superpierce: I don't remember F.I.L.L.S being in any chapters what franchise is it from?
Re: She's the primary AI companion in the hit internet series, Red vs Blue. Sunny's affinity with AI ties her in to this, while the idea of "Successor AI" comes from Cyberpunk 2077.
1971kr (Guest): Your are really good at worldbulding, it's amazing how you bring different franchises together and make it work so goodt.
I have notice your not big batman fan from this fic and your teen titans with Robin, out of curioisity what do you think of the Batman franchise
Re: Worldbuilding is my favorite part of the process, and multi-crossovers mean I don't have to flood it with OCs out the ass.
I personally feel so-so about Batman, but Virgil has a more pragmatic view on superheroes and how it can sometimes do more harm than good. The fact that none of the supervillains ever get the death penalty but have all their extra Life Sentences as a "Stay of Execution Card" and, well…
Cousin687: Love this. Not only the fact that you do this so well but to add all of the most minute and hilarious side details. But I gotta ask. This all started with V getting the Crysis nanosuit. Will other users appear like Raptor team or Alcatraz as they were before the suits? And will the Ceph ever make an appearance? Cause a space locust alien aggressor is nothing new to the setting but they are what the suit was built off of and I doubt the Reach, Martians, or any other alien species much care for them.
Re: As I've said in response to such compliments before, I love Worldbuilding~
As for Raptor Team and so-on, they'll eventually come to use the Mass-Produced models, but because this is an Earth-16 variant, things won't go so-completely pear-shaped. Earth won't exactly be defenseless, but you know how-slow the UN is in real life to respond to its own problems, so you can just imagine how-bad things will be with a legit alien invastion. They'll spend six months on the sub-committees assigning the staff to select the oversight committee ALONE.
Anime PJ: Ooh, Dresden Files style potion-making. Very nice~
Re: I'm so happy someone got that~ The idea of substituting "Crushed Diamonds" with "Torn Money" in a Love Potion clued me in on how-flexible this could really be.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Barring what would come to be known as the "Invisible Jet Incident", the Christmas weekend more or less went off without a hitch. Before everyone went their separate ways, they even managed to squeeze in an outing to Christmas Service at the local congregation; though Zatanna and her father cast spells over themselves so they wouldn't stand out quite so much. It was an excellent opportunity for "Megan" to meet some of the people she would be attending school with the coming spring, and given she'd cut back on the 80s sitcom lingo, Virgil felt like he could afford to take his eyes off of her and not feel too bad about it.
Eventually, everyone did have to part, Roland and his crew going God-knows-where, Moxxi taking the Crocks back to Gotham, Dr. Grey swooping in to take Code Talker back to… wherever he was staying, David, Otacon, and Sunny having up and vanished sometime Saturday night, with Virgil taking the others back to the Red Light.
It was a little weird, letting the car drive itself most of the way like out of Knight Rider, but Virgil trusted the combined efforts of Lopez, Sunny, and also Sheila to see them through. That said, he never took his hands off the wheel; watching it move itself was still really unnerving, and God forbid a cop saw him like that.
It was one thing to be a passenger in a car when someone was actively behind the wheel, it was something different altogether when you could actively take your hands off the wheel and the car still drove itself.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Moxxxi's Red Light
December 27, 15:46 EST
"That was a very fun weekend," Athena sighed contentedly as she ascended the stairs, their holiday in Happy Harbor concluded.
"Honestly, I thought places like that only existed in cheesy sitcoms," Gaige hummed, gifts in hand while Virgil took the rear with their luggage.
"Hmm."
"Babe, are you doing okay?" Athena asked worriedly.
"Why do you ask?"
"You've been pretty monosyllabic since Christmas day. What, did you find a lump of coal in your stocking?" Gaige inquired. "Cause don't worry; I like bad boys~"
"No coal, just… processing."
"Processing? Processing what?" Athena asked worriedly, going over to him.
" . . . "
"Virgil. As soon as we all got back from the… tour, we all went to bed. Neither of us put on any 'show'…"
"I prefer to repress what I heard and never think about it ever again. Ever."
"Well now that makes me want to know mooooore," Gaige faux-whined.
"It isn't anything you need to worry yourself over," Virgil said waving his hand as they crested the stairs. "AH! Mountain lion! Get behind me!"
"Oh, it's not alive anymore," Athena waved off as she walked past a stone dead mountain lion mid-snarl. "Dr. Zed must've dropped it off during the break."
"I did not need to know that that guy has a spare key..." Virgil groaned.
"That reminds me for whatever reason; did you ever figure out what those keys Tony sent you were for?" Gaige asked.
"No, but I might be able to squeeze some hidden clue out of them with the Holotable," Athena replied. "I wouldn't put it past Tony to turn this into one of his 'scavenger hunts'."
"Ooh! I want in!" Gaige said excitedly.
"The more, the merrier," Athena nodded, leaving Virgil to his own devices for the first time in days.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Moxxxi's Red Light
December 28, 8:51 EST
*Br-r-r*Br-r-r* *Br-r-r*Br-r-r*
*Breen*
"Thena, you get anything out of Tony's gifts?" Virgil asked putting the call to speaker.
"It took a little doing, but yeah. The shape, size, and type of key are exclusive to a premier self-storage company in upper Bludhaven. Once I discovered this, Gaige and I hacked the customer manifest and found out that two storage units in the high-security floor were purchased at the same time in the last week by the same person. Obviously, Tony didn't use his real name, but using the name 'Jay Rhodey' was pretty telling," Athena answered. "However, we weren't able to find out just what Tony left for us in those storage units, only their size and how-well-secured they are, so we'll be playing it by ear when we come to collect."
"What've you been up to?" Gaige chimed in over Athena's shoulder.
"Just getting caught up on my work emails…" Virgil said pensively. "Want me to pull the car around?"
"If you aren't too busy."
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"Man, people sure treat you differently up-town when you're driving the car for it," Gaige hummed as they made their way to the elevator, the receptionist to the self-storage facility almost cringingly polite when they pulled up in a 1949 Mercury Coupe.
"Yeah, I noticed," Athena deadpanned as she pressed the Up button.
"So… you think Tony's going to be straight with us, or will this be the start of one of his infamous and lengthy cross-country 'scavenger hunts'?" Virgil asked, dreading what the answer might or might not be.
Gaige had wasted little of the drive uptown not sharing the stories of such wacky adventures with her "Wholesome Threesome Buddies" (as she so-aptly called it). Apparently, Tony sent his would-be hangers-on on wild goose chases across the continental U.S. whenever too many of them started to congregate and beggar for his attention. Given many of them had too much money in their pockets, too much free time on their hands, and too little sense in their heads, it more often than not worked, regardless of how-convoluted some of his or Jarvis' clues tended to be.
Of course, on the off-chance some would-be socialite actually succeeded in following the trail of breadcrumbs Tony left to its conclusion, he'd have to throw them a bone and give them some down-time in his Malibu overlook; but the long stints of privacy he was able to acquire from it was apparently worth it.
"And they actually fall for this?"
-Virgil had asked incredulously.
"Yeah, pretty much," Gwen shrugged in the present. "They're pretty up their own asses about it. Hell, we've lost a few Star Academy kiddos on Tony's 'Stark Sweepstakes'."
"Well, fingers crossed," Virgil said as the elevator doors opened for them.
When they got to the top floor, where the most-secure storage units at Pandora's Storage were, he immediately felt the tingle of magic in the air… but chalked it up to a bit of "Post-Santa-is-Legit Traumatic Stress Disorder", combined with the wacky poster they passed on the way in with taglines like-
UNWANTED ITEMS?
· Dangerous?
· Mundane?
· Magical?
SEND THEM TO US!
The alternative was people truly did keep magical shit here, and he knew better than to stick his nose where it didn't belong.
Unless some magical hijinks started bleeding over onto his circle of immediate friends and family. Then he'd stick his whole head into where it didn't belong.
