The Omen
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"...I will endeavor to refrain. That is the best I can offer..."
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Post by The Omen on Jul 15, 2011 20:29:20 GMT -5
Well...that next meeting is bound to be unpleasant. I really must see about managing to secure this place from unwanted guests.
Let's see...I've managed to piss of the reigning lord of a realm I travel to nightly, have possibly sold my soul to the personification of evil in a fit of spite and despair, agreed to play "Meyer Lanksy" in a literal underworld sponsored poker tournament at the behest of...something...that drinks souls and which seems to have a hankering to savor mine, and I am scant moments away from deciding to investigate the appearance of "monsters" in the streets of New York City...all before lunch.
That Vesper is sounding more appealling by the moment.
I summon Anton and am suprised to find my drink already prepared.
Merci, oncle. I'll be needing to see those news reports from New York. Have them ready by three. I'll be indisposed until then. See that I'm not disturbed --unless it is extremely important -- by anyone save Jaine.
For the next several hours, I spend my time purusing Project Darkdoor. Bitterhorn's amusement at the text's appearance on my desk was not lost on me...[/color][/i]
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Jul 16, 2011 0:35:10 GMT -5
ooc: Take care not to run the NPCs too. I wanted Anton to come running out in a tutu singing Owl Jolson's "I Wanna Singa" ... just kidding, but you know what I mean. ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) ===== The text of the Project Darkdoor book is more sensational than informative, lots of furtive caveats and conspiracy theory fodder concerning the Thule Society and UFOs. But the descriptions of the wonders the Nazis were seeking to acquire from the "Vril" and even the "Vril" themselves seem to be very related to, if not the same thing Markus has witnessed among the Jin en Mok. From what Markus could ascertain from descriptions of the arcane techno-magical device the Nazis were trying to create, it would not open a wormhole to another part of the universe, but rather open a gate from Hell upon the Earth, specifically Mephisto's Hell. Obviously, such a device, if ever created, would allow Mephisto to flood the Earth with legions of his demonic armies. His Satanic Majesty decieving the Nazis into dooming themselves and the Earth. Markus surmised that this was Mephisto's attempt to circumvent the Sphere of Influence over the magical and supernatural generated by Hitler's possession of the Spear of Destiny. ===== ooc: summary of news reports from New York coming soon...
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Jul 18, 2011 19:03:02 GMT -5
ooc- my bad ooc: No problem. Just wanted to clarify you weren't using your mind control power on him ![:P](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png)
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Jul 21, 2011 11:02:55 GMT -5
Hours later, Anton returns holding a DVD and says, "I have a compilation of the information you requested."
Anton pops the DVD into a player and starts it... It displays a hodge-podge of blurbs, mostly from local new broadcasts downloaded from YouTube.
Tonight's top story... a deadly turn in the Mutant Menace plaguing the United States. 'Kick,' a drug said to be made from extracts from people afflicted with the genetic mutation disease is now fueling a gang war in New York...
...
"These punks are playing with fire. No one in their right mind would even want to be near one of those muties because they might be contagious, and now they're experimenting with drugs mixed with mutant blood to try to give themselves super powers. They are turning themselves in to monsters and..."
"I must object. There is no evidence of a connection between mutants and Kick. And there is no reason to believe mutants are carrying a contagious..."
"Shut up you mutie-lover! It's obvious that we didn't have this explosion of mutants among us until after the Earth was attacked by those Appelaxian aliens the Justice League stopped. Look at mutants. They're freaks. All of them are no longer human... just weapons left behind by aliens... they have to be stopped!"
"Gentlemen, please. Let's try to have a rational...."
"Rational? The elephant in the room is that this new drug Kick came from Genosha, where most mutants come from. Congress needs to increase funding to Shaw Industries' Sentinel program and..."
....
"Monster attacks continue to plague New York City as the Kick-fuelled gangs attack each other for control..."
"Anti-mutant demonstrations at Empire State University turned ugly as riot police disperse the protesters..."
"A explosion at the New York Port Authority appears to be related to the growing gang war in New York..."
