Mr_Grey

“Hi everybody!” Charlene said happily as she ported into the base, “Wow, the place hasn’t been destroyed...”

“Hey Ma!” Cedric came around the corner, covered with red and white ribbons, “I was... uh... just trying to get things set up...”

“What for?”

“A party... We’re gonna try to have a V-Day aprty here?”

“Oh? Who’s the sweetheart?”

Cedric replied with a “deer-in-headlights” stare that clearly answered how he was pretty much holding a kegger with red and white decorations. Charlene patted her son’s shoulder gently.

“Don’t worry, son. You’ll find someone someday.”

“Yeah...” Cedric headed back to the main office, “So, where’s Dad?”

“He... uh...” his mother rubbed her shoulder worriedly, “He had one more thing he wanted to take care of...”

----

“Hello, Martin.”

The former leader of the refugees in Baumton didn’t turn to regard Randall Grey. He just kept to his surveillance of the Council cell. Another scrapper next to him offered Randy a bag of potato chips.

“Hi Randy,” Gregory Caid said as the big guy took a handful (half the bag), “How’s the crew?”

“What do you care?” Randy arched an eyebrow at the odd guy.

“Your crew’s the one that blew my cover,” Caid chuckled, “Kipland Durj and Matt McGinty, right?”

“Those are some of my boys... yeah...”

“Yeah, sorry about the whole Cube thing,” Greg pulled a couple chips for himself, “I tried to get info out to the F.C. as soon as I could, but Jazt was moving faster than anyone could’ve expected. Well, that’s power-hungry madmen for ya.”

“Oh... kay...”

“What’s this about, Randy?” Martin finally asked as he lowered his binoculars.

“I just want to know about you and Char.”

Martin still didn’t turn around. This conversation had been a long-time coming, and the former street dweller hadn’t prepared well. He waited for Randall to ask the first question.

“Did you ever...” Randy narrowed his eyes, “sleep with my wife?”

“No.”

Randy’s paw came down on Martin’s shoulder in a friendly clap.

“Well then! I believe ya.”

“You do?” Martin turned, surprised, “That’s different...”

“I’m not some high school kid or a mid-twenties insecure jerk,” Randy sighed, “I’m an old man. Even if you did... I’m old enough to know a situation...”

Martin grimaced, “It’d ‘ave been alright?”

“Oh no...” Randy shook his head, “I’d have punched ya in the face. Once, but it would probably ‘ave still killed ya.”

“I see...”

“But you knew this is a serious conversation,” Randy pulled over a chair and sat on it.

Greg and Martin winced a little as the chair creaked and groaned. It seemed to be begging for mercy. Randy didn’t seem to notice.

“You gave me a serious answer, and a truthful one. I’m old enough by now to know when someone’s feeding me [censored].”

Greg took a look back out the window with the binoculars.

“Alright then,” Martin extended a hand to Randy, “I guess I can stop being nervous when you’re around, huh?”

“Yeah,” Randy shook (crushed) Martin’s hand, “It’s okay. Feel free to drop by anytime.”

“I’ll try...” Martin shook the pain out of his hand, “That’s a helluva grip...”

----

“So... I hope that explains things...”

Kip was a little leery of the crowd of heroes around that had gathered since he’d started talking to Ms. Liberty. Most of them were simply asking for pointers on what the next phase of their training they should undergo. A few were wondering who this upstart was that was gobbling up her time, however.

“It’s okay...” Ms. Liberty waved him off, then turned to another hero, “Oh no... Don’t focus on that just now... It’s much too taxing for too low an output...”

“So, you accept my apology?”

“Yeah,” Ms. Liberty returned to Kip, “I’m sorry if I insinuated... Oh... Yeah, yeah, I’d totally go with that... Sorry... I’m sorry if I made it seem like I thought... Aaron you call him?”

“Right,” Kip turned to another hero, “Dude, go with the next blast. Trust me, man, you’ll love it.”

“Thanks,” Ms. Liberty grinned, “Sometimes, I wish I got more help with this... In any case, I accept your apology...”

“Right, I had no right to snap at ya like that.”

“And like I said, I’m sorry, too.”

“No problem,” Kip turned to go.

“Kipland?”

“Hm?”

“I remember when you said it was bad luck when you ran into Mynx and me...”

