Shadowmantle

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<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
$currentdebt = $characterdata["currentdebt"];
while ($currentdebt &gt; 0){
if !($currentdebt &lt;= 0){
$currentdebt = $currentdebt - 1;
}
update_characterdata($characterdata);
}
</pre><hr />

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I never understand why folks make these things so complicated...

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
$characterdata["currentdebt"]=0;
update_characterdata($characterdata);
</pre><hr />
Is so much simpler.

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Believe it or not... there ARE competitions to see who can write the most confusing code. In these competitions... you can find 20 page programs to display "hello world"

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My faves though are the short and totally inexplicable ones.

<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
#include &lt;stdio.h&gt;
main(t,_,a)char *a;{return!0&lt;t?t&lt;3?main(-79,-13,a+main(-87,1-_,
main(-86,0,a+1)+a)):1,t&lt;_?main(t+1,_,a):3,main(-94,-27+t,a)&amp;&amp;t==2?_&lt;13?
main(2,_+1,"%s %d %d\n"):9:16:t&lt;0?t&lt;-72?main(_,t,
"@n'+,#'/*{}w+/w#cdnr/+,{}r/*de}+,/*{*+,/w{%+,/w#q#n+,/#{l,+,/n{n+,/+#n+,/#\
;#q#n+,/+k#;*+,/'r :'d*'3,}{w+K w'K:'+}e#';dq#'l \
q#'+d'K#!/+k#;q#'r}eKK#}w'r}eKK{nl]'/#;#q#n'){)#}w'){){nl]'/+#n';d}rw' i;# \
){nl]!/n{n#'; r{#w'r nc{nl]'/#{l,+'K {rw' iK{;[{nl]'/w#q#n'wk nw' \
iwk{KK{nl]!/w{%'l##w#' i; :{nl]'/*{q#'ld;r'}{nlwb!/*de}'c \
;;{nl'-{}rw]'/+,}##'*}#nc,',#nw]'/+kd'+e}+;#'rdq#w! nr'/ ') }+}{rl#'{n' ')# \
}'+}##(!!/")
:t&lt;-50?_==*a?putchar(31[a]):main(-65,_,a+1):main((*a=='/')+t,_,a+1)
:0&lt;t?main(2,2,"%s"):*a=='/'||main(0,main(-61,*a,
"!ek;dc i@bK'(q)-[w]*%n+r3#l,{}:\nuwloca-O;m .vpbks,fxntdCeghiry"),a+1);}
</pre><hr />

Enjoy and Merry Xmas.

20/21!!

The SHAME!

(but which way?? That I missed one, or that I got that many!?)

From what I recall, though I cannot find the originating post, the chick in pink with the fishnets is the South American blaster, La Estrella.

For some time, there was some discussion that she was the original Sister Psyche, but a dev stepped in and set us straight. Now If we could just get the mods to stop deleting posts that have dev content in them, we might find this stuff without resorting to human recall.

Maybe if there was an ARCHIVE that we could delve through, even though it were slower(because we would have to wait for the decompression), we would still have the inforamtion available.

&lt;sigh&gt; Oh well...

Can we get a dev to reaffirm that the lady in pink is La Estrella?

BAM! BAM! BAM!

I warned you brats! Now go tell yer marms that &gt;I&lt; done shot yers in th'RUMP!

Go on, now! GIT!

BAM!

You kids get the hell outta this graveyard!!
If'n you don't, the next load'a this rocksalt goes right inta yer BUTTS!

Now, SHOO!

*****'s 4 j00!!

this.love("Black Adder");

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I want to know if the mime AT makes that rediculous HRNG! jump noise.

They're mimes right? Shouldn't they be silent?

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They only SEEM silent in this universe!
Mimes are actually transdimensional alien invaders (from a another dimension, no less!) and their voices and the sounds they make are actually manifest in a different dimension than we experience. Same goes for the wind, walls, boxes and ropes that they experience that we cannot. It's because of their transdimensional nature that we are so weirded out by them...that and the fact that they ALIEN!

