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+--- Thread: Power Broker (/showthread.php?tid=6379)
Power Broker - James Knight - 07-10-2017
If someone had told Veritas a year ago, he'd "die" and then be "reborn" in the Omniverse, Veritas would have first beaten their head with a brick before blasting them with dark magic in the face. Yet here he was, trapped in the Omniverse. Having decided he needed a place to call his own and needed it badly enough to explore Coruscant, he had taken the elevator to Tier III. Tier III was relatively crime free which was something he could perhaps use. After all the security of the Empire could be good for something, namely good for keeping him from having to worry about any hero types, or holier than thou Zealots who decided his lease on life had expired. Trekking with no set goal in mind, Veritas discovered a small white and blue house. It was painted Haint Blue, and was somewhat beautiful in his eyes. It was about 2 stories tall, and probably had a good basement. The liberal use of Omnilium on the interior could probably expand it so such a place could fit his purposes. Of course he wasn't sure what forms or paperwork he'd need to fill out in order to get a place like this for himself. Granted he'd never even tried building a house with Omnilium before but was sure that doing such would probably take hours. As such, it was a time expenditure that he wanted to avoid.
Groaning as he looked at the place, he sighed. Why couldn't things be easy for him? He wanted the house, but wasn't sure what to do. Watching from across the street, he'd sigh at the place. It would have made the perfect Command Center for him to begin his research on the Morphing Grid, but he didn't have the Omnilium needed to turn it into his own place. Plus, it was probably owned already, which would make acquiring it somewhat difficult for him. In addition to that he was nowhere near powerful enough with his skills yet. Sure he had some abilities he hadn't possessed in the past. Most notably he had the ability to use Symbol Power, an ability that had eluded him when he had attempted to learn it under the tutelage of the Shiba House. For some odd reason being here in the Omniverse had opened up new possibilities for him.
Of course that wasn't the only skill that he had picked up. He'd also learned how to manifest weapons out of Omnilium. Whatever the substance was, it was certainly useful. It almost made him wish that he had it back home, as he could have created anything then. Unfortunately the chances of him getting any to take, should Omni decide to return him were slim to none.
RE: Power Broker - All Might - 07-10-2017
Teacher teleported out of the elevator shaft, appearing amongst the rabble coming and going. A few stepped back in shock, and more stepped back as they took in his appearance. He grinned cheerfully, waving to the crowd, "Just passing through." he said, knowing there was more than likely to be a stormtrooper around.
He would have continued his trip down- he was intent on reaching the bottom and climbing up in detail. He had started from the deepest corners of Japan's underworld, and he intended on starting from the equivalent in Coruscant.
But all that changed when one of the people exiting the elevator came within range of his Enhanced Senses. He was... well, to start with, he was a Prime like him. He had powers, a multitude of Quirks. Teacher grinned as he felt the sensation of new Quirks waiting to be used in his body. Sword summoning, explosive runes, gun summoning, some kind of hyrdokinetic blast.... very versatile.
He followed the man as best he could, while trying to not become too obvious. Luckily, it seemed the man was lost in thought. As they moved further into a more suburban area, he found his target standing on the sidewalk, looking longingly at... something, it was out of his range, across the street.
Seeing as it was only a matter of time before he realized he was being followed anyway, Teacher decided to take a risk on him. "Hello."
Veritas looked towards the source of the voice, before flinching back at the sight of Teacher's incredibly scarred face, "Erp!" the teenager managed, staring.
Teacher walked forwards, "Tell me... as you can likely see, I don't have eyes. Are we currently in the view of any stormtroopers?"
"I... no. Tier Three doesn't have nearly as many as the upper tiers."
"Good." Teacher said in a kind voice, "Now then, I'm going to make a quick demonstration, and I am advising you now not to react to it too harshly. Afterwards, I am going to offer you a potential job." He then reached his hand towards the teenager and created a Samuraizer in his hand.
"How did you get your hands on that?" Veritas asked, suspicious.
"It's a result of my power." Teacher said, "Now, young man... I'm quite new to this world. To the Omniverse. I've actually only been here two hours at most. Are people like you and I- with Quirks, with immortality, the norm or rarities? The majority of the people I've passed by are Secondaries, and fairly weak at that. I'm not sure if it's been that I've been heading through Secondary-rich areas, or if only a small fraction of the population have Quirks."
