Trouble with Turkey (Novus)

The rain scattered upon the earth, each drop crashing against the surface of the planet, the pattering against the ground almost deafening at the sheer volume that the rain came down. It was said in many societies that rain was the herald of misfortune, in many other cultures it was seen as a purifying and life-sustaining force. To the popular culture of the time, rainy days were the days that funerals were for. You knew to be more sad at a funeral in the rain, rather than one in the sun. It was utter garbage, yet the masses ate it up, loving every bit of it. What else did society just decide that it was going to "Eat up" as it was dished out to them on their proverbial TV treys. But that wasn't the point of today. No...today was about something else. Something equally symbolic as the rain, and something as serious as the concept of life and death.

Lucas Alba was staying in Turkey for a short time. He remained hidden quite well, even if he didn't intend to be hidden. His traveling the world and finding himself, or rather trying to scope the world was a tale that many hoped he would tell with enthusiasm. There were a few whom hoped that he had tales of a grand adventure, or a crusade. The child wasn't even around and yet they had expectations of him, they had associated him with his father's vision, his own ambition and drive. Perhaps that's one of the reasons that he stayed away for as long as he had. It's not that he could be blamed in the slightest. He was left to his devices and he simply walked away. Sure he had security, sure he had Ryan with him occasionally. But he simply left...and it almost seemed as if nobody cared to track him down.

Of course he was the unholy hybrid of the two smartest men Gravitas had ever known. How was he to compete? How was he to track down an individual that was BORN smarter than the heights he could ever hope to reach? Well it was actually quite a simple process. He followed the bread crumb trail, like a moron. Got thrown of Lucas' trail. Then he used his investigation skills to track purchases. Of course they were encrypted, so he held up a poor A.I that was one human that Lucius trapped inside of a power core. With the encryption broken it turns out the A.I was a bit sour over his treatment by Lucius and brought Gravitas to a death-machine known as "ANONYMOUS". After breaking an arm fending off the thing and shutting down it's kill-streak, Gravitas hunted down Ryan's trail, and he met their brother, Zeke. The kid screamed so loud Gravitas got a headache and tried to leave, but then he was assaulted by the a small child that fought Alpha.

So the story doesn't end anytime soon. He genuinely tried everything, but then he actually managed to find a lead, that wasn't ripped from underneath him. He managed to lock onto an energy signature that was one associated with Lucius. Not his A.I but an A.I that was once connected with his A.I. The blip lasted for only a short time, but as Gravitas followed it, he soon uncovered the lair that Orpheus had created. The high tech facility seemed to open, the A.I seemed to ignore Gravitas for the most part, as Orpheus' bleeding heart lay the same automated confession to Lucas.

"I know that, by the time you see this. By the time you've followed the beacon here. You'll likely have been angrier with me than I ever dared to imagine. I deserve it. Lucas, I knew that I was going to die. I knew that there was nothing that I could truly do about it because f I survived...Lucius would not. I know that you must think a great many things but, please understand. Lucas you are so much greater than the world I've made for myself. This entire time I've been living my life, a story of vengeance and bloodlust, a story of finding oneself and acceptance but It wasn't until today that I realized this- this isn't my story. It's yours Lucas. Not Lucius', and not mine. I'm just proud to have been a part in it. Even if, in the end, it was being a monster to the only ones I never wished to hurt. I'm so sorry, Lucas. Lucius should survive if our calculations are correct. He-he doesn't deserve a second chance Lucas. But I know you'll give him one...and I know that while you may regret it early on, you will know that you were loved more than anything else he holds. Ryan, if you're here as well I-. Well I'm so sorry I never got the chance to meet you. But I know that you are the only one that Lucas can count on now. I know that you're hurting, I know that you likely feel cold. Talking about it may not help but, you will always have Lucas. You will be strong, where I cannot, because you are unlike any other. I wish I could see the greatness you two would reach..." The video seemed to play, reciting everything as if the first time it was played. The actual face of Blood Tithe could be seen, a paler version of Lucius with a grey beard and an almost wizened look to him. Tears streaming from his eyes, a weakness that was not expected of a monster. "I love you both..."

