Topic: Tempered

The Flash

Date: 2007-01-16 15:51 EST
It was night, a few hours after the sun had gone down. The noises filtering out of the alley near the marketplace were unusual for that time and place, though they were of the sort one might find in many places throughout Rhy'Din. A scuffle, impacts of a blunt object against flesh and bone. Cries for help in a foreign tongue, Slavic tones. More shouting, before the beating grew more savage.

The Crimson Flash rarely found much to do in the vicinity of the market. To be sure, there were occasional muggings, but usually the worst crimes were petty shoplifters and pickpockets, most of whom had the decency to only prey on those whose means would allow for the loss. The scarlet speedster preferred to worry about the more violent criminals, of which Rhy'Din had no shortage. He was passing through when he heard the cries from the alley and ran in to investigate.

When he saw the attack, two men attacking the old man, he scowled, marring the line of his mask. "You two should let him go." He didn't particularly expect his words to have much effect, so he shot into the alley, reaching for the nearer of the assailants, who turned to curse at him in their own language..

It was then that the old man struck out, a sweeping kick that sent the two men, screaming, to the cobbles. He swept off his cloak, tossed it aside, and scowled at the Crimson Flash. "Weak."

"What...?" When the old man knocked the muggers aside like so many bowling pins, Crim skidded to a halt, dark eyes shooting wide as the cloak was thrown aside. His scowl deepened, visible as it further distorted the fabric of his mask. "You."

"Me." The man sneered. "The wretched old man who is the apparent bane of the scarlet speedster...the one villain he cannot beat. What say you to that?" He was walking, slowly, circling around the crimson comet. "Why, if I were to do something...drastic...you would be entirely unable to stop me."

The speedster turned, slow, to match the pace of the other man. He did not answer the question, but narrowed dark eyes, frowning. "What do you want?" Direct and to the point. He shuffled his feet, stance altering a touch as he shuffles his feet, continuing to turn.

The old man turned away, for a moment, before lunging, one fist rising. "To make you fight" Crim raised his hands, moving with intent to deflect the blow, as he leaned back and away. "Why?"

((The old man in this story is Abram.))

The Flash

Date: 2007-01-16 16:09 EST
The old man, however, anticipated the block and the sidestep, as he had when last they had met. An adjustment was made, and the blow landed, hard, in the speedster's ribs. "Because you have not yet learned! You think like a man, fight like a man! How can you expect to be called a superhero when the only thing about you that's superhuman, is the one that came to you by accident?"

The speedster grunted at the impact, body folding around the point of impact as his right hand moved to press over those ribs, briefly, while he stepped back. "Don't care what I'm called." He shifted on the balls of his feet, fingers curling into fists. "What did I ever do to you?"

"You failed." The old man bent down, to snatch one of the men he had felled, who had been trying to regain his footing, while the other scrambled away. "Just like you're going to fail to save this man, right now." He started squeezing the man's throat, then. "Just like you're going to fail to save a lot of people, if you can't be any stronger." The man scrambled at the hand around his throat as he was lifted into the air.

"Let him go!" When the speedster ran forward, preparing to strike at the old man's arm, he was met with the back of the fallen mugger's head, thrust forward by the old man. While Crim stumbled back, the old man twisted his hand, crushing the wind pipe of the young man in his grasp, then dropped him to the ground.

The old man's lips curled, into something between a smile and a sneer. Disgust for the speedster's failure was written across his face. "...what if the Graf had not been the one to kidnap Miss Lyndria, but me instead?" He scowled, practically spitting the words at the speedster. "She would be dead, is what! You would have failed her..." He chuckled, a cold and humorless sound. "And if I went after that pretty one...your...lover, maybe? Would she, too, not die...just like this poor wretch?" He gestured to the body of the young mugger, then shook his head as he turned away. "You do not need to answer that. I already know the answer...that you are no hero. That you could not save her, or anyone else, if you really needed to fight."

The Flash

Date: 2007-01-17 12:05 EST
Meanwhile, the scarlet speedster had raised his hand to his broken nose, shook his head sharply. Once the stars had faded, he peered down at the dead man, dark eyes growing hard. He didn't even hear most of what the old man had said, but he did pick up a bit of the end. His eyes narrowed to slits as he looked back to the old man. Something like a growl escaped his throat, frustration and anger building on one another. When he charged the old man, he didn't have nearly enough room to reach the speed of sound, but he was able to build up a fair amount of momentum before leaping, a diving tackle from a yard distant.

The old man tried to see what was coming, to use his gifts. He expected a measured punch, perhaps a kick, but the speedster's anger clouded his view of the man's thoughts, and his eyes flashed wide when the speeding body collided with him. He crashed into the wall, losing his footing. "Nnnngh...still weak..." He rose to his feet, scowling. "Still can't save them..."

The speedster pushed back off of the man, one hand rising to his mask. A tug is made, pulling the fabric enough to reveal his mouth. Blood, having drained from his nose, is spit onto the cobbles. His scowl was visible for that moment, and when he spoke again, his voice had a nasally tone. . "Who? What the hell are you talking about? " More blood was spat aside, before he pulled his mask back down, to cover the rest of his face.

The Flash

Date: 2007-01-17 12:06 EST
"Anyone. Everyone. Can't you get it through your thick skull why you hit me then? But I always hit you every other time? Or are you that dense?" His arm came back, and he lunged forward swinging. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Everyone?" Crim took a step back, brow knitting under his mask at the other man's words. "What are you--?" He reeled back as the old man lunged, arms snapping up to block the blow, though he missed the following punch, landing to his gut.

