Location: ???
Date: ???You shall become that successor, Brooklyn, and all you have to do is touch my staff, say my name, and bear the responsibilities…The call rang out across time and space like the tolling of a bell, signaling a change in the status quo. Someone had finally been chosen, and whether it was because they actually were found worthy or it was desperation that drove the Wizard to selecting this person did not matter. Already forces were at work elsewhere in the universe, awoken by the stirring of the arcane currents. It began with the soft pulse along the leylines. A single beat like that of a long stilled heart. Once. Then twice. Even without her acceptance, the currents had responded to the Wizard's choice and his own activity. Now, there was but one thing left to do…
It began just as the girl's foot connected with the aging magister's crystal balls, sending the already weakened man down the stairs and vulnerable to the next assault. Fires lit just behind her, sprouting from five points in space seemingly with nothing but the air to combust. The points flared up as more and more power flooded into them, a roaring inferno filling the rear of the chamber as lines formed. Each point connected to the other with a blazing string of dripping fire, sizzling pops and cracks sounding as each droplet melted the flagstone and it began to run in a single path just between the legs of the five-pointed star that had been formed. A surreal sound began to build just beyond the fiery design, like the screaming of thousands of souls in torment, and then the full pentagram formed.
With a shockwave that burst forward with a heated pulse the portal formed between the points of the star. Two titanic hands reached from the depths of hell, clinging to the edges of that tear in space with claws digging into what seemed like nothing at all. They wrenched the gateway slowly open wider, a demonic face leering from the torments of hell itself, the fires of the damned burning across the horizon of the world beyond. It seemed for a moment as if the demon was pull itself through, its shoulders pushing past the burning pentagram and the horned crown of its skull leering down upon the pair just before it. Then just as the fanged maw opened, it too caught alight and let loose a keening call that shook the foundations of that mystical place, dust falling from the ceiling as flesh turned to bone and the portal was complete.
Between the sharpened teeth of the lower jaw a distinct path had formed, and just beyond two men made their way from what surely have been the domain of satan himself. Strangely enough though, both were quite well dressed and seemed to be speaking amicably to each other. That much was evident even as they casually strolled through the darkened hall of the demon's throat, and when finally Armani shoes touched down upon the relatively more normal stone.
"Well." Began the
one to the left, smoothing down the gray jacket of his three-piece suit and taking a quick look to confirm that the relatively plain cuff links on each sleeve were undamaged.
"Here we are Raymond, at least I certainly hope so. This looks something more my father's style if you don't mind me saying." He spoke in a genteel manner, his accent distinctly British even if he had just stepped out of the mouth of a demon.
While he might not be immediately recognizable, his counterpart was more so by a considerable margin.
Raymond von Luneburg, the rather eccentric and reclusive multi-billionaire who had made a living in recent years pioneering weapons and energy technologies. His face had previously been plastered across Time magazine 2018 as their man of the year for his sponsorship of scientists across almost every field and the college he had built in Central City. What exactly he was doing here though…
"Always a pleasure Lucifer." Because of course making deals with the devil came with perks it seemed, something his opponents had been rather fond of accusing him of. Then again, with him standing next to someone named Lucifer and having stepped out of the mouth of a demon it might be a bit harder to argue against such sentiments next time, at least to one person.
"But I am fairly certain this is the place… Ah, that it is. Excuse me for just a moment." Then his attention turned to Brooklyn right as she was about to drop about thirty pounds of education on the dusty old man at her feet.
"If you wouldn't mind, we still need him alive for at least five minutes, so do hold on beating the last vestiges of life out of him.""Oh, she is quite the fiery one isn't she. Got quite the spirit, though a bit young." That earned Lucifer a hard stare from Raymond and before the girl in question could have something to say about it he held up a hand to pause both.
"I might be the devil, but I've got standards so don't even go there. Either way, I did my part, so you two do have fun. I have a meeting with an Austrian in five that I would prefer not to miss. Still have to figure out where to get the pineapples though…" And then the well-dressed fallen angel turned and began his walk back into the depths of hell, a single wave given behind his back as the portal closed behind him.