So when you next see a mime doing that "invisible box" thing, thank your lucky stars he can't get to you, or YOU might be the next unexplained "disappearance", followed by the appearance of a new mime on the streets.

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Oh yes. I love the game but the costuming is a huge part of the experience for me. I'm far more excited about the new costume options with I4 than anything else.

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I am hoping to be able to get some of my heroes closer to concept.

I am also looking forward to body scaling, since the defaults are a little... ummm... default.

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What tweaks would you like to see for Super Groups?

What new features?

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1) The ability to choose either NULL as a logo, or to choose a skin pattern as a group badge.
(ex: Let's say I want to found the "Woad Warriors", a mostly melee group with a blue "tribal" pattern theme. With the "Tribal" pattern on the torso, there is no room to put a logo without it competing with the already busy pattern of the blue tribal inks. I would like to be able to not have a logo (and control the costuming as an internal mechanism of the SG.), or to choose the "Tribal" patterning on torso, arms and legs as our logo, and set the SG colors to Deep blue such that, when the PC enters SG mode, whatever pattern they have on their costume becomes the "tribal" pattern when they are in SG mode. (Basically a swap out as happens with the logos right now.)

2) The ability to adjust SG colors (Heck, if we need comic canon to justify this, lets look at any SG in the comics that changed artists...)

3) The fabled "Vaults" of the SG... an ability to hold insps, enhancements and influence in reserve. I would like to suggest that the Vault should have 2 settings:
....a) Any may deposit, only leaders may withdraw (This will offer some sense of control over the innner workings of the vault for large SGs that have many, many heroes at the lowest echelon).
....b) Any may deposit, any may withdraw (This would be better for smaller SGs who have a higher trust factor and leadership may not always be available to disburse needed resources).

4) The ability to tailor permission sets for the ranking system. At this time, there are very few permissions associated with being in a SG, but I can see that permission set expanding as we gain SG HQs, Vaults and other benefits and responsibilities associated with SG's. I would like to see the SG Head(s) be able to tailor the rights and responsibiliies of the different ranks to accommodate his/her/their vision of the SG.

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Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO!!! What a ride!
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Ok I have seen tons of cool Sigs - but this is officialy the coolest one i have ever witnessed!!!!!

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He got it from a greeting card, we sometimes carry that one in my shop

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Actually, I got it from someone who got it from someone who got it from a greeting card.

But the sentiment is still mine...

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I think that's a typeo.

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Same word, different spelling...

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It is NOT the same word.

IT was my understanding that we are speaking modern English here, not medieval Frankish or Norman.

THe correct modern spelling is Colosseum, unless States (Who is waaaaay overeducated for his own good) is having fun with words (not beyond the scope of possibility). Since the CoH universe is a parallel Earth, they may have simply chosen to spell it THAT way in that dimension, and OUR way, as we spell it here, may be considered the "wrong" way to spell it.

Yeah! And I have some land east of Miami Beach that I want to sell you. It's right on the water. You can walk to the beach from it.

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Ah - one more thing. We're adding a new Inspiration that you can use to wake up from Sleep, Stun, Hold &amp; Immobilize.


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Statesman - FWIW, I'd rather see more defender/controller types have access to Clear Mind, or a similar ability, than to create these inspirations. I fear that these will only help discourage grouping.

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I completely agree!

But we should make sure that these new powers fit in with the spirit of the powersets. Also, we should consider making them all work slightly differently, so they don't look like a cut-and-paste of Clear Mind. I have a few ideas for these new powers, consider my suggestions below.

Often when someone is slept or stunned, their toggles drop and they take damage. You could give the Storm Summoning line a power that clears/resists sleep and stun plus heals some damage. Call it something like "O2 Boost."

Kinetics power line already has a timed buff. Why not add another one, something kineticy like "Increase Density." You could have it resist Hold and Stun, plus Knockback as an added bonus.

Radiation Emission tends to have area effects. Why not give them a PBAE buff that resists Hold, Stun, and Sleep. Maybe even throw in some bonuses to damage and resistances while you are at it. I recommend "Accelerate Metabolism" as a good name that would fit the theme.

