Alert: Deadman Tell no Tales

“Woah, Matty you got yourself some actual skill on this group now. You’re really not just playing dress-up. I dig it.” Foxy laughed a little they clapped a little into the com.

“Yeah! Drifter’s the man! Dude’s saved our asses a lot.” X stated, it was a mixture of matter-of-fact with just a little bit of envy. “I got one. Foxy you got those two? Drifter’s got Penthouse? So that means Humanity’s got the last one, right?”

“Uh-yeah. I got one. CZ is here with me. Citizen Zero is making his way to the warehouse. I’m going to do some disposal with The Vigilante.” Humanity stated as the com cut off. This was a miraculous little feat they had just pulled. They had bested a demolitions expert, managed to keep their crew together for the most part, and no one had any serious injuries that they knew of. That was perfectly fine by him. Though this still felt wrong, deceitful. He sighed and shook his head.

“Not sure what you did, but good job on that Drifter.” The com cut back again and turned off for a moment. It left X and Foxy actually able to chat with Pat, Ashtyn and Citizen Zero’s coms on standby.

“Oh so you’re Drifter then? Alright, alright. You’re the leader then. Meet y’all back at the warehouse. I’ve gotta put a face with the legends.” Foxy said with a friendly chuckle, his coms turning to standby as well.

“Drifter...I’m on your way...can I uh...can I get a ride?” X chuckled nervously as he made his request, wholly expecting it to be a no.




Back from the dead
------------------------------

Khaos forced his eyes shut. This was the end. The feeling of the bullet-wait he couldn’t feel anything. Just that annoying pain radiating in his hand. Struggling to lift his head he looked back. Hearing the gun fire again and again, he flinched again and again. But no matter how much of a flash went from the barrel The Vigilante’s gun didn’t seem to fire anything but blanks. The man cocked his gun back and dropped the clip from the butt, catching it.

“What the Hell? These aren’t blanks, I just shot someone earlier.” The Vigilante said to himself as he looked. There was the noise of metal clinking and clattering to the rooftop. “What did you to my gun?” The Vigilante questioned, his voice was aggressive but he seemed far more interested in what happened.

[color:7338=#slateblue]“You got me on my belly. It ain’t me...” Kahos said with a chuckle, feeling a wave of relief and a sudden burst of butterflies in his stomach, his heart feeling weightless as he let out a sigh. Adrenalin was a hell of a thing, but even now to just enjoy the fact he was still breathing was a blessing.

“Then who else could it have been, smartass?”
“His guardian angel?” The Vigilante felt a subtle force push him forward, and then he was pulled off his feet. As if on instinct he dropped his clip and pulled out his combat knife, blade back as he tried to turn himself, using the momentum to attempt and leverage a strike to whatever was pulling him. But the time he arrived at the end of the pull, his forearm plating was snagged by a silver plating that seemed to be charred black The knife seemed to menace as it hovered over the mask of someone The Vigilante hadn’t seen in a very long time. The moment was taken by advantage as the new challenger drove a foot into the side of the Vigilante’s knee, dropping him for a thick plated knee to smash into his face, his visor shattering with a small shower of sparks.

The Vigilante swiped with his knife, pivoting on his knee as he stood and got into his trained martial stance. Knife blade back hand up and focus pinned to his new opponent. COntrasting Vigilante’s black color scheme, this individual was a familiar contrast of colors. A lighter yellow on whites and purples with blacks.

“Thought you were dead, years go.” The Vigilante laughed a little, almost as if he were expecting quite a bit of entertainment form this encounter. The other did nothing but speak quietly.

“Drop the weapon and walk away. I’ve little mercy for someone who would kill a fellow Hero for simply believing in the principles that guide them all.” That was a to-the-point statement. They made it quite clear that Vigilante was not welcomed here. Of course Vigilante's obsession with bringing justice to the one whom terrorized metahuman and mankind alike was blinding. He missed the point entirely.

“So what, now Humanity’s got you on his payroll too?” They growled, hissing and almost seething as they stood up, fists clenched and their form getting a bit sloppy. Their anger was clear to see.

“Oh ye of so little faith.” The contrasted man said. The Vigilante charged. The man moved as best as he could, the slice of Vigilante’s knife moving past the man, the shift in momentum causing him to turn and sweep at his opponent’s legs. The contrasted man seemed to jump, and as Vigilante spun up to slash he landed and put his arm up to block the incoming knife. It sliced at the metal plating's on his arm, a piece actually breaking off as the gauntlet began to throw several fists right into The Vigilante’s abdomen. Before long The Vigilante lashed out, aiming to slash at this intruder’s throat, though they were able to avoid that, they let out a roar as the black-clad combatant spun ever so swiftly and managed to sink his blade into a crevice between the armor plating, hitting the brighter schemed intruder in the side, the blade sinking into flesh as red began to form around the area. The Vigilante went to pull it’s blade out, but it felt it’s opponent's hand on his wrist, locked on tight. Their other arm came up and locked around The Vigilante’s nearm and neck, pulling them backwards as they stood, slightly lifting The Vigilante off the ground.

“ALL. ARE. JUDGED.” It said as it walked towards the side of the roof, and twisting Vigilante’s wrist, a sickening crack heard as they released the combat knife, yelling in pain, the cloaked figure releasing them with a forceful push, sending them down to the street below, crashing onto a car. The man whines a little, groaning as it looked to the knife in it’s side. Leaving it there, they walked over to Khaos, who looked up and scoffed.

“Thought you retired.” They chuckled, their apparent ally doing so as well before they leaned down and picked up the transmitter, turning it on and clearing his throat.

“H-Hi guys. Got my ass kicked. He almost killed me...Got a friend here though.”

