Realistic or Modern Weirdos- Supers without Spandex

[WeaselThor]

New York City, Manhattan island, 8:39pm.
???
A long limousine cruising down Main Street normally wouldn’t stand out very much, plenty of rich people travel in such ways, however in this case plenty of attention was on the car wether notable or not. Several small quad copter drones created a parameter of nearly a city block, small cameras keeping eyes on what would be blind spots. The limo itself was heavily armored, likely only rivaled by the presidents limo known as “the beast”. As if all that was not enough, inside of this fancy stretched out tank Sat four armed agents, their weapons and equipment looking alien by dent of how advanced they actually were. The Woman sitting in the seat between the two agents however was by far the most dangerous of the entourage. Being a politician with deep ties to the Hidden Kabal a single word from this woman could level a town. Yet despite having a speech less than two hours ago, one that went swimmingly mind you, this woman was very clearly not happy.

“How…How in the bloody hell was he there. He was supposed to be out of my hair, now he is back and worse he seems to know who I am…which again I ask HOW.” The Agents on either side of her said nothing instead looking out the windows, the other two made a point to refrain from looking up from the tablets in their laps. They were monitoring the footage of the drones, yet a voice from the monitor opposite of the woman did not seem anywhere near as concerned. “Relax Minerva…First off, if that actually was him that doesn’t mean it’s a problem, he didn’t attack you did he? So obviously he doesn’t know who you are yet. If you go tearing up the town looking for that scumbag all your gonna do is draw attention…besides we already have our solution right? How much longer til your out of the city?” When the voices finished Minerva shifted her eyes to one of the agents who promptly looked at his watch… “We’ve got about a half hour left until we cross the bridge ma’am.” The agent said quickly before resuming his window watching. “See Minerva…everything is in place and if HE is actually here, he will get caught up in the snare as well and we can get two birds with one stone…Speaking of which, your sure there is a back door here right? We’re looking at nearly a trillion in expenditures here. I don’t want it to be a bust.” The woman finally sighed seeming to give up on her anger. “Of course I’m sure Hugh, I extracted the info myself.” she seemed to think to herself for a bit almost missing the reply. “Alright, wonderful then. You have until 9:30 to vacate the perimeter, We’re dropping the snare.” With a huff the woman fell silent, the monitor turned off and the car continued its route towards the Brooklyn bridge.
~~~
Axel Chillies

Axel reread the hastily scrawled note on the napkin which was near the point of deteriorating. The handwriting would’ve been hard to read if it weren’t his own and for a brief moment he felt like a fool. Sure Jersey wasn’t that far from Manhattan but still here he was in a whole other city looking for a stranger he had never seen before to have a meeting that was thrust upon him from an anonymous internet pop-up. He would’ve called himself crazy if not for the circumstances surrounding the odd message. The one who sent it seemed to know who he was, and they offered him something he had been wanting for eleven years now. “Come and meet me in Central Park near the big rock at 9:30pm on Thursday and I’ll tell you why you woke up in Haiti.” He began to once again feel stupid as he read the message for the third time in a row. “Pretty sure I’m about to walk into some sort of scam or trap…” he muttered to himself. Before remembering where he was and apologizing to the cute waitress who was patiently staring at him with a look of concern. “Oh man I’m sorry, I blanked out there…if you have any Dos Equis I’ll have one of those and…A Plain Cheese pizza with extra sauce please.” he punctuated the sentence with a smile as he handed the menu back and settled in his booth. “A little under an hour left…might as well enjoy it.” he said as he gazed out the floor to ceiling windows at the park, he couldn’t quite understand why, but even though he was 90% sure he was about to be in danger, all he felt was calm…but was it the calm before the storm? Only time would tell.
​

 

[Elenion Aura]

Raphael

The Vampire

location

Midtown, Manhattan

tags

N/A

Night fell. Fitfully.

