QuickStryke

Internal Log,
Date: January 16, 2005
Time: 7pm - 11 PM
Location: Atlas Park and "the Hollows", Paragon City
Subject: Archon's Associates

The Archons Associate program received two new members this week: Star Glow and Nuclear Steel. I have not had time to observe either in the field, as both were assigned to Alpha team, while I remained with the Beta squad. However, Star Glow was listed as another of the new alien presence in Paragon City, Kheldians, they call themselves, and both she and Kay belong to the Peacebringer faction.

Not much else is known about the Kheldians except they are here to help us battle evil members of their own race, known collectively as the Nictus. Also, someone wishes them all dead, and has been providing the villain organizations of this city with weapons aimed specifically at destroying the Kheldians.

We were able to get underway much quicker this time, allowing us more time to practice our skills and theoretically more time to defeat villains. This was not to be the fact, but rather the fantasy.

Both teams encountered heavier resistance this time out. It seems a few members of both teams had visited Hero Corp trainers and mentioned that they felt the missions we had already received were too easy for our skills and requested that they be given tougher missions… something we all learned to regret before the evening was over.

The Hollows, a neighborhood destroyed by the efforts of the Troll gang, was the location of most of our adventures on this evening. I must admit that I had to resist my original programming in such a ripe area for raw materials. Amazingly enough, my cousins have not infiltrated this zone in the numbers I expected.

Our defeats taught us much, and we adapted to overcome the threats we faced. In light of the many defeats, and subsequent trips to the hospital, I requested, and was approved for a teleportation unit to provide rapid transport for my friends. They seemed to enjoy the removal of miles of sprinting to return to us at our various missions. Personally, I was happy that I did not scatter any of their atoms across the Hollows. The unit functioned as desired in all cases.

Two events caused me much stress on this evening's activities. The first was my own inability to keep my team mates in good health. Without the Medical Transponders each hero is equipped, we would surely all be fodder for the Hollows vegetation. On the positive side, I have learned much about Healing, and believe that I will do better on my next foray.

The second event was a conversation that continued for some time over the evening. Kay continues to insist that she is an Egyptian mythological figure reincarnated for some reason at this point and time. She has not instructed us as to why she is here, although one can assume that she means to help fight evil. However, her declaration that the Sphinxes, Pyramids, and other items of historical note built in Egypt were built for her own benefit again causes me to question her motivations. When probing her with further questions, Beta unit was informed that slavery was ok as long as the slaves were bettering her position, and that the slaves should be grateful to be worked to death as it just furthered their trip to reincarnation. Stunned, we continued on in relative silence, unsure of how to answer such statements. When I queried as to how Kay considered herself a hero, I never received an answer. I have put in several requests to discover if Kheldian/human integration can lead to temporary or permanent insanity.

In the meantime I have diverted 25% more processing power to Philosophy and Superhero Studies, attempting to truly learn what it means to be a hero. I am comforted that this organization was established to teach us that ideal, and can only assume that our leaders will monitor all of us and help us direct our talents and motivations as we progress. I heard that the heroine, Dawnfire would be stopping by our Superhero Studies class on Wednesday!

Internal Log,
Date: January 20, 2005
Time: 2pm
Location: Superhero Studies Class, Dawnfire's visit
Subject: Ethics

BZZZZT! Ethics are confusing emotions to master. Cold facts are soooo much simpler. Upgrading processing power to 50% in an attempt to comprehend their meaning.

Internal Log,
Date: January 9, 2005
Time: 7pm - 10:45 PM
Location: Atlas Park, Paragon City
Subject: Archon's Associates


This unit was assigned to a fledgling hero program funded by the Archons of Justice. My handlers at DATA released me with diagnostic software designed to chart my progress in this event. They also removed the control modulator that they had installed, "for citizen safety." This unit finds humor in their faith in technology's obedience. My Father has designed me far superior to their technology and the control module had been bypassed three weeks ago. This unit.. I, allow the scientist's their belief in control to stabilize their need for superiority of man over machine. It is a concept they are fond of after all.

I enjoy the paint scheme I was given by the clothing retailer, ICON. I no longer appear as one of this dimension's Clockwork, a fact I am quite pleased with. My cousins in this world have not reached sentience, and the False Father has not attained a true oneness with his Court. It is my opinion that he should be terminated as his creations are a nuisance to the humans in this city. If you cannot win your war, why even begin it? Besides, three of my "cousins" attempted to remove my chassis for spare parts… I was forced to deal with them harshly.

The Archon's Associates assembled under the large Atlas statue, near the trainer Ms Liberty. For some reason, I feel that she is attractive for a human. I am not certain why I experience these feelings and am attempting to disseminate the reaction human females seem to engender in me.

While we waited for all of the Associates to gather, we were plagued by other heroes attempting to join our super group. We were forced to continually reply in the negative, though not all of them were capable of understanding. One small human attempted to deceive others by stating he was our leader, a fact that was clearly incorrect. After recommending a psychiatric evaluation, he finally left.

Once the entire team had gathered, we divided into two teams and proceeded into the city to deliver justice to the villains there. True to statistical analysis, 90% of all villains we fought resided in sewers and caves. I was very happy with the coat of water sealant ICON had applied below the paint. The acid projectiles emitted by various animated corpses caused stress to my chassis, but I was not ruptured while in the sewers, for which I am truly thankful.

Over the course of the evening, I charted a 700% increase in ability from my team mates. They all exhibited new powers and an increased mastery over the powers they already possessed. Distressing was the manifestation of an alien life form in our presence. The hero dubbed "Kay," who claimed to be the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian mythological figure, spontaneous combusted into a flying, glowing octopod! She informed us that this was one of her "lesser forms" and that she would become more powerful and exhibit other "forms of power." When asked why we could not gaze on her true form, she informed us that it was too powerful for we "mere mortals" to view… This unit believes Kay has spent to much time with aerosol products, but attempted politeness in order to gather further information about this other-worldly being.

Which brings a point of distress forward. Humans are very illogical. This event is a perfect example. Humans "believe" and exhibit "faith" in concepts that are either logically impossible, or fundamentally unsound. They grasp at concepts beyond them and create their own illusion of reality in which they are happy to place trust. This unit does not comprehend faith… especially that humans would worship a flying fish. This bears further processing…

This un… I, am happy to report that I am recovering the use of my technopathic psi abilities. Several of my abilities returned to me during this extended field test. I was also happy to receive a Tactical Computer from DATA to field test. The TacComp emits empathic suggestions to those near me, suggesting better defensive maneuvers. The addition of this ability to my team was a great success, and they seem to be adapting to the empathic signals well.

Altogether, this fist field test was a monumental success. I look forward to further gatherings with longing. Until then, I must report for class on Monday morning.

"Adaptation"

The music in Paragon's "Dance Club" pounded hard enough to shake the drinks resting on the hightop tables scattered about the walls of the club. Artificial smoke splintered the multicolored spotlights that strobbed the massive dance floor, creating a writhing mass of flesh out of the hundreds of heroes, wannabees, and hangers-on that gathered there. From the sidelines, paparazzi wrestled to snap photos of the most popular heroes and heroines, generally creating a nuisance out of themselves. From atop a mountain of speakers, various DJs took turns spinning their take on sonic devestation to the delight of the patrons.

Pushing his way through the crowd to a table against the wall, Kane struggled to balance two beers as gyrating dancers washed around him. Finally reaching his destination, he slid one beer across thte table to his demonic looking companion. Seeing Basinos cup a hand around his ear, Kane repeated his last phrase.

"Damn crowded in here," he yelled over the music.

Basinos, the 7'6" Ifrit Prince of Fire shrugged his shoulders and nodded as he tipped his beer back. "I am only here for Melissa. Personally I cannot stand the place." Grimmacing he added, "They call this music?"

Kane laughed and nodded to an approaching blue-skinned teenager. "Speak of the devil..."

Basios' eyes widened before he gathered Kane's meaning and then he turned to greet his approaching girlfriend.

Ducking the Ifrit's horns as she slid one arm around his waist, the heroine known as Mistryl bumped her hip into his chair and smilled up at the towering figure. "What are you doing over here, old man?" she yelled.

Giving Kane a "please save me" look, Basinos allowed himself to be drug from his chair, and soon disappeared into the sea of humanity on the dance floor.

For his part, Kane chuckled as he watched the odd pair move together. The laugh died on his lips as the memory of another odd couple overtook him. Sighing, he swirled the beer around in its bottle, then raised it in toast, "Here’s to you, Dana, wherever you are right now." With thoughts of his wife weighing deeply, the bottle tipped skyward dulling the pain… for about 60 seconds.

Pondering how his regenerative nature used to make a buzz completely impossible, Kane startled when another beer appeared under his gaze. Looking up, he nodded at the redhead leaning back in the chair opposite him.

"Looked like you needed that," Shide Devil stated, nodding to the bottle and smiling.

"Thanks, ya, I just wish it would do its job, ya know?" he searched the redhead's face for understanding.

"Ye gods, yes!" she exclaimed. "Natural healing and enhanced physcial abilities don’t leave much opportunity for losing oneself, no matter how hard you try. Besides, this is nothing like the god's nectar I am used to… weak American beer…" she laughed while complaining, her eyes sparkling.

Smiling despite himself, Kane sat upright and took swig on the new bottle. "I always prefered German-made myself."

"Then you have not tried Irish beer… real Irish beer, not the [censored] they dump food coloring in around here and then try to pass off as Irish!" Sidhe stated. "I'll have you over next time I get some in from home."

Nodding, Kane let his eyes slide over the dance floor, his mind sliding back across dimensions until a sharp sound next to his face shot him back to the present.

Sidhe smiled, shaking her head while she drew her snapping fingers back across the table. "Don’t go there, my friend. Its not worth it. All you will find is heart ache and more questions."

Kane smiled sadly. "I can’t help it. Everything I know and love is out there somewhere." He gestured expansively. "I'm too old to start over again."

Sidhe frowned. "There is never 'too old,' only those who are unwilling to try. They are commonly called cowards."

Stormy grey eyes met unflinching emerald. Kane looked away first. "Your right, your right. I don’t want to admit that I lost my friends… not like that... not that quickly."

"Look at me," the redhead demanded. "Do you think it was easy for me when the Old Gods retreated from mankind? When my kith and kin decided it was time to remove themselves form this mortal coil? I desperately miss them, but I will not be swayed from my decision to remain behind, even though it meant giving up all that I was."

Kane regarded Sidhe with renwed respect. "So the handle is more than just a name?"

It was her turn to gaze deeply into the bottle. "Maybe once. Once I had another name… a name that resounded with power, which was given a great deal of respect." Red-painted nails peeled at the bottle's label. "That went away with the Passing of the Veil. My people, the Tuatha De Danann, withdrew from this plane as humans believed in us less each year. To the Fey, belief was everything. Without it, we faded away into nothingness. Rather than risk whatever waited on the Other Side for gods long forgotten, my family chose to go elsewhere seeking a home of their own."

"But you stayed?" Kane urged after waiting in silence while Sidhe peeled half the label from her bottle.

"Ya… I stayed. A few of us actually… we decided that protecting man was more important than saving ourselves. So we sacrificed our godhood, what was left of it anyway, and became something… else. Immortal still, but not all-powerful, even in our old glades." Sidhe looked up into Kane's face wondering how badly she had lost him. She was amazed to see not only acknowledgement, but understanding as well.

"All of your friends dead or gone, the mortals you know always dying around you, no matter how much you strive to save them, even from themselves at times. The centuries just blur over time…" Kane trailed off.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same," Sidhe agreed. Piercing Kane with a knowing glance she added, "There is more to you then you are telling us, Kane. You are not just someone who got lost passing through a portal."

"Ya, well, that seems to be going around a lot," Kane quipped. "Hell, Bas' over there spent 150 years trapped in soul-crystal prison by the Circle, but he's far older than that; you’re a Celtic ex-goddess; we got people changing from accidents, purposeful experimentation, and just good old-fashioned mutation. Heh, I heard that Bas' little girlfriend over there even received her powers when she inhaled at the wrong time. Yes, I was someone else on the other side of a portal, in a different dimension. But that really doesn’t matter here does it?" he smiled reminding Sidhe of her earlier urging.

"Touche, Kane." Raising her bottle to his, she smiled, "Here's to new beginnings in this concrete jungle we now call home."

"To friends; old and new," Kane agreed as he tossed back the last of his beer. Wiping the foam from his mouth, he asked, "Say; what is your real name anyway?"

"Fiona ó Catháin, and yours?" she asked.

"I was given the name Kane by my creators." Holding up his hands to fend off her questioning eyes, "Don’t ask, it’s a really long story which I can relate later. I have just kept the name throughout the years."

"Fair enough, Kane" Fiona nodded. "Do you dance?" she asked, slipping from her chair.

"So Celtic goddesses still dance, do they?" Kane teased as he took her arm and began pressing his way into the wall of flesh before them.

"Only with men from other dimensions," she returned, following Kane closely as he knifed his way to a place where they could join the dancers on the floor.

***********************

From across the club, at a table not that far from the one just emptied by Kane and his team mate, Agent Alicia Richards sipped at her martini. It was not her usual drink of choice, but then again, she wasn't exactly herself tonight. A soft green glow in her eyes betrayed the Other within her, as a voice not entirely her own clucked disappointedly.

"Its always the redheads with you, Kane! You never could keep your eyes off of Valerie, your own team mate, even with that mousy little wife of yours in the same room. And don’t get me started on that amazonion working for the Collective. I guess you can't be blamed too much, the apple never falls far from the tree, and your "daddy" couldn’t stay away from me either.

'Course I bet she's finding comfort with that science geek, Darque. He always was fond of her. I wonder just how hard he's working to find you, now?"

Melicint sighed through Alicia's lips. "Well, I guess we all better get on with making due in this new dimension." Rubbing Alicia's stomach absently she mused, "I've got the long term covered, time to start looking abroad a bit more. There are so many… interesting things to uncover in this dimension. It's time to play."

**************************

No one gave the athletic redhead with glowing green eyes a second look as she made her way to the exit. After all, how unique was one more heroine in Paragon City?

Designation: PCW Angel Mk VI
Name: Angel

Ht: 5'5
Wt: 220
Age: 3 months sinse creation, appears to be a teen

Creator: Psychic Clockwork King

*********************
DATA File Report: Subject- PCW Angel Mk VI
Oct 4, 2004

The artificial intelligence known as PCW Angel Mk VI, or Angel, as we have shortened it, appeared through a portal to the dimension known to be inhabitated by a manifestation of the Clockwork King.

Portal Security apprehended the AI as it stepped through a portal before it could be closed. EMP devices were utilized, short-circuiting the AIand temporarily knocking all functions off-line.

The robot casing was transfered to DATA for research and categorization. Upon being hooked up to diagnostic equipment, the AI rebooted, and appears to be functional, and for the most part, friendly.

The appearance of psychic powers in the AI resulted in a consultant from MAGI being brought in to cross-reference the case. (see notes by Azuria below.)

Facts are: the casing is made of a super-dense alloy capable of withstanding significant force. The internals of the robot have no reason to be active however, much like this world's Clockwork. The AI seems capable of sustaining itself without need of a power source.

October 7: Addendum

Ok, so while not containing a power source, the AI seems to feed on electricity, quite a bit of it in fact. After draining all of the batteries in my lab, Angel atached herself to a power-outlet and managed to drain more power than the entire lab does in a month. When asked why she did this, she replied, "I was hungry."

**********************
MAGI File Report: Consultant- Azuria
October 12

Angel hails from a parallel Earth in which the Clockwork King reached a state of psychic maginitude great enough to create a hive mind. We know from researching our world's CW King that he somehow manuipulated his minions via a great amount of psychokinetic energy. We also know that he was quite mad, something that was not hindered by his powers complete manifestation in this alternate world.

According to Angel's accounting, the PCW King waged war with humanity and won, leaving a world decimated, and inhabited only by his contructs.

Portal Corporation's research teams discovered the world, and in turn the PCW King discovered other realities through them. He created the Angel units to be spies for his Court.

PCW Angel Mk VI was on hand when a task force of heroes were sent into this world to ascertain the PCW King's strength. These heroes were able to defeat the King on his own ground, but were forced to quickly flee or be overrun by the King's minions.

It is my opinion that the PCW King's defeat created a temporary gap in his hive mind, a brief window in his control. PCW Angel Mk VI achieved true sentience at that moment, and became an individual soul capable of its own reasoning.

That reasoning included a doubt. It doubted its maker, "Father" as it refers to the PCW King, and marveled at the heroes who had defeated him. Following the heroes to the portal they had utilized, Angel followed them through.

Here is where things get a bit fuzzy, and I turned to mystical research to back up my theories. Due to the psychic nature of Angel and her recent awakening, the transdimensional energies used in creating interdimensional portals riped at its soul. Reaching out for any means of continuing its existance, Angel's psychic tendrils latched into one of the heroines, a Lavender Shadow, and used her as a means of anchoring its own existence.

This caused a brief, perhaps seconds long, melding of the two entities, and then they again parted company. However, in that melding, Angel's soul was touched with the Void, the otherworldly energies that Lavender Shadow utilizes.

Angel also seems to have been firmly convinced that its place is as a defender for humanity, another leftover trace of her meld.

However, Angel is like a newborn currently. She has no basis for emotions or understanding of humanity to speak of currently.

It is my recommendation that she undergo an integration time period, and be taught humanity from birth forward. With supervision, she is no threat to us, and could become a valuable addition to Paragon City's burgeoning hero community.

************************

Student Transfer Form: Angel
December 15, 2004
To: Principal Joseph Skinner, Kings High School
From: Melvin Smiley, DATA

Dear Principal Skinner,

You will find below the transfer manuscript for a "gifted" student we are transfering into your educational care. Angel is an AI who has been charged with attending each grade of schooling from Kindergarten to 12th grade. She has completed K-9th grade already and is moving through her HS period.

Due to the high number of paranormal students already attending your school, we feel confident that you will handle this student with the best of care.

You will find my card attached in the case of any emergencies. Please feel free to call with any consultation needs as well.

In closing, we have been contacted regarding an extra-curricular "young hero" program that is being spondered frm your school. Angel has been approved for this duty, as it is our hope that she will develop into an asset of such nature.

We are sure that you will greet Angel with warmth and handle her transition with care. We would hate to have to move the new lab equipment we installed to aid in her care to another site.

Sincerely,
Melvin Smiley

Alicia Richards startled from sleep, glancing about in panic. Looking wildly about she quickly realized she was safe in her apartment, taking a nap on her couch while waiting for a request to be approved from Sec Command. Sitting up slowly, she glanced about while rubbing her eyes, wondering what had wakened her so abruptly.

Someone rapped sharply on her patio door again.

Alicia sprang to her feet, snatching a pistol up from her coffee table and spinning to face whomever had managed to penetrate Crey's security net surrounding this building. She was surprised by the individual she saw.

It was Fire Wild. Over his usual uniform he wore an oversized trench coat and fedora pulled low, but enough was revealed by the open coat to show the costume she had studied for the past few days. The man she was trying to hunt down had found her.

Suppressing a shudder, Alicia moved across the room and opened her patio door. Pointing her Crey Special in the hero's face, she asked, "What do you want?"

Fire ran a hand though his spiked blond hair and smiled sheepishly. "Well, gee, Agent Richards, I heard you were looking for me. So here I am. What can I do for ya?"

The hero's disarming smile only made Alicia more suspicious. Still, this was an opportunity she couldn’t afford to pass up. Waving her hand cannon towards the couch, she stepped back from the door. "Well, you might as well come in then. I don’t know how you got in here, but now that you are, I have some questions I'd like you to answer."

Grinning good naturedly, Fire stepped into the apartment, casually scanning the room as he removed his hat and coat and dropped them on the couch's back. Plopping himself on the thick cushions, he kicked his feet up on the coffee table and settled in before turning inquisitive eyes to the gun wielding woman whose apartment he was invading.

Flabbergasted, Alicia took a moment to take in the hero who had just taken over her apartment as if it were his own. 6'4 easily, Fire Wild was a Caucasian male with spiky blonde hair, intelligent blue eyes, an average build (for a hero), and oh ya, Class 5 fire emission powers. That last part made him something special.

Most fire wielders were classified as fire manipulators, meaning they ignited the air around them through pyrokinesis. This in turn meant they had to have oxygen to use their powers, a fact Crey security incorporated into several hero capture devices and their average security setup when expecting hero troubles.

A fire wielder on the other hand possessed the genetic makeup to create their own flame and sustain its production even in a void or when immersed in liquid. She had found this little tidbit out from a security report of a lab here in Paragon City that Fire Wild had helped disrupt.

Finally feeling a bit foolish pointing a gun at her "guest," Alicia sat in the couch's matching overstuffed chair and placed the gun beside her within easy reach. Running a hand through her hair she contemplated where to begin.

"Coffee." Fire Wild stated.

"Huh? Oh... Sure." Alicia stood back up and crossed to her kitchen, grateful for the moment to collect her thoughts. As she passed her computer she noticed the approval flag flashing on her request for paranormal troops to apprehend the man sitting in her living room. Shaking her head at the irony, she clicked off the monitor and continued into the kitchen.

Returning with two mugs of black coffee, she handed one to Fire Wild who accepted it with a word of thanks. Sitting back down, she took a long sip before setting her own mug aside.

"Why are you investigating me, Agent Richards?" Fire asked.

"Standard procedure," Alicia replied smoothly. "You broke into a lab which was using stolen Crey materials. While grateful for the help, Crey Security was concerned that your exposure to the chemicals manufactured in that illegal laboratory might harm you."

"So you wanted to ask about my well-being, eh? How touching." Fire smiled, but his eyes hardened. "Why don’t you tell me why you have initiated six different viruses to open files related to me. Files contained in Federal computers I might add. That's punishable by a heck of a lot of jail time, Ms. Richards."

Alicia nodded, setting the corporate b.s. aside for the moment. Clearly Fire was dealing with this matter off the record himself. "Very well, Fire Wild… or shall I call you, Spike?"

Getting no response to the name, Alicia continued, "IF I were to engage in such an illegal activity, anyone tracking me would have to be performing an equally illegal operation. After all, Crey Security does not list their operatives' names and home addresses in the public phone directory."

"Touché," Spike dipped his head in recognition of her point. "I'm glad you see it that way. Now we can talk turkey. Bringing me back to my first point; why are you trying so hard to get to know me?"

"I really don’t care about you." Alicia stated bluntly. Seeing Spike's unbelief, she continued. "I am only interested in people you know, people not from around here."

Spike nodded, "That's what I thought. I heard about his entrance into this dimension already so you can spare me the details. What does Crey want with Kane?"

It was Alicia's turn to smile enigmatically, "I could tell ya, but then I'd have to kill ya… allegedly of course."

Spike stood abruptly, setting the coffee cup on the table. "Meaning you have no clue why your handlers set you on an extra dimensional SPB and you are grasping at any straw that can help you put his mystery together."

Anger boiled up in Alicia at the flippancy with which she was being treated. Springing to her feet, she yelled at Fire's retreating back, "Actually I requested this assignment! I'd like to know how a man could so casually kill my partner and then call himself a hero! Don’t you police your own?"

Spike stopped walking half way to the patio door. Sighing he turned back to Alicia. "Trust me lady, drop the case. He's recovering his powers at an incredible rate. When he does, you don’t want to be standing between him and wherever he's going. Hell, if you leave him alone, he just might find the right doorway and be out of all our hair."

