[ QUOTE ]
"Are anticipating we will be attacked while we look for Crystal and Paul?" He asked raising an eye brow. "They are only a short way down the tunnel. They are fine."
[/ QUOTE ]
"You can never be to careful, Jack." Connor didn't want to discuss what was going through his mind right now, especially if what he suspected was true. He need to change the topic. "So tell me, what are your parent's like? They've probably treated you a whole lot better than my father has treated me in the past twenty years."
[ QUOTE ]
"So tell me, what are your parent's like? They've probably treated you a whole lot better than my father has treated me in the past twenty years."
[/ QUOTE ]
Jack walked slowly with his hand still held tightly behind his back. The question seemed to have an affect on him as he frowned. Deep emotions still had a small effect on him and this one probably ran the deepest.
"They're dead." He said bluntly. "Killed by mutant haters for having a mutant son."
He had never told anyone at campus this, not even Crystal. Again, he pushed the emotion away. Soon Master Wonderful would be dead and everything in Jacks life would be better, Syn had told him so. Jack felt blissfully devoid of feeling again.
How about yours? Jack asked.
[ QUOTE ]
Harris let out a little yell as the bear got up with him on its back and he almost lost his balance. They started to move down the tunnel.
[/ QUOTE ]
The little man in the big armor yelped a lot Magni noticed. To Magni's mind that meant he missed his family. If that was the case, then Magni would do his very best to keep an eye on this man. Besides... He had given Magni CHOCOLATE! That alone made the little man in big armor a friend in his book.
Magni lumbered down the path while the small man with big guns floated nearby. They came upon a contented Modi, sleeping on the remains of several of the stinky bad men, including a massive body with lots of pointy bits. It looked like it was missing something but Magni didn't care. He wlked over and swatted his brother for sleeping.
Modi woke with a snort and swatted his brother back gently. He was still feeling woozy from trying to chew on the big body of the man who shed his skin. He left the big body behind when he landed from Modi's first attack. It smelled kind of like Papa so he kept it, even though it tasted very bad.
Modi saw the little floating man, and the shaky man riding on his brother's shoulders. Now that there were more people here he hoped they could find Papa... because he could not fit in the door Papa went through earlier.
He had tried, and almost gotten stuck. The frame attested to this with massive claw marks on the sides. Modi gestured with his head towards the door and walked towards it again... and whined.
He wanted Papa and Mama... and he could smell them BOTH in there. And Mama smelled scared...
[ QUOTE ]
How about yours? Jack asked.
[/ QUOTE ]
"My father has treated me like I was going to betray him at any point since an incident, which I'm only now starting to remember, from the time I was about five years old. My mother died the next year and I never got to see her before she was gone, nor even got a chance to go to her funeral. You've talked about how you've suffered, at least you never had to fight with your own father to get anything that most other children are entitled to without ever understanding why he hates you. I even had to fight to get to where I am in my father's company and to prove that he could trust me. I did not have it easy like you said I did back in the truck, Jack. No one ever has it easy. All you can do is learn how to play the hand you've been given."
Jack stopped in his tracks and laughed.
"You had to have a little argument with daddy to get your small office and pocket money. Oh poor you. You're right. I can't see how that compares with a small child watching both his parents murdered in front of his own eyes for what he was. Its all so clear now. I should be happy." Jack was being sarcastic of course and putting on a voice as if he was talking to a child.
"You say we have to play with the hand life gives us. Well, life took my hand away." He started to walk again. Just a little bit more and they would be far away enough for the others to not hear them. Then he would no longer have to suffer this fool.
"So, what is this incident you spoke of?" Jack asked trying to keep Master Wonderfuls attention for just a little longer.
----------------------------------
Harris had locked his arms around the bears neck for fear of falling off. Once they final stopped he got off with his legs shaking. The creature had brought him to a door. As Harris approached it he heard a slowly clicking sound. He looked around trying to hear were it was coming from. He realized it was coming from himself. After some searching he found a small screen on the back of the suits glove. The clicking seemed to becoming from a small speaker next to it.
