Bloody cold

Crunch crunch crunch

The snow under Jason's boots was fresh and untrodden by men. Good... no one else to scary away the pray. Jason caught his breath, easing it out in a slow drawn out sigh. He crouched down into the snow, bracing one hand on a knee as he looked at the tracks. Deer tracks, heading north. Small strides... meant it wasn't running when it made these marks. Jason put a hand over mark, feeling the resudal heat. Barely there, but it was there alright. These marks weren't even hours old. Jason grinned and began after the trail.

Here he was, out in the middle of nowhere and he didn't even have a jacket on. Jason was a metahuman, a pyro. The cold never bothered him as long as he could generate a thin fire within his skin. He was steaming though... quite literally steaming. Out here in the wilderness, Jason didn't have to hide his abilities or who he really was. It was the type of freedom he loved, one that came only out here in the frozen tundras he knew so well. He had a small grin on his face till here heard something head of him. Jason ducked behind a tree, drawing out his hunting bow. The deer stood there, ears raised as it listened for Jason. He drew and arrow from his quiver, knocking it and drawing the string back. Have to be quite a shot... 50 meters at least.

Crunch crunch crunch

Jason grinned has he marched his way back into town, a deer slung over his shoulder. It wasn't the biggest one, but it would do. He nodded to a couple people as he walked down the street of the small town. He had been here before, mostly just passing through. He was in full winter gear now, not wanting to have people talk about him being weird. They thought him to be some sort of trapper who came through for supplies. Truth was, Jason was about a month and half trip away from his parents house and was just wandering around. It was another one of his explorations out into the forests. After dropping off the carcass at a store for a couple bucks, he headed into the bar. He slapped his few buck down on the the bar as he sat on a stool. The keep slid a beer over to him, frowning at him but saying nothing. Hey, Jason was 19 that was the legal age in these parts. He sat there, nursing the beer since it was all he could afford right now

Adem, himself far from home and filled with his own wanderlust, entered the bar. It was a bit of a dive for his tastes. Adem's tastes, though, were beyond his means. Not a poor man, Adem was nonetheless filled with delusions of grandeur and was impatient to fulfill them.

Sitting at the bar was the young man who he had followed. Adem had caught sight of the hunter, or rather the hunter's small trailing mist cloud and took the time to observe the other man for a while. What he saw reminded him of himself at that age: restless, competent and unafraid of his own power. Perhaps this was Another?

Adem had received his own life's calling while out hiking in Crimea as a boy. He knew that he was gifted with the talents of a conqueror, in the same vein as the great men of old. He was not shy from this destiny; he would one day stand facing a host of subjects, all chanting his name reverently.

This was not, he wisely realized, a foregone conclusion. Chinghis Khan had Jamukah, Caesar had Marc Antony and all of the rest had other men who could have bested them at an early juncture and changed the course of world events. Adem was looking for such men. Surely there were others out there, who had been visited by the Dynasty Guardian and received his blessing or perhaps of some rival to the Guardian who had awoken Adem's own power.

Such men must be found. Those who had the Conqueror Spirit must be made into allies with whom an understanding could be reached, or they must be cast aside by Adem's superior prowess and will. Perhaps this one here was touched by the Guardian.

The other man did not look imposing, but Adem's own experience had taught him the dangers of underestimation. Steam did not rise from weak men. Adem appreciated strength, and he would cautiously but sincerely offer the hand of alliance if the stranger was worthy.

Adem strode with a patrician grace to the empty stool next to the young man. Sitting, he ordered a whiskey. He had heard of the stuff but never had the inclination to sample what by most accounts he had heard growing up was the swill guzzled by the barbarians of northern Europe and the Americas. Still, he knew that he would appear more good-natured if he were drinking and alcohol seldom affected him for more than a few seconds if he paced himself.

Turning to the man next to him he nodded, making sure that he had attention before speaking. Looking him in the eye he directly asked, "Are you him?"

Jason was just happily sipping on his beer when a shiver ran down his spine. He paused mid drink. A shiver? It wasn't from the cold... then he heard the door close. He set down the drink and cursed to himself as he hadn't sat facing the door. A rookie mistake as now he could look to who entered without making it obvious. Something felt off, but he didn't know what

Till the man sat down next to him

Well that wasn't a good sign. Jason glanced at him out the side of his eyes, wondering why the hell this man sat down right next to him. As the man turned to him, Jason gripped his drink tighter, drawing into himself. He had been taught to avoid as much attention as possible. Had he made a mistake?

"Are you him"

Oh yea... he had for sure messed up somehow. He turned to the man, a slightly puzzled look on his face mixed with a large amount of caution.

