(((THE FIRST THREE POSTS OF THE OOC THREAD ARE FULL OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT IS FREQUENTLY UPDATED. PLEASE READ BEFORE MAKING A CHARACTER)))

In an alternate universe far from here lies an Earth much like our own. In this universe the existence of super powers is a fact of life. On this Earth the myths and legends of ancient times such as the Egyptian, Greco-Roman and Norse gods are based on true stories of Humans with special abilities and skills. Historical events in this world have gone more or less the same path as they have in our world with a few alterations. Up until the First World War supernormals were few and far between.

After the First World War a variety of programs were started by several of the world's nations to try to increase the number of individuals with super powers in each country. Breeding was encouraged and even rewarded in those with special abilities. Individuals with special gifts in biology were recruited to crack DNA in order to put together new breeds of humans with animal abilities or simply to create clones of existing supernormals. Of course all of these clones and transgenic hybrids were babies. So it was many years before they would grow up.

Because of this intentional interbreeding and genetic manipulation the number of supernormals in modern times is quite high. one out of a hundred in the Human population of Earth have some aspect that could be considered extraordinary compared to Human beings in the real world. Most of the time these aspects are simple such as keen hearing, blue hair or having no ears lobes. However, around one in a thousand in the population have what might be considered super powers and one in ten thousand have truly strong game changing abilities such as strong psychokinesis, super strength or speed.

Some individuals have access to overtechnology. That is technology above an beyond the regular everyday stuff that's available to the public. Generally this is because of supernormals with incredible intelligence using their abilities to design items that are far too advanced for their time. This can take a variety of forms. Some specialize in things like LASERS, Force-fields and Holograms, some in Cybernetics repairs and upgrades, some in Artificial Intelligence and some in Artificial Gravity and Wormholes. It really depends on the individual what sort of wonders they can produce. Overtechnology tends to become extremely unstable when not directly supervised by the one who made it.

Humans are not the only sentient beings in this world. There exists a minority of self aware artificial intelligences as well as a variety of altered Humans. The most common types of altered Humans are the animal transgenic hybrids and cybernetic Humans. There are also afflicted Humans; doppelgangers, vampires, werewolves and mindless zombies which have been around for centuries.

Men and women of every race fighting side by side in the largest war ever known did a lot for equality among the allied countries, Unfortunately it had the unintended side-effect of creating a new prejudice du-jour; supernormal superiority. After World War II the earth was left with a multitude of supernormals with no more war to fight. So they began to turn their abilities to other areas. Business, crime, or law enforcement. Once the super-villain and super-hero trend got started battles in public became common-place. With all these extraordinary people causing untold collateral damage to people and property the common folk wanted a solution. They demanded the relaxation of the restrictions on guns and other weapons so that they could defend themselves. The United States Government eventually relented. Between the pressures of the cold war and the wording of the constitution it felt almost inevitable.

At the end of the Cold War in the 1990s the Department of Supernormal Affairs (AKA the DSA) was formed from the remains of top secret organizations and became an official government agency. The DSA was put in charge of the confidential registry of individuals with supernormal abilities. (The names in the registry are what is secret not the existence of the registry.) Anyone committing a crime with dangerous supernormal abilities is registered in the same way that fingerprints are taken. You can also register voluntarily if you so desire. The DSA also makes a point of hiring supernormal agents to deal with supernormal criminals.

In the 1840s an eclectic group of investigators were put together by the British crown to officially pursue extraordinary matters. This Ministry of the Extraordinary was populated by a wide variety of extraordinary individuals from all around the British empire and later the United Kingdom. In times of war the Ministry was charged with supplying the royal military with extraordinary soldiers. In the 1990s Parliament decided to adopt the same policy in the United Kingdom as was being used in the United States. The Primary differences being that those licensed with the Ministry do not pay for their damage and medical insurance but it is instead paid for by taxes as good faith for the work done on behalf of the nation. This difference is often debated.

There are, of course, many who resent the registry and choose to keep their identity a secret in order to perform vigilante actions without being entered into a registry. This is considered illegal vigilantism but the DSA and the Ministry of the Extraordinary are prone to ignore these offenders unless they become a major problem. There is an organization known as the League of Masks who help provide a support network for these illegal vigilantes. They also provide lawyers if they get caught. Masks who are not members of the League rarely last long.

---

Our story takes place the fictional city of Los Silvestres. It lies on the west coast of the United States of America, north of Los Angeles. Los Silvestres has some tall buildings downtown but it's mostly sprawl in most of the populated areas. The City borders on a large forest. Most of the buildings near the edges of the forest are mostly preserved older buildings.