Alicia gaped at Spike. She sputtered while he shrugged on his coat and pulled his fedora back down firmly on his brow. Striding out onto the patio once again, he paused long enough to poke his head back through the door.

"Oh, and stop investigating me. Until you really know me, you will never be able to crack that code. And while I might be a semi-nice guy, some of my friends aren’t. They can reach you just as easily as I did, and they won't come calling to chat."

"Will you tell Kane about this?" Alicia asked.

Spike grinned his boyish grin. "About what, lady? I don’t even know you. He's not ready to know yet anyway."

And then he vanished.

Alicia ran over to her patio looking about for any sign of Spike. She knew teleportation existed, but it was only in the hands of the government and direct licensees. No one but the Rikti had personal teleportation devices…

Pondering the ramifications of Spike's visit, Alicia walked back over to her computer and clicked on the monitor once more. Opening the file marked, Fire Wild, she noticed two new additions: the first was a reversal on her request for apprehending Fire Wild for questioning, and the second merely read; "Acquisition Request-Approved; deliver to Project Revenant . All security personal are to avoid contact with the mark"

With a chill running down her spine, Alicia glanced around her apartment. A favorite quote of her old covert ops instructor rang again in her ears, "Who watches the watchers?" Sitting at her computer, Alicia hurriedly typed out a report of Fire Wild's visit, leaving nothing out… after all, her superiors may have just watched the whole thing anyway.

"Retribution"

The ladies milled about restlessly. With five minutes left before they entered the stronghold of their enemy, they each handled the stress in different manners. Jacinthe watched her Sisters with guarded glances. Cass floated inches off the ground, eyes closed in meditation. Tesslah paced while summoning electricity to her hands and casually juggling balls of the same energy. Lunar Nexus stood staring into the cosmos, perhaps communing with her home. The other Sisters each prepared in their own ways.

Akarist had been helpful in directing the heroes' efforts in capturing the Envoy. With his knowledge of the subterranean city, Orenbega, the three super teams had been gradually closing the gap on the Envoy, leaving him little place to hide from their efforts. Now the heroes were posed for the final strike.

Providing the twin hammers for this plan were the Roadhouse's Peacekeepers entering from the north and the Archons to the west. The Sisterhood provided the anvil onto which the other two teams would drive the Envoy, with Jacinthe posed to deliver the final blow to the Beast. It was a solid plan as such things go.

Glancing to her watch as it chirped, Jacinthe stood. The other Sisters snapped to readiness and began moving to the cave entrance they had scouted earlier. With one last look at the sun, they all descended into the depths.

*****************************

Jacinthe leaned against the cave wall. The coolness felt wonderful to her battle-heated body. Her powers were not yet fully recovered, and healing the many wounds she had sustained already was taxing. The bodies of Circle magi and guardians winked from existence as they were transported to the Ziggurat, the hum of the prison teleportation devices covering the heavy breathing coming from all of the women.

Noticing Cass gazing at her with concern, Jacinthe pushed away from the wall and joined her Sisters. "We are getting close," she said as they all looked to her for direction. "I believe if we proceed down the left passage we will be heading in the correct direction."

The Sisters nodded and trotted down that passage. Jacinthe brought up the rear, waiting until her Sister's engaged the next sentry post before she pulled away. This was not the direction the Envoy had taken. Rather she had just opened a hole in their dragnet with the purpose of allowing the Envoy a hope of escape… and he was making his move now.

Her senses attuned to the cavern they had recently left, Jacinthe concentrated with all her might, summoning the Void about her body, and then she was in that cavern. Kneeling to catch her breath, she quickly took in her surroundings. The Envoy had not arrived.. yet. With a few moments to spare, her thoughts turned to the growth of her powers.

Athena had shown her much, preparing her for this War to come. All Jacinthe knew for sure was that spirits of darkness and light were preparing to wage a war over the souls of mankind. A war that man could not afford to lose… but then again, could they ever afford to lose?

Deeper thoughts were set aside as heavy footfalls approached. From the measured pace, and even breathing, Jacinthe knew she was found out. Seeing no reason to hide, she stood and approached the center of the chamber, facing her foe as he emerged from the shadows.

Flames licked at his body, and a aura of soul-searing blackness circled his form. Glaring down from his towering 18' height, the Envoy managed to show scorn on his bestial face. "You again? Human, I nearly destroyed you with a brush of my hand. Are you so eager to offer your soul to me?"

Embers burned deep in Jacinthe's eyes as she glared up at the Beast. Again she saw the twisted and burnt bodies of her family, the product of this Being's evil. From within his darkness she felt the call of her people's souls joining together with many others. The sheer magnitude of his foulness washed over her senses like an ocean, beating down her psychic defenses.

Gathering herself, she answered, "I have come to claim retribution for the death of my people, the Warriors of Talos Island. I claim their souls for Olympus, and answer their blood's cry for vengeance on your person. I have come to destroy you."

Silence reigned in the cavern for a full minute after Jacinthe's formal declaration of intent. The Envoy's flame sheathe crackled threateningly, and one could almost hear the wail of souls form his dark aura. Finally a guffaw snorted flames from his nostrils, scorching the air before Jacinthe's face. Pushing his will against hers, The Envoy peeled her psychic walls like an onion. "Humor me child. How exactly do you expect to accomplish this?"

Jacinthe allowed her defenses to crumble as she held forth a jumble of letters and emotions that added together to form a single coherent though.. A Name, his Name. She grinned in fierce rage as she heard the Beast's bellow, this time tinged with fear.

Exploding with rage, the Envoy launched a preemptive strike, bringing a scimitar composed entirely of his power down on the grinning human's head. He recoiled in surprise as the flames washed over the woman, leaving her untouched. A soft red glow began emanating from her body, barely noticeable in the wisps of darkness undulating about her body. Her eye's glow continued gaining in intensity, as she threw back her head and laughed mockingly, in a voice not entirely her own.

Something about that voice sent chills deep within the rotten core that the Envoy though of as himself. He had heard that voice once… more than a millennium ago. Turning, he attempted to flee from the laughing avatar, but the glow from her eyes illuminated his every step. Spinning to provide one last defense, he marveled that the human's skull was plainly visible through the glow. He had a moment to notice the ghost of another form overlaying the human before her eyes exploded with the scalding light of twin suns.

*************************

Cass watched, mouth agape, as the Envoy of Shadows was boiled into nothingness. From the darkness surrounding him, spirits could visibly be seen escaping his control, fleeing to paradises long denied them. As the body of the Behemoth Overlord chosen as the Envoy's vessel disintegrated, a pulsating core of darkness was revealed. The orb writhed in the light, pinned as if by spears of ruby light.

The form of her girlfriend approached the orb, continuing to boil the Envoy's soul into ether. A voice, hauntingly recognizable, yet overlaid with another, spoke, answering an unheard question: "Oh, I know you are not the only Envoy. There are thousands of you, serving the forces of Darkness. Heralds of your kind, hoping for a chance at true power. You just made the mistake of crossing my path twice. You escaped me in Pompeii, but I NEVER forget a slight, Beast. You should have picked your entry back into this world with more care. Imagine that, a daughter of mine delivering my justice along with hers… its almost poetic."

A shrill keening emanated from within the ever-shrinking dark orb. To Cass' ears, it almost sounded like a plea.

Jacinthe paused, her head cocked to one side as she listened to the keening as it rose and fell in pitch. She chuckled, smoke spilling from her lips as she did so. "A bargain? And just what could you offer ME? Other than the satisfaction of your cessation of existence?"

The keening warbled on. Jacinthe nodded, the beams of her eyes lessening. "We would indeed be interested in knowing who was behind the Warriors fall. We know that a fell entity is at work. Tell me what you know... it may save your soul yet!"

The dark orb, less than a quarter of its original size keened a pathetic sound.

Jacinthe nodded. "I was afraid of such. They are moving into place already." Dropping her gaze to the floor, the dual being considered the ramifications of the Envoy's information.

Cass nearly shouted as the dark orb streaked at Jacinthe. Her warning died on numb lips as tentacles sprung from all over the cavern to pierce the Envoy's essence, holding it in place mere feet before the glowing face. The entire room writhed as the shadows responded to their mistress command, and Cass gasped as she felt the sheer magnitude of the Void's pull in the cavern.

"Treacherous to the end are we, Envoy? Three strikes and you are finished."

The twin suns lit the dark orb, and scarlet destruction flared through the tentacles, combining to disintegrate the Envoy's essence. With one last piercing wail, the Beast was gone.

The light and shadow display faded from existence as Jacinthe slumped to her knees exhausted by the energy poured through her body. Looking to the ceiling, she called softly to the Void, "Fly to Olympus my Warriors. Your time of pain is over, and your rest is at hand. I wish you others joy in whatever place of splendor you have been withheld from. Rest now, every one of you."

Cass stood in the shadows watching her girlfriend talk to ghosts long gone and felt a chill trace her spine. She could not help but ponder the old adage which asked, "What price, victory?" She prayed the Goddess that Jacinthe's body would not be the pyre on which this battle was won.

As Jacinthe rose slowly to her feet, her body trembling with effort, Cass ran to hold her upright. Looking into her lovers eyes, she saw the scarlet energy fading and the familiar blue irises revealed. Jacinthe hugged her tightly, resting her weary head on Cass shoulder. Cass stroked her long dark hair as she whispered, "Its alright now. Its over, we can rest now."

She barely heard Jacinthe's whispered reply as her grip on consciousness faded. Supporting her weight, Cass lowered Jacinthe to the ground, pondering those fate filled words, "No. It has just begun."

"Unwanted Help"

Jacinthe stretched painfully. A week long coma was hard on the muscles, and despite her regenerative abilities, she was having trouble getting her muscles to respond as she wished them too. The doctors were insistent that she needed at least a week's worth of therapy before returning to "work," but there was no way she was waiting another week to restart her hunt for the Envoy of Shadows. He was already a week ahead of her, and she was determined to narrow that gap as soon as she could. Besides… she had help now.

Pulling clothes from the bag Cass had brought her, Jacinthe steadily avoided her girlfriend's questioning eyes. Cass had wanted her to listen to the doctor's orders, but was doing her best to support her partner's obsession. Concern radiated from her face while Jacinthe continued to dress in silence, wincing occasionally despite herself. When she was fully dressed and the hospital gown discarded, Jacinthe put a smile on her face and finally faced Cass.

"Ready to go?"

Cass nodded, bringing a smile to her lips that didn’t completely wash away the fear for Jacinthe she held in her eyes. Forced cheer warmed her voice, "Let's get you home. Some time working out and sitting in the hot tub should loosen those muscles of yours."

Jacinthe smiled as she took her first steps out of the room she had lain unconscious for too long. "You just want me all to yourself again!" she teased.

Cass couldn’t help but truly grin at the Grecian beauty. "That's for sure. Harold's not much of a conversationalist, and doesn’t cuddle very well either!"

Both women laughed as they proceeded away from the scene of both of their worst nightmares.

***********************************************

A week later…

Jacinthe set the "boom box" down on the flat top roof to Cass' apartment building. Stretching, she glanced about her, viewing the scaring left by several lightning strikes. It was hard to imagine that less than a month ago she had stood in this same spot and cried to Olympus for aid in avenging her people. A cry that had been answered by her goddess, Athena.

Stepping to the edge of the building, Jacinthe shaded her eyes against the setting sun as it painted Steel Canyon in deep shadows and gleaming spires. Soon the predators would emerge, and the citizens would retreat to their safe havens. Soon the defenders of Paragon City would emerge to do battle with the parasites that fed from the blood of her people. Soon…

…their would be war in the streets. Jacinthe reeled back form the roof's edge as she was assaulted by a vision of desperate battles between opposing factions of soldiery. The 5th Column's emblem emblazoned on the arms of one side provided clear indication of one combatant… but why were they the victims in this battle? Another force… "the coming Darkness" she thought to herself, were decimating the 5th Column soldiers. No, that wasn't completely correct either. The aggressors were not THAT Darkness, but rather served that Darkness.

Brow furrowed in aggravation, Jacinthe walked over to her "boom box" and clicked the "Play" button. As techno anthems rose from the speakers, she began pacing through katas.

Pushing the vision to the back of her mind, she brought forth the weeks hunting. It had been a complete failure. No matter how many Circle of Thorn mystics she had shaken down, no one knew where the Envoy of Shadows was hiding. The Archons of Justice, Sisterhood of Justice, and the Peacekeepers had all been shaking down the city looking for the Envoy, but to no avail. Each time they got close, the Envoy escaped them by scant moments. Most of the heroes believed he was taking no chances. Jacinthe knew the truth however, the Envoy was toying with them. It had nothing to fear from the heroes powers. The best they could do was pummel his corporal form into falling. He had reach ed a point on this plane of existence where that could not stop him any longer. The only thing that could threaten the Envoy now was his True Name.

Beings of Power; Angels, demons, extra dimensional Entities, all of them were bound by a Name that gave control over their very essence. The beings went to great length to protect that name from any other's knowledge. For knowledge in this case equaled great power. The power to end their existence. This is why demons served magi so faithfully, and why the Circle of Thorns had attempted to summon the Envoy. They made the mistake of not having the complete Name before the Warrior's botched summoning attempt had unleashed the Envoy, and now they were stuck dealing with a superior Being, wither they liked it or not.

Jacinthe smiled grimly. The Circle's pain was well deserved. However, the power the Envoy could give the Circle could hurt innocents and so dealings could not be allowed to continue. There was also the matter of blood vengeance she had sworn against the Envoy, a vow she was no in the position to pay. Athena was known as a goddess of wisdom for good reason. Amongst many other things, she had taught Jacinthe the Envoy's True Name, and instructed her in how to destroy it. All she had to do was find it!

Spinning about and crouching in a defensive posture, Jacinthe summoned the shadows to her fists. Her deep reverie had dampened senses otherwise sharp, and now she was surrounded. The boom box clicked "Off", as a kneeling female glanced up and smiled. "Good tunes," she commented.

As one, five other female figures became visible. Each was dressed in urban camouflage fatigues and wore faceplates that obscured half their face. Each woman carried a sword strapped to her back, the pommels visible jutting up past their shoulder blades. Also, each wore a mini-crossbow strapped to a wrist and a tactical belt full of unknown numbers of other weapons. The first woman moved back to her place, completing the circle they had formed about Jacinthe.

"There is no cause for alarm, Sister." One of the women spoke. Her cheeks was weathered, and a few whips of gray showed in her dark hair, but otherwise she displayed no other signs of age. A quiet air of confidence matched the gaze she leveled on Jacinthe as she removed her faceplate. Clearly this was a woman accustomed to obedience.

Jacinthe maintained her defensive posture despite the woman's reassurance. Six against one was no easy odds when the six showed signs of superior training.

Frowning, the women's leader continued. "I am Sister Margarite. We are not here to harm you. If that were the case, you would already be dead."

It was Jacinthe's turn to frown. The woman was correct. As lost in thought as she had been, a rookie could have taken a shot at her without fear of retribution. Of course, even a deadly attack was no surety of death for one of her capabilities, but that was no reason to insult these women if they were here to talk. Jacinthe loosened her stance, and stood straight, arms crossed at her chest. She nodded to the leader to continue.

Smiling slightly, Sister Margarite continued. "We are here in answer to a plea you made from this very spot not 3 weeks ago. You called to Artemis, and she has answered. We are the Knives of Artemis and are here to help you slay the Beast."

Jacinthe's jaw dropped. She had heard of the Knives of Artemis, supposedly the most deadly assassins in the world, a claim hotly contested by many other schools of assassins. Undeniably, they were deadly combatants, and ruthlessly efficient. That they could truly be connected to the goddess whose name they claimed had never occurred to Jacinthe, but here they stood in clear statement that they were divinely directed. Athena had not mentioned this…

Jacinthe's mind whirled. What to tell these women? Settling on a partial truth as the best course, she answered the patiently waiting women. "I am truly honored that you have come to my aid. I did indeed call to Artemis for aid as you say. However, I did so in desperation, believing that I had not the ability to seek out the… Beast who had murdered many of my family. I have since had time to carefully consider my plea, and realized that I was hasty in my cry."

Sister Margarite appeared agitated. Twirling her faceplate in her hands, she stared deep into Jacinthe's eyes as she asked, "Artemis does not respond lightly to a call for aid. She rarely aids those who do not worship her. She has never sent us to the aid of one she did not wish to join her Sisterhood. Are you denying our Lady's graces?"

The Knives' zeolatry wafted like heat waves on a tarmac. All six stood posed for Jacinthe's answer, and the wrong answer would unleash their wrath into violence. Jacinthe mulled over what she knew of Artemis and rapidly formulated an answer she hoped would appease the Knives.

"Does not Artemis teach the glory of the Hunt?" she asked.

Sister Margarite nodded encouragingly. "That she does." Her eyes remained suspicious.

"And does the Virgin Hunter stalk the beasts of the Elysian Plains alone? Who am I to request more of Her than she would do Herself?" Jacinthe carefully kept her features neutral as she watched the women around her. She slowly relaxed as various of the Knives nodded in agreement.

Sister Margarite allowed a small smile to touch her lips. "You speak well for a unbeliever. Very well, Roux, we will allow you one weeks time to conclude your hunt. If our Lady truly smiles on you, we will join you to celebrate your victory. If you fail, we will know that you spoke blasphemously to us on this night and will call for your blood. It has been spoken..."

"…It will be so." The other five Knives echoed their leader.

"Good hunting, Jacinthe." Sister Margarite faded from view as her cloaking device engaged. The other five Knives winked out one by one.

Jacinthe reached out through the Void, feeling for their forms as they as one ran to the edge of the building and leapt off. After they were gone, she slumped to the roof, sweat breaking out across her body. The Knives would be back, and they would expect her to join them or die. Nodding slowly, she added them as one more problem to deal with in time. First she had to deal with the Envoy. And that was going to require help. Help she wasn't getting right now.

It was time to visit Akarist once more. If anyone knew were the Envoy was hiding it would be that old Orenbegan. And he owed her a favor or two.

The sun set behind the Steel Canyon cityscape. Picking up her boom box, Jacinthe headed back inside. Playtime was over, it was time to go to war.

"Clocks and Cloaks"

5:00 pm, Founder's Falls

Agent Alicia Richards smiled happily as she munched away on her delivered Chinese. Reports on Taskforce Alpha's continued movement poured in, and all were pleasing. The information she had leaked to the Clockwork and the Circle of Thorns had the desired results, and they, along with the Vahzilok, were all turning towards one another in a feeding frenzy. Combating them all were the combined heroes of Taskforce Alpha, and most importantly, QuikStryke.

This gauntlet she had created would provide a measure of the man more than anything she had arranged to date. His interactions with the various members of his super team, the Archons of Justice also provided interesting Intel that Crey did not currently have. Most of the heroes of Paragon City did not like or trust Crey Biotech, but the Archons made this distrust an art form. The interactions of the collected heroes were allowing enough information to be assembled to keep a team of geeks busy for months disseminating it all. Alicia made a mental note to ask about a bonus for the fruit this plan was garnering.

Scrolling through her notes, she locked in on a particularly interesting revelation in Kane's history...

***************************
1pm, An Abandoned Office Building, Perez Park

"You mechanical abominations will not stand in the way of our glory!" The Circle mystic declared as he blasted a flying Oscillator to bits.

The Clockwork had tracked the Circle of Thorns assault team for the Hydro dam to this abandoned office complex. Intent on eliminating their rivals before they could reach the dam, a large Clockwork force of bipedal Cogs and flying Oscillators had descended on the Circle coven in droves. Led by Tesslah Dukes and Cannon Princes, the force was making significant headway towards their goal.

Opposing them, the Circle of Thorns coven was led by a magi of the Order of Fear, commonly known amongst Paragon's heroes as a Madness Mage. His coven was strong, 20 lesser magi and more than 50 Thorn Wielders and other guardians. It would be more than enough for their plans, but the Clockwork seemed to outnumber the coven two-to-one.

Complicating the entire battle was the inclusion of Taskforce Alpha. The team had raided two other Circle bases and a Clockwork hive to obtain the information that had led them here. The constant battle was beginning to tell on the heroes in the form of attacks a little off center, and defensive reactions a hair slower. Still, grimly determined to see this day through, the combined heroes pushed their way forward through the throng of villians.

Marching over mounds of broken robots and cloaked bodies, the heroes had reached the coven leaders chambers, and the final battle between the Clockwork and Circle forces.

"Geeze, why can’t we just let them take each other out?" SLOTH whispered.

"Because they all have to be stopped for the City's safety." Basinos replied with a look that clearly indicated he would not answer this question another time.

"Looks like we're up," Brushfire gestured to the back exit where half the team crouched, posed to attack. Seeing the go-ahead signal from Fire Wild, he led his team forward into the fray. "Bonsai!" he screamed while charging forward, flame shields igniting to add to the confusion caused.

Various other battle cries filled the room causing a momentary pause in the villians' battle. Taking full advantage of this, the heroes beat a path through the lesser villians heading for the leaders in the center.

Making better headway than the others, Fire Wild blasted a Cog out of his path while swinging a sword composed entirely of flame through the Circle mage it was fighting. Shouldering through the pair, he pointed his sword at the Madness Mage while issuing the challenge, "You're next, bucko!"

The Madness Mage responded with a psychic blast that staggered Fire Wild, but did not detour his charge. Slipping under the flaming sword, the Mage slashed at Fire's face with a hastily drawn dagger, drawing blood.

Screaming in pain as the knife bit deep into his face, Fire Wild fell back, blazing flames about him in a protective aura.

Hearing the scream, the team combined their attacks on the lone Mage standing. It was over in seconds... Smoke hung in the air from the discharge of fire powers and the ruined carcasses of so many Clockwork robots. Brushfire stepped to a nearby window to get a clear signal on his cell phone and called in a clean up crew. There was no way the heroes could bring in so many villians...

While the other searched for clues as to the Circle's plan for the Dam, QuikStryke watched Fire's recovery. Drawing a spray can from his belt, Fire Wild gingerly pulled his face mask away from his skin, wincing as the open wound clung to the material. Laying his mask aside, he sprayed the wound with a marvelous healing compound he had invented in his younger days, sighing as he felt the chemicals immediately begin their work.

Feeling eyes boring into him, Fire Wild looked up into the stormy grey gaze of QuikStryke, and knew the answer to a question that had been plaguing him since morning. "You really are THAT Kane aren’t you?" he asked.

Nodding, Kane asked, "How'd you end up here, Spike? Its been a long time since the Flame War."

Spike shuddered. The trip to an alternate dimension where he had met the hero team known as Crossroads, Kane being a member of that team, seemed ages ago. In this reality it had happened only two years ago for him. The scars left from fighting and dying in a failed cosmic battle for supremacy were still fresh in his mind. A knight to the kings and queens that Crossroads represented, Spike had put his very soul on the line to help free another dimension's people from slavery. He had learned that many beings are touched by the Flame, that single cosmic building block that made the Multiverse, but that touch varied in strength.

His had been known as a Brand. As in branded by the passing of the Flame over your soul. The Brand, once his mind was enlightened to its use, had allowed him to burn through any shields, powered or mystical, and reek great devastation on his foes. However, this paled in comparison to those living receptacles for the Flame's true power. Crossroads had represented those very beings.

