Simple Unicycle

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

VOIDED

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ISSUE #9
GEARING UP

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Outside Blade's Shop
New York City, New York

When Quincy told Blade to call us if he had a job, I had expected him to wait a few weeks to call... Okay, to be perfectly honest, I didn't expect him to call at all. It would have been much easier for all of us, I think. I know that both Rachel and I didn't care for him, and Quincy, bless the poor old coot, didn't consider interacting with the dhampir to be a good time either. So imagine my dismay when not a day after Rachel and I had dropped him off at his home, we got a call from him.

"Yo Drake, got a job. Haul your dumbass over to my shop."

And just like that, he had hung up the phone. To my horror, Rachel seemed adamant to follow up on her comments to the man; she wouldn't go in my stead, or even tag along to make sure he and I didn't try to kill each other. "This is between you and him. I think you two have some differences to sort out before we can even think about going after Deacon Frost."

I tried to put up a fight, I really did, but in the end that damned woman wouldn't budge. So with more than a few grumbles and quite a few scowls, I had gotten into the van to drive to Blade's shop. Along the way, I considered ways to make this escapade less of a pain in the ass: chief among them was shooting Blade in the head every time he annoyed me, though after a moment I realized that doing that would just be wasteful. Even if it was awfully tempting.

By the time I decided that I'd just smack him over the head with the butt of my rifle every time he said something stupid, I had already arrived at the shop. It looked just like it had a day ago, a rather dingy brick building with chipped paint peeling off of the walls. There was a blank sign above the wooden doorway, waiting for the day the shop would be named. All in all, the place fit right in, what with this area being mostly an assortment of slum tenements and closed down office buildings.

Deciding not to forgo this any longer, I pushed open the door and entered the building.

As I walked in, I took a look around the place. Straight ahead of me was a desk with a messy stack of papers, a picture frame, and an old rotary phone resting on it. Sitting at it was the man himself, feet kicked up on the desk and mouth wide open as he snored rather loudly. I snickered at the sight despite myself. How charming.

Next to the desk was a pile of empty pizza boxes, and behind the chair that my new "partner" was napping in was a door and (more interestingly) weapons rack. A few swords were racked up against it, some of the blades steel and others silver, alongside an assortment of guns. The firearms ranged from the usual order, such as shotguns and pistols, to more oddball weapons, such as an antique flintlock. How in the world did he get a hold of that?

In the corner to my right was a jukebox, playing some pop song or another. Next to the jukebox was... A broken pool table? It appeared to have been broken in half right down the middle after something heavy hit it. Part of me didn't want to ask, but the other part of me was too morbidly curious to let it pass. I'd be sure to ask him some time, though right now I was more focused on getting to work.

Finishing my scan of the room was a staircase at the far left wall, leading up to a single door that I assumed was his bedroom. Overall, the place was rather spartan, with only the jukebox serving as decoration. Far less home-y than what Quincy, Rachel, and I had set up over at Bo's Arcade. It was almost sad how trashy the place was, though I suppose it fit the owner's apathetic nature.

Finally deciding to do something instead of continuing to stand around looking the room over, I made my way over to the desk and stared at Blade for a moment. He was still wearing his trademark sunglasses, because of course he would be the type to wear sunglasses indoors, and seemed to be out like a light. I tapped his shoulder. No response. I yelled "WAKE UP!" No response. Finally fed up, I hit him in the gut. Still no response.

How the hell can one man sleep so soundly?

Having had enough of this, I crouched down and grabbed hold of the chair by the legs. With a grunt, I began to pull, and finally yanked it out from under him. Blade fell to the ground with a *CRASH!*, his sunglasses clattering to the ground and the man himself finally waking up.

"WOAH WHAT I'M UP I'M UP!" He looked around frantically, a panicked expression painted on his face. I let out a chuckle at his expense.

"You better be," I replied, setting the chair down and taking a seat. "After all, we got a job to do, don't we?"

He squinted at me, before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "A job? Oh, right... Right..." Blade picked himself up, grabbing his shades off the floor and sticking them back on his face. After a moment spent composing himself, he gave me one of his usual grins, before turning to his weapons rack. He took one of the swords off of it, and I recognized the blade from our scuffle at the Blood Bath. Silver; that could mean anything from a vampire or werewolf to a rabid goblin or harpy-minotaur hybrid (I shuttered at the thought of those... Things).

"What are we hunting?" I asked, while silently praying it wasn't a harpotaur.

"Bloodsuckers, Drake! Figured you'd be hype as hell for something like that, seems like your area of expertise." The word "expertise" came out with an undeniably mocking undertone. The bastard was taunting me. But I wouldn't bite back, much as God knows I wanted to. I wanted to keep things... Somewhat civil for now. Don't need him stabbing me in the back later.

