The Awakened - First Pillar (IC Thread)

[Sutoratosu]

Where the hell did this kid come from? Wait, did he say...? "Did you just say Barkeep?" Anver inquired cautiously, keeping an eye on the growing crowd as more poured in through the gates. "What exactly do you want with him?" Maybe this was part of the gift too, if this guy had also been sent to kill him...of course, it could be the other way around, but...Anver didn't care, things were too crazy right now. He'd simply have to take the chance and make a leap of faith.

"Nevermind, just follow me and keep down if you don't want to risk them blowing your head off" with that said, he headed off towards where he detected the Bartenders heat signature, knocking over tables for cover as he went; either by kicking them down or using heat waves, not bothering to look behind him to see if Lux was following.

[Flux]

Jory, Stratos

The Bartender had left his place as soon as he could after the explosion. He was looking for Lux and Beverly, trying to make sure they were all right and had the information they needed. He figured that the best course of action would be to get out of here NOW. He didn't what was going on or why, but he had a few suspicions. He finished walking up the stairs, where he had seen Lux and Beverly heading. However, the rooms all appeared empty. He must have missed them somehow... He began moving back downstairs towards the bar. Perhaps they had gone to look for him as well?

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Viktor would have normally unloaded shot straight into the man's skull as he was a threat, but he decided to see if he could get any info. "I will make it stop if you tell me who caused that explosion, otherwise it will only get worse. As you can tell, I can cause blood-clots, and the more pressure I apply the more it hurts, hopefully I don;t totally cu off blood flow to your brain, or pop your eyes, neither of those outcomes would be good now would they buddy?"

[Sutoratosu]

More and more tables flipped as Anver began going faster, picking up the pace that he crouch-ran across the room. Before long he wasn't very far from the bar, using the Thermal Field to detect the Bartender nearby when he failed to place eyes on him behind the counter. "Now's our moment of truth..." he thought to himself, tossing a glance behind, expecting to see the Young Stranger with the glowing hands from moments ago following behind...

[Jory]

Lux was indeed following the strange man. However, the more intently the man ran toward the Bartender and the more tables he flipped, the more sure he became of one thing: the Stranger's power had something to do with heat manipulation. He's using updrafts to knock over tables and he's probably tracing the Bartender's heat signature. But how is he distinguishing it from the others? he thought to himself. I'll need to figure that out soon. Judging by how fast he knew which way to go, he's been watching the Bartender. For better or worse, I don't know, but I'd better be prepared for a fight. He continued toward the bar, scanning the room and hoping he'd be able to spot the Bartender early enough to signal him about the impending danger.

[Flux]

Jory, Stratos

The bartender entered the doorway, finding the room around the bar in shambles. Almost all of the tables were overturned. Luckily, he seemed to have found Lux, though he was accompanied by someone that he didn't recognize.

"Ah, Lux, there you are. I've been looking for you and Beverly. Thank goodness you aren't injured... but where's Beverly? And who's your friend here?"

(((Just realized that you left Beverly in the room upstairs, but I posted that she wasn't there... Oh well. We'll assume she moved somewhere for now.)))

[Arkhi]

Of damn, well course Hades would cause trouble in this way. From behind cover, Keaton could hear Hades aggravate and call out the patrols in the two rooms. He couldn't tell if guards came from both rooms, but however and whoever was coming, they ran quick. Daring not peek his head out, Keaton lied in wait, calming himself, slowing his breath, checking the magazine in his gun. Six shots before he would need a new mag. Hades looped the corner, giving him a wink. Next came the guards.

Three ran straight ahead and after Hades. Those three would be his work in this job. One of the patrols seemed to stop at the turn and set up for firing some high-power carbine. The remaining two were unaccounted for. Keaton hypothesized they were watching the heavy gunman's back. All of this was thought and more within the passing of a fraction of a second.

I stood in a gray room with metallic walls. Of course, this isn't the real world, simply a projection of my thoughts in an easy-to-understand format. On one wall was a green outline of me, holding the gun in the exact position as before. Before coming here? It mattered not. Panning up above my outline, I saw a light, providing illumination for the gunman with the carbine. He could be shot with my personal gun, right in the neck. The rubber could pierce into, but not through his skin, knocking him out. If not, then the shock would give me a chance to take his gun and kick him unconscious.
The issue lies with the other guards, then. Keaton tried panning around the corner, outside of his view, but could not see. Only the physical realm was his limit to planning. Without being able to know where the guards were, he couldn't plan. Perhaps Hades could knock them out. Yes, that would work, should he return in time.

