csyphrett

The Heir 1935- Bobby Benson rubbed his hands together as he looked at the gray sky overhead. The smell of snow was in the air. He needed a place to shelter, or he would freeze to death. Winters in New York were the worst. Bobby drifted through the crowd on the street. Most of them seemed to be heading toward the Bowery. Work was scarce, but the adults were making do with what they could. It was tougher for the orphan kids trying to take care of themselves. The boy fell in beside a guy in a battered coat that looked like he had taken it from some other bum after a knockdown fight. A suit appeared to be under the coat, but it looked like it belonged on someone else. “What’s the problem?” The guy glanced down at Bobby. He pulled out a bag of tobacco and papers and rolled a cigarette. “Haven’t you seen a tramp before?” “I guess so.” Bobby shrugged. “You’re better dressed than most.” “Thanks, kid.” The guy lit his cigarette and put his fixings away. “There’s a place around the corner that leads into the subway. The word is people are settling in for the winter down there.” “Really?” Bobby rubbed his hands together. “How does that work?” “They are building living spaces to keep off the streets.” The guy smoked as he walked. “You might be able to get something for yourself if you’re smart.” “That sounds good.” Bobby smiled. “Maybe I can get something for myself.” “That’s the spirit.” The walker smiled around his cigarette. “Just be careful. The underground has a lot of strange types down there.” “Thanks,” said Bobby. “I appreciate it.” “There’s the stairs.” The stranger pointed at a set of steps inside an alley. “Be careful and keep an eye out for problems. You’ll do fine.” Bobby waved at his helper as he walked over to the stairs. He descended to a door marked with some kind of drawing. He checked the handle. It turned freely under his touch. He pushed the door in and stepped inside. Torches lined the walls. Blocks made up the corridor leading into darkness. A slight wind pushed against his battered coat as he tried to make up his mind. He concluded this wasn’t a subway tunnel. Maybe people moving in was more likely if the city didn’t care about some old access tunnel. And it looked old to his eyes. Bobby wandered down the passage, finding stairs that led to other tunnels, that led to even more stairs. He paused at a crossroads with the realization that he was lost. He could be stuck in the tunnels for days without finding the exit. If people did move in, they would find his skeleton somewhere when they moved far enough into the tunnels. He walked to another staircase. He looked up and saw a light beaming down on the steps. He walked up the staircase cautiously. He thought he heard voices, but he wasn’t sure. He didn’t like what they were saying. He paused at the door framing the beam of light. He wondered what was beyond that. He walked across the threshold and blinked his eyes against the light. This room was decorated with statues and writing carved in the walls. A rack of rolled papers covered one wall. There was no other furniture. The light came from a window in the wall. Bobby shielded his eyes as he walked over to look out the window. He saw a sea of clouds stretching on forever. The sun peeked over the edge of the misty shroud, shining through the square opening. “What are you doing here?” The voice was papery thin, and enunciated the words as if they didn’t belong to the speaker. “I was looking for a place to stay.” Bobby turned from the window. “I thought this place was underground.” “Some of it is.” The owner of the room stood on the other side of the chamber. He wore something that looked like a night shirt with a belt around the middle. He had a long stick in one hand for him to lean on. “This chamber looks out on other places.” “Would it be okay if I stayed here?” Bobby gestured at the door leading to the corridors and steps that had led him to this room. “You won’t even know I’m here.” “Certainly.” The old man nodded. “I won’t be here long. You are more than welcome to take my place.” “Thanks.” Bobby smiled. “It feels good to have the sun in my face. I didn’t realize that I had wandered into a building. I thought I was still in the subway.” “It’s fine.” The old man walked to the window. He stretched out his hand through the opening. He pulled it back after it had started glowing from an inner fire. “Take this.” Bobby held out his hand. He winced as the glow dropped into his palm. Warmth spread through his body. He examined his hand, realizing it was bigger than it should be. He looked around. He was taller for some reason. He looked down at his clothes. They had changed to look like the old man’s night shirt and belt. His shoes were sandals. He didn’t like that at all. He liked his old wingtips more than anything. A new version of his shoes formed as he watched. They were light blue and white in coloring. He smiled at the fanciness of it. “What did you do to me?” Bobby paused at the sound of his own voice. It didn’t sound normal at all. “I have given you free rein of my home until you don’t need it anymore.” The old man nodded. “I have decided that your appearance means I can retire in peace and let you take my place.” “I don’t know if I want to do that.” Bobby examined his hands. “It sounds like a big responsibility.” “Everything you need to know is in the scrolls.” The old man pointed at the rack. “Try not to let me down like my last heir did.” “What if I need to ask you something?” Bobby glanced at the old man. This had turned out weirder than he had thought possible. “Simply call my name at the window.” The old man smiled. “I will hear and talk with you. Don’t worry. You seem smart enough to handle the inheritance I have given you. Do your best.” “What is your name?” Bobby kicked himself for not asking that first. “It’s Cain.” The old man floated off the ground. He flew through the window and vanished among the clouds. Bobby wondered if he could fly among the clouds too. Did he want to do that? He sat down on the floor, not noticing the stone was cold. This was the weirdest day of his life so far. What did he do next? Maybe he should read the scrolls and see what was in them. Surely one of them could tell him how to get back to normal. That would be the best thing to do right now. Then he could figure out the rest of this without a lot of pressure. He hoped he wasn’t just losing his mind. That would put a damper on finding a new home, and turning into an adult at the same time. Bobby heard someone calling for help. He went to the window and looked out. A hole in the clouds let him see the ground below. A woman was screaming about her baby. He looked in the direction she was looking. A perambulator rolled away from the woman toward traffic. What could he do about it? He started floating in the air and smiled. Maybe he could do something after all. He flew out the window in a bolt of lightning.