“Humanity. I wanted to tell you that your suspicions were correct. I’ll get the information to you. I’m taking Khaos to get medical attention. Appears to now have several protruding bones from their hand. After tonight...we’re even.” They said as they let Khaos have the transmitter, placing hands under their arms to help lift them.

“Gha! Fuck. Hey it could be worse. He saved me from 4 DEagle shots to the back of the head...not sure how but-” The transmitter was snatched up and turned off.

“Let’s get you into civilian clothing. I’ll show you someday.”



Aftermath
-------------------------------------------------
“Citizen Zero, I don’t trust that. At all. I want you to go make sure Khaos gets to a hospital. I’ll Rendezvous with the others. Charlatan, where the fuck are you? I’m on my way to your location.” Humanity said across the com system. There was a more worried tone to his voice. Charalatan had been gone for quite some time.

Inhale and exhale.

Each breath brought with it a new pain that further proved his theory true. Now that put a damper on things but he couldn’t afford to waste time, not when his mind was racing with so much information. Whether that be himself trying to mess with his mind or the concept of Ash potentially being dead. He took a deep breath, standing to his feet with pain swimming through his head. He couldn’t afford to get hit in the chest again. Internal organs being punctured didn’t sound too nice honestly. Plenty of blood and whatnot. Taking a few seconds he tried to push away the pain that was blooming through his chest. Drifter would be fine, he could disable the bomb he was supposed to be doing and save a few lives. He knew what he was doing well enough. He had to wonder where his new tormentor had gone, though that was when he noted someone moving through the rooftops. That same one he had seen before with the mask, though rather manual in their motions. Jumping instead of the same gliding motions The Traveler used.

”What the hell is going on?” He muttered to himself, a low haggard breath working from him as the voices worked across his lines. Most of them were sound really, just something that took his attention for less than a second until Khaos’ voice came. Not dead. Normally the dead didn’t talk. The sudden flood of relief flowed through him  all at once, knees wobbling but remaining steady enough. He could move, he could act for the time that he was needed today.  People  finally queried into what he was doing, considering he had been silent for a few minutes while dealing with his own personal and literal demon. He took a few breaths, steadying himself until he felt like he was partially in control of something.

”I’m fine, had a run in with a personal thorn in my side,” He sighed, ignoring the pain in his chest. Looking around, he took note of the fire escape he had scaled and used it to climb back down with less haste than he used coming up. He dropped onto the street, looking around for any more of the Equalizers henchman and seeing no one. ”If you know my location, don’t have to ask where I am ya know?” He laughed some, followed by more pain. ”Ow ow, okay that hurts.” He noted , rubbing his side while stepping outside of the alleyway he had run through and looking around. There weren’t as many of the thugs running around. All they needed was an excuse and they started killing people. He thought to himself hefting the weapon in hand. There was one straggler running around, noting him and raising their weapon.

He moved in reaction to that but before that the person in the black polymer mask and the cape he had been following earlier seemed to descend from the rooftops and knock them down, out or killed them. He didn’t know but they only gave him a look before running off. ”Weird...” He noted, settling Sparky into a holster and turning around in time to see Humanity. ”Took ya long enough. So what’s the word on our dancing queen?” He tried to sound humorous but the worry bled through anyhow, because it was hard not to care about people when they began inching into the friend category. He trusted Matt could take care of himself, considering that he took down metahumans from what the reports said he could do. ”What’s the plan now?  I know someone has something going on, though luckily they didn’t look to me I guess.” Self deprecation was a suit he wore well, but never really seemed abusive.

Drifter looked at his torn into metal hand. This would take some fixing. It had to be done, though. He could replace a computer, but not people's lives. Besides, he had everything he needed in his van. He just needed a few minutes and his new cybernetic would be up and running like new again. As of now, it was powered off and couldn't be moved, and that simply wouldn't do.

Once Drifter got back to his vehicle, he took out a screw driver and got to work. He even had to do some soldering. He had a few back up computer boards for just such an occasional, and quickly used one to fill the empty slot. Once that was done and everything was all nice and sealed, power was restored to his hand. He moved the fingers around, then made a fist. Not exactly like his old hand, but it was close enough. He didn't want to dwell on it for too long. He knew there was no getting it back. Lamenting about his injury would do him no good. Besides, there were more important things happening, like someone casually appointing him as some sort of leader and X asking for a ride.

......Why the fuck does everyone always put me in charge? I did the lone wolf techno-libertarian thing for most of my time as a vigilante, and now suddenly I'm Nightwing..... And no, X. I'm just going to let my teammate walk, with no other means of transport through a city full of violent revolutionaries. I'm an asshole like that. The sarcasm was thick over the comms, but it wasn't the snarky kind. More light-hearted than anything. And as far as the leader thing went, he didn't mind making decisions, he was just wondering why it had become increasingly common for people to expect him to make them.

Seriously though, of course you can have a ride. All of you are welcome in my van so long as you don't break my shit. Luke got into the driver seat and waited. He poured himself a cup of dark roast, black coffee from a thermos. He'd been chugging the stuff lately, ever since he quit drinking. It wasn't the same, but it was a lot better for his intellectual sharpness, and a lot better for his health overall. Sure, coffee didn't fuck him up, but it at least mitigated his desire to drink.

Once X got in the car, Drifter would offer his hand for a firm shake. He hadn't met the other vigilante, but had heard a bit about him. Just another normal guy in his twenties that decided to kick the shit out of people as a hobby, just like all the others in this group were. Luke started the van, then started driving toward the warehouse. It was a few miles, which would give him at least a moment to get acquainted with the guy he found himself moving into enemy territory with.

