Capt_Neem

The Core Being had been out late that night. Malta had gotten it in their head to finally try to capture her, fortunately she had learned their tricks and ways around them. She sat down after placing the last villain teleporter on the unconsious gunman.

She is short, only 5'3" tall, Teal skin, long pink hair, pointy ears, and glowing pink eyes. She has an ornate tatoo with curved lines emenating from the top center point on her chest, revealed through a perfectly sized hole in her top. The top was black and had several holes cut decoratively in it. The leggings were tights with translucent slits showing her teal skin through them. her cape matched with a ring of pink on a banner of black on the outside, teal and black on the inside.

She pondered to herself why they would finally come after her, she had known they had files on her for quite some time. It was during this introspection that she saw the hoverbots fly past overhead. Those were always a sign of trouble and she was too wound up to return home tonite.

She teleported slowly along behind the hoverbots to find out where they were going. When they unloaded at a rooftop with a couple of heroes standing there she quickly tagged one with radiation emenating from it disrupting the sensors of it and the other nearby hoverbots and teleported to the roof just as one of the heroes dropped into an alleyway.

Captain Neem rushed off in the direction he apparently saw Xyfen at only to find him surrounded by cops and heroes and them surrounded by CoT. He saw the ruin mage he had sent to the prison not 5 minutes ago leading the charge.

"What the.... Man can't they keep the baddies in for at least one day? I'm starting to see why so many heroes have given up on nonleathal methods."

He took aim at the ruin mage and focused intently, he had not been seen yet and could take this opportunity to land a hard blow to the back of the ruin mage's head, hopefully knocking him out before the battle really began.

The intense bolt of energy nailed its mark and was followed up by a couple more concussive blasts as Neem came floating toward the battle. The ruin mage dropped like a sack of potatoes and then the real carnage began. Neem hoped like hell that the good guys could all get along long enough to secure the Circle mages and their demon friends.

Here is the final Chapter of The Core Being's story. I hope you all enjoy(ed) reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And special thanks to Sun Tsu who's comments let me know at least someone was watching. ;-)

Chapter 9 Resolution.

The Second Being traveled up to New York first and deposited the letter underneath the door so as to prevent tampering by anyone other than the recipient. He did not read the contents of the letter but assumed it to be important to his sister. As he was leaving he heard inside the apartment a voice yell “Wait!”

The Second Being stopped and turned around. Linda opened the door after the sounds of several locks unfastening. And stared at him. “You aren’t Core….” She looked saddened and looked down at the letter again, she didn’t have time to read it yet but hoped to see her again when she saw who it was from.

“I am The Second Being, The Core Being’s brother. She asked me to deliver that to you personally. She didn’t trust the mail system to get it to you for fear of tampering.”

Linda looked down at the letter. It was long and promised to hold many answers. She looked back up at the blue skinned stranger. “Thank you. If… if you see your sister again let her know I miss her, she is welcome to stay here any time.”

The Second Being nodded solemnly. “I will do that.” Then he turned and started walking away again. As he left he heard Linda sigh, then the door close.

The Second Being was acutely aware he was being watched. It seems that the Center for Super-powered Disaster Avoidance had been keeping her under surveillance. He shrugged and continued on his way, they would not harass him as he was working for the same goal, but he hoped they would leave that woman alone to read what he brought her. The only thing he could do was to complete his objective and end this hunt as soon as possible.

The Second Being arrived at Eternal Light unannounced. The guards watched him carefully but allowed him to pass as they had been ordered to do. The Second Being could definitely feel that he was weaker out here than he was in Paragon City. He hoped that would not lead to problems. He walked in and paged Spencer Greer, fingering the amulet in his pocket.

It was no more than 5 minutes later that Spencer made it to the waiting room after hearing that The Second Being had returned. This was sooner than he expected and he was hopeful that it meant good news. He burst through the doors not waiting for the guards to wave him through. “What have you discovered?” He asked excitedly.

The Second Being looked up at him and stood. “We have much to discuss and for part of it, I need to be at the reactor core. Can we start heading that way now?”

Spencer was catching his breath when this was requested and it surprised him. “Why would we need to be at the reactor core for you to explain things to me? I don’t understand.”

The Second Being started walking toward the doors that Spencer was holding open. “That will become clear once we are there. Please lead the way.”

Spencer stood up straight at that. “Are you planning on destroying it?”

The Second Being looked at him with a stare that made it clear he would get to the core whether he was escorted or not. “I do not intend to destroy it doctor, now can we proceed?”

Spencer sighed and nodded. “Okay, but only if you promise to explain all of this to me.”

