Lightson

Been awhile since I advanced the story--here goes nothing:

Issue VIII: Rebuilding, Part I

The story so far: After helping the police isolate a mysterious outbreak, several of Paragon's newest heroes banded together to form the Avengers of Justice. After establishing themselves with a series of impressive victories, the Avengers of Justice are now reeling after one of their own sacrificed himself to save the rest of the team from a deathtrap sprung by their arch-nemesis: Countess Crey.

“ . . . all right Liz, I’ll see you then. Bye.” Bryson Walker had barely finished his phone call when the courier approached him.

“Need you to sign for this, sir.”

“Er, sure, okay. Any idea what it is? I’m not really expecting a package.”

“Sorry, sir, I just make the deliveries. Have a nice day,” the courier paused slightly to read the signature, “Mr. Walker.”

“You too,” Bryson mumbled, more to himself than the courier, as he ripped open the thin package. Inside was a small handwritten note, which simply said: “Bryson we need to meet, you know where. Tonight at midnight–Chad”

Bryson immediately flipped open his cell phone, “Liz? Its Bryson again. I need to cancel our date tonight–something’s come up. I’ll explain later . . .”

At midnight, Lightson found himself standing alone just inside the sewer entrance underneath Atlas Park. “I hate this place,” he said to himself–or so he thought.

“Yeah, but it’s the last place they’ll look for us now, especially after . . .” Doc Midnight trailed off as he recalled the painful memory.

“After what happened to Blind,” Lightson finished. “Good point.” After an awkward silence, Lightson continued, “So where have you been? We’ve been trying to reach you for weeks.”

“Chad Wyric’s cover with Crey has been blown–so Chad Wyric doesn’t exist anymore. I had to go underground. Literally and figuratively. Its best if I stay away from the team for now. Even if I change my costume, they’ve seen how my powers work. If they saw us all together in public, Crey might start to put together some of the common thread’s in our origins. Besides, I’ve got some leads to follow that are best pursued solo.”

“I understand. I’m disappointed, but I understand.”

“So,” Doc Midnight asked in almost a whisper, “is the team going to make it?”

Lightson weighed his answer for what seemed like an eternity. “Well, first we lost Blind. Then you disappeared. Around the same time, we also lost contact with Burnt Sacrifice. I can only assume . . .”

“That Crey got him too,” Doc Midnight added.

Lightson sighed, “Correct. So, yes, morale is low. But we’ve still managed to do some good work. Sister Psyche and Manticore had some missions for us. I think we did well. We earned their respect, at least. I thought Manticore’s information was going to give us a shot at taking down the Countess, but we only got as far as her right hand man, Hopkins, before the trail got cold. Anyway, the core is still strong: me, Liberty, Solar, D, MX . . .”

Doc Midnight interrupted, “That all sounds good, although I feel a ‘but’ coming . . .”

Lightson nodded, “But, the foes we are facing keep getting stronger and stronger. I worry about the firepower we’ve lost, with you and Blind and Burnt. I don’t want to face another situation where we end up losing someone–again–because we are simply outmanned.”

Doc Midnight pulled a dossier out of a satchel on his costume. “Well, that’s where we might be able to help each other. Here, take a look at this,” he said as he handed Lightson the dossier. “Crey is holding two mutants: adventurers known as IC Touch and Ghost Wrath. They were fairly established young heroes that did some good work. Crey eventually became interested in them and captured them. Now they are being held in a research facility very similar to the one that held Mutant X-7 before he escaped; same experimental program. Crey plans on holding these two in a more or less comatose state until they can figure out how their powers work. You know the drill, Crey wants to be able to replicate these powers to create their own super-powered army . . .”

Lightson “knew the drill” all too well indeed. Before he underwent a rather dramatic change of heart, he had assisted Crey in their devious plans. “So IC is a cryokinetic and Ghost . . .”

“Taps into the same netherworld energies that I do. Different applications, but still very potent. Anyway, like I said, I need to fly solo and under the radar for the time being. The research facility has too much security for me to break them out myself. But the Avengers of Justice could pull it off . . .”

“And maybe conclude the rescue with a recruiting pitch?” Lightson concluded.

“Something like that. Anyway, I need to go. Even though they wouldn’t expect us meeting here, Crey is never too far off my trail these days. Keep the dossier . . .”

