What Happened in Portland

[Mailliw73 he/him]

I am the hunter. I am the victor. Chimera repeated his morning mantra to himself as he got ready. He had taken up residence in the Oregon Zoo. It was on the very west border of Portland. With his abilities, it was one of the best places for him. He had left Billings soon after gaining his powers. There wasn't much to rule in Montana. Granted, he hadn't taken over much in Portland after arriving, but he enjoyed the coastal climate and the humidity.

Argo, one of Chimera's first creations, and one Chimera had kept around, had the body of a brown bear and the poisonous fangs and tongue of a snake. He stood guard outside Chi's door, per his command. As he left his room, rabbit fur vest over his bare chest and black and white striped jeans on his legs, Argo fell in behind him. The bear walked behind him on his four legs, ready to attack intruders.

Chimera sent out a mental command for Kyrie to come to him. Kyrie was a wolf with large falcon wings sprouting from his back. Another of his early creations, Kyrie was in charge of patrolling the border of the zoo with a couple of jungle cat hybrids. Chi wanted a morning report from the wolf creature. When she arrived, Chimera searched her mind for what she had seen through the night. Nothing of importance. There were no intruders or spies that she had seen. The hawks and eagles that patrolled the sky would be able to report an aerial view.

Chi walked past the animals he had left in cages. Any he hadn't found a use for or ones he had relinquished his control on were in the cages. Time to check on the bunny farm. Chi expected that the pregnant one should've given birth over the night. As he arrived, he saw that he was correct. Baby rabbits with armadillo armor crawled around their mother. Other, older rabbits lived in the pen as well. Some had wings and fangs, others had poisonous skin or claws. They bred fast and acted as Chimera's light infantry and assassins if he needed it. Bunnies had never been scary before, but then he had combined them with other creatures and, added to his rat hybrids, made for a fearful vermin army.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Max had heard through the grapevine of Epic fighters of an informant in northeastern Portland who had contacts with the Reckoners. Max figured he'd give the man a visit and find out how to get in contact with the Reckoners. Electro deserved death, and the Reckoners were the best men for the job. They specialized in deciphering weaknesses and killing Epics. Max had heard that the informant lived in an abandoned church building. He found a motorcycle and took it to travel the distance. He arrived at the church building Aaron had specified.

Max knocked on the door, pistols in both hands and ammo ready to be replaced on his back.

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

Gorodn dropped the Reportabout Lightwards onto his potential Employer pile, then picked up the next. He'd been getting a lot more information now that Epic activity was picking up. Epics were picking sides quickly. There was going to be a major confrontation soon. CorpseMaker, Lightwards and Altermind. Three corners of the House of Trouble. And Portland rested on top of the House. If one of the corners moved to fast, the city would destroy itself.

 

Kyle kicked open the door and wheeled himself inside. "There's someone knocking on the door. It's your house so I figured I'd let you open it."

 

Gordon glanced at the computer monitor on his desk, displaying the CCTV feed from outside. "Are you sure it's not because of the Two guns he's holding?"

 

Kyle stared at Gordon, then looked at the Monitor. "When were you going to tell me you had Camras?"

 

"When you had done something that I could blackamail you with." He was joking of course, and he could tell that Kyle knew that. "Anyway, I'll go greet our guest." Kyle nodded, then rolled out of the room. Gordon opened up a large filing cabnet, and pulled out his Rifle. He didn't actually knowhow to shoot, and he didn't have any bullets, but it was good for intimidation.

 

He crept out a side door, and looped around the building. The visitor was looking in through one of the windows, and looked to be impatient. Then he knocked again. Gordon carefully walked up behind him, then stepped forward and jammed the barrel of the rifle between the man's shoulder blades. "Hello. Would you mind dropping your guns? I'd hate to have to shoot a potential Customer, but, I need to be alive to spend my Money."

Edited September 3, 2014 by The Only Joe

[Mailliw73 he/him]

"Hello. Would you mind dropping your guns? I'd hate to have to shoot a potential Customer, but, I need to be alive to spend my Money." Max heard a voice behind him and a rifle barrel shoved between his shoulder blades.

"And I'd hate to shoot a man with whom I'd like to talk to, but I need to stay alive as well," Max replied. He did lower his guns though and put one away. "How about that? This one will point at the ground until you agree to put your rifle away, then I'll holster this one as well," said Max. He put his free hand up in the air. "I'd like to talk with you, but this isn't a good place. You never know who could be spying on you and then come up behind you and put a gun to your back."

[Kobold King he/him]

 

Aldo found himself in the unusual position of not knowing what to make of a man. 

 

"I am... um... Purple Phoenix?" the man said, apparently trying to sound confident. His dress and assumed confidence screamed of an Epic, but the rest of him just seemed like a very confused man. He moved with the clumsy pace of a man just waking up, or perhaps of a vanilla who'd just been released from some sort of mind control. Was that what had happened? Mind control?

 

Phoenix put his hand to his head absentmindedly, looking surprised to feel nothing but unkempt hair.

 

"Do you know where my hat is?" he asked, sounding confused.

 

Whatever this man's history, I'll figure it out eventually, Aldo thought. For now, best to smile and take things one step at a time.

 

So he beamed widely and took a step forwards. "I'm afraid I don't, good sir. I truly feel sympathy for you--losing a good hat is one of the greatest tragedies that can befall a man."

 

Cricket snorted, but said nothing. Aldo continued. "You seem to be having trouble keeping your thoughts together, my good man. What seems to be the problem? Perhaps I could lend you a hand."

