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 Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 1:55 pm
 Empire City is one of the largest and most diverse cities in the world. As a financial and cultural hub, it is home to the corporate headquarters of Tri-Global Enterprises, the second most powerful Mega-Corp on the planet. Other Mega-corporations and affluent businesses have built the city into a sprawling metropolis full of cutting edge technology, sky-scrapers, and more than 45 million inhabitants from all walks of life. The city boasts a number of large parks, a sufficient public transportation network, and agreeable living conditions for those who can afford them. Of course, inflation here is among the worst in the world and many of the homeless, desperate, criminal, and drug-addicted fill the city's streets, especially in lawless ghettos where law enforcement refuses to go. This is especially true of Ground Zero, a bombed out neighborhood which was once an affluent financial district until the 7 Day War. In addition to ordinary citizens, wealthy corporates, and keepers of the peace, the city is home to a number of super-powered individuals, including more than a few vigilantes. The state-sponsored super group, "Initiative 7" makes their home in an impenetrable fortress which rests in the city's bay. With so much going on at any time of day, life in Empire City is anything but predictable - from alien invasions to super-powered terrorism, the city is often the epicenter for events which shape the rest of the world.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:48 pm
The club was packed tonight. A haze of smoke filtered the stage lights, making them even more complementary to the singer. She was a tall woman, with curves in all the right places, and a pretty face smeared thick with make-up, and framed in shining, long, blond hair. The gown she wore was cheap, but it would look good from the audience. Even if they weren't drunk, she doubted they'd notice the cheap fabric, frayed threads and missing sequins.
The piano player behind here wound down, and she sang the last few words of her song. As usual, she garned a few wolf whistles and a smattering of applause, but mostly the patrons were absorbed in their drinks. She smiled, waved, and made her way backstage to change. She hated having so much makeup on her face; it was stiffling.
She closed herself in the closet that was labled 'Dressing Room', and scraped the loathsome stuff off. Then she took off her wig and replaced it with a short red one, styled in the latest men's fashion. She changed her clothes, binding her chest in the process, and put on brown-colored contacts. She used some subtle make-up to hint at a five-o-clock shadow, Pressed on a fake moustache, and pulled a hat low over her face. She peeped out into the hall, and sure she was in the clear, left the club, a cloth bag slung over one shoulder.
Men were less likely to be attacked in the slums.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:00 pm
It had occurred to her upon locating into the city, that maybe hiding out behind dumpsters in alleyways in the dead of night, just sitting and listening to the world around her in a world of her own, was perhaps not the best of plans. It occurred to her very shortly after just how much ruckus she could cause on accident though inside a club or some similar building full of people, just how quickly panic could spread, if in a moment of distraction she lost her focus and someone turned and found themselves face-to-face with a ghostly-looking woman, especially if the person who looked at her was drunk, as people in clubs tended to be. It was not a difficult comparison. Behind the dumpster she stayed.
The performer was really good tonight, from what she could hear outside the busy building, and it was a few minutes after the final number that Diaphanous roused herself from her seat behind the great, smelly box-on-wheels. Cautiously she angled her body out of sight of anyone who might pass by on the side walk beyond the alleyway, checking to make sure all of her was solid, and that she was reasonably normal outwardly, aside from her somewhat deathly pallor and muted appearance, of course. The woman sighed to see her left anklet had slipped down and was currently sticking out of the top of her foot, not really obstructing anything, but certainly looking bad. Thankfully her body had realigned around it, accommodating the change.
Her slight bend to pull the anklet out and then shove it back into place was halted as she heard footsteps, soft and padding and, most importantly, alone, but footsteps nonetheless. With a frantic and unfortunately well-practised grace, she shoved herself back behind the dumpster fully, ducking her head and holding out her arms to avoid making a sound by bumping into something out of the blue. It had taken getting used to, doing this in dark corners as opposed to in a white, sterile room, but Diaphanous had embraced the change whole-heartedly. The similarity only encouraged her paranoia, but the difference kept her from panicking. When the steps passed by a moment later, Dia popped back out, wary, and keeping her atoms prepared to expand at a moments notice. There was nobody out there.
