Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
|
Post by Blue Jay on Jul 31, 2016 20:14:38 GMT -7
Blue Jay had bid farewell to the people he had originally come down to the half basement half ‘dump where the stuff we don’t want to deal with but don’t want to get rid of either goes’ about thirty minutes ago and, since, had been the following silence. By this time of night, everyone in the boarding house was either in bed or off doing their nightly activities. Blue Jay would normally be picking his favorite of the two and about this time be either flipping through the internet on his phone for news stories while he waited to be tired or be out creating those news stories himself. Presently, however, he was not in the mood for sleep and there was still some work that needed to be done in the basement. He’d taken care of a good bit of the cleaning, organizing, and stacking of the organized stuff of the basement. Not because he’d been dumped with the job, but simply because he was willingly putting more time into it. Oddly, he found the act of cleaning - dusting, sorting through Aunt Nora’s old stuff, washing the dirt off of everything - both relaxing and rewarding. There was nothing like standing back and admiring an afternoon’s work and little better activity to zone out to. When he was first clearing out and set up the far right corner, cleaning out all of the spider webs, washing off the dust he’d gotten on the wall (in an attempt to gather all the dust in one place with a couple small shock waves that did a good job of cleaning the floor but did a poor one of keeping the wall at all its original color), and placing the table and assortment of chairs he’d procured, he’d been so into it that he’d come up to dinner and sat down at the table entirely unaware that he was covered from head to toe in dirt. His usual wardrobe was spending a lot more time in the wash since he began this little project. He’d swapped outfits about halfway through the day to his last pair of clean jeans and an old graphics tee he’d found at the bottom of his sock pile and, since he was chatting with some of the members of the new group, had slapped on his mask. The group’s numbers had jumped faster than he had ever expected them to; quick enough that he still had yet to speak personally to everyone who was listed to be a part of it. If it was just Titan, Siren, and Lobisomem, he’d have no problem just wandering around without his mask. He’d prefer it. It was nothing against the new people, he simply wasn’t comfortable giving his face to who were barely acquaintances. He was still wearing it now only because he’d been too lazy to take it off. Since the people he’d met with had departed, he’d made another row of straight and orderly boxes on the slowly building wall, this time lifting heavy boxes of books with the help of the sword strapped to his back, and had begun humming the tune of a recent pop hit. The sounds from upstairs had all but gone quiet, save for the occasional set of footsteps of someone coming down for a snack or finally returning home to go to sleep. He wasn’t sure how much of the night he was going to spend in the basement, but sleep seemed like a distant need. It was nice to have a bit of a break to spend a late evening on something like this. Sin Eater
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
|
Post by Sin Eater on Aug 1, 2016 11:46:34 GMT -7
Ever since she had gained her powers, Sin Eater hadn't actually needed to sleep. The more tired she got, the more strongly her regeneration tried to restore her to a full night's rest. After about 48 hours, she would settle into a slightly tired state that could last indefinitely. A short nap could restore her to full mental acuity when necessary.
So, it wasn't surprising for her to be up and about this late at night. This wasn't the first time she had visited the boarding house Geata had directed her to, and while she hadn't met face-to-face with most of the occupants yet, but she was beginning to recognize them by their long-term injuries. The entity she sensed in the basement was quite distinctive.
Abruptly, Blue Jay's work would begin to do itself for him. The remaining dust in the nooks and crannies between the shelves and boxes would disappear. The floor would become spotlessly clean, old water stains and even the cracks from the shifting foundation smoothing themselves over. Boxes shifted in their stacks to more stable positions. The rusted pipes leading from the furnace to the rest of the house suddenly gleamed with a spotless chrome finish.
A few seconds later, Sin Eater came down the stairs dressed in a cardigan and long skirt she had put on to be slightly less conspicuous in this part of the city. The edge of a fresh septic sore was visible on the side of her neck.
She smiled widely. "You looked like you could use some help."
|
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
|
Post by Blue Jay on Aug 1, 2016 14:03:35 GMT -7
It was surprising to hear the sound of footsteps upstairs turn not towards the kitchen or upstairs, but rather towards the entrance to the basement (it was that or a sheet closet). Even more surprising was the abrupt vanishing of the dirt and grime as though the basement had just been drafted into a disney princess movie. Blue Jay took a step back from the stack he’d been working on setting up and wondered when the magic brooms were going to appear.
Instead, a girl came from the stairway. Youthful, white-haired, flawless in appearance save for an injury on her neck, it seemed, she may as well have been the heroine of such a fairy tale.
