Prologue
Josie knew that running away from home was her only option. Her mother was constantly defending her step-dad regardless of the beatings he gave her. Then, when Josies step-dad had come into her room in the middle of the night to do who knows what to her, Josie had punched him in the nose, grabbed her coat and wallet, and ran out of the house. The police were looking for her, but they already had so much else to worry about in Steel Canyon, that hiding from them with the homeless was easy. It wasnt that bad really, Josie had been saving her money for several months, knowing she would be leaving when she turned 18 years old, which was only a few months away. She had several hundred dollars and had shopped smart and gotten just enough clothes to blend in with the other homeless and kept the rest of the money hidden in her dirty boots for when she really needed a hot meal. Josie had hit paydirt when she found a spot to sleep behind the Pandoras Box magic shop. Something about the shop kept the air around it warm, and everyone else was afraid to sleep near it and left the area fairly private. Josie was sleeping soundly when she heard a pair of rocket boots fly over her head and land at the end of the alley. Josie knew she shouldnt look, but couldnt resist seeing a real life hero. It was the Red Beetle. Josie had seen him in the papers, and recognized the glowing blue eyes, even though she could not see that color of his armor.
Josie watched as Red Beetle talked quietly with someone that had been apparently waiting for him. The Red Beetles eyes cast just enough light that Josie could tell the person he was talking to was one of the homeless people Josie had seen at the shelter a couple of days ago. Josie was careful not to move or make a sound. Josie could almost feel the power radiating off the Red Beetle and was more than a little star struck. The hero mostly kept quiet, never doing news conferences or anything like that. Red Beetle always let the leader of his Super Group, or Super Groups as the case may be, do things like that. Josie watched quietly as the conversation ended. The Red Beetle simply vanished where he stood and the woman sat down by a small fire she had built earlier in the night.
You are awfully young to be on the streets, your parents must be worried sick. a said a quiet voice from behind her.
Josie jumped as she heard the voice. An invisible hand covered her mouth and Josie fought not to scream as she too turned invisible. The invisible person picker her up and carried her around the corner and inside a deserted building. After waiting a few seconds the Red Beetle faded into view.
Dont worry, I released thousands of tiny robots, called nanites onto your body. They bend light around you, effectively making you invisible to the naked eye. The nanites will leave once you are safely back around the corner. he said in a calming voice.
Why did you bring me here? And how did you see me in the dark? Josie asked.
I always use a thermal vision overlay when I work at night, so I saw your body heat, but enough of that. You shouldnt pay attention to heroes when they are talking to people. It endangers the people the heroes talk to and yourself. the Red Beetle said in a cold voice.
Im sorry, I couldnt help myself. Josie said, feeling a little frightened.
Next time you get the urge to watch or listen in, dont. I want you to go back to sleep and forget about anything you saw tonight. the Red Beetle said as he disappeared from view. You will live longer. he said from the shadows.
Josie sneaked back to her spot and tried to go back to sleep. The woman was still sitting by the fire. The nanites still covered her body. Josie wondered when they would leave. Josie was almost asleep when she heard the woman at the end of the alley move suddenly, accidentally knocking over the plastic crate she was sitting on.
I knew you were coming for me. I could feel you anger seeking me out, wanting to eradicate me simply for existing. the woman shouted out.
Josie fought not to open her eyes to see what was going on. Josie heard the footfalls of someone walking down the alley. Josie was glad the nanites were still on her to keep her invisible.
If you knew I was coming for you, why didnt you tell your hero buddy that I was coming after you? a deep, raspy voice said menacingly.
I knew he couldnt take you down by himself. the woman said sadly.
So that is it, you are just going to roll over and die? the voice said, almost taunting her.
No, the woman said defiantly, I will just have to try and take you down myself..
Josie kept her eyes closed as she heard the woman bellow out a battle cry. Josie pulled the blanket tighter around her as the alleyway was filled with defiant yells and blasts of mystic energy. The ground shook as their battle engulfed the lower end of the alley. Josie couldnt resist anymore, she had to see what was going one. Josie peered over the blanket just in time to see the woman jump high into the air and let loose a torrent of red energy from her hands. The dark clad figure she was fighting deftly eluded the blast and connected with an incredible punch, knocking the woman partially through the alley wall. The womans legs hung limply out of the wall, not moving at all. The dark figure, yellow energy boiling from his eyes, turned and started to walk down the alleyway. The figure stopped several feet away from Josie, looked right at her and nodded, then lept into the air. Josie began to cry as she ran to the woman. Josie checked her pulse and found it to be weak. The nanites had left Josie when she began to cry, so the dying woman was able to see her.
I will go and get help.. Josie sobbed.
No, the woman said weakly, I have foreseen this. It is why I would not let Red Beetle take you home when he detected you here. I have foreseen that you will be a great heroine for Paragon City. This amulet grants power to those who are worthy. It has chosen you, Josie. Take it and help to stop the Apocalypse that is coming. Seek out Red Beetle and his supergroup, learn from him, listen to him. You hold the key to stopping the destruction of Paragon City and only with the help of Red Beetle and the Apocalypse supergroups can you stop the shadow man..
With that the womans breathing stopped and Josie fell to her knees and began to sob uncontrollably. A hero dropped from the sky, clad in the purple, white, and black leather of the Legends branch of Apocalypse. The hero looked at the woman and then at Josie.
Hey guys, this is Faded, said the hero, better tell Red Beetle to get down Pandoras Box in Steel. We have a situation.
Did she say anything to you? the hero asked Josie.
Yes, but it didnt make sense. Josie said distantly She wanted me to take her amulet.
Well then, if Arian wanted you to have her amulet, you had better take it. the hero said.
Josie reached down and picked up the amulet, and the world went white. Faded Reality took a step back and shielded his eyes the best he could and still be able to see. Faded watched in astonishment as Josie was transformed right before him. Red Beetle, Power Stone, Terra Firma, Nether Spirit, and Shadow-Step dropped down behind Faded as the transformation completed.
GOOD LORD! Shadow-Step exclaimed.
She looks just like Psyphoon whispered Red Beetle.
I am Psyphoon hero. I am an entity trapped within the amulet. I can only bond with those of Gildebrandt bloodline. Once bonded, we become Psyphoon. the woman before them said in a voice that was quiet but loud.
So the young girl was related to the other Psyphoon? Terra Firma asked.
Yes. Psyphoon answered.
Thats it?!? Nether Spirit asked, You arent going to tell us how?
You do not need to know said Psyphoon.
Do you have all of the other Psyphoons memories? asked Power Stone. Do you know who did this?
No, the thoughts and memories of my past incarnations are lost to me with each rebirth, as are those of the one with which I bond. said Psyphoon.
We need to get back to headquarters and try to figure this out. said Power Stone. Psyphoon, will you come to Apocalypse HQ until we know who did this?
Yes. Psyphoon replied, and lifted into the air.
As everyone started to leave, Power Stone grabbed Red Beetle by the arm. Did you have any indication this was going to happen? Power Stone asked.
Do you think I would have left if I had? Red Beetle said defensively. I knew I should have taken that poor girl home. She is so young. She is not ready for what I fear is ahead for her.
We will have to get her ready, Power Stone said gravely, because whoever took out the other Psyphoon knew enough to wait till you left and took out a Legend by themselves and I have a feeling that this is just the beginning.
***End Prologue***
Chapter One - Battlelines
Power Stone watched as the heroes started back towards headquarters. This attack bothered Power Stone a great deal. The Psyphoon that Power Stone had known, and fought alongside, had been powerful and wise. Powerful enough that it would take a large group of garder variety villains to even really harm her, much less give her the beating she took. Looking around the alley, Power Stone noticed that the damage was contained in the small corner of the alley. One thing Power Stone knew about Psyphoon was that she controlled the temperature in the air. The Psyphoon he knew could create thunderstorms, call lightning from thin air, and even create powerful tornadoes. There was no sign of any of that, no water or ice, just scorch marks that was common when energy weapons were used. No sign of Psyphoon's powers meant she didn't think she needed them or she was surprised and didn't have the chance to use them. Power Stone took one more good look around, just out of habit, knowing full well that Red Beetle had scanned and recorded the whole area and the entire supergroup would look over everything when they met up later tonight. Something just didn't feel right...
