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((A few months ago, comic book writer, Todd Dezago had a story contest on his blog , and I won. Now, I am going to be a comic book character! They had me send some photos and the character is gonna have my real name! And in a case of fiction copying virtal-life -- I'm head of security at BEDLAM, the organization in the Perhapanauts comic book! (Roy "HEROID" Kirby is head of security at Maggie's Rock on CoH.)
Here's a copy of the letter!
I'm so happy! )) -
((That's impressive, but it's hardly small and brown...))
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((It brought back some fond memories. I hope you're still writing. ))
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((I found something I saved on my computer called In the Pale Moonlight. It's freaking awesome!))
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Smith and Jessie are no longer a couple. On top of that, Smith discovers his powers feed off of his emotions, and have grown strong enough that they can cause emotional surges, which in turn create power surges. It is a self-feeding cycle.
After trying to simply turn off his emotions (which did not work) Smith has decided he needs power inhibitors...
In a lab near the Kirby Farm, Smith sits in a chair and lets Dr. Werner attach wires to his scalp and sensors to his hands and fingers.
Now, just relax and well discuss things, Werner says. I just need some emotional responses in order to calibrate the inhibitor circuit.
Smith had gone to Ms. Love this morning and told her that in order to keep his powers in check, he needed an inhibitor. Ms. Love was busy today and had given Smith a choice of who hed like to accompany him to visit with Dr. Werner. Really, Smith didnt know any of the other faculty and staff very well. Mr. Kinsolving was available, but when Ms. Love brought him up, Smith maintained a cold indifference and she got the message that he might not be a good choice at the moment. So Ms. Love sent Mr. Kirby.
Not a whole lot better as far as Smith is concerned, but still, better.
Whatcha wanna talk about, kid? Kirby says.
Smith shrugs.
Ya know yer grounded, right? This might be th last chance ya git ta see th sunshine fer a while. Dont ya wanna take advannage o gittin out fer a day?
Smith looks out the window. It is pretty down here in the South, he muses. All the trees are bright green and flowers blooming everywhere
Dr. Werner shakes his head.
Look, kid. Gimme some emotin here. If we git done fore Maggie suspects us back, Ill take ya four-wheelin.
Smiths shrugs again. Im trying. I want this very much, but
All right. Lets play some hard ball then. Lessee somethin ta git a rise outta ya Hmm Kirby leans forward and says, What happened ta yer parents, kid? Howd ya wind up a orphan?
Dr. Werner flinches as the ceiling lights flicker.
I never had parents. Theyre gone. I never knew them.
Yeah? Thats tough. Might be better off. Some people aint much good fer anything, let alone raisin a kid.
Smith shrugs
Maggie tells me yer a semi-god.
Dr. Werner turns some dials on the calibration equipment.
Demi-god. And I dont know I guess.
Yeah
A few moments of silence are followed by an impatient gesture from Dr. Werner for them to get talking.
I hear ya can make crayons with yer feelins.
I did. Ive stopped now.
Heh. Seems like a handy thing ta do. Free crayons fer th kids.
Youre mocking me.
Dr. Werner works the dials a little more.
Sorry, kid, Kirby says. But if it wuz workin whyd ya stop? Whyre ya goin this route?
Jenny showed me how ridiculous it was. Besides I was fading.
Fadin?
Yes.
Kirby shrugs and looks to Dr. Werner.
Got nuff, Doc?
Dr. Werner shakes his head.
Kirby sighs. Smith sighs.
All right. I wuznt gonna bring it up, but I heard ya broke up with Jessie.
Dr. Werner smiles and starts flipping switches and spinning dials as fast as he can.
Smith shrugs and looks away.
Hate ta hear that. Ya wuz a cute couple o kids.
Smith doesnt respond, but Dr. Werner continues working frantically.
Looks like ya still got feelins fer her.
Smith nods.
Then whyd ya break up with er?
She broke up with me.
Yeah?
Well I dont know we just
Dr. Werner turns off his machines, stands, and says, All right, boys, I have everything I need. Ill put this chip in a fashionable housing and youll be good to go. Just give me about an hour.
Kirby and Smith watch him leave.
Kirby leans forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together. Smith looks a bit sad, a bit thoughtful.
Ya just what?
We just got separated.
Kirby nods.
Smith sits in the chair and begins removing the wires and sensor from his head and hands.
I dont know how to explain it. It was so perfect too perfect I guess When we got back from Florida..
Florida?
I took Jessie to Florida
Like a class trip?
Like just the two of us
Kirby takes a deep breath, then nods.
Cant say ya done right there, kid, but I member bein young an in love
Smith sighs. He doesnt really want to talk about this with Mr. Kirby. He barely knows Mr. Kirby, but he needs to talk about it with someone who might understand.
