Jump to content

Aberrant: No Good Deed - Prologue: Caroline and Will


Caroline

Recommended Posts

Caroline was feeling good about her latest accomplishment. This one was... satisfying. The tall athletic blond looking back at her in the mirror was everything Caroline had not been in her previous life. Rich, pampered, and vicious. She took a perverse joy in backstabbing those who were close to her, heaping upon them cruelties both large and small, just because she could.

Caroline had read that in her mind before deciding it was time to right the scales of justice. The thing that made her really despise the blond woman she was inhabiting, was that the woman felt it was all justified. In her twisted way she felt that because her 'victims' were just being close to her because she was rich that they somehow deserved it.

The image in the mirror smirked. She'd be a lot less rich before this night was over, and a lot less popular. There was just something wrong with the smirk on the face of the woman in the mirror. Somehow it just didn't go with the outfit she wore, which was made up primarily of red leather and black latex, not that there was really all that much to the outfit. The really important parts were left completely exposed right down to the tail she was 'wearing'. Caroline laughed aloud in true amusement, which did not at all fit with the image before her. Except for the expression on the face the image was that of a broken submissive.

Of course Brittni Covington would never have allowed herself to be put in such a position, but Brittni wasn't in charge of her body at the moment, and when she woke up in the morning she'd have vague memories of the night and how she had felt out of control with lust for the man and woman who had taught her all kinds of naughty things. What she wouldn't remember was Caroline's presence.

The couple that she had picked up from the sex club had been more than eager to come home with her and do these things with her and most importantly, tape the entire evening, with beautiful close ups of Brittni's face distorted in lust and ecstasy. They had also followed 'Brittni's' directions and mailed a copy of the dvd to all of the people Brittni had named. Caroline's smile returned. It was quite a long list of people that her host had wronged and she could just imagine the looks on their faces when they played the recording. Perhaps they would feel just a bit of the satisfaction that Caroline felt as the instrument of justice.

The older couple had just left and there was only one thing left to do this evening. Time to transfer all of the funds in Brittni's bank account to her own numbered Swiss account, well an account that was the first step in her laundering the money anyway. She hit the enter key. Now it was time to find a new host, perhaps one in which she could relax without feeling the need to punish so strongly. Not that she ever really found a host that didn't deserve some punishment however small, but this one had been fairly elaborate and had taken some planning. She looked over at her mostly naked host in the mirror again. It was a good body, she almost hated to give it up, but it was time. She liked to make the break clean and not stay too long in a body, it made it easier to erase all the memories of being possessed, a few days could be passed off as a drug binge or being slipped a micky, but weeks or months and entire chunks of memory would have to be erased. Caroline didn't want to leave any traces that could be tracked after all.

She grinned at herself in the mirror again, so much prettier than the grin she had been born with, not that she had much to smile about growing up. Time to celebrate and collect her next host. Hmmm... something a bit more useful this time, and male... athletic and capable. That would be good.

She removed the tail and threw on a long coat that tied at the front and walked out the door and toward the subway. As she walked she continued the ongoing process of tweaking her host's memories. Brittni felt like one last thrill before turning in for night and resuming her regular life tomorrow, or that's how she would remember it. On her way to a club she would pass by Vu's Martial Arts studio, that's where Caroline would leave her, but in the mean time it was a very enjoyable subway ride, for everyone involved. At the right stop she apologized to two men that she couldn't say longer, but thanked them for what they had done for her. Caroline had actually enjoyed that herself, she'd never had that much fun when she was alive, but being chained in a basement by your family tended to do that.

At the dojo, Caroline watched the black belt class through the window as they completed their katas and moved on to sparing. When she had finally picked a new host she was surprised to find that the best choice wasn't a man after all but a young woman of mixed Asian and Caucasian heritage. Well, you never know till you find one eh? She implanted a final instruction into Brittni's mind. Go to the club and enjoy yourself feeling very naughty about all you've done this weekend and then after midnight start to regret and feel nervous about having gone too wild. Go home and take a nice hot bath and then get a good night's sleep.