"Sorry, don't know who you are talking about mate. Drink up!"

Jason didn't know what else to say. He brought his own drink to his mouth, but didn't drink anything. Best not get drunk right now. Out of the corner of his eye he looked at this man. He didn't look right at all... this man looked out of place, but Jason just couldn't place his finger on why. He didn't know what to do either, just ignore him or to leave. It was rather awkward for Jason.

"I saw you in the forest earlier. The steam. You are gifted. I am looking for a man who is gifted and touched by the Conqueror Spirit. Are you him?"

Adem was aware that he put people off with his mannerisms. He had studied the classics and affected a persona that he felt was appropriate for a future autocrat.

While others wielded powers of the elements, Adem controlled nothing so dramatic. His power, so far as he had explored it, was simply the ability to not die. That and it seemed that his training saw greater results than that of other men.

Adem compensated by cultivating an almost paradoxical "quiet dominator" aura. He continued to stare, but made sure that no physical movement he made could be considered threatening.

Canada. Of all the places in the world, he was sent to Canada. Alex let out an apathetic sigh as he trekked through the snowy wasteland laid out in front of him. His target was the owner of a bar in some small town in the middle of nowhere. He had no idea why the man was ordered to die, nor did he really care. The man's cash was real, and there was a whole lot of it. As he came upon a hill, he saw the town over the horizon, couldn't be more than a twenty minute hike through the snow. At times like this, Alex was more than glad for his powers, by running electrical current through his body, he could excite the molecules in his body producing extra body heat for himself. It wasn't enough that he wasn't wearing a thick winter jacket, but, it was enough to take the chill off and allow him to stay in the weather far longer than a normal human would have been able to.

Twenty minutes, and a large amount of snow later, Alex crossed the threshold into the small hunting town. Gaining a wicked smile on his face, Alex was suddenly much happier. The town was smaller than he had anticipated, which was good. With weather like this, it gave the people in the town much less room to run in fear.

In such a small town, he found the bar with ease, it was the only one, after all. A small bell went off as he opened the door, and he was met with the smell of alcohol, and the sensation of heated air flew over him. As he walked into the bar, he let a small, unnoticeable amount of electrical energy discharge from him, causing the lights to flicker. Sitting at the bar, he noticed two men seated a few seats away from him. Normally, he never would have noticed them, but one of them, the seemingly older one, had spoken up, asking the man "Are you him?". Perhaps they were lovers, meeting up for the first time.

'Oh well, this whole bar will be dead soon enough.'

Alex thought to himself as he sat in the uncomfortable, worn down bar stool. It was very clear this wasn't the high class joints he had been use to, although not a wealthy man himself, wealthy men tended to take care of their personal Assassins.

"What'll it be stranger?"

The barkeep asked Alex with a smile on his face. He spoke with a kind voice, and seemed like a good, honest man. In most people, this would instantly make it harder for him to kill. For Alex, however, it just made the game that much more thrilling. He instantly wondered how many people would miss him when he was gone, and if anyone would try to hunt Alex down for revenge. He sincerely hoped so.

"A whiskey, on the rocks."

It was always the same drink for Alex, no matter where he was. It was the only thing he trusted the usual incompetents working not to severely screw up.

"Not a problem! Can I get you anything else?"

The bartender asked as he scooped ice into Alex's glass, before filling it halfway up with some off brand name of whiskey Alex had never heard of before. Taking a small sip, Alex placed his free hand on the bar, pointing two fingers at the bar keep, and pointing his thumb up in the air, imitating a gun, akin to what children would do in school when playing Cowboy and Indian.

"Just your life."

As Alex spoke, he bent his thumb forward towards his closed fingers, again imitating a gun shot. As the flesh of his thumb and hand met, a small crack, followed by a flash of blue light could be witnessed, before a large amount of lightning discharged from Alex's hand, shooting forward, through the bartender's stomach, creating a large hole where it had once been. As the bar around him erupted in panic screams, Alex did not move. He took another healthy sip of his drink, before tossing the money for the drink on the counter.

Jason continued to fake sip his beer as the man stared him down. He had no idea what the hell was this guys problem was. Jason was tense enough as it was when a new man sat down at the bar near them. Jason tried to barely pay attention to him, but in a quiet run down bar there was almost no other distractions.

Jason turned his head towards the man just in time to hear him say those fateful words

"Just your life"

Jason barely took in the words as Alex raised his hands to make a gun shape. A crackle filled the air along with the smell of ozone then lightning sprang from the man's finger tips. It speared straight through the bar keep, carving a bloody path  out the other side.

