Palaquinn

Maria scowled at the "Hero" who had been so rude to IronHorse. The machine-man howver shrugged it off and turned back to rest at the bar.

"Huh... Well that guy is about as plesant as a pit viper. Up to his buddies to deal with him, not me." He looked about for the small clockwork-looking guy but, as the crowd was growing he could not see him.

"Damnation... Guess I'll have to catch him some other time."

Maria looked at the crowd and sighed. When Mr. Dark entered however, that was when she had had enough.

"You done yet Tin-Man?" IronHorse snorted and vented some steam.

"Yeah, main boiler is full. I can worry about the backup tank later." His eye-visor never left Mr. Dark however. He snorted under his breath about the "You are dealing with forces your mortal minds could never POSSIBLY comprehend." schtick.

"Yeah right pal..." He muttered.

"IronHorse don't..." Maria started to say.

"What? I'm not gonna mess with a man who's just here for breakfast! 'Sides, it t'ain't his fault he assumes everyone don't know jack. Let me know when you're taken apart by the seams, packed away for a hundred years, and then re-assembled. Then we can talk about how the world tumbles in wierd ways."

Maria covered her face with her hands and then quickly began digging in her pocketbook.

"Hey Tony! Here's your bar hose back. Thanks for the fill-up man. How much is the tab?"

Before Tony could answer Maria laid her last fifty on the table.

"Here, keep it. For the food and the water. Lets GO Tin-Man."

She quickly grabbed IronHorse by the arm and tugged, trying to guide him out of the restaraunt. IronHorse chuckled.

"Hey, if you ever need your car looked at or something mechanical around here busts call Estavez Repair. Maria here has a shop down the street. She's a sweet mechanic. Heh... Guess I gotta go."

He laughed and moved to the door as Maria finally got outside. IronHorse leaned back in however and waved. "Later y'all. Oh... Dark an Darker... Lighten UP for the love of God."

With that he finally left the bar. Maria stood outside and tapped her foot while looking at him furiously.

"Are you NUTS?!? You could have started a bar fight on a metahuman scale! People could have been hurt or killed! AND YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR LISCENCE YET!"

IronHorse shrugged and walked towards the shop. "Yeesh... People in this day and age sure are touchy. Can't even take a bit of criticisim..."

"Get to know folks he says... Let people see him he says..."

Maria was staring at all the folks entering the little place and was in awe at all the damage that had been caused in the last three moments.

Tables breaking by a woman who looked like she could bench press IronHorse, Hellions flying in through the door... And IronHorse sitting there casually taking it all in, with the bar hose firmly lodged in his back spigot filling his boiler tank.

"HA! That was GREAT!" He stated as he watched the hellion get firmly trounced. He applauded and grinned as the massive man took a bow and sat with the rest of his party.

"I like this place already! Reminds me of a saloon I got to enter when I was in Tombstone..."

"YOU were in Tombstone?"

"Well yeah! It was pretty nifty. Didn't get to see too much really. But the dancin' girls... Hooooo Boy!"

Maria sighed and dug into her plate of Steak and eggs trying not to let IronHorse pull her into another one of his stories.

The Locomotive Man however had his attention turned on the smaller figure who REALLY looked like a clockwork.

"Hey! How are ya? Mind if I ask how long it took you to get your AI liscence and registry? I just applied for mine and man... the looks I got in the place."

Maria looked up and then flinched as she saw the Clockwork.

"That's... that's..."

"That'll be my new little buddy if y'all would hush up Maria. Heya, name's IronHorse."

He extended his massive metal hand towards Tick-toc, his eye visor burning a cheery red still.

[ QUOTE ]
Grabbing the glass, Supernovus handed it over to Ironhorse.

[/ QUOTE ]

IronHorse gladly took the drink after he strode into the bar and found a place to sit at. His eye-visor glowed a cheery red as he looked at Maria.

"Told Ya this place would let me in."

Maria simply sighed and shook her head.

They both jumped as the young man shot the window with an energy blast. Maria began cursing under her breath. IronHorse just shook his head and chuckled.

"Oh sure... Laugh it up Tin-Man. You don't have your liscence yet and here we are at a bar for heroes."

"Hey I'm trying to get used to all this. Two days ago I was almost torn apart remember? Besides, what better place for people to get used to me than a local bar?"

Maria sighed and threw up her hands. Grabbing the free drink from Tony she slammed it down in one shot.

"Thanks." She sighed as she looked at the owner. "I think I'll just have a coffe and some steak and eggs if you got it." Looking over at IronHorse she watched him study the glass for a bit and then move it aside.

"Oh and fresh water for him."

"TAP water please." IronHorse stated as he stood up and came over to the bar.

"That bottled crap goes right through my steam valves way too quick. Can't keep up a good head of steam with it." Maria smirked and shrugged.

IronHorse thrust his hands out in greeting to Tony, Supernovus, and Mystic Flare, shaking any who offered.

"Heya. Nice to meet ya'll. I'm IronHorse and this is Maria. Don't mind her... she don't bite... HARD."

Maria slapper her forehead again and mumbled under her breath. IronHorse just chuckled again.

"So can I get that water? Othern' that I'm fine. Oh, and about 10 to 20 gallons should be enough."

Maria looked at IronHorse with an icy glare. "What... you want them to run the hose from the back to fill you up?"

"HEY! That's a damn good idea! Can y'all do that?"

"OY!" Maria grunted before dropping her head on the bar.

"Look... All I'm sayin' is that I'm gettin' tired of being looked at like a damn clockwork. Hell I'm bigger than even the friggin' princes and I run on STEAM. You'd think that the gusts of white vapor would be a tip!"

Maria shook her head and sighed.

"Look IronHorse, most folks are still not used to seeing something like you. You're unique to say the least. Unfortunately because of that you have a few more hoops to jump through."

IronHorse sighed with a heavy vent of steam and a hiss. His massive iron frame seemed to slump forward. Ever since he had been re-assembled into this new world he found it got under his hide just as much as it amazed him.

"Maria, I'm just sayin' I find it damn annoying that you need to chapparone me everywhere! May as well get me a leash for Pete's sake."

Maria chuckled and shook her head.

"Look, until Paragon eases up on the AI laws you need an "owner" to keep you in check. Once your licence goes thorugh all the red tape in city hall you can walk around without me. Until then... DEAL with it."

IronHorse chuckled and shook his head before stopping. He saw the big guy flip a sign in what looked to be a new restaraunt.