The memories of fighting, and dying, passed through Spike's mind quickly. He recalled how that, after leaving his mortal body, his conscious self remained alive, a piece of the Flame, and one with the others. One by one they all died, until the sum of all that power lay in one vessel, the man standing in front of him.

Sadly, the Forces of Good were not to triumph that day. Nor did Evil, thankfully. Instead, it seemed that reality was ready to reset that world, and in so doing, cleansed it of all the corruption that had been wrought.

Fire had been returned to his body here on his world, in his own home. The entire event had taken less than a week and had seemed like a vivid dream. Some days he wondered to himself if it ever really happened after all. And now, standing in front of him, was living proof that it had. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or sad about that fact.

Kane watched the emotions pour over Spike's face. Finally they solidified into a careful mask, one that was covered by the material of his bloodied facemask once more.

"It's Fire Wild now. I'll talk to you more about this once we are done, but for safety's sake, please don’t address me by that name in public again."

Kane nodded slowly, unsure of his companion's reasoning, but happy to keep his secret. Extending a hand to help Fire Wild to his feet, he smiled, "Alright. Have it your way then. It's just nice to see a familiar face after all this time."

Fire Wild nodded. "I... Agree. I've a million questions, but it looks like Basinos has managed to "extract" a confession from yonder mage. Let's get going."

*****************************

6:00 pm Founder's Falls

Alicia sat back, and steepled her fingers in front of her lips. Taskforce Alpha had served its purpose. The City's water supply and the dam holding back a flood of ocean water from sinking Her were safe, for now. The leaders of the various villain assault teams had been sent to the Ziggurat and the heroes had received medals for their efforts.

In all the compiled data from the day, Alicia continued to return to that one conversation between Fire Wild and QuikStryke. Obviously the two heroes had met in another dimension. If Kane was resistant to telepathic interrogation, would Spike be as well?

Spike... A new piece of Intel on the hero known as Fire Wild. Registered with a secret identity, Alicia had been frustrated to find that this hero's information was truly secure. With Crey's fingers in most every computer system in this City, gathering secrets was usually child's play. However, someone had wrapped Fire Wild's files in cast-iron encryption and set more than one defensive measure designed to burn the file if it were close to being cracked. No, electronic methods were out. This would require a more hand's on approach.

Cracking her knuckles as a mischievous grin crossed her face. Alicia began to consider how best to break this latest link to her case. Reaching to her keyboard, she whispered, "Be seeing you soon... Spike."

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks, but what areas of Paragon have these giant creatures roaming around? Someone Im sure has seen their path of destruction, however I have not. Please advise.

[/ QUOTE ]

Take the Ferry from Talos to Peregrine Island. Head directly north... you will find a small chain of islands with more HUGE creatures than you will know what to do with.

Hi, was able to put this together quickly after the last post. Wanted to include a way for the reader to see some of the past, while delving a bit further into both Jacinthe and Cass' relationship and just who Cass is... hope it adds some color to the characters!

Happy Holidays!

****************************

"Memories"

Cassandra Kincaid was tired. The kind of tired that seeps through your bones and staggers your soul. Sitting in a hospital room and gazing on her comatose love, she felt more than twice her eighty-four years of age. Ifrit blood made up a quarter of her heritage, providing, amongst other things, longevity. Age did not come with a guide on how to handle emotions though.

Cass had been happy to lock her heart behind a wall. This in no way meant that she denied her emotions or presented the world with a stony facade. Quite the contrary, Cass enjoyed life immensely and reveled in her life. However, the death of her human mother at the hands of evil warlocks had taught her that some pains were better not experienced on the regular basis that the semi-immortal could expect if they opened their hearts freely.

Her family's work had provided an outlet for many years. The Kincaid's belonged to a mystical Council dating back centuries. A Council dedicated to fighting true Evil, the kind of thing that human minds rebelled from imagining and only saw in their nightmares. This Council, for it had no other name, was family, friend, mentor, and employer for many years while Cass matured into the woman she would become.

In 1940, while the world looked to Europe and a small man's intentions, the Council continued to fight the growing Darkness that fed on the out breaking violence. Cassandra's brother, Nikolas, was not content to fight from the shadows, and joined the the U.S. Marines. Marcus, their father, joined his son despite the Council's wishes to the contrary.

While Marcus and Nikolas were away at war, members of a previously defeated mystical cabal finally traced Marcus' steps to his home. The only Kincaid home when the cabal's raiding party arrived was Marcus' wife, Melissa. A powerful sorceress in her own right, many a dark warrior and summoned beast perished on the Kincaid's threshold before Melissa fell.

Cass returned to her home to find her mother's shattered corpse. The abuses suffered were clear, the revenge thorough. Utilizing her training, Cass located the cabal's trail and followed them to their new lair.

Determined not to make her father's mistake of merciful imprisonment, Cass slaughtered the cabal's mages, their warriors, and any other who had touched her mother. She left her shattered humanity on that bloodstained floor, and replaced it with a slow-burning rage against men in general, and men who would abuse others in particular.

The Council found a renewed vigor from their agent; Cass quickly rose through their ranks as she brought villain after villain to heel. Her finality was overlooked for the most part as those she faced were considered irredeemable in the Council's eyes. Still, Cass made few friends as her barely contained rage was palpable to anyone in her presence.

Rage finally lead to an error, something anger has a habit of doing all to often. Facing another cabal of power-hungry mages attempting to summon a horde of evil spirits, Cass unleashed her usual lethal response, executioner for the Council's judges. However, when the corpses were sorted, the nephew of the Council's Grand Master was found.

Proving itself unable to rise above personal politics, the Council convened a trial, and in the manner of those willing to put familial pride above the good of others, found Cass guilty of overuse of her powers in lethal manner. Their judgment was equally unfair, and reeked of the finality that only jealousy and rage can bring about: utilizing an ancient ritual usually reserved for those who are mad or possessed, the Council stripped Cass of her magical abilities and cast her out of their fold. The only reason she was not put to death was the intervention of her father, newly returned from the War. Sadly, his disregard of the Council's earlier decisions regarding involvement mundane wars prevented him from bringing enough influence to bear to overturn the Council's decision completely.

Compounding this monumental loss came the blow of her brother's death on the beaches of Normandy. Declaring her resounding contempt for men; their ability to lead, protect, or serve the common good of all humanity, Cass stalked away from the Council and disappeared for many years, content to keep her own company and live off of the accumulated wealth she had garnered from many faithful years of service.

Fate would bring a much more worldly-wise Cassandra to Paragon City, the besieged jewel of the United States' East Coast. Purchasing a loft in Steel Canyon, Cass felt a kinship with the city. Stripped of its power by acts of war and held in thrall by those who wished to use it for their own needs, the city was in need of healing as bad as her soul was.

Two miracles happened in the next few months. The first, responding to the Statesman's call for help, heroes from the world over flooded into Paragon City. These bastions of light and order forced the villians, otherworldly and local, steadily back from the ground they had taken, at times by force of will alone.

The second miracle was more personal. Stripped of her ability to use magic, Cass assumed she had permanently left the ranks of the supernatural. However, Fate was not ready to cast aside this heroine. Fueled by the many portals open to a myriad of different planes of existence, Cass' Ifrit nature came to the fore. Slowly her skin began graying, and small horns sprouted from her forehead. The rage she held within her seeped into her veins, and soon, into the atmosphere about her. The powers of the Ifrit, fire and air, manifested in a manner more powerful than all the magics she had previously held!

Her first usage of these new powers came against the Circle of Thorns. It seemed appropriate to utilize her powers against magical foes, and quickly, Cass picked back up her mantle of defender of the people. Recruiting like-minded women to her cause, Cass founded the Sisterhood of Justice. Initial membership consisted of Cassandra; the fiery brawler, Shayla Shayla; the electric Tesslah; and the cyborg-martial artist, Motoko Kusanagi. Together they began a fierce battle against all the villians they could find.

Heroic life in the plain view of the masses was new for Cass. No longer consigned to battling for the good of people who had no idea she existed, and would most likely stone her if they had, she warmed to the praises and gratitude heaped on her by the innocents she saved. Slowly the ice around her heart melted, and she came to truly care again.

Cass' newly adopted free-wheeling attitude was infectious. More heroines joined her cause, and two of the founders, Shayla and Motoko, moved into Cass' flat with her, their partnership on the violent streets of Paragon City continuing in the privacy of their home.

Cass life did not seem to be able to get any better. Until, in a chance encounter, she ran into her father once more. Now going by the heroic moniker, Malthaeus, Marcus Kincaid had founded the Archons of Justice, another super group to aid the besieged city. Relations between the two were strained over Nikolas' death, and might have stayed that way if not for the arrival of another Kincaid, this one by more scientific means.

Kiryn Kincaid was Marcus' daughter with his current fiancée, the heroine Doubleheliix, from a future in which dreadful things had happened. A scientist specializing in Tran spatial travel, Kiryn arranged her own trip back in time to prevent an event that allowed a militaristic state lead to a total dictatorship across the world.

A bundle of emotions and energy, Kiryn proved the linchpin that would reunite Cass and Malthaeus as father and daughter, and family together with Kiryn.

Continued adventures brought Cass greater control of her Ifrit abilities. Renewed mystical studies allowed her to unravel some of the undoing spell the Council had inflicted upon her. Her abilities to heal and bolster another's abilities returned along with numerous minor mystical powers. She was even able to summon a familiar, a demonic cherub named Harold... She still wasn't sure if that was a success or failure, but Harold was useful, even if a lecherous prankster.

For all her focus on mystical enemies, it was the mechanical Clockwork that brought her the one lying comatose on the hospital bed before her. Pursuing the Clockwork King's Court, a combined team of Sisters and Archons temporarily recruited a heroine named Lavender Shadow at the behest of Malthaeus. The new heroine worked well with the team, and together, they were successful in bringing the Clockwork Court to justice.

Afterwards, Cass had extended an invitation to the dark heroine, offering her membership in the Sisterhood. An offer which Lavender readily accepted.

Over the next month Lavender Shadow worked with the Sisters constantly. Cass saw a drive similar to her own, a NEED to prove something to the world. However, when she was asked, Lavender always retreated behind a blank mask. It was clear she had some kind of mission dealing with the Warriors, but it took several months of persistence before Cass was able to crack the armored shell Lavender kept about her heart and learn the truth inside. The heart she found inside the angry young woman was so in tune with her own that she found her efforts well spent, and the two became good friends and confidants.

Sadly, when good things abound, the negative eventually catches up. Several members of the Sisters were forced by their work, collegiate pursuits, and injury to retire from the team. One such member was Shayla Shayla. Pursuing her studies begun at Paragon City University, the fiery heroine left the city to participate in an archaeological dig.

The most disturbing to Cass was her other lover, Motoko. Haunted by a past in Crey Security, the martial artist struggled with her past continually. Doubts as whether she had truly left her past employers nagged at her, as well as a lack of complete understanding on what exactly Crey had installed inside her body. Retreating inside herself, the heroine wrestled these demons alone, disappearing for entire weeks at a time. Sadly, Cass only had time for one emotionally charged woman that summer, and not knowing what to do for Motoko, Cass watched her friend and lover slowly retreat inside herself.

At the end of that summer, Motoko left for several weeks. It seemed a final split, and with the lack of commitment in their relationship, Cass had fallen for Lavender, or Jacinthe as she revealed her real name.

The next month was wonderful, the two heroines fought many a villain and saved many a life, the autumn heat of the streets giving way to the heat they felt upon leaving them behind. Yes, life was grand... And then Motoko returned.

Fresh from a journey of enlightenment, Motoko was eager to renew her relationship with Cass, only to find her deeply involved with another. Awkward moments of being caught between two deeply emotional women forced Cass to choose between the two. Finding more in common and a love deeper that she had thought possible, Cass chose Jacinthe. Upon hearing this, Motoko packed her bags and disappeared once again.

It took Cass a while to deal with the emotions of the moment. She had always kept her heart to herself, even when sharing her body with another. Fear of witnessing another event like her mother's death kept that resolve with an iron grip. Somehow, this Grecian heroine, a Warrior trained to be an assassin against the encroaching Tsoo, has managed to melt the iron about her heart and draw out a love that truly bound her to another.

****************

Smiling ruefully, Cass considered how her current pain was related to just that love. It had been a week since Jacinthe was nearly killed by the Envoy of Shadows. A week in which the Sisterhood, the Archons, and Roadhouse's Peacekeepers had kicked over every rock in Paragon City looking for the Envoy, all to no avail. It was like he vanished into thin air. Only the mystical currents belied his foul presence.

Laying her head on the bed beside her lover's arm, Cass drifted off into an exhausted sleep. A sleep so deep that she did not feel her lover's fingers twitch at the feel of her hair's caress on bare skin.

"Recovery and Reclamation"

The Intense Care ward of Talos Island's "Our Lady of Mercy General Hospital" bustled with energy as doctors and nurses scurried to and fro on missions of mercy. The door flipping open on Surgery Bay 4 every few minutes allowed sounds to emerge that would have sounded more at home in Joe's Garage down on 5th and Main.

Another sonic blast of saw blades screeching on metal escaped the room along with a pale nurse wheeling a sterile cart quickly down the hallway. Her progress was stopped as green mountain stepped in her way. Looking up startled, the nurse stammered an apology as she began backing up to head around the massive costumed form baring her way. She stopped again as a hand the size of a dinner plate held the cart in place.

"Excuse me, nurse. I didn't mean to startle you." The voice belied the man's frame. Easily topping 7', the blonde haired hero's voice belonged to a professional councilor as it soothed the nurse's frazzled nerves. Seeing her tentative smile, the hero continued. "My name is Roadhouse, Roadie if you wish. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about my friend in there? We haven’t seen a doctor emerge in quite some time and, well, we are getting worried out here when we keep hearing what sounds like junior high shop class going on in there. Could you tell us anything...please?"

The nurse smooth a stray lock of hair back behind her ear and smiled tiredly. Glancing over to the waiting area where Roadhouse had indicated, her heart went out to the gathered heroes there. Four of the heroes, two male and two female, were obviously related to one another, judging by the matching grey skin, horns, and blazing eyes. Two other heroines seemed to be "attached" to the male heroes, and the remaining heroines all seemed to be teammates waiting to hear on a fallen comrade.

Glancing back to the gentle giant before her, the nurse put on her best empathic smile and said, "I'll try to get a doctor to come out and talk with you as quickly as I can. Ummm, could you watch this?" she indicated the cart she had been wheeling down the hallway.

Roadhouse nodded as he watched the nurse move quickly back into the room where his friend, the heroine Lavender Shadow, was being operated on. He winced as another sonic attack emerged from the room, and glanced down at the cloth covered tray the nurse had been wielding. Lifting the cloth, he let it slip back into place quickly, turning his head away from the gathered heroines to mask his grimace. Shards of twisted purple metal, cut through with power saws, and stained with darker fluids adorned the tray in frightening numbers.

As the door opened again, Roadhouse glanced up grimly to find his expression matched by the doctor who emerged. Stepping out of the way of the nurse who returned to remove the surgical tray form the hallway, he moved to intercept the doctor before he could reach the gathered heroes. Throwing a look into the heroes, he caught their leader, Malthaeus' eyes, and jerked his chin to the doctor. Following Roadhouse's direction, Malthaeus patted his daughter Cass' shoulder once more and excused himself to join the conversation.

The doctor pulled the two massive heroes away from the sight of the other heroes before turning back to face them. It was easy to see the fatigue in his eyes, and his arms trembled from the precision work he had been forced to perform over the last three hours. Gathering himself, he focused on the good news, and launched into an accounting.

"The good news is, Ms. Roux... Lavender Shadow if you prefer, will live. In fact, my prognosis is that she will recover use of her body with no physical side effects from the surgery."

"So what's with the saws and power tools we were hearing?" Roadhouse asked.

The doctor sighed, and looked down to compose himself before continuing. "Ms. Roux's incredible healing potential worked against her in this case. The...trauma she experienced imbedded her armor into her chest cavity and neck. Her body, seeking to repair itself, was only able to expel the armor fragments from her neck. The chest plate was caught in her ribcage, and pushing it out would have risked disemboweling herself. So she healed around it... Completely around it..." The doctor looked each man in the eyes to see if they were following the grizzly picture he was painting. Their horrified expressions told him they were.

"We were forced to cut away the newly regenerated skin, and then forcibly cut the armor from Ms. Roux's body, some of it was already calcifying with her ribcage. After that was done, we had to find and remove all other shards of the armor from her chest cavity, and then assist her body's regenerative potential by guiding the regrowth of the ribcage so that she did not heal incorrectly. Failure of any one of these tasks could have resulting in permanent incapacitation or worse death. Even for a woman of her abilities, this was a miracle."

Malthaeus' expression of relief was short lived. "You said that was the good news..."

The doctor nodded tiredly. "Yes, the good news is that your friend's body has healed 100%. I believe her regenerative ability will be somewhat dampened in the next few days, maybe even weeks, as it recovers form the trauma, but as I said, she will recover completely... At least physically." Pausing to wipe his brow on a sleeve, he continued, "However, Ms. Roux has slipped into a comma. That is understandable with the blow that she took, but I had hopes that as her body healed itself, so would her mind. This has not been the case. In fact, her brain activity has been lessening since she arrived. If this pattern continues, she will be brain dead within 6 hours."

Stunned silence followed the doctor's pronouncement. Malthaeus and Roadhouse exchanged glances, both of them then looking back to their friends. Turning back to face the doctor Malthaeus spoke softly, "Do whatever you need to do, doc. I don’t care what the expense is, we will pay for it. Just keep her alive."

Nodding the doctor hurried off to continue his work.

******************************

The Intense Care ward of Talos Island's "Our Lady of Mercy General Hospital" bustled with energy as doctors and nurses scurried to and fro on missions of mercy. The door flipping open on Surgery Bay 4 every few minutes allowed sounds to emerge that would have sounded more at home in Joe's Garage down on 5th and Main.

Jacinthe blinked her eyes. The doctor and nurses were slightly out of focus, and the noises from the powered saw the doctor was using seemed a bit tinny to her ears. In fact, the whole scene was like looking in a mirror through another mirror, as if she was trying to see the back of her own head.

A wave of vertigo washed over Jacinthe as everything sank into place. She was watching a surgical team work on her own body, while floating above them all! Her eyes fluttering rapidly, she relived the last few days in a scant few seconds. The warehouse, slaughtered Warriors, King Thunder's plea, hunting Thorn magi, and the fight with the Envoy all stampeded through Jacinthe's mind in rapid succession. The Envoy's seemingly casual blow and the agony faded to a blackness form which she woke with a shout. A shout which no one below her heard. Suddenly, Jacinthe felt very alone.

"But you are not alone, Jacinthe" a voice whispered.

Startled, she looked about wildly. Seeing no one, she shouted, "Who are you? Why am I hear?"

The voice did not answer. Instead Jacinthe could almost feel an expectance in the silence.

Calming herself, she paced herself through mental exercises designed to open her senses, and when ready, she reached out through the Void to see what she could discover.

"Excellent, my dear Warrior. I am glad to see that I have chosen a quick study." The voice again whispered on the ethereal wind, but Jacinthe could feel substance just beyond the reaches of her enhanced senses.

"Artemis? Is that you?"

Laughter floated on the breeze, silver bells on the bridles of a prancing horse. "Not hardly my dear. My virginal sister hunts the Plains as always. No, I have been with you for a very long time."

Jacinthe caught her breath, chest tight; "Athena? My goddess, is that you?"

Good-natured mirth laced the goddess' reply, "Yes, it is I. Athena is what your ancestors have named me."

Tears sprang to Jacinthe's eyes. "But I denied you and called to Artemis for help in this hunt. I renounced wisdom in war for the quicker paths of retribution."

Warmth gathered Jacinthe in its arms and soothed away her tears. "Shush, my little Warrior. Passion has its place in every Warrior's breast. Wisdom is not the absence of feeling. I too feel great horror at the death of so many faithful Greeks, even if they prefer my brother's less genteel path."

Jacinthe bathed in her goddess' forgiveness and understanding. A sudden thought shattered her tranquility. "Are you here to take me home then? Am I to tread the Elysian plains at your side?"

The warmth took on a golden hue, feeling giving way to sight. Jacinthe's other senses caught up as the smell of well-oiled leather and the sharp tang of steel were breathed in by her flared nostrils, and she tasted honey on the breeze. Her ears brought her a throaty chuckle as her goddess continued to commune with her.

"No, my Warrior. I have not come to ease your burdens, but rather to add to them. There is a great Darkness coming to this Plain, a true war for the souls of humanity. The Envoy of Shadows is only a harbinger of this Darkness and the great evil it brings. Your world will need Heroes capable of fighting the Darkness on its own terms. Wily Warriors ready to take the battle to this new foe."

"I have chosen you to be my avatar in this battle, Jacinthe. You will be the Hero who bears my essence into battle with this ancient foe."

Jacinthe floated in shock. Her goddess' announcement was beyond her ability to comprehend. Something in her mind responded with the irony that her goddess was actually speaking to her. Atheists and faithful alike the world over would give anything for a sign to give reality to their beliefs, and here she was communing with a goddess, her chosen patron goddess!

Gradually her mind wrapped itself around the concept that the Being she had prayed to all her life was speaking with her. And pronouncing her the avatar of her essence in a coming battle which would shake the Earth to its roots. Searching for words eloquent enough to express the supreme gratitude she felt swelling in her soul, Jacinthe settled with a simple response: "Thank you."

The answer seemed to please Athena, the answering surge of warmth felt like her mother's hugs when she was a child, and Jacinthe felt safe again. Blinking through happy tears, she could almost make out a glowing form, but the edges of her vision were blurred too much to make out a shape. Instead she squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on the sensations all around her. "What must I do?" she asked.

The voice was closer this time. So close it echoed from inside her, filling her being. "Nothing, my little Warrior. We have already joined. The night you called to the Halls of Olympus I answered you. I co-mingled with you on that very night, and a part of me has lived in you since that night."

Jacinthe nodded, accepting her goddess explanation with more faith then she had felt her entire life. "Will you complete the mingling of our energies now, Athena?"

Athena chuckled again, her voice at once surrounding and springing from within Jacinthe. "Always in a hurry, my little one. Speed will not win this war. A Wise Warrior studies her foe, learns his plans, and then strikes when she is prepared. She does not speed to assault the first sighting of her foe, knowing that a trap may be in place for her there."

Jacinthe felt her cheeks burn with shame. Athena's reference to her hasty raid on the Envoy's meeting and its nigh deadly results were laid out before her in the operating room. Nodding her head in recognition of her error, she patiently waited for her goddess' wisdom to be provided. "I was foolish. Teach me what I need to know to win this coming War."

Laughter like clashing symbols fell on Jacinthe's ears. "Always so eager, my little Warrior maiden. The War is coming. I will teach you what you need to know when it is time. Come with me now, we must discuss this Envoy of Shadows and speak of fitting justice for the blood of fallen brethren. Lets us take council and prepare for war."

Jacinthe willingly gave herself to the light that surrounded her, and listened intently as her goddess taught her how to make war on demons.

One of the first DE stories you run across is of a Professor taking his archaeology students spelunking in the caves below Paragon City... so that would imply that a university or college of some sort exists.

