Heroism 2.0

[ARedthorn]

Shelly turned away from the crowd, and began to walk downward into the cement, as if down stairs.

What? If you can't have fun with a hidden stairway gag, what good are powers anyway?

She submerged, once again leaving only a faint ripple in the surface of the concrete, and dove deep. She doesn't really know why that helps her go faster, but it makes for a more direct route on long trips, and saves her the trouble of having to weave around utilities and roots...

Between that and the direct access to the cave, I might be able to give the jet a run for it's money... I don't have to circle around for a clean approach.

"Hey, Jacob- I'm gonna go looking for trouble... Diamond skin's too much hassle to waste."

Shelly detours widely, towards Toronto (Let the press chew on that, heh.) and uses her tremorsense to scope out the city. Within an hour, she finds something noisy enough to attract her attention from several city blocks away. To hear it that far out, it's probably a car accident, but still worth checking out.

Spoiler: Shelly's day in Toronto 

She surfaces, breaching the pavement like a dolphin, and rolls to her feet, finding one of University of Toronto's steam pipes blown, taking a chunk of the street with it.
...and yes, caused a multi-car pileup. Not much I can do about the pipe... but... sounds from one of the cars, right in the middle of the billowing cloud, says that it's occupied. Closer, she can see the driver is conscious, trying in vain to restart the car with a passenger slumped beside him.
The rubber seals on the driver door are already starting to droop and melt... and when he sees her, he points frantically at the door lock... Electric, and probably fried. Great.

In clay, she could move the car easily enough, but in diamond she'd just as likely end up going through it... Not ideal, but maybe I can make it work.
Hands stiff and flat, she punches through the door's hinges on the passenger side, away from the steam, and tosses the door aside.

"Come with me if you want to live." Never. Gets. Old. This is met with a blank look- shock, or maybe just too young to get the reference... Sigh. "You ok? Good. I got her- you need to crawl out this way behind her- alright? Good." With this, she slices through the seatbelt and pulls the girl out as gently as possible.

The panting and wide-eyed "Thank you... thank you so much..." never gets old either, even if she can't hear it over the steam.

The steam is so shockingly loud, actually, that Shelly misses the sound of the gunshot- only feeling it glance off her skin as they reach the edge of the billowing cloud... and sees the man drop to the ground a moment later in a splash of red. Instinctively, Shelly wraps around the girl as she lowers her to the ground, a few more bullets bouncing off her as she does. Sunuva...

The crowd of onlookers make it easy to spot the gunman walking towards her, as those near him flee... and the rest turn their camera phones from her to him. I'll never understand voyeur-culture...
She can't hear what he's shouting, or the telltale click, but the shots stop despite his frantic trigger-pulling, and Shelly bolts for him as he drops the clip and scrambles to reload. A well placed punch in the offending shoulder makes him drop the gun, and the cracking sound that accompanies her punch drops him, too. One foot on the gun, she finally looks around, and is pleasantly surprised to see flashing lights approaching.

"Nice response time... must've been in the neighborhood. Good thing too." As soon as the paramedics and officers begin to bail out, she motions them over, pointing and yelling as loudly as she can over the steam. "Young female unconscious, but breathing. Older male, shot but conscious, grazed. Young male, shooter, broken collarbone."

It takes the cops a moment to accept that she's there to help, but she doesn't give them much choice... stalking back into the steam. It's now billowed out enough to cover several more vehicles, and she checks those first (all evacuated already) before moving back to the first car. The steam pipe blew only 2 feet from the driver door, but scorch marks and a much larger crater further out look like a bomb.

Shelly pinches off the pipe and can suddenly begin to hear again. Human ears would still be deafened, but her skins would blind and deafen her anyway if they didn't serve as her senses for her... louder than any other, a voice shouting obscenities... something, something, you don't break up with me... Seriously?

Back out of the steam, she finds the shooter, in cuffs with an officer firmly planted on his back. "You know, sometimes, I really wish they'd use their right to silence, eh?" The officer nods knowingly. "The victims?"

