Sooner

Pre-download, babeh!

Taking the title toward a heraldric tone:

"Griffin Rampant"

or just a mythological tone:

"Griffin's Flight," "Griffin's Fight," or "Griffin's Battle"

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I .... I think I'm glad I don't do sports.

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Pfft... I didn't even get into the Big XII North.

Let me see if I can sum up...

There are some pretty intense rivalries in the Big XII.

In the Big XII South, there are six teams,

OU Sooners
OSU Cowboys
TAMU Aggies
TT Red Raiders
Baylor Bears
and...

the much hated Texas Longhorns

OU and Texas are pretty consistently the top of the pack.

A&M, TT, and OSU are usually pretty solid as well.

EVERYONE hates the longhorns. Seriously... we ALL hate the longhorns. It's a tossup who hates them more.

The Cowboys hate the Sooners and the longhorns - actually.. I take that back.. the Cowboy's put so much energy into hating the Sooners, they may just kinda find the longhorns irritating.
the Longhorns hate the Sooners and the Aggies.
The Raiders hate the longhorns.
The Aggies REALLY hate the longhorns.
The Sooners hate the longhorns.

And.. if you notice I haven't really mentioned Baylor.. well...
>.>
<.<

Baylor's like that poor weird cousin that they make you share the table with at Thanksgiving and you kinda have to be nice to when the grownups are around.

But... as far as I'm concerned...anyone who hates the longhorns is OK with me... so bring on the Red Raiders.

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Oh, I'm aware of all the options. If anything else, I'll just pay the $10 to move the toon here. But it was worth checking to see if there was anyone who was making a move to Freedom. But I'm guessing anyone who'd want to move there, wouldn't be coming to the Protector forums.

No worries though, $10 isn't too big a price to pay to make all my Protector toons very, very happy.

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Can... Can you make all MY protector toons very very happy too?

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Seriously... Sooner needs a sugah daddy!

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Sugah Daddy? To an OU fan!? NEVAR!!

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*gasps in horror*

You're not a.... no no... it can't be. It's too horrible.

Tell me, please... tell me... you're not *shudders and whispers* a longhorn?

*faints at the thought*

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What?! A Longhorn?! So I could take one step up from Sooner-dom?? A Red Raider would never do such a thing!!

. . .well, at least you didn't assume I was an Aggie.

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Aaaawww.... You're from TT? How CUTE!!!

Ok.. just as long as you're not one of those longhorns... I guess that's ok.

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Did the story about the Sooner sisters ever finish?

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Not yet, but I AM still working on it. It's getting massively complex, so I want to be at least MOSTLY done before I start posting.

And... part 3 of Homecoming is posted.

Ebony Rose
Shades of Vengeance Base

Rose puttered around the large conference room in the Shades base, attempting to look busy with papers and small robotic parts, but really she was waiting impatiently for Razor 6 to return. She had kept Shattered’s Kheldian prisoner confined, safe, and waiting for him. She had maintained the machine she had so carefully created and modified for him in working order. She had waited for him to pick up his Kheldian project where he had left it, but Razor showed no interest in the project whatsoever.

Rose’s own history as a prisoner of Nemesis made it challenging for her to remain impartial where the treatment of this prisoner was concerned. She was determined that tonight the project either moved forward, or the final disposal of the prisoner would be decided and carried out. She would not be party to any further abuse of that particular prisoner that did not serve to advance the cause of the Shades.

Razor 6 strode into the base at his usual time that evening, with Black 6 at his shoulder like an omnipresent shadow. He raised one hand in a casual greeting to Rose as he started by, but she called out to him, “Razor! I need to discuss something with you.”

Razor turned back to her and walked over to lean against the table. “What is it, Rose?”

She paused, collecting her thoughts, but also taking that moment she required every time she found herself face to face with Razor. She had worked so hard to bring Shattered back. But instead, she’d gotten Razor. She wasn’t ready to let go of Shattered just yet. This man was so like her friend, yet so different.

“Rose?” Razor tapped the table. “You wanted something?”

She nodded and stood. “The Kheldian. Your prisoner. When will you be ready to resume your project?”

He blinked at her, as if he wasn’t even sure what she was talking about. “Oh… the warshade. Right.” He paused. “Get rid of her. The project is through.” He turned away then, making it obvious the conversation was over.

Unfortunately, at that moment Conall rounded the corner. “The warshade?” A smile came over the roughly handsome face of his human seeming. “I have a project in mind for that one.”

“No!” Rose interjected, smacking her palm on the table. “No!”

Conall’s attitude toward Rose had improved remarkably over the last several months, but the issue of this particular prisoner had a been a source of conflict between them for a very long time. “What would you suggest, Rose? Outfitting her with a warm jacket and releasing her back to her home?” His tone dripped with sarcasm as he leaned into a wall.

Rose set her jaw firmly. “There will be no more projects with that one.”

Conall straightened abruptly and advanced toward her, using his favorite tactic of attempting to loom over her. “She is not you, Rose. You cannot undo what was done to you by saving her.” Rose was stunned into silence as Conall pressed his advantage by turning to Razor. “She is beyond broken, Razor. It would be child’s play to twist what is left of her mind. Turn her into a weapon that can be turned onto our enemies. She can be used to lure them into a trap. Give me just a few weeks with her, and she will do and say whatever we want her to.”

