Declaration of Intent

Adam Apex
New Member

Posts: 12

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 5:40:03 GMT

Post by Adam Apex on Nov 20, 2021 5:40:03 GMT

ADAM APEX in: NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
ACT ONE: Introductions.
SCENE ONE: The Bar.

Ask around on the streets of New York, and you'll learn three fundamental truths very swiftly.

ONE: Around here, there's only one boss, and his name's METTLE.

TWO: On Friday nights, you can find the boss at GOON'S, drinking with a few of his pals.

THREE: If you value your head remaining attached to your shoulders, you don't bother the boss while he's out drinking with his pals.

When a few concerned individuals asked Adam Apex why he wanted to know, and what he was planning to do, the Eighth Wonder of the World just smiled and told them why don't you let me worry about that.

Locating the infamous villains bar was easy, especially for a man who had the entire city map committed to memory. Adam Apex doesn't see the world the way the rest of us do. To him, New York is a four-dimensional puzzle box just waiting to be solved. Today, the first move is waiting to be made. He smiles and pushes open the door to GOON'S.

All heads turn as he enters. It's hard to know how they can tell, because he doesn't wear a mask or a cape, but something about it gives Adam away instantly. Perhaps it's his smile. Or perhaps he just has the stink of heroism on him. Either way, his presence makes everyone in the bar bristle. Strictly speaking, there's nothing he can do to them just because they're in the bar, despite its reputation, and their colorful ensembles. But it still feels wrong for him to be there.

Adam surveys the room in a single sweep, locating his target instantly. He crosses the distance in the precise minimum steps necessary, avoiding even a light brush with any of the other patrons, lest he give someone an excuse to start a fight. Then he arrives at the private booth reserved for the Chrome Capo, METTLE himself. One or two of his associates are present as well, but Adam only has eyes for their boss.

Demonstrating no care for the faux pas he's committing by approaching the boss at his table, the 21st Century Man extends a hand towards METTLE, to shake. His smile remains unshaken, and seems as genuine as can be. Not overtly earnest, just calm and polite. Adam doesn't raise his voice, but with the sudden hush that's fallen over the bar, every one of the other patrons hears him.

"David Leiter, I'm Doctor Adam Apex. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm here to inform you that, starting tonight, I intend to dismantle your criminal enterprises in this city, and see you put behind bars. I do hope you won't make things too difficult. Whenever possible, I prefer to conduct matters without violence."

METTLE
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Posts: 316

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 14:18:39 GMT

Post by METTLE on Nov 20, 2021 14:18:39 GMT

In the back of the bar, Mettle and his cohort were stationed in a large circular booth. On the left side was Tarantula, tie loosened, two of his six arms tucked in close to his body, two draped around a short blonde girl's shoulder, and two resting on the table, one fist curled around a drink. On the right side was Human Flood Jr., whose date was actually in-costume too, though she didn't seem to have any superpowers. They'd been chattering in Spanish most of the night, which quietly aggravated Tarantula, because he couldn't understand what they were saying. Between them both, though, sat David.

He mostly ignored his date. She was pretty enough, but sat more or less upright in the seat, not leaning into her at all. She'd put her head on his shoulder, but he ignored it. His mind was on other things.

Before Dr. Apex arrived, Mettle was already reconsidering his choice of hangout. As much as he loved the charm and history of Goon's, it was a bit too close to the streets. When his influence had been low, it was their classic meeting place, but now that they'd pushed out most of the competing supers in the Bronx, continuing to stay there felt wrong. It was a good place for his friends, but in his position, being in a supervillain dive bar was becoming less and less him all the time. He preferred nicer things now. What did it say that his tastes were starting to go beyond those of his friends?

Miller - the Tarantula - was ambitious. He was one of the first to join David on his mission, and he approached the process of exerting influence over the Bronx with even more zeal than he. Understandably, he was hungrier for respect; the normal world had a hard time accepting someone with six fully-functional limbs. Admittedly, he could be a little nauseating to look at. His date seemed to think so too, at first, but the proximity to power she felt had been enough for her to get over it. There were a million people in the Bronx, but they all knew Mettle.

