What Happened in Portland

[Voidus]

Strongsteel sized up the man in front of them -Altermind- clearly a mentalist of some kind, although possibly a matter-manipulator, they'd heard stories, impossible stories, as they neared the city.
"Hello Altermind" He greeted, again taking the lead since Mare didn't seem to want to and Altermind was clearly focusing on him. "I'm Strongsteel, this is my companion Panacea" He said gesturing to one side, then the other "And this is Mare, though we only met her outside your perimeter. Pan and I would like to ally with you for the time being, we both have strong support powers." He touched the floor at this point and encased some of it in steel.
"We'll make sure that you still have a city to rule once this is over."

[Kobold King]

 

Purple Phoenix seemed to shake himself out of a trance before turning to his fellow Epic. "It's true hun, they were just trying to help. We can talk about all of this Epic business later, but these two seemed to honestly care, I don't think they even realized I was an Epic at first either."

 

He turned away from his 'hun' and faced Aldo. "Who are you two with? CorpseMaker? AlterMind? Lightwards?"

 

Phoenix held his wife close, and a fresh look of confidence was spreading across his face. Aldo smiled and checked to make sure none of the exits were blocked.

 

"We just joined Lightwards' group today," he explained, twirling his hat. "This part of town belongs to his Empire now, you see."

[Mailliw73]

Altermind watched from the side as the man, Strongsteel, introduced himself, "Hello Altermind, I'm Strongsteel, this is my companion Panacea." It could be strange, watching your life from the side like this, but Altermind had done it so often, it was almost second nature. Strongsteel continued, "And this is Mare, though we only met her outside your perimeter. Pan and I would like to ally with you for the time being, we both have strong support powers." He then encased a portion of the floor in steel. That could be very useful. "We'll make sure that you still have a city to rule once this is over," Strongsteel finished.

"Well then," Altermind said through his hallucination, "I would like to keep things like this. You could be very useful. Is covering things in steel your only power or do you have additional ones?" Powers like that usually came with others, sometimes similar, other times, not so similar. Altermind looked at the women in turn. "Panacea, Mare, what do you have to offer me?"

The darker woman, Mare, stepped forward a bit and looked straight into the hallucination's eyes. "This," she said. Altermind noticed her eyes grew darker, not in a sense of color, but in a sense of evilness. It wasn't a lot, but he noticed it. Mare's shadow suddenly stretched and a part snapped off, similar to how water reacted, and formed into a three-dimensional horse. "This is a Shadow Mare," the shadow Epic said. "I can control her and her density. She can become pure shadow, impervious to everything except light, or as tangible as a real horse." The mare opened its mouth, revealing a set of sharp fangs. Altermind grinned, keeping his Hallucination with a straight face. Those horses could help immensely in a battle. Mare continued, "I can make about a dozen at once." She stepped back again and her horse melted back into her shadow.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Panacea barely heard Altermind's request at first, so taken aback was she with his appearance. 

 

He stood head and shoulders taller than anyone in that room, Strongsteel included. His muscles were well-defined, free of any scars or blemishes. Add to that his neat blond hair and chiseled jaw, and there was no doubt about it: Altermind was the pinnacle of human beauty. 

 

Only when Mare revealed her power did Strongsteel elbow her. "What?" 

 

Altermind stared at her. 

 

"Oh, right. We're showing off, are we?" Panacea shuffled her feet nervously. "I healed a kid with a paper cut outside your territory—that's not all I can do, of course, but since you're an Epic it wouldn't work on you….um…." 

 

And then he walked by. A perfectly ordinary man with a perfectly ordinary figure, and an extraordinarily large bandage wrapped around his upper forearm. Panacea's eyes widened. The perfect chance. 

 

"Excuse me, sir," she called. He raised his head in surprise. "Are you injured?" 

 

He took a nervous step back, hiding his forearm. "Just a burn. It's healing all right." 

 

Panacea's eye twitched in the same anticipation that made her smile. "I can fix that for you." 

 

"It's fine. I'm fine." 

 

Her eye twitched again. She took a few steps forward. "Just let me fix it. I can make it better." 

 

He took a step back. 

 

She took one forward. 

 

He turned and ran away. 

 

Panacea gave chase, laughing, eye twitching. A minute later, she dragged him back, holding his now-healed arm aloft with a look of triumph on her face. "See? I fixed him!" 

[Mrs. Voidus]

Lightwards... Lightwards... I don't know this person. One would expect the opposite to be true were he really the ruler of a town. 

 

Jeff began whispering under his breath, "Resurrection epic. Calls himself the Emperor of Light. Has a horde of dinosaur zombies and lives in a flying museum."

 

Right, Saccharine thought, and I am supposed to believe that there was no damage done here.

 

"This, Lightwards..." She said, "declares himself the leader of this place. And yet I have never heard of him. This does not exactly give one much confidence in the man." 

 

Walking towards the back of the room she collected the two pins she had thrown earlier and wiped them carefully on her dress before threading them into her sleeve. 

"As for my powers, I will let you believe what you will, but I will not join or fight anyone until I know what we can get out of it. Does he have some sort of laboratory facilities? What currency does he use? Where would we live if we join? And if we fight... Well the questions in that field depends on what you suggest to do with my Jeffy."

 

"And be warned," she said. "There are very few right answers."

[Voidus]

Strongsteel watched Mare and Pan show their powers off in turn, he didn't like the gleam that entered Mare's eyes when she created her shadowy mount, it was at complete odds with the person he'd seen for the last few minutes, but then as soon as she dismissed the horse her face returned to it's previous pleasant expression.
He watched with amusement as Pan's target tried to flee, he knew from personal experience how pointless that was, she was too obsessive to let the tiniest wound go once she'd noticed it.

