Synth_EU

Thanks for the reply Shadower, much appreciated. I'd just like to clarify something.

Are you asking me to play the villains you've mentionned (which I'm happy to do, if you need someone to play them) or were you asking me to provide your characters with another villain? I could have been clearer in my original post, but my thoughts were based more around partnering up players existing heroes and villains as rivals.

Thursday Evening - Headliner's POV

Headliner stopped by Pocket D's for a drink and was dissapointed to find only two familair faces, Love Angel and Mesoc ,the latter of which he barely knows. After a bit of small talk the conversation turned to a friend of blue bombshell Zeyna (I hope I got that right) being attacked and almost [censored]. In one of the purest signs that heroism still lives, every nearby hero expressed a desire to help find this criminal. Enthusiasm waned slightly when it was revealed they were an incredibly powerful demon, but Headliner insisted that if you hit something hard enough, it goes down!

Zeyna left to track down the sister of the demon in question and Headliner offered Arrow Azure some advice on enjoying a drink while still keeping his mask on - the black and blue garbed archer leaving soon after for 'business'.

Two people arrived in short order - rock sensation Dee Dee Diablo and the woman Zeyna had left to find - Cinderfall . Diana, aided by Dee Dee, began a somewhat halting interrogation of Cinderfall as to the whereabouts of her brother while Headliner stood in the back and did his best to look menacing.

Number Nine arrived just as the discussion was becoming heated and Freddy motioned for her to join him at the back. The two agreed that they would look menacing together, but seeing as neither Diana nor Dee Dee got the information they wanted Freddy decided that people didn't find him as threatening as they did when he was supercriminal Laugh Riot . Well, duh Freddy.

Freddy and Nene began to chat, shortly joined by Big Lunk and Dee Dee. Ben told Freddy he could get him some work as security in the Unity Vigil, but Freddy still can't get Zorielle Rolando's (see, I know what it is) right! With Dee Dee's influence the conversation soon became very disturbing, and Freddy was struggling not to laugh at her wisecracks, as part of his therapy includes making an effort to laugh less at 'negative humour'.

Conversation also touched on the media hi-jacker Jargon and his possible intentions before Nene and Dee Dee left to attend to a somewhat depressed Diana. Ben suggested to Freddy that he get back in shape if he wanted to work for the Vigil, the implication that he was no longer as good in a fight as once was hitting a bit close to home for Freddy.

They were joined by Ben's pregnant wife, Summonness , and they discussed Freddy becoming a godfather and whether or not he will ever have a family of his own with his long time girlfriend The Tormentress . Beccy (Summonness) also mentionned the fact that Freddy wasn't in the same shape as he was during his Laugh Riot days. He left soon after, slightly hurt by their comments that he couldn't hold his own in a fight anymore and that he wasn't likely to enjoy the same sort of married life that they did.

((I will be more involved, I will be more involved, I think I can, I think I can...))

Very nice, can we expect any more?

Paragon City Post, Page Six

Masked Media Bandit!

As many television watchers witnessed first hand this Wednesday, the Channel Six news at Ten O'Clock was interrupted by a masked man calling himself ' Jargon '. His broadcast was frequently interrupted by flashes of disturbing images and sounds, including a crying baby and a beehive that had been set alight. He spoke with a distorted and warped voice in order to further hide his true identity.

The self styled ' Jargon ' claimed that he was issuing a warning to the criminal element and that they would no longer find sympathy or forgiveness. An extract from his speech follows.

"Citizens of Paragon City, your regular broadcast has been interrupted. Do not adjust your sets. Listen to the sound of my voice and all shall become clear. The cruel and the misguided will be delivered unto you, to never stand trial."

No other channels were effected by this hi-jacked broadcast and a representative of Channel Six stated that they were in no way affiliated with ' Jargon '. If this man is the latest hero on Paragons streets, this reporter thinks he'll still call out for the likes of Zortel or The Crimson Archer if he needs help.

-Article by Faith Calahan.

Hey folks. Good to be back after an unplanned two month hiatus (don't we all hate our ISP?) and looking to really get my hands dirty. But I'm also hoping to work/play more with other people in the community, and (hopefully) people that I've never really had the chance to roleplay with before.

