The Necromonicon [Open RP/Story]

(( This is the new RP that I said I was writing. I don't think I'll get many people to join, but hey I'll still write on if no one joins in. ))

(( Just some rules:

No Godmodding,
No one-shotting other peoples posters,
No doomsday devices unless approved by myself,
If you need a explanation about something please ask,
Please don't write yourself in as say, leader of The Resistance or any other position that might be filled by myself or someone else,
Please don't control other peoples characters,
Please don't use more than three characters,
Remember to have fun! ))

(( Undead Stats:

Basic Undead, anywhere from one hour to 120 years dead. Basic Undead move at a jogging pace and can walk. They have dark and toxic based attacks (Shadow Maul, Neurotoxin Breath, Brawl), use their bare fists, will use blunt objects if they can. Basic Undead look like they did when they died, the older ones will look decomposed accordingly. The only way to stop the Undead is to burn them, any other types of damage will not hurt them, and it can slow them down. Dismemberment will slow them down, but eventually will pull themselves back together. Healing will not stop the Undead, it will make them foam up for twenty or so minutes. The only way to be assimilated into being an Undead is to have a Floater come into contact with you while you are poisoned by an Undead.

Undead Legion, anywhere from 120 to 400 years dead. Undead Legion move at a marching pace, they can have short bursts of amazing speed. They have dark and toxic based attacks (Shadow Maul, Smite, Touch of Fear, Envenom, Neurotoxin Breath, and Brawl), use their bare fists, and will use blunt objects if they can. Undead Legion look like extremely decayed humans to human skeletal forms. The only way to stop the Undead Legion is to burn them with fire, any other types of damage will not hurt them, and it can slow them down. Dismemberment will slow them down, but eventually will pull themselves back together. Healing will not stop the Undead, it will make them foam up for twenty or so minutes. The only way to be assimilated into being an Undead is to have a Floater come into contact with you while you are poisoned by an Undead.

Floaters, anywhere from 400+ years dead. Floaters fly at a slow but imposing space. They have dark and toxic based blasts (Touch of Fear, Soul Extraction, Siphon Life, Envenom, Weaken, Neurotoxin Breath, and Paralytic Poison). Floaters look like fog in the air. The only way to stop the Floaters is to burn them, any other types of damage will not hurt them, and it can slow them down. Dismemberment will slow them down, but eventually will pull themselves back together. Healing will not stop the Undead, it will make them foam up for twenty or so minutes. The only way to be assimilated into being an Undead is to have a Floater come into contact with you while you are poisoned by an Undead. ))

(( Heroes:

Heroes can start anywhere they want besides in the hostile zones controlled by The Undead, or by Abdul Alharzed's forces. The areas not controlled by Abdul Alharzed are: North America, South America, Hawaii, heavily populated areas of Russia, heavily populated areas in Europe, Australia, and Paragon City. You can move into more hostile areas, but you will be checked a few times by soldiers (not Undead) loyal only to Abdul Alharzed. You can and will be attacked by Villains, for this reason it is encouraged that you join up with others. All heroes don't have to be a part of The Resistance, but most of them could be as The Resistance is, well, is what its name suggests. The Resistance's mane goal is to get rid of Abdul Alharzed before he takes over the world, their location is TOP SECRET, no villain not even Abdul Alharzed knows where it is. ))

(( Villains:

Villains can start anywhere that they want besides Paragon City. The areas that are controlled by Abdul Alharzed will still require a few security checks by soldiers (not Undead) to enter (only cities, not the area itself). Villains can attack heroes, and they can attack you, for this reason it is encouraged that you join up with others. Villains can be a part of Abdul Alharzed's plan, but please ask me for confirmation.))

(( World Map:

Areas not controlled by Abdul Alharzed are: North America, South America, Hawaii, heavily populated areas of Russia, heavily populated areas in Europe, Australia, and Paragon City.

Strongpoints for Abdul Alharzed are: All of India and the surrounding areas, most of Asia, most of south Eastern Europe, Africa, and China.

Weak points for Abdul Alharzed: Areas around Paragon City, North America, South America, some areas in China, some areas in south eastern Europe. ))

Abdul Alharzed was always a misunderstood, and often cast aside youth. When he was a teenager, he found a copy of the Necromonicon in his father’s basement, he immediately began to read from this old book and became strangely attracted to the books contents. Although the book was written in a mix of Arabic, Greek, and Latin he understood a vast majority of the book right from the start, this is where he developed his love for ancient texts. Years pasts, Abdul went to college majoring in ancient language study and historical text. By the time he had graduated (he was top in his class) he had become fluent in Latin and Arabic, which led him to unlock secrets of The Necromonicon by reading its texts.

Abdul's life soon became obsessed on finding THE original Necromonicon, and destroying every copy that wasn't the true thing. No one knew why he became obsessed, most common explanation is the book drove him insane. Years past, he still hadn't found THE original Necromonicon but was getting close, he could feel it. He finally arrived in the last place he was planning on looking for The Necromonicon, Delhi, India. He had forced his way past the monks guarding the vault of sacred objects, and demanded that the vault be opened. The confused monks opened the vault (they were under the influence of The Necromonicon), and Abdul slowly removed object after object looking for The Necromonicon.

At last, his years of dedication had yielded the prize he had wanted in his hands since he was a teenager, the original Necromonicon. He spent a good majority of the next several years reading and memorizing the contents of The Necromonicon. During this time, he inherited unearthly amounts of money from aunts, uncles, and other relatives who had passed away that he didn't knew existed. His fortune didn't stop there, he found many precious stones in his backyard, and one of these was The Blood Ruby. He was corrupted by The Necromonicon’s power and magic, there was no turning back for him. He was given unnaturally long life, and was never sick another day in his life after he had memorized the original Necromonicon.

With his wealth, he bought small war torn counties in Africa, and united them, trained them, and even against impossible odds invaded India, only to have the Indian Prime Minister hand complete power over to Abdul Alharzed. With this new found power, he became a powerful dictator with an iron grip over his county. He worked miracles for his county, wealth pouring in, population skyrocketing, housing for everyone, enough food for everyone and the some, and massive oil deposits off-shore. He built lavish palaces for himself, on the surface he seemed like a very nice dictator, but under it all, it was an act to win two billion peoples hearts and devotion.