"I will be right behind you guys." Power Stone said, "I have a contact near here that I want to speak to, he might have heard something. I can't get over the feeling this is something we haven't seen before."
"Roger. I will get everyone gathered up at headquarters and we will start analyzing the data from the battle scene." Terra Firma replied.
"I have a mystical contact that worked with both Psyphoon and I, maybe he knows something." Faded Reality added.
"Good thinking Faded," Power Stone said, "and see if he can recall any enemies Psyphoon may have had that we didn't know about."
The comlinks that were installed in every Apocalypse hero's supergroup suit was activated by thought and came in very handy when a hero's hands were busy doing other things. Red Beetle and Chromium Man had developed the technology and it was currently being implemented into the various branches of Apocheroes allies, the F.R.O.N.T. One thing is for sure, with Chromium Man and Red Beetle on board, things were always going to be high Tech.
Power Stone arrived around at Cooke's Electronics and looked around for Mikey. It was odd that he wasn't sitting on his normal wall behind the Electronic's store. Mikey had been blind for most of his life and lived in the apartments behind Cooke's. People often just saw Mikey as a blind man. Most criminals, in their ignorance, forgot that just because Mikey couldn't see, didn't mean he couldn't hear, which made Mikey the perfect informant. Mikey always sat on the wall behind Cooke's this time of night and it was truly unusual for him to not be here. Power Stone turned the corner into the alley beside Cooke's, and saw the burnt remains of someone stashed under some trashbags. Power Stone started towards the body when he saw his friend's dark glasses nearby.
"He was trash, so we treated him like trash." a voice said from behind.
Power Stone turned to face the new voice. Several members of the Malta Group stood at the end of the alley. Power Stone's anger started to build up inside. Mikey couldn't have begun to defend himself against the Malta. Power Stone looked back at the blackened mass in the shadows that had once been a brave man with no super powers but helped the fight against evil on a regular basis.
"We had been looking for who clued your team in on our Brickstown facility. It took us months to regather the data lost that evening. Your friend died slow and painfully, now it is your turn." the operative said.
Power Stone roared in anger. Granite covered his entire body, and energy coursed through his clenched fists with an intesity he had never felt before. Power Stone lept into the middle of the group, hands blazing brightly. Power Stone brought both hands down on the nearest malta's head, not caring if the man lived or died. The malta crumpled beneath the massive fists and did not move. Power Stone jumped in the air again, twisting as he did and hit three more operatives with his spinning fists. An operative that had been on the outskirts of the skirmish stepped forward and fired a blue stream of energy at the hero. Power Stone dropped to his knees as the blast sucked the energy from his body. Power Stone looked at the lifeless body of the blind man he called a friend and clenched his teeth.
"YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME ON THIS DAY, WORMS!" Power Stone shouted as energy poured through his eyes, melting the sapping weapon and rendering it's wielder unconcious. Power Stone turned to face the lead operative.
"Now what were you saying about slow and painful...?" Power Stone taunted in a cold voice.
The operative shuddered as Power Stone's fist glowed brightly. As Power Stone took a heavy step forward, the operative fainted. Power Stone noted, with some degree of pleasure, that there was a puddle of water slowly seeping from underneath the operative's motionless form.
"This is Power Stone sending out an emergency broadcast to all Apocalypse members." Power Stone said over the comlink in his helmet, "I was ambushed, by a group of Malta, at a secret contact. There is a chance that all Apocalypse contacts, secret or otherwise, have been compromised. Notify all your contacts to seek shelter in City Hall until we have eliminated the threat, then I want all Apocalypse heroes, active and inactive, to meet at HQ to examine data from tonight."
Power Stone notified the police and waited to give a statement. While waiting, Power Stone pondered the events of the night and ran different scenerios through his head. Sure, the Malta group could have taken out Mikey easily, but there is no way the Malta would have taken out Psyphoon . The Malta would have captured her alive, and then played games with everyone else to try and trap as many heroes as possible. It didn't add up and that didn't make Power Stone happy at all.
"Power Stone, this is Red Beetle." Power Stone's comlink squalked. "I have recovered a recording from one of the nanites I had placed on Josie. It doesn't look good. I think you need to get here right away."
"On my way." Power Stone said
"This Faded Reality requesting emergency assistance!" the comlink squalked, "I am being attacked by Sky Raiders and Council in Independence Port! I am engaged with 16! I repeat! I am being attacked by a group of 16 Sk----"
"FADED!" Power Stone cried. "All nearby Apocalypse members divert and engage at Faded Reality's last known location."
"On it!" Cavalier answered
"Same!" Ultra Shock responded
"On my Way" Gavelor reported
Power Stone lept towards the zone line to Independence Port.
************************************************** ************************************************** **
Chapter 1 - Battlelines Section 2
Faded Reality was running for his life. He had summoned Decoys and an actual Phantasm, but they were doing little against his assailants. Faded jumped to the side to avoid a grenade and blinded the grenadier with a flash. The sky raiders had been content to sit back and shoot at him from a distance, but Faded new that they would soon tire of the cat and mouse game, and move in for the kill. Faded took to the air and immediately had to bank hard left to avoid a missile from a Sky Skift he hadn't seen.
"Great," Faded thought to himself, "that makes 17. The others better get here soon."
"FOOLS!" boomed a voice from somewhere below.
Faded Reality was thrown back by a tremendous blast of energy. Sailing through the air, he fought to keep from blacking out. As he fell through the alleyway, he reached out blindly hoping to catch a clothesline. Faded landed harshly on a dumpster, hitting his head solidly and finally giving way to the cold embrace of unconciousness. When he awoke, he was greeted by a solemn Power Stone standing beside his bed. Satet stood on the opposite side, wearing a concerned look on her face.
"Mediport, huh?" Faded asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah." Satet said,"Gavelor saw the explosion from the air as he neared the scene. He said that a man in black was standing over you, then just vanished into mid air. Then you medi-ported and Power Stone had us meet here."
"How am I" Faded asked.
"You have a concussion, but you should be fine in a day or so." Satet said, sounding a little concerned "the docter also said that you shouldn't try to heal it, just let it mend on its own. Something about concussions make healing them with powers tricky, you could do more damage if you mess up."
"That sounds fine to me. My head is ringing so badly I couldn't concentrate enough to do anything now anyway." Faded quipped."Gavelor question any of the baddies."
Satet looked over at Power Stone and Faded followed her gaze.
"They all died Faded." Power Stone said solemnly "Every last one of them. You are lucky to even be alive. We have a new player in town and he likes to play rough. What do you remember before the blast."
Faded began to tell his friends of the strange mystical disturbance he felt as he neared his old contact. Faded had flown to Independence Port to track do Landon Fireheart, a contact the had led him to several Circle of Thorns missions and several team-ups with Psyphoon. When he arrived, he did not see Landon in his normal place. Faded found some chicken bones that Landon would ofter use to help with his visions. Once Faded touched them, he was frozen in place and his mind opened to the Astral Plane. Where Landon told him about Psyphoon and her connection to the shadow man.
"It is hard to explain what happened next, so I will just show you." Faded said. "My head is still kinda fuzzy, so things may be a little outta focus."
Faded closed his eyes and concentrated. He focused on himself and spread outward in a sphere until he found Satet and Power Stone's minds. Then he wrapped his focus around the three of them and opened a link directly into their minds and took them to a place in the Astral Plane where he ofter meditated. Power Stone and Satet took a moment to look around desolate plain. There was rolling hills and tall grass that blew in an Autumn wind. There was no sun or physical source of light, but the sky was a beautiful azure blue and it looks as though it was early afternoon.
"I come here to meditate." Faded said behind them
"How do you leave this place." Satet said "Everything is so peaceful and beautiful here."
