Memoirs of a RAFian

[redtailedsaffa]

The Ruby? What Ruby?

[Cloak]

Not too big on X-Men, Saffa? Don't worry, you'll find out about it later on in the book.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER SIX:
Unacceptable

News reached the RAFian ears, unsurprisingly swift, and they knew at once that the ordinary law enforcement professionals would be unequipped to handle such a monster of a man. Cloak quickly volunteers, with Shadow insisting to tag along. Oceanspray, Yarin, and Gaz (with Laserbeak, of course) wouldn't allow them to do this alone.

They wasted no time, no words, and just hurried to the scene of the rampage. Cloak, upon viewing the whole spectacle with his own eyes, thought he recognized the huge guy in red. The Juggernaut . . . like in that other realm he visited as a child . . . did that also mean --

Cloak levitated a Buick thrown at him, rousing him from thoughtful, musing reverie. The Juggernaut threw it at them, clearly not seeing the five of them as anything even resembling a threat. He was so accustomed to people either fleeing from him, or being completely incapable of defending or protecting themselves from him. A complete punk, bully, and creep.

Cloak ferrokinetically lowered the car gently to ground, and turned to address the Juggernaut. "Stop this. Stop it now."

"Don't tell me what to do," he snarled.

Cloak had expected such a reaction, with just as much hostility. But Shadow, and the other RAFians apparently didn't expect this degree of hostility right off the bat. Cloak did not really react, keeping his body language inscrutable. The others' reactions weren't all that obvious, but more muted.

"You cannot do this," Cloak said, evenly. He wasn't in the mood to be trifled with. "You cannot just go on a rampage -- destroying things, terrifying the populace, causing general mayhem. You simply cannot. It is not acceptable."

"I can do whatever I like!" he snarled. "I have the power. The power to do as I please. And there is nothing -- NOTHING -- that you puny nothings can do to stop me!!"

"It is not acceptable," Cloak said, as if he were a reproving parent. "Your tantrum needs another medium, something less destructive and something more constructive."

"Shut up!" Juggernaut roared. "Stop acting like you know me! You DON'T!!"

"Uncle, I don't think that you can reason with him." Shadow said, shrewdly.

"You're probably right," Cloak conceded.

[redtailedsaffa]

Nice guy.

[Cloak]

Yes. Quite right.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER SEVEN:
Chains of Tylee

The three RAFians were quickly bound from the base of their necks to their ankles in the golden tylee chains. The tech bomb kept Parker's armor's tech from activating, which he was still in as the chains bound him a smidgen on the tight side. They were not gagged, though.

"Let us go!" Horse raged.

"Let us go!" Parker agreed.

"What do you want us for?" Aquilai asked.

The shadowy figure's expression was inscrutable, naturally. But when he spoke, he had a twisted jovial tone to it. "Oh, I think that Genosha would appreciate some new workers. Especially the superpowered RAFian set."

Silence.

The RAFians couldn't believe what they were hearing. This guy was speaking to them as if they were nothing more than property, without will or sentience of their own. As if they were lower beings than him. He was talking about selling them into slavery. Slavery in this Genosha place.

"You can't do this," Parker said. "It's illegal."

"Lots of things are illegal. Doesn't mean that it'll be enforced." the owner of the voice said, with a wry little chuckle. "But such naivete is refreshing, I'd admit."

"You can't be serious," Aquilai said, in a strained attempt to be pratical and logical. "You can't possibly get away with this."

"I have been getting away with it," the voice said, in a bored, unimpressed voice. "Been getting away with it for -- oh, quite some time now. Never been caught."

"Liar," Horse snarled. "Someone would have . . ."

"You forget how easy it is to get a politician, law enforcement, and whatnot to look the other way," the voice said, unconcernedly. "It just takes a little cha-ching."

"You --" Parker growled.

"Enough." the voice said. Then he addressed some unseen grunts. "Put those vibratium alloy muzzles on them."

"The others will find us!" Horse shouted. "You won't get away from this this time!!"

"Oh, them?" the voice said, with a malevolent, malicious sort of laugh. "They shall be too busy to even think about you."

[redtailedsaffa]

"Lots of things are illegal. Doesn't mean that it'll be enforced."

This is basically the philosophy of my country.

[Cloak]

Mine, too, Saffa. And they try to keep it all hush-hush, but I presume it's like that everywhere where this is true.

Not to mention we have the reverse -- stupid, nonsensical laws. Like in some states, you can't hold office and be an atheist. But that's just me getting political again, sorry.

New, short chapter.
 

CHAPTER EIGHT:
Sold!

