(HS) For What Was Great (Full Version)

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Dead_Night -> (HS) For What Was Great (6/3/2011 14:34:35)

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For What Was Great
Chapter One

In college Mia had been voted the least likely to succeed. Now at the age of twenty four she has one the most powerful businesses under her control, and is in the top five of the most powerful people in the world. It was only then on a boring and gloomy morning she remembered that title – so on a whim decided to have everyone who voted for her killed. Mia succeeded in that as well.

From her office, Mia could see the whole of Super City. Her building, having a total of one hundred and sixty one floors, was the tallest building in Super city and in the very centre. The top floor was completely her own and had even turned into a second home – it had a bedroom, a kitchen and diner, a bathroom, and a small lounge, as well as her office. From there, she could see the whole of the city; nothing could escape her watchful eyes.

Examining the park, she held back a twisted smile. In her city, where she ruled supreme from the shadows, a war was being fought. A war between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. The whole idea was almost enough to make her laugh, and on occasion, did. But with champagne flute in hand, Mia just watched, no emotion staining her pale face. Demolicious, the so called leader of ‘good’, scarcely fitted the role. Her motive was hardly pure, wanting to stop Da Vinci so she could get the malachite for herself and sell it. Even Da Vinci wanting to use it to bring his brother back to life did not seem all to evil to her, albeit, Demolicious using the money to save her father was not exactly evil either. Yet it was how Demolicious thought she could hide her motive was what was so ridiculous, and it was her motive which made Mia decide to send a group of her ‘workers’ to help Da Vinci’s side. Undercover of course, she could not go and taint her reputation by helping out in such frivolities.

However it was not the leaders who Mia was watching so intently, but the people who fought for them. Since Pandora’s death, people had been developing weird powers – Mia included. With these powers, the people of Super City, and those who come to Super City, want to become super heroes and super villains. They all want to leave their mark. To be remembered. Mia’s blank face changed to show a shadow of a small smile. She remembered when she was like them, only back then there were no powers. So desperate to make her name remembered and voice heard, and annoyingly with a bit of help, she did it. Her first step on the ladder was when her name began circulating the backstreets and alleys. The street fighter, who was as quick as an alley cat and just as devious, was how they had described her. From there on her journey up that ladder was long and perilous. Finally she had reached the top. For many reasons, she wished none of them would reach the top. Heck, she secretly wished none of them would ever even step foot on that ladder. Ever.

Draining the last of her drink, she placed it on the glass desk before sitting on the black leather chair behind it. Sheets of paper were piled up on the right side, and another pile on the left, while in between a bunch of deep red roses and an open bottle of champagne lay. Mia could not help but cringe at both piles, as the one on the left was applicants to join her business while on the right were people who needed to be disposed of. Leaning back in her chair, she spun around to face the window, wishing she had not sent the only person she trusted enough to do this work for her away on business.

Being at the top was not as fun as Mia thought it would be. Sure she was rich and powerful and secretly had control of the whole city, but maintaining it all was boring and hard work. She had thought that once she reached the top it would be smooth sailing. No more hard work, she could hire other people to do that for her. But it turned out that was not the case. To keep the real purpose of the business a secret was difficult enough, especially as workers lower down in the business did not know the true purpose. They were just there for show, to keep the cover as real as possible. Yet the true nature had to be known to the right people, otherwise she would not have any workers or people wanting to join.

Spinning back round, Mia glared down at the piece of paper on the top of the right pile. It had a picture of one of the most wanted villains, Ethan Jones, better known as Ghost. Some might find it odd that Mia disposed of both heroes and villains, but a threat was a threat, it did not matter what alliance they are. Anyway, unless they have formed a group of some sort, a villain stands on their own; no villain owes another villain any kind of alliance.

Pressing a black button on the armrest of the chair, a soft buzzing sounded. Seconds later the office door opened and a man in a suit walked in, coming to a halt a few metres away from her desk. As he nodded his head in a sign on respect, Mia crossed her legs and sent the man blank gaze.

“Call Jake,” she said in a commanding tone. “Tell him to drop whatever he is doing, and return immediately. I want him back before three. I’ve got another job for him.”