Keaton re-entered full consciousness, again bewildered at his power. But amazement could wait. As he heard the gunman slowing his breath, Keaton turned the corner and shot the man. However, he wore armor. As expected, the man was dazed at being shot, though physically unharmed. In that chance, Keaton rushed over, kicking the man right in the face and grabbing his rifle before turning back around the corner after hearing the other men shout at him.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck. Damn it all," Keaton said, holstering his pistol, knowing the next step. The pistol would not fire quick enough to take the two experienced foes out. Tears began to well up in both eyes as Keaton flipped the safety, turned the corner, and fired away.

Bullets entered the guards, leaving a red spray behind them, as if a sign for him to stop shooting, but he could not. These men were dying by the movement of simply the finger of a boy. Keaton cried out, his voice cracking as he continued to shoot at the air, now, the two men bleeding out.
When the magazine was emptied, Keaton stopped for a second, watching red pools gather by the gentlemen. They were out to kill him, but that is their profession, not Keaton's. If he had time to use his pistol, they wouldn't be dead. The rifle flew along the ground after Keaton threw it.
He clawed at his hair, as he leaned back on the wall, falling to the floor. They didn't need to die. He didn't cry any more; the sound would draw guards. For worse, his suffering and self-loathing was internal.

[Flux]

Arkhidon

It was about two minutes before Hades returned. He came around the corner, dusting off his lab coat with his hands. He appeared unharmed, and there was no blood to stain his white coat.

"You know, you were supposed to get the two that follo-"

He stopped when he saw Keaton leaning against the wall. His first thought was that he had been hit. But as he looked closer he could see that that was not the case. No... he had the look of somebody who had killed for the first time. Upon looking into the other room, Hades' suspicion was confirmed. The two men were lying in pools of their own blood.

The boy had taken it roughly. He was a little surprised, considering the lack of emotion Keaton had shown when Hades had killed the two men from earlier. Perhaps it had been the lack of blood that had made that alright? Or perhaps it was the fact that Keaton himself had killed these men. Hades shrugged. Human emotions weren't his specialty. Either way, the test was pretty much complete.

"Hey, Keaton." He nudged him with his foot. "According to your map we still have one more room to clear. And there's still one Awakened unaccounted for. Like it or not, we have to finish this."

[Arkhi]

For a god, Hades was not good with empathy.
"Do what you want," Keaton said simply. "I can't- won't kill someone."

[Jory]

Lux fixed the Bartender with a suspicious look, darting his eyes toward the other Awakened. "When we're in the field, I'm Photon," Lux stated matter-of-factly. He then continued, "In all the chaos, we didn't have time to get properly introduced. But what I do know is that my 'friend' here is an Awakened. With... heat powers?" he asked questioningly, looking toward the stranger. "He seems to be able to manipulate temperature to make it hotter. At least, that's what I gathered from watching him at work." He stayed conspicuously quiet about Beverly. If this comes down to a confrontation, I don't want him knowing where to find her. "I was hoping that we might be able to convince him to come with us, whatever his reasons are for being here. And, should he agree, I'm sure my partner would be able to verify that he wanted to come of his own accord, and not for some ulterior motive," he said pointedly. "But I digress. We've acquired the intel that we came for. We should high-tail it out of here before those Olympus fellows start asking questions."

[Sutoratosu]

"Well, what God gives, he doth taketh away just as quick," Anver said vaguely, standing up despite his own warning to Lux earlier to stay low. "Of course this was too good to be true, the sudden crowd, and then the kid asking around... " he jumped behind the counter of the bar, taking a bottle of scotch from it's place on one of the shelves. He turned it over and over in his hand, but no liquid sloshed inside... because he had heated it up to the point where it had Vaporized. He placed the thing down on the counter, looking at Lux and the Bar Keeper, a genuine look of regret on his face. He didn't know what he was doing right now, there had been nothing in any of his plans earlier about such nonsense. Why the hell hadn't he just popped one in the Barkeep and burned the kid? what the hell was he doing? The entire thing was probably botched now. No... he had a pretty quick answer to why he hadn't just killed them both... and strangely enough, it made sense to him, perfect sense. Because that's not something that the man the girls know their father as would do...and it's not something the man who married their mother would do either.

