Praetorian Surge - Fiction Thread (IC Only)

Somewhere in Nutropolis

"BlackOut standing by." The womans' voice was as tightly controlled her body; held stiff and erect in her black armour as the white suited man carefully circled her, examining her closely. When he spoke, his voice held a deep, imperious tone.

"You're sure this... operative, will be able to function on the other side of the rift?"

"Absolutely, sire. We've got her in standby right now, but the implants and the AI controlling her are absoutely capable of operating autonomously. We've been running extensive tests over the past few months... She's become very much a media darling."

Nodding, the suited man continued his examination, walking around her slowly. "Capabilties?"

"Of course, sire... She was born a mutant, obviously; latent abilities in energy manipulation as well as metaphorphic potential. We've managed to enhance these somewhat, increasing her potential significantly at the cost of a somewhat reduced operational span."

"How long?" The question was abrupt, a raise eyebrow on his face.

"Five years, six at the maximum."

Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he came to a stop. "Continue."

"Of course. As well as her natural abilities, we have implanted a full endoskeleton cyber-frame utilising an unstable alloy of our own device, capable of mimicing her metamorphic abilities, which enhances her strength and durability siginifantly. She's also capable of full stealth, accelerated healing, and has been programmed with the bio-graphical data of every single citizen currently known to be operating in the Primal's world without consent."

Nodding, Cole looked over at the scientist. "Demonstrate this metamorphic potential."

"At once, sire." Tapping the console before him, he leaned forward and spoke into a microphone. "BlackOut, deploy weapon three baker."

Immediately, BlackOut dropped into a combat stance and her right arm began to bubble and peel. A few seconds later, her lower arm had been replaced with a half meter bar, with a chain and spiked ball hanging loosely from the end. "Ready."

Leaning down to examine her again, Cole rubbed his chin. "Hmm, isn't a morning star somewhat... low tech?"

"Unfortunately, her metaphorphic ability precludes complex transformations. Originally she was only able to do fully biological shifts in her genetic structure. It took several years of experimentation with the endoskeleton alloy before she was able to achieve metals like this; it takes a considerable amount of energy."

Nodding, Cole finally turned and started towards the door. "I want her deployed immediately. The invasion is scheduled to begin in three days, and I want her in place and ready to execute her instructions as soon as we breach the rifts, understood?"

"Yes sire, of course sire."

Meanwhile, on Keyes Island...

Tavish Quist was leaning against the side of the Water Treatment Plant, looking over at the Keyes Reactors. Dressed in the attire of his black and gold uniform, Quist stared over the fenced-off reactors for the longest time, watching the Clockwork and small amounts of PPD patrol the various levels of each towering structure. His peace was interrupted by the sound of mechanical footsteps walking up the pavement to the side of him.

"Tavish Hannibal Quist? Also known as Subject Eight, Powers Division Top Dog and Elite Agent of the IDF?"

Quist looked to his left and saw a man dressed in a golden trenchcoat and a scanner covering his eyes. Part of his face was riddled with visible veins and his legs had been replaced by cybernetic augmentations. Quist grinned, lowering the dark blue shades he was constantly seen with to get a better look. He knew who this man was.

"You're the Evaluator I take it? You look like that sort of type."

The Evaluator remained emotionless, Quist couldn't pick up a flicker of humour or curiosity in what could be seen of his face. Just a cold sense that the Evaluator lived for one thing: His job.

"Agent Quist, I am here to escort you to Lambda Sector for immediete briefing on what your role in the attack will be. Please, follow me." The Evaluator walked past Quist, who in turn pushed off of the wall and began walking alongside his rather dull companion.

"Any idea on the opposition we may be facing? As the Evaluator you must have some information on enemy movements." Quist asked, trying to make the entire walk to Lambda have some colour to it.

The Evaluator simply turned his head to Quist before looking back infront of him, walking along the oddly silent roads of Neutropolis.

"Intelligence tells us that Primal Earth has detected the dimensional breakdown as well. Reconnaissance suggests that they have already had a meeting involving major meta-human groups. There will be strong resistance, but that is to be expected."

"I see." Quist said, looking around the empty streets. It was an incredibly quiet walk to Lambda, even the Ghouls weren't anywhere to be seen.

Finally, Quist and the Evaluator reached the front doors of Lambda Sector; Praetoria's prime military installation, Tavish couldn't help but let out an impressed whistle every time he stood infront of it. The two guards stationed at the front gates gave the typical Praetorian salute, which was returned by Quist.

The Evaluator simply stood a few feet behind Quist, looking at the gates. "Praetor White is waiting inside the facility. He will debrief you on your time in Primal Earth before moving on to the invasion plans."

Quist looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "You're not coming?"

The Evaluator shook his head. "The Emperor has ordered that I remain within the Magisterium during the length the invasion is active."

Quist shrugged and moved through the now-open gates of Lambda Sector. As he strolled towards the facility's underground entrance, he gazed around to see IDF personnel jogging laps in their armour, battle formations being practiced, lines at the firing range for soldiers looking to take out their opponents with the fewest shots and WarWorks robots being repaired and calibrated. As he neared the Lambda facility, Quist turned around for one final look around the courtyard. A smirk formed on his face.

"Oh yeah, we can win this."

Within the facility...

The seers floated around the man, four in total. They were motionless except for their drifting, as still as he was, stood with his arms folded in front of him, head bowed.

Serve. Hunt. Vanquish. Protect. Hunt. Seek. Destroy.

Anyone who passed too near could feel the chilling monotone repetition itching at the base of their brain. The man's head snapped up suddenly, a red glow rising behind his full face gasmask. He seemed to examine himself for a moment, clad as he was in full black and red TEST armour.
"You know what must be done," one seer slurred, visor staring sightlessly at him.
"She is watching you, always," another hissed between clenched teeth.

The man nodded, once.
"Mother will not be dissapointed," he replied quietly, voice rasping behind the mask. "Mother will not be failed. Morden will not fail...."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

The temporal waveform moved and flourished across the screen, key reference points noting the dimensional weaknesses and predicted quantum states for each. As the Zero Strykers, assembled in the deepest sections of the Temporal Vault watched, they knew that despite their efforts, that full scale dimensional war was at hand.

