James woke up as sunlight filtered into his bedroom through the drapes. He gave a loud, extended yawn as he stretched, his joints popping, leaving pleasant warmth in their wake. He jolted as the rather grating sound of his alarm broke the peaceful silence of his room. He leaned over smakcking it a few times until it was silenced. He breathed out a sigh of relief before letting his body fall back onto his comfortable bed. He twisted around for a bit, before reaching under him and pulling out a comic book, in surprisingly good condition.
It was an old comic book, published in the 40’s following the events of World War 2. It followed Jew-Jitsu, a Jewish Metahuman active during WW2 and catalogued his conflicts with his Nemesis, the Kung Fuhrer. Though many thought it was just a satirical take on the harrowing events of WW2, James knew different. His Grandfather, the Commander, also known as Andrew West, left him this comic, and the others in the series. Jew-Jitsu was a real person born as Benoni "Ben" Shimshelewitz, though the events of the comics were definitely satirized, they were rooted in truth.
Ben was part of the Number 10 Commando, a group of Soldiers all with powers, formed to combat Nazi Germany, their allies, and the threat they represented. He stayed with the group from their formation in the early days of ’42 until they took Berlin in 1945. He held of the German forces alone, to give the other members of the joint Soviet Allie task force time to seize the Nazi research into the metahuman condition.
By the time they took the city, Ben was nowhere to be found, he had vanished, along with Hitler, or the monstrosity that Hitler had become. To honor his sacrifice and the memory of the man who had saved them more than once, the Commander had a comic series worked on and published by some skilled men. The series was quite popular among civilians and was an amusing take on the events, eventually it was made into a tv series at a much later date.
James gave another yawn before tossing the comic towards an end table located to the side of his bed. He swung his legs of the side of his bed and slid down till they touched the floor. He slid off his bed and stood to his full height of 6 foot 4, he scratched hair before heading to the bathroom connected to his room. He paused before the mirror and gazed at his reflection, his eyes roving over his half bare form.
He had dark brown almost black hair; it was short, barely reaching his neck, his eyes were brown as well, though not nearly as dark. They were a light brown that seemed warm in the right light, though in the right circumstances they could be as cold as the dark void of space. Though his body was not nearly as impressive as those who sculpt their bodies through dieting and exercise, it was still quite a sight.
Most Metahumans were attractive people, a gift of the Gene that granted them their power, but their power also determines their appearance to a certain extent. James favored his father and Grandfather in build, having enhanced reflexes and physical attributes tended to make for an impressive physique. He was not musclebound or built like a body builder, he was more like a sleekly built big cat, and when he walked his skin seemed to struggle to contain the power of his muscles.
He was currently wearing shorts and nothing else, his usual attire for bed. The shorts were old and faded the red appearing nearly pink, the drawstrings hung down in front of him slightly. He left his bathroom after a time, grabbing a change of clothes from his closet, before heading into the shower. He came out after a time and proceeded to brush his teeth, shaving was not needed, an aspect of his powers inherited from the Phantom.
Most of his house was lightly decorated, the bathroom was no different. The walls were decorated with a seashell motif style wall paper, the mirror was bordered by metal and the sink was a pale ivory, somewhat obscured by a several commonly seen bathroom items. His room was painted a light red with black trim, his floor was clear and any clothes and such were put where they belong, in the hamper or closet. All in all though his house and the rooms in it had a lived in look, they did not have the usual clutter or messiness one would expect from a college student living alone.
He was wearing an unadorned gray t shirt along with a pair of light sweatpants. Usually he wore less restricted clothing such as baggy shorts and tank tops or sleeveless shorts. It was not that he lacked a fashion sense, he could dress quite well at times, he just tended to go more for functionality rather than fashion. Though the costume he wore, being cloaked in shadows, is effective at hiding his identity, he has not had a true secret identity for some time, at least among certain circles.
James walked through his house briefly before finding what he was looking for, his backpack, or what served as it. He had no real need for book bags, dugffel bags, satchels, or even pockets, one aspect of his abilities let him store things in a dimension of Darkness, that he called the DarkSpace. He was the only person that had access to it, not even the Phantom for all his skill and power could access it.
