Marvel, Rebirth:

[Silvan Haven]

John Harken- Safe house

 

IC: While Persephone was questioning their prisoner, John was writing on a small notepad. When he finished, the agent moved to the opposite side of the couch from the woman and held the notepad up. On it was a list of odd things about the man between them.

 

1. Spying on us

 

2. In the middle of nowhere

 

3. Hydra base was nearby

 

4. Possible experiments had just escaped

 

5. Resistant to impacts

 

6. Had a radio on him at the time of capture

 

He took the pad back down as soon as Persephone had noticed it and moved over to one of the cabinets near the small kitchenette, shuffling around in it, looking for something.

[Krayzikk]

IC:"Okay, I know you guys are professionals, government training, et cetera, but this is going nowhere."Tera crossed the room in a few strides, crouching down near where Reyson remained, eyes sharp with steel, but in a very, very different kind of way from Persephone. Almost casually, she crossed her arms."Here's the situation. Your story is addled even more than your brain right now, with more holes than Swiss cheese, and it reeks of HYDRA field agent ineptitude. Step two. You have a concussion, and as it stands, I'm the one here best qualified to administer aid. And unlike a doctor, I have no inherent obligations to help you.""And the agents over there? They're SHIELD. You know, UN Agency, few regulations, et cetera. They might accidentally get annoyed, handle you a little too roughly... Well, you probably understand the medical ramifications of that. And wouldn't you know it, I wouldn't know how to deal with that level of damage.""Start talking."

[Snelly]

IC: Jeffery Pryde

 

"Well, when's the last time you were there?" Chances were by now someone else would have taken Gabriel's room, at least Jeff figured.

[25K Now!]

IC: Gabriel

 

"I actually can't remember."

[Snelly]

IC: Jeffery Pryde

 

"Well, if you've been gone for more than a year...then they probably put all your stuff in storage I'd imagine."

[25K Now!]

IC: Gabriel

 

"Looks like I'll need a job then."

[Constructelf]

IC Reyson"Thank you. However, I have a few issues with your methods a. I mean, I've got a bleeding forehead, a concussion, and burns, freaking BURNS on my abdomen!" Reyson lifted up his shirt to reveal the burns."As for your questions, I was driving when I noticed that there was a Humvee tearing through a field. As I said earlier, I went to go investigate, as I thought it was interesting. As for why my car was so far away, the Humvee didn't cross the road but I decided to go check it out anyways. I thought that they might of needed help but when I saw that girl," Reyson pointed at Aella, "Fighting with that man," pointing at John, "I hid, because I didn't want to be the next one on the receiving end of her punches. When more people started coming, I took extra effort to hide, especially when that robot or whatever she is," pointing to Persephone, "Dropped out of the sky. And contrary to your statement, my car was only 500 meters away from the woods, and a buzzsaw Humvee is sure to stand out. And yes, if you go check the car, you will find a suitcase of my personal effects: clothes, toiletries, electronic devices, etc.""However, you're right in that I'm not really Robert Law, the businessman. It was one of many aliases that I've been forced to use in the past. After all, when you come from a universe where the Phalanx had overrun 90% of the Earth and your entire family is killed when you're still just a kid, you don't have any papers with you, though the point is moot because those papers won't help you wherever you run to because you aren't supposed to exist there."At that point, one of the strangers walked up to him and said:

IC:"Here's the situation. Your story is addled even more than your brain right now, with more holes than Swiss cheese, and it reeks of HYDRA field agent ineptitude. Step two. You have a concussion, and as it stands, I'm the one here best qualified to administer aid. And unlike a doctor, I have no inherent obligations to help you.""And the agents over there? They're SHIELD. You know, UN Agency, few regulations, et cetera. They might accidentally get annoyed, handle you a little too roughly... Well, you probably understand the medical ramifications of that. And wouldn't you know it, I wouldn't know how to deal with that level of damage.""Start talking."

