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<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(32, 178, 170)"><span style="font-size: 22px">Aesir "Ace" Beckett</span></span>​</div><br/><hr class="bbc-hr"/><br/><div class="bbImageWrapper bbImageAligned--left js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/attachments/01f2aaf4f2462f2a5bbe3101af77a580-jpg.138462/" title="01f2aaf4f2462f2a5bbe3101af77a580.jpg">
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</div>Alias: The Hound<br/>Power: Object Manipulation<br/>Age: 40<br/>Date/Time: Afternoon<br/>Location: Nova Island to underground rail tube leading to Terramore Island.<br/>Mood Music: Recuerda – Penny and Sparrow<br/><div style="width: 54px;

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</div></div><br/><br/><br/>Tagging: Idris, Vincent, Lysander, Chris, Addy, Iggy, Octavia (??)<br/><a class="username" data-user-id="10864" data-username="Anaris" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/10864/">Anaris</a><a class="username" data-user-id="9340" data-username="Vibia Sabina" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/9340/">Vibia Sabina</a><a class="username" data-user-id="1285" data-username="Darko" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/1285/">Darko</a><a class="username" data-user-id="9607" data-username="cressray" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/9607/">cressray</a><a class="username" data-user-id="6055" data-username="Dragongoddess" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/6055/">Dragongoddess</a><a class="username" data-user-id="11190" data-username="Teddy Naj" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/11190/">Teddy Naj</a><br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr bbc-hr--2"/><br/>Aesir looked up the valley from the only still-working dockyard at Nova Island, the northernmost landform in the Zodiac island chain, and saw a luxury jet circle and then dip below his view to land. There was a time when sleek, private jets would land day in and day out, but that was back when this was a bustling resort and people came here to rub elbows with superheroes. It seemed the island was coming back to life, though he had no idea why there had been a call for them to return.<br/><br/>Part of him thought that it might be a trap. Feeling as he did now, he could care less if it was. He couldn't stay home; everything reminded him of Mac and he needed something to think about aside from feeling like he had outlived his usefulness.<br/><br/>He had no way of knowing that others had arrived earlier that morning, some who had never been called before, and some who had been active for the last few years when everything was supposed to have been shut down.<br/><br/>As he shouldered his drab green duffle bag and stepped on the gangplank to disembark, tourists flowing around him like water around a river rock.<i>'Motherfucker,'</i>Aesir cursed beneath his breath. He forgot how much he hated the tourists and the game of pretend they all used to play. He was grateful that it had been a handful of years since his face had been on any media screen and that people had short memories. If anyone 'normal' knew him back then, he was just another memory in their twenty-second recollection. He was as anonymous as yesterday's news.<br/><br/>After catching an open trolly to the amusement park and showing his ID at the park's employee entrance, Aesire was allowed in. Though the pock-faced kid at the gate with "Security" on the back of his shirt seemed unsure who he was and asked him if he was one of the new actors hired to play a superhero part.<br/><br/>Aesir grunted. "Aren't we all actors?"<br/><br/>The place looked like a cheap knockoff of Disneyland. He could tell the park had recently opened; overgrown landscaping had been cut back severely, the pavement was stained where dirt had accumulated for years before being scraped away, and many of the rides had "closed for maintenance" signs on their gates. Still, there was the sickly-sweet smell of fried dough and sugar in the air, and the few park guests who had already started to explore were wearing capes of their favorite heroes (as if they wore capes!) and ballcaps that said things like "Team Cyclone" and "I<img alt="❤️" class="smilie smilie--emoji" data-shortname=":heart:" loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/6.6/png/unicode/64/2764.png" title="Red heart    :heart:"/>Megaman" on them.<br/><br/>But Cyclone and Megaman were both dead or missing. They'd been played by actors for the last five years, but who cared about facts? Their names still sold tickets, apparently.<br/><br/><div class="bbImageWrapper bbImageAligned--left lazyload js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.newindianexpress.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fimagelibrary%2F2021%2F9%2F27%2Fw900X450%2FCapitol_Hill_subway.jpg%3Fw%3D400%26dpr%3D2.6&amp;hash=7cda8f4ce8d62952a5dd354caa5bc6e4" title="Capitol_Hill_subway.jpg">
