Where are you Nihilo?

[Deleted]

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Compassion

One life is all it takes
To make all the difference in the world

Astra knew she would have to wait until it was dark before she had a hope of contacting Nihilo, so she went shopping for the items she would need instead. A really big light, some thin plastic she could cut, duck tape to strap on the cut out pieces of plastic to look like an "N", and a portable power source. It wasn't a problem getting the items onto the roof, it was making it that was the issue. She spent the next three hours tinkering and putting the makeshift symbol-light together.

After her hard work, it finally turned on at her prompting and she gave a whoop of triumph over it! She may have healing powers, but she was helpless when it came to making or fixing hardware. During all that time, nothing had touched her back, so the transmitter stayed in place that Tim had put there. She still had no clue that it was there.

After getting cleaned up, she decided it was late enough to head to the abandoned warehouse district. It would be easy to take a cab, but she didn't want to risk it, so, finding a sturdy cloth bag, she stuffed the light, its power supply, and Tim's gun in and held on tight while she made her way out of her apartment and into an empty alleyway. There, she teleported her costume on and made her wings appear and took to the sky. She had always loved flying, the free feeling it gave her, but with the light in her hand, she found it heavy enough to hinder her appreciation. She couldn't do much more than fly straight.

It wasn't long before she got lost. Utterly and completely. She had a horrible sense of direction, and having only flown from the warehouse she had been taken to, she couldn't get her barrings. It was another two hours before she finally found the district, the warehouse from there was easily enough found. It was the only one with a red roof. She landed and gave herself time to recover, changing back into her normal clothes, though she left the mask on, just in case Nihilo didn't recognize her without it. She looked to her bag, it still had the gun in it, she hoped Nihilo would understand.

After a few minutes, and it was far past dark by now, she turned on the light. She was glad for the increased cloud cover today which made her light fully visible in the sky. There she waited, by her light on the roof for her, hopefully, friend, to appear.

TAG: Nihilo
NOTES: Astra sucks at directions
WORDS: 434

ⒶⓀⒾ of Adoxography and of GS

[Nihilo]

Nihilo was still recuperating. It hadn't even barely been twenty-four hours since he had spoken to Angel. He'd chosen a warehouse somewhat nearby, but a good distance away, and had just perched himself on the roof to recharge.

He sighed when he saw the makeshift signal light up the night sky. So soon? Already? He supposed he should have known that when he gave her a means to contact him that she'd want to use it almost instantly. So, reluctantly, he stood up and flew over to the building.

"Right. What the hell do you want? I'm still tired from our little chat yesterday. You want to hear more tragic backstory? I'm pretty sure you've heard the whole thing now."

He hovered in the air above the building while he spoke.

"And please don't point that thing at me, it'll hurt like a bitch."

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Thanks for the updates Alice. I think she's... yeah, yeah I have a visual. They're talking."

Tim stayed down, crouched behind a dumpster, watching what was going on between Astra and Nihilo. he couldn't let her go alone, but she was right when she said that Nihilo wouldn't trust anyone coming with her. The tracking device he had slipped on her had worked well, giving Alice very accurate location data for her that allowed Tim to follow her to this meeting place without being seen. Now, he just had to wait and see what happened. If he made one wrong move, Tim was going to be up there in a flash of light. He wasn't sure how long he could take Nihilo adding more injured people on his conscience.

Amrit Rao

[Amrit Rao]

