8th Trick - VOICE/TEXT/VIDEO FEED (Day of the Dead Guy)

[vengefulshades]

[At 8:45 PM on November 3rd, this message is broadcast to all Import devices. The video shows a flickering feed of security cameras in some swanky lounge. As the camera shifts, six people can be seen in and around the lounge, in various emotional states:

- Abigail Hobbs
- Annie Leonhart
- Kate Kane
- Siegmund Heissenrech
- Anna
- Rampage

Finally, the voice of The Manipulator comes over the line.]

Attention, all Import citizens of Heropa. This is The Manipulator speaking.

Here, you can see there are currently seven people in the top floor lounge of The Lift in downtown Heropa. Six of them are innocents. Six lives. Six hostages who may be dead by tomorrow morning.

Unless one of you has the guts to save them.

[The camera feed flicks around appropriately to show the security system, the room's entrances and exits, and whatever else he talks about.]

Let's break it down nice and simple.

The lounge is secured by an alarm, doors and windows-- one that you won't be able to turn off without my knowledge or my help. If it goes off, the hostages will die. If anyone attempts to enter or leave the lounge, the hostages will die. If anyone sets foot on the 15th floor of this building without my express say-so, the hostages will die.

But you don't need to sit around and accept this loss of life. You can stop it. Only one person needs to die tonight to end this.

The seventh person. Me.

[And now the camera flickers to show a brief glimpse of a silhouetted person- someone in plain clothes, wearing a black mask over his face.]

One of you so-called heroes has fifteen minutes to get to the rooftop of this building. There, your only task is a simple one... you're going to kill me. Get rid of me permanently. End this hell of an existence of mine once and for all.

No mercy. No tricks. Just you and me and your powers, and the death that I was denied ten years ago.

[The shot goes back to the lounge and the hostages within.]

If your powers don't work on me, I'll understand. Nothing else has worked so far. And I'm really not unreasonable. We'll just have to try someone else. Every hour. On the hour.

And if some hour passes and nobody shows up to take me on, then one hostage dies. You've got six whole tries to figure this out before we run out of hostages.

But remember. I don't need to kill anyone. Nobody innocent needs to suffer tonight. Only one person needs to die to put an end to this.

So come get me.

[And the feed ends.]

((ooc: All replies will come from "The Manipulator," not "Yomiel."))

Comments

AUDIO;

[forcowardice]

Annie!

[what the frickfrack man]

Who the hell is this guy?!

[vengefulshades]

Oh, sorry. Maybe I should have introduced myself all over again.

I'm The Manipulator.

1/2

[nestingdevil]

[In all honesty, he's not sure what to make of it. Yomiel's always had his own ambitions, his own agenda. And at the center of it all, death has always been a focal point. His need, his want. More than anything else, it's that finality. The conversation has come up more than once, the allusions and hints more so.]

[Still, this isn't entirely the kind news he likes.]

➥ AUDIO | 2/2

[nestingdevil]

[On his side of the line, the usual amusement is gone. Greed drums his fingers, rapping them on a more solid surface.] Oh-? Pretty extreme, don't you think?

[Still, he's up. Moving from his seat and trailing through the bar.] You sure that's what you want? It's gunna get a little messy.

[And in all honesty? This is something he hasn't had to deal with before. Those that worked for him never wanted death, it just came. But Yomiel's different. He always had been.]

Bit of a waste, friend. But I guess I can't really blame you. [If there's a twinge in his voice, it's faint. Off. Greed's teeth click and the door to the 'Nest swings wide open. Banging with breeze that catches in the receiver.]

audio;

[handwringing]

[ANNA!

After a few minutes of panicking, Elsa pulls herself together and leaves a message. A very, very pissed off message.]

If you hurt even one hair on Anna's head, I'll...

["keep you alive as long as possible" seems like the most suitable threat, but she doesn't want to make him do anything (more) drastic. And honestly she wants to kill him right now.]

[vengefulshades]

I'm sorry, Elsa. This is the second time I've hurt you.

[He actually does feel bad about that. She was kind to him, so long ago, when he was still pretending he could be a normal person.]

But look. Someone will come. I'll be gone by the morning and out of your hair. Nobody else has to die.

video;

[redhairring]

[ Abigail what the fuck this is not good. To her credit, Freddie isn't totally panicking. But there's a definite strain of utterly terrified. ]

Care to make a statement to Tattlecrime? This is going to get written up eventually, might as well get your own words out there while you can.

Audio

[vengefulshades]

[... wow. Priorities, lady.]

No harm in it, I suppose.

I've always thought I was very clear with my intentions. But that hasn't stopped people from not understanding me.

