The_Ninjin

“Are you serious, two minutes? These are supposed to be some of the hardest ones.”

“Hard as in hard or hard as in durrr.”

“Whatever man, that’s pretty amazing though, you gotta admit. Some of the hardest Sudoku puzzles and you do em in minutes.”

“Eh, I guess math was my thing.”

Travis Wester balled up the piece of paper that was his Sudoku exercise and leaned back in his rollaway chair for a shot into a nearby trashcan, “He shoots, he-“

“Oooh, what a miss,” Travis’ co-worker, Preston Fields, responded as he stood up to pick up the paper ball and throw it away properly. He sat down and let out two large sighs as if he had just finished running a marathon.

“Taking out the trash a little much for you,” Travis smiled, his dimples deep on the sides of his face.

“Screw you man,” Preston readjusted himself in his office chair, “Not all of us can be track stars like you.”

“Didn’t run track. Coach tried to get me to, but... sports was never really my thing. Seems they should have been yours, “ Travis burst into a fit of laughter and cringed at the reaction of Preston who had picked up an empty soda can on his desk and tossed it at him.

If you were half the man I was... your kind just don’t understand,” Preston said and shook his head.

“Umm... first of all, I am half the man you are,” Travis raised his hands in innocent surrender at Preston’s snide look toward him, “And secondly, Pres, come on man... you’re a great guy. We bag on each other everyday. What is all this about my kind and understanding what?”

Preston sighed, “Nothing. Its just... I wasn’t always like this,” he responded quietly and twiddled with the pen on his desk.

“I know,” Travis stood up and walked across the way to Preston’s cubicle, “I saw the pictures,” he finished and picked up the small frame that held a smaller version of Preston from a few years ago.

Preston snatched the frame away from Travis and set it back on the desk. He stared down at the carpet and didn’t say anything. The floor they worked was almost completely filled with cubicles, with the exception of a few offices for supervisors and the front desk when you walked in. The carpet was gray and dreary, the ceiling was creme colored and all you could hear were either the numerous voices of telemarketers trying to get their latest customer to purchase whatever Tharomar Enterprise had to offer next. Most people actually listened and bought something, while others just hung up.

Travis’ 6'3 figure took a step closer to Preston and loomed over his friend, “Do you need a hug,” Travis opened his arms wide with a fake inviting smile. The sleeves on his white button-up shirt slid up as he waited for a return gesture.

“I don’t know,” Preston replied without looking up, “I guess I just don’t feel... special anymore. Everyone seems to be... better than me. I just want to wake up one morning and know that I have a purpose. Something... like a destiny.”

Travis opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the man they dubbed the Taskmaster. He had been standing nearby unbeknownst to the both of them.

“Your destiny is in these phone calls you were supposed to have already made. Last I checked, these calls don’t make themselves,” the overbearing supervisor glared angrily at Travis and Preston as Travis sauntered back to his desk and sat down.

In the same quiet mode, Preston replaced his headset back on his head and opened up his database on his computer, “I’ll get right on it,” it was barely a whisper.

“See that you do,” was all that was said before the Taskmaster moved on down the hallway of cubicles.

Travis shook his head and put his headset on as well, “Jerk,” he muttered as he turned towards Preston one last time before going back to his work, “we’re going to talk about this later,” he mouthed with the assistance of slang sign language that he made up as he spoke.

Monica knocked on her boss’ door and open it just enough to poke her head in. The ends of her layered sun-colored hair waved under her face. She always had a look of urgency on her and never went anywhere without a notepad, clipboard or both.

“Sir, don’t forget you have a sit down with a Chairs today,” her tone was very soft and subtle, respectful. She wasn’t more than twenty-two.

Clarence looked over from behind his briefcase that was open on his desk and cocked an eyebrow, “As if I could actually forget it,” he annoyingly responded, “I planned the meeting. Come back when you have something I don’t know.”

“Yes sir,” Monica’s expression of being in a hurry still did not change. She closed the door quietly and nearly knocked into Ethan McCourd when she turned around.

“Oh, I apologize,” she said and kneeled down to retrieve the notepad that she had dropped, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Ethan replied easily, “just... watch where you’re going.”

Monica hustled past Ethan and further into the office mumbling more apologies.

Right outside Mr. Thomas’ office was a medium sized brown desk, large enough to accomodate two people. Vanessa, who had been sitting behind the desk t the time was on the phone when Ethan came for his impromptu appointment. Ethan cleared his throat to get her attention. Vanessa looked up at him and stared for a moment before making a move.

“Mr. Thomas, Ethan McCourd here to see you,” she said into the intercom.

“Send him in.”

"Cut our losses and get replacements immediately. I don't want much press on this," a stocky balding man turned in a large executive leather chair behind his desk to face his two secretaries. They were rapidly writing notes that Clarence Thomas was saying during the private meeting they had everyday.

"Cut and replace, yes sir," Monica, one of the secretaries replied.

"Will there be anything else, sir," Vanessa, the second secretary, asked.

"No," the boss's deep and booming voice resounded all oer the office, "That will be all for now. You are dismissed."

Without saying a word, both women smiled and hastily left the office, notepads under their arms as they Vanessa closed the door behind them, picking up their shoes that were outside the door.

Clarence Thomas, fifty three years old, CEO of Tharomar Enterprise, relaxed into his chair and turned back toward the large expanse of windows that took up an entire wall in his office. The snowfall increased since earlier that morning. He wondered how may employees would end up trying to call in tomorrow due to accidents, being snowed in, cars not startting, or whatever else they may come up with.

The thought put a scowl on his face. He hated excuses. For every excuse made was just another reason he used to put himself above the others. Eighteen years strong, Tharomar Enterprise has been on the market in competition with Crey Industries and the Portal Corporation. Not necessarily for all the same reasons, but competition was competition.

And Clarence Thomas was a competitor.

More than anything, his motto was "by any means necessary". Everything had to be perfect. If there was ever a time that it wasn't, someone would take the fall. Always. Failure was not an option.

Clarence spun back around in his chair and faced his glass desk again. The desk was spotless and sparse, nothing on it except a computer, a small briefcase that he never went anywhere without, a coffee mug that rested on top of a glass coaster and a video phone with intercom. The room was extremely spacious. There wasn't much in the office. Clarence liked it that way. The walls were bare white and matched his white carpet. No one came into his office with shoes on. In front of his desk were two small white suede chairs on the outside of a glass desk that laid in between the two. On one wall there was a bookcase centered and filled with various literature of his success. Tabloids, articles, magazines, books, eerything written about him was lined up inside the bookcase. On both sides of the bookcase hanged two frames. One on side was a framed dollar, the first one he had ever made when he had started Tharomar Enterprise. On the other side was a check for the first million he had ever made.

This was how Clarence Thomas lived. Simple, private, and in control.

So it seemed.

He leaned forward onto his desk, his hands in the pyramid position. This was the time of day when his mind did most of his creating. He was interrupted by an email notification from the computer on his desk. It was from a business associate.

Clarence,

Everything has been done. Now fulfill your end. Inform me as to when eerything is complete on your side.

-M

Clarence smiled, right on schedule, he thought and pressed the intercom button on his phone.

"Vanessa."

"Yes sir," was the response.

"Get me Ethan McCourd in here immediately and also send me a list of all of our employess for a rsoter update. I Know we have gotten an influx of people here lately. Its time we do some updating."

"No problem."

Clarence sat back in his chair and smiled.

He was thinking of money.

((Ok, have at it... asking for the roster is moe or less looking to see who's going to be working here. Like I said, you can work any position. Matter fact, I'll take a VP... if you do decide to be on the Chairman's board (which will be talked abouut later) let me know in a PM so I can fill you in on a couple things... specially if someone decides to be a VP. Be whoever. Be Tharomar!))

I intend to write, so individual characters will either be left out as they fail to post, or written for with permission. This isn’t intended to be cartoonish, so I would appreciate not blowing things up or smashing things or being too over the top. It’s an open forum, so you can ultimately do anything you want, but I would appreciate the younger or more flamboyant posters reigning it in some. ((Thanks Av)) There won’t be too much reason for god-moding considering none of us have powers... yet, so I wont expect to see that. Below will be a few guidelines.

Guidelines:

(1) There are no powers for beginning posters. This will come at a MUCH later time. This thread is about power discovery. There aren't even any heroes or villains in this city... yet. They have been heard of in the news, newspapers, magazines, word of mouth when touring other cities, but they do not exist where this RP will be taking place. Its your usual run of the mill crime base here. So it seems, for now. Concentrate more on the your character and who they are to everyone else. Now, if you have you are the type of person that loves to fly planes (flight) or loves to tend to gardens (plant) or spend a lot of their time in the gym lifting weights (super strength) then show that. You are allowed to foreshadow as to what power you may begin to receive but you cannot have it when you start posting.

(2) Once this thread reaches a certain point, others that join (if we are at a place of pwer discovery) may have already discovered something within them as well. And this doesn't have to be some inset power that you just gain. You can get it in whatever way you want. it could be that you are an adept, or you have been working on some power suit or experiment for years or maybe you fell into a green vat of chemicals... whatever it is, I'm cool. And your character doesn't have to even have a power. You can be the friend of someone that does or you can have some general fear of heroes and their powers and hope you never go through any of it... all up to you. For now, try to limit yourselves to about 3 characters. Once you've established yourself or gotten comfortable enough in the thread, then feel free to bring in more.