Assuming it wasn't a lion's head, or something.
Until such a point, he'd leave people's shit alone; treat others' shit how you'd want your shit to be treated, you know?
"Vee? What're you doing here?"
"Gwen?" Virgil blinked as he found the pink-accented blond standing at a storage unit down the hall in front of them.
"You got something to take out of storage too?"
"You could say that. What're you here for?"
"Just helping my uncle move some odds-and-ends," she said jabbing a thumb over her shoulder.
"Hey Gwenny-poo, these your friendos from school~?"
"Gu-Ugh! Don't call me 'Gwenny-poo'!"
"Gwenny-bed-wetty?"
"Ugh, that's even worse!"
"I haven't seen the guy and I can already tell he's a monumental pain in the ass…" Athena deadpanned as the man in question stepped out of the storage unit. The man was clad in black combat boots, black cargo pants with a red belt, a red sweater with a certain 'Merc with a Mouth's insignia on the chest in black, and bandages wrapping the entirety of his head save the black sunglasses. His hands were exposed, and they were not pretty to look at…
"Now, I know what you're thinking, but no, I'm not a psychotic burn victim," Gwen's uncle replied as he started juggling a trio of M67s with the same insignia on them.
'Hold on… I recognize that symbol…' Virgil said as he juggled his key in his hand, making a show of looking around and walking past the man's storage unit to see it full of brand-recognized guns, ammo, and so-on. 'Sure, him storing weapons in there, and I thought it'd be coincidence… but not after seeing that.'
Taped to the wall was an envelope labeled Storage Locker Payment.
"You know, Gwen's uncle, having that money set aside doesn't do you much good if it's inside the storage unit."
"Wow. Talk about plot continuity."
"Huh?" Gaige blinked.
"Don't worry about it," Gwen waved off as her uncle made a show of stuffing the envelope into one of his pockets. "So, you get the invite for the New Years party in Metropolis?"
"I have," Virgil nodded.
"So who're you gonna take with you?" Gwen inquired eagerly, Athena and Gaige's interests piqued.
"I mean… I only have the one 'Plus One', sooooo…" Virgil hummed awkwardly, his eyes drifting towards Athena, Gaige trying not to look disappointed.
"I could always give you my 'Plus One'~" the pink-accented blond offered.
"In exchange forrrrr…?" he asked recognizing her tone.
"A personal favor~" she smiled at him.
"Liiiiike…?" he asked feeling a sense of dread.
"Do me~" she grinned with a finger on her chin.
"Dayuuumn! Oh dayumn!" Gwen's uncle catcalled from his storage unit
"Ha, haaah, ah… You're kidding right?" Virgil choked out.
"No, seriously, fuck me~"
"And I thought I was thirsty…" Gaige deadpanned as Gwen's uncle let out another- "Oh dayumn!"
"Okay, I know I was joking, but you really do have a magnetic god-damn penis, don't you?" Athena deadpanned.
"No, seriously, please tell me you're joking. Whatever 'thing' I have between Athena and Gaige is complicated-enough without throwing a pretty co-worker into the mix."
"You think I'm pretty~?"
"That's a loaded question and you know it…"
"Oh, but don't worry, I won't collect until after New Years," she said reassuringly. "Ooh. Or maybe on New Years? That would be pretty hot~"
"Are you really going to stand there and take this?" Virgil deadpanned his primary girlfriend's way.
"I wanna watch. I also reserve the right to participate and/or give you the boot if I feel like you're getting too hands-on."
"Hey, what about me?!" Gaige complained.
"You already get to rub elbows with super-models. Don't push it."
"You're seriously pimping me out, right now?" Virgil deadpanned.
"Oh don't act like you don't enjoy a good boning~" she said cattily.
"I do enjoy it, but that's beside the point."
"Sweetie, make sure you use protection now~" Gwen's uncle chimed in.
"Don't worry, I'm always packing," Gwen said waving around a white semi-automatic with pink accents.
"Dammit, you. Stop getting me into trouble," Virgil deadpanned toward his own junk.
"Oh, you talk to your penis too?" Gwen's uncle chimed in from his box. "Don't worry, it's perfectly normal. Unless it talks back; in which case, you should probably get that looked at by a licensed medical professional with a degree from an accredited medical institution."
"Yeah. Or four years equivalent work experience!"
"Did that bomb just talk?!" Athena gawped as an army-green bowling ball-sized device with unflattering engravings and embossments spoke up in a clipped tone.
"Ooohkay, I think we're done here!" Virgil said looping arms with her and walking off.
"See you on New Years!" Gwen waved off.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"Well, here we are," Athena hummed as she stood before the storage unit her key had come to, Virgil's across from it.
"Oh, so we're just going to ignore what happened back there?" Virgil hummed.
"I think it was pretty hot~" Gaige grinned.
"You think everything's hot."
"Only when you're involved, sweet cheeks~"
"That isn't untrue…" the brunette conceded, the high-end padlock coming undone and Athena lifting up the door with a grunt.
"Holy shit…"
"Door isn't that heavy, is it?" Virgil asked, only for Gaige to grab his face and turn his head around. "Oh. Ohhhhh… Well, 'holy shit', indeed," he awed as the three of them stared into a storage unit chock full of high-end Stark-brand fabrication technology packed floor-to-ceiling. 3D Printers in various styles, lathes, laser etchers, boxes of tools, raw materials, components; the list went on, as did the price tag of everything inside. "Ooogh… My back."
"What, did you hurt yourself?"
"No, but I'm going to…"
"Don't worry, we'll pull our weight."
"Something tells me this'll be a bit out of your 'class' altogether."
"Aw, how sweet. I think."
'Good thing I've got a "Trunk of Holding"…' Virgil mused before he turned to his own locker. "What do you think's waiting in there for me?"
"Fingers crossed it doesn't look like mine in there," Athena hummed, Virgil taking a knee and going for the lock before lifting the door. "Huh… I'm a little disappointed."
"I'm not. Look at that," Gaige said pointing at the locker's sole occupant; a large metallic briefcase all in cobalt-colored armor with chrome accents. More-specifically, she was pointing to the ring of light illuminating one side.
"A miniature arc reactor…" Virgil awed as he stepped in and took a knee before the thing.
"Oh my gosh, is this… Is this a suit?!" Gaige gasped in a whisper as she spied a stack of technical manuals behind it, just out of sight, and began flipping through it.
"Huh, I guess Tony really is serious about making you his sidekick," Athena hummed as she got shoulder-to-shoulder with Gaige, looking the manuals over. "Think this means he'll make superhero-ing his next hobby? Or it might be for in-house matters…"
"As long as I don't have to go by 'Iron Lad' and I get paid for my time, I might be so inclined," Virgil hummed.
By this point he'd more or less accepted that "normal" had gone the way of the Dodo for him… And sure, it put a damper on just who he could make friends with, but then again, the only real complaint at-present was the lack of friends his age who weren't sexually involved with him and/or chicks. And he was sure he could squeeze one or two guy-friends out of the world before he became too "radioactive" to hang around… Maybe.
"Well, I'll see about grabbing a dolly for some of my new stuff," Athena hummed turning back to her own gear.
"And I'll see about moving my… super suit… to the trunk," Virgil hummed, Gaige scooping up the technical manuals with a manic glee in her eye.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Moxxxi's Red Light
December 29, 6:13 EST
As it turned out, while the "Trunk of Holding" did give Virgil's tricked-out Coupe the carrying capacity of a small moving van, it did nothing to change the dimensions of the trunk opening itself. Meaning, the overly-large crates had to be taken up by a professional moving company instead. And it was probably for the best, because if the front desk worker did see them moving a metric ton of hardware into a single car's trunk, it would've blown their cover wide open.
The following evening and most of the day after was spent by the three of them moving all of Stark's Christmas goodies into their new home. What wasn't worth keeping, was disposed of; what could still be made use of, was donated to the nearby college workshop. As for the assembling itself, most of it was way over Virgil's head, so he ceded himself over to the grunt work and tool-fetching. It took a ton of doing, and Athena's lab wound up looking like it'd seen the business end of a hostile corporate takeover, but by the end of it, the place looked like a real workshop.
