Main Forums Post
(IC/OOC AD FOR AN EVENT ON JUNE 3RD AT 6 PM EST)
PART I: The Good Guys
The Cromwell Mansion
“First The Imperial, then Statesman, and then Sister Psyche. We’re out of options, Havok.”
Red-Havok was silent. Back when his brother was alive, Red felt more assured in every important decision he made. There was always someone by his side, supporting what he said and fighting for it tooth and nail. Now, that person was gone and Red had to rely on his own intuition. That was a hard adjustment. He was petrified of making the wrong call, but despite this deep-seated fear, he found himself thrust into the leadership position. Now, in a scenario ripped directly from his nightmares, he was the leader of
The Challengers, a premier team of superheroes, and he was being grilled by some of the most high-ranking Longbow personnel.
“Are you listening, Havok?” asked Abigail Slate, one of the directors of Longbow.
“Yes,” he responded curtly.
“We want all of your Challengers on Longbow task forces. We need to deal with any fallout from these events. Wade may be in captivity, but the loss of Statesman and The Imperial is a massive hit to our morale and it provides every threat to peace out there an opportunity to strike.”
Red shook his head,
“I can’t guarantee the support of every Challenger. After Longbow was involved with the FBSA’s attempt to neutralize Paul Ooshun permanently even though he has reformed? They...we...won’t just overlook that.”
“Make them. Don’t you see that if your team remains independent, we will continue to lose good heroes out there!?”
Red looked down, shaken,
“This isn’t my fault!”
Slate shook her head,
“It is all of our faults.”
One by one the Longbow officers filed out of the Cromwell Mansion. Havok sunk low in his chair as a tremendous sense of helplessness washed over him.
“I appreciate you sticking up for me sir.”
Red turned to see Paul Ooshun standing with
Replacer,
Charon, and
Human Flashbulb by the door. They were listening to the whole meeting.
“You’re welcome, Paul,” Havok said weakly,
“Director Slate may have blunt, but she is just feeling pressured at this point. Death always leads to unrest.”
Even if Red was without a blood brother now, he knew that his team would back up every call he made. There was a familial bond he felt with his Challengers, something that could only develop after surviving numerous life-threatening situations together. They were by his side through thick and thin. It made him, and his allies as well, feel immortal. But the death of The Imperial and Statesman proved one thing to the world for certain, immortality was just a lie.
PART II: The Bad Guys
Undisclosed Location in the Isles
“I mean it had to happen eventually.”
Phanto was always a ruthless, cutthroat villain, but after tricking The Imperial into letting his guard down with an illusion of his late spouse, he reached a new level of scum. He made the world experience one of its greatest tragedies, the fall of The Imperial. The worst part was that he felt proud of it.
“I just did what every villain should’ve done a long time ago,” Phanto said as he recounted his conquest to a thoroughly bored
Baron Blitzman. The maniacal speedster was one of his frequent partners in crime, but even he was growing tired of hearing the story for the hundredth time.
“I know what happened,” Blitzman moaned,
“if you don’t stop talking about it soon I’m going to kill you...then myself.”
“You’ve got a point Blitzman, and I’ll let you in on an idea of mine,” Phanto responded.
Blitzman remained straight-faced,
“There’s plenty of people out there with plans, Phanto! Statesman and The Imperial are dead! It is a free-for-all, but nobody’s been able to get away with anything BIG, not with The Challengers, The Reciprocators, and heroes like them working all hours of the day! What makes you think you’re any better?!”
“Everyone else looks at death and sees opportunity, I see a learning experience,” Phanto explained, turning away from Blitzman for a moment,
“Of course, I mostly just learn new and inventive ways to kill more people.”
“What the hell are you talking about, fishbowl-head?” Blitzman retorted sharply.
“I’m talking about a whole new type of weapon,” Phanto chuckled as he twisted back around to meet Blitzman’s gaze,
“a psychic bomb...made of a living psychic!”
A malicious grin appeared on Blitzman’s face,
“Like with Psyche? Who did you have in mind? Who is powerful enough to melt the minds of every hero in Paragon!? Penny Yin? Crux Enigma? Not Mindswipe, he’d be on board with all this, and where’s the fun in that?”
Phanto thought for a moment, he knew exactly who he wanted for this, and he knew exactly where to get her,
“I know who I want, and she won’t expect the three of us.”
“Three?”
“Well of course Blitzman,” Phanto snickered,
“I don’t know how to arm a psychic bomb. She does though.”
Phanto pointed across the room to a doorway. Blitzman turned and saw a petite woman with eyes that screamed madness. She burped a small cloud of noxious gas and introduced herself.
“Trioxin,” she said while doing a mock bow,
“now come on gentlemen, there is SCIENCE to be done!”
-----------------------------------------------
(
OOC:
This is the second event that we'll be hosting! It will be a mixture of AE missions and RPvP inspired by the death of some iconic characters in the game! It will start in Steel Canyon and eventually move to a PvP Zone that will be revealed later. It will be a lot of fun and a good way to send off a few characters that aren't with us anymore in a comic book fashion.
The abridged story is that Phanto and supervillains from the Rogue Isles are planning to turn a psychic into a mind-melting bomb, as Darrin Wade was about to do to Sister Psyche during the Who Will Die Story Arc. Obviously, the heroes of Paragon must work together to find out who the psychic they're after is...and save them before it is too late.
Once again, these events are the products of all Challenger members, the same people who helped come up with and host the Press Conference we did way back in October!
For more information on the death of The Imperial, read Xanatos'
ERA of Challenge which is still ongoing.
DISCLAIMER: Since this is very far in the future, there is a possibility that certain things are subject to change. We don't mind, but keep that in mind!)