"Where did that come from?! How did we get to talking about HYDRA all of a sudden? Are they involved in this?" He looked at the SHIELD agents in the room. "This is bad," he thought. "Anyways, I think I'd better introduce myself.""My name," Reyson started, "Is Vincent Zai. However, try to find me in the database and you won't find anything, because like I said earlier, I'm not from this particular reality. Imagine a universe where aside from a few major details in the origin of the superheros, everything's the same. I grew up in Toronto, Canada, before being sent to the Xavier Institute at the age of 10. There, I resided for about 5 years when an alien race known as the Phalanx suddenly invaded. They practically overrun everything. My family was merely three of the billions that they slaughtered or assimilated. My universe's second generation X-Men were able to somewhat stave off the attacks until we lost our technopath, Alexander Smith. At that point, the X-Men left us, fleeing to your universe to seek out this universe's Smith. I tried to follow using a device of my father's creation, but..." Reyson sighed as he remembered his youth."To say that I got lost was an understatement. I had arrived in a completely different universe in a completely different time period than the target one thanks to flaws in my father's work. I had to survive in a universe where human life had never evolved past Homo Erectus. It was hard, but after a few months, I managed to escape. I then made a long journey throughout the omniverse, hopping from universe to universe, from era to era. Finally, I managed to arrive here but I came several years too early, so I was forced to wait. Finally, about a year ago, my universe's X-Men arrived. It had been only a !month for them.""It had been over twelve years for me.""I tried to make contact but my folks were constantly on the move. If you look in the Enforcer database or in some old news, you'll see a record of a group of mutants breaking out a certain Alexander Smith-that was them. I managed to track them to a Weapon-X facility in Canada, but at that point, they were already gone. Two months later, I heard rumors that this universe's Alexander Smith as well as my Dallas Green had returned, but I was unable to contact Westchester because I had been caught up with some sour business with the Kingpin-I don't know whether it's Wilson Fisk or his successor. I was only able to tie the engagement up a few weeks ago." Reyson had effectively told the story of his life, minus the part about HYDRA. Even his gang trouble was true; after returning from his second dimension hop, he had gone undercover and tried to make some deals with the New York gangs, but it had gone horribly; fortunately, his connection to HYDRA was still a secret."If you don't believe me, take me to the Xavier Institute and find Smith, or my version of Dallas Green-callsign Showstopper. And that's my alibi." Edited November 20, 2013 by Man of Miracles

[Krayzikk]

IC:"That is the biggest load of bull I've seen since the last election."

[Snelly]

IC: Aella

 

I promptly threw the now empty cookie tin at Reyson's head. "I TOLD YOU TO SHUT THE ###### UP."

Edited November 20, 2013 by A billion cats

[Constructelf]

IC Reyson"THESE SHIELD PEOPLE ASKED ME TO OPEN MY MOUTH!!!" Reyson shot back. He threw the tin back.

Edited November 20, 2013 by Man of Miracles

[Silvan Haven]

John Harken- Safe House

 

IC: Before the tin could continue being tossed back and forth John reached and caught it. Motioning for Aella to follow him, he moved t the kitchenette and said.

 

"Why don't I show you how to cook. That way you can make your own food."

[Zulu Yankee Kilo Echo]

IC: Zack & Jordan

 

Zack rubbed the bridge of his nose and breathed a heavy, anxious sigh.

 

"So that guy..."

 

Jordan dropped the plastic card on the table. Zack picked it up and examined it again. No name, just a picture. The tiny portrait in the corner definitely resembled the target (well, probably not anymore), so they had the right guy, but...

 

"Yeah," Jordan said. "it's the right guy. But why would they hire us to kill someone like him?"

 

Zack glanced over the unmistakable insignia next to the portrait again--a skull surrounded by several creeping, angular tendrils. HYDRA.

anc

Then, the skull's eyes started to glow.

 

IC: Reptilian

 

Monitor duty was boring. He, Reptilian, a killing machine in almost every sense of the phrase, was stuck on monitor duty. They couldn't get a computer to check on the HYDRA agents embedded in the American Midwest? Then again, a computer probably couldn't judge whether or not a given incident was worth reporting to someone who had the power to do something about it. Still, nothing ever happened during--

 

"Alert. Agent down."

 

He practically jumped out of his seat. The details came through on the screen. Agent number 27193 had last transmitted a signal from somewhere in the mountains west of Denver, Colorado. When an agent stopped transmitting their tracking signal, they had roughly two hours, give or take depending on their assignment, to get the signal going again before the alert came through. And, go figure, mister 27193's signal had failed to come back online. He had a high security clearance, too. This guy was important. Key word being "was."