Abdul had built his 'perfect' world in India, but it was only /his/ perfect world, but that didn't matter to him, he had billions under his control, he could care less about every single one of them. The palaces he ordered constructed were some of the largest buildings in the entire world, furnished with priceless artifacts, books, rugs, and practically anything you can imagine. Armed guards patrolled the hallways of the palaces (which looked more like museums in some places), thousands of cameras watched every centimeter of the palace. To further his dominance, he placed a world-wide ban on supers, military training, military class weapons, items that could be used in construction of said weapons. All weapons were to be seized on sight, and all supers and those with military training were to be taken with lethal force.

Eventually, people started to see the true man that Abdul Alharzed really was, but they ignored it as the power of The Necromonicon was blinding them. More and more people who openly talked about attempting to overthrow the dictatorship that ruled the county started to disappear for a few days only to come back . . .different. They had lost their free will that Abdul had "given them as a benefit for following him". These people were worked to death in the mines and the oil wells. People started to realize and lose faith in their leader, and then almost as everyone lost faith, something happened.

Abdul Alharzed used The Necromonicon to raise the worlds dead (in certain areas) to invoke fear upon his foes. Many turned to him (and the ones that had turned away from him turned back), and now live under his strict dictatorship, towns are captured by the Undead and are seldom killed, they are usually worked to death in production, mining, and other industrial jobs and then an hour later rise from the dead and work again for all eternity. Abdul's will is almost indomitable, he has a natural will to dominate thus making him a near perfect dictator. Abdul Alharzed is a codename, not his real name. He chooses not to use his real name for reasons unknown, he travels with his personal body guard, Rommel Herrman, also known as Kommandant Thuel.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Underground Delhi, New India. . .

"Hello," a shadowy voice spoke into the telephone.

There was no answer.

"Shadows and Dusk. I'm here to place an order. . ." the voice spoke again while shuffling though some papers on top of their desk.

"Husk Corporation is at your service." Said a smooth, metallic and artificial voice. "You have stated a password of security clearance six. Please state your order in a clear voice. Hang the phone up once you are finished."

"We need an extra 500 regiments of 35 by next week. 25 standard troopers, five snipers, four elite troopers, and one commando," the voice hung up without saying a word.

Kommandant Thuel walked out of his office, down the hall, turned the corner only to be greeted by two heavily armed elite troopers in black full-body armor, with face visors pulled down. The two men pointed their guns at Kommandant Thuel, looked at each other, and then asked for security codes. Thuel chuckled at the two men, "ya do know that ya two have asked me dat same questin' 'bout a millin' times?"

The first elite trooper looked at Thuel and pulled his visor up, "yea, we know -- ah, hell just go." The second trooper pushed a button on to his side to slide open a plate steel door. "There ya go."

Thuel walked into the elevator, pushed the button for the ground floor, and waited the thirty seconds for the security cameras to take a detailed picture of the contents of the elevator. The elevator ascended from the security bunker to the City Hall where Thuel would step outside of the elevator, walk through the many security checks, walk down the hallway, and finally out into the busy streets of Delhi, New India.

New India was Abdul Alharzed's perfect world, streets were practically paved in gold, and the buildings were in top notch conditions, only the mega rich could even dream about affording a house in the prime neighborhoods. Crimes like stealing bread, and water to feed your family were a thing of the past in all of Abdul Alharzed's empire, of course people still did it, but the last time anyone saw them was in the arms of mysterious soldiers in black reflective armor being carried off into the police headquarters for 're-education'. These mysterious soldiers were everywhere, two in front of every store, a dozen in front of City Halls, and countless pairs patrolling roads, and plazas.

No one to this day knows where the mysterious soldiers in the black armor came from. They weren't there one night, and they were suddenly protecting the city the next. There were thousands -- millions -- of them, all were insanely well trained. That wasn't the only thing weird about them, they all bared a strange marking on their chest plates, almost invisible because they were black, and seemed to blend in with the armor, but they were there underneath Abdul's symbol of power. The soldiers never said a word if they were talked to. They only seem to talk when they have something to say, if you were being taken away they would ask you nicely to come with them or you would be taken with force. It was just something often wondered but never asked by the whole populace under Abdul's iron grip.

In the center of New India stands a massive 700 foot tall black reflective pyramid with four 555 foot obelisks made of black obsidian surrounding it. This imposing structure was Abdul Alharzed's palace, around the parameter of this property stood a twelve foot tall fence constructed out of electrified razor-wire, with armed guards and guard towers every 250 feet. The inside of this monster is surprisingly easy to navigate, the rooms are a mixture of high tech to Egyptian style. The contents of Abdul's personal room are unknown to almost everyone but himself, and several other high ranking officials.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Somewhere Near Moscow, Russia. . .

Twenty black windowless cargo planes approached the forest around Moscow, Russia. The backs of the cargo planes slowly opened, trails of what looked like black blotches in the night sky poured out of the back and slowly fell to the ground. Voices could be heard throughout the fields where the black blotches landed. Sounds of guns being cocked filled the air, half of the troops moved in one direction while the other half moved another.

The troops moved around the city, and slowly inside. They took up positions inside various buildings and waited. The signal came across their private channel, a few silenced shots broke the calm of the night, doors were kicked out, and the troops caught Moscow completely off guard. Only two civilian casualties. A small task force broke into the Russian Prime Ministers house, ran up the stairs, searched the house, and thirty-seven seconds later, they found the sleeping Prime Minister. They reached down and grabbed the sleeping Prime Minister. They handcuffed his hands to his feet, shot a sleeping drug into his blood stream, and carried him outside where they threw him into the middle of the city square.

Night turned into day, the sleeping Prime Minister awoke to see himself handcuffed to a flagpole and three armed guards standing behind him. People poured down the street being poked by P-90 wielding soldiers. "By order of Abdul Alharzed, Moscow and the remaining Russian territories are to be turned over. Or your whole county will face the consequences."

The Prime Minister though this over and answered in fractured English "Moscow will never surrender."

"Very well," The commander spoke. "Everyone out of the city."

The troops started to walk out of Moscow in a long staggered formation.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Somewhere near a mass grave. . .