"I can also enhance the strength of anything I touch, the steel I create could withstand another Hiroshima" He boasted proudly to the leader of Thoughttown. Then he stopped, reigning himself in. ​No, pride is always the beginning it makes you think you're better than everyone and then you cease caring about them.
"So, now you've seen what we can do, ground rules. Pan and I don't kill. We'll protect and heal your troops but if you want someone to execute your enemies you'd best look elsewhere. Oh, and if you're as clever as your reputation you'll avoid hurting anyone in front of Pan too. So now you know what we can offer, what can you offer us?"

"We just joined Lightwards' group today, this part of town belongs to his Empire now, you see." Aldo said as he twirled his hat.
Well better than the homicidal maniac that is Corpsemaker or Altermind and his eugenics commitee.
Jeff looked to his side and saw Marigold -was that even the name she used now?- looking confused, he turned his head to the side and whispered.
 "Resurrection epic. Calls himself the Emperor of Light. Has a horde of dinosaur zombies and lives in a flying museum."
She looked somewhat skeptical.
Not that I can blame her. Jeff thought until a few moments ago I was mumbling incoherently at the voices in my head.
Come to think of it, he'd not heard those voices again since her entry, he could dimly feel the presence of one, the murderous one, in the back of his mind but the other two had completely disappeared.
Or is it just that the two of them are what makes me? Am I just another construct of a sick mind? Is any of this even real?
He shook his head, clearing it of his philosophical musings. This was not the time. He listened to his wife threaten Aldo, and wondered what she'd been through in his absence. What has happened to us both?.

Soulswitch jumped from building to building, making his way back to Penumbra's street. He'd heard a number of interesting things as he spied on Corpsemaker and his subordinates, although he'd been shooed away by a number of the Epics soldiers. Luckily none of them thought anything about seeing a Raccoon in the middle of the day sitting still and watching them.
Now, how much to share? I need to know what he's been doing, gauge how well he's doing compared to Corpsemaker. He's got far fewer people. And now Corpsey has Epics seeking him out actively, those two alone looked like trouble, especially Streetwise, he might already know about Penumbra. We need an advantage of some kind.
Soulswitch stopped, mentally hitting himself for not thinking of it earlier, Chimera was still around wasn't he? He'd not had many dealings with the strange Epic, he'd preferred subtlety to the twisted monstrosities that marched through the zoo, but now...
He quickly changed directions, heading towards the zoo and Chimera.

[Edgedancer]

Not that Lucentia intended to be nice but compared to attacking them with diamonds her last statement seemed rather tame to her, yet it was still enough to make Traveller redact his offer. A weird man until the end and given that strangeness it would likely be safer to not work with him anyway.

 

That left whether she wanted to just walk away or trying to deal with them now. With a teleporter there was a chance of them transporting her brother to somewhere and that would be a hassle to say the least.

 

With one final sight Lucentia turned for the door and started to walk away, dragging a good amount of pralines in her diamonds behind her, they were made from her property after all.. “I imagine we´ll see each other in Portland.” She said without turning back again.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

 

Lucentia swept from the cottage like a foul wind, drawing pralines behind her. When the door closed with a satisfying slam, Nathan turned to Funtimes. 

 

"You didn't fill those pralines with laxatives or something like that, did you?" 

 

She grinned. "No, but I should've." 

 

"It's better that you didn't." He imagined Lucentia storming out of a port-a-potty, face mottled in anger, freezing passersby in diamond on her way back to Tillamook. 

 

Funtimes put her arms around his neck and smiled into his eyes. "See? You always have the best ideas." 

 

After two nights of having her sleep in his bed and kissing him on Annexation Day, it was time to tear off the Band-Aid. He lowered his voice so as not to be heard by the others in the crawlspace. "Look….about us being….together…." 

 

Her smile fell and a look of panic took its place. "What about it? Do you mean you don't—don't like me?" 

 

"No, no, of course I like you." Not knowing what else to do, he stroked her hair. Diamond dust ticked his hand. "I was just wondering if we're—you know—really together, or if it's just a cover, or—" 

 

She looked at him as though he had said he didn't like pancakes. "Of course we're together, you big sillyface!" 

 

So it's real. It wasn't that Nathan was unsure how he felt so much as what he felt more of. There was a cold feeling in his stomach, but a considerable lightness joined it, which left him feeling somewhat sick. 

 

He was dating an Epic. Without warning, without a single date, he had an Epic girlfriend. One with a delusional Emperor wrapped sullenly around her finger. 

 

Funtimes touched his cheek. "Is….is that okay?" 

 

There was only one answer. "Of course it's okay. I just…I mean, we never even went on a date." 

 

"Pfft! What'd you think eating Lightwards' radio was, you weirdie?" 

 

He blinked. "Um, delicious?" 

 

She laughed and pulled him in for a kiss. "You're silly. I like you." 

 

Yeah. I know. "Want me to get the others while you fix up?" 

 

She shrugged. "Okie dokie loki. There's a chainsaw."  

 

Nathan went toward the kitchen, making a brief detour to grab his duster. He was dating an Epic. 

 

How did that even happen? So far as he could tell, there was no reason behind it. He tried retracing his steps back to the moment they met—​okay, I'm strapped to a table, she comes in, steals me, turns a car into the Weinermobile, takes me to Oregon, we meet CorpseMaker, and….uh….

 

No. No reason at all. Slated to die one minute and dating an Epic the next. 

 

Nathan sighed, kicked some pralines aside, and started up the chainsaw. He didn't mind being her boyfriend. It was nothing if not an opportunity, and with no one to tie him down in Newcago, there was no reason not to. But a little warning would have been nice. 

[Mailliw73]

Altermind had been impressed by Strongsteel and Mare, now he wondered what Panacea could do. The name sounded vaguely familiar, like something from his biology or health class in high school. "I healed a kid with a paper cut outside your territory—that's not all I can do, of course, but since you're an Epic it wouldn't work on you….um…." Panacea said. One of Altermind's guards walked by just then, one with a bandage around his upper arm. Scorch, in one of his moods, had thrown a fireball that had grazed this guard the other day. Panacea noticed him too and her eyes widened as she spoke to him with a level of respect that wasn't often heard from Epics to humans.

