Post by gamechanger20 on Sept 5, 2020 0:08:18 GMT -5
Tokyo, Japan
Akihiko Yoshida tried to walked imperiously through the quaint karaoke bar within the heart of Tokyo. He ultimately failed in that endeavour, a slight wobble in his step as his senses fell victim to the inebriating effect of the alcohol he was freely imbibing. Tonight was a night of celebration. He was finally getting noticed in the office for his skills of aggressive acquisitions.
His future was looking very bright.
Despite his lofty ego, Akihiko was still a mortal man and as such suffered from earthly limitations of the body, stumbling toward the men's room. A commanding, albeit slightly shaky, look to the security detail had them take point on either side of the door. They were a necessity as ordained by those Akihiko was now representing.
With a smirk the young business man conducted his bodily business expediently and efficiently, not wasting a single second and delaying his return to the young pair of females eagerly awaiting him at the bar. He looked up at from the wash-basin at the creaking of a stall door, not recalling anyone else occupying a stall. He prepared a sharp-tongued reproach for the creeper but paused at the sight in the reflection in the wall length mirror. A figure stood behind Akihiko in a white combat jacket and face hidden behind a red full-head mask and helmet. Akihiko's eyes widened.
"Kimi Wa!" Akihiko barely finished his exclamation before the masked figure rushed forward.
With a firm grasp on the back of the head, the masked figure slammed Akihiko face-first into the tiled wall. As the young man slumped to the cold, pristine floor, the masked figure followed up with a few quick punches for good measure. No good to have him waking anytime soon. The masked figure quickly riffled through Akihiko's pockets, producing a cell phone.
It was password locked.
"Frack." Hissed the masked figure in perfect American accented English.
He was in the process of extracting the phone's SIM card when the two burly security guards silently slipped through the door. They stood and towered over the masked figure menacingly. They cracked their knuckles.
"Anata wa ōkina machigai o shimashita." Growled one of the guards.
Not for the first time the masked figure cursed himself for not learning more Japanese. All things considered.
He looked from the guards, to Akihiko's unconscious body, then to the hockey stick resting against the wall of the stall. It was just out of reach. The masked figure sighed.
"It's Clobberin' Time."
He lunged for the weapon as the guards rushed forward.
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With a screech a green-and-black motorbike, a 2013 YAMAHA WR250R, came to a halt inside an otherwise vacant storage unit. The rider, in a red helmet and a white combat jacket emblazoned with a golden stylised triple triangle pyramid, dismounted with an unsteady gait. He threw off the helmet and jacket and stuffed them into a duffel bag in the corner. The figure beneath was a young man with unkempt blonde hair. He limped from the storage unit to a nearby block of tiny and cheap apartments. His home and base of operations, a far-cry from an impressive bat-cave, but it would have to do as the young man, Zach, needed to stay off the grid and out of the public eye as much as possible.
From a cabinet freezer he produced a frozen bag of peas and held it against the join of his neck and shoulder before collapsing onto the bed. Zach lamented the course of his life to-date, finding it harder and harder each day to justify his isolated life (and not for the purpose of Covid-Safety) as a hermit vigilante. Feeling the veil of fatigue slowly take over, Zach produced a small photo from his pocket, a selfie taken of himself and the love he had left behind in the hope the memory of her would help settle his mind into slumber.
It failed, miserably.
With a gasp, Zach awoke suddenly from one of the strangest and most vivid dreams he had ever had. It took a moment for the young man to regain his breath and return to here and now inside his apartment.
"Hmm..."
Thoughts of his former friends, those of the Forsaken, hadn't crossed his mind for quite some time. It all seemed like a lifetime ago, a by-gone era. The sudden and very profound appearance of Mia Rayne within the dream had undoubtedly taken Zach by surprise. Yet it was more than just her appearance, she had seemed so real. It all had.
"Frack. That was some serious Inception shit." He mumbled to the silent apartment walls.
With a long and deep inhale of breath, Zach started to push the stinging reminder of those he left behind out of his mind and ignored the gut instinct to heed the dream Mia's summons to Baltimore. The Institute were getting smarter, harder to track and there was much unfinished business here. He stumbled up and his attention was caught by the slight clink sound of something falling to the floor. Though still-bleary eyed and confused Zach recognised the discarded item immediately.
It was a small green stone...
Zach gingerly picked it up for a closer look. There was no mistaking it, it was the source of the green light from the dream.
"Oh great. It's one of THOSE games." Zach groaned. He seemed to be taking this step into the preternatural rather well...
It seemed an over-arching theme these days, that player choice meant nothing, as if Zach's life had been written by BioWare.
"Frack." He cursed again.
The past awaited, Zach was going to Baltimore.
What the young vigilante didn't realise was that someone had followed him from the karaoke bar. Standing cloaked by the shadows of an alleyway, a Caucasian figure watched Zach intently. They took a few quick photos for identification and made a call.
"It's me...Yeah, I followed him...Check the photos and get back to me. This kid's fucked!"
Life for Zach was definitely not going to be the same.
-----------------
-----------------
[I relied on Google Translate for the Japanese Phrases so I apologise profoundly if they are incorrect.
Kimi Wa (You!)