"Athena. Why does that 3D printer have mahogany trim?"
"Oh, that's the Stark 3D Red Special."
"Like the guitar?"
"Basically. It makes 3D printed parts printed by other 3D printers look like thy were made with Stone Age tools~"
"Slightly less-weird to be that-extravagant, then."
"Not all that weird," Gaige hummed. "Tony would throw in high-end bar & martini sets 'with every purchase of 500,000,000 or more'.'"
"Well, it is 'for peace'."
First piece of business once Athena was sure the power draw wouldn't fry the wiring, was making sure the Iron Man Mark V that Tony sent over would actually fit Virgil without pinching anything important. When it came time for the maiden voyage, Gaige, well… The Mechromancer looked like she'd creamed her panties at the sight of his body being clad in collapsible cobalt & chrome-colored armor.
"I…! Am so…! Turned on right now…!"
"I can tell…" Virgil said before he snapped the visor upward. "Now how the heck do I get out of this thing…?"
And of course, as-enthused by the "new lab smell" as Gaige was, the Mechromancer still felt a little left out that Tony hadn't arranged anything for her. Sure, her inclusion on their travel plan was last-minute and Tony had no way of knowing she was going to be present, but the red-head still felt a bit hurt.
Right as Athena suggested Virgil "take one for the team", a package came in.
"Oh hells yeah!" Gaige whooped as she saw who it came from. "Hey there, kiddo. Sorry if I made you feel left out. Thought I'd send a little something to tide you over 'til that thing with Halloway dies down. Sincerely, Tony," she said reading the card that was tied under the ribbon. Tearing the Batman-themed wrapping paper away revealed a shoebox, and inside of that shoebox, possibly from Tony's own closet, was a litany of electronic components, some of them looking second-hand.
"What am I looking at, here?" Virgil hummed as Gaige laid out the box-full of scraps across the Holotable, cueing up a full analysis of everything therein as she started assembling holographic components together. It took a few iterations to get something that actually looked like 'something', but once the analysis of the contents of a tiny glass vial came through…
"1.6 grams of Palladium, plus all of these components, and we have the makings of an MAR~" Gaige grinned excitedly as she held her holographic creation up next to a hologram of the collapsed Mark V, its own MAR "unplugged" for a side-by-side.
"What's the market price on Palladium?"
"About 48.66 a gram, so we're looking at around… 77.86 dollars' worth," Gaige said after a bit of head math.
"Sooo… the most-powerful portable energy source ever made by human hands, and it probably cost less than 100 to make…" Virgil mused, since Gaige had been given a literal 'box of scraps'.
"How's that for Stark genius~?" Gaige grinned excitedly. "Hey, you wanna be my laboratory assistant? Clothes-optional."
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Bludhaven: Gothic Renaissance
December 30, 13:55 EST
"I'll admit, the glasses actually look pretty cute on you," Virgil hummed as he, Gwen, Athena, and Gaige all got some dressy clothes for the party in Metropolis.
"Awww, thanks~" Gwen beamed as she adjusted the round spectacles on her face, the decorative lensing really making her baby blues pop. As for the rest of her attire, it was a black suit top and skirt with a pink button-up and high heels. "It ain't a shapeshifting alien super-suit, but it'll do."
"How do I look~?"
"That's… a lot of denim…" Virgil hummed as Gaige showed off too him, clad in sneakers, jeans, and a denim jacket over a red button-up. "You look nice with your hair down; you should do it more-often."
"Well, only because you like it~" the red-head preened.
"It was nice of you to pay for all this," Athena hummed as she stepped out of her own changing room, clad in a modest dark-blue knee-length sleeveless dress, her hair drawn back with a white ribbon, white knee-high boots on her feet.
"Yes, well, if there's something I'm going to spend money on, it's gonna be… my girls," he muttered the last part out.
"Awwww~ You're so whipped~" Gwen cooed. "Now get in there and try this outfit on," she said shoving an armful of clothes at him.
"Hey, I wanna play dress-up too!" Gaige said scrambling for her own outfit for him to wear.
"You only have yourself to blame~" Athena added as she foisted an outfit of her own onto him.
"C'est la vie…" Virgil hummed as he grabbed his first outfit.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Moxxxi's Red Light
December 31, 6:50 EST
"And you're sure you have everything you need?" Moxxi asked worriedly. "Train tickets? Clothes? Toiletries? Map of Metropolis? Self-defense options?"
"Yes, mom, we've got them…" Athena sighed as she, Virgil, and Gaige made their way out to the front, suitcases in hand for their one-night Metropolis stay.
"Well excuse a mother for being worried after what happened the last time you were there," the Red Light proprietress said as she mussed with her daughter's hair.
"Don't worry, we have protection," Gaige said waving her claw hammer around.
"And I'll kill anyone who tries laying a finger on them," Virgil said reassuringly.
Apparently it was the right thing to say, because Moxxi hugged his face into her bosom, tenderly stroking his hair.
"Thank you. You're a good man."
"Can I get out of your boobs now?"
"Yeah, yeah, go on you crazy kids," Moxxi chuckled as she ushered them out, a red 1967 Chevy Impala waiting for them on the front walk.
"Hey, guys! You ready to go?" Gwen asked excitedly from the shotgun seat. She was clad in tight-fitting pants, a yellow button-up, and a denim jacket. Her uncle, behind the steering wheel, was clad in jeans, a dark-yellow plaid-patterned shirt, and a black leather jacket. Hopefully the head-wrappings had been changed.
"Well hey there, hot momma. Wanna go for a ride on the wild side once the kids are gone~?"
"Ew, Wade, gross!" Gwen retched as the man shamelessly flirted.
"Get them to the train station safely, and I just might~" Moxxi hummed as suitcases went into the trunk.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"So, you have any New Years' resolutions?" Gwen asked once Bludhaven was gone to the horizon.
"I wanna get laid more," Gaige said without an ounce of shame.
"Gaige, you haven't gotten laid at all this year."
"Ex-act-ly," she replied Athena's way.
"Not dying right away would be a plus," Virgil hummed idly; though on the inside, he was worried about whatever "contact" was supposed to be meeting him at the party according to Hal's Codec message.
Sure, no-one would really expect a clandestine meeting to occur in a room full of super-models, but still…!
"I just wanna appear more once the timestamps switch," Gwen hummed.
"Timestamps?"
"Don't worry about it," she waved off. "So! Who wants to have a YouTube Party?"
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"Okay, I'm checking the Troub-Alert app, and there doesn't seem to be any supervillain-y hoopla right now," Athena said once they got off the train, the gleaming spires of Metropolis almost blinding, even when compared to the upscale part of town back home.
"Honestly, with the way people act on Facebook, I'm surprised this thing is reliable…" Virgil deadpanned as he looked down at his phone.
Apparently, the Troub-Alert app was a way for ordinary people to report crimes and supervillain sightings in a way that it'd catch the Justice League's members' attention. In theory it was meant to shorten the supers' response time to such crises, since the unofficial "rivalry" between the super and mundane branches of law enforcement always caused lengthy delays as those at the top of the more "normal" end of things argued whether to bend the knee and ask for help, or to keep the tights-and-undies crowd out of it to try and "save face".
In practice… people had started using it instead of actual police dispatchers through the 911 line, actually resulting in fewer crimes being responded to. Some would use it to report potential suicides, only for it to be a collaborative effort to get some one-on-one time with a specific superhero, Superman the most-common victim of these undue distractions. Congressional hearings had tried having the app taken down time and time again, but popular demand and a need to heed to constituents before re-election season always made it crop back up like some of Poison Ivy's weed monsters.
"Oh, looks like there's a bank robbery on fifth," Gaige hummed peeking over his shoulder.
