Futuristic a wicked game

[partially-stars]

the golden age of superheroes is over. for a time, the heroes were idolised. the police service was grateful for their assistance. the world saw them as a gift. not a curse. villains rose in response to the heroes, the people cast aside or who desired chaos for some other reason. they fought their battles in the city, and the city let them for a while. but eventually, questions began to be murmured. and then shouted. who are these superheroes? where did they come from? why should they be allowed to cause destruction and the city and its citizens be forced to foot the bill? why are the police service too incompetent to find who the villains are? a quiet resentment grows. and then a quiet resistance grows. somebody who has a talent for finding out secrets. they find out the secrets that the heroes fought to keep buried. they find out the secrets that made the villains who they are. these are the secrets, the knowledge, that could expose them all and ruin everything. for those who don't care about their identity, they still know all of their dirty secrets. the things that, at best, would ruin their personal lives if exposed, and that at worst, would forever ruin public opinion of heroes.

and instead, they use it to bring them to their knees. unless they cease all public activity immediately, their secrets will be leaked, along with their identities, their weaknesses, everything about them that could destroy them. the heroes and the villains work independently to try and find out who is behind it, but their attempts fail. two brave, foolish heroes have their identities exposed and are found dead. a villain is exposed and disappears a few days later. eventually, they both realise that the only way they can ever hope to overcome this... is to work together to try and take them down. a temporary truce is called and they meet in a neutral ground. But these people have been actively trying to tear each other apart for as long as they can remember. Will they succeed? Or will their differences be the downfall of them all?

 

[partially-stars]

cerys day. 857c78. outfit.​

In a city where heroes and villains both roamed the streets freely, people tended not to stay out too late after dark. At least, not alone, and if you had to go out, you stuck to the busy streets where you were less likely to get caught up in something unpleasant. Ever since the heroes and the villains had all but gone into hiding, things had only gotten worse. Sure, the villains weren’t carrying out great heists or plans, but the heroes also weren’t swooping in to stop the muggers. Barden had always been a messy city, but it had only gotten messier.

Cerys was an exception to the rule. If she wasn’t on patrol as one of the few active heroes left, she was playing shows. She knew the streets weren’t safe, but she still found herself walking home in the dark all too often. She didn’t really have a reason to be afraid, though; anyone who would try attacking her would find themself biting off more than they could chew pretty quickly. It was a fifty-fifty chance as to whether or not she had her bow on her, and she almost definitely had a knife hidden somewhere on her. Just in case.

But the night of their meeting, they weren’t taking any chances. They were in full hero gear, their hood pulled low over their face and a simple black mask pulled over the lower half of their face. Their bow was strapped to their back as they moved through the city, a knife tucked into the top of each boot for easy access. Anyone who spotted them as they walked quickly dropped their gaze and stayed going. Cerys was okay with that. They needed to feel like they were somewhat intimidating heading into this meeting. They’d talked it over with Dhani, and neither of them were confident that it wasn’t a set up. But the slightest chance that it might have been an opportunity to figure things out, to finally get answers, was enough for them to take the chance.

The location wasn’t exactly the classiest of establishments, and if anything, was a tad stereotypical. An abandoned warehouse really just made the whole thing feel even more shady. But then again, if whoever was behind this knew all of their secrets, they were also powerful enough to get to all of them without having to lure them somewhere as shady as this. Still, Cerys wasn’t dumb enough to just walk in. She was a few minutes early; the perfect chance to monitor the place then. She found herself a good hiding spot; out of sight, in the shadows, but with enough room for her to shoot, and set herself up there, her bow already in her hands.

 

[Maci-Care]

/ luciana morrison / ed2939 / outfit /​

Strolling at night was one of Luciana’s favorite hobbies to do, next to watching the Bachelor and doing crime. It was peaceful, relaxing, and most importantly, the easiest way to get away with doing not so legal things. People were more tired after a long day, things looked less out of place in the shadows, and there were just less eyes around. But that was all before the anti-hero and anti-mutant protests started, and before both hero and villain went missing and found dead days or weeks later. More and more propaganda came out about “curing the city” and ridding it of its powered populace. All of this just annoyed Luciana, she already had to deal with egoistical white-knight heroes trying to save the day, and now this. Even a close acquaintance, Legion, went missing a few days ago. All of these things should’ve stopped or scared her off, but not many things could stop Red Witch.

