Mirror_Man

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((Um...))

((...))

((Well, first off, where are they?))

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((Right, should have made that clear My mistake. They're located several blocks away from Tharomar Enterpises, on the roof of another building. And, to answer some other questions before they're asked...

No, Tharomar's R & D Department is NOT completely destroyed, though it's on fire now (should be easy enough to repair with the company's resources)

I'm pretty sure my two characters were the only two left in the R & D Department, so there really shouldn't be any casualties...

I'm pretty sure the scientists at Tharomar backed up the data for Project Forecast... if not, then the necessary tech and data for the Project should still be unharmed... yes, miraculously undamaged the explosions, somehow

Really, I didn't mean for the bombing of the R & D lab to be anything more than another explosion at the office attack right now. It worked well with my characters' stories, so do with it what you will The office is UNDER ATTACK right now, after all. It shouldn't be THAT surprising for another explosion to occur, should it? ))

“Hmph, industr’al espa’nage.” B.L.Z. Bub sighed as he observed Tharomar Enterprises erupt with gunfire and mercenaries scrambling all over the place.
“Looks pretty serious!” Lucy Fir nodded in agreement, smiling at her companion as she analyzed the data straight from her computer screen. “There are only a handful of employees still left in the building... ooh, and Mr. Tharomar himself!”
Lucy Fir, though only 12 years old, was already known widely throughout the internet as one of the best hackers in the world. She wore a small, white lab coat (custom made just for her) over her black shirt and black jeans. She had light brown hair, and her face sported sleek silver glasses, which were constantly focused on a computer screen. Indeed, though she was a child prodigy, she did have a habit of acting like a child from time to time.
B.L.Z. Bub reached into his red trenchcoat, pulling out his cell phone. Underneath his trenchcoat, B.L.Z. Bub wore a black shirt over black pants and black combat boots, his outfit complete with the black beret on his head, worn over his short blonde hair. Thanks to his past with the military, B.L.Z. Bub was also fairly well-built... not overly-muscled or large by any means, but well-built for someone who was rather thin and short for most of his life. Indeed, despite his rather piercing red eyes, he WAS very handsome for a 25 year-old.
“Now that’s jus’ PATHETIC.” B.L.Z. Bub sighed as he dialed his cell phone. “If they’re gunna use high-power’d weapons, they should ‘least use GOOD un’s. I betch ya’ll couldn’t ev’n kill 20 guys wit’ one a’ dose thin’s.”

“Oh, dear...” Dr. Natas said as he heard the explosions and gunfire overhead.
“What the hell is going on?!” Dr. Darrow asked as he burst though the lab door, the previous months’ test results in his arms.
“It appears the building is under attack.” Dr. Natas said, smiling at his companion. Just then, his cell phone went off. “Oh, excuse me...”
“The building is WHAT?!” Dr. Darrow yelled, rushing over to the lab samples and doing his best to shield them.
“Hello?” Dr. Natas answered his cell phone cheerfully as more gunfire erupted above. “Oh, hello B.L.Z. Bub! ...Yes, he’s right here... Oh, you plan to use that now? Well, I suppose it’s a good thing we just finished, then... I see. Alright then, you may proceed in approximately 60 seconds.” Dr. Natas turned off his cell phone and turned to his companion. “Please gather all the samples that we’ve just completed and place them on this table.” Dr. Natas gestured to the unoccupied lab table in front of him.
“What? Why?” Dr. Darrow asked curiously, but did as he was told.
“Alright, we’re going to be moving to a temporary lab for now... at least until this matter has been resolved.” Dr. Natas smiled as he activated a small device underneath his lab coat.
“What are you talking-” Dr. Darrow began, but before he could finish, the two scientists (as well as all the samples and necessary items in the lab) were gone.

“9...8...7...” Lucy laughed as typed on her portable computer while counting down from 60.
“An’ here I though’ I’d hav’ t’ wait ‘til t’morrow before I had t’ use these.” B.L.Z. Bub smiled as he waited in anticipation for his explosives to go off. “But th’s s’ even bet‘ta. An’ it’ll be t’ose idjits who get t’ blame.”
“3...2...1!” Lucy pressed the final key on her computer; instantly, the explosives that had been placed in the R & D Department several weeks earlier went off. Designed by B.L.Z. Bub, the bombs were undetectable and quite powerful; in fact, they had been designed for just this task. In an instant, the entire R & D Department of Tharomar exploded in a blaze.

((Hey, what time is it anyway? Blood Wolffe has sometime the next day, I've got about 5 AM the next morning, Hallucinogen has sometime at night after getting home from work, Spectral Bind has quarter to 8, Essex has 6...

I'm just asking so it's easier for character interaction ))

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!” Justine confronted her brother as he burst through the door at 11:30 PM.
“Hey, do you have ANY idea what I had to go through in order to get this?” Hunter shot back, taking a deep breath before going into his narrative. “So there I was, on my never-ending journey to get the medicine, when suddenly-”
“Oh, forget it!” Justine said, grabbing the medicine from her brother’s hand and stomping her feet as she returned to her mother’s room.
“Why is everyone yelling outside?” Samantha asked weakly as Justine entered, doing her best to lift herself up to a sitting position with one arm. “You and your brother aren’t fighting again, are you?”
“It’s alright, mom.” Justine said, adjusting her mother’s bed sheets (they had fallen off her shoulders and onto her lap). “Don’t worry about it; Hunter’s just being Hunter, as usual.”
“You really shouldn’t get so worked up all the time.” Samantha said, smiling as best she could.
“I WOULDN’T get so worked up if Hunter wasn’t constantly wandering off in his little fantasy world.” Justine sighed, lowering her eyes somewhat. “He never takes anything seriously; everything has to be an ADVENTURE for him. He goes on and on about Statesman and the Freedom Phalanx and how he’s going to be a Hero when he grows up.” Justine sighed. “I don’t mind him having a dream to work for, but that dream CONSTANTLY gets in the way of reality. He doesn’t realize how SERIOUS your condition is! I’m doing all I can to-” Justine stopped as she saw her mother glance at her with a distant, sad expression. “Oh, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have brought that up! Please-”
“It’s okay.” Samantha said, embracing her daughter in her arms. She smiled as Justine buried her face in her chest. “You worry too much. You don’t have to be at my side constantly, you know. I really wish you’d spend some time with your friends, and develop your own dreams, just like your brother.”
Justine looked into her mother’s eyes, tears already welling up in her own. “I’d rather stay right here, mom.”

“Could this be it?” Dr. Darrow looked incredulously at the results on the monitor. “Could I finally have done it?”
Though it was almost 5 AM, both Dr. Darrow and Dr. Natas were still working in the lab. At Dr. Natas’s request, Dr. Darrow managed to pull every hour of overtime he was allowed, and as a result of that, seemed to have finally finished what he began long ago.
“Can it really be… 100% effective?” Dr. Darrow looked over his notes, not wanting to believe, but hoping against hope, as well. He wheeled around to his supervisor, who seemed to have a larger smile than normal. “I need to cross-check this with the original documents… I may actually have done it!”
“Yes, this is indeed an extraordinary breakthrough in the field of micro-biology.” Dr. Natas said, patting his friend on the back. “You get the documents you need; I’ll call my superiors and arrange a field test immediately.” Dr. Natas smiled as he watched Dr. Darrow rush out the door of the lab. Dialing his cell phone, he continued to smile as he made contact with his superior.
“Hello again! I have good news; the project seems to be a success… Yes, of course. Do you have the hazard team ready? … Yes, we should be ready later today… Yes, I haven't forgotten about them. What is their current location? … My my my, that IS cutting it close… In any case, this day should be very eventful… Ah, yes… I’m still not sure about that… We’ll have to see which he values more, I suppose.”

Dr. Natas thanked Irma for her help with the paperwork, then made his way back into the elevator, soon descending back towards Tharomar Enterprise's R & D Department. Just as the elevator began to move, his cell phone went off.
“Hello?” Dr. Natas answered the phone with a cheerful tone. He instantly recognized the voice on the other end; and, while his smile did not disappear from his face, his eyebrow did twitch for just a moment. As if on cue, the security camera in the elevator was cut from an outside source, designed to look like a simple malfunction.
“Oh, I haven’t heard from you for awhile... oh, is that so? When did they find out? ...Dear oh dear, that IS a problem... The status? Well, despite significant setbacks in resources, Dr. Darrow has been able to re-program the organisms so that they are 98% effective... No, I don’t believe he does, yet... No, Clarence Thomas and the other executives are concentrating most of their resources into Project Forecast... No, they aren’t aware of the organisms, either... Based on Dr. Darrow’s previous rate of advancement on the project, we should be ready by the end of either this session or the next... Oh, is that so? My oh my, I suppose we don’t have much time left then, do we? ...Yes, I’ll see what I can do... Yes, I am still aware of that complication... I suppose we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?”
Dr. Natas ended the call. At that moment, the security camera in the elevator came back online. The doors opened to the R & D lab, where Dr. Natas made his way back to the Dr. Darrow’s lab, the same friendly smile on his face.

