PUCheesehead

OOC: Well, crap!! I go out of town unexpectedly and my simple little post goes to hell in a handbasket. I should have posted something to that effect, but I honestly didn't have time. If people still were interested, I could restart from a less confused point. What do folks think?

Ice Bloc stood in the circle of officers. They brandished some dangerous looking weaponry, judging just the size of them. THey were barking orders, yelling at him to get on the ground and to put his hands behind his back. The problem was they were coming from different people. Ice Bloc had no idea what the protocol was, so he remained standing with his arms raised. He could hear a fight raging at the edge of his hearing, but knew that he could retrieve the amulet at his leisure. Being immortal changed his perspective of the time table.

He became intently interested when he heard the amplified voice from outside mention Azuria. "Yes, the Master asked me to come here and retrieve the amulet. I must pursue the beast that took it. Now where is it?!" He was walking toward the "entrance" he had made and the police were trying to stop him, though they were having no success. Ice Bloc looked out on the street, but could not see the fight he could hear. "WHERE DID THE BEAST GO?!" he shouted at the police, demanding that they tell him. It was almost as though he was getting angry.

((I know what you mean, TechSupport. I had so much to do this weekend that I couldn't post here. Anyway, back to the post.))

Ice Bloc had watched all that went on around him with a stoic passivity. He had even let Blood Wolffe leap away with him. When another hero showed up and began loosing blasts of fire, he became a bit more wary. This passed as he watched the fire consume the gentlemen dressed in odd coveralls. With the ensuing chaos, Ice Bloc reasoned that he may still finish his mission easily. As he stepped back toward the building, the asphault erutped, spraying pebbles and tar everywhere. Ice Bloc looked up and saw that a tube on the front of the flying machine was spewing sparks. Suddenly, he felt as though thousands of hard chunks of hail will raining down on him. This hail was much hotter however.

He didn't know what it was, but he knew it had to stop soon. He wound up like a spring and lept high into the air, cratering the street with the force of his leap. He saw that the pilot was spooked as the flying machine pitched backward. It didn't matter; Ice Bloc wrapped his arms around the nose of the machine and let his tremendous weight haul himself and the machine back to earth. He saw sparks coming off the street as the machine came down with him. In a flash, he saw large blades flying off the top of the machine. When it was no longer moving, he let it go and looked curiously at the blades that were easily longer than he was tall. He turned back toward the building and began walking.

This side of the building had a small door. He wrapped his massive fist around it and pulled it and the frame out of the wall. He looked to see flashing lights as some black and white colored cars were coming around to this side of the building finally. He simply ducked and stepped into the building. He saw that the Hellions were engaged in a heavy gun battle with the police. He was content to let them have at each other. He followed the tingle in his "mind", knowing that he was close to recovering the amulet.

He rounded a row of containers in the warehouse and saw a disturbing sight. A man in a demon mask was laying on the floor; his chest was burned rather badly. Standing over the obviously dead body was a man in green robes with a tall hat and red shoulder spikes and a demon with large bat like wings ((i.e. a Ruin Mage and a Behemoth Overlord, don't worry it's not "him" )). The man grinned at Ice Bloc and dangled a pendant on a leather cord. "Looking for this?" he hissed.

Ice Bloc charged forward, but was met with a gout of flame that shot forth from the Demon. He was about to try again, but he found the ground falling away from his feet. He tried to regain his footing, but the earth beneath him rose up again. It was as if the ground had become the surface of a rolling sea. He could only look on helplessly as the Demon grabbed the man and took flight through a hole in the roof. Eventually, the rocking stopped and Ice Bloc stood up. From behind him, he heard guns being drawn. "FREEZE!" came the command from behind him.

((Sorry Captain Neem, was writing mine while you were posting.))

Ice Bloc resumed his slow, steady pace across the Industrial Park. The Hellions scattered behind him as a black-and-white rolled onto the scene. The icy hero walked down the street and paused in front of an older warehouse. It had been an old Crey warehouse, but they had long since emptied out and was thought to be empty. The street vibrated with each of Ice Bloc's steps. He calmly walked up to an old rusted rolling door and reared back to punch the door down. The first punch bent it in considerably; the second broke it off the tracks; the third finally sent it back into the room, landing with a noisy crash. As the dust settled, he spoke.