Without realizing she'd been holding it, she breathed a sigh, and, before she could think better of it, forgetting about her foot for a moment, she began to head towards the side walk, curious to see who was leaving the club at such an odd time. It was hitting the point of the night when muggers were only just leaving their houses, and leaving in groups of two or three, not venturing out alone in this city in particular. The lone footsteps she'd heard probably weren't a thief, though. They were too slow, too purposeful. But if it wasn't a mugger, if it were a normal person out and about, it still seemed odd to be alone, and to be going anywhere without company at the moment when people inside bars were already too drunk to access their basic faculties.
Her thoughts circled around the stranger as she went, only dimly aware she was following, and close enough to be caught at it. The phrase that sprang to mind was "close enough to spit on" but it hardly seemed appropriate to do that to a stranger, especially one wielding a sack over their shoulder, as this one did. And it seemed her vague stalking was going to go unnoticed, her bare footsteps hardly sounding against the pavement, up until her foot swung out and the anklet still stuck in her foot at an angle caught against something out of sight and she flew forward, tripping toward the strangers back, body instinctively relaxing as light as it could go (and unfortunately as intangible) a short cry thrown out before she fell through their front and sprawled to the ground in front of them and under their feet.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:15 pm
There was someone behind her. She had caught the barest flicker of motion at the dumpster, but had assumed it was a cat or something. However, she made out the faint slap of barefeet against pavement. A beggar, most likely. Any second now, they'd get in front of her and ask for spare change. She had done well tonight, and could spare a few dollars. She still remembered when begging was how she and Kevin survived.
She was just determining how much she could spare, when the stragest thing happened. The beggar tripped, appearently, crying out and falling. But, she didn't hit Vivian. Instead, she sort of dissolved into a kind of mist. "Ahh!" Vivian yelled, just barely remembering to make her voice masculine. Like the checkout clerk at the grocery store that she'd been studying.
"W-what are you? Who are you? Are you some kind of ghost?" She jumped back, loathe to be entangled in whatever this was. It could be poison gas. Her muscles made the movement graceful and poised, like the movement of a dancer or fighter. She stared at the misty woman on the pavement, and waited for an answer.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:33 pm
Amy pulled out her cellphone and dialed as she walked. She was excited. It was the first night she really had the chance to go out in weeks. She was supposed to meet a friend at a club. She had just gotten out of the Transit Terminal and was just a few short blocks from the club. "Hey! I'm almost at the place, where should I meet you? ... Oh? ... So you're not coming tonight? ... Oh no that's fine. I'll just catch up with you another time. ... Bye."
"If she was going to stand me up, she could have told me sooner," she said to herself, her shoulders drooping with her attitude. She slides the thin little piece of plastic back into her tiny purse and looks around. "Now what am I going to do?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:47 pm
Though the gesture would be lost on what she presumed was a man behind her, Dia stretched her fingers and toes. The bare sensations she felt tingle back and report to her brain were a good sign, indications that she wasn't too far apart to realign easily. As calmly as possible, for her sake and the man, she turned over, moving to sit- well, float on her butt on the side walk. She had never personally looked into a mirror while she was "relaxed," Diaphanous had a fair idea of how ghostly she could look. Blowing a shock of floaty hair from in front of her face, trying to bring her body back into a normal-looking form, the woman said resignedly, "I'm not a ghost, trust me. Though I have been called a lot worse," she grinned wryly.
Her body slowly shifted into less transparent levels, and she leaned forward to grab at the metal anklet sticking out of the top of her foot, pulling it out as easily as if it were nothing. Talking as she did it, Diaphanous tried to ignore the niggling feeling she was missing something. "If you could, please don't yell at me. I realize most people don't really like... er, well those with powers." The blonde head ducked a bit further, shoving unwelcome memories from the mind. Gruffly, she pushed the anklet into her ankle, the skin reforming around it and then under it as she arranged it precisely where it would fit most naturally. "But if you could not react too dramatically, I can probably leave you in peace pretty easily without anyone noticing me."