The ground swirled with dark energies, boney hands poked out of the ground, fog seeped out of the ground and into the air. Soon the whole area was covered with a thick fog, and then minutes later the fog cleared. A few thousand Undead stood in what was once a field 180 miles outside Moscow, Russia. The sounds of Undead trying to talk, and scream filled the air. The Undead horde moved forward in a slow pace, walking, slowly becoming more and more of what it was intended to be, a killing machine.

(( Well, here is where I stop at the siege of Moscow. Remember, have fun and happy posting. Feel free to jump in wherever. ))

((Edit: Puts on writer's cap))

It was another sunny day for the citizens in Talos Island. Many of these said citizens were taking advantage of summer's last dying rays, and among those flocking the many beaches, was a young woman named Davian Shade.

Currently dressed in a black bikini, she laid sprawled on a blue blanket, eyes closed behind dark sunglasses, a forgotten issue of the Paragon Times clutched loosely between gloved hands. Her chest rose slowly and fell, her breathing signifying sleep.

A shadow suddenly covered her face, and in an instant, Davian sat up, both the sunglasses and newspaper falling away from her as her eyes focused on the shadow's source. She held up a hand, and cradled within the palm, was a bright and hot flame. Outstretched towards the stranger, she prepared to unleash the fire until a startled voice said,

"Jesus! Davian! It's just me!" The man cleared his throat. "Jake."

Blinking, Davian lowered her burning hand to look up at Jake Chambers. Biting her lip in order to squash an coming smile, she laughed. "Sorry Jake, but you know better than that to sneak up on me. I could've burned your face off for all you know." Extinguishing the fire with a slight effort, Davian stood up to brush off particles of sand that had clung to her from before. Reaching over to pick up a bottle of water, she couldn't help but smile this time as she watched Jake's eye trailing her movements. Jake's cheeks blushed a hot red as he noticed her doing so.

"Well, uhh..." He scratched his head and turned slightly to the side. "You could've hurt me, so uhh... I guess I'll just watch it next time. Or something."

Davian giggled. "Yeah. I guess that wasn't all you were watching, though." Tossing him a playful wink, she sat back down, patting a hand next to her, inviting him as well. "So, what brings you here? Nobody knew I was going to be here today."

"Well, I didn't either," replied Jake, sitting down next to her as he did so. "But I got some help from Sarah. You know, the one who works at Freedom Corp. and all? She gave me your current location, so I headed over." He scratched the back of his head again. "There's something I have to ask you."

Davian tilted her head to the side. "I can't go out with you, Jake. I'm sorry but it's just-"

"No no, it's not that at all!" Jake burst out. Realizing he was blushing even more furiously this time, he looked down at his hands instead. He took a deep breath, and, still looking at his hands, said, "There's been some news on the television lately, about Abdul Alharzed. Did you hear anything about that at all...?"

"That crazy guy that took over India a while back?" She looked away, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "What's all this have to do with me? It's not as if he's done that much wrong. I mean, sure, he's weird, but-"

"He took over Russia this morning, Dav."

"What?" Eyes widening, Davian's mind was elsewhere at once; a horrible realization was beginning to form. "Oh my God... Mom!" She turned to face Jake, and placed her hands on his shoulders, shaking him furiously. "Oh my God... Jake! My mother! Your dad... Are they all right? Have they called us yet? Any word at all?"

"Dav! Stop shaking me! I don't know if they're all right or not- OW!" Forcefully pushing Davian away from him, he grimaced in pain as smoke drifted lazily from his shoulders. Looking down, they could both see burnt cloth, in the exact places where Davian had placed her hands when she had been shaking him. Quickly realizing what she did, Davian rushed forward, tears gathering in her eyes, and collapsed into Jake's arms, locking him into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Jake! Please forgive me!" She sobbed. "I didn't mean to do that, I swear! Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I? I swear, I didn't mean to do it!"

He gently placed his hands over her, wincing as he did so. "You didn't hurt me that much, Dav, it's okay. Don't fret over it. You can't control it sometimes, I know... Now now, stop crying. I'll be okay."

Sniffling, she released him slightly. "I'm still sorry." Wiping her eyes, she sat back a little more, though her hold on her step-brother was still tight. "Do you think our parents will be okay...?"

"I hope so, Dav, I really do."

Davian closed her eyes slowly. Mom, mom... I hope you're okay. Dad, too, really, even though he can be nasty sometimes... If you guys get hurt... I'll never forgive myself. And neither will Jake. Opening her eyes once more, she stared out into the rolling waves crashing onto the beach, but this time her eyes were aflame with anger, not sorrow. If Abdul what's-his-face hurts you... Well, she looked down at her hands, and smiled slightly to herself as she felt her palms grow warm, I'll show him what real pain is, then.

A cold breeze blew by, and Davian Shade found herself shivering against it.

(OOC: Hey. I may be new to these forums, but rest assured, I have experience in RPing... Now just to come up with a character...)

Travis put another jolt through the body of a hellion, sending him to the ground in a spasm of movement, not really all that different from a seizure. This one was easy. There wasn't even a mob. Probably just a stray looking to get some loot for himself. He quickly hopped down from his perch and scooped up the woman's purse, tossing it to her and running away not waiting for a 'thank you.' He couldn't let her see his face after all. Travis couldn't afford to register, or even get a costume for that matter. All he had was a trenchcoat and a pair of sun glasses to conceal his identity. It had been maybe three weeks since he had discovered his manipulation of electricity. He could only wonder how he got them, surely he wasn't born from a long line of heroes. Only last night, however, had the thought of registering as a hero occur. He had thus resolved to save up for the fee. He took off his glasses as he walked in the front door to be greeted by his twin siblings, both age nine. "Yeah yeah." He said grudgingly, however smiling. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of being greeted by you two? I thought you two were going on a trip with your baseball club."

"Nah, it canceled." Jeremy said. "Something about an Arch-Villain where we were going."

"And I wanted to see it!" Zak pouted.

"It's not an it, Zachary." Jeremy said matter of factly. "It's a he."

"Than why did you just call it an it?" Zachary retorted.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Travis left the two to their argument and went into his room, grinning at their ignorance, but worried about the arch-villain. Their destination was only about ten miles from here. A villain faction must be trying to invade Paragon. Travis didn't want to face the villain, but knew that a combination of his conscience and curiosity would get the better of him.

(OOC: There is where I stop for lack of any further ideas. I'll try to post here at least once a day.)

