What Happened In Astoria

[Blackhoof]

 

 

Winterspell was finishing off the last of his breakfast when suddenly he heard a loud splash. A gigantic one, as if a bridge had fallen into the river further downstream. "What on earth..." A quick glance out the window confirmed that yes, indeed, a gigantic geyser of water was rising out of the river. Winterspell and Lightwrought looked at each other, raised their eyebrows and walked out onto the balcony. The massive column of water finally fell back down, crashing thunderously back onto whatever caused it.

 

"Well..." Lightwrought said finally. "That certainly makes for an interesting morning."

Winterspell chuckled. "Indeed! Well, I might as well go myself to investigate. Send for Fish, Tag and Labyrinth to follow. I want to know exactly what sort of Epics have disturbed our breakfast."

 

Without another word, Winterspell lifted himself into the air on twin tentacles of water, and gently lowered himself to the river below. But as his feet touched the gently flowing water, patches of ice formed beneath them. He dismissed the tentacles, and stood firm and safe on the surface of the river. He took another step towards the disturbance, ice supporting him with a thought. He continued at a sedate pace, leaving a trail of ice behind him, and it wasn't long before he reached the place where... something had crashed into the water. 

 

And it had better be friendly.

[mail-mi he/him]

Black Jaguar cut in again. "Astoria? Coincidentally, that coincides perfectly with our plans. The Destructors and our new Aussie friends planned to attack the city as well. We came here to petition for supplies and find aid. These pirates should do nicely. There's six of us, we just need some weapon upgrades, criminals for our army, and vehicles. That's all we ask."

Dragoon blinked. That's all you ask. Just a few thousand dollars worth of supplies so you can raid and take some of the winnings of MY target? Yeah, right.

Before he could say anything, Blackwave continued, ignoring the rude Epic. "We can take the river, should be easy enough. Any resistance in particular my crew should be preparing for or is it just the obligatory first step before we can start going on land?"

Dragoon also ignored Black Jaguar, for now. "I can't think of any big river-based threats that you need to watch out for. Just watch the river and the bay, and my men can attack from the land on the south." The Horsemen took a moment to look impressive when he said "my men."

Then, he turned to the Jaguar. "Now, as for you. You want me to give you a few thousand dollars worth of supplies--more, now, since Calamity's arrival--so you can take over part of my target and take some of my spoil? In what universe would I want that? I've got plenty of men, and with Blackwave and his crew, I've got more than enough help to take over the city. So," he stepped closer to the Jaguar and tilted his head. "You want to take part of my spoil? What can you give me in return?" Edited February 13, 2016 by mail-mi

[Citadel16 he/him]

 

 

Ragnarok burst from the water, wreathed in red energy. He twisted in the air a dozen or so feet outside the water. With a pull of his hand, Ragnarok yanked out Brute with a telekinetic pull.

                Ragnarok pulled the epic in an arc above his head, a minor headache throbbing in his head, and threw him back into the water at a high speed. Submerged, the epic tried to swim to the surface.

                “You should have listened,” Ragnarok and thrust his hand towards the water. The energy around his arm intensified as he grabbed hold of the epic with his TK and kept him under. Thirty seconds passed before the epic began struggling, but Ragnarok kept him a good four feet from the surface. Brute’s thrashing intensified, churning the water with his super strength. Ragnarok wouldn’t leave until long after the blasted epic stopped kicking.

                ‘This shouldn’t be that hard’ he thought, his head twinging from headache. ‘Just let go…’

                His mind fuzzed in and out.

                ‘Now?’ he thought. ‘Great.’

                His mind fuzzed again and the world around him disappeared. Replaced by blackness. A Notworld. A place of nothingness.

                YOU HAVE FAILED ME.

                “The fault is not my own,” Ragnarok said “Brute simply was not interested.”

                DO NOT GIVE ME YOUR EXCUSES, BOY!

                Ragnarok flinched inwardly. He very seldom let someone call him a child, but Stormeggedon could do as she pleased.

                And there was nothing Ragnarok could do about it.

                “Yes, my master,” he said as strongly as he could.

                The blackness shifted. Pooling together, becoming a figure in black. A dress of shadows adorning her. It was hard to say anything of her features, because her face and arms were merely visible as darker shadows and lighter shadows.

                THERE IS ANOTHER WHOM I HAVE BEEN WATCHING. HE IS NEAR TO YOU. YOU MUST RECRUIT HIM. FORCIBLY IF YOU MUST.

                “I do as commanded, great one,” he said.

                GOOD. THIS IS HE.

                An image flashed in Ragnarok’s mind. A tall man, a scowl on his face, dressed in a red and black shirt, jeans, and a pea coat that was open down the front.

                MAKE HASTE, SERVANT. AND TREAD CAREFULLY, HE IS NOT ONE WHO IS GENTLE WITH HIS ENEMIES.

                “It will be done.”

