The_Shadow

ISSUE ONE - Prologue
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The flaming 18-wheeler seemed to levitate for a moment, the slick streets propelling it forward at frightening speed. It jerked to the right, smashing a police cruiser to the sidewalk, and straightened once again. Atlas watched helplessly from his square, stolidly unflinching yet seemingly aware of the situation. The steel behemoth roared, smoke billowing from its engine. The slightest hint of something fiery and menacing appeared in the windows of City Hall.

The heroes noticed the threat when it seemed too late. The truck was approaching fast, its tires splintering against the asphault with the searing friction of speed. Dozens of heroes poured out of the square, each one moving indepedently yet every one of them united. Flames, shards of ice, magic dust, dark clouds, glowing energy, and golden leaves all scattered in their wake.

The tanker's front wheels locked, pitching the cab violently to the right. The vehicle fell onto its side but continued sliding towards the gates of Atlas Park. Sparks flew, and hints of flame appeared under its metal frame. It exploded with a horrible BOO-!.

Fwomcracklefsshtissshfrrrr.

The violent flames clouded angrily against the confines of the massive force field that had just barely managed to form over it. The bubble looked less like a force field than it did a quilt. Some sections were iced over, others glowing with radioactivity. Patches seemed to be coated with solid stone and strips of black mist coiled off it. Atlas bowed his head to the heroes gathered at the intersection before him.

A crisis averted, or so it seemed.

The steps to City Hall, now deserted, were slowly ascended by a shifty-looking man in green goggles wielding a very large gun. He slipped into the building, and moments later, City Hall was ripped from its foundations. It slowly floated into the air, hovered there for a few seconds, and then rapidly bobbed upwards into the sky.

It happened far too fast for any heroes to act against it, though many made a valiant effort to get to the flying building. Within a minute, however, it had become apparent that the only thing left to be done was stare disbelievingly at the earthy pit that had once housed the center of Paragon City government.

"I can't believe this..." "What happened? Who was it?" "How did he do that?" "Did anyone escape?" "Was the truck a distraction?" "Do we still have to pay taxes?"

Inside the now-airborne City Hall was a shifty-looking man in green goggles wielding a cellular phone. "Speed-dial seven," he said to the phone.

"Paragon City ransom hotline, how may I help you?"

"I have your city hall!"

"To confirm, press one."

Clarification: I chose Natural origin because his origin is a mix of many things. He could be Magic due to the shadow curse, or Technology due to the gloves, or even Mutant due to his altered bloodstream. Due to the mix of influences, I chose Natural.

( This is mostly for my own amusement. I only have so much bio space ingame and I wanted to list my ideas here before they slip through the cracks of my mind. )

Name- The Nightmare Stalker
Origin - Natural
Archetype - Scrapper
Powers - Dark Melee/Regeneration

Edward Shaden, at the young age of 20, was already a renowned archeologist. Known the world over, he was the field's poster boy, and was attracting many young people to the study. However, to keep up this image, Shaden was forced to take on more extreme and risky projects. His last project sent him to a deep, uncharted island jungle. What happened there Shaden does not explain in more words than this: Dark torture and shadowy rituals. The stuff of nightmares.

Somehow, Shaden escaped despite the loss of his eyesight. Doctors diagnosed him as "physically drained" and blind, but after a few weeks, Shaden was discharged. However, the weakness ebbed and flowed. When it reached its peak, Shaden would have a nightmare so terrifying, his heart would stop for an instant. Several of these events passed, and Shaden realized with horror that each nightmare caused his heart to freeze for an interval longer. Eventually, it would doom him.

Shaden quit his job and willed himself to dominate one of the terrifying nightmares. After many months, in which he came close to death numerous times, he finally managed to control one of his nightmares for a short amount of time. Those few seconds he wrested away from the unspeakable terror of those dreams clearly informed him of his next course of action.

More months passed. During this time, Shaden slowly created and calibrated a pair of metallic gauntlets that connected directly into his veins. The material that served as the transfer device was his only sample of material from the jungle in which he was kidnapped by the tribe of shadow. It seemed like an ordinary black stone, yet his dream had not led him astray. It worked. The gauntlets channelled the shadow energy eating away at him! What flowed from the gloves was pure darkness. He also created a pair of white glasses made of a strange quartz-aluminum hybrid alloy, which restored his eyesight (for he had not been blind, but instead had shadowed vision).

At first, the gloves were nothing more than a release valve for Shaden's fatigue. However, massive amounts of energy were needed to power these miraculous gloves. Shaden bought a huge generator and positioned it on the roof of his apartment building in London. He would connect the gauntlets to the power source and expel the shadow energy into the air high above the city a few times a day. This worked well, but it was only a matter of time before some curious Clockwork arrived to try and make off with the expensive generator...while Shaden was using it! His hands temporarily stuck in the gauntlets, Shaden feared electrocution! However, just as a Clockwork Oscillator hovered in front of Shaden charging its electrical cannon, Shaden fired a burst of shadow at the machine, causing it to fall apart. The other Clockwork machines fled in terror.

Shaden realized that the energy had the potential to serve as a weapon. He also did some research on the mysterious machines and learned they were Paragon City's Clockwork. It clicked. Paragon City, known as the City of Heroes, was chock full of budding Superheroes. His dark powers served as superpower-like abilities. And if the archeology world had all but forgotten him, what if he made a mark on the superpowered world?

