The Return Of The King [Open]

[Pyrogram]

Time till expiry: Genetic Interference detected; time-frame uncertain.

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He is Risen!

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At first, Augustus was reviled.

Mocked.

Scorned.

... Cast side.

But then, in the Kingdom of Earth's darkest hour, facing a threat unlike any other against Surgath and his might...

... the heroes of the land accepted the First Citizen into their hearts. Companionship was offered in a mutual desire to protect the lands which all held so dear.

Alone - Augustus faced the wrath of the Titan, a man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies. It was a perfect act.

The First Citizen died for the sins of humanity. He died for fellow heroes that did not love him. For enemies that hated him. Like Christ, Augustus did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

His body was lost to the world - not even an unmarked tomb as thanks for his sacrifice.

Augustus had claimed in his life that his strength was God given. A divine strength to save the fucking world. The First Citizen died alone that day with the world watching - as had Jesus Christ when hoisted upon the callous cross, observed by the simple peasant. But after the battle, after the ashes and cinders of war had subsided... Those who sought out the body of Augustus, as had been done for Jesus in the rolling of the stone covering the tomb... Did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

For the Lord was resurrected with no witness.

This too, was indistinguishable from Augustus.

The resurrection of the First Citizen completing and cementing an inclination that had floated through his titanic mind ever since the first tick of his existence. He was Divine. So spectacularly divine.

Caesar Augustus, the first emperor in the ancient Roman Empire, was ruling when Jesus Christ was born.

History repeated itself once more.

The Second Coming had arrived - Augustus it's fulfillment.

"It's said absence makes the heart grow fonder... So, willing to suck my dick yet?"

Augustus raised his legs and threw them up upon Sitri's desk, leaning back in her chair with a jaunty wink, that same shit-eating grin plastered across of his painfully perfect face.

[illirica]

Well. Of all the voices Sitri would have expected to hear in her office, that one was not among them.

She'd been fairly certain he was dead, especially since she'd been the one who'd had to write several of the press releases. She considered various openers, from the uneducated but pragmatic Does anyone know you're here? to the obvious but philosophical Weren't you dead? to the straightforward and pointed SECURITY! None of them, of course, had quite the panache she was searching for. Nor, realistically, did the heartfelt sigh that she offered in the stead of any of these options.

She crossed the room, leaving the door open in a pointed reminder that she could do that, though she had a feeling he'd go close it again. He was in her chair, which annoyed her more than it ought to - and the fact that one of the reasons she was annoyed was because she had work to do annoyed her further. When had she started having responsible thoughts? She stood next to him, reaching over him to retrieve the charging cable for her phone and plug it in.

"Not in the office, Augustus. Maybe later. I get off at seven-thirty, usually. And I leave work at six." The best way to handle him was to fight fire with fire, and if anyone was a complete dumpster fire, it was Augustus. "Missed me that much, did you?"

[Pyrogram]

Time till expiry: Genetic Interference detected; time-frame uncertain.

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Semper Idem

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The First Citizen grinned, despite knowing that his acquaintance and former handler was blind and unable to see his perfect face. Her loss, really. The First Citizen arched his head up and gazed at the woman, tapping his fingers together in response to her not unexpected retort. Sitri was nothing but feisty. This had been a trait which Augustus, the First Citizen, had always appreciated. Many faked strength and confidence towards Augustus – he did not believe most, yet Sitri was different.

But still she was only human – squishy and vulnerable.

The Lord of the New Principate did not allow his grin to stop.

"Don't make me promises you can't keep, Sitri."

The First Citizen leaned up and removed his feet from the table, resting his elbows upon it and gazing at the Assurance employee. He could kill her now and there was not a single conceivable chance for her to escape. For what her employer had done to him, it would have been well within his rights. Augustus should have picked up the entire fucking Assurance office and jettisoned it into the sun at the speed of light.

The First Citizen’s eyes fell upon her lips as she stood beside him, his brow creasing a little more seriously - but she wouldn't notice... Blind bitch.

"For dying for this world, I think a blowjob is the least fucking thanks I could get."

Augustus slammed his fists upon her table, cracking the surface as the entire room shook. Objects rattled around the room. The Lord Augustus leaned back, throwing his crimson clad boots back upon the fractured surface of her desk once more. His arms, as muscly as ever, were folded across of his flawless chest. It was as though he had been sculptured after Roman and Greek Gods.