Veritas frowned, "Tell me how you have the Samuraizer, first."
"I got it from you- yes, yes, go ahead, check your pocket. It's still there. This is my power, I take any ability I come close to for my own... and I can give it out in the same way." He smiled, and with a wave of his hand, the device was gone, "Your abilities are quite versatile, and I can tell instinctively that if there were some method by which others could temporarily use them, they'd also be willing to pay, to use them."
Veritas' eyes slid back across the street. "...How much?"
"I haven't the foggiest, yet. There might, in fact, be a chance I will have to learn an entirely new form of economics."
"That doesn't sound very reliable." the teenager said, "...What would this entail?"
"Tell me, are you a fan of law enforcement?"
Veritas face immediately shifted into a scowl, "What, are you some kind of cop?"
"No. Closer to the opposite, actually. I'm a dealer. A broker, if you would. I buy, and sell, superpowers. Or at least I did, and I intend to once again. It's really a very simple process; As long as you are nearby, anything you can do, I can do. I will pay you for this. To simply be in proximity while I do business. Nothing illegal, even, beside potentially 'associating with criminals'. I would then go to a party in need of powers, for whatever reason, and I grant them use of the power. And then, I get paid."
"...Who would we be selling to?"
"You've been in the Omniverse longer, haven't you?" Teacher asked with a wide, malicious grin, "You tell me."
"How do I even know that you're telling the truth, why pick me?"
"The reason I picked you is because I can feel the powers in your veins." Teacher created a sphere of Dark magic, before dispelling it, "And if you want to know whether or not I'm telling the truth... just take my hand."
"..." Veritas stared at the outstretched hand, suspicious. He bit back the feeling, however, when he looked back at the house. Getting paid, just for standing around? He did need the Omnilium. He reached out, and the moment his fingers brushed against the older man's, he felt a chill go down his body. Something... new... was taking... root inside him.
It felt strong.
"I have given to you the Quirk 'Bonespear'. I'd prefer if you tested it out in private. Wouldn't want to disturb any future neighbors, hm?" Teacher's tone had become only slightly less comfortable, the mild sickness that came with giving out power taking effect in his mind.
RE: Power Broker - All Might - 07-13-2017
Teacher watched his newfound employee... well, play wasn't the right word. He was learning. Learning how to use his new ability. The younger man reached out a hand, and watched as the spires of twisted bone rose from the limb, faster and faster, heavier and heavier.
They had decided to continue down, to lower Tiers. While he was sure if they looked hard they could find some sort of miscreants in Tier 3, from what little he had been told, the chance of finding those looking to buy 'weapons' would only increase the further down they went in Coruscant.
On the elevator between Tier three and four, however, he felt he had already hit paydirt. Teacher smiled as he noticed things with his Enhanced Senses that the others in the car wouldn't be able to tell.
There was a group of nervous, excited, giggling teenagers in nice clothes, carrying heavy bags that might be filled with sporting equipment. They were in the elevator, murmuring quietly to each other about how 'it'll be fun, really!' and 'it's such a rush, there's nothing like it.' They weren't talking about drugs however.
No, something purer than that.
Inside their bags, Teacher could tell, were ornamental swords, bottles of wine, legs of very expensive chairs. Brute weapons, made from things that were extraordinarily expensive. It was practically a paradox, that someone would destroy something costing hundreds of thousands of... well, he supposed it'd be credits here, not Yen. And only thousands... just to use the pieces at brute weapons.
And in those bags, wrapped in cloth, were white porcelain masks.
"I believe we may have... customers." Teacher said in a low voice, Veritas flinched at the sudden closeness of Teacher, before following the man's finger towards the teenagers.
"...Those kids?"
"Rich kids." Teacher said quietly, "Who have decided to come to the lower Tiers to have some 'fun'."
Teacher would have to rely on his newest employee, in this case. Having to stay within twenty meters of someone at all times, or losing them, wasn't fun. Veritas was his eyes, and the younger man wasn't failing yet.
"They just turned down an alley, after doublechecking to make sure they weren't followed." Veritas said, "...They didn't see me."
