Ciera

Panda Doll was hopelessly lost. She'd been wandering the sewers for nearly an hour and hadn't found any sign of an exit. Occassionally she heard voices and had gone stealth to avoid detection.

I should never have followed that guy down here! Mutai Kid is probably still on the surface battling Nemesis.
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Unbeknown to Panda Doll, Mutai Kid was actually close to her, about 100 yards straight down. He and Psiearth had almost reached Billyboy, Hellcat, and Lord Dire, another 25 yards around the next corridor.

((Sorry about the delay in posting, but have been without power since Thursday morning... doing this from a Panera restaurant!!))

Silver Skull was just getting ready for another slash at Panda Doll when he was teleported out of the sewers, leaving her hurt, but not incapacitated.

I don't know where he went, but good riddance!

Reaching inside her jacket, Panda Doll pulled out a stimulant hypo to help regain her strength and aid recovery. Coming to her feet, she looked around and decided that the best place was out of the sewers, she hated the smell and knew that it would take 3 washings to get the odor out of her suit. Unfortunately she was now disoriented and didn't know which way was out. She began walking down the passage hoping that she could find the way she had come in.

.................................................. .........................

Mutai Kid and Psiearth had been a good 100 yards behind Billyboy when he had met up with Hellcat. They saw the duo disappear into the sewers and were about to follow when a platoon of 5th Column soldiers appeared from a nearby alleyway. "5th Column, I thought they were all killed or absorbed by the Council!" remarked Mutai Kid.

"Apparently not! We better deal with them before they can sneak up on Billyboy and Hellcat" saying this, Psiearth projected a quicksand trap at the feet of the rushing squad. This slowed the progress of the soldiers, but it also redirected their attention to the pair of heroes. With a stomp of his foot Psiearth caused stalagmites to shoot upwards from the ground hitting some of the soldiers and stunning them and knocking over others. Mutai Kid jumped in the midst of those who were still standing and using a Dragon's tail swipe, knocked them all down. A few remained on the ground, but a couple raised their weapons beginning to fire. Mutai Kid quickly reacting to the weapons fire, dodged left and right avoiding the fire and at the same time lining himself up to knock the remaining soldiers out of action. Swinging an elbow into the face of one and a roundhouse kick to the chin of another the squad of 5th column lay writhing in agony on the ground.

"That should take care of them for a while. We better catch up with Billyboy and Hellcat, I think they're gonna need our assistance!" At these words Mutai Kid and Psiearth jumped down the sewer hole and picked up the trail of their compatriots. The trail was easy to follow, all they had to look for were the pristinely clean sections of sewer.

Within a few minutes they came upon the great chasm which held one of the great steam engines. Many Nemesis and 5th column machines and soldiers were strewn about, none of them moving. "Psi, see if you can pick up Billyboy's thoughts, we need to find them quick."

"I'll see what I can do, give me a minute." Psiearth then began to concentrate his third eye to search out the brainwaves of everyone within a mile of thier position. He sensed several new patterns, some from heroes and some from villians, then zeroed in on Billyboy. "This way, I sense they are moving to a new objective. We should catch up with them shortly..... and Lord Dire is with them by the way!" Psiearth began moving off towards one of the many outlets of the great cavern.

Panda Doll had had quite enough of Vim, of Silver Skull, and in general of everything that was interfering with her attempt to kill Mutai Kid. When Vim started attacking Valiant, Panda Doll had gone into stealth mode and disappeared, now she was moving through the crowd of fighting soldiers being careful not to get too close lest she be discovered.

Clearing the area of conflict she continued the hunt for Mutai Kid, he must die today! She spotted Silver Skull heading for the main sewer access on the east side of Steel Canyon. She'd give him a minute to get past the main accessway and they follow him in.

On their hunt for Valiant and the other heroes the trio of Psiearth, Mutai Kid and Billyboy had come across Iron Fist. Taking pity on the near helpless figure, Psiearth generated an evervating field around the fallen villian which would restore some of Iron Fist's health and endurance, but not before the three heroes would be clear of him and out of his range. As Billyboy sprung off continuing the search for the Redoubtable Defender, Psiearth and Mutai Kid quickly followed him.

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Valiant had been 2 blocks away when Iron Fist blew, the shockwave knocking him out of the sky and onto the top of one of the apartment buildings. If not for his nearly invulnerable nature he would have been severely hurt, as it was his outfit was a bit singed. Regaining his footing, Valiant walked over to the edge of the building. Looking below, he spotted Silver Skull skulking around the back alley.

Hmm, looks like another assassin, I wonder who his target is?