Arcanos the Mighty is a flying brick with the promise to add on to his powers as he gets older. CES

Cold Water summons water to do his bidding CES

The Hermit “Mark?” Jane Hillsmierer paused in the outline of the door frame around her. She reached for the switch one side of the door. She had learned to distrust the dark. “It’s me, Jane.” “I’m here, Janie.” A lamp cut on, casting a glow on a work table. Mark Hadron sat so she couldn’t see his face. “Why are you sitting in the dark?” She placed her hands in front of her. “What brings you by, Janie?” Mark shifted slightly in the shadow. “The business is closed.” “I think you need to think about reopening it.” Jane stepped forward. “I got a warning from Nobody. Another rip is coming.” “It will have to happen without the Lamplighters.” Mark turned to look at his work desk. Scattered parts covered the surface. “Let someone else take up the torch.” “There’s no one else, Mark.” Jane hit the light switch. She blinked against the sudden glare from overhead. “We were the only business who could do what we did. It’s time to come out of the darkness.” Mark blinked. His remaining eye glared at her, while the other was a crater in his face. A long scar ran down to his chin from his hairline. A gray streak in his brown hair followed the scar along his skull. One hand had a hole in it from something being driven through it. “How much more am I expected to give, Janie?” Mark looked down at the hole in his hand. “We can’t hide from this.” Jane looked around the dusty workshop. “The warning has come. It wasn’t raised psychic energy. It wasn’t something strange acting as a trigger. It was a clear word from somebody who has shown he knows what’s going along the barriers. Those things are going to come after us first just to make sure we can’t do anything to them. If I have to fight alone, I will. But we both know you’re the only one who knows how things work.” “I’ll look into it.” Mark looked at his table. “I think I have a sensor that wasn’t junked. I’ll start doing surveys tomorrow.” “Thank you, Mark.” Jane smiled. “I’ll come by at eight, and help you with it.” Mark looked at her with his good eye. He blinked after a second. He nodded. “And clean up this mess.” Jane waved at the dust. “You can do better than this.” “The maid has the year off.” Mark smiled slightly. “I’ve heard that excuse before, mister.” Jane walked out of the room. “Be ready at eight.” “You should have married her, boy.” The voice drifted softly out of the air. “Big mistake on your part.” “He’s right, Mark.” Another voice sounded from a small table across the room. Spectral cards dropped on the surface. “Your future would be better than this one.” “The lamp is charging.” A third voice spoke. A hand of light appeared, pointing at the metal structure they had put in when they had bought the building. “Nobody was right.” “I don’t need advice from ghosts.” Mark glared at the room. “All I am going to do is a simple survey of the local levels.” “Think about it, Mark.” Harry Cho appeared at the table. His hands dealt cards in front of him. “You have two futures ahead of you. One is dying a failure, the other is a change for the better. It all depends on the Queen which future you will get.” “We don’t have to guess who the Queen is, do we, boy?” Milton Kearn appeared, flask in hand. He took a sip, tipping his hat back out of the way. Dyson Baker appeared, bathed in the blue glow from the device they had set up when they had gone into business. He had been a big man in life, and his ghost still retained some of that. “You’re going to need replacements for us, Mark.” Baker kept an eye on the lamp. “You’re not going to be able to handle a rip on your own.” “I am just doing a survey.” Mark frowned at his former friends. “I’m not getting involved in any way except to keep Jane out of trouble.” “The future is going to be bad for you, Mark,” said Harry. He shook his head at the cards on the table. “Dyson is right. You’re going to need help if you want to keep on going. And you’re not going to shape things with Jane. She is shaping the future with you.” “You don’t have a chance in Hell of running away.” Milton put his flask away. “You’re done.” “Don’t let us down,” said Dyson. “We started the business to keep the city safe. It’s time to stand up and start walking again. Hiding is not doing.” “You’re all dead.” Mark stood. “You don’t get a say in things.” “Of course we do, boy.” Milton faded underneath his cowboy hat. “We’re the ones who did what we had to do.” “The lamp is drawing in power.” Dyson pointed at the machine as he turned to mist. “It’s going to attract things whether you like it, or not.” “Any last words before you fade away, Harry?” Mark turned his one eye on his last friend. “The future can’t be fought, Mark.” Harry picked up his cards. “It can only be dealt with and sometimes a better tomorrow means a terrible today.” Harry stood, tucking his cards away. He smiled as he faded away. “The Queen is coming, Mark.” His voice drifted in the air. “And the choice is coming with her. Pick the best path.” “Stupid ghosts.” Mark looked at his desk. The parts for the technology they had come up with lay covered in dust. He picked up a shell base and inspected it. He picked up a rag and wiped the bowl out. “I’m going to be ready.”