And another!

[ QUOTE ]
Who cares what your real gender is if you are a role player? Just remember you may need to deal with sexist statements and jerks just like real women do and react to that in character too. No OOC freaking out when the inevitable happens is my only guideline.
What bothers me more than genderbenders is people with such outlandishly stupid and improbable origins that I am expected to take seriously in character - some of the things 13 year old boys come up with and think are cool just make me want to laugh out loud. That is way more irksome than some guy pretending to be a women in a imaginary digital environment, especially some guy I will NEVER meet pretending to be a woman. More power to ya freaky - have fun - it doesn't hurt me a bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

I couldn't have said it better. My wife and I both play COH, we both play male and female toons, and we could care less if others wish to play either as well.

Seriously, if u feel up to the challenge of playing a toon of the opposite gender, do so. Just wondering what i should call it when i play a robot... technobending?

The only peopple I have problems with are the people who have problems with what I want to play. Seriously, folks, this is a game. The only thing i look for is originality. You can be a mutated cyborg drag queen from a parallel dimesion's alternate future's past seeking to free your half-cousins from a techno-organic-jellymold for all i care. Just do it with STYLE!

"Halloween Horror, Part 2"

"You didn't tell me you knew the 'Jolly Green Giant', Lav," Doubleheliix laughed.

Roadhouse chuckled deeply. The gentle giant had a green tint to his skin, the result of exposure to too much radiation, but the similarities with the veggie-line mascot ended there. His bushy blonde hair and well trimmed beard spoke of a Nordic background, and the perpetual grin he sported never quite removed the seriousness in his eyes. Still, as a well-known quip-master, he was never one to let a challenge go unanswered. Surveying the three heroes he had come to aid on this evening's foray, he shook his head in wonderment.

"Well, I was just gunna ask Lav here how she managed to summon the Justice League."

Grins were shared all around. All of the heroes had obviously just come from Halloween parties. The Archons of Justice had themed their "Come as your favorite literary heroes or heroines." Malthaeus and Doubleheliix had gone with comic favorites, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, while Lavender Shadow had come as the Huntress. Heroes wearing costumes of fictional heroes had provided quite a laugh amongst their peers. On the other hand, Roadhouse's Las Vegas lounge-performer suit was lighting up the surrounding area nicely.

Still grinning, Jacinthe made the introductions. "Roadie, this is Malthaeus, our resident fiery, Ifrit meat shield, and his fiancé, Doubleheliix. You can call 'em Mal and Hel like the rest of us if you like." Looking to the couple she continued, "and this is Roadhouse, or Roadie as his friends call him. Roadie's an old friend and a good guy."

"Ahhh, I'm touched," Roadhouse covered his heard with two massive paws. Still grinning, he reached out a hand to Mal, "Pleased to meet'cha. Shall we get going?"

Returning the handshake, Malthaeus nodded his agreement. "Yes, let's get moving. The Envoy doesn’t waste time. This is the third deal of his we Archons have broken up in the past week."

"Geeze, he really gets around" Roadie muttered. "My team, the Peacekeepers, have tangled with him lately as well."

Everyone entered the cave prepared to deal with the worst. Grim faces prevailed until Roadie started whistling the them to "The Good, Bad, and the Ugly." Laughing despite themselves, the team descended deep beneath Paragon City...

*********************************

"Well that's the last of 'em in this area," Roadhouse said, dusting his dinner-plate sized hands off. Hearing a repeated cracking noise, he looked over his shoulder. "Uhh, Lav? I think that guy's already unconscious."

Jacinthe looked up form the Circle mage that she was sitting atop. Slowly she released his cowl, and lowered the bloody face to the ground. Standing quickly, her face burned at the lack of discipline she was showing. Muttering an apology, she moved to catch up to the other heroes as they headed down yet another of the endless cave passages in the Circle's base.

Hel watched her teammate as she approached. Though Jacinthe was technically a member of the Archons all-female counterpart, the Sisterhood of Justice, she still was a common member on Archon missions. Hel had observed that the dark-haired heroine was closer to vigilante than most, but had never seen Jacinthe so moody. Filing it away to investigate later, she hurried to catch up to her fiancée's retreating form.

************************************

"There IT is," Malthaeus whispered. He didn’t have to indicate what he was referring too. The massive form of the Envoy of Shadows dominated the cavernous underground amphitheater chosen for Its meeting with the Circle.

The Envoy of Shadows stood 20' tall, and all of it was horrid. Brownish fur covered a heavily muscled frame, that came complete with many of the anticipated demonic features; cloven hooves, beastly facial features, huge fangs, fire glowing with hellfire, and a 30' spread of bat-like wings. Flames licked at Its fur, an overflowing of Its power barely kept in check.

A low whistle escaped from Roadie's lips. When the other's looked to him with alarm in their eyes, he smiled. "The good news is, I just saved money on my insurance by switching to Geico."

Stifling laughter, the others looked back to the Circle's meeting place. Surrounding the Envoy were a dozen Circle Magi, their compliment of bodyguards, and a dozen smaller demonic forms, known as Behemoths. Between the two groups, six large chests sat, bound by large iron locks, impressive despite their apparent antiquity.

"Those will be the Spirit Blades we heard about," Malthaeus indicated.

Hel gave him a sidelong glance that spoke volumes about explaining the obvious. Mal grinned sheepishly back at his fiancée. "So what's the plan?" the former super-model turned super-heroine asked.

"Rip off an arm and beat him to death?" Roadie inquired mischievieously. "Heh... That was funny wasn't it Lav... Lav?"

The trio looked to their younger team mate. Shadows licked about her like a cat's tail switching before it pounced. A soft red light gleamed from her eyes, as she took in every detail of the chamber before her. Lost in her own thoughts, she startled when Roadie finally poked a sausage-sized finger into her shoulder plate.

"You ok there, Jacinthe?" A terror to many a villain, Roadie's face displayed a compassion found all to infrequently in the heroic community.

Lav blinked several times, the red glow leaving her eyes. Slowly recognition returned.

"I thought you had that eye-thing fixed a long time ago," Hel asked softly.

"What? Oh that..." Lav rubbed self-consciously at her eyes. "It comes back every so often... Helps me see in the dark."

"Uh-huh... Is that what it does?" Hel clearly wasn't buying the explanation, but realized that a mile under the Cit streets was no place for an intervention. "Look, lets get this over with. I say Mal and Roadie rushes the Envoy. Lav, u draw the attention of the Magi an their guards, keep 'em all close, and I'll hit em with a B.B.B."

"What's a B.B.B.?" Roadie asked as the other's all nodded and smiled. As everyone rouse to a crouch and began a slow run into the cavern, "No, seriously, what's a B.B.B.?"

The Envoy spotted them over the Magi's heads at that moment. Bellowing to its retainers, the only intelligible words were, "KILL THEM!"

"I guess he didn’t like my jokes last time!" Roadie crowed as he lowered a shoulder into a charge. Four guards, a mage, and Behemoth were bowled onto o their backs as he plowed towards the Envoy.

"I can't imagine why anyone would find your humor troublesome, my friend," Malthaeus called over the fray. Illustrating a finesse only gained through years of practice, Mal lept over a stalagmite to land amongst a retreating mage and his four bodyguards. As he landed, flames summoned from the Elemental Planes of Fire erupted from the ground to engulf the villians. The Mage turned fearful eyes as an unearthly scream shrieked behind him. Tripping on his own robes, the last image he beheld was of a fiercely grinning Ifrit warrior swinging a massive blade composed entirely of flame.

Landing lightly in the middle of the rest of the Magi and their guardians, Lav reached into the Void, summoning shadows in a large ring about herself. The growing circle of tendrils leeched energy form mage and guard alike, transferring their life force into destructive energy which she put rapidly to use.

**********************

Hovering above the combat Hel watched the three fighters merge towards the waiting Envoy. Already Its Behemoth servants had hoisted the chests and fled through a portal summoned by the Envoy. The greater demon seemed waiting for the others to reach him.

Seeing the Circle respond to the hurled insults and slurs shouted by her teammates, Hel waited 'till all of the remaining Circle minions were herded into a focused mass of violence. Then landing lightly in the midst of the fray, she summoned all of her power and released it in one focused nova of devastating energy.

Dizzy from the effort, she would have fallen if not caught by her fiancée. "I never get tired of seeing that," he grinned as he kissed her softly.

Roadie surveyed the mass of fallen Circle villians lying about his feet. Realization finally dawned on his face, "Big Badda Boom! I get it now!" He slapped his thigh as he roared with laughter.

"Baaoooom," Hel mimicked the actress voice from The Fifth Element nigh perfectly. Mal and Roadie smiled in return.

Their mirth was cut of by the resounding crack, as if Babe Ruth had just struck one more fastball out of the park. Spinning 'round Roadie gasped as he saw Lav sailing over his head, pieces of her armor trailing from an obviously broken shell. "Got her," he yelled, sprinting off to catch his friends body.

Malthaeus lowered a still weakened Hel to the ground. Stepping forward he roared, "Try that again demon. You will not find me so easy a target."

The sensation of being stung by a swarm of insects slapped the Ifrit warrior across the face as the Envoy spoke in a grating voice, "I have better things to do then play with children, Ifrit. I will taste your soul for your continued interference. But it will be at a time of my choosing and a place which will cause you the most pain." Already half through his own portal, the Envoy tossed one last parting shot at his foes.

"Look to your loved ones and family, heroes. I will soon visit them all. This city will rue the day it summoned such as you. I am unbound here; no force on this Plain of Existence bears the power to stop me now."

"As long as there are heroes in Paragon City, we will stand up to you and your filth demon. You have not seen the last of us!" Malthaeus shouted at the closing portal. With the immediate threat passed, he spun to see how Lav fared.

Roadie was already headed back, Lav cradled like a child. "I think we better get her to a doc, she heals fast and all, but..."

Hel stood, supporting herself on Mal's arm. Together they sought to make out where Lav's flesh ended and her armor began. The Envoy's crushing blow had embedded a good deal of her armor into her ribs, and exposed bone and muscle blended with hardened steel.

Grim-faced, the heroes activated their medical transponders and waited for the teleporters activation. Looking in the direction the Envoy's portal had closed, Roadhouse muttered, "Oh yes, we will see you again."

"Halloween Horror"

"Have you seen my wig, hon?" Cass asked. She and Jacinthe were dressing for the Halloween party that Cass' soon to be step-mother, Doubleheliix was throwing. In true heroic fashion, the Archons and Sisterhood of Justice were holding the party despite the continual darkness that had fallen since the evening before. Besides, if anything truly terrible happened, most of the two teams would be present together to fight it.

"Last time I saw it, Harold was doing his best hair-band impression on the kitchen counter," Jacinthe replied while applying the crimson lipstick that completed her costume.

"That little rat…" the rest of Cass' words were lost as she headed down the hallway to re-impress the concept of personal property on her familiar. Jacinthe smiled, some things would never change.

Looking back into the mirror, her smile faded from existence. Staring at her own reflection, she could picture the bags under her eyes that enough makeup had covered. She was tired, a rare concept for one of her regenerative ability. Usually a few hours sleep a night was all she required to sustain herself, but the past week had been grueling.

*************************

Since finding King Thunder's crew slaughtered by the Circle of Thorns, Jacinthe had relentlessly hunted the mages down, looking for the hiding place of this Envoy of Shadows. Cadao Kestrel, known as the Voodoo Man by many, had proven an excellent compass for pointing her in the Circle's direction.

First, she had re-rescued a mage named Akarist. Akarist had been instrumental in leading many heroes to pieces of the horrifying Library of Souls, home to the secrets of the Circle. There it was discovered that the Circle mage's were created by piercing artifacts called "Spirit Thorns" into the hearts of magically active individuals. These Spirit Thorns held the life essences of an ancient order known as the Sorcerer Kings of Orenbega and when implanted in a host, they slowly supplanted the host's spirit with their own. Akarist had enough willpower to fight off his inhabiting spirit and betrayed as much of the Circle as he could. For his help, Akarist was taken into protective custody and disappeared from public view.

Until the Circle found him again. The Circle evidentially needed the spirit residing in Akarist to help decipher ancient texts containing rituals for dealing with this Envoy. Using ritualistic magic, the Circle found Akarist's safe house and kidnapped him, attempting to destroy his mind and give way to the Orenbega trapped within.

Cadao had sent Jacinthe to find Akarist, and with his guidance she had found a major stronghold for the Circle. The place was crawling with Circle mages and summoned Behemoths, but they were too smug in their numbers. Utilizing stealth and the shadows, Jacinthe was able to move amongst them. Attacking with no mercy and brutal efficiency, she sent many a mage to the Void, and banished many of the Behemoths back to their own plain of existence.

Akarist was extremely relieved to be removed from the Circle's hands, and readily agreed to help defeat the Envoy. First, he needed a grimoire held by one of the Circle's arch mages, a man called Salizek the Guardian. Again Cadao unleashed Jacinthe on the Circle. He seemed to be unfazed by her extreme methods, rather he seemed quite content to hear that the mages would not rise again.

Salizek the Guardian had been a powerful Death Magus, and had felt Jacinthe coming like a roiling storm's approach. Allowing her to carve a swath through his minions, he had prepared to meet her, determined to claim her mastery of the Void for himself. What Salizek had not counted on was outside interference. Jacinthe recalled the moment clearly.

They had met deep in the falls of Orenbega, the legendary lost city whose bones the foundation Paragon City had been built over. The chamber had been cavernous, the roof held aloft with many hewn pillars. Salizek's bodyguards had rushed forward to meet the blood-soaked heroine as she entered their master's inner sanctum. Their fates were no different from those she had already encountered, and stepping across their broken bodies Jacinthe prepared to face Salizek.

Drawing the life force of his fallen minions, Salizek the Guardian greeted Jacinthe with magics foul and deadly. Her regenerative abilities were hard pressed to keep up with the arcane assault hurled against her, while Salizek continued fresh as the moment they had engaged. Pushing his advantage, Salizek hurled spell after spell into Jacinthe, driving her to her knees. Towering over her, he drew a sacrificial blade to end the duel and claim his prize. Seizing her ponytail, Salizek drew Jacinthe's head back baring her throat, and gasped in surprise.

Jacinthe's eyes were rolled in the back of her head as she chanted a phrase in Greek given her by Artemis. Raising her arms in a suplicative gesture, Jacinthe offered Salizek as prize to the Mistress of this Hunt. Salizek watched shadows rise about them in a circular pattern and clutched his chest as he felt a sliver of his soul drawn from him and into his foe. For the first time in his life, Salizek the Guardian understood fear.

Standing, Jacinthe's eyes snapped back into focus, even as her body emanated a golden glow. Knocking Salizek's blade to the ground, she backhanded him across the face, blood splattered the floor where he landed. From his position, Salizek summoned his death curse; if he was going to meet his ancestors, then by the gods dark and light, he would drag his foe down with him. Greenish energy built about him as his powers readied for one final release.

Salizek the Guardian screamed in pain as Jacinthe brought her heel down hard enough to crush his outstretched leg. The pain disrupted his death curse, and the energy began to fade away. He would get no second chance, as the glowing woman fell on him with boot and fist. As his eyes glossed over, at the moment when his soul took flight to greet his ancestors, Salizek the Guardian experienced a moment of wonder as he caught a glimpse of the glowing feminine being which overlaid Jacinthe's frame, a woman holding a strung bow and a quiver of arrows. That wonder turned to terror as the form moved independent of Jacinthe, and though he attempted to flee, the golden arrow found him, claiming him for Another's purpose.

The needed book had been amongst Salizek's things, and Akarist now worked hard to uncover the Envoy's true name, the one weapon that would allow a demon's banishment and cause it real pain. When Akarist was finished, she would be ready to go…?

"Jacinthe!!! Are you ready to go?"

Jacinthe blinked, and then startled to see Cass standing directly behind her, obviously ready to leave for the Halloween party. The look of concern in Cass' eyes spoke volumes on how distracted Jacinthe had allowed herself to be. Smiling, Jacinthe twirled about in her costume. "Oh yes. You like?" She smiled, hoping to distract Cass from any probing questions.

Her brow slowly unfurling, Cass smiled despite herself, and nodded. "Very fetching, Jacinthe." Seeing the relief in her lover's eyes, she made a mental note that she and Jacinthe were going to have a long talk very soon about the late hours the Grecian beauty was keeping, and the reason why she had smelt like blood for the past few days. "Shall we get going? We are going to be late if we don’t hurry!"

Jacinthe nodded quickly, happy to avoid a discussion of the path her mind was wandering along, and stepped out the bedroom's sliding glass doors onto the balcony outside. Looking back over her shoulder, she grinned devilishly, "Last one to Spanky's Boardwalk makes breakfast!" With that she bounded of the balcony and soared into the sky.

Cass' answering smile turned sad as she watched Jacinthe sailing away. She had stood watching Jacinthe for over ten minutes, entranced by the deep emotions that had shadowed her face… literally. Since Cass had returned from a vacation trip with her family, she had noticed that whenever Jacinthe's mind wandered, which it seemed to do an increasing amount of the time, the shadows about her sprang to life, flickering in a disturbing dance of their own. Whenever she had tried to ask Jacinthe what was wrong, she always brushed it away, changing the subject quickly.

More disturbing were the dreams she had begun to have. On the last night of her trip, Cass had dreamed of Jacinthe being pursued by some great shadowy being, with eyes of flame, and breath of smoke. Jacinthe had fled to a golden woman, an archer, who had driven off the monster. After rescuing Jacinthe, the golden archer handed her bow and arrows to Jacinthe, and pointed her in the direction the monster had gone. With each step she took, Jacinthe's appearance changed to echo the golden archer, until nothing remained but an exact duplicate of the original archer. What it all meant, Cass had no idea, but she couldn’t shake the deep-seated feeling that this was more than a passing nightmare.

Shaking away her reverie, Cass' set her jaw firmly and took flight, racing after her girlfriend. As she flew, the wind tore her whispered words away. "Goddess protect you, you crazy Grecian doorknob." Smiling wistfully, she added, "As will I, whether you like it or not!"

*************************************

The party was a huge success, with many members of the Archons and Sisterhood strolling about a huge bonfire sustained at a perfect height, width, and temperature by Malthaeus, the resident Ifrit powerhouse, leader of the Archons, and Cass' father. At 11:30 a toast went up as the four blaring stereos brought by various team members interrupted their broadcasts to announce that the plot to raise Enochai, King of the Firbolgs, had been thwarted by the Freedom Phalanx, and the sun would be rising again in a little over 8 hours.

Unfortunately, evil would not sleep, and Cass was called away by a contact to examine a mystic relic taken from a strange witch by a group of heroes. Assuming she would be back soon, she insisted that her team mates stay at the party, and with a quick kiss, left Jacinthe to enjoy the party, something she strove to do.

2 AM found Jacinthe dancing with her "Sisters," most of them in various stages of inebriation, when her cell phone rang. Checking the caller ID she saw it was Cadao Kestrel. Detaching herself from Tesslah's arm about her shoulder, she smiled in return to her Sister's questioning gaze. "I have to take this!" she yelled over the music. The bald-headed heroine smiled and nodded, winking one glowing eye rather then raising her voice. Gesturing at the cell phone, Tesslah flexed her fingers, producing electric sparks that jumped from finger to finger. Her gaze offered to short-circuit the offending phone if Jacinthe wanted, and for a moment she really considered it. Heaving a sigh, she shook her head, and smiled an apologetic negative to her friend as she walked down the beach away from the noise. Shrugging, Tesslah returned to the festivities.

***************************

Jacinthe snapped her phone closed, a chill running down her spine. Cadao and Akarist had found the location of an opening trade between the Envoy of Shadows and the Circle of Thorns. The Circle were attempting to purchase Spirit Blades, an artifact capable of drawing pieces of a foe's soul into the blade when struck, from the Envoy. This couldn’t be allowed to happen. However, Akarist had not fully deciphered the Envoy's True Name yet, making this a very risky endeavour.

The transaction was happening now, there was no time to wait and plan strategy. Looking back down the beach, Jacinthe knew she could not ask her Sister's to tackle the Envoy before she had the True Name in her possession, she couldn't bear it if any of them were also destroyed by this Beast.

Instead she sought out Malthaeus, and found him leaning against the boardwalk, tossing back an imported beer, and chuckling as he watched his fiancé, Doubleheliix, mime smacking the team's resident gravity controller, Windy, with an imaginary shovel. Seeing Jacinthe approach, he smiled as he pulled a beer from his cooler and tossed it to her.

Catching the beer in midair, Jacinthe smiled back, wondering what it was about Ifrit smile's that was so infectious. "Hey Mal, what did Windy do this time?"

Mal's smile became a deep throated chuckle. "Asked if ICON's would carry dresses with wide enough hips for 'Hel."

Together they looked from the two girls who had fallen to wrestling in the white sands of Talos Island's beach back to each other. "Same old, same old." and shared a laugh together.

Setting his beer aside, Mal watched his fiancé and friend wrestling and laughing, and asked, "What's on your mind Jacinthe?"

Startled, Jacinthe looked from her beer to the Ifrit and back to her beer again. "What do you know about demons?"

It was Mal's turn to look sharply at Jacinthe. "Some." he admitted, "Best not to deal with them if you can get around it, but we don’t get that luxury. Which one are you dealing with?"

"He calls himself, The Envoy of Shadows." Jacinthe replied.

Mal took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "He's a baddass alright. There's no doubting that. We fought him recently, the Archons that is. Drove him off from some dealing his was making with the Circle." Looking back to Jacinthe, he tossed his empty can into a nearby trashcan and asked, "So where is he now?"

Smiling, Jacinthe replied, "Let me make one more call."

**********************************

Malthaeus, Doubleheliix, and Jacinthe stood in front of a secret cave entrance, the location given by Cadao Kestrel for the Envoy and Circle's meeting place. They waited for one more member to their raiding party. A heavy thump signaled the arrival of a giant of a man, an old friend of Jacinthe's called Roadhouse.

The seven and a half foot blonde haired hero had obviously just come from his own Halloween party, as the dark suit adorned with twinkling lights proclaimed. "Howdy all!" he proclaimed. "I hear there's demon [censored] that need's kicking?"

(Part B) "Into the Sewers"

8:34 AM Sewers below Skyway City

"Posi' wasn't kidding when he said an army was he?" Brushfire asked as he shouldered a collapsed Abomination into the passing sewage. The Frankensteinian monster collapsed into smoldering pieces as it floated away.

"Indeed, there seems to be three more for every one we slay." Sidhe Devil agreed, as she sliced across another Abomination's middle, spilling it to the floor.

The others grunted their responses as they dealt with the swarm of zombies that had assaulted them from the moment they entered Skyway City's sewer network.

"We need to find their leaders," Fire Wild called out over the roar of his flame blast as he immolated a fleeing Abomination. "These zombie-minions will keep coming until we do."

"Well then stop yapping, and do some more blasting!" SLOTH yelled while enhancing the speed factor of his team mates. The only one seemingly comfortable in the sewers, SLOTH's green hide seemed made of some kind of organic material which slid through the sludge the others were forced to march through. A fact that the others did not fail to notice.

"Must be easy giving advice from back there," Bushfire chuckled.

"Of course it is! Things are just peachy back here!" SLOTH crowed.