[Voidus]

" What seems to be the problem? Perhaps I could lend you a hand." The not-voice man asked.
Purple Phoenix nearly cried, what a nice not-voice! The voices were just confusing and yelling but this not-voice wanted to help him!
He vaguely remembered other not-voices who were nice, the glittery lady who gave him back his hat, the man who gave him a dinosaur, Marigold... his head burst in pain again as the memories flooded him, he hunched over, gripping his head as his shadow began to stir, reflexively forming into weapons to harm whatever was hurting him but that just made the voices grow even louder.
Kill him, kill them all! Cried the dark voice.
Find the Doctor, you need help, we need to sort this out! screeched the other.
Marigold... whispered a third, somehow different from the others.
Purple Phoenix stopped thinking about nice not-voices and the memories, pain and voices all faded slowly.
"Thank you" he told the man -Aldo, he reminded himself, slowly gaining some of his old self back.
"I really need some help, and then I'll help you find your friend. But I don't want another friend, well maybe a not-voice friend but I have too many voices already and they keep talking and then my head hurt and then it didn't and now I need help." he babbled, trying to hold onto any brief moments of lucidity.

Edited September 3, 2014 by Voidus

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Chimera saw that his bunnies were doing well. He decided to go to the lab next. It wasn't really a lab, as much a big habitat that was just a large open area below ground. He could stand up above and create new Chimerans. Today's plans were exciting. He had some of the zoo guards bring a crocodile into the lab. There was a special kind of beetle he needed too, but that'd have to be last. The crocodile could very well smash the insect before the procedure was complete and then it'd just be a mess.

The bat was let into the enclosure as well. Now he was ready. Chi had been preparing for this day for a long time. The guards had been gifted the strength of a male Silverback gorilla, but he didn't want to take chances. Signaling for the zoo keepers to leave the open area, he pulled out the drawing he had done over the past week. Once receiving his powers, he had begun to study different types of animals. The bombardier beetle was one special type.

The sketch Chimera had was of an animal, crocodile like in the majority of its appearance, but with large wings of a bat and the feet of a bat as well. The image showed a gas emitting from the creature's mouth. That was where the beetle came in. The bombardier beetle could release boiling hot liquid from its posterior. That would be an attribute given to the dragon Chimeran's mouth. A dragon he would create. Fantastical beasts were no longer so fantastical with Chi's powers. He had horses with the horns of rhinoceroses; unicorns. He had griffins; lions and eagles combined. And now he would even have dragons.

He took a deep breath and concentrated on the image. He let his power flow and watched the pen as the bat and beetle were pulled toward the crocodile. The wings expanded and grew into the crocodile's back. The legs also morphed. The beetle disappeared from view. Chi felt the dragon's presence in his mind. He could now control it. He told it to release the boiling gas. The Chimeran opened it's mouth and the gas spilled out. A dragon now finally stepped foot on earth. After ages of existing only in man's imagination, it now existed in reality. Edited September 3, 2014 by Mailliw73

[Mrs. Voidus she/her]

Gliding softly from one house corner to the other, Saccharine crept speedily down the darkened alley way to the glazed window of a recently abandoned building and gracefully swept a spider web from her hair. Her dishevelled appearance and stained lace sleeves did nothing for her attempts to regain calm. 

He has to be here! She thought desperately. 

All my interviewing leads to Portland, and the mice have all squeaked the same thing - "Portland, Portland, Portland."

"Fly my angels," she whispered to the circling sparrows above her. "Scout this block and return to me."

The birds swooped up over the next house's dilapidated tiled roof and away as Saccharine lifted her skirt up a fraction of an inch and moved on. Wasting no time, she continued on her frantic search, careless of the increasing number of strands that had fallen from her bun beneath today's sun hat. 

There! She thought, as beyond the end of the alley and across the next street stood two men and a woman - all seemingly epics, beside a white Jeep. 

The woman and one of the men were no one she recognised, but there talking to them was the un-mistakable beard attached to her husband.

Jeff!

Saccharine began weeping softly and took the dishevelled handkerchief from beside her potpourri, sugar cubes, and needle set in her side pocket to wipe her tears away. She slowly crept closer towards the group, not wanting to leave the shadows just yet - lest she be fooled as as she was with that illusion epic who had wanted to take advantage of her. If he had lived, he would never touch a morsel of food again. 

So I suppose he didn't live after all, she thought, if he never ate since then.

Smiling, Saccharine greeted her feathery blue friends as they sung happily to her.

"Yes my darlings! Isn't it wonderful!"

[Edgedancer he/him]

Once Lucentia mentioned her brother chaos broke out, with everyone talking through each other. It seemed that all of them essentially agreed on Nighthound being his old self in their vicinity.

The whole situation brought a small chuckle to her lips, even a slightly affectionate one. Of course that guy is still kicking.

 

She pointedly ignored the hippy and concentrated on Funtimes, after regaining her composure. “I´ll gladly deal with him myself. Although, in his case I suppose offering to cause him physical harm tends to be the right decision.”

 

All the while she slowly grew diamonds under the table and towards the Goth, not that she intended to crush her legs but someone had to bring discipline to the table and being enclosed in crystals for a short while should teach her manners.

                                                                  

 

Apparently Lightwards didn´t take well to Nighthound’s little reminder.  "My brain is very much alive, thank you. I maintain healthy quantities of paranoia. But I see no reason to turn these two down, not when we are at the brink of war and in need of allies. And besides, they haven't tried to kill me as of yet, which is more than I can say of some of my other allies." You little cremling started that one, so don´t go pointing at others.

 

Going back to a happier mood Lightwards gave instructions to the newcomers and they left to wherever Lightwards send them. After watching them wander off, Nighthound addressed the necromancer again. “Not leaving them without surveillance in here, to do whatever they want is all I ever asked for,” he held his arms outward in a fake peaceful gesture. “Does your oh so wakeful mind have any plans for me or can I go and have some entertainment for myself.”

