What Happened in Portland

[Kobold King]

     

 

 

 

Portland was a quiet city. When the people weren't screaming in mortal terror or laughing in maniacal glee, that was.

 

The people on the street gave Backtrack and MV a wide berth, not because they recognized them as being super-dangerous Epics working for even more super-dangerous Epics--because they probably didn't look the part--but simply because they seemed to give everyone a wide berth. There was no talking on the street. There was no mingling. There were no couples holding hands or merchants selling their wares. And a peak into the past showed that that was pretty much just how people lived around here.

 

Here in Portland you were part of a neverending flow of humanity from one building to another, with the path from point A to point B taken with your head down and your posture as non-threatening as possible. After the military-grade liveliness of The Dalles... it was actually a little disquieting.

 

Backtrack found himself subconsciously mimicking the passerby's posture as he walked, and took to taking peaks into the more distant past to boost his confidence. It didn't help. MV was stiff and acting mad at him again, and peering far enough into the past to see pterodactyls just reminded him of what he'd have to face again at the end of the walk.

 

Also his stomach was starting to growl a bit because he hadn't had breakfast. Which happened a lot on the road but dampened any remote enjoyment he could have had from walking close to a smoking hot she-Epic.

 

Portland sucked.

 

Eventually MV stopped in her tracks, and Backtrack froze along side her. They were at the end of a street, staring out over the next block which seemed abandoned by both residents and pedestrians. In the center of it was the crater where once stood a museum, and high, high above it hovered the bobbing fortress of the wacko Epics.

 

"Neither of us have a way to get up there," MV pointed out. "Great plan."

 

Without warning she punched him in the shoulder, in a way that seemed kind of playful but still kind of hurt a bit and made him rub his arm and frown. "I don't suppose you have any ideas?" she asked, sounding like she genuinely expected one.

 

It was probably fair to assume he had one, since he'd been the one to insist on coming back here.

 

He actually didn't have one. At all.

 

"I, uh..."

 

MV just turned red and faced herself pointedly away from him, scowling into the abandoned city sector. Backtrack winced and went back to staring at the museum, feeling more hopeless than ever.

 

Then the Museum fell from the sky.

 

It happened suddenly, starting with a lurch and accelerating into a horrifying death-dive from the heavens that made a kind of low meteor whooshing sound that was hard to make out but Backtrack could swear he heard it! It fell like a brick, then slowly slowed in its descent as if someone had set off a parachute. It came to float just above the cracked asphalt, its doors swinging open and the shapes of dinosaurs starting to spill out onto the street.

 

Backtrack felt a little bit like passing out, but instead he grabbed MV by the hand and suddenly pulled her into one of the abandoned buildings lining the street. He slammed a door that hadn't been slammed in years behind them, leaving them alone in a darkened dusty old motel with no light source but the cracked window they were standing beside.

 

She turned red, of course, and looked like she was about to shout his head off and punch him in the jaw. Backtrack winced but managed to work up the nerve to put a finger up to her lips, eyes wide and heart racing.

 

"They're leaving!" he hissed in a frantic whisper. "That means they're going out to do stuff. Bad stuff. And by bad I mean it'll get us killed if they decide to take us along with them."

 

He peered out the broken glass for as long as he dared, as the Epics of the Museum left and began their trek into a part of the city Backtrack hadn't explored. They were far enough away that he had trouble making them out--whispering probably wasn't necessary, but you never knew which Epics might secretly have super-hearing without you knowing. Lightwards came out first, escorted by what seemed a whole herd of mismatched dinosaurs. Then came the magician and his cute assistant, and then the... guy with the unicycle and the bagpipes.

 

For a moment Backtrack felt a shudder at not seeing the scariest of the Epics with the rest of them, but he comforted himself--with what comfort it was--with flipping through the immediate past and seeing the two of them leaving not long ago. That left the Museum free of most of the really terrible slontzes.

 

"Let's wait till they've gotten away a bit," he continued in his whisper, "and then just hang around in the Museum a while until they show up again. That way we get a day off and look really loyal when they get back."

 

He coughed, suddenly aware that he was passing out orders. "If, uh, that seems like a good idea to you. You're in charge."

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

The people of Portland were of course to be surprised when the Empire of Light intruded upon their streets. Perhaps they were accustomed to Epics who prowled at night rather than the early morning. Perhaps they were simply caught unawares by having beasts from the long distant past corral them and cut off their escape routes at either end of their street. Perhaps they'd built their homes at a tiresome enough walk from the Museum that they weren't expecting Epics to break into their homes of an early morning.

 

Whatever they'd expected, it all came crashing down into their own personal hell this morning. Their homes were built together like apartment complexes, complexes which now blazed around their heads with their families huddled terrified inside. Their scents mingled with the smoke of their houses, driving the raptors and Allosaurus waiting outside for them into a frenzy. Their screams rang discordantly with the bagpipes playing as a madman rolled down the halls of the building and burned it from the inside out.

 

Many of them managed to stampede out of the buildings, either evading the flames or else seeing the destruction from the next house over and taking a chance at survival before the fire could spread. Most of these fell to dinosaurs who ran them down and killed them on the street. Their bodies were mangled and divided between the pack in moments.

 

But a few... a lucky few... were strong men and women with guns who felt brave enough to raise them towards the Epics in the middle of the street as they came out. These were picked off by the magician with the keen eye and the sniper rifle from his sleeve, but their story did not end so bleakly. Lightwards had their bodies hauled closer to him by his raptors, and with caring, put an end to the horrific confusion of their morning.

 

"I am your savior now," he whispered, channeling his power into a dead woman. He yanked a bloodied crucifix from around her neck, studied it in dispassionate interest for a moment, and tossed it aside into a street that was increasingly stained with blood and ash. The woman herself stood back up with a certain stiffness, raising her rifle once more in service of the Emperor of Light. About seven such Warriors now stood around the Emperor, all fresh and ready for battle.

 

Lightwards looked around the street, smelling the air and considering the destruction.

 

An entire street depopulated before noon. Progress.

 

He raised a pistol towards what seemed to be a huge dog carrying a crying toddler out of a house and into the safety of the far end of the street, but lowered it as the pair rounded a corner out of sight. They were of no consequence. A few vanillas had undoubtedly escaped in all the commotion or through back doors, but they would only serve to spread fear of the name Lightwards far and wide across the city.

 

I will need living soldiers to take this city, he mused. At least until my limits have been surpassed. My success with Funtimes' girl can be replicated. Living men may serve me out of fear if not as extensions of my will...

 

"You are seeming quite appeased by the morning's work," Aldo the Enigmatic observed, cheerily shrinking his rifle and stowing it away in his clothes. He had no visible pockets, but this didn't seem to stop him from producing an endless assortment of lethal tools from his thin attire.

 

"There is something to be said for it," Lightwards responded, stepping over a severed arm. "If is satisfying to have one's presence known."

 

What sounded like crying was silenced by a burst of fire and a screaming blast of the bagpipes, and the Unicyclist rolled out of the last smoldering house on the street. He did circles in the asphalt between piled body remnants for a minute, before rolling to face Lightwards with the dispassionate gaze of a man wearing a blood-spattered Darth Vader mask.

 

"You have done well," Lightwards told him. "Your life is weighed in the lives you claim for me. Remember that."

 

The Unicyclist played a couple of notes on the bagpipes in response, which was... at least vaguely respectful, Lightwards supposed. Satisfied he turned away from the strange Epic and surveyed the streets.

 

"I had hoped some lesser Epics would be drawn out by the destruction," he continued, frowning in slight disappointment. Perhaps none of them cared enough to test their mettle against us."

 

"I would hardly blame them," Aldo said with a smile. "But if they're clever enough to have made that judgment call, they'll be by your side in no time at all."

 

Flattery. Lightwards let it slide.

 

"Maybe we just need to burn something more interesting than a bunch of poorhouses," Cricket muttered, grinding a human femur under her shoe in idle disinterest.

 

"Poorhouses are only where it begins," Lightwards snapped. "A war is waged not against armies but against the people who back them. Once the people of Portland fear me more than they fear the cowardly invulnerable and the secluded illusionist, the city itself will be mine as surely as if I held a Warrior in every home."

 

He strode away from her down the street, his raptors perking their heads up and following in anticipation of his anger. "Do not presume to question my strategy. I have pondered my goals for a long time, little Epic. I--"

 

"Ya burned down Wellard Street! Why the sparks wouldja burn down Wellard Street?"

 

Lightwards swiveled in place, feeling the itch of a smile at the challenge. Finally, one of Portland's lower Epics answered the call. "Who demands to know--"

 

He cut off mid-sentence, no longer certain he was interested in the answer. The challenger did not strike the image of a classic Epic.

 

The challenger was, in a word, a hobo. Like once inhabited every city in the Fractured States, lurking in the grassy patches outside Walmarts and begging for change on every street corner. He wore patchy clothes. His face was dark and wrinkled and slightly scruffy with grey hair. His gait was nothing more than a stagger, and his smell was potent enough to be noticeable on a street where people had just been burned alive.

 

Lightwards, as he was being accustomed to, felt slightly cheated.

 

"What concern is it of yours," he asked, annoyed and exasperated, "what streets I choose to destroy? I have the right to this city and these people."

 

"But this is Wellard Street," the hobo hiccuped. "The people here let me eat their scraps sometimes. And they don't have nothin'."

 

The man was quite clearly drunk, and if not an Epic, insane. It was Cricket who made her voice known again. "Are you secretly the most powerful Epic in Portland to be talking to us like this, or are you just dumb?"

 

"Ah'm an Epic," the man belched. "Name's Chicago Joe, ma'am."

 

Lightwards raised an eyebrow at the antiquated name... and the name itself. "Are you here to challenge us," he spat, striding closer to the man, "or merely to revolt us?"

 

"Actually," the smelly Epic replied, "Ah'm here to join ya. Heard yer the new Epics in town. None of the others want me."

 

"I wonder why," Lightwards growled. "Are you actually gifted by Calamity, or is the word 'Epic' used more liberally in this town than I knew?"

 

Chicago Joe turned to stone, becoming indistinguishable from a particularly ugly statue.

 

Aldo whistled. "Self transmutation. Not common."

 

"Not useful, either." Lightwards grumbled. "...Joe, was it? Can you hear me?"

 

The hobo statue turned back to flesh in a blink. "Sure can. So do Ah get the job?"

 

"I'm considering it." Lightwards considered it. With a sigh, he made his decision. "I will accept your service, Joe. Know that you serve and live at my mercy alone. And my mercy is not cheap."

 

Chicago Joe only grunted, which did not make himself more appealing as a minion.