"Excuse me, sir," she called. The guard raised his head in surprise. "Are you injured?"

The guard saw her stare at him with a wide grin on her face. He was scared. Humans never knew what Epics would do. "Just a burn. It's healing all right," he responded.

As Altermind watched, Panacea grew more and more anxious to go to him. She kept stepping towards him and he kept stepping away. "Just let me fix it. I can make it better," she said.

The guard finally turned and ran away. Panacea ran and chased him. She drug him back into the room, arm healed of all burns. Altermind nodded slowly in appreciation of her abilities. He remembered now what the word meant. Panacea was a remedy for all diseases. A fitting name for a healing Epic.

"See? I fixed him!" The healer said to Altermind. He had to admit, while her unnatural compulsion to heal made him uncomfortable, her powers would be very useful.

"I do see. Thank you very much," Altermind replied.

"I can also enhance the strength of anything I touch, the steel I create could withstand another Hiroshima," Strongsteel bragged to Altermind. Altermind noticed that he had a bit of an ego, but he cut himself off, so he had some reign over his ego. An Epic that could strengthen materials as well as cover them in steel? A very useful Epic for defense.

"So, now you've seen what we can do, ground rules. Pan and I don't kill. We'll protect and heal your troops but if you want someone to execute your enemies you'd best look elsewhere. Oh, and if you're as clever as your reputation you'll avoid hurting anyone in front of Pan too. So now you know what we can offer, what can you offer us?" Strongsteel continued. Altermind wouldn't have used a healer or steel Epic for attack purposes anyways, it wouldn't do much.

"No killing. I accept that term. Panacea, if we have to engage in battle, can you refrain from healing the enemies? If not, we'll need to discuss how to work together," said Altermind. "Mare, you'll help us defend against enemies won't you?" He asked. The Native American Epic nodded, her faint smile disappearing for a moment.

"If I am needed for a fight, I will lend my aid. I will not attack for reasons of gaining territory or money," the woman said. Altermind could work with that. He didn't need territory and money was easy when one was an Epic.

"As for what I can offer you, I can give you room and board. I can give you food and provisions. If you desire tools or weapons, such can be provided. If you keep this city intact enough for me to continue to rule, I will grant you each a portion and a high position of rule and power in the city," Altermind offered. These three Epics would be very useful in the war that was sure to come. Now, his soldiers had a high chance of survival and wouldn't die from endless zombie dinosaurs.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Enemies? Panacea thought, unconsciously frowning at the word. It was an ugly word, one that implied no common ground, no mercy, no basis for reconciliation. There were no enemies in a house strewn with bodies, throats and wrists slit, waiting for a miracle that—

 

She felt her eye begin to twitch and stuffed the image—and the bile that filled her throat—down. Altermind wanted a loyal healer, one who followed orders and tended allies only. If she were to have any hope of fixing those who needed to be fixed, she would have to be that healer. One who followed orders. Panacea at last smiled and nodded. "Yes, sir. Allies only. I understand." 

 

She hoped Altermind's men did not wear uniforms. If not, she could claim it was impossible to tell the difference. If so….well, no one had to know she healed them, did they? 

 

There was no mistaking the look that crossed Sam's face, the wide-eyed fear followed by determination not to remember, not to slip back to whatever moment had given her that fear. "Sorry, did I—" he began, but Sam deliberately turned her gaze to the wooden slats through which an unsettling red glow drifted. 

 

"Yeah, I suppose you're both right," she said. "At any rate, she's better than Lightwards the Leprechaun or Twilight Sparkle up there."

 

Twilight Sparkle. Remington felt another stab of pain, but not the sort that came with mentions of Koschei. He remembered one of his and Laurie's early dates, back when Calamity was still throwing scientists into a tizzy trying to figure out what on Earth it was. One spent in her parents' house, holding hands on the sofa while a cartoon for little girls played on their TV screen. 

 

"So which one of those ponies am I?" Remington asked it with a smile. "Please tell me I ain't that—what was his name? Prince Bluehoof?" 

 

"Blueblood," Laurie corrected with a laugh. "And you're not him. You're more of the Big Mac type." 

 

"You mean like the burger?"

 

"Eeyup." 

 

The shouting above died, and the red glow vanished as a sound like falling water filled the cottage. A moment later, the buzz of a chainsaw came from some feet away. A square of wood was lifted and set aside, and Traveler's voice floated through: "We're heading into Portland. Get what you need and we'll go." 

 

It was like an arranged marriage, Nathan decided as they landed in Portland. Like those books his sisters had read before Annexation Day, those about spirited princesses and noblewomen who bolted for freedom at the first inkling of a future spouse. That was what he had with Funtimes. An arranged marriage to….

 

Sadly, not one of those books had explored the intricacies of a perfectly ordinary young man's arranged marriage to an unstable nuclear warhead. 

 

Dry leaves crunched beneath his feet as he walked, Funtimes skipping along beside. "Darling." The word felt awkward now that it was no longer simply a line Traveler used. Now that it was something Nathan would have to say, and say sincerely. "Why did you have me take you here, instead of the museum?" 

 

She giggled and turned to the Unicyclist. "Can I fix your bagpipes?" 

 

He hugged them close. 

 

"Not forever. Just for now. I'll put them back when we get up to the MoNA." 

 

​"The…." 

 

"Museum of Natural Awesomeness! It needed a name." 

 

"Didn't it have one?" 

 

"MoNA is better. Anyhoodle," she said, waving Nathan's concerns away, "I just want you to ride around in a circle and play. Pretty please?" 

 

After a moment, the Unicyclist shrugged and did as he was told. Orange glitter flew from the bagpipes and was carried by the wind, over the treetops and out of sight. Before Nathan could ask why that was so important, a flash of movement caught his eye. 

