AndyC

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Detached Gwen from her 'here to recruit you to an interdimensional war' introduction that's usual for her among a few other changes I feel work for the rp. Hope this works as an idea.

The Ghost Spider

G H O S T S P I D E R

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^{_{Gwendolyn Maxine "Gwen" Stacy 🕷 Interdimensional Fugitive / Biochem Student / Musician 🕷 Manhatten / Queens}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

---

^{"How's That Manhunt For Me Going?"}

With a few years of the superhero life under her belt, this version of Gwen Stacy was just hitting her strider as her dimensions one and only Spider-Woman. She navigated those awkward early years with all the disputes with her friends and family and daring escapades that many versions of Peter Parker also share. For a moment it might look like she'd even finally began to move past the grief and shame of her best friend's death, in her personal life she was several years into college and as the hero Spiderwoman she was truly starting to make a difference. Then everything went wrong. Harry Osborne returned to New York, aligning with both NYPD Captain Frank Castle and the new Kingpin, Matt Murdock, in their shared aim to bring an end to Spider-Woman. New York became a conflict zone of increasingly extreme proportions as the trio expended their great reserves of resources and ambition in their aim, culminating in a plot that began to pull the very fabric of their reality apart. In her efforts to prevent disaster, Gwen Stacy has ended up stranded in another dimension, but with little but hurtful memories to return to and in the interest of protecting her embattled father, Gwen is in little rush to return home, instead lost in the present of this new reality.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

---

With a more grown up Spider-man present in the game, I thought it would be interesting to play a Spider-Gwen who's also further along in her story than she's usually portrayed both in wider media and her own comics. Rather than a fresh superhero before being thrust into interdimensional threats, her displacement is a result of conflicts directly tied to her journey as Spider-woman. Rather than a High School senior or first year college student, she's made it through half a decade of Spidering, starting to just about get a handle on the usual Spiderperson issues of being chased by the law and balancing her personal life before being displaced. She's not entirely upset about her situation, however, seeing her separation from her friends and family as a neccesary evil to keep them safe from the increasingly hostile reality of her home. The stories I want to tell are the consequences of a well meaning Spider-Gwen unmoored from her reality, yet still wishing to do good, as well as the struggles of living in a reality where you don't legally exist, at least not among the living. I want to deal with the very early process of this, rather than start her mostly on the way to making a new home.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

---

Powers/Suit

Spider-Woman, or Ghost Spider as she will style herself in this new reality, shares the generic abilities of Spider-people, although as with any of those she puts her own spin on her approach. A ballet dancer through high school and a musician beyond that she exhibits a style which is athletic and graceful in a rhythmic sense. Her webshooters and suit are gifts from her dimensions Janet Van Dyne and so provide a few more unique abilities, the formers able to recharge overtime without the need for her to create her own webfluid, and the later able to shift colour at her will, alongside extendable glider wings from beneath her arms when required.

Allies and Supporting Characters

• Captain Stacy: Now retired, George Stacy is Gwen's father and only parent following the death of her mother. Previously in charge of the taskforce put together to catch Spider-Woman, George was eventually dismissed in favour of Frank Castle. His relationship with Gwen was strained by their differences but close in bond, until in the passing moments of Gwen's time within her own dimension she admitted her identity to her father. She never saw her father again before her final confrontation with Harry, but the fall out of the reveal no doubt contributes to her lack of desire to seek a way home.
• Peter Parker: Her best friend in High School and her greatest failure, during Gwen's early years as Spider-Woman she fought with the Lizard, who turned out to be Peter. The later did not survive and she's carried the guilt with her.
• The Mary Janes: Gwen's band and her longest last friends. Gwen's secret identity and life as Spider-woman created a great deal of conflict between herself and her other bandmates during the later years of High School, but the maturity of the following years lead to a greater degree of balance. While she may miss them, she now sees her absence as a way to protect them from what Harry may be willing to do to hurt her, as he narrowed in on her identity.
• Janet Van Dyne: Retired hero and role model to Spider-Woman, Janet took a chance on a young woman caught between self aggrandisement and doing some real good in the city of New York. The tech required for Gwen to be Spider-woman was Van Dyne make and Janet is the only person back home for Gwen who has any idea of what has happened to both Spider-woman and Gwen Stacy.

Enemies

• No Way Home: The trio of Harry Osborne, Frank Castle and Matt Murdock united in their desire to rid New York of Spider-woman, for very different reasons. Frank Castle, the obsessed police captain who blamed her for a series of embarrassing failures for the PDNY put aside his differences to unite with the new Kingpin, Frank Castle, who had once hoped to recruit Spider-woman to his cause. The final member, Harry Osborne, spent years away from New York training to take vengeance on the hero he blamed for his best friend's death, combined with the vast resources of OsCorp. Originally a private agreement, this triumvirate eventually became a public force in New York, wielding increasingly large political power to achieve their end. Harry's eventual plan, involving the use of a Super-Collider to punch through to realities where living, and superpowered, Peter Parker's may reside, is the plot which resulted in Gwen being stranded in this reality. Gwen has little idea of what now occurs back home, but the Trio continue to exert influence across that alternate New York.
• Make The Most Of It: Gwen hasn't been in this version of New York to establish her own identity or true rivals, but already the whispers of a new crimefighter herald her presence on the scene. She's starting small, but once she's sure her presence isn't about to cause any sort of dimensional collapse, she's going to come out swinging.

S A M P L E P O S T:

---

“Ow Ow Ow……Hey EmmJay”

It wasn’t every day you had your face bashed up against a scaled up LED version of your best friend’s face, plus a decade or so, while trying to fight a slightly wrong version of one of your longest running enemies. Not every day, but definitely this day.

Gwen only had a moment to give her greetings to the large advertisement of her frontwoman’s face before she was bouncing away from it, propelled by the force of the impact. It was an embarrassing hit, even with spider sense to warn her, she’d been rather distracted by the revelation her roommate of days gone past was apparently now a movie star. Still, radioactive spider enhanced endurance meant that she’d recovered before she struck the ground, pirouetting through the air to land in a crouch.

“Your movements are fluid, a dancer then, that is new.” The voice carried over the sound of the city all around them as a gust of rushing wind brought the Vulture down close by. Not her Vulture, but definitely still ‘a’ Vulture.’