“It was good seeing you again Doc. Stay safe.”

“You too. And keep an eye out. You never know when you might be seeing me again.” Almost instantly thereafter, Doc Midnight disappeared into the shadows and out of Lightson’s sight.

Lightson immediately issued an emergency alert through his Global Comm.

In moments Solar Tech responded, “Saw the alert, what’s up Lightson?”

“Sorry if I woke you Solar, but we need to assemble the team for something urgent.”

Solar Tech laughed, “Me? Asleep? I was just tinkering around trying to figure out how to squeeze a few more BTU’s out of my battle suit.”

“Is that why you look so old, my friend? Because you never sleep?” Lightson chuckled, “Actually, I’ve got great news–Doc is alive and well. He passed on some info on Crey that we need to put to use immediately.”

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Just a quick reminder that we will be running some story arcs in Brickstown tonight starting at 7pm. Hope everyone can make it--Doc, please join us if you can.

Thanks!

Hey guys, great job finishing the KHTF Friday night. It was great catching up with you again Doc!

For our next several runs, I was thinking we could run a few story arcs. First, we could run the story arc given by Gordon Stacy in Brickstown:

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....art=22&vc=1

Its a nice Crey-centric arc, and will eventually allow us to do this story arc:

http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Janet_Kellum

I figure we should just do story arcs for the next few weeks, since things might get busy during the holidays, and plus we need to get a few levels under our belt before we tackle Numina.

Lightson already has the first Gordon Stacy mish queued up and ready to roll.

Let me know if that sounds good or if you have other suggestions.

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I can be there, just need to know what time.

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Lets shoot for 8pm eastern time unless that would exclude anyone.

Also, MX we are just finishing the KHTF tonight and if I remember correctly you didn't start that with us--so I don't think you are missing anything

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I'll suggest Friday at our regular time--7pm eastern time. How many could make that?

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Heh, turns out I can't follow my own suggestion. If we could push it back to 8pm that would be great if no one is opposed. Also, Liberty is 50/50 at best. Sorry, we are just starting to get pretty busy with Christmas stuff.

So does 8pm work for everyone?

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Im good to get together, we just need to set a time. Anything in the period Lightson mentioned is good for me.

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I'll suggest Friday at our regular time--7pm eastern time. How many could make that?

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LOL so close!. I saw she was down to a sliver, was thinking: we're going to make it! and BAM! forcibly disconnected!

Oh well I guess that means we get to do it all again! YEAH!

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Along those lines, we had agreed to at least try to set up times to finish anything that was partially completed before our next regular session.

Liberty-Flame (who is logged in the TF even though she wasn't there Tuesday) and I would be available later Friday evening and most of the morning-early afternoon Saturday. Let's see if we can finish Mary off before next Tuesday. Am I correctly assuming we still only have to beat her one more time?

Also, I finally bit the bullet and used Lightson to create a SG called Avengers-of-Justice. I created a few alts for me and my wife (which I was going to do anyway to take advantage of leveling pacts) and invited them to get some prestige going. I don't really envision doing much with the SG for our current toons, however, I would like to have a base with a few teleporters created in time to benefit the "second generation" of toons we roll.

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I probably will not make it tonite, I've been sick since last week and took yesterday off of work, and now that I'm halfway done with work today, I may need to get to bed early to be ok for tomorrow. As long as your not doing anything that will lock you into a double play session, I think I will bank on sitting tonite out.

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Since we might be a little short tonight, lets just plan to finish the Midnighter arc and then go from there.

Hope you feel better soon MX!

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Last night was fun, it was only Mutie, IC, and D so we did my cape & aura mishes, then the 5th column O TF. We rocked that thing hard. The only problem I see with Numi is that we'd all have to be at least 35 and I don't see myself doing that, and I know DX and IC were 33 when we logged so we might need to put that off regardless. We can try a respec trail next week, xp until lvl 34 for the first one, and being closer to 34 makes it alot easier. We could also do Philipa Meraux's arc, its a Crey story line so that could be cool too, really good story, but it tops out at 34, so we may want to make sure no one lvls too high, or we can ouro it when everyone is able to get on.

Done rambling, gotta get back to work!