Shortly after finishing her make up and shouting out to her roommate, Atticus, that she was heading out, Luciana snuck through the streets of Barden towards the meet up point. She recalled the conversation she had with the two villains she actually communicated on a daily basis a few hours prior. What was this meeting? Who would be there? Why was it set up? Is it a trap? Etc. etc. Lucy ended the conversation saying she would be going regardless, she had enough of all the messages being spread across the city, and if this was a trap, she wasn’t scared and could handle herself. And that if Atticus didn’t have any of his visions, then she has nothing to worry about.

Luciana hadn’t been in Barden too long, but she already knew all the best short cuts and hidden routes to get from one side of the city to the other without drawing unwanted attention to herself. It also helped she put off an aura that made most people feel uneasy and avoid her if they did somehow notice her. Lucy still kept her head hung low to avoid eye contact with any passerby’s as she got closer to the warehouse that the cryptic letter told her to keep at. She paused for a second when she felt her phone vibrate and stepped to the side to see what was up, but just smirking for a moment before typing out a reply. 'Knew you couldn’t keep your curiosity at bay.' She hit sent before quickly ducking through a subway station that was about a block away that she knew had a maintenance hatch that would exit close to the warehouse.

When Red Witch got to the end of the maintenance passage way, she donned her mask over her mouth and nose and checked her make up in her phone, making sure she wasn’t easily recognized. She made her way out of the maintenance hatch and quickly through the last alley way to the warehouse, quickly pulling her knife out off her hip and cutting her hand and fore arm, in preparation for a possible fight. Luciana took a deep breathe before stepping through the warehouse doors.

After looking around a bit and seeing no one in site, Red Witch would be lying if she said she wasn’t a bit annoyed that no one was here. Well, no one out in the open, she had a feeling there had to be a few peeping eyes in the shadows. But she knew they were either too scared to come out, or just waiting for someone to spring the trip. And Luciana wasn’t going to be here all night.

“Well, y’all just going to sit in the dark like cowards, or are we going to do something!?” Red Witch shouted out, raising her arms out as she strolled through the middle of the warehouse, leaving a dripping blood trail from here she entered and then spun around announcing her presence. And as she had her back turned she finally heard another person make themselves known. When the villain turned back around to see who it was, a smirk crept across her lips, which could only barely be seen through the edges of her mask and in her eyes. “Oh, this is already more fun than I expected...” Red Witch said as a smirk came across her lips, only the edges of it being seen through the edges of her mask.

 

[phosphene]

D H A N I BATRA | P A L A D I N | B85C9E | FIT | VIBES​

Dhani had never been one to shy away from danger. Whether it was being a hero, helping a friend, or something in between- he wasn’t scared. He could stand to learn a little fear, but it wasn’t something he was likely to learn any time soon. The streets of the city may have been dangerous, but Dhani was dangerous too. Uninterested in hurting anyone, maybe, but dangerous if only for his willingness to fight and ability to take a hit.

He didn’t like the sound of this meeting, and so he made sure the dark gray cowl he wore was over his head properly before he got anywhere near the place. He and Cerys had a lengthy conversation about the merits of both attending and ignoring the invitation. It was too valuable an opportunity to ignore, in the end. He got to the warehouse plenty early, staked it out a bit. He didn’t like it, any of it, and was more than happy to find a spot to lay low and observe. That wasn’t his strong suit, though- he was the run in and get shit done type. Regardless of that, however, the reminder that this could very well be a trap was in the back of his mind.

And Red Witch showed up. He was about as fond of her as any other villain, but he wasn’t overly interested in a fight if one didn’t have to happen. He might enjoy fighting (loved it, even, there was nothing like it), but he was hoping for something different out of the evening. He could handle her, if it did come to blows, but something in him was just hoping the promise of this being a meeting meant she was going to be reasonable for once.

It was too much to hope for, he knew, but he still stepped out of the shadows to meet her.

“I assume,” He didn’t always recognize his own voice in ’hero mode,’ he spoke a little deeper, sounded a little more commanding, a little less… Like himself. “We’re here for the same reason.” He meant the meeting, immediately felt like he should have clarified but he’d already moved on, “There’s no need for all of this.” He gestured to the blood dripping all over the ground, knew that The Red Witch would use it to her advantage the first chance she got. Cerys was here, he knew she was, so he hoped she had a good shot lined up because he knew this wasn’t going to go how he wanted it to.

