Arctic_Princess

Cheers Syracuse.

Unfortunately the camera is still tied to my character so I'm guessing I may need to ask some peeps to take a few pictures for me to get the look I desire.

Right - quick question that relates specifically to the Handbook in terms of taking screenshots....

Is there a 'free camera' mode? I cannot ever take decent close-ups that don't cut off the legs.
Seeing some people's pictures, are they better because someone else has taken them and sent them to you?

Hello all - I have finally achieved 32 (34 in fact but this post is about Fulcrum Shift's effect on my build).

I am scared witless about respeccing anything because the powers I have chosen have kept me and my various team members more than alive through the relatively quick rise to the mid 30s.

I'm not so concerned about the /Sonic aspect of the build - although I have opted for Single Target attacks and wouldn't mind some advice on whether I should be going for the cones etc as a tiny aside.

Here follows my build in all its glory (so far), although not in the order taken as I was hoping I could have some additional input with that! :

Kinetics
***
Transfusion - 6 slots (inc 4 Triage)
Siphon Power - 6 slots
Siphon Speed - 3 slots
Increase Density - 3 slots (inc 1 AEGIS Knockback Protection and 2 Steadfast Protections)
Speed Boost - 3 slots
Inertial Reduction - 1 slot
Transference - 5 slots (inc 1 Efficacy Adaptor)
Fulcrum Shift - 6 slots

Sonic Attack
Shriek - 3 slots
Scream - 3 slots
Amplify - 1 slot
Shout - 3 slots

Fitness
Hurdle - 1 slot
Health - 3 slots
Stamina - 3 slots

Leadership
Assault - 1 slot
Tactics - 1 slot
Vengeance - 3 slots

***

The IOs are basically ones I've picked up and decided to run with (yes I got a knockback protection as a drop)

Thoughts and advice VERY welcome, as I don't want to play my lil Kin until I'm sure his build is up to scratch.

PS - This is a PvE build - I have no intention of PvPing with this character.

Hello all

To those of you still grey-eyed and tattered-tailed from Birmingham, WAKE UP!

I have a request - simple I hope, although getting people together at the same time is never that easy - I wish to learn to draw and I need more reference material from which to learn.
I have a toon called 'Queen Bea' (sort of a cross between The Wasp and Mrs Cake) and I would like it very much if anyone out there with Insect-themed characters could met up somewhere quiet with lots of clear sky (Galaxy springs to mind) so that I can try my hand at doing a City of Insects drawing/collage/etc.

Queen Bea is on Union and my global for her is @Bonechiller.

If you're interested then please reply in this thread and, if you have any cool ideas but not necessarily the toons to go with them, PM me on here and I'll do my best to keep up.

I do have a few City of... ideas in my head but insects seems the easiest so far (I do have a reference book on them although I'll be using it mainly for the later stages for things like hair and skin).

Much appreciated for any help given.

My word - I'd hate to be the M&S Sales Assistant who has to do her bra fitting

Hello superfans

It is I - the one who said he was leaving.

I'm going to give CoX another try, if only for a little while.

A friend of mine who I cheated and swindled, whined and begged to join the game, who then decamped to the 'other' MMOG that shall remain nameless, has returned and convinced me to have a little dabble in the murky waters of Paragon and the Rogue Isles.

If anyone's up for a fun team, then contact me IG @Arctic Princess. I'm in it for the fun (with the help of a brand new shiny pc, natch) although there's still unfinished business with a certain villain by the name of Ms Adams.

Speaking of which, if Demon Cheerleader, Shadow Mass et al are listening, I apologise for my sudden disappearance without word - I will be dropping by if everything is as it was.

See you in game (after it downloads....)

[ QUOTE ]
Also I'd try to slot Gasses for Holds too (if it takes it, I'm assuming it works like a Placable choking cloud with its to-hit tick hold).

[/ QUOTE ]

AFAIK, it's only the 'initial' hold on Volcanic Gasses that is governed by Hold enhancements. Although there are a fair number of ticks, the hold duration only applies to the initial one.

I'm not sure how this affects damage/mez procs - I'm guessing GW's Embrace would potentially only fire off on the first tick of VG (although this could affect multiple targets).

Oh and, advice wise: I have, for the time being, respec'd out of Quicksand as I found that with Snowstorm and various other Slow powers, I didn't need it. Also, due to my rubbishness I found that the area of Quicksand (especially in indoor instances such as warehouses) was sometimes too big resulting in lots of unwanted attention from adjacent mobs. Also, the disorient from Stalagmites (or is it Stalactites?) followed by Stone Cages is often enough control for either your pet/close melee damage or team mates to take care of the ensnared targets.

Mr Poo (aka Animated Stone) is one of my favourite additions to my attack arsenal as an Earth/Storm controller.

Sure he's not very quick: I know that other people have gone down the Earth/Kin route in order to speed him up. He is, however, very tough. Psychic power-wielding Carnies don't like him, especially when he gets out the big stone hammer (!).

There was a tweak a little way back to AS's AI, as he was a little reticent in battle. In a team though, especially one with a kineticist or a radiation user with AM, he can act as an uncontrollable second tank, mopping up damage and dealing with troublesome minions.

Be careful of Crey however! The Agents with energy melee can gang up on him and, although it's only happened once, they actually managed to disorient the poor blighter! I faceplanted shortly afterwards...

Unfortunately Earth Control doesn't respond all that well to damage enhancements. It really is more of a control-heavy control set (!). Likewise, Storm Summoning will slow your enemies right down but don't expect amazing damage.

If memory serves, I was able to 'solo' at around the 35+ mark, although the difference between soloing and teaming is quite remarkable. Having said that I could just be a crappy controller

As the majority of damage from Earth is smashing and lethal, you'll find few mobs that succumb to your controllery charms quick enough. However, duoing with a Blaster or Scrapper is very doable, especially with AoE-heavy Blasters.

In short: Can you solo? Yes. Will you get to 50 by soloing in the next month? No. Do you care? I'll leave that answer blank.

Wow.

There, that's all you're getting! I'm too amazed to add anything else.

Give the man/woman a vote for Creative Genius! NOW!

Very kind of you Moondog.

GG - we'll see. 7 months is a long time in civilian real-life. A very long time.

Aw, you guys

Hello anyone who's interested...

I have cancelled my two game accounts.

Arctic_Princess will expire in April 2008
Bonechiller will expire in May 2008

I guess it's time to finally hang up the cape. I've enjoyed playing for the past two years and, although there's still a slight possibility I'll return in the future, it's more likely than not that I'm off for good.

I thought I'd post now as, chances are, I'll forget to do so when I'm no longer able to play. Also, good luck to everyone new and old.

AP

Dear Community.

I am in the process of posting my somewhat involved story about an old character of mine (or is she???!) Midnight Rose and I would like to make a humble request: artwork!

I certainly don't mean that I'd like someone to draw a whole comic based on the story so far (although...) but instead would like maybe a few pieces from each bit, depicting the story in whatever style you see fit.

I have no prizes or rewards to give, just eternal thanks. Well, maybe not eternal as that way blood-signed contracts with demon prnces lie but you get the picture.

The story itself I hope is mildly entertaining, even if a lot of it was spur of the moment and (not fishing for compliments here) I'm no serious writer. I look forward to anything that any of you very talented artists can come up with.

Ta muchly

“Are you okay?”

Rose woke up to a fright. As her eyes adjusted, she made out that Ionos had won: His garish yellow costume was making her eyes sting and she had pins and needles from the fall – oh and the electrical charge which had caused her to black out and fall in the first place. Rose tried to straighten up but her body was too weak so she opted to shout instead.

“Wha ha you du wi th’otha?” Her lips were refusing to form the right shapes and her tongue felt like it was about to jump out of her mouth and run away.

