Alternative Earth, the Villains United

[gryffydd65]

Ooc: I didn't want to have separate treads so please reply as individuals until you meet.

Each of you have your own room in your own house , mansion etc. As the end of your day approaches and you relax, you see coming around a corner a hologram or ghost depend on your culture or technology background .

The figure is wearing black rimmed glasses a military hair cut and a white lab coat, white shirt, black tie and black slacks.

"I am Dr. Faustus, I have come to offer you, your hearts desire,a world where you will rule, join me. " his speech is understandable to you even if you don't speak English , but with a German accent .

"All I ask is that you sacrifice the most important thing to you . Do this and you will be accepted . "

[dreamking]

Camazotz

Tenochtitlan, 1505

Atop the largest pyramid in the world, there was an altar formerly for the Sky Serpent Quetzelcoatl, a god considered by the Aztec to be rather tame, only requiring one sacrifice a year. Now that altar's stones was stained with the blood of countless Aztecs and Spainiards. Now the batlike-demon Camazotz reared his head from his latest 'sacrifice', his body drenched in blood as he looks towards the spirit that invaded his sacred altar.

"You offer me nothing I cannot take for myself," the Death Bat growls, licking blood from his claws. "The tribes of this land shake in fear at my very name, and now my children sail to the land of that would be conqueror Cortez. This world will be mine for eternity." He waves him away, "Begone, spirit."

[Pagrek]

Praefecti Caelus hated returning home. He was much more comfortable in the officer's barracks, but he could not defy the summons of the Iustus family patriarch. So he came as bidden, slinking in, the runty wolf returning to the den to snatch at what morsels of glory he could.

His face remained impassive through a great feat of willpower as the family servants ushered him through his family's manor. He was bade to wait until the more prominent members of his family entered until he himself was allowed entrance to the triclinium. He saw the sneers and whispers passed among his cousins and extended family as they mocked him for showing up in his full armor. He let them talk, he was proud of what the armor represented and besides he might well need its protection should a challenge be issued.

After the meal had run its course and the guests fell to chatter his father rose to address the gathered crowd.

"My family," began his father, "I congratulate us all on another year of glorious service to Rome. A century ago, when the barbarian Zhuge Liang and Khoscei the Deathless tried to remake the world, Romans were skeptical of the empowered humans that emerged from the populous. They feared us as agents of the enemy emerging from their own ranks. We of the Iustus family were the first to bind ourselves to the state, to use our gifts in service of the Senate and the People of Rome."

With this his father lifted off the ground as lightning crackled around him.

"We dedicated ourselves to Rome! With our newfound strength we pushed forth the borders into barbarous lands! With our power we proved our allegiance to Rome!" Cheers rang out from the crowd at this pronouncement. "And for our service to glorious Rome the gods rewarded our fidelity! Our gifts have run true throughout most of our family! Our descendants bear the strength of our ancestors in service of Rome!"

Caelus shifted. He served Rome as well as he was able. It was not his fault the gods had decided that he would walk Terra as an average man. Glancing around the triclinium he noticed looks being thrown his way. Wonderful he thought I will be forced to fight to prove myself as heir to this family again this night.

"Now our family shall be rewarded justly for our long fidelity!" Continued his father, "We shall be raised to the patrician class! From our family Senators shall be selected!"

Caelus blinked. That was astounding news, though as heir he should have had at least some forewarning of this news.

Cheers and applause slowly died down as the family hung off every word his father spoke.

"We shall be the first powered to accept such office!"

Wait Caelus thought

"Our family will need to rise to new heights to excel above all others in our new position!"

That sounds

"As such we will need to expel that which will drag us down in our ascent!"

What!? No!

"Any among us who have reached adulthood without demonstrating a power shall be relegated to branch family status, outsiders allowed by our grace to sacrifice themselves to aid our rise!"

"Father! NO! You can't do this!" Caelus roared as he leapt to his feet.