“Yeah...”

“I don’t want any heroes feeling like that... I want you to know that you shouldn’t feel apprehension at working with me.”

“It bothered ya that much?”

“Well...” Ms. Liberty seemed to be thinking about something else, “Nevermind.”

“Don’t worry,” Kip shrugged, “I think I’m getting to a point where my bad luck’s finally panning out and I’m breaking even.”

“Well, that’s good.”
----

Cory and Mattock glared at the door. It was a typical “mineshaft” style door like out of any dozens of old “Wild West” movies.

“Okay, on three...”

They played a game of rock-paper-scissors and Matt lost. He drew his blade and started walking toward the door.

“What are you two doing?”

They stopped and turned to Mider Caid.

“Well, I’ll be,” Cory smiled warmly to Mider, “Congratulations for getting out of that stuffy office!”

“Thanks, Cortland,” Mider bowed slightly to Matt, “Mattock.”

“What brings you out here?”

“I wanted to see the sights of the city through a hero’s eyes for once...” the young wizard grinned, “I live in New Corinth and I saw you two arrive on the Green Line. I thought I’d say hello.”

“Wanna help us take out a few Circle Wizards?” Matt stretched his shoulders in a circular motion, “Cory and I feel these dipwads need some attitude readjustment.”

“While I would like to assist in putting the Circle in their place, I’m afraid I must decline,” Mider turned to the canoe he’d taken to the island, “Pft... I can’t believe they won’t let me fly yet... So many years filing those papers...”

“Why don’t you burn off some aggression on the Circle,” Matt chuckled, “All we gotta do is invite somebody over to help and sign you on as a sidekick...”

Cory was already putting signals into his communicator.

“Hm... Most of the heroes don’t seem to like fighting the Circle...”

“They just don’t like exploring. You know, ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’ types...”

“Here we go... A level lower than me in security level, and a tank...”

“Cool,” Matt took a few practice swipes, “Just watch, Mider, we’re gonna kick some wizardly butt...”

“Howdy!” a voice came over the communicator in Cory’s hand, “I’m Megaton Crush!”

“Cool,” Matt replied, “Hurry on over, man. I’m getting bored just waiting...”

A heavily armored tank suddenly landed in their midst.

“Was that fast enough?”

“Hell yeah!” Matt hopped up and swatted him on the shoulder, “Let’s go kick some butt!”

“I hear they give you a special reward if you put down enough of these guys,” Megaton quipped enthusiastically as they started heading in, his magic armor sparking up in flames and his fists glowing “And they always hang out in the coolest looking places!”

See, I knew you'd get what kind of cheek I meant.

Lord Diov: 22
Khellendrosiic: 23
Hallucinogen: 20
Essex: 25
Prodiguy: 20
The Soviet: 21
Lazarus: CRY MOAR'D
Devious Me: 20
Burning Brawler: 20
Arashi: 22
Halo Inc: PAIN TRAIN'D ( But +2 Awesome)
Billy Boy: 20
Leo Gunner: ARROW'D
Pheonyx: 19
Mithril Zeta: 20
Cowman: TROLL'D
Moiread Scott: 20
Seikon: MENTAL BLAST HEAD EXPLODE'D
Coldfire Kaiser: HEAD SHOTT'D
Mr Grey: 21
Ozell One: 20

Mithril takes one in the right cheek.

Devious is granted a point to keep up the good fight.

Gregory Caid

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"I'm so glad to have that stupid mask and goggles off... I can't believe those idiots wear those damn things for so long. Don't they know what that does to your face?"

Gregory Caid is the brother of Mider Caid. Considering the previous dossier, one would believe that this was a report on the nefarious dealings of a villain. One would be wrong...

While it is true that Greg was working for the Council, and even attained the rank of Archon, he was actually a double agent working for Freedom Corps and the U.S. Army.

Gregory Caid was the eldest brother of the Caid family, the son of Warlock Rutherford Caid and Incantrix Helen Mireena. With such a heavy mystical predisposition, it was with great surprise (and not a small amount of regret) that Gregory was born without mystical affinity. The parents were stumped as to the turn of events. They attempted to push their son toward mystical arts, for even mundane people can learn to cast even the most complex spells (it just takes more time than those with "the knack"), but Gregory pursued more mundane extracurricular activities like playing sports and finding a decent job.