Blue Jay looked between the perfectly cleaned everything and the girl. Given the house and circumstances of the basement, the use of powers shouldn’t be too odd, but it was still somewhat jarring to see one used that casually. Something he was probably going to adjust to, he guessed.
He returned her grin. “Thanks. The sooner we get this place cleaned up, the sooner we won’t have to worry about black widow bites and boxes of old photo albums falling on our heads.” He said cheerfully.
He settled back against the stack of book boxes. “Sin Eater, right?” That was the name attached to the closest description he could place on her. Prior to Geata informing him that he had recruited her to the team, Blue Jay had been entirely unaware of her existence. It was good to put a face to a name of a would-be ally. “Nice to finally meet you. Can I help you with anything?”
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
|
Post by Sin Eater on Aug 2, 2016 10:08:36 GMT -7
Judging by the other super's recognition, Geata had already described Sin Eater to him. And judging by the complete lack of caution in his voice and stance, Geata hadn't passed along the suspicion that he himself clearly felt. Either that, or this guy was completely lacking any sense of guile.
"And you're Blue Jay, then? Unhallow had... hm, quite a bit to say about you. Not to mention the news reports and the citywide gossip that finds its way down to the Sanctum. I feel like I'm in the presence of a celebrity."
Sin Eater descended the rest of the stairs, glancing idly around the basement.
"I'm just familiarizing myself with the locale and its inhabitants. You've assembled quite the quantity of supers. Unhallow doesn't like to spend much time in the city, so I figure I can do this much for her. Any assistance you can offer there would be much appreciated."
As she crossed the basement, she gave Blue Jay an encouraging smile.
"Oh, and am I correct in deducing that I'm the only healer among us?"
|
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
|
Post by Blue Jay on Aug 2, 2016 15:54:16 GMT -7
Blue Jay chuckled awkwardly at the mention of the gossip surrounding him. Most of it painted a less than gracious picture of him, he knew. He feared what Sin Eater might have heard from Unhallow - he might’ve liked the Keeper fine, but he was pretty sure he’d left a… somewhat poor impression of himself with them.
The only word of who Sin Eater was or what she was like had come from Geata, who had warned him to be cautious around Sin Eater. He trusted Geata’s word on stuff like that, but he felt it was important to give people the benefit of the doubt as much as possible. How else were they going to build trust in the group?
“Of course. Just say the word if you need something and I’ll do my best to help you out.” He crossed his arms and considered the other supers he knew to be in the group. There were other healers in the city, he knew, but as far as the group went, he didn’t think there were others. “Unless Titan’s tears secretly heal all wounds, I’m pretty sure you’re the only one.”
Speaking of injuries, he pointed to the spot on her neck on his own. “You okay, by the way?”
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
|
Post by Sin Eater on Aug 3, 2016 22:14:58 GMT -7
Sin Eater touched her fingers to the mark on her neck, then made a dismissive gesture.
"Oh, that. Don't worry about it. It's just how my power works. I absorb 'flaws'. For human wounds, it's relatively straightforward. For fixing inanimate objects, the effects sometimes surprise me a little.
"Not that there's any real danger. I can't die no matter what's done to me." She smirked, an oddly unsuitable expression for her face. "And believe me, people have tried. So, if you want to know what it'll be like to get killed by a dragon, I have plenty of experience."
On the other side of the basement, Sin Eater effortlessly clambered up some shelves on the wall, seating herself in a cleared spot on top. Even as short as she was, she had to lean forward to avoid bumping her head on the ceiling.
"Hey, I do have a question about the composition of the group, though. When I learned that you were a member, I figured that Aurora Disicio would be too. This sort of thing fits her MO to a T, and you've been seen working together before. But I definitely haven't sensed her in all my time here..."
Sin Eater tilted her head, the unspoken question hanging in the air.
|
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
|
Post by Blue Jay on Aug 4, 2016 0:25:10 GMT -7
“I, uh, think I’ll pass.” Blue Jay chuckled awkwardly, mimicking her dismissive gesture. “That explains your name though.” He said, only because he didn’t quite know how to respond to the rest of her explanation. Nor the way she had said it; Sin Eater’s smile had come off to him as friendly before, but its consistency was beginning to edge on unnerving.
Well, Keepers tended to be of the quirky sort. Blue Jay stood up from the box wall and paced over to where boxes and piles of various mildly wanted items minded their own business wherever they pleased. He could work while they chatted.