 

They had landed near a clothes shop. Light from an either unstable or overworked generator flickered lazily behind a window display. But it was the shadows that drew Nathan's attention. Penumbra? 

 

​He waited, but they did not coalesce into that familiar form. Something human, then. Nathan cast a glance over his shoulder as three-inch pancakes fell from the sky. There was a message burned into them—something about joining Doctor Funtimes in the town square at noon for a 'beard-a-palooza,' but he was more concerned with the woman who had written it. She jumped and clapped her hands as the glittering wind became a pancake rain across the Empire. Surely she wouldn't mind if he….

 

Nathan slipped inside the shop, bell tinkling as the door closed. A sewing machine chattered from the back, a man sitting hunched over it. Cloth moved through the machine's teeth, slowly but surely. Then, a sickening crunch as the thread jammed, but the man did not swear as some tailors were inclined to do. He stood as though moving through molasses and set abut correcting the jam. His fingers shook. 

 

"Sir?" 

 

The tailor did not turn. The thread only became more tangled. 

 

Nathan cleared his throat as the bell tinkled behind him. Talk like an Epic. "What do you think you're doing?" 

 

Only when he reached the tailor and the hopelessly jammed sewing machine did Nathan see the reason. 

 

The tailor's eyes stared vacantly, filled with a bleariness that attested to a sleepless night. He seemed to be sewing some sort of jacket lining from green silk, though where he got silk in the middle of Portland was anyone's guess. But it was those eyes, eyes that remained on his task long after his mind had lost focus, that told the story. 

 

Lightwards. 

 

"Calamity, man, did you sleep at all?" 

 

The tailor did not respond, which only confirmed Nathan's suspicion. Lightwards had told the tailor to make a jacket. Not to sleep. He had obeyed, working long into the night until his fingers became nearly useless, his eyes unfocused with exhaustion. 

 

"The Emperor wanted new clothes." Remington's voice startled him. 

 

Nathan nodded, following Remington out of earshot of the tailor. "This is what he wants," he whispered. His hands were shaking. "This. People too…too…" 

 

"Too broken to obey anybody but him." Remington's words were soft, but clipped. 

 

The tailor tried unsuccessfully to lift the needle from the jacket lining. 

 

"He didn't even sleep," Nathan whispered. 

 

"You try telling him?" 

 

"He doesn't listen to me." 

 

"Only follow his voice." Remington's jaw was clenched as he turned away. "I get it." 

 

Nathan nodded. He had to get out of there, out of the flickering light and away from the tailor. Any longer and he would wrestle the tailor from his work, or do something equally un-Epic-like. Remington stopped him at the door. 

 

"Take a minute and calm down, all right? You calm down, and you think about what you'll do to that fool Lightwards." 

 

"What would you do?" 

 

"I'd shoot him 'till he got sick of coming back to die." 

 

And be shot for his trouble, no doubt. "It wouldn't help him." 

 

"Well, what would?" 

 

Nathan paused. "I don't know." 

 

"Think of something. 'Cause this, right here?" He jerked his thumb toward the tailor. "That's what he wants. That's the future, if he ain't stopped." 

 

Nathan said nothing. He could feel his hands shaking and stuffed them into his pockets. Remington gripped his shoulders. 

 

"I'm teaching you to shoot. Today. Every time you hit a target, you picture his face. Picture that bullet going through his chest. You do that right now, or everyone in Portland's gonna see you for what you are." 

 

Nathan had never imagined shooting a human being, let alone an Epic. But when he thought of the tailor, the poor sleepless tailor with a failed task and a ruined sewing machine, it became possible. Easy, even, to see a bullet tearing a second bullet hole in that awful coat of his. 

 

"Now you got it." 

 

"How do I look?" 

 

"Like you actually gave me this." He pointed to his black eye. "You keep seeing that, all right? Keep thinking about how much you want to shoot that son of a gun." Remington opened the door, and they stepped out onto the street. 

 

----------------------------

 

Five minutes later, they stood in the jungle. Lightwards was some distance away, speaking to someone hidden by the foliage. Funtimes raised both arms, her hair glittering with diamond dust, and announced their arrival to Lightwards. "We're here!" 

 

Remington smiled and gave a mocking salute, while Nathan acknowledged the Emperor with a curt nod and a condescending smile. A plan was forming. 

Edited September 12, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Edgedancer]

Candyflame still stared at Nighthound as he lay on her bench. He started to get the feeling that she would just keep staring at him until she fell asleep.

Alright then, what to do with her. From the expression he got she wouldn´t put up much of a fight, no matter what Nighthound did, apart from maybe trying to kill her but even if she seemed dim there was a chance she knew something about Corpsemaker and sacking her in could buy him a favor from Lightwards, even if indirectly so.

 

After Nighthound made his decision he started to introduce himself. “My name would be Nighthound.” 

“That´s not a very sweet name.” Still staring.

“That might be because I try my best not to be a sweet person.” Nighthound started to smile at her, just checking if I can mess with her at all.

“That doesn´t sounds like something a person would attempt, a sad one maybe.” Candyflame still stared at him and watched as his jaw shifted.

“Do you know what Autassassinophilia is?” Candyflame responded to Nighthound´s by shaking her head, which caused him to also shake his head and letting out a deep sight. Nope, hopeless.

 

“Forget it; let´s see if you do know something, about Corpsemaker for example.”

The pink mob, also known as Candyflame´s head, bobbed up and down. Nighthound prompted her to talk with an annoyed gesture.

“Well, from what I heard, Corpsemaker together with a fire and electro Epic stormed the armory, killed pretty much everyone there, now, he´s recruiting people.” The bright colored woman pointed down the street. “From what I heard they recruited Freeze with a life-size Transformer.”