 

He reached out with a clawed hand and pressed a button that patched his tiny, cramped cubicle in to the higher-ups in HYDRA's chain of command.

 

"Command?" he rasped, "this is Reptilian. We have an agent down. 27193 is down."

[Advent Child]

IC: The sun. It was oppressive. Or at least that was how Siegfried felt as he hauled yet another box into his mother's now relocated flower shop.

 

Astonishingly bright fireball in the sky aside, it often irked Siegfried just how routine things had become following his sudden relocation to San Juan. It was as if everything possible was being done to act as if potentially the most pivotal era of Siegfried's life had simply never happened. He was once again hefting heavy objects in an out of his mother's shop in his spare time, enjoying the warm weather, and living as peacefully as possible. It was perhaps even more relaxed now that he was where he was.

 

But this feeling of relaxation was fake, and Siegfried knew it.

 

There was no way such an upheaval could occur, and things simply return to normal by ducking ones head and moving away. It might remove the problem from immediate sight, but the problem was still there.

 

Deciding not to think on it too much before frustration set in, Siegfried dropped the last box, and bid farewell to his other before heading out and beginning the stroll up towards Old San Juan. It would do him good to simply wander aimlessly for a while. No thinking. Just moving.

Edited November 20, 2013 by .:Advent Aeternale:.

[Constructelf]

IC ReysonIt had been more than two hours.Reyson was well aware of the two hour alarm: if his device stopped transmitting for two hours, that meant that he had defected, had been captured, was dead, or had for some other reason been compromised. This meant that HYDRA would either attempt a rescue or go exterminatus; likely the latter. Still, he could work this to his advantage.Two items were hidden in Reyson's mouth. The first was a standard cyanide capsule; the second was an emergency transmitter; it would let HYDRA know that he was still alive but desperately needed help. Reyson considered using it, but with the android in the room, the signal could be detected...

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC: Feral

 

Howlett looked up as his sister got off the couch. "I met up with Dallas," he said under his breath. "He's running the show for tonight. He instructed me to not allow you to see Alex yet. Its going to be a big surprise. Cali is throwing a party tonight for us. He needs us to go pick up the pizza and smuggle it in. Come on." John said as he headed for the door to the school.

 

IC: Nicole

 

The blonde took the bottle from Dallas and then took a swig. She nearly choked on how strong it was. The alcohol left a burning trail down her throat.

 

"That's the stuff." she said as she flashed Dallas a pristine white smile.

 

IC: Mimic

 

"See anything you like?" Christine asked as she followed Kristen to the girls section.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: "Whether five hundred metres is a long way is irrelevant, it was five hundred metres through woodland. You should not have been able to see it," Persephone started counting off the flaws in Reyson's argument on her fingers, "Calling the Xavier Institute would not furnish you with an alibi, you were caught red-handed at the scene, there is no way you can demonstrate you were somewhere else. Admitting you're not a businessman means you have no reason to be in the area, bringing your motives into question. Your general evasiveness is also suspicious, answering our questions honestly would not have brought any trouble or issue, at least not of the sort that lying to us has."

 

She turned to Mikhail, since Harken was busy with the girls, "I assume this facility has a holding cell of some kind? I think its pretty clear he's up to something. Too inept to be a proper field agent, so I think he must be a decoy, or a trojan horse."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Yeah, tell me about it. I should start teaching history."

 

They laughed and Dallas capped the lid on the bottle, putting it next to the "six pack" and standing back up. The key jingled around in his pocket softly, clanking against his phone, and he wondered briefly what it went to; the curiosity was quickly sated as he began looking around the desolate classroom and seeing more and more opportunities to stash and store some beer for a party. He decided to check the cabinets where the class set of textbooks were stored, first - three of them turned up just dust and old US History texts, while the fourth, the one furthest to the back of the class, wouldn't open for him at all. It was a plain little thing, the same dark blue as its three peers, but this fourth door had a specific key slot, slightly raised farther forward than the key hole on its corresponding cabinet on the right side. A shred of an idea came to him; he withdrew the key, placed it in the lock, and when it slid like Merlin's sword into the stone of the cabinet he grinned and turned it.

 

Nothing. His brow furrowed.