The Second Being walked through the doors and nodded. Spencer walked ahead leading to the reactor core. “Your multiwave reactor core is actually a dimensional portal doctor, were you aware of that?”

Spencer looked at him with a good deal of surprise. “Most of my scientists are not aware of that. I had only discovered it recently and even then only because it was the only logical explanation for you and your sister.”

The Second Being continued. “You are pulling souls out of a dimension of potential, The machine eats most of those but once everything lined up just right to allow it to come through unharmed. That was when my sister was born.” He continued fingering the amulet nervously.

“S-Souls?” Stammered Spencer skeptically.

The Second Being nodded. “The Core Being learned a great deal from the leading practitioners of magic in Paragon City. Apparently the dimension you pulled us from is the same dimension that most religions pull their gods and avatars from. Our souls adapted to become living embodiments of our early experiences. That is why she has such a command over radiation and why I could control the nanomachines.”

G-Gods?” Spencer was bewildered by all of this. It was thoroughly unexpected and flew in the face of everything he believed or did not believe. “So you are telling me we accidentally summoned two gods?”

“Summoned is perhaps the wrong word… more like evoked. We were nothing more than souls of potential before we were given life. The lives you gave us created us from that.” With that they arrived at the doors to the reactor room. “If you would please good doctor.”

Spencer had stopped for a minute to think. It did all make sense when he thought about it. It also explained the performance of the reactor once it was constructed. One thing was still bothering him. “Before I open the doors, why did you request to come here?”

With that the amulet in The Second Being’s pocket flew out breaking free of The Second Being’s hand and the vague appearance of the old wizard appeared in front of Spencer. “Because I needed to know where exactly it was to do what needed to be done.” Its voice boomed through the corridors.

The scientists in the reactor room all saw the ghostly visage and scurried to the other side of the room, most of them scared for their lives. Spencer took a couple steps back and stared in disbelief at the image. “Wh-who are you? And what needs to be done?”

The ghostly image turned to look toward the reactor core. “I am a mage who was long ago forgotten by the world. My name and deeds are irrelevant now. What needs to be done is a preventive measure to keep the souls of the dimension you are tapping from leaking into the machine. Surely you want that as well?”

Spencer was frightened by the prospect of this. “Of course, but at what cost? How?”

The mage turned to look at Spencer. “The cost is simply the extra power you have been gaining by devouring those souls, and the expenditure of the remaining life force that keeps an old forgotten mage bound to this reality and is tired of his existence. The means is a magical soul net that prevents them from crossing the boundary into our world within this vicinity.”

Spencer looked down in deep thought. “You know I would never be able to patent the reactor and likely never really profit from it if we resorted to magical means.” He looked up pleadingly. “With your help and knowledge we may be able to devise a technological method to do this. You wouldn’t have to expend yourself that way!”

The ghost frowned heavily. “Your profit is of no concern to me. My years and sight beyond the grave have offered me insight into human nature. I know that if I were to impart on you the knowledge needed to build such a thing, if it is even possible, that it would be developed into a weapon regardless of whether you were the one to build it or not. Any weapon based upon soul manipulating powers would be too great, too terrible for human hands regardless of intentions. And I would have to live to see it. A preserved soul gets few opportunities to release. This is mine.”

The Second Being put a hand on Spencer’s crestfallen shoulder. “Doctor, Eternal Light was not cheap to build and it will have the power to provide for the entire nation. Even without patents to protect your interests, surely you will be able to profit from people using it.”

Spencer shook his head slowly. “I’m not so sure. The government doesn’t like anything to do with magic. If I were to tell them what has happened here, they would likely close the project permanently and dismantle the reactor. The current administration doesn’t trust magic for any reason.”

The mage looked back at the reactor. “Dismantling that thing would be ill advised. The explosion would create a new ocean. You have opened a portal that is being barely maintained through the multiwave harmonics it has established. Should you disengage it you would lose control over that portal and the explosion caused by its collapse would be truly devastating.” The mage’s image smirked amusedly. “Like it or not they would have to tolerate its continued existence. And they might as well profit from it while it has to be here anyway.” The ghostly image passed through the wall and the amulet clattered to the floor. “Give my regards to Azuria and keep the Circle in check in my absence.”

The ghostly form slowly faded into the core and dissolved. The power meters all around the room spiked then dropped to nominal levels from their elevated setting since construction. Spencer stared in disbelief. The events of the day had finally gotten to him as he collapsed onto the ground.

The Second Being looked down at Spencer sadly. “He was a good man in his day and fought with everything he had against the evils of his time. He will be missed.” He bent over and picked up the amulet. “I trust you will keep your end of the bargain. Me and my sister are to be free of this place and the government save for our full citizenship.”