"Then we're going to go in the opposite direction," Virgil asserted as he raised his fingers to his lips, hailing a passing taxi the New Yorker's way with a sharp call and a raised hand.
"Oh, so, all-business, then?" Gwen hummed.
"I'm just really not in the mood to catch a stray bullet right before the party," Virgil deadpanned as he started loading everyone's luggage into the trunk. "Also, shotgun."
"Aw, what's the matter, don't want a pretty girl on each arm?" Gwen cooed.
"I wanna be front and center in case something still goes wrong," Virgil said adjusting his shoulder holster.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Metropolis: Centennial Hotel
December 31, 9:21 EST
"Well, we made it here in one piece, so I must be doing something right," Virgil hummed as he paid the meter, Athena, Gaige, and Gwen staring up at the Centennial Hotel in unabashed awe.
"Damn, Mrs. Mayer really knows how to go all-out, huh?" Gaige hummed.
"Weren't you two here before?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah, but that was at night, and Luthor's limo pulled us right up to the door," Athena returned, the cab unable to make it to the front door because of the cue to the valet parking line. They could've waited, sure, but it was no skin off their noses if Virgil decided to just take a crosswalk instead of waiting an extra thirty minutes. "So how long until the party?"
"Starts at eight, but I have no idea when the actual 'movers and shakers' will appear," Virgil hummed, remembering the rather extraordinary people he had on speed-dial after the last big meet-up.
"Some of the models are coming in from overseas or from their 'extracurriculars', so there's definitely going to be some people coming in late. Maybe only for the last hour or so…" Gwen hummed as they made their way into the lobby and collected their keys to a pair of doubles on the lower floors with their party invites. "That gives us around half a day to wander around since we were so-close to the party."
" . . . Do you girls want to walk around until the party?" Virgil inquired, having noticed Athena and Gaigee's eyes on the 'art deco'-style architecture surrounding them on the way to the Centennial.
He didn't want to amble about one of the 'supervillain capitals of the world', he really didn't; but relationships (even wackadoo ones like his where the concept of boundaries was almost non-existent) were all about give and take. If they really wanted to look around, he couldn't just ask them to hunker down in a swanky-ish hotel room and do what they did at home on the couch when there was a glistening metropolis (pun not intended) to explore…
"Are you sure?" Athena blinked. "Aren't you worried about…?"
"Well, he's a nice-enough boyfriend that he won't just ask you to hunker down in a swanky-ish hotel room and do what you do at home on the couch," Gwen cut in, winking conspiratorially over her shoulder, causing the girl to look around while Virgil sputtered as though the girl had read his mind. "Besides, we can't get into too much trouble in Superman's stomping grounds, can we? No wait-Shit! I just jinxed us!"
"Probability doesn't work that way," Athena and Gaige replied in stereo.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"You were saying…?" Virgil asked sarcastically as the four of them, needing to withdraw a little extra spending money, were caught up in a bank robbery. Only thing that made it any different from the Saturday morning cartoons were the high-end laser weaponry, next-gen body armor, and cheap Halloween masks of the Justice League founding members.
At least they had the good sense not to kill anyone yet, though how the hell they made it up the block covered in body armor and massive duffel bags, he'd never understand…
"Everyone just remain where you are, and you'll be able to go to your New Years' parties in peace," the lead bank robber, face clad like Superman's, ordered as he and the rest of his cohorts made small looping patrols, one or two of them extorting a bank teller for large sums of money while another two were in the safe deposit boxes.
"Reilednahc sniahc kaerb," Virgil muttered sub-vocally like he were using codec, eyes laser-focussed on one of the overhead lighting fixtures.
For a moment he was worried it wouldn't have worked because it was sub-vocal, but to his amazement, one of the links failed, the electrical cables straining before the entire assembly broke free. A deafening *CRASH!* sounding a moment later and making hostage and bank robber alike jump out of their skin, the 'Flash' found himself flattened after a momentary glance upward. By some miracle he hadn't been killed on impact.
"Fuck! Shit!" 'Batman' swore as he went over to help the guy, the light fixture too heavy for him to move on his own. "Green Lantern! Help me out here!"
"For the record, I only drew the short straw. I am not racist!" a white guy wearing John Stewart's green-eyed likeness said to the hostages he walked past, moving over to help 'Batman' free 'The Flash'.
'I literally cannot believe that fucking worked…'
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Virgil supposed that the upside of fighting crime pro bono, was the endless conga line of mooks, thugs, and/or miscellaneous goons to use as training dummies for magic spells and martial arts alike.
By the time he'd whittled the "Justice League's" membership down to the last with every domestic accident he could think of, "Superman", and everyone else in the bank, was convinced that the financial institution had been built atop an "Indian burial ground".
The irony(?) was not lost upon him.
Suffice it to say, by the time the real Superman arrived on scene, his "evil twin" was more than ready to throw in the towel.
"So… How exactly did all this happen?" Superman asked the litany of witnesses as he took in the carnage that had befallen the League's evil doppelgangers.
One of them was pinned beneath a fallen chandelier. Another had been electrocuted by a sparking wall socket. One was in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs. Another was pinned under an overturned file cabinet. One had tripped next to a leaking water cooler and was concussed from hitting the marble flooring. There were a few other more-miscellaneous incidents, but the one he felt most-sympathetic to was the poor sap that'd fallen over the upstairs banister, caught a snag with their underpants on the way down, and received such an atomic wedgie from the fall there was surgery in the his immediate future.
'Do not make eye contact,' Virgil mouthed, Gwen nodding her head and zipping her lips.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
It was somewhat telling that bank robberies happened with such frequency in Metropolis, that the police force had basically streamlined the release procedure for hostages into an artform.
"Well… That was kind of a bust…" Gwen hummed awkwardly once the police had let them go. "Wannna get an early lunch?" she asked looking down at her watch.
"I could eat," Gaige nodded. "Then again, we should probably eat light so we can gorge on the fancy catering."
"It's a New Year's party for supermodels. Is there even going to be that much food?" Athena inquired.
"I'm sure Mrs. Mayer shells out for all the non-models in attendance," Gwen hummed. "That or they all treat the party like a fancy 'cheat day'."
"I'm game for a little more sightseeing, but no more banks."
"Agreed," the three girls in attendance replied to Virgil's less-than-paranoid statement.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"Huh… Retro… I can dig it~" Athena hummed appreciatively as they stood on the street corner before a retro-style eatery, the exterior paneling a shiny aluminum, the BIBBO'S DINER signs lit up with pink neon. Looking in through the windows they could see restaurant booths and countertop seating, a chalked signboard with the day's specials on display for passerby. An all-American eatery if ever there was one.
"Man that smells good…" Virgil sighed, catching a whiff of all-American comfort foods through the HVAC as it pierced Metropolis' natural (or "artificial", depending) musk. "Reminds me of… of New York…"
"Don't worry. I'm sure someone will step up and save Manhattan," Gwen said putting a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, my treat. Think of it as compensation for being such a good sport today."
"Yeah, alright," Virgil nodded. Places like Metropolis and Gotham gave him the willies for completely different reasons, but he could stomach the super-criminal crossroads for the sake of his friends.
"Hey, welcome to Bibbo's Diner! Take a seat anywhere!" the titular Bibbo 'Friend of Superman' Bibbowski greeted in a distinct dock-worker accent.
"Will do!" Gwen greeted with an enthused smile, leading the four of them over to a corner booth.
"Bibbo… The name sounds familiar…" Virgil hummed as a waitress came by and dropped off some menus.
"It should. He's a bit of a local celebrity," Gwen hummed. "Former heavyweight boxing champion, former Hob's Bay dock worker, former informant to Lois Lane and current friend of Superman. After he got too old for other lines of work, he opened this diner with the earnings of a winning lottery ticket and helped the homeless on the side. Superman himself coming in for a slice of apple pie every once in a while, definitely draws in the crowds. It's a real hot spot for Daily Planet workers for their morning coffee too."
