I dangle my legs over the side of a hotel roof, observing the bustling streets below.
sighing deeply, i stand up and transform into an inconspicuous pigeon, taking off from the roof and soaring through the skies, with nothing out of the ordinary being spotted all i could do was head back to my base deep within the forest and wait for anything to happen.
reaching the edge of the forest, I transform back into human form and tread carefully through the thick brush, carefully watching my surroundings and following the vague markings i had carved into the trees until I reach a small clearing.
after 12 years of living away from society, I had finally decided to go back and had now spent the last 4 years working to recruit heroes with no place in society and give them a place they could be themselves. with funding from secret sources, I had built an underground base with decent tech and space to live.
sticking my hand into a hand sized crevasse in a large rock, I press a button wired up to a circular door in the ground. casually jumping down into the abyss the door had opened to, I land on the squishy floor and proceeded to walk into the living quarters of the base.
Voluntros:
Strolls through the forest, and looks like a casual person for a walk.
Without giving any clues to his presence, he notes several marks on trees that look like an animal may have carved into them.
Arcanum:
going to the surveillance room, I sit down on a rather uncomfortable stool and carefully monitor the cameras placed around the area.
Voluntros:
Comes across a huge carcass, and lets out a fake welp of surprise, to keep in character even though he honestly is not surprised in the least as this is something he was looking for.
Without making any clear signs, he studies the corpse and notes the lack of bullet holes and any other man made mark.
"Interesting."
Arcanum:
needing to note down all the things I had seen today I take my eyes off the cameras and note down the number of bodies and sightings in the forest.
"hmm 3 kills seen in the area, not good, and way too many poacher sightings.... i really have to get better security."
Voluntros:
Standing back up straight, continues strolling through the woods.
Notes the camera in a nearby tree without making any signs about seeing it.
Arcanum:
I sigh, standing up and walking through the base to the weapon storage, grabbing my usual weapon, a layered graphene dagger with curved blade. clipping it to my side, I walk back through the base to a secret exit and emerge from a larger tree trunk close to the same clearing. this day was beginning to become a drag.
Voluntros:
Once he's out of sight of the camera he double back and climbs the tree to get a better look at the camera from the blindside.
He notes that the tree has obviously been here a long time, and also notes similar marks to the other trees on it.
Arcanum:
casually walks through the forest in line of all possible cameras along the way.
Voluntros:
Looks down and sees someone coming, hides out of the line of sight from the path but in an area where he can still see the person passing through.
Arcanum:
walks past, and mumbles to myself about the annoyance of having to move the carcasses.
Voluntros:
Notices a wrench in his sweatshirt pocket is starting to fall, he reaches out to grab it but is too late, worried the person nearby might see it fall he doesnt want to use his power to stop it.
it hits the ground and rustles the grass.
Arcanum:
stops in my tracks, turning and wearily looking around through the trees. worried, i transform into my black wolf form, my ears folding back and i continue walking.
Voluntros:
Watches the person transform into a wolf and notes that chances are if they try, they will be able to smell him.
Holds his breath and hopes they leave.
Arcanum:
picks up my pace, not wanting to be spotted by possible poachers and, within minutes, i am out of sight moving swiftly towards one of the carcasses.
Voluntros:
Once she is out of sight, he drops down, picks up his wrench, and trails her at a distance, hiding in the underbrush, as he suspects shes the cause of the carcasses.
Arcanum:
arriving at one of the carcasses and transforming back into human form. I sigh deeply, running my hand lightly over the body and mumbling some words.
Voluntros:
Seeing this, he notes she is not quite as likely to have done it, and hides and watches for a couple more minutes.
Arcanum:
"i really wish i didnt have to do this. this is sickening, but this causes attention i dont want..." slices the body in half and proceeds to drag one half further away from the base.
Voluntros:
Debates on whether to make himself known as a passerby or watch to see what she is going to do this.
After watching her cut it in half and drag it, he decides to watch a bit longer.
Arcanum:
comes back a couple minutes later and is about to drag the second half however the sound of rustling about 10 yards away catches my attention and, panicked, I decide its not worth being caught, transforming back into my wolf form and bounding off in the direction of the base.
