Dark Shroud - 1st Villain Team (comments ok)

The Hearts brothers started on the same path from childhood as a tightly bonded team only to grow apart as age passed when their views on the world would create a rift between them which would send them into a personal war that would last them a lifetime.

Damien and Preston Heart, being duel citizens and not wanting to look backk when they left home, decided to join the Army just out of Highschool , and University for Preston, the acknowledged thinker of the family. Damien, although lacking in brains made up for it in charisma, always being the team leader he managed to quickly climb the ranks. But Preston was left behind long for his intelligence was immediately recognized by the military and used accordingly, giving him his own command over more scientist natures as opposed to Damien's field operations.

It is during this time that Preston began to develop a dormant gene, taxing his intelligence, sparking the psychic powers in his mind. The government attempted to manipulate Preston, to use his psychic powers for their own means, but he was much too old and set in his ways and the process took too long and was eventually dismissed before Preston's contract with the military was up. It is about this time when a man named Marcus Alivan of the Alivan Corporation scooped'em up, offering'em a very well paid job where he could use his nuclear expertise he learned from the military.

Damien as well had his own awakening, signing on an extended contract to continue his lust for war and his commanders' satisfactions, his loyatlies changed drastically after his use to the government ended. He was leading yet another covert mission when one of his squad members set off a trip mine. One of them dying instantly, another with massive blood loss a short while afterwards, and a third wounded but stable. During the explosion Damien's right arm and parts of his face were blasted with shrapnel and torn to pieces. The medic luckily for Damien survived and with some quick thinking was able to stop a good portion of the bleeding, although not completely. Salvaging the radio, a chopper and some lugging of Damien's body through desert allowed him to be cared for by nearby med base. There they amputated his arm and patched up his face as best they could. He would forever lose his arm and be horribly scared on the most of his face, even becoming blind in his right eye.

A few years after his dismissal from the military, Damien was contacted by his brother from out of the blue. It seemed he has gotten Damien on a list of test subjects for a new cybernetic arm that would serve as a replacement for those arms lost in battle by amputee vets, allowing them to return to their normal way of life, and remain effective fighting machines for the military.

After a year's testing the project was a success it it's application possibilites but much too expensive to sell to the military as they deemed that they could not in good consious waste the tax payer's money by sending in cybernetically enhanced soldiers who would have a high possibility of dying and losing the expensive arm. Damien was furious but after seeing the progress he'd made physically with arm and his own mind state, he was soon offered a job starting up a new covert company outfit. It's job would be to sabotage and assassinate the competing companies and supervise black market trades.

A new liquid metal firing system and cloaking device were devised and Damien and his mercenaries were then able to go unseen, firing their silent and muzzle flashless weapons using a bullet forming mechanism which would mold the bullet from the pack of liquid metal stored beneath their cloaks. It would then be magnetized and fired at sub sonic speeds. Their cloaks and armour uniform were covered in microscopic cameras and screens that would create the illusion of translucency, making them extremely difficult to detect, especially with their past covert training. They became a myth, a tale told around late company meetings and shared between executives, striking fear into them. Damien decided to boost this tactic by issuing sacrifical resembling daggers to every member of the Widowers, the nickname of the new outfit, given to them by flowing rumours. From time to time they would use the jagged daggers, or leave one bloodied to help keep the rumours fresh and alive. With the Widowers in action the Alivan Coporation saw a rather large boost in profits, being awared contracts where others companies mysteriously failed just before the deadline, or their lead scientist having an accident.

Dr. Marcus Alivan, head of the coporation along with Dr. Preston and the rest of the scientist staff were hard at work at many other projects. Dr. Alivan and Dr. Preston had been working on a new form of combat hazard armour that would hopefully serve as the new basic field uniform for the modern soldier, protecting them all sorts of small arms fire while at the same time providing a self contained environment that would allow them to operate in the most irradiated zones, beneath water, in space, and at just about any temperature, hot or cold. If the governments of the world jumped on board it could mean big for the company. The type of sale that only happends once.