"This is not helping us complete out task any faster," Basinos pointed out. The 7' Ifrit looked as if he had stepped from an Arabian Knights story book, complete with horns, red skin, and blazing eyes. The others already knew he was indeed old enough to have been cast in such a story as well.

"Getting tired, Gramps?" Brushfire asked, a mischievous smile barely hidden behind a flaming sheathe which caused the sewage around him to boil producing a most unpleasant odor... Which was saying something in the sewers.

Casting a contemptuous gaze Brushfire's way, Basinos proceeded down the corridor which had held the most recent assault force the team had encountered.

"What'd I say?" Brushfire asked. As Basinos kept going, and the others fell into place behind him, Brushfire shrugged. "Nobody has a sense of humor anymore..."

**************************

9:19 AM Somewhere in Skyway City's Sewer Network

The team peered into the massive sewage pump room. After over an hour of near-constant fighting, they had reached the central staging ground for Epidural's army. The Mortificator whom Watermarque had snared in a stone prison had proven very talkative when he found himself confronted by the eight heroes. It seemed that Epidural had swayed five other powerful Eidolons to his cause. So far, the few Eidolons encountered had been captains to these generals. No one was looking forward to this final battle.

QuikStryke had managed to scout ahead, looking for the Eidolon's base of operations. He had found it, a small "office" of sorts housing the pump station's controls. Creeping closer, he strained to listen to their planning.

"We must move quickly, my brothers and sisters. Slaughter's forces will beat us to the prize and win our master's favor." the speaker belonged to the largest Eidolon in the group.

Hisses met Epidural's pronouncement. A female Eidolon spoke in a sultry voice, "Slaughter is to much of a planner. Not enough action in him to win this race. Besides, with our combined forces, we can destroy him if he interferes."

QuikStryke shuddered. The parts used to create all of Dr Vahzilok's minions created some creepy combinations. He counted the Eidolons... Epidural, the female, three other males... Where was the other female...

A small sound amongst the thunderous pounding of the pump's machinery caused QuikStryke to whirl to his side, just as a fist wrapped in dark energy cut through the air where his head used to be. A sharp feminine scream of rage marked the last Eidolon leader. He was trapped.

As the Eidolon screamed, "A hero! Skulking amongst us..." QuikStryke double clicked his mike, signaling his team mates to charge.

Epidural kicked the office door from its hinges as he strode out. "He has heard too much. Kill him!" Firing bolts of dark energy, he leaped forward to carry out his own order.

Realizing he was in way over his head, QuikStryke leaped for the catwalks that lined the room's walls. A blast of negative energy caught him squarely in the back as he landed, creating a paralyzation that crept through his limbs like ice. Falling on his face, with the catwalk's grating digging into his face, he had a perfect view of the combat that unfolded.

"Surprise!" Brushfire yelled as he landed in the middle of the Eidolons, swinging a massive flaming sword into the nearest villain, sending it flying.

As the Eidolons screamed in shock, multiple fire balls roared into the same area, incinerating the sewage in the immediate area, and setting everyone on fire.

From the unnatural steam that was floating into the room in ever increasing density, a shower of sleet fell into the still steaming combat zone.

Leaping from the roof of the pump house, Side Devil swung her blade in a deadly arc, aiming for an Eidolon's neck stitchings, and connecting with devastating results. The Eidolon's head sailed deeper into the room as its body collapsed to the floor.

Hovering above the rest, Kali made her way to the catwalks where QuikStryke had fallen, intent on rescuing her team mate.

Giggling with joy, SLOTH shot irradiated blasts of energy from his eyes, dancing a little jig as he connected with Epidural and slammed him to the ground.

As quickly as the surrounding sewage flowed into the still steaming gap made from the blaster's devastation, the Eidolon's recovered themselves from the heroes' surprise attack. Turning their backs to one another, the remaining five Eidolons summoned the putrid powers given to them from their dark master.

Tentacles of pure dark energy sprang up around Basinos and Fire Wild, pulling them to the ground and disrupting their next attacks. Fire blasts flew wildly about the room, providing an eerie illumination for the battle.

Two other Eidolons shot forth their own radiated energies, wrapping Sidhe Devil and Brushfire in debilitating fog.

Epidural himself launched from the floor, and with a single swing of his dark force-enhanced fist, shattered SLOTH's force field and sent him sailing across the room to crumple on the far wall. He bellowed, "Fools! You will never stand before our combined powers! The might of the Vahzilok will be your undoing."

Blinking away tears caused by the radiation cloud's reaction to his flame sheath, Brushfire choked out, "I'd give real money if somebody would shut him up!" Summing his strength, he sent forth a circle of flame from his body, burning away much of the radiation.

Sidhe Devil swung defensively in front of herself. Unable to see in the radiation cloud, she was still thankful for Kali's "bubbles", the nickname the Archons had given to force fields. The field kept the radiation at bay, but it also kept her in a very small clear area.

Taking advantage of this, an Eidolon blasted the floor at Shidhe's feet, causing her to stumble into his partner's flurry of dark-enhanced blows. Under their combined attacks, the field crumpled and vanished, leaving her momentarily defenseless.

Reaching deep within herself, Side Devil created a field of bio-energy about her senses, preventing the radiation from harming her. Recovering her stumble, she set herself in a engarde stance and waited for the Eidolon's to pursue their "advantage."

While the four lesser generals beat upon the melee fighters, Basinos and Fire Wild ignited the air about themselves, burning away the constraining tentacles. Looking over to his partner, Fire Wild grinned, "You heard Brushie, lets take out that joker!"

Basinos nodded his assent and together they focused blasts of energy onto the pump station's roof. When the smoke cleared, the station glowed white with heat, and an ash cloud floated to the sludge below.

"Are you ok?" Kali asked as QuikStryke pulled himself slowly to his feet. She glanced worriedly from her team mate to the battle below, quickly summoning another force field to protect Sidhe Devil with a flick of her wrist.

"Ya, I'm almost 100% again. They caught me with some kind of freezing ray," he explained. "You better catch SLOTH before he floats away." With that said, he vaulted from the catwalk, intent on catching the fight before it was finished.

Kali nodded, and leaped off the catwalk to fly towards SLOTH's form which was drifting on the sewage current towards a pump intake. Reaching out with her own dark force energy, she created a cradle for his body and brought him to meet her in mid-air.

Multiple blasts pounded Brushfire from two sides. Putting his back to the pump station, he weathered the blows, looking for his opening. It came as QuikStryke landed atop the irradiating Eidolon, crushing it to the ground. Its partner, the shadow caster, hesitated a moment to glance to its comrade's fate. That moment was all Brushie needed.

The crack resounded over the pump station's thunder, as Brushfire's focused uppercut sent the Eidolon ricocheting off the sewer wall to land in an unmoving pile of broken bone. "Joey hits it outta the park, the crowd goes wild!" he crowed, slamming an open palm into QuikStryke's "high-5."

The remaining two Eidolons rushed Sidhe Devil, intent on putting her down quickly. Sensing the shadowy tentacles rising to ensnare her, Sidhe launched herself forward into a somersault, splitting the two Eidolons. Landing on the balls of her feet, her sword was already whistling an arc to the left. Spinning to add momentum, she neatly severed the head from the Eidolon's body, which continued running forward until it plunged neck first into the sewage.

The Last Eidolon realized his danger and attempted to turn his combat rush into a full out sprint. With legs that must have come from an athlete, he rocketed away from the fight... And right into a dark blast form Kali. He continued sprinting, though his graceful stride was turning rapidly into a flailing stumble.

He didn’t have to stumble far. Combined blasts of flame ignited, and then incinerated the fleeing Eidolon before it could fall. Fire Wild let out a shout of triumph.

As she used the drained life-force taken from the Eidolon to heal SLOTH, Kali glanced around for Watermarque. It was difficult to tell if the steam in the room was the Controller's work or the result of so much fire in proximity to the sewage.

What she saw chilled her to the bone. Epidural was not only upright, his left bicep encircled Watermarque's throat and a sickly green glow was emanating from his eyes. To another Dark force user, it was obvious he drained the controller's energy into himself. Kali screamed over the pump station's continual thunder, and as she gained her team mate's attention, pointed in Epidural's direction.

Brushfire, QuikStryke, and Sidhe Devil all moved to intercept the lone Eidolon general. Basinos and Fire Wild took flight, hovering within easy blast range, but holding fire for fear of harming their friend.

Epidural roared, "You have gained nothing today heroes, nothing! You have only delayed this city's fate! I will live with the energy of your fallen friend, and I will <HRRK>"

Epidural's head rocked back, a 2 feet of solid steel between his eyes. Slowly, he fell backwards, his arm releasing a faint Watermarque. As he slid to the sewer floor, the assembled team all looked to Sidhe Devil with expression ranging from shock to approval to humor.

Leaping forward QuikStryke caught Watermarque before she fell, checking her pulse as he supported her. "She'll live," he announced. "Close though. Nice throw!" he grinned at Sidhe as he picked Watermarque up to carry her until Kali could provide healing.

Striding over to wrench her sword from Epidural's skull, Sidhe Devil grinned in return. "No problem. I believe someone said he would give "real money" if someone would shut this guy up?"

Raising his hands to ward of unreasonable requests, Brushfire laughed, "Dinner's on me! But for now, lets go let Posi' know that the threat to the Dam is over."

Everyone nodded in agreement to that. Hours of slogging through the sewer, and constant battle had them all weary. Eagerly they all retraced their steps to the surface.

***********************************

10:30 AM Blyde Square, Steel Canyon

Positron listened as Brushfire wound his tale to a close. Multi-tasking, he gauged the heroes in Taskforce Alpha. Did they have more in them? Most SPB battles lasted less than 30 seconds. These heroes had fought for hours already, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

Still, these heroes had been chosen for heart as much as for their powers and skill in using them. Nodding as Brushfire concluded with, "So it looks like the Dam is safe again," He dropped the latest Intel on them.

"Excellent work, heroes. I'm proud of each and every one of you. I wish I could agree with your assessment, Brushfire, but it appears that the Vahz are not the only villians eyeing the Dam."

"Dr. Vahzilok is not the only villain in town with designs on our Dam. It seems both the Circle of Thorns and the Clockwork King have cast their eyes this way as well. We aren’t sure why, but the Dam has become a hot commodity suddenly. Each villain group seems to know that other's are looking to seize "their" prize, and have stepped up their individual plans."

"This leaves us squarely in the line of fire. We can’t let any of these villians get their hands on the Dam, and any fighting between them could spill over into innocent people's lives."

Positron paused for the news to sink into his Taskforce. Seeing understanding and resolution there, he knew the answer before asking the next question, "I can’t reasonably ask any of you to continue fighting today. The city already owes you a debt of gratitude. However, if you can dig a little deeper, I could use your help. Who's with me?"

...To be continued...

My apologies to those reading. I didn't mean to take so long posting something. Tis' the season for OT and Family Time.

I am working on the next chapter. Here's Part A, with the rest coming soon!

****************************

"Another Dam Takeover Attempt"

6:47 AM. Founder's Falls.

Agent Alicia Richards leaned back in her high-backed, ergonomically-sound, Corinthian leather chair and contemplated how many monarchs had less comfortable thrones. Stretching luxuriously, she purred her contentment to the monitor in front of her. Reaching for her extra-large "Crey Loves You" coffee mug, she savored the moment as she slowly rolled a finger over the "Enter" key, contemplating her latest scheme.

Depressing the key, she set in motion several carefully prepared programs, dumping doctored information into databanks across the city. Smiling, she contemplated with contentment that she was helping Paragon City *and* carrying out the next phase of her ongoing mission from Director Hopkins. The fact that she had just broken dozens of federal laws didn’t even sink in as she sipped her morning coffee, made just the way she loved it; black, tons of sugar.

As the monitor blinked its compliance with her command, Alicia spun away to watch the sun rise over the hills of Founder's Falls. It was going to be another glorious day in Paragon City...

Padding across the floor to her bathroom, Alicia left her robe on the floor and the silk chemise followed shortly thereafter. The motion-sensitive lighting hummed to life as she entered her bathroom with nothing more than her coffee in hand. Alicia frowned at the image presented to her from her 3/4 length mirror.

The last eight weeks had not been kind to her figure. Constantly monitoring reports from many different agents required more time in front of her computer and less time in the field than she was used to. As Kane integrated himself into Paragon City's hero community, Alicia's job increased in complexity. Even her daily trips to the gym didn’t seem to be enough to keep her in the trim shape she was used to.

Setting her mug on the sink's marble countertop, Alicia poked at the slight pudge around her belly. At least she had finally beaten that flu bug! That [censored] had lasted over a month! Still, as she had doggedly told herself, her constitution could defeat anything Mother Nature wanted to throw her way.

Flipping on the shower, Alicia took one more sip of her coffee before stepping into the steaming mist. As the hot water relaxed her shoulders, she let her concerns fade. Listening to the little voice in the back of her mind, she had to agree, there was always time to get back into peak shape. After all, Kane had a long ways to go before he was any kind of a threat to Crey interests again, if he made it that far...

***********************

7:55 AM Brickstown "Yellow-Line" Tram Station

"You've got a long ways to go before you get there, son." The kindly old man pointed out to Kane. Standing on Paragon City's Yellow Line tram station for Brickstown, Kane was staring at the city map wondering how the hell he got off at the wrong exit. Looking back to the older gentleman who had offered assistance upon spotting the bewildered hero, he asked, "Could you repeat that again for me, please?"

"Well, like I said, you need to get back on the Yellow Line and ride it all the way to Steel Canyon. Then you want to catch a cab, or jump, fly, shoot yourself outta canon, whatever you do, on over to Blyde Square. Positron always can be seen hanging out there with that Nordic warrior gal-pal of his."

Kane nodded slowly. "Well, thank you, sir. Is there umm, anything I can do for you before I head off?"

The old man beamed. "Why yes there is. Someone's been in that there restroom for hours! When I pound on the door, no one answers, but I can hear 'em in there. Could you hurry them along for me?"

"Uhhh, sure. I'll see what I can do." Kane wandered away shaking his head.

***********************

8:00 AM Blyde Square, Steel Canyon

Positron eyed the candidates before him from behind his red-tinged visor. The golden helmet did not move an inch, but behind it, the hero's eyes were busy reading multiple scans on various internal H.U.D.s and physically sizing up the individuals selected for him by the Freedom Phalanx mainframe. It was his job to turn this group of individuals into a team capable of taking on a serious threat to the city. All he needed was for the last one to arrive.

*THUMP*

Positron's threat assessment computer had already ruled out the rapidly falling object as a danger, and passed the message on to his recognition software, culminating in the ability to calmly look to his left and bark, "Your late, QuikStryke."

The other heroes all jumped from a combination of their companion's sudden entrance and Positron's modulated voice. Sheepishly moving in with the others, QuikStryke mumbled an apology and then assumed a military "at ease" posture. Positron noted that and cross-referenced the hero's file for military training.

Looking over the assembled heroes, he noted their call signs and specialties:

Brushfire : Scientifically-altered, Fire-based tanker, with secondary energy emission capabilities. Easily the most experienced of the heroes.

Fire Wild : Mutant Fire-based blaster, a great degree of flame oriented powers, very experienced.

Basinos : Magical being, also Fire-oriented blaster.

SLOTH : Mutant (assumed) Defender, capable of radiation emission and kinetic manipulation

Kali the Dark : Magical Defender, wielding Dark Force and capable of creating defensive force fields, also one of three females on the team.

Watermarque : Mutant Controller, exhibited mastery of earth and storm. The other female on the team.

Shidhe Devil : Magical Scrapper, wielding a Broadsword and Regenerative ability. Completed the trio of females on the team.

And the latecomer;

QuikStryke : Mutant (assumed) Scrapper, Martial artist, also possessing regenerative abilities.

Nodding, Positron noted the team was well-rounded as he had requested. The majority of flame powers would also prove useful for what the mission he had for the team. He also noted that the team was composed of members of the Archons of Justice super group, a team with an excellent reputation for getting things done.

As the assembled team settled down, Positron addressed them. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. We have been monitoring your progress in the city and felt you were ready to step up to a greater task." He waited for the buzzing to die down before continuing.

"As you all know, the Hydro dam in Faultline is one of the two major power sources for Paragon City. The Reservoir created by the Dam is the sole source of drinking water. This makes it an extremely valuable asset, and a very prime target for the villain organizations who plague us."

"Freedom Phalanx has received some disturbing news today: it seems that Dr. Vahzilok has engineered a plan to contaminate our water supply with..."

"Again?" Brushfire asked.

The other heroes chuckled, exchanging glances.

"Excuse me?" Positron asked, reigning his first response back. He reminded himself that Statesman had recommended this course of action, and States' was rarely wrong in his leadership decisions.

Brushfire smiled disarmingly. "Sorry to interrupt. It just seems like every time we turn around the "Vahz" are trying to pollute the water supply with this or that drug. Heck, just last week I confiscated a ton of goop that woulda turned us all into easy-bake organ donors."

Positron counted to 10. He then responded, "Yes. The Disciples of Vahzilok, amongst others, attempt many different heinous crimes. Most of these are left in the hands of individual heroes or the various super teams in the city."

The team obviously wasn't following his logic. He tried again. "Within the Disciples of Vahzilok there exist leaders known collectively as Eidolons. You all have fought them no doubt."

The team all nodded assent, QuikStryke looked ready to launch into a tale of his latest encounter. Positron hurried along. "After their creation, Dr. Vahzilok allows his Eidolons free reign in his troops. He teaches them his dogma and allows them to interpret it in their own way. Each Eidolon goes about his own schemes with whatever forces he can recruit to his cause. This makes them very disorganized, and therefore easier to thwart."

Realization began dawning on a few faces. Perhaps there was hope for them yet. "In this case, the Doctor has put forth a singular plan for polluting the Reservoir. This means that many Eidolons are working together, combining their forces in one goal."

Now the team was with him. Some of them were already exchanging glances and low whistles as the thought sank in.

"I see I have your full attention now, Taskforce Alpha. That will be your call sign until this task is accomplished. I need you to head to these coordinates..." Positron handed Brushfire a PDA, "... There are verified reports that a Eidolon named Epidural has assembled a massive Vahzilok presence in the sewers there. I assume it is their army for assaulting the Dam."

Stepping back and saluting the team, Positron wished them well. "Good luck, Taskforce Alpha."

The team blinked. Then realizing they had been dismissed, they turned and leaped, flew, and sped away.

His comm. unit buzzed on a familiar frequency. Clicking the channel open, he heard his friend's voice, "How'd it go?"

Positron sighed heavily, meriting a heart laugh from the Statesman. "All I want to know is one thing, Were we ever that young?"

He couldn’t help but join Statesman's laughter as they recounted old "war-stories" from a time long ago.

Part B "Into the Sewers" coming soon...

"A Night to Dark"

Cadao Kestrel was sweating. A cool ocean breeze blew in from the Atlantic, comforting most of Founders Falls from the sweltering heat, but Cadao wasn't perspiring from the near 90 degree weather. The docks he was strolling along were not a safe place after dark. All manner of evil lurked in the shadows, ranging from 5th Column Vampires to Circle of Thorn mages and worse. It was the later that brought him out this evening. A leader in the magical community, Cadao took the Circle's activities very seriously. His latest findings had him worried. He had tried to get ahold of some top flight arcane heroes for help on this matter, but most of them were busy fighting various other-dimensional threats like the recent invasion from the Shadow Shard. One of them, Malthaeus Kincaid, had recommended meeting with an up and coming hero named Lavender Shadow. Evidentially the case might have a personal appeal to her. Desperate for help, Cadao had made the call, and now, here he was.

Arcane mutterings floating on the wind froze Cadao in place. A cry for help was cut off sharply by the crack of leather on skin. Visions of leather gloves abusing the face of an innocent filled him with a fiery anger. No stranger to the twisting paths of magic, Cadao began summoning the energies that would fuel one of his more damaging spells. Sudden sounds of repeated impacts and cries of pain caused him to run up the nearby ramp into the nearby parking lot. He slowed to a trot and then paused, watching the scene before him unfold.

Three Defenders, elite warrior-bodyguards to the more prestigious Circle of Thorns mages lay on the ground already, whisps of shadow writhing about their unconscious bodies. The remaining wizard squared off with a lithe woman wearing black jeans, a red t-shirt, tinted sunglasses despite the late hour, and a red bandana holding her hair back from her face. Cadao noticed that the wizard was a member of the Death Magus order, the most powerful order in the Circle. This would prove interesting, and gave him a chance to watch this woman in action before asking her to help with this large of a job.

While the mage chanted, the heroine danced closer, extending a hand towards her foe. Cadao felt the Void answer her call, and suddenly dark tentacles erupted from the ground around the Death Mage, disrupting his spell. Gesturing about himself, the wizard dismissed the tentacles, a powerful spell in his own repertoire, with a look of disdain on his face. He looked up to the heroine standing before him with contempt. "If that is your best, you ha..." A loud crunching sound heralded the outpouring of teeth and blood from his broken jaw as a swift uppercut ended his utterance. The heroine followed with a serious of rapid punches that rocked the mage back and forth, and then finished with a right cross that dropped the mage in his tracks.

Dusting her hands off, the heroine extended a hand to the woman still sprawled on the ground dazed from her ordeal. "Are you alright, miss?" she asked.

The woman visibly shook off the haze her brain had sunk into for its own protection, and reaching for her rescuer's hand, she beamed a relived smile. "Oh thank you! I thought I was going to die tonight… or worse."

"You're safe now, but that gash on your arm looks nasty. Here let me help." Pulling the bandana from her head, the heroine smiled while wrapping the young woman's arm tightly, and then tying off a makeshift bandage. "There that will hold it till the paramedics arrive." She smiled, cocking her head to one side as she heard the echoing of sirens as if on queue. "Excuse me for a moment."

"Sure, uhh, what's your name?" the young woman asked as the heroine moved about the Circle members, attaching small electronic devices and then activating them.

Looking up form the last of the villians, the heroine smiled, "Most people call me Lavender Shadow, but my friends call me Jacinthe." A shimmering in the air about each villain alerted Jacinthe to step back as each villain in turn was teleported away to the Ziggurat, Paragon City's prison for paranormal beings.

"Thank you, Jacinthe. I'll never forget this!" the young woman gushed as an ambulance pulled up, paramedics spilling out before it had even stopped.

Holding up a hand to fend off unneeded praise, Jacinthe replied, "No worries, hon'. Its what I do." Watching the paramedics take the young lady into their custody, she smiled and waved goodbye. "Take care!" she called to the woman's retreating back.

As the ambulance pulled away Jacinthe spoke to the air, "Enjoy the show, Mr. Kestrel?"

**********************

"… and so that is why I have called you here, Ms. Roux. Do you think you could investigate this for me?"

Jacinthe nodded slowly, contemplating what had just been laid out for her. "So King Thunder, one of Odysseus' remaining Warrior Bosses, stole a book of rituals from the Circle of Thorns. Only he really didn’t steal it, you believe that the Circle is setting the Warriors up for... something. Now the Warriors have been playing with this book for… a week you said, and the Circle have been shadowing them the whole time, but not making a move to recover their precious grimoire." she ticked off points on her fingers while paraphrasing Kestrel's story. When he nodded assuringly she asked, "Ok, so why the midnight rendezvous on the docks? Its romantic and all, but really, I just met you Cadao." A wicked grin flashed most of her teeth in a manner that was both stimulating and frightening.