As she finished speaking, Diaphanous' body had almost fully realigned, appearing solid and living again. Hands smoothed out the hem of her sun dress over her knees and then reached back to mould her free-floating hair into a vague semblance of organization. Her hands were then held out from where she sat, now feeling the cold ground below her, palms up expectantly, smiling weakly in hopes of assistance to get up. After looking at the persons face a bit closer though she stiffened, asking bluntly, cocking her head to the side, "Why are you dressed like a man?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 3:46 pm
Saturday night and all's well, Ryan thought bitterly as he leaned against a wall near The Blue Falcon, a club that had recently opened, drawing Empire City's party-goers to it on a near nightly basis for going on 2 months now. The shine was starting to wear off, but it was a rather hot spot for twenty-somethings and those who wished they were still that age. Especially tonight. A few of the younger guys from work had wanted to meet up here and do the club thing...get some drinks, meet some girls, etc. While Ryan wasn't too keen on the scenario, he had spent the last 4 weekends at home with Ramen noodles and cartoons. It was definitely time to get out and socialize with the rest of the world...or at least look like he was doing so. Unfortunately, his co-workers were supposed to show an hour ago and so far, he hadn't seen any sign of them. If I know those guys they went to another Blue Falcon somewhere else in town...or just decided to do something else without letting on.
The truth of the matter was, he hadn't exactly been invited. He'd overheard them talking towards the end of the shift on Friday about some plans for the weekend. It was his hope to simply be at the club and hey, whadaya know? Fancy seeing you here. Typical, though, his luck. He finished one last drag on his cigarette and tossed it to the ground, stomping it out. He hated smoking. Nasty habit, not to mention the damage it did to his stamina. In fact, he only smoked when he was upset or thinking about something. Of course, smoking was illegal this close to an open public building but f*** that. Ryan was in a rather pissy mood when the most gorgeous vision of womanhood appeared from the transit terminal heading towards the club. Brunette hair, cute face, rockin' body...he had to force himself to not gawk at her as she passed, talking on her cell phone. Maybe coming to the club tonight wasn't such a bad idea after all.
"You were right," the young man with slick black hair said to the tall waif of a girl beside him. "They all showed up here tonight." She sighed. "Was there ever a doubt?" A third party stood behind the two, quiet as a statue, arms folded across his broad chest. He looked stern and unwavering behind them, his eyes cast down from the rooftop where the three were situated across from the club. "When do we move in?" the first man asked the silent one. He didn't respond at first, taking in the scenery. The black-haired guy and the thin girl exchanged a furative glance before returning to await his answer. He took a deep breath, as though inhaling some unseen scent. "Soon," he spoke in a deep tone. "Soon enough."
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:58 pm
He felt like he needed to get drunk tonight. Exceedingly drunk. It was already late, but what the hell. Tonight would be a night like no other he decided. Anything to cheer himself up. Already he had felt the pressures from today at the Denim and Co.; less and less clients in today's world. But still, they were making deals everywhere on upgrading certain businesses with software, hardware, etc. which had become increasingly important on getting the products themselves. Inigo was now spending his nights developing a new multi-purpose software. Late nights. They hardly went out together as much as they used to. He halted on the shots when he could feel himself getting more than a buzz, and further into a state he recognized all too well. The stooping arc of his back came with the following drowsiness. He liked to consider a regular to the Blue Falcon, but it was more likely he had been absent from this street for a good month or so.
However, the rum was not simply for the buzz, or the stupor, or the excuse to act like an a**. It had affected his mind, more specifically what he had feared for years. Those gloves would not come off of his own accord this night. Despite the useless rolling he often did with the whiskey, it was a comfortable gesture, something he no longer had to ponder about. Whether or not the glass would disintegrate was up to chance now, not an accident of his own. Despite his faults, this was one advantage Andrew could vouch for. Responsibility.