Nighthound blinked at her for a short moment. “What someone with the name Freeze can do is simple enough to guess but from where, in the name of Calamity, did they get a Transformer? “

“The only survivor of the armory I think, an Epic named Toymaker, who can make toys real, the soldiers are also her work from what I heard. I don´t really know anything about other recruits.” Those being toys at least explained the stupid clothes.

 

That´s it for intel from her then, figuring out all the minor Epics cold become a hassle. Maybe he should try with one of the soldiers. For now there was one last point to deal with.

“Say Candyflame would you like to also… decorate a whole jungle filled with dinosaurs?” Her answer was another slow nod.

Nighthound clapped his hands together, “Fantastic, that only comes with entering, what was the official description… huh, the glorious empire of Light.”

“If you would have me.” For the first time some kind of emotion entered her expression.

 

The dark Epic jumped up and walked towards the edge of the roof. “Not really, I´m just collecting some souvenirs and I think I´ll grab a couple more before returning.” He turned back to her, hoping for some kind of reaction this time, sadly she was already back to her vacant expression. Still, she seemed willing to follow him. On the upside, her turning the whole museum into a candy factory should get a raise out of Lightwards. 

Edited September 13, 2014 by Edgedancer

[Voidus]

Strongsteel considered the offer for a moment, it wasn't likely that they'd remain after all the fighting was done with but then he wasn't trying to find the best deal for him, he just needed to help as many people as he could, and Altermind still controlled the most stable population in the city.

"Done." he said "I'd best start strengthening defences I suppose, where should I start? If you have wounded Pan will want to take care of them."

He hoped he was doing the right thing, Altermind seemed right on the border, for now he treated his people relatively well as long as they passed those stupid tests, but there was just something about that whole practice of testing people that felt far too close to becoming a dictatorship. Well where better to influence ThoughTowns policies than by working with them?

Soulswitch reached the zoo quickly, this body might not be the fastest in a straight out race, but in traversing an urban environment it was able to move with some speed, running over buildings instead of around them.
He entered the museum and took his own body again, his raccoon stopped, startled for a moment then started to follow him.
I may need more of these. He thought. So well behaved, and it's not as unsettled as most animals are after I possess them.

"Chimera! It's SoulSwitch! I'm here on business!" SoulSwitch yelled to the zoo, trying to ignore the number of bizarre creatures surrounding him.

[A Joe in the Bush]

It was times like this that Sightline was glad he had a blindfold. If people saw his expression when he first saw the Jungle insidethe Museum, they wouldn't be nearly as intimidated.

 

"You brought those maps with you, Correct?" Lightwards was right to business, wasn't he. Sightline appreciated that. too much time was wasted talking.

 

"Yes". They'd been bound loosely, so they'd all been touching his hands when he teleported. He held them out to the Necromancer. "When do you expect your Traveller to be back?"

[Mailliw73]

Panacea's eye twitched and Altermind could almost see her mind trying to figure out how to heal anyone who was hurt, but still accepting his condition. With a smile, she finally said, "Yes, sir. Allies only. I understand." Altermind would have to be careful with her. She would heal the enemy if it came to it and that would only prolong the battles.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other," Altermind said. Strongsteel began to speak again.

"Done."I'd best start strengthening defences I suppose, where should I start? If you have wounded Pan will want to take care of them." This one worked quickly. Altermind liked that.

"I would appreciate such work. The walls on the eastern border are the most important. I will show you where to begin and I'll have someone show Panacea the infirmary. There aren't many soldiers injured, but they do exist," Altermind replied. "Flashpoint, come to the Planning Room and show the woman in a nurse's outfit where the infirmary is," Altermind said over his mobile.

"Yes, on my way," Flashpoint said. He really was becoming more independent and braver. He didn't show much subservience at all anymore. Altermind couldn't decide whether he liked that or not.

"Flashpoint is my right hand man. He's also the head of security and a minor electric Epic who can fly. He'll take you to the infirmary," Altermind told Panacea.

"Mare and Strongsteel, if you'll come with me, I'll show you where to begin work and we can discuss strategy." Mare nodded and Altermind had his hallucination move towards the door. He followed close behind it. Flashpoint arrived right then and Altermind gestured to Panacea. The electric Epic nodded and walked towards her.

As Chimera walked back to the dangerous animals area, he heard yelling from the front entrance of the zoo. "Chimera! It's SoulSwitch! I'm here on business!" He sighed and then headed towards the entrance. SoulSwitch had bought a couple of Chimerans from him in the past. The Epic could take over their minds and control them. Chi always felt uneasy about turning over his creatures to the man. He was never sure that he would retain control or that the Epic took care of them. He usually gave simple rat combinations to the man so that he could spy.

Chi nodded to the guards and they let SoulSwitch in. "SoulSwitch, how are you?" Chimera greeted his customer. He always found that business proceedings went better when he was cheery. Argo stood behind him just in case though. Kyrie had headed back to her patrols, but Rumenes, a hawk who had been enlarged and given the legs of a gorilla, while keeping his talons, soared above, ready to swoop down at Chimera's call. "What can I do for you today?"

[Edgedancer]

Nighthound plunged into a group of five soldiers. With a wide swing of his hand he slapped each of them, taking control of all of them. That makes it clear that I can control them, shouldn´t be that far-fetched to assume Lightwards can do the same.

 

As the soldiers fell in formation behind him and they waited for Candyflame to come down, Nighthound wondered what to do next. Thanks to his new hounds further search in Corpsemaker´s territory was unnecessary and he didn´t exactly want to leave Ray alone, so back to the museum it was, potentially inscripting some more Epics, if he stumbled across them.

 

He noticed a rat scurrying towards his feet and kicked it away into the alley it came from, startling a whole swarm of rats. Before Nighthound could decide what to do with the vermin, Candyflame descended into the street. The group followed Nighthound back towards the flying museum.

