Sooner

Sooner Spirit
Siren’s Call

“I don’t know what happened,” the detective said to the assembled Ghosts Reborn. Normal humans typically end up much the worse for wear when they come up against a meta-human, and from the story this one was telling, he probably got off lucky. “I just wanted to ask her some questions. We didn’t know anything about her, in fact, our records indicate the Hero known as Keely is dead.” He winced as the doctor wrapping his arm in a quick-setting fiberglass cast jostled his fingers. He held an ice pack against the purple and swollen right side of his face. The bruising slurred his words. “I called her name and opened the door. She seemed ok, then she suddenly started screaming at me. The next thing I know she blew up into one of those giant lobster things, knocked me into the wall, and ran off.”

“The receptionist downstairs said she fled to the east,” Vir clarified.

The detective reached out to Sooner. “I don’t begrudge what happened,” he said earnestly. “She was so frightened. I don’t know when I’ve seen anyone, much less a Hero, so scared. You have to find her.”

“Ok, detective, just try to take it easy for a few days,” the doctor said.

The detective nodded and stood up. And up. Sooner hadn’t realized just how big the man was. Ahren, standing just behind her, shifted suddenly. He leaned forward and nudged Sooner’s elbow. “He's very tall, with the badge and his size, it's little wonder Keely mistook him to be the demon coming to recapture her.”

Sooner nodded her understanding. “We will, detective.” And she meant it. The Ghosts looked after one another. But Keely... Keely had been captured on a mission that Sooner lead. A failed mission. It would mean a lot to her to get the warshade back to safety. And she knew Glacius still carried a burden of guilt over that same mission. It would do both of them a lot of good to get her back.

Sooner turned to the team. “Spread out and search to the east?” she suggested.

Vir nodded. “We’ll take it section by section. And she’s already tried once to contact the base. Once she gets over her fright, hopefully she’ll try it again.” The team exited the hospital and Vir keyed his radio to the Ghosts channel. “We’re heading east from the hospital,” he announced. “She’s just a few minutes ahead of us. We should have our lost warshade home soon.”


Ebony Rose
Siren’s Call

The last of her robots unfolded itself from its transport crate and straightened. Rose took a moment to examine all six and then turned her attention to Siren’s Call. She had never liked the contentious zone, and was not happy to be setting foot in it again. Nearby, Razor 6 was slipping into the carry strap for the weapon she’d designed for him. It was heavy and ugly, and only had power for a couple of shots. Fortunately, it would only take one solid hit to have the desired effect. She moved closer to check the power readouts and nodded at him. She sincerely hoped they succeeded. She still had a sample of the pilfered nanites in her lab, so she supposed the weapon could be recreated if needed, but UPS - now calling himself Vir - had never been her obsession. She was ready for Razor to move on, and she suspected that wouldn’t happen till Vir was dead.

He was flanked by his trio of Arachnos elite soldiers, Black 6, Sable Murphy, and Anhedonia. Conall Cian loomed nearby in his demon form, his leathery wings spreading wide before settling over his shoulders. His fiery eyes lingered on Razor’s companions before he swivelled his gaze to Rose. While it was never easy to guess what the demon was thinking, in this case Rose suspected that he was even more unhappy with Razor’s personal army than she was. Unfortunately, her patience with politics within the group she helped to lead was fast running out. She ran her hands over her belt-pouches, ready to create some destruction. A few noisy explosions would do wonders for her mood.

“They are still searching for the missing Kheld,” Razor announced suddenly. “They are traveling east from the medical center. If we move due north, we’ll close on them rapidly.” A predatory smile spread over his face. “UPS is with them. I hope he enjoyed today’s sunrise.” Razor patted the weapon as he spoke. “He won’t see another.”


Neely
Siren’s Call

Keely’s fear was both a beacon and a intolerable goad. It drove her to fly faster. She zipped over Steel Canyon and swooped through the security gate into Siren’s Call. Once there, she could feel the pull even more strongly. She flew at her top speed into the brilliant pink and orange of the sunrise. On any other day, she would have enjoyed the lovely sight. Today, she was only resentful of the rising sun glaring into her eyes and making it harder to see.

