Mirror_Man

"Alright, Checklist!" Varon declared loudly, both Samantha and Crystal standing at attention in front of him with bags draped around their shoulders. Varon held a large scroll of paper in his hands, which he began reading in a loud, clear voice.
"Toothbrushes?" Varon asked.
"Check!" Crystal said, taking out the dental hygeine and presenting it to Varon.
"Shampoo?" Varon continued.
"Got it!" Samantha declared, taking out a plethora of multi-colored bottles from one of her bags.
"Shaving gear?" Varon asked.
"Right here!" Crystal said, taking out a large bottle of shaving cream and a small razor blade from her bag.
"Rubber Ducky?" Varon asked.
"Accounted for!" Crystal and Samantha said at the same time, taking out the exact same bathtime toy from their bags in perfect unison.
"Alright!" Varon yelled, tossing his scroll aside. "Now all we need is our personal items and we'll be all set!"
Varon closed his eyes, pride determination filling his face. "I know that this experience will be a great asset to us on our future missions! It fills my heart with joy to know that soon, the three of us will-" Varon opened his eyes to find that the girls were no longer in front of him. "HEY! Where did you two go?" Looking around, Varon found the girls had moved to the living area of the apartment, where their eyes were glued to the T.V. screen.
"Well, I'm truly shocked, girls!" Varon said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I thought you were serious about this, that it was a joint effort between all of us to participate in this media endeavor and-"
"Varon, isn't that the reality show that we're supposed to be a part of being shown right now?" Crystal asked, gesturing towards the T.V. screen.
"Huh?" Varon looked over at the T.V. to see the face of Zacky Ganmain introducing the show to a live audience. Varon's eyes widened in shock. "It's starting NOW?! Why weren't we told about this?!"
"Well, we were..." Samantha said, moving to the computer in the living area of the apartment. Opening the internet, Samantha opened the E-Mail that informed the group of their approval from auditioning.
"You know I only use that thing once a week!" Varon said.
Crystal moved over to the phone in the living area, pressing a button on the answering machine. Immediately, several messages repeating the exact same approval in the E-Mail sounded through the apartment, most of them from Zack himself. Samantha then showed Varon a slew of faxes that also informed him of the approval.
"Well..." Varon chuckled nervously and rubbed his head from a moment. Then, he clenched his fists and took a more serious tone. "That's not important right now! What's important is that we get to that show ASAP!"
"But how are we going to do that?" Crystal asked nervously. "It's starting right now!"
"The same way we always get someplace when we're in a rush." Varon said with an inward smile. "Girls, grab my hands and hold on tight!" Varon extended his hand to each of his teammates, and they each took one of Varon's hands as his body began to flow with electricity.
"You're incredible, Varon!" Samantha cheered.
"You're so smart, Varon!" Crystal agreed.
In the next instant, Varon was out the door and down the staircase of their apartment building, and a second later he was out the door of the building entirely, dragging his two screaming teammates with him (careful not to lose his grip on them, of course).
In no time at all, the three arrived at the big premiere of Big Brother: Heroes.
"Now, where is it we're supposed to go, anyway?" Varon asked, slowing down his pace. Crystal and Samantha groaned and wobbled around slightly, still quite dizzy from the trip.
Varon saw what could only be a bunch of other Heroes being led through to the main house by one of the show's officials.
"That's it! Let's go girls!" Varon said, taking the girls for a ride once more. This time, however, it was really a "trip" for the three... literally.
"WHOOP!" Varon yelled out as his feet gave way, and the three crashed passed the other Heroes who were being guided towards the house, finally stopping in a heap in front of the crowd of people lining up to see the Heroes enter. Miraculously, the team's bags remained intact.
"Ha ha!" Varon declared, quickly jumping to his feet, several bandages on his body. "The Trio has arrived!" He declared loudly, striking a pose.
"Isn't he the best?" Crystal and Samantha asked the crowd in unison, already on their feet and standing on oppposite sides of Varon, gesturing to him as a game-show hostess would gesture toward a prize. Varon struck a few more poses as his two teammates looked on, stars in their eyes.
The crowd was silent for only a moment. Then, they erupted in applause.

((I'm glad this has finally started ))

I'd like to see a Comic Saga centering around the Council; specifically, the Center and his abilities (and, more important, what he LOOKS LIKE).

And let's face it; we NEED to know more about the Council other than "that group that's not as good as the 5th Column"

[ QUOTE ]
Metal Wolffe is the shapeshifter, introduced in chapter 4, page 2. Metal Tooth is a warwolf that can change forms at will. I probably shouldnt have given them such close names, but I decided to put Metal Wolffe in after Metal Tooth. Looks like you guys arent the only ones reading it. Looks like Moderator 6 cleaned up some typos for me. Check out at the bottom of chapter 4.

[/ QUOTE ]

But... isn't a shapeshifter the same as someone who can change forms at will?

Anyway, it looks like you're doing a great job with your fanfiction, Blood_Wolffe; even better than what I've done with mine, since you seem to have many posters following it closesly, eagerly waiting for your next Chapter... lucky guy

And don't worry about making different characters with similiar names; I myself made two VERY different characters, one named "Kill Strike" and the other "Kill Shot" Trust me; characterization is 1,000 times more important than the name of a character, and your audience will get used to it in no time.

Anyway, keep up the good work There aren't many fanfic writers here on the RP Forums, and other potential writers look up to people like you

Well, looks like I got this Chapter up alot quicker than I have the past few Chapters! If all goes as planned, I should be able to follow this trend from now on, but I can't promise anything Anyway, why am I still going on like this? Here's the next Chapter! Enjoy!

-----

The Pain of Team Legacy: Fallen Angel (Part 2)

3 Months Later...

“Put the [censored] money in the bag! NOW!!!” The thief yelled, gesturing to his partner. The partner cocked his gun, the muzzle of which was resting against the temple of one of the bank’s many customers, a young woman. The sound of the weapon against her head caused her fear and helplessness to redouble, and she let out a cry of pain horror as her tears began pouring out of her already-tear-soaked face.
The bank teller did as she was told, filling up the bag she had been given with all the money she had at her station.
“Faster, FASTER!!!” The thief by the teller demanded, pacing back and forth nervously, constantly checking the windows for any signs of the police. “If I hear even ONE [censored] cop car come, every [censored] person in here is going home in a [censored] body bag, so DON’T get any [censored] ideas!”
The teller did as she was told as the doors to the bank opened.
“WHO THE [censored] CAME IN HERE?!” The thief turned in time to see a positive energy blast hit his partner in the arm, the very same arm that he was carrying his weapon in. As his partner cried out and cradled his now-useless arm, the thief turned to see a man with white, angelic wings turn to face him.
“DIE, MOTHER [censored]!!!” The thief yelled as he began firing his own gun at the man. However, instead of hitting Morning Star, the bullets seemed to collide with an invisible barrier about a foot in front of Morning Star, where they dissipated harmlessly in a flash of white light.
Morning Star was upon the thief faster than the human eye could follow; the thief looked on in shock as Morning Star raised him by the neck, cutting off his air supply. Morning Star waited until the thief passed out, then dropped him to the floor, being careful not to kill him.
Turning to the woman who had been in the other thug’s grip, Morning Star’s expression changed to one of concern. The woman was in a sitting position, staring at her attacker; another customer had already taken the thief’s gun away from him.
“Are you OK?” Morning Star asked, kneeling so he could look the woman in the eye.
The woman turned to her savior, blushing a bit as she looked into his handsome face. “I’ll be fine, thank you.”
“OK.” Morning Star turned to the teller, who still had the bag of cash in her hand. “You should call the police now.”
“Right!” The teller said quickly as she came to her senses and did as she was told.
Once Morning Star was sure everyone in the bank was OK, he left the bank just as the police were arriving. The sun was setting in the horizon, which meant Morning Star was due at his job soon. Felicia had convinced Dr. Evans to hire Morning Star to help around the office, and at her request Dr. Evans did so. Working in the doctor’s office, Morning Star learned more about humans than his Program had ever taught him; and, working so closely with Felicia had brought the two very close together.
But the past three months had also been very busy for Morning Star; often, he found that such incidents as the bank robbery he had just stopped quite frequent in Crossroads City. On many occasions, Morning Star came upon robberies, rapes, and murders that he felt compelled to stop. A lot of it had to do with Felicia; it was her mentality, her selflessness, that inspired Morning Star to follow in her beliefs and ideals. It was because of Felicia’s will to protect the weakest members of society that Morning Star would go out of his way to stop the criminals in Crossroads City; and, it was because of her belief in forgiveness that Morning Star never killed those same criminals, even when they themselves had taken many lives. But, even with Felicia to guide him, Morning Star always questioned the line of thinking and beliefs he had chose to follow.
While part of this questioning was due to the way Morning Star had been educated, part of it was also the fact that, in the past month, crime in the city had risen by 300%.
Is it... REALLY solving the problem? Morning Star thought to himself. Granted, one could argue that it’s better for those that cannot conform to society’s rules; the murderers, the rapists, the thieves, to be removed from the rest of society, to be placed in prisons where they can’t burden those who DO conform to society’s rules. But even THEN, don’t they still burden society? The money and resources used to maintain them in prison are paid for with the taxes of those who have done NOTHING to go against society. And, once their required sentence expires, what is left for them? What is left for these people who have defied their society, who have lost the trust of their peers? They are marked for the rest of their lives... in comparison, death seems like a much more merciful punishment.
Morning Star tore himself from his thoughts as he saw two men approaching, one of them holding a newspaper in his hand.
“Hey, did you hear the news?” The man with the newspaper asked his friend. “Recluse’s Forces have just taken New York City!”
“No way!” The man’s friend replied in shock. “Some of the most powerful Heroes that are still alive were defending New York!”
“I know!” The man with the newspaper replied. “I’m already talking to my wife about moving!”
“To where?” His friend asked. “Recluse’s forces have already taken Los Angeles and San Francisco! No matter where you go, it’s only going to be a matter of time before Recluse hits that city, too!”
Morning Star sighed as the two walked past him. Morning Star frequently heard about the War, and had even wanted to participate in it. Felicia, however, was dead-set against it. After a long confrontation, Morning Star decided against it, but whenever he heard the latest news from the battlefront, he always questioned his decision.
It wasn’t that he directly disliked Lord Recluse; the stories of “atrocities” that people told about Recluse’s forces mainly stemmed from the propaganda of the American government, which now solely relied on the help of the few remaining Heroes to stand against Lord Recluse. Morning Star had learned all about the ways of War thanks to his education, so he took the “horror stories” with a grain of salt. What he TRULY disliked about Lord Recluse was his motives; more to the point, the fact that they weren’t clear to him.
So far, it seems like Recluse’s motives are simply “Kill all the Heroes and take over the United States”. Morning Star thought to himself. But I doubt Recluse is that simple. If he, in fact, achieves the conquest of the United States, he’ll have to set up some type of new government, lest this country fall to chaos. But what type of government? That is where Recluse hasn’t made his intentions clear at all. It’s possible that Recluse only cares about the conquest of this nation, and nothing more. Morning Star clenched his fists. And, if that’s the case, his newly-conquered nation will crumble at his feet. I’ll make sure of that.

Felicia sighed to herself as she looked around the empty waiting room. Patients had dwindled in the last month, but this was the first time the office hadn’t had a single patient for over an hour.
Maybe I’ll actually be able to leave early today... Felicia thought to herself. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, however, two men came bursting into the office. One of the men was dragging the other man over his arm.
“Put him down over here!” Felicia quickly jumped into action, indicating a spot on the floor. After paging Dr. Evans, she began to question the uninjured man.
“We... were attacked... he was stabbed...” The man said, keeping his eyes on his friend. Dr. Evans entered the waiting room, immediately tending to the wounded man. The man’s friend looked at Dr. Evans. “Is he going to be alright?”
“It doesn’t look to bad; the wound isn’t too deep, and it doesn’t look like it hit anything vital.” Dr. Evans began maneuvering around the injured man. “You’re going to have to help me lift him.”
“Right.” The man’s friend helped move the man into one of Dr. Evans’ Examination Rooms.
“Poor guy.” Felicia said as she watched Dr. Evans and the two other men go into the Examination Room, closing the door behind them.

“I am... I am an Angel of Mercy...” The nurse said, her voice soft and distant. Morning Star kept his distance, looking around at the other elderly men and women in the Retirement Home. Morning Star had heard screams coming from the Home as he was passing it, and had arrived to find that this nurse had already drugged the other doctors and nurses who were on staff at the time, as well as take the life of one of the Home’s patients, an elderly woman.
“You have to understand...” The nurse said, turning to Morning Star. “I was the nurse who was responsible for her. Every night... for the past year... she’s constantly told me about how much pain she was in... how sad she was that none of her children or grandchildren ever came to visit her... how she had been forgotten...” She stared into Morning Star’s eyes. “You understand, don’t you?”
Morning Star looked into her eyes; eyes that were full of fear, confusion. Morning Star realized it at that moment; she wanted confirmation that her deed was, in fact, justified. She wanted to hear him say that what she did was the RIGHT thing to do.
I understand why you’ve done this.” “ Morning Star began. “Arguably, it wasn’t evil, nor malicious. In fact, it could be, as you’ve said, an act of Mercy that this woman, and every other patient in this facility, so desperately needs. The passage of time is harsh, and what is left for someone when they’ve exhausted their ability to contribute to society is nothing but pain, misery, and the need to rely on others to perform even the most simple task.” Morning Star narrowed his eyes. “But, in this nation, the ideal that is aspired to is the belief that even the weakest, most helpless individuals in society deserve to be aided by the stronger members of society. Furthermore, it was YOUR job to carry out this task. The fact that you could so willingly betray your duty and the people who have put their trust in you is reason enough to see that your actions were unjustified.” Morning Star watched as the nurse’s expression turned to one of devastation. “I’m sorry.” In the next moment, he was upon her.

“Now, let’s see- AH!” Dr. Evans cried out as the uninjured man pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the shoulder. Dr. Evans turned around in time to see the man stab him once more, and the doctor fell to the floor, unconscious.
“You were pretty convincing. Worthy of an Academy Award, I’d say.” The man turned to his “injured” friend, who used a small portion of his Regenerative powers to close the wound in his shoulder.
“Save it. We only have so long until that nurse comes in here to check up on us. You’ve got to go, NOW.” The man knelt down over Dr. Evans’ body. “I’ll handle this until you come back.”
“Right.” The man’s friend concentrated, and soon his body became Transparent. Opening the door to the office silently, the man quickly crept out of the room and closed the door behind him, successfully avoiding the attention of Felicia, who was looking over some forms as she sat at her desk in the waiting room.
The invisible man quickly and quietly made his way to the back of the office, where he found what he was looking for: the office’s Pharmacy. Checking the door, the man found that it was locked. Cursing under his breath, the man took out a small, metal pick from his pocket and forced it into the key hole, doing his best to manipulate the lock as quickly as possible. After several tense minutes, the man finally broke through, quickly making his way into the room and shutting the door behind him.
“Let’s see what they’ve got here...” The man said, his body once more becoming visible. The room was small, with two large shelves on opposite sides of the room housing all sorts of generic and prescription medications. The man quickly went from drug to drug, helping himself wherever he saw fit. That stuff’s worth a lot on the street... ooh, that stuff’s pretty rare... this stuff’s not so good, but still worth a couple bucks on the street...
“Let’s see...” Felicia looked over her paperwork. “I’ve finally done re-scheduling the Brown Family’s appointment...” Felicia looked at the clock. “Now where is that guy? Probably ran into some old woman getting mugged or something. It’s nice that he can help out other people, but I hate having to deal with all of this myself...” Felicia sighed and returned to her paperwork. “Now, let’s see... next is... ‘Take Inventory of Pharmacy’. Morning Star usually does that...” Felicia looked towards the door to the office, then sighed once more. “He had better have run into something BIG to be this late...” Felicia said as she rose out of her seat.

