Build

Jonas sipped his new cup of coffee letting the idle conversations of those around him seep into the back of his mind. He had noticed the one calling himself Kipland and the cybernetic chick had settled down on a few stools a couple seats down from him. Usually he didn't take much notice of heroes as he himself had been working undercover as a rogue for a few years, it wasn't healthy to draw unwanted attention.

He guessed it was about time to begin picking a little bit of information out of the conversations around him. He lay his right hand onto the bar top and felt the tattoo around his forearm begin to radiate a faint dark energy.

So decided to dip into the darkness? The voice asked with a smirk in the question.

"Shut up, or I put a seal scroll around you." Jonas threatened then summoned six orbs of purest dark and dispersed them through the club. They would act as his eyes and ears while he finished his second cup. Now I wait...

Jonas Dark sat on a stool in the hero side of Pocket D sipping a cup of coffee that had long since gone cold. He hadn't been paying attention to those around him, he just hadn't seemed to be able to muster the energy lately to do much of anything.

What feeling tired in your old age little brother? the voice in the back of his head seemed to be a little more chatty than normal...but then again the voice wasn't exactly normal.

He picked the cup up with his left hand and drained it while adding a silent retort to the voice "I'm only 22 and your dead so it looks like I'm ahead in the game."

Oh, HA-HA my brother the comedian. You know I have half a mind to teach you a lesson. The voice remarked caustically.

"Just shut-up and let me enjoy my coffee," he demanded as he held the cup toward the bartender.

I give this a 10 out of 10 on the coolometer
and a 10 out of 10 on the creativitymeterr

Thats awesome. *Gives customary waffle of thanks*

Everyone who has seen that is made a better person.

Jonas's tears had dried. His back and arm still hurt, but the pain had been reduced to a dull/numb type of pain. The blood that stained his back and arm needed taking care of. He looked around his surroundings and noticed a water faucet under the mirror. Standing he stumbled toward the slowly dripping faucet. Halfway to the faucet he noticed a shriveled husk of something laying on the ground.

'Come on little brother shouldn't be too difficult to figure out. Those nice new tatt's on your back had to come from somewhere, so what better place to take them from than the punk that gave you the wounds.'

Jonas looked with shock on Scourgers husk of a corpse. "What the hell did you do Marcus he was human. The snakes are one thing, they are straight up monsters. But you can't go around killing everyone you feel like."

'You are sadly mistaken little brother I didn't do any of this, that was all you. You really no how to make a mentor proud.'

After turning the knob on top of the faucet and watching the water begin to pour forth, Jonas started to wash the conjealing blood from his arm. "What do you mean 'mentor'."

'Ah...you don't remember, how...quaint. Here I'll show you.'

Jonas brought his arms out of the frigid water and grasped the side of his head as a picture of two young children were playing inside an abandoned warehouse. The voice of memories surfaced in his mind.
________________________

'Comeon Jonas. Hey, let me show you something' The two boys ran to the middle of the warehouse and the larger one turned to the little one and delivered a solid punch to his solar plexus.

'Ow, Marcus! That hurt!' The little one said after being knocked back a few steps.

'Jebus little brother, we're never gonna get any respect around here if you can't take or throw a decent punch.'

The little one glared at his brother and shifted his weight to throw a right jab at his brothers head. Marcus easily stepped aside as the blow flew past his face. He turned his body into his brothers swing and landed another vicious punch into Jonas's stomach. Jonas fell to the coughing as the breath left his lungs.

'That's *cough* *cough* not *cough* fair Marcus!' Jonas tried to shout at his brother between fits of coughing.

'So what. If we're gonna get respect we can't play fair.' Marcus stated with a smirk behind his words.

'Comeon get up Jonas. I'm gonna show you how to throw a punch.' Marcus demanded wrapping a hand around Jonas's upper arm and pulling him roughly to his feet.

'Look. Plant your feet, don't lead with your shoulder, rotate your fist. Do this and you will be able to put your entire body ito the punch.' Marcus had been demonstrating the entire time he had been going through the steps.

'Now you try.' Marcus turned to face Jonas. Marcus had a smile on his face as he watched Jonas repeat exactly as he had shown him.

'You and me little brother one day we are gonna own this place.'
____________________

Jonas now had a head ache to go along with the rest of his pain. He finished washing the blood from his hand and stood.