He’d been in town only a few nights and already he’d decided this much: New York was a thoroughly grotesque city. And if that weren’t enough, its inherent ugliness was only enhanced under the cover of darkness, as the light of the wretched sun gave way to gauche, tantalizing neon. Finally, Raph thought. A city as depraved as he was. He was going to like it here. Better than the last place he’d haunted, at least. Hell, anywhere was better than that. Just like that place had been better than the one before it… And on, and on.

Raphael stalked the crowded streets and busy sidewalks, head high, expression smug, his face reflecting the shimmering hues and bright flashes respectively cast by the string of nightclubs on his left, and frenetic cars whizzing by on his right. He walked like he owned the whole joint, like he was the only wolf in a world teeming with sheep!

… But that wasn’t exactly true. Not anymore. Not that it had ever truly been. The only difference now was this: the sheep knew they were being hunted and they, understandably, did not seem to like it very much. Which… Fine. Fair enough. But ever since the news officially broke—Metahumans Live Among Us—Raph had begun to notice lingering gazes from passers-by that seemed to linger just a little too long for comfort. He knew he had left his Scarlet Letter at home but still, some paranoid part of his dead brain wouldn’t stop screaming, They Know, They Know, They See You, RUN!

Raph suddenly took a sharp nose-dive down a darkened alleyway, leaving the raunchy cacophony of the Thursday night party crowds behind. Conventional wisdom would have advised against this detour—as, for most people, dark alleys late at night were to be avoided. But… No one ever said Raphael Shaw was ordinary. Nobody alive, anyway. And besides, this was the quickest route to where he was headed.

code by @Nano

 

[Synthetic]

A fellow in a cheap-looking sweater and jeans, and even cheaper-looking worn sneakers was standing in a fairly long line, waiting with his hands in his pockets. Based on the other people in front of and behind him, and the direction they were facing, they were evidently waiting to be served at a food stall up ahead. He sighed as he leaned to the side, looking up ahead towards the front of the line, then slumping back a little as he continued waiting. "Why did it have to be New York City?"

He pulled out his cell phone. 2039, 9th of September, 2021 was pasted on the screen. He pressed his right thumb over a button. The thing buzzed. He sighed and tried again. It buzzed again. He sighed even more and tried again. It buzzed again, and a message appeared on the screen. 'Too many attempts. UPhone is locked until a passcode is entered.' He groaned and pocketed the phone. "Ugh, who cares then."

The people in front of him stepped forwards and he begrudgingly followed along. Then he continued to stand in place, waiting. His stomach grumbled. He pulled his phone out again and turned the screen on. The same message was pasted across the screen. "Fine, whatever." He pressed a button and painstakingly pressed down on a series of symbols. At last, the phone unlocked. He navigated over to an app that looked like a letter and scrolled around, then opened up a message.

To User 'Seeker',

Thank you for reaching out!

I'm sorry to say that what you're asking for is a bit too in-depth for me to type out in a forum response! I'm pretty busy after all.

However, if you would like, we can discuss the topic for an hour or two in person. I live in New York City right around Central Park, so if you could meet me near the big rock at around 9:30 pm on the 9th, that would be wonderful.

I hope to see you soon,
- 'Teller'

He gave the message a cursory glance, then closed the app, turned the screen off, and pocketed his phone again. "At least the hotel was nice." he mumbled, taking another deep sigh.

...

Gyro in hand, the fellow stumbled along through the crowded sidewalks, off towards the park. He pulled his phone out and turned the screen on. 2059, 9th of September, 2021 was pasted on the screen. He turned the screen off again and pocketed it once more. He looked up at some of the signs on the poles around an upcoming intersection. His eyes fixated on one of them, labeled 'Central Park Ave'. "There..." he mumbled, casually following along with the crowd as he made his way over. After a few seconds of bumping into people and protecting his precious food, he stopped at the intersection. He unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite, staring straight towards the crosswalk indicator on the other side of the street. His expression didn't change as he chewed and wrapped the food back up.

