Palaquinn

[ QUOTE ]
"We might have to do that a few times," she smiled at them. "Come on... this way."


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"Hell we can do that as many times as it takes so long as we get out of here in time..." Erik grumbled. He put Harris on the ground and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about the sudden boost and grab... We just need to move as quick as possible. I'll warn you next time."

Pausing he turned and grinned at Harris. "Oh, and that feild only sped up your metabolisim. It won't harm you, and in fact it may get you to shed a few pounds. Not the best in crash diets, but it sure whipped me into shape when I first tried it... Oh, and you'll be hungry as hell later."

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"YOU DIDNT CLEAR THE TOP LEVELS OR SOMETHING?!"

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"Crap on a crutch!" Erik began swearing in almost a constant stream... "Get the hell OUT of there! The Vahz and Lost are waging war against each other for territory! We didn't clean out ANYTHING because we were KIDNAPPED get me?!?"

He looked at the other two and winced... "We have to find a way up... Faster than how we're going now..."

To himself he began to whisper a mantra... under his breath over and over. "Enid... be safe, please be safe..."

__________________________________________________ _

"You know..." Paul stated out of no-where as they walked. "Doctor Sanstad is a mutant... No one I know of ever gives him crap. Not like he'd take it either but hey."

Paul shrugged and looked at Jake. "Look man... Life sucks at times. Just grab a helmet and go with it is what I say. I'm not the best liked guy on campus and hell I was totally shunned when I showed off my brain to others my age, but you know what? Screw them. All that is important is that you enjoy life, and try to make it beter for yourself and those you love."

With that he gave a quick hug from behind to Crystal as they moved. It was breif embrace, but tight enough to show true emotion.

A moment later however he had walked over to Master Wonderful and left Jake and Crystal to talk. He could almost see the fumes comming out of Jake's ears and thought it would be better to back off for a bit... He could only pray that his mouth would stay shut.

"So... Wonderful... Um... Why the heck did you get caught up in all this. And if you don't mind me asking, what's with the Pink? Not that it's bad or anything... Hell I've seen stranger. But I gotta admit, shows that you're a REAL man to wear that with a smile!"

Heya!

Just in case anyone cares, I made a "Duplicate" Chess on the Virtue Server recently. The original is on Protector, but since I began a slow shift over to a more RP heavy server I've been moving my characters as well.

Right now Chess is just level 1. Hey it was a late night and didn't have a chance to level him much. Which brings me to the point, I'd love to meet some other RPers on Virtue as I work on my little buddy. If you're online look fo the name Chess. Note the period at the end... I had to add that to get the name.

Anyway, the next chapter is in progress and I hope to see some of you all soon!

--->E.

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"Ah, I see………. You two love birds gone to see a late night show have you? I think you missed the curtain call mate." He said in a slightly mocking tone aimed at Paul. He didn't think how Crystal might react to this. He didn’t think before he spoke sometimes.

[/ QUOTE ]

"Hey man... Put much more acid in a comment like that and you'll burn your tongue." Paul looked at Jack and snorted. He never minded Jack before and really he had no real problem with the guy. He just came off as way to friggin' serious and depressed for his own good.

"Chill man, we've been though hell tonight. Well Crystal has been through more but hey."

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"Did I do that?" Her voice was barely a whisper. Then she caught her breath with a gasp. "Oh God - "


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Jack took another look around the smashed windows of the building. He didn't see the body bags at first.

"What? You been running around smashing windows?" He asked, not sure what was going on yet.

Then he saw the body bags.

"Oh [censored]," he said and looked back at Crystal. "What did you do?"


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"WHOA! Everyone HOLD UP! Crystal didn;t do ANYTHING more than defend herself from those damn Thriller freaks. One of those hyped up ragmen threatened her and she fought back... HARD. Damn well near melted his brain I'd guess. Beyond that the windows blowing out was a side effect."

Paul turned and looked Crystal hard in the eyes.

"You didn't hurt a single student. I can attest to that. I left several med-packs and everyone was accounted for. Those bags are for the Vahz... guess they have to tag the cadavers like a normal corpse."

Paul stood up tall then and looked at both of them.

"Look, while we're talking here Doc S is in some deep doo-doo. We gotta get to him!"

[ QUOTE ]
When he got there he couldn't believe his eyes. This was far worse than anything he'd happened to come across in his dealings with Dr. Vahzilok's creations. There were windows blown out and bodies every where. The only words that he uttered as he landed a few feet from the theater were "My God... What happened here?"


[/ QUOTE ]

"Whoa... PINK! Sweet outfit dude!" Paul's ferret-like attention span betrayed him once again but he soon shook it off. He looked at the new commer and took in the sight of the man.

"You have got to get me the name of tailor man. But we had an attack by the Vahz here! Look I was just saying we need to get into the sewers and try to find Doctor Sanstad, Girl Genius, and Harris... If they're going after the Doc's family as well I have no clue what to do... He doesn't give the info about his family out to ANYONE."

[ QUOTE ]
"Yah, I can get you out... just a question... Can Steven hear me? If so, then I will just remind you of our little deal once I get you out of here."


