The Director sat in his office with a grim stare on his face. Codenamed Director Pearl, he was one of many directors in the secretive organization known as Malta Group. He wasnt the most powerful man in the group, but he was high enough in the ranks that he could demand perfection. He usually got it.
Not today however.
Some heroes who have had run ins with the Malta Group eventually come to the assumption that after failing several times to capture a hero for their own purpose the group would eventually decide to stop dealing with said hero whatsoever. Usually those in charge of such operations choose instead to go after other more attainable subjects leaving the others for another time. Some super powered people are far too dangerous to allow to roam free.
Such was the case with a number of members of the rogue group known as the Guardian Angels. Not only were they powerful, but unpredictable as well, unwilling to bend to the same rules that other super heroes tend to fall into line. Clearly they had to be caged up, so their collective abilities could be used for a better purpose, Maltas purpose. Or failing that the only other option was to remove the problem heroes entirely, and permanently.
But despite their best efforts neither option had proved possible, and now Director Pearl had the displeasure of debriefing the battered operative in front of him about those failures.
Tell me about Operation Nightfall. He ordered the operative, his tone heavy with disappointment.
She walked right into the middle of the trap, sir. The operative replied. He had a name, the Director knew but couldnt care less what it was at the moment.
If the trap was sprung then explain to me why she is not in our custody now? The Director demanded.
Sorry sir, I didnt mean it like that. The operative struggled to explain, I meant she walked into the middle of the trap on purpose, knowing we were waiting for her, and took out every single one of our forces along the way.
And the hostages? The Director frowned.
She took them with her. The Operative sheepishly admitted.
So a total loss. Again. The Director let out a heavy sigh. Very well, what about Operation Graviton?
We finally managed to find the last of the missing soldiers from that mission. The operative said, They are currently in orbit, passing over Australia by our last estimates.
Operation Storm Break.
We lost him in Europe somewhere. But not before losing two of our men to gun shot wounds to the head. One in each eye.
Operation Bright Dust?
Operative Daniels was turned into a goat during the initial engagement. The operative seemed unnerved at the memory, Everything went downhill after that.
Black Dust?
The men are still suffering waking nightmares, and we never managed to get past the front door.
Enough! the Director finally cried out, Obviously none of you have the capacity to deal with these threats. All of our methods to neutralize them have failed, its clear we will have to use alternate, more drastic methods.
What should we do sir? the operative asked tentatively.
We will do nothing. The director shot back at him, I will take care of this personally, this time we will attack these supposed guardians with an attack they will never be able to defend against.
What sort of attack?
The truth, of course. The Director smiled, Or more specifically, the perceived truth. We just need someone who can spread our truth effectively without leading back to us.
_____________________________________________
Donald White, Esq., was in all ways a despicable man. Fortunately for him no one ever knew this. He was good at hiding his overweight body beneath a very expensive suit. And he knew how to smile for the cameras. He LOVED to smile for the cameras. But what he loved most was money and power, always had. It was why he became a lawyer, and now a politician.
As a lawyer he made thousands every day defending the worst criminals, with the biggest bank accounts. As a politician he spun his successes in his favor, projecting the image of a defender of the common man. In truth he couldnt care less about the common man. If you couldnt write checks with a minimum of six figures in it he wasnt interested. He certainly didnt remotely care about the state of Rhode Island. However becoming a senator for the stupid little state meant he would have a great deal more power at his disposal. And already he looked forward to all the bribes, or rather campaign contributions, he would get once he took office. It was unfortunate he still had to be voted in. But manipulating public opinion was always easy enough if you had the money for it, or so he believed.
Mr. White? A buxom pretty blonde called for his attention as she entered his office. He always hired secretaries based solely on their looks. Youre on the news Mr. White.
Thanks honey. White said as he waved the secretary away with a dismissive hand. Picking up the remote he turned on the TV in his office to see himself at a recent fundraiser giving one of his many speeches. He always did love to watch himself on television.
I stand for the very purity and moral fiber of our people. His own image called out from the screen. Because its not enough today just to be safe. We have to demand not just our security, but the quality of those who protect us. Some say its enough to just be out there trying to save lives. But I say letting any two-bit lunatic with a gun or a power stand over us is a recipe for disaster! Look at the so called heroes we have watching the very streets which you live in! Many of them are monsters, in the very real sense. All manner of horrible beast and creature from the darkest pits of hell. Vampires and cat people of every imaginable shape, machines who are nothing more then sick facsimiles of real men, demons from the very depth of hell itself! Is this the sort of person you want watching over you? Over your children?! What horrible role model, what sick example do these so called heroes place upon our young minds and hearts? That its OK to drink anothers blood, or to swallow their very soul!
No I tell you! His speech continued to the cheers of the hand selected, pre-paid crowd. I will not have this town, this state, this country that I love be reduced to the playground of the forsaken. As you senator I would see all our heroes become people we can be proud of. People of integrity, people of higher standing, people who do not feel the need to dress like harlots and strippers! And those who refuse to live up to our higher standards shall be removed of their positions for the safety and security of not just our person, but our hearts and souls as well. Donald White could only smile from his desk chair as he heard the crown cheer his name once more, he didnt care that they were simply paid to do so. Abruptly the speech ended and the news anchor came back into view as they continued their coverage.
And that was the scene at a campaign fundraiser for Senetorial hopeful Donald White. The pretty anchorwoman said flatly into the camera, After this speech Whites conservative stance on superheroes has come under heavy attack, with many here in Rhode Island calling his words disrespectful and an insult to the much beloved local superhero community. One reporter tried to get a response from one of the targeted superheroes who had this to say.
The scene suddenly changed to a field reporter running down a street in Paragon City after a tall woman in a long back leather trenchcoat.
Excuse me maam, just one question please. The reporter begged as she continued to follow the woman who was clearly not interested in giving interview.
Fine. What? The woman finally answered harshly as she turned around to face the reporter. Her long jet black hair flew effortlessly around her shoulders to reveal a pale young looking face wearing a pair of rounded sunglasses. The glasses did nothing to diminish the intensity of her icy blue eyed stare.
Um.. the reporter was momentarily stunned from the unexpectedly sudden response from the woman and tried to recover, Have you heard the latest statements from Donald White currently running for Senate?
White? The disgust in the tall womans response was palatable. Good God that man is such a tool.
Ah
yes but I was referring specifically to what he said in his most recent-
Dont care. The woman interrupted the reporter. Hes an idiot, and a slimy one at that. Thats all I need to know. Apparently having decided the conversation was over the woman quickly turned and walked away. After a moment the camera turned back to the reporter who looked quite a bit flustered for a moment before talking.
And there you have it, the reporter said professionally, No love for White from the heroes on the street. Back to you in the studio.
Thank you. It seems the sentiment is shared by a majority of people in Paragon City. The anchorwoman continued once the scene cut to her once more, Whites opponent in the Senate race was quick to respond to the situation, releasing a statement that says; It is unfortunate that my esteemed opponent is so quick to judge those who work so hard every day and night to protect us all from the terrible dangers of the world. Certainly none of us is perfect, and it is unfair to demand such perfection in others, especially when theyve done so much for us all.
The rest of the broadcast was quickly cutoff as the remote smashed itself against the screen. Ignoring the sparks now coming off the ruined television, White quickly checked his laptop for the latest poll results. His worst fears were confirmed. He was dropping in the polls, and fast.
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( As originally Posted by Killswitch ))
"No love for White from the heroes on the street."
The room was aglow in bluish light from dozens of monitors, news stations from the world over. The Malta listening post was smaller than optimal, but the basement of the call center was just large enough for the task at hand. A few feet straight above, dozens more Malta operatives busied themselves with dress shirts and ear pieces, monitoring thousands of conversations while a nice believable front for the operation.
A mono-tone robot voice chirped over labored breathing. "Remind this to the begining, Tango." The Gunslinger Siren Cobalt Domino's cold hand gently rested on the intelligence officers shoulder as he pulled the news report back to the pale hero. "Shall I begin compiling information on -"
Siren's eye twinged annoyingly, "Further, Tango. To the begining." The report started over, the camera angle switching as White slammed his fist down to get a reaction shot of the crowd. "Freeze." Siren leaned in, her eye going to each and every face in the crowd.
"I want to know who each and every one of these attendees are, Tango. Cross reference all of them with Anti-meta agenda's or ties to Malta. I want to know just who is giving this White his money." Her voiced droned as her breathing became more and more ragged.
She turned walked to her chair, almost collapsing as she sat down in the leather. She made eye contact with her medical officer, she needed to nothing more. By the time she had opened her laptop he was already adminstering the morphine. She tabbed through pages video, pictures, and reports plucked from the networks. Graviton, Storm Break, Bright Dust, Black Dust, vampires, personified computer AIs, meta-humans, they all had one thing in common. Failures, all. All of the operations had Director Pearls' fingerprints all over them, and they were all failures. Pearl must be frustrated at best now, running out of plays. He would slip up soon, and she would be there when he did.
She had arranged file photos of Pearl's targets on her screen. She clicked on an intercom and waited for a response from the server room, "I would like the files of the Guardian Angels, please." She had come across them before, just in passing. During Siren's campaigns against the Silver Guard, and later, the Children of Egypt her eye had watched them wearily. That seemed like such a long time ago now.
"Madam? Shall I assemble a kill-team?"
She blinked, "No, that will not be necessary. I think we may need their help."
"Why would they help us?"
Her eye drifted back to Senator White. "I'm sure we can find a reason."
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( as originally posted by Snowdog ... ))
Meanwhile...
Paragon University, life sciences building.
Rachelle's feet barely touched the ground, not that she was flying, she was after all in the middle of the university, surrounded by other faculty and students. It wasn't really proper for someone at her position in the university to skip like a school girl through the halls..but dammit. They got the grant. With the recession funding for science research had been cut back drastically, despite what the political heroes in congress said about how they were so much better than the guys they replaced, please re elect me. Weasels all of them, but no, that was insulting to weasels. At least the CDC and the EPA liked the work she had done on the mutating wildlife in Eden, and agreed with her that it should be studied more.
Thirty three point seven million dollars in agreement. Hell that was more than the entire department budget! Part of her didn't like taking money from the government, but dammit, this was important. There had been ongoing talk about removing the war walls around Paragon City due to budget restraints, a horrible idea in her opinion unless they wanted green five feet tall raccoon mutants in Ohio before the end of the summer. She managed to stifle the grin as she arrived at the Biology department enough to cause a few worried faces on her assistants, staff and grad students, visions of no more grant money induced unemployment dancing through their heads...
Well, what did they say Dr Kincaid?
she did fly now, course everyone in the office knew of her other identity by now as Snowdog. WE GOT THE GRANT!!!
Portal Corp, Peregrine Island
I really think I'm gonna like it here
Justin smiled at the HR Manager has she gave him a tour of the offices. Working on his doctorate at MIT, he'd turned down a chance to work at some secret government lab out west at the Dark Mountain facility, doing theoretical teleportation research. After all, this was Portal Corp that offered him an internship. While unpaid, he'd be working with some of the best in the fledgling teleport industry.
I'm glad to hear that she replied, over here is the interns office, you'll be sharing it with three others.
Wow, we get a whole office? Last summer when I interned at Aperture, I didn't even have a cube. Well I did, but it was a literal cube. That place is weird... he said, his voice trailing off as he noticed the office across the hall. Instead of futuristic styled office furniture, or the dark wood tones of management office...this one looked...different.uh...is that a scratching post? he asked, pointing at something that looked like one of those cat towers he bought for his girlfriends cat, only bigger. Much bigger. and why does that coffeemaker have a lead carafe?
The HR manager just smiled oh we put our interns next to Dr Schroedinger's office. We figure that if they can survive that, they'll fit in just fine at Portal Corp
what, your kidding? My thesis is about some of Dr Schroedinger's quantum string theory!
Well I can introduce you then, you'll be meeting her eventually anyway Oddly though she didn't go to knock on the door, instead to call out in a loud voice Schrodi?
Justin was really glad he skipped that large coffee on the way to his orientation-and that he was wearing dark pants as there was a bang, the surprise causing him to fall onto his rear. Looking up he saw the source of the noise, air displacement from a glowing circle that opened up in the ceiling, a green haired cat girl poking her head out myah?
the HR woman just smiled Dr Schroedinger, this is Justin Whitam. He's interning with us this summer
He just stared at her open mouthed from the floor. Great...one of the top physicists in the world...is ceiling cat. Maybe working fast food the rest of his life wasn't such a bad idea after all. There was another bang and she was standing on the floor next to him , helping him up Nice to meet you Justin she said have they given you your crowbar yet?
my what?
Crowbar, sheesh, you're from MIT, you can't be a physicist without a crowbar! she said, pulling one from somewhere...where she was carrying it he wasn't sure he could figure out. they give them out now when you get your PhD.
i, uh, haven't gotten mine yet
oh thats OK, you'll earn your crowbar eventually! I just confused you with one of your quantum doubles is all, happens all the time
He was wondering if he could stay sane and ask her to explain, when an alarm klaxon started sounding, rotating lights on the ceiling giving off an amber glow WARNING! PORTAL BREACH BAY 12! DR SCHRODINGER TO BAY 12!
Justin did wet his pants now, sure that the end of the world had come. Schrodi just smiled reassuringly it's yellow alert, not dangerous just annoying. she said as she reached her hands in front of her, and pulled open a hole in space time, and stuck her head through whats the problem Phil?
From the other side there could be heard a cacophony of screeching, with one voice shouting to be heard over it we've got an infinite number of monkeys down here that want to talk to you about a script for Hamlet!
Again? Fine, be right there She smiled at Justin gotta go take care of this, nice to meet you! she said before diving through the portal which disappeared with a quiet poof.
