Ghost of a Chance

Poe was far from a professional hero. She barely knew what she was doing, just a few months ago she was do coke in the back of a club with some friends of hers. Thinking on it, she could go for some of that now. But no. She had to focus. It was elven in the evening, the night had touched the streets of New York City, and she had patrols to do. She was assigned to a few of the backstreets, a few abandoned buildings in a seedier section of the city. Her mentor, one Rabbit Punch, thought it’d be good for her to get some experience in.

She didn’t think it was needed to hide her ethereal form as she sat on the windowsill on the fourth story of one of the abandoned buildings. Just as people could see her from the street she could see them. Not that it was particularly busy. She honestly had only seen one or two people, both of them drunk and stumbling back to their homes. Neither had seemed notice her, or if they did they didn’t care. As she sat she held her mask on her lap, idling playing with one of the feathers as she waited for something exciting to happen. She had expected something to happen, but so far it had been a slow start to the night.

However, as she just started to get cozy in the silence her phone tone blared through the room. She nearly jumped off the window at the sudden sound. She fumbled for it and answered without looking, though she smiled at the familiar voice.

“Wyatt? Hey there!” She laughed, a sly smirk on her face, “Did you miss me? Can’t get me out of your thoughts.”

Wyatt stuttered and sighed for a moment, “Wh-no? I was just checking in with you.” He seemed to fumble with something for a moment, “I’m picking you up in the morning, right?”

“Oooooh, you know if you’re eager to see me in the morning you could come and keep me company.” She nearly licked her lips as she teased him. She honestly wasn’t all that into him but she liked to fluster him. He was fun to mess with and he was one of her better friends.

Wyatt sighed again, “Its my night off, Tavi…go easy on me, I’m trying to destress.”

“Is that right? I can help with th-”

“No. Stop. Just…I’ll call you in a bit to check in again.”

“Awwww, you do care. I can’t wait to talk to you again, cutie.”

“Later.”

Wyatt hung up quickly, though Tavi could hear the quick sigh that Wyatt did when he was flustered. He was too cute. He was like a puppy or something like equally squeezable. She tucked away her phone and grinned as she looked back down to the street. That was a good time killer, but now, more than anything, she needed something exciting to happen. This night was going to be a major bummer if not…

As she hoped, something exciting was about to happen.

A few hours earlier, Arthur's jet would be over the New England area in North America. He soon began to plot for what was to come in a briefing room. If he was to make sure his over arching plan came to fruition, he'd need more power... More of those metahuman corpses. Hero, villain, civilian, it didn't matter. But where would be better to snatch up bodies than New York? Packed with people, robbers to be thwarted by powerful heroes, epic battles in the skies between metas. All happening on the daily in the city.

While in descent to the JFK Airport, Arthur compiled his ideas into a streamlined timeline. It was always a tough choice thinking of which cryogenically frozen corpse to use.

"Each of the three men have their own unique power. All with their own drawbacks. If only I could combine them into one form... I should look into that. But for now, what would be the best in this packed city? Aah, well, I'll choose when I arrive at the safehouse..."

The jet finally touched down at the JFK, where the cryogenic pods containing his three current bodies, were shipped over to his safehouse. In an armored vehicle, Arthur was driven through the city, looking up at the reconstruction efforts from a certain other Doctor.

He'd hear them again. The whispers. Speaking of chaos and evil. "They haven't seen true chaos yet. Soon. I'll bring you back. I'll let you shape the world in your image."

Arthur had arrived at the safehouse and entered, sitting at a coffee table. The pods were stored in the garage, resting there. He began to choose who to use in the concrete jungle. Concrete... Perhaps Corbyn's power could be useful here, encasing heroes in solid Stone, stabbing them to death with pikes. Yes... Perfect. A metahuman bank robbery could be a good cover. Get a little hero there to kill and relieve of their abilities.

Soon there were lights and sirens as police cars booked it to a bank. Reports of impalement from surfaces around them, several people slain by an intruder. The intruder was negotiating with the police. But most of all, it could all be seen from Poe's *BIRD'S* eye view on the windowsill.

As soon as the sirens went off and the lights could be seen Poe was standing on the ledge, staring off in the direction of the source. The police were there…did that mean she shouldn’t go? What was the protocol for heroes in the case of the cops showed up? Cops were basically heroes, right? They were just less flashy and had none of the powers that made heroes super. He hummed a bit, holding her chin as she looked out at the scene. It was too far to really get a good image of it, but it seemed serious. Something in her “gizzard” stirred and she felt as though she should do something.