 

"You may begin to purchase my mercy," Lightwards carried on, itching to call his raptors forward and have done with the conversation, "by giving me information. Tell me what you know of the resident Epics in this city."

 

A thoughtful expression crossed Chicago Joe's face, one which surprisingly didn't cause him to pass out from exertion. "Well... there's CorpseMaker."

 

"I'm well aware of him," Lightwards snapped. "Go on."

 

"There's an Epic named Altermind up in Thoughttown."

 

"He is my ally."

 

"There's four slontzes who live in the museum downtown--"

 

"I gather you don't look up very often."

 

"There're rumors of a new chick in town who can turn things into other things. Left kittens around someplace."

 

"Met her, landed blows on her lover. Currently her ally. The weigh of your usefulness is now lower than my vexation, Chicago Joe."

 

For the first time, the man seemed to shed a bit of sweat. "...well what about Chimera? Down at the zoo?"

 

Chimera? A zoo?

 

The name and the lair implied an Epic with an affinity for animals. Potentially second only to the museum itself as a source of Warriors for his growing Praetorian guard.

 

"I am listening," Lightwards replied slowly, giving a tight-lipped smile. "Do go on. And walk as you talk. I wish to meet this Chimera."

[Voidus]

Staring into a darkened street with a blush MV refused to look at Backtrack again until she had her emotions under control. She didn't even notice the low noise permeating the street or the slight rattling of windows, she had only just heard what sounded like dinosaurs of all things and begun to look up when Backtrack had grabbed onto her and pulled her along with him.

"What-you-why-" She spluttered as she followed the Epic into an abandoned building.

Is this a motel? What the hell does he think we are!? I haven't even decided if I actually like-

Backtrack placed a finger on his lips as she was about to burst into a tirade, causing her to blush even further.


"They're leaving!"  Backtrack whispered to her "That means they're going out to do stuff. Bad stuff. And by bad I mean it'll get us killed if they decide to take us along with them."

Huh? Leaving? Who is? MV thought frantically, thoughts feeling to slowly swim into her mind through a rush of blush induced bloodflow.
 

Suddenly realizing what had happened she groaned softly and bashed her head against the wall.

I am such an idiot.

She peeked out the window along with Backtrack, watching the stream of Epics and dinosaurs. There was however one Epic she didn't see leaving, the one she really really didn't want to meet.

She shuddered as a chill hit her spine, face going from blushing crimson to pale in an instant, leaving her with a distinctly odd feeling of fear and light-headedness.

"If, uh, that seems like a good idea to you. You're in charge." 

MV suddenly realized that he'd been talking again.

"Huh? Oh, uh yeah sure. Wait for a bit." She mumbled back as her brain caught up.

The Epics slowly departed as Backtrack and MV waited in silence. They waited for another few minutes before tentatively stepping out. MV could see a few curious but scared looking people watching the museum, unsure what to do now that it was back at ground level.

She almost felt a strange urge to go and comfort them, but no that wasn't her way. It would only end up hurting them anyway.

"Let's go." She said to Backtrack, grabbing his arm and leading him this time as they walked towards the museum.

She had just entered and was admiring the scenery when she heard voices from deeper inside. 

"...they all left already? But what reason could they have? Doesn't seem particularly rational." A low male voice said, before a higher pitched womans voice replied in agreement and delight.

An odd couple walked into view, startled for a moment at meeting others in the museum. MV thought she vaguely remembered one of them from the other day, but a whirlpool of fear and confusion did not make for good facial recall. He was dressed in a purple suit, which was the part she remembered. Well that and his rather impressive beard.

The woman holding his arm looked like something out of a Jane Austen book.

Oh god some of them were still here.

"Um... Hi?" MV ventured shyly. 

 

 

Neverthere waited inside the walls of the Dominion, bored. The big meeting that morning had been a bit of a disappointent, should she bother tracking the two who went in search of Chimera down? He wasn't all that dangerous by himself, and from what she knew of the Epic he wasn't particularly likely to ally himself with any of the major factions. No, that trip would just be wasted.

Perhaps she should check on Corpsemaker himself instead? But she knew too little about how his powers worked. Would he be able to kill her through her projection? Or cancel her powers? A cancelling Epic was a problem, a High Epic canceller was something nearly unheard of, and a major threat to other Epics.

Perhaps just keep an eye on him from a distance then?

She almost missed it, a subtle but repeated buzzing noise. Something sounding back at her real body.

She shifted her mind back to her body, holding a hand up to her neck as she rolled it to one side with a satisfying cracking sound.

"Now now, what's going on here?" She muttered.

She tapped lightly on the keyboard in front of her, causing the screen to come to life with a small warning message.

"Proximity alert? Bit early for anyone to be coming home."

She pulled up the camera feeds from the street, hoping it would at least be something exciting like a lovers secret rendezvous. 

Instead she was treated to the sight of two large mechs walking down the street, or more accurately one walking and the other teleporting.

Epics. Epics from the Dominion. And there was little chance that their arrival here was a coincidence given what she'd been up to that morning. But how had they found her? They couldn't have taken out the MEE already and even if they had no one there knew anything about this house.

"Ah whatever, no time to worry about that." She muttered as her hands flew across her keyboard, setting up traps, triggers and cutting the lights.

A teleporter was a problem, but most had limits on their abilities like needing line of sight. Her escape should still work.

She synced her mobile up to the computer, a series of timers popping up alongside a few checkboxes.

The first timer hit 0, she didn't hear anything but she knew that a house about halfway down the street would be bursting into flames at that moment, the occupants were away, which was a pity because they'd been singing last night and the god-awful noise had kept distracting her. Still maybe they'd left the dog inside.

She ran from the room, heading towards the pantry where she expertly prodded the wall, causing it to rotate just enough to fit her small frame through, she then closed it behind her. An escape tunnel may be a bit cliche but it paid to be careful when you made it your business to go around insulting demigods.

The tunnel didn't go very far, just into the backyard of someone on the next street over, she crouched carefully at the exit, moving before she knew anything more might just put her in an even worse situation.

She closed her eyes and sent out her projection, appearing back inside her own house and peeking out of a window to watch the two Dominion Epics.

[Edgedancer]

After having fetched the surveillance equipment Nighthound had prepared he meet up with Red again. Now he was holding her in his arms, as she directed him towards his sister. The bell on her collar was softly shaking every time he took them into the air with a leap. He had made sure that she would only refer to Neverthere as 'the target' to avoid giving out definite proof from her listening in. It most likely wouldn't matter, if she noticed them preparing this close to her home but it never hurt to be careful.

 

Not long afterwards he arrived in a nondescript house with an unlocked door, that she directed him to. A slightly closer look revealed that the lock had been damaged by a precise application of force. It seemed they really were at the right house. He petted an eager looking Red.

 

He let Red down on the ground and she followed close behind him as he ventured inside, trailed by black wisps of black mist as his legs finished healing up from the journey. Not far inside the building he started to hear soft miserable whimpers. Drawing closer he found a group of people chained to the wall.

 

Lucentia was forcing diamond spheres down their throats without much care. Nighthound walked over to a woman with blood running from her mouth and kicked her in the stomach. She started spitting out black mist instead of blood as the gifted healing patched her up; he’d still have some use for her, even if she was almost guaranteed to explode at the end of it.       

 

His sister acknowledged his presence but didn’t say anything before turning around and taking more spheres from C4, who was crouched on the ground next to her, filling her explosive gel into the diamond spheres, before Lucentia capped them off.

 

She flinched visibly, when Nighthound laid an arm around her waist and planted a kiss on her neck, lovely. As he caressed her stomach, fingers slipping through the tears and cuts in her dress to touch her directly, he whispered into her ear, “Good girl, I think at this rate you’re earning yourself a reward. Don’t worry; I’m talking about a sincere one, not more of this.” With that Nighthound pinched her hard enough to cause her to scream. Not missing a beat he also forced a kiss on her.  

 

After that he let go of her. After another look around the room he found Ray, also chained to the wall but a distance away from the vanillas. He’d love playing with her as well but by now he had to start and get to work. Enjoying her misery would be for later. He also didn’t further consider a couple of firearms tossed into one corner of the room. Instead he started fixing the damage Lucentia had done to the other vanillas, as well as fixing the masks, big things, the kind that looked more like fuzzy heads on their own right, to hide the smoke his control would put around them. The act of making them wear them, along with coats to hide the smoke around their body, was highly simplified by overriding their control of their own body.

 

He finished by setting up a couple of small monitors on a table, while Lucentia laced the hounds with a couple more explosives. When he sat down, Red immediately took place on his lap. He let her. His sister finished up and walked over to him as well. Now that he could see her properly standing in front of her, Nighthound noticed a couple of holes in her dress, now patched up by fine layers of diamond interwoven with the fabric, mimicking the color of the dress. That at least explained the origin of the guns.

 

“Seems like you’re getting to play around again,” Lucentia said.

“Indeed. Although, there is a point to all of this, so I’m not only enjoying my hobby.”

“Please, even if I'm interested in this specific act of dominance as well, that doesn’t change that we’re only in this city because of your ‘hobby’ in the first place. You won’t talk your way out of owning me for my help after this.”

“Fair enough,” Nighthound said, “and it is absolutely invaluable help, so I’m afraid that I own you quite a bit afterwards.”

“On the same note, I took the time to feed your pets.”

“I really am blessed with an lovely younger sister.” The flattering tone in Nighthound's voice was a masterful display of genuine showmanship.

Placated Lucentia gave a small huff as she seated herself, a diamond throne forming under her as she sat down. I definitely pampered her too much when we were younger, didn’t I? Nighthound thought.

 

“One last check then before we start. Red, is the situation still unchanged?” He asked her, while running a hand idly through her hair.

She stayed silent for a while, concentrating and leaning her head into his hand. “The target has moved, master. Not far but it’s no longer where it was before and its heartbeat is irritated,” she said after a while.

 

It would be a problem, if she had noticed their approach. Not that catching her would be that much of a challenge, especially with Red here to track her down, but it certainly would take away all credentials for the pretense of saving her from the disguised Hounds. After that putting her to use would be a pain. Granted, she presumably had enough of a preservation instinct to not simply go to Corpsemaker and outright sell them out but that didn’t mean she couldn’t give out false information or let small bits away. She also seemed like a charming woman in her own vixen way, even when ignoring the short skirt.

 

“Can you find anything that might have alarmed it, Red?”

Again she was silent for a short bit, “Yes, there are two Epics moving towards the house. They are hunting the target.” She looked at him with big hopeful eyes, excited for a reward. Nighthound gave her a kiss, biting down on one of her lips just enough to draw blood, sending shivers up her entire body as he sucked on it.