Rose’s heart fell as she realized Razor 6 was considering Conall’s words. She would not stand for it. Her mind raced. Razor was utterly without mercy. No sense trying to appeal to that. Simply asking him to intercede on her side would be a sign of weakness that would doubtless come back to haunt her. But… Conall had struck at Rose’s weak point. She would return the favor. “Taking what is left of her free will not make you any more human, Conall. Breaking her soul will not grant you one. Let this one go, Conall.”

Conall scowled and his human mask slipped. He leaned in so close that she over balanced trying to look up to meet his fiery eyes. Her ankle turned in her spike heeled boot and she stumbled and dropped into her chair. That left Conall hovering over her in a pose that appeared very threatening.

Before Rose could react, Razor stepped in. He pushed the huge demon back. “Enough!” His voice was heavy with command. “Conall, I already have a plan in action that will cut the very heart out of the Ghosts. Do not make my repeat myself again: Rose, get rid of the warshade. We are done with her.”

Rose remained in her seat while both men stalked from the room, with Black 6 at Razor’s heels. She carefully put aside her reaction to the argument, and considered how best to carry out the prisoner’s termination.


Neely
In another Paragon City

Neely sat in a large conference room within Portal Corp. She was slowly winning them over, but Tina Macintyre was staying quiet as the arguments for and against sending Neely home swirled around the room.

“Ladies, gentlemen,” Neely said when the conversation paused. She took her feet. “It was my choice to stay here, and that choice had nothing to do with my own safety. It is now my choice to return home-” she raised one hand commandingly when a technician started to interrupt. “Yes, I do need your help, but the only person I’m endangering is myself. I will return home, if I have to go back to the Rogue Isles and force Naylor to send me back, I will. I’d rather do it this way.”

Tina stood then. “This Neely doesn’t belong in this world. If there is any danger, it is to our own timestream by allowing her to remain. She is a Hero of the City. If she understands the dangers of dimensional travel when we’re not completely sure where and when to send her, who are we to tell her no? We will plan for it tomorrow, Neely.”

Neely nodded, putting aside her urge to argue for it to be earlier, and left the enormous Portal Corp building, looking around her adopted world for the last time.


Cherished
Ghost’s Reborn Base

Cherished slipped into the Ghost’s enormous conference room and made her way rather timidly to the front table. Give her a room full of Circle of Thorns, and she was fearless. Ask her to speak in front of a room full of people... and she was terrified. Nonetheless, she took pride in being a source of much needed information from within the Shades. Sable’s regular reports had yielded enough information about the inner workings of the Shades that Glacius9 and Sooner Spirit had asked her to present it to the entire group.

She made her way to the table at the head of the room, nervously tugging at her costume and suddenly wondering why she’d designed an outfit that showed so much skin. As her hands fluttered over her outfit, she was suddenly reminded of the way that Rogue isles assassin had touched her, and her heart fluttered.

Cherished scowled as she realized that Jagged Fortune was at the head table as well. Jagged was fairly new to the Ghosts and had advanced quickly. He was remarkably skilled with bladed weapons, but was too aloof and cocky for her to ever really like him. She wondered what he was there for, and ignored him as politely as possible as she took her place beside him.

RastafariGirl was there and smiled encouragingly at her friend, but any confidence she might have gained fled when the Ghosts Reborn’s Heroes of the City entered the room. The sheer power and legend walking into that room stopped all conversation. UPS 2.2 led the way, followed by Sooner Spirit and her sister’s Sooner Magic and Sooner Red. Glacius9, Ahren, Celestial Nav and Ici Cold were on their heels, and the room remained respectfully silent while the most powerful heroes among the Ghosts found their seats. Most made their way into the conference room and found seats scattered among the younger heroes already present, a few, like Sooner Spirit and Glacius9 took seats at the head table. The last few Heroes of the City filtered in, and the doors closed. Glacius9 waited while Six-Four found a seat near the back, then he stood and started the meeting.

Cherished was so nervous, she could barely hear Glacius, and then Sooner Spirit talking over the roaring in her ears. They discussed training, patrolling, and mentoring. Zemuron gave injury reports, while Sooner, Six-Four, Celestial Nav, Ms. Roentgen, and UPS 2.2 gave reports from MAGI, GIFT, ELITE, SERAPH, and DATA, and Glacius spoke for Sunstorm and Shadowstar. Then the roaring in Cherished ears grew louder as Sooner Spirit announced, “And now we have some important information from within the Rogue Isles. Cherished? If you will start us off?”

Cherished stood and looked out into the crowd of faces. She almost sat back down when her knees started shaking, but she ducked her head and concentrated on her notes, telling herself she was back in her room, practicing in front of a mirror.

“Thank you,” she stammered. “I am here today to tell you about a new player in the leadership of the Shades of Vengeance, an Arachnos Bane Spider who goes by the call sign Razor 6, also known as Sandman. But the Shades believe him to be Shattered Ice9.” A murmur went through the crowd at that. “Ebony Rose supports him in that role. She would not allow a stranger to act as leader, therefor, she must believe Razor 6 truly is Shattered Ice9.

“Razor 6 has brought over a dozen members of his unit into the Shades, which does strengthen their ranks, but it should be noted that it appears their loyalty is to Razor first, before the Shades. This could be significant if the power plays within the Shades continue, though, at the moment, Ebony Rose and Razor appear to be firmly in control, and Conall Cian does not appear to be ready to make a move.”
Cherished looked around the room one last time, smiled, and uttered an awkward, “Thank you,” before dropping back into her seat.

