((That was awesome, well done, thank you. I feel Red isnt adding much to the superior arcs and writing of the heavyweights here, so I gracefully withdraw, but with a huge thank you for letting me participate. Best of luck! I will continue to read!))
Jack was right the kid knew nothing, less than nothing, he was a benign pedestrian caught in the crossfire, nothing more. Still, an old guardian and friend saw fit to get him out the mess he was in anyway.
I got you babe, relax, came a soothing voice inside Reds head. The voice was one Red recognized and adored, and provided the kind of warmth and comfort only a dream can usually summon.
He wielded a sledgehammer inside your head. Hes very powerful, but he didnt hurt you. Ive got you covered boyfriend. Now listen, I need you to activate that Rikti teleportation device on your belt buckle, she said calmly.
The lab transporter? That heads to Norths apartment. It hasnt worked in years girl, Red protested.
Shhhh just do it. All is well, she insisted.
Red, still bleary and recovering from the mental invasion, pushed the belt-buckle as he was instructed. There was a shimmer of light, then a sharp warble as the Rikti technology activated and then suddenly Red was gone.
He was home
a place he hadnt been allowed to return to in years. He sighed with great relief then collapsed into a deep sleep; the kind of sleep that rewards a weary travel after a long journey home.
((Best damn peanut gallery I've ever seen... 
))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
Dr. Lore gave Drago a single nod as he introduced himself.
"Well, some of us took Manning's offer for Arachnos's best interest. Apparently, more than a few of the disapearing regenerators were Destined Ones. As for what happened here, there was a battle that couldn't be helped. Some evidence was preserved..."
She stopped when he mentioned Jack and the man who sailed through the window after the spiderling. There was no answer for his query, and she watched as after a while he disapeared before speaking again.
"If there was, it won't happen now..." she answered through a smirk. "Anyway, we've found some contributing evidence in our investigation, nothing conclusive yet..." A brief reminder that Jack took over her safe cracking made her head swivel back in his direction. "Oh, right... Hey, Jack, what was in the safe?"
The Freedom Server Wallflower (shhh, sleepy)
Angelfish on DrunkDuck.com
Dr. Lore at HeroCon 2008
Arc 67690: Out For Blood
Jack snorted, frowning. "Souvenirs from the guy's 'career' and some drugs" he said, purposely not mentioning the money or gems, his eyes half-watching the new people that just walked through the door. His face brightened as he remembered what else he found, grabbing the gun from his belt and tossing it over in his hand. "Pretty nice, if you ask me" he said, then shrugged slightly, adding "Although guns ain't exactly my thing"
Jack knew that Chaos Red had left and ignored the fact. The kid didn't have any useful information or items, so he was useless to Jack. "So, anything special you guys needed?" the mentalist asked the small group at the door. He didn't pocket the gun again but left it hanging by his side.
((Geez, people, don't you quit just for one day. Yeesh. :P))
Stahlhund eyed the Crab Spider with suspicon, although, you coudln't tell because of his silver visor. "So, die Spinnen, have been sent to check on us? No matter. Senior Operative Drago, I am Operative Stahlhund, formerly of the 5th Column. I have taken this job because of the interesting development it has taken." The german machine replied as curtly as possible and nodded towards the Arachnos agent.
However, this did not mean he was not ready for some type of attack. The suit he was now apart of was designed for the purposes to be able to sneak and not to be snuck upon. His blade was made to pop out of the wrist at a moment's notice and his cloaking device could double as a slight veil of sorts, causing potential eemies to have a diffucult time pinpointing the machine. Combine that with his impressive refelxes and you have a deadly and effienct killer.
Self-Proclaimed Number one Fanboi of the RP Forums and it's writers.
Me: How about "Zeus, The Pimp God"?
A friend: It'd be too hard to dress him up like a bull
[ QUOTE ]
"Arachnos has no need to explain our intentions."
[/ QUOTE ]
Cassie just laughed, swinging her plasma rifle around from the departing Chaos Red to aim squarely at the Spider's chest. "Actually, when you're staring down the barrel of two plasma cannons and a rifle, you really do. Arachnos won't miss one Crab Spider, they never have in the past and I don't see why you should be any different." Whether or not she would actually shoot the man and thus risk Arachnos depriving her of the license she had to legally (Or what passed for legally in the Isles anyway) run her weapons dealership out of a warehouse in Cap Au Diable remained to be seen. Contrary to what she said, she usually avoided annoying the spiders for just that reason.
