Greater or Lesser of Evils (Slade and Eliphas)

[slade]

Slade gazed out at his new home from his perch atop a skyscraper. New York City, so different from That Damnable City. The city which had sucked dry so many, which had ruined so many lives, which had turned good men and women to dust and ground it beneath it's putrid heels. The Titans. They didn't get the favor he was trying to do the world, to do them... by taking that city out of the equation, about how better the world would be without it. Sure people would die but it was the lesser of many evils... and this city felt so different, sure it was dark, sure evil was here like any city but compared to That city it was a breath of fresh air.... as long as you didn't breath in too long.

Slade gazed out and saw the building cutting into the sky, the smog raising from the land below, from his perch he saw the glory and the sin, the wonder and the hate. It was a perfect representative of humanity as a whole. Humanity which destroyed everything it built, who killed what they raised, who shouted at what they did not understand. He loved humanity despite how little he was sure he was still a member of them. Coming back from Hell he could feel how different he was, how little was left of the being that had been torn apart by That City. He smiled under the helm... a demon decieved and beaten, a city that he wanted destroyed saved by his own actions... it was a funny old world to be sure.

He was still plotting out his next step, sure That City was still on the menu but with the loss of so many of his resources he had to gather them anew. Eliza was an excellent apprentice but he still planned to bring Terra back to the fold, and if he could Robin... that would take much planning. He was resistant to the gifts Slade had tried to give him. The freedom he tried to give him. Slade shrugged he had all the time in the world to figure that one out and he was certain when all was said and done Robin would thank him for what he had done... alot of people would.

[kharn]

"WHY AREN'T WE KILLING YET?! WHERE IS THE BLOOD I WAS PROMISED?!"

The relentless barbarity of the Khornate Berzerkers was a wonder to Eliphas the Inheritor. It seemed as though they were always in a state of utter agony when they weren't sinking their blades into someone's flesh. While they were warped as such long ago, it took a certain person to even be considered to be a Khorne Berzerker. What sort of men where they before the grace of the dark gods transformed them into their avatars? Before their minds descended and their souls ascended, who were the World Eaters? Eliphas knew he would never truly discover the answer...though it was a passing curiosity of his, nonetheless.

"You will take what we give you Berzerker. The Blood God will have his fill soon enough. Now onward, before I tan your mongrel hide."

His words did not betray the respect Eliphas held for these warriors, yet they were the only things he could say to motivate the vicious giants. Violence was their language, aggressiveness their culture. Eliphas could only honor as such, at least he thought as much.

To an extent, the Inheritor understood the particularly anxious behavior of the Berzerkers. Most of it was obviously the lack of things to kill, but they also were using weapons that they were altogether unfamiliar with-- Warriors of Khorne seldom wielded the Flamers they used to burn down the lush canopy surrounding them. Using most anything that wasn't a chain-axe for too long would grind on their almost-nonexistent nerves as time went on. Still, it needed to be done. The Colombian jungles needed to be cleared, at least until the forces of Chaos could carve a path to the capital. With the Nations of Peru and Ecuador under their mighty heel, Chaos needed to move forward.

'Hm...Regardless, I should have brought the cultists to preform this task. It would be risky to have them unsupervised near the population centers, but it would have been preferable to having them rush into enemy territory and reveal the advancing armies...'

Eliphas closed his eyes behind his helmet. A terrible headache had recently befallen him, making full concentration and evaluation of his tasks more monotonous then before. Normally, the idea of a headache effecting a Chaos Lord would be ridiculous, a foolhardy notion in the ranks of the Black Legion. But as a psyker, Eliphas would often receive these prior to the Horus Heresy whenever a warp creature appeared. Now that he gave himself to the warp, he no longer felt them-- or so he thought. The moment seemed to beg to differ.

As his eyes shut, he saw a figure for a moment-- a man with a mask atop a high building, overlooking a spiraling 21st century city. His soul reeked of the warp, as though he had inhabited it...the same feeling those possesed by Enslavers gave. Hideous creatures of the warp, alien to the domains of Chaos...and one here?! At the far reaches of the Earth, an Enslaver?! Impossible!

Eliphas sat for a moment, his armor clanking aganist the floor of the Land Speeder he mounted. He attempted to zone in onto this man's presence, to find his location. Northeast of North America, near the East Coast...the place known as 'New York City'. He stood, contemplating something, unaware that Eliphas's eye stared at him. He must learn more.

He decided to contact him.

The Inheritor lent his energy to this task, sending his thoughts into the very soul of the man in orange and black, the warp-scarred soul. He whispered into his mind, likely catching the unfortunate soul off his guard- if he ever lowered it. The being carried himself as a man who rarely did.

"My...what an imposing mask you wear. Might I ask what it conceals?"

His words flew across the materiumn, waiting for a response, a thought, a word for the lord of chaos to hear.

