|
Post by Andrew Bullock on May 9, 2020 20:09:48 GMT -5
Andrew visited the FBI Washington Field Office to talk with Clarence about the recent developments. Clarence was so happy that he had a bottle of moscato ready to go in his office space. It was just like old times for him.Â
"Tell me something, Drew. What made you choose CIA?" Clarence asked.
"It felt like my mind and talents were wasted on law enforcement," Andrew believed. "I prefer not minding my own business too. I'm too curious about what's going on out there."
"Sounds like too much work to me," Clarence shrugged. "This country's already fucked. I figure worrying about other countries and planets makes things way more difficult."
"I say it's all equally difficult, just a different approach."
"If you say so. I want to see you try crossing paths with these hooligan police departments. You're lucky you don't have any state or local agencies trying to ruin all your shit."
"You got me there." Andrew had to laugh at that one. In a way, the CIA has it easy. Not when it comes to allegations though...especially when he is responsible for some of them.
"Speaking of which, I thought I should ask you, since you like to mind other people's business. Do the police like the Resistors?"
"They're cordial. That's the best I got for now. Why?"
"I'm trying to see where their friends are and where their enemies aren't. Got a little problem that you and the task force should be aware of. Your girl Trinity is back."
"..." Andrew almost spat out his drink when he heard that. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"I wish. But wait...there's more."
"I think I had enough for one day..."
|
|
|
Post by Andrew Bullock on May 9, 2020 20:36:38 GMT -5
"Markus was generous enough to rip all of the info out of Steve. We can confirm that the attack on Alana with the Maverick Virus was a conspiracy with the Chrono Elite. They backed off after Noland ruined that and assisted with Cyber's takedown, but we think Steve may have been getting groomed by them to act as a mole with the Resistors."
"Okay..."
"Someone else was using him for the same purpose. This gang that Maurice was running with has their hands on something nasty. I sent it over to CDC to see what they thought. It's some DNA-eating parasite. Even the docs who looked at Steve saw that his DNA was mostly changed into some leviathan-looking motherfucker. It's like his humanity was eaten. If this gets out there in public, we'll be in the hole."
"You think we should announce that it exists? I know the answer might seem obvious, but if we go public, it may make them more discreet. We didn't even know that Trinity was here just to compare."
"I've been thinking the same thing. My worry is this Showcase in the next couple of days. If that parasite shows up there, and it's found out that we knew and kept our mouths shut, we're done. Likewise, if this gang gets more violent, and the cops start asking questions, the suits will have our asses."
"Is this office the only one that knows?"
"The whole bureau knows."
"Shit..."
"The only important ones who don't know are the police departments, Eden, and the Silver Knights."
"We don't even know if we can trust the Knights right now..."
"We don't know if we can trust the cops either..."
"...We're screwed, man..."
"Totally."
|
|
|
Post by Father Tinsley on May 10, 2020 1:30:30 GMT -5
The next day after Andrew and Clarence talked about that, Tinsley waited until he went on his lunch break to resume his Tribunal activities. It was finally okay to go back to his house, so that's what he did. As soon as he got inside, a mysterious hooded figure appeared in the living room from a puff of smoke. This was one of Tinsley's Armor Bearers.
"Anything for us, Father?" it asked.
"Suspend all activity in the universe. Effective immediately. The Dharaknoid is on the planet. We'll be erased on the spot if we draw his attention," Tinsley warned him.
"Yes, Father. Is there anything you want us to do in the meantime?"
"Make sure no one uses any GodEaters until further notice. Again, if we're caught using it, we're done. It doesn't work on him or Genesis. We can't act tough with them for now. Our friends in the streets need to understand that as well."
"Understood." The Armor Bearer disappeared to go do what it was told. Tinsley was in deep thought on what to do about the God of Destruction.
"If he won't leave...then I'll give him what he wants..." Tinsley promised.
|
|
|
Post by Noland Hardy on May 10, 2020 2:06:14 GMT -5
One day before the Showcase, which was on a Sunday...
Noland Hyper Motioned to a property in Baltimore County. An elderly woman woman opened the door as soon as he got there. She looked him up and down for a while, which almost had Noland fearing for his safety...
"...You weren't followed, were you?" she asked.
"No, ma'am. I sorta just teleported here," Noland claimed.