"New heroes captured a shipment of Kick and turned it over to SHIELD..."
"The heroes were recruited to find a book stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, said to be a spellbook written by an obscure 17th century warlock named Bartholomew Jacobs. After turning over the captured Kick to SHIELD, they disappeared into thin air."
....
"Early afternoon traffic came to a crashing halt as thousands of drivers in the Lower East Side suddenly fell asleep behind the wheel, awaking with tales of nightmares of further mutant attacks. Experts from Shaw Industries and LexCorp have determined that the people were induced to sleep by some sort of radiant mutant psionic energy. Hospitals remain swamped with the injured."
"Mutant with ice powers shot down a news helicopter...."
"President Obama stopped short of declaring a state of emergency in New York as the Mutant Registration Act continues its way to the House of Representatives after passing the Senate with overwhelming support..."
"Maximillian Pride, curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his assistant Felicia Bifrost are reported missing..." =====
Anton points out that there is a growing conspiracy on the Internet centering around these news reports. Sites that have collated these reports together have been taken down by SHIELD, as if they were surpressing further investigation. It's creating quite a stir, and anti-mutant sentiments are flaring high.
Particularly fueling conspiracy theories is the disappearance of the heroes that turned over the Kick to SHIELD after the explosion at the Port Authority. They vanished on live television, and the monster attacks are all reported to have these monsters appearing from thin air, then vanishing.
Another site reports odd military activity on Ellis Island.
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The Omen
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"...I will endeavor to refrain. That is the best I can offer..."
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Post by The Omen on Jul 21, 2011 17:15:02 GMT -5
Sloppy…I can see his fingerprints all over this. Civil unrest, racial tension, weapon proliferation…c'est comme le vieux chien refuse même d'essayer d'apprendre un nouveau truc. Still…it is a rather delicious gambit…
It will be a busy day for the both of us it seems, oncle. Look through your rolodex. I need expendable church members…the far, far fringe members...the least amount of connection between you, them and each other the better. Pass a message onto them…a rumor that cannot be traced back to you. Do you understand? The crackpots, the extremists, the weekend occultists…it must appear that they are all acting on their own authority. They – and whatever followers they have been able to muster – must come out in complete support of the anti-mutant agenda. I want to see them on the streets, in the papers, across campuses and on Jerry Springer. I want every single piece of gutter trash in this backwards excuse of a country chanting “No more mutants” in two day’s time. Comprenez-vous? And whenever you hear that they have something planned, make sure every…EVERY…church, mosque and synagogue in that area knows about it.
And get my broker on the line. I need to make an anonymous contribution to the city.
Establishing an emergency fund is the least I can do. Putting Nightmare in his place seems to have had greater consequences than I had even begun to anticipate…
Make an appointment for tomorrow for yourself with the Metropolitan Museum of Art ... the name Bartholomew Jacobs has been coming up far too frequently today. Find out everything they know about him, what else they may have of his in their collection and...whatever else you can think of. I would go myself, but I have business in the city in two days time on behalf of our "friend", Bitterhorn, and it wouldn't do for me to be seen before then. After you're done preparing all of that, you can bring me that gaudy…uniform…you and Jaine put together…it’s time to take a play from my father’s playbook. Tonight, I shall go on “patrol”.
…see if you can drum up a mask as well. I don’t want anyone to recognize me in that fashion monstrosity.
OOC - Resources roll for the "Rin knocked out half of New York and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" fund ;D...I kinda think Markus's misplaced guilt is only enough to donate an Excellent amount of money ...and I'll throw in 20 points o' karma...
[attack=826754699156799]
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Jul 21, 2011 18:30:48 GMT -5
Anton looks at Markus with a puzzled look. "You want to heighten the anti-mutant hysteria? I mean sure, that clownish televangelist Reverend Stryker has made a mint off of stoking fears among his flock of followers, but I've always thought that mutants would be natural allies to our cause. Still, there are some appropriate patsies we can stir up. Shall I direct some funds to those neo-fascist Buzzcuts gang in New York? They are among those attacked by monsters, and they already have a decidedly anti-mutant bent..." ooc: If we were at a game table together, I'd be rubbing my hands malevolently and laughing as evil GMs do from time to time ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) The "Prince of Lies" strikes again... ![:P](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png)
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The Omen
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"...I will endeavor to refrain. That is the best I can offer..."