                The Notworld vanished, and he was placed back over the water, with Brute still struggling underneath. Ragnarok shook his head.

                “Just die already…”

Edited February 5, 2016 by warriormark16

[Blackhoof]

 

Winterspell approached the churning water, seeing a young teenager, wreathed in red energy, holding someone under the surface. He watched, bemused, as the Epic slowly drowned his struggling adversary.

 

A small portal opened up next to his head, and the Tag spoke through it. "Hmm.... this kid's a strong one! Telekinesis.. very, very strong telekinesis. Emotional manipulation, and some form of limited hydrokinesis. Be careful boss." 

"Don't worry men, I will be. Fish, you there?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Excellent. Dive down here and give me a good view from underwater. Stay submerged."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

 

Winterspell waited as the Epic continued effortlessly drowning his foe, completely absorbed in the fight, eyes distant. The King of Icesteel Keep coughed into his hand. "Ahem, mind if I interrupt? I do not appreciate disturbances to my morning." With a gesture, he froze the water around pair, and lifted up the struggling one.  The muscular man gasped for air, throwing up water. "Now," Winterspell continued "I would request that you both take your disagreement elsewhere. The north side of the river should do nicely. But you must leave my territory, immediately."

[Edgedancer he/him]

Deathgale spend the time he spent waiting for Bioterror and Brightdeath in the Shining Diamond taking care of administrative work, the smoke of his cigarettes curling in the air around him. With the current attacks and the prospect of even more happening in the near future there was enough of it to be had and he was not in the mood to shoulder the blame for any mistakes an incapable official might make.

 

After a good amount of time had passed, enough for him to imagine that the opposition was putting up a fight but not enough for him to worry, a streak of blood glided out of the flask he was carrying and towards one of the chairs at the table, shortly after Bloody Mary emerged from it, taking a seat on the chair.

 

Given that she was supposed to observe the fight at the shadow column, he had not expected her to show up before the other two Epics. “How is the fight going?” Deathgale said, while laying down his pen.

 

“Our newcomers aren’t doing all that bad. The opposition’s leader is rather resilient but the worst case should be a stalemate,” Mary said and picked a bit of food from the table.

 

“Well enough then. So, what actually brings you to me then?”

 

“Ah yes, there is yet another Epic that made their way into the city. He caused some chaos, killed someone he apparently had a backstory with, not exactly a model introduction to the city but relatively minor with everything that’s going on right now. Originally, I planned to do a bit more research on him, as long nothing more happened.”

“And something did happen?” Deathgale asked.

 

“To the point. Effectively he agreed to help another suspect individual with something in exchange for information. It seems a discreet pointer towards not causing any significant trouble would be in place and that’s where you come into play. Don’t worry, in case our two newcomers need attention I’ll take care of them.”

 

In response to Mary’s unexpected willingness to meet the newcomers Deathgale simply raised an eyebrow, prompting her to go on, while he took another drag of his cigarette.  

 

“We can hardly ignore them and who would you prefer I interact with, the two we already have a good grasp on or the violent unknown with quite literally explosive powers? No deeper motivations behind it,” she said with a faint smile on her lips. Bloody liar.

 

Still, he led her do whatever she was planning. After exchanging the relevant information with her, he gave the servants instructions for his absence and let his body fall apart into smoke. He used the smoke of his cigarette to pull his formless body towards the bar where he would find Antimatter.

                                                                                                                               

 

As the battle on top of the shadow column neared its end, Bloody Mary prepared a room for their meeting. She could hardly bring them down into her own chambers. Instead she made a connection with a pool of blood stored away in another underground chamber. A simple room forced into the ground and enclosed with diamond, furnished plainly with not much more than a couple of exquisite chairs and a table. Artificial light playing faintly of the rooms crystal walls. Mary seated herself in a small throne fashioned out of diamond.

 

She noticed that the shadow Epic had left, be it out of fear or boredom. Mary waited a bit longer, until she could be reasonably certain that he wouldn’t simply return. Then she raised thin walls of blood in front of both Bioterror and Brightdeath, ordering two servants girls, masked and concealed by their uniform just as all the others, to step through the portals and give her invitations to the two Epics.

[Citadel16 he/him]

 

                Antimatter took another drink of his Whiskey, contemplating what to be doing for the next little while. He never intended to stay in Astoria for very long, just put down Lockheed and leave. This place was too full of High Epics to make a permanent residence. Most were trying, one way or another, to topple the government

                He took another drink of his Whiskey, draining the rest of the glass in one gulp.

                Out of the corner of his eye he saw coalescing smoke.

                “Damnation!” he jumped backwards and throwing up his hands and preparing to blast it, he also tapped his Intellect. Possibilities flashed across his eyes, searching out something to match whatever this was.

                After barely a second, a single name flashed across his memory.

                Deathgale.

 

                Startled, Ragnarok smacked Brute with his TK, hitting him with enough force to shatter the ice around them and sent him flying back into the air. He cursed and yanked him back and Brute crashed into the water just off to the side of him.