Voluntros:
Does a loop around so it looks like he's coming from the other direction.
Walks down the path and looks down at the carcass and lets out a false yelp.
"What happened here?"
Looks around.
Arcanum:
continues to rush towards the base flickering my ears and keeping an ear on the sounds in the forest until i'm safely back in the base watching surveillance.
Voluntros:
Noting the direction she ran and that no trail goes as far off into the woods, he realizes if he wants to track her down, he'll need to break his cover.
Hmm, good move, he thinks, Must be the person who set up the camera's.
Arcanum:
sits back in a swivel chair keeping a keen eye on the camera footage whilst eating berries picked not too long ago.
Voluntros:
Knowing how his powers work on certain electronics from his own experimentations, he casually sets the cameras to a feedback loop while he walks through their range to stay undetected until he comes to a point where the tracks seemingly disappear.
Looks around on the ground for more tracks, then wonders if the wolf girl can fly or transform into something that can fly, knowing that if he lifts himself with psychic energy he will give himself away.
Arcanum:
Keeping an eye on the time and not noting anything dangerous, I shrug, taking a break and walk through the base to a hangout area, grabbing a slice of leftover pizza from my last adventure in the city.
Voluntros:
Looks over and sees a suspicious rock a short ways away.
Arcanum:
with nothing to do I decide to practice some more newer transformations which include a humming bird and squirrel.
Voluntros:
Notices that it appears a large section of land that seems like its recently been messed with.
Investigating the rock further he finds a small crevice in the side.
He reaches in and finds a small button, he cautiously presses it, being careful there are no traps nearby.
Arcanum:
after a couple tries and being half drained from doing so, I decide to take a nap to replenish my strength. I wander through the base to the main section and walk towards the sleeping quarters.
Voluntros:
He watches as the section of land where he noted that the foliage was recently disturbed slowly open.
He slowly makes his way down into the new hole in the ground.
Arcanum:
wanders to my bed and barely makes it before collapsing onto it exhausted.
Voluntros:
He notes it looks a lot more advanced then he had expected for being in the woods, and he notes that the owner probably didnt expect anyone to find it.
Not knowing how to close the door, he assumes it closes automatically and carefully follows the tunnel that seems most recently used, as there are several muddy footprints and leaves scattered on it.
Arcanum:
even with an alarm going off on my wrist band, I continue to sleep soundly, completely out of it from exhaustion.
Voluntros:
Carefully he slips into a room and sees a pizza box sitting on a counter, Noting this he decides she probably doesn't kill the creatures in the forest.
Arcanum:
Finally hearing the alarm, i wake up, turning it off and sleepily wander out my room towards the hangout section.
Voluntros:
He starts heading back, and realizes that the door had closed behind him, locking him in.
Not wanting to break out, he slips to the closest place he can hide.
Arcanum:
wanders into the hangout area and grabs a slice of pizza sitting down on a large black couch yawning.
Voluntros:
Realizes he will probably get caught soon, he tries to stay quiet, hiding behind the couch.
Arcanum:
finishes the pizza slice and gets up stretching "i really should try to get more sleep one of these days"
wanders through the base to the weapon room.
Voluntros:
Lets out a quiet sigh of relief and waits a bit longer.
Arcanum:
comes back out of the weapon room in my black wolf form and suddenly catches the scent of an unfamiliar creature and decides to follow it, wandering slowly back towards the hangout with my ears perked up.
Voluntros:
Peaks out from behind the couch to see a black wolf heading his way and realizes hes in trouble.
Reaches into his sweatshirt pocket and tries to find something that might help in this situation, but finds nothing that wouldn't hurt someone or be useless.
Arcanum:
"is there someone there...?"
tilts my head, half curious, half frightened.
Voluntros:
Argues with himself before figuring that it's probably best to fess up.
"Yeah..."
Arcanum:
stops in my tracks and looks quite surprised "how did you get in here?"
Voluntros:
"Well, Its quite simple, the rock was oddly placed and the foliage was disrupted."
Arcanum:
"well i guess i don't have the best security system then."
chuckles softly and transforms back into human.