The man hesitated, but nodded and walked out of the room once more. Sighing, Mia looked at the clock on her desk. One o’clock exactly. Plenty of time for him to get back, but it still did not cure her boredom. Opening one of the draws Mia pulled out another sheet of paper. It was a wanted poster the absolute best villain, and most wanted man. Mia had learnt a while back that it was a waste of time and effort to try and dispose of him. It was impossible to even find him unless he wanted to be found. At the bottom of the poster a signature was written saying SexiesBack. The police had once put these posters all around Super City, and an hour later they were all signed by the man himself. Still, she could not help but groan at his alias name SexiesBack; it was just so arrogant and cocky. Admittedly, she could not think of a better name suited to him. There was one, but it hardly fitted him anymore.

Standing up, Mia picked up the bottle of champagne and the bunch of roses, tossing the flowers in the bin as she walked over to another door. Placing her hand in the scanner she waited until the red light turned green before moving her head to fit with the iris scanner. When that also went green she quickly typed a six lettered code into the type pad. Finally the door unlocked and opened automatically. Walking through, the door shut behind her and the lights of the lounge turned on in a dim setting. Looking over at the couch which was faced away from her, Mia smirked.



Dead_Night -> RE: (HS) For What Was Great (6/4/2011 11:50:42)

Chapter Two



No matter how you looked at it, the Horizon Enterprise building was looming. Standing outside, Jake looked at it from across the road, straining his neck to see the very top. But he could not. The top was only visible if you stood quite far back, and even then you still have to look up into the blinding sun. Checking the time on his watch, Jake noted he was half an hour early, ten minutes too early for Mia’s liking. Deciding to just sit in the lobby, Jake crossed the road and walked through the automatic doors. A shiver ran down his spine as he entered the cold air-conditioned building. Lounging on one of the set out chairs, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore all the hustle and bustle around him.

When he received the call telling him to come back, Jake almost could not believe it. It was only three days ago Mia had sent him on that mission which was supposed to last a month, saying that the item which needed acquiring was of the utmost importance and the mission could only be trusted with him. Like a fool he believed her. Every single time he believes her, which is the one thing no one should do. Then again, she rarely ever lies; the truth is often the best weapon. The truth is often more horrible and vicious than the lie. Or at least Mia makes it like that. Still, she was one of the best liars of all time, even the man with the power to detect lies could not detect hers.

Combing a hand through his dyed, spiked up blue hair, Jake opened his eyes to come face to face with one of Mia’s personal workers. Or what she liked to call them, her dogs.

“Mercy wants you now,” he said sternly, nodding his head towards the elevator.

Groaning in dread, Jake stood up and headed over to the elevator, the man close behind. Inside their long trip up to the one hundredth and sixty one floor began, accompanied by the beloved elevator music which was played annoyingly loud. The man stood in front of him was wearing a black and white suit, which looked rather odd on his muscular body. It was often him that Mia sent to call or find Jake, yet he still never figured out the man’s name, or even his alias. Leaning back against the metal wall, he thought about Mia’s alias – Mercy. She made all of her workers that knew of the actual business call her Mercy, unless they were in public or by people who only knew the cover business. Then it was boss or ma’am. Jake never managed to get used to that name, after the four years of calling her Mia or girl. Eventually she had said he did not have to call her Mercy, but he knew she would skewer him if he ever called her girl again. Finally the doors opened and the two of them walked out.

The elevator and staircase was rather odd in the sense than it ran through the very middle of the building, so that Mia’s rooms all faced outwards to the city. Standing outside office, the man opened the door after knocking and then shut it behind Jake. Mia was sitting behind her desk and beckoned for Jake to come over. Walking closer, he noted the roses in the bin and the empty bottle of champagne on the desk, as well as the silver feather that lay next to it. A metre away from the desk he stopped. With a sigh Mia stood, slowly making her way around the desk, pausing in front of Jake before finally perching on the desk.

“You were told to come here immediately,” she said after minutes of silence. “Did you think I would not know you were in the lobby?”

Jake remained silent, making sure he was stood up straight and not showing any of the fear that sent a shiver down is spine. He and Mia may have been old friends, but she was still terrifying. With another sigh she crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks in exasperation.

“Well whatever. Onto more important matters,” she said moving so that her face was centimetres away from Jakes, gripping his tie in both hands she pulled him closer so that she could whisper into his ear. “I’m so bored.”

Pushing him away once more, she sat back on her desk and commanded Jake to entertain her in a cheeky voice. Jake did not move. He kept his face blank and ignored the sweat trickling down the back of his neck. When Mia was bored only one thing was coming. Trouble.

