Deception
 

Our story begins on a piss pour night. A city-wide blackout only made the storm and all its terrors that much worse. But that storm was more than just a regular front. No, this storm came from nowhere, literally. Or at least that's what all thought. The truth was, it was formulated, created by one group to mark the beginning of an era of... mutants or super-beings.

We just the story following one male, whose ridden with amnesia, trying to escape from an experiment he wants nothing to do with. The ghosts in his mind have other plans for him though....

Blood.

It sprayed across the scene like water spraying the bottom rocks of a cliff. Red was such a beautiful colour. While others might have seen a massacre of bodies, she saw a tableaux of art. Each severed limb told the story of a perfect slice, an expert blow. It was beautiful.

She raised slowly from her crouched position. Things might have gotten a little out of hand this time. It was supposed to have been a recruitment job but the mark had been... resistant. It was a good thing her partner had been there, she glanced to the bloodied body of a man on the ground. If he hadn't been there, she wouldn't have had anyone to throw in the way of the attack. A shame really, he hadn't been a complete bore like the last three and worse yet, this meant another psyche evaluation and time off before her next mission.
With a sigh she untied her crimson hair and let it fall around her dark skinned shoulders. Her clothing was definitely not subtle, a combination of deep reds and golden yellows that made her look like she was on fire (See my current Avi). Her eyes were a dark brown but often mistaken for red when they caught the light.
They called her the Cimmerian, a term well suited for her abilities to manipulate shadows. She took her time heading back to base, she rather enjoyed the late night strolls beneath the stars. She made her way through the tunnels and into the facility, only to be directed straight to the psychiatrist. It was several long days before they were satisfied with her answers.
"No sir, I don't enjoy killing people" she'd swear up and down, "it is only a necessity on occasion."
"It was terrible" she managed to summon tears, "the attack came out of nowhere and... and Simon jumped in front of me. He was only protecting me... why does everyone die around me? Why?!"

That ought to make them happy. And it did, soon she was back in that silly white room with numerous others, waiting to get their new partners. For many it would be their first, for Cimmerian, it'd be her fifth. She leaned against the wall, glancing at the others with little interest. Newbies, some looked scared, others determined. There were strong ones, thin ones, large and small ones and all as boring as the next.

She was starting to wonder if it was her, after going through so many morons, perhaps she was the one with the problem and not them?

-

Cimmerian looked over the animal in the cage, how strange to be paired with this creature. Perhaps it was suiting, put the two monsters together? He looked capable enough, perhaps this one wouldn't die so quickly?

"You can call me anything you want, sugar" in truth she was actually more English background than anything else, but for some reason she liked to play around with a touch of southern drawl, among other accents. "Step one, lets find you some suitable clothes" she smirked a little, she was enjoying the view but they couldn't go in public like that.

Intrigued wasn't even close to what Cimy was feeling at the moment. She couldn't help but light up a little as the other persona emerged, this one was different... exciting...
She smiled and stepped forward, draping her cloak around his shoulders, "Let's get you out of the rain. I know just the place" she offered gently and lead him around the back way into a bar and up the stairs to a private room, "Jimmy's the bartender here, he's a good guy. Lets me use this room when I need a place to crash." she pushed him onto the bed. It was a simple room with a single bed, a small desk and a closet. Going to the closet she pulled out numerous sets of clothing, "Wasn't sure about your size so I grabbed a few options. They don't always give us everything so I took a few... liberties" she fiddled with a security tag, managing to pop it off one of the jackets.

((Technically I said they went in the back way, but sure XD))

"It was closer" Cimy excused, and while Allen searched through the clothes she leaned against the wall to watch him. He seemed capable enough, if not just a touch insane but who was she to judge?

While he washed up she shoved the rest of the clothes out the window and onto the street for whoever wanted them, then she kicked back on the bed and leafed through an old, dirty romance novel. When she heard the door she sat up with a sigh, "it's about ti-" she found the words stop dead on her tongue as she looked him over, "Weeellll.... look who cleans up half decently" she grinned, getting to her feet and approaching him.

She ran a finger along his shirt, down his chest and looked him in the eyes, "So, what do I call you?"

((Allen comes across as an exaggerating man. Even through the back and he would whine about people seeing him. Such a sap, gotta love him.))


To think that he was not supposed to be turned on by such a thing really perplexed him. His heart raced at the idea of getting hot and heavy right then and there and yet he knew it just didn't feel right. Oh the curses of having someone else in control of your mind and, thus, your actions. With her hand still stroking his tight chest down to his abs, Allen cocked a brow in a curious manner. "Even you? I suppose all women can't help but throw themselves at a man who keeps himself looking buff and sharp." With a light pat on her head, he moved toward the windows that over looked the area. "And I suppose Ghost is fitting. Wouldn't want to run around yelling, "Allen" or "Phantom." Who knows who might identify me. Ghost is short, sweet, and to the point."

