Neptune City - Heroes of Alexandria High RP Thread - Private RP

[Fortitude Creed]

Alexander Fortis
Simulation Room
______________

Alex grunted, landing on the ground with a thud and got back up again, glaring down his opponent, gripping the handle of his sabre tightly and trying to think of some way to beat him. Alex had a nose for strong people. And this guy - Lieutenant Justice - gave off an aura that he had previously only felt with his father. There was no way for them to be able to defeat him, and chances are, it wouldn't be possible to trick him somehow either. Narrowing his eye at Masaru and Aiden, Alex realized that the key was Aiden here. Even if they defeated Lieutenant Justice, it wouldn't be guaranteed that the enemy would tell them how to disarm the warhead. But Aiden . . . had some kind of weird, techno-power thing, which might allow him to disarm it.

"But he probably wouldn't let us." He thought to himself, shifting his attention back onto the hero veteran again. Then, he heard the sound of metal moving, and whirling, and he turned around, and saw Aiden transformed again. Though, this time he wasn't a catapult Instead, he seemed to have grown some wings . . . with fans installed into them, and was floating in the air. Even he had cool powers. Looking up at Masaru, Alex gave him a 'move on ahead, I'll try and stall him for as long as possible' look and a thumbs up, then glared down the hero again.

His left hand rolled into a tight fist, he rushed at Lieutenant Justice, his right arm tucked around his chest in preparation for a swing and his left arm swung back . . . and revealed his hidden card. His trap card, if you will. Shooting out his left hand, the Italian boy released the bits of mud and dirt he'd gathered up on the ground earlier and threw it in his face, before spinning around and slashing horizontally with his sword. Alex was pretty sure this wouldn't work, but it was worth a try anyway.

[Celestial Flame]

Masaru Zimmerman

Desperate Measures

Masaru offered Lillian a smile, though she'd miss it, and Alex a nod. Wishing good luck to his friends. Wait, friends? Masaru shook it off, and reached for Aiden's hand, smile growing further. "You're awesome, Aiden." Taking the offered hand, Masaru's 'brow furrowed. He hated leaving the others behind to deal with Lieutenant Justice but he had to trust in them. Though he wasn't a control freak, Masaru was used to handling everything himself. Shaping it, molding it, and controlling it or tossing what wouldn't 'work' or initially cooperate aside rather than waste time tinkering with it. Masaru found himself learning more about people, in this short amount of time, than he had in his entire life...

Objective ahead, Masaru kept his in mind. Simulation room or not, things could've been done to make it a bit more realistic. That was the tricky part about this room. It could adapt to what you needed in it. What would be a good name for it? Danger Room. As Masaru focused on blocking out the disturbance, to zero in on the mission, he felt that quite the suiting name indeed. He wouldn't announce it but Masaru's plan for himself was simple enough. He would defend Aiden, protecting him against any traps or attacks while being his second set of eyes and ears. It would make him a glorified meat shield, but time was of the essence, and he couldn't bother with details.

Masaru's attention ventured from Lt Justice to various sections of the room. Being airborne should at least lower any direct risks, but that didn't mean there were no anti-air defense mechanisms. He's too calm... he must be analyzing us... he's going to make a move soon. Have I done all I could think of...? Where are we weak at...? Wait, what were they up to?!



"Rahhhhhhhh!" Ryan suddenly cried, breaking the silence by banging his fists on the ground in an attempt to shake things up and knock everyone off balance.

Kevin, meanwhile, could be seen sitting near Lillian now with a cheek nestled on his fist. "Sup, baby? I don't know about you but-" when the ground shook Kevin fell over, chest crashing onto the ground. "Man what the fuck?!"