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Given that we aren't high enough level just yet to do the Numina TF, let me throw out a few options:

1) Continue working on the Midnighter arc
2) Katie Hannon TF (caps at level 34--we would need 6 to be present)
3) Moonfire TF (caps at level 28--would need 6)
4) Story arc to unlock Ernesto Hess TF (would have to Flashback it)
5)Respec trial

I will be there tomorrow night, unfortunately Liberty is still really busy with work stuff and will likely be out.

What's the consensus? Looking forward to whatever we decide to do.

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Shoot guys, Im sorry I wasnt able to make it Something came up a couple hours right beffore and I wasnt able to get to my computer untill now. I feel like a jerk for not at least posting ahead of time. How did It go?

So we were just talking about possible extra days... any chance of that this week?

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So, how did things go last night?

With the holiday it will be hard to me and Liberty Flame to know for certain when we would be available for an "extra session" before next Tuesday. Since we have a long weekend, we will probably be online some. However since we will also be hanging out with a family a lot it will be hard to know exactly when we will be playing.

With Thanksgiving I would say lets just wait until next Tuesday to do anything formal.

Speaking of next Tuesday, let's wait and see how D's computer issues are going before we decide what to do next--I don't really want to start Numina TF without her.

Happy Thanksgiving, team!

Just a quick reminder that my wife and I will be out tomorrow--please go ahead and finish the midnighter arc without us. If its okay with you guys, let's plan on starting the Numina TF the week after that (Dec. 2).

As for the rest here are my thoughts/observations:

1) Based on what other people have said, if we finish a Tuesday night session and we are still mid-task force (or story arc) let's try to set up another time (before our next regularly scheduled run) to finish what we are working on. If we can't get the scheduling to work out, no biggee, we'll just wait until the next Tuesday. If even one person can't make the "bonus session" that week, we won't do it. But we can at least start trying to set up "extra runs" to finish things up.

2) At the very least let's get the currently team members to level 50 before we start any new team. At 50, let's assess whether we want to do a few more things with these toons or move on to some new toons. We can also assess at that time whether we need to change the night of our "regular" sessions.

3) Either way, it sounds like we are interested in keeping this going even after we are "finished" with our current toons. Cool!

4) Sounds like there is a preference to stay Blue side when we re-roll. However, the consistency that comes with a static team may make red-side more attractive. This is another thing we can assess at level 50, but for now it looks like we are leaning towards staying blue side. I'm already getting excited thinking about what alt I will roll up!!

5) Finally, I haven't given up on writing up our adventures. Been busy with real life stuff (and things will stay busy through the holidays), but at some point I'll try to get something new out

Let me know if you guys are okay with all this--we'll miss running with you tomorrow!

First, I forgot to mention last night that Liberty-Flame and Lightson will be out next Tuesday because we are hosting a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for a few people.

Please feel free to finish the Midnighter arc without us--we can duo it ourselves some other time. Just let us know what you decided to do.

As for a second night, I would lean towards keeping one night a week. One of the reasons I was looking for a static group was because real life was pretty busy and without a static team I'd probably be PUG'ing or soloing (or duoing with Liberty I guess) all the time. Having said that, depending on how often we added the extra session (and what night it was) Liberty and I would fall in the "maybe" category.

About the future, I've thought of this some as well. I guess question one is: when will this team be "done"? When we all hit 50? When we've done every TF? Do we use the Flashback system or otherwise go back and do some story arcs/TF's we've leveled past (i.e. Striga, Respec TF's, Moonfire, ect.)? Do we want to go back and redo some TF's so that every current team member gets the badge and/or potential accolade? I don't have any strong convictions about any of these questions, so I'm very curious to hear what everyone else thinks.

After we decide when this team will be "done", I'm open to everything that was previously suggested. I'm much more of a blue sider, so my preference would be to play musical chairs with the AT's, but I could be convinced to go red side. There's a lot of content over there I haven't seen if I could get over a villain. Heck, assuming we get the ability to do so--which I've been hearing hints we might--it might be fun to have a static team that goes through the "side switching" process together (but I'm getting ahead of myself there really). As far as another night, that would be fine, but me and Liberty don't have a ton of flexibility with other nights that are open.

Interested to hear what the rest of you think.

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Ghost Wrath will not be there tomorrow night as I am out of town, have fun guys

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Lightson will be there, but Liberty-Flame will not. See you guys at the University in Steel Canyon at 7pm. Looking forward to it.