She let out a breath, “Major bummer, man…hope the cops don’t cause too many problems for me…” She slipped on her mask and two large wings made of black feathers sprouted from her back, her fingers developing sharp talons. She gave a “crack” of her neck and took off with a quick flap. It would only take a minute or two for her to actually arrive at the bank, perched on the ledge of a building across the way. Her keen eyes looked down at the situation, a deep frown on her face as she spotted the damage done by whatever fiends were inside. She shook her head, “Now that’s just edgy…”

With a few more flaps of her wings she would fly over to the top of the bank, careful to stay out of the view of the cops, not wanting to be considered a potential target. Thankfully there was a large dome like glass ceiling to the bank, giving her the perfect vantage point to look down into the building. She would perch herself right on the rim of it, though still cautiously hanging back. If she was lucky then no one below would notice her.

As she looked down below she felt a buzz from her phone. It was a text from Wyatt. She blinked a few times as she read it.
Wyatt: I heard sirens, what’s going on?
Tavi: Totes got a bank robbery. Seeeeeeeeems super serious.
Wyatt: Oh dear, omw.
Tavi: Naaaah, don’t worry ‘bout it babe, I totes got this.
Wyatt: You sure?
Tavi: Totes, if I capture the bank robbery you’re taking me out to that smoothie place :smoothie emoji: :heart emoji:

She didn’t wait to see Wyatt’s reply. She tucked away her phone and looked down below, trying to spot the criminals.

Criminals? Criminal. Singular. She'd soon find out as she noticed a man, young messy, long hair. He looked pale, his body looked as if it was rotting. Both patrons and employees within the premises had sharp, Rocky spears through their chests and legs. It was gruesome.

Below, the man was paced through the bank, a few hostages left alive. He'd grab one of them by the hair and throw them down again. His feet would be uncovered as he took steps on the marble flooring. As his feet made contact with the ground, the floors would warp, a hostage wrapped in stone being thrust to the front entrance of the bank. In his mouth was a note. It read "bRIng hEroEs" scrawled in blood.

There was a young girl, no more than 8 that was a wrapped up hostage. One would notice her attempting to escape, wiggling in the cocoons of rock. The CEO of creepy would approach her and smirk. Maybe if her life was ended, he could speed up a hero's arrival.

He'd narrow his eyes at her, and she'd turn away in fear. "Hey, hey. Don't fret, little one. Your death will bring me closer to the Old Ones. You're a big help to me. Just know, that in your death, I shall rise, and see those for which I truly worship."

The being would now bring her to where the other hostage was with the note to the officers. He'd bring her over, still wrapped up. The police would slowly see the rock constrict, the robber's face lighting up with joy. Soon. They'd broadcast this girl's death and send heroes after him! He'd get to kill them and take their powers! He'd get to become a god and join those that whisper to him! Arthur could bring them to this world and rule alongside them. Gods, Monsters, Eldritch beings, reshaping the world in their image. It was his dream. He craved it.

"I rise. I will rise!" He willed the rock to constrict further, getting closer and closer to the girl's death. It was spectacular! Something to behold. He was giddy with joy at the sight of this girl's agony. It was diabolical.

Poe carefully eyed over the situation, judging what would be the best course of action. What would Wyatt do in a situation like this? There were hostages involved and the person down below was most certainly empowered in some way.  He was probably insane too, writing that message in blood. What a waste of blood! There were a million uses for blood and the guy went and used it on something useless like writing a message. You could just use sharpies for this kind of thing! Or like, even a text would’ve been even more efficient. Plus! PLUS! That blood could’ve had diseases in it. That was dumb to do. Who was this villain?!

Of course, she didn’t know exactly what the power was, but if Wyatt were here he’d probably try and cause a distraction and get the guy away from the hostages, bring him somewhere safe to fight and take him out ther-…and he took a hostage. Of course, he did. And he was being super menacing and edgy about it too! He even took a kid. What a bummer…

She sighed and gave a small flap of her wings and lift up a few feet off of the ground. Looks like she didn’t have time to really think things out or get him away from the hostages. At this point the man was leading the kid out of the building, probably gonna do something public to her. She would just have to brute force it, the thing she was best at.

She flew straight up and then down at an angle, phasing through the building the and soaring straight towards the back of the villain, going as fast as she could, her talons outstretched. She would try and knock the villain away from the girl as well as sink her talons into the man’s back. If the attack landed she’d dig her talons in and try and drag her to the steps of the bank and drop him down them, trying to give him some distance from the bank.