Holyshitholyshitholyshit

was all that really went through Jason's mind. A man was murdered by a meta, right in front of him. But that wasn't the worst of it. No the worst part was, that Jason was already moving.

Jason may have been slow to realize exactly what had just happened, but his body sure as hell didn't He was practically on autopilot from the moment Lightning sprang from the man's finger tips. His left hand was already raising, faster then a striking panther with a ball of flames forming in his palm. Before Jason even realized what he was doing himself, He released a concussive force of flames. His reaction time was so fast that no one had even a chance to scream about the Bar keeps death yet before his flame was off. It was a compressed ball of flames that Jason' could shot out. It was more designed to hit like a hammer then burn a person though it would do both.

Jason was shoving off the bar to get out of his seat, but in his haste let loose his flames. It knocked him backwards so much that Jason was sent flying. Deciding to go with it, he put flames to his feet and pushed himself out of the bar through the door. He tumbled into the snow outside.

OOc: Posting order is Jason, Adem, Alex

"Everyone down, now!"

Adem used the same motion to spring to his feet while drawing his twin khopesh blades. His motion propelled him away from Jason with his eye on the newcomer.

He contemplated the intruder. A lightning manipulator. What he wouldn't give for high-tech ceramic blades that would not conduct electricity. That bolt was serious business; Adem was bulletproof as far as he knew, but the powers of metas were another deal entirely.

Quick as a wink Adem lifted the nearest bar stool and flung it towards the intruder with his left blade and rushed forward, swinging his right blade immediately behind the stool, for all the good that a 10-pound stool would do against a blast of plasma.

As he sipped on his drink, he glanced to his peripheral vision, and, was glad he did. The younger man, who seemed around Alex's age, was apparently a meta too. Or, so it would seem as a ball of fire was hurled at Alex. He did his best to react, putting the flat of his feet on the bar and kicking off, propelling himself backwards. The fire bender, however, had picked the perfect moment to strike Alex, he had been cocky after his kill, after all, who expected a meta this far in the middle of nowhere?

The fire hurt, to say the least. The side of the blast hit him in the chest, and caused air to rush from his being, as if a sledgehammer had been swung at him by some superhuman being. The recoil was pretty substantial, blasting him towards the back wall of the bar, causing him to land on a bar table, before it collapsed under the force of his body being hurled at it.

"Son of a bitch, A meta all the way out here? And I thought this was going to be a dull job."

As Alex pulled himself up, he was almost glad the fire blast had been there. He heard the shattering of wood, before he saw the now flaming bar stool hit the wall, it must have been in the path of the flames he suspected. What was odder was the older man, who now wielded twin scimitars, had been seemingly aiming to lob off Alex's head. Although his skin was as hard as steel, and most blades couldn't even harm him, he still didn't like sharp objects coming that close to his vital areas.

"Oh, two metas for me to fight? Or perhaps your a human who got in way over his head, either way, you're a fool to fight me with metal blades pal, or did you not notice the one million volt bolt of lightning I just shot through the bartender?"

Alex said out loud to the man, ending his monologue with a small smile. In other parts of the world, Alex had become to be known as the lightning devil, a cruel tyrant who carved a path of bodies wherever he went, and this man was soon about to find out why. Clenching his fist, lightning began to crackle and surge over his body, sending sparks flying everywhere. Small, black, burn marks appeared where his lightning struck, alcohol bottles burst in flame at the near presence of his elemental fury. He crossed his arms to his chest for a moment as his power reached a high enough level, before quickly bringing his arms to his sides, sending a shock wave of lightning all around him. He knew he only had to be close to this man, and the metal in his blades would do the rest.

Jason had blast himself outside, and it was a good thing too. If he hadn't done that, Jason could have end up burn that whole place down. Fire was far to dangerous to be used in a fight indoors.

Least, thats what Jason was telling himself.

He stood up in a melted pile of snow, steam rolling off of him. He ripped off his jacket, tossing it behind him in the snow. He stood there for a second in just a superhero T-shirt and jeans, before the fires ignited. His entire arms became encased in a raging fire, then the rest of his body. The flames flared out once, before dying back so his outline was clear. He had encased himself in his flames

Now... here was the hard part. He couldn't go back into the bar to help with the fight. Hell he didn't even know if there was still a fight. But the way people were pouring out of the bar and running back home, made Jason think so. A few of the civilian paused and looked at him, with fear in their eyes. They may not be able to see his face under the flame, but he was giving them a sad look back. He knew this form looked like a demon of fire. It must be terrifying for them. Jason paused, ashamed for scaring them though he made no move towards them. That would only make things worse

"Aaarrrghh," Adem roared, proving that skill was no match for the power of the elements as his opponent's blast struck his blades, causing him to stagger to his knees.

