[AU] Urth Adventures

Alternate Timelines
1

Greetings Glorious Heroes and Dastardly Villains!

This is your chance to role-play your most lovable hero, or most evil villain (or someone in between), on Urth!

This RP will be largely sandbox in all its free-range goodness. There will be some major story-lines to encourage interaction between the characters, but you are perfectly free to create your own epic story. Want to RP a world-famous bank heist, a city-takeover, a league of heroes forming, go right ahead!
Generally speaking though, the villains will develop some plot to do something on Urth, and the heroes have to put a stop to it. There will be an algorithm that basically turns the aspects of each side into quantifiable numbers (creativity of the evil plan, who/what the heroes bring along to stop them, how many henchpeople the villains have, etc) and runs a simulation to decide the side that wins.

Link to OOC Thread (http://forum.theeastpacific.com/topic/7008138/1/)
Link to AU Factbook (http://forum.theeastpacific.com/topic/7018779/1/)
Use the link above to create your character, if you have not done so already. The jump right in and begin your serialized comic story!

Here is some context to our Alternative Urth:

The map of Urth is largely the same, with two notable exceptions:

The first is that the non-superpowered people of Urth have banded together to create a United Sovereign States (U.S.S), which is a world organization of almost all the countries of Urth. The USS has a mission to try and keep the world order stabilized, economically, militarily, and diplomatically. A more conspiracy-oriented person would find that the USS’s main mission is to check any attempt by the superheroes or super-villains of Urth from causing too much chaos, overthrowing countries, or dissolving governments. The USS commissions heroes (and villains) to do jobs not sanctioned by any country.
The USS has their seat of government located in the city of Metropolis, a massive city with a population of more than 50 million people. Located in between the Free Pacific States and Pax Draconica (Lyon on the Urth map), this city is the wealthiest city on Urth. Among being the city run by the USS, Metropolis is known as a free haven for superheroes to congregate. If you are a hero, you are welcome!

The second is that there is a group of barely touched islands that are collectively known as The Stronghold.The Stronghold is owned by a large shell corporation, and does not really have a lawful government. Villains feel at home here. It is located just west of Pax Draconica (Dragon’s Hole on the Urth map).

Tech level wise, we are looking at just above the modern-day level right now. Exposure to superhuman traits has created strong tech, such as augmented human exosuits, better medicinal practices like bionics, limited space travel (almost ready to colonize the moon), and rudimentary laser weapon technology (traditional guns are still used, but in some circles ion guns are doled out to soldiers/gangsters/mercenaries). There are several science and technology firms that are on the cutting edge of these trends, mostly located on Aurora.

Also notable is the pervasiveness of magic, especially on the continent of Atlantia. Magic is an old power, around for a long time. Most people of Urth cannot make use of this magic, but there are several magical items that have been constructed (and lost to history). Some people on Urth do have the ability to manipulate magic, if you can find them.

Here is a list of some important people to know about and who you are able to interact with. This list will continue to be updated, so make sure to check back often:

Barbara Gordon- Current President of the USS
Django Maximoff- Head of Maximoff Security, the largest and most well-funded mercenary group on Urth
Diana Prince- CEO of science firm Metrotech, producing the most cutting edge technology on Urth. Headquarters are in Metropolis, but most of the technology is produced on Aurora
Jason Blood- Noted leader of the Followers of Om, a cult based in Atlantia that worships magic
Mark Etrigan- Demonic leader of the True Believers, a splinter group from the Followers of Om. The True Believers are an apocalyptic cult that worships occult demonic magic. The current “deity” they worship is Scorpionok.
General Hank Pym- The global military commander of the USS forces
Yautja- A famed assassin and superhero bounty hunter
Carter Hall- The richest woman on Urth
Laura Kinney- Runs global press firm called The Daily Press
Maxwell Dillon- Noted leader of The Golden Rogues, an anarchist group based in Godwana
Carl Creel- The head of the clandestine spy agency of the U.S.S
Johnny Blast- Radio Disk Jockey of Metropolis Media Worldwide, the host of Johnny Blast’s Broadcast

Some ground rules to follow:

-Currently, there is no time or inter-dimensional travel, multiverse theories, or alien contact (besides your characters). It may be allowed at certain points in the RP, but will only be allowed when indicated as such.

-Therefore, stories about global destruction will not be encouraged. Nothing on Urth can destroy the entire world, unless the nuclear arsenals are unleashed or science/magic takes a really bad turn for the worse. Your characters would not possess the power to do that themselves, though. In addition, your characters do not individually have the power to destroy cities. They do have the power if they are in a group, or if you RP some technological or magic-based story-lines.

-You retain complete control of your character, but any interactions with other characters, NPCs, or environments will be not be under your control (ex. you can ask an NPC to do something for you, or attack another character, but you cannot RP their reaction. That would be metagaming) The reaction will be managed by me or another person.

-We are going to try and keep this RP as public as possible, so secret “moves” you don’t want others to see are discouraged. If there are things that absolutely need to stay secret, please private message me what you want to do. But for everything else, include it on here.

-Feel free to put your characters wherever, and develop your own story-lines outside of whatever I throw at you. If there are any issues, please do not hesitate to talk to me about it via Skype, Discord, or through private messages.

Here is a link to the map: http://imgur.com/oyt0mmE
I will update it as events unfold.

Let’s begin!

2

A message from the United Sovereign States to the metas of Urth:

My name is Barbara Gordon, President of the United Sovereign States. The USS requests the assistance of Urth’s super-powered beings. Three days ago, several USS scientists and their equipment were abducted on an ecological site in Godwana. Our intelligence service believes that the anarchist group The Golden Rogues is behind this abduction. There has been no ransom notice, and everything is essentially dark down there. Our intelligence puts their last location in the eastern part of Mvulalanad. We are requesting your help because the Rogues are a fanatical group, and any attempt from our government to get these innocents back would result in the loss of soldiers. Frankly, we need metas to get these scientists back. Find them, rescue them, and if you can, figure out why TGR abducted them. You will be rewarded handsomely if you do so.
Also, the public has yet to learn about this. I would appreciate this mission to be handled discretely.

Thank you,

Barabara Gordon

President of the USS

Note: collectively, heroes and villains are named “metas” in this RP

3

Location: Druidic Sanctuary of Moondeep, Grand Duchy of Dragonia.

After breaking his morning fast in his small home, the Dragonian known as Windrider is interrupted from his normal morning routine by a neophyte druid who silently hands him a message with an awed bow. He nods in thanks to the neophyte who hurries off elsewhere.