The Force Field powers focus on, well, force fields. You could give them a really big forcefield that protects the whole group from Hold, Stun, and Sleep. Give it a name like Dispersion Field or "Dispersion Bubble."

Lastly, you should give something extra special to the Dark Defenders, since everyone has been so down on them and there have been problems with their powers in the past. Psionic resistance is very rare in the game, and many status effects come from Psionic attacks. How about a group buff that gives resistance to Psionic, Energy, and Negative Energy? This would not only reduce the length of all status effects from those types of attacks, but it would reduce the damage taken too! To make it fit the dark theme, you should add a side-effect like stealth or something, if that's not too overpowered. Give it a really cool evil name like "Shadow Fall."

I really hope the Devs take my suggestions seriously. If we don't give all defenders a way to prevent or resist status effects some groups might start only accepting Empathy Defenders, and we know what a waste that would be. I want to see these new powers added as soon as possible.

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Your wish is my command...

&lt;hack hack hack... fiddle fiddle...tweak tweak&gt;
Done!

Now everyone has access to these powers if they choose the right powersets...

We didn't even need to bother the devs with this. Now aren't I nice?!

Timestryke

Name: Dr. Timothy Stryke
Age: 38
Occupation: Professor of Theoretical Physics, Paragon City University.
Legal Status: Citizen Of the United States Of America
Other Aliases: none
Place Of Birth: Cocoa Bech, Florida
Marital Status: Divorced
Known Relatives: Daughter Lena Marie
Group Affiliation: None
Base Of Operations: Steel Canyon
First Appearance: City Of Heroes

History: Tim Stryke was always a dreamer. Even as a boy, he dreamed of fighting the good fight next to his favorite comic book heroes, like Superman, Batman and Statesman.

Always bright in school, he found that he had a special knack for high energy, particle and theoretical physics, and eventually attained his Ph.D. with a dissertation on Gravotemporal Harmonics and their potential applications in the efforts against the Rikti. Although his paper was never taken as seriously by his peers as he thought it should be, he was, nonetheless, approached by a silent benefactor who helped him to fund the construction on his first pair of manipulators. With the necessary resources to be able to prove his theories, Dr. Stryke became obsessed with his goal, to the exclusion of all else, including his young daughter and his wife, who left him for the more caring attentions of another man... Assistant District Attorney Jerrold Arkin.

Eventually, he finished the construction of the prototype manipulators, and was ready to demonstrate them to his silent benefactor. Unfortunately his benefactor did not have Paragon City's best interests at heart, and hadn't since the early forties... The 5th Column had been funding his research!
Using the manipulators, Dr. Stryke fought his way out of the 5th column base and alerted the authorities of its location. At that point, he was advised to go register himself as a hero (He actually got some help from the DA's office in retro-acting his application) to protect himself from possible litigation by the 5th Column agents who may have been injured in his escape attempt.

Now as a registered hero, and with the assistance of his friends at DATA, Timestryke is constantly improving his Temporal Manipulators, and fighting the rampant crime and inexorable corruption that is sweeping across Paragon City. Soon, he feels, the manipulators will be reliable enough and adaptable enough to equip to the police force or the National Guard in their ongoing efforts... soon, but not quite yet. If he can just work out one more effect... perhaps he can manage to get the Time-freeze effect to spread out a little... and freeze more than one target...

Height: 5'9"
Weight: 175 LBS
Eyes: Green
Hair: Dark Auburn

Strength Level: Timestryke has the average strength of a human male who get's regular vigorous exercise.

Known Superhuman Powers: Although Professor Stryke does not personally have superpowers per se, his "Temporal Manipulators" (Patent #352855745) allow him to manipulate the flux and flow of time in nearby space. He can suspend foes or rack their bodies with paradox in time bubbles, slow them down, or speed up allies. Although he cannot travel through time, he can pass "between" seconds, so it appears to others that he is actually moving much faster than his subjective vewpoint experiences. This, of course, gives him a significant advantage where speed and surprise affect the outcome of a given fight.