“Yeah well, these glutes didn’t come out of the Spider too.” Gwen snapped back as she was already moving, a handstand spring forward as winged villain landed, launching over his head as he did so. Two strands of webs fired out from his hands, momentary linking the Vulture’s suit by wing tips to ground. The strands held for long enough for her to complete her landing with a kick to the back of the man’s head, sending him sprawling forwards. “I can recommend a work out plan, because even for you, you look like you might need a bit of a health check, Adrian.” It was true enough. ‘Her’ Adrian might have literally had red eyes, but this one looked like he’d aged his whole life all again at once.

The Vulture was quick to recover though, the momentum of their fall turning into their own roll, before launching into the air in a spear tackle towards her. “New, but just as annoying.” He snarled with grim purpose.

“Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint.” She was already aware of the presence of an alternate ‘her’ in an established hero donning the spider motif, Gwen presumed this was what the Vulture referred to as she dove to the side, the motion turning into a forward roll as she spun back onto her feet, just in time to launch another pair of strands to add to her building web binding the Vulture to the ground. It was already beginning to prevent him from lifting off in full, just a little longer and she could probably wrap this up.

There was a frustration to his movement and actions which suggested more than just her wit getting under his skin, he seemed surprised at the effectiveness of the webbing. Perhaps a different formula, some things would have to be different in this place, no matter how it still looked like her city.

“I don’t know how you know him….but I’ll make you regret this.” The wizened Vulture snapped, lunging out for her once more. This time she slipped under him, two further lashings of web now to his ankles as she did, an incoming trip as she swung out the other end and the Vulture crashed forwards.

“Would you believe me if I said we’re entirely unrelated?”

The muffled sound from beneath the collapsed form of the Vulture certainly sounded like it was closer to a negative.

“Fair enough I suppose…Well…you sit there. I’m sure someone’s noticed this by now.” It would be hard to consider otherwise, Gwen had been swinging around the city, getting her bearings, when the Vulture had struck, possibly confusing her for ‘this place’ counterpart from a distance. A very public mid air crash sending her spiraling into a neon glowing advertisement was hardly a subtle start to a brawl. She didn’t have the best relationship with the PDNY back home, she somewhat doubted her ability to explain her situation to law enforcement here either. “Stay in school, Adrian!” She called out before zipping away, well before the ubiquitous sirens of New Yrok drew closer.

She’d already decided she needed to find a way to rent these Jackpot films.

The only issue was she doubted her credit card was interdimensional.

@Ezekiel

It's been 24 Hours, and the GMs have discussed it. Ghost Spider is APPROVED.

Now to get to work on actually posting.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Detached Gwen from her 'here to recruit you to an interdimensional war' introduction that's usual for her among a few other changes I feel work for the rp. Hope this works as an idea.

The Ghost Spider

G H O S T S P I D E R

---

^{_{Gwendolyn Maxine "Gwen" Stacy 🕷 Interdimensional Fugitive / Biochem Student / Musician 🕷 Manhatten / Queens}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

---

^{"How's That Manhunt For Me Going?"}

With a few years of the superhero life under her belt, this version of Gwen Stacy was just hitting her strider as her dimensions one and only Spider-Woman. She navigated those awkward early years with all the disputes with her friends and family and daring escapades that many versions of Peter Parker also share. For a moment it might look like she'd even finally began to move past the grief and shame of her best friend's death, in her personal life she was several years into college and as the hero Spiderwoman she was truly starting to make a difference. Then everything went wrong. Harry Osborne returned to New York, aligning with both NYPD Captain Frank Castle and the new Kingpin, Matt Murdock, in their shared aim to bring an end to Spider-Woman. New York became a conflict zone of increasingly extreme proportions as the trio expended their great reserves of resources and ambition in their aim, culminating in a plot that began to pull the very fabric of their reality apart. In her efforts to prevent disaster, Gwen Stacy has ended up stranded in another dimension, but with little but hurtful memories to return to and in the interest of protecting her embattled father, Gwen is in little rush to return home, instead lost in the present of this new reality.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

---

With a more grown up Spider-man present in the game, I thought it would be interesting to play a Spider-Gwen who's also further along in her story than she's usually portrayed both in wider media and her own comics. Rather than a fresh superhero before being thrust into interdimensional threats, her displacement is a result of conflicts directly tied to her journey as Spider-woman. Rather than a High School senior or first year college student, she's made it through half a decade of Spidering, starting to just about get a handle on the usual Spiderperson issues of being chased by the law and balancing her personal life before being displaced. She's not entirely upset about her situation, however, seeing her separation from her friends and family as a neccesary evil to keep them safe from the increasingly hostile reality of her home. The stories I want to tell are the consequences of a well meaning Spider-Gwen unmoored from her reality, yet still wishing to do good, as well as the struggles of living in a reality where you don't legally exist, at least not among the living. I want to deal with the very early process of this, rather than start her mostly on the way to making a new home.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

---

Powers/Suit

Spider-Woman, or Ghost Spider as she will style herself in this new reality, shares the generic abilities of Spider-people, although as with any of those she puts her own spin on her approach. A ballet dancer through high school and a musician beyond that she exhibits a style which is athletic and graceful in a rhythmic sense. Her webshooters and suit are gifts from her dimensions Janet Van Dyne and so provide a few more unique abilities, the formers able to recharge overtime without the need for her to create her own webfluid, and the later able to shift colour at her will, alongside extendable glider wings from beneath her arms when required.

Allies and Supporting Characters

• Captain Stacy: Now retired, George Stacy is Gwen's father and only parent following the death of her mother. Previously in charge of the taskforce put together to catch Spider-Woman, George was eventually dismissed in favour of Frank Castle. His relationship with Gwen was strained by their differences but close in bond, until in the passing moments of Gwen's time within her own dimension she admitted her identity to her father. She never saw her father again before her final confrontation with Harry, but the fall out of the reveal no doubt contributes to her lack of desire to seek a way home.
• Peter Parker: Her best friend in High School and her greatest failure, during Gwen's early years as Spider-Woman she fought with the Lizard, who turned out to be Peter. The later did not survive and she's carried the guilt with her.
• The Mary Janes: Gwen's band and her longest last friends. Gwen's secret identity and life as Spider-woman created a great deal of conflict between herself and her other bandmates during the later years of High School, but the maturity of the following years lead to a greater degree of balance. While she may miss them, she now sees her absence as a way to protect them from what Harry may be willing to do to hurt her, as he narrowed in on her identity.
• Janet Van Dyne: Retired hero and role model to Spider-Woman, Janet took a chance on a young woman caught between self aggrandisement and doing some real good in the city of New York. The tech required for Gwen to be Spider-woman was Van Dyne make and Janet is the only person back home for Gwen who has any idea of what has happened to both Spider-woman and Gwen Stacy.