"So what's your shtick? Computers and ranting about philosophy like me? Comic gadgets and a false moral high ground? Putting a K in front of words that should begin with a C? Incessantly insisting on how dark you are while giving orders to your friends in 'Big Brother' voice? We all got one," Drifter said, chuckling a little at his own jokes, as he was prone to do.

"Still kicking, like a line-girl. Saint is taking him to the hospital. Citizen Zero is making sure it goes smoothly. We're going to meet up with Luke." He said as he began to lead Charlatan away. His motorcycle had been parked not too far away, just a few blocks, disguised. Quickly and quietly he pulled the soft plymer disguise tarp off and moved some of the collatorale garbage he used to distract from the tarp. Next he unlocked the biometrics and hopped on. "Use protection." He said as he tossed a helmet to Charlatan.

He'd speed off trying to jet himself to the point where he was supposed to meet with Drifter and X, hoping that they were full of ideas.

X had gotten into the van a smile behind his mask as he reached over and met the firm handshake, nodding to this person he had never met before. This was obviously Drifter, that or it was an imposter that was so good that even Humanity didn't notice. "Drifter then? Good to meet you. Anyone that Humanity talks this highly about is definately a good person to know." He said with a chuckle. He was trying a little too hard to pretend like nothing was wrong, and that they weren't on patrol. But it really didn't matter. His dark and very plain paramlilitary look seemed to contrast the personality to an extent. Drifter had asked about his sctick. X couldn't help but chuckle as he held up what appeared to be two guns before putting them in his lap.

"Heh, nothing like that. I got my philosophy obviously and I got the symbolism in the same theme of all of Humanity's other trainees. I'm called X because I don't have a name. It's been X'd out. No records, no birth certificate, no death certficate. A representation that what a single man does is not for fame or glory. It's done because it's the right thing to do. He drilled in he whole 'No Kiling' rule pretty hard with me. I used modified guns that fire out what's basically a glorified paintball, when it burts they get a huge wiff of cloraform. No real moral high ground. I'm a criminal, but at least I know I like to beat the shit out of people. For the right reasons." X said with a little chuckle as he leaned back. He looked around at all the computers, he only understood what some of the portable servers were, but he obviously wasn't the tech genius that Luke was. He seemed to sniffle a little as he looked about, glaring out the windows and being ever vigilant.

[color=tan]"We need more people. Everything's gone to hell since Chicago. Fuckin' big wolf creatures and shit. Fucker had no problem ripping good people like Cale, Fritz and Cam's brother to pieces. People like Gourmet, Legion, Vigilante, and that Dark Traveler are still walking." X muttered to himself as he shook his head. The entire goal of what they had that day was an utter failure. It turned into a clusterfuck. He remembered everything quite clearly. "I still can't believe they killed the kid..." He said whistfully as he remembered watching the shaggy dark haired be pulled from the ground. The van arrived at the rendezvous point, and all he could hear was Matthew's voice behind the modulator saying "I can't do this."

X was the first to sit back and let the entire plan come together as Humanity and Charlatan arrived. The van opened and Humanity hopped in, hoping that Charlatan would follow suit.

"Alright, so what's the play? Ideas?" He asked, looking around for input.

He would have been lying to say that he didn’t feel good about knowing that a friend was alive instead of what he had assumed. Whatever pressure he had quickly lifted itself, though that didn’t stop the small physical hindrance that came with his current injuries. Not like he could let Matt or Luke know about them; not when more important things were going on. ”Don’t know who this Saint is but good to have them aboard.” He said with a smirk beneath the mask, nervously running fingers through his hair before following Humanity. He knew what he was doing more than anyone else, at least within his stress situations like this. What they found was the mans hidden motorcycle, lying under a tarp and looking all too awesome.

Like really, a bio-metric scanner?

With a quick reaction he caught the helmet, considering it for a second before slipping it into his head and doing all the clasps right. ]”Have no idea how many times I heard that.” Charlatan brushed off, swinging a leg over the back and holding on. Because he didn’t feel like doing anything else and this was perhaps his only chance so why not take it? The ride itself took a few minutes at most, with his mind occasionally drifting off before coming back and then he realized they were next to a van. So he followed suit and hopped in, quickly taking off the helmet and leaving it somewhere.

”Well, they have to have some kind of leader right? Someone all these idiots take orders from since...I think that’s how gangs work. Maybe if we deal with them that might cause the rest to split? ” It was an idea and the best he could come up with right now with many other factors slowing him down.

The prospect that Matt talked highly about him was distant at this point. In his mind, he had never been further from the one he called brother. There was too much resentment there. What proportion of it Humanity was contributing he didn't know, but either way it was terrible. If the resentment was all him, than he was hateful to one he loved, and if it was not, that same loved one did not think of him in the same manner he once did. It was all around a terrible situation he found himself in. Irritation had mounted to rage, and that rage Luke could feel was slowly brewing into something worse. It had to be kept in check. It wasn't exactly voluntarily, but was nevertheless creeping into his conscious mind.

One...
Two...
Pay what's due.

Luke was only half listening to X, as his mind was occupied with the act of driving and the performing of a long dormant compulsion of his. Irrational as it may have been, it was the only way in the present moment to set his mind at ease. Too much was going on for him to shove it down. There was too much uncertainty.

Three...
Four...
Devil's knocking at the door.

The van rounded the corner. There was the warehouse. It was rather unassuming. No guards, no visible cameras. Lowkey. Luke assumed someone capable of making the trigger for that bomb would have covered his bases on the tech front. There was no hacker antics on this one. They had to either storm the place or resort to subterfuge, either of which could put the hostage in danger.

Five...
Six...
He's got more tricks.  

The van stopped, parking a short distance away from the warehouse in a secluded spot. Shortly after, Pat and Matt showed up. Despite the growing animosity, Luke was glad to see them both after the scare earlier. But, there was no time for hugs. They needed a plan.

