Clash of the Magnuses

[Sebastian Kain]

This is an story that is part of Magnus's origin. It will deal with his epic battle with his clone Tres. :feedback: is appreaciated!

Characters Involved
Tyrany
Paladin
Dark Wolff
Got


Chapter 1: Changer’s Swan Song

The rain began to fall heavily onto the streets of Paragon City. The apparent assassination on the newly elected mayor; had been successfully thwarted by the very man destined to kill him, Magnus or so we thought. Our heroes found themselves chasing after the real killer, the one Magnus and his carbon copy clone Tres where sent back from the future, to stop several years ago. Now Magnus foiled the horrific event that constructed their future. His shot was accurate and dead on to its target. He had it the Changer in his right hand above his trademark black widow birthmark on his. The Changer’s custom pistol fell off the rooftop and onto the wet streets below.

“You can’t copy me! You S.O.B.!” he said.
The Changer grasped his throbbing hand in pain, but he still held Magnus’s look-a-like form.
“Damn You!” “You pathetic excuse for a mutant!” “Why do you care for these lower species, their beneath us. “I thought I would be rid of you forever and preserve our future.”
“The future is now you fool!” “And I’ll make sure you pay for this!” said Magnus.
“All of the years that I have been partners with you, I would have never thought that you would be capable of doing this; let alone turning on me and doing this to my eye!” said Magnus pointing to his eye patch.
“You know what, I have grown very sick of your damn speeches!”

With that being said the Changer launched an energy blast similar to Magnus’s directly at him. Magnus was able to avoid it with ease. When he looked back up at Changer, he had transformed into a crow and was heading into the nearby abandoned Crey Industries warehouse. Magnus signaled down to Tres and the others waiting below the rooftop to go after him.


On the ground, Tres and the rest of the members of the Helix squad scouted the area for The Changer’s accomplices. Apparently they were waiting for him in the old abandoned Crey warehouse that he was going into. Tres grinded his teeth and had an obvious look of disgust on his face. He didn’t like taking orders from Magnus, even if he was the original being between the two. He didn’t even want Magnus’s help to complete the mission at hand. In his eyes it was not Magnus’s mission anymore, considering the mental state he was in. Magnus suffered severe trauma and memory loss during his trip to the past from the year 3000. He had developed a form of short-term memory loss that dealt with mostly the events that occurred leading up to his mission. He often at times suffers from emotionally driven scenarios that lead to him blackout or having visions of his past life in the future. After some consulting, persuasion and a few physical confrontations he agreed to help Tres and his crew with their quest to bring the Changer to justice. Unfortunately, he still has tremendous animosity towards Tres and does not completely trust him; he doesn’t even call him a human.

Tres waved his hand and acknowledged Magnus’s signal. He contacted the others and directed them to the Changer’s hideout. They moved out like soldiers of fortune, but one of them stopped to speak with him. A young woman, in her early twenties with an olive complexion. She was his second in command and he called her Vertigo.

“You know we need him,” she said.
“Yes, I’m quite aware of that!” he said.
“You don’t have to like him, just cooperate with him for the sake of this mission and the world.”
“I literally despise him, and it makes me sick that my whole existence is based around the fact that I’m his copy!”
Vertigo grabs him by his hand. “Come on my love, we shall finish this together.”

The two of them treaded into the warehouse after Magnus in hopes of finding the Changer. Leading to an epic showdown once and for all.

[Sebastian Kain]

Chapter: 2 Showdown at the Warehouse

The warehouse was dark and quiet. It had a damp and musky odor to it. The team proceeded into it with extreme caution. The first to enter was a young woman with titanium sliver like skin. Her name was Titanium because of her outward appearance. Even though quite beautiful, she had the strength to match her complexion, the obvious power player of the squad. Following her was a guy that phased in through a nearby wall, reappearing next to her. He was wearing a knitted black skullcap with a black sweater and jeans. His appearance predicted a man in mid to late 30’s with graying hair at the temples. His face had a couple of scars that depicted a war torn body; that was getting better with age. His facial expressions displayed a confident look with hints of sarcasm attached. Titanium referred to him has Fadeout. Trailing them were Tres, Magnus, Vertigo and another man. He was dressed in an all white spandex suit with matching mask and two daggers strapped to his belt. The only part of him that wasn’t covered was his blue eyes. His name was Jasper and he was the first and oldest member of Tres’s squad.

"Alright this is the plan, Changer and his men are somewhere in this bulding."
“Fadeout and Titanium, I want you two to take the staircase to my right and go to the second floor.”
Looking over at Jasper and Vertigo.“I want you and Jasper to go checkout the basement level.”
“And Magnus, you and I shall take the staircase directly in front of us.” “It leads to the very top level.”
“Great, I always wanted to be by myself.” Looks over at Tres with boiling irritation while walking away.“Or something ‘like’ me.”

Tres tries to go after Magnus with anger but he is held back by Vertigo. The group splits up and goes their separate ways after wishing each other good luck and safe passage.

On the second floor, a single light rest over a large table down the hall from the stairs. It is the largest and main room on the floor. The room is littered with objects and other broken Crey Industries equipment. There are several columns that appear to be part of the foundation to the room and not just centerpieces. The room is outlined with cracked and boarded up windows. To the right of the doorway there is a medium sized puddle of water on the floorboard.

[Sebastian Kain]

As Titanium and Fadeout walked into the room they react to the disturbing feeling that someone or something is watching them. “It appears that this level is vacant.” Said Titanium in a thick Italian accent. “Looks can be deceiving my dear.” He said. Suddenly a gust of wind comes through the open doorway behind them. It sends Fadeout soaring clear across the room and crashing through a half broken window. Before Titanium could react, a large watery hand appeared from beneath her. It grabs a hold of her and shoves her through the wall near the open doorway.“Smash!” said an unknown voice. The voice’s owner appears at the broken window that Fadeout went through. A young man is seen wearing an orange jumpsuit. He has spiky reddish blond hair. He removes a pair of goggles from his eyes to his forehead, while looking out of the window admiring his handy work. “Pull yourself together Drench and come take a look at this.” “I don’t see this guy anywhere!” “Just an empty fire escape?” Just as soon as he could finish his explanation, his face was meet with an invisible force of swiftness and power. The impact sent the man swirling to the floor in a heap of pain and confusing several feet away from the window. Fadeout reappears before him, brushing some dirt from his shoulder. “I should have known it was you behind me Hype!” he said while giving Hype a devilish smirk.“I could smell you a mile away!” “Luckily, I was alert enough to grab the upper part of the fire escape.”Drench finally pulls himself together and proceeds to go after Fadeout, but Titanium came rushing in through the opening she had just made, and ran right through Drench causing him to become separated again. From then on, a knockdown, drag out fight ensues between the opposing factions.