The transmission faded and suddenly a female form appeared, pixilated to a degree as it seemed to manifest as a holographic projection. She had no discernable form, but it wasn't long before the pixie-cut hologram spoke up, identifying Gravity Man and folding her arms. The A.I alerted him that Lucas' life was in danger, and in one month's time a group of Russian assassins sent to Turkey, armed with specific weaponry, would kill his protection detail, as him as well. Gravitas scrambled to figure out information, asking how they knew, who they were. No information was given, the A.I appeared to be what some might call "A bitch." She expressed that the science of predicting the future and ascertaining focal events where the "Wildcards" was difficult to calculate and triangulate, but this was one such event. She gave the address, the date and the time. Gravitas tried to get there as quickly as possible...but were the odd ever so against him...

They were in Turkey, and Lucas was enjoying the night in his fancy Hotel no doubt. He was living it up, while Gravitas had to come out as a one-man army to stop a bunch of Russian assassins from taking out Lucius' son. Not that he wouldn't happily give his life to defend Lucas but, truth be told he preferred breathing to NOT breathing. He knew that his Lieutenants would have assisted him, but many of them were still recovering, and Ink was still in a coma. So he had to do it alone.

A man walked into the lobby, several others behind him, though all of them dressed the part of residents checking in, each of them with another partner alongside them. They all had luggage, but the weights and gravitational fields surrounding the bags, it was a perfect ruse to hide heavy-weapons and munitions. They began to check in, each of them going and heading for the elevator, a few taking the stairwell. Gravity Man watched as Lucas seemed to return to the Hotel, he was...older than Gravitas remembered. he froze for a moment as he tried to determine if hat he was perceiving was Lucas or not, but true enough it had to be. He cleared through the rain and went about his life. Gravitas listened to the ticking of the clock, waiting for the alarm to go off, not wanting to spring so quickly into action. He took in a deep cold breath and waited. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

The rain stopped. Though everyone around froze, looking confused and confounded as they quickly realized that the rain hadn't stopped. No, the rain was suspended in air, Gravity itself no longer in effect as the hooded figure emerged from the dark alleyway and began to head towards the Hotel. As Gravitas walked he identified the last two stragglers of would-be assassins in the lobby. Their shifting weights allowed him the ability see their reaction as he approached the lobby. Their quick movements were cut short as he held his hand up and clenched his fist. All the rain fired through the air, their vectors and applied force changed as rain shattered the glass door and sped past people, piercing through the couple, chunks of flesh being ripped out as water pellets pierced through their skin. They weren't dead quite yet. Gravitas released the clenched fist, the rain beginning to fall to the earth behind him as he entered the building. With a wave of the hand the two bloodied bodies were tossed to the side.

"Police. Policia. Politsiya. The Pigs. Get them here. Them. Now. Thank you." He ordered, not quite sure if any of the languages he just said would register. He looked to the elevator, then looked to the stairwell. He walked to the elevator and reached in, pressing the 7th floor. He then walked over to the stairwell, stood in the center and shot himself up to the seventh floor, landing a floor above a couple of individuals whose weapons had already been removed form the phaux-luggage. "Buongiorno?" The way he said it, he seemed to almost be asking them if the word meant anything to them. They raised their guns and he made a violent sweep with his hands, throwing them both against the wall. As the bullets rang out in the stairwell. Gravitas walked through the 7th floor door, dragging two bloodied and unconscious individuals by the scruff of their neck. He turned the corner and watched as the elevator opened. He walked over and dropped the two people into the elevator, then pressed the 9th floor button.

"Good Christ, getting my cardio in today." He said as he ran out of the elevator and back to the stairwell. He shot himself up to the 9th floor. He stepped through the door, feeling the gravitational pull of two individuals on both ends of the hallway. Peeking out he heard a bullet flu, it would have hit his head, but the force around him planted it into the floor. He turend to the right and with the flick of the finger, the gravitational pull of the man's gun shifted, the bullet flew out and his shot then hit his associate on the other side of the hall. Gravitas then gave a friendly lift to the man and smashed him into the ground, repeating the process as he lifted the other man and pulled him closer. "Alright now I'm only gonna ask this once. Where-" He got these words out before the man he suspended threw his leg up, finding purchase right between the Gravity manipulator's knees. He doubled over as the man dropped one final time form the ceiling and to the ground. The man laughed as he pulled out a pistol, and aimed it.