"The rank and file may be retarded sheeple, but whoever is orchestrating this knows what he's doing. I doubt he's just standing around waiting to get fucked by our now not so secret group. I see no other alternative........ I'm going to go in there and be what they think I am. If I have an opportunity to end this, I'll use it, if not.... Well, we'll go from there," Luke said. He then got out of the van, providing no time for a rebuttal from the others. This was his doing, and so it was fitting that he should take responsibility for ending it.

Seven...
Eight...
You took the bait.

Any effort to stop him would be met with a candid middle finger. This was the plan now, whether anyone liked it or not. There wouldn't be any dialectic—not this time.

Nine...
Ten...
Into the Lion's Den.

“Take down a head and another will take its place. It needs to be-” Humanity began to respond, but Drifter was already leaving. He agreed that it had to be Drifter to stop this, especially if he was trying to deny the killing urge. Humanity sat there and watched as Drifter seemed to wait for no input, no form of assist in the planning or even hearing the perspective of others. All he could do was watch as his brother walked away. Humanity growled as he punched the floor of the van. Since when did this fucker have the right to tell him he could not handle his business, then turn around and do the exact same thing? He could abide it, he could have even encouraged it, but he had already lost so much. He let out another fist into the floor. This was beyond frustrating. How did he deal with this? This had just been a new development but already he was sick of it.

   “X, cuff me.” Humanity said, he growled as he talked. He allowed X to place the handcuffs on him and begin dragging him towards the warehouse after Luke. X thought he understood the concept. Drifter arriving with a friend, Humanity bound up. Charlatan could probably help, after all...he was a charlatan. This was literally the thing a charlatan does, no?

   “So I guess this could be it huh? I mean who knows how many people they got in there?” X muttered as he started to drag Humanity’s feet against the ground, hoping Charlatan would take the other side so that X wouldn’t break his back. “Boss, what’s with the tension here?” X asked, Humanity continued to play the unconscious flesh-bag while X looked to Charlatan, dragging the body towards Luke’s destination.

   The warehouse was absolutely covered with the ghosts. It wasn’t long before Drifter would find himself with a mass of the people looking to him, many of them unsure if to believe it or others ecstatically whispering. All the while there was a lone man sitting on a slightly elevated platform, a lot of the old machine posts and uplifts remained with the smudges of old oil and slick stains. Upon this particular platform, however there was a man in a fine suit tied to a chair. He seemed to be in shock, or his natural pallor was even greater accentuated due to what he had undergone.

Okay, in retrospect his plan was stupid on many levels but he was trying to add to the conversation. There was so much that needed to be done to put down this little uprising and he didn’t like the idea that he hadn’t done much. Knocked people unconscious perhaps but that did nothing. They could wake up, return to what they were doing while the ones dead were out. From life and from killing more people like monsters. Still, like the pain within his chest watching the two do their things reminded him of something. Perhaps he was holding them back and if that was the case then what good was he here? Baptism by Smash was held back by his lack of desire to reduce someones skull to a pile of mush.

Drifter didn’t care for either of their input though that was nothing new.  He was independent, didn’t really need anyone to do his job and to an extent he respected that. It wasn’t until he had partners that Charlatan realized how little his own efforts amounted. Humanity, Drifter and the others made him realize what his own name was good for. Just a Charlatan playing at hero. A low hm worked from him as he watched the cuffs slip onto Humanity’s wrists and his mind tried to work through what he could do. Walking in there with Humanity was one thing but what did he plan? Pressure was not always his best condition to work under but if that was to be; so be it.

Ever the helpful he took the hands, carrying him along while looking to Luke with the hope that he knew what he was doing.  If not they would be full of holes anyway and then it wouldn’t matter. As they entered the warehouse his eyes scanned over the people that had gathered, alongside someone who looked worse for wear. It was now or never.

What to do?

What to say?

These young men were haunted. Broken.

They had fallen so deep into despair, that all that was left for them to act upon was a bitter revenge. They were lashing out at the world, much like he had.

In some sense, he did relate to them. He understood. When all hope in the world is lost, what else is there to do but burn it down? Maybe what came out of the ashes would be better, or maybe not. Either way, for these men it was better than spending another minute under the tyranny of this existence. To great glory or eternal peace.

The only difference between Luke and them was where they laid blame. Whereas Luke blamed himself for his pain, these men blamed the world. Luke destroyed himself, these men destroyed society, or rather, anyone they could point the finger at.

They took the Secretary, someone they knew was most likely not guilty. But guilt wasn't a prerequisite for punishment, not to these men. You could be an object of their rage no matter who you were. These men were hurt, and were desperate to find someone to bleed for it.

He wanted to talk to them. He wanted to tell them that wasn't the way to go. He wanted to tell them that it would lead only to further despair and hatred of being. He wanted to explain the folly of making the universe your enemy, desperately resisting it and in the process bringing untold destruction in your wake, to no avail. He wanted to explain how they were torturing themselves, trying to perfect and imperfect world.

These things he wanted to say. These men he wanted to save....... But he knew many wouldn't listen. He knew at the first sign of opposition, him and the others would be filled with bullets. Saving these men...... Was not an option. Honesty, not an option.

Luke was a good liar. That only pained him more when he was forced to do it.

"Then I will be able to walk triumphantly,

Like a god, through the ruins of their kingdom.

Every word of mine is fire and action.

My breast is equal to that of the Creator."

Luke spoke softly, his sentences paced with a moment of silence between each. His voice was loud, but calm and smooth, even through his voice filter. The emotion he put into the poem made it seem all the more genuine. He held his hands out, a gesture of victory to all in the room. A gesture of leadership. He chuckled lightly.

