Arctic_Princess

Oh yes tons and Object was an interesting diversion last night so not to worry. I take it you haven't met the robot that dispenses drinks yet? I forget its name but I always smile when I see it.

I considered allowing Kata to comment that she'd 'seen bigger' but decided that it wasn't really in character.

Well, I hope to see Object again, and perhaps some of the people gathered can find out a use for a naked, metal man?

I'd just like to say that my experience with SR (Katana primary) has been a good one.

Some enemies are more accurate than others don't forget - Sky Raiders always seem to get in more hits than Family when using ranged attacks - Fir Bolg lts and up are more accurate at close levels than Warrior equivalents too. This is all from personal experience by the way, just the feelings I've had during certain missions and arcs.

Perhaps it's because I'm a katana user and although the speed of attacks is less than Claws, I do more damage, lower the defence of the enemy and have a couple of handy multi-target attacks (Flash of Steel and The Lotus Drops) at my disposal? Therefore mobs tend to fall a bit quicker - plus the char. is a balanced team/solo PvE-er.

Just my 3.142 inf

Aha - time to get that new scanner plugged in, get out the crayons and tissue paper and 'collage' my way to victory

Thanks Bridger, I've been waiting and waiting for this to come back. You're a supernova

Ah fair enough. I guess I'm still such a fledgling RPer that all the shininess here is keeping me going, attracted to it like a moth to a flame...

Ahem.

Well, although I'd love to get involved in extra RP stuff outside CoX I've already got enough on my plate what with RL and everything (boo!).

You never know, I might actually make it to the Brighton comic-con one day and get to meet the people behind the Heroes? I only live half an hour away after all.

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So, I now have... 15 days of subscription time left, and I'm in the process of winding down my RPing.

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You're leaving?

Oh man! Ah well, I guess all good things must come to an end... /em mopes disconsolately around the room, pulls out an assault rifle and threatens anyone else who is thinking of leaving...

Well, it's a shame - man this feels like the end of the Freedom Force boards all over again

Oh I should really stop reading the forums - too many half-baked ideas I get after reading posts...

Now the Galaxy Girl speed dating night, hosted by a lesser-known alt (Ariadnée) perhaps - that could work. She's the CoH equivalent of Cut-Me-Own-Throat-Dibbler so this kind of money making scheme is right up her alley. /em coughs - so to speak

Shameless plug time

Many of our featured writers here today have been lifted out of the humdrum of normality by a charitable donation.
No, we're not talking about money, we're talking about friendship, trust, love, post spamming etc. etc.

Sponsor a GGer today and get your free giftpack consisiting of a novelty scented soap, two packs of Mini Cheddars and a catering-size tub of 'Eye-Relieve' (for all those late nights spent RPing, post-spamming, Wiki-updating and waiting for the GG thread to open on page 96,579)

Read the role-playing threads as much as you can (paying particular attention to stories involving a certain Russian heroine...who shall remain nameless ) and generally PM those responsible with things like: 'ZOMG! Ur so wikd!' or 'I'd like to illustrate all your stories. No no, don't be silly, I'd be doing it for love <winks&gt

And to clarify my original point - my reference to 'lone' characters is to be seen as separate from the 'canon' as it were. It's nice to have heroes who don't have too much of an established supergroup - sort of like Silver Sable appearing in Spider-Man. It doesn't happen too often but it makes a nice change, sort of thing...

<takes some yellow pills>

Right, finished. Someone else take over?

IC - 21/06/06, 2000 hours - Bell Point Hospital, Marigold Ward

Gregor Putinaya, ex-CIA technolgical advisor - now working for Paragon's Russian embassy - strolled up to Kata's bed. He had been up all night working on the data encryptions downloaded from the Council base on Striga. Gregor was puzzled by some of the data he received and, although he couldn't place the designs he saw, he thought to himself that they looked remarkably familiar.

The names marked with an odd symbol puzzled him too: They had been on separate files to the machinery plans. Quite why Kata should want details on these people was beyond him but he knew not to ask questions of her. He knew little of her work these days, suffice it to say she had applied for a Hero Licence six months ago and rumours were going round the intelligence community that she was working for Red Commissar himself. Kata certainly knew how to climb up the ladder of promotion.

"Afternoon there, princess." Gregor smiled and waved a manila folder at Kata. She looked up at him, smiled back and raised an eyebrow.

"It took me long enough to get this for you. Quite a read, I've no doubt. You're keeping well?"

"Yes thank you Gregor. Although I still don't know when I'll be allowed out of here."

"Relax little one. You still haven't told me what it is you did to yourself to get admitted here."

"I bruised my ribs-" Kata grumpily indicated her ribcage underneath her hospital pyjamas. She weighed up Gregor for a second,
"-during an operation."

"Care to tell old, Uncle Gregor all about it?" He smiled again and Kata caught a whiff of stale cigarettes.

"I can't. Not yet. Perhaps not even until this is all over."

"But you will, someday?" Gregor was teasing her now, trying to make her laugh, trying to bring her out of the slump she was in. Kata resented him for being so good at it.

"It's complicated. I'm not sure you'd believe me anyway. It's...Hero business."

Gregor replied, knowingly, "Ah! So the Arctic Princess is fighting the good fight here in Paragon. I always knew you'd go far Kata."

"Keep your voice down, Gregor!" Kata snapped, "I'm not here as a Hero, I'm here as a patient."

"But you're here because you got injured in combat, yes? I'd say that makes you a Hero, Kata." Gregor replied. "Unless you're up to your old tricks again, eh?"

