Romanov

Romanov stood in the doorway for a moment and observed Alicia Barzini. On the surface he looked like he had stepped from the cover of GQ, his suit, hair and skin were immaculate giving no hint at the monster beneath.

He smiled and gave a respectful nod, before presenting his host with a bottle that seemed to just have appeared in his gloved hand.

“Ms Barzini, it is a please to see you again. I apologise for not being the thoughtful guest last time but in fairness your invitation gave little away. Please, accept this gift given in thanks for your hospitality. Chateau Margaux 1787. Quite palatable or you may wish to keep it as an investment.”

He took the same seat as last time. “I had hoped to speak to you in person before today, but time seems to have beaten me. Having done a little research, I am glad that, in you at least, I have found someone worthy of an alliance. Such a pity you did not come to me first but…now we must play the hand we have been dealt, must we not?”

The midnight black stretch Bentley slowed and came to a stop outside Sisarose Mansion.

In the back seat, attired in an expensive black suit and overcoat, Alex Romanov was concluding a conversation on his cellphone.

“No, Mr King, this is no longer a negotiation. My people will have the paperwork to you within the hour. I suggest you sign it or you will soon learn how hostile a takeover can really be.”

He hung up. The young woman sitting next to him was also dressed in expensive black. Her skin was pale and her exquisite features hinted at a meeting of European and Japanese in her heritage. Although an observer would guess there were no more than ten years between them in age that was far from the truth.

“Thank you, father. I can handle things from here. As soon as the paperwork is completed I will see that the hostages are released and…”

“Xenia,” said Romanov, no trace of emotion in his voice. “It is a common mistake of lesser businessmen than myself to release hostages. When Mr King signs on the dotted line take him to his family. Then kill them all. Personally.” He placed his hand firmly on his daughter’s wrist. “And the next time you think it necessary to bring me in on such trivial matters…start thinking also as to what your new career will be.”

“Yes, father,” she replied as Romanov exited the car.

The administrator of the Milita forums has kindly created a LoRD section for us here. I’m still waiting for the welcome cookies to be delivered…I’m sure they’ll be along shortly.

I think all but one of us is already a member, so anyone who isn’t just needs to register.

This will mainly be for OOC discussion I think, but there is also an IC thread in case we need to rp events that would give away too mainly spoilers. However, I think we should keep as much IC content here as possible.

((We should now start the meeting on the 20th shouldn't we? I'm not sure if a venue was specified, so am assuming it was at the mansion again which would leave Pistol starting things off again))

Right. I see that has a post in the wider discussion that this thread became. It really remains to be seen whether that plays any part in what the characters do or do not do.
Obviously, Ammon has a great knowledge of game cannon and history so he will have an input into what is done OOC and through his character IC. But nothing has happened yet or even been discussed, so much of any argument here is unecessary.

[ QUOTE ]


Well since the time lines ends with a paragraph saying that since so many of the police, heroes and armed forces of the world died Supervillians started to flourish you'd think they would have toher things on their mind than waging war on each other.

Now while I have no problem with the idea of you taking over a country, its the whole by exploiting political unrest in the area.

The LoRDs are ment to be the cream of Supervillianry but you are acting like 12 year old thugs waiting until the shop keeper isn't looking so you can run off with a pack of sweets.

You should be able to engineer everything, start the unrest, take over and gain control without any one suspecting you.

That and taking a real world situation and just putting different names on it is a bit uninspired to say the least.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't want to get drawn into this, but I really have to ask you where is this coming from? All that has happened IC is a meeting of an hour or two in length which ended with an agreement to discuss taking over a nation at a later date. While the people involved in this discussion may think it has merit, it really has little to do with the LoRDs characters and any plot that may or may not happen in the future.

Just to very briefly bring this back to my original questions:

I think it’s clear that we do need a private OOC channel to discuss matters. While I enjoy reading such debates, I don’t think we want to have a community wide discussion every time we want to decide what colour the hand towels should be in our base washrooms. When we have decided on things OOC we can introduce them to the community as plots where there can be as much OOC discussion and IC roleplay etc as people want. I suggest a private forum on one of the Shades, Militia or Blood Countess sites.

