ic Violence is Golden

[Exaccus]

"Ah well, I do my best, sir." So much praise, he would have to watch his head didn't swell.

 

Marcus's desperate attempt to escape helped him stay a bit more focused.

 

"Speaking of, duty calls, ill be right back." A quick blast of sound from the bottom of his boots and the palms of his hands to send him soaring through the air to land gracefuly infront of the fleeing marcus

 

"You might not believe it mikey but i don't enjoy hurting people, sometimes it's nessicary, i much prefer helping folks." He explains, turning to face him.

 

"I'd like to help you too, but i can't if you don't let me." He explains holding out his hands "you've been used, dude, used and discarded, your lady could've bargained for you, you can walk unlike the rest of your buds here." It was blunt, tough truth hopefuly enough to save him a painful confrontation.

 

"If you cooperate now, you can build yourself back up, i can help you. Tell them you cooperated."  Hopefully it was enough but it was time for the coffin nail.

 

"You run, you'll run forever, till you get caught, assumin of course, you can get past me."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Marcus kept his fingers pinched on his nose, trying to stop the nose bleed. He looked left and right. 

 

"Ill say it was witchcraft!" he said, dramatically. "I mean...IT WAS WITCHCRAFT! WITCHCRAFT, I SAY!" in a much louder, much more dramatic voice. "Witchcraft was what it was! And what it was....WAS WITCHCRAFT!" he concluded, for all to hear. Despite the redundancy of his repetitve statements, you had to hand it him, Marcus had a certain charisma, and he made a banquet out of sandwich. 

 

Also, he ran. 

 

After all, he reasoned, he could say that was witchcraft too (and that witchcraft was what it was, and that what it was - was witchcraft). 

Edited June 23, 2018 by Supercape

[Exaccus]

It saddened and angered him that Marcus insisted on trying to escape the consequences of his actions but he had a job to do and it was gonna be a hard one at that.

 

"Well if you say so...." he took a deep breath, it was calming and helped him focus himself which was important for what he was about to try.

 

He never let the breath back out instead he began to take on his third transformation of the day.

 

"Pixie? I dont like asking but will you help me?" He whispered with an airy rasp "i need you to come with me as i follow this guy back to his cult and call the police whilst i go in to try and detain them, you don't have to do anything scary." He reassured the air around him as he began to turn into it.

 

"Infact if this goes bad i'd like you to run and get to safety, i dunno how many they are or what kinda things they can do so i'd like to hedge my bets."

 

"That said i understand if you don't want too, you don't have too, im just being a little bit selfish..i hate that lady got away on my watch."

 

And with that he was air

 

Air again, since the night at the square moon but calmer this time, still, soundless, odourless and streaming after Marcus

 

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I've got a puzzle to solve! Thats why I am the PUZZLE PIXIE!" declared Pixie proudly. "I mean, literally. I'm a pixie. Sort of. And I solve puzzles. Sort of. Um. Its a long story. But sure, I'll help! I mean, lets help each other..."

 

She sighed, still invisible. 

 

"Its a really long story..."

 

"Anyway I don't want the police snooping into my puzzles!"

 

Marcus exited stage left into hot night air and into the Broken Wishbone van. There were a couple of bored looking stage hands or bouncers who were smoking suspiciously fragrant cigarrettes. Marcus virtually dived into the van. 

 

"Stalker! Stalker! Get me out of here!"

 

The two security men looked at each other. They were slow to react but did react, bundling into the car and igniting the engine...

[Exaccus]

Incoporeal forms made it hard to keep his focus and concentration together.

 

It was nothing major, just a tendancy to space out and disperse physically over an area as he lost his train of thought to the bliss of an head litterally full of air.

 

"Sounds intresting." He whispered as marcus yelled about or for a stalker.

 

"you need to Sneak into the van or can you keep up with it?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Depends on how fast the van is going" replied Pixie. "And uh...you went invisible too! Like me! I can still hear you though. Wow, spooky. Now I know what it feels like. And how to spook people tee hee!" laughed Pixie mischieviously. 