"If we don't return to our bodies soon, the connection will be lost and we will remain trapped here. I don't know how it works, but those were the instructions that was given to the hero for whom I served when I was a Decoy. They were good enough for him, so they are good enough for me."
"So what is it that you have to show us?" Power Stone asked
"Here." Faded said, his eyes glowing white
An image of a man in his late 40's appeared. The man did not appear solid, almost as if he was a ghost.
"Greetings Faded Reality. I regret that I cannot meet you in person and I pray this message has found you. The meeting of two powerful and mystical forces is about to occur in Paragon City and you must stop their battle from destroying the world as we know it. You now know of the amulet that gave Psyphoon her power and now powers a new Psyphoon. What you don't know is that Josie was the last female of Ghildebrandt bloodline. Psyphoon must marry and she must have a daughter. Take her to Azuria and let her help you reveal this information to Psyphoon. The other thing you don't know is that the amulet is passed down through the women of the Ghildebrandt line, there is a ring passed down through the male line of the family. Your new nemesis is in possession of the ring, or should I say that the ring is in possession of your new nemesis. The ring, much like the amulet, has an entity trapped inside. Also just like the amulet, the ring releases the entity into a Ghildebrandt male when worn for the first time. The ring is evil, the amulet good, creating the balance necessary in all mystic equations. We do not know the name of the entity in the ring, nor do we know who is wearing it, but what we do know is that there is a member of the Apocalypse supergroups that is a descent of Ghildebrandt. That hero is known as the Red Beetle. The shadow man will hunt him and the new Psyphoon, for only together can they make the ring a force for good. We have forseen a great struggle, and before it is done there will be losses hard for some to bare. Be prepared Faded Reality, I hope to see you soon."
The image disappeared and Faded disolved the link to the Astral Plane.
"Well that was enlightening." Satet said sarcastically
"I wonder if Red Beetle knew any of this?" Faded asked
"We will ask him when we get back to base" Power Stone said as he turned towards the elevator doors, "Can you fly Faded?"
"I think so..." Faded grunted as he sat up "Hey, waitaminute. Why was Psyphoon not mediported? Even if she was killed by the blow, the matrix should have picked up her beacon."
"Simple....." Power Stone said solemnly, "She turned if off."
Faded and Satet looked at one another, not needing to say anything. You didn't have be a psychic to know a train was coming, and they were standing on the tracks.
************************************************** ************************************************** **
Chapter 1 - Battlelines Section 3
Red Beetle reviewed the battle over and over in an overlay over the visor in his helmet. Power Stone and the others were on their way to the war room and Beetle wanted to make sure that had broken down every portion of the battle. The dark warrior was a master at manipulating radiant energy. The warrior had obvious martial arts training and an understanding of angles that would rival any fighter he had ever seen. The part that continued to bother Beetle though was not only the dark warrior's abilities, but the new powers displayed by Psyphoon. Psyphoon had been a master of cold, weather, then later in her career, and basic Psychic abilties. Beetle and Psyphoon had fought side by side on numerous occasions and he had never seen her use radiant energy. The powers she used in the fight were not the powers she normally used. Why? She even acted as though she knew her assailant. All the more reason to use the incredible powers at her command, so why hadn't she? Why didn't she ask him for help? Why not call out to all the other Legends to help her if she knew this man was coming? Why did she turn off her mediport beacon? It was like she knew she had to die and only fought to grab Josie's attention. Psyphoon had insisted that Josie remain in the alley. Why was obvious now, but why not just give Josie the amulet and leave, call for help, do something other than fight a battle she knew she was going to lose.
Members of the different branches of Apocalypse groups began to take their seats in the massive, circular auditorium. The auditorium was truly state of the art. Red Beetle would have loved to have taken credit for it, but that distinction belonged to Turbo Starr, Chromium Man, and Ultra Shock. Beetle had designed a prototype, but it was Starr, Chrom, and Shock that took it to an entirely different level. The room was big enough to seat over 800 heroes around a central 4 diminsional display that connected,when connected to recievers around the edges of the room, created an almost virtual reality type of holographical display. From this display, Apocheroes could moniter the entire city or particular zones. Heroes could also coordinate massive offensives with other supergroups by observing real-time battle displays using one of 40 possible coffee-can sized satellites in orbit. The room could also be used as a war room in the improbable possibility of someone finding and invading the base.
Red Beetle looked around, noting that almost all of the heroes involved in Legends, Knights, Riders, and even some of the retired Hunters had gathered for the briefing. He couldn't remember the last time all the Apocheroes had been together in one place at one time. Turbo Starr began the meeting by briefing everyone on the passing of the Psyphoon they new and the condition of the new Psyphoon, then he moved on to the ambushes of Power Stone and Faded Reality. Turbo nodded to Red Beetle, who was sitting in the front row in the Riders section, so Beetle began to upload the data of the Psyphoon fight. Beetle noticied a little bit of latency in the upload, then a massive infared pulse.
"EVERYONE DOWN! HIT THE DECK!" Red Beetle shouted
A massive explosion ripped through the corridor outside the auditorium, spewing gouts of flame from underneath the seats and nearby doors. Several heroes were able to get personal force fields up, and tankers shielded those who had no protection, but it happened to fast and there was just too many heroes together for them to protect them all. Heroes were flung from there seats, some landing on their feet, some landing on other heroes, some landing and not getting up.
"KNIGHTS ASSEMBLE!" Cavalier yelled, "All able Knights into the hallway. Groups of 5. I want a perimeter set up and recon on the blast doors."
Beetle noticed Cav's ears were bleeding. Busted eardrums he thought to himself, I am amazed that he is even standing. Beetle's helmet had protected his ears from the blast, but others were not so lucky. He had gotten his personal forcefield up, but was unable to do anything to help Turbo Starr. Turbo's head was bleeding. Beetle scanned his vitals and viewed them through his helmet. Turbo was injured, but his vitals were strong. Power Stone, standing tall in his Granite Armor, was right on top of the situation as normal and already moving towards Beetle.
"Turbo's down!" Beetle yelled to him. Power Stone nodded to him and looked around.
"Pacem, coordinate the healers. Get as many people as possible up an going." Power Stone boomed over the chaos "Shielna I need a force bubble over this room to support the ceiling till we can get everyone out. Teleporters, get to the med lab and start porting people there. I need intel people. I need to know if we have enemies in the base. I need to know who and how many and I need it 5 minutes ago."
"I'm on it!" Chromium Man responded.
"How many are down?" Power Stone asked
"I dunno, lots" Pacem responded
"We have intruders!" Chromium Man yelled
"Who and how many?" Power Stone asked
"Many, and it looks like Crey battle units" Chromium Man said " And this wasn't the only explosion. The bases defenses have been brought down, it is just us."
"What's going on?" Beetle's wrist comlink crackled.
Power Stone looked over at him. "Who is that?" Power Stone demanded.
"Several heroes that served in the Black Tower with me were on the second floor, filling out applications for Riders and Knights." Red Beetle replied
"How many?" Power Stone asked
"Seven, eight if you count Appalachian Asp. He was there to take the applictions and answer questions." Red Beetle replied
"Asp, can you hear me?" Power Stone said over his comlink
"Loud and clear boss, what's going on?" Asp asked
"We have company. Crey, lot's of them. We have a lot of wounded down here and we need to by time to get them stabilized and moved out the emergency exit. Can you and the recruits hold them long enough for us to get out?" Power Stone asked
"We will hold them as long as we can. Just port us out when you get to the exit. The elevators and stairs are both out." Asp responded
"Will do! Good luck buddy!" Power Stone said
"Looks like they will have their work cut out for them, because I just detected Malta coming in our South entrance. Stone, there are over 300 intruders now. I know Asp is good, but he just has recruits to back him." Chromium Man said solemnly
"Then we had better hurry and get our wounded out." Power Stone said with a determined look on his face.