"I trust you, my boy, I trust you." Teacher said placatingly, "Now, I think it's about time we introduced ourselves."
Veritas led the way, and by the time they reached the corner that would turn into the alley, Teacher could sense them on the edges of his senses, blurry humanoid shapes.
"Wait here." Teacher said quietly. He walked out into the alley, and had Veritas' SPD blaster take form in his hand. "Hello, children."
"Fuck!" one of them cried, turning towards him.
"Holy shit what is that?" a boy screeched, taking in the sight of his eyeless, hairless, and utterly scarred over head. He did cut a terrifying figure, he supposed.
"Get out of here, or you'll regret it." a braver girl ordered, grabbing a bottle of wine from her bag and- ~KRCSSHH~ -smashing it against the wall. She turned the jagged points towards him.
"...You do know I'm carrying a gun, right? A broken bottle isn't that much of a counter." Teacher said, looking at each of the five of them... he was almost tempted to give in to a baser instinct. These kids... didn't have much potential, honestly. None of them thought of themselves as 'Evil'. They were thrill-seekers, young and stupid, and cruel and petty, who, after spending a night out brutalizing homeless people and minor criminals, would head back up to their homes and whisper to each other in hushed voices in class the next day about their 'Exciting night' playing hooky and showing those raggamuffins and peons down on the lower Tiers their rightful place.
It would be so easy to just... blast them all, erase the evidence by converting their bodies to Omnilium, taking whatever cash they had on them, not to mention everything else. God knows Teacher would know how to better appreciate a vintage like the one the girl just smashed onto the bricks of a back alley on Tier Four. Once he explained to Veritas the reason why the kids had come down- wanting to prey on the homeless and the weak- he was sure the man would at the very least not avenge them. And in either case, he thought he could likely take the boy on in a fight.
But no. For one, mugging was beneath him. He was a goddamn supervillain, and he had some class. Second, he was trying to set up a business. He wouldn't make much if he held his customers to a certain standard.
"Just... we don't want trouble." the girl with the broken bottle growled, "Get out of here. You don't know who we are, we're the Board of Directors!"
Teacher noticed one of the other boys wince, "Well-"
"Ah, so you aren't." Teacher said with a grin, "Or at the very least, not all of you. He is, the one cowering over there, is this some kind of initiation? You need to prove you have the guts to stab someone before they let you into the real organization?" Teacher asked, inching forward, his finger tensed on the sci-fi gun's trigger. He wondered what a bullet hole from one would look like. Did blaster shots cauterize the holes they leave behind? He was curious.
The kids looked scared. This wasn't as fun any more.
Teacher grinned evilly, and the weapon vanished, he held both hands up, to show they were clear, "The name I've made my own is 'Teacher' kids, and I'd like to make you my students. You see, I'm in possession of a very special gift. I am capable of granting others superpowers with a touch."
The teenagers looked between each other, nervous.
"I am offering my services to you, and I am hoping you would like to be customers of mine." Teacher continued, "I work per service rendered, you pay me the amount I ask, and for the next half hour, you will be able to summon weapons from nothing-" this time Veritas' sword, "-use magic-" the sword was gone, replaced by a sphere of dark magic, "-or blast people away with nothing but your fist!" at this, his arm began to coil, making a hissing noise, before he punched forward. He didn't aim his punch at any of them in particular, but they felt the explosive air pressure screaming out behind it. All five of the teenagers were slowly pushed back, even if the air pressure wasn't directly aimed at them.
The alley became silent. "Let's say... since you don't know me, yet, that I'll offer my services for cheap. I'll take a thousand Imperial credits, or whatever Omnilium you have on you. Oh yes, and two of those bottles, it's a genuine waste to let you just smash them on whatever you want." Teacher glanced to Veritas, "I'm thinking a seventy-thirty divide for now, but we'll hash out the details further as we go along, hm?"
Veritas shrugged, "It'd still be three hundred credits I didn't have before."
"Good man." Teacher looked between the teenagers. "Come on, why rely on a damn broken bottle when you could punch a man with enough force to send him flying? Or perform dark magic, I also have fireballs and creating spikes from your arms. All five of you, for only a thousand credits! It's a steal, isn't it? One half-hour of superpowers, guaranteed."