                                                                           

 

As it turns out yesterday really passed without anything worth a mention happening. I almost thought I jinxed it. Voidgaze awoke early in the late morning, a top time in her case. Her emissary work would start today, how bad could she possibly mess it up? She didn´t jinx herself yesterday, it could work.

 

In an attempt to prepare herself for work as soon as possible she forgo making her own breakfast and instead just ate what the staff had to offer. Finishing her meal, she headed to Altermind´s planning room and entered with a salute. “Voidgaze ready for business!”

[Kobold King he/him]

 

Aldo stared at the man down the end of his pointy nose, scanning his face. He looked as if he were about to cry, but he didn't. Relief, pain, and confusion waged war across Phoenix's countenance, finally settling into an expression that might have been pleading.

 

"Thank you," the perhaps-an-Epic said earnestly. "I really need some help, and then I'll help you find your friend. But I don't want another friend, well maybe a not-voice friend but I have too many voices already and they keep talking and then my head hurt and then it didn't and now I need help."

 

Cricket gave a low and inconsiderate whistle. "Wow. This guy's messed up."

 

"Don't be rude, my dear," Aldo replied, not taking his eyes off of Phoenix. "This poor fellow is quite clearly suffering the ravages of schizophrenia. He needs help."

 

Aldo put his hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "Take us to your residence, my good man, and I'll do my best to remedy what's ailing you. I'm a professional."

 

Cricket folded her arms and leaned against a wall. "A professional con man, you mean? You're not gonna hypnotize the poor sap, are you?"

 

"Not this sap, if that's what you mean," Aldo replied with a smile, gesturing at the crystallized syrup glazing the ruins around them. 

 

He was met with a low groan. "Fine," his assistant sighed. "Let's just get this over with before we hear any more of those charming puns of yours."

 

It was Aldo's turn to sigh, wincing slightly. Cricket grinned knowingly. "You're really impossible to work with sometimes," he scolded.

 

"I try my best," she responded, still smiling. "We going or not?"

 

"We're definitely going," the magician replied. "Purple Phoenix, lead the way."

 

 

Lightwards watched Aldo and Cricket leave the Museum with a contented smile. The Warrior from the suburb hadn't been particularly useful, but he liked to maintain optimum efficiency with his operations. Undoubtedly he'd have to empty her head of whatever whimsical orders Funtimes had given her, though--perhaps it would just be easier to kill her on sight and find a new Warrior.

 

His thoughts were interrupted by Nighthound, looking irritated yet again. Though he was clearly unhappy with him, the feral Epic raised his hands in what looked like a friendly gesture. “Not leaving them without surveillance in here, to do whatever they want is all I ever asked for,” he said with a grin. “Does your oh so wakeful mind have any plans for me, or can I go and have some entertainment for myself?”

 

Lightwards considered what he could have Nighthound do for a moment. "We need more intelligence on CorpseMaker's forces," he said finally. "If you would be so kind as to pay a visit to his territory just north of here and report back on his military strength, I would be much obliged."

 

He gave Nighthound a warning look. "I should stress that you are not to engage any of his forces in combat at the moment. Once you get back though, I'll let you take the raptors out among the people to vent out a little steam."

 

If Nighthound thought that wrecking a museum while riding a giant dinosaur was a great way to spend one's time, then hopefully the idea of leading a pack of particularly bloodthirsty zombies into the city would keep him happy.

 

Nodding at his ally with a smile, Lightwards turned and wandered towards the edge of the Museum. With any luck, the emissaries from Altermind would arrive soon.

 

Then the day could truly begin.

 

 

 

“Do those allies include a jerk named Nighthound?”

 

While Sam and Revolution had come up with brilliant responses to the question, the Epics at the table elected to ignore them. Typical. Sam kicked her feet up and leaned back in her chair.

 

"Ally ​is something of a loose term, when it applies to him," Traveler said with a chuckle. Before he could finish, his glittery girlfriend cut him off.

 

"Nighthound? I dropped a bomb on him a couple nights ago." Funtimes' head tilted, putting her insane grin at an odd angle. "Want me to do it again?"

 

The snobby princess stared at Funtimes coolly.  “I´ll gladly deal with him myself. Although, in his case I suppose offering to cause him physical harm tends to be the right decision.”

 

Sam snorted and leaned further back in her chair. That was an understatement if she'd ever heard one. She was opening her mouth to give a comeback when she noticed it.

 

Her feet weren't on the table or on another chair. She had no idea what she had them propped up on.

 

And whatever the footrest was, she could feel it slowly growing up over her socks.

 

With a yelp she leaped as far away from the table as she could, causing her chair to fall over backwards. Scampering upright again, she cast a glance at where the footrest had been. There was a trail of solid diamond growing up from Lucentia and underneath the table, seeming almost like a living thing in its steady path to her. One of her socks was sitting in the midst of the crystal, sunken into the center like a bug caught in amber.

 

Sam stared for only a moment before backing against a far wall. The diamond was slow and still under the table, but it showed no indication of slowing. "Doctor?" she said nervously. "A little help?"

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

“Sir, there’s two men at the main Gate. They wish to join your Empire Sir.”

 

CorpseMaker turned and faced Lieutenant Ebbinorath. He was a good Officer, though a bit Zealous, and couldn’t aim a gun to save his life due to only having one eye left. “Oh? Were they Epics or Mortals?”

 

Ebby winched slightly at the term Mortals. “Epics Sir. They said they heard you were recruiting people.”

 

“Good, we’re known now. That should net us some more Epics. Has that frozen Epic that Electro recruited been tested yet?”

 

“Yes Sir.”

 

CorpseMaker began the walk to the front of the Compound, The Lieutenant followed behind him. “How many Epics has Scorch recruited?”

 

“Er, None Sir. He’s still here, playing with his robot Sir.”