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With out thinking Harris took his hand off the mike.

"Now listen here you. That was a very expensive camera you broken and I don't........."


Quote:
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"Uh oh... tell me, how long ago did you fight THESE guys?"



[/ QUOTE ]

At the first comment Erik shook his head and snorted. Looking at Harris he smirked. "Now you see one of the reasons why I don't bother with a secret identity. Makes for way too much sress trying to keep it a secret. That and every geigercounter I pass goes nuts..."

"Don't get baited by the guy Harris. We need to stay cool."

When the low rumble came over the Mic erik cursed.

"Penny we need to move! If this guy is picking up movement then the battle has spilled into the upper tunnels!"

Erik looked at Harris and then let loose a burst of radiation. A dull green glow enveloped both of them. Suddenly the world seemed to slow down.

"We need to haul Harris. Get to the ladder and I'll be right behind. Lets go NOW!"

Erik fairly pushed/carried the reporter as he flew at top speed towards the ladder Penny had found.

"With your metabolisim sped up you may breathe faster, but it will give you the speed to get out of here Harris... smoke and all. We're gonna make a break for it at top speed O.K.? Penny you lead."

Erik exploded upwards into the room engulfed in flames. He looked about for Penny while beginning to cough.

"De-Cloak Penny! We need you to lead us OUT of here!"

I have no clue if there is a transfer option... but if there IS I'd LOVE to move my originals of Mighty Bio-Man and Chess to Virtue... Save me a hell of a lot of time leveling them again...

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"OK, for Starters, most Vahz cant talk, and if they could, where would they get a mic.? and secondly, I am on the top floor..." Experiment rubbed his ribs... "The HARD... first floor... My ID? Experiment 2.0, Known Affilitations, Paragon Ci... I mean Order of Anubis, Known Powers... dont care... Do you need anything more to convince you? Apart from the fact I just fell from a building right through the floor?"

[/ QUOTE ]

Erik shook his head and grunted.

"It's a microphone, not a camera. So when it comes to you falling through the floor I have no clue about that. We're 8 levels down surrounded by Lost and Vahz trying to kill each other. Also, one of our group initially assumed you had found a microphone we had lost earlier. If you you're picking us up with your own equipment however, that's even better."

Erik looked over at Harris and whispered, "Hey, what's your feeling about this guy? I can't really read people well."

Pausing for a moment Erik snorted again and almost growled into the mic. "As for Vahz not being intelligent, tell that to the bastards who ambushed us, kidnapped Harris and I, and are now on their way to get to people close to us. We're a BIT touchy now, and discussing the cognitive capabilities of the Vahz is not on the agenda... Getting the hell OUT of here is. So in a nutshell, can you help?"

"They came for... Those monkey humping, ragdoll looking, taking it in the ear for a beer RAT BASTARDS!"

Paul was pissed. The Vahz were abitious but never this overt in an attack. Doc S was a good friend and he would be damned if anyone hurt his favorite Professor. The fact that they also tried to hurt and take Doc S's students hostages was only adding fuel to his fire.

"O.K. then... You wanna help then you have to show me where the Doc and Girl Genius went. Oh... and remind me later to post to her forums."

Paul stood and offered his hand to Crystal. Smiling he gently ran a hand through her hair.

"I have to admit... I LOVE your hair. Not that I didn't before but this is just cool. Kinda like the dreamsiciles you like."

Chuckling Paul dug into his pockets and pulled out a cell phone. He made several quick calls in rapid succession, telling people to come help out at the campus, to look for Vahz running about, for the Cops to get off "their lazy donut eating [censored] and FIND Mrs. Sanstad," and a last call...

"I have a buddy... well not really a buddy but more like an involuntary lab-rat I know." He said to Crystal. "I wanna make sure everything is covered before we go. He can keep an eye on things here and stay in contact with us..."

Mumbling under his breath he waited... "Providing he finally learned how to use the DAMN PHONE!"

A loud beep could be heard and a deep voice echoed through the receiver. "What do you mean speak into this funny little box? What? People will leave me messages here? Is writing not good enough any more? I KNOW my name is Hrimnir, why would someone not know that if they are calling me?" A second beep sounded, cutting off the bizzare answering message. Paul shook his head and tried not to laugh.

"Big man, this is Wild-Card... You called me Thorson. Look some of those "Minions of Hel" are loose on campus. Could you keep an eye on stuff there? I'm going out to help some folks."

Nodding, knowing that the assistants studying Hrimnir would get him the message Paul looked back at Crystal and gestured towards the ladder.

"Let's haul M'lady... Doc S saved my *** more than once school-wise. Least I can do is return the favor. Lets go get him."

[ QUOTE ]
"Hello? Hey, I think I can hear you... bit muffled... Where are you?" Experiment asked through the mic.

[/ QUOTE ]

"YES!" Erik shouted and then grinned. "Look we're about 8 levels down in the sewers here, and it's not pretty. There appears to be a war going on and we need to get the hell out of here and back to the surface."