"Huh...okay. Come in." Noland is welcomed inside. As soon as he enters, he sees a pitiful man sitting in the kitchen with coffee in hand and a newspaper full of job opportunities.
"You wanted to say something to me?" Noland brought up.
|
|
|
Post by General Sargon on May 10, 2020 2:28:33 GMT -5
The pitiful man in question was none other than Sargon. He gestured for Noland to sit down across from him at the table. After Noland sat down, Sargon put the newspaper down and said what he needed to say.
"It took a while before the Army's investigators found out I was using nuclear weaponry. A low-ranking soldier risked his entire career by snitching me out. Seems he liked you guys too much to care about any repercussions. If it wasn't for the President, I'd probably be resigning, but I'm still looking for a Plan B, C, and so forth just in case. In the meantime, I'm on probation," Sargon started explaining.
"I was wrong," he finally admitted. "I was so consumed with anger and rage that it took me almost killing a bunch of innocent folk to understand how far down I've gone. I don't want to be that guy anymore, alright? I'm sorry. I know I can't make up for years of going after you, but I just thought you should know that I won't be acting that way anymore."
|
|
|
Post by Noland Hardy on May 10, 2020 3:03:33 GMT -5
"Hmph..." Noland had to hold his tongue a little bit. He wanted to call bullshit, but he'll settle for explaining why that is instead of saying the word directly. "You know what you've done is bigger than you and I, don't you?"
"You called the Resistors a syndicate. You created a system that makes it okay to use lethal force against the citizens you're supposed to be fighting for. You intentionally tried to kill Alana because of something I did. Then you want to take pride in seeing Tank and Markus go to jail. You just- I'm gonna stop there. I'm nowhere close to being a saint, but even someone like me can see how messed up this is."
Noland paused and took a deep breath before saying if he forgave him or not. It should be obvious which direction Noland is going with this. "If you actually had any remorse, you wouldn't have needed me to say all that," he claimed. "If you show back up in the Army, I'll know just how this country likes to run things. Whatever happens after that, that's up to all of you."
Noland Hyper Motioned back to where he came. He didn't want to hear anything else. Enough was said.
|
|
|
Post by General Sargon on May 10, 2020 3:29:29 GMT -5
"You did all of that...?" the woman asked.
"...Yes, ma..." Sargon admitted.
"Hm...it's a wonder why I'm protecting you from facing your protestors... The only way to show remorse for your actions is to fix the system you've created. Not just for yourself and the citizens, but the military as well. This has divided all branches. You've seen that."
"...I understand..."
"We'll see soon enough, because next time, you're on your own."
"..." Sargon sighed for a good five seconds. He had his hands full with this one. That's for damn sure.
|
|
|
Post by Andrew Bullock on May 11, 2020 9:43:41 GMT -5
Andrew sat on the couch in his house. He stared at a powerless television. He was in deep thought about something.
"What, mortal?" the Dharaknoid entertained from what Andrew can remember.
"I need your help," Andrew nearly begged. This flashback involved Andrew trying to reason with the god for information. He found the lazy reptile camping above the Washington Monument. He was hovering next to the Dharaknoid since the latter pulled him up there.
"You're friends with the Legendary Soldiers, right? Hm...okay. You give me a lead on the person responsible for restarting the Collision, and I'll give you whatever," the Dharaknoid decreed.
"...You know about this leviathan-looking parasite?"
"GodEater?"
"That's what it's called?"
"How do you know about this? Did someone ancient tell you that? Is it here?"
"It's here."
"...If this wasn't such a dire circumstance, I'd have observed everything from afar, but I haven't noticed anything strange since I came here."
"Can you destroy them?"
"I will. That parasite is a grave threat to both Wavern and Naga. I can't allow that to be used against them again; however, for now, I'll wait. I'm after a particular target. The leader of the Tribunal, Father Zayne. Do you know of him?"
"Not yet."
"See to it that you do. Once he is identified, I'll erase his sorry ass for good. You have my word on that. As far as anyone using them against you...you're on your own until I can figure out where this bastard is.
"So are you saying that if someone uses the GodEater while you're here, you're not gonna destroy them unless the said someone is Father Zayne?"
"In most cases, I won't; however, since I now know it's on this planet, I'll make sure to destroy it for the time being. We're in a situation here, so the less trouble, the better."