The officer gives a quick head-jerk towards the ambulance, but says "They owe their lives to you, twice over, from what this crazy chirp keeps saying. Nice work. Justice will always be welcome in Canada. Just... let us know you're coming next time, eh?" He smiles at this, and shifts his weight on the aforementioned 'crazy chirp,' whatever that is. "Best be going though. One press conference a day is one too many, you ask me, and you're about to get two."

Shelly smirks. "You, I like. Officer Cote... I'll be in touch." With that, Shelly once again descends into the earth... and back to sweeping the city.

The rest of the day is less memorable, but she manages to get shot at 2 more times, and nearly a third when she startles a mountie... a good day's work. She returns to the cave tired, and ready to get back to her own skin... a slow process of scraping and sanding herself with her own hands, leaving a not-quite-small pile of diamond dust, with only a couple oddly shaped chunks worth any money at all.

[JHarrisford]

Jacob wrapped his wrist around one of the hanging cords, gave it a solid pull, and rose with it into the rear of the jet. He waited a full minute for the others as he checked the instruments in the front, and when the rear hatch finally sounded, closing behind him, he rose straight up until the craft was only a black dot in the sun, then took off heading North just under Mach 1. Once he navigated the members of his team above the clouds, he made a loop and headed back for the manor.

In less than ten minutes he set the jet down softly in the cave. He walked out without a word to the others, his gray coat opening up behind him with his long strides, and paused briefly in front of the computer. Jacob tapped in a command with one hand while stuffing the mask he had been wearing into his pocket and draping the coat over his free arm. He waited for the computer to confirm it was performing what he wanted, then he turned on his heel and walked back up the cave's steps, disappearing behind the old clock.

* * * * *

"Hey Jac...ob..." Alex heard her friend's footsteps coming up the hall by the kitchen and she poked out her head to flag him down. He didn't slow down. "Uh, food? Remember you wanted me to get it?" She called out after him, frowning and mildly irritated that he still hadn't stopped.

"Make sure the others get what they need. I'll be back down in a few," he replied without any inflection in his voice.

"Back in a few?" Alex shrugged.

* * * * *

Jacob closed his bedroom door behind him and hung his coat in the closet opposite a few of Syren's belongings. Very few. He smiled, and then stopped. Jacob drew the phone from his pocket, flipped it open, and dialed. It rang four times.

"Commissioner."

"Is this you?" Montoya answered, keeping her voice low.

His voice was being altered over the line and came out sounding a bit deeper than his natural tenor, but not so deep it sounded like he was asking for ransom money. "I want you to feel free to call me if you ever need anything. We're on the same team."

"Yeah. I heard the speech," she answered, clearly having grown up her whole life in the big city. She wasn't the touchy feely type. She never had been. "You know this city has a history with people like you."

"So I've heard."

"Don't screw up. You start hurting civilians and I swear I'll make space for you at Arkham."

That stung. "I believe you, Rene," he said cooly. The response on the other end of the line was replaced by a quick breath.

Jacob smiled and ended the call. It hadn't been long enough to trace, and even if the police department ever did trace it, it would put Void somewhere in France. Maybe Belgium. James Queen was a good guy to have around.

[Roberts]

After the speech Jacob went up to the ship, and Shelly walked into the ground. James turned from the way he came ran a "U" and when he was back at the edge of the stage he jumped off and activated the wings, propelling himself far enough to go up then dip down and use the speed from the drop to get him moving faster this got him far enough to go over the crowd and land on a building. James quickly stored his wings and jumped down to the next building. James pulled the cover off his bike and smiled at it, he felt as if he hadn't seen it for weeks. James got on his bike and revved up the silent engine and propelled himself and the bike off the roof and into the street he made a sharp turn when he got out of the alleyway and made his way back still at break neck speeds and made his way back to the manor, instead of going back on the road James took a dirt road along the edge of the valley that had the river in it, he made the jump through the waterfall and landed in the cave. James just sat there for a bit as he realized that the water he just went under was cold.

