Heroes: The Road of Good Intentions

[LadyTevar]

There was a pause, whether to prove her point or get herself under control, and then Argent released the shadows, leaving them to fade back into harmlessness. A whispered "Sorry" was given to Blackheart before she turned away.

[Cynical Cat]

"I'm fucking tired of dealing with you and Legacies wanting to kill someone because they pissed you off," said Blackheart. "That isn't what we do. That's what people we put down do. You don't have any right to kill because your angry or pissed off or feel like it. That's what Saibot did and he whined about how hard his life was while mind raping and murdering people. So develop some god damn self control. Yesterday. Or I'm going to have to start worrying about what's going to happen when I'm not around to stop you."

[frigidmagi]

"Hey Boss? I hate to butt in and all but we're kinda in the middle of Hell and I'm thinking maybe we can have deep discussions of morality and the right of others to live despite being annoying after we're not in a place that goes by the nickname of Pit of Eternal Suffering and Damnation.... Please?" Blast spoke up.

[Cynical Cat]

Liars. Impulsive. Deluded. Arrogant, but not ignorant. They are dust before us. Their beliefs are without consequence. Press on. Crush our enemies. Feed. Blackheart fell to his knees as the thoughts surged through his head. He took a deep breath and then stood up. A shudder wracked his body. "Let's get going," he managed.

[LadyTevar]

Argent remained silent as Blackheart scolded her, making no excuses for her actions. She was about to make a smart-ass comment to Blast, when she felt a surge of emotion from Blackheart and watched him hit his knees. "David!"

WORRY/CONCERN/FEAR spiked through everyone's minds before she could shut her shields down tighter. By the time Blackheart rose shakily to his feet she had full control of herself again, with only a faint undercurrrent of worry showing on her face. Stupid questions crossed her mind 'Are you ok?', 'do you want/need help?', but she knew better than to ask.

Instead, she reached out and touched Blackheart's shoulder, squeezing once, before turning away. "Hotfoot, Blast? Would you please help me find that fuckin' elevator out of here?"

If Blackheart was going to die, let it be after he'd finished the mission, dammit. Whatever it took, she'd get him that far, and fuck everyone who tried to stop them.

[Cynical Cat]

"David?" Blackheart shook his head, trying to clear it. David, a placeholder name, a boy who was inevitably rejected, not him. No, not you. Not us. Not me. You/we/I am Blackheart. You/we/I am the heir to the Void. Your life/knowledge/flesh. My power/secrets/essence. Unity approaches.

"Let's move," Blackheart rasped. Blackheart. He was still a man, still in control. Thin strands of black nonflesh connect themselves to more cells in his brain. You/we/I are more than human. Soon all will be clear. Do not resist. Like hell. "I am Blackheart. Blackheart," he said half to himself.

[SirNitram]

"You are you, not some scrap of Primordial flesh." Gravitas said sharply. "Ignore it. It is lesser than you. It is getting to you because it knows it can't win any other way. Just hold on."

[LadyTevar]

Argent looked back, hearing Blackheart's muttering and bit her lip. Go to him? Find way out? Shitshitshitshit. If she'd been home she'd have lit a full package of incense to the Goddess of Mercy and the Buddha. Please give him strength. It was as close to prayer as Li Na ever got. Please help him hold together. Please.....

[Cynical Cat]

"We have better things to do and wait for the space wasp larva to eat my brain," said Blackheart. He resumed walking down the corridor.

[LadyTevar]

Argent didn't wait for Blackheart to pass her by. It took a moment of concentration, but she lengthened into her shadowdragon form: less vibrant black, more ashen and muted due to the lack of shadows. Yet she leapt forward like a greyhound, one claw touching a faint whisper of shadow, then leapfrogged to another further down.

The thin wispy shadows had no depth to allow her to sink in and 'swim' as normal, more skims of ice than puddles or pools. Argent's path down the corridor was one part skating, one part climbing as the long serpentine body all but corkscrewed down the tunnel in a rapid search for the way out and down. She'd never even considered trying this before, seeing the wisps of shadows as too weak to use. Only now, with the timer on Blackheart's life and sanity counting down, did she push herself and her powers this far.

Buddha be merciful and let it be enough.

Unfortunately, Hell wasn't merciful. About 50 yards down, there was a cross corridor, just like the first, with an endless line of blood-bedecked doors covered in runic script and bindings going both ways.

"This doesn't look good......" Argent muttered, trying to decide between straight forward, left, or right.

[Cynical Cat]

"Forward," Blackheart said, "unless someone has a better idea."

[Marcao]

He had not been prepared for what happened next.

He was only vaguely aware of Saibot although he had been briefed on all members of Team Mirage before his assignment. Still, he did not have the knowledge of the specifics of what had transpired and perhaps most important of all he did not have the history. He said nothing and did nothing, momentarily letting the others take the lead. Perhaps he by virtue of not having any history with Saibot was a better choice to take the lead but that thought was pushed aside. This was a Team Mirage concern, one that he had very little right to directly deal with.

