1.8
RahXephon
Monarch
- Location
- The Netherlands
Free to Play
1.8 - Greg
1.8 - Greg
Driving a car was harder than it looked. Sure, Greg played plenty of racing games, though he wasn't stupid enough to buy a racing wheel. His parents would have shouted his ear off. In any case, he knew the basics. As an added bonus, this time his goal wasn't to drive from A to B as fast as possible while crashing numerous times like a drunken wreck because the damage model made his car ten times tougher. No, this time he only had to obey the speed limit. Simple right?
'As if.' It was a miracle he hadn't already crashed. He was too used to playing racing games staring straight at his monitor that he was too unused to physically turning his head to the left and right. Several times, cars angrily honked at him when he cut them off. He even swerved his car when the other driver refused to give way, almost crashing them both. 'Sheesh!'
Greg decided to ditch the car at a nearby parking lot next to a fitness center in his neighborhood before he caused a real accident. It wasn't as if he could drive his stolen car home anyway. He locked the cheap sedan with his stolen-, ahem, rightfully claimed keys and walked the rest of the distance home. Feeling a bit ridiculous wearing his cheap costume, he put down his hat and mask and hid them the best he could under his jacket.
Only when he successfully sneaked back into his bedroom did he sigh in relief. He was home sweet home. He made a name for himself as the Void Cowboy, though not exactly with the nicest people in the universe. But it was undeniable that he, the Void Cowboy, was instrumental in saving two girls' lives. 'They could have been more grateful, though.'
He also learned a few crucial lessons in his first outing. Greg sighed as he looked down at his costume with a more critical eye. The shirt and vest were several years old and fitted tight enough against his body that it did a terrible job of hiding his scrawny body. The hat was a cheap synthetic toy and the bandanna with two holes for his eyes only drew more attention to his skinny lower face. If he wanted to continue to fight crime, he couldn't allow himself to be recognized by every classmate from Winslow. Right now, his costume looked so cheap and pathetic that everyone could see the nerd underneath. If he wanted to establish the Void Cowboy as a legitimate hero, then he needed to find a way to look cool.
Booting up his computer, Greg took a look at his tech tree. His hopes were dashed as he saw nothing remotely related to power suits or even regular armor. Somehow, his superhuman skills of constructing weapons out of old appliances didn't extend to any form of protection. Hand- and shoulder-mounted weapons were the closest equivalent, but those designs were too far up his tech tree to even bother at this stage.
That meant he had to buy better clothes. Sidestepping the fact that he was absolutely broke (he already paid his MMO subscription time for the rest of the year), he also had to survive shopping for clothes. When was the last time he bought his own clothes, or stepped into a clothing store for that matter? 'Oh yeah, that time I bought new gloves for the winter because mom insisted on buying those fat mittens. That was... one-and-a-half years ago.'
He shuddered at that memory. Cute shop workers asking if he needed their assistance, eyeing clothes that cost three times the price of a quality video game (what a waste!), and being embarrassed when he finally found gloves thin and warm enough to suit his needs only to find out they were for girls, not boys. Greg wasn't very fond of repeating that experience, but it was the only way to assemble a better costume.
Or he could just order one online. He smacked his palm. Of course! Why go through the traumatic experience of shopping for clothes in a clothing store when he could just order them online in the safety of his bedroom? Why didn't he think of it sooner? 'I still need money and a way to order the things I want without leaving a super-obvious trail back to Greg Veder.'
But those were manageable problems. Something he could do about without going too far from his comfort zone. 'Enough procrastinating. I'm far too tired now.'
Greg shut off his computer, put his hero gear away and went to bed. As he tried to calm his nerves so that he could sleep, he considered what he should do with his new car. His mind and common sense told him that it was madness to keep a car that was essentially stolen from one of the most notorious gangs of Brockton Bay. He should get rid of it as soon as possible. Heck, if he was lucky enough to find a buyer, he'd gain enough money to continue his tinkering and buy an assortment of clothes to assemble his new costume. It was a convenient way to solve his current problems.
But.. the kid in Greg refused to even contemplate getting rid of his first ride. Who cared if it belonged to an ABBer. It's his just reward for heroing and saving a couple of lives. If he got rid of the car, it would be a very long time before he got a new one. His parents would never buy him his own car, so it was either claiming wallets from villains, or working part-time at a joint like Fugly Bob's. 'And how heroic would it look like if the Void Cowboy had a daytime job as a burger flipper? Not all Tinkers are lucky enough to be a playboy billionaire in their normal lives.'
He was going to keep the car, damn the torpedoes. Every hero needed a way to get around, and his was gonna be his very own batmobile. 'I'll need to paint it black. And see if I can modify its components. Considering my tech tree, I'll probably won't be able to soup it up very much. But there's one thing I can do.. and that is bolt lots of weapon on it.'
xxx
Too bad moonlighting as a superhero didn't give you a free pass to skip school. Greg's new technical prowess hadn't made him any smarter or stronger either. Sure, he might intuitively understand physics and chemistry a little better, he still had to calculate the numbers like any other student.
Two things were different at school today. First, Emma and Madison both slammed him against the lockers and gave him the stink eye.
"You haven't told anyone, have you?"
"No! Of course not!"
"Well keep it that way, loser."
His body still tingled at their touch. It wasn't every day that a girl would touch him. He savored the scent of their perfumes before catching up lest he be late.
The second was that Taylor hadn't come to school. Normally, that wasn't so unusual, considering.. the things he heard.. but usually she ditched school during lunch. Shrugging, Greg made himself as small and unremarkable as possible. The times when Taylor was missing were times when he had to keep his head down. He was well aware of his position in the totem pole. 'Then again, I doubt the three bitches are going to bother me. I know Emma and Madison's secrets. The worst they can do to me is spill my own night time identity, but that's pretty much worthless.'