When she was sure the command took she made the short leap into the girl in the dojo. There was a brief struggle for control and it was much more of a struggle than Brittni had put up, but Caroline was used to that. There was always a struggle at first until she established a firm grip on the body. After that it was just a matter of tweaking memories and enjoying herself. She was looking forward to this, she'd never taken control of a real martial artist before. This could be fun, it didn't hurt that Kiki, was very attractive, these days she hated taking hosts that weren't at least somewhat pretty or handsome, unless they really needed to be punished anyway. Seriously? Someone's parents actually named their daughter Kiki?!? WTF?

She sifted through Kiki's memories enough to make it through the rest of the class without raising any suspicion. She could have just commanded Kiki to pretend nothing was wrong, but then she wouldn't directly be controlling the body and that wasn't as much fun. Once class was over Caroline decided it was time to find someplace interesting to be. Maybe a party?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After the workout finished Caroline/Kiki made her way to the locker rooms to get a quick shower and check out the new body. It was a good one she had to admit, not exactly a supermodel like her last host had been, but this girl could have made a decent Hollywood actress with her looks. Hell, the martial arts talents alone could have gotten this girl a spot in films.

Before she could finish her shower one of the other girls in the class, not nearly so talented or attractive as the host Caroline had picked out, moved in to say quietly, "How bout we go get something to eat?"

She blinked in surprise, that's not something she had expected in the showers. Either her host was a lesbian or this was one of Kiki's good friends. She did a quick search of Kiki's memories and knew that it was just a good friend.

"Sure Dana. After that workout, I could eat a horse. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking the Charlie Palmer Steak restaurant." Dana grinned mischieviously.

Caroline raised an eyebrow in what she knew was one of Kiki's regular expressions, "Why do I think you have an ulterior motive?" She smiled knowingly.

Dana giggled and smacked Kiki on the bottom, "Don't be so smug! I remember when you were interested in Robert, how you used to drag me places all the time where you knew he was going to be. There's someone at the Steakhouse that I want to see and I need you there as my friend."

Caroline allowed Kiki to laugh and play along. It was a fine line between running the host and letting them have enough freedom to seem natural, but she had had a great deal of practice over the last few years. In a way it was an art form; let the host do as much of it's own thing as you could and force the rest, that way there was far less to change in their memories, and they tended to fight less as well, not that they ever stood a chance once she had her talons into them. Each host she took was like a block of marble, she came along and shaped it and worked with grain where possible to make the sculpture as beautiful as possible. Sometime the art and beauty was not in carving the statue, but in destroying it. It was like one of those Zen masters observing a cherry blossom falling from the tree. The beauty was transitory and the 'meaning' in life came from that fact. Brittni, her last host had been a cherry blossom, and her destruction had been a thing to marvel at, but Caroline was the Zen master, content to observe and alone in all the world watch the destruction and smile.

"Yeah Dana, I think I've worked up quite an appetite. I could use a steak, let's go."

The two young women dressed and stowed their gear in the lockers and took Dana's car to the restaurant. Once there they were seated quickly at a booth. Kiki had been unable to get much out of her friend on the ride about the man she was wanting to meet, so she wasn't sure what would happen, but Caroline was relaxed and feeling pretty sated after her last two days of fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Without much waiting, which was unexpected due to the shear number of people who were already there, ‘Kiki’ and Dana’s waiter appeared. He was in his early to mid twenties, just under 6 feet tall, had an athletic build similar to Kiki’s, though more muscular, deep green eyes and slicked back short black hair. He was well groomed and clean shaven, and he shouldn't have stood out all that much in his white button up shirt and black slacks of a uniform. He was very average in his appearance; but there was something about him. Call it a glow, an aura, his poise or whatever you will, but somehow he was perfectly normal. Whatever it was, it made him stand out.

When he spoke, his voice was deep and melodic, and his smile showed off his white, straight teeth. “Good evening ladies. We have a fine selection of beverages tonight. Do you know what you would like yet?”