“An excellent analysis, Cherished,” Sooner Spirt said. “And, to add to it, Jagged Fortune.”

Jagged was short, for a hero, and covered with wiry muscle. He was handsome in a bad-boy way with dark hair falling over his dark eyes, and a crooked grin. He took his feet smoothly, and moved his chair aside to give himself room to move. He laid his notes down and walked away from them. As he spoke, he paced slowly along the wall, appearing casual and comfortable. It made Cherished feel even more awkward about her presentation.

“The Shades of Vengeance hate the Ghosts,” he said. “We all know this, and know that by our mere membership our lives are constantly at risk from them. They do have some favored targets among the Ghosts, Sooner Spirit, for instance, or Ahren. Shattered Ice9 had a special interest in Kheldians, and researched them thoroughly. We still don’t truly know what his interest was, but he did gain tremendous knowledge of both Peacebringers and Warshades during that time. My sources tell me that Razor has taken that knowledge, applied it to void slayer technology and created a super weapon. It is a quantum style rifle that does not take two or more shots to incapacitate the energy beings and their hosts, it is a weapon that will destroy the energy being in a single shot, and, of course, kill the host at the same time.” There were a few Kheldians among the membership of the Ghosts and they exchanged nervous glances. “The only good news is that it is extremely short range. The weapon must be within 10 feet of the target to have it’s intended effect.”

Jagged Fortune paused, making eye contact with each of the Kheldians in the room. “My sources within the Shades tell me that their intended target is Glacius9. They intend to lure him into an ambush and destroy him. I don’t have the form of the ambush, but I do know that it is imperative that we do not allow the Shades to get close to Glacius.” He stood for a moment, then returned to his seat.

UPS 2.2 stood then. He did not sit at the head table for this meeting, but no one dismissed his importance to the Ghosts. Nearly everyone in that room had owed their safety, if not their lives to him at some point or another. He focused the whole of his attention on Glacius9, and as he spoke, Ahren rose to stand at his shoulder. “Old man, where you go, we go.” Glacius opened his mouth once, as if to speak, then snapped it shut after one glance at the expressions on the two men’s faces. He leaned back in his chair and nodded once.

Cherished barely heard the rest of the meeting as her thoughts raced through her head. What did mean that Sable hadn’t gotten that information to her? Did it mean that Sable wasn’t as trusted as she thought? Or... what if Sable had known but not passed it on? Was it possible that Sable was just using her? Or was it more likely that the link between them had been discovered and Sable was in grave danger? She didn’t even notice that the meeting had been adjourned until she realized Sooner Spirit was calling her. She made her way to a tight huddle of Sooner Spirit, UPS, Glacius9 and Jagged Fortune. UPS turned toward her, “Cherished, what does your analysis of the Shades’ leadership tell you about this “super void weapon?”” he asked.

At first, Cherished could only stare back at UPS as for that moment she was filled with doubt that ANYTHING she had learned from Sable was trustworthy. Facing a hero like UPS was intimidating enough without suddenly wondering if you actually knew what you were talking about.

The silence stretched until UPS raised a brow at her, “This is where you answer my question, Ghost.” he said firmly.

“Well.... ah.... I....” she stammered briefly, then drew herself up. “From what we know of the Shades’ leadership, Razor 6 in particular, it certainly makes sense. Shattered Ice9 hated Glacius9, considered Glacius to be the imposter, and his in-depth research into Kheldians means that it is very plausible he could have created such a weapon. And.. If he did have a “super-void weapon,” there is no one he’d be more likely to target than Glacius.” She glanced at Jagged, grit her teeth, and spoke again, “But I think it’s important to note that... my sources said nothing to me about such a weapon.”

Jagged stepped forward then, “Which makes it fortunate that my sources had the access to get the information to me.”

A brief silence fell over the group until Glacius said, “Thank you, Jagged.” As Jagged turned away, Glacius reached out to put one hand on Cherished shoulder, “Razor 6... claims to be Shattered Ice9?”

Cherished nodded, “He claims it, and.... more importantly... Ebony Rose has accepted him. We know from her relationship with Conall Cian that she will not allow others to take power in the Shades, so she believes it’s true, at least. And Conall Cian would likely NOT accept his leadership without challenge if he didn’t believe it as well.”

Glacius crossed his arms over his chest. “But, I know for a fact that Shattered Ice9 is dead.”

Cherished nodded. Glacius had reported that death some time ago, and the Ghosts had accepted it as fact. “Yes. But the Shades believe him.”

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Whistles innocently

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Oh no you DIDN'T!!!!!


Now look what you made me do...

*starts singing and clapping*

BOOMER SOONER! BOOMER SOONER!
BOOMER SOONER! BOOMER SOONER!
BOOMER SOONER! BOOMER SOONER!
BOOMER SOONER! O-K-U

Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! O-K-U!!!!

I'm Sooner born! I'm Sooner bred!
And when I die I'll be Sooner dead!

Rah Oklahoma ! Rah Oklahoma!
Rah OklahomaAAAAAA!!!!! O-K-U!!!

BTW - Ura.... You will pay.... you will pay....

Part 2 of Homecoming is up in RP.