I was thinking about the wastest character opportunities there are between hero and villain side - it's something thats been discussed before. There isn't enough interaction between the reds and the blues because of the logistics of, I suppose. The thing I think is the biggest shame is that they're rarely "paired off". I know of very few villains who 'belong' to a hero or SG as it were, in that they are big enemies and butt heads often. Most peoples heroes seem to have NPC major villains, which is fine, but it seems a pity to miss out on such great roleplaying opportunities.

So I thought I'd just put this out there and see if anything comes from it. I've got a new villain who I'd really love to develop as a major and/or frequent enemy of a particular hero (a particular SG would be even better), that isn't one of my own heroes. If anyone is interested in gaining an IC enemy for their characters, let me know.

This thread can be used for other people to partner their characters, if the idea gets anywhere. It just seems a pity that apart from the occassional rivalry we see so few Hero and Villain clashes.

Damn, this is a blow. I think I can safely say that you made the biggest impression on the community in the least amount of time out of anyone I've ever come across. You will be sorely missed, and I hope we get to chat again sometime.

-Synth

Rogue Isles Protector, Monday, Morning Edition. Page Six.

"In the early hours of this morning, the dedicated Rogue Isles Police Department acted on a tip-off that an abandoned house in the Darwin's Landing district of Mercy Island was being used to store large quantities of the street drug known as 'Dyne'. Responding with swift efficency a team led by officer Jessica Black arrived on the scene and investigated.

After performing an initial sweep of the property, Officer Black determined that the situation was a matter of military concern and Arachnos troops were quickly radioed in.

Officer Black had this to say; "Being a police officer in the Isles isn't like being a cop anywhere else. You see a lot of sick things, but that house was something else. The Skulls had set up a base in there and were sorting through the massive supplies of Superadyne, and we even found some Chronodyne in there. But the Skulls were all dead, murdered in a very brutal way. Whatever killed them, it happened recently."

Unconfirmed reports also suggest that a great deal of technological equipment was found. This equipment and the severl varieties of Superadyne found in the house are currently being processed by Arachnos.

Chronodyne was a variation of Superadyne developed by Doctor Edward Me...(Continued Page Seven.)

[ QUOTE ]

But relying on 'bleed in' from real world situations is lame.

[/ QUOTE ]

In your opinion.

Not using the resources and situations available for any self respecting villain (or hero, businessman, politician, heck anybody at all) is just foolish and negligent. Granted, it's important that there be more creativity present than "Burma has a lot of problems and political unrest, so the LoRD's just slide right in." But first off, having read the forum RP these guys produced and secondly having spoken to most of them at some time or another I have faith that they'll cook up something suitable.

If they ignore real world situations all together thenit could be argued that they're narrowed their scope onto the successful countries of the Western world which is, obviously, not *world* domination. If they're planning to take over the world, they're going to go after the unstable countries sooner or later. And it makes sense for those to be the countries they target first.

Some people may not be comfortable with real suffering being exploited for the sake of literature or roleplay, that the fictional people of a real country be harmed in some way. But if that's the case, then you need to stop watching action movies, reading the majority of comics and a hell of a lot of good books.

I'm quite intruiged by the willingness of people to allow alternate version of their characters to be played by someone else. Colour me interested. I'd certainly love to take a stab at some of the more well known characters in the community, but I'm more interested in this from the point of view of the challenge. I don't think I've ever been "given" a character before in an MMO, in the sense of not coming up with them myself. Definately sounds interesting.

As an actor myself, I find this particular line of debate very interesting. A number of times, on stage, I have been cast as the villain. This is difficult in one respect, in that thinking of yourself as a villain goes against our nature. And then, as a good actor (or writer, or roleplayer) you realise that no villain really thinks of themselves as a villain. They think what they are doing is okay, right, or for the best. Otherwise why would they do it, unless they have a mental condition?

Once for a play, I was cast as a pedophile. You can't imagine... well, you probably can... how hard it is to relate, to get into the head, of a character like that. But as Loup said, the mark of a good actor is the ability to dip in and out of a character, a persona, without bringing the character into themselves, or themselves into the character.

Someone asked how we do this. The answer would naturally be helpful to roleplayers, in that they could use the same techniques for the same effect. I think Loup would agree that it's actually pretty hard to explain. Once you realise that you can do it, it's almost like you forget how to do it. You just can, all of a sudden, and all the steps you take to get there become second nature.

