The Effigy

Name: Effigy
Gender: Male
Tier: Street Level
Alignment:Villain
Team: Argus



Background:

The silver breath of the moon fell upon the emerald trees that stood within Lovecraft Park. Milky mist slithered along their trunks and over the shrubs and stones that adorned the park floor. The insects danced to the songs of the crickets and the whispers of the trees as the nights breeze passed through them.
Deep in the heart of the parks thickest cluster of trees, the emerald grass was marred by a puddle of crimson liquid that flowed from the limp body of a badly wounded man. The shallow breaths of the man turned to fog as they exited his split lips and rose to his glazed eyes.
"We found him!" shouted a wispy voice that echoed amongst the trees.
"He doesn't look too good!" exclaimed a rougher voice that neared the dying man.
From amongst the trees came two purple cloaked figures, one lithe and tall and the other burly and just as tall. Both figures approached the man and looked down at him, blocking the light of the moon from caressing his face. Shortly after they approached him a tall, pale, bald man clothed in a dark grey suit and vest, white shirt and red tie; appeared from the darkness and mist. The moon's light glistened atop his black dress shoes as he walked beside a woman in a bone white dress; atop her right shoulder sat a raven.
The bald man walked towards the bloody man and crouched down, placing his pointed nose an inch away from the others scarred face "Dante. I'm here to help you." whispered the slim man in his soothing voice "My name is Lictor. My two cloaked friends here are Rem," the slender figure curtsied "and Alu." the stocky figure bowed its head slightly "And the lovely lady behind me is Moriggia."
"I don't think he can hear you."
"Shut up Rem." snapped Alu sharply.
Lictor continued "Now, tell me what happened to you."
The damaged man's chest rose and descended expelling a stream of fog from his mouth as he began to speak "He killed them. He k-killed all of them."


Personality:

Earlier That Morning;

"Dante! Boy where are you?" exploded a delicate voice trying to be tough "I swear I'm going to throttle that boy!" the wielder of the voice paced on the pearl white tiles of the hot kitchen, thick with the smell of bacon and pancakes. Her sweat drenched face trying its best to look threatening in front of the audience within the kitchen.

The command of the voice was answered with the heavy thumps of running feet. Dante slid into the room and hugged the woman who had called for him "Good morning mom." he turned to the three people who stood with amused faces, watching him interact with his mother "Hey dad. Why didn't you wake me up Kevin?"

A tall boy who's light brown hair matched Dante's turned to another who was a mirror image of him "Kyle told me he'd do it."

"What happened to you're alarm Dante?" replied the father trying his best not to laugh.

"It's finals week dad. When I'm done studying I'm so tired it'd take ten phones to wake me up."

"Well tha-" started Dante's mother before she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Her husband went to the front door and opened it to reveal a stocky man dressed in a suit.

"Hey boss. The cars waiting for you." greeted the man only to nearly trampled by the three boys as the twins tried to escape a fork wielding Dante.

"Immagetyoubastards!" mumbled Dante, his mouth stuffed with pancakes. The twins ran into a small limo and locked the door, mocking Dante's failed attempts to open it.

"Even when they're in college you still have a house full of kids huh?"

"Tell me about it Donny." answered the matriarch of the family "By the way, where exactly are we going?"

"Sorry Mrs.Adagio; your husband swore me to secrecy."

Mrs.Adagio smacked her husband in the head walked towards the car "This better be good Lorenzo."


Mind Over Matter: Telekinesis 2, Standard (2)

Thirty minutes of driving ended in the limo carrying the Adagio family, entering the driveway of a modern two story house. The Adagio sons craned their necks to get better views of the house as the car slowed. Without waiting for the vehicle to come to a full stop they charged out on to the gravel carpeted driveway and inspected the outside of the building. Besides from the Adagio family, the house was surrounded by half a dozen men and women dressed in suits.

"You bought a new house?" Mrs.Adagio shoved her husband slightly "Why?"

Lorenzo smiled as he watched his sons fawn over the house "It's not for us Bella; I bought the house for them." his focused shifted to his wife "Consider it their early Christmas present."

In the hours that passed, the house had been entered and explored by the family. Rooms were chosen, parties were planned and squabbles were started and ended. By the time the moon occupied the sky, the family was sitting on the floor eating plates of spaghetti and meatballs.

Lorenzo cleared his throat and straightened his back as he prepared to speak "I want you boys to know that you've made me very proud." his eyes took in the sight of his sons and he smiled "I bought this place so you three could start you own futures without us at your back, because, after watching you grow I now see that yo-"

The front door of the house burst into splinters shattering the peace within the house. Through the splinters, Donny's body fell into the house sending wood and glass everywhere.

"Donny! What the hell happened!" exclaimed Lorenzo as he knelt next to his guard.