Reading the missive, Windrider frowns in thought, weighing the pro’s and con’s of doing this mission for the USS. Sighing, he nods his head knowing that it would be the right thing to do, instead of the easy thing and ignore this. So with that in mind, he moves off to see the High Priestess Lunnara and let her know he was leaving and why.

After it taking a good thirty minutes to find her, Windrider waited patiently for her to finish her morning rituals to Gaia, and acknowledge him. As she finishes and sends off the other druids and neophyte druids, she motions for Windrider to approach.

The only indication that he was surprised with the first words out of the High Priestess’ mouth was: “So you are going then?” was a raised eyebrow. But he should not have been, knowing that the High Priestess knew things, sometimes before they even happened. All she ever said was that ‘Gaia speaks with her’.

“Yes, Mother Lunnara, I just came to let you know I was leaving,” Windrider said with a rueful smile.

Her ancient serene visage looks calmly upon who she has daubed ‘Gaia’s Chosen Warrior’ “My Child, go forth and saves those you can save.” She reaches up and pulls his head down so their foreheads are touching, “May Gaia Bless You! May Gaia Guide You! May Gaia Protect You!” she gives Windrider a blessing. Smiling her serene smile, she then motions for Windrider to be off.

Deciding to save time, he gather the winds around himself and flies back to his humble abode to get changed and gather a few items he is going to need and put in a light backpack. He also checks online with the Urth map page to calculate his best route to Mvulaland. Noting that he will have to stop off for a brief rest in some of the islands that Tuvaltastan owns as well as another rest stop in the Oan Islands near Gondwana. He also checked Hotels in Oan Gondwana to book a room for the night so he could rest up again before the flight north to Mvulaland. While he was thinking about it he also reserved a room in Nongoma with his estimated time of arrival. Last he left a message for a friend of his to water his plants and collect his mail for him while he was away.

With all that done he stepped into his backyard, Windrider was dressed in his ‘hero’ attire, he put his backpack on under his cloak, he breathed deeply, he gathered the winds around himself, and shot upwards into the atmosphere going from 0 to 60 in 6 seconds! Picking up speed as he headed roughly east by north east to his first stop of his journey. With a created ‘pocket of air’ around himself, Windrider kicked it up a notch and by the time he flew past Ambryen on the east coast of the Grand Duchy, he was cruising at a comfortable Mach 1.5 (1141.8 mph) in the upper atmosphere.

Windrider’s journey has begun . . .

4

“I’m glad I got here in time, miss, and don’t worry, I got your dog out too.”
“Oh, Fluffykins? Thank you so much, Mister Cherub!”
“Yes, your… Fluffykins… and it’s all in a day’s work, miss.”

Gabriel Cherub, just finished saving another person in a multiple-alarm fire, leaped up to a high-rise and scaled up it, ignoring the scores of people on each floor watching him climb. Another day, another burning building, another group of people looking at me like I am some sort of freak.
Cherub chuckled to himself, right, I’m a demon from a rift, and I look nothing like these meatbags. Of course they are going to stare at me. Abaddon be damned, I AM a freak.

Finished scaling the high rise, Cherub leaped to another building, then another, until eventually he was within range of his home. His home, a shuttered gas station in the southern part of Metropolis, was pretty dingy, but it was outfit with what he needed to survive. A punching bag, a computer, a space heater, a bathtub (never skimp on cleanliness!), and a pantry stuffed with energy bars, the only things he ate. He didn’t need to eat them, since demons do not eat, but he liked the taste and it seemed like they really did give him energy. Every so often he would pick up orders of powdered caffeine from his PO box, for extra energy. Today he would be going to the box to pick up an order.

Cherub changed out of his armor, bright blue and gold, very helpful to be seen on the ground, but easy to miss while in the air, and put on a grey hoodie and bandanna. He looked ridiculous with the bandanna on, but it was better than the meatbags of Urth seeing his demonic face, complete with sharp red teeth and ashen face. He walked out to the PO box, desiring his dose of powdered caffeine to lace the energy bars with.

In his PO box was a letter, instructing him to type a link to go to a website managed by the USS. Included in the letter was a password and user ID, and even a security question that he would be able to answer. By Abaddon, the USS must really want this kept under wraps, normally they just send someone, he thought. He plugged in the link, and read the message from USS President Barbara Gordon.

As soon as he finished reading, he grabbed his armor, collapsed his energy staff, and included it all in his duffelbag. Now, how to get to Mvulaland, he thought. He called up his friend Snark, a pilot sometimes employed by the USS, and asked for a flight to Godwana.
Nope, was the response.

Abaddon be damned.

Gabriel Cherub found cheap commercial tickets from Metropolis to Matamba, with three layovers in Furnifold and the Daccic Republic. With any luck, he will get across the border to Mvulaland by the end of tomorrow. He will make contact with a USS official down there to figure out what any leads for the missing scientists are.

5

After a complementary healthy and hearty breakfast at the respected and comfortable Oan Gondwana Hotel. He opened up his phone and looked up ‘www.Urthmaps.com’ to find where the USS embassy/headquarters was in Nongoma. Finding and memorizing the place as viewed from up high via satellite, closing the site, he went to check out.

After checking out, Windrider in his civilian attire left and walked out of the town into the surrounding wilderness. Finding a seclude spot, hidden from passerby’s he quickly switched into his ‘hero’ costume and took off into the air, heading north towards his next destination - Nongoma, Mvulaland.

A nice few hours of a peaceful flight through the upper atmosphere, he feels a storm front moving ahead of him. “Perfect,” he thinks to himself. He starts to maneuver the storm north, he slowly alters the intensity to a light rain, and once he catches up to it, he stays above it as it travels northward. Once the storm reaches Nongoma, he releases it to move as it wills from here on out.

Using his powers over the weather, he bends the light using moisture in the air and his manipulation of mist and fog to appear partially transparent to nearly invisible. Windrider quickly descends upon Nongoma directly above his destination, the USS headquarters.

He quickly steps through the doors of the building at the same time that he dissipates the mist surrounding himself. (On a side note, he is also totally dry, as if the rain never touched him.) The only expression on his face was a very slight smirk as he scanned the lobby watching all the people look at him ‘goggled eyed’ as he just suddenly appeared as the mist dissipated.

Walking to the receptionist, he gave her a charming smile, “I’m here about a job, let your boss know that Windrider is here, please,” he said in flawless Codexian.