Pausing, Erik looked at Harris and then cursed under his breath. Covering the microphone he slapped himself upsdie the head.

"Damnitt... I should have asked for an ID or SOMETHING. For all I know I just gave away our position. Look, we'd better move. You lead on carefully and show me this exit you know about, I'll keep talking to this guy and see if he pans out while I follow behind you and cover our [censored]."

He looked at Harris nodded. "Sound good? Lets go..."

With that Erik began a slow movement back into the tunnels. The sounds of the battle were still echoing through the chambers nearby, but obviously they were far removed... for now.

Uncovering the microphone and putting it back in his ear Erik tapped it again.

"Look... We have no clue who you are or even where. We need some assurances that you're not a Vahz or Lost trying to track us down. I need ID or something."

Well for what it's worth, I've decided that perhaps a bit more character development on Chess would NOT be a bad idea. I appreciate the comments a lot, and I'm glad to know people like the story thus far.

I'm working on the next chapter and I'm also talking with Jennifer8 about using Girl Genius in the story. This way I have another character that is really out there for Chess to interact with. I like the idea of having Chess meet an interact with someone whom I didn't create. Hopefully that will force me to think more like the character when speaking and acting for him.

Any other suggestions for the next chapter would be greatly appreciated, and I may use one or two other heroes in the story for Chess to meet. If your interested drop me a PM and we can talk.

Cheers!

[ QUOTE ]
Crystal's face was wet and her eyes were like wet violets, but her expression was as if the sun had just come out of the clouds. Her smile was one that would make a man want to go through 100 miles of hell, just to see it again. "(sniffle) Really?"


[/ QUOTE ]

"Yes really... Heck I was comming over to the Bio-Labs to take you out tonight! Dinner on the quad... I wanted to show you my new fusion cooker, and my mad lobster-thermadore making skills." Paul smiled and held Cystal close, gently caressing her hair.

"I... Want to help you Crystal. I'm sure when Doc S gets back he can help you as well. Come hell or high water I'm here for you." He caressed her cheek softly and then sighed.

"Too bad I'm out fifty bucks for that bottle of wine. I was really hoping you'd like it! I read up on wine tasting and stuff and everything..." Chuckling, Paul hugged Crystal again and then looked concerned.

"Hey... Where is the Doc anyway? And why was everyone in the lab so late?"

[ QUOTE ]
Penny wasn't sure how to respond to this. "Um..." She looked at Dr. Sanstad, "It's for you." She hit the mute button on her own mike, and whispered so it could not be picked up, "Someone has found the microphone that I dropped, he has to be in the sewers or we wouldn't be picking him up."


[/ QUOTE ]

"What in the nine hells..." Erik took the mic and blew into it twice. Looking up at Penny and Harris he chuckled and shrugged.

"Um... I used to do a lot of theater... bad habit I got into with the microphones."

He took the earpeice and put it back in his right ear.

"Hello? O.K. can anyone read this? This Doctor Sanstad, Or Mighty Bio-Man, Girl Genius, and Harris..." Pausing Erik raised an eyebrow and then looked at Harris.

"What the heck is your full name anyway man? I feel like an evil teacher calling you by your last name all the time."

[ QUOTE ]
Harris was still looking at the ground as Erik approached him. He saw Erik's feet stop in front of him. When Harris looked up he saw that Erik's was holding his hand out to him. Harris looked at Erik's hand, then looked up at Erik's face, then back to his hand. He took Erik's hand but didn't know what to say.

[/ QUOTE ]

Erik took Harris's hand and helped him up, and looked at the man dead in the eyes.

"I'm sorry for being such an arrogant [censored] in your interview." Erik sighed and then rubbed the back of his neck.

"But trust me, being a scientist means having a deep distrust of the media. However, I should not have taken that out on you."

Shrugging he looked about and then checked out the rockslide behind them. As Penny was working on the box Omega had given him and Erik's fried earpeice he gestured to Harris.

"Look... If you want... I may be able to help your wife. I'm not going to promise any miracles but I have been able to help people whom the hospitals had given up on. Hence why i'm in a grad school and not a medical school... they hate it when a researcher knows more about healing someone than they do." Shrugging Erik looked at Harris and grimaced.

"I might be able to do something if you'll let me try... If we get out of here that is..." Erik looked up again and then inhaled and exhaled deeply...

"Can you tell I'm also trying not to go nuts thinking about my family?"

((OOC: Credit for the first part of this goes entirely to Jennifer8... Who rocks!))

Crystal had fled to the network of catwalks above the theatre area. A light had fallen in the haste of her passage and shattered in center stage. She had curled up in a sort of hunch, sitting with her knees up to her head. She had no fear of falling, having often worked on the catwalks, and had flown here in search of solitude.

Her head snapped up when she "heard" him enter the theatre.

"Paul... is that you?" Inside his head he could hear the same voice: Paul.... is that you?

Crystal had always had red hair, but now it had changed shades, becoming as bright as a newly-minted penny, and her eyes, for the moment she pulled her hands away from her face, gleamed eerily. "Paul.... what is the matter with me?"

Paul... what is the matter with me?