Hey guys, just wanted to double check that everyone will be there for tonight's run. We are scheduled to start the Manticore TF. Liberty-Flame and Lightson plan to be there.

Hope to see you at 7pm!

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Tomorrow night I will be late if I make it at all, I have to drive an hour north to vote, (I'm still registered at my parents address), and I have no idea how long it will take for me to actually be done with it. I will try to make it home and on in time to play, but as of right now I'm really not sure.

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Lightson and Liberty-Flame plan on being there. Over the weekend, we advanced this story arc slightly. This allowed Liberty to catch up with us level-wise, and I think will give us a better shot of finishing the Croatoa story arcs Tuesday night.

Specifically, we got up to the "Save Waylon McCrane" mish from Kelly Nemmers (just FYI in case any of you were "following along" in the quest line--it looked like IC Touch was last week).

Looking forward to it!

Just wanted to remind everyone that we are scheduled to run mishes in Croatoa tonight from 7-9:30 pm.

Lightson will be there, Liberty-Flame will be absent.

Also, the next time we plan on taking a break from the Task Forces (maybe after we tackle Manticore), a good idea might be to do the Midnighter Squad story-arc (Lost and Found). That would unlock Cimerora and the Imperious TF.

See you tonight!

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If you guys are still looking to fill out your roster I would love to join. Not sure if I have any toons in the range you're running, I do have a dark/dark defender I love at 24 and that would be my closest.

I just want you guys to know that I love what you have going here and have been extremely jealous reading this thread. It sounds like you are all having a blast and this is the exact idea I love. I love a little RP lite while playing.

Not sure if I can make tonight as it's short notice and I dont think I have a toon high enough to play. Send me a PM or let me know who to contact in game

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Hey Manny, your Dark/Dark is more than welcome to join us. We would have liked to team up with you last night, but we had already formed a TF last week.

Next week we are just going to run mishes in Croatoa, so you won't need to be any particular level as you will be able to SK if necessary.

The week after that, we are going to try to tackle the Manticore TF so you'll need to be at least level 30.

Glad you will be able to join us. We run on Tuesdays from 7-9:30 pm (Eastern time). See you all then.

Just a reminder that we are scheduled to finish the Citadel TF tonight at 7pm.

Liberty-Flame and I will both be there. Looking forward to it!

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Solar-Tech MIGHT be late and/or miss some of tomorrow's team up. But whatever my schedule ends up, I SHOULD be able to logg in at start time (maybe a few minutes late) to at least be in group when you start TF (if thats the plan). That way I wont miss much and will be in group when im able to play. Sorry about the uncertainty, Im starting a new work-from-home job.

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Much as I hate to suggest this, but it seems as though the static team may have run its course (at least on this date/time).

So far, we have officially lost Blind Justice and Doc Midnight. Although he hasn't offically left, Burnt Sacrifice has not shown up in several weeks and is not responding to my PM's. On top of that, Solar Tech's participation will be limited since he is now working from home. Finally, even among the people who haven't left it seems like we have an increasing number of conflicts every week (which, I understand of course, stuff happens).

I PM'ed several people about filling the empty slots. They either declined or didn't respond.

Bottom line, with the addition of IC Touch we have six people--one of whom is uncertain of his ability to fully participate. That would put us at five, at best, assuming no other conflicts.

I welcome any thoughts/suggestions, but since we will really only five people at best at week, I'm starting to doubt that we will be able to complete the remaining TF's.

Let me know what you think.

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I wouldn't mind rolling up a new tank (or transferring my wp/nrg (he's 38 on liberty, but I could move him over). If I make a new tank, then it may take a little while since He'd need to catch up, but if we want to put off a task force for a week (or 2) I could probably catch up being sk'd.

Also mutie is still in the low 20s i believe, so I don't think he could make the tf tonite anyway
I can probably get a tank up to lvl 10 tonite when I get done with work, then see where we're at. I doubt I could get mutie to 25 in time for the tf.

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Of course you are free to do whatever you like, but my preference would be that you just continue to be Mutant X-7. With all the buffs we can put on Liberty-Flame, I think she will suffice on any occasions in which we absolutely MUST have a tank. That's just my two influence though, if you are really hankering to roll a tank, go for it.