If people want to try acting exercises though, they can range from taking five minutes to go through your characters routine in the morning, to doing a hotseat style exercise by asking the character a lot of questions, and quickly trying to come up with their answer without thinking about it too closely. At the end of the day though, everyone has their own way of doing things. Using my training as an actor helps me get in character for roleplaying, but the methods I use won't work for everyone.

In regards to which villains work best in social situations, I think personally that it's the ones you don't realise are villains. I have one character like that. They manipulate people, use them and abuse them for their own goals. But nobody realises that they're really doing it, and everyone seems to like them. That, in my mind, is evil. The continued abuse of trust, with full knowledge of what you're doing. But at the same time, they don't believe they're doing anything wrong. They think they're working towards a greater good. Do the ends justify the means? They think so.

Just my rambling two cents while I am, admittedly... drunk.

Strange. Every time Sarah thought she had found a gap in this other psychics mental defences - and there were quite a few - it almost seemed to cover itself up. Either her opponent was extremely skilled or something else was going on here. She furrowed her brow and renewed her attempts to find a way to work her hooks into the mind. She could tell it was a woman. And powerful. It was impossible that anyone could be as powerful or skilled in the mental realm as herself, of course… but this one was strong. If she kept preventing Sarah’s attacks before she had time to launch them then she might have to take a more direct approach…

***

Psychosis stood on the escalator as it slowly travelled upwards, the simple music they played into the mall pinging in the background. Whoever this person was they were almost impossible to find. She could tell she was here somewhere, but pinpointing her was like trying to thread a needle. Every time she thought she had her she slipped away. And every now and then she would feel a whisper, the slightest of touches probing along her defences. Whoever this person was they were definitely skilled, Psychosis had never known another psychic to use their abilities in the ways this person was. But Psychosis had her ace up her sleeve. Her powers had been enhanced genetically and had developed a secondary mutation. Her mental defences were self-adaptive. They would react to threats without her having to divert her attention to them.

Wherever this person was hiding, she would find them. Even if she had to do it the old fashioned way. She stepped off of the escalator and looked around. She stepped forward and began to walk along the storefronts, glancing into each one as she continued her mental search as well. No one in the book store, the shoe store, the sporting go-

A baseball bat was levitating in the doorway of the sporting goods store and swung out, catching her around the side of the head and sending her sprawled across the floor with a pained grunt. The bat floated towards her and raised up to strike again but she glared up at it, stopping it where it was with her telekinesis. She could feel the power driving the bat push once experimentally, then it dissipated and the bat fell to the ground. Psychosis pushed herself to her feet and touched a finger to her lip where it was split open.

“Show yourself. I don’t have any interest in hide and seek.”

And surprisingly, they did. A woman stepped out from a corridor on the other side of the walkway. She was slim, and carried herself with an arrogance that implied either power or stupidity. She was wearing smart glasses and a white fedora. Black shoes, black trousers, a black t-shirt and a white trench coat that had obviously had the sleeves ripped off at the shoulder.

“Afternoon.” The woman nodded coldly.
“Afternoon… and you are?”
“Afterlight.”
“Oh, a hero. Cute.” Psychosis smirked.
“And you?”
“Psychosis.”
“How two dimensional of you… psychosis, you’re a psychic. If that’s as far as your wit extends this shouldn’t take very long at all.”
“Watch who you speak ill of - I am an advanced being.”
“I can only assume you mean a mutant.” Afterlight said, her disdain clear.
“Mutant is a term we have been branded with by-”
“Oppressive humans, yes, I know. I’m a mutant as well.”
“Then you should join us. We are part of a new age, the time of humans is past.”
“So are you of the all humans should die way of thinking, or do you believe we should use them as cattle? Because either way, you aren’t paying enough attention.”
“Attention? To what?”

All of the glass in the windows behind Psychosis cracked and shattered, the shards flying together to form splintered grenades with sharp edges on every side. A half dozen of the deadly missiles floated forward and began to orbit Psychosis.

“You spent so much time monitoring my telepathy that you forget about telekinesis. Someone hasn’t been practicing.”
“You arrogant [censored]. You don’t stand a chance.”
“I’ve dealt with worse than you. You’re just a bigot. I’m going to show you how a psychic handles themselves.”