"ALRIGHT PEOPLE LISTEN UP!" Power Stone yelled, "APPLACHIAN ASP AND SEVEN NEW RECRUITS ARE GOING TO TRY AND GIVE US SOME TIME, BUT WE ARE UNDER ATTACK FROM BOTH MAIN ENTRANCES BY CREY AND MALTA! IN OUR WOUNDED STATE WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO RETREAT. SO GET OUR WOUNDED MOBILE AND OUT THE EMERGENCY EXIT INTO THE CAVES. I WANT ALL AVAILABLE KNIGHTS AND RIDERS TO TAKE POINT IN CASE THE EXIT HAS INTRUDERS AS WELL. WE HAVE MINUTES HEROES, MAKE IT HAPPEN!"
"I will stay at the exit and port them when we are ready, since I know the wavelengths of the recruits." Red Beetle said
"Alright," Power Stone said to Chromium Man, "Let's go!"
Red Beetle watched as they moved out the trapdoor in the bottom of the auditorium, then it hit him, Psyphoon was on the second floor briefing room!
"ASP!" Beetle tried over his comm.
"<Static>"
"Firestrim...Aulin...Make-Shift....anyone there?" Beetle yelled into his arm comlink.
"<Static>"
Red Beetle ran for the stairs on the oppostite end of the floor.
"I will not fail you twice Psyphoon." Beetle thought to himself as he ran down the hall. "You will not die twice in the same night...."
************************************************** ************************************************** **
Chapter One - Battlelines Section 4
Pacem struggled to keep his pace as the weight of Cavalier began to take it's toll on his legs. The explosions had not just been contained to the area around the auditorium as he had first hoped. The passageway to the escape exit was littered with rock from the ceiling, making travel too difficult to use travel powers, but not terribly difficult to walk or jog. In fact, it was almost as though whoever planted the explosives wanted them to be able to move towards the escape exit but not use their powers to get there. The debris was perfectly scattered, which meant that it was not random scatter, but a planned result.
"Let me down, Pac, I can walk just fine." Cavalier demanded.
"In case the spinning room and bleeding ears didn't clue you in tough guy, your eardrums are busted. That means you can't walk fast, much less straight, and since we are in a hurry, you will just have to get over yourself and ride this one out." Pacem chided.
The cave started to straighten out just a little bit and Pacem got his first decent look ahead. He had never been down this far before and didn't know what to expect, but it he were going to set a trap the corner up ahead is where he would set it.
"Terra Firma, I need a rock man to walk ahead to make sure we aren't going to trip any more explosions or anything." Pacem said over his shoulder.
"Roger that." Terra firma said
Pacem slowed as the earth erupted in front of him and formed into a giant humaniod figure. The giant rock man, controlled by Terra, proceeded in front of Pacem down the tunnel. Pacem took a moment and concentrated on everyone around him. Blue energy seeped from beneath his feet, refreshing everyone around him. Pacem stared down the down with a renewed determination. "Let's move it people!" he shouted over his shoulder as he began to follow Terra's rock man.
The rock man turned the corner and was immediately hit by a large blast of electricity. From the shadows Pacem could hear the all too familiar chantings of a shaman as zombies rounded the corner and started to fill the hall.
"UNDEAD!" Pacem yelled as he dropped Cavalier to the ground. "Form up!"
MEANWHILE
"That's it Shielna!" Chromium Man yelled from the escape hatch door. "Everyone's out, so get out and let that bubble go, we gotta catch up to the rest of the group."
"But the Knights are still in the other hall, and with Cavalier and all their officers down we can't leave them up here." Shielna pleaded.
"We don't have a choice. Besides, we can teleport them to us when we get to the hatch." Power Stone said as he readied to drop the ten or so feet to the passage below them.
The three looked up as shouts filled the air behind them.
"What's going on out there Knights?" Power Stone said into his comlink.
"<..bzzt....be*ng at*a*ked....bzzt...sh*do* m*n..bzzt...p*eas* sen* h**p...bzzzt>"
"We gotta go back for them Stone." Chromium said.
"UNDEAD!" Pacem's voice echoed up the passage.
"What do we do?" Shielna asked
"We have to help our known wounded down there. Maybe the Knights can take the Shadow Man down, but we know the healers can't fight off an ambush and protect the heroes who are already wounded. We have to help them first." Power Stone said solemnly, and dropped down the hatch.
Chromium Man waved Shielna in and looked up as heard a scream of pain.
"Good Luck guys." Chromium Man thought to himself as he dropped down the hatch.
Chromium Man struggled to keep up as Power Stone took off down the passageway towards the sounds of battle. Shielna was right behind him and enveloped him in force fields as led the way. The earth was shaking as they neared the battle, probably from Terra Firma and Gaia Theory using the earth to keep the battleline out of melee range.
As they approached the corner that turned into the only place in the entire passage that opened up into a room, Draken Belmont was hurled out of the room and landed solidly against the stone wall. They turned the corner and saw a large number of Bantheon zombies and shamans. The controllers and blasters had formed a small cluster between the Apoc wounded and the front line of the zombies, with the blasters picking off zombies as best they could. Chromium Man had been correct as the front line of the zombies had been trapped by the earth itself as it covered their legs and created massive spears of rock in front of them. The wall was starting to give way as several of the healers had managed to get a few front line fighters temporarily healed enough to fight. The wall suddenly gave way and zombies poured through the ever-widening gap.
Shielna, I need a Dispersion Bubble up now! Power Stone yelled over the battle.
Shielna closed her eyes and seemed to gather herself, then a large force field extended outwards with her at the center. Wasting no time, Power Stone grabbed her and threw her into the center of the cluster of heroes. As Shielna sailed towards the group headfirst she somersaulted in mid-air, landing daintily between the wounded and front line fighters. Power Stone charge forward with Chromium Man behind him, sent a withering barrage of fire into the group of shamans just making it through the gap. Power Stone, along with Major Matchbox and a barely standing Cavalier formed up at the edge of the giant bubble to draw attention away from the controllers and blasters. The zombies surrounded them and attacked without care for personal safety.
Being inside a dispersion bubble was strange, and disorienting, if you had never fought in one before. It was obvious to Chromium Man that it was great advantage to them as the zombies seemed unsure of what was going on once inside the bubble. Then a massive lightning bolt knocked Shielna off her feet, and the bubble went down. The zombies surged towards the downed hero, intent on making sure she didnt get back up. Cavalier came out of nowhere. Leaping high into the air, he cleaved a zombie in half, as he landed beside Shielna. He jumped again, turning completely around and swinging his sword in a great circle that decimated the advancing zombies. Their number was quickly replaced and Cav could not stay the tide and managed to grab Shielna and get her to the other wounded. The number of zombies were too much, though, as Chromium Man watched Terra Firma and Gaia Theory go down. Stone and Major were holding their own, but that was all they could do now. Chromium Man knew they needed to turn the tide and he was the only one that could do it. The risk was high. He could burn up inside is armor, or kill his teammates if he didnt concentrate enough, but it was the only way. Draining the fusion generator inside his armor, Chromium Man superheated the collection core in his chest until it approached meltdown, then released the intense heat out of every vent. The result was a massive explosion of fire, disintegrating all the zombies nearby and nearly half the number in the room, but the venting weakened the ceiling and pebbles started falling and the floor started to shake. Chromium Man, his armors cooling units unable to cool the armor fast enough, collapsed.
Pacem raced to Shielnas side. Infusing her with pure healing energy and absorbing unto himself her pain, he fell to his knees. She woke and looked over at him.
The
.ceiling
.. Pacem managed
Without even looking up Shielna created a massive force field to hold the ceiling in place, but the weight drove her to her knees. I cant hold this for long! she cried, sweat rolling down her face.
Ultra Shock shot into the air. Just a few moments more! he shouted to her. Shocks body became a massive generator, drawing electricity from the air. Sharp spears of ice erupted from the ground, encasing all the remaining pantheon in a thin layer of ice. Then, looking more like a dynamo than a man, Shock release a thunderous blast of electricity into the crowd. The electricity jumped from zombie to shaman and back to zombie as it locked muscles and shut down brain functions. The ice shattered and the remaining enemies collapsed to the ground.