The girl with the broken bottle narrowed her eyes, before looking at the oldest boy of the group. The only 'real' member of the Board of Directors among them, apparently. He had been the one whispering to them about how fun it would be. If he got back to whoever actually ran their group... well, they were obviously an organized crime group with plenty of spending money, the way they armed their mooks' friends.
Teacher smelled opportunity.
The girl smashed her bottle on the ground, walking towards him fearlessly, and stared at him, directly where his eyes used to be. "How do we know you aren't a liar? Why only a half-hour."
"More than a half hour is 'unsafe' for both myself and my customers. It's a hard limit, I'm afraid. Can't do anything about it. But believe you me... a lot can happen, in thirty minutes."
The girl considered it, before holding her hand out, looking untrustworthy. "You give me powers, I test them out, and then we pay you and you do everyone else, hm?"
"That sounds quite fair to me." Teacher said with an evil grin. Perhaps... not all of these ones are useless. He had judged too quickly, perhaps. The girl's eyes were wide with Evil.
"My name is Taylor."
"I am Teacher. And this is Veritas. And tell me, what would you like to do today?"
"Do you have anything that can roast someone alive?"
Veritas looked to Teacher, frowning a bit. The man wasn't a 'Good Guy' as such, but he didn't like where this was heading.
Teacher took the look in stride. Veritas would either stick with him, or he wouldn't. He could find others with powers if he needed to. No one wants to buy the ability to make fireballs for peaceful purposes.
"That could be arranged, Miss Taylor." Teacher said.
RE: Power Broker - James Knight - 07-13-2017
After the situation with the girl had been handled, and Veritas had in his pocket 300 Imperial Credits he didn't know what he was going to do with the money. What he did know was that it was nowhere near enough for his intended purposes. Acquiring the house he wanted was going to be a costly endeavor in and of itself. Of course he was willing to do something he hadn't done before, be patient. Building up his strength over time was easier than pushing himself to limits that were unsafe, to say the least. While he may not fully trust the "Teacher" he knew that he could make use of his particular talents in case there were any powers that he wanted to acquire. Having an army of criminals who were willing and most certainly desperate to get themselves powers appealed to him for some reason. If he could learn how to do that on his own without Teacher's presence, then perhaps he could be prepared for what the future might bring.
"The girl was interesting. If she were able to be trained, she'd have made an excellent minion back in my world... had I this power there. Of course I didn't possess this ability there... it's intriguing," said Veritas, summoning his Samuraizer into hand, as he looked at the Dataverse. "The more we do this, the stronger I feel like I am becoming. Still, it's going to take a while before we're at the level of strength we'll both need to be at, and before something can be done about your eyes, I suppose." admitted Veritas.
"We'll also need to do something about a few individuals, later down the line if any of them have shown up. If any of the real bad guys from my world, or any of the heroes are present, we'll need to somehow take them out before they're able to take us out. Some of them, like Dark Specter would be a real pain for me to fight, though I assume abilities like that villain's would be nerfed... and that he probably isn't here in the Omniverse, anyway. If he isn't, that's a good thing for us..."
Veritas then sighed for a moment as he looked at the Teacher. "Still, I've got to figure out which Ranger Weapon, and Ranger Suit I will add to my arsenal next, as well as which powers to add to my arsenal next from my world..." said Veritas. "Omnilium can do a lot of things, but I've mainly been using it to gain things from my world."
RE: Power Broker - All Might - 07-16-2017
Teacher and Veritas rented a small place on Tier Five for the night. Rent, of course, tended to be cheaper the lower in Coruscant you went, and so it was a good compromise.
The boy- the only real member of the "Board of Directors" ugh, what a name for a group of villains, had taken Teacher's information to his superiors. Soon enough, he would be seeing if there was business to be had.
In the morning, Teacher got back into connection with the Board of Directors. It seemed that one "Morgan Rothberg" had heard about his talents and wanted a demonstration.
"Veritas, how do you feel about a short jaunt up to Tier Two?"
"Are we getting paid?" the younger man asked.
"I'm unsure." Teacher remarked, "However, it will almost certainly mean a steady source of income in the future. This 'Board of Directors' seem to be rolling in it."
"Then I'm fine with anything. The sooner we get more Omnilium, the sooner I don't have to sleep in little apartments like these."