6

Bezerk walked into the secret laboratories ran by the TGR he had in both hands all the kidnapped scientists, he threw them into a desk " Were is the money before I blow this whole place up" to show that he was serious he pointed his finger a Ki laser blasted a worker to dust.

7

Three days ago in Mvulalanad, unknown location

On the ecological site, 14 scientists employed by the USS were closely being guarded by a squad of hired mercenaries. While the mercenaries mostly killed off time by spacing off due to being here for several months, the scientists remained unchanged while they worked hard on a secret project that required several expensive pieces of equipment. While the group was busy with their assigned “work”, several armed individuals stalked them from all sides. While most of them were equipped with assault rifles and grenades and wore protective golden armor, the oddball had only his blue blades and didn’t really seemed to be armored. In fact, the only part that made him distinguished himself as a fellow member was the duel gold armbands that he wore. As they had planned, while the others kept their distance with weapons aiming, the oddball quickly ran up to the ‘mercs’ and the ‘nerds’ as he so lovingly called them. He stopped and waited for a response from the small group, but he was ignored as everyone did their own thing, but due to the fact that he hated being ignored, he grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it at one of the mercs. Completing it’s life goal of catching the mercenaries attention, the oddball didn’t give them enough time to react properly as he teleported in front of one of them. With a friendly “Hi”, he sliced at one of the merc’s venerable neck, killing him instantly yet swiftly. He continued to repeat the recycle as he sliced. And sliced. And sliced again. And sliced once more. He continued to slice and diced until it got to the point where he couldn’t distinguish friend or foe. It was only by the sudden air from the arrival of Bezerk that stopped his killing frenzy. Slowly realizing he had the blood of 3 scientists and an Anarchic member on his hands, or rather, blades. While everyone else could only either stare in confusion at the arrival of the newcomer or the death of one of their own, Bezerk proceeded to grab the remaining scientists and flew off with them. While the Golden Members could only stare in horror at the failure of capturing any scientists, the oddball had only one statement to say as he drew on the floor with “red” paint".

“He seems like a nice guy.”

8

The receptionist, upon seeing Windrider, blushed and said, “right away, sir. We have been told that another meta-hero is en route to our embassy, so, if you don’t mind, we would like to wait for him before beginning.”

A short while later, Gabriel Cherub walked into the embassy. He’s not exactly in the best of moods, having to spend so much time traveling to Matamba, then essentially taking Matamba’s version of “Urth-ber” to the border, dealing with security at the border, and then entering Mvulaland. My sister Lamia has the ability to fly, Abaddon willing I couldn’t receive that power myself, he laments, looking at where his wings used to be.

Cherub eyed the people inside. Some stared at him, but for the most part people were more concerned with the white-haired man in a grey costume, who looked to be capturing the gaze of the receptionist. She doesn’t seem to notice the coffee spilled by her computer, probably knocked it over without realizing it. typical meatbag, Cherub thought. Well, let’s see what attention she pays once she gets a load of my ugly self.

Cherub walked up to the receptionist, introduced himself, and indicated he would like to speak to the USS ambassador. Almost on cue, the ambassador walked out, an older woman with no-frills attire and a stern gaze. Let’s see the man in grey try to schmooze her, Cherub thought. Oh wait, I know who that is, it’s Windrider! He is nature’s warrior incarnate. I’m feeling a little bit better about this mission.

That feeling didn’t last long. The USS Ambassador, Elizabeth Braddock, indicated that they were able to receive new intelligence about the kidnapping. “Our meta-forensic audiologists determined from recorded audio that there was both sounds of gunfire, and sounds of flesh being torn into. It sounded indiscriminate, and quite gruesome. This was followed by a loud explosion, as someone…else… arrived via flight. Besides a few muffled noises, we could not hear anything else, until someone said this.” She played a tape, and the words, “He seems like a nice guy” could be heard.

“Our intelligence indicates that this is Subject 145, an insane Celannican who possesses sharp blades and the ability to teleport. We don’t know for certain, but we are pretty sure that he is involved with The Golden Rogues. There is another individual, the one who produced the explosion, who we have yet to identify, but it is likely that there are villains involved in this kidnapping.”

“We have not been able to place where the scientists have been taken, hopefully you will have better luck.”

Cherub pondered what he had heard, and also pondered how best to work with Windrider. Abaddon be damned, we don’t know where the scientists have been taken, and, with the possibility of at least two meta-villains, we’re gonna need teamwork to succeed at saving them.

9

— Begin quote from ____

Bezerk walked into the secret laboratories ran by the TGR he had in both hands all the kidnapped scientists, he threw them into a desk " Were is the money before I blow this whole place up" to show that he was serious he pointed his finger a Ki laser blasted a worker to dust.

— End quote

The Golden Rogues hideout was a secure fortress in the middle of a Matamba jungle. It was previously used by Matamban poachers to stage trips. TGR kicked the poachers out of the facility and established a base there. The only way into the facility was the front door, which was hardened steel that slides open like an aircraft hanger. It was secured with bio-metrics, so, luckily for the facility, when Bezerk walked up he was coded to enter, and the door opened.

After TGR staff watched a unsuspecting worker get blown to dust, things got awkwardly silent. Finally, someone spoke up, “Mr. Bezerk, sir, we are going to give you the money, just be patient for a little while longer. We need these scientists to get us where we need to be with the testing, and then when we are wired the money, you will get the required amount.”

“For now, can you handle security?” He continued. “We were able to intercept a transmission from the USS, and it appears there are going to be some superheroes on their way. They CANNOT find this facility, and they CANNOT know what’s going on here. Feel free to take that however you wish.”

Hoping that appeased Bezerk, the member motioned with his hand to one of the other workers to grab the scientists and lead them down to the lab. As they were led down, a man in a lab coat met them. The man was unassuming, with the exception of his face, which seemed to be missing a few bones and muscles. One side of his mouth hung, and his opposite eyelid would not close when he blinked. The man spoke to the scientists, “Greetings, USS’s finest minds, my name is Doctor Daniel Ketch. Please ignore my facial features, this was all in the pursuit of science, you understand. Well, you are probably wondering why these individuals decided to kill your security and kidnap you. The simple explanation is because I need you. I need your minds. See, this land was previously occupied by poachers, who are, obviously, horrible individuals. After these fine Golden Rogues kicked them out of this facility, they found some fantastic equipment in here. They knew I was looking to further my experiments, so an… arrangement was struck. Our goals are mutually beneficial after all. They seek complete chaos, while I seek revenge. Revenge for being cast away by the scientific community.”