"Look, nothing personal, you two... but I'm afraid I can't let you leave here," Well... the barkeep was still alive, he'd copped out at the last minute because of some vague sentimentality...he'd likely just signed three death warrants with his stupidity... but for some reason... he felt that he honestly should just tell these two men what was going on. It was strange, almost as if something in his soul was urging him on, telling him that so long as he was willing to fight for them, he shouldn't be so quick to think of his family as done for, that Utopia and all those who fought in their name should be fearing a day of retribution if they harmed a single hair on any of them. Might as well just tell the damn truth.

Daddy's not a soldier, girls... he thought to himself absently. but he's about to become a wolf..."And I'll tell you both why... have you ever heard of a Group Called "Utopia"? They seem like a bunch of fucking terrorist from what I've been through so far..."

[K_H]

kenny spoke.

"We do have a Truce. I was waiting for you to get out of the Prison before i left. If we weren't together in a Truce, I wouldn't have waited for you."

Kenny paused for a second, then continued.

"As for where i was planning on taking her, I'm part of an Organization of other Awakened, the same one that Ace is in. Before our Truce, i was planning on taking her back to HQ. However, since we're in a Truce, I waited for you. This brings me to my next statement: What the Organization is trying to do."

Kenny paused again, then continued.

"The Organization that Ace and I are part of is trying to gain access to the Pillar that popped up about one year ago."

[Jory]

Lux... No, Photon, looked toward the stranger once more. He saw more than simple emotion in the man's eyes. He saw conflict, and ultimately hope. And that made Photon smile. However, upon hearing the name Utopia, his good mood immediately turned sour. "Yes, I've heard of them. They were in the files I was given, although I didn't have enough time to read all of them before we left for the mission." As such, he turned toward the Bartender. "But from what I do know, you're not far off. They're a supremacist group like the Ku Klux Klan, but instead of being racially oriented they believe the Awakened are the future of mankind. Bartender, can you shed any more light on them?" he asked the senior operative, Photon's lack of experience making him feel quite under the older man's command despite their actual ranks.

[Ragnar]

"That was... fast..."

"Yeah, i get that a lot." Ace said, boastful as ever. "Like i promise gramps..here she is, safe and sound" Ace said as he observes Lawrence's group, the speedster seems to baffled and can't decide how to settle this, It's peachy they got the girl out and all, but there's another dilemma...both sides want the pyromancer. Welp better call the boss.

"Excuse me one moment." Ace said to Lawrence as he steps away from group and contact his employer through his flip-phone. "Yo! mister sterling, its me Ace! we got the girl, and that's not all we got.. it seems the girl on fire has friends and is here now as we speak. come pick us up here at the forest so we can settle this as soon as possible."

Edited December 5, 2014 by typhlosionrulez

[Flux]

Arkhidon

"Do what you want. I can't- won't kill someone."

Hades sighed, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Look here kid, you already did. Now the sooner we get the last guy, the sooner we can leave. If we stop now, then what was the point of you killing them? We're here for their leader, and he's still here somewhere. And if you really don't want to kill anybody, then I'll do it. You just have to be a distraction so I can get close."
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Jory, Stratos

The Bartender frowned at the mention of Utopia.

"I do know a bit about them..." he started. "We had a conflict with them a while back, and I was involved in the battle. They started as a small group, people who weren't happy with the way the government was handling the Awakened. They took things to the extreme over time, slowly coming to believe that the Awakened were superior to ordinary humans, and that they should be the ones in charge. They began gaining members rapidly, taking whoever they could get, most of their members being those of us who have lost their conscience from their power. They're led by a man called Zweiss, according to... our boss." He was avoiding using Cedric's name in front of the other man. "I've never met him, but he's apparently pretty charismatic, and very powerful. They've become more active as of late, though nobody's really sure what their goals are besides dominating the human race." He stopped, giving Anver a glance. "Anyway, what about them?"

---------------------------------------------------------------

typhlosionrulez

Cedric responded after a few seconds.

"Friends you say? Where are you? I'll have Blue take me over."

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K_H, Snap Crackle Pop, King Murdoc

Beetle frowned. "What do you want with Rebecca? And how is this tied to the Pillar?"

