paused, it was an unusual request that she was making, and he wasn't quite sure how to respond. Did she have reason to distrust her compatriots? Perhaps she was simply desperate to maintain appearances. It really wasn't the most pressing matter, hopefully her justifications were less shoddy than that. Come to think of it, hadn't she been near invulnerable before? He supposed that Diabolic's bomb might have wounded her, perhaps she had simply been nearer to the blast.
"I see, well there's no reason can't simply part with us once we've secured the area to search for a medical clinic. It is realistic for a human to want to see the extent of the devastation firsthand, so you have all the excuse you need. I must ask however, why can you not tell the others, and how were you able to be so injured? I was under the impression you posessed superhuman durability"
His mouth twisted in what was probably an attempt to mimic a smile "You don't have to worry about keeping up appearances if that's what concerns you, most of us have been in the trade long enough to know we all have our moments of weakness."
Revival
Revival huffed, avoiding eye contact with Salamander as she began to focus on expanding the radius of the gathered storm cloud. It was an entirely expected response from someone like him, but his suggestion that they all had "moments of weakness" sent a chill down her spine. Revival was not weak.
Panic clogged her throat, and she paused for a moment, but there was nothing for it - she couldn't have him saying anything like that to the others, and the only way to ensure his silence would be to break her own.
"...You have no idea what I need to worry about. I...did have superhuman durability. I do - I will. It's complicated, and it's why I need to keep this from the others. Even telling you is going to make things harder for me."
Revival knew even as she spoke that this wouldn't be enough to appease Salamander. She needed him to help her hide her injury, and she feared he wouldn't do that unless he understood that she wasn't just letting her vanity get the best of her.
"My power...it isn't controlling the weather. Well, it is, but not...naturally. Have you heard of the observer effect? It's the idea, in physics, that a system is changed by the act of observing it. I'm the system, and...I'm very sensitive to observation. To even the thought of observation."
Revival swallowed. She hadn't said it out loud to anyone before.
"It's complicated, but in short, I will always be exactly what the world believes me to be."
The rain cloud was large enough now to blanket the city block below. Hiding a wince of pain, Revival moved to stand at the edge of the building, looking down at the chaos beneath them.
"You're right, I'll slip away once the area is secured. But I need you to cover for me, no matter how absurd or pointless it seems to you. Please. Don't let them know that anything is wrong."
A clap of thunder rent the air. It was a proper thunderstorm, now.
"Yes, you're right Gil. I'll...admit, I'm not wholly at my best right now." Robert breathed, and turned to make sure he at least did his job right now. Before he could just...collapse. Or desperately try and find out what happened to his family. Or—-anything really. No option outside of focusing on the job at hand with these toughs was terribly productive for any concept of him as a hero.
Even as he went back to readiness to move in case the toughs made a mistake they might regret, he was notably shaking a little in one arm. Under the armor, his left eye was twitching. He couldn't conceal it very well - but the anxiety and the knowing that things had gotten this bad?
It made him wonder what happened elsewhere. Whether his family was safe or not. He couldn't stand not knowing, but also knew that actually knowing would be almost as bad.
Well, if she was telling the truth, that would certainly explain her concern. She probably wouldn't be comfortable talking about it, but such a condition was greatly fascinating. Could other qualities of hers, be affected by individual perception? What was the root of this phenomenon? Though it ate away at him, he would have to wait before he could ask such questions, she seemed unhappy enough to have disclosed this much.
"I see. I must say I would like to know more, but I understand your unwillingness to further answer any inquiries. I will, as you request, cover for you. I will do my upmost to ensure that the others do not learn of your condition."
He turned from her and began to gradually make his way down from the building. It was a rather absurd sight, the ostentatiousness of his robes contrasted with the defaced edifice and the clumsy scrabbling motions of his limbs. It certainly lacked the impact that his colleagues entrances had made.
"Greetings Sanji, I see that you are doing fairly well despite the years. Might you be willing to fill us in on what has happened during our absence?"
New York City, New York
To say the various gang members were confused about the sudden arrival of heroes, actual heroes not the military vestiges that were supposed to keep order or a villain playing a joke, would have been an understatement. The last legitimate hero team in the States had been the Guardians, and they had lasted a year before they had run into danger that had spelled doom to half of them, and insanity to the rest. Some of the more well read gangers recognized some of the UDF members from history books, but by and large they were ignorant as to who the figures were.
That confusion bought them a few moments, before a massive figure began to tear through the already ruined streets, sending cars and bits of road flying as it slammed down its fists upon the road and shook even the nearby buildings. "The only gang left in this city is going to be mine, Bulkers take out this trash. I won't let MY city become another Washington!" the metahuman looked humanoid, however it stood easily nine feet tall and had muscle covering ever part of its body. Gender was impossible to tell, as its speaking voice was more of a roar and any features were covered by about two meters of overgrown muscle.
This threat was met by two other figures rising from the fighting to meet the massive creature, a being made of bright blue energy that seemed to be pulling electric energy from people around it to fuel some sort of laser attack, and a metal suited being spat out superheated plasma that scorched the street and a number of the other fighters.
The fighting away from the heroes flared back up as the three metahumans caused their own chaos, but there was a light of opportunity here. The three who were fighting seemed to be the only high level metahumans in this part of the area, and if they went down the group would easily be able to snap attention and set themselves up. However given they had very little information to go on a fight against three potent metahumans could result in its own dangers.
Villain Information
Bulkerton- Muscle manipulation and growth, can produce tightly corded muscle fibers by covering any form of cell in their body into more muscular tissue, creating an armor around themselves as hard as steel. Somewhere inside of the muscular armor is their actual human body, and if hit is only at normal human strength.