I was impressed by a lot of Ammon’s points and documented evidence which gives me faith that the experienced roleplayers involved in the LoRDs plot will not do anything to spoil other roleplayers’ enjoyment of the game. Quite the opposite in fact. The original post suggests a fictional country as it was never a possibility that a real country would be used. However, as the above discussion has shown it is not as straight forward as that. Just trust us that we will arrive at a course of action that is sensitive to the needs of roleplayers who don’t want to get involved as much as those that do.

So not wanting to stop the debate here, but we’ll continue the discussion from the OP elsewhere.

I think we need a place to discuss this group and associated plots. For example should we create a fictional nation for the League to attempt to takeover?
Whether this is the best place for such discussion I'm not sure. People seem to be enjoying the IC stuff so to have an OOC discussion in the same forum might be like a magician giving away the secret of his tricks. Metamorphosis!

Romanov stood, picked up a glass and raised it.

"Agreed. To us."

Borealis’s stare washed over Romanov but he recognised its intent. He returned it, but withheld the intensity that could reduce most living things to a trembling mass of fear filled flesh.

“What do I want? To put it simply I want to rule the world and choke its rivers with the corpses of all who oppose me.”

He turned away, enjoying the image he had conjured for a few seconds.

“What is clear from this brief conversation is that there are those of us who wish to destroy and those of us who desire to shape a new order. I don’t believe those positions are necessarily at odds with each other. Some of the world’s strongest regimes have grown from the ashes of chaos, despair and revolution.

“As for this city? I wish to continue to erode all faith in its precious heroes until the very people they wish protect force them into the shadows. When vulnerable I want to spread fear and mistrust through the population, to eat way everything they believe in like a cancer. Then will be time for your chaos and destruction.

“And when the dust settles and those we have allowed to live in their desperation seek out for guidance? Then I shall take my allotted share and do as I will.”

He ran his hand along the surface of the table. “But I have no intention of ending with Paragon City. I fact, I am not completely convinced it is the right place to start our enterprise whatever its eventual form. So to return to your original question…I want the world.”

He looked around the room again, acknowledging each of its occupants before continuing. “I wonder what your response would be to this proposal. A smaller target less protecting by the costumed cretins that seem to be attracted to this place like the proverbial flies. At the very least it would give us the opportunity to see how our individual resources and skills can be put to use collectively. And it would give us a base to plan our next, more ambitious campaign.”

Romanov bowed his head slightly. “That you for that impassioned speech Countess.”

He stood, resting his palms on the tabletop. He had addressed thousands of troops before battle as well as the unearthly horrors that dwelt in the darkest part of his lair, but this situation called for a more subtle approach. But he was as adept at making his case in the boardroom.

“As the Countess has said some of us are further along the path to what some of you have called rule here today. Myself perhaps more than all of you. I and the organisation I am part of exert control and influence in many parts of the world. That leads me to the natural conclusion that your efforts, if they were allowed to proceed, would bring all of you into conflict with me. And believe me when I say the progress of your alliance would end there.”

He paused for a moment, allowing his audience to form their own thoughts in the stillness.

“However, I cannot deny that I have been impressed with Ms Bazini’s proposal, in the main part for the sheer bravery or audacity of its scope. And the opportunity to form an alliance with her and Countess Bathory is one I have given careful consideration to. As for the rest of you, I have to rely that her judgement in arriving at her proposal also extends to those she chose to invite to be a part of it.”

He suppressed a sneer.

“One thing I will say is that some of your notions on rule will have to be corrected. If you want your head on a coin, this is not the path for you. True power, global power, is that behind the throne. However, I look forward to debating that point and others another time. For now, it is enough to say that I will join this alliance and give my word that while it stands I will not harm any of its members.”

He nodded to signal that he was finished. Briefly looking at each of the men and women to read their reactions before sitting down.

Romanov listened. The fact that he would need to join this axis or destroy its members sooner rather than later was becoming reinforced with each word. Bazini had impressed him, that much was true. It was a bold move and not without its merits.