Ionos chuckled in a benign way, “I’m sorry. The old sparks tend to do that to people. How many fingers am I holding up?” He waved his hand in front of her and Rose followed it like a mouse under the spell of a bright yellow snake.

“Fo. An wu thm.” She murmured back.

“Close enough I guess. Here let me help you up: You took a pretty nasty dive.” Ionos let Rose wrap over his shoulder and dragged her to her feet. He propped her against a wall on top of a small crate. Rose slithered down the wall a little but her feet instinctively stopped her from flowing onto the floor.

“Ow! Pins and needles!” The odd half-pain snapped her lips and tongue back into working order. She cursed loudly and stared at her…captor.

“Nice to know your parents raised you well.” Ionos raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Now, we can do this the real easy way where you tell me why you were hanging out with lowlifes like the Skulls or you can do it the hard way where I’m forced to take you to the police station and have you formally charged.”

“Ugh. It’s not like I’m gonna get out of this anyway, is it?” Rose scowled at the hero and folded her arms defensively.

“Now, I can’t believe that a girl like you would have done something this stupid unless you were made to.” Ionos was being annoyingly reasonable. His eyes were soft and his dark skin contrasted quite beautifully with the whites.

“I ain’t talkin’ to a cape. ‘Specially not one dressed like a carnie!” Rose assumed her best Skull jerk voice. Ionos sighed.

“Hard way it is. How are you with heights?”

***

Rose had never seen the city from this angle before, high up near the clouds. Her ears had popped at what she guessed was thirty feet or so but she had been too intent on concentrating on not letting go of Ionos’s shoulder pads to care about that. They passed over the warehouses and buildings of Galaxy City, the trees of Perez Park lurked in the distance reminding her of Danny. She hoped he had gotten out okay. Roads wound round tall buildings and life buzzed along and Rose, despite her predicament, felt the wind in her hair and started to really enjoy the ride. She must have been out some time as the sun was going down but the lights of apartment buildings flickered on and Rose remembered a time when she had gone to see a fireworks display with her parents. The air smelt of wood smoke.

Rose’s heart sank when she saw the police station approaching. Several cars were parked outside and shifts were changing as uniformed cops drifted from the monorail station towards work, waving to their colleagues who had already done a hard day’s work. Ionos landed in an alleyway behind the station and led Rose inside, smiling at the desk sergeant who he obviously knew well.

“Got a street kid here. Won’t tell me her name. Found her in a warehouse with a bunch of gang bangers.” Ionos rested his arms on the counter and looked at Rose, who suddenly felt very small surrounded by all this authority.

“What kind of gang banger?”

“Skull.”

“Funny, we don’t normally get their kind over this way. They tend to hang out in Perez or Kings.” The desk sergeant turned his attention to Rose, “So, not a talker huh?”

Rose remained silent and Ionos filled the conversational space with a recollection.

“I think she’s meta. She caught me off guard-“ Ionos’s nose twitched and he turned to Rose, “Say, have we met before?”

Rose shrugged but allowed a smile to play across her lips. She winked at the hero and folded her arms again, looking down intently at the floor.

Ionos shook his head and returned his attention to the officer, “I think she can disappear, so be careful.”

“Is she hurt?” The sergeant looked at Ionos then at Rose, “Are you hurt?”

Rose looked away from the two men. The desk sergeant opened a logbook and started to make a few entries. Ionos looked at Rose again and fidgeted with his hands absentmindedly. The desk sergeant muttered a few things as he wrote in the book:

“Name: Jane Doe. That’s our usual protocol. Age-“ He glanced at Rose, “Very much in the eighteen-to-twenty-five bracket. Found in Galaxy City…. Skulls…”

The sergeant looked up from his work and motioned to the door behind him.

“Ja- Ionos, take our Jane Doe through there, please. You know the drill. Oh and be sure to mention Betty’s new hair colour. It took us like three hours and now she’s not talking to me or Martin.” The sergeant smiled and returned to the book as Ionos led Rose through to the police cells.

“He seems nice.” Rose finally spoke up, her voice full of impish playfulness.

“What’s it to you, Jane?” Ionos didn’t like her tone, especially as half an hour ago she was screaming at him.

“So, you like guys, huh?” Rose grinned. She noticed Ionos’s sudden change of expression and added, “It’s okay, I’m cool with that. Betcha get a lot of attention dressed like that.” She was teasing him now and very much enjoying the game, no matter how childish it was.

Ionos stopped and turned to look at Rose. She was average height, had average dirty brown hair and was a little under average weight whatever that was. However, her eyes said a lot more about her – they weren’t average at all.

“You see a lot of things, don’tcha?”

Rose stretched her arms down behind her and acted the epitome of innocence. “Must be tough, you know being a superhero and all. Bet your private life suffers.”

“I don’t have much time for one, if it’s all the same to you, which it isn’t. But I’m intrigued – you a psychic or something.”

Rose made a face which approximated to an answer of ‘No, definitely not!’ which she didn’t have to put a voice to, but she did anyway for effect. “I guess you’re right, I see things in people. Call it a feeling in my bones.”

Ionos chuckled, “Huh. Gaydar in your bones. Man if they marketed that I’d be first in line. Well, since we’re sharing, how ‘bout you tell me all about why I found you helping out a bunch of Skulls? I’ve got a couple of hours to kill.”

They reached another desk, behind which were ominous metal bars set into the wall. Rose figured this was the jailhouse, having never been caught before, and she saw the large woman before Ionos did.

“Hey Betty, love your new colour. Are those terracotta highlights?” She chirped at a rather surprised woman who was sipping a Diet Coke and not expecting many visitors. Ionos stepped in front of his charge.

“We got ourselves a Jane Doe full of pep.” He looked at Betty then at Rose, “And that’s really more of a rustic caramel.”

“My mistake, Captain Hair Stylist.” Rose chuckled and stuck her tongue out.

Betty rolled her eyes at this little scene: She was used to drunkards and drug users which, in a bizarre way, meant lively occupants of her jail were treated with the utmost suspicion and disdain – after all, the average drunkard was usually too hung over in the morning to continue whatever tirade they’d been on the night before and the average drug user was happy to keep his or her head down so they could be let out and back to the streets. Admittedly this wasn’t much of a system but Betty had carved out her own world inside this police station and she was determined to stick by her own modus operandi. She sensed that this Jane Doe would be the kind of inmate who asked for cheese sandwiches at midnight and liked to talk too much.

“She’s a possible meta too. Hope that’s not too much trouble.”

Betty wordlessly sifted through a series of notes on her desk, avoiding the pc console at all costs. She ran an index finger across some notes, which Rose fancied related to ‘Super Powered Threats’. After a time, the female officer spoke:

“Cell Five. She’ll be next to a delightful customer we like to call ‘The Bug Man’. The smell is all his own.” Betty flashed a crooked smile at Rose and she detected a trace of nicotine on the officer’s teeth.

“Got any smokes whilst I’m here?” Rose ventured.

“Sorry, darlin’, this is a no-smoking facility on account of metas what have a tendency to use anything flammable as a weapon. Take her away, I.” And with that Betty lit up a cigarette and started puffing away happily, smiling at the receding figures of Ionos and Rose.

***

David, Carleen and Rebecca made their way back home. Rebecca was going to ask if the two could stay the night, or at least get showered. The gardening had been hard work and muscles needed to relax and be stretched. Besides, it was a ‘Friends’ marathon on the television tonight and Rebecca and Carleen had expressed an interest for Oreos and kettle chips.

Rebecca opened the front door and called out.

“Mom? Dad?” She always called for her father even though she knew he wouldn’t respond. “Is it okay if Carleen and David stay over? Mom?”

Rebecca went into the kitchen to find her mother, asleep in an awkward position in a chair at the kitchen table. Her father was sat beside her, with one of his photo albums and the radio was playing music.