Teacher grinned, and the two left for the upper Tiers.
Taking the elevators back up, Teacher led his new subordinate towards a fine-looking hotel on Tier Two. Three stormtroopers were standing guard nearby, and Teacher nodded to one, when he came into his twenty-meter range.
Veritas looked around nervously, not quite used to the level of extravagence, while Teacher simply walked in as if he owned the place. Making his way directly to the front desk, Teacher hit the bell, and waited patiently for the clerk to work though the surprise and disgust they felt instinctively when seeing his face for the first time.
"Uh, yes, sir?"
"We're meeting with Mister Rothberg in about twenty minutes." Teacher said, "I believe we have an appointment. 'Rei' and 'Veritas'?"
"Ah, yes, very good sirs." the clerk murmured, the woman looking across the holographic screen, until her eyes lit on the names. "That's right. Will you need a guide?"
"Just a room number will be enough, thank you."
"Very well." she tapped a few of the floating light spots, and a keycard was produced, she moved to hand it to Teacher, and then instead began to hand it to Veritas, "I'm sorry, it's just... blindness isn't really a common problem in the Omniverse. The room doesn't have brail markings or anything, we're sorry for the oversight."
"No insult was taken." Teacher said with a good-natured smile. Veritas took the card, and the two were off.
"You didn't tell her?" Veritas asked.
"No need for her to know. Remember this, Veritas: If people think they have an advantage over you, they'll never even conceive that you have anything over them. Feigning weakness can go a long way in keeping secrets." Teacher grinned quite wide, "You'll never believe how much people are willing to wave in front of your face- so long as they think there's no way for you to see them. I've brought down more than one cocky government official that way. Smugly waving blackmail material in my face, just because it made them feel like that had an edge on me."
Veritas nodded.
Morgan Rothberg was a man of... pride.
Not pride as in 'honor'. Nor in 'dignity', 'integrity', or in even 'confidence'. Pride as in the sin. When Morgan looked at you, no matter who you were- except perhaps Dredd, Bradley, or Palpatine himself -it would be with thinly-veiled disgust. Morgan Rothberg went through life in the firm attitude that everyone else in the Omniverse was not worth his time, and he was sick and tired of overpaying.
It was with this sneering, barely-contained revulsion, that he greeted Teacher and Veritas. The man was wearing quite an intricately painted porcelain mask, not that it mattered to Teacher's enhanced senses, but from his body language alone, one could feel the distaste with what he saw. "I'm glad you had the decency to finally arrive." Morgan said, "You do know who I represent, do you not? We prize efficiency."
"We're early-!" Veritas began, Morgan's attitude pissing him off, when Teacher's outstretched hand quieted him.
"My apologies." Teacher said, "I am aware of your position, Mister Rothberg. And I will endeavor to act quickly. What I offered to your subordinate was a service not dissimilar to that of a weapon's dealer. With a touch, I can bestow something I like to call a 'Quirk' onto anyone, whether Prime or Secondary. This 'Quirk' will be active for thirty minutes exactly." Teacher looked to the armed men and women in fine suits, bearing top-grade Imperial Blasters, and each concealing their face behind a Porcelain mask. "If your guards would allow it, I can offer a demonstration."
"..." Rotherberg was silent for a moment, before snapping his fingers twice. One of the anonymous soldiers stepped forward, a woman, by body shape. She extended a hand forwards.
"I have a selection of Quirks. Two of which are my own, and seven of which belong to my subordinate Veritas. If you would like for me to describe-"
"After I can see what you're actually capable of, and not a moment before. Until she is capable of doing something she couldn't before, as far as I'm concerned you're wasting my time."
"-Very well." Teacher said, his voice dropping what little amusement it had before. He reached out, gripped the woman's arm, and felt the eerie pain of giving a power to someone else, "You can now summon a ball of destructive energy." Teacher informed her. He pulled out a pocket watch, "In exactly twenty-nine minutes and forty-five seconds, you will no longer be able to."
"Can you?" Morgan asked his subordinate.
She lifted an arm, and one of Veritas Dark Magic Blast Balls formed over her finger tips. Morgan's mask remained as concealing as before.
"..." he snapped his fingers three times.