[Fedested]

Aiden Adams - Flying the Imaginary Skies

As Masaru grabbed onto his hand, Aiden took off. He hovered ten metres away from the ground and flew towards the van. Of course, he couldn't hide anywhere, and the group of men spotted them immediately. 'They have guns. If I've learnt something about guns, is that they need ammo. And without ammo, they need to reload.' It was dangerous, and they would probably get wounded, but was there another way? 'My other hand! What if...?'. He'd never tried to use it as a fire weapon, and he wasn't sure if he could actually fire without bullets. His other option was a meele weapon, but that wouldn't do against shotguns. If only Masaru had his powers...

"We need to get them while they reload! Any ideas?", He asked Masaru when...

"Rahhhhhhhh!", Ryan's voice cried, and the ground quaked, shaking everything, even...Their team. Thank God they weren't on the ground. But the team wasn't the only one shaked by that. Appearantly, the wave reached their enemies, who lost their balance for a moment, but that opening was all they needed.

He speeded up the objective. "Be ready to attack!", And with that, he threw his partner towards a pair of terrorists, while he turned to a second pair, with his hand turned into some sharp and pointy metal glove.

[Advocate]

(A few days ago.)

Twisting Out of Grasp

...It was early morning when Casimir finally returned to the neighbourhood. Shivering and sneezing, the kid looked like a total mess. His clothes were torn and dirty, his hair still wet and very foul-smelling. There wasn’t any part of his body that didn’t hurt, but his head was just the worst, a pounding pain still coming from the area that was struck with a tire iron. The boy sniffed and paranoidly wiped away the snot and blood coming from his nose with the back of his hand.

Moments like this can show a man’s true character, make or break heroes or villains, setting them aside from the common man.

Someone else might have been crushed by those events, or miserable and sad, or simply happy to finally have managed to get away from a vicious gang, even if he had to wade through trash and dirty water to do so. A kid his age might actually be more concerned (to the point of panic) about what trouble he might get into at home; it takes an optimist to expect one’s parents to be okay with someone disappearing for a few days after an explosion at his school and coming back a beaten, stinking mess. No matter what part of that they’d take exception to, this situation could not help but be extremely awkward at best.

Cas was a teenager. He did wonder about what his parents would think, or if they would notice his disappearance at all. But that was at the back of his head. Most of all, his mind was filled with thoughts of revenge. Bitterness and malice kept him warm, even as he cringed at his own smell. He will make them pay. All of them. He did not yet know how, but… that didn’t matter. The certainty that he’ll be able to get back at them was overwhelming.

It wasn’t wholly irrational, though. Casimir was sure by now that, for whatever reason, something… changed in him. In his place in the world. He couldn’t really nail it down, but by now, enough strange and unbelievable “coincidences” have happened to assure him that his intuition was correct.

---

They took him to their nearby hideout, first. Some of the gang members were starting to have doubts about the wisdom of kidnapping a high school student in front of his home, but Jimmy insisted that no one would miss him, which, coming from him, suddenly stung. Casimir sat in the back and looked on listlessly as the gang went around its business and banter. It was annoying. They were dull. But there was a lot of them and they were stronger, and the realisation (not really new to him at all) that this kind of people could just keep pushing him around forever stoked Casimir’s growing desire for revenge. Back then, though, his real priority was escape.

He briefly considered talking to them, but soon decided against it. He knew that watching him beg was the whole point, and he didn’t feel confident enough in his mind games to think he could talk them out of their vengeance. Besides, just as most of the gang began to lose interest in him, Casimir realised that the rope they tied him with was getting looser. The boy quietly undid his restraints, waited for an opportune moment when the path to the door was free, and made a run for it. Even as he did so, though, a totally unexpected and shrill panic entered his head. Cas gritted his teeth and tried to shake it off as he ran, but he ended up knocking over an open bottle and slipping in a pool of juice. By the time he got up, George, the guy with the tire iron and the vandalised dirty magazines, was already standing near him and grunting happily. Light, but hearty beatings ensued, and Casimir was returned to his chair, filled with utter disbelief at what just happened.