He held his hand out to the door and the clicking seemed to get just a little bit quicker. It was then that he realized it was a Giga Counter. The screen read, Radiation levels safe.
It took some effort but Harris pushed open the door. Nervously he poked his head in side and rather stupidly shouted, Hello?
((OOC: I know this is a preemptive strike but MW's rather upset at this.))
[ QUOTE ]
"You had to have a little argument with daddy to get your small office and pocket money. Oh poor you. You're right. I can't see how that compares with a small child watching both his parents murdered in front of his own eyes for what he was. Its all so clear now. I should be happy."
[/ QUOTE ]
Connor could only see red now, not even hearing the rest of what the young man said. He'd had enough of the little punk. Before he could even think about what he was doing, he lifted Jack up by his throat and slammed him against the wall.
"Do NOT play the pain and suffering card against me! You will loose every time. My father sent me away to a school when I was three years old. Over the course of those two years I and all the other childeren at that 'school' were tortured and expirimented on. I was never able to sleep because of the horrors they put me through and the screams I would hear coming from the others. Somehow I was able to escape, but when my father found out what was going on in the place I was being 'taught' he banished me to this country with nothing but the cloths on my back. He even made sure that my life was miserable here, something that he told me he did everytime I ever saw him. He made sure that I could never get a job as I got older. He did everything in his power to make surethat I couldn't afford to feed myself or even get any sort of higher education. He left me out here to die. I've had to fight tooth and nail to be able to have any success. I had to fight him to get even a job in the mail room of his company's holdings in the U.S. I even had to fight him to pay me even half of minimum wage for the job. I've had to fight him for every promotion to get to the posistion I have now, which he has turned into little more than a figure head, still not paying me enough to be able to survive outside the walls of my towering prison. My life as a hero puts me in a precarious possition of getting cast back out into the streets again. The only thing standing between me and utter ruin at this point is Martin, the closest thing to a best friend I've had in a long time. You've had it easy compared to me. You didn't even have to relive the horrors of your childhood for a year during the Rikti War! If you think I have had an easy life, then you are sorely mistaken."
As he made each point, Connor slammed Jack against the wall with increasing force and his hand closed tighter around Jack's neck. The pain of all his memories surficing at once was to much for him to bare.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Syn was getting agitated. Kill him already, Envy. Kill him before he kills you! The geneticist then focused his mind on thowing the pink clad hero away from his first champion.
[ QUOTE ]
Harris had locked his arms around the bears neck for fear of falling off. Once they final stopped he got off with his legs shaking. The creature had brought him to a door. As Harris approached it he heard a slowly clicking sound. He looked around trying to hear were it was coming from. He realized it was coming from himself. After some searching he found a small screen on the back of the suits glove. The clicking seemed to becoming from a small speaker next to it.
He held his hand out to the door and the clicking seemed to get just a little bit quicker. It was then that he realized it was a Giga Counter. The screen read, Radiation levels safe.
It took some effort but Harris pushed open the door. Nervously he poked his head in side and rather stupidly shouted, Hello?
[/ QUOTE ]
The shotgun blast came from his side, shockingly loud. Behind him, there was a moan as a lone abomination slid to the floor - the last of a group that had been cut down.
Enid Sanstad had discarded the heavy radiation suit. She had double bandoliers of ammunition on, and weapons galore - there had been a stockpile nearby. Sarah and Amy Harris were nowhere in sight at that moment. "Mr. Harris," she said coldly. It was amazing how the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. "I understand you are responsible for putting myself and my family in danger. We need to have a long talk, but now is not the time or the place. Now, we only need to talk about one thing: Where is my husband? "
((OOC: I swear, I swear, Amy is coming in like the next post, but I needed to do the encounter with Enid first.))
The sudden shot gun blast scared the life out of Harris. In his fright he stumbled and fell into the room, landing on his back. His ears were ringing with the blast as he scurried across the floor trying to find safety. He was too scared to look for where the shot had come from.