Enemies

• No Way Home: The trio of Harry Osborne, Frank Castle and Matt Murdock united in their desire to rid New York of Spider-woman, for very different reasons. Frank Castle, the obsessed police captain who blamed her for a series of embarrassing failures for the PDNY put aside his differences to unite with the new Kingpin, Frank Castle, who had once hoped to recruit Spider-woman to his cause. The final member, Harry Osborne, spent years away from New York training to take vengeance on the hero he blamed for his best friend's death, combined with the vast resources of OsCorp. Originally a private agreement, this triumvirate eventually became a public force in New York, wielding increasingly large political power to achieve their end. Harry's eventual plan, involving the use of a Super-Collider to punch through to realities where living, and superpowered, Peter Parker's may reside, is the plot which resulted in Gwen being stranded in this reality. Gwen has little idea of what now occurs back home, but the Trio continue to exert influence across that alternate New York.
• Make The Most Of It: Gwen hasn't been in this version of New York to establish her own identity or true rivals, but already the whispers of a new crimefighter herald her presence on the scene. She's starting small, but once she's sure her presence isn't about to cause any sort of dimensional collapse, she's going to come out swinging.

S A M P L E P O S T:

---

“Ow Ow Ow……Hey EmmJay”

It wasn’t every day you had your face bashed up against a scaled up LED version of your best friend’s face, plus a decade or so, while trying to fight a slightly wrong version of one of your longest running enemies. Not every day, but definitely this day.

Gwen only had a moment to give her greetings to the large advertisement of her frontwoman’s face before she was bouncing away from it, propelled by the force of the impact. It was an embarrassing hit, even with spider sense to warn her, she’d been rather distracted by the revelation her roommate of days gone past was apparently now a movie star. Still, radioactive spider enhanced endurance meant that she’d recovered before she struck the ground, pirouetting through the air to land in a crouch.

“Your movements are fluid, a dancer then, that is new.” The voice carried over the sound of the city all around them as a gust of rushing wind brought the Vulture down close by. Not her Vulture, but definitely still ‘a’ Vulture.’

“Yeah well, these glutes didn’t come out of the Spider too.” Gwen snapped back as she was already moving, a handstand spring forward as winged villain landed, launching over his head as he did so. Two strands of webs fired out from his hands, momentary linking the Vulture’s suit by wing tips to ground. The strands held for long enough for her to complete her landing with a kick to the back of the man’s head, sending him sprawling forwards. “I can recommend a work out plan, because even for you, you look like you might need a bit of a health check, Adrian.” It was true enough. ‘Her’ Adrian might have literally had red eyes, but this one looked like he’d aged his whole life all again at once.

The Vulture was quick to recover though, the momentum of their fall turning into their own roll, before launching into the air in a spear tackle towards her. “New, but just as annoying.” He snarled with grim purpose.

“Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint.” She was already aware of the presence of an alternate ‘her’ in an established hero donning the spider motif, Gwen presumed this was what the Vulture referred to as she dove to the side, the motion turning into a forward roll as she spun back onto her feet, just in time to launch another pair of strands to add to her building web binding the Vulture to the ground. It was already beginning to prevent him from lifting off in full, just a little longer and she could probably wrap this up.

There was a frustration to his movement and actions which suggested more than just her wit getting under his skin, he seemed surprised at the effectiveness of the webbing. Perhaps a different formula, some things would have to be different in this place, no matter how it still looked like her city.

“I don’t know how you know him….but I’ll make you regret this.” The wizened Vulture snapped, lunging out for her once more. This time she slipped under him, two further lashings of web now to his ankles as she did, an incoming trip as she swung out the other end and the Vulture crashed forwards.

“Would you believe me if I said we’re entirely unrelated?”

The muffled sound from beneath the collapsed form of the Vulture certainly sounded like it was closer to a negative.

“Fair enough I suppose…Well…you sit there. I’m sure someone’s noticed this by now.” It would be hard to consider otherwise, Gwen had been swinging around the city, getting her bearings, when the Vulture had struck, possibly confusing her for ‘this place’ counterpart from a distance. A very public mid air crash sending her spiraling into a neon glowing advertisement was hardly a subtle start to a brawl. She didn’t have the best relationship with the PDNY back home, she somewhat doubted her ability to explain her situation to law enforcement here either. “Stay in school, Adrian!” She called out before zipping away, well before the ubiquitous sirens of New Yrok drew closer.

She’d already decided she needed to find a way to rent these Jackpot films.

The only issue was she doubted her credit card was interdimensional.

@Ezekiel

While actively doing multiverse plots is well outside the scope of this game, we never explicitly said "no multiverse characters," and from your app it looks like that isn't going to be a main plot focus for Gwen. As long as it's understood that the interdimensional stuff is just how she got here rather than the main thing she's doing, I think it'll pass muster.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Character Sheet

L E T H A L P R O T E C T O R

---

^{_{Edward Brock/Venom ♦ Symbiote ♦ Alphabet City, East Village ♦}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

---

^{"WE AR BONDED, EDDIE. IN DEATH, ONLY WILL WE PART."}

Edward 'Eddie' Brock sought religion, as he had always done, for forgiveness before he went through with his plan. After being laid off from the Daily Bugle and realizing his future had been destined for failure, he wandered into Our Lady of Saints Church for a final prayer before intending to commit suicide. Instead, he encountered an alien presence that bonded with him in body and mind, driven by hatred and despair for both Spider-Man and Peter Parker. And what emerged for that church was a revitalized man fueled by venom for the vigilante webhead and his former work rival. For four long years, this relentless campaign swept through the streets of New York City, unleashing a wave of fear and terror that targeted not just him but those he held dear. But the spite was starting to run dry as it was a constant cycle of bitter violence. That was around the time when Carnage arrived.

Carnage was a terrifying creature, the ultimate killer driven by an insatiable bloodlust. Eddie and the symbiote initially planned on neutralizing them to learn about their origins, but they were overwhelmed and witnessed harm coming to Eddie's former fiancée, Anne Weying. Desperate for vengeance, they turned to the web-slinger for assistance in stopping the other symbiote. And in the end, in an act to protect Parker's loved ones, Venom tackled Carnage into a fire that seemingly killed both of them. But that wasn't the case. They found themselves washed up on the shores of Massachusetts. Instead of returning to New York, Eddie and the symbiote embarked on a journey of healing and redefining their future—one rid of the malign and despair that brought them together.