[sizetwelve]

[ Abigail. :(

Annie. :(

Mary is rather disgusted by this set-up but she figures there are enough heroes to keep her from having to do anything. It's not her responsibility. But she does hope whoever this is gets captured and taken to jail to rot for another 10 years, and of course she's stalking this like crazy.

edit; Aaaand now after talking a bit with Will, and seeing more of these 'interactions', she's going to break from work to go spend the evening camped out across the street. Should he go near a window and she can get a clear shot, Mary will be aiming to put a bullet through his head.

Sorry superheroes. She really hasn't quite got it yet that a headshot won't kill everybody. ]

video;

[infomodder]

[It takes him a moment to get composed enough to show himself on the video feed, in what looks to be an employee's lounge, bereft of the stupid fishing hat he generally wears. His name tag's still on, even.]

Would you be open to swapping out one of your hostages?

[Somebody might be willing to take the place of a specific somebody else. He likes Annie, no doubt about it, but nobody comes close to Abigail Hobbs. If he can just get her out, that's really all that matters.]

[vengefulshades]

Mmmm... nah. Too much trouble for me.

Is it someone you care about?

video;

[proteus]

What?!

text;

[lurings]

I'm fine.

audio

[katastrophe]

You're pathetic. What kind of weakling has to rely on someone else to kill them? Do it yourself.

[vengefulshades]

Oh, believe me. I've tried. Just about every way you could possibly imagine. Hanging, drowning, slitting my throat, stabbing my heart. I once shrugged off an explosion that buried me in tons of rubble for a week.

I need someone's powers. There's no other way.

voice; wild tiger comm

[earnedmystripes]

[nO NO NO NO this is not happening why is this happening. Kotetsu's in another part of the city when this goes up, and he's already hauling ass toward downtown as he replies]

What...what the hell--are you outta your mind?! You're gonna put all those people's lives on the line for the possibility someone'll kill you? Even if they did manage, this place'd just bring you back, right??

[vengefulshades]

That's a risk I'm willing to take.

I told you all I was serious. You didn't take me seriously.

This way, you have to.

video;

[daimeinashi]

[After stalking this for like...an hour...]

How do you expect anyone to kill you if you don't know why you haven't died yet?

[vengefulshades]

Who cares? It's worth trying.

text

[aggressiveapathy]

When did you get here?

[vengefulshades]

Entirely too long ago.

voice;

[slightlyoffchilt]

This -- [beat.] This isn't just about attention, is it? Not just some elaborate suicidal ploy.

[vengefulshades]

Attention? Who cares about that? I'm dead.

All I want is a death that sticks to me. But nobody would bother trying before. They didn't take me seriously.

[He laughs, mirthlessly.]

This is just a little insurance to prove it-- I'm very serious.

[ex_question191]

I don't have any powers that could kill you.

[ stiles looks straight into the screen, his stomach clenching. ]

But — I dunno, you've probably had a don't-kill-yourself speech a whole bunch of times. And I can respect that you feel like you wanna die, but. Why? Why do it like this? Those people haven't done anything.

[vengefulshades]

Yeah, I've had that speech. It loses its punch when you're already dead.

[Another heavy sigh.]

Because nobody helped me. Nobody even tried. This way, they have to.

Just watch. It'll all be just fine. Nobody else needs to get hurt.

voice.

[altercate]

And once you're dead, they'll be released? That's guaranteed?

[vengefulshades]

Once I'm dead, I'll have no way to possibly kill them, will I? That's a guarantee.

video;

[hoboagogo]

You didn't think this through for a damn second, did you, Sissel. [There's venom in the name-- but there's still something telling in the way he doesn't out the ghost's true name just yet.]

I'm sure you got some big stupid plan to try and get what you want, but what do you actually expect to happen here? Outside of your shitty mental issues?

[Yeah- your bro is pissed.]

And don't gimme some bullshit 'no one takes me seriously' whining. They don't do it 'cause you're always acting like a fucking kid having a tantrum.

[vengefulshades]

[... Whoops.

For a moment he's genuinely surprised by the vitriol from his somewhat friend. But on second though, it makes perfect sense.]

This is my way out. This is the only way I can get them to try.

Don't you see? It'll all be fine. Someone will take care of me, and nobody else needs to get hurt.

AUDIO.

[selfimage]

[ really. really. he sounds unimpressed and borderline put-out. ]

It's come down to tantrums.

[vengefulshades]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I tried asking nicely. I was disregarded. Ignored. None of you will ignore this.

[acclimatized]

[ oh god, those are a lot of familiar faces. ]

You're reeeally temping me.

[vengefulshades]

To what?

[observationalhazard]

Suicide by hero.

That's a bit cowardly, don't you think? Using people who have nothing to do with your inability to die?

[Hange's tempted to go out there herself. But she's not sure she could actually kill him or bust the hostages out without getting someone killed.]

[vengefulshades]

Well, nothing else seems to have gotten anyone to take me seriously.

All I've done is raised the stakes a little.