“I swear I’m going to KILL you, MOTHER [censored]!” The man said, the gun in his hand quivering as he held it to the temple of the businessman who was kneeling on the floor in front of him. Morning Star had been fortunate enough to have been flying over the businessman’s home when the man with the gun had barged in, killing the two security guards in the man’s home.
“Please... I’ll give you anything you want! Please, God, don’t kill me!” The business man yelled in absolute terror.
“You want to pay me off, don’t you?!” The man with the gun yelled, thrusting the barrel of the gun into the man’s head, causing the businessman’s head to jerk to the side. “Just like you paid off the judge and jury at your TRIAL, right? You kill my brother and expect to just PAY your way out of like everything else, RIGHT?! Well, I’ve got news for you...” The man cocked the gun. “I’m not for sale.”
“I’m sorry!” The businessman yelled. “I’m sorry I killed your brother! Please, God! I didn’t mean it! Please, don’t kill me!”
“Listen...” Morning Star began, keeping his eyes on the trigger finger of the gun man at all times. “I understand your anger. Our societies of rules and Laws are often circumvented by those with incredible wealth or power. If our society worked harder to ensure that a select group of individuals could not gain such power or wealth, these types of situations might become entirely avoidable...” Morning Star sighed. “As it is, we have to rely on the courts to decide the fates of those accused of crimes. Do you really want to kill this man? Will that ease your suffering? Will that bring your brother back?”
“I just want...” The gun man began to sob. “I just want him to feel... the way my brother felt... just before HE KILLED HIM!!!”
“Then you’ve done your job...” Morning Star said, inching himself closer to the gunman. “He’s already confessed... I’ll make sure I get something more formal and concrete later. But don’t do this.” Morning Star inched his hand closer to the man’s gun. Finally, the man dropped the gun to the floor, and Morning Star quickly moved in and grabbed it.

“What are...” Felicia asked, dropping her clipboard as she walked into the Pharmacy. The man turned to her in shock, and the two looked at each in silence for a moment. Then, Felicia turned and ran down the hallway, heading for the phone at her desk.
“What the-?!” Felicia gasped as the man’s friend, walked out from the Examination Room he and Dr. Evans had entered earlier. “What do you people want?”
Instead of responding, the man rushed in quickly and clasped Felicia’s body to his. Felicia let out a loud yelp as her eyes went wide for a moment. Then, she fell back and collapsed on the floor, black blood pouring from the knife wound in her lower abdomen.
“What the HELL did you do THAT for?” The knife man’s friend came running down the hallway, keeping his eyes on the bloody knife in his friends hand. “You said we wouldn’t be killing anybody in this!”
“She was going to call the police.” The knife man said, looking down at Felicia, who was still alive. “The blood’s black; she doesn’t have too long to live.” He turned to his friend. “Did you get the stuff?”
“[censored], yeah...” The knife man’s friend took some bottles out of his pockets, keeping his eyes on Felicia as he handed them to his friend. “Let’s get the hell out of here before-” His voice caught in his throat as he turned towards the entrance in time to see Morning Star arrive.
“Hey! Who are-” Morning Star’s stopped abruptly as he noticed Felicia lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. The knife man tried to hide his weapon, but was too late; Morning Star saw it, and quickly put two and two together.
“You...” Morning Star’s voice became deeper, and he began to transform. His wings changed from a white, angelic appearance to a black, demonic appearance. His eyes changed from blue to red, as did his hair. The two men looked on in horror as the new being in front of them stared at the two with absolute hatred.
“[censored] VERMIN!!!” Morning Star cried out, and in the next instant he was upon the man with the knife. He punched into the man’s stomach, his blow so strong that his fist went straight through the man and came out of the man’s back, killing him instantly. The man’s friend dropped all the bottles he had left on him and tried to run for the door, but Morning Star raised his palm and fired a negative energy blast at the man, completely atomizing him instantly, as well as destroying the entire wall of the office.
“Felicia...” Morning Star said, reverting back to his angelic appearance and kneeling over his love.
“Morning Star...” Felicia said, her voice so quiet Morning Star could barely make her words out. “I’ve always wanted to ask you... are you an Angel? An Angel sent by God to help all of us?”
“Felicia, I...” Morning Star clenched his teeth as tears began streaming down his face. He looked into Felicia’s eyes, which were already beginning to fade. “I don’t know. When I die, however, I’ll be sure to be come to Heaven as an Angel... just for you.”
Felicia smiled slightly, just before the final traces of life drained from her eyes. Morning Star held her body against his own, and sobbed.

3 Years Later...

Morning Star smiled to himself as the crowd in front of him cast deafening roars and applause as he made his appearance. He was in the middle of a city, a city he and his followers had constructed by themselves. Located in the North-Western Area of Recluse’s Empire, it was one of the last places left in the Empire where anyone could consider themselves truly “free” of Recluse’s grasp. Many of Recluse’s Exterminators had tried to topple the city, but all had fallen to Morning Star and his 7 highest-ranking soldiers, whom he called his “7 Angels”.
“Fellow citizens!” Morning Star proclaimed to the jubilant crowd in front of him. “After 3 years, we have finally completely this city, this Sanctuary, where NONE of Recluse’s tyranny can oppress you any longer!” The crowd went wild once more, and Morning Star waited until they settled down before continuing. “But it does not end here! No, this is just the beginning! I have organized an Army led by some of the brightest and most powerful individuals to go and spread the word of our success, of our new nation, to let others know that YES, there IS a place where you can be free from fear. YES, there IS a place where you don’t have to worry about supporting your family! YES, there IS a place where the BEST attributes of humanity can be found, where you have rights that will NEVER be infringed upon, where you can rebuild you life ANEW!”
Morning Star placed his hand on the drapes of a curtain that was concealing a plaque that was standing next to him, located at the center of the city. “Citizens, I give you...” Morning Star ripped off the curtain, revealing the plaque, and the word that was inscribed on it, the name of Morning Star’s new Society, a Society that embodied the ideals of the greatest civilizations that ever existed.
“UTOPIA!” Morning Star proclaimed, and the crowd once more released deafening applause and shouting. “Finally...” Morning Star whispered under his breath. “I’m fulfilling my destiny.”

-----

Alright! That was the end of that 2-Part Chapter! What did you think? I'll be back with the next Chapter soon, so keep checking back here!

[ QUOTE ]
Augenballgroße Stücke vom Teig formen
Im Staubzucker wälzen und
Sagt die Zauberwörter
Simsalbimbamba Saladu Saladim
. . . und keine eier

[/ QUOTE ]

Jetzt sind Sie kein sinnvoll auf Zweck

[ QUOTE ]
mit keine eier . . .

[/ QUOTE ]

Sie offensichtlich verstehen nicht Deutsches. Erlauben Sie mir zu übersetzen:

Sin los huevos

¿Qué? ¿Usted no español understan tampoco? Cómo sobre esto:

Senza le uova

Lascilo indovinare. Non capite quello, neanche? Provi questo:

Sans des oeufs

Pas même en français ? Vous des Américains... fins, ici il est en anglais :

With no eggs.

Although I have no idea what that means

((It's been awhile since I've participated in an Open RP, and after several unsuccessful attempts at creating my own, I guess I'll try out for yours, Citizen_Stu ))

"Look out, Big Brother House! The Trio has arrived!" Varon declared boldly as he stood in front of the Audition Booth, posing as he did so. His two teammates laughed and applauded at the spectacle.
"This is so exciting, Varon!" Crystal giggled.
"You're the greatest, Varon!" Samantha said, giving Varon a thumbs up.
"Yes, I am." Varon chuckled to himself, rubbing his hand underneath his chin as he entered the Audition Booth dramatically.

Varon waited patiently as the automated machine asked him it's mandatory questions.

"My name is Varon Volt, Security Level 50!"

"Well... I'm a master of Electricity... I guess you could say that I got it from my father... in a way... but I don't want to bore you with that story! Next question, please!"

"That's easy! Hearing the praises of my many fans, reading my exploits in the local paper... what could be more fun or interesting than that? God, I amaze myself sometimes..."

"Let's see... I wear my traditional blue, single-piece super suit whenever I'm on duty! I've even painted some yellow lightning-bolt designs all over it! Pretty cool, huh? And of course there's my stylish golden spiked-hair-and-goatee combo, complete with my expensive blue sunglasses! Yup, I'm at the peak of fashion here!"

"Of course! How could you NOT like my incredibly outward personality? I'm the life of ANY party, just ask my teammates!"

"OK, so me and my girls got a call to seek and destroy of Devouring Earth deep inside the... (about 5 pages of long, long, INCREDIBLY long and detailed dialogue omitted)... and THAT was how I saved the day AND got the praise from the ladies!"

"Hell yes!"

"What do I bring? Come on, I'm a natural-born leader! People EVERYWHERE look up to me! Think of your ratings with ME aboard this show!"

"WHEN I win, I'll probably go on a vacation with my teammates... or something like that."

((I can Post pretty often, unless something BIG comes up... if that happens, I'll let you know, of course ))

((Yes, I want to be picked. I would ask, however, that if I'm picked, all THREE of my characters are picked, as well. I don't want to explain their entire relationship right when they're being introduced, so you'll have to take my word that I NEED all three of my characters (if you, in fact, decide to pick me) ))

"All right, girls! Your turn!" Varon smiled as he waltzed out of the Audition Booth. The two quickly pounced on their teammate.
"How did it go?" Samantha asked curiously.
"Were the questions hard?" Crystal asked nervously.
"What did they want to know?" Samantha asked.
"They didn't ask questions that were TOO personal, did they?" Crystal asked.
"Girls, girls!" Varon laughed, raising his hands to comfort his teammates. "Trust me, it's nothing you two can't handle." He placed his hands on each of their shoulders. "You two will do fine." A confident grin spread across Varon's face. "After all, you've got ME to inspire you!"
"Varon, you're so cool!" Crystal laughed, jumping up and down with joy.
"You're the best, Varon!" Samantha smiled.
"I know I am." Varon said, guiding his teammates into the Booth. "Now, go on you two!"

Crystal and Samantha soon found themselves in front of the automated machine.
"Are we allowed to do this at the same time?" Crystal asked, eyeing the machine curiously.
"Of course!" Samantha said matter-o-factually. "Why wouldn't we?"
The automated machine came to life and began it's questioning.

"My name is Crystal Cold, Security Level 45!"
"And my name is Samantha Spark, Security also Security Level 45!"

"Hmm..." Crystal was taken aback by the machine's question. She turned to Samantha, then back to the machine. "I have Ice-based powers, and my friend here has Fire-based powers!"
"We were born with our powers!" Samantha explained. "But they didn't start surfacing until two years ago..." She let her voice trail off, and there was a silence in the room for about a minute.
"OK, next question!" Crystal finally said quickly.

"Hobbies?" Samantha turned and smiled at Crystal, and Crystal returned her smile.
"Fighting crime with Varon!" Crystal and Samantha said in unison.
"Fighting alongside a great Hero like Varon is one of the best experiences in the world!" Crystal said, blushing as she recalled some of their battles.
"And when we're not fighting crime, we usually sit in front of the TV to catch the latest info on other Heroes in the city!" Samantha giggled. "Of course, none of them are as great as Varon."

"I wear a blue, single-piece spandex outfit that covers my entire body!" Crystal explained. "But when I'm not fighting crime, I usually like to wear a blue tube top and a short blue skirt, complete with matching blue sandals! I have long, blue hair that I keep wrapped back in a ponytail." Crystal thought for a moment. "That's about it for me. Samantha?"
"I wear the same type of outfit that Crystal wears, but mine is red instead of blue." Samantha began. "When we're not foiling evil, I usually wear a red, sleeveless shirt along with red shorts, completing my outfit with red, high-heeled shoes." Samantha shrugged. "I keep my long, red hair loose, so it can bounce freely. I like it that way."

"I can get along with anyone!" Crystal quickly responded to the question.
"That goes for me, too... unless they try and mess with Varon!" Samantha clenched her fist.
"That's right! If anyone messes with Varon, they mess with us!" Crystal yelled.

"Say, Samantha?" Crystal whispered to her friend. "Do you remember what we did on our last mission?"
"No, don't YOU remember what we did?" Samantha asked.
"Didn't we arrest some Banished Pantheon?" Crystal asked.
"No, that was the mission before the last..." Samantha said, placing her finger on her chin in thought. "What did we do?"
"Umm..." Crystal turned to the machine, laughing nervously. "Pass?"

"Well, it was Varon's idea to-oof!" Crystal was interrupted with a nudge from Samantha.
"What Crystal MEANS is, we think that it will be really fun to meet some more Heroes in such an enclosed enviorment!" Samantha laughed nervously.
"Yeah! Who wouldn't love living in the 'Big Brother' house? It's all the fun of living without any of the privacy!" Crystal joined Samantha in nervous laughter.

"What can we bring?" Samantha asked, turning to Crystal for support.
"Well..." Crystal thought hard for a moment. "We can certainly... um... wait a second... we can..."
"We can cook!" Samantha said quickly.
"We can?" Crystal asked.
"Yes!" Samantha said, clamping her hand over Crystal's mouth. "We've had alot of practice with Varon, and I'm sure cooking isn't the best trait of many Heroes!"
"But Crystal, the last time we cooked for Varon-HMPH!" Samantha clapped her hand over Crystal's mouth once more.
"Next question please!" Samantha said quickly.

"If we win?" Crystal turned to Samantha. Samantha shrugged.
"We don't know, really..." Samantha said. "If we DO manage to win somehow, well... we could ask Varon!"
"Right! I'm sure Varon could figure something out!" Crystal said enthusiastically.

"See? That wasn't so bad." Varon greeted Crystal and Samantha as they came out of the Booth.
"I don't know... some of those questions were hard..." Samatha said.
"Do you think we'll make it on the show?" Crystal asked.
Varon smiled. "You know the answer to that."

Thanks for the feedback, King of Blades! I apologize for my long, long, LONG hiatous from this Fanfic; I bet most of you thought I had forgotten about it, huh? WRONG! I am pleased to bring you the next Chapter in my Fanfic! Enjoy!