"Does that 'time' include the Showcase coming up?"
"Yes. I'll keep that place clean. Just worry about looking for clues about Father Zayne, and I'll keep my end of the bargain."
After hearing about this, Clarence was a little relieved, but still very wary to trust the Dharaknoid.
"You sure we can trust that thing?" he asked with some uncertainty.
"It's the best we got," Andrew shrugged.
"Is that going to be enough to save our skin though? This sounds like a pact with the devil. If you don't come up with leads, he'll probably end up erasing us."
"..."
Andrew was deathly worried about that. What if that's what will happen? Did he really have a choice? A parasite that can kill gods is here, and he doesn't know who is using it. He was scared of that reality. Who wouldn't go out of their way to speak to the Dharaknoid about it?
Montai then walked in front of Nero. The details of what she had on or what she didn't have on are too graphic for tv either way.
"You tell Montai about this?" Andrew remembered Clarence asking. The unsatisfied look on Andrew's face answered that question.
|
|
|
Post by Calvin Kuro (World's Collide) on May 14, 2020 22:35:55 GMT -5
On tv, the brawling channels were talking about all of the people that were going to be at the Showcase. They mentioned all of the big names: Tank, Markus, Noland, Allen, Alana, Tracy, Jimmy, Drake, and a bunch of others. The one name that constantly rang out was Calvin Kuro's. They were speculating possible matchups. Could Calvin really hang with the Resistors? Could Noland possibly be stronger than Calvin? Is Calvin going to lose his undefeated record?
Then the tv shut off. The man of the hour yawned after hearing that mouthful. He got up from his couch and went outside. He stepped out on his balcony to look at the night sky. The stars shone brightly on his estate. It was a beautiful mansion in Malibu. He had a well-lit pool area down to his right. He saw a very beautiful woman standing down there: his wife, Rumiko. She was taking their three-year old daughter for a leisurely swim. She loved being in the water. Or she probably liked being around expensive things.
"You said you were going to bed!" she shouted from down below.
"I did, but then I got back up!" Calvin responded. He jumped all the way down to the pool without any signs of injury... Remarkable...but certainly inhuman... "Something just doesn't feel right... It's really bothering me..."
"You nervous about potentially fighting a Resistor?"
"I'm excited about that actually. This will show just how strong I am...or how weak. Anyway, that doesn't matter. I'm having some crazy thoughts. I'm not quite sure how to put it into words..."
"I thought you making World Championship was crazy until it happened. We got here off of that site alone, so I can hear anything. Shoot."
"...I think there's more than one...me."
"..."
"...What?"
"...Are you okay?"
"...You don't believe me."
"This is certainly the strangest thing you've come up with... Are you having nightmares?"
"It's like I'm living through another me's life up there. I thought drowning that out with the brawling network would help, but...it's just more Calvin propaganda. I don't know. Sometimes, it gets rather annoying. I can't have fun without someone looking so deep into it, you know? One second, I'm a cheater. Then the next, I'm the greatest there ever was. Nothing's consistent here...and that's usually when something's wrong, at least from my experience."
"Now look who's looking deep into things. Come on... I'll get you to 'relax'..." Rumiko winked at him after putting emphasis on the word 'relax'. Calvin wanted to say something else, but he had a content smile. That must have meant that he liked where this is going.
|
|
|
Post by Father Tinsley on May 14, 2020 23:45:09 GMT -5
At a neighboring property, Fathers Tinsley was observing Mr. Kuro from a safe distance. They saw how Calvin jumped down from his balcony towards the pool area without hurting himself. No human being would do that.
"...I certainly didn't expect to see that..." he remarked about Calvin's bodily enhancement. He walked back into the residence to schedule an...'appointment'. "Hm... Ms. Makimoto. Come here, please." A half-dressed dark-skinned woman came rushing downstairs and knelt down to him. She got very close, but Tinsley pushed her way. "At ease. I'll be coming back for that later. Right now, I want you to keep watch for Mr. Kuro a couple of doors down. I want to be here when he returns following the Showcase. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Father," she instantly obeyed.
"Very good. Also, tell the gentlemen in New York to see if the Kyudai twins start suffering any memories of their multiversal counterparts. If the Collision has progressed this far, then we can move forward with our plan."
"Understood."