She wasn't fully aware of where she was, had only the vaguest idea of what had just happened - she only knew that when she needed him... he had come.

He was her hero.

__________________________________________________ _

Paul walked slowy into the theater and stopped when he heard Crystal call his name. It was REALLY strange hearing her say it, then FEELING in his mind her hear him hear it.

"That has got to be the coolest reverb effect I have ever seen."

He could see her up in the catwalks of the theater. He smiled remembering the time he snuck into a show she worked backstage for and hung out in the catwalks with her the entire time.

When she asked the obvious question, Paul was not surprised.

"Crystal, hun, you work in Doctor S's lab. You of all people should know what happened. You defended yourself kinda like he did. The ragman tried to hurt you and your body responded..."

He walked over to the ladders and looked up.

"Mind if I come up?" Suddenly he grinned and struck a melodramatic pose as he began to acend the ladder.

"Actually Crystal... I..." Paul paused and then began rubbing his neck. "I... I'm... Jeeze why can't I find the words now?"

When he finally got to the catwalks, Paul looked at Crystal and then smiled. "I like your hair." he stated... and he meant it.

"I should have... I should have shut the hell up. I should have just walked in and gave up like the ragman wanted. But I could not DO it! I HAD to say something and it almost cost you your life! Oh God Crystal I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I just wanted to save you, to show you how much I..."

He looked at her and smiled gently. His bright blue eyes sparkled, a sight rarely seen because of his sunglasses.

"I love you..."

[ QUOTE ]
"You should have had a communication device too," Penny said regretfully to Harris, "But in the excitement of getting down here... I dropped it. I'm very sorry."

[/ QUOTE ]

Erik looked at Harris and then at Penny. He shrugged and smiled.

"Looks like you're stuck with me for a while Harris. And don't worry Penny. I'll relay everything to him. Oh, and here. This little gadget Omega gave me should be fully charged now. Hope it fits with your suit."

He tossed the small box to Penny and then felt his ear. Amazingly the communicator was still in tact even after the battles they had been through.

"Um Penny? could you fix this little guy up before we head out? I don't know how much damage it can take but I'm sure I may have fried it when dealing with... Adam."

"Sounded like someone was trying to talk on it just a second ago but it was mainly static to my ears."

Erik looked back at Harris and walked over to him. He offered his hand but watched the man warily.

Wild-Card sat there... What the hell else was there to do? Crystal had run screaming while every bit of glass in almost a one hundred foot radius had exploded! His hands were fine for the most part thanks to his nanotech bands but a lot of the other students were pretty bad off.

Worst of all... his sunglasses had broken.

"Crystal..." He muttered. The voices screaming in his head from the aftershocks suddenly went quiet. The logic side of his brain began shouting orders, and quickly Wild-Card sprang into action.

"You stupid arrogant peice of trash... You were going to hurt MY DATE!" Wild-Card stomped over to the prone Edi while waving his arms at the remaining abominations. A wave of energy sprang forth and blew them out the open windows. The smell of cooked flesh filled the room.

Wild-Card stomped on the Edi's neck and grabbed the things face with his hand.

"You know those heroes who would glady arrest you and put you up in a jail or a lab to see if what your freaky Doc had done to you could be reversed? Know them? That's not me."

At point blank range with his hand wrapped around the Edi's head, the high energy sniping blast caused a splatter and spray akin to Gallagher hitting a watermellon... Only smellier.

Wild-Card tossed several bags to the students and then his cell-phone. "Use those! Those are healing nanites! They'll patch you up quick! And for the love of God call the COPS!"

Quickly he vaulted out the window and began charging the direction where Crystal went. He saw the reporters, and for the first time in his show-boating life, he didn't care.

"Get a REAL job you vultures!" He shouted at them as he ran past.

His sunglasses were useless, so tracking Crystal was out of the question. Still, he ran, hoping somehow he would find her.

"Damnitt damnitt damnitt... Crystal!!!" Wild-Card stood in the quad and shouted again... "Crystal!!!"

He shook his head and began to breathe deeply.

"Think.. Think stupid think! She's emitting mental waves... triggered by stressful onset... Defensive capability... Mental assults... Mental... She'd need a place to find quiet... Total quiet... The Library! No no no... This is Crystal... Backstage at the theater..."

He looked up again and then set off at a dead run. Wild-Card had no clue what he'd do when he found her, but he had to know... He had to know she was O.K.

[ QUOTE ]
Want to be a hero, do you? Surrender - or we kill every student in here. Starting, its arm tightened around Crystal's throat, with this one.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wild-Card winced and paused for a moment. Sighing he shook his head and raised his hands. It looked like for all the world he was going to give up.

And that's when his mouth kicked in.

If Paul ever had a weakness, it was that he never knew when to shut up. It was almost involuntary, he HAD to get what he was thinking out. Unfortunately, given his additude that often meant some comments have come out better left unsaid... And that was putting it nicely.