Every moment she felt her sister’s fear, her own guilt and anger grew. While a part of her had always known she couldn’t have rescued her sister, her emotions would never accept that. She should have at least tried. Instead, she’d believed a lie and left her sister, her only real family, to the worst nightmare any Ghost could face. And that lie... why had he done it? Why had the infamous assassin Bounty-Killer interfered? What purpose had it served for him to throw her off track like that? It made no sense, but the truth remained. She had left her sister to that fate because of his lie. And once this was over, once Keely was home safe, she would find Bounty-Killer and make him pay for every day Keely had spent in that cell.

So intent was she on her own thoughts and the beacon of Keely’s distress that she almost didn’t notice the movement below her. When she realized what she was seeing, she nearly fell out of the sky in surprise. She let out a happy whoop and dived straight down. For her own safety, she waited until UPS’s face registered shocked recognition and then flung herself on him in a joyous hug.

“Neely?!” he pushed her back to look at her. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh my god... you’re alive! You’re alive!” She smiled and hugged him again.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked, still obviously stunned to find her there.

“Keely...” she said suddenly. The emotions were so strong. She pulled away from UPS and looked up at the tall building behind her. Was there movement in that window? “We have to find her,” she announced urgently.

“We’re trying, Neely, we’re trying,” he answered. “She’s here somewhere.”

“There,” Neely pointed at the building. “She’s there.”

He nodded and spoke into his radio, “Team one, gather on my location. I...” he glanced at Neely. “I found a Kheld, but not the one we were looking for. Team two, what’s your status?”

Cherished voice answered him. “We’re five minutes from entering Siren’s, Vir.”

He gave her his coordinates and waited for team one to arrive.


Jagged Fortune
The Ghosts Reborn Base

Those Ghosts too junior to enter Siren’s Call had prepared for the worst and now had nothing to do but wait. They huddled around banks of monitors, listening to the chatter over the radio. Most were excited, whispering to one another and fidgeting, but a few had been around long enough to know just how badly any confrontation between the most powerful of the Ghosts and the Shades could go.

There was so much history of pain, and hatred, and betrayal between them; such a depth of anger and grief, such a burning need for vengeance, or justice. Every time they had clashed, there had been loss and pain. Every time they met, it just threw another dry log onto the bonfire of their enmity.

Sitting off to himself, Jagged Fortune hid his smile behind a worried expression as Vir’s calm voice rattled off a string of coordinates. Skillfully hiding his movements as simple fidgeting, he typed those numbers into a tiny communications device, relaying the movements of the Ghosts directly to Razor 6.


Thin Line
Siren’s Call

His little warshade had quieted. No sobs, no mutters, just the quiet sound of her breathing. It would be easy to assume exhaustion had taken her, but he knew better. She was huddled there, thinking, planning, perhaps debating with the two halves of herself what to do next. If he was actually going to take her where she hid, it would have been a tragic end to her tragic tale, but this game was not as close to over for her as it might seem. She had a few plays left in her. She would go out gloriously.

He smiled as the brilliant white flare of a Peacebringer flashed by the window. It was time for the game to begin.

He carefully and deliberately let out an audible sigh.

Oh.. hell... I thought this was tonight as well.

Happy Birthday!

Yep. I change my vote. I'm Cammy

Course, Sooner's not nearly that ripped... but It'll work.

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Oh, come ON! Sooner is totally Cammy!

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She doesn't know Street Fighter.

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Rasta speaks truth. I picked Chun-li cause she's... kinda THE street fighter girl. But.. find me a good pic of Cammy, and maybe I'll switch.

I'm in.

Chun li for me.

And since Rasta and Grey are playing their signature characters, I'll be Sooner, unless you need me to be someone else.

Part 11 of Homecoming is up in RP.