Nearby on the street were the pair of assassins he'd been following, they seemed to be approaching a figure sprawled on the ground in the midst of the devestation.

Mutai Kid and Billyboy found themselves standing at the ramp of the Green line train. Behind them the shockwaves from the implosion of Iron Fist could be heard and intense heat of the mini-nuclear explosion even reached their position. Billyboy was less effected than Mutai Kid, absorbing some of the radiant heat as part of the natural process of his body. MK's armored suit did it's best to sheild him, but even so he received burns to some of the less shielded portions of his body. A radiant aura began to glow around the two heroes and they turned around to see who had saved them.

Standing in front of them was a short, well actually a very short man sporting a third eye and a long flowing beard wearing a cloak and hood to cover his bald head. "So Mutai, it seems you need my help again."

"My God, where'd you come from Psi?" Psi was short for Psiearth. ((He's my Earth/Emp controller who is an immortal. He has the typical Emp powers with both flight and teleport capabilities. He has psychic powers to read and locate brainwaves, especially helpful when recovering injured heroes.))

"My dear boy I sensed some danger here in Steel Canyon early this morning, but have been away on Peregrine Island, that ferry from PI is so slow I nearly didn't catch the train in time from Talos. I arrived only moments ago and sensed you two were about to become fried capons if I didn't act. The aura around you should heal those wounds quickly, but please tell me what's going on here?" The wiley old man leaned back against the railing and eyed the two young men.

Mutai Kid filled Psiearth in on the day's events, with Billyboy filling in details from his perspective. By the time they had finished the burns on Mutai Kid had healed and he felt rejuvenated.

"You say Lord Dire and Iron Fist are prowling around as well as Nemesis? I can't believe those two are still at it. I wouldn't trust any one of them, and it seems you got on the bad side of Iron Fist, he's not one you want to anger as you can well see."

"As for Nemesis, I'm picking up telepathic streams of consciousness coming from below the city. I dare say he's got more brewing below the surface than either Lord Dire or Iron Fist would believe. I suggest we find the Redoubtable Defender, Positron, and Valkyrie, and I'll see if I can pick up Valiant's brain activity, he may be in need of some assistance."

The trio thus set off in search of Valiant and the other heroes fighting what would be a day of battle well remembered in the history books.

"Heroes! I mean no harm!" Yet. "Help me destroy the main Base of the insulant fools who dare attack me! We will show them DOOOOOOOM!" I really, really hate pretending to be a hero.

Mutai Kid and Billyboy glanced at one another and then at Iron Fist, but did not stop for the villian, instead they continued to follow the Redoubtable Defender's trail.

"I don't know about you Billyboy, but I've just about had it with these meglomaniacs! It was bad enough worrying about Lord Dire by himself, now this guy with all these troops, he wants us to 'trust' him? This hero wasn't born yesterday! I put more faith in good ol' RD there."

The two heroes quickened their pace away from an irrate Iron Fist, leaving him to fume and fuss about their snub. But he thought that in their shoes he probably looked a bit to formidable to trust, and besides apparently they were already headed in the right direction towards Nemesis true base of operations.

((Warburg and Bloody Bay could also be backdrops for RPing, They are PvP zones and a storyline could make them interesting. ))

Vim and Panda Doll thought they were discreetly following Mutai Kid and Billyboy, but Valiant had an eye on the pair. Panda Doll had come out of stealth mode after seeing no danger of attack, stealth also required her to move slower, and Vim's pace was rapid, thus it was necessary. If she'd known she was being watched from above she would have taken the time to go back to stealth, but that is often the assassin's worst fault, not recognizing they've been identified.

Valiant knew who the taller girl was, he'd nearly gotten his hands on her earlier, but the Redoubtable Defender had sent her sailing across town toward the northern War Wall. But who was this pale looking girl? He knew she had to be up to no good too, and it made sense to Valiant that perhaps Mutai Kid was her target seeing as these girls were following the pair of heroes.

"So this Lord Rinchu, he pay well?" Vim attempted to engage Panda Doll in some conversation to pass the time as they stalked their prey.

"Lord Rinchu has placed a bounty of 100,000 on Mutai Kid's head!" Panda Doll remarked, not telling the whole truth, the actual bounty was far higher, but she didn't want Vim to get any ideas.

"Ha! Nemesis is far more charitable, Billyboy there is worth 200,000 to me! But don't go getting any ideas about collecting that bounty, he's all mine!" Vim spoke the last words with venom.

"Ahh money to you westerners, it's not the only thing in life your know, restoring Honor, that is far more important! Mutai Kid represents the last representative of a dishonorable clan! His death will restore Lord Rinchu's honor, and bring glory to his clan again!" Panda Doll had no use for the western ideals, their money perhaps, but not their ideals.