After we came home, I messed up our alibi. Mr. Kinsolving found out and I got grounded and Jessie got sent to Colorado to stay with her sister and her sisters fiancée.
Mr. Kirby remains silent, but theres sympathy on his face. And concern. And hes listening, so Smith continues
She had I mean she and Cayts fiancée they um they figured out Jessie had a heart problem and well
Yeah. I heard she came home with a new heart.
Smith nods.
Anyway, we broke up right after that.
Kirby nods.
Ya broke up cause she got sick?
No! We broke up because she I mean We broke up because I met a girl at Pocket D and cheated on her.
Ya met a girl at th D?
Smith knew it was a terrible lie the first time hed said it.
Yer grounded, an ya went ta th D?
Smith shrugs.
Kid, swaller yer pride an admit ya broke up cause o no good reason.
Smith looks at him, wishing someone could understand.
Look sometimes we fall in love an jus when thingsre lookin like theyre gonna work out whammo! Life comes along an smacks th hell outta one r th both o ya.
Maybe he did understand.
Fer instance, take me an Maggie.
For a moment, Smith wonders if hes heard him right.
When I first got ta Paragon, I wuz stuck inna robot body. I wuz strong an indestructible, but I wuz also well a robot. An I had one other problem
There wuz this place called Gemini Park. It wuz a gatherin place fer capes. An in that park, there wuz this lady called Ireland Love.
Geez I can member th first time I seen er She wuz sittin by herself on this big rock bside th river. Man she was beautiful. As perty a sight as I ever seen bfore, with hair that fell in red rings on her shoulders
Kirby sighs and Smith pictures Maggie sitting on a rock by the water, like a mermaid, and understands how it might affect someone Mr. Kirbys age.
Anyway, shes sorta datin Smersh at th time, so I kinda figger me bein a robot wouldnt be no competition fer a flesh an blood fella.
So a few months later I find out her an Smersh is kinda broke up. An havin recently been cured o bein stuck as a robot, I thought it wuz time I made my move.
Smith listens. He doesnt know what point Kirby is getting at, but this story its going to be awesome to tell later.
So, I tell er outright, Maggie, Im in love with ya. An shes all, Ah Roy did ya know shes th one what named me Roy? Its too soon, I need time. Which, o course I didnt give er.
An then, outta nowhere comes this new guy, Nick Kinsolving
Smith leans forward, his eye wide and questioning.
Yeah. That Nick Kinsolving. He falls fer her too. Me an him nearly came ta blows over it. Maggie wouldnt have none o that. Th both o us fightin over her kinda drover er away from us both. Happens when ya dont give a gal er space.
Smith nods and sighs.
Yknow, at one point I think I had er won. I think she wuz fallin fer me. She even kissed me a good one in the park, right in front o everybody. It wuz
Kirby sighs, looks wistful, then continues --
Seemed like a perfect moment but
Smith muses that there always seems to be a but where love is involved.
This demon guy, Runo hell, he says hes in love with er too, an well he blows hisself up all over us. Ruined th moment.
Short story long, it never worked out fer me an Maggie. Stuff kept happenin. She got back tgether with Smersh an well ya perty much know what happened there.
Smith nods, feeling sorry for Ms. Love. Seems to him as though she hasnt had much luck in relationships either.
But look how it turned out fer me an Nick. Were both married an happy with our families. I hope someday Maggie can find that kinda happiness.
Almost as if on cue, Ms. Love enters the room. Only shes not quite as slender, and with her hair short and wearing a pair of denim jeans and a plain tee-shirt. Shes carrying a plate full of fried chicken and two colas with moisture condensed on the bottles. Kirby rises to greet her with a kiss.
She says, Ma thought you and Mr. Smith here might be hungry.
Smith was.
Smith, this is Peggy, my wife.
Peggy, Kirbys wife smiles and says, I have some special needs kids coming to ride horses, Ive got to run. Nice meeting you, Mr. Smith.
Peggy Kirby then leaves, and she leaves Kirby smiling broadly.
I know what yer thinkin kid. An yeah, she looks jus like er. Theres a reason fer that an it involves paralateral universes.
Smith nods.
Yeah. Shes perty much Maggie, without th baggage.
Baggage?
Yeah, kid. Baggage. Ever time a woman gits her heart broke, it makes what ya call baggage.
Baggage
Yeah, ya might as well figger yer probly Jessies baggage now
At that very moment, Dr. Werner returns.
I have it here, my boy, and heres how it works. Pay attention, now...
And some part of Smith listens and understands and remembers the instructions, but the deepest part of him can only think of one thing
Baggage. -
((Bump while ideas percolate and charater develops via rp.))
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Concentrate!
Lee jerked when he should have floated. The clumsy movement killed his upward momentum and his feet barely left the floor. The chain caught his leg and sent him tumbling ungracefully onto the mat.