Hurry and get them through! I am cant hold it but a few more moments. she screamed
Ultra Joule used his super speed to grab one injured at a time and run them to safety as Power Stone and Matchbox carried several at a time. As the last few were being carried out the bubble started to crack.
NO! Power Stone rushed out to grab her as the shield began to collapse.
Shielna howled in pain and fell unconscious as the weight of the ceiling became to much and the shield fell. Power Stones body became a granite statue as he sprawled over her, hands and feet becoming rooted into the stone floor. Tons of earth and steel covered them completely as Pacem looked on helplessly.
I cant port them. he said solemnly.
We need to get them out. Matchbox said, as he started to run towards the pile of rubble.
Wait. Cavalier said, stopping Matchbox with his arm. We dont know if they are alive or not, but these heroes are, and we need to get them to safety. We dont know if the rest of this passage will cave in or not, so we need to get these guys to the escape exit, then we will come back for Stone and Shielna.
Are you outta your freakin mind? Matchbox said angrily Would you want us to leave you under there if it were you?
Yes, Cavalier said sadly and so would Power Stone and Shielna. They are heroes and they knew the risks. They would want to make sure everyone else is safe before worrying about themselves because they are heroes and THATs what heroes do. Gather everyone up, lets move out people.
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Chapter 1 - Battlelines Section 5
Star-Storm slipped around the corner, her back against the wall and her hand on her left shoulder. She turned quickly as she heard "him" approaching. Fear swelled inside her. In all her time on earth she had never met a being so aggressive in its pursuit of destruction.
"Star-Storm, why are you running?" the raspy voice said mockingly,"You know that I am going to catch up with you, with you being wounded and all. Why don't you just stop and give yourself to me, I am going to win anyway."
Star-Storm glared ahead of her down the long hallway in front of her that led towards the auditorium. She might be able to make it if she hurried, but what if they hadn't gotten all the wounded out? She would be leading this maniac right into them. But, there was no way she was going to be able to beat this....thing on her own. They could help her.
"Your friends can't help you now alien." the raspy voice said with a sense of satisfaction "they have their hands full, I assure you, and I will pick them off one at a time as they try to move the wounded out."
Star-Storm turned in the direction from which she came, energy began to seep from her eyes as her temper flared. She started towards the sound of the voice, when she was quickly grabbed from behind. Star-Storm recognized the blue gloves of Amond Drake. He put his finger to his lips to let her know not to speak, and led her back into the alcove from which he came. It looked like a piece of the wall, but with a simple press of the hand in a panel to the side, the wall opened inward and revealed a hidden hallway. Amond led her down the hall, lit only by the small flashlight Amond had pulled from his belt.
"Where are you hiding squid?" The shadow man yelled in frustration.
Amond motioned for Star-Storm to duck through a small opening in the side of the hallway. He looked back towards the door as they heard the shadow man stop right outside the door. Amond turned to her and motioned her through more adamantly this time. The door opened and the light poured in from behind the shadow man.
"Silly man, did you really think you could hide her from me here." the shadow man said coldly."I know everything about you and this place, Amond Drake. So come, swing your sword of steel and lets begin the dance of warriors."
Amond drew his sword and approached the shadow man carefully. Maybe if Amond could get him to talk then the others would have time to escape.
"I have never seen or heard of you until tonight, so what grudge could you have against us?" Amond said, as he circled around the stranger.
"Your stalling tatics won't work, I am too smart for you or anyone else here. Are you ready to die?" the shadow man asked.
Amond thought he saw and opening and lept towards the stranger, only to realize too late that he had been drawn into a trap. Only quick reflexes allowed him to duck under the dark warrior's punch but the stranger was prepared and fired a quick blast of energy into Amond's back, knocking him down.
"This guy took down Psyphoon and fifteen other Knights, I have to be more careful." Amond thought to himself.
Amond once again attacked the dark warrior, this time he didn't over commit and landed a nice hook after he missed with his slash. The hallway was dark and Amond didn't realize the warrior had on a helmet until after he connected with his punch. The warrior deftly avoided Amond's next attack and sent him flying down the small corridor with a vicious shot on the chin. The energy release from the warrior's punch allowed Amond to see the shadow man for just a moment. He saw something that seemed vaguely familiar, then fear crept into Amond as he realized who he was facing.
"YOU!........but why? We are your family" Amond pleaded
The shadow man howled in rage and jumped at Amond. The shadow man's fist connected again and again as Amond tried in vain to fend off the blows. The assault was devestating and Amond quickly gave way to unconciousness. The shadow man grabbed Amond by the neck and prepared to deliver the fatal blow when he was struck from behind by a massive burst of energy.
"GET ON HIM NOW ROX!" Star-Storm screamed
The behemoth known as Liberty Rox called forth the earth and was covered in granite as he lumbered towards the Shadow man. Rox, hands ablaze, reached for the dark warrior only to be met by a powerful stream of energy from the hands of his opponent. Still barely on his feet the stone hero's defenses fell. The shadow warrior approached to finish him off when he stopped and looked up, like he was listening for something.
"Another time heroes. You will yet lay before my feet." the shadow man said as he turned and took flight down out into the hall and opposite of the auditorum.
Star-Storm ran over the Amond as Rox regained his senses.
"Is he still alive?" Rox asked.
"Barely, we need to get him to the others." Star-Storm said
Liberty Rox picked up the limp hero and sat the injured alien on his shoulder and began to run to the auditorium escape hatch to rejoin the others to let them know what happened and that there were freshly wounded Knights still in the hallway.
END CHAPTER ONE
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I am proud and delighted to see it posted here as well, keep up the great work bro! 
Chapter 2 - Losing Ground Section 1
"Alright heroes" Appalachian Asp said, calling everyone to attention. "You heard the man. We have incoming and we have to hold them off until everyone is safe. I know you guys aren't official Apocheroes yet, and you don't have to put your lives on the line for us,but as far as I am concerned you are part of the family now. You are all heroes and the only way out is through them, so we have two options. We can give ourselves up, at which point they would probably kill us or, worse yet, capture us. Or, we can set up a defense and take it to them. Either way, we at least need to give them time to get the wounded out downstairs."
"I'm in" Aulin said adamantly "Anyone really gonna give themselves up?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Alright," Asp said, punching several keys into the round display table in the middle of the room "let's look and these base schematics and come up with the best way to stop these guys."
Asp pulled up a 3-D holographic schematic of the second floor as the heroes gathered around the projector in the second floor war room. Asp looked at each hero, processing each heroes strengths and weakness, trying to figure what they brought to the table. Aulin seemed to have naturally taken the leadership role of the group. He was a gravity controller that also controlled the weather through manipulating the weight of the molecules in the air on a subatomic scale. Firestrim wore heavy armor that could produce intense flame, much like Chromium Man, but with less control. He also carried a vast array of gadgets and devices. Cardinal Cut was red ninja, which was extremely rare, but Cut was also a woman. The red ninja usually only used women to continue their bloodlines, it was truly rare indeed that a woman could be a red ninja, but she carried a crescent moon katana and there was only one place she could have gotten that sword. Hand of Heaven claimed to be an angel sent from heaven to erradicate evil on earth. Asp wasn't so sure about Hand's sanity, but Hand did carry a massive axe and claimed to be invulnerable. Dark Root was a mutant who attacked with large spines that grew from his body. He also had a constant flow of black mist that seemed to be produced by his body. Gravel Drive was a stone tank who could also form the stone from his body into various weapons. Frozen Sniper carried a mult-purpose assualt rifle and had minor ice manipulation powers. Not a combination of powers he would have picked for this defense, but he would have to make do with what he had.
"Firestrim, It says on your application that you are a master in urban combat tactics and that you were a former Ranger. Do you think you could come up with something?" Asp asked. "That banging you hear is the enemy trying to get through the last blast door on the upper level, so we have about 5 minutes give or take."
