It was a rather awkward, to be honest, returning to the Gates of Hell with Antares in tow. She never said anything during the whole time and was unusually quiet, almost as if she was contemplating something. I already called the Boss ahead of time to let him know I was bringing some company back with me.
We eventually reached the bar. I opened the door and stepped inside. I was about to call out to Boss, but I stopped myself when I saw that the bar was not as empty as I hoped. It closed for the day, but not for a specific clientele.
Specifically of the cape variety, as two familiar faces from the news were present at the counter. What made them stand out were the fact that they were wearing futuristic armor that looked quite familiar, and for good reason since it came from a video game. That alone told me who these two were.
Antares entered behind me and stopped, staring at the duo in shock. "What the…"
"Look, I'm telling you, we should totally go for a horror theme!" L33t said strongly. "I say we go for Left 4 Dead this time."
Über sighed and shook his head. "And I keep telling you, we should save that for October. Even if it is months away, zombies and monsters of the night should be saved for a night of spooks, kids, candy and scantily-clad babes."
"Tch! You would say that, you philistine!" L33t went to take a drink from his flask, but stopped when he noticed us. "Oh, fuck me."
"What's wrong, L33t? See something you-ah, son of a bitch."
The Boss looked up from his glass and chuckled. "You said you were bringing company, but you didn't say it was gonna be a Ward. Especially the 'Collateral Damage Barbie' people been warning me about since I set up shop here."
Though she wore a visor, I swore I saw her eyebrow twitch. "Oh for fuck's sake, when will people let that drop?! I've gotten better!"
"Mrs. Carmine would like to disagree with you on that," L33t chimed in, only to cower beneath her gaze. Given what we just went through, Antares was in no mood to deal with anyone's shit, and to be honest, neither was I. "Right, shutting up now. S-so, uh, are we-"
"Just fucking go, you idiots. I'm too tired to deal with you two."
L33t and Über stared at one another before they set down a few dollar coins on the counter. "Thanks again for the drinks, Boss Man," the latter said gratefully. "Say, any chance we could include you in a video sometime? The PHO won't shut up about what you did to Hookwolf."
"That depends, you boys gonna be planning any Nintendo themes escapades anytime soon?"
Really, Boss?
After the gaming capes left, Antares and I had the bar all to ourselves. Boss asked the Ward if she wanted anything, giving her a bottle and glass at her request. I was sure Antares was underage like I was, but I was not about to call her out on wanting to drink. Speaking personally, I felt a craving towards alcohol, but resisted because of the fact that I do not think Dad would appreciate finding me shit-faced. He told me how he had discovered how awful drinking could be while I was in my coma, saying he once woke up next to his own vomit.
After Antares had two swigs of her drink, she started asking questions. I answered them to the best of my ability, also careful not to give anything away.
"Wait, you mean to tell you me
just started?" Antares looked utterly bewildered as she looked at me, unsure whether to be amazed or dumbfounded. "As in, tonight?"
I shrugged. "Technically? I mean, the first fight I got into was less than a week ago."
"…sooo, you're not-"
"No, I am not with the Empire. I am not a Neo-Nazi, thank you very much."
Antares nodded. "Okay, then. I'll guess I'll just put 'kind samaritan' in my report to Miss Militia when I get back." She paused and groaned, clearly not looking forward to making her report to the PRT. "I'm not sure who I want to deal with less, her or Gallant. Ugh, this fucking sucks…"
"Look at this way, kid," Boss offered. "At least the Fury's worth five hundred thousand in cash."
I nodded in agreement. The Bloody Cape had been active for so long and killed so many capes (more heroes than villains unfortunately) that a kill order was inevitable.
…wait,
how much did Boss say its head was worth?
"Fury?" Antares frowned. "Is that what that asshole's name is?"
"More like it's species," Boss corrected her. "Those sumbitches used to be part of the Riot tribe, but they spent so many years honing their hunting skills they became one of the fastest demons in the Underworld. Only thing faster than those suckers is an Umbra Witch or a Blitz."
"Wait wait wait, time out. You mean to tell me that the Bloody Cape was a demon from hell? Like, the fire and brimstone hell?
Helltaker kind of hell?"
Boss snorted. "You're thinking of Inferno. There's a big difference between Inferno and the Underworld, sister."
"Demon." Antares snorted. "Yeah, right. Next you'll tell me parahumans got their powers from Cthulu!"