“Hey Dad, I didn’t know you were up.” Rebecca smiled at her father and kissed him on the forehead. She made to shake her mother gently from her sleep. Beverly stirred and then Jonnie turned to his other daughter and murmured, “Five years today.”

Rebecca looked down for a second, “I know dad. I know.” Then as an afterthought she added, “Ready to talk about it?” Jonnie nodded slowly and his eyes glistened with tears. Rebecca hugged her father instinctively, “It’s okay. I’m here. And so is mom.”

Beverly stifled a yawn, oxygen slowly filtering back to her brain. “How long have I-?” She saw the tableau of Rebecca and Jonnie and felt tearful. Jonnie looked up into his wife’s eyes, “Sorry I’ve been away, darling. Sorry I wasn’t around.”

“It’s okay Jonnie. We’ve both been far away. But I think I can see home again.”

Rebecca stepped away from her parents and decided that tea would be good. Carleen and David stood nervously at the entrance of the kitchen, trying not to be there. Carleen coughed and wished it hadn’t been so loud. Bev and Jonnie as one looked up.

“Hey there. Are you staying for a drink?” Beverly asked, a tear rolling down her cheek but her voice calm and collected.

“Well, I, uh – er-?” David spluttered.

“Is it okay?” Rebecca stepped in to rescue her floundering friend.

“Becky, it’s cool. We don’t want to impose. We can do this another time.” Carleen was better at high-pressure situations than David.

“No!” Jonnie shouted, then eased up, “Please, stay. It’s good to see people here. I’ve spent the past five years somewhere else; it’ll be good to hear voices again. I’d like to take my mind off…” He trailed off and Beverly smiled at him, glad that he was talking to people again.

“Thanks dad, mom. Well, Carleen and David you go sit down in the living room and I’ll bring in the tea.” Rebecca busied herself with the tea making and her two friends, somewhat relieved, went on through to the other room. As she made the tea, she kept a watchful eye on her parents and felt her responsibilities lifting a little.

“Well, I’m gonna go get showered. I’ve been keeping odd hours and, well, I stink. I want to go for a walk, Bev.” Jonnie’s joints cracked as he excused himself from the table and headed up the stairs to the bathroom. Beverly watched him go and yawned again.

“Anything you want while we’re out?”

“Oh, yeah. Kettle chips and Oreos.” Rebecca checked the cupboards just in case. She went to get milk from the refrigerator. “And some more milk.”

Beverly scraped her chair and went to get her coat and shoes. Rebecca stopped her at the door:

“Mom, I think we’ll be fine. Have a good walk. I love you.”

Bev blew a kiss to her daughter, “I’ve never said it, Becky, but thank you.” Her eyes were sad as she turned and left the kitchen. Rebecca sighed and returned to her duties. Undetected below the noise of the kettle and the television from the other room, the radio started to crackle.

***

Ionos stepped out from the police station into the warm evening. It was always busy here, being close to the monorail station and on the road that led to Gemini Park: weekend commuters and tourists filled the streets, either heading to or away from the shopping centre. The air was sharp and a breeze was building up speed and heading towards Perez Park. Cars passed and occasionally people turned to look at the strange African-American wearing the yellow costume. He had gotten used to it now, but he remembered his first days on the beat running with a guy called Cryst who had an odd sense of humour and an even more bizarre fashion sense. The local press had dubbed the pair, after they successfully foiled a plot to make off with several valuable paintings, as the Weather Warriors. Cryst had a very theatrical sense when he fought crime, enjoying nothing more than scaring the hell out of criminals by appearing in a flash of bright light and sending crooks flying with gusts of wind. What with Ionos’s lightning powers, the name they were given was fairly apt if a little goofy. Their partnership had ended when Ionos, a little giddy from a successful raid against the Hellions, made a pass at his crime-fighting partner. It turned out that Cryst, for all his garishness and affected style didn’t bat for his team. Cryst protested that he didn’t care who Ionos slept with, but that perhaps they shouldn’t hang out any more. Ionos had cried in his apartment for two days, drinking cheap liquor. Then he realised he was being an idiot and set out on his own. A life fighting crime, on your own, can either make you crazy or can fill a piece of the puzzle you never realised was missing: luckily Ionos found he was a member of the latter camp; nothing gave him more pleasure than being a positive force in his community. Well, his adopted community at any rate; Ionos was born in Founders’ Falls and his mother and sister still lived there but Galaxy was the place for new blood. He’d seen the city from the sky and, okay Galaxy wasn’t the most exciting place to work, but it was one of the most beautiful and he knew that a lot of heroes passed through here on their way to better things, so someone had to stick around and make sure that the place was kept safe by experienced hands.

Ionos wasn’t big on parties, although he attended the odd hero bash and had met Kelly Graham, known to Paragon’s citizens as Galaxy Girl. It was a charity thing for an orphanage in Eastgate and he had a photo in his apartment standing on top of his TV. He kept little mementoes of past victories and achievements partly out of proud which his mother would never have approved of and partly in case he died and people could see that he’d done something to make a difference. When he got to thinking like this, he could have been living on the moon, so he didn’t see the lights straight away. The humming and the ground shifting is what finally broke him from his thoughts.

The lights were shimmering and green and they seemed to be everywhere. In the distance car horns honked and people shouted. The lights were growing brighter and losing their green hue as they did so and Ionos didn’t like the look of it. He saw a couple of heroes hovering above the station and flew up to meet them.

“Hey, what’s with the lights?”

“Dunno pal. We were just on our way to check on Perez when they appeared. They’re kinda cool though, huh?” One of the two women explained as she surveyed the random spattering of lights below them.

The humming grew louder as the bright lights pulsed and two cars collided below the heroes, with the customary sounding of horns and a crunch of glass.

“Not sure if this is a good.” Ionos remarked. Either of you had experience with this sort of thing before?

The two women shrugged and the one who thought the lights were ‘cool’ replied, “Sorry. We’re both new to this. Plus we’d kinda finished for the evening. Well, day, y’know. Maybe we should get going, round up some friendly forces?”

Ionos nodded; despite thinking that these two were being a little selfish he knew that it was probably better going for back up than hovering around waiting for something to happen. “I’ll hold point here. You, “ He pointed to one woman in an all-white ensemble who was playing with her domino mask, probably through nerves, “Go into the police station and see if they need a hand there. And you, “He indicated the other woman who was wearing, well, very little as it turned out. She didn’t look cold though and a quick check to see that she was wearing fireproof gloves confirmed she probably wasn’t the best person for keeping crowds safe. “Go check with Hero Corps and see if they know anything. I’m sure they do. In fact go see Prince Nandelu, tell him Ionos sent you.”

The woman nodded and dashed off to carry out their tasks. For a moment, Ionos felt a flash of pride at being so, well, cool under pressure. Maybe Kiros had been right – he might make a good leader after all. But his thoughts soon turned to ‘ohmygodwhattheheck?!’ when the first wave of lights pulsed even brighter and the odd-shaped figures appeared. The humming was crackling through the air as wave after wave of bizarre humanoids poured out from the lights, some of them holding gigantic blades that pulsed with green light, others seemed to be patching in commands to wristband communicators and then the drones came, complete with flashing lights and whirring as they floated effortlessly onto the streets.

“Holy-“ Blasts of green energy flew at cars and civilians. Buildings were assaulted by the blade-carrying troops and windows were smashed; Ionos hovered above the monorail station, frozen for a moment in time, surveying the carnage as it swept through Galaxy like a brushfire.