However, the general could not escape another fact, namely that with two exceptions he would not even consider those assembled for a position in his organisation never mind treat them as equals. Hatesman displayed his mental frailty as blatantly as Borealis’ suit belied his physical weakness. Perhaps it was a ploy to make others underestimate them, but that was the wrong card to play so early in this particular game. The thin man in black and whatever was inside the hi-tech armour were unknown quantities. As was the Countess, but Romanov already sensed that she would make a more appealing ally than adversary.

Romanov held out his black gloved hand, drawing attention to himself before gesturing to the Countess. “I am still digesting the proposal and the speeches I have heard so far so choose to hold my judgment a little longer. I would be most interested to hear the Countess’ thoughts.”

Romanov did nothing more than observe the pantomime performance of Hatesman. With the exception of the Countess who stirred a little interest, he felt the company of armoured freaks, gangsters and escapees from the pages of a Penny Dreadful beneath him.

His first reaction to the proposal implied in Pistol’s word was offence. But the mind that had kept him alive and at the top of the food chain for most of his 133 years was already making connections and exploring possibilities. An opportunity to strengthen his play to take his rightful leadership of the League of Scoundrels. To see the righteous oaf Britanic and his witch of a wife dead without any of the messy consequences that murdering two high profile heroes would bring. Offence became intrigue.

He casually fingered the small silver eagle on his tie. Too soon to make his opening move, he prepared to listen to the response of the other guests.

Alex Romanov entered the conference room. His steel grey eyes didn’t flicker and they took in every inch of it and assessed each occupant with the interest of a predator.

On the surface a well-groomed billionaire in his early thirties, Romanov was wearing a tailor-made, black Brioni suit. The only point of light on his attire was a solid silver tiepin in the shape of an eagle, reminiscent of those seen on the standards of legions of ancient Rome. A handsome man with pale skin, elegantly defined face and regal bearing; most people experienced a palpable feeling of fear in his presence. Like sheep who could sense a wolf in their midst.

He nodded to Alicia Barzini. “Ms Barzini. I am Romanov. Consider the time I have given you a gift and be advised to use it well.” His voice was strong and clear, a refined English accent with the faintest trace of Russian.

In normal circumstances he would have refused such a meeting, or at best sent Night Druid or one of his daughters in his place. But the fallen angel Samyaza had been banished, his strongest opposition on the board of League Associated Industries Henry Swift was disgraced, and the Guild of Gentlemen Adventurers were showing little sign of becoming close to the threat they once were. He craved a distraction.

He nodded briefly to the other people in the room, lingering a heartbeat longer on the woman who by process of elimination among other telling factors was the Countess Bathory.

((Copies of this invitation are delivered to all close friends of Diana Bright, as well as friends of Dee and Nene. It is a pale blue A5 note with fancy text. It is illustrated with ink drawings of Victorian/Edwardian life))

Lady McAllister and Miss Diablo

Request the pleasure of your company to celebrate the

18th Birthday

Of their good friend

Miss Diana Bright

An Afternoon Tea will be held at SwallowTail House, Talos Island

Little sandwiches and fancy cakes will be served from 4pm on Sunday.

Lady McAllister will entertain the guests on the piano forte with a selection of songs by that clever Mr Coward.

The afternoon will conclude with a tasting of a selection of the fine wines available at Mr Van’s Korean Bodega.

Please dress in attire suitable for a lady (or a gentleman if that is your want).

((Disclaimer: This in not an IG event. Please feel free to post if you character is attending and details such as their mood, gifts etc, and the party will form the basis of a fiction piece/diary entry.))

