Roland
Elite Warrior
Posts: 95
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Post by Roland on Jan 7, 2010 23:46:45 GMT -6
Roland watched his prey turn a corner onto another street, saw the way the man seemed to gain his second wind as he did so. Wherever he's running, he's almost there. Playtime's over.
Tossing the gun to his off-hand, Roland reached into his jacket, pulling out the Reclaimer baton he always kept on his person. Giving all he had to one last sprint, Roland closed the distance between himself and the older man as much as he could. Then, mid-sprint, Roland raised his arm, steadying his aim by resting the baton arm upon the other, and triggered the baton.
Faster than a human eye could track, the arrowhead-shaped harpoon shot out of the baton, leading a thin length of cord. As soon as the harpoon struck home, the cord would retract, pulling itself taut and triggering an electric pulse through the wire, and into the target.
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Post by gideon on Jan 8, 2010 0:03:48 GMT -6
As he neared the stairs leading up to the front door of the boarding house, Nate allowed himself to believe he might actually make it home safe, that he might get inside, and close the door behind him, and leave that horrible hunter outside.
As he felt something hit him in the back of the shoulder, however, he had ample time to call himself a fool before the shock hit him, sending him crumpling to the ground, his muscles twitching and his mind a jumbled mess. With what little sense remained, he could feel his grip on his ability slipping, feel the walls separating his emotions from those of everyone around him crumbling. He wanted to scream, but could manage only a groan through teeth clenched shut by the current flowing through his body.
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Roland
Elite Warrior
Posts: 95
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Post by Roland on Jan 8, 2010 0:24:32 GMT -6
Roland gave a single barking laugh as the barb struck its target, toppling the man in mere seconds. Winding in the cord as he went, Roland made his way towards the twitching older man, slowly turning down the voltage.
By the time he reached his prey, the man's energy would most likely have been depleted as his muscles worked overtime to try and interpret the sudden influx of electricity into his system. In turn, his mind, also trying to make sense of the signals, would be far too jumbled for him to use whatever abilities he had.
Still, he thought, best to be cautious.
Stopping a foot away from the fallen man, Roland pressed a button on the baton's handle, forcibly retracting the harpoon. However, before the man could try and turn the lack of current to his advantage, Roland crouched and pressed the tip of the baton to the back of the man's neck.
"I took you down from nearly 20 feet away, with a poorly-aimed shot to the shoulder. Trust me, you don't want to know what happens when this thing is turned all the way up this close to your brain stem."
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Post by gideon on Jan 8, 2010 0:29:00 GMT -6
Nate almost felt relieved as the twitching subsided, and, as the barb was removed, he was about to try and roll over and face his attacker (and maybe try and make contact, overwhelm the man's senses with the emotional whirlwind Nate's mind was rapidly becoming). His attempt stopped short as a piece of cold, sharp metal was press against his neck, and the young man spoke.
Nate struggled to form words for a moment, having to force himself to think through the storm of emotions and jumbled thoughts the attack had left in its wake. "Wh-what....do you...w-want?"
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Roland
Elite Warrior
Posts: 95
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Post by Roland on Jan 8, 2010 0:51:15 GMT -6
Roland smirked. In more ways than one, he found himself reminded of his days with the Reclaimers, hunting down Couriers. First they'd follow them unseen, then, almost without exception, their cover would be blown (though most often by the Courier's then-global security network, rather than error on the Reclaimer's part).
Following that, they'd pursue on foot, sometimes fighting those few Couriers who chose not to flee. Then, when the fighting and the running was done, they'd come to this: the Courier on the ground, helpless and offering anything they could think of in exchange for their freedom.
"At the moment, not too much. We both know you saw our little gathering, and I'm not so naive as to think that you don't realize that I'm in a fairly nice position at present. Right now, friend, the only thing you could give me is information."