Dr. Darrow wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his lab coat, blinked his eyes several times, then once again placed his eyes into the same microscope he had been using since he was employed in Tharomar Enterprises. A couple months ago, Tharomar’s R & D Department had received new electronic microscopes, all of which were immediately allocated to the labs working on Project Forecast. While Dr. Darrow appreciated the privacy of working on an alternate project, the lack of resources given to the other projects at Tharomar Enterprises caused his work to slow down by a considerable rate when compared to the progress he had made when he was funded by Crey.
“Hand me that file over there.” Dr. Darrow said to his supervisor, pointing to a stack of papers sitting by the door to the lab. The papers were messily unorganized, and hadn’t been delivered to the lab so much as they had been thrown into the room by the low-paid help employed at Tharomar Enterprises.
“Here you are.” Dr. Natas said, smiling as he handed the papers to his companion.
“Let’s see...” Dr. Darrow lifted the top paper on the stack and read the top paragraph. He then narrowed his eyes in frustration. “What the hell is this? ‘Current Status Report for Project Forecast’?! Damn it, they messed up our paperwork AGAIN!” Dr. Darrow crumpled the paper in his right hand and placed his head in his left. “I’m getting sick and tired of-”
“Now, now...” Dr. Natas interrupted, smiling as he took the paper as well as the rest of the stack in his arms. “It would be in our best interest to let me handle this. It’s important for you to continue working. Efficient use of our time is essential, after all.” Dr. Natas continued to smile as he watched his companion calm down. “Alright, I should be back once I’ve resolved this matter.”
Dr. Natas quickly made his way out of the R & D Department and to the elevator to begin his ascent through the building. He brushed his blonde hair aside as the doors opened once more to a large, business office type of area filled with cubicles.
“Dear oh dear, I’m not familiar with this department.” He observed the area; most of the attendees appeared to be busy. “Ah.” He spotted two young women in an area of the room who seemed to be only chatting. One of them had a transcript in her hand and appeared to be ready to leave.
“Excuse me...” Dr. Natas said, a friendly smile on his face as he approached to two women. “Do either of you happen to know what happened to the paperwork for lab room-” He stopped for a moment as he recognized the young woman who was about to leave. “Oh, hello again.”

“Alright!” Hunter declared boldly as he burst through the front doors of the hospital. “At last, Hunter Darrow arrives at his destination! He has finished his quest with success!” Several doctors and patients in the front lobby immediately stared at Hunter. Hunter turned red with embarrassment. “Uh... what I mean is... uh... never mind!” Hunter laughed nervously as he made his way to the front desk. “I’m... uh... here to pick up some medicine.” He said nonchalantly, handing the note and his father’s clearance to the young woman at the front desk.

It was known as the “Wormwood Virus”. About 3 years ago, there was an unexplained viral outbreak that occurred in a town not too far from Rockwell. Those infected with the virus would experience hallucinogenic symptoms such as: Narrowing of their field of vision; Seeing and/or hearing things that were obviously not real; and a euphoric effect on the brain that caused the victims to feel as if they’d ascended to a higher plane of existence.
The political leaders of the town wanted to bring information of the virus to the attention of the government, but the medical office located at that town was under the direct control of Crey Industries, and the obvious PR potential for the virus was too good of an opportunity to pass up. In no time, private doctors under the payroll of Crey Industries developed a cure for the virus, and the town emerged from the outbreak seemingly unscathed... a fact that was the cover story on every national newspaper the next day. It was cited as just another one of Crey’s many good-will deeds to down-trodden communities in the United States.
Unknown to the press, however, the virus was not COMPLETELY eradicated from the town. About a year after the town believed the virus was only a memory, several members of the town began to develop what was at first believed to be extreme cases of the flu. Upon inspection of the patients’ blood samples, however, it was revealed that the cause of their condition was, in fact, due to a mutated version of the Wormwood Virus. While the symptoms of this new version were nowhere near as severe as the original outbreak, they unfortunately proved to be inevitably fatal, as the first patient to die of the mutated strain did so 10 months after he first reported it to doctors. At first, doctors in the town believed the condition was small and isolated, but as time went on, more and more cases began to be reported, and in just 6 months, 90% of the patients who were “cured” of the original strain had contracted the new, mutated strain.
This was of course brought to the attention of Crey Industries; but, by that time, there was no longer any PR potential possible from the town they had saved only a year ago. The official statement to the doctors under Crey’s employ were to quietly distance themselves from the citizens of the town, and focus their attention on “more important ventures”.
Dr. Darrow, one of the leading scientists working on the possible cures for the mutated strain, was forced to search elsewhere for the resources he needed to finish his work. He sought help from Tharomar Enterprises, but didn’t get much sympathy from their R & D board. However, one young supervisor, who had only joined the company several months prior, seemed to take genuine interest in Dr. Darrow’s work, and because of his input, it was decided that Dr. Darrow would be allowed to continue his research in Tharomar’s R & D lab. Of course, should the research prove to unfruitful, both Dr. Darrow AND the young supervisor would be looking for a new line of work. And thus, the relationship between Dr. Darrow and Dr. Natas began.

“Muahahahahaha! You are in my grasp now, Free-dumb Phalanx!” The evil Smart Alec laughed heartily, the entire Freedom Phalanx trapped in his Field of Stupidity. “You thought you could outsmart me! But now, I’ve got you in my grasp! And with my super-secret Stupifying Ray, I’m going to turn this entire city into a bunch of brainless buffoons! Then I’LL be the smartest Alec in the world! Muahahahahahahahahahaha!”
“You fiend!” Statesman yelled. “You’ll never succeed! Evil can never conquer justice!”
“Muahahahaha! It’s too late!” Smart Alec said, his hand hovering over an oversized, red button. “With just a push of this button, the entire city will be MINE! Muahahahahaha! Yes, once I push this button, it will all be over, and you can kiss your city good-bye! Because with just a push of this button, the entire city will be... DUMB-IFIED! Muahahahahaha!”
“Not so fast, foul villain!” A voice rang out.
“Who is that?!” Smart Alec asked.
“It’s me...” Hunter descended from the sky, his red and blue cape flowing over his super hero costume. “Hunter Darrow, Official Member of the Freedom Phalanx!”
“No! It can’t be!” Smart Alec yelled, Hunter’s theme music playing in the background.
“But it is! Take this!” Hunter rushed at the villain, swinging his fist with all his might. “HUNTER DARROW’S.... SUPER SPECIAL... SUPER PUNCH!”
“Blargh! I am defeated!” Smart Alec yelled, collapsing.
“Thank goodness you arrived in time, Hunter Darrow!” Statesman said as he and his team were freed from the Field of Stupidity. “You proved once again that brawn beats brains every time! You truly are the best member of the Freedom Phalanx!”
“Three Cheers for Hunter!” The other members cried out. “Hip Hip...”

“Hey kid... are you alright?” A voice woke Hunter from his daydream.
“Huh?” Hunter looked around; he was only several blocks away from the hospital, in front of an outdoor deli shop.
“You’ve been standing here with a goofy grin on your face for like, 5 minutes now. Do you want to buy a sandwich, or something?” The shopkeeper eyed Hunter.
“Uh... sorry! No thanks! I’ve got to get going!” Hunter quickly excused himself and ran down the walkway to the hospital once more.
“Man, and I was getting to the best part, too...” Hunter whined. “I’m so hungry... and tired... why does the hospital have to be so far away from the house?”

“I do hope we can now continued undisturbed...” Dr. Natas said as he and Dr. Darrow made their way down into the R & D Department of Tharomar Enterprise. Making their way past the labs reserved for Project Forecast, the two finally came upon Dr. Darrow’s lab.
“With all of the higher-ups concentrating on Project Forecast, interruptions are the LAST thing we have to worry about.” Dr. Darrow said, fumbling around in his pockets for his key. Dr. Natas considered his companion’s words, then nodded in agreement.

Hunter panted heavily, dripping with sweat as he made his way towards the hospital.
“Darn... I shouldn’t... have tried... to run... the whole way!” Hunter gasped, leaning over and placing his hands on his knees in exhaustion. His next thought was interrupted by a large, long growl emanating from his stomach.
“Man... I’m so hungry!” Hunter whined. “Why can’t Justine do this herself once in a while?” Hunter continued mumbling to himself as he plodding along on his path to the hospital.

Dr. Natas observed the man in the stairwell take his leave, then looked back at the woman. She appeared to be having trouble with her eye sight.
"Hmm..." Dr. Natas assessed the situation, then scanned the floor. "Ah!" He said at last, picking up a pair of green-rimmed glasses, only slightly cracked.
"I think these are yours." Dr. Natas said with a smile, handing the glasses to the woman.

“My oh my, a lot of people seem to be in a hurry today.” Dr. Natas observed as he watched the other doctor drive off to the hospital. He turned back to Dr. Darrow, who was busy brushing off the dirt now covering his white lab coat. “I do hope you’re alright, Nicholas.”
“I’m fine.” Dr. Darrow said, adjusting his glasses once more and bursting through the front doors of Tharomar Enterprise, heading straight for the elevator. Dr. Natas followed Dr. Darrow into the building, smiling as he observed his companion impatiently pushing the elevator button repeatedly.
“This thing takes forever.” Dr. Darrow sighed, then quickly made his way into the stair well and descended down the building with Dr. Natas in tow.
“Nicholas, I have something I want to ask you-” Dr. Natas was interrupted as the two doctors passed a young woman and what appeared to be a mercenary in the stairwell. Dr. Darrow stopped in his tracks as he noticed that the woman appeared to be bleeding.
“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but do either of you need a doctor?” Dr. Darrow asked, looking back and forth between the man and woman.
“Oh dear... we do seem to be having a lot of distractions today.” Dr. Natas observed.

“I can’t believe you sometimes.” Justine said as she shooed her brother into their large, luxurious home. “Having to chase you around the whole neighborhood... it’s no wonder you don’t have any friends at school.”
“I wouldn’t have to run away if you didn’t always come charging at me like an oversized bull.” Hunter said under his breath. Immediately, his sister grabbed him by his collar and rose him off his feet so the two were face-to-face.
“Care to repeat that little comment?” Justine hissed.
“No...” Hunter replied weakly, and his sister released him.
In truth, Justine was only 3 years older than her brother, and not very large in any sense of the word for a 15 year old girl, either. She wore long, blue jeans and a long-sleeved black sweater (which was much more appropriate for this time of year when compared to her brother’s T-shirt). The only other noticeable feature was a green ribbon which ran through her long, black hair.
“Justine?” A soft yet weak voice called from another room.
“Be right there!” Justine called back loudly, then turned around and glared at her brother.
“Alright already! I get it!” Hunter sulked, then joined his sister as the two rushed into the other room.
“Oh, hello honey.” Samantha Darrow greeted her son with the best smile she could. “How was your day?”
“Oh... you know... the usual.” Hunter said quickly, turning away from his mother.
“Oh... I see.” Samantha turned to her daughter. “Did your father leave already, Just-” Samantha stopped short as she erupted into a coughing fit.
“Mom!” Justine rushed to her mother’s night stand and opened a drawer, taking out a bottle of medication. Quickly pouring it into a measuring cup, she handed it to her mother, who was still coughing loudly. Justine held the cup in one hand and placed her other hand on her mother’s back, waiting for her fit to subside. Hunter stood at the doorway to the room the entire time, clenching his fists and his teeth quietly.
“Thank you, dear.” Samantha said after her fit finally subsided.
Samantha watched her mother drink her medication, then turned to her brother just in time to see him run from the doorway back out into the living room.
“Hunter!” Justine called after her brother, taking a piece of paper from the night stand with her.
Justine found her brother laying on the large, leather couch in the living room, watching their big-screen plasma TV, a vague look in his eyes.
“Hunter, we need a refill on mom’s prescription...” Justine began. She waited for a response from her brother. She received none.
“You haven’t lost dad’s clearance card, have you?” Justine asked, louder this time.
“I still have it.” Hunter said at last, rising up from the couch. He walked over to his sister and took the paper from her hand.
“Good. Now, hurry back, OK?” Justine said, placing her hand’s on her brother’s shoulders. Hunter looked down, and eventually nodded. Breaking away from her sister, he rushed out the front door and down the streets of Diamond City.
I really... hate him... Hunter thought to himself.