*Ding* The elevator opened, the two unconscious assassins slumped over were greeted by the image of Gravitas covered in blood, dropping a single body into the elevator, reaching over and with apparent fury pressing the 12th floor. He turned back towards the stairwell, walking with a bit of a limp, fragments of bone splinter and flesh strewn across the hallway. "Good morning! Buenos Morningno!" He panted as he noticed the strange looks from some ladies that were staring from the rooms they peered from. He took in a deep breath and began to quickly bring himself up to the 12th floor. This was the last stop before Lucas' penthouse. He entered the floor, walking faster but with an uneasy gait. As he stepped out he found himself surrounded, two people on each side as two of the devices began to project a beam of blue energy, shilling Gravitas to the core as he began to feel his breath freezing in his lungs. With a quick punch to the floor he dropped through, only to float right back up and make a violent twirling motion. It wasn't graceful, it was violent, like a dancer of death and not a prima ballerina!

The guns all gravitated towards him before orbiting around him and flying back at the men whom attempted to shoot him. Landing his feet back to the floor he made a quick motion and sent two people out the far window of the hallway, then crooked his fingers and pulled them back, clotheslining them as he stuck his arms out. The elevator door opened and he made a motion and flung the two towards the back of the elevator, making a hollow noise as they bounded off the back. The other two from this floor attempted to run, only to find themselves pulled back across the run, pulled right to Gravitas. Of course it wasn't a difficult task for the woman with the stiletto to drive her foot towards Gravitas' groin. He jumped back. "HAH! Too smart for that. Wo't get me again, dirty Russian assassins." He said as he lifted the woman and smashed her to the floor, throwing her at the elevator, the door closing just as she passed through. In his motion to get her in the elevator he found himself experiencing another fierce pain as the man he dragged had completed what the woman could not.

Gravitas dropped and rolled onto his side. He reached over and gripped the man's head, his skill suddenly becoming twenty times heavier as Gravitas gave his head a quick shove away, snapping the spianl column through the front of his neck. He began to cry in pain as he rocked back and forth, realizing that this was going to have impacts for generations to come. Making his way to his knees, he began to make small scooching motions with each knee, making it to the elevator, pressing the button, allowing the door to open, but then pressing the L button. His last stop would be the pent house, and he could use the stairs for that one, he's need to take the elevator shaft.

Gravitas let the elevator vanish before utilizing his normal strength to push the doors open, looking up the shaft as he began to float, wobbling in the air as he weightlessly floated upwards. Immediately he pushed the doors open, looking exhausted and pained as he saw two of the security detail rendered unconscious, silently defeated. Gravitas stepped into the living space, looking as a rather massive man stood there, six others around him, all of them lining up with their guns trained on a door. From the other side of the door, Gravitas could feel the same type of feeling as the rain, water hitting the ground. They were going to kill him while he was in the shower or bath?

"Hello everybody, My name is Gravitas and today we're going to play 'Death to the Conspirators.' The rules are simple. I live. You die." He said with a smile, as all the guns turned to him.

Lucas could likely hear a ton of gunfire from his bathroom, the fire being unleased, the bullets careening and hailing down like nobody's business. Truthfully Gravitas expected him to know his life was in danger, the child was living perfection on in a suit. The unfortunate part, however, was that Gravitas himself was not entirely prepared. You see, as Lucas was finishing his hygiene in the water, the door splintered open as Gravitas flew against the wall, hood flying back and off as his fogged and atrophied eyed strained shut as he groaned audibly. He seemed to whine as tears formed. There were bodies out there, all but one of the assassins had been eliminated in the initial onslaught. Gravitas seemed to let out a really high pitched whine as the 8 foot tall man walked forward, the Russian man made of pure muscle entered.

"Why does everyone....keep kicking me....in the dick!?" He asked as he reached out and clenched his fist. The man's body straining for a moment before he shook his head and growled.  "Excuse me, your Excellency. This will take me a minute to deal with..." Gravitas said, realizing his power didn't work as he had wanted. He struggled to stand a little as he staggered forward, the Russian seeming amused at the hobbling man approaching him.

Turkey was a place of great beauty, and yet at the same time a place of undeniable tyranny. In that sense it wasn't that much different from Belarus. What was different about it, however, was the severe inequality. Whereas in Belarus people had what they needed, even if many had quite a lot more, in Turkey there was a very visible class divide. There were those that were rich and powerful, and those that just wanted to make it through the next 'purge' of government detractors. They lived off barely anything, and often wept openly in the streets.