The Phantom’s identity was and always had been public, back then, back in the day; there was respect between Heroes and Villains. How Heroes and villains operated changed after the Vietnam War, much discrimination against those with powers emerged and Heroes and Villains, new ones anyways, had to protect their families and themselves. That eventually evolved into today’s system, the names and handles of Supers were public, to a point, but still protected by certain countermeasures. James was broken from his thoughts as Candace called out to him.
“James, James, pay attention, we going to Darkholme together today then?”
James nodded in response before linking arms with her. She was wearing black and red, her shirt was a plaid button up with grey, black, and red. Her pants were a tight black denim, they highlighted her hips and legs. Her current outfit was a far cry from the baggy ensembles she usually wore, as they walked, she was gathering attention, though she still was not astonishingly beautiful, she was still ravishing in her own way currently. Candace blushed from James’ attention and looked away before speaking.
“So, like what you see James?”
James looked at her in surprise with widened eyes, while she was normally shy, and blushed often, such teasing and flirting was an abnormality. James eyed her with worry for a moment, taking in her appearance once more before he replied teasingly.
“Indeed I do Candy, I always have.”
As he responded a teasing smile graced his face and he chuckled slightly. Candace’s blush deepened as she took in what he said. She leaned into him gently as they walked to Darkholme. To everyone they passed on the streets they looked like a couple who were in love, which was not too far from the truth, they did care for one another, being friends for several years tended to make people, rather close.
The two of them walked together in a rather comfortable and cozy silence. Soon enough they reached Darkholme, it was outside of Cross Timber, further inland by about a mile. Darkholme was a not just a single building, but many buildings, 15 in all, spread across the equivalent to several normal city blocks. The massive campus was surrounded by high stone walls, at least 10 feet in height, each section of wall topped by a wrought iron fence, increasing its height further.
The center of the campus was dominated by the main building. It was the first building constructed on what would become the campus of Darkholme. It was a massive gothic style building, among the oldest in Cross Timber still standing. It looked like it belonged in some ancient medieval fairy tale; it was carved from stone, with buttresses and towers mounted with gargoyles and other grotesque statues. Once the building housed numerous classrooms and even held quarters for all staff and kitchen facilities.
It still housed some amount of the staff that kept the sprawling campus presentable, but in the early 40’s a smaller building was constructed, in the same style as the original, that would serve to house teachers and students, which would be enlarged over time. As Cross Timber became larger, the learning institution increased in size, the campus would expand, its buildings would become larger and more would be built, but they would remain in the same style, being more reminiscent of castle’s or other such medieval fortifications.
The two of them parted shortly after entering the campus, James headed to the building closest to the Main building. Candace on the other hand headed to the far end of the campus, where a greenhouse made of stone and glass was built. It also had a small garden area outside it, which was walled in, the walls paled in comparison against those around the campus, but still stood waist high. She was one of the few students who took any botanical related classes, luckily the work she did paid for her classes easily enough.
While the two of them went to their classes, certain other events were happening in Cross Timber. Though James and Candace as well, had been long disconnected from the Hero and Villain communities, there were still those, who thought of them as being one or the other. Just as most left Candace alone due to her closeness with James, James was left alone due to his familial connections, though he cut ties with them long ago, few would risk the wrath of those close to him.
One such individual uncaring about James, his connections, or his current standing as a Super was Douglass Silver, going by the name of Shaman. He could wield the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Lighting, as well as others. He was rather powerful, especially for being so young, just out of his teens, though he did not hold a real position of power among the League many would not hesitate to do as he asked and followed him.
He was currently holding a meeting within the bowels of the local League HQ in Cross Timber. The building was easily the largest building in cross Timber, by size and height. It was more akin to some skyscraper, standing at over 15 stories of glass and steel. It was located in the center of Cross Timber, not far from the waterfront, it was currently busy as usual, dozens if not hundreds of people were filing in and out of it constantly.
Though it was extremely tall, the bulk of the HQ was actually below ground, but not in the conventional sense. The building did indeed have several expansive basement levels, mostly storage, but the storage elevator that led down there, also went deeper. With a little bit of magic, some creative architecture and ingenuity, the elevator was made to be able to access a pocket dimension, not all that dissimilar to James’ DarkSpace.
