IV.
Titiana hummed to herself as she walked home from the Hole n The Wall. Her night has been interesting to say the least. The psychology exam had gone ok, she didnt think she bombed it, but wasnt sure that she did all that great either. She hadnt cared though, all she could think about during the test was her late night rendezvous with her new friend. Her date with Derek had gone surprisingly well, compared to what she was used to. Since she was still getting used to her new life, Titiana wasnt used to the opposite sex and was afraid of their motives and methods of achieving them. Most of the guys she had dated so far had tried to move way to fast for her and when she tried to explain why she was uncomfortable they usually disappeared never to be heard from again. Derek had been a pleasant surprise. He was pretty laid back and easy to talk to. He made her feel comfortable and seemed to have the perfect sense of humor. He had charmed her all night with his silly jokes and assortment of compliments ranging from how pretty her smile was to how interesting her topics of discussion were. He had revealed quite a bit about himself rather than just give her the run of the mill background information. He had told her how he was adopted before birth, that he didnt know his real parents and his adopted parents died in a car accident on the way home from the hospital. Somehow he had miraculously survived the accident unscathed, but he spent the majority of his life in an orphanage as she had. After listening to his story she herself had opened up and told him her tale, how her single mother had died during childbirth and since she had no surviving relatives she was forced to live with foster parents. Her foster mother was an alcoholic and her foster father had beaten and abused her. When she was eight years old, a social worker removed her from her home and placed her in an orphanage, where she had stayed until the age of twenty. She had only now begun to live on her own and experience what life was like outside of foster care. The orphanage had provided her with a donation to get her life started and Paragon University had offered her a scholarship with full room and board, which she had quickly accepted. Most people had shied away from her after hearing about her past, but Derek was interested and supportive and she didnt mind discussing it with him since he had dealt with almost the same thing. After a few drinks and shared basket of nachos, she began to get a little tired and suggested they head back to her apartment to watch television. Surprisingly Derek had turned down her offer and instead asked her if she would join him for dinner the next evening. She agreed and they went their separate ways after she turned down his offer for a ride home. It was a nice evening and she wanted to enjoy the moon lit night. She gave him her apartment phone number and told him to let her know the plans for the next evening
V.
Well at least that went well, Derek thought to himself as he walked towards his car in the parking lot of the Hole n The Wall. I hope she doesnt think Im weird because I didnt go to her apartment, he thought to himself. Most guys would kill for the chance to go home with a girl like that on the first date, but he knew better. He understood how she was feeling and how lonely she had been her first few months out of the orphanage. He didnt want to seem like he was trying to take advantage of her situation or make her feel uncomfortable. It was interesting how similar their life stories were and he was glad he had found someone he could talk with about his experiences and not feel judged. He strolled towards his car, a 2005 Dodge Neon SXT. He unlocked the driver side door and got in. He was about to start the car when a strange feeling came over him. Thats weird he thought
.I havent felt like this since
oh boy. Something bad was about to happen, he was sure of it. Every so often he had these feelings of unrest, which were always followed by a disaster or accident or an event that wasnt very good for anyone involved with it. Ah maybe its nothing, he thought as he fired up the ignition. A good drive was all he needed to relieve his anxiety. Driving his car always calmed him down, the sound of the engine and the wind whipping through the windows just made him feel better. That and thoughts of his new friend, Titiana. Derek couldnt wait to take her out to dinner the next night. He happily turned up the radio and rolled down his windows. As he started to pull out of the parking lot he thought he heard something, a womans scream perhaps. He turned down the radio and listened intently. Again he heard a womans scream. It sounded like it was coming from the sidewalk down the street. I hate being right all the time, He thought to himself as he re-parked his car. He got out of the Dodge and stood still for a minute, almost as if he was concentrating on something. Suddenly there was a brilliant flash and he leapt into the night sky.
VII.
AUUUUUGH, Titiana screamed out, as an intense burning sensation exploded in her left shoulder. Her peaceful moon lit walk home had been abruptly ruined. Oh my God, she said weakly as she noticed the butt end of a metal arrow protruding from her left shoulder. A large, visible bloodstain was already appearing on her sweater, emanating from where the arrow had buried itself into her flesh. She began to feel light headed and her knees buckled. She collapsed on the cold, hard sidewalk and lay there motionless. As she frantically looked around for someone to help her she noticed something horrifying. Three humanoid figures emerged from the shadows, two of them holding loaded crossbows and the third reloading what appeared to the one she had been shot with. They wore long dark brown robes and had no visible facial features, save for their evil greenish eyes. Whh
Who are you, She stammered, as the figures approached her. One of them began to laugh devilishly as he lowered his crossbow towards her. Nuh
No, pl
please don
was all she could manage before he sadistically pulled the trigger. AHHHHHHGH, she screamed in pain and recoiled as the second arrow buried itself into her flesh, just to the left of her belly button. The pain was incredible and unlike anything she had ever felt. Her body went limp and sank back to the sidewalk. Her mind began to glaze over with thoughts of death and pain. The robed figures stood over her and glared down on her motionless form with their piercing green eyes. Should we finish it, or let her suffer in the final moments, one of them gurgled to the others, in a voice amazingly human like. Let her suffer, one of the others gurgled back. Weve spent far too much time and effort trying to locate the chosen one, watching her life force expire and stealing her soul is our reward. Indeed, the third figure said, if not for her powers finally beginning to manifest on her twentieth birthday, we may never have found her. Titiana barely heard any of their strange conversation, she was too focused on the pain that was wracking her body. She began to cough up blood and she could feel her senses leaving her. She is nearly ready for soul extraction, one of the robed men said. Suddenly one of the robed figures glanced into the sky. Wait, I sense
He never finished his sentence as a flaming sword bore into his face with blinding speed and amazing accuracy. A strange demon like wail came from the figure as his body slowly melted away. The sword vanished and the other two figures frantically scanned the skies in disbelief. GRRAAAGH, one of the men howled as the sword reappeared, this time protruding through his stomach. His body caught fire and vanished into ashes in mere seconds. The third figure decided it was not worth waiting around to find out what was going on and fled. The bizarre turn of events had barely registered with Titiana as she was quickly fading away. She sensed another person looming over her but her vision was too blurry to make him out. This is going to hurt just a bit, but hang in there for a few more minutes and the medicopter will be here, he said. The incredible pain Titiana had felt before flared up again as the strange man reached down and carefully removed the metal arrows from her tortured flesh. Oooohh, a soft moan was all she could manage, she was too weak to scream. After removing the arrows the man placed his hands on her wounds and it felt as if she was on fire for a brief moment. Sorry about that, but I had to cauterize those wounds of yours before you lost too much blood, he exclaimed. Tears streamed down her face as her battered body was gathered up and cradled into a pair of strong arms. Hang in there kiddo, he said before speaking into some type of radio device, Azuria, Ive found her and shes in bad shape, but I think shell make it, get the chopper over here now! Titiana had no idea what was happening, all she could think about or feel was pain, everywhere. Slowly she began to lose consciousness and the merciful slumber of death began to pull her into its grasp. Titianas world went black.