"You really just don't get it, do you? I'm psychic. I can read minds. I can see your next move...usually. And that's why I always win." He folded his arms over his chest. "Because you keep too cool and clear a head, Flash. If you're as dispassionate about all of this as you are about the rest of your life...then what is truly superhuman about you?"

The speedster coughed, air knocked out of him at the strike below his sternum. He took several steps back, one fist hanging between his knees as he slouched, the other hand on his stomach as he glowered at the old man. "What...why tell me that? What, are you some sort of goddamn shrink? What do you want from me?"

"What do I have to do to get you to beat me? And be as strong as the world needs you to be?" He shook his head, rolling up his sleeves. "Maybe I need to walk up the street and just kill her." He walked past the speedster, glowering. "Maybe that's just what I'll do, right now."

The Flash

Date: 2007-01-18 18:42 EST
"Wha--? No!" Not quite as angry as before, as he was sparing some of his attention to trying to determine just what the man was going on about. Anger was there, however, along with desperation in his steps. Boots crunched on cobbles, as he charged forward, one shoulder lowered and aimed for the old man's lower back.

The anger was enough, however, to prevent the old man from seeing what was coming, for a moment. When he tried to whirl around, the scarlet speedster's shoulder drove into his side, knocking him into a stagger. When he swung at the speedster, it was a normal punch. No anticipation of counters in it. "You can't stop me!"

The speedster's shoulder rocked back at the blow, and he let his other arm swing forward, momentum from the strike helping drive it forward into the old man's chin. While the impact knocks the man from his feet, Crim stepped back, crouching low, dark eyes narrowed. His hand moved back to his side, where that early blow may have cracked ribs.

When he was knocked back, the old man fell, landing hard on his back. Eyes remained closed for a moment, before he let them open, half way. "There's something inside of you, boy. Use it more. It's a curse...but so is my gift, my ability. Take advantage of it...and you can save them." Slowly, he moved to stand, a groan escaping as he rose to his feet.

Meanwhile, the speedster was taking deep breaths, his mask moving with his scowl. The hand at his ribs moved away once more, as he watched the man. Dark eyes followed as he lay on the dirty cobbles, rose slowly to his feet. "Getting tired of riddles, old man." There was the unmistakable quality of clenched teeth in his voice, as he crouched further, gloved fingers reaching down to pull up a rock, of the softer sort used to pave the roads. He then took a series of steps back.

"Going to throw a rock at me?" Smirking, the old man probed the speedster's mind, seeing if he could get the man to work without it. And then he came barreling toward the man in red yet again.

As plans go, throwing the rock directly at the old man would have been rather obvious. As he took a step back, the Crimson Flash drew back his arm and frowned. I should have known better, he thought, as the man came at him. But, he realized, he could use the old man's momentum against him. Even if he knew what was coming... "No." He spoke softly, as he hurled the rock forward. Over even that short a distance, he was able to push himself, and that rock (along with the hand around it) produces a sharp crack as it broke the sound barrier, just before he released it toward the ground between himself and the other man. When the rock met the cobbles, it shattered, stony chips continuing forward.

The Flash

Date: 2007-01-18 18:43 EST
"Augh!" When those stony chips tore into the old man's legs, he was already trying to twist away, but even knowing what the speedster had planned, he had not had enough time to react to it, and could do little to get out of the way. He lost his footing and fell short of the Flash, skidding forward a bit over the cobbles. Legs bleeding, stars before his eyes, he grabbed at the cobbles and pushed his chest from the pavement. Head still downcast, he breathed and spoke to the speedster. "Then you understand. Then I can't beat you anymore." He slowly moved to his feet, gasping as he pulled a rocky shard from his shin.

The speedster tugged at his mask while the old man struggled, to free his mouth. A gasping breath was taken, unencumbered by the fabric, as he stepped forward. Dark eyes bore down. "How about we stop now, and you start making something related to sense?" He scowled, bloody lips twisting.

"Quick anger. Instinct." He leaned a hand against the wall, staring at the Flash, still breathing very hard. "Two very big parts of your curse...you know what I'm talking about. The only one you have." He paused, to wipe blood from his split lip. "There will come a day very soon, that you will have to stop a psychic from doing terrible things... more terrible than anything that I... have done here." He wiped at his lip once more, sniffling some blood. "Without what I've taught you...without you learning to use your anger and your instincts...you would have failed. Trust me."

The speedster took another breath, shaking his head before pulling his mask back down over his entire face once more. "So, you're predicting the future, are you?" He closed the distance between them, peering down to watch as the man wiped away the blood. "Wait." He blinked, brows knotting. "Would have failed?" Dark eyes narrowed. "Can you give me any reason why I should trust you, old man?"

"I can only really see a few moments ahead, what people plan to do... but where I come from gives me... some perspective. You failed... but now, you may succeed instead." The old man turned his back on the hero, limping out of the alley, eyes cast down as he became certain that he'd sealed his own fate. One last look was cast over his shoulder. "There are other trials coming... a distant shadow from your past returning... but these things I learned from the other psychics in this city. Listen to them. They have a lot to say."

The speedster frowned, as he watched the old man go. "Trials? Shadows? More riddles." But he nodded, full expression hidden behind that mask. "Of course they have things to say. All psychics seem to." A touch of wryness had entered his tone, then, as he gingerly touched his nose, let his gaze drop to the ground. He glanced up and sighed as the old man passed out of view, then shook his head. Groaning, he placed his hand back at his side and turned to leave the alley himself.

((The events of this post took place on Thursday, January 4. Special thanks are due to the player behind "the old man." Narration is adapted from play by me, but most of the dialogue is copied verbatim. One or two lines were changed, for story purposes.))