"Hey Maria!"

"Yeah?"

"This place is new. You had your coffee yet?"

Maria sighed. IronHorse had tried this tactic before, trying to be normal.

"Look... you KNOW most buildings can't take your weight. Even if this..."

She stopped as IronHorse tapped on part of the sign.

HEROES WELCOME it read.

"They can't put something like this here without them meaning ALL heroes."

"IronHorse... you don't even have your license yet! And besides, most "Heroes" don't weigh 800 pounds and have an internal boiler."

IronHorse pushed the door open and waved a hand to gesture Maria into the establishment.

"So? Not everyone is perfect!"

Maria sighed and walked into the Bar. IronHorse waited by the door however.

Maria looked about and immediately decided that she liked this place. it had the feel of the diner her father used to take her to.

"Um... Pardon me?" She asked the person behind the counter. "Can uh... Can my friend come in? I mean... well will the place be able to take his weight?" She smiled and pointed to the figure in the doorway. IronHorse waved.

"He's big but... But he does not eat much."

"Not unless you have coal for a steam engine!" He cheerily yelled. Maria slapped a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"So uh... Is it O.K. if he comes in?"

((Backstory for IronHorse: is here ))

"A... A ride Father?" Richard tilted his head and then chuckled a bit.

"I suppose I'm game for just about anything. But Father... you should know, wait... Did Balt tell you anything before he dissappeared? About Nekros and the Shadow within me? About what could be in the city right now?"

Richard stood and grabbed a pile of notebooks and a pen. Hurridely he dug out his keys and flipped the "Closed" sign on the door.

"If we're going anywhere you'll need details. Details only I have from my conversations with the head of Nekros. If he and his pack are still out there, then my dreams are going to be the least of your problems."

__________________________________________________ _
Somewhere in Dark Astoria

The sound of bone crunching was loud. It was a sound that can not be easily mistaken for anything else. Even the Death Shaman knew the sound, simply from the times he crushed bones for his voodun invocations.

"Dis... Dis be bad sign." His entorauge of hollow shells of men looked at him blankly. He shook his head and fingered his necklace of knucklebones. Several times he had cast the runes this night, and several times he saw something dark. Darker than even his own soul.

The air in the cemetary was stale, but normally there was at least a wind to move it. Tonight however, tonight the stillness of the grave had taken over.

"Bad Mojo... We should go. Totems be damned..." He whispered under his breath. He turned to face his corpses, only to find them gone.

In their place stood seven figures in black wool robes. No symbols, no decorations, nothing but black voids beneath hoods filled with glowing eyes.

The tallest of these figures took a step forward. His robe was tattered and had stains of yellow on it. The Death Shaman heard something drop in front of him.

It was an arm of one of his husks...

"Damn you Heroes... I gonna send you..."

"You will send us nowhere raggety-man."

The voice crawled across the Death Shaman's brain and seemed to seize his throat. He stood in abject terror looking at the things, and finally noticed they didn't STAND right. They moved forward in ways men can not move. The eyes... the eyes were digging into him.

"You have fed us raggety-man. Fed us well for tonight. You shall pass, but I ask you this... Have you seen it?"

The Death Shaman fought the urge to scream and run. Every fibre of his body cried out to bolt away at top speed but he stood.

"I... I don't know what you speak about. What you mean I fed you? What you mean have I seen it?"

The things in the robes laughed. The tallest strode forward, his red eyes boring into the Death Shaman.

"Your puppets feed us. If you wish to pass through here again, being more. If you wish to find a BETTER way. A way that makes you even stronger than you are now, you will find it and see it."

The figures turned as one and began to leave.

"SEE WHAT?"

"Seek the one known as Pickman. The secret is within him though he is yet blind. He will not part easily with it, but seek him out and take what you need to see, and then bring him to US."

The Death Shaman shook with fear. Whomever this Pickman was... he obviously had made the wrong moves to anger this group of seven... things.

"Bring... Bring Pickman to you. Ya... Ya I can do dat. But who ARE you, and what am I supposed to see?"

The figures faded into the mist. A hollow laugh followed by a most inhuman cry split the night.

"I... am Nekros. And you need to see... The Yellow Sign."

The Death Shaman fell forward and screamed as an image burned into his head. A city of death and decay, a city lit by a black sun and black stars, a burning ocean... and something... something with six red eyes staring out of a cloak of yellow...

He grasped at his eyes, wanting to make the vision stop... He screamed in agony as the vision flamed itself into his soul. His cries died out and blackness engulfed him. When he finally realized the visions had ended, he realized he could no longer see. His hands felt wet but somehow... he could FEEL everything. Everything became clear now. So very clear.

"The... The Yellow Sign... PICKMAN."

The blinded raggety-man felt the remnants of his eyes flow like blood stained water through his fingers and seed the ground. He was no longer a Death Shaman, no longer a tool of the Banished Pantheon... He was shown the way. The way to be something FAR more.

And the way was through the one called... Pickman.

The question gave Richard pause. He looked at the father like he was an alien but took a deep breath and poured the tea anyway.

"What I know about the Elohim? Father... You're asking me the same question Balt did when I saw him last."

Richard took a deep breath and sat down looking hard at the man before him.

"I could give you the same answer, but I'll spare you the religious trappings and occult symbology I uncovered. I'll also spare you all the details I have uncovered about my unwlecome guest. And I mean both the one that escaped here on the night I blacked out and the thing riding shotgun in my soul."

Richard took on of the cups and drank deeply, heedless of the pain.

"Father... I'm not sure WHAT the Elohim are. All my texts and books say however, that they are a force for good. That is why I reached out to Balt in the first place. I had hoped... I had hoped he could help me. And now he's gone."

Richard say down with a thump. The cup fell from his hand and rolled about on the floor.

"I'm... I'm weak Father. Every night I have the same nightmare, every day the same jitters. I need help... and the only man I though could help me has vanished."

"Buisness, Father?" Richard asked totally perplexed. he watched as the elderly gentleman made himself comfortable.

"Well uh...Tea? Yes, Tea. Let me put a pot on and then we can talk." Richard walked to the back of the shop and filled his kettle with water from the small kitchenette sink in the back. He set the water to biol and went out to rejoin his guest.

He watched the man with some interest. A preist that did not want to burn his place down for being of the "Devil." At least the man had that going for him.

"You mentioned my selection. Well I seem to cater more towards the serious student of the occult. Granted this really limits my buisness but I feel I offer something different. Most folks come in and leave soon enough. But I have enough steady customers to keep me busy."