((Hi! It's been a long time since I've posted in an Open RP, and luckily this one hasn't launched as much as the other ones have! I've read most of the rest of this Thread already, including the rules at the beginning of the Thread, so I don't think I'm breaking any of the rules set by the OP. Still, if the OP or anyone else has any problems with any of my Posts, just send me a PM OK, now let's see if I remember how to do this ))

Dr. Darrow sighed to himself as he got out of his car, adjusting his glasses as he eyed the large corporate building where he worked. It was the middle of the afternoon, which meant that his shift was about to start; a shift that continued well into the midnight hours.
At a glance, Dr. Darrow would appear to many as some bum off the street who just happened to find a doctor’s uniform in the trash somewhere. His creased, worn out white coat hung loosely over his wrinkled, white shirt; his black, scuffed shoes stained with various chemicals gathered at the lab in which he worked. His once-sleek brown hair was now uncombed and disheveled, with various white hairs littering his head. Behind his glasses, his eyes were constantly dull, and tired; as if he were much, much older than his actual age of 37 years.
As he made his way through the parking lot, Dr. Darrow saw his companion and supervisor, Dr. Natas, waiting for him at the entrance of Tharomar Enterprise, a smile on Dr. Natas’s face, as always.
Dr. Natas, though much younger than Dr. Darrow (24 years old, to be exact), knew just as much (if not more) than Dr. Darrow knew in their shared field of micro-biology. His appearance was a stark contrast to that of Dr. Darrow; his long, white lab coat flowed in the wind over his black pants and shirt, and his golden blonde hair flowed about his face in a matching rhythm to his coat. While he wasn’t incredibly well-built, his lean body wasn’t devoid of muscles, either; indeed, Dr. Natas was an incredibly handsome man, his face and body completely devoid of any scars or marks of any kind.
“Right on time as always, Dr. Darrow.” Dr. Natas greeted his companion with a wide smile. “It’s important that we utilize all the time we’re provided at this stage in the antidote’s development, after all.”
Dr. Darrow returned Dr. Natas’s smile, then quickly walked past him towards the entrance to Tharomar Enterprises. Dr. Natas quickly followed after him.
It won’t be long now... Dr. Darrow thought to himself, deep in thought as he rushed to the doors of the building. Once I get the formula right, I can finally-
“Oh, do be careful Dr. Darrow!” Dr. Natas called out; a little too late, though. Dr. Darrow crashed into another scientist who was coming out of the building, and the two tumbled to the ground.
“Well, this is quite unfortunate.” Dr. Natas said, observing the two felled scientists. He noticed that the scientist Dr. Natas had run into was carrying some type of armored box with him, which had happened to fall at Dr. Natas’s feet. He picked up the armored box and handed it to the scientist as Dr. Darrow rose to his feet.
“Here, I believe this is yours.” Dr. Natas said, handing the scientist the box with a friendly smile.

“And then Statesman said, ‘It’s time for YOU to go behind bars, Dr. Insano!’” Hunter explained to his two school friends, Emily and Steven, as they made their way to their homes in Diamond City. “And then Dr. Insano was all like, ‘NOOOO!!!! How could I be defeated?!’ And then Statesman was like ‘Evil can never conquer justice!’ Man, that was cool!”
“Hunt, could you PLEASE talk about something other than the ‘New Adventures of the Freedom Phalanx’ for ONCE?” Emily asked, gritting her teeth as she clenched her fist in front of her.
“But that show’s just so COOL!” Hunter said, jumping in front of his two friends and striking a pose.
Hunter’s appearance wasn’t all that striking; the most interesting feature about him was arguably his clothes, which he had ordered directly from the Official Freedom Phalanx Fan Club Website: They included red pants and a white T-shirt that had Statesman’s insignia embroidered on it; a bargain at $49.95. Aside from his clothes, Hunter was a normal 12 year old boy with short, spiky red hair.
“With each episode, the Freedom Phalanx has to face deadlier and deadlier enemies: the Kitten Kaper! The Froggish Baron! The Maple Syrup King! The Pickle Puncher!” Hunter stopped posing and pointed to his two friends. “AND, it’s based on the adventures of the REAL Freedom Phalanx!”
“How do YOU know that?” Steven asked, narrowing his eyes as Hunter. “The only thing guys like us know about the Freedom Phalanx is what they report on the news.”
“But... but...” Hunter stammered and looked toward Emily, who was nodding in agreement.
“And I’ve never heard about ANY of the Villains shown on that show.” Emily said, narrowing her eyes at Hunter. “I’m telling you, it’s pure trash!”
“That’s not true!” Hunter yelled, balling his fists in rage. “The Freedom Phalanx is the best team of super heroes in the whole world. And one day, you’ll see!” Hunter rose his fist in the air triumphantly. “I’m going to join them! I’m Hunter Darrow, future member of the Freedom Phalanx!”
“There he goes again...” Emily sighed, throwing up her hands in disgust.
“It’s true, damn it! I’m not just making this up! I really will be a member of the Freedom Phalanx someday!” Hunter retorted.
“How?” Steven asked.
“Huh?” Hunter turned to Steven.
“HOW are you going to become a Hero... without any powers?” Steven narrowed his eyes at Hunter.
“Oh, that’s easy!” Hunter said, smiling as he posed once more. “I’ve got it all figured out: I’ll work with my dad in a lab the moment I graduate high school! For years we’ll work on the super-ultimate formula that will grant us the most awesome powers EVER SEEN!” Hunter laughed triumphantly, picturing himself as a Hero.
“Don’t you usually get D’s in science?” Emily inquired.
Why do I hang out with this crazy idiot? Steven thought to himself.
“Oh, I’ve got plenty of time to-” Hunter began, but stopped short as he eyed a fearful sight in the distance.
“Hey, Hunt, isn’t that your sister up ahead?” Emily asked, turning to her friend; but to her surprise, Hunter was no longer with them. Turning around, she saw Hunter running back the way they came, with impressive speed for a 12 year old. “Hunt? Where are-” She was interrupted by Hunter’s sister, who flew by the two children so fast Emily could barely make her out.
“HUNTER! YOU’RE LATE AGAIN! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!!” Hunter’s sister, Justine, yelled at the top of her lungs as she chased her little brother around the neighborhood. “THAT’S THE FIFTH TIME THIS WEEK! DO YOU EXPECT ME TO TAKE CARE OF MOM ALL BY MYSELF?!! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!!”
“I’M SORRY!!!” Hunter yelled, doing his best to stay out of his sister’s grasp for the moment.
“I wonder if it’s too much to ask my parents to move out of this high-class neighborhood and into the slums of Prosperity.” Emily remarked, her head in her hands.
What a loser... Steven thought as he shook his head.

(The front door opened. Mr. Light and Mr. Dark stormed into the Bar and Grill. The restaurant is quickly destroyed, along with Two Ton Tony and Maggie. The two continue to Atlas Park, fighting each other and causing mayhem. Doomsday comes for Paragon City. )

((Nah, I'm just kidding. I just wanted to pop in and say hi to lordtigerhawk, since his Open RP was the first one I ever participated in. Unfortunately, since I had no idea how Open RP worked at the time, I kind of destroyed the first version of this one. Anyway, it's nice to see that you're finally continuing something you probably thought you'd left behind long ago. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to continue pulling my hair out trying to revise the old Chapters of the fanfic I'm desperately trying to revive Good Luck with the new Tony's Bar and Grill!))

A gray, cloudy sky created a dim overcast over the small playground where Hope watched her friends play. Hope was 18, reasonably older than most of the other children at the orphanage where she lived; however, in a place like Recluse City, even the smallest amount of companionship was a good thing to find.