                Ragnarok spun on the newcomer, viewing the epic through a portal.

                ‘Ice epic’ he thought. ‘With portal powers? Definitely a High Epic, no one else would be stupid enough to challenge him.’

                What had he said? Something about territory. Where was he anyway? He was over a river. A big river. Ragnarok went over a map in his head, he had only been five or six miles from Astoria when Brute had jumped at him. That would make this the Columbia River.

                Lucentia’s territory.

                “I’m sorry for the trouble.” Ragnarok forced himself to say. “I’ll be out of your hair shortly if you’ll allow me to finish my work.” Being polite was a bit difficult, seeing how he’d been interrupted from his job. But, as Ragnarok always said, nothing replaces good manners.

                Except fast reflexes.

                Brute shot from the water like a bullet and Ragnarok smacked him down just as fast.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Deathgale’s body regained its solid form out of the smoke once he reached the bar. Antimatter inside and, as Deathgale noticed surveying the room, smoke trailing behind him as he entered, setting heavy on the ground, only Antimatter inside.

 

Antimatter, who had jumped out of his seat and seemed like he had just barely managed to restrain himself from attacking Deathgale. Worried about someone coming for him or just easily startled? One way or another, he wasn’t foolish enough to actually throw an explosion at him. Small mercies.

 

“Please, sit down again, I’ll join you shortly,” Deathgale said, a polite tone taking the edge out of the order.

 

With that his attention turned away from the Epic and towards the liquors on display. They would suffice. Barely. He breathed out a tendril of smoke. It twisted through the air and split, one part of it reaching for bottle of liquor and the other for a matching glass.

 

Deathgale sat down at the table Antimatter occupied, the tendrils of smoke setting down the now filled glass and bottle before settling down and clinging to the table. Little curls of smoke trailing upwards, ready to snap up at any moment.

 

“How about I get to the point?” Deathwish said while looking directly into Antimatter’s eyes, before continuing, “Do you plan on killing anyone else in this city? Not that a couple of deaths in the lesser population would cause much of a ripple but we are not in the mood for someone going on an Epic hunt in the city.”

[Voidus]

 

It took Bioterror longer than he would have liked to smash his way out of the shadowy prison that he'd been trapped in. He'd even needed to eat some of the crumbling dark matter in order to break the rest properly, though he deposited it all outside his body as soon as he finally broke free.

"Disgusting stuff." He muttered, looking around to see if the Shadow Epic was still around.

Nothing. Not that he'd expected him to sit around for so long without doing anything.

Coward.

This was yet another reason he hated teleporters. When things got tough for them they just teleported away and you'd never know where they went. He'd need to think up a strategy for that.

He heard an odd noise coming from behind and immediately whirled, senses alert and hand already reaching out, twice the size of normal to grasp at the throat of the person who was sneaking up on him.

A woman, dressed and masked and standing in front of something. A wall of some kind, though it almost looked like it was made of...

"Blood?" He mused as he examined it. Releasing the woman as he strode towards it. If she was the Epic who'd made this wall she was slow enough that he'd caught her with ease which meant she wasn't much of a threat.

The woman greeted him as she subtly rubbed at her throat before inviting him through the blood which seemed to act as a portal.

Ugh, more teleporters? Well not quite but portals are basically the same.

Still, if this was a request from someone in Lucentias government he'd best comply.

Concentrating hard for a moment he folded in on himself, collapsing his matter down and making it denser, but even with his powers he could only do so much, he was still far bigger than most normal people. He opted to shift most of the flesh to his back, forming a misshapen hump their which would prove useful both psychologically and as a storage area for some of his nastier tricks.

"Lead the way then." He demanded with a gesture, following the woman through the dark red wall.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Brightdeath was the first to enter the room. Not much of a surprise, given the predicament the shadow Epic had left him in. The Epic was now sitting at the table across her, the light-made helmet held in her arms instead of simply dismissed. Mary used the time before Bioterror joined them to explain her that she would be allowed to keep the room as a safe destination for her teleports and add some furniture, if she liked.

 

Just in time Bioterror also stepped into the chamber, a hump now resting on his back. From what she saw he did require to actually absorb material into his body to work with it, so it likely was there as a storage. Pity he didn’t go for something more aesthetical like a folding together a pair of wings, although she wouldn’t hold practicality against him. He took a seat on the empty chair. Meanwhile, the maid following him took position at near the wall, next to the other woman.

 

“Now that both of you are here,” Bloody Mary said, “congratulation on driving off the invaders. How about you first tell me how you think you performed, before I actually give your evaluation.”

Consider it a test of character. And maybe she would get to see them agonize a bit.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Edgedancer

[Blackhoof]

 

 

 “I’m sorry for the trouble.” The young boy said. “I’ll be out of your hair shortly if you’ll allow me to finish my work.” 