---

P I P E R YOUNG | A B O L E T H | 3E7A4E | FIT | VIBES​

Piper’s days were full, always. She started with coffee, and (when he was working) flirting with her favorite barista, tipping 200%, all the things that made her popular at her favorite coffee shop. After that, usually, she moved on to finding gullible older men to scam out of money. It was easy, usually. Lure them in with beauty, keep them interested enough to look into her eyes, and then she has them. Most men are willing to believe anything, especially that a pretty young woman likes him, and in the end she tells him to forget all about her. It’s easy, it’s perfect, it keeps her in a nice apartment.

Nights are a little more complicated. Piper likes pretty things. She likes to look at them, own them, wear them, steal them, sell them to the highest bidder. She was smart, stayed on her guard. So she initially wasn’t going to go to the mysterious meeting, and only decided to because Lucy was going to be there. Red Witch was going to need some backup if things went wrong, and though Piper wasn’t most equipped for combat, well… She had her powers, and could usually make a minion out of some unwitting dummy.

So she put on her suit, fastened her mask (she’d had it designed to emphasize her eyes, make you want to look into them. She thought it was genius), put her hair up and out of her face, and went on her way.

She knew all the shadiest parts of town well, it was muscle memory to get to the abandoned warehouse. She thought she’d used it for a deal at some point. She was nervous, uninterested in whatever was going to happen once she set foot inside. But it was easy enough to slip in and disappear into the darkness. Of course, Lucy was making a spectacle. And, of course, the resident “good guy” boy scout type, Paladin, stepped up to her challenge. Piper didn’t know if he was stupid or brave. They were the same thing at the end of the day, really. She was happy hiding among boxes and shadows, wasn’t planning on coming out any time soon.

 

[partially-stars]

atticus hawkins. #88c878. outfit.​

Atticus had many things he wanted to do with his evening. None of them involved standing in a room full of supers who all could, and probably would, kill him before he even had his knife drawn. So, he'd told Lucy that he wasn't going. This didn't involve him. It was easy for him to disappear. Sure, he'd miss the free Taco Bell and theatre tickets and all of the perks that Icarus earned him. But he valued his life far more than he valued any of those, so he was planning on just... disappearing. The visions wouldn't go away but they could just become an annoying inconvenience again. The whole reason he'd ran away was for a peaceful life, a normal life, and maybe now he'd finally get it.

So he'd sprawled himself across the couch, his laptop on his lap. He was putting together another film project, he had plenty of work to do on that. Emails to respond to, auditions to review, a script to be refining. He'd gotten as far as the last email when it happened. He could feel the beginnings of a vision coming on like a migraine, but could do little about it other than move his laptop to the coffee table so it wouldn't fall from his lap while he was out. He was expecting another run of the mill vision. He wasn't quite so lucky.

He was trapped, he was in a cage. He couldn't get out. He didn't even have the room to try and break it. Every part of his body was aching, burning. When he moved to try and rattle the door again and plead for help, for mercy, his wrists were raw from the bindings. His own voice echoed back at him as he screamed. And then a shadow appeared at the door, and he braced himself. Not for freedom, but for more pain.

He snapped back to reality, his heart pounding. Ignoring how the room swam when he stood up and how his bones still ached with a phantom pain from the vision, he headed for his bedroom. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but he knew that the person in the cage had been a hero. And he didn't care much for heroes; they all tended to be rather up themselves with a simplistic view of the world. But nobody deserved to endure that. Not even heroes. He wouldn't tell Lucy that, though. She'd say it was what they deserved. But he texted her anyway to tell her that he was en route after all.

Lucy had insisted he got a mask for doing his deals, and as time had gone on, he'd begrudgingly admitted that it was a good idea. He retrieved it from the bottom of the drawer he had it stashed in, and shoved it in the pocket of his coat. In the other pocket went knives. He still had a gun stashed under his bed, but he faltered before retrieving it. Even if he wasn't sticking to the peaceful life he'd wanted, he was holding back on going the full way back to his old ways. Just knives it was.