Spencer slowly stood up as the scientists in the reactor room hurriedly rushed to the stations and made sure that they kept the core from reacting badly to the sudden changes. “I will see to it that it is done. I take it your addresses will be listed with the Paragon City government?”

The Second Being nodded quietly. “I also request that you discontinue observing the young woman in New York. She is a dear friend of my sister’s and she deserves her freedom.”

Spencer sighed. “I can make no promises but I will see what I can do.”

The Second Being started heading back to the entrance to the building. “Good luck doctor. This story is at an end, but every ending brings with it a new beginning. I hope you find yours.”

The Second Being returned to Paragon City after that. He stayed with his sister and they put an end to a great many evils plaguing that beleaguered metropolis.

Azuria placed the amulet that was once a phylactery in a shrine of honor. She mourned the loss of an old friend but knew it was for the best.

Spencer was true to his word. Citizenship came in through the City Hall, as well as a letter of thanks to both of them. The government begrudgingly accepted Eternal Light as a new government regulated utility company and electricity became a relatively cheap commodity, many cities however opted to keep the old electric companies around just in case.

Linda received many visits from The Core Being in the years that followed. Every time she felt older as The Core Being didn’t seem to age at all. The stories she brought with her were always interesting however.

And The Core Being went on to become one of the premier superheroes over the next two hundred years. Beyond that, only time would tell.

The End.

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Xyfen, knowing he woulkdnt be able to figure anything out, wandered into the train station. He saw what was on the news.
"Good evening paragon citicens, and heres wuts hapnin' yo!" the news was at a desperate time.
"tonight, in atlas a wild snow beast is terrorizing Galaxy, and heroes are looking for a lone troll, if you see him hear in atlas, Kill him and take any jewelry."

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(ooc: Do news broadcasters normally tell their viewers to kill people? )

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(ooc: not MY news channel... maybe some other news channels but I don't watch them so who knows....)

Captain Neem looked around confusedly and he was starting to feel like he was in the middle of the most confused battle ever. Apparent heroes were blasting eachother, a giant ice beast was having difficulties getting back an amulet for some unknown host, some sneaky green skinned trollish looking fellow was involved somehow, and the cops didn't have any better idea of what was going on than he did.

Neem decided it was in his best interests to just sit back and keep an eye on the amulet and ice beast and yelling at people right now might just exacerbate an already bad situation. He hovered quietly off the ground and waited.

Captain Neem floated there silently for a few seconds. "I could have handled that a bit better." He shrugs and heads back toward the werehouse, If Xyfen was true to his word he will return there, if not then Neem might just have to get help to track him down. Azuria would more than likely have the motivation and means, for now though, he would trust the green skinned one.

He arrived back at the werehouse to see the standoff between the Ice Blok and some hero pointing at him.

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*quietly grumbles about having a bad reputation because of people who can't control their knockback*

Demmit, I team with Rads frequently, and they don't much care about the knockback!

...mostly because I use it very sparingly, being a /Dark myself :P

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I do agree that a well played stormer can work beautifully with scrappers, tanks, and anchor defenders, most are not that well played. However even a relatively poorly played stormer can be a tremendous boon to blasters and non anchor offenders.

You have my sympathies.

Each of my characters gets assessed independantly based upon their story.

The Core Being is science because she was born in an experimental reactor core.

Miss Transfer is technology because she is field testing a military combat suit she invented as a proof of concept so she can sell it.

Captain Neem is a mutant. He was born of a normal famiily with purple skin, the ability to fly, and the power to project energy blasts.

Mister Insidious is magic because he learned to harness the power of a portal to the netherrealm that existed inside his body through the incantations taught to him by the voices in his head..... He's not all together sane.

I can't say I've ever really made a natural hero I liked or leveled very far. The majority of mine end up being tech or science.

Neem noticed the troll looking individual teleport over to the mage and take the amulet. "Just wonderful, I hope hes on our side" he muttered as he lanced down a powerful energy attack right at the mage's skull. The blast knocked the ruin mage out and Neem quickly tossed a police teleporter onto his body to send him to the ziggarat's medical facilities. He usually felt sorry for the CoT that got sent there as the spirits dominating the body usually released them just as they got taken down. At least this time the ghost did't have the chance to detonate the body killing his host.

He turned his attention to the troll and chased after him as best he could trying to keep track of where he was porting.

You make some good points. If I could edit it I probably would incorporate them to some degree.

The way I look at, the cone positioning isn't that big of a deal though. Usually you can get a good cone shot without moving out of dispersion radius. Also your blasters and defenders that you are keeping in it will be using their cones as well and you will need to stick with them.