Argent’s warning was impossible to miss and he did not need the tenuous link between them to understand what it meant. When she stepped closer to Blackheart he paid them little mind, inwardly surprised at his reaction. Jealousy would have been the natural reaction; as such he was surprised when it barely came at all. He did not take a step back but he did not get any closer to Argent and Blackheart either; His attention flickering on the man before them.

This was Saibot?

The barrier which came to life and wrapped around Argent and Blackheart was caught out of the corner of his eyes. He was surprised for a moment although the surprise shifted to curiosity in the span of a handful of breaths. Had he missed something or did Argent simple expect his own defense to be up to the task? The exchange between Gravitas and Argent forced his thoughts to be channeled towards their present situation.

The end arrived swiftly, Blackheart taking the burden upon himself to do what had to be done. He had not known Saibot and there was the possibility that this was as some members of the team had affirmed a demonic illusion of some kind. Still, he felt very little even looking at the dying embers and the ash which scattered within the cells moments later. If this had been a clone or a copy of the real Saibot, he hoped that the real Saibot never had the chance to meet Team Mirage again; if that had been the real Saibot...

“Lets try and complete our objectives and get out of hereâ€

[Cynical Cat]

"Agreed," said Blackheart. There was too much tension between him and Tachyon. Idiots bumping heads over the affections for a woman when one of them was just about out of time.

[LadyTevar]

"Forward it is, then," Argent said, once again lithely skating her way down the hallway filled with rune-bound doors and soft ambient light. Another fifty yards, and she paused again for another cross-corridor, her head looking left, right, and forward, before looking back to Blackheart and Tachyon. "More hallways, more doors," she reported glumly. "No telling how far they go, or which one the elevator could be down."

[Cynical Cat]

"Stay close," said Blackheart. "We don't want anything munching on you. Let's start with straight ahead and see what happens."

[LadyTevar]

"Believe me, if I see anything coming out of one of these doors, my next move will be to the back of the party," Argent promised, well aware of how vulnerable she was here. Saibot had cut through the shadowflesh deep enough to nearly kill her, and that was with more shadows for her to draw upon.

Again, she snaked forward, only to stop with a growl at another corridor, and then another as she didn't bother to ask but continued straight again. There she paused, staring hard down the right-hand corridor. "Something metallic down there, Blackheart."

[Cynical Cat]

"And not a metal door I take it?" said Blackheart rhetorically. "Well, time for me to take point."

[LadyTevar]

"I can't tell," Argent answered, looking at Blackheart. "It's far down the hall, and this damn light makes it hard to tell. I can just say it's something -not- glowing on it's own." As she spoke she returned to human, slipping in behind Blackheart and Tachyon.

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot was still in shock. Illusion or not, Blackheart's decision was...final. He felt a little sick about it, but he tried to push it aside. He looked to Blackheart for direction, odd though it was, Blackheart was still in charge, and he was willing to take charge. That might get them out of this alive, if a little scarred.

"Should I scout ahead, Blackheart?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Go for it," said Blackheart.

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot snapped back into his shield and scouted ahead, skimming the breaking point of the limit of sound, looking for what could be found.

[Bloody Good]

Hector calmly straightened hs robe, not visibly bothered or even bruised by the shadowy assault. He mentally catalogued what he had learned while the rest of the group settled down.

Blackheart, also David. Something eating him, don't know how literal that is. They said something about a primordal. Remember to ask Brother Will what that is later. Argent. Something with a chain and clinging black slime. No idea what any of that meant. Maybe trying to get away from something. Talk to Father Marrin, he might be able to give you some clues. Gravitas. Metaphorically, old and battered. Not metaphorically, a complete ass. Smart, but an ass. Might be something to the Immortality claim. Probably just a very long natural lifespan. Hotfoot. Didn't See him, but he seems pretty much a normal guy. Same goes for Blast, though he's more serious. Ditto on Tachyon. Seems very deep, very level-headed, quick thinker. Talk religion to him later. Hydro. Just a ambulatory mass of water. Book smart, but no human context.

"And not a metal door I take it?" said Blackheart rhetorically. "Well, time for me to take point."

Surfacing from the moment of thought, Hector said, "I'll take point. You have a means of attacking at range thats more effective than bullets. Besides, I'm better with hand-to-hand than I am with guns."

[Cynical Cat]

"Alright," said Blackheart. "You're up."

[Marcao]

He watched as Hotfoot seemed to explode into motion and disappeared from his immediate line of sight with remarkable vigor. "Damn." he said softly to himself. Hotfoot appeared to be motivated to get through and out as quickly as humanly possible.

His attention slid towards Blackheart as he spoke with the priest. The exchange was a welcome one, maybe they were going to start working a little better together afterall. He would back up the priest if he needed it, although he expected the messenger to do more of that.

[LadyTevar]

Argent let Blackheart and the guys figure out what next. Chances were it was the next elevator down there, or at least the shaft to it. She'd just be happy to get somewhere that might have actual SHADOWS.