Lightningale

*claps*

Bravo, Dusk! It's an excellent story and a very clever take on many of the details of hero duty. If only the Lightningale could read this, perhaps she'd be a bit less suspicious and a bit more impressed. I know that I am. I look forward to reading more.

Wow, Cuppa! I hope your time with Tabula Rasa proves to be more in line with your dreams and ultimate aspirations, but we'll sure miss you around here. You have been consistent, genuine, and kind in your posts and responses to PMs. You stand out in my mind as one of the few shining examples of what a great service rep can be. God bless you!

Name: The Midnight Avengers

Website: http://47596.rapidforum.com (forum only)

Leaders: Bosal, The Lightningale, Rejuvenate, St Ignus

Preferred Method of Contact: In-game tell, Forum PM to Lightningale, or email to thelightningale@hotmail.com

Description:
In the aftermath of the Rikti Invasion, the legendary Dream Doctor, leader of the mysterious Midnight Squad, has disappeared. The few remaining Squad members have dispersed and now work behind the scenes of Paragon's crime-fighting endeavour. Their archenemies, the Circle of Thorns, and a number of other nefarious groups drawing on the dark arts, have taken advantage of the situation and gained a strong foothold in the city.

The Midnight Avengers came together to stand in the gap left by the Midnight Squad. Composed of arcane experts, mystical beings, artifact wielders, and spiritists, we are a diverse group of men and women who have dedicated our heart, mind, soul, and strength to protecting the people of Paragon City from evil magical forces.


((We are an RP supergroup of casual roleplayers. We are a small group (10-15 active members), but are always happy to consider new applications for membership. Recruitment usually involves an in-game interview and mission in character. We quickly accept people who prove to be creative and mature. If you're looking for a very active group where someone will always be on, we won't be for you. If you enjoy a tight knit group of clever people who know how to use their powers very well and mostly RP in the context of missions, come find us on Virtue.))

Thanks, Gil, for responding so rapidly to our request for this article. It raises more questions than it gives answers, but hey, it's magic- mystery is the most important element.

Justin Greene, isn't it? That's a good call. An article on Rick and Susan Davies would also be fun.

Fine article, Gil! The details were interesting, personal and believable. I'll never look at Brighid the same way again, and I happily anticipate discovering more about the other contacts we all share.

Maybe Jackson could dig up a bit of dirt on whether Azuria's consistent loss of key artifacts is incompetence or design.

Thanks for being a great part of a great QA team, Vyvyanne!

And congratulations on your promotion. I hope your work on Lineage turns out to be fulfilling and fun.

Yeah! Missed you, adoptive big brother! I hope you're back to stay.

Gale had the others step into the glowing circle and one by one they 'ported to the staircase. She checked the alley again for any hidden presence before stepping through herself. On the way down the stairs, she made a snatching motion, at the end of which the bracelet appeared, in its original size, in her hand. She tucked the metal relic away.

Ignus had already lead the others down. What greeted the party was a large room, with a ceiling about twelve feet high, and mahogany paneling up the first six of those feet. Its many doors nearly blended into the wall, and beautiful but unusual banners and photographs were hung all about. As soon as Ignus entered, there rose up merry fire in a large stone mantle at the furthest end, casting a an orangy glow on wing chairs, wooden tables, and artifact-beladen stone pedestals.

"Would any of you like a drink before we discuss things further?" Gale smiled as she motioned for them to sit down and moved to a small bar at their left. "We can conjure pretty much anything you want, although I usually just have tea."

Nodding and removing a some kind of metal ring from her belt pouch, the Lightningale moved to stand over the lone manhole cover in the alley. She crouched down, placed the ring on it and said, "Cresce."

A faint blue glow came from the edge of the ring as it expanded to nearly three feet in diameter. As the others walked up, they could see the ring was made of twined silver wire. It had grown to the size of the manhole cover exactly, and now outlined it with blue light.

"Domus Ignati," Gale quietly commanded. Letters on the on the manhole cover eerily began to glow.

"After you, Ignus." She motioned for the leather-clad wizard to step into the circle.

The young woman moved a step closer, putting her right hand to her temple as she did so. Her eyes closed and her expression became peaceful.

Thomas could feel a shadow enter his memories, a presence that disappeared as soon as he concentrated on it, as though he were always one step behind it.

The Lightningale flew from memory to memory, thought to thought, looking for clues: ... wandering in the dark... the anguish of loss... the face of a woman, twisted and burnt... someone with rocky features smiling... waking up in a strange house... darkness... darkness...

Gale pressed a little, trying to move past the veil of forgetfulness... there it was! ...the smell of the salt sea... ...rain... ...A BRILLIANT FLASH! WHITE LIGHT and BURNING... Her eyes flew suddenly open.

