Voidchild_NA

[ QUOTE ]
You assume he's a man.



It's just as likely he's a giant, mechanical, robotic, animating machine.

[/ QUOTE ]

All hail the great "Mechanimator"!

And five stars to the OP, you deserve no less.. ^^

Now, from both of their bodies, the whirling energies begin to cling around each other, dancing about like snakes during a mating ritual. Her face conveys the confusion and shock she experiences as she realizes what this man really is. He on the other hand, only grins fiendishly while tightening his grip around her wrist to the point where he almost stops the flow of blood. She yanks her arm away from him and trips backwards while the identical essences they share revert back into the bodies in which they are kept.

“I’m just here to help luv…” he shrugs with a smug face.

“Who the hell are you?” Voidchild asks with a low voice while massaging her wrist. “I thought I… I thought there wasn’t anyone but me!”

“Keep your mittens on, you’re still as unique as they come luv. Then again, so am I eh?” he slowly begins walking towards her with his hands relaxed behind his back while gazing deeply into her with those pitch black eyes of his. “You an me, we’re so much larger an more significant than the rest of the insects of our respective planes eh? Hell, we were both chosen by the bloody void itself! Everything in the world and between is whatever you an me can make of it.”

“You didn’t answer me! Who the hell are you?” Voidchild begins to grow seemingly irritated, but this is merely a façade to mask the confusion and fear this man puts within her. “Why don’t you look like…You don’t look like me at all!” she keeps stumbling backwards towards the edge, hardly realizing it herself.

“Calm down luv. My friends call me Serpent courtesy of these here big black pupils in my eyes. You can call me Amir though luv. I’ll just be callin you Mary in return, looked it up in ‘em city hall records.” He brings his hands in front of himself and hold the back of them up for her while removing his glove, baring a paper-white skin-tone, like the one Voidchild has herself. “An you obviously never ‘eard of make-up and accessorising. But don’t fret darling, I fancy the natural look you’re going for. In fact, I fancy it quite a lot. Enough for me to cross the planes of existence to come ‘ere and find you.”

Voidchild is by the edge now, leaning up against it with no distance left to separate herself from Serpent. She can’t get a clear grip of the situation, if he is indeed the same as her, then why does he bring so much discomfort with him? Her teeth clench together, if this keeps up, she’ll loose it completely. “But why us?” she stutters. “And why come all this way for me? I’ve got nothing to offer you…”

“Why us? Hell if I know, don much care neither. Look ‘ere luv… You’re the whole reason I came to this bloody place at all. Seein you from afar like that was more than I could bear. What we share, transcends both time an space.”

He leans over her as she trembles and tilts further backwards. The closer he gets, the more panicked she becomes. “Come on luv, you an me, we’re the only one’s good enough for each other eh?”

“Get off of me!” she suddenly cries out as the energies of the void smash into him at point-blank range, sending him crashing into the brick wall behind him. As soon as he’s slammed through the wall she immediately takes to the skies and leaves with a swiftly beating heart.

It takes a minute or so, but after that, Serpent/Amir, slowly gets back onto his feet. “Guess flowers and chocolate won’t cut it with you eh?” he dusts off his clothing. “Honestly, you’d think a lass would find a gesture like dimensional travel romantic.”

He gazes into the distance. “Ah hell, my old man always told me the only way to win a woman over was with perseverance! Nothin to do but get back in the ring eh?”

---

Voidchild stays hidden that entire day. Once again she’s unable to explain her erratic behaviour. Sure, Serpent scared her and surprised her. But he seemed more like a love-sick puppy, although a wicked one, than someone out to harm her. He is also imbued with the exact same essence that she is, perhaps he could have answered some of the thousands of questions she had about her shared essence and powers, even help her control it better. But no, she had to go and smash him through a brick wall like some cornered neanderthal and then go off to hide underneath some docks in Talos Island.

“Very heroic indeed…” she whispers to herself dissatisfied.

She hasn’t eaten all day, and the hunger is slowly trying to convince her to emerge from her hideout. She is reluctant to do so though, still shaking like a scared prey hiding from a carnivore.

---

Serpent himself is quite giddy, but he can’t sense Voidchild at the moment. He’s quietly biding his time in a fancier dive on the outskirts of Kings Row. As soon as she starts cutting loose again with those energies of her, he’ll be able to sense and find her again. It’s just a matter of time, he thinks to himself while ordering another ale for himself.

“Lovely coat…” someone speaks from beside him. “Custom-made perhaps?”

He slowly turns his gaze towards the owner of the voice who is now seated down beside him by the counter. The stranger being no other than Nelson Movian, owner of Base Industries, upper class citizen, high ranking member of the Circle of Thorns and Voidchild’s first real enemy.

“Yours aint to shabby either mate…” he replies with an apathetic stare. “An to answer your question, yeah. Could say it’s none like it in the world.”

“Well…” Movian smirks as he is brought a glass of cognac. “One could wonder why a gentleman with such a well-made piece of clothing was doing rummaging about in dive in Kings Row. Seems there are far better establishments in other districts for a class-act such as yourself.”

“Well, I find these blue-collar pubs have more of an atmosphere and personality to ‘em than those fancy-pants establishments.” He drinks up from his bottle. “I could ask you the same thing you know…”

“Well, I’m here on business friend. I much prefer Steel Canyon to this district. But I agree. More personality here and definitely more of an atmosphere.” Movian hints at the thick layer of smoke in the air and the constant murmur of the residents. “How about you friend, here on business as well? It appears you are not from around these parts, given your accent and all.”

“Me? Aw, jus killing some time while waiting for a lass o mine to come round. Can you believe she gave me this black eye ‘ere?” he proudly pulls down the darkened skin around his left eye.

“I see…” Movian takes a sip from his glass. “She must have quite the temper then that little lady of yours? Hope she’s worth the trouble.”

“Ah, she certainly is mate. Jus like this coat, only one of ‘er in this world I’d say. But like you said, she’s got quite the temper ‘an a punch to back it up. Very powerful lass she is, in more ways ‘an one…”

“Yes… I know the kind and often find myself drawn to the same kind of women. Although, probably for reasons different from your own…”

“’S at right mate? What reasons would those be then?” Serpent asks, obviously intrigued.