"You've done well, my brothers. Very, very well. Now is the hour of our victory. We will stand as New Kings in the chaos our actions have wrought, and build this world anew," Luke said, just as the others brought Humanity in. This wasn't part of his initial plan, but it was good improvisation on Humanity's part. He rolled with it.

"Your greatness has brought the only one in this city that could have stood against us out of hiding, finally allowing me and my associates to bring him to his knees........ Gentleman, Humanity, The Undefeated Villain, has lost! To me! To us!" Luke said. He said this with so much passion, he nearly believed it himself. It wasn't hard for him to switch rolls. He was, after all, a rather detached person.

His intention was to get the crowd of these ghosts on his side. To rile them up, essentially. Perhaps then he could use them, or at least set them at ease enough that they might lower their weapons a tad.

Finally, Drifter, The Equalizer, looked to the leader on a slightly elevated platform. He approached with the same cult leader-like confidence and charisma he had when he walked in. He stared at the man, then bowed his head.

"To you I owe a great debt. The last mechanisms of my plan could never have been accomplished without this distraction..... And you have brought so many to our cause. I can't thank you enough," Luke said, turning back to the crowd of ghosts. He didn't like turning his back to the leader dude, but he figured it showed trust, at the very least.

"Now is not the time to get comfortable, however. We have brought the city great fear, and repelled all efforts to remove us. We have made ground, and defended ourselves well, but we must now go on the offensive. I will broadcast over the web, and to every major news source, the execution of Humanity, as well as The Secretary. Simultaneously, billions of funds I have acquired access to over the past few months by appropriating the data of my targets will be sent from seventy two banks in the state to charities overseas. The money will be gone, and the banks will collapse, as well as the market. You have not yet seen chaos. You have not yet seen revolution. Not until the corrupt power has been cut out," Luke said. He was actually being sort of truthful here. What he said was not entirely bullshit, and was totally possible given the number of CEOs computers he went through. He was, however, lying about him having anything like it in place.

"What you must do, is go out and destroy. Destroy the buildings! Destroy the monuments! Destroy the instruments of power, and occupy the places of government! With this city's greatest hope and a symbol of supremacy both murdered, and the economy in ruin, we will bring about a new order in fire! So, go! No one should be passive! This must happen all at once! The shock will bring LA to it's knees! No money, no heroes, no government, and no safety! Take to the streets! The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world, unite!" Luke realized this gambit of his was probably going to cause untold chaos in the city, but for one, the economy was under no threat, and for two, as soon as the Ghosts realized their leader had been taken out, and Equalizer himself was a traitor, they would likely disperse and give up. After all, Humanity and the Secretary actually would be fine, and so would the money. The only thing the Ghosts would have going for them at that point would be unorganized physical force, which was a lot easier to deal with than organized physical force.

Basically, the game was to get all the Ghosts to leave so they could deal with the leaders of this operation. Whether they listened to their supposed patron or not was so far unknown, but Luke was sure he provoked enough of a ferver to get a decent number to answer his call to arms.

After they left, the vigilantes could get down to business.

"X, get the camera from my van, won't you?"

I remember when...
I count to ten
The blessings we shared
When someone once cared    
Where have you gone
This is so wrong
To be here without you….
  His footsteps were practically nonexistent as he was being drug into the lion’s den. He knew how this would play out. He just needed to have faith. What was his faith in? He couldn’t tell you. But he knew that there had to be something. Something that would keep everything in order. Was it Luke? Humanity had placed his faith in Luke so many times. Even when it burned him, he kept the optimistic statements that it was a lesson….for both of them. He was loyal to Luke, that much was true. But something had shaken them all. Something had put them all against each other. What was it?

I remember when...
I count to ten
The blessings we shared.
As we stand beneath this tree.
The first was breath
The last was death
The second verse,
The ninth a curse.
To think and to truly be,
To set you free.
   He had such a strong will. Where had it gone? What had happened to him that even now all he could do was become angry, feeling nothing but hatred? He went from having a powerful green ring of power to the reddest red. Sure he had lost so much, especially as of recent. Sure Luke had been far more annoying now than he had been in times past. But Matthew would never give up on it. So why now did things change? He contemplated this as he was brought up and set by The Secretary of State, X standing there for a moment while he started to assume the role of a natural born leader.

What’s left of us?
Without you to make me heal
Without me to make you feel.
Blessing three
was lost to me.
The eighth agony
As we stay here in our heart
Never us apart.
   This was something Luke was born to do. He couldn’t argue that now as he watched it. His hair stood on end as he realized how misguided Luke himself must have been. He shuddered beneath his armor as he recalled just how Humanity perceived the man. He was his brother, a best friend, and ultimately someone who was meant to do so much more. But did he see Luke for the threat he truly was? Was his anger misguiding his actions? Corrupting his intentions? The speech rallied the troops. He heard the mention of him being undefeated. Under his breath he growled. The thought of being defeated made him want to drive his knife into Drifter’s throat, and mow down everyone he could see with whatever arsenal he could muster.
   

Now as we stay within these walls
Left me wander in shattered halls.
I pray for your peace.
I fall piece by piece.
Yet blessing four
Opened the door.
I can see you again.
Our Neverland.
The Blessing Seven
A door to the Heaven
Shut fast to me
My reality.
   It was haunting, truly it was. His anger. The Saint. The timing was too much. Were there things going on behind the scenes he didn’t recognize? Did he in some way miss a crucial detail? It became infuriating to sit there, in this...skin. This kevlar skin under a shell of armor that was just waiting. This wasn’t him, this wasn’t who he was supposed to be. He wasn’t ready. He began to shift a little in his binding. He felt a sudden smack to his arm, letting out a growl as he felt a surge of pain. X was playing the role all to well, making sure that the prisoner didn’t make a single move that wasn’t kept limited. He listened as Drifter denounced the world, spoke of hacked accounts and taking down the infrastructure.