He just stood there gasping like a gold fish, looking at the now solid wall where she had disappeared through. The HR manager just smiled now then, we've got a few liability waivers we need you to fill out, and we're all set!
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( As originally posted by Sareini ... ))
Steel Canyon. Morning.
Bingly-bongly-beep, said the computer.
On the other side of the room, a shape buried under bedcovers started moving, and then a few moments later a pillow flew at the computer. Screw you, Alheron, said a muffled voice from under the bedcovers.
Hey! said the computer. Im just trying to be helpful here!
Did I ask for you to wake me? replied the shape. I have enough problems sleeping as it is without... without being woken at whatever-the-hell time it is-
8:15 am, the computer supplied helpfully.
Whatever. The shape under the bedcovers moved some more, and then a messy-haired James Walker slowly sat up in bed, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. So, what do you want?
The computers monitor turned itself on and, after a moment, a green, digitized face of a man in his early 20s appeared on it. Want? the digitized face asked, I didnt want anything. Except to check up on you. Youve been at serious risk of turning emo again since Cherish lef-
She didnt leave me, we agreed that we needed time for ourselves, James snapped a little too quickly. She wanted to travel and explore the world, I wanted to stay here and finish college and stuff. We didnt break up, he finished archly, glaring at the computer screen.
Of course, of course, Fenix said, his tone indicating that he didnt believe a word of it, the two of you are just on a break. Just like Ross and Rachel. But seriously, he continued, she left town and you decided to move back here?
Its my home, James muttered.
Your father was killed in the kitchen! Most people would have burned the place down and thrown salt all over the smoldering remains!
Yeah, well, Im not most people. James got out of bed, wearing a t-shirt and a pair of tracksuit pants that seemed too big for him, as did most things he wore. And... It just feels like home to me, okay? Even after everything.
Fenix was quiet for a moment. Fine, he said eventually. But let me tell you, if you start styling your hair like Justin Bieber, were staging an intervention.
James actually laughed at this. If that ever happens, Ill expect you to hand me the gun so I can end it all myself, he told Fenix, before padding over to the computer and sitting down. So, whats been happening?
Not much, Fenix replied, as the computer screen split into two images, one of Fenixs face and the other of a web browser. Few fires in Steel, Devouring Earth made a go of invading from Eden again and got pushed back, Caios was on the news... Oh, and I rickrolled Glenn Becks followers again.
Youre not going to get bored of that any time soon, are you? James asked. Wait... Caios was on the news? What happened this time?
No, no, were in the clear on this one. Some news reporter tried to interview her about the hero on the streets opinion on that senator who thinks were all demons from hell itself.
Oh, him. Hes a tool, James agreed. So were not having to pay for another new camera?
Nope. Although lets face it, it would be worth the cost if we got her and that guy in a room together. Fenixs image flickered suddenly. Thats strange...
James shrugged. Hey, youre the computer expert - literally. Im the psych major. So weve got nothing major to worry about?
Nah, dont think so.
Good. James leaned back in his chair, stretching. Id like a day where nothing explodes in our faces and no-one is trying to kill us.
Yeah, but what are the odds of that happening? Oh, and you should get some breakfast. Most important meal of the day, you know.
...Fenix, if youre going to act like my mother, you should at least try looking like one.
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
Sir, you have , The secretary barely began to speak.
Not NOW Ann! White interrupted her loudly. He was clearly very angry still. Aside from the yelling, he never referred to the women in his office by their real names if he could get away with it unless he was truly annoyed. Typically he liked to use pet names like honey and sweetheart.
At the time Annie Walker was trying to decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Donald White simply ignored her as he stormed into his office, closing the door behind him forcefully. He didnt even notice the man standing by the window until he spoke.
Come now Mr. White, you should be able to better handle such situations on a personal level if you expect to succeed in Washington. The tall middle aged man said.
Who are you? What are you doing here? White barked at the man suddenly confused. He was very well dressed, had a strong build about him. His face was weathered and his hair was a mix of black and grey, but there was no doubt that this was a hard man. He was in many ways nothing like White whatsoever.
You may call me Mr. Pearl. The man smiled devilishly. As for my presence here, its quite simple. You have a problem; I mean to help you with it.
I dont need you help, thank you. White began, immediately taking on his business negotiation tone, If youd like to contribute to our campaign you can speak with my secretary and she will give you the details. If however you are interested in more
significant donations then you can leave your number with me and I will make arrangements of my choosing.
Always ready to make a deal arent you. Mr. Pearl observed. Unsurprising. I suspect you are becoming rather desperate for donations given your latest standing in this Senate race.
A minor setback, nothing more. White said as he walked over to sit at his desk. He was trying to take control of the situation but knew he had little to work with. Despite his words he was bound to lose the election at this rate, he needed all the help he could get. My speech writers are working on a way to reword my earlier statements to regain the hearts and minds of the public.
And you believe backpedaling like this will help you? Mr. Pearls tone was bordering on insulting, That will only make you appear even weaker then you already are. What you need is vindication. Show the people that your words were true. If the proof is compelling enough then you will gain all the votes you will ever need, while your opponents continued support of such dangerous heroes will become a liability. In one fell swoop you will be able to completely turn this election around.
Interesting. White tried not to sound too eager or desperate for what the other man was suggesting, though he clearly was, But how exactly do you propose to do just that?
You make an example. Mr. Pearl said seriously, You take those who are thought of as heroes and show the world their evil deeds. Not just one hero either, but an entire group of heroes to be your own scapegoats. Not just any heroes however, those too perfect and too loved by the public will have too many followers, too many skeptics of their fall. No what you need are those heroes already close to the edge, heroes exactly like those you talked about in your speeches. That way when they fall their actions will be that much more believable. And your words will ring true in the ears of your voters.
I admit, this would be extremely helpful to me right now. White said eagerly, But theres one problem, I can hardly wait around for one of these fringe heroes to fall like you said. The election is in a few months after all.
Dont worry, Mr. White. Director Pearls smile was downright evil, I already have the perfect group of heroes in mind for your little comeback. I will make sure they fall, or at least appear to. All you have to do is make sure to capitalize on that moment when they do.
If theres one thing I do well, Mr. Pearl, its capitalizing on the moment. White said before adding suspiciously, However this is all a bit too convenient to be true. Tell me what are you really after? What do you want from me?
All you need to know is that I have a vested interest in seeing these particular heroes fall. Pearl explained, All I want from you in return at that point is do what is already in your best interest. Go after them will all your political might. I want you to leave them with no where else to turn. Do that and you will have done me all the service I need in exchange for giving you this election.
Alright, Ill do that. White smiled, And since youre here already, you sure I cant interest you in a campaign donation? Im sure I can provide you with even more services once Im elected after all.
When that time comes, Mr. White, we will contact you. Pearl said already walking out of the office.
A few days later
Terrible news today as new security footage is brought to light of the Steel Canyon Bank Robbery yesterday. The anchorwoman spoke into the camera remaining professional, however there was a clear hint of shock in her eyes over this particular bit of news, The footage clearly shows several members of superhero group the Guardian Angels as the perpetrators of this crime. In the wake of this shocking turn of events, more videos of other Guardian Angels members commit other crimes throughout the city have been brought forward. Video evidence of drug trafficking, extortion, arson, even murder, have all been making their way into the public.
In the aftermath of these events, The anchorwoman turned to a new camera as the image of Donald White appeared over her shoulder, Senatorial hopeful Donald White was quick to comment on what he calls an inevitability. Heres what he had to say.
It is a sad day that things had to come to such tragic and violent occurrences for others to head my warnings. The video of Donald White at a special press conference came into full view, behind him were an assortment of other suits, police officials, and even Longbow operatives. But this are the consequences of our own failed vigilance. These are criminals and monsters that we invited into our city, our streets, our very homes. It had always been merely a matter of time before some of them would take advantage of our hospitality. But I dont blame the people of this great state. Oh no, for they came at a time of our desperation, when we needed anyone who was willing to take up the title of hero. Even if we knew we were inviting the wolves into the flock. But now the wolves have grown hungry, and the look to the sheep among them to kill for their own hungry desires.
But I will not fail you, citizens of Rhode Island. White smiled to the cameras, all in perfect timing to his script, I have taken up this cause, to rid ourselves of those horrors that pass themselves as heroes, as our protectors, to root out such evil and bring our true guardian angels to a higher standard then those who would dare sully the concept by taking that name. As he continued he motion back to the lead Longbow officer standing behind him. It is for this reason that I have called in many personal favors and called upon my dear friends in the law enforcement communities to take action against those who have betrayed us. I present to you with Longbow Senior Captain Spangler who has graciously volunteer to lead up a special task force of Longbow operatives to seek out and arrest the entire group of villainous Guardian Angels. He has already issued arrest warrants on behalf of Longbow, the first step in making these criminals pay. Captain Spangler merely nodded in agreement as Donald White continued, We will make things right for the citizens of Paragon City, and as your future Senator I will continue to make things right for all of the people of this state and indeed this country. Thank you, and God Bless America.
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( as originally posted by Hollowpoint Heroism ))
The Red Mane Armory, Talos Island 1820hrs
The white-blue light of a television screen was all that lit the relatively small firearms store at this point in the evening, its owner, a tower of a man limped from place to place, locking up windows and safes, checking inventory all the while the TV continued to warble on in the form of cold comfort.
Laying beside the counter was a hefty German Shepard, 'Kaiser' by his tag, awaiting the moment when he and his master would walk home and see about something to eat.
For Adrian De'Havaland, life had slowed to a crawl ever since returning from Europe and a brutal manhunt to end his Father. He had been a Vigilante that had turned Arachnos agent a good twenty years ago, slaughtering the store-owner's family in cold blood when he was but a boy.
However, life at this juncture lacked the same direction it used to have. He'd given up so much for the sake of the safety of others, and now it seemed that life saw it fit to rub salt into the wound. With cane in hand he checked the locks on the front door, hobbling over to them with a grimace of discomfort, clicking them home one by one.
He had been a Hero once. People had branded him a vigilante, but that was just a title for someone who got things done around here. Still, none could forget the name. Shadowstormm had carved a bloody path through Paragon's underworld, often times leaving section of it in such disarray that members of criminal factions were left horribly traumatized, unwilling to so much as jay walk for fear of retribution.
Though, that was then.
Thanks to a ruined left knee, Adrian had resolved himself to the quiet life, running his little firearms store and gunsmithy in lower Talos Island. It wasn't much, but it kept his mind busy, gave him a reason to continue living...or at least existing as he sharply reminded himself. He'd done his best to keep fit, keep himself in shape over the months that had passed since his return and it had helped a lot. However, he also had a lot more time for watching TV.
Senator White's appearance on the campaign trail had caught his interest early on. His immediate spat against the Heroic community had made him chuckle. Seeing one of his former team mates, Caios and her one-sentence dressing-down had added all the more amusement to it. So when he switched on the news this evening, he had expected to see the man yet again shooting himself in the foot, or at least on a massive backpedal from his previous statement.
Not so.
He watched in shock, then anger, then fury as the name of his brothers and sisters in arms, the Guardian Angels had been made the scapegoat of a publicity campaign. The footage was bogus, it had to be.
"**** me, this is a ******* joke..." He growled. Grey eyes narrowing sharply as a mechanical prosthetic arm clenched around the remote, threatening to crush it in his palm. This disgusting, fat-fingered, congress-hungry pig of a human being had just crossed a line....
But what the hell can I do about it?
His gaze shifted to his knee, that had never healed quite right and was painful enough just to walk on. It seemed as though as much as he wanted to stand up, arm himself and lay bare the truth in a path of blood and bullets, life had a way of reminding him that his time was up.
He sighed, slumping down on a stool behind the counter, watching the speech as it continued. Longbow, this ******* had pulled strings and gotten Longbow into the picture. This Captain Spangler looked like an honest-to-God, upstanding soldier: Honorable, loyal...and all too willing to accept his orders on face value. The kind of man who would gladly pull the trigger on a man if told it was for the best. Sure, he probably meant well, but best intentions do have a habit of paving the path to Hell.
"..Thankyou and God Bless Ameri-"
The TV blinked off, Adrian turning his gaze to his dog who looked up at him as if to ask "Is it time to go?" With a reluctant nod, he struggled to his feet, the Shepard at his flank as he hobbled out the back door, locking it behind him "As much as I want to Kaiser, I'm not sure I can. I know they need help, but what good is a cripple gonna be in a firefight?"
With a folorn gaze skyward, he shifted his gaze back to his faithful companion, smiling somewhat and jerking his head toward home,
"C'mon, Lets see about some dinner. They'll be alright without ol' Stormmy." His gaze shifted to stare into space and thought, brow furrowing "They HAVE to be, for all our sakes..."
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( As originally posted by Shadewing ... ))
King's Row, Paragon City.
"Your money or your life, lady!" Yelled a member of the street gang known as The Skulls as he tried to wrestle away the purse of one of Paragon's citizens.
"Just leave me alone!" Screamed the lady, who looked no more than 25 years of age, she was desperately trying to hold onto her purse.
----
Shadewing was patrolling the neighborhoods of King's Row as she normally did when she heard a faint cry for help. "Well, guess it was too much to hope for that today would be quiet..." She mumbled as she dashed off towards the direction the cry was coming from. She arrived just in time to see a member of the Skulls shoving a girl to the ground, the straps of her purse in his hand. Acting quickly, Shade flew in front of Skull, blocking his path, "Drop the purse, and I might let you off the hook..." she threatened.
"Hah! Yeah right! Why would I do something as stupid as tha----Aahh----AHH! GET AWAY FROM ME!" The gang member yelled out as he gripped his head with his hands, dropping the lady's purse in the process. He was experiencing his worst fears, and quickly dashed off. Shadewing had no intention of harming him if she could avoid it.