(3)This thread, like I mentioned earlier, is more about the character development and the drama of everyday life. Most of us have jobs or are stay-at-home parents or are in school. Whatever the case may, create an environment for yourself to be in, to live in. Try your best to somehow be able to incorporate it with some of the other posters so that there is some type of togetherness in it.

(4)Tharomar Enterprises - a large big corporate business that is in competition with Crey Industries, Portal Corp. and Aeon Corp. Tharomar Ent. is not in Paragon City or the Rogue Isles. It is in a city outside of Paragon, yet to be named...((open to suggestions right now)) still trying to think of something. I will be posting soon what the zones will be called and what they will be like in comparison to zones from CoV and CoH. Not too far from Aeon Corp. This is where most adults will work or be affiliated with in some way. If you are in school, then your parents work here. One or both, doesn’t matter. Anyone can work there. I will be there. There will be one NPC for now, that I will control. He will basically be the CEO. However, this business will not last long as you will see in the future. I recommend as many people as possible join into the business and just make it your job. I know some of you would rather write about someone who is in High school or something to that effect and thats fine as well. Tharomar Enterprises has its hand in almost everything in the city, about as much as Crey does. For the sake of arguing, Tharomar is going to be on the verge of becoming the biggest corporation out there. The schools, the merchandise, the law enforcement, wall street, they take ownership in as much as possible; so job opportunities are practically endless. A corporate mafia so to speak. For now, when you come to work, feel free to make your own positions. I'll even look forward to a janitor at some point. Start at the bottom floor in sales or be up at the top where the decisions are made. Once a few posts go through, you'll see what I mean.

(5)Remember, this is a drama, so think about your favorite network's evening lineups and get creative. Create mystery and suspense. Have secrets. Let there be ridiculous amounts of twists and plot turns. Coordinate with each other for relationship bonds for the good or the bad. Team up on posts. Do whatever for the good of dramatic pretense. In all things though be cool and have fun.

This was something Spectral and I kicked around, wanting to find something not normally RP'd about. Any questions, just let me know.

And Welcome.

All I ask is that no one posts before the intro post done by either me of Spectral... which will be sometime later today.

Drone lifted into the air and continued, "If you wish, I can explain this on the way. If you don't wish to help, then don't bother me with questions."

Tormentil had opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it and closed it.

Tearing his fake flesh off, he frowned and said back to the demon, "Are you coming or not?"

"As long as you do not continue to rip yourself apart, I will oblige," the ebony colored demon responded.

A soft whirring resounded near Tormentil. The ground beneath him pulsated with invisible shockwaves that pushed him several feet off the ground. He floated effortlessly in the air. The shockwaves continued to pulse under his feet like a heartbeat.

"Shall we?"

At Grandville's inner sanctums, the battle raged unlike what he had seen earlier. Black Widow stood at the entry way to her Master's tower and fended off anyone that dared to try and enter. Tormentil always admired her powers as they, in some ways, were similar to his. He descended onto the ground behind a tall stack of crates that were waiting to be shipped.

He watched as two spider-like beings closed in on an unaware Black Widow. She had concentrated on so much that was going on in front of her, that she hadn't been able to concnetrate on her rear enemies, had there been any at all.

Both alien intruders pointed their hands at Black Widow's side. Their pulse cannons charged. This caught evil empress' attention as she turned just in time to see a massive steel crate sideswipe the two humanoids.

Black Widow looked in the originating direction of the crates starting point and saw Tormentil hovering in the air, with one arm outstretched to the fallen enemies and his other powerfully holding another crate inches in front of him.

The Widow's eyes narrowed at the well-dressed demon and scowled, "If I wanted your help, I would have asked for it."

"As you wish," he simply replied and relased the crate of his anti-gravitational power. It fell to the ground with a loud thud. Piece of the steel cube scattered amongst the ground. He wa sure she was unaware of the hulking alien about to come up...

"ARGH..." Black Widow writhed in pain from the armored hand that began to crush her in its grasp. The not so jolly red giant raised Black Widow over his head and proceeded to smash her onto his knee. He never got the opportunity as she was whisked away by one of Lord Recluse's teleportation syncs that had triangulated onto her.

Suddenly, a bright light flashes over Paragon and the Rogue Isles.

Tormentil shielded himself from the light. It had gone as quickly as it come. When the demon looked again, everything he had seen before was now different. There weren't any more battles. There were only other residents of the Isles. Standing, sitting, leaning, dying villains spread about with an unanswered amount of aliens at their feet.

Interesting, he thought, I wonder if Paragon experienced the same predicament.

Tormentil pulls out a small crystal-like orb from inside his coat and holds it out into the air, the same pulsating shockwaves emitted underneath it. Almsot as if he were waiting for something to happen, the tansparent ball gave off an irridescent glow that flashed an cloud-shaped image in front of him. The visual was of Paragon City's Talos Island. The same destruction had happeend there as well. The scenery fdaed into Atlas Park and inside City Hall. There he saw a number of damaged heroes that were weakly rallied behind Statesman.

Satisfied, Tormentil retireved the orb and placed it back into his pocket. Below, he saw Drone and descended towards him.

"Well, this doesn't seem to be just here, but in Paragon as well. I imagine whatever's clever decided that this initial attack was not working. I imagine we should probably look for some strong reinforcements. I'd go home, but... where's the fun in that," Tormentil smiled to reveal a white set of teeth that bared two pairs of fangs.

“Ah, the innocent confidence of youth,” Newton said. “Don’t underestimate those around you. You never know what they may be able to do.”

Aidan pointed at Newton as if to say Bingo, "My point exactly."

Newton walked over to Sting. “Now, this isn’t any sort of order. I know better than to order you. I’d have all sorts of extra holes in me if I did that. Would you be willing to go with Rocky here downstairs and work on the portals. After my last experience with them, I really don’t want to go into another one.” He shuddered. “I have a couple things I want to take care of up here.” His green eyes flickered towards the outside door.

"Aidan, my name is Aidan," he said with a smile. The Rocky thing was starting to rile him up a bit.

"And what's this about a portal?"

Newton glanced over at the other two. “Sounds reasonable,” he said. “Let’s head to the conference room.” He said, motioning towards one of the rooms off of the main entryway. “Would you like something to eat. I’d offer you some cold pizza, but for some reason, it has disappeared.” His green eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Actually," Aidan began, "We uhh-"

“Wait a freaking second! These two attack us in our own house, almost bringing the place down, and we are going to invite them for tea?!? How about we beat them senseless and then interrogate them?”

Behind Aidan, Nadia stomped up the stairs with fury. Aidan stopped her with a stone hand and held up a finger that told her to wait.

Sting saw the look of exasperation on Newton’s face. “Oh %&#$! Ok fine, we’ll play nice with them. But one false move and someone gets perforated.” Sting grumped as he marched into the conference room and sat down in the corner, arms crossed.

"One word. One more word," Nadia mumbled, "I'll either bury him or practice melee with his ugly mug..."

Aidan turned around harshly, "Nadia, cool it."

“Don’t mind Sting,” Newton said calmly. “He threatens to beat up everyone who comes into the Two Six.” He raised his eyebrows at the two youngsters. “You are aware that you decided to crash in an old police station, aren’t you?”

"Well considering it has the look and feel of an old police station," Nadia said matter-of-factly as she pushed passed her brother with an eye out for Sting, "Yea, we had a clue," her attitude was shifty. Aidan liked it better when she played the scared twin who came out two minutes after he did at birth.

He raised his hands. “Don’t worry, we’re not cops or anything like that. I mean, look at us. Green haired fat man, dude with sword, and anti-social bug man. We aren’t the cops. Just a group of misfits that the court system didn’t know what to do with.”

"Its not the cops we're worried about," Aidan said with a little worry in his voice. He saw a trusting nature in the controller's eyes, but it wasn't something that Aidan was going to fall for... just yet.

"Yea, cops don't really care for our kind. They leave us to," Nadia opened the refrigerator and bent down inside and came back up quickly with a Mountain Dew, "other enforcements. Mind," she asked without waiting for an answer and opened the can.

Aidan looked at his sister and shook his head. She looked back at him with an "I'm innocent" shrug.

"Dude with sword is still confused as to where Mystic and the Golum went and why we were attacked. I don't mind saying, if that portal that Mystic rigged up is down, we've just left our friend in the rogue islands someplace with no friends but a single golum of unknown origin." Smurd put his sword away. "So if you don't mind, before we get this negotiation underway, I'm going BACK down into the basement to check the portal. If you want to get in my way this time, I'm going to be very angry."

((We aint magic representas... 0o0o0 take that take that...))

"And we care about your friend because why," Nadia asked before she took another sip of soda.

"Nadia."

"What," she placed the can on the counter and spoke loud enough for Sting to hear, "All I'm saying is we're bending to the rules of Mr. Chubbs, Hott Head, and Cocky over there and as far as I'm concerned I could have just let them all die under this building while we merrily escaped."

"Nadia stop it," Aidan's eyes narrowed at his sister as his voice firmed.

"WHatever Aidan. You can be friends with this misfit justice league. But I don't have to listen. I'm done listening. You're too nice Aidan. And its time Twin sis called the shots," Nadia started to walk toward the front doors.

Aidan reached a hand to stop her, but she produced a stalagmite that came just short of his forearm. Aidan pulled back quickly and looked confusedly at his sister.