"Your husband doesn't suspect anything...does he?"
"Not at all."
"Good. I'll be back." With that said, Tinsley brushed his hands across her breasts just to tease her. He then disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving no trace that he was ever there.
|
|
|
Post by Jenna Tinsley on May 15, 2020 2:51:41 GMT -5
The next morning...
"Please stop hitting the snooze button..." Geos complained. His necklace was constantly buzzing on Jenna's desk so she could hear it. "I thought today was supposed to be exciting... You sure don't seem excited..."
Jenna loudly yawned as she slowly stepped out of bed. "Sorry...I was just so tired... I'll be on time..."
"...They leave in an hour...and I've noticed that girls take an extraordinary long time to get ready," Geos observed.
"Totally not true, and I'll be fine. I took a shower last night so I don't have to do it now."
"That took thirty minutes..."
"Which is why I'll be fine now." It took Jenna thirty minutes to get ready. If she had waited until this morning to take her shower, she'd have been late. "Just have to brush my hair, and I'm ready."
"Sure..."
|
|
|
Post by Allen Silva on May 15, 2020 3:48:41 GMT -5
When Geos said 'they' were leaving in an hour, he was referring to Allen, Alana, and Noland. They were going to meetup at the Sports and Learning Complex's parking lot. A lot of the selections for the Showcase was in the area, so this was the closest meetup spot for everyone. Their destination was the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
Allen made it there before anyone else. He was sitting on a bench. His face was still, and his stare was frozen. There was a brown aura that surrounded his body, so he was doing something. Maybe some form of meditation? He was thinking of all of the times him and Gorem trained with Noland and Drago. He can remember all of the blows they sent and received. Then he thought about the more serious ones: Jamal, Diablo 3, Glaxicortroid, General Sargon, and Clayf. He could visualize himself fighting them all right now. It hyped him up. He was ready to do what the Iron Juggernaut does best.
And right now, that 'best' was to stand right up and catch in incoming Jenna. She must've been flying using Geos' power. She crashed right into Allen, but he stood his ground. He caught her without moving an inch backwards.
"Mornin'," Allen greeted.
|
|
|
Post by Jenna Tinsley on May 15, 2020 4:14:00 GMT -5
Jenna was still trying to get her bearings. She went so fast that her mind was still back at the house.
"I did warn you to take it slow," Geos mentioned to pass the responsibility of this crash to Jenna.
"Wow...I'm so sorry, Allen. I guess I do need to slow down..." she started to realize. She also noticed that hers and Allen's faces were awfully close, which earned an uncomfortable whistle from Lian Fennika.
"I can come back in five minutes," she offered.
"Oh no, that's okay. Nothing's happening," Jenna tried to laugh off before gently pushing herself off of Allen.
"Have to admit. I'm surprised you're here after what happened with the kidnapping thing. It's good to see that you're okay."
"Thanks! I'm surprised I'm here too honestly. If it wasn't for Allen, I don't think I would be."
|
|
|
Post by Allen Silva on May 15, 2020 4:23:44 GMT -5
"Hm...I've been noticing..." Lian was considering embarrassing Allen a little, but she'll let it slide for now. It was game day after all. "So, you ready for this, big guy? I've been hearing some rumors. They're throwing the big guns at you guys."
"I hope so," Allen wished. "I really don't know if I'm ready, but that's what makes this so satisfying. You never really know what you're going to get until you step into that arena. It feels nostalgic almost. I miss this feeling."
"I know what you mean. I didn't think I'd get chosen, but now that I'm here, it sure does bring back memories. I feel the need to want revenge for how you beat me. "
"Sounds good to me. I'm usually busy on weekdays, but I can always make time for a free win on the weekends."
"I'll make you regret saying that. Just you wait."
|
|
|
Post by Noland Hardy on May 15, 2020 6:02:41 GMT -5
Noland, Alana, 'Barodius', Sandra, and Kendrick all appeared in front of them via Hyper Motion. Not wanting to make the sudden appearance even scarier for Jenna and Lian, he took his time before announcing his presence.
"Hey," he announced. "...Is this really it? Not that I'm complaining that you're all here. I just thought there'd be more. There used to be more of us back then too. This state can do everything else except brawl nowadays. What happened to us?"
"Hurranians?" Drago guessed.
"...Oh yeah..."
|
|