"Their technology differs from the Rikti's does it not?" Phaserbolt was the first to offer his analysis of the situation "whereas the Rikti's physical weakness was re-inforced by their technology, Praetoria uses similar power sources to that of Primal Earth, but on a slightly larger scale" looking again at the peaks and narrows of the Dimensional Rifts it became apparent that despite the weakening of the barriers, that Primal Earth still had an advantage...

Fairness turned to Tsumiju Zero, who as always looked deep in concentration at times like these, "Zero, is this really linked to the actions of Omega Team?" Zero didn't answer before the sound of the entryway doors drew her attention, Soul Storm had returned to the Vault to see the results of the calculations for himself.

"Whoah, these dimensional rifts really are wearing the barriers thin, Omega Team sure went to town when they arrived didn't they!" Soul Storm was his usual casual self, even in times like these he knew a little humor helped. "What do you think they'll throw at us? Warworks? IDF? Those cute girls that float?"

"Whatever it is" Phaserbolt cut back in "The Praetorians are on a time limit, during each of the peaks in the dimensional rifts, their connection to Primal Earth will be strong and allow their regular IDF teleporters to work, but when they narrow, their power requirements will be massive!"

Zero spoke, "It seems that the Praetorian's overconfidence will undo their desire to invade across the dimensional lines." "We Strykers, who have defended those lines for so long will be doing so again, our strategy will be to force the usage of the Praetorian rescources, we know their troops outnumber us, but their ability to bring them to bear at once will their limitation." The Strykers knew immediately what Zero was hinting at, wherever, whenever during the dimensional weakness the Praetorians struck Primal Earth, that they would be immediately faced with the Strykers and the other Heroes of Primal Earth and that victory would not be gained or lost on the battlefield, but in seeing Praetoria's limited rescources wasted on a venture where Primal Earth has an unseen but very powerful advantage.

Unity Station

The lab was, at least being kept tidy. The Pirate Roombas, under Josie's direct control, had made sure of that. Josie herself was dressing, changing out of the hospital gown she'd endured during the surgical procedures. Even while she hunted for her clothes, she was running over the tactical updates on her headware, dictating notes and minor commands as she went.


"Josie, monitors indicate that you overrode the medical restraints." Bodi, as always, was the soul of politeness. "What is the matter?"

"Bodi, you've seen these reports, you know what it means. It's time I got to work." Josie hunted for her boots, while replying to the AI's disembodied voice.

"Do I need to remind you that you are scheduled for at least three more weeks of run-in testing and rebalancing before you're ready to be let back onto active duty?" Bodi was as polite as ever, but there was a stern edge creeping into her voice. "You should probably go back to bed, relax, and let the others handle this."

Josie pondered this for a moment, even as she finally found her boots... and then lost her balance ever so slightly, still unused to the different

weight of her new limbs. Leaning against the workbench, she sighed. "Bodi, I know. Medical rules technically mean I can be removed from duty if I'm still deemed to be at risk. I know I'd normally take a lot more time than this. If the data's accurate though, we don't have those weeks, we have a couple of days before everything goes to hell in a handbasket. If there's risk to me, then it's not as risky as me being sidelined for a fight that's going to take all our resources." Josie had forgotten her boots for the moment. "I've always liked live-fire testing anyway."

Bodi was silent for a long moment, and when she spoke again, her voice was rather less firm than before. "But if I let you go, you might very well get seriously hurt. You might be at a disadvantage because of some design flaw or bug we haven't detected yet. I don't want you to die, least of all because you cut some corners, even in an emergency." She sounded worried now, almost fretful. "I wouldn't like it, and I'd feel responsible." Bodi changed tactics. "Anyway, here's someone who agrees with me." The lab door slid open, and Noodles ambled through. "He doesn't want you to go either." Noodles wandered up to Josie, as if to illustrate the point, licked Josie's toes... and then fell asleep at her feet. "His lack of enthusiasm speaks for itself, right?"

"Bodi." Josie smiled, although tinged with seriousness. "You know very well what we're going to be up against. Some of their tech is years ahead of the mainstream here. That makes it part of my job. Also," she said, ticking off on her fingers, "They're going to need all hands on deck. If someone innocent, someone who shouldn't be involved in this, gets killed because I wasn't there, how do you think I'd feel?" She ticked off another finger. "I
know how you feel. I know why you don't want me out there, and believe me, if this wasn't an emergency, I'd be spending time with you instead." She started to pull her boots on, carefully avoiding the dozing noodles. "Do the maths though. I'm not important in the grand scheme of things. Stopping invaders from another dimension? That's important. You and me... that's important too, but we both know that if I can fight, I have to, and you're going to let me, because you know I'm right."

Bodi was silent for a moment more, and when she spoke again, her voice was almost business as usual, although one could be forgiven for imagining it to be a shade petulant. "Alright, if it is decided, then clearly as OverAI, I must abide by the dictates of necessity. You have at most two or three days to be back to fighting trim, to run what checks and bugfixes we can. If I can be of any help, do not hesitate to enquire. If you need any special supplies for your efforts, then I will provide. In the meantime, I shall be doing the laundry."

Left to her own thoughts, and finally finishing getting her boots on, Josie reflected, and wondered whether AI's could wash their hair for a solid week.

London, England, May 10th 2011
Annette sat in her rooms in the Barrington Club, her knees tucked under her chin, rocking slowly back and forth. She did not look up as the door opened and a slight woman in a maid’s uniform entered and walked closer, frowning in concern.

‘Keeper?’ Jenny said. ‘Annette,’ she added more firmly when she got no reply.

The Keeper of the Wards, Annette Barrington, looked up, pain showing on her face. ‘It’s beginning,’ she said. ‘The barriers between the worlds are coming down.’

Jenny dropped to one knee, a delicate hand resting on Annette’s. ‘We know that, Annette. We need you to be strong, to keep the wards up and us safe.’