Now, after a decade away, hiding away from the world had become tiresome as the march of time was leaving its mark.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

---

Venom had always been one of the favorite comic superheroes to read as well as write about. I wanna focus on an older, somewhat mature Venom/Eddie who finally took the time to reflect on his behavior and decided to return home. At the same time, I was sorta inspired by the three-issue run of Venom: On Trial and the six-issue Venom: Lethal Protector. Additionally, I wanna be able to mesh well with Spider-Man, too, thus being older.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

---

Anne Weying: Ever since her encounter with Carnage, Anne moved out of New York City in favor of San Francisco to move on with her life from the incident. Eddie tried to rekindle their friendship years, but it was better for them to maintain the distance.

Carl Brock: Somehow, the old bastard was still breathing and living relatively comfortably. Eddie hasn't talked to his father since being told how much of a disgrace he had become after getting laid off. The two haven't met since that night.

Carlton Drake: A billionaire who created the Life Foundation, an organization dedicated to safeguarding its ultra-rich clientele in the event of societal collapse. He is willing to spend much to achieve the ideal security system for himself and his clients.

Roland Treece: Another billionaire who founded Treece International, a construction corporation, and a client and investor of the Life Foundation. His company recently secured a lucrative contract with the city to sweep homeless encampments.

Patricia Tilby: Talented television reporter and investigative journalist made famous for her coverage of gentrification in District X that exclusively targeted the mutated population. Recently, she began investigating the underground homeless community.

S A M P L E P O S T:

---

Hider

---

VENOM

_{LIBERTY STATE PARK, JERSEY CITY}

HOMECOMING

---

Home stood before them, with the New York City skyline remarkably unchanged from a decade since their departure. The moment Eddie Brock laid eyes on the city, a whirlwind of emotions came flooding in all at once—bittersweet memories previously subdued emerged with vivid intensity. He swallowed it all up and resisted the urge to rip up his ferry ticket on the spot and run back to some hidey-hole where he could quietly fade away from the world. Yet, deep down, he knew he had to carry out the choice he'd made, no matter how idiotic it seemed. But more importantly, there was someone else in his life he couldn't readily ignore.

That cost ten bucks, Eddie. Consider that before you rip it up.

The familiar, powerful growl reverberated within him, providing a sense of much-needed warmth. Admittedly, their relentless presence was jarring at first, their voice always looming, ready to assert itself or chime in with their thoughts all of a sudden. More often than not, it was the burden of negative emotions that fueled their commentary, turning them more bloodthirsty and fierce. It took the brink of death for Eddie to realize how much it had become a problem entirely, and it took years of tumultuous coexistence for him and the symbiote to finally carve out an understanding. Though even after all that, insatiable cravings still lingered, especially for indulgent delights such as double chocolate cake.

We take offense at that inaccurate statement; they rumbled, with a sharp yet playful edge to their tone.

"Noted," Eddie quipped, drawing a baffled glance from a stranger reading a newspaper. He shrugged it off; he was well-acquainted with the quizzical reactions that came his way whenever he spoke aloud in public. At first, it had gnawed at him enough to make the symbiote morph some earphones, just so he could talk openly without being assumed weird. But as time passed and his bond with them deepened, the stares and whispers faded into mere background noise.

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket, and a notification flashed on the screen: the ferry to Manhattan would arrive at the port in five minutes. Eddied tucked his phone away and took a deep breath, ready to embrace whatever awaited him on the other side. Perhaps, once settled, he'd celebrate the occasion with that double chocolate cake; it seemed fitting, although the mere thought alone made him groan a little for some reason.

You thought of it first, Venom teased.

---

@Mao Mao

Apologies for the wait: real-life delays set me behind a bit. Venom is APPROVED.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

IC is live, folks!

MARVELS: Streets of New York

MARVELS

Streets of New York

New York City. A glittering labyrinth of steel, glass, and shadows. The very pulse of the city beats in rhythm with millions of hopes, struggles, and secrets. Every day brings with it a new tale waiting to be written, a new twist around every corner. Here in the big city, where ordinary men and women walk in the shadow of masked giants, life is rarely as it seems, though. Beneath the lights of Broadway, where the glow of Times Square fades into the gloom of the boroughs, the city becomes something else—a battleground where power is the only language spoken.

On the streets of New York, crime doesn't just survive—it thrives.

---

The Bar With No Name
No Street Address
Lower East Side, Manhattan

"Close the door, will ya?" said the surly bartender, an annoyed scowl on his face at the massive trenchcoated figure that stood in the doorway. "Ya think I'm tryin' ta heat up the whole friggin' block?"

With a grunt, the large man at the door stepped inside. As he closed the door, the rushing of outside traffic and the howling of a cold winter wind gave way to trashy rock music, the murmur of patrons at their tables, the clinking of glasses, and the odd thok of a dart hitting the board on the back wall of the small, dingy hole-in-the-wall.

The huge figure took up a pretty significant amount of what little free space was left in the bar, which drew more than a few dirty looks from patrons as he bumped and shoved his way past them. Underneath the tent-sized trenchcoat, the man was covered in thick brown armored plates that clacked and rattled as he moved. Anywhere else, this alone would draw stares. But given the garish outfits of most of the others, the man seemed right at home.

The Bar With No Name was a pretty dismal dive, the latest in a long line of dive bars with a similar lack of a title. It changed locations every so often, to keep the heat away from cops or capes. Sometimes it was in the basement of an old restaurant, sometimes the backroom of a warehouse, sometimes the basement of a condemned tenement house, sometimes even an abandoned hideout. Nobody ever wrote down where it was, and its clientele only knew of it through word of mouth. It was a speakeasy, a secret bar and lounge for a very specific type of customer.

Criminal enforcers. Costumed super-villains and their equally colorful henchmen. Assassins and gun-runners and two-bit thugs. If you knew where to find the Bar With No Name, odds were that it's because you're one of the "bad guys."

The enormous armor-plated man who lurched towards the bar was one such bad guy. Normally, his presence would leave people intimidated. Tonight, however, he drew quite a few looks of pity.

"Jeez, Dillo," the bartender said as he reached for a bottle of something strong. "You don't look so hot."

Antonio Rodriguez, the brutish armored villain known to the world as the Armadillo, grunted. Several of the thick armored plates that covered his body were cracked, chipped, or split, and he was still covered in a thin layer of masonry dust and pebbles that could have only come from rubble. His right eye was swollen shut, his lower lip was fat and split, and a red-brown crust of dried blood stained his nostrils.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically, "I don't feel so hot."

The bartender nodded, pouring a shot of something that would put down a horse. "First shot's on me, big fella."

