Mazement

The Hegemon responds to Trevor and Will. "Of course, you weren't here for my earlier, I mean, my minion's earlier introduction. I am the Hegemon, the culmination of the State Science Institute's 'Project Messenger'. After severing my ties with the SSI, I've been working on many high-profile projects, most recently the reactivation of the Thompson Harmonizer."

She contemplates Disco Inferno. She decides that his cyborg nature explains his superiority over most of the others in the room. "I'm glad you like the scarf. I was thinking about giving it to my idiot sister, but then I decided it was too nice for her. All she gave me was a DVD player and a stack of syrupy movies."

Hearing the sounds of the impending attack, she casually moves behind Disco Inferno. She waits to observe his methods and discover any weaknesses he might have.

"Ho-ho-ho, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year", the Hegemon recites as she enters the meeting room. She opens the bulging sack at her side and distributes some hideous red-and-green scarves to the other villains.

((She is startled to see Kathy. "What a waste of time," she thinks. "If she'd told me she'd be here, I wouldn't have had to come myself. But perhaps it's just as well that I came; I'm still not sure if I brainwashed Kathy as effectively as I'd hoped."))

((She looks at Disco Inferno with grudging respect. "A man with such incredible confidence must be a figure of great power, even if he is a mere human. I must learn more about him."))

Meanwhile, the Hegemon steps out of an alley and onto a deserted street. She is a gold-and-white robot with an expressionless white faceplate. Under one arm she carries a large shopping bag, and a bundled-up robe that looks suspiciously like "Nomegeh's"

She contemplates the shop window in front of her. A banner reads, "Post-Xmas Savings! 20% off all Holiday Goods!" The "20%" has been crossed off, and subsequently replaced with "30%", "50%", and finally "80%"

"Finally!" she says. "I thought they'd stay at 50% forever." With that, she throws a brick through the shop window. An alarm sounds, but is silenced as she touches a spot inside the window frame. She selects several hideous red-and-green scarves from the display case and puts them in her shopping bag. After some brief hesitation, she takes one last scarf; this one is embroidered with a picture of a penguin.

She checks an internal chronometer. "It's time for me to return to the meeting, I think." She strides purposefully down the street, but then stops suddenly. "If I was just going to steal these, then I really didn't need to wait for them to lower the prices. Sloppiness," she mutters to herself. "I need to be more careful. There's too much at stake."

[ QUOTE ]

"I am sorry, Nomegeh, but any further details will have to be given to the Hegemon in person. If she wants it, then she must come to me. I will continue once the minion has been escorted out."


[/ QUOTE ]
"Wisely spoken," the cloaked figure responded. "Normally the Hegemon would be too busy to attend a simple orientation meeting, but if we're dealing with living superweapons, then her advice is badly needed. When I inform her of what's at stake, she'll certainly want to attend in person."

"I think she's out doing Christmas shopping, though, so it may take me a little while to track her down. I urge you not to make any rash decisions in her absence."

With that, 'Nomegeh' strides out of the room.

[OOC: I'm going out of town for the holidays and won't be able to post much for a while.]

[ QUOTE ]

"However, I must admit that I also have certain self-serving reasons for doing so as well. You see, I am to summon a specific powerful entity from another dimension, a sort of other worldly, living weapon. However, my father, who had originally created this plan now seeks to sabotage it's success. His new plan is to stop the summoning when it reaches it's apex, causing the weapon to not only be destroyed, but also causing all demensions connected to it's prison and our world to be sent into oblivion as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

"I apologize for speaking out of turn," Nomegeh says, "but the Hegemon would probably have some comments at this point."

"I've already mentioned that the Hegemon was created as part of Project Messenger. Some of the files have been leaked onto the Internet, so there's no harm in telling you that Project Messenger was a failure.

"The flaw was that it is impossible for a superior being to be controlled by inferiors. The Project Messenger constructs rebelled against Dr. Ferris, time after time. Despite all his precautions, rogue units destroyed his research labs, bankrupted his organization, and eventually killed the man himself.

"So I'm concerned about plans to bring this powerful living weapon into our universe. How can we ever be sure that it will follow the Hegemon's orders instead of acting on its own agenda?

"I'm also concerned that we don't fully understand your father's plans. How does he benefit from the destruction of our world? This needs to be investigated. I'm just speculating, but I wonder if his goal isn't to destroy the weapon, but rather to absorb it into himself?"

[ QUOTE ]
"Perhaps if we all re-introduced ourselves to each other it would be a better start."

[/ QUOTE ]

Nomegeh shrugs. "Well, there's nothing interesting about me; I'm just one of the Hegemon's countless minions. But perhaps some of you haven't met the Hegemon?"

"Briefly, she's a surviving remnant of a super-intelligence created by the late Dr. Floyd Ferris as part of his 'Project Messenger'. Those of you familiar with the project know that it was ultimately a failure, and that the Hegemon no longer possesses the transcendent level of intelligence that she was created with. But, even in her damaged state, she's far superior to humans. Like most sensible people, I'm just completely awe-struck by her.

"You might have heard of her most recent exploit: She managed to recover the Thompson Harmonizer, a long-lost super-weapon, and held all of Paragon City hostage until her demands were met."

[OOC: The journal link in my signature has a much longer version of the Hegemon's story, told from the point-of-view of her sister, Peppermint.]

[ QUOTE ]
"I feel I must remind you, Hegemon, that you are a guest brought here for the purpose of conducting buisness," the woman was not sounding pleased. "As such, you WILL act in a professional manner as opposed to a common thug and you will NOT act as if this were your personal lair. Do I make myself clear?"

