A Trickster Is In Town. [Dusk/Drifter] "Hero Adrift pt2"

A shattering bolt of lightning carved the sky with a barrage of violet light. The since conflated shadows of the chapel began to divde and shift. The demure figure allowed its white glowing eyes to illuminate the space before him, making the world aware of his wicked presence. A thumping forbearance had reached his jutting ears from the echoing of a sound he knew all too horribly well. His slumped posture broke it's silence from its brooding abyss and rose to attention, gripping the cross it'd chosen as it's perch. The fugacious light shook the world back into a hallow blanket of darkness, but the being's white eyes remained in a dim glow within the furrowed ink of the night. The ghastly pair narrowed to a mere slit as they surveyed the world around them. The being shuttered a bit, almost feeling the life-force of the man itself pass through him and away to the next world. With the rebounding sound of the shot, the demon imbued with thrashing memories that he'd spent his whole life trying to shun. No amount of headstones or graves could bury the torturing thoughts deep within him. He heard it. His own echo. His own shots. Two of them, placed directly into the heart of the red beauty. 


Bang Bang.

The demon's white eyes winced in the pain of the sudden haunting noises. His clawed hand reached up and clasped his photographic mind, begging it with a tight grip to stop its madness. The wicked being's body became tense as a cold chill racked his veins. No matter the imbrication of the onslaughts not once did they become a lesser power over his wrecked soul. Like a harbinger's dark inverted cousin, it haunted him each moment he walked. However, times like this, the susurrous became untamed roars that aimed to tear apart his very sanity. The eternal struggle became so difficult at times; putting shackles on his strength and subduing his courage. 
Bang bang.



Another flash of lightning illuminated the sky, revealing the black figure drifting through the air. He used his abominable anguish to fuel his power as he soared across the night. His aura corrupted the air, his mind and heart simmering  betwixt suffering and aggression. The dearth of his mercy this night was on a level of concern within his surface of his mind. The energy that drove the demon was  a constant melancholy of aggression and justice. It was occasional difficult to discern why he became this monster every night. He tried to commit himself to the effusive of justice and vengeance. The skies were filled with the vindicator, a unimaginable power to strike into the black hearts of man.  A purveyor of the hearts of those who cannot fight for themselves drifting through the air with precision.  The voice of all who cry out for aid will be answered by the man they call the Protector, The Dusk.

The clouds were heavy over the rusted, broken city of Detroit. The gunshots were wild and his vengeance had become primal. A bolt of light, his narrow glowing eyes grasped his prey in the distance. The greatest predator justice had ever known was out on the prowl. Yet none of the world had an ounce of realization of his wicked presence. He was but a sliver in the blanket of night, scraping the skies with the angry clouds who mirrored his rage. The revered demon spotted his prey soaring into the air, fleeing the execution by the law enforcement below him. Such forces, no matter how experienced, could never be prepared for a world where men became gods. How could a simple firearm measure up to the power of a god? It was nothing, not even the slightest prick on his skin. The endowed stand on a level high above all the rest of the world, almost ethereal to its limits. 

That is why Dusk existed, to put them in their place. He was the balance between good and evil. Life's balance had been interrupted and it was now his duty to correct it. When ones with power use it to take life from others, the Dusk would always be in their shadow; ready to claim them into the darkness. It was his interminable duty. His life's journey. His pain and his punishment. His justice, his vengeance. Forever enslaved willingly to the agenda of balance and fairness. A blatant avenger to all who have seen life pass away far before it's time. A black heart who knew this anguish all too well, and would use it as a vehicle for his mission to put an end to a world that allowed such atrocities. On this night, he would claim another who had forced another family into mourning. He would punish yet another demon who saw it better to destroy a life and the lives of all tied to that person. He would make him suffer just the way he had. Five years of pain, all at once, all for him. 



Out of seemingly no where, after narrowly escaping the beast, the ancient hero was met with a brazen shadow firing at him like a bullet. The form was black and jagged, almost entirely absorbed into the darkness of the night. The only notable feature about this demonic being were its white, ghastly glowing eyes that aimed to tear a hole through his heart. A shivering cold beckoned the hero, as if the world around him had just faded to a winter's dusk.  The shadow's edge's flowed like a tsunami crashing down on a poor unsuspecting city. The dark mass suddenly became much larger, revealing what appeared to be a torn and tattered cape. It buffeted upwards, suddenly stopping his momentum just before the creature reached the hero. His maliced eyes narrowed at the hero as sudden claws jutted from the figure's form and aimed to engulf him in a tight grapple.