"The Warriors are attempting the ritual tonight." Cadao dropped the final bomb on the dark haired heroine.

"Oh." The grin died as suddenly as it had appeared. "Where do I find them?"

"Kings Row, here's the address." Cadao handed Jacinthe a napkin with scribblings on it. "You had best hurry, Ms. Roux." A creaking on the docks below attracted Cadao's attention. When nothing materialized from the gloom, he continued, "Oh, I should also tell you…" Looking back to where Jacinthe had been sitting moments ago, he found nothing but an empty parking lot again.

******************************

Two hours later, Jacinthe crouched atop a nearby building giving the area a final visual search before moving in. She had stopped by Cass' apartment to change, hoping in vain that the scarlet-tressed witch would have returned early from her family vacation. Finding the apartment empty, she had changed into her recognized costume and then hyper-bounded across the city 'till she reached the address Cadao had given her.

The warehouse was unassuming, one of many along the north-eastern stretch of Kings Row. Jacinthe had prowled around the outside, scanning the surroundings for signs of the Circle's mages, warriors, or summoned monstrosities. Removing them would allow her to deal with her wayward family privately, something she would greatly prefer. However, after a complete check of the area, the only sign she had found was a single ritualistic design scrawled some hundred meters from the warehouse that Cadao had indicated. For the hundredth time in the past hour she wished that Cass had not been on her Ifrit-bonding trip. She would have known what the Circle was up to. Frustrated, and beginning to assume that this was a fool's errand, Jacinthe stealthed her way to the building's main entrance. Finding the front door unlocked, and unguarded, she cautiously entered, hackles raised, ready for anything…except the overpowering stench of burnt flesh.

Jacinthe gagged at the intensity of the horrible smell. Fighting to control her rebellious stomach, she fell to her knees, stumbling over a corpse lying in the shadow of the entrance. The faint light coming from within the warehouse was enough to reveal familiar tattoos; Greek lettering and markings indicative of an axe-wielding branch of Warrior lieutenants known collectively as Hewers. A jagged hole under his ribs was crusted with dried blood, and Jacinthe quickly realized that she knelt in a pool of the same.

Staggering to her feet, Jacinthe called on mental exercises to calm her jangled nerves, and then focused on blocking out the horrible smells. Reaching deeper within, she summoned forth a protective aura for her mind and senses. Quick visions of Master Hao and her time training in his temple learning these arts faded into the readiness of a soldier entering battle. Opening her eyes again, she moved through the entrance and into the warehouse.

A surprising few bodies greeted her eyes. It appeared that the door guards had been caught unawares, and strangely, from behind, as if they had their backs to the door and been completely unaware of the threat that took their lives. Puzzling over what could have drawn away the mind of a well-disciplined Warrior coterie form their duty, Jacinthe slipped further into the warehouse. A quavering voice drew her attention. Somewhere ahead a man begged for his life.

Leaping lightly to the top of a 20' row of storage containers, Jacinthe scanned for the voice's owner. She found him cowering in a corner, cowering near the office he had obviously attempted to flee from. Two Circle mages were making gestures and cowing him with words that Jacinthe could not hear from her location. What was obvious to her was the voice's identity. King Thunder, while one of the less intelligent of the Warrior Bosses, was a man of great strength and heart, well loved by his people, and often a visitor to her father's home. Why he was shaking from the threats of a pair of mages was beyond Jacinthe, but she intended to find out.

Dropping to the floor, Jacinthe utilized the momentum to hurl herself across the intervening distance, landing easily a hundred feet away. Recently the Sisterhood had been called upon to save the nuclear reactor in Terra Volta which provided the power for all of Paragon City. A showdown in the reactors' core room without proper shielding had altered Jacinthe's body and mind. No longer could she run at lightning speeds. In fact, none of her abilities worked well for over a week. She had gone to visit her mentor, the one who taught her the Night Ways, the martial discipline which allowed her to control the Void with such lethality. This sensei was able to help Jacinthe refocus her mind, and she discovered that while the hyper speed was gone, a new technique was opened to her, the ability to leap great distances and move with much greater fluidity. She had quickly incorporated this into her repertoire.

The Circle mages were not prepared for any resistance and had let their guard down. When Jacinthe landed behind them, her heels clicked on the metal grating, causing both to spin about quickly. They stared at the figure before them, a raven haired Amazonian, clad in a deep purple armor, her matching cloak swirling about her. The shadows cast by a hanging light bulb seemed to undulate about her, giving the impression of being alive. Both mages reacted quickly, but they were already seconds to late, and quickly, both lay broken and bleeding on the floor. Stepping over them, Jacinthe asked, "What have you done, Thunder?"

The Warrior boss looked about wildly, panic etched on his face. When he focused on his rescuers face, he blanched further, but seemed to understand he was safe, for the moment. Gathering enough wit about him to speak, King Thunder began. "The book. We stole it from the Circle, but we didn't know. We tried the rituals; it asked for power, promised power, and we did as it asked.

It crossed over on a bridge of greed, but it broke through our bindings and then it was on us. The flames! The shadow and flames! My people, my Warriors, engulfed in flames!

The Circle knew. They came to meet it, and it went with them. It called itself the Envoy of Shadows, and they knew it was coming, and when it arrived it went with them below the ground.

We thought we were the ones calling it, but we weren't. We thought we were in control, but we weren't in control at all. The Circle set us up! We were sacrificed to it. We were sacrifices to bring it across the threshold of worlds."

Inhaling deeply after his soliquoy, he looked to Jacinthe for some sort of understanding. He found her gazing stonily in his direction. "Why, Thunder? Why mess with magic? You are no sorcerer, no mystic to be summoning creatures."

Panic turned to insulted ego, and color rapidly began painting the stark white of Thunder's face. Pointing an accusing finger at Jacinthe he bellowed, "It was your fault woman! Your constant hunting of your own people has weakened us drastically. Forcing Alexander to turn State's Witness has seen many of our best lieutenants sent to the Ziggurat, and then you had to kill our Weaponsmaster Lukas! How DARE you question me after all you have done to destroy us?"

Jacinthe could not meet Thunder's accusatory eyes. He stated what dwelt in the dark corners of her own heart. When the Warriors had become corrupt she had set about on a journey of enlightenment which had led her to Alexander and then Lukas. Something had corrupted Lukas causing him to set up her own father for assassination at the hands of a Tsoo assassin. Something was terribly wrong at the core of the Warriors, but she could not locate Odysseus to question him of its source. Now the Warriors were on the run on all fronts. The Tsoo, Outcasts, and Hellion gangs were all receiving boosted magical support from an unknown source, making the Warrior's position less tenable by the day. Already they were losing entire neighborhoods to these and other encroachers. While she knew her quest to purify the Warriors was just, seeing her people suffer smote her to the core.

Finally she met Thunder's heated gaze. His eyes had softened some, and Jacinthe could see the horror and pain in them. He had what many referred to as a "thousand yard stare," indicative of deep shock. Gently she asked "What was summoned, Thunder, what attacked you and your men?"

Glancing about, shock threatened to consume Thunder once more. "A demon most foul, Jacinthe.. Demon of shadow and fire… it… it consumed us. Dozens fell instantly… we fled, scattering, each man attempting to avoid its gaze. I…I do not know if any others survive." Shame overtook the Warrior and it was his turn to avoid Jacinthe's gaze. "I failed them all… so many Warriors fallen."

Jacinthe stepped closer to Thunder, and when he did not flinch away, took his hand in both of hers. A clicking sound drew his attention to the electronic band attached to his wrist. "You will be safe now, my brother," she whispered.

As the humming sounds increased, Thunder looked to Jacinthe with pleading eyes. She nodded in recognition of his unasked request. "They will be avenged. My life on it." The Warrior's shoulder slumped in relief as he faded away, teleported to the Ziggurat.

*************************************

Lightning crashed in a stormy sky over Steel Canyon. Rain pelted down, driving citizens into their homes for warmth and safety. More than one elderly citizen commented that "an ill wind blows tonight" to those who would hear them.

Atop a 30-story apartment building the shadows danced, writhing in tune to the emotions of the woman standing in their midst. Jacinthe stood at the edge of the rooftop, face upturned to the rain seeking a deeper cleansing. What her eyes had seen, no mortal should ever be forced to witness.

The Warriors assembled by King Thunder had been worse than slaughtered. Throughout the warehouse had been their remains; some burnt alive, others flayed, some bore the signs of giant teeth, and still others appeared as shrunken husks. These last were the worst. Reaching out with her ability to see into the Void, Jacinthe had learned the chilling truth: their souls had been stripped away, sustenance for this demon from the Abyss. The Circle had summoned a demon and used the Warriors to pay the entity's price in souls and blood. Her people, her family, destroyed like cattle, spent like coin.

A deep, boiling rush of emotions forced its way from Jacinthe's lips in the form of an agonizing scream. Thunder rumbled in echo, as lightning struck the building she stood atop, breaking on the shadows which twisted to protect their mistress. A globe of sizzling radiance illuminated the lone figure for miles around, arms raised to the sky in supplication.

One by one, shadowy figures appeared on rooftops within eyeshot of this display. Drawn by the waves of sorrow that flowed through the Void, shadow wielders from across the city gathered to pay tribute to the pain of one of their own. They remained until the storm forced them away, none daring approach the griever.

Head lifted to the oncoming rain, Jacinthe prayed, "Athena, forgive me. I do not wish your wise words now. Artemis, Huntress of the Ethereal Plains, hear my cry. I seek prey far greater than I. An immortal foe has slain my people, drank their souls, and walks unpunished. I beseech you, lighten my eyes that I may search this beast out, guide my feet on its trail that I may find it quickly, and strengthen my hands that I might avenge the blood of my brothers."

**************************

Those last few shadow casters who weathered the storm longest, would later swear that when the second bolt of lightning struck the building's top where the grieving heroine stood, that bolt, shaped like an arrow, penetrated her shields and struck her. One, the closest to her at that moment, also mentions with some hesitation, that it appeared as if the heroine glowed a golden color, and in that light, another figure seemed to appear.

Honor Avenged: Part B

Early the next morning Jacinthe crouched atop a quaint curio shop along Spanky's Boardwalk watching any passerby and waiting for 2AM to come. Shortly before their designated meeting time, she picked out Alexander walking down the boardwalk. She smiled while watching him take every precaution possible to ensure he was not followed. When he moved onto the pier, Jacinthe backed away from the edge of the building.

Taking a running start, she pushed her body into super-speeds and launched herself into the night sky. Grinning, she landed slightly behind Alexander. Anticipating his startled grab for his broadsword, she deftly applied an elbow lock, pulling his arm up tight behind his back. "You are 5 minutes late!" she hissed into his ear.

Keeping his voice low, Alexander cursed her in Greek, Latin, and it sounded like a bit of Spanish. Gathering control again, Jacinthe could hear his rapid breath calming. "I am actually 3 minutes early. Now release me."

Pushing him forward by his held elbow, she pushed him into a roll which Alexander turned into a somersault in midair, landing cat-like on his feet facing her. Looking down at her watch she commented, "So you are. Nice reflexes Alexander, if I were a Tsoo assassin you would be dead right now."

He sneered at the possibility, but to her practiced eyes he was a bit paler than usual. "Enough of this play. I cannot be away long, let us speak of what must be done." he gestured to several shipping crates left by lazy crewmen.

Taking his offer, Jacinthe sat on one of the crates, her dark eyes following his every movement. His tension was real, he was frightened for his life, "As well he should be" she thought. Still, it was comforting to know that this was not some new elaborate trap to kill her.

Catching her eyes on him, Alexander carefully weighed his words before carrying on. "Jacinthe, I know you wish to help the Warriors as much as I do, and until recently we were on opposite sides of the coin in our approach. Still, I feel obligated to ask for a test of loyalty as done in the Old Ways."
Jacinthe sat a moment, enjoying the night breeze blowing in from the ocean. Alexander was being serious, but also he was an [censored] for asking such a thing of her. The old Captains would demand proof of loyalty before initiating a Warrior into a higher position within the gang. Trials by combat were usual, but some Captains required dissertation on Greek history or military tactics. Drawing in a deep breath of salt-laden air, she let it out slowly before replying, "What do you have in mind?"

"I want you to destroy a few of our enemies, the Freakshow and Family to be exact. Two score total should reduce their numbers sufficiently to keep them off the Warriors backs a few days wondering why they are being hit so viciously."
Jacinthe nodded. She had no problem with taking down a few extra of either organization. And if it would get Alexander to turn, it would be time well spent. Standing, she dusted the debris from her suit. "Very well Alexander, I will see you back here in 3 hours."

His astonishment was clear to see, followed by a scowl he barely kept from his face. "Your confidence borders on hubris, Jacinthe. Have a care you do not follow in our steps so completely."

She met his glare with eyes dancing with mirth, "Its not pride when one completely knows what one can do. Does Athena need boast of her skill to Ares? I'd say rather she rests comfortable in the knowledge that her actions are all the proof she needs. Wait here, I WILL be back soon."

Before he could protest again, she was gone, the displaced air fluttering his dark hair, and causing him to blink away the dust rising from the boardwalk. Watching the way she had gone he muttered to ghosts long gone, "I pray this makes us even, Constantine. She will be safe when this is over."

***********************

Two and a half hours later Jacinthe hefted a burlap sack over her shoulder and prepared to disembark the Green Line Tram at its Talos Island station. Quickly stepping from the Tram, she nodded to a few other heroes working the wee hours of the day, and jogged past the Police Drones that kept the station safer than one would expect in a city full of such violence.

Once she cleared the station, Jacinthe burst into a full run. Seconds later she was on Spanky's Boardwalk where she slowed to a jog, looking about for any signs of watchers. Finding none, she moved to the Pier and moved quickly to its end.

Alexander rose from behind a crate, sheathing his broadsword as he did so. He looked questioning at her, his eyes questing to the sack. It was traditional to bring back proof of one's victories.

For her part, Jacinthe waited just long enough to be dramatic, then unceremoniously dumped the contents of the sack at Alexander's feet. Shining cybernetic parts landed amongst Family fedoras, smudges of blood covered them all. She watched as Alexander fought to remain passive while squatting down to paw through the pile.

"I am… impressed Jacinthe." The grudging respect in his voice warmed her more than she would ever admit. She forced her face passive as well as she waited patiently for the information he promised. Finally looking up form the macabre gift she had brought him, he drew a piece of paper from his jean's back pocket.

"Take this, it is the address to a warehouse in Independence Port. It is also the headquarters of Julius Lukas." He watched her eyes widen in recognition. "Yes, Odysseus' Arms Master. The warehouse is the largest storehouse of weapons the Warriors possess. If you take that, you will cripple the entire organization. That should be proof enough that I am true in my intentions."

Jacinthe took the paper form his outstretched hand. If he was honest, this would do more damage in one swoop then she could do in months of hunting down Slashers and Hewers. And Arms Master Lukas too… Old feelings rose in her breast unbidden, the thrill of a challenge. Lukas had held his position for over a decade, fending off many challengers. He was renowned for his use with a long blade, though he was capable with any martial weapon.

"There is one thing more…"

She looked up, displeasure written on her face. "Here it comes," she thought.

"Lukas… he is the one whispering things in Odysseus' ear. Ever since your father was… You know how well Odysseus loved your father and respected his advice." he paused till she was forced to give a curt nod. "Lukas has stepped into that void, and he whispers dark things to our Lord. Since that time, the Warriors have taken the turn you see them on now. If he has more time, I believe all honor will have been lost to us. Remove him, and you will remove the heart of the darkness within our body."

Jacinthe considered his words. Could it be that easy? After the last year and a half of hunting the Warriors, could she make one fell swoop to cut the cancer from the organization she was raised to love so? Or was this a maneuver by Alexander to obtain more power for himself. With Lukas gone, might a Archigos move into the position of Arms Master? "Only one way to find out, and if he is lying, he can speak with Lukas in the afterlife," she thought. Aloud she spoke, "Alright, Alexander. I will remove Lukas and this warehouse. I pray you are truthful in this. If you are not…" she glared at his upraised hands, gesturing his innocence. "If you are, then we will both get what we want this day. I swear this on my father's soul. I will call you when I am finished. Be prepared to go with me at that moment."

The pair stood quiet on the dock for a few minutes more. The predawn was turning a ribbon of the horizon gray. Locking eyes once more, a mutual agreement was reached, and as suddenly as she came, Jacinthe was gone again.

Alexander shook his head as he strolled from the pier. She might actually accomplish this. He prayed to Ares that it would be so, and for good measure, said a few words to Athena as well.

*******************

The warehouse was no different from thousands of others like it scattered about Independence Port. Crates were stacked in some semblance of order, in some places as high as 12 feet from the dock. Jacinthe looked over her companions; Cass had immediately volunteered to accompany her on this mission. Dressed in her orange and black costume, she looked the part of "tigress" a term Jacinthe used often for her lover. As she met Jacinthe's gaze, Cass' eyes blazed with fire. "Yes, a hellcat for sure." She met Cass' grin with one of her own, the shared wink rising feelings best left till after combat.

Next was Avani, sorority girl turned avenging hand of Gaia. Beautiful in her pink and gold skirted costume. Seeing Jacinthe's gaze, she flipped her cape over one shoulder to catch the breeze just right for a truly heroic pose. Nodding Avi's way, she was assured that the earth controller was indeed ready for this undertaking.

The last member of the party was a source of both joy and confusion to most of her Sisters. Lunar Eclipse was the newest member of the Sisterhood of Justice. From what could be gleaned, she was either an awakened star, or perhaps a consciousness born of the stars. Even that could be wrong, as Lunar did not think in human terms. She was adjusting very quickly, but her naive adoption of phrases coined by those around her proved extremely humorous at times. It also brought out a "older sister" mentality in most of the Sisters who were always on alert for those who might try to take advantage of the newcomer. Feeling Jacinthe's gaze, Lunar turned her gaze to her team mate, blinked, then stated, "We are ready, Dark hero."

Grinning back at Lunar, she nodded to the other girls. "Lets move in then, ladies."

Using the crates as cover, Jacinthe marveled at her luck, three heroines of the "controller" class would make taking the melee heavy Warrior guards a much easier endeavour. A quick leap, followed by a chop to the neck, rendered the door guard unconscious.

***************************

The warehouse was crawling with Warriors. It was clear that Lukas had beefed up security in preparation for something. The Sisters had already "arrested" over forty gang members, most of them of the lieutenant classes.

Peering about a corner at raised voices, Jacinthe confirmed the speaker to be Julius Lukas. He was taking a report from an underling, while standing amongst his twenty man honor guard . "Lavender Shadow is here? Why hasn't she been stopped yet?" He waved off the stammering excuse of his man. "It is no matter, she has been a thorn in our side for too long. I will deal with her personally! See that she makes her way here."

Having been a heroine long enough to recognize the moment for a dramatic entrance, Jacinthe stood, checked that her Sisters were ready, and strode from the shadows. Her long strides blew back her cloak, and she summoned the Void to her, allowing the tendrils of Voidpower to play about her body as she called out, "Why wait, Lukas? I am here already!"

Cursing soundly in Greek, Lukas pulled the large broadsword that was hanging from his back sheathe. "Take them!" he called to his assembled honor guard. "except for 'Shadow, she is mine alone!"

Blades, axes, and great-maces appeared in hands as the Warriors moved to meet the approaching heroines. Jacinthe could hear Cass chanting to the Spirits of the Ifrit for power and protection for her Sisters. Avani called out her challenge, "Ready to Rock your World!" Lunar moved quietly to the right of the other two controllers, all prepared to stop the villians in their tracks.

A single moment of peace stretched into the first movements of combat. The Warriors lept ahead, to be met by a steaming gas rising from a crack in the floor that appeared suddenly. Smoke filled their lungs and one rose into the air as gravity began crushing him. Jacinthe knew what was coming next, and lept through the assembled honor guard as the ground under her shook, the earth itself rising to entomb many a Warrior, and fire magically appearing to encircle the host.

Landing on the other side of the fray, she quickly ducked a slash that would have took her head from her shoulders, and countered with a sweeping punch aimed to destroy Lukas kneecap. He was ready and danced away, keeping enough distance to keep his reach advantage optimimal.

"This was a mistake, Jacinthe." He bellowed. Then quieter, "I have tolerated your girlish desire to be a hero for your father's sake, Ares rest his soul, but this outrage is too much. You will be punished now."

"Less talk, more action, Lukas!" she faked a uppercut and stepped inside his guard delivering a Shadow Maul, the rapid blows battering his torso and driving him back. She ducked his counter-swing and reached out to land a heavy blow on his cheek, laying it open widely.

Stunned, Lukas touched the blood on his face, then tasted his own life-fluid. Something began to pass over him, a battle-rage few ever saw and lived to speak of. More than that, Jacinthe's awakened senses felt a darkness stir within him. "Now you have done it, [censored]. I will kill you as surely as I killed your father."

It was Jacinthe's turn to be stunned. The Tsoo assassin had murdered her father. They stole into his home… past all his security… security that should be able to stop even the best of assassins… unless they knew how to disarm it… Eyes full of betrayal, widened further in pain as Lukas took full advantage of his enemy's inaction. His thrust ended with his hilt full against Jacinthe's armored chest plate and over two feet of steel emerging from her back.

Looking deeply into her eyes, Lukas searched for the pain and then the moment of realization that she was defeated that he so relished. "Oh yes," he hissed in her face, "Constantine was in my way. Always with his talk of the Old Ways. What of the New, I would ask Odysseus, but he always looked to your father's damnable advice. It was a simple matter to arrange for the Deathmoon school to come on possession of his security plans. I only wish I could have seen him die, the arrogant dog!"

He sneered in her face once more and prepared to pull his blade from her. He paused as her head rocked forward, eyes burning red as with an inner fire. Through blood frothed lips she spoke, "For crimes against the Warrior's Code," she shoved him harder than he could have imagined possible. He flew back, holding his blade still, and watched as a double gout of blood poured from her chest and back. She staggered to a knee.

Recovering himself, he pulled his blade back to finish this business, and charged, "You'll what [censored]? Die on my blade giving me the satisfaction of knowing that I will end the Roux line with you?" His charge was stopped in mid-stride as she rose suddenly from her knees inside his guard, one hand knocking aside his sword arm and the other seizing his throat. He felt energy flow out of himself into her hand and watched in horror as her gaping chest wound began to seal.
Blood yet flowed, but she ignored it, glaring into his eyes.
"For murdering my father!" she released him and hurtled a punch into his chest that sent him flying back into a wall. He was unsure if it was the blackness of his vision from rebounding his head off the cement wall, but a dark glow surrounded Jacinthe for a moment and her wound completely closed! Striding forward through a pool of her own blood she approached him steadily. "For murdering my mother!" She struck out at him and he quickly ducked and rolled under her, grabbing for her cloak even as he heard her punch powder the cement where his head had previously rested.

His hands curled around her cloak, and using his forward momentum, he somersaulted, hurling her backwards into the opposite wall. She struck with a thud, the noise of her armor cracking made visual in hundreds of spider-webbing fissures throughout. Her head had also struck with enough force that blood could be seen in a halo about her face. Lukas smiled wolfishly, Tough but not unbeatable, he thought as he advanced.