Abilities: Dr. Stryke has the nromal abilities of a scholar in our society, and is known as a "darn good" Sushi Chef among his friends. Other than that, he's just a guy.

Weapons: Timestryke uses no weapons, and is, in fact, a diligent pacifist.

Shadowmantle

Real Name: Andrew Malloy
Age: 25
Occupation: Currently Jobhunting; Freelance "Fixer".
Legal Status: Citizen Of the United States Of America
Other Aliases: none
Place Of Birth: Paragon City, Rhode Island
Marital Status: Single
Known Relitives: None
Group Affiliation: Night Guard
Base Of Operations: King's Row
First Appearance: City Of Heroes
History: THe troubled youth of Andrew Malloy is a matter of record. Numerous run-ins with the police, some small amount of jail time for posession of illicit substances, and, most notably, membership in the Skulls gang. When a fellow gangmember suggested that they could make some easy money by serving in a drug trial for Crey industries, Andy was all to eager to participate. When he heard that the new drug was a Superadine derivative, he thought, "All the better!"
Unfortunately, the combat drug that was being tested on young Mr. Malloy had some "unfortunate" side effects that did not emerge until live testing.... When he recovered his wits three days later, he found himself in an alley in King's Row, hoarse from constant screaming, and seeing "shadows" in every corner. It was several days before he understood that the shadows were not harmful or evil... in fact they were very curious about him, since he seemed to be able to see them, and most of the people in our dimension could not. After some time, Andy learned that he no longer existed fully in this dimension, but was caught partially here and partially somewhere else. He also learned that the "shadows" as he called his phantasmic friends, fed upon the darkness in the hearts of men, draining them of corruption and feeding upon it to sustain themselves. By calling upon the strengths of his new friends he found he could sap the strength and vitality of others to heal himself or recover strength. He could also pull himself more fully into his "other home" dimension to travel instantaneously from one place to another... or to pull foes through that dark place to himself. In time, his power grows,, but with it grows his other nature. Is he losing his humanity?
Now, as he tries to understand what he has become, and tries to understand that he now must live as the shadows do, draining corruption from the evil to survive, he stalks evil as the tiger stalks its prey. Though still a man at heart, and prone to foible, his hunger guides him to the foul hearts that house the corruption he needs to survive.
In his own words:
"As a child, I thought the dark an evil thing and I feared the coming of nighttime.
Now I have become the Darkness, and it is Evil that has cause to fear the Night."

Height: 5'6"
Weight: 150 LBS
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black

Strength Level: Alone, Shadowmantle has the average strength of a human male who get's regular vigorous exercise. With the help of his transdimensional allies, he can lift approximately 1000# over his head and can bend soft steel bars.

Known Superhuman Powers: Shadow Control and Allies. Transdimensional body.

Abilities: "Fixer", problem solver. Highly streetwise, Mr. Malloy has a contact or an inroad to just about anywhere. This ability has helped him many times in pursuit of "fixing" other people's problems, though he has, thus far, had no luck turning this to his own advantage in finding a stable job.

Weapons: Shadowmantle uses no weapons except his fists.

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Shadowmantle, are you reading the same story here? This is as far from a rushed story as it could be - if you can't see Chess' motives, and how things affect him yet, I don't think you read what I read.

In answer to which first - I think that it is first the priority to develop who Chess will be fighting with than who he will be fighting against. I vote for 'Rooks Unite' solely for the purpose of seeing the 'good guys' developed before I start trying to figure out the 'bad guy'. Either way though, dont leave me hanging lol -- loving this story.

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I didn't say the story was rushed, and apologize if that is the impression I gave. What I was suggesting was that we still need more character development for my taste (But I like to read Dickens, so my opinion may be skewed.) and that varying the pace of the story (Regardless of what that pace is...) makes for a more interesting read.

I think fleshing Chess out as a character is pretty important right now... Although his saga thus far is well written, I am still not relating to him as a "Person". Getting his insights into people and how people react to him... and getting a look at how the world responds to him as a HERO instead of as an object to be feared would go a long way toward rounding him out. Then, when you introduce the villain, we will care more about how this story applies to Chess as a person than how this story is a chronicle of a robot's fight with the 5th column... or whatever.