Once completing the protype and testing beginning Dr. Preston broke off from the team to begin work on a hard water rifle while Dr. Alivan continued perfecting the suit, tweaking it for presentation to the politicians. But that would never happen, for the events to soon take place would change the Alivan Corporation's nature forever.

Marcus was working on some glove mechanisms when he felt a jab in his forehead, thinking that maybe someone or soemthing had hit hit he went over to the mirror, feeling the pain but not seeing it. His doctors were immediately called to treat the problem only to find out that he had a brain tumour of some sorts, one that did not show up in the global medical database. Surgury with this unfammilliar tumour was then out of the question, leaving the only option to use radiation.

The tumour was increasing at a massive rate, striking the most importants parts of the brain in quick succession, almost as if it's objective was to destroy as quickly as possible. One could imply that it was purposefully killing him, perhaps even engineered to do so. Certainly Dr. Alivan had made enough powerful enemies in his time to attract such attention. The radiation treatments were done continously as long as his body would withstand it. His mind was bombarded with protons. Apparently the tumour had resistances to the radiation, now proving that it was in fact engineered. A higher level of radiation than recommended had to be used, ignoring all safety precautions set into place by modern medicine, they were able to eliminate the cancer, mutating his brain until the tumour had dissapeared. They may have save his mind, or whatever's left of it, but they completely destroyed his body. His mind survive, but his body was failing, and fast. He would not live long and there was nothing the doctors could do.

By this time Dr. Preston had finished his heavy water rifle and was now acting head of the company. He decided he would finish Dr. Alivan's work of the Combat Hazard suit and present it to him when he returned, which he made sure his fellow scientists would believe to happen. Morale was poor, Dr. Alivan was glue keeping the company together, running it like clockwork when he was here, only to have it sent into a decline during his malady. The ever skilled salesman, the corporation would be in trouble without him.

Desperate to save himself, a weak Dr. Alivan traveled by coporate jet to Paragon City where he searched for the Council, rumoured to have found an alien entity that would come to dying men and women who deserved to live on. The Council it seemed had perfected ways of engineering these entities into men and women, making them into soldiers for their own purposes. Therefore, he deducted that if paid well enough for their services, perhaps he could save himself and join with this 'Kheldian'.

Arriving in Paragon City he got himself a hotel and hired his Widowers to capture some Council to interrogate. Within hours he and his men had infiltrated a Council base. It was a lab in a cavern with dozens of soldiers guarding it. The three were brought to it and met with a high ranking officer. He told them that today they would see a transformation that would change their lives. When seeing the subject to be transformed Dr. Alivan opened his brief case, filled with money and promises of much more after the transformation, the Officer told'em that they had plans already and that he would have to wait.

Short on time Marcus nudged his escort who fired a round into the subject, killing him. Guns pulled and soldiers on edge, the Officer and Dr. Alivan were able to calm everyone down, deciding to go ahead as planned with the transformation, but just with a different subject. They began immediately, the intrustments and lights all around the room, the soldiers and escort standing guard if their leaders needed them. A crash at the door sent them all into suspecting the other sending bullets flying in all directions.

Damien wasn't the type of guy to be prevent fun, not at an early age anyways. After his accident he bagn to despise whenever he would see other couples having fun, a fun that Damien once possessed but would no longer ever hope to attain. He cracked down hard on anyone who decided to have their fun on his time or in his oufit. James Vyron and Jesse Palgue were just those two.

Due to the hardass attitude of Damien in this subject the two were forced to find most abandoned locations to have their fun for fear of Damien's wrath. So is the life of the mercenary outfit known as the Widowers. Wether or not there were true feelings or not was debatable depending on which of the two you spoke to. If you wanted to ask them you would find them in a warehouse which would be used for random storage by the Alivan corporation. Having their fun they didn't notice the radiatioactive symbols on some of the shelves, bumping into a rack and causing the top jars to tip and plummet. James, hearing it coming jerked his head upward to look and tossed Jesse away from it, receiving the jar directly in the face. Yelling in agony James' face was torn apart by the glass and his cuts filled with the unidentifying radioactive substance. The fumes toxic, still managed to travel to Jesse, inhaled and falling choking, soon unconsious.

