Dr. Maningzhoue sprinted down the streets of Brickstown on his usual patrol, wondering when the city was going to do something about this neighborhood. After all, ordinary people-- like himself! -- lived there. And the zig held criminals like a sieve.
Still, there was an invasion going on, even if Crey and some of the real superheroes were paying it no attention. City beautification projects would probably be on hold a little while. where were they coming from? They weren't everywhere, but they could be seen. Floating around eerily, just like....
Just like right over there!
The doc came up short at the far end of the narrow alley from the spikey floating orbs, and wondered for the umpteenth time where these things were coming from. He went into "stealth mode," slipping into the shadows to do a little surveilance, the way Agent Six had taught him back when he was still patrolling King's Row looking for revenge on that stain on the medical profession-- Dr. Vazhilok.
These things were creepier than zombies, too. Zombies, mused the doctor of depth psychology, evoke a fear of death. Disturbing, not to mention ugly. Not like the Rikti are ugly-- no, they're ugly like chimpanzees-- somehow ugly by being in their way too like us. But these new invaders?
Beautiful, in their own way. But they HAD NO HEADS! That is, if they even had bodies. How was one supposed to have a conversation about turning over a new leaf, with a floating eyeball? Or a headless, blue.... brute?
Naturally, Doc had tried to take these folks on before. They'd scorched him for his trouble. He was healing OK, and it was true that they spray-on syntheskin worked just like the real thing and left no permenant scars, but Doc sometimes had nightmares about peeling back layer after layer of it until he found bone.
Doc shook his head to clear it of the gruesome fantasy, and concentrated on the weird aliens floating there in the alley. Amidst them, he spotted it-- a big round glowing disk that seemed to open out on... SOMEWHERE ELSE! So this was how they were getting through. Maybe the thing could be destroyed.
But they were floating all around it. Alot of them. Doc didn't relish the idea of spraying on more syntheskin tonight before he popped some aleve and went to bed. He sprinted around the building silently, to get a better look at them, and nearly landed on top of one of Crey's goons-- one of the guys sporting the Cryonic Armor.
Doc looked at the aliens. Looked back at the Crey goon. Stroked his cleanshaven chin a moment. And smiled.
The long-haired, t-shirt n' jeans wearing ordinary lookin' citizen snuck on up to the Cryonic Tank. He knew anybody with Crey would take one look at him and shoot first, ask questions later. Supressing a grin, he snuck right up and popped the guy a good one in the helmet. Doc could hit pretty hard for an ordinary guy, when he wanted to, thanks to Six.
The goon, stung, turned to face off with his assailant, who was already sprinting toward the nearby alley, but looking back over his shoulder. The Crey goon recognized him. "Dr. Maningzhoue! Damn you!"
Round the corner into the alley, the Crey tank stopped short; now the irritating Doctor was sprinting back toward him, away from the cluster of ... things.... that dominated the narrow space.
"Ha, ya powerless wonder! Running from... from, well, whatever those are! I'm gonna retire you right here, right now, and the Countess is gonna promote me to a Power suit." The cryonic tank fired, and the Doctor neatly sidestepped the blast; he'd had his dodge path planned out well in advance.
"Hey, bro." The doctor said, watching the Crey goon looking around him at the floating aliens. "Check that out. Alien invaders. Serious."
"Yeah."
"What's your name, man."
The Cryonic tank sneered beneath his mask. "Like hell, 'bro.' I will tell you this, though. Whatever you said to my pal Agent Wood, he vacated his position. Wood was a good agent! I'm gonna freeze your butt into the middle of next week!"
"Eeeasy, man. Easy." The doctor was modulating his tone now; subharmonics and inflection, a careful read of his victim's emotions, helped him apply the science of crisis psychoanalysis. "Wood left Crey because he wanted to. I didn't have anything to do with it." This wasn't entirely true, but doc continued. "Lookit those things, bro."
"You know, you don't sound much like a guy with a Ph.D."
"Yeah, yeah. And you don't look much like a hero." The tone and the smirk were calculated.
The crey guy chuckled, in spite of himself.
"Ok, now. Check this. That thing," doc pointed, "... is the portal these things are invading through! We gotta take it out. Now, I don't mean to impugn your, like, heroic aspirations, but look at it this way. What can good press for for Crey, fending off an invasion, do for your career?"
"Well. Good, I guess."
"Right! These things aren't that tough. I mean, I couldn't take 'em, but I'm just an ordinary guy without superpowers. You've got that suit, and, as I know very well, it packs quite a wallop. Think you can take down that portal?"