The personal approach is always, IMHO, the better way to go. I know that it may slow the story down a little, but that is not always bad.... Interspersing fast moments with slower moments makes for a more exciting ride all around than just fast fast fast fast done.

Excellent story...

Sad, but also hopeful. I like it very much. Will you be continuing the story in writing, or will he be a living storyline?

If you ever see Varrik (Claws/Regen scrapper), Kinetra (KinPsy Defender), or Woodbind (Also Spines/Regen scrapper) on Protector, give shout for a teamup... always looking for good players to team up with.

It looks like you have invested in this character's nature enough to be interesting to play with. I look forward to it.

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Just pretend the your in the real city of Heroes and not playing a game.

For example, don't talk directly about the game like saying there is no XP in this mission for me, instead say this mission is not helping me to evolve. or somthing

If some Baddies are to high of a level for you to fight, don't say oh no guys these are Level 16 and we are only Level 8's, say somthing like, these foes are to powerfull for us and we should try another time and move on for now.

Get it?

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Although, in this game (regarding the level comment) Security levels ARE a part of the RP atmosphere, so mentioning Security level is usually OK (Heck even contacts do it... instead of saying "You are not powerful enough." the actually say "You need to achieve security level 9 first".)

"Did you say SICKENING CRACK?!"
The Peddler from the old 80's streetland jumps into the thread. He passes out small glass pipes and chunks of crystalline substance.

All who partake die of horrible side effects while their hearts hammer wildly in their chests!

"Aaaaahahahahahahhahahahaahahahahahaha!"



----Shadowmantle says, "Kids, drugs are BAD! Shouldn't do drugs, MMM-kay?"

They probably don't have one written up yet, but I am sure if you write up something and post it here, some people will use it soimply because it is easier than thinking up their own, and also it allows for RP continuity for more people.

Stormwise comes along and, without concern for the melee players needs, continually uses his Gale power, thereby aggravating all of the scrappers and Tankers to death...and simultaneously boring everyone else to an early grave.

Thanks for the tips...

The flip in tense was an experiment in shifting reader awareness... believe it or not it was deliberate...
The transition point is "And now this.... spectacle..."

Apparently it didn't work as planned. No biggie... that's what experimental writing is about.
I should also put a little more about how the hero found, at cryonic temps, that frozen nerve tissue becomes superconductive and can carry ambient charge through existing nerve channels. Yes, his brain is still frozen.

As for his chilly demeanor, it is a function of the fact that, without hormones to power our emotions, as science has found, they fall a little flat. THis guy no longer has a flesh and blood body... no real passions... just memories... and some regrets...

and maybe the hope that, some day, should science be able to give him back a body, he will have cleaned the world up enough in the meantime to make it safe for whatever family he might have then.

I couldn't find a clean way to introduce these factors within the body of the scene depicted, but I guess I could have taken more time to set up the story... I was concerned that it would get stale though. How do you keep a story from getting stale while you are writing it?

22 readers and not ONE comment??

Come ON people... How am I going to become a better writer without some critique??

Lately, my characters on lIberty have been talking to me at night, usually while I sleep, but sometimes while I am drifting. They tell me their stories and they become more fun to play.

I have eight characters on Liberty, and thus far, most of them have told their stories... all of them, in fact, but two.

Both are female... I guess women are just inscrutible to me.

I cannot fathom what would motivate these characters, nor what their backstories would be. I know only the barest of cursory details about them, and it's making it harder and harder to play them.

PLease help me write a backstory for one or the other of them by participating in a roleplay session to create the story.

Here are the characters. They don't need to be in the same story, but if they end up meeting each other, so much the better, sionce they live in the same city.

Black Violet - Natural Katana/Regen scrapper. Half American/Half Okinawan military brat raised mostly in America. Wears tight leather buckles outfit in black and purple with her hair in the "chopstick bun" since it is more efficient, being a katana wielder. Prides herself on her sharp wit and her sharp blade.