[Serra_Angel]

Serra stood on the platform, eyes scanning the crowd. She tried to look casual, non-threatening as Jacob had ordered. She failed. Of course she almost laughed at the irony when Jacob named himself “Void”...he had been so careful to direct them to seem friendly then he chose a name that was the epitome of what the majority of humans feared. A void was the absence of all things, emptiness, nothingness. Humanity almost universally feared that.

Most of the folk gathered in front of them seemed like ordinary humans. Just cheering and grinning like morons. Not all of them however, and Serra was not so naive as to assume there were no threats here. One woman in particular made her edgy, she seemed to be focused on Jacob. She paid no attention to the others gathered, all her attention was on Jacob, so much so that when Jacob moved to the jet her eyes followed. She obviously wasn't here just for the press conference.

Serra felt uneasy. She was supposed to be security, for Jacob. Not for this Void character and not security at all as Ascendant. Habits however kept her aware of the woman watching and Serra did not leave until Jacob was well in the jet and away. When he ascended to the jet she took off from the platform.

A few tried to waylay her, to ask her questions. She ignored them and fortunately none had the temerity to physically try and waylay her. She floated upwards, ignoring those below now that their show was over. Casually she waited for the jet to take up then shot straight skyward at full speed.

Once she was sure she was away enough to be unnoticed by the crowd she took a full speed ziz-zag pattern back to the manor. She entered the cave a few minutes behind the jet, automatically banishing her armor as she passed through the entrance. She landed lightly, smiled briefly at the bedraggled James, and then did what she always did when she couldn't think of what she should do at the moment.

She went over to the sparring mats and began to practice.

[JHarrisford]

Alex marched down the steps holding a large tray of thick roast beef, meatball, and turkey sandwiches. Not all together, of course. She set them down on a table near the infirmary and then blurred back upstairs, making a few more trips to bring down drinks, fruits, chips, and a cake she had picked up from a great bakery in Maine on her way back to the Manor. Running took less effort than teleporting long distances, but she had to walk the trays into the cave the old fashioned way. Some food just didn't travel well at high speeds.

"Come and get it 'for I throw it in the 'crick," she called out loosely.

As she set down the last tray of drinks she realized James was sitting on his bike at the mouth of the cave, and he looked like a mop. A kind of cute mop, but very mop-like.

"Um, towel?" She shrugged, rummaging through the cabinets next to the infirmary until she found a couple of towels. She tossed him one and looked around for Shelly who wasn't there. I wonder where she burrowed off to?

Alex took a large sandwich in either hand and pulled the chair out from the Batcomputer with her foot. She plopped down with a slight protest from the chair, and spun around so she could see everyone else, but mostly she watched Serra practice. Every move she made was incredibly light, but her face didn't seem to hold any expression and there was something about the air directly around her that made you want to keep your distance. A heat, an intensity of focus. Shouldn't girls her age be playing video games or something?

[Serra_Angel]

erra nodded when she saw the food, and goggled a little at the two huge sandwiches in Alex's hand. The girl could eat. And eat. And eat. It was impressive.

Serra took the time to carefully replace the staff she had been using, checking it over to make sure it was still in good condition out of long habit. At home an improperly cared for weapon would result in punishment with no excuses allowed.

With a sigh she stretched, drifted up, and then flew over to the pile of food Alex had assembled. She had not had a chance to change out of her pantsuit, her “security outfit” as she had come to call it, and worried that she might spill on the nice clothing Jacob had given her.

She had stashed her old ratty clothes in the infirmary, the ones she had when she was first picked up by the cops before she had ever arrived here, just in case she would need clothing to get bloody in. They were pretty far gone, threadbare and simple, but they would do for now.

She quickly changed behind a screen and draped her nice clothing over the top, she would have to take them upstairs when she finished with lunch. Right now though she was famished.

She grabbed a roast-beef sandwich, loaded it up with mustard, and flopped in a chair to eat.

“Best grab some before it all disappears” she waved to the dripping James. She was polite enough not to suggest that Alex might eat it all, but she was thinking it pretty hard.

****

Marcus was sunk deep in the leather of his wing-back chair, watching the television. So it seemed that Allstone had been right, at least partly. He had been in America five days now, and wasn't thrilled with it. He had, however, made a vow to stick it out until “the public is made aware of the new state of things” as Allstone had put it.