When he first walked up, his eyes quickly looked them over, moving from their faces to their feet and back up. It was so quick that a normal person might’ve missed it; but ‘Kiki’ was far from normal. Other than that brief part of a second, his eyes stayed on theirs, the entire time he took their orders, and he seemed nothing more than exceptionally polite and professional.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caroline ran her finger along her teeth in an unconscious gesture that was a habit of this body. "I do now." She wasn't looking at the menu.

Dana gave her friend a dark look, but Caroline wasn't paying attention to her dinner companion. "What's the best steak you have?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

William, either through years of experience, even more years of martial arts training and restraint, or because he didn't notice, failed to react to Caroline's come on.

He did, however, notice Dana's dark look. And, as he wanted to keep all of his customers as happy as he possibly could, he spent about 60-70% of his time going over the menu speaking directly to Dana. If he could engage her, then maybe she'd forget about why she was upset with her friend for a little bit... which would make him seem even nicer... which equated, usually, to a much bigger tip.

His voice was still deep and melodic; he could've almost been singing the menu for the quality and tone of his voice. And the pacing was perfect. He spoke as if this wasn't a memorized script that he recited to everybody, but he didn't waste any time with dead space or extraneous facts. Yet he didn't make it feel like he was rushing. He did have other tables to get to, so he made it fast, but while he was here, he made these two women feel as if they were the only two people in the entire restaurant.

"If you want tender, the Filet Mignon, aged 21 days, is the absolute best. However, if you want my personal opinion, I think that the flavor of the New York Strip Steak, which has been dry aged 28 days is the absolute best that there is; not just here. And if you pair that with the Wild Mushroom and Onions and the Truffle Twice Baked Potato, trust me, your mouth will be singing all the way home.

If you want that, I would suggest starting off with Seven Vegetable Salad; light and crisp.

Round it all out with Cabernet Sauvignon, we have a wonderful vintage 1997 from Freemark Abby that is moderately priced, or if you want to go all out, we have a 1958 vintage from the Private Reserve of Georges De Latour of the Beaulieu Vineyard. The latter would make this the absolute perfect meal, while the former would make it only slightly less so. Or, of course, feel free to pick anything else that you so desire."

Out of shear coincidence, or maybe not, he ended his suggestion looking at 'Kiki' and not Dana. He still had a smile on his face, and he was still looking into her eyes, as he had been the entire time; except when looking into Dana's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caroline, being world class manipulative bitch could easily recognize when someone was working a conversation. William here was doing a decent job of trying to play nice between his two guests. She recognized it and was amused. She smiled and reached over and grabbed Dana's hand, what do you want? That should set things right. Not that she really cared, but if William wanted to play then so be it. Once her friend had ordered she looked back to William, I'll have your suggestion. That sounded great.

She considered. William wasn't really impressive to look at, nor was he charismatic, but he had just played his guests like a violin. Had Caroline not been who she was she would have been doing exactly what this man had been pushing for. She was intrigued now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

William nodded as Dana ordered, giving her his full attention, and committing her order to memory instead of paper.

He did the same when 'Kiki' ordered his suggestion.

"Those are some wonderful choices. I'll be back with your drinks and first course."

Then he left. He took their order, and then headed in the direction of the kitchen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kiki raised an eyebrow challengingly, "I didn't know he was the one we were coming to see. I thought you wanted to meet someone."

Caroline considered being evil and taking the other girl's toy away and flaunting it. The waiter had been very careful to not show favoritism and that too made Caroline consider it. For the moment it just wasn't worth the effort, the man hadn't been all that terribly attractive, just average. Still, she would watch and see what might happen, maybe the waiter would prove interesting in some way. In the mean time Kiki was hungry which meant Caroline was also hungry and she hoped this place served bread, who cared about carbs when you really didn't have to worry about your figure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After what seemed an extraordinarily short amount of time for a restaurant, William came back with their bread, water and wine. But his speed wasn't the only difference.

On his right index finger, he had the bread basket spinning like a Globe Trotter's basketball. On his left index finger the bottle of wine that cost several hundred dollars was spinning as well, but it had both of their glasses of water perched on top of it as well.