Plasma- Bioenergy absorber and blaster. Can pull the lifeforce out of normal humans and covert it into a powerful energy that can coat their body to provide flight and fire off as intense particle beams. Their body radiates an impressive amount of heat.
Steel Cage- A man piloting a battlesuit that contains a powerful furnace within. Shoots out powerful blasts of lava and pure directed heat toward enemies. The armor itself is a super dense metal that doesn't conduct heat itself.
Gilgamesh
...well. This situation had become so much more complicated, hadn't it? But perhaps it could work in their favor. It was bad, no doubt, but it gave them more to work with. Especially if they won. She raised her voice, making sure everyone could hear.
"I'll deal with the muscled brute! Revival, see if you can summon a storm to clear the room and keep these thugs at bay! Robert, I believe a being of metal falls within your realm of expertise! The rest of you, act as you see fit, but keep your eyes peeled for any more guests!"
She leapt towards Bulkerton, shield first, bellowing like a wild ox as she fell on him like an anvil. "FALL BEFORE THE MIGHT OF GILGAMESH, YOU BRAINLESS SACK OF MEAT!"
Edited by kkhohoho on May 29th 2021 at 9:09:44 AM
Winner of Elim Game Round 78
Now the stakes have raised, Bennett thought to himself as he finds himself, alongside the others, facing off against three metahumans. While he doesn't seem to have much compared to the others, regardless, he's not going to let that stop him. He puts away the .45 and pulls out his shotgun and goes after Steel Cage, setting his sights and firing at the furnace, hoping he can hit the weak spot to incapacitate him.
"Never thought that seven years on the LAPD or my seven years on the UDF would lead me to this," he says to himself, but regardless, is up to the challenge.
New York City, New York
Once a shining example of modern infrastructure and human ingenuity, the city had seen its fair share of ups and down throughout the years. It was one said that for every ten people there was a metahuman that lived in the city, and while that statistic was long shown to be a falsehood many legends began in its streets, of both the heroic and villainous variety. However, since the start of the ‘Dark Age’ the once great city had fallen into disrepair. Buildings that had once been shining towers had gaping holes in them that were unable to be filled, many sections of the city had been flooded for years after a number of fights between the local gang- metahumans had made the entire area easier to write off than save.
However one piece of New York’s history remained, the Mega Screen in Time Square still played the news, or at least what news was still broadcasting given the recent troubles across the world. Two news anchors read off a variety of stories while people went about their days.
“...in recent world news the giant monster dubbed Vampyr has finally been driven out of Paris after a three day battle between the beast and local military forces aided by the group ‘La Squadra’. While technically classified as terrorists their efforts have afforded them a great deal of good will from the people of France. How this will affect European politics as a whole are yet to be seen.”
“It should REALLY make things interesting in Europe!” A beaming, fake grin to assuage those watching. And then the celebrity news began - for what passed for celebrities in this world, “Speaking of Europeans, Luca and Lucia Schreier, those lovely twins, are due to visit New York again! Maybe you’ll see them around the Argentinian Embassy? I know I’m excited.”
“That's right Dan,” the co-anchor put on a bright but fake smile before it zoomed on her for the next piece. “In more local news the Henderson factory has surprised the whole nation with its current recruitment drive, reaching out from all over the nation and offering generous concessions for those who have to move states to work within. While known to outsiders as a quite intimidating company that supplies most of the nation with a variety of arms and technology it seems like they are set on expanding and changing their image. We have an exclusive interview tonight with a foreman for the factor-”
The screen began to flicker for a moment, the newscasters becoming nothing more than pixels as their voices became garbled. The assembled masses of the city paused their walking and all looked up at the massive screen as a new image came into view.
The screen showed a young man sitting on a black throne adorned with skulls, lazily lying himself over it without a care in the world. To put it simply the man was beautiful, but in the same way that a poisonous spider was beautiful to look at in a picture but terrifying to actually behold. The finery that he wore along his pale body gave one the sense of a movie actor crossed with a member of the aristocracy.
“Greetings good people of New York,” the man's voice echoed through every t.v. screen, radio, and phone throughout the city, broadcasting his message so that no one would fail to hear it. “My name is Genocide, high priest of the Church of Crime,” there wasn’t a single person living in the states who didn’t know the name of the Hero Killer, the Slaughter Priest, and all the other titles he had gained for himself.
“It has come to my attention that as of this moment the total number of gangs in New York totals to nearly eighty unique factions, and if you count the sub-factions tied to the larger groups that number increases to the triple digits,” Genocide rightened himself on the throne and looked into the camera, his coal black eyes seemingly empty of any emotion. “That's simply too many to keep track of. So if by the end of the day there aren’t under twenty gangs the Church of Crime will hold Mass in New York next.”
The people on the streets seemed to instantly react to that threat, some broke down crying or started hyperventilating. But even more began to pull weapons out of their holsters and turn to others. For those who still lived in New York gang life was a fact of life, if you didn’t belong or weren’t protected by your local gang that made you a free meal until you bent to their will. But despite that power none of them were willing to risk what had been threatened.
The last place that had denied the orders of the Church of Crime had been Washington, and now there were only forty-nine states in total within the US.
Gunshots and screams rang out as the gangs pushed into action, after all while none were willing to face the wrath of the Church many had built their lives around the pursuit of their own slice of the city, and none would be willing to give it up without a fight.
The city was instantly in chaos even before the gang's metahumans entered the fray, and such was the chaos that none would see the sudden burst of light above one of the ruined buildings of New York, as a group of figures thought long dead took their first steps into a world of chaos.
Current objectives
Struggle