Armadillo began to sit down at one of the bar stools, then quickly stood back up when he heard the wooden stool pop and splinted under his weight. With an embarrassed and irritated snarl, he snatched up the tiny shot glass in his massive front paw, and downed it.

"So what gives?" the bartender asked. "You just go another round with the Thing or somethin?"

"No," Rodriguez shook his head. "Just some punk kid."

"You're tellin' me some random kid did that to you?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Got a job to clear out a place in Hamilton Heights," Armadillo said. "Just a small-time hideout filled with some nobodies my client wanted out of the way. Should've been easy-- kick down the door, make a big noise, send them running, y'know?"

"So what happened?"

Armadillo grunted, then reached into a pocket of his trenchcoat and produced a small glass vial.

"Ever seen this shit before?"

---

Giuseppe's Eatery
Old Town, Staten Island

"My friends," rasped the withered man in an impeccable Armani suit at the head of a long dining table, "I have received some news that may change the way our game is played."

A nervous young waitress wordlessly filled a glass with deep red wine and set it down at the table by the old man, then excused herself. As she passed, a few of the other diners at the table gave her salacious glances, made obscene comments, reached out to get handsy, until the old man rapped his fist against the table to bring them all back in line.

Each man at the table was a lifelong criminal, many of whom oversaw million-dollar operations of extortion, racketeering, prostitution, drug running, and worse. Collectively, they made up most of New York’s branch of the Maggia, an international criminal syndicate composed of some of the oldest and most powerful crime families in the world.

Every boss within the Maggia had gotten where they were by being ruthless, vicious, cunning and cruel. None, however, were as ruthless, as vicious, cunning, or as cruel as the old man at the head of the table.

Silvio Manfredi, known to the world as Silvermane, once reigned supreme over every criminal enterprise in New York. While his power had waned with the arrival of the costumed heroes and villains, and the Maggia had been ousted from their seat of power by the rise of Wilson Fisk, Manfredi and his under-bosses still held significant ground.

”Ever since Wilson Fisk, that fat figlio di puttana,” Silvermane swore in his native Italian, ”took from us what is ours…our territory, our money, our rightful place at the top of this city…we’ve had to make do with less. Settle for being only the second best at what we do. Keep our heads down when some scassacazzo in spandex flies overhead. Tell ourselves it was only temporary, that we’d be back in business some distant day…”

Manfredi straightened up. Underneath his expensive suit, the electronic whirs of servos and plastic creak of artificial muscles hinted at the extensive cybernetics the decrepit old man had given himself.

”That day, gentlemen, is today,” Silvio said. ”I’ve just received information that will let us take back what all of those pezzi di merda have stolen from us. This, my friends, is not a friendly catch-up meeting. This is a war council…”

---

Penthouse B
Olympia DUMBO
Front Street, Brooklyn

The view from the veranda was striking, the hard points and spires of the Manhattan skyline across the river mirrored into a soft glittering blur in the water. Swirling a glass of chardonnay in one hand and holding her phone in the other, the raven-haired woman paced back and forth, listening to her contact speak.

”And you’re sure this is accurate?” Whitney Frost asked between sips of wine.

”Yes, Madame,” came the voice on the other end of the line. ”They’re going over the details now, but it sounds like Manfredi really wants this. So much that he’s going to make a move on Fisk, on you, on…well, everyone!”

The lips of Whitney Frost curved upwards into a grin. Underneath that supposed face, a golden featureless mask remained stone-still. Whitney Frost was the public name of Giuletta Nefaria, heiress to the Nefaria crime family and her own significant portion of the Maggia syndicate, and better known as Madame Masque.

”You’ve done well,” Frost assured her contact. ”If the old men want a war, they’ll find I’m more than ready for it…”

---

Lorenzini Mansion
Beechhurst, Queens

”You sure this is legit?” asked the fascinatingly ugly man, looking up from the report he’d been handed by the trembling underling that stood before his desk. ”I don’t got a lotta patience for people who interrupt my evening ta give me rumors.”

”I-it’s legit, s-sir, I swear!” the aide said. ”W-we were able to g-get this from our guys in the NYPD, and they s-said that th-this is what the cops found!”

”Hmmm,” the man seated at the desk said, scratching the completely flat top of his head. ”Could mean trouble. Could also mean opportunity…”

The gangster known only to the world as Hammerhead projected an image of an old-timey thug, someone who only communicated through displays of brute force. Those who spent any time in the criminal underworld, however, knew that the man with the unbreakable skull was far more clever and canny than most gave him credit for. Hammerhead was capable of intricate planning, and surprising acts of subterfuge and guile…

…however, he also knew full well the value of a good display of brute force.

”Put the word out to the boys,” he said. ”Things are about to get loud…”

---

LTL Motors
Melrose, the Bronx

"Every one of you is here,” the pale-skinned man said in a voice as deep and dark as the grave, "because I saw you understood what I did. That life is cold as ice and hard as marble. That you will not be handed things just because you want them, or think you deserve them. That if you want anything in this world, anything worth having…you just take it.”

Alonzo Lincoln, feared across the city under the name Tombstone, addressed the members of his gang. Each of them wore all black, and had their faces painted to resemble skulls. This wasn’t just their colors; it was warpaint. It was a message to anyone who stood in their way: when you crossed Tombstone, a tombstone would be all that was left of you.

”The balance of power in this city is about to shift,” Tombstone continued, ”You know what’s coming out on the streets now. I will know where it’s coming from, I will know who’s making it…and I will take ownership of it myself.”

Tombstone looked at his men, some of whom were excited by this new development, others nervous.

”Make no mistake,” he continued, ”There is no cost I consider too great, no lines I will not cross. There is an opportunity here to seize power like never before here…and we will take it.”

---

Fisk Tower
42nd Street
Midtown, Manhattan

”Good evening, sir,” said the brown-haired man in a sharp suit and tie, a tablet in hand as he entered the penthouse office. ”May I assume you’ve already been appraised of the situation in–”

”Yes, Wesley, thank you,” Wilson Fisk said, gazing through the window of his tower at the seemingly endless sprawl of the city below. ”You have more details for me?”

Wilson Fisk, one of the most powerful and influential figures in New York City, had risen to power quickly, but his takeover of corporate empires and his coup in the criminal underworld were both so complete that it felt to many that he had simply always been there. At first glance, one look at his enormous frame would suggest him to be a morbidly fat man, but a closer look showed an almost inhuman amount of muscle, giving him strength enough to contend with even superhumans hand-to-hand. In much the same way, a first glance of Wilson Fisk the philanthropic industrialist gave the image of a rich well-to-do playboy with grand designs for the city he loved, but a look beyond the surface showed one of the most formidable and heartless men the city had ever seen.