Shaden had no second thoughts. He bought an apartment in Paragon City and began researching ways to make a power source portable enough to travel with. He struggled for many months, and finally reached a small breakthrough. The source was not ever going to be small enough to be worn on the body as an attachment, but perhaps it could be worn around the body? A metal suit of armor that is not only armor, but an entire generator? First attempts resulted in armor so heavy, movement was impossible. After months of refinement, a heavy but manageable suit was crafted. Shaden dubbed himself The Nightmare Stalker in celebration of his triumph over his nightmares and his subsequent utilization of those nightmares as weaponry, and set off to hunt thugs in Atlas Park. And so it began.

COSTUME 1 - THE GENERATOR

>>> COSTUME 2 - STORY PART 2 <<<

Early in The Nightmare Stalker's career, he was poisoned by what many considered a terminal disease engineered by the morbid Vahzilok. It was also highly communicable. The Nightmare Stalker took a temporary hiatus from crimefighting, left his home for a life as far away from people as possible within the streets of Paragon, and instead began to re-engineer his suit to be completely quarantined...in other words, sealed perfectly so that no trace of the Vahzilok virus could escape its confines. In the process, however, he discovered he no longer needed what he had named "The Shadowgloves" to expel his dark energy! He had somehow developed the ability naturally through the use of the aid the Shadowgloves provided. It was a small victory in what seemed like very bleak times. He was finally able to wear a lighter costume. Having trained in martial arts, but wearing a costume too heavy to utilize them effectively, he decided to fully adopt the eastern fighting styles in his new attire. He made it himself, from discarded clothes found on the street, and used the knowledge he had acquired while making the Shadowgloves and Lightglasses to engineer a very efficient mask that virtually eliminated the risk of passing on the Vahzilok virus. His appearance, one of a man in glasses with a breathing apparatus clothed in tattered oriental clothing, was a strange one to say the least, but his reputation remained solid. Despite the disease, many came to him for help, and The Nightmare Stalker continued to fight crime despite his illness.

He and his superhero allies continue to search for a cure.

COSTUME 2 - THE EXILE

( Coming Soon - Better Pictures, perhaps some more background, and eventually two more costumes/story arcs )

Introduction

If you've reading this, odds are you're interested in learning about or even visiting Paragon City. By all means, do so! The city is so beautiful, unique, and vibrant that you won't even miss your wallet, wife, or identity when it's all over with! So padlock your pocketbook, wind up your wife, and pull out your old ski mask! We're about to plunge headfirst into the melting pot that is Paragon City! Glitz, glamour, architecture, and brutal muggings. We've got it all!

Chapter 1 - Outbreak

Odds are, you won't be able to see the area now called "Outbreak" in person. The place is sealed off, and the situation so dire that every single hero that steps foot into Paragon City is automatically channelled through this area. If you do manage to get in, however, more power to you. I cannot, however, advise anyone to step foot into the "Hot Zone". Doing so means your life is forfeit.

Travel Warning: The entire borough is currently under a red alert. Rioters, contaminated with a Rikti mutagen, are tearing apart their own homes and apartment buildings in a blind rage. Though police have brought down the Rikti Drones that helped to deliver the toxins (and are using their deactivated bodies for target practice), the fenced-in "Hot Zone" district is still a hotbed of activity. Namely the dangerous kind.


[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/SlickRacer/Outbreak1.jpg[/image]
Towards the interior of the zone is the Rivera Medical Center, which is currently filled to capacity. Its staff is hard at work analyzing blood samples extracted from the Contaminated. Due to the emergency conditions present in the area, the hospital is no longer required to adhere to federal standards. This means that you may be forced to recover from your brutal beatings in a restroom or broom closet. Because of this, you should take care not to be brutally beaten.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/SlickRacer/Outbreak2.jpg[/image]
Although the outbreak has been contained, the buildings near the perimeter remain evacuated. Police Drones have been dispatched to patrol the most important thoroughfare in the area. It is on this street where police and heroes alike gather to combat the Contaminated.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/SlickRacer/Outbreak3.jpg [/image]
The streets of the Hot Zone in a rare lull. Note the elevated train tracks high above the road: Broken and twisted, they are in danger of collapsing at any moment. Much of the time, the rioters roam the streets causing as much damage as possible. However, it isn't an unusual sight to see a hero clearing a path through the crowd. Still, even during its quieter moments, the Hot Zone remains volatile and liable to explode into a frenzy at any time. Stay far away.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/SlickRacer/Outbreak13.jpg[/image]
Not all of the aforementioned tracks are in terrible condition, but there are enough gaps in the track to render this entire area's transit system unusable. Your only transportation in this area will be your own two feet.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/SlickRacer/Outbreak9.jpg[/image]
All entrances to the Hot Zone are guarded and fairly secure. High-powered police drones and guards protect the main street with an unblinking eye. Remember, all roads in and out of this area are closed.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/SlickRacer/Outbreak10.jpg[/image]
There are no open stores here either. Factories and warehouses are shut down. Shops and boutiques lie abandoned. Garbage pickup has been indefinitely postponed, but delivery of Rioting Monthly continues.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/SlickRacer/Outbreak11.jpg[/image]
Even the small sliver of the financial district that extends towards the Hot Zone has been evacuated. There are even rumors that some Contaminated have somehow made it past police lines and infiltrated the skyscrapers. Do not let your guard down, even while outside the Hot Zone!

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/SlickRacer/Outbreak12.jpg[/image]
Though the area is certainly worth fighting for, it's best to leave it up to the heroes. The Contaminated are bent on the destruction of everything in the area, and were it not for the quick action of the Paragon police, countless lives could have been destroyed as well. Do not become the first victim.

Tourists seeking their first taste of Paragon City would be better off avoiding Outbreak entirely and instead taking a trip to Atlas Park or Galaxy City instead.