Flood Jr., on the other hand, wasn't interested in the big picture at all. He was pure muscle, both in build and in role. A lot of people underestimated his intelligence, but to be fair, he could hardly speak a word of English, something Mettle had not-so-subtly encouraged him to take up. He could understand him perfectly well - with what the media had called "Total Recall" in his back pocket, he eventually discovered that he could memorize entire languages easily - but there could easily be a communications breakdown with the rest of the crew if he didn't go native. Flood Jr. preferred drinking and messing around with girls to English for Dummies, though, and it'd be hard to fix that without a concerted effort on his part.

Up above, as usual, Shockman lay unseen in the bar's electrical wiring. Watching, waiting for any signal. Wishing he could drink anything at all, even water.

As Mettle sat in thought, another reason for them to switch their choice of weekend hangout walked through the door. Incomparably suave, with an aura of confidence, not stupidity - yep, definitely superhuman. As the suited man walked back towards their booth, David gestured subtly; Shockman understood and withdrew from the light that had been sparking. Miller tensed a bit and Flood pounded another beer.

None of them shook his hand, and the chatter in the bar went back to its normal volume. This kind of thing happened with surprising regularity anymore. The girl to his left, the brunette, held onto his arm - but he knew that she shouldn't be scared. He had 'hero' energy. He just let himself relax, and let that relaxation flow into her. His silver skin was completely immune to harm. His crew knew it too; they barely reacted, other than keeping their eyes on him. In a situation like this, with the boss around, they knew to let him lead.

With his keen perception, though, David knew this situation was a touch more serious than the vigilante of the week. It was a kind of intuition he'd developed about metas. He'd need to navigate this one a little more carefully.

He touched his cheek and then shrugged.

"Why?"

METTLE'S GOVERNMENT FILE
SOCIETY OF SUPERVILLAINS

Adam Apex
New Member

Posts: 12

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 21:00:02 GMT

Post by Adam Apex on Nov 20, 2021 21:00:02 GMT

ADAM APEX in: NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
ACT ONE: Introductions.
SCENE ONE: The Bar.

Leiter's face didn't betray alarm, or even concern, at being approached so brazenly. He was no longer the type to throw punches first and ask questions later. The brash CRUMPLE ZONE contender had become a more thoughtful, calculating criminal mastermind. If Adam's intuitions were correct, his empire was, within a few years' time, going to be wholly legitimate. That made it all the more imperative to take him down now, before he could have a legal shield behind which to hide.

Obviously, the Eighth Wonder had done his research before he walked into the bar. It didn't require him to sit down at a computer and read, either. Thanks to his natural technopathic talent, simply walking around the streets of New York had been enough for him to passively absorb terabytes of information on the city, and its current criminal kingpin. Naturally, they didn't exactly advertise their fronts or which warehouses stored their stolen goods, but Adam had only taken twelve hours or so to come up with a few solid leads for where to start his crusade.

"Two reasons," Adam says, letting the hand fall back to his side, unbothered. "Firstly, I happen to subscribe to the notion that if one witnesses an injustice, and has the power to put an end to it, it's their moral imperative to do so."

As he speaks, the 21st Century Man's eyes flicker upwards, to where an electromagnetic anomaly lurks. For most people, a lightbulb sparking would be entirely insignificant, but Adam's super-senses allow him to identify any variance in the usual functions of the universe's fundamental forces, of which electromagnetism is one. When an electrical current appears to be moving of its own volition, that doesn't escape his notice. For the time being, though, he gives no outward indication of awareness.

"The second is a touch more complicated. In short, I hope to one day become powerful enough to make every living person immortal, resurrect every person who has ever died, and rewrite the laws of reality in order to eradicate the concept of suffering. But in order to become that strong, I need to hone my abilities. Much as I abhor violence, a genuine combat scenario with a metahuman of your caliber would provide an opportunity to measure myself."

Whatever else one might say about Doc Apex, it can't be denied that he's ambitious.