Hector was surrounded. Of course, this wasn't an unusual thing for him; fans, paparazzi: They surrounded him frequently. What was unusual was that these three men were armed, and more importantly, pointing their guns at him. He slipped one hand to rest on his revolver, and the other taps the tin badge on his chest. "Easy, amigos. Trust me, you don't want to do this."

One of them sneered and spoke. "Bullshit, this has been comin' long time."

He sighed, and smirked. "Very well." In a flash, four shots were fired. His three targets hit the hard wooden floor, but one of them managed to get a shot off. Hector spins around to look at where the shot connected. There, he could see it: A lit lantern falling off the wall, and underneath it, barrels of gunpowder. He had seconds to move.

Hector rushed towards the window, leaping through the glass as the building explodes. He fell two stories, yet landed softly on a stunt mattress.

"Cut! Scene!" Called the director. "Great work today guys, clean up, I'll see you in the morning."

"... have been increased, according to Minister of Defense, in an attempt to contain further contaminants from escaping the British Isles. Meanwhile, investigations continue into the catastrophic failure of the Joint Helix facility in the Highlands of Scotland, where an estimated three-hundred twenty people have died, including Chief Science Officer and co-founder Doctor Birmingham Bayly, and hundreds of loose 'bio-weaponized contaminants' have been released. Described as genetically altered lizard-like lifeforms with variations ranging from super-strength to underwater swimming to even what some have dubbed "The Dragon of Scotland".

According to local news, Scottish residents local to the area have established a reward fund to be delivered to whomever can claim to slay this fabled 'Dragon', though police are advising people to stay far away from any of these contaminants and report them to local authorities as soon as they can be found. No word as to what involvement, if any, the Ministry of the Extraordinary will play in the upcoming days, but -"

As the waitress turned off the TV and went to deliver two orders, two old men stopped staring at the TV and turned to face each other.

"You know, as if this world wasn't weird enough, now you've got this so-called 'dragon' flying out of Britain?"
"Weird? What do you mean 'weird'?"
"Well... these 'superhumans', I just - I dunno, something about them ain't right. I mean... take my grand nephew, Michael. My brother was saying he dated this girl, one of them super girls that could move hair around, took on a job as a barber -"
"Oh, remind me I have to meet with Samuel at 3:30 tomorrow for my regular cut -"
"Never mind that, these two apparently get into a fight, and you know what happens? She nearly scalps Michael with her super powers."
"What a way to go. Young girls are damn crazy, these days."
"It ain't even the girls. Just... could you imagine a world where the only super people you ever hear about were only fictional? Like, it was normal to not worry about having your hair ripped out by some hair-controlling freak or something?"
"Now I think you're talking crazy."
"Well in another world, maybe I'm not the crazy one."

As they started to argue over mental capacities, a large shadow swiftly swept over the pit stop, causing some of the silver wear to rattle.

"The hell was that, some big eagle?"
"The hell that ain't no eagle, now who's the crazy one?"
"You boys better stop talking" said the waitress as she peered over the counter. "That there weren't no eagle."

---

On the outskirts of the city, close to the industrial warehousing sector, a giant creature glided down, unseen in the late evening light. After many hours and even days of flying, he finally found a perfectly secluded spot on the edges of the Pacific Ocean, where after a few days of rest and recouperation, he could continue to fly. He never wanted to leave home, to leave his "father", but He made him... He gave no one a choice...

Exhausted and with a slight moan, Drake curled up and managed to find some sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day.

Jack fished his keys out of his jacket's interior pocket, the bits of metal rattling against each other. He inserted a key into the lock of his apartment and gave it a twist, the locking mechanism grinding with a solid click. He pushed the door open, after pulling the key out, with his hand holding his groceries. The door slowly swung ajar, revealing his sparsely decorated apartment. A screen print of a Monet painting hung upon the wall, above the single couch that was facing the television that was on top of a wooden stand.
He set the groceries down on a table that was adjacent to his apartment's tiny kitchen, He sighed, this was all he could really afford with the jobs from the Collections Network not being the most reliable way to get paid.

He took off his jacket, and his nametag, tossing the former over the chair, and putting the latter on the table. His day job was part time at some small time restaurant. The fourth one this year. He spent most of his money on this place, but even that didn't cut it at this point. He wouldn't have enough money for the rent by the end of the month. A glass display case hung over the table, with his insignias from his time in the French Foreign Legion, almost mocking him. At least then he was something.

He put his groceries away into the refrigerator, getting out some fettuccine noodles to make for dinner.Jack took a second to fill the metal pan with water. Setting the pan on the stove, he sighed as he flipped the heating element on, letting the water heat up. He directed his mental attention at the water.

