Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost ground his teeth. Fucking loose cannons. "Blackheart, go secure." He spoke into his comm softly. He had cloaked himself and had reached one of the barricades. He was propped against a small pile of rubble, his finger hovering near the trigger, aimed at the meta's guarding it.

[Cynical Cat]

"You think the only options I have are lethal ones?" Blackheart shot back. "I get everyone and I sort through them to my satisfaction. People died and they knew it was happening and did not stop it. I don't want a fucking pound of flesh. I want what miserable amount of justice I can squeeze from this fucking world in the time I have left and I will have it. People died and I'm not going to be bought off by your song and dance routine or giving me the most unpopular crazies as bribe. No one walks out because a career criminal who won't turn in fucking murderers says they're okay.

He started walking forward, towards the barricade "First things first. Where's Saibot? You know, you're fucking team mate who isn't cozing up with murderers."

He switched lines to a private frequency with Ghost. "Go."

[Agent Fisher]

"What's the plan boss? I'm at one of their 'cades and I can take down the two guards quick and quiet, if you want a way in." He said, as he kept his rifle sighted in on the Freak guards.

[Cynical Cat]

"No killing unless absolutely necessary," said Blackheart. " There are kids in there as well as killers. I can eat a storm of lead, its not a problem. I'm going to make them undo whatever it is they did to Saibot and make it clear to Gravitas he can't dictate his pet non solutions just because he likes them. Alternatively, I'm going to get my ass handed to me. Don't do anything rash." He approached the barricades.

[Agent Fisher]

"Understood. And uh, you might be able to eat of storm of lead, but I can't. Anyway, I'll sit tight." He shifted against the rubble, trying to get comfortable.

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot listend to the debate raging, Blackheart's anger growing, and the way the situation was devolving into what could easily become a massive clusterfuck. He keyed his radio and hoped it wasn't too late, and that his words didn't cause any new problems. "Gravitas, would you be making this deal if these people weren't metas? If regular people had been displaced from their homes and were doing what these people were doing, stealing and harboring murderers, would you be doing what it is you're doing now? I mean, if we're ever going to live among the rest of humanity, don't we have to be held to the same standards? Held accountable for our actions, just like everyone else? Otherwise, they have a right to fear us, they'd be right to fear us." He looked to Blackheart, knowing that his even talking might be considered out of line, but it needed to be said.

[Charon]

Legacies stood stoicly in front of the barricade as the young men with guns still gawked at him, rifles raised. Their fear was almost as palpable as their hate, and that they weren't privy to the conversation Legacies was, must only be making them more worried.

Legacies said nothing into the communicator, the silver figure simply stood, listening. In his own mind though, blocked away from even Argent, the symbiote agreed with Blackheart. Blood should be kept to a minimum, but there was a good chance that a few of the killers would get out if they did things Gravitas' way. Not to mention how things would turn out if they kept Freakshow.

[LadyTevar]

Blackheart was right, Argent would try to stop the mess. She knew where Gravitas had been, talking to Freakshow. She knew where the guards were, where Ghost was, where Hotfoot and Blast and Legacies all were. She made her choice, feeling Blackheart was listening more to his tumor than to what made sense.

The dragon rose out of Blackheart's own shadow and wisked him away, leaving his comm-unit to fall on the ground, deliberately left behind...

... Between for a moment, holding her place as she'd done before with the living virus called Carter. You want Freakshow... I give him to you and the tumor, Blackheart. Just remember you were also alone and hated once. ...

In Freakshow's small office, a shadow bulged as the dragon emerged, slipping out of one and into another, leaving Blackheart standing alone in front of the broken desk. Silver eyes shown in the shadows, silently warning Gravitas of what she'd done. "Leaders should speak in person, not by proxy," she said aloud to the two meta leaders. "You both want this ended... try not to kill each other working out a solution."

The silver eyes closed, reopening in the ceiling above them, forcing her empathy against the tumor in the hopes she could grant Blackheart a clearer head without the Demon's bloodlust and anger. If a fight did happen, she'd have to chose which one to teleport to safety ... and she hoped it would not come to that.

[Cynical Cat]

Smoldering rage struck Argent like a hammer, pushing away Argent's attempt to calm him. Blackheart was furious. They had team mates missing and now she had dumped him here without coms? Why didn't the stupid bitch just throw hand grenades if she wanted to escalate the situation out of control? She was going to get people killed.

His blood singing, Blackheart addressed Freakshow. "You, or one of yours, has one of my people. Giving back. Now."