Dusk quickly brought up his forearm and cape to shield himself from the sudden expanding blast forcing itself outward from the mystery man like a blazing conduit. The already torn and tattered cape was tossed and torn in the radioactive explosion of energy. The force pushed on him with the force of twenty men, making Dusk firmly plant his feet and crouch close to the ground to avoid being blown away by the expansive lime green energy. The swirling vortex of emerald thrashed against the demon's suit, causing it to sizzle and smoke a bit. Like pouring water on a hot pan, steam began to roll off his arms and cape up into the night air. He could feel his feet beginning to tear into the foundation of the roof below him, avoiding being blown into the distance by such an awesome force.


From the rim of his collar, Dusk squinted hard at the wild being before him.


”That... That's the same energy that swirled about Meltdown. That means he's radioactive for sure. My suit should be durable enough to handle it. but these people around us certainly won't be able to if he gets close at all to them. Thankfully it seems intrinsic as a specific energy force to him, and not actual radioactive byproduct. He is still a walking death machine if he gets close to anyone. I need to find a way to get him away from all these people.” Dusk spoke to himself, realizing the gravity of the situation with this powerful otherworldly being.


The Dusk quickly pivoted his spiked foot and bellowed backwards into the wind buffeting off the mystery man's energy. He soared through the air until sinking his claw into the roof below him and planting down hard. The dark hero growled heavily, watching the unknown figure become a swirling wave of vile green energy. This was way too much power for a single being to handle, it was oozing out of him like water breaking a dam. He was being let free in a thrashing chaos that aimed to induce pain.


His pointed ears quipped as his keen hearing caught the sound of sirens and footsteps quickly approaching. Dusk cursed under his breath and extended his hand forward into a fist. He quickly shot a line of ectoplasm to the surface of the roof and threw his cape outwards. The jagged cape caught the bellowing winds coming off the radioactive monster and flew Dusk back between the buildings. He quickly collapsed his cape, using the ectoplasm as a rope to guide him down in between the two structures. The red and blue flashing lights of a squad car illuminated the alleyway as it peeled in. It screeched to a halt and two young men in uniform threw their doors open. Their glocks clicked in their hands as they used their doors for cover.


“Move and we shoot!” The blond on the left shouted. Dusk planted like a panther into the middle of the alleyway. The high beams of the vehicle were flashing brightly on the dark hero, illuminating him in plain sight. He could barely see the two men with guns trained on him. However, that did not matter. He needed to get them out of there. Considering that the very touch of the emerald energy on his suit caused it to steam in protest, it would be terrifying to watch someone's skin's reaction to it. It would probably blow them to pieces with simple contact. They were in danger.


That's when another car suddenly peeled up behind Dusk on the other side of the alley, knocking over a trash can recklessly. It was an all black P71 with a small attachable siren light on the top of the driver side hood. The dark vehicle screeched to a half diagonally with the driver's side facing the crouched panther. He threw his head around to see the other vehicle, one he recognized all too well. The door flung open quickly and the familiar face calmed Dusk's soul a bit. His long brown trenchcoat flapped back a bit as he pointed his wrinkled finger angrily at the noobies.








”No, no one's shootin' a damn thing. Dusk! What on God's Green Earth is goin' on around here?!” Wayne's hoarse voice shouted at him.


”There's a super on the roof Marshall. He shot one man in the street then flew into the air.” Dusk smirked beneath his mask, lifting to a proud standing posture looking across at his allied commissioner. Ever since the Army of V's occupation of the One Detroit Tower where Dusk had saved the commissioner’s life from a squad of corrupt SWAT members, Marshall seemed to reluctantly refer to the dark hero as an ally of the Detroit police. With such corruption and a town like this, it was easy to see why he made such a decision. You need all the help you can get when there's a criminal on every street corner. Marshall drew his revolver from his right holster and slowly proceeded up to Dusk, the gun arched upward. He narrowed his old brown eyes at the demon, who stood taller than him by about a half foot. The veteran's eyebrows furrowed as he gazed up towards the top of the building, the only evidence of the mystery man being the glow off his energy.


”Shouldn't you be handlin' him then?” Wayne quipped, knowing that despite his determination, supers were beyond his expertise. He'd much rather leave it up to his new ally who has had much more experience in the area than he did. It hurt the old veteran's heart to step away, but when lives were at stake, it was no time for the sin of pride.