‘But… it’s so loud,’ Annette whispered. ‘I can hear it… war… fighting… battle across a million universes. It’s…’ She let out a cry of pain and buried her face in her knees again, Jenny wrapping her arms around the younger girl, unsure what she could do.


Rolando Island
One thing Louise had not considered when she had constructed her new armour was that it would be useful as a fork-lift. The missile she was holding was heavy and she would have been hard-pressed to lift it at all without the motors and synthetic musculature driving the new suit. She watched as the port missile pylon on her ship lowered to operational position and then raised the weapon into position. There was a series of heavy clicks as the latches locked into place and she turned, intending to get the next projectile from the ship.

‘Are you intending to take your ship to war?’ Zorielle asked from near the rear ramp. She was dressed for the island, casual clothes for warm weather, but there was a hint of something steely in her eyes and Louise had the additional disadvantage of facial analysis software which was pointing out mild anger, disapproval, regret, disappointment…

Louise swallowed. ‘No,’ she said and looked up at the missile, then back to Zorielle. ‘I’m sorry, I should’ve asked.’ She paused slightly to allow the older woman to add something, but there was just the stare so she went on. ‘It’s for here,’ she said, ‘in case. If the Rikti put another Mothership into play here, these can take it out without you almost killing yourself. And if the Praetorians open a portal here… the missiles have thermobarric warheads. The staging areas in Praetoria are largely underground and one of these going off inside will probably shut the portal off.’

‘Why did you not tell me before building these?’ Zorielle asked.

‘You might have said “no.” Zorielle, I’m the one person on this island who doesn’t belong. I’m the lone girl among all the couples, and you have children! If anyone’s going to make the mad attempt to avert destruction it should be me.’ Louise swallowed rather heavily again, wishing she had put the suit’s helmet on so that Zorielle could not see her face. ‘I know what it’s like to lose a mother, I don’t want your kids to have to face that.’

Zorielle was silent for a second before turning toward one of the transport platforms. ‘I would be grateful if you would ask before arming your ship next time, Louise,’ she said as she walked away. ‘Apology accepted.’


London
What is it about this place that turns you into an idiot? The voice cut through the noise of battle that throbbed through Annette’s mind. I swear you come here to act confused and lose your belief in yourself.

It’s all right for you, she thought back to Ni, you’re born for this.

You do talk utter garbage sometimes. Or should that be rubbish since we’re in the UK?

Don’t joke, Ni, Annette snapped, I’m not in the mood.

Well, I’m not in the mood for you sitting around like this! We’re here, and I’m useless, because you are needed to handle the wards. If you’re going to be useless here, let me out, we’ll go back to Paragon and carve up Praetorians. Or…

Or I pull myself together and deal with it?

Annette could feel her mental sibling grinning. You know you can do it…

All I have to do is push this aside, draw on Rei… She listened to the howling noise of battle again, not sure whether she could really do this or, more importantly, whether she wanted to.

She still scares you, doesn’t she?

Annette lifted her head and looked at Jenny. Yes, she thought, but this has to be done. She reached down into the dark corners of their shared mind, the place where those parts of Rei which had not totally dissolved lay, and pulled up that part of her that was the callous, indifferent mistress. Rei would send men to their deaths without a single worried thought, and that was what Annette needed now; the resolve to stand and ignore armies dying in front of her. ‘Okay,’ she said aloud, sitting up and uncurling from the seat, ‘I’m ready.’

Preparations

"Weather the storm. Harness the chaos." The order was spoken to the mass of Syndicate, at least forty strong, around him. The speaker was tall, and rather broad. The black longcoat he wore, bearing the Syndicate's logo on its shoulders and back concealed considerable muscle mass under it. Behind dark glasses, eyes blazed with a cold, blue fire.

"We wait here. Our target is wily. He will survive the IDF. He will perish against us. Report."

"We have the provisions you requested, Sir." One of his lieutenants spoke, a young woman with blonde hair and a smouldering look in her eyes. "In the quantities you asked for."

"Good."

"Took me working through the night, but we have satellite internet in addition to the line connection we have. We won't be blind." Another Lieutenant spoke, a sleek and compact laptop held under one arm.

"Good."

"Our defences and sleeping arrangements have been seen to. This place is now a bit more fitting for our purpose." The next said, offering their leader a list of improvements they had made.

He nodded over them after a brief glance, and looked to the last lieutenant.

"We're as concealed as we'll ever be here. I doubt anyone will find us, Sir."

"As much as can be asked for. All dismissed. Get rest now. Need you alert for the attack." Jacob Dalmers said, dismissing them. Turning away, he ran his large fingers over his carefully trimmed beard. It was now a matter of waiting.

---

The pair of cats perched by their pet. He was smart enough not to call him their owner, and they respected that. The white cat, Yang, was curled up against the white and black cybernetic legs, the motors within warming the metal. His bright gold eyes peered carefully at Zahir, then looked to Yin.

The black cat was sat by Zahir's head, resting her chin on the man's dark chocolate hair, regarding his opposite cat.

He is alright. Yin indicated with expression and sound. Just exhausted.

He has been up for days. This is to be expected. Yang replied. His ear flicked. He could have slept in his bed. It is more comfortable for us there. Less tools.

Yin glanced around with as minimal head movements as possible, her grey eyes searching. Zahir had passed out near the rear exit of the Rolando Pound Storage Warehouse, having been up working to fit the defences. The modest warehouse had been reinforced several times over the past few days. The noise Zahir and his robots had been making had roused her from sleep several times. She will be home soon. Yin bunched up a little, making herself smaller. That was their way of describing Maxi, the little Praetorian woman who they permitted to share the place with Zahir.

True. She will. Yang replied, before glancing all around. Will it hold?

Against Praetorian? Primal? Yin questioned.

Both. Either. Yang clarified.

I don't know. I'm a cat. The black cat yawned, before sprawling out as comfortably as she could get against the scientist. I want to sleep now.

Fine. Yang sniffed dismissively. I think it will.