He stopped as he was faced with the woman who had obviously fired the weapon. It took him a while to recognize the one woman army now standing over of him. Then it clicked. It seemed like a life time ago now. He remembered her from the photo he had been given back at his office with the files on Dr Sanstad's family. It was Erik's wife.
[ QUOTE ]
"Mr. Harris," she said coldly.
[/ QUOTE ]
When he had heard the shotgun blast it had scared him. The sight of the unhappy woman holding that shotgun scared him even more.
[ QUOTE ]
"I understand you are responsible for putting myself and my family in danger. We need to have a long talk, but now is not the time or the place. Now, we only need to talk about one thing: Where is my husband?"
[/ QUOTE ]
"H-he came down here on one of those over grown carpets....sorry....bear
..things. Its right out side with the other. He must have come in here.......I think" Harris babbled.
--------------------------------
[ QUOTE ]
Syn was getting agitated. Kill him already, Envy. Kill him before he kills you! The geneticist then focused his mind on thowing the pink clad hero away from his first champion.
[/ QUOTE ]
Jacks mind went blank as the voice of Syn spoke to him. It was like a person under hypnosis being given instructions before the hypnotist would snap their fingers and weak them up.
Then Jack had the illusion of being in control again. He was struggling for breath but he forced himself to laugh. It stung his throat but to annoy Master Wonderful even more was worth it. He had wanted to get him back to the crash site of the black line train before attacking but like the Pink Hero had just said.....you have to deal with the hand life gives you.
Fighting through the pain he looked Master Wonderful straight in the eyes and opened his mouth to speak. His voice was almost a whisper because of the neck hold but it could clearly be understood.
"Syn says hi."
Jack suddenly brought his knee up hard into Master Wonderfuls stomach and followed it up with a quick fist across his face.
[ QUOTE ]
"H-he came down here on one of those over grown carpets....sorry....bear
..things. Its right out side with the other. He must have come in here.......I think" Harris babbled.
[/ QUOTE ]
"He did. We saw him. Now we cannot find him." Enid's voice and face conveyed her displeasure at this turn of events. "However..." she raised the shotgun to point at the ceiling. "We did find someone that you should meet." She looked back over her shoulder. "Clear!" she called.
In a moment, from around the corner, came Sarah... and his wife.
Amy had her hand around Sarah's shoulders, and it was clear that Sarah was supporting most of her weight. After so long in a coma, Amy could hardly move. But she saw him and smiled - the exact smile he remembered... how long had it been since he had seen it?
"Hiya, partner," Amy said, and though her voice was hoarse from disuse, it was just as he remembered it. Could he really have forgotten her 'pet' name for him? "I was wondering how long it would be before you showed up." Her face was softly lit. "I'm glad to see you."
[ QUOTE ]
"Hiya, partner," Amy said, and though her voice was hoarse from disuse, it was just as he remembered it. Could he really have forgotten her 'pet' name for him? "I was wondering how long it would be before you showed up." Her face was softly lit. "I'm glad to see you."
[/ QUOTE ]
Harris's jaw dropped. For a short while he didn't say or do anything. Despite it all she still had her happy and cheerful demeanor. That was what he loved about her.
He was filled with happiness and fear. Happiness at seeing she had not changed and fear at how much he had. Would she still love him?
Then suddenly he was on his feet, had crossed the room and was holding her tight. Tears of happiness streamed down his face.
"Thanks god. I thought I would never see you again. The doctors said you would never weak up. I did everything I could. Then you were kidnapped. I thought I had lost you. Oh Amy. Thanks god yu're safe." He was speaking fast and shaking, trying to explain everything.
[ QUOTE ]
"Thanks god. I thought I would never see you again. The doctors said you would never weak up. I did everything I could. Then you were kidnapped. I thought I had lost you. Oh Amy. Thanks god yu're safe." He was speaking fast and shaking, trying to explain everything.
