DeviousMe

((Negative. However, those are Nemesis Army soldiers, yes. Now would you mind answering my question as to who scattered the money? Or would you not think that Nemesis Army soldiers sitting in City Hall would notice other people scattering money about?))

((May I ask who emptied the vault and scattered the money? If there are other people there, I'd sure like to know.))

"Hmph." the blue-scaled draconian huffed at the Gunslinger's words, "That didn't go as planned."

He didn't understand the unseen man's jargon, but it stood to reason something big would happen in less than twenty seconds. Considering he already knew C4 to be a powerful explosive, there was little doubt they planned to blow the entire tower sky-high.

"Ah, nice to see at least some things still happen on schedule." the intruder remarked smugly as Cynic entered the scene. Of course, his voice was at this point likely overpowered by the loud crash of a Zeus Titan 'entering' the CC chamber by sliding on its back, not to mention the rapid reports of heavy automatic weaponry.

"No, you really shouldn't!" a Tactical Operative yelled back as he strafed into the room, still roaring his weapon into the corridor, which by now had filled with smoke and utterly terrifying noise, "Just shoot!"

Several more Malta Operatives now stormed in much like the first, rattling off bullets as the Titan slowly groaned back to its feet. The final one happened to be a TacCom, and unlike the others, his hand clutched what looked like some sort of flare. Also unlike the others, he didn't stop by the firing line that slowly formed about the Titan, instead gunning for the windows - and of course smacking right into Cynic's force bubble as a result.

"What'n...?!" the man bellowed, stumbling a step back as he digested the encounter, "Dammit, shut this crud off an' move your rears, they're right behind us...!"

Paragon City Hall

"Did you hear something?"

"No, Sir. What should I have heard?"

"Not sure. Never mind. Dragoon Friedrich, where is that lantern?! It's pitch-black in here! I can't see my hand in front of my own face...!"

Heh, thanks. I'm hoping to make the second part even better. Just wish I could've included more screenies of people's characters.

And Ac, are you nuts?! That's not meant to be speed-read in one sitting! No wonder your noddle went "Squiggly letter - ain't doing it!"

Well, looks like the moderators got to this thing's predecessor before it could take off. Considering what it had turned into, I can't really say I'm surprised.

But I've been working on this a while now, and I did say I'd at least get the first half done, so here it is - not that I'm in any way interested what other people might have to say if one or more of their characters were suddenly contacts.

--------------------

Acid Zero

Unexplained Presence

Nobody quite knows where Acid Zero came from. He says he’s an alien, but his robots certainly seem terrestrial in nature. Regardless of his origins, one thing that many people know is that he split from Arachnos soon after arriving in Grandville, and not exactly on the best of terms. He’s considered a rogue element, but strangely Recluse has yet to respond to this – or, if one is to believe the rumors, already has and met with very undesirable results.

Acid is regarded as mentally unstable, often referring to himself as if he were in multiple locations, or not here at all. This may indeed be true, and he states it is so, but no concrete evidence has yet come to light. Witnesses have been reported, but all investigations suggest their sightings were nothing more than hallucinations. For all intents and purposes, he may as well be a collective delusion…

Initial Contact:

Me? Sorry, I’m not here right now - just a figment of your imagination. I’m afraid you don’t have enough experience with secrets to work with me yet. Figure out what the Rikti are up to, and what Malta Titans really are while you’re at it, and then we can talk.

(Obtain Member of Vanguard and Monkeywrencher badges)

Completed Requirements:

[u] Mess With the Best [u] (40-50)

[u]1) ‘Familiarize’ yourself with Paragon[u]

Hm, I see you’ve dealt with secrets. Good, because this’ll be very secret indeed. I’m putting a little scheme together, and I’m always looking for good help. It’s true what they say, you know. So if you’re going to work with me – yes, I said with, not for – I’ll need you to keep some things quiet and understand when I do the same. Oh, don’t worry, you’re free to hire on help if you need, just don’t have tea with Recluse. You get the idea, right?

[u]I get the idea. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

Excellent. Now then, our operations will take place mostly on the other side of that puddle there, so I’ll need you to ‘familiarize’ yourself with Paragon City in detail. In other words, start a few things to keep the Freedom Phalanx and their other caped crusaders on their toes for a while – and as luck would have it, I’ve gotten word of the perfect opportunity.

You know about the Trolls and the Warriors, right? I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t. They’re kind of scarce around here. But over in Paragon, they’re all over the place. Well, seems like they want more, so they’re expanding their territory into Founders’ Falls. They’ve divided up the place and are starting operations with their best men. The PPD is of course aware of this and have started their own maneuver. Since we need some chaos, here’s what I need you to do: either make sure the PPD is out of the picture for a little while by bombing their local station, start a little brawl between the Trolls and Warriors by beating down their emissaries as well as the Founders’ Falls Security Chief, or just go find Numina and Infernal and make sure they’re out of commission for a while.

You’re free to do all of this of course, but only one task is technically necessary to start the rock rolling. Here are the bombs, if you care to use them. Have fun.

Clue: Bombs

These look too small to level a building. Oh well, if you can find the right spots, they should do plenty of damage.

1) ‘Familiarize’ yourself with Paragon
a. Complete [u]any[u] of 3 tasks (Founders Falls outdoor)
i. Bomb PPD Station (2 bombs to set)
ii. Start gang war (Defeat Prikker, Snikker, Heracles, Security Chief and crew)
iii. Defeat Numina, Infernal

Notable NPCs:

Prikker (Plant Control/Thorny Assault Dominator) <Trolls> boss
Snikker (Dark Blast/Dark Miasma Corruptor) <Trolls> boss
Security Chief (The guy who always sends heroes to hunt missions in hazard zones) <Paragon Police> Boss
Heracles <Warriors> Elite Boss
Numina <Freedom Phalanx> Hero
Infernal <Vindicators> Hero

Notes:

Prikker and Snikker will always spawn together, Heracles always alone, and Numina and Infernal always together and as Hero class enemies. All will be accompanied by a spawn of the PPD Psi Division (Paragon Police Department, levels 40-45), scaled to team size.

Quotes:

PPD Psi-Cop: “Who…what ARE you guys?”
Prikker: “Lat not leesten. Me am troll! Me live in hole! Me take ‘Dyne…”
Snikker: “Dat Gurg! Nub playgareesm!”
Prikker: “Skah!”
(on aggro)
PPD Psi-Cop: “What NOW? [Playername]? Oh no!”
Snikker: “Who dat?”
Prikker: “Who care?”
Snikker: “Got point.”
Prikker: “See, me smart AND strong.”
PPD Psi-Cop: “Just DO something already!”
(defeated)
Prikker: “We get more ‘Dyne…this not over…”
Snikker: “We get more boyz…everyun see…”

PPD Psi-Cop: “You’re saying you’re who now?”
Heracles: “Do I have to spell it out for you?”
(on aggro)
Heracles: “This place is mine!”
(defeated)
Heracles: “I’ll be back…with more Warriors…”

Security Chief: “So I told this guy to hunt DE in Eden the other day. Ran off screaming. No idea why.”
(on aggro)
Security Chief: “[Playername]? You villains are like weeds! Why do I even bother handing out these hunt missions?!”

[Numina and Infernal would get their dev-given dialogue.]

Debriefing:

Not bad. You got back here almost before I did. But I’m afraid speed isn’t all there is to things around here.

[u]2) Take care of Wyvern interference[u]

Briefing:

To make a long story short: you were spotted. I know, I know, it’s my fault for not telling you earlier, but Wyvern’s really been on just about everyone’s case lately, and they kept tabs on you during your whole expedition. They got the whole thing in their files now, and upon analysis of their data I’ve no doubt they’ll figure out there’s more going on than just generic mayhem very quickly. Encourageable, aren’t they?