Kata also resented Gregor for his ability to read her like a book. He'd seen past her cold and aloof exterior when they worked together in the CIA; he'd stayed up all night with her, on some routine surveillance operation or other, listening to her: How she was homesick a lot of the time and worried that her parents were short of money. People, in his experience, could do things on the spur of the moment that jeopardised their work if they weren't concentrating fully on the task in hand. Kata knew this too and so she took the opportunity to confess a little of what had happened that night during the raid. She didn't mention who it was they had been investigating or why, but Gregor knew the details weren't important - What was important was why Kata had felt the need to lie.

"I just froze, Gregor. It's never happened before but I went into a blind panic when I heard all those guns firing. The noise was deafening. And when I saw the others calmly marching in and taking control I was ashamed of myself."

A few tears welled in her eyes and she brushed them aside, determined to carry on.

"So I had to make a decision. I was lying on the ground, being cared for and watched over by my colleagues...then I heard the Commissar over the communicator, in trouble. I knew what I had to do then. If this city loses someone like him, a man like Red, I-- I'm not sure I could continue being a Hero."

"So when did you start lying again?" Gregor's tone was even, no malice was intended. Kata looked at him with watery eyes.

"I had to do it Gregor. I had to prove myself, I still have to in fact, to these wonderful people who put their lives on the line every day!" she cried.

"I didn't ask you for an inauguration speech, princess. I asked you when you started lying. Please Kata, it's for your own good that you get this out of your system right now." Gregor carefully smoothed the young woman's brow, keeping his voice low and full of reassurance. Kata breathed a little deeper and resigned herself to it.

"When I heard that Red was in trouble I forced myself to stand. We were trapped in the base, separated. The whole thing was a little confusing at first. I suppose it was the shock that prevented me from feeling any pain, although all the time I was light-headed."

Gregor sat back from Kata's bed, ready to hear about the lie that had been eating her up inside and confident that she'd pull through safely. Kata continued:

"The woman who stayed with me, her name was Nadia, she took my weight and allowed me to get to one of the base's consoles. We were searching for information--" Here she hesitated again, trying to find the right words, "on a torture device we had found. One of the men in the company searched the console behind me. Whilst the others gathered round him I managed to download more than just information on the devices. I asked the mainframe to retrieve information on the 'gentlemen' that had devised this device and on other technology. I then asked the computer to delete everything I had just downloaded from the database."

Gregor looked at his old friend impassively for a moment. There was still a lot she had had to omit, or risk the operation - he understood that. On the surface she was telling the truth, it was inside that worried him.

"So, I'll ask you again Kata, why the deception?"

"Because....because this threat we're facing is big and unknown. It frightens me and I've no doubt it would frighten the City to know what was happening right now. We are dealing with a man - no not a man, a force - that threatens everything we've ever believed was right and true-"

"And...?" Gregor had never seen her so impassioned before but still he detected that uncertainty in her. The final barrier in Kata's mind came down and she let all her worry flood out when she said, quite simply in a calm little voice:

"I'm just a human. I don't have special powers, I can't read other people's thoughts, magic is as alien to me as the Kheldian heroes who fight despite prejudices against them. Sure, I know my way around a computer but I'll never build a machine that can send people into the far distant reaches of space." She gave a sad little laugh. "So I deceived seven good people that evening to serve my own pride. 'Imagine their faces' I thought to myself 'when they see what that ordinary girl has done! She's turned the weapons against their creators and saved the City!' Oh Gregor what an idiot I am!"

There was silence in the little cubicle for a couple of minutes: Gregor was busy trying to think of something to say and Kata was exhausted from pouring her heart out. Then Gregor looked into her eyes and said, "So what?! So you lied. For what end? I'll tell you what end - you've always done things as you've seen fit little princess but now you find yourself in a place where you can't just go running around as you please. Welcome to the real world, Kata."

Kata went blank for a moment. "So, what should I do?"

"You're asking me what I think you should do? Haven't you learned yet Kata? You've got to come to your own conclusions, work out your own choices. Don't rely on others to prompt you and for pity's sake learn to trust people!" Gregor laughed heartily. He laughed loudly too. So loud in fact that Nurse Evans popped his head round the curtain.

"Is everything alright Kata, this gentleman isn't disturbing you is he?" Michael's voice was full of genuine concern.

"No, this here is Gregor Putinaya, he's a very old friend." Kata replied, making sure that Michael avoided seeing her tears by blowing her nose loudly on a tissue.

"Da, very old and not so wise I fear." Gregor caught the look between the two then observed his watch. "It's time I should be going anyway. Here's something to read, princess, whilst you're cooped up in here." And with that Gregor laid the manila folder on her lap, blew her a kiss and walked back to the elevators at the other end of the ward.

"Quite a character, that one." Michael remarked.

"Gregor and I go back a long way."

He affected mock-disappointment, "Oh I see. Well...isn't he, you know, a bit old for you?!"

"No! We used to work together! Honestly, you thought me and Gregor-" she stopped mid-sentence, noticing that Michael was grinning like a maniac. Kata reached behind her and grabbed a pillow, readying herself, "You know, you're not funny at all Mister Evans."

"Oh, and why is that Miss Bromovich?!"

"You shouldn't pick on defenceless cripples-- like me!" Kata sprung from the bed and walloped the young nurse playfully with the pillow. The envelope Gregor had given her slid off the bed and fell to the floor with a 'plop'. Michael put his hands up in defence:

"It's a fair cop - you've got me, miss. I surrender."