Taking his eyes off the view before him, he looked back at his rather stunning partner. They were going to make an epic team. He was hot and so was she. Ah yes, the new found confidence that flowed through him would surely be the death of him, but Allen didn't seem to mind. "I suppose you can all me Allen when it's just the two of us." Sending a wink her way, the blonde moved closer to her again. "Are we going to get some gear? I prefer sniper rifles, if that's fitting for whatever actions we'll be committing."

Eager to get going, he moved toward the door. Already opening it and outside, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the lights flicker. That's right, it was storming outside. As nice as it would be to start a mission, now might not be the best time. Then again, he looked over his shoulder to take Cimmeria in again. A glint of red flickered like a flame in his eyes. "Storms always make for the perfect alibi."

---------- Post added 11-19-2013 at 10:25 PM ----------

((look I'm lazy. I didn't change my font. XD))

Cimy rolled her eyes at the comment, she liked it better when he was all flustered, it was amusing. A pat on the head was not so amusing, "-_-"

"Well then Ghost" She turned to follow his movements with her gaze, "This is how it works. The Agency has tons of money but apparently that's for the important people. We can get a few select items now and then but if you want something, you generally get it yourself. You, being Mr. No powers, get issued one gun for starters" she pulled out a very nice looking Glock pistol from the back of her pants and offered it to him. Clearly this thing had been modded to an extent to improve upon the already impeccable power and accuracy of a regular one. Very contrary to the seedy bar they were in, this pistol came from money.

With a hefty sigh she offered him an extra clip of bullets to and added in a much more monotone voice, "and these are special bullets that will take out just about any mutant, including myself. I am obligated to tell you that if I am out of check you have permission to shoot me. -_- but don't think it'll be easy."

After that, Cimy pulled out a small piece of paper to read. She was actually still soaking wet from being outside though it didn't seem to bother her very much, "Okay, first mission. Oh blaahhh" she made a face, "Recon. That's boring. They probably don't think I could handle another murder mission" she rolled her eyes again, "idjits. We're going to check out some kids in Edmonton to confirm if they have abilities or not."

"Don't complain, at least you get something" Cimy replied, "If you really want we can raid some place along the way. Find a small town sheriff station and break in at night. They've got the lowest security with the biggest pay off. Not quite as good of a stash as anywhere in the US, but it'll be a start."

"Figuring out if someone's a mutant can be trickier than you think" she explained, "There doesn't seem to be any limit as to what their powers could be. One kid, all he had was a snake tongue, that's it. How lame is that? But others, like me, look completely normal at first glance." she grinned a little showed herself off a bit, "Any guesses?" she asked, wondering if he could figure out what her power was.

Breaking in a new partner was more often tedious than it was fun-which would be why she had such a low death count on partners (yes, to her it was low). But this one, this Ghost, had something much more fascinating up his sleeve and she was going to figure out just how to bring that part of him out again.

Cimy blinked, nobody and I mean nobody ever guessed it on the first try, "How... you saw my file, didn't you" she gave him a disapproving look, "Well just do you know, most of the personality profile is Bull-and I did not kill that guy. I just didn't seem him worth saving." she said matter of factly.

Trailing after him she shook out her own red cloak, the thing wasn't in the greatest condition but she didn't seem to care too much about that as she put it back on and brought up the hood. Her dark skin seemed to somehow become a shade darker as they approached the exit, "Alright, Mr. Big shot" she quipped, "Lead the way"

If she hadn't piqued his interested before, she did now! This woman was getting all frazzled over believing he saw her files. Just how far could he push her before she caught on that he knew nothing? "Right, because people just jump in front of bullets for you. And did that one want to give you something red so it would accent your clothing rather nicely?" His brows moved downward in to form a scowl. "I think you have people issues. A rogue like you forced to work alongside a mere mortal? Whoa is you, am I right?" It was fun, the witty banter that was. Sarcasm was evident in every word he spoke. Allen was just trying to get under her skin. She could draw the pistol on him and he would just push it aside. There seemed to be a mutual understanding between them both not to try to cross the other. Words were just sticks, and there was to be no stone throwing.

The rain welcomed them. As they moved down the dimly lit streets, Allen found himself picking up his pace. In no time, he was jogging and soon, running. Running just made sense. In the thick of the night, they looked like ghosts running down the empty streets. Completely soaked, Allen didn't seem to mind it for he stopped weaving around the large puddles that dotted the road before him. The rain wasn't letting up and trying just wasn't worth it anymore.

