Post by Xavier Cross on Jul 25, 2014 23:32:56 GMT
It had a been a few weeks since the declared terrorist attack on Roberto Verona, the illegal factions of powered individuals had started to run amok in the city-state. The once dictator-esc leadership of Imperial City, had been burned to the ground in a matter of seconds. Thanks to one, Xavier Cross, described once as the ‘Imperial Phoenix.’ An upstart symbol of justice.
However, his inclusion into the Age of X, a group of heroes, and villains looking to change the dynamic of the city power structure, only to discover that Roberto Verona, and Angel were always working behind the scenes to keep power secured in their hands.
But a leak gas valve, put an end to their plans, when Xavier Cross ignited himself, planning on going down with the explosion himself, no bodies have been found identifiable, as the structure of control, and general politics crumbled, a new man stepped to the plate, an un-powered man, with a plan.
Simon De Montfort.
Surrounded with some of the strongest powered mercs in the world, they quickly put down small quarrels between the street gangs, empowered the economy with an influx of business, and Imperial City went from Anarchy, to Powered Hollywood.
With a list of young powered individuals, destined to be the next Imperial Hero, the great champion of the city, of each person, powered, and not. It also came with an incredible amount of camera time, and a large cash prize.
1.) The Show, or more commonly known as Mike Laszlo, a young hero from the streets, who can force energy into objects, or people, causing explosions. Is known for catchy phrases, and doing things in a flashy manner, a camera leech.
2.) The Black Dragon, Alex Jones, his power is speed power, able to run, and generally move quickly, but has started to use more weaponry based tech, and more extreme moves. Not as big of a show off as ‘The Show’ but, Jones has a ruthless streak.
3.) R-Man, Identity unknown, one of the few true-blue masked heroes. His body can manifest radiation, but more so, he can use the radiation to move atoms, creating objects into whatever he imagines. Silent, an obvious strategist.
4.) The Priest, Judas Allen, a warrior from birth, an a messiah mission, has become a quick upstart in the City-State, as he has raised a church, very charismatic, will be very quick to play everyone. Can move mass in his body to make his strikes more power, and his skin as tough as steel. A giant hammer with endless intel, a dangerous weapon.
5.) Man of War, Malaki Toala. One of the strongest men in Imperial City, his entire right arm is made of metal, his Shotgun Punch, is an nano-tech boosted ability, that can cause an insane amount of damage. A general weapons expert, he will be one of the most well equipped of the challenge.
6.) The Sheriff, Caleb White, with a dead eye accuracy, and a special revolver that feeds on his life force, The Sheriff is one of the heroes in the contest who is more noble, but also older, never getting his real big break in the hero business, more of a street hero, stopping smaller crimes.
7.) The Patriot Paragon, wearing a slick, faceless, red, white, and blue mask, The Patriot, is another unknown contest with some of the finest hand-to-hand skills, an expert in military strategy, it is known he is the first the Imperial Police Force call to solve a problem. His basic powers, allow him to turn his hand into a cannon, using the air to create a bullet.
8.) The Awesome One, Steve Awesome, if The Show is flashy, the Awesome One is Hollywood incarnate. One of the average heroes of Imperial, that with the new spotlight has already found leading roles in leading dramas, and various Television shows, whether it was fictional TV, or actual interviews, The Awesome One is there. Able to move pure electricity through his body, he can feed off the world around him, to power himself up, but even the shooting star can burn out.
9.) The Heroine, Kayla Richards. From a wealthy family, she uses her families money to boost her powers, whether by drugs, or nano-tech, she has a sleek metal suit she can use her brain waves to adjust to any situation, drawing information directly from the the Extro-Net.
10.) The Scottish Rose, Louise McDowell, a hot tempered Scottish lass, with an affinity for plants, able to control rapid growth rate where ever there was earth. When she reaches deep down, she can control the earth. Very outspoken as a patron of Mother Earth.
11.) The Spotlight, Alexis Caffery, the heroine second half of The Show, the two have a distinct partnership. She is a walking ball of light, literally, feeding off the sun for power, she can manipulate solar rays, that can burn the simplest of villains to a crisp.
12.) Wrecking Ball, Cliff Clinton, a man who can increase his size and strength tenfold, he can crush boulders in the blink of an eye, though more of a meathead than anything else. A very green hero in the city.
13.) Dancer of Blades, Ryan Blade. His power is simply, but deadly, he can turn any part of his body into a metal blade, literally, giant sword hand. More so he’s easily the most agile and athletic of the group with a acrobatic background, another ego added to the mix.
14.) The Firebrand, Xavier Cross….
and then there was me, The Firebrand. They had 14 banners, all hanging from the ceiling. All with our names, faces, nicknames, all that crap, and nice little picture of us. Grand…
We moved along, heading for the house. I guess I should explain how this works.