"Look ragman, lets get a few things straight. First off I'm not "playing" hero, I AM a hero. You know your buddy Patchwork? The twit who tried stealing bodies from Paragon's cemetaries? I busted him. Scritcher? That was me too. The gang of Morts who kidnapped that surgeon? Well I didn't do that ALONE but I did kick several in the head when it was over." As he walked forward he gave a swift boot to the head of the downed Mort. "Kinda like that."

"And now, you come in here startin' all kinds of ruckus. Bringing in buddies you had to make cause you're too damn ugly to HAVE friends. And last time I noticed pal... I'm not the one leaking green crap out of their head."

Wild-Card looked at the remaining abominations. There were at least six, but most of them had severe plasma burns and one had so many caltrops buried in it's flesh it looked like a pincushion.

"So, Mr. Raggety Andy... Lemme ask you something. You're wounded, your gang of home made buddies are hurt or in bits, and as a last desperate move you grab a student to use as a sheild. Man... I had no clue "Doctor Vahzensetin" was making such wimps now! I mean look at you! Hell you're even ACTING like a rag-doll! Hiding behind a woman because you can't fight for yourself!"

By this time Wild-Card had entered the room and grabbed a seat on a lab-bench nearby. He put down the basket next to him and looked at Crystal. His eyes were filled with sadness but he mouthed... "It'll be O.K. Stay Calm..."

Looking back at the now, VERY pissed bag of patchwork parts Wild-Card gave a disarming grin and shook his head.

"Look man, you need to go in for a tune-up or SOMETHING. I mean what next? If you're the BEST "Doctor Vahenstein" can offer what's he gonna do for an encore? Send out teddy-bears to rough up school kids?"

Wild-Card reached into the basket and pulled out the bottle of wine and pulled out the stopper. He took a sip and then shook his head again.

"So why don't you put the nice lady down, go back to whatever toy-chest you escaped from, and tell the good Doc to go drink kerosene and piss on a brush fire."

Erik stood there rubbing his jaw for a a good moment letting everything he had heard sink in.

He sighed deeply and let go of the anger. It was something he had learned to do a long time ago. SOmething his wife taught him to calm down when stressed and worried. He did that a lot... worry.

He walked close and sat on a pile of stones nearby and listened to the sounds of battle in the distance while watching Penny and Harris talk.

He fiddled with the item Omega gave him and charged it with some latent radiation. He made sure to do it quietly however, last thing he wanted was to upset Harris more.

Once Penny had finished Erik looked at Harris and shook his head.

"Look. I'm mad at you, and I think I have every right to be. But right now that's just not going to work. You've had bad stuff happen to you and your family. For that I apologize for whatever it may be. I spoke out of anger and fear for my family. I'm sorry you hurt your hand, and I'm sorry I called you a monkey-humper, but you have to realize my wife and child is in danger. If what you just said about your family is true then you of ALL people should know how terrified I am right now and how desperate I am."

Erik looked at Harris and nodded simply.

"I'm sure to your mind this changes nothing, and I'm still not too fond of you. But for my WIFE and CHILD Harris... we need your help. I... need your help..."

Erik dropped his head and sighed. His fist flared with green fire as he punched the wall out of fustration. Stone chips hit him in the face.

"My God... I swore I'd protect Enid and Cassie... I promised that I had plans for this..."

Erik inhaled deeply and exhaled and shook his head before sinking to the floor...

Paul Quinn, otherwise known on campus as Wild-Card, was walking along in the quad whistling happily as he cradled the basket of food and wine for his late-night date tonight.

“Man this’ll knock Crystal’s socks off!” He chuckled aloud. He had everything he needed. A fine wine, glasses, bread, his new fusion-thermal cooker, and a song in his heart.

“Just gotta nip by the bio-building to “Liberate” some lobsters from the marine lab.”

Wild-Card LOVED doing stuff like that. For an 18 year old, he was remarkably juvenile at times. However, the fact that he held a Ph.D. in nanotechnology and was working on a second in Quantum and String theory would make one think twice!

Of course, most physics geniuses normally did not have bright green hair and wear jeans, a tee shirt, and sunglasses all the time. Then again, most physics geniuses didn’t moonlight as heroes either. Not that Wild-Card cared… He was firmly set in his quest to enjoy life to the fullest. And tonight that meant a candlelight dinner date with the lovely Crystal. She just didn’t KNOW it yet…

He loved surprising her. Like the time he had rigged lasers in her room to spell out several Shakespeare sonnets with pictures, or the time he made a fiber-optic rose that changed colors to music… Showing off his cooking skills would be great addition to that list.

So in reality he had to liberate lobsters from the marine lab, and Crystal from her workaholic habits in Doc Sanstad’s lab. Wild-Card liked Erik, and often gave him advice on how best to approach a technical problem. Doctor Sanstad also LISTENED to him and did not treat him like a kid… like so many other professors. Heck, he and Doctor S had even taken apart a set of Ritki armor!

So Wild-Card was whistling loudly, swinging the basket, and looking forward to the smile on Crystal’s face… when he found that the fire escape doors to the bio-building had been forced open.

