[Deleted]

Charles Scene Werwick

Eyes glazing over the small, run down apartment on the edge of the city, Charles shivered. A bed. Nightstand. Dogs barking and shouting coming from the room over- this was not the place he wanted to be, but it was where he was safest. Where....where everyone else was safest. Turning around quickly, he locked the door, throwing the bolt and backing into the room with his deep black suitcase. Dropping his backpack next to it at the foot of the bed, Charles walked around to the side and sat, resting his hands there as he stared at the floor. The noise around him faded out, as a dark chill shimmered it's way up his spine. He felt like a giant hand was reaching out to grab him, laughter echoing out from the dark.

"Let gooooo..."

He placed both hands on the side of his head, shutting his eyes tightly as the events from the night before flooded into his mind-

Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.

The crackle of the finger popping drifted out from behind the doorway of the officer to patrolled the small bank. The man turned, his large belly shaking a little as he grabbed his gun. A white and pasty pallor took over him....someone was here. Someone was here and....snapping their fingers? He had taken the night shift so as not to deal with shit like this. Cameras and locked doors were....were supposed to be his only companions in the wee hours of the morning. Lifting his flashlight, he started down the hall, licking his lips before croaking out- "Is anybody there!?". The snapping stopped. He little laugh came out of the dark, and as the flashlight rounded the corner it caught on what could only be the scariest looking mother fucker to have to run into inside a locked bank at two in the morning. The officer shouted, stumbling backward and turning to make a run for the alarm, only to smash into the chest of another of those freaks. He attempted to unholster his gun as he backed up, letting out a few gasping cried before he was....suddenly looking behind himself? His head, facing the other way, was snapped quickly. Like a twig. One of the masked men approached the camera and grinned into it.

"Why Hellooooo California. Lets play, shall we?"

He reached up and ripped the camera out, throwing it off to the side and sighing before humming and following the other masked ones to the vault-

Charles opened his eyes, his gaze going back to the backpack that sat at the foot of his bed. Standing, he walked over to it and slowly opened what was previously holding his laptop and various electronics, only to see dozens upon dozens of hundred dollar bills in folds. He started shaking at the giggles that echoed in his head, grinding his teeth as tears would start to build up at the corners of his eyes. What....what had he done?

"Nooo...no no no no no no.....oh god..."

Standing, he interlocked his fingers behind his head and started to pace as those tears fell silently, deep breaths echoing off the walls as various voices flooded his brain.

'We did it for us-'

'We needed money-'

'Don't fault the mask-'

'You're the weak one charles...'

'Just let us have control-'

'We can protect you-'

'Murderer....'

"SHUT UP!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, the voices in his head going silent along with the arguing couple next door. He heard some lower talking voices, then the slamming of a door before his own was banged on. The man was shouting- "Hey you creep! What happens in my house is my business! You hear me?" along with more banging on the wall. Charles walked over and laid down, grabbing a pillow and wrapping it around his head to block out the sounds of the noises that continued on for several minutes. He had to leave home, didn't he? He remembered standing over his parents bed in the night, that fucking mask he couldn't seem to let go of resting in his suitcase. He had to protect her. Protect his family...didn't he? What else could he do? After about thirty minutes, he sat up. Like a lightning bolt going down his back, he realized what needed to be done. But...he wouldn't let him. At least, not like this...he'd stand up and walk around the bed toward the very small kitchen, opening the drawer and pulling out a fork. Turning around and walking over to the outlet, he'd jam it inside, electricity slamming into his body like a fucking freight train. He ground his teeth as the juice would cause the lights in the building to flicker for several seconds before Charles let go and closed his eyes.

Light a ghost stepping out of his body, a second him reached out of his back, then took a step, then walked out, electricity still jumping all over his body. The evil in his head shook the cage, but Charles wasn't sleeping. He wasn't even tired- and Scene had no power over the day. The second him gave an easy, knowing smile, then turned around, walking over and grabbing the bag of money before stepping out the door.

*******************************************

"Excuse me...I need to see a hero, please?"

He wore a maroon zip up sweater and some dark blue jeans, a black tank top on underneath the jacket. Over his shoulder was a backpack, and other than that he seemed mostly harmless. His longish hair was in disarray, but otherwise he seemed clear headed and in control. Other than that, there didn't appear to be anything else that was off about him.

^{© marshy at TH}

[Deleted]

As far as most of the LA branch of the Hero program was concerned, Nova was the rookie. Sure most of them had only been at it a few months longer than she had, with some with a law enforcement or military background, she was just some dumb actress who could shoot lasers. Which, admittedly, was pretty impressive, but after her trip to San Francisco and talking with Alice she decided to commit herself a bit more to power practice. The San Francisco office had a nice facility built in to the underground of what had once been a parking garage, not really suitable for flying in since the space was still pretty small but it had plenty of obstacles and targets to shoot at on the move. Much more than what they had set up in LA, but they were working on something just for her back home.

Having just finished helping the police catch a fleeing gunman suspected to be involved with a violent robbery early that morning, she was whipping through and doing her very best to nail the targets set up on the other side of the obstacle course. Really she was just blackening the walls around them when someone from the office came down to interrupt.