"Did you memorize that from a brochure?" Athena asked.
"I just know my DC Lore~"
"DC what?"
"Not important," Gwen waved off, their waitress coming back with a pad and pen. "Who wants pie?"
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Later, back in their hotel room…
"Thanks for coming by on such short notice," Virgil hummed as Leeron touched up his scars and hair, Gwen next in line. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
"Please, hon, think nothing of it~" Leeron smiled as he worked. "By the way, a little birdie told me you have yourself a fan club now~"
"I do?" Virgil blinked.
"He does?" the others gawped.
"Yeah, it all started when you got a new wardrobe for that girl whose house got burned down~"
'Well that whole thing certainly ballooned out of control…' Virgil thought to himself as Leeron regaled him with gossip of his fashion model alter ego. All he'd done was use his employee discount, the actual purchasing was on someone else's dime; but the way the story had mutated from its start in Las Vegas, "Vincent" was being made out to be some kind of philanthropist with a thing for the "girl next door type".
Not wholly inaccurate, since Athena fit into that roll if you tilted your head and squinted, but thankfully, "Megan Morse" wouldn't have that floating over her head unless she herself confirmed the rumors.
"Oh, and before I forget, our previous 'young blood' is going to be stopping by, so come find Yoko and I later after we've had a chance to catch up."
"Sure thing, Leeron," Virgil nodded as his more-roguish elements vanished under expertly applied makeup, his hair styled up with a little bit of gel in a 'less is more' kinda deal.
"Lookin' good~" Gwen grinned. "Hey Leeron, think you can touch up my tips?"
"Sure thing, sug'. And I have to say, the pink accents just work for you~"
"Don't I know it~" the blue-eyed blond grinned.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Metropolis: Centennial Hotel: Upper Ballroom
December 31, 21:50 EST
By the time "Vincent", Gwen, and their Plus-Ones arrived at the upper ballroom a floor or two above where Virgil & co had rubbed elbows with Luthor, most of the big-time movers and shakers were already in attendance. And not just from Real Fashions, but from other modeling agencies; some were recruiters who wanted to pinch talent for their own stables before the start of the next calendar year, while others wanted to jump ship altogether. The room was filled with heads of the industry who weren't prior engaged to other New Years parties, and it was a bit intimidating at a glance, even with Frank Sinatra playing in the background.
"Mari Jiwe McCabe aka 'Vixen', Ororo Munroe aka 'Storm', Beatriz da Costa aka 'Fire', Tora Olafsdotter aka 'Ice', Angela St. Grace from Codename: Knockout, Rebecca Carstairs aka 'Witchfire', Ashley Crawford aka 'Bertha', Emily 'Lia' Briggs aka 'Looker', Jennifer-Lynn Hayden aka 'Jade'…" Gwen listed off seemingly to herself as she counted beautiful women off with her fingers, most of which were clad in what could only be superhero attire. "Well, I guess if you're going to be smokin' hot, you might as well get paid for being smokin' hot."
"You don't say…" Virgil hummed, a little nervous about being around so-many SPBs. He doubted any of them would directly threaten his life, but it was the indirect threats he was concerned about…
"Hoh, looks like you caught her eye~" Gwen grinned, ribbing Virgil as the woman she previously identified as 'Witchfire' turned away from what she was doing and locked vivid blue eyes with him from across the ballroom.
Virgil, clapping a hand over his Ring-Wand, took note of Rebecca Carstairs. Stunningly beautiful with brilliant red hair pulled into a high ponytail, her attire consisted of a black pencil skirt dress with a deep V-neck and voluminous sleeves with shiny golden cuffs, while around her waist was a red sash-belt with a golden buckle on the side featuring a pentagram of all things.
Rebecca's eyes still locked on him after several moments, it took the teen mercenary only a few moments to realize that the red-headed woman was also a magic user. However, unlike he who was only a fledgling magi and a master of none, she radiated potent magical power, something in his gut telling him it was of the fiery variety.
Stepping forward in front of the others and taking a relaxed defensive posture, readying himself for a fight if it came to it since magic users were either friendly our outright antagonistic toward one another, after several moments the woman's lips quirked into a smile, raising her martini glass in salute before turning her attention away from him.
"Magic?" Athena questioned.
"Big time…" Virgil gulped, thankful she hadn't lashed out at him.
He didn't know for certain she was a fire-user, but something in his gut told him that if they did come to blows, he'd be burned to cinders in nothing flat.
"Vincent, Gwen! Fashionably late I see~" Leeron purred as he walked over to the four of them.
"Didn't want to come too early," 'Vincent' hummed. "So, who did you want us to meet?"
"Vincent, Gwen, I'd like you to meet Simon and Nia Teppelin," the stylist said walking them over to Yoko who was entertaining a man and woman.
The man, Simon, stood at an impressive 6'2", had a muscularly defined build, and matured facial features. Clad in predominantly white with red accents and a blue blazer with gold accents, his most-notable physical traits were his deep indigo eyes and wild dark blue hair. Virgil could definitely see him being a male model once upon a time who hadn't left the industry in disgrace.
Standing beside him was who could only be Nia. Beautiful and matured with womanly curves, she was clad in a modest pink sleeveless dress with darker accents, red high-heeled shoes and a matching flower-shaped ornament in her hair. Her most-notable physical traits, and impossible to miss now that they were looking at her, were her hair and eyes. Her long curly hair was pale blond, fluffy like a cloud, appearing immaterial with light blue accents; her eyes were a lovely shade of blue with pink crosses for pupils resembling flowers. She was definitely some form of mutant, perhaps a meta-human, and had definitely drawn a winning lot in the genetic lottery. By the silver emerald-decorated band on her finger, it was obvious she and Simon were an item, and Virgil could only hope he'd be able to settle down with a graceful beauty like her someday.
The burbling of a baby catching his ears, Virgil turned to Yoko who, at the moment was holding a fussy infant in her arms.
"Nia, could you take little Kamina back?" the red-headed photographer pleaded as who could only be Simon and Nia's child pawed at her breasts.
The baby, Kamina, looked like a little half-and-half clone of Simon and Nia, his hair a deep dark blue like his father's with pale blond accents like his mothers, his irises pink with indigo-colored flower-shaped pupils, also similar to his mother's.
"Of course, Yoko," Nia said beatifically as she took her infant back, Gwen muffling a squeal of happiness off to the side.
"So, I take it you're the new talent?" Simon (pronounced "sea-moan") asked.
"Yes, sir," 'Vincent' nodded.
"It's nice to meet you. I've heard only good things about you," the man said extending his hand, Virgil reciprocating.
"And yet, I'm somehow the last to know," 'Vincent' chuckled good-naturedly, rubbing the back of his head. "You have a very lovely wife. I hope in the future that mine is even half as beautiful as her."
"Please, please, I'm nothing special," Nia returned with an angelic look on her face, holding her child so Gwen and Gaige could fawn over him.
"I think your fanbase would disagree~" Leeron chuckled.
"Vincent," Nia said getting his attention. "I must say, it was incredibly sweet what you did for that girl in Vegas."
"Yes, well… I'm just trying to be a good person, you know?" Virgil returned with a blush. "Ahem," he huffed as Athena lightly ribbed him in the side. "This is Athena, my girlfriend."
"And I'm Gaige, his-"
"Friend. A very good friend," Athena cut in with narrowed eyes. "Her home situation is a little complicated, so she's staying with us for a while."
"Well, it's so nice to see you helping complete strangers like this," Yoko hummed. "Most in your position wouldn't even bother."
"Ugh, tell me about it…" Virgil groaned. He didn't actively follow the model scene back when he lived with the State family, but even he'd heard of the stories where models would act like completely self-absorbed dickheads.
"Oh? It looks like Mrs. Mayer's calling you over," Leeron hummed, spinning Virgil around to the center of the ballroom where Re-l, vivid blue eyeliner around her eyes, was beckoning him over.
"I'll be back in a bit. Gaige; behave."
