Aurum

The note had appeared by her bed. She did not know how it got there or who put it there, but the small sheet of paper was resting on her nightstand. The hard characters, scrawled out upon the sheet, caught her eye immediately as she swung her feet to the floor, rubbing her eye and yawning. She looked at the paper. Show your loyalties, it said.

She read it out loud to the others with a dull voice, to the members of the Force she was staying with. It wasn't all of them. They were sent to a town in Nebraska, but no one knew why at first. Now she did. Her British accent ate up the words on the page, climbed the mountains they represented, and cracked every now and again with uncertainty, with disapproval. She didn't want to do this. Why did she have to do this?

To stay alive, she thought.

"You will all travel south, 13 miles into the forest," it read. "A town of about 53 lay in the depths of the trees. This town is a gifted town, and everyone there has a power." She paused as her throat reached the summit of the paper's words. "Kill them all. Leave no trace. Show your loyalties."

The girl now called Shannon folded the paper as she stood in front of the People in Black, trying her best not to tremble as she put the note into her shirt. She couldn't help but think that was meant specifically for her.

A woman stood stalk still, listening silently as the orders were given off the paper. Blue eyes watched Shannon's face, unwavering. So they finally got to do something then, huh? Good. Loren was getting bored. The corner of her mouth twitched upwards at the thought of what was to come. Running a hand through her hair, she took the time to glance at the others around her. It was not a closely knit group my any means, but she supposed that was the nature of their team. Wrecking havoc was good enough for her.

ooc;eslazy

Of all the places she could've been stationed, it had to be Nebraska.

If it had been by Rosebury or anywhere else, she would've been fine with. But here? In the middle of nowhere? Not only couldn't she move around and steal from unsuspecting citizens, but she was stuck in a group with other members that were supposed to be her... teammates. The thought of having to work with someone made her sick, the bile rising in her throat from just thinking about it. Teammates wasn't the right word. No, she didn't work in a team at all. They were more like allies in military training, being sent off to a camp to steel themselves for whatever war they were preparing for. What the hell was Agrona planning anyway? All she could get out of it was a vague world domination. Doesn't matter in the end. Of course it didn't. As long as she could keep being a criminal and wouldn't get caught for it, she was fine with following whatever orders she was given.

Riley had managed to tolerate her comrades for the most part while they had been stranded in this stupid place. They were an interesting group, but not necessarily people she would trust with her life. One wrong move, and she wouldn't mind shooting them all down to smithereens, like a fire blazing through the forest, burning everything to ashes. They didn't have a terrible impression of her, but not a great one either. All they knew was she the infamous thief who managed to get herself an eighteen million dollar bounty on her head. She wouldn't be surprised if one of them had thought about turning her in to become instantly rich. It wasn't like she was that great of a person, anyway. But hey, they've all done terrible things here, so it wasn't like she was the only one.

Her social disposition had to be the worst, though.

As she loaded her pistols, Riley glanced over at her roommates, her hands swiftly working at throwing in as many bullets as possible, she didn't move from her bed. Sitting comfortably where she was, her hands reached for her gloves, pulling them on as a snap! told her they were bound to her wrists without the need for falling. "Are we supposed to pity our victims? Because the thought of that makes me want to jump off a cliff." Sort of. There was always this remorse whenever she heard the bullet zipping through someone's body, breaking apart their innards, but vile satisfaction bubbled up inside her chest whenever it was a clean kill, just like that. The idea of watching a person scream in pain was like music to her ears.

Slipping her guns into her pockets and checking if the knife underneath her dress was still strapped there, Riley swept her feet onto the ground, and she cast a glance to her back. One of her heels tapped the ground a few times, and with a quick inspection of herself, she figured that she might as well call herself ready. It was only a matter of whether she was mentally prepared. If they were going to waltz into some random civilization and murder all of them, she might as well make it quick.