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Berlin, Germany - May 6, 1945

In his underground bunker, the leader of the Nazi forces stood in front of his most loyal subjects, carefully dictating his final wishes. The single metal, dome-shaped room of the bunker was dark, dirty, and pathetically small. The dirt floor cast near-suffocating dust throughout the bunker, and the metal walls had been decorated with Nazi Flags, a symbol of the leader’s pride and determination, even in his final hours. Nevertheless, the dictator of the Third Reich stood straight and proud as he began his final speech, his audience composed of only a half a dozen of his most loyal officers.
“<German> My fellow soldiers, the end is near <German>.” The leader began, his tone soft, yet brimming with determination. Even with the Russian army closing in on his sacred capital city from the east, the Nazi dictator held onto his pride; the pride of a soldier who could not, WOULD not, accept defeat. “<German> Today is a day that the people of the Fatherland... no... the people of the WORLD, shall rue for centuries to come <German>” The leader looked over his shoulder at his newly-married wife, who was crying in the corner of the bunker. Sighing, he turned back to face his loyal followers. “<German> The Russian army is approaching from the east, and those wretched Heroes are slaughtering my men in the west. As much as it pains me to say it, the enemy shall be outside Berlin’s walls any day now. <German>” The dictator’s eyes glazed over, brimming with pride and, at the same time... sadness. “<German> I love this Empire, as well as you, the soldiers who so valiantly fight for it. And yet, my love for this Empire is such that I cannot bear to see it conquered. <German>” The dictator smiled as he looked each of his officers in the eyes, feeling immense satisfaction that they shared in his heartache. “<German> And... I cannot allow myself to become a prisoner of the enemy. Rather... <German>” The man gestured to his wife, who quickly and obediently came to his side. “<German> My wife and I... shall take our own lives. <German>”
The sudden announcement caused a small uproar in the bunker. Several officers urged their leader to reconsider, to flee rather than die. Other officers broke down and wept. Despite the reactions of his followers, the leader of the German Army continued his speech. “<German> After my wife and I have departed from this world, I wish for our bodies to be burned, so that even in death they shall remain out of our enemies’ grasp. <German>”
The protesting and weeping finally ended, replaced by acceptance and obedience that the leader had come to expect during his rule. Taking a deep breath, the leader went on to announce his final order. “<German> Now, there is one last desire I wish to be carried out after my death. <German>” The leader suddenly kneeled on the ground, digging his hand into the dirt floor of the bunker. While his followers mumbled in confusion, the leader finally found what he had been looking for. Grabbing onto a hidden lever in the dirt, the leader opened up a hidden hatch on the floor of the bunker, revealing a staircase leading to a secret chamber underneath the bunker. The dictator’s followers reacted with gasps and shouts of surprise as the leader took his wife’s hand and guided her down the stairs into the chamber.
“<German> What are you doing just standing there? <German>” The dictator said as he stood at the top of the staircase. His followers quickly lined up behind him as he led them down, down, down a spiraling staircase that led deep underground. Dimly-lit torches against the stone wall of the spiraling staircase provided the only illumination for chamber as the officers made their way downward, chattering amongst themselves as the staircase finally ended, their leader and his wife standing in front of a large, stone door. A depiction of an angel and a demon clashing in an epic battle amongst a breathtaking landscape was chiseled into the stone door, and the dictator pushed the door open without hesitation, revealing a large, dark chamber beyond.
The only illumination in the chamber came from the center of the room, where a large tube filled with water sat. The tube was hooked up with many wires, and hummed a low tone constantly. Several of the wires connected to the tube seemed to be generating large amounts of positive energy, which it was slowly pumping in the container; while several of the other wires were obviously generating negative energy, which they added to the tank. The two energies both seemed to be absorbed into the one being that was inside the tube. The being resembled a human infant, with several tubes connected to various parts of the being’s body. At a glance, it would appear to be a normal infant, except for one major feature: two stubs that were growing out of the child’s back. If one were familiar with the anatomy of other animals, one would immediately notice that these were the beginnings of wings.
“<German> Mein Fuhrer, what is this? <German>” General Widersprechensie asked in shock, moving in front of his fellow officers so he could be better recognized.
The dictator turned to his loyal subjects, gesturing to the tube in the center of the chamber. “<German> This... is my legacy. <German>” The dictator turned and stared at his ultimate creation, the being who would carry out his wishes after his death, the being who would exact his revenge upon the world. “<German> His name... is Morning Star. <German>”

The Pain of Team Legacy: Fallen Angel (Part 1)

120 Miles West of Paragon City - 60 Years Later

The light of the full moon shone down on the top of the secret 5th Column bunker, well-hidden amongst the trees of the forest surrounding it. From the outside, the bunker appeared to be nothing more than a small outpost for the 5th Column. The interior of the bunker gave the same indication; the walls were decorated with old and slightly-torn maps of Striga Isle and Perez Park; the only two desks in the bunker held blueprints for several of the office buildings in Paragon City, and nothing more. If one were to visit the bunker, one would be much more interested in the decaying corpses of several 5th Column Soldiers that were scattered across the floor of the bunker, lying in pools of dried blood. Several months earlier, the bunker had been discovered by several of Recluse’s Exterminators, who quickly dispatched the 5th Column Soldiers guarding the bunker. Finding nothing of interest in the bunker, the Exterminators didn’t feel the need to report the bunker’s existence to Lord Recluse.
Of course, if the Exterminators had been a bit more intelligent, they would have questioned from the start why the 5th Column would set up a bunker so far from Paragon City, where the majority of their forces had been at the time. The fact that the bunker was absent of telephones, computers, radios, switchboards, or any other means of long-distance communication should have also caused the Exterminators to question the purpose of such a bunker.
But Requiem had been very crafty in the way he had set up the “hiding place” for the 5th Column’s “Ultimate Achievement”, Morning Star. When the 5th Column began their underground campaign in Paragon City, one of Requiem’s first tasks was to make sure that Morning Star wasn’t discovered until his incubation was finished. Realizing that hiding Morning Star ANYWHERE in Paragon City would be too risky, he selected a crew of two dozen of his lower soldiers to dig an elaborate underground chamber, in which Requiem placed Morning Star and everything needed to complete Morning Star’s incubation. He then had his soldiers build a bunker over the chamber, so even if someone WERE to stumble upon Morning Star’s chamber, Morning Star himself still might not be discovered. Finally, to ensure that only Requiem himself would know the secret of Morning Star’s chamber, Requiem personally killed all of the soldiers that had built the bunker once their task was finished.
On this night, in Morning Star’s hidden chamber, the incubation process was finally ending after 60 years. In the water-filled tube that had once held an infant, a full-grown man now floated, dormant. Though Morning Star was chronologically 60 years old, in appearance he looked like he was in his mid-20's. For someone who had spent their entire life in a stasis tank, Morning Star appeared to be a perfectly normal human, and a rather handsome human, at that. There were only two distinguishable features on Morning Star’s body that would lead one to believe otherwise: First, his short, dark blue hair, which bobbled slightly amidst the water in the tube. The second (and much more noticeable) feature on Morning Star’s body were the two large, white, angelic wings that were growing out of his back.

For the past 60 years, Morning Star had been educated on a sub-conscious level thanks to a Program his creator had made for him. The “Program” itself was nothing more than a type of “Virtual Tutor”; a virtual being that was capable of instructing Morning Star’s sub-conscious mind. Beginning with the basics of Math, Basic Logic, and Linguistics, the program soon moved onto the larger subjects of History, Philosophy, Advanced Logic and Ethics. It was these subjects that Morning Star’s creator had designed the Program to concentrate on.
However, there was a problem that not even the great German dictator could have foreseen; Morning Star’s Program had been tampered with. The Philosophy, Ethics, and Advanced Logic area of the Program had been a particular target of the sabotage, and a very peculiar one at that. It wasn’t that the original lessons Morning Star’s creator had implemented into the Program had ben erased; rather, the saboteur had ADDED the viewpoints, morals, and beliefs of many other influential civilizations and individuals into the Program. As a result, these areas of Morning Star’s education became contradictory in and of themselves.
The result of this change in the Program had a profound impact on Morning Star’s mind and mission. Morning Star’s creator had designed Morning Star to be his legacy, for the creation to carry on the beliefs and ideals of the creator. Morning Star’s creator had wanted a loyal, battle-hardened soldier. Instead, Morning Star was quickly becoming an incredible leader himself; one who knew the beliefs and ideals of history’s most influential people; one who had been taught the great atrocities and the unbelievable achievements of the human race; one who could, given the right incentive and experience, create a society much greater than even the United States...

On this night, a piercing alarm sounded through the chamber; the machine that gauged Morning Star’s power had detected a large spike. The machine that monitored Morning Star’s brain waves also detected a large spike in activity, and it’s alarm joined the chorus of electronic beeping as all of Morning Star’s monitors went into the red: Morning Star was finally ready.
Those sounds... Morning Star thought, beginning to regain consciousness. They’re coming from outside.. For the first time, Morning Star felt the water around him, felt the many tubes and wires that were in his body. Outside... in the world... where I want to be...
Morning Star’s body began to shake violently inside his small prison. Outside, into the world! Let me OUT! Morning Star’s eyes shot open, and for only a moment, Morning Star’s appearance changed slightly. His hair changed from a dark blue to a bright red hue, and his eyes (which matched the color of his hair) changed from blue to red, as well. Most amazing, however, were his wings; they changed from that of an angel to that of a demon. A large wave of negative energy erupted from his body, shattering the glass of Morning Star’s tank and destroying all of the equipment in his chamber. Morning Star slid out onto the newly dampened floor of the chamber, panting heavily as his wings, hair, and eyes regained their former angelic appearance.
Where is this place? Morning Star thought, looking about his surroundings for the first time. Slowly, steadily, Morning Star rose to his feet. Raising his hands in front of his face, Morning Star opened and clenched his hands several times, becoming accustomed to the sensation.
“Hello. <German> Hello. <German> <French> Hello. <French> <Spanish> Hello. <Spanish> <Italian> Hello. <Italian> <Japanese> Hello. <Japanese>..." Morning Star practiced speaking for several minutes, then looked up at the ceiling of his small room. Raising his hand, Morning Star fired a blast of positive energy from the palm of his hand, blowing a hole through the floor of the bunker above his chamber and causing debris to come raining down on himself in the resulting explosion. Morning Star easily evaded the debris and extended his wings.
Within minutes, Morning Star had flown out of the 5th Column outpost entirely and into the night sky, where he took in all of his new experiences: the crisp night air, the rush of wind across his body, the sounds of various insects and animals in the forest below.
That’s the mating call of a cricket... and that’s the call of an owl... Morning Star mentally matched the sounds with everything he had learned in his education Program. I wonder where some humans would be? Morning Star flew in a southwestern direction, and was soon out of the forest entirely.

“OK, Dr. Evans, I’m going home now!” Felicia said as she began putting on her coat.
“Right, you be safe now.” Dr. Evans replied, waving and smiling at Felicia as she left his small office.
Felicia shivered slightly and adjusted her white overcoat as she walked into the cool night air. The streets were deserted, as they usually were when Felicia ended work at 3 in the morning. Underneath her overcoat, Felicia wore a light blue, sleeveless blouse that covered her body from her neck to her just below her knees. Her matching light blue high-heel shoes clicked on the sidewalk as she made her way back to her apartment. The wind blew Felicia’s long, dark blonde hair about her face slightly, resulting in some of her hair blowing in her face. She brushed her hair away from her green eyes and continued on her way.
Felicia had only moved to Crossroads City several months ago, just before she had turned 24. She considered herself fortunate to have found a job so close to her home. Since she didn’t have enough money to afford a car, she had to walk about 3/4 of a mile to work each day, where she served as a nurse in Dr. Evans’ office. Although she did work the graveyard shift, the job payed fairly well, and she enjoyed treating the many patients that came for treatment.
I need to talk to Dr. Evans about my hours. Felicia thought to herself as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. But right now, I just want to go home, take a nice, hot shower and-
Felicia stopped mid-thought as she heard what sounded like the fluttering of large wings above her. Looking up, Felicia cried out and fell backwards as she saw a winged, naked young man land right in front of her.
“What the-?!” Felicia yelled in surprise, her face already a crimson hue as she averted her eyes from the person in front of her. “Who... what are you?”
Morning Star looked down at Felicia, a little surprised by her reaction. “You’re a human woman, right?” Morning Star waited for a response, but none came as Felicia took another glance at Morning Star, blushed, and looked away again.
Am I speaking the right language? Morning Star thought. “Hello, my name is Morning Star. Who are you?” Morning Star repeated his introduction in several different languages, but Felicia remained silent, taking a quick glance at his wings before averting her eyes once more.
“Huh?” Morning Star looked glanced at his wings. Of course! Morning Star thought, realization dawning on him.
“Don’t be afraid of my wings; I’m not here to hurt you.” Morning Star repeated this in several languages, but was interrupted as Felicia finally spoke.
“I’m not afraid of you!” Felicia said, keeping her eyes away from Morning Star’s body. “But could you PLEASE put some CLOTHES on?!”
“Clothes?” Morning Star asked, slightly surprised. “Well... I don’t have any.”
“No clothes?! Did you lose them?” Felicia got to her feet and walked past Morning Star, still refusing to look at him. “Or maybe you don’t have any money?”
“Well...” Morning Star thought. “You see, I just arrived here, so I really don’t have any money or clothes.”
“You just moved here?” Felicia asked, surprised.
“Well... I guess you could say that, yes.” Morning Star had been told in his education Program not to reveal his actual origin to anyone, so he tried to be as vague as possible.
“I see... so, you’re a drifter, then?” Felicia sighed. “And, judging from those wings growing out of your back, you must also be one of those Heroes I’ve heard so much about.”
“Heroes...” A large part of Morning Star’s education had been explaining the history and nature of Heroes, so Morning Star was very familiar with the term. “Well, I’m not exactly a Hero...”
“Whatever.” Felicia said, her back to Morning Star now. “So... you don’t have any money or clothes, and I’m guessing you don’t have a place to live, either.” Felicia glanced over her shoulder quickly, and Morning Star nodded. “If you want, I can talk to the landlord at my apartment; it won’t be anything fancy, but I can probably get you a roof over your head for the time being. You’ll need a job to keep it, though, so I suggest you start looking for one tomorrow. Now come on, follow me.” Felicia began walking forward, but Morning Star stood his ground, not quite comprehending what had just happened.
“Wait, follow you where?” Morning Star asked.
“Where do you think?” Felicia said, looking over her shoulder. “To my apartment. You can’t walk around the streets naked, so you better stay at my place tonight. I’ll get you some clothes tomorrow.”
Morning Star stared for a moment, his mind racing. One of the arguments that his education Program constantly contradicted himself on was the motives for human beings; whether a society acted to benefit the community, or to benefit the individual. The basic mentality, as it had been made clear to Morning Star, was that humans would only act on behalf of others when it would also benefit themselves. Felicia’s actions, therefore, seemed... illogical.
“What do you want in return?” Morning Star asked.
Felicia stopped for a moment, a bit surprised by the question. She turned to Morning Star, looking him in the eyes. “Nothing, really. Helping those in need is just one of those things I like to do; it makes me feel like I’m contributing something positive to this world. It’s one of the reasons I became a nurse.” Felicia took off her overcoat and handed it to Morning Star. “Here, you need this more than I do; it’s pretty cold tonight.”
“Society does not consist of individuals but expresses the sum of interrelations, the relations within which these individuals stand.*” Morning Star said as he took the coat from Felicia.
“What was that?” Felicia asked as Morning Star walked ahead of her.
“Oh, nothing.” Morning Star smiled. The world was opening up to him.

