Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[Rukia]

"I'm fine..." She said walking past him leading him back out on the porch. "Stop treating me like a child." She opened the door to the balcony.

She Stepped over to the wall and leanded against it look down on the street. Her hands gripped the bar at the top and her jaw clenched.

"I don't want to be here as much as you don't want me here. I'm pretty damn worthless and I know it."

She paused, thinking aobut what she wanted to say, still turned from Blackheart. Her common since told her not to keep her back to him, but she didn't care.

[Charon]

Legacies seemed to listen carefully to Gravitas as he spoke. The silver face seeming to take on more human characteristics for a few moments. "And you are here to do it again. Well, to stop it from happening again."

The silver figures mouth turned into a beaming smile for a few moments before it slipped away. "We too fight to save humanity from those who would destroy it. As both parts have seen the effects of godhood. Though, it is not of the same caliber as yours."

The silver figure's face paused in thought for a few moments as if considering something. Then the change began. The silver suit slowly shifted and moved into looking like a pair of ratty jeans and a long-sleeved buttondown shirt. The silver mask slipped away, revealing a middle-aged face with a scruffy silvery beard and long unkempt silver hair. Small scars covered the man's face, signs of past battles that had not gone particularly well. His silver eyes looked around at all those present, wondering how they would take in seeing the face behind the figure for the first time.

[Cynical Cat]

"You want to stop being treated like a child, act like a damn adult. They're is enough on everyone's plate without baby sitting moody teenagers. I'm not interested in your pity party. Go tell it to Lei, she's a nice woman. She'll hold your hand, hug you, and whatever. You've got powers that are more subtle than others. If you think that equals useless then you're dumber than I thought."

[SirNitram]

"The man behind the mask." Gravitas murmured as he looked to Legacies. "A pleasure to meet the other half."

[Rukia]

"I don't want sympathy from you or Lei or anyone else... what I do want is a little bit of fucking respect. I take a lot of shit. I never wanted this, and now that I'm here ya'll are talking about killing me. News flash I've almost died twice around you people. You want to patronize me for acting like a child? I could say the same about you and Garth. You handle whatever grudge you have with him with total maturity. Want to take care of me? Use me as bait or as a human shelid don't go behind me back talking about trying to solve something that may not even be that big of a deal. But if you want blood, here it is."

She turned to face him now, her eyes dull her face pale.

"I don't know what's wrong with me... if anything. But for christ's sake give me a fucking a chance to deal with it before you go eraticing it and me. I haven't tried to kill anyone. Unlike Saibot. I have been actually well behaved all things considered. Yea sure I'm not the worlds greatest meta but you haven't offered to help either. If you're worried that Im going to jepordize whatever the hell we're supposed to be doing here, just get it over with. Nip the bud...."

-And if you think for two seconds that I'm being emo or what was the term used? Little Miss Torture... think again... This is not self lothing. For from it.-

[Cynical Cat]

"Respect is earned, not given. Whatever problems you have, we'll look into and solve the best we can. The teeps are jumpy, they think its bad news. Of course I'm going to tell them if it comes to it I'll take you out. Hell, if this thing in my chest jacks my body they better be prepared to take me out if that's the only way to stop me. That's how it goes. Only if necessary and only if I give the word. And if I haven't killed that self righteous bigot Saibot yet, I'm a long way from killing you."

[Rukia]

"I'm just tired. Tired of not knowing who I am or what I'm capable of." She looked up, siging. "I don't know what to think of you people. I want to trust you, but logic and expriance tells me not to. You of all people should know about that. Lei think she knows what's best. I don't know what caused the episode tonight. But I do know it's not the booze. I can't hadle that along with a miriade of other mind altering things and not have any trouble. I think more than anything I want to prove to you that I can do something right other than get hurt and whine. I've been a loser for seven years, and before that.... nothing. I have nothing to go by. I don't know what I did before this. I do know that ya'll are the closest thing that I have to friends. I don't want to be a fuck up."

She sighed again and shivered a bit as a gust of wind blew past.

[Cynical Cat]

"That's the way it goes. We can only push hard and hope enough pieces fall into place."

[LadyTevar]

The silver figure's face paused in thought for a few moments as if considering something. Then the change began. The silver suit slowly shifted and moved into looking like a pair of ratty jeans and a long-sleeved buttondown shirt. The silver mask slipped away, revealing a middle-aged face with a scruffy silvery beard and long unkempt silver hair. Small scars covered the man's face, signs of past battles that had not gone particularly well. His silver eyes looked around at all those present, wondering how they would take in seeing the face behind the figure for the first time.

"The man behind the mask." Gravitas murmured as he looked to Legacies. "A pleasure to meet the other half."

Lei looked at the revealed Legacies curiously. He reminded her of a raggedy broken doll she'd seen once, a Santa Claus christmas ornament someone had thrown out in the trash one winter. He was older than she'd thought he was ... far older than Garth, it seemed. Or perhaps that was merely the effect of the silver hair and broken face.

"You would clean up very nicely, if we trim the hair and beard..." Lei said with a smile, teasing the old man even as she knew he could still probably shoot a tendril thru her heart from where he stood.

[Rukia]

"Can I ask you to if it comes to it, take me out quick. I don't want it to linger. obviously you know what you're doing. Or attempt to act like it. You're the leader and I know you have to do what you must. All I ask is for you to let me know when your lead to possibly kill me. Look, I like you, I respect you. i just don't know if I can handle much more of this." She gestured to her the bandage on her arm that had a small red spot on it. "I'm not big and strong like you or the others. I break easy physcially, mentally is another story."