Well, she got her wish: they were actually doing something. The actions they were doing, however, were not quite fulfilling to her desires. It was something though, and she would have to live with it. Jessie stood as impassively as she could, staring at their designated human audiobook through her tinted shades, but when the words of what they were to do in those Nebraskan woods hung in the air, her face grew a slight shade paler. These were the kind of missions she loathed. The kinds of missions that made her just want to sneak off and leave. That was a futile thought, so. There wasn't anywhere she really wanted to go.

"Well, that's it, then. They want to test our loyalty." Giving off an air of bored disdain, Jessie ran a hand through her hair dismissively. "I'm insulted that they question us." Whoever 'they' were, and if 'us' were really that suspicious. "But whatever, fuck 'em. We might as well get this over with. I don't want to miss dinner." For once, the thought of food made her stomach churn, but she ignored it, and she ignored the slight pain in her left shoulder. Stretching out her arm to test the joint - still sore - she raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for anyone to disagree with her, or to delay.

A gifted town huh? Sounded like a bunch of fun. A smile grew on Cadence's face at the thought of taking out a town. Many ideas started appearing in her head as she thought of what she could do to the town's people. "I don't see what the issue is. If questioning our loyalties gives us a fun task then I'm all for it." She was a bit excited for their task. It was better than being stuck in the middle of no where being bored out of her mind, granted she could leave and go anywhere she wanted, if she really wanted to. She always thought her gift was pretty great, she could use it to surprise people so easily.

The girl stood from her spot and checked herself over really quickly making sure everything was in it's spot. She double checked to see if she had her knife which sat in her boot usually, and made sure she had a spare in her other boot. She had a couple of other hidden things but hopefully she wouldn't need to use them. She pulled out a knife for a moment and inspected it. She twirled it for a moment and stopped it in a negative grip, then placed it back in it's spot. "I'm ready when ever you guys are." Her finger's moved around a bit causing small rifts to appear but they quickly disappeared soon after being created.

Shannon looked around at everyone in her group. Damn, they were all crazy, sociopaths whose only joys came from killing. She tried not to show contempt. She had bigger things on her mind, like killing innocent people. "Let's go, then," she said with a shaky clearing of the throat. "Or we can just sit and talk here like bellends. I'll lead the line, and attack first. If any one of you lovely women break the line or act out of turn," she gave them a hard stare and lied. ", I'll kill you." She could do it. You couldn't defend yourself if yourself was the one attacking. And with that, they were gone, her walking out of the building and assuming she was being followed.

It was a beauty, clear morning when they walked down the path to the village. They had left the town they were staying in rather quickly, deserting it in substitute for a long, slender black road. Shannon stepped over bluegrass, boots stumping into the arid chestnut dirt, the sun beating onto her head. She held the letter in front of her with shaky hands. She needed to know when to veer.

She didn't want to kill anyone, but she had no choice. She already knew there was no hell for her, no punishment. But maybe her own guilt was enough. She missed Madam Charlotte dearly.

Who put her in charge? Cadence didn't really have any objections as long as she got to have some fun. But the threat she didn't really care for.. Honestly the threat meant nothing to the space manipulator because if Shannon tried to come after her then she could always go somewhere else or trap Shannon inside a piece of space and leave her there..

Cadence checked her boots one more time making sure the knives where there then followed the girl out of the building. She didn't really care for the sun bearing down on them but she would get over it. She hoped it didn't take to long to get there.. honestly she could just manipulate the space and get there faster but then she might have be tempted to act early, then Shannon might 'kill' her. With a sigh, she placed her hands behind her head as they walked along.

That was such a poor threat. Kill her? "Don't be so hasty." Their self-elected leader was practically anxious and nervous about this, and her strategy was the worst. Yeah, let the one person who can only do possessing shit go first. Thanks. The only plus side was that Shannon, if Riley could recall properly, was a ghost so they could always make her be the guinea pig. If case came to case, she'd go grab another body after the last one failed. That's kind of dark, actually... Stealing other people's lives and making it her own. In the end, it was survival of the fittest. And if they had to prove their loyalty to Agrona, she didn't plan to show any signs of weakness. She couldn't hold back. She just couldn't.