 

"I'm pretty fast. But...depends on the traffic...."

 

It wasn't rush hour, but it wasnt the dead of night either. And big cities always had traffic. It did really depend on how desperate Marcus was, and how reckless his bodyguards were....

 

The question began to be answered. The van started off, and made good speed, a somewhat wobbly, reckless speed. It was doing a good 30 mph, but Marcus was screaming at his employees to drive faster. 

 

"That....is going to be tough to keep up with" groaned Pixie. "If I sprint...sure. A minute. Damn, I should work on my cardio..."

[Exaccus]

"Then lets go, ill make it up to you later, i know a couple of great little local places." And with that he set off silently swirling through the streets in pursuit of marcus's desperate flight.

 

Hopefully either denial or rage would take him to the lady of bones and far away from any bystanders where he could bring them both down and in for questioning.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Alex, for his part, could keep up easily enough with the van that was travelling at recklessly high speed. It would certainly catch the eye of any cop patrol, but fortunately it did not. The back streets were used, and the van picked up more than one prang and more than one dent. 

 

Pixie, for her part, was struggling to keep up, although she seemed to maintain her invisibility without the slightest bother. 

 

"Puff...hufff....puff....can't....go....on...." she wheezed up at Alex. 

[Exaccus]

This...is wrong? his thoughts felt scattered...too scattered looking down at the street where he thought he heard pixies voice coming from her words had a dull buzz to them, one that was helping him focus for now.

 

He descended to the street and returned to his flesh and blood body where he was, legs shaking a little bit.

 

"Think i let haste get the better of me there pixie, lets call it off, ill go grab my bike and we can grab a shake and some junk food and mull it over, I'm buyin!"

[Supercape]

GM

 

And so, at the late night Mr Fries, 

 

Junk food had been suitably ordered. Pixie had ordered fries (As one pretty much had to, when visiting Mr. Fries) and two extra large strawberry milkshakes. This, she explained, was her like, absolute favourite. 

 

She was just as she was now, fully visible, barely five foot, slender, with a cap on her head and cool clothes on her body. 

 

"I'm actually called Penny Coin. Thats my real name. Yes, my dad had a sense of humour..." she sighed. "Although I have no idea where he is. Left when I was a baby, with this..."

 

She pulled out a cube convered in dials, buttons, switches, and rotating faces. 

 

"The puzzle to end all puzzles. Apparently, its infinite..." she said, giving it a poke. 

 

"Whats your story?" she asked Alex. 

[Exaccus]

He liked pixie a lot, she seemed to effortlessly keep herself cheerful and upbeat even the heavy subject of an absent parent barely slowed her down.

 

Her healthy appetite was also to be admired! Having opted for one of the burgers and a helping of the famous fries with a strawberry shake at pixies recommendation.

 

"Sorry to hear about ya dad." He stated sincerely but didn't dwell on it as she seemed eager to move on and he didnt have anything else to say on the matter.

 

"Me? I'm alexander lloyd, alex for short AKA facsimile or...fax for short." He began after a helping of fries.

 

"I was workin on a apprenticeship at my dads site, he's a foreman when something went wrong and a girder fell towards me." A little break for a quick sip of strawberry shake to build suspense he continued.

 

"I put my arms up reactively and screwed my eyes shut...then there was an allmighty clang and i opened my eyes and i was made of girder! With a I-beam bent over my hands." Another break for some burger this time.

 

"The rest is kinda a blurr...got home, freaked out for a bit and started practising..then when i got a grip of it i went out and started trying to do the hero thing...fightin zombies, got kidnapped by some shady people who wanted.me to turn into their bad mojo thing, got sucked into a magic book, got caught up with a secret society and accidentally turned myself into light and beamed out into space." Rough summary but that was pretty much everything.

 

"Bit hectic but it all worked out pretty good."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Thats pretty awesome" said Pixie. "I mean, a lot better than having your head caved in by a girder. Or your elbows smashed. Or your spine shattered. Or...yeah, well a lot better than any of that" she said, biting her tongue. 

