brutus-da-man

[brutus-da-man]

Are you implyin that ma boss would do somethin underhanded like dat?

'Cause I won't lie to ya...

...

Have ya tried openin any of da "C" ones? Those seem to be easy ta access.

These chests with letters above them aggravate me. Why are we limiting resources depending on the first letter of people's names? And why only those who's names start with the letters A, B, C, and S?

[brutus-da-man]

I'm thinkin it's somethin tado with battle rankin. I've had access to the S chests since dey dropped, and ma' name starts wit a "B."

These chests with letters above them aggravate me. Why are we limiting resources depending on the first letter of people's names? And why only those who's names start with the letters A, B, C, and S?

[brutus-da-man]

What canna say, Boss? I take ma dancin skills very seriously. Part of the spy kit, y'know?

So...Jules sent me some photos from the Sabrina concert you attended. To be my daughter's "security", of course. Looks like you had fun. @brutus-da-man

[brutus-da-man]

*Brutus remained silent and sullen-looking. They were in range of the camera systems now, and he had to look the part of a beat up prisoner. He affected a limp as well, just to sell it.*

*He wasn't gonna lie: he was really getting back into the groove. Midas and Marigold were too, based on how into character they were. Maybe they'd have to pull stuff like this more often, keep the blood pumping... now thats something he'd have to talk to the Boss about.*

*They got into the building with literally no trouble. The Troopers on guard paid them literally no mind. Brutus had the thought that perhaps that meant they were bringing prisoners in regularly. Another thing to talk to the Boss about later.*

*They reached the Detention Block, and at a slight nod from Misas, Brutus tripped and fell forward with a "pained" cry, knocking into one of the guards.*

[Inside the First Order holding cell]

[Cate sits in the cell. Her leg haphazardly bandaged up from a blaster shot. I suppose that's the benefit to laser rifles. Instant cauterisation but it still hurts a ton. She looked around the cell. Looking for any means to escape. Alas nothing.]

[Except a panel barely attached to the wall. She can see a bunch of random technology behind it. She waits for a guard to pass before getting up. She winces in pain as she limps over to the panel, ripping it off the wall. She asses the contents of the wall tech before she starts to grab pieces of tech and starts putting stuff together. Thank goodness she's an engineer. ]

[It's difficult working in this cell especially with the excruciating pain in her leg and the guards occasionally passing by. But she gets it done. Even if it takes a while. She was able to construct a very simple transmitter. Probably powerful enough to send a very short message out and she knows just who to send it to. The Marigold. Even though she hadn't known them for very long they are the only people who she trusts right now]

[The message she sent reads as follows]

"Help. This is Cate. Captured by The First Order SOS"

[brutus-da-man]

*It had taken him so little time to dispatch the guard, in fact, that he had had time to mess himself up a little bit. He hissed through gritted teeth at having to scorch his suit with blaster fire, but he was an artist at this. After cracking the lenses on his glasses and rubbing some snow and dirt in carefully selected locations, he turned to grin at Midas.*

How'mi lookin, Boss? I'm thinkin that these weapons probably leave little in the way of blood. Heck, the afterburns must be excruciatin'ly painful. Guess they don't have a Geneva where they're from, eh?

*He chuckled at his little joke. He wasn't normally one to be so chatty, but the Boss was in fine form. Some dialogue to keep him grounded was probably the right call.*

[Inside the First Order holding cell]

[Cate sits in the cell. Her leg haphazardly bandaged up from a blaster shot. I suppose that's the benefit to laser rifles. Instant cauterisation but it still hurts a ton. She looked around the cell. Looking for any means to escape. Alas nothing.]

[Except a panel barely attached to the wall. She can see a bunch of random technology behind it. She waits for a guard to pass before getting up. She winces in pain as she limps over to the panel, ripping it off the wall. She asses the contents of the wall tech before she starts to grab pieces of tech and starts putting stuff together. Thank goodness she's an engineer. ]

[It's difficult working in this cell especially with the excruciating pain in her leg and the guards occasionally passing by. But she gets it done. Even if it takes a while. She was able to construct a very simple transmitter. Probably powerful enough to send a very short message out and she knows just who to send it to. The Marigold. Even though she hadn't known them for very long they are the only people who she trusts right now]

[The message she sent reads as follows]

"Help. This is Cate. Captured by The First Order SOS"

[brutus-da-man]

*Brutus could sense the glee in the Boss's demeanor. Maybe it was partially the indignation of the Order's takeover of their former home, or the cabin fever, but the golden-handed man was itching to pull this job off.*

Are we takin this personal, boss? Because if we are, I'm fully willin ta bring out the big guns for it. Just wanna be sure I'm on de same page as ya.