Coming back out of the woodwork after a couple years away from the game...
The History of Miles Church
Miles was scared; just before the explosion that threw both him and his brother to the floor; he had heard a Rikti teleporting close by. His brother Milo pushed him under the bed, and Miles crawled into the hidden safe space that was built into the floor, and then followed Miles into it. His parents always said if the Rikti came, they should hide in the safe space under the bed because it would prevent the Rikti from finding them. He heard his mother screaming in pain downstairs, then heard three short buzzing sounds, and his mother was quiet.
For the last couple of years after his father had been killed in the last Rikti wave, he and his older brother Milo were raised by their mother. She worked for the Crey Conglomeration, within the meta-human research division, at the Crey Meta-Human Research Facility, in Denver, and was a liaison between the Crey Conglomeration and the Tsoo-Thorn alliance. His father was a Lieutenant within the Tsoo-Thorn Hierarchy. The marriage between his parents was arranged by Count Luis Crey, of the Crey Conglomeration, and the Sorcerer-Mages of the Council.
Every Saturday, for as long as he could remember, Miles and his brother would go to his mothers work place. Some men in white coats would put them in a machine that made strange clunking sounds, while they would look at some instruments on its side. The men in white would then take some of their blood, and their parents would take them into another room where he was told something called ley lines intersected.
Miles liked this room because the men there dressed like his father, and they made him float in the air, and turned the whole room green. It was a lot of fun. Afterward the men in white would come in and they would talk to the people that made him float, and they would bring a man wearing a suit in with them. Then they would all talk to his parents. Milo never paid much attention to what they said because he and Milo got to play in the jungle gym that was just outside, and they were given Nal Co Bars, by Count Luis Crey himself who always sat on a bench and watched them play. Miles loved Nal Co Bars, because they would fly around your head after you took a bite, they were delicious! They were the most fun candy bar ever. Afterward the man in the suite would come over to Mr. Crey and talk to him.
Once a real superhero came and sat next to Mr. Crey and watched them play, and not just any hero but M-Seven himself. Miles was impressed; M-Seven was the greatest hero ever. He even signed a picture of himself for both them. Count Crey had a lot of important friends, and mom and dad said that when they got older they would probably work for him.
Even after his Father died in the last wave his mother would bring him to her work every Saturday. Then one day they took Milo into a different room. Milo told him later that they said that he was outgrowing the other machine and they had built a different machine that could measure him better. This confused Miles because while Milo was 2 years older than he was, he wasnt that much bigger. One of the men in the white coats could easily have fit inside the big machine that made the clunking sounds. M-Seven came to see Mr. Crey again the following week. Miles got upset with Milo, because M-Seven spent a lot of time talking with Milo, and asking him questions. M-Seven then talked to his mother, about moving to Paragon City, because soon a new shield would be put in place that would stop the Rikti from attacking for good.
That was several weeks ago, it was before the Rikti came, before the explosion, before the screaming, and it was before the fear. Miles was never afraid of the dark before, but now he is terrified, and wants to cry, but hes too scared to make a noise. Hes worried about his mother, and he hears the Rikti in the house, in his room, they are looking for him and his brother. Both boys stayed very still, and didnt utter a sound.
Soon Miles begins to hear gunfire in the distance, and loud explosions, but not nearly as loud as the first one. The Rikti leave the house after the explosions started. After a few minutes Milo says they have to go, and check on mom. Miles was still scared, but followed him out of the safe space, and down the stairs.
The back of the house was missing, and things were scattered everywhere. They found their mother, she wasnt moving, and she had 3 black marks on her back. They both started crying and started shaking her to get her to wake up.
Thats when Arkanon found them. Arkanon was one of the men that made them float at his Mothers work place. Arkanon told them they had to go, and to leave their mother where she was. Her spirit had already fled, and she was in a better place now. There were some Paragon Protectors outside the house when they got out. Arkanon handed the boys to them. The Paragon Protectors flew toward the Crey Meta-Human Research Facility while Arkanon teleport ahead to search for any Rikti in the area. After he was sure it was safe, he would wave them forward. What normally took just a few minutes to drive, took over an hour, because of all the time they had to change directions, and avoid Rikti patrols.
When they finally got there people were coming out of the main Teleporter, and not just any people lots of Heroes, and Tsoo-Thorn alliance members. They were going to fight the Rikti. Miles and Milo were brought before Mr. Crey who was talking to M-Seven.
Mr. Crey was saying they needed 7 hours before it was operational. M-Seven said that they would do their best but did not know if they could hold the Rikti off for 7 hours. Mr. Crey spotted Milo and Miles, and looked questioningly at Arkanon. Arkanon shook his head. Mr. Crey said that they had to get Milo and Miles to Paragon City as soon as possible.
Thats when M-Seven Looked up and said a bad word. Miles did not think that Heroes were supposed to say words like that. Everyone looked at what M-Seven was looking at. It was a Mother ship. M-Seven took off toward the ship firing power blasts at it. Other Heroes did the same. Lightning was being shot upward at the ship by small groups of Tsoo-Thorn alliance members. A great blast from the ship struck out toward the Teleporter. M-Seven blocked it with his body, but it threw him backward, hard into the ground, right in front of Mr. Crey and the boys. M-Seven was very still, and his body was bent at an odd angle. Another blast hit him blowing Mr. Crey and the boys apart.
*** Timeline - Divergence ***
[color=gold][b][size=5]♪ Sometimes you feel like a Tank, Sometimes you don't! ♪[/size][/color][/b]
[url=http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=114726][color=black][b][size=5]Moon [color=red]Hazard [color=black]Zone![/size][/color][/color][/color][/b][/url]
Golden Ace
Golden Ace Timeline
Miles was blown right in front of the Teleporter. Mr. Crey was yelling at him to get in to the Teleporter. He had picked up Milo and was running toward Miles. Thats when a third blast came down and hit them. Mr. Crey just disappeared in the blast, but Milo was still there, and he was mad and screaming at the top of his lungs. The scream hurt Miless ears. Then Miles watched as his brother started to glow, more power bolts hit him, but he just glowed brighter, and finally Milo shot a huge bolt of power back at the Mother Ship. The bolt went right threw the shields, and into the ship then out the other side. The ship started to explode from within. Then a huge explosion totally destroyed, the ship knocking everyone to the ground, except for Milo. Milo kept glowing brighter and brighter it was like he could not stop, or did not know how to stop the glowing. He yelled at Miles to get into the Teleporter. Miles did. Miles appeared within the teleportation room at the Paragon City branch of the Crey Conglomeration. A moment later a huge power serge blew up the Teleporter sending Miles flying, into a wall. Strangely Miles was unhurt, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was alone now.