 

Still rewarding his pet he send the mental command for his hounds to rise, five of them for now, all gifted with enhanced agility, strength and healing. They had prepared more people as replacements but five was the most Nighthound could keep direct control over. Nighthound had already adapted for the new Epics, luckily not fighting them in person would give him plenty of chance to find out who exactly they were. He’d have to have to play them well, giving them enough resistance to create an opening for him to swoop in and rescue Neverthere but not too hard to fight them off and allow Neverthere to escape on her own. It would most likely be best to hold one of the hounds back to make sure he had at least one proper view on them at all times. For the worst case scenario, Lucentia should be able to get rid of them and cover their retreat.

 

This day was starting out wonderfully.

[Mrs. Voidus]

The planner examined the two who had entered the building, wondering vaguely if the two were responsible for the strange shuddering that had occurred a while ago.

"Um... hi?" One of the pair ventured to say.

The planner failed to reply as he examined the two.

Epics? Posture seems somewhat incongruous for typical Epic behavior. Servants? Cowering attitude seems more suitable, but clothing doesn't quite seem appropriate. Appropriate response? Treat with caution until further aspects of situation revealed.

"Hello." He finally said as the two became obviously uncomfortable.

How best to gain further details? Conversation likely to make them uncomfortable and disinclined to speak truthfully. Ask directly? Might be considered rude and prying. Ask indirectly? Seems appropriate, unlikely to cause discomfort or affront.

"How would you gauge your ability to kill a group of 20 armed soldiers?" He asked the pair curiously.

His partner patted his arm softly before stepping forward and nodding in a way that she somehow managed to make seem domineering rather than subservient.

"I do apologize for that. We've had a somewhat distressing night." Saccharine said sweetly as she eyed the two with a mix of suspicion and predation.

"We're simply a pair of interested researchers, if you wouldn't mind could we borrow a few blood and tissue samples?"

One of the two looked like he was ready to faint at any moment.

[mail-mi]

Timeport smiled as he looked up at the house. It was pretty nondescript, and looked pretty much like the houses around it. No doubt it was laced with tons of lethal traps to stop any intruders from accidentally (or purposefully) stumbling in on her.

The thing was... if you looked up "lethal" in Timeport's dictionary, it was defined as "harmless."

Let's do this.

No sooner had Timeport taken a step toward the house when something grabbed onto the back of his Iron Man mech. He spun around and saw... what? That was his first thought, at least. They looked like normal humans, but they had, for whatever reason, decided to wear masks. Timeport rolled his eyes and blasted one of them with a bolt of energy from his iron glove. He began to dispatch the others quickly, but, then, the first one was back. Recoiling slightly, Timeport saw black smoke rising out of their wounds, slowly but surely healing them back to full health.

Oh crap.

Then they attacked.

Oh CRAP!

Timeport teleported 30 seconds into the future and five feet to the left. The strange humans didn't even have the grace to look confused, and immediately when he reappeared, all four of them turned back on Timeport. "Electro!" Timeport shouted, blasting the nearest attacker. "I could really use some help!"

Small blasts of electricity began to fire from behind Timeport. They sliced off fingers and hands, but sure enough, each sliced body part swiftly grew back, like a gruesome worm poking its head out of dirt. Timeport teleported around, firing blasts, but the humans--he didn't know if they were minor Epics with the same powers as each other, or gifted vanillas--were just too quick, too agile.

Timeport teleported a couple times away for a moment to take stock of the situation. Strangely, it seemed like the assailants were leading them toward the hot girl's house, not away from it. Not hers, then? Timeport thought. Huh... If they weren't hers, then that meant someone knew that they were there.

Ah well.

Timeport's fingers ached for blood, and blood they would get. Teleporting right behind one of the humans, he raised his hand and fired a blast of energy right into the back of its head. Its head exploded, covering Timeport in that delicious, delicious blood, then it dropped, presumably dead for good. One down, three to go.

They were almost at the door of the girl's house. For a brief moment, Timeport considered teleporting right into the house and getting the girl and ignoring the fight, but the fun part of his brain kept him with the battle. He smiled as he teleported around, shot blasts at the too-quick humans, almost killed them several times, and had a general good time. Electo seemed to be enjoying it as well, though he still hadn't even managed to kill one of them. Ha ha ha, once again I prove I'm better than yo--

Suddenly, two of the remaining three attackers grabbed onto him, and before he could shake them off, a blinding white light enveloped his field of vision. It completely demolished his mech and dashed him to pieces, and in the brief moments before Timeport died, he saw that Electro had fared better, but only just: his mech was still together, though it didn't look like it was going to be, well, functional anymore.

The next second, Timeport opened his eyes to the comforting red light of Calamity. He blinked, confused. What in the name of The High Epic just happened?!

Edited April 6, 2016 by mail-mi

[Edgedancer]

Things were progressing smoothly. Not perfectly but plans rarely did after making contact with the enemy or prey for that matter. They still moved closer in on the target. Nighthound planned on staying behind long enough to certify what kind of powers he was dealing with under those mechanical suits.

 

Then one of the Epics disappeared. 

 

Needless to say, this was problematic. From the information Altermind’s spies gathered it was most likely Timeport, one of Corpsemaker’s. Information that wasn’t as useful as Nighthound would have liked, given that they had precious little information of the actual limitations of his powers. In the same vein, he noted that whatever he did exactly to disappear was also enough to go unnoticed by Red.

 

This left him with an unknown that could appear anywhere at any moment, even right next to Neverthere for all Nighthound knew. Worse, it was just as possible that Timeport would kill her or was capable of dragging her off the same way and the hunt would be over with his prey lost.

 

Only one of the enemy Epics had displayed his powers and even then it wasn’t enough to rule out a trumph card. A suboptimal situation but securing his prey was more important than minimizing risks at this point. So much for smooth progress.

 

Nighthound let his sister monitor the hounds and update him on the Epics, gifted a minimal amount of power into the reserves, in case he needed to take control of them, took a gun with him and headed out towards Neverthere.

 

It wasn’t a long trip, at least not for Nighthound, but Lucentia still delivered useful information, the first one as soon as he was out the door. Timeport had appeared again and Neverthere was still present, pointing towards the scope of his powers being more limited.

 

Nighthound still decided to continue on, just because he didn’t manage to get away with Neverthere on his first attempt didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of it at all. This time he could have searched the house and next time he may search behind it and find her. Soon after she also could identify the other as Electro, judging by his electricity cutters.

 

When Nighthound neared Neverthere’s house he could tell that one of the hounds has been killed, from the power that was flowing back to him. Jumping across a few more rooftops, he could actually overlook the scene of the battle. They were very close to Neverthere’s house by now. ‘Saving’ her right from the edge of danger would have been preferable but with one ranged combatant and a teleporter, even if he really was as limited as assumed, securing himself a head start would be for the better.

 

Getting back on his mobile he let Red confirm Neverthere’s current position and gave the instructions for C4 to explode the hounds with the exception of the one on surveillance. After that Lucentia could take the pets and four of the back-ups, even if they weren’t noticeably enhanced when compared to vanillas, to cover his retreat, if necessary.   

 

Mentally Nighthound ordered his hounds to grab onto the mechanical suits just as they exploded. Using the distraction, he reached Neverthere’s location with a few quick leaps and descended from the roofs.

 

Black mist rose from his legs, as he caught the impact of the jump. A cute little scream of terror told him where exactly Neverthere was. Nighthound turned around fast and covered her mouth with his hand before she could get away or make another noise, his face mimicking that of a man reacting to an unidentified threat. Next he faked realization and from there a more genuine smile, holding back just how much more alluring fear made her. The dilated pupils, the raising of her chest, the flush of her skin. It was almost a pity that her usefulness means he couldn’t just take her. Still, the long game had its own benefits.

 

“My, I decided to follow the Dominion Epics we came across and this is what they lead me to,” Nighthound said while shifting his hand, no long holding her mouth shut and instead slightly caressing her cheek before coming to a rest on her neck, “Neverthere, even more beautiful in the flesh. I would have preferred our first meeting like this to be more… cozy but I’m afraid the other two may have heard you screaming. I’d be my pleasure to assist your escape, my lady.”

[Voidus]

The two Epics she was watching quickly became consumed in a fight with another group, dark figures dashing about. One of the first two Epics, the teleporter, vanished entirely after a moment before reappearing and getting swarmed by the new figures.

These new people concerned her, to have such a large number of Epics with physical abilities was not particularly common. Were these a group sent by the MEE?

Regardless, sticking around did not seem to be a wise decision.

She opened her real eyes, dismissing the projection. A sudden thump behind her announced another presence right on top of her.

She screamed softly in surprise and fear, wondering how on earth one of them had managed to find and sneak up on her like that.

An instant later a hand covered her mouth, stifling her scream and holding her in place.

It took her a frightened moment to make out the figure standing before her.

Nighthound? But what... how?

He shifted his hand off of her mouth, reaching down to her neck. Comforting her?

Quickly she realized what she must look like and tried to cover her expression with one of her masks, but it was no good. She couldn't hide like this, not when he was looking at her real body, all of her vulnerable flesh layed out right before a High Epic in something that could almost have come from her nightmares.

"I would have preferred our first meeting like this to be more… cozy but I’m afraid the other two may have heard you screaming. I’d be my pleasure to assist your escape, my lady.”

She realized that he had been speaking to her, though she could barely hear him over the pounding of her heart and her internal screaming.

"You- um... if you wouldn't mind... cutie." She said, attempting to adopt her usual nonchalance and pick up their previous flirting the way he was.

An image of her briefly coalesced nearby, a subconscious attempt to maintain her mask but it was quickly gone. She couldn't hide behind her projection while her real body was still here.

"I'll er, try to distract them." She amended, closing her eyes and sending her mind out.

Leaving her body with an Epic she barely knew did not seem like the most rational idea, but at the moment she was acting on fear, not logic. And fear was telling her that she needed her mind to be elsewhere right now.

A projection of her appeared within her house once more, as it coalesced it let out a scream before running from the window and letting the projection collapse.

Her eyes fluttered open again, slightly less fearful than she had been a moment ago, though still darting around frantically as she made sure that no one else had snuck up on them in that short moment.

"Let's go."

[Edgedancer]

Nighthound wondered if there were people that tried to run over deer just to get off on the panicked look on their face. Right now, Nighthound was feeling something very similar when looking at Neverthere. Her flirty persona was entertaining, good game always was, and he prefered it in the long run but having the same woman perfectly helpless at his feet stimulated his urge to dominate.

