Tier 2, 3PM
 
“Rent is due on the twentieth, you have a grace period of ten days after which you will be evicted from the building. You can have one pet, but no aggressive animals, no animals over forty five kilos, and they must be on a leash when not in your room. The pool is open all hours, except Mondays for cleaning, please no skinny dipping and keep all refreshments at the pool side, not in the pool. The free continental breakfast begins at five AM and ends at nine AM.” The elderly woman skimmed through a page, noting the important bits of each section with as much brevity as she could manage. Stein was leaned back in his chair, memorizing the little details as best he could without his mind wondering.
 
She finally came to the end of the contract, which she turned around to face him. A pen was slid his way. “Do you have any questions before you sign?”
 
“Nope! Sounds pretty good to me.” The hero accepted the pen and scribbled his John Handcock onto the line, did his initialing, stamped a date and all the formal mumbo jumbo that comes with this sort of business. “Aaaand there we go!” He placed the pen on the table and started to reach for the keys. He paused, waiting for the woman’s approval. With just a nod, he nabbed the single ring and key and stuffed it into his pocket.
 
“Now, I know you said you went to the lower tiers,” her milky eyes lowered to the bullet holes in his attire. “Just do us all a favor, leave them rapscallions down there, okay? I’m going out on a limb here, because you’re a cute kid.” He had mentioned several times he was well older than a kid, but he gave up on trying to convince her. She was probably ancient after all. Stein responded with a confirming nod. “Great! You’re in building three, third floor. Youngster like you shouldn’t have trouble with those stairs. You may take your leave, I’m sure you want to check out your room and unpack.”
 
Stein stood, shook the woman’s hand again and elegantly departed. After shutting her door, he practically rushed down the breezeway towards the third of the three story buildings. There were no elivators, but the brick buildings were close enough together that in between each building was a fully covered concrete staircase with rails and studded surfaces, to help during the rain and winter. Third floor was cheaper, but the building was definitely nothing to scoff at.
 
The duplex was definitely an upgrade from his tiny little two-room apartment. It still was no palace, but it was definitely comfortable. The door to his room was a little sticky when it came to unlocking it, but a slight nudge with his shoulder and it swung wide.
 
The air was a bit stale and a thin dust lined most of the tables. It had been empty for what he guessed might have been a few months. Who wanted the third floor apartment of a lower middle class duplex when there were apartments and condos just around the corner? Why did Stein want it? This place was classy. It had a rustic feel, free cable, pool, breakfast bar… and it promised to be a nice, quiet get away from the hustle and bustle of hero life.
 
His last apartment had been surrounded by a lot of noisy younger folk around his age. Booming stereos, loud arguments… Sure, there was that one cutie – but she was the only good thing beyond the cheap price of that place. The apartment below him was an old woman with her granddaughter. To one side was a young blue-collar couple and the other side was empty.
 
There was really only one downside to this purchase. As Stein entered the kitchen, he could still make out that little smell of death. His eyes fell to the floor in front of the dishwasher for a moment, remembering what the owner had said.
 
The last occupant died in here. A ninety year old man with no next of kin, left for almost two months until the owner had finally come to try and collect her rent. It was no violent murder or freak accident. Poor old guy had a sudden heart attack and his assist pager had been left across the room.  “Thanks for the apartment, old man. I’ll take good care of it.” It was this little grim fact that got the down payment waved, and why the top floor apartments were strictly for those without heart problems; safety protocols and all.
 
After offering a moment of silence for the man who’s death he profited from, he turned and continued scoping out the rooms. Since the old man had no next of kin, the building owner came into possession of everything in the apartment. His life insurance paid for his funeral, so she sold most things of value to pay for the pool. When she showed off the building, she had mentioned that Mr. Fredrick, or Freddy for short, had been living here for years, almost building the little sense of community that existed with the current occupants. It seemed an appropriate thing to do.
 
However, that left the non-valuables. Upon entering the bedroom, he made a bee line to the closet. Sure enough, it was full of clothing. Most of it needed a good wash, thanks to dust collecting on the shoulders. Freddy had an assortment of blazers and coats, as well as dress pants and a little tower of dressy and sporty arthritic shoes. From a glance he could tell that the shoes would be too small, but the rest seemed about his size.
 