Meanwhile, Vertigo and Jasper were making their way through the many areas of the bottom floor of the warehouse. Vertigo used her telepathy to sense that the huge rock bruiser Brik nearby them. Brik busted through a wall into the room they where searching in. Jasper went to attack him, but Brik just flung him into a wall like he was a rag doll. Vertigo tried to bind Brik with her powers, but Brik’s partner in crime interfered. A dark magician named Black engulfed Vertigo in a world of darkness with his powers. When Vertigo opened her eyes, she found herself in an alternate reality, one filled with darkness as far as the eye could see. Jasper arose to his feet and began attacking Brik with quick strikes with his fists. He used his agility to dodge the crushing blows of Brik, while keeping up his offensive onslaught. Brik growing impatient with just punching at Jasper, decided to charge him with full speed. Before he was able to crash into him, Jasper flipped over him and the momentum sent Brik crashing into the wall causing him to get his head stuck. Jasper saw this has his window of opportunity to slow the mammoth down. He gave Brik a swift kick to the groin. Jasper felt a painful thump through his foot. Brik grunted and continued to try and free himself from his predicament. “So that’s the reason you are called Brik!” said Jasper. He then reached for a nearby chair and proceeded to bash the brute over the neck repeatedly, hoping to knock him out for a second at least. The maneuver worked and it gave Jasper some time to assist Vertigo in the next room.

Magnus and Tres found themselves on the very top floor of the warehouse looking for the Changer. They walk into a room filled with lab equipment and a warp gate similar to the one they used in the future along the adjacent wall. Standing directly in front of the warp gate is a man with black hair and a long trench coat with his back turned toward them. Tres walks up to him with his assault rifle targeting him. “Why don’t you shoot the bastard already!”Magnus bellows to him. “I have this covered okay!” he snarls. “It’s over Changer!” he said. The man turns around slowly reveals two wings peaking out from his trench coat. He spreads his wings and the trench coat rips and falls to the ground in pieces, revealing one angelic wing with feathers and the other wing scaly and demonic looking.“Sorry fellas, I’m not him!” he said. Magnus tries to shoot him, but the beast quickly takes to the air and flies through a window in the ceiling.“You! Kill him now before he gets away!”Magnus screams to Tres. The Changer then comes out from behind the warp gate.“I’m sorry gentlemen, but I can’t allow that!” he then transforms into a T-Rex. He spins around and hits both Magnus and Tres with his tail. The blow sends Tres crashing to the ground and Magnus up into the air and through the roof.“It’s time to end your pathetic existence you wannabe!”he said to Tres. Before he could sink his teeth into him, Tres unleashes a barge of energy blasts directly into his mouth.“Don’t you ever call me a wannabe, douche bag!”said Tres.

[Sebastian Kain]

Vertigo called out for help from the others, but there was no answer. There was darkness everywhere. The only things she could see were several columns a couple of feet away from her. The columns seemed to go straight into the airy darkness and not stop anywhere that she could see. She tried to contact Tres telepathically, but an outside force was blocking her connections. Suddenly, she heard mysterious laughter coming from an unknown source. Being the final member of the squad, she was not aware of any of the villains that aligned themselves with the Changer, especially not this being. “It’s no use my beauty.” Said a sly, French accented voice. “No matter how hard you try, it isn’t enough.” He said.“Show yourself right now, Coward!” she said.“Now, now there is no need for name calling. I’m right here.”He said appearing from behind the farthest column away from her. A tall and wiry build man approached her, wearing a very expensive looking black tuxedo with a matching bowtie. He was bald and his eyes were a milky shade with no visible pupils. He carried a blind man’s walking staff and looked to be in his late 50’s to early 60’s.“Who are you?”she said.“My name is Mr. Black, malady and I’m here to service you.”He replied.“Your not to service me you creep! You’re here to kill me!”she said. “Well nothing gets past you!”he said jokingly. She fired a psychic attack at him, but the man disappeared from the pathway of the blast and reappeared behind a column behind her.“You’re going to have to do better than that! You’re in my domain now!”he said.

“Lookout!”screamed Fadeout to Titanium to avoid an attack from Drench. Titanium barely moved out of the way, only to be hit with a speedy attack from Hype. Drench attempted to turn his focus on Fadeout, but he had turned invisible.“Where is he!”said Drench. Suddenly, Hype found himself wedged into the floorboard below him. Fadeout arose from the floor and reappeared behind Hype.“What the hell!” “Drench help me out over here!”he yelled. Before Drench could help him, Titanium came back into the scene and started attacking Drench with everything she had.“I’m busy at the moment.”He said. Drench created a whirlpool in the floor beneath Titanium. It engulfed her in a matter of seconds and sent her crashing through a hole in the floor to the first level. Hype sped away from the grasping Fadeout. “I’m to quick for you old man.”Said the speedster has he charged Fadeout for another attack. Before Hype could land a punch, Fadeout phased and grabbed Hype by the arms.“Hey what are you doing?”“I’m slowing you down”said Fadeout. Fadeout took Hype’s arms and placed them through the floor below them. “Drench! Help me!”bellowed Hype. Drench formed water like sickles on his arms. He then went after Fadeout. Fadeout continued to phase in and out of Drench’s strikes. He tried to keep it up, but phasing in and out was draining his energy at a rapid pace. Fadeout let his guard down for a split second, and Drench saw his opportunity. He turned his arms into one giant watery fist and pounded them into Fadeout. The blow sent him crashing through a column and against the wall; knocking him out cold. The wooden column snapped like a twig, and the ceiling above them began to crack and waver a bit. On the first level, Titanium got up and tried to gather herself. She at took a nasty fall through the floor, but was uninjured mostly due to her Titanium skin.

