Second Conquest - Out of the shadows

[evenglass]

Video. Genessia City Park

[Ivina had been playing around with the communicator device and been listening in on the public conversations. She had been in this world for quite some time now, much to her frustration that she can't break out of this place. Some other power greater than her own was keeping her here, and she didn't like it. But since she's going to be here for a while, she decided to let her presence known. Might as well, right?

Activating the video function, the camera focused on her sitting by a glass coffee table. She was inside the garden pavilion at Genessia's park, with a cart of drinks and a personal bartender (who she has under mind control) at her beck and call. She appeared in her more human self, not wanting to broadcast her darker side to anyone just yet. She didn't feel the need. Legs crossed and a glass of whiskey on the rocks in hand, she gives the camera her usual icy stare.]

Greetings, people of Genessia. My name is Ivina of Darcann, Queen Regnant and Supreme Commander of my nation of Salimdor. I understand I am not alone in concern of this world, drawing us from our own realms against our wills. Though now I wonder, if there are other people here of high birth? People of royal lineage or nobility. Generals and commanders of armies too, perhaps?

[She considered generals or any high military rank to be part of nobility. Even if they were born poor. She feels they've earned a place in the higher class of society for their service. Still, she asked. She only knows of Vlad as someone of noble birth in this world.]

I invite you to have drinks with me, here at Genessia's garden park. It will be pleasant to make acquaintances with others of similar pasts as I.

Action. Genessia City

[Night time in Genessia tends to get interesting at times. It's when all the criminals are most active. Ivina doesn't care about any crime going on in the city that's not her own, but a group of thieves have beaten her to the punch in stealing some precious jewels she had her eyes on. Stealing from a queen? Now that's just unacceptable. In truth, she doesn't mind of some shiny rocks got away from her grasp. But she's been itching to stretch her wings a little and get her hands dirty. They're just regular humans who won't present a challenge to her, but it's better than nothing.

She followed the get-away van used by the thieves to the outskirts of the city, to a rougher and grittier neighborhood awash with activity even at this late hour. Different sorts of gangs hang around outside of the rows and rows of establishments. Loud music blared from the distance, mixed in with the drunken reveling of the low-lives below the rooftop from where she stood. She kept watching the van until it took a turn to a dark alleyway into more of a rundown suburb, away from the noise and the bright lights. That is when she decided to strike.

Vanishing from the roof, she reappeared as a bolt of lightning crashing down from above, and on to the street the thieves decided to park their vehicle. She flashed a dark grin at the masked thieves]

Nice night for a walk?

[The thieves just looked to each other before open firing at Ivina. Even with the volley of bullets, none of them have passed through the invisible barrier protecting her. She gives a sigh of a mock disappointment then raised her hand, and with a simple snap of her finger, the thieves all dropped dead.

The van caught on fire as Ivina casually walked towards it. She opened the doors with a swipe of her eyes, willing the gems to come to her. Floating towards her one by one, Ivina formed an orb of diamonds, rubies, and other sorts of gems in her hand until she sensed a presence.

With the bright flash of lightning, the thunder and gunfire that followed, at least one person would have heard the commotion.]

Cease your games and show yourself. There is no use in hiding from me.

[By this point, she's using a concealment magic. Only her silhouette can be seen. She wouldn't want her earlier efforts that morning to look like a decent person go to waste]

Comments

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[ghostofrazgriz]

[The commotion certainly hadn't escaped Blaze's attention. He was no bounty hunter, but he did want to investigate incase the authorities needed to be contacted. Maybe, if he were silent enough, he'd be able to catch a picture of whoever was responsible for what had happened. It might aid the police if there were an investigation the following day.

So he had silently approached the site, hiding around the corner of a building and peering around, device out to see if he could capture what happened... until he heard someone speak. And it sounded like it was directed at him. How could they have known he was there? This sure wasn't a repeat of Operation Silver Eye.

Still, he was tempting fate and stayed silent. Maybe the voice was directed at someone - or something else. Which he hoped it was - he wasn't sure if he could make a quick getaway from his position.]

Lemme know if this is okay

[evenglass]

[She rolled her eyes. Casually, she swiped her pointer finger by the corner Blaze was hiding behind, just to yank him out of hiding]

Do you really think you can hide behind that filthy slab of rock? You breathe so loud I could have heard you in my sleep.

[Not really, she just tends to brag. It was his heartbeat that she sensed, and he could have snuck up on her if she doesn't have magic]

Fine by me!

[ghostofrazgriz]

[Blaze let out silent yelp as he found himself thrown to the ground and out in the open. He quickly rolled up into a crouch, looking up in Ivina's direction, unmoving from his current position. How the hell did she do that? He couldn't have possibly been any quieter than he was. His eyes narrowed- dammit, he couldn't see her at all. He barely had anything to work with here.

