Places to Chat
August 28th, 3009.
Chatterbox: Inkwell
August 28th, 3009.
August 28th, 3009. Somewhere in New Hampshire.
**********
"Take this exit, Dave."
"Exit 10? Sir, there's nothing out there."
"He's out there. I'm the most sure I've ever been, trust me."
"Well, if you're certain."
David drifted the hovercar gently off of the highway, the ramp slowly descending past what appeared to be a practically ancient truck stop. Avi took another look at his watch before pointing to a back road trailing into the woods.
"That's the road."
David gave him another nervous glance, but resolved to trust his supervisor. Getting mugged by a bunch of backwoods junkies was certainly a possibility, but considering his profession, wasn't a big concern for David. His biggest fear was that this wild goose chase Avi was on would last months more without any real progress. Even so, though David was prone to skepticism, Avi had pulled him out of more sticky situations than he could count. He knew his boss to be a rightminded man, and on top of that, David would be lying if he said he felt like he didn't owe it to him to have his back.
"Did you manage to dig up any new information about this guy?" David started, attempting to break the eerie silence. The light from the truck stop and street lamps was all but gone, leaving the headlights of the hovercar as the only illumination in the drab, grungy forest.
"I did, though it isn't much," Avi admitted. He reached down into his letterman bag and began shuffling through papers. "You remember how I mentioned he used to work for us, yes?"
"Correct. If my memory serves me, he was an agent, same as me."
"That he was. Y'know it's strange, since Mosa Corp. has such extensive documentation, that we have so little information on him." Avi chuckled. "But I guess it's my fault in part." David furrowed his eyebrows.
"It is. Strange, I mean." Avi let out another hearty chuckle, before pulling a paper-clipped bundle of paperwork from his bag.
"Here it is! I managed to find an uncatagorized file on him in the archive. It's got a few interesting nuggets, like some details about his powers, some accounts from colleagues of his, he had a hero name too-"
"WOAH!" David slammed on the brakes as a huge shape came into view. After a chaotic moment of Avi's confused yelling and documents flying all over the hovercar, the vehicle came to a rest right in front of a house. The two regained composure and examined their surroundings. The house was not the kind David expected to see in a place like this. It was large and rather victorian-looking. To add to that, it appeared to be in good condition, not decrepit in the slightest. There weren't any lights on, but it was to be expected in the early hours of the morning.
David breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that sir, thing was totally dark. It came out of nowhere. What were you saying?" Avi stopped to catch his breath.
"Before you almost crashed, you mean?" David bowed his head apologetically. "Jeez... hold on. Oh, right, he had a hero name." David looked back up with intrigue. "People used to call him Lightbringer."
submitted by Pete the Trollslayer, House in the Woods
(April 22, 2019 - 9:32 pm)
(April 22, 2019 - 9:32 pm)
Slight Correction: The Year is meant to be 2109
(April 22, 2019 - 10:56 pm)
(April 23, 2019 - 9:25 am)
(April 23, 2019 - 9:26 am)
Cool! Is this a story you're writing?
(April 23, 2019 - 6:15 pm)
*dies*
PUBLISH THIS NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON BUT IT SEEMS SO PROFESSIONAL AND FUTURISTIC I LOVE SCI FI OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH
how old are you, even?
(April 23, 2019 - 7:16 pm)
"Lightbringer..." David held his chin in his hand. "That name seems damned familiar."
"He was still with us for the first month after you joined," Avi began stuffing paperwork back into his bag. "He was a recluse even then, but he's been completely off the radar for the past 5 years."
"5 years. He really doesn't want to be found, huh..." David pondered for a few moments more before shutting off the car, the lights dimming and the vehicle lowering gently to the ground. "I noticed we didn't bring a company car this time. Is he expecting us?"
"You could say that." Avi closed the bag and made a final look at his watch. "Between our last trip and this one, I found some of his contact information. He, well... I'll let you do the talking, alright?" Avi gave David an encouraging pat on the shoulder before exiting the car. David sighed, following suit.
The house grew strangely menacing as the two approached the doorstep. David swallowed and looked to his boss. "The windows are all dark, you sure somebody will answer?" Avi gave him a look.
"Just ring the doorbell." He did as he was told, giving the doorbell two taps before stepping back. After a few long moments of silence, David leaned in to push the button a third time, but Avi extended an arm to stop him. "He's in there, alright. That curtain just moved."
David looked up just in time to see one of the first story curtains stop swaying. Avi stepped in front of him and gave the door several hard knocks.
