I've had an itch lately to get back into writing and joining in on some open RP; I did it a while back when playing EQ, and enjoyed it more than the game at times. I figure since I enjoy CoX and my characters in it, I will enjoy it here. Before I dig in and find a thread I might enjoy as I personally read every entry of an RP story before I join and I see most here are very long, I will share an origin story with you all.
Dr. Erickson looked across the table up at the clock and the nearby calendar, sparse decorations in the room, obviously nervous. The man sitting on the cot opposite the table, the usual resident of the room, hadn't spoken in over ten minutes, and the balding scientist was trying to find a subject that could get his old friend to chat like they used to. He had no idea how long they would be locked in the room as they were.
"Ron, did you realize it's been exactly 25 years since the accident today?"
Something flashed in the other man's eyes that told Dr. Erickson that his friend knew exactly what day it was...
...It was supposed to be a simple government job, Dr. Ronald Saskel and Dr. Jason Erickson, fresh out of graduate school at Paragon University, were to test theories regarding superpowers that could project illusory images. The government funding was the easy part, with the Soviet threat as big as ever, US intelligence agencies loved the pair's theories, that the powers could be mimicked by technology. It would allow anyone to project illusions, anything from a flash of light to a foe's worst fears.
Unfortunately, a series of bad business decisions by Jason had cost the project almost all of its funding. The project was nearly scrapped when a man who went by the pseudonym Gamma approached the pair. He offered access to nearly unlimited government resources, including a nuclear power core that could provide all the power necessary for a backpack-sized version of the pair's machine.
As the secret unveiling of the project approached, Dr. Saskel realized a problem. The settings of the pack had been set for him personally; the machine would not function with other subjects. Despite protests from his collegues, and especially Jason, Ron decided he would be the person using the pack at the show.
The showing was held in an underground bunker, Gamma made sure that none of the scientists knew where the bunker was precisely. There was only a small crowd, a dozen including Gamma and Jason, watching from behind thick protective glass.
It was clear partway through the demonstration that the collected viewers were not impressed by the flashes of light and images of ferocious beasts that Ron was creating for them.
"I'm going to turn it up", Ron said as he reached for a control knob on the pack...
...Jason realized he had said the wrong thing. He tried to recover. "At least you're fine now," he suggested.
The accident had left the core of the machine fused to Ron's spinal cord. For months, the power core leaked near-lethal amounts of radiation; something kept Ron alive, Jason had suggested that the rest of the machine, fused to much of the rest of Ron's body, shielded him from the radiation. The radiation wasn't the only problem; Ron couldn't shut off the illusions. At first nightmarish images surrounded him at all times. Now, even with better control, if Ron's mind wandered too far, little images would appear near him, as they were now. A little girl made of light was tugging on Ron's labcoat.
"You're thinking of your family again," Jason sighed, "I'm sorry I haven't heard anything since the Rikti invasion. I may not be confined as much as you are, but it's hard to hear anything from Paragon City with Gamma's people around."
"That's just the point!" Ron jumped up and the girl disappeared. "I'm better now, the radiation can be contained and I can control my illusions, but now all Gamma wants me to do is train with his troops and go fight his fights. Watch."
A scene appeared on the table. On one side Ron, Gamma and a number of armored men, faced off against a number of caped figures. Jason watched closely as Gamma and the men opened fire on the caped figures. Flashes of light burst from Ron's eyes, and additional figures appeared as if on command. The capes fought, but as several fell, others attempted to flee.
A noise from the armored door that separated Ron's cell from the rest of the compound brought the show to a halt. Latches slid away, and the door opened to reveal Gamma, dressed in his fighting armor, a magnum drawn in his free hand. Gunshots and other sounds could be heard far away in the corridors.
"Good," Gamma's said in his usual gruff and curt manner, "stay here!"
Gamma left and resealed the door.
"Looks like you're still stuck here with me." Ron laughed. Jason began to sweat; neither of them talked as the muffled noises on the other side of the door got closer.
*Bang*
The door visibly bent with the blow from the other side. The two scientists could hear voices clearly from the other side.
"Why are you doing that Po? We've already got the head Gunslinger here, you don't have to bust down every door."
"I saw him duck in here before we got him Mo, maybe there's some secret documents or something in here."
*Crack*
What was left of the door's hinges and locks fell away and it clanged to the floor just short of the table. Ron and Jason looked up.
"Scientists!" A gigantic red man in tights smiled from the doorway. He looked like a circus sideshow.