[ QUOTE ]
How about doing something like happens with Domination? i.e., you hit Max Fury, and a big old FURY!!! logo pops up, you regain all your endurance, and for 30 seconds you get to stay at that level? Every time you hit someone a big old FURY!!! pops up over their head?

This could be balanced then by having Fury simply reset to zero afterwards.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hehe, I like this idea! Though we already have an indication when we nearly tap out on fury.... case 1: We use up all endurance and fury drops dramatically cause we can't beat on anything. Case 2: case 1 plus we die because there are still several baddies beating up on us.

Has anyone else noticed this nasty habit of losing major amounts of endurance when Fury is building past the 75% mark?

And, are you sure that Fury is being built even on a miss? It seemed to me when playing my Brute that misses weren't building my Fury bar.

Vim and Panda Doll hurried off in the same direction as Mutai Kid. Panda Doll disappeared from Vim's view, bending light around her so that no one could spot her and anyone looking in their direction would only see one person.

The pair spotted Mutai Kid jumping between building tops and proceeded to follow him at a discreet distance.

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Mutai Kid sensed that he was being followed, but he didn't have time to fool with Panda Doll, the Nemesis fight was far more pressing and important, not just to him, but to all residents of Paragon City.

Mutai Kid caught sight of Billyboy following a form he couldn't quite recognize, it's movement seemed familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on just who.

"Hey Billyboy! Who's that?" Mutai Kid appeared next to Billyboy, speeding his jumps up to keep pace with the two fast moving heroes.

"Uhmmmm, I think it's the Redoubtable Defender!" Billyboy looked over at Mutai Kid as they continued to follow the figure. "And before you say it, yes I know!, I know! We saw him die! But there he is, maybe changed, but I tell you it's got to be him!"

The pair followed the fast moving figure who seemed to know where he was going.

Following a hundred yards back was the pair of assassins, biding their time.

What is it with these questions today!? Who are you? What'dya want? I'm not a freaking encyclopedia for every lame brain that runs down the street! Panda Doll was a little more than miffed that she'd run into the girl, but a bit on the curious side too as it had been like hitting a brick wall.

"Me! Why I'm the last person you wanted to run into Hon! Step outta my way before I have to take you out too!"

"What'd Lord Nemesis do, hire you to kill that hero that jumped by? He could'a asked me and I'd have given him a discount!" Vim said this with a bit of glee, knowing that this school girl in front of her was no match for her strength.

"Nemesis! Bah, a newcomer! My Lord's family has been striking terror in the world far longer. Lord Rinchu will not be pleased you interrupted this assassination!"

The two would be assassins eyed one another with disdain. "Tell you what babe, I'll let you go on your way if you tell me where Billyboy is, he's my target." Vim spat these words at Panda Doll, not willing to give ground.

Panda Doll thought for a moment, Hmm, Billyboy, that's the young fellow who was with Mutai Kid earlier.... perhaps this is an opportunity to get close enough for a death kick on Mutai. Yes indeed, by myself I'd have to wait to get him alone, but if I can send this girl in as a distraction... yes... yes... and once she serves her purpose she can pay for the insult to Lord Rinchu.

"I tell you what dearie, why don't we tag along together, I'm sure my boy's gonna meet up with yours, then we'll just have to have a party with them! You can have your boy and I'll have mine, fair enough?"

Mutai Kid had continued observing the Nemesis troops emerge from the ground where the once majestic statue had stood, when Lord Dire had left with that messenger and Billyboy had gone to check on reinforcements.

From his vantage point, MK could see the Nemesis and the troops of Iron Fist. The latter's troops were advancing down the main North South avenue that ran nearly from Gimry Ridge to Boomtown. The great statue which had fallen a short time before blocked the avenue to the north, requiring the forces of Iron Fist to alter their advancement by spreading to the two avenues which paralleled the main boulevard.

The newly arrived Nemesis Troops rushed to barricade the flanking avenues. Two of the Fake Nemesis launched their missles at an apartment building, bringing the structure down with a great crash of concrete and metal, the remnants of which now mostly blocked the eastern causeway. A platoon of Jaegers then guarded the area, making access to the square from the east near impossible. This left the remaining Nemesis troops to disperse to the south and west with a few snipers taking up positions on the fallen statue and rubble of the apartment complex.

Messy buggers aren't they?! It looks as though we're gonna need more than a little support.

As Mutai Kid was surveying the activity below he sensed someone was watching him, but glancing around he didn't see anyone on the rooftop. He did see the beacon and drone left by Lord Dire.