[NPC of Ryan Amador aka Null] Ryan waited in the warehouse, arms crossed, his only company the young Cabal agent known as Mainframe. Mainframe, or Amrit Rao, had a single tablet in his hands as he stood, his back straight but head down. His eyes were glowing a faint pale green as the tablet's screen flickered with that same color, lines of code scrolling across it. Ryan had no clue what the younger man was doing but he assumed it had something to do with the mission - or perhaps a separate mission. He didn't know Amrit personally but he'd heard he was often given multiple missions at a time. As far as he was aware, though, it was rare that Amrit was allowed into the field, being so young. He thought of his younger siblings, though they were all adults now. But they would always be kids to him in some way. They would always need protecting. As the eldest sibling, that was his job, he'd been taught. He also naturally had strong protective and brotherly instincts. It made him want to keep Amrit as far from danger as he could despite knowing that, as a Cabal agent, the teenager could probably handle himself just fine, just like his siblings could. "Any updates from Perses?" he asked, leaning back against the wall. Both of them were dressed in plain civilian clothes. This wasn't a mission that required costumes, after all. Amrit briefly glanced up at him before his eyes were on the tablet once again. "No. I assume that means the mission is still the same." Ryan nodded. He'd worked with - for - Perses long enough that he knew what to expect or at least he thought he knew. Still, there was something about this mission that he didn't quite like. "So we're supposed to help Aegis take this guy?" he clarified, though he already knew the answer. He'd read the mission debrief. "If it comes down to that, yes," the young technopath replied, not even glancing up this time. "Getting him out of Aegis will be, as people say, a piece of cake." He raised one hand from the tablet in order to do finger quotes before gripping the tablet with it again. "It may require more agents but it is still doable." Ryan nodded and glanced away. The warehouse was empty. it wasn't a headquarters or temporary base of operations. It was just the perfect place to hide for now. "She has made contact," Amrit announced, causing Ryan's eyes to snap back over to him. "They are talking. They are not saying anything noteworthy. Yet." "How do you know that?" Amrit raised an eyebrow and looked up at him. "This tablet is tapped into the feed of an advanced drone I am piloting. It is high enough that they cannot see or detect it while also maintaining perfect audio and visual quality of what is going on." Right. Technopath. Ryan nodded and sighed. They were still playing a waiting game, it seemed. Tag: @astraica Words: 506 Muse: Soldier by Fleurie Notes: Hope this works!

MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[Deleted]

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Compassion

One life is all it takes
To make all the difference in the world

Astra sighed. She had a feeling it would go like this, was she really annoying to him? Well, she had to try. Standing up, she moved away from the light and began to talk to him.

"I'm sorry you're still tired, and no, nothing like that. I'll be sure not to point the light at you too." She giggled, adding that last bit with a smile and happy tone. Calming a moment, she spoke sincerely again. "I just, I wanted to chat, and become friends. I..." She hesitated. "Also have a few questions to ask you. But they can wait. " She smiled, wanting to ease him a bit, and it was genuine. She wanted so much to help him become the man he could be.

"So, what were you doing before you came here? Do you have any hobbies?" She asked, hoping to get a good answer, but, she had a feeling, it was going to be snarky.

TAG: Nihilo
NOTES: Astra wants to make frieeends!
WORDS: 159

ⒶⓀⒾ of Adoxography and of GS

[Nihilo]

Hobbies? Friends? This was... this was what she wanted? That was... confusing.

"Listen. You don't want to make friends with me. I'm not a "friend" kinda guy. You don't want me for a friend." He floated down and landed on the rooftop.

"And hobbies? Really? honestly, you think I, what, tie flies? I touch something, it's destroyed. My hobby is making a mess and tracking down Him."

He sighed. She had questions, might as well get them over with.

"Alright. So what's these questions you have, let's get to it."

------------------------------------------

Tim shifted a little bit in the alley he was hiding in.

"I can see them, but I can't hear them. Alice is there any way you can get audio?"

"I think there's an old security system in the building they're on, I'll try and patch you in.

Amrit Rao ((If you would like to skip this round Anna that's fine IMO, I plan on having Tim really screw stuff up as soon as Astra shows the sample gun))

[Deleted]

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Compassion

One life is all it takes
To make all the difference in the world

Astra shook her head when Nihilo mentioned not wanting to be her friend. The poor guy, he really didn't have anything in life outside destruction and tracking down Tim. She frowned. He deserved more, and she planned to give it to him. It wasn't going to be easy, he would push her away a lot, but, she'd had experience with that. She grimaced inwardly at the memories. She didn't want to relive that again. But Nihilo genuinely seemed like he wanted a good life, so, she couldn't fault him for that. He was already far better than that jerk had been.

She looked up at him and kept her frown upon her face. "I'm sorry, you really haven't been given a good life." She reached out to hover a hand over his arm. "I should have been more considerate..." She took her hand back to fall at her side. "But, I do wish to be friends with you. I don't want you to go through life alone, and... You seem like a nice guy deep down. You really want a better life, and you're cornered. You don't see any options other than to..." She grimaced. "Kill." She breathed in for courage. "But I'm sure there's another way. And I plan on finding out what that is. I..." She hesitated while her arm twitched in the direction of her bag on the roof. "Oh, heck. This might help you out more than talking with you." She muttered more to herself than to him, but loud enough that he could clearly hear her.

With that, she reached down and retrieved the "gun" from her bag. "I spoke with Tim..." She reached up frantically with one hand, eyes a bit fearful. "Don't worry! I didn't betray you! I just... Thought he might have a better solution. And, he had been working on one! He made this." She waved her free hand over the "gun". "So that he could take a sample of you to analyze. He'd been working on a cure and, he thinks he found one, so, with a sample of you, he could cure you!" She said with all innocence and trust, each flowing from her eyes as well as care for his well-being.

