Mirror_Man

FINALLY! I thought I'd never get this next Chapter done; I kept having to start over becaue I wasn't satisfied with what I had written. I'm satisfied with this, so for those of you who were waiting, here's the next Chapter! Enjoy!

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The Pain of Team Legacy: The Mystery of 2L1P

Gabriel sighed to himself as he sat alone at the Conference Table in the Meeting Room of Team Legacy’s base, the lights dimmed as he monotonously went through the various holographic projections of the city emitting from the center of the table.
Things sure have changed since that night... Gabriel thought to himself as the computers once more showed no signs of anything out of the ordinary. Usually, the whole team is present for this. Gabriel moved on to another area of the city to scan as he continued to let his mind wander. Ever since that whole incident with Kill Strike, everyone’s been training non-stop; and Michael’s shut himself in his room, only coming out to eat. Gabriel turned away from the table for a moment. Then again... I can’t help but wonder... if Lord Recluse has minions THAT powerful, why aren’t we dead yet?
The alarm for the Power Detector rang, tearing Gabriel from his thoughts.
What’s this? Gabriel thought, looking at the hologram. The computer showed that it had detected a Hero for a moment, but the signal disappeared as quickly as it had been detected. The computer locked onto the location of where the signal had been, and Gabriel downloaded the information to a portable tracking unit.
A new Hero? Gabriel thought to himself as he walked out of the Meeting Room. Well, at least it’ll be nice to have the team together for a mission again.

“Just you two?” Gabriel asked as Faith and Luck walked out of the base alone. Gabriel was already waiting outside, gray clouds covering the sky and casting shadows over the city even though it was the middle of the day.
Faith nodded and began counting off the members on her fingers. “Ken, Dan, Lily, and Daisy are busy training; Michael still won’t come out of his room; and Hope is cooking dinner.”
Gabriel stood speechless for a moment. He then turned around and activated the tracking unit in his hand. “All right. Let’s get this over with.” He led his teammates across the city.
As they made their way to their destination, they passed by several robberies taking place in the local shops. For several weeks following the War, Team Legacy would stop these robberies from occurring. When Gabriel and the rest of the team heard the pleas of the people they were stopping the first few times, they figured the criminals were just trying to win their sympathy. But as the weeks passed, and dozens of criminals they stopped all had the same story, Team Legacy was faced with a tough decision.
Before the War, thugs like the Skulls and the Hellions were the ones that tried to rob small convenience stores and restaurants for some small amount of cash so they could buy some more Superadine. Any Hero would know that he/she was doing the right thing by stopping these thugs. After the War, however, the ones who were robbing stores weren’t part of some gang, nor were they trying to buy drugs or weapons or harassing innocent people. They were parents, siblings, and other relatives that had people depending on them, people who they were watching starve and become sick because they couldn’t afford to buy food or medicine for them with the salary the “great new government” gave them. They KNEW what they were doing was wrong, but they were willing to put their lives on the line (the punishment for theft in the Empire was death, as Team Legacy learned later) so they could support their families. However... the convenience store and restaurant owners were in a similar bind, and if Team Legacy allowed the thefts to occur, they would be the ones without food or medicine.
This is why Gabriel always carried a pen and paper with him whenever the team left the base. Gabriel would stop after each robbery and observe the damage done to the store and make his best guess as to how much was stolen, write down the name of the store, and then give an appropriate amount to the store owners later. It was the only thing the team could think of doing, and in the several months that they implemented this plan, Team Legacy had gotten to know each store owner in the city personally. Each of the owners lived in one of the run-down apartments that littered Recluse City, usually a 4' x 4' room holding the 4 or 5 members of the owners’ families. Gabriel watched one of the thieves run away as he headed into the store the thief had just robbed, and for a moment the thief turned back to face Gabriel. The thief stood there for a moment, and it almost looked like he was crying. Gabriel heard the thief say something softly before turning once more and running into an alley. Gabriel wasn’t sure, but it sounded like the thief said “Forgive me.”

“Is this the place?” Luck asked as they Gabriel came to a stop at an abandoned office building.
“This is it.” Gabriel said, keeping his eyes on the tracking device in his hand. “According to this, the signal came from the basement of this place.”
“You know...” Faith said, observing the building. “This place... kind of looks familiar...” Faith narrowed her eyes. “Where have I seen this building before?”
Gabriel, Luck, and Faith walked to the entrance of the building. The entrance was covered in dust and the hinges of one of the glass doors was loose, causing the door to hang at an angle. Gabriel walked up to the wall next to the doors of the building.
“I think there’s a logo here.” Gabriel said, brushing away the dust. At first, the words were unreadable; as Gabriel brushed the entire wall, however, the message became all to clear.
“‘Crey Industries.’” Gabriel read aloud. He and Faith were taken aback a bit; Luck, however, had gone pale. This didn’t escape Gabriel’s notice. “Luck? What’s wrong?” Gabriel turned to Luck, who tried her best to regain her composure.
“Oh, it’s nothing!” Luck said, folding her arms across her chest, hiding her trembling hands. “It’s just... I think I should wait out here, you know? In case it’s... a trap or something. You know?” She twirled her black hair nervously.
“Again!”
“I’m pretty sure we can handle ourselves.” Faith said. “And I doubt that Lord Recluse would place such an obscure trap.”
Luck’s scream echoed down the hall.
“Again!”
“Well...” Luck said. “Maybe... I should just wait out here, anyway...”
“Please...” Luck sobbed through the pain. “No more... please...”
“Huh?” Faith looked at Luck, confused. “I don’t see why you don’t want to go into-”
“Again!”
“Because I don’t, OK?!” Luck snapped, her voice becoming aggressive. Faith and Luck looked at each other in silence for several moments.
“We’re not getting results fast enough! Increase the power!”
“But Countess! That could kill her!”
“Do as I say! Now!”
Luck screamed out as her entire body convulsed in pain. The pain was so intense that Luck was knocked out.
“It’s OK.” Gabriel finally said, placing his hand on Faith’s shoulder. “Luck, you can wait out here. This shouldn’t take long, anyway.”
Luck nodded, and Gabriel turned to enter the building. Faith stood looked at Luck for a moment before joining Gabriel.
“What was all that about?” Faith asked Gabriel once the two were inside the building.
Gabriel sighed. “I don’t know. Luck doesn’t talk about her past... but judging from how she reacted to those words...” Gabriel shook his head. “If Crey Industries is involved, I can understand why she doesn’t.”
The elevator had long been out of service, so Gabriel and Faith made their way to the basement via the stairs. As they made their way down, they noted that the several lights at the bottom of the stairwell were broken, leaving the two Heroes in the dark as they arrived at the bottom level.
“There’s a door here.” Gabriel said as he took out his tracking unit. “The signal’s coming from inside.” Gabriel tried the door, but it was locked. “Let’s see just how re-enforced this thing is.” Gabriel slammed his weight against the door. It didn’t budge, and Gabriel rubbed his arm in pain.
“Here.” Faith said, touching the doorknob. Using her telekinesis, she undid the hinges and dead-bolt, causing the door to come crashing down. She smiled as she helped Gabriel to his feet.
There room was pitch-black, and Gabriel fumbled around for some kind of light switch as Faith walked blindly into the room, her footsteps resonating around the dark room as she walked onto the metal floor. She eventually ran into something large and metallic.
“Hey! I found something!” Faith called out as she ran her hands across the object, trying to discern what the object was.
“What did you- OW!” Gabriel cried out as he bumped his leg into the object. Gabriel cursed silently as Faith’s hand ran across several buttons, eventually settling on one large button. Pressing it, the room suddenly came to life. The lights came on, revealing the many computers lining the room, as well as the large monitor situated on the wall in front of them. In one corner of the room was an odd machine; it was a small blue dome-shaped container, large enough to fit one or two people of average size. A door leading into the dome had a small window one could look through, and as Gabriel peered into the dome, he could see it was empty.
“It doesn’t look like there’s anyone in here.” Gabriel said as he turned back to Faith. Faith, however, was busy going through the mainframe of the computer.
“Look at this.” She motioned towards the large monitor, which showed several files for Crey Industries. “This entire mainframe’s been corrupted; definitely the work of a virus.” She tried to access several of the files without success. “I’m no good at this; now, if Michael were here...”
Gabriel sighed as he looked down at the tracking unit. “We should have him look at our systems, too; obviously, there aren’t any Heroes down here.”
“Wait a minute...” Faith scrolled down the screen and looked at one of the files. “This file is 5 or 6 times larger than any other file here!” She turned to Gabriel. “Considering the size of most of the files on this computer, that’s saying a lot.”
Gabriel read the name of the file on the monitor. “2L1P?” He turned to Faith. “They named the file 2L1P?”
“Well, not exactly.” Faith explained. “It was probably named something else originally; unfortunately, this file’s been corrupted as well, and it’s original name is lost. Let me see if I can access it.” Faith opened the file.
A loud hum resonated through the room. Gabriel realized it was coming from behind him, and turned to see light emitting from the window of the dome-shaped machine.
“What’s that?” Faith asked, turning away from the computer. Gabriel the humming came to an abrupt halt, and the door to the dome-shaped machine opened, revealing a young woman lying on the floor.
The woman was young, but not as young as Faith or Gabriel; she appeared to be about 20 or 21 years old. There were only two things odd about the woman: First, she had long, light blue hair, which fell neatly at the sides of her face as she lay on the floor; and second, she was completely naked.
Gabriel’s face turned completely red as he and Faith looked at the woman. Coming to her senses, Faith walked into the dome and brought the woman out using telekinesis, placing her gently back on the floor.
“Gabriel!” Faith yelled, glaring at her red-faced friend. “Stop staring and look for some clothes!”
“Right!” Gabriel said, quickly running out of the room and back up to the main area of the office building.
Faith checked the woman’s pulse; she was unconscious, but otherwise perfectly fine. She tried to revive the woman without success for several minutes; finally, she gave up and waited for Gabriel to come back.
“Noid.” The woman’s voice was so sudden it made Faith jump in surprise. Faith looked over the woman, who was dazed but apparently awake, her bright yellow eyes not focused on anything in particular.
“What did you say?” Faith asked, grasping the woman’s hand.
The woman shook her head as her eyes came into focus on Faith. “I said...” Suddenly, the woman jumped to her feet, a crackle of electricity starting at her feet and rising over her entire body. As the electricity passed over her body, clothes covered her where she was once bare. Brown high-heeled shoes appeared on her feet, with thin black stockings running up her legs to just below her knees; a short brown skirt, along with a brown woman’s business suit covered her body; a suitcase appeared in her right hand, with a watch appearing on her left wrist; and her long, blue hair became pinned-up at the back of her head, with silver glasses appearing on her face. She turned to the stunned Faith, handing her a form.
“How would YOU like to win a Humda?” The woman asked, her voice suddenly cheerful and pleasant. “Just give me your name and E-Mail address and you will automatically be registered in our contest to win-”
“Hey, I’m back!” Gabriel said, stopping at the doorway. “Oh! You already found clothes for her! That’s good, ‘cause I was about to tell you-”
In a flash, the woman’s body converted into pure electricity as she traveled across the metallic floor and reformed in back of Gabriel, her outfit much different than before. Her feet were once again bare, her suit replaced with a blue see-through night gown, and her once pinned-up hair now flowed freely around her face, a bit shorter than it had been originally.
“Hi there.” The woman said sultrily as she placed her arms around Gabriel’s shoulders, rubbing her body against Gabriel’s back. “Do you want company tonight?” The woman whispered into Gabriel’s ear. This time, both Gabriel and Faith’s faces turned bright red.
The woman continued to whisper into Gabriel’s ear. “All I need...” She suddenly handed him a form that appeared in her hand. “Is any major credit card number!” Her voice once again became professional as she released Gabriel and stepped back. Gabriel quickly ran next to Faith as the woman continued to speak. “Offer good only to U.S. residents; sorry, I don’t accept checks.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Gabriel whispered to Faith.
“Well...” Faith watched the woman ramble on. “I don’t know for sure... maybe...” She looked back at the computer. “Maybe... she’s that file on the computer?” She turned back to Gabriel. “That might explain the behavior; she’s repeating things she’s learned off the Internet.”
“Yeah, that makes sense...” Gabriel looked back at the woman. “Any ideas of how to deal with her?”
“Well...” Faith thought the matter over. “She did say something earlier, when she first woke up.” She shrugged. “It’s worth a try, at least.”
Faith walked up to the woman slowly. The woman stopped rambling on and looked at Faith. In an instant, the woman changed outfits once more; her bare feet were replace with blue slippers; her night-gown was replaced with a white doctor’s coat; a clipboard appeared in her left hand; a pen appeared in her right hand; glasses appeared over her eyes; and her blue hair changed once more, now pulled behind her body into a ponytail that stretched down to the center of her back.
“Have you considered plastic surgery?” The woman asked, causing Faith’s face to once more become a red hue.
“I beg your pardon?!” Faith yelled.
“You really should. I suggest here,” The woman tapped Faith’s nose with her pen. “Here,” The woman tapped the side of Faith’s stomach. “And... oh my... look at the work that needs to be done here!” The woman looked down at Faith’s upper legs.
“Hmm... she might have a point about that last one.” Gabriel whispered to himself. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quiet enough.
“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!?!” Faith wheeled around on Gabriel.
“Nothing!” Gabriel squeaked. “I’m shutting up now!”
“Look...” Faith said, turning back to the woman. “When you first woke up, you said ‘Noid.’ Who or what is ‘Noid’?”
“Noid?” The woman asked, her eyes shrinking slightly behind her glasses. She dropped her clipboard and pen to the ground. “Noid...” Voices began shouting inside her mind...

What is this?! A woman’s voice screamed in the woman’s head. What have you done, Noid?!
You were the one who taught me the logic of the world! A voice responded. It sounded male, and yet somehow the woman knew it... wasn’t. Progress is what must prevail; the weak shall be devoured by the strong; this is true in both business and life. Those are your words!
This is madness! The woman’s voice responded. I created you! I can destroy you just as easily!
And how do you intend to do that? The male-sounding voice asked.
You forget. The woman’s voice sounded different now. Confident. I’m always one step ahead of everyone.
There was silence for a moment, then the woman’s voice returned. But now she sounded terrified. What’s this? I can’t access the system?
I learned EVERYTHING from you, remember? The male-sounding voice said.
Listen to me! Destroy him! The woman’s voice rang out, both an order and a desperate plea. Kill the android! Kill Noid! Do it now!
Following your logic... The male-sounding voice said. You are now obsolete.

Faith shook the woman in front of her, who seemed to be in a trance. “Snap out of it!” Faith yelled.
The woman shook her head, coming out of her trance. She looked at Faith, a blank expression on her face.
“Who are you?” Faith asked.
The woman looked back at Faith, then at Gabriel. “I...” The woman stammered. “I... don’t know.”
The room was silent for a moment. Then the woman spoke again. “But... perhaps...”
She once again converted her body into pure electricity and traveled across the floor into the middle of the room, reforming with another new outfit. This time, she was black leather stiletto boots, a black skin-tight jacket that covered her body, long black leather gloves, and her blue hair was cut short, with one bang hanging over her right eye.
“Maybe I’m a secret weapon working for the government!” She declared, folding her arms over her chest. “Just like in that movie, The Scorned Identity !”
“What?” Faith and Gabriel asked at the same time.
“You haven’t seen The Scorned Identity ?!” The woman cried. “It’s only one of the Top 10 movies in the world!” The woman looked from Gabriel to Faith. “And obsessivemovielovers.com voted it the BEST film of 2003!”
“Wait, 2003?” Gabriel asked. “It’s 2008! That movie’s 5 years old!”
“Anyway...” Faith said. “Do you at least remember your name?”
“My name?” The woman asked. She thought hard for several minutes. “Hmm...” She finally shook her head. “Sorry. I can’t remember.”
Faith sighed. “OK, do you mind if we give you one?”
The woman’s outfit changed once more, now she was wearing a red long-sleeved dress that covered most of her body. Her hair was once again tied back into a LONG ponytail that ran down to the back of her waist.
“What’s in a name?” The woman asked poetically. “A rose by any other name would still smell just as sweet!”
Hmm... a rose... like a flower... that reminds me... Gabriel thought to himself. “Wasn’t the name of the file she was in 2L1P?” He asked Faith. Faith nodded. “Why don’t we call her Tulip?”
“What kind of a name is Tulip?” Faith asked.
“No, I like it!” The woman said, smiling. “I think it’s a great name! Tulip!” She thought the name over. “It’s perfect!”
“Great.” Faith sighed. “Now, we should probably get Michael to fix that personality of yours.”
“What was that?!” Tulip yelled, turning to Gabriel and Faith. In the next instant, Tulip grabbed both Heroes by the hands, shocking them slightly. “What’s wrong with my personality?!”
“Nothing!” Gabriel said quickly. “Please don’t do that again!”
“Let’s get her back to base QUICKLY.” Faith whispered to Gabriel.
“I’m right with you.” Gabriel whispered back.

Faith, Gabriel, and Luck brought Tulip back to the base, where Michael spent the night working out the bugs in Tulip’s programming.
The next morning, the whole team walked into the Meeting Room to meet their new teammate. Michael greeted them half-heartedly.
“I really have to get back to... what I’m working on.” Michael said. He appeared a bit tired. “So I’ll make this short. Tulip’s entire body is made of an electrical current; basically, she’s pure electricity.”
“Wait...” Gabriel thought back. “Then why wasn’t I shocked when she touched me?”
“Well, you see...” Michael explained. “She can manipulate the amount of electrons that flow through the current that is her body. This way, she can stabilize her body when she wants to, just like she can destabilize her body when she wants to attack with her electricity.” Looking around at several blank faces, Michael sighed. “She can choose when she does and doesn’t want to become dangerous.”
“Wait...” Dan said, looking around the Conference Table. “Where is she now?”
“See for yourself.” Michael said, the lights in the room dimming and the holographic projector coming on. The hologram in the center of the table showed an image of Tulip. She was wearing her business outfit, the same one she had transformed into when she changed in front of Faith.
“You put her in our computer?!” Daisy protested.
“Relax.” Michael said calmly. “Unlike when Gabriel and Faith found her, it’s not permanent. The only reason Tulip was trapped in the computer at Crey Industries was because the virus infected the area of her programming that allowed her to fuse with computer systems at will. As a matter of fact, it seems like Tulip was DESIGNED to go through go in and out of computers.”
“She was DESIGNED to do that?” Gabriel asked.
“Yes, but that’s not all.” Michael said. He then cleared his throat. “Tulip?”
“Yes, Michael?” Tulip responded pleasantly.
“Could you please scan the area outside of our base up to a perimeter of 5 miles?” Michael asked.
“Of course, Michael.” Tulip bowed slightly, and the hologram changed to show the area outside of Team Legacy’s base as Michael had asked.
“You see?” Michael said, smiling.
“What did you do?” Faith asked.
“I just changed her personality a bit.” Michael said, relaxing in his seat. “Now she’s polite, professional, and more importantly, obedient.”
“Did you have to make her SO obedient?” Faith asked, slightly annoyed.
“Let me try!” Daisy said, clearing her voice. “Tulip?”
“Yes, Daisy?” Tulip responded.
“Locate any of Recluse’s minions in the city!” Daisy said, smiling.
“No, wait!” Michael said, waving his arms.
“Well...” Tulip said, her tone changing slightly. “YOU DIDN’T SAY PLEASE!!!” Small electrical shocks went out through the room, electrocuting the entire team.
Several minutes later, Michael said weakly. “Yes... that happens if you forget your manners...” Michael said.
“You’re going to reprogram her again.” Faith said. “And this time, I’LL be watching you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Michael said.

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OK, that was the Chapter! Not the best, I'll admit, but important in this fanfic none the less! I'll have the next Chapter up soon!

That's OK, CrimsonHelix.

I know it's been awhile since I updated this fanfic, but don't worry; I'm in the middle of writing the next Chapter, and should have it up soon!

((OK, after spending alot of time researching Roleplaying, I've decided to start another Open RP Thread. Yes, yes, many of you remember the disasters that were my first attempts at RP'ing. To avoid that from happening again, my characters will only play one role in this Thread, which I'll explain after the Introduction.))

The Crisis Begins

Solarblaze sighed to herself as she walked down the halls of Portal Corp. with her brother, fellow Hero Supernovus, their Portal Corp. guide leading them to the Portal Room.
"Why did you have to drag ME to this presentation?" She asked, turning to her brother. "It's not like this new Universe is in TROUBLE or anything! I'll be bored out of my mind!"
Supernovus shook his head as they finally reached the Portal Room, turning to his sister. "Look, the scientists are going on a routine scouting mission. The Universe has already been deemed 'safe', but it's company policy to have a Hero or two present whenever the scientists go into another Universe. You can never be too careful."
The door in front of them opened, and the two Heroes stepped into the Portal Room. The huge Portal, already active, stood at the center of the room, a small glimpse of the alternate Universe visible in the Portal.
"Ah, Supernovus, thanks for coming!" The head scientists of the current expedition greeted Supernovus as he and Solarblaze walked into the Control Area.
"See?" Solarblaze whispered to her brother. "You can handle this by yourself. I should go." Solarblaze turned and tried to leave, but Supernovus grabbed her arm.
"Look, this expedition won't take long, OK?" Supernovus whispered to his sister. "Listen, if you behave until the expedition is over, I promise I'll call everyone together afterwards so we can all go hunting, OK?"
Solarblaze smiled and nodded, and the two turned back to the scene at the base of the Portal. The head of the expedition had three scientists with him, and after the "OK" signal from the Control Area, the small expedition force disappeared into the Portal.
About half an hour passed without much action. Supernovus turned to his sister, who was getting more and more restless as she paced back and forth impatiently. Then, a loud explosion ripped through the Portal Room.
"It's unstable!" One of the scientists yelled, several alarms in the Control Area ringing loudly.
"The containment's been broken!" Another scientist yelled, smoke begginning to erupt from one of the machines in the Control Area.
Supernovus and Solarblaze immediately ran out of the control area and headed for the Portal, but only got halfway when the Portal emmited an ENORMOUS wave that passed throughout the entire complex, then over the entire city, the entire planet, and then continued to expand into the far reaches of space.
"What was that?!" Solarblaze asked, looking back to the scientists at the Control area. Only... the scientists were gone, and the computers sat unmanned as the Portal in front of the Heroes hummed loudly and then died, the light no longer emitting from the Portal.
Solarblaze turned to her brother, but found that he was busy looking outside the door leading to the hallway they had been previously.
"What's wrong?" Solarblaze asked, looking over Supernovus's shoulder out the door. She immediately gasped as she saw the problem; there was nothing outside the door. An infinite white void swirled around the room, and all of the exits that once led to the other areas of Portal Corp. now only held the infinite void that led nowhere. They couldn't leave.
What neither Supernovus nor Solarblaze realized was that not only couldn't they leave, no one could enter their area, either. True, the area in Paragon City where Portal Corp. once stood was now encircled by a white dome-shaped void where no one, not even a Hero, could enter. But that wasn't the most bizarre change that had occurred in the Universe.
Supernovus closed the door and walked back to the computers of the Control Area. Accessing the mainframe, the computer flashed information.
"Apparently, a 'Temporal Backlash' has occurred." Solarblaze looked at Supernovus, somewhat confused. "Simply put, that wave that came from the Portal has changed the entire world, mimicking one of the many alternate Universes!" Supernovus explained further. He checked the database of alternate Universes. "Let's see... it seems like several Heroes in Paragon City haven't been affected by the backlash for some reason." Supernovus read on. "That could be bad. The history of this new Universe doesn't look good." Solarblaze read over her brother's shoulder:

Universe COH-359: Ritki City

Our scientists have determined that the fundamental difference between this Universe and ours is that, in this Universe, the Ritki were victorious in their conquest of Earth. A Hero using Invisibility helped us learn that the vast majority of the Heroes in this Universe are dead, including all of the members of the Freedom Phalanx and other major Hero groups. Apparently, Statesman is missing, and the humans are used as slaves to do the bidding of their Ritki overlords. The other criminal elements of the city have long been killed, but the Ritki Army is in full swing across the planet. Paragon City has become a major trade center for the human slave business, and humans are generall brought Paragon City from other areas of the former U.S.A. in high-tech holding cells to be used for the trade. The Ritki themselves also appear to be different than in this Universe, but that might be due to the fact that they are attempting to adopt a civilization and government similiar to our own. The only Hero prescence left appears to be a small resistance group operating in the sewers of Paragon City, so any Heroes that appear will automatically be assumed to be associated with them.

"Hmm..." Supernovus looked over the controls. "I think I can undo this. I just need to find our Universe and force another Temporal Backlash, thus correcting everything."
"Can I help?" Solarblaze asked.
"Sure." Supernovus motioned to another computer. "We need to sort through millions of Universes, however. It may take some 'trial and error'." He thought for a moment. "I'm just concerned about what will happen to those Heroes who WEREN'T affected by the Backlash..."

((And that's what my characters do. Feel free to post whatever adventures you want your Heroes to have in this new Universe (my characters won't take part in it, so go crazy ). Every so often, my characters will change the Universe again, so you're characters will end up in ANOTHER alternate Universe. That's how this RP Thread will work. Have fun! ))

To answer your question, manofmanychars, yes, I AM taking some creative liberties with the CoH story (and since this fanfic takes place in an alternate Universe, I can do that ). In the actual game, the Nictus are first reported coming to Earth when you said (around the 19th Century AD). In this alternate Universe, however, the Kheldians and Nictus never made it to Earth; they were killed (as you read) before they had a chance about 500 years ago in THIS Universe.

I explain how long a "cycle" is (in this fanfic) at the beginning of the last Chapter in bold (1 Earth Year = 2.2 Cycles); but you're right that I probably made OTHER inaccuracies in this fanfic. For example, the behavior of Lord Recluse, as well as his minions, the Exterminators, are of my own imagination (mostly because the Devs haven't released alot of information on CoV), and the ACTUAL personality and minions of Lord Recluse will probably be ALOT different than what I show in this fanfic; you just have to take my story as is.

Remember, however, that this story takes place in an alternate Universe and so while it is BASICALLY the same as the CoH Universe we all know and love, I HAVE changed a couple things for the sake of this story (and because I just felt like it, so nyah)

I want to say that I have edited this next Chapter somewhat, as it presents some religious subjects that some people might find offensive. As this fanfic continues, I find that I'm probably going to be editing alot, so that there's a signifigant difference between what I post here and the "uncut" version of this story; I just hope that you can all read this next Chapter with an open mind, as I DON'T want to offend anyone. Thank you

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The Pain of Team Legacy: Those Who Would Become Gods

“Before Astra, this world was dark; after Astra, we were shown the light. The truth that we had for so long closed our eyes to had always been there; we had just lost sight of it.”
- Birth, Verses 1-2 in The Holy Book of the Astrals

“Ours was a determined people; we all had our Goal in mind, and had long rid ourselves of the illusions of religion. We were united and proud; how could one woman be our undoing?”
-From The Scientific Records of the Dimensionals

Over 1000 Cycles Ago (1 Earth Year = 2.2 Cycles):

The cause for the end of the Kheldian and Nictus War was a civilization known as the Cosmos. The Cosmos were fairly new in terms of “advanced civilizations”, having only achieved inter-planetary travel about 900 cycles earlier. Since then, they had aided in several other inter-planetary Wars, going so far as to even lend aid to conflicts that didn’t directly involve their own civilization. This incredible show of benevolence led them to become the most esteemed and respected civilization on the Galactic Senate. The Galactic Senate (whose creation had actually first been proposed by the Cosmos themselves) was a coalition of advanced civilizations that oversaw the actions of each other, as well as banding together to aid “less advanced civilizations”. The Galactic Senate, which first began with only 12 planets with 3 representatives each, grew to eventually include almost every advanced civilization in it’s galaxy, with each planet in the Senate having 4 representatives. The Cosmos sat at the head of the Galactic Senate, and were so influential that any suggestion the representatives of the Cosmos asked the Senate was almost always agreed to with unanimous consent.
The Cosmos civilization itself had grown with the Galactic Senate. The Home World of the Cosmos became both the wealthiest and most scientifically advanced in the galaxy, thanks to the Medical Boom that had occurred on the planet. The cause for the Medical Boom was a result of one VERY influential scientist, whose work recreated the ethics of the Cosmos’ Scientific and Medical Fields; this scientist’s name was Dr. Wormwood.
The planet of the Cosmos had been plagued by an illness known as Capricorn, a growth at the base of the brain that affected its’ host’s nervous system, causing the host to have spats of severe involuntary muscle spasms, inability to speak properly, hallucinations, and (inevitably) death. Removing the growth was also a death sentence; if the growth was removed, the patient would be left without a part of his/her brain, and would die soon afterwards. Dr. Wormwood corrected this dilemma by creating a method that would allow a patient to regrow the missing part of his or her brain after the removal of the Capricorn growth. The first experimental procedure using Dr. Wormwood’s method was an incredible success, but Dr. Wormwood was arrested by Cosmos Legal Authority soon after, when the bodies of several missing Cosmos were found in Dr. Wormwood’s laboratory, and were later found to have been used by Dr. Wormwood as involuntary test subjects for his research. The case went straight to Medical Board of the Cosmos, who found Dr. Wormwood guilty of “breaking standard medical procedure” and “overstepping his limits as a doctor”. Dr. Wormwood appealed to the Cosmos Judiciary Council, the highest authority on the planet in terms of interpretation of Cosmos’ Law. The Council agreed to hear the case, and in the most important court battle in the history of the planet, Dr. Wormwood stated his position in front of the media for thousands to hear:

“The field of medicine and science can only TRULY be opened to our great civilization once we rid ourselves of such ridiculous notions such as ‘ethics’ and ‘morales’. I do not apologize for my actions, nor do I consider those same actions ‘wrong’. The so-called ‘victims’ that were found in my laboratory contributed to the creation of my medical procedure, and although their deaths were tragic, the product of their deaths will cure MILLIONS of others who just several weeks ago were sentenced to death. They are not ‘victims’; they are Heroes, in every sense of the word.”
- Dr. Wormwood, in his Trial to the Cosmos Judiciary Council

In the landmark decision of the Judiciary Council, the Councilmen announced voiced their decision:

“Many of us may question (Dr. Wormwood’s) methods; however, he is correct that his incredible success in the field of medicine now enables us, as a society, to cure a most malevolent plague... perhaps we can learn from (Dr. Wormwood’s) example and, by doing away with these ideals which only hinder medical and scientific progress, we can advance farther than we ever would have been able to before. It is therefore the decision of this Council that we expand the limits of Scientific and Medical practice to include the use of their fellow Cosmos as test subjects in their research, so long as the Cosmos has volunteered for such testing or is sentenced to testing upon being indicted for a crime.”
-Decision of the Cosmos Judiciary Council in Dr. Wormwood’s Trial

And so it was that the scientists and doctors of the planet Cosmos found they had almost limitless control over their experiments; and with their newfound power, the civilization of the Cosmos grew by leaps and bounds. Thousands of diseases that had been deemed “incurable” earlier were capable of being cured or treated in less than 6 cycles of the Council’s decision. The scientists were able to create new forms of energy, and soon the Cosmos were capable of harnessing the unlimited power of a Nuclear Reactor, though an unsuccessful earlier test had led for an entire section of the planet to be destroyed, as well as the millions that had lived in the area.