Essentially, we are about to become some kind of League of Justice, each week we have a challenge to overcome as a group, while also showcasing our individual skills, based our performance we live another week in the house, and are one step closer to the Imperial Hero crown. The bottom three, are eligible for eviction from the Hero House by a voting of their peers… The higher the score, the safer you are….
The list, each hero with their own reasons for being here, none deserving it more than the other, but each now on a level playing field to become the next, best Imperial Hero.
Standing in line, with the group of people, each on dressed in their own attire, all dolled up, and here I stood, with a pair of ripped jeans, some old sneakers, and a tank top. I didn’t hide my face, I had no secrets to protect, it was only myself, looking for a purpose. I looked down the line, a lot of new faces, except for Alex Jones, I hated his face, and his stupid hair, and we still had a fight to finish.
“Attention!”
Raising my brow, I turned my head, but something sweet caught my nose, as my eyes shifted to the left, where Kayla Richards stood. The Heroine. Her family had plenty of ties, and their pockets ran quite deep. She gives me a quick smile and a wink, I raise my brow, returning a smile, as I hold back a groan.
Eyes darting forward.
“Good day my heroes of Imperial City, if you do not know, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Simon De Montfort, and this is my brainchild...Each of you were gathered here today because you all have the potential to become the next great defender of the world. You will be judged not only by myself, but the entire globe, as we broadcast this across the entire extranet.-
/So Gramps here is a judge...and America will play some role, good to know./
-Further more, I have gathered two associates to help me choose the best, of the best, let me first introduce the lovely Ms. Galaxy, Amber Richards!”
/You could feel the temperature in the room dropped, and it wasn’t just because Ms. Galaxy had control over ice the way I did fire...It was because we just realized out of the fourteen of us, which one had an advantage, and which one just winked at me only moments ago...Buttering up to Kayla would be a safe bet./
“Hello, Hello Lovelies….”
Amber smiles, looking about, clapping her hands together, she watches each of us with a careful eye, before she stops at Kayla, shooting her a look that could kill. I wasn’t sure if anyone else in the room saw it, but in that moment, I realized, there were no favors between sisters…
/Fuck, there goes that plan.../
“And for the final judge, I give you…”
Stepping out from behind the curtain, wasn’t the man I expected to see…
/Adam, fucking Knite…./
His patriotic colors, I could almost taste the smirk under the Patriotic Paragon’s mask. But more so, if I thought that the look Amber gave Kayla was scary, the look Adam gave me, it felt like the holocaust.
“Hello Ladies and Gentlemen...I am here to make sure that...only the /best/ of the best, get through, and weed at those weak, or those who don’t /deserve/ to be here…”
/Yep, I’m toast./
With a smile, and a clap, I can feel my body go numb, as a bright light fills the fourteen of us, a transporter pad…
/Here we go/
However, his inclusion into the Age of X, a group of heroes, and villains looking to change the dynamic of the city power structure, only to discover that Roberto Verona, and Angel were always working behind the scenes to keep power secured in their hands.
But a leak gas valve, put an end to their plans, when Xavier Cross ignited himself, planning on going down with the explosion himself, no bodies have been found identifiable, as the structure of control, and general politics crumbled, a new man stepped to the plate, an un-powered man, with a plan.
Simon De Montfort.
Surrounded with some of the strongest powered mercs in the world, they quickly put down small quarrels between the street gangs, empowered the economy with an influx of business, and Imperial City went from Anarchy, to Powered Hollywood.
With a list of young powered individuals, destined to be the next Imperial Hero, the great champion of the city, of each person, powered, and not. It also came with an incredible amount of camera time, and a large cash prize.
The List of Heroes
1.) The Show, or more commonly known as Mike Laszlo, a young hero from the streets, who can force energy into objects, or people, causing explosions. Is known for catchy phrases, and doing things in a flashy manner, a camera leech.
2.) The Black Dragon, Alex Jones, his power is speed power, able to run, and generally move quickly, but has started to use more weaponry based tech, and more extreme moves. Not as big of a show off as ‘The Show’ but, Jones has a ruthless streak.
3.) R-Man, Identity unknown, one of the few true-blue masked heroes. His body can manifest radiation, but more so, he can use the radiation to move atoms, creating objects into whatever he imagines. Silent, an obvious strategist.
4.) The Priest, Judas Allen, a warrior from birth, an a messiah mission, has become a quick upstart in the City-State, as he has raised a church, very charismatic, will be very quick to play everyone. Can move mass in his body to make his strikes more power, and his skin as tough as steel. A giant hammer with endless intel, a dangerous weapon.