“Oh, they vary from woman to woman. I guess I could come up with a corny excuse such as the search for true love.” Movian grins wickedly. “But I’m actually more a man seeking conquests than anything else. Got a project in the workings as we speak actually…”

“That’s a good a reason as any mate.” Serpent holds up his ale towards Movian. “Here’s hoping you catch your lass mate.”

Movian holds up his glass and clinks it together with Serpents. “And here’s hoping you get yours friend…”

They drink up just as Movian’s cellular phone rings, he picks it out of his pocket and checks the number calling.

“Well, seems business is calling. Fortunately, I do so enjoy my work.” He rises from his chair. “Hopefully, things go well for you too friend.” He grins as he walks away. Serpent only raises his bottle in response without saying a word.

“Mr. Leonard…” Movian replies into his cell-phone as he walks outside. “Can I assume you’ve made some progress to be calling me out like this?” He pauses for a while.

“That is indeed good news. So I can expect results by tomorrow perhaps? Wonderful! Just remember Mr. Leonard, I want the child of the void taken intact. A broken shell is of no use to me. Good, where can I meet with you then?” Movian hangs up with a wicked grin. Soon, thanks to Voidchild, he alone will certainly possess the nigh-unlimited power of the void.

((That's it! Aw, who am I kidding.. I can't quit now.. ;P More to come.. ^^))

((Continuation, witty as I am, I've named it "Part 2" ;P. Enjoy)

Voidchild – Snake Eyes, part 2

The Portal Corporation in Paragon City is responsible for monitoring and supervising all trans-dimensional activity taking place in the vicinity. The facilities has recently been re-built, after being destroyed during the Rikti invasion many years ago, and are now up and running at full capacity again. Ever since the Rikti crossed over into our dimension, the infinite number of dimensions closely knitted to ours has been looked upon with fear, hostility and suspicion, and with just cause. The aliens known as the Rikti are far from the only dangers lurking on the other side of the dimensional barriers.

Two weeks ago, the monitoring crew burning the midnight oil bore witness to an unusual fluctuation in the energy fields connecting two of these dimensions. Seemingly, one of their very own portal gates within the building was activating, opening up a gateway to a nearby dimension going by the numbers of 127-383. Except for some insignificant differences in vegetation, this dimension was practically identical to our own.

A team of military personnel as well Portal Corp. researchers were quickly dispatched to the area but came up short. As they arrived, the fluctuations in their readings had ceased, the equipment was shut down again and there was no trace of anything having come through.

Some studies revealed a week later though, that something had come through but disappeared almost instantly when it got here. Assistance from Freedom Corps also revealed that the disturbance had been mystical in nature and that the portal gate in itself had not been used as a transport, but rather as a homing beacon. Someone or something had deliberately tried to find it’s way here.

But for the moment, it was impossible to determine whether or not whatever came through was just passing by, or was still here...

---

The city is recuperating nicely from the last week’s invasion attempt at the hands of the ever hated alien race known as the Rikti. Voidchild herself was part of that epic battle and although she hardly feels as though she made a big difference, she’s still content.

At the moment, she has taken to a secluded rooftop on one of the many dilapidated buildings of Kings Row so that she can check up on her damaged ribs while having a little privacy. Her side is still tender after the beating she received, but she’ll live. Her body has been healing exceptionally fast. She gathers she has the essence of the spirit of the void residing inside her to thank for that. The bandages will have to stay on for a little while longer though.

She slowly sits down after adjusting her uniform so not to stress the wounds further while a nearby stray cat reacts to her presence with hissing. It’s odd, she thinks to herself, that all this week she’s been moving about with broken ribs mending, yet, she’s hardly given it a second thought. Instead, she’s more and more been noticing the way her skin has been crawling with discomfort and herself feeling at dismay over just about anything. It’s true that ever since the spirit of the void awoke within her that she’s felt more melancholic than before, she mostly attributed this to her causing the death of her adoptive father, Raheem, the most important person in the world to her. But she was almost certain she was past that…

The stray cat keeps hissing and baring its teeth at her whilst she tries shooing it away. That’s why she began taking those mood suppressants that she always keeps with her nowadays, so she wouldn’t get caught up in an emotional hurricane and accidentally hurt someone again. But that’s also why she stopped taking the pills around a week ago, reminiscing back to the days with Raheem supposedly made her feel more secure about laying off the pills and instead try to deal with her emotions. Was this a mistake? Has she been keeping all those feelings pent up for too long to just go cold turkey on the pills?

The cat is now drowning her thoughts as well as all other noises in its hisses and just becomes more aggressive the more Voidchild tries to get rid off it.

“Will you shut up you idiotic animal!” She suddenly roars at the cat while she, without even noticing, tears the brick wall behind her into pieces.

The cat takes off at high velocity onto an adjacent roof, leaving a teeth-clenching, heavily breathing and very annoyed Voidchild with a shattered brick wall behind. She comes out of the fit just as suddenly as she got into it, and once again awes at her erratic behaviour

That does it, going off the pills so soon was definitely a mistake. She has to visit a pharmacy and get some new ones as soon as they open tomorrow morning. Until then she’ll just have to remain calm and try to keep a clear head. It’s nerve-racking though, she never notices these mood-swings until she’s in the middle of a fit. It just surprises her and seems to come out of nowhere, without her even being aware of it.

“Now don that make you feel better luv?” Says a familiar voice she can’t quite place. “You don suppose these building here could get more rundown eh?”

Around the wall behind her, the odd man with the wicked grin and hypnotizing pitch black eyes she met while fighting the Rikti steps out. And now he’s just standing there grinning and piercing her with his eyes.

“You…” Voidchild starts while slowly getting to her feet. “Are you following me?” She tries staring him directly into the eyes, but up close like this, she barely reaches up to his nose. “If so… this is not a good time.”

“Course I’m followin you luv! Someone has to watch your porcelain rear end while you still have those ribs all in bandage eh?” He lights up a cigarette, not paying any heed to her disgust with the smoke. “Consider me your knight in shining armour!”

“Look… Just, you know, don’t… I don’t need a civilian hanging around me distracting me while I try to do my job.” She answers indifferently while waving off the smoke.

“Your job? You mean gallivanting around ridding the world of jaywalkers and purse snatchers? Honestly, don’t you think you’re better than that luv? You know, considering what you are an all?”

