Seductress

Hi there

An old friend of Azazel and myself, Hathor, has returned to COH for a month.

I don't know if the play frequents these boards, but I thought I would make y'all aware!

Hathor is a great Empath and I look forward to teaming a lot! (when I'm on )

I should be there! Yay!

D'oh! Sazzy told me there was a Hami Raid on and I said I'd come along. But then I got side-tracked and forgot

What a muppet I am! In my defense, I had just completed a 17 mile hike for charity

I want to know who took Dark Horizon and Event Horizon!! I had those names way back at game opening but deleted the characters and next I know, they'd gone

LOL I've had the name "Albion" and "The Clerk" saved for AGES. One day I'll get round to using those characters

Wow - I've been playing MMORPGs since 1998 (Asheron's Call to Anarchy Online to Star Wars Galaxies to City of Heroes to WOW (briefly) to Matrix Online (briefly) and back to COH!) and I don't even know what a Hate List is

LOL you took longer than I did to reach 50! Well done Cap!

Greetings my most excellent friends,

Would anyone be interested in having some PVP Arena battles on Monday night? Just some friendly competition, perhaps we can front up an Influence prize?

What do people think?

Greetings my most excellent friends,

Would anyone be interested in having some PVP Arena battles on Monday night? Just some friendly competition, perhaps we can front up an Influence prize?

What do people think?

Its 'cause I'm mad in the head, I get funny ideas

I noticed its also no on Monday night either!!! CHANGE IT BACK, this I demand

Hola!

I will definitely entering a team for the Pariahs on Monday.

Whom will be in it, I don't know

I know for a sure that there will be:

Seductress - MC/Empathy Controller - lvl 50

I can mostly likely field a team of 8? Have you taken numbers back down to 3?

I'd like to take part and might be able to get a team together. What sort of levels etc are you thinking? 'cause mine would be a mixed bunch...

D'oh. I just noticed the CoP is down for the time being. Well gives us time to get organised. Please register your interest here and we'll get everything ready for when the trial is ready once more

And to those villainous exploiters: SHAME ON YOU!

Greetinx from the Pariahs.

The Cathedral of Pain is up and some of us are thinking "How in heck are we ever going to complete this trial?".

Many of our SGs have only limited number of active members. This is fine, we're all happy with our groups this way, however, the CoP requires many more people than we can muster alone.

What I suggest is that a number of SGs whom are interested in completing the trial pool their resources and assemble teams to complete this.

Q & A

1. The trial only allows SG members to join it. How are we going to pool our resources?

We all select a character we wish to assist with and then that joins the SG attempting the trial temporarily. They then return to their former SG.

2. Sounds good in theory, how will it work in practise?

All the SGs whom are wishing to complete the trial should register their interest here. They should also register the number of players they can donate.

Once we've got names and numbers, we can assign them to Teams (complete with Team Leaders) and then systematically, we go through the trial with each allied SG so everyone has their Item of Power.

If an SG is full, they will need to boot members (again on a temporary basis) so as to allow the "temporary pass" on to the trial.

3. This sounds like a lot of messing around. Why bother?

The simple answer is that the Cathedral of Pain trial is hard. Some very experienced teams/players have attempted this and they have failed repeatedly.

The trial is only open for 7 days a month and it is one of the few high content editions to the game. Therefore, it is something we all should be interested in completing, even if we don't care about getting the Item of Power.

Therefore, it is a desirable experience and the IoP is a nice trophy for the SG as a whole.

Because it is so difficult to do and so few SGs have the man-power to complete it, such arrangements become necessary.

4. Ok, so what's the deal?

Maelwys has mentioned in a previous post what the trial entails;

1. The destruction of a Shield Generator that is protecting a pylon. There are three pylons/Shield generator combos.

2. The pylons must all be destroyed within a short time of one another.

3. Once the pylons are eliminated, these allows access to a cave. Within the cave is an AV that must be destroyed to win the Item of Power.

a. The AV has a personal forcefield that allows it to attack out but remain immune.

b. The forcefield drops for 60 seconds when the bodyguard mobs are destroyed.

c. There are three such spawns of bodyguards and these all must be eliminated to start the 60 second vulnerability period. These mobs will spawn after the 60 seconds, I believe.

