ERA of Challenge #2: Bioshift

Chapter 1: Another Door Opens...
Several Weeks Ago
The Hideaway, base of operations for the Breakouts
Derek was pacing back and forth in the main room of the Hideaway. He was alone, again. Only this time it seemed permanent. Halfway was dead, Webspider was MIA, and Hideout was nowhere to be found, which technically was not abnormal for him, but Derek didn't think he'd be seeing him any time soon. He frowned. He didn't know what to do without his teammates. He was good at a lot of things, but thinking and planning were not on that list. Derek looked around. The Hideaway, with all its high tech amenities that had been "acquired" during their run as the Breakouts, felt emptier than ever. His eyes came to rest on the "Breakputer" as they had called it and he smiled as he remembered the time he and Halfway had been researching the Fab in Grandville. Derek shook his head, remembering that those times were over and he was on his own now.

"Nuts." Derek said to no one but himself.

In an effort to take his mind off his situation, Derek decided to do what he did best: punch things. Who knows, maybe he'd even find something expensive to pawn off for some much needed cash. As he exited the cave that hid his base, he thought about who to beat up first. The Goldbrickers might be fun, but their sonic cannons could bring him down quickly if he wasn't careful. The Council could use a beating, but they tended to carry very little money on them. And even Derek didn't have the balls to rough up Arachnos given his current situation. Derek was too busy thinking about who to beat up, that he had no idea that he was being watched.

Derek soon found himself at the gates of an abandoned scrapyard in Sharkhead Isle. The Freakshow liked to hang out here, looking for anything to improve their cybernetic enhancements. Most people had the sense to stay away, but not Derek. He crashed through the gates and ran into the middle of the yard, his muscles shifting and growing as he did so.

"Hey Freaks," he called, "your moms are so ugly, they make you guys look like fashion models!" It was a lame joke, but it worked. All of a sudden Freaks started emerging from behind piles of scrapmetal and from inside their ramshackle buildings. In no time, a gang of about 30 Freaks had assembled.

One Freak whose body was almost completely replaced by metal, presumably the leader, stepped forward, "You think you're tough? Comin' into the Freaks territory and insulting our mothers? You're goin' DOWN bro!"

Derek simply smiled and motioned for them to bring it. Both parties rushed to meet each other. Derek opened up with a crushing uppercut, sending the nearest Freak flying. He started swinging his fists, smashing, crushing, and blocking whatever came close. Unbeknownst to him, a man stood on the roof of the building across the street from the scrapyard watching the ensuing battle with a smile on his face.

Derek wiped the sweat from his brow as the last of the Freaks fell to the ground. The Freakshow was always fun to fight, because they usually got back up for a round two. Derek looked up to see a man walking towards him. He was clad in a pristine white suit and he carried a cane made of some dark wood, Derek didn't know what kind. He looked rich and out of place in the slums of Sharkhead, but the weirdest part was that his eyes burned a bright red. As the man got closer, he gave Derek a slow clap.

"That was quite a show, Mr. Prewitt."

"Um, thanks?" Derek wasn't sure what to say, "How do you know my name?"

"Oh I know a lot of things, Mr. Prewitt. I know who you are and what you can do, and most importantly, I know that you need me just as much as I need you."

Derek still didn't know what to make of this man. The mystery man withdrew a business card from his suit pocket and held it out for him. "Here's my card."

(Well if you click the links, it'll take you to a bunch of pictures! But I somewhat agree.)

Johnny Turbo | Phanto
THE CHALLENGERS: Challenge Accepted
HONORARY MEMBER: WARE.gov (Said I couldn't officially join because I'm too good at PvP)

(nod nod , I just thought its a shame it was dropping off the front page as its good readin )

Chapter 2: Friends Like These...
2 Weeks Ago
Port Oakes
"Come along, Mr. Prewitt. We have a schedule to keep"

Derek followed the man, who had introduced himself as Sebastian Kain, as they walked through the Slums of Port Oakes. He had spent a lot of time with Kain this past week, acting as his personal bodyguard during their outings. For the first few days, Derek had been content with just following Kain around while he convinced people to join him, but he was beginning to get annoyed with Kain's enigmatic behavior.

Derek stopped. "We've been all over Paragon City and the Rogue Isles this past week talking to people for your super secret thingy. When are you just gonna tell me what this is all about, man?" He asked in exasperation.

Kain turned to look at him. "Forgive me, Mr. Prewitt, but I did not explain my plan to you because I did not think you would understand its many intricacies."

Derek gave him a funny look. "I don't really know what 'intricacies' means, but can you just tell me about your plan?"

Kain shook his head, but continued nonetheless, "Mr. Prewitt, all you need to know is that ERA can, and will, provide everything you have ever wanted."