Ebony Rose
Shades of Vengeance Base

Rose knelt in the rich earth of her garden. She carefully pruned the Black Beauty that had been a gift from Shattered. She often found her way to the garden when she was troubled. And she was troubled. So troubled that she found herself in her rose garden at dawn.

She cradled one large deep red bloom on the Black Beauty and wished fervently for Shattered Ice9. Insane, murderous, evil, hate-filled he had been. But he’d been her friend. Razor 6 was too like him and too different. With a sigh, she cut the rose and stood gracefully, surveying her garden.

Her quiet morning was demolished when the door to her lab flung open and Razor strode in, flanked by Black 6 and Anhedonia, all looking grim. Rose could see more of his soldiers milling in the hall behind him and thought, not for the first time, that if he ever decided to take over completely, she would be fighting an army just to maintain her grip on what was hers.

“The warshade. She’s in Siren’s Call,” Razor announced. “She contacted the Ghosts, and they’ll be on their way to help her. We have to move! Now!”

She didn’t question his information. They all had secrets. “You’ll want the weapon.” She pulled her robed around her shoulders. “Give me five minutes to dress and I’ll have the weapon ready for transport.”

“Get Conall Cian, as well. We’ll need his strength.” Rose nodded, sighed, and trotted to her quarters to change into battle gear. Today would be a very big day. She slipped the stem of the Black Beauty into a vase and trailed the fingers of her flesh hand over the velvety petals. So beautiful....

Then she turned to business, and trotted from the room to prepare for battle.


Vir
The Ghosts Reborn Base

The news spread through the Ghosts’ base like wildfire in a dry pasture. Vir had hit the alarm claxon even while Keely was still screaming into the phone, but he was quite certain that the information was traveling faster than the speed of sound. Sooner Spirit found him within seconds of the alarm sound, but Glacius and Ahren weren’t far behind.

Those who lived in the base has endured too many drills to waste any time responding to that alarm, but those who lived off base would take a little longer. He wasn’t waiting for them.

“Keely is alive, and she's being hunted in Siren's Call." Quoting the Ghosts' long time motto he continued, "Leave no one behind! We're going in there and getting her the hell out, now! For Team One, Ahren and I will provide cover for Sooner, Glacius, Midnightangel, Six-four, and Celestial Nav.” His eyes scanned the crowd until he found who he was looking for. “Cherished, you hold here. You’ll form up Team Two when more reinforcements arrive, then head for Siren's as well. We'll figure out where we need you once we get there. This may be a trap, the attack Cherished warned us about." Vir's eyes locked on Glacius, "Keep your eyes open and your [censored] down old man.”

He looked around once more, then found one of the newest Ghosts, a brash and determined young man - the very image of Vir, only with a few less years under his belt. “Seamus, little brother, there are several Ghosts like you, who cannot access Siren's yet. Organize a triage unit down in the med bay, and let's hope we don't need it.”

Sooner Spirit exchanged a significant glance with Glacius9, who turned and nodded at Vir. Vir nodded back. “Ghosts, let's roll.”


Keely
Chiron Medical Center, Siren’s Call

Keely hated waking up and returning from whatever sanctuary her dreams had provided. This time she’d dreamed of escape. And while it hadn’t been comforting, at least it had been exciting. She fought to sink down into sleep again, but something was different. Something she should pay attention to.

Her eyes opened, and she blinked at the plain white wall just a few feet from her eyes. The room was dim and quiet. Where AM I? She wondered. She rolled over and winced. There was an IV catheter in her arm attached to a busily working fluid pump. Was it real? Was she safe? Or was this some new torture dreamed up by her captors?

She sank back into her pillow, too afraid to call out and destroy the fantasy that she was finally safe. The room looked like a typical hospital room, with the shades drawn, and the door cracked open. The room was tiny, but efficiently designed.

She nearly dozed off again until she heard footsteps approaching. The noise of the heavy soled shoes made her think of a cop’s uniform shoes. And that made her think of the demon that liked to pretend to be a cop. She shrank in on herself, her eyes darting around the room. There was no escape. She was trapped in this tiny room.