"And oh yea, your little rock statue left through the front door last night. Guess he didn't like you either," she finished with a turned back as she exited the building.

"What the heck has gotten into that girl? Umm, never seen her like this. It's like a new side of her. I mean, her attitude's shifty, but not like this. And she has never attacked me before."

Aidan pride swelled inside him, "Thats cool though. She wants to be a big girl, I'll let her see what its like."

He turned to Newton, "In the meantime, how bout that portal," he asked as he looked at Smurd who may or may not have heard Nadia's comment about the Golem.

"Hope it doesn't come down to fisticuffs with that guy," he whispered to Newton as he thought of Smurd's role in the situation downstairs, "Don't know what I'd do," he finished with a sarcastic smile. Smurd didn't worry him. Truth was, none of them did. He had taken on heroes before and he would do it again. His traning was, even at sixteen had been extensive, in and out of the battlefield. His father, being an ex-Malta Gunslinger, taught him things that his father's troops weren't even aware of. No, Aidan wasn't worried. He never worried.

He was a little nice though. Maybe sometimes too nice.

((Well this post was aggravatiing... and its SECOND TIME doing it...for the love of the 2-6 ))

He sent out a friendly singularity to find the crazy catatonic controller girl. “Rocky,” he called out to the stone-covered boy, “I have a lock on her. I can wormhole her out of there! If she loses direct contact with the earth, will the earth calm down?”

"No! If she loses contact, then this whole building could fall. Right now she's the only thing standing between us and...this building collapsing," Aidan replied back to the green-haired hero, "Remember the thing about the sleepwalking."

Aidan trudged back up the stairs and to the basement door. He stopped just a few steps short of the top, "Look, I can handle it. Promise. If I'm not back in 2 min, get out of the building," Aidan finished and closed the door.

The young and rock-solid boy went back to his sister. The earth had completely covered her all the way up to her waist. This was worse than the first time. Aidan made an attempt to get close to his sister, but in response, a stalagmite shot up in front of him and nearly pricked his face. The gasses were immense, but his rock armor allowed enough density in his skin that he wouldn't feel the heat of it or inhale too much at one time.

The basement walls began to reverberate and the floors shook underneath both of them. Tables, chairs, and other objects were repositioned, but not much had really fallen over. In the distance, the faint sound of sirens could be heard. Aidan knew he had to move fast.

Nadia, you have to stop.

No, you're helping them.

No, I'm not. They're just not out to get us.

How do you know...

Because they...

DON'T LIE TO ME AIDAN, the entire building shook for moments as she screamed through the link that Nadia and her brother had.

Nadia, listen to me. Please.

No, I don't want to. Not anymore. You don't get it. I can't go back there Aid. I can't, tears began to stream down Nadia's dirt covered face.

Nadia... what would mom and day say right now if they saw you doing this? Remember what happened the first time?

Nadia's teary and angry-eyed face became almost grief-stricken, Mom... and dad...

Yea... mom and dad. Think about them for a second, Aidan said, and inched himself closer to his twin.

The control she had over her surroundings began to subside as her mind filled with memories of her parents. The shaking decreased and the walls stopped moving. Her legs were becoming visible and the volcanic gas was dissipating by the second.

I love them so much Aidan,[/i] her tears were really beginning to flow down her cheeks, I miss them... so... much.

I do too,he said and closed enough distance to grab Nadia's hand. Her white eyes had returned to their normal state with pupils and retinas and brown. Nadia clenched her brother's hand tightly, Hey remember what they use to say to us all the time?

Nadia though for a moment and smiled back, Think before you speak. Look before you leap. Pray before you sleep...

But [color= blue]after [/color] [color= green]you [/color] [color= blue]brush [/color] [color= green]your [/color] [color= blue]teeth[/color][/i], both children laughed as they spoke in unison.

Come on Nadi. Lets go up. I won't let em hurt ya. And if they try anything... well, after what just happened, you really think they'll wanna make you mad? Come on, lets see what they're about. What did dad used to say - 'Aidan, you must first assess the threat,' [/i] Aidan mocked the best he could of his father.

Nadia laughed, Not quite him, but it'll do. Alright, she sighed, let's go up.

Thats my girl.

Her control had stopped. There was fallen debris all over the floor and tables, but with the exception of a few heavy stones thrown about and some damage to the walls, there didn't seem to be much to complain about.

The basement door slowly opened and Aidan poked his head out, "Ok, we learn your story, you learn ours. Then we decide if what happened down there, needs to continue. deal?"

Nadia continued to hold on to her brother's hand tightly.

((Haven't forgotten... been a lil busy. Unable to write as much as I have wanted to. Will post asap))

((Ugh, had an extensive post that ended all this, but i "X"'d the wrong page out.. and lost it... lost the time to do another. I'll redo after I get up. Only a few hours before work. Takin a small nap. Not tryna leave ya hangin...))

I have RP'd with some for a little while now...I've read some threads that I'm not in and kept up with the ones I am...

This will only be to a few of those in AH101:

My biggest thing is an author's (be it movies, shows, books, plays, whatever) ability to allow me to feel something for them. It could be anger, hate, happiness, compassion, frsutration, etc... As long as I can react to a charatcer, then you're doing most of your job already.

Halo - You have the one of the quirkiest characters I've come across lately... and she sometimes can make me smile and shake my head on some "Silly rabbit..." type stuff. You have a consistency about her thats almost uncanny... even with this twisting personality of lost and found identity. I wouldn't have the patience for her and her child-like innocence at times annoys the crap outta me, but thats what I get from it. Its a good character with a steady foundation...

Laz - You and your characters seem to have the least amount of patience, period. There seem like there are certain places in writing or maybe is just certain situational writings that you just "dont want to go there". Your writing style is thorough and complete. It doesn't go all over the place; I sense a lot of control. You can handle writing a lot of characters without mixing up their peronsalities.

Soviet - One-track. The bad thing about that it can be hard to expand into other realms of character types. The good thing about it is its predicatble consistency. Seems I wouldn't have to expect any "surprises" from you that makes me wonder why your characters would do what they did. Everything is gonna fit. The square peg in the square hole. Shoot first. Questions later, lol...

Devious - very well-rounded...

Essex - good consistent detail and feeling in your characters. And I love Nessie. You're a good storyteller with firm initial introductions.

Darkstorm - Sometimes, to me, it seems like you are trying to fit in with your writing versus making the character who it really is. If you have an old cantankerous fool that no one loves at all, be that. If you're this popular young stud with a thing for sports and morning tea, be him. Don't let your characters be adaptable. Then, other characters will have to try and find that writing knack with you... all the time. You have a big imagination and thats great for storywriting. Just don't let it take over your ability to let your characters be who you originally designed them to be.

Ok, thats it for now... Plague, Arashi, M_Dawn, Khell, and the rest... I'll get you guys on the next one. Haven't forgotten tho.

((This thread is back baby!))

“Okay, it’s not just my head,” Newton said, stumbling down the stairs. “Everyone out! I thought we were on pretty solid bedrock, but something’s pretty nasty here!” He looked to where Sting was. “Grab the chickadee and get her out of here!”

"NO," Aidan screamed at Sting, "Touch her now and this entire building will go down. You know how they say not to try and wake a sleepwalker... same thing here. Just get upstairs."

Aidan grabbed ahold of Smurd and began to escort him up the near-shattered stairway, "Here, get some air. We can finish this later... don't come back down here. Everything will be fine. I promise. She just needs not to feel threatened anymore. Seeing you all wont help that."

Aidan started to close the door behind him as he went back into the basement... ((open to whatever here. if no response, then consider him closing it))

**During the Smurd escort**

Nadia's body began to drip dirt from and the tremor from the quake came more violently. Outside the building, passers-by could feel the shaking that seemed to be coming from inside the building. It caused panic in some as they ran away. Others sought shelter while a couple others called their local law enforcement.

As Nadia continued to exert her power, her legs fused even more with the earth and took a dark brown tone. Her entire being was becomming one with the earth. It was something that Aidan had only seen once in a simulation. It was the type of thing that took years and years of of training and she had done it that day because of her anger from finding out her boyfriend had cheated on her. Sting was beginning to find it very difficult to stand in one place.

**After the Smurd escort

"Hey, ya gotta evacuate. Come on," Aidan was having trouble making his way to the last two in the room ((assuming Smurd went willingly)). His body gathered the forces of the earth's surface and grew in mass and bulk. His skin morphed into a granite-like armor that weighed him donw almost a ton. The extra size allowed him to regain control of his footing and slowly make his way to his sister and Sting.

"Grab my hand, quick," Aidna extended a helping hand to Sting. he hoped that he was close. It was harder than ever to see with the thickness of the volcanic gasses.

((Nadia - earth controller (duh). Her powers are mainly fueled by her emotions... and the earth. However, she has had minimal training in her abilites and does not even know how to do what she is doing right now aka "going all Jean 'the Phoneix' Grey". The process is something I'll be explaining later. She's not a 50, but in her 30's.

Aidan - tanker, powered by the sun, earth, and other family members, depending on who it is. Right now, there is only his sister. His strength is increased when he fights near her. Away from her, he is still formidable. At night, he is considerably weaker.

Both have an incredible teamwork ethic and have a mental link to each other's minds. Aidan is the logical, but overly protective brother. When they were born, he stuck his head out to make sure it was cool before letting his sister out first...its that serious. Doctors were stunned. There was a documentary about it. Nadia is emotional and inexperienced at heart. She allows every feeling to consume her versus thinking out an issuefor the better of people and the situation... she's learning.