“I don’t have time this.” She assumes he’s referring to her being a meta-human and turns around to leave. “Go talk with the 5th Column… It sounds to me like you have a lot more in common with them than you do with me...”

“Don walk away from me luv!” The man suddenly grabs a hold of her wrist, and the instant their skin connects, a sudden sensation of pain slashes into her arm. The spirit of the void is screeching out and resonating with something. She senses it’s desire to escape her body and make contact. The chaotic energies of the void begin exuberating from her beneath her skin and takes the form of whirling tendrils surrounding her body. Her eyes open up and gleam with horror as she his arm enveloped in the very same energies. There’s no mistaking it, that’s the energy of the void.

Now this sounds interesting.. ^^ I dare wager that these will be by far the most interesting matches. A free-for-all royal rumble of sixteen (guessing this is the maximum number of participants) heroes duking it out against each other.. I can't wait.. ^^

[ QUOTE ]
Hmm.. Seeing as how this date is so close to this convention Megacon
I'm guessing the east coast gets no love

[/ QUOTE ]

Pff, at least you get lovin at some point..

Statesman, come to Sweden! We'll visit Ikea! But don't worry, we'll avoid the Pöbli-kids. ^^

[ QUOTE ]
Can't let a Bill defense slip by, sorry for the thread jack . . . Loved the Joker reference. The joker and Bill might be pretty comparible if not for the fact that 1)the joker is insaine 2)the joker has intelligent creative plans 3)the Joker's plans are thwarted by active competition/adversity not his own incompetance
Check this out if you think Bill is charitible. Facts about Bill

And games that play on both Windows and Linux (Unreal Tournament 2003) run better under Linux on the same box. (OK, only tested on my one machine, but I'm a tech and both sytems were up to date driver wise, using the hardware I wanted, not purchased for Linux compatability) I wonder if we would need daily downtime if the servers were on a *nix OS. . .

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm going to try and avoid hi-jacking the thread as best as I can as well.. ;P My apologies to the OP.

I liked the Joker-reference as well.. As much as I did the Family Guy satire personalization of Bill Gates. And you're right, those are facts, only very angled that prove nothing more than the fact that Bill Gates is a businessman, and that Microsoft is a large company. And they simply work this way, like all other companies (slight generalization).

And although some programs may run better on different operating systems, I dare say that Unix/Linux is hardly as userfriendly as the Windows software. Not everyone is a technician nor should you have to be in order to use a computer. Not to say that I must be pleased with the fact that XP Professional is seemingly my only option of a userfriendly operating system or the way Windows dominate the market.

Anyhoo, this is still hi-jacking on my part and there's lot more to add to such a discussion (on both our parts I reckon)... ;P It can go on for quite a while too so I'll just put and end to it's public appearance here for my own part. I'd love to discuss it further though but send a PM for that instead...

I did promise not to hi-jack the thread any further didn't I? ;P

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hey! That's not evil at all!

I say we abandon our former dark lord Recluse and follow someone REALLY evil. Like... I dunno, Bill Gates or something.

[/ QUOTE ]

You mean the evil man that donated so much money to charity, it literally pushed him off top spot on the "richest men in the world list" and keeps on giving to the extent that he outnumbers sums that entire nations give away for the purpose of charity? Also, the evil fiend who created(or had major part in creating) the operating system that allows us to play CoH?

Not so evil-looking now is he... You want pure evil? Go get that mean british American Idol judge... He's overdue for followers.. ^^

[/ QUOTE ]

To quote the Joker in the movie Batman:

"And now, folks, it's time for "Who do you trust!" Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust? Me? I'm giving away free money."

Chris

[/ QUOTE ]

Silly me... I forgot the natural order of things... Rich person = Evil and "the truth is out there".

[ QUOTE ]
Hey! That's not evil at all!

I say we abandon our former dark lord Recluse and follow someone REALLY evil. Like... I dunno, Bill Gates or something.

[/ QUOTE ]

You mean the evil man that donated so much money to charity, it literally pushed him off top spot on the "richest men in the world list" and keeps on giving to the extent that he outnumbers sums that entire nations give away for the purpose of charity? Also, the evil fiend who created(or had major part in creating) the operating system that allows us to play CoH?

Not so evil-looking now is he... You want pure evil? Go get that mean british American Idol judge... He's overdue for followers.. ^^

Voidchild is brought back to face grim reality. The speech about mistakes that her departed adoptive father held for her so long ago has stuck to her mind like the sky to the ground for so long… Words to live by, and yet, she almost walked out on them.

She turns back to face the alien, she presses her feet to the ground and clenches her fist as he draws closer to her. He steps up his pace and starts sprinting towards her.

“No more mistakes…” Voidchild growls to herself as the glow in her eyes intensifies.

She throws her hands into the air and the alien is suddenly bereft of his foothold as the undeniable powers of the void hurls it high into the air, only to have it crash down face-first behind her on the asphalt. He is still far from beaten and swings his huge fist backwards and slams it into her back, sending her sliding across the alley. The void protects her body to some extent but those cracking noises were still the sounds of bones breaking.

She turns onto her back and sees the alien leaping down at her from the sky with his sword readied. Almost instinctively, and through sheer panic, she creates a huge field of negated gravitational force that slams him into the ground in front of her. Before it can get up, she hurls herself on top of it and begins bombarding the alien with everything the energies of the void can muster. She closes her eyes and never lets up, afraid, that if she’ll open her eyes, the first thing she’ll see is the alien’s gigantic sword coming down on her.

Suddenly, someone grabs her shoulder. She flings around ready to lash out at any assailants:

“Hey!” a thin blonde man, wearing a grey trenchcoat, a purple shirt and brown pants raises his hands submissively, causing her to freeze halfway. “No need to fret luv! Was just trying to tell you that this here gent has been knocked out cold. No need to kill him off eh?”

She doesn’t answer, but turns her head towards the alien again. Indeed, the Rikti is out cold and its battle-armor lies in pieces all over the alleyway. Had she kept going, she most likely would have killed it.

The man lights a cigarette. “That’s some impressive foot-work luv. You nearly did that guy in didn’t you?”

Voidchild raises and eyebrow and turns towards the man. “I wasn’t trying to kill it…” she replies, knowing that she wasn’t fully in control of the situation.