Regardless of whether she had hit or not, she’d let out a heavy breath, a confident smirk coming to her face. “Hey, looks like you’ve seen a ghost. You ready to give up yet or are you gonna make things fun for me?” She’d crack her hands, despite not actually having bones…strange, “Ugh, wait…you look a lot worse up close…don’t you have like…a better mask you could wear?”

I must disagree, blood was used exquisitely in this situation! If he had merely used sharpie, it wouldn't have given that message of incoming dead hostages to the police officers. He would've looked like a bank robber. Also, he wouldn't have gotten to kill anyone. This hero had a lot to learn about villains and their motivations!

Well, anyway, Arthur stood, ready to end the girl's life as the bird person attempted to dive bomb him. Arthur would put his finger up to his ear and whisper,"Hit it." One of his eyes looked back, his supercomputer like mind working double time.

His voice would ring out from every direction. "Finally, a hero to kill. Oooh, flying and phasing so far. Two great powers that I will soon make my own."

If she wasn't travelling faster than a speeding bullet, he didn't have anything to worry about. As she approached, he was there one second and gone the next, having shifted mere feet in an instant, appearing a small distance away afterwards.

The girl was still wrapped up, but now on the other side of the playing field. Poe's side. They were only feet apart, but still, his voice sounded like it was coming from above. Maybe below?

"Why did it take you so long to act? You had me bored out of my mind with these hostages. Not very talkative people. I mean, obviously seeing the impalements they wouldn't want to pipe up, but come now. I'm not really that bad of a bad guy. Just someone who wants power."

Then the bird thing would go on a spiel about him seeing a ghost, making it fun, blah, blah, blah!

"Oh, but you are a talkative one. The bad type with the quips and blah. You put up a face of calmness to mask fear and possibly confusion. I'll bring out that fear, one way or another. Where do ghosts go when they die? I guess I'll find out."

Arthur, in Corbyn's body, would raise his hand, and bring a hostage to the stage. "Ooh, look. A new challenge for you. You said you wanted this to be fun, right? Well, we can't have it be one sided fun, now can we?"

The hostage's eyes would suddenly widen and his body would go limp as the inside of the wraps had grown spikes, going throughout his body like an improvised iron maiden. Blood would sleep out from between each individual wrapping of stone. It would patter onto the ground and the child behind Poe's eyes would light up in pure fear.

"I probably should've put up an R eating before we entered the showroom. Whoops! Well, you still have a few hostages you can save, hero. But the easiest way to save them now would be to end your own life here and now. Sounds crazy, I know. But trust me, you'll be helping me out, the hostages out, and I get to win! And when I get to win, I get happy and don't kill people. So, yeah. More hostages on your head for every minute you aren't dead! Caught myself with a little rhyme there. Hah!"

Rocky material would wrap around a female hostage this time, readying her for the slaughter. "Ooh, a pretty lady. Oh! And trying to kill me is, well, useless. I am unkillable after all. And I'll keep coming, and coming."

Poe blinked a few times, honestly surprised that the man managed to dodge out of the way from her strike. He must’ve been able to see it coming somehow, and to react at that speed…it was impressive, no doubt. If only the guy didn’t look like a rotted ass he may have been able to be a fun date or one night stand or something. It was a shame. Oh, also he was evil. That was a deal breaker too. Not homicidal maniacs. Not after the last one.

She sighed and looked over to him, her shoulders dropping and a deep, uninterested frown coming to her face. She couldn’t look more done with this situation if she tried. As the man went on monologuing and doing his foul deeds, bringing out a new hostage, she rose her hand slightly and tapped her four fingers to her thumb, a motion one would do when someone was talking too much. She seemed obviously bored with the guy.

Then it came, the man’s last statement. The threat of endlessly coming, over and over again, trying to send terror down the place where Poe used to have a spine. For a few moments, Poe just looked at the man, her mouth slightly agape at the man’s comment. Then, her bottom lip would begin tremble, her mouth closing. She brought both hands to her stomach and then started to laugh, it was a fun playful laugh. She closed one and eye and pointed at the man, continuing to laugh. She didn’t seem to mind the gruesome situation in front of her at all.

Being dead tended to make you a bit more morbid, at least in Octavia’s case.

“Pfffft…ha! That’s so pointlessly edgy!” She’d laugh a bit more, before shaking her head, simmering down to a faint snicker, “Who are you? No, seriously, who are you? What is this?” She wiped a tear shaped bit of ectoplasm from her eye and flicked it away, shaking her head. “Damn, dude, you’re really going extra on this situation. Like…do you have to be this dark? Or is this an act for attention?”