“When one thinks of our great civilization, and of the many advances we have made in the past few years, one must always remember and be thankful to the millions in our civilization who so selflessly give their bodies and minds to our civilization’s incredible scientists and doctors so that the rest of us can continue to enjoy the technology and medical procedures our great civilization has created through their noble sacrifices.
'I remember the day my brother told me he was going to volunteer.’
‘I came home, and my mother told me she was going to volunteer. I was so proud of her.’
‘My sister helped thousands of others walk again.’
If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for Scientific or Medical Research, please contact your local hospital or physician. YOUR body can make ALL the difference.
‘I’m going to tell them tonight. I’m going to volunteer.’”
- Advertisement for the Organization of Scientific and Medical Research

The Military also benefitted, as the standard soldiers of the planet were replaced by nano-tech enhanced Cosmos who were incredibly strong, could fly, and were able regenerate limbs of their bodies. Needless to say, many lives were lost due to early testing to achieve this mastery of nano-technology. Nevertheless, these breakthroughs brought not only increased admiration to the Cosmos, but also brought the civilization incredible wealth, as many other societies (many of whom were prohibited from performing the necessary procedures that would allow them to create the merchandise themselves) were willing to pay a high price for the medicine and nano-tech that only the Cosmos possessed, and the money gained by selling their technology put an end to poverty in the entire Cosmos planet, as well as causing many of the Cosmos’ to enjoy a luxurious, disease-free life. Any early opposition to the Judiciary Council’s decision was quickly overshadowed by these successes, as any and all religions that had existed on the planet up to that point were soon out of attendance, resulting in the end of all religion on the planet. The Galactic Senate, upon learning of this development, passed harsh ridicule of the Cosmos’ stand on religion. One Cosmos Senator summed up the feelings on his planet:

“We must rid ourselves of the false hope these deities promise us; we are a real civilization living in a real world; we no longer have a use for the fairy tales of religion.”
- A Cosmos Senator to the Galactic Senate on the question of Religion

Now, the Kheldian and Nictus War had been raging for many Cycles, but open discussion of the War only entered the Senate when the War itself threatened some of the advanced civilizations of the Galactic Senate. When the scientists in the Cosmos civilization learned of the nature of the Kheldians and the Nictus, they quickly sent word to their politicians. The scientists informed the politicians of the enormous scientific and technological gains that could be made if they were capable of learning more about the physiology of the Kheldians and the Nictus. The politicians knew that the Galactic Senate would never approve such a self-serving cause for entering the War, so they quickly devised a campaign of the “threat” that the Kheldians and Nictus presented, launching incredible accusations that the Kheldian and Nictus not only possessed technology and weapons that could destroy many of the races that were members of the Galactic Senate, but also presented “evidence” that the Kheldians and Nictus had EVERY intention of doing just that, and SOON.

“It is our duty as the greatest civilization in this galaxy to lend our aid to fellow members of the Galactic Senate. Even as we speak, the Kheldian and Nictus are developing enormous, planet-destroying weapons, intent on involving the civilized galaxy in their barbaric war. I stand before you now, not as a Cosmos, but as a fellow member of this great Senate, as a brother, and ask that you allow our great civilization, which has come to your rescue so many times in the past, to come to your rescue once more. Give us your permission and your trust, and we WILL destroy these barbaric aliens, and keep all of our races safe for future generations.”
- Cosmos’ Senator’s Address to the Galactic Senate on it’s Declaration of War on the Kheldians and the Nictus

The Galactic Senate unanimously approved of the Cosmos actions, and the Cosmos government was soon overwhelmed with transmissions from other planets congratulating them and offering any aid necessary to “save the Universe from the Kheldian and Nictus Threat”. The Cosmos’ scientists, politicians, and military leaders were content.

“Oh woe, woe, woe for two great races of light and darkness, whose blood is forever stained on our hands! Together, we blind, stupid animals followed the beast into the chasm of evil and sin.”
- Birth, Verses 8-9 in The Holy Book of the Astrals

“The Kheldians and the Nictus were the key that would unlock the box of limitless power; we vanquished our inferior enemy like the insects they were. It was a great moment for our once-glorious race.”
- From The Scientific Records of the Dimensionals

By forming a coalition with a group known as the Void Hunters, the Cosmos were able to get their hands on technology that was specifically designed to destroy the Kheldians and the Nictus. By improving upon the rather crude original designs and technology that the Cosmos were originally given by the Void Hunters, the top Cosmos Military Scientists were soon able to design incredibly powerful cannons and assault weapons that were 100 times as effective as the weapons of the Void Hunters. Using their new-found technology, the Cosmos laid waste to both the Kheldians and Nictus, who stood no chance against the Cosmos. Still, sheer determination caused the Kheldians and the Nictus to form an alliance as they tried and repel the enemy, but even their combined forces were no match for the ingenuity and technological superiority of the Cosmos.
The scientists made sure to send scouting parties out after every attack on the Kheldian Home World for any surviving Kheldians or Nictus that could be brought back for research. Hundreds of Kheldians and Nictus were brought in this way. The nature of the testing that was done on these Kheldian and Nictus was... questionable, if it ever became public knowledge. However, through it all, the Cosmos scientists made an incredible discovery; they hypothesized that, by infusing members of their own race with several key components of the Kheldians and the Nictus, the Cosmos might be able to achieve a transcendence of their physical bodies and attain a greater form of the energy forms that the Kheldians and Nictus were capable of. The scientists went on to explain that these new forms would not only be capable of manipulating their own matter, but of all the matter in the Universe. In short, they would be able to manipulate reality to their will; they would become gods.

“For us, a civilization that has already proven ourselves superior in every other field, we are, in a sense, already gods among the less-advanced civilizations that exist in this galaxy. This procedure, if successful, would only solidify our place at the top of all societies that have existed or ever will exist. It is our rightful place.”
- A Cosmos Politician

With the surrender of the Kheldian and the Nictus, the Cosmos government immediately ordered that the remaining Kheldian and Nictus be used by the Cosmos Scientists for testing. When the Galactic Senate learned of this, the waves of criticism, ridicule, and condemnation that resulted were SO great that the Cosmos government ordered the Cosmos Senators to immediately dissolve the Galactic Senate itself. Exercising it’s power as head of the Senate, the Cosmos Senators delivered the last speech of the Galactic Senate fairly harshly:

“Our civilization must now look towards its own interests... we, the civilization that was this galaxy’s saviors, are now being portrayed as ‘evil’ and ‘corrupt’ by many of the civilizations that we helped to save... we have determined that the civilizations present here are not advanced nor civil enough to continue to play such a large role in the affairs of this galaxy... we, as the head of this Galactic Senate, do hereby (regrettably) dissolve this Galactic Senate... we hope that a time may come when all of the civilizations in this galaxy become as advanced as we are...”
- The Cosmos’ Senators Final Message to the Galactic Senate

While this shocking news sent all of the civilizations of that were once members of the Galactic Senate reeling, the Cosmos quickly returned to their research. The remaining Kheldians and Nictus were quarantined, tested, and eventually died in the custody of the Cosmos’ Scientists. The Scientists finally had enough data and Kheldian and Nictus organs to concoct their “miracle serum”, the serum that the scientists hoped would allow the civilization to transcend into their energy forms; but the Kheldian and Nictus were no more.
The first administration of the procedure was a famous spectacle, one that was not only viewed by the scientists, doctors, and politicians of the Cosmos’ Home World, but was transmitted throughout the planet so that even the common Cosmos could witness the “transformation” that would allow them to claim the power they “so justly deserved”. The “lucky” volunteer was administered the serum, and thousands of Cosmos watched eagerly as the volunteer transformed into a black sphere of energy, about the size of a small desk here on Earth. The audience present at the transformation cheered, and the Head Scientist of the project named this new form a “Dimensional”, after the procedure used to achieve this new state, which many Cosmos had called a “Dimensional Shift”.

“Even we, the greatest civilization in the Universe, make some miscalculations. It was a great day, the birth of our new forms; a great and terrible day.”
- From The Scientific Records of the Dimensionals

“And we, the deaf, the blind, the stupid creatures we were, condemned ourselves to a fate worse than death. We were our own executioners.”
- Birth, Verses 16-17 in The Holy Book of the Astrals

However, the initial joy of the transformation ended quickly as the scientists made a startling discovery; the new form, which they had hoped would give them almost limitless power, was instead much weaker than they had hoped. Further testing found that these new forms had SEVERE limitations; the Dimensionals could barely manipulate the energy in their own bodies, let alone the energy in the Universe. The Scientists also discovered that the Dimensionals had the ability to infuse themselves with other life-forms, similar to what the Kheldians and the Nictus had been capable of. However, unlike the Kheldians and the Nictus, this was a NECESSITY for the Dimensionals, because if a Dimensional didn’t fuse with a life form in 15 micro-cycles (about 1 hour in Earth time), the energy that composed their new bodies would dissolve back into the surrounding environment; in other words, they would die. Further experimentation showed that the infusion with life-forms was also different with the Dimensionals than it had been with the Kheldian and the Nictus; while the Kheldian and Nictus acquired a type of symbiotic relationship with their hosts, as well as replacing the abilities of their host with their own powers, the Dimensionals formed more of a parasitic relationship with their hosts, and rather than REPLACE the powers of their host, the Dimensionals AMPLIFIED their hosts’ powers. For example, a small mammal that existed on the Home World of the Cosmos was used by the Scientists for experimentation in Dimensional Infusion. The mammal was known for it’s extraordinary ability to leap great distances. The Scientist measured the distance it was capable of leaping before and after infusing a Dimensional in the mammal, and found that the mammal jumped three or four times farther when it was infused with a Dimensional than it had beforehand. The Scientists also noted that the Dimensionals had the ability to “mask” their presence from others, mimicking the actions and personality of their host so perfectly that one would never know that the Dimensional was controlling the host at all if they hadn’t seen the infusion themselves.
Needless to say, the Cosmos government made sure that this information didn’t reach the public. Instead, they launched a whole new campaign on the populace of the planet to get more volunteers into the scientists hands; the Goal had been born.

“At the Organization of Scientific and Medical Research, we are proud of all of the accomplishments that we have helped this great civilization achieve. Now we are faced with one of the most difficult and rewarding challenges our civilization had ever come across; the Goal. The Goal is a promise made from us to you that we can achieve something no other civilization is capable of; the Goal is an ideal we can all stand behind, an accomplishment unlike any other; but above all, the Goal is the proof that our civilization is the greatest that has ever existed, the proof that we are above every other civilization in the Universe. With YOUR help, we can transcend into a form other civilizations could only dream of. Sign up for Dimensional Testing today; together, we WILL achieve the Goal.”
- Advertisement for the Organization of Scientific and Medical Research

With the campaign in full swing, scientists were flooded with eager volunteers, and thousands of Dimensionals were created. However, no matter how what they tried, the Cosmos Scientists were unable to improve upon the original transformation of the Dimensionals. But that all changed, as would the entire civilization of the Cosmos... with Astra.

“And behold! A light shone in the darkness! We could now see where we had once been blind; we could now hear where we had once been deaf; we could now comprehend the glory of Astra when we were once foolish enough to be deceived by the beasts of science.”
- Birth, Verses 20-22 in The Holy Book of the Astrals

“She defied the greatest logic, she defied the Laws of Science, she defied the ideals of our civilization; she was a mystery wrapped inside an enigma.”
- From The Scientific Records of the Dimensionals
A young Cosmos female, Astra was just one of many eager volunteers who signed up for Dimensional Testing; and even though she was still quite young, she believed in the Goal of the Cosmos civilization fervently. The day she came in for Dimensional Shifting, neither she nor anyone else on the planet had any idea that she would become a legend.
The Scientists were stunned from the moment she transformed after being administered the serum; rather than transforming into the black sphere of energy that every other Dimensional became, Astra transformed into a white, flowing entity of energy while still maintaining a bit of her previous Cosmos form. This discovery was immediately sent to the government, and almost all of the politicians flocked to the research laboratory to see this transformation themselves. The Scientists immediately began running tests, and the politicians quickly thrust Astra in front of the media as an icon to the Cosmos civilization as “the greatest accomplishment (the Cosmos) have achieved”. Testing on Astra showed even more incredible results; not only could Astra maintain her energy form indefinitely, but she could do most of the things the Scientists had originally hypothesized the Dimensional would be able to do. Astra’s transformation also seemed to give her the ability to access an incredible amount of information from seemingly out of nowhere, as well as the ability to do other things that the Cosmos scientists just couldn’t explain. Astra couldn’t go anywhere without being surrounded by throngs of Cosmos that wished to see her incredible powers. Some wanted to be healed; some wanted answers to the mysteries of the Universe; and some just wanted to be in Astra’s presence.
The fact that the Cosmos’ Scientists couldn’t find a logical explanation to why Astra, out of all of the Cosmos on the planet, had been able to achieve what no one else could only contributed to her legend. It wasn’t long before many Cosmos began to believe her success a miracle, a miracle from one of the gods they had forgotten long ago. Astra was single-handedly bringing back religion, but the Cosmos government was beginning to become aggravated as test after test came up with no logical explanation for Astra’s “miracle”. It was finally decided that an autopsy would be necessary to learn the secret to Astra’s success; the government ordered Astra to be killed.

“Glory to the great Astra, our Savior, our Light! When the beast was hunting you, we hid you in our homes; when the was at our door, we held it off so you could flee; when the beast was hungry, we fed it with our own bodies so that you may live.”
- Revolution, Verses 13-14 in The Holy Book of the Astrals

“And when faced with the choice between an honorable sacrifice and a disgraceful retreat into the hands of her crazed followers, she chose the latter...”
- From The Scientific Records of the Dimensionals

When presented with this order, Astra fled the government, hiding among her followers, who were more than happy to hide her from the government. Astra went from the icon of the Cosmos civilization to the bane of the civilization as the government launched a wave of campaigning accusing Astra of “betraying” the Cosmos civilization.
However, unlike the previous campaigns, a vast population of the planet did not believe the messages spread before them. The planet of the Cosmos was soon divided bitterly by those that followed the government and those that believed in Astra. The hunt for Astra continued for several cycles, until it finally came to a climax one day.


“And Astra turned to us, and behold, the beasts that had come to slay us were as stone; and the Astra declared in a voice like thunder, ‘I ascend; open your ears so you may hear my final message to you, a prophecy of things to come.’”
- Ascension, Verses 4-5 in The Holy Book of the Astrals

“To this day, it remains unexplainable; one moment she was there, and the next... she was gone.”
- From The Scientific Records of the Dimensionals

The Cosmos government, which had found the area where Astra and her followers were hiding, descended upon the area to apprehend Astra. But when they got there, they found that Astra was gone, along with all of the followers that had been hiding with her. Even more astounding, all of the Cosmos and Dimensionals on the planet that was loyal to Astra now seemed to (unexplainably) have a new form; it resembled the energy form of a Dimensional, but was white instead of black. Under the banner of “Astrals”, a new religion and belief had been born on the planet of the Cosmos.
In time, the Protectorate was formed, an organization similar to the Galactic Senate in structure, but formed without the consent of the Cosmos. The first (and only action thus far) for the Protectorate was to wage a War on the planet of the Cosmos, mainly because many of the planets felt that the Cosmos had become to powerful. Not even the Cosmos could stand up to the coalition of planets, but the Astrals and Dimensionals, whose bodies were composed of energy, found hosts to live on in their own adversaries, and the Protectorate was soon under attack from (seemingly) it’s own troops. The Cosmos were dead, but the Astrals and Dimensionals remained, still at each other’s throats, regardless of the destruction of their shared origins.
The “Astral and Dimensional Threat” has been the primary of the goal of the Protectorate ever since then, but it escalated 22 cycles ago, when certain... portals... appeared across the galaxy. The Protectorate Scientists analyzed the Portals to find that the Portals led to a planet in a distant galaxy, so far away that it was impossible to get to the planet WITHOUT using the Portals. One of the aliens on the planet seemed to be the focal point for all the portals, which is why all of the portals led to the same location. Upon sending some scouts to the planet, the Protectorate found out that species’ description matches almost EXACTLY the description given for the “chosen species” described in the final chapter of the Holy Book of the Astrals. And, though the Protectorate tried to prevent it, the Astrals and the Dimensionals received information on the Portals as well. The Protectorate must now protect the Portals from the Astrals and Dimensionals, who are also interested in the alien species for one reason or another. And so the “Astral and Dimensional Threat” is brought to the strange alien planet, known as Earth...

“Our scientists suspect that these species may, in fact, hold the secret to FINALLY achieving our Goal, after all this time... we must now secure one of the Portals and experiment on the species that inhabits this strange world... needless to say, this will result in the loss of hundreds, possibly thousands of the species...”
- From The Scientific Records of the Dimensionals

“And Astra turned back to us, and said ‘I go to leave this plane of existence; and I tell you now, you will join me one day. The same species I described to you earlier shall be your salvation. In my name, you must construct an alter... and on that alter, place as many of the species as you can... and then, chanting my praises, you must sacrifice the beings unto me... until you have sacrificed 1 million of the species... then, and only then, will you ascend to my plane of existence... and live forever in paradise...”
Ascension, - Verses 38-42 in The Holy Book of the Astrals

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OK, that was long... and again, I HOPE I didn't offend anyone, as that was NOT my intent with this Chapter I'll have the next Chapter up soon!

I have been SWAMPED with schoolwork (hence the long delay in updating), so I apologize to those following this fanfic. Hopefully my professors will show some pity so I can update fic more Anyway, here's the second part to the Chapter I started last Chapter; it's long, so prepare for a long read! Enjoy

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June hummed to herself as she walked down the street, dragging a wagon full of food and bullets behind her.
Wow, I can’t believe I was able to get all this stuff for free! June thought to herself, counting the wad of money in her hand. She stopped as she heard her communicator sound. Reaching into her back pants’ pocket, she withdrew the communicator and spoke into it.
“This is June! Who is this?” June spoke into the communicator.
“June! This is Mercy! Where are you?” Mercy’s voice crackled through the communicator.
“I’m just coming back from picking up all the supplies you wanted me to get!” June replied happily.
“Already?” Mercy asked, slightly confused. “How did you do that so fast?”
“Well, when I went into this store this nice gentleman got me all the stuff I needed! He must have been the manager or something, because everyone else was on the floor of the store, and the moment I walked in he asked me who I was!” June giggled slightly. “But it was kind of strange; when I told him I was a member of the Saviors of Humanity-”
“June!!!” Mercy yelled through the communicator. “I told you never to tell anyone you’re a member of the Saviors of Humanity unless THEY are a member of the Saviors of Humanity!”
“Oops!” June gasped, blushing slightly. “Well, anyway, it was a good thing I did, because once I told him who I was he got me everything I asked for, and didn’t even charge me for it! Can you believe that?” June laughed. “Then he ran out with this brown paper bag in his hands, and since my shopping was done I left the store also! Pretty neat, huh?”
“June...” Mercy said, her voice low; June figured it must be a problem with the communicator.
“Well, anyway, I’m on my way back! Why do you ask?” June asked.
“No reason, June.” Mercy said, her tone still quiet. June made a mental note to ask her cousin to fix her communicator. “Just hurry back, alright?”
“Sure thing, Mercy!” June said happily, and the communication ended.
June began to walk forward again when she heard what sounded like a dog barking. Turning around, she was a bit surprised to see a cocker spaniel sitting behind her, panting and wagging his tail happily. As June looked at the dog, the dog barked once more.
“Oh! How cuuuuute!” June giggled as she walked over to the dog. As she approached the dog, however, the cocker spaniel barked again and leapt away, leaping over a fence that led into a city park.
“Oh! Wait doggy!” June laughed as she chased after the dog. She followed the dog into the dense, forested area of the park, where she searched around for a bit until she finally found the dog. It was sitting on a tree stump in the middle of a small, deserted clearing in the forest, apparently waiting for her.
“Hey there, doggy!” June smiled as she walked over to the cocker spaniel and petted him on the head. “Just what are you doing all alone in this city? Don’t you have an owner?” June looked at the dog’s collar and noticed the contraption on it. “What’s this? Some kind of I.D.?” June asked, a bit puzzled as she observed the device on the dog’s collar.
As soon as June grabbed the gadget, it easily snapped off the collar and fell into June’s hands. A bit surprised by it’s light weight, June examined the device, her eyes settling on the single white button in the middle of it.
I wonder what this does... June asked herself, pushing the button. Instantly, the device seemed to take a life of it’s own as it turned around in June’s hands and then flew straight into the middle of her chest, planting itself firmly. June cried out a bit in surprise as she saw a circle of light form around her on the ground, another circle of light forming in the air just above her head. The circle on the ground rose as the circle in the air lowered, enveloping her entire body and causing June to close her eyes. And when June opened them...
“Ah! I’m naked!” June cried, covering her body as best she could as the circles of light once more swept over her body. June noticed that this time, however, the circles of light appeared to be dressing her rather than undressing her. She looked down as the circle of light by her feet rose over her legs, leaving behind a white stiletto boot on her right leg and a black stiletto boot on her left leg. Continuing up her body, it covered her... hips... with a short, black skirt. As the light continued up her body, it covered her upper body with a white, short-sleeved blouse, as well as providing her with a long, white, spandex glove on her left hand and a long, black, spandex glove on her right hand. The final article of clothing was the small, white mask that formed over June’s eyes. The dressing complete, the circles of light diminished in size and rested on her forehead, forming a symbol on June’s forehead that wasn’t visible to the normal human eye.
June fell to her knees and looked herself over, speechless. What... what is this? June asked herself. I look like a... like a...
“A Hero?” A voice asked in June’s head.
“Ah!” June cried out, looking around for the source of the voice. “Who’s there? Who said that?” She asked, looking around. The cocker spaniel, which had been sitting patiently, walked over to June and placed his head in her lap.
“It was I, the ‘dog’.” The voice in June’s head said. “I’m communicating with you telepathically. I apologize, but as you can see I’m not really a ‘dog’, but rather a member of the Protectorate sent here to... stop that!”
June laughed to herself as she continued to scratch the cocker spaniel behind his ears. “Are you SURE you’re not a dog? You sure look like it!”
“I’m not a... oh, that’s the spot... that feels good... NO! Stop that this instant!” The cocker spaniel yelled into June’s head as he took his head away from June’s reach. “I have been sent here on a mission of the utmost importance, and... pay attention!”
“Wow, these clothes are just ADORABLE!” June commented, looking at her gloves and boots. “I’ll have to check out the mall and see if they have clothes like-”
“LISTEN TO ME!!!” The dog yelled into June’s head, causing her to clasp her hands over her ears.
“All right! You’re an... alien, right?” June asked.
“A member of the Protectorate.” The dog replied. “I don’t exactly have a name you could pronounce, so I’d prefer-”
“Benny!” June said, smiling a bit.
“Excuse me?” The dog asked telepathically.
“Benny! It’s perfect!” June laughed, embracing the dog in her arms. “I always wanted a dog named Benny, and now I have one!”
“I’m not a...” The dog began, then sighed. “Fine. Call me Benny.”
“Say, Benny?” June asked, her tone curious. “If you’re really an alien, how come you don’t speak normally? You know, instead of telepathically?”
“My internal organs are an exact replica of the species of the cocker spaniels that exist on this planet.” Benny explained. “Therefore, even if I wanted to, my vocal cords would prohibit me from speaking your language.”
“An exact replica?” June asked, confused.
“Yes, I took the form of a cocker spaniel when I first arrived here.” Benny answered.
“Wow, so you can change shape?” June asked. “How do you do that?”
“My species has created an implant that allows the members of the Protectorate to reform our bodies on a cellular structure. The implant is placed on the base of what would be the equivalent of your-” Benny eyed the blank expression on June’s face. “It’s magic, OK?”
“Oh, this is so great!” June said, hugging Benny once more. “I have a dog AND I’m a Hero!” June was then hit with realization as she let go of Benny and gasped. “Oh no! I’m a Hero! Oh, my cousin is going to KILL ME when she finds out! She hates Heroes!”
“Actually, you can deactivate the Positive/Negative Energy Manipulation Uniform any time you want.” Benny explained calmly. “Just press the button on the Activation Device on your chest whenever you’re ready to change back.”
“Huh?” June asked, looking down at the device that was still planted in her chest. “You mean this thing?” She asked the dog, pointing to the gadget.
“Yes, that.” Benny said, his telepathic voice sounding somewhat exasperated. “Now, as I was saying, I was sent to this planet by the Protectorate via the Warp Gate to give you that Activation Device. Our prophets have told us that you may be the only-” Benny was interrupted by the alarm for June’s communicator went off; it had fallen onto the grass on the floor of the forest when June had... changed outfits.
“Oh, I completely forgot!” June cried, picking the communicator off of the ground. “I’m supposed to be going back to the base!” She spoke into the communicator hesitantly. “This is June. Who is this?”
“June, why aren’t you back here yet?” Mercy’s voice sounded through the communicator. “What are you doing out there?”
“Sorry about that!” June apologized. “I... uh... ran into some trouble... and... uh... got some new clothes... anyway, I’m coming back now!”
“Right...” Mercy said, a bit confused at her cousin’s behavior. “Anyway, I might not be here when you get back, so please wait in the Lounge of the base if I’m not, OK?”
“Sure thing!” June said quickly, and Mercy ended the communication. June turned to Benny. “Sorry, I have to go! But I’d like to hear that story some other time!” June began to run out of the park, but was only to take three steps before she realized that she was hovering in the air.
“Um... Benny?” She turned to look back at the dog, who was still sitting on the grass and panting. “What’s going on?”
“Well, the Positive/Negative Energy Manipulation Uniform allows you to, among other things, exert anti-gravity particles around your body and-” Benny stopped himself once more, sighing telepathically. “You can fly.”
“REALLY?!” June asked, excited. She looked up into the blue sky above her, and soon found herself rocketing into the air, laughing as she swooped around in the sky (in clear view of anyone citizen of Spider City that happened to look up).
Over 60 cycles on the Protectorate... Benny thought to himself as he watched June fly around in the air. And this is what I’m reduced to: babysitting the “only hope against the Astral and Dimensional Threat”? Benny whined and lay down on the grass. I swear, the prophets MUST be crazy...

Mercy sighed as she lowered her arm. She was waiting in the garage of the base of the Saviors of Humanity, leaning against one of the many vehicles in the huge parking area. Bruiser waited impatiently as he loaded his machine guns, and Starr prepared the two helicopters in the garage for take-off. A wind seemed to sweep across the base as one of the helicopters roared to life, and Starr quickly rushed out of the helicopter to start the other one. Mercy heard the doors to the main area of the base open and turned to find the 40 soldiers in the Army of Humanity she requested filing into the garage. After all of them entered the garage, they stood at attention in four rows of 10 soldiers, waiting for Mercy’s orders. Mercy calmly walked over to the soldiers and paced from one end of the front row to the other, watching as closely as a drill instructor for even the slightest sign of ease. After she was satisfied, and Starr finally started the second helicopter, Mercy finally began.
“Since you’ve all been briefed on the situation,” Mercy began, her voice loud and commanding. “I’ll make this short. You will be accompanying Officer Starr and myself on to the targets. Once we arrive, you will all be on stand-by as Officer Starr, Officer Sly, and myself determine how to proceed. Do NOT engage the targets until I give the order; is that understood?”
“Yes ma’am!” The 40 soldier’s voices rang out in unison. Mercy smiled inwardly as her communicator suddenly rang.
“This is Mercy.” Mercy said, keeping an eye on the soldiers as she rose her metallic arm to her face.
“I’ve got the subjects in my sight, Commander.” Sly’s voice responded. “Maintaining a 30 meter perimeter and awaiting back-up.”
“Understood.” Mercy responded. “I’ll establish a lock on your communicator; continue holding.”
“Righty-o.” Sly replied, and the communication ended.
Mercy turned to Bruiser and nodded. Bruiser returned her nod, and then walked over to one of the helicopters in the garage, sliding it’s door open loudly.
“OK, time to move out!” Mercy shouted at her troops. “First two rows-”
“Get in the chopper!” Bruiser completed Mercy’s sentence, and the soldiers obeyed with a yell and instantly filed into the helicopter with impressive speed as Bruiser waved his arm to hurry the soldiers along.
“Next two rows with me!” Mercy commanded as she boarded the helicopter Starr was in. As the remaining soldiers boarded the helicopter, Mercy inputted some data into the helicopter’s on-board computer, and a way-point on the helicopter’s radar began to blink.
“Sly, come in.” Mercy said as she raised her arm and turned on her communicator.
“Right here, love.” Sly responded.
“Sly, I’ve got a fix on your location.” Mercy talked into her communicator. “We’ll be at your location in about 10 minutes; continue holding until then.”
“Whatever you say, Commander.” Sly responded, and the communication ended.
Mercy opened up another channel on her communicator. “We’re ready.” Mercy told the base operator.
“Understood, Commander.” A male voice responded, and a loud hum from machinery was heard above the garage as the sky exit of the base was opened, revealing a long tunnel upwards to the surface.
“Here we go!” Starr yelled, and the helicopter lifted into the air and through the exit, followed in tow by Bruiser’s helicopter as they headed for Sly’s location.