"If we divide up into four teams of two we can force them into a bottleneck at these four junctures. Two teams at the front juncture, two teams behind them in fallback position and to guard the backs of the other two teams?" Firestrim said, pointing to the the hologram. "If the enemy starts to overwhelm a team, then they can back up to the next bottleneck where the other pairs will help. Finally, if we are overwhelmed there we can call retreat to this staging area where we can try and completely combine forces. I believe that if we try to confront them all together in the staging area first, we will be beaten soundly."
"Huh?" said Gravel Drive
"Two people stationed at every place on this floor where the hallway gets small. If you get into trouble back up to the next part where it gets small and try again. If we are still getting our butts kicked then we all team up and try to take them down in the big room" Frozen Sniper said coldly.
"Oh, I get it." Gravel Drive said slowly
"While that is a highly effective plan, it also has the potential for a high percentage of casulties." Cardinal Cut said warily.
"True, Cut." Asp acknowledged "Is there another possibe w--"
A loud boom interupted Asp before he could ask his question.
"They've breached the doors!" Asp exclaimed "Alright, I want Gravel Drive and Cardinal Cut in section 1 with Aulin and Firestrim as back-up in section 2. Hand of Heaven and Dark Root in section 3 with Frozen Sniper and myself as back-up. Don't leave your sections or you will lose the advantage of the bottleknecks. Here are shortwave comlinks that are set to constant transmit. Be sure to talk into them so we know what is going on and what to expect if they get through you. If you start to get overwhelmed retreat to the back-up section, we are stuck on this floor, so there is only so far we can retreat. Use good judgement and pick your shots. Take out the Commanders then LT.'s, then the lackies if possible. Good luck heroes! Let's rock'em!"
The heroes formed up into their pairs and ran towards their sections. As Asp was leaving the room, he was the radar images of the intruders coming from the elevator shafts, but there was the single blip in the middle of the floor that would appear, then disappear that caught his attention.
"Hrm....must be a malfunction." Asp thought to himself as he ran out of the room to catch up to his teamate.
The tiny blip appeared and disappeared one more time before reappearing and staying. It stopped it's movement as the heroes branched out through the hallways where it stayed until the first sounds of battle echoed through the corridors. Then it began to move towards the center of the floor, between the sections marked section 2 and section 4.
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Chapter 2 - Losing Ground Section 2
Large rock plates with green crystals sprouting fourth covered Gravel Drive's body as he stepped through the doorway to look down the hall. No sooner had stepped through the door he was met with a hail of bullets. He backed throught the door and Cardnial Cut drew her katana and closed her eyes as a dark mist enveloped her making her almost invisible.
"Nice" Gravel Drive said dryly. "Guess that means I am going to play the role of meat shield, huh?"
"I will perform above expectations if you are concerned about that." Cut said coldly.
"It was a joke broad-zilla." Drive said defensively "Just trying to lighten the mood a little."
Their conversation was cut short by a RPG shot from the cannon of a juggernaut. Gravel Drive took the brunt of the explosion on his chest. Cut jumped to the right, flipped in mid-air as she threw an exploding shuriken, and then landed, crouched in a ready stance. The throw was dead on as the shuriken hit home in the groove where the neck armor met the chest protector. The explosion ripped apart the armor and the juggrenaut fell to the ground, but was quickly replaced by several more Crey. The a layer of hot mud covered the floor around where Drive's feet seemed to meld with the metal of the floor. The odor was horrendous as the mud steamed and drove up the temperature in the room, and Cut was glad she was wearing a mask. The rock armor that Drive had created over his body became molten and a large stone mallet formed in his hand. Drive had effective blocked the door as those who came into range of the mud were howling in pain as the intense heat melted their boots. Cut through an entire pouch of caltrops over Drive's head and in front of the mud, just for good measure. The armored soldiers pushed aside the agents and uniformed troopers and made their way to the door. Drive weaved back and forth as he dodged punches from armored hands and shrugged off blasts of electricity, energy, and ice on his broad chest. Cardinal threw her normal shurikens now as she didn't want to injure Drive with any explosions, but she new that they couldn't hold them for long. The Crey warriors kept coming and for every one they took down, two more took their place.
"Fall back, Cut!" Drive shouted over several blasts of energy.
"You don't have to sacrifice yourself Drive." Asp said over the open comm "Fall back with Cut, Section 2 get ready! You have incoming!"
"I am going down one way or another," Drive said motioning at Cut to go "at least rooted I can give Cut time to get the others set up."
"If you stay, I stay!" Cut said defiantly.
"GO!" Drive bellowed "You know there are too many here. Stick to the plan and retreat to section 2"
Cardinal Cut never liked retreating from battle, but Drive knew his limitations and his words made sense. Cardinal looked over her shoulder one last time as Drive was swinging his massive stone hammer and knocking the Crey mob backwards. She did notice now that he was dodging less and taking more hits, the last thing she noticed as she turned the corner was a thin line of blood seeping into the mud on the floor.
Gravel Drive focused and began to concentrate on taking individuals out the fight instead of just pushing them back. He swung his hammer with malice, crushing a patrol guard's shoulder. Just as Drive was pulling the massive hammer away, a powerful energy blast hit the shaft, severing the hammer. Drive screamed in pain as the hammer was actually part of him, the shock taking down his defense and separating him from the floor. A Paragon Protector hovered above his body, and silently looked down at him. Gravel Drive looked into the faceless helmet of his opponent as the Protector fire a blast of plasma energy directly into Drive's face. The Paragon Protector watched, indifferently, as the hero fell lifeless to the ground.
The Protector motioned for the rest of the Crey forces to follow as it started down the hall towards the center of the level.
Meanwhile
Dark Root quickly took in a view of the room. The battle for Section 3 had not gone well either. Hand of Heaven was truly a force to be reckoned with as he had taken an insane amount of punishment and seemed to be swinging his massive axe harder now than at the first of the battle, but Root knew it was out of desperation. Root jabbed a spine into the stomach of a Crisis Unit, incapacitating him, and dodged a spinning kick from an agent. Coming up under the kick, Root crossed his arms then brought them wide, slicing the agent across the chest and filling him with poisonous venom. Root turned to find another target, but the soldiers began pulling back. Dark Root was about to congratulate his partner when he noticed the line of Crey Eliminators against the wall. The Eliminators bagan to open fire, taking down some of their own in the process. Dark Root howled in agony as he was quickly mowed down. Hand of Heaven began to retreat down the hall, but a sniper shot hit him square in the back. Hand landed hard on the ground and crawled around the corner and propped himself against the wall.
"Section 3 is breached. Root is down, maybe dead. I have been shot and need help!" Hand of Heaven said into the comm.
Hand heard footsteps behind him. The hero looked up into the barrel of an assault rifle as a Crey Eliminator pressed it into his forehead. Hand closed his eyes as the loudest shot he had ever heard rang in his ears.
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Chapter 2 Losing Ground Section 3
Hand opened his eyes when he realized he wasnt dead, just in time to see the Crey eliminator hit the ground, limp. He turned his gaze down the hall and saw Frozen Sniper on one knee, tracking another target. Asp made a small gesture and Hand was teleported right beside him. Asp infused Hand with a massive dose of radiation, completely healing him of all his wounds.
Pull back. Asp said as Frozen Sniper opened his gun up to full auto and laid down cover fire.
Firestrim, do you copy? Asp said into his comm.
Loud and clear bossman. Firestrim replied.
I think we need to regroup in the main room, Asp said adamantly I dont think we have the numbers needed to hold them if we are split up.
Roger, Firestrim replied Ill set up some passive defenses to give us a little more time on this side.
Good thinking, I will do the same on this side, though I dont know how passive it will be. Asp said with a smile on his face. He turned towards the doorway they had just fled, drew in a deep breath, and concentrated on the small space between the doorframes. An intense flames sprang to life, fed by magical energy and ambient radiation, it intensified despite the apparent lack of fuel.