[/ QUOTE ]
Amy stroked his back. "Hey, it's OK.... ssshhhhh," she soothed. She was so terribly delicate, birdlike, so fragile that it seemed she could be easily snapped in half, like a twig... and yet the life radiated from her. Exactly as he remembered. When they eventually parted, she brushed his hair from his eyes, as she used to long ago. "You've changed," she said, studying his face. "You've forgotten a lot, I think." Her hand stroked his hair. "Forgotten the good things that you used to love...?"
As usual, in Amy's face there was no hint of condemnation or despair. She knew nothing except how to love, and that had not changed. "When we get out of here... I will help you remember the things that you have forgotten." She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. "For now though... well it's time to find our missing members. None of us - not Sarah, not Enid, and certainly not myself - are going to leave without them. Think you can help us find them?" She smiled at him, the old, 'You are my hero' smile that he hadn't seen in six years, the one to make an old man feel young again, and to make a sad man dance.
[ QUOTE ]
"You've changed," she said, studying his face. "You've forgotten a lot, I think." Her hand stroked his hair. "Forgotten the good things that you used to love...?"
[/ QUOTE ]
He felt a second of fear but there was something in the way she said it that made it melt away. The feeling that yes, he had changed but he didn't have to stay like it. He had already started to change since this whole adventure began.
"I'm trying to remember." He said weakly as he wiped the tears away from his eyes.
[ QUOTE ]
"When we get out of here... I will help you remember the things that you have forgotten." She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. "For now though... well it's time to find our missing members. None of us - not Sarah, not Enid, and certainly not myself - are going to leave without them. Think you can help us find them?"
[/ QUOTE ]
Her words made him feel strong and brave again.
"Yes. This is all my fault, I'm sorry. I will do everything I can." He said with more confidence.
[ QUOTE ]
Her words made him feel strong and brave again.
"Yes. This is all my fault, I'm sorry. I will do everything I can." He said with more confidence.
[/ QUOTE ]
Sarah and Enid looked at each other while Harris back was turned. Sarah lifted her little finger - signifying the little finger that Amy had wrapped Harris around. Enid smirked before becoming serious again. "I will take point, Amy and Harris in the middle, Sarah - you are bringing up the rear."
Sarah had some weaponry herself and nodded professionally. "You got it... let's go."
Harris took one of Amy's arms across his shoulders to help her walk. Harris attention had been so focused on Amy that he had not even noticed Sarah...until now.
"Sarah? What are you doing here?" He asked.
[ QUOTE ]
Harris took one of Amy's arms across his shoulders to help her walk. Harris attention had been so focused on Amy that he had not even noticed Sarah...until now.
"Sarah? What are you doing here?" He asked.
[/ QUOTE ]
Sarah pursed her lips, and, for the first time since he had known her, considered her answer. If he had been alone, she would have simply lied to him. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before: she often found herself doing things that were perfectly necessary to do her job - the same things that her short-tempered, abusive, hair-trigger boss would not hesitate to fire her for. He certainly never hesitated to write her up or dock her.
But looking at Enid, she couldn't bring herself to lie. "Aw, what the hell," she said, "it was a crappy job anyway. I was going to tip off Enid Sanstad." She shrugged. "I got there a little late, found this big story heading down the road in an unmarked van, followed it, and here I am." She paused. "Roberts is down here somewhere also, by the way."
She slung her shotgun over her shoulder and hefted the pack they had put together with supplies and extra ammunition in it. She didn't have to ask to know that she was fired: she had spent years delicately and skillfully avoiding tipping Harris off to her activities, for years. Now the game was up, and she figured she would just start a new one, somewhere else... if they got out of here, of course.
(OoC: Checked with Citizen Stu that it was still okay to post interviews, as it was fun to fill out. I play on Victory. 3liza is the only one of these guys that I try to stay in character as all the time though.)
------------
(Ooc: Firstly, 3liza, who doesn't actually have much to say for herself.)
3liza's trading card
Harris: First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to appear on the program.
3liza: th4nk u 4 ask1ng m3
Harris: Could you tell the viewers at home a little bit about how and why you became a hero.