He toasted too himself and finally mistook his watch for an increasingly late (or early) hour and announced thoughtfully to the club, "I'M DONE WITH THIS a** HAT JOINT!" Andrew half expected for the performer to shout some thing back, something he once too often begged for. It suddenly came to him that there was next to nothing that sounded like live music, in fact the stage was empty it seemed. 'Well, damn...,' he thought, disappointed to have an excuse to shout exclusively rude insults. He shrugged, paid for his drinks, and walked out aimlessly, taking the back door by mistake. No one stopped him though. This was going to come back to hurt him in the morning no doubt. He took that as good fortune as well. The dull pain and taste he would feel in his head would force the incidents farther away. Until then he firmly kept the image of a falling brick in his head, something he often did with extraordinary clarity.
The back alley was a dull and putrid as the inside, a mixure of garbage stench and sweat. It soon dawned on him the sweat was Andrew's, despite his layers of thin clothing he had donned that morning. He was ignorant of the people nearby or the shouting that vaguely came to his ears. Instead, Andrew mumbled incoherently, made thoughts of re-entering for a few more shots. He needed sleep. At least he wasn't juggled out of the bar tonight.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:18 am
The shock wore off, by the tiniest degree. The misty woman denied being a ghost, which had to mean that she had powers, like Vivian did, only different. Immediately, Vivian felt ashamed of her reaction, although it wasn't like she was prepared for somone to fall through her, or whatever it was that happened.
The misty woman started to solidify, and Vivian relaxed a little. Then she made some comment about those with powers. "Oh, um, no, that's not why I, uh, yelled. And, I'm sorry I yelled at you at all, it was just that you startled me." She stopped her stammering apology to listen to what else she might have to say.
She held out her hands, as though to be helped up, and vivan obliged, though maybe she shouldn't have. As she drew in closer to take the woman's hands, the woman notices her disguise. Vivian blushed. Had she remembered to make her voice masculine when she'd apologized? Oh, she couldn't recall. Not that it mattered now. Still holding her hands out, she explained, "Oh, this is an insurance policy. A safety measure. A single woman roaming the streets at this time of night, especially where I'm going, is just asking for trouble. I, uh, have powers too, though not as visible as yours. I'm a copycat. I can copy voices and movements, so I can make myself sound and more like a guy. And, if I get really nervous, I can throw my voice, and make it sound like a police siren."
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:48 am
There was a crowd of club-goers lining up around the entrance, likely to get their IDs checked. Amy leaned against the wall while she debated what to do. Was it worth it? She was really hoping to spend time with some friends, and have someone to show her around. The Blue Falcon had been the hot spot for some time, but Amy never had the time or the money to go until now. Standing outside of it, she didn't want to look an idiot when she got in. Idly, she pulled on a strand of her hair and twirled it once around her fingertip. Eventually she let out an exasperated sigh and started walking toward the entrance. "I've come this far, I may as well enjoy myself for once," she said to herself as she slid her fake ID out of her purse.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:00 pm
Dia's eyes widened briefly, the barest spark of excitement flickering through the pale blue, and asked openly, taking the woman's hands and then shifting physically through the stages of coming to stand, some moments of the transition seeming to skip, like a broken disc. "Have you had trouble before?" In another moment, she had stepped back, dusting imaginary dirt away from herself. She shook her head once, then twice, smiling. "I must be either awfully lucky or sneakier than I know. I've only been attacked walking around at night twice before, though I can understand how even that would be more than enough." Diaphanous paused for a second, before her brain backtracked and she asked, "A police siren, really?"
Realizing it would be polite to offer information about herself in exchange for the others, and sobered a bit, smiling a bit more guardedly. "I'm not a natural mutant, but after the doctors ran out of experiments, I was." Her lips pulled apart in a flat smile, the expression leaving her eyes cold. "I can't really call it a 'power' in comparison to skills like yours, but I have the ability to not fall apart and disintegrate into a bunch of free-floating atoms." Pale arms folded over her chest, and Diaphanous tried to bring back a cheerful tone to say kindly, "Mimic or no, I heard what I guess must've been you singing. You were very good."