Lucius had always said "You can't save everyone. Focus on protecting yourself and those you hold dear." This saying had been told to him in dozens of different ways over the years, but the essence was always the same: The pain of the world is not your problem.

Lucas was not a stupid boy. He understood the logic behind his father's words, yet he hated them. He hated that they were perhaps true. No matter how much money he had, he couldn't get rid of the possibility a child would go hungry. No matter how much power he had, he couldn't extinguish evil completely. That fact enraged the young man, especially because Lucius did not follow his own advice. His father's entire project was to save the world by whatever means necessary. Lucas believed his Dad only said those words to him so he wouldn't have to bear the same weight and guilt, but the allure to take on that impossible responsibility seemed ingrained in him none the less.

Lucas had walked around the slums of Istanbul with food, drinks, and money. He filled entire carts with goods, but they were always gone in minutes. It was never enough. No matter how much he gave, these people needed more help, and this was only one city among millions. Why was there so much suffering in the world? Why could it not be quenched? Was he just naive? He was starting to believe that his efforts were futile, but that did not shake him from his path. He still believed his gestures were good, even if they wouldn't change anything.

Orpheus had said on his last message in that lair Lucas had been lead to that this was his story. This was Ryan's story. He said he wished he could have been around to see their greatness. That had made the boy tear up when he heard it, but not just because Orpheus and probably Lucius were gone for good, but also because he didn't think it would be enough. Lucius had tried his entire life to change the world for the better, and it lead to him becoming a dictator and murderer. If he and Ryan tried, would they become like that too? Would their good hearts be enough, or did the evil and problems of the world mean that any attempt to extinguish them meant you had to use overwhelming force? Freedom meant that there would be potential for evil and hardship, but control meant a life not worth living. That seemed to be the choice. Either live under a Lucius Alba, the one man evil enough to force all other evil to it's knees, or put up with conflict, corruption, and disparity.

Lucas shook his head. Best not to think about it all.

He had been outside in the heat all day, so needed a shower. He made his way up to his penthouse feeling the sweat drip off him. Yeah, he was spending his time here in luxury, but he never believed that him having a good life hurt others. The world wasn't a pizza, with only so many slices for everyone. You could always make more.

"Sven, make sure you're monitoring everything. It's a dangerous place," Lucas said. Sven didn't respond, but the boy knew he had heard and would do as he was asked. Lucas' paranoia was kicking in. He had seen some shady characters today that didn't fit with the population. All week he had seen the people that lived here, and the large, stark white people of Russian decent seemed a bit suspect after that. Though, there could have been some kind of event in down. He didn't know, but it paid to be careful.

Lucas let the water wash over him. It was nice after such a long day. Maybe he'd take it easy tomorrow. He deserved that, right? He had been all over the world in the last few months, helping people and exploring. It had helped him figure many things out, but it was quite tiring as well. Maybe a few lazy days is what he needed.

After about five minutes of washing, Lucas jumped at a familiar sound: Gun fire.

"Sven! This is the top floor! You expect me to believe you had no warning of this?!" Lucas said. Out from the speakers in the bathroom, which were everywhere in the penthouse, came the sound of a bored AI.

"Smite."

"What?!"

"I was playing smite. They have JoJo characters now. They just kept adding shit after RWBY."

"I know what Smite is, I'm asking you why you're playing right now!"

"Oh, right. Well aren't you basically invincible? Didn't feel the need to bother"

Before Lucas could go on scolding his AI for his inefficiency, the gunfire intensified, and someone burst right through the door, shattering it to pieces. Lucas covered himself as best he could with his hands, before quickly and awkwardly grabbing for a nearby bathrobe. While he struggled to get it on, he realized who had just been thrown through his bathroom door—it was Gravitas!

".....What are you doing here, Gravity Man? How did you find me? Ugh, I guess it doesn't matter. Look away!" Lucas said. It was at this point the large Russian man came into the doorway. He was an imposing man, definitely, and if he could throw Gravity Man around he was probably strong. Why did this have to happen during shower time?! He hadn't even used soap yet!