[u]Yes. Let’s discourage them. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

Heh, you took the words right out of my mouth. You’re quite right – we can’t have them snooping about and following you everywhere. My other partners have already located their current base of operations, and logic says that’s where they’ve got all their intel. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how to handle this. Here; take two and call me in the morning. Oh, and there’s probably one of their Raptor Agents on site. You might want to hire some help.

Clue: Bombs

Again with these tiny things. Doesn’t this guy have any standards? And where are the big red countdown timers?

2) Take care of Wyvern interference
a. Destroy Wyvern data completely (Steel Canyon outdoor, office indoor)
i. 2 bombs to set
ii. Destroy mainframe
iii. Defeat Lt. Bear and crew

Notable NPCs:

Lt. Bear (Raptor Agent) <Wyvern> Elite Boss

Quotes:

(on aggro)
Lt. Bear: “Oh, you picked the WRONG guy to mess with, pal!”
(at 50% health)
Lt. Bear: “Think you’re pretty tough, huh? I’ll show you tough!”
(defeated)
Lt: Bear: “Hah, I still got you…”

Clue: William Bear’s Laugh

Before his mediporter activated, Lt. Bear spat a raunchy laugh at you, “Hah, I still got you. I thought you might beat me, so I passed the intel off to the Legacy Chain, just in case. You’ll never find ‘em. Never! And while you’re looking, I’ll have all the time in the world to hunt you down like the scum you are!”

Debriefing:

Lt. William Bear. It figures. Passed it off to the Legacy Chain, did he now? I’m hoping this following up on loose ends doesn’t become a trend with you. Such dealings tend to slow things down a great deal, and once we get to the important stuff, we can’t afford delays like this.

[u]3) ‘Persuade’ Blightlord[u]

Briefing:

Okay, this isn’t a problem. All we have to do is locate a secretive enclave of heroic mystics that nobody’s been able to lock down for centuries. Piece of cake.

[u]What did you have in mind? [u]

Mission Acceptance:

Okay, so I know this guy. Name of Blightlord. Catchy, ain’t it? Well, he’s our ‘nobody’. Keeps tabs on Legacy Chain forces a lot since they tend to bother him a great deal. Necromancer, you know. If anyone knows where they’re hiding that intel Lt. Bear passed on, it’ll be him. All you need to do is persuade him to help – and by that I mean knock his block off.

Yeah, we’ve never been on the best of terms – in fact, I recommend you don’t mention my name at all, even once you’ve won – but he’s not the kind of guy to help ANYONE out. You’ll have to beat the answer out of him. Where is he? Oh, right! Thorn Isle; or more precisely, under it. Barging into a certain ancient fortress of the Mu, now owned by the Circle of Thorns, to spray some weedkiller on some overgrown rose bush. In fact, you might want to take a team on this – once you’ve got the location from ol’ Blighthead, feel free to go knock on wood.

3) ‘Persuade’ Blightlord
a. Defeat Blightlord and crew (Thorn Tree map)
i. Defeat Blightlord and crew
ii. (optional) Defeat Thorn Tree; drops respec recipe

Clue: The Location

Blightlord gave you these coordinates as he growled, “Fine, I’ll tell you what you want to know. Here, take this. Now leave me alone. I need to find a new body thanks to you.”

Notable NPCs:

Blightlord (Necomancy/Poison mastermind) <Masters of Mayhem> Boss
Grime (Lich) <Necromancy> Boss
Muck (Grave Knight) <Necromancy> Boss
Guck (Grave Knight) <Necromancy> Boss
Sludge (Specter) <Necromancy> Boss
Empowered Zombie x 3 (Zombie) <Necromancy> Boss
Thorn Tree <Circle of Thorns> Arch-Villain

Notes:

The map will be populated by team-size appropriate spawns of the Circle of Thorns and the unique faction Necromancy. Blightlord will always spawn in front of the Thorn Tree, which will in turn not have vines. However, it will always spawn as Arch-Villain class, even solo. Solo, Blightlord will be alone, but for each team member, one of his ‘henchmen’ will be added. A full team will spawn Blightlord, Grime, Muck, Guck, Sludge, and three Empowered Zombies (in that order).

CAUTION: the Thorn Tree will attack the player(s). Since it is immobile, however, and has plenty of blind spots, it is advisable to pull Blightlord and crew away from it before engaging them.

CAUTION: With his mastery of poison, Blightlord holds the power to revive his fallen henchmen. It is advisable to take him out first.

Defeating the Thorn Tree is not required to complete the mission, but doing so will award a respec recipe. The author thought this fair because this is the third mission of a set, and requires the same amount of effort, if not more, than a normal respec trial.

Unique Faction: Necromancy
Zombie – Minion
Specter – Lieutenant
Grave Knight – Lieutenant
Lich – Boss

Quotes:

Air Thorn Caster: “Hey, you can’t say that here! This is rated ‘Teen’!”
Guide: “What? I just wanted to convey to you how sick I was of these zombies in our base.”
Air Thorn Caster: “Well, there is no need to be so lewd about it.”
(on aggro)
Guide: “There’s another of those [bleeps]! Waste ‘em!”
Air Thorn Caster: “O tempora, o mores.”

Blightlord: “Note to self: next time, use weedkiller potion right away. Saves time and frustration.”
Grime: “Agreed, my lord.”
Sludge: “Ssssuuuuck-uuuup.”
(on aggro)
Blightlord: “HELP you? You must be daft to try and command one such as me. Perish in misery!”
Grime: “Your will be done.”
Sludge: “Yaaaay! I wassss getting boooored!”
(defeated)
Blightlord: “Fine, I’ll tell you what you want to know…”

Debriefing:

Excellent work. Maybe I was wrong about you after all.

[u]4) Destroy all intelligence[u]

Briefing:

Well, what are you waiting for? I told you you’d be working with me, not for me. Unless you need some help on where to head next, you don’t have to come talk to me after every task.

[u]Got it. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

The files will be heavily guarded. Also, it’s not unlikely the mystics will call for backup if things head south for them. Blightlord may be their foe, but they’ve got friends too. Careful when messing with them.

4) Destroy all intelligence
a. Destroy Legacy Chain files (Office)
i. 4 files to destroy
ii. Defeat bookkeepers (Fire, Light, Earth, Steel)
iii. (optional) Defeat hero ambush (Burning Brawler, Danica, Pstorm)

Notable NPCs:

Keeper of Fire (Inferno of Flame) <Legacy Chain> Boss
Keeper of Light (Radiant of Light) <Legacy Chain> Boss
Keeper of Earth (Tellus of Earth) <Legacy Chain> Boss
Keeper of Steel (Broadsword NPC) <Legacy Chain> Boss
Burning Brawler (Fire/Ice/Fire blaster) <Paragon Heroes> Boss
Danica (Martial Arts/Invulnerability scrapper) < Paragon Heroes > Boss
Pstorm (Storm Summoning/Psychic Blast defender) < Paragon Heroes > Boss

Notes:

The bookkeepers will always spawn together in the same room, depending on team size. Solo, the player will face only one Keeper (randomly selected) and Burning Brawler. As team size increases, so will the Keeper and hero ambush size, spawning the other Keepers as part of the original boss spawn and Danica and Pstorm as part of the hero ambush (in that order). Furthermore, the hero ambush will appear once the Keeper spawn has been aggroed, and then travel from its spawn location to the Keeper location. This will result in the hero ambush engaging the player(s) roughly halfway through the Keeper fight. However, only the Keepers must be defeated to exit the mission.