”He's radioactive, just like the maniac I took down in D.C. However, his energy seems almost entirely secluded to the visual wavelengths you can see. We need this block cleared out. If anyone so much as gets touched by that energy other than me, I am 99% positive that it would blow to pieces.” The Dusk spoke clearly and confidently. Marshall's face grimaced heavily. His head fell back to the sight of the demonic looking super before him. It could be heard a small grumble from his throat before quickly stuffing his revolver back in its holster. His coat floated a bit as he stomped over to the other two cops, who until that point had just stood gawking like chickens in the rain. Their wide eyes were trained on their leader who bit his lip in anger.


”The hell ya' boys doin'? You heard the man! Get them out and get 'em quick! There was a gas leak or somethin'. Just go!” Marshall shouted, throwing his hands into wild gestures. The two younger policemen panicked and quickly dashed out of the alley, hopefully going door to door as their boss had just asked them to do. The grouchy commissioner went to turn back around to address the dark hero and brief him, but he only found an empty alleyway before him.


The Dusk had quickly used his line of ectoplasm to propel himself back up onto the roof where the wicked radioactive villain was upon the roof. He landed in the signature panther stance and glared upwards at the the vile swirling vortex of emerald. Dusk narrowed his eyes, staring deeply into the pits of his soul.


”I play your game. But not here, not around these people. We take this far away from where anyone can be hurt by you. Deal?”

Dusk immediately scowled, glaring angrily at the green demon bearing a small infant; couldn't be any older than two years. His ruffled blond hair was whipping in the wind of the wicked being's vortex of emerald power. The baby cried and squawked for the aid of the Dusk, tears shed in constant begging of his heroism. The white glowing eyes expanded wide. Not only had this mysterious stranger killed a man, he was now endangering the life of such a small youth. Evil was beyond the words that were flooding through the mind of the dark hero. What a vile being to go after women and children to illustrate a point or illicit a response. There was no greater humane crime on the entire planet.

The Dusk had been unleashed by the tears of the child.

A brief squint carved the avenger's face before his cape suddenly exploded with mist. A force of wild wind brought swirling fog bellowing out onto the roof. Its cyan-white flood engulfed the space between the two super powers within moments. The spinning vortex of radioactive energy began to suck in the fog. A tornado of steam hissed as cold mist met hot radioactivity. The steam mixed with the mist, which was already expanding to meet a city block's length; obscuring buildings for miles around. The blend of white steam and blue fog blanketed the world around them, blocking out the world to their struggle. A mushroom cloud of steam and mist rose into the air, following the emerald horror.

The Dusk walked without faltering, standing tall and proud as he carved through the fog with each spiked foot. His gnarled cape whipped in the drifting force of the steam and fog moving about. His eyesight had been reduced to something entirely useless to use in this situation. That was exactly what he was counting. The Dusk's spiked ears twitched, bringing focus from his eyesight to his enhanced hearing granted to him by the suit. He could hear very clearly where the baby was still wailing in the mist and steam. The avenger was thankful he had been endowed with a superior level of hearing due to situations like this where the world around them was blind.

The Dusk shook a bit as the world around him became frighteningly frigid. All of the world faded from color and sunk into a monochromed gray. All of the individual lines on every object began to blur and bleed their lack of color. A whipping wind consumed his ears and all sound came to Dusk as if he were underwater listening to above the surface. The world around him looked identical to the one he had jeft left, just much more decrepit and broken. The despair around him was self evident, all of the world sucked dry of its life. Wisps and spirits could be seen wandering the streets below him, their white essence glowing in the eternal night that was... Purgatory.

He slowly strode towards the radioactive terror and the infant child he grasped. The dark hero's white glowing eyes narrowed, focusing on the area specifically around the nuclear horror. By doing so, her squeezes all of the soundwaves; ripping them from the Living Realm and transferring there with him inside Purgatory. The space around the mystery villain became dead silent, not a single sound could be heard. No voice, no swirling, no crying; just silence. All of those noises had been released loud and clear within the land of Purgatory, where the dead were too focused on their fallen lives to pay much notice to the painful sounds. Noises like these were common in the tortured land of the lost souls. Dusk thrived on the power from this Purgatory and used it greatly to his advantage.