Shade picked the purse up off the ground and offered it to the shaken civilian, "Here you go!" She said in a cheerful tone, smiling.
"Thank you! Wait...You were on the TV earlier! No! Stay away from me! You can keep my money, just stay away!" The girl yelled out in a terrified voice as she ran in the opposite direction, leaving her purse behind.
"Wait...What...?" The lady's purse dropped to the ground. Shade just stood there for a second, stunned at what just happened, "But...I was just...huh?" She turned her head in the direction of a nearby TV store, where all the televisions on display seemed to be broadcasting a breaking news announcement. Curious, Shadewing made her way over just in time to see a bank being robbed. Normally this wouldn't surprise her, however, this time she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw who the robbers were: Members of the Guardian Angels!
"Wha....No. No way! This can't be happening! No!" Shade yelled out as a blast of dark energy crashed through the window of the TV store, destroying the TVs on display, "This can't be for real! None of us would do such a thing! Something's wrong, I just know!" Noticing a crowd of people gathering, Shade decided it would be in her best interest not to stick around, so she flew up high into the sky and rushed off away from King's Row.
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
Permits, licenses, renters contracts....Terra climbed the stares to her designated office in the newly christened Ares Syndicate complex. A white suit jacket and a pair of vampyri goggles sat on the desk and she chuckled, there was growing collection of souvenirs decorating the perimeter wall of the courtyard and some of the renters had taken to adding counts underneath them. Dropping the folder in her hands onto the desk, she turned on the TV.
The news was the usual idiocy and she ignored it until she heard 'Guardian Angels'. Watching the report, she shook her head. "F***ing idiots...wonder who they pissed off this time...maybe I should mail them a picture for that frame..."
(( as originally posted by Fenix ))
Fenix stopped the video of the Senators latest speech. Son of a *****. Anyone with half a brain could see those vids are faked... Well, half a brain who is also a computer program who was a member of the group in said videos, but that though wasn't in Fenix's head at the time.
Playback resumed. I mean, who could believe that James, of all people, stealing some weed off the back of a tru-
Stop. Fenix looked at the still image plucked from the data. That... That one wasnt faked.
-------------------------------------------
A week earlier....
Life Story of Fenix Alheron? Thats a load of bull. Ive never even been NEAR Topeka. Let alone creating an internet cafe in Kansas City.
Fenix read through his latest email with a note of amusement. Some fan had apparently written a story on his life, such as it was right now, but it was grossly inaccurate in some parts. Too inaccurate for anyone with half a brain to write down.
About then, he spotted it. The errors and inconsistencies... They were too deliberately placed. So much so, that it quickly became very obvious that there was a coded message in the email sent.
---------------------------------------------
No! Shes ours! The traitor cant live!
I dont really care. The womans coming with me.
The Knives of Artemis. One of the great niggling annoyances that came with being a high-profile hero, let alone one who doesnt even hide behind a Hero Name. Fenix had to get to the top level of the abandoned laboratory, before they finished sharpening their blades and finished off the so-called traitor once and for all.
An ex-Artemis would do wonders in police investigations of hundreds of murders, and Fenix wasnt about to let this one go down that easily.
---------------------------------------------
Thanks for the help in there.
Dont worry about it, Ann. Just make sure that you contact the police.
Oh, I fully intend to. Some of what those ******* in there were doing...
I know, I know. If you need anything, run into any problems with our mutual friends...
Ill get a hold of you. Thanks for all of your help.
At that point, the blond woman leaned over, and pecked Fenix on the cheek. At which point, they both disappeared, Fenix going back through the wireless signal, the Ex-Artemis agent evading patrols that might report her back to her ex-colleges.
---------------------------------------------
Of course, the video only showed the last part, then the lab exploding (Hey, there was a loose canister of some explosive material, and the Knives weren't watching their fire...) but still, it would be a bit hard to explain that image...
Fenix sighed as best a stream of data on the internet could. It was time to look into Senator White, see who was backing him. If there were any juicy bits, hed leak them to the usual places. Wikileaks.... 4chan... Whoever could get the information out as explosively and noticeably as possible. And hed better work fast, the Longbow data hounds were already on their way...
(( as originally posted by EvilBenFranklin ))
University of Paragon, Steel Canyon Campus
Faculty Offices
08:23 hours
Moira Stern yawned as she stepped into her office, slinging her sweater over the coatrack in the corner. "Percival, wake up." Her computer beeped back an affirmative as its voice-recognition program shook its circuits to life. "Load file range: Term Papers 2010, all files inclusive in folder." *Beep-de-bleep!* "Mark anything fewer than 1,500 words with an F and a note regarding the nature of diligence as a virtue." *beep-bloop* "Load news stream, corner window. *Bloop-bleep!*
The footage clearly shows several members of superhero group the Guardian Angels as the perpetrators of this crime. In the wake of this shocking turn of events, more videos of other Guardian Angels members commit other crimes throughout the city have been brought forward. Video evidence of drug trafficking, extortion, arson, even murder, have all been making their way into the public.
Her coffee mug slipping from nerveless fingers as she sat heavily in her chair, Stern Impact stared at the monitor. A hand reached out to maximize the video window, only to see herself shaking down a shop owner for protection money while Siberian Inferno casually blowtorched her way into the shop's safe with a finger.
Tapping her right earring, she murmured, "Comms: Contact Siberian Inferno, scramble channel, priority Red-Alpha." A few clicks and squeaks, and then the harsh buzz of an inactive channel. "End call. Contact Schrodi, same parameters." Again, a harsh buzz. "End call. Contact anyone in the Guardian Angels' leadership, and keep trying."
This time, there wasn't a harsh buzz, but the distinctive squeal of active jamming, mere seconds before a pounding on her office door. "Moira Elayne Stern, this is Paragon PD. Open the door and come out with your hands up."
"Bloody cliches," she muttered as she mustered her will, every molecule in her body suddenly quivering with potential energy as she directed them to jump to the nearby street corner -- and wound up slamming straight into the nearest wall in that general direction as her kinetic shift collapsed.
"**** me," she swore, glancing out the window as she rubbed her nose and put her glasses back in place. Police, a fair number of them at that, along with several heavy combat units. She could out run them, but she'd need a source of motion to draw upon, first.
Unfortunately, she was the only person in the room. Panic started to rise until her eyes fell on her coffee machine... and the "special" coffee that Schrodi had made her. The one that took a gravitic compression field to keep the neutronized coffee from energetically evaporating in a loud burst of SKOOM.
Bloody good thing I sprung for the top-end model, she thought as she got a pot going of "the good stuff," then poured a cup. She'd likely set off radiological alarms, but if it got her out of this...
One cup. Not so bad, skin feels a little tingly.
Two cups. The pounding was getting louder, and rhythmic. The police were trying to break the door down. ...I think I can feel my teeth vibrating.
Three cups. Her heart skipped the pounding stage and went straight into high-speed palpitations, as the door frame started to crack. Bloody hell. I think I can see through time.
Still, it wasn't quite enough to let her break through a reinforced wall, avoid major injury while doing so, and still have enough juice to escape. What the fookin' 'ell 'ave I got t'lose? she thought, and downed as much of the pot as she could.
...It's indescribable, it is. My god, it's full of---*
---
"...Authorities are still on the lookout for Dr. Moira Stern, aka Stern Impact of the Guardian Angels, after she apparently escaped being arrested this morning, causing her office to implode inward around her as she did so. While police initially thought she had committed suicide, scans show that there is not enough biological residue to account for Ms. Stern's body."
The scene cuts away from the anchorwoman to footage of the Steel Canyon campus. The walls of an office building start to shimmy, shake, and go faintly translucent as a Cherenkov-blue glow builds inside one of the offices, then violently implode as a cerulean streak shoots out of one wall and down the street, pulverizing sidewalk tiles, asphalt, and any unlucky trees in its wake. "Slow motion analysis of this footage shows Dr. Stern in this blue field. Some scientific experts are concerned that she may have gone to what they call 'near-relativistic speeds' within Earth's atmosphere, but one thing continues to puzzle them."
The scene cuts to a rather confused looking scientist. "What we can't figure out is why she would shred her clothing and leave it behind as she left. We found a sweater, a long skirt, shoes, undergarments, all of them partly embedded in the inside wall and totally destroyed, in the arrangement she was wearing them in."
Cutting back to the news desk, the anchorman quips, "Well, I suppose police will have to add streaking to the charges of extortion, grand larceny, and racketeering already arrayed against Stern Impact. The BSA has already authorized INS to revoke her status as a resident extra-dimensional alien in preparation for deportation procedures back to her home reality. And now, the weather..."
---
Somewhere in Perez Park, a tall woman, raven haired and blue-eyed, cowers in the trees naked and shivering from the cool air, and from the aftereffects of boosting herself so hard. Somewhere along the way, she's acquired a PDA from someone - hardly a crime worth mentioning compared to those she's already been charged with, and has shakily typed out the following message:
<< NOT DEAD YET. FIND ME AT HERA'S VACATION SPOT. BRING CLOTHES. WTF IS GOING ON? -MES. >>
Specifying a private network known only to a few, she taps SEND, and collapses into a dreamless, restless sleep.
(( as originally posted by Sareini ))
His first class of the day was Abnormal Psychology, which James found particularly easy because it seemed that he had suffered though, or thought to have had, most of the disorders they were covering in the class. So he was just settling down to two hours of paying just enough attention to make the occasional note when he felt... something on the edges of his mind. Thoughts focused on him, and not in a good way. He looked around the lecture hall, trying to work out what the problem was, but he couldnt see anyone who looked like they were angry at him. Most of his fellow students seemed to be fighting to stay awake if nothing else.
Then the doors opened, and the group of Longbow and police walked in. This woke a lot of the students up, and the professor stopped his talk on the symptoms of drug-induced schitzophrenia and glared at the newcomers. The warden obviously in charge of the group went up to him before he could start demanding to know what was going on, and the two exchanged a few quiet words. At one point the professor nodded and looked up at James, even pointing for emphasis.
James didnt need to know what they were saying. He didnt even need to hear when the Warden stood back and announced, James Walker, otherwise known as the Guardian Angel Psychist, please come with us. We dont want there to be any trouble here, He could see it in their minds.
Armed robbery... drug trafficking... extortion...
Everyone was looking at him now, thinking at him. Every cell in his body was screaming at him to just run, but James knew he couldnt do that. If he ran while surrounded by people, the Longbow would most likely just open fire and blame the collateral damage on him. His best bet was to just get outside and then get the hell out of there. Or maybe try to find out what was going on... no, that was never going to work...
He stood up slowly, and started to gather his notebook and pen to take with him. Please keep your hands where we can see them, Mr Walker, the Warden ordered him brusquely, and dont make any sudden moves. James thought that was a pretty stupid thing to say to a psi. Didnt they realise that he didnt need his hands?
Then he felt something else. A pressure on the edges of his mind, trying to force its way in. James concentrated for a moment, and heard what was almost a whisper easing its way into his head: Just come with us. You dont want to fight. Youre calm and subdued.
For a second, he almost listened to the whisper.Then something snapped back in his mind, and he pulled his shields up, hard.
Stay out of my head, he told the Longbow, glaring.
Surprisingly enough, it was the police officers who reacted to this. A couple of them immediately pulled their weapons, pointing them at James and causing more than a few startled cries and shouts from the students. James suddenly found himself in a growing space, as people quickly moved to get the hell away from him. The Longbow Warden turned to the police, about to tell them to lower their weapons - and James took the opportunity. He leapt the two rows of seats in front of him, adrenaline pumping now, and hit the aisle at a sprint, meaning to dodge around the Longbow and get out of the lecture hall. Running down the long corridor after that would be a danger, but he hoped that he would have enough of a headstart on them that they wouldnt react in time to get to the large window at the ed of the corridor. Hop through that, and he was out in the open where he could just fly away and hopefully they hadnt planned on that by having an Eagle squad or something waiting for him...
Now people were shouting, screaming and swearing, and quite a lot of it was aimed at him James just kept his head down, focusing on getting out of the lecture hall and nothing else-
There was a loud pop from somewhere to his left, and suddenly James felt like hed been punched hard in the upper arm. He lost his footing and tumbled to the floor, even as his upper arm stung terribly for a moment and then started to feel both numb and... wet. Confused, he looked at it... and saw the neat hole in his sleeve, with the surrounding area starting to turn a dark red colour.
Cease fire! the Warden yelled. We have civilians here! Not that they were going to be there for much longer at that point, as now people were running screaming for the exits. James grabbed his arm, which was now starting to hurt again, and pretty sharply at that, and squeezed hard in an attempt to slow the bleeding. At the same time, he felt the pressure on the edges of his mind again, trying to just brute force its way through his shields now to shut his mind down. He could pick up images of white walls from it, which were obviously supposed to be calming as well as a way to contain his conscious mind so they could take him in with no more trouble.
They were trying to lock him up again.
James acted on instinct. He spun around to face the Longbow and police who were starting to approach, and his eyes fixed on one officer near the back - a dark-haired woman in a trenchcoat who seemed somewhat... distant. Psi-cop. James focused everything on her, and sent a massive psionic push at her. Stay. Out. Of. My. Head! he growled, sending the words to her telepathically at the same time for emphasis.
The woman flew backwards as though she had been hit by a car. Her eyes widened in shock for a brief moment, before she hit the wall behind her with a crack and slumped to the ground, unconscious. Blood trickled from her nose and her ears.
Everyone stopped for a moment in shock. James realised what he had done, and his first instinct was to try to check on the woman to see if she was okay. He hadnt meant to hit her that hard! But the moment he tried to pick himself up and take a step towards her, weapons were charged up and levelled at him,and he realised that he didnt have any options left any more.
