As the rain fell on Paragon City, a lone figure sat in a dark alley. He was holding a gun and was prepared to end it all.
Only a few months before, he was a hero of Paragon - one of many who had answered the call since the Rikti invasion. It seemed like eons ago.
He had been captured by Dr. Vahzilok and was on his way to becoming an eidolon when a group of rescuers busted in just in the nick of time. As usual.
Only this time, they were about a half second too late. The process had already begun. The man was about to become a monster, just as the heroes pulled the plug.
The man went into a coma almost immediately. He was rushed to the hospital where he was placed on the most up-to-date life support available. Little did anyone know that the shell was all that remained of the once valiant hero. His mind was all but gone, replaced by something...else. Something sinister.
He awoke weeks later, feeling well, but with no memory of the events that had gotten him to that point. He was told he had been married, but he found no love for the woman to which he was supposed to be married.
The ragtag group of heroes who had saved him were his team at one time. However, he had no recollection of them, nor did he feel any emotional attachment.
In fact, he realized, he felt no emotion...at all. He soon realized that it would have been better if he had been allowed to die. At least then, the monster would die too.
And so he found himself in this alley, with this final thought. His eyes glowed a ghostly white as he took the pistol and cocked back the hammer.
It was then that he heard the scream. It was a scream that would change his life forever. He turned his head suddenly toward the noise and stood up, dropping the pistol to the ground.
He walked slowly toward the screaming. It was a woman, he decided. As he got closer, he heard the gutteral mutterings of creatures he had become all too familiar with. As the zombies closed in on the woman, the man's eyes glowed more severly. Something was happening.
The man watched one of the doc's henchmen retrieve a meat cleaver. "It will all be over soon," the creature spat.
"Indeed, it will," a voice replied from the darkness. The creatures suddenly forgot about the woman and began searching the darkness frantically. They were not alone.
A dark fist came flying from the shadows and removed the head of one of the embalmed. The others grunted angrily into the empty void.
It was only a few moments, but it felt like an eternity to the butcher who was quickly discovering it was a mistake to have chosen this night to be "recruiting." One by one, his servants disappeared, until only he was left.
Cleaver in hand, he began to back away, looking this way and that. His heart pounded in his undead chest as he waited for the end.
"Where are you?!" He screamed into the dark.
"Behind you," a voice said. And, indeed, it did seem to come frmo behind. But that was impossible. There was only a wall behind him. His hand reach back and felt the familiar brick. He sighed in relief, but it was quickly transformed into a gasp as a hand grabbed his wrist. He turned to his right and saw the most ghastly apparition coming from the cloud of negative energy that had filled the alley.
The cleaver dropped to the ground and the creature snarled in fear and fell trembling to the ground.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" The form of a man stepped out of the shadows. "You should be."
"Tell Doctor Vahzilok his time in Paragon City is over."
The frightened being, thinking he had suddenly gained good fortune, nodded and scrambled to his feet. He started to run away.
"On second thought," the dark figure spoke again. "I'll tell him myself."
With that a dark cloud descended on the butcher. Within seconds, his screaming had stopped.
The woman had watched it all happen, but couldn't belive any of it. She gathered her things and ran scared from the alley and back home. Within hours, the neighbors were abuzz about Paragon City's newest hero.
Then, one night, a man walking his dog saw what appeared to be an animated shadow making quick work of a ruffian who was attempting to steal his car. Though frightened, the man approached him.
"Thank you," he said graciously. The figure didn't respond. The man noticed a pair of ghostly white eyes peering from beneath a cowl. "Who are you?"
"I...I don't know," the figure spoke slowly. "All that I was is gone. All that I have left is this...the darkness."
The man nodded slowly in understanding as the dark figure vanished in a puff of black smoke.
As he walked away, the man looked down at his dog. "I think this neighborhood just got a whole lot safer, Barney."
The dog barked in agreement and the two went back into the house.
And somehwere in the distance, atop a rooftop stood a dark figure of justice. The hero was not dead. He had been reborn. His name?