Richard sat down and looked at the man. He had a kind enough face but for all the world Richard could not think of why a preist would want to talk to him... until a single name entered his head. Elohim...

What better representative for a group named after a lost choir of angels than a man of the cloth?

"Are... Are you here as a representative of Balt?"

Richard staggered to the door half in a haze. Granted he was working on his third pot of coffee this night in an effort to stem the tide of nightmares, but his body was revolting if for nothing more than his poor coffee making skills.

He looked out the faded window of his shop half hoping to see his old friend Tarot standing there. Instead he was met with the visage of an elderly gentleman.

Richard nearly ripped the door open praying it was Balt. He was wrong. It was a fatherly looking figure in more than one way. The cassock of a preist helped that along.

"Oh... Oh I'm sorry father. I thought you might be... Well might be someone else. I know we are normally open this late but I'm not feeling terribly well and was going to close the shop early tonight. Is there anything I can do for you before I close up?"

Richard did his best to smile, but in his gut he braced himself for the string of epithets that normally came with a visit from a representative of the church. Despite all the evidence to the occult out there in the world, and even all the heroes that do good with it, the church still looked at them like witches and warlocks and damn well near condemns each and every one of them.

"I'm afraid I don't have many religious texts here you'd be interested in father, but if I can help in some other way..."

((OOC: Glad this is back up! Hope this re-introduces Pickman in a good way!))

The hellish nightmare was only beginning.

Richard was still in the thralls of pain that racked his body while the shadowform seemed to become more and more solid.

“You can’t purge me Richard. I’m you and you are me. We simply need to have an understanding is all… understand that you have FAILED to keep me chained.”

The leering grin… the rotted flesh… Was it Nekros? No… Not by the faint remnants of hair on the decayed chin, not by the pair of wire frame glasses over the dead and milky eyes.

It was Richard. Richard as a twisted version of himself. Richard as some kind of feral half human thing.

The thing laughed.

“Richard… This is what you can BE Richard. More powerful than ANY human or metahuman! Able to walk the ghost winds between realms Richard! Yessss… You have read the books Richard, and you know. You know life on this miserable little speck of a planet is doomed. As doomed as any little insect that has caught the attention of Gods.”

A maddening whisper filled his room. Filled his head. Richard looked at his hands and saw them fade. The mock Richard smiled a smile filled with yellow teeth and putrefying gums.

“Can you hear it Richard? Can you hear the song? It calls to you. It has ever since the day you read the book, ever since you found Nekros. They BOTH call to you. One gave you the knowledge, while the other gave you the WAY. Let go Richard, let go of your humanity and escape the fate of this world.”

Richard looked up and saw a black sun with black stars about it. He saw a burning sea above which flew things that should not be. They writhed in mid-air and seemed to feast upon each other. The gore dripped down like rain and fed the waters. Richard beheld a city, a dead city, all dead cities… It was wreathed in smoke and held its breath as if waiting for something.

Richard fell forward and grabbed his head. The mock Richard laughed.

“Rich…” This voice was different… Richard remembered it. It was the one that gave him a way to drive back the shadowform before. “Rich, you’re stronger than this. You know this. Your FATHER knows this. People need you Rich…”

Richard could feel the glow within him. The healing winds upon his soul. He could feel his body returning and watched as the mock Richard faded back into a shadowform.

“NO! You have denied me twice! I will NOT be denied again!”

The smoke like skull flew at Richard’s face, but somehow Richard knew what to do. He raised his hand and fired darkness back at it.

The twin forms of smoke engulfed one another while the Shadowform howled. It was that scream… the same scream of the 30 odd men Richard has slain… the screams of men and women…

Light.

Richard awoke in his bed, covered in sweat and shaking.

He was alone in his shop, but this was the fourth night of the nightmares. He never had the chance to thank the men who had saved him. His body shut down after the incident, but the dreams… the dreams were constant. Every night they came while he was in the hospital. Every night he saw the city of decay, the black sun with black stars, the ocean aflame… The resident psychologists tried to help him to no avail. Even some of the mystics of the city tried, but they said Richard had been in contact with something darker then they had ever seen.

And his soul would have to fight it alone.

The dreams had abated for the most part after he had left the hospital. But they were still there. He noticed certain sigils and symbols helped him block the worst of it. But that city… that city haunted his dreams now. He knew Nekros was still out there and still wanted him… Wanted him to become something like him and go to that city.

Richard shuddered. He had not contacted the Elohim. He could not after Balthasar’s disappearance. That was the only man he truly knew in the organization.

Richard grabbed his head again and sighed. He had written to his father, but knew better than to expect a response.

That city… Richard shook his head again and looked out his window. Paragon was lit up like stars come to earth. Every now and then he saw a hero fly past. Another angel helping someone.

Where were the angels who could help him mend his soul?

As the tunnel lights went black, Erik instinctively let the pale glow about his body increase in intensity. For one he was glad he emitted this low wavelength in the visible spectra, but it was hell on family photos.

"Um... I think the EMP wave finally went out." Erik grunted. he looked at Penny and shrugged. "Is your suit... well is it insulated against stuff like that? I know most of the City's powergrid is, and I'm sure the lights will come back on in a moment or two, but I'd hate to think I screwed up your suit."

Erik sighed and sat down. The aftershocks of the initial blast were still reverbrating through the concrete of the sewer floor. He looked up and shook his head. The Lost had re-enforced this tunnel and probably miles of other tunnels with Ritki technology and metals. Gifts from their masters.

For once he was glad they had done such a thing.

"Looks like we're safe at the moment anyway. But I'm not too sure we should move yet. At least we should wait until the power is back."

__________________________________________________ _

Paul/Many As One could feel himself fall. He saw the non-hostile unit hurt herself and could feel... concern? His body slammed against the rocks and knocked the wind out of him.

~Assessment of damage... Physical trauma at 45%, repairs in progress. Neural tissue regeneration ongoing. With new damage, Master's full functions will be online in 35 minutes. Lost 20% of nanite population due to EMP pulse, new insulations are in place against further incidents.~

Paul shifted his naked form and looked about. The other targets had fled or were crushed under the rubble. Including the ninja. Paul stood and moved to help Crystal, quickly tossing the rubble aside or blasting away bits too large to pick up.

"Non-Hostile, Crystal. Scans indicate massive physical and mental trauma. Subject is concious but heavily damaged. Can the subject understand us? Does unit:Crystal want us to help mend her?"