The glass grenades all drew back in unison before rocketing inwards. Psychosis raised a force field around herself, the missiles exploding against it and glass flying everywhere around her. “Is that the best that you have?” She asked, but… Afterlight was gone. Invisibility of some kind, or perhaps… no. She could feel her mental defences re-forming themselves. Somehow she had slipped past them…

She blinked and Afterlight was there again, now on the same side of the walkway as her and walking confidently.

“I can see you.”
“I really don’t care.”

Psychosis frowned and launched a mental attack at Afterlight, the heroine shrugging it off. It was if she had somehow… sidestepped it. How could you dodge a psychic assault? She tried again and again, the air between the two women humming with invisible energy, and each time Afterlight somehow evaded or deflected the attacks.

“How are you doing that?”
“It’s called skill, dear. I suggest you learn some.”
“Skill won’t save you against my power!”
“Power? Well, alright then.”

Psychosis blacked out, and found herself staggering backwards a moment later. Whatever had just happened, Afterlight had just shown that she was a much greater threat than Psychosis had first thought. She had somehow overwhelmed her mental walls with one attack, and if not for her adaptive defences she probably would have been defeated right then. Steadying herself she sent out a telekinetic wave, and the fight really began.

***
“Daymare, have you seen Psychosis?”
“No. You’re distracting me.”
Twilight frowned. “She has to be somewhere.”

Just then a figure came crashing down from the walkways of the floors above and smashed through the wooden stage. They were followed quickly by a flying woman in a white coat who swooped down and landed gracefully on an undamaged part of the stage.

“Does this belong to anybody?” She asked the assembled crowd casually.
“Hero!” Twilight roared. “Taurus, Aegis, stop her!”

Afterlight uttered an arcane incantation and flung her hand out at the advancing mutants, a bolt of energy blasting them back.

“Some of us don’t just rely on our natural abilities. You should tell your pet psychic that if she ever decides to pick a fight with me again.” She said arrogantly.
“Tell her yourself.” Twilight leered.

Psychosis rose out of the splintered wreckage of the stage. Her hair was in disarray, blood poured freely from her scalp and a large splinter of wood was impaled in her right shoulder.

“I understand now. You’ve bastardised your gifts, your supremacy, with magic.”
“It’s called ‘diversifying’.”
“Twilight, Daymare, join me in stopping this witch.”
“Gladly,” the withered, charcoal skinned mutant nodded.
Psychosis grinned in triumph. “Any last words?”
Afterlight nodded. “What colour is the dawn?”
The grin on Psychosis’’ face vanished. “What did you say?”
“I asked you - what colour is the dawn?”
“Wh-… where did you hear that?”
“A mutual friend. Tell me, do you know what the word is for two diametrically opposed points?”
“What are you babbling about witch?”
“It’s ‘antipode’.”

Afterlight shouted an ancient command word, arcane energy flashing out from her hands and smashing into Twilight at the same time as she unleashed her mental reserves on Psychosis, hitting her with the full strength of her power. Psychosis screamed and flung out her arms, channelling her own enhanced power against Afterlights.

Sarah’s eyes widened as she fell backwards, toppling off the stage and collapsing on the ground. Psychosis fell from her levitation and gasped for air. She had almost lost. If not for her enhanced powers…

There was a crash from somewhere in the mall and the sound of an angry roar. Twilight picked himself up and looked around. “Illucid, what was that?”
“The one they call Headliner…”
“Damn this! Psychosis, we’re pulling out!”
“I… have to… finish her…”
“Leave her, we don’t have time and she’s too powerful to take prisoner! This mission has been compromised!”
“No, she-”
“No! I’ll carry all of you out of here if I have to, but we’re leaving! Illucid, gather the others before that brute makes a bigger mess of things! We’re done here!”

This was... annoying.

Sarah set down her bags carefully and moved out of sight, into one of the corridors that led to the toilets. It was a sign of who she was that she hadn't immediately moved to stop the mutants, or leapt to the aid of the other hero. Instead she had waited and watched, shielding her mind from detection. She was obviously dealing with at least one accomplished psychic here. Otherwise this could have been ended by now.

No, instead of changing into her costume and rushing out to save the day she stood quietly and thought. Illusions were useless if they had another psychic to dispell them. Calling for help was futile until this psychic was out of the way. Manipulating the minds of the criminals served no purpose until their psychic was unable to protect them.