 

To her credit, Neverthere at least tried to keep their flirting going but failed miserably. Only further highlighting her helplessness, not only before the situation but also before Nighthound’s whims. Just as futile was her attempt to boost her confidence with a projection. It made Nighthound wonder however if there was a way to use her powers to simulate a threesome. Thoughts for later   

 

As a last attempt to regain composure, Neverthere closed her eyes again, sending out a distraction as she claimed. There she was, even more defenseless than before. The look on her face if she found herself pinned on the ground under him ought to be priceless but again impractical. His mind was running in circles on this matter. He ought to get her somewhere more private soon.

 

The attempt to gain some calm back actually seemed to have worked for her, might as well ruin it for her. With a sweeping gesture, Nighthound picked her up into a bridal carry, her small frame resting easily against his chest. It drew a cute squeal from Neverthere that was immensely satisfying, her attempts to reclaim a dignified face none withstanding.

 

“You are surprisingly adorable, I just keep finding more things to love about you. Anyway, I’d say that we should gain some distance from our pursuers first before worrying about where to hide you, wouldn’t you say?” Nighthound said as he started to move, Neverthere’s light body doing nothing to slow him down. “Do me the favor and keep a look out for people following us and in case you do notice someone…” Nighthound reached around Neverthere with the arm supporting her upper body, effectively hugging her close to his chest- close enough to notice the smell of her hair in fact, it was a good smell for a woman to have- and took one of her hands, a tender little thing that he could easily break just by squeezing. Gently he pushed it against his chest and from there slowly moved her hand under his coat, brushing against his muscles. Guiding it towards the handle of the gun he had taken with him. “Feel free to shoot.”

 

Truth be told, he didn’t trust Neverthere with a gun. Even if she could use one, she was much too nervous for her aim to be anywhere near steady. Still, getting shoot wouldn’t hurt Nighthound and as long as she didn’t end up shooting herself he might as well capitalize on the show of trust that handing someone a weapon presented. Who knows, maybe she actually did hit something.

[Kobold King]

   

 

 

The zoo that Chimera called home was all the way on the western edge of Portland, well out of the territory of any of the other major Epics. It was a long walk. It was an annoying walk to be guided on by a bumbling, useless wreck of an Epic with a hangover.

 

Apparently, as the hobo rambled on, Chimera had determinedly stayed neutral from the territory wars that waged across the rest of Portland. He apparently sold his animals to the highest bidder, but kept the best for himself and outright refused to join any other faction.

 

Lightwards concluded the man was either lazy, uncommitted to a cause, or both. He hated him already.

 

Chicago Joe finally led them down another street corner and to the gate that proudly advertised the Portland zoo. Beyond the brick wall that surrounded the place were the tops of determinedly tropical-looking trees; it appeared that the aesthetic of the zoo, at least, had been kept for the most part intact.

 

Now if only he could be sure the animals were similarly preserved...

 

"This is the place," Joe grunted. "Never been in there, myself. Don't really know what to expect."

 

"You have done well," Lightwards said distractedly, looking at the iron gate that led into the place. "I will accept your service."

 

Chicago Joe did not look as ecstatic at the statement as he should have been, but Lightwards let it slide. He had a Warrior run a hand over the gate to ensure it was not electrified somehow, then turned to Aldo.

 

"Now, if you have a way to remove this petty obstacle..."

 

The Epic magician smiled, striding forward and laying a hand on the bars. There was a loud wrenching sound, followed by the entire gate bursting from its connections to the wall as it shrank to the size of a playground gate, and then nearly to the scale of a dollhouse. Lightwards motioned a pair of Warriors into the lair as forerunners in case of traps, and the group of Epics followed behind them.

 

Entrance is easy. But it won't do to enter like thieves.

 

Responding to a mental command, Vincenzo the Allosaurus bound forward into the zoo with a series of loud footsteps. He paused by a stand of palm trees, stomping firmly forward and opening his jaws to their maximum extent.

 

The roar shook the zoo, nearly rupturing the eardrums of those standing by the dinosaur and eliciting the frantic barking of dogs from the center of the zoo. A couple of raptors added their own screeches to the mix, and the Unicyclist punctuated the proclamation with a few notes of his flaming bagpipe as he rolled around the biggest dinosaur's legs.

 

It was a cacophony couldn't be mistaken for anything but the Empire of Light.

 

And it would be the sound that marked the end of Chimera's pretentious neutrality.

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

Backtrack had many questions. Right now only one really took precedence.

 

What the sparks kind of researchers are these people?

 

He recognized them both from the throng of Epics that had joined Lightwards the day before, but didn't know either of them by name. But they definitely didn't look like regular scientists.

 

One was tall with an all-purple suit and a beard that was certainly upper tier of Epic facial hair. Way better than the pointy goatees a lot of male Epics boasted, at any rate. The other one was even taller and dressed in a thick and extraordinarily lacy dress, eyeing the Epics in front of her with an almost hawk-like gaze.

 

And she was asking for blood samples. This wasn't your normal everyday suspicious. This was advanced suspicious. This was 'Congratulations one millionth visitor' suspicious. This was white-van-with-a-free-candy-sign suspicious. This was creepy-guy-in-a-dark-alley-wanting-to-sell-you-cookies suspicious.

 

"Uh... we'd love to," Backtrack squeaked uneasily. He felt a sharp look from MV, but swallowed and continued.

 

"We'd definitely love to help with your, uh, science," he continued, stammering and feeling his legs shake beneath him. "But, uh, we can't give blood."

 

The lady in the dress raised an eyebrow.

 

Backtrack felt drops of sweat line his forehead at the Epic's stare of suspicion. He racked his mind, trying to come up with something resembling a decent explanation for why they in no way could let that woman near them with a needle...

 

"We can't give blood because we're... uh... Mormon."

 

He gave a hesitant smile, nudging MV and hoping she'd play along.

 

Nailed it.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Kobold King

[Mailliw73]

 

Chi woke to the sunlight of a cursed city. No matter what he did, no matter who he helped, there were too many Epics with the power and desire to ruin everything. This proved the worst about humanity: give a man power and what does he do? Lay waste to the world. Before Calamity rose, Chi had called himself an optimist. Since the red star had risen, his opinion on humanity had declined sharply. Where were the Supermans of the real world? The Captain Americas, the Iron Mans? Only the Poison Ivies, the Electros, the Magnetos, and the Venoms were real. Power didn't make heroes; it made villains. What remained of Portland was living proof. The dead lay in the streets, the good hid in their homes, ruin left its wake. Even those like Altermind who didn't murder the citizens for sport left those not "good enough" to die while holed up, ruling their so-called utopias. Those like Corpsemaker did as they pleased, killing people because they could. This world had become hell, complete with demons and their leader, the glowing, red devil. Chimera rose, determined that this day would be the last day he sat back and tried to save only his children. How many others died every day? This zoo would become a haven. 

 

He began the preparations, sending his children to work on clearing some of the trees, the guards piling wood and brick. The refugees would have to build their own houses, but they could do so in peace or at least Chi's damnedest best attempt at it. He was dressed for war, wolfskin draped over his body, skintight body armor underneath. The Beast of War was here and he brought redemption with him.

 

Argo behind him, Chimera heard a loud tearing of metal from the entrance of the zoo. He sent a few guards to scope it out. As soon as they moved to head to the front, a deafening roar shook the trees of the zoo. The roar was one of primordial times, one that didn't belong here as much as its master. The roar was accompanied by the sound of pipes and screeching that didn't come from any of Chi's family. Some of his children, particularly the young ones, began to bark and yell back to challenge the roar. He sent a blanket calming effect to all the animals in his zoo, creating a supernatural silence.

 

Only one demon in this city would be announced by beasts of times long dead. Lightwards had come to bring war to Chi's family. 

 

Chimera walked to the entrance of the zoo, Kyreen and Argo flanking him, Calix and Rumenes in the air. Wolves, lions, hawks, and griffins padded or flew around him as he approached the green Emperor of Hell's beasts. He sent the snakes to sneak behind the necromancer's ungodly force just in case. His guards, bestowed with the gifts of the children followed behind them, rifles down, but easy to grab. "Lightwards," Chi projected his voice to the green man. "One does not smash down a man's door to visit his house. Unless, that is, one is only entering to fight." 

[mail-mi]

Timeport woke up, though it was still dark. He tried to turn, but his leg was stuck under something. Frustrated, he turned around to look at it, and saw that it was stuck in a wall. 

 

Oh, that’s why it’s so dark. I’m inside. 

 

Timeport teleported a few feet away, leaving a leg-sized hole in the wall. He stood up, shaking off the extra bits of broken mech that had transported with him, and looked around, seeing that he was in what looked like a living room, with a once-plush carpet and dusty armchairs. There was only one house close enough to him for him to have teleported into when he resurrected.

 

Timeport smiled. 

 

He debated just running through the house to find Neverthere, but he figured that, considering how well she had hidden herself, she wouldn’t just leave herself defenseless. There were probably traps everywhere, and though Timeport couldn’t die, he didn’t have the time to resurrect at every trap. Not for the first time, Timeport cursed the five minute wait on his resurrection. Why couldn’t I just be able to get up and keep going?! While bemoaning his terrible limitations, he glanced back at the hole in the wall. That gave him an idea.

 

Neverthere had probably trapped the hallways, but the walls were probably perfectly safe. 

 

Timeport teleported into the wall, keeping it so that his head faced the room. Then, he rotated himself by teleporting, looking into the next room. He continued this for a little while, examining each room in the house. Once, he got caught by a trap and almost exploded, but teleporting ten seconds into the future stopped that from affecting him. Finally, he reached a bedroom on the upper floor that was clearly Neverthere’s: it was the only room in the house not covered in dust. 

 

There was just one problem: Neverthere wasn’t there. 

 

Timeport screamed. All of this, for NOTHING?! He wished that he hadn’t left his battleaxe back at HQ. Instead, he settled for teleporting everywhere around the room, destroying everything that he landed in. The bed turned into a small pile of fabric and springs, and the dresser was almost completely decimated, leaving behind a single pant leg. SHE GOT AWAY! After his failure with Chimera, Corpsemaker would be furious! He’d never let Timeport--

 

Timeport paused as he landed in the wall that faced the outside. Down in the yard, a big and muscular man grabbed onto a very familiar glasses-clad woman: Neverthere. 

 

Someone else was trying to take the target. Timeport’s target.

 

Oh no you don’t. 

 

Timeport ached for his battleaxe, his mech, or at least some type of weapon to use against the kidnapper. As he repeatedly teleported down toward the couple, however, he remembered how much destruction--pure, joyous destruction--he had caused in Neverthere’s room. He didn’t need a weapon. 