As the rain fell on Paragon City, a lone figure sat in a dark alley. He was holding a gun and was prepared to end it all.
Only a few months before, he was a hero of Paragon - one of many who had answered the call since the Rikti invasion. It seemed like eons ago.
He had been captured by Dr. Vahzilok and was on his way to becoming an eidolon when a group of rescuers busted in just in the nick of time. As usual.
Only this time, they were about a half second too late. The process had already begun. The man was about to become a monster, just as the heroes pulled the plug.
The man went into a coma almost immediately. He was rushed to the hospital where he was placed on the most up-to-date life support available. Little did anyone know that the shell was all that remained of the once valiant hero. His mind was all but gone, replaced by something...else. Something sinister.
He awoke weeks later, feeling well, but with no memory of the events that had gotten him to that point. He was told he had been married, but he found no love for the woman to which he was supposed to be married.
The ragtag group of heroes who had saved him were his team at one time. However, he had no recollection of them, nor did he feel any emotional attachment.
In fact, he realized, he felt no emotion...at all. He soon realized that it would have been better if he had been allowed to die. At least then, the monster would die too.
And so he found himself in this alley, with this final thought. His eyes glowed a ghostly white as he took the pistol and cocked back the hammer.
It was then that he heard the scream. It was a scream that would change his life forever. He turned his head suddenly toward the noise and stood up, dropping the pistol to the ground.
He walked slowly toward the screaming. It was a woman, he decided. As he got closer, he heard the gutteral mutterings of creatures he had become all too familiar with. As the zombies closed in on the woman, the man's eyes glowed more severly. Something was happening.
The man watched one of the doc's henchmen retrieve a meat cleaver. "It will all be over soon," the creature spat.
"Indeed, it will," a voice replied from the darkness. The creatures suddenly forgot about the woman and began searching the darkness frantically. They were not alone.
A dark fist came flying from the shadows and removed the head of one of the embalmed. The others grunted angrily into the empty void.
It was only a few moments, but it felt like an eternity to the butcher who was quickly discovering it was a mistake to have chosen this night to be "recruiting." One by one, his servants disappeared, until only he was left.
Cleaver in hand, he began to back away, looking this way and that. His heart pounded in his undead chest as he waited for the end.
"Where are you?!" He screamed into the dark.
"Behind you," a voice said. And, indeed, it did seem to come frmo behind. But that was impossible. There was only a wall behind him. His hand reach back and felt the familiar brick. He sighed in relief, but it was quickly transformed into a gasp as a hand grabbed his wrist. He turned to his right and saw the most ghastly apparition coming from the cloud of negative energy that had filled the alley.
The cleaver dropped to the ground and the creature snarled in fear and fell trembling to the ground.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" The form of a man stepped out of the shadows. "You should be."
"Tell Doctor Vahzilok his time in Paragon City is over."
The frightened being, thinking he had suddenly gained good fortune, nodded and scrambled to his feet. He started to run away.
"On second thought," the dark figure spoke again. "I'll tell him myself."
With that a dark cloud descended on the butcher. Within seconds, his screaming had stopped.
The woman had watched it all happen, but couldn't belive any of it. She gathered her things and ran scared from the alley and back home. Within hours, the neighbors were abuzz about Paragon City's newest hero.
Then, one night, a man walking his dog saw what appeared to be an animated shadow making quick work of a ruffian who was attempting to steal his car. Though frightened, the man approached him.
"Thank you," he said graciously. The figure didn't respond. The man noticed a pair of ghostly white eyes peering from beneath a cowl. "Who are you?"
"I...I don't know," the figure spoke slowly. "All that I was is gone. All that I have left is this...the darkness."
The man nodded slowly in understanding as the dark figure vanished in a puff of black smoke.
As he walked away, the man looked down at his dog. "I think this neighborhood just got a whole lot safer, Barney."
The dog barked in agreement and the two went back into the house.
And somehwere in the distance, atop a rooftop stood a dark figure of justice. The hero was not dead. He had been reborn. His name?
Shrowd.