The pair were laughing and giggling, making far too much noise: a few visitors near Kata's bed looked over at them and frowned, but they were having far too much fun. It was strange but in the past few days they had grown to like each other quite a lot. Rather a lot, in fact. Actually, so much so that when Kata put the pillow down and reversed roles by offering her hands to Michael 'to be cuffed' he bent down and kissed them. Unfortunately the timing could have been better:

"What on Earth are you two doing?!" the furious tones of the Ward Sister halted the two in their tracks.

Michael's face turned on a sixpence from frivolity to despair, which only served to give Kata a fit of the giggles even more. However, he continued looking at the Sister as he spoke, "Uhm...we were just... um--" albeit pathetically.

"Nurse Evans, could I see you in my office. Now!"

"Yes, of course Sister. Miss Bromovich." Michael bowed his head to the two women and walked off like a puppy that had just been kicked.

"Well, Miss Bromovich," Kata didn't like the way she said Miss Bromovich, as if it weren't her real name, "I was going to inform you that you can return home tomorrow, but I see that there's no need. Would you like us to call a taxi for you in the morning?"

"Oh, yes, that would be most kind of you Sister. Thank you."

The head nurse, satisfied that she had prevented her patient from disrupting the whole ward, trotted back to her office. She couldn't resist a final word at Kata's expense though:

"And please be reminded Miss Bromovich that all bed linen is property of Bell Point Hospital. We do have other patients to consider."

When the Sister's back was turned Kata made a gesture at her and decided she would take some air downstairs, being as she was now fit and able to go and stand outside with all the smokers, patients or otherwise. She made a point of making the bed up and grabbed the folder, taking it with her in the elevator.

Finally some good news she thought, pressing the button for the ground floor. I think I'm ready to tell Red what happened. I just hope he understands.

Hi Star Jewel

Great news! I think it's healthy to add 'lone' characters into the mix and I know what you mean about being yourself through the character: It doesn't mean you'll be typing ZOMG lol! all the time

IIRC, you've done some cool artwork too? MIght be a use for another creative bod around the place.

Oh, and you might find the current plottage a bit overwhelming but remember, we're all Heroes together

Say hi to Arctic Princess, once she's out of hospital that is

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And I'd like to know if how I RP actually shows up as a bloke typing in the manner of a super heroine / villainess - discuss

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know your characters, so it's a little difficult to tell.

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Sorry Ravenswing, just trawling through the Wiki threads and came across this again - I tend to roll female characters because in comic books I prefer them. Not in a sexual way because I'm g_a_y but because, I dunno, perhaps they've always had more to prove.

Playing as Arctic Princess especially I'd be interested to know what people thought. It's probably a ratio of 75:25/ego:curiosity if I'm totally honest.

IC - 20/06/06 1400 hours - Bell Point Hospital, Marigold Ward

Kata looked at the card and chocolates again. She sighed and considered for a moment how she had gotten this far in her deception: It seemed that one lie easily led to the next - even the little ones where she pretended that she felt better in herself for resting. But now time was short and she should probably stop feeling sorry for herself.

She called out for one of the nurses and was pleased to see Michael padding up to her bed, "I'd like to make a phone call, if I may?"

"Of course. There's a phone in the staff room. I can take you there if you want."

"It's a private matter," she replied, batting her eyelashes a little, "Could I use one of the private rooms?"

Michael eyed her for a second as if he wasn't sure that this was such a good idea. But, not wanting to upset his remarkable patient, he made a show of looking round the ward and whispered conspiratorily, "All clear. Come with me."

Kata had been told by the staff that she should try to move unaided wherever possible so with a grunt of effort she threw off the bed covers and launched her feet at the floor.

The private room looked out over the harbour and the window was open a little to let the summer air in. Unfortunately, this being Independence Port, the summer air consisted of a cocktail of tar, sulphur and some, as yet unidentified, component. The pair made a joke of holding their noses before Michael went to 'stand guard' outside.

Kata sat on a cushioned chair by the phone and dialled a Galaxy City number, all the while checking to see that Michael didn't come back in. A well-spoken Russian woman answered, "Paragon City, Russian Embassy - how may I help you?"
Kata switched to her native tongue, "I would like to speak to your I.T. department, if I may?"
"Certainly, your name please?"
"Anna Borovski."
The receptionist pushed some unseen button and three faint clicks were heard. Then a gruffer, male Russian accent, which Kata identified as being from Arkhangel'sk, answered, "Good afternoon, Miss Borovski. Long time eh? How can I help you today?"

"Gregor! How is Alina, and the children. It's two boys isn't it?"

"Three! Little Ruslan was born three months ago. He'll make a fine defender. Alina is fine. She still nags me about the late hours I keep, but other than that married life suits me well. Arkadiy and Vadim are both excelling at school. Proper little Americans now. Ha!"

Gregor was an old friend of Kata's from her brief yet successful CIA career. He knew all of her assumed names so at least that was one less person she had to lie to.

"Listen Gregor, I need a favour from you. I have some highly sensitive files that need downloading and cracking open." She lowered her voice to impart this.

"What's the catch, huh? You been hacking into a new boyfriend's emails again?" He laughed throatily and began to splutter: Gregor was a forty-Sobranie-a-day man.

"Something like that!" Kata couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from turning up into a wide grin. Gregor sensed that she found this amusing.

"Well, just drop by the Embassy tonight at six o'clock and we'll have a go together - just like old times."