Sensei Kinsolving looked down at him with the usual stern expression.
Where is your chi now, Canine?
Sensei Kinsolving usually only called him Canine in derision.
Forgive me, Sensei, Lee said, I am distracted.
Sensei Kinsolving walked to the equipment rack and hung the chain in its place.
Dissociative identity disorder, he said.
Sir? Lee was confused. Why had Sensei Kinsolving brought up his condition?
Typically, theres a memory loss involved. Yet in your case, the Lee side seems to remember everything the Canine side does, and visa versa.
Sir?
Of course, therapists are loath to admit when theyve been had.
Im not following you, sensei.
Sensei Kinsolving took a white towel from the table beside the equipment rack and tossed it to Lee.
Im saying theres nothing wrong with you psychologically. Sensei Kinsolving took a towel for himself and wiped his brow. Well, thats simplifying things. Im saying you dont have dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder or whatever you wish to call it.
But I do, and Ive made progress
Until you do something stupid or foolish and then its back to Canine, the Awe-inspiring. Its just a cover for being an [censored]. We both know this.
What? Lee stood motionless as Sensei Kinsolving smirked at him.
Whats the matter, son? Cant you handle the truth?
A rage grew within Lee. Like a blind and wounded animal he charged forward knocking Sensei Kinsolving to the mat. At that moment, he wanted to kill him. He sat on Kinsolvings chest and raised his fist to strike.
Sensei Kinsolving flipped Lee over his head, sending him past the edge of the mat and onto the hard floor. Lee landed on his shoulder and he could tell by the shot of pain he felt that it was dislocated. He grimaced for a moment then pushed the pain back down, deep down so that he could not feel it. Then he rolled over sharply so that when his arm hit the hard wood, it was knocked back into place.
I could have done that for you, more cleanly, I might add, Kinsolving said, already standing over him. You likely just inflicted more damage with that little move,
Lee didnt want to hear it. He was angry. Why was Sensei Kinsolving riding him so hard?
You old man! You dont know me! You dont know anything about me!
Sensei Kinsolving offered a hand up. Lee looked at it for a moment, but when Kinsolving jutted it toward him, he decided hed better take it. Sensei Kinsolving pulled Lee up with a strength that was surprising for the teachers size.
Todays lessons: One you lost your temper. Never lose your temper in a fight, it will get you and your companions killed. And two you think your chi is just a device to ignore pain. Youre wrong. Youll never find that inner power until you face your pain all of it.
Lee, still angry, didnt reply.
Youre a decent lad, Lee. If you werent, Stephanie could be in real trouble right now instead of just being mad at you.
Lee wondered who all knew about that.
But youre self-destructive. For some reason, you seem to hate yourself. When you could be building relationships, youre tearing them down. Why?
Sensei Kinsolving didnt wait for an answer.
Figure out what the real pain is youre hiding, son. Figure that out and maybe we can make some progress.
Then Sensei Kinsolving walked toward the door.
Clean this room up, he said. Straighten up the racks. And think about what I said. Ill see you tomorrow, same time.
Lee drove his fist into the rack of practice weapons, sending wooden swords falling to the floor like pickup sticks. Lee grabbed a rag and started wiping down the swords before replacing them on the rack. -
The door was locked and if anyone knocked on it, Smith wouldnt answer.
It suited him to be alone right now. If the world were going to abandon him, then he would abandon it first. That was the lesson of the past several days.
The room seemed cold and he wondered if the house was behind that an attempt to force him out of his solitude. It wouldnt work. Besides, the chill fit his mood.
He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell Jessie all about finding his parents only to watch them leave him. He wanted her to hold him and tell him that he wasnt alone, that he still had her.
Weak.
Better to keep a stiff upper lip. To maintain. To be strong, and if you cant be strong, at least dont be vulnerable.
Stiff upper lip? He almost laughed at himself for that one. His lower lip was split, sewn together with surgical thread, from that parting shot from Ares.
God, Jessie how could you?
But it was probably better not to think about her. Doing so would make him emotional and he didnt need to be emotional. He didnt need to broadcast anything that the many empaths around the school could catch. Especially Jessie.
The exhaustion of the week set in, but still he couldnt sleep.
No past. No present. What kind of future could he possibly have?
Etoile. The thought intrigued him. Go back to his roots, so to speak. No one would really miss him, except maybe Ben and Cassi.
Apparently Jessie wouldnt.
And he was thinking of her again. Why? What had happened? Four weeks without seeing each other and now everything was shot to hell!
Suicide crossed his mind. He could slash his wrists!
Oh! That would be classic! Mr. Kirby or Jericho Stone would come crashing in his door and Jessie would come in and take his pain for her own and hed feel guilty for hurting her again on top of everything else.