*They were almost on the outermost security checkpoint near the midpoint of the mountain. There were just two Stormtroopers, their body language indicating their boredom. Perfect.*

[Inside the First Order holding cell]

[Cate sits in the cell. Her leg haphazardly bandaged up from a blaster shot. I suppose that's the benefit to laser rifles. Instant cauterisation but it still hurts a ton. She looked around the cell. Looking for any means to escape. Alas nothing.]

[Except a panel barely attached to the wall. She can see a bunch of random technology behind it. She waits for a guard to pass before getting up. She winces in pain as she limps over to the panel, ripping it off the wall. She asses the contents of the wall tech before she starts to grab pieces of tech and starts putting stuff together. Thank goodness she's an engineer. ]

[It's difficult working in this cell especially with the excruciating pain in her leg and the guards occasionally passing by. But she gets it done. Even if it takes a while. She was able to construct a very simple transmitter. Probably powerful enough to send a very short message out and she knows just who to send it to. The Marigold. Even though she hadn't known them for very long they are the only people who she trusts right now]

[The message she sent reads as follows]

"Help. This is Cate. Captured by The First Order SOS"

[brutus-da-man]

*Brutus is interrupted from the middle of a very delicious sandwich by a blinking light on the main control panel of the Marigold. That's odd, there's very few people on the island with access here...*

*After he hears the alert, however, his eyes widen. He hasn't met Cate personally yet, but he knows she's Meowscles' sister. And that she was recently invited to join their band by the Boss.*

*Fingers practically flying, Brutus routed the alert to Midas' personal device, along with a note from himself.*

Hey Boss, dis came in on the private channel. What's the call?

[Inside the First Order holding cell]

[Cate sits in the cell. Her leg haphazardly bandaged up from a blaster shot. I suppose that's the benefit to laser rifles. Instant cauterisation but it still hurts a ton. She looked around the cell. Looking for any means to escape. Alas nothing.]

[Except a panel barely attached to the wall. She can see a bunch of random technology behind it. She waits for a guard to pass before getting up. She winces in pain as she limps over to the panel, ripping it off the wall. She asses the contents of the wall tech before she starts to grab pieces of tech and starts putting stuff together. Thank goodness she's an engineer. ]

[It's difficult working in this cell especially with the excruciating pain in her leg and the guards occasionally passing by. But she gets it done. Even if it takes a while. She was able to construct a very simple transmitter. Probably powerful enough to send a very short message out and she knows just who to send it to. The Marigold. Even though she hadn't known them for very long they are the only people who she trusts right now]

[The message she sent reads as follows]

"Help. This is Cate. Captured by The First Order SOS"

[brutus-da-man]

Dawww, c'mon Boss, you know I have da highest appreciation for your contributions in de past!

I'll make sure dat de soundproofing is fixed up so day you can get your beauty sleep, dontcha worry. Wouldn't want Mx. Valeria wakin up at all hours either, after all.

Yes, you have seen correctly.

With permission from da boss, we will be hosting Miss Sabrina Carpenter at Crew's Condos. She will be performing some concerts, but otherwise we ask dat we don't get any uninvited guests. I will be enforcing security to de fullest of my capabilities.

Thank you.

[brutus-da-man]

Yes, you have seen correctly.

With permission from da boss, we will be hosting Miss Sabrina Carpenter at Crew's Condos. She will be performing some concerts, but otherwise we ask dat we don't get any uninvited guests. I will be enforcing security to de fullest of my capabilities.

Thank you.

[brutus-da-man]

SEND "🎧" AND A SONG YOU THINK DESCRIBES MY MUSE FOR THEM TO REACT TO IT IN CHARACTER!

[brutus-da-man]

*Brutus resisted the urge to laugh.*

Bold claims, mistah. Very bold claims.

Ay seen a lotta snapshots in my day, see, and Ay gotta say, you don' exactly strike me as bein anything especially special, let alone de Midas in any capacity.

*He sat back and folded his arms.*

Dat said, ye caught me in a particularly friendly mood, so A'll hear ye out, just dis once. But if ye try any funny business, or Ay find myself not likin de story yor tellin...

*This would be amusing, if nothing else. But there was a small twinge of curiosity and doubt that stopped Brutus from finishing his threat. Despite seeming to be slightly more manic, this particular man did act closer to the Midas that he had known before the island than any other Midas he had seen... excepting King, of course.*

[You find a letter that had been slipped under your door at some point. It lay seemingly harmless on the floor, but the fact that it was there at all was cause for some alarm. You hadn't seen how it got there, which would mean someone with a pension for stealth had made on and off the property undetected.]

[The handwriting seemed oddly familiar. A little too similar to the Boss', but clearly this wasn't from him.]

Brutus,

Care for a chat? I have some thoughts that have been bouncing around my head, and I'd like to bounce them off you.

If you aren't tied up in the King's bidding, meet me at the club in Crime City tomorrow night.