Actually I was working with Jennifer8 on the next chapter but she has vanished at the moment... I hope everything is O.K. with her! However, I'm reluctant to scrap what she and I have fleshed out thus far, but if worse comes to worse I will try something else with another character...

Oh, and as for meeting Tick-Tock, I may use that if you don't mind at some point. I'll work out the details with you on it and think it would really help flesh out Chess more to speak with another robot... especially one who has gained it's freedom. Gives him another point of veiw to look at.

Funny thing is... I HAVE a character named Tick-Tock
I claim no credit for the picture except having it comissioned... but that is the mad spectre himself... A White Wolf NPC of mine who grew WAY too large for my head and became one of my favorite characters to torture... ahem... use with my PCs...

I'll spare you the background stuff unless you're interested. Don't know WHY I went off on this tangent but I did...

Uff DA!

You ever hit writers block with something? I mean really hit it? Lke running full speed and slamming into a wall? that's about where I'm at with this.

If anyone has some suggestions I'd REALLY appreciate the help.

--->Erik

[ QUOTE ]
"You did the best you could with the knowledge you had," she soothed. "You did what was necessary with no one to guide you. Don't try to second-guess what might have been... you will drive yourself crazy. What is done... is done."

[/ QUOTE ]

Erik looked up and winced when he saw the dull green glow behind Penny's eyes. He knew he was the cause of that, amoung other things. He looked at his hands and then at the wreckage behind them.

"Its... It's hard to tell myself that. There were a lot of people down there in tubes. They... they might have been saved. I know that's a foolish thought. No one taken by the Lost have even been able to be medically reverted back to human. Once the hybrid process has begun..."

Erik struggled to hs feet and sighed shaking his head. "I'm never going to know now. If anything, we took that drug out and the people making it... But... Dear God, I just hope none of our friends were near that blast."

[ QUOTE ]
Thank you... for saving my life," she couldn't quite meet his eyes when she said this. More to divert his attention than anything else, she said, "I met Enid.... earlier, I mean. She was with Amy Harris and Sarah somebody-or-other... she's quite a woman. She was actually the one who insisted we stay... make sure Vahzilok couldn't blow up half the city. I tried to find her a safe place when I went into the core..." her eyes dropped. "I wanted to escort her up to the surface... bring her back to you. But I... I failed, in that. I don't know where they are now. " She was silent for a while. "I'm sorry."

[/ QUOTE ]

Erik smiled then and rubbed his hands together. "Don't be sorry. We're not dead yet and we can make it out of here and find everyone. Trust me, Enid is quite a woman just like you described. If my boys are still down here, they will find her, and then they will come for me." He forced another smile... He could still hear the screams of the Lost as they were vaporized by the bomb he set loose.

It was a sound that was going to haunt him. But he forced the thoughts down for now... down until he had time to deal with them.

Erik paused and rubbed his neck. "Oh yeah... I didn't come alone down here to get you. Harris, Master Wonderful, Jack, Crystal, Paul, and SmallArms also came with. And uh... I brought my pets. Well they are bears really... LONG story..."

Erik looked abck at the rubble and winced again. "Assuming I didn't catch them in that... I'm SURE they will find us."

__________________________________________________ _

Many As One 2.0/Paul worked back to back with the woman trying to drive off the creatures. The lich finally had his head back on, the ghoul was pinned against a wall, but the werewolf kept on getting up.

"Gonna... Gonna rip you to SHREDS!" It howled as it dove for Paul again, and again was met with a blast full in the chest, blowing it away.

"Non-Hostile... Crystal... Memory banks recall target's name but no other data. Crystal... need suggestion of next move. Targets resist attacks and will not stop. Shall the power restraints be released?"

The hollow voice let the words hang, hoping they would be understood. The ghoul took the opportunity to lunge and grab Paul's arm. It raked the flesh with it's claws and bit into the muscles with its gangrenous teeth.

The wounds knit as fast as they were made on Paul, and the teeth were once again pushed up and out by something beneath the skin...

The Vampiress took to the air now hissing. All traces of sensuality were gone as her mouth strecthed to accomodate the vicious fangs she grew.

"WHELP!" She hissed as she dove at Kagate's head.

The incubus on the other hand, had slowly begun to melt the floor about him. It seems the love tap given to his solar plexus by Kagate had pissed off the infernal beast. He stood now, engulfed in flames, both awe inspiring and terrifying now.

"BACK AWAY SISTER."

The hands of the incubus charged with fire as he aimed both fists at the ninja.

"I SHALL ROAST HIS FLESH."

Erik could not seem to get the red out of his face. he quickly dressed and subconciously irradiated the clothes to hopefully kill any bacteria on them. Habit of being a biologist.

The Lost's clothes were grubby but functional for now. Once his dignity for the most part was restored he turned to penny.

[ QUOTE ]
"Erik.... what happened? I don't remember much past the core, and Dr. Vahzilok... where are we? What happened to your clothes? Where is Harris...? Cripes, look at the clock, it's been three days... what happened?"

[/ QUOTE ]

"Well... to be honest I let Doctor Vahz go. I... I was in such a rage I didn't know if I could take him in alive. I was about to blow his head off when I could almost hear Enid's voice in my head reprimanding me... Scolding me for sinking to his level. So... So I let him run. Minus his arms on his suit of course."

Erik sat and sighed. He looked up at Penny and tried to smile. "You... You were in some serious pain there Penny. I... I did whatever I could to try and revive you. Seems my body LIKED the power of the core and absorbed a hell of a lot of it. I'm sure I'm gonna feel it later once I'm calm. Anyway... you secured the core, but were very tore up. I... I used every bit of power left in me to recharge your system. Essentially I caused a body-wide mutation forcing your cells to heal, divide, repair, and avoid death at all costs... I... I'll be frank. I don;t know if there are any side-effects. But I could not let you die."

Pausing, Erik inhaled and looked about. They were close enough to the wreckage of the Lost facility that he could still smell the fires.

"As for this... I... I don't really know. I remember passing out, and then comming to naked on the floor of a Ritki/Lost lab. I was covered in a solution that contained cadamite and I "heard" a mentalist command me to irradiate the facility."

Erik rubbed his head and sighed. "I hate telepathic communication. Half the time you feel like you're talking to yourself and you can never convince others that you ARE talking to someonme else."