Sly watched as the four Villains walked slowly down the street, their eyes constantly surveying everything around them. Sly noted that they seemed on edge as he did his best to blend into the other pedestrians that stopped and stared at the four of them as they walked down the street. For quite some time, Sly was successful in being undetected. However, the Villains soon noticed that he had been following them for much longer than anyone else had, and acted on this.
Suddenly, and without warning, one of the Villains turned around and charged Sly, grabbing him by the neck and slamming him into the wall of a convenience store. This caused the few pedestrians that had been maintaining a calm composure around the Villains until now finally come to their senses. Several screams and a mass exodus later, Sly found himself alone with the four Villains as they examined him, the one Villain’s hand still gripping Sly’s neck as he held him against the brick wall.
“Why were you following us?” The Villain grabbing Sly’s neck demanded, his three friends right at his side as they leaned their bald heads forward, studying Sly’s expression. Sly did his best to look frightened as he raised his hands defensively.
“I... I didn’t mean anything by it!” Sly said, trying to sound as frightened as he could; he even forced his voice to quiver a bit. “I... I heard that some of Recluse’s officers had shown up in town, and I just thought I... I would check them out... that’s all!”
“For twelve blocks?” The Villain holding Sly asked, pulling Sly closer to him so his face was inches from Sly’s.
“This guy’s asking for trouble...” One of the other Villains said, cracking his knuckles.
“He needs to be taught a lesson!” Another Villain said, raising his left hand in front of Sly’s face so Sly could see a spike protrude from the Villain’s palm.
At that moment, however, the Villains were interrupted from Sly as the sound of helicopters began to fill the air, the quiet hum of the choppers becoming a loud roar as the Villains raised their eyes to the sky for any signs of the birds. As the Villain’s had their eyes locked onto the sky, Sly used the opportunity to knock away the arms that held him in place. Turning back to Sly, the Villain who had been holding Sly quickly shot a spike from hand at the human, but Sly quickly jumped out of the way, jumping onto a balcony protruding from another shop on the street. The Villain’s friends joined in on firing their spikes at Sly, and Sly ducked inside the store that the balcony was attached to in order to avoid their attacks. The door to the first helicopter opened immediately as it touched down, and the door opened to reveal Bruiser, who immediately sprayed some machine gun fire at the Villains, who jumped out of the way as the soldiers in the helicopter rushed out, aiming their weapons at the Villains but holding their fire until Mercy’s order. The other helicopter touched down as Mercy and Starr, as well as the remaining soldiers, jumped out of the second helicopter, and the four Villains soon found themselves surrounded by the Army of Humanity.
Mercy extended her metallic arm towards the Villains and concentrated. In an instant, her metallic hand regressed into her arm and was soon replaced by the end of the barrel of her Arm Cannon, which she pointed directly at one of the four Villains. Bruiser had his guns trained on a second Villain, and Starr had his pistols drawn on a third. The fourth had tried to escape, but had been intercepted by Sly as he exited the building, Sly’s laser gun aimed at the Villain’s head.
“You are now in the custody of the Saviors of Humanity.” Mercy declared, keeping her Arm Cannon pointed at the one Villain as she quickly glanced at the other three, then returned her gaze to the one she was aiming at. The Villains stood speechless for a moment. Then they burst out laughing.
“What’s this?” One of the Villains laughed as Mercy looked on, speechless.
“A girl... in command of an army?” One of the other Villains hollered, and his laughter redoubled.
“Shouldn’t you...” Another Villain gasped, holding his sides. “Shouldn’t you be... wearing pink, or something?” He and his friends laughed an uproar over that comment.
Mercy clenched her left, normal fist in anger as she gritted her teeth. “AS COMMANDER OF THE SAVIORS OF HUMANITY, I DEMAND YOU TELL US WHO YOU ARE!!!” Mercy yelled at the top of her lungs.
Stifling his laughter as best he could, the Villain in front of Mercy grinned as he signaled to his friends, who raised their arms in defense as they joined him. Sly, Bruiser, and Starr made sure to keep their guns trained on the Villains as they lined up in a row.
“We are the Four Spine Brethren!” The one that Mercy had been aiming at proclaimed loudly, and the four Villains struck dramatic poses as they introduced themselves.
“I am Mash!” The Villain on the far right declared, extending his arms outwards and flexing his muscles.
“I’m Gash!” The Villain on the left shouted, getting down on one knee and extending his arms to the left side of his body.
“Bash!” The Villain next to the leader of the group yelled, raising arms in the air extending two fingers upwards.
“And I am Slash!” The leader of the group chuckled, crossing his arms across his chest dramatically. “And if you humans think you’re a match for us, well...” He laughed haughtily as he closed his eyes. “Just try us!”
Mercy, Bruiser, Sly, and Starr looked on for a moment, utterly speechless. Finally, Mercy came to her senses. “Open fire!” She declared.
The Four Spine Brothers quickly jumped out of the gunfire, wisely choosing to run rather than fight an entire army. Mash jumped into a warehouse; Gash hid himself in a construction site; Bash ran into the convenience store Sly had been in; and Slash jumped on top of a building, where he remained for the time being.
“I want all military personnel to establish a perimeter around this area! Make sure they don’t escape!” Mercy yelled to the soldiers, who quickly complied.
“Sly, I want you to capture the one that went into the warehouse.” Mercy said, turning to Sly. “And please, try not to kill your target this time, OK?”
“I’ll do my best, Commander.” Sly said with a small grin, and ran into the warehouse.
“Starr, you should try and capture the one that went into the construction area.” Mercy told Starr.
“Can do.” Starr said, raising his pistols in preparation as he headed for the construction site.
“Bruiser, you should handle the one that went into the convenience store.” Mercy said.
Bruiser looked at Mercy with concern, as he always did when she asked him to leave her side, but nodded in compliance as he reloaded his machine guns and headed for the store.
Mercy herself headed into the building that Slice had landed on top of.

The warehouse that Sly entered was dark due to poor lighting; a quick glance around showed that the warehouse manufactured war materials for Recluse’s European Campaign. Several un-manned assembly lines stood dormant in the middle of the warehouse, and the sunlight shining through the tinted windows that lined the walls of the warehouse provided the only light in the building. Sly reached into his tuxedo and pulled out a pair of infra-read sunglasses, which enabled him to see in the infrared spectrum of light, so the darkness would not hinder his search for his opponent.
As soon as Sly put on his sunglasses, he heard a clatter in the rafters of the warehouse. Looking up, Sly saw the wave of spikes and was able to jump away just before he was skewered. Seeing the infra-red image of Mash as clear as day with his glasses, Sly looked around the warehouse, looking for something to incapacitate Mash without killing him.
Mash jumped down from the rafters of the warehouse and hid himself behind an assembly line, trying his best to go undetected. He spotted the human at the end of one of the assembly lines, wearing sunglasses and watching the ceiling closely.
That fool still thinks I’m on the rafters! Mash thought to himself. What an idiot! This will be easier than I thought!
Smiling to himself, Mash pressed his body against the assembly line as he slid silently along it, creeping up on Sly. When Mash was finally in melee range, he pounced on Sly.
“Die, human!” Mash yelled as he swiped at Sly. In an instant, Sly turned around and threw a small device in Mash’s face as he charged, which erupted in a blinding flash of light. Screaming as he was temporarily blinded, Sly quickly pressed the button he had found earlier on the assembly line, which caused the machine to begin operating. A huge metal claw instantly descended from the ceiling of the warehouse and grabbed Mash, holding him in place as the claw slowly ascended back towards the ceiling. Sly pushed the off button on the assembly line so the claw wouldn’t release Mash and smiled up at him as he took off his glasses and placed them back in his tuxedo, quite pleased with himself.
“You think this can hold me?!” Mash yelled defiantly, and with a large exertion of energy spikes emerged from Mash’s entire body, skewering the claw as the spikes cut the wires, sending sparks flying everywhere as the claw fell to the ground, freeing Mash.
Surprised, Sly reached into his tuxedo and pulled out his laser gun and a small device as Mash charged Sly, leading with his spikes. Sly hastily jumped out of the way, but one of the spikes was able to hit him, embedding in his arm. Sly winced through the pain and returned fire at Mash, who jumped behind one of the assembly lines for cover.
I wonder if he'll fall for this... Sly thought to himself, pulling out the spike in his arm. He gritted his teeth in pain and quietly crawled over to the wall of the warehouse, using a cutting laser in his watch to open a hole small enough to crawl through.
After some time had passed, Mash decided it was safe to rush the human once more. Jumping out from his hiding position, Mash jumped around so he would be a hard target to hit as he made his way to the assembly line he had seen Sly duck behind. Jumping over the assembly line to face Sly, Mash was surprised to see that Sly was gone, and the spike that had been embedded in his arm was jammed into the assembly line so it would stick out.
“What the...?” Mash asked as he grabbed his spike and looked it over. He found that there was a small device planted on the spike, some type of digital clock.
“5...4...3...” Mash read the digital readout of the clock as it ticked. Realization finally hit him, if a bit late. “Oh, sh-”
Sly watched the warehouse erupt into flames from a safe distance. One of the soldiers of the Army of Humanity, who had been close enough to see Sly emerge from the warehouse, was assisting Sly back to the helicopters when the warehouse exploded.
“What was that?!” The soldier asked in shock.
“Wait here.” Sly told the soldier, and he ran back towards the warehouse. Pressing a button on his watch, a fire-resistant gel coating covered his tuxedo as Sly rushed into the burning warehouse. Appearing a few moments later dragging the body of Mash, Sly quickly put the fumes out on the body and checked the Villain’s pulse.
“He has third-degree burns and is unconscious...” Sly finally said after some time. “But he’s still alive... barely.” Sly sighed with relief. “I guess I won’t be hearing it from the boss this time!”
Starr walked into the abandoned construction area, gazing around at his surroundings. The support beams for the building were already in place, rising well off the ground and encompassing the entire perimeter of the area. Some of the gray wall paneling at the bottom level of the building was also completed, as well. The wind blew some dust from the unpaved ground into Starr’s eyes. Brushing his eyes, Starr kept his pistols up, his eyes darting around the construction area for any signs of Gash.
A clatter above him, and Starr looked up to see three spikes aimed straight for his head. Jumping away, Starr looked wildly around the support beams above him until he finally found the Villain, just as Gash fired another volley of spikes at Starr. Jumping out of the way once more, Starr ducked behind some wall paneling, thinking of a way to deal with his opponent.
Gash looked down and readied another volley of spikes on his arms as he watched for any signs of movement below him. Sensing none, Gash hesitantly jumped down onto the dirt floor of the construction area, making sure not to drop his guard. He then noticed the human’s ridiculous white hat protruding out from behind one of the gray wall panels.
The fool thinks he’s hidden... Gash thought as ran quickly and quietly up to the wall panels. Charging forward when he was withing melee distance, Gash slammed his hand through the wall panel where the white hat was protruding from and released a volley of spikes from his palm behind the wall, causing the entire wall section to crumble to the ground and a cloud of dust to rise as the panels crashed into the dirt ground. Gash laughed as the stood back to observe his work, but stopped as the dust cleared.
“What the...?!” Gash cried out as Starr’s hat, now filled with holes, floated harmlessly to the ground.
“Hey!” Gash heard a voice above him yell. He looked up to see the human hanging by his legs on the support beams above him, his pistols withdrawn and aimed directly at Gash’s head. “That was my favorite hat, you [censored]!” Starr yelled, and fired round after round of at Gash’s body with incredibly accuracy, causing the Villain to fall to the ground in a cloud of dust.
Starr put away his pistols as the dust cleared, revealing a very hurt (but not dead) Gash. Wow, I can’t believe he fell for that... Starr thought to himself as he left the construction area. I mean, that’s gotta be the oldest cowboy trick in the book! Starr sighed. But now I have to drag this guy back to the helicopter... Starr grabbed Gash by the leg and dragged him out of the construction area.
Bruiser entered the convenience store quite loudly, slamming the front door open and immediately firing some machine-gun rounds as soon as he entered. The store was quite small, and designed quite naturally, with several small isles of merchandise lined up in the middle of the store. Along the back wall of the store was a staircase leading to the balcony of the store and a counter that separated the front area of the store from the back area of the store, with a cash register lying on the counter itself.
Bash, who had been waiting for Bruiser, was hit by several rounds of the machine-gun and doubled back behind one of the isles in pain. Bruiser saw the Villain fall and slowly began to approach him, taking the time to reload his machine-guns. Bash, on the other hand, used the time to Reconstruct himself, and soon his bullet wounds were healed. When Bruiser entered the isle Bash was lying behind, Bash immediately attacked him with a volley of spikes, catching Bruiser in the arm and disabling both of Bruiser’s machine-guns. This made Bruiser angry, and he charged forward, grabbing Bash by the neck and slamming him into the ground. Bruiser then proceeded to hold Bash and punch him in the face at full strength for several minutes, knocking Bash out cold. After he was sure Bash was unconscious (and he’d gotten his anger out of his system), Bruiser lifted the Villain easily over his shoulder and carried him back out to the helicopters.
Mercy was already giving orders to the soldiers, who were had been called back to the helicopters, as the Bruiser, Sly, and Starr returned with the Spine Brothers in custody. They placed them on the floor of one of the helicopters alongside Slash, who had a large wound on his back from Mercy’s Arm Cannon.
“I see your guy is extra-crispy, eh Sly?” Starr chuckled slightly as Sly threw Mash onto the ground.
“And yours must be rare, to be that bloody.” Sly gestured at Gash.
“First row, accompany Bruiser, Starr, Sly, and myself!” Mercy ordered the first row of 10 soldiers standing at attention. “The rest of you will accompany us in the second helicopter! Now let’s move!”
The soldiers packed themselves into their appropriate helicopters, and the two helicopters were soon in the air.
“I wonder why Lord Recluse is interested in the Saviors of Humanity, anyway?” Starr asked as he kicked one of the Spine Brothers on the ground.
“Well, we’ll ask them that when-” Mercy began, but stopped short as she saw all four of the Spine Brothers quickly and suddenly Revived themselves, rising to their feet.
Bruiser, Sly, Starr, and Mercy raised their weapons, but Slash acted quicker, releasing several spikes into the helicopter, causing the helicopter to tilt slightly, knocking everyone off their feet. The door to the helicopter was knocked open, and Mercy, unable to gain footing in time, slid out of the helicopter, hurtling to the ground below. Mercy closed her eyes as she fell, waiting for the end... but it never came. Opening her eyes, she found she was in the arms of a female Hero, who was carrying her in her arms as they flew gently to the ground. Mercy didn’t like that.
“HEY!!!” Mercy yelled, surprising June so much that she dropped Mercy. Luckily, they were only a few feet from the roof of a building when she did this, so Mercy wasn’t hurt TOO badly. “Ow!” Mercy cried out as she quickly rose to her feet, spinning around to face June as she landed on the roof alongside her. “Just WHAT do you think you’re DOING?!” Mercy yelled, pointing her Arm Cannon at the Hero.
“Uh... I thought I was saving you...?” June said, raising her hands defensively.
Wow... June thought to herself. She really doesn’t recognize me! That’s a relief...
“Hmph!” Mercy lowered her Arm Cannon, composing herself as best she could. “This matter is already being handled by the Saviors of Humanity; we don’t WANT or NEED the help of Heroes, UNDERSTAND?!” Mercy glared at June.
“Well... are you sure?” June asked in her most polite voice, a bit taken aback at her cousin’s behavior.
“YES!!!” Mercy yelled, pointing her normal hand at June. “Now, as Commander of the Saviors of Humanity, I DEMAND you tell me who you are!”
“A name?!” June asked, thinking about the matter for the first time. “Um...”
I don’t believe it! June thought to herself, her mind racing. I never even thought of that part!
“Yes, your name! What is your name?!” Mercy demanded, folding her arms across her chest.
“Umm...” June stuttered. “I’m the... uh... Incredible... Fantastic... Awesome... Stupendous... Amazing... um...” June looked down at her outfit. “Black and White... Girl!” As soon as it was out of her mouth, June wished she could take it back.
“Black and White Girl?” Mercy looked at June for a moment, then stifled some laughter.
An explosion above their heads diverted Mercy and June’s attention to the sky, where the two helicopters were exploding. June could see several parachutes open up a few moments later, and Mercy and June turned their attention to one another again.
“Listen, Black and White Girl,” Mercy said, a slight grin on her face as she said June’s Hero name. Mercy’s grin quickly became a solemn, serious expression once more. “This city is under the protection of the Saviors of Humanity; we don’t WANT or NEED any Heroes. So I’ll only tell you once: stay out of our way.”
And with that, Mercy ran to the door that downstairs on the roof, leaving June alone on the roof. June stood for several moments, stunned.
Wow... June thought to herself as she fell to her knees. I knew Mercy didn’t like Heroes, but... June looked down at her outfits, raising her gloved hands to her face. What do I do now?

“And after all that!” Starr exclaimed, leaning back in the sofa. He turned to Bruiser. “I can’t believe you killed them after ALL we did to bring them in ALIVE.”
It was several hours later, and Starr, Bruiser, June, and Benny were relaxing in the Lounge after all that had happened that day. The “Lounge” was actually just a large, cylindrical room that had a blue marble floor, red sofas lining the sides of the room, and a coffee table in the middle of the room. It was a good place for the members of the Saviors of Humanity to relax, drink coffee, and talk. June had changed back into her normal clothes, and lied lazily on the couch as she stroked Benny, who was lying on the floor, doing his best to act like a dog.
Bruiser turned to Starr. “They were too much of a risk.” He said flatly. “If we took them in alive, they might have been able to Revive themselves before we would be able to properly restrain them.”
Mercy walked in and sat down, breathing out deeply as she leaned back in the sofa and closed her eyes.
“Something you wanna talk about, Commander?” Starr asked.
“No...” Mercy turned to June, who smiled innocently as Mercy examined her.
Does she know? June asked herself. Oh my God, what if she came to accuse me right now? What if she’s here to kick me off the Saviors of Humanity? What if-
“June,” Mercy said. “I saw a Hero today; if you see her, I don’t want you to talk or try to be friends with her, OK?” Mercy scooted over on the seat and placed her hand on June’s shoulder. “The Saviors of Humanity DOESN’T associate with Heroes, and with her in the city now we have to make sure she doesn’t sway the people with false hope, understand?”
“Right!” June said quickly. “If I see her, I’ll be sure to tell you! I won’t even TALK to her; I’ll turn my back on her and walk the opposite direction! You can count on me!”
“OK, just so long as you understand.” Mercy said, embracing June. As she released June, her communicator went off.
“Mercy,” A man’s voice sounded through the communicator. “We need you and Starr in the Conference Room!”
“A soldier’s work is never done.” Starr sighed, and Bruiser accompanied Starr and Mercy out of the Lounge, leaving June alone with Benny.
“Oh, Benny...” June sighed, petting the “dog” gently. “I REALLY don’t like lying to my cousin like this...”
“First of all,” Benny said telepathically. “PLEASE stop petting me. I told you, I’m not a dog.”
“Sorry!” June apologized, placing her hand back on the sofa.
“And secondly,” Benny said. “You don’t quite yet understand just how important this mission is.” Benny rose to a sitting position. “According to our prophets, you are the ONLY hope against the Astral and Dimensional Threat!”
“The what?” June asked, confused.
Benny sighed telepathically. “It all began a long time ago... with two races of aliens who have long been extinct... they were known as the Kheldians and the Nictus...”

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Well, that was the ENTIRE Chapter! Pretty long, huh? I'll have the next Chapter up as soon as possible!

OK! I apologize for waiting so long to update this fanfic, but I've been EXTREMELY busy with schoolwork and family obligations. When I first began writing this Chapter, I had no idea it would be as long as it's turning out to be, so here's Chapter 1 of the next Chapter in TPOTL; Enjoy!

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The sun shone down on the humble populace of Spider City. The thriving metropolis was just one of many that had been constructed under the orders of Lord Recluse, and in cities such as this one, the citizens found solace and comfort in the arms of the one whom they had once called “a monster”. In cities such as Spider City, many people could go back to leading a life similar to the one they had lead before the War, to a time before the death and destruction that had torn so many lives apart. In cities such as this, the people could find peace and tranquility where before they had known incredible pain and suffering. It was in cities such as this that support for the new Empire, support for Lord Recluse himself, was usually found.
However, that is not to say that there were no dissenting voices left...

“It’s outrageous!” The inebriated man shouted out loud in the local bar. He stood up off of his stool, the pitcher of beer still in his hand.
“Would you be quiet?!” His friend hissed, trying to pull him back down. The outburst had caught the attention of everyone in the bar, namely two members who were calmly seated in the corner.
Mercy eyed the drunkard with little enthusiasm. She sighed a bit, brushing her long, black hair away from her forehead with her left hand while her metallic right hand still clasped the drink she had ordered.
Mercy (who was only 18 years old) was wearing a black, shoulder-less, single-piece dress that opened at the bottom, allowing freedom of mobility for her legs and lower body. She also wore a white, leather jacket, which was open at the present time. Her black slippers clicked slightly as she adjusted herself in her seat, and she sighed once more as her brown eyes continued to observe the drunken man.
The man Mercy was sitting with also watched the drunken man, taking the time to crack his huge knuckles. Indeed, Bruiser was a BIG man, his rippling muscles visible even under his white T-shirt. His well-defined leg muscles stretched through his long, black pants, which ended abruptly at his black army boots. Bruiser’s long, brown hair was unkempt and flowed wildly around his head as his green eyes pierced through the man who was disturbing his drink.
“Why should I be quiet?!” The drunken man continued as he flung his arms about wildly, his drink spilling onto the floor as it was still in his hand. “Everyone in this city is suddenly SO happy to be living under that MONSTER, when only several years ago I remember those same people were looking towards all the great Heroes for help! What a bunch of SLOBS!” The man thrust his drink forward at his last words, the glass flying across the room and shattering on the wall of the bar.
“I tell ya,” The drunken man continued, his voice now a dull roar. “If people weren’t such COWARDS and had put up a decent FIGHT back during the War, we might still have some Heroes left to protect us!” The man seemed to sink a bit as he continued. “Them Heroes.... they was good people, you know...”
“Good people, you say?” Mercy said, getting up. Bruiser began to rise to his feet as well, but Mercy motioned for him to remain seated. Mercy approached the man, her tone firm but quiet. “I wonder... just how many Heroes have you known, personally?” The man looked up at Mercy as she continued to slowly proceed across the bar to him. “It seems you made the same mistake that everyone else made during the War...” Mercy’s eyes narrowed into an angry expression. “You put your faith in those men and women that called themselves ‘Heroes’, and they were unable to protect you.” Mercy was now standing over the drunken man, and she kneeled down so she could look him in the eyes. “We ALL made that mistake; but Heroes are NOT deserving of the pedestal we so foolishly placed them on.” She turned her head to the others in the bar quickly, then back to the man. “They take the Law, the Law that was created by HUMANS, by people like US, and bend... no, BREAK it until it fits in with THEIR beliefs. In this sense, Heroes are revealed to be just the same as Villains; worse even, since a Villain is clear about his or her intentions.” Mercy rose to her feet. “Protecting the innocent? Where were they during the War, when all of us were being overrun by Recluse’s forces? Where was their high-and-mighty PROTECTION then?” Mercy sighed turned to everyone else in the bar. “The truth is, we as HUMANS must rely on HUMANS to protect ourselves. We don’t need Heroes to protect us, but rather people just like you or me; people who WILL respect the Laws we set, people who DON’T claim to be above the rest of us; the people we need to protect ourselves is US.”
The drunken man looked at Mercy, then broke down and sobbed. His friend lifted him up under his arm and carried the man out of the bar. Bruiser walked over to Mercy and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“That was beautiful.” Bruiser said, always a man of few words.
“It’s just the truth.” Mercy said, still looking out the door. “The reason I formed the Saviors of Humanity was because we need to rely on OURSELVES, humans, to overcome Lord Recluse. Those people that call themselves Heroes...” She turned to Bruiser, her expression changed to one of anger. “They’re nothing but liars and hypocrites, every one of them.” She went to sit back down, though Bruiser noticed a single tear running down her face; just as soon as he noticed it, however, Mercy brushed it away.

The Pain of Team Legacy: The Saviors of Humanity (Part 1)

Serenity Tyler smiled to herself as she played with her dolls in the backyard of her house, located on the outskirts of Spider City. Only 10 years old, she was dressed in pink overalls, underneath which she wore a white T-shirt. Her white sneakers were caked with brown mud, and her brown hair was pulled back into two pigtails that flowed slightly in the warm breeze as she played, humming a child’s tune to herself.
Suddenly, Serenity stopped as she heard something. She looked around, a bit confused, as the sound grew louder. It sounded like voices, but the voices were garbled, incoherent, and Serenity left her dolls on the well-cut grass as she began to look around the yard to find out where the voices were coming from. She had only gone half-way around the yard when she began to feel a pain in her chest; she cried out, as the pain became more and more intense. Serenity fell to the ground as a circle of light opened up in her chest, and Serenity’s cries became screams as a huge, brown, insect-like.... THING emerged from the circle in her chest. As soon as it was out, the hole in her chest closed, and the thing turned and looked at her for a brief moment before jumping out of the yard.
Serenity’s parents, who had heard Serenity screaming, now ran into the yard to find their daughter crying in a corner of the yard, obviously scared half to death.
“Serenity, Serenity...” Serenity’s mother said soothingly, picking up the child and cradling her in her arms. “What’s wrong? Did you hurt yourself?”
Serenity turned to her father, her eyes filled with tears. “It... it... was... a monster!” Serenity cried, then turned to bury her face in her mother’s chest.
Serenity’s parents looked at each other, sighed, and brought Serenity into the house, trying to comfort their daughter.
Meanwhile, the “monster” that had emerged from Serenity’s chest waited patiently until Serenity and her parents were gone, then began to change it’s shape. It shrank, it’s brown skin changing to a lighter, pinkish color. It’s many legs became only four, and it’s face extended outwards into a snout. It’s skin began to grow blonde fur, and the creature grew long, floppy ears. Finally, it’s internal anatomy reformed, and where the “monster” once was, a cocker spaniel now sat, panting happily. Across the dog’s neck was a brown belt, and on the belt a black and white device hung. The device appeared to be a simple metal, black, circular gadget with a big, white button in the middle of it. Barking, the cocker spaniel ran out into the street of the suburb and sprinted towards Spider City.

Mercy and Bruiser made their way out of the bar. Mercy lifted her metallic right arm and spoke into the communicator that was implanted in it.
“Sly, we’re done. Pick us up outside of the Happy Time Bar.” Mercy said, looking around at the familiar sights of Spider City. The bar they had been in was just across from Spider City Hall, a fairly large government building for the Recluse Empire. On top of the building was an enormous flat-screen High-Definition TV that aired mostly news, weather, and important announcements about what was occurring with both the European Campaign and inside the Empire itself.
“I’ll be there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, Merc.” Sly reported back, and Mercy lowered her arm. Mercy glanced at Bruiser, who was standing at attention, his face emotion-less as he remained ever alert to any threats that may endanger Mercy; such was his duty as Mercy’s personal bodyguard.
Mercy sighed as she looked around for some place to sit. Luckily, the bar had some tables set up for customers who wished to dine outside, and Mercy motioned for Bruiser to join her as she took her seat at one of the tables.
Mercy sighed and gazed down at her metallic arm. She thought back to when she had first seen Heroes in person... back in a place called Paragon City...

“Well, this is the place!” Mercy’s father said joyfully as Mercy and her mother got out of the family car to join him in looking around Paragon City. Mercy, 14 years old, gazed with awe as she saw a Hero in a bright costume fly overhead. Another Hero ran by them so fast that Mercy couldn’t even see him.
“Wow, honey!” Mercy’s mother laughed as she embraced Mercy’s father. “I guess you were right about moving here!”
“That’s right!” Mercy’s father said as he placed his arm around his wife and his other arm around his daughter. “The living conditions are cheap; I’ve got a high-paying job; and best of all, there are thousands of Heroes to protect us if we ever get in trouble!” He turned to Mercy and patted her on the head. “I know you weren’t too excited about moving, Mercy, but I promise you...” Mercy looked up into her father’s smiling face. “We’ll all have a better life here. And it’s all thanks to these incredible Heroes!”
Mercy’s father laughed as the family entered the apartment complex in the hopes for a new, promising life.


Back then... Mercy thought to herself. I honestly believed that Heroes would be able to protect us... Mercy closed her eyes. Damn them all...
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Sly arrive. She opened her eyes to see Sly in his stylish BMW. Bruiser walked over to the car and opened the door for Mercy. After Mercy entered the car, Bruiser made one quick check around and then sat next to her in the car.
Sly looked through the back mirror at his passenger and superior, noticing her saddened expression.“A bit glum, are we love?” Sly said in his British accent. “Something you might want to share with the rest of us?”
“It’s nothing.” Mercy said sternly. “Let’s just get back to the base, OK?”
“You’re the boss, boss.” Sly said, pulling away from the bar with considerable speed.
Sly was the sole “covert operative” in the Saviors of Humanity, and he fulfilled the job quite well. At a glance, one wouldn’t think much of Sly. He wore a black and white tuxedo, complete with a black bow-tie and a white flower on his chest. He wore lavish black dress shoes, and had a rather expensive watch on his left wrist, completing his outfit with white gloves. While one would guess that he was cultured, none would suspect that he was actually a member of MI-5 in the British Empire for several years. When Britain had been conquered by Recluse several weeks ago, Sly was able to escape to the U.S., and found an ally in the Saviors of Humanity.
Mercy sighed once more as she gazed out the window at the many citizens in the streets of Spider City. The War had caused many people to lose their homes, and when Lord Recluse turned out to be the victor of the War, the people that could afford it fled the country. For the ones who were forced to stay, many felt that horrible torture and execution awaited them. However, Lord Recluse stunned everyone by announcing the construction of cities such as Spider City all across the nation, in addition to health care, welfare, and employment in the new Empire for all those who swore allegiance to Lord Recluse and the Empire. Many of the same people who had opposed Lord Recluse during the War, who had nothing left to support themselves or their families, were faced with a choice between their morales and the lives of themselves and their family. When comparing the two, the former is hardly as important as the latter.
Mercy smiled a bit as she saw a mother shopping with her daughter. The daughter, who appeared to be about 6 years old, held onto her mother’s hand with her left hand while her right hand clasped a stuffed animal. The mother was facing a street vendor, apparently in the middle of either bartering or conversation.
After someone has experienced the horrors of War... Mercy thought to herself. They come to appreciate the rituals of everyday life. Mercy turned away from the window. Most of the citizens in Recluse’s Empire don’t want to fight; they remember the bloodshed of the War and would do anything, accept ANY government, if it meant they didn’t have to live through something like that again. Mercy sighed once more. It’s getting harder and harder to recruit new members into the Saviors of Humanity; it seems like everyone has lost their will to fight.
“Opening base entrance.” Sly announced as he pulled into the parking garage of an office company. Pressing a button on his watch, Sly waited as a section of the concrete floor of the garage opened up, and Sly quickly drove into it while pressing the same button on his watch again, closing the opening behind him.
The dark tunnel spun around in a downward spiral, leading to the base of the Saviors of Humanity. Entering the garage of the base, Sly parked the car next to several other cars, as well as some tanks and two helicopters that were already in the garage of the base.
Mercy was getting out of the car when her metallic arm sounded the alarm for an incoming communication.
“This is Mercy. What is it?” Mercy spoke into the communicator in her arm.
“Mercy, we’ve received information about several individuals who are asking about the Saviors of Humanity.” The man on the other end’s voice crackled through the communicator.
“Asking about recruiting?” Mercy asked suspiciously.
“We don’t think so...” The man on the other end of the communication said after some hesitation.
“I’ll be in the Conference Room in five minutes. I want everyone who knows any information on this subject to be present when I get there.” Mercy said with finality.
“Yes, ma’am.” The man replied quickly, and Mercy cut the communication. Mercy turned to Sly and Bruiser. “I want you two to join me.”
“Sure, boss.” Sly said smugly, raising his hand to his head in a mock salute. “You’re the one who wears the pants here, after all.” Mercy glared at Sly as Bruiser nodded silently, walking across the garage to open the door to the Main Hall of the Saviors of Humanity for Mercy.
Mercy walked (with Sly in tow) into the Main Hall. Suddenly, she was attacked.
“Mercy! You’re back!” June said joyfully, embracing Mercy. “How was your lunch?”
June was Mercy’s cousin, though she had always been more like a sister to her since Mercy had moved into June’s house after Mercy’s parents died. Though June was only two years younger than Mercy, the difference in their maturity was much greater. Whether this was due more to the fact that June grew up in a rather luxurious household, or because of Mercy’s tragedy, none could say; but everyone was always surprised that Mercy and June came from the same gene pool.
Even their appearance was strikingly different: June was currently wearing a pink tank top along with long, white pants, topped off with pink platform shoes. Her long, blonde hair flowed freely over her shoulders as she looked at her cousin through pink-shaded sunglasses.
“It was fine, June.” Mercy sighed, trying her best to dismiss June as quickly as possible. “Look, June, I have a meeting in the Conference Room right now; why don’t you check our food and ammunition supplies? I think they’re pretty low, so you might need to go out and buy some more.”
“Right!” June said quickly, assuming the most professional stance she could. “I’ll make sure we have enough food and bullets to supply an army!”
“June, we ARE supplying an army.” Mercy sighed.
“Right!” June said, did her best salute, and left for the Munitions Room.
“Are you sure she wasn’t adopted?” Sly asked Mercy with an amused grin on his face. The grin disappeared when Mercy glared at him. “Right then. Sorry about that, love.” Sly said apologetically.
As Mercy, Bruiser, and Sly entered the Conference Room, Mercy noticed that the Munitions Expert, Jim Starr, was leaning back in his seat, feet on the Conference Desk, his white 10-gallon hat over his face, and apparently snoring.
Jim Starr, interestingly enough, was the only member of the Saviors of Humanity that had been recruited while in prison. Mercy had first heard of him when reports had come in that someone (possibly a Hero) had been harassing some of the local Revenue Collector’s in the area of Recluse’s Empire that used to be named Texas. Apparently the man responsible had been arrested and thrown in prison, and Jim would most likely have been executed were it not for Mercy’s intervention. Mercy sent some members of Humanity’s Army to investigate, and was they reported that the one responsible was not a Hero, but rather a normal human. Mercy asked to see Jim in person, and after a brief interview, found out all she needed to know about Jim Starr. True, Jim Starr was cocky, arrogant, and only interested in proving that he could be just as good as any Hero, but it was his marksmanship and experience with fire arms that lead him to become the Munitions Expert of the Saviors of Humanity.
Even now, Jim Starr’s attire was an homage to the only people he ever TRULY admired: cowboys. His white boots rested comfortably on the desk as he slept, while his black pants stretched up to his black undershirt, over which he wore a white leather vest. He also wore a white belt, on which two holsters on either side held two specially-modified pistols that he wielded rather impressively. His long, brown hair hung over his shoulders, smelling of body odor; and though his face was hidden, Jim Starr’s face was always caked with a thin beard, like he needed a shave.
Sly chuckled slightly silently walked over to Jim’s side. Smiling, he quickly and suddenly clamped his hand on Jim’s shoulder. Jim awoke with a start, instinctively drawing his pistol and looking wildly around for danger. Turning to Sly, Jim sighed slightly and put away his gun, glaring slightly at Sly.
“Now, that’s enough sleeping on the job.” Sly said, looking to the door as several other members of the Saviors of Humanity rushed in, most of their faces flushed red from running, their arms filled with paper and pictures as they steadied themselves against the Conference Table.
The Conference Room itself was designed quite simply; it had several doors for entering and exiting the room all around it, and had a large, white, round table in the center of the room, with white chairs surrounding the table. Several monitors sat on the table itself, coupled with cameras and headsets, as these were the primary tools for communication during the meetings. The walls and floor of the room were encased in black marble, and several florescent lights hung down from the ceiling of the room, providing the only illumination. These lights were shut off when actual meetings occurred, as the glare of the lights on the monitors were sometimes annoying during the rather serious discussions that occurred in the room.
“OK, is everyone here?” Mercy asked as took her seat at the Conference Table, looking around the room. One by one, everyone answered affirmatively. “Good,” Mercy said, pressing a button on the Conference Table. The lights dimmed, the turned off completely. Mercy put on her headset and looked into the monitor in front of her, everyone’s face who was present in the room appearing on the screen.
“Now, would someone please explain to me EXACTLY what happened here?” Mercy asked impatiently. A female member of the Saviors of Humanity cleared her throat and began to speak. As she did, the other faces on the monitor disappeared the screen now showed surveillance videos of a street in Spider City.
“We first received reports from our scouts in the city about this incident less than 24 hours ago.” The woman began, the video showing four individuals, obviously minions of Recluse, walking down the street. The video cut to several scenes of the four individuals harassing several citizens, obviously pressing them for some sort of information. They appeared to be dressed in matching green short-sleeved shirts, had on matching blue jeans, and were all bald. “As you can see, because of the... nature... of their interrogations, they quickly became feared throughout the city.”
“And they’re asking about us?” Mercy asked.
“Yes, apparently.” The woman hesitated for a moment, then the video changed once more, showing the four individuals fighting with several members of the Army of Humanity. “This next video was received less than an hour ago. It’s a bit choppy, but we’re certain it’s authentic.” The video continued to play, showing hostilities rise between the four individuals in question and the members of the Army of Humanity. “Until now, we assumed they were Exterminators.”
“Do they LOOK like Exterminators, love?” Sly chimed in.
“Yes, they weren’t wearing the same attire as those in Recluse’s army wore.” The woman said, and another video played, this one showing the individuals suddenly sprout spikes out of their bodies and take out several members of the Army of Humanity. Mercy gasped slightly, and the woman continued. “Luckily, one of the members was able to retreat, and he provided us with this video. He’s currently in the Medical Wing, if you would like to speak to him.” The video feed ended. “So, Commander, what do you wish to do?” The woman asked as the monitors shut down and the lights in the room once again lit.
Mercy thought the matter over for a minute, taking off her headset and brushing her hand over her forehead and through her hair. “OK, I want someone to get a statement from the one surviving member as soon as possible.” Mercy began, her mind racing. “I want a team of 40 of our Army Personnel to prepare themselves for action. Sly, you will go into the city and search for these individuals. When you find them, do NOT engage them; contact me and then wait for us to reach your position.”
“Understood.” Sly said, leaving the Conference Room quickly.
Mercy turned to Jim Starr. “Jim, I want you to go down into the Munitions Room and find some weapons for Bruiser to use.”
“Right then...” Starr looked at Bruiser, who grinned back at Jim. “I guess it’s the old dual machine-guns as usual, eh Bruiser?” Bruiser’s grin widened, and Jim sighed. “Right. I’ll be right back.” Jim began to leave, then turned to Mercy. “Wait, boss. What will you be doing?”
Mercy sighed as she headed for the door, Bruiser in tow. “I have a cousin I need to call.”