Hmm, must be my imagin....... Thwack!! A slender leg lashed out and caught Mutai Kid on the shoulder driving him almost to his knees. Out of nowhere appeared a stealthy figure, Panda Doll, assassin for hire.

((Panda Doll is my MA/SR Stalker. She wears a typical schoolgirl outfit from Japanese Anime, but carries her pet miniature panda 'Harry' in a loop on her shoulder. She wears Giesha white makeup to cover her true identity.))

The diminutive assassin lashed out with a series of kicks, driving Mutai Kid toward the edge of the building. She'd been tracking the hero all through the morning events, stalking him but never being able to get close until now, he was finally alone.

"Who are you?? What'ya want with me!" Mutai Kid blocked the next series of blows and jumped back to the safety of an air conditioner in the center of the roof.

The fool has forgotten about Lord Rinchu's bounty on his head, or maybe he never knew?! "Does the name Lord Rinchu ring a bell?"

((This a part of the back story of MK so just bear with me.))
Mutai Kid stiffened at the name, one which he knew too well from his past. Lord Rinchu had been a rival to his own sensai, Master LoChu. The two were bitter enemies, fighting a feud that extending back to the time of the Samurai. But his sensai had died over five years ago, before he had seen Mutai Kid become an accomplished Muay Thai fighter on first the Asian and then the world circuit.

"What does Lord Rinchu want with me?"

"Your head, fool! The first assassin was clumsy, leaving you paralyzed but still alive, I would not have left you breathing!" At that last word, Panda Doll threw a series of shuriken at MK and at the same instant threw down a smoke screen, disappearing from the heroe's sight. This was her specialty, stealth out in the open, walking in the daylight but letting it slip past her, bending light so she was nearly invisible to the naked eye, but she had to distract people first or else the tactic would not work.

First assassin? No, it cannot be, But the more he thought of it, the more Mutai Kid came to grips with the cold reality, that his being a hero was all the result of an ancient feud. That the accident with the automobile was no accident, but a stage for his murder. That if it hadn't been for a good samaritan who pulled him from the car, he would have been dead. That the months in the hospital, and the operation to implant nanites into his body and all the other technology to restore his mobility were all because one man hated another man.

Jumping to avoid the shuriken, Mutai Kid lost sight of Panda Doll. No matter where he looked the girl was not there. He'd have to be on his toes now more than ever, if he was to survive not only Nemesis, but also the assassin sent to kill him.

Jumping from building to building, Mutai Kid headed for Positron and Valkyrie's last known position. Hopefully Billyboy would be there too and the heroes could put up a concerted front. And it should also keep the assassin at bay at least for a time.

Panda Doll watched as Mutai Kid leapt from the building, there would be time enough to kill the hero, she had patience, she would wait until he was alone again and then strike, taking down the last living vestige of the house of LoChu, as her master had ordered.

"Oh thanks for that GREAT news!" Mutai Kid said wryly in response to Lord Dire's pronouncement of a new threat.

What is it Masterminds day? First Nemesis attacks, then Lord Dire makes an appearance, and now what, another meglomaniac?!

As the heroes and villian stood watching the oncoming wave of soldies sweep through the Nemesis lines a great and terrible CRAAACKKKKK! was heard from behind. The three turned in unison looking toward where the sound originated, it was back in the center of Blyde Square! A huge fissure started to errupt right in front of the remnants of the great statue. As the fissure widened the statue began to fall forward, slowly at first, then gaining momentum as gravity took over. With a mighty crash and resounding THUD, tons of debris blew through the square in all directions.

Leaping to a better vantage point on top a nearby office building, the three figures saw two gigantic Jaegers similar to those which had been in the base, except these were fitted with large boring arms where pincers would have been. Following the behemouths were four Fake Nemesis, each carrying what appeared to be missle launchers on their backs. Following these were a series of Jaegers and Grenediers and other Nemesis units still pouring out from the gaping hole where the statue once was affixed.

"Secure the square!" the Fake Nemesis' said in unison. With that command several units broke from the main column and set up a perimeter.

Mutai Kid and Billyboy were stunned. They'd been fighting what seemed like all day, dispatching Nemesis troops left and right, but now it was like a whole new ballgame, and they were the visiting team!

"We are gonna need some serious backup!" Mutai Kid looked over at Billyboy. "You better go check with Positron and Valkyrie to see what the ETA is on support."

"Well Lord Dire, you got any bright ideas? Were gonna get caught between a rock and a hard place unless we can come up with something quick!" Mutai Kid looked over at Lord Dire as he said this, because he was fast running out of ideas that wouldn't end up with him dead or in a real world of pain.