 

Art that moment, the large man leaped out of the water but was immediately knocked back down. Winterspell was still for a moment, wondering if the Epic was working his emotional manipulation on him. But still.... he would certainly act this way in any other situation. Winterspell nodded. "Very well. I value respect, and that is what you have shown me. You may proceed. Say.... would you be interested in employment, young man? You will find that I am a generous and magnanimous patron, for those who serve me well. And your powers certainly seem useful. What say you?"

[Voidus]

The new woman sat across from Bioterror and Brightdeath, all the confidence that an Epic could summon evident in her bearing. Evidently the one who had created the blood portal.

"How about you first tell me how you think you performed, before I actually give your evaluation.” She asked.

Bioterror scoffed loudly before Brightdeath could get a word out.

"He's still living? Then that's answer enough." He said. "we performed incredibly poorly given the circumstances, Sparkles here is a teleporter with a light attribute, battling a shadowmancer or whatever they're called should have been a piece of cake. Instead our cover was blown the second we were there and I didn't even have time to kill any of the servants before they were whisked away by the teleporter."

Fuming he let his anger out at his partner, refusing to admit his own shortcomings in the endeavor. Sparkles shot him a furious glare as he spoke and was about to interrupt when he began targeting her with his power, as expected she immediately vanished, appearing a short distance away but succesfully breaking his eye contact.

"And every time she tried to attack that happened, she ported out of there so often she deserves a frequent flyer card for it." He said sarcastically.

[Edgedancer he/him]

The justification attempt of Bioterror was just slightly short of the amusement Mary had hoped for. Certainly enough to spread Mary’s smile just a little bit wider over her face. “Brightdeath, please sit down again and Bioterror,” Mary’s smile curved just the slightest little bit upwards as she fixed her gaze on the fleshwarper, “I’m not going to tell you to be friends with anyone but there will be no open aggressions while in my company.

 

“Concerning your actual performance, you’re correct; it wasn’t exactly the most impressive display. However, I’d say that you were competent enough that we’ll keep both of you, even if it would probably be better if you stay separated. You methods don’t seem to fit well together.” What Mary didn’t tell them was that their encounter set up everything she needed to get rid of the shadow manipulator if he ever decided to return, neither did she mention that making sure that new minions not posing too much of a threat may be better than them simply impressing with standout performances, assuming they didn't fail enough to turn themselves into an eyesore it mean less a chance of them requiring removal.

 

“If my understanding of the situation is right, then Deathgale did not yet inform you of the finer working of the city, yes?”

[Citadel16 he/him]

 

“Please, sit down again. I’ll join you shortly.” Deathgale said and proceeded to get a drink, grabbing the bottles and glass with tendrils of smoke.

                Antimatter briefly considered hitting him with as big as a blast as he could make. The thought was mildly entertaining. But he wouldn’t. Not yet, anyway.

                A thousand possibilities flashed threw his mind, trying to see what the epics game might be. All accounts he had heard said that he was a vicious and violent epic, which wasn’t very original; every epic had that reputation. It had put him off a little to hear the voice of one of the more deadly epics of the region speak to him so politely.

                He sat down at the table.

                Deathgale sat soon after, having poured himself a drink, his tendrils of cigarette smoke fell to the table and stayed, clinging to the wood surface and curling slightly in the air above it. Seeing them, Antimatter knew that they were ready to snap up at any moment.

                At least, there was a seventy-three percent chance they were.

                “How about I get to the point?” Deathgale said, meeting Antimatters gaze. “Do you plan on killing anyone else in this city? Not that a couple of deaths in the lesser population would cause much of a ripple but we are not in the mood for someone going on an Epic hunt in the city.”

                Antimatter blinked. Then gave a little chuckle, leaning back in his chair.

                “If you wanted to warn off an Epic killer, then you just missed him. Neutrality –the man I’m willing to bet you saw me talking to earlier today—left a few minutes before you got here.”  He reached into the pocket of his pea coat and pulled out a flask, pouring a bit of it into his glass. He wondered who Deathgale’s informant might be, “As for the deaths of future epics, I can’t really promise much, things tend to explode around me,”

                Antimatter took a sip of the drink. It had more kick to it than usual, so he set it down; It way too early for anything this hard. Harkness had probably messed with it again. The fool could never keep his recipe straight. That, plus he always claimed that the only way he could get drunk was to so completely destroy himself that he couldn’t see straight, led to some fairly odd brews.

Edited February 22, 2016 by warriormark16

[Voidus]

"Not really." Bioterror replied, doing his best to look suitably chastised. "Just gave us the mission and we were off."

He played idly with one hand as he talked, prodding it with his other hand as he reformed the bones beneath, fingernails growing to claws, fingers elongating, knuckles becoming more pronounced.

"Not much I need though, you just tell me who to kill and pay me well enough for it and I'm happy."