Following the rather odd group of women, her eyes wandered around towards the forest, the heat scorching and hitting them with each and every wave. Didn't people know that it was cliche to hide out between the dense trees? No wonder this gifted community was being targeted first. Slowly, Riley began to steel herself, visualizing the town in her mind. The bullets demolishing and zapping right through them, blood gushing out and bodies disconfigured beyond repair. Headshots, blows right to the heart. Point-blank hell. How entertaining. There were over billions of people in this world. She just had to think about it as decreasing the possibilities of overpopulation. Right... That's all it was in the end.

Most humans were just like animals, playing the obedient dog and following rules, unable to develop a mind for their own. They were as messy as pigs and as mindless as sloths. They floundered around like a fish out of water and yapped like an annoying fly buzzing through your ears. The people in this world make me sick. This was an opportunity to get rid of that illness, that pathetic tick. And she was going to take it head-on.

'What the hell is a belland?' Jessie hung towards the back of the group, staring at the back of their heads as they left the trail and stepped onto the grass. The forest seemed willing enough to swallow them up, and to hide the dirty deeds they had to do. She tried to ignore the thought, thinking instead of whatever else she could conjure up in her mind. She wondered what it would be like to be attending that school rather than being here, and thought about coffee with Ryan, and... no, not that. So it was the mission, then.

With a canopy of trees obscuring the sun through different patches, she knew it would become somewhat more difficult to see through her sunglasses. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she kept walking slow enough to stay in the back, but not enough to where they'd leave her behind. The last thing she needed was for the group to consider her a hindrance. Well, maybe it wasn't the worst thing. Like, fifth or sixth to last thing she needed. There was nothing but the sounds of animals, and Jessie wished that someone would initiate conversation, but they probably needed to keep silent to not alert their 'prey'. So annoying.

Loren didn't feel too threatened. While a lot of threats made by people here were very real, she couldn't feel bothered to be frightened by any of them. She knew that she was not the strongest of the group, and could very well be killed. Again, she wasn't too alarmed by it. Especially with this girl. She didn't seem like a leader type to Loren. Whatever, it wasn't like she had control over it anyways.

Running a hand through her hair, she followed after the others taking in the nice morning with a stoic bored look. As long as they got to kill some people, she was fine with whatever. However they had to walk over there. Damn it, this was going to be a boring walk.

Aurum. The sign hung with moss, covered by a foliage that the group now crouched in. Insects inched their way up Shannon's legs, but she didn't mind. She kind of missed it, in a way. The girl scanned what was before them, a modern town surrounded by trees. Mobile homes and small huts smoked with chimney fire, the distant sound of televisions and radios filling the air, baseball games broadcasting static that made men cheer across the town. Aurum was its name, population 53.

Closest to them was a guard, but guard was a sad term for him. It was obvious that this community had never been threatened, the man half asleep on a rotten stump. Shannon spotted a pistol in his holster. She sighed shakily.

"Catch my body," she said, and she closed her eyes, suddenly falling weightlessly to the closest person in the group. Her spirit had left the body, it breathing without a person inside. It had its eyes set on this man, this excuse for a guard. This was his fault. Yes, he should have been better at his job.

Anticlimactically, his pinkie popped off, but he didn't even seem to notice. His eyes suddenly shot open, him lurching upwards, and Shannon was in. To be a middle-aged man wasn't quite that much fun. She wreaked of body order and sloth.

The "man" got to his feet, and began walking into the town, giving a glare to where the group was hiding. She gave a slight nod, and pulled out the weapon.

He was immediately greeted by some friends, a couple of Hispanic men grinning at him.

"'Ey, Larry, did 'ju see a frog or some'in?"

They were met with the crack of gunfire, bullets entering both of their heads. A woman from somewhere far away screamed. Men began to jump off of porches, flinging insults.

"What the fuck, Larry!?"

"You crazy!?"