Closing the closet, Stein loosed a sigh. He felt bad to profit off of a dead man, especially seeing as it was a good man who worked hard for all this. But he had been old, he lived an honest life from what he had been told. Better me than some hooligan. Stein was never hard on his apartments. A bit of a slob, but he never let anything fall into disrepair.
 
That was why he accepted the apartment. It felt right, like something just clicked. It was so different from his last apartment, high up on the twelvth floor – but it felt just as homey. From one side of his apartment he can look out into a two-lane street below with a steady but leisurely flow of traffic. Out the other he could see into the framed courtyard, complete with a clear swimming pool and a grassy lawn and covered gazeebo.
 
Even as he checked out the view, he spotted a couple of the old folks in the shade with a grill. Well. Time to meet the neighbors. Stein made a quick pit stop to change his shirt, taking one of Freddy’s dusty old Hawaiian styled shirts, red with gold palm leaves, and a pair of swim trunks. The trunks were a bit loose, but he pulled tight the drawstrings and they fit pretty comfortably. Of course Stein was going to get in a few laps today – the pool looked so damned inviting.
 
“Aye! New guy!” Immediately upon exiting the apartment, his neighbor caught him. The dark haired, beer bellied man had a friendly smile. He was smoking, leaning against the rail with an ash tray in hand. Now that’s classy. “I was just about to knock. We heard someone was taking Freddy’s apartment and Margery thought we should try and invite ya into the fold. You ain’t a vegetarian are ya? Or against smoking?”
 
My kind of people. “I’m a proud omnivore. Steak and a side salad, best of both worlds.”
 
“Amen, my friend.”
 
“Not against smoking either. I do a bit socially.”
 
“Well hell, got a party pack riecheer.” His accent had a bit of a twang, but Stein could not place it. The dark haired man tapped the butt of his soft pack on the rail, pushing a few up. Popping his cigarette betwixt his lips, he pulled one out and lit it on his own before handing it off to the hero. “See ya got Freddy’s favorite shirt on. Yea, old man said he got that in Costa da Sol a couple of years back. Glad it’s get’n some use, I tell ya.”
 
Accepting the cancer stick, Stein propped on the rail beside the man. He offered a hand in greeting, since it had not happened yet. “Name’s Stein, and this Freddy had great taste. Very comfy material and doubles as a safety vest.” That earned a chuckle from his new friend.
 
“Name’s Richy, I’m in 2C. We’re gonna be neighbors. My wife’s down at the ‘zeebo, whipping up some tater salad.” What salad? “After we finish, I’m s’posed to take ya down.” He was already half way down his, while Stein had only just taken his second drag.
 
“Ya seem pretty cool, guy, so Imma level with ya.” Here it comes. “Everyone’s gonna try to be cozy to get ya to feel comfortable. Some of the older folk are a bit pushy, but they don’t mean anything by it. If ya don’t wanna be part of the community we got, let ‘em down slowly, okay? A lot of people are kinda hopin’ you’d fill the void. Freddy was a good guy, and we’re hopin’ to have another good fella to take care of his old place and things.” Not the lecture I expected, Stein thought.
 
After another drag, he stubs out the cigarette, saving the remainder for later. “I like to think I’m a good guy. I took the apartment because the owner said you guys were pretty tight. I didn’t have that in my last building, and I don’t have any friends here, so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone.” Stein grinned, rubbing his hands together. “And if it means I get invited to cookouts, I’ll remember to bring a dish or two next time around.”
 
The smells were reaching up to them. Stein was almost ravenous, he had not eaten all day – and most of yesterday. It would be nice to have a grounded place to stay, a fridge and a kitchen, and a couch with a TV for his me time. He might even be able to start up a game night like back in his highschool days.
 
“Then we should head on down.” He acted without thinking about it. “Hup!” Up and over, he dropped to the ground two stories below, landing with a solid stance, knees bending to absorb the impact. His feet tingled, but he was still durable enough to take this sort of impact.
 
Richy turned about to look down over the edge, brows high in surprise. “You okay down there?”
 
“I’m good, I’m going to meet the new gang!” Stein gave the OK hand gesture before heading towards the gazeebo. He could hear Richy racing down the stairs to catch up, but he had a minute or so. As he walked up, he noticed a good ten or so people were scattered around, doing various things and/or chatting it up with each other. “Hey guys!”

Making this thread to make my bounty hunt offical. Dawnika Snow is on the hunt for Rogue is attempting to catch him while his/her name is still hot.