El D stood tall among the folks of the rebuilt Faultline, in fact, he stood over 2 feet taller than most normal humans. Having demon blood does that to you. He looked across the few blocks he could see, his face wreathed in flames, his burning eyes scanning for any sign of trouble.

Then he saw some thugs, Skulls he guessed, walk into a small pizza-parlor across the street.

"I'd better keep a watch on those guys..." he said, his deep voice comming from under an assassins mask. At that he flew slowly across the street, looking in at the thugs through the window. They still hadnt noticed him, when the first thug pulled a gun out on the clerk.

"Time to earn a living" he said, and he rocketed forward, shoving aside the doors and starteling the patrons inside the resturant.

"What th--" the gun-thug started to say, but uppon looking at the tall half-demon standing infront of him, he stopped short. One of his friends pulled a gun from his jacket, and shot at El D.

He just laughed as the bullet disinigrated befor it even thouched his dark armor. Now, El D stalked forward, a long, black cloak whisping out behind him. He grabbed the nearest two thugs, the two with guns, each by their shirt collars, and hoisted them up, a good 5 feet off the ground, their heads almost touching the ceiling. The last thug, El D just looked at, and he was surrounded in a ring of flames.

"Both of you, get out, and don't ever bother comming Back!!!" he roared at the two thugs he held, throwing them out of the doors of the building, and sending them to hit that outer wall of the buildings back across the street.

That last thug he got rid of be lifting him up, and disposing of in a garbage can in the front of the parlor.

When he walked back in, he looked up just in time to see an announcment on the tv hanging above the bar. It said that some Abdul character had taken over Russia earlier in the morning.

"Christ" El D muttered "Who is going to stop that madman..." he finished. Then he thought about that statement.

"Duh, I am a hero, and I live in a city populatied by nearly 3 thousand or more others with powers. We sure as Hell can stop this guy..." he thought "Its not like he has some doomsday weapon or somthing......At least, I hope he doesnt...."

At that, El D sat down at the bar, and ordered a medium (which is a personal size for him) pizza, with all the toppings.

If anything came up, he worry about it when it did.....

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bruce Cambell RULES!!! Evil Dead Is Teh BOMB!!!!!

(( 1:13 P.M. Faultline ))

*Dinkle*

There was a dingling noise as the door into the pizza parlor was heard.

El D heard a voice behind him. "Are you El D, registered hero #914,925?"

Behind him stood a man in black cargo pants, a red buisness suit with a black tie, covered by a trench coat. His hair was in a pony tail, he wore cliche government glasses, and a bandana around his face. He looked quite a good deal like a thug enforcer.

"My name is Mr. White, C.I.A." He flashed an I.D. in El D's face. "We have a situation that requires SPECIAL attention, and we have selected you as a potential deniable opperative. We would like you to meet with a group of other heroes at THIS location..." He held out a buisness card. "If you don't want to come, just say so. This is entirely optional. Just know this involves the fate of Paragon City."

-----

Suddenly, throughout Paragon city...

*Attention citizens and heroes! We have reports of Abdul Alharzed has been inciting gangs within the city to rally to his cause, and several public facilities, along with several back alleys and even street roads have been discovered booby trapped using smuggled military supplies given to said gangs, who have been planting these traps in Abdul Alharzed's name. A curfew is in effect for your safety, and all citizens are ordered to return to your homes, and remain inside while heroes and Longbow scour the city clean of traps. All heroes are asked to immediately gear up and commence a search in collaboration with Longbow. Thank you.*

This message blared from every T.V. and from every speaker. Anyone who could do THAT had to be official. Very soon, most of Paragon's streets and districts were emptied of civilians.

-----

*Unknown Location*

"The broadcast has been issued. Everything is in place. Longbow has been effectively pacified, there we be no resistance from them. Hero Corps is occupied, and the Freedom Phalanx have all been nullified along with Longbow, my lord."

~Hmm. So I take it the ambushes are all in place? At the exact places, and I assume they have all been instructed on the times?~

"Yes."

~Are you sure? Over a million heroes, and not an ambush out of place. You are positive nothing has gone wrong within the last few hours to disrupt each individual ambush?~

"My lord, the records state quite clearly what will happen. You've already read them."

~Yes, yes...But the transitional tangent of possibility only happens 97% of the time. Just because I saw what happened myself does not neccessarilly make it so. Fate only has so much power.~

"I think it is safe to take our chances with this one."

~Indeed. I also assume that all the mysterious "Resistance" members are in place to leap out at the last second?~

"Yes, my lord. Everything is going according to plan."

~.....~

"What is it?"

~I was thinking how funny this is. I made that deal with him...For amusement...Yet here I find myself actually worried about the outcome of all of this. Anxious. This isn't like me.~

"That's merely because you are indirectly involved in more ways then one. In previous experiences, you just sat at the sidelines watching. Now though..."

~Yes. I see what you mean.~

The two voices silenced.

"Davian... Davian, don't do this!"

With the ease of repetitive practice, Davian Shade slipped into her costume. Completely black tights accentuating her already slender body, Jake could only watch helplessly as she pulled a similar mask over her face. A billowing black cape flowed out behind her. Adjusting it carefully, she turned away from the mirror to stare calmly at her step-brother with mischievous eyes through the carefully positioned slits.

"How do I look?" She asked, adjusting a bejeweled belt around her waist.

"Fine," Jack quickly replied. Shifting nervously, he started once more, "But Dav, you heard the announcements. We're not allowed to go outside; they have a curfew!"

Davian rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to stay inside. Civilians. Which I am technically not." Grinning broadly, she continued, "Anyways, you think I don't want to help out there, too? I hardly ever get a chance with all the schooling and errands I have to do, but not to mention that all the other heroes beat me to it! I'm not getting any younger, Jake. I want to have some fun!" She spun around in a circle and laughed. Jake couldn't help but notice the bitter sorrow underneath that voice.

"Besides," she continued. "Once this mess in Paragon City is done and over with, I'm pretty sure they're going to be amassing some sort of resistance against Abdul any day now. I don't know about you," Davian leaned forward and tapped her brother's head, "but I want to get in on it. I didn't sign up as a hero for anything, you know."

"Dav..."

"No, Jake. I'm going out there. Whether or not you're in my way." Fire suddenly enveloped Davian's hands, and for a moment, the flames engulfed her eyes as well.