“In another life, I was a zoologist, and my specialty was understanding how animal aggression worked. This led to trying to understand how human aggression worked. Humans are animals, after all, and I was trying to find the specific chemical that, if isolated, could cause people to fall into a rage. Think about it, if we understand how people get angry, perhaps we could use it to our advantage. Wars could be finally fought between politicians instead of soldiers, bullies may no longer pick on someone who could take a pill and fall into a rage, the possibilities are endless! But the science community did not appreciate my live human testing, because of some… complications. So, they shut me down. That’s when I was picked up by The Golden Rogues, because they recognize the value of this endeavor. Course, they want the chemical to cause utter chaos and pandemonium in countries, but what care do I have? I am getting paid, have a full lab and everything I wish, and I get to achieve real results!”

“I need you to be a part of my plan. You all are respected biologists, and I need to continue with these tests. I need fresh minds to achieve my goals. Now, if you don’t help, we will use you as test subjects, and then bring your families in as test subjects too. I hope it doesn’t get to that point, we are doing it for science, after all!”

Finished with his story, Dr. Ketch handed the scientists off to a waiting TGR soldier, and continued down to his lab, mind set on accomplishing what he had worked so long for.

The facility inside the jungle of Matamba closed down again, and would not be opened unless the inhabitants exited, or another person with the correct bio-metric signature came near the door.

10

Bezerk took the money and flew off, " Humans such disgusting animals, no class or respect" he mumbles under his breath while he was flying. " Wha-What is that surge of Ki im feeling i-i-is that Fannel…" he thinks to himself before speeding towards the Ki signature. Just before he reached the signature a Ki blast hit him and he felled to the ground “Ahh.Ehh…” bezerk mumbles as Fannel walks up with his tail swinging " Thats right… Im here for you" Fannel says smiling walking to him.

Bezerk stands up and looks at Fannel " You Fool, you will never learn to stop protecting these humans…" before bezerk could finish Fannel sped towards him and punched him in the stomach, bezerk quickly backs up and starts throwing Ki blast at lighting speeds " Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya" he screams while throwing the blast. Fannel comes out of the smoke with a Red Aurora and his pupils disappeared " YOU KILL MY RACE" fannel says, Bezerk started to tremble from the new power he never seen before. He quickly remembered about the USS and lead Fannel towards them. " yessss follow you stupid monkey" Bezerk says as they flew at Mach 3 towards the base, he was dodging key blast when he noticed the base and disappeared into thin air.

" Were Were Did HE GOOOOOOOOO" Fannel screamed outside of the USS Embassy in metropolis.

11

Khuzhe Smerti Facility, Present Day

Pain.

Driving, unceasing pain.

That was the first sensation Andrei Chernov felt as he awoke, truly aware for the first time since he’d been sent to the facility. He sat up from his cot in the padded holding cell, looking around the room and clutching at his head as the memories from the past month flooded back. As his hands curled into fists, wraithlike darkness began to swirl around them.

Andrei, designated “Patient 007 - AKA The Eclipse Project,” was no fool. He quickly re-assumed his former position, hoping that no one had been watching by security system to see him regain his senses.

And he waited. For revenge.

Several hours later

“Yes, yes, tell the Premier I’m positive: the Eclipse Project is a complete success.” The clearly harried - yet equally triumphant - Doctor Roman Simanov, Ph.D. muttered to his secretary. “He is the perfect weapon, and the conditioning should remain functioning. There’s no conceivable way that…” he was cut off by his phone buzzing. Checking it quickly, he grumbled, “It’s my hag of a wife. Not important right now… where was I?”

The secretary cleared her throat. “‘There’s no conceivable way that…’”

“Right, right. No conceivable way he could pose any danger to Stratarin. I sent an assistant of mine to feed him his daily meal a few minutes ago. In the meantime, I must go on some urgent business elsewhere. You’re my eyes and ears here, understood?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied quickly, unsure whether or not he heard her as he hurried off. She sighed, turned briskly, and walked down the hallway she’d just come.

Without warning, the ceiling light above her shut off. Then the light next to that. Then the next, and the next, until she was plunged into darkness. Confused, she whirled around.

Towering over her was a man dressed in a hospital gown, his eyes pitch black.

“Where. Is. Simanov?”

“Y-you’re him!” the girl standing in front of Andrei feebly exclaimed. He recognized her as Simanov’s secretary.

“Very astute,” he replied. “Where is he?”

She gulped. “He didn’t, didn’t say where he was going.” She stepped back a pace, only to have Andrei match it.

“He left?”

“Y-yes… Andrei, r-right?”

“No longer.” He reached out and snatched her arm with his left hand. “The only thing this hellhole has done for me is given me a new name.” He smiled slightly. “I am Eclipse. And you are of no further use to me.”

His right hand began surging with shadowy energy. Her ear-piercing scream was cut short quickly. As her lifeless body crumpled to the ground, Eclipse frowned.

“I need a change of clothes.”

12

The USS has rapid response security teams upon sudden meta threats to Metropolis. Upon realizing that Fennel and Bezerk are fighting, the USS deploys a few teams, which arrive at the USS headquarters in Metropolis just as Bezerk fled. The teams knew about Fennel and his powers, so they carried weapons with ammo that negates some energy-based powers of heroes and villains. They take positions around fennel and get ready to fire if aggression is shown. Fannel turned around and looked at the soldier “I Am A SAYIANN” he says at the soldiers, as he walked towards the soldiers his energy rose and his feet made the ground shake. Just before the soldiers started to shoot Velgez and Tessnei arrive after traveling through space and landed between Fannel and the soldiers " I dont think so boys" Tessnei said to the soldiers. " Unless you want to Banished from this universe i would listen to the angel" Velgez said standing over the soldiers.

Fannel eventually return to his normal state, " A Form of introduction is needed, Im Fannel im a Sayian" he said with a big smile on his face. " Im Tessnei from the Planet of Angels i watch over this universe alongside Velgez" Tessnei said while poking a soldier accidentally pushing him down. " Im Velgez God of Destruction, could any of you tell me were the nearest ice cream shop is i must have some" he says while trying to sniff for ice cream.

13

In the jungles of Gondwana

Stumbling through the vegetation of the jungle, a hideous looking creature appeared. Upon closer inspection, one would see that this creature was merely a filthy, barely clothed woman, bruised and scratch from her travels. She shivered to herself as she looked around, her eyes darting back and forth at the smallest of movement.

“I must keep walking,” she mumbled to herself, “I must keep walking.”

“But I’m tired, I need rest,” she said to no one.

“Celaeno, Subject Celaeno was a success,” she remembered the name given to her by her captors.