Guess were adding assault of a police officer to the charges, one of the Longbow officers said grimly, pointing his rifle at James head. James closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and trying to clear his head.
For what its worth, guys, he muttered, Im sorry about this.
The psionic tornado erupted outwards from James, tossing everything in its path into the air. Chairs were ripped from the ground, books and bags went flying, and so did the Longbow and police officers, who were flipped into the air and each other like leaves in a strong wind. James was up and running before anyone had even hit the ground again, still clutching his injured arm. He didnt look back as he heard the shouts and thuds, and he definitely didnt look back when he heard the gunshots starting. He just ran straight for the window at the end of that corridor, telekinetically pushing anyone and anything out of his way and punching out the window with a telekinetic bolt just as as he came to it. He took a literal flying leap through the window, not even bothering to hit the ground on the other side. He flew up and away as fast as he could, thinking silent thanks that there were no flying units waiting for him as he did so.
James had no idea where he was going. With his free hand he tried opening a channel to any of the others on his communicator, but all he got was static. Not even Fenix was replying - had they managed to lock down his mainframe before he could get out of there and hide on the web? He couldnt even sense any of them in the area, but that was at least more sensible. Either they werent in Steel to begin with, or they had already run, just like he was doing.
His arm still stung, and he was starting to feel a little lightheaded now. James shook his head, trying to clear it, and set off. He needed to go to ground, get his arm fixed up, and try to meet up with some of the other Angels, not necessarily in that order. And then try to work out just what the **** was going on.
(( as originally posted by Snowdog ))
Peregrine Island
The Longbow Warden cursed to himself as he walked towards the main door to Portal Corp. The first few take down attempts had gone badly. Very badly, not a single prisoner to show for it, and this one...well it was rumored that Dr Michelle Schrodinger , AKA Schrodi, dabbled with reality the way others may dabble with finger paints. In the field of exotic physics , she was right up there with Positron and some dude named Gordon out west according to their database. He had wanted to go in with just a small team, himself and a PPD officer, being that legally Longbow wasn't allowed to make arrests in the United States-the fewer people, the less risk. But he'd been overruled, a full company shipped back from the rogue isles. The air was heavy with the sound of the rotors as they fast roped down , the courtyard at portal corp not big enough for more than one or two to land.
He looked around and found the PPD officers send to do the actual arrest. Technically, Captain Spangler had them on a bit of thin ice here-if for some reason, the charges against the Guardian Angels turned out to be false, well it was against Longbow's charter to make arrests or perform law enforcement duties in the United States. They could assist..but not take the lead. Right now they had the political backing, but that could evaporate quickly if things went pear shaped. He had been along on a previous raid against one of this groups members, one that had blown up in Longbow's face, though honestly, that was more the former Lt Kadish's not following the rules and jumping to conclusions. Now he was in charge of this mission, and was NOT going to make the same mistakes. If they were wrong, the court would sort it out, but his troops would follow the law, and if the Captain didn't like it, tough.
Nodding to the Detective, he had his people fall in behind them, as they entered the entrance to the building, other troops and PPD sealing the area. The receptionist didn't' even look surprised, though the names of the wanted renegade heroes had been all over the news Welcome to Portal Corp, gateway to the Future! Can I help you?
Detective Blake, PPD, We have a warrant for the arrest of Michelle Schrodinger.
Portal Bay 17
It was louder than she'd thought it would be, the very sub atomic particles of the universe being pulled apart by the colossal machine as Dr Michelle Schrodinger stepped through. Still, the apparatus looked the same as the one she had left under Neuropolis. The Resistance had sent her to Primal Earth to both help them, and help themselves in the fight against Tyrant. Supposedly he was here too, but more benign. She wasn't sure to think about that, but odds are, there were a lot of duplicates here of folks she knew. And one of herself. She'd actually talked with her counterpart before crossing over, this universes Michelle Schrodinger going by the nickname schrodi, was able to port through dimensions as she could herself. Still there were differences, the Heisenberg principle pretty much guaranteed that, but she was looking forward to finally working with the equipment her other self had, and with herself as well.
Strangely the bay was empty, except for one man. Tall, dark short hair with a widows peak, and a gaunt almost skull like face, wearing a cheap suit and carrying a briefcase for some reason .
Good afTERnoon Dr schroDINger. We have been exPecting you.
Uh thanks, where's Schrodi? I thought she would meet me., wondering about this guys weird accent. But then most of the resistance she'd found were harder to comprehend.
Dr schroDINger had a late meeting, if you take the elevator there, you will be taken, to where you are needed in the lobby.
She was wary-but then this was primal earth. No Praetors here, and she had been invited. thanks she said as she boarded the elevator.
As the doors closed the strange man smiled The right cat in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world...
what the heck does that mean? she muttered as the elevator went up, grimacing at the muzak in the elevator. It may be another universe...but they still had Burt Bacharach.
The detectives were still arguing with the receptionist about the validty of their warrants and security clearances when the elevator dinged. Everyone automatically glanced towards it, then there was the sound of dozens of weapons being drawn It was her the Warden though-though wait, something wasn't right. She didn't have a cyborg arm...the hair was different...he started to open his mouth when someone , even before he could say 'you're under arrest' opened fire.
She blinked, she'd seen the Longbow uniforms before, but not this version of the PPD. As the shot rang out over her head she growled, tail thrashing behind heryou wanna chomp badgers? Fine, if you wanna get it polar-bear style without the syrup, it's fight'o clock!
several hours later
he had prepared. He'd outfitted his team with goggles that would see through Shrodi's quantum illusions. But there was nothing about gravity going haywire, about her pulling objects out of a hole in space-time, and hurling them at his people. He watched the PPD get bowled over by a flying forklift, watched energy blasts blow holes in the wall, followed by panic and firing from outside. An entire company-and she got away. Two helicopters were lost, one knocked out of the air by a statue, another crushed as if gravity reached out and squeezed it like a beer can. The worst injuries were the burns from the helicopter crew-crew that she had paused to rip out of the burning aircraft, before vanishing, teleported to who knows where. Other than that, minor injuries was it, he himself had a broken arm, but he'd had wore. The press was going to have a field day with this, they were 0 for three with apprehending the Guardian Angels. Odder still was the phone call he received ten minutes after arriving at the hospital., odd enough for him head back as soon as he could break free, catching a cab from the hospital back to Portal Corp.
The man who met him was still in college, an intern. He stood in the hallway in the lower levels of Portal corp, frowning as he looked into the office. Not two hours ago he'd seen her ripping through combat ready troops-yet... she's been here how long?
She's been out cold for about 20 hours now. She tends to work ridiculously long hours when she's got a project going, then crash for a day or three afterwards. He looked sheepish I was supposed to wake her when all this blew up, she was supposed to meet her analog from Praetorian earth...
He peered closer at the sleeping physicist, curled up on the back of the couch in her office like a larger version of his daughters cat. It was the same face he saw earlier this afternoon-but longer hair, and two arms instead of one. I think I met her...let me guess she worked with the Resistance there? Well this does explain a few things.
so what now, are you still going to arrest her?
no...if this is one of Tyrant's plots to destabilize things on this side, better to keep her here. You say she probably won't wake up for a while?
probably not.
the Warden nodded keep her here if you can, I've got to go check on a few things. Thanks Once back outside and able to get a signal, he could inform Captain Spangler.
Malta listening post, somewhere in Talos island
intresting theory, you say security at portal corp verified she hasn't left her office in almost 24 hours? Well then, come by headquarters, we'll go over it in my office. Yes, I know these are supposed to be encrypted, but I prefer face to face. Right, see you soon.
The Gunslinger nodded to the analyst as the tape cut off your right. This could be a problem...
(( As originally posted by Caios ))
Caios took careful aim at the target in front of her. Guiding the weapon in her hand with unnatural agility she focused solely on the task at hand. It would be but a gentle push for someone like her to make the shot. A quick thrust and the white ball took off towards the number 4 ball. It was with no small amount of mirth that Caios watched the colored ball roll towards the side of the table and fall neatly into the hole. Before she could celebrate however she saw the white ball spin slowly but surely into the corner pocket, falling in with a playful bump as if to mock her.
It was official, Caios decided, she sucked at pool. When it came to games to play this one was just not her thing for whatever reason. Oh well, at least she could kill with darts. Both literally and figuratively. Plus it wasn't like there was anyone else to play with in this dive. With a disappointed grunt she set the pool cue on the table and walked back to the bar. When she sat down the bartender set a bottle of whiskey in front of her which she immediately opened and began to drink from quietly.
She hated waiting, it was something vampires had to do way too much of in their unlives.
"Can I get you anything else?" The bartender asked nervously.
Caios looked up at him with piercing blue eyes that completely unnerved the man before saying, "You already called the cops. Right?"
It wasn't a question, the bartender could only nod dumbly in response.
"Then you've done enough for me, thanks." It was hard to say if Caios was being sarcastic at the moment. Surprisingly she reached in to her coat pocket and pulled out a large stack of one hundred dollar bills, setting it on the table in front of the bartender.
"What's this?" the bartender finally managed to blurt out through his shock.
"No, it's not money from the Steel Canyon robbery." Caios answered the silent question, "You can check the serial numbers with the bank if you want. This belongs to a bunch of stupid rich girls who thought it'd be a good idea to join the Carnival. It's a long story, and quite frankly I couldn't care less if you believe me or not."
"But... why are you giving it to me?" The bartender asked.
"You own this dive right?" Caios replied, the bartender once again could only nod dumbly under Caios's gaze, "Then you'll need that to pay for damages."
"What damages?"
As if on cue, the doors to the bar opened wide and the entire room was quickly filled wall to wall with all manner of PPD units and officers, even a couple of mechs. Mixed among them were several Longbow operatives sent in to assist the capture. Every single PPD and Longbow personnel in that bar was surrounding the vampire, and all of them had guns currently pointed at her head.
Caios just continued to drink her whiskey quietly. " 'bout goddammed time you boys showed up here."
"Hold your FIRE!" a strong voice called out. "Nobody make any moves and relax your trigger fingers." From the mass of police a single detective made his way through reaching up to the bar. He took one look at Caios and let go a deep heavy sigh. Reaching for a stool next to her he set his hat down on the bar and sat down.
"Jesus Caios, what the **** did you people get into this time?" the detective asked.
"And a good evening to you too Detective Lacceter." Caios said, "It's nice to run into you, haven't seen you around much after you got promoted out of your Kings Row beat. Say you remember the time I saved your skinny *** from that Skulls raid? Man those were the days." She was definitely being sarcastic this time.
"Yeah, nice to see you too Fangs." Very few people could call Caios that and get away with it. Lacceter wasn't one of them, but he had done Caios a favor once for someone who could. It was his not so subtle reminder that she owned him one.
"I'm here, aren't I?" Caios shot back, "We both know those videos are total horseshit, so don't you dare try to play it against me."
"Yeah, I figured as much," Detective Lacceter said sourly, "But right now the evidence is pretty damning. Your best bet is to come in, quietly, and let us sort all of this out."
"You know I can't do that. Why do you even ask?" Caios told him.
"You can, you just won't." Lacceter corrected her. "But I'm gonna ask you regardless, cause that's the right way to do things. Caios, we have a warrent for your arrest. If you run you're only gonna make things worse."
"No." Caios said simply.
"Look around you." Lacceter said as he waved to the army of police and Longbow still training their guns at her. "We're not really giving you much choice here. Even if you get out of this building there's a small army of Longbow outside just waiting to take you out."
"I think it's cute how you still think you all can stop me." Caios smiled at him, "But the answer is still no. I'm not running, but I'm sure as hell not turning myself in. Whoever's pulling the strings on this can play the system like a fiddle. I go in and there's no telling if I'm ever coming out. There's way too many people who need me right now for that."
"If you do that there's no way you'll be able to beat the charges against you." the Detective suggested.
"I don't have to beat the charges," Caios shrugged, "I only have to outlive them. Ridiculously easy for me." She looked back at the detective, "This ain't my first rodeo you know."
"Look I'm trying to help you here!"
"If you want to help then find out what the hell's really going on!" Caios interrupted him. "Till then you can do me, and yourself, a favor. Actually two."
"Oh this should be good." Lacceter frowned, "Alright, what are you demands?"
Caios glared at him for a moment before grabbing the whiskey bottle - slowly enough so the men with guns didn't get too nervous - put the cap back on tightly, and handed it over to the detective. "First hold on to this, it's actually pretty good, and I'm hoping we can share a drink once this is all over. If not, well, I'd hate to see such good whiskey go to waste."
"Heh, alright." Lacceter said as he took hold of the bottle, "And what's the second thing?"
Caios just smiled at him for a second before saying, "Get down, stay down, and watch you head. This will all be over in a minute."
Mere moments later a dull explosion heralded Caios's appearance back onto the street and she burst forth from the bar through a rather large hole in the roof and into the air. In her fist she held the battered police mech she had used to literally punch a hole through which to escape. While in midair, the vampire twisted her body, turning sharply in order to toss the ruined mech back down at the street, directly into one of the nearby Longbow Helicopters. The resulting explosion knocked most of the Longbow on the street to ground.
On the other side of the street Caios landed nimbly on top of a two story building, allowing her to duck behind cover to avoid the hail of gunfire Longbow was sending her way.
"Caios of the Guardian Angels!" One of the Longbow Wardens on the street was yelling at her, "You're under arrest under the authority of the Longbow Task Force."
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Caios yelled back, immediately she ducked back behind cover and cringed. Actually she had done plenty wrong, just not all that recently, and certainly not what they were accusing her of.
"You're assaulting Police and Longbow Officers!" the Warden reminded her. Alright there was that, but other then that she had done nothing else wrong. Recently.