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</div>Aesir made his way to the fake base at the ZF Amusement Park, then opened the facial recognition panel in the back of the "Situation Room" to let himself into the secret elevator that went down thirty feet to where the terminal to the subway tube was located.<br/><br/>It was just as he remembered it. The freight elevator opened into a white, sterile room that boasted a small platform to wait on, and two sets of tracks that carried trolleys leading from the fake Zodiac Base to the real one.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, the pasty-faced man operating the railway was shutting down the system, muttering something about budget costs and shitty repairmen. His hair was thinning, and a pair of old, aviator prescription glasses that dated back to the 1960s sat on his head like a tiara. He looked up, surprised that anyone had found their way down there.<br/><br/>"This isn't a ride." The attendant mustered as much authority in his voice as he was able. "Park guests aren't<i>allowed</i>down here."<br/><br/>"I'm not a guest." Aesir pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, then showed it to the attendant. "I recognize you."<br/><br/>"I recognize you too. You got old," the train attendant complained. He tipped his gold aviators down to peer at the phone. His brown plaid tie seemed to have been from the same designer who provided his glasses, polyester dress pants, and the mock-leather shoes he wore. Even his analog watch seemed like it had been frozen in time.<br/><br/>After a moment of talking to himself, his lips moving like bloated worms as he read the 'ticket' at least twice, he tipped his glasses back to the top of his head. "Damned Kiva doesn't tell us anything," he muttered, his tone indicating it was also somehow Aesir's fault. "The fucking trolly's not working," he explained. "You're going to have to find another way."<br/><br/>That. Was<i>not.</i>Going to work. Not today, Satan.<br/><br/>"Mr. Giles, is the tube caved in?" Aesir adjusted his duffle, threading his thick arms through the straps.<br/><br/>"What? No – something in the line's not sending power through," the attendant wiped across his nose with the back and front of his hand. "I don't know how long it'll take."<br/><br/>"So it still reaches Terramore," Aesir started to stroll towards the walkway on the right.<br/><br/>"Hey! You can't walk that! It's nearly 50 kilometers!"<br/><br/>"Don't worry," Aesir waved back as he began to pick up the pace. "I'm not going to walk it," he said, breaking out into a run. Thirty miles with a rucksack; that was what he needed to work through the last of his thoughts about the recent changes in his life. Maybe in six hours he would figure some of this out, but for now he was just going to focus on his heartbeat, his breathing, and the way the world felt as it moved beneath his feet.<br/><br/>"Aesir Lee Beckett! You're breaking the rules!" the attendant shouted down the tunnel.<br/><br/>"No rules! Just right, Giles!" Aesir hollered back, quoting an Outback Steakhouse slogan.<br/><br/>He did it just in time; the attendant was just about to ring Kiva when the code was set, and the attendant muttered to himself, "No rules, just right. That's right, Giles." He looked back at the antiquated control panel he had been working on. "No rules, just right." His head jerked to the right and then reset, the memory of the last 180 seconds wiped from his hard drive as he continued to go through the shut down process for the subway.<br/><br/><div class="bbImageWrapper bbImageAligned--left lazyload js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.guim.co.uk%2Fimg%2Fmedia%2F7099bdaa86bc07a89a5272224583fa4560f66dcb%2F0_459_6700_4021%2Fmaster%2F6700.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26height%3D1200%26quality%3D85%26auto%3Dformat%26fit%3Dcrop%26s%3Da23894a09aced41f6129e4f0b67da09b&amp;hash=4cab4165b1afdb30a70a382a78d0c082" title="6700.jpg">
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</div>Six hours later Aesir exited the elevator and stepped into the familiar domed bunker that housed the exit on Terramore Island. The concrete smelled stale, like it had been sitting under water for too long, and the front door was missing.<br/><br/>Sweat was running down his back and every crack in his body. Aside from the recycled air it had been a good run, but he was looking forward to taking a shower and finding out why they had been called. As he made his way into the bright sunshine, he shielded his eyes with a hand and took a moment to look the place over.<br/><br/><div class="bbImageWrapper bbImageAligned--left lazyload js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fadvancelocal-adapter-image-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fimage.al.com%2Fhome%2Fbama-media%2Fwidth2048%2Fimg%2Fliving_impact%2Fphoto%2F21605227-standard.jpg&amp;hash=2f9e8efe8e210dd29652bb35913bda3e" title="21605227-standard.jpg">
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</div>The bunker over the terminal entrance was still covered in dirt and grass to help conceal it from passing aircraft. The little sapling trees that had been planted years ago were little teenager trees now; leafy and perfect for softening the edges of the roof to further hide them from the casual observer.<br/><br/><i>'Almost home,' </i>he thought, the irony not lost as him as he approached he towers and the tall, razor wire topped fences that surrounded the base's ground level. Signs warning people to stay away on pain of death were posted every twenty feet, and to an outsider it looked quite intimidating.