Mutai Kid and Billyboy were still engaged with some Nemesis soldiers when they caught sight of Valiant throwing what appeared to be a rather large grapling hook upwards towards the top of the statue. Following the arc of the projectile it was then that the pair noticed the mechanical necklace of Jaegers around the neck of the great statue.

"Ummmm..... Mutai we better move!" Billyboy shouted. Having just recently been on the receiving end of one hand of the statue, Billyboy had no desire to feel the impact of the much larger and heavier object.

Mutai Kid knew that even with his speed and agility, trying to avoid something that massive would be nigh impossible. "I think you're right Billyboy! Let's move!"

"Hey Posi, Valyk! Don't look now but Nemesis has a present getting ready to fall from above!" Mutai Kid's pointing arm was followed by the two pairs of seasoned eyes. Now aware of what was happening above, they descreetly moved their fights off a distance out of the potential impact zone.

Valiant turned in a sharp arc upwards, up above the statues head, the black cord still connecting the clawed hand to his waist. "Now, just wait for the little idiots to finish drilling, and I get to go bowling!" Valiant shouted to the heroes below.

"The lane's all yours Valiant!' Mutai Kid shouted to the hero attached to the opposite end of the grappling arm.

"Ah just wonderful weather.... it's raining Jaegers and Curiassers!" Mutai Kid said as he finished off a pair of Nemesis soldiers who got within striking distance of a couple of Cobra kicks.

The stalwart pair of heroes continued their assault on the troops of Nemesis still pouring in from the outlying areas of Steel Canyon. With the power blasts from Billyboy and the accurate strikes from Mutai Kid it seemed as though the tide was turning in the heroes favor for once.

Even Positron seemed more optimistic, though when the pair of heroes had a chance to fill him in on the base raid, he seemed disturbed by something. At least one positive side effect of the raid was the apparent reduction in strategic field control of the automatons. Without direct guidence from Nemesis there were no combined assaults on any one tactical location, but merely skirmishes with pockets of Nemesis.

This allowed the heroes opportunities to rejuvenate their strength and amp up their endurance to take the fight to the Nemesis. No one was taking bets yet on when the struggle would end, they'd all been in far too many battles to let down their guard just because of lulls in the fighting.

Billyboy and Mutai Kid were stunned to see the body of the Redoubtable Defender in mid-air, being lifted by some unseen force towards the heavens. And yet in their solemn hearts was hope, for they saw and held the mysterious glass plaque which lit up the area. What did those words mean? Who had taken the body of the hero and left this piece of hope?

"We better head back to the square Billyboy, we won't find any more answers here." Mutai Kid saw the emotions running across Billyboy's face, and knew that they must move on, for Nemesis would not take this setback lying down.

"I'm sure our assistance is still needed by Valkyrie." At the sound of Valkyrie's name, Billyboy regained his composure and gave a nod in agreement.

Mutai Kid took a quick glance around them..... Lord Dire was no where to be seen, and MK had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, having seen the power the villian had unleashed which could have well been meant for him at a different time and place.

With a final few glances backward over his shoulder at the remnants of the base complex, Mutai Kid leapt into the air, followed closely by Billyboy who was holding the small glass plaque in one of his hands. The two heroes headed back to Blyde Square knowing their day was not yet over.

"Friend! I'm Mutai Kid.... I saw the explosions from over in Perez Park across the War Wall." shouted MK above the fray.

Moments before, he saw and then heard the Redoubtable Defender yelling about a bomb as the hero had flashed past Lord Dire and presumably Nemesis, enroute to retrieve and dispose of the said bomb.

As MK and Billyboy continued to mop up the remaining mercenaries, they both heard and then felt the shockwave of a gigantic explosion far above them. Looking at each other in momentary shock, they knew in their hearts what had just occurred, a hero had given his all to save them.

"That's not Nemesis!" Billyboy yelled and motioned toward the catwalk as he was dropping the last mercenary left from the fray only begun minutes before.

"That makes sense!" Mutai Kid responded, "I thought it strange these were mercenaries and not his loyal troops! It had to be a trap too considering that bomb that just exploded. That was the Redoubtable Defender I saw wasn't it?" Mutai Kid said these last words solemnly.

"Yeah..... it was...." Billyboy responded slowly in similar tone.
Recovering quickly Billyboy asked, "What's the deal with Lord Dire up there?"

"He traced the source of Nemesis command frequencies back to this base, and I followed him over in case there would be a way to cut short that attack on Blyde Square. I think he's madder at Nemesis than we are, I bet this attack messed up some big plans he must have had."