Dark isn't as big of a problem because it comes with an AOE stun. Just knock out a goodly chunk of the minions and you are set. Psi and elect both have mez that can be used as well but once you mez a goodly portion of the enemies, your AOE effects aren't going to be that debilitating because they they can't attack you.

With Rad, you can focus on using its single target powerhouses if you are on a blaster team. If you are partying with a good tank or even a good scrapper, you can just assist through them and contribute nicely to damage. Cosmic burst does carry with it a good duration mag 2 stun.

While dispersion bubble does set a leash on you, its a very long leash as compared to other pbaoe toggle buffs. Possibly on par with leadership for range of effect. The advice is good in regards to single target and mez effects however, avoiding agro is important for a bubbler.

Captain Neem had kept up with the Behemoth Overlord but when they were forced to land focused his attentions on the Ruin Mage. Captain Neem hovered outside of the range that the behemoth could blow its fire and rained bolts of energy down on the Ruin Mage's head.

"Why do these guys always take damage so well?" He pondered as he threw his most powerful attacks at him.

The ruin mage seemed more interested in making the earth shake so any heroes not in the air would be less of a threat so that he could then focus on Neem.

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Radiation:
The cons of this set are that it relies on anchors, and that it does not have any way of granting status protection, just resistance. The difference is with resistance the status lasts a shorter time, but it will still effect you if it lands. This means it will drop toggles.

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I was under the impression that status protection powers all worked off of magnitude, which resists the status effect until its magnitude has been reached. For example the scrapper regen toggle integration protect against everything, but you still hit the rare toggle drop, it just takes enough enemies using a status attack on you. Am I mistaken? Or is it perhaps just that the mag on accerlate metabolism is lower?

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AM has 0 effect on magnitude. The powers that effect magnitude of mez are protections. AM gives resistance which only reduces the time affected by mez powers, but grants no change in magnitude. I believe it is the only power like that.

I've played my Rad/Rad up to near 50 now, I can guarantee this to be the case, frequently with AM up your toggles will drop without any noticable explanation, if you check the logs it is because you were slept or held for about a half a second.

This does have the noticable benefit of improving mez protection powers because it makes it significantly harder to stack mez effects on you, but since a rad defender can never get a power that gives then sleep or stun protection, that only really helps with holds (if you take acrobatics) and immobilizes (if you take Combat Jumping) or if another defender uses a power to grant you protections.

I can see your point but I suppose that depends strongly on your party configuration. If for instance you usually party with scrappers, tanks, blappers, and close range defenders, then the opposite becomes true.

By your reasoning ONLY psychic blast would be good since every other blast set has a bread and butter power that is close range or cone.

While I can see saying perhaps that psychic is the best, I don't agree that it is by a long shot. I've seen bubbles defenders with dark and rad quite enjoy their choices in secondary sets.

I just didn't believe it made as big of a difference with bubbles as it did with others. YMMV.

Chapter 8. Revalations abound.

The Second Being had spent the past several weeks attached to countless laboratory devices and monitors. The scientists didn’t seem to have any more an idea of his origin now than when they began other than that dimensional physics were involved.

Spencer Greer had told him that the best they could determine was that he was from another dimension and that they were able to isolate the residual energy signatures from his home but they were completely unable to trace it back. It became increasingly apparent however that the multiwave energies that Spencer had discovered were shared between the two dimensions.

The Second Being was interested in finding out what he was, but at the same time he was a little uncomfortable with the idea that they had brought him here regardless of his will and he now knew nothing of his home. Furthermore it seemed that even if answers could be found, they would never be able to send him back. He didn’t have an incredibly strong urge to return but had the suspicion that if he were to recover any memories he might have had, this may become more urgent.

Spencer had told him that he expressed a good deal more human emotion and ideals than The Core Being did and that was probably because of the human memories that he had inherited from this body.

He sat in his room, several cords attached to devices that beeped all night were connected to ports installed in his arms and body. Sleeping was difficult. He felt he should be doing it but rarely was tired enough to succumb.

It was in the middle of this introspection that Spencer came through the door. “Did you sleep any better tonight?”

The Second Being shook his head. “No, but I still do not want your sedatives. Sleep will come if the body requires it.”

Spencer nodded. “The Core Being rarely slept as far as any of us could tell. It is obvious how different you two are however. She rarely talked and spent all her time reading. You seem much more comfortable with people around, but also more disgruntled.”

The Second Being stood up. “Well lets see you spend weeks in a lab where you are the test subject and have no idea what people are doing to you half the time!”

“Whoa, I didn’t mean it as a criticism or an insult, just a comparison. Honestly if I were in your position I would have lost patience a long time ago. You know we are running out of time and we aren’t getting anywhere fast with the examinations right?”