The two would later be found by a patrolling security guard, brought to the labs to operate on, they were both successfully rescued from death. The sustance that had hit them however had unexpectedly mutated their bodies, causing Jesse to be able to emit gasses that she could use to poison or charm. James emitting an uncontrollable toxicity level himself as a side effect of the intense energy build up generated from his radioactive body.

Dr. Preston ordered that the subjects be kept in seperate confined locations, quarantined in their seperate air tight facilities. Jesse Palgue was released in just a few weeks and had been assigned under the command of Damien to use her abilities for his own uses. James Vyron on the other hand proved to be a danger to all around him and many of the scientists and security personel advised that he be eliminated before he erupts.

The good Dr. though this rediculous however, and soon came up with the idead of reversing the combat hazard suit inward, allowing for the radiation to be sealed while leaving the combat plating on the exterior, making it secured against any leakage. Working around the clock Dr. Preston and the other scienstists quickly began designing a suit that would seal the radiation in a virtually invulnerable suit while using Dr. Preston's radiation weaponry technology to allow James' new power and past military expertise to be of use to the Coporation.

Damien brought up the fact that with his lack of stealth and radiation he could no longer work under the Widowers and noted that with his expertise he could very well be qualified to lead a squad of heavy water riflemen without the worry of poisoning squadmates. An idea that everyone welcomed, not wanting to deal with James Vyron themselves. The two former soldiers were then given codenames with James Vyron now being Pathogen and Jesse Palgue now being Pheramone.

Marcus was being blasted with energies attached to his body, a voice, a whisper could be hear in the back of his mind. He shook from the torrent, his body giving way while his mind seemed to lose itself. His men were being butchered by the other soldiers and a number of figures came crashing through the steel doors.

Bullets, grenades, flames, energy blasts, lightning bolts, shards of ice, all rained back and forth between the strangers and the Council soldiers, who by their wounded were obviously going to lose this fight. Most of the soldiers were defeated or about to be by the time one of the strangers came up to unlatch the now slightly insane and pain stricken Dr. from the machines. One of the soldiers had his rifle sliced open by a clawed bare chested man. He attempted to go for his gun only to have his hand frozen by a beam of ice to the handle, sticking it and his gun to his ribs, taking a fist to the face by a yellow and blue costumed hero.

One of the side doors opened, it was the Officer, he escaped the initial attack and unlocked the side door to a room filled with robots. Flying rocket launchers came swooping into the cave firing at the heroes in all directions. A small swarm of humanoid droids rushed at the heroes, only to be swept aside by a series of monstrous mechs.

Another mechanical figure which didn't seem to have any Council markings crashed into the group sending a portion of the droid crowd falling backwards, and slamming his fists into the droids, parts flying. The man dressed in green who detached Dr. Alivan earlier went to aid his companions, sending forth a sphere of radiation at the droids, causing the metal to smoke and sizzle, becoming weak and more easily smashed.

A white costumed man with frost covering his body caught the vlawed arm of the droid, sending a fist covered in ice into it's head, sending nuts and bolts flying, the broken droid making a clang on the floor. An explosion of light and energy erupting from a figure at the far end and a being of light seemed to appear out from the blast. It's tentacles waving in the air, a bolt of light flying from it's mouth and splitting itself into 6 other beams before hitting a group of droids, causing a large explosion between the half dozen clumps of shattered metal.

The mysterious group of heroes were cleaning up the smaller droids nicely, the aircrafts flying around getting their wings blown own, some crashing into the cavern walls and floor or being ripped from the air and stomped on by large metal boots. The larger droids however proved to be not so easy but they too fell before the heroes.