When Mider was born with "the knack," Gregory was by no means pushed aside. However, there were many times when it sure seemed that way. Gregory just didn't mesh well with his family, and he knew it. As soon as he turned eighteen, he enlisted with the (sorely depleted) Army and disappeared from their lives.

Years later, Mider found himself stuck in a desk job at MAGI because his brother, Archon Caid, was making a fuss across Paragon City. Excelling as a soldier, Gregory was put in a special program to enlist with some of Freedom Corps' elite, maybe even become a Ballista. However, when his family history came to light, Freedom Corps (Longbow especially) decided it would be best if he were assigned to Covert Ops.

Using a "Bad Blood" story, Gregory was able to enter the Council ranks as a disgruntled young man seeking to prove his superiority, no matter what the cost. Sadly, this meant going through the Council's Super Soldier prgram, a process that, Gregory admits, he still isn't entirely sure what happened.

"They keep you doped up for hours while you're under the procedure. I swear they do more to ya than just inject ya with a serum. Fortunately, any transmitters, bugs, or whatever other knick-knacks they put in me were removed when those heroes 'arrested' me... *chuckle* Poor guys... They did their jobs, and I played my part well enough they thought I was Council to the end... It was a Helluva fight, though..."

His ability to provide information on Council operations compromised, Gregory has been assigned the role of Scrapper. The Serum the Council got him with has provided him a powerful regenerative capability, and he's been putting their martial arts regimen to good use as he cleans the riff-raff of the streets of the city. Sometimes he works with his brother, and they seem to work well.

Mider Caid

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Mider Caid is a field agent for MAGI, the magical branch of Freedom Corps. He used to be assigned as a clerk in the Atlas Park branch of the organization, and came in contact with Grey's Army when it was determined that Cedric Grey was wielding a weapon cursed with the soul of his Praetorian (Cedric's not Mider's).

Mider Caid was requitted to that lowly position, despite his tremendous potential, because of his association with one Archon Gregory Caid. As events escalated to what is now referred to as the Talos Island "Cube" Incidient, suspicions mounted that perhaps Mider had supplied a magic relic to his brother.

Such suspicions were proven unfounded as the mystical residue was analyzed and the now-destroyed artifact was found to have been built most likely by the long-dead Mu civilization (not the new resurgence working with Arachnos) and retained by the Circle of Thorns. The Council may very likely have stolen the object, and used it to augment their weaponry, armor, and even erect the energy "Cube" that allowed them to take a chunk of Talos Island for a brief period of time.

After the incident, Mider, surprisingly, found himself promoted to Field Agent status and has recently graduated from hsi training as a Controller class hero. He practices a brand of pyrokinesis blended with debilitating arts familiar to what are known as "Radiation" Defenders.

He has yet to prove himself an effective hero, but Freedom Corps sees a lot of potential in him.

Martin Sanders

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Martin Sanders was a homeless man even before the Rikti War struck. In his youth, he was an average child, living out average days. Like many of his peers, he often wondered at the heroes of the world and wished someday he could be like them...

Unfortunately, his desires were gratified in a most unwelcome way. His mutation in his mid-teens was that of a connection to the netherworld. He became stronger, tougher, and at the cost of draining the emotions and very life force from those around him.

In the years before the Rikti War, Martin roamed the streets and back alleys, scavenging for food, water, and anything that could keep him warm. Always he was hounded by voices, and could often be found in the middle of the middle of the night, seemingly screaming at the moon.

Shortly before the war started, he had gained a modicum of control over his powers, so he was no longer an automatic threat to others. The years of dealing with the various criminal elements throughout the city honed his fighting prowess as well, and he had become an effective street brawler.

Then the Rikti attacked, and Martin found himself one of the first captured in the onslaught.

They attempted to convert him almost immediately, but his mutancy fought against the treatment harder and faster against the Rikti Mutagen than it could convert him. Until they could get a stronger working catalyst, the Rikti threw Sanders into a hold and moved on to another location.

That location happened to be Fort Drum, New York, and the warship later turned its attention to the surrounding communities, capturing one Charlene Daring-Grey in the process.