Quotes:

Keeper of [Random]: “Yes, I know of the intruder. I have already sent word for backup. It won’t take long.”
(on aggro)
Keeper of [Random]: “You shall not prevail, agent of chaos! We have powerful allies!”
Burning Brawler: “Hold on, help’s on the way! Blightlord won’t get away with this!”
Danica: “Storm the other way, honey! And leave some for me!”
Pstorm: “Yeah, Dad! They’re over here!”
(defeated)
Burning Brawler: “I knew this was…Blightlord’s doing…”

Debriefing:

There we go. Loose ends all tied up. Burning Brawler? Hey, I told you they’d call for backup. What did you think I was talking about? They call Paragon a City of Heroes for a reason, you know. Actually, this is good. Beebs thinks Blighthead did it, so he won’t be after you anytime soon, and Wyvern’s got no data to go on anymore. They might or might not put two and two together eventually, but they certainly won’t be doing so anytime soon. And yes, you’re very likely to keep running into do-gooders like that if you keep working with me. Hey, you know what they say – mess with the best and all. But you came out on top. That says quite a bit, doesn’t it now?

[u] A Series of Peculiar Parts [u] (40-50)

[u]1) Steal first component[u]

Briefing:

Alright, now that Rome is burning, we’ll have to make sure the fire stays around long enough. I’ll be taking care of that. You I need to start gathering the supplies necessary for our little scheme. What scheme? Not yet. After all, I can’t be entirely sure you won’t get caught yet. Or do you care to prove me wrong?

[u]Take your best shot. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

Well, aren’t you the eager one? Wonderful. Head over to Viridian and tell him you need a sub to Siberia. Don’t worry, if he gives you lip, just tell him you’re working with me. Yes, I said Siberia. These coordinates, to be precise. You’ll find a Spetsnaz base there. You may have already encountered a rogue group of theirs in your previous adventures.

In any case, the mission’s simple enough: get in, grab the goods, take out their leader, and make sure they can’t tell anyone what happened. Your best bet to do so is to disable their communications tower, then find the box with this label. Throw this bomb here in for good measure. I’m sure you’ll find a good spot for it.

Clue: Bomb

Okay, the small things were already strange, but what the heck is this supposed to be? Looks more like something you’d stick in a Howitzer than a bomb.

1) Steal first component
a. Speak to Viridian (Grandville)

Debriefing:

I need to know that you’ve got what it takes…oh, this isn’t about the badges? My mistake. A submarine to Siberia? Now why would I requisition…oh. I understand. Yes, I know of your partner. Or partners, rather. Fine, your sub’s ready. Just bring it back in one piece. Why? That base you’re headed to – led by a maniac. Like a Troll gone military, but without the nasty side effects. He’ll probably pop right back up soon as you knock him down. Oh, the esteemed Mr. Zero didn’t tell you that, huh? I guess you better be careful whom you trust. Hah!

b. Recover first component from Spetsnaz base (Longbow Island base; winter skin)
i. Disable communications
ii. Bomb to set
iii. Steal second component
iv. Defeat Operative Rezyin

Notable NPCs:

Operative Rezyin (Broadsword/Regeneration scrapper) <Spetsnaz Commandos> Boss

Notes:

As the reader has likely already guessed, this map will be populated by high-level NPCs from the faction Spetsnaz Commandos.

Quotes:

Operative Rezyin: “Intruder, you say? Perfect. The convenience of a field test right at home.”
(on aggro)
Operative Rezyin: “It would seem bullets are not enough to stop you. Let us try my blade!”
(defeated)
Operative Rezyin: “This is NOT over!”
(defeated second time)
Operative Rezyin: “Okay, this is over…for now.”

Clue: Empty crate.

You didn’t even need to open this crate to know your target would be gone. To someone with your experience, the lid shows clear signs of being forced open. To anyone else, it’d look perfectly ordinary, but you recognize the telltale workings of the Malta Group.

Debriefing:

Ah, there you are. Well, where’s the…Malta? Why am I not surprised? No, I don’t blame you. Knowing them they were in and out long before you ever got there. Circumstances beyond your control, you know. Let me see what I can do.

[u]2) Pursue first component thieves[u]

Briefing:

Seems that we’re in luck. Those Malta that took off with your target? I know ‘em: Reikoff and Curtis. Also know where they’re at. I have to warn you though – they’re pretty tough, and sneaky to boot. You probably noticed that last one already, seeing how they managed to sneak out during your fight with the Spetsnaz without you even knowing they were there. You know what? We can do that too. Interested?

[u]Interested. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

Good. I’ve dropped word to Freedom Corps that Malta is up to something in their Warburg base. Oh no, they certainly are – we just don’t care what. All we need is that component. So here’s what you do: head in, take it, and give the thieves a reminder not to do that again. Once you have the component, you’ll have to make your own way back to the door. I highly doubt your recall beacon will work within one of Malta’s ‘tp jammer’ fields.

Also, you might want to know that the Longbow force you’ll be using as a distraction is being spearheaded by an ex-Gunslinger named Pete. No, you won’t have to fight him too. In fact, unlike Ms. Liberty’s candy canes, he’ll probably help you out if you do the same. Still, Reikoff and Curtis are rather tough. You might want a team for this.

2) Pursue first component thieves
a. Recover first component from Warburg (Warburg Malta base interior)
i. Find Pete
ii. Get Pete to mainframe
iii. Defeat Dune Fort 1-1-2, Whiskey Tumbleweed 3-4-9 (have component)
iv. Find Mission exit
v. (optional) Defeat Kronos Titan

Notable NPCs:

Gunslinger Pete (Gunslinger/Energy Manipulation) <Classified> Elite Boss/Hero
Dune Fort 1-1-2 (Tac Ops Commander/Electricity Manipulation) <Malta Operatives> Elite Boss/Arch-Villain
Whiskey Tumbleweed 3-4-9 (Gunslinger) <Malta Operatives> Elite Boss/Arch-Villain
Kronos Titan <Malta Operatives> Monster

Notes:

Reikoff and Curtis will spawn in the Konos Titan assembly room. Upon defeat, one of the four Titans in the room’s center will activate and attack the player(s). It does not need to be defeated to complete the mission.

Quotes:

Tac Ops Commander: “Well, well, look who we’ve got here.”
Gunslinger Pete: “That there stun grenade o’ yers is mighty cheap.”
Tac Ops Commander: “Hey, it worked, that’s what matters.”
(on aggro)
Gunslinger Pete: “I wouldn’t be so sure.”
Tac Ops Commander: “You’re KIDDING me! MHI! MHI!”
(on rescue)
Gunslinger Pete: “Other days I’d shoot you where you stand. But I could use a hand, and I’m bettin’ you can too. Let’s go.”

Dune Fort 1-1-2: “Am I the only one getting annoyed at all these intrusions?”
Whiskey Tumbleweed 3-4-9: “Nah, em’s bothersome. I’m jest tryin’ ta figure out why.”
Dune Fort 1-1-2: “Why what?”
Whiskey Tumbleweed 3-4-9: “Why them stalkers ain’t doin’ squat. Don’t ‘free fer all’ mean ‘go after everythin’ ya see’?”
Dune Fort 1-1-2: “Probably after badgers again.”
(on aggro)
Dune Fort 1-1-2: “It’s the traitor! Get them!”
Whiskey Tumbleweed 3-4-9: “I don’t believe it! Pete, yall an’ yer buddy are gonna be in SO much pain!”
(at 50% health)
Dune Fort 1-1-2: “Okay, that hurt. Now I’m mad.”
Whiskey Tumbleweed 3-4-9: “AGH! RASSIN’ FRASSIN’ METAS CAN’T BE TOUGHER’N ME! DAMN CHEATERS!”
(defeated)
Dune Fort 1-1-2: “You’re not getting out of here alive…”
Whiskey Tumbleweed 3-4-9: “Tarnation…jest you wait…Titan’s gonna get ya…”

Clue: The First Component

Doesn’t look very special. Resembles a metal rod in a prismatic block of ice. Since it hasn’t melted, it’s probably the same stuff people here use in inventions these days.