The three were handled very roughly. Parker and Aquilai were fitted (with the grunts not bothering with the RAFians' comfort) with faceplate-like gags that resembled that of Shredder, Optimus Prime, or the original Megazord. Horse was a bit like the more classic shape of a muzzle, except no openings, and when it was fastened on her (though she kept trying, and failing, to bite the fingers of the grunts) only her nose was left exposed.

Horse's normally adorable, round, pinniped eyes were filled with disconsolate indignation. Parker's glowering glare was filled with venomous hatred. Aquilai's however were darting here and there, looking at their environment in such an appraising way that it was clear that he was trying to concoct a solution, a way out of this prodigious predicament that they found themselves in. But there was nothing, nothing he could use to somehow devise a soluttion from. But he was a Time Lord -- not MacGyver.

"That was quick," the voice said, with malicious relish, "they paid more than I ever expected."

Then he stepped into the light, and the RAFians saw him for the first time. The guy looked like a Ken doll, dressed in blacks and grays. His hair and skin were rather like plastic, though he may have believed it was simply like porcelain. He may have thought he looked perfect, but it was disconcerting in actuality. The RAFians did not recognize him. They have never met.

"My source was right," he said, with a superstar smile that the RAFians thought was grossly inappropriate. "You RAFians are certainly a hot commodity!"

The three RAFians would have protested, only their vibranium alloy gags absorbed any sound they uttered. They had to consent to just glare mutinously at this slaver (someone who sells slaves). Yet, they did not recognize something very telling the slaver mentioned, but, then sgain, they had more present concerns at the moment.

"Have a wonderful time!" he said brightly. Then he quickly added sinisterly, "Serving your new masters in Genosha."

[Cloak]

Sorry if the little spiel before the last chapter offended anyone. I only caught the error just an hour later.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER NINE:
Comin' Through!!

"Juggernaut," Cloak said, in a final attempt at reason, "you must not do what I suspect you are planning. You must not, you cannot."

"Don't tell me what to do, pally," he growled.

Cloak sighed. He had hoped in vain that reason would work this time. But he could see that it was futile, the Juggernaut was without reason, without mercy, and without conscience.

"Then you must be stopped," Cloak said. Oceanspray's arm quickly folded into a Cyborg-like arm cannon, which he trained upon the Juggernaut, who looked deeply unconcerned.

The Juggernaut snorted with the utmost derision. "I'm the unstoppable Juggernaut, b--"

"Language!" Gaz scolded as Oceanspry fired, and batted the photon beam away, like a bothersome gnat. Oceanspray blinked in surprise, and reformed his arm from the cannon.

Laserbeak squawked at Gaz in an expectant way, to which she replied, "No, Beaky. Your Energon-based laser would not fair any better than Oceanspray's photon stream. Now, don't look at me like that! I don't need your attitude, Beaky!"

In response, Beaky squawked in a most disconsolate, surly way.

"Now, now, don't be like that!" Gaz said, attempting to prevent Laserbeak's more stubborn streak to surface.

The Juggernaut make a reproachful, retching sound. "You two are disgusting. I should pound you out of existance."

"Nice guy," Shadow muttered sarcastically, with narrowed, disapproving eyes -- the look her uncle usually gives such villains.

"He's pathetic," Oceanspray said. "A brute. One who only cares for power, one who freely abuses and unapologetically uses it for intimidation, domination, and cowing opponents int submission. He has no finesse. He has no substance. He is just another addict to power."

"I heard that!" the Juggernaut roared.

"And yet," Oceanspray replied, without missing a beat, "you comprehended none of it."

"You think you're so smart, dontcha?!" the Juggernaut seethed.

"You know --" Yarin began.

"You all think you're better than me, don't you?!" the Juggernaut snarled.

"-- I think that ticking off the Juggernaut --" Yarin said, in a valid attempt to continue his thought.

"Well, you're not!" the Juggernaut shouted.

"-- may not have been the wisest recourse!!" Yarin said, finishjn his thought.

Not having even heard or paid attention to Yarin, the Juggernaut roared. "And I'll show you how wrong you are!!!"

He lowered his head, squared his shoulder and charged. Cloak and Shadow attempted to raise stone walls to stop him in his tracks, but it,  naturally, didn't work. He just busted through all of them, with only the most minimal reduction to his speed, if that. The walls immediately collapsed in on themselves.

"Yep," Gaz agreed. "This approach was flawed."

[redtailedsaffa]

I didn't find anything offensive there.

Wow, this guy is like some raging bull.