Blasted with an ice beam the massive machine tore itself free from it's frozen leg, sending itself forward onto it's arms, preventing it from firing. The barechested man leaping through the debris of countless fallen droids sliced off the arm just as it was about to fire. Then out of nowhere dozens more of the large machines came racing down towards the heroes. This is when the man who freed Dr. Alivan just moments before spasmed, releasing a massive wave of electrical interference, crashing the key processing systems of the droids, shutting most of them down, placing the odds once again in the team of heroes' favour.

By this time Marcus had climbed from his medical bed and was crawling on the floor, the pain in his mind driving him insane, his anger and frustration reaching a boilding point, the contradicting energies erupting inside him, ready to explode.

Dr. Alivan screamed in pain and fury as the dark power inside him fought to get out, to gain control. Any other subject would have merged with the being but Marcus' mind was mutated by the radiation, split asunder. His body began to tremble as it glowed, barely able to stand the energies swirled around him. The other heroes recognizing such energies as destructive stayed on their guard, half fighting the robots and half keeping their eyes on Dr. Alivan. Beams of energy exiting his eyes and mouth as he screamed, only to have a fourth beam blast open through his forehead.

Dark energies with minds of their own swirled around Dr. Alivan in an increasing number and size, creating a tornado of darkness and light. The smaller spheres were the ones to bolt first, sending themselves into random sides of the cavern walls, doing little damage but showing their intentions. Still screaming from the horrible energy blasting from his face, lost in a trance of pain and suffering, the spheres pick up their pace sending more and larger of themselves into the walls and eventually ceiling.

The whole place bound to come down any minute the team of heroes get themselves out of there. And soon thereafter the collected spheres scatter in all directions away from Dr. Alivan, setting off a series of explosions in the walls and ceiling, caving it inward. The beams of energy penetrating the surface just split seconds before with Dr. Alivan laying there comatose, locked in a battle of the minds with his new roommate.

His locater beacon active since before leaving the jet, his security personel were able to recover him safely and quietly, brining him back with them to headquarters where his doctors could find a way to help'em. They couldn't. They had no idea what was going on, they were stumped. It is about this time that Preston decided to reveal his power of the mind, entering that of Dr. Alivan's, aiding him in the battle of consiousness to take back what is his.

The two battled the intruder together, eventually defeating it, imprisoning it to the back of the mind and awakening Dr. Alivan to the world again. But the battle and the transformation took it's toll. A new eye appeared on his forehead, apparently not accessable by him but by his new kheldian partner. The two would indeed share the body for when Dr. Alivan transforms he would be giving temporary control to the entity in exchange for retaining full control of his humanoid control. However none can think without the other, each subconsiously affecting the other's thoughts and actions, but not overtly enough to notice it themselves. They seem to know things about the other, know everything, but know nothing. This is the madness that will follow Dr. Alivan, who would now be known as Morcalivan and appoint a new business representative that would act as head of the corporation while Morcalivan would reside in his island fortress of Malkavia which he has since rarely used, but would now make it his permanent home, scheming for war and greater power.

The two scientists immediately went back to work, and although Dr. Preston did it for the money, Morcalivan was doing it to further his schemes of world domination and the destruction of those who would seek to stop him. Dr. Preston had made previous design plans to craft a ship that would be powered by Pathogen and be able to reach outter space, which Morcalivan immediately approved, wanting to snatch any alien technology they could get their hands on that would allow them an upper hand.

With the go ahead in place Dr. Preston, a couple men and Pathogen set off with the prototype into space where they sent the craft well through the solar system and more. But there was a problem, a storm that would change it's composition, speed, shape and direction randomly, unable to avoid and properly detect collided with them. The resulting chaotic energy almost immediately burnt out the poor excuse for shields, crushing the ship's hull and tearing it apart. Energy arced through the ship's circuits blowing out most of the systems and blasting Pathogen with energy, most of which however he absorbed easily.