"Hey, from your outfit's condition, I'd say you've seen some action in Blyde Square too, is Valkyrie back in the fight?"

As the two heroes were thus engaged in their conversation, above them Lord Dire began to realize he didn't have the real Nemesis in front of him.

((A few moments earlier before the unlikely pair made their entrance to Nemesis' base))
Mutai Kid had followed Lord Dire across Steel Canyon towards the same building that Hellcat had discovered with the help of Positron. Seeing that Lord Dire hadn't made any overt moves which would indicate an alterior motive, Mutai Kid moved up even with the villian.

"We better have a plan if we find Nemesis." MK said looking over at Lord Dire as they both landed a few yards from the entrance to the base.

"I will CRUSH the pretender! Nemesis will grovel at my feet! As for the rest.... YOU can worry about the remaining pawns if you like!" As he said this, Lord Dire pushed a few buttons on his wrist pad and a force field energized around Mutai Kid.

As those words faded the doors to the warehouse base exploded inward in a spectacular blast of energy from Lord Dire. Flinging shrapnel and the 6 door guards backwards.

Mutai Kid caught the flashing form of Hellcat carrying someone away. Now where's HE going?

Darting into the base, Mutai Kid saw Lord Dire was focussing in on Nemesis who was standing at a door on a raised platform above. Elsewhere the base was chaotic, a giant mech burning on the floor with smaller mechs and soldiers laying motionless around it. Two remaining behemouths were still unmanned, but not for long, their pilots rushing towards the open cockpits.

No way I'm gonna fight one, let alone TWO of those damned mechs! I better find some way of keeping them outta this fight!

In a flash Mutai Kid jumped at the closest pilot, knocking the uniformed man from the ladder he was climbing to mount the giant Jaeger. Swiftly MK jumped towards the other pilot who had almost reached the safety of the cockpit. Grabbing the pilot by an arm, Mutai Kid threw him over his shoulder in a textbook arm take down, then smashed an elbow into the chest of the form before allowing the body to slide harmlessly off the mech and onto the floor several feet below.

Mutai Kid spied a brass metal submachine gun laying in the seat of the Jaeger. Taking the gun in hand he sprayed the controls before leaping clear from an ensuing electrical explosion which rendered the behemouth inoperable. Jumping back to the first Jaeger, Mutai Kid repeated the procedure before throwing the brass gun, now completely empty, towards some oncoming mercenaries.

With the force field provided by Lord Dire still intact, Mutai Kid proceded to hand the mercenaries their own lunch, landing kicks, jabs, knees, and elbows in wholesale fashion. The once rushing group of mercenaries were now a writhing mass of human agony on the floor.

But MK had to work quick if he was going to get out of the base alive, for Nemesis and Lord Dire were just beginning their struggle for supremacy on the catwalk above.

As Mutai Kid turned away from the Fake he had just dispatched, he half expected to still see a crouching Lord Dire under assail by the two remaining Nemesis automatons. But that was not the case...

Lord Dire had jumped between the two Fakes and was shouting something about fleeing. Having teamed with more than a few high energy heroes, he sensed the signs of an impending explosion that could foreseeably take him out as well as the two Fakes. The mental acuity that allowed him to be a successful Muay Thai fighter in the past, now allowed him to control the much greater strength and agility he possessed with the nanites flowing through his body. Jumping clear of the area just as the blast from Lord Dire erupted, Mutai Kid skirted the flying remnants of the two Fakes and not a few soldiers who'd been unfortunate enough to be within the blast radius.

I'm glad he's not teamed up with Nemesis on this attack! No doubt he's got some kind of maniacal grudge against them, but I better be wary for once a villan, always a villan.

"Come we must take this fight directly to the source. I have triangulated the most likely location for a command bunker."

Hmmm.... It looks like Valkyrie is about recovered, and though I could stay here and help with the remaining Nemesis, she's got the support of the Longbow. Nemesis must be commanding this from somewhere nearby, and I'm sure he's got more of these troops ready somewhere. As much as I dislike trusting Lord Dire, he's sure to want veangance on Nemesis personally. Hehe.... who's to say we might just get lucky this day and make Brass Monday an event to really celebrate!

Lord Dire had already began moving away from the square, and Mutai Kid followed at a discreet distance just in case there was a chance this was some type of trick.

Regaining consciousness, Mutai Kid shook his head to clear the cobwebs out of his mind. What happened? How'd I get over here? And who the heck is that?

Looking up in his dazed state, Mutai Kid spotted a crouching figure being pushed backward from repeated power blasts of three Fake Nemesis, at least he thought there were three, he wasn't sure if he could trust his eyesight just yet.