And he didn't even seem to be trying hard.

When he got to the table, he stopped the bread basket from spinning and put it on the table, exactly half way between the two of them (again not showing any favoritism). Then, he did something very impressive. He lowered his left hand until it looked like the spinning wine bottle was going to hit the table. Then, he let the wine bottle fall into the palm of his hand, thus abruptly stopping its' spinning.

The glass of water on the very tip of the bottle of wine neatly slid onto the table, right in front of 'Kiki' once its' perch stopped, and William smartly grabbed the other one and set it in front of Dana.

The bottle of wine she showed primarily to 'Kiki', since she was the one that had specifically ordered it, though he did reach behind his back and produce a set of wine glasses.

When he spoke, his voice was as deep as ever. "Ladies, I hope you enjoy. The first course will be out just as quick as we can finish making it. If you need anything, just let me know."

He waited for a moment, to see if there was anything that the two of them needed. IF they didn't, he headed back off to wherever it is that servers go when they're not at their tables.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caroline was very impressed and was considering taking on a new host when the big boom occurred. She wasn't too worried though, she was dead already, so why worry about dying? She watched William for his reaction, but otherwise took a small sip of her wine and savored the taste. She smiled at what she found. This host had excellent taste buds and she could really appreciate the full range of subtle flavors in the wine. It really wasn't bad at all, just a slight bit too much tannin, but otherwise a first class vintage. Looking away from William for just a moment she swirled the wine in the glass to see what kind of legs it had. Yes, a very good vintage...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was a flash of startled at the sound of the boom and the following cries of excitement from the patrons. But it left his face just as quickly as it came. William casually threw a glance over his shoulder towards the origin of the sound. Then, in a voice that was slightly louder than he had previously been talking, loud enough that the tables around them could hear him clearly, he 'explained' the situation. "Oh, those cooks. They're always experimenting with something, trying to stay a step ahead and bring you all the very best."

Then, he dropped his voice back down, so he was only talking to the two of them again. "Now, let me get back there and make sure that they're not overcooking your steaks. Ten seconds past medium-rare and you start loosing the flavors."

He flashed the two of them a smile, then he was off. He didn't run, but he did move swiftly and purposefully, calming patrons with the same 'experimenting cooks' line he'd used with 'Kiki' and Dana.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caroline didn't buy it for a moment. She had been considering jumping into William after seeing his abilities at juggling a wine bottle, but now he was going toward the source of the boom. Just to be safe she reached out with her mind to find someone nearby to be a host should Keiko prove to be too fragile a vessel. It was times like these that she wished novas were less troublesome to possess. Hmm... note to self, find a good sturdy nova to inhabit should the need arise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

William paused his advance to the kitchen to reassure the woman who asked about the police.

His voice was as charming and reassuring as he could make it. "No ma'am. Trust me. They usually wait until there isn't anybody around to... steal their creations. Guess they just couldn't wait!" He finished with a big smile.

Then, without waiting for her response he made his way as quickly to the kitchen as he possibly could.

Click to reveal..
(22:39:16) (William_Smith): Charisma Roll

(22:39:21) ChatBot: (William_Smith) rolls 2d10 and gets 2,9.

It's only one, but it's a success.

Why oh why didn't I get at least 1 dot in Rapport/Etiquette?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Inside, the kitchen scene was a horror. A hole had been blasted in the wall, and through it, several men in dark clothing has used their guns to force the cooks and waiters into the 'hostage position'. As they spotted Caroline and Will, the leader raised his gun with precision. "Down on the ground now."

Click to reveal..

Perception + Aw for Thugs

(20:01:49) ChatBot: (novus_ST) rolls 4d10 and gets 8,2,1,5.

(20:02:09) ChatBot: (novus_ST) rolls 4d10 and gets 2,8,7,8.

(20:02:15) ChatBot: (novus_ST) rolls 4d10 and gets 2,9,4,1.

(20:02:21) ChatBot: (novus_ST) rolls 4d10 and gets 6,9,8,2.

