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Post by Marcus Prasad on Mar 10, 2012 23:37:33 GMT -8
Construction cranes were fun to climb. So many handholds, it was a wonder more people didn't take advantage of it. Better than climbing buildings anyway. One can reach a rooftop easier by crane top as a runway. Plus the height gave one an insane tactical advantage.
'Unfortunatly that's assuming the crane is still upright. When it's knocked onto it's side on the other hand.......'
Face screwed into a mixture of concentration and serene bliss, Marcus ran along the overturned crane, feet nimbly finding sure footing. The crane had toppled, carving messily into the side of a neighboring city block. Traversing the neck of the crane wasen't too difficult. Leaping off the end, Marcus reached out and grabbed hold of the exposed 3rd story floor. Nothing but Empty air around him and the rubble strewn asphault ground below. With a surge of strength, the man hauled himself up.
"Appartment complex. Nice."
Standing in the remains of a burnt out kitchen, Marcus gave himself a few moments to look around. The atmosphere was grim, sorrowful, like watching a picture of a happy family slowly burning to ash. The living room was no better. Smashed tv, signs of squatters, a childs toy.
Returning to the Wound that exposed the guts of the building, Marcus ran up the Kitchen wall, caught an exposed piece of pipe that miraculously held his weight and began to climb. He smiled, the imagery so powerful he could easily see himself as a maggot wriggling and squirming.
The setting sun shone through the wound, giving Marcus adequate light as he continued his climb upwards, ever upwards. Eventualy he would reach the roof. Eventualy he would move to the edge and sit, letting his feet dangle over the edge.
A Perfect spot to watch the sun set, no?
Leaning back on the palms of his hands, Marcus took a deep breath and tasted the air, felt the cool wind blow against his face as the dying rays of the sun warmed him in a bath of orange glow.
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Orion
Soldier
Craftsman extraordinaire
Posts: 303
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Post by Orion on Mar 11, 2012 9:39:35 GMT -8
"Impressive display."
The words were spoken from behind Marcus. Another man was leaning against a broken piece of wall farther down the roof, in the shadows, quietly masking himself. He had moved there once Marcus had gotten most of the way up.
"Beautiful sun, is it not?"
Orion had decided to wander once more, this time following a friend's advice and traveling far above the ground. That had led him to here, after observing the people go about their lives. It seemed that Barker's destruction, at least to the locals, was starting to heal slightly over.
And so he was here now, observing the sunset in a peaceful place.
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Mar 11, 2012 12:54:39 GMT -8
Marcus had a feeling he wasen't alone up here. Spacial awareness was a key disipline in his life and considering how many times people tried to get the drop on him in the past, it's no surprise. He sensed no malice or irony in the boys voice but he kept his guard up none-the-less.
Never hurts to be careful.
"Aye."
He simply replied. It was a beautiful sight.
"Looks alot better when you have a front row seat."
He left the invitation unspoken, eyes never leaving the sight before him. To be honest, He didn't expect the boy to move from his shadowy nook, but it was nice to give him the option.
"Unless, I accidentaly took your spot. I mean I can move."
Marcus added impishly. Pure and simple, the man was a smart ass, having been the product of two of the most smart assiest people on earth.
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Orion
Soldier
Craftsman extraordinaire
Posts: 303
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Post by Orion on Mar 17, 2012 10:41:44 GMT -8
"Looks alot better when you have a front row seat. Unless, I accidentaly took your spot. I mean I can move."
Orion stood, brushed himself off slightly and walked over to sit next to the man, ignoring his hood as it came down and revealed his features. His unnatural features: the glowing, the blue hair, and the unnatural blood-red/golden mix eyes. Orion sat down on the wall, legs dangling, right next to the man. He figured the man was not here to fight, simply to observe a rare moment of peace.
"No point in that when we have a whole building. It's rare that you can observe peaceful moments like this any more, ever since the world went to hell. Still, it is nice..."
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Mar 18, 2012 22:15:55 GMT -8
"Yeah-up. Thats why when you come across moments like these, you gotta just slow down enough to enjoy them. Smelling the roses and all that shit."
Marcus kept his eyes out towards the sunset as he spoke, even after the stranger moved to sit down beside him.
"Reminds you why you wake up every day."
After a few moments of silence, he finaly turned to regard the stranger, and was immediatly struck by how unique his eyes were. Marcus had a deep facination with eyes. They were one of the primary ways to tell someones mood. It was true that they were the windows to a persons soul. Also, the fancier the eyes, the more they intrigued the man.
"Nice eyes."
Marcus would comment before turning back to the sunset.
"They're the eyes of someone who's been through hell and back."
Marcus would know. Most definatly.
"Care to share your story? Names Marcus by the way."
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Orion
Soldier
Craftsman extraordinaire
Posts: 303
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Post by Orion on Mar 30, 2012 14:25:56 GMT -8
"Through hell and back? I doubt it, though I may have been. My name's Orion, by the way."
Orion leaned back slightly, and thought back.
"Here, in California, I have no memories of my life. There are no names, no faces, up until the world was destroyed. Between that time and my time in New York, there is no memory. Just fuzzy colors, evoking no emotions. So I may have been through hell and back. Hell if I remember."
Despite the amount of time he had to work on it, he had yet to actually recover those memories. They seemed completely lost at this point.
"Back in 552... the enforcer riots were close, but they were no hell. Though one man I did fight, the Jester, was, I suppose, a demon living on earth. He took four of our strongest men, and three others including myself, and we only defeat him because our leader used his QI and went beyond physical limits to beat him down. I had torn out one of his eyes with an attack to the back; yet he only laughed and threw me at the rest of my group.