That was it came down to, this other psychic. Sarah could feel her presence, sense the power of her mind. She was strong. But if there was one thing Sarah had, it was confidence. Leaning against the wall she shut her eyes and began to work, in the manner she was best suited.

It was not a rush of energy, or a sudden attack upon the mind. A slow, gentle seeking. Insidious mental creeping with the intent to get her hooks into her targets mind before they were aware. It was time to show these activists that she knew just who they were, and what she could do to them.

Besides. She always had her trump card...

[ QUOTE ]
Hmmmm maybe, but then it still means one less monster to scare the normal folks, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

There's nothing to say they would only be hunting demons and evil monsters. Benevolent dragons, unicorns, fae, angels etc. etc. There are good 'monsters' that I'm sure are just as, if not more, valuable.

I'm throwing around a couple of concepts right now, so I may join. Looks good Brit.

That would be best. If the interested parties want to talk about it more in private we'll have to make do with forming a team, or finding a secluded spot in game and doing it through Local.

You're all free to join EdgeOOC, but I had to leave it. I had to join the RPRoundtable channel, and I had five global channels as it is. It sucks, but I have too many globals, so we can talk about itin RPRoundtable if that's alright with everyone.

Like Loup said, I don't want the numbers getting too big. The level of interest we have is great, but I think more than twelve charaters and it loses its feel, and also becomes difficult to manage.

I'd like to apologise to Loup, Hand of Battle and Sword of Redemption if they read this. My sudden exit last night was a result of sudden real life news that I had to react to immediately. Sorry for disrupting RP.

Okay, thanks for all the response guys. The general consensus seems to be that people would rather have this as more of a sort of 'secret order' than a supergroup, a group of heroes who can contact each other when the need arises, for those times when they think a villain just has to be stopped.

But it also sounds as if Tyger is working on an idea like this already, but more in the vein of bringing back an old group. So I'm going to follow up on Loups suggestion and create an ingame channel to discuss this. Anyone who is interested, send me a tell in game, @Synth, and I'll invite you straight away.

I am pretty tempted now, though bad supergroup experiences in the past have me playing it cautious. This group, as you said, should be fairly small, so recruitment wouldn't be a big issue. But at the same time, more than two or three would be nice.

If anyone is interested in this idea, can they send a tell to me @Synth in game? Or send me a PM through these forums. Thanks.

[ QUOTE ]
do you ever ask a 5 word question without more than 5 words, synth?

[/ QUOTE ]

I do my best not to Lunk. I like words.

That's basically what I'm interested in, something that's done well. Not "Yeah, I killed a criminal today." But for the option to be there for the very worst of criminals, that our characters believe could never be reformed.

If there isn't an existing Supergroup like this, I would be open to the idea of making a new one, but I'm aware that I can't run a group by myself. And only if there was sufficent interest.

Thanks for the reply Loup. I don't want you to misunderstand me though, I'm not talking about sociopaths or villains. I have villains, and I enjoy roleplaying them. I also have heroes of the more Super/Spiderman vein, in that they don't believe the ends will always justify the means.

Naturally, being over the top and obvious about the fact that often, frequently, sometimes, occassionally or however often it happens your character is willing to step across that line is a fast way to make sure no one wants to roleplay with you. It just wouldn't make sense. I know that if my two main heroes, Headliner and Afterlight, heard a 'hero' proclaiming they were happy to kill people, and did so frequently, then they'd investigate and act accordingly. They'd never just accept it, despite both having checkered pasts themselves.

I suppose The Punisher wasn't the best example, since he's known for what he does and in the Marvel universe is one of the worlds most wanted criminals because of it. But he was the first example that came to mind, so I apologise if it was misleading.

The reason I asked is that almost all the powersets, particularly ones like Broadsword, Claws, Fire Blast etc. have the potential to be lethal, but are often treated as not being so. So I was considering making a character who sometimes (not necessarily all the time) would be willing to cross that line. I was curious to see if there were others out there who had thought the same or similair things.

Thanks for the feedback, and I'm happy for more.

I've been thinking about something for a while, and at one point did ask around a bit. But I wasn't able to come up with very much. So, naturally, I'm taking it to the boards (which I do check, despite my abyssmally low post count...) in the hopes that someone will be able to answer my question.