He pulled on his mask as he reached the meeting point, knowing that there were likely to be observers in the shadows. Not that he feared them; rather that he didn't want to give his identity away until he better knew if those shadows were friend or foe. He was fully intending on sticking to those shadows himself; but he could hear voices as he reached the warehouse, one of them being Lucy's. He sighed. He better intervene, make sure she didn't do anything too reckless. He strode out in the open, heading for Lucy. "As long as that reason isn't to destroy us, hero," he said. "I'm sure we can play nicely. Although you'll forgive us for wanting to make sure that we're not left... vulnerable," he said, standing slightly behind Lucy and looking at the hero.

cerys day. 857c78. outfit.​

Cerys had silently notched an arrow when somebody walked in. Of course the first person there had to be Red Witch, of all people. She'd had a vendetta against Cerys ever since they'd stuck an arrow in their shoulder a few months back, but hadn't managed to land a blow on them yet. Red Witch turned her back on Cerys, giving them almost the perfect shot to stick an arrow in her other shoulder. They knew that it was a bad idea. Opening a meeting like this with aggression wasn't going to do anyone any favours. But oh, if Cerys got this opportunity again, they wouldn't be wasting it. They didn't even want to do it to hurt her, they just thought it would be too satisfying and frustrating for the villain not to do it.

But Cerys' motivations rapidly switched as Dhani walked in and Red Witch turned her attention on him. They drew their bow fully, shifting their aim. If Red Witch attacked Dhani, then their goal was no longer to annoy her. It was to try and weaken her while giving her as little blood as possible to work with. Cerys shifted their position slightly to give them better aim. And then another figure appeared in the mix; somebody that Cerys didn't recognise. He wasn't wearing a super suit either, which immediately made Cerys more suspicious. When he spoke, it was calmly, almost too calm for this type of scenario. Dhani was outnumbered now.

"You'll forgive us for doing the same," they said, taking a few steps out from the shadows but keeping their aim squared firmly on Red Witch. "Better make sure this isn't some set up to get us all killed, right?" They said, raising an eyebrow slightly. The way the man stood behind Red Witch was unusual; it was almost as though he was relying on her to protect him. When he spotted Cerys, his positioning shifted slightly, taking a step or two back and reaching for something in his pocket. The atmosphere was tense, tense enough that Cerys knew one wrong move would be likely to set the whole thing off. They stood perfectly still, keeping the tension on their bow steady and even, ready to release at the moment that it did all break.

 

[Maci-Care]

/ darius jori / add8e6 / outfit /​

Darius hung up the apartment key and tossed his phone on the counter before pulling out the cash he made today and counted his tips as he made his way to his room. Today was a good day when it came to working his day job, especially when the blonde cutie, Piper, stopped by for coffee and conversation. He wasn’t sure if it was his charm or that he made her a salted caramel macchiato with one extra shot and double drizzle by the time she came to the counter that influenced her generosity, but he didn’t mind. Though seeing his favorite customer was usually the highlight of his day, the recent news and plans tonight were on his mind all day.


With all the craziness going on, Darius was not amused. He’s heard just about all the rumors and talks about super powered beings going missing. It started with villains so he didn’t care too much, someone else finally knew they had to do some actual dirty work and was actually interested in meeting this person or people, but when a few heroes ended up going missing he knew something was up. When the talks of a meeting started, Darius was reluctant to get involved, always rather do things on his own and in his own way, thought after doing a bit of his own research about all that was going on, he knew he had to swallow that bit of pride even for a moment and at least try it. At that point if it does end badly, he could always say he told them so and continue working on his own.

Shatter wore a heavier coat over his outfit that he would just toss aside when he got to the warehouse, and kept his mask tucked inside the side pocket as he walked through the streets as to not advertise who he was. He didn’t carry any true weapons with him, just a few pieces of glass. With his powers he didn’t need weapons as glass was easily accessible at most locations as well as always carrying at least one shard of glass on him or small handful of glass dust.

As Shatter got closer, movement in some alleys caught his eyes, as well as on a rooftop, but he couldn’t be sure if he was just seeing things or not. He stepped into an apartment building for a moment to slip his mask on and discard the heavier jacket, he took the rest of the way through side buildings and unlit roads to stay out of sight, sticking to the shadows. His gut had a turning feeling in it, something telling him to leave, but he was too close now.

After spotting a slightly opened garage door, Darius slipped into the warehouse and stuck close to his entrance in case he needed a quick exit and waited. He knew better to be the first one to make himself known, not knowing who or what was waiting for him. But he didn’t have to worry about that for too long, someone had made themself known.