Good. Came the muffled reply as Yin buried her nose into Zahir's hair. It always smelled nice.

---

Even as Josie Ironside slept, curled up next to her, BODICIA's mind was not at rest. Usually she would divert free processor cycles to some varied pastime. There was no time for that though. Both Unity Tower and Unity Station had been whisked up into a flurry of activity. Checks, double checks, triple checks had been completed on all things that could be done.

In the vast expanses of her AI's mindspace, she monitored every Vigilant, every maintenance bot, doing their part. All the androids and gynoids that served the tower had been equipped with assault armour and weaponry in case of a tower breach. The subroutines in their semi-autonomous AI had been updated with tactics and commands. Strategic areas of the tower had been reinforced.

Another part of her brainpower went over the best laid plans of the Unity Vigil and the New Vigilants, offering ammendements to their plans where she felt prudent, and mapping out team placements on the maps she had of Skyway City.'

Even with her processor cores busy, she still felt nervous. Until they saw the tactics their enemy would be using, there would be a question mark over everything, and constant re-evaluations on the newest acquisition of data to make sure no grand flaw had been overlooked.

Movement besides her drew her attention away from the worry, as her Welsh corgi Noodles padded up the bed to nestle between the two. Rolling over, BODI slipped an arm around Josie's waist, peering at Noodles as she thought. The little dog turned his head quizzically, before a soft whine escaped his throat.

"I know, Noodles. I am scared, also."

---

Ryan Andrew's apartment was thankfully rather quiet that morning. Cara was still sound asleep, he hoped. An awake and quiet Cara could be a bad portent. The young leader of the New Vigilants rose from his bed and sunk to the floor. Kneeling on the laminated wood flooring he closed his eyes and spoke, his hands flicking away in American sign language as well.

"Hey Mom, Dad, Thomas. Ryan here. Long time no talk, I know. Been hella busy, but you know that no doubt. Just a quick heads up. Things are going to get pretty bad here, and I know... yeah, I'll be okay. I just want you to watch out for Cara for me? And the rest of the students too. They're all really promising, and... I just don't want anything to happen to them now."

Pausing for a moment, Ryan wondered if he had anything else to say. Shrugging to himself, he continued. "Anyway, I'm going to have a shower and get breakfast, because you'd tell me off if I let a little thing like an invading army get in the way of me smelling handsome and not having a rumbly, rumbly tummy. Love you all lots, so take care and have fun up there. Bye!"

Satisfied with his declaration to the heavens, the young man stripped out of his boxer shorts and wandered towards the en suite, ready to liberally soak under hot water and apply his favourite shower gel.

Vanguard Base, early morning

The target dummy rocked and rocked as it was pummeled by accurate punches. The man was clad in the lower half of his armour and a tan tank top. The cyber-monocle that had replaced his right eye glinted slightly in the light, as he finally took a step back from the target and rolled his shoulders.

"Up early, Colonel?"
Colonel Lyndon turned and smiled wryly to the wep-tech scientist who had stopped by with a newspaper under one arm and a cup of coffee in the other hand.

"Don't sleep much these days, Chaz," the soldier replied, as he began suiting back up.
Chaz simply nodded, placing the coffee cup on the steps and heading down to the armoury.

Lyndon finished strapping into the top half of his armour, leaving the helmet off to drink the steaming caffeine. He half turned as he heard footsteps behind him, smiling as he saw who it was.
Psi Scout Ky'Net bowed his head as he stood next to the Colonel, the lanky Rikti Traditionalist remaining silent for a moment.

"It is: beginning," he said finally, looking sidelong at his companion.

Lyndon simply nodded.
"I know, Ken. And we'll be waiting for them. You in for this one?" he added, looking up. "I doubt people would blame you. The Praetorians-"

"Are as much: our problem as they are: yours," Ky'Net replied with a shift in his expression that Lyndon had come to recognise as the Rikti's mouthless equivelant of a smile. "Restructurists: possibly in league with: Praetorian attacks. That makes it: Our problem too."

Lyndon nodded, glancing up as a heavy hand clapped him on the shoulder.
"We're all in this together, Colonel," the towering red and white robotic being behind him said, as three others joined the little group.
Lyndon smiled. Chief Centurion Z1, the extraterrestrial robotic soldier from the stars. First Lieutenant Kitsune Vixen, field empath-medic and battle psyker. And Gunnery Sergeants Fox and Wolf, also known as Z22 Pyre Fox and X21 Ice Wolf, the Hound Brothers.

The group exchanged a look. One was all that was needed. Without a word they turned and fell into practisced step, the light clank of the Vanguard armour worn by Lyndon, Vix, Fox and Wolf echoed by the heavier tread of the Chief's robotic feet and Ky'Nets Rikti Battle armour.
"For: Peace," Ky'net said as they headed to the surface and the transports.
"For Truth, Justice and Freedom," the Chief finished, red cape catching the wind as they stepped out. "SABRE team; let's get to work."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