“Metal: Destroy.” One of the bizarre creatures barked at a troop of soldiers and Ionos smelled radioactivity as they began hacking at the pillars that supported the monorail track. He wanted to act, to rain down lightning on them, but they were in such close proximity to highly conductive metal and there seemed to be hundreds of them. Ionos elected to fly a little higher above them and try to pick off any stragglers. Up higher wasn’t much better and the ground was a seemingly seething mass of alien form. Then, to make matters worse, it suddenly got a lot darker as a gigantic ship passed overhead, briefly blocking out the moonlight. Ionos returned to the station as one of the support pillars on the track collapsed with a scraping, screeching clang. Civilians were scrambling out of cars and trying to get as far as possible from the attackers as possible, screaming and shouting as they went. The police station was very busy, as aliens smashed glass and police officers returned fire, but their weapons weren’t particularly effective against the armoured shells the invaders were wearing. Police officers staggered out the back of the building in a haze of electron particles and dust, choking and blindly finding their way to clearer ground. Ionos saw one of the drones ready fire at an abandoned police car and adrenalin kicked in – he unleashed a powerful blast of electricity at the floating robot and the thing fell to the ground, exploding on impact. Ionos heard a powerful scream and more glass exploded from the police station, this time it exploded outwards and the woman in white emerged, hurling energy at the attackers. Her body was surrounded by an impressive blue glow and anything the aura touched sent its victims flying backwards. She was obviously full of rookie enthusiasm but she was doing a good job nonetheless. Police officers advanced behind her, covered in the same blue aura as their defender continued to push the aliens back towards the station. Ionos decided his best bet would be to help her out and besides; he could do with the cover from enemy fire. He zipped through the air, casting electricity down in wide arcs on the road and forcing the retreating aliens to split their force and focus. He shouted at the police and the woman in white, “Nice work, keep it up. Your friend should be back soon. Name’s Ionos by the way!”

“Photon Girl – say, is it always this busy in Galaxy? Nice shooting!” Ionos hurled a ball of electricity at a formation of drones that were attempting to swoop on Photon Girl and those that weren’t knocked out of the sky were forced to pass back up into the sky.

Then the big guns appeared – Ionos caught sight of several figures standing atop the Hero Corps building, capes flapping in the fierce wind that had wound up since the lights had started spewing out aliens. No sign of States, but Ionos wasn’t complaining – he saw the other woman return with a flotilla of flying heroes. Positron led the group with Valkyrie and Sister Psyche taking point at the sides.

As if on cue, the battleship above them all started raining down beams of light: chunks of road were blown clean away and the group which had been vandalising the transport system succeeded in felling another metal support trunk. People poured out of the station in terror as a fleet of drones flew in; the body count was piling up fast and chaos was taking too much of a hold.

The flying flotilla of heroes broke formation and began to draw in the alien attackers from their positions around the monorail and the police station. Photon Girl was doing her utmost best to keep the police officers protected whilst forcing distance between herself and the assaulting horde. Ionos flew up to the top of a taller building and watched as a small group of heroes, against the better judgement of their famous leaders, shot up in the sky towards the battleship. The woman with the fireproof gloves was leading the group and she was literally on fire with the others behind her firing off rapid blasts from powers and hand weapons alike. A beam of light struck Flambelle and her fire died instantly but she continued to fly at a pace, her body tense with the anticipation of striking the heart of the gigantic ship. Her colleagues continued to fire at the structure and where they landed a strike, mini-explosions bloomed across the surface. The ship retaliated with short, sharp bursts of energy and, one by one, the flying heroes were picked off: their bodies disintegrated under the intense heat and pressure of the energy raining down on them. Flambelle, the woman with fireproof gloves, was struck for a second time. She had the energy to scream in pain as her body fell and then evaporated. Ionos covered his eyes with his hand and Photon Girl let out a bloodcurdling scream, “Kayla!” The intensity of her own blasts increased and her hair glowed white. The Phalanx-led team, or what remained of them, rushed to back her up as another wave of drones and soldiers descended on her but even their combined might didn’t stop the onslaught. Photon Girl, her power spent after her rage-fuelled attacks, was unable to sustain the force fields surrounding her and the police officers. She died, clutching her throat as an alien warrior sliced her with a blade. Blood poured onto the street and mingled with motor oil and Ionos, frozen once again in terror, stood idly by whilst a little part of the city burned.

***

The worktops gleamed and sparkled in the early afternoon light and Beverly breathed out a sigh as if she had held her breath since she began her task. The sink was now so bright that it caused patterns of light to dance on the ceiling. Life was looking much more straightforward at this point in time and, to compliment this mini victory Beverly flicked on the radio and hummed along with the music.

She eased her wedding ring back on and cracked her knuckles and shoulder blades. The next thing, in fact the thing to make this moment perfect, would be to sip coffee and sit back at the kitchen table. Beverly prepared the coffee pot and filled the kettle with water, noting how it looked so clean and fresh falling from the mixer tap. The kettle was switched on and, before sitting down Beverly remembered a magazine she had that she just had not had the time to read until now. The music drifted out from the radio and was joined by a soothing bubble from the kettle and Beverly Adams was finally sat at the kitchen table flicking through a magazine. The sunlight warmed the room further and Bev closed her eyes, savouring this peace and quiet. She drifted off to sleep as the kettle clicked off and the radio played an old Fleetwood Mac song.

***

Carleen unlocked the shed in Mrs Anderson’s back garden and took in the scent of motor oil from the lawnmower. She loved that smell – her dad and brothers ran a garage workshop and she was hoping to join them after high school. She extracted the machine from the wooden shed and stretched in the sun, which felt glorious on her neck and shoulders. In the distance, bees buzzed dreamily.

“Thanks Mrs Anderson!” Rebecca exclaimed as she made her way into the garden from the house, carrying a tray full of lemonade and cookies. David rushed to her side and eagerly grabbed a cookie.

“Careful, or you’ll spill it.” Rebecca set the tray down on a low wall and surveyed the garden. The bedding plants looked healthy enough although a couple of slugs were visible in the shade by the shed.

“Right, a half hour break and then we clean up the borders. Agreed?”

David and Carleen nodded and grabbed a lemonade. An almost imperceptible breeze began to rise.

***

One of the guards groaned so a couple of the boys kicked him in the ribs for good measure. Rose didn’t want to know what the Bone Daddy had planned for them so she turned her concentration to the darkened warehouse floor in front of her. A rickety stairway led up to a platform along the north wall. The lights were off and the whole place was deathly quiet. Rose briefly wondered why nobody was here working but she knew not to question things too much: Time spent standing around lost in her thoughts was time wasted looking for the shipment that the gang had been instructed to steal.

“What am I looking for again?” She enquired of the Bone Daddy who had a nasty habit of moving quietly and efficiently and was now standing beside her.

“Computer mainframe. I should think it would be located in an office and there doesn’t appear to be one down here. I’ve asked some of the boys to kindly go and retrieve any supplies that they find. Well what are you waiting for, disappearing girl?”

Rose sighed and made her way towards the gantry and the upper level. The echoes of her footsteps on the stairs were not conducive to any kind of stealthy approach to the gallery above the warehouse floor but then, there was no sign of anyone here. Yet.

At the foot of the landing the quality of light improved thanks to a skylight in the roof. Rose cursed herself for not noticing this detail from the ground but then she had harboured no desire to start scaling the building from the outside when she’d scouted the place. She glanced up at the dirty glass and saw clouds moving quickly across the sky, partially obscuring the sun and making shadow play here on the warehouse gantry. A Skull tripped over a crate down below and his companions started laughing. Rose jumped from her reverie and looked at two promising doors in front of her. One was unmarked and from the other hung a plaque announcing that the door led to the ‘General Manager’ ‘s office. It was a no-brainer so Rose pushed the door cautiously and winced as it creaked back slowly on rusty hinges.

Inside smelled like wet dog – a wet dog that had been left to rot in a dark room for several days. Rose held a hand over her nose and mouth and surveyed the scene: Old metal desk with signs of rust, calendar showing a girl in a compromising position, a whiteboard with numbers scribbled hastily on it in red marker, in-tray and ash tray (both overflowing). There was a door at the back of the messy office and it was dark so Rose reached for the light switch – CRACK! The bulb blew instantly making Rose curse. She felt her way past a tall filing cabinet and pulled the handle on the dark door. When she felt the chill of an air-con unit and heard whirring and clicking, she knew she had hit pay dirt.