He tried to escape a few more times. Once in the hideout, then when he was being led to George’s car on the next day (the smell gave it away), then twice near the sewage outflow where they took him. It was at some point between his two attempts at their final destination that Casimir realised the pattern, ridiculous though it seemed. When he tried to escape, he tended to have fairly unlikely strokes of luck. But then it was invariably followed by similar bad luck that thwarted him utterly. On his second try, Cas really only wanted to test this theory out, not expecting to be able to escape, but this time, as far as he could tell, nothing much happened; he took the guy holding him by surprise, kicking him in the shins, but was immediately caught by the others. Maybe he just didn’t notice it…

Freakishly Thin Face Jim swaggered up to him, brushing his hair and playing with his knife. “Man, you’re a persistent one, kid. I guess we all already knew that, though.” He leered, then spat on Cas’ school uniform. “So, how good are you at swimming?”

Casimir looked back at him, trying not to let his fear show. “My uncle’s a high ranking officer in the police force,” he informed Jim. A distant uncle, back in Poland, or so his father told him once… but such details were irrelevant at the moment. “You really think they wouldn’t find you, or that this isn’t crossing a line?”

“Wow, kid. A police officer?” Jimmy raised an eyebrow, then shook his head. “Should’ve said so earlier. I guess we’ll have to let you go, then.”

Cas just stared at Jimmy’s freakish face. Maybe he was a mutant? Cas had read about those before and even saw some videos on the Internet, but he didn’t think he ever ran into any in real life, assuming they were even still around.

“Not really,” Jimmy said a few seconds later, annoyed at Casimir’s lack of response. “Man, don’t get so nervous. You’ll come out just fine, if the garbage sharks don’t eat you.” George guffawed approvingly from behind. Jimmy’s expression did not change. “You’ll just stink for weeks!” And now the rest of the gang joined in on the laughter, Jimmy breaking out in a wide grin from one side of his face to another. Definitely a mutant. How did Cas fail to notice that, for all these years?

A moment or two after that, Casimir joined in the laughter. Partly this was to seem nonchallant, but in addition to that, the absurdity of the day had genuinely gotten to him by now, tired and beaten as he already was. He tried to stop, but couldn’t, breaking out in laughter again and again, only barely calming down after Jimmy punched him. “You moron,” he informed the gang leader cheerfully. “Why would you even do all this? Grabbing me off the streets, keeping me in your treehouse for three days, driving all the way here, throwing me in the sewage…”

Jimmy frowned. “Well, what would you suggest we do?” He asked, suddenly sounding rather tired. “Let’s hear it,” George pitched in, inexplicably amused at the proceedings.

“Just beat me up like you always do!” Cas offered with a smile. “Man, do I really have to tell you how to your jobs? My uncle would have a field day with-”

Snarling, Jimmy punched Cas in the face… or tried to. Sensing a sudden opportunity, the kid ducked and attacked Jimmy’s stomach with his head, sending the surprised gang leader’s fist flying into the face of the guy who was holding Casimir from behind. The guy, shocked, stumbled back and fell, but not before Cas could wriggle out of his loosened grasp. Unfortunately, this was the full extent of Casimir’s planning. He desperately ran for the sewage outflow, all too aware that Jimmy was running after him. A sudden, cold hatred entered Casimir’s brain. He turned around and glared at Jimmy, exulting in his triumph, no matter how short-lived it was, and looking like he is trying to burn the young criminal with his eyes.

That was when the enraged maybe-mutant suddenly faltered, slipped up on a smooth, wet rock and flew straight into the sewage.

Casimir’s emotions subsided, replaced by profound shock. He stood there, blinking for a few moments, just like the rest of the gang. Then, as they started advancing on him, Cas turned around and wordlessly jumped into the water.

---

The Polish teenager smiled as he relived the moment inside his head. What followed was… not fun. Not fun at all, especially for somebody with germophobia, how ever mild. But at least his revenge – no matter how little he understood the mechanism behind it – had begun.