_______________

Leaping lightly down from the perch where she had been watching, Davian slipped silently into the shadows, eyes still afixed upon the men nearby. Glancing up, she could barely make out the form of her brother standing by the window in a nearby appartment, watching her. Taking a deep breath, she looked away again. I can't get soft now... Not now. Not when there's business to be done.

Longbow were patrolling the street. Davian recognized them from their bright red and white costumes. Several of them were chatting, and, she noticed, one was kneeling beside a streetlamp. She watched curiously as his hands worked methodically on a bulky package beside it. He was defusing a bomb!

*click* Though it was across the street, Davian's sense of hearing suddenly became heightened. A horrible epiphany rose over her, and threatened to overtake her. The bomb-

"-It's going to explode!" She cried, rushing forth from the shadows and into the lit streets. Shocked Longbow could only stare at her as she ran towards them, the realization not quite dawning on their faces until the last moment, when a loud crack was heard. And instant later, a bright ball of orange light and heat engulfed standersby, and Davian could only raise her hands in defense as she felt the flames licking her skin.

She felt herself slowly fall to the ground, pain all at once acute. Scrapnel flew everywhere, embedded everything, and as soon as the explosion occured, it was once more silent, the only sounds coming from other explosions elsewhere within Paragon City.

"Booby trapped? You gotta be kidding me..."

The broadcast warning heroes to be awre of the rioting gangs and trapped alleyways had just ended, when Lucas Azure stepped upto the ledge of the rooftop he was on. Lucas was a typical city kid of nineteen...well, except he was pretty different from the other nineteen year olds. Lucas was the son of the famed archeologist, Dr. Henry Azure. Henry was known for exploring the ancient city of Mel Adronis, in the southern tip of Italy. It was here he was credited with the discovery of the Fist of the Legion, a relic of the ancient Romans. Ofcourse, the item went missing in transit from Italy to the americas. This was blamed on Lucas, who found the Fist and put it on...to play pretend. The fist attached itself to Lucas, melding into his flesh, nerves and muscles. To remove the fist would kill the boy, as it send tendrils to connect to his brain, and wrapped around every muscle and nerve ending in his body. Essentially,Lucas was the Fist of the Legion.

Lucas was a fairly decent sized kid, almost six feet tall with long black hair, and a soldier's physique. He wore a bandana over his mouth, just becase he thought it looked cool. He wore no shirt, but had his forearms and fists wrapped in strips of leather. he had recently bought a new pair of baggy pants, which he now wore, and a pair of old working boots.

Shaking his head, he stepped off the ledge, and dropped four stories to the ground. bending his knees to dampen the impact, he crouched down and looked up and down the street. Not a single person was outside...not a single car traveled the streets. Cautiously, Lucas crossed out into the middle of the street and stopped, looking around. he felt his muscles flex and tense, his eyes flicking back and forth. Something wasn't right.

clack tink tink click.

Lucas looked down at his feet, and sighed heavily. Lying in the street at his feet, was a grenade. "You have GOT to be kidding me..." Lucas kicked off, propelling himself sideways. The grenade went off, the concussion sending him further away, and horribly off balance. Twisting himself, he managed to get one foot beneath him before he hit the ground. With that foot he kicked off again, straightening himself with the force, and evenually landing on both feet, crouched in the streets. The explosion had torn painful wrents in his flesh, which he felt quickly knitting back together...a perk from the Fist. Nothing else happened. Rising slowly, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and dialed in a number before putting it to his ear.

"Hey dad...i need a favor....no i dont need college money,you know that....yea, I KNOW heroism doesnt pay...Dad, listen I nee..."

he was cut off by the sound of mor explosions goin off, all across the city. "Come ON!" Without thinking, he hung up the phone and dropped it back in his pocket. The nearest explosion was just around the corner...he had to see if anyone was hurt. With a quickness that defied all but the best humn endurance, he ran. Around the corner he slid, and just narrowly avoided a falling pole of steel. As it crashed down an inch from him, he glanced down at it. street lamp...how bad would that have looked in the news...'Local hero crushed under lamp...'. Shaking his head, he surveyed the scene. A handful of Longbow lay scattered near a smoking crater...the bomb site...and a person sat amidst the rubble, apparently dazed. Moving quickly he made his way over the charred bodies of the Longbow,and crouched near the woman.

"Hey...lady, look at me...you allright? Are you ok, because you look like you just got blown up..."

Davian continued to lay there, dazed and in immense pain from the various cuts and lacerations across her small frame. Breathing slowly to slow her heartrate, she continued to lie there, eyes staring straight up into the already black sky. The moans of the nearby surviving Longbow and the rapidly approaching sirens of the ambulances fell on her deaf ears, the shellshock not quite fading away just yet. Davian did not hear the footsteps coming towards her, and did not immediately register to the face above hers.

He was a man of large stature, although Davian couldn't precisely tell his size, since she dared not move her head. Dark hair fell past his face as he peered down at her, and similar dark eyes were filled with concern. He wore no shirt, she noticed, and as a cold breeze blew by, she trembled.

Davian opened her mouth to speak, but only a moan escaped her lips. Trembling once more, she closed her eyes, too tired, the loss of blood already beginning to sap away at her consciousness...

El D was thinking about the card he had accepted from the "Mr. White" character in the pizza-parlor. He was once again patrolling the streets of Faultline.

He now wore his street gear, a large, black V-Cut trenchcoat with the sleeves ripped short, a black T-shirt under it with a red coiled snake in the center, long black baggy pants with black motorcycle boots on. His face was no longer wreathed in flames, but instead he wore a black pair of govonment style sunglasses, his now white hair in a long ponytail behind him. He still wore his assassins mask, but with the addition of a golden chain around his neck.

He saw some Longbow ahead of him, one of them crouching over what appered to be a bomb, when he sensed a heat comming from the device.

Its going to explode, he realized, and he quickly sped forward, a orange-yellow flame wake following him.

Then the bomb went off, a large blast covering his field of vision.

"Damn, I'm too Late!" El D shouted, as he finaly stoped his fast movment forward, the cusion of friction-abosrbing flames covering his feet dissapating as he reached the sceen of the explosion.

"You, get some of those civvies outta here!" he shouted at the young, shirtless man standing over a woman in a black costume. "I'll take care of her!" he yelled, and quickly flew over to the downed woman. He knew that the Longbow were dead, they couldn't survive an explosion like that, but a hero could survive one, but only just survive.