"Good Job Po," a slender woman, dressed in tights almost as colorful as her companion, said from behind him, "we nearly missed these hostages."
"Hostages?" said Jason, "what makes you think we're hostages?"
"Not hostages?" the one known as Po instantly tensed. He looked like he could crush either one of them with one fist.
"Calm down," Ron got between the giant and his friend, "the better question is why you two would barge into a government facility and attack everyone."
The woman nearly bent double laughing. "Malta?" she choked between guffaws, "a government facility? I'm sorry, but you've been drastically misled."
"That or brainwashed." Po scrutinized the two scientists, but that required his face to contort enough that Ron chuckled at the result.
"Well, anyways," Mo said, "Malta is not a government agency in any way. They're a rogue agency and, in the end, are all about trying to squash the independent spirit of superheroes. If they can't convince one to join their crusade against foreign powers, they'd rather eliminate him or her. We came here searching for one of their more active agents, we didn't expect to find any scientists. There were more with us, but they teleported back to Paragon City."
"Paragon?" a spark of hope lit up Ron's face, "you can get us to Paragon from here?"
"Silly man," Po said, "You're right below Paragon."
Ron turned on his original companion, the air around him suddenly crackling to life, "You lied to me! All these years you've been lying! What has Gamma been feeding you? Did he tell you to encourage me to go on those missions? What about my family? Tell me the truth!"
The lights in the room dimmed and Ron took on a horrible visage.
"Okay!" Jason cried like he had seen a ghost, "Gamma threatened me and my family. He knew I could convince you to go with him. Your family disappeared after the Rikti war; I've been trying to find them myself, but Gamma's been keeping me on a short leash to get to you."
The illusion disappeared. "I'm sorry Jason, I forgive you. Gamma thought he could control us like Malta thinks they can control heroes."
"Wait a moment," Mo interrupted, "what was with the lights? Are you some sort of hero?"
"I'm afraid I might be the exact opposite," Ron replied, "Malta had me do some pretty dirty things in retrospect. I hope you don't have to arrest me now."
"Naw," Po laughed.
"Anyone we can rescue from Malta is a good person," Mo added, "but if you do have superpowers, you need to register with city hall; we'll take you both there. I hope you have a name."
Hello all,
I've had an itch lately to get back into writing and joining in on some open RP; I did it a while back when playing EQ, and enjoyed it more than the game at times. I figure since I enjoy CoX and my characters in it, I will enjoy it here. Before I dig in and find a thread I might enjoy as I personally read every entry of an RP story before I join and I see most here are very long, I will share an origin story with you all.
Name: Radon Burst
Origin: Technology
Archetype: Controller
Power sets: Illusion Control/Radiation Emission/Psionic Mastery
Dr. Erickson looked across the table up at the clock and the nearby calendar, sparse decorations in the room, obviously nervous. The man sitting on the cot opposite the table, the usual resident of the room, hadn't spoken in over ten minutes, and the balding scientist was trying to find a subject that could get his old friend to chat like they used to. He had no idea how long they would be locked in the room as they were.
"Ron, did you realize it's been exactly 25 years since the accident today?"
Something flashed in the other man's eyes that told Dr. Erickson that his friend knew exactly what day it was...
...It was supposed to be a simple government job, Dr. Ronald Saskel and Dr. Jason Erickson, fresh out of graduate school at Paragon University, were to test theories regarding superpowers that could project illusory images. The government funding was the easy part, with the Soviet threat as big as ever, US intelligence agencies loved the pair's theories, that the powers could be mimicked by technology. It would allow anyone to project illusions, anything from a flash of light to a foe's worst fears.
Unfortunately, a series of bad business decisions by Jason had cost the project almost all of its funding. The project was nearly scrapped when a man who went by the pseudonym Gamma approached the pair. He offered access to nearly unlimited government resources, including a nuclear power core that could provide all the power necessary for a backpack-sized version of the pair's machine.
As the secret unveiling of the project approached, Dr. Saskel realized a problem. The settings of the pack had been set for him personally; the machine would not function with other subjects. Despite protests from his collegues, and especially Jason, Ron decided he would be the person using the pack at the show.
The showing was held in an underground bunker, Gamma made sure that none of the scientists knew where the bunker was precisely. There was only a small crowd, a dozen including Gamma and Jason, watching from behind thick protective glass.
It was clear partway through the demonstration that the collected viewers were not impressed by the flashes of light and images of ferocious beasts that Ron was creating for them.
"I'm going to turn it up", Ron said as he reached for a control knob on the pack...
