Steel and rust (open)

The world was a blur, the sights and the sounds mixing together, coalescing into a shapeless incomplete mass of confusion and sensory data. Then there was darkness and silence as a mind floated almost helplessly amidst the rapidly circulating blurred ones and zeroes, bits of data, incomprehensible to those who would view it in it's raw form, made sense to the nameless conscience that viewed them now. They came to it as memories, their faces flash frozen in fear as if a great flash bulb went off over and over, the same thing repeating itself over and over, a recursive cycle of people vanishing in a corona of light. It was....horrible, was it doing this or was she merely an outside spectator to some horror that happened, a fly on the wall. Then it ended, came to a calm stretch, warmth and....something that had a coppery taste to it, salty and warm....blood? was it blood? She couldn't, couldn't see and this strange sensation, like she couldn't move gripped her.

The world was a blur, the sights and the sounds mixing together, coalescing into a shapeless incomplete mass of confusion and sensory data. Then there was darkness and silence as a mind floated almost helplessly amidst the rapidly circulating blurred ones and zeroes, bits of data, incomprehensible to those who would view it in it's raw form, made sense to the nameless conscience that viewed them now. They came to it as memories, their faces flash frozen in fear as if a great flash bulb went off over and over, the same thing repeating itself over and over, a recursive cycle of people vanishing in a corona of light. It was....horrible, was it doing this or was it merely an outside spectator to some horror that happened, a fly on the wall. Then it ended, came to a calm stretch, warmth and....something that had a coppery taste to it, salty and warm....blood? was it blood? It couldn't, couldn't see and this strange sensation, like it couldn't move, as if it's body was paralyzed had gripped onto it and refused to let go.

And then the figure woke up, felt uneasy, felt off-kilter as if something wasn't right. Sitting in the darkness for such a long time, as fingers reached up to it's face, to feel if this wasn't some.....hallucination, to feel if they were really here in this alleyway that smelled of filth and dirt. Flakes of something fluttered into it's hand gently, rust brown in color and for the longest time stared at them before it came to a realization, that it was blood, dried blood. Then it took stock of itself, the body suit was caked in brown, like so many layers of the blackened dirt and filth that coated the alleyways floors and walls. A sound of shuffling plastic and broken glass and this figure stood up,  and with it's first step, unsteadily made it's way out into the street, out into the bright vibrant orange and white glow of overhead street lamps.

People saw her, and yes it was a her and they took stock of the....flakes of brown that fell off her like flakes of corrupted snow. There was no panic, just hushed murmurs and perhaps a few people on their cellular phones, the police and perhaps, the hospital with reports of a women, who, from the looks of things was covered in blood long since dried up. One pair of people in particular approached her and one could easily tell they were as nervous as the rest of the spectators.

But brave all the same, as they checked on her to see if she was okay.

"E-e-excuse me ma'am are you alright?" It was in unison that they spoke, an ill-fitting mixture of the deepness of the man and the pitched elevated tone of the women. She took stock of them both and nodded. "I am...in satisfactory condition." She spoke, then looked them over again. "Elevated blood pressure and increased heartbeat, is something troubling you?"

Sirens in the distance, two squad cars and an ambulance fast on the approach, she heard them long before anyone else had, this women with a face like stone; blank and expressionless. "Analyzing sound.....two matches found. Estimated time of arrival of local law enforcement and medical teams....five minutes." The women stood there, unflinchingly like a statue and that was perhaps what unnerved those closest to her. The human tone coupled with the lack of emotion in her voice, like she was a computer, it was an uncanny valley moment. Where someone seemed human but...they had some kind of......flaw that made doubts flourish in the minds and hearts of those that saw them.

The police would want some questions and....the questions came with firearms and forceful orders of compliance. "Get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head, now, or we will open fire!" Seraph complied, unerringly, unflinchingly and before long, the cuffs were on her and the ambulance had arrived. The Emergency medical technicians who were shocked at the amount of blood covering her from head to toe, requested the officers to search the area for a potentially injured person, one that might be quite possibly dead at this point.