“Fine,” she huffed, picking up the piece of paper from one of the piles on the desk. “We’re gonna go dispose of this guy.”

Passing the paper to Jake, he accepted it and looked at it curiously. Realising it was a picture of Ghost, he raised his eye brow. Ghost was brilliant at sneaking into places and acquiring objects of all nature, be it money to paintings to documents. There was nothing he had failed to steal, and most of which he did steal usually ended up on the black market. Mia had even made quite a few deals with him. But she had never offered him to become part of the company, and he had never asked to be a part of it.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to join Horizon Enterprise?” Jake asked cautiously, handing the paper back to Mia.

“No,” she said as she walked past Jake. “He has grown to full of himself. He believes he is strong, stronger than me or you. The stupid man even commented that he was stronger than SexiesBack, and that SexiesBack was a weak fool.”

“Then he’s a dead man,” Jake said, watching as Mia took a painting from the wall, revealing a type pad and two scanners. “SexiesBack will kill him.”

“This is why we must dispose of him first.”

After scanning her hand and iris and entering the six letter code, the wall opened like double doors, revealing a wall of weapons.

“You do realise how cliché that wall of weapons is?” Jake almost laughed, but proceeded to browse through.

“I know. That is why I wanted it.”

Grabbing a black pistol, she loaded it before placing it in her hip holster, and then picked up a measuring tape and stuffed it into her trouser pocket, ignoring Jakes curious look. Taking two knuckle dusters he put them in his hoddies pocket before stepping back, he did not need any of the other fancy weapons. Anyway, walking around with a bazooka would not exactly be inconspicuous. Pressing another button, the walls closed and Mia placed the painting back on its hook. Taking her long jacket of the hat stand, she slipped it on and zipped it up; making sure that it concealed her gun nicely.

“Let’s go.”



Dead_Night -> RE: (HS) For What Was Great (6/9/2011 16:29:59)

Chapter Three


The sky had become overcast with bleak grey clouds, the odd cold raindrop falling every now and again. Walking through the alleys of Super City, Jake held back a shiver as the biting wind blew at his face. Hands stuffed into his chequered hoody pockets, he clutched the knuckle dusters, the cold metal feeling reassuring in his hands. The alleys were infested with chudlings, weird and profound creatures that one day appeared out of nowhere. Though easily dispatched of, Jake made a mental note of keeping an eye out for them, as they were venomous. Mia, who was in front of him, seemed to be not affected by the weather or the idea of the chudlings. She walked with long, silent strides, kept her back straight and her head held high. Even from behind Jake could tell that she face was smug and her eyes were wearing an evil glint. They had been following Ghosts trail for a while now, a trail which he had obviously tried to cover up. Watching his friend, Jake could tell she was thinking non-stop, running past every scenario she could think of and working out how to make each one come in her favour. Mia would win this fight. She would not be caught off guard. She made sure of that.

Mia halted. Coming to a stop beside her, he looked at her confused. They had reached a sharp turning in the alley, their position disabling them from seeing around the corner. Bringing a finger to her lips before tapping her ear, she signalled Jake to listen. Hearing past the wind, two voices could be heard talking in hushed tones. One was a girl; the voice was high and did not sound all too old at all. The other was Ghosts. Jake could not catch all the words over the wind, but he figured they were talking about IDs, most likely fake. He looked over to Mia, but her face had turned blank, her eyes slightly squinted. She was most likely getting the conversation word for word, deciding the best time to appear, how to appear, if the girl needed to be killed, when she should be killed, how she should be killed, and when Ghost needed to be killed and how he would be. Jake figured there were a lot of other variables and factors she was taking into consideration, but those were the only ones he could think of at the top of his head.

A part of him missed going out on missions with Mia. Most of his missions now were solo, or with a selected group. He tended to favour the solo missions rather than the latter. Looking after his group was not something he enjoyed, neither was being the leader. But it was a necessity of quite a few missions, and then he had to do it well and not complain otherwise things could become uncoordinated and messy. The fear of Mia being angry was enough for anyone in the business to just suck it up and keep moving. However, when he is with Mia, he can take the backseat and let her take charge.