Regaining his feet, MK felt the nanomeds rejuvenating his body and though they fixed the physical condition, his conscious mind could still feel the pain of being hurled across the square. He noticed with satisfaction the Warkhulk which he had just been battling was lying in pieces nearby the crouching figure being assailed by the Fakes. Something seemed oddly familiar about the figure, as though MK aught to know who it was, but he shrugged off any doubt that they needed some assistance.

The three Fake nemesis were about 20 yards away, a quick jump would put him right behind the closest one. Willing his body to make the superhuman leap, Mutai Kid landed precisely to the back right of the Fake, and aiming a quick kick, he knocked the staff from the grip of the Nemesis.

The large automaton body turned quickly to determine what had caused it's staff to be knocked from it's grip. Seeing Mutai Kid standing there, it raised it's two mighty arms to bring down a smashing blow which it was sure would eliminate the threat. However, MK anticipated the reaction and stepped back just enough for the blow to miss him by inches. As the Fake was in the downward thrust, Mutai Kid sprung upward in an arc, aiming one knee to catch the chin of the automaton, snapping it's mechanical head backwards with such force that the whole body arched backward in the inevitable loss of balance. Without missing a beat, MK brought his left leg around with a smashing blow to the side of it's body, flinging the massive body off to the right.

The suprise rear assault on the Fake momentarily caught the attention of the the other two automatons, who had been continuing the assault on the crouching figure.

"This hero is nothing, continue the assault on Lord Dire!"

Lord Dire! I knew that he looked familiar! What the heck is HE doing here helping against the Nemesis? These thoughts flashed through the mind of Mutai Kid even as he continued his assault on the Fake nemesis sprawled on the ground in front of him.

The Fake began to rise on it's hands and knees, but MK caught the action and brought his knee up into it's midsection, causing the entire body to flip over on it's back. A swift and strong jab with his foot to the chin of the Fake severed the locating collar, causing the whole head assembly to begin to seperate from the body of the Fake. A second fast jab finished the process, sending the head assembly rolling off down the street like some grotesque science fiction movie ending.

Seeing the Fake was dispatched, Mutai Kid spun on his heels to see what assistance Lord Dire might need. Helping Lord Dire, that will be one for the memoirs! Thought Mutai Kid as he turned to survey the situation behind him.

Out of the corner of his eye Mutai Kid caught sight of Hellcat regaining his footing and taking a soldier for a ride off to one of the rooftops.

Hmm, looks like Nemesis has been busy with a suprise attack. Positron's not here, so something big had to draw him off.

As he was considering his next course of action, and wondering if it had been such a good idea to jump right in the middle of the fray, a series of grenades exploded behind him, sending him flying over the top of the giant concrete hand, landing on his back.

"Another hero to pound into the ground for the glory of Nemesis!" This was shouted out by a pair of Grenediers who had launched the grenades from the other side of the giant statue. Regaining his footing, Mutai Kid noted with some irony that he'd landed in the midst of 6 soldiers pointing their bayonets right at him. Though his reflexes were quick, allowing him to avoid most of the thrusts, two of the bayonets grazed off his right thigh and upper torso, ripping jagged slits through his suit.

Spotting an opening in their next series of thrusts, Mutai Kid slammed his leg into the chest of one soldier and using the momentum landed his opposite leg to the head of another. The two soldiers flew in opposite directions, writhing in pain. The remaining four soldiers began another forward thrust on Mutai Kid, but he jumped above the fray and watched in humor as the soldiers collapsed to the ground like a set of Keystone cops. Landing on top of the pile, he slammed his knees into the backs of two and managed to use a legswipe to layout the remaining soldiers.

Just as he was recovering from the brawl, MK spotted a Warhulk fast approaching from behind the statue. It took aim with a side canon and fired!

The impact knocked Mutai Kid backwards, crashing against some steps leading to the plaza across from Blyde Square. Stunned by the impact, MK couldn't move and lay prone as the Warhulk approached. The great pincer arm of the hulking menace grabbed MK and proceeded to toss him back across the square where his unconscious body lay against a signpost.

The Warhulk then spun sideways and proceeded to open fire on the Longbow. "Stop in the name of Justice!" shouted the Longbow leader. But the Warhulk proceeded to fire off a volley of noxious gas bombs at the troop of Longbow, causing some of the Longbow to drop to their knees in fits of coughing.

Darius James hadn't figured on participating in any activites surrounding the 74th anniversary of Brass Monday. In fact, he was doing what he normally did on Monday's, spending the morning in his dojo atop one of the tallest apartment buildings in Perez Park. The view of the park was serene and helpful in concentration, something especially necessary to control the function of his body now running rampant with nanites.