"Damn, serious burns, and lots of shrapnel, well, I can relive the burns.." he said, and he place his hand on to one of the woman's arms.

Then he concintrated. He formed a portal for the burns to pass though, transfering most of them through his body into the Plane of Fire.

Almost all of the burns were healed from the young woman, and only a few minor marks on the arm El D had used to "heal" her.

"I can't do s*** for the shrapnel...But the Longbow must have a healing device..." he said to himself, and he ran over to where the Longbow lay, and took a small, square device off of one of the fallen men's belts.

Then he quickly ran back to the woman, and hastly dialed in the healing freqiency, and a green light waved out from one end of the metal square to cover the woman.

"I hope this works..." El D thought, as the green wave finaly stopped emmenating from the device. "Here!" he shouted at the young man, tossing a Police Scanner he unbuckled from his own belt, at the young man. "Call in for some assistance!" he finished.

Then he went back to watching over the young woman, hoping that she would awake soon.....And dreading what would happen if she didn't......

He blinked and looked up, seeing a burly man coming twoards him. Cocking an eyebrow, he shrugged and leaned close to the woman. "I'm Lucas...fifty bucks says you don't die...hows that for a bet? You live, i'll personally hand you a fifty dollar bill." he gave her a quick wink, and then was gone from her side. Lucas moved quickly and quietly from Longbow to longbow, checking them. The survivors he placed two small rocks...remnants from the street...next to their heads. The ones who where dead...he shook the thought from his mind and turned, just in time to catch the police scanner. He caught it awkwardly, and had to struggle like a bumbling idiot for a minute, before he got a firm grip on it.

he knew he was blushing from his display...or lack there of...of skill. So he spun around and spoke into the radio. "hey, uh..This is the Fist of the Legion...look, I realize a lot of bombs just went off...but we got a pretty big group of Longbow down over here...if we could get some help, that'd be awesome...." There was nothing but static returned over the radio. Cocking his head to the side in confusion, he ran into the nearest alleyway.

Lucas made his way quickly up the fire escape, until he reached the rooftop. Once there, he ran to the far ledge and peered out. Countless plumes of smoke drifted into the air, and he could see crowds of people colliding in the streets. he could pick out groups of Longbow and PPD...and he could see them being over run. Then he realized why the radio was down. Not a single communications tower was standing, not a single radar dish was left...they'd hit the communications too. "Oh that's a pile of crap..."

As Lucas turned around to return to the woman, he was struck square in the gut by something very hard. Down he went to one knee, clutching his stomach. Ofcourse, the Fist had already stopped the pain, and had fixed what would have been a serious hurt. "Lookee lookee...lil super lost his way..." Lucas looked up, and narrowed his eyes on the three hellions who loomed above him.
"Oh my..." muttered Lucas, "it does seem I have lost my way.."
"Thats an understatement....lemme show you the way home.." The hellion raised his bat once more...but Lucas was already moving. without rising, he spun around, shooting his foot out. One hellion leapt back, the other two dropped to the rooftop with dull thuds. Up came Lucas, like a bullet he dove twoards the last man standing, and tackled him down. Continuing his motion, he rolled over the tackled man and came back up, turning to face them. The other two had already risen, so he leapt at them. His hand shot out, grabbing one man by the face, and his foot moved out to collide with the other one's chest. With a spin, he threw the man he had held directly into the third, who was just getting up. Lucas then grinned wickedly under his bandanna, and stood boredly on the ledge of the building, watching the three get up. They exchanged glances...and fled. "hey! I wasn't done yet!" Lucas ran after them, catching one, as the others made their escape.

There was a scream...and a hellion was launched from the rooftop, and fell into the street with a sickening crunch. he was followed by Lucas, who landed far more gently beside him. As he lazily dusted himself off and made his way twoards the man and the wounded woman, he frowned. "Communications are down all over...and whoever did this, hit Paragon..hard. Looks like the PPD and Longbow are in a fight for survival...all over the place."

El D heard the Hellion hit the ground, but payed it no mind. He knew the guy was in pain, most likely dead, and he rose to regaurd the young man.

"You think so?" he asked in a sarcastic tone, as he finished rasing to his eight foot five inch height. "Keep the damn scanner, I don't need it any more" he said, then he took the small card out of a pocket in his coat.

"hmmm...." he muttered "Have you ever seen a card like this?" he asked, his sarcastic tone gone. "The guy that gave it to me said it concerned the fate of Paragon City, and probably has something to do with the Abdul guy who took over Russia...."

With that he handed the young man the card, and turned back to the falled woman.

"What do they call you, boy?" he asked the young man, as he also waited for a reply about that card.

Then he want back to watching for any signs of life from the young heroine....

He cocked an eyeborw, but kept his mouth shut when the big man smarted off so sarcastically. The guy was a brute, and even with his skills...Lucas straight up did NOT want to fight him. So he let it slide, and kept his calm. Looking down at the police scanner, he shrugged and tossed it over his shoulder. As the man approached, his hand flinched involuntarily, closing into a fist. Reflex, he told himself as he reached out and took the card. "Once." He siad, shrugging an handing it back "I heard some guy was passing them out....a girl I know got one. She left for russia a few hours ago."

Clearing his throat, he walked over and knelt beside the woman, but looked up and down the street. "Look, I'm feelin a lil exposed out here...think you can fit that bulky fram of yours into a building?" he gave the giant a wink, to show he meant no insult by his comment. Gently, he slid one arm underneath the woman's knees, and the other around her shoudlers. he then rose to his feet, gently lifting the woman up into his arms. "Seriously though...I dont wanna be out here when those hellions come strolling through. Grab as many Longbow as ya can...we'll get anyone alive inside and wait for some form of back up..." he then turned, picked a quaint little antique shop, and headed for it, pushing the door open with his back and carrying the woman inside.

Once inside, he carried her to the back, and in an odd show of balance, lifted one foot and kicked everything off of a long table before laying her gently on it. "Ya know..i was serious about that fifty bucks..." and then turned to wait for the giant man.

The Card read very clearly on one side...

"Peregrin Island, Nook to the left of Portal Court, 3:15 P.M. Don't be late."

-----

It was then that the shadows started to move.

Or rather, not really the shadows, but the things within them.