When Grey accepted the Kheldian energy being into herself and started laying waste to her Rikti captors, Martin took the opportunity to lead a revolt among the other hostages. He was there to defend Mr.s Grey when she was knocked unconscious from a blaster bolt.

After the ship crashed and the refugees found their way to a piece of wrecked civilization, Martin led the group to what appeared to be a broken down super group base. There, they established a place to rest, get their bearings, and defend themselves in case of a crisis.

It turned out they were in Baumton. Closed in by the War Walls, and beset on all side sby the various villain groups that dotted Baumton (especially the enfarious Lost), Martin led what the Outcasts and Council/Fifth Column called the Dregs ina vicious guerrilla war utilizing scavenged weapons and pure heart.

Eventually, Grey's Army, while searching for clues for Mrs. Grey, found the Dregs, and shortly thereafter orchestrated a daring rescue that climaxed with a massive battle against Rikti Restructurist forces. After the success of the battle, Martin was taken into Freedom Corps and is currently undergoing training as one of our agents.

Little known fact: Martin is actually hearing voices. He talks in his sleep to a peculiar force that guides him as one of the Harbingers. What the Harbingers are, what their purpose is, or what is Martin's connection to them, is still up to debate. As such, Freedom Corps agents are still keeping him under surveillance.

Ryat Prime

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I'll start off with one that's rather directly related to Grey's Army. This is Ryat Prime, the prototypical model of the Ryat series and the basis for much of Sheldon Wallace's work. It has the original AI software Wallace and Roland Grey worked together on, and is widely believed to have been the origin of the Ryat series' breakthrough into sentience.

However, when the Ryats were placed into storage under the Freedom Corps building (with the exceptions of Ryat66 and Ryat99, for they were deigned to be the models that proved the worthiness of the rest of the series), Ryat Prime mysteriously went missing.

It was found a few months later in the Etoile Isles, commandeering its own peculair band of robotic drones. Utilizing a similar brand of nanotechnology as its creator, Ryat Prime also reinforces its minions with defensive shields similar to that of many heroes here in Paragon.

Longbow/Freedom Corps and Wyvern are struggling to learn the nature of Ryat Prime's involvement in the Etoile Isles.

Other characters...

Dammit... It seems I've been assigned to recording the short biographies on a few other individuals related to Grey's Army. The following characters may or may not have anything to do with Kingdale, New York, but they all will have something to do with Grey's Army.

I gotta get a new job...

Lord Diov: 22
Khellendrosiic: 23
Hallucinogen: 20
Essex: 24
Prodiguy: 20
The Soviet: 21
Lazarus: CRY MOAR'D
Devious Me: 20
Burning Brawler: 20
Arashi: 23
Halo Inc: PAIN TRAIN'D ( But +2 Awesome)
Billy Boy: 20
Leo Gunner: ARROW'D
Pheonyx: 19
Mithril Zeta: 20
Cowman: TROLL'D
Moiread Scott: 20
Seikon: MENTAL BLAST HEAD EXPLODE'D
Coldfire Kaiser: HEAD SHOTT'D
Mr Grey: 21
Ozell One: 20

Sorry Essex... I have a feeling Pheonyx is gonna need the point in the near future. Think of it as that Empathy power I just have no use for... the one that hurts the healer, too...

"Well, I know they weren't after me... We dealt with whoever among them's been assigned to us last week... And they're a tad paranoid to be ready to hit my crew again already."

Grimacing, Kip slammed his fist into his other palm.

"See... this is why I hate those murderous trolls. They're too stupid to get anything done right, but just smart enough to be dangerous. Who sends two guys to attack a crew of heroes?"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and turned to Rosie, "Still... That's a valid point Balsk... But that one guy didn't know anything about me... He seemed surprised to see my Nictus Armor... Ugh... Now I've got a new problem to wrap my head around... I really wish my brother or somebody would start gobbling up clearance so I can work with them on cases like this..."

He looked up to see he was talking to Rosie, "Oh yeah.. I don't know if your friends here have told you, but we had a tad bit of excitement earlier... Hence the pizzas on the street... Hence the... uh... hole in Allen's chest..." he blinked a couple times, "Oh yeah, my name's Kipland... Kipland Durj. My friends call me Kip, Kippers, or Loudmouth."

He extended his hand to Rosie for a friendly handshake.

