Torroes waited in his cell. It was breakfast time, and many of the inmates would be in the cafeteria. Which meant Torroes wouldn't be.
Joe came to the open door way with a tray. The plate contained a small serving of eggs and a single hash brown. The glass of orange juice contained barely a cup of juice. Due to the cybernetic nature of Torroes' body, he required very little food intake.
"Thanks Joe," Torroes said as he took the tray offered.
"How are the inmates?" Torroes asked as he ate the hash brown.
"Bout the same I guess." Joe answered with a shrug. "That one guy, Velkon seems to be stiring up trouble agian. Nothing major. Just looks like his usall crap." Joe explained. He noticed the Chemistry books stacked on the table.
"What are those for? Planning to make a nerve gas?" Joe asked jokingly. Torroes threw him a side ways grin at the irony his joke.
"No, You mentioned Ashley was having some troube with Chemistry. Next time she visits I was going to see if I could help her some." Torroes explained.
"Ah, well she'd appreciate the help, as would I. Those text books are not ment for normal people to read!" Joe said with a chuckle.
Torroes quickly downed the orange juice and ate the eggs handing the now empty tray back to Joe.
"Don't forget, Statesman and the Mayor are coming today. So you need to stay in here" Joe said.
"I remember." Torroes assured him. Joe began to pull the door shut but Torroes held it open with his hand.
"Hey Joe, if anything happens, with the other inmates. You know whos side I'm on," Torroes said looking into Joe eyes. Joe stood statue solid for a moment.
"Yes, I do. And no matter what the Warden or Seig say, I appreciate it. I just hope we never need THAT kind of back up." Joe said.
((OOC: This thread died quickly....))
((I don't think that it's dead... Our players are simply trying to find the right way to access the next stage of development. Some of us are in limbo, waiting for replies/interaction from other players, etc. It's also a tad unnerving to be writing about life in a prison, especially one as dark and corrupt as this.))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
((Unless the only nerves are the ones left remaining in your eyes, eh Blind?!
*Badum-PISH!*
...Okay, yeah, that one sucked, I will give you that.
For me, I have no real place to do anything. I am in my cell, just sitting and swivelling my nerves around wildly to freak out some kind of living moss in one of the bricks.))
OOC: I dunno, I did my bit with the five minutes thing. I was waiting for someone else to post breakfast being over.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
((Mein Gott, Prodiguy, that's like something out of Hellraiser... And I just ate!))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
((Hm... If I try hard enough, I might get you to recycle (Read; Re-eat eaten food)) on command!
I am nature's ally!))
((I'm just waiting for EL_D to have Veikon answer. 
))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
((Prod... It'll take much more than that to make me chew cud.))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
(( Sorry was gone for the weekend...so where were we...since someone is taking awhile to answer i'm afraid i'm gonna have to cut them off and end breakfest ))
Phaith stood as the guards screamed that breakfest was over and to line up.
Phaith went to throw away his plate, but before he did he broke his spoon in half making sure none of the guards saw. He tossed one half into the trash and faked a cough slipping the broken half into his mouth.
Phaith wasn't one to draw attention to himself or start trouble, but with Mr. Ryuu in his cell things looked to get interesting soon and it would be best to be ready.
(( We either assume we are now back in our cells before the next activity or are currently walking back to the cells if someone wanted to do something with that. Guards are escorting us to our cells just FYI. ))
OCC:
I want to join but what if your a bot MM. Well ill join if someone answers so BYE BYE
(( Masterminds work pretty much the same as everyone else. For Zombies the anti powers thing blocks em, for thugs...well Thugs don't follow you to prison, same with mercs. Bots are locked in the vault along with all the other weapons. ))
(( kk thanks for the info ))
Robotinator sat in his cell impatiently.
" GAURDS LET ME OUT!" he shouted do everyone could hear.
He had gotten arrested when he robbed a bank in paragon city. He knew it was risky but thats why he did it. His robots , on the scene of the crime, got took away. He was'nt so pleasured to hear about that.
"Might anyone know where my robots are?" he asked.
Then he heard someone speak up.
"Wow"exclaimed the guard as the 8'4" "man" walked through the Zig front gates. Demetri "Wolfeyes" Wulfgang was his name. He was a behemoth of a man. Standing above eight feet tall. But that was not his oddest feature. The thing that usually got to people was his wolf-like face and and fur covering his whole upper torso and arms.