To the best of my knowledge, and I'm very willing to be corrected on this, the best known and/or most active Hero Supergroups are The Silent Tempest and The Unity Vigil. Possibly The Militia, I'm not sure if they've reformed in character yet, but that's just down to my own ignorance. If they're back - then them too!

I know, or have at least spoken with, the leaders and members of those three supergroups.

Coile, who OOC is very levelheaded and good to talk to, and IC I don't know as well as I'd like, but seems to struggle with very complex issues, personal relationships and still try to be a hero.

Zortel, who I had a great chat with the other day about what the line between homage and plagerism is, and IC is the hero of one of my own heroes.

And Brit, who is very dedicated to the community and is running the Supremacy plot alongside Shadow Phoenix. Which I've just gotten Headliner involved with. Er, the plot, not Shadow Phoenix. Not that he isn't a great guy, it's just... nevermind.

These three people and their supergroups are all great, and I have characters that would easily fit into any one of them. Although all slightly different, they all do follow the theme of traditional, upstanding capes (although the Tempest members do have a shadier reputation) who are out to catch the bad guys and save the day.

My question (yes, I've gotten there finally) is, are there any "alternative" heroic groups out there? By that I mean groups with more of an 'Outsiders' feel, and a bit of a Punisher ethos. To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any heroic supergroups that operate on the line or outside of the law, using deadly force and believing that criminals are just better off dead.

Can anyone enlighten me on this? Have I missed out a very well known and respected supergroup, revealing my own ignorance and lack of experience on heroside roleplay? (It's been mostly villains for me.)

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I kept spelling Tempest with an extra T in there, which changed the meaning slightly...

Headliner charged into the rampaging crowd of Supa Trolls, lowering his head and ramming his shoulder into the first one he made contact with. Grabbing it around the waist he tackled it to the ground. A big pair of hands grabbed the back of his t-shirt and pulled him back up, the rest of the group turning on him. A fist connected with the side of his face and sent him staggering into another Troll that punched him in the gut. They piled on, all jumping on him and hitting whatever part of his body they could reach as they dragged him to the ground, the plain clothed hero disappearing under a mountain of green.

The panicked residents of Skyway City all fled from the super powered brawl, well used to the rampages of the Supa Trolls and the heroes who tried to stop them. But a small group didn’t flee, they moved in to get a closer look.

“Mike, get that camera rolling, I don’t want to miss this! We’ve got a great shot of Headliner here!”

The young dark haired female reporter ran forward, her camera crew close behind. The media had been following Headliner ever since he was pardoned for his crimes as the meta-criminal Laugh Riot and gained his hero license. Some of them wanted to show him as an inspiring example of redemption, others were hoping to catch him make a dangerous mistake and show his true colours.

“Have we got the shot? Good, okay. Let’s go.”

The reporter took a deep breath and faced the camera, as behind her Supa Trolls went flying into the air as Headliner surged to his feet from under them.

“This is Shelly Hartford reporting for PCL News from Skyway City where we find ourselves watching a familiar site, members of the ‘Trolls’ gang on a Superadine induced rampage of violence and destruction.” She said as Headliner ripped a mailbox up from the street and smashed a Troll across the head with it. “As you can see, by his towering stature and the trademark H emblazoned upon his chest, the Trolls are being challenged today but none other than the controversial Headliner, former meta-criminal Laugh Riot.”

Headliner wrestled with one of the massive Trolls for the mailbox, letting go of it and driving his fist straight through the metal to punch the Troll on the other side. Letters spewed out onto the street as the green titan fell to its back and Headliner ripped his arm out of the mailbox.

“Having seen Headliner capable of defeating some of Paragon Cities most inspiring heroes during his criminal career this reporter has no doubt that this mob of the so called ‘Supa Trolls’ will prove no match for his mammoth strength and endurance.” She turned briefly to look at the combat as Freddy was pushed against a wall by the combined effort of two Trolls. Once against the wall he pulled his arms free from their grip and grabbed their faces in his huge hands, pushing off the wall and roaring out his frustration as he slammed the Trolls to the ground. “Indeed, as we can see, Headliner is making short work of his opponents. Headliner is a known Mutant type meta human, which explains not only his unusual size but also his incredible strength and near invulnerability. But has he truly changed from the terrifying masked indi-wait, I think the conflict is coming to an end. Let’s move in for an interview!”