((This story is posted on the Buzz Around Paragon news website on Saturday, December 22. Versions of the story appear in several of he city's newspapers on the same day))

HAVE A DRUGS RING YOU NEED SMASHING? SEND IN THE CLOWNS
By Dixon Growler

STRIKING disguises were the key to success for an operation led by Silent Tempest that it is hoped has put the final nail in the coffin of the Rapture drug.
Tempest members Diana “Love Angel” Bright and Dee Dee Diablo, along with Nene McAllister, disguised themselves as Carnival of Shadows members to infiltrate a club called the Beast Market in an abandoned warehouse in Brickstown. They were accompanied by a strangely garbed figure believed to be a member of the mysterious group Cirque de la Lune
The information they were able to gather led to a full-scale strike on Tuesday’s Child Modelling Agency, which was allegedly being used as a front for the trade in the illegal drug.
MAGI and PPD are still investigating subterranean caves near the agency’s offices on Peregrine Island, which it is believed was the site of the last Rapture lab in the city.
This morning Shanti Toucey, 29, known as Madame Tuesday, died in hospital after being injured in the strike. 58 people, many of them employees of Tuesday’s Child Modelling Agency, were arrested after the raid.
PPD confirmed that until recently Toucey was a high-ranking member of the Carnival of Shadows.
Silent Tempest stalwarts Mesoc, Star Crusader and veteran heroine Lady Cobra joined the faux Carnies for the final strike beneath Peregrine Island.
MAGI investigator Michael Thunderhorse said: “Madame Tuesday had split from the Carnival to produce and supply Rapture. The Beast Market was a touring club, establishing itself for a night or two in disused buildings in an effort to get the city’s affluent young people hooked on Rapture.
“Regrettably, six young people were discovered to have fallen into comas at the club and were moments away from being disposed of by Tuesday’s gang.
“Again, I must thank Silent Tempest and their allies for taking the initiative in this matter. From their action against the mastermind behind the drug, Samyaza, right through until last night’s operation, they have done everything in their power to halt the spread of Rapture before it is too late. I honestly believe that, with the closure of this third lab, we can look forward to a 2008 free of Rapture.”
The Disease and Infection Control (DIC) team based at the Rivera Medical Center is treating the six comatose teenagers.
As with all of these recent Rapture raids, a number of humanoid creatures were taken from the site and transferred to the care of the Angel Foundation.

((This story is posted on the Buzz Around Paragon news website on Friday, December 21. Versions of the story appear in several of he city's newspapers on the same day))

SAUSAGE KING STUFFED BY TEMPEST
By Dixon Growler

HEROES discovered a drug lab hidden in a mob-owned meat processing plant last night.
The drug Rapture was being distributed throughout Independence Port and the surrounding areas stuffed inside Italian sausage.
Heroes, including Silent Tempest members Diana “Love Angel” Bright and Dee Dee Diablo, arrested mob boss Sammy “Foot Long” Fiametta along with more than 30 members of his crew after a late night raid.
Fiametta, who ran the legitimate Fiametta Family Meats business, which has the well-known slogan “Your Momma Can’t Get Enough of Sammy’s Famous Foot Long”, has been charged with the manufacture and supply of Rapture.
MAGI investigator Michael Thunderhorse said that other charges were pending after several humanoid creatures were found at the plant in Independence Port.
Mr Thunderhorse would not confirm rumours that these beings, which a PPD source said were referred to as “nephilim” by MAGI and Silent Tempest at the scene, are part of the Rapture manufacturing process. The creatures were placed in the care of the Angel Foundation.
Tempest’s Diablo and Bright were joined in the operation by Nene McAllister and occultist Eldritch Trickster.
Diablo said: “The evil of Rapture is right at the top of our hit list at the moment, and anyone dealing in it should know we are coming for you and we are loaded for bear.
“Sammy Fiametta thought that hiding behind a respectable business would protect him. But we can all rest assured that the only place he will be delivering sausage for some time to come is in prison.”
Diana Bright, who’s recently announced retirement shows no signs of slowing her down, seemed more concerned with the quality of Fiametta’s produce when our reporter spoke to her.
She said: “"It's horrible! Look at it! Is this a proper sausage? It's all small and soggy! Too soft too!
“I tell you, this sausage would not last five minutes in my oven before exploding, you know?"
The strike is the latest high profile action to combat the drug Rapture that has so far put nine teenagers in comas.
Mr Thunderhorse added: “Rapture is potentially the most devastating drug to hit Paragon City for along time. I am grateful that Silent Tempest and their allies have taken such robust action, which will hopefully lead to us ridding Paragon of this poison before it can take a stranglehold like other drugs have done in the past.”