"Take him to cell 417" called the guard. Ahh cell 417. Wolfeyes had heard of this cell from people on the outside, the freeworld. Cell 417 is where they keep high risk inmates. It is where the bars are 10" in diameter and there are no windows. A rock with a half inch pad on top is the only thing that separates the inmate from the stone on the bed.
"Ill be out of here in no time" he said to the guard.
"You'll regret keeping me hear"
"Thats what they all say"muttered the guard under his breath.
Wolfeyes had no need for weapons in this prison. He was a weapon. His nails are like razors and are a strong as steel. But that was not what he missed the most. Having been given a shot upon entering he was no longer able to access his hellfire. The trait he had inhereted from his White Wolf demon.
"Whats your name?" muttered the man from the cell to the left of him.
Wolfeyes was silent.
"Whats the matter cat got your tongue?"
"I dont talk to filth as low as you" he growled with a rasp that sounded as if a wolf was protecting its meal.
"Ahhh, we've got ourselves a boy who thinks hes a
"Supervillian" eh? Well thats where youve got it all wrong. You dont run this cell block. I run this cell block."
Wolfeyes chuckled at the ignorance of the supposed "Cell Block Leader".
"LUNCH TIME!" The gates to the cells sprung open and the people began to file out of their cells. The man that had been talking to Wolfeyes came into cell 417.
"What do you want?"
"I just came to see who was talking like a badass, but damn you are one ugly [censored]."
Wolfeyes stood off of his bead and rose to his full height. He was more than two of the short man that had come into his cell.
Wolfeyes grabbed the man by the throat with his dishlike hands. The man began to gulp for air. He got out a scream before completely passing out.
The guards ran in and took Wolfeyes left arm. He swung his entire body and hit the first guard with a thud to the side of the head that reverberated throughout the prison walls. Five more guards walked up and hit him in the back of the head with a club knocking him out cold.
((Just FYI, superpowers are supposed to be suppressed in the Zig through drugs, anti-superpower-tech, containment magic, etc. 
Also, you're way ahead of the rest of us, we just finished breakfast. 
))
Ryuu Hotaka put up no resistance as the guards escorted him back to his cell. They passed a sadistic-grin-wearing, Dr. Raiken on the way who rubbed his hands in a plotting fashion as he surveyed the prisoners he wanted to 'examine' tonight - Brutish Ghoul of course the first among them.
As Ryuu passed him, the Doctor paused for a moment and turned to look after the tall, robed man with a puzzled expression.
Then he shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Must've been the imagination. With a shrug, he turned to walk on his way...
...and fell flat on his face as he tripped over his own shoelaces. The bells on his collar jingled aloud as the maniacal medicinist tumbled over like a sack of potatoes. Down the corridor, someone yelled, "Timber!", followed by bouts of loud laughter.
"You're on my list." Raiken hissed quietly after Hotaka, absolutely sure the man had something to do with this. He'd need to do some research first, though. Well, plenty of time to dig up the guy's files, right?
Hotaka himself just smiled as always as they led him back through the cell block gates with, "Five coming in!", and then back to his cell, Phaith already there.
"An enlightening morning." Ryuu commented as he sat down on the floor in a meditative position...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"enlightening indeed..."
Phaith heard a voice from the cell beside his yelling something about "his robots". He Smashed a fist on the wall to get the guy's attention.
"Your toys should be in the Vault along with everyone's elses", Phaith said loud enough for the guy on the other side of the wall to hear,"Don't plan on getting those back any time soon fella."
Phaith laughed and twirled his broken spoon half in his hands and looked over to Ryuu.
"As for you Mr. Ryuu.....what's your plans here?"
"Hmph, 'bots are stupid." A skeletal finger poked through a small opening in the cell, then a second, shaking them in a 'Pshaw.' way. "Get some zombie-dudes with you, and they won't care if you smash their heads right off. I mean, they won't help very much, due to their immobility and after-death, but they won't go all Terminator or Matrix on you if they deem you unworthy... Mostly 'cause they CAN'T deem you unworthy..."
He continued mumbling, receeding into his cell, muttering quietly about how the undead DID smell, but at least not like motor oil.
Power Breaker saw the massive, tattooed asian enter the cell with him. Obviously a Tsoo goon of some sort. When the other saw Power Breaker, he gave a derisive snort.
"What do we have here," he hissed in a heavy, almost stereotypical accent, "Some fresh meat thinks he's impressive?"