“No, Aurora’s not part of the group, if that’s what you’re asking.” He said, bending down to begin straightening out a box of old albums. “Though it’s not like I, or we’re against having her or anything. I don’t think anyone’s asked her yet. I’d ask her myself, but something tells me she’d reject an offer like that from me on the spot.” He joked, a little more sincerely. This also implied he’d have to run into her, but based on his luck thus far that seemed to be something he was unintentionally good at.
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
|
Post by Sin Eater on Aug 5, 2016 23:10:08 GMT -7
"Oh, don't be like that," Sin Eater said to Blue Jay with her hands clasped in concern. "You heroic types should really stick together! There are so few of you already... And fewer every time a dragon shows up."
She didn't lift a finger to help him. Instead, she simply smiled down at him as she idly kicked her feet back and forth.
"You don't need to be afraid of her. She's a lot less prone to solving her problems with violence than you are. In fact, I'd say that she's better at being an ashtray than she is at being a supervillain."
Sin Eater's giggle was lighthearted as ever, but her voice was losing its innocent tone. There was a sadistic gleam in her eye as she continued.
"Then again, maybe the two of you share that sort of experience. Supers who heal themselves like you do are always so... annoying. If scars are unreliable, then I have to use more blunt methods to take your measure. So, Blue Jay, you'll have to tell me... do you moonlight as an ashtray as well, or are you more of a floor rug?"
|
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
|
Post by Blue Jay on Aug 6, 2016 0:12:04 GMT -7
The tonal shift in her voice, mixed with what she was saying, made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. The look in her eye when he made an absent glance up made him not want to meet her gaze again. The casual talk of death by dragon made him uneasy. Despite the attack happening more than a month ago, images from the battle were still fresh in his mind and hard to keep away when brought up. Blue Jay focused on the photo albums in front of him.
He would’ve made a joke about being afraid of Aurora - which, for the record, he was not - or of how his abilities weren't exactly suited for non-violent means of problem solving, but the comparison she made of Aurora stopped him. Her back, as he’d seen it when she’d been shot, came to mind.
“I may not necessarily like Aurora, but I respect her enough to say I’d prefer if you didn’t call her that.” He said, chuckling despite what he was saying to mask the agitation he was feeling. With a grunt, he lifted up the filled box and walked it over to the stack. He set it in its place, straighten, and decided he wanted to lighten the mood. “As much as I like home furnishings, evidently,” he gestured to the corner he’d been working on setting up, making eye contact with her for a moment out of habit before regretting his decision and shyly looking back to the pile of messy boxes, “I don’t quite understand your question. And of all the things I would compare myself to, I wouldn't say either of those." He paused, pondering the question. "Maybe a printer? Useful as far as when its specific purposes are needed, but otherwise sits there doing its own printer thing. Also prone to being yelled at when it inevitably screws up.” He rubbed the back of his head. He was joking, mostly.
“And what do you mean, ‘like I do’? I don’t have any healing powers.”
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
|
Post by Sin Eater on Aug 7, 2016 1:03:23 GMT -7
The troubled swirl of negative emotions that Sin Eater detected in Blue Jay was delightful. Half of her wanted to absorb it for herself, but the rest of her wanted to push him further, to see what ugliness would come out when he was confronted with the truths of the world.
"Of course you respect her. She's trying to do 'the right thing', isn't she? It's just that her methods are so harsh."
Sin Eater shrugged. The lightness was gone from her tone, replaced by a lecturing cadence. Blue Jay's comment about his powers had already been forgotten. Sin Eater knew what Unhallow had told her, knew that her own power indicated something unusual about the way his body must respond to being wounded. It didn't really matter, not compared to this.
"Some people just naturally have a sense of right and wrong which permits that sort of thing. But Aurora's not one of them. You wouldn't be so offended if you hadn't seen her scars for yourself. Those aren't the kind of scars you get if your sense of right and wrong permits you to fight back."
Her voice grew quieter, more intense. She drove every word home with a sickly, twisted smile on her face.
"She's still clinging to some part of that. Her morals have been whittled down to simply making a better world for her people, and soon she'll start breaking that principle as well. Some people are dumb enough to get themselves killed before they can get around to betraying themselves. I hope for your sake that you're among them, but Aurora Disicio isn't. Once you start sliding backward, justifying to yourself why you should be allowed to do things you refused to do before, it's all over.
