The End of Heroes-Paragon's Fall (Open RP)

It began with The Fifth Column, and Heroes. The heroes fought back to keep The United States and other places on the globe safe of harm. There, they buillt an important landmark: Paragon City. It dedicates all heroes for their efforts against The Fifth Column and other threats. It is sometimes called The City of Heroes for this and the way it carrys the greatest heroes of all time. Suddenly, new threats built over Paragon City. Not only that, but the greatest threat of all time had taken control- Arachnos. They had established a great outpost on The Rouge Isles- A coast off of Paragon. It held a gigantic group of "Villans" known as The Destined Ones. Many other events had carried through time as well. Suddenly, a wave of darkness had appeared over Paragon. Strange beings appeared in every direction, as heroes fell to the ground. The shield of darkness was forever focused over Paragon, and without Paragon, the world will never be safe. The few remaining heroes camp on the outskirts of Paragon, attempting to return to this jewel and save Earth from total destruction.

Ten years earlier...
"Give me that purse!" shouted the Skull on the side of the road. This was an everyday thing for Paragon. "No! Please, don't do this!" replied the woman. Suddenly, a darkened miasma such as that that destroyed Paragon came over the Skull's body. The woman cowered in fear as she watched him mutate. The skull fell over in, screaming in pain. The woman ran to the nearest Police station.

((Play as one of the remaining heroes/villans camping outside of Paragon, I shall lead as both the Miasma Scourge and a hero. Don't be a total grammar nazi, I will ignore each and every one of your commentes that have anything to do with grammar. I do not see your point, I do not lack of grammar at all. Anyway, have fun RPing!))
Synothison awakened to the sounds of thunder, he peered over and noticed it was simply the shield reacting over Paragon again. He then set the fire and had a small ration of food on his only plate. The survivors only took what they could. It would be far to dangerous for a rescue attempt, the quick movment could enlargen the shield. It wouldn't matter even if they took rescue, the shield would take the world anyway. He then sighed, and lay down by the lantern to read a novel.

Synothison then heard an unusual thunder clap, one that did not sound familiar at all. He scurried out of the tent. There it was. A giant minion of Miasma. He took one blade from his sheath, and chopped at it. The swipe had no affect. The Miasma then attempted to warp into the body, shifting into the universe as a piece of matter, and then rapidly swiping at Synothison. He replied with a great swipe to its neck. The monster wailed, and then shifted back to the parallel universe to move out of matter.
Synothison still kept alert, for it could return at any time. However, he trashed his camp. Furthermore, he sprinted to search for survivors, due to the attack, he knew he would not be able to defeat the hordes of Miasma alone, especially when it took out all of Paragon, with its security and population... 70% of the population are super powered. If the Miasma could take that, it was chance less.

Pure Darkness sits in fairly large, fire-lit room of an old abandoned building. He stands, and paces around fixing up little things.
"This will have to do as a resting place for whoever survived." He stated to himself, until a loud pounding filled the room, Pure dashed to the door, it wasn't making an attempt to get bashed in so he opened it. A woman walked in, short but slim, dirty blonde hair.
"Is it safe here?" She started, "I heard you talking...is this a refuge?"
Pure nodded motioning to one of the sleeping bags he laid out that he found trashed. She nodded and strolled over. She then looked to Pure and said...
"There is someone running about out there....maybe another survivor?"
Pure nodded and dashed out of the door to see a man running about. Pure hollared for him.
"Hey you! Over there!"

[Hope it's all right for a start. I am new to the Forums and wanted to start with some RP]

[ QUOTE ]

"Hey you! Over there!"

[/ QUOTE ]

Professor IQ heard the voice shouting to him from the abandoned building and quickly changed his course. He reached the door and quickly got in, helping close the door quickly behind him. He grasped his knees and panted for air; after a few moments he looked back at the stranger and said, "Whatever that darkness is, whatever its design and purpose and plans, it is the most vile and most fearful thing I have encountered on all my journeys. I cannot possibly fathom its power nor even reason for existence, but I do understand its modus operendi: The destruction of all things good and just and true. I only hope that others, including many of my companions and teammates may yet survive." He paused in his words and looked at the stranger who had led him to safety, outstretched his hand and said, "I am sorry to blather on like that. My name is Professor IQ, it is a pleasure to meet you."