He lowered his gaze, not saying a word to her, but his guard was up. Though there really wasn't anything that could prepare him for what she could possibly throw at him, especially if she was able to pull him out from his position without her even seeing him.]

[evenglass]

What business do you have here, stranger? Are you friends with these rotten men?

[Her voice is slightly distorted, having an echo to it. The only thing he can see besides a black silhouette are her glowing eyes]

[ghostofrazgriz]

No.

[He states that firmly, making it a point to disspell any assumptions she may have had about him being associated with them. He slowly rises to his feet, steadying his nerves. What is with him running into powerful beings with weird voices?]

I saw lightning and heard gunshots. I came to investigate what happened.

text;

[wheresmykey]

Since God of all hell counts, I guess I should say I am of high birth no matter where we are.

[Video]

[evenglass]

[Ivina wasn't sure how to take a text response to a video. She was a little puzzled, but she didn't let her collected demeanor be affected by it. She responds in the same video broadcast anyway. If the person in the other line doesn't want to show their face, that's not her problem, she thought]

I see.

[She honestly isn't impressed with the "God of Hell" title, only because she doesn't believe in gods. Even if Mordu is widely believed to be one by her people, she knows better that he isn't one. Besides, people she met who claim to be gods tend to just be full of hot air.]

I don't believe in gods, so forgive me if I don't see why I should consider you to be of equal footing with us.

[Video]

[wheresmykey]

[Glory couldn't help but laugh. Fine, she'll play ball and switch to video. Mostly because she finds it hilarious.]

Aw, sweetie. I'm way above equal footing. I could kill you before you would even have a chance to do a single thing. If you want me to prove it, I will because I enjoy the feeling of someone's bones breaking between my hands.

[Video]

[evenglass]

[Ivina found Glory's attitude irksome already, not realizing that she dislikes it so much because, well, she's like that too. She scoffed]

I'd hate to shatter your ego, "goddess". But this isn't the first time someone threatened me with such a paltry boast. If you intended to frighten me, you'll need more wit to do that.

[She may not believe in gods, but she does possess the power considered to be "godlike", but more cosmic in a sense. Not that she'll show it until it's time]

If your words truly match what you're capable of, then I shall oblige you. Show me what you can do.

[Video]

[wheresmykey]

[She shrugged slightly. She didn't know anyone who could process supernatural abilities to know who to sadly go for. Well except those idiots that keep fighting among themselves, but she was way to amused to go for them right now.]

If you find me someone who is considered a 'powerful fighter' I'll show you. I only pick on the weak when I need something else and well have slaves that will do what I want.

video;

[orlokbutterfly]

[He's no nobility, but that won't stop Gale from being a goof and pretending to be a snooty rich person, sitting all 'elegantly' on his couch with a leg crossed over the other... with a plastic soda bottle ring around his right eye like a monocle.]

It is a lovely day to have a sit down in the park, wouldn't you say, my lady?

[He's got a point to this outside of appearing to not take anything seriously, he swears.]

[evenglass]

[Ivina just gave him an unamused stare, swirling the ice in her glass]

You have a bright future as a court jester.

[She said, dripping with sarcasm. But then she switched it to a private video setting]

What is it you want, Orlok. Do you have anything to report?

[orlokbutterfly]

I try my best. Does that mean I can be expecting a promotion?

[He just has the biggest grin. As if being a jester would be better than being a field agent. When she changes the privacy, the grin falls into a smirk, the soda ring popping from his eye while he snatches the ring from midair before his dog can get it.]

I've got some intel. I haven't found much of anything on Genessia City or Fayren's primary Guardians yet. Fayren's deputy seems more active than anything.

At least two Guardians sure as hell are full of themselves, that's for sure.

[evenglass]

Enlighten me with what you've found so far. What is the name of the Fayren's deputy, and what of Nova City?

[She's been through Nova City at least once, and it was a sensory overload. She's seen space and other dimensions before, but sometimes you just can't beat the sight of a futuristic city. Sensing that Nova City has no defense against the supernatural that she knows of, the thought of wreaking havoc there has occurred to her more than once.]

[orlokbutterfly]

Fayren's got Mewtwo as its deputy, that weird... grey... purple... cat thing. Fits right into the weirdness that is that city. He seems to love poking his nose into others' business since he apparently tried to get involved with that drivel brought on by those Remnant people. He has publicly said the name of Fayren's Guardian though- Satori Komeiji. I'm not sure about Satori, but I am aware of another Komeiji, Koishi. She and I went into Loci's Wabe about a month ago. Not sure if they're related though.

[He'd appreciate it if you didn't cause a mess in Nova City there, Ivina. He kinda lives there. That, and, unfortunately for her, Nova City kinda... does has a defense against the supernatural. And both of them live with him.]