“Glory to Fortuna! Glory to the Empire!” she screamed.

“Celaeno was a success, I must continue walking.”

“I’m tired, I require energy.”

“Glory!”

As she took another step, she tripped on a trunk that she did not notice, causing her to collapse forward as she yelped in surprise. She tried to push herself up, be she no longer had the energy to do so. So, she screamed, suddenly sending a burst of energy from her hands at the ground which propelled her upwards right into a tree, then falling hard at its roots. She sat there shivering as she continued looking around with fear, but what she feared she no longer remembered. After sitting there for a few hours, she pushed herself up and continued walking.

“I must keep walking,” she repeated, “I must keep walking. I must, I must.”

“I require energy, I wish not to move.”

“Pleiade Project was a success, Celaeno was a success, I am a success.”

“To the Empire!”

“I’m in pain, just let me die!”

“Celaeno was a success! I am a success!”

“Give me energy!”

“I must keep walking!”

But she stopped walking as she came up to a clearing, going quiet as she inspected her surroundings. She squinted her eyes as she looked ahead and saw in the distance a familiar object; a home. A home meant people. People meant energy. Energy meant. . .

“Food.”

Her mind started to clear up a bit as she prepared herself. The hunt was on. In a blink of an eye, she suddenly disappeared as she went invisible. She then slowly made her way across the field, her eyes locked on her first targets; a small family tending their crops.

“I require energy.”

14

Khuzhe Smerti Facility

Andrei Chernov… No… Eclipse adjusted his tie in a nearby mirror. Certainly, the suit’s previous owner wouldn’t miss it.

Mainly, because he was dead.

And not just that poor unfortunate soul. Only one heart was left beating in the facility, and it was blacker than the dark of the night.

He couldn’t help but smile as he slipped into his jacket. Despite the fact that he was now a fugitive from the law, Eclipse was freer than the ever had been. In their foolish attempt at weaponizing a superhuman, Stratarin had forged the world’s greatest criminal mind.

And he would repay them with hellfire.

Thus, well-dressed and unrestrained by bars or holding cells, Eclipse walked towards the nearest exit and stopped suddenly, looking out through the glass into the night.

Freedom. Within his reach at last. He could almost taste his newfound independence. And who knows? Perhaps he may even find friends on the other side of these walls. Or at the very least, powerful allies

With a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped outside.

[hr]
Procurator General Iosef Demenok slammed his hands against his desk. “He. Did. WHAT!?!”

Colonel Volkov stood at attention, unflinching. “Patient 007 escaped from the facility. As far as my subordinates can tell, he left no one alive.”

“Gah!” Demenok turned away in anger. “I want, no, need him found, dammit! The future of Strataric warfare, with all this USS nonsense to contend with, depends on it!” He whiled back around, glaring Volkov in the eye. “It’s your personal assignment: find and return him. Harmed if you like, but not killed. And be prepared: he may be the most dangerous enemy you’ve faced. Understood?”

“Yes sir. I’ll have my best men on it.”

Demenok continued to meet the colonel’s gaze. “If he dies, so do you.”

Volkov allowed himself a slight smile. “You can trust in me, sir.”

15

A small village in Gondwana

Caleano was feeling much better now. With her mind was a lot clearer, it allowed for her to clean herself up a bit before heading out again. In one of the larger, cleaner homes, Caleano took a nice warm bath, cleaning off all the muck and dirt she collected during her travels. Once satisfied, she rummaged through the family clothes, picking out a grey t-shirt, khaki cargo pants, and a pair of boots that were just a size too large. She left her long, dark brown hair alone, letting it air dry as she skipped around the home looking for food and entertainment. She was quite pleased when she found herself a small radio and the last living resident; a baby that just would not stop crying.

She brought both of her findings to the front porch and fell into the old rocking chair, causing it to rock back and forth as she cradled the small child. She placed the radio on the ground and turned it to what sounded like a news broadcast, just in case she heard any information that she would find interesting. She then returned to rocking, humming an old song she heard as a girl as she slowly drained the small amount of energy the baby had. It usually took her no longer than a minute to drain all the energy out of an average adult, but she wanted to cherish this while she still can, she never knew when she’ll stumble upon new prey.

The baby’s wails slowly became weaker and weaker as it slowly fell into eternal sleep.

“Shhhh,” Caleano cooed, “your sacrifice will be remembered.” With that, Caleano was the last living soul in the village, just like last time, and the time before that, and the time before that. . .

[hr]

Caleano jerked awake, shivering and frantically looking around her. Her defensive instincts kicked in as she went invisible, her hands at the ready to blast any intruders. Except, there were no intruders, it was only a nightmare. Still she dared not let her guard down, not again. She stayed sitting there invisible as she scanned her surroundings repeatedly, not even noticing she dropped her last meal and that the radio was still on.

She was caught off guard when the radio started blasting some flashy introduction music, making her jump and causing the rocking chair to fall back with a large thud. She cursed under her breath as she got up from the now broken chair, turning her hand at the radio to blast it in revenge, but something about the broadcast caught her attention.

“And welcome back to “J-J-J-Johnny Blast’s Broadcast!” with yours truly, Johnny Blast!”

“Johnny Blast. . .” Caleano repeated.

“Joined with me is a special guest and my wife; Carol! Say hi Carol!”

“Woof!”

“Ain’t she a darling. But hey, let’s get right into it! You all probably heard about it now, but things seem to be heating up in Metropolis. USS security teams were called out to oversee another meta problem.”

“Ruh roh.”

“Uh oh is right. Things seem to have been getting out of hands with these metas recently, they all think they run the place just because they are more powerful than me and you. What a bunch of stuck ups!”

“Grrr.”

“Yeah, c’mon USS! Step up your game! I don’t give you my tax money just for you to be pushed around by a bunch of superheroes!”

“Meta. . .” Caleano repeated, now no longer listening to the broadcast. “Powerful. . . Metropolis. . .” These terms she remembered hearing before, but now something started to click in her head. Metas are more powerful than humans. Power meant energy. Energy meant. . .

“Food.” She whispered to herself, an idea popping into her messed up head. “I require more energy. I require metas.” She now had her mind set on getting to Metropolis. She wanted, no, she needed to go there. She needed to go to the largest collection of humans and metas on Urth. She needed their energy. She had no idea where it was exactly, but she decided to just walk in a random direction, hoping it will take her to what she most desired. So she left the now empty village as she began her journey once more.

“. . . And now to our next section, “Am I Actually Dating a Dog?” The results may shock you!”

