Thatguyinastore

ArcRift

The source of the thumping noise was soon revealed to be that of a man...



Well... sort of.

The fancily dressed lightbulb man came running out of the closet with a sharp yell. His cane was raised high up in the air, and he seemed to be running at Cole in particular. Should no one stop him, surely Cole would have quite the bump on his head from the incoming cane smack!

@FactionGuerilla @Lazaro1505 @QizPizza @MorgueofCrowz @Crow @KageBaka @TheElenaFisher @BoltBeam @XeroUltra @ClownTown @Yamperzzz @SomeMekBoy

ArcRift

Ultron's internet search would prove fruitful in the case of both Firefly and Superman.

In Superman's case, most of what Lex had told the group was pretty much already readily available. Most of it wasn't anything new - other than one interesting nugget of information. Superman had apparently gone missing weeks before resurfacing, at which point he'd randomly began attacking innocent civilians.

And then for Firefly, he found quite a few things. His real name is Garfield Lynns. He's a pyromaniac with severe burns on ninety-percent of his body - and he has an extreme obsession with fire. His M.O. matches that of what's happened at the burning building so far. He's mostly known for terrorizing Gotham City, but recently he'd been sighted around the Metropolis area in the weeks leading up to today.

@ClownTown

ArcRift

Negan furrowed his brows as the cat thing began to reprimand him for using swear words. Despite that, though, that same smirk was maintained as he began to speak again,



"Well, pardon me," Negan jovially said - a stark contrast to the annoyance he was truly feeling underneath the mask of slick tomfoolery, "In fact... excuse the shit out of my Goddamn French!" That last comment was made with a loud yell - clearly with the intent to piss off the mutant cat thing. He then watched as Eric poked him square in the chest. His lips pursed and he took in what he was told about sanitation - not that it remotely fuckin' mattered to him one Goddamn bit. Still, though, he did help with the broken and battered bodies by not-so-carefully hoisting one over his shoulder and dragging it to the nearby camp.

Negan proceeded to haphazardly toss down one of the bodies once they reached said camp - not really paying much mind to Hershel's introduction in the meantime. "Sorry... sorry..." Negan said as he raised a hand to his mouth and began to pick between his teeth. "Got somethin' stuck in my teeth..."

He remained silent for a while - until Eric asked for rubbing alcohol. Negan smiled at that and raised a finger, "Oh! I got just the thing for that!" he chuckled as he reached into his jacket, producing a flask moments later. What followed was the sight of Negan pouring some kind of foul-smelling booze all over the wounds of the injured.

Welp.

@Attesa @Yamperzzz @RirisStride1 @ClownTown @ProfSpacecakes @Pixxieblush

ArcRift

While Sougo continued to fight his allies, the Mad Hatter just continued to laugh. His manic chortles filled the area, echoing off nonexistent walls. It filled your heads - possibly even beginning to drive you rather mad.

However, that laughter ceased the very moment that Lilith got the idea to remove the masks. "Wh-what? N-..no! Stop it! Stop it right now!" the Hatter cried out. "Removing those masks is something that I simply will not allow!"

As he said this, the thugs became angrier and more violent, erratically attacking the group in more desperate ways. However, on the flipside, the masks of those who Lilith managed to siphon from fell off - and her suspicions were proven correct as they stopped fighting instantly. Instead of continuing to fight, they just looked at Lilith and the others with very confused, very worried faces. "W-where the hell are we!?"

"Good thinkin'!" Joel exclaimed as he began to work at removing the masks alongside the others. Your heads began to feel heavier and heavier by the moment - but as the masks were removed from the thugs, they rapidly began decreasing in number.

@Attesa @Second2Last @Starmaker @Crow @KageBaka @Paper94 @davefromdiscord @TheElenaFisher

ArcRift

Since the thug in question was... well, dead, Cole's abilities to look back into his memories didn't really span very far. However, that didn't seem to matter, because he basically found everything he needed right away.



In the memory playback, Cole could see what seemed to be a man in some sort of fortified, fireproof armor hovering over them thanks to a nifty jetpack that looked like metallic wings of some sort. He was breathing heavy, almost to the point that it sounded like he was choking. "As soon as I leave, blow the charges on the lower floors!" the figure said, his voice as broken and raspy as his breathing. The thugs nodded, and then he let out a sharp laugh, before flying off.

And that was all that could be seen.

As soon as the playback of the memory ended, though, a loud thumping noise could be heard from a nearby closet - which was miraculously unharmed despite the collapsed state of the building.

@FactionGuerilla @MorgueofCrowz @KageBaka @Crow @TheElenaFisher @QizPizza @ClownTown @Lazaro1505 @Yamperzzz @BoltBeam @XeroUltra @SomeMekBoy

ArcRift

Negan watched with a still face as Voss explained the ins-and-outs of looting - which, of course, he understood. He wasn't a damn moron, after all. And he sure as shit didn't need some old asshole tellin' him the nuanced of stealing shit. And that was precisely why Negan had lost interest rather fast.

"Right..." he pursed his lips and watched, then, as Voss tried to remove the watch. Unfortunately, this didn't really yield any of the ideal results. It was pretty damn stuck to his wrist, from the looks of things. His hands alone wouldn't be able to get it off, that was for sure.

And then some purple cat thing showed up to ruin the old man's fun. Negan watched with slightly more interest as Eric took all of it for himself. The sight was ridiculous enough to actually make Negan smirk - which was more than he could say about Voss. "Well, ain't you just a huge bundle of shit?" Negan asked, putting emphasis on the "T" as he stepped forward. Lucille was given a good twirl as well. He turned to face the makeshift camp that Hershel and All Might had set up when Eric offered that they go and check it out - since that's where all the survivors were, after all.