I sighed. "Boss says they come from space monsters."
"…you wouldn't happen to be Void Cowboy from PHO, would you?"
"Sister, I don't go anywhere near social media unless it's for business and pleasure."
"Okay, say I do believe you. That the Bloody Cape is a monster from hell. How and why did it get here?"
Boss finished wiping his glass and set it down, turning his full attention to the Ward. "Lately, doorways have been popping up all over the place. Half the time it's the work of some satanic worshipping dumbass trying to lose his virginity, and other times, it's somebody who wants the world to end. For the most part the holes are pretty small, so the bottom feeders and weaklings trickle on in. Every now and then, though, the occasional big guy comes along, hitching for a ride on the hell express. My best guess is that the Fury came popping out of one of those holes."
"Why did it start hunting capes?" I asked out of curiosity. "Was it doing it because it's obeying someone or…?"
"I wish, kid. That thing was hunting for sport." I winced when I heard the sound of glass cracking. The shot glass in Antares' hand was straining from the grip she was putting on it. I imagined that something like a mere squeeze would cause it to shatter. "As far as the Fury was concerned, parahumans were like deer. Better yet, they were deer who could fight back. Kill it, even. For that thing, they were big game."
I felt sick to my stomach. If the Bloody Cape had been human, I would have felt much worse. I still felt like I would throw up, unable to wrap my head around the fact that thing had no other reason for killing except for fun.
"Are there any other Furies in Brockton Bay?" I asked almost dreading the answer.
To my relief, Boss smiled thinly. "Nah, the one you bagged tonight was the only one. That doesn't mean another one might pop up sometime in the near future, though." He glanced at the clock behind him. "Just 'bout time for me to close up shop for real. You better get going too, sister. I don't wanna have to explain to your dad why you were up and about this late."
"Yeah…"
I shuddered to think what Dad would do if he learned what I was up to. Forget him throwing a fit finding out I was playing hero, he would freak out and ground me for life if he ever learned I fought the worst serial killer in history since Jack the Ripper.
I stood up and was about to leave, but I noticed Antares was still at the counter. Her glass was untouched, which was probably for the best since it cracked all to hell and a hair's width away from falling apart into pieces. Her face was somber and contemplative, no doubt deep in thought. She probably thought that our talk of demons was loony, and I did not blame her. I felt the same at first when Boss told me demons existed, and I did not believe him until I saved Parian from Orthrus.
"…Stupid question, but are you doing okay?"
Antares did not respond at first, content with just staring back at the reflection of her in the shot glass before she sighed. "To be honest, I don't really know. I dreamed about murdering that son of a bitch for
years, and now that he is dead, I…" She shook her head, sinking into her seat. "I thought it would make me feel better, or at least give me some sense of peace. I'm glad it's dead, but I feel…"
"Empty?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
I remember the feeling of pure, unadulterated hatred from when she found the Bloody Cape fighting me. Thinking on it now, I realized that hatred was not something as simple as being out of morality, but for personal reasons. Antares had lost someone close to her at the hands of the Fury.
"…who was it?" I asked quietly.
Antares smiled sadly. "My dad. He was the biggest dork ever, and maybe a little goofy when he wanted to be. He wasn't 'all there' some days, and he was never always the best dad, but he was there when it counted. Then, one day…" She paused and sucked in a breath, hands balling into tight fists. "It happened out of nowhere. Just your ordinary day in Brockton Bay, crime rampant and the PRT scrambling to get their shit together. It was my sis' birthday, you know? I came up with this awesome plan to get her to smile, and maybe to get my mom to loosen up. We left a cake shop, and we happened to run into my uncle and aunt and their kid along the way. We were going to throw a huge party and got ready to go home, and then…"
I knew where this was heading. "The Bloody Cape attacked your family?"
"My mom and sis were fine. So was my cousin, but he almost got himself killed. My dad and uncle?" she hissed. "My uncle got his spine severed. Paralyzed from the waist down and lucky to be alive, but my dad, he… He tried to fight the fucker off. He got hurt bad. Half his stomach got torn to pieces, his lung was punctured, and he had a hairline fracture across his skull. The doctors told us he had brain damage to boot." Antares let out a broken laugh. "Try to picture that for a second. Picture the doctors telling you that, after the worst night of your life, your dad wasn't going to make it. Picture your sis breaking down so badly she
triggers right then and there and she happens to have a healing power of some kind. And it doesn't do a goddamn thing, because no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she begged, the wounds wouldn't
fucking. Heal."