Sable Murphy
Pocket D

Sable was dressed casually in jeans and a fitted tee, but she would never fit into a crowd with the enormous crab backpack looming over her shoulders. She had made a point, however, of spending so many of her off hours in the metahuman club that she at least was a normal part of the scenery. She sipped her drink as she leaned one elbow on the bar.

The bartender, a skinny young brunette with a girl-next-door pretty face, spiky hair and a tapestry of tattoos crawling up her arms, wiped down the bar as she made her way closer to Sable.“You came in with company,” Jonnie commented.

“Ya,” Sable answered. “Some of the squad wanted a drink as well.”

Jonnie nodded at Black 6, “You got a thing goin with that one? I see you in here a lot with him.”

Sable barked out a laugh, “Please! No, that’s the last thing I need, complications like that one!” Black 6 waved at her and tapped his watch just then. She nodded at him. “Well... early call tomorrow.” She casually tucked a folded $100 inside a $5 and slipped it to Jonnie. “Thanks for remembering my usual!”


Neely
In another Paragon City

Neely stared at the ceiling, not wanting to get up and wake Keely, but unable to go back to sleep. Dawn was starting to gild the windows in the apartment she shared with her sister when she heard faint noises coming from Keely’s room. She got up and padded barefoot down the hall. She could hear Keely crying out in her sleep, and so she opened the door and stepped in.

“Keely? Keely, you’re having a dream...”

Keely sat up and looked around, confused. Then she slumped back down into her pillows, “I keep seeing him die...” she muttered.

“Who, Keely?” she asked.

“UPS. I keep watching him die. But... it’s not what happened. It’s not how he was killed.”

Neely frowned. “Was there a purple fog?”

Keely nodded and sat up again. “Yes. Purple. And swirly.”

“I dreamed it too,” Neely said. “Keely... tell me again how your UPS died?”

Keely sighed, her golden brown hair falling around her face.

“We thought you -she was dead. We really thought so. We wouldn’t have left you... her there if we’d known... I promise. I would have done anything if I could’ve have gotten... her out of there.”

Neely nodded. “I know... but what happened. What happened to UPS?”

“They’d driven her mad. She’d always been difficult, she was so angry all the time, and she didn’t like anyone who got too close to me,” Neely smiled sadly and nodded again. “She’d always had a problem with UPS, though.

“I don’t know how, but she finally escaped from them. Ahren thinks they knew what she would do and they let her out. We’ll never know the truth. But, she got away from them and she called the base. UPS talked to her, and he came to me. He said my sister was alive, but in grave danger and that we had to go right away to get her.

“We rushed to save her. We sent out the call for help, but nobody else could get back in time, so it was just the two of us. That was ok, it had been just the two of us many times before.” Neely smiled again, remembering the many times she and UPS had fought together. They’d been a good team. Even better when Strif and Celestial Nav was with them.

“We found her hiding in an abandoned building in damned Siren’s Call. She was so frightened.. Or she acted that way. She cowered from UPS, and wouldn’t let either of us near her until we finally dropped our shields. He didn’t think he had anything to worry about from a fellow ghost, and I didn’t think I needed to be afraid of my own sister, my own twin. We got her standing, she was so thin, covered with bruises and scars... there didn’t seem to be any danger in her. Then UPS turned away, to check our escape, and I saw her eyes cut to the left. I glanced over to see what she was looking at and I saw.... something in the shadows. It was shiny and metallic.”

Keely paused, and her struggle was obvious. Neely reached out to take her sister’s hand and squeeze it. Finally Keely spoke again, “If I’d reacted faster, maybe he’d... maybe things would’ve been different. I wasted the time trying to figure out what I was looking at. We... didn’t have that much time. UPS said it was time to go, then he turned back. I guess he saw where I was looking, and he didn’t worry about what it was... it wasn’t supposed to be there, and he acted. Even then, it was almost too late for me. I saw movement back in the shadows, then she attacked me. UPS grabbed me and threw me out of a broken window, out of the building. She... she meant to kill me. I could see it on her face.”

Keely stopped, and Neely could see tears in those wide blue eyes. She jumped up and ran for a glass of cold water. Keely sipped, nodded gratefully, and spoke again. “At first I just saw the purple flair of the attack... then it was like a war zone. Explosions, gunfire, laser fire. I heard the sound of fists and I saw snow and ice flying out like a winter storm.”

Keely sipped her water again. Neely squeezed her sister’s hand and said, more a statement than a question, “The Shades were there with her.”

Keely nodded. “I was hurt, myself. It took me too long to get up, to get my defenses back up. But even then, even knowing it was at least five of them against him, I thought they couldn’t hurt him. He was UPS... we all thought nothing could kill him. But he’d never managed to get his shields back up. Even then, that man could take the punishment, but they never let him get his feet back under him. He came flying backwards out of the window, before I could even try to help him. He was covered with blood and bruises, cuts and burns. He plowed into the gravel, didn’t even try to break his fall... he was hurt so badly and she... she came after him. She... changed to dwarf and she... crushed him. He was there, I think his back was broken, and he still looked at me and told me to run, to get away. He wanted, even then, protect the Ghosts. She landed on him again and he... I never...I can’t.... ” she stopped, she looked up at Neely and took a heavy breath. “She stood on his body, and she drained the last of the life out of him. Like a nictus would’ve. But then the Ghosts arrived. It was far too late to save UPS, and she changed... she changed back to human form and...” Keely stopped, breathing hard and fast, and swallowed hard. “His body lifted into the air, and I watched her take the very last energy from him and form it into an essence. It was the very last insult, to take the energy from the man she’d killed, our friend, and turn it against us. Ahren... I think Ahren lost a piece of his soul just then - he’s never been the same. Then they all came out of the building, Death Shrowd, Shattered Ice9, Ebony Rose... and Cowboy Nightmare must’ve been there, though none of us ever saw her. They fought us, but I think they knew how badly they’d hurt us already, and before too long they fled. Oh, Neely... we all depended on him so much... We haven’t been the same without him.” She took one deep wavering breath. “They were both dead, too far gone to help. UPS and my sister, both just laying there. I don’t know who killed her. I never asked, I never wanted to know which of my friends killed my sister. But, then... I knew even then that whatever hand finished her, the Shades killed her. They broke her, they caused her death, even if...”