He over heard technicians asking what happened. People came running into the room. One looked at the wall where Miles was thrown into and asked where the hell did that hole come from? Hey there is a kid in here! Where did that kid come from? Miles was taken into another room where people were watching a huge Television set. They were watching a satellite view of the battle in Denver. Everyone was cheering when Miles got there because the mother ship was destroyed in a big explosion. Then a really huge explosion, happened, larger than anything anyone had ever seen before. Denver and the surrounding area was no more. Everyone got very quiet.
Miles was taken to someplace where some nice people were asking him what his name was. Miles wanted to answer them, but nothing would come out. All he could do was shake his head yes or no. He stayed there for several hours and watched as a Golden Shield formed over Paragon City.
Miles eventually ended up in an orphanage. It was not too bad. Some of the kids picked on him and called him names, like mute, and stupid, but he just ignored him. One day one of the bigger boys wanted, his desert but Miles didnt give it to him. So he started hitting Milo, when none of the adults were around. Miles stood there and let the boy hit him. It was not hurting him at all. Then Miles got tired of the hitting and backhanded the boy. He went flying a good 10 feet. No one ever called Miles names again, or tried to hit him.
Years passed, Miles had grown very tall. He was taller than everyone at the orphanage, even the adults. Miles had become very popular with the smaller kids. Whenever someone picked on one of them, they would tell Miles, and Miles would take him or her, and an old crowbar he found, to the person that was picking on them. He then bent the crowbar in his hands. Sometimes he would wrap it around his arm into a spiral, other times he would just bend it. He never said a word he never had to. No one picked on one of Miless friends, ever. He would not allow it, he was always their to protect those weaker than himself. Years passed; soon Miles started to speak again. First Miles spoke in simple one word sentences, then later in longer and more complex ones.
Shortly after Miles turned 17 he was told that his time with the orphanage was done, and that he was to join the army. Miles was sad to go, and he would miss the orphanage, mostly because some of the girls his age and older were starting to, pay a lot more attention to him, and Miles found that he liked the attention.
For Miles Boot Camp was easy, he towered above everyone but his Drill Sergeant, who was almost as tall as Miles. Miles excelled in Hand to hand combat and was never defeated. He could run for Miles and Miles on end with a backpack full of bricks without tiring. He was made squad leader, and during the war games in the final week his squad was victorious. Upon graduation he was offered a chance to join the Special Forces. A new unit was being formed, an armored infantry division. Experimental Armor was being made that could bring the fight to the Rikti. Miles gladly accepted the chance to join.
*Hall of records, Golden War Museum*
Tour Guide: As you are all probably aware there is no direct account from Captain Miles Church about his actions during the war because he disappeared during the final battle on the Rikti home world. However we have recovered records that will help us understand the man behind the myth.
Tour Guide: Captain Church was born in what was Denver Colorado, at the age of ten he somehow escaped the Rikti super explosion that destroyed Denver and was able to teleport himself to Paragon City, using one of the Crey Teleporters, just as the city was destroyed. No record of either of his parents exists, but it is surmised that one of his parents worked for the Crey Conglomeration, and was able to get him to a Teleporter, just as the explosive device from the Mother Ship destroyed Denver. He was place in a Paragon City Orphanage, where he remained until he joined the military in 2207.
Tour Guide: Records indicate that June 1st, 2207, a Private Church graduated with honors from Basic Military Training, and was immediately transferred to the newly formed 1st infantry Armor Division. As you know this was the first brigade to be fitted with the Golden Armor. Back then they were still experimenting in ways to better unify Quantum Science and High level Magic, this technology was later dubbed MysTech by that very Division. The first breakthrough was of course the Famous Golden Shield that Protected Humanity before and during the Golden War.
Tour Guide: If you look to your left you will see that we have on display an order form from the First Armored Infantry Division, dated June 15th, 2207, an order was made for a larger armor for one Private Miles Church. It appears that none of the prototype armor would fit him. If you look closely, on the bottom left corner of the document, you will see his measurements. On the bottom right you will see a stamp dated December 12, 2207, this indicates tat Private Churchs armor was delivered on December 12, 2207. Copies of this document can be bought at the gift shop on the way out.
Tour Guide: Moving on we have a picture of Sergeant Church and his unit, believed to have been taken in 2208, before the counter attack. Im sure you can all see which one is Sergeant Church, that man was huge. Copies of this photo can also be bought at the gift shop on the way out.
Tour Guide: If you will look to your right you will see the remains of the first armor that was warn by Sergeant Church during the retaking of the East Coast. At the battle of Boston, Sergeant Church was hit with a full on beam from a Mother Ship, his armor was somehow able to reroute the power and redirect it back at the Mother Ship. The Mother Ship did not survive the encounter. The power serge destroyed every circuit in the suit, making it so much dead weight, but still Sergeant Church continued fighting the routed forces of Rikti hand to hand. Sergeant Church was given a battlefield promotion to Second Lieutenant by then Colonel Wilder. After the battle this very armor was taken from Second Lieutenant Church and was gone over by the technicians.
Tour Guide: No explanation could ever be found that allowed so much extra power to be channeled through the suit and redirected. When questioned Second Lieutenant Church, indicates that he was in a pile of dead Rikti when the blast hit and surmises that some sort of device from one of them might have had something to do with it. As you can see the blast from the Mother Ship melted holes in the armor and even seems to have blown out parts of it. Tour Guide: Lieutenant Church attributes his survival to the remarkable cooling system built into the armor. In the Gift shop we sell ¼ scale models of the armor that you can build at leisure at home.
Tour Guide: Lieutenant Church killed his ten thousandth Rikti on that day. On the over head display you will see Second Lieutenant Church being awarded the very first Ace medal for the confirmed killing of 10,000 Rikti solders; this took place on March 21, 2209. In total 157 Ace medals were given out during and after the Golden War. A copy of this Video can also be bought at the gift shop.
Tour Guide: Shortly after the battle of Boston, Second Lieutenant Miles Church was granted a 45 days leave. The leave was granted by Colonel Wilder. This was an extended period of leave and was justified by the fact that Lieutenant Churchs new armor would take about 60 days to be completed. During this time it appears that a Miles Church was married to one Simone Chandler of Paragon City, army records indicate that a Simone Church became Lieutenant Churchs beneficiary upon his return to active duty.
Tour Guide: Second Lieutenant Church was given new armor on May 25, 2209, This is the armor that most of you will recognize from all the movies and history books. He is unique in that he is the only man to ever survive the destruction of his armor. This second generation armor that he was produced after the incident was much more resilient.
Tour Guide: At the Battle of Vancouver, Lieutenant Church distinguished himself in battle once again. The destruction of two more Mother Ships is accredited to Lieutenant Church and a small squad of men. History shows that Lieutenant Church led his men, and was able to breach the defenses of an attacking mother ship, enter it, take control, and crash it into a second Mother Ship heading up from Seattle to reinforce the Battle of Vancouver. This engagement earned Lieutenant Church his First Lieutenants bars.