 

The hump on his back grew slightly less pronounced as he used the materials within, altering minor aspects of his body into a more feral appearance. It was time to try on a new persona, if he was going to live in a new city he might as well let himself become well known for something.

"Speaking of pay, I don't suppose you've got any servants you'd mind losing would you? Maybe just an arm or two? Feeling a bit peckish."

[Edgedancer he/him]

It seemed that Antimatter didn’t meet the situation with the amount of gravity it demanded. Deathgale was under the impression that by now their city had become well known enough that every nonentity that made its way here knew how to behave.

 

Wisecracking at Deathgale and not taking his warnings seriously certainly wasn’t it.

 

The smoke at the table surged upwards, fitting itself around his arms and twisting them against his back. It pushed him forward until his head crashed into the table. Deathgale had made sure to move his glass and bottle out of the way first, no sense in wasting good liquor.

 

“Let me make it clear for you,” Deathgale said, still as calm as before, “our queen Lucentia likes her city calm, so you will not create needless chaos. Understood?” The smoke around Antimatter’s arms tightened, pulling one of his fingers back until its bones were about to snap.

 

Bloody Mary

 

Mary watched Bioterror realign parts of his body, taking on a few physical traits that made him look almost like an animal. Do a cat, Mary thought for a moment, not that she actually expected him to do anything that even approached cuddly. Still, it was interesting to see the little shifts in his face.

 

On Bioterror’s request she could see the servants at the end of the room flinch a bit. Not that she’d feed one of them to Bioterror, Lucentia wanted them as indistinguishable from each other as possible, so replacing them always was a bit of an hassle. Deathgale would nag at her for all the extra work she’d given him, if she just handed them over as a snag for some new guy.

 

However, she did still have a girl down in her torture chamber that was given to her after a mess up she made. It was a pity but Mary still opened a blood portal to her chambers and pulled the girl up into their room on a blood tendril, tossing her at Bioterror’s feet. She wasn’t exactly in pristine condition but Mary didn’t yet have time to get to the more creative parts of her hobby, leaving her mostly free from noteworthy wounds, she was however wearing a heavy set of chains making it impossible to get away.

 

“I hope you can do without any condiments,” Mary said. “Payment in whatever form you prefer shouldn’t not be a problem, there should however not be a significant decrease in our population, if you understand. Say what you will but someone needs to do the physical labor. In case you want any more respect with the local Epics than your pay can afford you will have to earn it yourself, I doubt that you’ll find any significant troubles with that endeavor, should you take it up. Any questions left?”

[Voidus]

The surrounding servants shifted noticeably when Bioterror made his request, causing him to adopt an even more predatory grin. Eventually another portal opened up and a girl in chains was thrown out towards him.

“I hope you can do without any condiments” Mary said.

He glanced briefly at the girl, ending her life instantly before picking her up by one arm, body dangling limply beneath it and sticking the arm into his side. His flesh parted open acceptingly, slowly sucking more flesh in as he assimilated it.

"Any questions left?”

"Just the one, who do I talk to about accommodation?" Bioterror replied, gesturing at the growing mass of flesh on his back. "As you may notice I might need some unique requirements."

[Citadel16 he/him]

(A mini collab by Warriormark/WarriorExMachina and Blackhoof)

 

 

Ragnarok released the dead Epic into the water, where he sunk down and disappeared into the depths. then he looked up at the ice Epic.

                “If only it were that simple…” Ragnarok hesitated, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”

                “I am called Winterspell.”

                “They call me Ragnarok,” he said. He hadn’t chosen the name himself, an old historian had after hearing of his powers. He caused minor flooding wherever after he used his power, which had reminded the poor man of the Old Norse legend. Ragnarok, the end of the gods.

                He liked it.

                “I have a question though,” Ragnarok asked.  “I have heard that there was a friend of mine here in Astoria. An Epic with the name of Antimatter? He travels with a lesser Epic with reincarnation abilities. Have you heard of them?”

                  Ragnarok? The Norse apocalypse? What a melodramatic young Epic this is. Winterspell smirked and thought for a moment. "No, I am afraid I have not heard of any such Epic. If they are a recent arrival though I am not likely to have, regardless. I prefer to keep to myself, mostly. If you head into town, Deathgale will be able to help you. He deals with all the newcomers, as the current administrator. But don't tell him I sent you- I don't want anyone bothering me if you kill someone or break something."
                   He smiled. "If you ever reconsider my offer, please don't hesitate to stop by."

                   Ragnarok nodded. "I will be off then," he rose higher into the air and sped off towards the city.

Edited March 4, 2016 by WarriorExMachina

[Citadel16 he/him]

 

Antimatters head smacked against the table.

             So much for being polite. He thought. He knew it had been too good to be true. A polite epic? Ha.

             I wonder how much he knows about me. He’d died before, and it was never pretty what he did after he resurrected.

              It’s a real pity, he saw the smoke, outlined in red warnings, fling towards his arms a moment before it actually happened. They pinned his arms, twisting them behind his back.

