Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[frigidmagi]

"You're saying someone is manufacturing super villians? That's a fucking scary thought there man. Does this make you like the blacksheep of the blackheart family then?" Blast said, suddenly wishing someone could see his grin.

[SirNitram]

"Any with M-R Nodes going active will risk serious personality shifts." Gravitas nodded. "To say nothing of the psychics and other brain-folk." He stretched his arms slowly, letting them pop. "Well, let's see. Who profits from destabilizations.. Anti-Western governments, military suppliers, extremist religious groups, annoyed teenagers... Not a small list."

[Cynical Cat]

"Well the legion theory says that I was a disposal screw up from someone who was creating and implanting a whole bunch of engineered organs that would make people superhuman. Say someone tossed the kid, which would be me, to a hospital instead the furnace in a moment of weakness. Somewhwere there is a legion of non flawed Blackhearts massing for the ultimate strike mission. Kinda grim, but its not the only one."

"Expose to metahuman powers tends to increase the likelyhood of development of them. Still statistically almost impossible, but if someone had powers that could increase the likelyhood of this phenomena. Its consistent with some of the things Gravitas has said. And then there's the meta genius with cash to fund his own meta making project scenario."

[frigidmagi]

"Who just happens to pick scum has his likely projects... Ow. So you're saying we'll be busy and we shouldn't make long range plans just now?" Blast said.

[Cynical Cat]

"We're busy and going to be busy. Why? There's a bunch of theories. No one can say for sure."

[SirNitram]

"I can attest that sufficient power can allow you to literally create other superhumans out of existing humans." Gravitas rumbled softly. "If this is so, we need to find the origin point. Fighting the thousand heads of the hydra means nothing."

[frigidmagi]

"Stupid question... How?" Blast asked.

"I mean, they're likey to be more scared of Mr. Power cranker than they are of us." He continued.

[Cynical Cat]

"They might not even know who did it. Inconspicuous triggering or mind whipping, for example. If the theory is correct. But if they have been and they know, time for the telepaths."

[SirNitram]

"You can unravel the threads of connection to find the common point." Gravitas said. "In other words, if we could bring together a large number of remains or living individuals who enter a common point, I can find the location."

[frigidmagi]

"...Great." Blast muttered.

[Cynical Cat]

"Yeah. Until then we keep putting out fires and collecting info, hoping that something will break."

[Rukia]

Emmline had long since left. She had saw the exchange between Lei, Legacies and Blackheart. It had been a noble try. She knew that it was better if she just kept to her own. She walked out of the med bay then down the hall, she allowed her gaurds to come down and she heard the thought of thoes who wlaked by. She grinned as she passed a tech who was singing "head shoulders knees and toes." She walked outside, it was later than she had thought, it was already getting dark. She shivered against the cool breeze and made her way to the old part of the city. The thoughts of all the squatters and misfits mingled with hers. She felt like she was home.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Avatar finally pulled himself up from the roof. He had succumbed to lactic acid shock from the stress, but had managed to avoid a forced transformation. Score one for his human half.

He got to his feet, and headed downstairs, wanting very much to know what caused that little..incident.

[Charon]

Legacies swung through the alleyways where even in this new city the homeless and destitute were beginning to congregate. The homeless looked up as he passed overhead, slight smiles appearing on their lips as they saw the hero they knew pass overhead. Their "guardian angel" was back.

Legacies watched over the destitute occasionally. He was one of the few who did. They were the only 'normals' that knew Legacies was a bum, but they kept the secret, partly out of respect, partly because they know no one would believe them.

Legacies passed overhead some of the destitute while further on down the block a couple of thugs had decided to vent some frustration on one of the homeless.

"Hey! Why don't you kiss my ass you lazy ass nigger?!" The young man kicked, hard, into the gut of the man who was in the fetal position as kicks and punches flew.

"Please, I just want to be left alo-" The man pleaded, the plea was cut off though when a muddy boot slammed into his face.

"Then maybe your black ass shouldn' have bumped into me ya piece o' trash!" Yelled another man as he pulled out a knife and flicked it open. Grinning the man brought the knife next to the black man's face and ran the side down his face, not drawing blood... yet.

"Now you're gonna learn to keep in your place gutter trash."

The man lifted up the knife, readying to stab down, his friends or followers stared at the man at their feet, bloody and bruised, waiting for the blow to come.

And waited...

A few of the men looked up to see the man with the knife floating a few feet in the air, struggling for breath. Their eyes went wide as their gaze turned to now see the silver figure holding him up.

"Oh fuck! It's Legacies!"

"He got Steve! Oh fuck run!"