One of the guards left, heading out into another room, closing the door behind them. A few seconds later, Veritas looked up as he heard the sounds of struggling and swearing. Teacher didn't move, simply keeping his head aimed at Morgan. Morgan stared at him right back.
"I WON'T, DON'T MAKE ME, PLEASE!" the mask-wearing guard shoved a thin man, wearing almost nothing, into the room.
The woman threw the ball of dark magic at the man, and he went down, screaming. The explosion of the magic sent the man crashing to the floor, flames spilling off of him and onto the carpet. He struggled for a few more moments, before his movements stilled and the screaming stopped.
Veritas looked away.
Teacher hadn't bothered to look in the first place.
"...What did that do that a landmine couldn't have? Hm?" Morgan asked, "At least with a bomb, you can choose when it goes off. There wouldn't be any kind of half-hour limit involved."
"Bombs can be detected-"
"We know how to hid them. Believe me. Give me something else."
Teacher bit back the response of 'I offered choosing something', and instead merely smiled, "Very well." Teacher began to coil his arm, taking in air, before aiming it at the smoldering corpse of the guard's victim. The air pressure ripped forward, extinguishing the flames and destroying the body further. It was no longer recognizable as human.
"Five second charge, explosive air-pressure blast wave." he said, "or alternatively three super-powered punches that deflect and push everything away from you. A defensive move. I can give you a Quirk that lets you create bone spikes, ones that let you summon guns and swords- ones superior to the weapons you're using now, from nothing, and Quirks that let you create three, floating, mobile versions of the explosive that your woman there used."
"..." Morgan frowned under his mask, and looked to be considering it.
"If you tell me when you might be planning an attack, I could be there, and offer-"
"No. First rule when dealing with the Directors, you never call us. We call you."
"If you told me-"
"When we conduct our... operations. Is a strictly need-to-know information. When we want your services, we'll call you. Now, I want to see more demonstrations. We'll begin discussing price ranges once you increase the limit from a half-hour to three-hours and then-"
Teacher's fists clenched, and he was nearly shivering with rage. Veritas lowered his hand, reaching for a weapon, feeling more than a little insulted himself. If these people weren't going to pay then-
Teacher stood up suddenly, and guns from a half-dozen elite Directors were suddenly aimed at him.
"Thank you for your time, Mister Roth- Morgan. It was pleasant to meet you. Veritas, come on." Teacher turned around, and began to walk towards the door.
"You don't turn your back on me." Morgan Rothberg growled. The guns began to humm as blasts charged, in preparation to fire.
"You don't want to do that, Morgan." Teacher said, not stopping his pace. When he reached the doorway, he pushed it open, two more Directors were on the other side, guns already pointed at him.
"And why the not, you disrespectful son of a-"
Veritas jumped back as something within Teacher seemed to explode. One moment, there was empty space, the next moment, not so.
Teacher grew and grew, his flesh spilling forward in waves, engulfing, and crushing, the two Directors behind the door, forcing them into the wall opposite. Teacher turned his head, the skull nearly the size of a man's chest, and still growing, towards the conference room. Spikes of bone launched themselves from the oozing flesh that was probably Teacher's arm, and began to stretch and reach, crashing into guards, spearing weapons, and pushing them to the walls.
Morgan reached into his chair, and pulled up a blaster pistol, crafted ornately, with ivory, gold, and jewels set into it.
Teacher's other arm, still growing, still stretching and shifting unnaturally, came swinging forward, and fingers the size of legs, and a hand the size of a chair crashed into Morgan. The floor groaned under the new weight, and the massive hand, still slowly growing, formed a fist around Morgan Rothberg and his weapon. The mobster felt his hand loose on the grip of the weapon, and his very expensive gun was lost to the eerily melty body of Teacher.
Veritas looked on in horror, down the hall, as his boss became a monstrous giant, lying on his belly, halfway inside the meeting room and halfway out.
Teacher lifted Morgan into the air.
"...You see, Morgan." Teacher said, his voice, coming from massive lungs, had a deep and reverberating quality, "I came here offering my services as an equal. I am the service provider, you are the customer. I am the teacher, you are the student." he quieted, "There will be a certain level of respect."
Morgan pulled an arm free, but he had no weapon.