"Even my own son, my heir shall not be exception to this!"

"YOU CAN'T TAKE THIS FROM ME!"

[Pagrek]

Caelus dragged himself back toward his family's manor. After his eruption at dinner he had been restrained and removed from the triclinium. He had stormed out to wander along the Tiber and consider his options, but the night grew into morning and he had to accept that for now he had no options left to him. So he set his feet on the path back on the path to his family, hoping for what he did not know.

As he wound his way up the path on the estate grounds a hologram of a man stepped out from behind an olive tree.

"I am Dr. Faustus, I have come to offer you, your hearts desire,a world where you will rule, join me. " Spoke the hologram, a man wearing strange foreign clothes covered by a white coat of some kind. His speech was reminiscent of the Latin spoken by the descendants of the Germanic tribes that had been conquered so long ago. "All I ask is that you sacrifice the most important thing to you . Do this and you will be accepted."

Caelus paused for a long, heavy moment. Then a laugh came from him, unbidden.

"The events of the night have undone me. I have grown mad." He murmured. Life returned to his eyes as a nervous energy danced through his body. In his mind he could hear a phantom clatter as the dice that the Fates used to decide a man's destiny rolled unceasingly.

"Fine." He grasped a badge decorating his armor. It read SPQR and had a wolf's head above the lettering. "Throughout my life I held faith in two things, my family and Rome herself. My family has cast me aside, so it would be meaningless to sacrifice them. But," with this he clenched his fist, crumpling the badge, "for what you offer I will sacrifice my service to Rome. A lifetime of work and effort, faith and fidelity. I am no longer content to be a soldier in service to a greater power. I crown myself emperor, as did Caeser, and I shall not fall but rather leave a legacy others shall destroy themselves trying to imitate."

Somewhere Fate's dice turned up Snake Eyes. The relentless party of the Iustus family involved impressive displays of power. A bolt of lightning released by Caelus' father arced into a gladius displayed on the wall. The lightning coursed through the metal, into the brackets set into the wall, and from there to a forgotten device planted almost a century ago when the loyalty of the Iustus family was in question amongst those in power. The lightning activated the device which in turn relayed a signal to the explosives seeded throughout the building, a hidden trump in case the powered turned against Rome.

With a flash of light and a fury of sound the manor came down around its occupants, killing most. Caelus saw this past the hologram of the man and the twisted smile upon his face would have given the Furies themselves pause.

[optimumsquare]

Hiro Monoto

Hiro regarded the hologram dispassionately for a moment, then turned to his custom Zero. The massive combat suit stood unattended in the vehicle hangar. Indeed, other than the hologram, Hiro was the only one in the hanagr. There was no need to keep the combat mechs maintained anymore. Japan had conquered America, and then Russia and East Asia, then Australia, then Latin America, until the only thing left to fight had been their German allies. Then, rather than fight them as the children of the samurai should, The Empire of the Rising Sun, decided that it had enough war, and agreed to split the world as it was. Japan would have the America's the Pacific Islands, and eastern Asia, while Germany would have Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. It was a neat and tidy package, with mighty warriors sharing over the justly earned spoils of war. Hiro hated it. He had dedicated his life to his empire; fought countless battles and brought honor to the Monoto name and to Japan. Now there was nothing left to fight. No more honor to be gained. His Zero stared back at him, as if waiting for its pilots decision.
"Dr. Faustus was it? I will leave the service of my country, something I have given all that I am to. In exchange, you will give me many battles to fight." A true warrior does not serve in peacetime.

[gryffydd65]

Camazotz

Tenochtitlan, 1505

Atop the largest pyramid in the world, there was an altar formerly for the Sky Serpent Quetzelcoatl, a god considered by the Aztec to be rather tame, only requiring one sacrifice a year. Now that altar's stones was stained with the blood of countless Aztecs and Spainiards. Now the batlike-demon Camazotz reared his head from his latest 'sacrifice', his body drenched in blood as he looks towards the spirit that invaded his sacred altar.