Inhaling quickly, she regained herself and saw the look of shock on the Sea-Hawk's face. "Sorry Thomas, didn't mean to scare you."

The Avengers waited around her expectantly.

"He's trustworthy. Kinse, make sure the coast is clear and we'll just go from here."

The Lightningale turned as if to make certain herself, but then began unsnapping one of the pouches on her belt.

"We'll talk about what I saw once we're somewhere more private," she assured them.

Walking back up to the Sea-Hawk, Gale looked in his eyes for a moment. Her expression was searching and sympathetic.

"Thomas, before we allow you to enter one of our protected locations, would you allow me to probe your mind? I promise it won't damage you in any way, and I will not look into those memories that are deeply personal or unrelated to this book or your involvement with us."

She smiled slightly and her look was now gentle. "It will help me help you better. Somehow this book has gotten inside you, and if you let me in maybe I can find out what it's doing to you."

Leaning in to get a closer look, the Lightningale quietly muttered, "arcanum ostendere."

"There is magic in this book, but its aura is a mystery to me. We'll hope it's not a dangerous one, because it's already tied itself to you." She looked up at the stranger. "The aura that surrounds this book surrounds you as well."

She stepped away, turning as if to walk from the alley. "Good evening, Dr. Voodoo. Glad to have you along tonight."

Gale was unable to stifle a hearty yawn. "Seems as though nobody can sleep."

Her head tilted slightly back, as though she were pondering the few points of starlight still visible through the orange glow of the street lamp at the end of the alley. She musn't have found anything particularly interesting amidst their twinkling, because she once again turned to look at man holding the book.

"You still haven't fulfilled my original requests. Do you have a name? And you say that you heard we could be found here. Where did you hear that?"

Gale lowered her eyebrow and and looked a bit more sympathetic.

"I'm the Lightningale," she said extending her hand. "This is Ignus on my left and Kinse is over there." She motioned to the other mages in the alley.

"If you wouldn't mind telling us who you are and what you need help with, maybe we can assist you."

The PCPD paddy wagon was just pulling up as the Lightningale descended into the ally. The police officers who emerged checked the heroes for IDs before hauling the unconscious trolls away.

"Sorry I wasn't here to help sooner." She looked at Kinse bent down on one knee. "Good work."

Ignus was face to face with the stranger, and she moved over to stand beside him.

"You've found us. What do you want?" Her eyebrow was raised and her tone serious, though not unfriendly.

Lightningale breathed a sigh of relief as she quickly finished fixing her hair. She was not going to have to be alone with her fading memories of the dream tonight... Something to do.

"Yeah, I'll be in Atlas faster than the crow flies! This is the second time this week someone's tripped your misdirection spell, Ignus. Do we know for sure this guy's looking for us?"

Gale was sure she would be able to discern the intruder's motives accurately if she could only get there before he got away. She wished there were a spell that could speed the approach of the next tram to Atlas Park.

"Kinse, have you already engaged the trolls? When you've knocked them out, make sure you detain our wandering friend. He's more of a concern to me than they are; he was able to discover the vicinity of our lair somehow."

The Lightningale laughed aloud into the night air.

"Upset? Nah. Just couldn't sleep. But what in the world are you doing awake at this time of morning, Saint? I know you aren't a night owl."

The heroine could feel the strange tension in her muscles that signals the body has had too little rest. As she stretched, Gale scanned to make sure things were quiet on the street below.

"It's okay, Ignus, no emergency. You can go back to bed if I woke you up."

She smiled at the thought that her former mentor might be in a dressing gown, hair a rumpled mess. It was only then that she considered the state of her own hair, which had not been touched since she awoke. Sighing at her absent-mindedness, she removed a small brush from her utility belt.

((This thread is intended for the use of the The Midnight Avengers SG. Please post only if you are an Avenger or have some business with our group. Thanks!))


Abigail Chase sat straight up in bed, beads of sweat dripping from her forehead. For a moment, she stared wildly around the room. Her eyes alighted on a picture of two blond-haired children smiling, one of them delightedly holding up a toad to the unseen cameraman.

Her shoulders drooped as she pushed her blanket aside and slid off the bed.

"Okay, this is not normal," she muttered groggily.

It was the third straight night for this particular nightmare... the sound of pounding hooves, screaming, and blood scattered until it covered the whole field of vision... flared nostrils releasing flame upon a fleeing populace and the grim visage sitting atop his steed...

Abigail covered her hands in cold water and splashed her face. She wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep. She knew it.

"Five hours of sleep in the last three days. What time is it?"