So with an inward sigh, I gritted my teeth together and bit back a retort of my own. "Alright then buddy, let's get this over with." He looked quite surprised at that, perhaps expecting me to go for the bait, but simply shrugged and nodded. Good.

I led him out of his shop and into the van, hopping into the driver's seat. Putting the keys into the ignition, I started the van up and unlocked the back door so he could get into the back seat... Only for him to climb right into the passenger's seat next to me. I mentally berated myself for a moment. Damn, I forgot to lock it.

"... You really don't have to sit he-"

He silenced me with a loud "SHHHHH!", before turning on the radio and fiddling with it a bit. "Gotta have full radio control!" After a moment of watching him randomly tune in and out of various stations, I finally slapped his hands away from the controls and glared at him.

"We have a job to do. Give me the details, and do be quiet after you do."

To my surprise, he relented, sticking his hands up defensively. I quietly turned off the radio, which had settled on some sort of sermon radio show. "A'ight, a'ight, no need to get your panties in a twist Captain Jockstrap. Few blocks north of here, old warehouse on the edge of the suburbs. Got an anonymous tip that a feral vampire's been hanging out there."

I nodded. "Alright. Let's go." A few blocks north of here, old warehouse, feral vampire. I could work with that. With everything sorted out, I double checked that I had all my gear ready in the back seat, and began to drive. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after a-

"So are we there yet?"

I spoke too soon.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

Boom, second character bitches... And fuck me it's another orphan.

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

"Don't mind me, just the girl that's gonna save the day!"
-----Basic Information-----
Alias:
Jackal II
Name:
Stacy Perkins
Origin City & Hometown:
Gotham City, New Jersey
("Once you get past the daily robberies, massive unemployment rate, and the boatload of ghettos, Gotham's actually a pretty nice place to live.")
Sex:
Female
Age:
21
Birth Date:
January 6th, 2000

-----Analysis-----

Race:
Human (Caucasian)
Height:
5'7
Weight:
137 pounds
Costumed Appearance:
Stacy's costume as Jackal is rather simplistic and thrown together, as she didn't have much money to spend on it. It's mostly black, so that she can blend into the shadows easily, consisting of a ski mask that hides all but her eyes, a hooded long sleeve shirt, cargo pants, and combat boots. She's on the look out for something more advanced so that she looks less cat burglar and more superhero, but she's not in a rush.
Civilian Appearance:
Stacy stands at an average height of 5'7, with a lean build that carries a surprising amount of power. Her face is pale and angular, with warm brown eyes and black hair in a pixie cut that frames her face. Clothing wise, Stacy prefers to dress in a reserved yet practical style, with hoodies, tank tops, jeans, and running shoes.
Icon:
A stylized jackal's head.
Costumed Personality:
"I've come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of ass! ... Wait, no."
Though she hasn't been able to test it out yet, Stacy has been formulating her persona as the Jackal for some time. She aims to be like the clean cut hero her father was, friendly to allies and bystanders, quick with a joke, and menacing to those who feed off the misery of innocent people. Overall, much more open and bubbly than how she normally is. She's even come up with a list of witty one-liners to use! It's gonna be so awesome!
Civilian Personality:
"I'm telling you, I'm gonna be the greatest boxer to ever live... Ahem, so have you decided on your order sir?"
Unlike the persona she's been crafting for her costumed guise, Stacy herself is more on the timid and polite side. She doesn't like to raise her voice or be too harsh on people, and as such almost seems like a walking doormat. Every once in a while however, a burst of energy pops through, especially when discussing boxing and the like. Underneath this quiet facade, Stacy has a burning resolve to help people the way her father did, combined with a love of fighting instilled in her by too many late nights spent watching boxing clips.
Civilian Occupation:
Waitress, aspiring boxer
("The waitress thing is part time. Soon, you're gonna see my name on a title card!")

-----Abilities-----

-Skills:
Expert Pugilist
Skilled Acrobat
Skilled Medic

-Powers:
Regenerative Durability/Healing Factor
Right now, Stacy's healing factor is relatively weak, with her barely being able to regenerate from knife wounds and the like. She's deathly allergic to getting shot in the head, slashed across the throat, or disemboweled. However, the longer and more often she uses her healing factor, the more durable she becomes and the stronger her healing factor will grow. This means that she can potentially reach the point where she can withstand large caliber gunfire, survive any variety of mortal wound, or even become effectively immortal and cease aging.