After the odd chirping noise started, he reluctantly rushed over to the other side with the other pedestrians, then veered off of the sidewalk onto a path, heading in to the park. He only walked a few dozen feet before lazily depositing himself on a bench. He relaxed, sprawling himself out on the thing like a melting mannequin. He stayed like that for several seconds, then reluctantly unwrapped the gyro, brought it to his face, and nibbled on it. "Finally." He mumbled, staring off at a branch of a nearby tree, his mouth partially filled with food, "People here are too fast." He then looked around and pulled his hood over his head with his free hand, and leaned forwards on the bench. "Wonder if I could take a quick nap...guess I should set an alarm first, huh..."

 

[RikuXIII]

The back door to a greasy spoon diner slammed back, revealing Stephanie Chen. She was in a fowl mood as Chad had once again skipped out on his shift, forcing Steph to pull a double shift. She had wanted to tell the manager to eff off, but that wasn't in character. Despite her plans tonight, she was now according to her internal timeline, late. She pulled her vape pen from inside her purse and pushed the button 5 times to activate it. It was an unfortunate habit she had developed, but considering she managed to avoid getting hooked on more illicit narcotics and drank sparingly, she counted herself lucky. Taking a long drag from the pen, Steph let her mind refocus on what actually mattered. She felt the phone in her purse buzz, but ignored it. Steph wasn't taking calls. As she walked down the alley way, she pulled off a New York Yankee's beanie and took off the pair of thick frame glasses. Finally, she pulled off the patch she wore over her right eye, revealing a pale blue eye that looked like it had nearly been bisected by a scar running down her face. It was quite striking compared to her left eye, which was a dark brown to be almost black. It was a noticeable detail that she didn't want people to associate with Stephanie Chen. If anyone went looking for Steph, it was better if that didn't lead them to Helena Koyl.
Helena had been in Manhattan for a month looking to track down a local Underworld Chapter. Steph Chen had been the identity she used to blend in while she looked. Up until tonight, it had been an encumbering front. And on any other night, it wouldn't have been a problem working a double shift. But ever since one of her contacts gave her a time and place for a meeting, she didn't have much patience for keeping up appearances. Helena checked her watch again, showing 8:42 PM. She had hoped to have hours to scope out Central Park to make sure there were no nasty surprises. Now, she would have to make due with the 48 minutes she had before the 9:30 meeting time.
Pulling on a fresh beanie from her backpack, where she stowed the elements of Steph's disguise, and put it on. A little stylized fox was the only splash of color on the black beanie. She was going to be sorry when she would have to leave this one behind to prevent it from being too recognizable if the Kabal came actively looking for her again. One final puff on the vape pen saw it deactivated and put away as well. It was time for work. If she was lucky, she would be one step closer to the Underworld. If not, she may have to use that big rock at the meeting place for very violent purposes.​

 

[Abyss]

Merrit Anderson

The Dragon

He walked a few blocks for the sake of it, the cool night air and the feeling of solid pavement beneath his feet helped him feel more grounded in the moment. The itching foot, his parents had called it. Merrit wasn't sure if the phenomena was something that had been born into him or had come later with experience, having spent most of his life being moved from place to place. Either way, he wasn't getting any sleep tonight. The empty pack of cigarettes on his nightstand had beckoned him to go outside with an excuse to roam which he couldn't resist.

A couple of fresh packs in his pocket, Merrit wandered down the street until he found a place to rest, propping himself up against an older brick building covered in far more than it's fair share of graffiti. A purple octopus playing the drums was still visible under the street-light. The absurdity of it brought a smile to his face. If spray paint had been his preferred medium, he'd likely have come back later to add to the wall. Perhaps the octopus artist would consider a giraffe with a saxophone a worthy addition to the band.

Putting the thoughts of animal-graffiti aside, he leaned his head back on the brick wall, head tilted up to the sky with his eyes closed. The city had it's perks, but a beautiful starlit sky wasn't one of them. Still, there was comfort to be had at night, with less people around and no one concerned about one more figure taking up space on the street.