"Then stop shooting me!" Caios yelled back in frustration.
"We will never stop trying to apprehend you." The Warden shot back. This bothered Caios, not because she particularly cared that they were shooting at her, but because if they continued shooting like mad they were bound to end up hurting some innocent bystander. Caios knew it was part of their training, against a high enough level threat - like herself - Longbow was authorized to used deadly force.
"Alright, you leave me no choice then." Caios told the Warden.
"Finally, I knew you'd listen to reason." The Warden smiled. He was still smiling when Caios suddenly appeared in front of him. It would be some time later before he would realize that the vampire had simply moved from the rooftop to him in the blink of an eye. The last thing he remembered seeing was Caios getting ready to punch him in the face.
A few minutes later Detective Lacceter managed to pull himself out of the wreckage of the bar and onto the street. As he looked up he was momentarily shocked to see the entire force of Longbow operatives had been defeated, laying in all various manner of unconsciousness across the street. Some where even hanging from the lamppost or sticking out of the second story window across the street. One of their helicopters had been blown up, the other had simply been ripped apart.
In the midst of it all Caios stood unphased, with a Longbow rifle in her hand. It had been completely bent out of shape and battered into submission. From the way Caios was holding it by the barrel it wasn't hard to guess she had been using it as a club. The detective let out another sigh realizing he should not have been surprised by this outcome.
Turning around Caios looked back at the detective and merely shrugged at him, "They started it."
"I'm sure that will hold up just great in a courtroom." Lacceter said.
"I don't care." Caios said frowning as she dropped the rifle to the ground, "Frankly I'm sick of all this ********. I'm tired of constantly having to dot every ******* 'i' and cross ever ******* 't' just to be allowed to do **** half ***** all the time. I'm done playing nice." She looked back at the detective and added, "If you still want to arrest me, go ahead. I'll even do you a solid and knock you out painlessly so you don't get in trouble."
"That's alright." the detective waved his hand, "After this whole mess I don't think anyone will have a hard time believing you got away from me."
"Good. I really didn't want to have to hit you too." Caios smiled, "It was really nice getting to chat, we should do this again. Only bring less guns next time." She knelt slightly before suddenly leaping into the air, and just like that she was gone.
Sometime later Caios was sitting on the edge of the roof of one of the tallest buildings in Steel Canyon. She was listening in through the radio she had taken off the Longbow Warden. Predictably, things were bad. They were going after everyone, even bringing in reinforcements from all over the city and Rogue Isles. Most recently they tried to take James from the University, but that was over half an hour ago, before she came to Steel Canyon herself. He'd be long gone by now, as were most everyone they had tried to apprehend so far.
Fortunately they had not yet managed to capture anyone. Good.
Caios took out her cell phone in order to try and setup some form of contact. The normal communication lines were out, they were jamming all known Guardian Angels channels. However they couldn't jam everything.
"Pfft, amateurs." Caios activated a few custom built apps on her phone and was soon able to hack into a completely separate satellite network. She knew this network was secure, not to mention completely untraceable, particularly since the satellite she was connecting to didn't officially exist.
She was gonna owe Hammond big time after this one.
She quickly began trying to see who she could connect to. They would have to go somewhere outside the normal networks to avoid being jammed so it would probably take a while. To her surprise she found a waiting message in a private network she barely even remembered.
<< NOT DEAD YET. FIND ME AT HERA'S VACATION SPOT. BRING CLOTHES. WTF IS GOING ON? -MES. >>
Caios frowned for a moment, thinking 'Who the hell is Hera?' It was probably something she should have known, or at least known what she was referring to, but she was never one for codes. Subtlety was never her strong skill. Also, why the hell did she need to bring clothes?
It didn't matter, at least they could communicate now. She sent back a reply to that text, as well as sending the same text message to any of the Angels she could think of:
<< GOT SECURE LINE. SAFE TO TALK. TEXT ONLY. SAFER THAT WAY. MUST MEET UP. WTF IS HERA? -C >>
(( As originally posted by Sareini ))
The Longbow Task Force given the job of bringing in the Guardian Angels were not having a good day. Of all their attempts to arrest members so far, none had been successful, and several had incurred casualties. But at that point, the small team of officers in Atlas Park were wishing they had been one of the less successful teams rather than the one they were on.
Sarge... this doesnt seem right, one of the team said to his commander.
We have our orders, Ross, his Sargent replied, although if he was honest he didnt feel very comfortable with this himself. Were to bring in all active members of the Guardian Angels.
Yeah, but Sarge... shes just a kid.
The team were watching their target in a park. The target, dressed in a school uniform, a pink and purple striped scarf and a pair of earmuffs, was playing on the swings and singing a song about Barbies. At that point, almost the entire team would rather have been on the team sent to bring in the vampire. Or possibly just jumped into Luscas tentacle range and hoped for the best.
The team leader stood up, took a deep breath, and steeled himself for what he was going to do. Maybe things would work out alright in the end, he thought. Maybe the kid would have nothing to do with all this and they could get her into foster care or something. Move in, he ordered.
***
Imagika stopped swinging when she saw the Longbow officers coming towards her, and jumped off the swing in mid-air to land in front of them. She smiled brightly at them. Hi there! she chirped. Have you come to play with me?
Um, no Miss... Imagika, the one who looked like he was in charge said. He looked serious, and maybe a little sad. You need to come with us now.
Why?
Because we need to ask you some questions about things you and your... teammates have been doing.
Oh, Im good at answering questions! Why?
Because... your teammates have been doing bad things.
Imagika frowned. No they havent, she told the Longbow team. Only the bad people do bad things. Mr. Fenix and Mr. James and Miss Caios and Miss Maggie and Schrodi who I love to give hugs to and... Miss Stern are good people. She giggled. Youre silly.
The serious-looking Longbow officer sighed. Now, dont be difficult, he told her. You need to come with us, or... He gestured to the other members of the team, well have to make you come with us. Do you understand?
Now Imagika scowled at the Longbow team. Im not to go with anyone who wants to make me go with them, she said, putting her hands on her hips and looking like the worlds angriest seven-year-old. I dont think youre good people at all. I think youre bad people dressed up as Longbow!
The Longbow team had just enough time to consider raising their weapons before a trio of glowing pink figures appeared around them and started to power up attacks of their own. And then the world seemed to go very, very strange. And pink.
***
There was a pop, and Imagika appeared in the Guardian Angels base, surrounded in a pink bubble and completely unharmed. The bubble faded away and she started to skip down the corridor, not noticing at first that only the emergency lights were on, and even they were flickering.
Hel-lo? she called out, peering into a few rooms as she passed them. Are we playing hide-and-seek? Im good at that game, Ill find you all!
Hello? a digitized voice called back from the main computer room. Whos that- Oh, great. Of all the people to make it back here, it has to be the little imaginary girl...
Imagika grinned. Mr Fenix! Im gonna find you! She ran down the corridors into the computer room, where she found a holographic image of Fenix standing in front of the data servers and working frantically on an equally holographic keyboard. Imagika watched him for a few moments. Whatcha doing?
Im trying to encrypt our databanks before the Longbow forensic computing team get through the last of my firewalls, Fenix told her absently. Not to mention keeping them occupied with a few virus spikes of my own, trying to trace back those videos to their sources and decode them to try and find out whats going on and- Hey, dont do that! Imagika was waving her hand through his torso and giggling.
Why?
Because it hurts.
Oh. Sorry. Imagika went to try to hug Fenix, but stopped as she remembered he was essentially not there. The she remembered why she was there. Bad Longbow men tried to kidnap me!
Theyve been trying to grab us all morning, kid, Fenix told her. Theyve got us on some trumped-up charges and until we get to the bottom of them were all on the run. Youd better make yourself scarce until you hear from one of us.
What does that mean?
...you have to go play hide-and-seek and one of us will find you.
Oh. Okay! Imagika turned to leave, but something stopped her. Are you going to hide too?
I cant, Fenix told her. They cut the T1 lines to the base, as well as most of the power. I cant get out of here unless I get those lines back up soon. But Im damn well not going to make it easy for them to get me, even if they do get in here.
Are you going to hide in the computer?
Yeah, and encrypt so many viiri around me that they wont know what hit them.
But... what if they take the computer with them and take it apart? Wont they find you?
The two of them, imaginary friend given form and holographic machine ghost, thought about that in silence for a few moments. Then suddenly Fenix stopped what he was doing, the holographic keyboard vanishing without a sound. Imagika squeeled, impressed.
Okay kid, heres what were going to do. I need you to find me a laptop from one of the offices, and a USB drive. Can you do that?
Imagika nodded. I can do that! Uhh... whats a yooo-ess-bee drive?
Fenix sighed. This was going to be a long ten minutes.
(( as originally posted by Snowdog ))
Delta flight 231, PAR to ATL
Rachelle hated flying. Oh she didn't mind it when she was the one doing the flying, either in a piper cub in the Alaskan bush, or flying herself. But the security theater that went with boarding a commercial aircraft anymore really grated on her. True, she could have flashed her FBSA ID card, which technically said she was a law enforcement officer, but that would attract attention. And looking at the new broadcast on the tiny screen in the seat back in front of her, that would probably not be a good thing. They were after everyone, her included probably. If she hadn't booked the early flight out of Paragon City to go down to Atlanta to meet with CDC reps about the research she was supposed to be doing for them with the federal grant..they'd have probably arrested her too. Or tried to. Whoever was behind it, knew enough about them that she wasn't one of the ones shown in the fake videos committing crimes. Especially since for the last few months she's been in a half dozen conferences across the country, one international conference, and a trip to Stockholm for the Nobel Prize ceremony. Not that she got one, but it was still nice to be nominated, plus Sweden was lovely that time of year.
No, they wanted her for 'questioning'. Not that she could tell them much, she'd spent the last six months at least either in her lab, in the field, or in front of committees, all with lots of witnesses. Still, she was certain that there would be someone waiting for her when the plane touched down in Atlanta, and once in custody, it would be a matter of time until things got worse. She felt her ears pop as the plane started to begin its decent towards the Atlanta area. It was a typical Georgia late summer day, the clouds heavy with moisture, the promise of a drenching storm. She could work with that, but not from her seat. The fasten seat belt sign was still out, but they were descending through twenty thousand feet, she didn't have much time she thought as she made her way back to the aft lavatory. She'd never tried something like this, oh she'd manipulated weather on this large a scale before...but that was when under the mental domination of Pangs. Now? She'd have to do it herself..without alerting or endangering the flight. She braced herself against the bathroom door, hands out in front of her, eyes closed...feeling the air currents, the electrical charges in the clouds....
Gate B23, Hartsfield Airport Atlanta
The uniformed Longbow squad drew a large amount of attention. Flight 231 was eighty miles out, due on the ground in less than 20 minutes, and all they knew is there was a person on board wanted for questioning about a super powered terrorist spree in Paragon City. So they weren't taking any chances, part of the terminal having been evacuated. The Atlanta police captain in charge of the airport police force was in the middle of a shouting match with the longbow commander when the terminal suddenly shook, the sky outside going from a threatening overcast, to ominous black, lighting crashing down around the area. Lightning warning lights went red as the ground crews scrambled indoors, the airport having put the system in after losing several ground crew during a storm.
what do those red lights mean?
The police captain just shrugged, looking out at the now howling winds, rain coming down in sheets it means we're closed.
what do you mean closed? WE have a suspect to arrest!
I mean closed. No one's gonna be landing here for a while, and depending on their fuel...
Flight 231
There was an audible groan from the passengers when the captain came on the PA as Snowdog left the lavatory. Bad weather rolled in suddenly, not unexpected for Georgia this time of year..but with their fuel state, they were diverting to their alternate, where they would refuel and continue onto Atlanta when the weather cleared. She just nodded to the flight attendant as he went down the aisle in the bouncing aircraft as they turned off towards the southwest towards Dothan Alabama. Not where she wanted to be..but she could work with that. One thing at a time.
(( As originally posted by EvilBenFranklin ))
Dr. Stern awoke to two sensations: The first being a quiet but insistent buzzing from the PDA clutched against her chest, and the other ...was someone licking her foot?
"This one's a fine specimen, boys... the Doc will be very pleased. What kind of Eidolon d'you think she'll get added to?" The voice was muffled, as if coming from behind a mask of some sort.
"Hmm... Luminous, I suspect. I finally recognize her. She's that one Longbow and the cops are lookin' for." A quiet chuckle, "Pity for them we found her first. Think the Doc will mind if we have a little fun first?"
"Nah. Get the rope in case she comes to."
At that, her eyes snapped open and her hand flung outward, a wave of accelerated particles flashing to blue-white as it swept toward the Mortificator and his randy Reaper pal, knocking them off their feet. She rolled to her own, balancing on the balls of her feet as she gave them a feral grin, putting her fists up before her. "Norm'ly, I'd just give you what-for wi' me powers, lads, but I've 'ad a verra bad fookin' day. A verra bad day indeed... and Mum always told me that it's nice t'share."
As the Mortificator got to his feet, she lunged toward him, a blur of pale skin, sable hair and flashing blue eyes. Grabbing his head, she yanked it down to meet her knee, then curled her right arm into his gut in a series of quick, hard rabbit punches before bodily tossing him against a tree before turning to face the Reaper.
Eyeing the knife in his hand, she smirked and started to hum the opening verse of a certain Blue Oyster Cult song, flicking her fingers in a 'come get some' gesture. He darted forward to slash, her arm blocking then catching his, twisting it around. His knife fell to the ground to the sound of a grown man screaming as his shoulder dislocated. Kicking him to the ground, she picked up the knife, balanced it on a finger for a moment, and looked at her prey. "You know, I really ought t'fookin' castrate you for getting fresh like you did."