Leaning down closer to the man, Roland whispered harshly to his fallen prey. "Who are you? How many are you? I want to know who they are, what they can do, what you can do, and what it is you're planning. So help me, if I think for a moment that you're not telling me everything you know, I will not hesitate to pull this trigger and make sure neither of us has to worry about seeing the other again.
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Post by gideon on Jan 8, 2010 1:00:21 GMT -6
Nate listened with panic as the young man's voice changed, going from coldly conversation to harshly threatening with barely any pause between. The confidence flowing off of him, however, was enough to nearly eclipse the rest of the neighborhood, thanks in large part to their proximity to each other. It allowed him to almost start to straighten his thoughts out, at least enough to be horribly confused by what his captor was asking.
Then he asked about what he could do, and some part of him clicked with the rest of the emotions coming from the younger man. A kind of calm anger, mixed with just a hint of fear, of hopelessness. The source of the hatred he'd felt those weeks ago, without a doubt. Hatred directed at himself and Taka...another person who possessed abilities beyond those of any normal human.
"If...if you're asking what I think you're asking...my name is Nate Gideon. I'm a special consultant with the City PD. I can...I can feel what you feel. Your emotions. It's what I do."
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Roland
Elite Warrior
Posts: 95
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Post by Roland on Jan 8, 2010 1:02:42 GMT -6
Roland's smirk turned into a broad grin. "Very good, Nate. It's such a refreshing change of pace when one of you people decides to cooperate instead of trying to bribe their way out. But that's not everything I asked, now is it?"
Pressing the tip of the baton harder into Nate's neck, Roland thumbed the trigger. "Who's the boy? What can he do? Are there more of you here? What are you planning?"
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Post by gideon on Jan 8, 2010 1:07:05 GMT -6
Nate swallowed hard as the metal barb was pressed painfully into his neck. His words came out in a rush in response, wanting nothing more than for the piercing pain to go away. "His name's Taka! He can heal people! He's the only other one I know of, we're not planning anything, I swear!"
Mentally kicking himself, Nate blamed his actions on the fear he'd picked up on before. "Please...please don't kill me...I don't know anything else..."
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Roland
Elite Warrior
Posts: 95
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Post by Roland on Jan 8, 2010 1:12:11 GMT -6
Roland nodded appreciatively as the older man babbled his answers. As he pleaded for his life, however, Roland's nod turned into a mocking shake of his head. "Tsk tsk, Nate. I was almost proud of you there. And yet, just like all the rest of your kind, it comes down to begging. Not an admirable way to go, not in the least."
Pulling the baton away from Nate's neck, Roland stood, calmly angling the gun he'd taken towards the empath's head. "I'll do us both a favor, though, and make it quick. Look on the bright side, you won't grow old relying on other people to liquefy your food and wipe your ass for you. Meanwhile, I send a message to this City's pathetic excuse for a Police Department to leave my New Empire the hell alone. A win-win, at the end of the day."
Looking down the barrel at his soon-to-be victim, Roland smiled slightly. "Any last words?"
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Post by gideon on Jan 8, 2010 1:28:48 GMT -6
Nate began to turn to face the young man as the barb was removed, only to find himself looking up the barrel of a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The CPD was far too underfunded to have a standard-issue firearm, but pistols like the one currently aimed at his head were by far the most common.
Dammit, this is NOT the time for a history lesson! I'm dead, barring some sort of miracle...
"That's quite enough, young man. Nathan is a guest in my house, and is thus under my protection. You would do well to step away, before I call the other boarders. You'll find them all to be very capable combatants, perhaps more than you're prepared to deal with, hm?"
Well, speak of the devil, Nate thought, his abilities honing in on the calm confidence radiating off of Old Sara as she stood on her stoop.
Nathan, perhaps it's best if you don't compare the person saving your life to the ruler of Hell, don't you think?
Nathan's eyes widened, and his cheeks flushed at the unspoken admonishment.
Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am.