---------------
Pax followed the woman inside, leaning against the wall in the absence of a non-destroyed chair. "Coffee would be nice, thanks", she replied absently, looking around the room at the devastation and wondering what had prompted the woman to vandalise her own stuff. Sure she'd been through a lot, but surely the energy taken to do this could have been put towards something more constructive?
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
((Well, if that's what you feel there Chao, I guess take care. You will be missed. 
))
Drago had been about to say something, but when the man warped away, he opted to let things be. Instead, he now replied to Rose, a wry smirk floating in his voice, "Oh, my apologies then, I must've run into the wrong batch of freelancers then. Too bad actually, considering I have things to tell Manning's crew that they'd probably like to know."
"As for in Arachnos' best interest - it's most decidedly not." he then told Dr. Lore coldly, "Which is why I'm here. Or rather, why I was assigned to this: to keep Recluse out. He probably thinks it's not important enough to get Arachnos involved either way, but my employers have a better safe than sorry policy."
He blatantly ignored Cassie's threat, as well as what consequences his admission might draw from the large red demon behind him, but it was a safe bet that this ignorance was counterfeit in its entirety. When people in the Rogue Isles said things like that, they almost always had at least one ace up their figurative sleeves.
"So," he continued casually, a motion of a hand turning up the palm in Jack's direction indicating reference to his question if there was anything they needed, "what've you found here...?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"So none of this is going to be reported?" Dr. Lore raised an eyebrow. "Interesting..." Sure, the appartment could easily look like a multi-villain break in... and Manning's offer simply a Crey publicity stunt (which to Dr. Lore's knowledge is something rarely done). But what if someone decided to put two and two together and follow them? She looked out the broken window and remembered the guilty party they were after had done just that.
She turned her direction back to Jack's gun and studied it's design from where she stood. It was certainly the oddest looking gun she had seen and took note that it looked...
Is it steam powered? Interesting.... Wait a minute...
Dr. Lore tried not to jump to conclusions, but the first thought of a criminal organization that used steam-powered devices sent a small chill through her spine. But she kept quiet, hoping that maybe Drago could make sense of it.
The Freedom Server Wallflower (shhh, sleepy)
Angelfish on DrunkDuck.com
Dr. Lore at HeroCon 2008
Arc 67690: Out For Blood
Cher'tak cautiously shuffled into the apartment, his heavily armored form looking out of place despite the apparent destruction. Ducking his head a little, he pulled off his helmet by splitting most of it down a previously unseen seam and tucked it under one arm. Human-like eyes surveyed the room again and he glanced off toward the kitchen.
"Refreshment possibility: Appreciated: Unneeded," he answered, voice now emitting from somewhere around the collar of his armor. "Condolences extended: Current state: House, life."
Wisely chosing not to sit down in one of the chairs, the Rikti simply stood to one side and tried not to step on anything. He might mix with humans more often than other Rikti, but he had never been in one's home. Better safe than sorry in this case and he nodded at Arek and Pax to let them lead the way.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
---Bronze Shield's Residence---
((Come on, folks... I'm going to take that and run. There's a player waiting for this scene to end before his grand entrance.))
"Oh... My home... Yes... Well, it wasn't whomever abducted my husband that did this... It was... Um... Me."
The heroine returned to the living room with a tray of cups and a decanter of coffee. She looked sadly about her trashed living room and sighed. It was as if she didn't even notice the Rikti in the room with them.
"When he didn't come home that night and I kept trying to get a hold of him, I kind of lost it... Well, it was when his teammates in our super group told me how he disappeared that I lost it."
She set the tray on the coffee table and sat down. Taking a cup and pouring some coffee for herself, the other heroes could see her hands were a little unsteady.
"I've been a mess for days," she murmured, "But I guess you want to know what happened to Kei-er-Ripper Shredder... Such a silly name..."
She took a sip and sighed again. She started staring into the black surface of her beverage as she tried to collect her thoughts.
----------
---St. Martial---
Dynamo Rose's communicator started beeping. It was Gregory Manning.