Kata hesitated and Gregor responded, "What have you done now?"

"I'm in hospital, in Independence Port." She heard Michael knock on the door and reacted in a split second. As the nurse entered he heard Kata chatting away merrily, "It will be so nice to see you Gregor. I look forward to your visit. Four o'clock, and don't forget to bring a picture of little Ruslan. Good bye!" Kata put the phone down a little hastily and the handset fell to the floor. She bent down to pick it up but a stab of pain decided to intervene.

"Here, let me get that for you." Michael whipped to the bedside table and grabbed the phone just as Kata did. Their hands touched briefly and they looked up at each other. Michael smiled, Kata smiled and then they both began to laugh, still holding hands.

"I'd better get you back to your bed, Miss Bromovich."

"Please, if I'm allowed to call you Michael then I can at least offer you the same courtesy." She hesitated again, thinking better of saying her full name, "It's Kata."

"Pleased to meet you finally, Kata." Michael smiled and offered his hand to shake. "Now, let's be having you back in the ward. I don't want another boll-- telling off from the Ward Sister. And besides, we'll miss the football."

Kata groaned and rolled her eyes, "You Westerners and your football."

And with that they went back to the ward, laughing and playing at flirting with each other. Kata just hoped that the end of her conversation with Gregor hadn't totally confused the man. For the next few hours Kata sat up in bed, watching the clock tick by, as Michael talked at her over the noise of the television.

IC Monday 19/06/2006 2030 hours: Bell Point hospital, Marigold Ward

Kata looked at Jakob for a moment, unaccustomed to his enthusiasm for football, and smiled inside. She hadn't really been watching the television; Nurse Evans- correction Michael - had wheeled the contraption over and had propped her up into a comfortable position whilst he yabbered on about midfielders and the offside rule. When Jakob went to sit down on the plastic chair beside her bed Kata almost cried out, forgetting that out of his battle armour the man was slight and unlikely to crush anything.

"Well, I feel much better now. The results of my x-rays are back: it turns out my ribs are merely bruised, not broken. The doctors all think I am making an excellent recovery. I had to remind them that I was human though - they assumed that my Hero Licence meant I was some sort of fast-healing maniac!"

They both laughed at this but the dull pain Kata had now become accustomed to flared up and she had to cough to hide her discomfort.

Kata turned the television to mute using the remote placed on her lap and offered her comrade a chocolate. He declined the offer and so Kata thought it best to decline his.

"Thank you for offering to fix the suit but I've been having a few ideas about a new design."

"Oh? But you have not had the thing more than a couple of months. It will only take the boys a few hours to repair it" he replied. Jakob's thick, Russian accent made Kata feel right at home.

"I was hoping that Bluestrike would pop by. She has a reputation for being a good clothes designer amongst the hero community. I feel that it's time for a change."

Sensing that Jakob was not altogether comfortable talking about such 'feminine' issues as these, Kata rallied,

"I liked the card from you all. Very nice. The kitten is sweet."

"Da, Commissar certainly surprised a few people when he produced that at the statue yesterday."

"Oh and could you return this to Grav Mistress?" Kata reached over to her bedside table and opened the draw. Inside was the keycard she had been given by Jessica which was duly taken out and handed to Jakob.

"Ah but of course. Where would we have been without this little thing, eh?" Jakob took the keycard and held it up to the light, admiring its simplicity. "Perhaps I should get the boys to take copies, da?" he joked

Then the pair chatted about home, swapping reminiscences and feeling at the end of it like they had sorted out the World's problems. Then Kata yawned and Jakob looked at the clock on the wall and said it was nearly the end of visiting hours. He asked her if she felt comfortable and she replied yes, then he planted a paternal kiss on her forehead as Kata closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Am I the only person who doesn;t like metal?

I know I've posted already but it's a late night/early morning thing!

I had a strange notion that, for the Workers of Eastern Europe (SG), the theme tune should be Danse Macabre (not sure of the version but if you're a fan of 'Jonathan Creek' you'll know the song)

Also, not enough disco and irony for my liking in this thread

I once had a plan to make a female cop in the Jackie Brown mould - "She works hard for the money" by Donna Summer seemed appropriate.

C'mon, ditch the pretence of liking ROCK music and feel that disco groove

Hi, good ideas. I know what you mean about CoV - Mercy tends to be full of new gamers as opposed to RPers and the structure of zones means making progress to the less populated islands (Port Oakes springs to mind) difficult.

However, I'm currently in E.V.I.L. (Union btw) but have created an alt with a VG (Jove Tech Corporation) that will, I hope, be linked in coalition to EVIL (makes sense in my head). So, even if you have a small VG you could always join up with coalition.

In my experience the RPers in villains are all tremendously friendly and, if you want to get to know them better I suggest joining one until you hit lvl 10 then quit and start your own. That way you can get to know people better and establish your character. Goes without saying that you should probably tell the VG your intentions first but it'll pay off

Contacts for EVIL are made through:

Whirlmeister
Echo Hammer
Big Lunk
Laugh Riot
Dark Impetus

and many others.

I'm heroing a lot atm so Midnight Rose won't be available to introduce you.

Any probs PM me

There are a few RP VGs on Union (which is the unofficial RP server) - Midnight Rose belongs to E.V.I.L. which is headed by a gentleman called Whirlmeister.