There is a magic/occult roleplaying SG in existence, it's just that we're a secret society and....Damn! Forget I said anything!

-Buzz Around Paragon news website, December 19

FOOTAGE of rock musicians Nene McAllister and Dee Dee Diablo singing Christmas favourite Fairytale of New York has become the most viewed video on Buzz Around Paragon.
The duet was caught on a cellphone at Blue Waterfall, Steel Canyon, where Nene McAllister, frontwoman of The Nines, was performing a concert of Christmas favourites.
For the final song of the night the accomplished pianist was joined by her girlfriend Dee Dee Diablo of hellraising punk band The Last Word.
The video, which has been watched 250,000 times in our Viewed News section, has led to calls for the pair to release the song in time for next Christmas.
Diablo said: “If people like it that’s cool, but we haven’t talked about releasing it. It was Nene’s night and I was just there to support her. She was amazing and I wouldn’t say that song was the highlight by any means. We just thought it’d be cool to do that song together as we both love it. But if people like that video they should see the one we made last night. Or maybe they shouldn’t. No comment!”
Bane of the moral majority Diablo has seen her band’s album Greetings from the Gutter soar to the top of the city’s chart since its release last month.

*RAPTURE PLOT

((This article is posted on the Buzz Around Paragon news website late this afternoon))

TWO MORE TEENS IN COMAS AS RAPTURE DRUG IS CONFIRMED
Story by Dixon Growler

TWO more teenagers have fallen into drug-fuelled comas just hours after MAGI confirmed the existence of Rapture.
Last night, Titus O’Connor, 16, and Konnie Applegate, 18, were admitted to the Disease and Infection Control (DIC) unit at the Rivera Medical Center.
This morning, after liasing with MAGI, the unit confirmed that the latest admissions bring the total of teens that have fallen victim to Rapture to nine.
DIC Head Alan Bannister said: “The latest samples provided by MAGI investigators from a illegal drugs lab in Skyway City have helped us come to the conclusion that all nine of these young people have been overcome by a drug which I am reliable informed is known on the streets as Rapture.
“The drug has been assimilated by their body as if it were a blood transfusion making it as yet impossible to isolate or treat. There bodies have lapsed into an extremely relaxed state, almost as if they are asleep. However, this is contrasted by their brain activity, which is off the chart. At this stage we simply cannot arrive at a prognosis.”
Last night, MAGI investigator Michael Thunderhorse confirmed that Rapture was being manufactured and distributed in Paragon City.

The Rapture victims:
Eloise Jenkins, 18, Skyway City
Langdon Richards, 17, Skyway City
Konnie Applegate, 18, Skyway City
Omar Nasri, 14, Independence Port
Titus O’Connor, 16, Independence Port
Lucy Bright, 19, Peregrine Island
Daphne Lacont, 17, Peregrine Island
Jackie Mullins, 18, Peregrine Island
Douglas McQueen, 17, Peregrine Island

*RAPTURE PLOT

((Article appears on the front page of the Skyway City Spartan newspaper today. There is a picture of a powerfully built Native American in a black suit, white shirt and tie captioned as “MAGI investigator Michael Thunderhorse”. Another of a gnarled-skinned, heavy-browed Troll with an iron plate bolted to his face where his nose used to be is captioned as “Troll boss Ironbridge who was arrested yesterday”.))