That pocket dimension was where the bulk of the League HQ’s permanent staff stayed, it also allowed access to the other League buildings scattered around the US with a few in major countries outside it. Most of the rooms were for Training or similar endeavors that required rooms made of Metacrete. it was a specialized concrete made from a formula thought up by The Brain, for the Soviets during his ‘stay’ there in the 80’s. Metacrete is resistant to powers granted by the M-gene, but is rather brittle when hit by certain types of magic.
Brain was better known as Logan Tyler Jefferson, an American Born Meta, he owned and operated Xylon pharmaceuticals. Xylon was one of the premier creators of medications and drugs related to supers. Most Meta’s boast an increased resistance to common antibiotics painkillers and such, so Xylon raked in the cash from Supers of all levels, as they were one of the few legal providers of drugs actually affective for those with powers. The Government classification for Metas with intelligence or mind based powers was named after him, Brain.
Brain is well known in the Meta community, as many of his products, new and old, were centered on quality of life for Supers. He developed clothing lines with materials that were more durable and would remain unharmed, or relatively so, when a Super used their power, such as a fire manipulator ignites their whole body, or when James travels thorough shadows. Unfortunately they were rather expensive, which was not that unexpected, the Big organizations, got slight discounts for their uniforms and such.
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Training rooms and holding cells were not the only rooms within the pocket dimension, they just happened to be the vast majority. It also held meeting rooms; they were not the same as the elaborate corporate style rooms held in the building above, but more cozy informal things. They were also free of any surveillance equipment, as was most of the Dimensional Complex, which helped with clandestine meetings. Though the League, for the most part, worked within the bounds of the law, there were times that they had to meet with criminals or discuss certain things, that is what these rooms are for.
There were around 6 people in the room counting Douglass himself. The room was small, only around 10 feet by 11 feet or so, the walls were covered with a wood paneling. There were several tables of assorted sizes in the room, a lamp in a corner held a lamp, which provided most of the light. The largest table in the room was a coffee table, around it there were several plush recliners and a couch.
Douglass glanced at the others present; he first looked at those directly in front of him. There were 3 people sitting there, they were siblings, two men and a woman. They all had the same dark hair and each had blue eyes, but beyond that the 3 had little in common. The first of the three was a slimly built woman in her 30’s, sitting on the leftmost seat of the couch. Her willowy build would suggest she was a dancer, but she was more skilled at other physical pursuits.
She was the eldest of the siblings, her name was Tara Williams, as a Hero she went by the name Brigit, after the Irish goddess of healing. While she did have some healing powers, her abilities were mostly towards self-healing. Due to the healing factor she had she was strong for her build, stronger even than many Supers with superstrength or similar abilities. She was known for her love for fighting, and while she could find ample employment as bodyguard or such in the civilian or Villain markets, her family wanted to be heroes, so she went with them.
She would be rather beautiful, normally at least, if it was not for the numerous scars and blemishes scattered across her body. She had short hair, styled in a jagged pixyish look, almost seeming punk in style. Her face was crossed by one large long scar from left temple to the right side of her mouth. Her golden tan just made it easier to see that scar, and all others. She got that from a Knife wielding Villain in 2003, it was during that that her powers awoke. The Villain had just carved her face when the pain started to fade, being replaced by somewhat itchy warmth as her skin knitted itself back together.
The Villain was so surprised by that, that it allowed a human cop to take him down. Unfortunately her healing factor just healed the wounds and damage; it did not erase the scars. It was during that incident that her two siblings gained their powers as well, not all that uncommon in stressful situations. The one sitting next to her, located in the middle of the three siblings, was the group’s protector, while she was their guard dog.
He was large, extremely so, being nearly 7 feet tall, he did not have a v shaped body. Instead it was as if his entire body was hewed from some massive chunk of stone. His body had a broadness that began at the shoulders and continued downwards, giving him a blocky build. His limbs were thick and robust, much like the limbs of some mighty tree. His nose had the angular look to it, which was the result of having been broken a few times. His skin was a darkened tan, from his time in the sun, it was easy to see his muscles ripple under the skin like some living Greek masterpiece.
Despite his looks and build, he was not a fighter, well, not exactly anyways. He, Craig Williams, also known as Blockade, was a pacifist, that only fighting he did was in the defense of others. His powers were defensive in nature; he could create invisible walls, force fields really. He used them to protect himself and others, they were capable of enduring the force of an anti-material rifle, all 13,000 odd pounds of force, meant to destroy vehicles, could be absorbed by his walls.