"You bet your sweet butt I can, doc."
"Go, man, go!"
The Cryonic tank charged into the alley, and started putting the smack down on the invaders. Periodically, Doc, who stood nearby, shouted a few more words of encouragement. First he finished off the orbs. Then he turned on the portal itself.
It was slow going, but eventually, the Cryonic Tank had nearly destroyed the portal!
Then, a setback. A dozen more aliens came through the portal, and Doc had to encourage the tank to take them all down too-- which he did! Then he went back to destroying the portal.
At the last minute, a superhero flew by. He spotted the doc, and swooped down.
"Hey! Can I help take down the portal?"
"Sure, just, watch it. The Crey guy there? He's on our side."
This got the doc a funny look. "Well, ok." In waded the superhero, firing white-hot bolts of plasma at the nearly demolished portal. A couple of them missed and hit the Cryonic tank-- who just kept on after the portal.
Moments later, after the first hero came a second, this one surrounded by bizarre seeming warps in space-time. Doc never did understand those, but he was a medical doctor, not a physicist. The distortions started sucking in the Crey guy, who, to his credit, heroically kept his sights on destroying the portal.
Doc shouted at the second hero, but to no avail. The gravity distortions soon knocked the Cryonic Tank unconscious. Doc rushed in and put the finishing touches on the portal, kicking it with all his ordinary might.
And it collapsed, in a brilliant burst of random light beams! "Whew!" He exclaimed, and went and triggered the medical teleport grid for the Crey guy.
The first hero thanked him, and sped off.
Doc stroked his chin. "Have to find a way to brain-drain Crey Industries." He muttered.
[Based on in-game events: I stealth-trained a white Crey Cryonic Tank into an alley where a portal and numerous blue Rualuu were, and confused him into taking them and a second wave down, and 2/3rds of the damage to the portal there. An energy blaster showed up to help after the tank defeated the second wave. Then some L33 Grav controller nimrod came and singularity-ed the Tank into oblivion, and I finally kicked the portal shut. Hi-ya!]
[Based on in-game events]
Dr. Maningzhoue sprinted down the streets of Brickstown on his usual patrol, wondering when the city was going to do something about this neighborhood. After all, ordinary people-- like himself! -- lived there. And the zig held criminals like a sieve.
Still, there was an invasion going on, even if Crey and some of the real superheroes were paying it no attention. City beautification projects would probably be on hold a little while. where were they coming from? They weren't everywhere, but they could be seen. Floating around eerily, just like....
Just like right over there!
The doc came up short at the far end of the narrow alley from the spikey floating orbs, and wondered for the umpteenth time where these things were coming from. He went into "stealth mode," slipping into the shadows to do a little surveilance, the way Agent Six had taught him back when he was still patrolling King's Row looking for revenge on that stain on the medical profession-- Dr. Vazhilok.
These things were creepier than zombies, too. Zombies, mused the doctor of depth psychology, evoke a fear of death. Disturbing, not to mention ugly. Not like the Rikti are ugly-- no, they're ugly like chimpanzees-- somehow ugly by being in their way too like us. But these new invaders?
Beautiful, in their own way. But they HAD NO HEADS! That is, if they even had bodies. How was one supposed to have a conversation about turning over a new leaf, with a floating eyeball? Or a headless, blue.... brute?
Naturally, Doc had tried to take these folks on before. They'd scorched him for his trouble. He was healing OK, and it was true that they spray-on syntheskin worked just like the real thing and left no permenant scars, but Doc sometimes had nightmares about peeling back layer after layer of it until he found bone.
Doc shook his head to clear it of the gruesome fantasy, and concentrated on the weird aliens floating there in the alley. Amidst them, he spotted it-- a big round glowing disk that seemed to open out on... SOMEWHERE ELSE! So this was how they were getting through. Maybe the thing could be destroyed.
But they were floating all around it. Alot of them. Doc didn't relish the idea of spraying on more syntheskin tonight before he popped some aleve and went to bed. He sprinted around the building silently, to get a better look at them, and nearly landed on top of one of Crey's goons-- one of the guys sporting the Cryonic Armor.
Doc looked at the aliens. Looked back at the Crey goon. Stroked his cleanshaven chin a moment. And smiled.