By now, her words were full of bitter anger. Inside her mind, she must have been reliving that day over and over in her head, obsessing over every detail and growing more infuriated. I said nothing, not willing to trust my words and unsure of what I could say to her. I knew the pain of losing a loved one and parent, but the circumstances were too different for me to offer any real words of comfort to her. What could I possibly say other than, I'm sorry for your loss?
Rather than trust my mouth to screw things up, I settled on putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. It was not much, but it was what I could do for her. Antares froze for a moment and looked up at me. For a moment, I thought I had overstepped my boundaries, but to my surprise, smiled back.
"…thanks. And, sorry about that. I didn't mean to go off on you like that."
"It's fine," I assured her. "It isn't healthy, keeping personal baggage like that bottled up for so long."
"Speaking from personal experience?" I nod. "Huh." Antares looked back at the shot glass and the bottle for a moment before she grimaced. "You know what? Fuck it. Don't care if mom or Amy tears me a new one." After saying that, she grabbed the bottle by the neck and-
Oh boy.
As soon as I saw Antares down the contents of the bottle, promptly becoming shit-faced and likely to wake up with the world's worst hangover, I knew then and there I should have left when I had the chance. No sooner had I watched her down the bottle was I forced to sit there and listen to her rant on and on about her home life and her boyfriend. The highlight of her rant in my opinion was how somebody named Amy and Paige should just "shut up and fuck each other already".
I listened to her rant for an hour before the alcohol finally got to her and she passed out. Which, of course, left me to call someone from her phone and inform her she was dead-ass drunk and asleep in the bar before making my exit.
This wasn't how I expected my night to end in all honesty, but I had to admit, it was a little fun.
…I could deal without blades being shoved into my chest, though. That fucking hurt.
♦
Topic: New Cape In Town
In: Boards ► News ► Events ►America ►Brockton Bay
Tony Redgrave (Original Poster)
Posted on Feb. 16, 2011:
Okay, so for those who don't know, literally two days ago, Winslow High School got sliced to pieces. The BBPD met the chick responsible, goes by some weird-ass name. Vergil, I think.
And last night, no fucking joke, I saw her hauling who may or may not have been Rune missing an arm, and not ten seconds later do I see her and Antares fight the scariest looking Case 53 ever. For those curious, link here.
Any idea if she's a new Empire Cape or a Ward?
FireLord69 (Verified Seer)
Posted on Feb. 16, 2011:
Good that The Littlest Nazi got her arm sliced off, maybe it'll help her decide to not be a Nazi. Rune is young enough to turn her life around, right? Anybody know? As for the new Cape, I'm going to guess Independent. Seems too Heroic for the Empire, and too stabby for the Wards.
Judgement_Nut (Motivational speaker)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
Wait a second...Red streaks, almost Killed capes..is that the Bloody Cape they're fighting?!
XxVoid_CowboyxX (Temp-Banned)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
Props to Vergil for doing what everybody else wanted to and destroying Winslow. That place was a cesspit.
Wonder if she's single?
Wait... She kind of looks like <Redacted- you've been warned before about speculation about cape identities. Have an infraction - TinMother>
Dgaters
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
Seriously Void, you gotta stop. It's a wonder how the hell you haven't been perma banned.
Jokes aside, for once I agree. Whoever Vergil is, I will honest to god thank her in person for taking down Winslow. As for the Case-53, damn that thing was wicked fast. Mover 5
at least.
...wait, did they seriously just kill it?! Holy shit! Is-is that allowed?
PaperChild
Posted on Feb. 16, 2011
Two new capes in town, one especially freaky Case53 and the other stabhappy. Yay.
At least Nazis got their Mover down?
EDIT: Case53 is dead. Whoops, didn't see that at first. At least it's not gonna run around and kill people, I guess.
Whiskas (Not actually a cat food brand)
Posted on Feb. 16, 2011:
Well damn, that's one scary fella right there. Wouldn't want to bump into him in a dark alley I'll tell you that much. We don't know the context for the situation so there's no telling if it's a temporary alliance between Antares and this Vergil of unknown allegiance or if they're on the same side. Saving Rune could have been done out of basic human decency really. I know she's a neo-nazi and all but I wouldn't leave anyone to the tender mercies of whoever this lovely Case 53 is.