It seemed to boil after only a few seconds.

It was going to be a long afternoon, he didn't need to lengthen it with tedious tasks.

Lord Tamerlane's Magnificent Gadget Emporium. That's what it said on the sign above the door. Lord Tamerlane was only a lord in the technical sense. He had received an honorary knighthood for his work in the Ministry of the Extraordinary as an outfitter. His inventions, especially the armour, had saved the lives of many an operative.

These days he sold most of the things he invented. Most of his armours and gadgets went for limited runs of a dozen or so. Selling off the shelves to make the profits he needed to keep the place afloat. The rest of the business was supported by the sale of common things like smartphones, tasers, pepper spray, motorcycles, ATVs, just various things the supernormal community tended to be interested in.

He liked to spend most of his time in the store tending the juice bar on the second floor above the show room. The rest of the store could easily be tended by one of his many employees. He mainly preferred the bar because he got to overhear the chatter of the various supernormals as they drank his specialized concoctions. His Juices were made from special breeds of supernormal fruit and were extremely high in energy. Just the thing for your average supernormal looking for a boost.

Michelle was currently cleaning the barrel of her sniper rifle, making sure that it would be in top condition for the next time she went to work. Now that she thought about it, there wasn't really too much work lately. Still, she wasn't complaining. That meant more free time for her to actually do other things with her life. However, she was in her apartment, cleaning her beloved sniper rifle. She stopped cleaning the barrel after she was satisfied that it was sufficiently clean, then reassembled the rifle with the other cleaned parts on the table.

She walked over to her closet and placed it within a secret compartment, where she also stored her invisible cloak and voice-changing mask. After making sure that the opening for the compartment was locked and completely hidden, she began to change clothes, replacing the clothes she was wearing, a simple t-shirt and shorts, to something more appropriate for outdoor use, a nice blouse and knee-length skirt. Taking a satchel, she put in her cell phone, a set of keys, a fully loaded semi-automatic pistol, and her wallet containing some money and her gun license. Putting on a pair of shades, she left her apartment room, making sure that the door was locked, and went outside to walk around, letting the world decide where she should go.

As the sun slipped away and let the night creep into the city of Los Silvestres, a group of friends left a bar, merry and content and, for the most part, drunk. They started to make their separate ways, leaving just one solitary man to walk the streets on his own.

"Fuck, Mikey should've given me a damn ride, selfish prick... hey taxi, taxi! Where are you?! Taxi?!"

As he stumbled through the streets, a pair of people sitting in a car a block away watched as the drunkard called out aimlessly for a taxi.

"Damn it, you know alcohol normally doesn't bode well for me... but I guess I'm hungry enough to make an exception for tonight."
"You can't blame me for being such a lightweight, Katalin."
"Oh shut up. Besides, it's far too early to be drinking. I haven't the slightest idea why there's already some drunk walking around, but he must be absolutely wasted. Come on, let's just find somewhere else to go."
"You have to stop changing your mind, dear. Come, let's have a bite to eat, I have an important meeting with the Deputy Mayor coming and I don't want to meet with him on an empty stomache."
"... Fine. But you owe me for this, Domanyk."
"Fair enough. Now get in the back seat, it'll help set the right mood."

---

As he stumbled around the corner to a side street, a taxi wheeled up beside him and a woman stuck her head out to look at him.

"Hey mister, are you all right?"
"God, she is beautiful," the drunk thought. "You should talk to her."
"Yeah, no... yeah, yeah, no I'm fine."
"You absolutely sure, dear? I had the cabbie pull over, I was worried you were going to get in trouble or, god forbid, sleep outside. I heard it might rain tonight."
"That is awfully nice! And she wants me to get in the car with her?! Well, hard to say no to that."
"Ah, no rain hurt nothing, but thanks. Hey, are you heading Southbound, by any chance?"
"I'm sorry, I'm headed in a completely other direction. But my place isn't too far away, my roommate and I could make some space for you if you wanted to stay for the night! You can just make up for it later."
"Do it."
"Wow... yeah, okay, let's head to your place!"

With the drunk man safely strapped inside the car, the driver starts taking them to the lady's house. Along the way, the two start to make idle talk in the back seat.

"So tell me, mister, what were you doing walking on the streets all by yourself tonight?"
"Ungh, the less said the better..."
"Friends bail on you tonight?" interrupted the taxi driver, his eyes never straying off the road.
"Yeah, I guess you can say that. I have work in two days and we all got together to celebrate the new job. I've been really meaning to get that job, too, this is a good chance for me to, uh, make a lot of money doing what I love!"
"That's great! My roommate's fiance owns a butchery business and they asked me to do accounting for them. You know how it is, I guess: work's long, pay's all right, but at least it gets you the experience you need, am I right?"
"Yeah, for sure."

