The Setup

[Deleted]

Paige didn't really know what possessed her to adopt a kitten. Maybe she had thought that a stiflingly small apartment needed a mangy little animal to add to the decor and all. In all honesty though, the decision was the end result of months on the streets after having left a band of mercenaries with naught but her last paycheck and a very useful body suit she "forgot" to return to its rightful owner. She was certain that the suit and her talent for thievery were what kept her from starving to death, and now, they had finally put a roof over her head. Granted that roof was prone to leaking, but she had buckets for that.

"Mroooooow!"

"What now, Fuzzball?" Paige snapped, having been drained of patience by hours of that kitten's exact same cry. She'd fed the whiny animal a few scraps of chicken, set out some milk, tossed him a few toys, pet him for hours, and yet he still managed to sound like he was ready to die in agony. Perhaps Fuzzball wasn't the best name for him; Whiner would have been suitable. Still, the little fuzzball was staring at her with adorably expectant eyes, so she scooped him up in her arms and sank into an aging armchair that bore a few claw marks along the sides. Paige fished for the remote underneath the cushion and, upon retrieving it, flicked an ancient black and white TV set on to the only channel she got: The Gordon Godfrey show. 

"Good Morning Jump City!
 This is the Gordon Godfrey show, where we dissect this week's super-news: rising crime rates, monster appearances and the failure of Jump's heroes." Said the fuzzy, slightly distorted Gordon Godfrey, who then proceeded to list the various crimes the Teen Titans had failed to stop yesterday, and the week before that, and the week before that, and so on and so forth. Paige found his "reports" amusing, which was the only reason she bothered to tune in every night, because she sure as hell didn't watch his show for its quality. Fuzzball, being the curious and highly annoying kitten that he was, had become erect at the sound of Gordon's voice and started mewing every few seconds as his eyes scanned the room.

"No one's there, Fuzzy. Calm down." Paige muttered in her best "caring" voice while gently stroking the kitten's back. Naturally, Fuzzball ignored her and her attempts to sooth him. Without warning, he leaped off of Paige's lap and scampered over to the only window in her apartment. There, she hopped onto the sill and started pawing at the glass separating him from the outside world. Startled, Paige started to rise from her chair, "What the hell has gotten into you...?" 

[Silv]

If there was one thing the villain knew how to do it was put on a show.

The intended target was sitting in her apartment unaware of the goings on. The hooded man turned to his compatriots, gesturing vaguely but in a way they miraculously seemed to understand, and the two rows that totaled to roughly a dozen men vanished silently into the night. The man turned his attention to the window with the cat, the flickering light from the television reminding him of candles during a ritual sacrifice: cold, lonely, and with so much promise.

His first order had been to cut the lights. The cat might have noticed the men outside, cats had exceptionally good senses, but he doubted the girl would have noticed anything beyond perhaps an ominous hooded figure gliding quickly past her window in the rising fog of the night. He hoped it would at the very least put her on edge. He very much preferred his students on their toes. Especially when he was about to gauge their value.

The light in the entire complex went off with a snap. A woman in a nearby apartment screamed, and a smile slid across the cult master's face at how perfect that unpredictable element had gone off. In the sudden sweep of darkness figures appeared in Paige's apartment. They were cloaked and hooded, vaguely even visible in the pale glow from the window, but they had filled out every corner of the room obviously and ominously surrounding Paige. They were silent as ghosts and said nothing, merely standing around and blocking her from leaving. They waited in silence until they parted like the Red Sea and a figure passed through them. He was wearing robes and all, but his face wasn't covered with a hood. His single cybernetic eye gleamed red in the darkness.

When the lights snapped back on a moment later it was obvious that this man wasn't completely human. The half cybernetic face of Brother Blood was clearly visible as it stretched into a smile at Paige. The hooded figures moved back into place behind him.

“Relax” the man said the the girl in front of him. His voice was smooth and commanding. He obviously expected her to behave. “I don't want to fight.”

[Deleted]

Once the power cut out, Paige should have realized that something was amiss.

For one, the power was out long enough for it to be uncomfortable; Paige figured the owner of the building wouldn't dare forget to pay the power bill and piss off a lot of their residents. While the other residents either panicked or got angry, Paige focused on remaining calm. Since she moved in, she made an effort to memorize the layout of the rooms and their various furniture placements to the point where she was confident in her ability to navigate it blind. 

I might as well see the landlord.

With that thought, Paige began to rise from her chair, only to stop half-way once she heard a peculiar sound. It was light and...swooshy, extremely faint to the ears and liable to be forgotten if one didn't think about it. Shortly after this, Fuzzball let out an angry hiss, right as she saw a bright red light appear in the darkness. It was then that the power returned in a flash, basking her room in light and revealing the source of the red eye; a man in a hooded cloak that stood in front of a dozen similarly hooded people who had surrounded her. Immediately Paige's hand went to her pocket...at least, where her pocket would have been, had she not decided to spend the rest of the night in boy shorts. Quietly, Paige cursed herself for forgetting to hold on to her switchblade tonight, where her paranoia would have been justified.