The door creaked open. A man’s deep voice called out softly, “Keely? Are you awake?” The door opened the rest of the way and a man’s shape was silhouetted in the doorway. A big man, wearing a badge and a trenchcoat. He blocked the doorway. She scrambled off the bed, ripping the IV catheter out of her vein and not even noticing the blood trickling down her arm.

“Wait! Wait!” the man called and stepped into the room, hurrying towards her with his hands outstretched.

“NO!” she screamed at him.

And then, from deep inside her, her kheldian half erupted out. It screamed again, “NO! NO!” She exploded into her dwarf form in a burst of purple and blue energy. With a furious roar she knocked the man into the wall and teleported into the open hall even as his body crumpled to the floor.

In a state of mutual panic, the two minds finally reunited. She raced in a thudding rumble down the hall, ignoring completely the surprised yells of the nurses she charged past. She ignored the elevator as just tiny box that could become another prison, bounded down the nearby stairs. She teleported to the hospital door as soon as the were visible. A middle aged woman in scrubs sat at the information desk and stared at the giant dark dwarf that suddenly appeared before her.

She changed quickly to nova form, tentacles lashing in agitation and opened the doors to fly high and free. She turned left, towards the gate to Steel Canyon, but the cramped confines of the gate frightened her, and she turned right instead, climbing higher into the sky and heading east.

In a matter of moments, she was flying fast over the same terrain that her human form had labored for hours to climb over. In her panic, she just wanted to find cover. She needed a safe spot. She needed a minute to think.

She found her way to a building that still looked intact. She circled it, once, twice, and saw no signs of life. She zoomed down over the wrought iron and brick fence and ducked inside the building. She found herself a dark hiding place inside and went to ground.


Thin Line
Siren’s Call

She had arrived. From his hidden vantage he watched the warshade as she frantically dashed into the building. Once inside, she took just a moment to find a spot to conceal herself. He admired her selection. An antique china cabinet had fallen onto a tapestry sofa near a window. It created a deep, shadowy cave where she could be hidden from sight, but from which she could easily see the surroundings by just moving forward a few feet. Once there she indulged herself in a fit of hysterical sobbing before settling in to silence broken only by an occasional muttered phrase.

He remained hidden. There was so much more to this game than just killing this one. His hands itched to take hold of his weapons, but it was not time for the kick off just yet. The fun would end far too soon if he took her now. There were many more guests yet to arrive. He had plenty of time to savor the anticipation. And anticipate he did. He’d prefer it if she stayed human. He loved the feeling of the black blade sliding smoothly through flesh and the sudden coppery smell of fresh blood. The white blade, that one would go neck or belly, depending on his mood. Neck was so much faster, and so much bloodier. A belly wound gave him time to soliloquize for his victim, if he so chose. Her body was so slight that his blades would pass right through her. He closed his eyes, savoring the smell of her blood, feeling its slippery warmth on his hands. She was so close. It would be so easy.... He was hovering over her like the angel of death. She was his to kill when he chose...

But it was not time. And she wouldn’t stay human. She would change to the tentacled energy form. The solid energy form was lighter. It would feel like stabbing a bird, more empty space than solid. It would look like skewering a shrimp, and the fluid energy that passed for blood would drip down his blades before dissipating into the air. Then she would drop, nearly dead, back to human and finally spill her blood out onto the ground.

He remained motionless, except for the crook of a smile. All things come to those who wait. They come, but often come too late.

I got just one character who needs said badge. I'm available at any and all times.

I made a similar error a little while back. But me and the not-birthday person just both kept our mouths shut about it.

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Me. I just want to play. To remember that small bit of wonderment I had as a kid, watching Saturday morning cartoons for 6 hours straight, and imagining if I hung a beach towel from the back of my collar and made a swoosh sound as I ran around the backyard, that I was really a superhero.

Maybe more of us could try and remember that too.

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That was beautiful, man....

No worries, Jan.

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Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

My Internet goes down for ten minutes, and I miss this!