The last of the three siblings was short, the smallest of the three, the youngest as well. Vincent Williams was only 19, 7 years younger than Craig. He was not even 6 feet in height, barely reaching 5 foot 8 in fact. He had the same black hair the others did, with his being the longest of the three, reaching his shoulders. His looks were the palest and least marred of the three, he still had some baby fat on his face, and had boyish looks. He was thin, almost scrawny, lacking the toned physique of Tara, whilst neither possessing the raw muscle power of Craig.
While his sibling’s powers were more geared towards protection or fighting hand to hand, Vincent’s powers were more powerful, but could not be used in close quarters or even in enclosed spaces. He could harness the power of lightning, not electricity, but lightning and thunder, very powerful forces of nature, but rather temperamental as well. His Hero name was Caddo, taken from a legend about brothers who became thunder and lightning. While his two siblings were only there to protect him, Vincent himself actually believed in what Douglass spoke of, complete justice for the victims of Villains and harsh punishment to the Villains themselves.
The two others in the room, were sitting in chairs, flanking Douglass, they were members of his actual team. The two were also siblings, twins in fact; they both had elemental powers, in a sense. The eldest of the two men, Terry Murray, had nature related powers and went by the name Druid. His brother Scott Murray could take on the form and strengths of the element of Earth, he went by the name Golem.
They were nearly identical to one another, except for a few key differences. They were both around 6 feet tall in height with athletic builds, similar to surfers. Terry had green hair and green eyes both, a gift from his powers, Scott on the other hand, had brown hair and brown eyes. Scott’s skin was tinted a light brown, which was often mistaken for a tan, while Terry’s was a slight green, though it was not too apparent.
The two of them had followed Douglass to the League, and had acted as harbingers of his will, in a sense. The three of them had been friends for a while, and were all affected by the incident that caused Douglass to have such a hatred for Villains and disdain for how the League and the world handled Villains. Douglass glanced at the assembled people before opening his mouth to speak. Douglass, much like his father, Senator Jonathan Silver, was a rather polite and charismatic speaker.
“Thank you all for showing up today. Most of you I know believe the same as I do, that Villains are allowed too much freedom. Through the efforts of myself and a close politically savvy acquaintance of mine, we have discovered an old, rarely used law, that will serve our purposes as well.”
Vincent and the twins, perked up at that revelation from Douglass. Tara and Craig were as impassive as ever, though they shared a worried glance. Douglass gave a brief chuckle before continuing.
“The law was created in the late eighties in the aftermath of discrimination of Supers and those with powers following the war in Vietnam. It was created to deal with the resurgence of Villains, which was in part caused by Villains from previous era’s, Villains whose identities were known. They had been taking Supers under their wings, fostering the next generation of Villains. What the law did, was allow government agents to apprehend and imprison those even suspected to be villains, or those that share names with villains.”
Douglass paused with a smug little smirk on his face, Vincent, Terry, and Scott all waited with abated breath. Tara and Vincent, once more exchanged glances; these were filled with visible worry. Though they cared for little else aside from their family, if this law started being actively implemented again, things could get rather ugly.
“Fortunately for us, nearly everyone signed up with the League is classified as a Government agent, loosely, but still a government agent. I have discovered several individuals that stay and go to the nearby college of Darkholme, which could be decent targets for testing out this law. Should our apprehension of them be successful, we should be able to rope others in to our plan. We will go into motion later today, in the afternoon, when classes have ended. The twins and myself will strike the first blow against the Villains, For Justice!!!”
Douglass’ last words were echoed by everyone else in the room, except for Craig and Tara. The 3 siblings were the first to leave the room, Tara stood up first, then Vincent. Craig was the last to stand, as he did so, the couch seemed to groan in relief. They all nodded their respects towards Douglass before leaving. The man himself and the Twins stayed behind, after the Siblings left Terry spoke.
“Are you sure it is wise to not include those three from the first apprehension. Despite the fact that Blockade and Brigit, are not as believing as our cause as Caddo, they are rather powerful, and would follow Caddo, if we had drawn him in.”
Douglass took some time before responding, he stood up and went to a cabinet before pouring the 3 of them something to drink. Though they were all underage, Douglass had high clearance, which let him access most storage containers. He gave a smug chuckle before sitting down and responding as they took their drinks.