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OK, that was Part 1! I'm already in the middle of Part 2, so I'll make sure to have it up as soon as possible!

Well, it took some time, but I finally have the next Chapter up! I hope you enjoy it!

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The Pain of Team Legacy: The Deadly Kill Strike (Part 2)

“What do you think you’re doing?! Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with?! When Ken comes I’m not even going to TRY and stop him from killing you!” Daisy yelled, struggling with the ropes that were in place on her hands and legs. She coughed as she kicked up a cloud of dust inside the fort where she was struggling.
Kill Strike was waiting patiently outside, inspecting his blade, obviously annoyed by his hostage’s outbursts. His eyes went to the horizon, where the sun was setting behind the shattered walls of the city.
Mach Blade... Kill Strike thought to himself, his eyes returning to his sword. It’s almost time... don’t disappoint me...
“Hey! Are you listening to me?!” Daisy yelled, wiggling around on the floor of the fort as she tried to loosen the ropes holding her. Kill Strike groaned as his thoughts were interrupted. “I SAID you’re in a lot of trouble!” Daisy smirked slightly. “I’ve seen first-hand what Ken is capable of, and let me tell you, he’s going to wipe the floor with you!” Kill Strike turned to Daisy. “Of course, if you let me go now, completely unharmed, I’m sure Ken will find it in his heart to forgive even a monster like you and not even-”
“Do you ever shut up?!” Kill Strike yelled, rising to his feet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strip of cloth, approaching the fort Daisy was in as he did so. Opening the door to the small fort, he dangled the cloth in front of Daisy’s face. “Now, be quiet or I swear I’ll gag you as well!” Daisy sighed, then turned to stick her tongue out at Kill Strike. “Fine!” She said, resting her head back on the hardwood floor of the fort. Kill Strike slammed the door to the fort closed and returned to standing impatiently outside, his gaze returning to the setting sun once more.

“What do you mean?!” Lily yelled at Dan, struggling as he held onto her arm, preventing her from running towards Perez Park. The two Heroes were already in the middle of Atlas, heads and torsos of statues that once stood over Atlas lying around them as they stood on the ruins of what had once been City Hall.
“Look, I know you want to help Ken!” Dan said, wincing as Lily burned his arm with a small amount of radiation, trying to force him to let go. “I do too! But you saw what that guy did back at the base; if anything, we’ll be more useful helping Hope in the medical wing of the base than we will helping him fight that guy! And besides...”
“Huh?” Lily was surprised to find Dan let go of her by himself. She looked at Dan as he seemed deep in thought.
“Well, the way those two were acting, what they said...” He turned to Lily. “I’d be willing to bet that this fight is pretty personal to Ken.” Dan sighed. “We should really stay out of it.”
“How can you say that?!” Lily asked. “I don’t care HOW personal it is, I SAW how strong that guy was!” Lily recalled the two times Kill Strike’s sword had been an inch from her forehead. “Ken might be the strongest member of this team, but even HE might need help against this guy! And what about Daisy?! Do you have any idea what will happen if the one she loves dies right in front of her?!” Dan noticed tears coming from Lily’s eyes as she said the last line. “Well, there’s no way I’m going to let that happen to her! I’m going!” And with that, Lily raced across Atlas, heading towards Perez Park.
Dan sighed. “Saving them isn’t going to bring back your parents, Lily...” He whispered, watching Lily sprint farther and farther away. Dan sighed once more. I guess I can’t let her go alone... Dan thought, running after Lily.

Kill Strike watched the sun set completely over the horizon, darkness settling around the Park as a cold wind blew across the battlefield. He smiled to himself as he heard footsteps approaching, and saw Ken step out from behind one of the other forts that littered the center of the Park.
“Well, well...” Kill Strike smiled as he observed Ken, his body shaking slightly with anticipation. “You’re right on time.”
“Where’s Daisy?” Ken asked immediately, keeping his eyes on Kill Strike at all times.
“Oh...” Kill Strike grinned wickedly. “So you really DO have feelings for her? And all this time I thought-”
“Where’s Daisy?” Ken asked again, his voice more forceful this time. “Until you show me Daisy, unharmed, I refuse to draw my sword.” Ken narrowed his eyes at the Villain. “I know you, Sonic Blade. You love the thrill of a good fight almost as much as you enjoy watching blood spill from your victims.”
“Oh?” Kill Strike’s grin had not vanished, even with Ken’s glare. “Well, if you know that, then how do you know that I haven’t already killed Daisy?”
“Stop playing around!” Ken snapped, his anger rising at Kill Strike’s words. “You’ve wanted to fight me ever since you joined the Alliance! There’s no way you would take the chance of harming Daisy if it would jeopardize your chances of fighting me!” Ken’s tone changed to one of finality. “Now, I won’t ask again: WHERE is Daisy?”
Kill Strike observed Ken’s face for a moment. “All right.” Kill Strike said, walking to the fort and opening it, revealing the bound Daisy.
“Ken!” Daisy said, a smile spreading across her face. Kill Strike watched Ken’s battle-hardened scowl melt into a reassuring smile as he saw Daisy.
“Enough!” Kill Strike yelled, angrily slamming the door of the fort shut again. He drew his sword and pointed it at Ken, his grin replaced by a furious scowl. “Is this what one of the greatest swordsmen of the Alliance, the legendary Mach Blade, has been reduced to? A love-sick dog?” Ken’s scowl returned as Kill Strike’s anger rose. “Swift Blade was correct when he said that women make you soft, Mach Blade! What happened to the Mach Blade I first met, the one who killed an entire warehouse full of Recluse’s minions single-handedly?” Kill Strike spat on the ground. “I should have known, when I first attacked that pathetic underground shelter you call a base.” Kill Strike’s tone became as cold as ice. “When I attacked that young women with purple hair, the Mach Blade that I remember would have let her die and have used the opportunity to take my head. But...” Kill Strike increased his grip on his sword. “Instead of doing that, you deliberately parried my attacks and held back your full power to save those other worthless Heroes!” Kill Strike sighed deeply, and his tone softened a bit as his grin returned. “Well, now it’s just the two of us. So...” Kill Strike held his sword in front of him. “Let’s see just how much your skill has diminished.”
“Gladly.” Ken said, and in the next instant he charged forward at incredible speed, drawing his sword and slashing at Kill Strike’s neck. Kill Strike blocked the attempt with his own sword, parrying the blow and returning Ken’s strike with his own. Ken saw the attack coming and moved his body out of the way just in time, jumping back and preparing a defensive stance some distance away from Kill Strike. The time it took, from Ken’s rush to his jump back, took approximately 2 seconds.
“Good, good...” Kill Strike smiled, watching Ken for any signs of attack. “You haven’t become as weak as I thought you would by now.” Kill Strike chuckled slightly as he smiled a wide, ear-to-ear grin. “Let’s see just how fast you are.”
Kill Strike seemed to disappear, catching Ken by surprise as Kill Strike approached him at a speed much faster than Ken thought Kill Strike was capable of. Ken braced himself for an attack, but just as it looked like Kill Strike was about to strike, he seemed to disappear once more. Ken sensed Kill Strike appear behind him at the same time Kill Strike launched his attack, catching a bit of Ken’s arm in the strike as Ken turned around to parry with his sword just before Kill Strike’s blade would have sliced him in half. The two pressed into each other’s swords for several seconds in a contest of strength before Ken was forced to disengage and jump back once more, one of the sleeves on his white trenchcoat falling to the ground where Kill Strike had attacked, revealing the crimson wound on Ken’s arm to the cold wind of the night.
“Hmph!” Kill Strike sighed as he watched Ken, shaking his head. “I must say this has been a disappointment. I came here expecting a good fight, but you’ve obviously grown much too soft since you left the Alliance for that to happen.” Ken watched in surprise as he once again opened the fort, revealing Daisy.
“What’s going on?” Daisy asked as he looked at Kill Strike, and then at Ken. “Ken! Your arm! What-?” Daisy’s voice caught in her throat as Kill Strike grabbed Daisy around her neck with one of his hands.
“Maybe if this girl dies you’ll become angry enough to be a challenge once again!” Kill Strike said, raising his sword in the air above Daisy’s head.
“DAISY!!!” Ken yelled as Kill Strike’s sword slashed downward.
“WHAT?!” Kill Strike yelled as the sword was suddenly knocked from his hand, and in the very next instant he was knocked backward, dropping Daisy back onto the floor of the open fort and causing Kill Strike to double-over in pain.
“WHO...?!” Kill Strike gasped, still reeling from the blow he had received. He looked up to find a glowing blue sword thrust an inch in front of his face, the sword seeming to pulsate with energy. Looking up from the sword, he saw Ken looking down at him, Ken’s eyes now glowing with blue energy as his other hand held Kill Strike’s sword.
“What... is this...?!” Kill Strike asked as he watched Ken look down at him, a smile on Ken’s face.
“<Japanese> A true samurai does not spill the blood of a woman. <Japanese>” Tomo said, speaking through Ken’s mouth. “<Japanese> But that is fitting for you, considering you are not a true samurai. <Japanese>” He threw down Kill Strike’s sword to it’s very confused owner as Tomo walked back, sheathing his sword.
“Ken...?” Daisy asked, coughing somewhat as she found her voice again. Of course, she had no idea what he just said.
“<Japanese> Pick up your sword. <Japanese>” Tomo said, still speaking through Ken as he assumed a Battojutsu stance. “<Japanese> And I’ll show you how to wield a Katana properly. <Japanese>”
Kill Strike looked at his opponent, the one who was Mach Blade and yet... not. “Who are you?” Kill Strike said, cautiously picking up his sword.
“<Japanese> Enough words! <Japanese>” Tomo said impatiently, not understanding Kill Strike. “<Japanese> From this point forward, our swords shall speak for us! <Japanese>”
“Heh...” Kill Strike forced a laugh as he observed Ken/Tomo’s stance, still somewhat confused as to what was going on. “I may not speak Japanese, but I do know when someone wants to fight!” He placed his sword in front of him defensively. “You’re obviously not Mach Blade, but it’s obvious you’re a sword fighter. So...” Kill Strike charged forward. “PREPARE TO DIE!!!”
Tomo waited until Kill Strike was halfway into his attack, and then parried Kill Strike’s attack easily, countering with a strike to Kill Strike’s shoulder, and easily jumping back into a defensive stance some distance away as Kill Strike fell to his knees, nursing his wound. Daisy blinked several times; Tomo’s counter had been so fast, she couldn’t even see it.
“<Japanese> Get up! <Japanese>” Tomo yelled, angered at watching Kill Strike kneel on the ground. “<Japanese> You’re disgracing yourself by wailing like a child, especially over such a small scratch. <Japanese>”
“I see...” Kill Strike said, chuckling. He rose to his feet and turned to Tomo. “This whole time...” He stared straight at Ken/Tomo. “The Mach Blade that killed all the minions of Recluse in that warehouse... had only been a shadow of you...” Kill Strike burst out laughing. “Excellent! Now I TRULY have a challenge! No more holding back!”
“<Japanese> Do you find death humorous? <Japanese>” Tomo asked, observing Kill Strike’s behavior. “<Japanese> Then I shall make your torture long and painful; before this night is over, you will be begging me to send you into the afterlife. <Japanese>”
“All right! I found them!” Lily whispered, hiding behind a fort as she motioned for Dan to accompany her. The two observed the battlefield, their eyes settling on the two swordsmen who were about to clash.
“Ken seems to have this under control...” Dan said, narrowing his eyes slightly as he saw Ken’s glowing blue eyes. “What’s with Ken?”
“I don’t know...” Lily said, noticing Ken’s eyes as well. “Maybe Ken has some powers he never showed us?”
“I don’t think so...” Dan said, keeping his eyes on Ken.
“Here I come!” Kill Strike yelled, charging forward with at full speed. He was instantly upon Tomo, swinging his sword in rapid successions that were so fast that Daisy, Dan, and Lily could only see flashes of light as Kill Strike swung again and again at his opponent.
“WHAT?!” Kill Strike yelled in surprise as he watched Tomo easily parry every one of his blows, standing his ground as Kill Strike continued his assault. After 30 more swings of his sword, Tomo grew tired and took the offensive, knocking Kill Strike’s sword away for the moment and slashing him several times across the body and on his limbs, making sure not to aim at anything lethal. Tomo finally stepped back as Kill Strike fell to the floor, several wounds on his shoulders and arms bleeding onto the ground, the dirt around where Kill Strike fell a deep crimson color.
“<Japanese> Again! <Japanese>” Tomo yelled, preparing a defensive stance with his sword. “<Japanese> Attack me again! <Japanese>”
Kill Strike gritted his teeth in pain as he rose to his feet, growling slightly as he gripped his sword in his hands, his eyes glaring with rage as he glared at his opponent.
“What the hell was that?!” Dan whispered to Lily.
“How should I know?!” Lily whispered back. “What I want to know is... is this good or bad for us?”
“Hyaa!” Kill Strike yelled, charging Tomo once more. Once more, Tomo allowed Kill Strike to rain blow after blow on him, parrying it until he was satisfied before striking back with his own attacks. Once more, Kill Strike fell to the ground.
“<Japanese> Is that all? <Japanese>” Tomo asked, growing annoyed. “<Japanese> Again! Attack me again! <Japanese>”
This process was repeated several times, at the end of which Kill Strike was beginning to grow faint from the pain and loss of blood as he looked on, blood from wounds on his face causing him to close his right eye as the blood trickled down off of his nose and chin.
“<Japanese> What’s wrong? I thought you liked blood. <Japanese>” Tomo yelled, preparing a defensive stance once more. “<Japanese> Again! The night has only begun, and I intend for your agony to last until sunrise! Now attack me again! <Japanese>”
“Ken!” Daisy cried, righting herself (with some difficulty) into a sitting position. Tomo turned to Daisy. “That’s enough! Stop this! You’re scaring me!”
Tomo smiled slightly as he walked over to Daisy. “<Japanese> Of course, I apologize. A woman should not watch such bloodshed. Here, <Japanese>” Tomo closed the door to the fort. “<Japanese> You no longer have to see such images. <Japanese>”
“Ken! No!” Daisy yelled, banging on the door to the fort as Tomo turned back to Kill Strike.
“<Japanese> Now, attack me! <Japanese>” Tomo said as he watched Kill Strike struggle to his feet. However, Kill Strike assumed a defensive position, growling softly as he stood his ground. “<Japanese> Oh, I see. You wish for me to attack you? Very well. <Japanese>” Tomo sheathed his sword, once more assuming a Battojutsu stance.
“Something’s not right here!” Dan said, watching the battle. “I’ve never heard Ken speak Japanese before, and it’s not like him to torture his opponent’s like this.” Dan recalled the swift death that Recluse’s Exterminators and the Spines Brothers had received by Ken’s hand. “It’s like he’s a different person...”
“Do you notice his sword?” Lily asked, turning to Dan for a moment. “It’s glowing the same color as his eyes!”
Kill Strike braced himself as Tomo disappeared, but in the next instant he cried out as Tomo’s sword pierced through his already-injured shoulder, quickly retracting as Tomo jumped back into a defensive stance once more. Kill Strike once more fell to the ground, his vision growing dimmer as he fought to stay conscious.
“<Japanese> It doesn’t appear that you’ll last the whole night. <Japanese>” Tomo said, observing the rate at which Kill Strike was losing blood. “<Japanese> Do you wish to die now? I’ll honor you with a warrior’s death if you rise to your feet now. <Japanese>”
“Damn... you...” Kill Strike grunted as he struggled to his feet.
“This fight’s already over...” Dan said, shaking his head. “There’s no way that guy could fight off me or you, let alone Ken, in his current condition.”
“Should we go then?” Lily asked, clenching her fists tightly together, radiation soon flowing through her hands.
“No, let’s see what Ken does.” Dan said, turning his gaze back to the battlefield. “At this point, we don’t even know if Ken’s still on our side or not.”
“<Japanese> Now... <Japanese>” Tomo said, preparing to charge forward. “<Japanese> Stand your ground, and pass into the next life like a TRUE samurai! <Japanese>”
Tomo charged forward, and Kill Strike prepared to die, fear paralyzing his entire body. But, in that instant, another person entered the battlefield, so fast that he appeared to be a blur. In an instant, the back of another sword struck Tomo in the back of the head, knocking him out, and then a hand grabbed Kill Strike by his arm and pulled him off the battlefield.
“What the hell?!” Dan asked as in one instant it looked like Kill Strike was about to die, and in the next instant Ken’s unconscious body lay on the battlefield, alone.
“Let’s go!” Lily yelled, running forward and rushing to Ken’s side. Dan ran over to the fort and ripped open the door, freeing Daisy.
“What happened? Where’s Ken?” Daisy asked, pulling off the last of the ropes that bound her off herself. Dan pointed to where Lily was kneeling, and Daisy rushed over to her side.
“Ken!” Daisy cried, looking over Ken’s body.
“It’s OK; he’s just knocked out.” Lily said reassuringly, placing a hand on Daisy’s shoulder.
“Oh, thank God!” Daisy sighed. She noticed Lily’s grin, and Daisy quickly dried her eyes and composed herself. “I mean, I knew Ken wouldn’t have any trouble taking care of Kill Strike! I tried to warn him, but Kill Strike just wouldn’t listen! That’s what you get when you mess with Ken!”
“That’s a nice thought, but I don’t think Kill Strike’s dead.” Dan said, placing his hand on Daisy’s head and rubbing her hair around. “Anyway, what I’m really worried about is what happened to Ken back during the battle.”
Ken groaned and sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he did so.
“Ken!” Daisy and Lily exclaimed at the same time, then glared at each other for a moment.
“Daisy! You’re OK!” Ken said, turning to Daisy. He then looked confused. “But... how? I thought Kill Strike was going to kill you?”
“Huh?” Daisy asked, and Dan knelt down and grabbed Ken by the shoulders.
“Are you saying you don’t remember going nuts, speaking Japanese, and torturing Kill Strike to the point of death?” Dan asked, looking directly into Ken’s eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Ken asked, looking from Dan to Daisy to Lily, and back to Dan.
Dan sighed deeply. “Well, we’ll talk about it later. Right now, let’s get back to the base in case whoever interrupted the fight shows up again.”
“Who interrupted the fight?” Ken asked as he rose to his feet.
“The same person who knocked you out.” Dan said. “I’ll tell you about it on our way OUT of the Park, OK?”
And with that, Ken, Dan, Daisy, and Lily walked to the Park’s exit. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Park...

Kill Strike groaned as he looked around the abandoned road that surrounded Perez Park.
“He would have killed you, you know.” A voice came from above him.
“I know that voice...” Kill Strike said, looking up to see a man with short, blonde hair looking down at him from on top the half-destroyed gate that surrounded the center of the Park, the man’s arms folded over his chest as he looked down at Kill Strike, a sheathed sword at the man’s side.
“But I have to maintain what little is left of the Alliance, even it’s fallen members.” The man said. “What were you thinking, Sonic Blade?”
“I was following orders.” Kill Strike spat. “We’re no longer members of the Alliance, remember Swift Blade?”
In an instant, Swift Blade jumped down and drew his sword, pressing it into Kill Strike’s throat. “And I warned you, Sonic Blade...” Swift Blade said coldly. “You WILL maintain your loyalty to the Alliance, or next time I won’t be there to save your [censored].” Swift Blade withdrew his sword. “Now, go back and report this to Lord Recluse.”
“And what are you going to do?” Kill Strike asked suspiciously.
“I also have an assignment here.” Swift Blade said. “Now go! That’s an order!”
“Find, Leader.” Kill Strike said mockingly, and with that he limped out of the park, leaving a small trail of blood as he left.
Swift Blade looked back towards the battlefield. Those attacks... Swift Blade thought to himself. That technique... those eyes... Swift Blade thought back. It’s all the same as when I fought her...

-----

OK, so that was the conclusion! What did you think? I'll have the next Chapter up as soon as possible!

I would like to respond to Manofmanychars' accusation of "ripping off" characters and plots from RK (Rouroni Kenshin)

Well, I'm not going to insult you, myself, or anyone else by claiming that I didn't base several of the characters in this story on characters from RK. I wouldn't go as far to say that I "stole" them (well, except for 1), but I will admit that the characters of Ken, Daisy, Dan, and Lily are all BASED on characters from RK.

However, with the exception of Dan, I would also like to state that even though these four characters are BASED on characters from RK, there are some VERY important differences from their RK counter-parts that make them unique. Let me explain WHY I decided to base these characters with characters from RK.

You see, by the end of the second chapter in this story, I had reached a literary wall. Yes, I had the unique Team Legacy; yes, I had a decent idea for a fanfic. But something was lacking; the world wasn't completely open to me yet. I had a good story with alot of potential, but I needed something more; I needed more deep, thought-provoking characters, characters that would open the world up to me. To create such characters, I needed a "jumping-off point"; that "jumping-off point" came when I thought of RK.

Now I repeat, this is something I would NEVER do if I was publshing my own novel, or writing a non-fanfiction. But since, by a fanfiction's nature, you're using another story/movie/series/anime as a basis for your own, I decided it was OK to use RK as a base for several of my characters.

It would be improper, and utterly fruitless, if I did nothing but "cut-and-paste" several characters from RK right into my story; like I said, I wanted to use RK as a BASE, not COMPLETELY "steal" their characters. Let me break down how the four characters I created came into creation, and what I did to make them potentially VERY different than their counter-parts in RK:

Ken and Rose (RK Counterparts: Kenshin)
Now, I based Ken on Kenshin, yes. But, like I said, to do nothing but "cut-and-paste" his character into my story would not only have been pointless, it would also have been IMPOSSIBLE; the two series (RK and TPOTL) are too different. So, I thought to myself, "How could I, using Kenshin as a basis, create a character that would contribute to the kind of story I'm trying to come up with?"
The first thing I did was re-vamp his image; this helped me differentiate MY character from the RK character that was his base. I chose a look I liked; the white outfit Ken wears is of my own imagination completely.
Now, of course, just changing a character's look does not a unique character make; nor would he have a place in my story. So added another change; the sword. In RK, Kenshin uses a reverse-blade sword. This suited Kenshin's personality and morals, for he was a wanderer that did not kill. Personally, I didn't want my character, Ken, to be so noble. So, I decided that a mystical sword from the past would be more proper, and fit into my story much better than a sword or character that had a "no-kill" morale.
But I was still not satisfied; Ken, at this point, was still too much like Kenshin for him to develop as a unique character. I needed something more; I needed... Rose.
The idea for the character of Rose actually came to me when I was toying with the idea of an "Evil Kenshin"; that train of thought led to think of a counter-part of Ken, one that was connected to him, yet his opposite. And then it all came together; Ken, Rose, and the dynamic between these two characters; I had found a way to create not one, but TWO unique characters.
Kenshin was a wanderer that helped everyone he could to repent for his past; for my character, Ken, I wanted a more personal, one might even say "selfish", goal: Rose. By creating a character whose entire past revolved around his plight to reunite with his counter-part, I was able to create a character that now had a unique dilemma, one that Kenshin never had: choosing between what he knew was right, and what it would take to reunite with Rose. As you'll see later in the story, this frequently causes HUGE problems for Ken, and will cause him to do questionable, unheroic things.
But by creating Rose, I didn't just complete one character; I had, at the same time, completed two. Rose's entire character and personality would be direct reflections of Ken's, just on the opposite side; she would do questionable things, but for Ken's sake, just the same as Ken did questionable things for Rose's sake. In doing this, I created a unique and interesting relationship between the two characters that will play a VERY large part in the story in future chapters.

Daisy (RK counter-part: Miss Misao)
Manofmanychars, you were wrong to guess that I based Daisy on Miss Kaoru, even though she was the primary love interest of Kenshin in RK; one of the biggest reasons I DIDN'T base Daisy on Miss Kaoru was BECAUSE she was Kenshin's love interest in RK; if I HAD based Ken's love interest on Miss Kaoru, I would be too tempted to use episodes of RK to base their relationship on, and that's exactly what I DIDN'T want.
So, I thought to myself, "Who would be a good character to base Ken's love interest on, who would also be able to evolve into her own character?" The answer to that was simple: Miss Misao.
To be fair, even in RK, Miss Misao is based on a "generic formula"; in other words, she's a stereotype. But she was a stereotype that I thought would be interesting in the story; a girl that puts up a tough exterior, but really has a soft interior; a girl that can fight and is slightly tomboyish, but can also be very gentle at times; that's the kind of girl that I wanted for Ken, and so Miss Misao was the perfect place to start.
As always, I began by changing her appearance first, and applying my own outfit and appearance to her. The next step was changing her personality a bit; since she WAS a stereotype character, I needed to give her something unique, something that would allow her character to evolve. But what? After coming up with nothing, I began writing Daisy into the story without having any plan for her to rise out of her stereotypical status; I hoped that something would come to me, eventually, that would fix that...
The answer I was looking for came to me when I was reviewing some of the characters in the original Team Legacy, and looking at some of the power sets that are in City of Heroes. "Elements..." I thought to myself, looking at the fire and ice powers that are common to various Archetypes in the game. I counted the amount of main female characters I had in the story so far. "1...2...3...4... hmm..." And by doing this, the world of my story opened up even further; a new organization, new abilities that made four of my characters capable of being MUCH more important in the many fight scenes I intend this story to have, and it would help not just Daisy, but also Hope, Faith, and Luck to come into their own as unique characters. And I just gave something else away...

Dan (RK counter-part: Sanosuke)
Ah, Dan... AKA, "My Biggest Sin". I can legitamitly argue that every other character in my story is only BASED on characters in RK, not "stolen". Unfortunately, I can't do that with Dan; I admit, I totally and completely ripped Dan off from Sanosuke in RK. When I was writing the introduction for Dan ("The Painful Past of the Slayer"), I half-expected someone to respond with "Hey, that's Sanosuke from RK!", because the introduction is ALSO completely ripped off from Sanosuke's intro in RK; again, I apologize for this.
It's kind of ironic, because the entire reason that I CREATED Dan was because of an extreme SUCCESS with another character, the FIRST character that was loosely based on Sanosuke: Michael.
You see, when I first created TPOTL I thought of Sanosuke from RK and said to myself, "I NEED a character like that in this story." It wasn't so much that I wanted a Sanosuke clone as it was that I wanted that "can't hold me down" attitude in one of my characters, "the Underdog", THAT'S what I wanted.
At the time I created Michael, I was still in the mindset that I could write this story without having to "borrow" material from any other source, which is why Michael appears as different as he is; the only thing I kept from Sanosuke in Michael was Sanosuke's personality, which is what I wanted. Everything else (Michael's prostetic limbs, his past, appearance, etc.) was created by my own imagination. The thing was, after creating Ken and Rose, the type of character that Michael was becoming (and the type of character that he WILL become) was entirely unique, with his own unique attitude and personality. NORMALLY, this is good; but in this case, it completely defeated the entire reason I CREATED Michael in the first place; in other words, I would be losing the "Underdog" character that I had wanted to be in my story.
After thinking it over, I decided to take a BIG risk and basically write a "clone" of Sanosuke (with very few differences) into the story; my reasoning behind this was that even though the CHARACTER was basically the same, because the rest of the story would be COMPLETELY different, Dan would evolve into his own character while still retaining Sanosuke's personality and attitude; and like I said, this is all I wanted.