Donny sat up, turned to his boss with bulging eyes filled with fear and answered "Get em' out of here boss. It's th-"

Out of thin air a man dressed in a trench coat and a faceless mask made of cloth appeared over Donny with a knife bared for attack. Right as the apex of the knife was about to contact Donny's neck, the man was sent flying into a wall.

"Get out of my house!" Dante stood furiously with one of his hands raised. His fingers tensed and all of the forks in the room rose from mounds of tomato stained spaghetti and flew towards the intruder but only hit the wall.

The masked man appeared behind Dante and swung at him. The loud metallic clang of metal hitting metal rang through room as the intruders knife hit the now rigid metallic skin that covered Lorenzo's hands as he protected his son.

"Bella, you and the boys leave now! Donny and I will deal with this fucker."


A Piercing Mind: Piercing Weapon, Standard 2 (4)

Miles away from the battle entrenched house, a black car sped down the road with unrelenting speed. At the wheel of the car sat Bella, eyes focused as she tried to get her family away from the assassin sent to destroy it. In the back sat her sons, scanning their surroundings for incoming threats.

The car swerved through traffic, never loosing an iota of velocity as it flew across the street. The roar of the engine and tense atmosphere had conquered the inside of the car, inflicting silence upon everyone.

Then BOOM! A large object impacted the top of the cars hood catapulting it into the air. The shocked occupants of the car could do nothing as the mass of steel slammed into the earth and rolled down a grassy field only stopping when it a large tree.

After a few seconds Dante spoke "Kevin, Kyle, Mom? Are you o.k?"

Kyle was the first to answer "Kevin is unconscious but he's fine."

"Mom?" Only silence replied. Dante frantically pushed away debris, crawling towards the front of the car which was deserted "Where is she?" in the distance the sounds of his mothers voice could be heard grunting and yelling along with sound of metal scraping metal "She's outside! Kyle get Kevin and go into the park. Don't turn back."

Kevin touched his brothers shoulder which melted into a mass of colorful energy that flowed into Kevin's body. Kevin then kicked the door open and ran with blinding speed into the trees. Dante crawled through a window, fell on to the grass and turned the the source of his mothers voice. In the middle of the grassy field was his mother with black wings and clawed hands battling the masked man.

Without hesitation he darted towards them and threw his hand forward. The masked man was sent into the ground followed by Bella's talons. The assassin teleported behind her before the attack could hit its mark and readied his knife.

"No!" Dante pointed a finger at the attacker and a gush of blood escaped the masked mans hand followed by his blade. Bella turned and gripped the mans neck and looked at her son.

"Go Dante, protect your brothers. Go!"

Dante shook with rage, turned and ran into the forest, stinging tears falling from his face.


My Twisted Soul: Energy-Body, Superior 4 (8)

Dante ran through the forest calling for his brothers as he dodge branches and boulders. With each call his voice cracked trying to hold back bloody sobs. Then his heart lifted just a little. Sitting against a rock were his brothers, weeping in each others arms.

"Kevin, Kyle!" Dante shouted, hugging his brothers when he finally reached them "You have to get out of here. School is not that far, he can't get you there."

"What about you?" moaned Kyle, wincing as he spoke.

"I'm your older brother. It''s my job to protect you. Now go." he hugged his brothers again kissing them before he released his embrace "I love you."

Kevin and Kyle then merged together transforming in to a large amalgamation of the two "We'll be waiting bro." echoed both of their voices in unison. They then ran into the forest with inhuman speed, leaving Dante alone amongst the trees.

"I have to save mom." whispered Dante to himself. He ran back towards the accident breaking the branches in-front of him with invisible force. Each step sent an infusion of rage into his heart which made him run faster and faster. Like a man possessed he ran, with only his mothers face in his mind. Then he stopped. All the energy in his body melted away leaving only despair in its stead.

In front of Dante were both of his brothers; on their faces were frozen images of despair that culminated the dark, bloddy chasms that now occupied the places where their eyes once were. He slowly walked up to them and stroked their faces. Both brothers then collapsed lifelessly on to the floor. Before he could fully absorb what laid before him he was sent flying into a tree. Then there was pain, and then, darkness.

Lovecraft Park, Now

"You poor soul." sighed Lictor "The man who did this to you is called the Conspiracist. He works with the Hounds. He is a remnant left by another man of the same name. Both destroyed many lives in the name of 'justice'." he spat the last word out as if it offended his tongue "I know what you are feeling right now. I know how it feels to have that bastard devour your life and shit out in front of you." he touched Dante's face "I want to help you get revenge."

"How could I get revenge? I wasn't even strong enough to protect my family." Dante replied.