Tour Guide: Within months of freeing North America, the Golden Warriors freed South America in a blitzkrieg of fighting. With the steadily expanding armies of Golden Warriors the Battles to free Europe, Asia and Africa took just under a year. With the final Rikti forces confined to South Africa the Rikti pulled off of the Earth. Tour Guide: On Earth Victory Day Miles Church was promoted to Captain, and he and his men were recognized as being instrumental in the final defeat of the Rikti. Paragon City gave Captain Church a parade in his honor upon his return for being the most decorated person in the war. The Golden Army was
downsized as being to expensive to maintain now that peace was finally at hand.
Tour Guide: All too soon the Rikti started attacking the Earth again by Teleporting bombs into Major cities throughout the world. Almost immediately the Golden Army was recalled and within a few months they were departing for the Rikti home world using left behind Rikti Teleportation devices. Captain Church was among the first wave of the Golden Army that was teleported to the Rikti Home World. Photos of Captain Churchs Departure can be found in the gift shop.
Tour Guide: After Captain Church earned his 10th Ace Medal it was decided to award him a special medal. The Golden Ace Medal was given to Captain Miles Church for killing his one hundred thousandths Rikti Soldiers on April 11, 2211. Several countries also gave him honorary titles ranging from Knight to Count. In all he was awarded 22 titles, and has an honorary seat on the House of Lords in England, if he is ever able to be retrieved. In the gift shop, you can get a poster showing all the Medals, and Honors bestowed upon Captain Church. We also have a sale on a six a Tridee box set, containing the The Golden Ace, The Dreadnaughts, Clanstark, Captain Church, For Liberty and Justice, and The Final Battle, and if you buy them today you also get a bonus documentary The Life and Times of Miles Church
Tour Guide: Believe it or not there was a movement to pull Captain Church, or as his men started calling him Golden Ace, out of the fighting, and bring him back home. The politicians reasoned that he would be more valuable at home as a figurehead than at the front. Im sure their upcoming elections had nothing to do with it. *chuckles from the crowd*
Tour Guide: The orders for his recall were sent a dozen times but the mail pouches carrying the order were destroyed by enemy fire, or lost in some kind of accident in every case. After the war an investigation was conducted, and while no proof could be found so substantiate the claims it was believed that the military conspired with Golden Ace to keep the orders from reaching him until after the war was won. Tour Guide: Keeping Captain Church in the Battle was turned out to be the best course of action, because on July 17, 2211, The Rikti had finally come up with an answer to our MysTec science and the Golden Armor we built with it.
Tour Guide: The Rikti came up with the Dreadnaughts. A Rikti Dreadnaught was every bit as powerful as one of our suits of armor, and unfortunately for many thousands of our men, just as deadly. The battle for the Rikti home world suddenly became much deadlier.
Tour Guide: The Final battle of the war took place under the Rikti city of Clanstark, on January 21, 2212. The Rikti had gathered all its forces to protect Clanstark, leaving other, what appeared to be vital cities unguarded. Military Intelligence believed that the Rikti were working on a temporal device that would allow them to travel back in time and change the outcome of the war.
Tour Guide: Months of the deadliest fighting in the war finally brought Golden Ace and a dozen of his finest troops to the Temporal Transporter seconds too late, an Elite squad of Dreadnaughts were sent back in time just moments before.
Tour Guide: Golden Ace realizing that they arrived too late to stop the Temporal Incursion dove into the vortex before it shut down. He dove in without question or thought to his own safety, and in the far past he somehow defeated an entire squad of Elite Rikti Dreadnaughts, in order to save us. He was the bravest, and the best of us, he was a Hero among Heroes, and he shall always be remembered as the one and only Golden Ace, Champion of Earth.
Tour Guide: While the Rikti are some of our closest friends and allies now they still refuse to call Captain Church Golden Ace, but rather use their term for him The Golden Death. They tell stories of him to scare their younglings into behaving. Try as we might they refuse to call him anything but The Golden Death.
Tour Guide: Ladies and Gentlemen you are about to see the newest addition to the Golden War Museum, In the next room behind a class 6 Shield we have on display for a limited time the very Rikti Temporal Transporter, that sent Golden Ace back in Time all those year ago. Unfortunately it only works one way. The government still uses it on occasion to send a genetic locked care package back in time at predetermined locations so that Golden Ace will have some of the luxuries of modern times. So far we he has received a VoxBox 5000, several modern tridees, and a level 2 shield along with several hundred million in cash, and believe it or not a whole crate of Nal Co Bars. They were his favorite. In the gift shop we have the special edition Golden Ace Nal Co Bars they will still fly around your head, just like they did when you were
a kid, and they have the same great flavor, but now they have a golden glow.
Tour Guide: In the archives we have uncovered a newspaper clipping with a picture of him standing with a group of heroes from olden times, most of them seem to have emulated his armor to some extend. Obviously they have great reverence for him also. Unfortunately the newspaper clipping is so old most of the words could not be made out, but the word Golden Ace was in the Title.
*Paragon City, Eastgate*
*several hundred years in the past*
A calm breeze blows off the ocean over Eastgate, a nice residential neighborhood with a wonderful view of the ocean. Eastgate is a suburb of Paragon City and is usually calm and peaceful. Eastgate used to be a wonderful place to raise a family, but turf wars between the Outcasts and the Trolls have made living here unpleasant at best in the last few years.
A gang of Trolls from Skyway City in an effort to expand their territory enter Eastgate armed with high explosives they head into the sewers with the intent of blasting open a large area. They are never seen again.
Deep beneath the Suburb of Eastgate in a series of undiscovered caverns a vortex appears, from out of the vortex aliens start appearing, Rikti. First one, then two, then a dozen appear until a full squad of Rikti Dreadnaughts steps out of the Vortex. A moment later a man in Golden Armor appears. He lays into the Rikti without thought for his own safety destroying first one then another, and another, always moving to fast for them to get a good shot off at him. Finally four of them pin him to a wall while a fourth readies a massive yellow weapon and tells him in English.
So you are the Golden Death, it is a good day, my brothers will finally be avenged. Goodbye Golden Death, you have killed the last of us. It will be my pleasure to be the one to finally rid the cosmos of you. Then I will turn this very planet into ash, your failure is your species doom.
The Rikti fires the weapon at point blank range and it strikes Golden Ace full on. Golden Ace is thrown back against the cavern wall and actually sinks a foot into it. He somehow finds the power within himself to stand up against the weapon, his armor glows brighter and brighter by the second until it is impossible to look directly at him. The Rikti panics and shouts No! The Golden Death will die here, you will not have me! and cranks the power knob well over the limits of the weapon. The resulting explosion is huge. The caverns cave in on themselves destabilized a large area and collapsed a section of Eastgate into the Caverns.
