Tying up loose ends..., Tag Silvano

[Nick Stone]

A neon light across the street flickered once, twice, then burst in a shower of sparks and glass. Nimbus stared at Bastards for a few moments, before crossing the street, glass crunching under his shoes as he went. As he pushed open the door, a sudden wave of memories hit him, and he paused momentarily. Then he shook his head and closed the door behind him, ignoring the small shock people were receiving when they brushed against him on their way out.

He didn't sit at the bar, simply placed his hands on it in front of the bartender. "I'm looking for someone. I've been told he hangs around here a lot. Scrawny guy, too much confidence in himself. Ring any bells?"

[Silvano Parrish]

"I'm looking for someone. I've been told he hangs around here a lot. Scrawny guy, too much confidence in himself. Ring any bells?"

Silvano Parrish looked at the rather impatient man in front of him. After spending the day in the hospital, he now had until three in the morning to spend at the bar. Not to mention he was down a bartender due to the flu. Which left him and the cook in the back. His father was having a bad day which meant so was he.

He leaned a hip against the counter, wiping his hands on the bar towel at his waist. He smiled almost cynically at the man before deciding to speak. "Look around, man," he said, sighing. "You just described 93 percent of the men who come to my bar to drink."

He glanced around the bar briefly for emphasis before looking back to the man. "I'm gonna need a little more to go on than that."

[Nick Stone]

Nimbus didn't look around and instead chose to narrow his eyes. Sparks began flying from his hands. He lunged forward and grabbed Silvano by the front of his shirt, dragging him onto the bar and closer to his face.

"Don't toy with me. I'll tear this whole place apart looking for that exploding little rat, and if you don't tell me where he is I'll tear you apart as well." He sparked up a ball of electricity in one hand and people finally began to react in the bar. "Your choice," he said, eyes flashing dangerously.

[Silvano Parrish]

Silver's eyes narrowed on the man in front of him and jerked his body out of the man's grasp. With a growl, he was around the bar counter faster than most people would have expected. He reached into his pocket, seeking out the small vial hidden within its depths. He quickly unscrewed the top and emptied the shavings, prepared to protect himself if things with this guy went south.

He quickly snatched the man by the back of his neck, choosing to ignore the ball of lightning for the moment. He didn't need the psychopath killing anyone in his bar. Paperwork and dealing with the cops was not something he wanted to have to go through. If anyone was going to do the killing, it was going to be Silvano.

"Come on, Sparky," he growled, dragging the man toward the back door of the bar. "Next rounds on the house, folks."

Lightning he could handle. That was the easy part.

[Nick Stone]

Nick managed to contain his rage somehow when he was dragged from the bar. He absolutely hated being handled in such a way. When they reached the door and the bartender turned to talk to his patrons, Nimbus grabbed him by the shoulders and twisted them around, shoving him out the door.

"Free booze to calm the masses... Pathetic drunks," Nick said with disdain. He threw a ball of electricity towards a pitcher of beer being handed out, knocking it over and zapping several people. One got the brunt of the electricity and went down - it wouldn't be fatal but he'd have a hell of a headache. The people around the bar seemed to get up and leave as one.

Nick let the back door shut and turned to Silvano. "I'll give you one more chance to tell me where I can find the pathetic meta who blows himself up. If you don't cooperate, I'll kill you and everyone in that bar until I find someone who knows where he is."

[Silvano Parrish]

Silver frowned as he was shoved out of the door. Did this guy really fucking think that Silver was going to let him threaten both him and his patrons? He couldn't be that stupid. Still, Silver wondered. And watching the man throw a bolt of lightning inside the bar confirmed what Silver had been wondering.

'Oh, I don't fucking think so,' Silver thought to himself. In the time it took for the man to fire off his bolt, Silver's eyes, once brown, were completely covered in a bright metallic silver. Slowly the substance covered his body and clothing. Using the metal flakes in the air of the city air, Silver finished off his protective layer just as the man turned back around to him.

"I'll give you one more chance to tell me where I can find the pathetic meta who blows himself up. If you don't cooperate, I'll kill you and everyone in that bar until I find someone who knows where he is."

The former Marine's body glistened in the moonlight as the armor solidified completely before the meta's eyes. "Now, I would seriously suggest you rethink that threat, Sparky."

[Nick Stone]

Nimbus's mood soured considerably after he turned around. 'Why is it that nobody ever does what's in their best interest...? Just making it harder on himself..' His eyes seemed to glow brighter for a moment, psyching himself up for battle.

"No. There will be no rethinking. There will only be you telling me what I need to hear, and then me punishing you for wasting my time like this. Time I could be spending torturing and killing the meta who nearly screwed up the chance to eliminate one of my biggest enemies." He paused, taking a moment to reflect inwardly. "I say almost because I trust it will be taken care of despite the mistake... but enough about my problems." He sparked his hands up and threw a medium sized ball of electricity at the metal man, testing the waters, figuratively speaking.

[Silvano Parrish]

Silvano's lips curled into smile as the man in front of him didn't give up. Secretly, on some level, the former Marine was hoping that Sparky would at least give him some kind of fight. It wasn't just the fact that he had just injured and possibly killed his patrons. But that was part of it. It was simply that since his father's illness he had little challenge to his life. Devoting all his time toward keeping the family business up. Now, he could work out all the pent up frustration by pummeling the shit out of the guy who fucked up his bar.