Red Witch. Of all the villains, she was not only the villain he expected to show up for “peaceful” talks; also one of the villains he despised the most. Evil, crazy, and much worse adjectives he could use to describe her. She strutted out with a dark aura, blood dripping down her arms, ready for a fight it seemed. Shatter was about to make himself known and confront the villain, peacefully or with violence, but Paladin, trying to be the hero from any children’s comic, stepped out to confront the bloody villain. Shatter was curious how this would lead to, as another villain made him known, Icarus, and then his own ex showed up. Artemis. Probably the only other person besides Red Witch that he didn’t want to be here. Though now the two heroes were on both sides of the villains, as he watched from the opposite side of the room, he could tell things could get out of hand fast. Red Witch bloody and ready to strike, Artemis bow loaded, and Icarus seeming to reach for something. Now was the time to intervene.

“Stand down.” Shatter exclaimed, stepping out of the room he was observing from walking from behind the villain, his words directed at them. “Might want to listen to Paladin. You don’t want to fight. We’re in the open, and there’s three of us and only two of you.” He began talking. “And I doubt they would set us up like this Art. The witch wouldn’t step out so openly.” He continued, not taking his eyes off of Red Witch.

Shatter squinted his eyes and glared at the female villain, annoyed at her attempt at an insult. He quickly dropped some glass to the floor. “Stop right there Red.” He demanded as she took a step towards him. When she told him to try to stop her and called him a name like he insulted Artemis he quickly shot a piece of glass by her head. “That was a warning. No need to make this messy.” Actually surprised for a moment when she stopped. But it didn’t last long, and things went south quickly.

/ luciana morrison / ed2939 / outfit /​

Luciana let out a giggle when Paladin began to talk; always one to ask questions first and try to resolve things with his words rather than his fists, though what else do you expect from a man who heals more than he hurts. “You know, assuming, only makes an ass out of you.” She commented before hearing a familiar voice approach from behind, Icarus. Though she put on a fake pout face when he mentioned playing nicely, which would be a bit boring. Granted, she knew they came here to have a discussion, but she hadn’t agreed to anything yet. Plus it’s always fun to tease the heroes, especially when she knows they want to have peaceful discussions and will probably hold back and get frustrated easily.

But as Luciana was keeping her attention towards Dhani, another voice echoed from behind her, and a quick glance over confirmed who it was. Artemis. With a bow and arrow ready to fire, aimed at her and not Icarus. Red Witch didn’t turn her body towards them, just rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Paladin, knowing Icarus had her back, and not wanting to give the almost super hero her attention. She gathered a bit more blood into the palm of her hand, enough to form a weapon to strike with, or even a small wall to block or minimize an attack if needed. Luciana was actually going through possible scenarios in her head to attack, knowing while they might be surrounded, back to back, she knew somewhere in the shadows was some back up, Aboleth. Even though Red Witch and Icarus could handle them, an extra body helped.

Red Witch was about to make a move when a third voice entered the fray, this time, pulling more of Luciana's attention than Artemis, one she’s had more than a few run-ins with and probably had the most “fun” messing with. Shatter. The hero with the power of glass. He told, or rather demanded, them to stand down, which just annoyed Red Witch. And even annoyed her when he said they don’t want to have this fight even mocking Red Witch’s approach in the warehouse.

“God, you’re just as insufferable as your hero buddy here. But yeah, three of you, two of us. Sounds like an easy fight especially when one of you three is just a member of the neighborhood watch who found a bow.” Red Witch spoke, mocking the heroes, but taking her eyes off of Shatter, even taking a step towards him, which he quickly told her to stop. “Why don’t you try to stop me window repairman.” Luciana took another step but was met with a shard of glass grazing her hair of ear, this actually stopping her. She slowly raised her hand to her ear and felt the drip of blood, a giggle coming out of her lips when Shatter said that was a warning. “You know what, consider your warning heard.” Luciana said, raising her arms up slowly, as if surrendering. “But I like messy.” She swiped her forearms together as she quickly dropped them, creating her own “shards” out of blood that could cut just as good and sending them at Shatter. She then quickly rolled towards Paladin and splashing blood up as a distraction and swiping two knives at him, which she pulled out of their clips when she rolled towards him.