 

CorpseMaker scowled. But then, what had he expected. Scorch had abandoned his old Master for Money, so he obviously wasn’t very loyal. “Did our spies ever discover if Altermind’s information on Scorch’s weakness were true or not?”

 

“Yes Sir, Scorch encountered one of the magazines that Altermind has been leaving around, and destroyed it.”

 

An almost sure sign of Weakness. Luckily CorpseMaker didn’t have to worry about his Weakness. Nobody would ever be able to use it. “Tell Scorch that he can either recruit an Epic by the end of the day, or have I’ll wrap him in Comics and send him to Altermind. Now then, Lets go talk to these two Wanna-be’s.”

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

                                                                                               

 

Doctor Funtimes was still giggling—most likely over the prospect of bombing Nighthound again—when Samantha yelped and leaped a good three feet from the table. Her chair fell to the floor with a clatter. The goth cast a nervous glance under the table before backing against the far wall, pressing herself against it as though wishing to blend with the paint, her eyes still on whatever lurked beneath the cinnamon rolls. "Doctor? A little help?" 

 

Nathan peered under the table, his eyes widening. Sure enough, a wave of diamonds, not unlike those forming Lucentia's arm, was oozing its way toward Samantha's chair. Straightening, he too backed away, motioning for the hippie and the Unicyclist to do the same. 

 

After waving her hand briefly at the diamonds, Funtimes backed away, motioning one over the table and one toward the floor. As the diamonds seeped out from the table's shadow, table, plates, food, and floor became steel, folding together into a large box that encased the diamond from all sides, the doors shutting with a loud crash before sealing themselves together. Funtimes directed a glance toward Samantha, who stood against the wall wide-eyed and one sock missing, still watching the box.

 

With a smile not unlike the one she'd given Lightwards during the gasoline incident, Funtimes looked at Lucentia and tilted her head. "How long did you want to be here, Lucentia? Friends can stay forever, but you I'm not sure about." 

 

"Attempting bodily harm on one of our servants without permission is rather rude," Nathan added, though he wasn't certain how wise it was. Ah, well. You carpet bombed Nighthound and lived to tell about it. Maybe you'll live through meeting his sister, too. 

 

                                                                                            

Scorch had never thought working for an absurdly powerful Epic would be so much work. 

 

He didn't like to admit it, but working under Altermind had been easy. Sure, he had to deal with Flashpoint's idiocy, and driving the imbecile truck was never his favorite, but Altermind's expectations were comparatively low. If he did what he was told around the second or third time he was told to do it, he could stave off the illusionists' wrath for another hour or two. Keep it up, and he had a surefire way to stay ahead of the curve. 

 

Now there was a stupid vanilla army officer standing at his door and offering him a stupid salute with a stupid expressionless look on his face. "Scorch?" 

 

Scorch drove a flaming fist into the side of his robot, leaving the distinct mark of four knuckles in the metal. "Little busy." 

 

"Scorch, CorpseMaker has told me to inform you that you can either recruit an Epic by the end of the day, or he will wrap you in comics and send you to Altermind." 

 

Scorch blinked at the lieutenant once or twice. There was no hint of humor on the man's face. With a sigh, he turned from his robot. "Fine. I'll recruit a stupid Epic." 

 

Once the lieutenant was gone, Scorch kicked the robot's foot. 

 

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

 

He left the armory in his robot. Stupid storming robot with stupid metal feet that storming hurts when you try and let off a little steam…He hated the thing for injuring him, but it was faster than walking and a good way to hide the limp for now. He hoped no one had heard the muffled scream he'd loosed when he learned just how badly kicking a steel robot could hurt. 

 

Marching down the street in a giant metal mech suit gave him a sense of power, even greater than the rush he felt from throwing a fireball into a crowd. There was something deeply satisfying about the crash of metal on asphalt, of watching vanillas scatter as he strode down the street. Were he the type, he might have whistled. 

 

Let's see….random Epic, random Epic, where's a random Epic? It wasn't until he neared the southeast corner of the city that he spotted a likely candidate. 

 

The man was of average height and average build, wearing a perfectly normal jeans and T-shirt with a light jacket. Only his white hair and confident, unhurried gait gave it away. This man was an Epic, and therefore perfect. 

 

Scorch pressed a button on the control console, opening a door and stepping out. Although the step was more of a barely-corrected tumble, when he landed on his injured foot. Scowling at the pain, he turned to the man. 

 

"Hey, you. Name's Scorch. You wanna join a guy named CorpseMaker?" 

[Voidus]

Purple Phoenix nodded, leading the pair towards the only house that he could remember nearby, the abandoned house he'd rested at a couple of nights ago, as they walked through the alleys towards the house a great many rats blocked their path, resisting the frequent kicks that Phoenix gave to them.
Getting fed up with them he pulled a pebble from his pocket, throwing it towards the mass of Vermin, their bodies muting the noise from the explosion  into a dull thud and splattering the walls of the alley with their innards.
Purple Phoenix nodded to himself in a pleased way, the destruction comforting him somehow, he took out another pebble and juggled it in one hand as they reached his former quarters.

[Tulir he/him]

Mundivore watched curiously as the mech approached him, and almost laughed as the pilot nearly fell over getting out of the mech.  Mundivore turned his attention back to the mech as the pilot started talking to him.

 

"What are the damage capabilities of that?" Mundivore asked as he gestured to the suit.  "And how powerful is Corpsemaker?  Being asked to join by someone obviously in pain isn't a great sign of strength, so is he more powerful than you, or does he at least have servants stronger than you?"

[Edgedancer he/him]

The Goth girl jumped back from the table, judging from her missing shoe, right after the diamonds reached her foot. Seems like that gave her the scare she needed. In her flight from the table she alarmed her owner to the crystals under the table.