Entry requirements are strict and Whirl should give you a much better idea of what happens, including the VG website (through Portal.com)

Given name: Katarin-Marie Bromovich (Kata)
Hero name: Arctic Princess
Gender: Female
Age: 25

Powers: Although not in possession of super-human abilities, Kata is a consummate fighter, keeps herself in tremendously good shape, has some experience with small firearms and has led CIA operatives in the field. She is also a surveillance operative and hacker.

Description of Powers (if applicable): On a mission in Japan, Kata was introduced to the katana, a weapon she prefers over firearms, which she considers necessary but nonetheless barbaric. She is well-versed in self-defence and was noted to have high perception and good instincts during her CIA training.

Personality: Kata is, to the outside world at least, compassionate, morally strong and occasionally misses the joke. Her confidence tends to sit on a sliding scale and she is not always sure of herself, especially in a city full of super-powered individuals. She likes to be organised and this sometimes spills over into the realms of anal-retentiveness. Kata is not ashamed of the past of her country but will try to put people right if they air views which she believes no longer apply to the modern Russia.

Physical Description: Kata stands at approximately 5'10", weighs a toned 9st 3lbs, has dirty-blond hair and wears either her iCON-bought battlesuit (red and white, with yellow trim) or her Soviet-themed workout outfit (red sports top, hair tied back, green combat trousers with a yellow star motif running down the outside of both legs)

History/Backstory: Kata was born in the city of Minsk, USSR on 26th April, 1981. Her father worked at the power plant and her mother was a legal typist.
Kata's first proper memory was on her 5th birthday when her father refused to allow her to go outside and play with her new bicycle. It was the day of the Chernobyl nuclear incident in the Ukraine, not far from the border with Belarus. Kata cried.

Kata was a serious child at school but she came out of her shell whenever she played sport. Kata was on the gymnastics team and was picked out as a good leader. Kata never won any badges or medals for her gymnastics, but this led to ballet classes and a (so far) lifelong love of what is deemed to be high culture.

At the age of 8, Kata was totally unaware that the Berlin Wall had been taken down as her father was a staunch party follower and would not allow 'filthy propaganda' to enter the family home.

Two years later, when the USSR was disolving, Kata was selected for a special programme of testing. The hypothesis at the time was: Due to the high levels of radiation in the areas surrounding the Chernobyl reactor, children born between 1978 and 1988 could show signs of 'mutation' manifested as enhanced motor skills, precognition, advanced physical ability, cell regeneration...etc.
Kata was subjected to rigorous testing for signs of improved capabilities and spent a year away from her parents in a test facility in Archangelsk. She became accustomed to waking at 4am, a strict if basic diet, regular showers and excercise. Playtime was actively discouraged.

During this ordeal Kata adapted to her environment, made transitory friends and wrote only one letter home to her parents which was never sent.

Kata excelled at the humanities and was allowed to take her history and religious education exams at the age of 15. The rest she took at 16 and passed. She gained scholarship at a technical college with excellent sports facilities where she began to develop a relationship with computers as well as several young men.

At the age of 18 Kata signed herself up for military service to help her parents survive in the face of economic depression. Her knack for learning new skills, especially combat, was noted by her group commander and Kata was put forward for specialist training in surveillance and stealth operations. Being somewhat distant and cold, and in a profession where she was daily surrounded by men, Kata gained the nickname 'Arctic Princess'.

Her talents as an agent did not go unnoticed. At the age of 23 Kata was effectively poached from the Russian army by the CIA which is how she came to learn of Paragon City.
She travelled virtually round the world in active service and has done some questionable things in the name of national and international security, although none of them too serious.

Kata arrived in Paragon 5 months ago and, after training with E.L.I.T.E., was referred to the Red Commissar, a man famous both in Russia and Paragon. The rest is history in the making...

Bell Point Hospital, Marigold Ward - 0600 hours, 17/06/06

The ward was quiet, save for the rhythmic, mechanical fluctuations of a drip-feed and the soft steps of the nurses. It was too early for laughter and compassion, arguably the best medicine on offer.

Strands of light fell onto the bed at the end of the ward, next to the double doors that led out to the fire escape. Although Paragon was in the grip of another summer, this time of morning there was a touch of winter chill in the air: the morning dew had yet to evaporate and form a hazy mist for the sun to burst through and the window had been left ajar last night. The recumbent form in the bed shivered in its sleep...and woke up with a start.

Pain shot through Kata's chest; a searing hot pain that started in her ribs and ripped through bone and muscle to her shoulders, earthing itself down her arms, spine and legs - even her toes hurt. But Kata, somehow, managed to keep herself from crying out and attracting unwanted attention from the nurses. Her rude awakening brought flashes of equally painful memory to mind: She had panicked during battle, lost her nerve. From what she could remember her comrades Was that the right word? Red and Jakob were comrades indeed, but what of the others? had managed to contain the threat with seeming ease. What a stupid girl she was!

Then she remembered Nadia, who had stayed with her as she lay there believing she was at home again, waiting for her father to come home from work at the power plant, in her room. It had no doubt been shock, but she had felt peaceful then for the first time since she was a little girl, ready to be picked up and spun round the room and kissed on the forehead three times.

Kata winced again as her body remembered being gathered into Jakob's arms, all cold from the metal suit he wore, and carried to safety. No, that wasn't right. Something else happened...

The battle suit! Her body jerked involuntarily and this time Kata could not stifle the cry. She heard a rush of footsteps and the curtain surrounding her bed was drawn back.

"Miss Bromovich, what's the matter?" said nurse Evans. "Is the pain too much? Do you need me to get the 'Biofreeze'?"