“Found it! It’s up here in the general manager’s office.”

The Skull members rumbled up the steps, jostling with each other and generally fooling about.

“No lights I’m afraid-“

The glass from the skylight showered down onto the metal gantry and Rose heard shouts from outside the office. The hairs on the back of her neck rose up as did the goose bumps on her arms. The boys were shouting and Rose heard electricity crackling. She quickly shut the door of the server room and tried to concentrate but the whirring of the fans and the chill in the air was putting her off. A scream sounded out and Rose heard gunfire, then ricochet. Then she heard a grinding noise that seemed to pick at her brain and fry her nerves. The lights on the server bank flickered and died, followed shortly by the fans. The room was getting warmer too. This was clearly Rose’s cue to concentrate and disappear and she knew that she wanted to help her adopted family out, even if the majority of them were jerks.

When she opened the door crackles of electricity visible through the open door were providing a strobe lightshow, enough for her to see her way clear to outside. The raging battle on the warehouse gallery was something to see: Lightning danced and a few of the boys were waving and shouting at the Bone Daddy who was holding his ground. Shadows swirled around him, deflecting sparks and the best efforts of the assailant. Oh no, it’s him! Rose thought. And indeed it was: Ionos was hovering off the metal floor hurling bolt after bolt of electricity at the Bone Daddy. The only voices in the room were the powerless Skulls who were trying to make up for their lack of superpowers by shouting up a storm.

Rose considered her options: Get the hell out of there or find a weapon and distract the hero. A few Skulls blocked her exit down the steps and, besides, those steps made an awful racket, so weapon it was. As she picked up a handful of office supplies from the manager’s office, Rose marvelled at her ability to stay hidden amidst the chaos. She allowed herself a smile and took position by the open door, ready to hide back in the server room if she needed to. She took aim with a stapler and hurled it at Ionos. He lost concentration for a second and a swarm of shadows hit him full in the chest.

“Aw man! And I just got this suit dry-cleaned!” He quipped. The distraction was only temporary and he retaliated by sending out an arc of lightning at the Bone Daddy’s head. Sparks earthed themselves in the man’s mask and he screamed in pain. Everyone in the room shuddered. Rose took aim again, this time with a box of marker pens ready to hit the flying hero with a barrage of mini missiles.

“What is this? A spot the difference competition? Is that all you got, short dark and bony?!” The intensity of Ionos’s electrical assault increased and his eyes began glowing white hot. A couple of the cleverer Skulls wheeled down the stairs, hoping to retreat a safe enough distance from the impending explosions. The Bone Daddy seemed to concentrate harder and a fierce howling noise rose in the warehouse as shadows shot through the air like screaming fireworks. Rose was entranced by the show of power, neither man wanting to back down. Ionos’s face was totally obscured now in a haze of electrical particles and it hurt to look at him directly. Shadow fought light and Rose needed to find something big and heavy to break the impasse. She dashed back to the office and her eyes were drawn to the filing cabinet. The draws slid out easily and Rose emptied their contents on the floor and hurried outside. The air was humming with energy now and Rose felt her concentration slipping. The Skulls had all left the gantry and she saw the last remnants of them heading back to the entrance. Something in her pulled her to reconsider her actions and make a run for it herself, but she wanted to prove that creepy Bone Daddy that she was useful and powerful. Besides, Ionos Lord of Losers needed a lesson in messing with the Skulls. Rose took aim and hurled a metal drawer at him with all of her might. The impact sounded painful and the glow around the hero’s head faded – his eyes were wide in horror as a creeping tendril of dark energy found the path of no resistance and smacked him full in the face.

“Aargh! What the-? Who the hell is doing that?” Ionos fell back hard against the wall of the warehouse and Rose thought she heard a crack. The dark energies around the Bone Daddy continued to swirl about him as he advanced on the hero and he began to laugh, his voice echoing around the room. It was hollow and sickly and full of malice and, unfortunately, poorly timed. Ionos let out a scream of rage as he catapulted himself from the ground and let his fists do the talking: Pure blasts of white-hot electricity arced around him and he caught the Bone Daddy square on the chin. Then he stomped the ground and runnels of energy coursed through the floor. It was Rose’s turn to scream as the electricity conducted up through her body – her state of invisibility was instantly compromised and she crumpled to the floor like a rag doll.

***

“Is your mom still upset?” David enquired as he watched Rebecca bend down to tie her skates.

“Yeah. Pretty understandable really, when you think about it.”

“How ‘bout your dad?”

“It’s like he’s crushed, y’know? Something’s squeezed the life out of him.”

“I can’t imagine anything like that.”

The pair set their way skating towards the distant figure of Carleen who had stopped to get water from a drinking fountain. They continued to chat as the World sailed by.

“Still feeling like odd one out?” David glanced at his companion with genuine concern on his face.

Rebecca returned his look with a thoughtful gaze.

“Can’t be helped: I have to be the strong one at home now.” She eventually replied, “I’m content to be full of moral support and all that.”

“But it, like, must bite.” David, although the model teenager was, like the average teenager, not always able to express himself in the most precise way.

“I’m thick skinned. Someone’s gotta be.” Rebecca let out a rueful chuckle and sped up to the approaching Carleen. “Howdy stranger. Sorry we slowed up – I had to tie my skates.”

“No probs. As long as the two of you weren’t getting cosy – I hate being lemon.”

The three teens laughed and made their way to the other side of the park and Mrs Anderson’s house. High above, a buzzing white light streaked across the sky in the direction of Galaxy City.

***

A gang of Skulls surveyed the bleak row of warehouses on the outskirts of Galaxy City. The higher-ups had specified that they weren’t to ‘engage’ with any Hellions but this hadn’t stopped a few of the boys from picking a fight with a lone purse-snatcher. Fresh from their street-fighting success, the gang was in high spirits and it was getting on Rose’s nerves.

“I need to concentrate guys!” Rose snapped as two Skulls at the back of the group started roughhousing. She weathered the predictable jeers and absolutely refused to make eye contact with Danny, in case he took it on himself to be chivalrous.

“I’m serious. You wanna come out of this mission unscathed or full of a couple of rounds courtesy of the rent-a-guards who’re guarding the joint?”

“So-rry!” a gang member mimicked Rose and she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Look, I know you don’t like taking orders from a girl but, sweetie-pie, we got orders from on high. Now listen up and that means shutting up first.” Rose tried her best glare, which unsettled a couple of the newer members enough to ripple out to the rest of the group.

“Finally. Right, I need to concentrate in order to disappear and scout out the entrances. Danny is my point man-“

“I bet he is!” This sadly obvious comment set the group up again. Rose sighed and her shoulders sagged, which Danny took to mean it was time to be chivalrous.

“Now listen up you punks, Rose here has a plan that might just make us some money. Lookin’ at most of you, I’d say you all want to make money and preferably without being caught by the cops or worse.”

“What’s it to you, Pots?!” An older member sneered and spat at Danny’s feet. He went to lunge at the spitter when a firm grip held him back. Rose glared at him and she was biting her top lip.

“Danny, it’s fine. Let it go. We’ll just-“

The rowdy gang clamed down all of a sudden. Rose shivered which transferred into her grip on Danny’s arm.

“Ow! Why you gotta gri-“

Danny sensed something that was suddenly very much in front of him – and it was wearing a mask that looked suspiciously as if it had been carved from a human skull.

“I thought you might need some proper guidance.” The voice was croaky and old. Rose caught the scent of something she didn’t like and felt goose bumps raise up on her arms and legs. The Bone Daddy cast his soulless gaze on Rose, “The disappearing girl. I’ve heard so much about you. You’d better do what I say and be quiet about it.”