---

As the taxi driver pulled up to a house in a sparsely populated suburban area, the two people got out of the car, giggling and chatting to each other merrily. She waived the drunk to go wait by the front doors while she paid the taxi driver. Soon after, she walked up beside him and started fumbling with her keys to get the door open.

"Man, I - I really cannot thank you enough for doing this, you are so kind."
"Aww, thank you! It's the least I can do, you know? Didn't want to leave a poor fool like yourself on the road like that. Oh, and before I forget, my roommate has work tomorrow, so we have to be quiet, okay?"
"Got it... hey, you have so many keys, but I don't see a car in the front?"
"Well, you don't need a car to use a key, silly."
"Haha, true - oh right, the noise. Sorry."
"Thanks. Anyways, just take the stairs on your left, the ones going down, and then it'll be the third room on your right, can't miss it. I'll come by to check in on you."
"And bathrooms?"
"To the right, second on the left."

With a courteous nod, the man cleans up in the bathroom, then heads down to the room and immediately flops on the bed and goes to sleep. Not even an hour later, he finds himself awake, unable to get out of bed, and with someone right by his neck... nibbling him?

"Whoa, what -"
"Despite the fact that you're completely shit-faced, I just find you so... has anyone told you you smell great?"
"Okay, this is definitely what I was hoping for," the man thought. "Just let it happen... you can brag about it later to Mikey, the lazy asshole."
"Yeah, no one's told me that. So -"
"Shh" she whispers, putting a finger on his lips. "Just be quiet, my roommate could still hear us."
"Right" the man said, slowly drifting into a deep sleep, "gotta... be quiet..."

---

"Katalin, you will remember to save some for me, yes?"

She leaned off the body of the drunk man, looking back to Domanyk with a bloody grin and an almost innocent look in her face.

"Remember who did most of the talking?"
"This was a team effort, dear. The fact that he woke up while you were feeding would've set him off, had it not been for me here to keep his mind in check."
"So you say."
"So I know. Now make room; I'm still hungry, as well."
"As you wish, Domanyk."
"And Katalin, dear... we've known each other for a long time, but I would prefer if you called me by the proper title."
"Of course" she said, then faintly added "Of course I'll remember, Do - ...Dracula."
"That's better."

Meanwhile, the forest was quiet and still around the abandoned church.

Hector walked into the Emporium alone. An odd sight, as normally he would have been accompanied by a flock of press and reporters. However, this time, he managed to get away without the watchful eye of cameras. Disguised in a Los Silvestros University hoodie and sunglasses, Hector examined the merchandise for a small bit, avoiding eye contact with both the staff and any other customers, before making his way upstairs to the Juice Bar, and taking a seat. He took a look at Tamerlane, cleared his throat, and spoke.

"Hey, could I have a menu please?"

Lord Tamerlane tosses the blender/pitcher he was rinsing into the sanitizer sink and turns to address the new arrival.
"Certainly, my boy." he says in his slightly posh but mostly Americanized accent. "We've got some new specials today as well. You'll find them at the top."
He slides the newcomer a laminated single sheet of paper with pictures of colourful drinks followed by short descriptions of their health benefits and shockingly high calorie content. With a cheerful fairwell to the previous customer he looks left and right to make sure they're alone. He leans in closer and puts on his 'I'm whispering' voice which, while not actually a whisper, was at least somewhat quieter and smoother than his loud booming normal voice. "So tell me. How have things been on your end?"

Hector shrugs, and looks through the menu, scanning the pages for something identifiable. "All things considered, pretty good. Could always be worse, eh?"
After a few moments, he sighs and slaps the drink menu back down on the counter. "Hell, forget it. Don't know what half the things on here are. You have any recommendations for me? What would you be drinking?"

(OMIT)

(OMIT)

"Well," boomed Lord Tamerlane, his voices reaching it's usual timber. "I'd Recommend the Peach Mango this week. I finally got that new breed of peaches from my supplier and he's gotten them really juicy this time. I'm sure you'll love it." With this he plucked a massive round peach from a bowl and showed it to him. It still looked like a peach but it was far far plumper.

"Peach... Mango. That works?" Hector looked at the fruit in sheer confusion for a few moments, but simply shrugged. "Well, that's bound to be a interesting flavor. Sure, let's try it. How's business been?"