Eyes popping wide, the Reaper shook his head violently and tried to scoot away on his butt, winding up against a rock with a whimper. "But instead, I'll just let you pass a warnin' to the rest of you lot." She kneeled down before him, lightly took his chin in her hand, and purred, "This be MY fookin' patch o'th' woods, mate. Nobody comes in unless they're one of me mates. Cops or Candy-Canes come sniffin', someone comes in t'let me know. Anyone else..." In one swift motion, she stood, her hand whipping down to plant the knife mere millimeters from the Reaper's reproductive area, earning another whimper from him, "An' they get t'eat their bollocks for breakfast. You get me?"
As he nodded vigorously, she pointed back down the path, nodding in the Mortificator's direction. "Go. An' take tha' sad sack o'shite with you."
As he scrambled to get away, she scooped up her purloined PDA, and thumbed the NEW MESSAGE icon.
<< GOT SECURE LINE. SAFE TO TALK. TEXT ONLY. SAFER THAT WAY. MUST MEET UP. WTF IS HERA? -C >>
Clucking her tongue as she glanced around for a particular rock, she tapped out a reply:
<< PEREZ. CAVE WHERE JEWEL OF HERA KEEPS ENDING UP. CURRENTLY EMPTY, BULLIED LOCALS INTO HELPING SECURE AREA. NEED CLOTHES B/C RUNNING NEAR C VELOCITY IS BAD FOR NATURAL FABRICS. ALSO, ANGRY WELSH WOMAN NEEDS FOOD BADLY. BURNED TOO MUCH PWR ESCAPING. -MES >>
Absently tapping SEND, she found the rock she was looking for, and palmed a particular nook. With one glance back at the forest, which had gotten considerably quieter over the last few minutes, she stepped into the cave, shutting it behind her.
(( As originally posted by DrJackWolfe ))
What do you mean no? The Longbow Warden asked the ball the pole that had popped out of the center of the gate. He was sure hed seen that exact design in a somewhere, maybe in a movie, but he couldnt quite place it. He had to admit I was a hell of a gate, located in the manufacturing district of Kings Row the imposing 17 foot tall impervium doors gleamed in the late summer sun, a stylized W over a wolfs paw logo was 'painted', he thought, on the gate's center line. The gate sealed a tunnel that led into low block house at the center 5 acre lot, the lot itself was surrounded by 15 foot walls. The walls too appeared to be impervium, and none of his team could find a single seam, almost as if the wall, gate, tunnel and all, were grown onto the lot. He couldnt help but wonder what went on inside the complex that someone spent that much money for just a wall.
Look lady, I have a warrant for Dr. Wolfes arrest and to search the premises and I
<I am not a lady I am the Wolfetec Karen MKVII AI, based on an optical processor array developed by Dr. Wolfe and as I told you sir, He is off planet and not available>
Off planet
right.
<Dr. Wolfe is completely capable of extra solar travel young man, you really should become famailer with the Longbow Powers Database, next you'll be saying that Ascendant can't ...>
The woman, no AI droned on, who'd ever heard of an AI that actually engaged in prattling, meaningless, long winded small talk?
"Ok, whatever, we're still coming in and conducting the search."
<I cannot allow that>
The annoyed Warden's eyes hardened "Cannot allow? Look lady I'm not asking, open the gate or we will."
<I'm sorry, I cannot do that, you do not have the security clearance to be admitted without an escort into this facility. Since Dr. Wolfe is the only one authorized to escort you and he is off planet, clearly you are not getting in, further more your tone and the actions of your troops indicate you have become a threat. Please leave the area, before I am forced to remove you. Be warned use of deadly force in defense of this facility is authorized.>
"Authorized by wh....." The Warden never finished his thought the ball on a stick simply melted back into the gate. "Ok lady, we're coming in..............." sections of the wall seemed to flow as nanotech Wolfepaks created turret blisters at regular intervals along the wall, a gentle growl from behind the walls became a roar as a half a dozen lupine figures gracefully leaped over the walls and surrounded his troops. A seventh appeared at the top of the tunnel gates, its saphire optical sensors glinting.
10 feet high at the shoulders the Fernis Class battle bots paced back and forth in the street and sized up their prey. Each of the formidable wolf like forms moved in tandem with the pack, never opening a hole for escape; their impervium reactive armors glittering like diamonds as they deployed weapons bods from their great bodies. Beyond the walls the low blockhouse of the lab was suddenly covered in what appeared to be the same energy pattern was the War Walls. The Warden rubbed the bridge of his nose at the appearance of this resistance and muttered "great, just ******' great. Wonder how long he can keep that shield up" Then it got worse.
"Boss, the robot's are broadcasting an IFF" The warden's tech specialist projected into his head, "I thought that Agency was a rumor, a lie told to scare bad little spys ."
"Clearly not" the warden thought as the gate morphed one more time, not a ball, but a kind face of an attractive middle aged women. <You gentleman need to return to your idiot masters now and tell them that Dr. Jack Wolfe is off limits this time. He won't be playing this game again. >
"Alright lady, you win for now, but someone runs that....agency" he said gesturing at the battle bots "Someone has got enough pull to make you open those gates. We'll figure it out."
<Well good luck with finding that someone , and have a nice day.>
The bots tracked his troops as they left The Row, driving home the point that they'd been the ones to blink in this standoff. Anger radiated off the them as they entered Independence Port "Boss, we gonna let that old man do that to us? I mean who hell is he working for."
"You want to know what really bugs me Reilly?" the warden
asked "It's not getting stood down by a god-dammed if polite AI and her 'Voltron' wannabe bots; that "factory" screams 'out of control super villain lair' and no one seems to care. Let's not forget the fact that Wolfe just blew us off the entire justice system, if that's not saying "I think I'm above the law" then nothing does. Maybe this "White" guy is right."
At LaGrange point 393, the perfect gravitational balance point between Pluto and Chiron, Jack was working on an solar defense and observation satellite when he became aware of grievous act of law breaking.
<Jack..>
"Karen, what have I told you about breaking the law? 'Specally these big important ones?"
<Jack the fact that we can hold a real-time conversation at 13 light hours clearly means you don't have a proper understanding of the big important laws. Anyway the Longbow types just left, I don't think they are happy.>
"Don't expect they would be"
<What are you going to Jack? It's not as if you can declare yourself a sovereign nation and just ignore US legal system.>
"Actually I considered that, but we'd have to move everything to the island permanently, that would be a huge pain in the ***. There's no tape of me pulling one of these stunts, be too easy to disprove, so I'll just publically pull out. Leave the Angels. Put on a big public display of contrition, that sorta PR ********."
<What? but Jack, you can't that would be..>
"Relax Karen, I'll pull out, maybe get the Legends back on track. The 'clean' angels kin come with us, that's give em cover and someplace ta land. Shouldn't be to a problem, hell it'll probably be a PR windfall and great cover for the rest of em.
"Caios, Rok, a few others, well they gotta go their own way. On paper at least, the Agency knows more than a few things about covert operations and funding. I mean look at what they've done for me. Now let me get back to work."
<Yes Jack>
"Karen, one last thing, throw whoever this "White" guy's opponent is a fund raiser, big one, then buy all the tables. Maybe make him a commercial too, you know "Paid for by Heroes against White" or somethin', no way that ******* is winning that senate seat."
(( as originally posted by Snowdog ))
Dothan Municipal Airport, Dothan Alabama
She wasn't the only one that had gotten off the plane at Dothan. Being that in this part of the south, to go anywhere meant changing planes in Atlanta, the diversion put a good number of passengers closer to their final destination, or some of them there Rachelle thought, watching the US Army Warrant Officers standing in line in front of her at the Hertz rent a car counter. They had reservations, down in this part of the country for duty at Ft Rucker. She, and several other refugees from flight 231 did not. And from the looks of things, there weren't that many cars available for walk up customers like herself. Excusing herself , she got out of the line, stepping out of the terminal into the warm Alabama evening. Should have thought of this earlier she thought as she pulled out her cell phone. These things were supposed to be encrypted Jack said, guess it was time to find out, and just how much trouble she was in.
The phone picked up after a single ring, there was a buzz on the line, for a moment she thought she had dialed a fax machine number by mistake and was about to hang up when a voice cut in Dr Kincaid?
yes?
Stand by, voice print authentication.... she waited , glancing around a bit nervously, hoping than with the footage of Longbow forces being manhandled like a Jr high football team paired in a scrimmage with the NFL that her picture wouldn't be shown. She was a bit distinctive, maybe she needed to find a drug store and get some hair dye before she got much further.
Voice print verified, this is Mr Green in Wolfetech legal, how can we help you?
I'm in-
don't say where you are, we know your location-however while this is supposed to be a secure line, there have been attempted intrusions.
which would explain why I can't get into the network.
Correct Doctor. Longbow forces are attempting to enter your base as we speak, we've filed an injunction however it may be several hours until it is heard. Our closest transport is a Lear 35 in Atlanta that could get you in a few hours as soon as the airspace there opens, there seems to be a massive storm cell in the Atlanta metro area.
She blushed a bit at that uh, that was kinda me.
there was a pause on the other end of the line there are reports of several tornadoes in north Georgia Doctor-
look that cell was building to do that anyway-i just triggered it earlier. Probably less damage than there would have been if it had been allowed to grow for a couple more hours.
perhaps, I am not a meteorologist , but I am a lawyer. I would advise not to mess with any more building thunderstorms until we get all this sorted out.
She grimaced but nodded alright. Whats the status of the others?
we have no reports of any one in custody or injured as of yet. However charges are growing.
looking up at the CNN footage of Caios waltzing through a Longbow strike team, and pictures of the damage to Paragon University where Stern Impact streaked past light speed, literally...I can believe it.
also, Mr Wolfe has left the Guardian Angels-
WHAT? He's not just leaving us out here to-
Calm down Doctor. He left the group as a strategic move, his name will be easiest to clear being he is off planet-once that is done he can provide a safe haven for the rest you. Mister Wolfe does NOT abandon anyone.
She calmed down a bit, she could see the logic in it yet still.. OK, what do you recommend I do?
staying in place is not an option I am afraid. Your name was on the manifest for flight 213, and it was noted that you left the plane in Dothan. There was a longbow team in Atlanta, however they can not fly out and it's a five hour driv-standby please.
Rachelle stayed on the line, trying to listen in, fortunately these lines didn't have the cheesy hold music like many companies did. She heard muffled talking on the other end , and some cursing Dr? We show you as multi-engine rated, have you ever flown a Cessna 310?
uh, I'm not checked out in one but yes-
good. Because Longbow passed along the fact that you can manipulate the weather to the TSA in Atlanta-and now they're putting a warrant out on you.
Great...dammed if I do and dammed if I don't. Why did you ask if I can fly a 310?
Because Wolftech just bought one that was for sale. Wiregrass Aviation, on the other side of the airport. Insurance should be-there, it's covered, and they're pulling it out of the hangar to fuel it now. Get over there and get out of Alabama.
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( as originally posted by Hollowpoint Heroism ))
A few days later...
The Red Mane Armory, Talos Island. 1154 hrs.
The day had been relatively quiet. A few customers here and there, a few interested parties poking their head in to see what the new store had to offer. He'd also done a few repairs and refits as well.
Though nothing much of anything had really occured in regard to Adrian De'Havaland, proving that his concept of laying low had been rather effective...and immensely troubling. The news had been listing off more and more Guardian Angels apparently involved in various criminal deeds of which he knew that so many wouldn't even consider. Everything from extortion and theft to armed robbery and murder...and it got worse.
It was days like this that he cursed his poor fortune. God help him, he wanted to stand up, wanted to fight. Every name sullied was a knife in the chest for him. Deep down he knew that while he could do little to help, it wasn't in his nature to let others fight his battles for him. He slumped forward, palming at his face with both hands, one metal, the other natural, sighing with a weight of morosity that only he could shoulder.
A jingle of the bell attached to the front door of his shop caused him to swiftly lift his head from his palms and blink, watching as five men in red and white came tromping through the front door, weapons slung across their chests as the the Sergeant turned to him, reading off a sheet of paper which he had previously plucked from his belt,
"De'Half-land, Adrian?"
"De'HAVALAND. Where the hell did you learn to read?"
The Longbow Sergeant, a Sergeant Donovan by his tag frowned sharply and nodded "Right. Mr De'Havaland, we're here on behalf of Captain Sp.."
"Spangler, right? Yeah, heard about him on the news. Him and that Congressional hopeful White are one some kinda witch hunt. A very SPECIFIC witch hunt, so I hear."
Again, Sergeant Donovan frowned. Clearly this man was either being purposefully difficult, or was in a really foul mood to begin with.
"Yes, Mr. De'Half-"
"HAVA-LAND. It ain't that hard, Sergeant. Really."
Sergeant Donovan was clearly flustered now, while Adrian made with a sly grin as one of the green-horns in the squad chuckled to himself.
"FINE. Listen, We're here to ask you some questions in regard to your departure from the United States two years ago and the connection it might have with the disappearance of a certain Vigilante."
Adrian blinked at that, his face turning to an expression of confusion "There's...lots of vigilante types around Paragon, Sergeant. Which one are you referring to? And what makes you think I might be linked to one by taking a bit of time out to travel?"
"The vigilante we're referring is known as the Shadowstormm. He's wanted for questioning."
Adrian nodded, "Aaah"ing in realisation. "Yeah, yeah, I know 'im."
Sergeant Donovan blinked at that, stepping toward the counter as a hefty growl from a German Shepard followed. Kaiser didn't like that movment. Not. One. Bit.
The shopkeep playing dumb turned to his pet and made calming gesture, smiling with mock appology...which was conveniently mistaken as an ACTUAL appology to Donovan.