Dusk extended his hands outward, on both sides of his body. His palms revealed themselves to the air. The dark hero clamped his eyes shut as he began to focus once more. Gradually, all of the lamps, lights, and lamp posts in the immediate area began to dim and die. In Purgatory, their dim white glow began to bleed into a wispy essence. Their energy came into the palms of Dusk's hands slowly like bleeding water colors. They entered between his fingers like trails of smoke in reverse to their source. In the living world, lights began to shut off abruptly out of no where. There were no bulbs cracking or shattering; the lights simply died. The light had died as if they were living beings that had just passed away to the next world.

The Dusk's white glowing orbs were once again revealed to the dark world of Purgatory as he lowered his arms. He pivoted his right foot, cocking his head into the air. With a powerful push, he launched himself high into the air. The dark hero soared through the sky, using his hearing to guide his path through the darkness of Purgatory and the obscuring fog. He extended his torn cape, allowing himself to control his path and glide towards the child's cries. Air buffeted around his cape as he picked up speed. No child would be hurt this night. The Dusk would never allow such an atrocity to occur in his home.

Tearing through the fog and steam, The Dusk witnessed the emerald terror still spiraling into the sky. He aimed his focus to the small boy sobbing in the terror's right hand. He narrowed his eyes in concentration as he extended his arms out wide. Gently, but swiftly, the Dusk brought his arms into a hugging fashion around the boy; seamlessly passing through the radioactive monster like thin air. He used all of the focus his mind could muster to use his powers to make the boy tangible to the world of Purgatory. He brought his benevolent arms down around the boy, praying with all his heart that this would work. Dusk had never attempted such a feat before. Quite frankly, he had never needed to before. However, a child's life was in danger and he had no other choice than to push his limits to save him. Every ounce of Terry's being was devoted to preventing tragedies like Amy from ever happening again. It didn't matter if it was a punk with a gun or a super powered monster; he would not allow anyone to strike anguish and suffering through death while he stood over his home. This city; it was his. It was his life, his home. There wasn't a crack or chip that he didn't know like the back of his hand. These weren't people, citizens of Detroit. They were his family, his expanded family. As the Dusk, he owed it to them to keep his family safe. They were his brothers, his sisters; all of them. Even that little boy that this mysterious villain had decided to seize, it was his little baby brother. And it was his time to save his life. He prayed to God that this miracle would work. The dark hero held his breath as he skidded to the gravel of the rooftop.



Two baby blue eyes gazed back up at him, tears seeping from their pores.

The Dusk sighed, cupping the back of the boy's head as he slowly ceased to cry. His white eyes dimmed to a somber glow. He eyed the boy, now safe in his arms. His chubby arms reached out and placed their palms on Dusk's chest, over the eyeball that mirrored a setting sun over the horizon; his insignia. The dark hero's claws rested on the toddler's curly blond hair. The blond little boy kicked his feet, hiking up onto Dusk's neck; grasping him a tight embrace. The hero could do nothing but hold the boy back, hushing him gently beneath his breath. Terry allowed the mask to move away from his mouth, as it was living breathing material. It stretched away from his mouth, revealing Graves's scruffy chin.

”Shhh... You're okay pal. I've got ya.” Terry spoke, using his natural, warm voice instead of Dusk's roaring tone. He reached his hand up, receding the claws from his costume down to his human hands; allowing his soft fingers to ruffle the boy's wild hair.

The boy suddenly kicked off him, his blue overalls bouncing as he hit the gravel of the rooftop.

”You're not a scary man!” He abruptly blurted out.

The statement caught Terry off guard, causing him to let out a vocal grunt of confusion. He raised an eyebrow, staring at the boy quizzically. This only elected a squeaky little grin out of the corner of the toddler's lips.

”You were on the TV! After Barney! You were scary then! Mommy thought you were a bad guy. She said, 'Kerry, you need to stay inside!'” The tike exclaimed, his blue pools lighting up like glistening oceans as he spoke. His small, stubby hands seemed to shoot out everywhere as he spoke; using his hands like instruments to orchestrate his ecstatic mood. His red striped shirt danced up and down his arms as he swung them about. The display elected a smirk from the corner of Terry's lips as he watched the vibrant fiasco.

”Oh, was I now?” Terry softly chuckled.

”Yeaaah... But you're not scary. You're a good guy! You're better than Superman!” He practically yelled the last segment of the statement, jutting his finger into Terry's chest, ”You just got an eyeball instead of an S!”