“What the… WHOOF! Zombie Funk!” The smell was terrible but Wild-Card knew it all to well. Vahz Zombies. Shaking his head he recalled several rants by Doc S on how they were mockeries of true scientists and so on…

“He probably pissed in their poast-toasties. Well… guess I’d better check this out! Wine’s not gonna stay cold forever.”

Wild-Card dug into his back pockets and pulled out two lengths of blackened cloth. These he wrapped about his hands like a boxer and then flexed. The nanotech wiring flared and charged up the cold-fusion cells. In his sunglasses readouts began to speed by.

“Full power baby… Lets rock.”

He grabbed the basket again and delved into the darkness. Thankfully, his sunglasses switched filters to a night-vision mode, and he walked as if it was bright daylight.

Soon however he began to hear voices. Wild-Card shifted the feeds and zoomed in on the open door down the hall and spotted the party.

“Someone is trying to mess up my date tonight…” he mumbled. “Like I’m gonna let THAT happen.”

He punched up feeds and began counting targets in the room. Nodding Wild-Card smiled.

“10 of them and just one of me… This could hurt…”

The Eiledon rounded the corner then and Wild-Card grunted.

“Hello target number one…” he whispered. Quickly he jimmied the lock on the adjoining room and backed into the closed lab. From there he had a straight shot into the next room…

Flexing his hands he began to focus on the Eiledon. His cloth-covered hands began to glow as the energy reactors began to pull up a tremendous amount of plasma and charge it.

At the peak of the charge Wild-Card confirmed the target lock and yelled at the top of his lungs.

“YO! STICTH-HEAD! YEAH YOU! THE RAGGETY ANN WANNABE!”

The Eiledon turned and snarled.

“Smile big for the birdie stupid!”

The energy blast rocketed out of the dark room across the hall and slammed full into the face of the Eiledon, slamming him into the glass cabinets in the back of the lab. It lay prone on the floor as the smoke from the cooked mask curled up about the head of the thing. Wild-Card knew better than to count it down, but he knew he hurt it… BADLY.

As one the rest of the Abominations and the Mortifier turned and began to charge the dark room.

“Watch your step boys!” Wild-Card taunted as he flung his arms wide. The spray of folded nano-chips responded to the open air immediately, and unfolded into a horde of razor sharp caltrops. The Mortifier yelped with pain while the Abominations simply kept on plodding forward, albeit slower.

Angrily the Mortifier took aim and shot a quarrel at Wild-Card, scoring a glancing blow on his shoulder. Wild-Card winced and almost dropped his basket.

“Hey you twit! I’ve got a bottle of fifty-dollar wine in here! How would YOU like it if someone shot you when you’ve got something breakable!” Wild-Card added a blast of energy at the end as punctuation… Promptly blowing the Mortifier off his feet and slamming him back down into the caltrops. “Kinda like that!”

The abominations still moved forward but Wild-Card knew they would only get through the door one at a time.

“So who’s first to see the doctor?” He knew he was taking a big chance, but at least now these things were focused on HIM and not his date. He hoped they could get out of there… But he also kinda hoped that Crystal saw him acting all heroic and stuff.

That would be even BETTER than the candlelight dinner…

[ QUOTE ]
"The Village Idiot............that would be fitting." He said with out looking up, almost speaking to himself but it was loud enough for the others to hear.


[/ QUOTE ]

"Harris, be VERY glad I have morals right about now. I ought to irradiate your groin to make sure such an *** like you never BREEDS!"

Erik was glad the man was unhurt, but the fact that this twit had put his family in danger was still casting clouds over how Doctor Sanstad looked at the man.

"What the HELL were you thinking? Why did you have information on my family about you? Do you have ANY idea how hard I've tried to keep that quiet to PROTECT them?"

Erik began to pace and rubbed his temples. Struggling to keep his temper under control his body began to glow with atomic fire slightly.

"Look you Monkey Humping son of a [censored]. I have no clue what you have against Heroes or people like Penny, the big robot guy, and I. But right now, unless you're hiding powers of your OWN we're your best shot to get OUT of here alive. So knock off the bitter angst crap, and either shut the hell up or HELP us."

Erik was hovering now without even noticing. He quickly floated directly into Harris's face. His eyes glwoign with green fire.

"And I can assure you Harris... you and I and my Lawyers are going to have a LONG friking talk if we make it out of here."

Erik turned and hovered away from the man and towards the Robot. Inhaling deeply he did his best to drop his temper and offered his hand.

"Thanks... You really pulled our fat out of the fire."

[ QUOTE ]
Suddenly he grabbed her by the throat and started to strangle her.

"Dam you Max." He shouted. "How could you?"

[/ QUOTE ]

"What in the nine hells?!?" Erik grabbed Harris's wrists and flared up the protons in his palms. He knew Penny's armor could take the heat, and it was just enough to singe, not burn.

Erik's eyes filled with green fire as he ripped the hands free and damn well near yanked Harris into the air.

"HARRIS YOU ***!" Erik yelled. "Snap out of it NOW! I SWEAR I'm gonna add assult on a designated law enforcement hero to everything ELSE I'm going to sue your lousy *** for!"

He stared at Harris while they both hovered in mid-air... And then the shots from the Lost began to ring out.