"I have no clue who this person was however. But I remembered the drug and saw what the Lost were doing... So I acted on instinct. I... I'm having a hell of a lot more doubts now than then...I... Oh my God Penny... " Erik stood and looked behind them. "I killed them didn't I? People could have been SAVED! Oh GOD!"

Erik fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands.

"I remember feeling the power of the raw core in my hands... and I threw it. I altered it and threw it at the first Lost I saw and it detonated..."

"Dear God in heaven what have I done?"

__________________________________________________ ___

Pauls' body paused as the beasts froze and grabbed thier heads in pain. He looked from target to target and then focused in on the figure knocking away the vampiress and the incubus.

"Target... Attacking threats... Re-assessing... Non-Hostile."

He looked at Crystal. And somerthing behind the eyes stirred. In a half whisper a dry voice eminated from Paul's throat.

"Cry... Crystal... Love..."

"Master's functions to come online in 30. Acessing target... Immobalized threats... Partial recoginition by Master... Non-Hostile."

Again Paul turned to the ghoul, the werewolf, and the lich.

"Targets aquired... Re-commencing attacks."

With that Paul open up full bore on the targets. he lead with a hail of caltrops followed by blast after blast of plasma... The werewolf could barely move but still growled in aggravation...

None seemed to want to give up.

I'm sure someone somewhere has mentioned this but the game "Silver Age Sentinals" is really pretty close to the CoH setting. It's a good system but a bit number heavy for my liking. However, Guardians of Order supports it well and keeps up good supplements and info on it in general. I'd reccomend checking that out.

The vampriess and incubus moved as one towards Kagate. Oblivious to the creature attacking their brothers. Gesturing with her hands the Vampriess slowly shed her clothing as she moved. It was an act rivaling the most sensuous desires ever conceived of by man.

Her dark hair seemed to swirl about her pale flesh as she smiled a rictus filled with teeth. Her eyes became red and yet still held some terrible beauty. She reached for the ninja, to wrap him up, to embrace him, to make him hers now and forever.

Her brother moved in much the same way. His clothes burst into flames as wings of fire erupted from his back. His mask faded leaving a face of angelic beauty. An Adonis unbound and wreathed by flames. He was a perfect opposite to the feminine beauty of his sister. A paragon of male flesh with eyes that would charm even the hardest of hearts. He too floated but waited for his sister to strike first.

She needed blood... and binding the ninja would allow her to have him, feed from him, let him heal, and feed again. He too could do the same... feed from his soul as he was bound to his sister. Feed off the essence of this interloper and please his desires of the flesh.

"Come to me..." The vampiress whispered in a husky purr. "Come and be held by me... I can offer you things you never dreamed..."

The Ghoul meanwhile slowly was picking himself up and flipped over snarling at Crystal. "Oooooooh... the meats fights back does it? Let’s see how well the Meats fights with my fangs in her flesh!"

It charged like the brute it was, but faster than any assembled creature had the right to be.

The werewolf however... was having difficulties.

"GAH!!" The healing power of the lupus body was offering some protection from the creature attacking it, but the plasma blasts refused to let up. It slammed into the hide of the beast again and again.

"Target heals at an accelerated rate." The man with the empty eyes stated. "Therefore more drastic attacks are necessary." A massive mushroom of pure energy enveloped the back of the room as what was once Paul blew the Werewolf out of the little room via the wall.

"DAMNITT!" Wrath howled. "Why won't you just DIE?" He leapt to his feet even as his body fought to heal and lunged at Paul again. He could feel his teeth sink into the flesh on Paul's legs and rip the man from his feet, but before his bite could take hold something UNDER the skin of this man literally pushed his teeth OUT!

Pride meanwhile... was embedded in the ceiling and was cursing loudly. He was far from dead, simply stuck. He began to push slowly but hearing the bones in his neck begin to pop, he paused before realizing he was far past the point of needing to keep his head and body together.

With a mighty heave the lich freed himself and landed in the floor between Gluttony and Crystal. His head rolled about shouting "PICK ME UP YOU LUMMOX!" And began to spit black fire at Paul...

It was utter chaos wrapped in sex and fire...

__________________________________________________ ____

Once Erik and Penny had cleared minimum safe distance Erik immediately hunched over and sat in a ball. He began to turn several shades of red and did his best not to laugh.

"Um... Glad to see you're O.K. Penny. A LOT of weird stuff just went down, not the least of which is the fact that I just blew up a huge Lost lab making the uber-drug... while being buck naked."

Again he flushed a deeper red and tried to smile. "You uh... don’t have a way to make some clothes or something huh?"

[ QUOTE ]
You should trust me because we share the same enemy, the Rikti and the Lost. As far as you friends, I have removed any one that is not my enemy from that facility that lacks the abilities necessary to stop their threat to me. I am a busy man, so do not attempt to distract me again.

[/ QUOTE ]

"Distract HIM he says..." Erik muttered. He looked about the lab and made mental notes of all he saw. Having worked on Ritki bodies for so long, he had gotten to know their technology fairly well. The lab was impressive. Well stocked and defended it seemed.

"This has got to be one of the main processing areas for the drug." Erik muttered. Penny groaned slightly. Cursing he checked her again. She was still stable, but seemed to not be recovering properly. Erik just had no clue what to do.

Hearing footsteps Erik took the chance and looked out the window. The area was massive. An underground facility for processing the drug. He gave a low whistle and then ducked down as guards passed.

"Hybrids..." Erik muttered. He knew since the Ritki were cut off from their home dimension their only real choice for re-enforcements was to MAKE them. But this... this was sickening.

"Well whoever the mysterman is... he's right. Only way to wipe this out is to irradiate the whole place. But if I move, they'll swarm this area..."

He looked at Penny and then at the canister. Nodding, he knew what had to be done.

"I hope that suit has some radiation shielding left." He whispered.

Slowly, Erik moved to the door and looked out. He could see hordes of Lost roaming about. Hundreds of tubes with people in various states of the change were down there. Vats of the drug and armed guards... It was like some kind of James Bond super-villian base.

And Erik was going to throw a nuke into the middle of it.

So much for being subtle.

Crawling on his belly, Erik rolled the canister out of the door. He let it close gently behind him and then began unscrewing the cap. Every turn he could feel more and more power begin to leech off the core from the reactor.

"HEY!" He heard a guard shout. Erik only smiled and stood. Reaching into the lead lined canister he touched the power of God. He could feel his body soak it in and recharge harder and faster than ever before. The Lost gunner screamed in agony as the workers below looked up.