                                                                    

 

Ray was not only tied to a chair but also guarded by an undead dinosaur. Getting out of the chair, easy, killing the dinosaur, doable, first getting out of the chair and then killing it before it ate her, not quite as easy.

 

A pack of rats entered her field of visions. The Carnotaurus also noticed them and promptly squished them with his tail. Dismissing the dead bodies it turned its whole attention back to Ray. Yeah, I´ll need more of a plan than, try and be fast enough to kill it.  

[Mailliw73]

Electro had arrived back at the Armory and put Starscream in the hangar since he wouldn't fit in the hallways. He explored the hallways and just wandered until he got a report of two more Epics joining up with Corpsemaker. They sounded pretty useful, though the Murphy guy seemed pretty unreliable. Electro wished that Corpsemaker had been able to recruit only useful Epics. Freeze was powerful and could be of help. This Murphy guy sounded like a lot of trouble. Another report came in that Scorch had finally recruited another Epic. Mundivore was his name and his only power was being invincible. He could be somewhat useful in the right circumstance. Electro was frustrated with himself for joining up with these two lazy Epics. Corpsemaker just sent everyone else to do his work and Scorch was plain lazy.

A solider, Lieutenant Ebbirant, or something like that, approached Electro. "Yes, what is it?" He asked.

"Sir, Corpsemaker has asked that you go here," the soldier said pointing at a map, "and recruit an Epic named Upgrade. He said to offer anything he wants." Typical. Sending the only diligent person in the place to do some work.

"Fine. I'll be back sometime," Electro said. He left the lieutenant in the hallway and went to get Starscream.

He took Starscream and rode his shoulders to the house the map had shown. He had brought his soldiers with him. He didn't trust Corpsemaker enough to leave them at the armory. He'd probably use them for some other task he didn't want to do.

As Starscream was walking, a woman crossed his path. "Move, lady!" Electro yelled. He shot an electric beam, but she moved just in time. She seemed slower than most people, sluggishly like she was a zombie. Strange. Electro had Starscream shoot a missile in her general direction, but didn't intend for him to hit her. Stupid humans.

He finally approached the building where Upgrade lived. He got off of the robot and knocked on the door. "Upgrade! My name's Electro and I'm here to offer you a job," Electro yelled through the door. A man opened the door and looked at him. He carried two daggers that looked extremely sharp.

"Yes. And what is that?" He said.

"Corpsemaker, maybe you've heard of him, big Medusa type of Epic, kills with a look, he wants to hire you. He'll give you whatever you want. See this robot," Electro pointed at Starscream, "you can have stuff like this too. I've also been promised cities. He's willing to give you whatever as long as you help him." Electro proposed.

"Cities are good. I'm interested. Bring me to this guy and we'll talk," Upgrade said.

"Good. Grab anything you want and let's go."

"I have everything I need and what I don't, this Corpsemaker should be able to provide," said Upgrade.

Electro stepped behind Starscream and had him lead the way. He stayed on the ground with Upgrade and walked towards the armory. He hoped for a bit of battle soon, the recruiting got boring real quick.

[Kobold King]

 

There was silence for a moment before the roar of a chainsaw echoed from above. Soon a cloud of red crystal dust shook down over the gathered humans, as the roar died down.

 

"We're heading into Portland," Traveler's voice proclaimed. "Get what you need and we'll go."

 

"Great," groaned Sam in response. "I can't express how anxious I am to be back. I've really been missing Nighthound's innuendos and that creepy raptor that wants to eat me."

 

"We'll keep that leering freak of nature away from you," Revolution replied with a smooth smile on her face. "And that raptor can keep his distance too."

 

------------------------

 

It was a quiet Portland that Traveler teleported them into. The sidewalk was grey and the trees were orange, with hardly a sound but the cool autumn wind rustling dry leaves.

 

Sam shivered and turned to Revolution. "I haven't seen the streets this empty in a while."

 

Revolution nodded. "It's probably because of the Empire gang. When new Epics take over a town, the people lay low for a few days until they've seen how violent they are. Considering the displays Lightwards and Nighthound showed them, I bet they'll be staying indoors for at least a week."

 

Sam nodded. "The people around here are pretty good at not being slaughtered. Most of the time."

 

Nearby Funtimes was giving instructions to the Unicyclist, in the midst of a sudden rain of pancakes.

 

"With any luck," Revolution said with a wry smile. "Their future has more pancakes in store than dinosaurs."

 

"Agreed."

 

Traveler and Remington emerged from Mr. Miko's Clothing Shop, which was still running for some reason despite the lack of customers.

 

And in the blink of an eye, they were gone again.

 

 

------------------------

 

The Portland Museum of Natural History--dubbed "Museum of Natural Awesomeness" by Hotwire and "MoNA" by Funtimes--was just as jungle-ridden as before. The sound of a gurgling tropical river bubbled from nearby, and low growls and trumpets would occasionally blare from deeper in the foliage. 

 

A dozen yards ahead, Lightwards was amiably chatting with a blindfolded assassin and a woman that made Sam look tan. 

 

"We're here!" exclaimed Funtimes cheerfully, both arms raised in the air. Remington gave a mock salute, and Traveler gave a smile which seemed to convey substantially more malice than usual.

 

Lightwards spared them a cursory glance, then turned back to his companions.

 

"Allow me to introduce my allies," he said loudly. "The bright one is Doctor Funtimes, and her smiling boyfriend is called Traveler. The others are her pets. Take special note of the barefoot Goth over there--she'll probably step on something poisonous before too much longer, so make the most of her acquaintance now."

 

Revolution shot Sam a skeptical glance. "I must have forgotten the shoe sometime after the near-death experience," Sam explained defensively.

 

Even from across the clearing, she could see a victorious smile flicker across Lightwards' face.

 

Sam glared. Oh, there's a whirlwind of snark coming your way.

 

 

 

The woman in Edwardian dress looked unimpressed. "This... Lightwards," she began dismissively, "declares himself the leader of this place. And yet I have never heard of him. This does not exactly give one much confidence in the man." 