           “Let me make it clear for you,” Deathgale said, still calm, despite his hostile actions. “Our queen Lucentia likes her city calm, so you will not create needless chaos. Understood?” The smoke around Antimatter’s arms tightened, His fingers were bent back until he was fairly certain they were about to break.

                Antimatter grunted and burned the smoke around his hands with a few miniature explosions. The smoke vanished too quickly for them to actually do any damage.

                “I will ask you once never to do that again,” he breathed deeply, rubbing his forehead and resisting the urge to blast Deathgale in the chest. “I was merely trying to be amiable, Yes, I will abide by your laws, on two very agreeable conditions.”

                There was a pause.

                “What conditions,”

                “First and foremost, there is a list of epics that I am currently hunting. And, before you object, it is no one you know or anyone who is important to your government.

                “The first one you may want to know about is an epic called Renegade. You may have heard of him, or maybe not. But that is beside the point. I have Intel that Renegade is coming for this city. And when he does you might not be ready for him.

                “Renegade doesn’t play nice. He is a blood epic, like Bloody Mary, but his powers allow him access to a rather efficient fighting force. I doubt you are prepared for his insurgents. Which is part of why I’m here. Renegade doesn’t rule kingdoms. He doesn’t have a taste for it.

            “He’ll kill everyone in Astoria who isn’t an epic, and even some of those he’ll manage to-“

            “I understand, he likes killing,” Deathgale interrupted “Tell me about his powers.”

            Antimatter licked his lips. “He’s a blood epic with the ability to make soldiers by cutting himself. The graver the wound, the stronger the soldier. They are fully armed on conception and, more often than not, take the role as suicide bombers. He can make up to fifty before he dies, and killing enough of them will resurrect and heal him. And from there he can send reinforcements to his teams.”

                He was also the most hated epic on Antimatters list.

                “Do I assume right that you’ll continue your hunt elsewhere after he is dealt with?”

                “After Renegade is dealt with, I will no longer have an interest in Astoria. I will leave.” That was mostly true, he still had Neutrality’s deal to worry about.

                “And your other condition?”

                "I'll need--"

                The door slammed open.

                Harkness ran in. “Antimatter, we have a problem!”

                Antimatter stood. What could possibly be this important? “What is it, Harkness?”

                “The red streak that I went to investigate earlier, it’s one we know.”

                Antimatter frowned “Who was it? Grinder?”

                “No, it’s-“

                The wall burst open towards them, throwing bricks and mortar. Antimatter leaped backwards as a large section of the wall smashed their table, landing straight on Deathgale. Another, single brick, took Harkness in the face as he turned around, destroying his sunglasses.

                The room burst into red. A thousand dangers happening at once and he processed it all. He saw the lack of a concussive force or flames, he saw the chaotic pattern that the wall was systematically being destroyed by. He saw the tornado of destruction that had overtaken the wall.

                All in under a second.

                Antimatter threw a single, uncompressed blast into the air, annihilating pieces of shrapnel and a large portion of wall that had flung towards him. They vanished in a flash of light.

                The room stilled then, the objects crashing to the floor. A figure walked through the rubble towards him. He was dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt, and an old Steelers jacket. He was tall and had a tired look about him.

                “I am Ragnarok.” The figure said. “You have been chosen to serve Stormeggedon or die.”

Edited March 14, 2016 by WarriorMark16

[Edgedancer he/him]

It wasn’t what Deathgale would call proper manners but it seemed that Antimatter at least understood that further mouthing off would do him no favors, bad attitude aside. It was enough that Deathgale decided to at least let him speak before reprimanding him for said attitude. For his own sake, Antimatter hopefully had something useful to say.

 

His first… point, it couldn’t be called a condition, despite what his sporadic use of language claimed, was indeed interesting. A force of fifty people at any given time didn’t sound like a major crisis. The bombings may cause some collateral damage but sneaking in enough into the city to do any major damage would be impossible and if he has to replace them in a constant stream, they should serve as a good lead to track him down. With proper preparation not much more than an annoyance. It could be considered a point in Antimatter’s favor.

 

The ‘I’ll need’ did sound like the second one would actually be a demand, not that he managed to get far. After a panicked entry of Harkness, a piece of wall smashed through Deathgale, shortly disorienting him as he phased into smoke. Once his vision cleared again he found the front of the building gone, Antimatter appearing ready to fight and a tired looking teenager. A soon to be dead teenager. After his entry, Deathgale cared fairly little for what little Epic warlord this maggot worked. Fitting punishment could be delivered later.

 

In the same breath that Ragnarok introduced himself, Deathgale threw his hand forward, each of his fingers trailing ever so thin blades of air behind them. At the distance Ragnarok was standing away they connected in effectively the same instance. Instead of them easily gliding through his body there was an ear shattering sound and the air ripped apart as a shockwave ripped down the street, spreading blood and strips of cloth.