Kip's face screwed up in astonishment when he saw Balsk and Allen (with the gaping hole still in his chest, no less), his lips pursed in a pointed "o" to the lower left corner of his mouth, and his right eyebrow raised slightly.

"I didn't realize you guys worked here..." Kip turned to see Rosie handing him a slice and he waved it off, "No thanks, I got some from my buddies just a little while ago. Dastards sent me to get pizza when they knew full well they'd be getting delivery..."

"Okay..." Kip glanced around, "What do you guys do here that would cause a couple of Malta agents to be picking off your employees?"

"Just wanted to let you guys know I had to use your dumpster," Kip replied, "See... there was this firefight out here... and I left before I remembered the pizzas I'd dropped in the course of it..."

My brother and I grew up usually pretty isolated from other people, so we would stage our own LARP-like games. It helped to have forests to run around in, or even a wide expanse of bedrock when we lived in Georgia. For anything we felt would get too epic or bizarre, we turned to our stuffed animals. My main COH characters are based off the stuffed animal ones, in fact. Randall's based off my favorite GUND Snuffles bear that we wound up overstuffing until he could double as a pillow.

Lord Diov: 21
Khellendrosiic: 23
Hallucinogen: 20
Essex: 25
Prodiguy: 20
The Soviet: 22
Lazarus: CRY MOAR'D
Devious Me: 20
Burning Brawler: 19
Arashi: 22
Halo Inc: PAIN TRAIN'D ( But +2 Awesome)
Billy Boy: 20
Leo Gunner: ARROW'D
Pheonyx: 20
Mithril Zeta: 20
Cowman: TROLL'D
Moiread Scott: 20
Seikon: MENTAL BLAST HEAD EXPLODE'D
Coldfire Kaiser: HEAD SHOTT'D
Mr Grey: 21
Ozell One: 20

One heal before the night is through... (Moiread)
One shot before I sleep... (Prodiguy)
And now, I bid you all pleasant dreams.

*snore*

((I guess I'll have to assume Kip's arrival occurs after the SPC and Allen enter the building :P))

I think I'd scare people if I LARPed...

See... I tried backyard wrestling... that's... kind of LARPing...

Those bWo characters in my Kingdale Backgrounder are some of the characters we had, with mild tweaks to their names. Guess which one was me!

Don't get me wrong! I'm not saying the two (BYW and LARP) are anything alike. I find absurdity to be funny, so it was an attempt at humor!

Edit: Added that disclaimer at the end there.

True... The Bloodlines computer game (buggy, yes, still full of holes and all, but a rather decent game) has a scene where an enemy attempts to kill the player with a UV system. It fails...

The Blade movies, which is where the UV concept was first made widely public, is utilized on Marvel Comic type vampires. These vampires, however, are more like the X-Men mutants, in the respect that they are an alternative form of life as opposed to actual undead. In such a concept, the use of UV in their destruction is more believable, since they aren't the traditional "cursed" version of undead vampires. The same goes for the silver, which is usually reserved for werewolves.

You're right, though, about the UV not being Sunlight. Sunlight is supposed to also be a symbolic weapon against vampires, in the respect that it's as if God Himself is looking down on them and punishing them for revelling in their evil. So, for traditional vampires, a UV light is just gonna make their eyes glow, their veins more pronounced and the little dust motes on their black clothes show up as bright light specks.

It's what Kipland "Cobalt Black" Durj keeps loaded in those 9-mils he uses. No need to worry about destroying your gun when you can snag another not five minutes later off a random thug and fit the same clip into it. At least, the thugs in this city seem to be using the same types of weaponry...

Vampires? Throwing people through bunker ceilings? Werewolves, maybe. Of course, if you've played a healthy dosage of Shadowrun or Paranoia... Well... Then you're well-versed in the rules of the physical stress capacity of a human body when compared to a ten-foot thick block of concrete.

Then there's the other things Vampires have to worry about. "Wooly Peter" (White Phosphorous) is a wonderful thing. For those not well-versed in (or lacking access to) the military arts/supplies, ascetaline, kerosine, diesel, and good old fashioned gasoline are all very exceptional for putting down vampires.

I know this, because I had a sadistic GM...