"We don't have TIME for you going nutso! You wake up or I'll knock you out so you won't KILL us!"

Shaking the man like a rag doll Erik shifted the weight and gripped Harris under the arms and then shot forward with a burst of flight speed.

"I got him Penny!" Erik yelled. "Lets haul ***!"

"Holy..." Erik just did his best to keep up with the massive robot. He was damn thankful of it showing up at the right moment. His anger of the threats on his wife had worn off and he knew that rage induced boost would not last forever.

He noticed that Penny was lagging behind, but the Vhaz that tired to follow were almost immediately cut off by the group of Lost that had blown the wall open. That battle began again in earnest with the escaping heroes almost forgotten.

Erik looped back and rushed next to Penny and bathed her again in his healing aura.

"Jesus Penny I'm sorry... I'm sorry for getting us into this mess. I had no clue that had... Well ANYTHING like this."

The path ahead was beginning to open up but they still had a long way to go.

"Yo Moses!" Erik could only hope the robot got the joke... Parting the sea and escaping as they were... "We need to head upwards! They'll still be after my family!"

((OOC: Sorry for the HUGE delay on my part in posting folks. Work/Grad school only allows so much. But keep it up. I LOVE this thus far!))

[ QUOTE ]
"MARINES!" She shouted into her 'comm, hoping the Erik could hear her. "THE BUS IS LEAVING!!!"

[/ QUOTE ]

The door next to the murk literally melted under the atomic fire that finally broke free. The first thing to leave the room was the body of Adam, engulfed in green flames and torn asunder.

Erik walked out of the room, his clothes ruined and torn, his hair buring with the green flames, but his eyes were glowing... Glowing with atomic power on a level he had never shown before.

He held up the head of Adam to the stunned Murk and Mire. They were only just now recovering from the blast Penny had set off. Erik snarled and threw the head of the former Lumi at the Mire with all his might. He followed that with a blast of radiation sickness that engulfed the pair but left Penny and Harris somehow untouched.

"You bastards had better pray that you kill me. Because I'm going to break every one of those you sent to my house tonight when I get out of here."

Erik erupted in a green glow that swept over the area. It sunk into his flesh and that of Penny and Harris. Suddenly, the world seemd to slow down while they began to move faster and with stronger moves. Quickly Erik ran to them, and let the healing waves flow off his body into both Penny and Harris.

"We're leaving together or not at all. I'm going to be there to hear you tell your buddy about the suit. Now lets make a break for it..."

Erik followed behind the pack of Vahzilok deeper into the sewers. He watched the Lumi give orders to the rest of them, and the Reapers and Mortifiers moved out with their packs of undead in tow.

The ground was practically shaking. Erik could feel the energy of Ritki weapons nearby, as well as powerful radiation blasts from other sources. He looked up and saw the Lumi staring right at him. At least he thought it was a stare, but with the bondage gear mask over its face, it was hard to tell.

”My name is Adam. I tell you this so we can have a formal conversation between two scientists.” Erik was damn tempted to punch the thing dead in the face but resisted. Adam chuckled.

”Now before you start getting any ideas like trying to attack me, know that every living member of that pack you saw has copies of the pertinent information in this little notebook. Attack me, and they move in on your family.”

Erik winced and unclasped his fists, partly due to the threat to his family, and partly due to the sudden interrogation he began to hear on GG’s com. They were doing something to Harris and parts of his life story were flowing out. Shaking his head, Erik focused on the problems at hand.

“Can I speak now? Or shall I still play a silent victim?”

”Oh come now Erik, don’t be so crass. Just follow along and perhaps we can speak along the way. I have much to tell you.”

Erik shook his head and followed Adam. The lumi passed through several tunnels and Erik could feel the grade get deeper with each passage. The sounds of fighting became more apparent as well as the sources of energy. Adam shook his head and went into a side passage. He pressed a brick on the wall and suddenly a door opened.

“What… are you a teenage mutant ninja turtle now?”

”Please… don’t be so insulting. We work with what we have, and the institutions above give us very little.”

Erik shook his head and followed. The Lumi passed several areas where intense fighting could be heard. Suddenly Adam took a sharp right and walked down a large pipe. He blocked the passage for a moment and then ushered both himself and his captive forward.

Erik was shocked to see a large pitched battle going on behind him. The Vahzilok were waging open war with the Lost, and seemed to be gaining ground. Adam allowed only a brief look before ushering Erik into a side room.

“Dear God…” Erik whispered as he saw Harris strapped to a table while a Mortifier was dutifully recording every word the man uttered. Adam watched for a moment before pushing Erik past a large box with Ritki symbols on it into a side room and closing the door.

The room looked like a sterile doctor’s office. Frankly Erik was surprised as he looked at the clean environment and the tools.

“If you were anyone else I’d praise you on the state of your lab.”

Adam chuckled and sat down near a desk and did something totally unexpected… He pulled his mask off.