Last Edit: Nov 20, 2021 21:40:21 GMT by Adam Apex

METTLE
Member

Posts: 316

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 21:30:46 GMT

Post by METTLE on Nov 20, 2021 21:30:46 GMT

"Uh-huh."

OK, so he's one of the crazies.

Mettle leaned back in the seat a bit, eyes narrowed slightly as he scrutinized the man; his suit was nice, which meant he wasn't so nuts that he couldn't hold down a job or have some other income - he was functioning, at least, and based on his heartrate, he sincerely believed what he said.

When Dr. Apex spoke, David felt the girl grip his wrist a little harder - what, Daphne, was it? He'd not even really paid attention earlier when they'd introduced themselves - her being around was actually starting to annoy him - but - her pulse was skyrocketing. Of course. She was human.

"Sir. I think you're bothering the girls. Why don't we talk outside? I've been looking to get some air anyway," he said, nodding at Miller to get up. He made a small hand gesture, part of code they'd developed, almost imperceptible - anyone who saw it would surely think nothing of it - but it meant "I'll handle this." It was a sign he planned to de-escalate.

Plus, if anything did escalate, there was no fighting in Goon's. It was an age-old rule that everyone had to respect, even him.

Dr. Apex was six-foot something - maybe 5', maybe '6 - so even David, with his average height, looked small beside him. But his posture and silver skin marked him enhanced, walking with the pose of someone who was immune to harm, unthreatened by anything in his surroundings. It was the metahuman stride.

Outside, if Apex followed, he'd step into the sidewalk. Two years ago, he'd have lit up a cigarette, but he didn't do that anymore. Instead, he just smelled the air. City air was foul, but with emerging technologies, it'd been cleaned up considerably. Meta-science and development. It made him think about what the other man had said - about conquering death itself. Wasn't he already there? There were no signs that his powers were going to run out anytime soon.

"Y'know, Doctor, Legion is right next door, taking over Manhattan with an army of shadow men, entirely unopposed."

He smiled.

"Not a metahuman of your caliber?"

METTLE'S GOVERNMENT FILE
SOCIETY OF SUPERVILLAINS

Adam Apex
New Member

Posts: 12

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 21:55:49 GMT

Post by Adam Apex on Nov 20, 2021 21:55:49 GMT

ADAM APEX in: NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
ACT ONE: Introductions.
SCENE TWO: The Street.

Adam had barely acknowledged the presences of the women accompanying Leiter and his cohort. If he'd sought to, he could likely have kept from intimidating them quite as much as he had, but in making them uncomfortable, he'd successfully induced Mettle to take their conversation outside. That was preferable- less risk of collateral damage. A few heads tracked him as he followed the Chrome Capo out of the bar, but many had already returned to their conversations. Anyone who'd heard his declaration had already dismissed him as a madman, no doubt. That would prove to be their mistake.

Outside, the dataflow is different. There had been some useful information swirling around the digital ether inside of Goon's, but nothing of real consequence. Even the least clever criminal these days knew better than to share their plans over unencrypted channels. They use burner phones or protonmail accounts or, if they're really smart, didn't transmit anything sensitive over a digital medium whatsoever. On the street, Adam passively picks up stray fragments of data from every individual who walks by. Names, addresses, contact information, dinner plans. If he focuses hard enough, he can see someone's DNA sequencing, determine whether they had a genetic predisposition towards certain diseases, or if they're really an alien shapeshifter masquerading as human. Not many of those walking around New York, but more than you might think.

"I may not agree with everything Legion does, but he's been careful to stay within the bounds of the law for the most part. Until he goes further, I can't in good conscience target him."

Doc Apex looks towards Manhattan, where the nexus of shadows grows day by day. It makes him wary, to say the least. But all vigilantes take the law into their own hands. The character called Legion has simply taken things one step further, and become a law unto himself. True, he's not yet laid out any edicts, but patrolling the streets with his own private army is an unmistakable act of sovereignty. Until the city sees fit to act against him, however, Adam's hands are tied.