 

The Doctor reacted quickly first simply waving at Lucentia’s constructs and failing whatever she attempted and with her second try shutting it into a steel box, made from the breakfast utensils.

 

Both Funtimes and Traveller held it as their duty to plush up as much as possible and throwing vague threats at her. Lucentia herself simply let out a deep sight and shook her head. “Maybe I was rude but not admonishing your servant for being rude isn´t exactly polite either, so how about we call it quits? As for staying here, with this interior design, as little as possible. Honestly, it´s more about whether I get the fast way to Portland or the one long and tedious for all of us.”

                                                      

 

After the new Epics walked out of the scene Lightwards ordered Nighthound to go on an infiltration mission in Corpsemaker´s territory and if Ray´s guess was correct he would drag her along. Of course her guess was right.

 

She followed Nighthound to the edge of the museum. In his typical theatrical matter he leaned over it. “Elevator duty for-“ Ray kicked him in the back, sending him into free fall. With my luck he´ll survive this as well.

 

There was an explosion right outside of the museum and the ground under her feet collapsed. More by reflex than reason she shot out a lance in an attempt to break her own fall.

                                                                  

 

I got a little bit careless. Nighthound thought, as he realized what Ray did. How long until I hit the ground from this height, 15 seconds top… 14.

 

He grabbed for one of the grenades in his pockets and threw it at the museums ground. It didn´t cause a big explosion but enough to crumble Ray´s footing. Given how excelent Funtimes work tended to be, the muesum shouldn´t collapse from this.

 

Out of the dust cloud extended a faint energy construct. Nighthound stretched out his arm and managed to reach it or to be more specific it pierced his hand.  He pulled himself to the lance and climbed it up. His reward was a panicked look on Ray´s face.

 

Before she could react in any way he started to choke her. “You won´t pull anything like this again, will you?”

 

Her answer was a small nod. She behaved, at the very least until they reached the ground.  

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

                                                                                               

 

“Maybe I was rude but not admonishing your servant for being rude isn´t exactly polite either, so how about we call it quits? As for staying here, with this interior design, as little as possible. Honestly, it´s more about whether I get the fast way to Portland or the one long and tedious for all of us.”

 

The first part was an acknowledgement of Funtimes' power; the second was a veiled threat. Nathan lifted an eyebrow. "Besides the obvious, is there any sort of….compensation for taking you along with us?" 

 

As he spoke, Funtimes moved her hand toward Lucentia, her eye on the chair. Her giggle made it clear: Try anything else and I'll trap you like your diamonds. 

 

                                                                                                 

 

 "And how powerful is Corpsemaker?  Being asked to join by someone obviously in pain isn't a great sign of strength, so is he more powerful than you, or does he at least have servants stronger than you?"

 

Scorch scowled. He had thought recruitment would be easier than this. Expected the Epic to go along at the name, the way he had. "His name's CorpseMaker. Corpse. Maker. What d'ya think he makes, potholders?" He studied the man again. He didn't seem to be carrying a comic book…but one could never tell. "And he wouldn't've picked me if I couldn't take you." 

[Tulir he/him]

"Or he might have just wanted you out of the way.  And the ability to make corpses isn't exactly unique among our kind.  I would guess that most Epics have that capability, so his name isn't that important."

 

Mundivore started walking closer to Scorch.

 

"I don't believe you could take me, but you have convinced me sufficiently.  You can jump back into your mech and lead me to the current base for CorpseMaker."

[Kobold King he/him]

 

Lightwards stood by the edge of the Museum, staring out over Portland. The city seemed tranquil, though he knew the truth. To the north, he mentally tagged stretches of horizon that belonged to Altermind and CorpseMaker. The city was relatively peaceful now, but if the Empire were to expand, this city would have to be sacrificed to the flames of war. And if there was a figure left standing in the ashes of Oregon, it would not be the illusionist or the human basilisk.

 

It would be Lightwards.

 

He smiled for only a moment, allowing his eyes to drift upon his allies further along the floating building's edge. Nighthound was amusing himself by annoying Ray--nothing unusual there. With a theatrical flourish that could have rivaled Aldo, the strength Epic leaned over the side of the building, saying something Lightwards couldn't hear.

 

Then Ray kicked her master in the back, causing him to hurtle uncontrollably off the building.

 

Lightwards stared for a moment, torn between surprise and sudden anger. "Ray!" he shouted. He took a step forward, furious. "How dare you--"

 

As he stepped forward to continue the reprimand, a grenade bounced up and hit the edge, throwing up a cloud of dust. He had only a second to feel a moment of unfettered rage at Nighthound's shenanigans before the force of the explosion through him backwards and into the bronze dinosaur skeleton.

 

After a few minutes, Lightwards pulled himself up with a groan. He had neither died nor suffered any mortal wounds, so that was comforting. He glared at the pulverized patch of destroyed asphalt at the edge of the fortress.

 

One of these days, he thought bitterly. I am going to kill both of them.

 

 

 

Sam hadn't entirely expected Funtimes to help. She'd seen the insane woman come to the aid of Purple Phoenix, but he was an Epic. She still wasn't entirely certain that she'd bother with protecting the humans she carried around with her.

 

Fortunately, her initial hunch was correct; Funtimes did care. Traveler quickly gathered up Revolution and the Unicyclist, and the Doctor herself raised a nonchalant hand over the diamond.

 

The table turned to steel, twisting and changing shape into a huge box that rested neatly over the crystal. Dishes and cutlery became intricate screws and hinges for sealing the boxes' doors shut, fully containing the diamond growth.

 

Doctor Funtimes finished her metal installation, turning to face Lucentia with a smile both sweet and dark. "How long did you want to be here, Lucentia? Friends can stay forever, but you I'm not sure about." 