Debriefing:

They went as far as to sic a Kronos Titan on you? Wow, you must’ve made them pretty darn mad.

[u]3) Steal second component[u]

Briefing:

You’re just in time. This one’s simple enough: Dr. Midas Phillis is your standard mad roboticist. Wants to better the world by ruling it, yadda yadda. Just like Nemesis, only more straightforward. And he’s also got himself a heroic nemesis. Frankly, I think that’s what good ol’ Nemmy’s been missing all this time. Oh, sorry; I trail off like that sometimes. Anyway, the good doctor’s heroic counterpart is a young man named Billyboy. And as luck would have it, the two are brawling it out right now in one of his lairs.

[u]Already ahead of you. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

Excellent. The second component is on Phillis’ person, and I highly doubt he’d hand it over if you ask nicely, so you’ll have to beat it out of him. Now, Billyboy and Dr. Phillis have sort of a love-hate relationship, so as soon as you interrupt their brawl, both of them are likely to try and take you down so they can get back to their own fight. My advice: finish it quickly so they don’t have time to really notice what happened. The more confused they end up, the more likely they are to blame each other for your interruption.

3) Steal second component
a. Recover second component (High-tech lab)
i. Defeat Billyboy, Dr. Phillis and crew

Notable NPCs:

Billyboy (Invulnerability/Energy Melee/Energy Mastery tanker) <Paragon Heroes>
Dr. Phillis (Robotics/Traps/Mu Mastery mastermind) <Rogue Isles Villains> Boss
Iconoclast (RAM) <Phillisbots> Boss
Kibitzer (Protector) <Phillisbots> Boss
Grubstaker (Protector) <Phillisbots> Boss
Fracas (Militia) <Phillisbots> Boss
Madcap (Militia) <Phillisbots> Boss
Pother (Militia) <Phillisbots> Boss

Notes:

The map will be populated by team-size appropriate spawns of the unique faction Phillisbots. Billyboy and Dr. Phillis will always spawn together, even of the player is alone. After a team size of two is exceeded, for each team member, one of Dr. Phillis’ ‘henchmen’ will be added. A full team will spawn all notable NPCs in the order listed above.

Unique Faction: Phillisbots
Militia – Minion (looks like a Nuon; battle drone powers)
Protector – Lieutenant (much more streamlined; composed of bluish steel and resemble short suits of armor; decorative wings on their helmets; carry large metal shields that deploy force fields; protector bot powers)
RAM – Boss (12 ft. tall monstrosities with massive spiked gauntlets; large shoulder pads covered in spikes; spikes are actually missiles; assault bot powers)

Quotes:

Billyboy: “Face it, Doc, this time I’ve got you.”
Dr. Phillis: “Foolish boy! I have not yet begun to fight!”
Fracas: “Yeah, what he said!”
Madcap: “What’s the point? We’re all doomed anyway.”
(on aggro)
Billyboy: “Gee, Doc, do you make enough enemies? Tell him he can have you once I’m done with you!”
Dr. Phillis: “Stupid child! You’re truly ignorant to not realize how many hate you, but perhaps this meddler should get in line to be put down behind you!”
Fracas: “Yeah, what he said! The more the bloodier!”
Madcap: “Now we’re even more doomed than we were before…doomeder…more doomed…oh, what’s the point?”
Kibitzer: “You dupe! The great Dr. Midas Phillis is too powerful for even armies to defeat!”
Iconoclast: “I am prepared to defend the honor of Dr. Phillis.”
(at 50% health)
Billyboy: “What part of ‘shiny and invulnerable’ don’t you understand?”
(defeated)
Billyboy: “Ow…that really hurt. This is all your fault, Doc…”
Dr. Phillis: “Undone again…this is all that moronic adolescent’s blunder…”

Clue: The Second Component

Okay, this one’s kind of nifty. It’s a hologram in the shape of a tiny CD, but without any visible projector; and it’s solid to the touch. Still, you think that red stone in Phillis’ suit might’ve been a better catch.

Debriefing:

Ah, marvelous work. They said what? Oh wow, they crack me up every time. Those two are just too much. You should hear one of their shouting matches when they get really riled up. Hi-la-ri-ous.

[u]4) Steal third component[u]

Briefing:

Alright, good work so far, but now things are gonna get a little tougher – or easier, depending on your point of view.

[u]Hit me. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

Just what I wanted to hear. Here’s the deal: it’s a simple and straightforward ‘steal this’, but I’ll be sending you to another world…er, I mean dimension, yes. Or rather, Operative Grillo will. Just ask him to use his portal and do the same with him as with Viridian if he gives you any trouble. I’ve got a lot of leverage with Arachnos.

Once you’re there, just grab the component and get out. You don’t need to do anything else. If you want to, though, I’m sure you can always ‘introduce’ yourself to some evil versions of the Freedom Phalanx. Yep, that’s right – you’re headed to Praetorian Terra…er, Earth. Just try not to run into your own alternate world twin, okay?

4) Steal third component
a. Speak to Operative Grillo (Grandville)

Debriefing:

Upsilon Beta 9-6? Sure, go right ahead. What’s wrong, you expected this to be more difficult? Not at all. Yes, it takes a lot of energy, but we’ve got plenty of that, and every time someone steps through that portal there, we learn a little bit more. In fact, if you could bring me back a souvenir…okay, okay, you’ve got a job to do. Don’t let me keep you. Whatever happened to ‘pick up your fellow man, lend him a helping hand in his conquest of the world’…?

b. Recover third component from Upsilon Beta 9-6 (Random selection of Praetorian mission map)
i. Steal third component
ii. (optional) Defeat [Praetorian I], [Praetorian II]

Notable NPCs:

[Praetorian I] <Praetorians> Arch-Villain
[Praetorian II] <Praetorians> Arch-Villain

Notes:

As the reader has likely already guessed, this mission is different every time this story arc commences. Upon mission acceptance, the game selects a random Praetorian mission map from a collection of 4 or more, taken from high-level hero missions that send the player to the Praetorian world to battle two members of the upper echelon (excluding Tyrant). For instance, the selection could be the quasi-Oranbega map on which the player must defeat Infernal and Diabolique, or the nightmarish asylum where the player must defeat Malaise and Mother Mayhem. Said Praetorians will always spawn as Arch-Villains, but unlike the hero versions of these missions, their defeat is not necessary to complete the mission.

Clue: The Third Component

Another rod in ice. Probably this world’s duplicate of that first one you picked up. But why not just copy the one you already had? Seems like a lot of work for the same thing.

Debriefing:

Well of course they’re tough. Why didn’t I tell you to get a team? Personally, I thought ‘evil Freedom Phalanx’ was self-explanatory.

[u]5) Steal fourth component[u]

Briefing:

We’re almost done. Just two to go. So then, last time I sent you to another world, this time another world is coming to you. Yes, you’ll be going after the Rikti. Don’t worry about Kuhr’Rekt, you’ll be facing the other faction. I can never remember which name is which, but whatever.

[u]Good enough. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

Indeed. Head over to the Rikti War Zone and snatch the fourth component from the supply stash of Warmaster Cher’tak. Chances are you’ll find him at these coordinates, along with a Vanguard division helping his troops adapt to coexistence with humans. I don’t need to tell you that you’ll need to take out the leaders to make a clean getaway.

Oh, and speaking of – it’s highly unlikely they won’t call for help. Expect a sizeable division of the Sword on your tail once you’ve completed your mission. I say this because thanks to Rikti jamming fields, you won’t be able to recall out. My advice: run. Run fast. The Sword doesn’t mess around. I imagine you’ll be facing everything from Sorcerers to HVAS units.