(20:05:55) ChatBot: (novus_ST) rolls 6d10 and gets 8,1,7,1,1,2.

All alert and see the PCs.

Combat now:

Init for Thugs

(20:06:27) ChatBot: (novus_ST) rolls 1d10 and gets 10.

Thugs Init 16.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Suddenly, something seemed to press at Caroline and Will's minds, and it came from the leader. The masked man laughed to his men, "Boys, we've got our target and one more for the bonuses!"

Then, he changed, growing larger, physique changing, including a mass of strong muscles that bulged greatly. In one move, the mask slammed his fist into William, dealing a blow that only a superhuman could withstand. Will staggered back, the door behind him shattered, and he felt serious bruises on his chest and shoulder.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Years, over a decade in fact, of martial arts training had honed William's body so that he could withstand more punishment than ye average person... but this guy was no average person.

Good thing William wasn't either.

William could still feel the imprint of the fist on his chest, but it was only mildly distracting. William took a heartbeat to center himself, and time seemed to slow down...

William's first reaction was immediate retaliation, but none of his normal karate would probably be able to put this guy down in a single shot... and as trained as William was, he really didn't want to suffer another of those blows.

But nobody knew he could control the elements... what could he do to put down these interlopers and save his skin (and hopefully his tip... what was she doing here anyways?)

First he needed a distraction, to draw all the employee's eyes away from him and how he'd deal with this guy that appeared to be the leader.

Good thing they cooked with gas back here... and good thing these guys busted through the wall somewhat near the grills. That would make a good excuse for that area to catch on fire, catching all those guys and diverting attention away from him. Fire was flashy like that.

So, with a solid step forward, William assumed one of his katas, regaining his footing and punching out with his fist. The action helped him focus his energy enough so that he could try something new... engulfing the thugs in a storm of fire that he'd claim came from a spark and a leaking gas line (he'd have to rupture one later if they hadn't already).

It was then that William realized that doing that first meant that he'd have to split his concentration between maintaining the fire and his retaliatory strike.

But that was ok. William could do it. Amid the screams of the burning thugs, and before anyone else could react, William drew upon the ambient moisture in the air. With a swirl of his outstretched arm, he condenced the water into a makeshift blade, then, as he took another step forward, he brought his other hand up in a slashing motion, assuming another kata.

The water blade mirrored the motion of his off hand, slashing deep into the chest of the leader, stopping him short. He looked down at his chest, where he was now loosing blood with every beat of his heart; and then, whether from the trauma, the shock, the injury itself, or some combination of the above, the leader fell face first on the floor at William's feet.

He'd have to get a knife later too, and get some of this guy's blood on it... anybody asking would know that martial arts training triumphed over brawn this day...

...or at least that's the story they'd hear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caroline was impressed. Her waiter seemed to have unplumbed depths worth exploring, but that would have to wait till later. Right now she wanted answers and those answers were in the head of the dying man that had led the attack. She pushed out with her thoughts seeking to penetrate his mind. As cute as Kiki was it would be nice to have a nova body, especially since she would have every right to possess the one that had tried to kill her and she wouldn't have to worry about all that covering her tracks business.

Click to reveal..

Ok, if it looks like the leader guy is about to die and can't be saved then she'll just try and read his mind. If he looks like he could survive she will possess him, that is if I read correctly that he is a nova.

Telepathy roll if he's going to die:

(22:25:07) ChatBot: (Caroline) rolls 6d10 and gets 3,7,3,7,4,2.

(22:25:12) ChatBot: (Caroline) rolls 1d10 and gets 2.

2 successes

Possession roll if he isn't:

(22:26:06) ChatBot: (Caroline) rolls 6d10 and gets 8,10,5,9,6,5.

(22:26:13) ChatBot: (Caroline) rolls 5d10 and gets 5,10,7,4,5.

8 successes

Novus Edit- Possessed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As Caroline entered the downed leader, she realized too late that the man was out. She was stuck inside, blacked out.

Free at last, Kiki took a look at the scene and fled, wondering how she'd gotten here.