"I have come for the amulet. Give it to me and I won't kill you."

This did not sit will with a rather large group of Hellions that had more then enough time to ready themselves. Three men in demon masks opened fire at once, peppering the icy hero with Uzi rounds. A fourth one cocked and blasted away with his shotgun which was just enough force to send the icy hero flying back off the dock. He landed with a crunch; flecks of ice raining down as he lay on the ground for a moment.

The Hellions could be heard cheering and hurling insults out at the "stupid tank". They disappeared as the "stupid tank" sat up.

Hail and well met, heroes!

HUZZAH!!

Verily, it pleases me to see such care and attention given to the correct means of speaking the King's English. I am greatly anticipating the feast. It should be a bounty of meat and 'taters that shall sate any stout and able-bodied man!

The ice beast kept walking. Whether he had noticed Blood Wolffe walking next to him was anyone's guess. He crashed through a bus stop awning, smashing glass and stomping the roof flat. News teams were starting to become more daring and setting up across the street from this creature. They were talking nervously into their cameras and loking frantically over their shoulders to make sure the icy "person" wasn't turning thier way.

Blood Wolffe finally said something that caused a reaction. "Where are you going? Do you need help? My name is Blood Wolffe, if you are going to accomplish whatever it is you are trying to do, you will need someone who knows how things work around here. I can help. What do you say?"

With that, the man of ice stopped and looked down at the feral experiment walking with him. "The Master has tasked me with retrieving an amulet. I will accomplish this task and be allowed to return home. I will not reside on this plane long enough to learn the ways of the people in it. Your assistance is not needed, but I will not stop you from interfering. If you pose a threat to me, the Master, or the item I am retrieving, then I will destroy you."

He didn't wait for an answer. He resumed his slow, steady pace across the zone. Blood Wolffe watched him walk, and could see his path was going to lead him right into a group of Hellions hanging out on a street corner. Judging from Ice Bloc's actions so far, he wasn't going to walk around them.

The Hellions noticed this as well. They all turned and faced this.... thing headed their way. "Well, look at this cool customer here!" said one of the goons behind his red bandana mask. There was a chorus of laughs that disappeared as they realized that he was still walking. The Hellions started pulling baseball bats and pistols, ready to take on this hero.

As soon as the weapons came out, Ice Bloc paused. His head tilted slightly as if he was intrigued by what these men were holding. That all changed when one of them fired off a round at Ice Bloc. At first, it wasn't obvious if he had even hit him. Then, the ice man looked at his right "shoulder" and saw a starburst crack in it.

He made no noise, no sound that he felt it. Instead he charged forward, growing in size as another layer of frost grew on him. The one who shot him was laid out as an icy fist landed sqare in the middle of his face. He landed a few feet away and did not rise. But then, he just stopped. The ice man just resumed walking. The other Hellions just stood in shock.

((In case you hadn't figured it out, Ice Bloc is an Ice/Ice tank without the Ice sword attacks.))

((This is a nutty idea I got when I was thinking of an origin story for one of my characters. I was just curious what sort of reactions I would get from other heroes if I could really act like this him. Hence, I figured I should post it here.))

The interns in the MAGI office of City Hall ran around, trying to collect papers that were being blown around. They knew that this would happene, but the strength of the winds coming out of the portal were far stronger than they anticipated. Azuria stood there before the portal unaffected; the circle at her feet glowed and blasts of snow wrapped around it. The intense cold from the portal was starting to cause frost on the cases scattered about the room. One of the interns finally shouted, "Are we sure this is a good idea?!" He was shielding himself from the combo of bright light and bitter cold that blasted from the open portal. Azuria called over her shoulder, "All of our magicians are busy and we are on an abbreviated timetable! We need someone or something that can take care of this!"

She closed her eyes and started forming the Latin words that formed the calling spell. The assistants' eyes widened as a massive column of ice stretched out of the portal, then another. Then, like a giant stepping through a door, a head ducked through, followed by shoulders and arms then a torso. Of course, these descriptions only describe the overall look and possible function of the pieces of the vaguely humanoid shape now standing in the room. A more appropriate dexcription would be chunks of ice that have frozen together to form this shape. The "joints" of the body spiked jaggedly and the body's "legs" expanded in diameter until they met the floor.