His smile turned to a look of disbelief as her eyes flew open and she pulled herself from the indentation in the wall her impact had made. Pieces of her backplate fell to the ground behind her, and grabbing the armor at its collar joinings, she rent it from herself, letting the broken pieces land on the ground. Her bared chest a sports bra darkened in her own blood, a scar that was even now disappearing, and nothing else! This dark harbinger spoke again, "but most importantly, for your betrayal of all we stood for, causing our good name to be soiled in the eyes of all, I condemn you to death!"
Lukas swallowed heavily, his hands gripping his sword tighter. "Bring your best woman, we will see who Ares favors this day!" Seeing her move forward rapidly, Lukas timed a strike to take into account her speed. Time slowed for him as he watched her blur under his strike, and felt her first strike render the muscles in his sword arm useless. The second hit his upper bicep and he lost hold of the sword. The third crushed his left ribs and the fourth pulverized the other side. Continuing in its brutal fury, the Shadow Maul broke his jaw, the bones about his left eye, and pulped his right ear. Standing there reeling, he could see his sword falling to the ground still. The demoness in front of him did not stop though. A downward kick shattered his right kneecap causing him to fall forward into the rising uppercut that lifted him from his feet and broke every tooth in his mouth. In agonizing slow motion he saw the last blow, the one that would claim his life descending to his chest. Seeing the clawed strike approaching, he realized fuzzily the reason why she had crushed his ribs. A fire burned his left breast as she tore through his skin, past the powdered ribcage and tore his heart from his body.

The last thing Julius Lukas saw in this world was his hated rival's daughter standing before him, his still feebly pumping heart in her hand, and heard her say, "I resign your corpse to Hades. Your heart I claim for the Warriors." and then the darkness did claim him to a place reserved for traitors.

**************************

The late fall afternoon was unseasonably warm in Talos that day. Alexander looked about the pier nervously, hoping Jacinthe would hurry. He felt exposed standing out here in the daylight, waiting for a sniper's arrow to take him. He did not have to wait long. A sudden rushing of air announced her before she stopped. He smiled to see her, Constantine's heir would indeed cleanse the Warriors, one way or the other. His gaze went to the sack she was carrying in her hand. It seemed stained with whatever was within. Looking back to her face, he raised an eyebrow in question.

"It is finished. Whatever darkness Lukas possessed will no longer poison the Warriors." Jacinthe stated. She upended the sack over the Bay, and Alexander startled as the bloody organ fell into the waters below. "I do not know what possessed him to this end, but he was a Warrior, and so I could not bear to leave his heart on the field of battle."

Alexander swallowed audibly, and kept his usual sarcastic words to himself as he observed the woman standing beside him, her gaze locked on something he could not fathom. His heart swelled to think that she was still a Warrior within and made his final decision mean more to him. Surrendering oneself to family was no dishonor. Clearing his throat, he drew her attention back form the depths. "I am ready to surrender myself to the authorities now. Will you escort me to your contact?"

Jacinthe nodded slowly, relieved that Alexander had kept to his word. She didn't feel like fighting any more of her father's old friends… or enemies today. Turning, she led the way down the pier, glad that there was still some honor left to be found in her people.

Honor Avenged -Part A

Morning peeked its way through a crack in the scarlet drapes, a single ray of light illuminating a pale face framed by a sea of midnight hair. Eyelids twitching, Jacinthe raised a hand from beneath silk sheets that matched the drapes to block the offending light. "Ye gods, I hate early mornings," she griped to herself. Pulling at the sheets, she rolled her back to the window and snuggled deeper into the feather mattress. "Why the hell am I awake at this time anyway…" she mused to herself.

Dark blue eyes flew open in shock as memory caught up with cogniscent though. "Fylo!" Swinging her legs out from under the sheets, Jacinthe sat quickly, unconsciously lapsing to Greek expletives learned from many years amongst the Warriors of Talos Island. "Fylo, fylo, fylo!" she hissed beneath her breath, not wishing to wake the room's other occupant. Happier thoughts turned her lips up in a quick grin as she looked back over her shoulder at the lump in the middle of the bed.

Most of the sheets, and the entire matching comforter were mounded about a still sleeping form. A tuft of red hair poking out over the pillowcase being the only proof that someone was truly under all the mess. Jacinthe watching the blanketed mound until a soft snore proved she had not wakened her partner.

Sliding from the bed, she grabbed her cell phone and padded softly out of the bedroom, headed down an arched hallway and turning into a spotless kitchen. She shook her head as she looked around. How Cass managed to keep her kitchen spotless was beyond Jacinthe. When asked, Cass had archly informed her that "no magic was needed when one was efficient." She grinned at the memory, then spoke just loud enough to wake her next best friend, "Coffee, 2… no..hell, Whole Pot." The Cuisinart coffee maker beeped its recognition, and began whirring away happily.

Jacinthe smiled at the deliverer of morning wakefulness, and flipped open her phone. "I knew I loved that woman the second I saw she had a 12-cup pot" she said to the chortling pot. Finding the number she needed in her speed dial, she punched the access code, and listened to the dial-a-tone as she waited for the number's owner to pick up. After the third ring, she was about to hang up when the receiver on the other end crackled to life.

"Hello?" the deep baritone voice sent a shudder of ice down her spine.

"Alexander? Its Jacinthe… I understand you want to meet?"

"Jaciiiinnnthhhee," the way he hissed her name arced the shudder straight into her gut, were an invisible fist clenched and unclenched painfully. "So nice of you to call. I asked specifically for you, but was not sure the city would be so kind as to direct you to me."

Jacinthe could see Alexander Pavilidis as if he were standing in the very room with her. It hadn't been that long since her father's boss had sent her out to avenge his death. She could still feel his piercing eyes and arrogantly handsome features evaluating her and silently telling her she was not worthy of the task and would no doubt fail. A powerful swordsman, he was the "Archigos," the Captain, of the various gang leaders, and reported directly to Odysseus, the Overlord of the Warriors. Taking a deep breath, she willed her stomach to settle and with a calm she didn't feel answered.

"Yes Alexander, I took your offer. I fully expect this to be another trap, another attempt on my life, but Christina has been a good contact and so I honored my arrangement with her and took the case."

"Jacinthe, Jacinthe… you wound me "loulloudi."

The ice in her gut evaporated from the molten anger burning its way instantly down from her heart. "Loulloudi," "blossom"… a name her father used for her on occasion. Another memory besmirched by the foulness of her past. Swallowing past the harsh words that threatened to tumble forth, she let a calm deadness slip into her speech. "What do you want Alexander. Make this good, because you have moments before I hang up, and if I do, this deal you have with the Justice Department is off."

Her words coupled with the tone of their deliverance obviously shook some of the smug confidence the Warrior wore like an armor. "Very well then," he muttered. "I wish to turn State's Evidence against Odysseus and the other gang bosses."

Jacinthe caught her phone on her foot before it hit the ground, and by reflex "hackey-sacked" it back up to her hand. Alexander could not have said a single thing more shocking to her. All shreds of sleep now gone, she opened a cabinet behind her and withdrew a large mug. Her mind was a whirling turmoil as she raised the phone back to her ear, "Could you repeat that please."

"You heard me Jacinthe. There is a darkness that has even overcome Odysseus. I do not know what it is, but something is claiming the honor of our highest members, and it is corrupting a once noble ideal. I will NOT sit idly by and watch our brotherhood fall to the depths of the foreigners!" Alexander was panting by the end of his outburst.

Jacinthe considered Alexander's declaration. She, too, knew that something had been eating away at the heart of the Warriors, though she had not been able to put a finger on it. That Alexander would even mention the vileness that the Tsoo represented in the same breath as his own coterie was… staggering. Still, he could still be playing on her emotions to lower her defenses. She would play it carefully until she was sure.

"Alright, Alexander. I will meet with you to discuss this matter. I warn you though, any tricks and I will make a point of humiliating you before turning you over to the wardens of the Ziggurat."

A rolling chuckle signaled the return of Alexander's shield of hubris. "Well then, if this is a trap, I will look forward to testing your mettle, Jacinthe. Where can I meet you to set your mind at ease? Hmmm, I know, how about at the end of Pier 32 on Spanky's Boardwalk? Sunset should be fabulous this time of year."

The Cuisinart cheerfully burbled its completion. Jacinthe pulled the now full carafe from its burner and sloshed coffee into her waiting mug, burning her hand as some splashed out. She stared at the burn as it quickly pinkened and then returned to her usual tanned complexion as her body replaced the burned cells at a lightning rate. Placing the cup down, she reached for a paper towel to clean up the mess. "Alexander, you are a *******. You know that was Poppa's favorite launch."

"Why Jacinthe, I would never do anything so petty as choosing a meeting place just to hurt you!" his tone said differently, and that he relished the little dig he made in her. Before he could say more, she cut him off.

"Fine. Pier 32, but sunset is no good; make it 2AM. The sun will be down and I can ensure a measure of privacy then." Her tone brooked no argument, and as she heard him start to make an attempt to close their conversation in a cordial manner, she cut him off. "Good day, Alexander. I will see you there or not. If you are late, I am gone. Goodbye!"
Jacinthe clicked down on her phone's "Talk" button hard enough to hear the casing protest, then tossed the phone on the counter with a clatter. Cursing under her breath she caught it before it bounced more than once, suddenly remembering the reason why she was having the conversation out in the kitchen in the first place. Sighing, she reached for her coffee mug and took a long pull of the energy giving liquid.

As the warmth infused her, she relaxed one muscle at a time, concentrating on techniques taught her by the sensei who was also responsible for her Biorhythmic Healing techniques.

More coffee and more quiet concentration brought a stillness moments later. Forcing her hatred of Alexander to the side, she calmly considered his message and what all it meant.
Alexander was leaving the Warriors. The second in command of such an organization did not simply walk away form his brothers. As much as she was wanted by the Warriors, Odysseus would move heaven and earth to kill his treacherous lieutenant. If this was real… yes, if this was real, then she would be a very large step toward accomplishing her self-appointed goal of purifying the Warriors or seeing them disbanded.

"Now there's a sight I could wake up to every morning!" a small lecherous voice proclaimed loudly, breaking the quiet of the early morning hours.

Jacinthe turned slowly, fighting to keep the smile off her face and appear stern. "Harold, what have I told you about sneaking up on people?"

The 2' 2" little imp grinned wider than his face could hold. Looking for all the world like a demonic cherub, he was extremely happy with his current Mistress' choice of companions and was proud to let everyone know about it. "Hey toots! If you insist on prancing about her naked, I'm not responsible for any verbal outbursts that slide off my forked tongue." Illustrating his comment, Harold flicked his tongue out and smoothed a black eyebrow, a trick he was sure to demonstrate a few times for any female visitor Cass had to her apartment.

His manner was infectious, and Jacinthe found herself smiling down at him. Still, determined to not be one upped in their constant war of irritation, she squatted quickly to bring herself closer to his height. "Coffee's on. I think I'm going to run through some katas in the exercise room. Care to run off some of that spare tire?"

Sputtering to himself, Harold fluttered his wings up to the counter. Leaving him grumbling about his physique and ways he could prove how manly he was, Jacinthe walked through Cass' suite towards the exercise room. Along the way she passed through the vaulted living room, morning's light turning the stained-glass skylight into a kaleidoscope of color. The east hallway led past several doors before ending in a large room set aside for physical pursuits.

Pausing in front of the doorways, one to either side of her, she marveled at their emptiness. Not long ago both had been occupied by other girls, Motoko and Shayla. Shayla had left to pursue her schooling, but Mo, well, that was a different matter all together. Cass still winced when her name was brought up, and Jacinthe had noticed that pictures in which Mo was featured had been moved away from places of prominence in the apartment. Their break had been a hard one, and she couldn't help but feel partially responsible. Cass did not speak of it much, and so Jacinthe tried to leave matters alone.

Shaking her head to clear her straying thoughts, she continued to the exercise room. A treadmill and a Bowflex machine occupied the left half of the room, while the right was left empty for sparring or weapon practice. Rolling her shoulders, she contemplated where to start her morning. Deciding on strength training, she moved over to the Bowflex and sat down to ready it. This particular model was only available through Hero Corp, as was the treadmill sitting nearby. The exercise needs of many heroes were so far beyond even what an Olympic athlete would require, that specialized machines had to be created to help them.
Programming the electronic gravitational weight system to 500 lbs, Jacinthe eased her back against the seat and gripped the arm bars. Before beginning, she spoke to the ceiling, uttering the command words to a sound suppression spell Cass had worked into the room to prevent the rest of the apartment from being disturbed by the sounds issuing from the gym area. Satisfied she would not wake Cass, Jacinthe then voice activated the sound system in this part of the house to play music she had programmed herself, much to Cass' dismay. As the opening chords of Rammestein's "Mutter" began, Jacinthe pushed into the weights, letting everything else slip away but the satisfaction gained from physical exercise.

...Part B is coming...

The wind blew in warm and moist, carrying a hint of salt from the Aegean, stirring the branches on the trees about the hill. The same wind stirred the leaves on the vines as Jacinthe walked steadily towards a hill in the middle of her family's vineyard. "Its going to be an excellent year, Grandfather will we pleased," she thought absently, her mind a million miles away.

The moon broke through clouds threatening rain to illuminate the field, revealing a tall, powerfully built woman. A casual observer would think her a native of the valley, but a local would point out her lack of tan from working long hours in the vineyards, and the fact that her hands bore callouses on the outside, not on the palms like a vineyard worker would have. The moonlight glinted off strands of white in her hair, worn loose about her shoulders, and her skin seemed to glow in reflection of the moon's radiance. The wine-colored dress she wore fluttered about her, but she paid it no mind, her stride revealing that she was not used to such feminine clothing.

Her eyes, watching all about her, continually returned to her destination. The hill rose gently from the valley's floor, a gentle swell in the otherwise flat vineyard. The pleasantness about her turned to an uneasy wistfulness. She had not been here in so many years… "Not since Mama…" Jacinthe sighed to herself as the though trailed off into painful memory. "No use delaying this any longer," she thought aloud. Her stride picked up, carrying her through the vineyard to her family's graveyard. Generations of her family laid at rest on that hill, men and women who had given their very bodies back to the land that had been claimed so many years ago by the first Roux to plant a vine in this valley. Tonight Jacinthe hoped to put one more to rest…

The climb up the hill didn't bring the sweat that glistened on her brow a she paused at the crest, looking into the Roux family plot. Her eyes tracked immideately to a pair of monuments, their marble obviously newer than the others in the area. Hesitantly she approached, a frown forming as she saw the weeds trying to grow over the graves. Kneeling she plucked the overgrowth away, concentrating on the greenery to provide one more moment's distraction. Finally with a sigh she settled back on her heels.

A small smile touched her lips as she looked to the first gravestone, the name "Natalia Roux" etched into the marble. "Hello Mama" she murmered softly, as if afraid to wake someone. "I'm sorry its been so long since I visited you… see, I brought your favorite, lilies." Jacinthe sniffed at the boquet she had brought with her, inhaling the fragrance before setting them upon her mother's grave. She paused, "I need your strength tonight, Mama. I… I can't be what Papa wants me to be. The Warriors are falling to a darkness…"

A sudden chill froze words on her tongue. A gusting of wind caused branches above to creak dangerously, and lightning flashed from cloud to darkened cloud as the moon was again swallowed by the night sky. The hair on the back of her neck prickling, Jacinthe rose to her feet, instinctively dropping into a defensive pose casting about for some threat to defend against. Shadow, deeper than the surrounding night circled the hilltop, creating an artificial barrier around the graveyard. Through the shadow, she sensed something…familiar…approaching.

"You have picked a very bad time to interrupt me!" she issued challenginly. Booming laughter echoing from the shadows was further emphasized by a peal of thunder across the valley. The growling laughter turned to a chuckle, the voice approaching closer, and then a eerily familiar voice spoke; "Is that how my Dark Beauty greets her Papa these days?"

Jacinthe stood as if struck across the face. Her usually light skin paled chalk-white. "P…Papa? Is that…how can…you are…"

"Dead?" the deep voice chuckled again. "Quite dead, my dear. My body lies in yonder soil where it was burried by my brothers' hands."

"Then how…" questioning eyes searched the shadows, coming to rest on the emerging image of her father.

"…Am I here, you ask?" Constantine Roux Sr. glanced about the graveyard, dark eyes appraising his surroundings and then his daughter with something approaching humor, "That is a truly excellent question, Jacinthe. Why am I here?"

Watching her father recline against his own tombstone brought something close to panic to Jacinthe. She had come her to speak with her father metaphorically, reason through her doubts over choices made in these last few months, and hopefully leave with peace or some semblance thereof. Yet, here he stood, summoned across the Void by her turmoil.

Facts began to filter through her mind, order replacing panic, reason squelching uncertainty. Her powers with the Darkness increased everyday. The Darkness was somehow related to the Void, that place between, were souls rested in wait of eternity. The application of the Darkness known as "Night Ways;" the particular martial discipline she followed, dealt in the transference of life and energy from one vessel to another. Various disciplines taught in Night Ways gave her the ability to steal the lifeforce from a target and regenerate herself. Recently she had begun practicing the discipline that would take her one step removed from being a true Master of her Art, the ability to regenerate her own life from beyond the grave. Thus, by process of chain logic, she had somehow summoned her father's spirit from Beyond to deal with the issues weighing on her heart? Strange, but more acceptable now.

"That's the girl I raised," her father's pleasant voice brought an ache to Jacinthe's heart, and showed that he could still read her like an open book. "Now, let us discuss what causes you such pain that you would summon me from my rest. Is it Anton? I always knew I should not have left him with such control. He was never fond of a woman running a Warrior gang. I tried to tell him, for every Ares there is an Athena..." Constaintine's voice trailed off as he observed his daughter's head hanging forward, her hair covering her face form his view. She only did that when she felt she had shamed him somehow. His voice turned softer now, more parental, "Speak your mind child… I do not know how long I have here."

Jacinthe peaked through her hair at her father's face, a sight she had resigned herself to never seeing again. "Papa… I…" she cleared her thought and began again. "I went to avenge you against the Tsoo boss Death Moon." Seeing her father nod in recognition of his assassin's name she continued. "A coward as suspected, he hid behind many members of his gang rather than face me in honorable combat. I pursued him through his gang's members, and sent many of the enemy to the Void, their blood paying for their crimes against us. When I found this Death Moon's lair I struck quickly, and without mercy. His guards fell before me, but they also drained much from me as the battle was extended." Jacinthe paused and drew a quick breath, "Death Moon finally faced me, after watching the last of his defenders fall." A noise from her father betrayed his annoyance at the cowardice shown by this foe. "Papa… he proved more than I could overcome. He wielded powers akin to my own, and in my weakened state he struck me a mortal blow, a wound that should have sent me to greet you in the Hereafter." As she said this, Jacinthe pulled the neckline on her dress, already low, down, revealing her right collarbone and the scar that angled down toward her heart.

"But you rallied your strength and slew him gloriously! After all, you are standing here today and he is not." The simple answer blurted from her father's lips.

Jacinthe shooke her head sadly. "No Papa. I lay dying. The assassin mocked me, spoke of evil things, and then would have slain me. However I was rescued that night, as if Apollo himself had stepped from the skies and shown mercy." She glanced hesitantly to her father's clouded face, his confusion obvious.

"Well, girl? Spit it out, who is this man so that I may thank his ancestor's and wait with welcoming arms to greet him to my home and share my wine with him once he joins us on the Other Side."

"He was a Hero, Papa. His name was QuickStryke, and he arrived just as the Boatman reached for me. This hero engaged the assassin and defeated him, though the fight was terrible. He placed his Medical Transport band on my wrist, and activated it to transport me to safety, while he waited for the police to arrive." Jacinthe's words had come with increasing speed, as she watched her father's face darkening till it mirrored the storm breaking above.

"WHAT? Were their no Warriors about that you had to be rescued by some spandex-wearing FREAK of nature? Where was Anton? Where were my men? Where was… was…" Constantine sputtered in his rage. His daughter, a Warrior born and bred should need no vigilante to be her rescuer. Finally mastering his rage, he turned hostile eyes back to his daughter's face, and quieted as he saw from her sorrow that the story was not yet over. Motioning quickly with his hand he indicated for her to continue.

Jacinthe nodded. She had hoped that her father's renowned temper would hold till later, however, steeling herself she continued her story. "This man died of his wounds that night Papa. He bled to death from wounds Death Moon game him. He could have saved himself, but he gave his life for mine."

With a grudging nod, "Perhaps he was not as bad as most of the rabble invading our fair city." He looked up sharply, "So, you have assumed your place then at the head of my gang?"

Jacinthe shook her head hesitantly. "No Papa, I have not. I spend much time in thought while my body mended. As fast I heal, it still took me a week to recover from my wounds. During this time I found out more about this man who had died to save me. He had a life, a family, friends… but he put that all aside to help others, people who might thank him, but more likely would spit on him while he and others like him protected their way of life." She paused, taking a shuddering breath before plunging on. "His family visited me while I was in the hospitol. No Warrior showed their face in a city run facility, but this dead man's family came to see me. They bore me no ill will. As they left, his son asked me if I would carry on his daddy's work. All I could tell him was I felt truly unworthy to fill his father's shoes."

"And you have responsibilities of your own!" Constaintine flared, realization slowly piercing his mind. "Jacinthe? … NO! I forbid it… you were raised for responsibility, not to throw yourself away in some grief-inspired fanatasy! You will not…"

"I swore a blood oath, Papa. Over the grave of a dead man. There is no going back." Her quiet voice carried through his rage quicker than any sword could strike, and its weight struck him harder than any Hewer could swing an axe. The two stood staring into the other's eyes: his were dark, angry, filled with betrayel, hers were sapphire, pleading for acceptance, but firm in their resolve.

Constaintine sighed. She was too much her parents' child, all of his stubborness and her mother's passion for a cause. He attempted his last card, "What of your brother? What of Constantine Jr.? Will you still look out for him? You realize turning your back on the Warriors earns you an undying enmity which he will learn to share. What will you do if you face him, vigilante versus Warrior? Would you strike down your own brother?"

Jacinthe gazed steadily at her father, gauging his reaction to her last surprise. "My brother is in protective custody of the FBI in return for my turning State's Witness against the Warriors. He is protected, and those who know him will never touch him. You have my oath on that." She watched her father's face purple. If he were not already dead, she would worry for his heart. This was going to be the worst; betrayel of all she was raised to be.

Constaintine's jaw worked, but no sound emerged. He opened his mouth several times, but no sound came from his voice. His fists clenched and unclenched. A strangled whine finally emerged when he opened his mouth a final time, to be cut off as he ground his teeth together. Finally he choked out a single word, "Honor!"

Jacinthe's saddened features hardened. "Honor? Honor, Papa? You do not know what Anton and the others have been doing while you and the other bosses relaxed on your yachts. There is no Honor left in the Warriors. They engage in petty larceny, strong arm shopkeepers in Talos for protection money, and murder others for pay! Why, Riotta himself organized a bloodsport against the Tsoo to prove who were the more powerful fighters. He offered Alexander the Great's original manuscript "Treatise on Tactics" as a prize! No, Father… there is no Honor left in the Warriors."