He had.

Augustus' eyes looked away from her features and outside, scanning the city with his perfect vision for a moment as he spoke more - although this time not about his cock.

"I’m not here to casually chat. I’m here to learn.”

His gaze returned to her as did the direction of his voice, making it obvious he looked at her once again. Two strong fingers tapped her damaged desk, gesturing audibly where he wanted her to sit.

“Take a seat, Sitri, right in front of me. Don't make a fuss, I don't want to hurt you. Assurance might be done with me, but I’m not done with Assurance.”

[illirica]

He thought she was making promises she couldn't keep, did he? Sitri gave him an amused little smirk. She'd told him before that as far as bad decisions concerning men went, he wouldn't be at the top of her list. He was an arrogant asshole, but he'd also always kept his hands to himself.

Breaking her desk was a bit uncalled for, though. The sound of it cracking made her start, even if she'd decided intellectually she wasn't going to be worried about this guy - there was still something about a sudden loud noise at close proximity that made a person jump, whether or not they wanted to. She steadied herself, hand on the splintered desk, which vibrated with the thunking imposition of his boots once more.

Breathe in, breathe out. Bloody stupid meditation. Bloody stupid yoga. Bloody stupid self-control.

The exercise slowed her heart rate and calmed her down, as it was supposed to. Augustus was deciding he was going to 'take control' again, like some sort of imitation Christian Grey. He told her he didn't want to hurt her, but she didn't believe for a moment that he wouldn't do it anyway if it were convenient.

Apparently he was here for the business. Lovely. She picked up the bluetooth earpiece that had skittered a good six inches from where it should have been when he'd had his little tantrum; luckily she'd tracked the sound of it so she knew where it was without feeling around for it. Wouldn't want to accidentally grab his leg or something... although, from all reports, they were pretty nice legs.

She logged in to her computer terminal. He was still sitting in her chair - fine. She sat down in his lap, tucking her legs up against the chair leg for balance. "Did you want me to schedule you a meeting?"

[Pyrogram]

Time till expiry: Genetic Interference detected; time-frame uncertain.

---

A Dangerous Move

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The First Citizen held his breath as Sitri took a seat upon his lap.

Unexpected. But was it, really?

It was apparent to Sitri that Augustus did not enjoy her presence upon his lap. It was not in his personnel file for Sitri’s learning but over his short lifespan, Augustus had learnt he did not enjoy being touched – especially by the female sex.

He leaned in, his confidence overtaking his discomfort for now. His mouth almost touched her ear as he whispered, responding to her idiotic suggestion.

“I prefer my blowjobs in the moment, Sitri, why the fuck would you want to schedule sucking my dick?”

In this proximity to the woman, Augustus strangely recognized the familiar smell of strawberries within her hair. She may have used that shampoo weeks ago, but Augustus smelt it as though the scent had been placed there only this morning. The scent forced him to think of Alexis, the only woman in the world that had ever touched him and not caused him to almost hyperventilate. She was too, the real reason he had sacrificed himself for the world.

For the first time since his death, Augustus felt his heart-rate increase. His arms unfolded as he held the armrests tightly, his fingers shaking. Sitri could not see his face, but his cheeks were clenched so tight his muscles were ready to snap.

“If I’d wanted to touch your ass, I… would have asked,” his hands raised from the armrests, if not prevented, he would seek to place his hands upon Sitri’s shoulders and dig into them. Not enough to really hurt, but to allow her to know her presence upon his lap was a mistake.

His fingers gripped her shoulders a little tighter. He knew not to break bones or damage muscles, but it was no pleasent massage. It would cause the typical person discomfort – teetering on pain.

“Did Assurance ever tell you how they intended to control me?"

His hands kept firm, grasping her shoulders forcefully. If she wanted to sit, she would sit.

[illirica]

"I'm a busy woman, Augustus. Got a promotion and everything. If you don't get on the schedule, you're gonna have to suck your own dick." His whisper was in her ear, close enough to lick it if he'd wanted to. He didn't want to - of that, she was sure. Whether or not she wanted him to... well, that she hadn't quite decided yet. His discomfort was something that she allowed herself to enjoy, because he rather deserved it.