From out of the rubble an armored hand appears, and Golden Ace slowly drags himself up out of the rubble. His armor is nearly ruined, and he can barely stand, his head is kind of foggy, and its hard to think. He cannot remember ever being this weak before. The weapon somehow drained him off all his energy, and the resulting blast makes his armor just so much dead weight. He is barely able to make it to Atlas Park, and is nearly knocked over by hundreds of Heroes rushing to Eastgate to see if they can help. A Redheaded defender with horns (horns?) runs past him, spots him along side the road. She heals him and gives him some buffs. She says There you go hun all better now, be more careful out there and runs off toward Eastgate, following in the wake of the other Heroes.
The healing and the buffs made him feel much better and he wanders into town. Wondering what he is going to do, and if he can get back. A Box of Nal Co Bars appeared as if by magic right in front of him with a note on it.
Miles opens the letter and reads it.
To :Miles Church, Captain
GWA, SFA
Paragon City.
Captain Church,
We are unable to retrieve you, the entire world owes you a great debt of gratitude. We still exist because of your actions. Years have passed here in the present, we were finally able to track where and when you were sent, but have been unable to retrieve you. The Rikti time device is one way only.
The best we can do is to try and make your life back then a little more pleasant. We have been able to pinpoint where and when we can send items back in time, with the Rikti Time Device. Using Mail boxes as drop points we were able to hire a prominent law firm as our agents during late 1940s. We had them purchase land in an unpopulated areas near Paragon City, and then commissioned a construction company to build a fallout shelters throughout the area under various names. The construction company became quite prominent during the 1950s for building Fallout shelters for wealthy crackpots. Because of the nature of the construction confidentiality was required, and became one of their selling points. We had them commissioned to build a special shelter during the 1950s. Its located several thousand feet below ground, and several magnitudes larger than anything else they built. All records of the shelter were destroyed during a fire in the 1970s.
The land above the shelter was eventually rezoned in the 1980s as residential, and we had a home built for you above the Shelter. The shelter is stocked with modern equipment, weapons, and several hundred million in cash. It is protected with a fourth generation MysTec Shield. The Shield makes the shelter and anyone in it completely detection proof, and impervious to all outside forces. The home above is protected with a Second Generation Shield. Years from now someone will destroy the house. We are not sure how they were able to get through the defenses, but our best guess is that somehow they were able to hack into the computer and shut off the shield. The home will be rebuilt a few months after it is destroyed, and equipped with better defenses.
I recommend that you keep the modern equipment in the shelter where it is undetectable. The shelter is also genetic locked and is completely inaccessible from outside access, unless you are present. It is of the utmost importance that none of our technology gets out. Because of the destruction of the above house, it is recommended that the shelter be kept absolutely secret. We recommend that you do not tell anyone of its existence. Good luck in your new life, and thanks again, we owe you a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid.
Malcolm Wilder
Malcolm Wilder, General
GWA, SFA, OIC
*Epilog*
The Trolls are quick to take credit for the blast in Eastgate, and they make themselves at home in the caverns there. The blast becomes know as the Hollowing, and Eastgate is now more commonly referred to at The Hollows.
[color=gold][b][size=5]♪ Sometimes you feel like a Tank, Sometimes you don't! ♪[/size][/color][/b]
[url=http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=114726][color=black][b][size=5]Moon [color=red]Hazard [color=black]Zone![/size][/color][/color][/color][/b][/url]
Negative Ace
Negative Ace Timeline
Miles was blown right in front of the Teleporter with Mr. Crey. Mr. Crey started yelling at Milo to run toward them, and get into the Teleporter. Thats when a third blast came down and hit Milo. It was a huge beam, but Milo was still there, and he was mad and screaming at the top of his lungs. The scream hurt Miles and Mr. Creys ears. They watched as Milo started to glow, more power bolts hit him, but he just glowed brighter, finally Milo shot a huge bolt of power back at the Mother Ship. The bolt went right threw the shields, and into the ship then out the other side. The ship started to explode from within. Then a huge explosion totally destroyed, the ship knocking everyone to the ground, except for Milo. Milo kept glowing brighter and brighter it was like he could not stop, or did not know how to stop the glowing. Mr. Crey Yelled at him to shoot into the air again, and to keep firing. He yelled at Milo that he had to use up all the extra power. Milo shot another huge blast of power into the air that lasted for almost a minute until the glowing finally stopped. Then Milo dropped to the ground nearly unconscious. Mr. Crey ran over and picked up Milo, and the three of them stepped into the Teleporter.
They appeared within the teleportation room at the Paragon City branch of the Crey Conglomeration. Mr. Crey started yelling at people and giving orders right away.
The boys were brought into another room, where people were watching a huge Television set. They were watching a satellite view of the battle in Denver. Everyone was cheering when the boys got there because the Mother Ship was destroyed in a big explosion. Then everyone watched as a huge energy bolt shot from the ground into outer space.
Milo and Miles got very quiet, as they watched.
Some people came and took the boys to get something to eat. They also brought them some toys to play with, and told them that everything would be ok. After a few hours Mr. Crey took them both outside and told them that the shield was going to come on line and they would be safe from the Rikti. They all watched as a Golden Shield formed over Paragon City.
Milo and Miles moved into a special wing in the Paragon City branch of the Crey Conglomeration. They got the best of everything. If they wanted anything, they got it just for the asking. Mostly they did not have to ask, people just brought them the newest toys, and the best things. They were tested everyday to see how powerful they could become. They had the best tutors, and teachers available.
Years passed, Milo and Miles, learned to use their powers, and authority. If someone annoyed them, they punished them, or had him or her punished. They had absolute power. The only person who had more was Mr. Crey. They learned to play games with peoples lives. If they wanted something they got it. They discovered women at an early age, and their games got a little more interesting. It they saw a pretty woman that they liked they took her. If someone complained they would disappear. They learned that they were the product of the most powerful magical beings of the Tsoo-Thorn alliance and the most Powerful Meta Humans ever. They thought of themselves as much like the new MysTec field of science. MysTec was the science used to produce the Golden Shield that protected Paragon City, and was the combination of High Level Magic and Quantum Science at a level that was never thought possible before.
Because of the tests run on the boys Mr. Crey was able to build armor, using MysTec science, that was years ahead, and more advanced, of where they could have gotten otherwise. The strange energies involved in the MysTec would turn the armor golden. But the color could be changed if you were willing to spend the time and energy on it.
The powers of the boys were different from each other. Where Milo could absorb, redirect and channel great amounts of energy, Miles was nearly indestructible, and extremely strong. Almost nothing could hurt him, or stop him. The armor seemed to mesh with the two better than with anyone else. While the armor was on, Milo would become nearly indestructible and his ability to channel energy was magnified ten fold.
The armor affected Miles too he became an utterly unstoppable Juggernaut of destruction, and gained the ability to channel vast amounts of energy like his brother.
The Crey Conglomeration was producing the armor by the thousands for the military. New Military units were being put together to learn how to use the new armor. Milo being the oldest lead a Military armored unit against the Rikti. Milo insisted that his armor be White, so he stood out from the common riffraff of the military. Finally the Golden War, the war to free humanity from the yolk of the Rikti began. Milo and his men were unstoppable. The Rikti were destroyed by the Thousands. They freed whole cities from the Rikti.