What I propose is a minimum of 3 teams: Alpha, Beta and Gamma. These teams will consist of different ATs and will be organised depending on numbers and resources available.

If we have the numbers, a fourth "Fire Team" (consisting of PBs, WS and Blasters) will be put together and their main duty will be to eliminate the AV when the 3 "bodyguard" mobs will go down.

WHAT I NEED IS:

A. Volunteers to lead one of the 2 to 3 teams. I will lead Team Alpha. Team Beta and Gamma (with the possibility of Fire Team) need leaders.

B. Each team should have at least one:

i. Stealth and/or Phasing character with Super Speed. This will be the team Scout and will be necessary to locate the pylons on the map.

ii. One or more tankers to help aggro the mobs, "pinning" them.

iii. Blasters/WS/PBs for high damage ranged attacks to eliminate the AV.

iv. Standard Rad/Kin/Empath Defenders to flesh out teams and debuff the AV.

v. Controllers are generally helpful.

Please register your interest below and detail your SG name and how many people you think you can get.

[ QUOTE ]
dont be presurised into thinkin you need an ubber 75 group SG

most 75 groups SG's have 65 people not playing

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL! So true. One of the most active SGs I've ever seen is my alt group, The Defiant Saints. We play a couple of times a week and always have between 5 and 8 people playing (our group is only 8 strong!). We ONLY play when we can all get together and that works really well.

My suggestion is to forget the idea of the huge "Army SGs" and find a few friends of around 5 or 6 people, form an SG and just play through the game that way.

In comics, only the Justice League (and possibly the Avengers) ever came close to having a massive army of people. Most comic teams are between 5 and 8 people ... coincidence? :P

Surely you only need to be in the same coalition to enter the base? Then join the trial?

Also, the base is definitely ready for it. Its been ready for ages

6 Dimensional Anchors, a trophy room and a trophy base (obviously got mission computer/oracle and raid teleproter).

Hi there!

Now that the Cathedral of Pain is up, I am really keen to do this trial for the Pariahs SG. Its a difficult task, as I understand it and accordingly, we'll need a good solid crew of people.

AFAIK, the trial involves the destruction of three pylons within an hour. These pylons are guarded by a spawn of mobs which you have to destroy before you can take the pylons on. Destroying the pylons allows you to take down the another thing. I'm not sure of the details here. The thing is, you have to destroy said pylons at the same time. This means you need at least three groups.

The trial allows multiple teams and therefore, ideally, I would like a minimum of three groups of 8.

More would be better.

I am not certain what level the mission is (I went in at level 50 and the mobs were 50, however, I suspect that they will be formatted to the highest member of the party).

So, if you are interested in taking part in this, we're looking at doing it on Saturday 14th October at 11am.

Just a quick thank you to all those people whom charged over to deal with Babbage (and those whom turned up late ).

I really appreciated the assistance.

Major props to Hammerfall, Flush and the others.

We'd never have beaten him on our own as we'd perhaps done 1/10th of his life bar and we were all nearly out of endurance

8pm BST! Give me a tell

[ QUOTE ]
TF Babbage does give the badge, but you don't have to kill him to finish TF.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aye, I realise you don't have to kick him in but it there are a few people playing whom haven't ever fought a GM. They're one of the more impressive part of the game and I'd like them to experience this first hand

I didn't realise it gives the badge too! Aces

Hi

My possé and I have been leisurely doing the Synapse TF and we're roughly 2 missions left to complete it. However, in between those last two missions there is Babbage ... there are only 5 of us (2x Warshades, 1x Tanker, 1x Blaster and a Rad/Psy Defender) and we're all around 19th level.

I am pretty sure Babbage is going to kick us in and the majority of my party have never actually fought a GM before.