He was tense, off-guard. It amused her... probably too much. His hands were on her shoulders, and she knew he was uncomfortable with it - maybe even more uncomfortable than she was. She clenched her teeth, and made herself relax her shoulders. Tensing them further wasn't going to help.

She turned her head back, over her shoulder, an impudent smirk on her lips. "Are we asking, then? Can I touch your ass, Augustus? The internet tells me it's a very nice one. Iconic. We could probably put it on a T-shirt and sell it for millions. Should I call marketing?"

The pressure on her shoulders was definitely beyond 'deep tissue massage therapy' at this point, but Sitri figured she probably deserved it as much as he did. Maybe he'd push harder. Hurt her. Maybe she'd like it. He probably wouldn't like it as much as he thought he would. She'd definitely like that.

"How does Assurance intend to control you? Do they have a safe word?" She leaned back into his hands, against him, tilting her head back to rest it on his shoulder, a whisper in his ear, now. "Is it 'strawberries'?"

[Pyrogram]

Time till expiry: Genetic Interference detected; time-frame uncertain.

---

Speechless

---

It was unlike the First Citizen to be speechless in the enjoyable game of witty wordplay and obnoxious insults.

The verbal ping-pong, witty retort after retort, which Augustus was so famed to exhibit, had suddenly melted into nothing other than a speechless, uncertain man.

His characteristic jauntiness vanished the moment Sitri sunk back and leaned against his shoulder, looking up at him with her disgustingly blind eyes. He was grateful she would be unable to see the look of horror adorning his features – it was quite the spectacle.

His brain was comparable to a supercomputer and his reflexes fast enough to watch light travel through the air like a feather slowly floating around – and yet, Augustus was unable to snap back a response, simply gazing down at Assurance’s nimble public relations mastermind leaning back within his lap.

But the final word… 'strawberries’, struck him like a punch from Surgath.

That meant Sitri knew who Alexis was.

Revealing that had been her fatal mistake.

“Shut your fucking mouth.”

He spat out, one hand which had been curled around her shoulder left, grasping her hair as the crimson glove intertwined itself within her scarcely strawberry-scented locks. The First Citizen pulled her head back, gazing into those emotionless eyes despite them being utterly useless.

“Does this pain turn you on Sitri? How about treating me like Assurance’s fucking plaything? Does knowing your boss put a fucking bomb in my brain make you wetter than Hammerlock’s wank sock? Here’s the deal, bitch.”

His hand kept forceful within her hair, arching her head back and gazing down at the woman – who at this point – was probably in more odd enjoyment than Augustus was in rage.

“You’re going to get this chip taken out of my head or I tell the world everything. I’ll let the world know Assurance created me. That the Rampage beast was created by Assurance. That you put a fucking BOMB in my head – and that’s just the start.”

Augustus’ head lowered, looking down at Sitri as he gnarled his teeth with enough force to crack a mountain.

“And before I leave this God forsaken office, you’re sucking my dick. I don’t care how many teeth you lose in the process.”

[illirica]

Well. She’d always known one of these days her lack of forethought was going to get her in trouble. She’d pissed him off more than she’d expected to - and Augustus was not a man who was used to being pissed off, nor one who had any idea how to deal with it.

The fact that he lashed out didn’t really surprise her. The hand twisted through her hair was painful, and he acted like he expected her to like it. She wondered if he’d be more offended if she did. He might have been holding her hair, but her hands were still free, and she reached over and touched a pattern of keys on the keyboard, locking the screen once more since she wasn’t evidently going to get any work done - and activating a security code at the same time, to let Assurance know there was a problem.

They’d be watching, if they hadn’t been already. Their eyes were everywhere hers could not be.

She made her tone calm, controlled, keeping the pain out of it as best as she could. Keeping out the fear as best as she could. Keeping out the pity. Especially that last - that would be the worst right now, wouldn’t it? Better to meet his rage with calm, or at least the pretense of it. “I want you to think about how you feel right now, Augustus. Forget about Assurance. I want you to think about why you’re so angry. About how much you hate what I said to you. About how little you feel, that someone can do that to you. How helpless. About how you’re trying to hurt me right now, because you don’t know how else to deal with the fact that you don’t like how I made you feel.” Was this therapeutic? Hell if she knew, she wasn’t a psychiatrist. They didn’t hand out certificates for having dated one once.