Neely suddenly looked away as a horrible thought occurred to her. One she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of before. “You knew she was dead?”

Keely frowned, “Yes. We were certain of it. We were wrong... but we were very confident of it.”

“How did you know?”

“I was told by someone I shouldn’t have trusted. I made a foolish, reckless attempt to go to the Rogue Isles and bring her back, but I was told that she had already died.”

“Told... by whom?”

“That assassin, you’ve heard of him... Bounty-Killer?”

“Oh [censored]!” Neely jumped up. “No! Nonono! That [censored]!”

Keely jumped up as well. “You too?” At Neely’s nod, Keely began throwing on clothes.

They spoke together, their voices so similar that if not for the one word difference, it would have sounded like one voice. Keely said, “You’ve got to go back!” as Neely said, “I’ve got to go back!”


Bounty-Killer
Pocket D

Bounty-Killer stepped out of the elevator into the red neon glow of Pocket D. The club was busy that night, bustling with energy and good cheer. He made his way up a flight of stairs to a bar in the back, where the slender, tattooed Jonnie was serving drinks with a friendly smile. He approached and settled onto a vacant stool, catching her eyes and smiling when she nodded at him. He watched her work, reflecting that she tried very hard to make herself unattractive, with the abundant tattoos, the short spiky hair, the ill-fitting clothes, but she was such an innately pretty girl that despite her best efforts, it showed.

“What’ll it be, hot stuff?” she said.

“You know what I like,” he drawled back.

She laughed; a pretty, crystal sound that sparkled through the noisy air.

He liked Jonnie, but he worried that she wouldn’t be acting as messenger for very much longer. She had become the worst kept secret in the Rogue Isles, and rumor was that the information that passed through her hands was not secure any longer. Some said she had started a side business, selling information as well as passing it from hand to hand. If that rumor reached the wrong ears, Jonnie would not have a long life ahead of her.

Jonnie returned with a frothy beer and a cocktail napkin. “Four bucks,” she requested, and held the drink until he laid the bills on the counter. They were carefully and neatly stacked, but hidden within the four one dollar bills was a one hundred dollar bill.

“Keep the change,” he said, as he used two fingers to push the bills across the bar. She nodded and set the beer on the napkin before making the bills disappear into her apron.

Killer lifted the beer in his right hand and sipped as the nimble fingers of his left hand slipped between the folds of the napkin and withdrew a folded scrap of paper. He palmed it and made it disappear into an inside pocket of his flowing trenchcoat.

He sat, enjoying his beer, until he became aware of eyes on him. He turned and arched a brow at the redhead sitting around the corner of the bar. She was obviously a metahuman, in her skin-baring outfit of orange, yellow, and red. And some innocence in her expression made it clear she was a hero... the Rogue Isles tended to beat the innocence out of even the most idealistic in very short time. He suspected she recognized his face, so he lifted his beer to her, smiled his most charming smile, and sipped again. She blushed and looked away. Killer’s arched brow rose even higher when he noted Jonnie approach the hero with a beer and a napkin and wait patiently for payment before handing over the drink. The hero wasn’t as smooth as Killer had been, it was not hard to notice the awkward way she handled the transaction. She glanced from side to side, and then withdrew her own message from the napkin. Killer set his drink down as he noticed her start to open it. He moved fast, for her sake, for Jonnie’s sake, for everyone who found Jonnie to perform a useful service. He smacked his hand down on top of hers, covering the message. He leaned in close, adopting an attitude of seduction for any who might be watching. Her wide-eyed expression quirked the corner of his mouth.. He pressed his lips against her ear and whispered, “Not here, not now,”

He gently plucked the message from her hand and trailed his fingers along the neckline of her shirt. With a single pat, he tucked the message into her neckline, then turned away, retrieved his beer from the counter, and vanished into a dark corner. A glance back towards the bar revealed the shaken hero waiting for the elevator that would take her back to Paragon City. He smiled, sipped his beer, and leaned back to disappear into the shadows.

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Oh, I'm aware of all the options. If anything else, I'll just pay the $10 to move the toon here. But it was worth checking to see if there was anyone who was making a move to Freedom. But I'm guessing anyone who'd want to move there, wouldn't be coming to the Protector forums.

No worries though, $10 isn't too big a price to pay to make all my Protector toons very, very happy.

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Can... Can you make all MY protector toons very very happy too?

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Seriously... Sooner needs a sugah daddy!

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Sugah Daddy? To an OU fan!? NEVAR!!

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*gasps in horror*

You're not a.... no no... it can't be. It's too horrible.