16

Near Gorod, Stratarin

As the umpteenth stray bullet whizzed by his head, Eclipse was certain of it.

He wasn’t being hunted; he was being herded.

Where, or why, he didn’t know. His pursuers had every opportunity to kill him, yet refrained from doing so. Then again, Eclipse could have easily turned around and launched a vicious counter-attack.

But where was the fun in that? Fighting on his own terms against a most likely inferior enemy? No, he would give them the advantage of choosing the battleground.

And then kill them, of course. There was no illusion in Eclipse’s as to what would become of them.

Miraculously, he was able to keep his clothing mostly unripped, despite being chased through the small woodland area near the facility. Of course, there were scrapes here and thorns there, but nothing too drastic.

The question was, where was he being led?

[hr]
Gorod, Stratarin

“All units, report in,” Volkov ordered into his walkie-talkie. They had arrived at the small town of Gorod mere minutes ago, ignoring the massive amount of corpses for now. However, the STP was nothing if not efficient. Two snipers were already in place on the roofs with tranquilizer weaponry, while several squads of men were stationed inside the various houses. Volkov himself had chosen to stand in the middle of the dusty street.

It is better to face one’s foe. He won’t make it to me anyway. After confirming that all of his operatives were in place, he idly rested one hand on his gun as he waited.

Approximately three minutes later, a lone individual, wearing a slightly torn suit, rushed into the clearing. Noticing Volkov, he stopped and smiled.

“You wanted me here.”

Volkov nodded at the tall, raven-haired man. “Yes.”

“Well,” he said, “here I am.”

Volkov snapped his fingers.
[hr]

Eclipse’s adversary must have been a fool if he thought his operatives on the roof were unnoticeable, especially as the meta had infrared vision. As soon as Volkov snapped his fingers, Eclipse phased, immediately preceding the uncomfortable sensation of two tranquilizer darts passing through his body. As this was one of the more… experimental powers that the facility had granted the villain, he couldn’t do so long, and immediately cloaked and dove to the right.

To his adversary’s credit, the commanding figure barely missed a second snapping up his gun and firing at where Eclipse had been. He was quick on the draw, though seemingly not quick enough. The fronts doors of two buildings flanking this man burst open, and eight men emerged from each. “Where is he, Colonel Volkov?” the commander of one of these squads asked hurriedly.

“He cloaked…” Volkov was cut off by the screams of one of the men on the roof. Sveral men immediately snapped their guns up, but to no avail; there was no target. Another yell was heard as the other sniper was killed, providing a counterpoint to the dull thunk of his comrade hitting the ground.

Eclipse could taste triumph as he returned to the ground, then chuckled. He had these pathetic men afraid, without support. He was unstoppable, invincible…

This was seconds before a paintball splattered against his suit. Then another, and another.

And the splatters were visible.

“Here’s a tip for you, Patient 007,” Volkov announced to Eclipse. “Don’t make sound when you’re cloaked. Else, we can do that.”

“Fine, then,” the villain muttered to himself. “We’ll do this the hard way.” He decloaked, a black film under his eyelids sliding over his eyeballs.

[hr]
Volkov watched his men fall, one by one. Quickly, painlessly, efficiently.

Ruthlessly.

The patient had been given the ability of illusions. Though he hadn’t mastered it, he was able to distort the STP unit’s perception of his location, making him that much harder to hit.

As the last of Volkov’s men fell, the colonel felt a cold, shadowy hand grasp his throat.

“I ask you, Colonel,” Eclipse grinned, stepping towards Volkov, “Why give someone all this power? Hmm? Take this hand closing around your neck, for instance. It’s a construct, made of pure darkness. Or energy. Either or, really. I didn’t even know I could do that until now!” His grin faded, and he assumed a more serious expression. “Your men fought valiantly. Let that be a small consolation.”

“No… wait…!” Volkov wheezed, struggling against his impending demise.

One snap!, and it was over.

Turning and looking at the beautiful carnage, Eclipse’s eyes cleared of the darkness as spotted a much smaller, more vulnerable corpse than those which he had caused.

An… an infant?

He approached it and picked up the limp, lifeless body. “No sign of physical wounds,” he muttered to himself. “It looks as though someone just drained its life away.”

As he said those words, he looked back towards the deceased STP officers. “Those imbeciles don’t have the technology required for this, nor the motive.” The blackness seemingly consumed his eyes again as he glanced around the house, looking for residual heat signatures.

Footsteps.

Though certainly faint by now, footsteps on the porch leading down the road were clearly visible. They seemed to have radiated heat and energy not too long ago.

“Curious,” Eclipse commented. As he started to follow them, he stopped himself to repeat and earlier statement.

“I need a change of clothes.”

17

While standing in front of the USS soldiers Fannel started to have flashbacks of his battle on Planet Yokosi against Berzerk, it was as if he could clearly see him killing his father and yorkoski people. He stood there hopeless, weak and confused ,

" What if… What if i could of master my power, why… why couldn’t i help the people."

He thinks to himself before he snaps out of it. His anger could be seen in the sky as the clouds gathered and turned dark, tears dropped from his face as he looked at Velgez.

" What If…"

He Proceeds to take off flying the wind knocking the soldiers down, " Well i think we should be following him" Tessnei chuckled to the soldiers before he and Velgez took off flying behind him.

“BEZEERRKKKK” Fannel Screamed as he flew through the forest .

Bezerk quickly reappeared and knock Fannel to the ground “Overcloud Blast!!” Bezerk shouted as a large Ki blast flew towards

18

(OOC: this was co-written with Stratarin)

Being drawn back to the village by the sound of gunfire, Celaeno watched the whole scenario from a distance while invisible as the lone individual singlehandedly slaughtered his foes. Never has she seen such power, such energy.

“A meta. . .” Celaeno whispered to herself excitedly. Curiosity and hunger got the best of her as she slowly creeped her way back into the village, even though she feared the capabilities of this man. As she made her way to the house, she would stop at each body just to check if there was any energy left before making her way in through the front door, completely invisible.

And she would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for the creaky floor under her foot.

[hr]
Eclipse had just donned his new articles of clothing. He looked rather… civilian, with jeans and a grey long-sleeved shirt underneath a black leather jacket. As he took a moment to examine his outfit in a nearby mirror, the floor downstairs creaked.