I'm just putting you on notice that if anyone wants to help kick in the GM, get in touch with me at either "Asgard Nova" (which is WS alt) or @Sed.

No badge from this, however, 'cause he's spawned by the TF.

We'll be on from 8pm, so expect the fight anywhere from then until 9pm.

THE PARIAHS

We are a pop-goth themed SG (think Buffy/Angel) who actively recruit all those who don't fit in anywhere else. All misfits, recluses and general freaks are welcome!

We've got a large volume of players and a consequently large Supergroup base.

If you would like to join, contact me @Sed.

GOOOOOOOOOOO BLUE YIN! I knew you could do it. We teamed a few times on my drawn out pursuit of 50...

That is excellent. She is really, really talented!

Life as a teenager was easy for Caitlin Kennedy: since as early as she could remember, she was popular. She never had to worry about making friends or having to work hard to achieve anything. It all seemed to just drop in her lap. Her parents were neither rich nor influential, but that never seemed to halt her success.

At school, Caitlin was the most popular girl. She was the Captain of the Cheerleading Squad, excelled at all her studies and was always the go-to girl for determining what was hot and what was not. She was beautiful, charming and witty: the girl everyone wanted to be or be with.

In her final year, she had no end of scholarship offers. Prestigious universities from all around the country wanted her and with every new offer, the stakes got higher and higher. Finally, she made her decision and accepted an offer from a respected institution that would give her a head start in her chosen vocation: politics.

And then her life took a disastrous nose-dive from thereon in. It did not take Caitlin long to realise that the entire university was populated by beautiful, charming and witty girls. Suddenly, she no longer stood out amongst the crowd and in fact, now she was just one among the many. It was a devastating blow to her: she'd never had to compete before and found it difficult. Friends had always gravitated to her and now she was faced with the prospect of having to win people over.

To say she was unhappy would be an understatement.

Her first year passed and Caitlin grew more and more despondent. While her studies were going well, she was only considered a "B" student and that simply wasn't good enough for her. Worse, she hadn't made many friends and what interest she had from the boys had dwindled as they found more interesting girls to chase.

The final straw for her came later that year. She'd resisted joining the University Cheerleading Squad feeling that it would hamper her later career. Finding herself increasingly more alone, she decided to try something she knew she could do well, at least for a short while. Caitlin tried out for the squad amongst several other girls. When she went to see who made the cut, her name was no where to be seen...

That night, she sat alone in her dorm room, crying to herself when she heard a whispering voice. Caitlin thought she was going mad at first and ignored it. It soon went away but returned the next night and the night after. Eventually, if only to prove to herself that she wasn't going insane, she followed the voice and it took her to a spot in the university grounds she'd never been before. It was a gnarled old tree, away from the paths that people usually took and for the first time since she'd arrived at the university, she actually felt isolated, not merely alone.

She sat down on a bench near the tree and a girl's voice behind her said "Hi". She turned round and saw a girl about her age standing by herself. She sat down next to Caitlin and started a discussion.

Caitlin was happy to just have someone to talk to and all her problems just spilled out. All the loneliness she'd felt, all the pain at being the same as everyone else, she voiced it all and the girl listened with a sympathetic ear.

Once Caitlin had finished, the girl asked her "What if I could make things better for you?"

Caitlin looked at her and asked "What do you mean?"

"What if I could make it like it was when you were at high school? The popularity, the friends... I could give you that all back?" asked the unnamed girl.

Caitlin laughed, "I'd ask you 'How much is going to cost?'"

The girl, a serious look on her face, replied "Nothing. It would cost you nothing. However, I would need some favours from you."

Caitlin realised that the girl was being serious and said "What sort of favours and how on Earth would you make things different?"

The girl said simply, "I would just need you to talk to a few people, try and convince them that what I had to say was right. That's all. Sort of like a debating society. It would be easy to make things right. If you say yes, well, everything will be different by tomorrow. I promise."