With regard to Mutie not being 25 yet, we can set aside Citadel for tonight and do some leveling instead. Why don't we consider the following plan:

*Run radio/safeguard mishes in Talos until everyone is level 25

* If time permits, run the Flashback mission "Rescue the Fortune Teller" (Lightson and Liberty both have 'boros portal). This will get everyone their 'boros portal and also a badge that is required for the Atlas Medallion accolade.

* Plan to start Citadel TF next week.

Please share your thoughts on this.

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Unfortunately guys I am going to have to bid farewell to the static team. my work schedule has shifted to a rather unpredictable time frame for the future . I have enjoyed teaming with all of you and wish you continued success in the quest for Justice.

Doc M

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Doc, we will miss you greatly, although I understand that real life stuff comes up which can limit our gaming fun. Sorry to hear about your schedule change--hope it works out okay. Feel free to join us anytime you happen to know you will be available.

Everyone else--although Doc was a great tank, I think we will be able to run the TF's without one. If everyone else is still okay with pressing onward I think it will still work. Think about whether you know of anyone who might want to fill in for Doc's slot on the team.

While you're at it, will everyone else confirm whether they will be there tonight to start the Citadel TF at 7pm?

Lightson and Liberty Flame will be there.

Okay, I decided to break away from the typical synopsis of the previous TF/mission and write an issue focusing on Blind Justice's departure . . .

VII. Issue Seven: Injustice is Served . . .

Memo
August 29, 2008
Security Level Omega
For the eyes of Countess Crey only

. . . has been keeping an increasingly high profile. Of particular note is the role he and his teammates played in thwarting a multi-faceted plot to sabotage the Paragon City Dam. As an aside, we believe that many of his teammates are individuals of interest to us. Our background investigation on these “Avengers of Justice” continues. For example . . . .

Regardless, we know this particular hero is a scientist who refused to grant us full access to his technological breakthroughs . . .

. . . . proper circumstances, he represents a threat that must be eliminated. However, he seems unaware we still possess schematics for his original prototype. Under the proper circumstances this could be exploited. Assuming his current models have not been significantly upgraded, several opportunities for sabotage exist . . .

. . . in short, my exalted Countess, all that remains is to lure them into the trap.


September 17, 2008
From the computer files of Dr. Chad Wyric:

. . . after successfully assisting Positron, we were almost immediately recruited by Synapse. With relative ease, we were able to thwart the plans of the Clockwork King and his army of robots. I see now, these victories made us overconfident, careless . . .

. . . obviously Crey had been plotting the attack for weeks. Nonetheless, despite my insider position, I didn’t even hear a whisper of it until it was too late. . . .

. . . the continuing investigation into Crey has been a welcome–if fruitless–distraction. I have been cross-referencing the information provided by Positron and Synapse. Although helpful, the insights they provided into Crey have not provided any concrete leads. This lack of leads to pursue has the entire team frustrated. Crey has made it more personal than it already was . . .

. . . this new assignment from Sister Psyche. I question whether we are ready for this, but Lightson thinks it is best for us to stay active. Need to datamine Crey files for any info on Freakshow before we hit the field . . .

September 10, 2008
Official personnel action, PPD
Desk of Helen Ambriel

. . . officially your use of the “Directrix” alias violates PPD policy. However, your recent victory over the Clockwork King convinces us that your activities, while sanctionable, also present a unique opportunity . . . .

. . . public relations strategy that could be developed around a young female super hero associated with the PPD. Therefore, you are instructed to carry on . . .

. . . costume, however, needs to generate a higher profile. Effective immediately, all activities you engage in as “The Directrix” or with the “Avengers of Justice” shall require the use of a PPD issued uniform. . . .

. . . no suspension, at this time. You must be advised, however, that future violations could result in a suspension . . .

September 18, 2008

Solar Tech: Computer run encryption diagnostic on battle suit model 1.015.

Computer: Affirmative. Encryption online. No unauthorized access detected.

Solar Tech: Re-route an additional 5% power to encryption systems and run the diagnostic again.

Computer: Manual re-allocation of power resources could lead to failure of critical systems under combat conditions. Do you wish to proceed?

Solar Tech: We aren’t in a combat situation right now, are we? This is what this lab is for. NOW RUN IT AGAIN!!

Computer: Affirmative. Encryption online. No unauthorized access detected.

Solar Tech: Computer, cross reference combat files of battle suit model 1.001. Date of reference, September 16, 2008, time approximately 9:30 p.m.