"Hey perv, get out of here!" Lucas said. He raised his hand and suddenly a powerful wave of white energy tinged with red shot out at the man at the doorway. If it landed, not only would this send him flying and do damage with the incredible concussive force, but the power of the white aspect would also sap the man's stamina and will to fight while making him feel guilt or sorrow for his actions, though one blast rarely made people stop fighting. To add to this, the currently less powerful red aspect would cause some slight burning and corrosion, but this was only a secondary effect.

"Don't look? Don't look!? I'm BLIND so unless you're dick is big enough to have it's own unique gravitational field I can't s-" Gravitas began as he tried to stand up, grabbing the counter to do so. He managed to stand and shook his head, as if he had been hit with a deeply regrettable revelation. "-oh....I'll be in the other room." He said as he hobbled The Russian man was sent flying back, that much was obvious. His will to fight seemed to be there, but he was certainly huffing and puffing. His skin was beginning to blister slightly and turn reddened, as if he had experienced a bad case of sunburn. Gravitas coughed and looked to all the unconscious people on the floor, Circling the man a little, with his back to the window.

"I have ONLY killed the ones who hit me in the dick. Give up and we can call it even." Gravitas said, slightly doubled over in the living room, steams of discolored spit coming from beneath the hood, quite happy at his policy to never eat right before a mission. The Russian seemed to not even understand, but he seemed to be quite determined to finish his mission, perhaps controlled or mindwashed into seeing it through. The large Russian charged. Quickly thinking Gravitas realized that the man's body wasn't affected by his powers. Fair enough. Gravitas charged forward with his shoulder and increased his density, hardening his form as he gripped onto the Russian, and becoming an nearly immovable force. The sheer weight caused Gravitas feet to dent into the floors.

The Russian's sheer strength was nothing to scoff at, though this battle should have been quite something, it was almost over in a flash. As the Russian gave a powerful heave, Gravitas loosened his molecular composition, causing him to become so thin and weightless that the man charged right through him, and broke through the window. Unfortunately he was too large to fall through, and merely became stuck. Gravitas took a moment to solidify his form, coughing a little before he held a hand up, trying to stop some of the rain, akin to how he did in the lobby. Then he realized that Lucas was probably going to be walking in at some point, meaning such unnecessary brutality was uncalled for. Gravitas walked up to the man and brushed off his elbow.

"We'll call it even!" Gravitas said as he jumped and increased his weight in the point of his elbow, smashing it into the man's spine, causing a loud cracking and splintering noise, as his legs went limp, and he yelled from the outside. He then stood up from the ground and walked over to the main area, looking around at the couches and rubbing his face from beneath his hood. With a pained whimper he withdrew a small, slightly bloodied bullet from beneath the hood, dropping it onto the coffee table. He hoped Lucas took the time to finish his shower, as the threat seemed to be over...but he was never quite sure with people like this.  

"I'm rarely grateful for these powers....today is one of those times." He muttered to himself as he cleared hid throat, looking at some of the soldier's guns, as best as he could. Many of them had strange composition, different rounds and some of them shot a chilling blue energy that he had never experienced before. Then he recalled several of them sporting heavy munitions, yet he didn't happen upon any of those assassins. But he was certain that he counted them all. They were all here. Gravitas reached for the phone and picked it up, pressing the first button he could find.

"size nasıl yardımcı olabilirim efendim?" The words came through from the desk. Gravitas began to growl a little before taking a deep breath in and exhaling, calmly speaking into the phone.

"Hi. Yes. Hello. Do you by chance speak English?" He asked, to which he let out a very depressed sigh as he heard the woman respond.

"Üzgünüm anlayamıyorum" was the response. The fact it wasn't in English told him all he needed to know. Reaching up and pulling his hood he placed his hand on the wound where the bullet had partially lodged into his skill, applying pressure with a decorative napkin that was placed on the table. He leaned forward and put his hand to the arm of the chair and shifted awkwardly as he realized he was also bleeding from the shoulder. He didn't even realize he had been hit in the shoulder. He grumbled a little as he stood up. He went looking  for paper towels or fabric, and when he found the curtains he tore them down, beginning to put down on the blood he soaked into the couch, looking around almost hysterically out of his element, and unsure of what to do as he left a trail of blood drops behind him, dripping like a wounded animal.