Without warning, Mia had gone. Jake clutched his ears at the sudden ringing of a shot being fired, and he could hear nothing else as he turned the corner. Mia was pointing her gun at Ghost, the dead remains of the girl on the floor. She was young, probably only sixteen. Maybe younger. Mia did not care; she did not even spare a glance at the girl. Her eyes were fixated on her target – Ghost. Eventually the ringing subsided, leaving nothing but a dull aching in his head. Personally Jake hated guns, they were too loud, and he wished everyone would just sort out their problems with their fists instead. Just as Ghost looked like he was about to run, Mia spoke.

“I wouldn’t run if I were you,” she said. “I’ve got a pretty good aim.”

Ghost stayed still, but his face wore a brash grin and an aura of arrogance radiated from him. He paid no heed to the dead girl beside him or the gun in Mia’s hands as he took a step forward towards then. One word ran through Jakes mind. Idiot. That is what Ghost is, an idiot. To dare challenge Mia is just stupidity, and it seemed like he was about to say something. Jake could predict it would not be anything smart.

“Where’s your mask Mercy?”

Dumbfounded at Ghosts imbecility, he watched surprised as Mia lowered her gun and put it back in its holster.

“I’m not wearing my mask because there is no need. You will never see my face again, and you will not be able to tell anyone my face.”

“What, you gonna cut out my tong or something?” he taunted, and Mia paused, almost thinking the idea through.

“I’m gonna make my face the last face you see,” was her reply, before she clicked her fingers and nodded.

Without a pause, Jake came out of his slumped composure, standing up straight into his tall height and running at Ghost. Removing his hands out of his pockets, he swung at Ghosts jaw, his knuckle dusters clasped tightly. As his fists connected with Ghosts jaw, he could see the surprise quickly flooded over by pain in his opponents eyes. Sending another punch into Ghosts stomach, Jake watched as he fell down onto the ground, spitting out blood. Looming over him he pressed his foot onto Ghosts neck, waiting for Mia’s signal to kill him.

“Getting your dogs to do your dirty work for you again, Mercy,” Ghost choked. “You getting so soft that you can’t kill anymore?”

Jake would have liked to kick Ghosts head in right there and then. He was in no position to make snide comments. But Mia tapped him on the shoulder, telling him to get out of the way. Ghost had made a start to sit up, but Mia sent a kick to his head, knocking him down again. Kneeling on him, she pulled out her tape measure from her pocket and slowly began to uncoil it. It was as she looped it over Ghosts neck and crossed the ends over Jake figured out what she was about to do. Not flinching he watched as Mia pulled at the ends hard, and as Ghost gasped and sputtered and clawed at the tape. Eventually his body went limp. She took the measuring tape of his neck, coiled it back up and placed it in her pocket once more. Standing up Mia stared into Ghosts dead eyes.

“Told you my face would be the last face you would ever saw,” she said before looking over Jake. “Do you have a knife?”

Without question, Jake pulled out his pocket knife from his trouser pocket and passed it to Mia. Crouching down again she reached out with a gloved hand and pulled out Ghosts tong. With the knife she began to slice through the tong, placing it in his hand once she had finished. Wiping the knife on his trousers she passed it back to Jake, who rather reluctantly placed it back in his pocket. Wiping her gloved hand on his trousers as well, she stood up and looked back at the body.

“There, you got your wish. I cut your tong out.”

Tilting her head to the sky, she embraced the raindrops as they started to fall quicker and patter on her skin. A smile crept onto her face. Mia loved the rain, especially after a kill. It was refreshing, almost forgiving. Feeling watchful eyes Mia turned round to face Jake, who was standing awkwardly with his hood up, eager to escape the rain.

“Coffee?”



Dead_Night -> RE: (HS) For What Was Great (7/24/2011 15:14:16)

Chapter Four



Jake watched as Mia drained half of her steaming black coffee in one gulp, before sipping his own tea. As people walked past their table, they eyed Mia cautiously, whose military styled coat was now on the back of her chair, the gun in clear view. Mia however, paid no heed to the other customers. The Coffee Hut was her favourite coffee shop in Super City, because it was her business. If the people of Super City actually paid any attention to their city, they would have noticed that almost everything had the Horizon Enterprise logo on it somewhere. Mia owned most of the shops, be it fashion, food, restaurants or weapons. She owned the library, the schools, the cinema and even the parks. The most popular food and drink brands were hers, the modelling, music and acting agencies were hers. Heck, the police force and the military are practically hers as well, she is one of their main funders, but aside from a few high officials, not even the police or soldiers know that.