The Professor stood about five foot, eleven inches. He wore a bright red, long trenchcoat over a black suit adorned with a gold tie. His pants were also bright red, his shoes were finely polished black and dressy. He wore white gloves and he even wore a beautiful, finely tailored red top hat. On his jacket he wore a pin: A horizontal scimitar with a five pointed star chained to it: The symbol of a Shriner, and on his left ring finger a beautiful onyx and gold Masonic ring. The glasses on his face were reflective, the rims a sterling silver color. He looked like a man of the world and man of learning to be sure...

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Professor IQ. I am Pure Darkness...or Pure," Pure replied to the brightly dressed man, shaking his hand. "I have set up this Refuge for those who were lucky enough to survive the wraith of that...Darkness," he explained, pointing to the woman he let in previously, now staring at both of the men. "Feel free to make your self comfortable." Pure smiled then turned around, his trenchcoat whipping the floor as he did. He made his way to a padded chair and sat down, scanning the Professor. " I wonder how many people survived the Darkness " Pure thought to himself, slouching down in the chair.

The Professor tipped his hat and bowed to the woman in a most gentlemanly of fashion, introduced himself, he then followed Pure to the nearby table, took off his hat and placed it beside him. He smoothed his hair, removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes and spoke again, "Do we have any idea what this.. this.. miasma is? We cannot defeat what we have no information about. Where are the most powerful of Paragon's heroes now? Statesman? Brawler? Posi?... I cannot even contact the leader of the coalition I belong to.. I feel so.. powerless..." The Professor just shook his head and stared out into the air. "All these abilities and all these gifts given to us, and now what? We must find a way to gather all the surviving heroes to a single point and work from there; yet we still do not know what we face or how much power we have left in the number of heroes that are still alive. I fear our current propositions are weak at best. We must gather our wits here... must gather our wits..." IQ's voice faded off, he was tired and even abit frightened as to what might lie ahead...

Pure stared at IQ, then sighed. "The Freedom Phalanx for all I know is gone. With Paragon itself...for all I know the three of us, you, me and that woman over their are the last of Paragon."

Pure ran a hand through his black short hair then stared at IQ again. "I am using this place as Refuge as you can see, maybe we can scrounge up whats left of the heroes and citizens and maybe get some information on the Darkness," Pure explained, then the woman spoke up.
"It's called the Miasma," she answered with a gloomy tone of voice. Pure stared at the woman, with a slightly shocked look.

Professor IQ raised his eyebrow in true "Spock" fashion and said to the woman, "The Miasma eh? What else might you know about this miss? Any and all information would be of great help. I agree with Pure here, we must gather what strength is left and here is as a good as any place to begin. Knowledge is power and the key to success. Please miss, tell us what you know." Professor's voice was soft and kind and he hoped she could garner them something they could use to fight back against this "Miasma"....

The lady went from a gloomy to a shy look, "I know nothing other than it's name and what desctruction it has done...," she explained. Pure dropped his head into his hands which where laying palm up on the table, he lifted his head, the looked to the professor.
"There isn't anything we can truely do to the Miasma...If it can take out Paragon there is no chance of you and I destroying it," Pure began, "But there is a chance that more than three people escaped his wraith and with any lucky, enough to take out this Miasma." Pure looked at IQ, thinking "I hope he has a better idea"

Professor took off his glasses again and rubbed his eyes again; he stared hard at the table and finally looked up at Pure and the woman and said, "Look, the last reports I heard over the police and hero scanner was that this 'miasma' may have originated from Dark Astoria. I also heard that it seemed as almost sentient in nature. I seemed to be able to grow and recede at will. The last transmission I heard was that it had engulfed the Hollows except for the farthest southern quarter...." He put his glasses back on and continued, "It pursued me for the last few miles until I came across you. It didn't pursue me farther than where the old watertower stood out there, thank the Supreme Architect for that, but as I said before, we need information. I'd say, we should make this building not only a gathering place but also a place to gather information about this 'miasma'. We need to start thinking about doing some recon..." Professor IQ looked to Pure and the woman for rebuttal...