Striking with his right blade meant that the arcs were less likely to strike his heart, as they would take the path of least resistance to the ground.

That would likely prove to be small comfort if he were to take the full brunt of this man's force. He was grateful only that he wasn't alone, but he could not see the other man and wasn't able to count on backup.

The spasms rocked his abused body until his blade contacted the floor, lessening the effects of the charge somewhat. A measure of clarity came.

Only chance is to keep this guy occupied until the other one can scorch him. Best thing I've got going is that I don't die. I've taken worse than this, but Sparky's sure to be able to do more if he wants.

Wait... sparks and fire. A restaurant's gotta use gas. Find the line, hope that I can take a blast and that Sparky can't.

Adem staggered towards the kitchen. It was swifter than a regular man but slower than optimal for him. Any luck and his healing factor would get him back to prime condition while he looked for the gas line.

Ahhh, the sound of men screaming. A refreshing noise to Alex's ears as he watched the grown man fall to his knees. That was the most fun part of his power, the reactions it caused on one's body. The human body was basically one giant electrical circuit, and when you introduced a new surge of power into it, well, things don't go as planned.

"I did warn you, those swords won't help you against me. Yet you continue to hold onto them, what kind of sentimental fool are you?"

Alex watched as the man staggered away from his electrical attack. It was quite impressive that he was able to stand, let alone move, after an attack of that caliber. Most men would either have had their heart explode, or be writhing on the floor, unable to control their limbs.

Laughing a bit, Alex shot out another beam of lightning at the man's sword, though, controlling this one a bit different from the one he had shot through the bartender. Using the blade as a focal point, he arced his lightning to the other one, doing two things. One, the lightning would use Adem's body as a conduit to connect the two beams together, sending lightning through his very core. Finally, it would tether Adem completely to the beam in Alex's hand, essentially keeping him prisoner.

Rolling hsi shoulders, Jason turned up the heat a bit... well a lot a bit actually. He turned it up so much that the snow around him was eveaporating. He moved to the left of the bar, trying to seeing a window.

Jason could see through the window what was happening and it did not look good. The creepy man that had tried to talk to him was getting the shock of a lifetime. He couldn't make out much detail about the assassin from his back, but it was good he wasn't looking this direction. But Jason didn't know who was more surprised that the man was still standing after that attack, himself or the assassin. But he couldn't waste anymore time or the guy would be fried.

Jason bent his knees a bit, sliding one leg behind him as he drew back his right fist. Gritting his teeth he lurched forward and launched a massive fire ball that shot through the window. This was his Fire Fist, one of his strongest attacks. Jason put a curve on it, aiming to take the assassin from the side with a torrent of fire. Jason was afraid he might set the whole place ablaze, but he had to do something.

[OOC: Best for Rai Koy to skip me this time.]

This time, Alex had been prepared for the pyro's interference. Sending the last bit of energy he had stored in the prison at Adem in the form of an electrical shockwave, Alex brings both of his hands behind his back and faces the oncoming torrent of fire.

"If that's the best you can do pyro, you're gonna have to do better!"

He yelled manically at the man, lightning crackling around him, so loudly that it was doubtful that anyone else could hear his screams. Around him, the form of a dragon was begging to appear, it's large jaws opening and closing in a snarling, biting motion. If Fire Fist was Ace's number one move, this was Alex's, Kirin.

Clapping his hands together in front of him, the dragon flies forward, roaring and sending bolts of lightning through the wooden structure of the building. After this battle, it was very doubtful this town would still have a bar after this.

Jason had already sent the blow when he saw the counter attack coming. Far far too late for him to change up what he had just done. The two blows met with a fury that this little town had never known. For a moment both of the energies clashed against each other before exploding outwards.

Ohshitohsit....

Jason threw up a hand as the explosion raced out to him. He managed to get off a small barrier of fire before the explosion launched him half way across the street. Jason crashed into another building , going straight through the flimsy wall. He bounced once before hitting the couch, tipping it over. He braced himself against the couch and looked up, seeing a woman in the doorway of the kitchen. Jason blinked at her then she screamed and took off down into her basement. He just sighed and got up. He was in his fire form, no doubt people thought he was going to hurt them. He set the couch back up right, dusted it off real quick then nodded, satified he had helped. Then he went through the hole where her wall used to be and headed outside.

Jason got lucky. He was both outside and able to make that small flame barrier before the explosion hit him. If he had been any slower, that explosion would have done some serious damage. As it was, he was only lightly hurt from it. Thank god for his fast reactions.