As we sit here within our heart.
Brought back to the start.
A blessing numbered Five
Those left alive…
The ones who held my heart
And ripped me apart.
And then there’s this
The blessing Six
All that is left of me….
My insanity.
   He felt it surge, he wanted nothing more than to-. No he couldn’t entertain that. He couldn’t believe that Drifter did this without a plan. He just had to have faith. Take faith in God, and God alone. All of man, men and women alike, will let you down. Even if they mean to do well by you. Even I, one day, for as much as I love you...will let you down. The words were haunting in his mind as he realized what could very well happen here. Did he know this was going to happen? Did he anticipate a betrayal? Maybe he did.

So here I lay, beneath this tree.
Broke, shattered and empty.
But still I hold you
Loved you more than you ever knew.
As I sit here with my failing heart.
Brought back to the start…
   There was a mass exodus of many common-place individuals as they began to go forth and enact their patron’s will. They would go forth and destroy everything they could. X was told to go get a camera, to which instantly X went to go get the camera. It wasn’t until he reached the door, where he froze, seemingly as if he were horrified. He placed his hand on his head, over his mask. He let out a grumble and a growl.  
   
So here we lay, beneath this tree.
All I am, what’s left of me.
Upon the dirt
Afflicted mirth.
Looking up to a head of stone,
Leaving me alone.
   He couldn’t help but laugh a little, a chuckle escaping his mouth as he lifted his hands, revealing that he had slipped his bindings. He couldn’t stop chuckling as the once-leader of the group looked before the vigilantes. The once-bound man reached out and gripped onto Charlatan, laughing as if he found something hysterical. He fought to stand on his own, relying on the charlatan for assistance.


So here I lay, beneath this tree.
The lonely fool left me to be.

   “Well this is priceless. Much better than I anticipated. Kudos. Kudos.” He said as fixed his modulator to a slightly different setting. He then began to tug on his friend pulling him to the side as he wished to be out of the way. He drew a small handgun and pointed it to the man that once led the group. “Alright then...Equalizer. What’s your call?”

   Khaos is getting medical attention. They may call Humanity for confirmation that it was an accident that happened while skateboarding. Where do we stand with our Equalizer situation? The communications system had the question come across, the new ally asking as he seemed to assess the situation. He would likely be told. Or not. Wither way he let out a musing hum. Suddenly he seemed to reply. "I see. I'll work on cleaning up the masses."

Being surrounded by people with guns likely pointed towards them managed to give Charlatan a case of stage fright. Any second they could unload their clips and reduce the three of them to bloodied messes. Usually when he fought crime it came down to a bunch of guerrilla tactics that didn’t serve him well in a direct confrontation and only their guise was saving them here. He trusted Luke, even the plan he had but that required ignoring the many survival instincts screaming within his skull. Needless to say he was impressed by how things were being led, with a rousing speech and people actually reacting positively to what they were being told. There was a game being played and he had some part of it, even if that meant supporting Humanity’s limp legs.

There had to be something that he could do. Matt had ideas, Luke had ideas and even he needed some of his own. Running his brain like a mouse on a wheel didn’t bring anything viable to the front line. Just him scanning the room, people and the potential openings within where they stood. Humanity giving into a flow of chuckles only made him feel even worse, looking around in a confused fashion while his mask managed to cover that confusion. A hand rested on his shoulder, barely managing to support shuddering human form while he was left in the same train of thought from only moments ago. Those didn’t matter as he was tugged aside, behind him as the gun was raised and directed towards the former leader.

Okay, so that’s happening. He thought to himself, looking a little confused but working with it. ”what’s the call is a pretty good question.” He noted, wondering what he should do. A low hum worked from his throat, nervous almost. ”i’ll leave you to this...thing then.” He stepped back, following whatever lead there was while Humanity and Equalizer did their own thing. There was almost this compulsion to go, and so he followed it.

That actually worked?

Yeah, it actually worked.

Drifter thought he might get a bullet to the chest at any point in his speech, but instead, the Ghosts followed his orders. All but one, of course. Drifter made it known with a simple 'halt' gesture of his hand that he wanted the leader of the Ghosts to stay. He had no reason not to listen. They after all, had much to discuss.

Once the Ghosts poured out of the room, Humanity unbound himself, then pointed a weapon at the once-leader. This no doubt made it known that he had been betrayed. Luke turned on the camera X had given him, pointing it at the leader, who's name he still did not know.

"Part of me wants you just to end him, Humanity. He's caused plenty of trouble, killing people and radicalizing teenagers. But, I'd be a bit hypocritical if I gave in to that. Shoot him in the leg. Make sure you don't hit his armor," Drifter said, filming as he spoke. What the Ghosts thought would be used to capture the execution of Humanity and the Secretary of State was actually being used to capture the betrayal of their leader by their patron. The vigilantes were about to win, and they had to make that known afterwards in order to disburse the gang.

"You played a good game. Nearly blew me up with that detonator. I'll give you props for that. But it's over. It's been over since the end of the Cold War. You're not going to make some paradise—you're just going to hurt people and take their shit trying. Just ask Lucius Alba," Drifter said, approaching the man, who most likely had a Humanity bullet in his leg.

"There is no plan. No hack, and no recession. I lied, as much as that pains me. There's no Equalizer, either. Maybe there was for a time, when I chose that name, but I'm not that person anymore. I believe that, so long as they don't hurt anyone, people should be able to live their lives as they see fit, without little authoritarian cunts like you trying to force society to your arbitrary standards of perfection. I went after my targets because they infringed on the rights of others, not because they were rich or because they were capitalists. They were acting like the law didn't apply to them. Like they could just walk over people's individual sovereignty, hurting them, seizing their property, or disregarding their lack of consent. Sound familiar? I don't care about your politics, I care if you're trying to force people that are just minding their own business to your will. If you do that, you're a bad guy," Drifter explained. He found it important to set the record straight about who he was. He didn't want to inspire any more politically motivated totalitarians.