"Hey, I know you're awake in there son, so why don't you take a moment to talk? It'll only be a couple seconds, and we have a very important offer to propose." More silence. Avi tried knocking harder. "Son, my name is Avi Mosa. I head a private intelligence agency. Your time is very impor-"
"WHAT?" The door suddenly flew open, nearly missing Avi's temple. Standing in the doorway was a tall, scruffy looking man in a black bathrobe. An unruly towhead was draped over his forehead, an uneven stubble covered his jaw, and bright amber eyes contrasted from his pale, bony face. He had at least a couple inches on David, at least a foot on Avi, and stood glaring down at the both of them. David cleared his throat.
"Good evening, sir, and sorry to bother you. My name is David Sinclair, and this is my supervisor, Mr. Avi Mosa." David pulled his badge from his jacket and presented it. "I'm assuming you would be Mr. Delano Harrison, the owner of this residence?"
The man stared at Avi, then David, gave both of them the once-over, then slammed the door.
"Now hold on, Mr. Harrison," David continued. "We have a contract to propose, quite the lucrative one, might I add-" Avi placed a hand on his shoulder to silence him, then stepped forward himself.
"Mr. Harrison, in addition to material reward, our agency could also offer some incentive as information," Avi began. "Information on the whereabouts of your sister. On Eilonwy."
To David's suprise, the door began to slowly reopen a crack.
"W...what did you say?"
**********
To those wondering, this is a story I've started just for the CB. Well, I'm actually meaning for it to be an Collaborative Story/RP, but I wanted to be mysterious and unorthodox, so sue me.
Basically, this story takes place in a futuristic/superpowered world, in the same universe as the Superhero RPs 1-3 I did with some friends back in 2014. I took a nostalgia trip and looked back over those stories, and thought it would be fun to do a fourth in the same universe (Whether this is canon or not is up to the other 3 original writers). You're welcome to go read Superhero RPs 1-3, though it's not necessary if you want to follow along.
But if you want to create a character and jump in, let me know! I'll try to continue the story whether or not people want to turn it into an RP, but I'd be happy to have some other writers contributing.
(April 23, 2019 - 11:27 pm)
ANOTHER RP? SURE!!!
In case nobody's figured out, I'm an RP addict.
(April 25, 2019 - 12:30 pm)
Cool, you're definitely welcome! The same thing I said to Rogue goes for you. And speaking from experience, try not to overbook yourself when it comes to RPs. If it makes you feel any better, this story will be relatively low-commitment.
(April 25, 2019 - 7:06 pm)
Please do not take the Lord's name in vain. It's basically cursing Jesus.
(April 24, 2019 - 12:51 am)
I'll write in this!
(April 24, 2019 - 11:56 am)
Alright, cool! You're welcome to join in. Whether or not you want to make a character sheet/backstory is up to you, just as long as you sort of introduce your character into the story.
(April 24, 2019 - 10:23 pm)
This looks fun! I am busy this next week, but maybe I can join!
(April 25, 2019 - 8:16 pm)
Sounds good! Once anyone who wants to join in makes a character, superpowered or not, they're welcome to join in if they see an opportunity. Or if a bunch of characters are in a location and you drop your character in there, that works too.
(April 26, 2019 - 9:11 am)
"Mr. Harrison, may we come in?"
Wordlessly, the man opened the door. Avi entered cautiously with David close behind, Delano leading them into what appeared to be a darkened sitting area.
"You can sit on the couch," He told them, switching on the lights to reveal the full scale of the room. It was spacious and beautiful, expensive looking red leather furniture and gold trimmed carpet and curtains wherever you looked. A grand fireplace sat at the center of the eastern wall, framed by a set of red leather armchairs and sofas, alongside a pristine glass coffee table. Various oil landscape paintings decorated the walls, filling the gaps between the tall, impposing windows. What David assumed to be a large portait of someone was hung above the fireplace, covered by a sheet. Similar to the exterior of the house, the inside appeared almost perfectly neat and tidy.
The two men seated themselves on one of the sofas, while Delano sat opposite them in an armchair. Avi whistled.
"Quite the place you've got, Mr. Harrison. Would you happen to-"
"You're the men from Mosa Corp., aren't you." Avi seemed suprised by Delano's interruption.
"Sir, I did suggest using an alternate surname if you wanted to be more discrete," David mentioned. Avi turned to give him another look.
"A false name wouldn't fool me. If you didn't want me to know who you are, you shouldn't have come looking," Delano explained. "I've known about you for weeks. I worked at your agency for four years, I'm more than an amateur when it comes to intelligence." Avi's face returned to normal as he chuckled.
