Random writings
It's not quite a 'Letters from Paragon', but I got all write-y again, so i did up a short ficlet surrounding what is quickly proving to be my favorite CoH char, Crimson Arbiter. Browsing TVTropes put the classic 'We Could Rule Together' speech in my head, and I realized that Arby would be the sort of guy to interrupt mid-speech in a rather... direct manner, especially if the person was the sort that clearly hadn't been paying attention to his reputation. This was the result.
"You're a very talented young man, Arbiter," Moonless Midnight purred.
They stood in the middle of a warehouse in Talos, the bodies of battered and bruised thugs littering the floor around them. This was becoming an increasingly common proposition - it seemed like the more villains Crimson Arbiter put behind bars, the more of them decided they'd make a name for themselves by challenging him. He had finally gotten to the point where he just couldn't afford to take challenges, chance to put a crook behind bars or not; he had been heard to say he 'had more important things than bruising some thug's overinflated ego'.
Moonless Midnight, however, had other ideas. She'd been watching him for some time; it always behooved an up and coming evil overlady to keep an eye on her potential rivals, after all. So many heroes with delusions of grandeur, declaring how she'll never get away with it, justice will prevail, blah blah blah, could they BE any more trite? There was something different about Arbiter, though. He spouted the same little natterings, but he didn't do it blindly - there was a brain in the boy's head. There was a certain sort of... greatness about him, that too few capes showed these days. And she had to admit, he was delicious to look at. That pesky sense of justice would have to go, but he was a smart boy. The right words in the right place at the right time would turn him around to the smart way of doing things.
So, she had laid her little trap. A spree of crimes in Talos, relatively minor, fast enough to get away from the scene before capes arrived, but major enough to garner attention from her mark. She also left little clues at each scene, tantalizing hints that would require him to think to put them all together - something novel, to get his attention in a way some open challenge never would. And it had worked like a charm. She'd staged the raid on this warehouse exactly as she'd hinted she would, and her men had just finished securing it when he had broken down the door and begun un-securing it. She had to admit, he was magnificent to watch in action, wading through gunfire like it was a stiff breeze, bending the barrels of their guns easier than they pulled the trigger, and putting them out cold with as much effort as it took her to blink. Oh yes, she'd made the right choice.
"Well done, Crimson Arbiter," she cooed, as the last of her goons crumpled to the ground. He eyed her suspiciously, an intense, piercing gaze that she had to admit left her a little weak in the knees. "I'll admit it, this is a new way of calling me out. You've got my attention," he stated simply, crossing his arms over his chest. "What is it you're after?"
"The world," she replied, letting a sly smile onto her face. She crossed her arms under her chest, squeezing a little bit for effect, and started walking. "But you already knew that, of course. So let me clarify." Like a shark circling prey. "This world deserves someone strong. Smart. Beautiful. Someone who can rip the wretched sin right out of its rotting heart, and help it to *heal* into a wonderful place to live." She smiled a predatory smile as she came back around. "But, of course... I can't do it alone. I'm not so foolish as to think otherwise."
She peered at his face as she passed. He had a good poker face, she had to give him that. "So, I need someone *else* who is strong, smart, and beautiful," she continued, circling back around him again. "Someone with the will to do what has to be done, and save this world. You're a very talented young man, Arbiter," Moonless Midnight purred. As she came back around in front of him again, she saw his eyes flick downward briefly. Good. She'd worn her tightest bodysuit just for him. "The two of us together, I think, would be so much more dangerous than either alone, no? We could rise to the top of any organization we cared to. Like, say, Arachnos..." His face twitched at that. She had him. Now to reel him in. She leaned in good and close, face inches from his. "And of course... if we're to rule together, we'll need to be able to lie together... to be able to find comfort in each others' arms-"
Moonless Midnight found that to be the point at which it was wisest to stop. Not because she felt she had pushed too far, nor because she had other things to do with her lips, or anything classicaly cliché like that. No, she stopped because it was very likely to exacerbate her broken jaw, and she was fairly certain the pain of slamming into a wall back-first with enough force to crack concrete would cause her to black out if she didn't focus. She lifted her head, blinking in confusion, trying to figure out what had just happened; the sight she was greeted with was Crimson Arbiter, his fist held in the followthrough position for a moment more, before he dropped it to his side and stood straight.