She composed herself after a moment, folding her arms in front of her, grinning widely at the man. “Alright, just to get this straight, if I give up myself to you, you let the hostages go, right? That’s what you’re trying to say?” She rolled her eyes a bit, “Come on, you could’ve just said that. Yeah, let’s do that. Come on over here.” She waved the man over cheerfully, seeming not to care all that much.

Of course, in her mind she didn’t actually plan to give herself so easily. She wasn’t some cheap, five dollar hooker. She had standards for Pete’s sake! But she had to try and do something for the hostages, that was part of being a hero. Or…at least that’s what Sam taught her about being a hero and he usually had a good mind when it came to heroics. She couldn’t do anything about those who already died, but she could do something for those still alive.

She let out a small breath, clearing her voice, and now seeming a bit more sincere. “Alright, yeah man, you can…what? Possess me? Take my powers? Here. I’ll even make it easy for you.” She kept the mask on, but her crow wings poofed into a cloud of black feathers. Gently, she landed on her feet, now just standing before the man. “How does this work? Do you buy me dinner first or…?” She eyed the man carefully, waiting for him to draw closer.

The scene was grusome, bodies impaled, hostages in air, a girl wrapped up behind Poe. Things were looking grim. However, she would soon double over and burst out in laughter.Arthur would raise an eyebrow at the person's laughing. Perhaps she was a real ghost and she was being a bit morbid to fit the look.

And then her spiel about edginess. "Ah, not one for theatrics. I never really was either. I thought it was necessary in the villain business. But if you're calling something needlessly edgy, I would like to ask you to, perhaps pull out one of those pocket mirrors, or use a shard of bloody glass to take a look at your own appearance. I mean, the bird mask is a little bit much. Maybe you could hand it over, add it to my collection."

But then, she'd begin to open herself up for him to overpower her. To kill her! But no, that wasn't right. Well, thinking back to her entrance, the phantom's intangibility would obviously be a hindrance to attempts to kill her. She travelled directly through a glass dome and such. It was obviously her stalling for time, attempting to get him to slip up. He would not.

"Ah, well, I really wouldn't want to be in your body anyway. It just isn't me. Your power set would be a little iffy, as well. But, I don't want you to have to go back out into the world and save people. So I guess I'll just kill you or something."

Arthur would unholster a handgun, firing as soon as it was pulled from his jacket. The round would soar through the air toward his new enemy. Or at least, that's what one would think. "Hey, if you die here, maybe you can pass on to the afterlife or whatever. Why aren't you in the afterlife, actually?"

He'd ponder the question himself. If there an afterlife? If there was, the Old Ones probably had some control over it. If he brought them over, he could prevent her from ever reaching it. Or maybe force her over. Ah, well. All in good time. But first, a test of her level of heroics. "So, what's your stance on saving people? Is it second to getting the bad guy? Maybe fame is your main goal? Use your reputation for your personal life, even?"

Back to the gunshot. This round was perfectly lined up for the girl behind Poe and Poe herself. The round was an armor piercing handgun round, so there was a chance it could puncture Poe on her own, taking both her, and the girl out of the game. But the was if she stayed solid. On the other hand, she could let the bullet pass through her and, y'know, end the life of the girl behind her. The choice was all hers.

Poe merely sighed at the gun being drawn and then rolled her eyes a bit as the bullets were fired. She could hear him ask her questions, but the bullets needed to be dealt with first before anything else. She could, of course, take them with little fear. She had been shot before, but they usually phased through her. It still hurt, but in this case if she didn’t do anything the person behind her would get hit. Her first thought was that it sucked to be the person behind her, but thankfully her hero instinct kicked in.

Poe took a step forward, stomping down her foot. As her foot came down she let out a ghostly howl emitting a strong force shooting forward. The force may be able to felt by the man, but it would be strong enough to knock the bullet’s trajectory away from both her and the girl, provided the bullet was not enhanced by anything or that her enemy didn’t advance. Given that nothing further happened, she would sigh and shrug at the guy. “Come on, bullets? And here I thought you were gonna do something new.” Bullets were the last thing she expected from the guy. He was empowered after all.

She’d clear her throat, placing a hand on her hip. “As for your questions and comments.” She’d raise a finger, “No, I wouldn’t die if you shot and killed me here. I have a backup for that sort of thing.” She’d raise a second finger, “My stance on being a hero is my own, telling you would be dumb, that’s basically telling you who to target.” She shook her head, “Come on, man. How much of this did you actually have plotted out? Honestly, you should just turn yourself in. Make it easier for everyone. You ain’t really gonna cause me any stress and everything else you do will hold little purpose? What do you gain from killing innocents? I’m here, I’m a hero, another hero coming seems low. You might as well just give up, ya know?”