 

Within that carnage, Ragnarok was still standing. He couldn’t exactly say that someone brazen enough to storm into another Epic’s town like this being a High Epic was surprising. Not missing a beat Deathgale moved the smoke that still covered the ground towards Ragnarok, as well as hiding some in the cuts his windblades left around the ground. Exhaling a mouthful of smoke, Deathgale waved his hand again, letting the blades carry the smoke, so it could suffocate Ragnarok.

[Blackhoof]

 

Winterspell watched the young man rise into the air and fly towards the city. 

 

"Well," The Ice King muttered to himself. "I hope Mary doesn't annoy me if he breaks something."

He turned back towards his keep, freezing the river as he walked. "Fish, you got that Epic's body?"

 

Fish surfaced, struggling with the heavy, muscled Epic. "Uh, sort of sir. The going is a bit slow though."

Labyrinth opened up a small portal next to Winterspell's head, anticipating potential orders.

 

Winterspell nodded towards the portal. "Labyrinth, open a larger portal, I am lifting a body through." The portal Epic obliged, and with a gesture streams of water lifted the strength Epic out of Fish's arms and through the waiting gateway. 

 

It wasn't long ago since he had heard that certain groups paid high prices for an Epic's mitochondrial DNA. He hadn't had a chance to harvest any without the other Astorian factions knowing, but this useless brute.... a perfect opportunity.

Dragoon would likely be very interested in something like this.

[The Honor Spren she/her]

Mini collab between Mistrunner and Honor Spren. We meant to do more, but eventually it was just better to post it.

Two Weeks Earlier . . .

Clo had been wandering for a very long time.

That was the only way she could explain it. She’d lost count of the days, she’d lost her watch, and all she had was a knapsack on her back and a pocketknife in her hand. She was a cat burglar, though she wasn’t quite sure if it could still be considered thievery when no one had been home for a very long time.

Everything normal hadn’t happened for a very long time.

Clo couldn’t even remember the last time she’d had ice cream. It seemed like a stupid little thing to think about. It was. Clo had been wandering for a very long time. She was bound to have a few crazy thoughts now and then. The last time she’d talked to someone who didn’t have crazy powers and a penchant for murdering people was back on the road however long ago, and he’d decided to go to that crazy city with a ton of Epics. Clo couldn’t remember his name. She assumed the guy had been killed by one of them by now.

She kept walking until she finally caught sight of it. A beacon of hope and joy and wonder. A face, well worn and beloved by all, set behind three beautiful letters.

KFC.

The KFC, the old fast food place Clo used to work at before she’d moved away from Astoria. The food was pretty decent and there was probably some left if it hadn’t been raided too harshly. She grinned and broke into a run.

She opened the door, and the little bell Smith had decided to install tinkled. It brought with it a pang of familiarity. She half expected the other employees- even the annoying ones- to pop out of the cupboards and yell “SURPRISE!" But she wasn’t here to reminisce; she was here to raid the place and see if they still had potatoes or something.

She was opening the third cupboard with very little success when she heard the bell tinkle. Someone was walking in. They froze. Clo froze.

So, naturally, Clo started laughing hysterically.

Magnolia pulled her cloche down further over her head. Oregon was unnaturally cold for this time of year. Why anyone in their right mind would live here, she didn't understand.

Not that she was in her right mind either. . . .

Her stomach growled again. Why couldn't it just shut up? Sounded like a dying walrus.
Sparking epics. Destroying cafés all the time. Just plain stupid, thats what they were. Stupid job. Why'd it have to be at a café? Epics must have a grudge against cafés.

Magnolia fingered her pink highlights. "What was I thinking, getting highlights? Sparking highlights. It's your fault I have to steal food. Expensive little brats." Her irrational thoughts had just became mumblings. Not good.
I need to steal more food. The tiny sane part of her corrected itself. Scavenging. It's called scavenging. You don't steal stuff. Not yet.

She lifted her eyes and saw something beautiful.

A KFC.

Her mouth began to water. The sane part took over again and she started reasoning. The sign looked old and only one letter on the building still glowed. And . . . Never mind now that one's gone out too. It was obviously abandoned, but maybe one of the freezers was still sort of working and she could fry up some chicken herself.

As Mag opened the door she heard a scuttling sound coming from the back. A girl, about her age was standing there, frozen by surprise. And when she laughed, Magnolia found the situation so bizarre and the last week so taxing, that she started laughing too.

Edited March 21, 2016 by The Honor Spren

[Voidus]

 

Bioterror explored his new quarters, he'd been assigned to a large house, the front double doors opened wide enough to accommodate his current size. He could always just alter himself to fit through any door but it was annoying to have to go through that so often and he inevitably missed a vertebrae or something when he was shifting everything back which led to a host of other problems. No, this way was better.