"But I won't kill you. I'd fall into the same trap you did, becoming the very enemy I seek to destroy. You hate monopolists and rich pricks controlling people, so your solution is to violently force everyone to submit to the ultimate monopoly of state or collective control of everything, in hopes that the new order will be 'fair.' Talk about hypocrisy. No, using force against others, when not in defense of the life, liberty, and property of yourself or others, is always immoral. I don't care what grand vision for the future you have. I don't care that you think it's not right that some have more than others. I DON'T CARE that some vaguely defined groups have historically been dealt a bad hand. None of that justifies harming or coercing people that just want to live their lives. Tyranny does not come from the liberty to choose your own destiny, free from external compulsion beyond what is reasonable to ensure safety. It comes from losers like you, upset with the outcomes of freedom, wanting to artificially force their desired results on society without a care in the word for violating people's right to autonomy." Drifter backhanded the man with his robotic hand, hard. It no doubt would break his mask.

"So no, I won't kill you. But i have to stop you from ever harming this city again, or anyone else for that matter. You're too dangerous to simply let go," Drifter said. He looked back to Humanity. Luke had half a mind to do this himself, but the pit in his stomach was making the prospect of beating another man to a pulp a bit unattractive.

"Here's my call: Hurt him. Hurt him like he's hurt the innocent people that died in this revolution. Hurt him like he hurt all the boys that are now accessory to this travesty. Hurt him so he can't hurt anyone else. Do whatever creative thing you have in that dark mind of yours, but don't kill him. We only need to send a message. We only need to defend the city that we have taken under our wing. We aren't aggressors, we aren't terrorists, and we aren't extremists—we're vigilantes. We don't perpetuate cycles of revenge, we end them," Luke said. He would turn the camera off only after Humanity was finished, and upload the video soon after. Hopefully that would cause the Ghosts to mostly disperse. If not, then at least they dealt this blow.

"Now look what you've done. Drifter, The Equalizer, will always be connected to this. You've ruined my name, coating it in the blood of people even you know to be innocent. You're lucky I'm no longer the same person that inspired you. He'd put a bullet between your eyes," Drifter said, after turning the camera off.

He didn’t need to tell Humanity twice. A shot fired out as the man was left to writhe and roar in pain. The rush and exhilaration generated within him was not unbridled, not as it usually was. There was no follow up shot, no additional knee to the face. It was just one, good and calculated shot. Measured, calculated and doled. Drifter was allowed to have his moment in the spotlight. Humanity wanted no part of it. He had believed though, that for too long that he had become a bit of a media diva. Originally an unseen man given a name by the masses, he had played into what they desired for far too long. Played into what they believed he was, what he believed he was.

The man behind the mask had lost everything, and now it was time for a change. That’s what brought it all to this moment. The change that started it all. Drifter’s speech was rousing, but Humanity stood there, keeping this wounded man in check as the mask shattered, revealing half of his face and a trembling, fearful eye that was trained upon the man he once rallied to. Pat had walked away a while ago, Charlatan would have nothing to do with this, and to be fair it wasn’t the wrong call. If he had been seen on this it would ruin his visage, it would force others to overestimating him, which was counterproductive to the image and visage he needed to survive.

Patrick was free of them, The Charlatan had left them to their business, but it wasn’t long before he found himself standing upon the bodies of dozens. Dispatched savagely, brutally and without excuse. There were several knocked out and lying down, but it almost looked as if though the ranks of the ghosts had been divided. Half of them savagely murdered and ripped open, while another few had been rendered merely incapacitated. The sounds of skirmish had rang from an nearby alley, members of the ghosts had fled, running for their life and screaming down the long alleyway that was covered in darkness. X followed up from behind Charlatan and froze in horror, almost threatening to vomit in his mask as he looked down and saw a man’s rib cage ripped open and splintered from the ground with another man’s face shoved up inside with their spine ripped through their back.

Back within the warehouse, there was the Secretary of State humming as he looked over the two. He seemed to consider everyone in the room for a moment, then after a moment he smirked, looking to Humanity and then over to Drifter where it seemed to be just a nod.

“Thank you, gentlemen. I’ve always been against the concept of vigilantism, for this exact reason. But I owe my thanks to you. I don’t forget my debts.” He said, genuinely grateful for the rescue. He had entirely believed this to go another way, but he couldn’t help but smile. He was so pleased to be wrong, to be caught off guard for as little as it truly happened.

Pat could have listened to it. The grand speech that Luke gave in his hopes to dissuade the men from making further wrongs but he knew he wasn’t meant to be there. God forbid people began taking him for more of a threat than he was, and then he knew how that ended. There were sounds in the distance, a struggle that they soon came upon. Well, not a struggle anymore. X followed a few steps after him, until they came upon what was to greet them. Bodies mutilated to extreme degrees and he heard the sound of someone heaving behind him. Though it took all he could to turn away, before he found himself doing the same.  In the distance a commotion was happening, people crying out and then falling silent. His stomach felt as if it were going to turn, and whatever he had eaten for the day would come up.