”It's because I'm always watching over you, Kerry. I'm a protector. Just like Superman...,” Terry smiled warmly, ruffling the boy's hair once again.



From the corner of his gray eyes, he could see the emerald horror still swirling in the air. His work for the night was far from over. His face grimaced as he allowed his suit to entirely form back over him. The Dusk stood up tall, facing towards his opponent with determination. He felt a small hand tug at his claw.

”What's wrong with the bad man?” Kerry asked, hiding himself beneath the long draping cape of Dusk. The dark hero narrowed his eyes, focusing up at the mist that was being pressed into steam by the radioactive heat still. He didn't look down at the boy once, never breaking focus from the task at hand.

”He's hurt. Very badly. This isn't him. I need to find out. It may be my only way of stopping him.” Dusk spoke, calmly but sternly.

”What about me Dusk?”

”There are nice policemen a floor below us. They will keep you safe Kerry. For now, I have to go. I cannot let him hurt anyone else. Not even himself.” Dusk spoke. Without allowing the boy to protest, the dark hero pressed his claw to the boy's forehead, forcing him to sink through the rooftop and into the hallway below. He yelped as he suddenly warped through the rooftop as well as transferring dimensions entirely. Dusk blinked back into the land of the living as his super hearing caught the sound of two men letting out an “Oof!” and “Where did this kid come from???” He kept his eyes trained on the clouded beast in the sky, never breaking focus.

The Dusk hurled himself high into the air once more, spreading his cape and soaring up to meet the nuclear monster. He cut through the blue mist and the white steam like a knife through butter. He buffeted the misty smoke aside, using his velocity to burst through the powerful pull of the tornado and enter the threshold where the radioactive rampaging beast was. He spotted him, amongst the created clouds, glowing a lime green and cackling as his vortex of energy appeared to be consuming even himself.

” I SAW you stop those men! I SAW you break their crime and you did it without hesitation! You were saving lives not ending them! What the hell happened to you!? Prove me wrong! Show me who you really are! Show me the man who stopped those monsters, not the monster you are now!!!” The Dusk blatantly challenged the beast.

”No... No I won't.” Dusk spoke confidently and sternly. He stood his ground, unmoving from his proud upright position. The wind blistering off the nuclear beast's energy ripped at the dark hero's gnarled cape as he stared intently into the glowing eyes of his opponent. He stood against the wood, one foot planted firmly forward.

”Whether it be by your hands or not, I will not die this night. You know it as well was I do. I do not fear you beast. This is not you, and I know that based entirely on the fact that you were a hero. You saved citizens lives and stopped those men from harming anyone else with their reckless actions. Yet, now you cravat as some demon who is intent on nothing but death and destruction. You cannot even begin to fool me. There's no way you can even begin to sell that idea to me. This... whatever this is that has a hold of you. Isn't you. And if you'd like to start pretending that you are some monster then that is your provocative. I will stop you just as I've stopped many beasts before you. You don't scare me fiend, not in the slightest. You can try to make me fear yo. I can feel the anger boiling in your veins just based on the fact that I even muttered such an arrogance statement...,”

The Dusk's glowing white eyes narrowed.

”You are hardly mistaken if you think that moves me demon. I am the immovable. I am the uncorruptable. I am a force more than you cannot handle. You see it in my eyes. The fire. The passion. You can't stop me. Whether it be tonight or years from now, I will spend each second of my awakened life hunting you and making your life a miserable hell. No matter how many times you win or defeat me, you will NEVER break me. I will always be in your shadow. Around Every Corner. Behind You. Watching You.”

The avenger walked forward, steadfast towards the vortex.


”I don't know what your name is. Or who you are. But you are fake. You are wrong. This is the farthest thing from your character, your being. I need you to reach deep inside you. Remember the man you were when you saw the pain those men were inflicting on the world around them. Feel that burning fire deep within to cast harsh justice and punishment down upon them. Now look at yourself, this wicked evil you've become. Realize that you are far worse than the very men you hunted with a fiery hammer of justice. See that you are groveling in the dirt beneath their filth. Remember the people, the people's lives your preserved by stopping them. Recall their smiles and cheers. Feel their LOVE!!!”


(OOC: Sorry for the short post. trying to throw some dialogue in there).

Inside of the mind of The Drifter, there one figure, seemingly completely created of the color green, sat. A bald fellow, the legs crossed. Arms relaxed, and green aura pulsing with energy that gave the feeling of calmness, something that The Drifter had not seen in a good while.