Tell me, please... tell me... you're not *shudders and whispers* a longhorn?

*faints at the thought*

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Oh, I'm aware of all the options. If anything else, I'll just pay the $10 to move the toon here. But it was worth checking to see if there was anyone who was making a move to Freedom. But I'm guessing anyone who'd want to move there, wouldn't be coming to the Protector forums.

No worries though, $10 isn't too big a price to pay to make all my Protector toons very, very happy.

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Can... Can you make all MY protector toons very very happy too?

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Seriously... Sooner needs a sugah daddy!

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(Oh... and I'd buy a Rikti Monkey Plushie too... )

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For serious....

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How about making 2 shirts available?

Shirt 1 would have 1st Place on the front with 3rd place on the back.

Shirt 2 would have 2nd Place on the front with 3rd place on the back.

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O_O

YES PLEASE!

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I have the money, but move to Freedom (or any other server)? Eww, no can do, no way no how. I'd help you work on earning cash here before I'd leave fair Protector.

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*Walks up to Ice9*

/EM Panhandle

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Dude... I've been tryin that for almost 4 years.... *sigh*

Seriously, OP... good luck to you. Sorry to hijack your thread.. but... ya know... Welcome to Protector?

I want the 3rd place shirt! Make runs of all three, please?

Homecoming Part I is posted in RP.

What is a dream? Is it nothing more than overnight mental housekeeping? A message from the subconscious? A story concocted by the waking brain from the chaotic images drifting through the unconscious mind? A warning from the fates?


Neely
In a different Paragon City

Neely moaned and rolled over in her sleep. She slept in a warm and comfortable bed in a world she hadn’t been born to. Her dreams always brought her back to her home, though not always happily. This dream was murky and dark. She saw everything through a deep purple fog swirling with agitated frenzy. She could just make out a man fighting against a formless evil. She knew him. She loved him like a brother, and hadn’t seen him for months. He was dead in her adopted home, and she missed him fiercely.

Her sleepy agitation grew as she watched UPS 2.2 fight in her dream. He always seemed undefeatable. He had protected her so many times, placed himself between her and danger. He kept her, and countless others, safe. She wanted to reach him, to help him, because she knew this time it would be different. He was in grave danger that he didn’t see or know. This time, someone needed to keep him safe.

She pushed her way through the purple fog, step by slow step, like trying to fight through a marshmallow. She made her last push through, the fog lifted and vanished, and she could finally see him clearly as an ugly, evil beam of green and white light lanced through the darkness. It struck UPS and flared around his body in a fiery corona. His face twisted with pain and his body arched back. The green light seemed to eat away his strength. In her dream, it withered him away, stole his life. He turned to her, his brown eyes filled with agony. His mouth opened but before he could speak, an ugly spiked weapon marked with a red Arachnos spider struck him. Rather than skid off his defenses as it should, it sliced into him, laid open his chest. Her dear friend collapsed, his body vanishing under a rising pool of blood.

She sat bolt upright in bed, biting off a scream, and stared into the darkness. Even her Kheldian half was upset and worried. UPS was dead in this world. Why was she dreaming a warning about him?


Keely
The Shades of Vengeance base

In Keely’s dream, she slept in a huge, soft bed, not a tiny, hard cot. She was snuggled under a thick feather comforter and soft flannel blankets, rather than a single thin sheet. She wore comfy pajamas - a cotton tank top and shorts rather than a plain grey prison shirt and pants. In her dream her belly was full, her room was warm, and the house was filled with friends, relatives, and people who loved her. Her sister was in the next room, but she was never alone because of the Kheldian who had bonded her. The Kheldian who was sane, stable, and kept Keely from making stupid decisions. In her dream, she was safe and happy. Her dream was nothing at all like her reality, but she’d learned to go to that place when she slept.

Something disturbed her sleep and her eyes cracked open. She saw the ugly red light filling the tiny metal room. She let out a single whimper and determinedly closed her eyes. She pulled her thin blanket up to her chin and sank back into her dream, where a delicious breakfast would be waiting for her.

She could almost smell the pancakes when a tiny sound penetrated into her sleep. She sat up, eyes wide, pulling the blanket around her like a shield. She was a prisoner of evil people who meant her harm. The fact that she’d had a respite from the abuse, starvation, and terror that had been her life for months did not mean it couldn’t resume at a whim from her captors. Her Kheldian half was broken, and at the awakening, it began to scream and gibber in her head, but the red light - based on void slayer technology - kept it and her powerless.

“Go away...” she whispered, “please go away.”


Razor 6
Shades of Vengeance base

Razor 6's dreams were as fragmented as his memories and life. He remembered being four men. He remembered dying twice, and having another man’s DNA forced painfully onto his own twice. He remembered being a small time thug, a powerful hero, a twisted villain, and now...he was Razor 6. Awake, he was rarely sure of what memories were real, which were truly his and which were impressed upon him, or one of his other lives. Was he really street thug Paul Smylie? Hero Ice9? Villain Shattered Ice9? Or was he truly Razor 6, and all that came before just the bedrock for his new world?