Preparations

Cara lay awake in her bed, listening to the soft, muffled voice of her foster dad Ryan as he spoke to his dead family. It had been a long time since she'd heard him doing that, and to hear it now just increased her worry at the coming battle. The words were too muffled for her to make out what he was saying, but she suspected he was probably asking them to look after her and forgetting that he needed looking after as well.
　
Quietly, Cara slipped from her bed and padded over towards the bedroom door, listening carefully before padding over to the window and opening the curtain. Outside, the city was starting to wake up as the sun crept over the horizon. Staring at the bright sun, Cara muttered her own prayer.
　
"I don't know if you're listening... I don't even know if you care about us anymore. But if you do, please help me keep Ryan safe? He cares so much for everyone else, and never asks for anything in return, so I'm asking for him. Help me to make sure he comes through this okay, help me to protect him and all of our friends from what gonna happen. I couldn't bear to lose anyone else..."
　
Bowing her head, she closed her eyes briefly before opening them wide and glared straight into the morning sun with a wild look of determination on her face. "But if you won't help us, then to hell with you, I'll do it myself!"
　
***********************************
　
In the apartment she shared with her husband, Eloise was just finishing pulling her new armour on. Ellie had only just delivered it last night, a near duplicate of her own new armour, and the fit was snug to say the least.
　
Across the small apartment, Mike stepped out of the bathroom, a short towel wrapped around his waist. His eyes wandering up Eloise's slender body and he grinned cheekily. "I do love your sister's outfits... They bring out the best in you."
　
Grinning back, Eloise finished securing the armoured chest plate and then snatched a cushion up from the sofa. Throwing it at Mike, she replied. "Quit oggling me and get dressed, you! We've got a busy day!"
　
Laughing, he ducked the thrown cushion. "Did I say best? I meant beast!"
　
Throwing a glare at him, Eloise stalked over, only to squeak as he grabbed her arms roughly and pulled her into a deep kiss. It was several long minutes before he finally came up for air. "We've still got time... How long does it take to get out of that getup?"
　
***********************************
Several thousand miles above Paragon City, Ellie floating in the darkness of space, her eyes closed as she absorbed the higher concentration of cosmic radiation outside the Earth's natural magnetic shield. Energy crackled around her body only to be reabsorbed again as, within the bubble of energy that protected her human form from the ravages of vacuum, she pushed her capacity as far as she could, storing enough undiluted energy to hopefully see her through the coming battles.
　
Thoughts flitted through her mind as she orbited her home. Images of Jess, Hannah, Yoko, Louise and all the others she cared about, crossed her awareness and her expression hardened with her resolve. She was not going to lose anyone today, no matter what.
　
Simultaneously, dozens of tactical scenarios passed through another part of her mind. The ability to segment her mind had come with the completion of her bonding with Mikoshi, and it was something she had never revealed to anyone, even Jess. Using it scared her as it caused her to detach from her humanity and become something other than just herself; something she'd always fought hard to prevent.
　
Now though, she didn't have the luxury of being human, emotional, vulnerable. Now, she had to be as strong as she could be if she was going to not only survive what was coming, but keep those she loved safe as well.
　
Opening her eyes, she gazed down at the curve of Earth far below her feet and her vision focussed on the towers of Paragon City, made tiny by the distance. As long as she'd known them, the streets of her adoptive home had never been truly peaceful. The wail of sirens often shattered the gentle hum of life as emergency after emergency threatened the citizens, and not for the first time, she wondered why people still chose to live in such a dangerous place.
　
Finally, her body charged almost beyond its capacity, she began to drift downwards; descending rapidly through the various layers of the Earth's atmosphere until finally, she landed softly in the plaza before Unity Tower and crossed her arms, waiting.

In the library of the NHU base the light of the candles flickered constantly. The light it self changed colors several times due to the crystal ball on top of a table.
Infront of it the Lady stood, focusing all her power on it.
She went through her past encounters with enemy groups that could use portals.
The Circle? Summoning demons from netherrealms or making portals to elsewhere. This was portals she knew how worked, knew how to stop.
The Rikti? She had never thought she would be fighting the Rikti, ever. Not after the Omega team went through the portal based on the tecks from Portal corp. The Omega team had used their magic to seal the Rikti off, however somehow the Rikti was back again. They used tecknology.

From what she remembered from her dealings with Portal Corp, same principle as magic, just different tools. Unlike magic, long preperation, formula making and making strange artifacts...
She mused and made a slight grin. No, not unlike magic, but like magic. Was not science just a different kind of magic, the magic of the human mind, made manifest in items?
But it was anyway a different world for her.
'Focus', she said to herself. She wanted to add "girl" but did not.

Soon the world was going to be invaded... again. This time by Praetorians. What new tricks did Tyrant and his Cohort bring this time? What strength?
Their goal was simple, just like the Rikti. Take out the heroes... anyone with power and the rest is simple! And Paragon City and the Rogues Isles did hold the largest amount of super powered beings.

So girl, how will a Praetorian invasion be stopped? How do you stop them portals from pumping out invaders? She asked herself.
She answered herself equally quickly. You cannot, not alone!

The why was simple. From the past encounters the Praetorians had managed to get into the city secretly. They had even managed to keep a low profile.
'We simply have no idea how they will enter. Have they managed to make a stationary portal powered from our own world or theirs?' she spoke to herself.
Another question was would the portals be stationary or smaller ones? She had no idea.
In any event each portal if stationary would need the combined force of many heroes, to repel the invaders and destroy. Again... that was if stationary.

----
Several hours had passed and the light flickered still, yet with less intensity.
The Lady was no nearer any conclusion. She had looked at a few rikti artifacts, asked some contacts from Portal Corp and talked to Vanguard.
In the end there was nothing conclusive. She might be able to close or keep one from appearing, but that was it. Maybe a drop in the ocean.

Had she been able to devote an entire year or more then she might have barred them entry? Yes if you where a God she replied to that thought. You'r not! Your lineage is old, your blood is powerful and your knowledge of magic is... considerable. That is truth. But protecting an entire planet was far, far out of anyones reach.
'Lots of power and yet for this... useless!'

She gave a sight and looked at her pendant. It was a simple ornament, a gift from her mother once. Funny she mused. I've not thought about her in... so long. She sat there looking at the pendant for some time.

In the end she put the pendant around her neck again a determined look in her face. No she was not useless, she would do what she could, aid those she could and do her part in defeating any invader that trespassed!

The lights began to flicker strongly.

10/05/2001 – 9:31pm Rolando Island

Michael sat in the room quietly as he watched his infant daughter sleep. It was not his daughter’s usual room; Michael had arranged for temporary accommodation on Rolando Island in anticipation of what was to come. Zorielle had been more than happy to set aside a pair of rooms for his use and not the for the first time he found himself thankful for her friendship. The wards on his flat in the Founder’s Falls district of the city were not designed with open warfare in mind and he was not willing to risk his wife and child in the event they failed. He had already lost Moira once and he had no intention of ever allowing it to happen again.

“I hope you never have to do what I fear I may in the near future. But then is that not what all father’s wish for their children, and all too often we fail in that.”, Michael shook his head sadly and reached out to gently stroke his sleeping daughter’s hair.