 

She strode gracefully across the room, collecting two razor-sharp pins that were still sticking out from the wall. She wiped them delicately with a cloth and stowed them away in her sleeve.

 

A lady who carries weapons in her sleeve, Aldo thought with a smile. I can get behind that.

 

She continued. "As for my powers, I will let you believe what you will, but I will not join or fight anyone until I know what we can get out of it. Does he have some sort of laboratory facilities? What currency does he use? Where would we live if we join? And if we fight... Well the questions in that field depends on what you suggest to do with my Jeffy. And be warned--there are very few right answers."

 

Aldo stepped forward with a placating gesture. "I assure you that Lightwards is an Epic of unparalleled intelligence and skill."

 

Cricket snorted, but did so quietly enough for Aldo to ignore her. "The reason you have not heard of him before is because he is a new player in town--a player who has already staked out an enormous stretch of the city, recruiting some of the most powerful Epics in town. You want laboratory facilities? In a day he had his museum remade into a jungle that looks fresh out of the Jurassic. You want currency? An Epic in his employ can make gold out of grass or rubies out of pebbles. And last but not least, let me assure you once more that your Jeffy is perfectly safe in our company."

 

Aldo fixed the lady with a confident stare and a warm smile. "Epics of your supernal skill are always in demand. Perhaps you'd be kind enough to let me introduce you to Emperor Lightwards, and you can work out an arrangement with him for yourself."

 

 

[A Joe in the Bush]

Sightline stared at the man who he assumed was Traveller. He looked a bit confused, glancing around as if to make sure he was in the right place. He obviously didn’t need line of sight to teleport. As for his companions, most of them held themselves like Vanilla’s, other than the woman throwing herself at Voidgaze.

 

He extended his hand to Traveller. “You’re Lightward’s Teleporter? I’m Sightline.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Gordon looked at him. “An Epic you want dead? How unique. In this city, everyone wants an Epic dead. I know several people who want to kill everyone in Thoughtown, because they didn’t pass the test. Others want Lightwards or CorpseMaker dead, because they killed relatives.” He smiled at the man, and stood up, crossing over to one of his filing cabinets, and grabbed folder, a fat one.

 

“This folder, contains every request someone has made of me. Each of them paid me cash to complete that request. I can hook you up with a Cell of Reckoners that Operates nearby. But doing so will be of considerable risk to me, if the Epics who hire me find out, they could very well kill me.” No they wouldn’t. They paid him for the lists of people who went to hire the Reckoners.

“So what can you pay me, for this request?”

[Mrs. Voidus]

Saccharine listened to Aldo's appraisal of Lightwards with only dwindling levels of suspicion. It was, after all a relatively short time from Calamity's known existence to now and much had happened in that time. 

 

"Very well," she said. "You may escort us to your leader. But first, would any one like some tea?"

 

Reaching into another secreted pocket in her dress Saccharine pulled free a small tin container and several smaller packets of powdered milk, cubes of sugar, and tea spoons then looked about her for some sort of table. There then passed a minute of what would have been uncomfortable silence were she the kind of person to notice it, before a small, round table and four chairs came gliding from the front of the house seemingly of their own volition where upon they stopped before her and rested on the ground as a swarm of ants fled from beneath them. 

 

"Neat trick," Aldo said as Saccharine removed a large, folded piece of lace from her bosom and swept it over the table before setting down cups and saucers which she took from various folds and crevices in her outfit. 

 

"Darling?" She said, pulling out a chair for her husband. 

 

 

 

Impact waited for the signal from her sister. One wink meant count to ten, and a long blink after this meant go.

MV was seated across the busy street at a cafe beside the Crown and Angler pub where the bald bartender had unceremoniously yelled at them to get out. The twins were identical, and therefore had no chance of getting a drink because one of them looked older. Their blonde hair and blue eyes would have made them targets for many men who at another time might have bought a drink for them - blonde identical twins did not go without often, even at nineteen - but today there were even fewer patrons than yesterday and it was only 10am.

 

MV lowered her book from under her nose and winked, then nodded in the direction of the blue Nissan Micra parked on the curb next to the dumpster impact was crouching behind. 

Eight... Nine... TEN! Impact thought as she leapt out and pushed the stationary vehicle so that it began to speedily cruise along the road and down hill toward the river.

 

MV wasted no time after the first screams began to arise from the crowd. She slipped toward the back of the growing crowd and through the doors into the empty bar.  

 

Sticking low to the ground, MV glared briefly towards the bar whereupon two mostly full pints flew towards her. She snatched them quickly before they hit the ground and hastily snuck out the way she came. 

Impact was waiting out of sight beside the doors and together they toasted their success to the sound of a great splash and one citizen's outraged wailing. 

 

"Well done old chap!" Said Impact. 

 

"Yes, Tally ho and pip pip," replied MV who shortly after jumped in surprise as a strong hand slapped firmly onto her shoulder from behind.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Lightwards' teleporter. Those two words sent a stab of fear through him—not merely because the latter was untrue, but because were it not for Funtimes, Nathan could very well belong to Lightwards as one of his Warriors. Like the tailor who suffered through his task long after his body had surrendered to fatigue. 

 

He cast a brief glance at Lightwards, then turned his full attention to Sightline, shaking the hand he offered. "I'm not his teleporter, but I am called Traveler." Then he added with a laugh: "If I'm anyone's teleporter, it's the Doctor there." 

 

Doctor Funtimes tossed him a grin, then returned to her endless stream of chatter: "I missed you so much and I didn't know where you went or if you were okay but you are and you're still the same old Blueberry…." 

 

His teleporter. Nathan made up his mind then and there to never let the phrase apply. No matter how strange, how random, how unstable Doctor Funtimes could be, she had dissolved the straps binding him to Fortuity's table and dressed him as an Epic. She had taken four people any other Epic might have murdered outright and given them cinnamon rolls. Lightwards had torn a grandfather to ribbons and given a tailor a task he was certain to fail. 