Voluntros:
Tries to think of a lie of why he was out this far in case she asks.
"Ah, a Superhuman, Should've assumed as much."
Arcanum:
tilts head.
"superhuman?"
Voluntros:
"Oh, you know, a person who has super powers, a superhuman."
Arcanum:
"oh, yeah, that would be a fitting name."
Voluntros:
Climbs out from behind the couch.
Arcanum:
stands with my arms across my body a couple metres from the couch.
Voluntros:
"So Justice or Conquest?"
Arcanum:
"Justice i guess, just trying to help out people like me." Shrugs sitting down on an arm chair facing the couch.
Voluntros:
"Hmm... Sounds nice... Would explain the lack of coin as well..."
"You live here alone or?"
Arcanum:
"alone, have been for 16 years, which begs the question why are you here? no one comes to these woods but poachers and campers."
Voluntros:
"Hmm... You seem like a trustable person..."
"I guess you can call me a sucker for conspiracy theories... heard of bigfoot sightings in the woods."
"Though, I doubt you'd know anything about that."
Arcanum:
"well you wont find bigfoot, but there are some weird creatures out there, I've come across nearly every one of them."
Voluntros:
"Hmm... Well, these woods aren't too dangerous right? I wouldn't have to worry about being mauled like those animals?"
Arcanum:
"well the animals wont kill you, but i wouldn't trust those humans as far as i can throw them."
Voluntros:
Casually uses telepathic powers to try to sense if she's lying about something, but after several minutes of truth after truth, he starts to trust her a bit more.
"People can be rude to things they don't understand..."
"I myself find much interest in superhumans."
Arcanum:
looks down.
"yeah i know that all too well."
Voluntros:
Tries not to let on about his powers
Arcanum:
"im not so much interested in the power side, just cant bear to see others disowned and abused for having them."
Voluntros:
"If you want, I'm sure I could find you a job, as long as you don't use your powers without a disguise of sorts you should be able to pretend to live a normal life, though I'd understand if you wouldn't like that, some super humans come to rely on their powers."
"Though I would understand if you don't trust someone like me, seeing as it is quite obvious you have been persecuted for being different before."
Arcanum:
"to be honest I've never actually socialised at all, merely watched from afar, its sounds like an adventure but i wouldn't be very good at fitting in" chuckles slightly at the thought of trying to do normal human things.
Voluntros:
"Ah, that makes sense... Though, we could use a coverup of something such as being a foreigner... But I'd understand being nervous around people..."
Reaches in his pocket and pulls out a pack of gum.
"Want some?"
Arcanum:
"uhh I'm good thanks."
gets up and paces back and forth thinking.
"doing this would give me more chances of meeting more superhumans, and its getting pretty boring round here."
continues pacing.
Voluntros:
"Okay."
takes a piece and sticks the rest away.
"I mean, it would be a simple job, with simple money. Wouldn't be something crazy, just a place at a local hotel."
"I can't imagine you make much money as it is now, how do you get along with food and such?"
Arcanum:
"i have funding, private source, if its a simple job I'm down, ill get to do something other than train for once."
Voluntros:
"I believe that we may be able to make it so superhumans can be accepted again."
Arcanum:
"maybe... it would be nice."
Voluntros:
"Well, I can show you to the place... if I knew how to open the door here."
Arcanum:
chuckles and walks towards the back of the base.
"i prefer having two openings so i can get out if I'm found, follow me."
Voluntros:
Follows to the exit.
"By the way, I'm Philip, what's your name?"
Arcanum:
"uhm.... i don't have an actual name, but i tend to go by Arcanum, its nice to meet you Philip."
walks to an elevator door and presses a blue button opening it before stepping in.
"this will take us back up."
Voluntros:
As they go up.
"Well, I'm sure we can come up with something, seeing as going around by the name Arcanum may attract attention."
Arcanum:
"Ok, sounds like a plan"
the elevator stops at the base inside of a large tree.
"always loved the tree elevator."
walks out back into the clearing.
Voluntros:
Looks around.
"Ah, the path must be this way."
Arcanum:
nods.
"lead the way, ill be close behind."