"If you truly respect her, then kill her. Kill her yourself, quick enough that she doesn't even notice. Kill her before she can slide any further. She'd thank you for it, if she had the self-awareness to realize where her road ends. Sometimes death is a mercy."
|
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
|
Post by Blue Jay on Aug 7, 2016 2:13:07 GMT -7
Blue Jay turned back to Sin Eater with a questioning look. “I’m not going to kill Aurora.” He stated reactively, her tone warnenting an immediate reaction. That… he hadn’t thought about it that way, but it explained a lot about Aurora. How she could go from such non-violent suggested by what she’d said happened and their… results to being willing to kill all unpowereds in the city to achieve her goal. Some part of him didn’t believe she was truly willing to do that, but then he thought back to the incident on the highway. That was probably the part of him that saw a bit of himself in Aurora’s stories of her past. It was not free of bias.
Live long enough and you’ll see yourself become the villain, huh? It was true; at least he wouldn’t have time to end up like that.
Blue Jay shook his head and the thought from his mind. Since becoming a super he’d thought a good deal about death and killing for his own sake and actions, but recently he’d come to dislike the topic. He didn’t want to dwell on it.
“No, I’m not going to kill Aurora.” He repeated, more certainly. “How do I put it. She may be walking down that road, but she hasn’t fully taken it yet. Assuming I’m willing to kill her, I can’t rightfully do that until she makes that choice.”
Something Aurora had said returned to him. He could’ve left her to die that night. Say, in the future, she did kill all the unpowereds in the city - he could’ve stopped it all by simply ending it there. BS, he’d called it, and he still stood by that.
“It’s not a mercy to take that choice from people.” He stated, and he wanted to leave it at that. He paced back over to the messy pile and began organizing another box. “Or,” he hesitated, “I guess it’s not so bad if it’s in helping people or a dragon, rather than murder for the sake of halting someone before they go too far. That’s different.” He couldn’t help but muse, more out of habit than anything else. “It’s not the worst fate to die being a hero.”
“Though I do feel bad for Aurora.” He continued after a moment. “I’d help her if I knew how, but she won’t listen. Point out the flaws in her arguments and she’ll yell at you about word choice.”
The specific words Sin Eater was choosing kept getting to him. He stopped, placing the next book back where he’d lifted it, and raised his brow at the Keeper. “Hold on, how do you know I’ve seen her scars? I haven’t told anyone.”
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
|
Post by Sin Eater on Aug 9, 2016 2:23:31 GMT -7
Sin Eater grinned. "I can read you like an open book, Blue Jay. My power only barely touches on mind reading, but it's enough. I can detect anything I can absorb. Negative emotions are flaws too, and they can be very illuminating."
She lightly jumped down from the shelf and advanced across the basement until she was uncomfortably close. "The way your confusion gave way to a flash of agitation as the comparison hit home was... delectable. And it also revealed that you do indeed care about her. Perhaps even enough to cloud your judgment?"
The outright malice that had been seeping through her tone had abruptly disappeared, replaced by mere curiosity. She stared up at Blue Jay, unblinking.
"You imply that you're willing to kill someone who has reached the end of that road, but will you really be able to objectively decide when that's happened if you're having to judge someone you want so badly to help? Once she breaks her famous pacifism, once she begins killing, how many excuses will you make for her? How many times will you tell yourself 'he deservedd it', 'it was for the greater good', 'it was just a simple mistake'?
"It's just a question of how far someone needs to go before it becomes clear that they need to be put down. Even if you're willing to let some people die just so that you can say a choice was made, I think you owe it to all the people she'll kill to make a promise to yourself about how far she'll have to go before you admit there's no hope for her."
Then Sin Eater suddenly grinned again.
"After all, it's a promise you'll only have to keep if you both survive long enough."
|
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
|
Post by Blue Jay on Aug 9, 2016 22:50:20 GMT -7
Blue Jay had taken a step back when Sin Eater neared, but found his back to an unsorted stack of furniture and boxes.
“I said assuming I’m willing.” He sighed. His voice was quieter than before and had an air of hesitancy to it. Something to do with his proximity to the girl who was trying to convince him to kill another person. “Look, I don’t see why Aurora is suddenly only my problem. You could say the same thing about the police; why aren’t the mobilizing a unit specifically to take her down? Aurora’s actions are not my actions and they are not my fault. I’m not her mom, I’m not an arbiter, and I’m not responsible for her.”
What was with people needing these hard-cut lines? What, was he supposed to say ‘after she kills 500 people and 30 children then she’s gone to the dark side’? “I’m not saying I’m not willing to confront her if need be, but making a promise like that is both unreasonable and unfair to me. Especially if I’m supposed to be impartial? What’s that even supposed to mean?” He was beginning to feel irritated, being cornered and pushed to talk about this. “The length she’d need to go to is not something someone can put into words or numbers. There’s too many variables and too much I could miss of a given situation. That’s… something I’d have to decide once I came to it.