 

"I'm gladyou were at that concert. I don't like the music much. I mean, I prefer electro-pop and trance-jazz myself. All a bit sweaty and loud for me" she continued. "But it would have been a lot worse if you weren't there, right? You totally smacked that guys ass!" she grinned. 

 

"Wait...you aren't part of the puzzle are you? I never can tell?" she added, nervously, as she fidgeted with Cube of Infinite Puzzles that lay, quite inert, inbetween them. 

 

Not so nervous that she lost her apptite though. Those two strawberry millkshakes (and large ones, at that), had gone down fast. It was a wonder she was so slim. 

[Exaccus]

"I dunno, what is the puzzle exactly?" he asked intiguedly " you mean Skulll or something else?" 

 

with a smirk he reached out and poked the puzzle cube, just gently letting its properties seep over his hand "though then again, i think my power is to make myself a part of anything so i could be i guess." he mused before returning to his own meal.

 

His powers didn't strain his metabolism like some of his speedster acquaintances but his physique still required quite a large helping of calories and kilo-joules to keep itself in condition and his appetite reflected the work that had gone into making sure he was as in shape as was reasonable to be without appearing exceptional.

 

He worked construction, was fairly athletic and outgoing, nobody was going to bat much of an eye at him for being strong for his age, it had been a careful balancing act to avoid attention in being exceptional.

 

"Speakin' of, i figured it might be good to ask around and do some detective stuff before i go after marcus and lady of bones if you're up for helpin with that i'd appreciate it, not much for books and stuff myself." hand returning to its flesh and blood form and guiding his meal to his mouth

[Supercape]

GM

 

"What is the puzzle? Well...its a puzzle" sighed Pixie. "I can't figure the cube out. I guess that's the point. Dad is bit of a tease" she humphed. 

 

"It does strange things every now and again. Like yesterday it reset itself as a wishbone, snapped itself in twain, and reset itself again. Broken Wishbone. I did a google search and..." she shrugged. 

 

She hurridly pocketed the cube of infinite puzzles back. "Its dangeous. Probably" she said in hushed tones. 

 

"And I'm happy to help, Sherlock. What with me being all clever and stuff like that. And being able to turn invisible!"

 

 

[Exaccus]

"Phew that's a relief, im always worried ill miss something important, It'll be nice to have a bit of back up." He confessed having polished off his meal and wiped his face clean with a napkin.

 

"You want that i should pick you up or meet you someplace? I can also drop you off if you would like a lift home."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I'm good, thanks" replied Pixie, breezily. "Like nobody messes with me!" she said, giving a few faux king fu moves to the air. "And if they did, I'd just turn invisible!"

 

She had a think. Not for long, though. Pixie didn't think for all that long on anything. 

 

"Look, you are a nice guy and everything, and I want to help you, like you are helping...well, me, I guess. You aren't going to let this mess slip past you, I get that. But I'm not in the habit of giving out my address. My phone, however..."

 

She showed him her mobile, complete with phone number and "ME!" as the contact. 

[Exaccus]

"Oh of course i mean secrecy is really important i just ment like..nevermind." he mumbled as he quickly tapped in the number and saved it under Pixie.

 

"Right, ill give you a ring if i find anything out about this bones buisness arrange a meeting where we can puzzle over it."

[Supercape]

GM

 

And so...

 

With a fond farewell to Pixie, and the time now 02:00 hours, Alex hit the local police department. 

 

At this time of night it was just beginning to quieten down, but that didn't mean it was quiet. Even the drunks and drug users were beginning to fall asleep, but crime never slept (it just dozed a little). Police cars and night shifts still pulsed through the city, and the tired and demoralised cops of Freedom City night were living off caffeine and bitterness. It was hard to keep up your morale and dedication at this time of the night for all but a few of the most ludicrously commited policemen, and the odd souls who just plained preferred the night. 