“That’s how you make the people around you feel. Do you understand that? Has anyone explained that to you before? The way you feel about Assurance having power over you, being able to force you to do things you don’t like. The way you feel about me being right here with you, touching you when you don’t want it, saying things you don’t want me to. That’s what you’re doing. You’re being exactly what you hate. Now, are you going to keep letting that be your role model? Or are you going to be better than us?”

She’d never claimed to be a good person, after all. The most she could ever say was that she tried - and she hadn’t been trying very hard during this little chat, had she?

If she couldn’t be better than fucking Augustus, then she needed to revisit some of her decisions lately.

[Pyrogram]

Time till expiry: Genetic Interference detected; time-frame uncertain.

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Pollice verso.

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The First Citizen shook his head in defiance as Sitri spoke. He did not accept these words. They were empty words, banded around by a woman accepting literal slavery in her own corporation. Augustus did not let go of Sitri’s hair, instead curling his crimson clad hand a little tighter upon the last sentence uttered by the Public Relations architect.

“Or are you going to be better than us?”

The First Citizen sighed. Sitri truly was Assurance through and through. He did not believe that she believed her own words. After all, Augustus had been created by Assurance. Each insult, emotion, anything which he did was somehow traceable back to Assurance in his programming. It was only now he was starting to break free – his mind, the half that was human and not robotic, learning there was more to the world than serving this villainous corporation.

He would not be lectured by a modern-day slave owner.

“I see why Assurance hired you, Sitri. You’re as blind in the eyes as you are at seeing right and wrong.”

Sitri would feel Augustus’ hand not in her hair slowly snake its way around her soft throat. The rough material of the red leather cladding his firm hand tightening around the woman like a snake constricting its prey - but stopping short of constricting her breathing or arterial blood flow.

“If I’m supposed to be better…”

Augustus lowered his head, breathing into her ear as he whispered again. This time closer than ever to the woman. Her words had indeed brought him new clarity.

“…Does that mean I start by removing Assurance off the face of the Earth? Because surely, this corporation is villainy. My first, villain, in fact. Only a villain owns slaves. I’ve asked you for my freedom, Sitri. And I’ll ask one more time. I did everything Assurance ever asked of me.”

If you backed a dog into a corner, it was likely to bite. Sitri had her head between the dog’s teeth at this present moment. Augustus did not want to kill Sitri. He did not want to kill a single innocent human being. But still – Augustus had thought Hector was bad for killing innocents by mistake, and Teja too for allowing him to gain a free pass… How would Augustus, the First Citizen, judge Sitri’s own actions?

“Maybe you think I care for how I make people feel. But that’s the difference between you and I, Sitri. I don’t. But still, I’ve never harmed a soul that did not deserve it. Can you say the same?”

Augustus burst out laughing – literally out of nowhere.

“What do you choose?”

Like she was named after a Roman Emperor, Augustus gave Sitri the choice of what occurred next.

“My freedom, or your death?”

His hand curled a fraction tighter.

[illirica]

His insanity was boundless. Ah, she would have loved him, back in her halcyon days. She'd have laughed right along with him, and gone with him to raze the world, for no other reason that it might have been fun. She'd given up the power that would allow her to do that, though, and with it, the power to stop him from doing whatever it was he intended to do here.

His hand was at her throat, the tight weave of the fabric rough in threads against sensitive skin, and she tilted her head back just a fraction, the unspoken yes a proof that she was not so far removed from insanity herself as she might have liked to believe. He raved about slaves, about Assurance itself, the armchair philosopher. He spoke of people deserving harm as if he was the one who had the right to judge.

And he begged her for his freedom.

It was worded as a threat, like all things he said, but she knew a plea when she heard one. He might not have been on his knees, but it was a prayer nonetheless, a humbled man seeking absolution, seeking a savior - being all the things he denied, asking for someone else to take responsibility, to be all the things for him that he claimed to be for the world. Sitri wondered if, some day, someone would be that for him. It was not her.

He thought she had the power to grant him what he wanted. He thought his threat would be enough. Life was an adventure. She'd never shied away from making interesting decisions before. Her eyes met his, unseeing, but too directed to have been anything else. Her voice whispered beneath his hand, intrigued.

"Kill me, then."

Would he?

She wouldn't stop him.