"Yes, well, I should've expected as much. Is it safe to assume you're also aware of why we're here?" Delano nodded.
"It doesn't take an expert to figure that out. My guess is that you've got an extra-important mission for me, so important apparently, that you'll go through all the trouble of dragging me out of retirement just to better your chances," He answered. "But if the mission was that important, to me, at least, I would've already known about it. So with my luck, it's most likely another one of your petty paranormal investigations."
"Sounds about right..." David muttered under his breath. Avi leaned forward.
"You're correct about the mission, but you'd be mistaken if you think it's not important," He reasoned. "Let me explain the si-"
"I didn't let you two in to get a mission briefing. We can discuss my side of any contract after I get my compensation," Delano said, again interrupting. "What do you know about Eilonwy?" Avi grew oddly silent for a few moments before speaking.
"Don't misunderstand, Mr. Harrison. It's not like we have her waiting in a break room back at headquarters," Avi replied. "But we've recently recieved some rather classified news, and we assumed it'd still be news to you by the time we found you."
"Mr. Mosa, get to the point," Delano demanded impatiently. Avi nodded.
"A cryokinetic superhuman has recently caused quite the situation in Alaska. We at Mosa Corp. have good reason to believe that it might be your sister."
Delano bowed his head and sat for a silent minute, pondering Avi's news, before responding to the offer.
"That's too vague a description," He decided. "Cryokinesis isn't that rare. Among superhumans, at least. That person could be anyone." Avi shook his head.
"'That person' has displayed an enourmous amount of power. Finding someone with the ability to create a 75 foot ice wall is much more difficult than any normal cryokinetic," Avi argued. "Superhumans with such ability are either dead or documented. Your sister would be the only one in that group who is officially missing."
Delano took another moment to consider the offer, but this time answered in only a few seconds. "How long will it take to get there?" Avi smiled.
"Not more than 12 hours, Mr. Harrison, if we leave as soon as possible."
"Then we're leaving now. I'll be ready in 15 minutes," Delano concluded. "We'll discuss the rest later." With that, the man promptly left the room and started up the stairs. Avi, still smiling, turned to his colleague.
"Dave, I assume you pack light?"
David responded with a confused look. "Why didn't you tell me? That we could've used his sister as incentive? I didn't even know she was missing. If I did I would've played that card much earlier."
"The thing is, I'm not as certain as I let on," Avi admitted. "I just know we have a good chance. Y'know, that it's her. So I'm kind of betting on this mystery ice manipulator."
David opened his mouth to respond, but was put off by a sudden serious change in Avi's face. The supervisor stood abruptly and began striding towards the nearest front window.
"Sir, what's wron-"
"Shh!" Avi interjected in a whisper. "I think we've been followed."
(April 25, 2019 - 6:58 pm)
Jedediah, a young looking man, watched worriedly at his rusty truck’s gas gage.
“Dang it, Whistle! we’re almost out of gas. Now why didn’t you tell me to fill up last stop?”
He glanced at Whistle, an old German Shepherd dog, who in reply cocked his head. Slowly the two puttered to a stop at the side of the desolate highway. Jed continued to rant as he checked under the hood as the old hovercar dropped to the ground. He’s in his thirties, dirty caramel hair and blue eyes. He looked the part of a cowboy, with a checkered shirt and dirty jeans. Both dog and man we’re a pair to look at. They were on their way to pick up a truckload of equipment for Jed’s small farm and had been driving for two days but expected to reach their destination in three. However, with new circumstances this was going to be harder than first expected. Jed gazed down the highway that stretched miles into the approaching night. The only exit led off into the dense forest that possibly concealed a gas station, or at least an occupant with gas. Stars had begun to appear overhead as Jed grabbed his backpack and began his treck down the dark exit with Whistle at his side. Together they walked what seemed like miles until suddenly a large Victorian house loomed before them.
“Gee, that came up outta nowhere. Who do ya suppose would live in a place like that?” Jed said skeptically to himself. Then he noticed a sleek hovercar, almost brand new. He made a low whistle as he inspected the car as if it was the was the great horse who just won the Kentucky Derby.
“Whoever this house’s owner is has got to be loaded!” Jed said with intrigue. “Probably some recluse who never uses it and keeps his millions to himself...”
As he said this, he walked to the well kept porch and knocked on the embellished door.
~~~
Im sorry I didn’t continue with the story, but I have to get back to my school... is this ok?
(April 26, 2019 - 9:52 am)