A thought occurred to him and Smith looked to the small table beside his bed. The drinking glass was gone. His ink pen was gone. He was sure if he looked, his utility belt with its various sharp utensils was also gone.
Fine, house, you win, he said quietly, But Ill need my needles and meds back in an hour, you bloody bully.
The door was locked and if anyone knocked on it, Smith wouldnt answer.
No one knocked. -
Wake up.
The voice came from inside me.
Get up.
I find myself getting to my feet.
You can stop this.
I dont know who is speaking to my mind, but I feel compelled to do as I am told. Besides, it seems to me that it is in my best interest to stop my parents from killing each other if I am ever to get to know them.
Im a bit dizzy, but still I sprint the length of the pier to where my mother has the gun leveled at my fathers head.
You took him away from me! You took my baby away from me!
We both agreed it was in the best interest of your chosen career with Arachnos.
I was young! I didnt know any better! And Carli Carli never gave me a baby!
A week ago I had no past whatsoever. Now, Im hearing details I could live without.
Mother? I say, my voice soft and moderated. Im here now.
She looks back, over her shoulder at me, and my heart breaks for her when I see grief.
Still, the .45 is aimed at my father.
Touch her.
And I do. I reach out with one finger and catch one of her tears.
Whatever entity had been inside me, guiding me, speaking to me, flows through the touch from me to her. Then the tears really start to fall.
Oh, Paulie we should have got married.
I hope my father has sense enough to
Youre right, Angelina. Giving you up is the biggest regret I have in life.
That might do it.
We would have been good together. I would have given you children, lots of children
The bikers been just standing there smirking, listening like it was his business.
Come out of her Aphrodite, he says. Let her shoot him.
Angelina sort of shudders and her voice changes a little as she says, I cannot, my energies are depleted. Here, my essence must stay. And then she shudders again and its like shes Angelina again.
My father takes this all in stride like hes seen it before.
He says, Its not too late, Angelina. Youre young enough. We can still have children.
I blink. Not from what he says, but from what he means. All this, Were going to take your blood and use it to plant your seed into the belly of a meta-powered female human Cassi said my father was a god. But now he seems to be confined to a mortal body. A demi-god like me. With a meta-powered mate.
The biker growls. NO! I demand blood!
Angelina shoots him.
It doesnt kill him of course. It probably would have, but since Ares is borrowing his body, all it does is knock him down and make him hurt. That seems to calm him down a lot.
Mom and dad talk for maybe another twenty minutes while Ares sits and waits for his wound to heal. I think they really do love each other, but gods and mobsters arent really that good at expressing things like that. Still, its good to see them together. I just know that once we get to know each other, they will both reform from their criminal lifestyles and move to Paragon City with me.
Then Ares has to go and spoil the moment.
We should go. We should work together to create a portal home.
Home? Wait heres home
Yes, youre right. Ive been here for far too long. One cannot avoid ones fate.
But
They do some sort of little choreographed thing with their bodies. I cant explain it to you. Its weird.
And then their portal opens, a ring of light with a dark center, like a corona around an eclipse.
Wait
Ares doesnt stop. He steps on through. Mom and dad, they stop and turn toward me.
Go home, Mickey, my mother says, This is where you belong. You cant go where we go.
Shes right, Mick, my father agrees, This is where you belong. You are a child of this world. Like us, you cannot avoid your fate.
Butis this all I get? Is this all you have for me?
Im so freaking angry! Im being abandoned! After all theyve done to me!
What do you want?
I dont know really I dont
My mother kisses my cheek and hugs me tight, then kisses my cheek again.
There. You will have love in your life, no matter how difficult that life may be. That is my gift to you.
Then she steps through the portal.
I have a gift for you too, my father says, I give you this.
He touches my forehead.
They called me the god of light. More correctly, I was the god of illumination of truth. I give you the power of truth. You may use it once, at your discretion, to either reveal, or to hide.
Im stunned. What kind of gift is that? One time? I can only use it once?
He turns to step through the portal.
Wait! I have questions! Why did you wipe my memory? Can you give them back? I
Theyre gone. Only the ring of light remains. Im alone.
All alone.
Then a the black center shimmers and someone starts to emerge. Have they changed their minds? Are they coming back? All I want is just a little more time to get to know them.
A voice from inside the portal says, I still want blood! and Biker-Ares fist flies out of the dark and smashes into my face.
Moments later, I wake up to the taste of my own blood. Im still on the pier. Its still night time. The portal is gone. -
High above the fray, from the night sky, Aphrodite watched events unfold. She was not happy.
Ares bloodlust was getting the better of him. He was going to kill Helios and forget all about the bigger picture. Though from the looks of things, Helios was holding his own, employing mortal magicks and fighting techniques to hold the war god at bay.