Still under the veil of night, the pair arrived at the location Allen saw in his mind. It was literally a large drainage pipe. Half-concerned that his visions were misleading him, he gingerly took a step down so that he could enter the pipe. The darkness before his eyes was hard to see through but he managed to. Eyes completely dilated so no blue showed, he vanished into the hole.

Allen was probably gone for a good twenty minutes. He left Cimmeria outside to guard the hole. Not to mention, he didn't want to bring her in if this panned out to be fake intel. Thankfully, that was not the case. It was almost as if his mind new that this day was coming and that he would need better gear. Everything was laid out perfectly, too. It was just what he wanted.

Strapping the sniper rifle to his back, he noted that it was equipped with a canister that would let is spit fire. Awesome, he said to himself. Two golden pistols that fired two rounds per click were also resting neatly in a velvet case. A slender blade also accompanied the guns. It was obviously included for a reason so Allen scooped it up too.

The sniper rifle found its place across his back while the two pistols rested neatly by his thighs. The blade proved to be harder to place as the sniper was already claiming his back. Managing to tuck is behind the rifle in a place that would be easy to draw it our from, Allen made his way back to the entrance. When he emerged, he gave Cimy a thumb's up. "Whelp, I'm ready to do some recon. Lead the way, Miss Darkness."

At some point, Allen would request to visit the main base to see if anything could be done to turn his sniper rifle invisible. It was blatantly obvious he was running around with one, and he didn't want to attract that much attention. Luckily, the storm covered everything so he was safe for tonight.

((P.S. Ignore the gun specs like damage and whatnot. Just worry about zoom, accuracy, and magazine size.))

Cimy scoffed, "Yeah yeah yeah, everybody dies on me, boo hoo, can we skip the fake drama act? I like to save it for the psychiatrists" She was not very into talking about her file. They'd never actually shown it to her but she had caught glimpses of it now and again. The psychiatrists seemed to be buying her act but it never bothered her if her partners knew what she was really like. It seemed only fair that the poor chumps new something of what they were getting into with her, but heaven help them if they ever tried to tattle about it. That's how she had lost number two.

Running, she rather enjoyed it and thank goodness Ghost seemed to agree. There was nothing like getting the blood pumping in the dead of night. She stayed just inside the entrance of the tunnel to shelter a bit from the rain while she kept watch.

When her new partner emerged, Cimy almost had to do a double take. This guy looked ready to take out an army, not do a little recon. Still, she tried to keep her surprise to herself and covered it with a pleased grin, "Yeah... you totally look ready for a simple recon mission. And heaven help any deadly moose that gets in our way" she chuckled.

Checking her watch she spoke, "There's a train leaving in twenty minutes on the south side to Edmonton. Should get us there by daylight," and a good thing to. She wouldn't admit it but her powers were actually less effective when it was this dark out. After all, shadows could not exist without light.

As they hopped onto the train Cimy was quick to find a more secluded compartment for them to sit. Anyone who passed by got an eerily uncomfortable stare so that they would keep on moving. Once the train began to move and they were certainly alone, the extra darkness that had coated her skin drifted to the floor and left a puddle of water to the side. Her skin had thus remained dry through the storm, which was likely the only reason she wasn't shivering from the cold of it.

For a little added protection, she had shrouded Ghost's guns in shadow so that no one could really tell what they were at a glance. Even though these were merely subtle displays of her ability, the precision and thought behind it revealed a lot about her. She was always careful not to get caught or seen doing anything out of the ordinary-or at least out of the realm of normal human ability.

With a relaxing sigh she gazed out the window, though in actuality she was quietly taking the time to observe her new partner from the reflection in the glass. While by now she had gotten quite used to the lower class conditions, it was clear that Allen was not. All the same, it was always much easier to steal away in a cheap hotel, bar or train than it was in some high class place. High class generally meant high security.

She didn't drift off for very long herself, only a few moments here and there while Allen drifted away for a few hours. Her gaze trailed to the distance where dark memories played in the back of her mind and kept her from falling asleep. Slowly the compartment seemed to become more and more shrouded in darkness, even as the rain trailed away and the sun rose, they stayed in the dark.

It wasn't until Allen spoke again that she snapped out of her little trance and the shadows retreated back to their regular positions, filling the space with light. "Hm?" she turned to look at him again, then nodded, "Yeah... breakfast sounds good. How do you feel about Tim Hortons? There's usually one in every station."

((LOL! Not a long line at Timmies in a transport facility? Man you're funny.))