"Mmm.... why the hell not?" Negan asked with a smile. He gestured outwards, then. "Lead the way, kitty cat!"

@Attesa @Yamperzzz @ProfSpacecakes @RirisStride1

ArcRift

Joel too was focused on taking out the mind controlled rabbit thugs, sticking to Tess's tactic of shooting out their knees, before adding in a stomp to their face for good measure. On his fifth or so mook, he noticed Grey's fight with the mind-controlled Sougo.

"Well, ya better think'a somethin' fast, fox boy!" Joel grunted in response as he delivered a swift punch to one of the rushing bunny-men. "The rest of us probably ain't got long!" As Joel said this, he could feel his head beginning to grow heavy. And so could everyone else's... even Lilith's, somehow.

"Oh, don't you dare go and whine!" The Mad Hatter hissed, "You're all mine, you hear me!? All mine mine mine!!"

@Attesa @KageBaka @Crow @Paper94 @Second2Last @TheElenaFisher @davefromdiscord

ArcRift

The thug stared up in horror as Ultron and his two drones suddenly flew in. The sharp, distinct metal clank was enough to make him start quivering in fear all on his own. Ultron's subsequent vivid description, however, made him start whimpering like a dog. "N-no... no please!" he cried out... only to then relent as the murderbot made an offer. A very enticing offer - one that he'd be insane to refuse. "Y-you can do that...?"

Red's subsequent threat only made him shake more in his pathetically vulnerable position. The Chosen then proceeded to mention working his magic on him... which made the thug curious. He was about to question it, but then the GIANT FUCKING DRAGON CLAW ripped right through the roof. A ton of debris fell onto the group after that - including the hostages and the thug. However, thanks to Penny's efforts of search and rescue, the former got out just fine.

Probably.

But as for the thug himself? Well, the shock of that as well as a very large, almost shirtless man falling from the roof and onto the ground beside him and almost crushing his head? Yeah, all of that basically made him just outright pass out from shock. That, and the debris that probably at least sorta covered the majority of the group at this point, was probably an issue now.

Oopsie.

Well! At least the Chosen got the information that they needed by siphoning info from his head. Of course, the man was unconscious by this point from the sheer shock of everything else, so no screaming could be heard. But in terms of info, what he would find was that he really didn't know anything about Superman. Not a single thing! But what he did know was that he was working for someone by the name of... Firefly?

Who was Firefly?

@MorgueofCrowz @QizPizza @SomeMekBoy @TheElenaFisher @Lazaro1505 @KageBaka @Crow @FactionGuerilla @ClownTown @Yamperzzz @BoltBeam @XeroUltra

ArcRift

"Got me there..." Negan replied dryly as he sucked in a breath through his teeth. He watched, then, as Voss continued to plunder the various bodies. He narrowed his eyes and hummed all the while. Really, Negan found the whole practice just... weird. Did this guy even have any use for anything he did find?

Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask, he supposed. Not like he had anything better to do... why not indulge this man with some chit chat?

"And what exactly do you plan to do with the shit you uh..." Negan stepped forward and formed air quotes with his hands. " 'Haul' ?"

@Yamperzzz

ArcRift

Grey's response was at least enough to make Joel lower his cup. The man - although he was one of few words - did smile a bit in response to him before giving a single, firm nod.

"Well that's just rude!" the figure exclaimed in more of a pout than anything resembling outright anger. "Really, I think you should drink your tea! It'd certainly fix that sour attitude!" he then pivoted slightly to face Spike. "No weapons at the table, I'm afraid! After all, this isn't some unruly raid!"

And then Sougo consumed the tea, and the figure let out a sharp laugh.

"Oh ho ho hooo! Now's not the time to worry about Superman! After all, you've just fallen for my wonderful plan-"

CRASH!!!

The sound of Lilith destroying one of his precious tea cups was enough to quite literally make everything in the room fall silent. That is, until Ben went and poured out his tea... as well as ate one of his precious cups. It had been the cup Joel was holding, too. And all the man really did for now was sit there confused, arm still held up as if he were holding the cup.

"Well, then!"



Contrary to how it may have seen, the figure was not angry at all. The thugs all turned to you as he excitedly jumped on the table, revealing that he was in fact rather short. Slowly, he began to make his way across the table, carefully stepping over all the intricately placed food and utensils as he did so.

"I tried to do this the easy way, but you've left me no choice!"

He leaned forward and revealed his face to you all. A disheveled man with long strands of unkept, unwashed hair. And one who had bags under his eyes deeper than the ocean itself. And all the while, he smiled a grin so disgustingly crooked that it could have even broke the most sturdiest of mirrors. But perhaps the oddest thing of all was his outfit. He seemed to have taken the appearance of the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland... for those of you who'd read the story, at least.

For everyone else, he just seemed like some short gross guy in a stupid hat.



"Soon enough, I'll be the one to rejoice..."

And then everything went dark.

...for about thirty seconds, that is.



You awoke next on what very clearly seemed to be some kind of giant stopwatch. It was spinning out of control and falling down rapidly through the air. Joel seemed just as confused as the rest of you... and he also struggled to keep his balance. "Wh-what the hell...?"

He was interrupted by the sudden interjection of the Hatter's manic laughter.

"You're mine! You're allll mine! Mine mine mine mine MINE!"

As he said this, the men wearing rabbit masks would appear out of thin air in a red cloud of mist. They didn't say anything, though, instead choosing to just attack the members of the group.

And Sougo would feel compelled to do the same, after drinking that delicious tea...

In fact, he'd find it almost impossible to resist.

@KageBaka @Crow @Paper94 @Attesa @Second2Last @davefromdiscord @TheElenaFisher