A Longbow agent was busy defusing a bomb...

When suddenly, from HIS OWN SHADOW, black chintonous claws that could grip a car in its grasp easily grabbed hold of him and shredded him to bits.

All around the city, things like this were happening. Longbow and Heroes were all suddenly ripped to shreds by mysterious monsterous creatures that arose from their own shadows. Some were pulled INTO their own shadows, never to be seen again. Others were simply torn apart. A few were thrown around like rag dolls.

Strangely enough though...

These strange THINGS wern't attacking or manifesting around street gangs.

Quite the obvious in fact. The street gangs appeared to be HELPING the shadow creatures!

-----

~Correct as usual, Noitpeced.~

"As always, my lord."

~Now, if I am correct, this is about the time the mud atoms should detonate. Then the resistance members should leap out a few minutes after that to save anyone still alive.~

"Yes."

~Everything is going according to plan, then. However...I'm still weary. If anyone figures out that this wasn't caused by Abdul, this might not work...~

"My lord, chances are some people are already suspicious that he is not behind this. I assure you, the correct people do not know. At the best, they have an inkling of doubt. There's no proof that he didn't do this, after all."

~I miss the days when you could count on mortals to take over the world themselves. Now we have to babysit them and do their own work for them.~

"You're the one who made the deal."

~I was bored.~

"You always are, my lord."

El D silently argeed with the young hero, who still handnt mentioned his name. Quickly he lifted the two survivng Longbow, one over each shoulder, and entered the door, stooping a bit to allow easy entry.

Then he stood in the door frame, after laying the Longbow gently on the ground. He got the vibe that their may be some thugs looking for credit to a hero kill, with the bomb going off, it must have alerted a surprising number of "questionable" people.

"You still havent toled me your name..." he said, looking behind to the young man.

Then he pulled ear buds out of his coat collar, putting them in his demon-like ears, sounding out booming music in his ears, but he could still hear the world around him.

He started ever soo slightly bobbing his head to the music, still watching for signs of trouble.

He thought the herd something resembling a jet engine, but paid it no mind. Then he herd a soft, but unmistakable sound that came from a Sky Raiders portal device.

"We got trouble..." he said cooly, as he walked out a bit from the door frame, now standing on the sidewalk just infront of the door. His head still slightly bobbed with the music, and he still looked for trouble, seemingly as if he never noticed the Sky Raider's portal or the Sky Skiff engine exaust....

He was just waiting for them to attack........

------------------------------------------------------------------------
PS: El D is a blaster, but he does have a good bit of melee moves, so even in that range your not too safe

((Well, I'm liking the responses so far. I'm hoping that things will be a little more shook up after this post. I have thought of a way to make Abdul Alharzed's empire more clearly. I'll post it as soon as I'm done making and editing it. [EDIT: Heres a map that all Longbow carry, that you can pick up at any map store, etc. It's a common map that I will update as the thread will go on. ))

Abdul Alharzed sat at an ornate desk inside a symmetrical room deep inside his palace waiting for a visit from his advisors. Thoughts ran though out his mind. Was his crazy plan actually working? Were his dreams of world domination working? He had no clue, it had been many long years since The power of The Necromonicon had clouded his mind. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours, or so it seemed. In reality only twenty-seven minutes had passed until there was several knocks at the stone slab that was supposably a door.

Three men dressed in decorated military uniforms walked in with four armed escorts, guns being pointed and cocked as they walked though the door.

"Enter." Abdul Alharzed stated in a chilling but calm voice.

"Sir, Moscow, Russia did not surrender itself to the shock troopers. The Undead swarm was promptly raised in the area where Stalin kept his mass graves from the Cold War and War World Two. ETA of the Undead swarm in Moscow, Russia is three days and six hours. Depending on wether or not Russia puts up a resistance. We have an updated version of the World Map for you." The general reached into his breifcase and pulled out a laminated map and handed it to Abdul. "This is of course after our victory over Russia," he added.

Abdul studied the map for a few seconds, then crumpled the map up and threw it at the general. "Why was New India included on the map? Didn't I ask it to remain secret?"

The second general spoke up, "This might not be the best time to say this, but, a shipment of these maps were intercepted by Longbow. We believe that they have issued these to map makers and Longbow soldiers working in the street."

Abdul nodded his head at the second general, and then turned to face the general in question, "why was New India included on that map, general?"

The general looked at Abdul and hesitated to speak, "well, we forgot that it wasn't supposed to be on any public map."

Abdul looked at the general, "fair enough. Remove one of those stars from your jacket and throw it out. You are demoted for possible leaking of military secrets."

The general sighed and removed his almost brand new fifth star, "as you wish."

Abdul looked at the second general, "Longbow has known about New India for a long time. They don't know its location though -- now they do." He turned to look at the first general as he changed his tone.

Abdul turned to look at the third general, who was remaining silent until now, "how did the corruption of the gangs in Paragon city go?"

The general spoke up, "without a hitch, sir. Gangs have laid traps and other explosives around Paragon City. There was an alarm tripped however. One of our opratives asked a kid who was dressed in Skulls garb if he would do us a favor, he said sure, we handed him a bag full of traps and explosives, and a partial map of some locations he was supposed to lay them in. He went to Longbow about this, and set the whole alarm off."

Although you couldn't see his face because of how the light was in the room, you could tell that Abdul was quite angerd by this response. "Leave. Now." Abdul spoke in a chilling voice.

The three generals nodded and walked out of Abdul's presence. They walked the twisting coor-doors, walked down the endless staircases, and finally after a bombardment of security checks, they walked out of the building. The one general who had been demoted was called back by a guard to pick up one of his belongings that was taken off in the search. As he was walking back time seemed to slow, almost simultaneously four panes of glass on the side of the pyramid lifted up and revealed twelve armed and manned machine gun emplacements. He looked down to see twelve lazer sights fixed on his person, one in each of his legs, and the rest in his chest. He didn't think much of it, as it was standard procedure, but for twelve of them, something was up.

A chilling voice crackled over the speakers outside, it was Abdul. "5 Star -- 4 Star General Robert Dawnson, 32nd ground army you are convicted of treason in the highest ranks. You are here by sentenced to death.