TAG: Nihilo
NOTES: Astra's all protector-y and trusting!
WORDS: 373

ⒶⓀⒾ of Adoxography and of GS

[Nihilo]

She had gone to him? Well, come to think of it, it made sense that she'd seek him out. She pulled out some kind of gun, and he quickly figured out what it was for.

"You're naïve. It's not going to work."

It was cold and hard, but he felt that she needed to hear it that way. He stepped toward her, somewhat harshly.

"There is no cure, there is no way to fix it for both of us, there is only pain and death, for either me or him. You might as well put that thing away. Throw it away. It's a worthless hunk of junk because there is no cure."

Tim moved forward some more when Nihilo moved toward Astraica, ready to intervene, and that was his mistake. He bumped into an empty bottle sitting on a crate, and knocked it down, shattering it. Nihilo's head whipped toward the sound and he instantly identified the source.

"LIAR! Liar or a damn idiot!" he bellowed into Astra's face. "You led him here! You knew I was weak!"

That was when Tim rocketed over and engaged. "Astra, get out of here! Don't worry about the sample, I'll try something else!"

Nihilo threw a fist, and Tim pulled up his energy shell to counter it.

"Are you that eager to die, Tim? I'm not really ready but that doesn't mean I won't be able to take you down!"

"I'd like to see you try. I'm just going to have to bring you in!"

Tim lashed out, and slammed Nihilo down through the roof of the warehouse and out through a window, smashing him into a wall Nihilo groaned in pain, but glared at the glowing hero with pure vitriol. "Maybe this is where it should end. Tonight. You or me. One of us dies today."

Tim sighed. "If that's the way you insist on it being. I'm still going to try to bring you in, but if you continue to resist..."

Amrit Rao

[Amrit Rao]

Ryan had no way of knowing what the two were discussing while he waited. The audio captured by the drone was being directed into Amrit's ear, not his. Amrit, to his credit, was listening intently. He noticed the teenager frown but it was brief - the kind you missed if you blinked. He had no way of knowing what was going through the teenager's mind, what he was hearing from his eavesdropping drown but he had the desire to ask. Before he could, Amrit looked up at him and stated matter-of-factly, "Aegis is attacking." Ryan stiffened, briefly wondering if he needed to change into his costume but orders had been to remain in civilian clothes. "How many?" "One," Amrit supplied, "Timothy Smith - also known as the energy manipulating Surge." Ryan had been briefed on him. "The Aegis poster boy tasked with making them look good." Amrit nodded. "He has attacked the target. Your powers alone are not enough to take him out without revealing your identity and Cabal involvement." Well that complicated things. Ryan bit his lower lip but nodded. There wasn't anything to argue. The orders had come from Perses himself, and he wasn't about to disobey that man. "Objective has changed to Strategy Beta," Amrit continued, "Use your field to nullify the target's own abilities thus helping Aegis take him in. When the time is right, we will send in an extraction team to safely secure the target from Aegis." Ryan nodded, quickly checking the device on his wrist - it looked like a simple digital watch but was far more complex - to make sure it was correctly monitoring him and connected to the small communicator hidden in his ear. He slipped out of the warehouse, trained in stealth. He understood why he'd been chosen for this. It wasn't just his power but he could also easily pose as a tourist, explaining why he'd be wandering anywhere in the city, thanks to his accent. "That building to your right--" Amrit's voice was in his ear. He looked to his right. "Yes, that one," the technopath confirmed, "Hang out by the back wall, outside. Act natural. They will crash through and hit that wall in precisely..." He started counting down as Ryan made his way to that very wall, looking down at his phone, a smile on his face, actually opening a text from his younger brother, Joan, to further the cover of "distracted tourist." He had just leaned to the side against the wall when Amrit's voice said, "Now." He jumped, clearly startled as Tim came through a window with the target - Nihilo, he'd been informed he went by - and slammed that very target into the wall, a few feet away from where Ryan had just been leaning. Ryan was actually glad Amrit hadn't given him information like which direction or how fast they were going. It helped make his surprise genuine, his powers reaction to the jolt he felt. His eyes flashed a brilliant sea green color as his nullification field went up. While he maintained a surprise, confused expression - also throwing in a bit of carefully practiced fear - his hands started to glow to as his mind focused on pushing the nullification field out to encompass both of the other men and anyone else who got too close. Tag: @astraica Words: 559 Muse: n/a Notes: Wasn't sure how big to make the field so left it vague. If Astra stands between Tim and/or Nihilo and Ryan, she'd be caught in the field as well and her powers will be nullified until either she steps out of the field or Ryan drops the field. Same goes for Tim and Nihilo. 💖

MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[Deleted]

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Compassion

One life is all it takes
To make all the difference in the world

Astra's eyes saddened at Nihilo's words. He was so full of dispare and no hope. It broke her heart. How could he think that! She opened her mouth to say that he was wrong, that Tim had found a way to actually pull a sample from him, but the bottle Tim had kicked made a resounding sound and she turned to look at the source, her mouth agape at what she saw. No! She thought as her eyes turned back to Nihilo and a look of pure hurt and pain crossing her features. He actually hated her... Those words. He was, and felt betrayed. "No!" Was all she got out before Tim rocketed over and spoke to her. She was about to tell him off, to leave, he wasn't supposed to be there, but Nihilo beat her to it, with his fist.

She winces at the impact and then, her face contorts into fear, worry and horror. Tim just threw Nihilo through a wall and the roof! He was already hurt from the Bank! She grew her wings, teleported a top on that would handle them and flew down to stand in between the two, and now, even more people! There was a civilian there! And shouted, "Stop! Don't hurt him any more! He's already hurt from the Bank! Please!" She begged him with her voice and eyes, spreading her arms out wide as she stood in front of Nihilo. She knew she couldn't help him physically, so she did her best to help him the only way she could.

That was when she noticed something off. Her wings! They were disappearing! Why? She never commanded that! Her eyes went wide, but even without her powers she was determined, she kept her arms open wide to stand between the two, a pleading expression on her face. "You're not supposed to be here! Why did you come?!" She shouted at Tim. Not waiting for an answer, she rushed behind her to Nihilo and hovered her hands over him, afraid to touch him. Whatever was affecting her might not have affected him. Maybe she was too upset to use her powers? She didn't know. She crouched over him, tears filling her eyes. "Are you alright? Can you sit up?" She asked worriedly.

TAG: Nihilo
NOTES: Astra's upseeet!
WORDS: 380

ⒶⓀⒾ of Adoxography and of GS

[Nihilo]

For a moment, Surge and Nihilo were just going to keep at it, but then suddenly something was different. Tim didn't have a chance to really place what it was, but Nihilo instantly noticed.

The pain was gone.

He lay there, sobbing quietly to himself, overwhelmed that despite some small scrapes and bruises, the constant pain had stopped. He finally had relief.

Tim was suddenly preoccupied with trying to get Astra out of the way. "He was going to hurt you! I couldn't let you go alone, I couldn't put another death on my conscience! I was and am protecting you! Now get somewhere safe before he gets back... up..."

That was when it all clicked for Tim. He saw Nihilo, and he saw his skin. Flesh. Actual cloth making up the clothing that they had worn the day of that accident. Nihilo wasn't antimatter anymore. That's when Tim realized what felt different; he had a wave of lethargy because the energy he controlled was gone. He dropped down and grabbed Nihilo's arm, looking at it and feeling it, then looked around for the source, spotting the civilian who really was the only thing that could be the cause.

"You! You! Hi, I'm Surge, what's your name? Are you doing this? Are you dampening or..." Tim held up and looked at his hand, trying to manifest even a few sparks, but getting nothing. "...nullifying them entirely? This is revolutionary. Please, please keep it up a while longer. If you could come with me back to headquarters it would be a big help putting this very dangerous criminal in a cell. And then... then we'll talk. I've been trying to crack a universal power dampener or nullifier for years now and if... there's a lot of potential applications. Just answering some questions for me could save a lot of lives."

Tim pulled out some handcuffs.

"Nihilo, for many crimes including but not limited to attempted armed robbery, assault, and murder, you're under arrest."

Tim started to cuff Nihilo's now flesh and blood hands. Nihilo didn't resist, really. He was still in a sort of shock from not being in pain anymore.

"It doesn't hurt anymore. It... it doesn't hurt. I can breathe again. I can feel things."

Tim gave a stern look to Astra. "Listen. I'm sorry it ended up the way it did, but I couldn't let you go meet him face to face without being nearby and able to protect you if something went wrong, like it did. You should go home now. I don't know how long this... this null field will last, and I don't know how well I can contain him without it. I'll call you later and I guess if you want you might be allowed to see him. I just don't want you to get hurt."

Ryan Amador, @astraica