*Karl Marx, "Notebook 2" (Source: Bartleby.com)

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Well, that was Part 1 of my newest Chapter! I should have the next Chapter up soon. And by "soon", I DON'T mean a month! See you next time!

((OK, so I figured it was time to try Open Roleplaying once more After doing some research and looking at the other Open RP's in the RP Forums, I was surprised to find that none of them featured the Arena. Though I have a vague idea of WHY no one tried to do an Arena Open RP, I decided that I might as well take the initiative and start an Open RP on it.
Instead of setting this Thread down one particular (though very interesting and unique) plot like I have with the other RP Threads I've participated in, I've decided to leave this Open RP Thread completely open to any and all participants. Feel free to organize fights, bring in past grudges, and/or simply have your character(s) talk in the waiting area of the Arena. I hope that this Open RP is a success, but if it's not then no harm done. Enjoy! ))

"I still can't believe they did this." Mercy sighed as she affixed the "Grand Opening!" sign on the door of the Arena.
"I can't believe it either!" June laughed happily, jumping around the massive interior of the Waiting Area of the Arena. "Look at the food! Look at the big-screen TV's! Look at the incredible organization that-"
"June!" Mercy yelled, slamming the front door of the Arena closed. "Would you PLEASE stop running around like that? You're going to get us in trouble again, and we NEED these jobs, remember?"
"Oh, right!" June said apologetically as she sulked over to the Reception Desk of the Waiting Area.
Mercy sighed and took her place next to her cousin. It was only through sheer luck that she and June had gotten these jobs, and she didn't want her cousin's personality to screw things up AGAIN.
Mercy watched June run through the computer, trying her best to memorize the Training Session they had gone through. Despite the fact that she's a klutz, she still tries her best, I guess. Mercy thought to herself.
"Hey, look!" June suddenly said as she pointed to the doors of the Arena. "Someone's coming in!"

((For those (few) of you who follow my Fanfiction, yes, these characters ARE modeled after the characters with the same names from my Fanfiction ))

((Edit: Oops, forgot to describe my two characters! So, instead of using crafty literary techniques to describe them, I'll just give you some bare numbers:

Name: Mercy
Age: 19
Hair Style/Color: Black, Long
Eye Color: Brown
Outfit (Currently): Dressed in the standard attire for an Arena Employee: A short blue blouse that lowers to just below her knees, and a blue, long-sleeve, button-front dress.

Name: June
Age: 18
Hair Style/Color: Blonde, Long
Eye Color: Blue
Outfit (Currently): The same as Mercy, except her blouse is a bit shorter, stopping a bit above her knees

Sorry about that ))

Alright! Finally! I apologize for making those of you following this story wait so long between each Chapter; these past couple of weeks have been SO hectic for me...
Ah, but I bet after all this time you're eager for the next Chapter! Well then, here it is!

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Vengeance (Noun):
1. the return of an injury for an injury, in punishment; revenge
2. the desire to make such a return - "with a vengeance"
(Excerpt from Webster's New World Dictionary)

Paragon City - 3 Years Ago

The doors to the main office of the Freedom Phalanx Building burst open, with Lucius leading the rest of Freedom Phalanx into the room. Statesman, who had been watching the situation escalate on the office’s televison, turned to face his comrades and friends, their expressions of desperation and urgency matching his own. There was a silence between the Heroes in the room for a moment. Finally, General Lucius spoke.
“I’m sure you know the situation...” Lucius said, his voice trailing off. Statesman nodded.
“Why wouldn’t he? It’s only been on every station for the past two hours.” Synapse said sarcastically. The rest of the Freedom Phalanx glared at him, and Synapse lowered his head. “Sorry.”
“I had no idea that it held so much power.” Statesman clenched his fists. “If I had, I would have sent a team to destroy it YEARS ago.”
“I’m more concerned with how Recluse found out about the Crystal.” Sister Psyche said, folding her arms across her chest. “All Portal Corp. records are confidential, only those working in Portal Corp., several members of the Freedom Phalanx, and the government has access to those files. So how did Recluse find out about the Crystal?”
“That’s not important right now!” Lucius said, slamming his hands on the office desk. “We ALL know that Recluse isn’t bluffing with his threats. As long as he holds that Crystal, he has the ability to destroy this entire city; not even WE would be able to protect it.” Lucius lowered his voice. “And even if... even if we DID lead a team of our best Heroes to face him... it STILL wouldn’t be enough.” Lucius lifted his head, turning to Statesman. “There’s only ONE thing we can do.”
Statesman stared back at Lucius, and for a moment the rest of the world was dark; only those two Heroes existed. Statesman thought back, back to when he had first met Lucius during the Ritki War. He had been so young, so optimistic... the kind of young optimism that only comes from one who has never experienced the realities of the world, one who has never seen the horrors of war. Now, as Statesman looked at Lucius, he saw a mirror-reflection of himself; not of the Statesman that was shown on billboards across the city; not of the Statesman that drew so many Heroes to Paragon City; not of the Statesman whom thousands upon thousands of Heroes had fought and died believing in; but of the REAL Statesman. The Statesman who did what had to be done to protect the innocent; the Statesman who had to make impossible decisions for the greater good; the Statesman who had done... what NEEDED to be done... to win the Ritki War...
“Are we CERTAIN...” Statesman said, speaking slowly, his voice wavering. “There’s NO other way?”
Lucius kept his eyes locked on Statesman’s. “You once told me that it was a Hero’s duty to protect as many innocent human lives as possible.” Lucius’s eyes began to gloss over. “No matter... WHAT... the cost...” Lucius closed his eyes for a moment, doing his best to regain his composure. Statesman did the same.
The world returned to normal, and Statesman turned to the Freedom Phalanx. “I want everyone to regroup at Portal Corp. in 10 minutes. There, I will brief you on our mission and lead you to-”
“NO, Statesman...” Lucius quickly interrupted, stepping forward. “Please... let ME lead this mission.” Their eyes met once more. “Once we’ve completed our mission, it will be up to YOU to end this.”
After some time, Statesman nodded. He turned back to the Freedom Phalanx. “OK, Lucius will lead you to Portal Corp and brief you on the mission. I will wait here until you’ve completed your mission. Then I will go to Recluse’s fortress and end his reign of terror once and for all.” Statesman sighed heavily, trying his best to keep his demeanor under control. “As Heroes, we act in the best interest of the people we protect everyday.” Statesman lowered his head slightly. “Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum.”
The Freedom Phalanx quickly ran out of the office, heading to Portal Corp. Sister Psyche, who was the last to leave, looked back at Statesman before they went their separate ways. He was crying.

The Ruins of the Shadow Shard - 3 Years Later

Scattered pieces of land floated around aimlessly amongst the orange sky. There was no sign of life, no sign of the once great civilization that had resided in the Shadow Shard only three years earlier.
On one of the larger pieces of land drifting through the Shadow Shard, a stone well sat, filled with an odd liquid. At the surface of the liquid, the image of a closed eye slowly formed in the well.
“They’ll pay...” A guttural voice echoed out of the well. “Every single one of them shall repent... with their LIVES!”

The Pain of Team Legacy: An Eye for an Eye

“Please... STOP!” The mother pleaded, holding her daughter in her arms, covering her daughter’s eyes while she herself watched her attacker helplessly.
“Stop?” Kill Strike chuckled, holding his sword inches from the throat of the woman’s husband. He inched the sword closer to his victim’s throat, smiling wider as he watched the woman’s expression grow more desperate.
Kill Strike raised his head slightly, looking deep into the woman’s eyes. “I’m merely a loyal subject following his master’s orders.” Kill Strike snickered, inching his blade ever closer to the throat of the woman’s husband.
“It figures.” The man in Kill Strike’s arms hissed, his voice filled with defiance.
“STOP!” The woman cried out suddenly, her outcry directed at her own husband. She looked to Kill Strike. “Don’t listen to-”
“No, Martha.” The man said, his tone softer than before. “This MONSTER isn’t going to stop until we’re all dead; I’m sure of that.” His tone became much harsher as he returned his attention to Kill Strike. “You and Recluse can go to hell for all I care. I stand by my deed and I’m DAMN proud of it, too.”
With a quick slash, Kill Strike beheaded the man. He savored watching the woman cry out and rush out of the apartment, carrying her daughter in her arms. The apartment was on the fifth floor of the complex, so Kill Strike waited a moment before jumping out of the window (the same way he had gotten in). He rushed down the side of the building, running down the vertical wall as easily as a normal human would run across a horizontal floor. Kill Strike was upon the woman and her daughter just as they were leaving the building; they didn’t get more than three steps away from the exit.
Damn it... Kill Strike thought as he watched the ground develop a crimson hue. It’s no use... it’s just not the same... since HE defeated me... Kill Strike’s growled in frustration as the image of Mach Blade flashed in his head, and his mind wandered back...

Kill Strike lifted his head up off the ground, gritting his teeth and growling as he looked upon his opponent, Mach Blade, the REAL Mach Blade, his true power having been awakened.
What was that? Kill Strike thought as Mach Blade spoke in Japanese once more. He struggled to his feet, his rage continuing to increase.
“You’re laughing at me, AREN’T YOU?!” Kill Strike yelled as he charged Mach Blade. Before he knew what was happening, Kill Strike was back on the ground, a new wave of pain spreading throughout his entire body.
Is he... is he even human? Kill Strike thought, raising his head up. The blood that was trickling down Kill Strike’s forehead washed over his eyes, and the world took on a red hue as he looked upon his opponent once more.
Am I... am I afraid? Kill Strike gritted his teeth once more, a new wave of anger surging through his veins. I am Kill Strike! I’ve killed hundreds, THOUSANDS of other Heroes during the War! They ALL fell to my blade with little effort! But this... THIS... Kill Strike looked at Mach Blade, his face cringing with absolute hatred. This CHILD dares to make SPORT of me?! Kill Strike quickly rose to his feet and rushed Mach Blade. “DIE!!!”

Even as he stood over the bodies of his latest victims, the mere recollection of his defeat brought an incredible wave of anger and hatred over Kill Strike.
He’ll PAY... Kill Strike thought, his eye twitching in anger. If I have to tear down his little base piece by piece, if I have to carve up ALL of his little friends, I WILL KILL HIM!!!

In the Ruins of the Shadow Shard, the thoughts and emotions of Kill Strike were received by the final being capable of thought in the Shadow Shard: Gothim, the Vengeful.
“What’s this?” Gothim stirred slightly in the well that he had called “home” for the past three years. The image of an eye in the well disappeared, replaced by the image of Kill Strike. “Could it be...? Could he be the one?”
Seizing the moment, Gothim exerted a large amount of energy and opened a portal on the ground where Kill Strike was standing. The image of the well showed Kill Strike fall through the portal opening. Gothim then opened another portal several feet away from his own well, about 10 feet above the ground. Kill Strike fell through the portal, collapsing the ground in front of Gothim.
Kill Strike quickly rose to his feet, his eyes darting around the unfamiliar world he now found himself in.
“Who did this?!” Kill Strike yelled, raising his head upwards and shouting into the orange sky. “Show yourself!”
“I am the one who summoned you here.” Gothim said, causing Kill Strike to turn his attention to the well where Gothim resided. Kill Strike stared at the well for a moment, then pointed his sword towards it.
“Who are you? Where is this place?” Kill Strike demanded. “Are you another of Recluse’s minions?”
“RECLUSE!” Gothim’s tone became harsher. “That is the one who started my people’s torment! I would never associate with such a vile being!”
Kill Strike chuckled under his breath. “He may be vile, but he’s also incredibly powerful.” Kill Strike ran his hand over the dull edge of his sword, growing more excited as he continued to speak. “I enjoy killing! I enjoy seeing the expressions on the faces of my victims just before I slice through their flesh; I don’t think there’s a more pleasurable experience in the world than that!” Kill Strike sighed, his tone becoming softer. “Unfortunately, such behavior is frowned upon in the world I live in.” He turned his attention back to Gothim. “But thanks to Lord Recluse, I can satisfy my desires freely! THAT is the ONLY reason I ally myself with him.”
“I see...” Gothim was silent for a moment before continuing. “When I was created, I was given the ability to sense intense emotions of anger and hatred among other intelligent species, even if they were in another dimension. This is how I was able to find you and bring you here.” Gothim’s tone became smug. “If you are truly as satisfied as you say you are, then why was I able to detect such emotions from you?”
Kill Strike stared at stone well in front of him, silent.
“Is your anger directed at Lord Recluse, or could it be-”
“It has nothing to do with Recluse!” Kill Strike shouted in anger. His anger rose as he once again recalled his fight with Mach Blade. “I was... defeated... by a Hero.”
“A Hero...” Gothim grew angry once more, but was secretly relieved by this new information. “Then, I assume you wish to kill the Hero who defeated you, but are unable to do so?”
“I CAN KILL HIM!!!” Kill Strike spat, his anger redoubling. “He’s NOTHING compared to me!” Kill Strike’s voice became a growl. “I just need to become slightly stronger, that’s all...”
“So, you seek power...” Gothim began to chuckle. “And all of your anger is directed towards a Hero...” Gothim’s chuckle became outright laughter.
“Do you find this funny?!” Kill Strike yelled.
“Oh, no.” Gothim said apologetically. “It’s just humorous how perfect this is.” Gothim lowered his voice slightly. “What would you say if I told you I could help you kill the Hero who defeated you?”
Kill Strike lowered his sword and rushed to the well, grabbing onto the edges and shouting into it. “How?! What do you mean?!”
“Take your sword...” Gothim said as the color of the liquid in the well turned bright red. “And dip your sword into me. By doing this, I will be able to transfer my being into your sword, and you and I shall become one.”
Kill Strike narrowed his eyes as a thought crossed him. “What do you have to gain by helping me? How do I know this isn’t some kind of trap?”
The liquid in the well changed once more, this time taking a deep, purple hue.
“I will help you because doing so will enable me to fulfill my purpose, my reason for being.” As Gothim spoke, the image of a strange creature appeared in the well. “The desolate world you see right now was once home to a great civilization, a civilization that called themselves the Rularuu...”