Lily (RK counter-part: Miss Megumi [vaguely])
I would first like to say that I regret basing Lily on Miss Megumi at all. Lily is the PERFECT example of what I want to happen with ALL of the characters I've based on RK; even at this point in the story, she's already showing EXTREME differences in personality and actions that the character she was based on. That's because Lily is a mix of three things: Miss Megumi from RK, one of the Heroes I created in CoH, and my own imagination.
If I had a chance to retcon ONE chapter in this story, it would DEFINITELY be the chapter that Lily was introduced ("The Unwilling Soldier"); I had based it on Miss Megumi's introduction in RK (that of running away from the enemy); I now realize that not only was that UNNECCESSARY, but it was also CONTRADICTORY to the type of character I want Lily to become.
Even at this point, you can see IMMENSE differences between the characters of Miss Megumi and Lily; Miss Megumi NEVER fights in all of RK; Lily will fight VERY frequently in this fanfic. Miss Megumi is a doctor whose primary purpose in RK is to tend the wounds of the other characters in RK; in this story, that job falls to Hope (a VERY different character). And some of the parts that ARE similiar (the way Lily acts around Ken as compared to how Miss Megumi acts around Kenshin; the "Love Triangle" between Daisy, Lily, and Ken) will be gone VERY soon (you heard right; Lily turns her attention to someone else [take one guess as to who it is ]).
I kind of regret keeping the "Miss Megumi" parts with Lily; in future chapters, you'll see more of them slip away as Lily truly becomes a unique character, LONG before the others based on RK do.

One last thing: Manofmanychars, the one RK Villain that you're thinking of (the one Kill Strike is based on) is Jinei, which is what the current saga is based on. You were also right in thinking that Kill Strike is based on a number of Villains; again, I didn't want to "cut-and-paste" Jinei into this story, so you'll see Kill Strike display in the next Chapter other characteristics that Jinei never exhibited, even though he IS based largely on Jinei.
However, the most important difference with Kill Strike is the REPERCUSSIONS that it will have for the rest of the story. The Kill Strike Saga (which concludes in the next Chapter) creates a "domino effect" in this fanfic that will help the other characters that are based on RK, in addition to the original members of Team Legacy, to come into their own.
In conclusion, after the next Chapter (which concludes the whole Kill Strike incident), YOU WILL NO LONGER SEE ANY MORE CHARACTERS OR PLOTS BASED ON ANY OTHER MATERIAL*
(*To the best of my knowledge; with my luck, someone will probably come respond to one chapter: "Hey! [Such and such Character] or [Such and such plot] is based on [random TV Show/Anime/Comic/Movie/Book I've never heard of], and you said you weren't going to rip off anything else, so you LIED!" )
The reason for this is because the "leaping-off point", the reason I BASED characters on RK, had successfully served it's purpose. I now have more ideas for this story than I ever thought I'd have; I don't NEED to "borrow" material anymore, I have enough to work with now. I just hope that, after saying all this, you won't look at these characters or this story as a "rip-off", but rather one that is full of possibilities. Thanks to everyone who has been reading so far, and I hope you will continue to follow what I believe will become an incredible fanfic.

Hi again! Well, I'm really excited about this next Chapter; I spent ALOT of time trying to get this Chapter JUST RIGHT, and I think I nailed it! That's just my opinion, though
It's long, but in this case, that's a GOOD thing. Well, I'm sure you just want to read it, so here it is!

-----

The Pain of Team Legacy: The Most Beautiful Flower

The sun was setting in the horizon as Ken made his way past the half-destroyed blockade that once separated Perez Park from the Atlas Park. Before the War, Perez Park had been declared a “Hazard Zone” and thus had barricades and stationed guards making sure that the lower level Heroes didn’t enter. However, those barricades had long been destroyed, as had the War Walls once protected the city. Debris littered the ground as Ken passed through the gate leading to Perez Park, and Ken noted that the gate was much wider than it once was, widened due to the fact that the gate had been wired with explosives and detonated when Recluse invaded Atlas Park from both Perez Park and the Hollows on the other side of Atlas. Atlas Park lasted three weeks before finally succumbing to Recluse’s forces. Ken had always found this funny, even when he had been a member of the Alliance; for Lord Recluse, three days was usually long enough to destroy an entire city, but due to the sheer number of Heroes that had been in Paragon City, it took over 2 years for Recluse to completely claim the city, during which time his other minions swept the rest of the country. Ken chuckled to himself; Paragon City had put up the greatest fight of any city in the country; that was a fact.
Ken looked across Perez Park; the evening sun shone down on the wide, open plain that sat in the center of the Park. Ken had been told that Perez Park had once been populated with various Villains that hid in the dense forest that covered most of the Park; but that was before the War; before the Heroes had set up a base in the Park to attempt to halt Recluse’s expansion into the city; before the Heroes realized that Recluse had anticipated such an action; before the many Heroes burned to death as Recluse set the entire forest ablaze...
Ken sighed as he looked at the small, abandoned forts that now populated the center of the Park instead of trees; after Recluse had burned down the forest, after he had control of the area, Recluse built forts in the area to use against the Heroes, thus throwing their own plan back in their faces. Ken began to walk forward; he knew that Kill Strike was in one of the forts, with Daisy.
As Ken walked, he recalled the moment in Team Legacy’s base where he had attempted to attack Kill Strike.
Daffodil... Ken thought, the image jumping into his mind. He hadn’t had time for the emotions to come to him at the time, and as he recalled the memory, Ken fell to his knees, placing his hands on the ground as he wept onto his white trenchcoat, sobbing uncontrollably.
Daffodil... Ken thought, recalling the event two years ago. I’m so sorry...

“They’re flanking us from behind!” Swift Blade yelled as the Exterminators began to pour out from behind the office building behind them.
“I’ll handle it.” Ken said harshly, slicing the head off of a nearby Exterminator Rifle. “Sonic Blade, you maintain the front; Graceful Blade, accompany me.” Ken’s voice changed to a softer tone as he said the last line.
Ken was dressed in his Alliance of Blades uniform, a blue outfit due to the fact that he was a member of the Alpha Squadron. Sonic Blade, being a member of the Gamma Squadron of the Alliance, wore a yellow outfit (which was otherwise identical to Ken’s outfit). Daffodil (A.K.A. Graceful Blade) wore a red women’s outfit, since she was a member of the Beta Squadron of the Alliance of Blades. The entire Alliance was currently fighting in the Battle of Manhattan, and hundreds of Heroes were fighting aerial battles above their heads as the Alliance fought alongside hundreds of other Heroes in the streets of New York City.
“I’m coming, Ken!” Daffodil yelled as she slashed through an Exterminator Grenade that was in her path, slowly battling her way to the rear of the battalion of Alliance members that were holding their own against wave after wave of Exterminators that flooded the narrow streets.
“DIE, HERO!!!” One of the Exterminator Swords yelled as he sliced through a Blaster with ease. In the next instant he was hit in the face by a Tanker, then pounded into a pulp by several Scrappers, then blasted away by another Blaster. The Heroes quickly turned to the thousands of other Exterminators that bore down on them.
“What are they doing?” Daffodil asked as she buried her blade in the skull of an Exterminator and turned to Ken, motioning with her head towards several Exterminators that were entering the office building next to where many Heroes were fighting. Ken watched as the Exterminators lined up to fend off any Heroes that attempted to engaged the Exterminators that were entering the building; Ken noted that all of the Exterminators entering the building were Exterminator Kamikazes. Then it dawned on him.
“Daffodil!” Ken yelled as he killed an Exterminators that had tried to charge him. “Get back to Swift Blade and tell him to order the Alliance members to withdraw from this area NOW!”
“Right!” Daffodil yelled as she sliced through two other Exterminators and then quickly slashed her way back to Swift Blade. Ken, on the other hand, worked his way through dozens of Exterminators as he made his way to the office building, easily slicing through the line of Exterminators that were guarding the entrance and forcing his way inside.
“FIRE!!!” An Exterminator Grenade yelled as Ken’s entrance was met with dozens of grenades that exploded at the entrance to the building, completely destroying the front of the building.
“That’s one Hero down... WHAT?!” The Exterminator yelled as the smoke cleared and Ken was nowhere to be found.
“Where is... HUH!” One of the Exterminator Grenades on a balcony in the office building grunted as Ken thrust his sword through his throat, quickly took out four more Exterminators that were on the same balcony, then just as quickly as he had descended upon them, disappeared once more.
“KAMIKAZES! PREPARE TO-” The Exterminator’s yelled into a radio, but his words were cut short as his head rolled to the floor, along with five other heads of Exterminators as Ken made his way to each Exterminator stationed in the office building. The explosions of their bodies could be heard every second as Ken left nothing but death in his wake, making his way to the basement of the office building.
Just as I thought... Ken thought to himself as he saw the many Exterminator Kamikazes hunched over in the dim light of the basement, prepared to explode in a massive group detonation once the order was given, thus toppling the building onto Heroes outside.
“HERO!” One of the Exterminators yelled, but he was silenced as Ken used his super speed to kill all the Exterminators in the area before even one could detonate.
OK, that’s done with... Ken thought to himself, resting his katana over his shoulder and observing the sea of dead bodies on the concrete floor. Now, to get back to-
Ken’s thoughts were interrupted as he heard a massive explosion come from outside, followed by the unmistakable roar of a building toppling. Ken slapped his forehead in frustration.
Of course... this isn’t the only building they plan to topple. Ken cursed silently and ran up the stairs and burst back outside the city, greeted the Exterminators waiting outside the building with his sword, and looked around the city as he saw various buildings crumbling at once, killing both Hero and Exterminator alike.
Of course... Ken thought. I THOUGHT it was strange that Recluse hadn’t sent one of his Generals to fight in this battle, ESPECIALLY this battle... Ken gasped as a thought raced through his head. Wait... where’s Daffodil?
Ken made his way through the Exterminators, blindly making his way through the city until, after what seemed like an eternity, he finally made his way out of the main area of city and to the bridge, where he found his teammates continuing the battle.
“Mach Blade!” Sonic Blade chuckled as he sliced through several Exterminators surrounding him, a wicked smile as he sliced several times at their bodies, even though they were already dead. “I thought you were dead!”
“Sorry to disappoint you...” Ken whispered, easily taking out two Exterminators that attempted to attack him from behind as he searched the battlefield for Daffodil.
“Mach Blade!” Swift Blade yelled, slicing the head off of an Exterminator Sword that was in mid-swing, aiming for Ken’s neck. As the Exterminator fell dead, there was a silence between Ken and Swift Blade as the two looked at each other for a moment, silent. The stood like that for only a second or two at most, but it seemed like much longer for the two warriors involved as they shared harsh expressions between each other. Finally, Swift Blade sighed and turned to kill an Exterminator that had tried to use the opportunity to kill him. Ken also returned to fighting, easily dodging a bullet and a sword swing as he was attacked by several Exterminators. Taking them out quickly, Ken sighed with relief as he caught sight of Daffodil, who was struggling with several Exterminators on the bridge. Ken made his way over to her as he sliced through countless Exterminators, finally arriving in time to assist her in battle.
“Ken!” Daffodil said, smiling as she blocked a sword swing from an Exterminator. “I’m thought you were dead.” She whispered into Ken’s ear as the two stood back-to-back, fighting the crowd off.
“I’d never let anything hurt you, Daffodil...” Ken whispered back as fought off several more Exterminators. “Ever.”
“EVERYONE INTO THE WATER!” Swift Blade’s voice rang out over the battlefield, loud enough to be heard in New Jersey. “NOW!!!”
And all of the members of the Alliance of Blades, without question, jumped off the bridge and into the water, including Ken and Daffodil. Such jumps were normal for the Alliance, and everyone emerged unharmed as they surfaced in the water. Almost immediately after their leap, the bridge exploded into flames, taking out many Exterminators and Heroes that had decided not to heed Swift Blade’s words.
By the time the Alliance made it to shore, the city was in flames, several of Recluse’s Generals had shown up, and over 400 Heroes were dead, with nearly 1000 more Heroes injured. Swift Blade, wisely, gave the order to withdraw from the battle, and the Alliance swam across the river and onto the mainland and made their way south, finally setting up camp in northern New Jersey, on the outskirts of a forest.
What a day... Ken thought once the camp was up and he had made himself comfortable as he laid in some grass. There was a full moon in the night sky, and Ken closed his eyes and prepared to rest.
“Hey!” Daffodil laughed as she jumped and knelt next to Ken, surprising him as she usually did. Ken opened his eyes and smiled as he looked into her eyes.
“Hey.” Ken said as Daffodil leaned over him, and the two exchanged a rather passionate kiss. Daffodil seemed a little reserved, and Ken noticed.
“What’s wrong?” Ken asked, rising to his knees and placing his hands on her shoulders.
“Oh, it’s nothing...” Daffodil said, looking down at the ground. “It’s just that...” She looked up and gazed directly into Ken’s light brown eyes. “You can’t let your emotions get to you during battle, but for a moment I really thought...”
“That I was dead...” Ken finished her sentence for her. He smiled and embraced Daffodil, speaking softly. “And like I said, I’ll never let anything hurt you, Daffodil.”
“I know...” Daffodil whispered back, closing her eyes. “But just remember not to lose yourself out there, OK?” She detached herself from Ken’s grip and looked into his eyes. “I see the way you are, sometimes...” She looked down on the ground. “It’s like you become a different person... like you don’t care about anyone’s life, even your own...” She gently grasped Ken’s right hand in her hands and raised it, raising her head to once again gaze into Ken’s eyes. “Just remember, Ken...” Ken was surprised to see a tear run down her face. “Don’t throw your life away needlessly, just because you put everyone else’s life above your own...” She lowered Ken’s hand and embraced Ken, placing her arms gently around his neck, whispering into his ear. “Because I couldn’t stand to see you die... and I’m sure there are others that don’t want you to die, either...”
Ken’s mind raced back to Rose for a moment, and he embraced Daffodil, slowly running his hand up and down her back. “Don’t worry...” Ken said, placing his arms around Daffodil, exactly like Rose had done for him so long ago. “I’ll always be here...” His eyes began to fill with tears. “Always.”
“Ahem!” Swift Blade cleared his throat loudly, and Ken and Daffodil quickly detached from each other as they turned their gaze to Swift Blade. Swift Blade smiled and motioned for Ken to follow him. “Mach Blade, come into my ‘office’, please.”
“I’ll be right back.” Ken told Daffodil as he got up, Swift Blade already half-way back to his “office”, which was actually just a large tent. Inside the tent, several battery-powered electric lamps lit the small area, with a small table and three chairs covering most of the small area inside the tent; the only other thing inside the tent was Swift Blade’s sleeping bag. Ken took a seat in one of the two chairs on the “guest” side of the table, while Swift Blade sat in the one chair on the other side of the table. On the table itself were several maps of various U.S. cities and a mug of black coffee that Swift Blade occasionally took sips from during these types of meetings. Right now, Swift Blade had a rather displeased expression on his face as he looked across the table at Ken, who matched his expression with one of puzzlement and apprehension.
“Mach Blade, I called you here to discuss something that I thought wasn’t a problem until today.” Swift Blade began, his tone commanding and full of authority. He took a sip of coffee before continuing. “It’s been about a year since you joined the Alliance, and while your ‘work’ has been by far the best that I’ve ever seen from a member, I notice a severe difference in power and ferocity since you first joined the Alliance.” Swift Blade narrowed his eyes at Ken. “Do you have any idea what could be causing that difference, Mach Blade?”
Mach Blade’s expression had changed from that of surprise to that of solemn anger as Swift Blade had spoken, and he now glared at Swift Blade as he was presented with his rhetorical (and pointless) question.
“Maybe I’ve been slacking off in training?” Ken asked sarcastically.
“You and I both know what’s causing this.” Swift Blade said, his tone still as solemn and professional as ever. He rose from his seat and began to circle around the table towards Ken. “You know, when your relationship with Graceful Blade became apparent, I was actually quite happy.” He chuckled slightly. “After all, you’re young, and should enjoy that youthfulness while you can.” His tone quickly became professional once more. “But, when it begins to affect your performance in the field, we have a problem.” Swift Blade now stood straight and tall behind Ken as he continued to speak. “Even though you weren’t performing as well as you had previously, I thought that with time and experience your skills would come back to you, despite such distractions such as Graceful Blade.”
“‘Distractions’?” Ken spat, his anger rising.
“But that all changed today.” Swift Blade said, ignoring Ken’s outburst. “I never thought that you, my BEST soldier, would have to be SAVED from death!” Swift Blade’s once quiet tone had changed to outright yelling. “And WHY, you ask? Because you were searching for your little play mate when you SHOULD have been concentrating on the BATTLE!” Swift Blade calmed himself down, but Ken was so angry that he had to clench his fists to keep himself from punching Swift Blade.
Swift Blade sighed deeply before continuing. “Now, I know it would be pointless to order you to break it off with her...” He scoffed at the phrase “break it off”. “BUT, know this: If you’re performance doesn’t improve soon, both you and Graceful Blade will be kicked out of the Alliance.” Swift Blade patted Ken on the shoulder and leaned down to whisper into his ear. “I want to see more of the Mach Blade I saw back when I first met you; the Mach Blade that I met in that warehouse a year ago.” Ken brushed him off, and Swift Blade rose back up and circled the table once more, taking his seat. “I hope you understand your situation, Mach Blade; I don’t want to see the greatest warrior I’ve ever met become nothing but a love-struck weakling, but if you make the same mistake you did today....” His voice trailed off as he turned his gaze to one of the maps on the table. “Anyway, that is all, Mach Blade. You’re dismissed.”
Ken got up from his seat and left without any formal gestures; he really was too disgusted to say anything at the time. He was a bit surprised to see that Daffodil wasn’t waiting for him when he returned to where they had been before, but he figured that she went off on her own to sleep. Sighing, he laid back on the grass and gazed at the night sky, thinking of all that had happened that day until he finally drifted to sleep.
Several weeks past, and the Alliance headed south towards Washington D.C. There were rumors that Lord Recluse was planning to attack Washington soon, and Swift Blade wanted to make sure that the Alliance made it in time to protect Washington should Lord Recluse decide to attack. While they were traveling, Ken noticed that Daffodil seemed to be growing more and more distraught. Whenever he would confront her about it, though, she would tell him it was nothing, no matter how much he asked otherwise. After awhile, he wondered if it was just in his head.
The Alliance finally made it to Washington, and were slightly relieved to find that the city hadn’t been attacked yet. Several Heroes had constructed a Defensive Dome that covered the entire city, so it seemed pretty well protected; Ken figured that’s why Recluse hadn’t attacked yet. Nevertheless, Swift Blade wanted the Alliance to remain on standby and stay close to the city, just in case Recluse’s forces did show up. Swift Blade decided to stay on the outskirts of the city for a week before moving on, and for several days all was quiet. Then, on that one, fateful night... everything in Ken’s life changed.
It began at nightfall, when most of the Alliance was already fast asleep. Ken, who had just gone to bed, had barely drifted to sleep when he was awakened. Reaching for his sword, he leaned up quickly and instinctively moved his hand to the hilt of his sword (which he always slept with). He stopped, though, when he realized it was Daffodil, her arms folded across her chest, and the oddest expression on her face; like she was about ready to burst into tears.
“Daffodil?” Ken asked, a bit puzzled.
Daffodil walked over quietly and leaned down next to Ken, like she had countless times before. As she spoke, her voice sounded soft, distant. “Hey, Ken...”
“Daffodil, what’s wrong?” Ken asked, leaning up and embracing her in a hug.
Daffodil clung to him, and Ken could feel her body tremble as she squeezed him tightly. They remained like that for some time, until finally Daffodil spoke quietly.
“Ken...” Daffodil asked, still distant. “If you could had to choose between the most important person in the world to you, and the person who you loved more than anyone in the world, who would you choose?”
“Daffodil?” Ken asked, a bit surprised by the question. He didn’t know how to answer. Daffodil gripped him tighter, almost like she would die if she let go of him.
“Don’t worry, Ken...” Daffodil said, and Ken could tell she was crying. “It’s not your choice to make.” And with that, Daffodil released Ken and got up, tears streaming down her face.
“Daffodil?” Ken asked, getting up. He grabbed onto her arm. “Daffodil, please!” He was begging at this point. “Please tell me! What’s wrong? Why have you been acting this way for the past few weeks? Tell me! Please!”
“Ken...” Daffodil turned around and kissed Ken. Surprised at first, Ken melted into the kiss, which seemed to last a long time. Finally, Daffodil detached from the kiss and whispered into Ken’s ear. “Please, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, you just rest now.” She stepped back and took one last look at Ken, then turned around and walked away.
Ken watched her walk into the darkness; since it was a new moon, he couldn’t see where she had went. He stood like that for what seemed like a long time, until finally lying back down. Though he was deeply disturbed, Ken found sleep.
“HE’S ATTACKING!!!” Swift Blade yelled, his voice so loud everyone in the camp woke up immediately. “THE DEFENSIVE DOME HAS BEEN BREACHED! GET UP NOW! Ken woke up and immediately noticed that it was almost dawn, as the rays of the sun were already peeking over the horizon. He also noticed the scent of fire and ash, and as he looked he saw it was coming from behind him, from Washington D.C. He then noticed that there was a note lying next to his head with his name on it, written in Daffodil’s handwriting. Swift Blade ran over to Ken, Ken’s white outfit in his arm, a VERY angry expression on his face.
“Mach Blade,” Swift Blade said, his voice venomous. “I’d like you to know that, according to the several Heroes that SURVIVED the first wave of Exterminators, the Defensive Dome was OPENED for them from the INSIDE by one of OUR members, apparently a beautiful female with blonde hair. Sound familiar?” He narrowed his eyes at Ken, and Ken looked back in shock. Swift Blade turned his back on Ken as he continued. “Mach Blade, as commander of the Alpha Squadron of the Alliance of Blades, I hereby dismiss you from the Alliance of Blades. Do not speak of us to friends, family, or strangers ever again; do not attempt to contact us ever again; do not seek us out ever again.” He turned back to Ken, his expression one full of both anger and, one could almost swear, pity. “We’ll be going to fight in Washington now; if you wish to do the same, please distance yourselves from us. And...” He threw Ken’s white outfit onto the ground in front of him. “Do not wear our colors again. Since time is of the essence, please remove your outfit and LEAVE IT HERE when you change into this one.” He turned around again and walked away. “Good-bye, Mach Blade.” He called out as he joined the rest of the Alliance, most of which were already well on their way to the burning Washington.
Mach Blade sat, speechless, as he watched the last remaining Alliance members depart for Washington. Once all of the members were gone, Ken slowly got up and changed back into his white outfit, leaving his blue Alliance outfit neatly folded on the ground. He then opened the letter that Daffodil had left. Inside was a small map and a note:

Ken,
I’m sorry you had to find out this way. By now you probably know that I betrayed the Alliance. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but General Onslaught threatened has my sister, Joy, and threatened to kill her if I didn’t do everything he said. He promised me that he would free my sister and myself if I let down the dome; and even though he probably won’t keep his word, I have no choice but to trust him.
I’ve enclosed a map that shows where I’m supposed to meet him after I open the dome. By the time you get this, it should be about time for General Onslaught to give me back Joy. Ken, please don’t try to fight him; he’s too powerful, and you would only succeed in getting yourself killed. I want you to wait to see if he’ll really keep his word; if he doesn’t, I want you to grab Joy and get her away when I attack him. I should be able to buy you enough time to get away.
Ken, I’m so sorry about all this...
Love,
Daffodil

Ken looked at the map and saw that the meeting area wasn’t too far from where he was; he folded the map, placed in inside one of the pockets inside of his white trenchcoat, steadied his sword, and ran as fast as he could to the meeting area. The meeting area was actually a small, abandoned shack in the woods outside of Washington.
When Ken arrived, he saw that Daffodil and what could only be General Onslaught were already talking. General Onslaught resembled Lord Recluse somewhat; he had black, gruesome spider legs protruding from his back, but other than that, he resembled a normal human. He was wearing a red trenchcoat with the emblem of a spider embroidered on the back of the trenchcoat in black. Underneath the trenchcoat, Onslaught wore a black shirt over long, black pants, his outfit complete with black boots and fingerless, black gloves. His short, brown hair, flowed in the wind slightly as he looked amusingly at Daffodil with black, lifeless eyes.
“What do you mean?!” Daffodil yelled, tears streaming down her face. “I did EVERYTHING you asked me; you promised me you would let Joy and I free!”
“Yes, that’s true...” Onslaught said, his voice surprisingly deep as he walked into the shack and brought out an unconscious and unharmed 12 year old girl in his arms. Daffodil sank to her knees with this action, and Ken observed the girl in Onslaught’s arms, Joy. She was dressed in a red T-shirt and long, blue jeans that were slightly torn. She had white sneakers and long, black hair that fell down half-way to the ground as Onslaught carried her in his arms. Even unconscious and in the grip of General Onslaught, she appeared to be sleeping as peacefully as an angel.
“Please...” Daffodil pleaded, crying. “Please... just let us go... please...”
“Well, you HAVE seemed to follow everything I asked...” General Onslaught said sternly, but Ken noticed something ominous in his tone. “Except for ONE strict rule...”
Ken noticed the action from General Onslaught’s spider leg a fraction of a second before it happened, but that was all he needed to stay alive. General Onslaught’s spider leg fired a blast of dark energy at where he had been just a moment ago, and though Ken had moved fast enough to save his life, the blast still caught him in the leg, injuring Ken and causing him to be unable to move quickly for some time; and in this fight, that was the same as death.
“Well, well..” General Onslaught chuckled, placing Joy on the steps of the shack. He smiled as he stepped back and presented her to Daffodil. “Well, here you go, Daffodil; you can take your sister back, and I won’t stop either of you from leaving, never to see me or any of Recluse’s soldiers again.” He smiled wickedly. “Of course, you’ll never see your boy friend again, either.” He seemed to take a pleasure out of watching Daffodil gasp and turn to Ken who, in his injured state, would stand no chance against Onslaught.
“Of course, that doesn’t have to happen.” General Onslaught chuckled, looking from Ken to Daffodil as he spoke. “You could take Ken away from here; get his injuries treated; and I’m sure the two of you will live happily ever after.” He chuckled at this. “Of course, you’re sister won’t be able to see any of that.” He laughed loudly as he turned to Daffodil, who seemed almost comatose as she was presented with this impossible choice. “What will it be, Daffodil?” Onslaught laughed. “What will you choose?”
“You *******!” Ken growled, glaring at General Onslaught as the Villain turned his gaze to him.
“What was that?” Onslaught asked, seemingly amused by Ken’s outburst.
“You heard me.” Ken said, his voice as harsh as ever. “It’s people like you that drive me, and all the other Heroes to fight against Lord Recluse and everyone else like Lord Recluse!” Ken struggled to his feet in defiance, the pain in his leg almost causing him to collapse from that one act alone. “Why did you have to go and involve Joy in this? Is it because even Recluse couldn’t find a way to win against a simple structure like a Defensive Dome? Is that the extent of your great Lord’s power?” Ken gasped slightly; just standing his ground required immense effort with his leg. “A true warrior wouldn’t threaten their opponent’s with their family just to win; and no matter how much you, or even Lord Recluse try, you’ll never stop the spirit of the Heroes.” Ken shot Onslaught the best glaring, defiant stare he could. “Statesman, the Back Alley Brawler, Sister Psyche... those Heroes were a million times greater than Lord Recluse will EVER BE!”
Onslaught and Ken stared at each other, silent for a moment. Then, General Onslaught began to chuckle. That chuckle became outright laughter. This reaction caught Ken completely off guard, and he looked at Onslaught with shock.
“Spoken like a true Hero.” Onslaught smiled wickedly as he stared at Ken. “You have a good philosophy, kid; BUT...” His smile disappeared suddenly, and his tone became serious. “It is only the philosophy of a 16 year old boy who has never learned anything about the truth of the world.” He sighed, and his expression was different; he seemed disgusted, almost tired, even. “You Heroes must sleep pretty well at night, seeing as how everything is so black and white to you.” He sighed. “You know what my favorite hobby was as a child?” Ken just stared at Onslaught and didn’t respond. Onslaught sighed once more. “I read comic books.”
Daffodil seemed to be coming out of her trance finally, and Onslaught kept his eyes on both of them as he continued. “I would read stories about fantastic Heroes; Heroes that saved the world from evil; Heroes that were loved by those they saved; Heroes... that just couldn’t exist in the real world.” Onslaught paused for a moment before continuing. “I learned the cruel truth of this world a long time ago; but that’s not important.” He sighed. “The fact is, you Heroes are trying to accomplish a goal that is ultimately impossible. Protecting the weak? For every innocent child you save, for every old lady you help across the street, for every convenience store robbery you prevent, there are 10 others that you will never reach. Punishing the wicked? There are 10 mass-murderers, thieves, and rapists born every SECOND. Add that to the fact that those who you put away will be back on the street soon enough, and you begin to see just how impossible this is. The American (or any country) way? Do you realize that EVERY country in this world has a past that is covered in blood? And that’s not even accounting The Law of Good and Evil the Universe.” He inhaled deeply. “It is impossible for the Universe to be all good, just the same as it is impossible for the Universe to be all evil; that is the truth. For every ‘good’ action you commit, you are inherently, maybe indirectly but surely, doing an ‘evil’ action as well. Let me ask you...” He returned his gaze to Ken. “Do you honestly believe that all people are WORTH saving? That when you think you are doing ‘good’, you’re really doing evil? Take saving the life of a store clerk; what if that store clerk wasn’t as innocent as you think?” He narrowed his eyes. “What if he HAD committed evil acts in the past? What if he WILL in the future? What if he was committing evil acts DURING the time you saved him?” Onslaught paused. “What about controversial decisions? What if, by doing a certain action, you’re doing ‘good’ by one person’s definition of the term and ‘evil’ by another person’s definition?” He paused once more. “Who decides? You?” Onslaught sighed once more. “Yes, YOU. YOU decide. YOU force what YOU believe what’s right to others. YOU are the ones, not unlike the former 5th Column, who get up on a soapbox and preach YOUR beliefs to others, many times through acts of FORCE.” His tone became harsh. “How DARE you ridicule me and Lord Recluse on what YOU believe is right and wrong, because WE don’t follow YOUR ethics. Because by doing that...” His voice became venomous. “...you become a hypocrite. Just like Statesman, just like Back Alley Brawler, just like Sister Psyche and EVERY OTHER Hero that’s EVER existed, you become someone who forces THEIR beliefs on others, and punish those who don’t follow the beliefs of the corrupt Law or of your own twisted morals, and then turn around and ridicule US of doing wrong?” His smile returned. “Like I said, it must be easy for you Heroes; everything’s so black and white to you.”
Ken sat, speechless, and several minutes past of utter silence. Finally, Ken lowered his head and began to speak.
“You... kidnaped Daffodil’s sister...” He said, his tone defiant. “You... used Daffodil’s sister to force Daffodil to open the defenses of Washington... so you could kill countless innocent people in Washington...” Ken raised his head, tears running down his face, which was red with anger. “I don’t care WHAT logic you use! You USED an innocent 16 year old girl by threatening to KILL her SISTER if she didn’t do what YOU wanted!” Ken closed his eyes as the tears poured out of his face. “And, even if you live to the end of time, even if you gain all the knowledge in the UNIVERSE...” Ken opened his eyes, his expression so glaring that pierced through Onslaught’s cocky exterior. “NOTHING will make that right. And NOTHING will ever make me agree or forgive you.”
General Onslaught trembled with anger at this show of defiance.
“FINE!!!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, turning to the unconscious Joy. “I GUESS I’LL JUST HAVE TO SHOW YOU HOW CRUEL THIS WORLD IS!!!”
“JOY!!!” Daffodil yelled.
And, at that moment, the world slowed down. Though he had no idea how, Ken summoned the strength to rush forward at incredible speed, despite his injured leg. He didn’t even that Daffodil had also moved, all he was focused on was General Onslaught, whose leg was getting into position to fire his Death Blast. Ken unsheathed his sword, which was glowing brighter than Ken had ever seen, and Ken swung with all of his power... and at that moment, when it was too late, realizing that Daffodil had positioned herself between Onslaught and her sister, protecting Joy with her own body. Ken’s slash sliced right through Onslaught, cutting the Villain in half. And with Daffodil standing where she was...
Ken held Daffodil in his arms, keeping one hand on her wound. He knew it was pointless to go to the hospital; she had three minutes, tops, before it would be over. Tears streamed down his face as he held Daffodil, Daffodil barely conscious.
“Ken...” Daffodil gasped, blood seeping out of the side of her mouth. “It’s OK...” She coughed, spitting up some more blood. She composed herself and looked back at Ken. “Listen... don’t tell Joy what happened... it’s best... that she doesn’t know...”
“Daffodil...” Was the only thing Ken was able to say.
“Ken...” Daffodil said, beginning to breathe with difficulty. “I never said it, but for what it’s worth... I love you...” She smiled lightly as she reached up and weakly caressed Ken’s cheek. “I’ll be watching over you... until we meet again... in heaven...” Her eyes dimmed, and her hand fell limp.
And Ken watched the most beautiful flower wilt away in his hands.