Legacies simply shook his head as the tendril holding Steve lashed out, smashing the man's face into the wall, he crumpled, still breathing... barely.

Legacies shot forward as the punks ran, a tendril lashed out and kneecapped one of the men, he stumbled and fell to the ground, holding his knee. Not displaced, just very painful. Legacies didn't even pause as he continued after the other three boys. He was silent in his chase.

"Shit, John! Shoot this motherfucker!"

"Are you fucking with me?!"

"Do it asshole before we're all dead!"

John was apparently not quite as smart as he'd first seemed. Turning to face the rapidly advancing Legacies he pulled out a pistol and took a shot. The impact threw Legacies some and he came to a stop, staggering back the silver figure looked down at the 'hole' that had appeared on his suit. The thugs meanwhile cheered on John who proceeded to empty the clip into Legacies, driving him further back every time. Eventually the gun was simply emitting clicks and John, looking smug, put it away as Legacies continued to stare at his now 'hole' filled chest.

Then the silver figure looked up and the thugs' eyes went wide. Slowly the bullets were pushed out of their places and fell onto the ground.

"You should have listened to your instincts John..." The silver figure said as a rictus grin appeared.

A few minutes later Legacies appeared from the shadows and walked over to the man who was now sitting up, blood still trickling from his lip.

The silver figure walked up beside him. "Are you alright Jonah?"

The black man looked up and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm alright. I've taken worse than that." Jonah looked ack towards the shadows where Legacies had disappeared with the men. "You kill 'em?"

Legacies looked down at Jonah in contemplation for a few moments before shaking his head. "No, we did not. That is not what we do."

Jonah sniffed some, wiping at his bloody lip. "That's what they would have done to me."

Legacies looked back at the shadows, he'd left the men on the side of the street, bruised and bloody but nothing a few weeks of rest wouldn't fix, except maybe that first one who he'd slammed into the building. It had looked like a broken nose, maybe the jaw as well. "But it was not their place to die yet."

Jonah looked at Legacies quizically. "You alright man? You're talking all different."

Legacies looked back down. "We have undergone some changes recently."

Jonah smiled at Legacies. "Still the same old hero though."

The mouth on Legacies' face split into a kind grin. "Yes, we suppose we are."

[LadyTevar]

Kyosuke paused and thought.
"Often enough, I suppose. Though there have been an equal amount of times I had someone right next to me for almost the entire op.

"He doesn't exactly sound like a team player. And Blackheart thinks he's insane? That doesn't bode well for anyone he works with."

"No... it does not." Lei agreed. "Especially when Tarot seems to be a trusted Ultima agent."

[B4UTRUST]

"Well then. What do we do now?"

[LadyTevar]

Argent sighed, as she tried to think. "I ... am not sure." she admitted. "The news about Abaddon is important, something that Blackheart might wish to know. My ideas about his Other also being a demon..." she shook her head "I do not know if he would listen."

[B4UTRUST]

"I doubt he would. He doesn't seem the type to want to accept that sort of information. As for Abaddon, I would agree that he does need to know. Perhaps we should inform him?"

[LadyTevar]

"He may still be in Medical..." Lei admitted. "If you wish, we can go check on him..."

[B4UTRUST]

"His physical help is not my concern at the moment. I believe trying to find out the cause of these artifical demons takes a higher priority. We'll go to medical and find it."

[LadyTevar]

"Very well," Argent answered, once again assuming her dragonshape, and allowing him a moment to steele himself against what was to come as she teleports. Luckily for him, it would be a short trip to Medical, where they should find Blackheart, Gravitas, and Blast conversing still.

Before she teleports, the dragon smiles a little. "Perhaps I should take you to Little Asia after this... there are many very nice Japanese restaurants there, as well as a proper teahouse..."

[B4UTRUST]

"We'll see. Business before pleasure as they say."

He took a deep breath then let it out.
"Alright, lets go."

[LadyTevar]

It was a mercifully quick teleport, Ultima HQ wasnt' so big that it took a lot of time to traverse.

They slide out of a shadow into the room where Gravitas was holding court, and Argent carefully set Kyosuke-san down before resuming her human form. "It is good to see you up and feeling better, Gravitas."

[SirNitram]

"Lei, Mr. Kyosuke." Gravitas nodded lighty as he finished dressing and ran a hand through his hair. "All the organs are back in their proper places, yes. Just talking with Blast and Blackheart here about a few things."

[B4UTRUST]

Kyosuke was deposited from the shadows. He found himself in medical, a place he had visited only once to establish a record for healthcare while he was here in the states. It smelled strongly to him of antiseptic agents and felt cold to him.
"Has Agent Blackheart been released from medical yet?"