The biggest danger was that in possessing the giant biker her former lover might well expend the last of his essence and, even if they did somehow get what they needed from the demi-god boy and a meta-human female, theyre combined energies might not be enough to open a portal home. They could be stuck here, fading gradually into the mists of myth.
The plan had failed and it was time to come up with a new one, or to go out in a blaze of Olympian glory.
Paul Heller was beginning to tire. This human form had its limitations and Ares was pushing him past them. Simply avoiding the whipping chains was taxing, and maintaining the magical fire swords was draining his endurance even quicker.
The bikers were all down except for this one which housed he essence of the god of bloodlust. He had taken them down quickly so that he could focus on the one opponent. But as the chains ripped more and more of the pier away so that Heller was now surrounded more by holes than planks, he knew he was fighting a losing battle. He had only one chance. He dropped to one knee
Quarter? he said.
Angelina Marcone raised her head and looked at her son. He was indeed handsome, like his father, but he was strong and ruthless in battle like herself. She smiled.
He was speechless at the moment -- confused, no doubt at the revelation with which she had just hit him.
Her own head was clearing her son packed much more pure power than she did, even if he still lacked finesse. She could think straight now, defend herself if needed, but she didnt think he would attack her again.
She wondered what kind of life he had now, without his memories of childhood. He had told her about his girlfriend, Jessie. Any time shed stroked his face or kissed his cheek, the conversation always went back to Jessie. She hoped the girl made him happy. She hoped the girl had made him a man.
Mother? the boy said. The word sounded wonderful rolling off of his tongue.
Then something toward the end of the pier caught the boys eye. She turned to follow his gaze.
The battle had stopped. The big biker was just standing there like an idiot with Paulie kneeling in front of him. Why didnt the giant finish it?
Angelina growled in disgusted annoyance, then quickly got to her feet. As she ran past it, she scooped up her .45
Angelin -- Mother, no! the boy the boy shouted.
The sound almost stopped her, but no. She would not stop. She looked back at him and, before he could gather his wits, knocked him cold with a mental blast.
One way or another, Paulie Heller had to die tonight. -
My feet hit the pier and Im almost to the bikers when out from the midst of them steps Angelina. She still has her gun in her hand and Im fairly certain shes going to use it.
Before she can mute my powers again, I unleash a psionic barrage that knocks her off her feet. She looks up at me, her eyes widened in surprise and I hit her with another, harder one.
Im angry. She has pulled me away from my life from Jessie and though there seems to be some strange bond or attraction between us I want to show her she cant push me around any longer. I will not be her toy, her tool.
Ahead, I can see flames swirling among the motorcycle thugs. Some of them dive off the pier; others fall down engulfed by flames. One, larger and taller than the others swings a chain in each hand, smashing through the piers railing, through his fellow bikers, through the pier itself in his attempts to kill my father. Above the battle and the waves I can hear the giant bikers maniacal laughter.
My father seems to be the source of the swirling flames, and for now, seems to be holding his own.
All that, I take in with a glance because Angelina may be down, but she is not out. She struggles to her feet just in time for me to lay her back down with another psi-bolt. When she tries to speak, I hit her with another.
Im relishing my dominion over her almost too much, and I know its the manifestation of the anger I keep subdued deep inside me. It occurs to me that I could kill her right here, right now, and that, though she showed me mock-kindness, still she would deserve it for the untold evils she has committed in her life.
Her body is limp, her arms thrown out to her sides and the pistol several feet away. Shes still breathing. I can see her chest rise and fall. Her eyes are open, though slightly glazed from the psionic beating she has taken. Her head probably hurts like hell. I know that one more attack could cause her brain to hemorrhage.
I do not attack again. Instead I tell her, If you try to rise from where you are, I will kill you.
Im sorry, Mickey
She said it so softly, I barely heard her.
Im sorry, Mickey. I didnt mean for it to go this way. Youre strong. Im proud of you.
I can still barely hear her above the noise of the battle and the waves. I kneel down closer, prepared to strike her again if this is a feint.
Im proud of you, Mickey proud to be your mother. -
Angelina Marcone kissed Paul Heller on the lips. Actually, on the lips wasnt exactly accurate. She kissed him deeply. She kissed him with her body. She kissed him with her soul. And when she was done, the heat was stifled by the ice in her veins and she said, Kill him.
The thirty-four members of the Gods of War Motorcycle Club parted like a pack of animals giving way to a deadlier predator, and then closed again around Paul Heller. When they moved, the sound of heavy chains rattled mutely under the roar of the surf. Their victim could scream all he wanted to, and no one would hear him.
Ill pay you, Heller said, his voice calm and level. Ill pay you ten million dollars to just walk away from here.