 

"Attempting bodily harm on one of our servants without permission is rather rude," added Traveler.

 

Lucentia merely gave out a long and dramatic sigh, shaking her head as if she were feeling particularly put-upon. “Maybe I was rude but not admonishing your servant for being rude isn't exactly polite either, so how about we call it quits? As for staying here, with this interior design, as little as possible. Honestly, it´s more about whether I get the fast way to Portland or the one long and tedious for all of us.”

 

Sam felt the beginnings of outrage stirring with her. Yeah, Lucentia, she thought darkly. Murder by crystal is a perfectly fair and proportionate retribution for an insult. I'm glad you could teach me about justice today, your honor.

 

She started to open her mouth to give voice to these thoughts, but for once decided against it. There was a time and a place for open defiance, and right now, backed against a wall wearing half a pair of socks, was not one of those times. She started to put her hands on her hips and settle into a deathglare worthy of CorpseMaker, but quickly she decided that such a mannerism would be little better. Instead she directed her attention to the rest of their little team.

 

Traveler was apparently trying to salvage the situation, while the Unicyclist wore his usual mask of indifference. Revolution, however, was giving Sam a supportive smile.

 

After a moment, Sam smiled back. Sudden and gruesome death was always a strong possibility when facing Epics. But if her smart mouth finally got her killed here, at least there would be a kindred spirit to witness it--another rebel with a sense of humor.

 

 

It took a minute for his deductive skills to start creeping back into his head, but by the time they neared Phoenix's dwelling Aldo felt as good as ever. He could predict anything now.

 

Purple Phoenix stopped not far from a particularly dingy-looking abandoned house, his path blocked by a thick clump of rats flooding a dark alley.

 

"Lovely neighborhood," Cricket sniffed, eyeing the rats with caution. "Ever heard of cats? They're these nifty little things that help with rodent infestations."

 

They watched as the mumbling man with the beard kicked a few rats out of his way. Instead of scattering, the rats only clustered together and stared at the Epics, their pointy faces shining with determination.

 

"Storms, forget the cat," Cricket swore. "We'll need firebombs."

 

Aldo the Enigmatic nodded thoughtfully. This was very unusual behavior for rats--and in a post-Calamity world, any kind of unusual behavior could usually be ascribed to Epics.

 

There was no warning, no hint. Nothing for his deduction to catch onto. Purple Phoenix reached into his pocket, pulling out a pebble radiating arcane energy. He threw it into the pile of rats--

 

And they exploded. Aldo gave a slight yelp as he stepped back, and Cricket leaped to the top of a nearby building in surprise. The pebble ceased to exist in a crackling flash of light, and a thin cloud of evaporated rodent flesh rose up through the street. The smell made Aldo want to retch.

 

Cricket landed on the sidewalk beside him with a crack of broken asphalt. "What the sparks just happened?" she demanded.

 

Aldo shrugged. "He's evidently an energy Epic."

 

"How did you not notice? You're usually great at spotting energy Epics!"

 

"He's different from the rest," Aldo hissed, his nostrils flaring. "I have nothing to go on with him. His mind is blank, his mannerisms are those of a homeless hobo. And don't look now, but there's an Epic following us."

 

Cricket began to look anyway, but Aldo snapped his fingers and called her attention back to him. He'd seen her for only a split second--a tall and willowy woman with wild hair and an old-fashioned dress, looking startled by the burst of energy Phoenix had produced. No sooner than he'd glimpsed her than she'd ducked around a corner and out of sight, retreating into the shadows.

 

"Let's get back to the Museum," Cricket breathed. "This cuckoo isn't worth getting murdered for."

 

"We're not going to get murdered," Aldo shot back, trying to keep his voice normal. He'd only had a second's glimpse of the witch in the alley, but he could have sworn he'd seen songbirds with her. Was she the mind-controlling Epic behind the rat infestation?

 

Purple Phoenix was ahead of them now, carrying on through the smoldering rats in that plodding gait of his. Aldo put his head up high and began following the man. Cricket, glaring down an alleyway, followed close behind.

 

Phoenix led them into what seemed to be his home, a quiet suburban dwelling that seemed to have been abandoned for a while. There were a few rats here as well--the things really were getting everywhere.

 

"Can you lay down on this couch?" asked Aldo amiably, gesturing at Phoenix. The bedraggled man grunted and complied with his request.

 

"Alright," Aldo said, sitting down on a convenient stool. "Cricket, be a dear and stand watch by the door. I don't want any interruptions." His assistant nodded and walked out of the living room, standing by the front door across the house.

 

"I am about to hypnotize you," Aldo continued to Phoenix, "You'll go into a state of hypnosis as I help guide you through your turbulent mind. With any luck, I can get those voices of yours to clam up.

 

'First, close your eyes. I want you to imagine yourself in a serene location. Imagine sitting by the side of a gently rippling tropical river. Imagine the cries of tropical birds and the feel of rich rainforest air..."

 

He tuned his voice to the subtle undulation of Phoenix's chest. Keeping his voice in tune with the target's breathing was vital.

 

"Your body is relaxed. Your arms are relaxed. Your hands are relaxed. Your legs and feet are soothed, and you're falling deeper into yourself. You're sinking down, shutting down. You are sinking down, shutting down. You are shutting down completely, and the deeper you go the quieter your head will be. My words will help make the voices go away..."

 

The hypnotism was going well. This was only the induction stage, but Purple Phoenix was an ideal target. He closed his eyes and seemed content to cooperate with him. That was good. Now that he was inducted, he could finally get to the real meat of the process--

 

He didn't get the chance. He heard a sudden noise from the other room, and the front door slammed open and shut in quick succession. He rose to his feet with a revolver in his hand as Cricket's shrill voice echoed in his ears.