They're 16.))

Aidan raised the stone malet over his head again for another strike and nearly fell back at its increased weght. He scanned the room and turned up to see the heavy hero with outstretched hands toward him. Aidan responded with a backflip that upon landing, caused a small tremor and mediun sized boulders to erupt from the earth that caused anyone on the ground that opposed him to lose their footing. Aidan roundhouse kicked one of the boulders into the green-haired man's direction...

He landed by the young girl, but hesitated as that annoying ‘self control’ voice reminded him not to try to kill everyone. He sheathed his spines and instead tried to strike her with a modest blow from his fist.

Nadia rolled with the punch, but still cried out in pain. Aidan looked back in reaction to his sister and lost sight of Smurd. She tumbled backwards to gain some distance between her and the new attacker and stared back with watered eyes that were quickly quenched with a fired determination. The a thought crossed her mind - What if these heroes were here to take them back to that orphanage? What if they were some rogue faction that were sent for them? That Nun would do anything for the power of an elemental adept.

"You'll have to kill me first," Nadia said to Sting through gritted teeth and stood to her feet. Her body began to emanate an ominous caramel colored aura that seemed to spread about the room rather than staying within her vicinity.

Smurd panicked. What if the others were ambushed and these villains had come BACK through the portal. His sword was in his hand and he was back on his feet in an instant. "What have you done with my friends?"

Aidan's fist doubled in it's rocky size in order to defend himself against the sword's blade in case the man swung at him. Aidan stayed quiet the entire time. He didn't have a clue what he was talking about anyway. Conversation only led to distraction and he was about to be distracted versus three heroes.

Within moments, Nadia's body had given off volcanic like fumes that nearly covered the entire basement. The misty gas felt like a burning sensation that wouldn't quit as members caught in it also came into the periodical choking fit.

Nadia's hair was floating gingerly in the air as if she was floating. Her body continued to pulse out more of the volcanic gas. It was beginning to become hard to see.

Nadia, chill out. Even I can't see through this stuff. The room's too small and there's no escape for any of it.

They're after us Aidan. They have been all along. They wanna take us back.

What?

They're here to make us go back to that woman and have our powers extracted.

What? How do you know that... I don't think thats what it is...

Nadia didn't answer. She just continued to watch the choking fits of the others.

Die, she thought as a rumbling in the earth commenced. At first it felt like a Tyranasaurus was coming close with each step, but eventually became synonymous with each other.

Nadia, stop, you're gonna kill us all. Lose the quake, don't do this. We can handle this another way.

Tears flowed out of Nadia's eyes, "I'm not going back," she cried. Her pupils disappeared and her eyes went completely white. Her feet merged with the ground and small rocks floated around her like an orbit.

The surface of the basement began to crackle beneath them...

Nadia...

The stone armor in Aidan's body softened and showed his skin once more. He looked at Smurd, I gotta get these guys out of here. Enemies or not, they don't deserve to die today.

"There is nothing you can do now, punk."

"Yea, how you gonna escape this one demon?"

The sneering and jeering of the genetically altered men known as th Freakshow was beginning to become an annoyance to Tormentil. He already had a problem being able to stand the sight of living breathing Swiss Army knives with electric powers to boot.

With a small sigh and rolled eyes, a hovered demon of all black with smoky white eyes flicked his wrist slightly in front of his opponents and all of them were soon hanging effortlessly in the air.

"Hey, what is this demon. So not fair. Let us go. Fight fair, dude!"

"Yea, no kidding, this is not cool. Why can't I move?"

Tormentil adjusted the purple designer three piece suit he was wearing. He was missing a shirt. The purple and black pinstripe outfit had a small hole in the rear of the pants in order to protrude his long and lingering black tail. The dark master smiled laregly and bared his teeth with fangs that nearly resembled that of a vampyre's.

"Gentlemen," Tormentil said with a bow, "If you will excuse me, I have better things to do than kill you."

The demon walked past the Freakshow as they defied gravity and hung in the air. He looked back once more before exiting the small warehouse and tipped his purple Fedora hat that was complimented by a black-falcon's feather off to the subdued enemies.

Tormentil placed his hand on the doors located at a side entrance to the warehouse and turned the nob.

*BOOM*

The Freakshow dropped in a pile on the floor. Tormentil was flown back into a large array of crates that varied in size. His fall broke several of the wooden boxes as he semi-consciously wondered what just happened under all the broken pieces. All of the Freakshow got up to investigate the explosion and were caught off guard by beings of light that made quick annihilation of the electrical villains.

There were three of them. All white. They had not seen Tormentil and decided that the area was clear and walked back outside. As they did a large red creature fell from the sky and landed on the three of them. The white creatures lay still and did not move. The larger creature stood back up and ran beyind the sight of the doorway. He could see a firefight that was unlike he had ever seen.

With concentrated power, Tormentil, master of pain and toment, exploded the air with the array of wooden pieces and other debris that had fallen on top of him. It looked as if the area was raining broken crates. He stood up and walked toward the door entrance. Two white creatures appeared in his way and he swatted at the air in their direction and they were thrown several feet in front of him as he continued to walk.

He looked up into the sky and witnessed several hundred flashes of light fall toward the earth like shooting stars. The entire city of Grandville was being overrun...

Perfect.

Tormentil would have rather thanked the creator of such havoc, but feared he would never get the chance as this opposition knew no friend, but only enemy. Small earthquakes in the form of steps closed its distance behind Tormentil. He closed his eyes and cupped his hands together. His feet were now inches off the ground. The demon spread apart his hands slowly for a few moments before shooting them forward with outstretched palms. A large gaping hole appeared in the sky above him like a rift in time and red armored creature fell down to the earth.

Tormentil smiled and adjusted his suit jacket, "It is best, sir, that we fight face to face as I do not have eyes in the back of my head. I have seen lesser demons with such a privelege but not I," he finished and ascended several feet into the air.

The monster glared angrily at Tormentil and leapt toward the demon. Tormentil had made a quick survey of the area and was already ready for the crimson menace. Behind him, with lightning speed, flew a huge square steel container. The emblem of the Arachnos was on all of its sides. It connected with the monster's gut and sent him hurdling back to the ground with a deafening thud.

"However, you will notice, in due time, that I make up for it quite well..."

Nadia raised her palms off the ground and the ground hardened again. She stood and looked over her shoulder. Aidan nodded with determination and took several steps forward that turned into a jog, which turned into a sprint.

Nadia raised her right foot and placed a firm amount of power in her legs and stomped her size 8's into the ground. They implanted inside the cement and it cracked open in front of her. From the crevice in the earth popped out a boulder that formulated into a stone hammer.

As the stone flew effortlessly into the air, Aidan dove forward and caught the hammer at its handle and continued into a barrel roll that landed him directly in front of Smurd and swung...

Nadia noticed the newest intruder and raised an eyebrow at him and outstretched her hand. The ground beneath him seemed to crater as earth raised from beneath the surface and surrounded him in a prison of stones. She closed her hands into a fist and the open area inside the prison minimized to inches from his body. Heavy breathing was not an option...

Nadia and Aidan heard the footsteps around the same time. Quietly, they moved to the far end of the basement and opened a large vent opening that led into the structure of the building. Aidan has checked out the pathway some days before and found out that it led to the back end of the building and out near a giant sewer canal.

Aidan opened the steel netted door and Nadia intercepted its path, "No," she whispered to him, "I can't do this anymore."

"Do what," Aidan replied, struggling to get the door free from her grasp.

"Run. I don't want to. Where will we go?"

"I dont know," the twin brother whispered back and loosened his sisters grip of the hatch, "but we can't stay here. Now get insi- Nadia, where are you..."

Nadia walked away from her brother and knelt onto the floor. She placed her hands palms down onto the cement ground and eyed the bottom of the stairway. It was still somewhat dim and they were slightly hidden behind some tables. She concentrated her power on that area until the floor began to soften and bubble slightly. ((Quicksand))

"You have got to be kidding me," Aidan slapped his forhead, "Heroes... you want to fight heroes?"

"If they catch us, we're done. They'll want to turn us in to somewhere... no one wants us Aidan and I'm not going back anymore. I'm staying. Do what you want."

Aidan loved his sister, but sometimes...

The stocky twin's body began to harden. His fists made crackling sounds as very tiny stone pieces fell from his body. He fell back behind his sister and into the shadows of the room and waited.

((Alright... time for resurrection))

...somebody...kill me... please...

A petite, short-haired brunette girl of fifteen walked through the sandy terrains of the Sahara desert. The scorching heat complimented by the sun's rays only seemed to get worse with each step that she took. She had come down to wrapping a portion of her white t-shirt that she had ripped off in order to cover her head from the heat. Her black capri pants were tattered and dirty from the constant rolling around she had done whenever she would collapse down a sand dune in exasperated weariness.

Everyday seemed hotter than the last. Every moment was more unbearable than before. She desired to end every piece of suffering that she had been going through, but her body never seemed to quit. It had been days since her last drink or meal and the fatigue was beyond evident.

"...must... not... stop... have to... find..."

In the not so far off distance, there was a sound that could be heard. It sounded like an explosion of rushing water. An uncontrolled rush of aquatic proportions. The noise filled the young and tired traveller's ears and her beady chocolate eyes looked far ahead of her.