The Second Being nodded. “Part of the reason I’ve been so patient is I know this cannot continue much longer. I heard the government is about to pull your funding and ban this project from continuing.”

Spencer sighed heavily and sat down in an open chair. “Yeah, all my hopes for the future rested with this project, now it looks like its going to fail.” He looked up at The Second Being. “That is why I’ve come to ask you a favor.”

The Second Being plopped down heavily on his bed. “Another favor? All I’ve been doing since you summoned me has been favors. Not that I have much of a choice about granting them short of killing everyone between me and the door.”

Spencer was set aback by that statement slightly. He had known that this being’s power was quite notable. Somehow he had taken control over the nanomachines that should have been deactivated after they did their job and could not only make his skin as hard as steel, but also create large spikes that looked like they were made of bone but could penetrate a pure titanium wall with ease. “Well this time you have a choice. We need more answers, and we suspect that we won’t be able to find them in a lab. The Core Being has been out there for quite some time now on an apparent quest for knowledge. If she has discovered anything we need to know what. If we approach her she will just run, and we can no longer legally detain her since as long as she lives in Paragon City she has citizenship and recognition. We want you to approach her and find out everything she has learned, if possible convince her to come back with you.”

The Second Being cocked his head and looked skeptically at the doctor. “So you would have me leave unguarded? What’s to stop me from just leaving and not coming back?”

Spencer sighed again and looked pleadingly at him. “We know that you are strong enough to escape here any time you wanted. We also know that anything we put in your body to monitor you could quickly be disassembled by the nanomachines. We can only request that you do so. You have my word that if we can find the answers we seek we will do everything we can to convince the government to leave you and The Core Being alone. That peace of mind would be the only thing we can really offer you besides money. The guards have been told not to stop you if you try to leave. You can go anytime you want. Just please, you are our only hope left of salvaging this project.”

The Second Being stood up slowly. “I will go, I will find The Core Being, and I will find out what she knows. Depending on her answers I may or may not return. That is all I can promise you.”

As The Second Being was walking out the door Spencer stood up and said. “Even if you do not return, please just let us know in some way what you have discovered. If you leave and do not contact us again, the military will likely come after you and they may do so regardless of the rights and laws protecting the heroes of Paragon City.”

The Second Being said nothing and continued walking. He knew full well that the military would be after him in less than two months if he did not return or send notice. They were as desperate for answers as Spencer was and a lot less gentle.

The Second Being received some money and clothes from the requisitions room on the way out. He also received a temporary visa and ID. It would be enough to rent a car and cover living expenses on his way out there. The trip was long and quiet. The car’s radio could not pick up any stations clearly enough to enjoy the music so he rode in silence. Every place he stayed at he received odd looks. He was uncertain if it was more because of blue skin and glowing eyes, or his tall over muscled build.

Since he got no enjoyment out of eating and it required him being around people who stared at him too much, he forwent food. Greer had told him that The Core Being almost never ate and then only when pushed to do so. They suspected that whatever kind of being they were received sustenance by other means but maintained the vestigial organs required to take in and process food.

As he got closer to Paragon City he stopped by an outlet mall and picked up a stylish pair of black leather pants and boots. He would use this as his “costume” when doing the hero work that would earn him a place to stay in the city.

When he arrived, he walked into the City Hall and up to the counter wearing his new pants and boots. “I would like to register for hero work in the city.”

The receptionist looked up at him, nodded, then handed him some papers. “Just fill these out to the best of your abilities. Only the items with the asterisks are required but we appreciate any additional information you can provide. Would you be requiring citizenship or are you already a national?”

The Second Being considered for a second. “I would like citizenship please.” While he could always just rely on his work visa this would allow him a bit more freedom if he decided to leave the government behind.

He sat down and filled out the documents. He selected Science as his origin as it was the only thing that fit, then he took the papers back to the desk.

The receptionist looked them over and then put them in a mail drop chute. “Jonathan will be with you shortly, please have a seat over there while I print up your citizenship papers.” She pointed back to the desk he had filled out the forms at. He sat back down and waited patiently.

It was about an hour and a half before a man in a coat came around the corner. “Hi, I’m Jonathan St. John-Smythe, the head recruiter for SERAPH. I hear you are wanting to get into the heroing business.” At that point Jonathan paused a second as if confused by something. “You wouldn’t happen to know a young girl going by the name of The Core Being would you?”

The Second Being was somewhat surprised by the statement. “I’ve heard of her but never met her, why do you ask?”

Jonathan shook his head. “Nevermind, just something about your appearance reminded me of her. She joined up not too long ago and has been performing impressively well. I guess wishful thinking let me hope you were somehow connected and would have an equally impressive performance. The name thing is probably just a coincidence as well. Where was I…..”