“Sleep well a leanbh”

Rising to his feet, Michael left the room in search of his wife.

Unity Tower

“I'll be careful, love. I promise.” Raurí Connell, aka Neit, whispered, giving his wife a kiss as they stood in the doorway to the rooms they had been assigned in Unity Tower.

“You'd better be, or you'll be sorry!” she replied, half smiling. “If you manage to get yourself killed in this invasion, I'm going to find a mage to drag you back so I can kill you myself!”

The tall Irishman laughed and hugged her, “With a promise like that to look forward to I'm sure these Praetorians'll give me plenty of leeway!”

As she watched him walk away, Helena folded her arms across her chest and took a deep breath. She would not cry. Raurí would come home safe and there would be nothing more than a scolding for letting his clothes get torn. Her husband would be fine, her friends and sister in law would not be hurt. There was nothing to worry about.

At least, that's what she would keep telling herself until this was all over.

Taking another deep breath, she turned and looked for her daughters only to find them investigating a vent cover which they'd already managed to half pry off the wall. “Isabella and Esmerelda Connell! What do you two think you are doing?”

Recluse's Tower, Grandville

"You summoned me, sir."

Webmaster Commander Marian King of the Krimzon Guard stood at ease, fully clad in her power armour. The Lord of Arachnos, sat in a special swivel chair to accomodate his multiple limbs, turned from the window and regarded her over steelpled fingers for a moment, before speaking as if finally recognising her.

"Ah. Commander King. Yes, I did." He sat forward, leaning his arms on the black marble desk. "I believe you are aware of the apparently inbound Praetorian incursion?"

"Yes sir, I-"

"Good. You are not to engage them."

There was a genuinely stunned pause. King stood immobile, like someone had simply switched off all her bodily functions. Even her longfang armatures seemed to have frozen.
"Sir?"

Recluse sat back again, resting his elbows on the arm rests and clasping his hands idly in front of him.
"For now, it seems, the majority of activity is aimed at Paragon City. The Heroes," he added, practically spitting the word, "are likely making preperations."

"Yes, sir, but-"

"Let them. Let them and the Praetorians burn each other out. Any damage they inflict is likely of use to us. Repel all comers from Arachnos territory, and the Nerva Archipelago. Await further orders. That is all."

"I...bu-"

"Was there a problem, Commander?" Recluse asked archly, glowing eyes blazing as he fixed King with his unblinking stare.

The Commander stood for a moment, before slamming to attention.
"No, sir. Understood, sir," she snapped.

Recluse nodded, turning his chair back to face the window as he casually waved a hand at her.
"Dismissed."

As King turned and strode out, boots almost slamming into the flooring, Arbiter Daos detached himself from the shadows and moved over to the desk. Placing a thick folder on it from the stack he carried, he glanced across at the Lord of the Rogue Isles.

"My Lord...all evidence of the Commanders character suggest she will not obey that order. She has already developed a personal vendetta against the Praetorian armed forces-"

"Is that so? What a pity," Recluse mused, "So she would purposefully disobey orders to get at the Praetorians?"

Daos paused. The Lord of Many Arms seemed almost amused at the prospect.
"I believe so, my lord. She may well try to avoid detection in her activities...or not, given her character."

"Excellent." An arm reached backwards, stabbing viciously into the folder and bringing the paperwork back over the chair, impaled on the sharpened point. "Keep tabs on her. If she avoids detection, than she is simply becoming even more useful to us. If she does not, then we merely find something for her to do as punishment detail. Something suitably arduous and back-breaking, perhaps involving someone or someones who require the Commanders...personal touch. "

"You mean someone we need obliterated, sir? In a assuredly violent and likely messy manner?"

"Precisely. Unfortunate, isn't it?"

"For someone else, sir, yes."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

Lambda Sector, fifteen minutes to invasion...

Tavish Quist stood in the facility's courtyard at the head of a column of soldiers. Infact, he wasn't the only one. Other columns filled the inside of Lambda and the roads surrounding it were riddled with WarWorks robots. Quist had been taken out of his more convenient and subtle uniform and placed in the IDF armour he wore during the start of his career, albeit with some modifications. Quist looked around to the rest of the soldiers, their faces fixed on the space infront of them, waiting for the signal to 'port over to Primal Earth. Soon, the first column of soldiers began disappearing in a brilliant blue light which slowly worked its way across the courtyard. As he stood there waiting for his time, Quist reflected on his meeting with Praetor White...

"Ah, Quist! Welcome back home!" The Praetor extended one of his behemoth fists, holding it out in a friendly gesture towards Tavish who took and shook it, somewhat cautiously.

"Always a pleasure to serve the Emperor, Praetor. That Evaluator said you'd be briefing me on my mission?"

"That's right." White beckoned for Quist to follow him, strolling inside a lift leading down to Lambda's labs. The Praetor pressed the third floor button and the lift doors closed.

"So, what am I smashing up? Portal Corporation? That power plant that utilises demon energy?" Asked Quist, eager to know what exactly his mission was.

The Praetor simply laughed. "Tavish, we ain't sending you on the frontlines for this one. You won't be much use to us if you end up dead because of those punks in Primal. I got something else in mind for you."

Quist raised an eyebrow, looking up at the towering Praetor. He was about to open his mouth when, suddenly, the elevator doors swung sharply open to reveal a group of Seers surrounding several unconcious members of Vanguard and Arachnos. The Praetor walked out of the elevator with Quist following behind.

"These, Quist, are Primal punks we managed to swipe. Tilman's had her girls mindwash them. You know what that means right?"

Quist nodded. "They act normal but have an undying and secret loyalty to the Emperor. It's something they can spread to others too."

The Praetor grinned and walked over to an orange tinted screen which showed a map of the Isles. After typing a few keys, the orange was broken up by small red dots. "These are your targets, we'll deploy you to a different location than the main force. Take a squad of four men and raid these locations. When you're done, radio in back here and we'll open a small portal to bring one of the Mindwashed guys through. Make 'em look like a survivor of the raid or somethin' like that."