"Just who do you take me for?" the Mechromancer huffed, almost dropping the baby.
" . . . "
"I'll behave…" the red-head muttered feeling Nia and Simon's terrified eyes on her.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"Mrs. Mayer, happy new year," 'Vincent' greeted with a smile as he came over, only to realize the feeling wasn't being reciprocated.
Thankfully, his boss' unease wasn't caused by him, but rather, by the woman standing beside her. Standing a little over 6 feet in height in heels, the woman in question was fair-skinned with ashen-black hair that covered her left eye and was swept over her left shoulder. The eye that was visible was a bright amber below a perfectly trimmed eyebrow, adorned with violet eyeshadow.
Her attire, drawing the eye of men and women alike from around the ballroom, consisted of a dark red, off-the-shoulders v-neck mini dress with yellow accents, a blue feather-like accessory on her right hip, the sleeves ending in a yellow triangle shape and tied around her middle fingers. A black choker was around her neck, her fingernails painted a dark red, and on her feet were what appeared to be black high-heeled shoes made of glass, a jeweled anklet on her right leg.
All in all, her attire seemed to take influences from East Asian culture, the yellow accents similar to traditional Japanese or Chinese patterns.
"Vincent, happy new year," Re-l said in a tense, but schooled expression. "I'd like you to meet Ms. Fall, a recruiter for our eastern branch."
"Please, call me Cinder. I'm sure we'll become good friends in the coming year," the woman, Cinder, replied in a smoky tone filled with dark promise as she extended a hand to him.
Her charisma was so-potent that, without even realizing it, Virgil had brought the back of her hand up to his lips. Since he couldn't exactly pull away without making a complete jackass of himself, he saw the motion through to its conclusion, hoping Athena wouldn't get the wrong idea.
"Two of her recruits, Emerald and Mercury, will be working closely with you staring next year, so I hope you'll get along with them," Re-l said as two teens around his age broke away from the crowd, very visually-distinctive on their approach.
The young woman, who Virgil assumed to be 'Emerald', had medium-brown skin and dark-red eyes almost like his own, her hair, a light mint-green with a straight fringe and bangs as well as two lochs running down each side of her back. Her build was athletic with modest feminine curves, her evening wear consisting of an olive-colored, halterneck, backless dress with a black sash around her waist and matching heeled pumps.
She didn't look African or Middle Eastern… Maybe Egyptian?
The young man, who Virgil assumed to be 'Mercury', possessed an athletic yet slim physique standing at around 5'10". Pale of skin, his eyes were gray with hair to match partially slicked back and unkempt in the front. His attire consisted of a black suit with yellow piping, a gray vest, and a black bowtie. European with a bit of American thrown in, perhaps?
Virgil idly noticed that his footfalls sounded a little heavier than normal. The paranoid part of his mind screamed "pedal prostheses", but it wasn't exactly polite to ask…
"Emerald Sustrai. Nice to meet you," the young woman greeted, hands folded before her waist with a polite bow.
She sounded polite, but her tone sounded like she'd rather be anywhere else. Something you pick up a lot of in New York.
"Mercury Black. How's it hanging?" the young man greeted more-casually.
"Vincent Valentine. Nice to-"
"Like the Final Fantasy character?" Mercury blinked, stifling a chuckle.
"Purely coincidence, I swear," 'Vincent' replied with a schooled expression.
"Ignore him. He's a bit of an ass," Emerald returned with a slight animosity, her own expression warming up to him.
"Why don't the three of you get acquainted while Mrs. Mayer and I talk business?" Cinder offered.
"Sure thing, boss," Mercury waved, Emerald taking Virgil by the arm and walking him off.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"It's about the hair, isn't it?"
"The what?"
"Don't 'the what' me," Emerald pouted. "The moment you saw our hair, you wondered, 'why is it that color?'"
"The thought had crossed my mind, but I wanted to be a bit more tactful about it."
"Real Dye," Mercury hummed. "It was originally a treatment for male pattern baldness, but instead of stopping people from going bald, it gave people-"
"Anime hair?" 'Vincent' asked, stifling a chuckle of his own.
"More or less," Emerald hummed, recognizing the return-fire. "A little on the pricey side, but in terms of self-expression, you get what you pay for. Apart from your face, the hair is the next thing a person sees and bases their first impressions off of, so there's been a pretty big market over in Japan. Cinder's hoping to expand into a western market starting in 2010, even if only for the convention scene."
"Which even then would still account for… lots of people, I guess," Mercury shrugged.
"Well, wouldn't be the first accidental invention that didn't do what it set out to but still made a boatload of money," Virgil shrugged. "Wanna hit the buffet?"
"Sure, I could eat," Mercury shrugged. "So, I notice you came to the party with a few cuties~ Which one's your output?"
"My what?"
"He means which one are you sticking it to," Emerald huffed as she got some of the lighter, more-exotic food.
"I hardly see how that's any of your business," 'Vincent' huffed testily.
"Just getting ahead of the latest celebrity gossip. That little charity act you pulled in Vegas got you your first fan club, after all," Mercury shrugged.
"So I keep getting told," Virgil sighed as he grabbed a little bit of everything he'd never tried before.
"Merc, what the hell are you doing?!" Emerald hissed as her peer piled some of the fancy-looking finger foods atop one another in his hand.
"Makin' the world's most expensive Mc10:35."
"Well cut it out! You're embarrassing me…!" she hissed as he put the whole thing in his mouth.
"Admittedly, not the worst table manners I've ever seen…" Virgil hummed aloud. Emerald coming up alongside him and humming at his choice in fare, with his free hand the brunette grabbed her by the wrist and said- "By the way, love the dress~"
"Heh, looks like he's got your number~" Mercury smirked as the brunette's wallet remained exactly where it was.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Emerald pouted.
"Oh, I get it now. Mrs. Mayer wants me to keep you two out of trouble," Virgil huffed.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"But that isn't all of what you want out of this arrangement," Re-l said at around the same time to her peer, the two off by themselves, their individual auras keeping any would-be hangers-on at bay.
Well, that and her "psychotic burn victim" of a driver and his barely-concealed cleaver…
"Astute as ever~" Cinder cooed backhandedly. "But you're right, that isn't all I want out of this union between our 'learned youngsters'," she conceded. "While it's true that young Vincent can help smooth their… rougher edges," she sighed watching Mercury pile expensive finger foods into a 'Mc10:35' like he did at every party she took him to, "they in turn will draw out his more… egregious tendencies."
"You want them to draw out the worst in him," Re-l said crossing her arms.
"Honey, the Director wants the worst drawn out of him. Otherwise, what's the point of giving him his 'Sunday Best'?" Cinder inquired innocently. "And besides, his predecessors were never angels. Come to think of it, neither is he~"
"That may very well be the case, but he's mine. Not yours. If you think I'll let you corrupt him into a pawn for your own agenda, you have another thing coming."
"Challenge, accepted~"
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"Snake. Snake, do you read me?"
"I read you."
"Your contact is en route. Step out to the balcony, they'll meet you there."
"Copy that," Virgil sub-vocalized. "Emerald, Mercury, it was nice meeting you, but… I'm gonna step out for some air."
"Want us to join you?" Emerald hummed.
"Nah, I'd rather have some time to myself, reflect on the last year and what I'll aim for in the next one."
"Hey, more power to ya," Mercury shrugged, Virgil taking that as his opportunity to step out. The din of the party vanishing to a muted murmur as the door slid shut behind him, Virgil leaned ever-so-slightly on the balcony railing and looked down. The "art deco" design of Metropolis' cityscape was somehow even more incredible at night, resembling a sea of stars, or an alien world. Idly, a part of him wondered why every architect in Metropolis had such a hard-on for curving lines.
"Trouble you for a light?" someone, a woman, asked as they stepped out onto the balcony.
"Hm? Yeah, sure," Virgil hummed, drawing the zippo from his pocket he kept in reserve for 'fire-related emergencies' as he gave the woman at his back a once-over.