"Say G'night Gracie..." Erik whispered as he felt the protons and neutrons shift in his palm. It did not take much to alter the properties of the core. It was uranium after all, so making it a bit more purified and then unstable was simple. Giving it UP was hard.

The Anomalous began to fire mental blast after mental blast now. Erik could almost see them fly at him through the haze of green power. The blasts hit and were painful, but he took only a second, no more, to toss the core at the first Anomalous he saw. A very LARGE one.

"Catch." Erik stated, and then dove back through the door.

It took every ounce of energy he had every bit of strength and will to channel the radiation away from the room. Even then he knew some leaked past and prayed that Penny's suit absorbed it.

His healing aura seemed to glow-nonstop to keep the effects of the heat and shock away. He knew damn well that if he had not absorbed as much power from the core as he had earlier... Both He and Penny would have been vaporized by the blast.

ALL of Kings Row shook above them. The shockwave and radiation swept through the tunnels like wildfire.

Somehow... Somehow it did not collapse, even thought the majority of the lab was nothing more than a crater now. Only the strongest of the Ritki construction pillars still stood, and everything was either irradiated, vaporized, or both. The lab took the majority, but even the heat and radiation could not be totally contained and some spread through the tunnels like wildfire.

Only the Ritki construction of the lab saved those above from having the sewers collapse... This was exactly what Erik was counting on.

Of course the EMP pulse wiped out power for those above and in the tunnels... but that could be fixed... Erik looked about as the earth still shook and smoldered.

"God I pray I did the right thing...” he whispered as he knelt down by Penny. “God help me if the mysteyrman lied…”

((OOC: O.K. I apologize if I got this wrong. I THINK, as I have read it, Erik Penny, and the canister wound up in one location, while Crystal, Paul, and Kagate are in another. Hopefully this will not [censored] things up...))

[ QUOTE ]
Time to wake up, Erik Sanstad. Use your power to destroy all evidence of 'Russian Roulette' and I will reunite you with your wife, no other strings attatched.

[/ QUOTE ]

Erik fell forward coughing and sputtering. He could feel the voice in his head, and having worked with other mentalists he was not totally unused to the sensation.

That's not to say that he LIKED it.

Wiping the green from his naked body, Erik sniffed it and winced. "Cadamite... The bastards." Erik spat again. Cadamite was a common substance used to absorb radioactivity. It had leached much of Erik's latent powers, but now, exposed to the air again, he was recharging quickly. Faster than he had before. He could feel it, and for once it was not painful.

"What in the..." He looked up and could see Penny and the lead lined canister from the core. Erik stood with a shock and ran to Penny. She appeared stable... for now.

Erik focused on the voice again. It was his only contact he seemed to be able to reach. Mainly because he was buck naked and his earpiece was no where to be found. He remembered what another psychic told him... "Focus your thoughts into something heavy and push it. Push it towards the voice who speaks to you."

Check One Check Two... O.K. Brainiac, can you hear me?

He formed those words in his head and pushed... pushed hard and out.

If you can hear me, answer this. Why the hell should I trust you? Where the hell am I? And I can't do crap until the Cadamite wears off. Not like I would anyway. I'm not stupid whomever you are. ANYTHING with the drug in them will be effected if I pulse, which means if Crystal, Paul, Jack, or anyone ELSE who can be saved is nearby would get fried as well. So either pull the other leg or find another option.

__________________________________________________ ____

The gleam in Gluttony's eyes was obvious. Fresh flesh to feat upon. It lunged at Kagate and the prone form of Crystal. The lich however raised its arm and froze the beast in mid-air.

"Touch ze ghirl beast, and you deal with me. Herr Docktor vants her. You may have ze pajama man." he gently nudged the ghoul towards the correct target before grinning an ivory grin.

The wolfman howled and lunged at Kagate giving no warning. "You don;t have to tell ME twice!"

The other two however, hovered back and watched gently. "How very tasteless." Whispered the pale maiden. "What a waste of blood."

"And flesh." The Hellion added. "I doubt there will be much left for us."

"Then shall we secure dinner brother dear?"

"Yes dear sister... We shall."

As one the moved towards Kagate as well. The lich hovered near Crystal and watched her prone form as his minions (for that is truly what they were to him) move on the interloper. They would rend him limb from limb before he could blink, and he would gain the accolades he desired from his master for defending the girl... His new sister when Syn was done with her.

A tube in the back rattled. It began to shake and glow purple. Cracks formed in it's surface and suddenly, the entire thing exploded.

There stood Paul... naked and smoking. His skin had an odd silver sheen to it and his eyes were blank except for the streams of code that flashed across the black.


"Many As One Version 2.0 Beta Backup Online. Reconfiguring Host Body. The Master/Creator will Awaken in T Minus 60 Minutes."

It looked about the room and seemd to pause on each figure. They stared back at this new oddity. The 5 wondered if he was a new brother and hesitated in thier attacks on Kagate.

"Data Corruption Evident. Core memory previous to restart wiped. Assessing. 6 threats scanned and one incidental. Eliminate for Host Safety."

Paul's hand began to glow purple and the air became hot around him.

"Brother Sloth?" Hissed the Lich as he floated to his awakened brother. "Brother?"

And the first shot was fired blowing the lich into the celing. Paul's fists charged again and took aim, but not before the werewolf tacked him and began to bite into Paul's arm.

"KILL THE NINJA!" he roared at the ghoul. The vampiress and the Incubus moved as one towards kagate again. The Vampiress licking her lips.

"Shall we feed then Brother?"

"Yes lets"

And they lunged.

The ghoul however, crept towards Crystal's prone form. The other occupied he cackled again...

"Fresh meats... and no one to stop me..."

Magni and Modi were visibly happy to see their Mama come out of the room. She looked very upset, like when one of them began chewing on the carpet, but they were happy to see her anyway.

They rushed to her and gave her non-stop attention.

Modi however, kept on going back to the door. He could smell Papa, and KNEW he went into that room. He whined a bit and looked at Mama...

[ QUOTE ]
Harris let out a little yell as the bear got up with him on its back and he almost lost his balance. They started to move down the tunnel.


[/ QUOTE ]

The little man in the big armor yelped a lot Magni noticed. To Magni's mind that meant he missed his family. If that was the case, then Magni would do his very best to keep an eye on this man. Besides... He had given Magni CHOCOLATE! That alone made the little man in big armor a friend in his book.