Two deep blue pits scanned the room as the "head" swivelled. Azuria stared at the creature before her, amazed at its size. She knew it would be a large entity, but she wasn't prepared for the sheer scale of what she summoned. She snapped out of it and dismissed the portal. The protecting circles disappeared with it. The creature looked down at her with stoic silence. She cleared her throat and tried to sound as commanding as possible. "Creature, I require your services."

"Name your task," rumbled the icy creature. The voice sounded like a combination of icy wind and cracking frost.

"There has been a theft of a magical item. You must retrieve it," Azuria responded.

"Where does it reside now?" came a quick answer.

Azuria looked in the file regarding the theft of an amulet being brought to MAGI for safekeeping. Her sources and her magic had told her that a group of Hellions had stolen it in hopes they could sell it to the Circle of Thorns for some fast cash. Azuria knew that it had to be retrieved before the sale happened; otherwise, it would be much more difficult to get back. "It is being kept in a warehouse about three quarters of a mile due East of here."

The creature looked down at her. Silence lingered in the room. Eventually, Azuria spoke. "Are you familiar with these terms?"

"No. They are not known to me."

Azuria's assitant stepped forward and whispered in her ear. Azuria nodded and began chanting. Slowly, the creature could see the amulet. It floated before him, out of reach. Suddenly, the image disappeared and he could sense the direction and distance to the amulet. "I have given you an attachment to the amulet. You will know where it is and how close you are to it. When you have recovered it from those who possess it, bring it back to me. Now go!"

With that, the creature turned and faced due east. He began to walk a steady pace that direction. Unfortunately, this meant he walked right into the ELITE office. He didn't notice the desk he crushed as he walked. Azuria came running after him, apologizing profusely to those her "new hero" had inconvenianced. She dragged him upstairs and showed him how to use the front door to City Hall. Once he was outside, however, the creature resumed his path. He faced the direction in which he could sense the amulet and began walking. This time he caused no big problem; no one really got in his way and the citizens calmly walked around him. This all changed when he stepped out onto the street without looking.

The driver was either too busy talking on his cell phone or simply didn't have enough time to stop; either way, he crashed right into the side of this walking ice man. The front end was heavily impacted; the creature simply kept walking. Citizens watching this were shocked. Many had assumed he was just another hero, but such disregard for a citizen couldn't be a hallmark of a hero, could it? Cell phones and police radios came alive and news of this odd "hero" began to spread. The walking Ice Bloc, as he had been called on the news, had reached Argosy Industrial Park when the news helicopters started to circle.

It was clear to see where the beast had walked; there were trampled fences and flattened trash cans stretching all the way back to City Hall. Still, he walked. No one knew what to do. Could it be another of the Winter Lord's creations? Was this the real Winter Lord? And what were the heroes doing about this thing?

((I've always loved "stranger in a strange land" stories. I'd like to where this story idea goes so.... TAG!))

((Wow, I need to check this board at night if I want to keep up. Can't just post at work or I'll fall WAY behind. ))

While the other new heroes came in, the man in white and blue contentedly shovelled food into his mouth. He took impossibly large bites and looked vaguely like a hampster as he ate. Finally seeing a break in the conversation and taking a moment to see how nicely his costume had been cleaned by that little box, the man in white swallowed the mouthful of food he had taken. He fumbled with something at his side; it's hard to say what it was, because of the table. He smiled at Alan and pulled his goggles back over his eyes.

"Nice work with my costume.. I was worried I'd be in the laundromat all night. To answer your question, peruse this." With that he slapped down a copy of Scientific American. The cover picture showed a man that looked exactly like the man sitting across from Alan. He was standing in front of some large mass of machinery with meeters and dials spaced every where in the device. The caption said simply "Terry Renyolds and the Discovery of Infinium".