Voluntros:
Heads towards the streets.
"So any ideas on the name, as we need credentials to get you a job, I can handle getting you fake credentials, I can't pull it off without a name."
Arcanum:
thinks for a moment.
"how about Natali Cutlan?"
Voluntros:
"Okay, one more thing..."
Pulls out his phone and snaps a picture.
"And for prior experiences we'll put Veterinary assistant, as I'm sure you must know a lot about animals..."
Exits the path from forest to streets
"So, we will need to get you some nicer clothes while we are here, I don't know your style, but you can't get a job looking like you just crawled out of a hole in the woods, no offence."
Arcanum:
looks down at my clothes "yea that was something i never bothered with because i never came in contact with people, but you are right, i look.... weird."
Voluntros:
Heads into the nearby clothes store.
Walks in and walks past several goods, finally stopping in the clothing section.
Arcanum:
looks around.
"would now be a good time to mention ive never worn any other clothes...."
Voluntros:
"Hmm... that may be a problem, lets just hope you can find something you like that at least looks fairly good as well as buying you some casual wear... And think of this as a repayment for all the trouble you've been through"
"I myself am not too good at choosing a good fashion, however I do know what is considered good for a job interview."
Arcanum:
"ill find something... eventually, ill just go off what I've seen other people wear around the city."
starts looking at clothes.
Voluntros:
"Go ahead and take some time, come to me when you found some stuff you like."
Leans back against the stores wall and starts messing with his phone.
Arcanum:
whilst I search through female suits.
"so am i right in thinking you are also... gifted?
Voluntros:
"I don't know what you mean..."
tries not to sound like its a lie.
Arcanum:
shakes my head.
"you are a terrible liar"
chuckles.
Voluntros:
Looks around to make sure nobody else is listening in, content nobody is he leans back against the wall.
"If by gifted you mean good with tech, or high up in my class, yeah."
Arcanum:
nods
"found something"
I hold up a black skinny suit and white blouse with black flats.
"is this ok for a formal kind of wear?"
Voluntros:
"Sure, if that's what you want, go try it on in the changing room"
Arcanum:
walks into the changing room and pulls the curtain across. 5 minutes later I walk back out with the suit on but not the shoes.
"i got the suit on fine but i dont like wearing the shoes, guess that might be because ive spent nearly my whole life not wearing shoes."
Voluntros:
"Hmm... I mean, you don't have to wear them for long, as after you are done with the interview you will be given a uniform."
Arcanum:
nods.
"ok ill put them on beforehand, to limit wearing them."
Voluntros:
"Now we just need some every day clothes..." Reaches up and grabs a sweatshirt.
"Try this out."
Arcanum:
takes it and goes back into the changing room.
Voluntros:
Finishes messing on his phone and slips it back into his pocket.
Arcanum:
comes back out wearing the sweatshirt.
"this ok?"
Voluntros:
"This one is more about comfort than looks, do you like it? More of an everyday clothing."
Arcanum:
"more breathable, i certainly prefer it to the suit."
Voluntros:
"Alright, is that all you want or?"
Arcanum:
"yea im good."
looks around.
"i might go get something proper to eat though, ive been eating leftovers for a while."
Voluntros:
"Well lets finish buying the clothes then we can go grab something to eat."
Proceeds to the checkout.
Arcanum:
follows looking around the place in slight awe.
Voluntros:
"Any specific type of food in mind or?"
Arcanum:
ponders for a moment.
"as long as it isnt fresh meat, maybe fruit."
Voluntros:
"Hmm..."
"How about that place?"
Points to a local restaurant nearby.
Arcanum:
watches curiously as a randomer speeds off.
"there are some weird people in this city..." turns to look at the restaurant
"sure."
Voluntros:
"Don't worry about some of the people here, busy lives and all."
heads into the restaurant.
Arcanum:
follows him still looking around at everything.
Voluntros:
Looks at the menu and orders a nice sandwich.
Arcanum:
is still looking at the menu
"how can you have this many items? this is soooo much food!"
Voluntros:
"Well, they try to offer a variety to attract more people."