Enhanced Physiology
While she doesn't quite have super strength/speed/endurance, Stacy is just a bit beyond peak human health in her capabilities. She can lift 800 pounds overhead (1000 with maximum effort), run at 45 miles per hour without tiring, and go up to a three months without food and a month without water. She also has enhanced reflexes, allowing her to react quickly to oncoming attacks.

-Gadgets:
N/A

-Weapons:
N/A

-----Biography-----

Character History/Origin:
Stacy was born in the year 2000, the daughter of Eric Perkins and his wife Mary. Mary died due to complications during childbirth, leaving Eric to take care of his daughter on his own. Eric wasn't exactly rich, living in a rather slummy apartment complex in the East End, but he did his best to provide for his daughter despite their circumstances. Both father and daughter were metahumans, carrying the same powerset, and secretly, Eric used his powers to try and clean up the streets of Gotham. Though it started small, stopping a few muggings here or there with nothing but a ski mask and his fists, Eric became more active in 2006 following the Henry Fawkes incident. He continued to go on his crusades in secret, keeping his daughter at home under the watch of his brother Felix, though he rarely engaged with his community.

With the arrival of more active vigilantes such as Grim and later the Champion, Eric became more active as well, crafting a more heroic costume and donning the alias Jackal circa 2007. To contrast Grim's more private persona, as well as to show that not all metahumans were bad, Jackal was more open with the community of Gotham City, regularly taking interviews or volunteering at soup kitchens and the like. Slowly, he became somewhat of a cultural icon among the downtrodden, their own hometown hero protecting the little guys.

Stacy, of course, knew nothing of this, and it wasn't until 2008 with the arrival of the Champion that Eric began to tell his daughter about his escapades and just why uncle Felix watched her so many nights. Of course, the girl was thrilled at the prospect of her father being a superhero, and if it meant hanging out with uncle Felix more he could keep going out and protecting people. It was around this time that her uncle Felix introduced her to boxing, sparking an interest in the young girl that never quite went away. Little did anyone know, her father's stories and those boxing matches she'd watch would plant the seed for Stacy's own vigilante escapades later in life.

It was in 2010 when the Two Month War hit that tragedy struck. Though Stacy managed to avoid the fate so many children had that fateful Halloween night due to her uncle helping her make her own costume, it didn't stop the country from being ravaged. Her father was one of the many heroes to fight back against the Blackthorn Coven to save the country. Working closely with the people who would later found the Justice Leage, the Jackal surely would've been the "Eighth Wonder of The World"... Had he survived. He died in the Battle of Hub City, ripped to shreds by a swarm of abominations faster than he could regenerate while trying to evacuate an apartment building.

There wasn't much left of his corpse to identify him, let alone to bury.

At the news of her father's death, the ten year old Stacy began to shut herself in. She rarely spoke at school, barely ate, and what she once found fun she would be loath to do. It took nearly a year for her to get over her father's death, and even then, it was only because her uncle (now her legal guardian) sat her down and told her that her father wouldn't want this for her. Slowly but surely, Stacy crawled out of her slump, becoming the plucky girl she once was, but still, a small part of her had died alongside her father.

These days, Stacy works at her uncle's restaurant by day and spends her evenings training at a local boxing gym. But lately, she's been taking late night walks, foiling muggings like her father once did. In fact, she's thinking about making it more of a full time thing... After all, with Grim so busy with the Justice League, someone needs to clean up the streets of Gotham.

Optional Information:
Theme
Battle Theme

Various Fun Facts

Stacy is right-handed and boxes in the out-boxer style.
Stacy's favorite color is purple.
Her favorite food is spaghetti with meat sauce, as that was what her uncle would always make for dinner when she was growing up.
To the horror of her uncle, Stacy is an awful cook, to the point of almost setting fire to the family house while trying to make macaroni and cheese.

-----Important People-----

Nemesis:
N/A
Allies:
Felix Perkins - Stacy's uncle, and her last living family member. Accomplished chef and minor local celebrity, owner of "Perkins' Italian", the family restaurant that Stacy works at. He's always in her corner.
Team:
N/A

Ruins of Norn: Another Side

Posted. Y'know, to get the campaign going again. Hopefully.

Ruins of Norn: Another Side

The disgusting odor from the corpse rose up and into Todd's nose, causing the barbarian to release a dry heave and pinch his nostrils shut. "Damn, that ought to be the rankest thing I've ever smelled..." Still, he kept on the look out, noting that there had been other monsters in this area recently, and there were more around. None waiting to ambush them, but he didn't want to stick around for too long just in case. "We better get to searchin' for supplies, don't wanna stick around and meet the thing that done this."