He had provided Marcus with a nice enough flat in a perfectly ordinary section of town; having known Marcus' preference for remaining in the background. The flat itself was furnished in a very extraordinary manner. It was basically a research lab, nearly every inch was taken up with books and equipment. There was a single solitary room that served as a bedroom, though there were large chairs and couches scattered through the lab rooms; Allstone again having known Marcus' preferences. It was unsettling. It was the place he would live if he had the money to do so...not in America naturally but otherwise it was perfect.

Marcus made quite a bit of money in his line of work, most if not all of it went to his various needs however. Here not only did he have dream equipment, a library of texts that he was anxious to look at, and a space that was tailored to his preferences but he had also been provided with a reasonable supply of drugs, he would need to procure more in a bit, but for now he was set. Once he set up

All that however didn't outweigh the fact he was in America, and he had still been hesitant. That was until he saw the press conference. Perhaps this could indeed be worth his time, it was certain they would need his twin talents of research and discretion. They might even need his other talent...though he hoped not. Or he hoped so. Sometimes he forgot how hard he was working to stay on the good side of things. Just a little bit of pain...

He rose after the conference was over, pulled on his great coat, and headed downstairs to hail a taxi. It was time to introduce himself to Mr. Jacob Harrisford.

[Astarael42]

Syren was silent on the flight back, except for a brief moment when she suppressed a sound that could almost have been a giggle. She had this mental of image of flicking popcorn at the back of Jacob's neck. She recognized the absurdity of her thoughts, not to mention she had no popcorn, so she suppressed the giggle.

The alcohol from earlier was burning rapidly through her system, she could actually feel it. Her physiology was...not human. Thus she handled all drugs, including alcohol, a little differently. She could feel it tickling on the edge of her control...and for a brief moment she thought she heard the voices again.

They were gone as quickly as she came, she had many years of skills suppressing them, but it worried her just a touch. Jacob's silence made it worse, it left her alone with her thoughts. That was both bad and good. Fortunately this day the voices were not strong enough and faded as they closed the distance to the manor.

By the time they landed Syren's giddiness along with the rest was gone, faded into nothing. She remained in her chair for a long moment, long enough to let Jacob de-plane without incident, before she rose and stretched luxuriously, like a cat. Her control was coming back and it made her mind itch. There was no other way to describe it. An itch deep in the skull that could never be scratched.

She exited the jet head high, eyes clear, and naked. Her outfit was draped over one arm and when she cleared the jet she used the water in the fabric to whisk it away to hang in out of the way near the exit of the cave. A fresh deluge of water meanwhile rose from the river and wrapped itself around her. The only sign that she was not back in perfect control was that in both hanging her coat and drawing the fresh water up to her there was a wobble, a lack of the smoothness that was normally present in nearly everything she did.

She swept from the room, water rippling unsteadily around her, and up the stairs into the main house. She came to a halt at Jacob's door and rapped a single rap on the wood door.

[JHarrisford]

Jacob reached for the button at his wrist and unfastened it, standing in the quiet of the over-sized closet while he collected his thoughts. Then a single knock tapped the door. It wasn't fast and repetitive, or shave and a haircut, and the guys along with Serra would simply wait for him unless it was urgent. He listened more carefully to the quiet around him as he stepped into the room.

No. No voice.

"Syren?" He asked in an even tone as he turned the knob and opened the door. "Syren. Why did you knock?" He studied her face.

It hadn't even been half a day and still he felt like a week had gone by. It had to do with that simple drink she had tossed back before they left. He had seen her drink before, usually while having a good time, but the source of her desire an hour ago had caught him very much by surprise.

And there was something else. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was a tension around her that wasn't usually present.

He reached out and rested his hand gently against the water over her bare shoulder, looking down at her. "What's wrong?"

[Dnafein]

Co-post with Thorny
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Malcolm peeled off from the jet as it headed back to Gotham. He headed instead towards the power source his ring detected through the security cameras back in New York. When he got close enough for the ring to identify it, the ring began demanding Mal's attention. It had identified the power source as that of a yellow ring. Malcolm slowed as he neared the sources location.