He had no doubt that Jimmy survived, just like he did. It wasn’t exactly a strong current or a very deep body of water; it just stank like hell and was full of stuff that totally wasn’t garbage sharks (though Cas might have preferred those; garbage sharks just get a bad rap, that doesn’t mean they deserve it). All in all, Cas actually considered himself and Jimmy even; he just didn’t think that thin-faced freak would view it like that as well. The rest of his gang, though… that was a different story. As were those bullies at school. And some of the more obnoxious popular kids. And a teacher or two…

Casimir slapped himself on the face. Trying to get revenge on anyone who ever annoyed him, while a fun thought, was stupid. The old man taught him that. Der best rache ist gut liebing, the old man said, with his awesome German accent (he didn’t actually say it with the broken and gratuitous German, though: Cas’ sub-conscious just had a way of adding that to him in retrospect). Which is to say, if he had… some kind of… supreme destiny, or supernatural abilities, the thing to do with them was to become a powerful and infamous supervillain, because heroes are all rubes. Actual revenge would be a pleasant, but secondary objective. Especially if it was over something as petty as being put in detention or getting his homework stolen. Who the hell would take him seriously as a diabolical mastermind if he pursued schoolyard grudges?

As Cas approached his home, though, anxiety began to steadily push out such lofty thoughts. The high school student looked around warily, expecting another gang to show up out of nowhere or an anvil to fall on his head (to avoid the latter, he quickly resumed moving forward, hoping to take cover under the porch roof). Then he realised that this feeling was different from the sense of doom he had before. No, this was just… normal worrying.

Were his parents in there? What would he say to them if they were? Not that he couldn’t slip away from any kind of punishment or care they suggested the moment they inevitably left the house, but it could still be annoying, especially when he had so many irons in the fire… He’d have a lot of explaining to do.

For a few moments, Casimir considered just sneaking in through a window so he could at least clean himself up. Then he dismissed this thought, and rang the door.

To be continued.

[Celestial Flame]

Asses are meant to be kicked

Welp, that was over fast. Not only had the battling ended just as soon as it started, no one could begin to touch Lt Justice. The middle aged former hero lunged first, before springing from hand to hand until the finally closed in a thunderous energy clap. Right when her finished Lieutenant Justice was dashing at the alarmed ranged combatant. He jumped into a violent grab, catching the girl by the throat before slinging her ruthlessly at the wall. She smacked against it before crumpling down, and Ryan was descending to avenge her with a mighty leap. The nimble man's boot adorned feet clapped against Ryan's shoulders before he carried him in a speeding somersault that left him crashing near Kevin and Lillian. He was approaching them next, and the predatory look in his eye hinted at the monstrous ass beating the veteran intended to deliver.

One by one the man engaged the heroes. He took the longest time with Lillian and Alex but the duo failed to attack as a unit. When they dropped the legend twirled an acquired projectile between his fingers before flicking it swiftly to nail the hovering Aiden against the side of the head. As he plummeted, unconscious long before he hit the floor, Lt Justice leaped into a tumble and slid. Their paths crossed with Lt Justice gripping the unconscious Aiden by the neck when he finished colliding against the floor. Holding Aiden's head securely, the man seemed prepared to snap his neck without a second thought. He went on to calmly ask Masaru, "Complete the mission with a fallen comrade or rescue your ally?"

Masaru clicked his tongue before inching up his sleeves. He then turned to face Lieutenant Justice with a jerk of his shoulder, the young man's hands slowly closing into tightly balled fists. The man stood and tossed Aiden to the side, before beckoning Masaru. Exhaling, it dawned on Masaru how terribly they worked as a team. Megan was in a corner quivering. Ryan was passed out belly down with his tongue flapped out. Riley was unconscious and resting flat on her back. Lillian on her side, defeated. Alex was down and out as well, a fist weakly gripping the hilt of his sword. Aiden was still close to the combatants about to throw down.