Taking another sip, Jake peered at Mia over the rim of his cup as she drained the rest of her coffee. With a flick of her hand, she brushed a strand of black hair away from her eyes and back into its place in the dead straight bob. Mia had a thing about being neat and in some ways so did Jake. Underneath his hoody he still wore a shirt and tie, the top button done up, the tie done up correctly and of course, the shirt tucked in. Old habits die hard for both of them in some aspects.

As Mia started into her chocolate cake, Jake watched the now pouring rain through the window, imagining the two bodies still dead on the floor. Obviously they were not; Mia had made a call for the bodies to be taken care of. As the streets slowly became empty Ghosts words rang in his head. He had called him one of his bosses’ dogs. At the time his words did not register, but they were obviously meant to rile him up, make him reckless. Maybe if the words had registered at the time Ghosts plan would have succeeded, though Jake doubted that Mia would not have killed him. But thinking about it, Jake realised that being one of Mia’s dogs was not that bad. He had always considered himself as her friend, but as a dog he is in a much safer position. A friend is useless to Mia. She has no need for friends. A dog however, they hold some sort of usefulness, she would think twice before dispatching someone that is useful. Jake knew he was not just a dog to her though, he was her favourite dog. Meaning he has a certain amount of security that no one else working for Mia has. Still, it did not mean she would not kill him if he messed up a few to many times.

Moving his gaze to his lap, Jake unfolded the newspaper. Reading the first page, his lips curled into a frown. A new company, H. Corp. had set up a couple of blocks away. It did not take a genius to figure out what the H. stood for, and the cover was as thin as it could get. Why would a pharmacy and a doctor’s surgery need a twenty story building? Glancing back up at Mia, his expression changed again, this time to bewilderment. He could have sworn that he had only looked away from Mia for seconds, half a minute max. But it was gone. That large slice of chocolate cake - which would have taken any other person eating with a fork and being sophisticated at least a couple of minutes – was gone. Not even crumbs remained. It did not matter how many years went by, Jake would never cease being amazed by his bosses’ eating habits.

Turning his attention back to what was important he handed the newspaper over to Mia, signalling for her to read the front page. Her reaction was not what he had expected. There was no frown or snarl, nor did her face just go blank. For a split second Jake thought maybe H. Corp. was another one of her plans. That thought was quickly banished from his mind as Mia’s lips morphed into a twisted and sadistic grin.

“Brilliant.”

“Pardon?” Jake asked rather confused.

“Absolutely brilliant,” she said before looking up at Jake. “Don’t you see?”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t see,” he said sweat prickling the back of his neck once more; something was not right about that smile. “Mind clarifying?”

“It is the perfect cure,” Mia said rolling her eyes at Jake’s cluelessness. “That girl always did have perfect timing.”

“Cure?”

“To my boredom!” she exclaimed.

Jake felt himself go cold. Nothing good would come out of this company, especially if it would be able to cure his bosses’ boredom. Thinking to himself Jake wondered if Mia would allow him to go back to the mission he was previously on, or maybe a holiday - anything to escape Super City for the next few weeks, month even. Trouble and danger was going to ensue. It always did. Jake would have preferred being back in the army fighting a war in the front lines rather than be here with Mia’s boredom and the so called ‘cure’ to it.

Standing up, Mia slipped her coat on before handing the newspaper back to Jake. Without bothering about the bill she strode out of the Coffee Hut, motioning with her head for Jake to follow. Parked against the curb was a sleek black limo, normal transport for Mia. Beside it stood a man in smart attire, who at the site of the pair opened the door and bowed his head. Stepping inside, the door was shut behind them.

“When did this get here?” Jake asked, not remembering Mia calling for them to be picked up.

Rolling her eyes, she did not grace Jake with a reply, instead moved her attention to the driver.

“H. Corp. and hurry, we have a grand opening to visit.”

Looking back at the newspaper, Jake turned to the specified page that had more details on the new corporation. As his eyes scanned the page he frowned. The owner of the business was Sophie Chambers, a name which he had not heard in a long time.

“Sophie Chambers, that’s-“Jake was cut off as the door opened, revealing themselves to be at the opening.

Taking the hand offered by the driver, Mia stepped out of the car, not phased by the many flashing cameras. Jake stepped out next, wincing slightly that the lights. Following Mia’s gaze he saw Sophie Chambers stood behind a podium in front of the now parted crowds. An unpleasant smile was placed on her lips.

“Sister, what a pleasant surprise.”





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