[Sebastian Kain]

On the roof, Magnus found himself in a dramatic confrontation with the wing being known as Angeliquis. Magnus fired repeated blasts from his hands at the flying villian. Angeliquis continued to avoid all of Magnus's attacks with the greatest of ease."Is that the best you can do?"he said. "I haven't begun to fight!"said Magnus. Angeliquis dove at Magnus and began to bombard him with diving attacks. Magnus stood his ground and narrowly avoided several while asborbing a few of them. Magnus tried to keep up his tactics of exchanging attacks with the beast, but he was getting exhausted at a rapid rate. Changer's attack that sent him crashing through the roof took a lot out of him. If he wanted to live, he had to devise a plan quickly to take out Angeliquis before he gets killed. Magnus decided to remove his jacket and use it to lure Angeliquis to attack him head on. Magnus began waving his jacket like a Matador enticing a bull. "I'm a bull eh?" "I'll show you a bull" said Angeliquis has he arose far into the sky for a final diving attack. Angeliquis reached his destination for his launch at Magnus, turned around a began to ascend like a hawk going after its prey with both his angelic wing and demonic pulled back at his sides. He grinned devilishly at Magnus has he approached him at blinding speed. Magnus with held his ground and did not flinch at his oncoming attacker. As soon as Angeliquis was in range, Magnus set his plan into motion. He through his coat over Angeliquis head and leapt onto his back. "This is how you take a bull by the horns!" said Magnus. Magnus then gives Angeliquis two blasts to the back of the neck and flips off him while he goes crashing off the end of the rooftop and onto the street below. Magnus grabs onto the edge of the fire escape to make sure he did not recieve the same fate. "You see some of us can choose our destiny, you deserved your fate." he said of the fallen Angeliquis. Magnus then pulled himself up onto the roof and began to move toward the hole he just came out of. Magnus peered into the hole and saw Tres engaged in a battle with a very large tiger....

On the third floor, Tres was on the ground a large tiger on top of him. Tres tried to keep the Changer (now in the form of a tiger) from sinking his teeth into him. "Is there anything you can't change into"said Tres while struggling with the beast. "No!"Changer growled. Tres was able to squirm his way free during the split second Changer was talking and kicked him off his body. The Changer went crashing into a table with lab equipment next to the Warp gate. He transformed back into himself and wiped the blood away from his head that he had just recieved from his spill. Magnus then leaps down through the ceiling and lands right next to Tres. "Having problems?" said Magnus to Tres. "Nothing I can't handle." said Tres dusting himself off and picking up his blaster. The Changer arose from the debris he created. "I'm going to kill you both!" he said. He then transformed into an enormous fire breathing dragon. "Why does he have to make this difficult for himself." said Magnus has the two warriors prepared to fight the Changer again.

[Sebastian Kain]

Boooom* Jasper goes crashing into a corner along the wall inside the room he was fighting Brik in. The impact creates a small crator were his body hit the wall with a loud thud. Brik's punch attack sent him flying across the room and it nearly killed him. His costume had been torn in several places and part of his mask had been ripped revealing the right corner of his forehead and grey hair. His had began to catch up with him. He did not have any super powers nor any special ablities that should have kept him young. He was merely a normal man trying to fight the good fight. Even his physical training couldn't have prepared him enough for this battle. Brik slowly walked over to powerless hero attempting to get up. He appeared to be moving in for the kill, Jasper barely put a scratch on him since they started fighting. Jasper sucked it up and arose to his feet. He was hurting bad, but he wasn't about to quit now as long as he could still breath. Jasper wiped the blood away from his mouth. "Is that all you got?" he said. Brik just grunted and continued forward toward Jasper. "Then let's go!" he said has began to assault Brik with thunderous kicks to various parts of his body. Brik just continued to absorb everything the old man could muster. Brik grabbed on of Jasper's legs and flung him into the wall behind him. Jasper heard one of his legs 'snap' like a twig. He grabbed it with one hand in pain and reached for one of his daggers that was lying on the ground beside him. Brik had a sick sadistic grin on his face has he approached the now defenseless hero or so he thought. When Brik was finally in range, Jasper jumped up with what little strength he had left onto his good leg and jabbed the dagger right into the left eye of Brik. They both fell to the ground in pain.

Vertigo grabbed her head in pain. She could feel the darkness spreading all around her. Black's powers had sealed her away from everyone she cared about and the world around her. Her deepest and darkest fears were on full display, she was alone and possible forgotten. She could hear his laughter throughout every corner of her being and he had beaten her. In her mind she had lost and there was nothing that anyone could do about it. In the real world, Black looked at her lifeless body laying on the ground with her eyes glazed over. She was in a coma like state and pretty much defenseless. Instead of finishing her off, he turned his attention toward an injured Jasper. Black calmly walked over to the hero as he laid throbbing in pain. Black held out his cane and pointed it directly into Jasper's face. "I'll teach you to mess with us!" he said. Black then began unleashing a sufficating dark liquid onto the face of Jasper. It was engulfing his entire head and making it hard for him to breath. He reached desparately at his face trying to pull it off, but it was no use. Black looked over at Brik and told him to come over to Jasper. Brik yanked the dagger out of his eye socket and lumbered his way over. "You, finish him now!""Break his neck" he hissed. Like an obediant dog, Brik began trying to snap Jasper's neck like he did to his leg. Black's powers began to subside a bit and Jasper began to reach for Brik's hands and pry them aloose frantically. A sick smile appeared on Black's face, he could smell the end for the hero.

In the darkness, Vertigo could now sense Jasper's life force slipping away from her. Black's mental barrier had lowered tremendously and she could know feel the telepathic links between her friends. Jasper was trying to call her for help, but her mind was still trapped in the darkness that Black created. She wanted to help him, but she couldn't even help herself. She began to cry, because she had never felt so powerless to help someone in her entire life.

On the outside, Jasper had just about pushed himself to his limit trying to break free. It was over for him and he had very little regrets. He had died while trying to fight the good fight one last time or so he would like to think. He could feel his soul begging to slip away has his neck began to give way. With his last breath he said goodbye to Vertigo and succumbed to the forces of Brik. You could hear a blood curderling 'crack' has Jasper's neck snapped into two. His body went limp and the struggle was no longer there. Brik dropped his body in triumph and began to turn his attention to Vertigo's body.