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Post by The Omen on Jul 21, 2011 21:15:41 GMT -5
I can't resist smiling. ooc- neither can I lol Ha! An excellent suggestion, old friend! But a little too on the nose, I think...why use our funding when...Reverend Stryker, was it?...has a church of his own which can serve the same function. Do we have an address for the esteemed reverend's ministry?
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Jul 21, 2011 23:06:04 GMT -5
ooc: via the game timeline, the New Mutants team is forming at Xavier's school, and the "God Loves, Man Kills" storyline involving Stryker is somewhat ongoing right now (as is the X-Men's first encounter with the Brood). I don't really want to cross-pollenate into behind the scenes storylines so much, but giving money to Stryker will certainly have an effect... ----- "I believe we could make an anonymous donation to his ministry. Discrediting his witchhunt against 'satanic' mutants may just bring more mutants into our fold. Still, the Buzzcuts and their neo-fascist, neo-Nazi 'weekend occultism,' as you called it may be exploitable. Perhaps we could subtlely guide the Buzzcuts into Stryker's flock?"
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The Omen
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"...I will endeavor to refrain. That is the best I can offer..."
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Post by The Omen on Jul 22, 2011 0:42:07 GMT -5
Anton, Anton, Anton...now you're thinking like a clergyman!
I rise from my chair and playfully pat him on the cheek. The Anton I knew...the real Anton (if any of us can be called real)...was content to sit at my father's left hand...he never learned to wield power. I am my father's son. If Daimon comes to power despite my efforts in this reality, then he'll find himself with a lieutenent capable of anticipating his endgame before it's even begun...
We weave a thread between Stryker's ministry and these "Buzzcuts", leaving a clear trail from one to the other for an industrious reporter to find...perhaps that Urich fellow from the Bugle...
Suddenly becoming aware of the sound of idle fingers drumming, I stop myself and slide the book beneath my hand away.
...and when the Néo-nazis activities come to light, we leave a black smear of doubt on the ministry and the anti-mutant sentiment...all while simultaneuosly exposing potential threats to and liabilities within our own agendas. Vive la France!
Make the donation. And make sure it's untracable to us.
OCC - Resources FEAT [attack=553593992946322] I've never made it all the way through "God Loves, Man Kills"...something about the art is off puting to me for some reason.
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Jul 24, 2011 18:57:36 GMT -5
ooc: I have something very nightmarish in mind for the outcome of this ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) ===== Anton says, "I think I know a way to convince the Buzzcuts to attend one of Stryker's sermons and join his flock. They've got mutant blood on their hands already anyway. It's a pity we can't have Ghost Rider show up during their conversion broadcast." He laughs as he pans his hands out as if spanning a newspaper headline before him and says in a dramatic voice "Demon Biker Disrupts Anti-Mutant Cult!" He laughs again and says, "I suppose we'll have to settle for subversive commentaries on the internet." Anton fetches himself a drink and refills Markus'. "So, why is it you always ask me to look for duplicates of yourself? I've collaborated with you for quite some time. Coming and going as you please, and always telling me what will happen next. Your advice has been uncannily helpful. But you always ask me to watch for duplicates of yourself right before we face rough times. Why is that?"
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The Omen
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"...I will endeavor to refrain. That is the best I can offer..."
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Post by The Omen on Jul 27, 2011 1:33:08 GMT -5
Do I? Hmph...I wasn't aware I had. Past, present, and future are rarely linear from my perspective.
And so here we are. For the first time or again, I cannot say. Will I tell the truth or has the answer always been a lie? Will I trust him now or am I already predestined to have used this moment to manipulate his actions in the future?
I have no answer...
...and so I speak from the heart.