Sonova...

New tattoo?

Pictures?

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Since you asked....

My first tattoo

My second tattoo

Newest tattoo - some of that redness is ink, and some is because it's still brand new. I'll not sure yet how red it'll be once it fully heals.

Sorry for the late reply, I've been out getting tattooed...

I may have already filled the team up...

We'll talk, but I may have you go ahead with your villain run, Kid... and then we can compare notes on the hero v villain TFs....

When my boys Rasta and T get home this evening, I plan to run the hero-side TF (ya... I know... me an everyone else, right?)

That'll probably be around 8 pm CST.

If anyone really wants to come along with Me and T and Rasta (and hopefully Ice and... well... I have a hopeful list...) be waiting at around 8 pm CST.

Part 10 of Homecoming is up in RP.

Something to read until the servers come back up.

Keely
Siren’s Call

She was past exhaustion. It was just determination and fear continuing to drive her north. She wanted to see her home so badly it was a palpable need. If she could just get home things would be different. She’d be the kind of sister Neely deserved, and she would start by delivering a message that would help the Ghosts, help one of Neely’s dearest friends.

Keely had always resented UPS, both for the amount of time Neely had spent with him, and the clear affection she had for him. Keely and her sister had spent so much time apart, it was as if Keely wanted all of Neely’s attention, and therefore she resented anyone that took Neely away.

She had a memory of UPS, it was how she always saw him when she thought of him. They had been in a council base, and she had spent the entire day yelling at him, insulting him, arguing with him. And, before that day was over, he’d stepped between her and a void rifle. He was injured, his armor damaged, and she knew that the quantum energy hurt humans, it just hurt Khelds a lot worse. Still he’d taken that hit for her, and she never forgot his brown eyes meeting hers after he’d stopped the attack that could have killed her. She owed him a deep and sincere apology, and she just hoped she lived long enough to deliver it.

First, she had to get out of Siren’s Call. She had to find her way to the hero base and get home. Then she could deliver her message, make her apology, and sleep. In that order.

She would have to climb again. She could see ahead of her smooth and unbroken ground, but she would have to climb to get there. It was so tiring to just walk, she nearly sobbed at the thought of trying to climb. You can cry later, she thought to herself, and starting pulling herself up. She found a narrow ledge, and paused, then stepped up on a rock and kept moving up. She pulled herself until she could see over the ledge and gasped. There was a phone! A PHONE! And the little blue light was blinking on top. It must work!

Hope gave her an extra surge of strength and she pulled herself up onto the flat surface. She crouched, watching extra carefully for danger. How ironic to be captured or killed with salvation finally in sight. The phone was in the open, and she hadn’t risked being that exposed since leaving the Arachnos base. The conflict was paralyzing. Hope and fear.

Finally, she grit her teeth and sprinted to the phone. She lifted the receiver and jabbed the “0."

“Longbow Operations. Do you have an emergency?” A flat female voice answered her.

Keely let out a sob. For a moment, she was so overwhelmed she couldn’t speak. Then, finally, she managed, “Yes! Yes... I’ve escaped... I’m a hero and I escaped the Rogue Isles. I need the Ghosts. Please, can you connect me to the Ghosts?”

“What is your registered Hero name, please?” the woman asked.

“It’s Keely. I need to talk to The Ghosts Reborn!”

There was a long pause, then the woman spoke again, “Would you like me to dispatch troops to your location?”

“Dammit!” Keely yelled into the phone and slammed it down. She lifted the receiver again and punched in the phone number for the Ghosts’ base. The emergency number always accepted collect calls, and in just a few moments she heard an unfamiliar voice answer, “The Ghosts Reborn.”

“Neely!” she screamed into the phone. “I have to talk to Neely! Hurry!”

“Aaaah.... Neely’s... ah... not here?”

It had never even occurred to Keely that her sister wouldn’t be available, and she was struck dumb for a long moment.... “UPS***, then. Hurry. Tell him it’s Keely. Tell him to HURRY!”
***Keely is unaware that UPS 2.2 changed his name to Vir, since that happened while she was still held captive.