Though injured and burned, the thugs stayed calm and leveled their guns at Will. As one the shots twanged out. To Will's surprise, the bullets were made of some kind of plastic or rubber.

Nonetheless, one struck him in the groin, leaving a rather painful mark on him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Almost as soon as the action started, his guest beat a hasty retreat. Better that she wasn’t in here for this, but his tip had just run away terrified, and he’d probably never see her again. Not to mention that when people saw her panicking after following him back here, they’d probably leave too… that foolish girl had probably just cost him over $200 in tips…

Some days just didn’t go the way you wanted them too.

Oh well. At least he had someone he could take his frustration out on… three of them in fact.

Of course, the stinging pain in his groin, moving up to a nauseous feeling in his stomach didn’t help matters at all, especially considering that he was still concentrating on keeping the inferno blazing… which, oddly enough, didn’t seem to have much effect on the thugs, despite the fact that William could smell burnt fabric and flesh.

Well, maybe he could turn up the heat a little.

William took another step forward, again punching out with his fist, as was the motion for this kata. As he did so, a particular gout of fire intensified, scorching the thug that had hit him in the groin bad enough that he simply fell to the ground. Dead most likely… or at least if William had anything to say about it.

Bad stuff happened when you stood in the middle of a blaze and didn’t move. Maybe the others would get smart and leave… William was nearing the end of his endurance. It’d take a good day’s sleep or two to recover from all of this; which was a lot for William.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As the mounting heat and fire grew, one of the thugs shot ineffectively and then ran out the hole in the wall. His partner drew a knife and darted at Will. As the meta-human brought a hand up to block, the thug weaved and his knife drew a line down Will's head.

The screams of panic and the smoke alarms filled the air.

[OOC: Make a luck roll at the start of your turn. The rules are in the game rules section. If you succeed, nothing happens. If you fail, let me know.]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can control all 4 elements and this guy comes after me with a knife? I can kill each of them with a simple gesture and they come after me with rubber bullets? I don't think they know who they're dealing with...

William let the fire storm die down... the gas had an automatic shut off or some such. Either way, they'd moved out of it, so it was of no use anymore. Plus, it let him concentrate on the matter at hand.

The slash across his face stung, and it was bleeding profusely; and it ended up distracting him almost as much as maintaining the inferno did.

But there was time for that later. Right now, William had this guy, with a knife to deal with.

Not feeling exceptionally creative, William did the same motion as he had with the leader, drawing the moisture out of the air to form a knife blade, but this time he drove it into the thug's gut and pulled up. Sure it was a little excessive, but William was nearing the end of what he could take, and he was just flat fed up with being attacked.

The thug took one last surprised breath, and then breathed no more as he fell backwards, on top of his unconscious leader.

It was then that William made best possible speed, more like a stagger, to the burning hole in the wall. Hopefully he could spot which way the only one of the 4 with any amount of common sense (however small that amount might be) had run.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caroline was no pleased at all. This was not at all what she intended, but since she was in here she might as well root around through the man's brain and see why the hell he'd come here and whether he was after the surprisingly talented waiter or if he'd been after her. And if he could track her the she definitely wanted to know who the hell he was and how he was doing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The blackout seemed to be affecting the memories, or something else... Caroline was locked in her search into a certain memory. The man had been meeting with his employer, a member of the 'Research Group', whatever that was. A short, balding man the boss was, though with a good figure, and he'd pointed out Will's picture and indicated "Take this super alive. If you can get any others with him, we'll analyze them as well and see if they're of use."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caroline was pleased that she hadn't been the target. She quickly did what she could to erase any memory of her from the leader's mind and then reached out with her telepathy trying to find the thugs that had been there. Best thing to do would be to remain anonymous, she could always jump to another host if necessary after all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Suddenly, Will found himself staring at a bazooka from across the lot, and the man holding it fired with a tremendous gush of a blast. Will was slammed backwards, and found his mind slipping away automatically.

Caroline found the thugs were dead, except one... But then he suddenly vanished, and Caroline was alone in the dark of the thug's mind...

End of the Prologue

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...