The other cellmate, a skinny guy with scraggly hair and a matching narrow face simply walked in behind the Tsoo bruiser and walked over to Power Breaker.
"Um... You're in my bed."
Harris looked down at the little man. He knew from experience that there were few people like this. The deceptive sorts who are so much more than they seem. Deciding not to push the issue, he stood up and yanked the sheets and blanket off the mattress.
"My mistake, but these are mine," he turned to the bruiser as he made his way to the bunked rack on the other side of the cell, "I'm taking teh bottom one."
"That one's mine, little man..."
"Tray again... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"I'm Paul," the skinny one's voice was smooth as silk, he then motioned to the bruiser and said, "He calls himself Red Dragon."
Breaker's face clearly illustrated his shock. He turned to R.D. and laughed a little.
"What's so funny?" Red Dragon folded his arms over hsi chest and sneered, "Red Dragon is great and powerful!"
"It's also the rank of a white supremacist," Power Breaker threw his linens onto the bed haphazardly and started flexing his hands to limber up his knuckles, "And you're ripping off a movie character who became a serial killer because he didn't know what to do with a woman, even when she clearly wanted him."
Paul chuckled a little and set to making his bed. He had his blankets neatly folded under the rack and the seemed quite clean.
Oddly, Dragon didn't seem bothered that the little guy had laughed at him. He was more bothered that Power Breaker had insulted him.
"I will break you, little man... You're in Hell..."
"And you're the Devil..." Raymond sighed, "No... you're not the Devil, you're practice... yeah, I saw the movie, too."
Red Dragon punched at Power Breaker. The massive brute ducked his forehead into the punch and was rewarded by a popping sound.
"You can thank high school soccer practice for that one," Harris rubbed the top of his forehead, the "hard end," while Red Dragon screamed about how his hand was broken, "Might I suggest a name change?"
"I don't think he's listening," Paul mused as he neatly folded the corners at the foot of his bed, "But I'm all ears."
"How about... Tiffany?"
"Tiffany's taken a few cells down."
Power Breaker's ears perked at that, "Female?"
"Sadly, no... But he has long hair."
"Hm... I've been through here enough times to know that stuff's not for me. I can tough it out."
"That's good," Paul finished and pulled a leatherbound book from under the mattress, it was a bible, "I abhor abberations such as that behavior. Daniel, if you're going to whine and complain like that, you shouldn't have assaulted our new cellmate."
"Yeah... but... Augh! Look what he did!"
"Aw that's not so bad," Power Breaker took a hold of the hand, "See? Just displaced a little... I had this sort of thing happen to me a couple times working in a mechanic's shop... This might hurt..."
Pressing sharply, Harris felt the bones in the back of "Daniel's" hand replace as he manipulated it deftly. his eyes widened a little at it, but he stopped cursing and shouting. When Power Breaker was done, the bruiser was able to maneuver his hand almost perfectly.
"Wow..."
"Well, you're just full of surprises," Paul found his bookmark and read a little, "You've earned your place with us."
"So... Daniel, right?"
"Right."
"You with the Tsoo?"
"Was..." Daniel rubbed his hand a little more, "They... They disowned me about a year ago..."
"And you, Paul, what's your story?"
"I was a hitman," he intoned, "While here, I seriously maimed my first couple of cellmates until they got the idea to stop pestering me. Daniel and I keep each other entertained with theological debate."
"Nifty."
((Paul and Daniel here aren't intrinsic to my story. They're just background filler NPCs. If you need an idea of their "Super" capabilities, Paul's a Dark/Dark stalker, and Daniel has the abilities of an Ancestor Spirit minus their flying and disappearing act.))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
((Heh...and I thought my friend Alan was the only one. Man, was he ever pissed when he saw they used his alias as a serial killer's name. 
))
"Plans?" Hotaka smirked, but didn't turn towards Phaith, instead maintaning his meditative stance, "Why, whoever said I had plans here? Of course, this may change...I may just have to pester that doctor fellow overyone seems to be so afraid of into learning a lesson of respect and leaving well enough alone..."
--------------------
Dr. Raiken, of course, hadn't the slightest inkling of any intention to 'leaving well enough alone'. Ghoul was fascinating enough, and now there was an influx of new vic, erm, volunteers for his research.
In his mind, who cared if they suffered or not? They were dregs, the lowest of the low - and after all, this was for science! Sacrifices were necessary.
"Interesting." the Doctor muttered as he hovered over his lab computers like a vulture, reading a certain profile on the subject 'Dragon of Decay'.