 

He withdrew the key from the slot, and again it slipped out perfectly; then it fit into the lock just as seamlessly as it had the first time, but when he turned the key again there was nothing. He could almost hear Alaric's voice from the grave, laughing at him softly and just drawling >"Nope."

 

He cursed to himself and then slammed his palm into the butt of the key in frustration. After the initial yelp of pain, he looked up and noticed that the keyhole was no longer raised - it was at the same level as the one he'd seen on the other cabinet. Out of curiosity, he turned the key again, and when the door swung wide open Dallas' eyes opened with it.

 

"Nicole!" Dallas yelled over to her as she rifled through file cabinets. "I found the Vault."

 

"What's the Vault?" she asked innocently as she dug out a bottle of Goose from a box of materials marked "Great Depression." Diamond Girl walked over to Dallas and plopped down right next to him, chin on his shoulder, as he began pulling out beverage after beverage - bottles of whiskey, bottles of vodka, cases of beer, even a couple cruisers of all things - and finally looked back at Nicole with an exhilarated beam.

 

"This is Alaric's Vault. The uberstash of booze to end all uberstashes. According to the rumors Ric had the idea when he was in high school, and when he came back to teach he designed it for the party to end all Institute parties. I think it's only best to carry on his legacy into the next generation and use it tonight, huh?" he asked, grinning at Nicole and hugging her. "We just found a school legend! We're like treasure hunters! I'm Indiana Jones, and you're...uh...Mega-Hot Blonde Sidekick Girl?"

 

With a teasing grin he dug his hand back into the cabinet and began pulling out drinks on drinks on drinks, muttering "Man, he could have killed an orca with all this " to himself under his breath.

 

-Tyler

[Constructelf]

IC: "Whether five hundred metres is a long way is irrelevant, it was five hundred metres through woodland. You should not have been able to see it," Persephone started counting off the flaws in Reyson's argument on her fingers, "Calling the Xavier Institute would not furnish you with an alibi, you were caught red-handed at the scene, there is no way you can demonstrate you were somewhere else. Admitting you're not a businessman means you have no reason to be in the area, bringing your motives into question. Your general evasiveness is also suspicious, answering our questions honestly would not have brought any trouble or issue, at least not of the sort that lying to us has." She turned to Mikhail, since Harken was busy with the girls, "I assume this facility has a holding cell of some kind? I think its pretty clear he's up to something. Too inept to be a proper field agent, so I think he must be a decoy, or a trojan horse."

IC Reyson"It wasn't immediately through woodland; I saw it tear through a farmer's field and followed the trail. As for why I'm here, I heard rumors in the underground of suspicious activity in the area and thought that it could help !e get home. Calling the Xavier Institute won't furnish an alibi, but it will confirm the existence of the other universe and possibly my identity if you talk to the right people. I was reluctant to answer your questions because one, I didn't know who you guys were until just now, two, nobody believes in alternate universe, or at least the likelihood of travel between them," Reyson said as he pointed at Tera, "And three, people are automatically suspiscious of illegal immigrants; throw in mutant and you've got trouble.If you can prove that my presence at the scene was out of mere curiosity and that I have no suspicious ties, what reason do you have to keep me here? Additionally, I don't know how many standard rules of arrest you guys violated but you did violate some including not announcing my identity, putting me through unnecessary torture, etc. I mean, I currently have an open woundnon my forehead, a concussion, and close to second degree burns on my abdomen, with the possibility of intestinal damage. I should be able to receive compensation for excessive force.""At the very least... Any chance for bail?" Edited November 20, 2013 by Man of Miracles

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"That sounds like a terrible idea," Sam replied, frowning at the thought, "All that does is make everything look like small fluffy animals."

 

 

 

"One minute," Kristen said, vanishing into the racks of clothes for a minute before coming back with a dark-blue plaid skirt (and matching long socks), and a set of dark blue, almost black, flannel pajamas.

 

"Like these?" She asked, smiling at her ability to find and retrieve clothes she liked.

Edited November 20, 2013 by Durandal Years

[Zulu Yankee Kilo Echo]

IC: Julia

 

"'Smuggle?' Are we drug dealers now?"

 

Julia grinned and put her phone back in her pocket.

 

"So where are we getting this pizza?"