"I'm not sure how much superheroes follow the world of science, but my little discovery is what brought me her to Paragon City. Simply discovering a new element wasn't enough for me, I had to find a practical application. So with some handy do-dads and what were some containment gauntlets..." he hefts up the still sparking gloves to illustrate what he means, "I arrived here to show the world what Infinium is capable of. As such, I took the name..." With a quick leap, Terry sprung up onto his chair. One foot shook the table top as he posed, fists on his hips. "CAPTAIN INFINIUM!!" he shouted. Just as abruptly, Terry hopped down and started eating again as if nothing had happened.

((Apologies if I thanked the wrong person for my suit. I forgot who had done as I was posting this... ))

The conversation in the room stalled for a moment when a small, smoky explosion temporarily deafened everyone in the room. When the heroes finally got through activating their quick defenses, the cafeteria was alive with laughs and curses at a man sitting alone at one of the tables. His white jumpsuit with wide blue lightning bolts on it was now a sooty black. The man pulled up his goggles leaving a "figure-8" area of clean skin visible. "Right, so that flash rate didn't keep containment," were his only words. Everyone eventually went back to their lunches as he man gathered up a pair of gauntlets that now sported sparking and sputtering circuitry.

He walked down the row, carrying his tray in one hand and his gauntlets tucked under the other arm. Now that he was standing, it was now easy to see the tools attached to his belt. He looked back and forth and saw an open seat next to Buck and Alan. Corporal Punishment stood near the wall and just shook his head as his eyes followed him, obviously thinking that what he inflicted on himself was punishment enough.

The soot-covered hero sat and dropped his gauntlets with a clatter on the table. He looked up and smiled at Alan and Buck as he gathered a forkful. "Hi!" was all he said before filling his mouth with food.

I've made hints and allusions to Destiny Knight's origin in some of my other posts here. I figured it was a good idea to just write a story to enlighten the masses, so to speak. So I hope you all enjoy it. Also, I find that the only way I'll get better is through feedback. I look forward to your comments.

July 31, 3987

The pad on the ground chirped to signal a solid hit as the hologram faded. Ian Harris smiled to himself as he wheeled the sword back up from his over head chop to sweep his sword through a collection of holograms to his left. The sensor pads all chirped in sequence as the holograms faded, signaling that they were defeated. He moved from "enemy" to holographic "enemy", linking his attacks as well as he could. He knew that the effort it took to wield the sword of a knight would be lessened if he slid his powerarmor on, but he found it better exercise to practice with out it.

He spun around as he reached the end of the line and looked frantically for the enemies to reform, but nothing happened. He furrowed his brow, wondering why his workout was cut short. He faced the control stand and saw the smiling face of his teacher and mentor, Sir Tanheuser. "I knew that I'd find you here. Every day, without fail, my pupil Ian is on the Training Yard, facing down the most horrible of simulated foes." With that he places his hands on Ian's shoulders. "This is why I know you'll make me proud one day."

Ian bowed his head. "I only hope I can live up to your confidence, m'lord."

Sir Tanheuser smiled. "I have no doubt. But I must ask you, don't you have something else to do right about now?" Ian's eyes flew open and he fumbled with the Timekeeper on his wrist. "By the Heroes, what time is it?" he shouted at it, almost demanding it to tell him. A cool mechanical voice reported back to him: "The current time in New Paragon City is 11:49 on July 31, 3987."

Ian looked up at his master, worry etched on every line of his face. "I'm going to miss my own ceremony!" he cried as he turned to run from the Yard. He slid the sword back onto the sheath on his back. Even though it was made of a moly-carbon honeycomb held together by polymers, it still hung low from its weight. He frantically tried to gather his things up. "I'm going to be so late, even if I run there."

Sir Tanheuser's smile never faded as his student rushed frantically to get himself together. "Not to worry, Ian. I knew this might happen. I have arranged for a transport outside. You can rest easy knowing that we'll be there in plenty of time." Ian turned to face his master, noticably relieved, "Why didn't you say so?"

The transport he had gotten was one of the flatbed trucks that Ian had become used to seeing around town as New Paragon City was being rebuilt out of the ashes of Old Paragon City. He threw his armor and the rest of his things into the back of the truck and hopped up as Sir Tannheuser rode in front with his driver: a man wearing the blue and white jumpsuit of the PCTA. As Ian sat in the back of the truck, he slid on the armor a piece at a time. As he did, his mind drifted back to what led up to this ceremony.

