Power Play

## Roleplay

A multi-spectral light beamed down upon the roof of one of Vacuo's tallest buildings. This was the regional branch of the Spectrum Company, the world-known pharmaceutical company.

Spectrum had received some mixed attention from the general public over the years for their practices and occasional price hikes of certain medications that were necessary to some people, but riding it all out was their seemingly unflinching leader, CEO Chroma Ourana.

She was a mystery to most, but rumor had it that she would occasionally come into contact with one of two winged figures, usually in hard-to-reach places.

Those rumors were true, though the voices behind them knew not the scope of the topics of which they spoke, and they likely never would.

As the rainbow light faded over the Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Vacuo Office, a lone figure appeared where it had been. She was resplendent, clad in white clothing that left very little to the imagination adorned with silver jewelry. Her makeup was somewhat heavy but not overbearingly so, rather it gave her face a rather alluring appeal. Her already impressive height of six-foot-four was bolstered further by her four-inch heels, rendering her an imposing presence indeed. The figure's most striking feature, however, was her hair. It was primarily silver, though the underside seemed to luminesce all colors of the rainbow in a traditional gradient.

This was Chroma Ourana, CEO of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.

Or so she would have you think.

One who got physically close to Ourana could sense something unusual about the atmosphere of the room she was in, almost as though it were somehow pressurized, albeit slightly. It tended to make people tentative, and fearful. Though not everyone was affected by this.

There were two particular individuals that could resist the effect, and one of them had called on Ourana this day.

The winged figure of Iris Cobalia was standing ramrod-straight at attention as Ourana arrived. The woman smiled, almost in a motherly fashion, as she observed the angel.

"My dear, you know there is no need for such formality," Ourana said. "Though I am curious as to why you have called me here. I should think that it is of some importance."

Iris waited a moment before speaking. "It is indeed, my Lady," she said, her tone one of great respect. "I am afraid that the Lord of Darkness has come. He seems to have no quarrel with us, but I thought you might like to survey the situation for yourself."

An amused smile crossed Ourana's features. "Very well then, my dear. You are dismissed. I will find Him and see what He wants." Iris bowed curtly and flew off, leaving the woman alone.

"Now then, Numinex," she said to herself. "Where are you hiding?"

In the time that Iris had promptly vanished to report her findings to her mistress, 'Morea' had meandered his way over to a nondescript hole in the wall tavern. He had always been fond of human endeavors, especially that of taverns and the things you could pick up whilst milling about. Unlike outside, it was pleasantly cool.

In the same bar, Lance had taken a seat at a table in the middle, his feet kicked up and a fresh beer in his hand. Of course, he was busy eyeing down the bar maids as per usual.

A brief scan of the minds of mortals throughout the city revealed His location, though the immense darkness that inevitably followed Him helped as well.

The woman clad in white became bathed in the multispectral light once again, and when it faded she was gone. Instantaneously, however, the light reappeared outside of the bar where the Dark One had holed himself up.

With a single, elegant motion, she opened the door and observed the scene before her. It was nothing she hadn't seen before; a typical hive of scum and villainy if one were into theatrics, which she was occasionally.

However, that was not the purpose of her visit today. As she made her way through the establishment, turning no small amount of heads, she found the one she was looking for. His clothing was odd by any definition, and he had a charismatic demeanor yet an undeniable air of darkness around him.

\*There you are,\* she thought as she gracefully walked over to the odd-looking figure.

Morea smirked. That blinding radiance could only belong to one. But all the same it didn't faze him. A pharmaceutical company was apparently her guise to keep people fooled. It was rather intriguing that she had opted to choose that line of work. To bog oneself down like that... Was laughable to him.

Lance took note of the radiant woman that walked in. From the looks of her, she didn't really belong in a run down tavern like this. What was even more strange was that she decided to talk to the man from earlier. Lance couldn't put his finger on it, but something felt off about the two. Despite that, he decided to simply sit back and watch them.

At the entrance to the city, a tall armored man stood, ready to enter.