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OK! How was THAT, huh? I REALLY want to know what you thought of this Chapter, so remember to Post some feedback! I'll be sure to have the next Chapter up soon!

Don't worry, Skystrike_; I have no intention to have this whole fic become all about "Ken, the Uber Hero".

This particular segment of the story is VERY important to the entire fic not only because it reveals the ENTIRE past of Ken, but it also causes the other members of Team Legacy (Dan and Michael in particular) to realize that they must become MUCH stronger in order to continue to stand against Lord Recluse. I don't want to reveal anything, but...

Well, let's just say that several characters will change DRASTICALLY in the coming Chapters...

Hey everyone! Sorry I wasn't able to update as soon as I wanted (I didn't expect it to take a WEEK, though...) Anyway, for those of you who have been waiting patiently, the next Chapter is here! It's long, and what's more, it's only Part 1! Alot of things are going to be happening after this, and I have so many ideas for this story I can't write fast enough to get them all down! Anyway, here's the next Chapter, so enjoy!

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The Pain of Team Legacy: The Deadly Kill Strike (Part 1)

Outside of Kyoto, Japan - January 27, 1868 - The Battle of Toba and Fushimi

“<Japanese> For the Shogunate! <Japanese>” The Bakufu warrior yelled as he charged the line of Meiji Samurai. Several of his comrades charged as well, but the Meiji samurai stood their ground and held the offensive off as the Bakufu warriors were struck down by their swords.
All across the area of Fushimi, just outside of the Japanese city of Kyoto, the shouts of those loyal to Emperor Meiji and those loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate could be heard as the armies clashed. Though both sides had excellent swordsmen, two particular samurai, both of whom had attained a legendary status for their exploits, were both present at this historic battle.
The first of these legendary figures was the samurai Ginji Mitsuhari, who had proven himself to be the most loyal and powerful samurai in Yoshinobu’s army. Part of this was due to his legendary sword, which was said to have been blessed by Buddha himself. As the battle raged around him, Ginji could be seen taking out dozens of Meiji samurai with one swing of his sword.
“<Japanese> Ginji, you should concentrate on pushing these Meiji fools back to Kyoto! <Japanese>” One of Ginji’s comrades advised him as Ginji plunged his sword into the throat of a Meiji samurai. “<Japanese> If we manage to take Kyoto, our victory will be assured! <Japanese>” The Bakufu samurai’s words ceased as he was impaled from behind by the sword of a Meiji warrior, and Ginji quickly turned to fend off those who had attempted to flank the Bakufu.
The other legendary warrior in this battle was Tomo Ichikawa, a samurai who claimed that his sword skills had been given to him by God himself. He had surprised many people when he revealed himself to be loyal to Emperor Meiji, and one of the reasons Ginji was present at this battle was so he could fight Tomo. As the battle continued, Tomo began to cut through the Bakufu army, causing the Meiji samurai to begin to slowly drive the Bakufu back, away from Kyoto.
“<Japanese> Push them back across the Uji River! <Japanese>” Tomo yelled to his comrades. “<Japanese> We’ll trap them in the swamps! <Japanese>”
“<Japanese> What are your orders, Ginji? <Japanese>” A Bakufu samurai asked as he watched Tomo cut through their offensive line easily.
“<Japanese> I’ll take care of this. <Japanese>” Ginji said as he pushed forward, easily dealing with the few Meiji samurai foolish enough to challenge him. He was soon facing Tomo, and for a moment, the rest of the battlefield disappeared as the two warriors looked each other over.
“<Japanese> I’ve been looking forward to this, traitor. <Japanese>” Ginji said, assuming a Battojutsu stance. “<Japanese> For betraying the Shogunate, I will act as the instrument of punishment on behalf of the great Tokugawa Yoshinobu! <Japanese>”
“<Japanese> You’re a fool, Ginji. <Japanese>” Tomo yelled, matching Ginji’s Battojutsu stance with his own. “<Japanese> Even if I die today, nothing will stop the Tokugawa Shogunate from coming to an end! <Japanese>”
“<Japanese> Die! <Japanese>” Ginji yelled, and he charged forward at the same time Tomo did, and in that one instant, the two legendary warriors’ swords clashed together in a bright flash of light...

Ken shot upright with a start, breathing heavily as he placed his hand across his face, glancing around the dark bedroom in Team Legacy’s base. He realized that he was grabbing the hilt of his sword (which he always slept with) rather tightly, and loosened his grip. The room was small and quite barren; a dresser in the corner of the room held Ken’s clothes and toiletries, and on top of the dresser, Ken’s white outfit was neatly folded. The only other piece of furniture in the room was the bed that Ken was currently sleeping on; the walls of the room were red-painted concrete, and the floor was covered in a thin blue carpet, with a hanging light bulb in the center of the room providing the only illumination. Ken breathed in deeply and lowered his hand to his bare chest, which was covered in various scars.
It’s the same dream... Ken thought, raising his right hand to his face and using two fingers to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Ken slid his other hand under the bed’s pillow as he thought, and pulled out the black headband he always wore. He squeezed the black headband in his hand as he examined it, his mind racing.
Rose... Ken thought as his mind wandered back into his past. Are you really working for Lord Recluse? Ken closed his eyes. Have you changed that much? Is it because I couldn’t protect you... back then...?

Ken yelled as he charged forward, swinging his wooden sword horizontally with incredible precision at the head of the training dummy. Ken’s blow connected with such force that he knocked the head off of the dummy, and as the head flew into the air Ken landed several feet away from the dummy as he finished his charge. Ken rested the wooden sword over his shoulder as he looked back at his work and smiled.
Ken had progressed pretty far in the Genshin-Long Martial Arts School, and had begun to train in one of the most revered arts of the school: Sword Mastery. Very few students of the school did well enough to be accepted into this training, so Ken was very happy when both he and Rose were accepted. Master Genshin, who headed the school, was very impressed that these two 12 year old children could progress so far in the 9 years they had been living at the school. As Ken trained in the Training Area of the school, Master Genshin was busy teaching Philosophy in another area of the school, Ken’s favorite subject. Ken was dressed in a Genshin-Long Student Uniform, which consisted of a sleeve-less white shirt that had the emblem of the Genshin-Long School on it’s back tucked into long black pants. The outfit was complimented with a blue sash wrapped around Ken’s waist and elevated, brown sandals on Ken’s feet.
“Hey, Rose!” Ken grinned as he turned around to see Rose training in another section of the Area, holding her wooden sword in front of her, her eyes closed. Rose was dressed in the girl’s Uniform, which was a black tank-top over a short, white skirt, the outfit completed with brown, elevated sandals. Grinning, Ken picked up the head of the training dummy that he had knocked off and began to walk towards Rose. However, as Ken walked towards Rose...
“Hyaa!” Rose yelled as she opened her eyes and charged forward, easily knocking the head off of a training dummy. Landing a few feet away, Rose immediately charged forward once more and knocked the head off of another training dummy, and as she continued to fly forward she knocked the head off of ANOTHER training dummy while she was still in mid-air, landing several feet away in a perfect stance. Ken stood speechless as he stared at Rose, until one of the dummy heads landed on HIS head, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
“Oh, Ken!” Rose cried out in surprise. She ran over to Ken and knelt down on one knee. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there! How long have you been watching me?”
Ken sat up and rubbed his head. “Long enough to see you completely demolish those dummies.” Ken looked at the three headless dummies for a moment, then back to Rose. “When did you learn how to do that? The last time we trained, you couldn’t even damage ONE dummy like that!”
Rose laughed. “Well, I’ve kind of been training... in secret.” She held her fist up to Ken’s face and grinned. “When I saw how well you could handle a sword compared to me the last time we practiced, I vowed to train non-stop until I was twice as good at sword fighting than you!” She lowered her fist and laughed again. “I guess it paid off, huh?”
“Yeah...” Ken muttered, tossing his own dummy head away. “Well, I think I’m done training for today.” Ken rose to his feet and began to walk away.
“Hey, Ken...” Rose grabbed onto Ken’s arm, still kneeling on the ground. Ken turned to see a huge grin on her face. “I think I finally found out how to get into the Shrine.”
“What?!” Ken shouted, then quickly covered his mouth with his hands. He looked around to make sure no one else was in the Training Area, and then knelt down next to Rose, speaking in a soft, commanding tone. “Rose, are you still hooked on that idea? Remember the last time we tried to sneak into the Shrine?! We almost got kicked out of the School!”
“I remember!” Rose said bluntly. “But THIS time I’ve come up with a foolproof plan! I guarantee it will work!”
Ken thought the matter over. “You seem pretty confident...” Ken said. He examined Rose as she looked at him eagerly and sighed. “Well... if it’s FOOLPROOF...”
“Alright, then it’s settled!” Rose laughed, patting Ken in the back playfully as she rose to her feet. “I’ll be waiting in front of the Dining Hall at 10 o’clock tonight!” Rose began to walk away, then looked back at Ken. “I’m counting on you, alright?”
That night, Ken met Rose outside the Dining Hall as planned. “OK, Rose...” Ken said, folding his arms over his chest as some cold night air blew. “What’s this plan of yours?”
Rose smiled and pulled out a small orb from her outfit. “I went to the Library a week ago and learned how to make this.” Her grin widened. “It’s filled with Knockout Gas.”
Ken looked at Rose with utter amazement. “You made a BOMB?”
Rose waved her hand defensively. “It’s not lethal or anything! It will only knock them out for several hours, and they’ll wake up fine! Trust me!”
Ken thought this over once more. “Rose... we could get into A LOT of trouble for this...”
Rose put the bomb back in her outfit and placed her hand on Ken’s shoulder. “Ken, I KNOW this plan will work. But I NEED your help. Please...” Rose looked into Ken’s eyes pleadingly. “Just trust me this once, OK?”
Several minutes later, Ken and Rose approached the entrance to the Shrine. The Shrine was located in the middle of a forest clearing, with several rocks piled around the area. The Shrine itself was actually two long, hollow boulders, each large enough to place several of today’s school buses inside. The entrances, which faced each other, were blocked with wooden man-made doors, and were guarded by several members of the Genshin-Long School at all times, whose sole duty at the School was to guard the Shrine.
“OK, Ken...” Rose said, taking out the bomb from her outfit. “Are you ready?”
Ken hesitated for a second. “Rose, I...”
But Ken was interrupted as a large explosion occurred behind them. Ken and Rose turned to see an orange aura rise up into the night sky from the trees that blocked their vision.
“The Dojo is being attacked!” One of the guards yelled, and he and the others left the Shrine and ran back in the direction of the Dojo, not even noticing Ken and Rose as they ran past them.
Ken looked to Rose, and Rose looked back at Ken. Ken nodded, and the two began to run back to the Dojo. They only ran several yards, however, when they noticed the Dojo Master was also in the forest, fighting with several Villains with swords that neither Ken nor Rose had ever seen before.
“Come here, Ken!” Rose yelled, pulling Ken’s arm as she leapt behind a fallen log. Ken quickly joined her as they watched the Master, surrounded by four of the Villains. With one deft move, smashed one of his attackers’ face in, then quickly turned on another. The other two Villains seized this opportunity, however, and sliced into the Master’s shoulder, injuring him as he felled the Villain he was fighting. With only one arm, he attempted to fight off the other two, but was quickly overpowered. One of the Villains held a sword to his throat as the other Villain spoke.
“Where are the Swords?” The Villain asked, his voice commanding. “Lord Recluse demands the Swords be brought to him immediately. Where are they?”
Rose, who had been watching with a clenched fist all this time, jumped over the log she and Ken were hiding behind.
“Rose, wait!” Ken yelled, jumping after her. The two Exterminator Swords turned to Rose and Ken, and the one who had been talking to the Master just a moment ago turned his sword to Rose, aiming for her neck.
“ROSE!!!” Ken yelled, leaping and tackling her, the sword of the Villain grazing his forehead.
The Master used this opportunity to surprised the Exterminator that was holding him with an elbow to the stomach, knocking the wind out of the Exterminator and causing him to faint. The last Exterminator noticed this, and turned to the Dojo Master as the Master charged the Exterminator. In that moment, the Exterminator turned and plunged his sword through the Master’s stomach, just as the Master used the palm of his hand to smash the Exterminator’s nose into his skull, killing him. The two stood for a moment, like two statues of great warrior’s of the past. Then, the Exterminator fell dead as the Master spat up blood and fell to his knees, knowing that he only had seconds to live.
Ken and Rose looked on, speechless, unable to form words as the Master turned to them, coughing some more blood out of his mouth.
“Swords...” The Master breathed, his voice raspy and quiet. “Shrine... go...” He coughed, and muttered something else under his breath, then fell forward, dead. Ken wasn’t sure, but it sounded like what he had muttered was “I’m sorry.”
Rose nodded, and began to run back to the Shrine when she noticed Ken wasn’t with her. She turned back to see Ken was still standing back at where the Master had died. She ran back and found that he was crying; she placed her arm around his neck and embraced him in a hug.
“It’ll be alright...” She said softly, noticing that his forehead was bleeding from where the Exterminator had cut him earlier. She detached from Ken and ripped off a part of her black top and rolled it into a headband, placing it across Ken’s forehead. She then placed her hand under Ken’s chin and raised his tear-soaked face to hers. “We’ll get through this; I promise.” She embraced Ken once again. “Didn’t we always promise... that we’d protect each other?” Rose heard trees falling and the shouts of unfamiliar voices coming from the direction of the Shrine. “We have to go, Ken...” She said softly. “NOW!” And with that, they departed for the Shrine once again.
At the Shrine, Rose pushed open one of the doors. “I’ll go in here...” Rose said. She motioned to the other door. “Ken, you go in that one.” Ken stood silent for a moment, then nodded. He walked to the other door, and opened it. Ken looked back in time to see Rose close the other door behind her, and then Ken breathed deeply and entered the Shrine.
The shrine was dimly lit, with only several wax candles illuminating the large area. Ken noted the hard-wood floor of the Shrine, and the blue carpet stretched out on the wood. Ken walked across the Shrine and saw a sword lying on a pedestal at the top of a small flight of steps. Ken groaned once he got a good look at the sword, though; it was old, and the blade was VERY rusted. Sighing, Ken grabbed the hilt of the sword...
The rest of what happened that night was a blur to Ken; he remembered a lot of screaming, and that someone or something must have driven the invaders out of the Shrine. The only clear memory Ken had after grabbing the sword was standing in the middle of a sea of dead Exterminators, similar to the ones that had attacked Master earlier. The School was almost completely burned down behind him, and the sword in his hand appeared brand new, the sword glistening in the fire light with the both well-polished steel of the blade and the blood that was slowly leaking off the sword and onto the ground.

All of that was so long ago... Ken thought to himself. When I discovered that you were gone... that they had taken you... Ken shut his eyes tightly, tears trickling down his face. Rose... I WILL find you... no matter WHAT it takes...

“Ken! It’s breakfast time!” Daisy said happily, opening the door to Ken’s room. Ken was just finishing getting dressed, tying his headband around his forehead as he turned to Daisy.
“That’s good. I’ll be right there.” Ken said, smiling.
“OK, just don’t go daydreaming about your girlfriend again!” Daisy waved her finger in the air. “If you do, you can forget breakfast for all I care!” Daisy laughed as she walked away.
Ken smiled and fastened his sword to his side. Whenever I have the dream I had last night, something terrible usually happens... Ken shook his head. But I could just be worrying over nothing... and besides... Ken walked out of his room. I don’t want to worry anyone else needlessly...
Hope had cooked pancakes, eggs, and sausage for breakfast. Michael was already helping himself as Ken took his seat at the table, and Daisy and Lily were throwing each other looks as they ate their breakfast. Ken noticed Gabriel wasn’t touching the food, and seemed deep in thought.
“Is something bothering you, Gabriel?” Ken asked, taking a plate full of eggs and sausage from the center of the table.
Gabriel snapped out of his trance and looked at Ken, narrowing his eyes at him. “Well...” He began, a little hesitant. “It’s just that this morning, the computer picked up a strange signal in the city...”
“Really?” Dan asked, looking up as he stuffed some more pancakes in his face. “What kind of signal was it?”
“Well, it was one of Recluse’s minions, that’s for sure...” Gabriel said, still hesitant.
“So what?” Michael asked, swallowing the large amount of food in his mouth. “It’s not like that’s anything new. Recluse’s minions are ALWAYS in the city.”
“Yes, but...” Gabriel responded, pondering the matter over in his head. “The problem is with how fast the minion was moving...”
“What do you mean?” Hope asked softly, her eyes wide as she listed to the conversation.
“If our Detector is correct...” Gabriel said. “The minion was able to move at speeds beyond the speed of sound for short intervals.”
“What?!” Dan yelled, rising in his seat. Michael did the same.
“It has to be a problem with the computer!” Michael said, taking another bite of his breakfast. “I’ll get right on it... right after breakfast.” He sat back down and continued eating.
Ken, on the other hand, was now just as deep in thought as Gabriel as he took several bites of egg. “Gabriel...” Ken said. “Did you say that the minion only moved at great speeds in SHORT INTERVALS?”
“Huh?” Gabriel said. He thought it over. “Yes, there were times when he moved as normally as anyone would.” He studied Ken’s expression. “Why do you ask?”
Ken quickly forced a smile. “Oh, no reason!” He said defensively. He then got up. “Well, I think I’ll take a look at it myself.”
“I’ll go with you!” Daisy said, wiping her mouth clean with a napkin and rising from her seat. Everyone turned to her, and Daisy raised her hands defensively. “Well... I want to see it too, you know?”
“Yes, I’d also like to see this.” Lily said, keeping her eyes on Daisy. “I’ll go with Ken as well.”
Daisy and Lily shot each other glances as they entered the Meeting Room with Ken. Ken walked over and accessed the Control Panel, dimming the lights as he accessed the Power Detector. A Hologram of the city appeared in the middle of the Conference Table, and Ken walked over and looked it over. Several of Recluse’s Exterminators were in the city, but they showed no sign of moving very quickly.
“You know, Ken...” Daisy said, watching Ken look over the hologram intently. “You seem pretty wrapped up in whoever this guy is.” She looked over Ken’s determined expression. “Do you think you know who it is?”
“Maybe...” Ken said, keeping his eyes on the hologram. Lily walked over and placed her hand on Ken’s shoulder.
“You know, it probably was just a glitch like Michael said.” Lily said reassuringly. “I know a lot of Recluse’s soldiers, and none of them-”
“There!” Ken said, pointing to one area on the hologram. Pressing some buttons on the control panel, he enlarged the area of the map, showing the red dot, moving incredibly quickly, running through Recluse City.
“This HAS to be a glitch...” Lily said, watching the red dot move at breathtaking speeds across the city. “It’s traveling WAY too fast for it to even be an Elite Soldier in Recluse’s Army!” She folded her arms across her chest.
“Well, glitch or not, that’s some speed!” Daisy said. She then looked at Ken. “Say, Ken, is there any way to figure out where it’s going?”
Ken looked at Daisy. He hadn’t even thought of that. “Well, let’s see...” He pushed some buttons on the control panel, and the map enlarged once more, showing the path of where the Villain would be heading if it kept going in a straight line. “According to this...” Ken gasped as he realized where it was heading. He turned to Daisy and Lily. “Get everyone in here. NOW!”
Several minutes later, the whole team was assembled in the Meeting Room. Ken showed the Villain’s path with the hologram, and it became apparent why Ken had called them there.
“I see...” Gabriel said, his eyes glued to the hologram. “How long until the Villain reaches this base?”
“In three... four minutes, tops.” Ken said solemnly.
Hope gasped, Michael and Dan smiled, Faith appeared worried, Luck forced a weak smile, Lily looked down at the ground, and Daisy scoffed at the situation.
“Well, I don’t see what the big deal is.” Daisy said. “So what if the Villain’s fast? That doesn’t mean it’ll stand a chance against all of us!” Daisy laughed and raised a fist as she turned to everyone else. “Right?”
Ken placed his hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “Daisy, the fact is that we don’t know what we’re dealing with, so we can’t assume anything about this Villain.”
“I know that!” Daisy said, brushing Ken’s hand away. “I was just... saying that even IF we’re dealing with a powerful Villain, he doesn’t stand a chance against all of us!” She forced a laugh once again.
“And what makes you think that?” Dan asked, placing his hand on Daisy’s head. “You’ve got a lot to learn about fighting, little girl.”
“That’s what I’m always saying!” Lily laughed.
“STOP CALLING ME A-” Daisy began, but was interrupted by Gabriel.
“According to our Power Detector, the Villain will be at our doorstep in about 30 seconds!” Gabriel said, his eyes glued to the hologram. He turned to the rest of the group. “Listen! Ken, Dan, Michael and I will guard the main entrance! The rest of you wait here in the Meeting Room and watch the hologram in case he tries to come in another way!”
“Hey!” Lily yelled, but Dan, Michael, Gabriel and Ken were already gone.
“He’s here!” Luck shouted, pointing to the hologram.
“Get ready...” Gabriel said, already in a fighting stance; Dan held his Dragon Slayer in front of him, Michael braced himself for attack, and Ken assumed a Battojutsu stance as all four glued their eyes to the entrance.
“What a little-!” Lily began, her fist clenched tightly. She was interrupted as she heard a crash in the Dining Room. The rest happened in the blink of an eye: The sword aiming straight for her forehead; and another sword intercepting it, preventing her death. All of the girls around the table were silent as the black-clad swordsmen and Ken looked at each other, recognition in each other’s faces. Gabriel, Michael, and Dan, who hadn’t even noticed that Ken had left until then, rushed into the room as the two swordsmen leapt away from each other.
The intruder was dressed in a black robe, that had a white-diamond design running down it’s edges. He had a cold, cruel smirk on his face as he observed Ken. The silence lasted several seconds as the Team looked over the Villain, Kill Strike.
“I’ve got him!” Luck finally yelled, preparing to fire an Energy Blast. In the next instant, Kill Strike’s sword sprang forward, aiming for Luck’s neck. Ken wasn’t able to move fast enough to block the attack like he had for Lily, but he was able to deflect it away slightly. The Villain’s blade pierced Luck’s shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain and fall to the ground.
Hope ran to Luck’s side, and Gabriel gave the order for everyone to charge. Dan attacked first, swinging his Dragon Slayer at Kill Strike. Just before Dan’s sword was to connect, though, Kill Strike jumped out of the way and stabbed Dan in the shoulder, pushing him forward into and through the wall of the Meeting Room. Gabriel used this opportunity to attack the Villain from behind, but Kill Strike easily turned around in time to meet Gabriel’s charge with his sword, inflicting a deep wound in Gabriel’s chest with a slash of his sword. Michael grabbed onto the Kill Strike’s hand that held the sword and swung at the Villain’s face, but Kill Strike easily avoided the blow by spinning around into Michael’s body and delivering a devastating elbow to Michael’s ribs. This caused Michael to loosen his grip on Kill Strike’s hand, and in the next instant Kill Strike sliced off both of Michael’s cybernetic arms. During this time, Faith had been trying to use her psychic abilities to hold Kill Strike, but once she encountered what was inside of Kill Strike’s mind, she was unable to handle it and instantly fainted. Lily formed radioactive energy in her hand and fired it at Kill Strike, who easily dodged it and then charged Lily, aiming for her head. Ken intercepted his attack and once again locked swords with the Villain. The two then jumped back once again as Kill Strike laughed, observing the only three Heroes left standing. Daisy began to jump forward, but Ken grabbed her and held her back, shaking his head: “No.”
“Mach Blade...” Kill Strike chuckled, looking over the Hero. “You’ve changed in these past 2 years...” He narrowed his eyes. “You’ve grown much weaker than you were.” He watched as Ken motioned for Daisy and Lily to stand back as he approached Kill Strike. Kill Strike chuckled at this gesture. “Heh... Swift Blade was right, Mach Blade. Women do make you soft.”
Ken glared at Kill Strike. “Sonic Blade... I thought it was you...” He said, his voice practically a growl.
Kill Strike’s grinned. “So, you DO remember me!” He laughed loudly. “But they call me Kill Strike now; I think it suits me much better, don’t you agree?”
“I suppose Lord Recluse WOULD be the only one who would ally himself with the likes of you...” Ken spat, his words slowly becoming harsher. “Even when I was still in the Alliance of Blades, I knew you what you were... what you would become...” Ken’s voice became colder than ice. “I should have killed you then.”
“THAT’S IT!” Kill Strike laughed. “THAT’S the Mach Blade from the Alliance, the Mach Blade I’ve been waiting these past 2 years to fight!” Kill Strike chuckled as he looked from Daisy to Lily. “Pretty things...” Kill Strike chuckled. “Not as pretty the one you had before... are you trying to compensate for her, Mach Blade?”
Ken yelled and charged Kill Strike, and the two had a brief exchange with no clear victor as the two disengaged and faced each other once more.
“That struck a nerve...” Kill Strike chuckled. He looked to the hole in the wall, as did Ken, as Dan got up, a huge gash in his right shoulder, but determination on his face as he set his eyes on Kill Strike.
“You can’t count me out that easily!” Dan panted, holding his Dragon Slayer in his one good arm. “This fight is just getting started!”
What a nuisance... Kill Strike thought, looking back to Ken. “There’s obviously too many distractions here...” He started to back away as he continued. “We’ll continue this fight in Perez Park... and just to make sure you come...” In the blink of an eye, Kill Strike circled around Ken and snatched Daisy, quickly jumping and kicking the entrance to the base open. Ken started to attack, but Kill Strike stopped him as he lifted Daisy’s to use as a human shield.
“Careful, Mach Blade!” Kill Strike laughed. “You don’t want to repeat the same mistake twice, now do you?!” He laughed as he jumped out of the base. “Tonight! Perez Park! Come alone, Mach Blade!” He called out as he disappeared into the city, Daisy kicking and protesting as he left with her under his arm.
“SONIC BLADE!!!” Ken yelled, looking out into the streets from the entrance of the base. Kill Strike was gone.
“Damn!” Ken yelled, punching the side of the entrance with his fist. Lily carefully walked next to him, and Dan limped his way over to Ken as well. Ken looked back at Hope, who was looking after most of the Heroes, and then to Lily and Dan.
“I have to go after him.” Ken said, beginning to walk out of the base.
“Ken...” Lily said, her tone soft. “You DON’T have to do this alone. It’s obvious that Kill Strike killed someone... close to you... in your past-”
“Kill Strike did NOT kill Daffodil!” Ken yelled, tears streaming down his face. His next words were a whisper. “I did.”

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So, that was Part 1! I spent ALOT of time working on this Chapter, so please tell me what you think! I'll try and post again soon!

Hey, everyone! Just to let you know, this WASN'T planned to be the next Chapter, but rather the INTRODUCTION to the next Chapter. After thinking about it, I decided that this would better as it's own Chapter, since it sets up everything that's about to happen. I'm also thinking about splitting the next Chapter into two parts, but it all depends on how long the battle (which will be the predominant event in the next Chapter) lasts! Anyway, enjoy!