5) Steal fourth component
a. Recover fourth component (Vanguard map); unable to exit
i. Recover fourth component (not there)
ii. Defeat Vanguard Commanders (Faultline, Fusionette)
iii. Defeat Warmaster Cher’tak
iv. Find mission exit
v. (optional) Defeat Vanguard ambush
b. Recover fourth component (RWZ outdoor)
i. Destroy lead tank
ii. Steal fourth component
iii. Defeat Lt. Bear (ambush)
iv. (optional) Defeat Manticore

Notable NPCs:

Faultine <Vanguard Shield> Boss
Fusionette <Vanguard Shield> Boss
Warmaster Cher’tak (powers of a Chief Soldier as well as Dra’Gon; black and white Chief Soldier armor) <Rikti> Elite Boss/Arch-Villain
Vanguard HVAS x ? <Vanguard Sword> Elite Boss
Lt. Bear (Raptor Agent) <Wyvern> Elite Boss
Manticore <Freedom Phalanx> Hero

Notes:

As the reader can see, this mission is comprised of two parts. The first is a Rikti tileset map populated by allied Rikti and Vanguard Shield forces. The spawns containing Faultline, Fusionette, and Cher’tak will be separate. However, once the player (s) defeat all these spawns and interact with the objective (glowie), three waves of Vanguard Sword will home in on them in an attempt to defeat them. Depending on team size, they will always be large enough to make the option of running for the exit appealing to the player(s), as each wave may even spawn multiple HVAS units.

The second part of this mission takes place in an outdoor instance of the Rikti War Zone. The lead tank is a destructible object (or maybe the developers can figure out how to make it an actual NPC), which must be destroyed. The rest of the convoy takes the form of Vanguard trucks guarded by Vanguard Shield. A crate by one of these trucks holds the objective, and will trigger a Wyvern ambush. The first wave consists of normal NPCs, the second contains Lt. Bear, and the third brings Manticore, who will always spawn as Hero class. However, only Lt. Bear must be defeated to complete the mission.

Quotes:

Part I:

Infantry: “Say, this new translator IS pretty nice.”
Faultline: “Told you so.”
(on aggro)
Faultine: “I don’t believe this!”
Infantry: “&%#*@!)#^!”
Faultine: “Yeah, there’s still a few bugs with it. Try smaller insults.”

Fusionette: “I’m sooooo booooored.”
Guardian: “Request: patience.”
(on aggro)
Guardian: “Action: at last! Boredom: annihiliated.”
Fusionette: “And you told me to be patient? You there, say hello to my little friend!”

Cher’tak: “Humans: odd. Yet: likeable: strangely.”
Conscript: “Agreement: my person.”
Cher’tak: “Peace: good. Yet: realization: the itch. To scratch: nothing.”
(on aggro)
Conscript: “Warmaster: opponent.”
Cher’tak: “Purpose: renewed! Opponent: request: BURN!”
(at 50% health)
Cher’tak: “Emotion-state change. New emotion-state: anger. Opponent: request: kindly perish!”
(defeated)
Cher’tak: “Translator unable to accept length of reviling thought.”

Part II:

(ambush)
Lt. Bear: “What’s the matter, got cotton in your ears? I told you I’d be back!”
(at 50% health)
Lt. Bear: “Oh, so you got some fight left after all, huh? Tough luck – I ain’t going down this time!”
(defeated)
Lt. Bear: “Fine, prove me wrong…but I’ll have the last laugh yet…[Playername], meet the boss...”

[The Vanguard personnel and Manticore would get their dev-given dialogue.]

Clue: The Component’s Location

This crate is empty, but the supply list next to it shows its contents were transferred to a convoy headed back to the Vanguard compound not long ago.

Clue: The Fourth Component

It looks like one of those tech hardware things for bases, but it’s green and gray instead of blue and white, and there aren’t any visible openings. Still, it’s about the size of that CD you swiped earlier. A playback device?

Debriefing:

Pursued and took out a Vanguard convoy? I don’t say this often, but I sure am impressed. I’m also glad to see you’re being more proactive. Looks like I won’t get the chance to rile on you for not tying up loose end anymore. I’m so terribly sad now, heh heh.

[u]6) Steal final component[u]

Briefing:

This is the last of it – and once again, you’re just in time. You ready?

[u]Always. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

You’ll be heading to another world again, specifically one where the Clockwork King has taken over. Remember what I said about you being just in time? Well, it looks like the heroes are busy with him right now, so unless you’re really feeling violent, you won’t have to bother with him or them.

What you will have to bother with is the guy who has the final component: a ‘chaos elemental’ named the Scarlet Eye. Thrives off mayhem, destruction, you know, fairly standard rundown; hence why he’s so comfortable on a world full of that stuff. In his pursuit is Commander Cynic, a sort-of lawman whose organization goes after those sorts of villains. Long story short, you’ll have to take them both out to get the component.

6) Steal final component
a. Speak to Operative Grillo (Grandville)
b. Recover final component from Epsilon Tau 27-2 (Boomtown)
i. Defeat Commander Cynic and crew
ii. Defeat Scarlet Eye
iii. (optional) Defeat Psychic Clockwork King
iv. (optional) Defeat hero team (Energon X, Target Lad, Bladewing, Charles Simmons)

Notable NPCs:

Commander Cynic <Unknown> Boss
Detritus (Assault Bot) <Robotics> Boss
Hex (Protector Bot) <Robotics> Boss
Ponder (Protector Bot) <Robotics> Boss
Karn (Battle Drone) <Robotics> Boss
Drumknot (Battle Drone) <Robotics> Boss
Foul (Battle Drone) <Robotics> Boss
Scarlet Eye <Rogue Isles Villains> Boss
Clockwork King <Psychic Clockwork> Arch-Villain
Energon X (Energy Blast/Energy Manipulation blaster) <Paragon Heroes> Boss
Target Lad (Archery/Electricity Manipulation blaster) <Paragon Heroes> Boss
Bladewing (Katana/Gravity Control inverse dominator) <Paragon Heroes> Boss
Charles Simmons (Gravity Control/Force Field controller) <Paragon Heroes> Boss

Notes:

Just as in the mission that held Billyboy and Dr. Phillis, the Scarlet Eye and Commander Cynic will always spawn together, and as the player team size increases, Cynic’s ‘henchmen’ will be added to their spawn. Upon defeat, the Scarlet Eye will execute a ‘teleport’ animation, much like Professor Echo, instead of the usual fall-over animation.

However, in addition to this, the map also contains the Psychic Clockwork King, who will always spawn as an Arch-Villain, as well as contain four heroes ‘fighting’ him in the same spawn. Don’t be fooled, though – they will work together against the player(s) and consider one another allies. The fighting’s just for show, like Arachnos and the Council in Nerva.