In the darkness Vertigo felt it all. Everything Jasper suffered she suffered. She allowed herself to be a victim and allowed Jasper to suffer an ill timed fate as well. She literally watched him die and did practically nothing to stop it. She was furious with herself and the violent and dispicable act she just 'witness'. She began to feel her powers coming back to her and she used them to take control over her confinement. The darkness began to clear and she felt herself being restored to her body. She awoke with a jolt of energy and arose to her feet in a hover like state. Her eyes began to glow white with energy as she sought revenge on Jasper's killers. She first turned her attention toward Brik. "You like to break things!?" "How bout I break you!" she said. She then waved her hand forward at Brik and began throwing pieces of the wall from behind her at him. The pieces were hitting the target with tremedous accuracy and force. She then picked up Jasper's daggers and began stabbing the brute repeatedly with them. Brik screamed in agnoy and terror. "I'll teach you to mess with us!" she said. She then waved her hand toward an open window and flung the now helpless Brik through the window and several feet into the sky and across the city. After he was out of the way, she then proceeded to focus her efforts on Black, but he had long vanished in a dark cloud of smoke. Having cleaned the area, she fell to the ground sobbing and exhausted. She noticed her communicator lying next to her and scrambled to use it to call the others. "Tres.....Magnus.....*sobbing*.....anyone....if you can hear me.....Jasper is no longer with us.....he's dead!"

[Sebastian Kain]

Titanium had finally made her way back up the stairs and was on her way to the room were her and Fadeout was fighting in. When she arrived at the room, she saw Fadeout and Drench engaged in battle and Hype still lodged into the wall were Fadeout had left him. She was getting ready to assist Fadeout, when suddenly her communicator went off and Vertigo's voice was on the other line. "Tres.....Magnus.....*sobbing*.....anyone....if you can hear me.....Jasper is no longer with us.....he's dead!"It was the most chilling thing Titanium had heard in her life. She couldn't believe that one of their own was gone. She didn't even get a chance to say anything to him, other than good luck. Tears began to form and stream down her sliver cheeks. In the time she had known Jasper, he was like a father to her. She never really told him that, but she felt that way for everyone on the team. They were her family when she did not have one and they meant the world to her. Fadeout heard the cryptic message as well and he stopped figthing Drench. In an unusual form of character Drench ceased his assault too after hearing the message. You could hear Hype screaming at the top of his lungs about Drench's current actions. During the ackward slience, Vertigo continued on explaining the events that lead to the death of Jasper while the pairs listened intentivily. When she got to the actual part when Jasper died, Hype began to laugh manically. It was like music to his ears. He was happy to hear that the old man had perished. "Good riddens!" he said with a snide remark. "I didn't like him anyway!"

It was like a trigger had went off in Fadeout's mind. He was already filled with anger and retribution for what they had done to Jasper. Jasper was his drinking buddy and good friend. He was the one that recruited him to join Tres's team. They were supposed to go out for a round of drinks after everything was said and done. But that was not to be the case now. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and the fact that the punk kid he had placed in the wall, would have the grapefruits to laugh at this very horrible situation. Fadeout's dazed gaze fixated on the helpless Hype. He began to walk over to him, with almost 'ghost-like' finesse. Hype continued to laugh and make a mockery of the scenario. "What are you going to do old man?" he said. "Kill me!" "Heroes don't kill!" he said boastfully. Fadeout met him face to face and his demeanor didn't change has he began to phase one of his hands. "What are you doing!" Hype said with now a hint of uneasiness in his voice. "I'll show you a hero that kills!" Fadeout replied with a dementend tone of a man that had reached his breaking points. Fadeout shoved his now nearly invisible hand directly into the chest of the 'helpless' speedster. Hype began to unless blood curdling screams and tried desparetly to break free from his binds. It was no use, his life was slipping away at a rapid pace. His eyes began to roll back into his head and his head fell limp to the side of his left shoulder. As quickly as he went in, Fadeout pulled out Hype's now lifeless heart and discarded it to the ground in disgust. Drench and Titanium both had similar looks of absolute horror on their faces at the ordeal they had just witness. Fadeout, with still a glazed look but redness to his eyes now began to turn his attention to Drench. "This battle is over now." he said. Drench made his exit through an open window, not wanting to meet the same fate that Hype did. Fadeout began to turn his whole self invisible. Titanium began to weep uncontrollable now. "Where are you going?" she said to him. "My part in this is over, Tres, Magnus, Vertigo and yourself can handle it now." he said. "You know where to find me if you need me." he said. Before she could respond he phased through the floor and disappeared from her sight. Has he was leaving a battered Vertigo appeared in the doorway. "Let's go find Magnus and Tres."

[Sebastian Kain]

Tres was getting up from being knocked to the ground by the Changer's dragon form. His vest jacket had been ripped and torn off and his blue t-shirt had been torn as well. He had been battered, brusied and pushed to his limits when suddenly Vertigo's voice came over his communicator. The Changer was rambling on about how he was going to destory him and Magnus once and for all. Tres looked over at Magnus with a look of disbelief. Magnus spat out some blood and gave him the same look right back. They didn't say a word about the situation, but they knew what they had to do. Defeat the Changer once and for all, no matter what.

Magnus nodded at Tres and for once they were going to work like at team to stop the Changer's rampage. The Changer finished his speech and transformed into his original form. He grabbed his energy blaster of the ground and began to laugh manically. "I'm going to enjoy mopping the floor with you two.!" he said. "Maybe I should end your lives like this?" beings to transform "Or maybe I should finish it off as someone you know!" he then transforms into the worldly known hero, Xanatos. Magnus just gave a little smirk at his accomplishment and said "You're definately not him." He then begins to charge Changer at full speed. The Changer attempts to shoot an icy attack at him, but Magnus grabs a piece of a broken table in his path and sheilds himself from it. Tres comes in right behind him and gives Changer an energy blast right into his face. The blast sends Changer stumbling backwards causing him to lose his form and divert back to his true self. Changer's gun fell to the floor just infront of the warp gate. He wiped the blood from a newly established cut from his face and staggered over to it, while Tres and Magnus strolled presued cautionsly behind him with weapons drawn. Vertigo and Titanium appeared in the doorway behind them. The Changer reached the gate and began setting the coordinates for a time period in the past. "Give it up Changer, it's over!" said Tres. "I refuse to let it end like this." he said coughing up blood. "If I can't stop you jerks here, then I'll just go to a different time." the gate began to open behind him. Vertigo stepped forward and said "I can't allow you to hurt anyone else!" she then attempted to use her ablities to stop Changer, but Magnus stopped her. "Fools, I shall destory you all!" he says. He then begins to fire a barage of energy beams at the heroes. Vertigo mangages to put up a force field to shield the heroes but Tres is struck down by a stray beam, Magnus fires back and his bullet puts an hole in Changer's head, killing him instantly. His momentum then carries him through the portal and into obilivion. The gate then closes itself and shutdown. Vertigo frantically rushes over toward the fallen Tres. "Are you okay?" she says with tears in her eyes. "I'm fine, I think." he said getting up slowly.