She dropped into a crouch there by the phone, her fear growing stronger by the moment. She’d been without hope for so long that she just couldn’t believe something wouldn’t go very wrong, and soon. It seemed like forever, then she could hear running footsteps. A smile crossed her face as she imagined the big man - probably just in socks this early - running for the phone.

“Vir... ah.. UPS here,” he said. His deep voice promised safety and warmth to her, and once again she could barely bring herself to speak.

“Help me,” she said finally. “It’s Keely. I’m in Siren’s call. Oh, please, help me! Come get me out of here!”

Another man might have wasted time marveling that he was talking to someone he thought was dead, but not UPS. “Contact Longbow immediately.

“I did, I did,”

“Good. Are you hurt?” He asked.

She opened her mouth to answer, when she heard marching footsteps. “Oh, my god. They’re coming for me..” she whispered.

“Keely? What’s happening there?”

“Arachnos, they’re here. They’re going to take me back...” She turned toward the noise. There was no time to get under cover. They’d be there too soon. “Help me! Hurry!” she screamed into the phone. “Please, hurry!”

She couldn’t even hear him over the roaring in her ears, but she’d never heard him sound so frantic. She dropped the phone and pressed back into the call box. They were coming, they were coming for her! She started to run away, then they rounded the corner. At first the bright white and red uniforms didn’t even make sense, and then when she realized she actually was safe, the world went black.


Thin Line
Siren’s Call

So many abandoned buildings, so much destruction. The chaos of the place called to him, but he didn’t want to be late. Late for a very important date! He slipped inside a building, one of the ones still standing, and found the shadows. He leaned into the wall and waited. It was just dawn. He had time. But he wanted everything to be perfect when his playmates arrived. First the brunette... then the blonde.

He smiled.


Neely
Peregrine Island

Neely stepped out of the portal and knew she was home. It just felt right to be here. Several portal techs stared at her with surprised faces and she gave them her best smile. “It’s ok guys, I’ve just been gone awhile.”

She took one step forward when she was hit with a solid wall of dread and fear. Keely was alive... she could feel it. But she could feel her sister’s terror, and she knew Keely was in grave danger. She stumbled and fell down under the ramp with the spinning portal humming.

She heard one of the techs running to her and a concerned face stared down. “Are you ok?!”

She climbed to her feet and shook her head. “No, I’m late.” she answered. She lifted into flight, carried up on the brilliant blue and white of her kheldian energy, and turned on all her shields as she flew as fast as she could to try to get to her sister in time.

Any idea who you want me to be, Ny?

Good luck to y'all!

I really really want to try that mastermind pet trail, but not this time for me, I guess....

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Now the question is...will Sooner answer her own questions?

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I want to wait until everyone else answers and then copy the best ones. *nodnod*

I really enjoy reading these.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to answer these questions.

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<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>14. What... is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?</pre><hr />


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African? or European?

Part 9 of Homecoming is up in RP.

Keely
Siren’s Call

She was disappointed. She’d expected more from an Arachnos base in a war zone. The place was dirty and crowded and disorganized. Not to mention that an escaped Hero - if she could still call herself that in her current helpless state - was standing in the middle of it with no one taking any notice. Her instructions were to fly high and fast to safety. Now she just needed to remember how to fly.

Still striving to appear casual and look like she belonged there, Keely glanced around. There were piles of cargo crates butted right up to the hospital, a metal ramp in dire need of a paintjob, and stacks of wooden crates. Not to mention the Arachnos agents and drones everywhere.

She started moving, and made her way around the cargo crates. It took everything she had left in her to stroll casually by the Arachnos standing guard, but she gained nothing by it, there was no place to hide in the crates. She kept moving, and rounded a corner. She grimaced, there was nothing around this corner but a Fortunata and a door into the hospital. Seeing no choice, she opened the door and stepped in.