Jungle Viper - Mutant Fire/Ice blaster - Brazilian. Grew up in Sao Paulo. Why she's in Paragon City at this time I have no idea. Fairly tall, wears green snakeskin with High-boots. Hair long, brown/eyes green. Likes to shop for clothes. Is actually a little vapid once in a while, but knows how to get down to business when necessary.

This is a serious request, since I would like these characters fleshed out a bit with some stories. Also, getting a RL female perspective would be bonus.

“Paragon City boasts more than its fair share of celebrated scientists, inventors and visionaries, but none was more celebrated than Nathaniel Winterbourne. A specialist in cryonics, the study of physics at extremely low temperatures, Nathaniel’s own mutant powers for control of ice allowed him special insight into the processes associated with creating the extremely low temperatures associated with his line of work.
Most recently noted for his amazing work on processes of cryonic suspension for use in extreme trauma cases, Nathaniel also used his special talents as a registered hero for the good of you, me, and all of Paragon City.”

The evening was gleaming… the first velvet blanket of snow had fallen for the winter and was casting its blue-white glow on everything. Out here, in the cold, people went about their business, living and dying, laughing, crying, killing…. and burying their dead.
The faceless figure in the white suit of armor reflected on the life of the man they were burying today and wondered… what good were his super-powers now? Ambushed in his own home by Tsoo assassins, without his medevac badge, left to die next to the bodies of his wife and newborn son? The authorities had found him with his family the next morning, stretched out to touch them both, all three frozen solid in some desperate attempt to save them by suspending their processes. He couldn’t have known it was too late for either of them. The coroner declared that they had been dead long before they were frozen; lividity in the extremities and the fronts of their abdomens proved that. Nathaniel’s body, though alive when he froze himself, was damaged beyond even the powers of the empathy healers to repair before he would die. And now we have this… spectacle…

The priest begins… “I am the resurrection and the life,' saith the Lord; 'he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

As the liturgy continues, the armored figure feels no solace, no comfort from the words that have sustained him in his own fight against the corrupting forces that encroach constantly on the daily living of the citizens of Paragon City. In his fights with the Tsoo, he never envisioned that it could result in something this tragic. It was fighting the good fight, never surrendering to the forces of evil… Blah blah blah! But now, people were dead! Innocents that weren’t even involved in the fight, except to be related to a marked man, had died at the merciless hands of the Inkmen. And Nathaniel’s life was over too… reduced to a frozen brain, preserved by the technology that he created, awaiting the day when cloning technology might be able to give him another shot at living a normal life.

“The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want….”

The opalescent mask on the insulated high-impact plastic suit was impassive. Technology developed by the man whose service was attended by many friends and colleagues kept at least one hero alive…this one. There should have been feelings of gratitude, or thankfulness, or something. But there was nothing. Coming to this service was a mistake. All that was felt was regret. As he looked around him, other heroes were also in attendance, some in armor, others in tights of spandex or leather; all of them looked stricken for the fallen hero. All of them would take their solemn revenge against the Tsoo for this travesty. Nathaniel was a loved man: by his family, by his friends, and by his colleagues. His was not a life to regret, but regret was still felt.

“‘We therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life.”

The Priest concludes the liturgy and, as handfuls of earth are scattered on the snow-dusted coffin, the attendees, one by one, turn and walk away. Slowly, awkwardly, the white figure approaches the graveside and, with a click and a whirr of the gyros in his new limbs, grabs a handful of dirt from the mound beside the grave and kneels,

“Goodbye, old friend. I am so sorry I failed you in your final moments.”

Scattering the dust upon the grave of what was once his body, the armored servomechanism with a frozen brain that is all that’s left of Nathaniel Winterbourne gets up and slowly walks into the flurry of the oncoming snowstorm.

“Fitting,” he thinks, as the gravediggers shout to each other to hurry or he’ll be buried by the snow before he’s under the earth.

His old life over. Dead and buried.
His new life, if it could be called that, just begun.
The Inkmen were in for a surprise.

&lt;&lt;OOC&gt;&gt; OK, guys... what do you think?