Kata managed a feeble reply, "I would like to sit up, please."

"Now I can't let you do that miss until the doctor has seen your x-rays."

Nurse Evans looked at the woman with his sympathetic gaze. Poor creature. Another victim of this city's violence. And what was with that suit she was wearing when she came in? She looks too innocent for all that hero stuff.

"I tell you what, Miss Bromovich, I can get you some water if that helps?" He smiled and noticed that she responded warmly; for a moment the pain on her face subsided. That was why he had chosen to become a nurse in Paragon - that and the fact that he got to meet women like Miss Bromovich!

Kata nodded for the glass of water and watched nurse Evans disappear to the staff kitchen. She cursed in Russian as another burst of pain shot through her chest but took comfort in the fact that at least the staff they employed here were nice to look at. Then, when she decided that he'd gotten far enough she focussed her strength, breathing as lightly as possible, and began to launch her legs over the edge of the bed still lying flat on her back. That done Kata braced herself for the somewhat more arduous task of levering her torso into an upright position. She gritted her teeth, which to her alarm felt as sore as the muscles around her ribs, cursed several times again and thrust out her arms ignoring the pain once more which was lessened now the endorphins in her blood stream were kicking in. In fact her strength was greater than she imagined it to be as she rocked on the balls of her feet for a moment then fell towards the cupboard beside her bed. Kata planted her hands just in time on the sturdy cupboard, her body forming an odd angle between her feet and the floor. Tentatively, she tried the door and found it unlocked. Thank heavens!
The suit was there! Oh mercy and good heavens above! Its gleam was gone; scratches from bullets and metal fists had ripped through a few layers of kevlar and fibreglass: The helmet lay respectfully on a shelf above the rack where the suit had been hung up and Kata, despite her initial joy at seeing her battlesuit, was dismayed to note that the comms device attached to the helm had been snapped off.

Kata was conscious that it wouldn't take her new friend too long to fetch a glass of water so, one arm balanced on the cupboard's frame, she pressed an indentation on the left leg of the suit and retrieved two items: the first was the keycard given to her by Grav Mistress the previous evening - the card that had given the whole group easy entry to the Council base. The second was a memory stick, and it contained far more information than her comrades That word again believed she had obtained from the database.

No one had seen her place the memory chip in the console: They had only heard her request the information on Requiem and Nosferatu. Shadowe had inadvertently provided her cover by shouting at the machine for entries on 'Shadowmaker' as she tapped in commands to retrieve all the technological information the database could provide: From schematics for Zenith Hoverbots and Mech-Men to locations of 'retired' Council scientists and old inventions which had never quite made it into production. Kata had stood there, numb from shock, watching the list of files as they poured down the screen, looking back to see her comrades gathered round Richard as he downloaded the 'Shadowmaker' documents. Then she remembered the gasp from the party as she asked the mainframe to, effectively, delete itself. The pain had started to flow at that point so she had not been able to turn round and see their faces but she imagined, in particular Richard's face, would be a picture worthy of a thousand words. Kata had felt guilty of course for deceiving them, especially Red and Jakob, but in a time of crisis it was best that allies and opponents be kept in the dark in equal measure. She had a plan that, if successful, could wipe the Council from the face of the Earth - she corrected herself, This Earth at any rate.

Now of course was the conundrum: How would she get these files downloaded? ZorTel seemed out of the question; the security protocols there were impeccable, quite the best she had seen in fact, and Kata had worked for the intelligence services.

But she had no time to ponder this further. Her ears pricked up as she detected footsteps approaching. With a gasp she almost dropped the precious stick and keycard and, forgetting her condition, she jerked as if to catch them. The resulting pain was unbearable and Kata let out a shrieking howl as her legs gave way and she crumpled to the floor.

Nurse Evans returned with the water to find his patient lying on the floor. He hastily put the plastic cup down on a chair at the end of the bed and, forgetting that this was supposed to be a haven of calm and tranquility, hollered to a group of female nurses congregated at the other end of the ward. They rushed to him, temporarily ignoring the requests of recently awoken patients and helped him to put Kata back up in her bed.

"How did she get out?" the Ward Sister demanded, in hushed yet furious tones.

"I just went to get her some water. She woke up early and seemed to be in pain." He offered pathetically.

"You shouldn't have left her Michael. We have a duty of care, remember? Once patients are awake we must make sure they are monitored at all times. Especially her lot. Bloody hero community thinks it can stick a plaster on a bullet wound and carry on fighting an army!"

His chastisement over, nurse Michael Evans watched his colleagues put Miss Bromovich back into a safe position and marvelled: Hero or not, duty of care or not, she's got some balls, that one!

OOC - due to me being a little overzealous with posting and taking a few liberties, please ignore my post re Sabotage @ Zortel. Unfortunately I've missed the editing period (it was late but that's a pretty lame excuse )

I can safely assure you now that Kata's attempts to intercept access codes for bases on Striga Isle have been successful. Details will be relayed IC to the Workers and through a subsequent post. Sorry to jam the thread up like this.

Kata was talking to herself, which was a bad sign.

"So, I can check off the defence plan. I need to speak to Ana about this Umbral Aegis thing the doctor mentioned. Codenames...codenames..."

Kata suddenly remembered what she was supposed to be doing and made her way from Galaxy City to the ZorTel lab in Skyway.

***

The small 'lab' that had been set aside for AP was a cosy affair. She had a bank of monitors to look at, all showing a variety of strange patterns, seemingly endless streams of numbers, languages both archaic and modern. Kata felt like a dog chasing its own tail whenever she came in here: there was almost too much information to sift through.