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Hukuna

"The... explosion..." The man gasped between cries of pain. "It was... Cyrus... but he's... dead now... Please, make it stop!"

[Sutoratosu]

"When all this mess with the pillar started," Anver began. "I had to run for it, left my wife and my two girls behind, in order to protect them from... well, whatever was going on. I can't even remember how long ago it was, maybe a few months, maybe even a whole year But either way, I ran. About two days ago I found myself back in the New York area though, figured that while I was in the city again, I'd go try to check up on them. You know what I found?" he paused for a moment, eyes on the still growing crowd of intruders in the distance as he took another bottle of scotch and setting it on the counter beside the first one, the liquid in this one also mysteriously evaporated.

"What I found was that no one was home," He continued. "And a man calling himself Alistir waiting for me in my own kitchen. He said he was from Utopia, that they'd taken my family and they would kill them unless I cooperated with their orders..." he turned his attention directly to the Bartender. "They wanted me to come to this party and eliminate you. Took me for a drive into the woods somewhere, left me in a hunter's cabin to wait till tonight. They even gave me a mission file all about you." he reached into the jacket of his tux and pulled out a few folded documents, putting them on the counter and sliding them over to the Barkeep; they were the very same Mission Intel Reports that bastard Alistair had handed him yesterday.

"They said if I just did that, they would let my wife and kids go... and I was honestly intending to do it, to keep them safe, keep them alive. I even stayed up most of that night drafting plans and contingencies to do the work," He gave short, bitter chuckle next. "But look, here we stand now, and you're still alive. I couldn't bring myself to do it. My family's lives depended on this, on me being capable of pulling the trigger or starting the blaze when it came down to it... But I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to become that man, so ruthless to protect that he blazes a blind path and only causes more and more destruction and ends up alienating those he's fighting for... a man that my wife would've looked at in disgust and my daughters in fear... I couldn't bring myself to become the type of man who she wouldn't know as her husband or they as their father."

[Flux]

Stratos, Jory

The Bartender was silent for a time. He appeared to be thinking deeply about something, and when he finally looked back into Anver's eyes, there was sympathy and determination across his face.

"Listen..." he began, "I think that we may be able to help you. I'm inclined to believe your story. After all, if you were here to kill me, you probably would have done it by now." Unless Lux is the deciding factor... "I work for a large group of Awakened, perhaps large enough to even risk an infiltration on Utopia. If you can convince the boss, he may be willing to send in a group to attempt a rescue." He paused. "Of course, we would need to be guaranteed something in return for this risk, assuming that the boss agrees to it in the first place... These are our members lives that we would be risking."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"FIne, but one way to end pain is to snuff out that which lives." Viktor said. He placed his revolver against the man's temple, and depressed the trigger. "Now to find out what the hell is going on." Viktor tossed what was left of an Iron cross over his shoulder. He had spent most of it on holding the man in place, but he didn't need it anymore.

[Sutoratosu]

"What would it be?" Anver asked quickly, silently thanking that tiny nagging that had made him decide to talk to this man. "I was a CEO worthy of mention back before all this, made quite a few friends from working over the years... of course, given my situation recently, I don't have quite as many connections as I used to, but I still have enough scattered across the country and a couple overseas who are willing to associate with me... If you need something, anything, so long as it's legal, I can probably pull enough strings to get you it eventually."

[Flux]

Hukuna

Zeus and Poseidon could be seen in the distance, next to the fountain in the central gardens. There was a group of 6 hostiles closing in on them, but the duo did not move. Poseidon's chin was tilted up towards the sky, his eyes closed in concentration. Zeus simply watched him, a calm look on his face. The sky darkened as the hostiles closed the gap, the clouds in the sky being pulled together from the air itself, their whiteness darkening to nearly black as more and more moisture was pulled in. The air by the ground became dry and brittle as the moisture was pulled away, and the stars faded behind the now black sky. In a fraction of a second, a torrential downpour began, all the moisture that had been taken being released in rainfall. Zeus smiled, stepping in front of the exhausted Poseidon, who was now kneeling. Zeus stretched out an open palm, feeling the raindrops against his skin as electricity crackled between his fingers. In an instant, it spread across the air, linking from raindrop to raindrop, the chain lightning striking down those that rushed at the pair. The assailants fell to the ground, their clothes charred black from the heat that had passed through them. Zeus extended a hand, helping Poseidon back to his feet. The duo walked on, disappearing behind a crowd of citizens equally scared and awed.