[thelonewander]

IC:

 

(Scott Jackson)

 

And like a tree did Scott go. That last kick was the one to win the fight. Momentum wasn't on Scott's side, and the force of the kick shot up another warning in Scott's HUD. Chest armor at critical damage levels. 'I just can't win, can i?' Scott thought as he lay on the floor. "Alright,you win that one Aleks. Remind me never to drop out of combat mode in a hand to hand fight."

 

Scott got up, just barely, and walked over to Matt and Aleks. "either one of you guys have some spare metal?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Aleksandr and Matt both tossed Scott their empty can of beer, and the Russian turned around lightly and yelled "Pogo!" at the top of his lungs. The bouncing mutant was finally regaining control over his adrenal gland and looked like he was giong to jump over to them before thinking better of it and jogging over.

 

"Get Scott to shop class, see if there's any metal he can chew on over there," he said, dismissing the two mutants, before: "Oh, and, uh, Scott...have Wednesday's class off. Take a breather."

 

When they were gone, Belikov turned back to Matt on the ground, grinning, and plopped back into a seat on the grass.

 

"Huh? Huh? You gonna tell me how great that was, or what?" he asked. "Come on, I'm gonna go hit the showers in a minute, you can't let me walk all the way there without a compliment."

 

-Tyler

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

OOC: Sorry, but where did he get second degree burns from? If its supposed to be from the zaps Mikhail gave him I seriously doubt that much juice was used. Pretty sure you'd need to be it with a few thousand volts for second-degree burns

 

IC: "Technically you're not under arrest," Persephone said, not even bothering to listen or respond to Reyson's increasingly labyrinthine web of falsehoods, "Which means we're not violating any codes, and you don't get a chance for bail. I think we can hold for at least 24 hours, more if we use bureaucracy to slow things down. So how about you save yourself some time and us some paperwork and just tell us the truth."

[Constructelf]

IC Reyson"WHAT AM I BEING DETAINED FOR? WHY AM I EVEN HERE? At least tell me that.""...You guys aren't even listening to me are you?" Reyson noted. "I already told you what's in my car, where my car is, who I am, and-hah, I'm just wasting my breath." Reyson shook his head. "I mean, tell me what you think I am."

[25K Now!]

IC: Mikhail

 

"He appears to be HYDRA. Ineptness is their trade."

 

While the agent was not exactly too familiar with this safe house, he knew most of the nooks and crannies present.

 

"There is a basement where he can be restrained."

[thelonewander]

IC:

 

(Scott Jackson)

 

The empty cans help enough to start repairs to the knee servo, as it was in critical condition, and was bearing some weight. As the repairs started up, Scott, along with the help of Pogo, made it to the Auto Shop class, and Scott found some scrape metal, at least enough to finish the repairs on the knee servo. Scott had more in his room to replenish the rest of the needed metal.

[Constructelf]

OOC I did some research; depending on the voltage Mikahil used and the contact time (I think about 10 seconds), Reyson has electrical burns in his left side. The exit wound should be pretty serious; other than that, all the damage is internal. I mean, Tasers plnly contact the body for about 1/4 of a second but what Mikhail did was pretty much electroshock torture.IC Reyson"Okay, why HYDRA? Has your experience hinted that they are inept? And where did you pull HYDRA from? Does the evidence hint that they're involved?" Reyson began toattempt to get the SHIELD agents to question themselves. "What makes you think that I'm involved with any sort of agency like they are?""You wanna know something?" Reyson adopted a reclining position on the couch. "I've learned something tonight. Namely, that government security organizations are quite, well, corrupt isn't the right word... Well, not so different as the people they fight. Now, I'm not talking about local level police-those guys are awesome-but you guys? You use questionable methods, you severely injure your suspects-even if the chance of them being involved is only 1%-you pick on individuals with the tiniest amounts of suspicion, you jump to conclusions, you don't let your a suspects give a proper defense; I can write a whole list if I had a pen. I mean, why didn't you suspect that girl over there-she just stumbled in too.""Really, all that makes you different from groups like HYDRA is that you operate under the modus operandi of 'serve and protect'. Except that it's not even that. No, you just control. Control the people, control the information, control the media. Do you have any idea what you've done in the name of control, in the name of 'law and order'? I ask you: why are YOU here?"