The Pain of Team Legacy: The New Recruit

Hope had been in this orphanage for the last two years; before that, however, she had led a very normal life. She had grown up in Paragon City, and often heard about all of the amazing feats of Heroes such as Statesman and the Freedom Phalanx. Unfortunately, that all ended just before the War, when all of the Heroes mobilized to fight the forces of Lord Recluse. Lord Recluse had conquered or formed alliances with the all of the other Villain Organizations in Paragon City, and his forces had successfully become the only Villain Organization left in Paragon City before the War began. Hope's life became a nightmare; her family would move into one city, only to have it fall to Recluse’s forces weeks later, forcing her family to flee to another city. Hope’s family continued this trend for one year; and at the end of that awful year, Hope’s parents were killed during the siege of a city. Luckily, Hope was captured alive by Recluse’s forces, and she became a ward of Recluse’s New Empire. Hope was then shifted from orphanage to orphanage, and eventually she wound up back in Paragon City, which had just fallen several weeks prior to her arrival. Paragon City, which had been re-named "Recluse City", was considered something a national landmark; Lord Recluse himself considered it his greatest conquest of the War. Currently, Lord Recluse was overseeing his army on the front lines; having conquered the United States (now renamed “The Empire of Recluse”), he had his sights set on the rest of the world, and was currently working on his conquest of Europe. Hope wasn’t aware of, nor did she care for what was Recluse had planned. She had reluctantly learned to adapt to her new life, and the only thing that saved her sanity were the friendships that she made with the other orphans she met. Most of them were like her, children who had lost her parents in the War, and that was enough of a similarity for them to bond, despite all other differences they may have had.
Hope sighed, observing the sad state of her new home. The "playground" that the orphanage had was no more than a sandlot filled with broken glass and a single rusty swing that was incapable of being used. The orphanage itself was no luxury, either; vermin and disease were commonplace. As much as Recluse City was "historical", Lord Recluse held a special hatred for it at the same time, so the city received by far the lowest funding in the entire Empire.
"Owwww!" Hope was torn from her thoughts as one of the children cried out in pain, grabbing his foot. One of his shoes had ripped open, and his foot had been cut on a piece of broken glass.
"Nurse Hope! Come quickly!" The other children cried, running over to Hope. Hope smiled as the children shouted her nickname. Being the oldest child at the orphanage, the other children looked up to her. This wasn't the first time one of the children at the orphanage had been injured in some way, and Hope had taken it upon herself during her stay at this orphanage to learn what little she could about medicine and first-aid, helping whatever children she could. The "real" Nurse at this Orphanage knew even less about medical treatment than Hope did; and even though the Nurse was aware of this fact, she decided to let Hope continue to do her job for her while still getting paid. She even let Hope keep the orphanage's First-Aid Kit with her.
Hope looked at the wound. "It'll be alright." She smiled, taking out her Kit. "Let me see the wound."
"Ow! It hurts!" The boy cried in pain, but did as Hope asked. Hope looked at the wound and took out some antiseptic spray from her Kit.
“This is going to sting for just a second, OK?" Hope said gently, looking into the boy’s eyes while she aimed the spray at his wound.
At that moment, Hope was overcome with a feeling she had never felt before. Closing her eyes, she grabbed dropped the antiseptic spray and grabbed the boy’s foot with both hands, concentrating on the wound. As she held the boy’s foot, the wound began to heal itself, a green glow coming from Hope’s hands as the wound closed itself up, the flesh repairing itself instantly. Hope opened her eyes and looked at the now-perfect foot.
What just happened? Hope thought as the children cheered, the boy thanking Hope and joining in the cheers of the other orphans.
The owner of the Orphanage, who had watched the entire event unfold from his office window, immediately dialed a number into his phone.
“Recluse Internal Security?” The owner asked once the line picked up, staring at Hope through his window. “I have some information you might be interested in...”

"We've got one!" Luck yelled happily as she pointed at the radar affixed to Team Legacy’s Power Detector.
Luck was wearing a red tank top with red leather pants and blue leather boots. She had on blue satin gloves and had a slightly torn blue cape. Her long black hair danced about her face as she jumped with joy, her eyes beaming with happiness behind her small, blue mask. Like all of the members of Team Legacy, she was 18 years old.
"We don't have a lot of time, Luck! Where is it?" Gabriel asked, looking over the monitor.
Gabriel wore a skin-tight blue shirt with long blue pants and red metal boots, his outfit complete with red metal gloves. He had short, curly brown hair, and his mask-less face was locked into an expression of urgency at the moment.
"It looks like the city orphanage! We have to hurry!" Faith yelled.
Faith was wearing a blue, flowing satin top, as well as satin blue pants. She also wore red stiletto boots and long, red leather gloves. She had long blonde hair and wore a blue mask as she turned to face her teammates.
"If Recluse finds out about this, that Hero’s as good as dead. Let’s hurry." Michael said, grabbing his blue and red battle helmet and rushing out of the room.
Michael wore a blue and red super suit that covered his entire body, from his neck down to his toes. His short, straight black hair and sharp eyes disappeared underneath his battle helmet as prepared himself for battle.

For the next few hours, Hope went thought her usual daily routine as if in a daze. She kept on thinking about what had happened earlier, and tried to understand just HOW she could have healed her friend. She was still thinking this as the owner of the orphanage announced that everyone would be going to bed earlier that night; he gave no reason. The orphanage had a single, enormous bedroom filled with bunkbeds, and this was the room where all of the orphans slept.
During her time in the orphanage, Hope had become accustomed to meeting the needs of the other children, and (like most children), the night caused many of them to seek Hope out for comfort. Sometimes it was only a matter of being thirsty and wanting Hope to accompany them to the bathroom; the younger children sometimes thought they saw a “Recluse monster” and wanted Hope to stay by their side until they fell asleep; whatever the reason, Hope would always make sure the other children were okay before falling asleep. Hope had no reason to believe that this night would be any different.
Hope had just helped one of the children to sleep when she heard the front door of the orphanage open. Peeking out of the door to the bedroom, she looked down the long hallway that led to the front door... and her blood ran cold. Five of Recluse’s lowest-ranked soldiers, known as Exterminators, were talking with the owner of the orphanage.
"Is the child here?" One of the Exterminators asked, his sword glistening in the small moonlight.
"Yes, I had the children put to bed early. She’s a Hero, I’m sure of it. Knowing how much Recluse despises them so..." The owner smiled. "I assume there is a reward for finding one?"
All four Exterminators stared at the owner for a moment. They were all armed with swords, which meant that their official title was Recluse Exterminator Swords (there are several different types of Exterminators, all identifiable by whatever weapon they wield).
"A reward?" One of the Exterminators said coldly, and Hope watched as the Exterminator swung his sword with impressive speed, a gurgling sound barely escaping the owners throat. "For harboring a Hero in your own establishment, there is only one punishment: death." Even in the dim light, Hope could see the owner's head fall off his shoulders and onto the floor.
"Oh my God..." Hope whispered, quickly clamping her hand over her mouth. It was too late; one of the Exterminators had heard her.
"Who's there?" The Exterminator demanded, walking down the hall. Hope quickly ran back into the bedroom.
"EVERYONE GET UP!!! RUN, RECLUSE IS HERE!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, turning on the lights in the room. Immediately, every child leapt from his or her bed and began to run around and scream wildly. Doing her best to organize the chaos, Hope made her way to the fire exit of the orphanage, located at the back of the bedroom. Kicking the door open, Hope looked back into the room... and saw a horrible, unforgettable sight.
The Exterminators, unsure of which child was the Hero they were looking for, had decided not to let a single child escape alive; they swung their swords at every child they came across. The children began shout and cry as they realized their friends were being killed right before their eyes. Hope herself saw a head fly off in one direction, and another orphan screamed in pain as her left arm was cut off. With another swipe of the sword, the girl ceased screaming.
"EVERYONE, FOLLOW ME!!!" Hope yelled desperately, tears in her eyes, as she grabbed the 6 orphans closest to her and led them out of the orphanage. The Exterminators, now finished with every other child in the orphanage, set their sights on the escaping children..
"Don’t let any of them escape!" One of the Exterminators yelled, pointing his blood-drenched sword at the escaping orphans. Hope and the others ran quickly, but the Exterminators were much faster than children, and were soon upon Hope and her friends. Hoped watched in horror as the children fell to the Exterminators one by one, and soon only Hope and one other orphan was still alive and running from their heartless attackers. Her mind racing, her heart pounding, Hope tripped and fell to the dirt ground. Trying to recover, she looked over her shoulder... and saw that the five Exterminators had caught up to her, the one in front raising his sword...
"Don't hurt Nurse Hope!" A voice rang out, and Hope turned to see the boy whose foot she had healed earlier that day jump on top of her body, shielding her.
"No... DON'T!" Hope yelled in utter terror, but it was too late...
The Exterminator in front of the others grabbed the boy by the neck and raised him in the air; a moment later, he was dead.
“There is no room for Heroes...” The Exterminator yelled, tossing the boy’s body aside and raising his sword to Hope. “...in Recluse’s Empire!” Hope closed her eyes, waiting for the end... but instead, the Exterminator’s body was engulfed in an Energy Blast.
"What’s this?!" The other four Exterminators looked in the direction of the blast, and the one closest to the dead Exterminator was greeted with a blue and red metal fist that hit him so hard his skull was crushed instantly, killing him.
"HAAAA!" Gabriel yelled in anger, kicking another Exterminator in the stomach, felling him. Gabriel followed up the attack by grabbing the sword of one of the dead Exterminators and using it slice his head off.
"You MONSTERS!" Luck yelled, concentrating her psychic power on one of the two remaining Exterminators. The Exterminator held his head and screamed in pain; soon, his brain functions ceased altogether, and he fell dead.
"YOU DAMN HE-" The last Exterminator began, but Luck fired another blast of energy at the Exterminator, vaporizing him instantly.
Hope looked at the Heroes, becoming light-headed as all of the events that had just occurred began to sink into her mind. "I... I thought..." Her mind floated back to the picture of Statesman she saw in her local newspaper all those years ago. "...you were dead..." She then fainted.

"Hey, Hope!" One of the orphans called out to her. Finding herself back on the playground, Hope watched the children play happily together. Then...
"Hope! Nurse Hope!" The children screamed, and Hope found herself in the bedroom of the orphanage, the Exterminators killing all of the children. Upon killing the rest of the children, the Exterminators turned to Hope, but were then killed by the strangers in bright clothes.
"Hope! Nurse Hope!" Hope heard the voices of the children above her, and she lifted her head to see them flying above as angels. "Live on, Hope! We died so that you could live! Please, live on!" She watched the orphans fly up above her. "Live on, Hope! Hope..."