"...Isn't power something grand, Morgan?" Teacher whispered, but in his new giant form, even that was perfectly audible.
Morgan snarled, and to his surprise, his arm began to coil, and air began being sucked into it. His snarl turning into a grin, he punched forward.
The giant's hand was ripped from him, the giant's face was knocked back, a bleeding bruise the size of a dinner plate, at its center the imprint of a fist remained.
Morgan looked down at his fist with a moment of awe.
Teacher began to shrink back down, and groaning and dazed guards began to make their noises of complaint, where they lied slumped against the walls. Veritas, slowly, cautiously, walked back into the room, and saw the destruction wreaked by his boss. Veritas eyes lit up. He wanted that power.
Teacher walked forwards, and Morgan raised his fist once more, before punching again. The explosion of air in every direction covered him, and the fist shot out farther than the length of his arm. Teacher dropped to the floor in a quick dodge, before jumping back up. His arm snaked out, stretching, and grabbed Morgan's shoulder, shoving him to the window, only for the third punch to knock the arm free of Morgan's shoulder, and in fact sending it ripping past Teacher, who reeled it back.
The two stood there for a short time, Morgan looking at him with rage, and suspicion.
Teacher raised both hands placatingly. "Mister Rothberg." Teacher said, "Tell me, what is power? Is it money? Reputation? The place they live? Pride?"
The leader of the Board of Directors looked at his fist.
"No. The answer is that true power is exactly that- I overwhelmed all these elites by, surprise, yes, surprise had a factor, but mainly because I am powerful. I am strong. I can turn my back on you, because all you can do is shoot me- and that's not a big deal. You might even kill me, but within a week I'd be right back, wouldn't I?"
Morgan Rothberg began to coil his arm again, "We'll see if you'll turn your back now." he muttered, "No one humiliates me and lives, you peasant."
"It will run out in a half-hour." Teacher said, "...You see? All your money, all your attitude, your-" Teacher pulled out the jewel-encrusted rifle handle, and held it at arms length from him, as if he found it as disgusting as Morgan found everyone, "-gold-plated ego stroking weapons... None of it is real power. The only thing you can use to threaten me? Is something I gave you."
Rothberg let-a-rip, and the explosion of air pressure ripped through the carpet, before focusing into a beam of high-pressured air, streaming though the room to rip into the opposite wall. Teacher was growing bone-spikes, and stretching them into a makeshift shield. "...Why the hell are you looking to us, then? If you don't need money, our money, why come to us in the first place mister 'Real Power'." Morgan said with a sneer.
Teacher shrugged, "You have me there. We do need money. And my personal method of making money, is selling people Quirks. Now. You've seen what I can do. What I allow your subordinates to do. You're seeing what you can do."
"...You insulted me, and you still expect us to do business with you?" Rothberg asked.
"Yes. Because it's that good of a service." Teacher said. "Although I've obviously stepped over my bounds. Allow me to make reparations. Tell me- or rather, when the time comes, alert me when you need my services. I only give one Quirk every ten minutes, but I'll give up to forty Quirks, free-of-charge."
Veritas bristled.
"...This insult is more dire than that."
"Well, that's up to you. It's not sufficient?"
"Eighty."
"Thirty-five."
Rothberg bristled, "Ninety."
Teacher sighed, "Forty-five."
"One hundred."
"...Sixty." Teacher said. "Or I'm walking."
"You walk, my men will hound your homeless disgusting body until you've died more times than you can count. Weekly, like clockwork." Rothberg threatened.
Teacher would have rolled his eyes, if he could, "Sixty, and I'll repair the Imperial Blasters I wrecked."
"...Get out. We'll call you when we need you. If you contact us again, unsolicited, I'll have you and your friend gutted like the Fountain Fish you are."
Veritas glared at the group, but kept his cool. Teacher simply nodded, and the two walked out together. He picked up one of the weapons, and looked at it under the keen eye of his Enhanced Senses. "...Two dozen of these guns, then."
"...You promised me we would be making money." Veritas accused, as the two of them left the meeting behind and boarded the elevators, "Now we're in trouble with the mob."