The black film slide over his eye as he crouched slightly, allowing him to see heat radiating from the lower floor. He couldn’t quite make out a shape due to the lack of a clear line of sight, yet he assumed it was a human. Perhaps another of Volkov’s. But then again, it didn’t matter. This new arrival would die soon enough. The black film retreated from his eyes, allowing him to see normally seconds before he cloaked himself from sight and crept down the stairs. Turning towards where the heat had come from, he saw…

…nothing.

Confused, he activated his infrared vision again. There, radiating colors of reds and greens and yellows, was the distinct shape of a young adult female.

A meta? Intriguing. Perhaps she was another Strataric ‘patient,’ sent to hunt him down.

It didn’t matter of course, as she’d soon be dead. Wasting little time, he decloaked and sent an energy blast hurtling towards her.

[hr]
Having little time to react, Celaeno went visible and reached out to block the blast, absorbing it altogether. It caught her by surprise as the energy surged through her body, increasing her powers more than she expected. She stood in awe at such power she was feeling before realizing she was fully visible and defenseless. Celaeno quickly set up a force field for defense and went on the offense, deciding this meta deserved a taste of his own medicine by hurling an even more powerful energy blast at her opponent.

[hr]
Eclipse watched with a mounting sense of danger as his attack seemed to only strengthen her. Cursing mentally, he barely had time after she responded in kind to create a small portal in front of him, watching the blast she had created disappear within. Where the destination was, he couldn’t say. But that was far from his concern. Before she had time to attack again, he phased and backed through the wall behind him, immediately cloaking upon emerging into the cold night air.

However, the wall, in fact the whole house, no longer provided extra protection as Celaeno obliterated the entire structure. She arose upwards from the ashes, floating above the village as a glowing orb. Celaeno screamed in anger, she had had enough of this meta’s “parlor tricks,” all she wanted to do was get a quick snack, not go on a wild goose chase. She was going to end this once and for all. She shone brighter and brighter until she found just what she wanted, a small shadow in the shape of a man.

“I have you now!” she screamed as she fired an energy beam at the shadow. She smiled to herself as the smoke cleared, revealing her target and everything around was was utterly destroyed, but that smile quickly faded as she saw another shadow running behind a corner.

“He survived?!” She fired another beam at the house the shadow went around, demolishing it and the house next to it. But the shadows would not stop appearing as she saw more and more of them darting to and fro amongst the buildings and wreckage. With one immense shriek of frustration, Celaeno began launching a barrage of blasts and energy beams at anything that dared move.

[hr]
The village just this morning was alive with people, by noon the village was emptied of life, by midnight nothing remained but burning wreckage and ash. Among the wreckage, Celaeno was trying to crawl her way back to the safety of the jungle. Although she did not receive any blows herself, Celaeno in her anger used up every last drop of energy, leaving her defenseless and afraid.

“Celaeno was a success,” she muttered between breaths. “I require energy. Glory to the Empire. Energy. Let me rest. Success! I need to go to Metropolis. I need to rest. . .” But she won’t be able to rest now as she heard the sound of soft footsteps coming from behind her.

“You have quite the temper, don’t you?” Eclipse chuckled rhetorically, hiding his own fatigue relatively well. “I could kill you now, of course. Or, at least let you die defenseless and with the laughter of your enemy in your ears.” He stopped approaching her, and maintained a safe distance as he started pacing in a circle around her. “But then again, you’ve piqued my curiosity.” He halted, eyeing her in an assessing manner. “Why do you want to go to Metropolis?”

Celaeno looked back wide eyed, reaching out to try to fire another blast but without success. She sat there breathing heavily until she had enough energy to respond. “Metas are powerful. Power means energy. Energy means food. Metropolis has lots of food. I require food.”

“And after that?” Eclipse replied. “What then, after you’ve consumed Metropolis or died in the attempt?”

“I will not die!” she shouted back weakly. “I am Celaeno. Subject Celaeno was a success! I cannot fail!”

“Granted. You’ve done an extraordinary job of killing me, after all.” the Stratarian couldn’t resist this reply, though quickly changed tack. “However, you’ve not answered my question. What is left for you after Metropolis burns under your might?” He looked her in the eyes, all trace of mockery gone. “Starvation. Death. Even after you consume the whole of the world, you will die. Long, slowly, and painfully.”

Celaeno did not answer as her broken mind pondered what was he was telling her. She shook her head in disagreement, not wanting to believe. “I will not die. . .” she weakly said in a whisper. But now she was unsure of herself as memories of her past flooded in. All her sisters died, even those with the powers as her. It was only a matter of time until she was next. There in front of this stranger she broke down as she fell face first into the ground, crying out in agony. Maybe she was not a success as she believed. . .

“There is something you’re forgetting,” Eclipse said calmly, almost gently. A somewhat small bauble of energy formed in his hand, and he tossed the dark, swirling orb to her. Celaeno looked up in bewilderment, then in awe as she realized just what was floating in front of her.

“Energy. . .” Celaeno said with excitement as she reached out and absorbed the orb. With a new surge of energy running through her and her mind clearing up, she slowly stood up and stared at her fellow meta in gratitude. “Th-thank you.” However she grew suspicious at this random act of kindness, demanding to know what was his reason. “What do you require?"

“I hate seeing potential such as yours wasted,” he responded simply. “Look around you, at what we’ve accomplished as enemies.” Eclipse gestured to the smoldering ruins of the once peaceful town. “As allies, we would be unstoppable.” He sighed, inhaling the night air. “More immediately, I would like revenge. But I can be patient.” He turned back to her. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is… was… Andrei Chernov. But you can call me Eclipse.”

She stared back, a large grin forming on her face. “Celaeno, call me Celaeno.”

[hr]
10 Miles Away, at the Moment that Eclipse and Celaeno Met

Alexandar Kadyrov looked up at the night sky happily, breathing in the rural air. At long last, after a hard day of forced labor, he was finally able to rest. Although technically private property didn’t exist, Alex still considered the house he was walking towards his house. And nothing could take that away from him.

He stopped for a moment, admiring the stars… and was suddenly hit with a blast from a nearby portal that had just opened, practically incinerating him.

19

While standing in front of the USS soldiers Fannel started to have flashbacks of his battle on Planet Yokosi against Berzerk, it was as if he could clearly see him killing his father and yorkoski people. He stood there hopeless, weak and confused ,

" What if… What if i could of master my power, why… why couldn’t i help the people."

He thinks to himself before he snaps out of it. His anger could be seen in the sky as the clouds gathered and turned dark, tears dropped from his face as he looked at Velgez.

" What If…"

He Proceeds to take off flying the wind knocking the soldiers down, " Well i think we should be following him" Tessnei chuckled to the soldiers before he and Velgez took off flying behind him.