[B4UTRUST]

Freakshow turned his gaze to the new comer. The newcomer's tone and posture immediately put him on the defensive. His tone was obviously agitated and at times dripping with sarcasm.
"Agent Blackheart, I presume? Yes, well, since you're just waiting for an excuse to kill everyone here I'll be more then happy to assist you. Perhaps you would be so kind as to enlighten me as to who, when and where your agent was taken so I could try to narrow it down a bit for you. After all, there are only a few hundred of us down here. And sad to say, mind reading is not one of my powers."

[Cynical Cat]

"Provoking me isn't the smartest move you can make at this point," said Blackheart. It, however, appear to be the most popular. "My man's name is Saibot and he went down near your tunnel barricades a few minutes ago."

[B4UTRUST]

Freakshow nodded then motioned towards the maps on his desk.
"Which barricades? It'll make figuring out who and where easier."

[Cynical Cat]

"Chambers Street and Christopher Street," said Blackheart.

[B4UTRUST]

"Good, that's where our barricades are, yes. Now which one did your agent disappear at? Christopher St or Chambers?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Chambers Street," said Blackheart said through his teeth. Getting fucked over by two people on his team didn't put him in the best mood. Having the same people they were cooing over take a member of his team didn't help. Images of him pulling limbs of people and them screaming for mercy they weren't going to get danced through his mind. He blinked. It had never done that before. Argent was right. It had grown.

Didn't matter. It had urged him to violence for years now, he was used to it. His feelings didn't matter, they never had and never would. The job had to be done right. He had to salvage this mess.

[Dark Silver]

Garth screamed, his voice steadily growing more and more hoarse as his body was violated, first by Blackheart, then Legacies. From the position Legacies had put him in, he could see Argent and Blackheart consummating thier relationship, the total betrayal o the two against him.

But he was without his sword, without his ring, powerless against the might of Legacies, as the symbiote man thrust and violated his unwilling hole.

His eyes watered, tears blurred his vision, as the thoughts rushed through his head, 'make it stop....make it stop....no more....just let me pass out or die.....make it stop....'

From where they had thrown the Ring, a small light shown,, growing steadily brighter as the Ring responded to it's rightful owner, it hovered in the air, and for a brief moment, just stayed there - gleaming with a steady brightness. The glow took form, slowly at first, then with increasing speed, the torn, black costume rising upas if being inflated, the features of a human body filling it's seems. Through the tears and tatters, the faint blue glow of energy could be seen spilling it.

A flash, brillant as a sun, filled the room, as the suit took the ring from the air, and slipped it on a gloved finger. When the light had faded, the suit was whole, restored, and new. The color scheme had changed, what was once black, was now white, glimmering white, and the blue pattern along the sides had become solid black. Even the helmet's color had changed.

The White Guardian leveled the ring, first lancing Legacies through the head with a beam of deadly energy, before the symbiote was torn to it's basic molecular structure. Garth watched, tears pouring down his eyes as the Guardian moved closer to him, the hand with the ring pointing towards Argent and Blackheart, with the rapid sounds of their frenzied sex still echoed in Garth's ears.

Their screams were almost like music, as their bodies were turned into ash, the blue light of the ring dimming. Garth looked up, tears still streaming down his face, his body battered and bruised. Blood welled from his nose, and his lip was split wide, as he looked to the familiar helmet...his eyes widdened as the Ring was pointed towards him, as the energy beam lanced through his skull, and the fire consumed him as well...

--- 0 --- 0 ---

The fetal position Saibot didn't scream, though the actions in his mind revolted and tormented him. As the energy flowed through him, in his mind, tearing theimage of himself apart, the energy of the Ring swallowed him. It beat back the darkness for a few moments, before fading away.

When it passed, Saibot's costume was no more, the black and blue costume was gone, replaced by the White Guardian.

He remained unconcious, curled up, alone....but he was no longer tormented....instead, thoughts of revenge began to form.

[B4UTRUST]

Freakshow nodded and started looking over the map.
"He had to have been taken before Chamber since none of the guards reported anything. However he was near one of the groups that Gravitas is after.

"I don't know for sure who has him but I have a fair idea. If I'm right, I can say that your agent isn't in any physical danger. If I were you though, I'd have a shrink on standby. Portico is who you're looking for."

[Cynical Cat]

"You'll have to call it in Gravitas, Argent left my coms behind," said Blackheart through gritted teeth. "Better have Argent there. Telepathic violation, right? Charming people you associate with."