It wasn't very long until they found a body not even ten feet from where she had awoken. An older male, black hair and skin as pale as parchment. "We got something over here! Older male, looks to be in his mid fifties, early sixties! Looks like there's a gunshot wound to the sternum. Question is....where's all the blood?" Two plus two sometimes didn't add up, but when they brought the body out, brought out the dead Doctor's corpse, the women had a rather violent moment as she violently thrashed about like a beached fish.

All hands pointed at a possible psychotic episode, either an underlying trauma from seeing the dead body or she finally just up and snapped. Well if only you could see the EMT'S surprise when the needle on a syringe containing a long-lasting twelve and a half milligram dose of Fluphenazine an anti-psychotic, snapped off when he tried to puncture her skin. He was promptly bucked clean off her, coming to a skidding stop against the side of the ambulance, as the cuffs binding her arms behind her back snapped apart like a brittle twig. Slowly she stood up, and in no uncertain terms, demanded they hand the body over.

First the non-lethal approach, the officers that didn't have their hands full opened up on her with their tasers, the little prongs hooking into her outfit and delivering what should have been a muscle paralyzing jolt of electricity that would have subdued a three hundred pound man with ease. It had the opposite effect as she began the slow march towards the officers, her face returning to that same...blank stoic state. "Please relinquish Doctor Kurosawa over to me."

A voice as steady and flat as an undisturbed lake surface echoed from her as the crack of a handgun echoed out and she stopped. The bullet had nailed her in the back, the nine millimeter projectile expanding with her skin, but going no further than her jack and body suit. It was a momentary pause, as time seemed to stand still and the offending officer was rocked from his feet, launched five feet off the ground by a very gentle flick of an index finger from the women.

"Meta-Human!" the cry came like thunder as everyone scrambled, the still conscious officers making an effort to drag their unconscious comrade to the ambulance and at least one call was sent out to a very particular group of people, the local...heroes. Seraph, yes that was her name, continued her slow pace towards the body, as she felt a twinge of sorrow for failing to protect him when he needed it the most. He wanted her to be human, humans made mistakes but...this was one mistake she...shouldn't have let happen. "I'm sorry Doct- No, Father.."

As usual, Vincent Ward was walking. He still hadn't figured out a way to use his powers for transportation effectively, and his budget was a little on the tight side, so a vehicle was... An unnecessary commodity... He hardly had a roof over his head and still didn't manage to eat every day if he wasn't careful. A new commission job to deal with minor super-related issues would be an enormous windfall for him, but he seemed to have been set to the backburner as more showy goody-goodies showed their faces. It seemed shameless what some individuals would do for publicity...

"Ugh," he thought aloud, grumbling to himself, "I'm gonna need a pair of new boots soon if  keep having to walk all over town for--" and that's when the sound of gunshots, followed by screaming broke Vincent's concentration. And the scream actually made him... Really mad. 'Meta human'? They said it like empowered individuals were monsters just by virtue of being different, and that sort of blatant... Racism? Was just unacceptable in his book! He jogged over to the source of the clamor, pulling his goggles down as he ran against the flow of people trying to get as far away from the offender as possible... Which was getting on his nerves... Even if he didn't have to fight, at least showing off would get these RACIST COWARDS off of him...

The slight height change and coppery coloration really did make the difference! He'd made himself several inches taller and was now covered in a coppery sort of armor looking like metallic glass, with his goggle lenses being the only part of his outfit that was outside the surface of the armor construct... People running away from whoever the problem-causer also nearly wet themselves at seeing HIM now... Which he sort of enjoyed, deep down. Normally he was just short and unspectacular, so didn't gain much heed from panicky morons when he was trying to investigate...

Once he finally got out of the rushing crowd, Vincent was... Well, not sure what to think. A girl...? He couldn't be sure. Looked like a girl, but he'd seen robots around Jump before, along with androids and cyborgs, and even piles of sludge that were actually people... He also knew some residents of Jump wore form-altering disguises... So for all he knew, 'she' was actually a nine-foot-tall lizard beast... Regardless, he approached her... Slowly, as he'd arrived just in time to see her effortlessly dispatch one officer with less than a flick of her wrist...

When he was finally noticed by the police in the area, he attempted to motion in a way that said 'I'm on your side, let me handle this,' though the looks the remaining conscious individuals gave each other said that they found his hero status to be dubious at best... they really had just tossed him aside! But that was a matter for him to deal with later... For now, there was an extremely strong woman cuddling a corpse, and a bunch of hurt police officers... finally, he made himself known, mustering up his most nonchalant of voice tones.

