Shadow Cat
The Oncoming Storm
You’re at a bar one night. Perhaps you’re celebrating. Maybe you’re drowning your sorrows. Hell, maybe you’re drinking just to drink, because you like the way the liquor scorches your throat on the way down.
Whatever the case, you stay until nearly sunrise. “We’re getting ready to close up,” the bartender says, placing the liquor bottle he’s been using to refill your shots all night back on the shelf. You look around. You hadn’t realized it was so late-- err, early. Everyone else is gone. The only people in the bar at this point are you, the bartender, and a strange man sitting off in the corner by himself, dark hood pulled over his face as he nurses the same Shirley Temple you saw him with on the way in almost 6 hours ago. Odd.
You nod a thanks to the bartender for not cutting you off when you probably deserved it. You aren’t wasted anymore, but you definitely aren’t sober. There’s no way you can drive. So you stand from your spot on the bar stool, making your way toward the door with the intent of walking home when you notice the hooded man has done the same.
You shrug it off as coincidence. They are closing, after all. He’d have to leave just the same as you. You step through the door.
Outside, the sun hasn’t even begun to peak above the horizon, most of its rays still hidden by the dense forest that lines the Northern edge of the city. It’s a good thing too. You have a headache.
As you turn toward the forest to walk the 7 city blocks back to your house, you notice the man do the same. No matter. Perhaps he lives in this direction as well. But his presence is setting you on edge. Something about it sends shivers down your spine despite the warm summer air. You turn down an alley in hopes he will continue on.
He doesn’t.
He stands in front of you now, blocking your escape.
“What do you want?” You ask.
“Care to make a deal?” He responds, head tilted down in such a way that you can’t see the face beneath the hood.
Your eyes narrow, but you don’t refuse. Something about this strange man is captivating. Part of you wants to know what his deal is. Part of you just wants to stall for time. All of you insists that you answer his question.
“What deal?”
“An exchange of sorts. I can give you a power you could only dream of having.”
“What’s in it for you?”
“One day, I may call upon you for help. You are not allowed to deny this request under any circumstances, if in fact I deem it necessary to ask you for assistance.”
“If?” You question, your eyes wide as saucers.
“Yes, if. It is not a guarantee that I will ever reach out again. If that is the case, you keep the power I give you, thinking of it as a gift.”
For a moment, you are stunned. If you accept the power this man is offering, there’s a chance you’ll never have to repay it. A single favor is all the man is asking. And if he is in fact crazy, or is lying about the power he wishes to give you, you are under no obligation to keep your end of the bargain. You fail to see a downside.
“This favor you would need from me... would I get hurt?”
The man lifts his head ever so slightly, just enough to see his toothy grin. “I won’t lie to you. That is always a possibility.”
“Will I die?”
“Not if you know what you’re doing.”
This gives you pause. Your head is spinning from all of this. It seems improbable, but….
“Can I have time to think about it?” You ask. A decision like this is not one to be made hastily.
The man shakes his head slowly, almost sadly. “Afraid not. This is an opportunity only given once. You must make a decision.”
Your mind races. What do you do? Do you take the safe road? Do you risk everything for the unknowable gain this man is offering you? Will you even have to pay him back for it?
After a moment, you make your decision. “Yes,” you say almost imperceptibly.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Yes. You have a deal.”
Once again, you see the man’s toothy grin as he slowly, deliberately extends a hand for you to shake. You take it, gripping it tightly and giving a firm shake.
You feel a surge come from the man, pouring into you like a torrential flood rushing through your veins. You feel light, but somehow heavy. Your eyes blur, and you feel your knees begin to give. But somehow, you manage to keep your footing. Someone is screaming. It’s you.
Your headache worsens.
Finally, the man lets go, turning without a word as he leaves you panting in the alleyway. Before he turns the corner back onto the street, he stops. “I must warn you,” the man says, “your power comes with a price. It may take some time for your mind to process what that price is, but I’ve left the knowledge with you as a gift.”
“Th-thank you.” You stumble over your words as you lean against the cold brick to your left side, panting.
“No need to thank me,” The man says. “I am not cruel.”
And then he’s gone.
This roleplay is mission oriented, with a mission to be revealed to the players upon the starting of the roleplay. It is literate, semi-lit at the very least with serious themes. Your characters can be humorous and funny as a person, but please no meme characters that are going to mess around the whole time. By the time the rp starts, you will already have adjusted to your powers and know well what your price is. Any time you use your powers, your price must occur as well.
The setting is present day, in a world with weapons more futuristic than our own. In this world, weapons like guns and bows draw off the energy of the user to create a highly potent, very deadly projectile of pure energy. This energy can be converted at the user’s command as well to electrical energy, heat energy, etc, so be careful.
The eight super humans will be meeting near the beginning of the roleplay as well when a certain trigger event happens, so plan on travelling as a group.
I would like this to be fairly fast paced, with posting at least once every three or so days to keep things moving along and to keep interest up. If this ends up being too much, however, I will adjust accordingly. Additionally, while the roleplay itself will be done on rpnation, correspondence will take place in a Discord server, so be prepared for that as well.
These are the powers that will be available to roleplay. When commenting interest, be sure to reserve one for yourself!
The Traveller
Power: You have the ability to freeze time.
Drawback: You can not bring anyone into the time freeze with you. It is only you. And while in a time freeze, you age 50x as fast. This means that if you were to freeze time for a day, your body would be aging fifty days during that time.
The Gone
Power: You have the ability to walk in and become shadows.
Drawback: If the shadow you are in disappears, you disappear with it, blinking out of existence in the blink of an eye.
The Unnoticed
Power: You have the ability to look like you belong in any room or crowd regardless of circumstance. You’d be able to walk into the White House, for example, and no one would stop you.
Drawback: This effect only lasts so long as you have complete concentration on it. Should your concentration break, everyone in the immediate area automatically aggros on you.
The Interference: You have the ability to fry and manipulate electronics in certain ways with just a thought. However, you must be in physical contact with the electronics you are interfering with, and any use of your ability that is too large will begin to affect your heart and brain impulses, which could put you into a seizure or even cardiac arrest.
The Observer
Power: You are effectively immortal in terms of physical wounds and do not age. However, in receiving your ability you were sent back in time to the beginning of intelligent civilization to live up to present day and experience history. This means you are exceptionally intelligent and strategic.
Drawback: Each time you take damage from a non physical wound, i.e sickness, toxic gasses, radiation, etc, your organs must regenerate to heal you. This means the inside of your body ages while the outside does not, and so you have no idea what your limit is. For all you know, the next cold could be the one to kill you. You still feel pain.
The Healer
Power: You can heal the wounds of others, however you can not heal yourself. You heal at twice the speed of a normal person, however.
Drawback: In healing the wounds of another, a wound equally as grave appears on your own body.
The Drinker
Power: You have the ability to induce varying degrees of vertigo on your target.
Drawback: Whatever degree of vertigo you inflict on your target, you feel as well.
The Everybody
Power: You have the ability to swap into the body of another person temporarily, or permanently.
Drawback: While you have control of their body, they have control of yours.
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