"You, on the other hand, need to be dealt with sooner rather than later."

METTLE
Member

Posts: 316

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 22:14:31 GMT

Post by METTLE on Nov 20, 2021 22:14:31 GMT

"Not a big due process guy, are you. For someone who's apparently all about the law, I don't see a badge, Doc."

Mettle leaned back against the wall. His countenance was completely neutral. It wasn't a big gotcha thing and they both knew it. Just idle conversation. It was eminently clear that both of them had a perspective of the world that was no longer quite human, where mortal combat and power struggle loomed large in their lives, and the regular contingent accidents of life posed them no threat. They weren't little people.

"Look. I've had similar conversations before. One with Spider-Bite, after we fought for a few minutes in the streets. We came away from that on more or less alright terms. We set some ground rules. I say we do the same. There's no need for this to be anything less than professional."

He thumbed one of his metal nails, scratching out a microscopic bit of dirt.

"It's fine if you just want to fight me to fight me. I won't take it personally, even though it's a little unhinged. But don't wrap it up in this big hero thing. It's disingenuous," he said, brow creasing.

Disingenuous was a word that hadn't been part of his vocabulary a little while back. But once he'd come across it, he found it perfect to describe the problem he had with so many so-called superheroes. Now Quiver was a superhero, a true one. But guys like this...they were the sort who'd rubbed him the wrong way before. He'd learned to see the world in different shades - not all of them were trash. He was going to give good ol' Apex a chance to prove it.

METTLE'S GOVERNMENT FILE
SOCIETY OF SUPERVILLAINS

Adam Apex
New Member

Posts: 12

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 22:35:06 GMT

Post by Adam Apex on Nov 20, 2021 22:35:06 GMT

ADAM APEX in: NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
ACT ONE: Introductions.
SCENE TWO: The Street.

"I'm afraid my conviction won't be quite so easy to shake," Adam replies, the ghost of a laugh in his voice. "You are correct, however- I'm not an agent of law enforcement. My duty is to protect people, not police them. And you're exactly the sort of person they need protecting from."

Folding his arms, the Eighth Wonder issues his condemnation without a hint of malice. It's just a statement of fact, plain and simple. He doesn't see Leiter as particularly reprehensible, despite the criminal nature of his activities. If anything, it's a failure of society that led to him becoming this way. Alas, not everyone was raised in such circumstances as Doc Apex. Had there been a stronger social safety net for someone like Leiter, it's possible he would have become an upstanding, productive member of society. But as it stands, he needs to be taken down.

"I'm a reasonable man, for the most part. But I'm afraid I don't make compromises with people like you. The reason I came here was to give you fair warning about what I'm planning to do. And, of course, to give you the chance to skip straight to the end. Shut down your illegal operations and surrender peacefully, or I'll bring it down around your ears."

Leiter's a young man- although only about a year younger than the Doctor. The courts would probably go easy on him. Extortion, racketeering, and theft are serious crimes, but he's avoided acquiring any of the bigger charges. That's most likely deliberate on his part. It's prevented law enforcement, conventional or superhuman, from knocking down his door thus far. But Adam isn't so easily distracted.

METTLE
Member

Posts: 316

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 22:56:59 GMT

Post by METTLE on Nov 20, 2021 22:56:59 GMT

"Please. I protect people too. Only I'm honest about what it takes, and my way works. Haven't you noticed that nobody's Alpha'd the Bronx in the last little while?"

That's right, I forgot this guy is crazy.

There were a lot of vigilantes who were out there for vengeance, or justice, or some other abstract concept. They couldn't be reasoned with and they usually found themselves at odds with everyone around them because of their unshakeable dedication to street fighting. The gang had sent a throng of those guys to the hospital so far, after they meddled in his business.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Doc, Spider-Bite literally gave me the same speech. And then we fought, and I let him go, because he's a good person, not the kind I want to fight. You just seem like a..."

He swirled his hand around a bit and chose a different word.