Soon Miles joined his brother in battle but insisted on black armor, to so he would not be confused with the common riffraff of the military, and from each other. Nothing could stand against them. Because of the colors the Golden Warriors started calling them Positive Ace and Negative Ace after both earned the coveted Ace medals in a joint ceremony for killing 10, 000 Rikti Soldiers.
Whole armies fell before the brothers. Cities were freed by the hundreds, then finally whole countries were freed, then a continent, and another, and another until the Rikti were eliminated from all but one small area on the earth. The Rikti had finally had enough and fled the earth. Upon their final victory Count Luis Crey decided that Milo and Miles were too powerful to keep around and made plans to eliminate them.
When the two returned to Paragon City They were brought before Count Crey. As soon as they entered the room with him they were encased within a MysTec shield. Count Crey told them that they had done very well in freeing the earth but he was going to be the first Emperor of Earth and that they had become much too powerful and popular with the population. He further elaborated that their armor was also special in that it contained a special feedback look that would redirect their own energies back at them causing them to burn out, much like an obsolete light bulb. Both Milo and Miles started to glow, and get very, very hot.
Miles reached out to his brother and tore the armor from him stopping the feedback loop from destroying him. He then reached out to the shield that stopped all Rikti attacks for over a decade, and put his fist through it. He then walked out of the shield, right up to Count Luis Crey. How? He inquired. I discovered your device sometime ago, and modified it to make me stronger when activated replied Miles. Then he put his fist through Count Creys chest, and watched the light fade from the eyes of his shocked face, and told him Ill give you credit for this though, It was a good idea. One I used well, I had a modified device placed in all the armor. The troops will either fight for us or die. You have enabled us to have ultimate power.
*Hall of records, Church Dynasty Museum*
Imperial Guide: The benevolent Church Dynasty began after the Golden War ended. With the unfortunate heart attack of their benefactor and father figure, Count Luis Crey, their Imperial Majesties, found themselves in possession of The Crey Conglomeration.
Imperial Guide: They renamed The Crey Conglomeration Church Industries. The world at that time was a chaotic mess. Inferior and corrupt forms of government were everywhere. Seeing the total Chaos, the Brothers offered their leadership to the world, and by popular acclaim a grateful population overwhelmingly acclaimed the brothers Co-Emperors of the Earth, thus beginning the Church Dynasty. All Hail the Beloved Founders!
Crowd: Hail the Beloved Founders! Hail the Emperor! Hail the Eternal Church Dynasty! We bow in supplication to thee!
Imperial Guide: One of the first acts of the Emperors was to rechristened the Golden Army as the Imperial Guard. The newly christened Imperial Troops worshiped their majesties, and during the dark times at the beginning of their reign they helped root out traitors to the Empire. It appears that the Rikti were not finished with the Earth. The Rikti had left brainwashed people everywhere on the earth, and they were trying to destabilize the legitimate government of the Earth in order to weaken it for easier conquest.
Imperial Guide: Their were a few skirmishes from Rikti sympathizers that caused a lot of problems in the early years, and it was unfortunate that so many had to die to root them all out. But it was all for the better. The terrible destructive devices that were used by the Rikti sympathizers were terrible to behold. 27 Capitals of former countries were destroyed by them before the Rikti sympathizers finally surrendered to their rightful Emperors.
Imperial Guide: The camps made to reeducate the tens of millions of brainwashed Rikti sympathizers were a terrible strain on the fledgling Emperors, as were the millions that could not be unbrainwashed and had to be put down. The Rikti were truly a menace that had to be stopped once and for all.
Imperial Guide: It appeared obvious to the Emperors that the Rikti were kidnapping prominent citizens, and heads of the former abolished governments. Once kidnapped, they were brainwashing them, and placing them back the earth in order to attempt to incite revolt, and overthrow the legitimate rulers of the Earth. The Rikti were truly the Evil that history shows us they were.
Imperial Guide: In order to protect the lives of these prominent citizens, the Emperors placed them all into protective custody. With no one of value for the Rikti to kidnap it appeared that the sympathizer revolt was almost over.
Imperial Guide: Soon the Rikti realizing that attacking the earth through their mind wiped slaves would not work, and started attacking by teleporting bombs into Major cities throughout the world. The Emperors immediately split the Imperial Guard and within a week they were using left behind Rikti teleportation devices to teleport a major portion of the Imperial Guard to the Home Planet of the Rikti.
Emperor Miles himself led the Charge to the enemy. Emperor Milo stayed behind and dealt with the Rikti sympathizer insurgency. Within a year of his Imperial Majesty Miless departure to the Rikti home world Milo was able to finally squash the Rikti sympathizer insurgency. The Washington D.C. crater marks the final battle of the Rikti sympathizer insurgency. Finally the Empire was at peace within itself. All Hail the Beloved Founders!
Crowd: Hail the Beloved Founders! Hail the Emperor! Hail the Eternal Church Dynasty! We bow in supplication to thee!
Imperial Guide: Meanwhile on the Rikti home world His Imperial Majesty Miles Church and his Golden Army had annihilated every city on two of the three major continents, and were doing sweep up operations to rid the area of any Rikti presence.
Imperial Guide: I would like to note that His Imperial Majesty Miles Church was superb at locating and rooting out those vile Rikti from all their hiding places. The Rikti even gave him the nickname The Black Death, of course the Emperor took great delight in eliminating those that called him that.
Imperial Guide: Without emperor Miles I doubt that that evil race would have been fully exterminated. We have much to be thankful for. All Hail the Beloved Founders!
Crowd: Hail the Beloved Founders! Hail the Emperor! Hail the Eternal Church Dynasty! We bow in supplication to thee!
Imperial Guide: Soon The Great Emperor Miles had all life scourged from both occupied continents, and he began massing troops for the offensive on the final continent. The battle for the final Continent turned out to be much more difficult. The Rikti came up with an answer to the imperial armor.
Imperial Guide: The Rikti had somehow been able to produce new units vastly more powerful than anything they had before. Their new weapons were the Dreadnaughts. The Rikti Dreadnaughts were nearly as powerful as one of the Imperial Suits. Unfortunately for many thousands of Imperial Troops, they were nearly as deadly too.
Imperial Guide: The battle for the Rikti home world suddenly became much deadlier. Within two years of his arrival on the Rikti home world Emperor Miles was able to exterminate two full continents of Rikti. However the final continent had him bogged down, leaving him unable to advance at anything but a snails pace.
Imperial Guide: After two long years and the deaths of many fine Imperial Troops, at the hands of Rikti Dreadnaughts, Emperor Miles and the Imperial Guard had the Rikti cornered in the Rikti city of Clanstark.
Imperial Guide: Imperial Intelligence discovered that the Rikti were working on a temporal device that would allow them to send an elite squad of Dreadnaughts back in time in order to exterminate the human race.