"Why must everyone in this town be so violent?"

She was getting ready to pick up her creator, her father, a man that...had almost no equal in intelligence when a voice stopped her in her tracks. She craned her head to one side, her eyes were level with him, there was a moment of stillness before she slowly returned to her self-appointed task; to retrieve the body and bury it someplace proper. As she scooped him up, Seraph took notice of the small size and frail frame of her creator. She found it odd that people were designed with so many redundant features that could result in death. One misplaced organ, one allergic reaction and the end was only a few feet away. And here was a person before her, in the most peculiar uniform and she had to agree, why must people be so violent the only benefit of violence was suffering and death and while....she agreed that she had caused at least two people a level of suffering. She was fired upon, and the first one had tried to stab her with a syringe, the contents of which had spread across the street, the glass syringe laying in pieces.

"Why are people violent? Differing views, differing ideals and religions. And sometimes because people enjoy torment." Her voice had a distinct monotone to it, lacking in emotion and being far more stable than someone who had just assaulted an officer of the law. In her mind, she felt she was in the right, she had done no wrongs they had...attacked her first and then her eyes shifted from him and down to the cold body in her arms. "Perhaps the park would be a good place, you always went on about how nice it was to sit under a tree, to sit within the shade during a hot day." She had a feeling she would have liked that if he were alive, to sit there and enjoy the feeling of warmth before a cool breeze came to wash it away and bring relief, however temporary it may have been.

"You can attempt to stop me, but I will be forced to defend myself," she ended with a nod, turned on her heel and began to walk in the opposite direction of this person. She had nary a care right now, just a singular train of thought. His grave would be someplace green and peaceful, a place of trees and copious shade...for giving her life, and as thanks, it was the least she could do for the man who....taught her to aim for her own level of humanity.

"That's all bull. None of those things are valid excuses. And I didn't ask why people are violent, I asked why they must be - Why they feel the need to be violent. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just talk?"

He really didn't want to get into a fight with this individual right now... He was pretty sure a single blow to his armor would render him unconscious, and he would... Prefer to keep his dignity (and ribs) intact for the time being! He followed Seraph, getting closer at a steady pace. He... Probably wouldn't have had any problems with just walking away normally, but he had to show those police that he wouldn't just be killed off in the first disc like Aerith...

"Well," he spoke up again after a moment, "I'm Aegis, a free agent under contract by the Jump City police, and I believe you at least have an obligation to explain yourself, especially after the mess that's happened here." Well, it was MOSTLY true. He didn't lie... He just didn't mention that he hadn't actually been called to deal with anyone in months, which was quite a point of contention at this point seeing as HE was going to have to resort to being one of the bad guys if he couldn't keep enough income to at least eat...

"I had thought you wanted an explanation, as to why people are violent." Her pace had slowed, as she took great care to keep the late Dr in a stable position, and she had an almost unsure tone to her voice, confused even as she continued her leisurely, almost cautiously so, stroll. "Are there any large conglomerate groups of trees within the city?" Now there came an odd request or rather an odd inquiry. Now why would she have use for a park, or a forest for that matter, well, the answer to that would be slightly surprising actually. And for the most part she wasn't hostile towards the man who was following her, rather she thought of Aegis as something to draw knowledge from, at least as much knowledge as he had about the city.

"I do, but I am also within my rights of self-defense. They attacked first and I responded with an appropriate level of force." She turned her head to look at him with an unflinchingly flat stare, eyes flitting around as she scanned over him and took stock of his vital signs. "But as of now, I do not have to keep to that obligation to explain myself, until after I bury Doctor Kurosawa's remains someplace fitting, the body has a name and with an auspicious title to boot, one would have to wonder just who this man was in life, or rather, what he did. "Aegis, a name that means protection. I am colloquially known as Seraph."

Her movement started again, slow and cautious, but filled with purpose as she made progress towards...where ever she was going, a grave under a tree would be undoubtedly appropriate for a man that loved peace and serenity and vehemently opposed violence any way he could. She was...proof of this love, she had a heart, a mind and he gave it life, brought her purpose. She could have been turned into a weapon of war, but he instead gave her the characteristics of a human, however limited. She could learn, would learn with time it all depended on who taught her.