The crew rushed forward as Headliner got off of the Troll he had pinned to the ground and been pummelling. He let out a great sigh and pulled off his bandana, running a hand through his dark hair.

“Headliner! Headliner, Shelly Hartford, PCL News! A few questions please!”

The huge man turned to look at the reporter and her camera crew, smiling tiredly. “Alright, so long as its quick. And please, call me Freddy.”
“Excellent, yes, Freddy. Tell me Freddy, do you feel you’ve accomplished something here today?” She asked, shoving the microphone way over her head and practically into his beard.
“Well, of course. I won’t deny that there’s been a bit of collateral damage, but compared to how things could have been… well, I’m just glad I was able to do what I could. Maybe now these young men can get the help they need.”
“And did you enjoy it?”
“Pardon?” He asked, politely confused.
“Did you enjoy fighting the Trolls, Freddy? Footage of you in the past shows you greatly enjoying fights with super powered individuals.”
“…I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the fight, Miss Hartford. I enjoy helping people.
“And if this allows you to legally fight others all the better?”
“No, that isn’t what I said.” He frowned. “I take joy in using my abilities to help people, not to hurt them.”
“When working as the criminal Laugh Riot however you -”
“Miss Hartford,” he said firmly, “if you wish to know about my past, there are plenty of news stations and newspaper who have already run extensive investigations and analysis on me. Is there anything else?”
“Oh, of course Freddy.” She smiled prettily. “How do you feel about the opinion of certain individuals and groups that you are an example of why there is such distrust for mutants recently?”
“I… me? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Certain people are of the opinion, Freddy, that the fact that a mutant criminal now fights on our very streets under the protection of the law is a sign that mutants are receiving unfair special treatment.”
Freddy sighed and rubbed his beard, trying to think of the best thing to say. “Miss Hartford, I understand that I’ve become a bit of a controversial figure. I don’t blame people for not trusting me. But bringing the fact that I’m a mutant into the issue doesn’t seem relevant to me.”
“Would you care to elaborate?”
“Well… I’m just a man. The same as any other man. I made mistakes in my life, terrible mistakes, and now I’m trying to make up for them. Every man has, or will, be in that situation at some point in his life. My mistakes were just bigger, Miss Hartford, that’s all.”
“Some would say that is because of your mutant abilities.”
“I won’t deny that because of my powers, I was in a position to make those terrible mistakes that I probably wouldn’t have been otherwise. But you can believe me when I say that I didn’t make the wrong choices I have because I was a mutant, being a mutant only put me in the place where those choices had to be made. It’s the same for all mutants, or anyone with special abilities. We have more to offer than most people do, both for good and bad.”

There was a silence for a moment as Shelly and her crew thought over what Headliner had said, some of them surprised that he was making so much sense. He wasn’t what they had expected at all. But then a gleam came into Shelly’s eye, and she held back a smile.

“Freddy… Headliner. Headliner, are you saying that you believe mutants have more to offer than non-mutants?”
“In the sense that we can do things non-mutants can’t, yes.”
“You believe that mutants can do greater things for the world than non-mutants?”
“Because we have these abilities it me-”
“You believe mutants are superior?”
“I never said that, if yo-”
“Headliner - are you of the opinion that non-mutants, normal people, are inferior to you?”
“Miss Hartford, you’re putting words in my mouth, I just meant that we are born with natural gifts that people like you could never even dream of.”
The young reporter raised her eyebrows and stared up at Headliner. “People ‘like you’? As in ‘you people’, Headliner? Was that a racist, a mutant supremacist, remark? Can we quote you on that?”
“What? Wait, no, I just meant that you could never do the level of good for this city that people with superpow-”
“I’m incapable of doing good, Headliner? Because I’m just a normal person, not as ‘evolved’ as you?”
“Stop twisting my words, I won’t put up with it. I never said anything like that.”
“Calm down Headliner, no need to get angry, we don’t want you backsliding.”
“I am not angry, and that isn’t funny!”
“Right Mike, cut. We’ve got our footage, we’ll be on the news by six o’clock tonight. Thank you for your time Freddy.”
“You can’t show that, you made - come back here!” He called after her, but Shelly Hartford and her camera crew weren’t stopping. He threw his bandana to the ground in frustration. “I should’ve kept my big mouth shut.”