Caitlin bit her lip and looked at the girl. What if what she was offering could be done? What if she could have it all back by tomorrow morning? Was that worth a few favours? She made a decision, "If you could do that? Sure, I'd definitely take you up on that."

The girl put a hand on Caitlin's arm. "So you want me to make the arrangements? You will agree to my terms?"

Caitlin shrugged. "Sure, if you can do what I asked, then I most certainly and definitely agree!"

The girl smiled, a cruel smile. "Then we're agreed. I'll be in touch." And with that, the mysterious girl got up and walked off.

Caitlin looked after the girl, a slightly puzzled expression on her face. That was weird, she thought. However, at least she had a friend now and so she stood up and returned to her dorm room.

It never occurred to her that she never knew the girl's name nor anything about her. In fact, if never even crossed her mind...

The next day, she got up and got herself ready for class. Looking in the mirror made her pause: there was something not quite right about her. Caitlin couldn't put her finger on it and since it didn't seem to make a difference, she didn't pay any more attention to it.

Again, when she was dressing, something made her pause. The way her clothes fit her, made her look, she'd never noticed how they flattered her figure. Indeed, while nothing was obviously different, she felt much better about herself.

So, when she was heading towards class, she did so with a swish in her step. She found herself almost strutting like a catwalk model as she walked through the university campus. People began to notice her once more, just saying "Hi!" to her as she passed, even remembering her name: it was all very familiar.

Caitlin had a natural high all that day. Everywhere she went, people wanted to talk to her, to spent time with her. They knew who she was again! It was all very intoxicating. By the end of the day, she had receive numerous invitations to various social functions and decided to go to a party at one of the big fraternity houses.

She stood staring at her wardrobe for nearly an hour, struggling to decide what kind of outfit to wear. Eventually, she decided to wear her favourite pair of leather trousers and a low cut top that showed off her mid-riff. Caitlin knew it was a little bit slutty, however, right at that moment in time, she didn't really care.

The young woman made her way across the campus and by the time she arrived at the fraternity house, the party was in full swing. She took a deep breath and entered...

To Caitlin, it was as if everything that had been wrong with her life had now been corrected. Suddenly, she was popular again. Suddenly, she was the one everyone wanted to know. She felt like her old self once more and for the first time in over a year, she really let herself go.

By around midnight, she had decided that this one night more than made up for the previous year of isolation and loneliness she had had. She was also pretty drunk. One of the more handsome men at the fraternity had managed to get Caitlin by herself and they stood outside the fraternity house, making idle conversation. She knew the guy was interested in her but wasn't quite sure how she'd got outside with him, alone. Despite her alcohol-eroded judgement, something within her prompted her to rejoin the party, deciding that it probably wasn't the best idea to be alone with a drunken frat boy.

She made to move but the frat boy grabbed her arm, trying to halt her.

Fear of what might happen seized Caitlin, capturing her mind as he captured her arm. It was such a cliché: drunk girl gets cornered by drunk boy, tries to leave and drunk boy gets heavy handed. A cliché that everyone was familiar with and all too familiar with its ending. All kinds of thoughts flooded her head and the only thing she wanted right at that moment was for this TV movie scene to end right there. She turned round to the boy and, in a voice that didn't quite sound like her own, said "Let go of me and back off".

Instantly, the frat boy went rigid, released Caitlin and slowly backed away.

Free from his grip, drunk and frightened, she did the only thing she could: ran off in to the night.

The next morning, she awoke in her dorm room, feeling rather the worse for wear. She went to class, feeling terrible all the while, trying to avoid people, despite their attempts to engage her in conversation. A few people asked her where she went that night and she gave them a quick, curt reply that she hadn't felt well and went home by herself.

At around lunchtime, Caitlin went to the refectory only to find the frat guy from the previous night telling anyone who'd listen that he'd slept with her. She was stunned: just how much of a cliché was this idiot? Tired and hungover, her mood soured and she stormed up to him, the crowd around him smiling, knowing full well fireworks were about to explode.

"What the hell are you telling people?" she screeched in the midst of the refectory, not caring who bore witness.