After a few minutes of being driven slowly insane by a knowledge overdose, Kata decided to pay the coffee machine another visit. She found herself talking to that too, and was most surprised when a computerised voice bleated back
"What would you like to drink this evening?"

Voice activation?

And then it dawned on her - she had heard rumours that the ZorTel corporation was a beacon of technology in Paragon and beyond but had never experienced this first hand - the information she was receiving through the satellite links could be funnelled and tuned in by asking the computer to exclude certain sources. Kata made her way back to the lab, hot coffee in hand, and sat down at the console.

"Computer. Please exclude all data streams from...Europe"

Kata waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing. The monitors didn't even flicker. Endless streams of information flowed past her eyes and still made no sense whatsoever.

She tried a different tack,

"Computer. Please stop information feeds."

Again nothing. Kata felt the pressure mounting on her, weighing her down. She had promised to do a lot of things. In fact, now she came to think about it she had created a lot of work for herself to do without thinking of the consequences: She was searching for access codes to the Striga Isle Council bases, monitoring the ether for portal locations and now she had forwarded her plan to organise a defence force in Paragon to move against any counter-attacks Requiem deemed fit to rain down.

Kata took a sip of coffee, then realised she had drunk all of it and made her way, under a deep fug, to the talking drinks machine outside in the hall. It wasn't there!
Kata rubbed her eyes in a mixture of disbelief and overtiredness and squinted down the corridor. No signs of life, mechanical or otherwise.

And then the unthinkable happened, Kata began to cry. Perhaps it was the coffee, or the late nights or the sudden realisation that once again she was just one ordinary human against an army of the unknown and 'out there', but she cried nonetheless.

After a few minutes that felt like an age, Kata picked herself up and dragged her body back to the console with its glittering monitors and strange buzzing noises-
Strange buzzing noises?
She listened intently, her ears taking over from what her eyes could not see and, with a sense of inevitability, lowered herself under the metal frame of the computer and noted the wires that had been cut - sparks jumped like hot fat in a frying pan.

Pulling herself back up onto her chair, AP looked at the monitors and concluded that it was sabotage. Unfortunately she didn't have time to investigate the whys and wherefores - it was not an easy task in front of her, but Kata would have to risk using her own PC to crack those access codes. Portal searching would have to wait.

Kata felt the memory stick in her pocket as she made her way over to Nova Prospekt, The Workers' base of operations. For now, it's contents would have to remain unseen until she could by a modern PC with some of the money that Red had previously been awarded. She considered using her own but then decided against it: Not enough memory to hold that kind of information she thought.

The base was refreshingly cool compared to the plaza underneath the statue. Kata put the memory stick down by the PC then poured herself a glass of water from the tap. She glanced at the lever by the sink and immediately wrenched herself away from it. Not now, Kata! Focus on what you have to do.

The 'to do' list she had begun and pinned to the notice board was becoming bloated with tasks and reminders. She had tried to implement some sort of colour scheme using pens for her comrades but noticed that, rather unsurprisingly, most of the items had been written in a smudged-red Cyrillic. She added her own tasks in light blue, very neatly, to the diminishing space on the board:

1) Visit Zortel Enterprises and familiarise myself with the satellite operations

2) Buy a new PC

3) Upload the schematics of Richard's suit

4) Prepare my presentation to the committee on a...

She considered what to put, not doubting for a second that if either Jakob or Red were to read the boards they would probably ignore her writing. But still something nagged at her and she crossed out point four and again, very neatly, wrote:

4) Canvass heroes not already affiliated with the operation.

There, that was ambiguous enough.

Kata poured herself another glass of water, switched on the PC, used her mobile to call her flatmate to tell her that she might not be home that evening and sat down in front of the screen. She began typing:

"My fellow Heroes...

Fellow workers, I have finished my report on last night's meeting (13th June 2006) and have included some observations and key points for us to focus on.

Our leader, Red Commissar, myself and comrade Red Hammer attended and I have taken it upon myself to write this report. Nova Prospekt's PC is, unfortunately, unable to scan images so I will not be able to present to you the surveillance photographs taken recently of Council activity, clearly showing the movement of heavy equipment out of their fortress on Striga Isle to an, as yet unknown, destination.

Please read the brief closely and feel free to ask either Commissar, Hammer or myself questions.

I would also like to take this opportunity to request that inactive members of the party come forward to offer their services for the 'earth-bound' operation. In particular I would very much like to speak with comrades Revisionist, Siberia., Romanov and Volga as I believe I have some assignments for them that would best match their skills.

Here now follows my report on last night's meeting:

Report: Requiem

Brief Overview:
A meeting was held on 13th June 2006 to discuss plans to move against a Council faction leader, Requiem.
Hosted by Doctor Temporis, leader of the Guardians of Destiny, aboard his space station Victoria, several Hero groups were present including; The Workers; The Cirque de la Lune; The Fletched Alliance; and Dark Covenant.
Apologies to those groups and individuals I have not mentioned.


The Meeting:

Temporis outlined Requiem’s current modus operandi: He and his faction are planning to use his abilities to traverse to alternate dimensions to effectively obliterate the known Universe, thereby granting Requiem a form of omnipotence.
To some workers this may appear to be farfetched and those gathered, including Temporis, were doubtful of his scheme’s success.
However, we may soon face retaliation from Requiem’s forces in this reality as a result of our actions to stop him so I urge all non-active members to report in to Nova Prospekt to discuss contingency plans for the protection of Paragon City against such attacks.