The Second Being cut in. “Something about me joining SERAPH?”

Jonathan nodded. “Ah yes. You put down on your forms that you already had a costume, are you sure you do not want an introductory visit to icon? Serge has been pushing me to get more new heroes to visit him. Something about being embarrassed to call this his city with some of the styles running around.”

The Second Being shook his head. “That won’t be necessary, I’d like to get settled in as soon as possible if it’s all the same to you.”

The introductions went quickly. The Second Being got all the new information as well as his assigned temporary housing until he could line up an apartment of his own. Every time he passed by the MAGI office though he got the distinct feeling of being watched, but dismissed it as mages doing magey things.

The next day The Second Being managed to secure housing at an apartment complex in Kings Row and look up some information on The Core Being. Apparently she had joined up with a super-group called The Coalition of Reasonably Priced Justice. The name struck him as odd but he resolved to look into possible enlistment in order to track her movements more easily.

Entrance into the Super-group proved relatively easy. There were many strange people involved including the oddly discomforting Soranus, the large and jovial Human Meatbag, and the dark Shadow Warp. The Core Being was away when he arrived and he decided it was in his best interest to deny direct knowledge of her.

Once settled in with this new group he worked on developing his reputation and security rating some. Jonathan had several missions for him and later handed him off to someone else. The entire city seemed to function like a well oiled but highly dysfunctional machine. The more villains attempted to undermine the city, the more heroes were there to stop them. The more heroes that were present, the more crimes were being committed. It almost seemed like some cosmic experiment or game where everything fit into place, but that was not his more immediate concern.

Over the course of the next two weeks he would frequently attempt to find The Core Being but she was always unavailable, almost as if she was hiding from him. Eventually, one day as he was struggling against several Freakshow tanks, his wounds started healing up and he noticed a definite improvement in his battle effectiveness. Also the enemies started to miss more frequently and hurt less when they hit. In the thick of the battle he did not have time to spare to look for the source of this boon, but rather quickly dispatched his foes and then surveyed the area. On a rooftop behind him he spotted her.

The Core Being had been shadowing The Second Being all day. Making sure to hide in her pocket dimension so as not to be noticed. Two weeks ago when he first arrived in this city, Azuria had contacted her mentally to inquire as to his presence. She knew they were in some way related. The Core Being used this opportunity to keep a close eye on him, even streamlining his admittance into the Super-group she stuck with in order to keep him closer. Now she decided, it was time to have a little talk with him.

The Second Being jumped hard to arrive on the same rooftop as she was on. And then stood there facing her for a while in silence. He could definitely see why Jonathan and Shadow Warp had wondered if they were related. The similarities could not be mistaken. “You know who sent me.” Was all he said at first.

The Core Being nodded quietly. “But you were not born of the reactor, do you know what you are?”

“I was born through the use of nanomachines. The knowledge of what I am, what YOU are, is exactly what I am here to discover.”

The Core Being kept her distance. “Is it your intent to capture me?”

The Second Being shrugged slightly. “It was my mission to request you come back to Eternal Light with me. But that was only a secondary objective and one I can easily abandon. My primary purpose is to find out if you discovered anything about us.”

The Core Being nodded. “I have. However before I tell you I must request you swear to do something for me in return.”

The Second Being raised an eyebrow curiously. “What would you have me do? You know as well as I do how important that information is to me.”

The Core Being shook her head. “That I cannot tell you until I have told you what you are. I have observed you enough to know you tend to keep your promises, so I ask you to promise me that after you hear what I have to say, you will do what I tell you to do. It will not be anything beyond your capabilities, nor will it put you in any undue danger. Suffice to say that it is not something I wish to do myself.”

The Second Being had heard numerous good things about The Core Being. She was one of the more ethical heroes in the city and had a phenomenal capture over kill rate. She even had managed to reduce the percentage of kills her party members committed, which was in and of itself no small feat. Given her reputation The Second Being was relatively sure she would not ask him to do anything that he would later have to refuse. “I accept your terms and provide my trust that you know what you are doing. Now please, tell me what I came to learn.”

The Core Being smiled slightly. “We are gods.”

The Second Being blinked a few times and shook his head. “What do you mean?”

The Core Being continued after the pause. “The dimension we were pulled from is a dimension of potential, not of life. Through the existence of multiwave coincidence the dimension we are now in was able to summon us as gods from our dimension where our souls were dormant. Every religion in this plane, every god they imagine, if it has sufficient following, comes into being here.”

The Second Being shook his head. “That makes no sense, how is such a thing possible and why don’t new gods appear in front of people more often?”