“Sure you weren’t… But you still nearly did so anyways no?” he let’s out some smoke. “You look all bruised up though. Should go get yourself some of that free hero-help at Chiron medical facility no?”

“I…” is all she gets to say before he interrupts her again.

He sniffs the air. “Why you smell lovely…” he comments with a wicked grin behind his bright goatee.

The odd comment coupled with the big black, almost serpent-like eyes of the stranger causes her great discomfort. She slowly hovers into the air, not letting him out of her sight until she picks up speed and starts heading for Chiron medical facility.

As soon as she’s vanished in the distance, the stranger kicks the unconscious alien around for a bit. “My, you really tore ‘im apart didn’t you Voidchild?” He takes another puff from his cigarette. “Well, I guess I best make some notes of that… Good idea no luv?”

The young civilian she just sacrificed her ribs to keep away from harm comes out of hiding.

“Who was that?” he asks cautiously. “She saved my life… I mean, she was weird, but she saved my life. Is she some new hero!”

The odd gentleman turns his head towards the civilian who walks up to him and gazes into the distance for traces of his rescuer.

“Think Voidchild was her name chap.” he replies while putting out his cigarette. “Quite the lady eh?”

“Yeah… I’ll say!” the young man replies distantly. “You missed her mood-swing though. She gave me quite a telling off.”

“Oh? My, what I wouldn’t give to see her all furious as such.” he grins wickedly while glaring over at the young man beside him. “She sure put her heart and soul into rescuing you didn’t she lad?”

“Huh?” the young man turns to face him and meets his wicked blackened stare.

Suddenly, the stranger gentleman snaps his neck and let’s the dead body of the young man fall to the ground.

“Imagine how angry she’ll be when I tell her that despite all her effort and heroic gallantness, I killed you just for the plain ol heck of it!” he lights up another cigarette and his whole face lights up in an eerie fashion. “My, that would be ever so delightful!”


((This is the end of chapter "Snake Eyes"... More to come though..))

When she was just a small girl, around four years old, she “accidentally” ruined one of Raheem’s many paintings. He was such a gentle man and it was showed clearly through his paintings where the motifs were almost exclusively wildlife or nature. Dull to some, but Voidchild always loved the simple, smooth strokes of his brush that would inevitably mould into a living breathing animal or a beautiful visage of the land they lived on. But the one painting he was most proud of, was the portrait he drew of her… Mary, later Snowflake, lastly Voidchild. He told her how when she got older how he had to struggle to get her to sit still for the painting but also how it was easily worth it:

“It’s by far the most beautiful motif I’ve had the pleasure of working with!” he smiled at her while roughing up her hair.

She smiled back up at him with those large light-blue glowing eyes of hers, seemingly pleased herself. But in actuality, what she really wanted was to have as beautiful dark skin as Raheem and everyone else living in her village. She never liked the ice-cold, pale exterior she presented herself and which made her stick out like famine among health.

One evening, Raheem was out running errands in the village while she was left at home. She sat in the kitchen for almost two hours, just staring at the portrait of herself that he had proudly placed on the wall for everyone to see. After the second hour had passed, she climbed onto a chair and pulled it down, went out and got his brushes and paint and began struggling to colour the insides of the contours with a dark brown colour.

When Raheem got home later that evening, he immediately noticed the new painting hanging on his kitchen wall. His old portrait of Snowflake was now a big puddle of dark brownish colours, not blending together very professionally either. He sighed heavily… He always had a feeling the issue of her peculiar skin-colour was going to manifest sooner or later. He just didn’t know how.

He went into her room to find her hiding underneath the sheets of her bed. She had never done anything like this before and was probably deathly afraid of seeing Raheem angry with her. He sat down on the side of the bed and pulled the sheets off of her while asking why she went and did something like that. But she was too ashamed, and probably too scared, to answer. Raheem took point instead.

“You’re a beautiful and unique young girl Snowflake…” he started off while removing the tiny hands she was shielding her face with. “There is no use in aspiring to become what everyone else is because each and every living thing in this world is unique. And that is how it should be…”

She finally looked up at him again, her eyes seemed to glow more than usual and were blurry somehow. Raheem knew well that she was even more unique than he was letting on, but he had never seen her in this sort of emotional state and it caught him somewhat by surprise. He was just happy that she was this special though and continued on.

“You do know that what you did was not the right thing to do? That the decision of what my paintings look like are mine alone to make?” he stated with a more authoritive voice this time. She slowly nodded her head with a worried look on her face. “But I forgive you!” He suddenly smiled. “And you know why? Because even though you’ve made a mistake, you can always make up for it. It’s never too late. Now this doesn’t mean that you can go around doing as you please without consideration for others. Making up for mistakes is only second to preventing them from happening in the first place… If!” He held up his index-finger and pointed at her. “If it’s within your power to do so...”

She stared long and hard at Raheem’s finger pointing at her. The meaning of his words were crystal-clear to her and the majestic way in which he went about telling her about it only made them clearer. She looked up at him and gave him a grand smile in response and promised she’d make it up to him.

“Indeed you will…” he smirked. “You’re going to help me make an equally, no, an even better portrait right now. And neither you nor I will go to sleep until it’s finished, alright?”

She nodded happily and followed him to help with the painting. The second painting became even better than the first. A more natural, happy, yet a bit frizzy-haired Snowflake got to decorate their kitchen-wall for the rest of the days they were both lucky enough to spend together.

((Well, it's been quite some time before I posted something new around here.. ^^ I still see some 6-month old threads that I recognized from when I spent more time in the RP-forum.. Funfun.. ^^

Anyhoo, I finally got around to writing another fic on my main, Voidchild. I said there'd be some continuation to my previous work and here it is. I wanted to do something a bit special for her re-introduction into the world of fanfics so I tied this in with the end-of-beta Rikti Invasion which she herself was a part of. Even though it didn't happen at all like it did in the fan-fic (was mostly a slaughter) =P.

Anyways... Here's the continuation to Voidchilds Origin and the first few days she spent in Paragon City. If none of this makes sense to you reading it or if you just liked it and hunger for more, you should check out the original works with story that may or may not be (I'm not im-partial here ;P) a prerequisite to understand what's going on.