“DEVIL’S DRUG” IN SKYWAY SHOCK!
16 dead and 21 arrested as City Rapture lab is shutdown
SPARTAN EXCLUSIVE by Babs Lawson

A DRUG lab producing the drug Rapture was closed down by MAGI investigators in Skyway City yesterday.
Until the swoop, the question of whether the drug was real or an urban myth had been widely debated.
But last night, MAGI investigator Michael Thunderhorse confirmed that a gang of renegade Trolls had been supplying the drug, sometimes referred to as the Devil’s Drug due to its rumoured connection to disappeared rock star Samyaza, in Skyway City.
The leader of the gang, a Troll called Ironbridge, was arrested along with 20 others. Ironbridge is also being questioned regarding the murder of Troll boss Grunt who was found stabbed in prison earlier this year.
Mr Thunderhorse said: “Today we can confirm that Rapture is a reality. This drug is highly addictive, radically alters the user’s behaviour and has already put seven teenagers in hospital. I call on friends and family to monitor their loved ones and report any suspicions that they are using this vile drug. Heroes should be vigilant and report any information about the supply chain of this drug to myself at MAGI’s offices in Atlas Park or Galaxy City. And, finally, I call on the criminals themselves - this drug was created to fulfil a yet undetermined, sinister objective and there is no shame in providing law enforcement with any information that could remove it from the rest of the city as today’s strike as done in Skyway.
“Finally, I would like to thank civilian Cristabel de la Rosa, without whose help this operation could not have succeeded.”
Turn to Page 7

Cont from Page 1
In an earlier raid on a Troll base that was part of the same investigation, 16 Trolls were killed after violently resisting arrest.
Mr Thunderhorse added: “There is a derivative of the drug known as Rapture X, which the gangs involved in its supply are taking themselves. This variation seems to have magical properties and changes the behaviour and biology of the subject. They are possessed of great strength, endurance and ferocity and leave those of the side of the law no option but to respond with deadly force.”
MAGI have advised that the whites of Rapture X users’ eyes appear to be stained blood red, their veins are dark and prominent, muscle mass is increased and their gums recede giving them the impression of having elongated teeth.
Members of the public are advised not to approach anyone they believe is using Rapture X and heroes are warned not to tackle them without back up.
The effects of Rapture itself, however, are thus far unconfirmed.
Seven teenagers who are believed to have taken the drug are still being treated at the Disease and Infection Control (DIC) Unit at Rivera Medical Center.

((This appears first on the Buzz Around Paragon news website but is picked up by the evening and following morning's papers))

TEENS IN COMAS AFTER LISTENING TO "FALLEN ANGEL" ROCK MUSIC
Story by Dixon Growler

SEVEN teenagers have been hospitalised after falling into unexplained comas while listening to a controversial rock album.
Doctors at Rivera Medical Centre, where the three males and four females aged between 16 and 19 are being treated, said that traces of an unknown biological compound has been found in all of the victims.
One common factor seems to be that all of the victims were listening to The Rapture CD by gothic rocker Samyaza whose island home off Peregrine Island was recently targeted by Silent Tempest and other heroes. It was later claimed that Samyaza was a fallen angel masterminding the introduction of a new highly addictive drug in Paragon. Claims that were supported, in part, by Freedom Corps and MAGI.
The mother of Eloise Jenkins, 18, of Skyway City, said that her daughter exhibited mood swings and became withdrawn in recent days.
Mrs Jenkins said: “She was a lovely, outgoing girl, who had heaps of friends before she started listening to that blasted album. That same song going over and over must have fried her tender brain. She would stay in her room for hours and lost interest in school and her friends.
“Then I went up to her room to take her a cherry soda and some cookies and found her unconscious. Her eyes were wide open, tinged with red like they were bloodshot. The image of her like that and that horrible song just keep going round and round in my head.”
Paragon Police Department say they are investigating suspicions that a new street drug known as Rapture is being distributed in Skyway City, Independence Port and Peregrine Island.
PPD spokesman Chuck Randle said: “The name Rapture and suspicions that a new drug is being sold is based on information from heroes investigating Samyaza as well as anecdotal evidence.
“Moody teenagers are hardly a new phenomenon and as yet we have been unable to confirm who is supplying Rapture or if it exists at all. We ask any heroes who come into contact with this drug’s supply chain to contact us immediately.”
Meanwhile, calls have been made for Samyaza’s album The Rapture to be banned.
Marion Goodwill, of Christian radio station WWJD, said: “This rock singing person has been all but confirmed as a fallen angel and yet we let our young, impressionable children listen to his evil. Does it really take these young people falling into comas to convince the authorities to act? I cannot comprehend why so many people fail to understand that freedom of speech and other rights we have as Americans should only apply to ideas and individuals we as the moral majority are comfortable with.
“Won‘t somebody think of the children?”