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Stratos, Jory

"That might do the trick. You'll have to talk it out with the boss. For now, we should get out of here, though I doubt that will be easy with the events taking place outside."

Almost as if on cue, a downpour of rain began, blackening the skies with its clouds.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I see why you too would need the teamwork." Viktor said. "Much easier to carry the spark when someone else provides you with a conductor. Anyway, it was said a Man by the name of Cyrus started the explosion, but is apparently dead now. Do you know this man?" Viktor asked the Dynamic duo. He had caught up to them. It was easy to find them since they didn't bother hiding their flashy style. "Also, I think I should tag along, my abilities might not work as well as yours do together, but they have their uses."

[Sutoratosu]

"Agreed," Anver looked on as the storm gathered outside and a couple of bright flashes came in quick successions before stopping altogether. When it was done, he saw most of the intruders laying on the ground, motionless. Whatever had happened... it probably wasn't a good idea to go and look.

"Aut Inveniam viam aut faciam," he said, turning back to Lux and the Barkeeper. "whoever just took out the whole crowd, they're likely to still be out there, and I'm not very eager to meet them." He looked around at the large room, his mind working furiously. finally it came to him. "We need to get to an outer room," he said quickly, hopping from behind the bar, making sure to snatch one of the bottles of vaporized scotch. "By outer, i mean a room that on at least one wall is not bordered by another room, IE, one that on the other side of is nothing but the Estate grounds." he looked specifically at the bartender. "If we can find one, which shouldn't be too hard considering that they'll likely have windows, then The two of us can freeze the wall in question solid and then break through it and get out of here undetected... or just break a window, whichever is needed. Of course, I assume you two do have some sort of transport planned for tonight, seeing as you obviously work for the same group and were both sent here.

[Jory]

Lux nodded to the Bartender. Just like his file says. An incredible negotiator who's able to empathize with any Awakened. He then nodded to Anver, extending his hand. "Well, as long as we're partnering up I might as well introduce myself. I'm Photon, and I suppose you could say I'm the field commander of this operation," he said calmly. "My partner's upstairs. Give me a moment." He turned away and lifted his arm up, speaking into his wristwatch. "Bev, it's time to go. Rendevous with us at the servants' exit. Photon out," he said quickly. "She should be on her way to the extraction point. Once we all get there, we'll have more time to chat. Let's go," he said to the two older men. He began to walk briskly to the other end of the bar, pushing through a door with a now-damaged sign that saying No Entry. The door led to a kitchen. However, in the panic most of the staff had left the room. He proceeded to walk through the area and out another door that led to a small dining room. He took a quick right turn and entered a smaller door that led to a narrow passageway lined with rooms on either side. He hung the first left and hustled toward the door at the end, waiting for the other two to catch up.

He then lifted his arm again, speaking into his watch. "Bev, we're at the extraction point. Get here!" he said hurriedly. He then pulled a flip phone out of a pocket on the left inside pocket of his suit jacket, pressing the first speed dial. "Mr. Sterling, it's Photon. We're at the extraction point waiting for Bev. Have Blue on standby."

[Ragnar]

"Friends you say? Where are you? I'll have Blue take me over."

"Yeah, 'unique' friends, we're here at the woods not far from the prison, you can't miss it. we'll be waiting." Ace said through the phone.

[Flux]

Hukuna

"Cyrus..." Poseidon started. "He is confirmed to be deceased. I killed him directly after the explosion." Zeus nodded in confirmation. "Feel free to tag along. I have a feeling that the party's nearly over..."

Just as Zeus had finished speaking, the world went dark in the front courtyard. It was as if all light had been sucked away, leaving the courtyard so dark that one could not even see their own hands. There was instant panic, civilians screaming and the sound of rushing people frantically trying to escape the darkness. There was a crackle of electricity from Zeus' direction, but the spark cast no light into the darkness. Laughter could be heard echoing around the place.

"Ah, more fun for me! How beautiful the darkness is!"

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typhlosionrulez

There was another pause on Cedric's end before he replied.

"Give me a minute. I'll be right over,"

(((Just waiting on a response from Kenny for the other group)))