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Roland
Elite Warrior
Posts: 95
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Post by Roland on Jan 8, 2010 1:35:55 GMT -6
Roland very nearly dropped the gun in surprise, not only at the sudden appearance of the small old woman, but also at the sense of authority that seemed to radiate off of her. Moving past the surprise, however, Roland kept the gun pointed at Nathan, and raised the baton in his right hand to point at the woman on the stoop.
"For a moment there, I thought you were going to give me a timeout. What a relief to find you're only threatening me with more examples of this world's twisted genepool. Sorry, but I don't plan on giving you the chance."
Roland pulled the trigger on the baton, sending the barb flying at the old woman, aiming to strike her in the heart.
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Post by gideon on Jan 8, 2010 1:41:06 GMT -6
As Roland spoke, Old Sara closed her eyes, gripping her cane tightly in one hand. When he tried to take her down as he had Nate, the cane spun up, striking the cord behind the barb with barely inches to spare. The strike sent the business end of Roland's baton wrapping around the cane, and Sara gripped it tightly, her mind's eye turned to the future.
She had watched Roland's attack from the window, and saw as the cord had been pulled back into the baton. Now she waited, waited for the machine to kick into action and close the distance between them.
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Roland
Elite Warrior
Posts: 95
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Post by Roland on Jan 8, 2010 1:49:05 GMT -6
Roland's eyes widened as the old biddy struck the cord with her cane, trapping the barb. The befuddled empath momentarily forgotten, Roland focused his attention on the old woman who dared to stand against him.
"Bad move, grandma. I've still got the gun, remember? Let's see you stop me from doing this!"
Pulling back on the baton, Roland pressed the button that triggered the full recoiling of the cord, stepping forward to close the distance between himself and the woman as he raised the gun, pressing the barrel to her forehead as he pulled the trigger.
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Post by gideon on Jan 8, 2010 2:03:03 GMT -6
Sara managed a brief hint of a smile before letting go of the bottom of her cane, reaching up with one frail old hand to grasp Roland's bare wrist. Her eyes opened, locking on Roland's own as her irises and pupils faded, leaving her eyes a milky white. Her mind touched on his, and her gift, that of empathic prophecy, triggered, taking both their minds into the future.
"Last of the Reclaimers, lost on a distant world. Your home is gone, destroyed by ambition, and fear, and ignorance. Now, you would seek to make your world anew here. In this, you may very well succeed."
"But know this, Roland Van Patten, your time is borrowed. You stand at a crossroads, forced to choose between damnation and redemption. Your death will come at the end of either path, but one will see you remembered as a tragedy unto yourself, and the other, a tragedy unto the world. This is your choice: one tragedy, or another. Even now, the choice is made."
Falling forward, Sara caught herself on her cane, panting heavily as a cold sweat dotted her brow. Looking up at Roland through a mess of shaggy white hair, Sara panted, "Leave us for now, Roland. You have another role to play in all our lives, you know that as well as I."
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Roland
Elite Warrior
Posts: 95
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Post by Roland on Jan 8, 2010 2:17:10 GMT -6
Roland dropped the gun as soon as the woman grabbed his wrist, a mind-numbing chill running through him at her touch. When she looked into his eyes, it was like all the world went dark, until it was only the two of them.
As she spoke, he could see the crossroads she spoke of, and thought he could almost see the tragedies, too. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't disagree with her; as surely as she could see his end, so could he feel her certainty and absolute honesty.
When she let go of him and fell forward, Roland backed away slowly, even as she told him to leave. He had the presence of mind to hit the retract button on the baton again, winding in the now-freed harpoon end.
"This...this isn't over. You know that, old woman. Old witch. Next time you see me, you'll either be dying or running from me, I promise you!"
Glaring at the old woman once more, Roland sprinted off, as though trying to outrun the death he now knew was coming. The thought chased him all the way back to the Inner City, past a group of very confused police officers, back onto his bike, and back towards the DWP.
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