Vicious

[Bean Bandit]

In the wealthier districts of the Mars colony cities, one could usually find businesses willing to cater to people with money, with no questions asked.

It was in one areas, in a hotel...specifically, in the penthouse suite, that a certain man was sleeping.

He was the sort of man that innocent women and children crossed the street...perhaps even the city, to avoid.

He slept soundly now, with no signs of the previous night's activity anywhere in evidence, save for the slight trickle of red remaining in the bathroom sink.

It was this man that had been chosen to house the mind of one of the champions that was to save the universe.

Which just goes to show you...Even the powers that be can screw up, BIG time.

There was a mental summons on his mind. He resisted fiercely. He hadn't gotten where he was by submitting to anyone who made demands, after all.

However...he'd finally come across someone who was strong enough to do as they pleased to him. With a tearing sensation...he was gone.

The soul that filled the vacancy was an ordinary type, fairly laid back, and casual.

That was then.

Dropped into the mind of a violent sociopath...the soul began to change...

[Carthrat]

An eye opened. But the eye didn't suit the body... this eye held emotion within it. Of all forms.

Emotion that felt as if it was being attacked..

Carthrat groaned, not taking notice of his surroundings. He felt messed up... like he'd gone insane the day before and killed someone, or something...

"Ughh... wha? What the hell?.."

This wasn't his room. This was.. rich. Way too rich.

He didn't feel right, either. His body felt a little heavier than usual, and his hands felt a little rougher...

*I... want to kill something.*

What on Earth?!

Carthrat sat bolt upright, suddenly awake. Scrambling out his bed, he stared at his surroundings with mingled shock and horror. He edges his way across the room, taking notice of how he was taller...

He came face to face with a mirror.

"Oh.. my... god..."
.

[Bean Bandit]

The face that greeted Carthrat in the mirror wasn't his own. In fact, even wearing his alarmed expression, it seemed to ooze a cruel menace.

Long, limp white hair hung in his eyes, obscuring most of his forehead and upper face. But two blue eyes burned there, seemingly lit from within. Deep lines on the cheeks beneath the eyes gave them a sunken, animal-like look.

The high cheekbones and angular jaw gave the impression of a face that was all angles, as through it had been chipped from ice.

Looking down, Carthrat could see the wide, scarred shoulders, topping a not overlarge but quite muscled torso...Also pockmarked with old scars.

Before Carthrat had a chance to dwell on any of this, there was a faint 'cawing' from near the bed. Carthrat's eyes travelled the length of the room, taking in the large bed, and expansive living area, adorned neatly and somewhat tastefully, with expensive looking furniture, and the usual paintings, albiet with larger than normal frames, and a small hallway off to right leading to another part of the suite.

On the other side of the lavishly decorated room, stood a tall wooden post, with an elegant looking, midnight black bird perched on it...

[Carthrat]

Carthrat stared into the bird's eyes.

They were just as cold as his own seemed... A strange emptiness seemed to have opened in his heart. Whispered thoughts of killing tried to force his way into his mind...

*The bird...*

The bird cawed again, and stared at him even more intently. Somehow, Carthrat sensed it seemed.. a little aggravated.

*Vicious's bird. I'm Vicious. I'm... god. I'm Vicious.*

It clicked in Carthrat's mind that if he was Vicious, he'd better start acting the part, otherwise he'd be in trouble.

With this thought firmly etched in his mind, he stared back at the mirror and tried to harden his face.

It didn't take much. Vicious's face seemed to be etched into a permenant scowl. With barely any effort, he just sunk into the role...

The bird cawed again, angrily.

Feed. Gotta feed the bird...

Carthrat saw the feed right in front of him, in that little paper thing Vicious kept it in... Picking it up, he moved over to the bird, and held it up near it.

The bird pecked a little of the feed, looked back at it's master, and pecked it again.

*Good bird.*

Carthrat put the feed next to the bird, and moved onto the next important problem: getting dressed. The way he saw it, if he took things one thing at a time, all would be allright..


Black pants and shoes. Dark shirt. Blue tie. Dark vest. Blue jacket with the strap..

Carthrat- no, he had to think of himself as Vicious now.. walked back to the mirror and inspected himself.

Looking every part the villian, no two ways about it. He already had the cruel features..

A small smirk found it's way over Vicious's lips, which made it's way into a cruel smile.

And clamped back into a scowl.

Incredible.. Carthrat was an amiable and friendly, if clueless person..

He couldn't think of anyone more his opposite than someone like Vicious.

An object leaning against his bedside table caught his eye. Moving over to it, he picked it up.

A real katana...