A faint shape wavered in the shadows, stepping forward to prod one of the mutilated corpses. ”Gross,” The masked face noted, prodding one of the corpses with a finger. ” So willing to kill until it came to be their time to go, then it’s all the ugly facets of their nature. ”

His eyes from behind the mask considered the him thoughtfully,  smirk playing across his lips. Considering X for a moment. ”Z right? No, it’s X. Feels like it’s been a while. Nother time, another place.” His hand rose, holding what looked to be a face transfixed in terror. ”a shame nothing came of their grand revolution. The world keeps spinning and they water the earth with their blood. In the end the efforts of humanity are fruitless.  To be or not to be, that is the question.” With the last line he forced the skulls jaws to mouth the line. ”so what do you hope to accomplish now? Swoop in and stop another monster from killing people? As if.”  It was then he noted the weapon now within his free hand, taking the vague shape of a hand and a half sword.

”Why are you doing this? You didn’t have to kill them.” His voice shook, unable to keep himself from shaking and the pain within his chest acted up.

”Maybe not. Killing them and not killing them, neither matters. I did it because I wanted to. They just were not strong enough to defend.” With a deft flick of the wrist his weapon lodged into the leg of one trying to run. ”I wonder, what’ll stop me from doing something similar to you two.”

Drifter tapped his wrist computer. He was notifying the police of this man's location, and letting them know the Secretary was secure. He even sent a copy of the video they just took for proof, along with of course streaming it online for the public. This was over. The Equalizer was over. Though he had succeeded today, Drifter had been a failure. Instead of a symbol of standing up to oppression, he had become a symbol of oppression—of heartless murder, envy, and resentment. Today was just more proof of that—the straw that broke the camel's back.

Luke tore his mask off, then pulled his lighter out. He still had a thin, ski-mask like layer under his normal mask for cushioning, so there was no risk of revealing himself to the secretary. He looked at Humanity right in the optics, flicking the lighter until a flame lit. The vigilante hesitated before he set it ablaze, though, as if it were difficult.

"It's hard, killing a part of yourself—unnatural, even. But sometimes, to become who you really are you have to let go of things that have for so long defined you. If I can become someone else, I think you can too." Luke said, a small bit of sadness in his voice as he set Drifter on fire. He dropped the mask on the ground, watching it burn. He didn't know what this meant for him. When he was Drifter, he felt like he was somebody. He felt alive—complete, in some sense. But that cruel, insane, evil man was not who he was. It wasn't what he so long ago believed he would be. This world needed changing, yes, and it needed great individuals to do it, but not like this. Not every again.

"I can't be Drifter anymore. I don't know who I am going to end up instead, but it has to be done. I have to.... Start fresh. Go back to my roots. I guess what I'm saying is, this might be the last time I do anything as a vigilante. I need to figure out if I can do it without making things worse. It's been great fighting with you, brother, but this could be the end, as much as I hope it isn't," Luke said to Humanity, beginning to walk out. After all, they needed to get out of here before the cops came. What they had done was technically against the law, even though they had saved thousands with the defusing of the bombs. This was the point the Secretary piped up, thanking them and letting them know he owed them, essentially. Luke nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Secretary." After that quick exchange, Luke continued walking out. Pat had slipped out earlier, and with all the revolutionaries leaving just minutes before, he wanted to see if his friend was alright. This wasn't the Avengers. Just because they took out the leader didn't mean all the Ghosts would just drop what they were doing immediately. He made his way outside, shoving through the warehouse's heavy metal door. The sight he was faced with made him gasp in shock.

Bodies. Bodies were everywhere. Pat and X were facing down the man Luke assumed was the culprit: The Dark Traveler, The Black Beast. The one that had caused so much trouble for all of them and who indirectly cost him his hand. The evil with the face of his friend. Luke heard the back half of what he had said. It was a question. The Traveler was asking for a reason not to kill the two men in front of him.

"Always the dramatic one, aren't you Pat?" Luke yelled, walking towards the trio. The sentence was a callback to how the Traveler opened their conversation in Luke's van. When Luke got close, he stepped in front of the two other vigilantes.

"I can't imagine any appeal to some higher moral order will stop you, so I won't do that. I'll appeal to your own words: You're in my corner, aren't you? You never left? If that's true, you won't take my brother away. You won't make me go through what you went through. That's what happened, isn't it? That's why you teleported me away from the King when I was possessed by Death instead of just ripping my body apart and banishing him..... That would have been a lot easier for you, but you did the opposite. You tried to protect me," Luke said. He pulled his under-mask off, dirty blonde hair blowing in the wind, and pale grey, watery eyes looking at the corrupted form of his friend. He almost couldn't bare to face it, but he forced himself. He almost couldn't imagine what would bring Patrick to this place, but he forced himself to. The distinct passion that always appeared in Luke's voice when he spoke about something he truly believed in appeared, causing his voice to quiver.

"P-pat, I... I'm sorry. I'm not going to say you're evil or act like some grand standing Evangelical, because fuck that. Fuck all of those people telling you what you can and can't be. I'm not going to pretend I know what's right for you or who you really are..... But I can tell you what's true to me: That I love you, and always will. You in the past, present, and future. You when you've been through terrible tragedy, and you in a life of pure bliss. I don't care what you've become. You're my brother no matter what form you take. If you've decided you don't think that love matters, and that you want to snuff it out, you can do so. I won't pass pretentious judgement on what I think should matter to you.  It's your choice. But I'll still have nothing but good will in my heart towards you, until my last breath," Luke stepped forward, trying to place a hand on the Travelers shoulder. The vigilante looked at his friend with tears in his eyes.

"I don't know who you are now, Patrick, but I know you're still one of the best men I've ever met. Please, don't take him from me. Don't take yourself from me. If you ever valued me and Matt, don't harm this brotherhood, not for God, law, or morality, but for me, for us," Luke said, his hand on the Traveler's shoulder turning into a hug, if the being would let it happen. He would then whisper into his brother's ear.

"Just....... do what you think is right, buddy. I already forgive you."