[slade]

Slade blinked for a moment. It didn't take him long to reach the obvious conclusion, telepathic communication. It wasn't the first time he had done that song and dance before and it wouldn't be the last. The communication felt familiar.. that greasy feel of a brain simular to Trigon's mental command but much much weaker. While Trigon only gave commands this felt almost... polite as if the sender would prefer to be talking in person over a nice relaxing cup of coffee then the unsubtle manner of telepathic communication. As was his way Slade's mind quickly raced through possible matched ups for this level of communication and a matching of the feeling. The answers with the players he knew were in the game were more then a little disturbing but he supposed they were also more then a little possible. He concentrated and did his best to return the call. He spoke out loud figuring it would concentrate his thoughts better.

"Well you are more then free to ask as I am more then free to inform you that it is my business alone what is underneath as I am sure you understand. A man does not wear a mask to show what is underneath but a man can wear a mask to show what is underneath it all."

This was based on observations of Slade's... of how freeing the mask could be and the real reason so many heroes wore them. Not to conceal their identity but to reveal what was under their faces, to set their other self free. Like how mascots felt less embarrassed under a foam costume a mask could reveal more then it concealed at times. He considered this as he spoke and sent another message as best he could. Standing he clasped his hands behind his back as he spoke.

"Hmmm this method of communication, the timing... would you perhaps be one of those making all that noise south of the border? I do believe some of the capes want you to turn that music down and stop making all that racket. They do so love their beauty sleep."

[kharn]

Eliphas was intrigued. The man showed little surprise at his sudden communication...yes, this was a man who had been to the warp. Not the realm of chaos, most likely, but one of the lesser areas, one likely crushed beneath the heel of the Daemon's might soul forge further into the history of the galaxy...yet still, for a man to escape such a place is no small feat. And still be able to deliver casual semantics afterwards? What an interesting fellow indeed.

"Ah, my apologies. I hope I haven't disturbed many friends of yours. You may call me Eliphas. And you?"

He chuckled to himself, unaware and uncaring if it reached Slade. A man, and young one at that--at least in comparison to Eliphas. If he was swallowed by the warp, it couldn't of happened to long ago...he wondered how recently he had escaped. Perhaps the taint of the warp would manifest itself in this strange individual and tear him apart from the inside someday. He'd need to probe further later...but for now, Eliphas figured they should get 'pleasantries' out of the way first.

[slade]

"Oh I am not bothered to much by their displeasure. I figure it does them some good, something to keep their minds off all the problems of the day, you know like what kind of coffee they want to get or wondering if they remembered to press their underwear before they wore it outside their pants."

Despite his blase tone Slade's mind was racing as he went through what he knew about the forces communicating with him. He knew part of this feeling definitely felt quite a bit like Trigon but... different. Like the difference between milk and dark chocolate, subtle but definite. There was so much he did not know about these forces, he knew that some of them seemed to have a form of powered armor, their weapons were unfamiliar as a whole and they seemed to be bringing with them forces of darkness well beyond the control of most. They were dangerous but then again... so were many of the forces out there... between the man behind the zombies, this Liquid Snake gathering his forces, and this... creature talking to him now Slade and his forces were rather outnumbered... but he had ways of dealing with that.

"As for my name they call me Slade. I run a... school of sorts for those with unusual powers and the right mind set. It isn't good for them to be out on their own. People get the wrong idea and then there is yelling and screaming and immaturites involving pitchforks and torches. It's sad really wouldn't you agree?"

[kharn]

Slade's attempts at small talk were doomed to fail with Eliphas. He knew not what 'coffee' was, and his 'joke' about undergarments fell soundly on deaf ears. But it showed Eliphas that Slade thought he was dealing with someone a bit more...relate able then he thought. And that left him at a disadvantage. Slade would likely try to pry information of Eliphas as they talked -- an exercise in futility, now that Eliphas had a read on Slade. He would turn this around see what he kn-

Whats this?...Talk of a 'school' for 'gifted'...Psykers?! No...no...perhaps not Psykers...I can't sense them...but it remains. He is the only man on this planet that I have so far been able to sense with the taint of the Warp. Could this Slade...be the Emperor? It seems unlikely...no, he most certainly is not. But he is still a potential threat...I must probe further myself, if I am to fully appreciate the picture the powers of this world are painting.

"Ah, I know the notion all too well. However, if I may guess, your intentions with the school's founding is likely far less philanthropic as you depict. Are the people in this world so frightening that you need to hide behind a wall of...'gifted' children?"

Eliphas pondered for a moment what 'gifted' implied. Perhaps more like the 'Terra' girl he had meet when he first arrived? Were they're more like her? Were they all the same, with their manipulation of earth? Or were they different?...

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[slade]

Slade tilted his head at the comments of the creature he was conversing with, the being was trying to steer the conversation, and that was fine. Slade was well aware of the fact that all conversation was war... this war was with a being more dangerous then most he had dealt with is all. It was trying to rile him. Slade didn't rile easily. He smiled and he stepped onto the edge of the building and began to pace, easily keeping his balance. As he did so he looked down upon the lights, the people and seeing them so small before him kept his balance both physically and mentally. He hummed briefly mental, a small semi-condescending sound.