"... right... doughnuts for breakfast, that's healthy" Cimy chuckled, "And now I'm craving chinese. Maybe later. I think I'll stick with a breakfast sandwich myself... and I have an odd craving for soup" she added thoughtfully and did so in ordering, "as well as a white hot chocolate with an earl grey tea bag in it" ((This is making ME hungry... mmmmm timmies....))

Wolfing down the breakfast sandwich as she waited for the rest to cool, she warmed her hands on the cup of her odd drink, "We don't get much on the targets" she explained, "just a name, but I did a little digging on my phone in the train while you were snoring" she smirked lightly, "They all go to the same college. There's a Brian Stanson, Mikhale Hunbergher, Horatio Aetis and Constance *insert last name here*. Looks like there's a party going on tonight at the Aetis household-bunch of rich tards. Everyone's invited and oh look" she pulled up an invite on her phone, "so are we. Though by the looks of Brian's facebook status, he doesn't plan on going to 'some rich prick's party'" she quoted from it, "maybe we can catch him earlier then?"

She sighed and tucked her phone away, sipping at her drink again. The travelling was always the boring part, she always wished they could just skip to the action and get it on with.

((Hey now, it was pouring the day before! No one wanted to go to work. Maybe some facilities lost power so the station wasn't as full. XP Also, I'm drinking Earl Grey right now; I put French Vanilla creamer in it, too. Mmmmm.))

"Very funny. I know I don't snore." He looked up at her with an ill expression on his face. Their dynamic was perfect. They both knew how to yank the other's chain, but they did so in a way that would never completely outrage the other. If only the higher ups (and her psychs) could see this! They would be so impressed at Cimy for not wanting to murder the handsome beau before her. Wait, did his looks have any part of this niceness. Was she keeping him alive just so she could gawk at the eye candy. Some women.

When Cimy flashed the invite on the phone and revealed only the kid's names, Allen sighed. "You would think they would give us more information. Although, in this day and age, I suppose Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are better than a police record." He laughed a bit at his comment. It seemed so weird to say, but it was true. Anyone with brains and the know-how could stalk someone and gather all the info they wanted. "Sure, we'll check out Brian and then move down the list."

After breakfast was done and the trash properly disposed of, Allen shifted the gear back onto his back. He made sure he tucked his leg guns away too while he was in public. Drawing that much attention would be bad. So now that they were done killing about an hour, they could move toward the college. Classes would probably start at 8AM and, if they were lucky, Brian would be on the scene.

"I'm not overly familiar with this area. I'll let you lead."

"How would you know? You're never awake when you do it" she teased. Cimy did have to admit, it was nice having an attractive partner around again. Her first one had been pretty good looking but aside from that he was so...
At least Allen new how to be a little entertaining. Good looks could only get you so far with her. Typical woman, it's the personality that matters.

"I can't tell if they give everyone such little information or if it's because they just don't like me" she commented as they got ready to head out. Along the way she fiddled on her phone a bit, she was pretty good with technology but not a complete wizard. At any rate, she did manage to get Brian's class schedule so they knew just where to find him.

"You just want me to lead so you can stare at my a**" Cimy taunted, "Well take a good look, you might be kissing it one day" she smirked.

The campus was fairly large but typical at the King's University College. Not that Cimy had been to many schools, or any that really involved her enrolling. Lets just say it was a good thing she learned to read and write at a young age because everything else got to be self taught. "Looks like he's taking a nursing course... really?" she double checked, "huh. ooookay. Does that mean we can break his legs if he runs because he can patch himself back up?" she laughed.

((Why are you so much better at describing places? XD mine suck. I'm better at giving visuals than describing them. But that usually means taking the time to draw it out.))

"Have you met yourself?" she looked at him, "You'd fit in too well. You'd have every dim-witted girl in the class staring at you and undressing you with their eyes. Way too obvious." she observed the campus thoughtfully and with luck spotted their target heading into class with a couple buddies. Her keen eyes watched closely, before she nudged Allen and pointed to a group of girls, "go introduce yourself to them. Say you're new or something and need to find a class."

The girls were clearly not there for the academics but more the 'college lifestyle'. It was obvious by the way they dressed, as if for a fashion show rather than the steadily cooling fall weather.

((I actually googled the college you listed so I could describe it :P))

Her remark forced Allen to cock a brow at her. No, of course he hadn't met himself. That would fall under the realms of crazy! Although, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had met himself -- the voice in his head. As she rattled on how all the dim-witted, shallow lasses would swoon over him, undressing him, he had to tug at the neck of his shirt. It was getting hot and he could feel his throat closing up. Not overly fond of being undressed by such youngsters, Allen tried his best not to picture them tonguing him. God! They were, what... twenty? And he was practically thirty! No way in hell was he about to go down as a cradle robber!