...Jason realized he had said the wrong thing. He tried to recover. "At least you're fine now," he suggested.
The accident had left the core of the machine fused to Ron's spinal cord. For months, the power core leaked near-lethal amounts of radiation; something kept Ron alive, Jason had suggested that the rest of the machine, fused to much of the rest of Ron's body, shielded him from the radiation. The radiation wasn't the only problem; Ron couldn't shut off the illusions. At first nightmarish images surrounded him at all times. Now, even with better control, if Ron's mind wandered too far, little images would appear near him, as they were now. A little girl made of light was tugging on Ron's labcoat.
"You're thinking of your family again," Jason sighed, "I'm sorry I haven't heard anything since the Rikti invasion. I may not be confined as much as you are, but it's hard to hear anything from Paragon City with Gamma's people around."
"That's just the point!" Ron jumped up and the girl disappeared. "I'm better now, the radiation can be contained and I can control my illusions, but now all Gamma wants me to do is train with his troops and go fight his fights. Watch."
A scene appeared on the table. On one side Ron, Gamma and a number of armored men, faced off against a number of caped figures. Jason watched closely as Gamma and the men opened fire on the caped figures. Flashes of light burst from Ron's eyes, and additional figures appeared as if on command. The capes fought, but as several fell, others attempted to flee.
A noise from the armored door that separated Ron's cell from the rest of the compound brought the show to a halt. Latches slid away, and the door opened to reveal Gamma, dressed in his fighting armor, a magnum drawn in his free hand. Gunshots and other sounds could be heard far away in the corridors.
"Good," Gamma's said in his usual gruff and curt manner, "stay here!"
Gamma left and resealed the door.
"Looks like you're still stuck here with me." Ron laughed. Jason began to sweat; neither of them talked as the muffled noises on the other side of the door got closer.
*Bang*
The door visibly bent with the blow from the other side. The two scientists could hear voices clearly from the other side.
"Why are you doing that Po? We've already got the head Gunslinger here, you don't have to bust down every door."
"I saw him duck in here before we got him Mo, maybe there's some secret documents or something in here."
*Crack*
What was left of the door's hinges and locks fell away and it clanged to the floor just short of the table. Ron and Jason looked up.
"Scientists!" A gigantic red man in tights smiled from the doorway. He looked like a circus sideshow.
"Good Job Po," a slender woman, dressed in tights almost as colorful as her companion, said from behind him, "we nearly missed these hostages."
"Hostages?" said Jason, "what makes you think we're hostages?"
"Not hostages?" the one known as Po instantly tensed. He looked like he could crush either one of them with one fist.
"Calm down," Ron got between the giant and his friend, "the better question is why you two would barge into a government facility and attack everyone."
The woman nearly bent double laughing. "Malta?" she choked between guffaws, "a government facility? I'm sorry, but you've been drastically misled."
"That or brainwashed." Po scrutinized the two scientists, but that required his face to contort enough that Ron chuckled at the result.
"Well, anyways," Mo said, "Malta is not a government agency in any way. They're a rogue agency and, in the end, are all about trying to squash the independent spirit of superheroes. If they can't convince one to join their crusade against foreign powers, they'd rather eliminate him or her. We came here searching for one of their more active agents, we didn't expect to find any scientists. There were more with us, but they teleported back to Paragon City."
"Paragon?" a spark of hope lit up Ron's face, "you can get us to Paragon from here?"
"Silly man," Po said, "You're right below Paragon."
Ron turned on his original companion, the air around him suddenly crackling to life, "You lied to me! All these years you've been lying! What has Gamma been feeding you? Did he tell you to encourage me to go on those missions? What about my family? Tell me the truth!"
The lights in the room dimmed and Ron took on a horrible visage.
"Okay!" Jason cried like he had seen a ghost, "Gamma threatened me and my family. He knew I could convince you to go with him. Your family disappeared after the Rikti war; I've been trying to find them myself, but Gamma's been keeping me on a short leash to get to you."
The illusion disappeared. "I'm sorry Jason, I forgive you. Gamma thought he could control us like Malta thinks they can control heroes."
"Wait a moment," Mo interrupted, "what was with the lights? Are you some sort of hero?"
"I'm afraid I might be the exact opposite," Ron replied, "Malta had me do some pretty dirty things in retrospect. I hope you don't have to arrest me now."
"Naw," Po laughed.
"Anyone we can rescue from Malta is a good person," Mo added, "but if you do have superpowers, you need to register with city hall; we'll take you both there. I hope you have a name."
"Please," Ron said, "Call me Radon Burst."