Computer: Files cross referenced. Data report?

Solar Tech: Yes, calculate probability that unauthorized access could be obtained to battle suit model 1.015 under situation present in the cross referenced combat files.

Computer: Affirmative. Calculating. . . .Probability 0.000001%.

Solar Tech: THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!

In exasperation, Steward Fritz threw a wrench against the wall and then slumped to the floor. He was choking back tears. If only he had made these adjustments earlier, maybe he would still . . .

Solar Tech: Computer, initiate clean self-destruct of battle suit model 1.015. Upon completion of self-destruct recycle materials for incorporation into battle suit model 1.016. Create a new schematic file for me. Design emphasis on further reducing probability of unauthorized access . . .

September 10, 2008

Burnt Sacrifice spoke into his global comm, “Sorry again for having to run off so quickly after the Synapse caper, Lightson, but the sisters need my help on this relief mission. I figure I can do just as much good helping hurricane victims as I can smashing Clockwork into pieces.”

“No problem Burnt Sacrifice, hopefully things will quiet down now that we’ve stopped Babbage and the Clockwork King. You did great work yesterday. What you’re doing for those hurricane victims is just as important. We’ll hold down the fort for you in Paragon City until you return. Safe travels my friend”

“Will do. Thanks again Lightson.”

Memo
September 13, 2008
Security Level Omega
For the eyes of Countess Crey only

. . . appears that one of their number will be outside of Paragon for several weeks. Moreover, we can confirm after last night’s testing that the anti-encryption technology is working.

. . . perfect opportunity to initiate Operation: Remote Access . . .

September 12, 2008

“Here comes the boom!!” Mutant X-7 exclaimed as he zapped the last Hellion with electricity. He was glad he and Solar Tech were finally getting some action after a relatively slow night of patrolling. Suddenly, he sensed a momentary electrical pulse. Thinking some unseen assailant had attacked his teammate, he called out “You okay Solar Tech?”

“Yeah, everything seems to be fine now. Temporary energy flux. Weirdest thing. My battle suit went offline for a split-second, too. Computer: run diagnostic . . .”

“Huh. Who knows, could’ve been anything. Oh well.” Mutant X-7 turned to the young lady that the Hellions were trying to mug. “Here’s your purse back ma’am . . .”

September 16, 2008
12:15 p.m.

“You never mentioned these visions before,” Elizabeth Moore said as she looked into her teammate’s eyes. No, he was more than a teammate. Since the Avengers of Justice had formed, she and Bryson Walker had become confidants. Perhaps they would become even more . . .

“No. I had to make sure I wasn’t crazy first. But now I’m pretty convinced. I’m just learning the full scope of my powers. These dreams, these visions, sometimes they let me see the future. Sometimes I know what the team is going to be doing before it actually happens. Its always hazy, but I can get a general sense anyway.”

“So why were you so disturbed by this vision that you asked me to meet you for lunch?” Elizabeth asked.

“Because, Elizabeth, I have the feeling that something awful is going to happen. Tonight.”

September 16, 2008
10:05 a.m.
Security Level Omega
Crey Intraoffice Memo
Re: Operation: Remote Access

. . . authorization granted to initiate Operation: Remote Access. Primary objective is to maximize casualties . . .

. . . on a personal note, I want the victims to know that Crey did this, but ultimately–of course–the public cannot trace this back to us . . .

September 16, 2008
9:20 p.m.

“Sister Psyche, I think we will be able to help you out. We appreciate your trust in us, we are on our way to Independence Port so we all can discuss this matter in person” Lightson spoke into his Global Comm.

Suddenly an APB rang out over The Directrix’s police scanner. She turned down the volume, and then summarized the bulletin for the team. “You won’t believe this, but the PPD just interrupted a drug deal involving a gang of Freakshow. Although the Freakshow made off with most of the drugs, a small sample was recovered and tested. It’s a perfect match for the chemical that started the Rivera outbreak. The Freakshow were last seen heading into the sewers.”

“Sister Psyche, cancel that, something pressing just arose here. I’ll contact you again after we’ve taken care of it,” Lightson said. “Okay team this might be the break on Crey we’ve been waiting for. I wish we were at full strength for this, but we’ll just have to head in without Burnt Sacrifice.”

Not long thereafter, the team arrived in the sewers.