Magni lumbered down the path while the small man with big guns floated nearby. They came upon a contented Modi, sleeping on the remains of several of the stinky bad men, including a massive body with lots of pointy bits. It looked like it was missing something but Magni didn't care. He wlked over and swatted his brother for sleeping.

Modi woke with a snort and swatted his brother back gently. He was still feeling woozy from trying to chew on the big body of the man who shed his skin. He left the big body behind when he landed from Modi's first attack. It smelled kind of like Papa so he kept it, even though it tasted very bad.

Modi saw the little floating man, and the shaky man riding on his brother's shoulders. Now that there were more people here he hoped they could find Papa... because he could not fit in the door Papa went through earlier.

He had tried, and almost gotten stuck. The frame attested to this with massive claw marks on the sides. Modi gestured with his head towards the door and walked towards it again... and whined.

He wanted Papa and Mama... and he could smell them BOTH in there. And Mama smelled scared...

Magni had been chasing off the last of the bad smelly men. They tasted so rotten as well. Not at all like the fresh meats Papa gave him. Magni liked berries more, and fish, and he really liked honey his little sister gave him, but the meats were special treats.

But not these. They were nasty and he spat them out after a few chews.

When auntie Crystal had lept off his back Magi waited and then felt something ***** his side. It was a stinger from one of the non-rotten but still-smelly men. He had chased this one and it was fun! The bad man made funny squeaking noises when swatted.

When Magni came back for auntie, she was gone, and so was the boy who gave him marshmellows once. The angry boy was gone too. Magni wanted to give him a hug. Hugging papa when he was mad made it better so Magni thought hugging the angry boy extra hard would make him feel better too.

Magni sat down. He was all alone in the tunnel! He sniffed and sighed. Auntie's scent was gone. That was strange, but this place smelled so very bad.

He was sad. No body was here to play with, no more bad men to chase, and no papa. PAPA! That was it! Magni shuffled up to his feet and began lumbering down the tunnel. Papa went this way with his brother Modi. They ALWAYS could make Magni feel better, and he would not be alone!

Magni picked up speed slowly and could smell others. The little man in the big armor was down here. So was the even smaller man with the big guns. The tall pink man was here too. Magni liked to look at him. He was so bright and reminded him of his fluffy bunny toy. The angry boy was here too but he looked less mad.

Magni moved up and nudged the pink man with his nose hoping for a pat. He could hear the huffing from the little man in the big armor and felt sad for him. Magni moved over to him and nudged him gently. He sniffed the man and sat, offering the man a ride.

He could hear a low rumble comming from the end of the tunnel. It was loud and Magni snorted. He knew the sound all to well because he slept next to it every night. It was Modi snorning. Grunting, Magni nudged the little man in big armor again. he wanted to help, but he wanted to get down there to swat his brother for falling asleep...

((OOC: Angry Boy = Jack, Little man in big armor = Harris, Pink Man = Take a wild guess, Little man with big guns = Small Arms, Smelly-Bad men = Vahz. I figured most of you would figure this out, but it never hurts to be safe.))

Bumping this to keep it alive...

Working on the next chapter but it's taking a while, but stay tuned!

[ QUOTE ]
“I HATE YOU!”

There was the usual loud snapping sound and flash of light but this time the sound was deafening, the walls shook with it. The brilliant flash of light gave off heat. Jack saw spots before his eyes. The attack took on a physical form as a shock wave exploded from Jack. The attack struck Paul’s mind but Jack did not let it stop there, he took hold. Gritting his teeth in pain and concentration Jack kept his attack full focused on Paul, tightening his metal grip as much as he could.

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!”

but something was fighting back...........something more then just Paul.

[/ QUOTE ]

Paul screamed in pain. Every neuron, every synapse, every little nerve in his brain seemed to explode in a fury of hatred.

"Protect the Master!" That was the last message from Many As One. They let the shot they were charging fire into the floor, blowing a massive hole into the sublevels of the sewer. That however did not stop Jack's assault.

Many As One flooded Paul's brain. Almost every nanite in his body rushed to the cortex and tried to raise a feble mental sheild against the assault. They screamed in unison. A metallic voice echoed in the comm and in the head of every psychic for almost a mile radius.

And one by one they died. They fought back but they burned themselves out against the waves of hatred from Jack.

Slowly... the voices began to become quieter. The screaming faded from a multitude of voices to a chorus, to a small set, to one.

"Why Master?"

"Because no one controls me but me. You were too dangerous."

The last voice faded with a whimper. Paul reeled forward as blood began to stream from his nose and ears. He wept red tears and did not register his body beginning to slide into the crater he had made.

"I... I'm sorry Jack. Did... Did not want... I liked you... When you... no drugs... Tell Crystal... Sorry... Care for her... Sorry..."

Paul's head lolled like a ragdoll as he finally fell silent.

"Crystal..."

And then he was gone.

((OOC: O.K. Paul is not dead, only MOSTLY dead. There IS a difference as anyone can tell you. However he's damn well near being a vegetable and is out of this part of the story (unless someone can work a miracle). This was done mainly so the other characters can take center stage. Let the Dance Macabre begin!))

[ QUOTE ]
"HOW COULD YOU HARM CRYSTAL?! I LOVE HER?! YOU DIDN'T DESERVE HER! WHY DID SHE CHOOSE YOU?! YOU DIDN'T DESERVE HER!"

[/ QUOTE ]

Paul tried to shout again. he could feel Many As One trying to cut him off but he focused all his energy. He knew Jack... and he knew he had to push him over the edge.

"YOU THINK SHE WANTED YOU? YOU'RE A DRUGGED OUT FREAK OF NATURE! WORSE THAN A MUTIE! YOU'RE A BURNOUT MUTIE WITH ABANDOMNET ISSUES! WEAKLING! PATHETIC!"

"You will not win this master." The metallic voice rang out over the comm. "Not if I kill Jack first."

Paul's arms began to raise slowly, as if he were fighting his own muscles.

Paul began to panic. He could feel the energy buildup in his arms. This was going to be a point blank shot at full power...

"JACK! I'M BEGGING YOU! MIND WIPE ME NOW! IF YOU LOVE CRYSTAL AT ALL YOU WILL DO IT NOW, BEFORE THEY MAKE ME KILL YOU BOTH!!! SAVE ALL OF US JACK! KILL ME!!!!! "

Paul's words hung in the air like a man pleading to be taken off life support... if Jack didn't move soon, they all would be dead.