I have made a list of the points raised during this extraordinary meeting to clarify our position. They are as follows:

1. Council operations (all factions) are to be monitored closely, where appropriate, and feedback given. Any clues as to the current position of The Council, or future developments, must be aired.

2. Teams will be arranged to either hinder Requiem's plans or to gather reconnaissance data: the end goal is to confront Requiem directly

3. Travel between dimensions will be accomplished with the aid of Portal Corps. Doctor Temporis has control of a portal device also.

4. There are approximately 36,000 dimensions which must be explored. This figure is a rough estimate based on data from Doctor Temporis.

5. Ms Rolando of Zortel Enterprises has offered the use of her satellite network for monitoring of the situation. Any Workers with technical expertise in this field should report to me.

6. Miss Ellie, who has suffered personally at Requiem’s hands, has requested that should we capture him he is to be handed over to the Peacebringer council. This point has yet to be discussed further.

I have volunteered to stay here on terra firma to help monitor the situation, and I would appreciate help from any Workers with an understanding of surveillance to join me.
Our leader, Red Commissar, has opted to join the dimension search and I believe comrade Red Hammer will be accompanying him.














The following observations are to remain classified, only for viewing by ‘The Workers’ and are NOT to be communicated unless Red Commissar gives authorisation:

Bluestrike raised an interesting point regarding ‘psychological analysis’. I believe if Requiem were captured it would benefit Paragon’s authorities if we were to interrogate him. I tried to raise this point but I believe my colleagues around the table misinterpreted this suggestion as a violent one. I believe a few of the operatives involved in this venture have some psychic capability and no doubt some of ‘us’ have trained in interrogation techniques. I state this merely as a treatise on possible outcome should we be successful, but if the government sanctions proper authority we may be able to detain Requiem and his associates for analysis before handing him over to the regular authorities. I believe this would provide untold benefits not only to the Hero population but also to the World at large. Your comments, comrades, will be as ever welcome.

- Katarin-Marie Bromovich, Minister of The Workers of Eastern Europe –

END OF REPORT

With the meeting adjourned, Kata knew she had work to do. Important work. Making her way back to the flat she shared with another Worker, Kata finally had time to think about the consequences: We have a superhuman maniac to defeat and capture. Most of the meeting's attendees seem to have encountered him before. When I stepped up and said that I would prefer to stay here, instead of searching for him using those portal devices...I must do my best to serve the City and not fret about my lack of power

Kata breathed a sigh of relief as she clambered out of her body armour, which had proved useful when travelling to Victoria Station, and hung it up in the wardrobe.

Notes to write up into a full report. I had better leave some of my observations to one side until Red has seen them. I don't wish to stir up any more trouble than is absolutely necessary.

The shower was welcome and, more importantly, hot. She dried her hair with a towel and put on her civilian clothes, ready to emerge onto the streets as plain old Kata and made her way to 'Pocket D'.

***

The club was it's usual self; loud music, sweaty clientele, watered down American vodka. Luckily a few friendly faces were there to ease her troubled mind.

"Hey Kata!" Inago's cheerful tones brought her back down to Earth.

"Oh, hello Inny. Who's your friend?" she indicated a short girl with fiery hair.

"Oh, this is Pyranha."

"Hi, Kata," said the girl, an infectious look of optimism on her face.

"Hello. Would you both like a drink? Soft of course, I'm buying."

And so the first night passed. Fun was had, everyone seemed relaxed, as if they hadn't just been privy to a meeting that could change reality or, at the very least, put the Paragon that Kata knew in terrible danger.

***

Sleep came quickly, so perhaps the Dry Martini she'd had hadn't been watered down all that much. And when Kata woke the next morning she simply got out of bed, grabbed her notes lying on the coffee table, switched on the old PC in the corner of her bedroom and began to type the report.

Life carries on as normal, or so it would seem.

Sonic is a little unerpowered compared to Assault Rifle because it debuffs an enemy's damage RESISTance - therefore successive hits will do more damage (the debuff lasts a bit longer than the average defence debuff too).

Personally I've found Sonics useful as a defender because anything that debuffs an enemy is a good thing and you don't have to be a powerhouse as a defender.

As a blaster though, imho, you should take an assault secondary power (such as energy or fire) to stack up the damage. So, you're on to a good thing by putting more accuracy into your primaries. Devices, unfortunately, is a very control-oriented secondary which works for powerful attacks such as Assault and Fire, but with the debuffing sonic and ice makes you feel slow and useless. However, as you progress and start factoring in DOs and SOs you should find your primary draws on the level with secondary.

Plus you get the excellent Siren Song which actually puts enemies to sleep. Word of advice though? Don't go for the knockdown blast. It's fairly pointless. IMHO of course

Battle,

I appreciate your sentiments. But if you want to roleplay missions then put that in your chat search.
I've had a few stabs at it and apart from two early on with Agent Haven (thankyou all involved ) - Everyone has wanted to be the X-Men. So next time you see either:

a) Arctic Princess
b) Whirling Dervish
c) Ariadnee
or
d) Agent Haven then give em a shout and I will happily attempt a bit if roleplay.

But if it goes all "I am alpha male, grrrrr!" Then I'm hitting quit

But seriously, give us a shout if you see em!

Oh and Neko, Rose sends hugs (altitis is driving me slightly dolally but should be around at the weekend)

- plus she's more of a love em and leave em kind of gal