[Krayzikk]

IC:"Why am I here?""I'm here because there are people who are truly evil. I'm here because there are people cruel enough to take other people and experiment on them, people who are willing to take away even the semblance of an outside world from their captives. That little girl over there? She didn't understand what the outside world was going to look like, and her friend barely knew there was one.""I'm here because a year ago, I spent hours at the mouth of an alley in complete exhaustion to keep desperate people safe, because Hydra had put them in danger." Her voice turned dangerously quiet."And do not dare talk to me about corruption. If you'd like to, I have a nice collection of bruises and scars I can show you. So stow the Hannibal Lectures, you suck at them, and shut the **** up, mmkay?"

Edited November 21, 2013 by The Snark Knight

[Constructelf]

IC Reyson"Evil..."Reyson mused on the word for a long time. The fact that just one person had responded had given him the windneeded to start asking questions of his own. Even if it didn't get him out of this mess, he'd still have fun.Good. The line was cast, and the fish had bitten. Now to keep it on the hook."You know, have you ever asked yourself what evil really is? Technically, evil doesn't exist, at least in the higher circles of the study of ethics. It's all," Reyson said, pointing to his head, "Up here. We defijne our own standards of morality based on what we believe is right and wrong. But aren't these definitions somewhat arbitrarily defined? While I wouldn't go so far as to forsake them completely - altruism is a naturally occurring process after all - it would be good to call these definitions into review. What, by your standards is evil, and how would you justify such a classification? Is it about helping vs hurting others? Is it about order vs chaos? Is it about survival vs death? When the Phalanx came, one couldn't afford to be good. If you spent all your time trying to help others, you were only going to get assimilated. Your best chance was to get into a group with several other survivors and fend for yourselves. You would help the members of the group, and that would be it. If it was the group versus somebody else outside the group, you would choose the group.""One thing that I noticed in the universe where humanity never evolved was that good and evil didn't really exist. Sure, I tried ascribing labels of good and evil to the behavior of the creatures around me, but it didn't do anything. There, it was all about survival of the fittest; it didn't matter if you were a jerk as long as you were the jerk who lived and had babies. Like when the Phalanx attacked my universe, it was take care of yourself and your immediate group, as long as it posed the best chance for survival."OOC ... Well that stunk

[Krayzikk]

IC:Tera was quiet for a long, long moment.But she wasn't questioning her beliefs, no, quite the opposite. In fact, she was livid, and the pause was a moment of restraint, of emotion clapped down by force of will alone."Good and evil very much are abstract concepts, but they are far from arbitrary. They can, in the end, be simplified to two basic concepts; good is an action that benefits someone else without harming another. Evil is an action that, directly or not, causes harm to another.""Every action," She continued, her voice calm. "Falls somewhere between these two ends of the spectrum. Most are in the middle, neither good nor bad. Some fall solidly to one side. And I know what you'll say next; what about those who do wrong in the name of good? Soldiers killing others for "good" reasons? Defenders harming their attackers, just to keep themselves and others safe ?""Those actions are evil. No doubt. But they differ in one respect; they are an evil undertaken not to harm, not to better the self, but to keep another safe. I am a pacifist, because I refuse to take part in that violence."There was another pause, far longer this time. "I broke that philosophy twice. For a long, long time, I believed that one should do no evil in their life. But that isn't possible. Everyone is marred with a bit of black on their record, and in New York, I saw that clearly. It isn't about going through life doing no evil. It's about doing as little as possible, and if you ever find yourself forced to take up arms, that you do so for the right reasons.""The very first time that philosophy was broken was out of anger. I was sick of being beaten for having a power, and I struck back. But I quickly learned that once a fist has been raised in anger, it will always seem to be raised in anger. So I didn't do it again. Every blow, every insult, every moment of humiliation was borne without a word of complaint or action in defense.""The Battle of New York was the second time."She tapped her fingers idly against one arm, hazel eyes staring at Reyson piercingly, as if looking through flesh, through bone, right into his very soul. "Hydra is true evil. Their goals are for nothing but self gain, and I watched them needlessly do harm. They kidnap, they torture, they experiment, they cast aside all semblances of morality that do not suit them.""I chose to defend those that couldn't. A small group, huddled in an alley. I blocked that entrance for the entirety of the battle. Nearly three hours I stood there, blocking any Hydra soldier that tried to pass. None died, that was a principle on which I would not compromise, but by the end I was battered, exhausted, and I would not have lasted much longer. Those were actions that caused harm, but they are balanced by the lives that were saved.""The world is a scale, and on the day to day level, for most people, it balances. But the weight on the side of evil is never fully compensated for, and there comes a point where no amount of white can wash it out; just try to lighten it. You can tell a lot about a person by their philosophy, and yours, sir, tells me all I need to know about you.""You think yourself above good and evil, that they are arbitrary, irrelevant concepts imposed by humanity. You take a survivalist perspective, that survival is the only real goal. How fascinating that a supposedly innocent man defends so monstrous a value. Do you have values?""Or are those too arbitrary for you?"