Her voice had a mock damsel in destress tone with the last statement, trying to lighten to mood. She looked at Blackheart again and gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"That... thing inside you, makes it hard to read your thoughts or get in your mind. But you know that. That's a good defence, but it gives off a weird muffled noise that's hard for me to block, even when I'm not whacked."

[Cynical Cat]

"I don't want to cause anyone pain, but the world is the way the world is. My time is looking like it will be up soon, but to paraphrase Archimedes, my lever is bigger than most peoples. I'm going to do what I can to make at least part of it a better place. Hell, I've done that already, though the cost has been high. I don't think I'm going to have to hurt you and if I do, I'll make it as quick and painless as I can. But it won't come to that."

He paused. "One more thing: thinking of yourself as weak never helps. Yeah, being able to bend steel bars helps, but you need strength here." He tapped his temple. "If in here you won't quit, won't give up, think of yourself as strong enough, you can accomplish a hell of a lot." Memories drifted back, crawling forward on broken bones, holding onto conscious when oblivion beckoned, fighting pain to just one more move. "Trust me on the last, if on nothing else."

[Rukia]

Em pressed up against the wall. "Whoa...What was that?" Something had leaked through, a memory a painful one. She had meant to catch it, but it just kind of flew at her, causing her to step back into the gaurd. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to.. I mean I wasn't trying to read you thoughts... What the hell happened to you?" Then she added quickly, "If you don't mind me asking that is."

She raised a hand to her head again rubbing her temple.

[Cynical Cat]

"A lot of things. Cobalt broke my bones, Havoc tore men up, and then there were a few mere mortals with an anti-tank rife. I fought hurt before, fought hurt against guys that could crush me. You have to be smart then, because that's all you've got and if you lie down and let the pain take you, you have to live knowing you didn't even try to save your people, that you didn't even fail. You just didn't try."

[Cynical Cat]

"Cobalt was easy. I just had to keep him busy and not killing my team mates despite the fact that I could barely hurt him. I just didn't have to give into the pain and fear, keep making a nuisance of myself no matter how bad I hurt. He broke nearly half the bones in my body. He punched me through statues and through concrete walls. I only knew that I had succeeded when I woke up in a hospital bed."

[Rukia]

Em blinked. "Wow..." She breathed. "You've been through so much. That's amazing." She really didn't know what to say he was telling her this to prove a point, but she didn't know how to take it. "I never wanted to be the damsel in distress. I don't want you all to think that I'm Little Miss Torture, or 'moody'. I realize that I'm not the only one with problems but I do want your help. I want to learn from you and the team. But like I said you all are too bust treating me like a kid, saving me or fighting amungst yourselves. No one can learn from that."

[Cynical Cat]

"Well, hopefull the fighting amongst ourselves will be mostly verbal now. As for the rest, we'll work on it."

[Rukia]

She looked him in the eye, something she hadn't don't since they had started talking. "Thanks..." She gave him a genuine smile before pushing off the wall. At first t seemed as though she was going to hug him but just patted his arm as she walked by.

[Charon]

The man looked over at Gravitas. "We are one and the same Gravitas. There is no man and there is no mask." The man smiled slowly. "We simply felt that you would all feel more at ease if you knew that despite our differences there is still flesh here."

The man glanced over at Lei as she spoke next, a twig that was stuck in his long matted hair falling over his face as he did so. A tendril non-chalantly pulled the twig out and dropped it on the ground. "But this is who we are Arg-... Lei." That seemed almost forced. "You and many of the others may see no reason to hide yourselves in the public. But we do."

[LadyTevar]

Forced or not, it was not an insult, nor a slap against her. Merely a statement of fact. "But why on the streets themselves, Legacies..." She knew his name, overhearing Garth use it, yet she had not yet been given that honor. She might never be given that honor, until she had proved herself to him fully.

A mere week was not enough for him to trust her.

[Charon]

"Because no one ever sees the homeless. It keeps me hidden."

Legacies smiled some at the woman before looking away and out the window. A tendril slipped out of his shirt and grabbed a slice of pizza, bringing it back to his hand.

[SirNitram]

"Oh, there are reasons to hide." Gravitas said after a moment, the sombre mood still infecting him. "But they're why I don't. If folks see the terrible and powerful No-.. Metas as things with masks, never showing their faces, it'll get worse. It's a little bit harder to hate a guy who looks as nerdy as I do."

[LadyTevar]

Lei had to admit he was right. And a homeless man who was well-kempt would stand out far too much. She sighed, looking down at Garth, who was just this side of concious from all the booze imbibed.

[Cynical Cat]

Blackheart walked back into his apartment. The pizza seemed to have been thouroughly decimated. The food patrol was inexperienced at buying for a pack of active superhumans. He grabbed the phone and ordered a two big buckets of wings.

[LadyTevar]

Lei was not used to buying food for more than two people. This was her first gathering where people were relaxing, not making plans for how to take out the security at the jewelry store and keep the alarms from sounding.

Oddly enough, she was enjoying herself. Leaving Garth to continue falling into drunken unconsciousness (she would just teleport him home and dump him in the bed later), she wandered back into the kitchen for another soda. "Ordering more food?" she asked Blackheart curiously. "Are you sure it would get eaten?"

[Cynical Cat]

He shrugged. "I have a big refrigerator with more than enough room and I'm eating for two. I can burn through a lot of food and Legacies is probably eating for . . . well however many entities he's composed off."