The ball of sparks hit Silver in the chest and the metallic hulk grunted, the metal surrounding the impact glowing red with the heat of the blast. He took the blast, the metal liquefying just a bit before quickly solidifying and resuming its form. He stepped forward, oddly nimble and quick for the pounds of metal covering his body. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Sparks," he said as he pulled back his arm and shoving the smaller man in the center of the chest. "You came to the wrong bar, bub. You should leave now before you regret this."

[Nick Stone]

Low level sparks were transferred to the other meta when he decided to shove Nick - involuntarily, unfortunately. Had Nimbus predicted that would have happened, he would have been juiced up first. "No, I came to the right bar." Electricity arced across his body openly now, some leaping off him to anything conductable within arms reach, and his eyes looked like they'd been lit up from behind as his anger grew.

He tried shoving the other guy, but found him quite immovable at the moment. Nimbus grabbed the man by the arms, letting the currents run through the 'Tin man.' A wicked smile twisted Nick's face - when he opened up and let the electricity travel freely like this, he always felt lighter for some reason. "Skinny. Pathetic. Says he can blow himself up and be fine. Ringing any bells yet?" He emphasized the last word by upping the current slightly.

[Silvano Parrish]

Silver didn't flinch as the small sparks of electricity arched across the metallic shell encasing him. In fact, it made him want to laugh. It felt more like static electricity than anything else. The metal was thick on his skin and if need be, he would be able to coat more of his form. At the moment, he was starting to wonder if he was going to need as much as he had summoned.

"No, I came to the right bar."

He smirked as the man in front of him tried to shove him out of his way. There was no way the guy was going to be able to get him to move. His body weight was enough on its own but with the added weight of the metal over his form. It was actually quite amusing to the former Marine Gunnery Sergeant. Hell, even as the guy increased the intensity of the electric current did Silver smile. He was argentum, metal. Did this... meta really think that was going to work?

"Skinny. Pathetic. Says he can blow himself up and be fine. Ringing any bells yet?"

Silvano could feel and see the metal of his form heating under the high voltage of the current. He quickly focused on repairing the damage to his exoskeleton as the onslaught continued. "No, Sparky," he told the man. "It doesn't ring a bell." It was not a total lie of course. And a strained one at that as, for the first time, Argent was concerned about his survival.

[Nick Stone]

Nimbus watched the metallic man's face carefully, heard the strain in his voice as he futiley denied knowing who Nimbus was looking for again. He cranked up the juice once more, going for the maximum current now. If he wanted to go higher later, he would have to plug himself in and risk letting the rage it brought destroy the meta before him.

"I think you're lying.. and I'm curious to know why. Why protect a sewer rat like him? Why endure pain for a weasely little pussbag who can't think past his own ego to realize the importance of the task given him?" The voltage climbed a touch higher for a moment, finding reserves somewhere rooted in anger, before he calmed himself. "You should give your loyalty to someone more deserving," he added, making a split decision to try and recruit this meta into his cause.

[Silvano Parrish]

"I think you're lying.. and I'm curious to know why. Why protect a sewer rat like him? Why endure pain for a weasely little pussbag who can't think past his own ego to realize the importance of the task given him? You should give your loyalty to someone more deserving."

Silver actually let out a low, pained moan as the current was increased. The metallic shell dripping away in bright orange globs and pooling at his feet. Silver could only writhe in agony as the first shocks of the electricity hit his bare skin, sending the muscles into convulsions. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man was more powerful than he was and that was worrisome. After all, what was good about having an impenetratable metallic skeleton if it's so easily manipulated and stripped away? It was actually more frustrating than he was willing to admit.

"No... one... in that bar has my respect..." He stopped briefly and took a deep breath, strugglely futily against the currents of the meta. "Or my... loyalties. My loyalties are my own." He took one final deep breath and the small places on his skin began to reform into the hardened shell, the steady stream of metal visible as it flowed to his skin. His eyes briefly darkened, the metal visibly darkening as he increased the amount of metal to his body. Even as the current pulsed through him, the ex-Marine fought the meta. "So... fuck... OFF!"

With every last ounce of energy he had, Silver manipulated the metal into a shape much like a sledge hammer and slammed it against the meta. He prayed it was enough to get himself free.

[Nick Stone]

Nick coughed and released Silvano more out of surprise than pain - at the moment anyway. He would be feeling that tomorrow, no doubt about it. The acknowledgement of that put him into a much darker mood, worse than he had been the night before, if possible. Slowly, he straightened himself up, ignoring the fact that he hadn't noticed that he had doubled over and stumbled back from the blow. He slowed his breathing, willing his heart to stop pounding with anticipation of the kill long enough for him to give this insolent meta one more chance. 'One more chance he doesn't deserve...' he thought.

"Listen closely and think very hard about your answer, Tin Man. My name is Nimbus, and I'm going to destroy the people of this fair city," he said, practically spitting out the words 'fair city.' "I could use someone with your capabilities, and I will only make this offer once. Join me now, or be destroyed where you stand." Nimbus's eyes flashed, the white flecks in his eyes brightening as he prepared to follow through on his words. "The choice is yours, and if you think you'll get away with another cheap shot, it will be your last mistake."