The digital readout blared 3:23 in glowing red letters. Abigail went over to the closet and rifled through the hanging clothing. Extracting a key from the pocket of a suitcoat, she walked over to her cedar chest. It was beautiful, she thought, plain and clean of symbol, varnished to a cherry red. Using the key, she opened it and took out a mostly hand-sewn costume.

"Might as well."

On the roof of her apartment building, the Lightningale tapped her com.

"Anyone out here tonight?"

((Sorry Chief,

It is only on Virtue, although you are perfectly in your right to start a similar group on your own server. If you'd like to create the same character on Virtue and play with us, that'd be great too! If you choose the latter route, just send me a PM and we'll work out a meeting time.

joel221))

Greetings, Heroes of Paragon ((on Virtue))!

I'm the Lightningale, and I'm pleased to announce that The Midnight Avengers are now looking to recruit the city's bravest mages, mystics, witches, and wizards. We also seek alliance with other like-minded supergroups to present a united front against Paragon's magical and hidden evils.

But before I continue, let me explain why we are here. Most of the veteran heroes in this city are well aware of the of the important role mages have played in our history. Late in the 1920s, a group of academics whose focus was the occult kept secret meetings in the late hours of the night. Their mission was to increase and transmit magical knowledge, and to protect potent magical artifacts from abuse. While such behavior kept the old lore alive, it did little to stop the crime that an overworked police force was unable to control. But that all changed when one dynamic hero, a man known as the Dream Doctor, asked for their help against a faction of evil mages known as the Circle of Thorns.

Inspired by the Doctor's passion, the academics began to actively fight the evil mages; some of them even donned costumes. As a result, the activities of the Circle were largely suppressed. Feeling increasingly confident, they decided to name themselves the Midnight Squad after their late-night conferences. The mages expanded their horizons, researching and rooting out other evil groups as well, occasionally serving as an auxiliary to Statesman and his mighty Freedom Phalanx.

It was the Squad who for years kept the Thorns from successfully opening portals to demonic realms. It was they who found the weakness in Rikti technology durning the initial onslaught, only to become the aliens' main target in the aftermath. And it was the few brave remaining members of the Squad, their secret headquarters now in shambles, who stepped forward to join Omega, the team of 50 doomed to death in an alien realm. They saved our world.

The remaining members of the Squad retreated into the shadows after the invasion, returning to more academic pursuits.

So why do we now recruit? To do what the current Squad does not do (save a few): honor the memory of those who gave their lives to save us. We magic users must once again bring our expertise and combat skills to the forefront. We must come together to stop the evil that plagues our world. Perhaps we will even inspire those who have retreated to join our effort.

Let us unite to provide the faithful support of our research and action to major supergroups like the League of Valor, First Strike Security, and Guardian Force. And even greater than this, let us unite to bring about the ultimate destruction of the Circle of Thorns! They have grown strong as the Squad has withered, and no one has yet presented a sufficient challenge to their might.


So by now, Hero, I hope you are asking, "how do I take part in this great endeavor?" There are at least two ways.

First, for those of you who already have a supergroup and love it. If you are a hero with a magic origin and a staunch heart, you are welcome to apply to become an affiliate of our group. We would welcome your input into our own magical studies, and would endeavor to assist you if you or your group have need.

Second, if you want to join the Avengers, know Hero that you will have to be screened before we deem you worthy to join our ranks. Here's how the process works:

You can contact either me or St Ignus when we are in the city, OR, if we are off duty, feel free to send me an email ((in-game)). ((another way is to PM me - joel221 - Please note that while we prefer RPers, it is not a requirement, and there is no level cap for entrance to the group on either end. As a rule, we ONLY take magic users, though if you have a different origin and a compelling reason to join our group, we will consider you.))

Once we receive your communique, we will respond by whatever method you used and suggest a time for a meeting ((in-game)).

At the meeting, we'll ask about your background and purposes and undertake a mission with you. If we are satisfied at mission completion, we will grant you status as Mystic in our order. (Please understand if we are reluctant to ally ourselves with mages or creatures who hail from demonic realms, as such allegiances are common to our dread enemy.)

If you have any other questions about the Avengers, or are a supergroup leader who wants to ally yourselves with our group, feel free to post in this thread or contact me when I'm on duty.

**Also, see the full page article by Calvin Meeks in the Front Page!! ((www.probablynot.com/theFrontPage))**

Beware, purveyors of the dark arts! Midnight has fallen upon you once more!

The Lightningale
Archmage of The Midnight Avengers

Fox, this is ridiculously good stuff. I was impressed with you before I read this thread- I only wish I'd read it earlier. Bravo!