Moments Later
Firestrim finished setting the trip mines in front of the doorway into the main room into which they were retreating. The mines would blow if the distance between them and their surrounding area changed in the slightest. The mines used a laser distancing technology instead of the normal sonic pulses. As Firestrim back out into the main room, he set up an automated gun turret that would automatically tracked anything that moved and fired burst of armor piercing, high impact shells.
Theyve slowed their advance. Cardinal Cut said from behind, starling him.
I hate it when you do that. Firestrim said jokingly but seriously, Ill bet they are coordinating to make sure that they hit us from both sides at once.
I dont like being pinned in this room. Frozen Sniper said.
Its better than going downstairs and being pinned in a small hallway. Aulin said, motioning down the hallway towards the stairs and the meeting rooms. We at least have space to fight here.
Alright, Asp said over them Time to bring out the big guns. Dont hold anything back, collapse this room if you have too, but they have to be stopped or held here.
Aulin closed his eyes and slowly lifted his hands, creating a gravimetric singularity. Asp created several small fire imps. A dark thin mist covered Cardinal Cut rendering all but invisible to the naked eye, and Firestrim engaged his cloaking device turning invisible as well. Frozen Sniper loaded grenades into the underside of his assault rifle pulled a two boxes from a compartment on his back. He unfolded one into what looked like a rocket launcher, and then pulled a rocket from the other. Hand of Heaven tossed his axe back and forth from one hand to another. Then the mines began to explode and the auto turret spat hot death into the section 3 doorway. Crey came charging through the door towards section 4, filling the room quicker than Asp had anticipated, but they were quickly fastened to the floor be Aulin. Fire Imps mowed them down, but were quickly destroyed in return by eliminators as they entered the room. The auto turret burst into flame and Crey poured in from the section 3 doorway.
The battle was joined and fierce. The room was rocked by Frozen Snipers grenades and Crey juggernauts. He was cut down as he and Hand of Heaven were caught in a vicious crossfire. Hand of Heaven was enraged and glowed brightly as he took a great amount of damage and managed to take out several juggernauts and eliminators before going down himself. Asp had long since reached his limit as he held 20-30 crey in place, while creating bonfires on the feet of others. The battle was under control, but just barely, as Aulin, the singularity, and himself had locked down most of the crey in the room. The crey soldiers next to the door were quickly taken down by the Paragon Protectors and Crey Tanks entered the room. Cardinal Cut finished off a crisis unit, stepped on his falling body and used it as a catapult. Jumping into the air she brought her razor-sharp katana sweeping downward, cleaving a cryo tank in half. As she landed she was quickly captured in a block of ice by another cryo tank that had come in behind the first.
Aulin, Firestrim, circle up in the center of the room. Asp yelled over the carnage. We need to f--<Gasp>
Aulin turned towards the Rider who so bravely led the raw recruits into battle. Claws protruded from his chest, and then he began to lift from the ground. At first Aulin thought he was trying to fly up to try and un-impale himself, but his eyes were lifeless and Aulin saw the massive Paragon Protector who had stabbed him was lifting his trophy high for everyone to see. The protector flung Asps lifeless body to the side and came rushing towards Aulin, only to be met by an energy blast erupting from the floor. Red Beetle appeared through the hole in the floor, hovering above the ground, energy bleeding from his eyes. Red put his hands together and blast of energy rocked the stunned protector. Red looked over at the floor where the body of Appalachian Asp lay.
Now! Red thought through the psychic link he and the other reinforcements shared.
Aulin and Firestim were lifted into the air and the floor froze solid. Mist covered the room to the point of where everyone was blind. The mist was blown away by a gust of wind. As the mist cleared Faded Reality, Satet, and Psyphoon were in the center of the room, with 5 gold and blue clad heroes below them. Reaching into the air, Satet and Psyphoon summoned a giant thundercloud. Lightning began to streak down, striking multiple crey with each blast. Faded Reality created decoys and Phantasms of light and they descended on the completely surprised crey. One of the new heroes, a speedster pummeled the nearest of the Protectors with a flurry of blows, while another hero sent one flying with a brutal wind-up punch. The armored hero, glowed an eerie yellow, and appeared to be a mentalist as several crey next to him began to fight each other and another just appeared to fall asleep standing up. The lone female of the group unleashed a sonic wail that dropped one group of crey to their knees. The smallest of the heroes, and the one that appeared to be their leader, summoned inky tentacles under a group, holding them in place while the fast one ran laps around the room, pummeling them on each lap.
We end this now! Red Beetle yelled. One-Two Punch. You guys know what to do. Controllers hold-em everyone else let loose with all you have. Tanks and scraps in the center to mop up what we miss.
Psyphoon, Aulin, Faded Reality, and the mentalist all expanded their control over the environment around them. Crey were frozen where the stood in blocks of ice, locked by gravity, blinded, or lost in their own minds. Psyphoon and Satet summoned tornadoes that swirled around the room. Red Beetle, Firestrim, Satet, the Dark hero, and the speedy electricity hero let loose an assault that shook the base at its foundations. Pulse energy, netherworld energy,electricity, and fire combined into an irresistible force of destruction that tore through the room, disintegrating, burning, and electrocuting everyone outside the force bubble of protection erected at the last possible second by the mentalist. The tornadoes stalled as the flames extinguished and the bubble went down. The tank and Cardinal Cut lept from behind the exhausted heroes only the find enemy remains. Exhausted and wounded, Cardinal Cut fell heavily to the ground.
We need to get to the others. Satet said wearily, supporting Cardinal Cut as she held her up on her shoulder. She needs medical attention, badly
Are any of the rest alive? Red Beetle asked Faded Reality
I am sorry, too long has passed
..I cant heal them. Theyre gone. Faded said solemnly.
Post, Red Beetle turned towards the massive hero. Gather them up and follow behind us, everyone else, I heard several battles in down there so we are going down first in case there is an ambush.
The heroes jumped down the hole and headed towards the emergency exit.
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Chapter 2 - Losing Ground Section 4
Red Beetle and the other heroes stopped in front of the rubble where Liberty Rox and Star-Storm were looking after several injured Knights. Star-Storm was tending to Amond Drake while Liberty Rox was helping Draken Belmont to his feet.
"What's the situation?" Red Beetle asked, noticing that Star-Storm was favoring her shoulder.
"We tried to get to the others but this cave in was here when we arrived." Star-Storm explained "Evidently Chromium Man is using himself as a short-wave transmitter, and the others are on the other side. Power Stone and Shielna are trapped underneath all this. Power Stone jumped in to try and cover Shielna when it collapsed, but they don't know if they survived the collapse and if they did, how long Power Stone can hold up."
"Who are those guys?" Liberty asked.
"The heroes in blue and gold are called "The Entablature" Red Beetle replied "They are former members of the Black Tower that decided to stay together when it disbanded and the rest of us went solo. The armored one is Freise, he is a mentalist. The woman is Cornice, she is a shrieker. The speedster also shoots electricity and specializes in force fields, his name is Architrave. The big guy's name is Post, and as you can tell he is as big as a mountain and about as tough. The smallish one is Pediment, he is a netherworld specialist."
"Your all named for parts of the Greek/Roman building supports." Satet said enthusiastically. "The Entablature is the sum of those parts. Very creative."
"The other two are Firestrim, in the yellow and black armor, and Aulin in the red and white." Red finished. "How do I get in touch with Chrom?"
"Just thumb your mic." Star-Storm said
"Chromium Man, this is Red Beetle, do you copy?" Red Beetle said into his comm
"Hey Red, you got any ideas detective man, 'cause we are all out of them over here" Chromium Man replied.
"Give me a moment to look things over on this side. I will talk to you in a few moments" Red Beetle said.
"Hey, I gotta an idea bossman" Firestrim said
"Why did he call you bossman?" Liberty Rox asked
"Last time I checked you weren't in charge, you aren't even an officer Red." Star-Storm added.
"Long story for another time. What are you thinking Firestrim?" Red Beetle asked
"If Architrave could land a repulsion bomb around Power Stone then through up a real quick force bubble, Aulin could push them through a worm hole to the other side." Firestrim said.