Rose glanced at her Skull comrades and noticed that they were very subdued, almost lifeless. The Bone Daddy had done, or was doing, something to them that made them docile. She risked a look at Danny and saw, with dismay, that he too was standing still with a look of servitude on his face.

“How di-“

The Bone Daddy raised a finger to the mouth of his mask. “Blood magic. You, however, aren’t Skull. My superiors want to keep you that way, if possible. It’s the only way you’ll ever ascend, Rose Adams.”

Rose gasped and then felt like some stupid helpless girl in a B-movie. This guy was clearly for real – he could have found out her name anywhere, but what he was doing to his underlings was…intriguing.

“Now, you do whatever it is that you do. Report back to me in half an hour. We’ll move out then.”

Rose nodded and snapped herself out of the situation. She focussed her mind and closed her eyes, picturing darkness and smoke and let the feeling cover her body. She went cold and numb, as was usual. Her eyes itched – this was again the norm for her disappearing trick – and she knew she was in that place where no one could see her. She opened her eyes and thought she saw the Bone Daddy smile but later realised that all skulls look like they’re smiling. Rose headed towards the entrance to a series of warehouses and slipped past a couple of roaming Clockwork. They twitched slightly as she slipped past them and headed for a roofed area stacked high with cargo crates. Rose studied the labels on the boxes and found the one she was looking for: Daltech Enterprises. The logo was a rather uninspired ‘D’ intertwined with an ‘E’ lower down and Rose chuckled to herself as she considered that Paragon may have been a City of Heroes, but it was far from being a City of Originality.

Suddenly, her body tensed and she flattened herself against a stack of crates. Two costumed freaks jumped past hurling fire and who knew what else at a group of unsuspecting Clockwork. Rose covered her ears with her hands as the angry screeching of metal and electricity flew back. A few sparks played a little distance from the ground before earthing themselves in the sandy floor. When the noise died down, Rose sprinted across to a building with glass windows set high on the walls. As luck would have it, she noticed the ‘D/E’ logo on an opposite wall and hoiked herself up on the wall to look for signs of opposition. A couple of security guards were standing by the only visible door and, as she looked up, there was nothing on the roof save for a small ventilation shaft. Rose took note of the warehouse’s position and walked back across the network of high walls to her gang.

“Back so soon?” The Bone Daddy sounded surprised but his mask just grinned at her.

“It’s safe. Two guards on the door and no rooftop heroes to worry about. Should be simple, provided the boys here can remember why they were here in the first place.” Rose cast another glance at her subdued comrades and folded her arms.

“They are just in a state of, hmmm, suspension. And whilst they are no one can see them. Just like you, disappearing girl. By the way, how do you do that trick?”

Rose didn’t like the disapproving way the Bone Daddy said the word ‘trick’, as if she was some punk stage magician or something, but she figured it would be more trouble to pick a fight with him. Besides, she knew he’d kick her [censored] – probably with her own foot. She remained silent as if to say ‘Whatever, now let’s go.’

“Well. You have done your job, Rose. Now hurry along and let me take care of this little mission.”

“What the-? You can’t be serious! No way am I-“

“Yes, yes, your plucky spirit may get you places with the boys but with me all it gets is an acknowledgement that you are still needed and therefore not on the top of my list of ‘Things to Kill’. Now run along, back to your squalid little apartment. Danny will get his share, you have no need to worry.”

The guy was something else – something else Rose would sooner have chucked in the river wearing cement shoes – but she could see the futility of arguing. She made a show of disgust and wandered away from the Daddy and his boys, her shoulders low in defeat.

***

Time is personal and Space – merely a matter of perspective. She was only seven miles from the place she once called home but she was a million miles away, living on the streets. It had been five years since she left and yet it felt like yesterday.

The streets had been made warmer and, in their own way, kinder by her inclusion in a local gang. She’d met a boy, who unbeknownst to him she had stalked since an encounter in an alleyway near the beginning of her new life. His name was Daniel, but the guys called him Pots on account of his acne. Rose had felt sorry for him, being treated differently by the others who all looked the same so she latched onto him. Having her gift made it easy to listen in on conversations so that she could suddenly appear a day or two later and know exactly what to say. Some of the guys were total dorks but the gang took care of its own and, with her talents, she’d done some cool stuff: petty theft, running errands for the higher-ups that sort of thing. She felt useful and wanted for the first time and, if what she was doing was illegal, it didn’t matter so much compared with the benefits of having a family who weren’t on her back all the time. Whenever she felt sad, she’d think back to the night she acted on instinct and picked up that trashcan and hurled it with all her might. Her own strength had surprised her and she almost lost the concentration she needed to keep herself hidden, because all she wanted to do was laugh and punch the air. Daniel had been there that night; he’d tried to get his gang brother to back down from the no-win fight and despite all the jibes he got, he genuinely looked out for his own.

Rose stroked Daniel’s hair as the pair sat up by an open fire near the lake in Perez. The night was crisp and a beautiful crescent moon illuminated the rickety boards of the old jetties that lined the riverbank.

“Know what, Rose?” Daniel looked up at his girlfriend and smiled.

“What, Danny?”

“Ya think I could maybe make somethin’ of myself?”

“What, y’mean like college and stuff?” Rose’s nose wrinkled in disapproval at the thought.

“Nah, I mean in the gang. Maybe get promoted, make myself a big-time big-shot.”

“We’ve talked about this before, Danny – I don’t want you getting into that heavy mojo [censored]. It’s creepy.” Rose had seen some of the ‘higher-ups’ as they were known – The Bone Daddies were the name the general public knew them as; men whose souls were twisted by dabbling in magics they didn’t fully understand. There were all sorts of rumours about what happened during the raids when Bone Daddies took part – most of them involved body parts floating in rivers and lakes.

“But Rose, you know me. I got smarts. I’ve been readin’ up ‘bout this magic stuff.” Danny sat up and turned to face Rose.

“Where’ve you been reading? When do you get time?” Rose stared at him in his street clothes.

“I still got a library card.” He looked down at his grey sweats. “Aw c’mon Rose. It’s not like I wear this [censored] when I go in there. You think they’d let me in if I did? They got books on all kinds of crazy mojo in Atlas. I reckon I can handle anything the higher-ups wanna teach me.”

Rose studied her boyfriend’s face. He was being so sincere that it hurt. The stupid boy thought he’d be different and something in her bones told Rose that he’d end up different all right – being alive and being dead were certainly different. She told him so, loudly.

“Rose, shh! Shh! You wanna wake whatever’s out there up? Relax baby.”

“I just don’t wanna see you hurt, is all.” Rose found herself whining at him and thought how much she sounded like her younger sister when she was tired. She softened a little to compensate. “Can we talk about this another time? It’s late and we’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“Okay baby. And yeah, we have got a busy day.” The pair embraced and kissed each other gently. Danny got up to stretch his legs and Rose chucked dirt clods on the fire.

***

Danny woke up to find that Rose was already up and in the shower. A cup of luke-warm coffee and a slice of buttered toast sat on the upturned crate that passed for a bedside table in their room.

“Thanks babe!” Danny shouted as he rubbed his face and contemplated whether or not to take a shower with Rose.

“No problem, babe.” Rose said mockingly, as she emerged from the bathroom in a towel, her long hair clinging to her slight frame. “What time are we supposed to be meeting the others?”

Danny checked his sweats pockets for his watch. “In two hours. Big Al said not be late on account of us needing you to scout the area first. We don’t want any guards sounding the alarm. To be honest it sounds pretty blah to me. Why don’t we skip it and we can do it all day instead?” Danny winked.

“Always the charmer. Come on Danny, we need the cash from this.”

“Oh I suppose, yeah. But don’t I get even a good morning kiss from my sweetie?”

“You get coffee and toast this morning - And me yelling if you don’t get out of bed and get in the shower. I don’t want you stinking and making me lose my concentration later on.”