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC: Feral

 

"I guess pizza is good enough to be considered a drug," John grinned at his sister.

 

"No idea, waiting on Cali to text me in that one. Knowing him we'll probably just have to decide for ourselves. We may as well head out to the garage though."

 

IC: Triblade

 

"Yeah, that was pretty dope," Matt said as he plopped into the grass next to Aleks now. "But I expected it coming from you, ex assassin."

 

IC: Nicole

 

"Wow this is so exciting," Nicole said as she watched Dallas pull all the alcohol out. "This party is going to be a rager. We need good music."

 

"I like Mega-Hot Blonde Sidekick Girl. So Mr. Jones, what happens next?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around Dallas.

 

IC: Mimic

 

"Those are very nice." Christine beamed. "You can try them on if you're not sure if they fit. Or you could always just bring them back if they don't. You know your sizes right?"

[Constructelf]

OOC I apologize in advance for the unequal paragraph division and the wall of text below.IC Reyson"So you say good is to help, and evil is to harm. Who decided this? Who decided that good meant helping others and evil meant hurting others, and why do we listen to them? Or perhaps it is just our inborn instincts, our 'conscience', that tells us so? And yet, humanity's definition of good and evil is rarely as simple as the scale that you've described, and each civilization has come to its own definition of good and evil. While values are often shared between them, there are always fundamental ideological differences.""Take for example the differences in the standard of good and evil of the Spanish vs the Aztec, the Maya, and the other Mesoamerican civilizations. Yes, I learned this in school. The two civilizations had their similarities. Both were imperialist powers, conquering other civilizations for their own benefit. Yet, they had fundamental differences. The Aztec practice of human sacrifice to their pantheon horrified the Spanish, who used it as all the more reason to convert the people to their belief system. Yet to the Aztecs, such sacrifice was part of their life. It was to them both a necessary requirement and an honorable death; heck, maybe even a reward for the sacrificed individual. But when the Spanish enacted 'justice', to say that they went overboard would be a gross understatement. Not only did they wipe out the greater portion of the population, they also ground their civilizations into the dust, leaving only shadows behind. Their treatment of the newly enslaved peoples was by our standards horrible, yet to them, it was both their right and their responsibility.""For a comparison less of action and more of ideology, consider the difference between Edo Japan in its death throes and the America that came to open its door. Japan was a society built around order. The caste system was nearly absolute, with one's destiny being determined before birth. The USA, however, was a nation built on freedom, democracy, and opportunity. Its capitalistic economic and social system allowed anybody, regardless of birth, to rise up in the world - provided that they could obtain enough resources. In the West, to speak one's mind and to criticize the authorities was acceptable; it was how the government worked, after all. However, in Japan, it was considered outrageous for one of lower status to give the slightest disrespect to one of a higher cast, did you know that samurai were obligated to lop off the head of any peasant that disrespected them? In that time and place it was considered good and just.""This principle of comparison can be applied to any two groups of people and any two ideologies. When one compares the beliefs and ethics of all the world's peoples, one will begin to see why the placing of good and evil on a pedestal and calling it the objective truth is so foolish. The above reasons are why I came to the conclusion that good and evil are ultimately meaningless, for who is to say what is truly good and what is truly evil? The gods? Pah, they are just as fallible as us. Other men? There will always be those who will disagree with them.""Survival as a goal... Isn't that basically the most basic goal of life? Essentially, the goal of any life form is to survive by any means necessary long enough for it to pass down its genes. Once that goal has been fulfilled a certain number of times, the meaning of that creature's existence has been fulfilled. Of cours, it will want to continue living; it's in that creature's biological 'programming' to do so. Take bacteria for example. It reproduces inside the body of other organisms. To the infected animal, the illness is a nuisance, a handicap, an I convenience. But to the bacteria, it is simply the mechanism in which it survives and reproduces. Can that be called good or evil? After all, whenever we take medication for diseases, we are killing innocent lifeforms.""Also, this isn't just my belief. Are you insinuating that nihilist philosophers are 'bad' people? It is the view that makes the most sense to me, though I must admit, my field of expertise is ecology, not neuropsychology. Further studies into human behavior and the mechanism behind morality could change my views.""As for my values, I'm mostly an moral nihilist, or at least moral in the context of human philosophy. However, or maybe additionally, I hold to the belief that humans are acting extremely out of sync wit nature and that we should revert to a more primitive state of existence. Then again, it may be too late..."OOC is it just me or are my Reyson posts getting more and more convulated/contradictory/out of character?Is this a TBRPG post or a convulated social studies essay?