The woman stopped at the odd figure's table and stood over him, a smirk crossing her features. "I had heard that you had come, but needed to see it to believe," she said in a voice that rang out with authority. Her piercing gaze seemed to have softened somewhat, perhaps with amusement? One couldn't be sure.

After a moment of tense silence, the woman spoke once again. "Hm. Well. May I sit, my Lord?" she asked in a cordial tone.

"No need to ask. It's not like I own this chair." He gestured. "No one will object. Least of all a thing of beauty such as you." It wasn't so much a flirtation as a compliment, he wasn't really the romantic type. But all the same, it did help smooth things over. "Also, I don't require formalities among other gods."

The man made his way to the bar, removing his helmet as he entered. He had navy blue hair, dark brown eyes and appeared to be in his 40's. Of course, the strangest thing about him wasn't his armor, but his aura. It was larger than anyone's in the city and school a few miles away. Lance turned his attention to the man "Old man Cruger!" He shot up with a smile. "Hello Lance, it's been a while" The man smiled "Well come on and take a seat!" He smiled. the man gave a boastful laugh as he sat with Lance, noting the two deities in his periphery.

The woman spied the onlooker in the corner of her eye, but decided to let him watch. He would know better than to intervene if her were wise enough to discern their true nature.

She turned back to the individual at the table and slunk into the seat across from him. "Very well then," she said, maintaining her authoritative air. "I haven't come for much," she said. "Mere curiosity. After all, it isn't often that you grace this world with your presence."

"Grace? Hardly. I just have come to Vacuo to keep an eye on my champion, I've had a hand in her life since before she was even sprung forth into world." He mused.

"So, how've you been doing? It's been a while since, well, anyone's seen you" Lance said, eager to hear the man's

"Same old same old" He laughed "But I have encountered some interesting people" He cracked his neck, keeping an eye on the other two.

The woman let out a small laugh; a rare occurrence. "Is that all? I am surprised. She must be something special if you've come all this way," she said, her tone one of amusement as well as authority now.

"I am here for similar purposes, though I prefer a...different, approach," the woman continued. "However, you may rest assured that our interests do not conflict with one another. If you stay out of my way, I will stay out of yours. Do you agree, Numinex?"

"Well, she has some prowess. But it is tempered by her impatience and antisociality. Not sure if that is actually proper vernacular. But I have no interest in interfering with whatever schemes you have. As such, I won't interfere."

"So, how long are you staying in town?" Lance asked,

"Unfortunately not long" the man sighed, slightly saddened "I have other business to attend to"

Lance frowned slightly "Well, Amaranth and especially Ansin would be ecstatic to see you, it's been far too long"

The man smiled and sighed "I know....But I've been busy. Hopefully I'll be able to visit soon" The man cracked his neck.

What an honestly solemn time it's been...... Without his favorite toys... he's never really had much else to do and has showed this by not necessarily appearing throughout but making a major disappearing in a improper way. But then again, how would he even? Not he, could be. If things needed to be new, guess just go with it, Syn.

He chuckled, blatantly and abruptly entering the tavern. All the while, he walked up towards the two "higher" beings and spatially displaced them to be separated just enough so that he can pass through in between them, his striped horns grazing close though. Syn decided it was best not to worry about it, and walked right up to Royce, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, "Old man, eh? Well isn't someone getting more and more uninteresting with each passing season! Bet you remember someone like me? Or did I screw you up that badly way back when?" Syn chuckled.

The woman smiled. Her business here was all but concluded. She and the Dark One had no quarrel, and so she could return to her plans.

But...something felt...wrong.

She watched as the horned being entered, and felt appalled as it spacially displaced her simply as a show of power. This was wrongness that outclassed whatever she'd been feeling from Numinex.

The woman turned back to the strange man, her smirk now a mere memory, her expression a mask of neutrality. "It has been a pleasure, but I believe that's my cue to leave."

With that, she stood up and exited the tavern, a bit quicker than she'd entered. Once outside, the rainbow light engulfed her once again and, as before, when it faded it was as if she was never there.