"What about the rest of us and the wounded?" Liberty Rox asked
"I could worm hole all of you through to the other side leaving just me and Architrave here, then you guys could teleport us over there while you still had line of sight." Aulin said
"Why not just teleport them out of the rock and then worm hole us through." Star-Storm asked.
"Because teleporting, all teleporting, and opening a worm hole requires you to know where your target is and where they are going. Some people can recall people through walls, but it requires a clear knowledge of where your target is, and we don't know exactly where Power Stone and Shielna are in there." Architrave explained.
"Right, sounds worth trying. Did you catch all of that Chromium Man." Red Beetle asked.
"Yeah, glad you kept an open mic, that would have been a mouthful to re-explain." Chromium Man said jokingly "Seriously though, we are moving further down the hall just in case."
"Get ready guys." Red Beetle said "I am feeding the telemetry of their locations to you Freise, I need you to mentally guide Architrave's repulsion bomb."
"Roger bossman." Architrave said
"Stop calling me that," Red Beetle said scornfully "That was a long time ago."
"You must make haste." Psyphoon said eerily "The ice sentry I placed outside the door in section 2 has been destroyed. The second wave on intruders have arrived."
"Wow, I didn't know anyone really talked like that." Liberty said, scratching his head.
"Ready!" Architrave said
"Ready!" Aulin said
Freise concentrated and fed the telemetry he was recieving through his armor's link with Red Beetle directly into Architrave's brain. Architrave created a space around the forms of Power Stone and Shienla and violently expanded the field outward. Earth and steel erupted into the air, only to be held against the wall by a force bubble. Aulin reacted quickly, shoving Power Stone and Shielna through a small worm hole.
"You had better hurry! I can't hold this forever. This crap is heavy!" Architrave cried.
Aulin ripped a large hole in time and space, sending all the other heroes, except Architrave and himself, to the other side. Once there, Psyphoon teleported Aulin and Satet got Architrave. The bubble disappeared and the rubble fell back into place.
"What was THAT!?" Liberty Rox exclaimed.
"It's a technique that hasn't been taught in a long time." Satet said admiringly "It is called diminsion shift. It is like a massive team teleport."
The cavern above their heads began to rumble. An escape submarine was just about 200 yards away.
"We need to get out of here." Pacem said "Everyone grab a wounded or dead hero and get them to the submarine."
The speedsters made short work of getting everyone into the submarine. Red Beetle stood guard until the last hero was in. As he closed the hatch to the sub, he noticed the pile of rubble starting to glow white hot.
"GET US OUTTA HERE NOW!" he yelled to Pacem.
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Chapter 2 - Losing Ground Section 5
The submarine was fairly large, capable of transporting multiple battle groups to one location, it was more than big enough to house two full Apocalypse supergroups at the same time. The humming of the Nitrogen powered engines provided a soft and calming effect for those heroes who walked the corridors, not that many heroes could walk them today. Power Stone walked through the medical bay, overcrowded with wounded Riders, Knights, and Legends. Pacem and Terra Firma tended to the most severly wounded, while the rest of the heroes not wounded in battle tried to make the others comfortable until they could be treated. Power Stone looked around, taking note of who had fallen and who was still missing. Chromium Man walked up beside him.
"We really got it handed to us this time, huh?" Chrom said.
"They are smart, I will give them that." Power Stone said wearily "They new that killing the old Psyphoon, and attacking us at our contacts would make us call a meeting. They got us all in one place and pulled the rug out from under us."
"We only have 21 members that are up and about, 6 of those are wounded in some way." Pacem said as he walked up. "It looks like there were about 11 Knights that we had to leave."
"I want all officers or legends to meet me on the battle bridge in 10 minutes." Power Stone said "I want Red Beetle and Psyphoon there too."
Chromium Man and Pacem nodded.
Ten minutes later........
Power Stone stood at the end of the room looking out one of the massive Plexi-glass windows, his back turned to the table as the heroes took their places at the table. Power Stone remained lost in his own thought as the other heroes talked amongst themselves waiting for more to arrive, until they realized that there wasn't anyone else coming. It seemed to hit them all at once, and everyone fell silent. Nitrogen Man coughed to break the silence, and Power Stone turned around to take inventory on which officers were left to lead Apocalypse until the others were healed. Moon Boom was the only Knights officer on hand, but Cavelier had once led the Knights and the other Knights knew and respected him, so he could fill the leadership role once again. Nitrogen Man and Corpus Cranues represented the Riders. Faded Reality, Pacem, Chromium Man, Ultra Shock, Satet, and himself were the only active legends left. Red Beetle and Psyphoon had taken seats towards the back of the rectangular table.
"I have been informed that we only have 21 Apocheroes that are combat capable, including everyone in this room. Which means that out of four supergroups that we had at the meeting, only 4% of us made it out under our own power." Power Stone said evenly "Ladies and Gentlemen, we just got our heads handed to us, so we need to regroup and figure our a way to rescue those wounded we had to leave. So, let's discuss what is going to happen over the course of the next few days."
Everyone stirred and looked a little confused.
"We have dead to bury and our second indentities need to surface or someone with a nueron capable of firing and a little bit of patience could track us and our families down." Power Stone explained. "First thing is first we need to call all reserve members and retired members back to active status, then we make funeral arrangements for all the dead to be buried in the Apocheroes tomb, and make it open to all heroes, so as to hide our lack of numbers."
"Excuse me," Nitrogen Man said "Did you say all the dead would be buried in the Apocheroes tomb?"
"I did," Power Stone replied "Is there a problem?"
"Yeah, aside from Appalachian Asp, no other Apochero died." Nitrogen Man said
"Everyone who died in this attack was either Apoc or applying to be Apoc. They died buying us time to get as many of the wounded as possible out. They WILL be buried as Apocheroes." Power Stone said evenly.
"You don't have the authority to make that decision!" Nitrogen Man exclaimed, standing up "Sure they died as heroes, providing cover for us to escape, but they were NOT Apoc so they should not be buried AS Apoc."
With a speed that belied his massive form, Power Stone lept across the table and landed a vicious punch to Nitrogen Man's chest, sending the controller flying across the room and crashing hard against the wall. Nitrogen Man stood slowly and Power Stone was on him in a second, smashing his fist against the staggering hero's head, sending him across the room again. Psypoon rose and motioned towards Nitrogen Man, freezing him in place as Red Beetle jumped in front of Power Stone and grabbed the tank's massive arms.
"Stone, it's okay!" Red implored "We can bury the others later the same day in the Black Tower section of the cemetary. I would rather have them buried there anyway. No offense."
"Look, we are all on edge. Let's call it a day, get some rest after we get our wounded to the hospital." Cavelier said.
"We also need to look the the video recording from the Psyphoon murder." Chromium Man said.
"We shouldn't be alone any more than we have to." Satet added.
"Alright we split into three teams of seven." Power Stone said, regaining his composure.
"How about I take the entablature team along with Psyphoon, Aulin, and Firestrim with me, and then you guys divide up into two teams. We go to the safehouses and use the portals there to transport us to different parts of the city." Red Beetle said. "We meet up, in costume, at the funerals, then we all meet at the Boomtown safehouse 5 days from now."
"That sounds good to me." Cavelier said.
"Me too." Chromium Man said.
"Okay then, that's the plan. Satet, you are in charge of the funeral arrangements." Power Stone said. "Any questions?"
"I have one." Faded Reality said. "How come the Medi-port transporters didn't work? Did they jam us?"
"No one ever really expected anyone to be able to get past the outter defenses on the base, so we had it shielded." Chromium Man explained "No one port in, No one ports out."
"I think that needs to be worked out when we get it back. If we get back..." Satet said solemnly.
END CHAPTER 2
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This thread is a copy of the thread I am currently running on my supergroup's website www.apocheroes.com . I will post to this thread in chapters, but I will continue to post on apocheroes in sections if you can't wait to see what happens next (which I hope is the case). I hope you enjoy my first real attempt at writing fanfiction.