It was true, there was hope. Her step quickened and she realized that her eyes and ears had not decieved her. It was a waterfall. As odd as it was to her, she dared not try and explain the scientifics of it in her mind. All she knew was that she had come to the end of her journey. She stared in wonderment at the beauty that was the waterfall as it seemed to form out of the sand. The drop had to have been at least 500 feet, she imagined, and peered over the edge as best she could.

The girl's thin and dry lips cracked under the pressure of her weak attempts to smile. The pain was there, but it didn't matter. Nothing did. Not the sun. Not the sand. Not her physical condition. Nothing.

The severely tanned young one began to bring her foot up to her hand, but immediately frowned from the complication. Her foot didn't move. She tried her other foot and it was to no avail as well. She looked down and saw that her body, all the way to her ankles were underneath the sand. What surprised her even more was the fact that soon, her calves were sinking into the sandy earth as well. The girl's face writhed in pain as the heat almost seemed to enjoy the suffering of the girl and beat down on her head ten times as worse. Her hair felt like it was on fire. She wanted to tear it out.

Her efforts to remove herself out of the ground was more and more fruitless the more and more she struggled. Her eyes averted back to the waterfall and tears began to stream down her face.

It wasn't long before she was up to her neck in sand. All she could do was watch as her journey's end faded from her sight by the cover of the intense Saharan sands. She looked up into the sky, took a deep breath, and sank beneath the solitude. The sky shook above as if there was an earthquake happening.

"Nadia... Nadia... wake up... Nadia!"

Nadia opened her eyes and gasped for air. She grabbed her chest and breathed in humongous gulps of oxygen. Her eyes were wide as she groped around in the dim light for her shaker's arm.

"Which one was it this time," the boy who had shook her awake asked, relieved that she had opened her eyes.

Satisfied that she had gotten a normal pulse, she looked up at her brother, Aidan, who had been kneeling over her as she slept. Her mind was still somewhat dazed and she sat back onto the wall that she had been laying adjacent to.

"Quicksand..." was her quiet and sighed response.

"Nadia, you've got to get control of this. Seriously. I dont see what the deal is. Every year, right before our birthdays, you ge tthese nightmares of you get swallowed by the earth somehow. I mean... I get dreams too," he continued and leaned against the wall next to his twin sister, "but at least mine are about me beating someone down," Aidan gave a sinister smile under the weak lighting in the basement they had been in.

Nadia rolled her eyes and elbowed her brother in the rib, "Whatever, you just got lucky, I guess."

"Dang skippy," Aidan replied and then changed the subject, "So, uhh, you hungry?"

Nadia's eyes went wide again, "Starving. Go see what they left behind tonight."

Aidan scrambled to his feet and snuck onto the floor above where he and his sister had been staying for the last several days.

At precisely midnight an odd breeze cleared the clouds from the sky revealing a full moon. The golem’s eyes flared and he moved forward with surprising speed. Just as he was about to smash through the oft-repaired front door of the Two-Six he stopped and seemed almost confused. He reached his massive hand down to the door handle and gently opened the door, stepped out, then closed the door. He then proceeded on his way, leaping several city blocks at a time until he hit the shore.

Aidan watched with quiet paranoia as the stone figure passed through the doors of the 2-6. With a shrug, he had forgotten it all and crept over to the kitchen area where the smell of shrimp was captivating his senses. It had maybe been a little too much captivation as his nose fluttered a little and her let out a stifled sneeze that sent him ducking down onto the floor and looking over the cabinets to see if anyone had heard him.

Satisfied that no one was around, he grabbed the remaining pizza left in its box and opened the fridge to grab a couple Mountain Dews. He returned to his sister, like a true victor from war who was about to show off his spoils.

"Hope this will do, sis. All I had time for."

"Doesn't matter," she responded and hurriedly grabbed the box from her kin, "I'll eat anything right now," and she began to fill her voracious appetite.

Aidan watched his sister eat until she was full while he sipped on a soda. He couldn't help but smile as her hunger made her forget everything she ever knew about tableside manners. Once she was done, he noticed there was one last piece of pizza. He grabbed it and scarfed it down in about two bites. Now that they had had a good meal, the "itis" was setting in and soon they were once again asleep.

However, Aidan never really slept. It was near impossible for him. Nadia had nightmares and he couldn't sleep. And when he could, it only for mere moments before he was awake again. Hos body always felt heavy each time, like something was weighing him down.

Such was life, each year, irhgt before they're birthdays.

((And thats that... lets get this part started. Lets talk story. Lets talk direction. Holla at me))

Brian took a squad car down to the 2-6 once he gotten into King's Row and down to the station there. It beat walking and that was what was important.

Upon his arrival at the 2-6, Brian heard the phone ring on the inside and he wondered if it had been Azuria that was trying to let Mystic know of Brian's visit. Regardless, her attempts at concealment would be fruitless. Just like Encyclopedia, Brian Wincott always gets his man... or woman.

"Friends, things have taken a sudden turn for the worse. I can explain in route. Call everyone, Brian, Abrahms, everyone. We're headed to the Independence Port warhouses on the southeastern side." Mystic looked at the readout on the tracking device he'd given Smurd.

"That so," Brian asked. He had no intention of letting anyone out of the precinct without a few answers first, "Well then I guess-" Brian had been cut off by his own phone ringing, "Wincott... yes... I know this... oh really... interesting," Brian said with a frown and a look toward his Uncle, "Roger that, I'm on it."

Brian hung up the phone and smiled at the group, "Like I was saying, looks like we're going to Independence Port."

Brian had made arrangements for himself once he had gotten home to have a nice warm cup of ginger tea waiting for him after he got out of his shower and got on a new set of clothes. Everything was going according to plan, but it was his regretting to shut his phone off that set the path to the ruination of his night.

"Hello," he answered.

"Wincott, get down to Atlas and have a conversation with Azuria. We just got word that it was her that the battle was surrounded by at Talos docks."

"Sir, can't we just send Higgins, I need-"

"Did I ask what you needed Wincott? You get your British butt down to MAGI and find out her purpose in all this, that's what I need you to do."

"Yea," Brian said with a sigh and hung up the phone.

****

The trip to Atlas Park felt like it took longer than usual for some reason. It could have been because he was tired or it could have been the attack on some young heroes he stayed behind for to help out.

Chief Raymond meant well, he knew. It was just that there were times that he wished he wasn't the one that everyone came to in the end to solve the mysteries. He was the station's Encyclopedia Brown, but without the five cent cover charge.

As Brian approached City Hall, he paused to take a look back at the enormous statue of Atlas. It was something he just did sometimes. There wasn't really a reason for it, he just... admired him.

Inside City Hall, Brian gave nods of acknowledgement to those that recognized him and other nods just because it was polite. And Brian liked to think of himself as polite. Lately though, with the arsons and now this snakeman case, Brian was feeling his timeclock wind a little faster. He was still young, but for the moment, for this particular lifetime, he felt like he was barely there. He thought it might have been his body just adjusting to his powers and that was the best he could come up with. It didn't satisfy him though. Kind of like when doctors try to explain that AIDS came from someone having relations with a monkey. I mean... come on

Azuria was exiting her office when Brian came down the short amount of stairs that led to the area of offices that specialized in Origin powers. She noticed him and immediately turned away and continued to lock her door.

"Detective, I hardly have the time," Azuria said hastily.

"That's funny," he said as he ignored her quick retreat, "I was thinking the same thing."

That made Azuria stop, "How can I help you Mr. Wincott?"

"Quick and to the point, I need to know why you were at the docks today when those snakemen were there."

The look in her squinted eyes mixed confuusion and denial, "No, I don't know what docks you are speaking of."

Brian nodded his head and burned a look into her eyes, "Mmhmm... ok. We gonna play this game, huh? Alright," Azuria started to walk away and Brian followed a few feet behind.

"Ok, let me tell you what I know. I know that you were at the docks. I know that Mystic Inferno did away with all those snakemen. I'd like to think that since you weren't really on the security tape, you were gone before the battle happened. Or were you out of sight while it was going on and orchestrating the event? or were you just some ploy to get Mystic down there to have him killed? Or were you doing a little weekend fishing," the more he talked, the more he lost his accent. It came from years and years of living away from home, "Or were you-"

Azuria stopped her advance out the back door of the City Hall and her entire demeanor had changed from defend to attack mode, "Everyday. Every single day I work with new heroes that start their journey in this city with powers that are yet to understand," she took small steps toward Brian as she spoke. Brian took equally small steps in retreat while looking back.

"Everyday I assist heroes like yourself in missions and with information necessary to keep scum like Outcasts, Trolls, Tsoo off the street. Everyday I am the background to your front line, providing you with the safekeeping needed to survive."

She extended a finger at Brian's chest to emphasize, "Ev-er-y-day," with each point Brian was pushed back.

"If you ever come to me again with these accusations," Azuria's eyes began to burn a bright yellow. It was almost blinding, "I will see to it that your days here as a Detective or anywhere else are short in duration."

A Superpower Trainer came to the steps that led to the Office areas, "Is everything ok Miss Azuria?"

Azuria poked her head around Brian's body and smiled, "Yes all is fine, thank you. Mr. Wincott was just leaving," she finished with a normal eyed look at Brian.

Brian, a little surprised at the whole thing, kept a straight face about the whole thing, "All I needed to know, thank you."