As he began his mental exercises, his peripheral vision caught sight of flashes coming across the War Wall from Steel Canyon.

Fireworks for Brass Monday? That's odd. He thought to himself. As he focused more intently on his view through the War Wall he could see something was amiss. Those weren't fireworks, but larger and more dangerous explosions.

In an instant he arose and stepped out to one corner of the dojo. Using a small device strapped to his wrist, he quickly swapped his training kimono for a metallic body suit and made the 100ft leap to the next building. Concentrating more, in another three jumps he arrived at the gateway leading to Steel Canyon.

"What's going on in Steel, Rudy?!" He asked the familiar face at the gate.

"Hey Mutai Kid, I dunno, we've been hearing alot of commotion coming from the other end of the connector, but no one's come through in over an hour, not even a hero."

"Not even a hero?" That's strange, there are usually a few stalwart heroes who come in to interrogate the Skulls and Hellions, or retrieve victims of the Circle.

Making his way to the other side of the War Wall, Mutai Kid noted the patrol guards weren't at the Steel Canyon end of the passage. In 2 bounds he was over Gimry Ridge and came down in front of the medical center. People were running all around, most with terrified looks on their faces.

Around the corner of the building a pair of Cuirasseur's appeared, blast rifles drawn ready to fire. In an instant Mutai Kid jumped between the two soldiers and landed a roundhouse kick on each one, knocking them to the ground. Before they could regain their footing he lashed out at them with a swift leg sweep which sent them flying backwards off the edge of the walkway and over the railing.

Nemesis in Steel Canyon? They never come over here, I better get to the bottom of this quick!

Bounding off toward Platinum Lake, Mutai Kid looked up and saw a group of Longbow heading toward Blyde Square. Not good, not good at all. I better follow them in and see what's happened.

---------
As Mutai Kid bounded down the Platinum Lake highway he saw more and more Nemesis troops running toward the center of Blyde Square. Mixed in were platoons of Curiasseurs and groups of Gewehr Jaegers steaming away.
Jumping into one large group of Jaegers, Mutai swept them away with an energy blast, a recent technique he learned while concentrating the energy generated by the power core implanted in his body.

A couple of Jaegers staggered back on their spindle legs and began swirling blades attached to their centers, coming at Mutai Kid like a pair of automated scythes. "Nemesis will recognize us for taking out this hero!" One Jaeger proclaimed as it lunged forward in attack.

"Hey! This kicks just for you!" Shouted Mutai as he unleashed a furious roundhouse which caught the mechanical beast at it's legs, severing them send it crashing to the ground.

At the same instant the other Jaeger launched it's attack, swiping at Mutai Kid's own legs. But the Jaeger was far outclassed and outmaneuvered by Mutai. The years of martial arts competition, mental training, and speed of thought fluidly came together as the Nanites in Mutai's body instantly caused his body to flip, avoiding the slash, and returning the attempted blow with one that landed squarely through the top of the metallic dome, hitting vital components and rendering the Jaeger inoperative.

Meanwhile, the Longbow that Mutai Kid had been following reached Valkyrie and the shielding effects and healing beacon of Lord Dire began to take effect.

Spotting Valkyrie in the square, Mutai Kid leaped in two super bounds to her side, landing just short of the large hand which was dropped on Billyboy.

[ QUOTE ]
It is a BUG that the powers that Henchmen gain when you upgrade them are not affected by Enhancements.

Training Room should be getting a version soon where this is fixed.

It was not noticed until it was "too late" to change the final-live build. Please play with it on Training Room to see if your Masterminds have become TOO powerful.

Another bug (also being fixed) is when MM Henchmen can't affect other players in PVP.

[/ QUOTE ]

Positron, I was in a mission with a team over the weekend where one member got a new bot who could bubble other minions and some of the other team members, but neither of the 2 Brutes received bubbles.

Is this a bug or intentional?

Da Smasher - Brute on Infinity

Mugendai Ibu has been around on Infinity since about November of 2004.

Our motto is "Play well together"

Many members play daily and most are alt-ahaulics and have toons of varying levels so we can have fun as lowbies or trash the villians in FF and PI.

We have a BBS at http://agape1.net/v-web/bulletin/bb for offline chat.

Currently we ask that Lvl 50 Ibu's join the Legendary Ibu group to keep room on the main SG for newbs. Then we can coalition chat for fun.

I run around currently with my 43 Scrapper - Mutai Kid or 28 Controller - Weathermaster. Check with me if you catch me ingame.

See you on Infinity!