With the grace of habit, Merrit pulled out the fresh pack of smokes and a beat up lighter that may or may not have originally belonged to one of his roommates. He rolled the pad of his thumb across the wheel, striking up a quick flame that flickered and died. His eyebrow raised at the sight, equal parts amused and exasperated with his luck tonight. It seemed to be running short lately—threatening to become a trend.

Instead of getting back up and heading to the store, Merrit pocketed the empty lighter and gave his surroundings a quick scan. A woman rushing out from a diner, a couple walking together on the opposite side of the street. The nightlife in this area wasn't particularly abundant, so most people passing through had better places to be. The only thing he might have to worry about was the scurry of something further down the alley that might have been a street cat or one of New York's famously large rats.

Not the kind of rat I'm worried about, at least.

He leaned forward and cupped his hands around the cigarette, summoning a familiar warmth to the palm of his hands. An orange glow emanated from his skin, not on fire exactly, but hot enough to serve as a substitute to the empty BIC. The light illuminated his face, revealing the dark circles under his eyes from six-months lack of sleep. Metahumans. A word straight out of a comic book and something he'd never thought he'd see on the headlines of every website, news channel, and political campaign out there. The hot topic of seemingly every conversation, not to mention how it dominated his own train of thoughts as well. It was one thing to know that you were different, it was another thing entirely to find out that there were others like you around the globe. Merrit took a deep drag, held it and let the warmth of the smoke seep into his body.

For whatever it was worth, the so-called professionals didn't appear to be making much progress getting the answers either. It was probably a good thing for Merrit, but truth be told a small, almost guilty part of him had been hoping for some sort of useful information to come up from having everything out in the open. Ever since the reveal it had felt like an invisible clock had started ticking in the background of his life and he was waiting for the buzzer to go off.

He exhaled, laughing under his breath. Watching as a plume of smoke escaped into the night air.

location info

mood: uncertain

outfit info

N?A

coded by natasha.

 

[Elenion Aura]

Raphael

The Vampire

location

A Nondescript Alleyway

tags

Abyss

Raphael had received a letter. Which would've been alarming all on its own because he didn't have any friends or relatives—at least none who'd go to the trouble of sending him a postcard—never mind the fact that the contents of said letter had been quite... Salacious. And not even the fun kind, either. No. The letter, instead, had detailed Raphael to himself. His affliction, written pen-to-paper. The letter had named him. Vampire.

And so, naturally, Raphael was following the instructions left by his mysterious pen-pal. And when he got to the end of this trail of breadcrumbs? Well... No use spoiling the fun bits.

The night here was heavy and dark… But for the city’s myriad lights, illuminating the parts meant for human eyes. But step away from the main drags… The strips, the shops… The comfort of streetlamps… And the darkness closes in once more. Here the streets are empty and quiet.

It appears humans still haven’t overcome the millennia-old fear of the night. Or rather, what lurked within. Good.

Raphael stalked his way down an abandoned alleyway, his shadow subsumed by the night all around him. His eyes were well-accustomed to this. They were made for this.

With them, Raphael spied a handful of warm bodies up ahead. A couple clutched close to one another. A woman. He could smell her perfume from here. And hear the beating of her heart. And… A man. Standing off in the distance. He had just lit up a cigarette, and soon the smell of it reached Raph’s nose, along with…

You smell like brimstone.

Raph thought, tilting his head as he pressed further, closer. His curiosity piqued. Is it getting warmer?

Raphael’s eyes sparkled in the low light of the alley as he drew closer to that warmth, watching intently as the profile of the man-shaped silhouette before him exhaled a plume of roiling smoke. Raphael didn’t know if he’d be spotted or not, from where he stood. But another few paces and even a human would know he was there. Even a human? What a peculiar thought. He brushed it aside as he emerged, shadows pulling back and falling away like silk curtains. His date with destiny could wait. Besides, Raphael had never been one to show up to a party on-time.

“Good evening.” He said to that silhouette, all confidence and charm. And only a dash of the feral hunger that ever lurked behind his eyes. “I could just kill for a smoke. Would you mind?”

code by @Nano