It was about 5 years ago that a supergroup, known only as "The Nine", stood before the Old Paragon City Council and told them of the visions that Lady Destiny had been having. In the past, her visions had led to some impressive arrests and helped the city avert some disasters before they happened. This time her vision was more severe. She had seen the city reduced to rubble; the entire population destroyed. She even saw the sky filled with Rikti craft. She didn't know when the attack was coming but it was going to wipe Paragon City off the map.

The council was not moved, however. The mayor and the rest of the council were confident that the Rikti could be repelled like they were before. After all, the City of Heroes had boasted a population of nearly 2.5 Million heroes now. Maybe the stories of the First Rikti War had been exaggerated over the millenia since it had happened. Maybe the Mayor had underestimated Lady Destiny's visions. Whatever the reason for it, the council voted down the evacuation proposal that The Nine had brought before it.

Luckily, Lady Destiny's story got out to the population and some officials in the Police Department, Fire Department and Department of Public Works agreed to offer their support, regardless of City Hall's ruling. By the end of that year, The Nine was ready to evacuate about 15% of the population with the help of those departments and some reserve members of the Freedom Phalanx.

No one had ever thought of the sewers as a refuge, but for nearly 18 months, "The Refugees" as they came to be known later, lived in what was once the most dangerous part of the city. It would not have been possible without The Nine and their coordiantion with the heroes to clear out an area for the evacuees. The Nine was confident they were prepared: there was enough edible food from food stores; there were vehicles and building materials; they even found a way to keep a small optical disk collection that had Paragon City's history to that point.

Their subterranean life was interrupted only once. The Mayor came down to try and get The Nine and the other heroes they had attracted to commit to the city's defense. It was painfully obvious by then that Lady Destiny was right. It was too late to evacuate the city; the heroes would have to fight. Lady Destiny was saddened to see the city come to this, but she knew that these heroes would be needed in the aftermath to protect the citizens of New Paragon City.

The Rikti came in great numbers; their ships rained down fire on the city for nearly a week. The heroes fought bravely, but it was no use; the Rikti were too many. One could almost say that they wanted to avenge their loss so many years ago. When they were content that they had destroyed the city that had stymied them years ago, they left. They didn't move on to another city; they didn't attempt to populate the ruins. They just left. No one knows why, but their mark had been left, nevertheless.

Ian latched his gauntlet closed as he remembers living through those days. He remembered helping bury some heroes and citizens in the Tomb of Old Paragon City. That image melted away as he looked up and saw the statues of Atlas and Statesman come into view. Their rebuilding was progressing nicely. The scaffolding was dotted with workers and heroes doing what they could to speed the process. The transport screeched to a stop and Ian jumped down off the back.

Sir Tanheuser walked around and checked Ian's armor. He nodded and smiled at Ian, pleased to have such a good student. It was an even greater honor to have his student recieve his knighthood today. He patted him on the shoulder and turned to lead Ian into New City Hall. A crowd had gathered inside to watch the ceremony. Most of the superheroes were here, either out of curiousity, their love of The Nine, or general comraderie for these men and women that were being honored today.

The candidates were already lined up at the front of the room with their sponsoring Lords behind them. Ian looked up and down the line. He saw Sir Phillips of Skyway, Sir Mackenzie of Brickstown, Dame Wright of Galaxy City, Sir Yonkers of Kings Row, and some others that he didn't know. He fell in as the Atlas Park candidate and waited for The Nine to present themselves. He didn't have to wait long.

A great cheer came up from the crowd as The Nine entered the room. They walked to the dias in the rear of the room where light shone through a "natural skylight" in the dome of New City Hall. Ian didn't hear much of the ceremony. His eyes remained locked on Lady Destiny. She was the Lord.... well, Lady that had taken command of his old zone. She was the reason he joined the Knight Corps training program as soon as he could. He snapped out of his reverie when her heard his name: "Ian Harris of Atlas Park."