“But baby, I’m all ready for it.” Danny pleaded.

“Yeah, and I’m ready to smack you in the crotch. Now get a move on!”

It was no use trying to have fun with Rose when she was in work-mode. Danny liked her; she was funny when she wanted to be and she, well she took care of him. The guys all ribbed him about doing her but he knew they were jealous. It wasn’t often that Skull girlfriends took part in Skull action and he was glad she was on their side. He didn’t know much about her but he had guessed early on that she hadn’t spent all her life on the streets like she’d said when they first met. For starters her hands were too dainty and pretty, not rough and calloused like the sad-faced girls who lined the docks in Indy where he was from. Who cared she was a bit different? The magic that the higher-ups dabbled in was pretty serious stuff, but his own girlfriend could disappear if she wanted to. She didn’t need talismans and trinkets and foul-smelling herbs to do it, she just concentrated and blended in with the background. Some of the boys said they could see her and it was just some dumb trick but Danny knew they were full of it. She was also fast and strong, something else that made the boys nervous and far too scared to pull her up on. Rose said she used to take gym class, on a day when she had forgotten that she’d been on the streets all her life, but Danny wasn’t so sure: She always seemed stronger when she was concentrating on disappearing. He told her, one night after a party, that he loved her. They’d both had a little too much to drink and when he looked at his girl, Rose, he saw that she was fast asleep in his arms.

Danny picked up the keys to their squat and checked his hair in the cracked mirror by the door. “So, are we ready for this?”

Rose caught Danny primping and smiled to herself. “Ready as we’ll ever be. Now, if they’ve got guns what do you do?”

Off pat, Danny replied, “Tell the boys to hold back until one of ‘em gets singled out. Then we take him out.”

“Good boy. That gets you a kiss… on the cheek. Now get your skinny [censored] outside, we’ve got work to do!” and with that, Rose patted Danny’s [censored] and the pair made their way to the meeting point at the gate to Galaxy City.

***

“Mom! Where’re my skates?”

“In the cupboard by the stairs. And don’t shout. If you want something, come talk to me.”

Beverly felt she was on a knife-edge since Rose went missing. It wasn’t that she resented Rebecca, at least that’s what she had told her shrink. Jonathan had retreated into a fantasy land: She found him up late at night looking at photographs of Rose, sometimes crying, once clutching her old teddy bear Mr Pickle. They hardly spoke during the day now and Rebecca was soon to be the age her sister was when she… disappeared?

The police had searched the neighbourhoods and put out missing persons photographs and ‘adverts’ on milk cartons – nothing. There was no Rosie; her room still smelled of her though which was possibly more upsetting than there being no body. No that was a traitorous thought too. Mustn’t think about bodies and abduction – not healthy.

Beverly shouted up the stairs. “Now, honey, I want you to only stick to the paths you know. Don’t talk to anyone you don’t know. And if you’re going to stay over with a friend then please ring.”

Rebecca appeared at the top of the stairs. It must have been the light, but her long brown hair and the way she stood made her look so much like Rose. Beverly shivered at the thought.

“Mom. If you want something, you can always come talk to me.” Rebecca said it in such a kind way that Beverly felt her throat choke. “And there’s no need to worry. I’m not going far – only to the skate park with Carleen and David. It’s like three blocks from here. Then we’re stopping off at Mrs Anderson’s to mow her lawn.”

That was the stark difference between the two sisters. Whereas Rose had been the first-born; the firey and spirited girl who had always looked out for herself; Rebecca seemed to genuinely care about other people. She had been so good when Rose first went missing: Shortly after the police officer had left that first day, she got up from her hiding place in the hall and went to hug her parents. Rebecca was the one who phoned in to Jonathan’s work to tell them that her daddy was sick and wouldn’t be in for a whole week. Rebecca was the sort of kid who went out skating, loved pop music, went to sleepovers and mowed the lawns of the elderly. Beverly felt immensely grateful for all the things she did and guilty that she couldn’t love her second-born as much as she loved Rosie – what was that Philip Larkin poem again?

Rebecca left the house, all smiles and Beverly was left alone in the house. Well, Jonnie was there but he was hardly company now. It was as if a part of his soul had been removed when she… when she ran away. The clock on the mantel struck eleven, signalling that it was time to get to work. Beverly went to the utility room, put on her housecoat and gathered her cleaning arsenal around her. At least the house would be **** and span.

***

Shadows danced down the alley, which led to a nightclub in the Garment district of Kings Row.

“So, whatcha wanna do? Head out to the Park and crack open a few cars?”
“Nah man. I ain’t allowed to show my face there no more, on account o’ that bank job. I’m a wanted man!”
“Yeah, like anyone would want you man!”

Three men, dressed in grey sweats and wearing skull masks loitered round the entrance of the alleyway. They were clearly up to no good, but the PPD had enough on their plate tonight with a Troll rave over in Skyway to bother about this dingy corner of the City.

“Got a smoke? I need a breath of air.”
“It’ll cost ya, man. You still owe me for the liquor at that party.”
“Aw man, stop bustin’ me ‘bout that. Y’know I’m good for it.”
“Sure ya are! And your mother’s freakin’ Ms Liberty!”
“Hey, leave my ma outta this. She’s a good woman.”

The three men started beating on each other – one pulled a knife and threatened his ‘brothers’ with it.

“Put that away, idiot – besides, you wanna know what happens to a punk holding a metal knife in a lightning storm?” The voice boomed above the Skulls and they froze in their primitive tableau.

“Aw man, a cape!”
“Hold your ground you goon. We can take it!”

“Oh, I doubt that very much.”

As if cast down by an angry god, a lightning bolt struck the ground scattering the gang bangers below. Then he descended, a figure swathed in lightning and yellow-painted Kevlar – a mighty thunderclap cut through the night air and the thugs were slammed against the walls of two nearby buildings.

“Jeez man. It’s States!”

“Wrong again, bucko: The name’s Ionos. Still want to tussle with the Lord of Lightning?”

One of the gang members sniggered. It was the same one who had only just suggested that they could take the hero on.

“Oh come now, don’t hurt my feelings. You wouldn’t want to make me even angrier than I was when I noticed you lowlife punks hanging round outside my favourite club now, would ya?”

The three men, as one, pulled themselves up off the floor, stumbling over toppled trashcans as they did so. The Skull who had singled himself out as the least bright of the three waved his knife accusingly at the flying hero.

“You got some powerful mojo there but I reckon we can still take ya! So why don’t you step off yer cloud or whatever it is keeps ya up there, come down here and fight like a real man!”

“Lance, you crazy? Leave it man. I gotta be home tonight.” One of the less-stupid Skulls piped up.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna spend time in a prison hospital man. I ain’t got the med insurance for a start!” Exclaimed the other.

Ionos took one long look at the knife-wielder. He started waving his left hand round in a circular motion. The air became thick with static. The knife-wielder wasn’t entirely sure of the game he was playing here but he knew he shouldn’t look away. Only punks looked away and he was a real man. Although what the freak in the bright-yellow Halloween costume was doing looked dangerous…

“Okay, time’s u- Ooof!”

A trash can smashed into Ionos from behind and he lost his concentration. The metal container seemed to neutralise whatever power he had been building with his hands and, besides, a metal container thrown at your head hurts. The hero turned in the air to see who had thrown the can – nothing. He heard the Skulls stumble away from the alley leaving upturned trashcans and street debris in their wake, which made him turn back round. A small group of partygoers were making their way out from the club – Ionos sped up through the sky before anyone, apart from the Skulls and his mystery attacker, could see him.

“Urgh! Lookit this mess! Dang street cleaners don’t know their jobs!”

The gaggle of girls emerged from the alleyway and giggled their way back to the station.

“The band – they were G O R J U S – gorgeous! Hahahaha!”

When all went quiet, the shadows moved.

***

“I hate you and I wish you were dead!”