"Sorry. Typical German Shepard instinct. Good, loyal dogs, but somewhat distrusting of...strangers. Yeah, I know him. Read alot of articles about him in the paper. Real mean sort. Had a penchant for ******** up badguys, right?"
The Longbow Sergeant nodded heavily and spoke, one of his lackeys trying the tough act. Adrian sized him up, a simple glance putting the brat back in his place. His eyes spoke of significantly more experience than this whelp, that alone was a terrifying prospect enough.
"He's considered to be an..."
"The guy's missing, Sergeant. Don't you read the papers? He was rurmored to be operating in Europe for a long time before he just...dropped off the map. No news, no info. Some folks are saying he's dead, others just don't know..."
Adrian, currently sitting behind the counter folds his arms and shoots the Longbow grunt a sharp gaze "Fact of the matter is, I think that doesn't really matter much to you. Does it?"
Sergeant Donovan blinked, glancing around at his squad before responding
"What...I have no..."
"Don't lie to me. You came down here with the intention of trying to bully a confession outta me with this Gestapo act. Sorry, ain't happenin'. All you got are a vague pair of dates and potentially, if you can pinpoint WHEN the Shadowstormm went missing, a list of several THOUSAND people who exited the country that day on God-only-knows how many different flights. Even if you narrow it down to one, that's still a lot of foot-work considering the several hundred passengers you gotta check through."
Adrian De'Havaland, the man behind the Shadowstormm's mask sat back on his stool, folding his arms and sighing as he continued,
"Y'seem like a good soldier, Sergeant...but you ain't much for detective work. Might want to get some facts under your belt before you leave the office next time."
A dumbfounded Longbow Sergeant AND the no-******** shop owner both sit there, staring at one another a moment before Sergeant Donovan gestures to his squad, heading toward the door
"Th...thankyou for your time, sir. If you have any information, please..."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll call Longbow. Bye."
Amidst the tromp of of hefty boots and red-white uniforms stands a single delivery man, no older than his early twenties going by the scrap of a beard on his chin. He makes sure to avoid the crowd of burly Longbow-types, the owner of the Red Mane Armory limping to the door as the young fellow pulls his hat off, stepping inside the store as he runs a hand through his orange hair and comments "Real hot out there today..."
Adrian simply nodded, acknowledging with a grunt as the lad drags a hefty metal crate into the shop front and holds up a digital signature reader. "I got a package here for an Adrian...De...Half-land?"
Adrian frowned, signing for his package and supplying a thumb print,
"De'Havaland. You're the second person to get my surname wrong today."
"Err..sorry."
"Its fine."
With a nod, he handed back the signature reader and smiled, the young fellow returning to his truck and eventually burbling away in a cloud of exhaust. Adrian looked over the crate, considering it for a long moment before tugging an eleqouently scripted letter from the lid and reading it over...then re-reading it again, just to make sure.
He gazed at the case, almost peering through the metallic lid to its contents within.
This letter, this crate, its contents. They all carried the potential to rewrite his current fate. He needed time. Time to think. Time to reflect.
With a grunt, Adrian dragged the case out of view, whistling to Kaiser who quickly departed his bed and came front and center, his owner slipping on a pair of dark sunglasses before nodding,
"C'mon, boy. We're goin' for a walk. Its lunchtime as it is...and I need to do some thinkin'..."
With that, he hung an "Out to lunch, be back by 1300" sign on the door of the Red Mane Armory, and headed for the northen-most tip of Talos Island. He needed to speak to some phantoms of the past...and hopefully garner some guidance.
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( as originally posted by Snowdog ))
Pocket D
Xenolizard paced worriedly. It had been a hectic night. Shed' hooked back up with Rhonda for a night on the town, who was back in Paragon City for the first time in months after spending time in Japan. Polekitty had needed a break from worrying about her missing little brother, so Amy took it on herself to get her out on the town for an evening. Well out to Pocket D at least, the two of them tended to stand out in most nightclubs in paragon, with Rhonda's fur and her own lizard skin and wings. It was a bartender that had clued them in on what was happening back in Paragon. It was totally insane she thought. Hell, the sword was called the 'blade of justice' for crying out loud, it was semi sentient, and couldn't even be manifest unless it was for a righteous cause-if she had tried cutting open a bank vault with it-it would disappear and all she'd get was a sore hand.
She wasn't able to get through to anyone else, and was waiting in the entrance way from Pocket D while Polekitty stepped outside to check to see if it was clear, and to talk to someone who could help. The two of them (and the sword) had come up with a plan over several cops of coffee to erase the buzz of the nights effects from them-Rhonda's metabolism accelerating pheromones helped a lot as well. She glanced a worried eye on the doorway to Kings Row, hoped everything was going OK on Polekitty's end..
PPD Headquarters
Rhonda sat on the edge of the roof of the PPD headquarters building. Not that she was distrustful of cell phones, but the less folks that could listen in the better. There was a click from behind her, and a familiar voice you know I still get nervous when you sit on the edge like that, even though you can fly.
She just smiled as she got up, moving away from it a bit I know daddy, glad you came.
Detective Randal Evans just smiled tiredly, hugging his daughter things are a madhouse right now, Longbow going in heavy handedly is just making things worse for everyone, your friends in the Angels included. he sighed, running a hand through his graying hair Lacceter told me about the attempt to bring Caios in. He thinks if longbow had let him just go talk to her without them like he wanted, she might have come in to clear her name. The way things went however... he just shook his head I almost feel sorry for Longbow. Almost."
so you don't believe they did it?
Heck hon, I've had most of them in my house for dinner. I can usually tell if folks are decent or not, that's half the job of police work he said with a sigh, sitting down on the edge of a AC unit. it could be a Nemesis plot, duplicates from Praetoria or some other parallel earth, mind control, heck some rogue folks in Crey framed you for breaking into their labs not too long ago.
ah remember that daddy she said, frowning a bit. The Countess had managed to weasel her way out of that one, throwing lackeys under the bus to take the fall.
He nodded, that had caused a bit of stress for himself at the department as well thing is, they're not helping their case by running. But then...longbow is unusually aggressive for some reason. So I can understand it. I mentioned your idea to the chief, and she agrees. If Amy turns herself into the PPD, she stays in PPD custody. I read her FBSA file, it doesn't sound like she's capable of doing what she's accused of. Same goes for any other Guardian Angels that we can get to before Longbow.
Longbow ain't gonna like it.
He stood up, offering his hand to his daughter, helping her to her feet Franky, ah don't give a damn what Longbow likes at this point. We could have sent a couple detectives down to talk to them, and probably gotten a bunch of them to come in quietly to get this cleared up. Now.. he shrugged.
She nodded, pulling out her cell phone where do you want her to go?
Randy thought for a moment tell her to just meet us here up on the roof. There's Longbow down around the building on the ground level, they'd probably try to jump her. Hate to have any more of those idiots hurt due to their own stupidity. We do this quiet, she'll be safe in custody before they know. Just make sure she comes in from this side, so they won't see her over on the helipad on the other side of the building.
Amy was getting worried-it had been a while, when her phone suddenly buzzed with a text message
<X-ppd thumbs up. On roof, come in high away from chopper. Dad will do paperwork. PK>
Well that was good at least. She HAD to clear her name, the sword was most distressed at being accused of such crimes. Spreading her wings before even stepping through the portal, she started beating them for altitude as soon as she saw the light of the morning sky over Kings Row. She was no where as fast as some of the faster fliers in Paragon City, Kelly or Jack for example, but in seconds she was over the tops of the buildings, leaving the ground far behind her. Thousand feet or so should be good enough she thought as she leveled off, heading towards Police Headquarters. There, she could see two figures on the roof on the other side of the building from the helipad, Polekitty and her father. Might as well get moving, at least this would all be over soon.
THOOOM!
Randy's first reaction on the shot was to push his daughter down towards the roof, a fathers natural instinct, pulling his own weapon. There was a scream, then several more. He remembered glancing at the them on a lower ledge of the building in shock...there was no mention of Longbow putting forces there, much less sniper teams. He remembered Rhonda screaming , diving off of the roof, trying to reach the fluttering figure before it impacted the ground, but it was too far...he remembered his own roar of rage into his radio, reporting shots fired, requesting backup as he leapt down onto the snipers, his cowboy boots smashing into the face of the spotter, his 1911 pressed against the shooters head , screaming hands on your head, down now! And worst.. he remembered the sound as Xenolizard hit the ground.
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( as originally posted by TheCheshireCat ))
"Guardian Angels: An insiders view of the superpowered subculture and its effects on society at large" read the display. "Meet the author, Dr. Ellen Timmit. 2:00 PM today!"
The book signing went well, but Ellen was glad that the tour was nearing its end. It wasn't that she resented public speaking, but travelling around the country promoting her book was a much more demanding schedule than teaching ever was.
She was speaking with her publicist, Julie, when the team of Longbow agents approached her.
"Ms. Ellen Timmit?" Their leader said in an authoritative tone. He seemed to be trying to give off the impression that he was a much larger person than he was, which was silly given Ellen's own diminutive stature.
"Doctor." Ellen said.
"Excuse me?"
"Doctor Ellen Timmit. It says so on all the signs around here, dear."
The Longbow officer was not amused by her correction.
"We're here to place-"
"Yes, place me under arrest for the robbery of the first bank of Paragon or whatever such nonsense they've been going on about on the news. I do WATCH the news, officer." Ellen cut him off. "And I suppose the fact that I was provably out of the city at the time of the supposed robbery won't do much to dissuade you either. After all, you have your orders, yes?" She put out her wrists. "Cuff me, then. I'm not going to resist arrest and give you a real crime to charge me with on top of the fake one. Do me a favour and escort me out the back way though, will you? I do have my reputation to consider what with the book launch."
The longbow unit looked a bit unsure about what to do at this point. Every other attempt they'd made to bring in a member of the supergroup known as the Guardian Angels had resulted in a badly injured squad and an escaped fugitive. They seemed genuinely unprepared for what to do in the event that one of them actually gave themselves up.
The Officer said nothing and pulled out a pair of handcuffs which he slapped on the woman's wrists. As they escorted her out, Ellen turned to her publicist. "Julie, be a dear and handle things in my absence, will you?" Julie nodded back at Ellen, a gesture more meaningful than the longbow unit realized.
When longbow had cleared out, Julie reached into her pocket and pulled out a smartphone. She thumbed through the most recent messages, mostly related to the book tour, and found the messages that Ellen had told her about before Longbow had arrived.
<<REZ. CAVE WHERE JEWEL OF HERA KEEPS ENDING UP. CURRENTLY EMPTY, BULLIED LOCALS INTO HELPING SECURE AREA. NEED CLOTHES B/C RUNNING NEAR C VELOCITY IS BAD FOR NATURAL FABRICS. ALSO, ANGRY WELSH WOMAN NEEDS FOOD BADLY. BURNED TOO MUCH PWR ESCAPING. -MES>>
She switched over to the calender application and moved a few things around until she was able to free up time for the meeting. She then tabbed back into the message and typed out a quick reply.
<<Former member Firanima will not be able to make the meeting due to police incarceration. I am her publicist and attorney Julie Brennan and will be representing her in this clandestine meeting. Will bring clothes and food. Hope green is your colour, Mes -Julie>>
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( As originally posted by Killswitch ))
"And so Leroy Brown, better known as Sledge is the first Guardian Angel to be apprehended successfully at the Youth
Center in Kings Row this afternoon. Some Guardian Angels have turned themselves in but the overwhelming majority
remain at large."
Siren Cobalt Domino froze the image of the news cast on the frame of the two screaming children, clawing at the officers while their somber father is taken away. Her single eye quivering with empathy for the man known as Sledge. No one in the room could see her face as it was turned to the big screen, but each one of her men had worked with her long enough to know exactly what was going through her head.
A few minutes of working in near silence later, and an officer braved a report. "Peregrine Unit reports success on squelching their Warden target, madam." Siren turned swiftly, her eye full of rage but her robotic voice remaining that cool monotone. "And what of the injured Psi at the college?"
"Critical condition."
"Director Pearl will not like that. He wants the Angels to be cop killers." She checked her watch. "Soon she will be transfered to another ward where she will be killed by his men. Infiltrate the hospital and ensure that does not happen. Identify Pearl's agents and eliminate them. Be as discreet as you can, but the mission priority is the assurance that that cop remains alive."
She stalked over to a large group of intel operatives looking over numerous views of various parts of the city.
"How is Operation Sharpshooter progressing?" The lead operative took his headset off and stood, "Pearl has units
shadowing all the PPD units as they move to make their arrests. Their cover is that of back up for the PPD officers. We don't believe any of the actual arresting PPD are part of Pearl's unit, and intercepting communiques show that they mission is to soley gather intelligence, not to engage. Our men are in position."
"When the Angels appear back on the grid, strike all the units simutaneously. Those are your standing orders. It will blind Pearl only momentarily but a Rogue Malta Unit as an opposing force will serve as a fitting distraction, allowing the Angels to move without the Puppetmaster pulling the strings. Hopefully it is a big enough window for them to do what needs to be done" She nodded and squeezed her officer's shoulder before walking to the youngest man in the room's console, the dance-pop bleeding from his headphones as he works feverishly.
"How's the video analysis coming along, Delta."
"Tough so far, but the nights young. I gave up trying to debunk the heroes themselves, trying to isolate witness but most of them are either dead already or are ghosts, sleepers."
"And what do you have on White's money?"
The young operative tossed his headset uncermioniously down to his keyboard, rubbing his eyes. "We just finished the hardcopies of White's backers' personell files, as you asked. It's pretty heavy read, just about all those guys have some criminal connections."