You can find the previous Voidchild material here:

Voidchild's Origin
Voidchild - Filling the void

Hopefully, you'll enjoy the read)


Voidchild – Snake Eyes

Inconceivable… The chaos and devastation she is witnessing before her can only be described with this one word… inconceivable…

Voidchild stands on the edging of one of the many skyscrapers in Atlas Park, the very heart of Paragon City. The enormous statue portraying one of the city’s many deceased and mighty heroes is surrounded by the chaos of battle. And the sun is blocked out by the enormous battleship that belongs to the aliens known as “The Rikti”.

Down there, the many new heroes whom have come to Paragon City are fighting for their own lives as well as the lives of every other person inhabiting the city. She is not oblivious to the fact that this was not the first time the Rikti had launched an assault on the city. Not at all… She turns her head and once again stares at the sign:

“Earth for humans!” it says “Let’s keep it that way!”

There’s a reason that sign is there, a reason why the population of this city fears and hates these invaders as they do. The Rikti were here many years ago, and from what Voidchild can hear, it was much worse than today, however hard that is to believe. A huge explosion demands that she turns her attention back to the chaotic battle below. One of the next generation’s heroes of this city puts on a large show as he explodes in a burst of energy and sends literally dozens of the invaders careening through the air.

The heroes fighting down there are indeed brave men and women. It seems as thought they merely threw themselves into the fray without a moment’s hesitation. Not like herself who stands atop the building paralyzed by the chaos gripping the city. She wants to go down there and help, she really does and her instincts scream out to her that it’s what she should truly use her gifts for as well.

However, it may just be the violent nature of the spirit trying to convince her to join the battle. It’s always trying to find reasons for her to use her powers. And every time she does so, she gets the feeling it’s struggling to stay outside of her and remain there. After spending almost her entire life with the being, it’s hard to understand what it wants, even though they’ve been merged for so long.

What scares her now is as much the entity of the void within her as well as the battle raging on outside of her throughout the city. She is quite honestly, terrified of losing her life, either to the spirit of the void or to these invaders. As her panic grows, she reaches into one of the pockets in her suit and pulls out a small bottle of pills, mood-suppressants, and quickly swallows two of them. These suppressants give her a physical edge as it dampens the influence of the spirit. A temporary respite is given to her and the threat of losing control to the spirit seems, for a brief moment, less likely to happen. But the battle below seems to intensify for every second. Even though portals are appearing all over Atlas Park, spawning the alien invaders, she is unable to take action. She thinks to herself that the other, more experienced heroes have the situation under control and that she’d merely get in their way. At that very moment of intense hesitation, she regrets ever signing up for this supposed job.

Her attention is suddenly drawn to the alleyway below her where a young man, probably only in his teens is assaulted by one of the invaders wielding a huge sword. Apparently, this citizen hasn’t been evacuated yet and is now only moments from becoming a casualty of this conflict.
None of the other heroes have taken notice of the situation, they are far too busy fighting off the hordes of Rikti assaulting city hall. Without even assessing a strategy or thinking things through, she dives down to intercept the alien. The Rikti-soldier however, takes notice of her and swiftly jumps out of the way as she touches down in front of it.

The alien seems a lot larger than it did from the top of the building. Voidchild uses the brief respite provided by her sudden appearance to turn towards the teenager and shriek with all the power of her lungs:

“Run!”

She feels the cold metal graze her body and the sudden pain causes her to slam backwards and hit her head on a dumpster. She is way to careless, she should have brought forth the energies of the void before she leapt down here. The second sword-strike is met by those energies though as she utilizes the force of the void to raise a protective field around herself. An overwhelming sensation of joy comes over her as two forces clash. The spirit is very pleased. However, the strength of the alien is astounding, it doesn’t let up for one second but instead only intensifies the pressure of its weapon against her energy fields. This isn’t going to work for much longer.

She turns her head and notices the civilian hasn’t escaped yet, he’s cowering in fear, crying out for his mother and whelping. Voidchild grows more and more annoyed with his inability to take flight. The energies of the void respond to her mood and begin to violently exuberate from her body, cling around her like tendrils. There is a sudden spark in her eyes and suddenly the alien soldier is sent flying out onto the streets by a sudden shockwave of gravitational force and Voidchild grabs the teenager by his shirt and holds him to her face:

“Just run away already you whimpering gnat!” she hisses at him.

The fear in his eyes intensifies as though Voidchild was scaring him more than the aliens themselves. She suddenly drops him and the flowing tendrils that was clinging to her body disappears as suddenly as they appeared.

“I’m… I’m sorry…” she gasps while quickly backing away from the young boy, shocked and surprised by her own behaviour just now. At least she got the desired results, the boy is already stumbling over garbage cans trying to make his way out of there. Just in time too, Voidchild looks over her shoulder and spots the alien slowly moving towards her again, seemingly unscathed by the shockwave.

There is no time to ponder about her erratic behaviour right now. The civilian is out of the way and she has to get away quickly before this behemoth catches up with her. She’s just about to take off into the sky when it hits her why she even bothered to come to this city, seemingly abandoned by God. It hits her as sudden as it does hard:

Well, while I wouldn't have minded the boss changes staying as they were, I understand that this had to be done.. And like all the rest here, I salute your decision and involvement! ^^

It doesn't really matter though, since you've already given me the difficulty slider.. I'll just crank up the difficulty some more now and work that way instead..

You are by and far the greatest development team I've ever had the pleasure of swooning over. ^^

[ QUOTE ]
Well, even though the title refers to a huge place where many fights took place a long time ago, I do not think PvP will be coming next issue.

Maybe I am wrong.

I think the building of these and the library's or research universities will be built and some other things will be in game, but I do not think issue 4 will have the PvP but elements for it will be in it. I think issue 5 will be released within close proximity to the release of CoV and thats when we will get bases for both Evil and Good, and I think when PvP will be instituted.

Just my hunch peoples. Just my hunch.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just gave you five stars Mr. MysticDarkAngel for these three reasons:

Staying ontopic: Seems to me that this is another thread being hijacked by those who doesn't agree with the Devs decisions regarding issue 3.

Speculation: Your speculations for the content of issue 4 in regards to the title are very interesting and I concur. I believe it still seems to early to put in PvP. Unless they use one really, really, really big disclaimer that changes will be made during the Arena testing and after it's gone live.