"Insulting my intelligence is one thing," he calmly stated, fixing her eyes with that intense gaze; before it had made her shiver, but now it made her wither. "But I draw the line at listening to you trash my girlfriend. She's sure the hell better for me than you'll ever be." She realized she could hear sirens in the distance. "Who knows? You might find someone in the Zig that's more your speed," he stated flatly. And with that, he turned and walked off, cape fluttering softly behind him.
"You're a very talented young man, Arbiter," Moonless Midnight purred.
They stood in the middle of a warehouse in Talos, the bodies of battered and bruised thugs littering the floor around them. This was becoming an increasingly common proposition - it seemed like the more villains Crimson Arbiter put behind bars, the more of them decided they'd make a name for themselves by challenging him. He had finally gotten to the point where he just couldn't afford to take challenges, chance to put a crook behind bars or not; he had been heard to say he 'had more important things than bruising some thug's overinflated ego'.
Moonless Midnight, however, had other ideas. She'd been watching him for some time; it always behooved an up and coming evil overlady to keep an eye on her potential rivals, after all. So many heroes with delusions of grandeur, declaring how she'll never get away with it, justice will prevail, blah blah blah, could they BE any more trite? There was something different about Arbiter, though. He spouted the same little natterings, but he didn't do it blindly - there was a brain in the boy's head. There was a certain sort of... greatness about him, that too few capes showed these days. And she had to admit, he was delicious to look at. That pesky sense of justice would have to go, but he was a smart boy. The right words in the right place at the right time would turn him around to the smart way of doing things.
So, she had laid her little trap. A spree of crimes in Talos, relatively minor, fast enough to get away from the scene before capes arrived, but major enough to garner attention from her mark. She also left little clues at each scene, tantalizing hints that would require him to think to put them all together - something novel, to get his attention in a way some open challenge never would. And it had worked like a charm. She'd staged the raid on this warehouse exactly as she'd hinted she would, and her men had just finished securing it when he had broken down the door and begun un-securing it. She had to admit, he was magnificent to watch in action, wading through gunfire like it was a stiff breeze, bending the barrels of their guns easier than they pulled the trigger, and putting them out cold with as much effort as it took her to blink. Oh yes, she'd made the right choice.
"Well done, Crimson Arbiter," she cooed, as the last of her goons crumpled to the ground. He eyed her suspiciously, an intense, piercing gaze that she had to admit left her a little weak in the knees. "I'll admit it, this is a new way of calling me out. You've got my attention," he stated simply, crossing his arms over his chest. "What is it you're after?"
"The world," she replied, letting a sly smile onto her face. She crossed her arms under her chest, squeezing a little bit for effect, and started walking. "But you already knew that, of course. So let me clarify." Like a shark circling prey. "This world deserves someone strong. Smart. Beautiful. Someone who can rip the wretched sin right out of its rotting heart, and help it to *heal* into a wonderful place to live." She smiled a predatory smile as she came back around. "But, of course... I can't do it alone. I'm not so foolish as to think otherwise."
She peered at his face as she passed. He had a good poker face, she had to give him that. "So, I need someone *else* who is strong, smart, and beautiful," she continued, circling back around him again. "Someone with the will to do what has to be done, and save this world. You're a very talented young man, Arbiter," Moonless Midnight purred. As she came back around in front of him again, she saw his eyes flick downward briefly. Good. She'd worn her tightest bodysuit just for him. "The two of us together, I think, would be so much more dangerous than either alone, no? We could rise to the top of any organization we cared to. Like, say, Arachnos..." His face twitched at that. She had him. Now to reel him in. She leaned in good and close, face inches from his. "And of course... if we're to rule together, we'll need to be able to lie together... to be able to find comfort in each others' arms-"
Moonless Midnight found that to be the point at which it was wisest to stop. Not because she felt she had pushed too far, nor because she had other things to do with her lips, or anything classicaly cliché like that. No, she stopped because it was very likely to exacerbate her broken jaw, and she was fairly certain the pain of slamming into a wall back-first with enough force to crack concrete would cause her to black out if she didn't focus. She lifted her head, blinking in confusion, trying to figure out what had just happened; the sight she was greeted with was Crimson Arbiter, his fist held in the followthrough position for a moment more, before he dropped it to his side and stood straight.
"Insulting my intelligence is one thing," he calmly stated, fixing her eyes with that intense gaze; before it had made her shiver, but now it made her wither. "But I draw the line at listening to you trash my girlfriend. She's sure the hell better for me than you'll ever be." She realized she could hear sirens in the distance. "Who knows? You might find someone in the Zig that's more your speed," he stated flatly. And with that, he turned and walked off, cape fluttering softly behind him.