 

His own hands were weapons of their own. 

 

Finally, Timeport appeared close to Neverthere and her assailant. Timeport grabbed her arm, then smiled as she yelped and looked at him. 

 

“I believe you’re taking my target.” 

[Voidus]

Just as her mind returned to her body, Nighthound swept her into his hold, managing to carry her with seemingly no difficulty at all. She didn't know a lot about his powers but they seemed to be physically centered, enhanced healing she knew of, and now enhanced strength too.

She almost managed to distract herself with her analysis but her attempt to rationalize the situation obviously wasn't working too well judging by the grin plastered on Nighthounds face.

He took off quickly, moving far faster than he had any right to, especially while carrying her. Still it was sort of... nice? In a way? Like something out of a fairy tale, only he was running by himself rather than riding a horse or something. Although none of the fairy tales mentioned how uncomfortable it was to be jolted around by someone running like that.

She almost missed what he was saying but the way he suddenly grabbed her arm startled her into clarity, becoming momentarily startled and embarrassed until she felt it moved onto something cold and metallic.

"Feel free to shoot." He said.

Neverthere had never fired a gun before, she avoided any situation that would require her to like the plague. After all if you were close enough to shoot an Epic targetting you then most of the time the Epic was close enough to do something a thousand times worse.

She was startled again when she felt another hand grab her. She was just about to ask what it was now, her frustration beginning to leak through the wall of embarrassment at her predicament when she realized it wasn't Nighthound who had grabbed her.

“I believe you’re taking my target.” Someone growled.

She twisted in Nighthounds grip, straining to get a look.

Timeport, the teleporter from yesterday. And he'd said target? So this definitely wasn't an accident.

Barely pausing to think she pulled the gun out, her position was too awkward to allow her to aim much so she simply fired, the gun jerking in her hand at the recoil as something hot splattered over her wrist. Nighthounds blood spurting from his gut where she'd had to fire through, the bullet seemed to have passed straight through him, penetrating his body before hitting Timeport on his hip, a burst of blood flying off before the bullet finally hit the ground behind them.

It wasn't a lethal shot, after all she was in a terrible position and had no skill in marksmanship to begin with. It was enough that Timeport let go of her arm but still she panicked, pulling the trigger again and causing yet another burst of blood from Nighthound before the bullet passed through him, this time into empty air. Timeport had teleported out of the way.

Nighthound wasted no time, taking off again as soon as they were released, his speed startling Neverthere enough into throwing her arms around him to maintain her seat.

"Sorry." She squeaked as Nighthoung ran, her hand was covered in the blood from his wound but a black mist was rising around it and already she couldn't feel the wound itself.

She should be keeping an eye out for the teleporter but instead she buried her head into Nighthounds shoulder, too afraid to open her eyes again.

MV looked suspiciously at the couple, Epics from the museum were exactly the last people she wanted to run into right now but at least it wasn't that creepy guy.

She was about to firmly deny their request for a blood sample -Who in their right mind would say yes to an Epic asking for their blood? - when Backtrack took over for her.

"Uh... we'd love to," He started.

She glared at him silently. Oh no we wouldn't.

He seemed to get the idea and continued.

"We'd definitely love to help with your, uh, science, but, uh, we can't give blood." He said, clearly even more nervous than she was. "We can't give blood because we're... uh... Mormon."

He nudged her as he came up with his excuse and she reluctantly agreed.

"Yeah, we're Mormon. So uh, we'll just get out of your hair." She said quickly before Backtrack could get them into any more trouble, pulling on his arm and dragging him back out the door, looking back only to check that the researchers weren't following.

Fortunately after a somewhat exasperated look they turned around and walked back into the museum, though Megan though she saw the woman put away some kind of vial. One that looked full of liquid.

Must have been from someone else.

On their way out she whispered hastily to Backtrack.

"What the heck is a Mormon?"

Edited April 12, 2016 by Voidus

[Kobold King]

   

 

 

 

It wasn't long before the purposeless Epic made his appearance.

 

His minions were the first to draw Lightwards' attention, as they bounded, galloped, flew, and slithered onto the path ahead. They were animals, many of them at a glance indistinguishable from any you'd see at a normal zoo. Wolves. Lions. Birds of prey.

 

But then there were the aberrations, centered around Chimera himself as he strode into view. On one side he alongside a wolf with falcon wings and quivering spines. On the other a huge bear gaping with snake-like fangs padded along with its master's feet. Overhead swooped some kind of hawk or eagle with thick ape-like legs, and a reptilian menace flapping with wings that called the word "dragon" to mind.

 

If Lightwards weren't walking with dinosaurs of his own, he'd have called the spectacle the most beautiful gathering of potential Warriors he'd ever seen.

 

Chimera halted in his tracks, looking over the Empire's gathering with clear anger in his expression. Human guards walked cautiously behind him, their hands on rifles they all clearly hoped they wouldn't have to use.

 

"Lightwards," the Epic's voice boomed. "One does not smash down a man's door to visit his house. Unless, that is, one is only entering to fight."

 

A threat?

 

Of course it was a threat. The animal controller had been locked in his lair for too long, too secure in his talents as the Museum quartet had been. Who knew when the last time he'd been faced with true adversaries had been.

 

Lightwards, at least, was still keen and prepared for battle. If it came to such.

 

Even so, it wouldn't do to risk an open conflict unless there wasn't another way to harness the other Epic's beasts for the Empire. So instead Lightwards merely stepped ahead, in front of the rest of his gathered Warriors and agents, and met the Epic's eyes with a firm gaze of his own.

 

"Chimera." His voice was softer than the beast master's had been, but the sound carried over the tense scene regardless. "I do not wish to fight where fighting is not necessary. And I believe you do not either."

 

I am the Emperor over this city," he boasted. He compelled a pair of raptors to bow to him as he spoke, justifying his claim. "I have claimed Portland and all that is in it. I work to destroy the pointless wretches who have been squandering their power. I work to restore meaning to this world. Why should you lock yourself away when there's such a cause to strive for? The opportunity to reshape the world in your image?"

 

The question hanging, he showed his teeth in a wide smile.

 

"Follow me, swear to me your aid, and all this world will be like a zoo to you."

 

 

 

     

 

 

MV took charge of steering them away from the mad scientists, which was great because it kind of got old always being the first to suggest running away. Under her wise leadership, the two of them successfully left the conversation and fled outside of the Museum.

 

They hadn't had their blood taken and they still hadn't died! Great!

 

Wait.

 

He wanted to be inside the Museum instead of being exposed to the street. Sparks!

 

Regardless he let the more powerful Epic guide him outside, jumping a little as she hissed a whisper into his ear.

 

 "What the heck is a Mormon?"

 

How did she not know what a Mormon was?

 

"Weird people who live in Utah," he hissed back. "They all wear long underwear everywhere and have like, fifteen wives apiece I think."

 

...actually, he didn't really know what a Mormon was either.

 

Privately glad there was no one on hand to challenge his trivia, he continued to let MV drag him by the arm outside the Museum.

 

[Mailliw73]

Max woke up in the Reckoners' bunker, startled for a second until he remembered where he was. He got up quickly,telling Dr. Pace, the only other one awake, that he was going to meet with some of his contacts on the street. Leaving quickly, he went to walk the streets, only his pistol tucked in his pants and an extra clip in his pocket. He needed to appear inconspicuous. 

 

Reaching the downtown area, Max met with Nic, one of his contacts who still had access to a printer and had printed lots of small flyers with images of a black fist and spread them everywhere two nights before, when Max had first started this. Once Nic had shut the door, he turned to Max excitedly. "Max! You're just in time! We're ready! Everyone's meeting in ten minutes on the corner down the road." 

 

"What? What did you do?" Max began to worry. 

 

"There's an Epic on her way down here and we're going to take her down! We're starting it! We've started a rebellion!" Nic was almost shining with joy, but Max felt only dread. It had only been two days. The citizens of Portland had always been strange, but they didn't make up their minds this quickly. They'd be slaughtered. They needed to plan, not rush into this. That was why Max had gone to meet the Reckoners; they had experience with this. 

 

Nic pulled him out the door and onto the street. They reached the gathering on the corner. Max was impressed by the amount of people who had shown up, but it was still too small. Max slipped away from Nic and began to try whispering to the people, trying to get them to leave. People just shut him up and a couple slapped him, rebuking him for being weak. 

 

Max headed down a side road to watch. If this was his rebellion, he was responsible. But the fools wouldn't listen to him. Even if there were fifty of them, they couldn't take down any Epic of real power. The crowd hushed and Max watched as an Epic in a light blue dress rounded the corner. Freeze. The Epic he had seen Electro take the day before. She assumed her namesake and froze as she saw the gathering on the corner. 

 

"Down with Epics!" A voice shouted from the midst of the crowd. Others took up the chant, all of them pulling on black gloves and raising their fists above their heads. No, no, no. Max thought. This was bad, but all he had was his pistol, nothing of substance. Freeze laughed and shot the man who had first yelled with an icicle, dropping him immediately. The crowd roared in anger and swarmed for her, trampling fallen members under their feet. Freeze shot her ice as fast as she could, taking a few lives, but in the end, she couldn't keep up with the mass. 

 

The black-fisted crowd blocked Freeze from Max's view, but as they parted, shouting in triumph, Max felt conflicting feelings of dread and glory. He had done this. He had started a movement. They had taken down an Epic. Then he saw the body. Freeze's dress was torn and tattered, blood matting her blond hair to her skin. Her face was hardly recognizable. Two members of this Black Fist lifted her body up and the crowd began chanting, "Black Fist! Black Fist! Black Fist!" Max felt sick. This was a mob, not a rebellion. He had done this. He had started a gang. 

 

Electro followed as Timeport led him to Neverthere's house. When the dog-like demons showed up, Electro fired upon a group quickly with Starscream's small missiles. He killed half of them before he heard a disturbance a couple streets over. Seeing that Timeport had the last houndmen taken care of, he stomped over to the yelling he heard. 

 

He arrived as a small group of people lifted a body above them. As he looked closer, he barely recognized it as Freeze, the Epic he had recruited for Corpsemaker. Once the crowd saw him in his mech, they went silent. Then, almost as one, they raised their fists, all of them clad in black gloves. "Demon! Epic! Listen to us! We are the Black Fist and we will crush you!" One yelled. Electro stepped out of his mech, laughing, as the others took up a chant again. 