Actually, wait... could that be the Bloody Cape? If so... the status quo just got shifted mighty fine I believe.
Another lovely day in the Bay, eh my fellow Brocktonites?
Cyberdong (TTS fanboy)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
There's no way the new cape is a hero! She destroyed a
school and rescued an Empire cape! Granted, Winslow was a low-quality school, but its still a
school. "Vergil" needs to be arrested.
Also, I second the motion on Rune hopefully turning her life around. We needs more heros.
Dgaters
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
Normally I would agree with you, but the school in question was WINSLOW. Even the school district was happy to see that place get sliced and diced.
Whiskas (Not actually a cat food brand)
Posted on Feb. 16, 2011:
@Cyberdong
I hope you don't mind if I point out the rampant hypocrisy in this statement. Rune is a literal nazi with a rap sheet that's probably longer than my arm and you want her to turn her life around but you're dissing Vergil for actually saving her so she could presumably do it? Did you really think through that statement? And it's probably a net positive Winslow got destroyed. All the gangs recruited from it, teens from any of those gangs could pull a knife or probably even a gun on you and no one would bat an eye. I heard from a friend that even the frickin' school district itself is glad that it's gone.
We know too little about Vergil to judge her possible motivations yet. Give it some time. Don't railroad her into being a villain already because you're convinced she can't be given a chance. That's how you make even more villains.
Edit: Fixed minor spelling issue.
Cyberdong (TTS fanboy)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
Wait, seriously? I haven't been in a high school for 40 years, so I have no clue what the situation is. All I know about Winslow is that it was allegedly a bad school.
FireLord69 (Verified Seer)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
According to my kid the place was a cesspool. So glad I teach at Arcadia.
Cyberdong (TTS fanboy)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
Well damn.
Okay, maybe I jumped the gun. You have a point. I was wrong.
Dgaters
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
Winslow aside, if that really is the Bloody Cape, then something tells me I'm going to sleep a whole lot better. Well, as better as I can get in Brockton Bay.
Now that I think about it, doesn't the Bloody Cape have a kill order?
Whiskas (Not actually a cat food brand)
Posted on Feb. 16, 2011:
@Cyberdong
It's all fine friend. Just please consider the situation through first before you act. You'd get dog piled in other threads instantly if you spoke like that before thinking.
@Dgaters
That they do, that they do. I feel like Vergil and Antares just earned themselves a lot of money. I think the collective bounty the Bloody Cape collected over the years was getting up to an eight figure number but don't quote me on that.
The nightlife might become... more alive, I suppose. It's been pretty dead for a decade now. Might be nice to go out and celebrate at the Palanquin now that I won't have to worry about being eviscerated by it. If it is the Bloody Cape. No confirmation from PRT for now Brocktonites. Could have just been a really murder happy new Case 53. Or a Changer I suppose.
Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
The paperwork is still being processed, but yes, they will have a kill order soon.
It is possible that the cape seen in the video was the Bloody Cape, but that is officially uncertain at this moment. Investigation is currently underway.
Millerite Incarnate (Verified schoolteacher and learning enthusiast)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011
@Cyberdong
Glad to see that you have the maturity to own your mistakes.
And yes, Winslow was that bad. I've heard rumors that the school board already wanted to demolish and rebuild Winslow, and everyone's glad that we can rebuild Winslow to be a better school.
Tony Redgrave (Original Poster)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
If that Case-53 is confirmed to be the Bloody Cape, then it's safe to say the families of its victims will be happy to hear the good news.
On an unrelated note, what do the Wards think about the new girl?
Vista (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)
Replied on Feb. 16, 2011:
Eh, she seems kind of cool. I'm digging the sword, though. Kid Win's having a field day trying to figure it out. I'd love to meet the Tinker who made it.
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Antares (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)
Replied on Feb. 17, 2011:
Since people keep badgering me about the new girl and whether or not she wants to join the Wards, she told me she wants to get some experience first. Honestly, I hope she considers joining up. Kid's got spunk.
Plus, I like her jacket. I'd love to meet the designer.
FireLord69 (Verified Seer)
Replied on Feb 17, 2011:
Huh, well she seems like she'd be fine on her own. Still always good to have more Heroes.