She was a woman nearing her mid-20s, more "handsome" than beautiful, but still plenty attractive with shoulder-length dirty blond hair. It was hard to tell what ethnicity she was, but she was definitely part-Japanese mixed with something else. Clad in a light blue casual pantsuit, white open-toed stiletto heels, and a white corset crop top, what distinguished her physical appearance from the other handsome-but-still-plenty-attractive women in the ballroom behind her, were the gold-framed dark-lensed aviator sunglasses, and the bionic right hand colored red and black.
"So, what're you here for?" Virgil asked lighting her electric cigar.
A vaguely familiar… electric cigar…
"Meeting an old friend," she shrugged as she walked over to the opposite corner of the balcony, looking out into the city.
Virgil shrugging his shoulder and doing much the same, turned his attention in the opposite direction before a familiar tingling of his ear signaled him to hitch his jaw, triggering his Codec.
"So you're the new Snake, huh? Thought you'd be taller."
"And you are?" Virgil subvocalized in turn.
"Catherine Miller. Call me 'Cathy' and I'll throw you overboard."
"Duly noted. You wouldn't happen to be Kazuhira's kid, would you?"
"The very same."
"So what're you doing here?"
"Measuring you up. You're a little rough around the edges, but you might just have what it takes to be 'Final Snake'."
"And that doesn't sound ominous in the slightest…"
"For the record, I think the world is always going to need a 'Snake', but at least you aren't another clone. Of the last one. Anyway, starting next year I'll be taking over your missions in place of Mrs. Mayer, honing you into the knife-edge we'll need to pry open the Red Zone like an oyster."
"N-Y-Z…" Virgil sub-muttered bitterly. "Why? Has something changed?"
"Things are heating up. Pretty soon the quarantine zone will be untenable, Mercer will break free, and then it'll be game over on a global scale."
"How long do we have?"
"The Director estimates, six, maybe seven months. But as you are now, it'd be a literal suicide mission, even with a Fulton device."
"What exactly will we need to accomplish in order to 'win'?"
"Dana Mercer has continued collecting evidence on Gentek ever since you parted company, but it's still largely an information dead zone in there so it's slow-going. If we want to take them down, stop a Third Outbreak from ever happening, we need what she's got; but only once she's collected enough that we can break the back of Gentek for good. No matter what, we can't let them wriggle free again. Not with how-much damage they caused last time."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Hone your skills, build a team. Half a year might not seem like much, but Foxhound's VR training programs have only been further refined since the 2000s. When you aren't handling assignments in the real world to further refine the Protosuit, or working on maintaining your own connections outside FoxCry, you'll be training in dilated time to rapidly refine your skills and learn new ones. The hope is that by the time Dana collects everything she needs to bury Gentek for good, you'll be able to get in and get out together."
"And what does the Director get out of all this besides getting New York back?"
"I assume he wants C.E.L.L. to replace Blackwatch as the US' premier biohazard/viral outbreak containment unit. Apparently, he took great exception to them turning one of our own traitor so they could steal the suit for themselves."
"So that's how they'd gotten their hands on it…"
"Anyway, we'll talk more come next year. Right now, it looks like a couple high-end guests are arriving, and it wouldn't hurt to expand your network a little more," Miller hummed, taking one last drag from her electric cigar.
"Aye-aye, Miller," Virgil hummed.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
"So, how was the fresh air?" Mercury hummed, he and Emerald meeting him halfway in.
"Relatively," 'Vincent' shrugged. "Who's that?" he asked noticing the crowd parting for a handsome bald-headed black man with a distinctive beard; clad in shades, a black button-up, golden chain, and olive green windbreaker.
"Mari's beau; Green Lantern," Emerald muttered in awe as the man walked over to Vixen.
"Wait, Green Lantern, as in Green Lantern-Green Lantern?" Virgil blinked, sorta recognizing 'him' from the bank robber he totally didn't foil.
"The very same," Emerald nodded. "Come on, let's go get autographs!" she said eagerly, dragging them over by the wrists. "Vixen! Hi!"
"Oh, hello, there. I take it you're new to the agency?" Mari replied.
"Y-Y-Yes, yes I am," Emerald stuttered, ever the part a nervous fangirl. "Hey uh, listen, if this isn't too forward or anything… Could I get your autographs?" she asked wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, a tiny green leather-bound journal in her hands.
"Hmhm, sure thing," Mari replied with a smile, leaving her signature and an insignia on one of the pages, before handing it off to her life partner who did much the same, going as far as to laser-etch it with his Power Ring, Emerald eagerly shaking his hand with both of hers.
"Thank you! Thank you so much you guys! You have made my day! Heck, you probably made my year!"
"I try to make time for my fans," John Stewart chuckled, Emerald giving them a winning smile before looping her arms with Mercury and 'Vincent's' before walking off.
"Heh, suckers."
"Emerald, what did you do?" 'Vincent' asked worriedly.
"Hm, check it~" Emerald smirked flaring out the folds of her pocket book, revealing her spoils.
"Snrk! Nice plastic~" Mercury snorted.
"Plastic?" Emerald blinked, peering down at her prize only for her look of triumph to devolve into shock. As it wasn't a Power Ring that was winking up at her from between Vixen and Green Lantern's signatures, but instead a plastic Justice League decoder ring.
"Hahah, nice try, kid," John said patting her on the shoulder as he and Mari walked by, a green multi-tool dancing around his fingers. "You aren't the first to try and swipe this thing, and I've picked up a trick or two since the first time."
"Or three~" Mari giggled with lidded eyes, Emerald making gagging sounds with her mouth.
"Yeah, sorry about her, guys. She's got a bit of a medical condition," Mercury said into a whisper as he put an arm around Emerald's shoulders.
"Well, just try to keep her out of trouble," Mari hummed thoughtfully.
The ballroom doors opening wide a moment later, awed murmurs drawn from the crowd, only Ororo broke away from the throng of people to intercept as four, surrounding one, strode inside.
At the heart of the formation was a handsome African man with a stylish beard, thin sideburns, and curly short-cropped hair. His black sandals were the most-ordinary-looking part of his attire, whereas the black African suit with silver decorations around the front seam and on the sleeves stole the show, putting most of the male models in attendance to shame.
"Prince T'Challa of Wakanda," Gwen stage-whispered into Virgil's ear.
Accompanying T'Challa were four Grace Jones-looking warrior women types. With bald heads bearing tattoos in various geometric patterns, they were garbed neck to toe in woven ballistic material colored red with black accents and yellow trim, taking aesthetic cues from African culture and art blending form into function. Decorated with silver jewelry and dark-colored beads of wood, metal, and stone, another thing that helped them stand out in the room were the fierce-looking spears they carried, far from ornamental and rumored to be sharpened to a monomolecular edge.
"That's one hell of an entourage," Mercury said nervously as he eyed their spears.
"So that's Ororo's suitor…~" Emerald hummed thoughtfully, familiar with the gossip. In terms of being an eligible bachelor, billionaire philanthropist type, T'Challa was up there with the likes of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark, so of course Wakanda's prince taking on a future bride would become well-known. Doubly-so if she was a superhero from Africa known colloquially as the 'Storm Goddess' who moonlit as a walkway model. "I'm going to go offer my congratulations. They're getting married sometime this year, after all~"
"Vince, grab her," Mercury said looping an arm around Emerald's.
"What? Why?"
Not that he wasn't already doing so. He could read the room well-enough.
"Green Lantern's one thing, but we can't have her trying to pick the Vibranium out of Prince T'-fricking-Challa's pockets. Not with his little entourage right there," Mercury said as the two of them ferried Emerald in the opposite direction, despite her protests. "They had death rays in the nineteenth-freaking-century for God's sake."
"Well, Wakanda has fended off the likes of the French, the English, the Belgians, and every other Christian or Islamic invader who ever tried to get at them and/or their Vibranium, so…"
"You sound like you know a little bit about them," Emerald hummed, having given up on her next mark.