"What?!" His voice cracked. "Go say hello and have them help me. You just explained that they would want to carry me off into a corner and have their way with me. Why the hell would I submit myself to that kind of torture!" Crossing his arms over his chest, he looked away from his dark-skinned partner. "Nope."

Not matter how he looked at them, they just didn't look appealing. They were trying too hard to get laid. Hell, they were trying too hard to be cool. The redhead had bleached her hair too many times that her roots looked damaged. Not to mention, she had unruly split ends! And the raven beside her needed to lighten up on the foundation for she was looking borderline Gothic. The girl also needed a burger, a damn big one at that. Allen assumed the raven probably only weighed 100-pounds. Although skinny had its sex appeal, Allen was more of a 'normal' kind of girl. Nothing over the top ripped, but not chunky enough to be mistaken for cottage cheese.

The last of the girls, a blonde, seemed to be the least fake. She had a sincere smile and beautiful blue eyes that were rimmed with black eyeliner. Her nose was pierced as was her naval, which was completely exposed. The more he looked at her, the more he began to feel saliva pooling up in his mouth. This blonde had a rocking body with curves in all the right places. Was that the start of a four-pack he saw beneath her shirt? Whelp, it was settled, that chick was too hot for her own good. She was clearly the athlete of the trio.

It was then when his blue eyes met her. That initial awkward eye contact caused Allen to jerk his eyes away from her in sheer embarrassment. Across the way, he could hear the girls giggle. "I hate you," he muttered to his partner. Moments later, the hottie blonde he was ogling was standing before him.

"I haven't seen your face before. You knew?"

"I wouldn't say new. But I was told I could shadow some students to see if Kings was right for me."

"What's the major?"

His face flushed red for a moment. "Nursing." The shrills of girls in love filled the air. The blonde latched onto his arm and gave him a good yank away from Cimy. Before he could even signal to his partner that he was going to kill her, Allen found himself in the halls of the school. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"Yeah. Tots. We do this all the time."

Great. He wasn't their first victim. His only concern at the moment was how he would explain it to the red-cloaked boss when he needed to get paid so he could fund his son's life. Yeah, that didn't sound too swell. He mentally kept repeating, "Just keep your pants on and everything will be fine. Pants on and I'll be fine."

((Pfft, research to improve a roleplay, ain't nobody got time for that! XP except my super awesome and amazing rp partner, apparently. Also, I'm laughing so hard right now.))

Cimy had to try, really try not burst out into laughter. She merely gave the girl a nod and a wave, "Be kind with my brother, he can be a little shy, if you know what I mean" she winked, clearly implying that he was still a virgin. They ought to have fun with that.

In the mean time the diversion seemed to attract just the attention she wanted. Their target, Brian, had been ogling the blond from afar and having another male in the way was distracting him beautifully. Cimy came up behind him, matching pace and slipped his wallet from his back pocket with ease. Taking a quick look, a couple bucks and his student card, she swiftly put it back and backed away a few feet.

Too bad students were so poor, she thought to herself as she pocketed the measly seven dollars. She trailed after the boys until just outside their classroom where she pretended to pick up the student card and chased after him before he could go inside, "Hey! Excuse me" he called out, tapping him on the shoulder, "I think you dropped this" she offered him the student card.

"My card! Oh jeeze, thanks!" he exclaimed before her dark brown eyes met his. She pulled off a small double take and offered a shy smile that sent a small blush to his cheeks, "I... uh... I'm-"

"Brian" Cimy filled in for the flustered boy.

"Yeah-how did you"

"The student card" she pointed at his name on it.

"oh, right" Brian shifted awkwardly, clearly not used to talking to pretty girls.

"I'm Kim" she offered her hand to him, "it's um, nice to meet you." he shook her hand speechlessly as she flirtingly bit her lip and looked up at him, "well... I should get going"

"... huh?" he blinked, "oh... uh... me to"

She turned to leave but paused and looked back at him with a cute, over the shoulder smile, "When are you done class?"

"What? Class-I um" he actually had to pull out his schedule to remember, "I have lunch at eleven"

"Cool" Cimy grinned, "Meet me behind D wing at eleven?"

"s-sure" Brian stammered and nodded.

"Great, see you then" she giggled and took off. Once she was around the corner her smile immediately faded to a sigh and a roll of the eyes. "Gross" she mumbled to herself. Now to save Ghost from the girls... ooorrr, let him stew until the end of class? Hmm, decisions...