((Not going to control your actions on this one. You can decide whether or not you want to answer.))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
[ QUOTE ]
((Come on, folks... I'm going to take that and run. There's a player waiting for this scene to end before his grand entrance.))
[/ QUOTE ]
(( Well, if I had any clue whatsoever as to where this is supposed to go or how we're supposed to go about getting there... All you said was go talk to her. We did that. ))
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
((Come on, folks... I'm going to take that and run. There's a player waiting for this scene to end before his grand entrance.))
[/ QUOTE ]
(( Well, if I had any clue whatsoever as to where this is supposed to go or how we're supposed to go about getting there... All you said was go talk to her. We did that. ))
[/ QUOTE ]
((She asked if you wanted coffee. As for where this is supposed to go, well, ask her questions! What was her boyfriend doing when he disappeared? Where did he disappear? Why didn't the other Group members with him attempt to rescue him? I'm sure there may be other things other things you're wondering, too. We're in the investigation period, and if you remember the last time I ran one of these things, it would probably behoove you to find out everything you can before the real fighting starts.))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
[ QUOTE ]
((She asked if you wanted coffee. ))
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
"Coffee would be nice, thanks", she replied absently
[/ QUOTE ]
((Nyeh. And if I remember rightly the last one of these you ran effectively killed that thread. Anyway...))
[ QUOTE ]
"But I guess you want to know what happened to Kei-er-Ripper Shredder... Such a silly name..."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Ripper Shredder...", Pax mused quietly to herself. "Why does that sound familiar? Wong didn't tell us his hero name so that can't be it..." She rambled more or less incoherently for a bit, trying to work out where she'd heard that name before. Eventually she just chalked it up to being someone she might have met in a different time and left it at that before turning back to Bronze Shield, belatedly noticing there was coffee on the table and taking a mug for herself.
After taking a sip of her coffee (Which was slightly too hot for her liking, she'd let it cool down a bit before drinking it), she looked around at the other two before speaking up, "Anything you could tell us would be helpful, Ma'am. What he was doing and where he was when he disappeared, any strange happenings in the days before he disappeared, if anyone tried to rescue him. Anything that might give us a clue as to how to find him, anything at all no matter how minor it might seem to you."
-----------
Cassie looked around as a cellphone or something beeped in the room. Glancing over to Mac, the big assault bot nodded almost imperceptibly. He had the call tapped and traced, and would have a recording of it should she want to listen to such later. Mac was good like that, a lot of high-quality hardware went into that robot. The plasma cannons however still didn't stray from Drago until Cassie waved him off. The Spider wasn't going to give in, that was obvious enough. No point threatening him and despite earlier threats she wasn't the type to just obliterate someone for no reason.
[ QUOTE ]
"what've you found here...?"
[/ QUOTE ]
"None of your bloody business really, unless you felt like actually being helpful instead of just annoying", Cassie nearly snapped at the man, irritated by his stubborn refusal to show even the slightest concern at his possibly impending demise via plasma cannons.
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
(([ QUOTE ]
((Nyeh. And if I remember rightly the last one of these you ran effectively killed that thread. Anyway...))
[/ QUOTE ]
Christopher Titus: "How about this dad! I have my own television show! I make more in a year than you ever did in your life! What do you have to say about that?"
Ken Titus: *Anti-Dad Mode On*: "...I think... If I hadn't been pushing you all that time, you never would have made it..." *flies away like a drunk, demented superhero, but suddenly flies back* "...Oh yeah... And they cancelled that, didn't they!? Anti-Dad, AWAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" *flies off*
Okay, I'll admit, Rebel, I missed that. I've just been getting pushed rather hard by this other guy... And no, he's not Ripper Shredder.))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
(( If the 'other guy' you're referring to is the one who's waiting for this scene to end before bringing his character in, I know who it is. He was bugging me ingame about it yesterday. ))
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
((What the-? Dude, I told you I was waiting for Khell to respond before having Arek do more. What, now I'm not allowed to go party on a Friday night, otherwise I get run over? That ain't cool, man. If somethin's under time pressure, I'd appreciate if ya told me so I know to place a higher priority on a specific thread. So in the future, please do that instead. Seriously man, not cool.))
--------------------
Arek didn't say anything at first, choosing to stand as well, mustering the woman and her house as she retrieved the coffee.