"Hmmmmmmmm? Oh? Is that why you think? Is that why you arrived with a small army in tow because our world, our people scared you so? Is that why you have others doing your dirty work? Or is it rather you know as I know that one person can only so much no matter how powerful they are. You need to be able to delegate, to be in more then two places at once, to always be not just one but three steps ahead. I hope you know this or otherwise I am quite sure this world in the end will chew you up, suck out the marrow and spit out the bones. It is a violent world filled with violent people that hide behind masks of compassion, generosity and charity... but strip them of their masks and they are just as violent and self serving as all the rest. It is beautiful in a primal way."

Slade didn't mention he didn't really see himself as one of the 'people'. He had seen to much, done too much to be considered merely one of them.

"Besides... as for the children. Is it not the responsibility of the current generation to pass on the lessons to the next? To mold them as you see fit? "

[kharn]

Eliphas was annoyed by Slade's sudden speech. He had intended to have Slade let slip a fatal detail in response, but frankly, his practical sermon had left Eliphas uninterested...but what was this? It seemed just as he finished, he talked of his true intentions with the school at last...what a noisy child this Slade was. "Please, enough lectures boy. If I was truly interested in your philosophy, I'd have made you infinitely aware of it...but still, you manage to interest me through your pointless, at least, enough to continue the conversation. So allow me to be a bit more direct in my questioning, before you go off on another tangent: What do you mean by 'Gifted', Slade?"

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[slade]

Slade first smiled, then chuckled darkly. The figure communicating with him had not idea of the world he had landed on, no idea of the troubles that faced him in this world. If he didn't even know that much... Slade would at least be amused by his failure. ((OOC nothing personal, just what Slade would think))

"My...friend. Perhaps you do need a lecture. If you don't know about the gifts the universe has bestowed to many of the beings of this world when you occur their wrath, attract their attention away from the other events unfolding... well your future here will be oh so brief. This world can be harsh to ones with morals such as yours. Trust me on that."

Slade thought hard, connecting his thoughts to pictures and doing his best to send them to his new 'friend'.

"There are those whose mere presence on this orb changed them, right place, right time and all the power of the world is theirs."

A figure in blue and red crossed Slade's mind. He remembered the vivid sight of him stopping a dropping 747 effortlessly, he tried his best to transmit the very aura of power that surrounded this man of steel.

"There are those who possess items giving them powers beyond normal men, with some that item is one of a kind..."

The mental pic of a man in a magical golden helm spewing magic from his hands flowed.

"And others that are just a small part of an army of like minded people."

A man with a green ring was backed by an army of thousands, the rings changing reality where they went.

"Some received their powers by accident of circumstance"

A bolt of lightning hit the right chemicals at the right time and a man dressed in red blurred across the landscape.

"While others were born with their powers"

A man in orange and green called the creatures of the sea to his beck and call, them obeying their master without question.

"And finally some might have no powers but their single minded determination and skill makes them forces to be reckoned with..."

A man in black swooped through the night sky via a grappling hook over the streets, his grim vengeance against crime his only concern. Slade thought on him and detached the mental pictures from his mind, no longer pushing that much of his mind forward.

"If you flay around blindly... this world will chew you up and not even bother spitting out the bones. Trust me... I have been watching the gifted of this world for a while now. I know how powerful they can be. So my solution has been to mold the next generation where I can. Right word in the right place can change everything. Does this answer your question?"

[kharn]

Eliphas chucked....he chuckled to the point where Slade could overhear him. Then it turned into a subdued laughter, echoing throughout his mind, as the Dark Apostle attempted to recover. This boy's nerve, his naivety, his condescending manner to his superiors...his time on this planet would be brief indeed. He had the gall to act as a 'teacher' to him? To pretend he was some sort of authority figure? What a fool this man was. An arrogant fool who was bragging over a rag-tag band of mutants and xenos. He laughed once more, more than likely making a mockery of his precious 'school.'

"Surely, that was not an attempt to intimidate me Slade? Showing me images of mutants, aliens, those lower than lowly scum of the universe? Pathetic. And you plots to change the world do nothing more but strengthen the Changer of Ways...ah, but alas. A foolish boy like you would not know who he is, no? Nor know who I am? Of course, you have an idea, no? If you'll allow me to guess-- you recall this 'aura' from your time in hell, your time in damnation, likely under the thrall of some daemon of little importance. You in your arrogance believe that I am but a messenger for something similar to it, yes? The thing you more than likely escaped...or perhaps the thing you still haven't escaped? Maybe you still are a thrall, with or without your realization? No matter. I have rambled and guessed long enough. Know this, boy. The hell you have experienced, and I know you have experienced it, is nothing compared to the hell you will soon experience. So, do not talk down to those you do not understand-- you may well discover there to be egg on your face when the day is done, my naive little friend.''

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