Marisa flew into the voile, library of the scarlet devil mansion and home to the magician Patchouli Knowledge only to find that the library's shelves were bare. Marisa knew this was odd since Patchouli never just let anyone take her books and that someone took the cake for greatest or rather most infamous thief. At that point the world darkened around her before she found that she couldn't move on her own. "Guess I died" She chuckled at that.

Quote:“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”

Quote:“This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.

“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.

“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”  

The Spoopoween is almost here again. Anyone have any cool costumes this year that they wanna share?

If used as a prerequisite for a move, can the shapeshifting power allow you to avoid having to specify the dimensions of a body-part type weapon (such as claws or fangs) so long as you mention that making them larger would also make them weaker or more tiring or slower, etc.?

Assuming this can be done, what would the cost of such a move be?
300, since the variable appearance cost is covered by shapeshifting?
600, since variability still needs to be purchased in spite of the power?
Or even more?

Do you think it's possible to be too honest?

Like, as a small and squishy human child I used to lie all the time. And then I got in trouble for it in a way that left a HUGE impression on my mind, and I haven't lied since. I feel physically ill whenever I encounter someone who's been lying to me or others, and I just can't bring myself to lie, even to keep another person happy.

It's gotten me into a lot of trouble with people like my mother, who is like, a chronic liar. For example, my grandparents sent her some eggs and she threw them out. When my grandparents asked about the eggs and if we'd used them, I said that she'd thrown them out, because like.... They asked. And then my mother told my grandparents that I must have been mistaken, because she "only threw out the eggshells", and then lectured me about it and how I probably hurt my grandparents' feelings. I feel like I was definitely in the wrong in this situation, but like.... I just can't lie. It would bother me for weeks if I did, no matter how harmless it was.

I dunno. I guess I'm just wondering how you guys feel about lying, because being truthful all the time is kinda painful and seems to do more harm than good. Is there a way to tactfully lie, and is it still morally okay to do that?

"Well, you look like a man who knows how to enjoy himself."

Dust looked up from the growing land mass to into the face of a man who's enjoyed life. He was older, salt and pepper hair, and laugh lines everywhere, which deepen with his friendly smile. With brown eyes, he looks back into Dust's childlike stare. Wolf smiled. "Just taking in the sights." He answered, then turned back around to sit properly in his seat. His back curved to make him appear smaller, but those strong shoulders could hold the world.

"Oh?" The man asked, sitting beside him casually like they were old friends. Dust didn't mind one bit. "What brings you this way?"

Primes had a sense of power about them or something. Hokori couldn't think of any other reason for so many people coming up to him with just the intention of talking to him. He offered the same friendliness though. "I was told the Avengers could help me with something."

"Is that so?" He nodded like old men do when they are sure they know what is going on. "Mind if I ask what the problem is?"

Dust shrugged, but then looked down at his new shoes. They were just old sneakers he remembered having and liking the look of. "I've lost my Doll. It's a bit silly, to be worried about such a thing as that. But since I summoned him, I feel responsible for him. I only hope he was able to survive the ocean like I did."

The old man ran his hand through his chin's stubble and Dust became aware of his own growing facial hair. He'd have to shave, he was pretty shit at growing a beard. "Sounds like something the Avengers could help with. Sure. But what could they do for you, that a strong looking prime like yourself couldn't do on your own?" He questioned.

Dust's hair flopped into his face as he looked lower. "I was hoping they could answer that.." His long fingers make a diamond shape as he stretches them out.  "I lost him in the ocean, doesn't seem like there's much hope, but... I'd feel awful if I not only got someone so helpless killed but also didn't do anything I could to find him if is still out there somewhere." He sat up, looking over his shoulder. "Maybe he washed up on an island, maybe even this one. I hope he's okay..."

The Seven Dragons had left long ago, leaving Katrielle, Ernest, and Sherl alone in the Richmond mansion. The not-so-abandoned residence groaned, sighing as the guests filtered out. With only two people (and a dog) still standing inside of the royal grounds, the place echoed with loneliness. Eventually it would be left behind, a tale of a misunderstanding that ruined lives for years, and a story of revenge that never needed to be. And eventually it would fade away into an old memory.