The hospital, at least, seemed clean and neat, if not overly concerned with aesthetics. She rounded a corner, and finally found herself alone and unobserved. She leaned back into a wall and tried to talk with her Warshade half.

Remember when we joined? She thought at it, remember how you told me you needed my help, as I needed yours? I really need you now. Please, please... help me. She could feel it moving, hear it thinking, but it was full of fear and distrust. Please. We may die without your help. And we’ve got to deliver the message. It’s ok. We’re out. But you have to help me.

She waited, and finally she felt the Warshade rising up through her consciousness. Free? it asked. Free? She remembered that everything she had suffered, the Warshade had suffered with her, but that it had endured that while under the constant torment of the quantum array. No wonder it was broken.

We’re free for now. But I need you. I need your help so badly.

She felt the Warshade start to rejoin her. It rose up, and Keely’s eyes opened. For a moment, she thought everything would be ok. They could change to nova form and fly high and free. They would be safe. She would be reunited with Neely and their friends. Then their eyes found an Arachnos symbol prominently displayed. Keely had to clench her jaw shut from uttering the Warshade’s dismayed wail as it fled again. Keely’s head fell back against the wall as she fought against overwhelming hopelessness. Without her Kheldian’s help, she was just a human. Just an ordinary human surrounded by evil.

“Hey! You there!” a deep voice bellowed at her. She flinched and straightened to find an enormous Arachnos crab standing at the corner. His face was hidden by his helmet, but his body language clearly stated challenge. “What do you think you’re doing there?” he demanded.

For an unending moment she was frozen in terror. She couldn’t even scream and cower she was so frightened. And then from somewhere deep inside, the girl she used to be rose up. She straightened and glared her own challenge back. “I needed a [censored] bandaid. This is a hospital, right?” She strode back toward the exit door. “We’re not having picnics with the heroes out there, ya know! They fight back!”

She made it to the door before he responded, “Get your [censored] back out there, then. You don’t need to be loitering around in here.”

“Ya... looks like you got that part covered!” She slammed the door behind her and made herself keep walking before she could start shaking with reaction. But she smiled a crooked smile as she walked. The Shades hadn’t managed to destroy her completely, she thought. She was still Keely, no matter what. Folded, spindled, and a little mutilated, maybe, but still herself. She pulled the illusion of her old brash confidence over herself like a cloak and strode back out.

The hero base was to the north. She didn’t know exactly where, but she wasn’t going to get there by hiding here. Act like you belong, she reminded herself, act like you know what you’re doing.

She marched up the metal ramp and studied the terrain to the north. She was filled with hope when she realized she could see the glowing war walls from where she stood, even with her blurry vision. It had to be less than half a mile. She could go half a mile, surely. And the closer she got to the hero base, the more likely it was she would encounter someone who could help her. She put on a touch more attitude and headed north. She passed a Fortunata with binoculars who advised her, “There are heroes in the distance. Nothing much to worry about.”

“Thanks,” Keely answered with a nod.

The terrain away from the Arachnos base was broken and rough. Buildings jutted up into the air like splintered bones. She couldn’t see a way to leave the area with getting into the water, so she just waded out and started swimming. No use worrying about how quickly she could have flown in nova form, that just wasn’t an option for her.

After a short swim, she climbed out of the water alongside a huge pipe, its diameter large enough she could have crouched under its curving bulk. She put her left shoulder to the pipe and kept moving north. Eventually, she had to climb onto the pipe and use it to scale a wall of broken earth and pavement. At the top, she crouched and grimaced at the group of Tsoo loitering nearby. A line from a movie floated through her head, So, how’s grandma? Well.. She’s on the roof. There was no chance she could walk across the open ground without them seeing her, and no amount of swagger was going to convince a half-dozen bad guys to ignore her.

Her confidence was leaving her again, and she nearly sobbed at the idea of climbing back down and trying to find another way. Then Arachnos troops boiled over the edge from the north and plowed into the Tsoo. Just like that, the entire group was facing away her. Explosions and shouts ripped through the night. And Keely sprang up and sprinted across the open ground, her heart pounding like a bird trying to escape her chest.