Siren's gaze softened on the young operative, "As I would expect anyone anti-hero would be. I think the Angels would be more interested in those faces that are not on the grid."
"Right, yeah. I stacked those faces with no names on the top for ya. You really think one of them is Pearl?"
"I do Delta."
"But why would he expose himself so easily? I mean, Malta has a hundreds of sleeper agents in the goverment already, at least a dozen sleepers in the senate already, why does Pearl have such a hardon to court this guy?"
"It's true we hold the leash of the American goverment as well as many other superpowers, however," she leaned over his shoulder, watching as "Fenix" groped the bank teller as he held her from behind, his other hand grabbing fistfuls of cash. "Holding the leash and controlling the dog are two different things. America is very pro-hero, and if suddenly a third of the senators decided to create a law banning heroes, it would be very out of character. Questions would be asked, people would be exposed." Her eye squints as she taps a few keys, Delta nods.
"But, if suddenly an empassioned genuinely anti-hero politician gets to be a senator riding the tail of a hero crime spree, suddenly everyone is justified to outlaw heroes."
"Correct." Siren pecks a few buttons on his keyboard, zooming in on the screen.
"So Pearl isn't just pissed about being embarassed by the Angels, this is all apart of something bigger."
"Precisely." Her mono-tone voice purred out. Her eye was centered on a handful of pixels on the screen. "What is that man holding?"
Delta snapped back out of his retrospective, typing a few commands. "I dunno lets see. Enhancing...."
Through the chaos of the robbery, through the window, across the street, behind a passing bus, in the reflection of a storefront, a handful of pixels were taking the shape of a...
"Looks like a cameraphone, Madam." Delta say up now, excited. "I can pull his face, get a name if he's on the grid." Siren pulled back to give him the space to type. "Everyone's on the grid," he muttered as the thin, pimply face of the phone-man was displayed on screen while thousands of photos were super-imposed on it. Not just mugshots, drivers licenses, student IDs. "And the winner is...." The database pinged, they had a name.
"Daniel Fairbanks. Looks like he lives in Galaxy."
"Put that name and address in the file with Mr.White's backers. I'm giving it all to the Angels, let them decide their own course."
"Printing it out now, Madam."
Siren beckoned to the mountain of a man standing in the shadows, "Omega." Omega was no tech officer, or intel operative. He was a commando, and was Siren's most trusted agent. When something needed to be done, it was him that did it. "Take the file containing Mr. Fairbanks information, as well as the information of White's backers to the Angels, and deliver it personally to their hands. Take no more than 3 men as back up, and be friendly." A cold finger stretches up and touches his cheek. "Smile."
"What makes you think they will trust us?"
"They won't, but since you will be the first people they have seen that have not tried to arrest them, hopefully they will not try to kill you."
"And if they do try to kill us?"
"Make sure they do not succeed, but do not engage with lethality. Just make sure they get the file."
"How do I find them?"
Siren finally sat down in her center chair, breathing a ragged breath.
"They will find you."
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( As originally posted by Snowdog ))
Paragon Police Department headquarters conference room
It was an ugly mood in the room. Both the longbow shooter and spotter where there, the latter having been tended to for his broken nose by paramedics, the sniper still sporting a rather large bruise on the side of his head from where Detective Evan's .45 slammed up against it. They weren't in cuffs, but from the mood of the Paragon Police that was only a matter of time. Longbow on the other hand wanted charges pressed against Polekitty for assault. Twenty seven of their officers were in the Zig undergoing decontamination, the prison the only place that had a large enough stock of the tomato juice formula used to cleanse the slightly radioactive skunkish pheromones Rhonda used offensively.
Not going to happen DA Jackson Brown said as he shook his head and I'll tell you why. If you REALLY want me to press charges against a young woman who saw her friend brutally murdered by a rogue paramilitary force, murdered while she was on her way to surrender herself to the police for bogus charges put forth by those same paramilitary thugs
WE object to you referring to Longbow that way!
if the shoe fits...you act like thugs. Polekitty flew down and was attempting first aid when one of your goons hit her from behind , literally dragging her away from Xenolizard by her hair-
It was for her own safety! The Guardian Angels are terrorists!
-I am talking here Captain. Whether they are terrorists are not will be decided by a court of law, not by an assassins bullet. But after reviewing the tapes, yes we have everything on tape, I will not be charging Miss Evans in this matter.
this is a federal matter! She was in contact with a member of the Guardian Angels-that makes her a person of interest.
yes, about that Brown said with a bit of a sneer tell me Captain, where are you from?
what does that have to do with anything? I am German-
German. Your assassin is Russian, and the spotter is Italian. The people of this country would not tolerate such behavior from our own sworn peace officers. But you're not , your a multinational paramilitary force deciding who lives and dies on our streets. You made yourselves judge, jury and executioner. I don't know how they do things, in your countries, but here... he motioned to the two accused Stand up and put your hands behind your backs he said, as PPD officers moved in.
YOU CAN'T DO THAT!
The room was close to violence. Being that the people in the room were all law enforcement officers in theory was a bad thing thought the Chief as she stepped into the room, PPD and Longbow on opposite sides of the table. Even more so that the murderous rage was directed at each other. And here she was about to put more gasoline on the fire. But then, it was a bonfire of Longbow's own making. actually, we can. I just got off the phone with Special Agent Saul Dalton of the FBI. He has talked to his boss, and they agree that this is a local matter for city and state agencies. she said, as the cuffs locked on the two accused.
The Captain just glowered this isn't over he said, as he and the other Longbow troops filed out.
no..it probably isn't.'
Crowne Memorial hospital, Kings Row
Polekitty was still damp. they had gotten most of the blood off of her, seems she wasn't the first fur bearing patient they've had, though in Paragon that wasn't a surprise. the dress was ruined though. They'd made her come here after the fight to be checked out, though other than scrapes and bruises on her fists from assorted Longbow skulls, she was fine, physically. Seeing your friend shot with a Barret .50 sniper rifle...then falling over a thousand feet to the pavement on the other hand...that left scars that couldn't be seen on a CAT Scan. She looked at the short little red dress, darker stains of Amy's blood dried on it now, the dress in a plastic bag. The PPD would probably want that as evidence, there were a couple officers outside of the room making sure she had some privacy. There was a knock on the door, and a hand poked through, holding a pair of jeans and a t shirt ah'm back pumpkin, got ya some clothes.
you can come in daddy she said, sniffling a bit. He did, handing her the clothes, his eyes looking a bit red himself, and limping just a bit. Her eyes got a bit wide What happened to your leg?
he just shrugged, reaching up to tug the curtain around the bed closed a bit to give her some privacy to change out of the hospital gown These boots ain't' made for jumping off buildings I guess. Just twisted my ankle a bit when I landed, it'll be OK. Fortunately had a couple of idiots to break mah fall.
Her face got a bit darker at the mention of the two snipers as she stepped out from behind the curtain, the Kelly Lamb concert t shirt a bit big on her. probably better you dealt with those two than if ah had..
Randy smiled grimly heard from the chief on the way back here-DA's prosecuting them both. Murder. Longbows squealing a fit about it, but she basically told them to go pound sand.
It wasn't much, but better than letting your friends killers walk free. Which she half expected before long anyway to be honest, but at least they were trying good was all she said. She looked towards the bag with it's bloody dress again and lost it, she'd been strong up until then, she had to be but now..she sunk to the floor, sobbing, clutching the plastic bag
He ignored the angry pain from his leg as he knelt down, holding her in his arms like he did when she was little as she sobbed why daddy? She trusted me! I told her it would be safe!
i dunno baby he said, damn what folks said about you shouldn't cry in front of your children. Sometimes it couldn't be helped. I dunno. But I'm gonna find out.
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( cont'd ))
Wiregrass Aviation, Dothan Alabama
The Manager of the FBO was close to turning cartwheels. With the economy it had been tough times in general aviation, the sudden buyer for the 310 that they'd been trying to sell for months would definitely help them make payroll this month. He didn't even ask too many questions on why the plane needed to be delivered so fast, just happy that his bank had reported yes the money had been deposited. Snowdog was a bit more nervous though as she looked over the aircraft. She had maybe half a dozen hours in a 310, fortunately plenty in other Cessna types, and they did tend to be laid out the same. At least this one had a modern garmin gps nav system. It was a good looking aircraft though, only 500 hours on the right engine, 600 on the left, and with a full fuel load easily make 1000 miles from here. Wolfetech was paying for the fuel too so she had them top it off, not sure where the mysterious Mister Green would advise her to go.
She was finishing her preflight , as comfortable as she was going to be with this whole crazy day when her phone rang. Smiling at the pump jockey topping off her tip tanks she stepped back into the hangar to answer it hello?
Dr Kincaid, this is Miss White, we have a problem.
don't we always she muttered what is it?
Dothan PD are on the lookout for the taxi you took from the terminal to the FBO, you were seen getting into the cab. Once they find him and find where you were dropped off at they'll be there shortly. Also Military Police units from Fort Rucker are en route as well.
Day just gets better and better...well they might not find the driver for a while.
...you didn't do anything to him did you?
She chuckled no, just gave him five hundred dollars cash to take my bags to the hotel I was supposed to check into in Atlanta. Told him didn't want to give Delta another chance to lose them. He should be halfway to the state line by now.
There was laughter on the other end of the line oh that's perfect, that should buy you some time Doctor Kincaid. Still, the Army unit-stand by. there was another pause while the lawyer checked whatever intel that Jack's organization had, probably better than the CIA's. they've got an Apache helicopter in the group coming to the airport, probably knowing you can fly under your own power, and going to use the targeting systems to search for you. I strongly recommend you be out of there asap.
fine with that, but where the heck am I going?
Round Rock Texas. There's a subsidiary of Wolfetech there, we will have a car waiting on the ramp in Austin. Also...well, there has been a bit of bad news. One of your teammates has been killed.
A chill went down Rachelle's spine, and she gripped the phone tighter who? How?
Details are still coming in, but it appears it was Amy Richardson, aka Xenolizard. The Longbow team that shot her are currently in PPD Custody and-hang on-looks like the PPD is filing charges against them. there was a sigh on the other end of the line this is definitely getting messy. Rachelle, get going now!
she was in shock, but nodded, hanging up the phone and forcing a smile at the ground crew as she stepped out of the hangar. In the distance she could hear the sound of sirens and the whop whop of rotor blades That was my company, I need to get this plane delivered sooner than we thought. Thanks for your help she said as she climbed in.
they stepped back, one hanging around with a fire extinguisher. She ran down the checklist faster than she was comfortable with, holding up a finger and twirling it as she hit the starter for the number one engine. The big Continental kicked over and fired, as soon as the oil pressure was up she lit off number two, as the ground guy pulled the chocks out. Had to play it by the book, and not attract attention she thought, as she flashing strobes of the AH 64 came into view in the distance Dothan tower, this is November six eight five requesting clearance to depart, over.
Six eight five, you are cleared to runway 27, hold at threshold for military traffic, over.
Rodger hold at 27 for traffic. Great , just great she thought as she taxied out, slipping on a pair of sunglasses and a cheap 'peanut capital of the world' baseball cap she bought in the airport gift shop, tucking as much of her long white hair under it as she could. She stopped short of the runway where she was supposed to , trying not to look too nervous.
Warlord 88
The young CW2 in the front seat was excited, this was better than the average training missions he'd been flying since he began his Apache training. He kept the targeting system on the nose of the helicopter sweeping around, as if he could see this terrorist suspect they were after. The pilot in the back seat was more relaxed, he knew exactly who they were looking for-and that she'd probably been long gone by now. Chief Warrant officer 4 Zack Kowalski, who in his other job was known as Knight Raider five six. Director Pearl had contacted him personally, and arranged to get the military assets for this operation. Yet, even with that , she had simply gotten off a plane and disappeared. There were reports of her getting into a taxi and heading east, but things were still sketchy. He sighed, shifting a bit in his seat as he came in to the airport. He was getting too old for this, both the Army and Malta. He glanced around as they came in over the runway, there was a blue and white 310 waiting there for him to clear. Nice looking plane he thought, then frowned a bit at the pilot..he'd seen her somewhere before, but couldn't put his finger on it..
November six eight five.
It was cold in the plane, her own powers lowering the temperature a bit, which normally in an Alabama afternoon wouldn't be a bad thing. She tried to appear relaxed, this is where the army did their flight training, so it wasn't like she hadn't seen hundreds of attack helicopters, really...she let out a breath as it touched down and turned off the runway, almost jumping as the tower's broadcast came into her headphones.
Six eight five, you are cleared for takeoff, winds from the west at 12 knots.
Rodger...say whats all the commotion about?
heck if I know, seems they're looking for some terrorist suspect or something, landed and left in a cab from what I heard.
Saying a silent prayer for the cab driver she turned onto the runway gee, hope they catch them. Six eight five, departing. Advancing the throttles to the firewall, the Cessna accelerated like a scalded dog, leaping into the air.
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.
(( OOC - Prologue
Over the years much has changed, and with the release of Going Rogue major changes are now possible to entire groups as heroes become villains and villains become heroes. As a result those of us former Guardian Angels have gone through a major restructuring, with all new SGs, characters, and story developments. When it came time to put all these things into an in-game in-character context we decided to make something significant out of it.
Here you will find the story of the Fall of the Angels, the rise of Legends, and the source of all new Blood on the battlefield.
This is an ongoing RP taking place right here. We are reposting here to share with the entire server. Feel free to add in your reactions to this IC thread, and for those who want to participate even more just let us know.
))
Caios - Modern. Vampire. Cowgirl, not Catgirl.
Karnage - Monster. Psychopath. Fun at Parties.
FyreShadow - Innocent. Naive. God-like Powerful.
Queen Armitage - Caring. Exiled. and out of Options.