”I do, sir,” his confidant nodded, handing the tablet to the massive man in white. ”The responses from the Manfredi and Nefaria families are just as you’ve predicted. No word yet from Lincoln or Hammerhead, but we can assume they’ll call for action quickly. I have several of our usual contacts on standby. Should we move to–”

”Not just yet,” the Kingpin of Crime answered. ”A wise man once said, ‘never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.’ Silvermane, Masque, Tombstone, Hammerhead, are all rushing into disaster. They will throw this city into chaos, and their actions will spur reactions that they can barely imagine, let alone predict.”

”Understood, sir,” Wesley nodded, ”But in the event that one of them manages to get their hands on–”

”They won’t,” Fisk said simply. ”I’ll make sure of that. This new development will destabilize the current situation, yes, which is why it is all the more important that we keep our footing sure. When the situation becomes too unstable, when the others all teeter on the edge of collapse…I will push them over that edge one by one. And when all is said and done, I won’t merely be the most powerful player in this game, but the only one left standing.”

MARVELS: Streets of New York

IC is going live today, folks!

MARVELS: Streets of New York

No rush- we're always open to applications, and we'd much rather you find a character that you can comfortably work with for a long time, rather than pick something that only catches the attention for a post or two.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Hider

W I N T E R C I V I L I A N

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^{_{James Buchanan Barnes ♦ War Veteran ♦ Staten Island ♦ Retired Soldier/Assassin/Captain}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

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^{"From one fight to the other. For ninety years. Every day is a battle"}

After 80 years of service, some willingly, most of it not so much - he left that life behind. SHIELD, and every other security organization in the world certainly weren't happy with that. He's on every security watchlist, but agencies knows better than to poke the winter soldier that sleeps. Leaving the spy-and-hero life behind wasn't easy. He had to say goodbye to a lot of people, a lot like the way a junkie has to cut ties with all of his user-peers, Bucky had to break off completely. He took that choice into his own bionic hand and, for the first time since he lied about his age to go fight in Germany - he felt like he had truly been the one at the wheel.

He's not a weapon, and he's not a spy. He's no longer the Winter Soldier, and he's certainly not Captain America. He's unfit for civilian life, yet knows he cannot engage himself in the hero community at large anymore. Too much blood on his hands, too many secrets in his head. He knows where too many bodies are buried and he's tired of digging graves. Instead, he's trying to apply the skills that his body has memorized to better his local community. Most days that looks a lot like burning a caserole for the Veterans meeting group, or helping the lady down the hall with her broken washing machine.

He can barely sleep at night, and he can't help but get involved in every bit of injustice that comes by his sight. To let go of old grudges. To forgive people in his past, and most of all, to try and forgive himself. James is a broken man who is trying to put the pieces back together.

Bucky is trying to be better.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

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^{"It's been a very long time since I got to punch a nazi. Sadly, it's never long enough."}

I recently read the 2020 run of Falcon & The Winter Soldier. I also recently rewatched all of Burn Notice. Bucky in the context of this game is a mix of these two ideas. He is running from his past, believing himself to have 'done enough' as a hero. He's tired of politics, and he's certianly tired of being told what to do. I want to explore the parts of Bucky where he's the best. Where he's a malplaced regular guy trying to make his way in the most dense city on Earth. The TV-show from back in the olden' days is one of my favorite outings, simply because it spent some time on the very human elements of Bucky.

Bucky is going to balance staying out of trouble with his wish to help people around him. Using his skills and abilities in unconventional ways to aid those that seek his help. He spends his time volunteering at the VA, trying to cope with his regular therapist meetings, all while trying to restart his social life. All of this underpinned by the sneaking suspicion that one of these days, Bucky is gonna break bad and live up to some John Wick-esque behavior.

James Barnes offers a lot of character for his corner of NYC, a corner he himself cannot completely comprehend. He's a man out of time, in a world where he's haunted by all of the harm he's done. Torn between a desire for peace, and a character that's capable of dynamic hyper-violent superhero action all at once. He's a little knight rider, a little Burn Notice, a little Captain America. He's a man who is trying to become better.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

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^{"My name is James Buchanan Barnes, and I used to be a spy."}

- Alpine: Bucky's best friend and housemate. Nine lives.
- Jacob Porter: Former NAVY-Seal, part of James' Veteran support group. Gives him odd-jobs that are 'extra-legal' when someone has a problem nobody else can solve.
- Michelle Valdez: Agent of SHIELD, SWORD and just about any other acronymed organisation. Used to be deep undercover for HYDRA until Zemo bit a bullet. She debriefed and now tries to handle Bucky.
- Lars 'Lenny' Ulfreds: Psychiatrist who James has weekly meetings with.

- Silvio Manfredi: and James are born the same year. James posession of the super soldier serum in his blood and his deaccelerated aging angers the head of the Manfredi family almost as much as his refusal to work for the Maggia as a hitman.
- The Maggia Syndicate: The organization lead by Silvermane at large are causing trouble in Bucky's neighborhood, and his many odd-jobs helping out the people around him will lead to trouble with the mob as a whole.
- Kingpin: Certainly upset over the time Bucky broke his leg.
- Hydra: Hail Hydra. They've been terminated. Zemo was killed. More heads are certain to sprout up. Someone is always gonna try to re-gain power over the Winter Soldier.
- The X:ers: Neo-Nazi group of hooligans on Bucky's block who are terrorizing his neighbors.

I am agnostic to James having been placed in the role as Captain America in the past or not. If nobody picks up Steve, I'll make a choice regarding it down the line. If someone does decide to play Mister Rogers, Sam or Walker, I've got no qualms going one direction or the other.

S A M P L E P O S T:

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_{MARVELS: Streets of New York Presents: B U C K Y}

ISSUE #0: ржавый, печь, рассвет

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_{Staten Island ♦ New York City}

In his two-room apartment, Bucky sat crosslegged on the floor, trying to remember the medetation mantras Wong had taught him. Inner peace. Feel the garden of your soul bloom. Move your mind into your special place. Your center.

Problem is, whenever Bucky spends too much time in the peace and quiet, he finds himself remembering what it was like. Those short seconds as the nitrogen gas filled his chamber and his body cooled down. When the programming let go, and he got control again, only to get snuffed out. Seconds that felt like years. When he came to, he wanted to scream, yet his body never allowed him to.
He was screaming inside of his own head. Aware of what he was doing, incapable of stopping it. No power to do anything but exactly what he was told to do.