“BEZEERRKKKK” Fannel Screamed as he flew through the forest .

Bezerk quickly reappeared and knock Fannel to the ground “Overcloud Blast!!” Bezerk shouted as a large Ki blast flew towards Fannel just barely missing him by few meters. Fannel Quickly runs into the cover to lure Bezerk towards the ground, “Ha, Ha, Ha,HA” Fannel scream as a barrage of Ki blast start to hurl down on Bezerk knock him off his feet. The two quickly runs towards each other, before Bezerk could hit Fannel; Fannel had already disappeard using his Time Breaker (Bullet Time) he had put his Special move Final Spirt Beam into Bezerk stomach seriously injuring him. Bezerk quickly runs off with Fannel in hot pursuit, before long Fannel was tired and stop giving chase.

He turned back around and headed for the USS he wanted to know why Bezerk was here, who could he be working for…

20

Looking at Ambassador Braddock, Windrider nodded in respect, “Thank you for this information, I hope we will be able to use it to reach our mutual goal of freeing the kidnapped scientists.” Windrider looked at the gold and blue dressed ‘hero’ and gave a small smile. “Gabriel Cherub, I’ve heard about you, good things for sure.” He paused (as his eyes behind his mirrored shades glanced around), “shall we take this discussion to a more private location away from prying eyes and ears?” he questioned in a much quieter voice.

“Windrider, and likewise,” was Cherub’s response. “I think that would be a good idea, we don’t know if The Golden Rogues have spies in the USS.” Gabriel took out his staff, walked outside, and hit the ground with it. A small yellow bubble formed around the staff, extending out to encase its caster. Cherub poked his head outside the bubble and said, “come on in, the weather is fine over here. Speaking of weather, think you can use it to move us somewhere else?”

Giving a slight smile, Windrider stepped into the yellow bubble as the winds picked up around the two of them, and with nary a gesture, they both rose up into the air and into the rain clouds and started to move out of the city towards the jungle to the east of Mvulaland. Using the water molecules in the air, Windrider wrapped them around the two heroes, which caused the two of them to become an indistinct blur to any observers who would quickly lose them to eyesight. As they moved into the lower cloud cover, Windrider said, “the last ‘rumor’ I heard of The Golden Rogues is that they are located somewhere in the eastern portion of the jungles of Mvulaland close to the borders of Matamba.”

“That makes sense, that part of Matamba is a lawless place. The USS would have no monitoring ability in the jungle, which would explain The Golden Rogues making their hideout there. Let’s move the weather balloon we are in out east and get into the jungle. We’ll also have to figure out a way to identify where the fortress is. Perhaps you can manipulate the wind to flow through the jungle, and determine if there are any large structures that block its path?” Cherub suggested.

“I’ll need to concentrate for a moment,” he said. (If one could see behind his mirrored wrap-around shades he is wearing. Windrider’s pale blue/gray eyes turned white as he manipulated the weather-system the two hovered in, to move in a more eastward direction that seemed more of a ‘natural’ pace than abruptly shoving the system eastward.)“One should be very careful when one manipulates the weather systems of Urth. Causing a sudden thunderstorm or moving a storm-front contrary to its ‘natural’ path can destabilize the rest of Urths’ weather patterns catastrophically if one is not careful.” He paused and let out a little breath, “and a little ‘tweak’ here and a little ‘tweak’ there and done.” He smiled. “I can check via the winds going through the jungles if there are large structures about.” He frowned, “the problem with that is this part of Gondwana is rife with ancient Felind ruins. The ancestors of the modern-day Felinds that live in Matamba. Let’s see what we can find,” he said as he sent the winds through the jungle foliage with the storm as they drifted up high in the clouds camouflaged.

“What did you find out, Windrider?” Cherub asked. If this doesn’t work, we are going to have a lot of jungle to look through, he thought.

Concentrating on the information Urth’s winds give him, Windrider frowned, “I am getting about five possible structures along the eastern border of Mvulaland,” pausing for a few seconds, cocking his head to the side. “The terrain is quite hilly in that region of the jungle,” he concluded. Looking around them he stated, “I am going to have let this storm dissipate naturally now. Any longer of me holding this weather pattern will cause some problems for other systems. We have about ‘maybe’ thirty minutes before this particular storm is done.” Even now, one could make out that the clouds were very slowly dissipating further away from their current location.

Cherub adjusted his staff to account for the motion of the storm dissipation. “Let’s go to the closest structure while we are still partially concealed by the system.” As they traveled towards the nearest structure, they were able to ascertain that the structure did not look like ruins. The building was a single story, and most interesting about it was that it looked out of place for a building in the middle of the jungle. Most notable was the lack of windows, metal exterior, and, judging by a faint whirring, generators inside. “This is probably it, it does not look like a ruin,” Cherub said to Windrider. “It looks like the entrance is pretty much sealed up by a heavy blast door, and I don’t see a way to get in without prying open that door, and alerting everyone in there.”

“Hmm, I see,” Windrider began. “I can open up the doors, but that would be loud and messy,” looking over at Cherub, “other than just walking up and knocking on the door, and or finding the ventilation shafts to see if we can enter that way, I’m not seeing a lot of options that are not overly loud. You?”

“Same, my experience in the Legion of Abaddon allows me to understand how to destroy this structure, but not how to sneak in… so, what if, instead of sneaking in, we get them to come out? If we could find a place where air escapes from the interior, we could fill the main room with smoke, forcing whoever is inside out the main entrance. Then, we take them out.”

“True, hopefully, they do not have a closed system in there like on a submarine.” Windrider paused to ponder, “I might be able to, if we find the air exchange vent, to just clog it up, they would eventually have to come out and check it. What do you think?”

“Let’s do it.” Cherub set the bubble down in the deep jungle nearby and dissipated it upon the conclusion of the storm. The two heroes snuck towards the structure, being careful not to make too much noise. Luckily, Cherub had noticed a vent on the top of the roof from up above, making it a good place for Windrider to clog up the vent.

Looking around, Windrider made a small ‘whirling’ gesture with a finger and a rather large ‘dust-devil’ formed and started moving around the area, picking up dead leaves and twigs. After the debris-filled mini-whirlwind was full, he made another gesture and it lifted up into the air and moved right over the intake vent for the complex. He discontinued manipulating the air currents and all the debris immediately fell right into the intake clogging it up. A couple of moments later, there was a rather large ‘clunk-thud’ and the noise of the intake was silenced.

“That should get their attention,” Windrider said to his companion.