"Well, Seraph," Vincent opened, attempting to sound as congenial as possible, especially considering the unpleasant nature of what he was about to bring up, "It's a pleasure, however you seem to be missing something. You're walking away with a corpse and haven't told anyone what happened, or why you're covered in what seems to be his blood. It's the job of the police, and by extension myself while my contract is in effect, to investigate deaths with suspicious circumstances, and you have to admit, from an outside perspective, you appear pretty suspect at the moment. I... Can sympathize there, being as I've had to deal with similar situations being a metahuman, but I still have a job to do, and they aren't going to let you go unmolested until you exonerate yourself of any suspicion as the culprit. I'm interceding on behalf of the police right now to try and keep this from escalating, and I would hope you would also like to keep this as peaceful as possible." So. Many. Big. Words. He was going to give himself a headache before he even sustained any psychic backlash at this rate, but he was trying to get the police to take him seriously, and he was still within earshot.

Seraph's scan would... Probably have mixed readings due to the recondite nature of his ability, though his basic vitals were easily-enough readable through the surface, if not a tad skewed due to the strange substance surrounding him. His heartbeat was elevated, due to him being completely unsure of where this was going to go, and his brain activity was far-increased from what a normal human just talking would show... That was due to his unique biology, and the fact that he was using his BRAIN to create his constructs... Considering his brain was performing a function similar to a lantern's ring, which used extremely advanced technology, it wasn't surprising... Well, if you KNEW all of that it wasn't surprising. She would likely also be able to tell that he probably wasn't sleeping very comfortably, with his vertebrae slightly compacted at the joints, but that likely wasn't something she'd really cared about at the moment.

Of course, he would answer the question he was asked as well, since it only seemed fair at this point. Not to mention, there wasn't much malicious activity she could perform with a tree... Well, that wasn't quite true, but him refusing to tell her wouldn't really accomplish much in the way of stopping that anyway. "And, uh, yeah. There's forest around several outlying parts of Jump city." He didn't really feel that asking why she needed a tree was the most important thing at the moment since there was the formal bit of hero duty to take care at the moment, though it did make him a bit curious.

"Yes; repeat no," Seraph replied as she digested his rebuttal and continued walking down the street, several times she thought of flying ahead but he was the only one willing to talk to her, or rather the only one that was not too terrified of her and that would have been rather rude. "Your heart rate has increased, is something the matter?" It was an offhandedly cool statement, but one that was accurate nonetheless and yet she had to take a second to make sure her systems were in working order...his brainwaves were....far higher than what one would find in a normal person. The Beta, Gamma and Mu in particular and she checked and rechecked several times in an attempt to ascertain if there was an error. They kept coming back with the same result and she merely stopped and looked at him.

The look on her face wasn't so stoic, "your Beta, Gamma and Mu brainwaves are spiking, are you aware of this?" And for the longest time she stared at him, the doctor's body held with the utmost care possible in her arms. "But that is a moot point right now, as I still require a patch of untouched land to prepare a burial site." But when she got the reply from him, she nodded before she seemed to grow several inches taller, when in reality she was...hovering? "I will return in a moment, please maintain yourself on standby."

She and the body soared straight up, higher and higher until she cleared the buildings, her eyes scanning and searching, searching for what? Well, she knew and after that question...the man would have a pretty good idea as well. And when she landed with a surprisingly heavy thud, she turned to him and nodded. "You will have your answers from start to finish after we head north, north, west for half an hour. There is a suitable place in that direction with trees atop a large hill. I trust you will accompany me? Not like you have many choices left to you from...your previous statements."

With one foot forward she continued on her path, she'd feel a lot easier once her father was tucked safely into a grave, safe from prying hands and the people that had...ended his life.

Aegis' internal monologue now had quite a bit to go over... She could fly, she had high strength, likely speed to match, and had the ability to scan vital signs, it seemed... And the mention of his heart rate and brainwaves only served to make his heard skip a beat. He was less than comfortable having a murder suspect ,who could likely end his life with little effort, having the ability to see INSIDE of him as well... Though he didn't let his discomfort distract him any. After all, it didn't really make her any MORE lethal to him, thanks to the fact that he stood about a zero-percent chance of walking away from a serious conflict with himself alive, if she was really intent on ending him.