Each time he was activated, he heard those cursed words echo in his skull, louder than his own voice ever could. Like a spell they held him. Working him strings on a doll. He could shout himself hoarse, yet he would never overpower the might of those simple commands that ruled his entire life. He was bound. Defined by the chains that had been placed on him.

"Longing,"

He sees himself at 17. The day before he was shipped off to Germany. He had just chased away some of the guys who were picking on his best friend. Steve had treated him to a meal at the local fair on Staten Island as a thanks. Steve himself, in spite of his 5'2 frame and 70 pounds body had in turn stopped those same jerks from picking on an old man. Steve was physically weak. But he was the strongest man James knew. He looked up to him. He inspired him.

"rusted,"

"If you look up at someone, what way are they looking at you?"
His father used to say. Steve never once looked down on him, not after he got the serum, not after James stopped being known as 'Sergeant Barnes' and instead became 'Captain Americas' Bucky'. Steve still respected him, valued him. Saw him as a brother. Steve was an inspiration to the entire nation, to to the world. To James, Steve Rogers was finally seen the way he had always known his best friend. He lead James and the Howling Commandos during the war and they turned the tide.

"furnace,"

Steve made the ultimate sacrifice.

Bucky hears Steve scream, Steve's hand grabs Bucky's arm. Problem was that they both quickly realize that his arm is all Steve holds. James falls to his death after a surprise ambush from Hydra forces. Steve has to keep on fighting.

Steve saved the world. He stopped Hydra. He made sure there would be a tomorrow. Yet Steve wasn't there to save his friend from the fires worse than the seventh circle of hell, at least that's what Johnny Blaze had told him many years ago when he gazed into all of Bucky's past deeds. Bucky was turned into a weapon for evil men to enact evil deeds. He was used like a hot knife through butter, burning the world all around him.

He kept screaming when he was forced to take a life. A West-German diplomat. A police captain in Berlin. He was deployed to America. Hunting down certain actors who had fled from Europe.

He tried to scream, more than ever before when he was face to face with the man who made Steve Rogers. A man who's life Bucky's metal arm drained as his windpipe collapsed. He followed his orders, and without a seconds hesitation, he grabbed the gun from his back and fired six bullets into the horrified wife - a mother of one - of the now murdered man.

"daybreak"

When he gunned down four agents working for SHIELD, and when he murdered a king. Bucky was no longer screaming. He had lost his voice. His will to fight. He had utterly surrendered to the program that now controller him.

Despite giving everything. Steve came back. By some miracle, he eventually managed to bring Bucky back.

"seventeen,"
The words had no power over him anymore, as his lips themselves could murmur them. These chains were no longer defining him. Yet the memories they still could hold him prisoner, if he let them.

He felt a warmth climb up the side of his body in his deep meditative state.
Bucky opened his eyes as Alpine hit his arm with her head, purring. Telling him she needed food and that the worst crime he had ever committed was leaving her to starve for the entire afternoon. He was out of cat food.

"Yeah yeah girl. It's time for dinner. I'm gonna pop down to the corner and get you your favorite." He got dressed in his jacket, fixing his shoes. As he put his hand on the door, he looked at the cat rolling around on the floor. He scoffed and let out a slight smile that turned into a smirk.

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

@Hillan

Bucky is APPROVED.

For future clarification, we do want to make sure that SHIELD remains more of a looming background element than having an actual in-game presence. Like the major super-teams, the organization should be treated as "busy doing other stuff." You've shown in your sample that you get that, and you're a good player so we have faith that you'll stick to that. We just want to keep consistent so it doesn't open the door for people to say "well how come he gets to use SHIELD guys and I don't?"

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Character Sheet

B L A C K C A T

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^{_{Felicia Hardy ♦ Owner of Cat's Eye Private Investigations; part time Hero for Hire ♦ Manhattan}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

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^{"'Probability' is just a five-dollar word for 'luck.' And I'm nothing but bad luck, baby."}

As a teenager, her father, Walter Hardy, disappeared. In her attempts to discover the truth of what happened, she learned her father was an international art thief by the name The Cat, and met his mentor, a man only known as Black Fox. It was from Black Fox that Felicia learned the trade, all while spending the next several years searching for Walter.

In her early twenties, she found her father. In an attempt to protect his family, Walter had faked his death and gone into hiding after refusing to work for The Maggia. Tragically, their reunion was cut short by a Maggia assassin. Enraged, Felicia decided to dedicate her life to enacting vengeance on the organization that had twice taken her father from her. She underwent a surgery to bestow her with superhuman abilities, and adapted the identity of the Black Cat in an effort to honor the two men who had raised her. She began a campaign of breaking into secure Maggia facilities, then providing the stolen information and goods to Maggia rivals, such as the Kingpin.

It was during this time that she met Spider-Man, who helped convince Felicia that, while dismantling the Maggia's operations was a worthy goal, her methods of providing crime lords with intel and material was wrong, and would only serve to hurt more innocents in the long run. Dropping her vendetta, Felicia attempted to retire from from the life, but found a mundane existence too boring. She instead decided to give up her civilian life, embracing her costumed identity as the true version of herself. Meeting Spider-Man once more, the two partnered up for some time before Felicia's propensity for thievery—she had been pilfering the pockets of criminal organizations on the side—led to Spider-Man parting ways in disappointment.

Wanting a new direction in life, Felicia used these ill-gotten gains to fund her own detective and security consultation agency, of which she was boss and sole employee. She also invested in a top-of-the-line suit courtesy of The Tinkerer. After making a new, more respectable name for herself in the business, she eventually crossed paths with Danny Rand who offered Felicia a gig as a Hero for Hire.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

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Felicia Hardy is an interesting character who received quite a lot of development in the late 80s and early-to-mid 90s. Unfortunately, like most characters, she severely suffers from writers constantly forcing her back into states of "status quo." I hate this trend. Despise it even. So, the motivation here is to write a story featuring an interesting character who is actually allowed to progress in their life. Call it a big "fuck you" to Marvel Editorial.