“My Smart Suit detects two humanoids running about 50 meters to the north,” Blind Justice noted.

Soon, the Avengers of Justice caught up with the two Freakshow thugs. Upon sighting the heroes, the criminals exclaimed “We surrender!!” in unison.

“Something about this doesn’t add up,” Doc Midnight said “its too easy.”

“Uh guys,” Solar Tech observed, “my battle suit is telling me these guys aren’t Freakshow at all. Not even human. They’re robots . . .”

“Odd, I’m detecting that same energy field again, what is that?” Mutant X-7 muttered to himself.

Suddenly, the two synthetic Freakshow both warbled in a robotic monotone: “Self Destruct Initiated.” Seconds later, both robots exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere.

“Is everyone alright!!??” Lightson shouted.

As Solar Tech struggled to his feet, he noticed his battle suit was somewhat unresponsive. When he was finally able to stand up, the following message was repeated over and over on his HUD: “Long Live Countess Crey!!”

“What the . . .” Solar Tech remarked, “Oh no . . . guys get clear of me NOW!!”

It was too late. Solar Tech was no longer in control of his battle suit: Crey was. Instantly, lethal levels of solar energy poured down on his teammates in a rain of fire. Taken by surprise, The Directrix and Mutant X-7 were rendered unconscious almost immediately.

“Guys, run!! I’m not in control, someone’s hacked into my suit . . .” Solar Tech pleaded.

“Sorry about this Solar, it’s the only thing I can think of,” Blind Justice yelled as he aimed one of his trick arrows at Solar Tech. The arrow exploded and then entangled Solar Tech in a flame resistant net. Seconds afterward, the net began to secrete a fire extinguishing foam. “That will slow him down, but not for long.”

“Blind, get over there and see if you and Solar can figure something out!!” Lightson ordered.

Because they had worked together so frequently, both with Avengers of Justice and as a duo, Blind Justice generally understood how Solar Tech’s battle suit worked. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Ian was also an engineering genius himself.

“There,” Blind Justice remarked as he pulled a fuse out of Solar Tech’s back apparatus, “That should take his offensive systems offline for a minute or two.”

Just then, a low hum filled the room.

“That’s my teleporter–the one I use to get us to the hospital in emergencies,” Solar Tech explained. “What are they up to now?”

In answer to Solar Tech’s question, a horde of Clockwork was teleported into the same room as the Avengers of Justice. And then a group of Vazhilok. And Circle of Thorns. And Hellions. And Skulls. And virtually every villain of note the Avengers of Justice had ever defeated. The room seemed to burst at the seams with evil.

“Doc, Liberty, grab the wounded and fall back into the corridor behind us. Blind, help Solar,” Lightson ordered in desperation.

The Avengers of Justice retreated into the adjacent corridor before all the villains got their bearings. Lightson created a force field at the doorway.

“That won’t hold them for long. Doc, Liberty: make your stand here. Try to create a choke point so we don’t get overwhelmed. I’ll cover your back. Have The Directrix and Mutant X-7 awakened yet?” Lightson tried to keep his composure in what seemed to be a hopeless situation.

“No. They’re still down for the count.” Liberty-Flame answered.

“Get them out of the way. Blind, you and Solar stay back and try to fix Solar’s battle suit. Try to get his med-evac teleporter under control again. We’ve got to get out of here.” Lightson commanded.

“Here they come!!” Doc Midnight yelled as the entire horde of villains charged at the doorway.

“JUSTICE IS SERVED!!!” Doc Midnight, Liberty-Flame and Lightson yelled in unison.

“Its Crey, somehow they figured out a way to hack into my battle suit.” Solar Tech said to Blind Justice. “I initiated a manual hard reboot, reconfigured my encryption logarithms. Systems are coming back online one by one, but I’m still waiting for the teleporter to power back up. All this is putting an incredible strain on my batteries, I’ve probably only got enough juice for one jump.”

Second by agonizing second passed, until finally Solar Tech added, “There!! Okay, hold on gang, I’m teleporting us all out of here!! 3 . . .2 . . .1"

Nothing happened.

“Blast it!! When I kicked them out of my systems, they automatically jammed every teleport frequency. Nobody’s teleporting in or out of here. We’re trapped,” Solar Tech explained.