Nova City's under the iron fist of that Weiss Schnee girl. Who, I can probably easily assume, lets her emotions get the better of her. Especially given how she called that immediate bounty on that Roman Torchwick guy. Though if you call her a 'prissy rich girl', she'll be happy to give you her life story.

[Then he plays the message he got from her when he did just that when he arrived, ending the playback after her little speech.]

Not sure if she's all bark and no bite, but she does have bite in the form of her deputy, Troy Dantes. I'd watch out for him way more than I would Weiss.

[Video]

[blue_flames]

[The feed manages to show more of Ike's face this time. It's enough to show that the man has some serious muscle, if his one exposed shoulder is any indication. His face also shows amusement -- as much as Ike's face ever shows emotion.]

I seem to run into royalty a lot. Even in Genessia, every other person I meet is some kind of royal. Sometimes I have to wonder if the world has a sense of irony.

[Video]

[evenglass]

[Ivina wasn't looking directly into the camera, but she glanced to the screen and looked at Ike through the corner of her eyes. She didn't put much thought in Ike's amused expression.]

I've been to many worlds and seen many things, and yet this one we all share would be the first to have a sense of irony.

[Other worlds don't have a CPU, ask for sacrifices, or yank people from their own worlds. It won't be a stretch to think it's doing this to Ike on purpose. To Ivina's mind at least]

[Video]

[blue_flames]

[Ike raises an eyebrow. As an interrealm traveler himself, he's always interested in hearing others who have traversed multiple worlds talk about their experiences.]

Oh? So you've traveled between worlds before coming here?

[Video]

[evenglass]

[She was tempted to answer that sarcastically, but she managed to hold her tongue lashing. She gets the feeling that she might find him useful someday. Keeping up appearances is so tiring]

I have. Many times. In my culture, traveling between spaces is the mark of a true mage.

[While they have ships with space travel capabilities, they don't always use them to go from planet to planet, and just use a "cosmic freeway" to get from one place to another using magic.]

[Video]

[blue_flames]

[Probably for the best. When it comes to dry wit, Ike can dish it out with the best of them.]

Spaces?

Anyway, I'm also something of a traveler between worlds. Have you heard of the Outrealms?

[maybeitsmaybelline]

Was that really necessary?

[Roman strolls out of the shadows, one hand on his hip and the other resting on his cane. Amusement sparkles in his eyes.]

I paid good money for those men.

[He looks her up and down, weighing the relative merits of taking his gems back or taking a more diplomatic approach.]

[evenglass]

[Ivina's glaring eye glows brightly while the rest of her face and body become obscured by darkness. Roman can still see her silhouette and hear her voice, albeit that being a little altered to protect her identity for now.]

They must have been worth every coin.

[Ivina replies dryly, returning the favor and sizing up Roman from where she stood.]

You must be so desperate for wealth, standing here still, before someone who just slain your men.

[Ivina is going to be holding on to these for now. But she's feeling like sharing tonight, so maybe she can give Roman some]

[maybeitsmaybelline]

Desperate is such a harsh word! Let's try...

[Masochistic is probably the right word. It's a bad habit of his, sticking around and playing with fire even when he's been burned so many times, but he can't help it. Like a moth to a flame he's forever drawn to women who could kill him.]

...Intrigued.

[He pauses to light up a cigar. If he's worried for his safety, it doesn't show.]

And what about you? With skills like that, you could go after your own target. Why cheat a dishonest man by taking them second hand?

[evenglass]

[Ivina's shadowy form simply frowned at Roman's laid-back demeanor, both peeved at his defiant stance and his foolishness. Already she's thinking of just choking the life out of him with her mind and be done with it, but she could use some allies in this world and right now, and she can't afford to be picky]

As you say in your world, to kill two birds with one stone.

[That way the police would hound after the criminals and not her. If they manage to catch the criminals even if they're empty handed, that just means fewer competition in the future. But really, she just figured they're acceptable targets. She takes a couple of steps forward, heels clacking against the concrete.]

You have heart, stranger. Black as it may be. To still be standing here showing no fear... You may yet have a part to play in this game.

[She wouldn't say it, but she's impressed. People with guts tend to do that]

What purpose would these gems to you? If you amassed such wealth in them, what plans do you have for this world?

[maybeitsmaybelline]

[He sucks in a breath and lets the smoke linger as he watches her approach. Guts or not, his other hand shifts subtly to have a better grip on the hidden trigger of his cane. Ah, the joy of custom creative weaponry! But as long as she's rambling on instead of throwing lightning bolts, he's golden. He blows smoke in her direction before answering.]

The way I see it, if you wanted to kill me, you would've tried by now. You don't strike me as the type to waste time on small talk. Besides, you'd find me a little harder to catch than those grunts. As for my plans...

[He gives her a trademark smirk, staring into her glowing eye.]

If I'm going to have a heart to hear about my life's ambitions, can't I at least see who I'm talking to?