 

These idiotic people reminded him of the gang that had killed his parents, only with less organization. The bloodlust was the same. Seeing Freeze's body from his new vantage point on the ground, he was furious. That was what had happened to his mother. Now these morons thought they could kill Epics? He'd show them what an Epic could do. 

 

Electro stood a few yards back from the crowd, Starscream looming behind him. He stood in silence, flaring his magnetic field to repulse any bullets that would come near him. "Crush me?" he said. "No." With that, Electro Scrambled all of them, his power in top form, pulsing along with his rage. They all looked confused for a second. Then they began to die. 

 

He began to blast electricity from his hands, stronger and larger than usual. Electro began to laugh as the "gang" tried to surge forward and attack him. "Idiots!" he yelled, killing the front line of men with one straight blast. "You can't kill us!" The next row fell. Electro slowly spun, decapitating the mob as they ran for him. Slowly, they began to run the other way. "No. You don't get to leave now!" Electro yelled. 

 

Electro shot down each person before they made it around the corner. He killed all of them except the last handful. Those he trapped against a wall, two jets of electricity making a V around them. "Now, you'll tell me what you've been doing." The scared, yet defiant rebels chanted one last time. Then they fell, electricity cauterizing their neck stumps. Electro yelled one last time, a scream of pure rage as he blasted all the buildings on the corner. He shattered the windows, leaving ashy marks on each building fro the jets of power he shot. Electro took a couple minutes to pick up each black glove the gang had been wearing and laid them out in a line down the road, a symbol reminiscent of the heads on a pike they did in medieval days. Rage satisfied, Electro walked back to his mech, chest heaving, and went back to meet Timeport. 

 

Max had been about to confront Nic about his mob when a mechanized robot rounded the corner. Max recognized it from the Transformers movies and knew that this could only be an Epic. One with enough connections to traverse town in a robot. They probably worked for either Altermind or Corpsemaker. Neither was good. Nic and his crowd noticed the robot too late. A familiar figure stepped out. Blond spiky hair. Punk rock clothes. Electro. 

 

Max felt his hatred rising above his dread. This was Mel's killer. This was the man who had set him on this path to start the Black Fist. Max almost stepped out of the shadows to join Nic and take his best shot at the Epic. Fists clenched at his side, he barely managed to keep himself back. Electro was strong enough to kill these men. This mob, this gang of bloodthirsty monsters that Max had created. 

 

When Electro began killing them with ease, Max felt his eyes water. Nic was among the first to go. These were the few who had been brave enough to stand up. Though misguided and angry, they felt the same disgust at Epics that Max did. These were his brothers and sisters. Some had families. Some had elderly parents to take care of. All had those who loved them. Max felt their pain as Electro cut them down as cattle going to the slaughter. 

 

Max hid on the other side of the building, cutting off his view of the corner, as Electro began killing the escapees. When one head rolled around the corner, Max almost gagged at the sight. Cleanly cut off, there lay the face of someone's love. He had done this. He had given these people hope and now they paid in blood. Max ran down the road, away from the corner, only making a block before he had to kneel and retch. Sick at the sights, but more so with guilt, he wasn't able to keep the bile down. 

 

For minutes, Max stayed on the ground, weeping and retching, not able to control himself. When he began to regain control over his body, he sat, numb. A half hour after he had witnessed the massacre, Max began to walk back to the street corner, hoping unconvincingly for survivors. He was empty. His rage had abated in the face of so much death. It slowly ebbed back into his heart as he approached the corner, bodies littering the street. Scorch marks lined every building on the corner, glass riddling the ground. Now empty, the only movement was a line of black gloves fluttering in the breeze. Max picked them up, one by one, and began to walk back to the Reckoners. Electro would pay. Max knew he couldn't save the city from every Epic, but he would save it from one.

[Mailliw73]

Lightwards swept his eyes over Chi's assembled army, his expression almost a mix of awe and covetousness. The necromancer stepped forward and spoke softly, but powerfully. "I do not wish to fight where fighting is not necessary. And I believe you do not either." Chi nodded slightly. He didn't want to fight, but he was prepared to, willing to fight, to die, if necessary. As Lightwards gloated about claiming "Emperor", he forced two of his beasts, horribly brought back from their peaceful deaths beyond, to bow to him in an excessive display. What good were these dinosaurs if one only used them as tools? Slowly, anger began to fill his heart as he saw Lightwards control his warriors; animals should be free, only taking guidance, not commands. 

 

Chimera's anger was pierced by Lightwards' next words. "The opportunity to reshape the world in your image? Follow me, swear to me your aid, and all this world will be like a zoo to you," he said. That had been Chi's goal: to reshape the earth for the better. His mind began to war with itself over this "emperor's" suggestion. The man was cruel to his beasts and thought Chi wanted a zoo to keep all his animals in captivity. But, he also would give Chimera the chance to help rebuild the world.

 

"What of the humans out there?" Chi asked. This question would be the point upon which his long-held neutrality would hinge.

[RippleGylf]

Silently crouching by a leaf, the Epic known as Candyflame was concentrating. Skillfully, she sprinkled sugar on the plant, dusting it in lime green calories. Once coated, the grains melted around the leaf, caramelizing from sheer willpower. Leaving her latest creation to cool, she moved on to the next one. Though the process had become mundane ages ago, something pushed her to keep candifying these leaves. Habit, perhaps. Or maybe the sterile comfort having a blank mind, empty of all thoughts, save those relating to the task at hand.

 

Waking from her stupor, she stole a glance at her progress. A rainbow of reflected colors greeted her from the various plants in the room, surrounding her. It was… impressive. How long had she been at this, anyways? If she had fallen asleep, she hadn’t noticed. The gnawing hunger in her stomach was glaringly obvious, now, though she could have sworn she had felt perfectly fine a minute ago.

 

It was then when the Museum of Natural Awesomeness began to fall. The walls became a Jackson Pollock painting of flailing beams of light. Branches clattered as leaves collided with each other. she reached instinctively towards the nearest tree and held on with a death grip. Seconds later, though it felt like years, the museum slowed down, carefully settling on solid ground. Dazed, she released the tree. What the sparks had happened? As the adrenaline wore off, Candyflame realized something important.

 

She was exhausted.

 

Soon, lethargy overtook her. She curled up on the floor, amidst shards of broken candy, and fell asleep.

Edited April 28, 2016 by RippleGylf

[Edgedancer]

Nighthound couldn’t have chosen a better moment to hand Neverthere the gun. Just moments later Timeport appeared and gripped her arm. Laying claim to Nighthound’s woman. Maybe even worse, he lacked any finesse about it. That’s the problem with the new ones; they didn’t realize that, as fun as it might be, just brutalizing everyone wasn’t the answer.

 

Feeling how Neverthere moved the gun against his stomach stopped Nighthound from attacking Timeport himself, only giving him a condescending smile instead. Then Neverthere pulled the trigger and hit Timeport in the hip. Not the best hit but getting her to actively ally her with him instead of just being dragged along by him was worth a lot.

 

There was a sweet moment of realization on Timeport’s face before he disappeared, avoiding the second bullet Neverthere fired. Not waiting to find out if Timeport only teleported to somewhere he couldn’t see or if he disappeared completely again to avoid more harm Nighthound started running again. In his arms Neverthere squeaked an apology and buried her face into his shoulders. Ah yes, shooting him probably wasn’t something that left her untouched, even if she only worried about retaliation. How adorable. Gently, Nighthound put a hand on the back of her head and spoke soothingly, “Don’t worry, you did perfect. Just leave everything from here to me. I’ll keep you safe.”

 

A decent amount of time had passed since Timeport disappeared and there still wasn’t a sign of him. With some luck, he wouldn’t manage to find them once he was capable of following or abandoned the chase after getting shoot. Nighthound didn’t want to bet on either. Given that he managed to catch up once already, Nighthound didn’t have much hope for outrunning him, at least not while carrying Neverthere and with her in tow, moving through buildings to hide would be unreliable at best, given that just jumping through windows would risk cutting her, even ignoring the scarred whimpers she might make. Instead Nighthound headed in the direction he left his sister and the pets.

 

The explosions followed by gunshots earlier were enough to make whoever lived nearby hide in the houses, far away from the chance of getting involved. Although, seeing how desolated the streets where with broken pavement and cracked windows, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine this part of the city having been abandoned already. Not that it was unusual for Portland to show signs of random destruction. No one Epic had managed to restore order over the entire city yet. For all Nighthound cared, Lightwards could take that role, he wouldn’t stay around once that point was reached.  

                                                

A short flesh of pain flamed up in Nighthound’s back and was quickly replaced with numbness. It seemed that Timeport has caught up and managed a solid hit on Nighthound’s spine. Nighthound reacted by letting himself drop as if the damage had actually cut off his movement, keeping Neverthere close to his chest with one arm. She gave a panicked scream, as Nighthound jerked around, striking behind him with the other arm. The maneuver was unexpected for a simple reason, it was impossible to do, at least this quickly, with the human anatomy. It broke both of Nighthound’s angles and his shoulder but that was insignificant damage compared to getting the drop on Timeport.

 

Surprised, the teleporter didn’t avoid the hit but he did manage to disappear before Nighthound broke his skull in with a second hit. He appeared again a couple of feet away, Not only bleeding profoundly from his hip but now also holding his should at a very unhealthy angle, most likely broken. “You see,” Nighthound started before abandoning the sentence and dashing to the side, taking a leap to get up a building.

 

When he wanted to rebound from the first wall, Timeport appeared, his face and an arm sticking out of the wall. He grabbed Nighthound’s leg, pulling him off-balance mid jump. Nighthound wasn’t so much concerned with breaking the impact, as with avoiding crushing Neverthere between him and the wall, so he bended over, meeting the wall not only with his free hand but with the top of his head, slightly cracking his skull. Uncomfortably close to a serious injury but he would be able to take endure it. At the same time he kicked forward with the leg that Timeport had grabbed, crushing both it and Timeport’s arm against the wall. Nighthound didn’t manage to hit the other Epic’s face but it was enough to get out of his grip and joist himself up to the roof.

 

Nighthound put distance between himself and the edge of the roof. With Neverthere in his arms he had some protection against him jumping into his body but Timeport teleporting into his legs would turn out nasty, given that he seemed to replace whatever he ended up in. Putting his weight on his right leg until the other one had healed fully, he softly rocked a nervous Neverthere in his arm, softly cooing her. To avoid the blood still running over his face from his head wound dripping on Neverthere, he slightly leaned his head back. He watched the mist from his wounds raise slowly into the morning sky for a short moment before his body mended itself. Nearby, he could hear the jingling of a bell carrying itself through the air. That made matters simple.