Anata wa ōkina machigai o shimashita (You made a big mistake.)]
Akihiko Yoshida tried to walked imperiously through the quaint karaoke bar within the heart of Tokyo. He ultimately failed in that endeavour, a slight wobble in his step as his senses fell victim to the inebriating effect of the alcohol he was freely imbibing. Tonight was a night of celebration. He was finally getting noticed in the office for his skills of aggressive acquisitions.
His future was looking very bright.
Despite his lofty ego, Akihiko was still a mortal man and as such suffered from earthly limitations of the body, stumbling toward the men's room. A commanding, albeit slightly shaky, look to the security detail had them take point on either side of the door. They were a necessity as ordained by those Akihiko was now representing.
With a smirk the young business man conducted his bodily business expediently and efficiently, not wasting a single second and delaying his return to the young pair of females eagerly awaiting him at the bar. He looked up at from the wash-basin at the creaking of a stall door, not recalling anyone else occupying a stall. He prepared a sharp-tongued reproach for the creeper but paused at the sight in the reflection in the wall length mirror. A figure stood behind Akihiko in a white combat jacket and face hidden behind a red full-head mask and helmet. Akihiko's eyes widened.
"Kimi Wa!" Akihiko barely finished his exclamation before the masked figure rushed forward.
With a firm grasp on the back of the head, the masked figure slammed Akihiko face-first into the tiled wall. As the young man slumped to the cold, pristine floor, the masked figure followed up with a few quick punches for good measure. No good to have him waking anytime soon. The masked figure quickly riffled through Akihiko's pockets, producing a cell phone.
It was password locked.
"Frack." Hissed the masked figure in perfect American accented English.
He was in the process of extracting the phone's SIM card when the two burly security guards silently slipped through the door. They stood and towered over the masked figure menacingly. They cracked their knuckles.
"Anata wa ōkina machigai o shimashita." Growled one of the guards.
Not for the first time the masked figure cursed himself for not learning more Japanese. All things considered.
He looked from the guards, to Akihiko's unconscious body, then to the hockey stick resting against the wall of the stall. It was just out of reach. The masked figure sighed.
"It's Clobberin' Time."
He lunged for the weapon as the guards rushed forward.
-----------------
-----------------
With a screech a green-and-black motorbike, a 2013 YAMAHA WR250R, came to a halt inside an otherwise vacant storage unit. The rider, in a red helmet and a white combat jacket emblazoned with a golden stylised triple triangle pyramid, dismounted with an unsteady gait. He threw off the helmet and jacket and stuffed them into a duffel bag in the corner. The figure beneath was a young man with unkempt blonde hair. He limped from the storage unit to a nearby block of tiny and cheap apartments. His home and base of operations, a far-cry from an impressive bat-cave, but it would have to do as the young man, Zach, needed to stay off the grid and out of the public eye as much as possible.
From a cabinet freezer he produced a frozen bag of peas and held it against the join of his neck and shoulder before collapsing onto the bed. Zach lamented the course of his life to-date, finding it harder and harder each day to justify his isolated life (and not for the purpose of Covid-Safety) as a hermit vigilante. Feeling the veil of fatigue slowly take over, Zach produced a small photo from his pocket, a selfie taken of himself and the love he had left behind in the hope the memory of her would help settle his mind into slumber.
It failed, miserably.
With a gasp, Zach awoke suddenly from one of the strangest and most vivid dreams he had ever had. It took a moment for the young man to regain his breath and return to here and now inside his apartment.
"Hmm..."
Thoughts of his former friends, those of the Forsaken, hadn't crossed his mind for quite some time. It all seemed like a lifetime ago, a by-gone era. The sudden and very profound appearance of Mia Rayne within the dream had undoubtedly taken Zach by surprise. Yet it was more than just her appearance, she had seemed so real. It all had.
"Frack. That was some serious Inception shit." He mumbled to the silent apartment walls.
With a long and deep inhale of breath, Zach started to push the stinging reminder of those he left behind out of his mind and ignored the gut instinct to heed the dream Mia's summons to Baltimore. The Institute were getting smarter, harder to track and there was much unfinished business here. He stumbled up and his attention was caught by the slight clink sound of something falling to the floor. Though still-bleary eyed and confused Zach recognised the discarded item immediately.
It was a small green stone...
Zach gingerly picked it up for a closer look. There was no mistaking it, it was the source of the green light from the dream.
"Oh great. It's one of THOSE games." Zach groaned. He seemed to be taking this step into the preternatural rather well...
It seemed an over-arching theme these days, that player choice meant nothing, as if Zach's life had been written by BioWare.
"Frack." He cursed again.
The past awaited, Zach was going to Baltimore.
What the young vigilante didn't realise was that someone had followed him from the karaoke bar. Standing cloaked by the shadows of an alleyway, a Caucasian figure watched Zach intently. They took a few quick photos for identification and made a call.
"It's me...Yeah, I followed him...Check the photos and get back to me. This kid's fucked!"
Life for Zach was definitely not going to be the same.
-----------------
-----------------
[I relied on Google Translate for the Japanese Phrases so I apologise profoundly if they are incorrect.
Kimi Wa (You!)
Anata wa ōkina machigai o shimashita (You made a big mistake.)]