Magnus could hardly believe that his mission was finally over. He would finally have peace from his reccuring nightmares about it and would finally be able to move on with his life. Tres's team was now down to three members, their mission was completed but their was still an uneasyness amongst them. Tres stumbled for a bit as he felt an unsual illness come over him. "I feel like hell!" he said. "You look like it too!" said Magnus with a smile on his face. Tres finally smiled back as they began to leave the warehouse. Little did any of them know what the future held for them and the last 'wish', Changer had left with them. Deep within Tres, something began to grow and take control......

[Sebastian Kain]

Chapter 3: Evil Grows Within.

"Well, that just about finishes my story." said Magnus while downing back a glass of ale. "I have no purpose in life now, my cryptic mission has been completed." "That was nearly two years ago, I'm destined to walk this world for the rest of my natural life." he says grumply. An older looking gentleman with silvery white hair and goatee is seated directly across from him. He is listening to Magnus's story intentively. "Well, look at it this way my friend, I have been around far longer than you have and you learn to adapt to it." he said with an reassuring smile on his face. "I suppose your right Alastair, I have been hear for three years now." "Its time to face reality." "This is my home now." he says with renewed confidence. Magnus then glances over at three suspcious looking members of the Hellions, sitting in the far corner of the bar. They were beginning to get up and potentially go after their next victim that was leaving the bar for the night. This was Magnus oppournity to go after them and find out the answers behind the sudden disappearance of his best friend in King's Row.

Earlier in the week, Magnus's first and really his only friend that he calls the Brain, disappeared from his apartment complex in King's Row. When Magnus first arrived in Paragon City of the past in 2001, the Brain befriended him and gave him a place to stay. The Brain is a very intellectual individual. He isn't a superior human, he just has a vast knownledge about the world around him. His real name is Percy Anderson, but Magnus refers to him as the Brain because he's so intelligent. Percy is in his late 40's and is a alumni of Princeton University. The day he disappeared there was only one witness, a young boy around twelve that said several men that looked like Hellions attacked Percy infront of his apartmetn and teleported him away from there. The weird thing about the situation, was that they 'teleported'. Magnus had never heard of such a feet being accomplished by mere Hellions. Magnus had been scounting several of the members of the Hellions all week, hopefully this would be the break he was looking for.

"Now, if you will excuse me Alastair, I have some business to take care of with the individuals right over there." he said pointing to the trio of exiting Hellions. "Alright my man, if you need any assistance just let me know." he replied. "No worries brother, its nothing I can't handle on my own." he replys with a smirk of sarcasm. He bids farewell to his friend and exits the building after his targets. The trio of Hellions began to make their move on their unsuspecting prey, a young man and woman. What of the of the creeps yell "Give me all your money before I mess you up punk!" at the young man. He then unveils a gun onto the helpless pair. Magnus wastes no time interrupting the situation and stopping the would be attackers dead in there tracks. "Why don't you ass clowns pick on me!" He said sarcastically. The trio turned around and looked at Magnus with percing gazes. "That's right! Come to Daddy!" he said tauntingly. Two of the three shoved the couple feircely to the ground. "I don't think you know who you're messing with smartass!" said the obvious leader of the group. "I'm pretty sure I do, Loser!" he said to him. The trio began to charge at Magnus and he attempted to fend of each of their attacks. A shadowy figure watched the melee from the rooftops above.

[Sebastian Kain]

Take this you son of a B****! An energy blast was fired from the shadows, knocking a Skull thug down an alleyway. RRRAAAAAAA!!! A lower thug punched the unknown fighter in the shadows. He revealed his wings and sent the thug into a brick wall. The shadowed figure stood into the light and was revealed to be Paladin. Although the fight was over, being hit in the face set Paladin off...He screamed and fired energy blasts randomly into the air. After his fit of rage he walked down to the Skull he hit with his energy blast. He picked him up and removed his mask, he had an "x" shaped scar in the center of his face. Paladin brought the thugs together and took flight.

As he was flying he noticed the amount of heroes getting fewer and fewer as he got closer to the Police Station. 'Are our enemies getting stronger? It seems as though the heroes are losing the fight...I can only hope its not true.' He looked down below to see a few heroes standing off against some Hellions. One of the men looked familiar to Paladin but he paid no attention to them but instead the villains. They were stronger than normal Hellions and it looked as though the heroes might need help. He noticed a shadowy figure on a nearby rooftop watching the combat below. 'Yet another hero watching instead of fighting the good fight. I guess I will need to hurry back then.' He spread his wings and headed toward the PCPD.

He arrived at the PCPD and put the thugs down next to the door. He heard gunshots and looked behind him. They seemed to be coming from where he saw the alleyway fight. One of the thugs groaned and looked up at Paladin. He took out his taser and paralyzed him. He tied them together and put them onto his shoulder. He walked into the Police Station and dropped the thugs onto the cold tile floor. He ran out the double doors and took flight again. This time he flew much faster due to having less weight. 'I wonder if that hero is still watching the fight. I hope I am not too late.' He watched below to look for the fight again. He got to the alleyway and landed on a nearby building. He gazed below and saw the fight continuing. ' Here I come!! ' He lept off the building and paused a few feet off the ground when he saw a familiar face. Magnus?!!?

A Hellion came up behind Paladin and put his arm around his neck. They both came crashing to the ground. Paladin reached behind him and grabbed the Hellion by his shirt and flipped him over, he flew into a dumpster and left a deep dent. Magnus....Is that you?! A group of Hellions charged at Paladin all at once. He used his wings to create a gust of wind and blow them back. He looked around for Magnus but he did not see him anywhere. Another thug lunged toward him. He grabed him in mid-air and flew into the air. 'Where's Magnus damnit...' Put me down you stupid son of a b****! The alley was now crawling with Hellion, it was hard to tell how many were there but Paladin had to help his old friend. He flew down into the crowd and used the thug as a shield as he batted all the villains. He made his way through most but was shot in the shoulder, abruptly ending his rampage. 'Great...now I'm the one who needs help.' He turned onto his back and saw an array of handguns pointed at him. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes.