With a start Hope woke up and raised herself to a sitting position. She was surprised to find herself in a bed, and looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings. She recognized the four Heroes who had saved her; they were all sitting around her bed, their gazes fixed on her as her eyes continued to shift about the room. The room was pretty empty, save for the bed she was in, an empty desk and bookshelf in the corner, and a single light fixture illuminating the window-less room. A door leading out of the room was open, and through the door Hope could see a larger room, one that had a large monitor that seemed to be showing a layout of Recluse City. After some time, one of the Heroes addressed Hope.
"Are you OK?" Gabriel asked.
"Who... are you?" Hope asked, her gaze shifting to the faces of each of the young Heroes.
"Probably the last Heroes left in the world." Michael sighed, shaking his head. "You're lucky, Recluse's goons would've-"
"How can you say that!" Hope lashed out, the memories of the incident flooding back into her head, tears forming in her eyes. "I lost... EVERYONE! They DIED because of me!" She yelled, then began to sob. Luck began to step forward, but Gabriel stopped her with a wave of his hand.
"Look..." Faith said, putting her hand on Hope's shoulder. "I know how you feel..."
"No you don't!" Hope yelled, knocking away Faith's hand. "You have NO IDEA how much those kids looked up to me! I did EVERYTHING I could to save them, and they STILL died! They were the ONLY PEOPLE in the WORLD I had LEFT since my parents died! You DON'T know how I feel!" Hope continued to cry.
"Yes, I do..." Faith said softly, stepping back. "We ALL do." Hope looked up, and the others nodded.
"I KNOW what it feels like to lose everyone who meant something to you in your life." Faith said, looking into Hope’s eyes. “It’s OK to mourn; we all did, too. But know this; all of the Heroes that were able to stand against Lord Recluse are dead, and there are VERY few of us left. What Recluse’s minions did to you was HORRIBLE and EVIL. But you’re a Hero too, like it or not. Which is why we have to ask you to help us.” Faith placed her hands on Hope’s shoulders. “Help us prevent Recluse from doing what he did to YOU to someone else; help us give people their lives back." Faith continued to look into Hope’s bloodshot eyes and tear-soaked face as tears formed in her own eyes. "The lives he took from ALL of us." There was a silence in the room for several minutes.
"We’re sorry to rush you into something like this so soon after your loss; we’re not looking for an answer immediately." Gabriel finally said, gesturing the other Heroes towards the door. He turned back to Hope. “You’re going to need awhile to grieve; we all understand that. But while you’re doing so, please... think about our offer.”
Hope looked up with her tear-streaked face at Gabriel, the image of the boy’s foot that she healed flashing in her face. "What happened at the orphanage...” She said slowly, despair in her voice. “It was because of me that..." She began, her voice trailing off.
"It’s not your fault. If you’re going to blame someone, blame Recluse." Gabriel said. He walked over to Hope and looked in her eyes. “The pain you’re feeling right now... as long as Recluse is in power, thousands of others will continue to live in similar pain. We can’t bring your friends back, but we can make their sacrifices mean something.” Gabriel stepped back away from Hope and headed for the door. “Think about it.” Gabriel said as he left the room, followed by Luck and Michael. After some time, Faith took one last look at Hope and left the room as well, closing the door behind her.
For what seemed like an eternity, Hope reflected on what happened and considered Gabriel’s offer. She thought of the other orphans, her friends, her power...
"Live on, Hope." She remembered her dream.
"Nurse Hope! Nurse Hope!" She remembered her nickname and smiled through her tears.
"Nurse Hope..." Hope said quietly, and laughed softly. Slowly, she rose up off the bed. "I can never repay what you did for me." Hope wiped her tear-soaked face with her arm. "But... I can make sure what happened to you DOESN’T happen to ANYONE else. Ever."
The door to the room Hope was in opened, and the other Heroes turn to see Hope emerge. They were sitting around a large, round table in the center of the room, a hologram projector exhibiting a section of Recluse City.
The four Heroes stared at Hope. Hope returned their stares in silence. Finally, she smiled and nodded.
"Alright!" Luck said with glee, jumping up and down. "It's so great to have you on the team, Hope!" She leapt out of her seat and hugged Hope. Hope blushed slightly.
"I... uh..." Faith sheepishly said as she rose to her, a box in her hands. She handed it to Hope. "I design costumes in my spare time; you’re the first new Hero we’ve been able to save since the War ended. I never thought I’d be able to give this to anyone, but..." She blushed as Hope opened the box. "I hope you like it!"
Hope opened the box and looked at the outfit inside. Smiling, she walked back into the other room and changed into the costume.
Emerging from the room again, Hope blushed slightly as the others saw her in her outfit:
Her top was a blue fleece jacket over a red tank top, and her bottom was a short red skirt, the outfit complete with blue boots and small, blue mask that barely covered her eyes, and allowed her long brown hair to flow freely about her face. She smiled slightly as she stood in front of her new teammates.
Gabriel rose to his feet, returning her smile as he extended his hand towards Hope. "Welcome to Team Legacy, Hope."

Arguing about the logic behind continuity in American comics is like complaining about the pattern of dominos that are set up on the San Andreas Fault

Accessing Portal Corp. Main Computer...
Enter Passcode: *********
Passcode Accepted... Accessing Profiles...
Enter Universe ID Code: COH-743
Processing... Universe Found
Do you wish to view the current activity in Universe COH-743? Yes
Validating Access Level of User... Access Granted

The Pain of Team Legacy: Prologue

The Back Alley Brawler swung his mighty fist with all his might, knocking down the triple-reinforced steel door leading into Lord Recluse's hideout. Thousands of minion-level Villains greeted him.
"Everyone attack NOW!" The Back Alley Brawler yelled to the army of Heroes behind him. He and Sister Psyche led a Team of approximately 400 Heroes into the base, and the two extremely large groups of Heroes and Villains met head-on in a battle SO intense, the base itself shook from the epic struggle.

Lord Recluse watched the fight on a monitor as he sat in his private chamber, located deep inside the base. Behind his seat, the bodies of Baron Zoria and Requiem, the two infamous Arch-Villains of Paragon City, lay on the floor of his chamber, dead.
"They took the bait." Lord Recluse smiled wickedly. "They rush in with such vengeance in their eyes. If only they knew the truth..." He sighed and looked over his shoulder at the bodies of the two Villains. "But I must thank the both of you for supplying me with the tools necessary to secure my victory on this day." Lord Recluse ran his hand down the black metal armor he was wearing, the inscription of the 5th Column inscribed on it’s back. In his other hand, Recluse brandished a mystical sword that glowed with a dim red light, casting eerie shadows in the small chamber. Recluse then concentrated, adding his own power to the sword, resulting in the color of the blade’s aura to change from red to black.

"Sister Psyche, come look at this!" A female Hero called to Sister Psyche. Sister Psyche ran into the room the female Hero was in, her blood chilling in her veins as she saw the body of Dr. Vahzilok on the ground, dead.
"The Clockwork King’s in that room." Back Alley Brawler sighed as walked into the room and stood next to Sister Psyche. “Geez, what the hell happened here?”
“Lord Recluse doesn't like competition, I guess.” Sister Psyche said, clenching her fists. “We can worry about this later; right now, we have to stop that [censored] NOW!” Sister Psyche clenched her teeth and turned to the Back Alley Brawler. “After all that Marcus did for this city, the LEAST we can do is bring his killer to justice!”
Back Alley Brawler nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”