5.) Man of War, Malaki Toala. One of the strongest men in Imperial City, his entire right arm is made of metal, his Shotgun Punch, is an nano-tech boosted ability, that can cause an insane amount of damage. A general weapons expert, he will be one of the most well equipped of the challenge.
6.) The Sheriff, Caleb White, with a dead eye accuracy, and a special revolver that feeds on his life force, The Sheriff is one of the heroes in the contest who is more noble, but also older, never getting his real big break in the hero business, more of a street hero, stopping smaller crimes.
7.) The Patriot Paragon, wearing a slick, faceless, red, white, and blue mask, The Patriot, is another unknown contest with some of the finest hand-to-hand skills, an expert in military strategy, it is known he is the first the Imperial Police Force call to solve a problem. His basic powers, allow him to turn his hand into a cannon, using the air to create a bullet.
8.) The Awesome One, Steve Awesome, if The Show is flashy, the Awesome One is Hollywood incarnate. One of the average heroes of Imperial, that with the new spotlight has already found leading roles in leading dramas, and various Television shows, whether it was fictional TV, or actual interviews, The Awesome One is there. Able to move pure electricity through his body, he can feed off the world around him, to power himself up, but even the shooting star can burn out.
9.) The Heroine, Kayla Richards. From a wealthy family, she uses her families money to boost her powers, whether by drugs, or nano-tech, she has a sleek metal suit she can use her brain waves to adjust to any situation, drawing information directly from the the Extro-Net.
10.) The Scottish Rose, Louise McDowell, a hot tempered Scottish lass, with an affinity for plants, able to control rapid growth rate where ever there was earth. When she reaches deep down, she can control the earth. Very outspoken as a patron of Mother Earth.
11.) The Spotlight, Alexis Caffery, the heroine second half of The Show, the two have a distinct partnership. She is a walking ball of light, literally, feeding off the sun for power, she can manipulate solar rays, that can burn the simplest of villains to a crisp.
12.) Wrecking Ball, Cliff Clinton, a man who can increase his size and strength tenfold, he can crush boulders in the blink of an eye, though more of a meathead than anything else. A very green hero in the city.
13.) Dancer of Blades, Ryan Blade. His power is simply, but deadly, he can turn any part of his body into a metal blade, literally, giant sword hand. More so he’s easily the most agile and athletic of the group with a acrobatic background, another ego added to the mix.
14.) The Firebrand, Xavier Cross….
and then there was me, The Firebrand. They had 14 banners, all hanging from the ceiling. All with our names, faces, nicknames, all that crap, and nice little picture of us. Grand…
We moved along, heading for the house. I guess I should explain how this works.
Essentially, we are about to become some kind of League of Justice, each week we have a challenge to overcome as a group, while also showcasing our individual skills, based our performance we live another week in the house, and are one step closer to the Imperial Hero crown. The bottom three, are eligible for eviction from the Hero House by a voting of their peers… The higher the score, the safer you are….
The list, each hero with their own reasons for being here, none deserving it more than the other, but each now on a level playing field to become the next, best Imperial Hero.
*****
The clouds have opened up, I can hear it, I swear I can hear it all….The sounds of the heralds of the apocalypse ring, with the sweetest of songs. Their sweet, sweet words reach my ears and I find comfort, like a blanket on a winter day.
Mike Laszlo….come to me my child
My sweet baby boy...let you rest your weary little head on my chest, and suck of the tit of greatness. You see, it’s no happy accident, this is reality.
Call up your momma, because this is a Late Term Abortion.
Mike Laszlo, I’m not just going to beat you, I’m going to hurt you. I want to twist your bodies in ways that are physically impossible, I want to grind your bones into dust and make bread out of them, or at least a nice broth.
You want to know what the sung from the sky, that Mike Lazlo is gonna fucking die.
Or maybe it’s just common sense, because this entire tournament was staked, and all I hear is the internet up in tears that Spike Kane had to opt out. Excuse me for being one guy who’s not standing in line clapping his hands together, wishing him well.
I love Spike Kane so much, I hope he gets hit by a fucking car. I mean, the dude did kind of almost kill me that one time, so possibly people can understand why exactly bygones can’t be bygones. If you want to know, go down to Home Depot and nail gun your hand into a wall and tell me what y’think.
But I turned on Deep Throat, before I sat down today, and god damn I love that show. Just a good bit of entertainment. More so, they talked so much about how Mike Laszlo got here, that he was the chosen messiah by the one true God, the Noah of the Age of X.
Angel fucking Blake.
But how’s he going to feel, when Lazslo chokes, if we’re calling him the new Prophet...well I guess we can just as Ms. Caffrey.
This is the false prophet that never came.
Get it, because he’s not going to beat me, and he is impotent. Witty right?