[/ QUOTE ]

"Nomegeh" bristles angrily for a split-second, but then calms herself. "You're quite right," she says humbly. "I do apologize for my bad manners; my behavior was completely inappropriate for a mere minion. The Hegemon has frequently told me that I must learn not to rise above my station."

"Nomegeh" picks up a mug and fills it from a tank next to the coffee urn. She sips cautiously. "Kuwait '91. A rare vintage," she says, sounding pleased. "My compliments to the host. Too few people appreciate fine motor oils."

She takes a handful of mixed nuts from the serving bowl nearby, and then walks back to the center of the room.

[ QUOTE ]

"I'm sure it is." He said, waiting for the lady in their group to be seated before he himself sat down. "and may I ask Mr. Dumas just what game it is we have all been brought her to play?"

[/ QUOTE ]

Noticing that Mr. Book has remained standing, she takes his chair and moves it in front of her own so that she can prop her feet up. She watches Medb, waiting for him to explain the purpose of the meeting.

"Nomegeh" nods her head slightly at the scythe-bearing figure, acknowledging him as an equal. She gazes briefly but intently at Medh, Jack, and Mr. Book, trying to gauge their powers. She pointedly ignores Kirke, giving a slight sniff as she pushes past him.

She silently follows Medb down the hallway, content for now to observe the proceedings.

A cloaked figure enters the area. "What a tacky meeting place," she sighs. "This isn't like the old days. When Doctor Destruction wanted allies for a project, he'd always set up a meeting in his private lair and he'd make sure that it had been thoroughly dusted." She sighs again. "Of course, he was a gentleman."

She turns to the figure beside her. "You must be Dr. Book. I am, um, er, Nomegeh. I'm one of the Hegemon's servants' minions' lackeys' underlings. Of course she's far too busy to attend herself, so I was chosen to fill-in for her."

Jack in Diamonds answers a knock at his door. He sees a woman wearing a plain white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a shiny new cape. "Hi! Are you Dr. Stadler? I'm Peppermint! Here are the research notes that were stolen from you! I found them in my evil sister's apartment when I arrested her this morning!" She seems to notice his cloak for the first time. "Oh, I guess you're on your way to a costume party! I'd better let you finish getting ready! Good luck with your research! "

Jack in Diamonds looks at the package. The outside reads, "Now that I have stolen this irreplacable research on feline leukemia from Dr. Stadler's office (at the location on the attached map), every cat owner in Paragon City will be at my mercy. Bwahahahaha!"

Inside there is a letter:

"To the Crimson King, Greetings,

"I do apologize for not having time to meet your minion, Queen the Spade, or her lackey, Jack in Diamond. I trust that my idiot sister was able to keep them entertained in my absence. I look forward to meeting you in person someday.

"I'm intrigued by your plan to take control of all of the worlds. Usually I prefer to work alone, but it occurs to me that there are an infinite number of worlds, so we should be able to avoid the usual post-operation conflicts about how the loot is divided up. Please contact me at your convenience. I'm about to start work on a jailbreak contract, which should occupy me for the next 72 hours, but I will be available thereafter.

"Most sincerely yours,

"The Hegemon"

Hi again,

It looks like my long quest is almost over! I've got the Five Keys, and it's just a matter of time before I can deactivate the Harmonizer. I'm not expecting any problems; the Hegemon is dead, and the Fifth Column is too divided to pose much of a threat!

Many thanks to all the nice heroes who helped me along the way!

I should be able to deactivate the Harmonizer next Tuesday, October 18th at 9PM Eastern Time. Be sure to stop by if you're free and in the Justice Server universe!

Please check my journal for the whole story:

Hi everybody,

Just thought I'd check in and see how everyone is doing!

Things have been pretty busy here for me since the last time I posted here. I've got some solid leads on my amnesia problem and I've recovered a few memories, but there's still a lot of work to do!

I found out that the person who's been sending my those mysterious letters is called "The Hegemon". She was on vacation for a while, but she just got back and she's put another set of riddles up on her website. (That is soooo annoying! If she's got something to say, I wish she'd just say it instead of making us work through all of those puzzles!)

Anyway, please check my journal for the whole story:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/lostinparagon

It looks like tomorrow's the big day! I hope everyone can make it!

Thanks for your kind words! I hope you can make it on Thursday!

I've finally found a place to live, so this is an open invitation to my long-awaited housewarming party!

It'll be at 9PM Eastern Time on July 1, in the parking lot of the Discount Inn in Galaxy City on the Justice Server. You can get directions and details from my journal

I'm pretty excited! I found out that I was renting a room in the Discount Inn before I got amnesia, and they're going to let me search it just as soon as I can pay the back rent. I get my paycheck on July 1st, so I'm going to try to open the room up during the party. Check my journal for the whole story!

Hi everybody!

I just got this really annoying letter! I've got amnesia, and parts of the letter are from someone who says he knows about my previous life. But the rest of the letter is just gibberish; I can't make any sense out of it at all!

If you'd like to help, you can find the letter at my website:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/lostinparagon/

This is so frustrating! I hope I find some answers soon!

---Peppermint

[Out-of-character stuff: This is the start of an ongoing story. If you want to meet the main characters, you'll need to have a character on Justice server...but that's not a requirement, most of the story will be played out through websites and E-mails. Please keep this thread spoiler-free; don't give out the answers to any of the puzzles here.]