WELCOME TO DREAMWIDTH, HERO...

So I was bored enough to look back through the posts that went out every time people got sent on those inter-dimensional field trips. Yeah, that bored. I was curious whether we were due for any more surprises anytime soon.

It looked to me like those jaunts happened pretty much every two months. And the last one was just before Halloween. You know what that means, don't you...?

[he sounds way too gleeful to be reporting this]

It means that there's a pretty good chance Christmas is gonna be ruined.

But then, around here, it usually is.

Boy I hope the pattern holds true. Some of you really deserve a vacation. I mean, really. Deserve it.

[for a guy who mocks goth kids, Alastair is looking slightly goth today. A little too much eyeliner, and that's seriously a black trenchcoat instead of his usual gray. He's going to rue this when the latest round of Porter shenanigans wears off, but right now, he's dead serious.

And it's never a good sign when the Oricalchos is already glowing green on his brow]

You ever just wake up one day and say to yourself, I've had enough?

Not to scare our latest round of newbies, but none of you are the one I'm looking for. I've been waiting for him for a long time, and still nothing. I think I've had just enough of it. What does anybody need with a heart anyway?

I feel like I've been forgetting my real mission, for I don't know how long. But there's something I've been meaning to do, all along, and after watching the brainless idiots writhing around in that dance club the last couple nights, I feel like I oughta get back to that mission. Even if I can't find mine, it's what I'm meant to do. What they made me for.

Anybody tired of it all, want an escape? I can help. All it'll cost is your heart.

[he tries the whole evil-laugh-and-dramatic-fade-out thing, though he hits the 'send' a bit too soon and cuts himself off. The 'hearts' he wants to capture are souls, though, even if he doesn't realize it]

[and now for something ridiculously self-indulgent:

Alastair is in his tightest-ass clubbing clothes, currently sitting on a leather lounge booth with two gorgeous men draped against him, a drink in each hand, and a blank smirk on his lips. Live from Dancitron, broadcast courtesy of a third hot guy holding the comm]

Four years, assholes.

Come on down to Dancitron, tell me how long you've been here, and I'll comp your drinks.

Don't worry, there's girls here too. Hey, hey - show 'em the dance floor.

[the guy holding the comm turns it so the camera can catch the action on the floor, where there is in fact a rather happy throng of all sorts casting their cares to a Saturday night. Whatever evil is going on elsewhere, the party's here. The camera returns to Alastair, who's clearly already had more than the two-fisted drinks in hand]

Gotta have fun sometime, right? C'mon!

[there's a breath's pause before Alastair speaks; he's aware he only ever posts to complain but it's totally called for. Really. Totally]

Next month, it'll be four years. And they're all gone. Everyone I ever even sorta liked, everyone I trusted, everyone I needed...they're gone. And never coming back. And I'm still here.

[beat] ...no offense Ruka, you're still here. But you're like the last one.

I don't know why I still can't fit in. People don't peg me for an Import, they just think I'm some hipster hacker guy, they think I pass, but I know better. I've tried for four years to just fit in and have a normal life, I even had a nine-to-five with benefits and everything. But there's a flat in Brooklyn that isn't normal, a garage full of motorcycles that aren't normal, and deeds transferred to my name for businesses that aren't normal. There's a goddamn jet shaped like a dragon that belongs to me, that's definitely not normal. I just...don't know how to make it all work.

Ever wanted to just throw it all away? Skip out on your rent and your taxes and just throw some clothes in a saddlebag and hit the road, never to look back? Man...that'd be nice.

[coming to you live from inside Dancitron - dark and empty, at the moment, since it's the middle of the day and who opens a dance club that early anyway. It's the quiet before the chaos, a glimpse at how a hot dance club can be perfectly mundane when not packed with bodies and music]

So it's been a while since I made any kind of public service announcement. Guess it's sort of time. If I ever want tenants and customers, at least.

[flop! into a squishy leather booth seat]

So this? Is Dancitron. This is the club I inherited from some pretty cool guys. Soundwave started it a couple years ago, and it's been under the radar but successful ever since. Shockwave and Skyfire had it in turn, but they're all gone now, so it's mine now. I quit StarkTech in order to run it, and I gotta say, it's probably the best choice I've made in this place.

That said, with all the shit going down around us, this place is still pretty Import-friendly. I think half the regulars come just for the chance of brushing shoulders with one of us. It's like that time the City got taken over by nerds crying about their favorite comic books disappearing - they came here to worship, not to wreck the place. And they still do. So fuck Vulcanus, this place is a safe haven. So I'm thinking, maybe I'll offer regular drink specials and shit to Imports. Flash your comm and you don't have to pay the cover, or something.