Suddenly he could sense, and Masaru smiled. His powers were back. Maybe this wouldn't be such a one sided ass whooping after all. Off they took, sprinting towards one another. Masaru teleported, appearing above the skilled fighter and brought a fist towards his exposed back. The trained hero weaved his head out of the way and grabbed for Masaru, who teleported again, spinning when he landed to gain some distance from the man. Before he could attack Masaru grimaced when dust was blown in his face.

Rather than panicking Masaru dryly said, "...fuck."

As soon as Masaru put his sensing to good use it was a split second too late. His back hit the floor... he was down.

Baylee was last, and she seemed to be hesitating. The man didn't want to hurt his daughter, but he had a job to do. If he didn't do it now someone else would do far worse in the future. The hero ran at his daughter and Baylee seemed to be contemplating how to react. Her apprehension cost her dearly. She, too, hit the floor without even getting a chance to act. Lieutenant Justice sighed at their poor teamwork, and approached Megan last. The girl squeaked and held up her hands, "I surrender!"

"End the simulation," commanded the lieutenant. "Tell them to meet me in the library later."

As he walked out Megan sat there with wide eyes before facing her unconscious allies. If they got their asses kicked what chance did she stand? "Okay, that does it. I'm totally done with the whole hero thing."

[Fedested]

Aiden Adams - Defeated

Suddenly, everything went bad. Why? Well, let's say Lt. Justice would never let them succeed if he was on one side and they were on the other. Aiden could not hear any more earthquakes, swords, constructs, or lasers for that matter. Only the fists of the retired hero hitting their targets accurately. The shifter dared to look back, and the scene he saw caused a chill to run down his spine. They were all on the ground, either growling in pain or not moving. The entirety of the team, defeated. Now it depended on him and Masaru to end the mission.

But, of course, Lt. Justice wouldn't allow that. He threw something towards Aiden's head. He couldn't dodge it, and it hit hard, making him lose concentration and ending his transformation. Aiden felt like a bird, one that was posing peacefully on a branch, only to be bullied by some ugly kids, throwing stones at him. He tried to escape, but one of those kids got lucky, and got a clean shot. He fell, his wings were not responding, and so he hit the ground, his head spinning like a carroussel.

His vision was a bit blurry. His whole head palpitating and hurting in pain. He thought he was lucky to be conscious. He also noticed that his glasseswere knocked down near him. His protection. 'Aiden. Stand. Run!', his subconscious, usually sassy, now sounded worried and scared. That change also frightened him, and so he began crawling, painstakingly slow. But then...He couldn't feel anything, and his body stopped moving. He got knocked out too.

================================

'Aiden...', a familiar voice called, and he opened his eyes. But he wasn't in the simulation room. It was a white hallway, seemingly endless, with lots of doors in the sides. A figure stood nearby, leaning aganst the wall. He was wearing a black suit with a black tie. He was paler than him, and that was saying something. But everything else (the eyes, the hair, even the build), was the same as Aiden's. 'At last, you're here.'

"Where am I?", He stood up, and took some steps back from the other Aiden. The suited one gave him a cold gaze before answering.

'Why don't you guess?', His voice...It was like a whisper, like the hissing of a snake.

"It's...My...My mind...", Aiden then pointed at the suited being. "And you are my...subconscious?", The suited self smiled, but it wasn't a warm smile.

'No, It's my mind. You're just a part of me, for I am more powerful and strong.'

"Wait wha-? Bu"

'You took over my body.', The suited being said sharply. 'and you are the reason for my insanity. You're in my body', he advanced a few steps. 'You're an intruder. And you need to be expelled. And now that I escaped my prison, I'll recover my body.', He grasped both of Aiden's arms, and he widdened his eyes to a frightening size. 'AND YOU. YOU'LL BE GONE! GONE FOREVER!!'