1t is my function. find * | grep *villain* | rm -f
Harris: What would you say is the greatest reward for being a hero?
3liza: Upgrades!
Harris: Sorry?
3liza: print "More memory and a faster CPU";
Harris: Moving swiftly on, have you ever found there is any drawback to being a hero?
3liza: File not found
Harris: You mean you've no drawbacks?
3liza: Affirmative. W8. Fanbois.
Harris: What is going through your mind when you are in a dangerous situation that could lead to civilian casualties? That must be a scary situation.
3liza: rm -f $target
Harris: So you concentrate on the job?
3liza: y
Harris looks confused for a moment before realising that 3liza means 'yes' rather than 'why?'
Harris: How do you feel about people that use their powers for crime like the outcast or the super villains we starting to see around the city?
3liza: tehy r lus3rs.
What do you think is going through these criminals minds when they commit these acts?
3liza: Upgrades?
How do you feel about the various anti hero and anti mutant groups that believe heroes course more problems then they solve? Given the amount of work heroes do for the city this must be quite upsetting.
3liza shrugs and answers in a tone familliar to any one who's worked in IT support.
3liza: Users.
and finally, have you ever worked along side the Statesman? What is he like?
3liza: Negative.
I would like to thank you for coming on the show and on behalf of the citizens of Paragon city thank you for keeping the streets safe
3liza: th4nk u! u r0xx0r!
3liza: mv $self +300 +20 +0
And in a flash of light, 3liza is gone.
---------------------
Next, Inferno Jones
Inferno Jone's very old trading card
Harris: First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to appear on the program.
Inferno Jones: It's no bother.
Harris: Could you tell the viewers at home a little bit about how and why you became a hero.
A hero? I suppose I am seen as such, though it is really a by-product of my fight against the Circle and Banished Pantheon.
Harris: What would you say is the greatest reward for being a hero?
Inferno Jones: I do get a certain satisfaction from removing dangerous toys from the hands of those madmen. Additionally you get to meet interesting people.
Harris: Moving swiftly on, have you ever found there is any drawback to being a hero?
Inferno Jones: Well, apart from the occaisional defeat, not really. Certainly beats 9-5.
Harris: What is going through your mind when you are in a dangerous situation that could lead to civilian casualties? That must be a scary situation.
Inferno Jones smiles as if she cares.
Inferno Jones: I am not often in situations where civillians will be endangered. I prefer to track the enemy down to their lairs.
Harris: How do you feel about people that use their powers for crime like the outcast or the super villains we starting to see around the city?
Inferno Jones: In a way they make my job easier. Gods help us if they ever gain a sense of subtlety.
What do you think is going through these criminals minds when they commit these acts?
Inferno Jones: I suppose they view it as an easy route to wealth and power.
How do you feel about the various anti hero and anti mutant groups that believe heroes course more problems then they solve? Given the amount of work heroes do for the city this must be quite upsetting.
Inferno Jones: It doesn't really matter to me. I don't class myself as a hero. I'd still be tracking down the Circle and other such people regardless.
harris: And finally, have you ever worked along side the Statesman? What is he like?
Inferno Jones: No, I haven't. I've heard good things about him though.
I would like to thank you for coming on the show and on behalf of the citizens of Paragon city thank you for keeping the streets safe
Inferno Jones: It is appreciated.
------------
(OoC: And lastly, The Seekerbink, who was just intended to be a throwaway joke character to see the new content with, but seems to have taken on a life of her own.
No card, sorry. If you want to see her, I play on Victory, playing as her quite a bit atm to view the new low-level content. She also spends some time perched in the rafters of the Paragon Dance Party)
The Seekerbink spends the entire interview hovering about 4' off the ground, looking suspiciously at passing cars.
Harris: First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to appear on the program.
The Seekerbink: It's not going to take longer than a couple of breems, right?
Harris: A breem?
The Seekerbink: Scrap! Sorry, I always forget that. Fifteen minutes?