 

The calm didn’t last for long, as Timeport appeared on the roof not long afterwards. By now he wasn’t in a good shape, his broken arm dripping blood were a fractured bone protruded from it. Although, the Epic didn’t seem to mind much, if anything it made him angry. Resurrection, if the intel was right, not as efficient as a proper healing factor but much more reliable when risking grievous injuries.  

   

Overselling the damage the head wound had done to him, Nighthound took a step back with an exaggerated stagger. “You do realize the risk of both of us just straight up brawling it out, yes?” Nighthound asked. Unimpressed, Timeport teleported most of the distance between them at once. A diamond tendril ripped through the roof from bellow, separating the two Epics from each other. Leaving the rear guard to his sister, Nighthound leaped back down on the road using the wall to slow his descent enough for Neverthere. Then he ran away, letting out a “good job” in case Lucentia was close enough to hear him. Quieter he addressed Neverthere, “And with that we managed to get away.”

[the winter system]

 

"Hey," Cutcloud said, talking to a vanilla. He was young, maybe fourteen? Barely a toddler when Calamity would've came. The vanilla looked up at Cutcloud. She stood next to him. "Have you heard about a sequin Epic? One who wore a lot of colors?" 

"Uh, no," he said, and tried to walk away. "I wouldn't look into Epics if I were you." 

"Oh, I'm not a vanilla," Cutcloud said, blocking his path. She broke a window nearby and sent the cloud of glass to near his face. The vanilla turned around. 

"Um, I'm sorry, ma'am. Of course you know better than I do in your infinite wisdom, Oh Queen of Knowledge." 

"Better," she said. "So, what do you know about her?" 

 

"She's from the museum. You know, the floating one?" he asked. "Your Majesty." 

"Yeah, I know," Cutcloud replied. "I haven't been paying much attention to recent events. Tell me everything."  

 

"I don't know much. Her and some other Epics came and said they were in charge, after a big battle between them. I think her name is Funtimes? I'm sorry for my lack of knowledge, oh, Glorious Infinite Wise Epic." 

 

Funtimes. Now she had a name for the Epic she was going to kill. 

 

"Alright, now, have you heard of an Epic called Chess?" she asked. At the name Chess, she wanted to cry. But that would ruin her tough Epic image. She always had to be aware of how she was coming across. Slontze. 

"Wore black and white?" he asked. "Turned into a chess piece? Oh, beautiful one." 

 

"Yeah, you heard of him?" she asked. 

 

"I saw him two days ago, looking around, with a chip on his shoulder. Mad at the world. I'm sorry if that isn't the answer you wish for, oh perfect woman." 

Chess, always so angry. He missed their family. The chaos in Miami, the annexing of Chicago... these events were the reason why he hated himself. He hated everyone, but mostly himself. He'd get himself in the most reckless of situations, thinking he could escape. 

Most of the time he did. 

 

She felt the first tear drop down her face and she sat down on an empty box. The vanilla awkwardly just stood there. 

"You okay, Epic lady?" he asked. 
 

"No," she said, tears coming faster. "He was my brother." 

"Who, Chess?" She nodded, miserable. Her nose got all snotty. She hadn't cried in years. Epics got mad, not sad. They got revenge, instead of upset. 

"She killed him," she said, angry as the tears came. "He hated himself and wanted to prove a point and she killed him." 

 

"I'm sorry," he said, sitting down next to her. "Don't know if that means anything. When I was seven, my only brother died. My ma and da had been dead since Calamity. He practically raised me." 

 

"My parents died in front of me. My grandparents were all killed. One pair was in Chicago. The other pair was in Miami. I've lost everyone I care about, except for Burnheart, and sometimes I feel like he doesn't care about me at all. Just using me. But it's not like I can break up with him, because that would tear the hotel apart." 

"Life really sucks, doesn't it?" he said, awkwardly patting her back. "You aren't going to kill me, are you?" 

"No," she moaned. "I'm a horrible Epic. I don't even use my powers that much." 

"Well, you scared my pants off," he said. Cutcloud sighed. 

 

"I miss Chess," she admitted. "My friend Lightbulb -- yes, that's his name--" she said when he started laughing, "just found out this morning." 

"Fresh pain is the worst. You still think it can't possibly be real." 

"I keep waiting for him to bounce back into my life, with his stupid, arrogant walk," she told him. 

"I'm sorry," he said. "Everyone's lost someone these days." 

"Yeah," she said, her tears slowing down. "Thank you. Don't tell anyone, okay? I'd lose all street cred as a tough Epic if it was known I broke down to a vanilla." 

 

"It's alright," he said. He stood up, brown skin illuminated in the light. Suddenly, Burnheart turned the corner. Cutcloud waved. 

"Who is this vanilla?" he asked her. 

"I dunno, I was just interrogating him," she said, turning back on her cruel face. She turned to the vanilla and told him, "if you ever say you were talking to me, I'll kill you, slowly." She then winked. But she turned back to Burnheart and he saw that she'd been crying. 

"Did he make you cry?" he asked, incredulous. The vanilla backed away, slowly. 

"No, he didn't." 

"Did he see you cry?" he demanded. "Did he see you've been crying? Why were you crying?" Cutcloud stepped up to Burnheart. 

"If you're going to act like a possessive jerk, I'm going to break up with you." 

"Shut it up, he's like half your age. You're really robbing the cradles now, aren't you?" Cutcloud glared at Burnheart. 

"You've got to be kidding me," she said, blocking his way to the vanilla. "You should probably go," she said, to the vanilla. He ran off. "I swear, I'll break up with you now if you don't calm down and think about what you're doing." 

He backed down and then facepalmed. 

"I'm so sorry - I didn't realize what I was doing...." he said. 

"Sorry doesn't excuse anything. Look, you can still be my friend, but I'm done with dating." Cutcloud stormed off and returned to the hotel, even more upset than when she'd started out. 

Edited May 20, 2016 by Winter Cloud

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

​A collaboration between Edgedancer and I.

 

Voidgaze’s conversation with Sam was interrupted as the ground under them began to tremble and the building jerked upwards, so that’s how the museum was lifted into the sky. No actually, how did this work? Funtimes couldn’t just make things fly, could she? So it was most likely some kind of mechanism under the building. Whatever it was, Voidgaze was distracted from it, as Funtimes seemed to get ready to leave. Leaving out a startled yelp, Voidgaze hurried over to her, “Ah wait, I know you’re busy right now with stocking up for Altermind and all that but my house got damaged pretty badly when Nighthound attacked me, so I wondered if maybe you could help me repair it.”

 

Funtimes tilted her head. “That meanieface was at your house?”

 

“Well yes,” Voidgaze tilted her head to match Funtimes, “remember when I wanted an apology from him for attempting to kill me? At the same time he also broke into my house and now it’s full of holes.”

 

“Holes? You--” Funtimes gasped, pressing her palms to her cheeks. “You mean that dirty meanieface turned your house into icky Swiss cheese?”

 

“It… isn’t edible, just damaged.”

 

Funtimes tilted her head further, not seeming to notice when Sam’s pug did the same thing. “You don’t eat icky things. Unless you like icky things, but you’re Blueberry. Blueberries aren’t icky.”

 

“Right, they taste wonderful, don’t they? Especially if you eat them with waffles and whipped cream. That might actually be one of my favourite foods.”

 

She gave a long gasp, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Me too me too me too! Whipped cream is amazing and it’s so good and it makes everything taste better!”

 

Voidgaze was infected by Funtimes’ cheerful manner and started bouncing around as well. “Exactly! And it’s so practical, like the perfect mix out of milk and a sheet of paper.”

 

Funtimes made a face. “Paper? Paper’s gross. Even the colorful ones. They look like they should taste like candy, but they just taste like butt.”

 

“Of course you don’t eat paper. Who would ever do that?” Voidgaze laid a hand on Funtimes’ shoulder. “You use it to cover the ground or throw it at people, preferably as paper airplanes. Did you ever make those? It took me an eternity to figure out the best way to fold them but now I’m a master airplane folder and they are super fun to throw.”

 

She gave a delighted squeal. “I love paper airplanes! Especially pink ones with pink wings and pink everything ‘cause they’re pink! How many paper airplanes can you make at once? I’ve never tried to see all how many I can make at once but it’s a lot ‘cause paper airplanes are the best!”

 

“I kind of need my paper airplanes to be white but I’m not quite sure how much I could make at once either,” Voidgaze made her tassels wiggle, “but these certainly help with folding them.”

 

Funtimes giggled in delight, bouncing up and down. “Those are amazing and paper airplanes are amazing and we should go make some right now!”

 

“Yes we… no wait, we still need to repair my house, please.”

 

“So we can make paper airplanes in it! Yes yes yes yes yes!”

 

“Sure we can… I guess.”

 

“Yay!” Funtimes joined hands with Voidgaze and Nathan, who put a hand on Sam’s shoulder as Revolution took her arm, which still cradled Suki. “Ten million paper airplanes, here we come!”

[Blackhoof]

 

Corpsemaker smiled, sipping his favourite coffee, at his favourite coffeeshop. 

 

The situation was made only slightly uncomfortable for the owner of the establishment by the scores of soldiers, vehicles, and mechs waiting outside.

 

Corpsemaker took another sip. "Mmmm... delicious." He looked towards to owner of the coffeeshop, who was sitting across from him. "I commend you for your service. This shall be your reward." He stood up, raising his voice. "This establishment is under my protection! Let it be known that any Epic or human that robs, intimidates, kills or damages the property of this fine barista  will face my wrath. Two guards will remain here at all times, with orders to protect and defend this place from any who displease the owner."

With that, he finished off the coffee and marched out, leaving a grateful owner and unnerved patrons behind him.

 

Collaborate and Leech flanked the doorway as he left, following him as two toy soldiers entered for their guard duty. The three Epics briskly climbed atop Corpsemaker's command vehicle- a large tank sporting a platform and an impressive throne instead of a main cannon. The Lord of the Dominion took his position on the throne, with his retinue flanking him. Behind him was ranks of blank-faced soldiers, and a number of tanks, armoured vehicles and slick mechanized walkers. They were a truly fearsome sight. 

 

Corpsemaker took a minute to drink in the glory of his position. 

"Move out!" He barked, and the convoy slowly buzzed into life.

 

Raising a radio, Corpsemaker turned it on. "Streetwise, come in Streetwise, anything to report?" Static answered him for several seconds, until...

"No sir, the streets around the armoury and ahead of you are completely clear. There is a gang headquarters up ahead though- maybe a few dozen armed men and women. Its a small compound surrounded with barricades, and a tattered flag with a red bird on it. Doesn't look like there are any Epics there."