Signature: That has to be the very best signature I have ever seen. Especially in regards to what game we are playing, changes and the nature of these official boards. ^^

1. Skills System (SSOCS)
2. PvP Arenas (needs no comment)
3. More, more, more zone specific events (one of the best things to hit issue three!)
4. Origin specific missions for us magic users (that we can hopefully do even after reaching 50 ;P)
5. Can never get too many zones/new mission types (love the Hollows and Striga, keep em coming! ^^ Preferably a new zity zones though, if I'm allowed to make demands... Which I'm not. ;P)
6. Costume options galore (I needs my flowing dresses)
7. Skills System (I know it's already been mentioned, but you can never wish upon a star so many times ^^)

Things I don't expect in issue four but I would love to see soon:

1. Arch-foe system (The one Positron had written up, I needs me an arch-foe! ^^)
2. Customizable powers (not weapons, my actual powers ^^)
3. Bases/Apartments and alike
4. More small instanced zones such as the dance club (bars/police station/Crey Main Office etc. Places with some functionality, not just fluff)

That's all I can think of for the moment ^^

Thank you for being involved and caring about your community and your creation. It really shines through how much work and effort has been put into the game as I play through it.

Thank you especially for the huge month-to-month updates that you keep sending my way, assuring that I'll never tire of the game.. =) Every update I go through is mindboggling with content.. ^^

I just have to /sign this idea! It's unique, it's innovative and it's just plain great for letting people of all levels battle it out with each other on relatively equal grounds...

As quite a few have already mentioned, the enhancements and extra powers will still give the higher level char a major upper hand and this we are not disregarding the fact that people aren't rewarded for having reached a certain level of power. This would be a wonderful way to decrease and discourage griefing and let people of all levels have fun together... ^^

Now, we just need some sort of reputation system for rewards, hmm... If there was only some sort of idea for this formulated and discussed in another thread... Hmm:

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...art=1&vc=1

If only...

[ QUOTE ]
Heya Bridger!

I've a question: Will those of us in Europe who are playing on US servers ever be able to switch our characters over to a European server? Will we have to buy the European version of the game to do this?


Thanks in advance and good luck!

[/ QUOTE ]

What the Sponge said.. err, asked.. ^^

[ QUOTE ]
On the second call I even simply missed a mob that had hidden itself, and I would've sworn there was none left, but they were so nice as to even teleport me to them!

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, almost the exact thing happened to me... Only I missed a glowie. It was so awkward but the friendly GM's even told me where to find it so I was gosh darn happy! ^^

A big thanks to the excellent in-game GMs for both quick response but also for overall fuzzyness! ^^

Any ETA on the server transfer of characters? I'm dying for this one.. ;P

((Sorry for the bump.. We're expanding nicely but are still very interested in heroes that fit the Moonlight Watch's bill. There is room for great diversity in the MW, especially seeing as how we work everyone in story-wise to give them a purpose, common goal or what have you.. ^^

Be sure to check us out.. ^^))

If your character is on Virtue, you can look us up to see if your character fits the bill.. ^^

The Moonlight Watch

The Moonlight Watch - Cultists or heroes?

By Juliana Nehring

Recently founded supergroup named by it's founder, Abraham Solomon, "The Moonlight Watch" is a very hot topic among the citizens and officials in ffice:smarttags" />Paragon City. Mr. Solomon’s father, Samuel Solomon, was a highly renowned businessman until being exposed as a worshipper of dark gods. The unveiling of this information lead to claims that his fortune had been created by mystical means. Solomon Sr. dropped all contact with high-society and shut himself inside his skyscraper located in Steel Canyon. Rumors of Solomon Sr. losing himself completely in his worshipping of the dark magicks came from the staff inside the building.

These rumors were later confirmed when Solomon Sr. emerged from his tower with an insidious plan in which he would level the entire city by uprooting the very foundation on which it stands. But he was quickly thwarted by the city’s heroes. Solomon Sr. took his own life directly after the incident. The public never fully forgot him and his misdeeds.

Abraham Solomon, the son and only heir to the vast Solomon fortune, was therefore forced to take over the business at a young age. Loud voices proclaimed that his son was unfit to cater to such an enormous resources. This was due to the reputation his father had left behind. Many were afraid that the son would turn out as his father and predecessor.

Solomon Jr. seems to have inherited his fascination of the mystical arts from his father. This coupled with his aggressive business style has made him a personal favourite of the tabloids and gossipers of PC. It seems not a week goes by without another rumor popping up about his mental health, religious attitude or the latest one, his supposed dealing with the feared villain group called the Circle of Thorns. Most people have already decided that Jr. is no better than Sr.

Now, the ambitious heir has taken his business a step further, founding the newest supergroup within Paragon City. "The Moonlight Watch". An action that has left both high-society as well as the rest of the public worried and concerned. I was granted an interview with Mr. Solomon who wishes to explain the details concerning The Moonlight Watch and settle any question marks.

JN: Mr. Solomon, your press-release speaks of "The Moonlight Watch" as being a force that deals primarily in mystical matters. Isn't this limiting yourselves a bit?

AS: Not as I see it. In fact, I believe that we will be able to broaden our horizons within the field of magic much more than your next group. Many groups within PC are good, but they lack focus. Of course, we do not only accept members with magical backgrounds. Our enemies comes in all sorts of forms, and so must we. Our main objective remains the same though, thwart any and all who seek to use the mystical arts for their own benefit.

JN: Your newly founded group seems to have gotten quite some attention. I assume you are aware of this?

AS: Yes, indeed I am. Of course you know what they say? There's no such thing as bad publicity. I very much like the thought of villains everywhere knowing that we exist.

JN: And the accusations that you and your group of followers are a dark cult or even a group of villains yourselves? How do you respond to these?

AS: Not that what you read in the tabloids are true. But I believe people are entitled to their own opinions. For the moment, they know very little of The Moonlight Watch. I hope in time, that our actions will speak for themselves. For the moment, I can do little to change the publics opinion of myself and the members of our Watch.

JN: One last question Mr. Solomon... You have turned your father’s old skyscraper into your new "Watchtower" from what I've gathered. This move has fueled the public’s opinion of you following in your fathers footsteps. Would you like to comment on this?

AS: ...My father took an unfortunate turn when dealing with the world of spirits. Let me just state for the record that I do not align myself with any spirits, I find them to be far too unreliable.