“The Rularuu were an intelligent and prosperous race...” Gothim began, the purple liquid in the well showing images of the creatures living in cities, farming the land, and living as families in various homes. “Despite their appearance, their level of science and medicine was about equal to that of humans before...” Gothim stopped for a moment, then the purple liquid showed images of three beings that slightly resembled humans, though certain characteristics on the beings were clearly in-human. “Anyway, the reason that the Rularuu were as far advanced as they were was largely due to the actions of these three entities, known as the Three Elders. These entities not only served as the leaders of the government, but also had extraordinary abilities that led many Rularuu to regard them as gods.”
“The first Elder was known as Ruladak, the Creator.” Gothim showed images of Ruladak consulting with another entity. “Ruladak was responsible for creating the Laws of the Rularuu civilization and presenting them to the second Elder: Lanaru, the Just.”
“Lanaru’s task was to overview the Laws that Ruladak created to ensure that they were fair and sensible.” The well showed images of Lanaru talking with the final entity.
“Lanaru would then present the Laws he approved to Faathim, the Overseer.” The well now showed images of Faathim addressing a large number of Rularuu in the middle of a city. “Faathim would proceed to announce the new Law or Laws to the Rularuu masses. It was also Faathim’s duty to ensure that all the Laws were being upheld, though the Three Elders were SO well respected by the Rularuu that there was NEVER even a SINGLE incident of a Law being broken.” Gothim uttered a loud, reverberating sigh. “For hundreds of years, the Rularuu existed in this world in peace. And then, three years ago...” The well showed images of fire, and the sounds of explosions could be heard echoing from the well. “It all came to an end.”
“This world lacks most of the natural resources needed to maintain a civilization in possession of great amounts of energy.” Gothim went on to explain. “The source for all of the power the Rularuu needed resided in a mystical stone known as the Shadow Crystal. The Crystal had been created at the same time as the Three Elders, and not even the Elders themselves understood how it had been created or exactly how it’s bond with the Rularuu had been formed. What WAS known, however, was that the Crystal held immense power; power that was directly proportional to the number of Rularuu that were alive. This was quite favorable to the Elders, for it meant that the Crystal would be powerful enough to fuel the needs of the population no matter how large it became. However, it was also known that the Crystal had the potential to be used for more... destructive purposes. Only the Elders knew the truth; that if the Shadow Crystal was to come into the possession of a non-Rularuu, he or she would have powers that were MUCH more incredible than that of the Three Elders combined. However, since the Rularuu had never been at war, and (with the exception of a scouting visit from Earth several years earlier) the Rularuu had never been in contact with an outside civilization, let alone have ANY hostilities towards one, the Elders did not see this as a concern.”
“On that day, three years ago, a portal opened in the center of one of the major cities of the Rularuu civilization... and chaos ensued. Thousands of Recluse’s Exterminators poured out of the portal and began slaughtering the Rularuu who had been unfortunate enough to be in the city at the time. The Rularuu, who had never encountered such brutality in their entire existence, fled the city. News of the attack spread quickly, and the Rularuu turned to the Elders for help. The Elders met with Lord Recluse, leader of the Exterminators, and demanded to know the reason for the attack. Recluse’s answer was simple: Give him the Shadow Crystal, or he would send his army to destroy all of the Rularuu.”
“The Elders attempted to explain the importance of the Shadow Crystal, how it was vital to their civilization. Recluse responded by burning down one of the smaller towns to ashes.” Gothim paused for a moment, then continued. “The Elders, unable to bear watching their people die, and unwilling to force their peaceful civilization to take up arms, caved into Recluse demands. He was presented with the Shadow Crystal the next day, and the Elders ask that he leave this world and never return. Recluse was all too happy to comply; he claimed that he ‘no longer needed anything in this world’.”
“While the loss of the Shadow Crystal and the lives of many Rularuu weighed heavily on the conscious of the Elders, they had high hopes for the future of their civilization. Unfortunately, it seemed as though as soon as Recluse’s forces had left this world that another force came, a group that WOULD spell the end of the Rularuu; they called themselves the Freedom Phalanx.”
“These... beasts... these animals that dressed in brightly-colored outfits and called themselves ‘Heroes’... There was no reasoning, no mercy from them. After they had destroyed three of the major cities in this world, the Elders themselves went to face them.” Gothim paused; his next sentence was nearly a whisper. “They fought and died... trying to protect the people they loved.”
“After the Elders fell, the remaining Rularuu lost what little hope they had left. Many of them committed suicide. Those that attempted to resist the Heroes were slaughtered. Eventually, the entire Rularuu population, a civilization that surpassed all other civilizations in your world in terms of peace, was dead. The dark deed having been done, the Heroes left this world as quickly as they had came. And this world was left desolate.”
“However, the Elders, in their wisdom, had created one last entity before their death, disguising it as a harmless well; I, Gothim the Vengeful, carry the responsibility of avenging my race.” The image of an eye reappeared inside the well. “The Elders endowed me with their memories, as well as incredible destructive power. The Elders, while powerful, had focused most of their energy towards creating, and thus were not capable of fighting at the same level as the Heroes who killed them. When the Elders created me, they gave me the seldom-used abilities of destruction that they had once had at their disposal; I have spent the past three years refining this power. Unfortunately, despite all of their power, the Elders could not create a workable body for me, as they refused to let my consciousness enter one of their own kind, even as they were being slaughtered before their eyes...” Gothim was silent for a moment, reflecting on the decisions of his creators. “Instead, I was give the ability to sense incredible anger and hatred in beings outside of this dimension, as the only way I can successfully merge with a being is if that being has the same amount of hatred and bloodlust that caused my very creation. Once I have merged successfully, however, the result will be a being of INCREDIBLE power, one who WILL be able to carry out the vengeance of the Rularuu!”

The water in the well changed back to it’s previous red hue. “Now that you know WHY I am so desperate to merge with you... now that you know WHY my goal and your are not that different... and now that you know exactly WHAT I am... will you now consider me an ally?”
Kill Strike stood, staring into the well for what seemed like an eternity. Then, quite swiftly, he raised his sword by the hilt, pointed the tip of his blade downward, and dipped his sword into the well. Instantly, the red liquid rushed up the blade quickly, making vein-like patterns across the sword, stopping at it’s hilt.
“You know, in many ways it’s funny...” Kill Strike said as he watched his sword transform in front of his eyes. “This emotion called ‘vengeance’... is the center of many justice systems in my world.”
“It is an emotion that is not limited to just your world.” Gothim said as the well emptied, upwards into Kill Strike’s sword.
The sword itself transformed, the blade changing from silver to a deep red color. The hilt of the sword changed from black to purple, the surface of the hilt warm and soft, and pulsated as if it were alive. Two eyes formed on opposite sides of the blade, the eyes of a Rularuu. Finally, Kill Strike’s eyes changed from that of a normal human’s to that of some other creature. His eyes had been replaced by round, blood red balls that glowed. He was no longer Kill Strike, nor was he Gothim, the Vengeful.
“It is an emotion that all intelligent creatures experience, if only for a moment.” The new being said out loud, creating a portal that led several yards away from where Kill Strike had killed a woman and her daughter earlier. “There is not a more justifiable cause, not a more human emotion, than vengeance.” The new being looked and watched the commotion outside the apartment as he remained hidden.
“I can’t believe someone would do this!”
“It’s an outrage! I want whoever did this found NOW!”
“I knew this woman’s family since I was a kid. Whoever did this deserves to be dragged out into the street and shot.”
“This woman had a brother; thank God he lives in another complex. I’m sure he’d want to see his sister’s killer brought to justice.”
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth... a life for a life.” The new being walked farther away from the commotion and into the shadows of the night. “I will be the instrument of justice for Recluse and those who call themselves ‘Heroes’. I am Bloodshed, the Spirit of Vengeance... let justice be done.”

-----

So, what did you think? I thought this was one of my better Chapters, but I'm a bit biased I'll have the next Chapter up soon, I mean it this time!

[ QUOTE ]
I, for one, want one. Realistically, it would happen during the summer - so next year is a better target.

[/ QUOTE ]

(Intro Music)

City of Heroes Presents

Unknown_Hero: Bet you regret making that promise!

Statesman: What promise?

An NCSoft and Cryptic Production

Unknown_Hero: You know... the FAN FESTIVAL...

Statesman... Uh-oh...

In Association with Unknown_Hero

Statesman: We promised the customers a Fan Festival, but we don't have the time or the money to give it to the customers!

CuppaJo: Well, there's that WoW Festival that's happening this summer...

Statesman:...Really? Hmm...

Stealing the Fan Festival

(End Music)

Coming this Summer!

Well, two things:

First, I'm well aware that the "Dark-Darkity-Darkness" is going to strike a chord with fans of the old comic, and I can understand why. CoH, (as I've said MANY times before) is based on the Golden and Silver Age Comics (i.e. no one dies, Heroes fight people like "The EVIL Dr. INSANO!" and "Captain Communist!", and above all, GOOD ALWAYS WINS IN THE END). The old comic was based around the same principle the game was, which is why many people now say this new comic isn't "true" to the game.
However, what Top Cow is OBVIOUSLY trying to do with CoH is bring the Golden and Silver Age tale into the "modern" comic era. And, as we all know, realism plays a large role in the "modern" comic. Even I have to admit that the "modern" feel that is in today's comics (and that will be coming to THIS comic) is much more "real" in the sense that there are ACTUALLY consequences to the Hero's actions! Fighting Villains isn't the "cakewalk" that was shown in the Golden and Silver Age; Hero's aren't "invincible" as was depicted in that age; and, most importantly, fighting evil isn't "fun" nor "enjoyable", as is STILL sometimes depicted today in children's TV shows. If you want "realism", today's comics are INFINITELY superior to Golden and Silver Age comics.
Of course, I ALSO understand that many people who play this game don't WANT that "realism". They WANT the "fluff", they WANT a comic game that is like the Golden and Silver Age days, one where "good is good", "evil is evil", and no one REALLY gets hurt. And, since those comics are VERY rare today, I can't blame them.
However, I think this is a GOOD thing. Not because it's TRUE to this game we all know and love, but because it's NOT true to the game.
Think about it: The comic DOESN'T change the game. Those who play this game because they love the Golden and Silver Age days STILL can enjoy that experience everytime they log on. The comic WON'T change that.
And those who wanted to see a "darker" version of Paragon City just got their wish. Here, we have a "modern" comic book intertwined with a "Golden and Silver Age" comic GAME. It should be interesting, seeing the difference between the Paragon City we all know and love and the "Dark" Paragon City the writers of Top Cow have created (though I STILL prefer my OWN "dark" story based on CoH [looks down at signature])

And the second thing (something I just noticed)...
I don't think this was a PREVIEW. I think this was the ENTIRE FIRST COMIC.
Look at the last panel. Notice the "Disconnecting in 5... 4...")?
That's the same message we get when we log out of CoH.

For those of you who have been waiting almost FOUR WEEKS for the next Chapter... HERE IT IS!!!
I apologize for taking so long; but the family crisis I told you about in my last post had an unexpected re-lapse, and the past couple weeks have been rather tense...
But I'm sure you don't want to hear about MY problems, and the good new is I that now I can FINALLY focus on this fanfic once more!
Aw, but why am I still jabbering on like this? Here's the next Chapter!

-----

The Atlantic Ocean, 300 Kilometers off the Coats of Spain - 324 B.C.

Aristotle looked off the starboard side of the ship, into the horizon. Dawn was breaking over the horizon, casting a cascade of orange and crimson colors into the morning sky. Most of the crew was still in the brig, sleeping. Those were the lucky ones; the unlucky ones were already running about the ship, some checking to make sure the rigging of the ship was tied properly, others sweeping the deck clean.
Aristotle shivered slightly; the wind blew particularly strong in the ocean, especially in the early morning hours. Aristotle turned and walked to the port side of the ship, looking for any sign of land. There was none; they were in the middle of the Great Ocean, not a dry rock for miles.
Perfect. Aristotle thought to himself. He walked to the door of the brig and made his way into the ship, heading for his interpreter.
Several hours later, Aristotle was waiting patiently on the deck next to his interpreter as the majority of the crew carried a large stone from the brig onto the deck of the ship.
The stone was spheric in shape, and about the same height as Aristotle, though several times heavier. Most interestingly, however, was the Latin inscription on the stone, as well as the mystic symbols that had been carved into the stone.
One of the crew members carrying the stone accidently lost his grip on it, causing it to crash to the deck.
“<Greek> Be careful with that! <Greek>” Aristotle yelled, and his interpreter immediately repeated Aristotle’s words in the crew’s native language.
Aristotle shook his head as the crew members once more picked up the stone. “<Greek> Good; it’s undamaged. We’re lucky; who knows what would’ve happened if that stone chipped? <Greek>” He whispered to the interpreter.
“<Greek> Don’t worry; this is the best crew my country has to offer. <Greek>” The interpreter whispered back. He hesitated before continuing. “<Greek> If you don’t mind my asking, Aristotle, why does your pupil, the Great Alexander, want this stone at the bottom of the Great Ocean? <Greek>”
“<Greek> Don’t concern yourself with that. <Greek>” Aristotle responded, and the interpreter quickly became silent.
Aristotle watched the crew hoist the stone up and over the starboard side of the ship, where it made a loud SPLASH as it hit the water below, quickly sinking.
Aristotle walked over to the edge of the boat and watched the stone sink below the waters of the Great Ocean. “<Greek> As it began with my teacher’s teacher, let it end with me. <Greek>” Aristotle watched the final bubbles disappear from the surface of the water. “<Greek> God willing. <Greek>”

The Pain of Team Legacy: The Four Goddesses (Part 1)

The sun was setting low in the horizon as Delta arrived in Recluse City. Delta was a bit taken aback at the dirty streets, the abandoned buildings; the city appeared dead to her.
Delta was very young; not quite 19 years old yet. Her appearance would suggest that she was a foreigner, though no foreigner EVER set foot in Recluse’s Empire. The people that could flee from Lord Recluse’s grasp during and after the War were also strongly opposed to Recluse’s government, and the atrocities that Recluse’s henchmen were said to have committed, whether real or fictitious, were told in great detail at every public venue from Madrid to Tokyo.
Regardless, Delta’s outfit could easily have been one of a Hero. She wore a white, single-piece, sleeve-less satin blouse that extended from her neck to her knees. Over her blouse, Delta wore a beige cape that extended over her head as a hood and ended at her waist, a single button at her neck the only thing keeping the cape in place as it flapped about her body in the wind. Delta’s outfit was complete with beige sandals and a white veil, her green eyes and forehead the only visible areas of her face.
Could the Vessels really reside in such a decrepit place? Delta thought as she reached into her blouse, pulling out four stones. The stones glowed softly in Delta’s hand, an array of red, blue, yellow, and green light. Delta looked up and surveyed the area. I’m close. She put the stones back into her blouse and moved deeper into the city.