Arcanum:
"well its working!"
licks my lips and decides to order a cheese toastie.
Voluntros:
"So, how long have you lived in those woods?"
Arcanum:
thinks for a second.
"16 years, well more like 15 years, and 11 months."
Voluntros:
"Wow... that's a long time..."
Arcanum:
twiddles my thumbs.
"yeah... very long."
Voluntros:
Orders some ice cream after finishing his sandwich.
"So you have been roughing it out in the woods for over a decade and a half."
Arcanum:
has finished the toastie and is eagerly looking around.
"well for 12 years, when i was 16 i started getting private funding to help me build up my dream."
Voluntros:
Notes that she is not likely to be the cause of the recent slaughter of many animals as it wouldve started long before if she had been.
Receives his cone.
"So you haven't had too much of the luxuries of the world? Such as Ice cream?"
Arcanum:
shakes my head
"I'm only provided tech and basic food necessities."
Voluntros:
"Wow... You've been missing a lot, you should try some ice cream."
Is curious of who has been providing funding but does not bring it up.
Arcanum:
"is it tasty?"
Voluntros:
"Yeah, I personally like this flavor better than some of the other ones but it's very good."
Arcanum:
"ill order some then, but not chocolate flavour."
Voluntros:
A drone flies by and delivers a folder full of documents.
"Ah, they are here"
Arcanum:
orders a cone of vanilla ice cream and sits there eating it, eyes widening at how tasty it is.
Voluntros:
Takes the folder.
"These are those documents we were talking about earlier. Of which include a fake birth certificate and other identifying documents."
Silent Ace:
starts to run out of the restaurant but trips over a chair.
"ahh!"
Voluntros:
Notices her trip and gets up startled, thinking they were spying on him.
Arcanum:
looks at the person who tripped.
"is she ok?"
Silent Ace:
frantically tries to put the package in her coat.
Voluntros:
Heads toward her and helps her up.
Silent Ace:
"uh thanks."
Arcanum:
watches curiously.
Voluntros:
"You all good?"
Scans her mind to see if she was a spy.
Silent Ace:
"yea I think so."
Voluntros:
Realizing thats not the case in the least
"Well try to be more careful, care to join us for some brunch?"
Silent Ace:
"sure I can have a quick bite to eat."
Voluntros:
Sits down
"I'm Philip by the way."
Silent Ace:
"hey Im Megan, its nice to meet you"
puts out her hand to shake.
Voluntros:
Shakes her hand
"You seemed kind of frantic there, everything good? If someone is on your tail I know how to shake them"
Silent Ace:
"no its not that....." she thinks for a moment
Voluntros:
Turning to Megan
"So Natali and I were just discussing superhumans, what is your opinion on the topic?"
Silent Ace:
"There cool I guess."
Voluntros:
"So yeah, we were talking about how we feel superhumans deserve better then how they are treated."
Silent Ace:
"yeah I guess they have it pretty rough."
Arcanum:
continues eating the delicious ice cream.
Voluntros:
"Though with some of them, it makes sense why people fear them."
Silent Ace:
"I guess people are just afraid of what they dont understand."
Voluntros:
"That's how it goes unfortunately."
Arcanum:
nods in agreement.
Voluntros:
"So anyways back to business, I'll get you a job at the apartment complex down the road a ways, I'll show you where after we are done here."
"Theres a few job openings but I feel like you'd prefer one with less human interaction so"
Arcanum:
"the less the better."
smiles with ice cream all round my mouth.
Silent Ace:
remembers the package
"oh well it was nice talking to you but I...uh got to go do something."
Voluntros:
"Okay, be careful, people aren't nice to people like us."
Gives her a wink letting her know he knows more than she realises.
Silent Ace:
widens her eyes in shock.
"ok cya"
walks out of the restaurant and down the street.
Arcanum:
looks at bag full of my clothing.
"interview time?"
Voluntros:
"Sure, feel more like Janitor or more of room service?"
Arcanum:
"hmm room service sounds fun."
Voluntros:
"Okay then, Should be all set... This way." Heads down the street to his seret room in the apartment complex.
Arcanum:
follows, keeping an eye on everything.