[ QUOTE ]
<Paul's "Black Room">

Jack was not the only one that all action seemed to stop for. Paul also seemed to feel the stoppage of time.

You can't stand this feeling, can you? Your lack of control, the desire to protect those you care for, but can't. I can save you from your controllers, but you will need to submit yourself to my will and trust in me for it to happen. If you do not, then your friend and your lover will both surely die.

A vision of a second blast being shot as Crystal moves herself into it's path, killing her instantly, and then a third shot being fired, this time leaving a gapping hole in Jack's chest.

Not a pretty sight, is it Paul? You don't have much time either. Submit yourself to me, become my 'Pride,' save your friends.

[/ QUOTE ]

Paul looked about his little dark room within his mind. He was mad with rage at being out of control, he was desperate to save Crystal, and distraught at not being able to stop himself from shooting Jack.

Worst of all, deep in his heart, he LIKED blasting Jack. He did not want to admit to that, and he sure as hell did not want to listen to ANOTHER voice invade his head.

“PRIDE?!? You want be to become PRIDE?!? I’ve got none LEFT you numb-nuts! I’m locked in a prison in my own body while things I created are making me kill and trying to tear me APART! Where the hell does pride enter into it?!?”

Paul stood and punched at the dark walls. He did his best to block the vision.

“I HAVE NO PRIDE!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. “All I have… all I have is Crystal…”

[ QUOTE ]
<Paul>
What I have shown you is coming to pass. You 'true love' is lying on the ground, dieing. You must act quickly if you wish to save her. You know what needs to be done. Become my 'Pride' and be free of your creations and allow the girl to live as well.


[/ QUOTE ]

Paul growled and stalked the darkness like a great cat. He was a prisoner… he had just shot Crystal. Jack was about to attack his body. Many As One was calling the shots, and this voice was offering him a way out.

“[Censored] YOU!” He roared. Paul Quinn was NEVER one to sell out so easily. Crey industries offered him a fortune to come work for them, but it meant selling his soul and creativity. Universities offered the same. His parents all but sold him off to the highest bidder when his intellect became apparent. For the longest time Paul didn’t need anyone until he met Crystal, and then every little bit of immaturity and goofiness was to please her.

He would be damned if he gave in now. For one reason and one reason alone… Crystal would never forgive him, even if she died.

“I AM NO-ONES TOY!” Paul began to punch at the walls again. he could feel his mental fists begin to bleed. “NOT YOU, NOT MANY AS ONE, NOT JACK, NOT ANYONE BUT ME!”

The walls began to waiver, but he kept on pounding. “IF I DIE, IT’LL BE ON MY TERMS YOU ASSNINJA! I’M PAUL QUINN! I’M WILD-CARD!”

The mental walls began to crumble as he kept pounding. He shut his eyes and let the tears flow. He wept for his lost life, his friends, his family, and for Crystal.

“I’m Wild-Card… and I won’t give up or give in.”

[ QUOTE ]
<the consciousness of Many As One>
You seek your own safety, little ones, I can help you with that. The nanites could not tell the source of the voice that was speaking into their collective thought patterns, and seemed to have trouble blocking out the voice as well. You need not fear me, I mean no harm to you. I know how little your current host thinks of your efforts to protect him. I can find you a host far more receptive to your efforts in safety. In fact, I can find many more hosts for you to protect and with my aid you can become more effective in your endeavors. All you need to do is call me your Master and become my 'Sloth.'

[/ QUOTE ]

The voice was unexpected. Many As One scanned and re scanned the thought waves. It processed, and thought, and calculated.

The conclusion it came to was unexpected.

“You are the second Master. We could feel your thought waves when we first evolved. You are behind the source of our sentience. If you are the second creator, we also serve you. It is implicit that the created serve the masters by any means necessary.”

Many As One seemed totally unperturbed from shooting Crystal. The foolish girl had run in front of the shot. She was a secondary threat to the primary master anyway. She wounded him emotionally. Something that could be rectified later by selective memory erasure. Both Crystal and Jack were slotted for termination now.

“We can not abandon the Primary Master, but we would be receptive to having a body of our own. The primary master will become compliant with our desires for protecting him, and in this way we can also serve you, the secondary master. However, we need to secure this situation first.”

Paul’s body suddenly stood. It looked like some kind of gross marionette being pulled by strings. The feral grin had not left and the silver sheen glossing over his eyes seemed to intensify.

[ QUOTE ]

He didn't know what to do. At that point he wanted to do nothing less then to kill Paul. Jack moved to get up but then sat back down again, he could not leave Crystal. He looked up at Paul. "WHAT THE F##K ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU INSANE?" He screamed, it was all to much for him to take in.

[/ QUOTE ]

The voices spoke over the comm. to Jack, unaware of his new allegiance…

“Paul is no longer here Jack. I am Many As One, and you are a threat. Several times you expressed a desire to kill the Master. We cannot allow this. The best way to protect him is to kill you first. We do not trust you Jack. We have records from many memories showing you lying, stealing, and hurting Paul. We intend to rectify the situation.”

Every word brought Paul’s body shakily closer to Jack and Crystal. The dull smile and lifeless eyes glowered at them both.

[ QUOTE ]
Crystal did not move or attempt to pick herself up. Her face perfect under its smudges, her lips slightly open, as if she was merely asleep. The illusion would have been complete if only her chest would have risen and fallen, instead of such utter stillness....

[/ QUOTE ]

Paul could feel the darkness suddenly shatter, and he could suddenly see out of his own eyes again. He saw Crystal and Jack and knew what Many As One was going to do. Paul did not know how but somehow he forced his mouth to move.

“JACK! MINDWIPE ME!” Paul’s voice rang out. A metallic voice shouted back over the comm.

“NO! He is a threat! Stop resisting us master!”

“SCREW YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARDS! JACK! MINDWIPE ME! ERASE EVERY THOUGHT IN THIS BODY! ALL OF THEM! KILL ME LIKE YOU WANT TO YOU MUTANT SON OF A [Censored]! DO IT! DO IT!!!”

Paul knew it was a last ditch effort… he was sacrificing himself totally now, but for some reason he didn’t care. If Crystal was dead then he was going to go with, and take his Frankenstein monster with him. A total mindwipe by Jack would kill all the neurons in his brain… and wipe Many As One out totally. A total erasure of them both.

It was the only way.

“YOU HEAR ME YOU MUTIE! POISON BLOOD! FREAK! WIPE ME!”