From the glares he received from the two girls, they probably figured out the same. Greg was tempted to do a victory dance in front of them, but that required A: a spine, B: knowing how to dance, and C: Alexandria-like invulnerability when everyone else beat him up. 'Better not to poke the sleeping dragon.'
Instead, he absently slogged through his classes while considering how to overhaul his car. He wanted to strap lots of guns on it, but he had to make them concealable if he didn't want the PRT to drag it away when he parked it at the fitness center. He also had to change its license plate and color for that matter, or he'd get a horde of ABBers on his head. 'Jesus man, I feel like a villain. It's not as if I robbed a sweet ol' grandma of her only ride. I took it fair and square from a gang of villains out to do despicable things to two innocent girls... well okay, maybe they had it coming, but at least I earned the reward!'
The most frustrating thing about it all was that his Tinker power offered him no easy solutions to this problem. If he wanted to change the license plate into something both the ABB and the police won't chase after him, he had to do it the old fashioned way. 'I'll look up a guide on the internet. There has to be something there.'
Something else was different at school. He noticed it more clearly during lunch when he tried to pretend he was a wall. Groups huddled closer together. People were staring appraisingly at each other. An undercurrent of.. trouble hung over the school, and it put everyone at each other's toes. Greg had a good idea what caused this change. 'There are more capes in school now.'
It used to be that the gangs had to stay discreet, if only to avoid the attention of a certain vigilante-turned-ward. Now, after gaining a couple of powers themselves, the gangs no longer had to pretend they were model students. They had the ability to fight back, should they choose to.. 'Though you'd have to be an idiot to out yourself like that.'
Greg really had no clue what to think or what to do. It might very well be that a tenth of the school possessed powers now. Would that frighten others into getting powers as well, if only for self-protection? He shuddered to think what school would be like if everyone was a cape.
He couldn't have been happier when the school bell finally rang. Greg practically zipped out of the school and was the first to board the bus. As soon as he came back home, he dumped his school bag in the corner and booted up his pc. He opened multiple tabs on his browser and checked out his usual sites as well as ways to disguise a car.
While he had no luck on the latter, he did came across something interesting on PHO. It changed quite a bit the last time he visited, in particular the Brockton Bay section. Somehow, Free2Play not only had her own website (still under construction, sadly), but also warranted enough shit to get her dedicated subforum where she's a moderator.
There were a lot of interesting goodies here, but Greg focused on one sub-sub-forum in particular.
LFG: Looking For Group
Are you alone, or does your group lack a particular powerset? Find partners and teammates and here. Be sure to read the rules first. WARNING: No villains allowed.
This... this was absolutely perfect. One thing Greg hated most about MMOs was when they featured huge, complex dungeons and raids, but omitted easy ways to find teammates willing to do the same adventure. Stuff like a group finder made partnering up much easier by grouping random but like-minded people together. While this subforum didn't match the ease of most group finders, it was better than looking for other heroes on the street and asking them if they'd be willing to work together.
As he entered the subforum, Greg found a couple pages worth of LFGs, LFMs and more. He considered looking for a bigger group, but reconsidered. 'I don't want to be the third wheel in an already close knit group of friends.'
Instead, he decided to start small, and browsed through topics where other heroes wanted to team up with one or two other capes. Considering his rather infamous forum reputation, he skipped any topic made by forum regulars. He also avoided girls for... self-preservation reasons (he didn't want to die of embarrassment!).
Greg eventually came across something interesting. A topic made by a forum account with very little history wanted a buddy to guard his back. The hero was evidently decent at taking damage, but he needed a partner who could attack enemies at range, preferably non-lethally. 'I can do that. Heck, my electric pistols are pretty much non-lethal as long as they don't blow up on me.'
Strangely - or stupidly, if you didn't mince your words - the cape posted a selfie showcasing his power and.. the rest. The image wasn't very flattering, though at least he looked the same age as Greg. To be honest, the hero could give Chubster a run for his money. That also explained why his topic got zero replies to his offer.'He's a loser. Well.. it's not as if anyone else will tolerate a nerd like me.'
He sent a pm to the guy rather than replying publicly to the same topic. He didn't want to scare the other hero off by inviting flames from Bagrat or the like. Seeing he got no immediate reply, he minimized his browser and started to boot up his favorite MMO. 'I forgot to do my daily quests yesterday. I have to catch up before I go out on patrol.'
Midway through his relaxation, his browser beeped a notification. He received a reply! Greg instantly alt-tabbed his game, not caring his character was getting beat up by a boss harpy, and returned to PHO.
Steadfast: Hello. Your offer sounds interesting. You are the first person who showed an interest. May I ask why?
XxVoid_CowboyxX: I'm in a similar kind of boat as u. I figured why not.
Steadfast: You don't mind I'm not in shape?
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Trust me, that's the LAST thing I'll hold against u. Besides, I have a car.. well sort of..
Steadfast: Sort of?
XxVoid_CowboyxX: I can't explain it here. The CIA will arrest me if they know.
Steadfast: Okay... are you sure you are a hero?
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Oh don't worry about that, I'm 100% hero. I even rescued a pair of helpless girls in my first night out.
Steadfast: That's good. I think I'd like to know you more. Do you want to meet up?
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Sure!
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Do you know the Chinese restaurant at the very end of the Boardwalk? How about we meet there? The alley there is quiet enough so we can meet in costume, but it's also public enuf.
It took a minute before he got a reply.
Steadfast: I have the address.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: See u then!
Greg closed his browser and went back to his game. Even though the Harpy was happily eating out his character's guts, he had a pretty good feeling about his upcoming patrol.
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I hope it is Theo and that he will maybe turn Greg into somebody decent.