More gunfire. It had begun.

Ooc- ahh I didn't see this soon enough

He couldn’t understand many of the words they were saying. He caught “Forest, town, kill, don’t,” but that was mostly it. The mission was to kill every inhabitant of this town.

Egil jogged after them hurriedly, held up by his warm coat. The young man was feeling half-and-half on this mission. His power wasn’t that strong yet, as he’d been unable to learn in his youth due to its nature. Just fifty-six people to kill. Around forty if you removed the expected amount of children. The adults he could handle, easy. That was the reason he felt uncertain. Those kids were finding their way through the world, all for naught. They’d kill them before they understood what was happening.

As they approached the tiny town, the sounds of playing children seemed all too loud to his ears, and he chewed the inside of his mouth. Maybe he’d find a way to get someone slightly more psychopathic to kill them off, just so that he didn’t have to do it himself. Although he pretended to roll his eyes at the woman’s threat, he knew she probably could if she wanted.

He’d only joined for the money and the chance to improve him power. At some point during this… massacre he might be able to understand why he was able to do what he could. Unconsciously flicking out his tongue, Egil could smell people hidden by a grove of trees to the west. Water welled up in his mouth, much to his dislike, at the certain scents. He mumbled out loud. “En man, en kvinna, och en flicka.” He paused for a moment and added, “Och en hund!” Right now, it didn't matter if they understood or not. It had begun, and he had his first targets.

Would they have to kill the dog too? He doubted it, unless it was someone with the power to be a dog.

Watching as Shannon possessed the man, yellow eyes glinting in amusement when one of the men shouted," ."What the fuck, Larry!?" Realizing his targets might have heard the gunshots, he dropped to the dirt and literally slithered away. The man he'd have to get rid of first.

When he reached the clearing, the shouts in the town were faint, almost mistakable for a party. As far as he knew, there was only venomous snake in Colorado; the infamous rattlesnake. And so he was one, sneaking behind the girl on the swing. Her parents watched, ignorant on what was about to happen. He shook the unmistakable rattle, catching the attention of the father. Perfect.

"I'll kill you, ya' sonava bitch!" The man yelled once he thought he was out of his daughter's earshot. Egil made a sharp u-turn to reach the man's ankles and bit down, pumping in the exact amount needed to kill. This venom wasn't unlimited, no need wasting it on one insignificant man.

Catch her body? As soon as the dead weight of the unoccupied shell fell into her arms, Riley bit her lip hard, holding the limp person up. What the hell was she supposed to do with this? Her attention snapped back to Shannon as she heard the gunfire. Goddamn, she was not missing out on this because she was stuck dealing with the dead. With a grimace, the corpse was thrown to the side into a bush, hidden and out of view before her fingers grabbed her guns, the weapons spinning in her hands until they settled into a proper position. Her footsteps were light, the boots scarcely nibbling at the grass as they made their way through. Once she reached the clearing at the center of this quaint community, the corners of her mouth twitched upward into a dazed smile as people gathered around her, readying themselves in whatever manner possible.

Children were amass, sprinting with their stubby little legs back into their homes into their mothers' arms, wailing and letting the tears burst free as their maternal parent did their best to try and comfort them. All sorts of powers flickered like Christmas lights from the bodies of the people who surrounded her, trying to entrap her in a compass that she couldn't escape. Her guns clicked and as lava erupted from underneath her, fuming into the air as though it were a geyser, Riley leaped backward with one bound, twisting and spinning as the bullets cracked themselves through in an encompassing circle around her, like fireworks booming into the sky. Blue shots split themselves into multiples, honing onto the helpless citizens, sparks flying.

Dust clouds scattered from the explosions, creating a misty haze in the air as ammunition shot itself through, ripping flesh and muscle apart like they were glass.

The colorful barrages didn't stop, the floor below them cracking, soil bursting into the air. Blood began to pool from bodies, staining the forest with red. Houses began to be almost paper-thin, structures beginning to collapse with just the blow of the wind. Another trigger brought a maelstrom of lights flashing and blinding people, the explosives reeking with death.