A bolt of lightning shot out from one of the consoles to strike Dr. Preston in the chest and send'em flying into a bulkhead. Knocked unconious the energy blast and his subconious mind gave him the jolt he needed to sense the billions of minds calling out, unfocused, undirected, without purpose or decision. With his new found experience with Morcalivan he reached out to them and they halted, hearing him as if a bell went off in their own minds, the crowd of deafening voices ceased and one voice came, the every voice, the voice of Thelax. Energies around the ship travelled through and into it emerging in front of the waking Dr. Preston as a four armed metallic figure with no descernable features what so ever. The metal was certainly recognizable as to what the ship's outside hull resembled before it was roasted by the chaotic energy storm.

It thanked Dr. Preston for giving it direction, for releasing it from it's chaotic prison and that it would do anything to repay'em. It told'em about the millions of years travelling the stars after the accident. A black whole had opened up in their solar system and instead of fleeing like many of the other races, the Thelaxians decided that their intelligence could defeat the anomoly. They created a cosmic weapon that would destroy the Black Hole. It succceeded, but not in the way that they had hoped, for the hole exploded outward before it collapsed, trapping their consiousness forever between them and true thought, unable to reach each other.

After much discussion between the two they looked around the see the ship utterly demolished. Lukcily being the scientists that they both were the two started repairs with Thelax making some improvements here and there. After a few grueling days of hard labour Dr. Preston announced the ship was ready to head home. A home that Thelax could share and now call his own.

Morcalivan and Thelax hit it off very well, both being scientists, aliens and having multiple personalities within them, they were like brothers. Their ambitions rising when around each other the two decided to devise a new ship, one that would take them farther and faster, and without the need for Pathogen.

With Dr. Preston's knowledge of nuclear power the three went ahead and designed a new, long lasting generator for the ship. Once completed Dr. Preston left them to finish the ship specific designs and use the generator for other purposes. Realising Pathogen's potential but limitations, Dr. Preston decided to make a generator that would be small enough to fit inside of a robotic arm. The arm would then be attached to Damien, who would be secured beneath a suit of power armour based off previous designs.

Morcalivan saw potential in using Damien even further, ordering that he place Pheramone in charge of the Widowers and head to a city called Paragon. It has been wracked by the Rikti war and is filled with super powered beings. He decided to send in Damien to both collect information on the heroes that would one day attempt to stop his scheming, while at the same time eliminating the competition, one way or the other. Damien was given the codename Daehart to help infiltrate the group of heroes known as the Defenders. The same group which might have stopped Morcalivan just over a year earlier.

During this time, the island base was being converted to a military compound. It was filled with Neutron Soldiers and it's volcano silenced to become a landing zone for the new nuclear jet called the Hyperwing. The three scientists also created a large mechanical mech resembling the shape of a crab that would patrol the shores of the island, which they were using as a place to build a massive submarine that could match the firepower of a destroyer. The submarine would also help patrol the extended coastline as well as transport goods and troops undetected around the world.

Daehart tested the new suit rigorously, putting it up against the toughest of villains and coming up victorious every time. He had a few close calls but his new teammates made sure to bail'em out. He began to see the kind of comraderie all in battle feel for each other and it became increasingly painful to betray their trust, supplier Morcalivan with specific details on their combat performance, their personal lives, and team tactics.

Dr. Preston was hard at work for his new suit as ordered, ordered by the new tyrant emerging. He began to see just how evil Morcalivan was and what he would do with these new soldiers of his. The statistics from Daehart and the help from Thelax and Morcalivan allowed for a newer, more efficient suit that would contain a more compact generator. The generator would be so small it could be contained within the suit unseen and untargeted. It would have all the same movements and durable qualities as Daehart's suit but would be able to release the radiation in all directions. The A-Suit was indeed a marvel to behold, and to fear in the hands of someone like Morcalivan.

Daehart would not do it any longer, approaching Morcalivan that he could not betray them, for they were his friends. They trusted him and accepted him. Someone Morcalivan would not tolerate, brainwashing the traitor to become his personal mind pet, powered by darkness he would go back to the Defenders, extract what information he could and destroy them.