Raymond barely cast a glance in the direction of the departing devil, only acknowledging that he had left before taking an easy step closer to the other two occupants of the room.
"Right, now that that is settled, let's talk about you. Might want to have a seat on the stairs, as it may be a little much to take in. Our friend here was a little sparse on details, preferring to just throw the title at whoever seems closest to worthy and hoping it sticks. Personally, I like to ensure that the chosen knows exactly what they are getting into."
"So with that said, shall we see to explaining all this?"
Location: Central City East
Date: January 1st, 2020Today will be a normal day.The thought came as she awoke early as usual, the sun not yet peeking over the horizon. It had been a bit of a rough two months but now that she was home and settling back in, things were slowly getting more and more normal. First had been the relatively short physical therapy under the absolutely ruthless girls that claimed themselves to be scientists. V personally thought they were drill instructors in a former life and wondered how something so small could be so loud and demanding. Yet they were thorough in ensuring that she awoke from what had been a nine month coma in decent physical shape. For that she was thankful at least and made sure they were aware of her appreciation. Not at all because they could light on fire at a moment's notice. No, of course not. In truth she kind of missed having them around all the time, smiling softly to herself as she went about her early morning routine.
Clothes first as always, something light and easy for the midwest morning. Sports bra, a light vest, some sweat pants and she was all good to go. Soft steps brought her down the stairs from her room and into the lobby where she made sure she had everything else for her early morning run.
"Let's see… Phone, check. Headphones… Check. Shoes?" Verra paused for a moment as she looked to what she thought was her usual spot for her shoes but found them missing. That was odd, they were usually right there… A slight surge started along her body, energy coursing through her and static rising from her skin as for that instant she very nearly relied on her abilities.
"Normal day Verra, normal day." She reaffirmed that to herself, taking a deep breath and thinking on what she had done the previous day like any normal person would have done.
It would have been so much easier and faster to turn the place over in search of her running shoes of course. A single second could have passed and she would have been able to look through the entire house from top to bottom. But that wasn't what normal people did, and that wasn't part of a normal day. Even if she had these powers she was determined to use them responsibly, if at all. So many people had been inconvenienced at the very least by what had happened six months ago, a plight she could sympathize with even if it seemed what she had been gifted with was all positive. Well, at least she felt it all was with her natural optimism. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sight of a pair of white running shoes with a little pink lightning bolt on each heel. "Ah! There you are!" She exclaimed, bouncing over to slip them over her sock-covered feet and finally be ready to head out.
"Okay! Four-AM run ready!"And then she was off, out the door and locking it behind her as she jogged across the street to the sound of Prada's Still Fly and her playlist running. Here out on the eastern side of Central it wasn't as big a deal to make sure the door was locked, but her mother had instilled the practice in her early, teaching her that it didn't matter how safe an area was, it was best to be prepared just in case. That didn't hold with her in every respect, but she made sure the door was locked every time she passed through it just to know it would make her rest a little easier. A few others were out jogging as well, mostly the other early-morning people, but she recognized a couple as those she had encouraged earlier last year to give it a shot and put their all into it. She gave a smile and a wave at a couple who had committed to losing weight together, looking as if they had been determined to do so and cheerfully waving back to her.
"Hey Verra! Good to see you around again!"
"Good to see you too Mr and Mrs Allen!"The jogging paths through the park across the street from her house were sparse as usual, just the calls of the birds through the music pumping in her ears. Of course because of her newfound powers this was hardly much of a workout anymore, her heartbeat a steady adjusted 50 or so. That adjustment calculation had been done by the pair of firecrackers in the employ of Harrison Wells, along with a lecture on appropriate exercises to keep herself better fit. She had kind of glossed over the former, but the latter had actually helped significantly in keeping down her caloric intake and keeping to a normal diet. That was a downside, she decided that now. Running fast always made her hungry and she still felt bad for getting her and Thea kicked out of that buffet, especially since it was one of the best ones this side of town. She really did love a good General Tso… Especially nice and fresh with extra sauce… Vee sighed as she found herself getting hungry already and it was only a half hour into her run, not even five yet.