Imperial Guide: Upon hearing what the Rikti were planning Emperor Miles ordered the mass attack of Clanstark to breach its defenses. Tens of thousands died in the initial breach, but it was worth the effort. Emperor Miles was able to breach Clanstarks defenses and prevent them from sending their elite team of Dreadnaughts back in time. Because of his quick thinking and leadership Emperor Miles saved all of humanity that day. The Beloved Emperor Miles Church shall always be known as the Savior of humanity, for the brave deeds, that he accomplished on that day. All Hail the Beloved Founders!
Crowd: Hail the Beloved Founders! Hail the Emperor! Hail the Eternal Church Dynasty! We bow in supplication to thee!
Imperial Guide: Unfortunately Imperial Intelligence failed in rooting out all of the Rikti sympathizers from the Imperial Troops. When Emperor Miles turned on the temporal device to study it, one of his own officers, switched on a massive yellow Rikti weapon that was found nearby, He then turned it on Emperor Miles, and blew him into the temporal device throwing the Emperor back in time several hundred years, and then destroyed the temporal device, making it impossible for him to be retrieved.
Imperial Guide: Colonel Malcolm Wilder shall always be remembered as the Traitor of the Human race for his actions.
*January 21, 2212, Clanstark, Rikti homeworld*
Emperor Miles switches on the Rikti temporal device, and watches as a green glowing beam of light emerges and plays across the far stone wall.
Suddenly Emperor Miles is struck by a beam of incredible energy and thrown against the far wall and actually sinks a foot into it. He somehow finds the power within himself to stand up against the weapon, his armor glows brighter and brighter by the second until it is impossible to look directly at him. Emperor Miles sees Colonel Wilder operating the device and walks slowly toward the weapon, against the beam, glowing brighter all the time as he absorbs more and more energy. Miles speaks, Colonel Wilder, Ill have your head for this, I thought you were too much of a coward to attack me.
No, I was just biding my time, waiting for the perfect moment to rid the human race of you, and your evil brother. That device you put in our armor, might have given you the ability to kill us at will, but we knew sooner or later you would slip up. It seems the Rikti designed this weapon just for you. The longer the beam is played on you the weaker youll become, until you can no longer stand against it, and it destroys you. said Colonel Wilder in a cold tone.
Its not too late; Ill give you your own country, anything you want. Gasped Miles.
You should be feeling weaker now, and all I want is your death. stated Colonel Wilder.
Miles felt himself grow weaker, and knowing his end was near used the last of his strength and jumped into the beam of the temporal device.
Colonel Wilder attempted to follow him with the beam but was unable to when Emperor Miles disappeared in the temporal stream. Colonel Wilder noticed that the device was starting to glow. He attempts to turn it off but he is too late. The Explosion is huge. Destroying most of what is left of Clanstark.
*Rouge Isles*
*several hundred years in the past*
A man appears out of nowhere glowing like the sun, he slams into the ocean and lets out a huge burst of power throwing him to the beach. He wonders around aimlessly for a few hours in a foul mood, killing anything that gets in his way. He comes across a newspaper and starts reading, sees the date. Curses, and continues to read. He comes across, an article about some Heroes in Paragon City, and spots a Hero called Golden Ace, in what appears to be imperial armor. Intrigued, he breaks into a house killing the occupants and does a search on the internet about him. He discovers that he is also a time traveler from the future, but little else is know. Using his knowledge of the Crew Conglomeration it is easy to hack into its Hero Threat Database and is shocked when he sees his own name and face in the Golden Ace profile. Miles glances at the biography Icon.
Miles Clicks on the icon to read the history that is known about Golden Ace.
Little is known about Golden Ace, we have discovered his secret identity. He goes by the name Miles Church. A back ground search of Miles Church comes up blank, No record of his existence can be found. Fingerprints were obtained, but once again, we came up empty. There is no record of his existence prior to his appearance shortly after the Hollowing.
His armor appears to be resistant to telepathic probes, and he has a natural resistance to telepathic probes also. We were able to gather the following information.
Miles Church believes he was born shortly after the 5th Rikti invasion of earth and was raised within Humanities last free foothold on a devastated Earth, The Enclave. The Enclave was surrounded by an impenetrable force field developed by the Crey Conglomeration in conjunction with High level Tsoo-Thorn Alliance Sorcerers under the direction of a hero known as M-Seven.
The Shield is an advanced hybrid Unification of Quantum Science and High Level Magic known as "MysTec". Our scientists are currently working on Quantum Theory but have no idea how to combine it with magic, or even begin to put together a hypothesis on how it could be possible.
It appears that once the Rikti were stopped at the Shield, the Enclave was able to create a new type of combat armor. The armor was always gold in color due to the quantum magic involved. Soon when enough suits were made the enclave began the war to free the earth from the Rikti, this war was called The Golden War.
Captain Church earned the title "Ace" on earth by destroying 10,000 Rikti solders, and earned the title "Golden Ace" on the Rikti home world by destroying 100,000 Rikti.
The Rikti appear to have sent an elite squadron of something called Dreadnaughts back in time to "correct" the first Rikti Invasion. Golden Ace followed them into the time portal where he destroyed the squadron, but he was stranded back in time with his armor powered down and himself somehow much weaker. Golden Ace believes himself, stranded in time and has decided to attempt to end the Rikti threat now before they devastate the earth.
His history obviously cannot be confirmed, and his armor does indeed appear to be an advanced type of Paragon Protector Armor. All efforts to recover the armor have met with failure.
Further surveillance is recommended and any and all opportunity to apprehend this Golden Ace and his Golden Armor should be taken.
End of report.
*Epilog*
A dark figure walks out of the house. He is no longer Emperor Miles Church. He knows he will be again, but for now he is Negative Ace, and he will use everything in his power to rid the world of this false doppelganger from a non-existent future. There can only be one Miles Church and Negative Ace is the one.
Then I will turn this very planet into ash, your failure is your species doom.
The Rikti fires the weapon at point blank range and it strikes Golden Ace full on. Golden Ace is thrown back against the cavern wall and actually sinks a foot into it. He somehow finds the power within himself to stand up against the weapon, his armor glows brighter and brighter by the second until it is impossible to look directly at him. The Rikti panics and shouts No! The Golden Death will die here, you will not have me! and cranks the power knob well over the limits of the weapon. The resulting explosion is huge. The caverns cave in on themselves destabilized a large area and collapsed a section of Eastgate into the Caverns.
From out of the rubble an armored hand appears, and Golden Ace slowly drags himself up out of the rubble. His armor is nearly ruined, and he can barely stand, his head is kind of foggy, and its hard to think. He cannot remember ever being this weak before. The weapon somehow drained him off all his energy, and the resulting blast makes his armor just so much dead weight. He is barely able to make it to Atlas Park, and is nearly knocked over by hundreds of Heroes rushing to Eastgate to see if they can help. A Redheaded defender with horns (horns?) runs past him, spots him along side the road. She heals him and gives him some buffs. She says There you go hun all better now, be more careful out there and runs off toward Eastgate, following in the wake of the other Heroes.