 

Corpsemaker nodded. "Understood. Corpsemaker out." With that, he severed the connection and tucked away the radio.

"Collaborate."

"Yes, my lord."

"There is a gang compound somewhere up ahead. Take an armoured car and some vanilla soldiers to follow you. Force them to declare allegiance to me by the time I arrive, or kill every one of them."

The Epic nodded and grinned. "Yes, Corpsemaker."

 

Just as Collaborate and some soldiers drove off, separating from the convoy, a short burst of gunfire sounded from a nearby rooftop. The bullets pinged harmlessly off of Corpsemaker's chest, some blowing holes in his throne or ricocheting off the metal platform at his feet. With a basilisk's glare, he looked at the offending rooftop, seeing a dark figure furtively duck behind the rooftop lip. He clicked, and the convoy ground to a halt, toy soldiers already moving quickly forward and firing at the aggressor. They stilled at a single gesture from Corpsemaker.

 

"Tank #2!" He barked, and the vehicle directly behind his own swivelled its cannon, until it pointed directly at the rooftop. 

"Fire!"

 

There was an immense boom and rooftop exploded. A massive cloud of dust and mortar showered the streets, and people screamed. The Lord of the Dominion waited for several seconds. "Fire!"

The tank obeyed, and the building's façade disappeared in a mighty explosion. He gave the order one more time, and the entire building collapsed in on itself.

 

Suffice it to say, but the attacker was likely dead.

 

Corpsemaker surveyed the destruction. Such a waste. He thought ruefully. Still, they need to learn their lesson.

 

With that thought fresh in his mind, he pointed at the building immediately next to the pile of rubble. "Fire!" The tank obeyed, and successive blasts destroyed both neighbouring buildings. The area was completely covered in dust and rubble now, powerful shots having spread debris across the street. He nodded to himself in satisfaction, and activated the megaphone attached to his vehicles. "And thus," He began, his voice menacing and loud. "Is the fate of those who think to oppose me! Not only you, but everyone around you will die!"

 

"Move out!"

[mail-mi]

NOOOO!

 

Timeport ignored the burning pain in his broken arm. He focused only on his target, that girl, which was now blocked by a solid column of diamond. 

 

“Good job!” Nighthound shouted to someone, possibly another Epic? I don’t care. Timeport didn’t come this far, didn’t get this bloodied, to just let Neverthere get away.

 

With a roar of rage, Timeport teleported into the column of diamond.

 

 

...what?

 

Sidestep had to pause, had to make sure he heard Mommy right. “You’re kidding. Astoria? Land of Queen Lucentia and her retinue of immortal Epics?” 

 

Mommy’s bright face completely contrasted Sidestep’s confused look. “Yes! Queen Lucentia is here, I saw her! That means she’s not in Astoria anymore! Maybe things went kaput there...”

 

Sidestep grabbed Mommy’s shoulders, trying to maybe knock some sense into her. “You can’t be seriously thinking about this, right? You’re talking about Astoria. We’d get torn to shreds there, even with the Queen gone.” 

 

Mommy cast a long glance at the children all happily packing behind her. “But she was the one that was so uncaring about the children...”

 

“And what makes you think that that has changed with Lucentia temporarily gone?” Mommy didn’t respond, though it looked like she might be changing her mind. Phew. “Look, why don’t you think it over for a bit? You can tell the kids to unpack, and I’ll go talk to Zip to see what he wants us to do for today.” Mommy nodded reluctantly and Sidestep, relieved, turned his back to the classroom and walked down to the office. Phew, glad I was able to defuse that bomb. That could have been a disaster.

[Comatose]

 

"I have a special job for you."  Upgrade tried his best not to shiver as Corpsemaker smiled.  While he had grown accustomed to working with most of the High Epic's cronies, he was still having difficulty feeling comfortable around his new employer.  Corpsemaker's ability to kill people with a look probably had something to do with it.  "You two will work together, and we will see just how powerful Quota can become when his powers are Upgraded . . ."  Upgrade started tuning out the rest.  What people did with the power he provided them with was none of his concern.  It was easier that way.  You couldn't blame a hammer for missing the nail and punching a hole in the wall, and that's all he was; a tool being used for whatever purpose his masters supplied him with.  

 

The small meeting broke up, with each member of the team heading off to their assigned tasks.  Upgrade gaze lingered on Corpsemaker until the epic left his sight.  He couldn't decide whether his new assignment was a good or bad thing.  On one hand, sitting around Toymaker's "factory" all day watching her gleefully crank out robots was getting painfully dull.  On the other hand, while he hadn't had the 'pleasure' of sharing Quota's company yet, something told him that a man who had the power to make people feel emotionally gross probably wasn't a ray of sunshine to send time with.  Hopefully his part in performing the Upgrade would not take too long.  He'd managed to scrounge up a few books he hadn't read at the George R. White Library on one of his walks, and was looking forward to spending some time reading them.  I wonder if Toymaker could make me a iPad with Netflix.  Netflix was the best.  Too bad the internet and streaming were a thing of the past.  Maybe he could find an epic whose powers Ugraded could allow him to stream from the past?  Timeport could travel through time.  Could he somehow bring Netflix back with him?  

 

"So, Quota, shall we get on with this?  Let's get you Upgraded, and see what you can do, eh?"  

[mail-mi]

Almost immediately upon entering the diamond, Timeport died.

 

He blinked awake in the black realm with Calamity. He didn't say a word; after the first few resurrections, Calamity had basically stopped speaking with him. He wants me to fulfill his mission. I get it. Soon the five minutes were up, and Timeport resurrected about 1 building-height above the ground. 

 

Wha--AAAAAAAAAHHH!

 

The building that he had been standing on before was rubble far beneath his feet, and there was a person standing next to it. Timeport squinted closer at the person--no longer afraid of his fall, since he could teleport 5 seconds into the future and rob his body of its momentum--and noticed the glint coming off of her arm. 

 

That must be the Diamond Queen... but what is she doing in Portland?

 

Nearing the ground, Timeport vanished for 5 seconds, then hit the ground with a soft “oomph.” He stood and looked at the Queen. They say she’s invincible, indestructible. Timeport looked down at his hands and grinned. They haven’t met me yet.

 

Slowly walking toward the Queen, Timeport spoke up. “Your Majesty, what are you doing in this wreck of a city?”

Edited June 13, 2016 by mail-mi

[Edgedancer]

 

Lucentia had done more than enough for her brother today, a meager good job was hardly enough gratitude. She still did him the favor of crushing the Epic pursuing him, when he was impulsive enough to teleport himself right inside her diamonds. With the fool out of the way, her brother should have no problems to actually make his getaway. The least he could contribute now was actually recruiting the harlot.

 

The diamond mass shifted, carrying the mangled and crushed body of Timeport down. Once the crystal crumbled around it, Lucentia found little more than a bloody mess. However, she had managed to keep the head in a passable condition, assuming one was willing to overlook what an ugly thing it was. For a moment she considered keeping it but a severed head hardly counted with an Epic that could resurrect… she could likely find it in her generous self to help her brother some more.

 

She send the pets a short distance away, putting manacles on the two unruly ones to make sure they wouldn’t find a chance to run away. Then she began tearing down the building. Tendrils of diamond crushing stone and furniture underneath it until nothing more but a pile of rubble was left. Being entirely honest with herself, there was somewhat of a child like joy to the destruction, ramming spears through the walls that pierced the neighboring buildings as well and twisting them around to collapse the floor. In her own kingdom rampaging just came with more problems than the short lived recreation was worth.

 

Once the work was done she layered her diamonds over the nearby buildings for quick use, in the slim chance she needed it. Thus the stage was set in a way that would make it unlikely for Timeport to appear with any kind of cover. Now all that was left was waiting. Hopefully, the little Epic would have the sense not to let her wait on his resurrection. Boredom may be more of a hassle than adding a new head to her collection was worth.

 

Fortunately it only took about five minutes until the Epic was reborn and approached her.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing in this wreck of a city?”  

Lucentia turned towards him and mustered him with a cold smile, “Hoo, could those be manners? As it may be, unless you intend to bend your knee, my business is none of your concern.” 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

There were many things Suki was used to, but disappearing from one place and reappearing in another was not one of them. 

The house Doctor brought them to was broken. It took a minute for Suki to see it, but as the white-haired human led Doctor through the house and Sam followed, Suki saw just how broken it was. A hole had been punched through the floor a little ways in, a hole so big and so holey that Suki wriggled and bucked until Sam finally set her on the floor. As much as she liked being carried by her human, a giant hole in the floor was something she had to investigate. 

The hole looked down on another floor, the room filled with a toilet and a bathtub and a sink. The room around it was filled with a bed and a dresser. Suki sniffed all around the edges of the hole, but couldn't determine anything more than what her eyes told her. She looked up at Sam, sneezed, and moved on to inspect one of the dents in the wall. 

Everything else smelled like the white-haired human. There was a little bit of the curdled fear smell, but not as much as she'd smelled on Doctor. She would have to monitor the white-haired human. Make sure she wasn't too much a danger to Sam. 

But there was a second smell, much fainter now, but still noticeable. A stronger curdled-fear smell, stronger than the white-haired human's, stronger than Doctor's. Suki didn't know who owned that smell, but she already knew she didn't like them. 

Not. 

One. 

Bit. 

She perked up her ears and listened. The white-haired human was explaining something to Doctor, who was tilting her head at a massive hole in the ceiling. 

Doctor was very good at tilting her head, Suki decided. She had to admire that. 

When the white-haired human finished explaining, Doctor gave her a smile. "So," she said, "do you want everything all boring white, or do you want something fun like polka dots?" 

Quota hadn't had a chance to get a latte that morning. It sucked, but what could you do? Corpsemaker wanted a meeting, and there was no way in hell he'd disobey that guy. Not with that level of raw power. 

He'd been itching to use his powers since he woke. Every Epic in the compound posed a challenge, a temptation. Sure, he could mess with the vanillas—and he did, often—but Epics were more interesting. All of that fear, that rage, bottled up like a Diet Coke with a whole tube of Mentos dropped in—telling him to control himself around that was like putting a whole chocolate cake in front of the fattest kid you knew and expecting him not to stuff his face. It was just cruel. 

But there was a payoff. And that payoff came in a single word. 

Upgraded. 

The power to coat the entire city in a blanket of fear and despair would be his. So many vanillas, so many Epics….all his, even if it was just for a few seconds.

"So, Quota, shall we get on with this?  Let's get you Upgraded, and see what you can do, eh?"  

Quota grinned. "Thought you'd never ask."