Lord Diov: 21
Khellendrosiic: 24
Hallucinogen: 20
Essex: 24
Prodiguy: 21
The Soviet: 21
Lazarus: CRY MOAR'D
Devious Me: 20
Burning Brawler: 20
Arashi: 21
Halo Inc: PAIN TRAIN'D ( But +2 Awesome)
Billy Boy: 20
Leo Gunner: ARROW'D
Pheonyx: 20
Mithril Zeta: 20
Cowman: TROLL'D
Moiread Scott: 20
Seikon: MENTAL BLAST HEAD EXPLODE'D
Coldfire Kaiser: HEAD SHOTT'D
Mr Grey: 21
Ozell One: 20

One outta Khell. One into Prodiguy.

((Does this mean we can start the carpet bombings?))

Lord Diov: 20
Khellendrosiic: 25
Hallucinogen: 20
Essex: 28
Prodiguy: 20
The Soviet: 21
Lazarus: CRY MOAR'D
Devious Me: 20
Burning Brawler: 20
Arashi: 21
Halo Inc: PAIN TRAIN'D ( But +2 Awesome)
Billy Boy: 18
Leo Gunner: ARROW'D
Pheonyx: 20
Mithril Zeta: 20
Cowman: TROLL'D
Moiread Scott: 20
Seikon: MENTAL BLAST HEAD EXPLODE'D
Coldfire Kaiser: HEAD SHOTT'D
Mr Grey: 20
Ozell One: 20

BANG! Hah!

I figure, we can have all of us at least 20 at some point... It's jsut going to take a little sacrifice from some of our higher players...

Soviet, you've got a point you can spare...

There ya go, Billy Boy.

I can't wrap my head around the new batch of WoD games. I guess a part of my problem is that I was already so vested into the original WoD... I still wish I could've played Hunter: the Reckoning. They make it out to be some kind of "fight the monsters" concept, but when you actually sit down and read what you've got to work with, you find they put a horror movie into game form, and you're playing the victims with a few neat tricks...

From my esperience, a lot of RPers tend to look down on White Wolf games. I'm not entirely sure of the reason, maybe the whole LARPing scene with people dressed as vampires and such is weirder than LARPers who dress as knigths and wizards (is the satire getting through here?). My personal look at it, though, is that any RPG, just like any game, is what you make of it. With the right amount of imagination, anything is possible, and that's how I like to view RPs.

Me, I haven't been able to really indulge my roleplaying passion for a few years, now. This community I'm in? Yeah... Things like that are considered a waste of time when compared to drinking copious amounts of alcohol, listening to loud, badly thrown together music, or rewatching DVDs you've already seen many times over (My friends tend to refer to this as Real Life, which is why I shudder every time I see that or RL said on this game or in the forums). The conversations are pretty good, though. It's just nothing that can be repeated in polite conversation.

Randall Grey

I was a hero back in my hometown of Kingdale. When the Rikti attacked, I helped protect my fellow citizens along with a few of my friends and family who bore super powers of their own. After helping to fix up Kingdale, I moved on to here, Paragon City.
I did it for two reasons. One, I wanted to help with the rebuilding effort, and two, I wanted answers. I wanted to learn who the Rikti were, what they were after, and where my wife was. I've learned all that now, and have been happily reunited with Charlene.
So... Now I'm concerned with the reconstruction of Paragon City. To that end, though, I have been made painfully aware of the various groups in this city. With that in mind, I decided to focus exclusively on going to war with the villains. Sadly, this means I have to abandon my more quiet work as a construction worker to that of a super-powered hero.
Fortunately, I'm well equipped for that. I've had this strength and armor since long before the Rikti War.

Lord Diov: 22
Khellendrosiic: 24
Hallucinogen: 20
Essex: 24
Prodiguy: 22
The Soviet: 23
Lazarus: CRY MOAR'D
Devious Me: 20
Burning Brawler: 20
Arashi: 20
Halo Inc: PAIN TRAIN'D ( But +2 Awesome)
Billy Boy: 17
Leo Gunner: ARROW'D
Pheonyx: 21
Mithril Zeta: 20
Cowman: TROLL'D
Moiread Scott: 20
Seikon: MENTAL BLAST HEAD EXPLODE'D
Coldfire Kaiser: HEAD SHOTT'D
Mr Grey: 20
Ozell One: 20

Sorry Devious.

There ya go, Billy.