"You offer me nothing I cannot take for myself," the Death Bat growls, licking blood from his claws. "The tribes of this land shake in fear at my very name, and now my children sail to the land of that would be conqueror Cortez. This world will be mine for eternity." He waves him away, "Begone, spirit."

"I offer you a new world where you are but a whisper upon the wind, but you can be a hurricane , like the hurricane that has claimed your fleet. Even now the Spanish have allied with the Chinese and make plans to strike the head off the serpent . I give you one day to decide , I will come again . " Dr. Faustus says as he fades away .

[gryffydd65]

Caelus dragged himself back toward his family's manor. After his eruption at dinner he had been restrained and removed from the triclinium. He had stormed out to wander along the Tiber and consider his options, but the night grew into morning and he had to accept that for now he had no options left to him. So he set his feet on the path back on the path to his family, hoping for what he did not know.

As he wound his way up the path on the estate grounds a hologram of a man stepped out from behind an olive tree.

"I am Dr. Faustus, I have come to offer you, your hearts desire,a world where you will rule, join me. " Spoke the hologram, a man wearing strange foreign clothes covered by a white coat of some kind. His speech was reminiscent of the Latin spoken by the descendants of the Germanic tribes that had been conquered so long ago. "All I ask is that you sacrifice the most important thing to you . Do this and you will be accepted."

Caelus paused for a long, heavy moment. Then a laugh came from him, unbidden.

"The events of the night have undone me. I have grown mad." He murmured. Life returned to his eyes as a nervous energy danced through his body. In his mind he could hear a phantom clatter as the dice that the Fates used to decide a man's destiny rolled unceasingly.

"Fine." He grasped a badge decorating his armor. It read SPQR and had a wolf's head above the lettering. "Throughout my life I held faith in two things, my family and Rome herself. My family has cast me aside, so it would be meaningless to sacrifice them. But," with this he clenched his fist, crumpling the badge, "for what you offer I will sacrifice my service to Rome. A lifetime of work and effort, faith and fidelity. I am no longer content to be a soldier in service to a greater power. I crown myself emperor, as did Caeser, and I shall not fall but rather leave a legacy others shall destroy themselves trying to imitate."

Somewhere Fate's dice turned up Snake Eyes. The relentless party of the Iustus family involved impressive displays of power. A bolt of lightning released by Caelus' father arced into a gladius displayed on the wall. The lightning coursed through the metal, into the brackets set into the wall, and from there to a forgotten device planted almost a century ago when the loyalty of the Iustus family was in question amongst those in power. The lightning activated the device which in turn relayed a signal to the explosives seeded throughout the building, a hidden trump in case the powered turned against Rome.

With a flash of light and a fury of sound the manor came down around its occupants, killing most. Caelus saw this past the hologram of the man and the twisted smile upon his face would have given the Furies themselves pause.
"You have given all, and for that the world will be yours , allies will come , it will be your decision to accept those worthy . " Dr. Faustus explained , "Now turn this next corner and walk into the light "

[gryffydd65]

Hiro Monoto

Hiro regarded the hologram dispassionately for a moment, then turned to his custom Zero. The massive combat suit stood unattended in the vehicle hangar. Indeed, other than the hologram, Hiro was the only one in the hanagr. There was no need to keep the combat mechs maintained anymore. Japan had conquered America, and then Russia and East Asia, then Australia, then Latin America, until the only thing left to fight had been their German allies. Then, rather than fight them as the children of the samurai should, The Empire of the Rising Sun, decided that it had enough war, and agreed to split the world as it was. Japan would have the America's the Pacific Islands, and eastern Asia, while Germany would have Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. It was a neat and tidy package, with mighty warriors sharing over the justly earned spoils of war. Hiro hated it. He had dedicated his life to his empire; fought countless battles and brought honor to the Monoto name and to Japan. Now there was nothing left to fight. No more honor to be gained. His Zero stared back at him, as if waiting for its pilots decision.
"Dr. Faustus was it? I will leave the service of my country, something I have given all that I am to. In exchange, you will give me many battles to fight." A true warrior does not serve in peacetime. " You have indeed given up all, the world is yours for the taking , but you will need allies, it will be up to you to accept them. Come turn the corner and enter in to the light . " Dr. Faustus explains .