[Sebastian Kain]

Magnus slammed the head of one of the hellions into the side of a building in the alley they were fighting in. The thug fell to the ground in a heap of blood and pain, clutching at his face. He continued to dodge the attacks of the other two with extreme finesse. He was moving with aglity that he had never been able to achieve in quite sometime. He was at the peak of his game, and his ablities were showing through. He couldn't imagine why the Hellions had come into King's Row. It was not an area known to be their turf. Everything wasn't adding up for him. The disappearance of his friend, the Hellions teleporting away from the scene, and establishing new terriority in the underbelly of King's Row wasn't normal. Some thing wasn't right and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He made short work of the remaining duo and they scampered off into the darkness of the alley. The couple were still sitting on the ground near a dumpster, still shaking with fear. Magnus walked over to them and extended his hand to help them up. "Here let me help you." Magnus didn't realize that the lone thug on the ground him began to stir and gather himself. He arose and raised his arm up to attack Magnus while he was kneeling infront of the couple. The woman began to scream in horror, while the man said "Behind You!" Magnus reacted but he wasn't quick enough, suddenly like a flash of lighting a shadowy figure swooped down and jump kicked the Hellion in the face, knocking him out cold. Magnus was starled, he rarely asks nor recieves help from anyone. He was a little embarrassed and annoyed that someone would take the liberty to step in and assist him on a task that was so minscule. "I had it under control!" Magnus said with annoyance in his tone. There was still darkness in the air and the shadows began to give way to his assistant. It was a young woman with blond hair and her back was turned away from him. "Now that's no way to treat me, Magnus."The woman turned around and winked at Magnus. "Oh my God, It's you!" he said with complete shock.

[Sebastian Kain]

Paladin opened up his eyes after hearing the commotion down the alley. 'Magnus? Is that you?' He threw up a webgrenade and covered himself with his wings. A loud explosion followed by a sticky web hit the mob around. He expanded his wings and jumped up into the air. He flew up over the surrounding buildings and gazed down at the Hellions with their guns still drawn, the web was starting to wear off. He charged his blasts and fired a cone of energy down at the thugs. The first to get hit flew into the air and hit the buidlings nearby. The rest were pushed down the alley with extraordinary speed. Paladin dropped down to the street again. A swarm of Hellions rushed at him with guns drawn. He picked up a trash can and threw it at them. Half were knocked down and the rest began firing. Paladin's arm began to hurt even worse from his wound on his arm. He grabbed at it and flew into the air. He landed on a building and charged with one arm. He stretched back and fired a constant stream of energy down at them. He defeated most of the mob following him. He had been drained of his energy. He dropped down onto his knees, he used his one good arm to hold himself up. His thoughts wandered back to his last mission as a member of the Central Spike. The cloning lab, the scientists, his friends, the hosital, it all was coming back to him. He remembered the frightened nurse from when he first gained his wings. It all made him enraged. He didn't feel the pain anymore. He leaped off the building and dashed at the Hellions. His fit of rage was soon over. One punch to the face had knocked him down. He got back up and threw some more web grenades. He ran down the alley and punched, kicked, and hit thugs with his wings. He soon was though all the thugs after him but he was suffering from fatigue. He walked down to the couple to make sure they were alright. His outfit was fine except for some tearing on his back and a hole on his arm. The couple thanked him and ran off into the streets. He made his way down to Magnus, holding his arm. He saw the shadowy figure from the roof now infront of Magnus. A passing car lit up the alleyway. He saw a pale female face looking at Magnus.Ugh...Who is she?

[Sebastian Kain]

Tres lied awake in his bed. It had been two years since his battle with the Changer and his followers. Everything about that fate full day, has haunted him ever since. In the years that followed, he has went on to marry Vertigo and basically given up being a super hero. His mission had been completed and eventhough his life felt emptier than ever, he had no desire to continue the efforts. Besides, he hadn't been the same man after he was shot by Changer's chatoic blaster blasts. He would often wake up from hellish nightmares in the middle of the night. They would often keep him up for the rest of the night afterwards. In his nightmares he was slowly loosing control of his own mind to an unknown force and apparently it was happening in his real life too. Within the last year, he had become aggressive and volatile towards everyone in his life. In often times lashing out at them with anger and rage if they upsetted him over the little insignifcant things. Vertigo would tell him that it seems like he was a different person around her too, almost 'evil like' to her. Always talking down to her and in a negative way. It would almost seem like he was 'asleep' when he did it, cause hours later he would always forget how he was acting towards her. His yellow eyes and also began to take on a new color. They began to turn a firey red. He had them checkout recently, thinking that he might have been ill or something, but strangely enough the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him.

He got up out of bed and went to his bathroom. Vertigo had noticed him get up and turned over silently to listen to what he was doing. Tres turned on the light and began to splash water over his face while looking at himself in the mirror. A face began to appear in the mirror, it was the Changer..or it appeared to be him. It looked exactly like him, except he had Tres's compelxion and facial features. The vision began to laugh at him mockingly, Tres screamed in terror and flung a nearby bar of soap at the mirror shattering it. He then began to clutch his head in pain and whithered down to the cold tile beneath him. Vertigo rushed in and attempted to call 911. Suddenly, Tres stopped and snatched the phone away from her. He grunted "I'm fine." and got up from the floor and went back in to the bed room. His demanor seemed even colder now, and Vertigo began to wonder at what was happening to her beloved Tres, he was turning into a monster....

[Sebastian Kain]

Tyrany watched the commotion from above. She was out patrolling around her club, leaping rooftop to rooftop as she's always done. She heard a scuffle below and caught sight of Magnus right away. Good guy. She'd known him for a while. She also knew he could take care of himself. The other guy.. looked like he was holding up. Right before the two had finished off all the thugs causing problems, she gracefully dove silently into the alley and was only seen once she leapt from the shadows, sending a Hellion thug flying back into the wall from a nasty jump kick.

She caught Magnus off guard apparently, by his remark, "I had it under control!"

She grinned and winked back, replying, "Now that's no way to treat me, Magnus."

"So what exactly was that all about?" she asked as she glanced across the alley, noting each pile of unconscious thugs waiting to be hauled off to jail.

[Sebastian Kain]

"So what exactly was that all about?" said Tyrany to Magnus.

Magnus gritted his teeth together and sized up his situation. He certainly didn't ask for Tyr's help nor did he think he really needed it, but he thought that maybe she would provide useful in his search for his missing friend. Tyrany repeated herself again as she began to aline the beaten thugs along the side of the bulding she was facing in the alley. "Fine...I'll tell you!" he grunted. "Cool, now we are getting somewhere!" she said "I thought that was you Magnus!" said Paladin walking up to the pair while still clinching his injured arm. Magnus turned around and greeted his friend with an extended hand. "Hey Paladin! How's it going?" he said with a slight but annoyed Smirk.with a snicker. Magnus was beginning to explain to Tyrany the situation at hand, until they were interrupted by a familar voice.