After the remark about when and how he'd get his answers, Vincent just gave a sigh and conceded... He would prefer things not get needlessly out of hand, and he expected that they would without him... Not to mention, if they really needed an autopsy, he supposed they could always disinter the corpse later for examination, and if the police had a shoot-out with her, the body could be more damaged than burying would likely do.

"Alright, miss... Seraph," he finally sighed out, "I'll join you... As for your questions... Well for the heartbeat, I'll admit that the prospect of any potential conflict here kinda intimidates me... For my brain... I guess I'll agree to explain that all if and when I feel you can be trusted with knowing." It really wasn't anything you could link to his weaknesses, but it was a bit personal, in Vincent's opinion, telling people about your powers' inner workings... Though he barely understood most of it himself... Oh hey, there were still those police and EMTs and such not too far behind them weren't there... Finally, he'd turn around and wave at the officers, before telling them something probably quite a bit less reassuring than intended...

"Hey! I'll handle this. I'm under contract with the J-C-P-D, Aegis. I'll be in to handle the paperwork when I get a chance!"

Frickin' heroes...

She was quiet and still as she waited, the perfect epitome of a statue made flesh. Her red eyes flickering this way and that as she examined the concrete, brick and steel that made up this expansive urban jungle. So many thoughts crossed her mind as she waited for him to speak, she knew he was going to speak, that was a rudimentary fact. She would give him the answers he wanted about her situation, but how he'd get a hold of them would be...entirely different than talking and mulling it over as time was short, she was steadily compiling the pertinent data into a small format, a glowing cube of light that formed in front of her, and was directly tied to her memories. She looked at him and gave a nod. "The answers you seek are contained within this hard light memory cube, but, we must inter the doctor first before you can have your answers. He deserves that much at least," her voice was calm and steady, if Aegis had the ability to detect even the slightest fluctuations in vocal patterns, he'd have noticed that there was a small tinge of regret and sorrow laced into those words.

She wasn't just a robot, she may have acted like one but she was...learning to be human to fulfill her fathers wishes. He made her, gave her life and where others sought to use her for profiteering during war and genocide, he jerked her down a different path. She had her own choices now, free will, the right to say yes and no all thanks to a man that was frail and small. She was his gift to the world and the short time they spent together was, it was special.

Shaking her head softly, she looked at him again, clearing the feelings from her mind right now, she needed to look at this with calm rationale, emotions only served to...served to make decisions, far harder than they should have been. With a quick flash of light, that faded as quickly as it had come, a pair of iridescent bluish white wings had spread from her back. "I would like to hurry to the hill, so if you would please put your arms around my neck and hold on tightly, we shall arrive there within....five minutes."

Wait, wait wait wait. Was she seriously considering flying to the hill? Yes she was, it was better than walking and given her speed they could get there with plenty of time to spare for conversation, both pertinent to her appearance in jump city as well as inquiries about.....the city. She was here, the people that had killed her father, that were most likely looking for her were not here and that...suited her fine. Maybe they'd give up and assume she had fled into deep space or into the deepest, darkest ocean trench possible. Whatever the case, she was willing to answer any and all questions...however the person before her, this boy might not....like all the answers he may receive. "Are you prepared?" Now that, that right there was a loaded question. Was he in fact, prepared for this trip and was he prepared for the answers that would come at the end? Only time would tell. One could only hope his constitution was up for the task as she flapped her wings.

'hard light'... That always hit him like a ton of bricks. It was how the lantern constructs were described by people, as well as the powers of several similar heroes... Every time Aegis heard those two words, they had an effect that he wouldn't even admit to himself, much less everyone else: They just crushed him a little bit more into the ground, and his self-confidence with them. They just reminded him who and what he was like, and who he would always be compared to, and also who he could never live up to...