 

Hers. Not his. He belonged to the woman in light-up socks, not the necromancer in the hideous bowler hat. 

 

And that was how he liked it. 

Edited September 15, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[A Joe in the Bush]

“Lose control of you city or something?” Mundivore said as he turned back to CorpseMaker.

 

He stared at Mundivore but didn’t reply. “Scorch, could you come over here? This Epic hasn't been showing very much Respect, and I’d like to show him what happens to people like that.”

 

Scorch lifted an eyebrow, considering the command. His mouth curved into a smile. CorpseMaker wanted him to make an example of someone. I can do that and more. He marched confidently over. “What can I do?” CorpseMaker lazily looked over at him, and looked deep into his eyes. “You can die.” Scorch stopped, confused, then his eyes widened in panic, and he open his mouth to protest. He didn’t get the chance.

 

His body hit the floor. CorpseMaker looked back at Mundivore. “Scorch here was the very first Epic to join me. But he was lazy. He didn’t do much work, he was disrespectful, and wasteful. I have no room for Trash in my Army. On the Other hand, there is Electro. He’s out recruiting Epics right now, and he already has recruited several. He’s going to rule over his own City, his own State even if he continues to serve diligently. Now, would you like to rethink your response worm?”

 

[Tulir]

"Understood, sir."  Mundivore watched as Scorch's body fell to the ground.  "Do you want me out recruiting as well?  And do I get one of those?" he asked, gesturing to the mechs.

 

                                                                                                                    ----------------

 

Parity watched the rats swarm around the building.  It had taken some time, but she had found the origin of the vermin.  Parity reached out and touched the ground and the wall, draining both to get spheres of white and black.  She felt the extra healing rush through her, and luxuriated in the feelings.  Parity stood up, rested her arms behind her back, and called out, "Step out of the building!"

[A Joe in the Bush]

CorpseMaker smirked. That was more like it. "If you know any Epics who could work, go grab them. And yes, you'll get a Mech. Figure out what one you want, and you'll have one. Welcome to the Dominion."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Sightline nodded. "Good. If you don't mind me asking, how do you Teleport? You can bring a lot more than I can with you."

[Voidus]

"Mare and Strongsteel, if you'll come with me, I'll show you where to begin work and we can discuss strategy."
Hesitant though he was to leave Panacea by herself, Strongsteel followed Altermind. Best start off making a good impression. He thought to himself as he fell into step beside Mare.

"So what's the situation with the other factions in the city? We've heard about Corpsemaker of course but I've also heard about a lot of new Epics in town, Lighthound and Funwards or somethings like that?" He asked Altermind as they walked. He'd heard about these new Epics as they journeyed closer to Portland, a matter manipulator of extreme power, someone who had made buildings fly, an immortal strength Epic that people feared would be the new Steelheart and a necromancer with powers not seen before. They had the entire city up in arms, many people had decided to leave. Strongsteel hoped that Altermind had a plan for dealing with these new Epics.

Soulswitch smiled as Chimera's assorted bodyguards let him through.
"Oh doing well, just joined up with an Epic, Penumbra a shadow manipulator like Nightwielder in Newcago, someone that strong's definitely worth joining. So I was hoping to get something a little more combat suited from you this time, got any griffins for sale?" Soulswitch asked.

"WHO OWNS THESE MONSTERS!" A metallic voice boomed from behind him, turning he saw a man in full medieval style armour at the gate, holding a broadsword to one side.
Oh great, another Epic who's gone way too far with his theme. Soulswitch thought.
"I am Voidknight! Slayer of monsters, vanquisher of Epics, Knight supreme!" The knight continued.
"Well I suppose we'd better take this guy out first and then do business shouldn't we Chimera?" He asked rhetorically as he drew his revolver, he quickly possessed a nearby rat behind the knight and then slipped out of it again immeddiately, giving the impression that he'd teleported behind the knight and fired a few shots into him.
The shots ricocheted off the armour and before he could take aim again he was pulled off his feet to one side.
This might be difficult.

Jeff smiled in amusement as his wife began pulling assorted items from her dress, where she had the space he had no idea, unlike his coat there didn't seem to be any visible pockets to the design, she waited for a minute and then a table marched into the room followed by some chairs which arranged themselves in front of Marigold.
This is going to take some getting used to. He thought, seeing his wife's powers for the first time.
"Darling." she said, pulling out a chair she obviously meant for him to use.

"Thankyou, some tea would be great. I was working with Lightwards and his empire briefly, I've already sent a missive to try to reform contact with them actually." He said to Aldo, gesturing to the other seats.
He reached out with a shadowy tendril and pulled the one at his right side out for Marigold to sit in, smiling as he did. She wasn't the only one who could impress with her powers.

[Voidus]

Hammelin waited in the house, his rats surrounding him, some leaving to explore new areas of the town, others returning so that he could renew his control over them.
Many had been killed but this city was a breeding ground for vermin, his army had more than doubled in size since he arrived.
"An eye in every house, every street every room. You'll never be rid of them not with that broom" he sang gently to himself, envisioning his armies spread in his minds eye, they'd already infested a large portion of the city, the other Epics had surely begun to notice by now? Even after only a day his influence already spread throughout the entire city!
His musings were interrupted by a voice outside.
 "Step out of the building!" Someone yelled.

Surely the locals had learned to stay away by now? The first few to try to enter the building had been swarmed and devoured in a manner of seconds, no one had come near since then. One of the Epics of the town then? But it was definitely a womans voice and both Corpsemaker and Altermind were male. He threw the front door out to confront the Epic.
"Altermind and Corpsemaker send a lackey to fight me!?" He bellowed to the woman outside.
He sent a mental command to his army and watched them swarm towards the Epic.