The long-haired, t-shirt n' jeans wearing ordinary lookin' citizen snuck on up to the Cryonic Tank. He knew anybody with Crey would take one look at him and shoot first, ask questions later. Supressing a grin, he snuck right up and popped the guy a good one in the helmet. Doc could hit pretty hard for an ordinary guy, when he wanted to, thanks to Six.
The goon, stung, turned to face off with his assailant, who was already sprinting toward the nearby alley, but looking back over his shoulder. The Crey goon recognized him. "Dr. Maningzhoue! Damn you!"
Round the corner into the alley, the Crey tank stopped short; now the irritating Doctor was sprinting back toward him, away from the cluster of ... things.... that dominated the narrow space.
"Ha, ya powerless wonder! Running from... from, well, whatever those are! I'm gonna retire you right here, right now, and the Countess is gonna promote me to a Power suit." The cryonic tank fired, and the Doctor neatly sidestepped the blast; he'd had his dodge path planned out well in advance.
"Hey, bro." The doctor said, watching the Crey goon looking around him at the floating aliens. "Check that out. Alien invaders. Serious."
"Yeah."
"What's your name, man."
The Cryonic tank sneered beneath his mask. "Like hell, 'bro.' I will tell you this, though. Whatever you said to my pal Agent Wood, he vacated his position. Wood was a good agent! I'm gonna freeze your butt into the middle of next week!"
"Eeeasy, man. Easy." The doctor was modulating his tone now; subharmonics and inflection, a careful read of his victim's emotions, helped him apply the science of crisis psychoanalysis. "Wood left Crey because he wanted to. I didn't have anything to do with it." This wasn't entirely true, but doc continued. "Lookit those things, bro."
"You know, you don't sound much like a guy with a Ph.D."
"Yeah, yeah. And you don't look much like a hero." The tone and the smirk were calculated.
The crey guy chuckled, in spite of himself.
"Ok, now. Check this. That thing," doc pointed, "... is the portal these things are invading through! We gotta take it out. Now, I don't mean to impugn your, like, heroic aspirations, but look at it this way. What can good press for for Crey, fending off an invasion, do for your career?"
"Well. Good, I guess."
"Right! These things aren't that tough. I mean, I couldn't take 'em, but I'm just an ordinary guy without superpowers. You've got that suit, and, as I know very well, it packs quite a wallop. Think you can take down that portal?"
"You bet your sweet butt I can, doc."
"Go, man, go!"
The Cryonic tank charged into the alley, and started putting the smack down on the invaders. Periodically, Doc, who stood nearby, shouted a few more words of encouragement. First he finished off the orbs. Then he turned on the portal itself.
It was slow going, but eventually, the Cryonic Tank had nearly destroyed the portal!
Then, a setback. A dozen more aliens came through the portal, and Doc had to encourage the tank to take them all down too-- which he did! Then he went back to destroying the portal.
At the last minute, a superhero flew by. He spotted the doc, and swooped down.
"Hey! Can I help take down the portal?"
"Sure, just, watch it. The Crey guy there? He's on our side."
This got the doc a funny look. "Well, ok." In waded the superhero, firing white-hot bolts of plasma at the nearly demolished portal. A couple of them missed and hit the Cryonic tank-- who just kept on after the portal.
Moments later, after the first hero came a second, this one surrounded by bizarre seeming warps in space-time. Doc never did understand those, but he was a medical doctor, not a physicist. The distortions started sucking in the Crey guy, who, to his credit, heroically kept his sights on destroying the portal.
Doc shouted at the second hero, but to no avail. The gravity distortions soon knocked the Cryonic Tank unconscious. Doc rushed in and put the finishing touches on the portal, kicking it with all his ordinary might.
And it collapsed, in a brilliant burst of random light beams! "Whew!" He exclaimed, and went and triggered the medical teleport grid for the Crey guy.
The first hero thanked him, and sped off.
Doc stroked his chin. "Have to find a way to brain-drain Crey Industries." He muttered.
[Based on in-game events: I stealth-trained a white Crey Cryonic Tank into an alley where a portal and numerous blue Rualuu were, and confused him into taking them and a second wave down, and 2/3rds of the damage to the portal there. An energy blaster showed up to help after the tank defeated the second wave. Then some L33 Grav controller nimrod came and singularity-ed the Tank into oblivion, and I finally kicked the portal shut. Hi-ya!]
Choosing a Controller V2 | Splattrollers | Plant/Rad | Fire/Storm | Mind/Emp & Mind/Rad
Weird Controller Powers | Conf & XP/Time | Controller Damage
Being a Healer | The word Necessary | Natural Concept Characters