Heavy Burden (CB and Muse)

Dar sat by the docks late one night, his legs hanging over the concrete but not quite reaching the water. The clouds were covering the stars tonight, so it was darker than normal. The only real light came from the few street lights in the area.

Dar had his sword resting by his side. His powers were not active, so the sword would be quite heavy for him to lift right now. When he had originally forged the weapon, it had seemed the perfect blade to complement his strength. But he didn't always want to be channeling rage. Most of the time, he wished to remain in peace, and at those times the burden of the oversized claymore was too much.

The burden of being alone was also too much. Dar had come here, like many, with the intention of ruling this city. While he still wished to do that, he had learned that the task would take time, resources, and allies. He could not supply all these things on his own.

Then again, he didn't want to rule the city nearly as much as he wanted to conquer it. Once he had it under his control, he cared very little who actually ran the place. Of course, there were certain things he would not allow to happen, and certain things he would ensure changed, but overall he had no interest in maintaining a city.

And that was why he had decided to seek out the HIVE. He wasn't even sure they were quite what he was looking for, but it seemed like the best place to start.

"Well, looks like ya showed up." Gilda said as she floated down from the skies. She was almost half an hour late. She had had things to do, namely not meet Dar again. She still hadn't gotten, completely, over losing to him. She also still didn't have any sort of useful ideas for beating him; not yet, She would though. She just needed time.

"I was sent to pick you up. You're in." she said simply.

She figured that's what he was here to hear anyways. No use in delaying the inevitable. "Now, would you rather swim, boat or be carried out to our base?" she asked.

Gilda flew down from the sky. Dar didn't respond to her first comment. Of course he had shown up. He had bought this with her very life, and he was eager to collect.

Dar had been expecting an interview, a background check, some mind-reading, and perhaps even an interrogation. Instead, Gilda simply informed him that he was 'in.' He had been accepted into the HIVE? Well, that had been easy. Too easy. Dar would stay on guard, in case anything unexpected happened.

Despite his surprise, Dar couldn't help but smile when Gilda asked for his preferred mode of transportation. "I would prefer to be carried." Why should he expend effort in getting to the new base if Gilda was willing to do all the work for him? He made sure his sword was firmly in his sheathe and crossed his arms, waiting for Gilda to fly him to HIVE's base.

He was heavy, but not that heavy. She would be able to carry him, it was still irksome though. She was going to be slowed down. She had hoped she could just point him in the right direction and make him take care of it. She shouldn't have offered the ride.

She floated over to him and grabbed one of his arms before pumping her wings, much more powerfully than before, and lifting off. He would feel oddly light given the situation, thanks to the gravity negation of her Nth metal.
---
Soon they would be at the oil rig. Gilda dropped Dar once they were a foot above the landing platform. "This is it. Down the elevator and bam. H.I.V.E. central. Don't try any funny stuff. Powers don't work down there, I'd tear you to pieces but the bosses defenses would probably get to ya first.

Dar made sure to enjoy his flight as much as possible. It was made even better by Gilda's obvious annoyance. They arrived at an oil rig that served as the base. Dar was impressed. Obtaining such a valuable out of the way base must have been difficult.

Landing gracefully on the oil rig's deck, Dar listened to Gilda's instructions. He was to go down the elevator, into a power-neutralizing zone. There he would presumably meet the 'boss.' He raised his eye brows. The HIVE had the ability to neutralize super-powers within a large area? Dar didn't know that such technology existed.

But that was fine. He wasn't here to start a fight. He walked towards the elevator door. His powers weren't active right now, so his claymore felt quite heavy on his back. Without his empowered strength, he wouldn't be able to wield the weapon inside the complex. He really did need to obtain a new sword to use while 'human.' Still, he kept the sword on his back. Useless or not, it was his weapon.

Gilda claimed that she would eviscerate him in a fight with no powers. Dar grinned. Pride could be a deadlier enemy than most, so he kept it in check. He didn't look back at Gilda, but he replied to her in a gentle, though loud enough to reach her, voice. "I have no doubt, Gilda. You are a skilled warrior, and you fight with passion. You are as deadly as you are beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here."

With that, Dar entered the elevator and the doors closed. He felt his stomach rise up into his chest as the elevator descended quickly. Though he would never admit it, he was nervous. This was the HIVE. It was possible that under their banner he would conquer the world.

The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Dar walked forward to meet his potential employer.

((pretty sure this would be cels term, so thats that until he comes in.))