"...like someone who wants to be an icon of something. You remind me of Conquest. You know Conquest? You and she have the same thing going, just in different flavors. You're both people who set themselves up as this larger than life idea, an embodiment of justice, or hope, or war, or whatever. It's fragile. I've seen it go wrong. It's always ugly."

He rubbed his chin.

"It's seriously just a waste of time for us to fight. I'm not interested. It distracts me from my more important work. Go get a petition going, see what my community thinks of me, and then we'll talk."

Last Edit: Nov 20, 2021 22:59:44 GMT by METTLE

METTLE'S GOVERNMENT FILE
SOCIETY OF SUPERVILLAINS

Adam Apex
New Member

Posts: 12

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 23:19:18 GMT

Post by Adam Apex on Nov 20, 2021 23:19:18 GMT

ADAM APEX in: NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
ACT ONE: Introductions.
SCENE TWO: The Street.

"Apologies if I'm not original enough for you," Adam replies with a chuckle. He hadn't particularly been expecting Leiter to dismiss him on the grounds of having had this conversation before. Then again, maybe he should have been. Even if he's careful never to do anything too incriminating, Mettle is a known underworld figure, and that has to attract all sorts of heroes. The Eighth Wonder, however, isn't a hero in the traditional sense.

"I can respect that you aren't some sort of bloodthirsty savage, but protecting what you've claimed as your 'territory' doesn't absolve you of your sins. Individuals like Capacitor and Total Experience protected people because it was the right thing to do. You just need to keep them alive so you can continue exploiting them."

Admittedly, that's not untrue of other, more legitimate institutions in the same city. But short of spearheading drastic social change, there's little Adam can do about predatory lending practices on the part of big banks. A criminal empire built on extorting and robbing ordinary people is well within his ability to eliminate. And no number of attempts by any criminals to muddy the waters would dissuade him.

"If you've truly managed to delude people that they're better off with you than without you, then the problem is worse than I thought. But I'm going to show them that there's a better option."

Adam adjusts his cuffs, straightens his suitjacket, and gives Mettle a nod. Then, presuming the Chrome Capo makes no attempt to halt him, he leaves, disappearing into the crowd with the practiced ease of a native New Yorker.

METTLE
Member

Posts: 316

Declaration of Intent Nov 20, 2021 23:46:27 GMT

Post by METTLE on Nov 20, 2021 23:46:27 GMT

"Total Experience, I'll grant you. Capacitor, ehh," he said, wobbling his hand a bit at the wrist, a so-so gesture, palm toward the ground. The other things he said slid off of him like rain from an iron hull. He shook his head, squinting.

"Wait, did you not hear what I said? You sound like you memorized a script. I mean, you get what I'm saying, right? 'My sins?' Really?"

Mettle sighed. He knew, he knew that this was a better way to handle things than before. There had been a time when someone even looking at him the wrong way had been a threat to him. Where someone's capability, their strength, was in itself a challenge. It'd taken him a while to get over that. To learn to think beyond that sort of thing. That was when he stopped breaking, and started building. That was when he started thinking about the future, the distant future.

So why did he want nothing more than to punch this guy's head off?

Tonight's getting to me. This bar. That girl. I miss Kore.

He straightened up, stepping off the wall, and sighed.

I guess I am still human where it counts.

"Yeah, see ya," he said, giving the man a small wave.

With that, he turned to head back into Goon's.

"Who was that guy?" Miller asked. It looked like the girls had gone to the restroom together in a group.

"Don't know. Some guy. Never heard of him. We'll find out soon enough, probably, if he breaks some hench's nose or whatever. If he kills, then we've got a real problem on our hands."

"You want Shockman to trail him? Like Spider-Bite? Just give the word."

"Nah. I just want to relax for a bit, Terry."

"You're stressed out, dude. Just take it easy. I'll handle this guy for you, boss."

David glanced up at him and grinned. He clasped his shoulder.

"You don't have to call me boss."

"Yeah, I know. Boss."

METTLE'S GOVERNMENT FILE
SOCIETY OF SUPERVILLAINS