The bedroom door of one particularly angry fifteen-year-old girl slammed shut. The plaque on the door fixed with blu-tac, denoting that this was ‘Rosie’s Room’ in a flowery motif, fell to the floor and one of the corners cracked slightly.

“Honey, please. Don’t be upset.” A male voice called up, full of reconciliation.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” The shrill reply came, followed by the creak of bedsprings, which subsided and was replaced by sobbing.

Beverly Adams, thirty-nine and wife to Jonathan, gave her kind husband a kiss on the cheek.

“You tried your best. That girl is just difficult is all. She’ll calm down.”

“I don’t know, Bev. She’s never behaved like this before.”

“It’s just her time of life. She’s a teenager Jonnie. Remember what that was like?”

Beverly strolled through to the kitchen and began to make coffee: Coffee was the best medicine in these situations. Radio Paragon was on in the kitchen, the dulcet tones of Johnny Sonata singing ‘Blue River’ drifted through to the lounge where Jonathan now sat, staring at the Sunday papers without actually reading any of them. He was calming down a little now but still deeply concerned for his little Rosie.

Then loud music started blaring out from upstairs, competing and eventually winning with Sonata. It was some kind of screeching-metal noise, or whatever it was the kids called it these days. Jonathan sighed and let the papers fall around him. Beverly’s coffee making grew more agitated and, to compensate for the noise, she turned the radio up.

“That’s it, young lady!” Jonnie jumped out of his armchair and stormed up the stairs, “I’m coming into your room to turn off that horrible noise!”

Jonnie burst into his daughter’s room, ready for the verbal onslaught – nothing. The stereo was playing, the room was in a state and – nothing. Jonathan shivered and then noticed that the window was open. All sorts of things went through his mind, none of them pleasant.

“Oh no, Rose. What have you-?”

“What is it, honey? Where’s Rose?” Beverly came into the room to find her husband staring at the window. “Where’s my baby?” Tears welled in Beverly’s eyes.

“I…don’t…” Jonathan hugged his wife as close as he could. He didn’t care if he suffocated her – his darling little Rosie… The music continued to blast from the stereo and after a few minutes, Jonathan let his wife go and turned it off.

“Go get Rebecca, Bev. Make sure she doesn’t come in here.”

“But Jonnie-“

“Just go get her!” Jonathan barked.

Beverly left the room and crossed the landing. Jonathan went to the window and looked down. He squinted at the ground below – nothing. But if…? A cold wind rose outside, making Jonnie close the window.

***



“So, let me get this straight, sir – you and your daughter had a falling out, she went upstairs, started playing music and when you went up to turn the music down, she wasn’t there?”

Jonathan nodded.

“We’re awful worried about her. She’s, well she’s a teenager. Y’know, how kids are these days?” Beverly held her husband’s hand and rubbed his back, trying to bring him out of his mood. “She can’t have gotten far.”

“Well, ma’am, there’s little we can do at this stage. It’s only been a couple of hours since you reported her missing. Are you sure you don’t know where she might be? Perhaps a friend’s house, a boyfriend maybe?”

“My Rosie doesn’t have a boyfriend.” Jonathan murmured. “She- she doesn’t have many friends either.”

The police officer looked down at his notes. “Well, sir, ma’am, you give us a call down at the station tomorrow if your daughter still hasn’t returned. But I have to say, and I’m not just saying this to make you feel better, kids often come back when they’re hungry. From what you’ve told me, your daughter is just going through one of those phases. Here,” The officer gave Beverly his contact card. “Ask for Officer March if you have to ring.”

“Thank you, officer. Are you sure you can’t stay for a coffee?” Beverly didn’t want him to leave. Something was nagging at her about her daughter’s disappearance and she didn’t want to be alone with her husband, trying to keep his spirits up.

“No, thank you. I must be getting back to the station. I’ll let myself out.”
And with that, Officer March was gone. Jonathan and Beverly sat at the kitchen table not saying anything. In the hall, Rebecca Adams sat under the telephone table staring at her parents who were staring at - nothing.

***

I'm usually up for this sort of thing but, sadly, the lure of Villains end-game has me in its content-tastic grip

However, the last post might have a point.
Why not have each character as one of those 'themes'?
A pirate, a tramp, a soldier, a ninja etc. Could be fun, or at least horrifically politically incorrect

So far my Dark/Ninjitsu is shaping up nice. I don't PvP and I haven't really teamed much and the levels have sailed by.

Some of the Ninjitsu powers I find are a little bit 'meh' - Flash Bomb being the most (I intend to respec it out for Hasten) but, with healthy IO slotting, She can withstand +3/4 bosses for long enough to make them fall over.

I also took Air Sup / Flight mainly because my poor PC doesn't deal so well with Villains - I'd have preferred SJ for Acrobatics BUT when I use it as a travel power I get far too many 'Lost Connection to Mapserver's so Flight it is.

I'd have to agree with the Ninja Blade thing - on my Scrapper it's lovely, possibly because of Lotus Drops (the AoE with DoT) and my general Scrapper playstyle of runnign in and trying to hit everything. The Stalker vewrsion doesn't have this power and, due to the draw time of Ninja Blade, plus the occasional lag spike, it often used to result in faceplanting at a crucial moment.

Dark/Ninjitsu works because of the little crowd control tricks (Air Sup is also a handy move because of the knockdown) - Touch of Fear is a very good accuracy debuffer so you can get away with lengthier battles with tough opponents because, 9 times out of 10, they can't hit you. This improves somewhat as you increase in level. If you 'Fear' them then all the better.

Also, Negative Energy isn't as resisted by a fair few mobs (CoT are one of the obvious exceptions) compared with the lethal of Ninja Blade.

Anyway, I'm rambling somewhat. But go with what you feel. Heck, wait until I11 and see what Dual Blades and Willpower can do

[ QUOTE ]
Oh I love to buff
But my baby just loves to blast
He wants to blast, He loves to blast, He's got to blast
Oh I love to buff
But my baby just loves to blast
Oh I love to buff
But there's no time for our romance
No no no oh

Oh I love to buff
But my baby just loves to blast

The minute the nova's up he's in it
He's on his feet to dig it
And blast the night away
Stop! I'm spinning like a top
My toggles - they've all dropped
But if I had my way

Oh I love to buff
But my baby just loves to blast
He wants to blast, He loves to blast, He's got to blast
Oh I love to buff
But my baby just loves to blast
Oh I love to buff
But he won't give our love a chance
No no no oh

Oh I love to buff
But my baby just loves to blast

Stop I'm spinning like a top
My toggles - they've all dropped
But if I had my way
Defend I can't
When you're in a faceplant
And my End's drained away

Oh I love to buff

But my baby just loves to blast yeah yeah

I love to buff
But my baby just loves to blast
Yes he does...ooh...get down...oh...

[/ QUOTE ]

The incomparable Tina Charles classic 'I love to love' - with a twist

Update:

All Union

@Arctic Princess

Arctic Princess: Now working for the US government in an advisory role re: metahumans and threats to regional security. Lives in Steel Canyon.

Whirling Dervish: Mature hero, lives in Steel Canyon, can control the elements of Primal Earth (our dimension of existence) to a limited extent.


@Bonechiller

Ms Adams - Corporate Assassin, ne'erdowell and found in the Hero Bar in Pocket D often striking up conversations with Heroes and Villains alike. Affiliated with The Tempest (who would very much like to start forming coalitions with other villain groups - Previously had a coalition with 'The Corporation' but this was struck off as, OOC, that group thought The Tempest had 'died'.)

Almost there - Oh and I'm a he, not a she :P

I meant, as observed from past plots, that the chances are we will end up doing something that has been done before and so we shouldn't worry about that aspect of the plot - it's bound to happen. Therefore it'd be nice just to run with the whole idea and not worry about being 'unoriginal'. Anyway, back to dribbling for me.