[Cloak]

I forgot to put "they" in the first sentence, changing the entire meaning of the sentence. And, yes, he is like that. But you have to admit, there are people like this. Actually, a lot in America it seems.

Anyway, I feeling the anxiety with taxes dying down, so I shall turn it into writing energy.

New chapter!
 

CHAPTER TEN:
Collateral Damage . . . Again

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" the Juggernaut roared.

"No kidding, Gaz!" Oceanspray said, resorting to rolling away from him, as the Juggernaut charged forward. "Yarin, can't you short out his mind or something?"

Yarin seemed to rankle at using his telepathic abilities in such a potentially lethal way, and elaborated, "Besides, he is shielded from even the weakest of telepathic probes. I can't imagine how or why --"

"It's his helmet." Cloak said at once. "If this Juggernaut is like the one in that other realm --"

"Other realm?" Gaz said at once. "What do you me--ahh!"

Gaz was trapped, close to being pinioned to the wall and the Juggernaut's shoulder. But she was a vampire, so she simply transfigured her body and clothing into gaseous mist and escaped him that way. Although Laserbeak did not see this at first, and dove at the Juggernaut's face, attempting to gouge his eyes out with his metallic talons. But the Juggernaut's helmet was most disobligingly preventing a single strike from succeeding.

It was then that Laserbeak's right leg was yanked, saving him from being swatted and swished flat by the Juggernaut. He was intending to snap at the fingers of whoever dared to stop him in his endeavor to wrecking his vengeance upon he who dared to attack Gaz. But it was Gaz herself who yanked him away.

"Will you stop being so recklessly stubborn?!" Gaz hissed, in sheer frustrated exasperation.

The Juggernaut changed targets, and aimed for Shadow. Shadow simply employed her simian athleticism and agility to leap unto his large, ample shoulders and somersaulted off in one swift movement. She landed daintily, and pivoted to see the Juggernaut moving away from her. This stirred Cloak's fury.

"Perhaps," Yarin said, pragmatically, "we should get him out of the slcity and into a place with less . . . uh . . . destructible?"

"Great idea." Oceanspray said.

"Yeah." Shadow said. "Any idea how?"

[redtailedsaffa]

There's only more worry for Laserbeak with every book. >.>

[Cloak]

Indeed. Just wait until Book-- er, never mind. That would be telling.

This thread has surpassed "GESB: OOC Discussion" thread in views. We're now the fourth most-viewed thread in the forum! I believe the term is .

New chapter . . . and there is a small chance that this book will exceed twenty chapters.
 

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Like Animals, Like Property

"You three! In the back there!" came an arrogant, authoritative voice commanded. "Get out here!"

The three RAFians refused. They were ungagged, for the assumptive belief that their spirits, their wills had been broken during the overseas transit. Their arms were no longer pinioned to their sides, but their upper arms were chained to their waist, wrists chained together, thighs chained together, and shins chained together. (Horse was just in a tylee metal choke collar.)

They refused to allow themselves to be debased in such a way, to have their dignity stripped from them. They would not allow themselves to be humiliated in such a way. RAFians, on the whole, could be very prideful.

"Get out here!" came another voice, which had -- there's really no real delicate way to put this -- an arrogant redneck twang in it. "I won't tell you again so nicely!"

The RAFians were not intimidated by this. They had faced more fearsome dangers -- the viral ooze, Dark Phoenix, Evil Gaz, the Madre de Vampyra, Van Pyrrhas, Thanos, the Xenomorphic Brood, among others -- a redneck with a bloated ego wasn't about to intimidate them.

"Imma give you to the count of three!" he called out. "One!"

It took a lot more than this to break a RAFian's will.

"Two!"

It took a lot more than this to break a RAFian's spirit.

"Two and half!"

It took a lot more than this to break a RAFian's resolve.

"Two and three -- aw, the 'ell with it." the man said, clearly unaccustomed to having his issued ordered being disobeyed. He addressed the guard. "Go ahead and drag them out. Set them before me."

The three dragged roughly from the ship's hold, and unceremoniously dumped before the man with the authoritative voice. He was dressed in the stereotypical clothing one would expect from someone with this warden's mannerisms.

"Line them up!" the warden of this work camp ordered, and the RAFians were stood befor him. None would even look at him, they rankled at allowing themselves to be captured so easily. He began to pace before the RAFians, as well as the other kidnapped people, who wore morose, broken looks.

"Welcome to Genosha," he said, in an obvious preface of a long speech. "I dunno if you heard the rumors of our little island, but don't believe them. We'll make use of your unnatural abnormalities. As long as you do everything I say."