“All right!” Dan yelled, stretching his arms over his head as he and Ken walked into the Dining Area of Team Legacy’s base. Dan smiled as he put his arms around Ken playfully. “There’s nothing like a BIG dinner after a good workout, right Ken?”
“Well, it definitely nicer than some of the meals I’ve eaten.” Ken laughed slightly as he and Dan took their places at the table. Ken noticed that Gabriel, Faith, and Luck, were already seated. “And I have to admit, Hope’s cooking is incredible!” Ken added, smiling.
“That’s for sure!” Dan said as he punched Ken in the arm playfully. “I’d hate to think what would happen if-” Dan was interrupted as Hope appeared at the door leading to the Conference Room of Team Legacy; she had Michael by the arm, and was desperately trying to drag him into the Dining Room.
“But Michael!” Hope protested, sounding exasperated as she continued to attempt to drag her reluctant teammate into the room. “You... have... to... eat!”
“Can’t it wait for an hour or two?!” Michael’s shouted back. “I’ve finally got the new energy source stabilized, but if you-”
“What new energy source?” Luck asked, rising from her seat. Gabriel and Faith rushed to assist Hope, and together they dragged Michael into the room, closing the door behind him. Michael fell to his knees in frustration, while Hope did the same from exhaustion.
“Michael, I’m worried.” Hope said, panting a bit as she regained her strength. “For the last couple of weeks you’ve shut yourself off in your room, only coming out to eat.” She leaned closer to Michael and looked into his eyes. “You’ve got us all worried; we just want to know what you’re working on that’s so important, that’s all.”
Michael looked back into Hope’s eyes for a moment, then looked down, gritting his teeth. “Well...”
“Hey, wait a minute!” Dan interrupted, pointing at Hope. “If you’ve been busy getting Michael out of his room, then who...?”
“Dinner is served!” Daisy and Lily declared as the doors to the Kitchen burst open, the two young women holding trays of food in their arms and wearing pink aprons over their usual outfits.
Dan, Ken, Gabriel, Luck, Faith, and Michael looked in shock as Daisy and Lily began placing plates of food on the table. Hope’s face glowed a bright red as she, Michael, and those who had gotten up slowly took their places at the table once more. After Lily and Daisy presented plates to every member, they placed trays of... stuff... in the middle of the table before taking their seats.
“So...” Dan began as he eyed the food in front of him; it appeared to be a brown rock. He looked at Daisy and Lily, who were smiling as they sat next to Ken (who had a noticeably larger portion than the other members of Team Legacy). “Have you two... decided to take up cooking?”
“Oh, no!” Lily said as she took some white mush from one of the trays. “We just decided that since Hope always makes our meals for us, it would be nice to give her a day off!”
“Really?” Gabriel asked, poking his fork at the substance on his plate. He turned angrily towards Hope, whose face was still a deep crimson hue.
“Yes...” Hope said, almost apologetically. “I told them I didn’t mind cooking; I enjoy it, but they insisted...” She looked around the table, her face growing even redder, then finally turned her eyes to her food.
“What is this?” Dan asked, attempting to cut his rock. His knife couldn’t penetrate it.
“Oh, that’s Daisy’s meatloaf.” Lily said, sneering at Daisy.
“Well, I seem to have the most generous portion.” Ken said as he pondered the mountain of food on his plate. “You girls didn’t have to-”
“Oh, but I insist!” Daisy said quickly, taking some of the white mush into a spoon and holding it in front of Ken’s face. “Here! I spent a long time making these mashed potatoes, so I hope you’ll like them!”
“Oh...” Ken hesitated, then took the spoon from Daisy’s hand. Ken swallowed hard, then scooped the stuff into his mouth. Ken attempted to keep a straight face as he swallowed the slop. “It’s... not bad.” Ken said as he forced a smile.
“Here, Ken!” Lily said, taking a bowl full of an orange, Jell-O like substance and stuffing a spoonful into Ken’s mouth. “I used my secret recipe for sweet potatoes; doesn’t it just melt in your mouth?”
Ken’s eyes began to water as he swallowed. “Now, girls, you really don’t have to-”
“Oh, you’re being too generous, Ken!” Daisy said, staring at Lily as she took a spoonful of some yellow substance. “Lily’s sweet potatoes are nothing compared to my applesauce; try it!” She stuffed the food into Ken’s mouth.
“Really, girls, I-” Ken tried to say, but suddenly found his mouth full.
“You don’t even use any spices in your applesauce!” Lily yelled, glaring at Daisy as she stuffed more food down Ken’s throat.
“Don’t give him your clam chowder! It’s putrid!” Daisy yelled, knocking Lily’s hand away as she rammed another spoonful of food into Ken’s mouth.
Ken desperately swallowed, holding back the urge to vomit as he looked to Dan for help. Dan returned his gaze with a grin.
“You know, I bet Ken would love the meatloaf, too!” Dan said, trying his best to keep a straight face.
“Excuse me...” A young woman appeared at the doorway, causing everyone to turn their attention to her. Ken used the opportunity to spit out the food in his mouth. The woman looked around the room. “Pardon me if I’m interrupting something-”
In an instant, Dan had drawn his Dragon Slayer and lashed at the woman, the tip of his sword hovering inches from her throat.
“Who are you and how did you get in here?” Dan asked, keeping his eyes on the woman. The other members of Team Legacy did the same.
“I apologize...” The woman said, raising her hands up to show she was unarmed. “I call myself Delta; I mean you no harm. But you’re base isn’t hidden very well, nor is it being protected at the moment...”
“What?!” Michael rose to his feet and ran into the Conference Room, coming back with a small, handheld device in his hand.
The device was thin and sleek; but a monitor covering one side of the gadget was the only noticeable feature. In one corner of the monitor, the image of a small bed containing a sleeping young woman was shown. The woman had light blue hair and small “Z”s coming out of her mouth.
“Tulip!” Michael shouted, shaking the device. In the next instant, Michael was lit up with electrocution and consequently fell to the ground as a lightning bolts shot out of the monitor, reforming in the Dining Room as a young woman with blue hair. Tulip was only dressed in pink pajamas, and had a teddy bear tucked under her arm as she rubbed her eyes and yawned.
“Can’t a girl get some sleep?” Tulip asked as she looked around, noticing Delta. “Hello. Who are you?” Tulip examined Delta’s outfit, then changed her own in a flash of electricity. Tulip now wore blue, button-front, single-piece, low-cut blouse that ran from her neck to just below her hips. She stockings over her blue, high-heeled shoes, and her blue hair was now tied back over her head as she adjusted her new glasses.
Tulip walked over to Delta as Dan lowered his sword. Tulip lifted Delta’s cape, running her hands over the fabric. “Oh, I love it! It’s both comfortable AND fashionable!” Tulip frowned as she eyed Delta’s veil. “But THAT’S not so great. The Arabic-look really clashes with the rest of-”
“TULIP!!!” Michael yelled, recovering from his “shocking” experience. “You were SUPPOSED to be monitoring the base! You were SUPPOSED to make sure people couldn’t just walk in here like SHE just did!” He pointed to Delta.
“May I explain myself?” Delta interjected politely. The entire team returned their attention towards Delta, and she sighed before continuing. “I was sent here by the three Guardians of the Stone of Elements.”
“The what?” Dan asked, his hand still on the hilt of his Dragon Slayer.
Delta smiled inwardly. It’s no surprise this group doesn’t know of the Guardians. Only a handful of the Masters were aware of them, and I doubt that-
“The Guardians of the Stone of Elements are really the three Masters of Earth, Ice, and Fire.” Ken calmly explained, causing everyone in the room to turn and stare at him. “About 20 years ago, those three Masters discovered the Stone of Elements and decrypted the ancient language it was written in.” He looked directly at Delta as he continued. “The inscription on the Stone told a tale of Four Elemental Goddesses that long ago helped a human attain great power, as well as a great kingdom.” Ken lowered his eyes, trying his best to remember the tale as it was told to him. “But... something happened...” Ken searched his mind. “I... can’t remember... but I do know that, in the end, the Four Goddesses were imprisoned in the Stone of Elements by order of the very same human they had helped.” He returned his gaze to Delta. “If they sent you here, they must think that at LEAST one of us is a Vessel.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” Daisy yelled, rising to her feet and pointing accusingly at Ken. “How do YOU know all of that?! Just who ARE you, anyway?!”
Ken looked into Daisy’s eyes, and for a moment the room was silent. Finally, Ken spoke.
“I know because the one who taught me swordsmanship told me that story himself.” Ken turned to stare at Delta. “I’m sure you know who my trainer was.”
“I see...” Delta said, the truth finally dawning on her. “Master Ryu took YOU in as a student!”
“Master Ryu?!” Dan yelled, running over to Ken and practically choking him from excitement. “I don’t believe this! You mean all this time I’ve been sparring with you I COULD have been learning incredible sword techniques from the same person you did?!” Dan shook Ken wildly, causing Ken to become quite dizzy. “What are you waiting for?! If you know where this Master Ryu guy is you’ve got to tell us right now!”
“Even if Master Ryu DID go against his principles and decide to help you...” Delta said, shaking her head sadly. “You still wouldn’t have enough power to defeat Lord Recluse.”
“Maybe not...” Gabriel said, rising to his feet. “But every little bit helps.” He turned to Ken. “Ken, if you have any idea-”
“Listen,” Delta interrupted. “If you want to defeat Lord Recluse, that’s one area where the Guardians can help you.”
“And how exactly can you do that?” Michael asked, still not entirely trustful of Delta.
Delta sighed and reached into her blouse. Dan and Michael tensed at this action, preparing to attack, but relaxed when Delta pulled out four glowing stones and presented them to the team. She placed the stones on the Dining Table.
“These four stones have been attuned to the Four Goddesses that reside in the Stone of Elements.” Delta explained as all of Team Legacy observed the stones. “The stone that is glowing red is attuned to the Fire Goddess; the stone that is glowing blue is attuned to the Water Goddess; the stone that is glowing yellow is attuned to the Wind Goddess; and the stone that is glowing green is attuned to the Earth Goddess.” Delta looked around at the young Heroes before continuing. “According to the inscriptions on the Stone of Elements, the four Goddesses can be brought back to this plane of existence with ALL of their original power intact once the Vessels are found.”
“What exactly are these ‘Vessels’ you and Ken are referring to?” Gabriel asked.
“The Vessels are the four young women whose bodies will be used to bring back the Goddesses.” Delta said.
“Wait a minute...” Michael narrowed his eyes at Delta. “You’re saying that these Goddesses will basically POSSESS these ‘Vessels’ to use as they will?” Michael’s tone grew angrier. “What happens to the original personality and conscious of these ‘Vessels’?”
“You misunderstand.” Delta said. “The Goddesses don’t POSSESS the Vessels; they UNITE with them.”
“Unite?” Gabriel asked. “As in, share the body with the mind that’s already inhabiting it?”
“Exactly.” Delta said reassuringly. “Don’t worry; the ritual has been studied exhaustively by the Guardians, so I’m sure they wouldn’t try to bring back the Goddesses if they were malevolent.” Delta then looked down at the stones, her tone becoming very serious. “But know this; once we find the Vessels, and the ritual is performed, we WILL be able to destroy Recluse and this Empire.” She turned to Gabriel. “THAT I can assure you.”
Gabriel looked around the room. One by one, the team nodded in agreement; even Michael, though it was clear he wasn’t entirely convinced.
“OK...” Gabriel asked. “What do we have to do?”
“First...” Delta said, motioning towards the stones. “We must see how many Vessels are here. In order to do that, I need every young women here to clutch these stones in your hand.” She looked up at Gabriel. “Once every woman here has done that, we will know how many Vessels are present in this room.”
“Right!” Tulip yelled, surprising everyone and making Hope jump slightly. “Me first!” She grabbed the stones into her hand. The rest of the team and Delta watched anxiously. Several minutes passed... but nothing happened.
“You are not a Vessel.” Delta sighed, disappointment in her voice.
“Well, technically, she’s not even a woman.” Faith sighed, taking the stone from Tulip’s hand.
“Hey!” Tulip yelled angrily, charging up with electricity. “You take that-” Tulip stopped as Faith’s hand began to glow.
“What...?!” Faith asked as she watched the stones in her hand. The stone that was glowing yellow looked like it was melting into her hand, glowing incredibly brightly as it did so.
What’s going on? Faith thought as her hand continued to glow a bright yellow. It feels like a strong wind is passing over my hand!
After several minutes, the stone had completely melted into Faith’s hand, and the glowing had stopped. Faith stared at the three remaining stones in her hand, then looked up at Delta, who was looking at Faith in awe.
“You are the Vessel for the Wind Goddess!” Delta whispered, her voice almost catching in her throat.
Everyone stood silent for several moments; then, gently, Faith presented the stones to Luck. Luck hesitated, then took the stones into her hand. Almost immediately, Luck’s hand began to glow in a similar fashion as Faith’s had, but her hand was glowing red.
“Ow!” Luck cried out, wincing as Hope rushed to her side.
“Does it hurt?” Hope asked, watching the red stone disappear into Luck’s hand.
Luck nodded. “A bit. It feels like my hand is burning!”
“Don’t worry, it’s just a natural side effect of the stones.” Delta tried to reassure Luck. “It will pass soon... Vessel for the Fire Goddess.”
Luck looked up suddenly; she hadn’t even thought of that part.
After Luck’s hand stopped glowing and the red stone was completely gone, Luck gave the two remaining stones to Hope. Hope gently grabbed them with her fingertips. The green stone rolled into her palm, but the blue stone stuck to her fingertips.
“Oh!” Hope cried out in surprise. Her hand immediately began glowing blue, and it felt like her hand was submerged under water.
“I don’t believe it!” Delta cried out. “Three Vessels in one place!” She looked at the last Daisy and Lily as the Hope’s stone was dissolving into her hand. “I wonder if... all FOUR of the Vessels are in one place?”
“Hmph!” Lily said, walking over to Hope. “Only one way to find out.” She reached out her hand towards the green stone, hesitating for a moment. Then, she plucked it from Hope’s hand. Lily closed her eyes, waiting for the sensation to overcome her. Feeling nothing, Lily opened her eyes and looked at her hand; the stone was still there, glowing but not melting or making her hand glow.
Delta sighed. “You are not a Vessel, either.”
Lily did her best to seem disappointed. That’s a relief. She thought to herself. That just leaves... She turned to Daisy.
“Well, I guess that’s everyone!” Daisy said quickly, taking the stone from Lily’s hand. “At least you’ve found three of the people you’re looking for; as for me, I can assure you I’m-”
Daisy stopped short, her voice catching in her throat. It felt like she was holding a pound of sand in her hand. Raising the hand she had used to grab the stone, she was shocked to see it glowing green, the stone already absorbed halfway into her hand.

-----

Alright, I should have the next Chapter up in about 3 or 4 days!(MUCH sooner than 3 or 4 weeks, trust me)

From the History of Talos Island:

[ QUOTE ]
In the last climatic battle against his arch foe, the Chimera, Talos and the serpentine beast clashed beneath the waters of the bay. A mighty battle ensued, shaking Paragon City to its foundations, tearing a giant rift in the ocean floor from which earth and lava rose to form an island. Known today as Talos Island, it is said that both Talos and the Chimera are still locked in mortal combat within its stony embrace.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you THE PLOT:

"Oh no! The Chimera has broken free and is terroizing the city! We need YOU to go and get Talos free as well, so he can help us! You have to wait until the moon turns red and the sun rises in the west! (1000000 points to someone who gets the reference.) Then, the two will battle it out in the BATTLE OF THE GIANT MONSTERS!!!"