The Greetings from the Gutter album by The Last Word was released on November 30 in Paragon City. It is available for characters to buy in the city's record stores and makes a great stocking filler.
You can see the CD's artwork and information on the Greetings from the Gutter page of the union rp wiki.
Although there was no event to officially launch the album due to IC happenings, something will be planned to celebrate the album and launch the band's tour in the New Year.
Thanks to @Rhino for the artwork.

((Article appears on the Buzz Around Paragon news website and follow ups appear in several of the city's newspapers))

DEMONIC ROCK STAR TOLD "GO TO HELL" BY HEROES
Special report by Dixon Growler

GOTH rock icon Samyaza was a fallen angel hell bent on death and destruction, it has been claimed today.
The sensational accusation comes as MAGI and Freedom Corps are finally releasing information about a major strike by heroes on an island several miles off the coast of Peregrine Island last Thursday.
MAGI investigator Michael Thunderhorse said that Samyaza is the only suspect in the slaying of 13 MAGI mystics and the destruction of a warehouse in Independence Port last month.
The androgynous singer, who recently launched comeback album The Rapture, is best known for his 70s and 80s output including Soul Food, Sweet Torture and Lost in the Garden of Good and Evil.
He recently filed a lawsuit against the Daily Comet after they printed claims that he was responsible for a devastating attack on HeroCorps operatives at a base in the Sahara.
Mr Thunderhorse said that Samyaza had been either killed or incapacitated in the attack by several heroes. Although the identities of the heroes has not been revealed, our sources say that perennial media targets Diana “Love Angel” Bright and Dee Dee Diablo and several members of Silent Tempest were among the party.
Mr Thunderhorse said: “The nature of angels and fallen angels is open to interpretation and we are not in a position to confirm or deny these claims. Whether Samyaza was a powerful mage or meta or a mythological being, his power was significant and we are grateful to those heroes who risked their lives to expose him.
“The exact conclusion of the battle is still under investigation. We don’t wish to give credence to the rumours he was sucked back into hell, but we are confident that Samyaza is no longer a threat to Paragon City at this time. We will not be looking for anyone else in connection with the murder of MAGI personnel at Cutlass Island or the attack on the warehouse at Independence Port.”
Several arrests have been made, including three powerful metahumans who are currently held in the maximum-security wing of the Zigursky Penitentiary, but Samyaza is not thought to be among them. Several boats have been impounded and Freedom Corps and MAGI are continuing investigations of the island and what are believed to be subterranean tunnels.
Captain Zak Truman, of Freedom Corps, said: “Our inquiry is ongoing. We have found advanced scientific and medical equipment on the island as well as a number of humanoid creatures similar those rescued from a ship docked at Striga Island back in September.
“One theory, supported by interviews with some of the heroes involved in last Thursday’s strike, suggest that a new drug called Rapture was being manufactured here with plans to distribute in Paragon. We cannot with any confidence say at this stage that the drug has not entered the city’s criminal supply chain.”

((The Greetings from the Gutter album will be listed in the Items section of the wiki. There will be the artwork for the front and back of the CD as well as sleeve notes so players can rp their characters owning or having heard the album.))

Stigma Magazine Online
November 29, 2007

With just a day to spare, The Last Word have confirmed that their debut album will be released tomorrow.
The band announced November 30 as the release date more than a month ago, but the sudden, mystery illness that hit bassist Dee Dee Diablo earlier this month fired rumours that the album would be delayed.
However, this morning the band issued a statement confirming that Greetings from the Gutter was being shipped to record stores throughout the city to meet the Paragon release date. It added that Diablo had been hit by a virus and was well on the way to recovery.
The album will be released in the rest of the country before the end of the year and the band let slip that a national tour would be announced to promote the disc in early 2008.