"One of the mobs, at least." Teacher murmured, "Trust me Veritas. It'll make money. Sixty Quirks- they'll use that up over the course of a week. And I can promise you that individual members will be coming to buy powers for their own purposes, separate from the others. After having a Quirk- you can't go back to being Quirkless, to being powerless. Not in this society, not in any society. It would tear you apart. After tasting power- one can't give it up." Teacher grinned, "Superpowers... they're more addictive than drugs. You'll see. They'll eat out of our hands."
Two months passed in almost the blink of an eye. The Board of Directors had kicked up their activity a bit, more robberies on lower-tiers, stories of a Bomber serial killer wiping out anyone who wandered the night on a few particular streets of Tier Five. The Board of Directors called in their sixty Quirks- and Veritas and Teacher were called all over Coruscant for it.
Sometimes Morgan was there himself, at other times, he sent delegates. Always, always, they were utterly cagey on the why and what of how they would use the Quirks he sold them. Outside Casinos, in parking lots, at storefronts, in secret bunkers. The two of them found themselves getting called randomly. They would never know the time, and never know the place.
Just that they had to be there quick, and they would be providing whatever Quirks they asked for.
Veritas was beginning to chafe under the pressure. The work was- technically, just following Teacher around. Being there, as a source of powers to sell, but the hours, the stress, and the different locations added up to a lot of confusion and missed nights of sleep. Teacher didn't mind, but the man was already quite weird.
Teacher had been right in that individual members would approach them on their own, not as part of the Directors, but because they needed superpowers again. Taylor, the girl from the first night, came almost weekly, always asking for Tri-Fireball. The Auditor guard who had been given the Dark Magic Ball had come by more than once asking for it again. She didn't use it to destroy anything, but the sensation of having magic, of having the opportunity to destroy things at a whim- well, it was for that reason that many of the Directors joined their gang in the first place.
But the big money that the two had been expecting wasn't rolling in. Morgan still had a few free Quirks left- the mob boss hadn't yet paid them a dime, and each individual member, while they paid more than a bit, it wasn't enough to purchase a house with. But Teacher wasn't yet worried.
One of his customers, after all, was a customer for life.
RE: Power Broker - James Knight - 07-16-2017
They'd been at this job for over a month, and to be honest Veritas was annoyed. When he was going to see the pure rainbow color of Omnilium enough so that he could create the place he wanted? Such was not something he knew the answer to, and it irritated the warrior within him. Part of him wanted to go down to where Morgan was and introduce him to the Shark Sabers through the stomach. It would certainly solve one of his problems with the man, and allow him to take care of his personal business that the man had made him have. Not getting paid was one of the most irritating things that one could create as an issue for him.
"You know, they haven't paid yet. And they've almost reached 60 Quirks total, as you call them."
Veritas was also starting to doubt his own usefulness to the Teacher. Sure he followed him around, but anyone, well any Prime could provide the same advantage that Veritas was providing to the Teacher. Thinking about it for a moment, he'd realize that he was next to useless right now. His power level needed to increase if he was to be able to handle most threats. Veritas sighed as he looked over at the teacher, and said to him.
"We should part ways, until I am stronger. I will also need to rest, and recuperate my strength after giving them quirks." He said, thinking about it. With that dealt with, Veritas sighed. The chances that the Power Rangers would be in the Omniverse were getting high with each day and Veritas needed to be ready in case he should have to handle such a problem. As it stood he was not powerful enough should it become a situation where he'd have to involve himself. Rangers had always managed to beat any villain that went up against him. If he were to battle against any of the rangers he would be likely to lose, at least as he was now. What he needed was more power in his arsenal.
Sticking around with the Teacher was going to ensure that he couldn't get the powers that he wanted for his plans. There was another matter of course that he would have to deal with. He'd sigh for a moment, and say.
"For now, we are going to have to part ways. I will have to develop my strength, and power beyond what it is. After all, some enemies from my world will be coming here," He'd sigh. With that he'd make up his choice in the matter. "We will meet again when I am more than powerful enough to hold my own against you. When next we meet, I'll be ready, and have a few tricks, probably ones you won't be able to copy with your Quirk that you have," said Veritas with a frown, as he made his way out of the apartment they were sharing. "I'm sorry if this disappoints you, but I can't assist you right now," He said sadly. With that he exited and made his way to Tier One, leaving the Teacher alone because he had plans of his own that would be executed.
-Exit thread-