Pure listened then nodded in response. "Recon may be risky...but will be effective for finding other heroes." he began, "but there is a strange thing there...it Originated in Dark Astoria...which means, I may have a connection to it. You see I was born and raised in Dark Astoria, my powers are of an anceint Astorian Family Line." Pure flicked his wrist, darkness engulfing it, then flicking it again and it fades. Pure sighs, "If there is a connection, how is it my advantage and it's advantage...and if there is a connection at all...will it try to use my powers to become more powerful...." Pure wondered, staring at IQ.

"Well my super powered friend, we need more information before we can make any inductions or deductions." IQ said with a smile returning to his face. "We are in desperate need of finding others who survived, and more importantly, heroes who have a bit more ability to take and deal punishment than I. What is it all the younger heroes called it of someone of my power? A 'Troller' I believe. Yes, that is it. 'Troller'. So I surmise we need a 'Tank'? A very apt decription of those tough and powerful frontline heroes eh?" IQ smiled again as he began to study the warehouse to see what advantages it might hold...

Emma jumped over the wall where the force fields used to be. The wind was even colder since there was sweat all over her face. She stopped just as she was about to hit the ground from her flight powers. Emma then hit the ground, she was very weak from running from the darkness. Her gothic makeup was running all down her face. She had just gotten out of kings row. Emma thought she was not going to make it, but she proved herself wrong. All of the trees and wild life around the area was dead like she would be if it was not for her powers of dark blasts. Her brown hair flew behind her as she ran, or kind of stumbled. Emma looked behind her to see a clear path, then she felt her feet lift off the ground. She had not seen an edge in front of her and fell. As she rolled down the hill she wondered what would be waiting for her at the bottom.

As IQ and Pure spoke. Something in the back of Pure's mind clicked, like something bad was happening. He stood up quickly and dashed out the door, and looked to the right. His sense was right, he saw someone rolling down a hill, and began to run, then his feet began to glow as he picked up super speed, he hit the hill and began to run up it fast then the person rolled down, he lowered his arms and scooped her up in his, then pulled a "U-ie" and ran back towards the building, the girl seemed winded. He set her down on a sleeping bag across from the other womans and let her rest.

(OOC:Ill let IQ post.)

Professor IQ turned quickly as he saw Pure run out the door, he too had a sense of something not quite right occuring, after all, he was a man with extraordinary mental powers! Nevertheless Pure was on the case and as fast as lightning retrieved the woman who was falling and brought her back to the relative safety of this warehouse.

IQ looked her over as Pure set her down easy, he spoke in the most gentle of tones, "Are you all right miss?" He asked in a worried tone, "I may be only minor healer at best when an enemy is around, but I still know a thing or two about basic medicinal practices." He quickly grabbed the folded handkerchief from his inside pocket and was able to get it a wet a bit from a nearby old leaky pipe. He dabbed at her forehead and continued speaking in his gentle tone, "I am Professor IQ, and this dashing young man who rescued you is named 'Pure', and she, " IQ pointed to the woman in the corner, "Well, we haven't been properly introduced but I assume that may not stay that way. What can we do to assist you and were you perchance trying to escape from this 'miasma' that has plagued all of Paragon?"

The miasma was strong. VERY strong. The strong conquer the weak and inspire fear.

And attract attention. Lots of it. Something in the darkness went 'bump' and threads began to unravel.

***

Having fled from that which could have been, one of four is still true. I CREEP through the darkness of this world. This miasma. A monument of all their sins. I have seen and listened through matter and space and time. The face of Tragedy looms. Now the matter is GONE and insubstantial. Now the space is CLOSED and irrelevant. All that is left is time. And as time passes, so does the story. It is time for a new act.

Tragedy. Your story must wait. For you are the TRUE end behind the curtain to all stories, and this is not the end. When the end comes about, it will surely be my doing. Only THEN will I wear your face. This…miasma…must be dealt with. Oh yes, it cannot be allowed to exist. I sense it, and how familiar! Like the first ones! Be there JUST enough of the unknown that I dare not clash! No, I will not allow this to happen. I will not be STOLEN from.