 

"Aldo! Crazy lady heading your way!"

 

[Mrs. Voidus she/her]

Oh no, oh no, oh no! Saccharine thought, one of them saw me.

The explosion had surprised her to say the least, and had nearly caused her hat to fall off. But which of the epics was behind it? It could have been some technological design from the lab, and hearing the rumours of her husband's powers as she had, the event fit that it was no power.

 

None the less the suddenness of it all had caught her off guard and blown her cover. I'll just have to confront them. She thought. But who is leading who here? Best to do some more scouting. 

Sending her thoughts out to the few remaining rats who had scurried away in fright, Saccharine was shocked to have  her commands bounced back at her. Does this mean it was one of the other two who called the creatures? But no, that did not make sense. Both had commented on the annoyance of the vermin and their surprise at the rat's being there at all.

Then there is another epic here. 

 

Not wanting to lose sight of the group - and especially the two who had entered the dilapidated house a few minutes ago, Saccharine thought to call to her birds again. But using them more than once in a day seemed cruel, and she had already been seen. 

There's nothing else for it then, she decided as she stepped out of the shadows and approached the woman standing guard by the door.

 

"Good morning," Saccharine hailed. "Wont you let me inside?"

 

The woman raced inside the building and slammed the door shut, abandoning her watch to, in all likely hood, warn those inside. Or rather, warn the other man. This is too dangerous for Jeffy, it could be trap! I have to do something. 

 

Saccharine took hold of the door handle and teleported the lock clean out of its fitting. With a soft metallic clunk it hit the ground and the wooden door was easily pushed open. 

 

Scanning the rooms frantically as she walked, she soon came across a scene which made her heart freeze. There, clear as day was Jeff, drowsy and confused on the couch with the other man standing abruptly from his stool to the side.

 

"Poison!" Saccharine shrieked accusingly as she ran to her husbands side and, swiftly lifting her hand to her hat removed two fine hair pins and flung them at the tan skinned man.

[Voidus]

Purple Phoenix's eyes fluttered closed as he listened to the not-voice man in the top hat, his voice produced an immediate calming effect, his breathing slowed as he continued to listen.

"Your body is relaxed. Your arms are relaxed. Your hands are relaxed."
Yes, very relaxed. Phoenix thought, limbs becoming limp and his voices growing softer and softer.
"You're sinking down, shutting down. You are sinking down, shutting down. You are shutting down completely, and the deeper you go the quieter your head will be."
Yes, sinking, very heavy and sinking, sinking quietly. So quiet, I missed the quiet.
"My words will help make the voices go away..."
Yes, want them to go away...
He drifted off as the man continued to drone rhythmically, but moments later he was jolted back into a confused consciousness, as he heard a slam and some screaming, then a voice, strangely familiar screeching nearby just as he bolted upright and the voices all peaked again.
"Poison!" someone screeched.
Rend him piece by piece, can't get rid of me so easily, will not be silenced!
-only trying to help, we need help, need to stay safe-
Voices, so many voices, can't think, need to stop them.
Purple Phoenix's eyes burst open as a pair of needles flew over his head, glinting in the dull morning light peering through the window, they streamed towards Aldo, only for him to move easily to the side, although startled he moved just enough that the needles passed by without harming him.

Phoenix turned towards the source of the needles, an elegant hand encased in white lace leading up a slender arm to an old Edwardian dress, a cap of pearls barely restraining a mass of brown curls.
The voices grew silent once more in that brief moment, only for another voice, a voice which had been silent for so long to roar at this impossibility.
"MARIGOLD!" it yelled, both internally and aloud, everyone in the room turning towards him as the memories flooded him once more.

The Epic, hurling balls of energy around, incinerating each member of the team in turn, destroying the equipment, twin balls headed towards both him and his wife, as Jeff Carlisle watched in stunned horror as his vision was consumed by light, seeing only the face of his beloved lit briefly before the incandescent ball of sizzling energy. When he awoke again from his first death later, he'd been moved but only the Epic was nearby, not even a shred of Marigold remained, his rage burst forth as he picked up a piece of equipment they'd been working on, an energy ball of his own forming as he threw it at the one who destroyed everything. And so he was reborn as the Purple Phoenix.

This wasn't possible, his life, everything was a lie, embracing his past as he hadn't done at any other time the memories had surfaced, Jeff Carlisle embraced his wife.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

"Hold on. Okay, hold your hand up for me—higher, please—all right, now just wait, and….there we go." Panacea gave a sigh of relief. "Much better." 

 

The vanilla boy blinked at her. "It was a paper cut." 

 

"It was an injury! That horrible red mark was a blight on your natural beauty!" 

 

"I'm….I'm a guy." 

 

Panacea gripped his shoulders and smiled into his eyes. "And you are beautiful." 

 

"Um, thank you?" He glanced over his shoulder. "I, uh, not to be rude, but I think my Mom's calling me?" 

 

"Go on," she said, still smiling. "Go and tell your mother how beautiful you are." 

 

"Yeah. I'll do that." He backed out of her grip, watching her for a full ten steps before he finally turned around and ran for home. Panacea waved, beaming. He really was beautiful. No paper cut would mar it for long, not when she was there. When he finally disappeared around the bend, Panacea looped her arm through Strongsteel's. 

 

"All right," she said, giving his arm a little pat, "we can go now." Portland, prepare to be paper cut-free! 

 

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

 

"I don't believe you could take me, but you have convinced me sufficiently.  You can jump back into your mech and lead me to the current base for CorpseMaker."

 

Scorch scowled at the insult, but for once he was in no mood for a fight. Playing with his robot sounded more fun than taking this guy on. "Fine. He's this way." He limped back toward the mech, then turned back as an afterthought. "You got a name?" 