Several hours later, after fighting through thousands of minions and discovering the bodies of almost all of the leaders of infamous Villain factions in Paragon City, the Team finally came upon the door that led into Lord Recluse’s chamber.
"THIS IS IT!" Back Alley Brawler yelled as he swung his fist, hitting the door with everything he had. Lord Recluse turned in his seat to smile at Back Alley Brawler and Sister Psyche as they charged toward Recluse, apparently amused at the rage in the eyes of the Heroes.
"Upset, are we?" Lord Recluse smirked, and then with inhuman speed he leapt toward the Heroes and punched the Back Alley Brawler in the face, knocking him back into the wall of the chamber. Turning to Sister Psyche, he fired a dark energy blast from his palm. Sister Psyche quickly raised her Personal Force Field, which absorbed most of Recluse’s attack. However, the blast was still powerful enough to send Sister Psyche flying backwards, causing her to slam into the hoard of Heroes that were desperately trying to pour into the room.
“Well, you’ve certainly assembled a large amount of Heroes for this operation, haven’t you?” Lord Recluse sneered, then quickly flew upwards, smashing through the roof of his chamber. But he didn’t stop his ascent at the next floor; he continued upward, smashing through all of the levels in the base until finally bursting through the roof of the entire base. With a smile, Recluse pulled out a small device from inside of his armor, and upon closer inspection one could easily determine that the device was a trigger of some kind.
“Let’s even the numbers a bit.” Recluse said, pressing the only button on the trigger. The device sent out a signal to a small, nuclear war head that Recluse had placed underneath the base. Sister Psyche was able to extract this information from Recluse’s mind at the last second, and immediately attempted to place a large force field around her fellow Heroes.
The warhead exploded, destroying the entire base and sending a wave of destruction for miles over the dense forest Recluse’s base was hidden in. As the dust began to settle, Lord Recluse hovered the ground, an evil smile creeping across his face.
“This armor is truly impressive,” Lord Recluse said as he examined himself. “Not only am I completely unharmed, but the armor itself is almost completely unscathed, as well.” Lord Recluse narrowed his eyes a bit. “For Requiem to be capable of constructing such a thing... I wonder what else-” A bolt of radioactive energy hit Recluse across the chest, interrupting his thoughts. The attack itself did little damage, but was more than enough to get Recluse’s attention.
"What was that?" Lord Recluse shouted, his eyes gazing downwards as he searched the remains of his base for his assailant. His eyes widened slightly as a large heap of rubble on the ground was overturned, revealing Sister Psyche, the Back Alley Brawler, Positron, Synapse, Citadel, and Numina; all of whom remained unharmed and protected by Sister Psyche's shielding.
“You’re persistent, aren’t you?” Recluse said, steadying his blade in front of him. “Oh well. If my trap wasn’t able to kill you...” Lord Recluse charged the Heroes. “I'll just have to do it myself!”
The six Heroes met Lord Recluse’s charge, but they had underestimated the power of Recluse’s stolen demonic blade; with one deft slash, Synapse was cut in two.
"Synapse!" Sister Psyche cried out. Numina immediately tried to intervene, but unfortunately got in the was of Lord Recluse’s follow-up attack, blast of dark energy that reduced Numina and what was left of Synapse to dust. Smiling, he charged Positron. Positron stood his ground and fired volleys of radioactive energy beams at Recluse. Recluse dodged the beams and swung his sword at Positron, but Positron jumped over Recluse’s attack and fired a massive atomic blast into Recluse’s chest at point-blank range. Positron looked on in shock as Lord Recluse shrugged off the attack, and Recluse took advantage of Positron’s hesitation, grabbing Positron’s neck in hand and holding him in place, where he dangled helplessly.
“You’re not a quick learner; if an atomic explosion didn’t phase my armor the first time, what made you think it would be effective the second time?” Recluse impaled his sword into Positron’s chest, easily breaking through his armor and body, the end of the sword coming out of Positron’s back. “It looks like you’re armor isn’t nearly as impenetrable.” Recluse laughed. His laughter subsided, however, when Positron used the last of his strength to quickly remove the sword from his body and fling it far away from Recluse’s grasp before falling dead from Recluse’s arms.
Citadel, Sister Psyche, and the Back Alley Brawler did not miss this opportunity. Citadel charged the now-disarmed Lord Recluse, his punch nailing him across the side of his helmet and knocking him back into Sister Psyche. Sister Psyche used her Force Bolt to knock him into the air, and Back Alley Brawler leapt up and grabbed Lord Recluse while he was in mid-air, pile-driving Lord-Recluse’s upside-down body straight into the ground. Lord Recluse recovered quickly, kicking Back Alley Brawler away angrily and leaping to his feet, facing the senior Hero. Citadel decided to charge Recluse from behind while his attention was on the Back Alley Brawler. It was at that moment that Sister Psyche noticed a black flash pass her, heading straight for Citadel, and traveling to fast for the normal eye to see.
"Watch out!" Sister Psyche yelled, trying to warn Citadel, but it was too late. Baron Zoria’s sword had the mystical ability to return to the hands of evil, and would destroy any object in it’s path to do so. Citadel had made the mistake of getting in it’s path.
"NOOOO!" The Back Alley Brawler cried out as the blade sliced through Citadel’s chest, causing the android to collapse to the ground, still functioning but severely crippled. The blade continued on it’s path until it was back in Lord Recluse's grasp. Smiling, Lord Recluse swung the blade at the Back Alley Brawler's neck while his attention was still on his fallen comrade, trying to decapitate him. Luckily, Back Alley Brawler noticed the attack just in time and managed to raise his arm to deflect the attack. He had saved his life for the moment, but at the cost of one of his limbs.
"You MONSTER!" Sister Psyche yelled as she saw the Back Alley Brawler’s arm fall to the ground, firing an intense Telekinetic Blast at Lord Recluse. Lord Recluse’s armor offered no protection to Sister Psyche’s attack, but he was nonetheless able to withstand the attack, and slowly but surely inched his way towards Sister Psyche. Sister Psyche foresaw the incoming attack and raised her Personal Force Field to protect herself. However, the Heroes had once again underestimated the power of their opponent, and with one swing the mystical sword broke through Sister Psyche’s shield, and the legendary psychic’s life ended.
Barely able to contain the excitement from his victory, Lord Recluse turned to the Back Alley Brawler, kneeling on the ground and holding his wound with his arm, doing his best just to remain conscious. Lord Recluse smiled as he stood before the Back Alley Brawler, savoring the moment as he slowly raised his sword over his head. The Back Alley Brawler managed to raise his head and look into the eyes of his opponent one last time.
"It... won't end... with me..." Back Alley Brawler said, his tone soft, but filled with defiance. Lord Recluse looked down on him, chuckling to himself.
"You know, those were HIS last words, too." Lord Recluse said, and swung his sword one last time.
A young Female Hero named Chance regained consciousness just in time to see Lord Recluse fly overhead; she had survived the blast by putting up her own Personal Force Field, and as she watched Recluse disappear into the horizon the horrible truth dawned on her: The Freedom Phalanx would never let Lord Recluse escape. If Recluse was leaving, it meant...
"Statesman..." Chance remembered the face of the fallen Hero just before she passed out once more.

Three Years later...

"We don't have the money to pay this month... please give us some more time!" The man said as he held his daughter close to him. His bathroom-sized apartment was now in shambles after one of the Revenue Collectors of Lord Recluse’s Empire had torn it apart in search of hidden stashes of money. Though, such occurrences were not uncommon among families that lived in Recluse City.
Recluse City had once been called Paragon City, was only a shadow of what it once was; the sun never seemed to shine in the city, and the cloudy sky cast a never-ending darkness on the filthy streets, the ramshackle apartments, and the down-trodden populace. And the streets, which had once been filled with thousands of Heroes, were now barren except for several muggers and homeless citizens.
"This is the second time you have failed to pay the required taxes ordered by Lord Recluse." The Revenue Collector said, pulling out a small pistol from his belt. "Under Article 1, Section 13 of the Recluse Revenue Agenda, I hereby sentence you to death." The Revenue Collector placed the muzzle of the gun onto the man’s forehead.
However, just before he pulled the trigger, the gun was knocked from the Revenue Collector’s hand by an energy blast.
"What is-" The Revenue Collector turned just int time to see a fist pummel him in the face, knocking him across the apartment and onto the wall where he fell to the ground, unconscious. The bewildered man stared at the unconscious Collector for several moments, then turned in opposite direction, causing him to gasp in shock at the sight in front of him.
"It can't be..." He said, observing a group of 2 teenage boys and 2 teenage girls in brightly colored costumes that now stood in his doorway. "I thought... I thought Recluse had killed all of you Heroes..."
The boy who had knocked out the Revenue Collector walked over and extended his hand to the man, a sad look on his face.
"Not ALL of us..." The Hero said.

Foreword

On October 27, 2004, I came up with an idea for a Fanfiction loosely based on City of Heroes/City of Villains. When I first began the fanfic, I had originally intended for it to be a small work of fandom; however, as time went on, the story evolved and took on a life of it's own, and while it admittedly deviated from the CoH/CoV mythos much more than I originally intended, I found that I really enjoyed writing about a continually expanding world, even if the feedback for the fanfiction wasn't overwhelming

I continued to update the fanfiction frequently until late June of 2005, where I decided to take several months off of writing the fanfiction. I had originally intented to continue the story in November of 2005; however, due to some personal problems that occurred in October of last year, my hiatus was extended for far longer than I wanted. I didn't even post again on the Forums until January 2006, and as time went by I constantly wondered whether or not to continue the fanfic I had essentially "abandoned". In March 2006, with increasing demand for real-life affairs growing, I unofficially declared this fanfic "dead" in my mind

However, due to a turn of events that occurred in May of this year, I've finally decided to continue this story; not so much because I feel like it's an obligation, but because I've recently re-discovered the enjoyment that I get by writing stories like this, and by creating characters like the ones that appear in this story; it's one of the things that drew me to this game in the first place

So, one year after posting the latest chapter in this story, I'm re-telling it once again. For the few (and I'm assuming VERY FEW) people who have actually read the older version of this fanfic, and have probably given up waiting for new chapters by this time, I apologize; I'm re-writing the old chapters for the benefit of the Roleplaying forum-goers who are (in all likelihood) reading this story for the first time. I'm also updating each chapter as I post it, so there are some minor differences between the "newer" chapters that are being posted in this Thread and the "older" version that is probably still floating around at the back of the RP forums; mostly just spelling/grammar checks, but the names of several characters have been changed, and several scenes have also changed as well. I know (as a rule) people don't like retconning, but I can assure the forum-goers who remember the first run of this fanfic (all three of you) that the core storlyine has NOT been changed; personally, I think the few scenes that HAVE been changed were changed for the better. But that's just my biased opinion

Because the "re-done" Chapters are essentially complete already and just require a bit of re-touching, I can afford to Post several Chapters every week, at basically "random times" over the course of a week. The "re-done" Chapters are due to be finished at the end of July, but that's not a date set in stone; it might be a little before or after that. I'll let you know when the brand spanking new Chapters begin Once I begin the new Chapters, I'm planning on pacing myself (the lack of pacing myself actually caused me to take the vacation last year in the first place) and posting a Chapter once a week (probably Saturday)

Alright, now that I've gotten that off my chest, all that's left to say is:
ENJOY MY STORY!
And I swear to you, THIS TIME, I'm going to do everything in my power to finish it

((Jeez, miss one day and the whole Thread descends into Chaos...
Well, since everyone seems to be "pulling out all their stops", so to speak, I guess I will too ))

"Well, isn't this an interesting development." Mr. Greed mused, observing the various images of Legion and Crey battling it out all over the globe, most notably Paragon City. "This could actually work to my advantage." It was then that one of his Observation Satellites caught the image of a large group of female Heroes, all gathered in one place, ready to counter-attack Crey's forces.
"Hmm... no, I can't have that; not yet anyway." Mr. Greed pushed some buttons on the arm of his seat, activating his Detention Satellite. After inputting the coordinates, the satellite targeted the center of the large group of Heroes. With the push of the final button, the Detention Satellite fired a high-powered beam directly onto the group.
Back in Paragon City, the beam hit the center of the group of Heroes, causing momentary confusing that was quickly replaced by shouts of surprise and panic as the beam created a VERY large Detention Field around the Heroes.
Like all of the Detention Fields used by Heroes with Force Field Powers, there was no way for people either inside or outside of the field to break through it. THIS Detention Field, however, had been specifically modified to sap the strength and energy of ALL occupants inside of it (Game Terms: Endurance Reduced to 0, No Endurance Regen; Health Reduced to Red, No Health Regen). In addition, the field would continue to remain in effect so long as the core of the Detention Satellite was operational.
"This should ensure that Crey finishes off both Legion and Physiks." Mr. Greed smiled as he took another sip of wine. "After that, taking down Crey is a simple task." Mr. Greed then noticed that he had missed four Heroes when he fired his Detention Field.
"Oh, well..." Mr. Greed chuckled. "They still don't know how to deactivate the Detention Field, and even if they did..." Mr. Greed's chuckle became laughter. "How would they be able to make it into space?" Mr. Greed sighed deeply, thinking the matter over. "Still... I should probably station one or two of my agents at the Detention Satellite, just to be safe."