"The origin of my eyes are... unique, I suppose. Somehow, my anger, bloodlust, developed into a personality, that chose to call itself Shadow. Cliche, but true. He was ever-present and a reminder to keep myself under control at 552. I'm not sure what happened, but he's gone now: something happened here that I don't remember. However, one unique thing about him was that he activated a latent medical condition of heterochromia; harmless, but it is the explanation for the blood red stains. I am told they grow more profound and gain more size the angrier I get.
"The golden part... was an experiment gone wrong. Not here: back at 552. Myself and a few others took part in a human experimentation project, named Valor. I suffered the most profound cosmetic change, as well as nulling my ability to feel heat, cold, or pain. These same chemicals also make most narcotics, be they medicine or poison, useless, and make it impossible for me to get drunk. I suppose had I realized what the changes would do to me, I wouldn't have signed up; but then again, maybe not. At the time, we had just finished the fight against that monster, and I was feeling pretty weak; it promised power, and in my mind, corrupted and confused as it was, that sounded OK to me."
Orion brought his focus back to the present. He dwelled too much in the past at times, but it was a part of him. He chose to embrace it rather then push it away.
"So, tell me, Marcus, how would you know hell? What is your story? If I had to guess, you attended one of those public high schools that have earned the nickname of either hell or a passage to hell; depends on how strong you were and who your enemies were. Those schools are now destroyed, and all that remains are the students of them fighting to keep Barker from taking over."
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Apr 2, 2012 18:52:30 GMT -8
Well SHIT!
The mans eyes bugged for a moment before he fought hard to control himself. He wanted nothing more than to blurt out that he was from 552 as well and begin gushing like a madman. So besides himself, Silk and Leon, there were other 552 alumni in the city!
Unfortunatly for him, many of the events Orion was speaking about were ones that Marcus either couldn't remember or simply wasen't there for.
So instead he sat back, his eyes never leaving the sunset before him as he listened to the rest of the strange young mans tale.
This Project Valor sounded like something straight out of a comic book. Even living in a world where most of the world was firebombed, Marcus had a hard time accepting the idea of a bunch of kid super soldiers. Then again, stranger things had happened before.
In fact, thinking it over, Marcus did remember something about The headmaster running experiments on some of the students of 552. He HAD Gassed them before during an assembly, and despite the fact that before he graduated, such claims were all idle gossip. Marcus wouldn't put it past Headmaster Clarke to do something so disgustingly wretched.
The man simply smiled, finally tearing his gaze away to lock Orion down with his own mocha brown eyes.
"You'd guess right. In fact, we share the same origin, though my story is alittle before your time. Y'see I was a drone of 552 myself. My story?"
Reaching up to readjust his Flatcap, the man gave Orion a mischevious smile.
"Why I'm just a thug with more heart than brains and barely any common sense to put between the two."
For awhile, Marcus was content to look back on the view before him in quiet contemplation. Though a man as hyperactive as he is, he couldn't stay silent for long and after awhile spoke up again.
"You wann know what Hell is kiddo? Hell is knowing that your more than strong enough to protect yourself, but not enough to protect those you love. Helplessness is a damn sin."
He added bitterly.
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Orion
Soldier
Craftsman extraordinaire
Posts: 303
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Post by Orion on Apr 22, 2012 13:13:58 GMT -8
OOC: My deepest apologies on the lateness.
IC: Orion listened. Someone who understated his role, huh? Orion remained silent, and listened as Marcus spoke again, bitterly.
"You wanna know what Hell is kiddo? Hell is knowing that your more than strong enough to protect yourself, but not enough to protect those you love. Helplessness is a damn sin."
Orion didn't comment. He was as he is now due to him giving in to the feeling of helplessness. Helplessness was a sin, but only if you chose the wrong option to fix it. So he remained still, and watched the sun as it fell. There was no need to comment; Marcus would speak again in time.
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Apr 23, 2012 0:42:38 GMT -8
{OOC} No worries dude. I might bitch now and then But I know damn right that real life comes first {OOC}
"Let me tell you alittle story my new friend."
Marcus continued, the feeling of melancholy settling further upon his shoulders.
"Once upon a time there was a girl. A beautiful girl with gold spun hair and eyes like twin sapphires. Well one day a common thug walked into her life from out of nowhere and stole her heart and made her his. They fell in love and were happier than they ever could have been apart."
Marcus paused for dramatic effect. An expert storyteller was he.
"Now this girl was Magic all right. With her power she was able to turn an ugly thug into a handsome knight, who in turn swore to protect her and love her and keep her safe from the evils of the world. One day a messanger appeared before the knight during class. Turns out between periods, some fucker decided to jump the girl who so captivated the knights heart."
Lucky for Marcus, the memory was old. Old enough that it did not bother him at all to recount it.
"Nothing prepared the knight when he cut through the circle of onlookers, only to find his beloved in the center, broken, bruised
and bloody. He took her home. Swore that he would never leave her side again. She kissed him then, and they were never happier."
The mans voice suddenly went dark. More for setting the mood than anything else.
"Soon the knight went to war, and his enemies were crafty and cruel. Instead of attacking the knight, who was now general of an army directly, they stole his beloved away right from his own castle. For weeks the Knight despaired, searching and searching fruitlessly for his beloved. Then one day he found her. Unceremoniously dumped outside his castle walls naked and bleeding. The image of a pair of wings cut into her back."
Again, Marcus went silent, staring as the darkness began to envelope the rooftop like a cold blanket as the last rays of sunlight dipped beyond the horizon.
Finaly after awhile he looked back up at the young man beside him.
"So there you have it. Almost makes one ask, whats the point of being strong when you can't protect the ones you love no?"
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