He walked up the dias and knelt before the Lords of Paragon. The Nine insisted they be called by their old Supergroup name, but a lot of the citizens were starting to refer to them by this new moniker. He didn't care what they were called. He was about to become a member of their most trusted lieutenants. Lady Destiny walked up to him. Ian's heart raced as this enchanting heroine stopped before him. She reached over his head and drew his sword from the sheath on his back. He looked up at her, but he didn't hear her words. He was too busy swearing to himself that he would do whatever he could to protect his Lady. He heard cheering and realized that he had been knighted. Lady Destiny stood before him, cradling his sword in her hands. He took it from her and slid it back in his sheath. He took the helmet that showed his postion and slid it down over his head. The HUD started up immediately and configured itself for his face and eye spacing. He was a real knight now.

He spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the celebration for him and his fellow knights. He had never shaken so many hands before in his life. As the revelry dwindled, he saw that Sir Tanheuser wanted to speak to him privately. "Meet me at the ruin of Portal Corp tomorrow, early," he said, sounding rather cryptic. He then turned and was lost back into the party.

Ian rose the next day and headed for Peregrine Island and the ruin of Portal Corp. He laughed out loud as he experienced anti-gravity for the first time. He soared over the city, finally getting a real idea of the size of New Paragon City. When he finally landed on Peregrine Island, he had been flying for nearly 20 minutes. He saw Sir Tanheuser standing by the Rings of Portal. The two shook hands and Sir Tanheuser led Ian to a platform amidst the wreckage of the buildings that housed some of the most progressive research in history. The platform began to sink into the floor and eventually came to rest somewhere in the lower levels of the old Portal Corp building. Sir Tanheuser finally broke the silence. "Now, I want you to know that I have the utmost faith in you and I know that you'll follow any order I give."

"Yes, of course, m'lord." Ian was getting worried what this all meant. Was there something that Sir Tanheuser wanted to tell him?

"I must ask you to never reveal what you are about to see." With that, the older knight flung open a heavy sliding door. Ian was nearly blinded as he stared into the light of an active portal! The fusing disks still wirled around it and room crackled with the energy it was kicking off.

Ian shouted over the noise of the portal. "How is it still active?!"

"Portal Corp had a fusion reactor buried somewhere beneath it. It can run for another 2000 years!" he responded as they drew closer. Sir Tanheuser turned around and waved his arms wildly, shouting, "OKAY! SHUT IT DOWN!!"

Ian turned around and saw Lady Destiny and Auqous, Lord of Talos Island walk out of a control room along with 3 men in white lab coats. Behind him the portal's power ebbed and eventually it shut down. Sir Tanheuser turned to Ian and spoke as their illustrious guests came down to join them. "Ian, this portal is special. We're not sure how it's able to, but this portal has been able to make a bridge to the past, not just other dimensions like those invented in the 21st century. What we're about to suggest may be a lot to ask of you, but I have faith that you'll agree to help us."

Ian watched his Lady approach and he felt an mix of apprehension and excitement. If she was involved, could it be so bad? He heard her speak finally as she drew close. "Ian, I know you have just become a Knight, but I must ask you to do something great for us. We need you to go through this portal to help get more people evacuated before the Rikti come back to finish this city. I'm not sure how you can, but you must find a way. You must decide quickly, the device will loose synchronization soon."

Ian thought about what she had just asked. He could save so many, or he could cause such a panic that the city may descend into rioting and lawlessness. This seemed like too big a job for him. She was right, he had been a Knight for less than 24 hours and this was a rather big task for one man.

Ian looked from one person to the next and nodded slowly. "I'll do it. So long as I can come back when I feel that I've done all I can."

Lady Destiny smiled. "We've thought of that. Doctor?" One of the men in lab coats walked forward with an odd bracelet device. He clamped it down on Ian's left wrist.

"That is a temporal anchor. No matter what you do in the past, you will be snapped back to this timeline when you're done. When you activate the band, you'll see that light turn red. You then have 20 minutes to get away from any living thing within 75 meters of you. I would suggest flying away with your anti-grav belt." With that, the doctor fell back in with his colleagues.

Sir Tanheuser stepped up behind him. "I'll get you into position." The old father figure led him out onto the platform and positioned Ian as close to center of the device as he could. "Ian, trust in yourself and your training. Uphold the tenets that you've embraced these last 5 years: chivalry, loyalty, nobility. Those ideals will guide you above all else." The two good friends embraced and Sir Tanheuser joined the others in the control room.