Alright, I KNOW it's been a LONG time since I've updated this fanfic, but I've had a small family crisis in the past week that takes me away from my computer for 90% of the day, ergo I can't work on this fic as often as I want to.
Don't worry; I'm almost done with the next Chapter, and the main brunt of my family crisis is over, so I SHOULD be able to work on this fic alot more often now... hopefully...
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I have NOT given up on this fic, and I'll (probably) get the next Chapter up by the weekend

((Wow, this Thread died quickly. I blame myself; I created a situation with no end in mind (I had hoped someone else would come up with an interesting conclusion, but TAGordon2's ending is fine). I'll fix up the loose ends now, and (maybe) start the beginning of the next Saga. I'll seperate this Post into two sections; the first section finishing up this Saga, then another section offering a (possible) beginning to the next Saga. I realize that Open RP's require the full participation of everyone involved, which is why I'm making the second part of this Post a "test" to see if you're willing to go with it. It remains true to the ideal of this Thread, but some of you may have other plans about what to do. And since I've already "headed" one Saga, anyone else who has a better idea than what I give in the second section of this Post is more than welcome to offer it. I think that the idea of "killing or not killing" offers many different plots for this Open RP to follow, so if someone else comes up with a more interesting plot than what I offer for the next Saga, go ahead and Post it; I'm more than willing to follow along with someone else's idea ))

Wolfe Gunner sighed as he watched the Freedom Phalanx clear out what was left of the Council base. Once Requiem had been knocked unconcious, it was easy for Lieutenant Hawk of the Super Group "Final Justice" to pick the password from his head. With the Sleeper Agents back to normal, the city was beginning to return to normal... although, the lives that were lost in the incident were not so easily salvaged.
Wolfe Gunner looked over to see Statesman talking to Captain Eagle of the Super Group "Final Justice". As it turns out, Captain Eagle and Statesman had been pretty close during the Ritki War. Using his keen wolf hearing, Wolfe Gunner could hear the conversation clearly; Requiem's body was nowhere to be found.
"Heh." Wolfe Gunner chuckled to himself. "After all that, Requiem still escapes." Wolfe Gunner was a bit taken aback by his own lower voice, and reality caught up to him. He had been in his Wolf form too long during the battle; this form was his new body, at least until he could find a way to seperate his wolves from his body once more.
Wolfe Gunner turned his inhuman eyes up to the night sky. It was a full moon. He chuckled once more; even that morning, he would have despised himself, cursed the world for this fate. He would have done everything he could have to rid himself of the curse and be done with wolves once and for all.
Wolfe Gunner closed his eyes, his head still facing the night sky. He had changed alot in the course of a day; and, though he wished to return to his previous form, it wasn't because he couldn't stand his current body; it was because he knew that his best friends needed their own bodies. They had to live their own lives, after all.

-----

(And now, the "experimental" opening to [possibly] the next Saga)

Joe stepped back from the sign of Paragon City, eyeing his work. He then got back into his running car and pulled back onto the highway. He adjusted the car's mirror and watched as the dark city in front of him became ever closer to his reach.
"Ah, Paragon City..." Joe smiled inwardly, chuckling slightly. "The City of Hope, the City of Heroes, the shining example of what every other city should aspire to." He narrowed his eyes, already seeing signs of the previous carnage that had befallen the city. He smiled. "Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such wealth has been brought to ruin!"
Joe turned on his radio, music beginning to play on the station. "Let the fun begin." He mused to himself. The radio began playing the old song, "(Sittin on the) Dock in the Bay" by Otis Redding. Joe began to whistle the tune to himself as the car sped towards Paragon City.
Behind him, the sign that once said "Welcome to Paragon City" had been altered. "Paragon City" had been crossed out, replaced with the word "Babylon"

((If any of you have seen the Justice League Epsiode "Eclipse", you probably have a much better understanding of what I'm talking about for this "opening". The episode "Eclipse" was basically ripped off from a famous movie starring Denzel Washington (I'm not sure how many of you have seen it, but watch the movie, then watch the "Eclipse" episodes, and just TRY and say that Justice League didn't COMPLETELY rip off the movie (which was made much ealier). That's basically the type of plot I'm trying here, but like I said, if anyone else has any ideas, I'd be more than willing to take someone else's idea over mine ))

Wow, it's been a LONG time since I've gotten any feedback on this fanfic; thank you, Blood_Wolffe.

And to answer your question, yes, I'm in the middle of working on the next Chapter, and it looks like it's coming out pretty well, IMO, however biased that may be

Requiem looked at Rock-Hoppe for a moment with utter rage, then began to chuckle. His chuckle became maniacal laughter as he jumped back, the tentacles on his back releasing BY THEMSELVES. The tentacles sent out a wave of negative energy that would damage whoever was holding them before disappearing.
"Fool!" Requiem said. "Nictus and Kheldians are not so different; watch!"
With a yell, Requiem's body changed once more. He grew in height, his head reaching the cieling as his body became more muscular, dark armor covering his entire body. His head altered until it no longer resembled a human's, his red eyes shrunk back into his head, glowing like two red beads as his head, too, was covered in dark armor. He let out a roar as his transformation ended.
"I will kill you all!" Requiem yelled, his voice barely human. "But even if I am unsuccessful in THIS form..." Requiem let out an etereal chuckle. "I WILL be successful with my FINAL FORM!"
Requiem raised his huge leg and then crashed it down onto the floor, causing negative energy waves to damage all those who were on the ground at the time.
"You can't stop the Council!" Requiem yelled to the Heroes in his inhuman voice.

The "Council's Ultimate Plot" Saga: Requiem's Second Form, Goliath Requiem!!!

Wolfe Gunner hesitated for a moment, then grabbed hold of the hilt of the Sword. He closed his eyes, waiting for the rush of pain. It never came.
Wolfe Gunner sighed, thinking hard. He had the heart of a wolf, the same heart that beated in the accursed animal that killed his parents.

"NOOO!" Wolfe Gunner turned to see a new vampire toss Requiem into the machine, the energy immediately beginning to be drained from him. Requiem had been holding one of the other Hero's in his tentacles, but dropped the Hero when he was tossed into the machine.
"NO! I... WON'T... BE... DEFEATED LIKE THIS!" Requiem shouted. Using all of his strength, Requiem unleashed a negative energy backlash, destroying the machine he was in. He quickly regained most of his strength, though some of his power had been absorbed by the machine before he was able to free himself.
Requiem looked at the new vampires, then to Wolfe Gunner, then to the Hero that he had been holding in his tentacle. Wolfe Gunner made a quick glance around the room; aside from the vampire, most of the Heroes in the room (including himself) were at the end of their rope in terms of power. Wolfe Gunner tightened his grip on his sword.
Requiem got to his feet, stretching out, but keeping his eye on the vampires. "Well, I must say that was pretty crafty of you, Mordachi." Something was wrong; Requiem was smiling. "With the power that machine absorbed, you bought everyone who had been converted into Sleeper Agents about 30 minutes. However..." Requiem chuckled. "The machine is destroyed now; which means you can't add any more power to it, even if you offered yourself. So, in half an hour..." Requiem laughed maniacally. "...all those people will die." Wolfe Gunner gritted his teeth as Requiem assumed a fighting stance, a black aura once again surrounding his body. "Of course, you can still save them... if you manage to get the password from me. You really don't have any choice; there's no other way to get power to all my Sleeper Agents, and even the BEST hacker wouldn't be able to get the password in half an hour." Requiem smiled once more, making a motion with his hands for the vampire to attack him. "Let's finish this."

[ QUOTE ]
Well this sucks, I was having fun with this. Its too late for me to join Whitmoore, they are way to far along.

[/ QUOTE ]

You could always join Blood_Wolffe's Open RP, "Those Who Kill and Those Who Don't". You'd probably have to wait until after the whole "Council" Saga (which should end soon) is resolved, but we've been having alot of fun over there

CockAroach, I if you've ever read my fanfic, you'd know that my writing is much darker than most of the Posters in this Forum.

However, you have touched the one subject that even I refuse to go near. I applaud your bravery, but I hope that if you're going to involve such EXTREME subject material, you're doing so in an attempt to convey a much deeper message.

Bloodfang's scream caused Wolfe Gunner to turn to the machine Blood Wolffe was at.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Wolfe Gunner yelled as he punched Blood Wolffe across the face, knocking him away from the machine. He turned to see Bloodfang's body impaled on the wooden beam, then turned back to Blood Wolffe. "All of these Heroes here have fought and DIED so we can save those people WITHOUT having to kill them. Do you want to make everything we've done so far amount to nothing?!"
Wolfe Gunner concentrated, waving his arm in front of him. Several Fire Wolves appeared in front of him. Waving his other hand, a large Frost Wolf appeared next to them. Concentrating, Wolfe Gunner was able to Animate Stone Wolves, as well as summon a Wolf Phantasm.
Wolfe Gunner concentrated even harder, and all of the pets that he had just summoned combined into one, singular sword, glowing as it hovered in the air in front of him.
"This..." Wolfe Gunner said, motioning to the sword. "Is the Sword of Wolf's Heart. Unfortunately..." Wolfe Gunner narrowed his eyes. "It's useless to me. Only one who posesses the heart of a wolf can wield this weapon. So..." For the first time, a smile spread across Wolfe Gunner's face. "Are you a civilized human being, or the no-good, blood-thirsty animal I always knew you were?"
Wolfe Gunner turned as he heard a shot come from Night-Shike's rifle...

YES! FINALLY!
Sorry it took so long to update; I've been busy with schoolwork, as well as working in an Open RP Thread I also had to edit some parts of this Chapter, so... Anway, I'll try and Update this Fanfic more often, I promise!
Anyway, here's what you've been waiting for: the next Chapter!

-----

The rain poured heavily as Mr. Dimentid walked over to his large, wall-size office window. He looked out onto the night sky, his eyes resting on the streets of New Recluse City. The lights were turned off in his office, the various lights of the thriving metropolis outside and the computer on Mr. Dimentid’s desk providing the only illumination in the room. Mr. Dimentid took a sip of red wine, sighing as he adjusted his expensive glasses and thought of the matter at hand. Mr. Dimentid looked back at Risk, sitting at his desk, her eyes still locked on the computer screen.
“Can you explain this, honey?” Risk asked softly, her tone distant as she continued to stare blankly at the image on the screen in front of her. The computer showed the image of a Hero who had died during the War, one whose appearance matched Risk’s perfectly.
Risk tore her eyes away from the computer screen and looked across the room into Mr. Dimentid’s eyes. “Honey... who is Chance?” She asked, her voice quivering.
Mr. Dimentid sighed as he reached his gloved hand into his black leather suit and pulled out a small device with a single button on it. “I swear, it’s seems like every one of you is smarter than the last.” Mr. Dimentid said harshly. “I’ll have to look over the settings on the equipment this time; even though you’re a minor expense, money is still money.”
“Honey, what are you-” Risk’s voice caught in her throat before she could finish her sentence; her muscles were tightening, and Risk found out with great horror that she could no longer breathe. She tried to move, to speak, to do ANYTHING, but her body would not respond; she was dying. She fell off the desk chair and rolled onto the ground, her eyes starting to roll back into her head. The last thing she saw was Mr. Dimentid standing over her, looking down at her with a look of frustration on his face. There was no sign of sadness, nor remorse, not even pity as he looked down at her. She finally realized, just before giving into the growing darkness, that he had never loved her... what she had mistaken for love, the feeling he had towards her, had been the same as a child enjoying a toy... or a man enjoying a new car... she had been just another material to her... she finally realized this, and then... nothing more.
Mr. Dimentid took out his cell phone as he kneeled beside Risk. “I’m coming down... No, don’t start the Replicator yet, I want to look it over first...” He gently brushed aside the blonde hair covering Risks’ face and carefully closed her lifeless eyes. “Yes, it was in the office this time... OK, I’ll be there in about 10 minutes. Be ready by then.” Mr. Dimentid put away his cell phone as he rose back to his feet. He took one last look at Risk; then he casually walked out of his office, whistling to himself as he headed for the laboratory.

The Pain of Team Legacy: The 7 Generals

North-Western France - 50 Kilometers East of Rennes

The light of the sun reflected off the gray dome in the middle of the valley; the inconspicuous grass surrounding the base hiding strategically-placed land mines and anti-aircraft turrets. The walls inside of the base was lined with monitors showing the various activities of Lord Recluse’s minions as they swept across the country, frequently clashing with the E.U.H. (European Union of Heroes). In the center of the base, various communication stations were being manned by Recluse’s Elite Soldiers, frantically recording the incoming transmissions of Recluse’s forces. Above the communication desks, on the second floor of the base, Lord Recluse sat alone in a large, dark room, illuminated by a monitor the shape and size of a desk sitting horizontally in front of Lord Recluse. The monitor showed a large map of France, with various labeled icons slowing the location of his forces. As information of troop advancement came in, the screen would be properly tabulated to show the advancement of Recluse’s regiments.
A small alarm sounded in the room, indicating an incoming transmission from one of Recluse’s soldiers.
“Go ahead.” Lord Recluse said, pressing a button on the arm of his seat. The monitor in front of him changed, showing Lord Recluse a familiar face. “Ah, Mr. Gordo.” Recluse said, smiling as the fat man saluted him.
Mr. Gordo was one of Recluse’s 7 most trusted Generals. Each of Recluse’s Generals were chosen not just for their abilities on the battlefield, but also on their rather... unique abilities. While many of Recluse’s Generals had very unorthodox duties, Recluse’s army itself was quite unorthodox; and, considering the fact that it was due (in part) to these 7 Generals that Lord Recluse had been able to win the War of New Era, one would be foolish to take them lightly.
Mr. Gordo himself didn’t seem too threatening; the most striking thing about him being his incredibly obese body. True, Mr. Gordo was so overweight that he no longer wore any shirts, allowing his incredibly large gut to fall over the waist of his red sweat pants; his only other article of clothing being his black army boots. His wild brown hair was incredibly dirty and unkempt, not to mention being uncut as it fell onto his bare shoulders. He smiled as he looked at Lord Recluse, his beady black eyes seeming to shrink back into his head, and he wiped some drool from the corner of his mouth before speaking.
“The city of Caen is yours, Lord Recluse!” Mr. Gordo spat, more saliva coming out of his mouth as he spoke. He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Can I start choosing my meals now?”
“Yes, of course.” Lord Recluse sighed. “But remember; no more than 100, and NOT in view of the public.” Lord Recluse held his voice firm on this. “I still need these people to accept my rule after this is all over, so DO NOT overstep your limits, understand?”

Mr. Gordo nodded, and Recluse ended the transmission. Lowering the arm that had his communicator on it, Mr. Gordo motioned to several Elite Soldiers behind him; he had already chosen his first few meals. The Elite Soldiers guided Mr. Gordo into one of the many bunkers that were being set up around the perimeter of the city; inside the bunker, several more Elite Soldiers stood at attention, and in the middle of the bunker, a small French family sat, huddled together. The family consisted of a mother, father, and a daughter who couldn’t have been more than 10 years old. The father had his arms around his wife and daughter, doing his best to shield them should any of the Elite Soldiers decide to open fire on them. The man’s daughter was crying, her face embedded in her mother’s chest. As Mr. Gordo approached the family, the father spoke up, trying to sound brave even though his voice was quivering.
“<French> I don’t care if you kill me; but please, at least spare the rest of my family! They’ve done nothing to you! <French>” The man shouted.
“<French> No, Pierre! What are you doing? <French>” The mother shouted to her husband, tears in her eyes.
“<French> Mommy! Daddy! Make them go away! <French>” The daughter cried into her mother’s chest.
“Enough of this.” Mr. Gordo said, his stomach growling. “Don’t worry, you’ll all see each other again; in my stomach!” Mr. Gordo grabbed the father across the throat. “Let’s see... I’ll start with some chicken wings!” In an instant, the man disappeared, replaced by a pile of chicken wings. Mr. Gordo squealed in delight as he sat down to feast, all the time the mother and daughter remained crying.
“<French> Oh God, help us! Please spare my child! <French>” The mother began to babble over and over.
“Hey! I’m trying to enjoy me meal!” Mr. Gordo said, turning away from the chicken for a moment. “If you want to help...” He grabbed the mother by the arm. “Why don’t you give me something to wash this down with?” In the next moment, the mother disappeared, replaced by a bottle of milk. The daughter fell face-down to the floor, still crying.
“Ah, that hits the spot!” Mr. Gordo said through bites as he finished his chicken, followed quickly by his milk. He looked down at the small girl, who was still face-down on the floor, bawling. “Hey, hey, don’t cry.” Mr. Gordo said, kneeling down and raising the girl’s tear-soaked face to his own. He looked into the girl’s bloodshot eyes. “I think you’re sweet.” He said, an evil grin spreading across his face as the girl disappeared, replaced by a small bowl of vanilla ice-cream. “Oh, yes...” Mr. Gordo said as he quickly inhaled the dessert. “You’re very, very sweet...”