[B4UTRUST]

Freakshow simply gave Blackheart the once over, keeping his mouth wisely shut. Stating the obvious about the pot would not be condusive to the longevity of his life.
"Most of them are. But there's always a few bad apples in every barrel so to speak.

"And I'm not sure if telepathic violation is the right term, but I suppose it's accurate enough. Tell me, did your agent and yourself get along well together prior to this?"

[Cynical Cat]

Blackheart had an idea what was coming next. Telepathic violations tended to follow in certain ugly patterns. He turned to Gravitas. "Better tell Argent to be careful. His mind rapist pals probably had him violated by the people he hates and loves the most." He turned back to Freakshow. "Isn't that right?"

[SirNitram]

"Argent. Next time you do that, let Blackheart keep his comm. I'm sending you the location of Saibot. They're gonna try and mindrape you if you get close, though. Be really careful." Gravitas called it in. He was ignoring Blackheart's insults and accusations until he dealt with matters to the point of safety. Then he'd have it out.

"Hotfoot.. That's your callsign, right? Yes, I would. You're not a God if you pull this 'You are my chosen people, fuck the rest sideways' crap. You're an egotistical, monomaniacal fucktard. You take your lumps so others don't have to. Now, I have to try and negotiate things here..."

Finally, Gravitas turned to Blackheart and Freakshow. "Blackheart. You want justice. Freakshow wants them left alone." He said simply. "We find the violent psychos, we administer the appropriate to them. The rest of the population.." A glance sent to the exit of Freakshow's room. "I have a proposal. Once, mortal societies sentenced hard and heavy labour for crimes. Make those guilty do such. Get the entire colony down here out from under a major city. Preferrably away from the Baseline's; both to protect the baselines from theft and violence, and the Legion from the crap they get. Hard labour builds things up so they can do that."

It was, well, a longshot. And it did nothing to clear up his own disobedience. "As for my own actions.. Let's finish dealing with the twisted ones before we have out our own problems. I'd like to think you're on my side when we're down in the mazes."

[LadyTevar]

Blackheart had an idea what was coming next. Telepathic violations tended to follow in certain ugly patterns. He turned to Gravitas. "Better tell Argent to be careful. His mind rapist pals probably had him violated by the people he hates and loves the most." He turned back to Freakshow. "Isn't that right?"

Argent had been silently overhead throughout, trying to moderate the intense anger the Tumor was pouring out. Blackheart's anger at her, she left alone. That was well-deserved, in her opinion. Hopefully later, they would have the time for Blackheart to yell at her and get it out of his system. Now, however, she dropped down to a more visible shadow, the silver draconic eyes unmistakeable as they appeared within. "If Saibot is being tortured with the images of friends, may I take Blast and Hotfoot with me?" she requested quietly, her voice emerging from the shadow. "Blast and Hotfoot have not spent as much time with Saibot, so Portico may not have used them."

Argent would not be surprised if Saibot attacked her on sight. She was the closest to Saibot, and therefore the easiest target for this Portico to abuse. She could not be sure which of the others Portico may have used, but she wouldn't be surprised if Legacies and Blackheart were involved; Legacies, for the bombastic friendship shared with Garth, and Blackheart for the pissing contests.

Without the bond that had linked her to Saibot these last few weeks, Argent wouldn't be able to judge or affect his emotions as easily. She would have to force herself into his mind ... which had been difficult enough the first time. This time, Saibot knew she could do it. The real problem would be Saibot's Ring, which did not like Demonics. Simply touching the Box that recharged it stung her like a strong static shock. If Saibot used the Ring itself on her, she feared it would be much, much worse. If she was lucky, he'd just use the rapid sword attack, which Hotfoot's speed could overcome.

A clawed tendril emerged from the shadow, holding out an earbud to Blackheart; her own, but he may not care. "Give the order, and I'll collect them and go," she said softly, clamping down hard on her own emotions to prevent her fears from escaping into the air.

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost spoke into his comm. "Argent, come grab me and let me see if I can make first contact. I doubt I'd be used for whatever they did against Saibot, and I'm not very powerful, that way if I get hit with whatever mind fuckery they did to Saibot, nothing really happens. Plus, I've done hostile extractions before."

[Cynical Cat]

"Take them and go," said Blackheart as he took back the earbud. He turned to Gravitas. "I might have been amenable to doing things your way if you didn't try to foist this off on me by fait accompli or if I thought Freakshow would willingly give up anyone he didn't have to. We sift through and get the apples."

[SirNitram]

"Blackheart, you keep thinking I trust you not to turn this into a warzone if I don't present a fait accompli." Gravitas lifted a brow.