Edited September 5, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Edgedancer he/him]

Lucentia´s hosts continued to show very little hospitality. The vanilla Goth shot a short angry stare at her, even going as far as to put her hands on her hip, but she thought the better of it quickly and just looked at her allies for help. Just goes showing that the diamonds did what they were supposed to do and the even Funtimes´ bunch could be disciplined rather easily.  

 

The important people on the other hand didn´t show themselves sensible and instead made demands, very vague ones but they still wanted something from her and didn´t seem all that opposed to violence. “Something for you to gain, apart from the obvious, by which I assume you mean your life? My, aren´t you a greedy little bugger. “

 

Lucentia slowly rolled her head from left to right, not attempting to veil that she´s not actually considering a proper offer. “How about a hole in my brother´s stomach, while he caught an apology out of his perforated lungs?”

                                                         

 

The slower Ray lowered the both of them the longer Nighthound had to think about her punishment but it also meant that she had longer until whatever he would do to her. She dreaded the moment when they arrived at the ground, it didn´t help that Nighthound twisted her head away, so that she couldn´t see his expression.

 

It started about a meter before they actually landed. The hand on her throat squeezed harder and she was hurled away, hitting the ground hard. As she tried to turn around her head was slammed to the ground and held there.

 

Nighthound leaned down until he could breathe into her ear. “Ray, Ray, Ray, what are you doing?” His voice was cold, very much different from the rage she saw in his face before he twisted it away. I´m dead, I´m so rusting death.

 

“Now, I´ll have to punish you, don´t I?” His mouth moved even closer to the right of her head and bit down, ripping away her earlobe.

 

Screaming and trashing around in pain she barely noticed how she was pulled up by her hair. Nighthound´s cold eyes made her snap back and push down her panic. He´s really close to killing me.

 

After she stopped fighting back, he released his grip and she collapsed to the ground. “I´m a generous owner, so we´ll go and treat that wound of yours, before we continue work. “

 

Ray stared at the piece of her ear lying on the ground, in a small poodle of blood. I need a bright side right now, if this made him angry enough to actually harm me that means I have a chance to kill him. Yes killing him, happy thoughts.

[Tulir he/him]

"You got a name?" Scorch asked as he walked back to his mech.

 

"Mundivore.  Now let's get going, I would like to meet your Corpsemaker."  Mundivore started walking in the direction he saw Scorch approach from.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Night-Mare had heard of Altermind from the gossip around town. He was an illusionist, though which type wasn't well-known. After living on the border of Portland for years after receiving her powers, Mare had decided to leave the ranch and join with the Epic. She had heard all about the new Epics in town and the way all the minor Epics were choosing sides. She knew that if she didn't join with one group, she would be crushed. There was power in numbers.

Mare left in the mid-morning. She had gathered her most precious belongings, which weren't many, into a small saddle pack and created one of her Shadow Mares. She hated the feeling she had when she used her powers, but speed was important. "Come on, girl, show me the meaning of haste," Night-Mare said to her steed. They sped off towards Thoughttown in the northern part of town.

When Mare entered the city, she noticed a large amount of rats around. There hadn't been this many before, had there? In her power-fueled frustrated mood, she created another mare to devour the rats in her way. Her shadow elongated and shaped itself into a Shadow Mare. Its sharp teeth began to pierce rats and devour them. She also used her hooves to crush some of the vermin.

As she approached Thoughttown, she saw two others approaching the border ahead of her. One was a woman dressed as a nurse. The other, a man, looked like a construction worker. If they were heading into Thoughttown, they must also be Epics. Dismounting, Night-Mare dismissed her companions and her shadow regained it's regular shape. "Hello there, I'm Mare," Night-Mare called to the pair in front of her.

Chimera had decided, a short while after establishing himself in the zoo, that he would sell some of his Chimerans to profit. It also had the added benefit of spreading his army into enemies's bases of their own free will. At first, he had struggled with the obvious problem of gifting the control of the creatures to others. That could backfire on him. But, one zookeeper had an idea once. It was so simple, Chi wondered why he didn't think of it himself. Order the Chimerans to obey verbal commands from the buyer. Then Chi would retain mental control and be able to spread his control throughout the city.

He bartered with customers. There was never a set price, though more valuable creatures cost more. He sent out griffins, rabbit and rat spies, and some unicorns. Occasionally, the buyer would have specific requests. Chi did what he could to meet that request.

[Voidus]

Strongsteel led the way into Thought Town, Panacea in tow, they'd heard that this was the best area of the city to live, the despot who ruled here seemed to have some kind of vindictive streak against people he considered stupid but at least he wasn't killing them, he just sent them away.
All in all they'd decided that this was where the duo could do the most good in the inevitable turf war that was to ensue in Portland. 

"Hello there, I'm Mare!" Someone greeted from behind.

​Turning he saw a dark-skinned woman approaching them, obviously an Epic judging by the name and demeanor. Glancing quickly towards Panacea he took the lead, unless someone was hurt he usually did.

"Greetings Mare!" He boomed, the hint of an Australian accent still sneaking through though it had been years since he'd lived there. "Joining up with ThoughtTown I presume?"
The newcomer stepped in beside them as they approached the boundary for the town, guarded by a group of soldiers.
"We seek an audience with Altermind!" He said to the officer in the group, encasing his shield in a layer of shield to show his status as an Epic.

 SoulSwitch followed the giant robot around for a while, he was still trying to judge which Epic was responsible for all of this, he'd heard some references to 'Toymaker' and made the connection but he still wasn't sure where this Epic was. This one seemed to be on a recruiting mission, trying to pick up a new Epic for their coalition, Penumbra would definitely want to hear about this. Now he had to decide if he'd actually share the information.