We also went into the public to ask people how they felt about the newly founded group of self-appointed heroes.

"I don't like it one bit! A. Solomon is just like his father! Both worshippers of the devil! And to think that the city has given him the same authority as that of the Freedom Phalanx? That's just insane! Where's this city coming too? -Eric Calhoun, construction worker."

"We have enough heroes looking after us, and you know it! These guys ain't reliable! Take my word for it! -Jean Richards, homemaker."

"People should cut the guy some slack... I mean, maybe his dad was an a-hole. But why the heck judge him from that? And those accusations of him cutting the CoT a deal? That's just nuts, the tabloids do anything to boost their sales. -Joseph Summers, police officer."

"The Moonlight Watch's just an excuse to get down with evil spirits and stuff. I bet they keep all of those magic dohickeys they gather for their cult! You'll see I'm right... -Bridget Watson, student."

"The guy shuts himself into the skyscraper just the same as his father, he's into the same mystics as him, he's incredibly aggressive in his business decisions... Just like his father. And now, this guy's got followers? It's just nuts if you ask me... -Frank Kimble, programmer."

"Well, I'm not sure at all what to think about this... I think we should just wait and see what happens. There isn't any proof of him doing anything wrong so far. Think people would have noticed. - Mary-Ann Johnston, executive assistant."

"I'm telling you! Those fools we call city-officials are going to regret ever giving this kind of authority to a cultist! They may not feel it, but god does. -Robert Kingsley, Priest."

"Why make such a big fuss out of this? Sure, I mean, that group ain't right. But as soon as they try anything, the Freedom Phalanx or some other REAL supergroup will be there to beat the crap out of them. We've got nothing to worry about. -Marco Guilliermo, chef."

"So far, they've done nothing wrong. But we'll be keeping a close eye on them. You can bet on that! -Cold Tap, official hero."

"The moonlight watch? You mean that cult or whatever it is? Yeah, I hear they sacrifice lambs and stuff to some dark god! Wasn't it's founder the son of some madman? -Bruno Madridge, unemployed."

There you have it folks. The majority of the public has a very strong opinion of the Moonlight Watch already. This reporter anxiously awaits an answer to what the true role of Paragon City's newest Supergroup is. Keep your eyes peeled for "The Moonlight Watch". We here at Paragon Times will.

/Juliana Nehring

((The Moonlight Watch is a newly founded RP-SG on virtue who currently consists of four members and are look for more thrilling participants.. ^^ If this sounds interesting to you, head over to: http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.asp...p;TabID=172310

Browse the forums, look the site over and apply if it sounds interesting to you. ^^ Right now, the SG is small, but we intend to do a lot of cross-SG RP'ing as well.

We try and work every applicant in storywise so that everyone feels they have a reason for being with the MW.

Anyways, if you liked this introduction and are excited to find out how things progress. Then head over to our guildportal and see how you like it or contact me in-game. I can be found as either one of these characters: "Voidchild" "Mr. Solomon" "Stitch" "Blue Gladiator".

Hope to see you soon. ^^))

Stitch – Tabula Rasa


Now:

He’s dragging himself into an abandoned warehouse by the docks, leaving a trail of blood in the puddles of rain-water. Luckily, the warehouse is empty. He can rest here. He slouches onto a few empty boxes and relaxes his body. His body is covered in bleeding holes. Slowly but surely though, the bullets inside his body begin to dissolve and the remnants are being pushed back out again as the wounds begin to heal. It’s been a long time since he last sustained such serious injuries.

That’s what you get for bailing in the middle of a contract. The Family are is pretty fussy about those sorts of things. Perhaps he could have killed them all off or at least have fought back. But for some reason, he just didn’t feel like it… He’s doesn’t even feel angry or vengeful. Just tired…

“There isn’t always someone to stand up for the weak.” Yeah, that’s what she said. That Voidchild woman he met up with a few weeks ago. What if someone had been there to stand up for him when he was young and weak? Perhaps then, things wouldn’t have turned out as they did…

Then:

His mother was sick even before she got pregnant with him. But the whole ordeal of pregnancy took too much of a toll on her. After holding on to life long enough to give birth to him, she died. He never knew her, so it didn’t matter much to him. His father knew her though, and he loved her very much. He put the blame on the child, feeling it was because of his birth that she died. The father turned very bitter.

This manifested in constant torment directed onto him. In fact, the only reason his father kept him around was so that he could vent his rage and bitterness at something.

This abuse turned him into an introvert, fragile little boy, which didn’t help him at all when meeting other children, or when school started for that matter. He was constantly bullied on here as well. The teachers never noticed. Either that or they didn’t care. He’d come home to his father with bruises and black eyes every day. Then, he’d only get beaten further for not standing up for himself. He was the perfect victim for all the bullies and bitter people of the world. He was weak.

He spent the first ten years of his life being beaten, abused and heckled. Never once in all these years did he stand up for himself or even let somebody see how angry and frustrated he was. To him, pain was the equality of life. One didn’t exist without the other. After enduring for ten years, there were only two options available to him. Either end his own life, or end the lives of the ones torturing him. His pent up frustration became the judge, jury and executioner in this matter.

When the police arrived at their house, they found him outside in the yard playing with a broken piece of wood while adorning a terrifying and satisfied look on his blood-stained face. They also found the remains of his father inside the house. That was the manifestation of all those years of abuse and torture.

Now:

He obviously fell asleep, because the next time he opens his eyes, his wounds are healed. He supports himself against a few other boxes and slowly makes his way outside. His body is healed but a bit stiff and his mind is still worn out from all the pondering.

He is still not angry or vengeful, as he feels he should be. And rightly so… he was subjected to multiple bullet wounds wasn’t he? He looks down on his bare upper body. The holes are gone. The only remaining scars are those he gave himself while spending time at that mental institution Unfortunately, those wounds, along with some other ones, couldn’t heal themselves as easily as the bullet wounds.

Then:

He was obviously unstable and could not be held accountable for his actions. So he was brought to the Skyway City Mental Institution for medical care. Here, he’d even give the experienced doctors a good scare with his large white eye-balls almost sticking out of their sockets. His eerie, satisfied smile only added to the frightening appearance he presented.