Harris: That sounds fine. Now, could you tell the viewers at home a little bit about how and why you became a hero.
The Seekerbink: Em, well, it was a bit of an accident. We were transporting some.. oh wait, you probably don't need to know that. Anyway, what was I saying? It was an accident, I think I fell through a dimensional rift or something like that and got turned into a meatba-- sorry, human. Well mostly human. For instance, I don't eat - a litre of four star does fine.
I arrived here.. my memory core was corrupted, I was trying to remember my name... I think it's Nightstar, but I could be wrong, I picked up a lot of dodgy transmissions during the trip, and like I said my memory core was corrupted by it all, anyway, I was trying to raise HQ, and then these people attacked me. So I fought back. And then someone else thanked me. Which made a nice change. *She smiles and her eyes glow brighter for a few seconds*
Harris: So you're an extra-dimensional entity?
The Seekerbink: Isn't that what I said?
Harris: What would you say is the greatest reward for being a hero?
The Seekerbink: Well, I'm hoping that I'll find someone who can send me home again. I think they'll be happier to help me if I've been helping them, I don't think I could really force anyone to work for me like this. Also, it's nice to win almost all the time. Maybe I'll try and join the other side when I get home again.
Harris: Moving swiftly on, have you ever found there is any drawback to being a hero?
The Seekerbink: I'm still getting the hang of it.
Harris: What is going through your mind when you are in a dangerous situation that could lead to civilian casualties? That must be a scary situation.
The Seekerbink looks blank for a moment.
The Seekerbink: Well I always tried not to tread in any I mean they're a total pain to get out of the afterburners you know not as bad as birdstrike but still, urghh... Oh sorry, I'm babbling. Em, of course I don't try to endanger them, but they're sort of fragile, aren't they? I mean, I'm more fragile too, but still, you do break easily, so because I'm being one of the good guys, I try to keep any that are in the way out of trouble.
Harris: How do you feel about people that use their powers for crime like the outcast or the super villains we starting to see around the city?
The Seekerbink: I don't know. I mean, if they weren't there, we wouldn't have anything to do would we? I bet a lot more of us would be 'villains' if these guys weren't around.
What do you think is going through these criminals minds when they commit these acts?
The Seekerbink: Oh that's easy. They've got powers, so they're better than everyone else. It's obvious really, when you think about it.
How do you feel about the various anti hero and anti mutant groups that believe heroes course more problems then they solve? Given the amount of work heroes do for the city this must be quite upsetting.
The Seekerbink: I don't think I've noticed them. Sorry.
Harris: And finally, have you ever worked along side the Statesman? What is he like?
The Seekerbink: He's not that big guy with the globe is he?
Harris: No, no he isn't.
The Seekerbink: Oh well, then I don't know.
Harris: I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.
The Seekerbink: We done now? And em, if there's any scientists working on dimensional portals and stuff like that, could you give me a call please?
The Seekerbink drifts off into the skies of Paragon City.
#2409 - The Mystery of the MAGI vaults. Azuria has contacted you to help her stop the thefts from the MAGI vaults.
#68054 - Out of the gutters. Left for dead, you swore that you were through with being a victim (alt villain beginning story)
((OOC: SeekerBlink made me laugh. I just made a charecter a bit like her called Eike. I might fill out an interview myself with him.))
Harris didn't scream and shout at Sarah like she expected he would have. His eyes lowered to the ground, "Oh."
He seemed to think for a moment. "You're talented Sarah. You'll make a good investigative reported. Just......just don't let you're greed for a story make you forget your morals......"
He stopped himself short but it was obvious that he was going to say "...like I did."
He didn't look back up to see the look on Sarah's face. Instead he turned around ready to follow Enid.
[ QUOTE ]
"Syn says hi."
Jack suddenly brought his knee up hard into Master Wonderful's stomach and followed it up with a quick fist across his face.
[/ QUOTE ]
The hits didn't hurt Master Wonderful so much as they surprised him. He let go of Jack in response.
