firebringer | sample roleplay

“Mocha latte with cream, and no, I don’t want a bagel.”

Ignoring the stink-eye the pimply-faced clerk was giving him (he briefly considered doing something about that eye, but it would be messy and just cause unnecessary chaos he wasn’t interested in – yet), Prometheus took a solitary booth and examined the day’s newspaper. Even Gotham City had a Starbucks. To any passerby he was one more college kid, probably looking through the want-ads for some part-time job. In reality, Prometheus was just keeping current on his favorite city.

It was true. Prometheus loved Gotham. Pundits from one side of America to the other decried Gotham’s soaring crime rate and infamous corruption, but they were all just pampered, pandering talking heads who had no idea what they were talking about. Perspective, that’s what they lacked.

Prometheus figured he was one of the few men in the world who could appreciate the beauty of Gotham. The beauty of a city so liberated from the yoke of outdated justice, a city where true Social Darwinism ruled, and only the fittest survived. This city had given birth to the Batman, alone among the forces of justice for relying on no superhuman ability, but only his own ingenuity. This city had also given birth to a cadre of men and women who had opposed Batman’s ridiculous crusade to corrupt Gotham by enforcing the law and order that the city had shook off so well. One champion of justice and a couple dozen champions of injustice. Prometheus approved of that ratio.

Of course, the true news wasn’t to be had in the newspapers. Indeed, while Prometheus appeared to be flipping idly through the sports page, he wasn’t looking at the newspaper at all. Shaded glasses, unremarkable and unobtrusive, were just one more of his many inventions, serving to pull up information downloaded from every mainframe in Gotham City.

Maxie Zeus had recently built himself a chariot and paraded through Gotham – snooze. There’s been a shootout at the Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge; Cobblepot had sleazed his way out of arrest again, of course. Really, just a bunch of second stringers. Where was the Joker? Two-Face? Any worse and the press of Gotham were going to start putting that creepy guy who collected children in the sewers on the front page.

It was a pity, really. Prometheus wouldn’t mind extending his stay. Gotham clearly needed a real villain to stop in for a spell. But, as much fun as it would be to yank Batman’s chain, that would have to wait for another day He had business to attend to. Plans for the Society were proceeding apace, but he’d have to take a bit of a detour. A certain someone wanted the Calculator out of the way. And while Prometheus wasn’t usually one for handing out favors, he owed this particular favor. A single hit wasn’t too much to ask.

Whistling cheerily, the anonymous man in the hoodie walked out into the frigid Gotham streets. A moment later, he was gone.