Quotes:

Commander Cynic: “Ah, now I have you. Chaos elemental Scarlet Eye, you are hereby…wait. There is a presence here. What are you up to?”
Scarlet Eye: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I can assure you, there’s no way you can stop one with my power.”
(on aggro)
Commander Cynic: “If it’s a fight you want, come get your beating! I’ve plenty to go around!”
Scarlet Eye: “My, my, this is becoming very chaotic in…wait, are you attacking ME? Fine! Feel the wrath of the immortal force that is chaos incarnate!”
(defeated)
Commander Cynic: “Well, this bites…”
Scarlet Eye: “You shall never defeat chaos…”

Charles Simmons: “Oh wow…this thing’s sure big.”
Bladewing: “Feh, I’ve seen bigger.”
Energon X: “I think we both have. First to get the head wins?”
Bladewing: “What, you think you stand a chance? You are SO on!”
Target Lad: “Ready when you are, Uncle E!”
(on aggro)
Bladewing: “Hey! No KSing allowed!”
Energon X: “Who the heck is this git?! Get ‘em!”
Charles Simmons: “Oh snap! Um, um…boolpropenable…”
Target Lad: “Cool! Two villains for the price of one!”
(defeated)
Bladewing: “Ow…you cheated…”
Charles Simmons: “I didn’t cheat fast enough…”
Energon X: “Oh no…don’texplodedon’texplodedon’texplode…”
Target Lad: “Not again…I hate hospital white…”

Clue: The Scarlet Eye’s Words

Before disappearing, the Scarlet Eye hissed vehemently, “You shall never defeat chaos. You may have beaten me, but you lack the power to undo the vast and powerful force that I am. Against the might of chaos, you are but an insignificant worm. We shall meet again – at a time and place of MY choosing – and I shall show you what I mean…”

Debriefing:

Got away? That’s annoying. So why aren’t you after him? Oh…right. My bad, common sense – I said you don’t need to come to me unless you don’t know which way to head, so if you come to me, there’s no other reason. I really do need to fix that shoddy memory of mine one of these days. No worries, I’ll get right on it.

[u]7) Pursue final component[u]

Briefing:

Perfect timing. I know exactly where to start looking.

[u]Let’s go. [u]

Mission Acceptance:

I figured out how he just disappeared like that: he fled to the mental…er, psychic plane. That’s bad and good at the same time. The bad news is that due to his mental prowess, he’s vastly more powerful there than in the physical world. The good news is that it looks like Vanessa DeVore and her Carnies didn’t like him coming there and interrupting whatever they were up to.

Long story short, they don’t see eye-to-eye, so if you lead her to him, chances are she’ll throw a hissy fit like none you’ve ever seen and make your job a whole lot easier. Mind you, that doesn’t mean she’ll be glad to see you – she likes to think of the mental plane as her private domain, so the moment she sees you there she’ll try and throw your mind in a blender. Still, I’d say it’s worth a shot. If you’d rather just take them both out, I highly recommend you hire some help.

Now, to actually get there, just ask my old pal Psymon over in Nerva. He’ll set you up right away.

7) Pursue final component
a. Speak to Psymon Omega (Nerva)
b. Speak to Technician Naylor (Nerva)
c. Recover final component from the psychic plane (Graveyard)
i. Defeat Scarlet Eye
ii. (optional) Defeat Vanessa DeVore

Notable NPCs:

Scarlet Eye <Rogue Isles Villains> Elite Boss/Arch-Villain
Vanessa DeVore <Carnies> Elite Boss/Arch-Villain

Quotes:

(on aggro)
Scarlet Eye: “You again! How did you find me here? Never mind, it matters not. In fact, I’m glad you’re here. Feel my power!”
(75% health)
Scarlet Eye: “You’re actually managing to hold your own against me. How amusing. Yes, prolong the struggle, continue the chaos.”
(50% health)
Scarlet Eye: “Impressive. But your power is naught against the might of chaos!”
(25% health)
Scarlet Eye: “How can this be?! Why won’t you DIE?!”
(defeated)
Scarlet Eye: “…”

[Vanessa would have her dev-given dialogue.]

Clue: The final component.

It’s a transparent page with odd symbols on it. Looks almost like a high-tech spell scroll. It’s probably the instruction manual for the other stuff you took. That’s interesting, actually – no one ever reads the manual.

Debriefing:

Excellent, excellent work. You know, this project has had its setbacks, but I have to admit you’ve handled yours with exemplary performance. I had my doubts, but I can honestly say I’m glad to be working with you. Hm? The Scarlet Eye? Oh, he’ll re-form some time down the trail. Nothing to worry about, though. He’ll probably find something else to occupy his rather tiny mind right away – like an insane asylum or some-such.

"Yes." Tamesis' opponent stated dryly, a toothy smirk upon his inhuman lips, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd...not again."

The Arbiter's translocation placed him into striking distance of the odd staff yet again. This time, however, the weapon went wide, its tip sailing above Tamesis' head to strike naught but air. Before the blue-scaled being had even realized it, the Arbiter had already dropped low and made contact, knocking the towering draconian off balance.

Like a house of cards the creature came down. His wings flared open, throwing up a wall of wind to compensate, but it was already too late. The only thing the reflex succeeded in was to buy enough time to catch the fall in a roll ahead. Still, that allowed more than enough concentration to send the metallic staff's tip after the Arbiter's stabilizing leg, intending to floor the man once more.

At the same time, heavy claps of thunder came rocketing through the open door - the characteristic sounds of Malta pistol fire.

"Damnation, this place is infested!" a harsh voice roared from the crimson gloom of the Arachnos-styled hallway beyond the CC center, "He's alive - get him out! Dead - leave him! C4 there, there, and there! And someone get into the double-C! Blow through, friendlies out, angels one! Champagne in twenty...!"

--------------------

By now, the first ATC had made its way back to the Dark Rover, ferrying Energon X along. The miniscule Specialist uttered not a word as the small craft descended into the monstrous vehicle's hangar through the operating dorsal gate - the commotion about stood as a good indicator of the reason.

At seemingly random intervals, announcements would come over the hangar's concealed speaker systems, and one or more groups of personnel would shift their business elsewhere. Most people's attention seemed to be on the heavy fighter right now, though the breadth of those made sure to stay away from the thing. Quite likely it might take off at any moment to support the thundering energy artillery outside.

"I'll be quick and simple." Danger finally spoke, informing Energon of the idea, "The Chief's already arranged everything; all you need to do is head down two decks aft, port side, subsection blue-green..."

Yeh. That's the idea.

General Schwarzherz

Species: Unknown; formerly human
Age: 62
Height: 187 centimeters
Occupation: Very, Very Evil
Likes: Guns, darkness, cold, and just about anything else that can be used to scare people
Dislikes: Bright lights, hugs, "my accursed nemesis the sun"
Favortite food: "Wouldn't you like to know?"

General Schwarzherz was my first 'real' CoX character. You know, the first guy with an actual written backstory. I don't remember exactly where the all details came from, as the sources were many and spread far and wide, but eventually the parts came together into some amalgamated Lord Darkity Dark who couldn't care less of what other people thought about him using guns instead of evil staves of necromancy in his ongoing quest to destroy all life.

However, that's not where our story begins. Oh no, the General's career goes back much further than that: Schwarzherz came about in CoV beta, and he looked quite a bit different than he does today. In fact, I do believe he's the only character of mine whose appearance has changed significantly. Schwarzherz used to be just some human dude in standard urban camouflage, with nice living skin - even hair - out to make life nonexistent for everyone else. Back in those days, he even used traps instead of murky darkness and evil magic.

The inspiration for this first version was likely my frequent contact with the US military, and probably my good friend Ravceb joining their ranks. Through him I personally met more and more of the disgruntled grunts, and we soon found ourselves at one shooting range or another, constantly discussing 'God and the World' - in other words, everything that was wrong with this world in the past and present and should be fixed, but all the schemes that'd actually work were too crazy or contrived to actually pull off.

But times changed, and with the beta server wipe went the first incarnation of the good General. It would be a long time before he'd rear his ugly head again, but he did finally surface once more; after I'd gotten my first 'live' villain to 40. You know, before they raised the level cap in CoV.

So there I was, contemplating on the creation of my second villainous fellow, and from out of nowhere came the memory of General Schwarzherz to savagely smack me for my inattentiveness to it! Well now, who could resist such a convincing proposition? I immediately went to work creating the General once more, but as I said, it had been quite some time, and something just felt...off.

I mean, I'd played traps now, and sure it had been fun, but now I found myself craving something more classical and sinister. Lucky for me, there was dark miasma, practically begging to be played. 'Why not?' I asked myself, and since I couldn't find an answer to satisfy me, a wielder of darkness the General became. Of course, I couldn't have a General without an army, so the mercenaries were there to stay.

