07-13-2017, 04:51 PM
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.
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.