Furious at this, Dr. Preston took his prototype suit, a modification of the A-Suit and took off for Daehart. Wanting to save his brother and the Defenders he had no use for subtlety, crashing through the "D" doors, screaming out Daehart's name, he was met with a blast of radiation.

Narrowly avoiding the blast, the man now called Preyhart rolled sidewways, leaping behind the desk which soon blew apart by yet another blast by the arm he himself helped design. The two fought hard, firing blasts of radiation and energy, dodging them only to return one of their own to their borther.

Daehart was not himself, but he had to be stopped for the sake of others. Preyhart tried entering his mind to end the battle here and now only to have it blocked by the brainwashing. There was nothing he could do, not now, not in battle. The brainwashing has manipualted the mind and taken over, unable to affect it unless given the proper time and concentration.

Preyhart teleported behind Daehart, blasting energy from out of his fists, filtering the radiation and sends the energy streaming towards Daehart. Lcukily for Daehart he turns in time, in time to see what would have been his defeat, only to put up his hand and letting the energy strike an invisble barrier. Yet another of Preyhart's inventions used against him. He had made sure that no one would harm his brother, a descision he might not live through to regret.

The contact of the barrier creates a small shockwave, distracting Preyhart as another blast of deadly radiation is sent his way. Dodging once again he rolls to his feet only to be met with an open hand aimed his way. The shield device sends a pulse of energy crashing into Preyhart, knocking'em to the wall.

Momentarily stunned Daehart tries to finish it off by sending his gigantic arm into Preyhart, only to miss and pierce the thick wall with ease. Lifting himself off the ground with a leap, Preyhart sets off into the air to place some space between them. Daehart, furious that this is taking so long, flies after'em, sending beams of energy from his eyes, trying to halt'em enough to blast'em with his canno. Continously hitting the walls and ceiling, he decides to land aiming his arm cannon at his soaring brother.

Preyhart, seeing how the blasts in Daehart's frustration lack control and could very well tear this building apart gets an idea. Taunting Daehart, he flies past the wall, letting Daehart's arm blast across it, tearing apart it's foundations. Timing himself to teleport after the blast, he send an energy attack himself, directing at Daehart's back yet again, this time striking him and the explosive energy blasting him into the wall, only to land on the floor beaten and disoriented but not at all finished.

Daehart attempts to get up but as much fear as a brainwashed soldier can feel surges through him as he realizes that the wall's crashing down upon him. Unable to move in time, he is swallowed whole by the rubbled, sending dust and debris to fill the room.

The Defenders came back to their Head Quarters on guard and puzzled. There had been a battle inside their base while they were out saving the city. Stepping into the broken reception area where a collapsed wall and partial ceiling had piled up on a part of the floor they spotted a man in red and gold armour in a familiar make. It was similar to the base design of Daehart's suit.

Ready for battle they surrounded the intruder who put up no fight. He had just lost his brother, buried under the pile of rubble. When told, some of the stronger Defenders immediately began digging while the mentalist known as Generic scanned the mind of the man named Preyhart while he was interrogated by Bayne and Exodus.

There was nothing recovered, not a body or even a part of the suit. He was gone, dissapeared beneath the pile of rubble without Preyhart noticing it. Surely he sensed the lack of his mind but he took that as a sign of his brother's death. Both relieved and sickened at the fact that his brother is still out there, a mind slave to Morcalivan.

Once they've concured that Preyhart was telling the truth, he began telling the Defenders about he and his brother's past and the new threat of Morcalivan and his army of soldier rising. He pledged to them that so long as his brother and the fiend Morcalivan threatened this city that who would aid them as best he could to thwart the plans of the Dark Shroud.

Daehart arrived at island by teleportation, travelling through some unkown portal of some kind. It was a wormhole created by the being known as Thelax, currently in league with the Nictus Morcalivan. Daehart took a while to catch his breath and gather his wits. Morcalivan and Thelax were standing there over him, waiting for his report.