In his dreams, he always saw a woman. Sometimes she was a beautiful woman with a soft heart and a deadly blade, sometimes she wore a scarred face with dead eyes, and a cold, twisted heart driving that blade. He remembered loving her, both of her, but nothing more of her. He dreamed of flying above the Rogue Isles when he was struck down, he dreamed of falling and breaking on the rocks. He remembered another death, one that made little sense - he was beaten, brutally beaten to death... by himself. He dreamed of screaming in agony as injected DNA remade him from the inside. It was like being burned alive while being electrocuted. It was like being crushed, it was like every bone was broken at the same time and reset. And that had happened to him twice - even through all his fragmented memories, he remembered that clearly... not once, but twice he’d been put through that agony.

For Razor, his dreams were never restful. He woke often, and took the opportunity to review his plans. He would remake this world as he had been remade. It would be his. And everyone who had stood in the way of any of his lives would suffer and die. It was a long list, and he truly didn’t care if some of the fragmented memories meant that not everyone on that list deserved to be there.

On this night, he startled awake, and after taking the usual few minutes to sort through his confused memories to remember which version of himself he truly was, he began to refine his plan. The Ghosts Reborn... they had placed themselves in the way of his plans, and they would all pay. Each of them would suffer at his hands before they died. His mind held personal memories of many of them, though he now knew that those memories had never truly been his. Nonetheless, the events of those memories were real, even if they had happened to another man.

To take out the Ghosts, first they had to be weakened from within. Their leaders, of course, had to be broken. But UPS 2.2 was their strength. They one and all depended on him, and he had achieved iconic status among the Ghosts. If UPS could be killed, it would leave a hole in the ranks of the Ghosts Reborn. And now, with information coming to him from within the Ghosts, he knew a way. It would be the first step to eliminating the barriers to his plans. UPS, then the Ghosts, then Paragon City, then Arachnos and the Rogue Isles. And from there... the world would be his.


Ebony Rose
The Shades of Vengeance Base

Ebony Rose slept fitfully as well. Since she had accepted her place in the Rogue Isles, she had also accepted the perks and benefits of being one of the most powerful women in the Isles. Her bedroom in the Shades’ base was luxuriously appointed and her bed was comfortable and warm. Unfortunately, she found sleep difficult lately. When she first arrived in the Rogue Isles, she was plagued with nightmares. She came to understand that many of those nightmares came from her own conflict with herself as to her place in the world. She’d been given the opportunity to return to Paragon City, to be pardoned and resume her place in academia. She’d been given the opportunity she’d dreamed of, but turned away from it, in no small part because that opportunity required her to betray people she cared deeply for: Shattered Ice9, Cowboy Nightmare, and Death Shrowd. Now Shattered was dead, Cowboy Nightmare had vanished, and Death Shrowd was a rare visitor to the base. That left only her to hold the reins of leadership. Razor had stepped in to resume the place that Shattered had held, but it became clearer by the day that Razor would never be Shattered. She’d tried so hard to bring him back, but instead she’d simply brought a stranger into her base.

Conall still wanted to step into Shattered’s place. Their relationship had changed in ways she didn’t understand since the day he rescued her from an insane “hero,” but she knew he was still a definite threat to her power. If there would be no return of Shattered, perhaps she should let the demon have the place he wanted? She felt in her heart that if she allowed Conall to assume power, she would have a strong ally at her side. No.. No... if Razor ever did finally become Shattered - a hope she never gave up completely - his place would be waiting for him.

She lay staring into the dark, idly rubbing her flesh hand over the cybernetic arm that had replaced the gleaming prosthesis that Six-Four had ruined. That artificial limb had become a symbol of her own life: it was not what she would have chosen, but she had made the best out of what she had. And she would hold onto what she had with all the strength of both her hands.


Cherished
Paragon City

Cherished had had the same dream at least once a month for as long as she could remember. She’d been forced to buy special fire retardant sheets, pillows, and mattresses because of her alarming tendency to burst into flame when it was especially bad. Awake, as an adult, she could hardly remember the Rogue Isles at all. But at night, in her recurring dream, she could see it clearly.

In her dream, she was wakened by her father. He was already carrying her younger sister, Sable, and Sable was whimpering and crying into his shoulder. “Candis!” he called urgently, “Wake up, baby girl! Wake up!” She saw mommy appear in the door with duffle bags thrown over her shoulders.

The dream skipped ahead to her family fleeing from the house as the front door began to boom and shake from the pounding. Sable was crying even harder, and Candis clung to mommy’s hand, too confused and frightened to even ask what was wrong.

Mommy pulled her faster than she could run, and she stumbled after. Daddy came behind carrying Sable - who was too small to run, looking back over his shoulder. That’s how she always remembered him. Her dream self had inflated their pursuers to monstrous proportions, and monstrous shapes. She remembered their pursuers as giant spiders chittering and skittering after her family, even though she knew they must have been just regular arachnos troops.

They made it to the docks, to the boats, where a nervous man paced the dock in front of a small ship loaded with people fleeing the Rogue Isles. When he saw that his last passengers were bringing Arachnos down on him, he immediately began trying to cast off. Mommy ran faster, dragging Candis behind, but Daddy, burdened with a sobbing child, was tiring and fell behind. Every time Mommy slowed, he urged her to hurry.