The Core Being replied. “The amount of faith required to summon one of us is quite notable but can build up over time. The method and precise location of our births is dependant upon the faith’s beliefs. Apparently when enough humans share in a faith, it generates a type of energy that interacts with multiwave emissions and causes fluctuations. Those fluctuations are what bring us into this existence, our souls then try to adapt to the expectations placed on them subconsciously.”

The Second Being found an air duct to lean against. “What about you and me. Who is determining our expectations?”

The Core Being sat down on the roof where she was. “I did not have such a spiritual link since the scientists who summoned me did so without the use of spiritual energies. I do not know about you but I suspect it is much the same.”

The Core Being looked up to the sky. “The Magi here explained to me that it is widely believed that a system like this could not have formed accidentally but no mage or priest who is familiar with this can be completely certain. It is possible there is a true god, but barring that we are it. Have you noticed that you have been getting stronger, more powerful as you save people and gain influence in this city?”

The Second Being nodded. “I thought it was just the combat skills of this soldiers body coming back after being dormant but I did notice the changes.”

The Core Being nodded. “That is because those people are feeding you spiritual energy. They are putting faith in you even though you are no part of their religion. Apparently that type of faith fuels us as well. There is a reason I gained in rank so quickly here, and you as well.”
The Second Being slid down the air duct to a sitting position. “This is all so much to take in. What does this all mean for the Eternal Light Project?”

The Core Being looked down. “Spencer Greer did not discover a way to tap energy from multiwave emissions. He stumbled upon a way to artificially stimulate multiwaves to interact with our plane. That interaction pulls in the spiritual energies that our souls exist dormant in. That in and of itself would not be a problem. The amount of power there is truly unimaginable, however they do not have the means to segregate our souls from the rest of the energies. That reactor is eating some of those souls. That is why it is performing so far beyond expectations. I was lucky. The attunement of the multiwave stimulus was just right to summon me as a god and I was born inside that sea of swirling energies.”


The Second Being looked down into his lap. “And they replicated those stimuli to bring me into this body.” Then he looked up at her again. “But what of the other gods, where are they now?”

The Core Being looked around. “Some of them are here. Some of them have died as their faith dwindled to nothing and they lost the will to continue. Some of them are here in this city, fighting crime as avatars of justice. Most though end up in a pocket dimension appropriate to their religion. Most of the old Greek gods ceased to exist long ago, but a few of the more well known and persistent ones still exist on Mount Olympus. All of us have the ability to phase in and out of our own pocket dimensions. You and I probably share one but it is hard to be certain, given our origins.”

The Second Being looked a bit confused. “I haven’t been able to do anything like that, do you think that might be because of my human body?”

The Core Being shrugged. “That is quite possible. Perhaps in time you will learn how to phase even with that form, but it may bar you permanently.”

The Second Being frowned deeply at that thought. “You said there was something you needed me to do.”

The Core Being stood back up and approached him. “I need you to go back to Eternal Light, and I need you to bring this with you.” She held out an amulet that had numerous mystic runes etched into it.

The Second being stood up and accepted it. “What is it? Why do you need me to take it there?”

As he accepted the amulet it glowed slightly and a form appeared in front of him. “It is my phylactery.” Said the form that emerged. It looked vaguely like an elderly male wizard. “I am a wizard who long ago challenged the Circle of Thorns here. I followed them to the ruins of Oranbega and attempted to prevent their entrance. Knowing the dangers such a challenge presented I trapped my soul in this amulet and hid it away. That is ancient history now. MAGI uncovered this item and allowed me to resurface.”

The Second Being stared confusedly at the form. “So now what am I to do with you?”

The form replied. “You are to take me to the reactor in Eternal Light. I will use my magics to create a soul net preventing the reactor from eating any more souls from your dimension. If it is allowed to continue as it currently is, it could destabilize both realities.”

The Second Being turned toward The Core Being. “Why don’t you want to do this?”

The Core Being looked away sheepishly. “Because I am afraid. They have already tried to take me by force once and I am afraid they will do so again. While I may be very powerful and formidable, they can employ strategies to subdue me that leave me defenseless. Also…. If I leave here my power will diminish. Much of my power depends upon me staying in this city near my faithful.”

The Second Being nodded. “And if I leave I will be diminished as well but I have talents to avoid sedatives and traps, I understand.”

The Core Being held out an envelope. “This is a personal request. Could you deliver this to the address on the envelope. I don’t trust the government not to intercept it. I’m not forcing you to but I do hope that you will.”

The Second Being nodded and accepted the envelope. New York wasn’t very far from here and he would have to spend plenty of time on the road as it was. “I will return when it is done. Hopefully everything will go smoothly.”