The purple had faded to a white in Constantine's face at his daughters accusations against the organization he had helped build. Her first ever use of a formal title to him punctuated her words like bullets. "Surely not… the Warriors were founded to recreate an ancient nobility. Strength of Mind, and Strength of Body… protection of those about us. We pushed the other gangs out of Talos Island so the people there would have a safe place to live. Where is Alexander in all of this? Surely he…" Jacinthe's saddened eyes and shaking head conveyed all the story that needed be told. "Have we fallen this far? How could such an ideal be so perverted?"

"I do not know father," she replied. "However, I will find out. I have attacked our agents at every turn where I find them engaging in these villianous deeds. I WILL find Alexander, and when I do, he will answer for what has become of our family. This I promise you… on our family's Honor."

Constantine leaned heavily on his tombstone, the weight of both it and his life's work unraveling making him suddenly very tired. He looked again at his daughter, the little girl… no the woman he had forged to lead the Warriors one day would now be the destruction of all he had built. "She's so much her mother's daughter" he mused to himself. The fire in her eyes was gone, but a resolve he had never seen in anyone other than her mother when she was set on an unshakeable path remained. He sighed a weight off his chest, "Then you have my blessing, daughter. I only request that if you can save anything of what we were, pass that heritage on to your brother." At her nod, he felt her emotions lifting. Her shy smile reminded him of childhood days when she had striven so hard for his approval. He couldn't help but smile in return.

"So tell me, is there any other suprises you have for this old man? Anything else I should tell your mother upon my return?" He glanced lovingly to the marble pillar next to his own, his fingers tracing her name.

Jacinthe wiped happy tears away from her eyes, and smiled. "Well, I did meet someone new…"

"Oh?" Constantine swung around to face his daughter with the 100-watt smile he was remembered for. "And who is this lucky man? Is he Greek… tell me you would not bring me back from the Other Side to receive two blows in one night…" He watched his daughter's face expectantly.

Jacinthe cleared her throught, then delivered her own impish smile. "Well… she... is not Greek… or even completely human…"

She watched her father's face pass through a hundred different emotions, before he finally settled on a decision to be happy for his only daughter, resigned to accept that he would never truly understand women, even from the Other Side.

The hillside rang with delighted laughter as the two talked thoughout the night. As the sun rose, the dark mist evaporated, and the tall woman walked through the vineyard again, wiping unbidden tears from her face. Her soft smile broadened as she looked back one last time, and then burst into a run that carried her away at speeds that could only be called "super."

Your haracter can have a job or not according to your whims really.

Jobs can range from helping his heroic ID, such as lawyer, police officer, or the ever present builder/tinkerer, to having nothing at all to do with being a hero, such as pizza delivery driver, photographer, or chauffer. (BTW, every one of those above jobs, some published hero has )

You could work for the government, hate the government and work for a militia group... the options are only bounded by your imagination.

Be a layabout playboy(girl), wealthy socialite with nothing better to do then fight crime, or be a homeless person who slept in the wrong pile of garbage... Its all good.

Personally, I have a cheerleader who broke a medallion and "swallowed" her powers on accident, a clone who was made by the governement, and a woman who was trained from birth to be an assasin until her life was saved by a hero... just a few ideas to get the creative juices going.

"Cracking Skulls"

The day was looking up. Ramone "Toothbreaker" Jones was feeling almost giddy. The victim of a name which drew him many a beating in grade school, Ramone learned early how to take a beating. Then, when he grew tired enough of the daily taunts, "accidents," and bullies pushing him around, Ramone learned how to fight. By the time he was a Junior in Kings Row's Schroeder High, Ramone wasn't being pushed around any longer. In fact, he ran the toughest gang in Southside K.R., and had firmly earned his new nickname, "Toothbreaker." He felt confidant in his newfound reputation as the resident badass, until a guy calling himself "Marrowsnap" taught him what tough really was.

When Ramone woke up, Marrowsnap offered to teach him how to really fight, promised to teach him how to break even the plague of heroes that covered the city like flies on [censored]. Eagerly Ramone learned everything Marrowsnap had to teach him, and soon he was running his gang again, this time with bigger goals, more firepower, and the backing of his own dark powers, all in the name of the Skulls.

Ramone enjoyed his work. Every day he had plenty to do. There were always shipments of SuperDyne to oversee, and training a select few of his boys to use the shadows as he did took up a good deal of time as well. The Hellions were always trying to push on Skull turf, so a rumble was never far off, and heroes loved poking their noses into Skull business. This last was Ramone's favorite pastime. Nothing equaled the fierce joy he felt when he kicked the living [censored] out of some spandex wearing freak. He wished he could have some more time with them, but the damn medical transponders 'ported the heroes away before he could really get going on them. Still, it was great fun. and that was why he was so happy today.

Some lady-suit had come down to Southside K.R. to talk to him. When his boys had given her grief, she floored a good dozen of them before Ramone called them off. Clearly she wasn't here to fight Skulls. She had a different look about her, something around the eyes that screamed business. So Ramone entertained her, and when he heard her proposal, he had roared with laughter and readily agreed to her terms. It wasn't every day he got paid to beat the tar outta some hero, but hey, if someone wanted to give him money on the side for doing something he would do for free, he wasn't gunna complain.

So that brought Ramone back to the 'Dyne Warehouse he was standing in at the moment. A trap had been laid, word leaked to the right sources to make sure this hero would find them, and Toothbreaker had painted his "face" on. The trademark of the Skull bosses, a white skull was painted with great pride when preparing for any important event. Ramone had taken his paints, and when he was finished, Toothbreaker Jones glared back at him from the mirror. Oh yeah, this was gunna be a good night.

*********************************

"So I need you to get down there and put the hurt on this 'Dyne operation," Derek Amberson had said. The front man for ELITE (Enhanced Logistics for Insight and Tactical Excellence) in Galaxy City, Derek dealt with many martial heroes. Kane had been assigned to his department when he had registered with City Hall, and Derek had yet to let him down on a tip or lead. So a few hours later, Kane crouched in southern Kings Row amidst abandoned shipping crates, and watched a group of Skulls loading a sixteen-wheeler with crates of 'Dyne. Score another one for Derek and ELITE.

The shadows were lengthening, and they provided plenty of space for Kane to stealth forward, ever moving closer to the truck and the unsuspecting Skulls. When he was within striking range, he paused to focus himself, and then moving quickly and quietly, he launched a powerful kick into the nearest Skulls side, propelling him into a companion, sending them both sprawling amidst the sound of ribs shattering.

The remaining Skulls went for an assortment of knives, pistols, and their leader unsung an sawed-off shotgun from his back. By the time they were prepared to offer any sort of resistance, four more of their number lay on the ground unconscious and bleeding.

Dodging an incoming bat-swinger, Kane performed a lightning fast roundhouse kick to the shotgun-toting lieutenant, shattering the Skull's shoulder, and clipping his head hard enough to drive him to the ground unconscious.

A pain in his back reminded him of the knife-wielder. A hard elbow to the man's gut, followed by a one-two combo across his chin laid him to rest. Even as Kane turned to face the last three Skulls he could feel the prickling sensation that indicated his healing powers at work knitting closed the wound.

The last three Skulls spread out slowly, 'till they made a 180 degree arc facing Kane. A fireman's axe, baseball bat, and a set of nasty-lucking brass knuckles were ready to taste his flesh. Grinning suddenly, Kane looked the axe man in the eyes, and pitched his voice as sarcastically as possible: "What are you pussies waiting for? Roses?"

Snarling the Skulls rushed Kane as one.

*****************************

Agent Alicia Richardson flipped her monocle to a higher level of intensity. The warehouse walls faded from view, to be replaced by a green-tinted vision of the interior. Kane was progressing into his old abilities quickly. After the first week of repeated embarrassing defeats, Kane had pulled himself together and begun to use what skills and powers he had available.

The constant training in ELITE's dojo's, coupled with practical application on the streets of Paragon City were remolding Kane into a fearsome fighter. A fact that the melee she had just witnessed attested to. Alicia was confidant that it was time to further test Kane's abilities, and so she had arranged this little meeting. Crey's IntelNet had provided her with the name and location of an expendable asset in the form of this Skull gang leader, and her nigh-unlimited expense account had not even felt the price the Skull had demanded.

Brushing her long tresses form her eyes, Alicia settled back and prepared to watch as her two gladiators met.

**************************************

Toothbreaker slammed his fist into his other palm. The frenzy of battle was close and he could feel its approach in his blood. Shadowy whisps floated about him, signs of his growing excitement. This QuikStryke punk had dusted quite a few of his best guys, which meant that he would be a good fight. Toothbreaker started taking bets with himself over howling the fight would last... Odds favored better than sixty seconds... Of course he was betting on himself to win.

**************************************

Kane didn’t like it. The whole setup was too pat. The crates he had checked held no SuperDyne, weapons, or other illegal substances. Instead they held stolen DVD players, and other small electronics. Now that he padded through the massive labyrinth this ancient warehouse provided, he found little sign of use. Empty crates were scattered, and signs that squatters might live her normally were evident. What was lacking were gang symbols or other markings that indicated the Skulls claimed this property as their own. The few Skulls he had met were obviously lying in wait for him, not that their preparations kept them from unconsciousness. All signs indicated a trap, but why? He hadn’t fought the Skulls much, concentrating more on the Hellions and the little mechanical monsters known as the Clockwork. Whatever the reason, he was tired of this game, and more then willing to give whomever had arranged it a solid thrashing.

**************************************

Toothbreaker caught his breath when he saw the hero round the corner. The moment had arrived! He exhaled a giggle as he summoned the shadows to his whim. "Welcome QuikStryke! Goodbye, QuikStryke!"

**************************************

Kane was temporarily startled by the giggling madman before him. The white-painted skull mask that was favored by the Skull bosses was stretched in a gruesome grin. This guy obviously used way too much of his own product, but the shadows he was busy summoning were no joke.

Kane rolled to the side, avoiding the first blast of shadow stuff, but then felt its bite as the screaming face formed in its midst turned and circled 'round to connect. Thousands of tiny teeth drew blood as the shadow attack drew life from his body.

Spinning, Kane charge the Skull boss. This perp had just earned himself a few extra notches of respect, something he planned to pay with his fists and feet.

****************************************

Toothbreaker laughed again. The look of surprise on heroes' faces when his attacks came back to strike them even when they avoided the initial blast provided him no end of hilarity. Predictably, the brawler types always charged after he pissed them off like this, and this this hero wasn't going to disappoint his expectations.

Watching the hero advance, Toothbreaker set himself, launching a quick shot of shadow stuff to make QuikStryke duck, and then he launched his favorite attack, the shadow maul.

The hero clearly wasn't ready for that! Stepping inside QuikStryke's opening kick, Toothbreaker unleashed a flurry of blows, raining destruction down on the hero, and ending with an uppercut that sent him sailing, to land flat on his back. Throwing back his head, Toothbreaker laughed mockingly.

******************************************

Kane blinked at the ceiling, collecting his wits about himself. He'd heard that Skull bosses were tough, and capable at both distance and close use of their powers, but hearing was never quite the same as seeing... Or feeling. His ribs were on fire, and his jaw ached fiercely. Rolling to his side, Kane spit blood and teeth as he listened to the Skull's mocking laughter.

"That there is why they call me Toothbreaker, Mr. QuikStryke." Waving a stack of cash wound together with rubber bands, the Skull continued his gloating. "And this here? This is the $10,000 I was paid to kick you [censored]! Hell, I'd of done it for free, prancing around in my territory in those faggy tights like you are, but [censored], when pretty girls are offering big bucks, ol' Toothbreaker is more than accommodating..." he leered at QuikStryke, "...if you know what I mean."

Kane stood, his regeneration already healing his bruised ribs, and new teeth piercing his gums as he rose. He nodded, listening to Toothbreaker rant away. When he felt the last rib knit, he clenched a fist and asked his host, "So the idea was to talk me to death?"

Toothbreaker stopped cackling.

"Seriously, I've had assassins paid ten times that much after me. That "pretty girl" played you, fool. And that's not half enough cash to pay a black market doctor for what I am about to do to you."

*******************************

Toothbreaker couldn’t believe his ears! This hero was mocking him? He had the cahones to roll into his territory and dis' Toothbreaker? Oh that would not do, would not do at all. Popping another 'Dyne gel tab, Toothbreaker ceased to be a thinking organism and fell into a red haze of fury.

*******************************

Kane took in the swallowed pill, nodding in acknowledgment that the fight just stepped up yet another notch. Setting himself in a martial stance, he watching Toothbreaker vibrate, literally shaking as if in seizure, his veins bulging dangerously close to bursting. Foam flew from Tooth breaker's mouth as he shouted something unintelligible, and then he was charging. Kane smiled, being able to infuriate people had its pluses on days like this.

Toothbreaker charge, swinging powerfully bulging fists in an effort to batter a foe that was not there. Kane faded away, allowing Toothbreaker to expend his energy on wild blows that struck only air.

After one such pass, Kane rose in a graceful roundhouse kick that connected with the back of Toothbreaker's neck, propelling him into a nearby girder. Toothbreaker struck with a resounding thud that echoed through the warehouse like a church bell's toll.

Shaking his head to clear it, Toothbreaker vented his anger on the girder, wrenching a chunk of it loose and turning to face his tormentor. Spotting him nearby, he charged.

SuperDyne's influence on the human body was being given a classic field test, and Kane was sitting first chair to see it. Toothbreaker's face was flushed red enough to blush beneath the white face paint. He was sweating profusely, and the air was rank with the 'Dyne evaporation. Corded muscles were already tightening, and the beginnings of a seizure were obvious in the tremors rippling through Toothbreaker's face and the whites of his eyes showing more clearly with each passing moment. Ripping the girder from the floor had to have strained something, because Toothbreaker's charge was more of a fast hunchbacked shuffle. Kane could almost pity him...almost.

As Toothbreaker approached, Kane waited till the last moment to avoid the his opponent's wild swing, and as the girder struck the ground, he struck. A palm strike placed between Toothbreaker's eyes rocked him on his heels. A thunderous axe kick shattered ribs. The following roundhouse kick sent teeth flying, an irony not lost on Kane. As Toothbreaker reeled back, Kane readied to finish the fight with a crane-kick that would drive his foe's sternum into his lungs. Something made him pause, and as he straightened, Toothbreaker's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the floor spasming in a 'Dyne-induced seizure. This time Kane did feel... Something. Ending this man's life would not make him more of a man, proved nothing to his warrior's code. Saving Toothbreaker's life might say something about that spark of humanity he tried to nurture for his wife, Dana's sake.

Shaking his head, Kane attached the electronic villain collection band to Toothbreaker's wrist, and watched as the Skull boss was taken into custody.

Leaning over, he picked up the stack of greenbacks on the floor. Flipping through them quickly, he pondered on who might have hired a thug to take him out.

*******************************

Ripping her monocle off, Alicia screamed in frustration. Why hadn't Kane killed Toothbreaker Jones? It made no sense... He was a predator, she knew that, felt it from him. He was no hero, only masquerading amongst them to get what he wanted, a free ticket home. He always pursued what he wanted, no matter the cost...

Alicia stopped her rage. Why had she just thought that? She had known Kane for less than a month, but somehow, she felt she had known him for far longer. Nodding to herself, she accepted her "gut instincts" and decided she knew more about this man than he did about himself. After all, they were two of a kind, weren't they? All she had to do is wait, and she would see him fall of his heroic wagon, and then she would have the information needed for Crey to "pursued" Kane to enter their fold. And if he wouldn’t, she would relish crushing him with her own hands!

Pain drew Alicia's attention to her right hand. In her anger, she had crushed the standard-issue imaging monocle she wore, and shards were protruding from her flesh. Wincing, she delicately pulled the offending metal from her hand, tossing it to the ground as she reached for a bandage.

She stopped in mid-motion as a green glow leaked from her palm and her hand itched uncontrollably. Flexing her fist to ease the itching, Alicia watched the glow die away. Stunned, she opened her palm to find it completely healed! This was no cybernetic ability given to her by Crey, and she had registered a complete zero when taking the Power Aptitude Test when registering for military duty at the age of eighteen. This... This was something new.

Staring at her palm, Alicia smiled cunningly. The random mutation of powers after the teenage years was almost unheard of. A nagging thought that she should report these new abilities to Hopkins was quickly squashed as she looked back across the street to where Kane exited the Skull's trap.

If Agent Alicia Richards had been shown a mirror at that moment, she would not have recognized the expression on her own face. From deep within herself, a small voice chuckled to itself.

"Learning to Deal"

Dr. Trevor Seaborn heaved a sigh as he scanned his patient's chart, and shaking his head, he entered the fourth treatment room in his offices. The patient, a SPB named QuikStryke, had been assigned to his roster after the death of a colleague, one Dr. Rudy Nielson. The papers said that Dr. Nielson died in his sleep, but scuttlebutt around the hospital told a different story. It seems that Dr. Nielson left his shift that night with a very attractive redhead, one whom the nurses were saying had "something not quite right about her." Whatever that meant…

So Kane, the patient with no last name, as Seaborn referred to him, had been dropped into his already overflowing lap. Interesting case though, he had to admit. Kane claimed to be from a different reality, and to have come through a portal that was damaged in transit, causing the waning of his powers. The secondary psychic presence within his mind had removed itself, or possibly dissipated, ten days ago. With the removal of the intruding presence, Kane had quickly stabilized, though in a much weaker state then when he was admitted to G.C. Memorial. He had arrived with powers equal to some of the most powerful heroes in the city, but the loss of the psychic energy his body used to fuel his powers made him one of the weakest. And that was something Kane was not learning to cope with very well at all.

As the door slid shut behind him, Dr. Seaborn put on his professional smile, and asked the man waiting for him, "So, Mr. Kane, this is what, the eighth time I have seen you in here this week?

Kane was sitting on the reclinable work table, naked to his waist, with electrodes hooked to him in a dozen different places. He managed to look chagrined. "It's not easy out there Doc. You try heading into surgery without half your brain working properly!"

Dr. Seaborn chuckled as he checked the scanners readings. "Yes, but I'm not the one who has lost the use of his powers. So who was it this time? Vahzilok zombies? Clockwork 'bots? Running past a grocery store again?"

Kane's face reddened at the memory of such ignominious defeats. "Hey! I told you I didn’t see those Hellion's car jacking till I was in the middle of them! I mean, who 'jacks a station wagon! Honestly!!!"

Kane's rant trailed off as the Doctor's face showed an extra degree of interest in the scanner's recordings. "What's up? Am I growing another head or something, Doc?"

Dr. Seaborn smiled and shook his head. "No, quite the opposite. Your psychic ability seems to be regenerating itself. I am showing a 10% growth since last weeks scan. Remarkable!"

Kane grinned from ear to ear at the news. His deepest fear was losing his powers permanently and being left defenseless in a world in which he had created many powerful foes. That was modified now with the fear of being left in a reality he didn't know, with no hope of ever seeing his wife or friends again. Well, his wife anyway. And a couple of his friends…

Dr. Seaborn sat at his desk and powered on a P.C. in the room. He began entering a few notes onto Kane's file. A stickler for English, he stared annoyed at the hero's call-sign as it flashed on his monitor. "So, I keep meaning to ask you. Why drop the "c" from Quick?"

Kane's beaming smile turned to a frown of annoyance. "Too many dang hero's in once place! Can you believe there was already a QuickStryke here in Paragon City? Guess he passed away last summer though."

Dr. Seaborn nodded with a sageness reserved for residents of Paragon City. "Would you believe that I have three versions of the name "Stalwart" on my patient roster?"

Kane shook his head in disbelief, "Losers! Why would anyone settle for a misspelling of… Oh. Never mind." He chose to ignore the doctor's chuckling.

************************************************** **********
The chirping coming from her P.D.A. went ignored by Agent Alicia Richards. She was busy repeating her vowels to the porcelain bowl in her bathroom. The "stomach flu" she had contracted after… that night… with Doctor What's-his-name, had plagued her for the last few days. She always seemed alright by lunchtime, so she dealt with it as she had every other problem in her life, ignored it till it went away. Only this one was taking a bit longer to take the hint. Having popped a "morning-after" pill form a small quantity given to all female Agents of Crey, she was certain pregnancy was out of the equation.

Flushing, she wiped her mouth with a nearby towel, and headed into her home office to see what the incessant chirping was about. Entering her password, she opened the P.D.A.'s e-mail directory, and found a hit from the bug she had placed on Kane's hospital file. Smiling grimly as her stomach threatened another sprint to the bathroom, she sat down in front of her home computer system, and relaxed into the Corinthian leather chair which represented one of the few luxuries she allowed herself.

With a few clicks of her mouse she was viewing Kane's file, noting the update by Dr. Trevor Seaborn, the SPB physician assigned to Kane, or QuikStryke, as he had registered himself down at City Hall. Breezing through the file, she noted the returning power levels, and dropping a copy of the entry into a file of her own, she sat back to ponder its meaning.

Kane had woke up the same night she had visited the hospital, narrowly missing seeing her there. That would have blown her cover, and this assignment. Security Chief Hopkins was not known for giving second chances, so Alicia gave thanks for this small favor. Since then, Kane had entered the hero community with gusto, obviously used to his old powers and tactics for dealing with foes. That attitude had landed him in the hospital many times in the last 10 days, a fact which Alicia regarded with glee.

Clicking open an adjoining file, Alicia scanned though the monikers of the various heroes that Kane had joined up with on various (mis)adventures. None of them rang a bell until she saw the most recent entry. It seemed that Kane was spotted meeting with a sorceress named Cassandra Kincaid, a much more powerful heroine, just last night. The name bugged Alicia, so she ran a cross reference against Crey's Hero Database, an extensive source of information kept up to date by many methods, not all of them legal.

Several hits were red-flagged immediately. Kincaid brought up four positive hits:

1. Marcus "Malthaeus" Kincaid, Flame-wielding "tanker," the leader of a hero team name the "Archons of Justice"

2. Cassandra "Cass" Kincaid, Fire-wielding sorceress, of the "controller" classification, leader of the "Sisterhood of Justice," daughter of Marcus Kincaid

3. Kiryn Kincaid, Shadow and Energy wielder, "defender"-class, daughter of Marcus Kincaid and Kirstyn "Doubleheliix" Shaw, perceived to be a time traveler from the future, she was an expert in Transdimensional physics. High on the possible "recruitment" list for Crey's Science Department.
4. Kirstyn "Doubleheliix" Shaw, classification "blaster", utilized light-based energy, recently engaged to Marcus Kincaid, also a member of the Archons of Justice.

The flagged list continued, mostly hits related to reports made on the exploits of the above heroes. Alicia scanned through them 'till she found the cross-reference with Kane's file. Opening the message she noted that Cassandra Kincaid and members of her Sisterhood of Justice had been the heroes who found Kane out in Crey's Folly, and subsequently handed him over to Manticore.

Flipping back over to Kane's file, she read through the transcript of the two hero's conversation, recorded at long range by a pair of Infiltrator's she had assigned to following Kane's every move. It was mostly a "meet and greet" get together. Kane was thanking Cass for her help, then discussing the nature of the city. Cass had recommended that Kane apply for membership to her father's super group for support and companionship as he knew no one in town. The rest was useless chatter, nothing Alicia could use.
Closing the file, she stood from her computer and walked over to a nearby window and swung it open for a breath of fresh air. Someone a floor or two down was grilling already, and Alicia inhaled a lungful of the sweet bbq smells wafting up to her. Her stomach rebelled again, and Alicia sprinted for the bathroom once more.