Mommy made it to the boat, but the man tried to stop her from getting on. Mommy actually tossed Candis aboard and turned back to her husband. She reached back to him and her youngest daughter as the Arachnos began to fire. Candis screamed when she saw a bolt of blood red light strike her father. He fell, rolling his body around Sable’s to keep her from getting hit. Mommy was torn between her daughter on the boat, and the rest of her family, and then Daddy screamed at her to “Go with Candis! Go! My cherished ones! Go!” Mommy was crying and she turned and leapt onto the boat too, even as the man cursed at them and threatened to throw them both overboard. Cherished still thought he might’ve, too, if he’d had the time. Instead, he put all his energy into getting away from the docks. And fortunately for everyone on the boat, the Arachnos paused to take custody of at least one of the Murphy children, even as the other vanished into the darkness. Cherished never knew if her memory of her father being executed there on the dock was real, or her own horrifying imagination.

She popped awake then, as she often did, with her body bursting into flames. She managed to quench the flames before she burned up another mattress, but the memory was enough to keep her awake. For years, she and her mother had hunted for news of Sable. It was just recently that Cherished learned that her younger sister had joined the ranks of Arachnos. It was a cruel blow for someone who had become a registered hero of Paragon City. How could she possibly be expected to fight her own family?

Her unease was not relieved when she and Sable finally reconnected. The risk her sister took to communicate with her was terrifying. She had resigned herself to the loss of a sister she barely remembered, she could not reconcile herself to potentially losing her now that they had finally found each other again.


Sable Murphy
The Shades of Vengeance base

If Sable and Razor would have discussed their dreams, they would have been strikingly similar. Sable had believed a certain truth her whole life, and when she found out it was entirely a lie, she found herself unsure of who and what she was.

Her dreams featured earthquakes, collapsing houses, swaying rope bridges and other obvious references to her uncertain past. She’d believed she was an orphan, abandoned by parents who hadn’t cared for her, and rescued from the streets by Westin Phipps. She’d been raised as a ward of the state until she was taken in by Arachnos and started being trained intensely.

Now she was an elite soldier, one of very few women to wear the crab’s backpack. And she learned that rather than an orphan with no family at all, she had a mother and a sister in Paragon City. Careful planning, investigation, bribes,and research all lead her to a story very different than the one she’d been raised to believe.

More careful work found her a contact of a contact that could put her in touch with her sister, and they’d begun exchanging letters. And that was when Sable made a mistake that could have cost her life: one late night spent drinking with her fellow soldiers, Sable found herself and Razor 6 the last two awake. They had talked until nearly dawn. He had confided in her his plans for a new world, and suggested that she might have a place in it if she were with him. And Sable had confided that she had a sister, a hero, a member of the Ghosts Reborn.

This is the last of my already completed stories that I’m reposting here. I hope you enjoy it.

As always, comments are welcome.

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There is a prodigious amount of back story both from my previous stories and from the writing of Ice9.

As Inigo Montoya might say, “Let me 'splain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up.”

Shattered Ice9 and Razor6: Ice9 was a founding member of the Ghosts Reborn who was defeated during Statesman’s attack on the Rogue Isles. He was believed dead. However, his body was recovered by Crey who used his DNA to create Shattered Ice9. Shattered believed with all his heart and soul that he truly was Ice9. Meanwhile, the actual Ice9 was left to die in an abandoned Crey facility when he was found by a wounded Kheldian. They bonded to save each other, and became Glacius9. Glacius eventually decided to put a stop to the evil being done in the name of Ice9, and laid a trap for Shattered. During that confrontation, Shattered was killed. Ebony Rose found Shattered’s body and took it to the same doctor who created Shattered. The procedure did not work quite as well and the newly created Razor lacked the ice powers of his predecessors, though he retains scattered memories of both Ice9 and Shattered Ice9.

Neely and Keely: Twin Neely and Keely were both bonded by Kheldians, Neely with a Peacebringer and Keely with a Warshade. Keely was captured by Ebony Rose for an experiment Shattered Ice9 was conducting on Kheldians. She has remained a prisoner of the Shades since then. Initially her treatment was brutal, as Shattered was attempting to break down her will to make it easier to extract the Kheldians. With the disappearance of Shattered, Rose declared the abuse would stop. In the meantime, Neely made an attempt to rescue her sister. During that attempt, the assassin Bounty-Killer led Neely to believe that Keely was dead. He did this to protect her, as he knew there was no way she could hope to get in and out of there safely. Even with his interference, Neely barely escaped being captured by the Shades herself. She fled and found her way to Technician Naylor’s portal. She used it to go to Steel Canyon without realizing she had traveled to a different dimension. There she found a different world in which Keely had bonded a Peacebringer, and Neely’s dearest friend, UPS 2.2 had been killed by Neely’s alternate self.

That should get you started. If you missed the previous stories and want the full background, you can find links to them here: SpiritVerse Compilation Thread.

My son is getting married that day.

I should probably go to that.

I like it.

Happy Birthday T!

/afk - my dogs are trying to kill each other.

...this happens far too often as I have two dogs who never learned how to back down.

There are a number of "unchangable" things I'd like to see us be able to change.

For instance... When selecting the buff pet for my tech origin Robotics/traps mastermind who's origin story states she's a former MIT student.... my arm slipped and I clicked on the Wisp Pet instead of the Drone pet. It bugs me.

Do I use it anyway? Yes.
Do I really wish I could change it? YES!

Anyway... there are a lot of things we can't change that I really really wish we could.

Origin, height, and vet powers are all on that list for me.

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*sets up the Never-Ending Supply of Milk (plain, chocolate & strawberry flavored ) Drinking Station*


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Pax! Milk isn't good for puppies!

... but then.. neither are oreos...

or beer, for that matter...

*shakes head and wanders off*