For my version of Felicia, I am borrowing from several different alternate universe sources, including the 1994 Spider-Man animated series and PS4 game, blending the origins and drives of them into something that is coherent and meaningful. Primarily, though, this Felicia is in line with a truncated version of the 616 comics—to a point. Felicia's time as a detective, and her stint as a Hero for Hire, are the main focus and will be approached from a perspective of "what would this woman be like if editorial didn't keep erasing her progressions?" We're going to pretend the dumb shit that happened in-between and afterward never existed.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

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Powers and Abilities:

• Probability manipulation: Felicia is perpetually surrounded by a "bad luck aura" that causes improbable but not impossible events to occur. This ability is subliminal and grows stronger when under duress.
• Enhanced Strength: Her Black Cat suit, designed by the brilliant Tinkerer, increases Felicia's physical strength to that of peak human conditioning. She can lift 800lbs overhead, and leap fifteen feet into the air from a standing position.
• Enhanced Agility: The costume also augments her agility and speed to levels beyond that of even the greatest human athletes. She is capable of executing complex gymnastic feats with minimal effort, and run upwards of 30 miles per hour.
• Enhanced Equilibrium: The suit also interacts with the balance centers of her brain, increasing her balance and allowing her to perform incredible stunts or flips beyond normal human capabilities.
• Enhanced Durability: The suit gives Felicia resistance to many types of injury, protecting her from blunt force trauma. The joints are especially reinforced to enable her to withstand falls from great heights without discomfort or pain.
• Enhanced Vision: The lenses of her suit allow Felicia to see in greater clarity, distance, and various ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum, including infrared and ultraviolet light.
• Retractable Claws: The gloves of her costume form razor sharp claws capable of tearing through most materials, and enabling Felicia to scale walls.
• Grappling Hook: A miniature grapnel within the wrist of each glove can be used as a swing line, tightrope, or weapon.
• Olympic Level Athlete: Without her suit, Felicia still has the reflexes, stamina, and conditioning of an Olympic level gymnast and acrobat.
• Expert Martial Artist: Felicia has been extensively trained in several martial arts, and specializes in both judo and karate.
• Master Thief: Skilled in stealth, lockpicking, escapology, and more, Felicia is one of the greatest thieves in the world. Trained by probably the greatest thief in the world, she has considerable knowledge in security systems.
• Skilled Investigator: Felicia is fairly experienced in detective work and knows how to follow leads, interrogate suspects, and has a honed instinct to know when another person is concealing information.

Dramatis Personae:

• Black Fox: Perhaps the world's greatest thief, and the mentor of Felicia. Elusive and audacious.
• Danny Rand: Felicia's employer and coworker at Heroes for Hire. Immortal Iron Fist and filthy rich.
• Luke Cage: Felicia's other employer and coworker at Heroes for Hire. Power and Man.
• Spider-Man: One-time partner in heroics, Felicia and the Web-Head have a complicated history. Friendly and amazing.
• Phineas Mason AKA The Tinkerer: Creator of Felicia's newest Black Cat suit, former super villain, and occasional criminal informant. Terribly brilliant and terribly old.
• The Maggia: Crime syndicate that often wants Felicia dead. Multiple and stereotypical.
• Roxxon Corporation: Multinational energy and pharmaceutical enterprise with ridiculously excessive profits. Morally questionable and capitalistic.

S A M P L E P O S T:

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The warehouse was cold, the kind of deep, industrial chill that seeped into the bones. A truck idled near the loading dock, exhaust curling into the air like the last wisps of a dying cigarette. Overhead, flickering fluorescents buzzed against the silence, throwing stark white light across concrete floors and rusting support beams. The warehouse wasn’t abandoned, but it wanted to be. It was the kind of place where things happened out of sight, behind bolted doors and expired safety inspections.

Six men occupied the warehouse floor, clustered near a battered steel worktable. One stood with his arms crossed—a tall man in a tailored grey suit that fit him like a second skin. His features were sharp and angular, giving the impression of being carved from expensive stone. He checked his watch, impatient.

Next to him, a stockier man hunched over a laptop, pecking at the keys. He had broad shoulders, a shaved head, and a scar running along the ridge of his nose. He looked mean, and if not for the lines of code flashing across the screen, I would have pegged him for muscle. His fingers moved fast, eyes flicking between the screen and the small green flash drive plugged into the side.

Two more men stood a few feet away. One was a barrel-chested slab of muscle in a too-small leather jacket, the other leaner and older, with silver-streaked hair. They kept their hands close to their holsters, just in case. The last pair lingered by the loading dock doors, more brawn, more guns. Not that it mattered. Guns were only helpful if you saw your target coming.

Six men. Six sets of eyes.

None of them ever looked up.

I moved in the rafters, a whisper of motion. My boots made friends with the steel beams as I navigated the skeletal maze above the men. They were here to make a deal for some disgustingly wealthy individuals. I was here to collect a prize—but a prize wasn’t worth anything if you couldn’t take it clean. That meant timing. That meant patience.

It also meant waiting for the right mistake.

It started small. Laptop Guy reached for his coffee, more focused on the screen than his grip. His fingers fumbled, and the mug tipped. Dark liquid sloshed over the table, spilling fast toward the flash drive.

“Shit,” he muttered, jerking the cup upright, but the damage was done. Coffee trickled into the USB port, pooling in the tiny crevice around the drive.

It didn’t appear to fry the system, but it shorted the connection, causing the screen to stutter. A system message appeared.

ERROR: device improperly ejected.

The file transfer froze, and Laptop Guy hissed a curse, grabbing a rag from his pocket to dab at the device.

The tall man in the suit exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do you have any idea how much time you just cost us?”

Laptop Guy was already fumbling with the drive, trying to reinsert it, but his hands were still damp from the spill. Fingers slipped, and the drive popped loose. It bounced off the metal table, skittering across the floor. It slid far and fast enough to land directly under the steel shelving behind them.

The bruiser in the leather jacket sighed, stepping forward. “I got it.”

He crouched, reaching under the shelving.

Maybe it was old. Maybe it had been loaded unevenly. Maybe, just maybe, something was working in my favor—either way, the shelf shifted, and the weight at the top tipped ever so slightly. A box of old inventory—heavy, dust-covered, and precariously stacked—leaned forward, then tumbled.

The bruiser jerked back just in time, but the box hit the ground with a crash, splitting open. Loose screws, bolts, and washers scattered across the concrete like metal confetti. The suited man took a sharp step back to avoid them. So did the others.

Just like that, all eyes were momentarily elsewhere. And in that precise, perfect instant, I dropped—no more substantial than a shadow in the night. By the time the tall man straightened, brushing dust from his sleeve, the drive was gone.

So was I.

@Retired

Black Cat is APPROVED

MARVELS: Streets of New York

I'm just poking my head in to declare tentative interest.

I LOVE Marvel games, but I haven't RP'd in several years. So I'm a bit rusty. However, the idea caught my attention and I wanted to keep up to date with the thread. <3

@persephone325

Hi there! Our OOC thread has gone live, and we're always accepting new applications, so if you want to see what's going on, you can catch up on it here.