Layton's daughter turned to face her assistant, whom refused to look her in the eye. It was understandable-- he was Richmond, after all. He was the one that planned out the whole incident. But in the end, no one was hurt. No one held any grudges. Yet he stood there, glancing down at his feet and remaining silent. His tears had run dry a while ago.

"...Hey, are you alright?" Katrielle asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It's just... well, it's a lot to take in at once. And on top of learning that I've been living a lie... I don't know how to take it. All my life I've been trying to exact justice for everything my family lost, and now, finding out that all that I've been working towards was worthless, I--"

"--can start anew and be happy?" she finished, taking his hand. "Because that was the point of it all.  Now that everything's settled, well... I guess that's up to you, isn't it?"

"...You're right. I can start over. I can finally leave this behind."

She gave him a smile and started to walk towards the door. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Her assistant was silent for a little bit, examining his hands in thought, before realizing that Kat was leaving. He ran over to catch up to her, giving her a smile of his own. "Well, I was thinking I could keep working for you?"

She blinked in surprise. "Really? I thought after all that you'd--"

"Why wouldn't I? You brought me peace. You brought them peace. I couldn't be happier to work by your side."

A grin plastered itself across her face. "In that case, come on! There are plenty of mysteries in the world to solve!" She interlocked her arm with his, nodding towards the door.

He gasped and blushed, overwhelmed by the fact that they were this close together. "Any mystery solved!" he added, also with a grin on his face.

"Then let's go!" And with that, they rushed off into the light.

And then it was dark.

Katrielle wasn't sure how to react. The fact that she was suddenly in a black void registered first in her mind. The next thing she realized was that Ernest wasn't with her either-- same with Sherl. She tried to glance around, but her entire body was frozen in place. What... what was going on?

She stood in silence for a few minutes, trying to comprehend what was happening, when a figure popped into existence just off to her right. It was almost blindingly white-- an opposite of a silhouette-- with a wide grin that, while the detective didn't find it trustworthy, didn't give her the impression that the being meant her any harm. So even if she had any control over her body during that moment, she still would've let it approach anyway, if only so she could get some information on just what on earth was going on.

Quote:“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”

Quote:Omni hands you a glimmering orb in which all the colors of the rainbow coalesce. “This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most."

Quote:“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn. That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”

I have returned from my absence! May I have my archived rosters unarchived plz and thank you : D ?

He was dying. Mori Hui, the clone of Jaecheondaesong, the false Monkey  King, finalist in the G.o.H World Tournament. He was dying, even he had to be aware. Expanding Yeoui large enough to fend off a planet colliding with Earth turned out to be the limit of his power and now... He was at the end of his journey. All of the troubles he had been through. All of the bonds he had forged and the lessons he learned. This was it. As Dawei carried him he knew it was his time, he barely had enough strength to keep his body in one piece. Still, at least if he could die with friends he would be happy. He had saved Dawei and everyone else and that was what mattered.

"What a... Relief... You're alive...."

"Hang in there a bit longer... I'll do... Something!"

"Thanks."

"Just hold on a bit longer..."

"Contract Yeoui... The world would be in danger if it stayed that enormous..."

And with those final words and that last act, Mori Hui faded away. Dissolving into nothing in the arms of his best friend.

The End... of one tale.


“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”

Omni hands you a glimmering orb in which all the colors of the rainbow coalesce. “This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.

“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.

“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”


Mori Hui opened his eyes. Was it all a dream? No... He had died, there was no denying that, and faded into nothing. The figure telling him about these rules? If almost felt like a dream but... No that had been real too, he knew that there was nothing after death. This Omni had revived him in a new world. A world away from the one he knew. Away from Mira and Dawei. A world that made him feel alone. Yet... there was a feeling Mori had at the same time. Something that made him almost... Happy.

Hope.

Mori knew in his heart that his friends would survive. They'd beat the gods and find Mori Jin. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind. The old world didn't need him any more. They were going to be okay. He was here now.  The Omniverse. This place where Mori Jin never existed. He could be his own man once and for all. He was free to be who he was. He wasn't a clone anymore. He wasn't a fake. HE wasn't any of those things. He was himself and that's all that the Omniverse needed him to be. He took a look around and saw a blank white landscape and noticed there was a fountain behind him and realized in his hand he was clutching Yeoui. It didn't seem tooexiting but it was new. And most of all it was his.

"My name is Mori Hui. This world is my new Home."