“Besides, if it did ever come to that, I would rather talk to her first, no matter how painful that might be,” he grumbled, “rather than jump the gun and do something reckless and stupid. Just,” he shook his head, “the idea of killing someone is not one I like, and I owe her that much at least.”
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 90
Power Level 24
|
Post by Sin Eater on Aug 12, 2016 4:11:30 GMT -7
"The police are a non-factor," Sin Eater replied. "You're the one with the power. That means the decision is on your head. Inaction is a choice of its own, after all. It's unfair, sure, but you should have learned by now in your heroic work that the only fairness in this world is the fairness we make for ourselves."
She backed off, giving Blue Jay some room to breathe. Her expression was a thoughtful one.
"In any case, it's not really my concern how many deaths you might or might not choose to prevent. As nice as it would be to know what to expect, it seems we'll have to wait and see. There are quite a lot of people counting on you, Blue Jay."
And with that, Sin Eater turned back toward the stairs. She had given the other super a little nudge, made a little choice of her own. Trying to push any harder would be pointless.
As far as she was concerned, that meant that there was no further reason to be here. She wasn't in any hurry as she left the basement, but barring any parting shots that demanded a response, she had no interest in talking further.
|
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
|
Post by Blue Jay on Aug 17, 2016 14:12:38 GMT -7
Blue Jay wasn’t looking at her. He was facing her direction, as he’d gone to give his rebuttal to a suggestion that had come entirely out of left field - or attempt to come up with one to ‘it just is unfair’ at the very least - but his gaze was blank, focused somewhere beyond her. He looked like he’d suddenly realized something important or had been struck by an old memory.
It was not unlike a memory. It was through his perspective, with the familiar scape of the docks in the distance, and came at the same rushed and condensed rate as a memory might, but it couldn’t be for that what he saw had never happened. The scene was vague, consisting of little more than impressions of location, circumstances, and a single other person, but the feeling that came with it was poignant.
It was a strange feeling that washed over him. A fading of consciousness like when he drifted to sleep, but accompanied by a bone-deep chill. Though it was a dull kind of feeling, it was overwhelming. As the images became sharper and more focused, he realized it should be accompanied by pain. Had he not been all but frozen in place, he would have collapsed as his body inwardly said he should.
While the rest of the image blurred, melting into the cold and darkness, a single point of focus remained; the face of the one person there. It was not a face he had seen often, but he identified it immediately. Gilgamesh: one of the supers who had fought against the dragon and the person who had recently killed all of those policemen. Any confusion as to what was happening dispersed.
This was his death. He was going to fight Gilgamesh, and he was going to fall by Gilgamesh’s hand.
Blue Jay ripped the sword out of its sheath and threw it at the unsorted boxes like it was a snake on his back, like maybe that would stop any more of what just had happened from happening again. He took an unsteady step backwards, panic and uncertainty blatant on his face.
“Why?! Why now?!” He yelled. His hands raised to press on the sides of his head. This couldn’t be happening already. Tonight, without warning-
But of course this was how it was going to happen, and nor was the sword done with its message. Memories came in a rapid string, some his, some unrecognizable, each lasting only as long as to let a word or two be spoken. Every one of them was clear enough it could’ve been happening in front of him. It was like a letter made out of cut pieces of magazines, and none of it he didn’t already know.
Right, he’d known this was coming. He’d already prepared himself for it, accepted that it was going to be soon and already decided what he was going to do when it did. He’d told himself over and over that he was going to be fine with it. But now that it was here - tomorrow… he didn’t know. He didn’t want it to be tomorrow. Things were just barely settling, he was finally getting his feet under him again. He wanted more time.
Blue Jay’s teeth were clenched. His knees felt weak - he backed up until he hit one of the support beams and leaned all of his weight against it. He had to be okay with this. He’d decided he wasn’t going to run from it and he was going to face whatever was thrown at him head-on. There was no point in running and if he faltered, that vision was going to come true. It probably would even if he did. He did have a chance, but this wasn’t going to be a dragon fight; it was going to be him against another super. Sin Eater’s presence was forgotten to him, but her words were not. This was going to be a fight to the death, he didn’t need to be told, and if he didn’t fight as such back, he was going to end up like that, wasn’t he? It was one thing to accept death, but another entirely to accept the alternative. Exactly why they would meet, he wasn’t sure, but he knew why it was Gilgamesh. It had to be someone who had killed many, many innocents like him. Now he was going to have to kill, or he was certainly the one who was going to be killed.
|
|