The answer wasn't what Derek had wanted, but he didn't pursue it. If it were anyone else, he would have argued, but there was something about Kain that made him think twice. It wasn't that he didn't think he could beat him in a fight, it was that he didn't think he wanted to try.

Derek instead turned his thoughts to their surroundings. They were in a shanty town, which was strange. The other people they had talked to had usually been living in nice large mansions. Derek didn't think Kain would even bother with someone living in a place like this. He wondered what made this candidate so special. Was he a super genius? Did he have some sort of magical power that would be helpful to their cause? Whoever this person was, Kain had a good reason for seeking him out, not that he'd let Derek know.

"Ahh, here we are."

Derek stopped just short of bumping into Kain. He looked up, hoping there was something that could tell him why they were there, but it was just more of the same. It was just another crudely built house. They stepped inside to see a man behind a desk. He was unshaven and dirty, but he still looked somewhat familiar. Derek knew he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't quite recall where.

"You sure have seen better days, Mr. Desk...."

Wait, Desk? Unless Kain was referring to the desk the man was sitting behind, this was the same Desk that had been hired to assassinate him and his teammates in the Breakouts! Derek thought he had been killed, but he had survived somehow.

"Wait, did you say Desk? You want this guy to join us?" Derek asked incredulously.

"Indeed, he would be a valuable asset to us." Kain answered.

"But he tried to kill me and my teammates!"

Desk finally spoke, "Eh, what? Who're you?"

"I'm Bioshift, the guy you tried to kill, remember me?"

"Man, I've tried to kill a lot of people. Nothin' personal though, a'right?"

"Nothing personal my ***." Derek said as he swung a fist that connected with Desk's face.

Desk clutched at his nose as his head snapped back. His other hand had already morphed into a large mahogany desk, but he didn't even get a chance to swing it because Derek had already delivered a punch to his gut. Desk collapsed, clutching his nose and stomach and moaning in pain.

"Look bossman, we can't have this guy around. He's not loyal like me. Plus he's weak and has a lame superpower." Derek tried to persuade Kain.

Kain looked down at Desk, then back to Derek, "I'm inclined to agree, Mr. Prewitt. His presence would cause nothing but in-fighting, and that is something I simply cannot allow."

Kain started to walk out. He got halfway through the shanty town before he looked back to see Derek still looking down at Desk angrily.

"Are you coming, Mr. Prewitt? Like I said, we have a schedule to keep."

Chapter 3: Calling the Clanceman
5 Days Ago
Castle Blitzman
Life was pretty good. Derek had been a part of Kain's new era for about two weeks now. He had spent those two weeks acting as Kain's personal bodyguard, as well as the heavy lifter as the members of ERA worked to set up their base of operations. Now he was lounging around in some European castle hidden in time. As far as Derek was concerned, he had it pretty good right now, but there was still something bothering him. Despite the fact that it was the complete opposite way around, Derek still felt like he had abandoned his friends and teammates in the Breakouts. If he were a good friend, he would at least try to let them know what was going down. Derek knew that he couldn't get in touch with Halfway or Webspider, but Hideout, Hideout was still out there somewhere.

Hideout's real name was Clancy Callahan. He was a mutant with the ability to render himself invisible, which came in really handy as a cat burglar. Clancy had ditched the Breakouts at the first sign of trouble, but Derek knew that he had kept a lot of things from his time in the Breakouts, he only hoped that his cell phone was among those souvenirs. He picked up his phone, and dialed.

"Clanceman?" Derek asked after he heard someone pick up.

"This better be damn important. Speak fast." Clancy answered roughly.

"Ahh! You're not dead yet! Awesome. Hey listen, something big is goin' on. I want to know if you'd be interested in getting involved."

"I don't want in on anymore of your hair-brained schemes, Derek."

"It's not mine! I'm not running it, man. And it's much more than just a job, Clancy."

"What'd I tell you last time you brought me into one of those things? Remember what happened? Tannenbomb got pinched and Queen Condor's still in a wheelchair."

"This is different, Clanceman. It's big."

Derek heard Clancy sigh. "No more costume gigs, Derek. I'm just a thief. I'm done dealing with mad scientists and superheroes."

"You gotta' wisen up, Clancy. The world's getting smaller. Men like you aren't going to be able to operate solo anymore. You're earning table scraps compared to what everyone else is pulling in." Derek countered. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was annoy Clancy.

Derek figured he'd give Clancy some time to think about it. "Listen. Think it over and get back to me. A new era's starting, Clanceman. You gotta' pick a side eventually."

Feeling better about himself, Derek hung up. His old friend had promised to think about it, not in so many words of course, but he was confident that he had piqued Clancy's interest. Derek put his phone down and leaned back into the couch.


Derek was busy hauling a new teleporter into the castle when he got the call. He picked up.

"Derek? Yeah, it's Clancy. I'm in."