A translucent yellow form waits, which the ring instantly identifies as a projection, visible only to Mal. The man, wherever he really is, appears smug, standing as if on the ground, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. "Took you long enough."

"I apologize, didn't know we had an appointment." Malcolm replied as he studied the figures hawkish face, memorizing the smug arrogance to better identify the man in the future. "You would be?"

"Mmm. No, no appointment, but late nonetheless. The Sinestro Corps returned to Earth within days of... the event. Here you are, tripping my radar years later. I shouldn't be surprised- will is always slow to rebuild... Fear, now..." He chuckles and flourishes a hand. "Still, I expected it to return in force, and here you are. Alone. And disappointingly weak." He squints, as if trying to pick Mal apart with his eyes and see what all the fuss is about.

Malcolm floated in place, his face passive as the yellow tried to insult him. "Fear is easy, you prove that yourself by hiding where ever you are now." Mal motioned with his hand at the figure floating before him. "Would i be remiss in believing this was simply a social call Mr..."

"So formal. Well, if you must." He gives a mock bow, precise but shallow. "You can call me Mr. Marlowe. No relation, of course, although..." He trails off at Mal's evident confusion. "Nevermind. I find first impressions are best made from a distance. Others of your order can be so... narrow. I assure you though, we will meet in the flesh... in time."

Malcolm almost frowned as the figure disappeared. The jade clad man floated in silence, his senses and those of the ring stretched seeking some kind of attack. None being incoming Malcolm turned and began a roundabout path back to the cave. Along the way, he stopped two suicide attempts, ended one shoot out and captured a team of bank robbers. Unfortunately, Mal could not get the yellow, or his unspoken intentions of his mind.

[Astarael42]

co-post with JHarrisford

***

Syren frowned slightly when he first opened the door. Yup he was acting weird, she had hoped it was just her perception of things. They were still a bit off.

“I don't know what it means where you come from but in my world it's considered quite rude just to walk into a room with a closed door.”

Her frown was replaced with a half smile as she scrutinized him as he had her, then she shrugged as if coming to some internal conclusion.

“As to what's wrong...well you kinda stole my line there. I was intending to ask you the very same question.”

“Why would you think anything was wrong with me?” Her tone was genuine puzzlement. She looked down at herself wondering what it was he saw. It's not like there was a trident protruding from her stomach. She suppressed another giggle at that image.

Jacob frowned. Was this one of those guys see things differently moments? Anything was possible, but he didn't think so. His instincts were almost always right, and earlier she had been brusque - more than usual - and she threw back a drink as if she were upset. The thing was, though, she hadn't mentioned being upset to him, and the last few weeks they had shared everything.

Syren never did anything to cloud her senses or affect her judgment unless it was a sip of brandy by the pool, in a safe place. He knew why he would, but why would she choose to take a risk like that before going out in public?

"You live here, Syren," he said, though it came out sounding more distant than he would have liked. His accent softened. "This is your house, and as far as I'm concerned our room. Did I do something that upset you?"

Jacob wanted to pull her into his arms and feel her face cradled against his shoulder, but right now he needed to see the expressions on her face more. His breath caught in his chest waiting for her answer.

“What?? Don't be ridiculous.” she said genuinely shocked. “What did I...” She trailed off looking very puzzled. “I'm missing something,” she said finally.

Jacob's face brightened and his shoulders relaxed. Apparently it was one of those guys and girls matters. The wrinkled look on Syren's face made him smile wider. Jacob pulled her in to his arms and held her for several seconds before turning and walking back to the closet to finish changing his wardrobe.

Syren looked even more confused but shrugged when Jacob turned away.

“Humans are weird” she muttered when Jacob let her go. Shaking her head she walked into the room, past Jacob, and towards the shower. She was almost there when the doorbell rang.

“I suggest you hurry up and change,” she said lightly to Jacob. “I'm not about to answer it and everyone else is in the basement. “I need a shower.” Without further ado she hopped into the shower, flipping on the spray, and basking in the water.