Ian shot them a thumbs-up when asked if he was ready. The machine slowly whirred to life and energy began coelescing around him. He felt himself being lifted up slightly as the portal began to form. Suddenly, an arc of lightning shot from the portal and blew a panel off the wall. He saw sparks and smoke from inside the control booth and the scientists running for the extinguishers. Ian was about to go an run for help when he felt himself getting lifted up and away from the scene. He wanted to shout, but he soon became enveloped in a scintillating field. He couldn't move at all. He wanted to see if Lady Destiny was alright. Before he knew it he saw a large block of asphault speeding at him. He tried to brace himself, but it was too late, he slammed into it hard. He picked himself up and looked around. The field was gone. In fact, so was the lab. He was standing in an alleyway behind some multi level apartment buidlings. His HUD was going frantic, trying to report all the errors and faults in his armor. He slowed the list and his heart sank as he saw the nearly every system in his powersuit was offline, including his anti-grav system. How was he supposed to accomplish anything if his suit didn't work. He had a moment of realization looked at his temporla anchor. It was still intact which was Ian's first good news so far. As he examined it, he was suprised to find it had a readout. Curious what it was for, he turned it on. His whole body nearly shut down when he saw the date: "August 12, 2004". How could he have been sent for far back in time? What good could he do now? He looked at the bracelet and thought about activating it.

But he paused. He remembered what happened just before he left. What if they couldn't send him back again? This was their one shot. He resolved to do whatever he could in the situation he was in. A scream reached his ears and he rounded the building to see a woman struggling to keep her purse from two gentlemen wearing red bandanas over their mouths. Without thinking, he ran down the alley, drawing his sword. "Unhand that purse, knave!!!" he roared as he lept into action.

----------------------------

I hope it wasn't too long for some of you. I didn't mean for it to be this long when I started, but I couldn't stop when I started. As I said at the beginning, I look forward to your comments.

Well, it's hard to say when your main isn't from this time period (kicking self for difficult origin). But this is what I came up with.

Destiny Knight meets his living expense through a contract he set up with Exarch Tech shortly after realizing that the time jump had ruined a lot of his powersuit's functions. They pay his rent and food expenses and fix his armor and they get to work with technology that no one has even thought of yet. It's a win-win deal.

As for my alts....

Kinematics works in pizza delivery. He works under his heroic name so that his boss isn't too shocked to see him come back 5 minutes after leaving. He can never figure out how he makes so much in tips. ((Being a Mind Controller with SS would make a terrific pizza delivery guy IMHO. ))

Destiny Knight: He is from a future Paragon City and Lady Destiny is the Lady in charge of the zone where he grew up and trained. He was dubbed a knight and tasked to go back an prepare Paragon City for the cataclysm that led to his time. ((If you're really curious I can give you the full story of his future setting.))

Kinematics: He's a mutant that slowly, but surely realized that Newton's Laws of Physics didn't apply to him and that he could extend that influence into the world around him. The name just fit naturally. (I didn't go with Grav Control for him because Black Holes and such get more in Einstein's and Hawkings' style of physics.)

Thermodyne: He was a coolant systems engineer. He was experimenting with a new coolant and was accidently exposed to it. It didn't do anything immediately, but over time, he kept noticing that frost would form on his arms. Further investigation showed that he was drawing the heat from the air around him at such an elevated rate that it was super cooling. A short time later, he was shocked when his hands became wreathed in fire. Apparantly, the heat had to exit his body. He had become a living coolant loop. (Hence, why he's a Ice/Fire Tanker )

These are the more interesting stories.

Supergroup Name: True Blues

Website (if any): none

Leader or Recruiting Officers: Blue Zephyr and Destiny Knight (me)

Preferred Method of contact: none, currently. Teaming is always the best way for us to evaluate you

Guild Description: This SG was started by a group of friends of mine from college that wanted to keep track of each other since some of use were graduating and/or moving away from campus. It has been limited to just us, but if you team with us and you seem to mesh well with our personalities and the "tenets" of the SG, you may get invited to join.