Before he had a chance to run the twelve machine guns opened fire on the general, peppering him with a fourty-five second barrage of .32 bullets. The other generals, who were almost outside of the compound turned around to see what all the noise was about, only to see their fallen comrade hit the asphalt pavement. They merely turned around and walked out of the compound calmly. That was what happens to people who cross paths with Abdul Alharzed. He could easily have had them all killed as they were walking out of the compound, or had the hallways gassed with a powerful nerve gas that would eat away at their nerves until they couldn't move and then would be just another test subject for cures.

Several soldiers ran out to the corpse, picked it up, and then carried it inside without a word.

Travis crouched on the top of a building with the wind blowing his hair out of place. He sighed right before another explosion went off somewhere to his left. He started off at a full run, jumping off of the short one story building and landed, a bit clumsily albeit. This Abdul guy's got some ego if he thinks he can take Paragon. I mean we have maybe 2,000 plus super powered beings here. He continued to run until he got to the bomb site and grimaced at all the schrapnel and burns covering the Longbow Operatives. He couldn't bear to look and turned away. "This is horrible." He said to himself. noticing, about a hundred yards off, two heroes carrying a woman in black into a building. "Good, heroes. Registered no doubt." Said he, temporarily putting the agents from his mind. He started off at a sprint for the group for lack of a better lead and upon getting to the door, hesitated before opening it. After hearing another bomb go off in the far distance, he entered, hoping that they knew of some way he could help. Obviously he couldn't help the injured, static electricity couldn't really do anything there. After entering he quickly gauged the situation with a glance. "I... uh... is there... like... anything I can do, to like... help?" He asked, stuttering. He had never spoken, or even seen a hero before, much less confronted one as an ally.

She shivered.

She was cold, but not as cold as she had been moments before. She could feel herself enveloped in the arms of another, the arms wrapped carefully around her injured torso. Though her eyes were closed, she heard the unmistakeable jingle of a small bell... Were they inside a shop, perhaps? And who was the other person?

After moments of awkward shuffling, she felt herself being laid down on a cool surface. Shivering from the initial contact of whatever was under her, she stilled once more, forcing her mind to focus on the events that led up to... Why she was lying on down.

I was outside... Jake was watching me... I had my costume on. Cold, it was a cold night.

Was I... doing something? No, I couldn't have been.

Watching...? Yes... I was watching something... but what? What was so...?

Fire. Ahh... it burns! My skin... I can feel myself drowning in heat... Is this what it feels to die by fire...?

Opening her eyes, Davian suddenly recalled what happened. Breathing harshly, she remembered her attempts to save the Longbow from the imminenet explosion... But she was too late. They couldn't have done anything anyways..., she thought, a single tear running down her cheek.

She slowly raised a hand to touch her cheek. "Why didn't I get burned?" She whispered. Her hands roamed elsewhere along her body. Her gloves, she noticed, had been protected by the blast, although the rest of her was certainly whole, she could still feel the stiffness of the lacerations from where the flying scrapnel had hit her.

The room possessed a faded odour, one perhaps used often but visited by few. Unlabeled boxes sat beside and above her head, and there, she noticed, hung a single dim lightbulb, the light casting shadows on the dancing dust motes in the air. Sitting up, she sneezed lightly. A man standing nearby (He must've been the one to bring me here, she thought, and he looks... familiar, somehow.) was facing away from her.

Over his shoulder, she could barely make out the form of another man, this one, she noticed, much larger. His face was shadowed in the dark, the light of the meager lightbulb hiding his features. Behind him, she noticed, was another figure... but her returning eyesight did not allow her to see just who this newcomer was.

Coughing and adjusting herself, she swung her legs off the table but remained seated, a hand massaging her head gently. "Who are you guys? And where am I?"

"Er... well, I'm Travis... and as for where we are... I think... I think we're in a storage room or something..." He said, still stuttering. He didn't know how he should speak to these reveared(sp?) heroes of the city.

"Ahhh, your awake, and healed no less!" El D exclaimed, his deep voice ringing with happyness at a live saved. "I was getting a little concirned that you wouldnt make it." he finished. "You can call me El D" he said, turing to face the woman "I hope you arnt burned, I tryed to heal most of that.." he said, giving a look down to his slightly burned arm. "That'l go away in a few hours" he finished.

Then he herd it. The sound of a missle being launched.

"Aww S***!" El D shouted, turning to face back to the street, just as the missle hit him in the chest dead on, rocking the building and sending him back to land near the now awakend woman, fully revealing his dark red skin, demon like ears, and three scar marks over his left eye. The sunglasses he wore we now gone, along with the ear buds, lost in the darkness of the room.

"Hey!" he shouted out the door at the Sky Radier in the skiff that had shot at him "Those were a gift, new from Icon!" he finished, and he stood up. He concintrated for a moment, and his eyes, now glowing red, were given a harsh edge.

"You'r gonna wish you didnt do that..." he growled at the skiff Radier, and he launched a large beam of heat-energy from his right arm (one handed blazing bolt). The blast sheared right through the skiffs right thruster, sending it crashing to the ground, where more Raiders were comming out from under cover.

"Oooo...You brought friends..." he said, and he launched himself forward, and as he was flying, he sent a fire ball set up to explode outward right into the middle of the oncomming Raiders.

Then the fire ball hit the group, El D laughing as the Raiders flew in different directions, almost all of them burning or on fire.

Then three Jump Bots landed in the street infront of him.

"El D, you are wanted by a Commander of the Sky Raiders and-" the middle bot started to say.

"Blah,blah, blah..." El D said "Let him fight me if he wants to kill me so bad, not just send goony robots to do his work for him..."

But then he noticed that these bots were advanced. Much more that the ones normaly patroling this sector of the city. They were Perigirin Island advanced....

"Aww, Crap..." El D said "Hey! Travis! Mind sparking up some electricity to help me with these bots in a minute?" he asked, as he flew back into the building, shoving one of the large crates into the door to block the oncomming barrage of weapon fire.

The robots didnt care that the box was blocking the target, just that thats were that target was, and the began to open fire at the door jamb, shooting large holes in the crate.

"That thing wont hold long..." El D muttered. And then he looked around, seeing the shirtless man. "Hey, hope you wouldnt mind helpin me out as well, hmm?" El D asked, and then the Raider bots were through the door.

"Time to Party!" El D said, as he launched another exploding ball of flame out from his hand.

The fight in the Warehouse had just begun.....