The servants in Astoria had also impressed him, his powers didn't lend themselves well to keeping people in line, he tended to just accidentally murder everyone who annoyed him, having another Epic train the citizens for him was a big improvement. He hadn't needed to murder anyone on his way here. Well except for that one girl but that was for a practical reason, not out of annoyance.

Speaking of which...

He'd left most of the skeleton as a large calacium deposit on his back but that was growing rather uncomfortable, he needed to weigh the options here to work out what to do with all that biomass.

Wings? He'd used them before and they did look rather impressive, but to actually gain the ability to fly they needed to be ridiculously large and he'd needed to alter the rest of his body too. Horns? A bit cliche and they didn't really add that much. Perhaps a tail? An extra limb was always useful and it wouldn't inhibit his movements much. He might even add in some decorative wings later, go full demon. It wasn't exactly the most original idea but it would at least let everyone know exactly what he was.

For now he settled on a tale, beginning the task of turning the hulk of minerals into specific bones, altering his muscles so they attached properly and redistributing his weight so he didn't overbalance.

A reptilian patch of scales began to form on his lower back before being pushed out as new bones slid into place with a disconcerting cracking sound. Before long a 5 foot long tale protruded behind him, thick with muscle. He played with the color of the scales a bit before he found a pattern he liked and set to work altering his legs to have the necessary muscle to accommodate his newest limb. His pants were obliterated in the process but he could find new ones to fit. The important areas were all covered and besides, if an Epic couldn't walk around without pants on in his own home then where could he?

[Citadel16 he/him]

                When the second person appeared out of the smoke Ragnarok knew he was in a bit of trouble. Two high epics! Three counting Winterspell. What kind of crazy place has this many high epics?

                Ragnarok’s chest exploded into blood.

                That shouldn’t happen, he thought. He focused solely on his defense as he saw the other epic move.

                There was a muffled crack as the smoky attack slapped him in the face. In his defensive state, the air around him hardened, but as strong as his defense was, it still stung.

                Smoke covered his vision. He growled and cleared his vision with a powerful telekinetic burst.

                Antimatter watched as blood sprayed from the supposedly invulnerable epics chest.

                Interesting…

                Possibilities flashed through his mind. A wind weakness? No, that wouldn’t work. He’d defeated an epic with tornado powers a month or two back. A limitation maybe? Yes. The kid obviously didn’t have a full invulnerability perk. It might have had to do with the focused and incredibly sharp windblades that Deathgale threw.

                He would have to observe more to find out. But for now, he had to survive a recruitment from Stormeggedon deadliest assassins.

                Antimatter threw himself back as the ground around Ragnarok exploded as a shock wave of force was released from him.

                “Let’s take this outside,” Ragnarok said and immediately Antimatter felt himself rise into the air.

                No. there will be none of that today, Antimatter thought in slight alarm. Then hit him with a large blast.

                The blast rocketed Ragnarok from the building and he crashed into the shop across the street.

Edited April 12, 2016 by WarriorMark16

[Edgedancer he/him]

Deathgale watched as Antimatter was lifted into the air and he and Ragnarok hurled each other outside. It wasn’t that Deathgale did suspect it before but Antimatter being singled out for continuing the fight outside made it clear enough that Ragnarok was here specifically for him. At this rate Antimatter was creating more trouble than he could possibly be worth.

 

One way or another, this would take more effort than a wave of Deathgale’s hand, so he saw no reason to solve Antimatter’s problems for him.

 

“I have no idea whether or not he’s on your list but it seems he’s here for you Antimatter, so consider getting rid of him again a test to see if you’re actually worth our trouble. Obviously, you shouldn’t keep destroying buildings for that.”

[Blackhoof]

 

Dragoon turned to him, Jag's rage barely contained. "Now, as for you. You want me to give you a few thousand dollars worth of supplies--more, now, since Calamity's arrival--so you can take over part of my target and take some of my spoil? In what universe would I want that? I've got plenty of men, and with Blackwave and his crew, I've got more than enough help to take over the city. So," he stepped closer to Jag and tilted his head. "You want to take part of my spoil? What can you give me in return?"

 

Jaguar bared his teeth, anger rising. Hawkwing put a hand on his shoulder, and he controlled it. Attacking Dragoon or threatening him would not end well, for any of them. No.... he needed to be diplomatic. 

 

"What can we do for you, Dragoon?" Jag forced a grotesque smile. "I have six Epics working for me- five of them are High Epics. I am super strong and tough, Hawkwing can fly, is also super strong and can come back from the dead. Smasher makes force fields, and Metalmech controls vehicles. The Aussies are a fire Epic and an earth Epic. We have much to offer you- in addition to detailed information about the powers of Astoria'a most powerful Epics. We saw them first hand, after all."

 

"All we want in return, is some equipment and people. Then we will help you with our info, and our powers. With so many of us, we can't possibly lose. We'll crush Astoria like a skull in a jaguar's jaws." He chomped down hard to add emphasis.