[ QUOTE ]
"Anything you could tell us would be helpful, Ma'am. What he was doing and where he was when he disappeared, any strange happenings in the days before he disappeared, if anyone tried to rescue him. Anything that might give us a clue as to how to find him, anything at all no matter how minor it might seem to you."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Correct." the draconian added, having all but known the source of the chaos here was but the grief-stricken hero, "Please do not leave anything out, even if it is something you would consider irrelevant or of a personal nature. We really do need to know everything..."
--------------------
"Oh, my sincerest apologies." Drago retorted to Cassie in sardonic tone, crossing his arms, "I'm so sorry you're annoyed by my employer wishing to keep Arachnos off your tails here so you are free to conduct investigations without fear of Recluse suddenly going..."
"We are not amused," he performed a quick impression of Queen Victoria's voice (though it wasn't very accurate), then continued in his normal tone, "and decapitating someone because something you did got his back hair in a bunch. I'll make sure to do something actually helpful from now on."
"Or maybe you're just irritated by my lack of concern about your little toys there." he flicked the fingers of his right hand toward the assault bot twice in a dismissive gesture, "News flash: I'm wearing armor. And no - but I can read people."
With that, he considered the matter past, attention shifting to the gun in Jack's hands, directing at no one in particular, "Hmf...I really hope that's not a Nemesis weapon. Or if it is, that it has no connection to the abductions. Have you analyzed it...?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Rose groaned, "Oh God. If Nemesis is involved I'm going to shoot myself right here to put me out of my misery. Just thinking it gives me a headache. I'll take a look at it. I've dissasembled most of Nemesis' toys at one point or another."
Looking at the bank gun more closely, she tried to determine if it was a real Nemesis make, or just a nice replica. As an engineer, she knew Nemesis tech was unlike anyother she'd ever seen, she had lost whole days examining automatons after her first tangle.
Infinity
Sam Varden 50 MA/Reg Scrap
Doomtastic 50 SS/Inv Brute
Ceus 50 Eng/Kin Corr
Cinderstorm 50 Fire/Fire Blaster
((Don't worry about it, Devious. It's your job to go through the story as you see fit. It's my job to bring the story to you. I see now that I've been failing at that some.
This is only my second serious attempt at GMing, after all...
Also, Kasoh, your communicator is warbling at you.))
--St. Martial--
Dynamo Rose's inspection of the "Bank Gun" revealed that it wasn't wholly a steampunk design. Rather, it looked as if steam-tech parts had been retrofitted into the weapon to give it more kick for its small size. As it was, it could fire a metal spike with enough velocity that it could theoretically break the lock of a vault. The spike itself was supposed to be locked into the weapon, similar to a captive bolt gun ((like the weapon used in No Country for Old Men)), but Rose could already see that the weapon hadn't been test fired, yet, so all bets were off on its capability.
In the meantime, her communicator continued to warble.
-----------
--Bronze Shield's Residence--
The heroine sighed and set down her cup of coffee. She curled up into a ball on the couch, clutching her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them. Finally, she started talking in a croak that seemed to indicate she was on the verge of crying again.
"They were tapped to clear out a Council base in Skyway City. You know Hyde Park? The fascists had a base in one of the caverns out there. Well... Yellow Bomb, she said that there were hardly any soldiers in the base at all. They found their way to the Archon quickly, and he hardly put up a fight... But as soon as he was down, all Hell broke loose. She said there was some sort of bright light and they were on the ground, unable to move, unable to fight back... She said she heard Ripper next to her... He was trying to talk, but it was all muffled, then there were shuffling feet and he was gone. No more muffling."
She squeezed her eyes shut at this point. A couple teardrops pushed from the corners of the clenched lids, but she eventually regained her composure.
"...I'm sorry... The team leader, Onyx Shot, he said they'd gotten the message from their police scanner. He said it was weird, though. A moment earlier, they hadn't been able to get a signal... But that's all I've got."
She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand and shuddered a little. It was hard for her to imagine what her fiance must have been going through.
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
"Its not pure Nem. Probably cobbled." Dynamo Rose said, shrugging. Glad that she wouldn't have to shoot herself--at least for now. Hearing the annoying trill of her communicator she added, "Excuse me."