"I thought that was you Magnus!" said Paladin walking up to the pair while still clinching his injured arm. Magnus turned around and greeted his friend with an extended hand. "Hey Paladin! How's it going?"he said with a slight but annoyed Smirk. "Okay, what brings you to King's Row?" he says while turning his attention to Tyrany. "And who are you?" "She's no one! Magnus grunted with a hint of sarcasm. "I can answer for myself Magnus." she said aburptly. "My name is Tyrany." she said with a devilish smile. "Now that we have gotten the introductins outta the way...I see that you have come to crash my party too." he said bluntly. "If you two want to help me, I'm looking for a missing friend of mine." "Rumor has it tat some teleporting Hellions took him and brought him here to King's Row." he said. "I know Hellions are native to Perez Park, so I don't know exactly why they would be here." "If you two are up to it, I'll gladly accept the assistance." he said carelessly.

"Sure, I wasn't going anywhere in the first place until you asked me!" said Tyrany. I'm in too, where do we start?" said Paladin.

[Sebastian Kain]

Magnus contemplated his unstable situation and its 'two' newly added componets. He stood in silence while Paladin and Tyrany awaited his orders for their next move. He knew that some way the Hellions that they defeated tonight were linked to the same ones that took Brain. He just didn't know why they would come to King's Row instead of remaining in their terrority of Perez Park. Another was that the Hellions that they found tonight did not use any of the teleporting abilities that the witness mentioned about. It clearly was not adding up for him, but he thought that the answers he needed might be found in gang's terrority in Perez Park.

After a couple more minutes of pondering, he finally spoke up.."Alright, we shall continue this investigation in the morning." I have to finishing patrolling this are for tonight, and I assume that you two have to do the same." he said firmly. "Okay, Magnus." said Tyrany. "If you come across anything else tonight.." Magnus finished her sentence. "I'll be sure to contact you..."he said while turning away toward the dark alleyway. Tyrany looked at Paladin with an laugable expression, he replied with a shrug of misbelief. Tyrany then said "I'll see you later." as she began to scale the wall of the building from whence she came and onto its roof. "It was nice working with you! and I hope to do again soon!" she bellowed from the darken rooftop. "Same here!" Paladin shouted back. He then took to the skies soaring into the opposite direction.

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

That Next Day....at Tres's House

Tres was preparing himself to go to his normal job. He had made a pretty good life for himself. Some how he had worked his way into becoming a senior partner of a company located in downtown Paragon City. Eventhough he had given up being a hero two years ago, his life had turned out pretty good or so he wanted to believe. He was in his bathroom accessing the shattered mirror fragments that he had know swept up into a pile near his bathtub. He didn't know what exactly was happening to him, nor did he know how to stop it all together. All he knew was that he couldn't worry about it right now.

"Hey Trish, are you ready to go?" he said to the woman in the bedroom. It was Vertigo, her real name was Trish Jenson and she longer a certified hero either. From time to time she still longed to be a hero, but she had to be against it because of Tres's wishes and his new life style. It still didn't mean she could not use her powers. She replied "Almost, hon." while using her teleknetic ablities to brush her long black hair.

She also knew that Tres had been going through some changes over the last couple of years since their battle with Changer. He was often angry, violent, distant, and far less compassionate towards her and everyone else in their lives. He no longer kept in close contact with Fadeout nor Titanium and he rarely talked over anything with Magnus because he was still a hero unlike the others. Tres's whole team had quit tryin to be heroes for the most part after the death of their long term friend Jasper. Fadeout often found himself to drunk with sorrow and self pitty were every he was, and Titanium found it hard to solo heroing alone, so she gave it up to settle down and start her own family.

All of their lives had changed drastically over the last two years, and the only that seemed like he was keeping it together was Magnus. He had the most to loose out of the situation, his mission had been completed, but he didn't have any way to return to his real world. All and all he seemed fine with his life.

"Let's go!" Tres said appearing directly behind her. He startled her so much that she lost focus and dropped her brush onto the hard wood floors below. It hit the ground with a loud 'Clang'. "I told you about using your abilities for normal everyday things." said Tres sounding annoyed with her. "I'm sorry dear." she replied quietly while gathering her things to leave. "It's okay, let's just go, before I'm late." Vertigo also worked for the same company in down town Paragon, she was Tres's personal assistant.

[Sebastian Kain]

Magnus carefully surveyed the bussingly town of Perez Park from a perched location of a rooftop above the busy streets below. The dusk was beginning to settle in for the evening and he found himself watching the activity of a Hellion hideout, across the street from his location. He still had very few leads to go on about the disappearance of his friend, but one thing was for sure, the answers that he desparately seeks lie within the basis of the Hellion's hideout. He also had reason to believe that the Circle of Thorns are playing an pivotal part in this case as well.

He decided to give Paladin a buzz with his communicator. His call went directly to his voicemail and he left him coordinates to his location. He also decided not to give Tyrany a call for personal reasons. He was quite confident that he would not need the assistance of either one of the heroes, but it was obvious that the warehouse was filled with Hellion thugs and a little help would still be in his best interest. He uttered a silent prayer to himself and lept down off the rootop onto an fire escape and then from the escape to the street below. The sun had finally set and it was high time for him to find his answers to all of his burning questions.

He walked directly up to the front entrance of the Hellion warehouse. It was being guarded by two Hellion thugs. This time he was not planning on suprising anyone. He strolled up to them with his pistols drawn. The eye socket behind his eye patch began to glow bright yellow. The Hellion located on the right side of the entrance noticed him first and threatened him with a slew of curses to leave their terrority. Magnus ignored his pitful slanderings and quickly disabled him with two quick blasts from his 'Fate' pistol. The other finally noticing the attack, attempted to reach for his weapon. Magnus switched gears and pointed his 'Destiny' pistol directly at the head of the slow witted thug.

"Not now *****!" he said as he pulled the trigger. Successfully dropping both like yesterday's trash, Magnus kicked down the front entrance and proceeded onward of his path of destruction...

[Sebastian Kain]

Meanwhile in a bar located several blocks down the street from the Hellion’s dwelling a former alley to Magnus was slowly killing himself. The man known as Peter Keller or Fadeout to Magnus was found once again drinking towards oblivion. In the short time that had passed, since their battle with the Changer and the death of his best friend, his life as had very little meaning. He murdered Hype in cold blood and has since given up on the lifestyle of a hero. He cares for no one and barely cares for himself nowadays. His hair had grown to medium length and it looked like it had not been combed in days. It was white as snow and it matched his extremely scruffy graying beard. His attire was worn out and dirty in various areas across his body his eyes were literally red like fire and bloodshot. He slurred his speech as he ordered the barkeep to pour him another Bloody Mary.