"Miss Nova, we need you at the front desk for a few minutes."

"Oh, what's up? Another robbery?" She asked, flying over and setting down in front of the man.

"Not sure, the fella just said he needed to see a hero. He won't talk to anyone else. Paladin is out on patrol," He replied, leading her up to the lobby where a desheveled looking guy was waiting. She put on a winning grin, making sure her visor was in place before floating in to the room, feet about an inch above the carpeted floor.

"Hey, sir! They said you needed to talk to a hero, is everything okay? My name's Nova, maybe I can help'"

[Deleted]

Charles Scene Werwick

He turned to the woman, Charles having taken a seat to wait for someone to come down. He was wracking his brain, unsure of how he was going to handle this....when literally the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on came around the corner. He stared openly, his mouth parting slightly as the bag on his lap started to tip. He scambled, catching it as he came to his feet, his pale cheeks the slightest tinge of red. It was like....everything went out the window. That is, until he heard the slightest bit of laughter in the back of his mind. He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head before licking his lips and replying.

"Hi. Yes. My name is Charles Werwick. I'm a...well, a person with powers here in California."

Things seemed to be moving in slow motion. The words a slow droll out of his mouth as he looked at the woman behind the counter and the Hero shaking his hand. He reached up and opened the backpack all the way, piles and piles of money sliding out and onto the floor around him. The laughter in his head stopped to be replaced by a slow escalation of both alarm and confusion. Charles ignored it entirely- it was too late now. Mr. Werwick had stepped over the edge and was now in the territory of the damned. He blinked the sweat away from his brow as he dropped the backback and removed a pocket knife from his back pocket. He slowly backed up toward the door, and after spinning the knife in his hand so it faced downward he'd jam it straight into the light switch, electricity slashing out from the wall and up his arm.

"I need you to find me. And arrest me. I....I killed people at a bank. I've done it to others. There's this...thing in my head that just...." he was rambling as the electricity would zip over his neck and down his chest.

"Please, help me. Stop me. I know it'll take more than just words so I....I'll do what I have to."

From out of his body would step one, two, three, five, ten, twenty- Numbers of him that were just replicas after replicas. The lights in the building flickered and shut down as forty of him would rush at Nova and the elevator. He'd pack it as full as he could, pressing every number for every floor. Each floor they reached, one of him would step off to attack someone, smashing computers and TV screens, flipping desks.

NOVA would be left with about fifteen of him, all looking at her with this expression of regret for what needed to be done. He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I'm just...so tired. And I know that this won't stop unless I...make it stop."

Scene was screaming, struggling for control but....it was way too late.

The damage was done.

^{© marshy at TH}

[Deleted]

Coraline had made a trip over to the HQ in order to pick up her new… costume. Protective equipment? Whatever. The thing she’d wear when she was officially being Nightshade and setting an example for the community or something like that. She personally would rather not deal with the latter part of this gig, and if anyone asked her, the recruitment for this program focused way more on the helping people part than the publicity BS. But she was here now, and by god she was going to help people.

As she rounded the corner into the waiting area, she was broken out of her reverie by the ding of the elevator. As she prepared to rush for it, hoping to get home as soon as possible, what she saw stopped her in her tracks. Instead of the usual emptiness however, it was stuffed with… what the fuck??? A shit ton of identical people, one who rushed out and immediately started wrecking shit. She froze for a moment, questioning her judgement and eyesight before mentally slapping herself. Superpowers were now a thing, was this really the weirdest thing she’s seen now? Yes. But the principle of the question still stands. Guess it was time for her to stop this… really pathetic looking dude (if she was being honest).


Hoping the man hadn’t seen her yet, she took a single step back until she was once again hidden by the corner. She was pretty sure she packed her dust (aesthetic) ask with her because there is absolutely no time to duck into a restroom somewhere to change, even if the receptionist person was apparently on break… there it was! Slipping it on, she stepped back out, this time announcing herself.


“Hey uh. Could you please stop that?” Great. A for effort. F for literally everything else. Hopefully it’ll get his attention at least.

[Deleted]

Charles Scene Werwick

As the hero stepped out, Charles dropped the computer screen, then stomped on it. His hair was matted in sweat but he otherwise looked exactly the part she said- pathetic. But what Charles lacked in physicality, he more than made up for in creativity, prowess and reckless abandon. Right before her eyes, the small man would divide, separating five times, so that six more of himself stood there. Out from the stairs behind Coraline, five more would appear, having rushed down as soon as the original Coraline spoke to had called out. Now she was dealing with eleven of them.

"Please....stop me."

Scene was roiling in his head. Rebelling against him making so much of a mark that they would be hunted to ground. seven of those fighting Nova would rush toward the stairs, intent to get up to the floor they were on and help out. Coraline would have three of Charles rushing forward- not super fast or strong, just normal human skills but she would find that his martial ability was oddly strong. The middle would try to spit in her eyes to blind her, just before throwing and uppercut. The one on her right would aim to tackle her around the knees while the one on the left would leap up, aiming a flying knee to hit her in the jaw after the uppercut.

If they hurt heroes, perhaps the law would come down harder and faster.

All by design.

^{© marshy at TH}