"Yeah I also remember, right after that our parents decided that Arachnos was getting to violent and we left and moved to Kings Row."

'Yeah. You may not know it little brother but the only thing I have to do while I'm in here is watch old memories and lookit your old girl friends.'

"Thats private, so stay OUT of there" Jonas stood and ripped his torn dress shirt away. Thats when he noticed something unusual. He looked down at his upper body and noticed that not only did he have a six-pack but that his overall muscle mass had increased.

"When the hell did I get muscles?" He muttered under his breath.

'Those come with the marks brother. After all the demon in the marks has to have a suitable avatar or the body begins to decay. So a few changes have to be made.' Marcus intoned with a chuckle.

"....Am I gonna sprout horns and develope a thirst for small children?" Jonas said half sarcastically half fearfully.

'......'

"I hate you..."

'Don't worry bout that little brother in a little while that goes away. As do a lot of things. But what you will gain is worth it.' The voice said almost contemplatively.

"How 'bout we get out of here? The task force should be here soon."

'While you're at it take Scourgers shirt and wrap your arm in something. Those marks make you and target for not only the Circle Of Thorns but also Ghost Widow.' The voice advised calmly.

"I think this is the first time you've said anything like that to me since the day in the warehouse."

'Don't mistake survival for kindness kid. You die, I die. At least till we fully transform.'

"What happens then?"

'Then you ain't gotta worry bout the voice in your head any more.'

Jonas wondered at that as he stood and began to do as Marcus had suggested. He ripped his shirt into peices and wound them around his right arm. He walked over to Scourger, and as soon as his hands touched the shirt the body seemed to turn to dust. He popped the sleeveless shirt a few times in the air and slid it over his head.

'Oh yeah, how do you know that this isn't another set up?' Marcus was speaking of the task force.

"I don't." Jonas was just about tired of his brothers ceaseless chatter.

'Then how you gonna meet up with them?' Marcus still had that annoying smirk in his voice.

"One thing you have never even realized about me. I'm always where I'm needed. Always have been and always will be, a few tattoos and a ghost aren't gonna stop that" Jonas stated

'Yeah my brother the hero.' Marcus openly laughed at his own pitiful joke. Jonases anger had been mounting through the entire conversation and he had finally built up enough to forcefully closed the doors in his mind providing him with much needed silence. Jonas shrugged, sighed, and retreived his ciggarettes and matches from a pocket and lit one. He looked around and noticed his discarded sunglasses laying by the door to the warehouse. He picked them up, put them on, and almost took a step out of the whare house door when the change hit him.

All of a sudden Jonas could see the minutest flaw on the frames of his glasses. He could hear the beat of a fly's wings somewhere near the roof. And he could smell the fear on the people in the streets; police, gangmembers, and bystanders all had the same smell on them. A fear that runs to every extension of their lives.

Jonas shrugged and took a step out of the door way willing his feet to take him to where he was needed.

*drip* my head ...

*drip* my ribs ...

*drip* my ?...... ARM

Jonas snapped back to consciousness and took in his surroundings to the best of his ability. High roof, stone floors, chained to a pressure pipe. Then memory crashed in around him.

He remebered walking through the door of the warehouse and feeling the first blow as it landed across the left side of his jaw. The second caught him somewhere in his lower ribs. The next thing he remembered was blows seeming to come from every possible direction landing mostly on his midsection and head.

"I don't remember you being such a wimp back when you ran with me and your brother." A voice from the past spoke up from behind him, the same voice from the call.

The persons name was on the tip of Jonas's tongue if only he could remember. The pain in his head and ribs had already began to dampen, but Damn did his arm hurt. Hadn't hurt this bad since he'd woken up in the hospital the day after he'd gotten it.

The voice spoke up again from behind his back but had seemed to have moved closer, "What no 'hello' for an old friend and play mate?"

That was it if only he had seconds to make the connection. Seemingly from no where he heard a high pitched whistle and crack as a box that had been lying off to his right side was split it two. Yep...that'll work , "So Scourger still playing with that little rat tail you call a whip?"

In reply he heard another whistle, but before the crack he felt a blinding pain down the middle of his back, "Ah, you remember me eh? well the old 'rat tail' you remember has had a few improvements, namely several razor sharp blades imbedded down its length as I'm sure you've already noticed."