"I did a book report on them when I was younger."
"Oh? What'd you get?" Mercury asked.
"B-minus. But my teacher at the time was southern and kinda racist, sooo…"
"What all did you cover?"
"Normal stuff. Like how they kicked Captain America's ass in 1941."
The highlight of that particular book report had been his summation of the Black Panther; not to be confused with the black power political organization by the same name, given how the Black Panther was a title established as far back as the 5th Century, if not centuries older.
The Black Panther was the ruler of Wakanda, a spiritually-based warrior cult; sort of like being the Pope, President, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff all at once. The Panther is a hereditary title, but, so everyone got the chance, there was one day a year when anyone (read: Wakandan) could declare challenge for the throne. As far as the records available in the west could tell him, there hadn't been an upset from the previous bloodline for several decades, proving that Wakanda was more a meritocracy than an economic or political hierarchy like you'd find in the west.
Another portion of the report had been dedicated to T'Challa's current entourage, the Dora Milaje. They were similar to the Amazons of Themyscira in that they were kickass warrior women of incredible beauty. What separated them from their Greek contemporaries was their quasi-political origins in relation to a pre-established patriarchy.
Their origin stemmed from Queen Nehanda's reign during the 11th Century, at least according to what information was available in the west. A woman by the name of Adwoma, hearing about a ploy to poison the queen and usurp power, stepped in during the meal in question to stop her from eating, saving the Queen's life. After this, Adwoma became the first of the Queen's personal guard, the Dora Milaje, who came to include one barren woman from every tribe.
During King Benhazin's reign, the Dora Milaje initiations were opened up to all women of all tribes, barren or not, causing the ranks to triple in number, as the surrounding tribes felt it was the opportunity to have one of their own become the next Queen. Though King Benhazin never consorted with the Dora, they forever came to be seen as potential wives for the king, and a great unifier for the Wakandan people who still heeded to ancient tradition.
After all, what greater sign of trust was there to be had than to allow the progeny of potential political rivals so-close to the King and his direct family?
Eventually, it was settled that every five years, every tribe would send their most worthy women between the ages of 15 and 20 so they could be selected to become Dora Milaje. At their peak, each one was considered the equal to many Olympic athletes, and even some superheroes. Rumors abounded that they imbibed in performance-enhancing herbs native only to Wakanda, but such rumors were largely unverified.
B-minus. Can you freaking believe it…?
"You can let me go, now. I won't pull anything," Emerald pouted, no longer dragging her heels.
"Oh? Finally seeing sense?" Virgil hummed.
"No. That Dora Milaje has my number," Emerald pouted as one of the four in attendance with T'Challa had her eyes locked right on her.
Either that or she was staring at her bright green hair, but they weren't considered Wakanda's elite honor guard for nothing if it took that much to merely distract them.
"Eh, don't worry, I'm sure there'll be a next time," Mercury said patting her shoulder. "Just as long as I'm not in the same country as you are."
"Gee. Thanks," Emerald huffed, completely unenthused.
"Hey there, Vee. These the new guys?" Gwen asked coming over, Athena and Gaige in tow.
"Yes, they are," 'Vincent' replied cordially. "Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, meet Gwendolyn Poole."
"Like the table?" Mercury blinked.
"Like that but with an 'e' on the end."
"Huh. Neat."
The New Year's countdown was still an hour or so away, so Virgil decided to get a little alone-time with Athena, and some with Gaige, before the highlight of the night occurred.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
The panoramic balcony wasn't completely unoccupied, but Virgil, Athena, and Gaige still had some modicum of privacy. Thus-far into the party, no-one really knew who 'Vincent's' tagalongs were, but speculation as abound that they were part of his in-group, just not the specifics-of.
"Man, it feels like you can see the whole city from here," Gaige hummed as she looked out over the sea of city lights down below.
"It sure does," Athena hummed, leaning into Virgil's side, his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist, as they shared body heat and took in the muted city noise.
"I wonder how many parties like ours are happening right now," Virgil added.
"Too many to count, probably," Gaige added, holding herself at arm's length since they were out in public. "You think they're really going to do a Ball Drop like in Times Square?"
"Probably just a rumor. I don't think the New Yorkers would be especially fond of being upended like that," Virgil hummed.
"Even though they're all trapped in quarantine?"
"Hey. Too soon," Athena chastised.
"It's fine," he waved off. "Acting like it didn't happen doesn't change that it did happen."
Not to mention, Miller's words were still ringing in his head. Returning too NY Zero wasn't just an "eventuality"; it was an inevitability. One way or another, things were going to end.
One way… or another…
"How about we get back inside. It's almost time for the big countdown," Virgil hummed, feeling the chill of the late night air.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Metropolis: Centennial Hotel: Upper Ballroom
December 31, 23:59:50 EST
"Ten!"
"Nine!"
"Eight!"
"Seven!"
"Six!"
"Five!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
*CRASH!*
"This is a robbery! Valuables on the table!" one of a half-dozen jetpack-clad robbers in all-gray bodysuits, balaclavas, and green-lensed goggles ordered after he and his cohorts smashed in through the panoramic view windows.
"Are you fucking… Seriously?!" Virgil swore as one of them discharged a laser-powered assault rifle into DJ's turntable to show they were serious, a literal second into the new year.
"Hit the deck…!" Gwen hissed as she dragged Athena and Gaige under a depleted buffet table.
"As long as you do what we say, you'll live to see 2010!" another of the jetpack robbers shouted, shooting his laser rifle at the door before someone could break for it.
John Stewart stepping in front of Mari, T'Challa stepping in front of Ororo with the Dora Milaje forming a line in front of him, Re-l pushing her husband behind her and Cinder off to the side sipping a beverage like this were just another part of the show, as the jet-robbers' laser sights panned the room, pinning everyone in place, Virgil's eyes scanned for anything that could be of use before he happened upon an idea.
It was an incredibly stupid idea, but then again, what constituted a "smart" idea?
"Ssim eht dnuorg," Virgil breathed out, filling his words with power.
A moment later, the ice sculpture of a runway model on the nearby table slid toward the edge and went over.
However, instead of breaking upon the ground it just… missed. And kept missing.
"I literally cannot believe that just worked," Virgil muttered as the lead jet-robber was caught in the chest and sent screaming out of the ballroom window. His cohorts utterly stupefied, like a switch going off the room's hero occupation sprung into action.
And thusly was how the year ended. Getting dragged under a buffet table amidst a wailing hellfire of ice, fire, magic, and other miscellaneous projectiles filling the air.
It would be the first of many such (new) years to come, if the cosmos was feeling especially vindictive (read: humorous) about it.
"Fan-fucking-tastic way to start the new year..." Virgil muttered to himself as he and the other snake-crawled to the doorway.
"Yeah, it's pretty great isn't it~" Gwen sighed happily.
"Are things always this-interesting when you're around, or is it just a coincidence?" Mercury inquired.
"Coincidence," Virgil said flatly, his expression turning to match as he caught Emerald taking a number of detours in their flight to freedom. "Emerald. You've got a problem."
"I don't have a problem. I can stop any time I want," the greenette said stuffing some gold jewelry down the front of her dress that didn't actually belong to her.
"How about now?"
"I said any time I want."
"I think I have my work cut out for me..."
"Buddy, you have no idea~" Mercury grinned, Emerald kicking at him with a flushed face.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna sleep this party off like a baaaad hangover," Athena groaned.
"Happy New Year, everyone!" Gwen whooped as they made their exit, leaving the sheer lunacy of it all behind.
*NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION*
Because the end of Virgil's 2009 could only end exactingly like this~
I'm eager to get to 2010, finally. Now that my night classes are over, that extra day (or two) a week of free time will really help me pursue my own interests. Of course, I still have to Work to pay for my Hobbies… but that's just life for ya.
Anyway, tell me what you think of this chapter in the Review section, and I'll see you all next time for some crazy fucking shenanigans~