As a tree swung its way towards her, Riley took a leap, using the smooth trunk as a platform, and she quickly dashed upward onto the roof of one of the mobile homes. Her eyes clenched shut, and with the barrels empty, she threw her guns to the floor as they smoked, and her hand under her skirt, grabbing the lone knife. One touch to her own flesh, a small red slice appearing on her finger as the tip begin to ooze with crimson, the blade shot out of her hand, splitting into multiples as they rained like spears impaling the exposed body.

This was way too easy.

Blue and yellow flew past her like meteors. Like a blizzard. And they went in, targeting countless homes and leaving ashes in their place. Another pistol. The particles flew around with their whispy trails, bringing light and death to Aurum. About a quarter of the town had been demolished to complete nothing, people trying to run and flee like mice, others trying to hold their ground like rats. This was as simple as tic-tac-toe. Easy-peasy.

A bitter satisfaction bubbled up inside her chest as she landed back on the ground, her scarf flaring back. One hand came up to readjust her goggles as a swirl of white released itself from her pistol before a pink arrow shot out, leaving a scar through the forest in its pathway without skidding to a halt before exploding in a river far off, water welling up and shooting into the air.

There wasn't any point in trying. Destroying things without a trace was her second-best specialty; the first being robbery.

Her allies couldn't do any better.

It had begun. Unlike some of her more eager comrades, Jessie made her way into the chaos at a slower pace, not feeling much loss at missing out on the action. She took a slightly wider path away from the others, having to pointedly look any direction but the one where Riley was putting on a one woman massacre. It wasn't quick enough to not notice the copious amounts of blood everywhere, and she had to fight to keep herself from throwing up, though each step felt heavier and stomach-rattling as she slipped unnoticed into a house with an unlocked door. Pretty stupid idea to not leave things locked.

Once inside, she moved silently from room to room, looking for anyone who hadn't been thrust into battle. There was only one. A young teenage boy, looking worriedly out the window. Someone who clearly had not been listening clearly enough to notice a second presence within his house. Making her way over silently, she swiftly grabbed his arms and yanked them behind his back before he could even make a sound. With a gentle touch upon his wrists, they were properly bound, her voice low and harsh near his ear. "Don't speak. If you don't want to have all of your blood drained where you stand, you'll stay quiet and you'll stay under the bed until morning, you understand?" She didn't want to kill him. He was no threat; he was too young, and he didn't even realize she had entered the premises. That was no challenge, and she didn't go out just to murder helpless children. A thief, an opportunist, a liar: that's what she was, not a psychopath. After getting a silent nod of confirmation, she grabbed the kid and shoved him a bit too roughly under the bed, making sure he stayed put before leaving the house. She had nothing to prove by killing innocent kids. That's the only thought that made her feel any calmer about the situation.

Cadence gave off a sigh. Guns? Really that was very boring in her opinion. Instead of walked down to the area the girl created a rift in front of her and walked into it. A few moments later another spatial rift appeared in the middle of two and Cadence walked out of it. A smirk was well on her face. "People of this town! You are now trapped here!" She announced to them. She had managed to manipulate the surrounding space around the town successfully trapping all the people inside. People could still enter if they wanted to. They just couldn't leave unless she stopped manipulating the space.

The lady walked back into her rift she created and it soon disappeared after words. Another rift appeared behind a person, and she reached out, and snapped the person's neck. "Always check behind you~" She said to the now corpse. She walked out of the rift, not caring if she stepped on the body, and the rift soon disappeared. Cadence bent down and pulled a knife out of her boot. She brought her left hand to her face, and let out a yawn as she stabbed behind her with her right hand which held the knife successfully stabbing another person in the gut. She turned around and gave the person a sweet smile before twisting her knife, and pulled the knife out of the person stomach. "Enjoy your slow death." She said to the person in a sickly sweet voice, giving them a wave, before walking off to cause more terror.