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:16 pm
"Some place, huh?" a voice behind Amy asked. Ryan had stepped up behind her in line, relieving himself from his post on the wall. The line to get in was fairly long tonight, though the bouncer's periodically came through when enough room opened up, letting the most attractive people in ahead of the less comly ones. "I'm not usually much for crowds or clubs or anything..." Ryan continued, hoping against hope that she'd respond to his messy attempt at casual conversation. "But I heard this place has good drinks. I was supposed to meet a few friends here, but...I think they're running late." True, they were running late...or not even coming at all. He smiled at the brunette in front of him and extended a hand. "My name's Ryan. Nice to, uh, meet you."
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:40 pm
"There's been a little trouble. I've gotten robbed before, and that's never fun, but for the most part, I've kept my head down." Vivian was beginning to like the Ghost Lady, almost like a sister, or a favorite girl cousin. Not that Vivian had experienced either of those relationships. She seemed like a decent person, despite the whole scaring her thing.
"Yeah, but making that kind of racket always makes my throat hurt afterward, and then I can't sing for a while." She was pleased to learn more about her newfound friend, but was sad at the story she told. Someone had done this to her? How terrible.
The sudden change in sublect didn't fool Vivian for a minute, but she knew better than to dig at someone's past. She accepted the complement as craciously as she was able. "Thank you, but really, it's nothing." The truth was, she was so used to using her powers that she was unsure where they eneded and her other talents began. Although, she'd enjoyed singing when she was a kid, so that had to count for something, didn't it?
"Hey, I've got a few minutes before my next gig, a place called the Blue Falcon. If you want, you can come with me, and watch. Afterward, if really have nowhere else to go, you could come back to my apartment, I'll be heading back to wake my kid brother up for school." Vivian was relatively sure that Ghost Lady wasn't going to hurt her. And she always felt bad for people with nowhere to go. "I'm Vivian, by the way."
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:45 pm
Amy had sort of zoned out, thinking about what she was going to do now that she didn't have anyone to hang with. It was that thought alone that made the voice of the guy behind her so surprising. Her heart skipping a beat wasn't the worst of it, it was more the fact that she wanted to kick herself for being so oblivious. After she shook off the shock, she shook his hand lightly and smiled. "I'm Amy." He had a cute look about him, and she loved the color of his hair. "I've heard a lot of good things about this place. I've been trying to get out here for a while, but my friends and I have had a pretty rough time getting together. In fact, some things came up, and they probably won't make it out here again tonight," she rolled her eyes as she finished and then realized how stupid she was being. Was she so brilliant to announce that she's flying solo for the night for everyone to hear? While she'd never had any sort of trouble before, and she was certain she could handle herself, it was not a good idea to be advertising something like that. she could only hope that she hadn't given anyone any ideas, and that Ryan was a good guy. "How long do you think before we get in?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:04 am
Nodding in most of the right places, her smile only barely faltered when offered the opportunity to watch a performance. Her hands wrapped together and she said, "I'd love to watch you perform, but crowds scare me a bit." Waving her hands dismissively, she offered lamely, "A little claustrophobia." A dry laugh was thrown out, with the self-directed jibe, "A bit ironic, considering my power, huh?" The offer to give Diaphanous a place to stay was mentally examined, looking for dangers and finding none she couldn't avoid in one way or another, she nodded her head quickly, saying genially, "But if you really don't mind letting me stay a night, any amount of time out of the cold would be great."
To be fair, if she let her body float out into it's most comfortable, she couldn't feel the cold. But that was it. In that state, she was unable to feel anything, which threatened her self-preservation instincts, which pushed her to reject the practice if she were able. And she did gain some sense of calm when staring at the sky at night, watching as little by little the stars and the moon moved across the sky. However, the memories of what her late brother might've been, flying across the very sky that hid the night stars from her with all its light pollution made more than one night bitter and lonely. Introducing herself as well, she answered, "Hello Vivian. I'm Diaph-- Dianna." That name didn't feel right on her tongue any more, hadn't since the doctors had stopped calling her it, and now Diaphanous fit into her mind better than any given name could. However, wearing an adjective as a name was a bit unusual and Dia was leery to scare off someone this nice. "How old is your brother, might I ask?" She refused to acknowledge her own desire to ignore that she thought her name would scare people off when she had the ability to just walk through them if she wanted, taking anything of them with her that she wanted.
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