[Exaccus]

He didn't have a disguise as such so he opted to put on the sunglasses he kept in the underseat compartment hoping that it would obscure his features enough.

 

It was just bad manners to barge into a presinct with your powers on, specially on the graveyard shift when tensions and stress were highest.

 

Walking confidentally up to the desk he waited with the patience of a stone to be gotten to.

 

"Good evenin officer, im facsimile here about that metahuman incident at the neat beat earlier tonight, I rang it in, wanna talk about how we can cooperate on it i you have anyone available to see me." 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Sheesh, that mess?" sighed the pencil thin officer at the desk. He looked like he had swallowed his own body weight in caffeine. Twice over. 

 

"Well we ain't got a lot of folks here right now. Spread thin as it is, and half of what we have is at the hospital interviewing the casualties. Not that we got much to go on. Just a load of broken bones and some crazy woman" he sighed. "Marcus Skulll is missing. Assault with a chainsaw, we might get him on. But the lawyers are gonna have a feild day mining this one" he groaned. 

 

"So I'm probably your best bet. Sgt Fields. I'm nearly a detective. Got my exam next week!" he said proudly. 

[Exaccus]

"Good on ya mate, its a pleasure tp work with an up and commin' officer of such calibre." He said sincerely before addressing the matter at hand.

 

"Yeah sorry about that, i thought i had it under wraps before the lady showed up, was just me and a mosh pit full of injured civilians so i spooked her and let her run rather than risk it getting even messier than it was, then i let marcus bolt, figuring i could follow him back to the lair but...i had a complication spring up." He explained

 

"I made some calls that i can live with but i still messed up, so i'd like to help clean it up and bring em in if i can so here's what i know. Marcus was yelling for someone called stalker as he fled and the lady of bones was his girlfriend according to felix the journalist, whoever was at the wheel was driving like a chimpanzee." Giving the time and directions as best he knew them incase any incidents had phoned in.

Edited July 1, 2018 by Exaccus

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I can dig that" said Fields, helping himself to another thick and large cup of coffee. 

 

His bladder must have had super powers of its own. 

 

"Stalker, eh? Well, I guess those fancy famous types get stalkers every now and again. Watch out, you might get one yourself one day" he grinned, helping himself to yet another cup of his coffee. The smell alone was enough to keep one awake for a day and induce cardiac palpitations. Fields had a tendency to talk too fast, and his hands trembled oh so slightly. 

 

"Well, we put out the word on the car. That much we can do. We got a few hits, but nothing too helpful. Might have been heading to his penthouse flat. We sent a few officers down there to invite him to help with our inquiries down here. And if he doesn't bite, then to arrest him so he has to help". 

 

"I can give you the address if you want". 

[Exaccus]

"Sounds good to me, sarge." He said with a soft grin "whatever it was he was doing it was bad juju, my ribs were made of steel and he bent them like straws." He commented idly

 

"I'll head right over and do what i can to help, thanks for the assistance, mate and congrats on making Detective."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Marcus Skulll was on the cusp of wealth, with the money starting to flow most liberally into his coffers, but his assets not yet robust. Still, he was a man of excess, and he had splashed out on a pent house suite on the twentieth floor of a luxury block of flats. 

 

Outside the tower, a large man and a large woman in large coats nodded politely and let people in and out of the building. It must be made clear; large in this instance did not mean fat. It meant six foot tall and nearly as wide. 

 

It was a most splendid block of flats though, all glass and steel and modern architecture. Must be costing a fair bit to rent even one of the less luxurious flats, let alone the penthouse suite. 

[Exaccus]

Parking his trusty bike a bit away from the building alex felt a wave o fatigue hit him, he'd been runnin around all night and whilst stopping for a bite to eat had helped he began to feel his need for sleep asserting itself, whilst he could passively absorb various energies to secure himself from enviromental effects he retained his metabolism and as he had now learned mental stress.

 

Taking a relatively minor risk in assuming his stealth form with a deep breath he began his ascent to the pent house, leaving his bike and the street below.