Also, he began cutting himself as soon as he got his hands on a sharp object… This left terrible scars on his body. The odd thing about those scars though, is that they were somehow symmetric and methodical as if being a recollected pattern from his memory. It didn’t matter how the doctors tried to keep him from cutting himself, he always managed to get a hold of something. At one time, they even found him chewing on his own arm. Still creating the same systematic pattern he’s fashioned over the rest of his body. The doctors had to fasten a mask over his mouth to restrain him. This added even further to his already unpleasant appearance.

He spent four years in the institution. The doctors made some slow progress with him and at least got him back into a somewhat human state of mind. He’d stop cutting himself and even think and speak orderly. He was, however, still very angry and ill-tempered as well as difficult to control or predict.

When closing up on his fifteenth birthday, something began happening. The doctors would find him howling in his room, twisting and turning as if in terrible pain. They deduced that he was beginning to grow conscious of his past actions and that somehow tortured by this. They saw it as a somewhat good sign.

Of course, they were terribly wrong. He wasn’t tormented by past actions. He didn’t regret what he had done one bit. The pain he felt, that made him howl and twist, was physical in nature. He was a mutant, and latent abilities were about to manifest themselves.

During one of the regular sessions with the doctors he once again began howling and twisting his entire body in pain. Ever since he began having these attacks, the doctors always put him in a straight-jacket before their sessions. They didn’t worry at all as long as the jacket was securely fastened. That’s when the spikes shot out from his body nailing everyone in the room and severing his restraints. He hadn’t meant for anyone to die. But now, spikes made of his own bones protruded from his body uncontrollably. He slammed through the door and ran away from the mental institution.

The pain was excruciating and he thought it would never end… But it did. After a few hours he had fallen asleep in a pile of trash. When he woke up, the spikes were gone, as well as the wounds they had brought with them. He could feel them though, moving about inside his body. He could also feel the venom pulsing inside the bones. It hurt, but only for a while. His own body was somehow compensating for the spikes, wounds and venom inside, keeping him alive. These regenerating cells worked very quickly and it didn’t take long before he was used to the process.

After roaming the streets for a while, he found it clear what to use his newly found talents for. Since he had little conscience or remorse, he began his career as a mercenary. At the mere age of fifteen.

Now:

He is still wearing the mask the doctors gave him at the mental institution. It makes him look fearsome and he knows that fear can be a powerful weapon. He’s now made his way to Kings Row and onto one of the many desolate rooftops where he could think in peace. Where was he going to go from here? He had bailed on a contract he was assigned to. The rumour would spread and he’d be without business very soon.

In his last job, he was hired to take out a city official for the Family. A fairly easy task, however, this time around was different. As he leaned over the frightened city official for the kill, he saw the reflection of himself in the tear-drenched eyes of his victim. He looked just like his father whenever he would lean over him and start another beating. There was no one around who could stand up for this man, and he certainly didn’t have a chance in hell without intervention. Just like he, himself, never had a chance as a child. That was back when he was weak. Was this man before him also weak? His mind was too unstable, he had to pull out and regain his senses. He cancelled the job. In return, the Family tried to cancel him. Had he become a weakling again for not being able to follow through and finish his appointed task?

He hears a cry for help from down the street and looks out from the rooftop. One of the local gangs is in the middle of molesting some woman down there in the alley.

She’s weak. She should stand up for herself.

But maybe, sometimes people can’t... No matter how strong they are…

Then:

At the beginning of his career as a mercenary, things didn’t go so well. He’d often get beaten to a bloody pulp. Without the help of his regenerative cells, he’d been dead long ago. He quickly got the hang of it though and at the age of thirty-one he’d made quite a name for himself in the business of hired goons. The Family were his most frequent customers.

Although, he did do some outside work too. During one of these jobs a few weeks ago, he bumped into a would-be heroine calling herself Voidchild. They battled each other and even he found himself impressed by the strength she displayed. The mission turned out semi-successful, but that’s not important.

After the assignment, he spoke with the woman whom at the end of their discussion told him that she found him to be weak.

The thought of him being weak was inconceivable. He knew he had been as a child, but he had grown since then. He could stand up for himself and do a lot more than most others… She repeated her statement… That she thought he was weak. What did she mean?

He couldn’t shake off what she had said. In what way could he be perceived as weak? For the coming weeks, he pondered on this and asked himself a question, something he had never bothered doing since the answer seemed so obvious: What is strength? He’d always thought it to be the ability to look after oneself and survive by any means necessary.

A change was triggered within him, and over the coming weeks, he began to change. His current occupation provided him with little, if any, satisfaction. For each kill, he began to doubt his perception of what strength really was and whether he was in possession of it. He knew that something had to change.

This leads us to where he is today…

Now:

He looks back onto the bloody trail he’s left behind during his life and knows for certain that he’s been fooling himself. He’s been hiding behind a false philosophy while trying to avoid feeling like a tortured child. In the process, he’s become the instrument of all the bullies and tormentors of the world. He feels shameful… shameful and weak.

He knows the answer now! He knows what true strength is, and it’s far from the life he’s been leading. He silently asks for forgiveness. It won’t be enough and he knows it. That doesn’t matter. The change has been triggered, he’s not going back.

He turns his attention down onto the streets once more. The spikes inhabiting his body slowly protrude as he leaps down. He bounces off the walls of the adjacent building until he’s reached solid ground.

His presence is immediately detected. He wouldn’t want it any other way. He sees the frightened woman lying in a pile of garbage. She’ll live, that’s his intention. And that’s what’s going to be.

He smiles behind his mask before directing all of his attention towards the goons. “Did you thugs ever walk into the wrong god damn alley…”

This day, Stitch is reborn. His second slate will stay clean…


((Thanks for taking the time to read about my second characters origin.. ^^ You'll be happy to know that Stitch has found fullfillment by working as a mentor for the Legion of Young Heroes. Training superkids to become supermen and women.. ^^ Thanks again!))

This is looking very good.. ^^ Though, I do have an eerie feeling about this project! Jennifer best watch herself.. *scared*

About time for the sixth part! ^^

Truly a powerful and emotional ending. It was well worth the wait!

I know that the community-project only wanted fics around 1500 words or so, but I still think you should try to send this in. Perhaps they'll have some sense of quality anyways.. ^^

You be sure to check out my Voidchildstory(Which is completed now. =P) as well and let me have the judgement from someone with such fanfic-expertise as well.. ^^