================================

"Okay, that does it. I'm totally done with the whole hero thing.", Aiden woke up to Megan saying that. He was panting, sweating and trembling. He was in the simulation room again, but the experience in his mind was still very much alive.

'Forever...', Another chill.

[Fortitude Creed]

Alexander Fortis
Simulation Room
______________

"God dammit." Alex mumbled, rubbing his head as he removed himself from the ground, getting up and dusting himself off. They were completely overwhelmed by Lt. Justice. "I could see everything clearly, but . . . " Alex held out his hand and stretched his fingers, narrowing his eyes. "I couldn't react to any of it." Alex's teeth grinded together in frustration at himself, annoyed that he allowed himself to get out-maneuvered and defeated so quickly even though it was two against one. It was ridiculous. What was missing? Were they just that weak? Or was Lt. Justice just that strong? Either way, it annoyed him.

"Okay, that does it. I'm totally done with the whole hero thing." Megan complained, looking at everybody. This caught Alex's attention straight away.

"What?" His head turned around immediately, followed by the rest of his body, his attention homing in on Megan like a missile.

"I mean . . . if you guys call got owned like that, what chance would I have?" She frowned, suddenly finding the ground very interesting, unable to return Alex's intense gaze. She really wasn't too great in situations like this. Megan hated being put under pressure, and this counted as pressure. A whole lot of it! "I can't fight at all." Megan muttered after a pause.

Sighing, Alex scratched his head. Well, he could relate to that, in a way. It was a feeling he got when he trained with his dad all the time, when he was younger, and sometimes, the feeling of inadequacy and weakness would still boil up every now and again. "Yeah, but that can easily be fixed with some training." Alex replied, bending down to pick up his sword off of the ground, sheathing it back into it's scabbard. "But the thing is, your ability is arguably the most useful one here. Fair enough, you can't fight, but your role as a team member extends beyond one of a soldier."

Megan looked up, slowly, her face going from disappointment to confusion, her eyebrows furrowing together as the response came from her mouth: "E-eh? What do you mean?" She asked.

"You can heal people. Hell, you healed Kevin from near death before, didn't you?" Alex gestured to the black haired boy lying flat on the ground behind him. "None of us could do that. If it weren't for you, he'd be dead."

"Well . . . yeah, that's true . . . I guess." She said slowly, scratching her head. In all the excitement of joining a team, becoming a hero and meeting Baylee, she'd actually forgotten all about her own little act of heroics that day when she saved Kevin. Back then, she just saw him lying on the ground, a pool of crimson flowing out of his wound, and almost instinctively, as if a different person, she ran up to him and began healing him. At the proud memory, Megan's lips curved up slightly into a smile, her brown eyes brightening up again at the same time.

"The point is, there's no need to beat yourself up just because you couldn't beat someone, or because you can't fight like the rest. The reason we were put together was because we all have abilities that make us special, that make us different. You're just as important to the team as everyone else is." Alex finished, beginning to walk out. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go eat. Getting beaten up like that makes me hungry." And with that, he left the simulation room, and headed down the corridor, leaving the rest of the team in the simulation room.

[HiddenNin]

Lillian Masters

Simulation Room

Lillian picked herself up slowly from the ground, clutching her knives with clammy knuckles and sweating palms. She glared over at Alex, rage silently revolving about her, with an almost palpable drag on the surrounding area. He'd been the reason she couldn't the Lt, she was sure. Not watching her blindspots, his sluggish movements, getting in the way when she had openings.

She stalked over to Aiden's form, and took the knife Justice had hit him with, though amazingly he'd gotten the hilt to hit his mark instead of the blade. He could have easily nailed the guy if he was trying though, she wagered. Then, she sheathed it, and stalked back over to the entrance. Far as she was concerned, she was done here. Even as she grumbled to herself internally, her bones set in place correctly and the small nicks and cuts she'd accrued in the midst of that small battle sealed themselves shut.

The girl had no interest in any post-simulation politics or advice, it would seem.