He set out that night after resolving a mission for his newest contact on Striga Island. The trip would be long once again, but he had a new mission.

Captain Neem looked around at the chaos from the Ice Blok as he mauled the helicopter and followed him into the werehouse. The Ice Blok ignored all of his attempts at communication. He saw the police trying to arrest the hellions in the werehouse and helped out with a blast in the direction of any hellions he passed. He couldn't take them all out and keep up with the walking monolith but he could knock out quite a few.

He stepped out of the way just in time as a gout of flame hit the Ice Blok square on. He turned around to see a Behemoth Overlord and Ruin Mage standing there. He immediately took to the air just in time to avoid the ensuing earthquake.

The mage taunted the ice being with some sort of amulet. Apparently that was his objective.

The police arrived just as the mage was escaping with the demon and the amulet. Captain Neem knew if the Circle wanted that amulet then he definitely did not want them to have it. He flew up after them and fired off energy blasts at the demon's wings hoping to ground them but in order to keep up, he had a hard time aiming.

Captain Neem was in the middle of getting caught up on events by the now rather confused police officers.

"I'll see what I can do to clear things up." He said to them.

Just then he noticed a Crey helicopter going down. "Just what we needed at this party, a morally ambiguous supercorp swooping in to 'save the day'."

Then he noticed the Ice Blok walking through the bashed in door of the werehouse and two of the crey agents now severely burned. "Oh man, what a mess. I don't even know who is on whose side anymore."

Captain Neem shrugged and decided to see what the Ice Blok had to say. If he was fighting Hellions then possibly help out. The cops had said that he had been shot at by them. He flew into the open door and after the giant ice sculpture gone wrong.

Ever notice the amount of anti crey missions where the objetives don't seem quite right?

The Crey Scientists are studying some new technology, go stop them! ..... say what? Stop scientists from studying technology? Should I invade raythion too? How about Lockheed?

The majority of the Crey TF I felt like I was flagrantly breaking laws for no aparent good reason.

The only reason I can think of for most heroes to harbor anti crey sentiments is that their field agents attack heroes on sight.

Heh, hadn't noticed but you are right. Dark blast is a great utility set and as such it goes well with a lot of builds.

Thanks. Sounds like you have a cool strategy for handling solo play. Congrats ;-)

Great story so far. Very well written and emotional. Kudos.

Didst thou yonder rules of Proper ettiquitte while in the art of pretending come from on high?

They truly epitomize the genre. Surely horses could not drag me away from thine feast with potatoes and meat aplenty!

Avast! Over there must be thine steed. Strong indeed and well mannered too. Alas mine stallion, while strong of heart and hoof, would not stay still for beyond the onset of a full hour.

But surely this jest of roleplay methodologies dost not fit in a modern setting, lest thou character didst come from a prior time, SCA event, or Renaissance faire.

Captain Neem was flying overhead after a successful raid in Perez Park when he saw the commotion below.

"Wow, something got the cops in this town to actually try to do something? Amazing."

He swooped down to see if he could be of any assistance knowing full well the level of competency that most of the cops in this city posessed.

When he got to ground level he saw the trail of minor destruction left by the Ice Blok on its way to this warehouse and the busted in door.

"Hello officers, looks like you could use a hand. Anything you need my help with?"

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I like this thread too.

I'm not totally crazy about how so many people seem to just not realize that his scrapper is level 44 as he's writing all this, though. Too many "don't let it get you down" (or whatever) comments when he has already not let him get him down (or whatever).

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yeah but I know what its like. The first time I sked a friend of mine's alt I found myself trying to give advice like he was a newbie even though he had been playing the game as long as I had. I felt pretty dumb doing that.

Sill though, great thread. definitely a fun read.

Blasters having sight range means that they will be able to acquire targets easier and shoot them immediately.

Scrapps and tanks will have to close distance to be able to do anything with this extra knowledge. If they gave the ability to see through invis to noone then everyone would take invis powers so they could have time to line up everything perfectly before striking.

Eventually fights would devolve into nobody fighting because noone can see anyone outside their own team.

With meleers getting sight they can call shots for their teams and they won't be able to attack until they get closer.

Seems pretty fair to me, though I think they should just give it to the tankers who are getting pretty shafted overall with the unresistable damage getting flung around.

No travel powers is an option. Just an option.

Look at it this way. Say you are a superspeeding dark melee scrapper.

Sir McFlysalot is a blaster who immediately flew to max range for his basic attack straight up. Your options are to die with your toggles on, or die with your toggles off.

This is not entirely fair to mr superspeed scrapper.

Solution. Have matches where mr superspeed scrapper can play without this worry and Sir McFlysalot can have his matches where he can do his thing.

I don't see the problem here.