"No, thank you," Azuria replied with sarcasm and a forced smile.

Both parties turned opposie ways and walked out of City Hall. Brian reached into his phone and called the Captian Bauer, "yea... Azuria was there,"Brian said as he got on the tram to King's Row, "But she's denying it... how do i know... one of those detective things, you remember those right Cap... no, i'm gonna check another lead... ha, sleep? what's that...yes sir... yes sir... yes sir...," Brian hung up the phone as he finished his conversation.

Brian Wincott polished the remains of his third cup of tea as he sat in his office at Headquarters in Steel Canyon. He had been watching the video tape that had been discovered at the crime scene at the Talos docks.

Brian's mind was racing. One of the security cameras at the dock had been destroyed, but there were two others that the perpetrator had not touched. Brian watched the same segment over and over again. Although, his hopes of it changing were there, the clip stayed the same.

With a mixture of weariness and exacerbation, Brian rested his head in one of his hands, "Uncle Al, what are you getting into," Brian said.

Higgins popped his head into the office and already had the look of someone who had intruded, "Oh, umm... the meeting is beginning."

Without moving, Brian gave a tired response, "Thank you, I'll be there."

"Ok," Higgins replied and started to leave, but popped his head back in, "Should I return the tape now?"

"No, I'm not finished with it yet."

"But Evidence said they were looking for it to be back by now."

Brian gave a frozen glare at Higgins, "I won't say it again."

Higgins almost closed the door on his face as he tried to get out so fast. The door slammed and reverberated along the windows around the office. Brian got up and ejected the tape from the VCR. He ran a hand through his messy hair that had become messed up on with hours of overtime and no sleep and headed out of his office and to the Boardroom.

*****

The Boardroom was filled with 5 people: Chief Raymond, the Chief's right-hand man, Capt. Bauer, 2 other Detectives, Plank and Twiggs, and finally Brian. They called it the Roundtable because that's what it was. There were 13 tall executive leather chairs with 5 computer terminals at the forefront for the bigwigs. A coffee machine stood on a small table near the door and another door was closed opposite the door Brian came in.

Brian was the last one to come in and the Chief took notice of such as he motioned for the young Detective to sit down.

"Ok, now that we're all here, we can get this started and done," Raymond said with a look over to Capt. Bauer.

Bauer nodded in acknowledgement and stood up, "Ok people, this little incident down by our not-so-friendly little docks was not an accident nor was it just a little incident. Everyone expected everyone that was there. With that, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a trap set for one or the other."

Brian rolled his eyes and gave a heavy sigh. It was noticed, but ignored as the Captain continued, "Now the tape here," Bauer said and pressed play at a cued location, "shows this mysterious stranger with an incredible amount of fire power. Our records have been unable to identify him with anyone and we find it strinkingly odd to find a blaster carrying a broadsword."

Plank was the first with a question, "Sir, not to get astray from your main point as I know there is probably a reason you mentioned him first but, what of these lizard men? We can tell that this was a hero that did the damage there, although brutal, but don't you think these lizards are more of an issue?"

Off to the side, Brian made a sucking side. Plank shot an angry sideways glance.

Bauer cleared his throat and answered his subordinate, "That may be, Detective Plank, however we aren;t sure if this "hero","Bauer said and made quotative fingers, "is a hero at all. The Lizard men are actually no surprise to us at all."

"They're not," Plank and Twiggs shockingly asked in unison.

"No, they're not," the Chief interjected. We've known of these creatures for quite some time ever since the first we witnessed in Eden."

"What was going on there Chief," Brian inquired, "I mean... not for me, but you know... for the ones who haven't been doing their homework."

Plank and Twiggs had nothing to respond. If Wincott knows, then there was no reason they shouldn't have. The chief continued, "There were three of them. It was a ritual of some kind. We thought it was your typical Circle hostage spellbinding, but as we got closer, we learned quick that it wasn't that at all."

"That's right," Bauer continued for the Chief, "After breaking up the ritual and realizing there was no hostage, the lizards tried to run. We caught up to them, but they sacrificed themselves so not to be taken in."

"Not before they mentioned the Eight's Reckoning," Brian chimed in.

"Exactly."

Twiggs had a concerned look on his face, "Ok so we have a not-so-new menace making a more than public appearance in talos. What's this Eight's Reckoning?"

Brian threw a finger and a look up to stop the Captain from speaking. The Captain nodded and Brian answered, "Well, the Snakemen have a higher power, as everyone always does. We just had to find out. Apparently, Eight refers to eight arms or legs, whatever you want to call them."

"What? Are we talking about attack of the spider people or something,"Twiggs replied with a snicker.

"Not spider people, but person. Lord Recluse."

Plank leaned forward on the table with a light in his eyes, "I've heard of him but he was always talked about as a myth. One of those people States supposedly fought but was just a story out of proportion."

"Oh no," Brian said as he leaned back in his chair, "He's very real and very ready to reckon...his eight or whatever he's doing."

"So what's the game plan sirs," Twiggs asked.

"Right now, you go on about your business. Get to your families. Get some rest. Stay on-call for the next 48 though. Anything can happen."

There was a wave of acknowledgements from the three detectives and with that they were dismissed. As Brian reached the door, the Chief called for him to stay behind.

"Close the door behind you."

As Brian did so, the Captain replayed the tape that showed the scene from earlier that day. He stopped it, ejected the tape and held it in his hand. The Chief had never taken his eyes off Brian.

"Brian," the Chief said blankly, "Have you any idea who that man is? We kow you have special information on a plethora of heroes in tis city due to your extensive street training and hero training, thanks to that necklace of yours."

The necklace is the least of my worries now, Brian thought as he recalled the first time he used his fire control powers.

Brian hadn't come out of his deep thought when the Captain slammed the tape on the desk, "he's not going to ask again Wincott."

Brian shot out of his thought trance with a jump, but regained composure and stared both men in the face.

"Not a clue, but if I find Waldo, I'll let you know what page he's on," Brian said with a reassuring smile and turned to leave the room.

Outside the room, Brian leaned on the door and felt the perspiration bead on his head. He looked down at his disheveled outfit. He had been wearing the same thing for the last two days.

It was time for a shower and sleep. Then a visit to the 2-6.

And maybe a little tea somewhere in between.

In Atlas Park, Brian stopped by the Shave 'n' Ice vendor to pick up a tasty treat. He found a nearby bench to sit at to take a small break and enjoy the cool refreshment. His spoon dipped into the flavored ice and as it reached his mouth, he felt his phone vibrate and at that moment he knew he had wasted his money.

"I hope this is good," Brian asnwerd as he wated a fly peruse around his cup of strawberry shaved ice.

"Whether it is or isn't, thats not how you answer me," the voice on the other end said.

Brian sat up straight and wiped his mouth, "Commish... I-I-uhh... I didn't know..."

"Doesn't your phone have caller ID," the harsh voice said, "Why don't you use it sometime."

Brian had no comeback or excuse, "Yes sir," his British accent was waving and embarrased.

"To the point, I need you to hit up some docks thay seem to be under attack. Azuria is being held hostage there and we're not sure we have the proper firepower to sustain the situation. so drop what you're doing and get there now."

"But sir," Brian replied and strted his way toward the tram Station, "what about the Perez Arsons?"

"Are you not hearing the words that are coming out of mouth? If you want to pay the rent, you'll do what I say. You're off that case. Higgins has it now."

Higgins, Brian thought as he reached the train, He's a complete and total screw-up. They'll never solve the case that way.

"Although we'll never get the case solved because he's such a screw-up, he needs something to do... get this doen so you can get back on the case," it was as if Commissioner Rodriguez heard his thoughts. Brian eneterd the train and found a seat next to an elderly woman who gave him a polite smile and averted her eyes back to the ground.

"Ok sir," Brian said, "I'm on my way, "Just be sure to have my check in the mail."

"You just be sure to solve this case," it was the last thing Brian heard before a click.

As he slid the sword away, hidden eyes watched through golden gilded slits from the shadows. Sirens blared in the distance, coming closer. Mystic decided that it would be best if this one weren’t explained. He launched himself out of the warehouse and into the night sky. “Why are there always more questions than answers?”

Brian arrived at the western docks in Talos just in time to see the fresh remnants of blackened bones and wind blown ash floating in the water. The scene was an apparent massacre and that was it. Nothing seemed to be taken and that rose a slight suspicion in Brian's mind. He ordered the rest of the Bluecoats to search the are for any live bodies as he also walked the docks for clues.

Portions of the wood along the docks were burnt and ready to give way at the slightest movement or breath. Brian walked along the edge of the dock walkway and knelt to the edge once he came to the end. He watched as a broken femur, charred and cracked, floated in the water.

An officer's voice broke his concentration, "Sir I think you might want to see this."

Brian turned on his knees to see the direction of the officer's concern. There was a Crey Crisis Unit that laid unconscious next to...

Is that a... lizard man?

Brian concernedly walked near the Unit and motioned to another officer for gloves. The policeman complied and handed him a fresh pair. As Brian put on the latex gloves, he got down on a knee and shileded his eyes as the wind blew some ash from the battel into his direction. After it had cleared, he turned the shoulder of the Unit and examined it for life. Nothing. The lizard man was even worse off than the suited soldier.

A relenetless sigh from Brian followed him as he stood up, "Clean this up, I want a report on my desk in hours," Brian stated.

"Yes sir," one of the officers replied, "Alright people lets wrap this up."