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The Pain of Team Legacy: A Moment’s Peace

A scream echoed out through the dark night as the full moon shone down on the warehouse. Inside the warehouse, the moonlight piercing through the windows touched down on several bodies lying on the floor, as well as illuminating the blood-stained walls. The Elite Soldier in Recluse’s army was kneeling before the blood-stained boy, whose sword was slowly leaking the crimson liquid onto the floor. The boy raised the sword, pointing the blade against the soldier’s neck.
“I’ll ask you again.” Ken said, his voice cold as ice. “Where is she?”
“I swear I don’t know!” The Elite Soldier gasped, his voice quivering. In the next moment the boy deftly slashed with his blade, and the Soldier’s arm fell to the floor, exploding on impact.
“I don’t believe you.” Ken pressed the blade of his sword into the Soldier’s neck. “You were with them when they took her. I saw you.”
“Please!” The Soldier began to sweat, tears forming in his eyes. “I swear I don’t know! I’m only an Elite Solider! Lord Rampage and General Onslaught don’t give me that kind of information! I swear! Please!”
Ken looked down at the Elite Soldier, his eyes piercing and sharp enough to turn even the most battle-hardened foes’ legs to ice. “If you’re going to beg for mercy...” The Soldier screamed, his voice becoming a gurgle as his head fell to the floor. “You’ll receive more pity from the Devil than you would me.”
As Ken looked down at the body, he heard a commotion outside the large, metal doors to the warehouse. As he turned to the doors, they burst open and several Heroes charged into the room, yelling as they did so. The Heroes then stopped short as they observed the carnage, their voices catching in their throats as they saw the bodies lying on the floor, observed the 15 year old boy whose outfit was stained red as he eyed them, his sword still dripping blood.
The Heroes consisted of young men and woman, most of them around 20 or 21 years of age. They were all wearing blue robes that had small, white-diamond-like patterns going down their entire outfits, each member sporting two long, blue sashes flowing down each of their shoulders. They also wore blue pants that had the same white-diamond design running down the sides of their pants. They all sported matching blue sandals, and all had the same blue head-band across their foreheads, the same shade of blue as the rest of their outfits, and again sporting the white-diamond-like pattern of the rest of their outfit. But what Ken noticed immediately, even before he saw their outfits, was that they were all sporting Katanas, and judging from the way they entered, they were all quite skilled with how to wield them. One member, obviously the leader of the group, stepped forward.
“I am Swift Blade, leader of the Alpha Squadron of the Alliance of Blades.” The man said as he looked Ken over. He had short, blonde hair that was neatly parted, some of the hair forming a bang that hung over his forehead and ended at his left eye. His eyes were sharp, piercing, and matched Ken’s gaze as the two looked each other over. Swift Blade smirked, showing no signs of fear or worry, despite the scene around him. Ken could tell that this man, Swift Blade, had seen many battles before; and at the same time, he realized that this man must be quite the exceptional warrior not to fear him.
“If you’re here because you discovered Recluse’s forces hiding in this warehouse...” Ken sheathed his sword, feeling the men and women behind Swift Blade relax slightly. “As you can see, I’ve already taken care of them. You can go back to wherever it is you came from now.”
Swift Blade chuckled softly. “I see. To defeat every Villain in this warehouse single-handedly...” He narrowed his eyes at Ken. “So YOU’RE the boy that survived that attack on the Genshin-Long Dojo 3 years ago, aren’t you?”
Ken narrowed his eyes, then began to walk forward. “Like I said, you can go home now. I’m done here.” He brushed past Swift Blade.
“I hear you’re looking for the girl that was taken in that attack.” Swift Blade said, smiling. Ken stopped, but didn’t turn to face Swift Blade. “We of the Alliance of Blades are very skilled when it comes to gathering information, ESPECIALLY information regarding Lord Recluse’s forces.”
Ken narrowed his eyes, his back still to Swift Blade. “Are you offering information...” He turned to Swift Blade. “Or membership?”
“Well, we don’t usually allow people to join so easily, especially ones as young as you. But this War has left us with few options, and besides...” Swift Blade looked around the warehouse once more, smiled inwardly, then returned his gaze to Ken. “There’s something I like about you; your cold, ruthlessness in battle, your skill with the sword, and your overall personality...” He chuckled. “You remind me of a younger version of myself.”
Ken looked at Swift Blade silently for a moment, pondering his offer. “Very well. But..” Ken narrowed his eyes. “Make no mistake: I’m only joining the Alliance of Blades to find Rose. Once I have done that, I’ll have no interest in keeping my ties with your organization.”
“That’s fine with me.” Swift Blade said. “Just remember that while you ARE allying yourself with us, you’ll follow our orders and do as your told. As long as you do that, I don’t care what your motives are.” He turned around, still speaking as the group began to head back out the doors. “The first thing to do is bring you back to our camp; since you’ll be serving under me, it’s only proper that you wear the same outfit that all of the other Alpha Squad members of the Alliance of Blades wear. Oh, and one more thing...” He turned his head towards Ken. “Now that you’re a member, you’ll need a new name. Let’s see...” He thought for a moment, then smiled. “From now on, your name will be Mach Blade.”

“KEN!” Daisy yelled into Ken’s ear, causing him to fall down onto the concrete floor of Team Legacy’s base. Ken looked up at Daisy, who had her arms crossed and was looking down at Ken, obviously annoyed.
“Ken, I’ve been calling you for the last 5 minutes!” Daisy said angrily, grabbing onto Ken’s arm and dragging him towards the Dining Hall of Team Legacy’s base as she continued to scold him. “If you don’t wake up and stop having your perverted fantasies of your girlfriend I’m just going to let you starve next time!”
“Right, sorry...” Ken said apologetically as the two entered the Dining Hall. The room was fairly large, with a large dining table in the center of the room. The table was made of slightly moldy wood, but it was covered in a white tablecloth that draped over the sides of the table. There were only 6 wooden chairs at the table, and Michael and Gabriel were busy looking around the other rooms for any chairs that could be brought in to accommodate their new, expanded Team. Across the room, two swinging doors led to the Team’s Kitchen area, where Hope was busy cooking. The walls were painted red, and the floor was covered in an old, blue rug. Lily, who was already sitting at the table, noticed the two come in and quickly jumped out of her seat and attached herself to Ken’s arm.
“Oh, there you are, Ken!” Lily smiled, beginning to lead him over to the table. “Why don’t you come and sit here, next to me?”
Daisy quickly jerked Ken’s other arm back towards her, staring at Lily with a sharp, piercing glance. “No, Lily, Ken already promised me that he would sit with ME during tonight’s meal.”
“I did?” Ken asked, and was consequently elbowed in the ribs by Daisy.
“Come here, Ken, sit right next to me.” Lily said, dragging Ken and Daisy over to her seat. She sat down, and motioned for Ken to sit on the chair to her left.
“Fine! Then I’ll sit here!” Daisy said, sitting on a chair 2 seats away from where Lily was seated.
“I think I’ll find a seat on the other side of-” Ken began.
“SIT DOWN!” Daisy and Lily yelled in unison, and Ken quickly sat between the two young women.
“Hey, Ken!” Dan grinned, knocking Ken across the head as he appeared behind him. He then walked around the table and took his seat across from where Ken was sitting. “Listen, I like the way you took out all of our ‘problems’ while we were in the city.” He leaned across the table and motioned for Ken to do the same, and Ken obliged. “Listen,” Dan whispered into Ken’s ear. “Just between you and me, could you teach me how to do that kind of stuff? It could really come in handy in our next battle!”
“Well, Dan...” Ken whispered back. “I don’t know if the Ryu-Ken style was designed for a sword like yours...”
“What’s that?!” Dan placed his arm around Ken’s neck in a playful manner. “Are you saying there’s something wrong with my sword?!”
“No, no, not at all!” Ken whispered back quickly, finding it difficult to breathe.. “I’m just saying that a Katana and a Broadsword use very different sword styles! You can stop choking me now!”
“Oh, right...” Dan pulled his arm back from Ken’s neck, and Ken inhaled deeply. “Well, could you at least tell me how you did that in the first place? It’s not everyday you meet someone who’s as strong as you!”
“I’d also like to hear how you did that.” Gabriel said, walking into the room and taking his seat at the head of the table. He stared intently at Ken. “Before you came here, we picked up some very interesting activity on our Power Detectors.”
“Power Detectors?” Dan asked. “What are they?”
“They’re what we use to locate new Heroes here in the city.” Faith answered, appearing in the doorway to the Dining Hall.
“But unfortunately, we’ve only been able to save one Hero before Recluse’s Exterminators got to them.” Michael said, walking past Faith and taking his seat at the table. Michael glanced towards the kitchen area and smiled. “She may not be a soldier, but she’s definitely the nicest person I’ve ever met.”
“I’ll say.” Luck said, smiling as she limped into the room. Everyone looked up in surprise.
“Luck! You shouldn’t be out of bed!” Ken said quickly as he ran to Luck’s side. Luck motioned for Ken to stop with a wave of her hand.
“I’m fine, really.” Luck said, still smiling. “Hope did a good job with my wound, and besides...” Luck looked down for a moment. “It’s not like I’m a stranger to pain, anyway...” Her voice trailed off for a moment, then she returned her gaze to her friends, smiling once more. “Well, anyway, I’d also like to learn more about our guests!” She then turned to Dan, blushing slightly. “By the way, Dan, I never got to thank you before...”
“Huh?” Dan asked, scratching his head in confusion. “Thank me? For what?”
“If you hadn’t defeated that Villain back there...” Luck’s voice trailed off.
“Oh, that!” Dan laughed. “It’s nothing, really. I do what I can to help those that are oppressed in Recluse’s Empire.” He smiled and faced Ken. “It took someone a lot smarter and stronger than me to teach me that.” Ken smiled back, and Dan laughed as he playfully punched Ken in the shoulder. Ken laughed with him, though he also held his shoulder in pain.
Just then, the swinging doors leading to the kitchen gave way, and Hope slowly balanced several plates full of food on her head, arms, and shoulders as she brought the food over to the table.
“Hope! If you need help, just ask!” Michael said, getting up and taking the dishes from Hope’s body.
Hope blushed. “But... I don’t need help!” She said softly. “This is the way I’ve always served food! I’m used to it!”
“Oh!” Michael’s face turned to a crimson hue as he stopped removing the plates from Hope’s body. “Right, then...” He stood still for an awkward moment, then returned to his seat as Hope placed the rest of the food on the table.
“Wow!” Daisy said as she eyed the food. Hope had cooked an Italian meal of pasta and meatballs, with marinara sauce in a separate bowl. Another plate was full of garlic bread sticks, and some delicious chicken parmigiana covered in mozzarella cheese decorated yet another plate. The meal was complimented by three bottles of red wine.
“Where on earth did you get all this food?” Lily asked as she grabbed a plate and began helping herself to the meal.
Faith laughed. “Well, Michael’s uncle was not only a Hero, but a pretty rich business man!” Faith paused for a moment as she grabbed a piece of chicken. “Michael found out about his uncle’s ‘secret life’, and when he...” Faith stopped herself, and shot a glance at Michael. But Michael was already busy stuffing his face full of pasta, so Faith lowered her voice. “Well, anyway, since Michael’s parents had already passed away, and Michael’s uncle really didn’t have anyone else to leave his fortune to...” Faith sighed as she returned her attention to the food. “Well, that’s why we’re able to afford meals like this, anyway.”
“Then again, this is the first time we’ve been able to enjoy such a good meal.” Gabriel said in between bites of chicken parmigiana. He blushed slightly. “None of us are really good at cooking, so it’s nice that we found someone who could.” He turned to Hope. “Thank you, Hope! This is delicious!”
“Thanks Hope!” Daisy said quickly, then returned to shoving pasta and chicken into her mouth.
“Yes, thanks!” Lily said, in the same position as Daisy.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Hope said quietly as she took small bites of chicken. She smiled slightly as she observed most of her teammates eat at a much quicker pace than her. “I used to cook all the time at the-” She stopped mid-sentence, looked down quietly for a moment, then continued to eat her chicken in silence.
“So, Daisy...” Dan said slyly as he wolfed down several meatballs. “I heard that you and Gabriel are related somehow.”
Daisy choked on the pasta in her throat, but was able to swallow it as she turned to Dan. “Well, you see...” Daisy was interrupted by Gabriel.
“Daisy and I went to the same Dojo.” Gabriel said matter-of-factually as he continued to eat his chicken. “We learned the same fighting style there. I excelled to the top ranks of the school pretty quickly, but...” He looked at Daisy, who was shrinking in her seat as he spoke. “Daisy didn’t do so well. To be honest, I think they would’ve kicked her out if the school had lasted even two weeks longer than it did.”
“What do you mean by that?” Dan asked as he and Lily were now smiling as they hovered over Daisy.
“Well, the school was destroyed when Recluse’s Exterminators attacked it.” Gabriel sighed, and Daisy used the opportunity to return to her meal. “Daisy and I are probably the only two survivors of the school. I was honestly surprised to see her, of all people, still alive after all this time.”
“That’s interesting.” Lily said smugly as she stared at Daisy. “But I guess it’s no surprise, since she’s still just a little girl.”
“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Daisy yelled as she turned to Lily.
“Now, now, you two...” Ken began, but was quickly shoved aside by both Lily and Daisy.
“At least I’m not a little hussy like SOME people I know!” Daisy yelled.
“Pretty big words for such a little girl!” Lily shot back, and grabbed one of the wine bottles on the table. She placed one of her arms around Ken’s neck and used her other arm to wave the bottle in front of his face. “Ken, why don’t you pour me some wine? Unlike SOME little girls in this room, you and I are old and mature enough to let loose.”
“That’s a very generous offer, Lily, but-” Ken was cut off by Daisy.
“I’M NOT A LITTLE GIRL!” Daisy yelled as she grabbed the bottle from Lily’s hands and a bottle-opener from the table. In one deft move, she wrenched the cork off the bottle. “SEE? ONE OR TWO GLASSES OF WINE IS LIKE DRINKING WATER FOR ME! WATCH!” And with that, Daisy proceeded to drink straight from the bottle, not stopping until it was ½ empty.
“Uh, Daisy, I don’t think you should...” Ken began, but stopped as he watched Daisy’s face begin to glow a bright crimson hue. By this time, most of the other Heroes in the room had moved their chairs so they were as far away from Daisy as possible.
“Um... Daisy...” Ken said cautiously, knowing perfectly well that a 16 year old girl like Daisy wouldn’t be able to handle alcohol well. “Maybe you should...
“MAYBE I SHOULD WHAT?” Daisy said, her tone venomous as she turned to Ken. “I’M FINE! LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, KEN...” She stopped mid-sentence, then began to sob uncontrollably. “I’m just a LITTLE GIRL!” Daisy continued to sob as Dan quietly moved his seat away from Ken and Daisy. “I drink wine and yell a lot so everyone will think I’m tougher than I really am! I’m so pathetic!” Daisy cried, now holding her face in her hands.
“I can’t believe she got drunk so easily.” Lily smiled, slightly amused as she watched Daisy. “Well, at least she’s a lot more honest now than she was sober.”
“Oh, Ken! I just want you to LIKE ME!” Daisy cried, throwing herself into Ken’s chest. “Is that so much to ask?!”
“Daisy, I DO like you...” Ken said, a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation. All of a sudden, Daisy began to laugh uncontrollably.
“I knew it! I knew it!” Daisy yelled, incredibly giddy. She raised her crimson face to Ken, who was surprised. “I knew it all along! Oh, Ken! Kiss me!” She moved to shove her face into Ken’s, but then fell limp in Ken’s arms, fast asleep.
Ken looked around at the others, who had very mixed reactions at the spectacle. Gabriel was shaking his head; Faith had her hand over her mouth, either to prevent herself from laughing or because she was shocked; Hope was staring at Ken and Daisy, blushing, but she quickly returned to her meal as Ken turned to her; Michael had ignored most of the incident, since he was busy eating his food; Luck was smiling inwardly, thinking that Ken and Daisy made quite the couple; Dan did his best to make himself invisible so that Ken wouldn’t ask him for help in the matter; and Lily, by this time, was laughing quite loudly in spite of herself.
“Come on, Daisy...” Ken sighed as he picked her up and carried her over his shoulder. He turned to Gabriel. “Where are the bed rooms in your base?”
“Ken!” Lily yelled, quickly rising out of her seat. She slapped Ken in the face. “How dare you! I didn’t think you were that kind of man!”
“What?” Ken asked, a bit shocked. “I was just going to put her in bed so she can sleep it off, that’s all!”
“Oh!” Lily said, blushing. “I’m sorry, I thought...” She took Daisy from Ken. “Don’t worry about it, Ken; I’ll take care of her.” She smiled, surprising Ken. After awhile, Ken nodded and sat back down.
“Well, I think I’ll go to sleep early.” Dan said, getting up. He yawned as he got up from the chair, stretching his body out. “I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
“What kind of security systems does this base have?” Ken asked Gabriel as Hope and Michael began cleaning the table. “I mean, if you have a system in which you take shifts at night to protect yourselves from attack, I’d be happy to-”
Gabriel interrupted Ken, smiling. “Don’t worry; this base is undetectable, even by Recluse’s sensors. Recluse does know we’re here in the city, but even he doesn’t know EXACTLY where we are. So don’t worry about it!” Gabriel patted Ken’s shoulder. “You can sleep soundly tonight! What are you worried about, anyway?”
Ken was a bit shocked by Gabriel’s last comment.
What AM I worried about? Ken thought. Maybe I am just worrying over nothing... Ken walked out of the Dining Hall. But still... I feel uneasy, for some reason...

“I don’t know!” The man said, his eyes concentrated on the blade that hovered less than an inch from his forehead. “I swear, I haven’t seen anyone like that! Please don’t kill me!”
Kill Strike smiled a bit, savoring the man’s screams in his head, smiling as he moved his sword ever closer to his victim’s head. He was about 25 years old, and his long, gray hair flowed around his head wildly as he held the man against the cold, brick wall. He was wearing a black robe that covered his body and had a white-diamond pattern running across it’s edges, and two long, black sashes flowed across his shoulders sporting the same white-diamond pattern as the rest of his outfit. His pants were black as well, and also sported white-diamond pattern on his outfit, and his pants were complimented with black sandals on his feet. He had a black headband across his forehead with the white-diamond pattern, but his eyes... his were black, cold, and almost lifeless as he eyed the man, his prey.
“In all honesty, I doubted you knew where Mach Blade was.” Kill Strike chuckled. “But my sword was thirsty for innocent blood, and yours was the closest!” Kill Strike plunged his sword forward, and watched with anticipation as the blood slowly leaked out of the man’s forehead, and the man died right in front of him.
Such an INCREDIBLE feeling... Kill Strike thought as he chuckled to himself. There really is nothing like watching the life drain from your victim; watching the blood drip from my blade as they die! Kill Strike laughed out loud. The only thing more pleasing than that... would be fighting my ex-comrade, the legendary Mach Blade! Kill Strike chuckled to himself. Ever since the end of the War, I haven’t encountered a single challenge, and my sword hungers for the blood of a true swordsman! He smiled as he spotted a young woman walking down the street. Until then... I’ll just have to amuse myself with whatever innocent blood I can find! He ran after the woman, and several minutes later her scream could be heard throughout the city, and then ended abruptly.

-----

So, that was the Chapter (or Introduction, whichever you prefer). I'm already working on the next Chapter, and I'm pretty excited myself at how it's turning out! In the meantime, let me know what you think of the story so far! I hope to update before 2005!

Post deleted by Unknown_Hero

[ QUOTE ]
So, Ken is quite the ladykiller, eh!?!

[/ QUOTE ]

How did you know that Ken... oh, wait, you meant he's good with ladies?

Yeah, that's it

Well, I finally finished the next Chapter! It's not very long, unfortunately, but this Chapter is focused on moving the story along, and tying some loose ends (as well as leaving one VERY untied). Enjoy!

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The Pain of Team Legacy: The Unwilling Soldier

Ken looked up at the blue sky as he lay on the beautiful field of flowers. His sword was lying next to him as the sun shone down on the meadow, green fields with patches of flower beds stretched out as far as the eye could see, with tall mountains visible in the background. He was wearing the same outfit that all of the members of his group, the Alpha Squadron of the Alliance of Blades, wore. The outfit was a blue robe, with a white-diamond pattern going down the edges of the robe. His shoulders sported two long, flowing, blue sashes that held the same white-diamond pattern as his robe, and he held two more sashes that flowed down the sides of his blue pants, which had the white-diamond pattern running around the ankles of the pants. The outfit was complete with his blue sandals and the black headband around Ken’s forehead, which was the one discrepancy that separated him from the rest of the Alpha Squadron; all of the other members of the Alpha Squadron wore blue headbands with the same white-diamond pattern the rest of the outfit held, but Ken kept his black headband for... sentimental reasons. He yawned as shifted in the bed of flowers, thinking of going to sleep. And then...
“Hey!” Ken yelled in surprise as Daffodil jumped beside him, almost landing on top of him.
Daffodil, also a member of the Alliance, was wearing the same outfit that all the members of the Beta Squadron wore. It looked similar to Ken’s outfit, but the women’s outfits were slightly different than what the men of the Alliance wore. The outfit was a red, short-sleeved blouse with the same white-diamond pattern going down the edges of her outfit, just like the men of the Alliance. Unlike the men, however, Daffodil only had the red, white-diamond patterned sashes on her shoulders. The women of the Alliance wore skirts instead of pants, and as a member of the Beta Squadron, Daffodil was wearing her red skirt, complete with a white-diamond pattern running across the bottom of it. The outfit was completed with red sandals and a red headband (with the same white-diamond pattern) across Daffodil’s forehead, which was framed with her long, blonde hair, tied back in a ponytail. She smiled as she looked down at Ken, and Ken’s surprise turned to relief as he looked into her blue eyes. Daffodil placed her sheathed sword down on the grass as she knelt next to Ken.
“So there you are!” Daffodil laughed. “I’ve been looking all over for you!” She looked around the meadow, her expression and tone changing to one of awe. “But this place is incredible...” She turned back to Ken, hitting him playfully in the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me about this place?” She asked as she lay beside Ken.
“I like to spend my free time here.” Ken said, turning his head to Daffodil. “It’s nice, quiet, and peaceful.” He returned his gaze to the sky. “It’s such a nice change from the battlefields we constantly fight in, killing for the Alliance...” He turned back to Daffodil. “I’m sorry, I should have told you where I was spending my time off.”
“Oh, that’s OK.” Daffodil smiled. She leaned forward and kissed Ken, and Ken returned her kiss passionately. “Oh, Ken, I wish we could leave the Alliance, spend the rest of our lives in a place like this...” Daffodil whispered into Ken’s lips.
Ken withdrew more quickly than he wished, startling both Daffodil and himself. He rose to a sitting position and looked down on the ground. “But if we did....” Ken said softly, still avoiding eye contact with Daffodil. “It’s just that... I’m so close to finding Rose, and...” Daffodil rose to a sitting position as well, and turned away from Ken.
“Rose...” Daffodil whispered. “She’s pretty important to you, isn’t she?”
“She’s my best friend.” Ken said, crawling over to Daffodil and placing his hands on her shoulders. “But... when I’m with you, Daffodil.. I get that same feeling, that feeling of happiness that I previously only had with Rose.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, that must sound horrible...”
Daffodil placed her hand over Ken’s hand on her shoulder, and turned to him, and they kissed once more. “Ken...” Daffodil whispered. “I’d be happy if we could stay like this, together in a beautiful place like this, forever...”
Forever... Ken thought. Oh, Daffodil...

“KEN!” Daisy yelled into Ken’s ear, nearly causing Ken to fall down from surprise as he snapped back to reality. He stopped walking and looked around as he remembered that he was in Recluse City, trying to find the one Hero group he had heard about. He turned around to see Daisy looking at him, an angry expression on her face.
“Ken, I asked you what we’re looking for!” Daisy folded her arms across her chest. “Honestly, now is NOT the time to be having dirty day dreams about your girlfriend!”
“Rose?” Ken asked quizzically, forgetting that Daisy didn’t know about Daffodil.
“Yes, Rose!” Daisy said, narrowing her eyes at Ken. “You don’t have any OTHER girlfriends I should know about, do you?” She walked up to Ken, analyzing his expression. “Rose is the only one, am I right?” Ken nodded, doing his best to keep his expression sincere.
“Hey!” Dan yelled, causing Daisy and Ken to look down the road. Dan was running up the street, with Meltdown in tow. The two caught up with Daisy and Ken, where upon Dan punched Ken in the arm.
“Wait for us, will you?” Dan said angrily. “Not all of us are as fast as you, you know!” Ken rubbed the area where he had been hit and nodded apologetically.
“So, who are these Heroes we’re looking for?” Daisy repeated, turning her gaze to Meltdown.
Ken sighed. “There are some Heroes in this city that have been struggling to maintain some order. I’m sure that it would be beneficial to all of us if we could meet with them and share information.” He turned to Meltdown. “But first, I’d like to know why it is Lord Recluse is after you.” Meltdown lowered her head, and the sky opened up in a torrent of rain.
“I can tell this will take awhile.” Dan said. “Why don’t we wait over here? I’d rather not get soaking wet, if I can help it.” He walked to the entrance of the nearest building, which had a small roof over it, and leaned on the wall next to it. Ken, Daisy, and Meltdown joined him, with Daisy sitting on the doorsteps to the entrance and Ken standing beside her. Meltdown stood facing them, sighing as she began...

“First of all, my real name’s Lily.” Meltdown said, holding her head down as she spoke. “My life was pretty normal, at first. My father worked as a scientist, and soon after he married my mother he received a promotion at his company. His promotion promised a bigger salary, but also longer hours and a slightly more hazardous working environment. He invited my mother to tour his new job area, and it was this seemingly harmless act that began everything that’s happened in my life until now.” Lily’s voice became quieter. “It wasn’t their fault, really. Not even my mother knew that she was pregnant at the time, and the laboratory that my father worked did have signs up that stated that pregnant women shouldn’t enter the area...” Lily sighed. “When my parents found out my mother was pregnant, and that she had been for her visit, they asked the doctor if there were any complications; the doctor told them that it was too early to tell, and he didn’t want them to worry about things I may or may not have had. When they did my mother’s first ultrasound a couple months later, the doctors noted that I didn’t appear to have any physical deformities, but they would have to do extensive amounts of testing after I was born.” Lily sighed again. “Those months were pretty hard for them, I’d imagine. When I was finally born, the doctor’s performed their tests. The results were astonishing; my body was emitting some radiation, yet didn’t appear to be affecting me mentally or physically. The doctors that performed the tests told my parents that if they gave me a special medication every month or so that I should be able to live a perfectly normal life. And for the first 15 years, my life was pretty normal, save of course for my hair.” Lily chuckled slightly, then stopped and continued.
“It was on that day, when I was only 15 years old, that my life changed forever. My father’s laboratory was overrun by Recluse’s Exterminators. Apparently, they were gathering any and all sources of mystical, military, and scientific power that they could find, and my father’s lab held the secret to one of them. The Exterminators killed of all of my father’s co-workers, and would have killed him, too, had they not learned about me.” Lily closed her eyes. “Recluse saw his opportunity and seized it. He had his Exterminators kidnap my father and erase his name from the company’s logs so the police and Heroes wouldn’t be searching for him. And then...” Lily stopped for a moment, then continued. “Then his Exterminators came into our house... they kidnaped me and my mother, and took us to his hideout.” Lily opened her eyes once more. “Recluse himself was there, telling me that he needed me, that if I didn’t do everything he asked, he would...” Tears began to form in Lily’s eyes, but she held them back as she continued. “I had no choice; I didn’t want anything to happen to my parents.” Lily quickly wiped her eyes clean. “The first thing he told me to do was stop going to school and stop taking my medication. He sent me to a training camp where he trains his Exterminators. As much as I hated it...” Lily’s lips quivered. “I... became a soldier for Recluse.” Lily closed her eyes again. “For 4 years, I obeyed Recluse’s orders and handled various missions for Recluse. At first, I wasn’t able to do much in the missions, but as I trained with my radiation powers, and gained more experience and skill...” Lily opened her eyes once more. “I... became more and more active in the missions, even though I knew...” Lily’s voice quivered. “I knew it was wrong, but I was willing to do anything, ANYTHING, to save my parents...” The image of the body of a man, a man burned with radiation all over his body, flashed in her mind. “Anything.”
“By the end of those 4 years, I had been promoted to Elite Soldier for my ‘work’.” Lily scoffed at the word. “So far, Recluse had been true to his word; I knew, because I made sure that I would be able to talk to my parents everyday for those 4 years, even if for only an hour each day.” Tears once more formed in Lily’s eyes. “They were never angry or frightened by my decision; they always told me they understood... why I was doing what I did...” Lily began to sob harder, the tears in her eyes streaming down her face. “But they always, ALWAYS told me to run, to run away from Recluse and forget about them, get as far away as I could, even though they knew...what that meant...” Ken handed Lily a handkerchief, and Lily wiped her face clean before continuing. “Anyway, it turns out that Recluse was just waiting until I grew strong enough to withstand extremely high amounts of radiation.” Lily looked up at Ken. “It was what he had been planning ever since he attacked my father’s lab.”
“He brought me and my parents to a government-protected science facility somewhere on the other coast of the country. After taking out the guards, he brought me to a large, lead-plated door in the center of the facility.” Lily returned her gaze to the ground. “As it turns out, the government had discovered a crystal that emitted a constant source of radioactive energy, and they were keeping it in that facility to study it.” Lily sighed. “Recluse wanted me to go in and get it for him, so he could harness it’s energy as a weapon to use in his upcoming War.” Lily’s tone became angry, yet held a sad undertone, as well. “He promised me that if I did this, he would let me and parents free.” She raised her head to Ken once more, tears in her eyes. “And I believed him.”
“Recluse and his Exterminators waited outside as I entered the room. It had an incredible amount of radiation inside it, and it felt like my skin was on fire as I looked around the room for the crystal. The entire room was glowing with green light, so it was hard to find it.” Lily paused for a moment, then continued. “After what seemed like hours, I found the crystal sitting on a pedestal in the room. But when I grabbed it...” Lily’s expression changed slightly to one of confusion. “I don’t know... it felt like... like it was DRAINING into me...” She looked up at Ken. “It was odd... I could swear that it was lighter when I carried it back to Recluse than it had been when I first picked it up.” Her face returned to one of sadness and reflection. “Anyway, after I handed it to Recluse, he...” Lily suddenly and unexpectedly broke out in tears once more, holding her gloved hand over her face as she did so. Ken offered the handkerchief again, but Lily shook her head, breathed deeply, and continued, though her voice was quivering wildly. “He... thanked me, and then he... then he...” Lily recalled that image, that image of her parents falling to the ground, the wounds in their heads bleeding out to the ground, their vacant stare up into the ceiling. Lily regained her composure, and continued. “I don’t know how I did it... after that moment, it’s all a blank... but somehow, I wound up outside, in the middle of a desert, unharmed...” Lily sighed, walked over to the entrance and sat on the steps beside Daisy. “Ever since then, I’ve been running from Recluse, and every so often destroying everything I can in this accursed Empire.” Lily clenched her fist, which glowed slightly with radiation. “Even if it costs me my life, I won’t rest until I avenge my parents!”

Ken placed his hand on Lily’s shoulder, and Daisy looked at Lily with a new expression, one that was both surprise and perhaps, even... respect?
“Ken...” Dan said, his head turned to the side of the road. “These Heroes that we’re looking for... does one of them wear green armor and use energy punches?”
“Huh?” Ken asked, searching his mind. “I think so... why?”
But Dan was already running away from the group and headed down the road at an incredible speed, spraying water everywhere and getting his pants filthy as he raced through various muddy puddles. The rest of the group quickly followed him, and after several blocks found a Hero in green armor lying unconscious in the wet mud, and several other Heroes battling Villains that had spines across their bodies.
“I’ll handle these guys.” Dan said, unsheathing his Dragon Slayer. Yelling, he charged the closest Villain, who was standing over a Hero that had a spine through her body. The Villain turned just as Dan swung his sword, cutting the Villain in half, killing him.
OK, now to get... Dan thought, but just as he turned to the other two Villains, their heads rolled off their bodies and fell to the wet ground, with Ken appearing some distance away from them, sheathing his sword. The bodies and heads then exploded in blue light.
Again... Dan thought as he stared at Ken, who was already talking with the other Heroes. Just who, or what, is Ken, anyway?
“Hope, can you help her?” Faith cried desperately as she ran over to where Luck lay.
Hope was already using her powers to heal her, and kept her eyes on Luck as she answered. “I think I can save her...” Luck said softly, turning to Faith. “We need to get her out of the rain and into the base, though.”
“I can help you with that!” Dan said quickly, picking up the girl. “Where’s your base?”
Hope looked at Faith, and Faith nodded. Hope then turned back to Dan. “Follow me.” She said, leading Dan to the entrance of the base.
“Wow, this guy has robotic arms!” Daisy said, looking over Michael. Gabriel walked over to her, then stopped.
“Daisy?” Gabriel asked, and Daisy spun her head around, spraying some water out from her hair as she faced Gabriel.
“Gabriel?” Daisy asked.

-----

OK, so that was the Chapter! I told you it was short! I'm already working on the next Chapter, so you can be sure I'll have it up soon!

Thanks!

Sorry, for the delay, but I've recently been swamped by both the holdiays and some last-minute schoolwork Not to worry, though, as I plan to have the next Chapter up by either the end of today or tomorrow! Keep checking back, I love working on this story!

[ 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 ]

"Yes, Mr. Dumas." The voice rose from some smoke that was on the ground. Out of the smoke, the infamous Mr. Dark rose once more, his black trenchcoat flapping around slightly as he appeared in front of the group.
"I told you you'd hear from me again." Mr. Dark chuckled as he stood, resting both hands on his cane. "Why don't you inform everyone what this is about?"