Daehart had activated a distress signal through an implant in his jaw. When activated it would alert headquarters that he was in a dire situation and Thelax would then home in on the beacon and transport him safely away. Luckily for Daehart he had been protected by his armour by most of the hit and was soon transported before any further wounds were aquired.

The battle with his brother seemed to have taken it's toll as his emotional connection and high disciplined mind has weakened the brainwashing. Daehart's mind seemed to have a fog over it. He knew what he was doing was wrong but could not stop himself. The urge to kill those who tried to stop him was too powerful. But now it is subsiding and he is growing increasing more able to take control, and to think for himself.

Morcalivan had approached him alone earlier only to be met with resistance in offering information. Resistance he was well aware of when Daehart first tried to betray Morcalivan. Daehart attempted to attack Morcalivan but suddenly halted unable to move. He had full control of his mind now, thinking only of the connection he and his brother has, allowing for a shield against the brainwashing. But still, he was paralyzed. Looking at Morcalivan approach he could feel an unatural fear inside grow stronger. A dark aura about Morcalivan set off this fear, a fear that only few could resist.

Placing a hand on Daehart's shoulder Morcalivan looked into his eyes. Daehart's body shivering, his teeth chattering, the fear inside him making him unable to think of anything else, growing ever more inside him. Taking off his hood Morcalivan opened his third eye revealing a glowing purple light, blasting it towards the skull of Daehart who's head jerks pain, screaming in pain. No longer feeling the fear, no longer feeling anything, anything but immense blinding pain. Daehart's mind being comepletely destroyed and rebuilt by the brainwashing, adding a double dosage that would kill any normal man.

Daehart however was not normal, having a brother who showed signs of telepathy, Morcalivan knew Daehart too if pushed may one day reach the same abilities. But this was beyond a push, it was a war and the battle was sanity. Morcalivan's dark energies which were brainwashing Daehart were also inadvertently awakening the power within him. Daehart would now have psionics of his own and be able to add them to his impressive array of powers. But it was no victory for Daehart, for the energies inside his mind and brainwashes had destroyed his sanity, sending his mind into a chaotic pattern. He would serve Morcalivan well, no longer tied to his brother and now more than ever on the same page as his master, he would play the role he was first ordered to play and play it well.

Preyhart would grow to find new meaning with his technical expertise. using his genius and telepathy to aid the defenders and help others instead of for greed, but of the goodness of his heart. A whole in him left by the enslavement of his brother was beginning to be filled. Once again Preyhart could live again, and take joy in his work, to know that it will not be used to destroy the lives of innocent poeple, but to help save them.

Preyhart would soon become an active member of the Defenders of Paragon. Although still a rookie at the heroic besuiness, he had seigned a solid suit and his previous military experience and discipline allowed him to get the basics pretty quickly, soon becoming an effective member of the team.

Meanwhile, Morcalivan and his field operative Daehart would make their move, recruiting other Nictus and brainwashing civilians, soldiers and gang members alike into joining their armoured army of super powered soldiers. Soon the city and then the world would feel the full weight of the Dark Shroud as it creeps up unseen and unhindered by the attempts of rag tag heroes. The Dark Shroud is here, and hope is fleeing.

Phew! All that in just a few minutes... am sweating like a pig.

Well, if you made it this far you have my thanks for taking the time to read it.

If you would like to see pictures of Daehart and the rest of the gang (excluding Preyhart and the A-Suits), then go ahead and click on the link below.

There you will find a link on the first page to an art gallery filled with pics of mine done for me by Red Bee. Enjoy!

It's not over until the fat lady sings!

Now Apparently I had forghotten my character Socket, who even had his own single portrait, something Lord Morcalivan doesn't even have. So here it is, the origin and future of Socket.

((Posting so i can come back and check it later. I know, shame on me for not having read it yet

Feedback forthcoming. ))

Lies! Lies!

You will die, Xanatos!