Raiken's eyes narrowed as he scratched his chin. This made no sense. The proper name of this file's subject translated to 'Mountain Dragon'. Why the misnomer?
He chuckled darkly, "Heh heh heh...this is a little mystery I'm going to just love tearing out of you, Mr. Ryuu Hotaka..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
((Anybody who's seen the images I have posted of Power Breaker (Kingdale Backgrounder) should take something into account... The spikes that adorn his body haven't grown in to their full length yet. His head spikes haven't begun to grow in, either, while the shoulder ones are barely more than studs. He's also wearing the typical orange prisoner uniform, as opposed to an outdoors appearance.))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
Phaith sat thinking for a moment. Ryuu ment to target Doctor Raiken. Not something he himself would want. He had been in Raiken's office several times in his long stay at the Zig, and Phaith would never forgot those times. He had basically be tortured for no other reason then to entertain Raiken.
Phaith began scrubbing his broken spoon against the side of the bed. Soon it would be rubbed to a point...good enough if anything bad happened soon. Then he waited, they would be let out of their cells soon for "recreation".
The Mayor of Paragon city was a heavy set man with a thick mushtache. He walked with a heavy stride while chomping on a large cigar. Standing about him was not the singular heroic Icon Statesman, but a collection of Long Bow commanders, Police officials, a trio of heroes. Due to their visit, recreation time was being delayed till late afternoon, not that Warden Zyle had the slightest intension of loosing a chance at the bonus' the mayor could send his way.
The warden took great pains to explain in great detail how the Zigg was under funded relative to the caliber of criminal it held and that i was a miracle there hadn't been any serious break out yet. He also added that it was likely only a matter of time until there was a break out the inmates would be loose on Paragon city once more.
The tour seemed to be going well, with only minimal comments about operations from the Long Bow commanders. THat is, until they got to Block E. The long Bow commanders immediantly became enraged when they found that Warden Zyle was housing inmates in what was meant to be a supply storage area.
Zyle however, immediantly turned it to his advantage and wove a tale of himself and his meager staff performing impossible tasks with a third of the resources such taskes would demand. He continued to elaborate on it by stating they were approaching the breaking point. The commanders backed off slighty. That is until they came to Torroes' cell.
"THIS CREATURE IS A CLASS A! WHY IS IT NOT IN THE MAXIMUM SECURITY BLOCK!" One of the commanders demanded. Before Zyle could even draw a breath to respond the commander lit into the warden once more.
"I IMMEDIANTLY ORDER IT TO BE TRANSFERED TO THE A BLOCK MAXIMUM SECURITY ZONE BY THE END OF THE DAY!" The commander bellowed. As the warden opened his mouth to reply, or perhaps to argue, the commander finmished his command.
"AND TO ENSURE ALL POSSIBLE SECURITY MESSURES ARE FOLLOWED, I AM ASSIGNING SERGENT REYNOLDS AND SERGENT MAINSTIAFF TO GAURD THE INMATE UNTIL SUCH TIME AS IT'S TRANSFER IS COMPLETE!" The other two long bow officers stepped forward and came to parade ground attention on either side of Commander Thompson.
"You don't have the authority to do that!" Warden Zyle bellowed.
"Warden Zyle, I am instructing you to carry out Commander Thompson's instructions. I trust there will be no need to have the commander conduct a follow up visit" The Mayor said in a solid and even toned voice. He stepped close to the Warden, his large gut forcing the warden back. "Will there?"
"No Mayor. There won;t be" Warden Zyle replied, already making a mental list of what would need to be done to accomplish the orders. Despite Torroes history with in the Zigg he was still considered highly dangerous and required a 12 person fully armed escourt to be moved. With the long Bow Lackies standing around, Zyle would have little choice to follow those standards to the letter. That would mean the escourt would need to pull additional officers to facilitate. THat would leave too few officers to cover the recreation yard. Rec time would need to be canceled for the day.
((OOC: Sorry, but waiting around was getting old))
"Wonder what brought the mayor down here to look in on us?" Daniel grumbled as he leaned against the bars.
"Nothing more than political posturing," Power Breaker replied, "Mayor shows up, tours the prison full of big scaaaaary criminals, and shows he's not afraid. Photo-op of him shaking Zyle's hand, and then he heads home in the motorcade. Newspapers print an article about how unafraid he is and that nets him a few more voters in an election year."