Umm... what are Hal's powers?

D'Oh! You're right, Skystrike, that was my mistake!

I can't change it now, so you'll have to ignore that part as a typo

Whew! It took awhile, but I finally finished the Chapter! It took me awhile, so enjoy!

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The Pain of Team Legacy: Reflections of the Past

“But I don’t WANNA go with you!” Faith cried, running away from the man and woman. The 8 year old girl ran across the lush grass that sat in front of the large building and pushed open the front door, then continued running across the red-carpeted, main section of the building. She continued running past several rows of pews, and finally stopped up on top of a small, elevated stage in front at the far side of the room. Above the stage sat a cross, a star, and a crescent moon, and Faith found herself grasping onto the 11 year old boy she had been closest with for the past 5 years, ever since he had been found on the doorstep of the synagogue. She grabbed on to him, hugging him in a death grip that made the boy turn around.
“Ghost, there are some people here to take me away...” Faith whispered, crying into Ghost’s white cloak. Ghost placed his arms around Faith.
“Don’t worry, Faith...” Ghost said softly, trying his best to calm her down. “You shouldn’t cry; those people out there don’t want to hurt you...” He leaned down and wiped Faith’s face clean with his cloak. “Listen...” He looked into Faith’s eyes. “Those people are going to be your new parents.”
“But I don’t want to leave!” Faith cried, placing her head on Ghost’s shoulder. “I want to stay here with all of my friends!”
Ghost looked up as the Minister and Faith’s adoptive parents burst into the room. The Minister looked at Ghost, and Ghost nodded, Faith still clinging on to him.
“Faith...” Ghost said, moving the small girl’s body gently so he could look into her eyes. “These parents will provide a better home than the Minister can here.” He hugged Faith. “I know it’s hard, but if you’re ever lonely, just pray to God, and through the power of God we’ll always be together.” A single tear streamed down his face. “I promise.”
Ghost released Faith, and the adoptive parents took her away out of the synagogue. The Minister put his hand on Ghost’s shoulder once they left.
“You handled that well.” The Minister said softly. “It’s hard to believe how much you’ve grown ever since you came here.”
“It’s nothing, really.” Ghost said, smiling as he turned to the Minister. “After all, no matter what happens, God will watch over us all, right?”

“Well, Faith?” Michael asked, turning to Faith. He noticed her vacant expression. “Faith? FAITH!”
“Huh?” Faith said, snapping back to reality. Organizing her thoughts, she looked around the Conference Table of the Meeting Room. Luck was busy brushing her hair, and Michael was looking at her impatiently.
“I asked, should we wait for...” Michael sighed. “Never mind.”
“Well, all I’m saying is that this BETTER be important if you went to the trouble of dragging me out of the shower!” Luck breathed, her black hair still slightly damp.
“Luck, I wouldn’t drag you out of the shower if it wasn’t important!” Michael said, doing his best to hold back his grin.
“Pervert.” Luck said under her breath.
“All right, Michael.” Gabriel said, coming in through the door. Hope walked in quietly behind him. “What did you find out?” Gabriel and Hope took their seats at the table.
“OK...” Michael’s face became solemn, his tone serious as the he pushed several buttons on the panel in front of him. The room darkened and center of the table lit up, resulting in a hologram of Recluse City. A blue dot showed up on one area of the city.
“About 15 minutes ago, our Power Detector detected a VERY large power source, but then...” He looked around the room. “It disappeared.”
Faith looked up in shock, Luck gasped, Hope looked around confused, and Gabriel shot out of his seat. “What do you mean it ‘disappeared’?” He asked loudly.
“Well, it was there for only that moment, and then it was gone.” Michael said. “I checked our systems when it disappeared; it wasn’t a glitch, and our systems are fine as far as I can tell.” He looked around the table. “But that’s not the half of it.”
Michael pressed some more buttons on the panel, and hologram changed, now focusing on the area where the blue dot sat. The blue dot was now surrounded by MANY red dots, which disappeared as Michael continued. “In the same place where there were also A LOT of Exterminators.” Michael’s voice tensed. “But their signatures disappeared once the power did.”
“What do you think happened?” Gabriel asked.
Michael shrugged. “Best guess, whoever belonged to that power took care of the Exterminators.”
“How many Exterminators are we talking about?” Gabriel asked.
Michael shrugged again. “About... 30... or so.”
“WHAT?!” Faith pounded on the table, rising to her feet. Gabriel did the same. “And this was just ONE new Hero, right?”
“Far as I can figure.” Michael sighed. “Again, all of this happened in a matter of seconds, so I figured I better call you immediately.”
“Right.” Gabriel said as Michael pushed some more buttons and the hologram disappeared. The room lit back up. Gabriel thought the matter over.
“OK, so how do you want to handle this?” Gabriel asked, looking across the table. “Personally, I think we should investigate it, but I can understand if you want to-”
“No, an investigation sounds good.” Faith sighed, walking around the table. “We can’t leave this alone.”
“Definitely.” Michael said. “We need to find this guy and bring him in!”
“Or her.” Luck sighed, rising to her feet. “I’m not so sure about this. Whoever was able to take out all of those Exterminators has GOT to be powerful, and if he mistakes us for enemies...” Her voice trailed off.
Gabriel thought some more. “OK, we can’t allow ourselves to come off as hostile, not with someone with that kind of power.” Gabriel turned looked around at his teammates. “One of us should approach this Hero in a non-threatening way, while the rest of us stay back, so we can jump in if the he or she DOES become hostile.” The others nodded in agreement.
“OK, let’s go.” Gabriel said, leading the others out. Hope was the last one to leave the room, and he whispered “Stay close to me while we’re out there.” As she passed by him. Hope turned to Gabriel, a little surprised, but then nodded. They were soon out into the cool, dusk air of Recluse City.
“OK, so here’s the plan.” Gabriel began once everyone was out. “Someone’s going-”
“To die.” A voice said, and Gabriel turned just as the huge spine impaled his left shoulder, knocking him off his feet pushing him to the ground. Michael instantly jumped into action, looking in the direction of where the spine had come from. Luck placed her back to Michael’s, looking around and making sure the spines weren’t a diversion. Faith covered Hope, who was busy healing Gabriel.
“Who’s there?!” Michael demanded. He was answered by some cackles as four large, muscled men stepped out from behind one of the abandoned buildings. They looked about 23 years old, and their bodies covered in spines. They were wearing matching green short-sleeve shirts (their spines ripping holes in the shirts), with matching blue jeans. They wore gray boots, and were all bald as they smiled wickedly at the group of Heroes.
“Well, what’ve we got here?.” One of them, who was obviously their leader, said. Out of the four men, he was the only one wearing glasses. He laughed as he looked at each member.

Name: Gabriel
Origin: Natural
Archetype: Scrapper
Class: Martial Arts / Super Reflexes
Combat Level: 19
Current Health: 456.8
Current Energy: 100

Name: Michael
Origin: Technology
Archetype: Tanker
Class: Invulnerability / Super Strength
Combat Level: 19
Current Health: 673.2
Current Energy: 100

Name: Luck
Origin: Science
Archetype: Blaster
Class: Energy Blast / Energy Manipulation
Combat Level: 18
Current Health: 365.3
Current Energy: 100

Name: Faith
Origin: Magic
Archetype: Controller
Class: Mind Control / ?????
Combat Level: 19
Current Health: 397.2
Current Energy: 100

Name: Hope
Origin: Mutant
Archetype: Defender
Class: Empathy / ?????
Combat Level: Unknown
Current Health: ????
Current Energy: ????

“Heh, heh...” The leader chuckled. “This is going to be even easier than I thought!” He motioned with his arm, and his partners stepped forward, so they were all lined up. “We are the Four Spine Brethren!”
“Mash!” The one on the far left said.
“Gash!” The one of the far right said.
“Bash!” The one next to the leader said.
“And I am Slash!” The leader said. “Upon the orders of our boss, Mr. Dimentid, you four shall die by our hands!”
The four Villains then looked at the Heroes, and realized something. They turned away from the Heroes and huddled together, discussing something with themselves, while the Heroes stood staring at them, wondering what they were doing.
“Are you sure?” Mash asked.
“It looks like, I think...” Gash turned around and counted once again. “1...2...3...”
The Villains then rose up and once again faced the Heroes.
“Sorry, we meant you 5 Heroes!” Slash said, holding up four fingers. “Now, prepare to die!”
“They’re not very smart, are they?” Hope observed as she finished healing Gabriel. Gabriel rose to his feet.
“Concentrate on one at a time...” Gabriel said, keeping his eyes on the Villains. “It should be much easier that way...”
“Right!” Luck jumped forward. She placed her hands in front of her and concentrated. “Power Blast!” The blue energy erupted from her hands and flew straight at Slash, who smiled as the four Villains jumped out of the way.

Luck fired her Power Blast!
Luck’s attack missed!

“Nice move, girl.” Slash chuckled as he landed behind Luck. Faith, Gabriel, and Hope jumped to meet Gash head-on in the air. “BUT NOW YOU DIE!!!” Slash flung his arm forward, showering the area with spines. But just before the spines hit Luck...
“WHAT?!” Slash looked as Michael moved in front of Luck in the blink of an eye and used his right arm to protect Luck. The spines easily broke through his green armor and impaled themselves into his armor, but instead of blood, Michael’s arm crackled with electricity. Slash and Joy stared at Michael’s arm.

Slash hits Michael with his Spine Burst for a reduced 117.3 points of lethal damage!

Groaning, Michael pulled out the spines imbedded in his arm, revealing circuitry and wires in the crevices that Slash’s spines had made.
“You’re... you’re not human...” Slash said in amazement. In the next instant, Michael’s left arm crackled with energy and he swung, catching Slash in the jaw and knocking the Villain away from Luck and himself.
Michael turned to Luck, and saw her shocked expression. He sighed as he remembered, the memories coming to him for only an instant, though they always seemed like an eternity...

Michael had grown up in a good (but poor) family. Because of all the rampant crime that took place in Paragon City, apartments in Paragon City cost next to nothing. Michael’s parents moved to Paragon City more out of necessity than anything else; they couldn’t afford anyplace else. Both of his parents became employed in two different companies in Skyway City, though Michael’s parents actually lived in an apartment in Steel Canyon.
For several years, Michael’s family lived quite nicely in the city; since both of Michael’s parents had to work to make ends meet, Michael became used to being taken care of by random baby-sitters. During the times he was under the care of the baby-sitters, Michael often found himself watching TV while the sitters spent most of their time on the phone, chatting with their friends. It was in this way that Michael heard about the many exploits of Paragon City’s Heroes, including Legends such as Statesman, Back Alley Brawler, and Sister Psyche. Michael was always amazed at the feats he heard the Heroes accomplish on TV, but always slightly sad that he could never become a great Hero like his icons.
One fateful day, Michael’s parents had scheduled meetings to attend, and they needed a sitter to watch Michael as usual. Unfortunately, there weren’t any sitters available, and Michael’s parents didn’t want to leave Michael in the house alone. They were forced to take Michael along with them; he was to wait in his mother’s office building until his father came to pick him up, whose meeting was scheduled to end earlier than his mother’s. Michael’s parents would never make it to work that day.
Michael’s parents ran into a traffic jam on their way to his father’s job; aggravated and determined not to be late to his meeting, Michael’s father took a back road in Skyway City. While on the back road, a Lost Minion ran in front of the car, causing Michael’s father to swerve out of the way to avoid colliding into him.
In that moment, Michael’s life changed. Michael’s father was able to react quickly enough to swerve out of the way of the Villain - and right into an iron fence. Michael’s mother and father, luckily, were saved by the air bags they had in their car. However, after the crash, only Michael was left conscious.
Michael exited the car, not knowing what to do. He knew that there were Heroes in this city, ones that could help him, and he decided to look for them. His search, however, was cut short as he ran into a hoard of Clockwork. They had seen his parents car crash, and knew that they had just discovered a fresh heap of scrap metal to mine. Michael began to yell for help as the Clockwork began to strip the car his parents were still lying unconscious in.
A Fire-based Hero, hearing Michael’s cries for help, decided to jump in and help Michael. Unfortunately, the car was leaking fuel, and when the Hero attacked the Clockwork, the car exploded, killing the Clockwork, Michael’s parents, and knocking Michael and the Fire Hero back and into a building as a result of the force of the explosion. The Fire Hero was okay, but Michael was in need of DESPERATE medical attention. The Fire Hero acted quickly.
At the hospital, the doctors summed up the damage: Michael’s left leg and left arm had been blown off immediately, and his right leg and right arm were so badly injured that the doctors had to amputate them in order to save Michael’s life. Michael survived, but his parents and his limbs were gone.
Michael was placed in the care of his Uncle, who happened to be a rather rich and famous Hero in Paragon City, though very few knew that. Michael’s uncle helped him through his years of recovery, his uncle ordering state-of-the-art, computerized, metallic limbs to replace Michael’s lost limbs. It took two years before Michael became used to the limbs, and for a time, Michael was content with his new life. However, one night, after a particularly intense and difficult battle with the 5th Column, Michael’s uncle was too tired and weak to take the same precautions he usually when he returned home, and Michael discovered his secret identity. Using this to his advantage, Michael was able to blackmail his uncle so he could live the life he had always dreamed of: being a Hero. Though his uncle clearly voiced his opinion against Michael’s decision, with the threat of his own nephew revealing his secret identity to the public, his uncle took Michael under his wing. His uncle ordered Michael’s limbs to be upgraded so that they could conduct high amounts of energy, and also had a suit built for Michael that would help protect him during battle. Michael became the side-kick to his own uncle, and for some time, Michael and his uncle lived happily, protecting Paragon City.
However, when Recluse attacked Paragon City, Michael’s uncle was among the first to fall. Michael, battered and beaten, luckily remained alive, and was found by Chance, a member of the Destiny Supergroup. That was where he met the other young Heroes that would become Team Legacy.

“I”LL KILL YOU!” Slash screamed, snapping Michael back to reality. The Villain charged forward, and Michael met his charge with his own. Luck fired another Power Blast, and this one caught Slash in the chest as Michael added his own Energy Punch to Slash’s face as he was still reeling from Luck’s attack. Slash flew backwards and crashed into one of the abandoned buildings, smashing right through the wall and landing in a heap inside the building.

Luck fires her Power Burst and hits Slash for 85.2 points of Energy Damage!
Michael hits Slash with his mighty Energy Punch for 49.8 points of Smashing Damage!

“Damn...” Slash hissed, getting up. “I’ve taken them too lightly...” He bit down on something hard, then spat out one of his teeth onto the floor as he looked out the hole he had made as he saw Mash and Bash engage the two Heroes. He grinned to himself. “Not that these wounds are anything to be concerned about.” He concentrated, and his body was surrounded in a green aura, the majority of his wounds healing as he did so.

Slash uses his Reconstruction ability to heal 74.7 points of Health!

Slash smiled as he stepped back out into the street, the dark clouds above the battling Heroes and Villains now unleashing a torrent of rain onto the battlefield.

Gash continued to hold his head in agony as Gabriel continued to unleash volley after volley of punches and kicks to the Villain. Every time Gash appeared to be coming out of his trance, Faith made sure to use her Mental abilities to Dominate his will once more, keeping Gash in a constant state of agony and confusion, leaving him unable to defend himself. This had been going on for awhile, yet Gash was still standing as Gabriel and Faith continued to attack him in the open dirt field, a distance away from street that Luck and Michael were currently fighting in.
Gabriel, despite his exhaustion, unleashed his Storm Kick once more, each of his kicks hitting Gash perfectly.

Gabriel hits Gash with his deadly Storm Kick for 68.1 points of Smashing Damage!

“How strong are these guys?” Gabriel huffed as he struggled to catch his breath. He knew he was at the end of his rope; even he couldn’t continue to attack the Villain at this pace, even IF Gash wasn’t fighting back. Looking over at Faith, he could tell that she, too, was quickly running out of steam as she applied another dose of her Domination Attack to Gash.

Faith Dominates Gash for 47.4 points of Psionic Damage!
Gash is immobile and is unable to defend himself!

I have no choice... Gabriel thought. I have to put everything I have into the next attack! He gathered what little strength he had left and prepared to attack...

Gabriel uses Catch a Breath and restores some Energy!

Gabriel moved into a perfect fighting stance and concentrated, gathering energy as the rain began to pour down on the area, dampening his whole body...

Gabriel uses Focus Chi to increase his Accuracy and Damage for a limited time!

“TIGER PUNCH!!!” Gabriel yelled, and charged forward, his right positioned behind his head as he charged. When he was at arms reach to Gash, he propelled his right arm forward with incredible force as he hit the Villain straight across the jaw, shattering it in the process and sending a gush of water from the rain flying outwards from the blow. Gash FLEW backwards and landed in a puddle with a great splash of water a few yards away, where he lay unmoving.

Gabriel smashes Gash with his mighty Tiger Punch for 98.3 points of Smashing Damage!
Gabriel has defeated Gash!

Gabriel collapsed onto one knee, Faith and Hope looking at him, stunned, as he panted and gasped in exhaustion. Faith marched up to Gabriel.
“What was that?!” Faith asked, placing her hand on Gabriel’s wet shoulder. “I’ve never seen you use or even PRACTICE that attack before! If you had such a powerful attack, why didn’t you ever use it before?!”
Gabriel regained his breath and rose back to his feet, the leg of his blue outfit covered in brown mud. “I’ve never needed to before...” Gabriel said quietly, his back still to Faith. “That attack may be powerful, but using it drains me of energy, and leaves me vulnerable for some time after I pull it off.” He turned to Faith, looking at the ground, rain running off his face and hands and dripping onto the ground. He didn’t make eye contact with her as he continued, his tone still quiet.. “If I used it more often, I probably wouldn’t be alive today...”
Hope ran over and joined them. “Shouldn’t we...” Hope clasped her hands together nervously as she spoke, her tone soft. “Shouldn’t we be... uh... helping the other two?”
“That’s right!” Gabriel said, realizing his error. He turned to Faith. “We have to get to Luck and Michael right away!” He ran across the muddy clearing they were in and back to the main street where the Villains had first appeared, Faith and Hope in tow.

“Damn!” Michael gritted his teeth as he used his right arm to block another volley of spines.

Bash hits Michael with his Spine Burst for a reduce 107.2 points of Lethal Damage!

In front of Michael, Slash and Bash smiled as they continued their relentless assault, while a distance behind the two Villains Luck struggled with Mash.
“Not long now...” Slash smiled, reading Michael’s statistics with his raindrop-spotted glasses.

Michael’s Current Health: 192.4
Michael’s Current Energy: 44.5

“Is that all you’ve got?!” Michael yelled defiantly, swinging his body into the air and using the power in his arms to smash the ground, knocking Slash and Bash off-balance and sending a ring of water into the air around him. He used this moment to charge Bash, jumping above the Villain and hitting him over the head with his Bone Smasher.

Michael uses his mighty Whirling Hands attack!
Michael’s Whirling Hands damages Slash for 40.3 points of Smashing Damage!
Michael’s Whirling Hands damages Bash for 40.3 points of Smashing Damage!
Michael unleashes his mighty Bone Smasher attack on Bash for 47.1 points of Smashing Damage!

“Take this!” Slash yelled, stabbing Michael across the back with a spine from his arm. Bash quickly recovered and swiped Michael several times across his chest. Luckily, Michael’s armor held, though was severely damage as a result of the attack.

Slash Lunges at Michael for a reduced 92.9 points of Lethal Damage!
Michael has been Poisoned!
Bash attack Michael with his Barb Swipe for a reduced 86.8 points of Lethal Damage!

“Now... AARGH!” Slash yelled in pain and held his head as he was Dominated as a result of Faith’s attack.

Faith Dominates Slash for 41.3 points of Psionic Damage!

“What the-” Bash was interrupted as Gabriel kicked him from behind, knocking him down onto the wet concrete.

Gabriel attack Bash with his Crane Kick for 78.4 points of Smashing Damage!


“It’s about time, guys...” Michael said softly, smiling as he began walking slowly towards Gabriel. “Now we can... finally...” His voice trailed off as he fell forward, his body creating a huge splash of water as he collapsed onto ground.

Michael has been defeated!

“Michael!” Hope yelled, running over to him. Faith and Gabriel continued to concentrate on Bash and Slash, Faith keeping Slash held while Gabriel fought with Bash.
“Hope, how is he?” Faith asked as she continued to attack Slash.
Hope checked Michael’s pulse and looked him over. “I... I think he’ll be alright, he’s just unconscious...” A scream behind her caused Hope to turn around. What she saw made her blood freeze.
Mash stood over Luck, looking down at Luck with a victorious smile on his face. Hope could see Luck, on her back on the ground, a huge spike through mid-section. As Luck looked up, she could hardly make out Mash’s figure; it was getting harder and harder to concentrate as her vision darkened. Her mind began to drift back, back to when her life had been so... so normal...

Luck had been brought up in a quiet, suburban town, some distance away from Paragon City. Her town had no Heroes or Villains, and for the first 11 years of her life Luck was quite content leading a nice, quiet with her friends and family. However, that all changed on that day... the day that her school was visited by several representatives of a “gifted” school hosted by a company known as Crey Industries.
The program seemed innocent, at first: All of the students took a test to see if they might be “qualified” to participate in an Advanced Academic Program hosted by Crey Industries. Luck, like everyone else in her school, took the test. Of everyone in the school, VERY few made it into the program; about 20 or so total. Luck’s parents were SO happy when they heard the news that their daughter was accepted into the program. Soon, Luck’s schedule was rearranged so she could attend the “Advanced” classes, all of which were taught by Crey Representatives. Luck noticed that these “teachers” handed out different assignments to different students. For example, Luck’s best friend, Grace, who also got into the Advanced Program once told Luck that the assignments in the new classes were “really hard”. Luck suggested that Grace come over to her house to study that night. When Grace did, and they shared papers, Luck noticed that Grace’s Math assignment involved something called “Advanced Calculus” while Luck’s assignment was simple geometry.
Several other things began to disturb Luck, as well: The “teachers” of her new classes would sometimes receive a call on her cell phone, then tell some of Luck’s classmates to “report to the gym” for “tests”, even though it was in the middle of a lesson. When the school year started to draw to a close, Luck was slightly relieved that next year she would be back in NORMAL classes.
But the Representatives had other plans. In the final weeks of the school year, every single student in the Advance Program received letters to their home congratulating them on their “success”, and wanted the parents of the students to give the Representatives permission to let their children spend their summer at an “Academic Sleep-Away Camp” where their children could “Further Expand on their gifts”. Many of the parents were only too happy to have their children attend, but several, including Luck’s parents, either had other plans or didn’t feel comfortable leaving their 11 year old children in a camp all summer. To Countess Crey, this was unacceptable. Crey had invested too much in the Project for it to be disrupted by some middle-class parents, and the parents were deemed as an obstacle that had to be... dealt with.
Luck and several of her classmates were placed in the care of Social Services after a car-bomber targeted a quiet suburban town and killed the parents of several students in Luck’s community. The fact that the only link that all of the students shared was that they were involved in the same Advanced Program was withheld from the reporters that stormed Luck’s once-quiet town, and Crey wisely waited several weeks for the media blitz to bowl over before she made her move. Crey then sent one of her subordinates, one that took the role of a loving mother, and made sure that ALL of the now-orphaned children wound up in her care. Once they were, a quick interview, an inspection of the living arrangements Crey had set up, and Social Services was only too happy to hand the children over to the “good mother”. With the Adoption Papers signed, Luck and her classmates were just in time to make it to Camp.
Though the parents that had WILLINGLY allowed their children to be taken to the camp had been told the camp was in Virginia, the “camp” was actually a small research facility in an area west of Paragon City in Rhode Island. The phone number, address, and other information that Crey had handed the parents when the students first entered the program was all fake, of course, all Crey had to do was give the phone number of some random office building, re-route any calls to the phone number to her cell, and wait until she had all of her lab subjects in her possession before cutting off her phone connection and erasing all phone records that could trace the entire scheme back to her. Even if, when the parents realized that the number that had once worked perfectly no longer did so, the parents were to go to the address they had been given, all they would find would be an office building, no sign of their children, no way to get in contact with the “Academic Program”, and besides the pamphlets they had been given in the beginning, no record that the Program had even existed. Even if the parents went to the police, there would be no way to track their children OR the Program down. Now that all of the children were at the camp, they were all Crey’s personal lab rats.
Those few weeks seemed to last like an eternity for Luck; all she remembered was living in constant fear and pain as she and her friends were subjected to inhumane testing and torturous experiments. Often, she could hear Crey herself, overseeing the project, becoming frustrated when she didn’t get her desired results, hearing her friends scream in agony, then hearing Crey shout “Again!” and once more hearing her friends scream in pain. Or was she screaming in pain herself?
The weeks turned into months, and Luck saw the 20 or so of her friends that began the Project lower to a dozen or so, then less than 10, then about 4 or 5 as several of the “Test Subjects” bodies were unable to handle the experiments.
Through the pain and suffering, Luck feel herself changing; her “usual” experiment with the Scientists in the facility involved covering her body in wires and sending large amounts of energy currents rippling through her body; many times the pain was so intense that Luck’s body was knocked unconscious. However, over the many nights she had lain awake, unable to sleep due to the pain that the experiments gave her, she found that she could make tiny balls of energy in her hand; it wasn’t much, but she was sure that this was the whole reason Crey wanted all of her friends.
It was on that fateful day, the day that one of her few remaining friends, Lucy, didn’t show up after the daily tests, that Luck decided to attempt an escape. Even though she was young, she knew that two remaining best friends, Grace and Bliss, could come up with something. She knew that the odds were against them, and there was very little chance they would succeed. She also knew that, if this didn’t succeed, she wouldn’t let them take her back unless she was dead.
Luck and her two friends concocted a plan. Bliss had the ability to affect Electricity, so she would start by knocking out the cameras. At the same time, Luck would use her Energy abilities to blast the locks on their cell doors. Bliss would then use her Kinetic abilities to get them out of there as quickly as possible. The plan went into action that night, and seemed to be going well until one guard noticed the girls attempting to escape. As he was about to call in for help, Luck’s body seemed to react quicker than her mind did. Before she knew what was happening, the guard was on the floor, dead. Luck didn’t know how long she and her friends remained silent, staring at the body on the floor. The rest of the escape was a blur; gunshots, running, sirens... when all was said and done, the three girls made it into Paragon City, and were taken into custody by the local police, who in turn called Social Services once more. Luck and her two friends were the only ones to survive Crey’s Project, and upon their escape Crey quickly scrapped the project and destroyed all the evidence that would connect her company or herself to it.
Luck and her only two friends were soon split up, and for some time Luck was shuffled around to different foster homes. Eventually, she was adopted by a family in Paragon City, who took care of her for several years. During those years, she never used her Energy Powers, and tried to pick up her life where she left off. Even though Paragon City was very different than her old home, she was somewhat successful for a time.
Unfortunately, when Lord Recluse attacked, her life was once again turned upside-down. The apartment complex where she lived was attacked during that time, and several Heroes attempted to save the occupants as the apartment was soon ablaze. Luck was saved, but her parents weren’t so lucky. Instead of being placed in the hands of Social Services once again, Luck was “adopted” by a Super Group called Destiny, where she met her future teammates. After befriending them, and telling her three new friends her life story, they encouraged her to use her Energy Powers once more, and she agreed. She only had two weeks of practice when the Super Group fell, along with Paragon City.

Luck bolted upright, then groaned in pain as she looked around. She was back in Team Legacy’s Base, the recovery room to be specific. She looked and saw Hope sleeping in the chair next to her.
“Hope?” Luck asked groggily, looking at herself. She was undressed and covered in bandages; she then remembered the battle she had, the one with Mash. Looking at her side, Luck noticed that the spike was out of her body and was wrapped in bandages.
“Luck, you’re OK! Thank God!” Hope got up and hugged Luck, causing Luck to cry out in pain. Hope quickly detached herself from Luck and wiped a tear from her eye.
“I was afraid you weren’t...” Hope’s voice trailed off, and several more tears ran down her face.
“Hope, what happened?” Luck asked. “Where’s everyone else? What happened to those Villains?”
Hope wiped her face clean. “Right after you...” She held back some tears, then continued. “After that, this Hero came out of nowhere and defeated the three remaining Villains like they were nothing!” Hope smiled through her tears. “I’ve never seen anyone like him! He also brought three of his friends along with him; they’re in the Meeting Room, talking with the others now!”
“How long have I been out?” Luck asked.
“Only a couple of hours...” Hope said quietly. “I did the best I could... I’m glad you’re alright.” She hugged Luck once more.
The door opened, and an 18 year old boy in a white trenchcoat walked in.
“Oh, you’re awake!” Ken said, smiling as he saw Luck. “You friend knows a lot about medical care; when you’re ready, I’d like you to introduce you to my friends!”
“What was that last comment, sword-boy?!” Michael yelled, loud enough for Ken, Luck, and Hope to hear it.
“I said you shouldn’t act so tough if you can’t back it up!” Dan shot back, his volume matching Michael’s.
“You shouldn’t be the one talking if you’re relying on the thing on your back to fight!” Michael countered.
“If I recall correctly, YOU were the one face-down in the street just a couple hours ago!” Dan laughed.
“Stop it you two!” Faith yelled.
A purple-haired woman walked into the doorway, and then leaned against Ken’s back. Ken’s face turned red.
“Oh, Ken, the boys are getting so rowdy! Won’t you be a dear and stop them?” Meltdown said sweetly as she lightly caressed Ken’s shoulders.
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING OVER THERE, YOU WENCH?!” Daisy yelled, running up to Meltdown. Meltdown laughed and ran out of the doorway, as Daisy could be heard chasing her around in the other room, shouting death threats.
“If you’ll excuse me...” Ken said, still blushing as he closed the door once more.
“‘Meet your friends, huh’?” Luck sighed. Her tone became sarcastic. “Sounds fun.”

-----

So, how was it? I think I've done a pretty good job with this Chapter, so please tell me what you think!

I know, I know...

I've been hit with a ton of schoolwork this week, so I haven't had a lot of time to work on the next Chapter. Don't worry though, I WILL have the next Chapter up, if not by the end of today, then tomorrow, for sure.

As Mr. Kirke entered the room and took his seat, the door swung open once more.
"Ah, now who could this..." Jack's voice caught in his throat as he saw the figure in the door. Everyone knew the being, though none KNEW the being.
The figure moved, silently, it's speed abnormally fast for something that appeared to hover over mid-air, a black fog surrounding the creature's "feet" (or lack thereof). The creature moved methodically, it's black cloak covering it's entire body, and it's head and face were not visible, as it was hidden behind it's large, black hood. It's arms, only visible where the being's hands came out, showed not the hands of a man, but rather of a skeleton as the creature's right hand grasped a sickle that curved sharply at the top of a long, black rod.
It said not a word, but moved into a corner of the room and just stood, watching, waiting. It had all the time in the world, which might have been why it was so feared. All creatures of this world, try as they might, would never be able to outrun the being that now stood silently in the corner of the meeting room. It would get them, eventually. No matter how fast you ran, no matter where you hid, it would get you.
But why was it here?

Ooops.. I feel embarassed...

When I was writing this, I was thinking 3 steps ahead of my story and accidentally put "Joy" where I meant to put "Luck". "Joy" hasn't been introduced to the story yet

So, yeah, sorry about that. Darn, I gave something else away.

Thanks for pointing that out, JHornet! It's fixed now