Understand this, oncle: What we do here...in this house, in this world...you and I and the church...it is evil. Our actions will cause death and unimaginable suffering...and there will be consequences for us all.
The dawning of the Kali Yuga is almost upon us. Chaos and darkness will soon hold sway over all creation and whole worlds will live or die as chaos struggles to grow ascendent. It is unfortunate, but necessary. This is how the story was written long before you or I were even dreamed of as players in this game.
I have spent...more time than you could ever conceive of --relatively speaking -- trying to stop what will inevitably happen from happening. How many imagined lifetimes, I wonder, did it take me to realize the futility of it? In the future I have seen the forces of order abandon creation and their greatest champions embrace fell magics in order to protect it. I have seen hell dismantled, the adversary playing the maker for a fool, and the wrath of god seduced by darkness. I've seen heroes die or be broken or have their dreams of peace twisted to become an onslaught of mutually assured destruction. All because every time the light of goodness shines bright, the shadow it casts grows stronger.
Heroes...for all their goodness...are the pawns of Order. Their actions pave the way for further pain and suffering...which has been Order's plan all along.
It is said -- as you well know -- that once the Kali Yuga is done, the cycle of creation will begin again with the perfection of Order...the cold, static, emotionless perfection of Order. But for one timeless moment between destruction and creation, there will be peace and unity and balance.
It is why I sit facing the cardinal point of the inverted pentagram*. I have embraced Chaos to bring about the Mahapralaya that will give way to Order.
But in every way possible, I am an anomaly...in time, in this world, in this reality...in a place ruled by duality, I have no opposite. Thus the only opposition the world will be able to conceive of is another version of me. Perhaps in the form of other...off-springs of a similar nature...perhaps someone more literal. Who can say?
But now we spend too much time speaking of serious things, oncle. Il est toujours temps pour les affaires...for now, let us enjoy this brief moment of fun!
OOC -
lol ...or to say it more melodically
* I think I got that detail right...Illyana's pent is upright but she faces the "horns", right?
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Jul 28, 2011 5:38:59 GMT -5
Anton says "You often speak of the future as if you have been there on vacation. It is quite unnerving that you have had so much insight into things to come on some matters, yet are blind to others. So far the gamble has paid off, but I wonder at what cost? Who will come to collect upon a bargain with you? How do you fight the paranoia of knowing you commune and deal with those who elevate betrayal and deceit to an art form? You asked for me to find a dream interpreter for you. Does the Devil give you nightmares? Plague you with visions of horror and hopelessness? Or do you give yourself these troubles? I worry for your mental health sometimes..."
Anton's voice trails off, then returns.
"Do you still believe you are the son of a woman who has never been pregnant before?"
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The Omen
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"...I will endeavor to refrain. That is the best I can offer..."
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Post by The Omen on Aug 1, 2011 9:53:53 GMT -5
Oh, honestly, Anton....sometimes its as if you're not even trying. What better way to make a mockery of all that is good than for the anti-christ's child to be born without a mother? Think, man, think!
...and --as a dear, old friend who I haven't met yet said a few years from now: the trick to achieving victory when vast, unimaginable powers are aligned against you and everyone else seeks to use you as a pawn in their own game is simply to ignore them all and continue doing what you were going to do anyway.
Anton --
I draw the Dagger of Souls -- forged in the fires of hell -- and casually begin cleaning my finger nails
-- you're asking lots of questions. One would at best think that you're begining to consider yourself an equal partner in this endeavor of mine. At worst...
...ah, well! Let us not put a damper on our earlier mood. I can both assure you that I am quite sane and that if he does exactly what I say, Anton Devine has an important role to play in shaping the future.
Which Anton Devine is of course somewhat more flexible...
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Aug 4, 2011 2:09:11 GMT -5
Anton jokes, "I hope I never become as comfortable with you around as you have become with me around." It is a little obvious that Anton has a healthy fear of Markus' insight, and has always been set upon his own ambitions... he who would eventually come to lead the Church without Markus' fortuitous early interventions anyway...
ooc: end scene here... make whatever preparations for Markus' journey to NYC as "Sam Evans" as necessary.
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