Still, it's not like she was completely defenseless. A paper manipulator with her own best interests at heart, Paige had one day decided to splurge on dozens of notebooks, which she spread out all over her apartment, just in case she needed her signature weapon. As she stared down the hooded man who practically screamed "sinister", Paige was glad to have a some way to surprise him and his friends. As it turned out by the man's not so warm smile however, he was interested in talking rather than robbing. This wasn't reassuring in the slightest; the man's voice was cool, yet it carried authority, much like her old boss.

Unlike her old boss however, this guy seemed to think that his authority extended to a person he just met. If he expected her to be cowed in, he'd be gravely disappointed. "I would think so. A normal person doesn't cut out the power to an entire building just to sneak in with a dozen of his friends." Paige said coolly, her eyes glossing over each of the hooded figures. 

Rather than calm down, Paige tensed up. She wasn't expecting this encounter to end without some kind of fight, so she didn't want to get caught off guard.

[Silv]

Completely ignoring the hooded men surrounding them, Brother Blood gave Paige an easy smile and gestured for her to sit down at the nearby table. He made his way over to it seeming to glide in his robes and stood waiting for her to take a seat first. He wanted to stay on her level, but he also wanted to get her off guard.  "Please, please, I never meant to frighten you child," he gestured again to the chair. "Sit," it was an order, but it wasn't phrased like one. "Like I said, I'm not here to fight you. We're going to have a chat," he gave her a smile that was reminiscent of a cat that had eaten the canary. "Comfortable?"

[Deleted]

Paige didn't buy that excuse for a second. Nobody could fail to realize how appearing in one's room with over a dozen men in robes might terrify the average person. So she immediately ruled out any semblance of good intentions on this creepy old man's part; even as he kindly suggested she take a seat. Of course, since she was in her own damn home, she prompt sifted by a couple of the robed men on her way to the table and simply stood opposite of the old man. "I'm comfortable standing," She said, trying to keep her voice cool, but it was clear that the way she shook would betray her. Everything about this scene spelled danger, and though she was reassuring herself with the fact that nobody would try anything in a crowded apartment complex, she still felt like things were about to go terribly wrong.

"Tell me, why go through all the trouble of... of shutting off the power, getting a posse into my apartment, then saying you want to talk? It doesn't make sense, nobody with good intentions would do that. No, no... let's start with names, who the hell are you?" Said Paige, trying to control the multitude of questions she wanted answers for.

[Silv]

The man tipped his head in understanding, moving away from the seating arrangement and back closer to the center of the room near Paige. "You must understand, we didn't exactly want to be seen by your neighbors," the cult leader said. "It could give them the wrong idea," a cold expression settled across his lips as he said this. "But, forgive my manners, my name is Brother Blood and I'm here because you are a very special young woman." because that was a totally non-creepy thing to say. He did, however, seem entirely sincere.

"Your particular skill set has caused you to come to my attention." he said with a wan smile, holding up a hand to stifle any would-be protests. "Before you ask what I want, ask instead what can I do for you? Because I'm offering you the opportunity of a lifetime." the man stepped closer to Paige, his eyes glowing a brilliant red. "Let me teach you. Let me help you. Let me make you great."

[Deleted]

Caustic waited with eager excitement and baited breath. She dared not put a single toe out of line especially under her headmaster's watchful gaze. From what she could tell, it was a simple recruitment job. She'd fight a potential student, and depending on how well the recruit fought she'd be able to join the school, but she could tell there was more to it than that. The cutting of the power to the building was one thing (Her doing; she grabbed a few wires in the apartment's parking lot and let her acidic sweat do the rest), but Brother Blood's involvement was another. What's more, her entrance exam was a fight against a mere handful of robotic goons. All this was setting alerts off in Caustic's mind. Was this recruit powerful and dangerous? Or just potentially useful?

She didn't even know what powers this recruit had. Though, while crouching in a dark corner of the parking lot, something occurred to her. Maybe this was more than just a test for the recruit? Had she done something to draw Brother Blood's attention? Has she earned his praise? Maybe she'll make honor roll!

Caustic bit her lip and grinned. She'd toy with the recruit first, prove to Brother Blood that nothing is a challenge for her. Now to just wait for the signal...

[Deleted]

Hearing this man, this Brother Blood, talk was beginning to give Paige goosebumps. Every sentence, down to the word and syllable, sounded slimy and predatory. Hearing him speak so highly of her wasn't flattering, it was terrifying. Worse, when she tried to raise a rebuttal, it only took him raising his hand to quiet her, it happened suddenly enough to be instinctual. In her mind, she told herself to stay calm, to mask her emotions. Well, she was doing fine in that regard, now if only she could stop shivering...

When Brother Blood started walking towards her, Paige immediately backed away with every step closer he got until she was right against the wall. She was avoiding eye contact with him as much as she could by staring to the side; not because she was aware of his "trick", but because it was honestly impossible to look at him any more. "I... I don't need any l-lessons." She muttered, hoping an answer would make him stop walking towards her. Out of the corner of her eye she could make out some sort of red glow that seemed to make her unconscious shift her gaze; which she resisted, naturally.