The guy stood there with a big grin on his face. "Just what we did last night, Cate. Hey, don't worry about it, they all know how great you were."

She could feel the anger rising in her. This whole thing was ridiculous and just like something she might have seen on some poor, C-grade teen drama. This kind of thing did not happen to Caitlin Kennedy! She wanted nothing more than for this just to end, right there and right now.

"You tell them the truth!" she said, her voice not quite sounding right to her own ears.

The boy suddenly stopped grinning and his eyes went wide. He stared at Caitlin as if she had just told him his parents had died. Without warning he suddenly said, "The truth is that we were both drunk. I wanted to get laid and Caitlin didn't. She wanted to leave. I tried to stop her. She made me let go. Then she left. Anything else is a lie I made up to stop myself looking stupid in front of my fraternity brothers."

The crowd around them erupted: some people laughing derisively, some shaking their heads and others simply walked away in disgust.

People around Caitlin were suddenly apologising that they could ever believe that idiot. Others were saying that they knew it was lies. Regardless, Caitlin was stunned. For the second time in just as many days, events had worked out exactly as he wished. What was going on?

The following week passed like a dream: Caitlin had assumed the life that she always knew she was destined for. She was now an A+ student, well-respected and well-liked by faculty and student, her social life was everything she could ever wish for and more. Life was indeed sweet!

On the seventh day, there was a knock at her dorm room door. The young woman was on the phone to one of her girl friends and opened the door, idly chatting away all the while. When she saw the strange girl standing there, smiling sweetly at her, Caitlin quickly ended the call and allowed her entry.

Caitlin didn't know what to say. On the one hand, it was quite probable that this girl in front of her had somehow switched her life in to the gear she always felt it should be. On the other, she had no idea how that was possible and that made her suspicious.

"Aren't you pleased to see me?" asked the girl.

Caitlin looked at her, a neutral expression on her face. "Of course," she said cautiously. She paused for too long a time. "How are you?"

The girl sat down on Caitlin's bed. "I am here because I need a favour."

"What kind of favour?"

"I just want you to talk to someone for me. Explain to them that they really should agree to my terms. That's all. I know how very persuasive you can be," said the girl, pointedly.

"What do you mean?"

"Do not play silly games with me, Caitlin. You know exactly what I mean. How do you think everything has worked exactly the way you want it? Pot luck? Hardly. I gave you power and now, I expect you to use it," said the girl, a dark look on her face.

Suddenly, Caitlin became very afraid. "I don't understand. What do you mean by 'power'?"

The girl looked at Caitlin in disbelief. "For an A plus student, you can be very dense, you know. I gave you power to achieve things that ordinary people cannot. I am talking about magic, girl!"

Caitlin's mouth went agape as she simply couldn't believe this conversation was happening. "That's...that is ridiculous. Are you saying I am some kind of witch?" she said loudly.

The girl shrugged. "No. I am not talking magical spells or potions or any of that mortal [censored]. I gave you real power. The power to affect people and objects with your mind. Enacting your desires. I would have thought someone like you would experiment, but no, just twice I felt you use it. Twice!" She seemed genuinely disgusted by the sheer notion.

"None of this makes any sense. I can't believe you are sitting there trying to convince me that you gave me some kind of magic power!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Caitlin, think about it: people don't normally start being friendly without due cause. Tutors don't start handing out A plus grades for B grade work without due cause. You made them do it by employing the power I gave you. Just accept it, do this thing for me and we can both get on with our lives."

Caitlin narrowed her eyes at the girl sat on her bed. She supposed that she couldn't really argue with that, despite how ridiculous it sounded. She wasn't quite prepared to believe that she had magical powers, however, things were definitely different. "Right. Well. Ok. Hmm. Say I believe you. Say I accept it and do this favour for you. What do you actually want me to do?"

The girl smiled. "Remember the boy from the party? It was no coincidence that he tried to do this to you. He's a serial rapist. It has always been hushed before. You know how it is, rich family with power, oldest son gets up to no good, family throws money at the problem and it goes away. He tried to [censored] you that night but you stopped him using the power I gave you."