Turning from the group, Rose pressed a few buttons, "Dynamo Rose, I smash for cash--if it bleeds I can kill it."
Infinity
Sam Varden 50 MA/Reg Scrap
Doomtastic 50 SS/Inv Brute
Ceus 50 Eng/Kin Corr
Cinderstorm 50 Fire/Fire Blaster
--St. Martial: Dynamo Rose's cellphone--
It was Gregory Manning. His voice conveyed no emotion outside of professional concern as he asked for a status report.
"Greetings, Dynamo. I trust things are going well. With any luck, you were able to locate Blight Carver. He was a man of a few eccentricities, but he was capable in the purposes we had for him. I hope his habits didn't get the best of him and cause you to have to hurt him."
He didn't wait for her to respond, instead turning to a bit of information he felt he needed to give her in order to help the investigation move along.
"Well, I've got some news on my end. The patient in the Port Oakes medical center has been checked out by an Arachnos operative and a special agent in Crey's employ. I don't know where they were heading, or the identity of teh Arachnos Operative, but Crey's agent should refer to himself as 'Millions Green.' It should have been in that report I gave you earlier, but he should look like a teenager... I know it's weird... And he'll look a little meek. Hopefully, you haven't come across each other and started shooting... So, what's next on your agenda?"
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
"Hmh." Drago gave an appreciative nod, both that Rose had been so forthcoming, as well as avoiding the flying brick that was a Nemesis plot. As she answered her communicator, he in turn addressed the others.
"My turn then." he motioned with a hand at the two behind him, "I'd like you to meet Harbinger Daemon and Millions Green. We've pieced a few things together."
Not seeing any reason to linger upon this, he proceeded to inform Rose's team of what they'd discovered so far...
--------------------
"Are you certain?" Arek stepped closer to the woman, leaning down somewhat, "There is nothing else? I do not doubt your honesty, but I understand what you are going through. The heart can have strong influence on the mind, emotions overshadow small details that do not seem important..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"How did you know my last name, if you don't mind me asking, sir?" Millions asked Drago.
Jack let Dynamo look at the gun in his hands, Jack getting his first good look himself. It looked pretty powerful, and he took a mental note to take it to his tech-wiz for any enhancements to be done and more ammo to be made. He put the gun back in his belt again as Rose went to answer a call and Drago introduced his teammates.
Jack was intrigued. "An Arachnos operative, a Demon and a teenager? Not the likeliest bunch, I'll say that" the mentalist said with a smile. He looked at Harbringer and raised his eyebrows, asking "Demon, eh? You an Earth Demon, or from another dimension?"
The Rogue Isles and Paragon city may be the only places on Earth where 'are you from another dimension' is actually a serious question.
[ QUOTE ]
((I've just been getting pushed rather hard by this other guy... And no, he's not Ripper Shredder.))
(( If the 'other guy' you're referring to is the one who's waiting for this scene to end before bringing his character in, I know who it is. He was bugging me ingame about it yesterday. ))
[/ QUOTE ]
((Really? I mean...seriously? Pushed hard? And bugging? Little emotional. Grey, I'm a pretty patient person. I asked some questions about the storyline so I wouldn't screw with any GM plans when I did come in. I asked what, when, and how soon so timing would be right because I was told (initially) if I didnt hurry, I would miss out on an intro. Rebel, I wasn't looking for anything from you. My question asking, excuse me, bugging you, about when you guys were going to make moves was almost more rhetorical than anything because I know you pretty much go with the flow. You move if they move. You're Support Character of the Year 09. Maybe even '10.
Didn't know it'd be such an issue.
Enjoy your thread gentlemen. And ladies if there are any. Lesson learned.))
Before Jack finally entered the kid's head, he heard the Arachnos operative's remark, and couldn't help but smile. Not un-funny he thought, then began delving into the kid's mind. Chaos Red was his villainous name, but he ignored that mostly. He looked around to see if Red had any useful information, but came back empty handed. He was just taking a look at the spider, evidently.
Before Jack withdrew from the kid's brain, he couldn't help but noticing the two major images that showed themselves, an odd looking girl and a man. His curiosity almost got him to delve deeper, but he got the information he wanted, so he withdrew, eyes swimming for a second as he entered the physical world.
He stood up and turned towards the group. His eyebrows raised, asking without speaking what they were doing here.