[Snelly]

IC: Jeffery Pryde

 

"A job? I don't think they've ever had a fee for staying at the institute."

 

IC: Aella

 

I followed John with my eyes, intrigued by the notion of 'cooking'. As it was though, I still had Trin on top of me, and I really, really didn't feel like getting up. My curiosity was nagging at me though.

 

"I'm stuck."

 

IC: Krystal

 

"But aren't small fluffy animals a good thing?" Who cared about gold when you could have cute cuddly animals?

Edited November 21, 2013 by A billion cats

[Silvan Haven]

John Harken- Safe House

 

IC: "Then stay there, you should be able to see what I'm doing just fine."

 

Pulling out a pair of pots, he filled one up with water, setting it to boil before filling up the other one with tomato sauce and setting it to heat up.

[Snelly]

IC: Aella

 

"Oh my god Trin...he's putting his own blood into a pot!" I exclaimed, watching in amazement.

[Silvan Haven]

John Harken- Safe House

 

IC: John chuckled slightly.

 

"No, this is not my blood, it's too think to be blood. This is the mashed up fruit of a plant. It makes the food taste better when you spread it on top."

[25K Now!]

OOC: Jabs don't last for ten seconds.

 

IC: Gabriel

 

"Yeah, but I need money for my suits."

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

OOC: Adding to the "did not last ten seconds" thing above me, I'm going to point out that as the voltage didn't do much else than sting, it was less than a taser (which full-on incapacitate). So no, no second degree burns for Reyson. Unless he's really made of paper or something

 

IC: The almost cartoonish way Reyson tried to dissemble the idea he was from HYDRA was proof enough for Persephone. The man was HYDRA alright, probably a rookie or something.

 

"Funny how not one thing you've said actually proves you're innocent," she remarked, hooking an arm under one of Reyson's armpit and hoisting him up. In all honestly she probably could have lifted him bodily just by grabbing his collar or waistband, but that rather spoiled the illusion that she was entirely human. She'd just have to frogmarch the spy into he cellar

[Constructelf]

OOC Oh... Where did you specify the voltage?I thought he pressed his hand in Reyson's side and left it there.Man, if I'd known, this would have played out so much differently. This misunderstanding...IC Reyson"..."0.0"I take it that means that you consider the state of your wardrobe before you consider the moral implications of your work? Unless you weren't talking to me...?"Then Persephone picked him up."HEY! IS BEING A PHILOSOPHER A CRIME?! THIS ISN'T SOVIET RUSSIA YOU KNOW! ARE YOU GOING TO GO AND ARREST EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO DISTRUSTS THE GOVERNMENT?! I WAS JUST SHARING MY OPINION! WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY INNOCENCE?! THIS IS SOME PRETTY DEEP STUFF YOU KNOW! DO YOU GUYS HATE POSTMODERNISM OR SOMETHING?! GET AN EDUCATION!" Reyson continued to angrily shout like this as he was being dragged off. Angrily, he attempted to kick Persephone, muttering something about the "brainwashed plebians of mainstream societysociety and their hopelessly idealistic views".

Edited November 21, 2013 by Man of Miracles

[25K Now!]

IC: Mikhail

 

"He talks a lot."