Still, she was committed to taking things at a normal pace! She wasn't going to skip ahead and get home early no matter how hungry she was, and… Verra stopped as she looked over to see two figures struggling in the darkness near one of the park bathrooms. One looked to be a younger woman with a purse, the other an average sized man clutching at the latter. Normal day… Normal day… Normal day… She sighed as she couldn't just let that go, a surge of energy going through her body as she stepped just off the path and near a tree.
It all happened in the span of a single half second, so fast that in the time it took the woman's fingers to leave the cloth of her purse's strap it was all over. Verra let the speedforce engulf her, breathing out as the rush came over her, time seeming to slow down as she took one step after another. It was dark enough that no one would have seen her disappear from the side of the tree, but light enough that she was able to see as she came up next to the would-be mugger and take a moment to figure out how best to deal with this. Physical violence really wasn't her thing, so hitting him was right out especially since she had tried hitting things at STAR and there were some… Concerning results. The one tech said something along the lines of severe concussive force or something? She didn't remember offhand, but it wasn't something she was willing to do to someone who was just making a really bad choice. That and it would have been rather obvious that the red streak that had been talked about so much lately would have been involved. So, after a moment's thought on the matter, she decided, did her thing and returned to the tree where she had originally stepped off the path.
The momentum of the tug that caused the woman to lose her grip on the purse had carried through, the mugger smirking in the shadow of the grey hoodie over his head. Without even thinking he went to take that first step that would see him sprinting off into the darkness, but something went critically wrong. Instead of completing the step, his foot was caught partway, sending him head into concrete with a pained groan and losing grip of the purse. Both the mugger and the woman paused in confusion, looking down to see the man's shoes tied together by their shoelaces and thusly ending his criminal attempt. Verra gave a little laugh as she took back to the path, starting to put the earbuds back in her ears as there was a loud shout of "Pecker!" And then a man screaming in panic as the woman rewarded him with his efforts with pepper spray.
She was pretty confident the rest would solve itself, going about her morning jog just in time for the local officers to come onto the scene. There was a brief wave between them and all was good for the next little bit. Everything else had gone pretty smoothly as she came back home, just a little worked up but not by much, feeling a bit hungry and wondering if the chinese place down the road was open yet. Probably not, she decided, heading back inside and finishing up her morning routine. Workout clothes off, rinse off, shower and then get dressed in house clothes for what she was hoping to be a pretty lazy day. She even got out the extra sugary cereal for today, feeling that little bit of a craving as she watched the morning news and started texting her morning buddies to see what was going on. First of course was Thea, who she was sure was already up and active.
Hey! :D
Just seeing if you're up, having a super normal day today and hope you're having a good one too! :D
Date night on the fourth! Don't forget! ;o
And then it was Kara, who she was sure wouldn't be- Her thoughts were interrupted by the news at noon, a breaking report from Keystone. A bank robbery had just happened, the police on scene and news cameras rolling as they were updating as the situation unfolding. Okay, so not entirely ideal but it looked like everything was being… No, she was confident the police could take care of this. She didn't need to get out that costume her and Kara had made for her, and she was sure her best friend wouldn- Well. As she watched the scene on the TV changed rather dramatically, a woman descending from the sky and making a spectacle of handing the would-be bank robbers' butts back to them one by one. Of course she knew who it was almost immediately and just sighed as she wrote off having a normal day. Things had been going pretty well too…
Omg Kara
Kara
Kara!
Kara!!!
Kara >:|
I know you have your phone on you, that thing never leaves your pocket >:|
And I know you still text and fly! There's a hole in one of the billboards along the river! D:
All I wanted was a normal day Dx
Just one normal day! Dx