Blind Justice looked around. Two of his allies were unconscious. Solar was conscious, but his battle suit was essentially incapacitated. The remaining four heroes–including himself–would have to take on literally hundreds of villains. And some of those villains were individually powerful enough to challenge the Avengers of Justice even when the team was at full strength. The situation was hopeless. Crey had them. They were going to die down here.

“Solar, what about a short range jump? Within the sewers? Are they blocking that? ” Blind Justice asked.

“Hmm, let me check. Hey, how about that, they’re not trying to jam any jumps within the sewers, just jumps in or jumps out. Maybe that’s to ensure their own escape, who knows . . . Anyway, yes, I could probably pull off one very short range jump within the sewers, but how does that help us? A one shot jump that short isn’t going to give us any tactical advantage . . . ” Solar Tech replied.

Blind Justice knew what he had to do. “Give me manual control of your teleporter, Solar. My Smart Suit has located an escape route–we could reach this access hatch before the bad guys ever notice we’re missing–but it will have to be a ‘port within pinpoint accuracy. The escape hatch is in a very confined area. I need to take this shot, not you. ”

“Sure Blind, here you go.” Solar Tech answered as he handed Blind Justice a datapad connected to his battle suit. Something was wrong. Blind Justice was an awful liar and he was obviously hiding something.

“Doc, Liberty, Lightson–I need you to back away for the doorway for this to work. Fall back!” Blind Justice proclaimed.

Then Solar Tech understood. “Blind, I know you haven’t found any escape route. I know what you’re going to do. Don’t. There’s got to be another way. Give me that datapad back.”

“Sorry friend, we’re in a tight spot, and I don’t think there is another way. There’s no time to come up with something, even for geniuses like us. Bring Crey to justice for me. Tell the others, thanks for everything. This is the greatest team I’ve ever been a part of.” With that, Blind Justice teleported himself, and only himself, right into the middle of the villain horde.

“BLIND!! NO!!!” Solar Tech cried out.

Before the army of villains swarmed him. Blind Justice shot two explosive arrows at the doorway his teammates had just backed away from. The explosion brought the entire archway down, closing the corridor with rubble and debris. He was now isolated from his teammates, while they were safe on the other side.

“JUSTICE IS SERVED!!” were Blind Justice’s last words–or at least the last words audible before every sound was drowned out by the din created when the army of villains descended upon him.

September 17, 2008
8:15 a.m.
Security Level Omega
For the eyes of Countess Crey only
Re: Operation: Remote Access

. . . Pleased to report that Operation: Remote Access must be considered a success. The “Avengers of Justice” sustained one confirmed fatality. Moreover . . .

September 18, 2007
From the personal journal of Bryson Walker

I knew being a hero wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t expect this . . .

I failed them, failed him, I should have seen this coming . . .

. . . we must keep fighting the fight. Sister Psyche says she has a task for us, but understands if we aren’t up to it now. I’ve told the team we must press onward despite our sorrow. If we were to quit now, it would be a victory for Crey. We must honor Ian by putting an end to Crey, once and for all. We must honor Ian by fighting injustice wherever we find it. We must honor Ian by serving justice, even to our dying breath.

Pleased to announce we completed the Sister Psyche TF and defeated Clamor with relative ease. Very smooth run. I C Touch has been an awesome addition!

The plan is to pick up next week by beginning the Citadel TF next Tuesday at 7pm. Looking forward to it and see you then!

P.S.--Try to confirm whether you can make it or not before next Tuesday. Also, most of us finished the TF just short of 26. I think Liberty and Lightson might do just enough to reach 26 before next Tuesday.

Hey guys, I have a question about the next run--right now we in the middle of finishing the Sister Psyche TF. We are probably a little more than halfway through.

My question is basically for the people who had to miss last week: would you prefer us to start the TF over so everyone can participate or would you be okay with those who are already in the TF finishing it?

Just let us know.

Hey guys, just wanted to remind everyone we are scheduled to roll again this Tuesday at 7pm. We are going to try to tackle the Sister Psyche TF (again, for real this time!!)

Lightson and Liberty Flame are both level 22 now.

I haven't forgotten or given up on the storyline either, I plan on writing something up for Synapse and Blind Justice's departure. Just been busy with real life stuff. I'll try to get caught up in the next few weeks.

Finally, I am up for suggestions as to replacing our now-missing eighth member.

Looking forward to taking out some freakshow with you this Tuesday!!