Caitlin's blood froze. In her heart, she replayed the scene out in mind and she knew that the girl was right. "So what do you want me to do? Avenge all the wronged girls?"

The girl pulled a face. "Hardly. I want you to persuade him to sign this." She pulled out a piece of paper from inside her jacket. "If he signs in good faith, well, he'll be dealt with. Your work is done then. I'll disappear. Its all fair."

Caitlin narrowed her eyes at the girl. "What is that paper?"

"Nothing much. Just a contract between him and me."

"What if he won't sign?" asked Caitlin.

"Persuade him. You are good at that, seducing people to your cause. That is how I found you. We're kindred spirits."

"I'm nothing like you," said Caitlin viciously.

"You would be surprised how alike we really are. However, that is something you will have to learn."

Caitlin shook her head. She thought about the whole situation for a moment. "What I refuse?"

"Nothing. Much. Life will go on. Or rather, your old life will."

Panic arose in the pit of Caitlin's stomach. She knew that this threat was coming but that did little to stem her feelings. “Ok, ok. I’ll do what you want. I’ll ask him to sign this…this paper.”

The girl stood up, her eyes flashing Caitlin a dark look. “No. You will not ask him to do anything. You will get him to do it.”

Caitlin took a step backwards. “You mean force him?” she said quietly.

The girl took another step forwards. “No. You cannot force him. You must … convince him.”

Caitlin looked at the other girl and nodded. “Ok. I’ll do it.”

The girl smiled and brushed past Caitlin on her way out. “Great. See you!” she said with a sweet smile and out the door she went.

A shiver ran down Caitlin’s spine as she contemplated what she had to do next, the piece of paper left on the bed a reminder of her recent encounter.

The next day, she woke up with a feeling of dread. Sick to her stomach, Caitlin considered what to do. For the briefest of moments, she considered reneging on her deal with the girl, but that was quickly discarded. There was no way that she could give up what she had now. The perfect life was right there laid out before and she was not about to give that up without a fight.

After a while, she began to think that perhaps this guy deserved whatever might happen to him. Who knew what signing this contract was all about? It could be anything: signing to a football team or something like that. Of course, Caitlin didn’t dare to actually read the document for fear of what it might reveal.

At midday, she decided that she would go through with it and be damned with the consequences. This guy had almost possibly tried to [censored] her and if what girl had said was true, it wouldn’t for the first time he’d tried it. And yet, in the back of her mind, Caitlin did not truly believe the girl had said anything truthful to her.

This whole scenario was unreal and this talk of magic, well, it seemed ridiculous. Still, Caitlin knew in her heart of hearts that, as she walked through the campus and waved back at the people there, this situation was really not normal. One day no one knew who she was, now everyone was her best friend.

No, there was something definitely going on and she didn’t dare ruin it.

She hurried through the campus grounds, looking for the boy. It galled her that she didn’t even know his name, though secretly she was glad. If she had known him, any little tiny detail, she might have had second thoughts. But he was an unknown: just a guy who had hit on her and it made her decision easier.

Caitlin found him on the bleachers by the track. He sat there, alone, a despondent look on his face. She sat down next to him and said “Penny for your thoughts?”

The boy looked up and a strange look washed across his face. “Er..hi Cate.”

She smiled at him. “Look, no hard feelings?”

He shrugged. “They kicked me out of the frat,” he said flatly.

Caitlin gave him a look.

“Yeah, I guess I deserved it,” he said sullenly.

“If it is any consolation, I don’t hold it against you. Just don’t do it again,” she said.

“Believe me, I learned my lesson. I’m sorry.”

“Well, then all is forgiven,” she said looking out across track.

Silence permeated the air. Eventually, he turned to her. “So why are you being nice to me?”

“Blunt, much?” said Caitlin grinning.

He gave her an earnest look.