Parker curled his lip in a disgusted sneer. The warden saw this, and stopped in front of Parker. He was a thick, heavyset man with a thick, curly, unkempt beard and a full head shorter than the RAFian. Apparently, he decide to try and ride Parker -- pick on him specifically.

He addressed the RAFian, "Look at me when I speak to you."

[Cloak]

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER TWELVE:
Forced Humiliation and Learned Helplessness

"No," Parker said. It was rather remarkable how much loathing, how much resentment, how much disrespect the SPARTAN could fit into such a small utterance.

"Oh?" the Warden said, rankling at such flat out disobedience. "You rather look at my shoes?
THEN TAKE A GOOD LOOK!"

He stomped on Parker's chains, the ones binding his wrists, forcing him down. Frankily, it was remarkably how Lord Large-Gut could even lift his foot that high. Parker was now on his forearms and knees. He bristled at this humiliation.

"I know exactly who you are," the Warden said, foot still on Parker's chains. "Parker of Richard's Avenger Forum."

Parker's irritated sneer deepened. The Warden apparently was under the impression that he didn't make a mistake of what the "A" in RAF stood for.

"So strong-willed and uncompromising," the Warden continued without pause. "But don't worry, we'll rid you of that in no time. NOW, LOOK ME IN THE EYE!"

Parker gritted his teeth, but he heard the faint chink of metal and remembered that he wasn't by himself. He wasn't alone. That gave him the strength to endure. He would be able to  weather anything this madman would throw at him as long as he could feel the unity with the others.

Parker, albeit slowly, complied with the Warden's demand.

"See?" the Warden said, adopting a condescending tone of voice. "Isn't that better?"

Then he turned to address the neophyte slaves, in ringing tones, "I don't care what anomaly you carry, you will do as I say, or you will pay the price. You will -- ahhh!!"

Just when he began to pace, Parker used his chains and hands to trip him so that the Warden fell flat on his face. The guards rushed to his aid, with one asking, "Sir, are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Get these slaves to work and out of my sight!!" the Warden said, not attempting to hide his rage. Parker couldn't help but indulge himself in a small, smug smile. The three RAFians were fitted with strange gauntlets and collars. The chains would be used for other kidnap victims, as the gauntlets and collars allowed the Overseers to toggle the slaves' powers on and off. When off, they are no more powerful than baseline humans.

It was not human tech.

The RAFians quickly discovered that the other slaves have already given hope, their spirits broken. Their resolve shattered. Most just go to sleep at night hoping that they don't wake up in the morning.

It was not a pleasant working environment.

[redtailedsaffa]

What exactly was the work though?

[Cloak]

Like in a forced labor camp. As well as powering the cities of Genosha, for the "higher" echelons of Genoshan society.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
New Tactics

The RAFians managed to lure the Juggernaut away from the city. It was easier than they anticipated. They just had to get him angry and have him follow them. Of course, this had the small caveat of allowing him to build up momentum. But it was a necessary evil to protect the people -- who had evacuated the other way.

It's little wonder why insurance rates were so high there.

They stopped in a wasteland, on the outskirts of the Bannedland territory. But they did not trespass. Thr Juggernaut blew past them into a cliffside face, which did not stop his momentum.

"I'm beginning to see a flaw in this plan " Yarin said.

"Ya think?" Gaz said. Laserbeak chirped, perched innocently on Gaz's shoulder. "Oh, quiet you. I am still quite cross with you."

The Juggernaut seemed magically impervious to inerta and friction. He just kept coming. The RAFians had expected to be inspired with a new tactic once they had to no longer worry about civilian safety.

"Yarin," Cloak said, "could you telepathically trigger him into a somnulent state?"

"No, the helmet --"

"Do you have the capability?" Cloak cut across.

Yarin hesitated. "I . . ."

"Do you?" Cloak insisted.

"I . . . I believe . . . that I -- I can," Yarin said, looking like Cloak did whenever he had to mechbend. Cloak felt guilt about what he was about ask of the Nyac. But if they weren't going to outright kill Juggernaut -- which Cloak wasn't even sure that they could even if they wanted to -- the next best option would be to contain the monster of a man. He could think of no other alternative. "But this all a moot point. No telepathy can penetrate that shielded helmet of his."

"Then our task is simple," Oceanspray said. "We need to get the helmet off."

Laserbeak squawked in alarm, and Gaz looked 'round. She said, "Uh, guys? The Juggernaut kind of has a monkey on his back."

[redtailedsaffa]

On the borders of Bannedland territory? That's not very far, is it?