And if anyone's looking for a place to live that ain't the MAC, I've got two floors of an apartment building in Brooklyn. Yeah, yeah, I know, but my neighborhood hasn't been bombed, rioted, invaded, or otherwise affected by any of the shit that usually concentrates in midtown or the harbor. It's safe, rent's reasonable, and the perks are good. Just let me know, I can show you a flat anytime now.

[a pause and a shifty glance. Not that he wants to bring up depressing things, but...]

's the first round of holidays I won't have my family with me. What do you guys think about having some of those Import specials this weekend? Get in free and drink for free. Especially if you're like me and got nowhere else to go. [come assuage my loneliness by drinking and dancing, in other words]

So, uh. If I want to be in any shape to travel, I need...I need a healer. Like, now. This? [pointing at his left shoulder, where his t-shirt is all stretched out over his casts] Can't be like this if I want to fly to Croatia this weekend. I mean, sure, I can ask some favors of people with the power of instant travel, but the fact still remains that it really sucks trying to get around with only one working arm.

It really sucks.

I don't even know who's still here who has a healing power. Um... [okay awkward moment] Rapunzel? I remember you saying something about healing people. But...I guess I'll understand if you don't wanna be reminded of...that.

Still up for taking care of cats, Ruka? If I can get healed up, I'm gonna make this trip sooner than later. I don't want my homeland shutting down the borders before I can even take a look.

[the video pans across the sleek metal lines of the Blue Eyes White Jet, which really is as ridiculous as it sounds, still parked on top of the KaibaCorp helipad. Don't ask Alastair how he got up there, KC security hasn't realized it. Yet.

He speaks from off-screen while he admires the jet via video]

Do you have any idea what it's like to own something in name, but not be allowed to use it?

I have always wanted to fly this thing. I think the one back home was built like a Harrier, with vertical takeoff. I know what it looks like but dude. I'd love to take 'er out for a spin. And then the jackass goes and locks it with a fingerprint lock before porting out. If I'd known he'd do something like that I would have saved something with his prints on it, geez.

You gotta admit, it's impressive. The guy comes here, doesn't give a shit about powers and heroes and just goes and starts rebuilding his company from the ground up. In just a couple years he's got corporate headquarters, an indoor amusement park, his own satellite, and even re-introduced the game of Duel Monsters to a whole new world. And then he's gone, and it's all still here, it's a part of this place. I can still go to the game store on my lunch break and pick up packs of cards.

[okay, finished ogling. Brief glimpse of the sunset before Alastair turns the video to him. Srsface]

So. What have you done to leave your mark on this world, today? Or are you just gonna fade away, disappear one day and no one will ever remember you were even here?

I'm kinda thinkin' I don't want to be forgotten.

It's a sign of just how shitty my life has been lately that I didn't even notice it was my own damn birthday.

A week ago. I'm 22 now.

Like it means anything. Like any of it matters. I am so done with this place. And now Vector's been kidnapped, and there's nothing I can do. Cops and stuff better be on that, kidnappings never just lead to ransoms and people returning safe and sound around here.

...oh, and for the record?

[he holds up a book to the camera: Management for Dummies]

Seto Kaiba is an asshole.

[whichever is your favorite late-night newscast, that's where you hear the story first]

...could not be reached for comment.

We have some breaking news to report. There has been some kind of explosion at a high-rise apartment building in Brooklyn. Witnesses report that approximately one hour ago, at the Garden Heights apartments, there was an explosion on the tenth floor. So far, no flames or fire has been reported, but it seems that a corner of the tenth floor has been damaged. We've got a crew en route and will bring you pictures as we get them. If you have information or eyewitness video of the incident, our Hot News Contact Line is.....


[ooc: such is Alastair's reaction to Kiryu's departure. Damage is contained to only the 3-bedroom apartment they shared and portions of the hallway and roof; the Mancave and the 9th floor are fine (no damage to Pink's flat!). Anyone who recognizes "Garden Heights" as the proper name of Hell Towers is welcome to check up on Alastair, but he's not going to be responding to the comm at all. Or going to work for the next week :3 ]

[he's breathing heavily and his voice sounds thick]

N...not again. I...

B-Bakura's been ported out. Just so...



...god, I can't keep doing this...!


[*most replies will be text in the desperate hope that won't glitch on him and reveal his emotional state]

Man. Porter's been on a roll lately, it looks like. People are disappearing left and right. Himuro's gone too - she didn't bring in the rent for two days so I went to check and sure enough, apartment's empty.

So I guess that means there's another vacancy at Hell Towers, if anyone needs a place.

At this rate, is it gonna send all of us home? [worried] Even those of us who don't want to go?