Schwarzherz received a costume upgrade as well, changing from the standard human soldier gone evil and awry to a twisted being of malevolence and darkness that couldn't stand so much as the light of day. With glowing red eyes hidden beneath a pitch-black hood, the new General entered the Rogue Isles donning a suit of powered armor with the characteristic marks of nocturnal maritime operations camouflage - except for the black hood, of course.

So there he was, my soldier gone wicked, but now that his appearance had gotten a makeover, it only seemed fair that his story - what little there was of it; yes, 'soldier gone wicked was about it at the time - did as well. But what would explain so much darkness and evil, and just general hatred toward all living things, while at the same time being well mannered and eloquent like a traditional mastermind should? Sure, there were plenty of explanations, but I wanted something truly evil, something with classic nuances while at the same time standing out of the crowd.

Thankfully, luck favored me once more, as at this time a few very pivotal things happened within my life - and before I knew it, Schwarzherz wasn't only possible and vaguely outlined, but standing right there like a block of solid neutronium.

He'd have been a Nazi - but a good one. Like the ones who were just generally shot when they said anything. Of course, that wasn't enough; oh no. Now I had to twist this good fellow in a world of hatred and ruin to my own sinister ends. So he fell into a world even worse - a parallel Terra so full of darkness even the atmosphere was rife with evil and hatred, a being of terrible sentience constantly attempting to kill and consume any living thing within its reach.

But no, he wouldn't die there - only almost. At the very last moment, a denizen of this world would discover the wayward and dying human and help the man back to his feet...by possessing what was left of his body and smothering all the good that was left in his being into permanent and utter extinction. General Schwarzherz was now the very definition of evil, pure and complete.

Now I had a true terror loose upon this virtual world, and I have to say nothing was ever quite the same. Schwarzherz hasn't changed since then - after all, there wasn't any further need - and has since been a steady figure wherever there existed a need for a classic source of age-old evil with a modern twist.

Why yes, Synapse, yes I am. And so are many others. You would like to hear them, you say? Indeed, I would enjoy such quite a bit as well. So how about it then?

We've written backstories, rationales, prequels, origins, explanations, summations, outlines, inlines of the online, and so much more, but what about the inspirations?

Come now, you can't tell me that there character just appeared out of thin air one day and then just stayed that way. There had to have been some manner of catalyst, some sort of idea that grew into what your character(s) is/are today. So tell us! Where did your character come from? How was he/she/it created? Not within your mind - but within the physical world. What did you, the author, the creator, progress through to breathe life into your creation?

After all, this is a game about people. No, not the high-flying spandex-wearing ones on the screen - the ones behind the monitors and keyboards, mice and cheese, thinking thoughts and exchanging ideas.

I'll show you what I mean.

Observe!

OOC:

If Wolffe gives the go-ahead, fine by me. In fact, that might just be the central plot this thread needs.

Also, Krazy - get in here sometime. Or do I need to poke you with the Stick of Attention(TM)?

((Hm, alrighty then. So maybe someone can clarify this for me then: this 'shield of darkness' hovering over Paragon - is it supposed to prevent people from getting in/out? If so, are yalls under said bubble or outside? And if possible, what zone?))

((Don't tell me I broke another thread already. ))

((I have to say, I'd like to jump into this, but I'm not sure if Unholygiant is going to take care of his main plot. Or is someone else doing that now? I'd hate to see yet another thread die due to lack of attention from its creator. ))

((Hm, this certainly took a twist. So...what makes you think she actually 'suffered a headshot'? ))

((Well, what would you recommend then? There's not really a central plot that's being spun here, as it's more just a 'this is a world, have at it' thread instead of something with a core ongoing story. Where would these rails be that you speak of?))

"Or not." the lance commander let out a sigh beneath his helmet, again pressing a pair of fingers to the armored headpiece's temporal segment, "Pilot, descend for pick-up."

For a moment, he wondered just why just about everyone here seemed to have no agenda but their own, but then let it go just as quickly. It wasn't his business; and hopefully, it wouldn't end up being thus. These 'humans' were just plain nuts...

--------------------

"Insolent child, I am not your father!" Lord Recluse's visage roared back at Cry, eyes burning with rage, "And yes, your security - I've been hearing a great deal about that lately! Incompetence! Your selfish deeds have compromised all Arachnos has worked to accomplish!"

Cry knew then that he'd truly gone too far. Compounded with his gross lack of responsibility at the Fortress, the attempted assassination of Black Scorpion (which though instigated by the Scarlet Eye still had Cry's figurative claw marks all over it), the near-elimination of Arachnos' psionic division - not to mention quite a few Arbiters - now came to be the undead child's undoing.

True, Recluse didn't really care for motivations so long as the results stood to please. But this time, said outcomes had roared straight into a figurative black hole - and there would be consequences.

"I have to admit, I find no pleasure in this." Recluse announced darkly, "Especially regarding you. I might have expected this from Malak. But not you. Oh, not you. You have disappointed me beyond words. I never imagined you could prove so useless. Arbiter Daos - Lieutenant Cry is hereby relieved of duty, as well as rank and privileges. Handle the situation as you would any who dare slay an Arbiter."

That was that. The master of Arachnos may have favored the strong, but even he couldn't accept this act. Such blatant selfishness was weakness - and Lord Recluse couldn't tolerate weakness in his own inner circle.

Recluse's words rang hollow as the transmission concluded, Arachnos' supreme leader following up with the reinstatement of Ghost Widow to her former position, as well as the request that Cry be kept alive until he could personally be present at the execution - but only if reasonably possible, of course...

--------------------

Tamesis immediately made acquaintance with 'the stick' again.

"Honestly, if it didn't work the first time, just what makes you think it would now?" the Arbiter's adversary mocked while the man regained his balance once more, "Oh well, it would seem it's time now anyway."

"Time?" Tamesis growled angrily, rubbing his stinging nose, but nevertheless prepared for the attack that common sense suggested would follow such a statement, "Time for what?"

But the draconian only chuckled, telling the Arbiter smugly, "The orbital strike, of course."

Without warning, the sky outside suddenly blazed with fire, a bright-orange beam of coherent energy roaring from the clouds and right through the main coordination tower, spearing the structure in twain. Within just moments, the antenna-laden tower rumbled to the ground in a staccato of thunder, dust, and debris...

--------------------

"What'n tarnation...?!" the Gunslinger scrambled frantically from his overturned office chair, slamming his hands on the console that had just a second before performed rest duty for the man's boots - hence why he'd ended up on the floor as the beam burst from the skies.

Still, the shock didn't last long. The Malta Operatives caught themselves quickly, most rushing to phones and consoles while a set few watched the tower's destruction through the window gallery. But just as the Gunslinger noted as he held the receiver to his ear, so it occurred to the others at nearly the same time.

All lines lay dead.

Just outside the windows now descended an ATC, followed shortly by another in formation. Two more joined in further down the tarmac, and then all four began to deploy their troops.

Airfield personnel retaliated to the attack as fast as they could, and it didn't take long at all for the tarmac to blaze with muzzle blasts and energy bolts, not to mention cannon fire from the ATCs' tribeam guns.

From their perch, the Malta could only watch in awe for the next few seconds, coordinated strike teams running and gunning down below, while more ATCs performed drops from above, turning the airfield into a war zone. Nothing would be taking off from here anytime soon; this was a fact.

Weapons clicked to readiness, their safeties removed. This battle had only just begun...

"Pretty much." the military-esque Mitch smirked in support of Orchid's explanation, "And no, she just..."

"Didn't listen again." the masked man who'd first appeared completed the sentence, having made his way over now as well, "Grave Knight went spastic after she punched out its master, and the sword got her at the arm. Now she smacks the ball too hard, and off it goes."