Erik had expected to see an undead visage. Something gruesome and horrible. What he saw was far worse. It was the face of “Little Boy.” Who could forget that charming face of the doctor who worked with the survivors of the nuclear strikes on Japan in WWII? Of the self styled hero of Paragon who took the name of one of the weapons that brought so much devastation? The man was a leader in radiation therapy and treatment of cancer and radiation sickness.

And he should have been well over eighty.

The man in front of him appeared to be in his twenties, and healthy as a horse. Erik’s jaw went slack and shook his head at the sight.

“I see you recognize the face.” Adam stated.

“Is it really yours or did you harvest it somewhere?” The anger came back to Erik, but the thing before him shook it’s head.

“It’s mine Doctor Sanstad. I’m Adam Dermont AKA “Little-Boy,” and I’m quite alive.”

Erik could feel himself reel. Here was a childhood hero, and a man he studied intensely when he gained his radiation powers. Erik had read this man’s journals and articles over and over again.

“Why?” Erik gasped. “Why the HELL would you throw your scientific principles away! Why throw in with someone who makes Doctor Frankenstein look GOOD by comparison?”

“SHUT UP! You know nothing of Doctor Vahzilok’s work! He’s a great man! He gave me back my life! My youth!”

Erik was furious. Here was a man he idolized, and now he felt betrayed and his family threatened by this individual.

“Look… Doctor Sanstad, you of ALL people should know what we strive for.”

Erik inhaled deeply and fought back the wiseass remark. Realizing his situation was next to hopeless at the moment he grabbed a chair and sat.

“Then enlighten me.” He stated with the seriousness of a Scientist. “Tell me WHY you harvest body parts from innocent people on the street. Why you graft together things that look like something out of Day of the Dead? Why your acolytes look like bad AD&D necromancers?”

Adam chuckled and shook his head.

“There is the scientific inquiry I was hoping to find.” Adam stood and began to pace as he talked.

“What is the constant foe man has always faced? What is the thing that we, as humans could never escape? That my dear Doctor, is death. Death faces us down every day, but not anymore. Doctor Vahzilok has found the keys to death and can bring about new life. It goes far beyond the reanimation of dead tissue, but into the realm of repairing dead cells at a molecular level.

“I’m talking about re-growing nerve connections. About reconstructing bodies ravaged by diabetes or cancer. About giving patients with no hope originally, not only hope but a totally new lease on life!”

Erik began rubbing his temples and sighed deeply. He looked up at Adam and shook his head.

“First off, death is a natural part of life. You can’t escape that fact. If for nothing more than to control the population. If you remove death then we would soon wipe ourselves out in other ways like running out of room.

“Second, I’ll grant you that such medical achievements are incredible. But have you LOST YOUR MIND?!? You were THERE during World War Two! Did the Nazi concentration camps teach you nothing! What about the doctors that went on trial for experimenting on humans? What about the cases of Joseph Mengele? For the love of God, you’re doing things WORSE than them! You’re harvesting from innocents to make your achievements!”

Erik was shaking with rage now, but Adam shook his head.

“Every person we have taken or harvested from has some prior condition. Some are deemed worthy to save, while others are used as parts for the greater good. Erik we’ve SAVED three times as many people as we have hurt! We can save the world from diseases and cancers, and even death! Why should death be a natural part of life? Why should we bow to it when we have conquered every other aspect on this planet?”

Erik stood and looked Adam straight in the eye.

“What gives you the right to play God?”

Adam stared back at him and snarled.

“What gives God the right to make and abandon us? What gives you the right to act as a savior yourself?”

The radiation levels began to rise in the room. Both Adam and Erik began to feel their bodies flood with power as they stared at each other in hatred.

“You WILL see our ways Erik. We can even repair your Wife… All those problems that even you can't cure. We can and will fix her Erik, with or WITHOUT you.”

“You dirty SON OF A…!!!”

People outside the room could feel the heat coming from within… Even the Mortifier paused and looked up as something obviously began to happen in the room beyond.

Heh... I think most of you by now know some of my major characters. And most think of themselves as just a Guy to varying degrees.

Chess is just someone who wants to get his family back and understand what is happening to him. His core programming is to protect folks, so he does that along the way. He definately does not consider himself to be a hero.

Erik (aka Mighty Bio-Man) HATES the lable of hero that was slapped on him. He is still a college professor, still loves teaching, and fights to keep a normal life. He uses his powers to help others simply because he feels it's the right thing to do.

Obsidian Omega feels he is nothing extrodinary at all and all you upworlders make way too much a fuss about him and how he can call on the earthmother. But he knows that he can help, and he will... So why call him a hero? Don't all you upworlders help each other?

Rich Pickman (Richard when I'm writing) would be about as far from feeling Heroic as one can get. His life has been a series of occult discoveries and horrors along the way. He may help pelple but in essence he is searching for something... He needs to know what is happening to him... and why the darkness within needs to feed.

I have another character called Wild-Card. He's a technology blaster with Energy/Gadgets... Problem is I'm still working on a viable backstory for him. I have several ideas, but he REALLY sees himself as a superhero. "That's my job!" is how he feels, and he LOVES to showboat for the public...

When I work up a good story for him I may post it here... Not sure yet.