"Oh, things have been about the same since we opened," he said, sighing and giving the universal hand wobble for so-so. "I sell more cellphones than of course but then that's what most people can afford. The juice bar hasn't picked up yet but it's only been open a few weeks. I was thinking of putting a more permanent sign in the window, you know? That grande opening one is getting a bit wind worn." He skinned the peach and split it in half to remove the pit, which was actually smaller than normal. "You see this?" he said holding up the peach halves to the light. "Just this one peach has nearly 1800 Calories. And those are food calories, not SI calories. Buddy of mine is a genetic engineer he's been doing special orders for me for months splicing every fruit that people love to eat with that rare breed of super high calorie fructose he discovered. This one here is the latest. The last batch tasted way too sweet. This time he got it right but I still mix it with a few other things to get the taste just so." He grinned widely as he dropped it into the blending pitcher along with half of a mango, plenty of ice and a couple of strawberries. He blended it for a bit before adding some sort of green powder. "There we go," he said, almost purring. He poured part of the mixture into a glass and slid it to his undercover celebrity friend.

(error)

"Now then," Domanyk said as he wiped the blood off his chin, "we'll dispose of this body and then be off. Katalin, if you could have Gyula and Bora take care of disposal, I will attend to the meeting with the Deputy Mayor soon."
"I thought they were out hunting themselves?"
"Then call them over here and tell them to take care of this body first. There can be no trace of human rot on these lands."
"Why them?"
"Gyula is the hardiest of our Order, he can easily lift a body with no problem."
"And Bora?"

Domanyk sneered at the name. These two vampires were accomplices of Domanyk before his overthrow and eventual retreat to the New World. Gyula was around for longer, an older man about mid-forties in age and of Hungarian ancestry. He was one of the first friends Domanyk made shortly after his conversion, and perhaps one of the most loyal of followers, second only to Katalin. As for Bora... he was a Turkish officer converted, forced to serve the whims of the Transylvanian Order as a lowly servant. As a former member of the Ottoman army that ambushed him in the first place, Domanyk never liked him. Yet for some reason, when Domanyk proclaimed himself the second coming of Dracula, Bora became one of the most useful allies to help dispatch the old Order. In truth, Domanyk did not know why he kept a Turkish vampire around, but he regretted doing so ever since.

"I want two to walk together; no vampire of my Order shall roam alone and put themselves at risk."
"As you wish, Dracula."
"Good. Now I must be off, good night Katalin."

With that, Domanyk left her while she started to make calls. He went to the vehicle that they drove in, started the car up and began his drive back to the city. He was careful never to meet the Deputy Mayor in places where they could be caught in public; after all, the Deputy Mayor only serves as the administrative head of government, not the actual head - that is, of course, reserved for the Mayor him or herself - and to have the two meeting in public would put both uncomfortably in the limelight. For one of them, however, it could prove to be lethal.

Tonight's meeting was scheduled under one of the older, smaller bridges that passed over a dried creek bed, which, because of its historical roots, was never replaced with a proper road system. It has never been a very popular route to take, especially since it's now located in a rougher part of the neighbourhood, which only makes it one of Domanyk's preferred meeting spots for important meetings that could otherwise never be allowed to take place in office buildings. The office hours would never agree to Domanyk, and the desolation of the place helps ensure that, even if they were confronted by gangsters and other hooligans, they could be dispatched with very quickly.

Upon arriving at the bridge, Domanyk would see a car with its engine hood and trunk space opened up - a sign that the Deputy Mayor was nearby. Parking behind the car, Domanyk slowly stepped out and walked to the underpart of the bridge. He crafted himself in an illusion to prevent others from identifying his true form - not that Domanyk would ever be a familiar figure in these areas, anyways, but he could never take risks. Once in the underpass, Domanyk was greeted by a rather terrified-looking old man, someone who felt very uncomfortable with their surroundings.

"This is absurd" the Deputy Mayor spoke. "I feel like we're in such a dangerous place."
"Relax" Domanyk said as he laid a hand on his shoulder, "I would never put you directly in harm's way."

The Deputy Mayor gave a sigh of relief, confident that Domanyk was telling the truth.

"So you've always said, good sir."
"And when have I ever been proven wrong?"
"Indeed. But enough drivel, I take it you wouldn't call me out here for no good reason."
"Of course, my friend. I have a few requests. Mostly updates on administrative practices, what the Councillors and Mayor have been up to, and a very... special request. I feel that it's time now that I solidify my hold over this city, and I need your help to make it happen."
"What would you have me do?"
"I want the emergency services in my pocket, including the local Chief of Police... and the head of the State Police operating this region. Now if you would spare me your time, I believe I have a way of making this work."