Quist nodded along, his mouth half-open in interest. "Am I the only one with this sort of special honor, Praetor?"

White laughed, shaking his head. "Other Powers Division and super-powered folks are also involved, but I ain't able to give you any more info than that. You just concentrate on getting the Mindwashed in place, that's your job."

Quist soon came back to the present as the teleportation light engulfed his legs and made its way up to the rest of his body. It was a few brief moments before the light dissolved and Quist found himself in an alleyway in New Haven, Cap au Diable along with two IDF Rangers, a Seer Auger and a large and imposing BCU.

"Alright squad, follow me. This is for our Emperor!"

Invasion commencement +10 minutes

Major Jeremiah Stark led the rest of his squad through the shimmering portal and allowed himself a savage grin of triumph. This was the day when he and the rest of the IDF proved Cole’s vision supreme, and got to stomp on some super-powered nancy-boys into the bargain.

As they emerged from the other end of the dimensional portal he brought up his right arm and armed the energy pulsar built into the power glove encasing his forearm. “Alright men, here’s how we do things. Olivier and Wicks you are perimeter detail, Veni and Reynolds get that portal support generator up. Everyone else, if it moves shoot it”

“Yo boss” chimed in Sergeant Wicks “got something odd here”

Glancing over Jeremiah noticed a rapidly spreading fog bank that appeared to be enveloping his squad’s arrival point.

“Probably just some sort of side-effect of the portal, the science guys said the tech wasn’t totally stable. Don’t worry abou-“

Another voice cut him off, one that seemed to come from all around them

“I don’t suppose I can convince you gentlemen to turn around and go home to call this foolishness off?”

“What the?...Who’s there? Show yourself!” barked Jeremiah to the fog bank surrounding them and triggered a couple of random shots from his glove pulsar into the swirling mist.

“I didn’t think so.” The voice continued “still, last chance offered. Turn around and go home.”

“Like hell we will. We are here to spread the glory and order of Emperor Cole to your pathetic little world.” sneered Jeremiah, “Now why don’t you come out from wherever you are hiding so I can blow your head off?”

The voice from the mist sighed once in resignation “It appears that reason and appeals to whatever conscience you possess are not going to work. So be it.”

Whatever reply the Major may have had was permanently forestalled by the sudden explosion of silver-blue flame that engulfed him and the entirety of his squad.

----

Michael Maxwell, aka the White Warlock, watched as the humanoid outlines stopped thrashing and grew still. With a single gesture the roiling silver flames snuffed out as if they had never been, leaving only melted ceramic armour and charred flesh as evidence of the Magefire’s former existence.

With a sad shake of his head, another gesture saw the bodies vanish and the mist begin to disperse.

“I think that Bertrand Russell said it best”, Michael remarked to the empty air “that ‘War does not determine who is right, only who is left’. Damn foolishness the lot of it”

With a soft pop the figure vanished leaving no trace as the mist dispersed, leaving only a covering of dew on the now blackened concrete.

(( More like post-invasion fiction, so I've put it elsewhere and I'll link it here. ))

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...89#post3634989

(( Besides, I didn't want to impose on the displays of awesomeness. ))

Cap Au Diable, the morning before the invasion

Elizabeth could be found in her laboratoria. It was a place that could have been taken from an old Bela Lugosi movie. Copper pipes run along the walls to big containers... and exposed electricity was ocassionally lighting up the room. On the stone slabs where two bodies... one obviously Rikti... the other human. The remnants of a red and white Longbow uniform was still visible. Tubes flowed into their veines the needles sticked on with tape.

The Longbow seemed unconcious even though he shivered with pain... but the Rikti was cursing her in his own language. Elizabeth simply smiled and took a vial of the table marked 'Version 2.5a 10-05-2011'. With her other hand she connected the vial of potion using an old multiple-use BD Vacutainer to the tubes. Slowly the potion... a mixture of magic and science... entered the blood of the two beings. At first there seemed no reaction at all. Then both testsubjects began to shake. The Longbow gave a small scream and woke up... his eyes wide from fear. He looked to his side and saw the Rikti who stopped cursing and was shaking his whole body. Then a reaction started and the skin of the Rikti began to smoulder and dissolve until only a puddle of organic mesh was left. A process that only took a minute or two.

The surviving human began pulling his restrains again. Slightly annoyed with him the vampire-witch turned to him and broke his neck in one fast move.

She was pleased though. The serum she and her scientists had developed was able to directly kill a Rikti extremely efficient without killing the humans. Ofcourse the hostbody of the Rikti died... but that was not her concern. That body was lost to her as food scource anyway. It would have been better thouogh if it was airborn or had some other easy way to spread it out. That was the reason why she had given a sample to Edward Mechano. If the Rikti would use the weakened dimensional borders too they would be in for a surprise.

She nodded to one of her servants in the corner. It moved his undead limbs slowly... understanding that it was his job to clean up and drain the human body of his life-bringing fluids at the same time.

While she walked back to her chambers the Lich Vladimir came down the stairs which connected the castle area to the house on top. In his hand was a letter. He handed it over to the countess with a small bow. "Mistress... this was just delivered!"

Elizabeth opened it with her nails and read it carefully. The letter was from Edward Mechano! No news yet on her sample... but a location. The invasion would come in the open now and all involved would gather. She nodded to Vladimir... "Warn the others!", she said.

The letter gave the location of the Krimzon Guard base... as was the pre-battle meeting location. But her Arachnos spies had already warned her that they where forbidden to interfere. Stefan was not letting his men get involved in this attack. So someone was bending the rules here. She passed her throne in the direction of her office and held the letter to her lips thinking. The Guard was following their own agenda... and Recluse obviously hoped his enemies would get themselves killed in defence of the Isles. That was interesting intelligence to say the least.

Tonight she will be at the meeting... She and her Court will fight, and they will win! But she was sure that this attack was only the beginning. The beginning of an invasion the world had not seen before.