“….Anotheeerrr…one….barrrrrrkeeepp..pfttt..” he muttered while coughing and spewing saliva everywhere.
“Okay, Mr. Keller.” said the barkeeper in a monotone and reluctant like voice.

Several others at the bar noticed the pair’s conversation and had shifted their gazes at one another in disbelief at the barkeep’s willingness to get this man even drunker. Apparently Keller was an everyday customer for the establishment. Even though he would often drink until he was comatose. He was not a potential problem in this state and usually could hold his liquor. He downed another glass and continued to drown himself in self pity and sorrow whiling mumbling things under his breath.

A young man dressed in a long grey trench coat entered the establishment carrying a piece of paper with some writing on it. He had sandy blond hair with blue eyes and he was in an obvious rush. He looked around the bar and met eyes with the barkeeper behind the counter. He ran directly towards him and began to wave the paper in front of the barkeeper asking him for directions to the place written on the paper. The barkeeper answered him with politeness and pointed to his right.

“So you say its two blocks up the street! “Thanks again for your help kind sir!” said the man in the coat.
“Your quite welcome son, you might want to be careful, that area is a Hellion warehouse.” said the barkeeper.
I’m pretty sure I can handle my own sir. he said while rushing back out the door.

Keller awoke from his mild slumber and placed a fist full of dollars onto the counter top. He then arose to his feet and stumbled towards the exit. “That boy doesn’t know what he’s getting into.” He mumbled to himself.

[Sebastian Kain]

Elsewhere in King’s Row, Tres is still hard at work in his home office. It’s exactly fifteen minutes until 9 o’clock. This life style had became a routine event for Tres every night after he’d come home from work. Vertigo would arrive one our before him, and he would often working over time for his company or working on something other than relaxing. Vertigo hated this side of him the most. The new side that was mainly pro his career and work instead of her or anything else for that matter.

She could hear him pounding away on the keys of his lab top. The door was cracked open a little bit, but she stood with her back pressed against the wall and her gaze toward an old newlywed photo of them together in happier times. She was almost timid like to ask for anything from him at this point, especially to let him know that dinner was ready on waiting for him.

“Dinner is ready, baby!” she said in a sincere school girl like voice.
“I’m not hungry!” he cold heartedly grunted back to her.

She was taken back by his reaction, however it was nothing new to her. He had been that way for quite sometime now. About as long as he had been having the mysterious nightmares he would have every other night. Even though she was used to this treatment, she still was very much afraid of him.

“You never want what I make anymore.” She said while pushing the door open. He peered up at her with a look of annoyance and continued to research whatever was on his lab top.
“What are you doing?” she said sounding very concerned.
“Nothing that really concerns you.” “I’ll be done in a minute!” he said very coldly.

Stunned by his harshness, she turned around and went back out the door. Little did she know what exactly what he was researching would become her undoing. Over his shoulder one could see that the lab top read ‘Brain Controlling: How to use it effectively.....’

[Sebastian Kain]

As Magnus made his way down the dark hallway he heard a slew of Hellion’s singing and chanting. As he approached them he saw their shadows being reflected to a wall on his right. He quickly ran up to the corner hallway, ducked behind a near by crate, and peered over it to see what he was up against. He saw around thirty Hellion’s singing and dancing on wooden tables. He then spotted the leader; he was holding a floundering girl in his arms, obviously not a Hellion groupie. He squeezed her tight to his orange vest, as he did she began to kick and push him away.

Magnus then cocked his ‘Fate’ pistol and jumped up from behind the crate. When he did a man fell from the ceiling. He landed on his feet and quickly proceeded to punch the lead Hellion in the face. The punch disoriented the Hellion leader and caused him to grasp his watery eyes. The man then grabbed the girl and leapt towards Magnus. The three then ducked behind the crate as bullets began to wiz by them. “Hey Magnus, long time no see.” The man said with a Dubliner accent.

“Dark Wolf? What the hell are you doing here?” Magnus questioned.

“What do you mean me? Perez is my territory.” Dark Wolf rebutted.

“Whatever, on the count of three, okay?” Magnus ordered.

“K”

“1” Magnus gripped onto his ‘Fate’ pistol.
“2” Dark Wolf grabbed his longbow, which was holstered in his V-shaped quiver, and an arrow that he quickly nocked and held at ready.
“3” Magnus and Dark Wolf quickly arose from the crate, turned, and opened fire. Magnus motioned for the girl to get out of the warehouse, but she was in shock and didn’t move.

“Stay here with her, I have an idea.” Dark Wolf then quickly jumped out from behind the crate into the middle of the room, holstered his bow, and then jumped up into the warehouses rafters. Once up there he cut the lights to the warehouse. Magnus moved close to the girl to provide her with some protection. Dark Wolf grabbed five flash-bangs from his utility belt. Magnus stood at ready with his ‘Fate’ pistol drawn into the darkness. Magnus could hear the Hellions cursing and stumbling around in the dark. Dark Wolf began to throw the flash-bangs in various spots inside of the room. As the room exploded with light and sound Dark Wolf’s visor quickly shut to let no light in. Magnus quickly began picking the Hellions off one-by-one until the flash subsided.

Dark Wolf reconnected the lights and let him pick off all of the others. Dark Wolf fell from the rafters. In mid-fall he drew a two-inch metal tube from his utility belt and pushed a small button that was on the side of it. Rapidly the two-inch tube grew to a six-foot fighting staff. Once he landed he tripped the fleeing Hellion leader, who had jumped behind a fallen table for protection. He then forcefully push an end of the staff into he leaders windpipe, making it unpleasant for him to breathe.

“Magnus!” Dark Wolf yelled.

“What?”

“Come hear mate and deal with him.” Magnus walked quickly over to Dark Wolf’s captive. Dark Wolf then retracted his staff and put it back into his utility belt as he walked towards the frightened girl. Magnus watched as he walked out of the warehouse holding the girl in his arms. He then focused back onto the leader. Just then a black and blue figure came soaring into the warehouse, it was Paladin.

“Did I miss anything?” he asked.

“Holy **** mate, how are ya?” Dark Wolf said as he ran over to Paladin and gave him a fearsome hug. Magnus then turned to them...