World of Light

Level 1 - (8/10 EXP) + 1 = 9/10
Difficulty Level 1
Location: Peach's Castle Courtyard -> Paved Wilderness
Word Count: 706

---

After all the heroes had left, the courtyard had fallen into a calm, with only the various fauna still around. Pokemon were grazing, interacting and playing with each other, and occasionally scaring off any monsters that got too close. All in all the place carried a rather scenic and graceful beauty. Indeed, nothing could ruin it...

"OH CRAP! I'M LATE!"

The shout disturbed the nearby creatures, and it didn't help when front door of the castle was slammed open, startling them further. The man who opened the door didn't waste a second before beginning to sprint, his feet carrying him away from the castle at a speed like no other. He spotted some fresh tracks from when the heroes' convoy had taken off, and followed it in the hopes of catching up.

Gene was quite thankful for the God Hand in that moment, as it enhanced his speed and allowed him to run at the speed of one of the karts. It got a bit tiring after a while, but he was in decent enough shape to keep up with the karts... If he caught up with them, that was. He really hoped they hadn't gone too far ahead.

The brawler thought back on the previous night. He had went to bed sadly sober, but after all that had happened, he had been more than a little exhausted. Add to that his notorious habit of being a deep sleeper, and he had awoken quite a while after all the others had already left. At first, he chocked up the quiet castle to him waking up earlier than the others, which was a miracle in and of itself. But it wasn't until he went to get breakfast in the kitchen and noticed the kitchen staff cleaning an array of dirty dishes that he realized he wasn't early; he was very, very late.

"CRAP CRAP CRAP! I'VE GOTTA CATCH UP TO THEM!" Gene shouted to no one but himself, continuing to speed forward. As he followed the tracks left behind by the karts, he noticed that the terrain had started to get rougher, and he almost tripped up a few times over the jagged rocks. Eventually, he came across a jump over a pit, and began to pick up in speed.

He took in a deep breath, sped up, and...

Leaped over the pit and landed on the other side!

Gene stopped to take a breath for a moment, laughing in amazement. He had made a few jumps like that before, even a few over multiple moving platforms hanging over a near bottomless pit, but man, he never quite got used to it. He continued forward, passing by a large plateau, when he finally saw the convoy! He had caught up with them!

He continued running forward, before stopping after noticing something odd...

There was a bunch of bandit cars attacking.

And a friggin' giant!

He stood back and watched for a moment, noticing that the giant looked similar to that Centurion guy he had met last night in the kitchen! So thankfully, that meant that guy was on their side, but the other big cars? No, those guys were definitely not friendly if them attacking the others was anything to go by. A few of the others had started attacking, a few of them handling the ice cream truck while the giant and Bowser Jr. went for the monster truck. He needed to get in there and help them!

But... Even with all his skills, he couldn't just start punching moving vehicles! He needed something, some sort of power-up so he could jump into the fray without worrying about taking damage! If only there was...

Gene facepalmed.

He had the friggin' God Hand. The thing that made him invincible.

He slapped a hand onto the Deistic Brace and prepared to take it off, while running into the fray. As soon as he was close to one of the bandit vehicles, what appeared to be a buggy piloted by a strange looking man and an orange creature, he ripped off the Brace and felt the power of a God flow through him!

"BUUUUURN!" Gene yelled, before running forward and attempting to leap onto the buggy to disable it.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

<Snipped quote by Rondo of Blood>

♫ Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap ♫

@praxitilies

Filthy acts at a reasonable price.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

◼ @Simple Unicycle as Blade - Last Posted 15 Days Ago, 1 Day Overdue.

@Lord Wraith

Still here boss. Just been reeling from Retired's savage feedback adjusting after moving a few states away. I'll be sure to get something up before the week is out at the very least, if not in the next day or two.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

January 1st, 8:05 AM (Central Standard Time)
Outlaws Supernatural Consultative Services, Hub City
^{Interacting with: @Tim}

"Huh?" David finally noticed what was playing. "Oh, her." Despite himself, he began tapping his foot slightly to the music. Oh God, this song was his jam. Of course, no one but him knew he was a Karen Hernandez fan, and he knew that if Leo or any of his associates knew they would never let him live it down. So he slowly picked up the remote and went back to channel surfing. Still, he decided to grace with a response.

"Yeah, I was there for the Battle of Hub City, spent most of the night holed up in a shelter. Just sitting there waiting to find out if we'd been liberated or damned. Can't imagine what it would've been like for a kid." Technically speaking, he was a kid then, but he meant a younger kid. Having all that you know get destroyed right in front of your eyes isn't easy. He should know.