"You're refreshingly astute," Paul muttered from behind his book, "You're certain of this conclusion you've jumped to?"
"The mayor doesn't really affect anything that goes on here in the Zig. It's a federal prison, and by all rights, shouldn't even be in an urban area, but necessity and general laziness have caused it to be here. Now, the mayor can't act like he's blind to the issue of crime, which is exceptionally high in this city, so he stages this little trip and bango. The mayor's fighting crime, just like any hero."
"Hero... yeah..." Daniel grumbled, "Course, I don't think I've seen many heroes sportin' a gut like that!"
"Yeah-heah," Power Breaker laughed, "He's an ineffectual old fart, isn't he? Eh... The real power in this city's held by the city council, anyway. Them and Statesman, anyway."
"Now, if he were to come here," Paul grinned as he marked his place with his finger, "the newspapers would really take notice."
"Somebody would try something, too," Daniel shuddered, "Remember the last riot? Took me two weeks in the infirmary to heal that stab wound..."
"I told you to stay in the cell..." Paul mused.
"I thought I could get out!"
"A riot's no way to get out of here," Harris explained, "You want to escape? Make friends, make a plan, and put it to work. It'll take time and research, and not a few resources."
"Well, we're three smart guys," Daniel turned to them, enthusiasm clear on his face, "How about we come up with a plan?"
"Well, two of us have displayed intelligence so far..." Paul looked dubiously to Power Breaker, "But we all still barely know each other... If it comes to breaking out of here, I only want in if there's a high probability of success, and so far, nothing anybody's done has succeeded. Convicts have tried the sewers, the laundry system, the afore mentioned riots... This place is a nightmare of architectural ingenuity, and we're in the middle of it."
"It would take an army," Power Breaker agreed, "And, clearly, many of our would-be men-at-arms have problems working together."
"So..." Daniel's enthusiasm dropped considerably.
"No," the other two replied definitively.
"But if I hear about anything..."
"Likely not," Paul grumbled, "Mine is not a life sentence, and I may get out more quickly for good behavior."
"I'd consider it," Power Breaker allowed, "But it has to be good. I don't want to be here for the rest of my life, but there isn't really anything out there waiting for me, and there's nothing in here making me want to leave."
Paul and Daniel looked to each other worriedly.
"What?"
"Should we tell him about the Ghoul?"
"No..." Paul mused, "Don't get me wrong, Breaker, I feel you should know... But I believe it would be far more entertaining if the first time you dealt with it, you didn't know what you were up against."
"What the Hell are you talking about?" Raymond barked.
"You've heard of the Arena, right?"
"The one under the prison? Yeah, the whole place has."
"You ever wonder why there's never an event held on Monday night?"
"I always figured the guards were watching pro wrestling..."
"Spend enough time here, make the guards or Doc Raiken uber-ticked... You'll find out what we're talking about."
"I think I already ticked off the doc..." Raymond sighed, "I overheard the Crey docs mention something about Silverbell crying that they were muscling in on his jurisdiction before they put me under."
His interest piqued, he sat up and set the book aside with a bookmark deftly slid into his page.
"Crey made you like this?"
"After a Tsoo assassin gave me these scars across my eye. There was damage to my gut as well... But they hit me with synthetic flesh or some sort of regenerative stuff to patch it up quickly after the surgery. I still don't know what they did to me, but I can tell ya this: I wasn't this big when I last walked in through the Zig's front doors."
"Wow," Daniel nodded, "I get why you asked if I was Tsoo, now."
"Oh yes," Paul nodded as well, almost in unison with Daniel, "You're on Raiken's list, but not important just yet. He'd have made his presence known to you by now if you were a top priority."
"Wonder who got his attention and inadvertently saved my butt?"
"Oh, you're not saved," Paul's nod turned to a shake, "Nobody's safe in here. There is no safety, nowhere to hide. Believe me when I say this place is a nightmare."
"Worse," Harris agreed, but he felt he had to make a correction, "You were right with the first thing you said to me, Danny. This place is Hell."
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
Ghoul shot Velkon a glare, yet another new guy that didn't know not to talk to him. But he managed to favor the new guy with a grunt before returning his attention to his food.
"Don't talk much," Ghoul said back to Hokata. If any of the other inmates had been listening in, they would have started making bets by now. Ghoul hadn't talked this much past his first month in the Zig.
"FIVE MINUTES!" one of the guards shouted out, signalling that only five more minutes remained in the breakfast period.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.