Brian walked toward the start of the docks and viwed the building that stood adjacent to it. In a corner of the building, he could see a blackened area that didn't look like it belonged. Brian ran over to it and examined it. A securtiy camera.

"Ellison," Brian said to the lead team officer.

"Proceeding sir," Ellison ran over and looked up at what Brian had been studying, "Looks like a security camera sir."

"Yep, and you know what means," Brian replied as he fished out a piece of gun from his coat pocket.

The officer looked blankly at his Detective, "..."

Exasperated, Brian finished as he walked away, "Just get me some visual."

"Yes sir."

"Hmm... I wonder what would happen if I did this," Brian asked the skull as he extended his hand to his side and bent the fingers like a claw at the ground.

A black circle surrounded the Skull who had never been more scared in his life. The pavement bubbled and burned around the evildoer. He screamed in fear and Brian placd a finger over his lips to indicate silence. The man's screams turned into a soft whimper.

"Now..." Brian joked, "How would this look if the rest of your Skully friends found you crying in a ring of fire, hmmm?"

"Come on man... I don't know anything. I just joined this whole gang last week. I've spent my time guarding doors and knowing nothing," the junior Skull cried out his words as sweat dripped down his face.

The black circle was now aflame and rose to the villain's knees. Brian gave a discerning look at the young gangmember and shook his head, "Yea... you're right... you don't know anything about the fires, do you?"

The furious shakes of the Skull's head were a mixture of fear and plea-bargaining. Brian decided that his investigation was done and walked toward the Security Gate.

"Hey wait," the Skull cried, "what about me? How do you get rid of this thing?"

Brian gave half a smile and turned around, his accent shining through, "Well, I would say piss it away, but its a little too late for that, huh," Brian replied as he pointed at the young man's pants and turned again to walk away.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out."

Perhaps Brian could get us a few brave police officers to act as clerks.

"Hmmm... might be a bit of an issue. Commish is coming through to inspect. They need all the accountability they can get. AT least for the next couple of days," he stopped talking to think for a moment before speaking again, "Tell ya what... I'll set something up for the future. Shifts, rosters, things like that and I'll get it back to you once I get approval."

****

Mystic floated back out to the group. "It appears we also have a bit of a mystery regarding a damaged autoparts store. I suppose that Sting, rough justice and I could look into it. That is, if you chaps are up for it."

Brian perked up at the idea of visiting the auto store. But the initial energy drained from his body as he thought about everything he needed to do. One thing at a time, he thought. He needed to write up a report of their recent happenings and start up getting some extra office hands.

"Much as I would like to, I'll have to pass," he said and made his way to the doors. He turned back to the group and pulled out his cell phone, "If you need me, I'm here or here," he finished and pulled at his earlobe to give attention to the comm device.

BOOM!

The explosion could be heard for miles. The quaking for even longer. Smoke poured out of the Council base door that Ballistic and his crew had blown open. Several Council members filed out and some tripped over the door that laid at the foot of the entrance. They were covering their mouths and choking from the smoke as they squinted their eyes through all the gases and looked for a way to escape. Most of them ran into another nearby base. Others took off across the hilly plains toward the Wolf’s Throat. Smaller explosions could be heard from inside the cave and the attention of outside company was getting bigger. Various Were-council had gathered at the door entrance and curiously swiped at the smoke. Their slashes into the air were randomly followed by agonizing screams and Council bodies hitting the dirt ground.

Ballistic stumbled through the crowd of soldiers as he carried Double Take over his shoulders. He took out another grenade that had been attached to his belt and grabbed the pin with his teeth. He stopped before he threw the grenade and turned his back to the blast.

BOOM!

The remaining Council members and Warwolves were sent flying into the air, some whole, the rest in pieces. Ballistic turned back toward the door and shifted Double Take’s weight on his shoulders. He cleared through the smoke and into a raining array of arms, legs, fur, and various portions of Council armor. Ballistic heard the ferry whistle and walked in the direction of its sound. He could feel a small pounding on his back and stopped near a tree to check on his teammate.

“What’s goin on? How ya feelin?”

Double Take winced and lightly touched his side. There was a deep gash from some shrapnel that tore into his skin after an small explosion erupted in one of the crates in the cave. There were pieces still lodged in his side and the pain didn’t seem to be getting better.

“Aww man... can you see me right now? I mean... really... I can’t go on a date like this?”

The old leader couldn’t help but smile, “You’ll be fine, she’ll love ya. Now come on, lets go. Gotta get you to a hospital.”

Ballistic began to hoist Double Take back on his shoulders, but the young hero stopped him, “No... I can’t. It hurts too much. Besides.. You and I... both know that I’m not makin this.”
Ballistic furrowed his eyebrows and grabbed DT’s face with both hands, “No, don’t say that. Don’t say that. You’re gonna be fine. Soon as I get you to-“

“NO...,” he coughed the words out. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, “I want you to look at me...”

Ballistic closed his eyes and turned away from the boy, “Don’t do this.”

Double Take’s voice had grown firm and direct, “Look at ME...and tell me that I’m going to make it to that boat and make it to that hospital and make it to see tomorrow.”

Ballistic turned to look at Double Take through painful eyes. They spoke more truth than words ever could, “D... I... I... I can make it...”

Double Take smiled and rest his head on the bark of the tree, “Yea... you’ll make it... for me... and Zero,” his eyes turned toward the grass.

The old man grabbed the dying hero’s arms and placed them around his shoulder’s, “No.. Not this time. Already lost Zero. Not gonna lose you too. I’ll just find you one of those empaths.”

“We both know that once I go, I’ve got 45 seconds to come back. 45 seconds and I’m crossed. Who will you find in 45 seconds? You don’t know any empaths. You never liked them.”

“Well then I guess we have to get moving then. We-“

“Will you stop,” this time Double Take grabbed Ballistic’s face, “You can’t save em all. You know that. I know that. We just do what we can within our power. Zero knew that. He knew what he was doing when he took the brunt of that blast from that crate for me. He knew it. He gave me the chance to keep fighting until the fighting was done. And now its done. This is life. We deal... cards in,” he finished with a thoughtful laugh.

We deal. Cards in. Something Ballistic always said when one of them complained.

“Just... watch over me... like you always do,” Double Take coughed and grabbed his side.

Samson, defeated, sat down next to Double Take and placed an arm around him. He took the kids head and laid it into his chest. He looked on as Warwolves growled and pointed at the two if them as they sat back against the tree. But neither of them cared.

It had felt like hours had passed before Ballistic grabbed Double’s arm to check for a pulse. Gone. He relaxed the boy’s head into his lap and looked into his eyes. They were distant. Blank. The kind of eyes that looked like they were hypnotized forever. Eyes that were stuck in one last trance of thoughts that ran through your head whenever you were breathing your last.

Ballistic ran a dirt-encrusted and scratched hand over the protege’s eyes and closed them for the last time. The eternal blink.

Soon, he was on his feet and bent over to pick up the dead hero. He carried him to the ferry, to the hospital, and to the grave.

****

His hands closed to fists and his eyes clenched shut as he turned his face away from the window. He released the held breath and a spurt of coughs and choking came over him when he stumbled over to his desk phone. He pressed the call button on the phone and feel into his chair.

“Angela... call... the... call the police.”

Angela rushed in through the office door and ran to Alexander’s desk, “Oh my God, what happened? Where’s Mr. Mitchell?”

Alexander’s coughing fit was subsiding and he raised a weak finger and pointed to the window before he let it drop on the table.

“Oh... God...,” the words were a mere whisper as Angela brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

“Angela,” Alexander exclaimed and she jumped in reaction, “Police! Now!”

The secretary dashed back out of the office and to her desk in the waiting area.

Alexander laid his head on his desk and stayed there. Thoughts ran wild in his mind about “shoulda, woulda, coulda”. His breathing had become heavier and uncontrolled. Anger overcame him and he pounded his fist into his desk several times. The final time caused the wood on the desk to crack slightly under the continued pressure and it caused Alexander to stop. He looked up at the damage and cursed himself. A voice could be heard from somewhere but he hadn’t focused on where it was coming from.

“Hello... hello... anyone up there... HELLO?”

Alexander took glances around the room before he stood up and realized it had been coming from outside his window. The Doctor jumped over the desk and dived to the window ledge and peered down.

“Oh hey! Man... I thought no one else was there.”

The window washer took off the headphones he had been wearing and looked up at the Doctor and squinted from the sunlight. He looked back down at Samson and shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know man, he just kinda fell out or something.”

Alexander was at a complete loss for words, but found the ability to speak, “How is he?”

The window washer stared at the man who had fallen next to him. He picked up one of the arms to check Samson’s pulse and lightly dropped the arm once it was checked. The young man got back to his feet and looked back up. He placed a hand on his forehead to shield his eyes as he looked back at the Doctor.

“Well, he’s unconscious, but... there’s a pulse. He’s gonna make it.”

Alexander sighed relief and dropped to his knees.

We deal... cards in

Last words. Spoken by a man who had thought to end it all. The words swirled in Alexander’s head and the smile across his face turned into a hearty laugh. Samson Mitchell was given a second chance at life... and so had Alexander Savery.

Samson Mitchell stood near a window and looked down. It was so far up, everyone looked like ants. Insignificant specks under the sun.