{Talos Island, Sarah Jones' Appartment, Early Tuesday Afternoon}

"There you are on the news again Freddy." Tina Onders grinned, sprawled across the sofa and flicking through the television channels.
"What am I today," Freddy Jones asked, "The despicable monster Laugh Riot or the all american example of a second chance, Headliner?"
"The grinning monster."
"I seem to be getting a lot more negative press that positive lately." The huge man grumbled as he bent over double to look in the fridge.

Sarah walked in from her study, pushing her short blonde hair back from her face. She seemed exhausted, and it was no surprise. She was spending every waking minute recently researching something in her study, head buried in ancient texts and arcane tomes. It was rare for her to don her costume and hit the streets as Afterlight these days. She said that something didn't feel right, as though she sometimes caught herself thinking the same thought twice at the same time. It didn't make a single bit of sense to Freddy, but Sarah had always been the genius.

"Hey sis. Haven't you got any food?"
"You ate it all Fredderick." She sighed, pouring herself a glass of water.
"No, I thought I saw some leftover Chinese in here."
Tina grinned. "Freddy. You ate that."
"Did I? How about some potato chips or something?"
Sarah shook her head. "Frederick, I love you like my own brother."
"I am your own brother."
"Lucky for you. Because you keep eating all our food, and despite my slender physical frame I do actually eat. Or rather, I did, before you got here."
"Cut me some slack." He grinned disarmingly and started searching the cupboards. "My place is in the Isles, organising transport is hard enough as it is. It's nice to know I have somewhere to come for a bite to eat."
"That's why they invented fast food Freddy." Tina quipped. "So what are you going to do about all this bad press?"
"I don't really care about it to be honest. Sticks and stones can't break my bones, and names won't ever hurt me either. I'm more worried about all the anti-mutant stuff on the news."
"I'm worried about it as well." Sarah nodded. "It's always had its ups and downs, but it's especially bad now. It's even spreading to other metahumans. If people see a superpower these days, and they can't see a piece of technology to explain it, they assume mutant."

Freddy nodded and walked over to an armchair that had been reinforced for Sarah and Tina's heavier guests like Freddy or Big Lunk and sat down. He was a handsome man with strong features, dark hair, green eyes and a rugged beard. It was his size that pegged him as a mutant straight away, he was just too large to be a normal man.

"I might take up that offer to go on that chatshow."
"Frederick, it will only make things worse. Those people can twist your words." Sarah frowned.
"I know sis, but I'm pretty good at that myself. It's about time one of us stood up for mutants, without actually going right ahead and blowing something up in the process."
"And you think you're the man for the job, considering your dark, sinister and hysterical past?" Tina asked.
"Right now Tina it's looking like I'm the only man for the job."

Yes, but we live in a post world war two society, where not all villains have to be communists or nazi's. People, as readers of comic books, want more from their villains now. They want depth, they want backstory. They want to sympathise with them... but still feel good when they get their butt whooped.

It's a hard line to manage as a writer, and even harder as a roleplayer where you aren't in control of the situations your character often finds themself in. It's hard to make a classic villain like "Red Skull" or "Darkseid" sympathetic. That's why those villains, although great, are not as widely used as they once were.

Tastes have mutured, and so have we.

As I think Big Lunk was getting onto, his main character Big Lunk, and two of my characters, Afterlight and Headliner, both know the nature of this plague. So as soon as it becomes common knowledge, they'll all make public statements to the press informing Paragon City of what is going on, who is behind it, and how to be cured.

I agree with everyone that Gash/Professor Terror is seriously godmodding this. You can't just infect someones character with a disease without their consent. It would be like me having Headliner destroy all of the Terror nodes without checking with you first.

The fact of the matter is that you're violating the game canon, showing poor roleplaying etiquette and are stubbornly refusing to accept anyone elses views on the matter. I've heard what you have to say, and while I agree that it isn't fair that people often deus ex machina their way out of situations, it doesn't give you the right to deus ex machina other peoples characters INTO situations.

Welcome, always glad to see more roleplayers flocking to Union. As has already been said, Union is the unofficial roleplaying server, so its probably the best place for you. We have the same problems any MMO Roleplaying server has, but we have a lot of really talented people who make up for it. If you want a helping hand, private message me in the game on the Union server via @Synthet.

Hope to see you around soon.