The healing and the buffs made him feel much better and he wanders into town. Wondering what he is going to do, and if he can get back. A Box of Nal Co Bars appeared as if by magic right in front of him with a note on it.
Miles opens the letter and reads it.
*Epilog*
The Trolls are quick to take credit for the blast in Eastgate, and they make themselves at home in the caverns there. The blast becomes know as the Hollowing, and Eastgate is now more commonly referred to at The Hollows.
[color=gold][b][size=5]♪ Sometimes you feel like a Tank, Sometimes you don't! ♪[/size][/color][/b]
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This is my first attempt at a COH fan fiction story. I didn't really know of anywhere else to post it so I figured this would be the place. I also submitted it to the COH Writers Guild so you might be able to find the rest their. This story and ones to follow will be based on my toons on the Freedom server and their adventures and interactions. These stories will have mature topics and some violence. However they are not intended to be crude, just a look into the possible life of heroes as they struggle with their duty and their every day life as an alter ego. All references made to Paragon City, City of Heroes, Official named Heroes, City Zones, etc. are the property of City of Heroes and are only intended to be used for story telling purposes. I'm only going to post a few paragraphs from the first chapter, as it is 7 pages long. The rest will follow in nightly(hopefully) increments. The link to the full story is at the bottom of this post if you want to skip ahead and read it all. Thanks for reading and I welcome any comments or suggestions! Click the link below for the profile of one of the characters featured in the story, as well as a link to the story in it's entirety.
Titiana Moon Shadow
Titiana Moon Shadow and Flame Scythe in: Origins and Discoveries: Chapter 1
I.
Come on girl, you know this, she said to herself as she re-read the question for the 4th time, you just read 3 chapters on it. Titiana Mayes was stressed. She had a psychology final in an hour and as usual she had waited until the last minute to review her notes and practice exam. She had thought the Paragon University Library would be a haven for her to get some work done, but so far she was having problems concentrating. Who implemented the first study of psychoanalysis ..oh the hell with this, I give up, she thought and abruptly closed her textbook, a tad too loudly apparently, as several other students glanced in her direction with general looks of distaste. What the heck was I thinking, choosing this major, she thought to herself as she removed her wide framed wire rimmed glasses and ran her hands through her long auburn hair. She noticed that one of the students who had glanced at her when she closed her book was shooting her a glance every once in awhile. Oh lord, hes checking me out, She thought, I hope I look ok in this get up. She quickly glanced down to ensure her outfit looked proper and to make sure the young man wasnt staring at an ink stain or something else on her shirt. She was a bit overdressed compared to most of the girls on campus, who enjoyed running around in short skirts and revealing tops. Titiana enjoyed dressing up, she loved the feeling of exotic fabrics and always tried to dress as nicely and as neatly as she could. Tonight she had decided to go a little casual and was clad in her favorite white button down shirt with a light blue v-neck knit sweater and a pair of blue jeans. The top two buttons of her shirt were unbuttoned and she wore a tan colored choker around her neck. A brown cloth belt and a pair of white tennis shoes completed her outfit. Her shirttails hung out from under her sweater as she had felt too laid back to tuck them in. After ensuring she looked ok she glanced back at the young man across the room and caught him checking her out again. He flashed a smile and she smiled back, then blushed and quickly looked away. Oh Im so darned awkward, she said to herself as she re-opened her book to a random page and attempted to fake that she was studying.
II.
He had been caught and he knew it. He gave her a sheepish smile and then laughed to himself as she blushed and went back to reading her textbook. Derek Jackson was bored. He had come to the library to try to read a few chapters of his history assignment and to meet with his calculus tutor. The tutor had phoned him and said he couldnt make it tonight and his history book was still sitting on the first page of the new chapter. Instead of studying he had wandered around the library, checking out the newest additions in the periodicals section and seeing if there were any new books in the sci-fi area. He had grabbed the latest issue of Paragon Sports Monthly and had returned to his table to catch up on the latest sports news when he noticed an attractive young woman sitting a few tables away. She was neatly dressed in a pair of jeans and a button down shirt with a blue pullover sweater, and had the most beautiful auburn hair. Unlike most of the guys on campus, Derek wasnt interested in the stereotypical blonde haired girl, dressed in the most revealing outfit. He was attracted to women who could hold a conversation past the word hello. The young lady looked stressed out and appeared to be cramming for a test. What the heck, maybe its something I can help her with, he thought to himself for a minute, before sliding out of his chair. Hmm now if I can just think of a good opening line, he thought. Derek was horrible at this. He was shy when it came to the opposite sex and for good reason. He had been burned in the past for being too nice. Ah excellent, he thought as he spotted a conversation starter. He gathered himself and leisurely strolled towards the pretty auburn haired young woman.
III.
Oh lord hes coming over here, she thought nervously. Oh well, at least hes cute and hes not some knuckleheaded frat boy, maybe this is the guy I cant scare away with intelligent conversation for once. She was still nervous, she always was. She had only been out of the orphanage for about 4 months and was still getting used to interacting with people on an everyday basis. She shuddered at the thought of the orphanage and silently hoped that the looming conversation wouldnt head in the direction of where she was from. Kind of hard to read with out these ya know? She looked up and realized he was holding her glasses which she had taken off before slamming her book shut. You are such a dork, she thought to herself, pretending to read without glasses nice move girl. She looked up at him. He was about six foot four inches tall and was wearing a heather gray fleece sweatshirt and gray sweatpants, which his athletic and muscular frame filled out nicely. He wore a silver chain under his sweatshirt. He had short red hair and a full, but neatly trimmed beard of the same color. Thanks, she said and paused as if searching for his name. Derek, he finished her sentence for her and handed her the glasses. Derek Jackson, but you can call me Derek or D or whatever you like, he said. Thanks Derek, she said, Im Titiana, care to join me in my wonderful world of psychology? He chuckled for a minute and then responded, well I normally wouldnt turn down an invitation from such an intelligent and pretty young lady, but you look like you have something important to study for. She was disappointed that he had turned down her offer, but was surprised as he suddenly said, however, after you finish up whatever it is you are working on, I was wondering if you might want to grab a drink or two, or something to eat. She fidgeted nervously for a minute, but found her voice and replied, well sure, my exam probably wont be over until nine thirty or so, but it is Friday night and I dont really have any plans. Great, he said as he smiled, meet you at the Hole n The Wall around ten? Her mood improved instantly as he mentioned the Hole n The Wall. It was one of her favorite places to eat and relax. That sounds great! she exclaimed. Looking forward to it, it was very nice meeting you Titiana, and good luck on your exam, He said as he excused himself from the table. Her eyes followed him as he left the library and she blushed again as he turned and smiled at her before walking out. This may prove to be an interesting night, she thought to herself.
More to come later....
Coming back out of the woodwork after a couple years away from the game...