When she finished with his questions, she’d shake her head once more. “Buuuuuuuuut!” A large, playful grin would grow on her expression. “I know it ain’t gonna be that simple! So!” She’d point a hand forward, her wings sprouting back out. He wouldn’t wait for a proper reaction or answer from him. From her bracer feathers would be propelled out, firing towards Arthur with the strength of fully drawn arrows. It may not seem like all that much, but she wasn’t trying to kill him. If they impacted successfully, it would just be impact wounds, not actually piercing skin. In the same motion, she’d flap her wings, beginning to lift off the ground, trying to get a new angle. “Don’t make this too easy for me or else I’m gonna fuck you up!”

As the wave knocked the bullets off course, they narrowly missed other hostages who squirmed in their bindings after almost being slain. Doc M would allow Poe to speak, get out her whole wing deal.

"Turn myself in? Why, that wouldn't benefit me at all! You have to have empathy! See things from my point of view."

He'd narrow his eyes at the ghost, rolling them soon after. "If you hadn't tried to trap me earlier, the girl would still be alive, y'know."

Suddenly, spikes would erupt from the ground, rushing at the young girl still tied up. Arthur would be pulled out of the way by rock under his feet, constantly shifting to break Poe's focus.

"You're less of a hero and more of a nuisance. I would've imagined a battle to be grander, more drama, passion. But you're acting like you're fourteen. Ah, well, I better be on my way. Other heroes to kill and powers to steal."

The rock beneath Doc M's feet would yank him toward a back exit, rock spikes nearing closer and closer to the encased young lady. There were bigger fish to fry than a ghost girl. He could take over a power nullifier, time traveller, any of those. Better options.

Poe turned and watched as the spikes just started to shoot out of the ground. She considered her options. The girl was still wrapped in stone which meant she couldn’t easily be moved unless the stone could be destroyed. Destroy the binding? Destroy the spikes? Or just let it happen? She didn’t like that last option, but she didn’t have too many choices. Damn…being a hero could suck? Was it always like this? She should’ve stayed at the party or let another hero take this. Rabbit could’ve easily dealt with this, even Sam! Wyatt…well…he may have struggled, he wasn’t the strongest, but at least he was smarter.

She sighed. She knew what she had to do, the material which binded the girl was just stone after all. This was going to be very uncomfortable, but she supposed this was what heroes did. She quickly flew in front of the girl, her wings sprouting and packing together, aiming to take the brunt of the force of the incoming spikes. While her wings prepped for impact, Poe would use her claws to begin crushing the rocks, trying to break the bindings which held the girl. She would have to try and get her out, at least that way she could actually focus on beating the guy without having to cover the innocent.

“Ha! A nuisance? That’s what heroes are to villains! You’re too much of drama queen, you edgy fuck! You gonna run away? I'm too much to handle?! You're pathetic, can't even handle someone new to the job!” She laughed, trying to seem bright and cheerful, doing her best to not make the hostage worry any further than she might’ve been. Honestly, Poe was stressed. She didn’t exactly know what she was doing, but she would at least do her best. That’s all anyone expected from her. Well, anyone who mattered to her. She generally didn’t care for the opinions of strangers. If the bindings did indeed come undone she would give the hostage a hard shove forward, trying to get her away from the incoming spikes. Poe wasn’t the densest person after all.

The torrent of rock spikes would fly forward, going for Poe and the hostage. They were vicious, stopping at nothing to get toward Poe. However, the rock constructs in their totality would dissipate into a stony ash, dusting away.

The speakers would still echo, "Good luck on your future endeavors, scum. When THEY arrive, you can be sure that you'll be one of the first to go."


Arthur would be out a back exit, being dragged by the stony concrete beneath his feet at high speeds, away and away! He didn't get to hear Poe's spiel about him being bad, blah, blah, but he was sure it was as bad as the rest. He'd rip off the mic connected to the Bank's speaker system, continuing his escape.

This ghost girl was a low level hero. At least, in the big picture. Her powers wouldn't be necessary if he got anywhere near to the start of his plan. The faux heist was just a test run for his powers and to do a little bit of searching for a hero somewhat worth it. The Old Ones would Grant him with powers unimaginable. He could come into contact with some cosmic forces. But that was all in the future.

In the now, Arthur was still street surfing on concrete away from the scene, radioing in to his people to ready his private aircraft. "Ready the jet and get geared. Got word of a new asset out west. Set sails for Kansas."