[optimumsquare]

Hiro follows the doctor through the strange light, pausing only to look back at his beloved war machine. "I trust you'll take care of my zero," he says to the doctor as he enters the apparition.

[Pagrek]

Caelus strode forward and, with one last look back at his beloved Rome, walked forth into Terra Incognita

[optimumsquare]

What do we see GM?

[gryffydd65]

The huge room is dimly lit, with the flicker of florescent lights hanging over head. Most of the lights burned out or humming. In the center of the room is a mix of gears and cogs,mixed with electronic components and computer screens.

Standing next to it, is Dr. Faustus . "So there you are, please make your self at home, I am in the process of making it possible for you all to communicate with each other . "

As your eyes adjust you see the others and a small table with fruit and a large bottle of wine . Four chairs on each side . The other side of the contraption has two more door ways, the floor is concrete and the walls cinder blocks. The windows are boarded from the outside with the sun just starting to shine through the cracks.

"Ah, there we go, now you should be able to understand each other as well."

[optimumsquare]

After examining the surroundings, Hiro takes a seat at the table. He wears the tan military uniform of Imperial Japan, with the rank of captain displayed on his breast and shoulder and pistol slung at his hip. "You have interesting equipment Dr. Faustus. It almost looks like something from a past era, until one examines what it can do. Tell me, where are we? What is this place?"

[Pagrek]

As the strange Dr. Faustus tinkers with his machine Caelus strides towards the small table and pours himself a glass of wine. He eyed the chairs skeptically and, considering the weight of his armor, decided against testing them. Another person was present, he seemed to be Chinese. Caelus had encountered some of his people in skirmishes along the Russian border. He would need to watch the other man for any spellcasting. Magic worked far differently from Roman science and, while an inferior discipline, had many subtle effects that could manipulate an unwary victim.

"Ah, there we go, now you should be able to understand each other as well."

The doctor seemed to have finished what he was doing as Caelus was inspecting the room.

"You have interesting equipment Dr. Faustus. It almost looks like something from a past era, until one examines what it can do. Tell me, where are we? What is this place?" Spoke the Chinese man, who wore a military uniform Caelus was unfamiliar with. He spoke in perfect Latin with a slight accent, but as Caelus watched him speak his mouth did not move to match the words that Caelus heard.

"Yes. Tell me of this world you have promised. I assume that simply sacrificing that which was dearest to me was but the fee to come here, people do not offer rule of worlds they already control. It seems I must conquer it and instruct its people in the ways of Rome. Tell me of what I face."

[gryffydd65]

After examining the surroundings, Hiro takes a seat at the table. He wears the tan military uniform of Imperial Japan, with the rank of captain displayed on his breast and shoulder and pistol slung at his hip. "You have interesting equipment Dr. Faustus. It almost looks like something from a past era, until one examines what it can do. Tell me, where are we? What is this place?"

"We are in Washington DC , in the United States . 903 Franklin street . I realize most of you come from world's where this country, this capital did not exist . But I assure you that you will be fine."

[gryffydd65]

As the strange Dr. Faustus tinkers with his machine Caelus strides towards the small table and pours himself a glass of wine. He eyed the chairs skeptically and, considering the weight of his armor, decided against testing them. Another person was present, he seemed to be Chinese. Caelus had encountered some of his people in skirmishes along the Russian border. He would need to watch the other man for any spellcasting. Magic worked far differently from Roman science and, while an inferior discipline, had many subtle effects that could manipulate an unwary victim.