Ten million? one of the Gods of War said. And you have that in cash?
Before Heller could answer, a logging chain smashed through the speakers skull, pushing his eyeballs and teeth out of his face. The man fell at Hellers feet.
Heller followed the chain from the mess of blood and brains to the giant hands that held it. The fellow was at least six-feet, nine-inches tall, with a shaved head and a handlebar mustache. He was buff, with biceps bigger around than his head and forearms to match. He wore nothing under his leather vest and his bare chest was covered with tattoos of dragons and skulls. A large, black, intersecting GW was over his heart.
The Marcones have been good to us, the brute said. They ask a favor, we give them the favor. You think ten million dollars is enough to buy our loyalty? You think were for sale?
Heller looked at the brute. There was something in his eyes, his expression. Something familiar.
Very well then, he said, I have nothing to lose at this point anyway,
Then he raised his arms up high over his head and when he brought them down again, he held a flaming sword in each hand.
Lets have at it, shall we? -
Ouch. Automobile glass is hard to break. I thought the back glass would never come out. Probably should have tried the rear door glass it might have been easier.
Angelina left me in the car and walked away. Not long after that, the motorcycles came. Not long after that, the dampening effect she has on my powers faded. I was able to use my TK to quietly push out the back glass, and then it was simple matter to cut my bonds on the twisted metal window framing.
Im standing in the driveway of a beach house. There are two others on either side. The tiny front yard is filled with big bikes. They spill out of the yard and onto the edge of the road. I can hear the sound of boots walking on wood behind the house. Its the sound of death marching.
I wish I had my stealth suit, but when I went out to that bookstore, I wasnt planning on doing anything requiring special equipment. Actually, I wasnt planning on being out that long. Im lucky I happened to have my medication on me or Id have that problem to contend with also.
Angelina has been great about giving me my injections. Shes taken much better care of me than your average kidnapper would.
Even without my stealth suit, Im very cat-quiet, and the sun is nearly set, so its no problem to sneak around to the back.
Theres a pier out here. A long one. There are like two or three dozen bikers Gods of War, their vests say marching down it. At the far end I can barely make out Angelina and
That man. That has to be him.
I feel like vomiting. Theyre going to kill him! These brutes must be who she was talking to on her cell.
I dont know him. But if Im ever going to get a chance to, then Ive got to save him.
I forget all about sneaking and charge headlong into the mob. -
The ocean breeze blew in, bringing with it dark clouds and the smell of sea foam. The dying sun set behind the tree line on the shore, giving the ocean a surreal look in the twilight. In the distance a pack of motorcycles roared toward destiny.
Two people stood facing each other at the end of a long pier. One of the people held a gun.
Angelina.
Paul.
You look beautiful.
Dont start that. You always do that and it always makes me feel like crap.
Fair enough. Wheres the boy?
Hes safe.
What are you going to do with him?
Im taking him back to the Isles, where he belongs.
He doesnt belong there. Hes not cut out for your kind of amorality.
Dont tell me what hes cut out for! Hes mine now! He goes where I say he goes! Hell do what I tell him to do!
Angelina, please youll kill him.
Hes a strong one. Lots of life in him. Hell make it. Your odds, however...
You dont have to do this.
Yes. I do.
You never loved Carli. Hes happier now, believe me.
What do you know about happiness? You with your cow of a wife!
I never loved her either I admit that.
So you came alone like I said?
Yes.
With the money?
Whats left of it.
I guess we should do this then.
Yeah. Guess so.
Are you going to do it yourself?
I had thought about it, but I cant.
Then why do it at all?
Oh, it has to be done. You have to pay. Not just for Carli, but for betraying the Family.
To whom are you giving the honor?
Someone who cant be traced back to the Marcones, the...
What was that? Between the surf and those bloody motorcycles, I didnt hear you.
I said a biker gang, the Gods of War.
Thats what I thought you said. You know, that might have been a bad choice
The ocean breeze blew in, bringing with it a dark god... -
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((so uh...i just wanted to pop in to say i liked these stories, bit complex but i don't care they're cool!))
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((Thanks! That was a very nice thing to say. )) -
Okay. This is weird.
Last night I was singing opera to this woman. She was giddy about it. She was kissing me all over my face and hugging me and I thought she was going all cougar on me. But then she started crying. That was pretty scary to be honest because she was really going through Kleenex and waving that .45 around.
Maybe Ive got Stockholm Syndrome, or maybe Im thinking there is some sort of chemistry between us, but when I hugged her and asked her what was wrong, she just looked at me kind of sad and psi-zapped me to peaceful oblivion. Again.
Somehow shes dampened my powers. (Ive had it happen before when fighting Night Widows. Id really love to learn that technique.) So Im pretty helpless right now. And right now is me laying in the back seat of a rental car, hogtied and gagged while she drives past palmetto trees and listens to Vikki Carr on the mp3 player.