For now it is the time for COMEDY. The time for joy and passion and, most importantly, VICTORY. Yes, COMEDY will cleanse. COMEDY will heal. COMEDY will be the salvation of this place.

But alas! This Masquerade cannot proceed without dancers to wear the masks that are the cast of our story! Who can I use? AHA! So early into our tale and already black-eyed fate has given me excellent actors! We have the protagonist and his allies! Well now, we cannot have this! The light is being extinguished in the dark? The path is hidden and concealed? I. THINK. NOT.

It is time for the Masquerade to begin…!

***

"Er, pardon me..." Said a high-flown but slightly timid voice. "But I couldn't help but overhearing, and..."
The man, cloaked in radiance, appeared from thin air! "If you need assistance against this miasma, as you called it, I am willing to aid you in your fight against it. I am an expert in medical techniques, and I am quite empathetic. Allow me..."

The figure seemed to glide through the space between himself and Emma almost instantly, kneeling down beside her and the doctor. IQ immediately felt stronger-Not just physically, but mentally as well. He felt as if things could, just possibly, turn out all right. As if things would all turn out for the better. Hopeful, to say the least. He also instinctively knew that he could probably lift the heaviest of objects, run the greatest of distances, and use the most draining of his powers without exaustion. He felt re-energized, renewed, invigorated. This man-whoever he was-appeared to be able to bolster and buff those around them just by being close by! As if that wasn't enough to make him seem miraculous, every wound Emma had suddenly and noiselessly vanished, and the pains and worries of the world were driven away.

"I am called White Masque by those who know me." The man said pleasantly. "Would any of you object if I were to join your small force here...?"

[It seems I am the first Villain to wander into your midsts. May the strongest survive! ]

The universe is not what most people think it is. Things happen for reasons unknown, things unexplained by science or prophecy. The attack on Paragon by what had become known as 'The Miasma' was one of those things. Some of those other supers on the Rouge Isles watched, some with smiles, as the City of Heroes was slowly torn to shreds. One was paying very close attention to the situation. His name was Reaga.

Reaga was once again donning his suit of experimental tech, the one that he found in line of his job as a bounty hunter. The gun that came with it was quite the bonus, its high power mini-fusion reactor constantly replenishing last ammunition. A fully functional arsenal was in the power of his trigger finger. As he placed his helmet over his had, the pressure locks hissing shut, the various screens began to come online. He could access virtually any wi-fi outlet, and switch vision modes to suit his situation. He was now the perfect hunter. Reaga turned his head and accessed the recent update on the Skid City.

Seems activity with the fallen supers had risen recently. Let's see, the flight from here to the ferry is 2 minutes, 30 minutes to Siren, and from there...

Reaga began to leave his room at the Safehouse, but paused and turned. He walked back into his room, accessed his personal files, and deleted the account on a particularly colorful Family informant. As he turned off the television, the news moved over to domestic issues.

"3 days after the death of well known and beloved bachelor Danny Ray, and the police still have found no leads. Danny was gunned down at his home at around 11 o clock Tuesday night by an unknown assailant. The authorities have announced that certain files were missing from his computer, as well as his accounts withdrawn. The only piece of evidence was a note on his body reading "It's all in the Family". Back to you Ji-..."

Under the reflective shine of the blast shield on his helmet, Reaga was smiling. Another job well done.

[ QUOTE ]
"I am called White Masque by those who know me." The man said pleasantly. "Would any of you object if I were to join your small force here...?"

[/ QUOTE ]

Professor IQ pulled down his glasses to the end of his nose, his right eyebrow back into a "Spock" position as he replied in a bit startled voice, "What in the name of the Templars? Oh, well, it seems you are powerful indeed sir. Your essense and eminence are quite extraordinary." IQ pushed his glasses back up flush to his face and continued, "I would not be opposed to your addition here, but I must ask you. Where in the name of the Supreme Architect did you just come from? And what more can you add to our knowledge base about this infernal 'miasma'?"