On the opposite end of the city, several members of the E.U.H. remained hidden inside an abandoned building as several Exterminators passed by.
“<German> Let’s go, Mario! <German>” Hans whispered to his comrades after the Exterminators left. “<German> General Lucius has already given the order to retreat! <German>”
“<Italian> No! <Italian>” Mario snapped, reloading his rifle. “<Italian> You know as well as I do that if Recluse’s forces advance any farther it will only be a matter of time before he takes Paris! After that, taking Rome will be a cake walk! <Italian>” He narrowed his eyes on his teammates. “<Italian> I will die; I know that. But we are HEROES; if we don’t lay down our lives to protect those innocence who have not yet been contaminated with Recluse’s evil, we don’t deserve that title. <Italian>”
“<French> I agree! <French>” Jean said, extending spines from his body. “<French> If we die, we’ll take down as many of those bastards as possible! Long live France! <French>”
And so, with a cry, the three Heroes burst out of the building, killing several Exterminators immediately. This outburst did not go unnoticed, however.
Inside a nearby building, four of Recluse’s Generals had been discussing their next offensive in a billiard room when they heard the battle outside. Ms. Love, the closest one to the room’s window, looked outside the room to see the source of the commotion.
“My, my...” Ms. Love said, watching the battle.. “It looks like we had some Heroes in stowaway.” She watched the Heroes fight. “Such determination... I wonder if they show the same effort in bed?”
Ms. Love was quite powerful in her own right. However, any male that gazed upon her would more than likely NOT be thinking about how she fought. Truly, Ms. Love was a vision; next to her, the super models of the former U.S., even the many scantily-clad female Heroes that were in Paragon City before the War, PALED in comparison to the physical beauty and sexuality that radiated from her body. Ms. Love was fully aware of this fact, and all of her outfits were designed specifically to take advantage of it.
Ms. Love wore long, red stiletto boots; her lower and upper body was barely covered, with only a red g-string bikini bottom and red bikini top covering her body, while her arms were covered with long, red leather gloves. Her face, even without make-up, was incredibly beautiful; and she let her long, black hair fall freely onto her bare shoulders.
“Heroes?!” Mr. Boom yelled. “I can’t believe this! My subordinates told me this city was SECURE! I’ll take care of this myself; but I swear, it’s not just going to be some worthless Heroes that answer for this!” He picked up a billiard ball from the billiard table; the instant he did so, the billiard ball began to glow with red light. He threw the ball across the room, where it exploded on the wall, sending shrapnel flying everywhere. “Let me at them!” Mr. Boom huffed.
Mr. Boom, at first glance, did not appear to be very powerful. He was a bit shorter than most men his age, a fact that only fueled his seemingly limitless anger. He wore black military boots, along with long black pants, and a red leather trenchcoat, underneath which he wore a black wool T-shirt. He wore black, fingerless gloves on his hands, and completed his outfit with a black beret that had the Spider insignia on it. His short, brown hair was tucked underneath the beret.
The explosion woke up Mr. Winkle, who had been sleeping on a couch in the corner of the room.
“What’s all the ruckus?” Mr. Winkle yawned.
“Nothing.” Mr. Boom gritted his teeth, turning to Mr. Winkle. “Just a desperate attack by some Heroes.” He walked out of the room, heading downstairs.
“Oh, that’s all?” Mr. Winkle asked, half-asleep, not particularly caring one way or the other. “You deal with it; I’m going back to sleep.”
Mr. Winkle had some very odd habits; first off, he slept MUCH more often than most people, usually for 16-18 hours a day. Secondly, when he WAS awake he commanded his troops via communications from a safe distance. But perhaps most interestingly of all was his ability to manipulate his fellow Generals into doing his work for him.
For someone who never exercised, Mr. Winkle was surprisingly thin. His tall, lanky body generally covered the entirety of the many couches and beds he slept on. Since he spent 90% of his time on the couch, he didn’t wear any shoes. Long, black, tattered pants covered his legs, above which he wore a red T-shirt that had many holes in it. Since Mr. Winkle didn’t shave, his entire mouth was covered by his thick, black beard. Likewise, since he didn’t cut his hair often, Mr. Winkle’s black hair extended down his back, though he usually tucked it on his side whenever he slept.
“Oh, just look at that Hero!” Ms. Green said, looking out the window. “He can shoot spikes from his body!” Ms. Green stamped her foot on the ground. “It’s not fair! I want that kind of power!”
Ms. Green was by far the youngest of Recluse’s Generals, only 16 years old. She wore expensive black slippers on her feet, with long, black jeans covering her legs, a ruby-studded belt situated around her waist. She also wore a short-sleeve black tank-top, allowing some of her midriff to show; a red Spider insignia was embroidered on the front of the tank-top. Her green hair was cut to medium length, styled in such a way that it covered her right eye.
Ms. Green looked at the Hero she had mentioned earlier, smiling to herself as her black tank-top changed into one of the white and blue leather jackets of the E.U.H. Ms. Green lifted her right arm, a spike protruding from it.
“Hmm...” Ms. Green extended more spikes from her body, sampling the power. She smiled to herself. “Not bad, though I HAVE experienced much better powers.” She turned to Ms. Love. “It would be so much nicer if I had the ability to THINK of whatever I want and poof!” Ms. Green made a motion with her hands. “It would be there! Wouldn’t that be the BEST power?”
“Honestly, Ms. Green...” Ms. Love sighed. “Aren’t you ever grateful for what you already have?”
Ms. Green placed her elbows on the window sill, cupping her face in her hands. “I WOULD be, if I had as much as Lord Recluse does.”
Mr. Boom walked out from the building, the three Heroes instantly recognizing him.
“<German> You! <German>” Hans yelled, removing his battle axe from the skull of an Exterminator and turning to the General.
“<Italian> You won’t get the chance to see the end of the war! <Italian>” Mario yelled, aiming his rifle at the General. “<Italian> Today is the day you die! <Italian>” Mario fired his weapon at the General. With lightning-quick speed, Mr. Boom caught the bullet in mid-air.
Smiling, Mr. Boom opened his hand, showing the bullet (which was now glowing with red energy) to the Heroes. “Catch.” Mr. Boom said, flicking the bullet back at Mario.
“<French> Mario! <French>” Jean yelled, watching Mario’s lifeless body fall to the ground. Yelling out, he charged Mr. Boom, with Hans attempting to catch the General from behind.
Jean fired a spike at Mr. Boom. Easily catching the spike in his hand, Mr. Boom quickly added his own energy to the spike and turned to Hans, slashing with the spike. Mr. Boom’s attack effectively cut Hans in half, and Mr. Boom had enough to turn to Jean and throw the spike into the Hero’s chest. In the next instant, the spike exploded, killing Jean.
“OK, now I feel a little better.” Mr. Boom said, taking his beret off and wiping the blood from it.

The signal for another incoming transmission sounded in Recluse’s private office. Answering, Recluse’s monitor showed the image of Swift Blade, another of Recluse’s Generals.
“Ah, Swift Blade.” Recluse said, clasping his hands together. “I’ve been expecting your report for some time. I have several battalions that need your kind of leadership, and since your work in the former U.S. is complete, I trust-”
“It was unsuccessful.” Swift Blade interjected, narrowing his eyes at Lord Recluse.
Lord Recluse paused, studying Swift Blade’s expression. “That’s impossible. All of the data we’ve gathered on that pathetic little resistance of Heroes indicates that they are COMPLETELY incapable of-”
“Yes, their victory over Sonic Blade surprised me, as well.” Swift Blade interrupted once more, remembering the battle.
Lord Recluse leaned back in his chair, pondering the situation. “This is inexcusable. Destroying such a weak band of Heroes shouldn’t have been ANY problem for Kill Strike. I want an explanation.” Lord Recluse attempted to keep his anger in check as he spoke, but even a normal human could see Recluse’s rage building.
“It wasn’t the work of the entire team, Lord Recluse.” Swift Blade said, his mind beginning to wander. “It was the work of one individual on the team; specifically, this one individual has a... has considerably more skill and power than the other Heroes.” Swift Blade thought back to the time he had fought the girl, during the War.
Recluse noticed Swift Blade’s uneasy expression. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Swift Blade cleared his thoughts and turned back to Recluse, his expression stone-cold and professional. “No, Lord Recluse. It is nothing I can’t handle, at the very least.”
“I certainly hope so.” Lord Recluse said, glaring at Swift Blade. “You’re by far the best General I have at my disposal; and, to be honest, I was a bit suspicious of you’re loyalty when you first came to me.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “But you have proven your loyalty time and time again under my authority, and while I disagree with many of your beliefs, well...” Recluse chuckled under his breath. “Like I’ve said many times before: I don’t care what you believe, what values and morales you hold, or even what you think of me. But...” Lord Recluse tone became much harsher. “So long as you live under my rule, you will abide by my Laws and you will do as I order. WITHOUT QUESTION.” Lord Recluse leaned forward in his seat. “Is that understood?” Swift Blade nodded, doing his best to prevent a grin from spreading across his face. “Good.”
At that moment, another incoming transmission came in. Lord Recluse answered it, and the monitor in front of him split into two parts, one showing the face of Swift Blade, and the other now showing the face of Mr. Dimentid, Lord Recluse’s last General.
“Lord Recluse, I couldn’t help but notice that Team Legacy hasn’t been destroyed. I think it’s safe to assume that Kill Strike failed in his mission, hmm?” Mr. Dimentid chuckled under his breath, then continued. “Anyway, I decided I’d offer an alternate solution.”
“Your Spine Brethren have already failed TWICE, Dimentid.” Lord Recluse said, narrowing his eyes at the General.
“Yes, I’m aware of that.” Mr. Dimentid adjusted his glasses, a knowing smile spreading across his face. “I’m working on improvements as we speak.”
“Improvements?” Recluse asked suspiciously.
“The miracle of money, Lord Recluse.” Mr. Dimentid waved his hand. “Anyway, I’m sure you remember the Centurion Project you ordered me to start about a year ago, correct?” Lord Recluse raised an eye at this, causing Mr. Dimentid to chuckle. “Apparently so. As it turns out, I’ve just finished a Prototype Centurion.” He smiled wickedly. “But I need to field test it before I can begin mass-producing them for Europe.” Mr. Dimentid looked around mockingly. “But where, oh where, am I going to find some Heroes to test this Prototype on?” Mr. Dimentid asked sarcastically.
Lord Recluse chuckled once more. “Fine. You have my consent. Swift Blade!” He turned to his other General. “As usual, you maintain an undetectable perimeter around the Heroes. I want a full report of the battle after the resistance is wiped out.” He moved his hand over a button on the arm of his chair. “Lord Recluse out.” The transmissions ended.

Mr. Dimentid turned away from the large monitor on his laboratory wall and turned to a large tube containing Risk, various tubes and hoses attached to her body.
“New Configurations Adapted; Reconfiguration Complete.” The laboratory’s computer declared in a monotone voice as the tube opened, the water spilling out, Risk beginning to come to.
Mr. Dimentid let Risk down, removing the tubes that were attached to her body. Risk spat out some water and then coughed, breathing air for the first time. She opened her eyes and looked at Mr. Dimentid.
“Mr. Dimentid...” She said, her voice faint. “My one... true love...” She wrapped her arms around Mr. Dimentid’s shoulders and kissed him passionately on the lips.
Mr. Dimentid returned Risk’s kiss. There is NOTHING money can’t buy.

-----

So, what did you think? I'll try and find more time to work on this Fanfic, so keep checking back!

Actually, I didn't think this last Chapter was that dark at all. But then again, everyone's definition of "dark" is different, and I'm used to much, MUCH darker material than most

Anyway, you're doing a fine job, Blood_Wolffe. Just one thing, though: You should be more DESCRIPTIVE!
This last Chapter was MUCH better than the first two in this respect; you gave a brief history for each Villain, as well as (for the most part) giving a description on how each Villain looked.
Now, I KNOW all of the Heroes you're using are "borrowed" from other Posters, so their personality and descriptions are well-known, but it would still be nice if you gave a brief description of each Hero as they're introduced; that way, you let the reader know what each Hero looks like in case they've never heard of the character.
Following descriptions of characters, you should also give more description of the setting. You don't need to go into INCREDIBLE, unecessary detail (ex. "New Council City had 15 restaurants, 7 fire hydrants, and in the window of 'Great Council Silverware!' you'll find..."), but just a brief overview of where these characters are (similiar to how you described the "Hero Base" towards the end of this latest Chapter) would help us, as readers, to "see" this world the way YOU want us to see it

All in all, you're doing a very good job, and I look forward to reading more of this fanfic

Most of the Super Group "Final Justice" cheered as Tick-Tok blew the entrance to the control room open.
I knew he just needed some incentive. Lieutenant Hawk thought, smiling to herself.

"What's this?!" Requiem looked, shocked, at the many Heroes that were now facing him.
Wolfe Gunner looked at the monstrosity behind the Heroes, looked at the machine, and jumped in before anyone could stop him.
At my power, I should be able to hold off death for about 15 minutes... Wolfe Gunner thought to himself. After that...
The machine began to suck out some of his power, causing him to yell in pain.
The monstrosity that had been fighting the Heroes stopped, yelling as it shrank, continuing to reduce in size until it was once again a little girl. The Sleeper Agents that were in the city also stopped their rampage, turning back into normal citizens.
Wolfe Gunner gritted his teeth; the pain was EXCRUCIATING. "I can't keep this up forever!" He yelled to the other Heroes. "Take him out NOW!!!"
Captain Eagle turned to Lieutenant Hawk. "Right. Can you read his mind?" He asked her.
"Not right now; if you manage to knock him out, I should be able to pick the password from his subconscious mind."
"Right." Captain Eagle smiled as his Super Group turned back to Requiem. "It's over, Requiem!" He declared.
"Not quite!" Requiem shouted, Vandal and Nosferatu walking next to him. "Now... witness the ULTIMATE power of a Nictus!" Using his tentacles, Requiem absorbed a screaming Vandal and Nosferatu into his body, adding their dark power to his own. His muscles increased in size, and a black aura surrounded his body as his power tripled.
"I would sooner DIE than turn back after all this!" Super Requiem declared in a booming voice. "You can't stop me! You can't stop the Council!" Requiem looked around at Tick-Tok, Fox Soldier, Night Shike, Bloodfang, Rock-Hopper, and Blood-Wolffe. "NOW... DIE!!!" Requiem yelled as he attacked.

"The Council's Ultimate Plot" Saga: The Final Battle, Super Requiem!!!