Vicious had of course seen and used it many times, but Carthrat had only used one twice, and never for more than a couple of strokes.

He spun around and drew the sword from it's sheath, striking air in one smooth motion.

Incredible.. he'd done a single lesson on Iai a long time ago, but this was more skilled than he thought he'd ever be. The strike just came so much more easily than he thought. Granted, it was a basic strike, the first thing you might learn, but the ease in which he used it...

Resheathing the sword and placing it in his belt, he moved over to his bird, which hopped lightly onto his shoulder.

So. He was Vicious. And until he got back home...

He'd best stay that way.

After all, this was just some mistake with the gods. They'd realise what they'd done, wouldn't they? They'd have his soul back before he knew it.

The one thing Vicious and Carthrat were similar in was that they prayed to no god.

[Bean Bandit]

As Vicious dressed, the bird watched him with cold eyes. The bird was not possessed of a great deal of sentient intelligence...but at a very primal level, it could tell it's master was in turmoil. It edged slightly up his shoulder, expecting a fight, as was common when Vicious was tense.

***

Intterupting Vicious' thoughts, there was a faint, rythmic knock at the door to the suite, in a prearranged pattern.

The muffled voice of a guard echoed through the closed door to the suite.

"It's Lin."

[Carthrat]

Vicious froze, fighting with inner fear.

*Wha.. what if he sees something's wrong? What if- NO. Thinking of failure will get you that far...*

"E.. enter."

[Bean Bandit]

A young chinese man entered the suite. He had close cropped dark hair, and and an intense look, and was dressed in a pseudo-military looking coat over a clean, neatly pressed suit.

He nodded to Vicious deferentially.

"The Elders want to meet with you about the report from Callisto, sir. As soon as possible."

[Carthrat]

*Callisto.. Callisto... of course. Jupiter Jazz. I know this ep... now, how would Vicious act? He hates the elders..*

The words came so naturally Vicious surprised even himself.

"Hmph. As usual, the fools cannot deal with their own problems," he said, walking out the room, trying to assume a confident air.


The bird on his shoulder shot a glare at Lin.

Lin inclinded his head. "The report from Gren DID go straight to you."

*Kuso!*

"Bah. They would have intercepted it by now, of course. They must know the entire report already... and simply plan to prattle on to me about their misguided beliefs."

Lin glanced curiously at Vicious. "They are our leaders." he said simply.

"Leading is a foriegn concept to them.." Vicious trailed off.

Lin shrugged noncommitally. "Nonetheless, they have the power." As they spoke, they left the suite, and headed to the elevator.

"Misplaced power..." replied Vicious.

*I hope I'm not overdoing it.*

Lin shrugged again, as they entered the elevator. "Perhaps. but they DO have it." With those words, the doors closed.

[Bean Bandit]

After a lengthy elevator ride, the doors opened into the lobby.

Lin stepped out ahead of Vicious, his eyes casually sweeping the area, his hand inconspicously close to his jacket. Satisfied, he turned back to the elevator.

"What do you suppose they'll do about the report?" he asked.

[Carthrat]

"No doubt they'll want to know why he contacted me. And they'll no doubt send me to investigate," replied Vicious.

"They will accept the offer, of course."

[Bean Bandit]

Lin seemed inclined to agree.

"They can't pass up the chance at that much 'Red-eye'..." The younger man observed as they exited the building and headed out into the street, and into a waiting limo.

"Will you go along with it?"

[Carthrat]

"Of course. After all, I havn't seen Gren in a while."

Vicious almost bit his lip. He actually meant that.

This couldn't be happening. He couldn't *really* be turning into Vicious..

[Bean Bandit]

Lin nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. There was a long moment of silence, as the city passed by the limo's windows.

The trip to the airport was uneventful, as the driver was the best available. Lin and Vicious were deposited at the airport gates in surprisingly little time.

Lin carefully led the way to the waiting shuttle, bypassing security easily, his eyes darting over the masses of people with a intense, ready look.

However, his vigilance was apparently for naught, as they boarded the shuttle, and lifted off to space with no incident.

[Bean Bandit]

OOC: Time skip! and...'Rat's first test!

After a long trip, the shuttle docked with a large red ship, in orbit around Mars. Lin gestured to the open door, leading into the larger ship.

"After you, sir. The Elders are waiting in the audience chamber."

[Carthrat]

Vicious didn't reply, simply walking past Lin into a darkened room.

His bird cawed. Vicious smirked a little. The elders hated that bird...

<-I did NOT think that. No way.->

Sitting down on a throne in the middle of the room, Vicious waited.

<-I know this scene. Thank god..->