Shes been talking to people on her cell. Im not sure who, but it seems to involve an ambush. The victim of that, now, I am pretty sure of.
Over the past couple of days, she has told me why she is so enraged at Paul Phillip Heller. He made her husband gay.
I know, that doesnt make sense. None of this makes sense, but thats what she said.
Carli was straight until he went hunting for Paulie!
Thats exactly how she said it, accompanied by dramatic hand flourishes that involved waving her pistol around. Millions of dollars were involved also. Family business is complicated to say the least.
She just turned off the music. It was in the middle of It Must Be Him, so something is probably about to happen. Something bad.
Its always something bad lately. -
Paul Heller Stood on the pier and waited. His rental car sat alone in the rental beach houses driveway. The pier came with the house, and so it occurred to him that he stood upon a rental pier.
There was a time, he mused, when he wouldnt have been so careless as to bring his enemies down upon him. Among the Olympians, he had been one of the most clever. Perhaps only Aphrodites protégé, Eros, was more clever. Or perhaps swift Hermes. (Ah poor Hermes no sentient being, mortal or immortal, should face such a fate.)
The cigarette was comfortable in his hand. Its smoke rose and circled his head and enticed him to put it to his lips and draw its full, rich tobacco flavor into his lungs.
Such creature comforts held power over him now. Perhaps taking human form and remaining such for so many years had rooted him in the role. If he tried right now, could he return to his former, glorious self?
Still, he had been wise to use the last of his waning divinity to take this form. His peers had largely squandered their last energies making desperate, useless displays of vanity before a human race that largely considered them to be abstract aspects of the collective consciousness, which left many of them little more than vague suggestions of the splendorous beings they once were. The catastrophic events that soon after had rocked their world all but sealed the eventual extinction of the Olympian race.
So he had left the universe of his origin and came to this Earth to begin a new life. A different kind of life. A life among the mundane, ordinary finitely-lived humans.
Why had he decided to settle in the Rogue Isles, he had no idea.
He glanced at the house sitting on the hill above the sandy beach. There was still only one car in the drive.
Two-hundred feet to either side of the house was another house just like it smallish, with blue vinyl siding, sitting on stilts. Further south, Myrtle Beach was a loud, gaudy, ocean resort; the kind of trashy town that mobsters loved to go to for a quickie weekend, or a weekend quickie; a town that hosted biker gang conventions, with all the amenities the open road barbarians demanded. But here, on the north end of the Grand Strand, things were smaller, slower. Rentals and campgrounds and mom and pop motels.
In the distance a pack of motorcycles rumbled down the highway.
The god of light put out his cigarette tapped another out of the pack.
Angelina would be here soon. He couldnt wait to see her. He just hoped he had time to tell her that before the other gods gathered. -
The climax almost makes me pass out. At the end of it, I sort of go limp, my heart racing and my lungs straining for air.
I woke up in a seedy motel room in a tourist-trap town called Myrtle Beach with a former Night-Widow-turned-gangsters-wife named Angelina Marcone. Were all alone and I am desperately trying to keep her happy.
Oh god, youre good.
Angelinas compliments do not mean much to me, but I have to admit, I was good. Which helps with my goal of keeping her happy.
Though it would have been better if you had put more emotion into it.
I sigh in response. Still gasping for air, I cant talk yet, but if I could, Id tell her it would be easier to get into it if she hadnt forced me to perform by holding a .45 to my head.
Your father was good, but youre better.
That kind of hurts. I have yet to meet the man, and all she does is compare me to him.
Hell be here tomorrow, you know. Hes a smart one. I knew hed figure out where we were after I took you.
I knew it! I knew she was using me to set him up!
She touches my face again I hate when she does that and tousles my hair like I was a little boy.
I want you to do it again.
Oh god I barely made it through the first time
But try harder this time. More oomph.
I tell her, I could oomph more if you would untie me.
I like you in the position youre in, is her reply.
But this is so restrictive. Wouldnt you like to see what I can really do when Im standing up, putting everything I have into it?
Ooooo... Youve talked me into it.
She unties me and says, Remember I dont have to use ropes to restrain you.
Understood. All right, and I hope youre satisfied after this. Im not sure Ill be able to do any more tonight.
Youd better make it really good then.
I sigh, then take a deep cleansing breath and begin
Che gelida manina! se la lasci riscaldar.
Cercar che giova? al buio non si trova
I make it through Che Gelida Manina from La Boheme out of breath, but flawlessly. Im hardly a Pavarotti, but for an amateur, Im excellent!
Im just glad she didnt request Verdi I dont know any Verdi. -
Paul Heller arrived in Paragon City two steps behind Angelina Marcone and many more than that behind Ares and Aphrodite. Two deities and a gangsters angry wife. Formidable odds, that.