"Syn. He's behind this. Then I guess my only choice is to beat information about him out of you. Nothing personal, Jack, but I have a score to settle with him."
And with that he threw a powerful Jab at the troubled and mesmirized young man.
The jab court Jack and knocked him back to the floor. He was quick to jump to his feet. He tilted his head calmly to one side.
"Then I guess my only choice is to kill you. Nothing personal, Pink Boy.....who am I kidding, it is personal. I just don't like you." Jack said with a laugh before rushing at Master Wonderful.
Connor responded by charging in himself. As they reached each other, Master Wonderful grabbed Jack's neck and preformed a choke slam on him. He didn't wait for his opponent to get up, putting the young man into a full nelson, slammed him into the top of the sewer then inverted Jack for a piledriver.
Jack could not free himself from the hold. If only Master Wonderful had not used his physic blocker. Jack could have use his powers and this would be over already.
Just before the two hit the ground again, Connor felt himself thrown away from his opponent. He tried scrambling to his feet, but Jack was already up, and not looking any worse for the wear. Jack kicked the hero as he lay on the ground, and that was when Master Wonderful saw him. He looked no different than he had when presented himself as the head master of the school all those years ago. Adelbert Syn, the man who was the cause of all his suffering. He made a dash for the insane geneticist, ignoring Jack all together, save for occasionally batting him away as he tried intersepting him. As he got closer, Connor pulled his fist back and let his punch fly. It, however, never reached his target, blocked by some unseen barrier.
((OOC Note: Syn has access to some powers from the Mental Blast, Mind Control and Force Field(which are more powered along he lines of telekinisis) powersets and should, of course, be treated as an Arch Villain. I am well aware of how powerful this can make him. Obviously, he won't have all the powers from those sets either.))
Magni and Modi were visibly happy to see their Mama come out of the room. She looked very upset, like when one of them began chewing on the carpet, but they were happy to see her anyway.
They rushed to her and gave her non-stop attention.
Modi however, kept on going back to the door. He could smell Papa, and KNEW he went into that room. He whined a bit and looked at Mama...
[ QUOTE ]
Magni and Modi were visibly happy to see their Mama come out of the room. She looked very upset, like when one of them began chewing on the carpet, but they were happy to see her anyway.
They rushed to her and gave her non-stop attention.
Modi however, kept on going back to the door. He could smell Papa, and KNEW he went into that room. He whined a bit and looked at Mama...
[/ QUOTE ]
Enid went to the door, opened it... and the room beyond was empty. No, almost empty, there was something in the middle of the floor. She entered the room and knelt by it... it was a shoe. Erik's shoe. But of Erik himself, there was no sign.
Enid thinned her lips.
+++
Elsewhere
+++
This place was much smaller than the automated base that Master Wonderful had visited earlier. It was still crawling with Anomolous: but far fewer, and much smaller. This, for the moment, was the lab of one Dr. Syn, who found himself in the unpleasant situation of having to tolerate these houseguests, until such time as his deal with the devil could be completed, and he could free himself of them.
The Anomolous swarmed interestedly around the heroes that had been delivered to the lab. They had taken a gamble by permitting the fledgling humans to leave so easily: now, however, it looked like the gamble was paying off.
The first fledgling, a male, was seriously injured, with extensive brain damage, as well as deterioration of tissues consistant with nanite poisoning.
There was some discussion that took place regarding this human, though none of it could be heard audibly. Unlike the Vahzilok, the Lost had no use for corpses.
Finally one of the Anomolous took Paul's limp form and carried it across the room. It stripped the human of the cloth it was entangled in, then placed him in a tube - not the tube he had been in earlier, but a new tube. Lights played and swarmed around his body, spinning and twirling.
On the screen next to the tube, flashing numbers and symbols appeared. The Anomolous studied these for some time, then nodded at the tube. No manual pressing of buttons was necessary.
At once, the tube began to fill with a strange, pinkish liquid. It didn't take long for it to reach the chest of the fledgling, crumpled in a half-kneeling position in the bottom of the tube: he would have been prone had the narrow confines of the cylinder permitted it.