Scourger was right it felt like he'd hit the bone. Man that hurt, but for some reason it seemed like the pain moved from my back down into my arm. Jonas chanced a look toward the arm and felt fear rize from somwhere so deep it was almost elemental. The mark had advanced from halfway up his forearm all the way to his shoulder.

"What no rebutal?, I'm disappoineted. You were always the smart elec of the group. Always had something to say. And now you lay there speachless." Scourger almost sounded regretful. Then *WHISTLE* *CRACK* another wound opened almost to the bone.

This continued for another 15 minutes before Scourger walked into Jonases line of sight. "Thats odd even your brother would have passed out from blood loss by now but you, you just keep glaring at that arm." As if by mentioning it the arm began glowing with a dark radiance.

"What the hell is that kid, I don't remember you being able to do that." Scourger's voice was filled with something between shock and curiosity.

"Yeah...well....I didn't know I could do that either. This may be a life changing experience for the both of us." Jonas said with a voice that had taken on something...more.

In one move the chains that bound him were broken and Jonas's fist had sank through Scourger. Scourger never had a chance to even feel pain as the mark absorbed everything from pain to soul to life force. Scourger's shriveled husk of a body slid off of Jonas's fist and collapsed on the floor.

Jonas hadn't been able to control his movements since the arm had begun glowing. But now the mark had went back to it's original color and Jonas's head had begun to throb.

Hey little brother there is a mirror to your left go take a look at your self. The voice in his head spoke up for the first time in awhile.

Jonas turned and found the mirror. He walked toward it with something akin to a drunken amble. He looked at his pallor in the mirror. God I look dead.

Hey, take a little look at your back I did a little work on it while I had the chance. The voice spoke with a little pride and a lot of dark humor.

Jonas turned and looked over his shoulder into the mirror at what should have resembled a pile of hamburger with some bone flecks. Instead every mark Scourger had put on him had been converted into the same black markings that now covered his right arm.

Jonas couldn't take it. He sank to his knees beside the mirror. He placed his head in his hands and for the first time in a long time tears spilled out of Jonas's eyes.

20 minutes after the little love tap the snake had given Jonas was fully healed. He had finished talking to the few contacts he had left and had found out nothing conclusive in the least.

Jonas shook his head and took a drag on the cigarrette he had pinned between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand.
Harshly exhaling the smoke he felt the vibration of his cell phone going off in his left pants pocket. Pinching the cig between his lips he reached into his pants pocket to retrieve his phone.

"Now who's calling me?" He asked before he had checked the call log. He flipped his phone open and read the message.

One missed call: Unknown Caller
Number Unknown

A look of perplexity crossed Jonas's face. Considering that the researchers at data had updated his phone with new tech it should have been possible to at least get an ID on the call, it didn't make sense that he should know nothing about a caller. He flipped the phone closed and tapped a rhythm on the cover. Shrugging his shoulders Jonas said, "Well, if it's important I guess they'll call back. Don't you think so you little puke."

The unconscious hellion laying at his feet didn't say anything, "Well since you're at a loss for words I'm gonna take that as a disaggreament on your part. I don't really like punks like you disaggreeing with me."

Jonas pulled the cig from his lips with his right had and watched as the paper and filter seemed to lose color and the flame turn a black/blue color. He stared at the flame for a second before grinding it out on the hellion's head. the veins around the burn mark seemed to pulse and become more visible.

"Oh yeah he'll feel that if nothing else when he comes to." He declared with a slight smirk.

The phone vibrated in his hand. Jonas flipped it back open and saw that it was the same caller. He hit the answer button and held the phone to his left ear.

"Joe's pool hall, it's your dime not mine, party hours are from dusk till dawn." Jonas answered with uncharacteristic humor.

"Warehouse 13, North dock, 10 minutes." The the caller abruptly hung up.

Jonas looked around for the hidden camera's, "This has gotta be one of those lame reallity shows. I mean mysterious phone calls, warehouses, docks, and time limits. Seems like all of a sudden I'm a hero or something, but we both know different don't we puke?" He voiced his question to the still unconscious hellion laying on the ground.

Well time to go walking into a trap...

Name: Jonas Black
Alias: No known aliases
Age: 20
Archetype: Scrapper/Brute

Threads: Rescue Operations: A force into the Ilses

Jonas is 6'3" and has a slim athletic build. He has a Black tattoo on his right arm which winds from the knuckles to his mid fore arm. Above the tattoo is a spiral scar that winds three times around his arm. The arm is actually his brothers and is paracitic. Jonas is never seen in anything but dress clothes or business suites. He has black hair and deep blue eyes. He has a tendency towards being a loner and is often in a constant state of inner turmoil.