If not for those pesky Arachnos goons, the Olympians would never have found him. Hed been in this universe for nearly 17 years, living the semi-normal life of the legitimate business front for a branch of the Family. But then those spiders had tried to take his son, Mick for Lord Recluses twisted youth program, YIKES.
Hed had only three words to say about that No damn way, and then hed just shot them. Although it did happen on occasion, killing spiders was generally looked down upon by the Marcones, simply because Arachnos keeps Etoile a safe haven for Family operations. He split his family up and made his getaway.
Mrs. Heller now lived in Belgium with a former Chippendale dancer, a setup which has often given her former husband second thoughts. Since she was the one who got Arachnos involved to begin with, perhaps that was too good a fate for her.
Paul stepped up to the front door of Maggies Rock, the school where his son now resided. He lifted the heavy knocker and prepared to make his presence known. Then he had the strangest feeling.
What was that? Paul quietly put the knocker back in its resting place and stepped back. He looked at the schools façade and he could almost swear it looked back at him.
Then he heard it, clear as day. No welcome for you.
He smiled, then bowed slightly and nodded. The school was a sentiens domus, and as such it held secrets. Such a being would never allow one such as himself inside it. But if his son was inside it, he was safer there than anywhere else.
Fair enough, he said to it. May your mysteries always remain thus, and your occupants blissfully unaware of them.
There were other resources available to Paul Heller with which to locate his son and his enemies. He didnt really want to use them, as the very act of doing so would alert Ares and Aphrodite to his exact location. But at this stage of the game, perhaps that didnt matter. It would be far better for him to find them first than for them to find him.
He just hoped that, wherever the boy was, he was safe. -
Neutral ground. Always demand neutral ground. And then make sure we have more guns in hand there than-- You know what I expect. Just do it. Ive got to go. My guest is waking up.
A voice at once soft and sharp. Snow falling on razorblades. I open my eyes and raise my head to see who is speaking.
Ah. I thought I heard you stir.
Shes beautiful. I mean for a middle-aged woman. Actually, shes beautiful for a any-aged woman. Long dark hair. High stiletto heels. A low-cut, very tight black dress that ends mid-thigh. Looks that could kill and dressed to do so.
I try to move, but find that I am tightly bound with ropes to a wooden chair.
Indeed, I am awake, but I seem to have misplaced my freedom.
She smiles at my little joke.
Quit-witted, like your father, she says.
And now I wonder if she is the they I was warned about instead of the angry Olympians.
She approaches me, kneels in front of me and strokes my face.
And you have that that je ne sais quoi like your old man.
She is uncomfortably close. Odd thing when one is faced with an abundance of attractive bosom; it is nearly impossible for us males to focus on either conversations or faces. In my maleness, I neglect to assess my surroundings. I realize far too late moments ahead in this conversation, in fact that I do know neither where I am, nor how many others might be in the room with us.
You do remember me, dont you, Micky? Auntie Angelina?
I do not respond partly because of the bosom-hypnosis, partly because I am simply afraid to admit that I do not recall her.
She leans in and coos into my ear, Thats all right, cutie. That was a few years ago you were ten last time I saw you and youre almost a grown man now. I cant expect you to remember an old frump like me.
I swallow hard. Shes breathing on my neck. I strain against my bonds, but I am totally helpless. I feel like Im trapped in a bad fetish story.
Youre hardly an old frump, I say. Im not merely trying to be polite -- if it keeps her in a good mood and buys me time to assess my situation
Youre such a sweet boy, she says.
Then she raises slighty and kisses me on top of my head. I blush a little, then I blush a lot as she embraces me, clutching my face to her breast.
There is a fragrance there, soft, sweet, warm. I inhale it through my nose and mouth and it goes straight into my brain. Mimosa the ancient Chinese will-breaking drug. Damn.
Have you been in contact with your father?
No, I whisper against the softness of her bosom.
Has he been in touch with you?
I cannot help myself.
Yes.
Do you know where he is?
No.
Does he know where you are?
He seems to find me wherever I am.
Well, thats something, I suppose.
She leans back, taking the scent of mimosa and woman with her. Still, the effects linger and though I try, I cannot manage so much as a single psi-dart.
She smiles. Somehow she knows what I have attempted.
Oh, Micky, you have powers! How wonderful!
I cant think of a witty comeback.
I wonder how long your father has kept that secret from me? Ill ask him when I see him just before I kill him.
Oh great. I havent even met him yet and Im setting him up.
Well, amore mio, get some rest for now. Sweet dreams.
The she looks at me and I can see something familiar in her eyes something I know my targets have seen in mine.
She shoots me with a psi-dart strong enough to --