Just like me

Nearby, a glass cleaner listened to music as he started a new row and washed the windows several feet below. Samson opened up a window and took in the Paragon air. Stale. Dead. At least to him, it was. He lazily let his head lean on his shoulder as he turned toward Dr. Savery. His eyes went past him to see the various certificates Alexander had received in his work in Psychology.

“Hey Doc, mind if I smoke a bit,” he said and removed an open package of cigarettes from inside his shirt pocket before he heard an answer.

Dr. Savery sat up in his executive chair behind his desk and began to protest, but thought against it. He relaxed, sat back and watched Samson from a distance.

Samson Mitchell was a towering 6'6". There were a number of scars on his arms and each of them probably told a different story. He wore an old, faded denim shirt, unbuttoned to show his white t-shirt and army green cargo pants over black combat boots. He had tired hazel eyes and mean wrinkles spanned across his forehead. His lightly tanned skin was topped off by whispy, silver hair that thinned more everyday. It was complimented by the 5 o’clock shadow that never changed its time.

Samson lit up the cigarette and took a long drag. He finished inhaling and closed his eyes. He held the smoke in for a few moments before he released it into the air. His eyes partially opened as though he were waking up for the first time that day. He blinked a few times and gathered his bearings. He turned back to Alexander again with the same lazy look.

“Ants Doc. That’s all we are, are ants. We work without rest. Even when we sleep, we work. When we play, we work,” he paused to take another drag, “we just work.”

Savery jotted down a few notes into his notepad and looked up thoughtfully at Samson, “What about relaxation? Isn’t that a peaceful time with no work?”

“No way Doc. We have to work at EVERYTHING. There is no peace. That’s why there are heroes out there in the world doing what they can.”

“Heroes like you?”

Samson hung his head low. The sun beat against his head and every small strand of grayish-white hair reflected against the light. His eyes were trained on the carpet floor as if he was hypnotized by something beyond it.

“Nah... not like me Doc. Not like me at all.”

Alexander’s face remained blank as he continued to talk to Samson, “Well last time I checked, you were a hero and looking right now at your papers,” he replied as he thumbed through Samson’s file, “it says Samson Mitchell... Ballistic.”

“Ballistic,” the words almost fell out of his mouth hesitantly, “He doesn’t exist. Not anymore.”

“I think he still does. Besides, I think it is as they say Mr. Mitchell - there is a hero in us all”

“Well that’s a load of crap,” he said as he spat over the ledge.

“Why is that? I mean... heroes are the saviors of the world. Well one of them anyway.”

Samson left the window ledge and came around the reclining chair that he originally was supposed to be sitting in and plopped down. He was slouched deep into the chair and his arms hung over the chair’s arms.

“Saviors... heh,” he said as he rolled his eyes, “Who do we save? Others? So they can get into the same mess again a few days later?”

“No I think it’s more-“

“Samson continued to talk as if Alexander never spoke, “Ourselves? So we can fight another day? No... we save ourselves so we can live... no one wants to die, Doc. No one ever is ready for that. So these so-called heroes run. They save themselves because they feel that their life is above those that they are saving or those who’s lives they are up against. We’re not save-yours, Doc... we’re save-ours.”

Dr. Savery looked up from his notepad at Samson and suddenly something dawned on him. He had thought that this was all about the usual temporarily depressed hero who happened upon an unusual circumstance beyond their control. They become greatly saddened, but in the end they are all able to cope with their current existence. Samson, Alexander realized, had gone beyond that normal mode of depression and turned into something quite worse. The vacant look in his eyes. The hateful tone that had shown through his deep and gruff voice. The way he had walked about sluggishly and without purpose. It was all there.

Savery closed his notepad and brought folded hands to his lips. He stared intently at Samson as he knew his next statement could make or break the entire session.

“Well from the looks of it, Mr. Mitchell, it sounds like you have grasped quite a concept on the whole case of heroism. So I wouldn’t expect you to be the runner you speak of. It would seem that you would always be there for those you were saving,” he watched as Samson’s face twinged from his thoughts. The hero slowly began to sit up in his chair as the Doctor spoke.

“Whether they be a regular pedestrian... or... fellow teammate...”

His last words caused Samson face to explode in a series of emotions. Most of them were in-between fighting back tears that forced their was out of his eyes anyway. Alexander blinked once in accord with the slow and steady motion of his breath. He dropped his hands onto the desk and picked his notepad back up. He opened it, but decided not to write anything. The hero known as Ballistic sat in the recliner and fought his emotions through clenched fists and gritted teeth. To him, Alexander wasn’t even there.

“Samson,” his name sparked his ears and he shot a fierce look at the Doctor that took him aback, “You are a hero. And you are a savior. Just because one life may slip away from you does not mean-“

Samson mumbled angrily under his breath, “Yes it does...”

“What,” Alexander said and turned an ear to the man’s words.

“Yes it does,” Samson exclaimed, “It does. I am responsible for each and every life I can’t save. Zero Assault, DT... Rebecca...” the last word trailed off into the air.

The names rung bells in Savery’s head. He read about the two heroes and his wife in the file that was brought to him before Samson had come in for his appointment, “No, Mr. Mitchell, they were not your fault.”

Ballistic shot out of the chair like a rocket and stepped to the Doctor’s desk. He slapped his hands on the wooden table and breathed heavily. Savery rolled back in his chair and stood up. Several tears fell onto the desk from Samson’s reddened eyes.

“Yes...THEY WERE! All of them! They all looked to me. Looked up to me. And I let EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM DOWN! All of them!”

He spun around and paced about the room. He spoke to himself while flailing his arms madly. It looked as if he was convincing himself of things. There was a mental power struggle going on and Dr. Alexander was struck in the middle of it. He stopped pacing and was near the window again. His body relaxed and calmed down. He looked at Alexander and the Doctor felt like the hero was attempting to pierce his mind to instill his own thoughts into Alexander’s.

“Why Doc... why? Why am I alive? Why do people around me have to die? Why couldn’t I save them?”

His voice was abnormally calm for someone who had just gone through what he had. Samson leaned on the wall near the window and slid down to the floor. Relieved, the psychiatrist sat back down and grabbed a kleenex from a box near his phone. He dragged the kleenex across the table and stopped short at where the tears fell. He stared at them for a few moments and threw the soft napkin away. Alexander picked up Samson’s file and opened it up once more. He decided to pick up where they left off in order to restore a balance to their session.

“Ok well,” Savery said and flipped pages in the file, “as you were saying earlier... Ballistic no longer exists. Well from the looks of it, this non-existent Ballistic character conducting missions as of last week at a Were-Council breeding site.

Alexander scanned the page about the mission more carefully, “Wow, you did this solo? I had always heard that the wolf herds were a team-oriented thing, but it says here you were by yourself.”

Samson stood up and switched his position back to the window sill and propped a foot up. He caught on to the Doctor’s slight change in pace and went along with it.

“Of course I did em solo. No use for extras.”

“You mean... no use for a team?”

“Call it what you want Doc. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“And what helps you sleep at night, Mr. Mitchell?”

Ballistic took out a small bottle of pills and shook them in front of the Doctor before placing them back in his pocket.

Alexander nodded and wrote down a few more notes.

Samson cocked an eye in Alexander’s direction, “Whatcha writin there Doc,” he said and roughly cleared his throat.

Alexander looked up from his notes and turned the notepad around so Samson could see that there were words on the paper, “Just a few things I find noteworthy Mr. Mitchell. That’s all.”

Samson let the leg he propped up hang loosely over the window ledge. Alexander stood up in reaction and walked from around his desk. It was calmly, but with urgency. Samson watched Dr. Savery and smiled.

“Doc what are you worried about? That I’m gonna kill myself,” he laughed at the thought and grabbed onto the window above him, “No Doc, I can’t kill myself now,” he continued through laughter.

Alexander closed the distance between the two of them and rested his hands behind his back, “Ok then Mr. Mitchell, how bout-“

“Doc, call me Samson,” he said, “I mean... come on. Why the formalities,” he said and hung his head outside the building and let one of his hands flail into the outside air

Alexander reached a head, but stopped and closed his eyes as he regained his composure, “Ok... Samson. I’m going to have to ask you to come back inside. They see you hanging outside of my window and people start to wonder what’s really going on.”

Ballistic stopped laughing and stared deeply in Alexander’s eyes. There was a certain amount of lunacy that Alexander saw and he feared for Samson’s life, “But what really is going on here Doc? Huh? I’m only here because they, out there, think I’m incapable of being a hero. But you know what I think Doc? Huh? You know what I think? I think...,” he said and turned his look back outside and looked down, “I think they just want to have a reason to get rid of me. I’m the reason of too many deaths Doc... even my own.”

Alexander eyes pleaded with Samson’s, “How is that really the reason? I’m here to help. Not condemn, Samson. Now I need you to come back inside so you don’t kill yourself, please.”

Samson Mitchell stopped laughing. His eyes saddened and his mouth opened as if he had something to say, but the words got caught in his throat. He had become lost and the fingers that hung onto the raised window were loosening one by one. He looked at Alexander and the Doctor saw tears formulate in his eyes.

“Doc, I can’t kill myself. I did that a long time ago. I’m just gettin rid of the body.”

No amount of super speed could have stopped Samson “Ballistic” Mitchell from falling over the window ledge. However, Dr. Savery tried all the same with outstretched hands that were already too far away from the former hero. His breath was suspended and the last thing Alexander saw was a loose shoelace that the disappeared below the window ledge.