((Yes, the four Heroes that Mr. Greed missed were Soul Train, Lady Gwen, Mallory, and Kate))

Mr. Greed smiled to himself as Clover and Mr. Wrath appeared in the private office of his island retreat. On Mr. Greed’s command, Mr. Wrath let go of Clover. Clover quickly jumped back, ready to attack her assailants, but stopped short when she saw Mr. Greed.
“You...” Clover said, a look of shock on her face as she studied Mr. Greed’s face. “I... I know you!” Clover shook her head, her mind stirring, images flashing in her head quickly. “You were... you...”
“I was watching your conversation with that Hero via one of my Observation Satellites.” Mr. Greed said, placing his wine glass down on the desk in front of him and narrowed his eyes. “So, you’ve lost your memory... that explains why you’ve failed to contact me all this time.”
“You are...” Clover whispered, shaking her head as she tried to make sense of the images flashing in her mind.
“Luckily, that Hero saw you as an innocent, one that she felt she needed to protect.” Mr. Greed chuckled slightly. “Leave it to Heroes to assume the best in people.” Mr. Greed sighed and clasped his hands together. “If she had been thinking rationally, she might have asked herself why an ‘unwilling lab subject’ wasn’t strapped down in their bed; why there weren’t any guards watching over you.” Mr. Greed chuckled once more, shaking his head. “Why the DOOR to your ‘prison cell’ wasn’t even LOCKED.”
“I am...” Clover whispered. She then cried out, grabbing her head as the images continued to flood her mind. “I don’t remember! Who am I?!”
Mr. Greed sighed and rose to his feet, walking quickly and quietly over to Clover and embracing her in his arms.
“It’s OK...” Mr. Greed said quietly as Clover buried her face in his chest, crying. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore...” Mr. Greed patted her lightly on the back.
“I just want...” Clover looked up, her face wet with tears. “I just want to know who I am... WHAT I am.”
Mr. Greed looked down into Clover’s eyes and smiled. “Then I’ll tell you... EVERYTHING.”

“Your real name is Erika Green.” Mr. Greed began. “You were born into a considerably rich family... though nowhere near as rich as myself.” Mr. Greed chuckled slightly at his quip, but quickly composed himself. “From the day you were born, your parents provided you with everything a child could want: toys and games as a child; and, when you became a teenager, the best jewelry and electronics money could buy. You were praised by others, had an entire entourage of friends, and NEVER had to steal or beg for anything.” Mr. Greed embraced Erika closer. “But... for all your money, for all your friends, for everything you had... there was ONE thing you desired more than anything else... something you thought you’d NEVER be able to attain...”

“I want to be a Hero.” Erika said one evening during dinner. Naturally, this caught her parents by surprise, so much so that they spit up the soup they were in the middle of enjoying.
“Well, Erika, dear...” Erika’s mother looked to her husband for help, but raised his hand and shook his head quickly. She turned to back her daughter. “We can’t just... you see, you’re not...” Erika’s mother sighed deeply. “Honey, the people in Paragon City who dress up in capes and fight crime... well, they put their life in danger every single day. Plus, many of them have powers that help them do... what they do.”
“So, all I need to do is get powers and you’ll let me become a Hero?” Erika asked curiously.
“Well... it’s not that simple...” Erika’s mother once again turned to her husband, who sighed and faced Erika.
“We’ll talk about this later, Erika. Finish your soup.” Erika’s father said in a tone of finality.

“Of course, like most teenagers, you didn’t let your parent’s limitations stop you from doing what you wanted to do.” Mr. Greed smiled and shook his head. “So, you began searching for ways in which to attain powers, or at least get the proper gadgets and equipment to fight crime without them.” Mr. Greed sighed. “Fortunately, your parents and I were... acquaintances, of a sort, and when I learned of your little conversation with them, I arranged for you to have a ‘special appointment’ with one of my doctors.” Mr. Greed smiled inwardly. “Your parents thought you were getting a normal checkup, and I wasn’t expecting much, honestly. But the results that came back from my testing...” Mr. Greed reveled in the memory. “Who would have thought that someone with such an incredible dormant power would be right under my nose?” Mr. Greed scoffed slightly before continuing. “In order to ‘awaken’ your dormant powers, so to speak, I would need to perform extensive procedures on your body. The problem, however, was that even if I could successfully perform these procedures without your parents’ knowledge, I wouldn’t be able to properly utilize your skills without your parents finding out about your power.” Mr. Greed patted Erika once more. “I informed you of my intentions, and you seemed very enthusiastic about it. You told me you were going to tell you parents about your ‘dormant power’, and hopefully everything would work out.” Mr. Greed shook his head. “The very next day, you came back to me, crying. Your parents had forbade you from having any such procedure, and were ready to press charges against me if I so much as touched you.” Mr. Greed smiled. “I didn’t know what to do at that point; and so, I let YOU decide where to go from there.”

“Listen, Erika...” Mr. Greed said, handing the young girl another tissue. “I can understand your parents’ position. They’re looking out for your best interests-”
“NO they’re NOT!” Erika yelled. “All my life, they’ve made sure that I had everything I wanted... ‘Mommy, can I get that doll?’ ‘Sure honey!’; ‘Daddy, can I have that purse?’ ‘Of course, sweety!’ And my friends would always tell me, ‘Oh Erika, you’re so lucky to have parents like that!’ But when it comes to the ONE THING I’ve wanted ever since I was a kid...” Erika paused for a moment to blow her nose. She looked into Mr. Greed’s eyes, her tone becoming softer. “It’s just that... my parents always told me I was special, you know? And with everything I’ve had, I thought I was...” Erika sighed. “But then, one day, I saw a Hero stop an entire gang of thugs single-handedly... and everyone around him praised him for it, more so than anyone EVER praised me...” Erika clenched her fists tightly. “I knew then... that I wasn’t as special as I thought I was... as my parents had TOLD me I was...” Erika’s tone became harsher. “But... but if I had powers like that... I really WOULD be special. People would look up to ME just like they look up to ALL the Heroes... no... I want them to look up to me MOST, MORE than all the other Heroes! I’d rather have that...” Erika’s tone became soft once more. “I’d rather have that than money, I’d rather that than a family, I’d rather that than ANYTHING else!”
Mr. Greed folded clasped his hands together, looking straight into Erika’s eyes. “Do you REALLY mean that? You’d sacrifice EVERYTHING else to be the greatest Hero in the world?” He smiled as Erika nodded. “Then listen to me carefully...”

“And so we worked everything out.” Mr. Greed explained. “The next day, you poured paint all over your parent’s bed, ‘as payback’ for what they did to you. Naturally, your punishment was severe... not that it would matter.” Mr. Greed chuckled slightly. “Like most people as rich as your parents, they had a special ‘guest bedroom’ in your house; it was small, barely able to fit two people, and had no windows to speak of. While they made plans to get a new bed, your parents were forced to spend at least one night in this ‘guest bedroom’. But that’s all the time you needed.” Erika shook slightly as the memory flashed in her head vividly as Mr. Greed recalled it. “So, in the middle of the night, you quickly and quietly barricaded the door to the guest bedroom, the only way out of the room. You cut all the phone lines in the house and disabled all the smoke alarms... all the while your parents slept, having no idea about what was about to happen. You then lightly sprinkled gasoline all around your house... and then, just before making your escape...” Erika’s eyes shrank slightly Mr. Greed said the next words. “You burned your house to the ground.”
“You were standing right on the grassy hill just outside your parent’s property when my helicopter picked you up.” Mr. Greed said. “At first, I thought you were crying, but when you stepped into the chopper, there was a smile on your face.” Mr. Greed smiled and shook his head. “Like a huge weight had been lifted off your shoulders.”
“The rest is pretty self-explanatory.” Mr. Greed said. “You were placed into one of my private laboratories, where you underwent the procedures necessary to unlock your dormant power.” Mr. Greed sighed. “After every single procedure, I or one of my other agents checked up on you; I wanted to make sure you were alright, since there was a slight chance of complications.” Mr. Greed rubbed Erika’s shoulder as he prepared to conclude her life story. “After the final procedure, you were put into recovery, and I was informed by my doctors that you would have the power you always dreamed of when you awakened. Unfortunately, when you woke up, you lost your memory and... well, you know the rest, don’t you?”

“I’ve been searching for you for so long, and now here you are.” Mr. Greed said, disengaging from Erika’s body and stepping back. “Now you know everything. So... what are you going to do now... Ms. Envy?”
The girl was silent for a long time. And then, finally, a smile spread across her face.
“What do you think I’m going to do?” Ms. Envy asked, raising her right hand and clenching it into a fist. “I’ve sacrificed everything to get this incredible power; it would be a shame if I let all that go to waste.”

"Alright, let's see..." Christopher said, yawing slightly as he tried to focus on the computer screen in front of him. "From what we've learned, Mr. Greed can ONLY be staying in one of these... 23... retreats that he owns..." Christopher groaned and slammed his head down on the keyboard. "Well, at least we've narrowed it down from the total 462 retreats that he owns around the world..."
"And it only took us 16 hours..." Christina sighed deeply, stretching her arms above her head. "You want some coffee?"
"Sure..." Christopher said, unsteadily placing his hands back on his keyboard.
"Decaf?" Christina asked. Her brother shot her one of "those" looks, and she laughed nervously. "Right. Forget I asked."