-The better one

*Brutus had some time off, and if this... person had the capability to sneak onto the yacht unannounced and leave without being caught, that made him a massive security threat.*

*Since the man had threatened the boss directly, Brutus opted to inform Marigold of what was going on first. She'd inform Midas is she felt it necessary or... if something happened.*

*That done, Brutus headed down to the club. The moment he walked in, he adapted back into the flow of it, glasses blocking out the flashing lights, and his movement like a ghost, lightly striding between the throng of people. He went to a shadowed table in the corner, and sat down.*

*When he met the man who approached him, though, it took a good deal of effort to not let an exasperated sigh out. Damn loopers.*

Listen buddy, while ay respect da capability to exit da loop without fully losin yer memories, ah'll have to inform ye that messin with my boss is a poor idea, snapshot.

[brutus-da-man]

[You find a letter that had been slipped under your door at some point. It lay seemingly harmless on the floor, but the fact that it was there at all was cause for some alarm. You hadn't seen how it got there, which would mean someone with a pension for stealth had made on and off the property undetected.]

[The handwriting seemed oddly familiar. A little too similar to the Boss', but clearly this wasn't from him.]

Brutus,

Care for a chat? I have some thoughts that have been bouncing around my head, and I'd like to bounce them off you.

If you aren't tied up in the King's bidding, meet me at the club in Crime City tomorrow night.

-The better one

*Brutus had some time off, and if this... person had the capability to sneak onto the yacht unannounced and leave without being caught, that made him a massive security threat.*

*Since the man had threatened the boss directly, Brutus opted to inform Marigold of what was going on first. She'd inform Midas is she felt it necessary or... if something happened.*

*That done, Brutus headed down to the club. The moment he walked in, he adapted back into the flow of it, glasses blocking out the flashing lights, and his movement like a ghost, lightly striding between the throng of people. He went to a shadowed table in the corner, and sat down.*

*When he met the man who approached him, though, it took a good deal of effort to not let an exasperated sigh out. Damn loopers.*

Listen buddy, while ay respect da capability to exit da loop without fully losin yer memories, ah'll have to inform ye that messin with my boss is a poor idea, snapshot.

[brutus-da-man]

🍺 How did you first meet Brutus?

Ah, well this one's easy.

Brutus had a reputation. A good one, mind you. He was known to be abnormally capable, an unstoppable force of brain and brawn that had never failed a task given to him.

I was intrigued, to say the least. While I was at the IO, I climbed their ladders until I was made the lead on many things. As such, I wanted my own team. I didn't want anyone under me that I didn't hand-pick.

Brutus, unfortunately, worked for an opposing faction at the time. We had a file on him, but it was sparse on detail aside from the aforementioned understanding that he was the absolute best they had, by a wide margin. I kept my eye on him until it became clear that his bosses were sending him into the IO.

I didn't doubt that he'd be successful in his mission. I mentioned before that the organization didn't have their best men on security, and I doubted any of them even knew he was coming. Brutus was careful, covered his tracks incredibly well.

The only hiccup in his approach, was me. He got pretty far before I finally stepped in to stop him. He hadn't expected my interference at all, but I don't blame him. The IO wasn't perfect at keeping information secure, but I was good at wiping myself from anything he would have gotten his hands on.

Anyway, I was the wrench in his spokes, so to speak. However, instead of blowing the whistle on him entirely, I proposed an offer:

Keep your position with the opposing group, but do so under me. Relay all your information to me for the foreseeable future so that we can undermine them from the inside when the time is right. I promise I'll make it worth your while.

As I understand it, I was the first person to break his perfect record. The first to so thoroughly evaporate an air tight plan the way that I had. Brutus is a good judge of character, and knew I was a capable man that he could trust (the money I offered him as well probably didn't hurt. Haha).

I kept our little agreement between the two of us for years, didn't want to deal with the paperwork of having a double agent on payroll. But, we did eventually succeed in taking down the faction Brutus worked for. Between everything he knew, and both of our skill sets combined, it was easy.

After it was done, I made sure to wipe his file clean from the IO to avoid any bureaucratic push-back, and brought him in to work on my team. He was the first I approached with my plans when it came time to...pursue my own ventures.

Besides being a powerhouse of strength, and an adept strategist, Brutus has been a great friend to me ever since. I don't know exactly what the tally currently is for saving each other's lives, but I'm not too prideful to admit he probably has a few on me.

...Probably more than a few.

[The ice in his drink clinks as it starts to melt.]

[brutus-da-man]

Send 🍺 and a question. My muse cannot refuse to answer, and must drink if they lie!

[brutus-da-man]

*Brutus considered the question.*

They're alright, I s'pose. I'm more of a nature documentary typa guy myself. When you're able to find a whole multiverse's worth of documentaries about all sorts a plants and animals, well... there's always something new to see, yeah? Probably take more lifetimes than I have, though.

