Paragon's Darkest Hour

In the 1930s, the Depression took hold of America, and with it, a rise in crime and corruption. Every other politician was corrupt, and every other man on the streets a thug in the employ of a vast criminal conspiracy. But there was no chaos in the streets, no great loss of human life, and the first Freedom Phalanx was able to defeat the enemy after six long, hard years of crimefighting.

This was not Paragon's darkest hour.

During World War II, the 5th Column hid in the shadows of Paragon, causing massive loss of life and spreading chaos with each of their vicious attacks before vanishing once again into the shadows. But ultimately, they failed, the efforts of the First Hero Brigade, the Dawn Patrol, and other like them checking their every advance.

This was not Paragon's darkest hour.

At the end of the war, Nemesis seized control of the capital city and released nerve gas all across the nation, threatening to kill tens of millions if the antidote was not recovered, and killing dozens of heroes in the ensuing battle. But his reign was incredibly short-lived and the antidote was successfully distributed to all the afflicted cities, including Paragon.

This was not Paragon's darkest hour.

A nuclear escalation between the US and the Soviet Union set off by a tactical nuke deployed on Statesman during an international rescue, barely checked by the Dawn Patrol and Freedom Phalanx. The rise of superadine throughout the 70s and 80s. The attack of the Reichsman. The sudden surge in super powered crime surrounding the arrival of Hero Corps and its support by Crey Industries.

None of these were Paragon's darkest hour.

On May 23rd, 2002, at approximately 7:30 PM EST, the Rikti attacked. Causing immense damage worldwide and, for the first time, placing Paragon City firmly behind enemy lines for months, it took the sacrifice of thousands of heroes and the near-total annihilation of the Freedom Phalanx, Dawn Patrol, and Hero Corps to finally follow them back into their home dimension and shatter their will to fight. Finally, on November 27th, over 800 heroes gave their lives to make the decisive strike. But this was only the beginning.

Ragnarok had begun.

Following on the heels of the first Rikti War, before the city had even recovered from the devastation of the war on Baumton or the recent Hollowing in Eastgate, the supervillain Faultline tore the neighborhood of Hollowbrook apart with his earthquake machine, causing a devastation that the area has even now only begun to recover from. Hamidon consumed the unsuspecting suburb of Woodvale, its advance barely kept in check by heroes. The Banished Pantheon overran the town of Astoria, seeking to revive the ancient god Mot.

Over the next two years, the almighty Rularuu attacked Paragon City from his own dimension, his infinite might barely held in check through serendipity as much as the combined efforts of the hundreds of heroes who arrived to fight against him. The Council fought an open and bloody war in the streets against the 5th Column, their stronghold of Striga Isle looming over Paragon.

In 2005, before Eastgate or Overbrook or Baumton could be rebuilt, before Perez Park or Woodvale could be reclaimed, before Venice or Astoria could be restored, things grew perhaps exponentially worse, as the villains of the Rogue Isles began slipping into the city in vast numbers, robbing banks and causing general mayhem on a regular basis, brought on by a massive jailbreak out of the Ziggurat staged by Recluse in his search for the Destined One who would make him undisputed ruler of Paragon City, while Arachnos and Longbow fought openly for control of Siren's Call, recently devastated by the death of the hero Sunburst, and the threat of toxic annihilation from Warburg would be an unceasing possibility until modern day.

In 2007, the Rikti returned with a vengeance, opening up the war for Paragon once more and again turning the city into a warzone for months. Throughout the year 2010, whispers came that the alternate dimension of Praetoria, a super powered threat to the city for years, was now planning to invade Paragon and seize Primal Earth once and for all. Preliminary skirmishes were fought between supers and many poured into Ouroboros and Praetoria, seeking to embrace their new Incarnate abilities, leaving Paragon all but undefended...

The Shivans attacked. Galaxy City was added to the list of regional casualties in the Ragnarok that had begun more than a decade ago. Mot awakens, and with this, Astoria is perhaps forever lost.

Such is modern Paragon. Half the city lies in ruins. The Banished Pantheon, the Rikti, the Praetorians, the Devouring Earth, Arachnos, and more besides still threaten the safety and stability of the city every day, kept in check only by a constant flow and constant sacrifice of heroes.

And even as Paragon's enemies multiply, Statesman, the eternal protector of Paragon, the man who had seen the city through all of its previous crises, was killed, leaving Paragon with no match for the ruthless and determined Tyrant. Not even Statesman was strong enough to weather this storm. Not even Statesman could survive Ragnarok, let alone see Paragon through it.

This is Paragon's darkest hour.

Great story, i enjoyed it very much!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RuthlessSamael And even as Paragon's enemies multiply, Statesman, the eternal protector of Paragon, the man who had seen the city through all of its previous crises, was killed, leaving Paragon with no match for the ruthless and determined Tyrant. Not even Statesman was strong enough to weather this storm. Not even Statesman could survive Ragnarok, let alone see Paragon through it. This is Paragon's darkest hour.

My basketball coach taught me that there is no I in TEAM, and that's why Statesman died, he went in alone.
If he just waited a minute or two, you, he, she, they or I'd be by his side. He would still be alive if he waited.

That said, WE will stand strong. WE will watch over Paragon City... WE WILL WIN. We'll win this battle, we'll regain full control over the City..
As long as WE remember.. That there is no I in TEAM!