What do I do now? Clover thought to herself, looking at the buisness cards in her hand as she walked back towards her "home". I could have a new life in this place... Clover narrowed her eyes as she observed the card for the "Whitmoore Apartments" in her hand. But... She sighed, turning her gaze towards the sky. But I STILL want to know about the life I had BEFORE...
"Well, it's been quite awhile since we've seen YOU." A voice came from one of the side-alleys, causing Clover to jump in fright. Turning to the source of the voice, Clover saw a young man wearing a red trenchcoat and a black beret walk out of th alleyway, his eyes narrowed on her.
"Who... who are you?" Clover asked, fear in her voice as she backed up slightly.
"Don't you remember me?" Mr. Wrath asked, his eyes widening in surprise. "I get it... you don't remember anything, do you?" Mr. Wrath sighed and shook his head. "Well, that explains alot."
Mr. Wrath rushed forward with his signature speed, grabbing Clover by the arm. "You're coming with me. NOW."
"NO!" Clover yelled, her tank top changing into a red trenchcoat. She grabbed some dirt and debris on the ground and threw it into Mr. Wrath's face.
"AAGH!" Mr. Wrath yelled in surprise, letting go of Clover as he shielded his face. Clover seized her oppurtunity, running at a much faster speed than she would normally be capable of running.
Kashaye... Kashaye, I need your help! Clover thought frantically, rumaging through her pockets in haste until she finally found the card with Soul Train's cell phone number. Looking around the back alleys of Pargon City frantically, she finally found a row of pay phones (only one of which worked).
Clover jammed the required amount of influence into the pay phone and quickly punched in Kashaye's number, all the time frantically looking about for any signs of Mr. Wrath. After several rings, she finally got a response.
"Kashaye, help me!" Clover said frantically, her words jumbling together because she was speaking so quickly. "I'm being-" Before she could finish, ball bearing hit the side of the booths, blowing up all the pay phones and knocking Clover back, her hand still grasping the (now disconnected and useless) receiver to the pay phone.
"I've got her." Mr. Wrath said into some type of communicator as he scooped up Clover in his arms. "Ready for Global Recall." In the next instant, both Mr. Wrath and Clover were gone in a flash of white light.

((Oh! Sorry about that, I forgot ))

"My name..." Clover sighed, looking away from Kashaye for only a moment. "I don't know what my real name is." She turned back and looked in Kashaye's eyes. "But back where I live... I'm called Clover."
"I'm sorry about how I acted..." Clover continued. "It's just that... well, I don't remember anything about my life or who I was before. And..." Clover thought back, back to the little she could remember. "The first thing I CAN remember, one of the first things I heard... were about Heroes like you... how terrible you are..."
"Waking up in a strange bed..." Clover explained. "That's the first thing I can remember clearly. It wasn't a NORMAL bed... it was like one of the beds you see in hospitals, you know? The room was dark, and there were all sorts of machines around it, beeping from time to time..." Clover shook her head. "I... I didn't know where I was, so I got up and left the room, and..." Clover closed her eyes at the next memory. "There was some type of hallway outside of the room, filled with ALL sorts of... of people, I guess. Some of them looked pretty normal, but others..." Clover opened her eyes again. "Others looked like animals. And all along the walls were posters..." Clover looked deep into Kashaye's eyes. "Posters showing pictures of Heroes like you... saying things like 'Know Your Enemy!' and 'Don't let THEM keep you Down!' and 'United, We WILL Prevail!' I... I didn't..." Clover shook her head again. "I was scared... so I ran. There was alot of screaming, and several of the people chased after me... but I..." Clover's voice began to shake. "I escaped through a window and ran into the woods..." Clover sighed deeply, her voice becoming calmer. "The next day I wound up here, in Paragon City... I wanted to go to the police, but... but there were some Heroes by the station, and when I got close to them..." Clover thought back to the memory of her body bursting into flames, her hands covered in stone. "I... I didn't know what to do at that point... so I started to wander the streets, begging on the street corners... I was cold, hungry, and filthy... it was around that time that I found a small homeless community, and they took me in. I've been living there ever since."
Clover sighed and stared in Kashaye's eyes. "That's everything I can remember. I wish... I wish I could remember what my life was like, before... how I wound up in that bed..." Clover sighed. "So... what happens to me now?"

Clover hadn't had anything to eat in days, so when Soul Train started to feed her, she greedily grabbed the MRE from her hands and quickly wolfed down it's contents.

[ QUOTE ]
"Now... I know this is a stretch... but... would you mind telling me a little about what's going on?"

[/ QUOTE ]

Clover studied Soul Train, tossing the empty bag to ground and burying her face in her arms.
"What's to tell?" Clover asked, avoiding eye contact with Soul Train. "I tried to get some money and you stopped me. What more do you want to know?"

[ QUOTE ]
"She's coming around. Stand back, guys. I want to ask her something."

[/ QUOTE ]

Clover groaned and looked around; her eyes locked onto Soul Train's, and fear immediately spread across her face.
"What... what do you want with me?" Clover asked, understandbably terrified.

Clover looked on in terror as the black helicopter lowered itself in front of her.
What is... why is this happening to me? Clover thought as a grenade exploded at her feet. Gas immediately erupted from it, causing her to choke uncontrollably.
Who... Clover thought, her mind racing as she began to lose consciousness. The image of a burning building flashed in her mind, followed by images of what could only be her parents. Who am I... really? Clover fell to the ground, unconscious, her hair and body returning to normal.

Darn it... Clover said, her body feeling like it was made of lead. She looked over her shoulder at the Hero... and the feeling came over her again. As she stared into the woman's eyes, her green hair changed into an afro, exactly like Soul Train's.
"GET AWAY!" Clover screamed, raising her hand and firing an energy blast into Soul Train's face at point-blank range.
She can reach into some kind of other-dimensional pocket? Clover thought, turning to soldier and the girl. But how do I know that? Argh! I don't have time for this! Reaching into the same nth Dimensional Pocket Soul Train had, she Siphoned the speed from the soldier and made a break for it, moving incredibly fast as she turned the corner.
Why...? Why does this always happen when I'm near Heroes? What's wrong with me? Clover thought, tears in her eyes as she put more and more distance between the Hero and herself.

"Are you serious?" The receptionist at Crey Industries was in the middle of gossiping with another Crey employee, and the topic had her at the edge of her seat.
"Yeah, apparently there's something BIG going over at that new Physiks Tech lab." The man smirked, rubbing his fist lightly over his suit. "In fact, I heard that-"
The man's voice caught in his throat as the main doors to Crey opened up, revealing the one and only Countess.
"Countess Crey!" The receptionist jumped in her seat and quickly composed herself while the man she was talking with quickly and quietly excused himself. The receptionist grew increasingly uneasy as Crey walked past her desk and into the nearest company elevator.
Upon arriving at her office on the top floor of Crey Industries, the Countess made a stop at her secretary's desk.
"Calls. Reports. Files. Now." Countess Crey said in a polite and cold tone.
"Uh, right away!" The secretary said quickly, rumaging hecticly through her papers and handing the proper documents over. "There's... there's been a, um... a situation that's arisen over at a Physiks Lab while you were away that requires your immediate attention..." The secretary held her breath, awaiting the Countess's reaction.
Countess Crey looked over the documents the secretary gave her, then turned her attention to the secretary. "Very well. Good job." The Countess then made her way into her office.
The secretary was continued to stand, a look of shock crossing her face. "Good... Job?" The secretary whispered.
The Countess tossed the documents onto her desk and sighed, looking out her large office window.
"And this is how people treat her every single day?" Countess Crey asked aloud. "Jeez, I knew she was a real [censored] to her enemies, but her EMPLOYEES too? What an ice queen."

"Darn it!" Christopher said, slamming his fist against the wall at Portal Corp. "He has literally THOUSANDS of private retreats around the globe! He could be ANYWHERE!"
"A resort in Bahamas... a luxurious winter lodge in the middle of the Swiss Alps... an UNDERWATER retreat off the coast of Puerto Rico?" Christina read the information off of the Portal Corp. computer. She smiled and shook her head. "And they say money can't buy happiness."
"We're going to need some help finding this guy..." Christopher said, deep in thought. "Either that, or we'll need some way to bring him to us..."

"Alright, I got one." Tommy said, motioning to Rick and Clover. Rushing to their friend's location, the two followed Tommy's gaze and saw the young woman, her purse swinging loosely over her shoulder; an easy target.
"Alright Clover, you know what to do." Rick said; Clover nodded. Rick then turned his attention to his other friend. "OK Tommy, let's go." The two quickly made their approach.
Tommy, Rick, and Clover (all only 16 years old) were three of the many homeless in Paragon City. Tommy and Rick had been homeless all their lives, and as such had learned how to survive on the streets at a very early age. The two lived in one of the many homeless communities in Paragon City, where anyone down on their luck or running from the police was welcome.
About a month ago, a young girl about the same age as Tommy and Rick stumbled across their community. She had no memory of her former life, and (for a reason she wouldn't tell the community) didn't want to go to the police. The community eagerly took her in, and she called the place "home" ever since.
Unlike her two friends (who were dressed in the standard dirty brown outfits that everyone else in their community wore), Clover wore the same clothes she had worn when she came across her new home: tatterred black jeans and a red tank top. She had long, green hair that was dirty and unkempt from a month of being unwashed and uncombed. It was because of her hair color that she was named "Clover"; she had no idea what her real name was.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Tommy and Rick got the immediate attention of the young woman. Clover clenched her fist and waited for their signal.
"Yes?" The young woman asked, looking the two boys over.
"We're lost. Could you tell us where the nearest bus station is?" Rick asked. Upon hearing the question, Clover ran out from her hiding place and made a bee-line towards the woman.
"Well, I've never seen any buses in this city but- HEY!" The woman yelled as Clover snatched her purse, tugging on the strap so hard that it snapped. Purse in hand, she immediately made her retreat.
"Stop! You little thieves!" The woman yelled, trying her best to run after Clover in her high-heeled shoes, but to no avail. The two boys quickly made a break in the opposite direction Clover was running, heading back to their home community.
I wonder how much she has in here... Clover thought, looking at the purse in her hand as she ran. She was so busy looking at the purse that she didn't notice that the door to the deli she was passing by was opening, and consequently slammed into a woman (obviously a Hero) as she was exiting. This caused Clover to fall back, and when she looked up she saw that the woman she had ran into was accompanied by what appeared to be a soldier of some kind and another young girl.
Oh, perfect... Clover thought as she steadily rose to her feet.