“Well, I know you are an ok guy. I mean, you came clean before everyone. Owned up to it all. I know people do stupid things when they are back into a corner. I wanted you to know that,” she explained.

“Oh. Well, I don’t really know why I ‘fessed up. I think I must have felt really bad about it or something. ‘cause when you looked at me, I just spilled it all”

“That’s a thing we call ‘guilt’,” she said grinning broadly.

The guy laughed.

“Want to do me a favour?” asked Caitlin, her heart soundly pounding in her chest.

“Sure, what?”

She took out the paper and held it as if it were on fire and fished out a pen from her purse. “Just sign me this. It’s just a statement for my teacher. I told him that I couldn’t make it to class and I need a Doctor’s signature…” she said.

The boy took the paper and started to read it. Caitlin panicked and put a hand on his thigh. He looked at her sharply, grinned and then signed.

Somewhere behind them, there was a girl’s laughter. Then a slow clap.

“Expertly done, my dear Caitlin. Expertly done. I knew you had it in you. Lies are a second nature to you,” said the girl.

Both the boy and Caitlin turned around and looked up the bleachers and there was the girl, stood looking down at them.

“What’s going on?” asked the guy.

Caitlin bit her lip, a look of fear on her face.

The guy saw her expression and stood up. He looked at the girl and angrily said, “Who the f**k are you?”

Caitlin stood up too and backed away.

The girl took a step forward. “Me? Who am I? You may address me as ‘Mistress’” said the girl, a cruel smile on her face.

The boy looked at her and looked like he was about to say something, only the words never came out. A frightened look washed across his face. “What is happening? I-I feel weird.”

Caitlin looked at the boy and knew what she had done was wrong.

“Caitlin convinced you to sign away your soul,” said the girl gleefully.

The boy looked at Caitlin, a horror-stricken expression on his face. “Why?” was all he could manage.

Tears began to roll down Caitlin’s face as the enormity of the evil she had worked. “I am sorry! I had to! She made me do it”

The girl laughed wickedly. “I didn’t do anything, sweet Caitlin. I couldn’t, even if I wanted. The rules do not work that way. No self-respecting mortal would sign away their soul like that. And people like me cannot trick someone in to signing. However, mortals are not bound by the same laws…you, dear, dear Caitlin made all this possible!”

Caitlin shook her head and sobbed. Then a thought entered her head. She looked at the boy and said in a voice that didn’t quite sound like her, “Tear up the contract.”

The boy did as she bade and with a clean rip, destroyed the document binding his soul to the girl.

The girl shrieked in anger. “What have you done!? I will strip you of everything!”

Caitlin blinked the moisture out of her eyes. “But I haven’t broken our agreement. I did exactly as you asked me.”

The girl stood staring at Caitlin, a look of fury about her. For a moment, there was the briefest impression that the girl was much larger than she appeared, that there were a lot more horns and scales than there should be. “Then I curse you. I can do that much at least! I put a geas upon you that should you ever use your power for personal gain, it will flee you! And I know what self-serving selfish creature you, Caitlin. I know it will not be long before your powers leave you once and for all!”

Caitlin blinked and the girl had vanished. She turned to the boy and in a voice not quite her own said, “Never tell anyone about what happened here. Never tell anyone the truth about me or what you saw or heard. From the moment you saw me here until now, never tell anyone anything about what happened. If anyone asks you what we were doing, tell them you apologised to me and that was it.”

The boy nodded and with that, Caitlin left.

Over the next few weeks, Caitlin’s life settled down once more. It was still charmed and sweet, however, now, it tasted like bitter ashes in her mouth. None of it was real and a thing false, no matter how nice it may be, is still false.

Caitlin decided to leave the university and make her own way through life. Although she couldn’t just take what she wanted, she discovered that by helping others, they were happy to reward her in some way.

Years passed and Caitlin Kennedy vanished. She changed her name to Caitlin Blaze and eventually assumed the name “Seductress”, as a reminder to herself of what she almost became.

Eventually, her road took her to place where people needed the most help: Paragon City and that is where her story really began...