*At her statement, Brutus raised an eyebrow. Hate was a strong word. This young lady had beef with Oni, serious beef. Best not to pry.*

Ah, I see. It's good to keep busy like that, 'specially in this place.

*Looking her over, he realized he did recognize her. He snapped his fingers.*

Hey, I actually think I remember you. I ran a business keeping the aliens in cat food during the invasion, operated out of Retail Row. I think you mighta stopped by my store a few times, right 'fore the island flipped, yeah?

* @brutus-da-man had initially put his name into Billy's event as a sort of joke-- it's not like he had anything better to do, and maybe it would be fun to spend the day off meeting someone new. He hadn't actually expected the puppet to put him with someone-- let alone the glaring demon slayer he was not seated opposite to at Nyanja's Ramen place.*

*Still, he was a man of action, and politeness indicated he at least say hello.*

Ah... g'morning, ma'am. I'm Brutus. I, ah, was told by that Billy fella to meet up with you here. You also put your name in for the event, yea?

*It occured to him suddenly just how out of his depth he actually was here. He should've stayed in on the yacht and watched corny romcoms with Tina and Skye...*

[Frankly, Charlotte hadn't expected anything from this. She'd been bored, that was about it. Meeting new people was usually a very bad idea for her.

Now she found herself seated across from a man built like an upside-down triangle. He was visibly uncomfortable, though she genuinely couldn't tell if it was her obvious possession or just social awkwardness.

Ugh... she had to at least try, she'd put her name in after all.]

Charlotte, yeah. And you're Brutus? You look like a bodyguard. Must've been bored and signed up, huh?

[brutus-da-man]

*Brutus nodded, resisting the urge to cross his arms. He had read somewhere that was a sign of being closed off, and he really wanted to put in effort here, even if his instincts were telling him to just leave.*

That's about the gist of it, yea. I provide security and other odd jobs for my client... 'fraid I can't reveal much more than that. Loose lips sink ships, if ye catch my meaning.

*At her second guess, he chuckled.*

Well, it was either that or continue a yearly ice cream and chick flick tradition with a few of my coworkers, and my New Year's resolution was to expand my doings out of my comfort zone, so I took the leap, so ta say.

And, eh, what about ye? You're a slayer, yea? I see the sword and such. That's a pretty lucrative business to be in 'ere-- er, not monetarily, but in that there's a lotta demons need slaying.

* @brutus-da-man had initially put his name into Billy's event as a sort of joke-- it's not like he had anything better to do, and maybe it would be fun to spend the day off meeting someone new. He hadn't actually expected the puppet to put him with someone-- let alone the glaring demon slayer he was not seated opposite to at Nyanja's Ramen place.*

*Still, he was a man of action, and politeness indicated he at least say hello.*

Ah... g'morning, ma'am. I'm Brutus. I, ah, was told by that Billy fella to meet up with you here. You also put your name in for the event, yea?

*It occured to him suddenly just how out of his depth he actually was here. He should've stayed in on the yacht and watched corny romcoms with Tina and Skye...*

[Frankly, Charlotte hadn't expected anything from this. She'd been bored, that was about it. Meeting new people was usually a very bad idea for her.

Now she found herself seated across from a man built like an upside-down triangle. He was visibly uncomfortable, though she genuinely couldn't tell if it was her obvious possession or just social awkwardness.

Ugh... she had to at least try, she'd put her name in after all.]

Charlotte, yeah. And you're Brutus? You look like a bodyguard. Must've been bored and signed up, huh?

[brutus-da-man]

It's Mx. Valeria, Boss, she's had an... incident. It looks like another one of those curse things. I'd guess she's barely in her twenties. She thinks shes a model, and thinks the yacht is some sort of shoot. I'd, ah... be prepared for a bit of a storm when you get in there.

*Before they reached the door, Brutus paused and, thinking, walked over and picked up one of the old magazines that had been left near a sofa. Opening to an article Valeria had done an interview for, he scanned it over, before nodding and turning it over into Midas' hands.*

She was talkin exactly like this, and throwin flames off her to boot.

* @brutus-da-man bursts into your office, so clearly it's an emergency. His normal poker face is decidedly worried.*

Boss, we got a problem aboard the yacht, and it requires your urgent attention.

*The King's shoulders shoot up in surprise at Brutus' entrance, before he rolls them to regain stoicism.*

Gods, Brutus. I get enough surprises from Wade--

*He blinks at the words and the unusual emotion in the other's expression. Midas had a lot to do today in preparation for Mizuki's visit, but this clearly wasn't something that could wait. Frustrating, but he'll deal with it regardless. He stands from his desk, moving to follow Brutus out of the room, grumbling as he does so.*

When it rains, it pours. What is it now?