"Oh, how rude of me." he performed a curt bow as the remainder of the group drifted away from the bleachers as well, "I don't remember my name, but feel free to call me Thermoplast - or just T. Everyone else does. You've met Mitch, that's Saledreya, and the chunk of metal's Mica."

"You be careful who you call a 'chunk'." the steel golem grinned in a sinister manner, wagging her finger at the man, "I've got my eye on you."

"I'm sure you do." he replied laxly, "And then of course there's Mor...Mord? Where'd you go?"

"Probably hiding again." Sal concluded with a snicker below her cloth, explaining to the others, "He's really shy, you must know."

"Am...am not." a stuttering voice gave answer, the man that was its source emerging from the bleachers and making his way over the few steps. Mordes stood garbed in just about the same outfit as Mica and Mitch, though he'd supplemented the ensemble with a long black trench coat and a large duster hat of equal hue.

Of course, the most distinguishing mark upon him was his skull. Just his skull - it had no skin, muscle, or flesh of any kind, being just bare bone. Like Sal and Mica, Mordes of course had no heartbeat, lacking internal organs in the first place, and Kruth'T could probably hear quite well that the man really was nothing more than a walking skeleton.

Though he kept his bony fingers within matte black gloves of leather, the eyeless sockets of his head were more than enough to give this away to just about anyone. In addition, there ran wrinkles through his tank top and pants that no human with flesh still attached to their bones could have supported, no matter how severe of a crash diet they'd undergone.

The creature beside him looked even stranger, but at least it was alive. It wasn't very large, perhaps the size of a sizeable dog, maybe a Great Dane. It was definitely some sort of reptilian, and a quadruped at that. Long and slim, it seemed reminiscent of a large predatory cat, at least in the way it moved; slowly setting one leg in front of the other, the three clawed toes on each digitigrade foot spreading to contact the ground and curling back somewhat once lifted off.

The skull was large and long, the characteristic shape of a sizeable carnivorous reptile unmistakable, and the mouthful of sharp teeth only added to the sense. A coat of falu red, finely interlocking scales covered the creature from head to toe to the tip of the long, whiplike tail, and even the large pair of wings that rose from the thing's back, membranes of robust, leathery hide stretched tightly between the supporting bones of the neatly folded-back appendages.

The eyes carried no pupils, only solid amber membranes that gave no clue what the creature looked at, nor if it even could see. The head surveying its surroundings with precision, however, gave this a rather large chance. Still, it didn't exactly seem outright dangerous, wearing a segmented silver collar about its neck that looked surprisingly high-tech, despite the large blue jewel embedded in its frontal joint.

"Um...hi." Mordes got out timidly as he stopped by the group, raising a hand in a semi-wave for a moment.

"Wow, you guys must be very charismatic." Thermoplast commented with a light chuckle, "You actually got more than two words out of him..."

Not at all. In fact, going by your definition, it looks like I've run across this before.

Besides, this is a place for creative works - you don't need anyone's permission to express your ideas.

Me fail English? Unpossible!

Lord Recluse: "Statesman."

Lord Recluse: "Statesman!"

Lord Recluse: "Statesman!"

Statesman: "WHAT?!!"

Lord Recluse: "Oh well, nevermind."

So if you'll all turn to page 5 in your world domination booklets, I'll explain how we get started...

The classic slap to the back of one's head stood roughly in the same category as the smack of two fingers to the forehead, or the jab of same said to the bridge of the nose. It therefore shouldn't come as much of a surprise that one would be with another.

Without warning, there appeared a rod of metal in front of and between Tamesis' eyes, easily piercing through his fire shield and delivering the latter of the aforementioned. The Arbiter reeled back, not in pain (he hadn't run into the thing hard enough to actually hurt) but more with sudden shock. Indeed, it was most likely that his natural reflexes got the better of him and that the man now stumbled a bit, clutching at his nose with both hands.

Either way, some distance had been created while Tamesis' mind processed what had just happened and where the accursed rod had suddenly come from.

In truth, it had of course been there from the beginning, though not in its present form. The small cylinder the Arbiter's draconian opponent had his claws near not a few moments before had expanded into the thing with breakneck speed, forming the lance virtually from one instant to another. Even a bullet-dodging ninja couldn't have eluded this.

"I'm surprised you even tried that." the blue-scaled reptilian chuckled with a condescending growl in the undertone as Tamesis got his bearings again, "Honestly, I wouldn't be very good at diverting you if I didn't take the time to read up on my subject, would I now?"

This time, something in Tamesis clicked. This was rather strange: why wasn't this guy just coming at him like he'd done with the Arachnos base commander? Moreover, why weren't the others...?

Wait...where had the others gone?

They weren't in the room anymore, this the Arbiter was reasonably certain of. True, they could've been hiding, but Tamesis wasn't too worried about sneaky strikes. His fire shield would...

Wait, that was it! He couldn't - not without getting burned, at least - and the draconian didn't seem very willing to go through that. So either the others really weren't around anymore, or all of them didn't much feel like being set on fire. Since the former was of course more likely, along with the blue-scaled creature babbling about being a distraction, this put Tamesis in a spot to make a rather difficult choice.

Either this being really was just trying to tie him up for a while, letting the others proceed without worry of running into the guy with the fire shield...or he was lying, and trying to prod the Arbiter into storming out of the chamber and seek the rest of the intruders.

The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack...

"Much obliged." the masked man retorted, lazily snatching the arm from the air. He then turned to his left, where several figures could be seen approaching from behind the bleachers.

The first was doubtlessly the woman the arm belonged to, and there were several indicators - the first of course being her missing an arm. The second was the deathly pale tone of the skin on her other arm, and the third the eyeless sockets in her head. Instead of eyeballs, her visage carried simply a set of slightly luminescent, yellowish replacements that didn't look anything like human eyes.

In addition - as Kruth'T may well have noticed by now - the woman had no heartbeat. Her body was quite distinctly dead.

She'd dressed in a manner very much like the man she now accepter her arm back from, though her mask consisted of a drab white cloth that hung about her neck in the style of a 'reaper', as well as a hood in the same hue of white.

"I told you that Gave Knight got you." the man told her as if settling a bet, the undead woman grumblingly taking he arm back and holding its severed end to the stump in the short sleeve below her shoulder. Within moments, flesh and bone knitted together once more, and the arm sat firmly attached again.

"Fine, Mr. Cyber Eye." she huffed mockingly, testing the arm's motions to make sure everything was in order, "So you were right. This time. And it doesn't change anything."

Two more people had meanwhile come into view, and though all four of them stood more or less at the height of the average human, if just the casually dressed duo hadn't already appeared mismatched as could be, things now were surely so.

Though a man and a woman, the two wore roughly the same attire - clad completely in black, their clothing consisting of ordinarily cut pants, tank tops, and combat boots. The male part of the like-dressed duo also carried sunglasses, his hair in rather short, military fashion, while the female's long, silver strands fell elegantly upon the polished steel skin of her shoulders.

Yes, steel skin. In fact, everything about her was quite metallic. After all, she was a golem.

Indeed, the man in the same attire seemed the most human of the bunch, and he even had a heartbeat - an oddly low one, but at least it was there. In addition, he seemed the most amused, a wide grin upon his face as he crossed his arms while the other three discussed if the far-flung arm had won or lost the game just now.

Indeed, he didn't seem to care much at all, and so stepped over to the new arrivals to the tennis court.

"Sorry if Sal freaked you guys out any." he told Sis casually, but including the others in his explanation as well, "You've probably guessed by now, but she's kind of a lich. Parts come loose every now and then. Oh, and I'm Mitch..."

((Hey, don't poke me. I'm still waiting for Krazy and Anthius. ))