Powers: All of his power is located in his right arm. Two villains found the fact out and each tried to remove the arm. Jonas had already found out through trial and error that cutting off the arm only caused pain as the arm grew back. When he is still in his Jonas form he is generally a DM/SR scrapper, but when the mark on his arm grows enough he becomes something closer to a DM/DA brute.

Most heros rip through dimensions, remolecularize, or tap into the darkside to teleport. My version of that age old trick is closer to ripping my very esence apart and reassembling it at a predetermined point.

So after a quick 'jump' I was back back at my apartment and into my hero gear, which consisted of a pair of black glasses, a white dress shirt, and black dress pants (come on a hero doesn't have to wear gaudy tights).

After another jump and I was amid the trash and stink of Mercy...felt like home. "For some reason doing that always gives me a bad case of jet lag" *yawn*

Thats when I heard it, the sound of old playmates.

*hissss* Feel the fangs of Stheno" as the duo of snakes burst from the earth

I tried my hardest to suppress a grin "Comeon guys not today"

I turned to walk away from the weak little things when

*whack* I caught one of their curved swords in the upper arm, unfortunatley it was the wrong arm to hit. Black tendrils of a smoke like substance seemed to erupt out of the wound and cover my arm from wrist to elbow.

My voice seemed to drop two octaves as I stated "Wrong move, and I was gonna let you guys walk away."

I turned faster than they could react and planted two swift punches to each of their midsections. "In the words of one of my favorite video game characters, 'Your soul is mine'."

Black mist seemed to flow from the areas where my punches had landed and flowed into my arm. I started to turn away from the snake's lifeless corpses when the cold sensation hit. Sometimes it wasn't that bad, but other times (like now) it dropped me to my knees. I knew without even looking that the mark had grown.

Oh well
Another day, another battle, another pain; i popped my kneck a few times and started down one of the few cleaner (using this term loosely) side streets to see if I still had any contacts worth using in Mercy.

According to Synapse the actual task force won't arrive for awhile, so until then I'm on my own...never had a problem with that.

((Just gonna jump in, yo!))

Jonas Black looked at the tattoo on his right arm just below the spiral scar he bore just above his forearm and listened to his brothers voice echo inside his mind.

"You'll never be able to save your soul little brother, I claimed that when you took my arm"

Don't you ever shut up?!" Jonas demanded staring at the tattoo on the arm which had used to belong to his brother. Jonas began to think back to how he had ended up like this.

It had been over a year since his brothers "death". His brother had been in deep with some of the darker mystics in Paragon. Jonas had never realized how deep until his brother Marcus took upon himself the sacred markings of the Darkin. For the ritual to be completed the bearer of the markings must sacrifice the people most dear to them.

On the night Marcus came for him it was only a lucky hit and a local hero that saved Jonas. The hero was Bushido X and he had a bad habit of causing undo damage to those he apprehended. Jonas didn't walk away unscathed, before he passed out from blood loss he reached out and grabbed his brothers severed arm.

When he woke up in the hospital his brothers arm had become his own, his brothers soul resided in his body, and Jonas had all the power of the Darkin.

The only problem with that is the more his brothers darkin spirit grows in strength the more the tattoo grows, the more power Jonas has, and...the less human he becomes.

He was drawn out of his reverie by a beeping coming from his pocket. Jonas answered his cell phone and was surprised to hear the voice of one of Paragon's finest.

"I'm sure you've heard about the task force by now...or are you still doing the antisocial thing?"

"I've heard about the kidnapping but its not exactly my cup of tea."

"K, well it's your cup this time, you're still looking for a way to get rid of the doo-dad on your arm right?"

"Possibly, but it sounds like this is one of those missions we get severance pay sent to our loved ones."

"Can you still do that creepy teleporty/jumpy thing?"

"Yeah...." Jonas was slightly amused to hear those terms used by a hero of such high standing

"Get to Mercy, now, I know you have a little clout among the 'citizens' of the islands. Plus there is a special little end of the world magical trinket that can probably take the mark off your arm."

"Hey wait Synap--, every single time." The speedster always had a bad habit with impatience.

Jonas heaved a sigh, lit a cigarette, and began to prepare for this little vacation.