Peregrine Island, Invasion +30 minutes

It all seemed to be passing in a blur. No sooner had Ellie teleported in to Peregrine, responding to the alert call from Vanguard, than she'd been attacked by a squad of huge robots, the Goliath class WarWalkers she'd read about, and dozens of heavily armed soldiers.

She wasn't alone, of course. It was difficult to tell in all the smoke and flashes of energy, but there seemed to be at least 50 other heroes in this current skirmish, and with more of the enemy arriving in a steady stream, things were starting to look grim.

An enemy trooper, wearing a cluster missile launcher like some kind of body armour, took careful aim at her as Ellie tore the head from one of the smaller WarWalkers. Data suddenly appeared on Ellie's tactical displays, warning of multiple incoming warheads and instantly she responded. Flipping into the air, Ellie's body span and twisted as her claws sprang from her fingertip. With an astonishing display of agility, she dodged every single incoming warhead, and as each passed, a clawtip or eyebeam flashed out to destroy it. Three seconds later, the missiles destroyed, Ellie's boots slammed into the trooper and drove him through the side of a building.

A moment later, Ellie crawled out of the hole and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, a trickle of blood welling up from a jagged cut. A low growl of anger rumbled in the back of her throat and she threw herself back in to the carnage.


************************************************** ****************************

Atlas Park, Invasion +40 minutes

Eloise grunted as the WarWalker fell backwards, barely having time to catch the machine before it could crush her into the pavement. Sweat, grime and blood marred her pale face as she grimaced with the strain, and with a yell of anger, threw the disabled robot at one of its fellows.

Around her, hell seemed to have come to Atlas Park. Over a dozen of the massive machines covered the entire plaza in front of the town hall, and from the sounds of it, several had appeared inside the building as well. As well as the robots, dozens upon dozens of heavily armed combat troops were sweeping across the plinth, and Eloise let out a rallying shout.

"Don't let them through, everyone! We have to push them back!" Dark energy erupted around her body and she leapt into the fray. Powers she's sworn to never use again came to her unbidden, and she use them without remorse. Ripping the life energy from several of the enemy around her, she used it to fashion dark shadows of the enemy, which immediately began to add their power to her own.


************************************************** ****************************

Skyway City, Invasion +90 minutes


Cara panted heavily as she took shelter behind the damaged building. On the other side, unimpeded by any of Paragon's defenders, a group of 3 of the giant robots stalked down the street, opening fire at anything that moved. Alongside them, a dozen or more of the armoured foot soldiers were adding to the carnage.

Keying her comlink, Cara panted into the pickup. "Burned Ice here... I've got a squad of enemy at my location.. 3 Goliaths and a load of solders heading down the street. They haven't seen me but I've been seperated from my squad..."

"Cara, this is BODICIA. Teleport grid for your location is currently offline. I am despatching reinforcements to your location, ETA 30 seconds. Do not engage, I repeat. Do not engage."

Panting heavily, Cara wiped sweat from her brow. "I ain't going nowhere, just hurry them up, 'kay?"


************************************************** ****************************

Peregrine Island, Invasion +130 minutes

Ellie was exhausted, but she didn't let that stop her. Having been forced quite some time ago to shift to her most powerful 'beast' form, she'd been unable to disengage from combat now for over an hour and the strain was beginning to take its toll. Already, she'd had to drop down to her intermediate form which, though it retained most of the power of her beast, wasn't quite as formidable, and she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to hold this form either.

A woman's voice suddenly sounded behind her, making Ellie spin around as she despatched one of the combat clockword androids. "Well well, what -do- we have here?"

A tall woman was stood behind Ellie, backed up by a large number of enemy troops. Purple clad, the woman had long flowing hair and a low cut bodice that only accentuated her impressive chest.

"Some kind of catgirl robot, perhaps? I don't sense a mind within you, so you must be... Neuron -will- be interested, though I -don't- imagine Bobcat will like you -at- -all-..."

Snarling, Ellie fired back a quick retort. "I'm no robot, *****... But I've heard about YOU... You're that psycho they call Mother, the one that likes to screw with people's heads. Well, that's not going to work with ME!" With that last yell, Ellie sprang forwards, her claws sliding from her fingertips as she threw herself at Tilman, intending to tear her to pieces.

WHAM!

The blow felt like a truck had slammed into her, but if it had, it might have hurt a little less than the reality. Ellie didn't even have a chance to register what the impact had been though, as another powerful blow smashed her falling body face first into the sidewalk, cracking the concrete slabs from the force of her impact. Dazed, Ellie shook her heard and peered up at her attacker. A Goliath class WarWalker, and the barrel of its huge cannon was pointed right at her head.

Laughing, Tilman turned on her heal and headed towards a nearby group of heroes. As she left, she called out over her shoulder. "I -really- can't be bothered to play with the local wildlife just now... Kill it."

Energy began to build in the massive robot's weapon, and Ellie knew she had no chance of surviving a direct hit. Rolling on to her back, she looked straight into the barrel of the huge weapon, and uttered a prayer as the light in her eyes flared brighter than it ever had. Thrusting her hands into the air, she used everything she had to pull in energy from the very air around her, ripping power from the very fabric of space as she readied the deadliest weapon she had. An instant later, a thick beam of energy burst from her outstretched hands and slammed into the machine, burning a hole straight through its chest and frying the circuitry inside beyond repair. No sooner had it hit, than the beam jumped to dozens of nearby targets, hitting one after another and blasting them off their feet.

Almost as quickly as it had begun, the beam winked out and Ellie lay panting up at the evening sky for several seconds before she rolled over on to her front and surveyed the scene around her. The Goliath that had been about to kill her was smashed, and more than a dozen enemy soldiers lay dead and smoking around her. Others, injured by the blast but still alive, were groaning as they tried and failed to stand, but of Tilman there was no sign and further down the street, more enemy soldiers had arrived to engage the city's defenders.

Pushing herself to her feet, Ellie groaned softly and started to head towards them, her feet stumbling slightly from fatigue. Muttering to herself, she headed back into the fight. "I hope you're having more fun then me, Jess..."