“That is indeed true, however, I will use them for more difficult endeavours, away from Cross Timber. Though strong, those two will never follow my ideas, now should they happen to perish, while protecting their beloved brother, in battle against some Villains, then that will be saddening, but hey, Caddo would be a good fit for our group, right?”
After he finished the 3 of them shared a laugh, he took a slow drink before continuing.
“I want you two to prepare, though we should be able to handle the targets easily enough, The Shade, will be there. We will not target him yet, though he is on the list, he is too high profile a target for a law that has not been used in several decades.”
The Twins nodded, gestured their thanks before they left to do as bid. Once he made sure they were gone, and he was truly alone, Douglass pulled out a special cellphone, capable of bypassing the dimensional interference. It took a few moments before the party on the other end picked up. He stood up as he started to speak in response to their inquiry.
“Yes, I have set things in motion, we will strike today and test the waters.”
The next few minutes where mostly silent as he listened to the person on the other end. He just hmmed in response to any statements made. After a short time, he ended the call and sighed, before once more collapsing into the plush recliner.
Elsewhere, far from Cross Timber, seven individuals were meeting; they were discussing things of importance and note. The room they were in was a rather large square, 30 feet by 30 with a ceiling of 11 feet. The room was bare, not even painted, the walls and ceiling both were the dull grey of concrete. The only permanent fixtures marring the surfaces were a single heavy metal door near in color to the blank walls and a light. The only other notable things in the room were a single round table, seven chairs and the people within those chairs.
There was a silence that hung about the room like a storm cloud, and then it was broken suddenly, akin to a stiff breeze blowing the storm cloud away. The first to speak was a tall handsome man, built in the way many imagined belonged to the stereotypical Hero. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, his musculature was easily apparent through his clothes. He had a broad chin with a cleft neatly dividing it, he had short blond hair, with a shock of it hanging over his forehead.
“My brothers and sisters, thank you for coming. Each of you should have received the news concerning our Greatest Enemy, the Seven Sins. Though they have not been united for some time, especially since Lust left and Wrath went missing, they are still an impressive force.”
The words the man was about to speak were halted as one of the others assembled, a beautiful blond women, equal to lust in appearance. While Jess was an unquestionably beautiful woman, the one who spoke was equally if not more so in a way. While Jess was all raw sensual beauty and lush voluptuous curves, those built like her, were not necessarily the women you take home to your mother.
The women who spoke, on the other hand was nearly the complete opposite end of the spectrum of beauty. She was almost plain, but only to those that judged beauty by the amount of makeup a women wore or how tight her clothes were. Her skin was unblemished and pure; a pale tan graced her unmarred skin. She was unsullied, pure and chaste, for that was who and what she was, Chastity. The voice she spoke with was as pure as her appearance; it was mellow and rather pleasant, though it carried a hint of impatience and anxiety.
“If you have no new news for us brother, than why did you call us? We are all busy, and have been preparing to act against them eventually, as we decided when we last met. So tell me brother, why have you interrupted our plans?”
The next to speak was not the first man, but another, he was small and slight, not being what many would call a midget, but still short none the less. He was old, or appeared so, he had weathered many years and events, and had endured them in patient silence waiting. His voice was not the most loud or commanding, but when he spoke, those who heard it felt compelled to listen due to the wisdom it contained.
“You must have patience Sister Chastity, I am sure he was getting to that.”
Chastity merely nodded in response before glaring pointedly at the man who first spoke, Diligence.
“Though they are still powerful, I believe our persistence may soon pay off. Lust and Pride have been spotted within Cross Timber, according to our sources; the status quo seems to be waning. Should they survive the conflict, which will be a good time to act, even if they do not, we can still easily adjust accordingly. As we always have we will endure and we Seven of the Virtues will endure, and cleanse the filth of the Sins from this plane, As We Must.”
Diligence’s final words were mimicked by each of the other 6. Their words echoed about the room for a time before they faded and were replaced with the sound of chairs scraping on concrete. After the grating noise faded each of the Seven left, exiting through the single entrance and exit. As soon as they did the round plastic table and metal chairs shimmered from existence. The light of the room flickered before plunging the room into darkness before the room too vanished. Soon enough it was as if nothing had ever been there.