( [private to Vector Prime, Cybertronian encryptions] )

So, uh. Hey, network. I keep forgetting to do this, so I have to. Sorry if you're not into advertisements.

Lots of new people all the time. [lame little wave] Hi. I don't say much around the comm anymore but I'm Alastair. I've been here over two years, and somehow after all this time I've somehow been bequeathed property. Me and Bakura are the current...owners, I guess, of a couple of floors of Hell Towers, In Brooklyn, and we rent to imports so I just wanted to let all the new people know that if you wanna get out of the MAC and get a decent place, you should check us out.

It's not really hell, it's a pretty swanky place. I mean, this... [he gestures to the room behind him - the Mancave in all its glory] ...is just our tenth floor lounge and shit, with arcade games and a big screen TV. There's little studios on up to three bedrooms like the one Kyosuke, Ryou and I live in, but I'm not showing you that one because fuck if I was gonna clean just to post to the network. The rent's not too bad, thanks to Hiruma's set rates, and since we're in Brooklyn we usually don't get any collateral damage when people decide to blow up the City. Since, you know, they tend to go for downtown or mid-town. And there's an underground garage that mostly has motorcycles in it, so...plenty of room.

So yeah. Next time anyone's looking at moving out on their own and actually paying money for space, don't forget about Hell Towers. There's a lot of empty places on the ninth floor, and a few here on Ten...if you don't count Hiruma's old place 'cause I'm not letting anyone have that one. Just in case. You can leave me or Bakura a message or else my cell phone is [number].

Guess after two and a half years you just gotta bit the bullet and accept that you're gonna be here for the long haul, and start renting to new tenants, huh?

[scene! The hallway of Hell Towers 10th Floor, and Alastair dressed for work in a plain t-shirt and vest. He actually doesn't look like a slob of a hacker-biker-boy]

Shit. What the hell am I going to do with this...?

Well, um. People who live here...I should get your comm numbers, Bakura's not...uh. He's okay, really, just. I guess I'm collecting today. And from now on.

[a moment of awkward. Watch this young man hem and haw over being handed actual property and responsibility for once. His life, what is it]

So hey, if anybody's looking for a place that ain't the MAC, we've got a little conclave here at Hell Towers. Hiruma named it that, it's not really hell - it's actually pretty nice. We've got a Mancave with a shark... [pause. REALIZATION] Shit! Who's going to take care of the shark now? I don't know how to take care of a shark! God damn it! Stupid Porter!

A-anyway. We're renting. Ninth and tenth floors. I'll keep Hiruma's rate because shit if I know anything about renting apartments.

I think that's it, for now. Uh. Hi. Gotta get to work now. [wave]


[later, added, encrypted to Ghost, text: links to several places around the internet where he's been trolling, feeding the flames of anger against Vulcanus. He's been posting anonymously and very hard to trace, but he's been dishing out an Import's-eye view that has the natives more than just restless about the implications of Vulcanus' ploy]

Porter's been doing her thing for what, two and a half years now? Give or take?

How many teams of superheroes have been around in that time, with big names like Iron Man and Superman?

We're only just now getting a government-sanctioned one, made up of 80% newbs who've been using their comms less than two weeks?

And people said I was being paranoid.


At least I'm getting lots of good hacks in. Feels like old times.


[encrypted via Decepticon encryptions to: Kiryu, Bakura, Shockwave, and both Mokuba and Seto Kaiba]

Boss is sending me to Majr for a business trip in a couple weeks. Just so you know that I'm not disappearing or kidnapped or anything. At least I hope not.

[Alastair's got the visor of his motorcycle helmet flipped up, so forgive him if his shouting is a little bit hard to hear]

Boss? I don't think I can make it in today. You gotta see this.

[he flips the camera around to show the crowd a couple of blocks from the Porter building. It's massive. And these aren't all just nerds in t-shirts, some of them look pretty heavily armed and intelligent. Mingled among them are folks in business attire who look like they've just piled out of the subway stations and are both pissed and scared. Alastair is going to talk while filming]

Shit, man, I think they're serious. This is as far as I could get, traffic's at a complete stop around here and something's wrong with the trains. I've been stuck here like an hour, so really, Stark, it's not like I'm trying to be late for work.

I thought it was just a bunch of stupid nerds going 'oh no my comic books' but this is nuts. Are they really going for the Porter? Idiots!

[oh hell one of them is looking his way, and may or may not recognize the device as not just another cell phone]

[added about an hour later: voice, ENCRYPTED to Seto Kaiba using Decepticon encryptions]

Kaiba. Hear me out. I need cards. You know which kinds. I just want to know if I can get 'em off you or if I have to break into your distribution center again.