"I will give you power. Power to become something that retches in the face of 'justice', something that represents the world you now live in, the world they use their laws to mask." he stretched one of his hands towards Dante "I'll give you the power to take the curs that did this to us, to you, and plunge them into the world they banished us to."

Dante's labored breath was the only sound in the air for a few moments and then he spoke "Do it."

Alu sang a few unintelligible words and the bloody bodies of Dante's family appeared around the dying man. Rem nodded and ethereal chains wrapped themselves around Dante. The Raven sitting on Moriggia's shoulder cried and black mist left its mouth entered the corpses bodies and then entered Dante's body. As the smoke entered his body it turned into a mass of purple, crimson and black energy. After awhile the mass formed itself into a skeletal wraith enveloped in a haze of ominous energy.

This Is My Justice: Emotion Control+Seeker+Multi-Attack, Superior (4) (12)+1+1 (14)

A Hounds Of Justice Base, Jersey City (One Month Later)

Under the yellow light of dusty light-bulbs sat a table, and around these tables sat the masked vigilante, Conspiracist and the infamous reaver, Dirge. In front of them laid a tablet with a map of the Tri-State area.

"I don't know Dirge; from what I've seen, things in the criminal underworld have been ramping up. If we don't start being more proactive we could be overrun."

Dirge rubbed his stubble sprinkled face and spoke "What we need to do is recruit more members and act more like a team. The only reason some of us have been so successful is because we work together."

The door of the room opened halting the discourse between the two men and a man garbed in a bulletproof vest entered "We've got trouble guys. Two dozen of the blokes guarding this place have gone missing. I went up to the security room but everyone in there had a hole in their necks and the cameras were shut off."

Dirge snapped out of his seat and put on his trench-coat "This could only be Agus."

"Sharp as ever, Victor." echoed a soothing male voice from out of nowhere "I see that you're with your masked friend. Reminiscing over the old days? Heh I doubt it."

The man dressed in the armored vest swerved his head around violently with his gun in the air "Tha bloody el' is that?"

Unfazed by the eery voice, Dirge took a few steps forward and smiled "Hey there Lictor, what brings you here? Got bored and thought I'd want to play?"

"Oh no Dirge. I'm only here to make sure you don't interfere." replied Lictor. Smoke rose from Dirge's shadow and quickly transformed into Lictor.

Dirge turned around and folded his arms "Interfere with what?" his question was answered by screams coming from outside the room. Dirge started to turn but Lictor stopped him with a gun he placed at his abdomen "We are just going to enjoy the show."

"We've got this Dirge; you deal with Lictor." growled Conspiracist "Lets go Cormac." he then vanished into the other room. All around the room were vigilantes; weeping out loud, laughing uncontrollably, trembling silently in dark corners and even blindly attacking one another.

Cormac stepped beside him and cocked his gun "Somethin' ain't right here."

"You got that right buddy! roared Alu who suddenly appeared and slammed into the burly Cormac, sending both men crashing into the ground.

The Conspiracist turned to help Cormac but was then hit in the face by an invisible force multiple times forcing him to teleport to the other side of the room "Where are you!" he shouted as he teleported all over the room "Where are you!?"

"Behind You." answered a distorted voice. Conspiracist turned to see a humanoid wraith floating behind him. Before he could attack the wraith gripped his neck and launched him towards the other side of the room. The Conspiracist hit the ground slid and teleported into another empty room "You can't escape." hissed the wraith's voice in the Conspiracist's head. The door to the room opened and three Hounds entered with agonized looks on their faces.

The Hounds pulled knives from their pockets and approached the Conspiracist "Kill the son a bitch!" shouted one of the vigilantes and all three charged at him but hit only air. When he reappeared in another room filled with chairs, he took one and placed it under the doors handle with sweaty hands.

"Why am I so afraid. Whats happening?" he said to himself. A shiver went down his spine and he spun around to see caliginous energy coalesce into one of the chairs and turn into Dante "You. How are you alive?"

"Alive isn't what I would call it Conspiracist. You stepped on my heart that day. You ripped the air from my lungs. Do you know how that feels?"

Conspiracist's knees started to tremble "You have only you're family and Argus to blame Dante."

"Of course you don't know how it feels." continued Dante as he stood up discarding what the Conspiracist had said. He walked up to the vigilante and stopped inches from his face "Don't worry, Con, you will. I will take your 'justice' and display it for what it really is. I'll spread chaos and death with unprejudiced zeal all over this world. I'll inflict MY justice with the same passion you spread yours." he licked his lips and continued "And every time I destroy a life, or twist and maim an 'innocent' soul; know that it was you that killed Dante that night and gave birth to not just me but the effigy of your justice as well."

Dante then turned into a mass of energy and melted out of the room, leaving the Conspiracist in the dark surrounded by the chaos left in the Effigy's wake.