He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away. Finishing his pizza and drink, David sighed and looked to Leo. "Well, was nice catching up with you bro, but I'm gonna head upstairs and wait for someone to call. Just yell if you need me." With that, he pushed himself up off the sofa and walked up the stairs to get dressed and lounge around in their office.

Just a nice, normal day.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

January 1st, 8:05 AM (Central Standard Time)
Outlaws Supernatural Consultative Services, Hub City
^{Interacting with: @Tim}

David continued to flip through channels, going from the monster trucks to an infomercial to a kids show and finally landing on a music video before Leo took a seat next to him. He considered his friend's words for a moment, thinking back. "Say, didn't we still have a few bucks left from that..." He trailed off, wondering where that money went, before snapping his fingers in recollection. "Wait, no, we spent that on parts for the Highwayman. Shit."

He took a swig from his drink and finished up his slice of pizza. Getting up to grab another slice, he continued to speak. "Anyway, I know those aren't the monsters we usually handle, but you have to admit it. Seeing massive trucks just completely obliterate a bunch of tiny shit is awesome." He took another bite of pizza and talked around it. "Either way, next job we get, we're taking it. I wanna see some monster trucks."

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

January 1st, 8:04 AM (Central Standard Time)
Outlaws Supernatural Consultative Services, Hub City
^{Interacting with: @Tim}

The Wedge.

Most people painted it as a hellhole, devoid of any and all law and filled with the undesirable and poverty stricken, where people kick puppies for fun and shank tourists. In all reality, most of the bad folks had relocated to Hell's Corner, and the majority of the Wedge's citizens were... Mostly law abiding. People mostly just minded their own business these days, what with the military moving in and out due to the city being so close to the Scar. Of course, the Wedge had already gained its reputation, and even many years later it still held a half-false status as a series of slum tenement buildings and offices packed to the brim with the lowest of scum.

One of those slummy offices was a repurposed two story warehouse, the steel walls oozing with chipped paint that once would've been snow white but had now faded into an almost beige coloring. Out front was a large wooden sign, made to look like something that would hang outside of an old west saloon. The words painted in red on the sign were flanked by two stylized revolver chambers, and the words themselves simply read "The Outlaws" with "Supernatural Consultative Services" below it in finer print.

The first story of the building was a workshop/garage/armory, with the massive camper van dubbed the Desperado ready to roll out and the work-in-progress Highwayman close behind it. One of the two owners of the building, Leonardo Cash, was currently working on the latter car. They had just gotten the scrap heap a month back, and so far it seemed like it would be a hot minute before it got on the road again, especially with all the enhancements they were making.

At the other end of the first floor was a living room of sorts, with two chairs and a sofa set up in front of a flatscreen TV, a coffee table not too far away from the seats. Next to the TV was a refrigerator, packed to the brim with leftover pizza and cold sodas, with a Chinese takeout box waaaaay in the back that was starting to get a bit moldy. Dave and Leo had no clue how it got there and were waiting for the other to mention it. So far, neither had.

Walking down the stairs from the second story was David O'Rinn, the co-owner of the shop, who was just rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He stood there half naked, in all his glory with his Mickey Mouse boxers, and glanced at Leo who was working on the Highwayman. With a sigh and a mumbled "could've kept the noise down a little," he walked over to the fridge and opened it up to grab breakfast. Pulling out a Coca-Cola with one hand and a slice of three meat pizza with the other, David closed the fridge and plopped himself onto the sofa with a grunt, biting into his pizza and setting his drink down. Kicking his feet up onto the table, he grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.

"-milies as we listened to the reports come in from Hub City." It was a morning talk show, and judging by what they showed next, they were talking about how it's been a whole ten years since the end of the Two Month War. Despite himself, David let out a huff of annoyance.

"Oh, yada yada, you assholes weren't there. Probably safe up in your penthouses in New York. Next!" He clicked over to the next channel.

The next channel had just started playing an enthusiastic ad for a monster truck show. "TRUCKS! TRUCKS! TRUCKS! COME ON DOWN TO HUBERT MEMORIAL STADIUM ON JANUARY 10TH TO SEE MONSTER TRUCKS IN ACTION! ALL FOR THE LOW PRICE OF TWENTY DOLLARS PER TICKET!" To top it all off, they showed footage from the last show they did in town, with massive trucks completely wrecking everything from a bunch of practice dummies to minivans. David grinned.

He turned over his shoulder, yelling at his partner so that he could be heard over the noise. "YO LEO! WE SHOULD HIT UP THAT MONSTER TRUCK SHOW! IT'S IN TOWN NEXT WEEK!"