Mike Pence just got hit with the old using private email for public business charge. And then the account got hacked. CES

Watched Police Story: Lockdown. This is the most serious Jackie Chan movie I have ever seen with Chan as a police captain having to negotiate with a smart hostage taker over a drugstore shoplifter. Some of the scenes show the planning of what could happen as the characters try to decide what to do. CES

I am going to leave the next team open for a poster since I started the conspiracy and just put the suggestion for a dinosaur villain team in the other thread. CES

Pia Zapato is the Shard thanks to the crystal growths on her arms, legs, and back. She can break one off as a weapon, or shoot them at an opponent. They grow back almost instantly. CES

Rumored to be created by Dr Nymax!, the Dinosoars are a threat to be reckoned with these five flying reptilian cyborgs constantly seek to upgrade their abilities and weapons. (Basically take a dino, put wings and cybernetics on them) CES

Cody Long Gunn is not to out done by his sister Janey. His weapon of choice is a mobile artillery piece where he can drop munitions on a target from a mile away. CES

Don't know if its true but word is going around that ICE pulled a woman with a brain tumor out of the hospital to send home. CES

Shirley Jones is the Pebble. Permanently shrunk to two inches tall and still carrying her full size weight, Shirley is the one who is asked to get inside someplace when no one else can. CES

Warren Schnoze is the Sniffer. His superhuman tracking is the sole result of a sensitive nose. There's not many who can elude the pack when he is on the job. CES

An assassin assigned to the unit, William Peter Fergus acted at a distance as a sniper and scout. One of his bullets sometimes turned the mission from bad to good, stopped the team from being overran by the enemy, or simply accomplished the primary mission while the secondary was also going on. Codenamed Long Ranger, Fergus was believed killed in an artillery strike on his position during a battle in Germany at the end of the war. No body was ever retrieved after the battle was over. CES

Ava Lynch suffered an accident that rendered her body into hardened molecules that form a cloud. Her basic movement and ramming attacks have earned her the name Avalanche CES

They repealed the rule against mentally handicapped people owning a gun. CES

Alex Acosta is up for the Sect of Labor. Conservative lawyer who clerked under Alito. CES

Andy Puzdner has withdrawn himself from consideration as Sect of Lab. Who knew Ethics paperwork was so hard? CES

Chaffertz and Nunes see nothing wrong with the situation. CES

The Diamond Conspiracy is led by Hope Sapphire. With her jewel-like skin, she has become a freak who has decided to help others. She has recruited six others with disabilities related to earth powers like her own to be a team that inspires others. CES

Devil Dog is a bad tempered marine turned villain. His ability to turn into a flaming hound of death was used to cause fear and panic especially in ammo and fuel storage areas. He was pardoned at the end of the war after undergoing an exorcism to free the demon within. CES

Arron Hatch transports the team and their charges from place to place. His vehicle is The Egg, an ovoid that can work in any environment, with weapons to deal with any threat. And somehow Hatch has made it bigger on the inside. CES

The Suit is a living collection of cloth that can get in places that are not looking for it. It is a good minor brick/martial artist in a fight. Getting rid of it requires a fire, but eventually another suit of clothes assembles itself. CES

kellyanne was uninvited to any more coverage by CNN. The crowd goes awwwwwww. CES

Woody and Wilcox reports that a man had a 140 pound tumor removed that might have started from an ingrown hair. CES