((OOC: Welcome Tart, hopefully we can find some good gaming here as opposed to my rp thread... good to see you here and welcome to your villian.. lets see whether even they can survive the Miasma.. hehe))

"Why, I come from where I was previously. To say, I came from the door." White Masque said in his high-flown voice, sounding less timid now. There was a hint of joy and humor to replace all anxiety. He stood as he said this, although 'stood' wasn't really the right word for it.

"As far as the miasma goes, I have reached two conclusions. This miasma is capable of simply destroying everything it touches, or twisting and perverting it. Its presence distorts meaning. It is also capable of changing both space and matter over distance, for use of travel by itself and its minions.
"Which would mean it is either a fragmented and shattered shard of a higher plane that has fallen to this one...OR...It is a being who can manipulate reality itself. The former doesn't make any sense because we wouldn't wind up with this miasma. Shattered pieces of higher planes do not go around spreading and creating more minions. They are set in size and function. Additionally, it would be entirely too easy to simply close or seal the shard, it would have never been a major threat. I cannot rule that out though, so it is still an option. Next to what I personally believe it to be. The latter. A being who can manipulate our realm like a sculpter molding clay. From what I have seen, it could even be a mastermind, for this miasma seems to have minions who do its bidding."

IQ nodded. "How so full of irony it is that the fall of Paragon's heroes owes itself not to the struggle between the usual conflict between Statesman and Lord Recluse or even the usual power struggle between the various factions that existed, no, ironic that something entirely esoteric, entirely 'super-powered' in itself would undo the gathering of heroes to be found here in Paragon City. And we seem to be some of its last remanents. Now we are more vulnerable than ever before. I certainly hope that this 'miasma' as it were has affected the 'dark-siders' over there in the Rogue Isles or else we may face other threats that we surely do not need right now..."

Emma looked at the three figures around her. "Thank you,"she told the two closest to her. She sat up and also gave her thanks to the man who had caught her, Pure he was called. Emma stood up. "I think it would be a great idea if White Masque helps, after all he did just make all of my wounds vanish,"she told them,"So I agree with IQ." She smiled. "Oh,"she said,"Bu the way, I'm Goth." Emma felt her face, it was covered in runny gothic makeup. She sighed and wiped some of it off.
"Looks like I'll be fighting "miasma" without anything covering my face, but I guess it won't matter if it IS the end of Paragon,"she thought to herself.

****

Emma listened to all of the talk around her. She was trying to take in how powerful this 'miasma' was. She also was thinking if her family had survived, if she did not have powers she would had been gone for sure.

(OOC:Ill be listening on in the conversation, lol)

"That's not ironic, it's iconic. The same thing happened last Thursday." White Masque chuckled at IQ. "To answer your hope there...No, the Rogue Isle has been affected by the miasma, but to a lesser degree than Paragon city. The only reason Recluse hasn't leapt in to ravage us is because he knows when not to play with fire. I cannot speak for any of his 'destined ones' though."

He looked to Goth as she removed her makeup. There was a slight ruffling of his cloak, and a white arm emerged with a black mask in hand, which he offered to her. It had gothic etchings on it, similar to the ones she had recently worn.

"It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Em-...Goth. For your comfort, if you wish." He said politely, stuttering slightly mid-sentence for some reason.

IQ bowed to Goth and even though he was sitting down he still swept off his tophat in a gentlemanly gesture to her. He then used telekinesis to hang his tophat on a nearby nail on the wall. He then turned back to White Mask and said, "Well then, I would argue we need to start thinking about what are plans are to be. This warehouse looks to be in relatively decent shape and should be our temporary base of operations until we decide to go elsewhere. I still believe we must have reconnaisance and any other type of information gathering that is possible if we are to survive here." IQ sat with his left hand on his chin, thought a minute, and continued, "And, we will need provisions as well. Food, water, necessities such as that are crucial. We must act as if we were the survivors of an all out Nuclear War. Dangerous days lie ahead I am afraid. Let us gather our wits and our intellects and decide how we act from this point further.."