"Ah, there we go, now you should be able to understand each other as well."

The doctor seemed to have finished what he was doing as Caelus was inspecting the room.

"You have interesting equipment Dr. Faustus. It almost looks like something from a past era, until one examines what it can do. Tell me, where are we? What is this place?" Spoke the Chinese man, who wore a military uniform Caelus was unfamiliar with. He spoke in perfect Latin with a slight accent, but as Caelus watched him speak his mouth did not move to match the words that Caelus heard.

"Yes. Tell me of this world you have promised. I assume that simply sacrificing that which was dearest to me was but the fee to come here, people do not offer rule of worlds they already control. It seems I must conquer it and instruct its people in the ways of Rome. Tell me of what I face."
"This world has known great wars, but peace has prevailed, most wars are local and not global, man has come to rely on terror to fight against authorities , religion divides as well as other ideologies . Science is common , magic is not, but you all bring the one thing that this world has not seen and that is power, which will draw others to you like a moth to flames."

[optimumsquare]

"We are in Washington DC , in the United States . 903 Franklin street . I realize most of you come from world's where this country, this capital did not exist . But I assure you that you will be fine."

Hiro smiled to himself as he remembered the last time he had been to DC. The American Army had been all but defeated. Still, they were determined to make their stand here, at their capitol. They had died well. Returning to the present he said, "Do not leave us in suspense. Tell us."

[Pagrek]

"Very well." Replied Caelus. He turned to the other man in the room. "And who are you? Faustus mentioned allies, but I do not know you. What do you bring to the table, and why should I trust you at my back?"

[optimumsquare]

Hiro laughed. It was refreshing to walk into a room where no one knew him. "I am Hiro Minoto, the Hero of Iwo Jima and breaker of the siege of San Francisco. I have never fought an enemy I haven't killed. A thousand battles I have thought across this globe. I say without vanity that I am the best mech pilot on earth. I know because I killed any one who even approached my skill level. In my world, the eternal Japanese Empire conquered every foe we faced, and I was always in the vanguard. I am the greatest warrior of my time." Hiro placed his sword on the table. It was more of a mark of office, a symbol of recognition for his past deeds, than it was a weapon, but it would serve in a pinch. "And whom do I have the honor of addressing?"

[Pagrek]

"I am Caelus Furius Iustus, until recently a Roman Praefecti." Caelus did not know any of the names the newcomer spouted. Extrapolating from his appearance, he might have come from the far side of China, from a region unimportant enough not to be mentioned in the Legion's briefings, or perhaps his world did not mirror Caelus' at all. Either way it seemed he was not a sorcerer which was good enough for Caelus. Magic was a shifty thing, unreliable in the heat of combat.

"I have served 5 years with the Roman Legions, excelling in my service. I do not know of the Japanese Empire, it must be a detail not present in my world. Where I come from Rome was the most powerful nation in the known world. We had conquered Europe, taken what was worth holding in Africa, and had advanced towards Asia before the magic of our enemies made advancing further not worth the trouble. It is good to have a warrior along, I mean to rule and carve out a civilized nation from the barbarians of this new world. Fight at my side and I will treat you as a brother, betray me and know only despair."

[optimumsquare]

Hiro strokes his chin thoughtfully. "I of course know the Romans. You were mighty warriors. Until my people conquered the globe, you were considered the greatest conquerors of history. A legacy that lasted for over 1500 years. Quite an impressive feet given the technology you were working with. You have my respect. To be a leader of such an august host, you are surely a mighty warrior." He gives it one last moment of consideration before standing and bowing before his newfound comrade. "I will aid you in your mission of conquest. I only have one demand." Rising to his full height he looks Caelus dead in the eye. "I will always fight in your greatest battle. Where ever you find a worthy foe, I will be there. It will be my blade that cuts them down." He turns to the doctor. "My conditions apply to all my allies." It was as much a question as a statement.