Look Lazz-a-Matazz, I don’t know exactly how I feel about you. I look at you and think what a total neckbeard, and then I look at your hair and I think of delicious ramen noodles...and Now I’m hungry...I once knew a kid who put mayo in noodles, what the fuck right?
But Angel is barred from ringside, more so I just realized that I thought Angel was one of those one named people, like Bono or Cher, but his last name is Blake. That’s kind of lame, the all powerful wrestling god, his last name is Blake. Talk about Suburban commando.
Regardless, Blakey-poo is barred from interfering in any capacity….ANY CAPACITY.
So, I ask that someone hop the barricade and interfere on behalf of Angel Blake...Seriously, Blake? I can’t stop giggling at that.
What was I talking bout.
****
Standing in line, with the group of people, each on dressed in their own attire, all dolled up, and here I stood, with a pair of ripped jeans, some old sneakers, and a tank top. I didn’t hide my face, I had no secrets to protect, it was only myself, looking for a purpose. I looked down the line, a lot of new faces, except for Alex Jones, I hated his face, and his stupid hair, and we still had a fight to finish.
“Attention!”
Raising my brow, I turned my head, but something sweet caught my nose, as my eyes shifted to the left, where Kayla Richards stood. The Heroine. Her family had plenty of ties, and their pockets ran quite deep. She gives me a quick smile and a wink, I raise my brow, returning a smile, as I hold back a groan.
Eyes darting forward.
“Good day my heroes of Imperial City, if you do not know, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Simon De Montfort, and this is my brainchild...Each of you were gathered here today because you all have the potential to become the next great defender of the world. You will be judged not only by myself, but the entire globe, as we broadcast this across the entire extranet.-
/So Gramps here is a judge...and America will play some role, good to know./
-Further more, I have gathered two associates to help me choose the best, of the best, let me first introduce the lovely Ms. Galaxy, Amber Richards!”
/You could feel the temperature in the room dropped, and it wasn’t just because Ms. Galaxy had control over ice the way I did fire...It was because we just realized out of the fourteen of us, which one had an advantage, and which one just winked at me only moments ago...Buttering up to Kayla would be a safe bet./
“Hello, Hello Lovelies….”
Amber smiles, looking about, clapping her hands together, she watches each of us with a careful eye, before she stops at Kayla, shooting her a look that could kill. I wasn’t sure if anyone else in the room saw it, but in that moment, I realized, there were no favors between sisters…
/Fuck, there goes that plan.../
“And for the final judge, I give you…”
Stepping out from behind the curtain, wasn’t the man I expected to see…
******
Maybe I’m not the best person to win the Heir to the Throne, step up, and cut Angel’s head off and become the one true highlander….
Wait, wrong fandom.
Look, maybe I’m not the right person to collect all 7 Dragon Balls, and...wait that’s not right…
When Angel killed my parents...no, no lightning bolt scar. Or Batman…
I wanna be batman…
dananananna
FOCUS!
Look, Laszlo, great athlete, and I’m pretty sure I spell his name like four different ways, but my point is, the two of us are going to leave it all out there, and whoever wins, they’ll have to go through hell to do it. But this election season, I look for your vote to…
Fuck, this is not campaigning..
Screw it, I got nothing left to say, we are warriors, we speak through our fists anyway.
C’ya at Lineage Lazzy-Poo…
******
/Adam, fucking Knite…./
His patriotic colors, I could almost taste the smirk under the Patriotic Paragon’s mask. But more so, if I thought that the look Amber gave Kayla was scary, the look Adam gave me, it felt like the holocaust.
“Hello Ladies and Gentlemen...I am here to make sure that...only the /best/ of the best, get through, and weed at those weak, or those who don’t /deserve/ to be here…”
/Yep, I’m toast./
“Thank you Mr. Knite, now, onwards, you have all signed the contract. You all know that you will be living together like college roommates, in whatever I’ve decided to provide you with. Those who make it to the Eliminations work this way….
14th Place, 1,000 ISD (Imperial Standard Dollars)
13th Place, 2,000 ISD (Imperial Standard Dollars)
12th Place, 3,000 ISD (Imperial Standard Dollars)
11th Place, 4,000 ISD (Imperial Standard Dollars)
10th Place, 5,000 ISD (Imperial Standard Dollars)
Ninth through Third place, will each receive cash sums, but also be sent to a Jury House, in this house you will keep living together, without the cameras on twenty four seven...Yes, all day, live streaming to the people. There will be no secrets among heroes and their fans….And when we sit at our final two, we will have one last challenge, and then the vote, from our judges, and their fellow heroes…Luck is for losers my pets...Good day…”
With a smile, and a clap, I can feel my body go numb, as a bright light fills the fourteen of us, a transporter pad…
/Here we go/
Well howdy there pardner.