She tumbled down the other side, acquiring a new set of cuts, scrapes and bruises. She curled up in a ball under some rubble, but knew she didn’t dare stay there. The body of a Tsoo sorcerer fell with a liquid splat just in front of her, his blood misting over her.. He was obviously dead, but Arachnos would certainly be coming down to check, and soon. And so she moved, finding cover behind the wall that was all that remained of a fallen building, and continued north.

The place was a maze of twisted metal and broken buildings. There was plenty of cover to be had, but so many different villains populated the area, she was constantly in fear of discovery. Tsoo, sky raiders, Warriors, and Arachnos were everywhere. And she knew the Shades had to be looking for her. They wouldn’t be willing to let her go, and that was the one thing she refused to allow to happen. She would not be retaken by the Shades.

Dawn was gilding the blue war walls ahead of her, and she was starting to feel the exhaustion. Months spent in a tiny cell with barely adequate nutrition did not put one in condition for running and climbing. Her muscles trembled, her whole body ached, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up and in a dark spot and sleep. But the urgency of the message she carried was burning. She felt in her core that she was running out of time.


Neely
In another Paragon City

Neely waited nervously before the spinning, glowing portal. The Keely from her adopted world stood with her, one arm around her waist, the other clutching her hand. Neely smiled sadly. This Keely was the sister she always wanted, but now that she had reason to hope that her real sister was still alive, she knew that this idealized version was just a substitute. Still, she squeezed back and smiled.

“Neely?” a portal tech called. “We’re ready when you are.”

Neely had said her goodbyes to the Ghosts already, and only Keely came with her. They exchanged a fervent hug. She turned back to the portal and remembered the panicked flight across Nerva. She’d been fleeing for her life, and found her way to Technician Naylor deep in the forest. And his portal had sent her to this world. Finally, she’d be going back.

“Keely?” she asked. “When you went to the Rogue Isles, how did you escape Nerva?”

Keely smiled. “That lunatic Shattered Ice9 was chasing me, and I fled straight to the longbow base at Agincourt. He had to stop and let me go. Longbow got me home.”

Neely laughed quietly to herself. “Longbow base...” She thought of the maps of Nerva she’d seen and wondered just how close to that safety she’d passed without ever thinking of it. “Well, if I’d done that, I’d never have met you.” She hugged her adopted sister again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Neely.”

Neely turned her back on the world she’d lived in for months, tossed a thumbs up to the tech and flew through the portal.


Bounty-Killer
Grandville

Bounty-Killer watched the sun rise over Grandville as he said his goodbyes to Wiggy. The cash went in a pocket while the blank envelope the broker had handed him got a careful examination. He tore open the seal and pulled out a note-sized piece of paper on which was scrawled: I hope you don't mind sharing one of your playthings, Hero.

Killer frowned at the message and read it again. “Hero?” Ah... Killer tucked the note inside his tunic and made his way to his base. What the hell is Thin Line up to now?
---In his previous dealings with Bounty-Killer, in stories written by MI_Abrahms and Major T, Thin Line likes to facetiously refer to Killer as “hero” because Killer does exist by a code, does still have some morals. Thin Line considers this a weakness. And even though Killer doesn’t yet know the significance of his relationship with Neely, Thin Line does.

Because I think it's time we had some joy back on these forums, I submit to you: 13 questions!

Just... have fun.


1. What's your favorite color?

2. What is your very favorite song of all time?

3. What is your very favorite movie of all time?

4. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what THREE things would you take with you?

5. If you could own any kind of car, what would it be?

6. If you were in prison and were about to be executed, what would your final meal be?

7. If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be?

8. If you could do any profession, what would it be?

9. If you could change ONE thing about yourself, what would it be?

10. Cats or dogs?

11. What is your favorite sport and why?

12. If you had your choice between staying home watching TV, going to the movies or going to a professional sporting event, which would you choose?

13. If you could be ANYBODY in the world, who would you be and why?