The liquid rose, and the human rose with it, floating, the liquid supporting his body. He rose up almost a yard, his feet no longer touching the floor, before the liquid had filled the tube to the top.
After a moment, the human convulsed, coughing and struggling even in his sleep. Air escaped his mouth. The Anomolous watched calmly. If the substance in the tube had been water, the fledgling would simply have drowned. As it was, after a few minutes of struggle, the human settled down, breathing the liquid as if it had been air.
The Anomolous watched for a minute. After a few seconds, the life signs of the fledgling human, which had been dangerously low, began to stabilize. The human had been severely damaged, and would take time to repair. However, it should prove to be a suitable specimen for later experimentation, once its body was repaired, and once any traces of nanite infection had been removed. The tube was sealed, and set on a timer before the Anomolous walked away.
Across the lab, another Anomolous investigated another of the four humans sent to them by Syn. This one was also a fledgling, but a female. There was little discussion about this one; it had been placed in the preparation tubes earlier, and was ready to begin the journey to become one of them. The entangling cloth was stripped off and discarded.
This human was in far better shape than the other one had been. It was re-injected with the preparatory drug before being placed in a seperate tube of its own. The Anomolous began the preliminary transformation processes with a nod of its head. Unearthly, strange bluish lights began running over the form of the fledgling human. Once the process had been started, the Anomolous turned away. It would take some days for the transformation to complete. It opened a tube three tubes down from the new human, revealing a new Anomolous, who walked out of the tube and joined the ranks at once.
A third human, another captive of Syn's, was surrounded by a ring of Anomolous. This human was emitting steady levels of radiation, which they found disturbing. Finally one of the Anomolous took the human to a machine across the room from the others. The cloth with which the human had entangled itself was removed, but was not piled with the others: rather it was thrown into a small metal box and disintigrated to ash within seconds. The human was taken to a tube which was clear all the way around, instead of the standard windows. A breathing apparatus was fitted to its mouth and nose, and then it was unceremoniously dropped in. The tube filled with a strange greenish liquid, murky and dark, so that the form of the human could hardly be seen: here it was left, unconscious.
The final human was surrounded by even more Anomolous than the third had been. This human was encased, not in fabric as most humans were, but in a very advanced nanite-based battle suit. The nanites were born of a technology superior to the Rikti's, and resisted all attempts to remove them. Finally the human was placed horizontally in a darkened tube, heavily reinforced with metal, which closed with a CLANG. It displayed no lights, and no data came across the nearby screens yet. It would take time to analyze the technology.... but the Anomolous had time, after all.
The final thing sent by Syn was not a human at all, but a highly radioactive object, encased in lead. This was carried, unopened, over to a tube next to the contaminated human's, dropped in the bottom, and the tube was filled with the same dark, greenish, murky liquid.
Satisfied with their accomplishments, the Anomolous went their way. Their bargain with Syn was working out well. There was more to be done, but they were in no hurry.....
[ QUOTE ]
"We've lost contact with Erik, Crystal and Paul. Small Arms, I think you Harris and the bear should go check on the status of Erik's rescue... Jack, you and I are going to find out what happened to Crystal and Paul, besides I think you and I need to have a talk about parents." Master Wonderful pulled out a syringe of smoky pink fluid and discretely injected himself with it.
[/ QUOTE ]
This put a bump in Jacks plan. No matter, he would play it cool. He pushed his anger back and smiled as he watched Master Wonderful inject himself.
"Are anticipating we will be attacked while we look for Crystal and Paul?" He asked raising an eye brow. "They are only a short way down the tunnel. They are fine."
Jack was acting too calm but he did not seem to care if he was giving himself away. It was all a game to him.
Harris let out a little yell as the bear got up with him on its back and he almost lost his balance. They started to move down the tunnel.
Jack stood to one side and indicated down the tunnel back in the direction he had come from as if to let Master Wonderful go first. "After you Pink Boy."