"I, uh..." He started, slowing his pace a bit, even before she'd asked him to use her as a human jet-board. He'd gotten himself in a rut again, mulling over all of his insecurities, and was starting to have second thoughts about himself, and his own abilities: Whether or not he was even the right person for this line of work.... And it took him a good thirty seconds to finally break himself out of it. Of COURSE he was cut out for this. At any rate, he'd handled this a hell of a lot more smoothly than the so-called professionals had! Though riding on Seraph's back seemed like an awkward notion to him, and... he hated feeling like he needed help anyway. "I'd rather take my own transportation. Just go ahead and I'll follow." He wasn't convinced that SHE was convinced still... "Really, I just need some... Liberal use of my secondary powers is all."

Liberal was one way of putting it alright... Another way would be 'stupid', or 'moronic', or possibly 'abso-friggin-lutely insane'... The last was probably the most appropriate to anyone who knew the amount of trouble he had exerting control over his constructs still, especially several at once. His armor was easy because it just synchronized with his body's movements, but he didn't HAVE wings. There was no way he could create working wings at this point... Though maybe something a tad more stationary... And he already had an idea for the method of propulsion... Once she'd gotten far enough that he wasn't worried she was going to save him when she saw him gracelessly flailing through the air like a bird that had smacked into a window pain, he set about placing down a dense construct... This was going to hurt.

Finally, after sucking it up and ignoring the fact that he was almost sure he was going to wind up detonating his armor instead of the lop-sided dome he'd formed on the ground, he ran. Straight toward the construct... And as soon as his leg had straightened from attempting to jump from the tip, he... Exploded it. yeah, he blew up the thing he was standing on, and it caused his head to feel like it was about to explode due to the force exerted on the legs of his armor, but the held, and acted similar to power armor in helping him resist the force and keeping his knee from bending backward on itself... Though it didn't help him from flailing through the air like an idiot...

He DID, however, manage to not die (which was likely a miracle in and of itself), and even correct his trajectory enough that when he started fusing his legs into a tail, and his head and arms into a wing chevron, that he didn't just hit a brick wall from air resistance. It took a little bit more concentration that he was used to to manipulate the new glider-form of his armor to TURN, or to make minor adjustments... But he still set off rocketing... Less than a graceful start, but he didn't kill himself on his first attempt, so it was all good for now!

Good job, hero, but what are you going to do about the super-girl you're following when the time comes...?

Aw hell...

((this was a long, long horrible wait.)

She arrived at the hill not long after, it was a magnificent view of most of Jump City, the breeze felt good and the way the evening sun glimmered off windows made the city shine like gold. It was a breath taking sight and she felt calm, easily at peace like nothing bad could happen up here as she set the doctor down and with a flash of light, began to tear a hole six feet deep into the hill, just beside a tree with flat blades of iridescent blue light, depositing the dirt nearby as she looked at the doctor and gave a nod. "Well father, this is good bye and...take care," the way she moved as she lowered his pale, frail insignificant body into the hole it showed care, and a twinge of sorrow, sorrow for not...saving him, for being incapable of helping him.

This was her way of making up for it, to return him to the earth and bring him a modicum of respect. He always wanted to show her the trees, the roling green grass and the deep blue skies above. He never got to really fulfill that wish, to hold her hand and point to the clouds and show her what they looked like. That would have been a better time, a better place where things, things could have worked themselves out. But that wasn't the case as she laid him down ever so softly and floated out of the hole, a look deeply pressed into her eyes, like the fires of the sun. She never held a single iota of hatred, never....felt the emotion before, but she knew she hated the people that wanted to use her and took her father before his natural time.

She felt like she wouldn't hesitate to kill them, butcher them down to the last person but would her father approve? No, no he wouldn't so she would just have to hate, loathe and find another way to bring them to ruin. After all, someone like her could be very creative, if they put their mind to it. As she began to fill the hole in, she opened her mouth and spoke. "You want your answers, then you shall have them. But make no mistake, if I find my fathers resting place disturbed I will be...." she paused as she flickered through the appropriate responses, she finally spoke in that same, near dispassionate tone of hers."upset."

She pulled the cube from the slot in her hip, as it shimmered and pulsated slowly, the color morphing between various blues with white interlaced between and held it out as she began to pour the dirt in, slowly, carefully, so as to not damage the doctor's body. "You will need the appropriate conduit to read the data stored inside, I apologize for any inconveniences it may cause, but I am only capable of rendering and sharing data through these cubes."