Drunkard's Walk Forums

Jumping on the Legendary 'Fic bandwagon. Morgan, this is all new material, pursuant to my latest email to you - I still wanna do that, just need to make it
Dramatically Correct.

---

Face rigid around his unlit cigar, the armored figure stepped out of a bricked-in niche, then turned to watch a section of wall as it pivoted silently closed
behind him. The wall sealed up with nary a crack or crevice to show that it opened out, and he nodded once, sharply.

He drew a gauntlet off, clipping it to his suit's belt, and pulled a lighter from a storage pocket. Firing up his cigar, he puffed reflectively on it,
until the orange glow of the cherry stood out solid and true. Re-donning the gauntlet, he smacked himself on the top of the helmet once to settle things, and
made a swift sequence of hand gestures. The suit powered the rest of the way up with a subliminal hum, and the alley was left empty, the solid blue suit
powering towards the sky of King's Row, careless of the frost and ice left behind.

Tales of The Legendary: a Return to the Streets.

The late eighties were not a good time to be a hero. My initial blodlust for the punishment of the Crey corporation had faded, and the moral and ethical
problems cropping up in and around the Heroing culture were in no way a valid replacement. My drive had gone, and in late '87, I put away the suit - I
thought, for good.

2008 saw me depressed, fidgety, and in a slump. I was spending more and more time tinkering and rebuilding my suit, and Mrs. Mag called me on it. I was still
fit and capable at 44 years old, and the suit was better now than it ever had been, thanks to 21 years of experience and further development in the basic
technology. In retrospect, I had never completely abandoned heroing, merely ducked 'behind the scenes' to do R&D for other heroes. According to the
Mrs., I wanted and needed to get back on the streets, and she's almost always right.

So here I was, launching through the night air of King's Row, ice sheeting over the exposed metal, the Helmet Field cold and quiet, everything 100% - and
the redesigned air handler keeping my cigar puffing nicely. I touched down on a rooftop and went vertical, the Superjump module letting the suit do the work. I
scanned my surroundings from hundreds of feet up, noting that my vision wasn't as sharp as when I was 25 anymore. The green glow was new, and probably
something unhealthy. Perfect.

I angled down towards it, aiming for a three point landing just shy of the green glow, and biffed it completely. I landed on some dude in a robe, crushing him
to the pavement. I slapped an 'arrest tag' on him and he was gone before I was back on my feet, staring at four more dudes in robes, and a ghost thing,
all arranged in a semicircle. At the center of this semicircle was a young lady, mid twenties, hovering in midair and.. glowing. Screaming, too. For a second,
noone moved.

I kicked into full combat mode, and as the quivery, "walking on a mattress" feeling of the combat jump module kicked in, I was already on my way,
wading past the poor floating gal before levelling Robe #2 with a rather nice right hook. Robe #3 and #4 jumped in on me with swords, clattering along the ice
like a stick on a fence, and a grin lit my face. I heard a thwack, and paused in my assault to look to the side, where Robe #5 had drawn a crossbow and shot me
in the side of the head. There wasn't even an appreciable change in the field, so I just shot him the bird, and turned back to his buddies, using that
minor momentum to make another right hook into Robe #4's kidneys, sending him down as well. #3 turned to flee, and I grabbed the back of his robe one
handed, and made an intricate hand motion with the other.

Icicles sprang out, neatly skewering robe #3 several times. I changed my grip on the poor dumb jerk, and examined him a little closer. The Icicles had shredded
robe, light body armor, light clothing, and some skin, but they hadn't penetrated much beyond epidermis - or at least not badly enough that a combat
evaluation could find. I grinned around the cigar a little wider, tagged #3 with an open-palmed slap upside his knuckle head, and dropped one on #4.

#5 was still sending crossbow bolts at me as fast as he could, and the ghost-thing had 'vanished', though since the gal was still held in the middle of
the freaking air, I figured it was nearby. #5 dropped his crossbow when I turned to him, and as he spun around to run, I made another 'hand dance', and
kicked on my last trick of the night. He jerked almost to a halt as the supercold air froze on his clothing, and I nearly bit my cigar in half as I stepped
forward, 'donked' him on his melon, and tagged him.

I spun and considered the scene, 5 robed dudes tagged and gone now, one poor lady dangling in midair, and an 'invisible' ghost thing. A hand-dance
later, my armor kicked in it's vision enhancements, and I saw the ghost thing peeking out from behind a chimmney of some sort. A nice one-two combo and it
went down, screaming into true insubstantiality even before I could get a tag on it. I made it back to the center of the rooftop in time to catch the young
lady and lift her gently to the ground as the green glow faded. She panted for a few seconds, then thanked me and ran off.

I was smiling as I shot through the night, afterwards, but puzzled - it had been far too easy. I landed on an unoccupied rooftop and pulled up the packet I had
gotten from City Hall when I re-registered as a Hero. They had assigned me a security level of 44, amusingly enough, and a comment that the registration guy
had made struck me. "have fun in Peregrine", he'd said. I'd never been in Peregrine Island, a major industrial complex, but given the
performance of the new systems, it seemed worth a shot.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

and a preview of the second page.

Quote:"Excuse me!" The businessman with ice crusting over his moustache and eyebrows leaned in a little closer and smacked his briefcase into the face of the armored suit currently trying to freeze him solid. "Can you shut off the armor, please? You're freezing us out, here!"

The suited figure straightened in his seat with a jerk, and his hands flailed in front of him momentarily. As the ice sublimed off, his face faded into view, and he looked around at the other people in the car hugging themselves and shivering. "Awww, crap, I'm sorry, folks! I didn't even think of that, and got distracted reading." He opened his mouth to apologize further, and the train whooshed to a stop. The doors slid open, and the civilians in the car scattered out into the streets of Peregrine Isle as if they had been fired from a gun.

"Oops." The blue-and-white armored suit was heard to mutter as it stomped out the door, before turning it's fields back on and leaping into the sky.

"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

There's a Mrs. Mag?!?

... cool!

This is pretty cool. I've had experiences like that, too -- "Waitaminnit, that was *too* easy..."

*adds this to list of pending updates, fidgets in anticipation*

Want MOAR!

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

I think I have to blame Sweno, I think he started the latest rash of 'fic with Gamma.

Which reminds me - Sweno - MORE GAMMA!
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

The idea of a hero forgetting they have their powers turned on is just absolutely HILARIOUS for the meta-humour; we've probably all been pissed at some
point with a loon running toggles in crowded areas. Like Wentsworth/Black Market.

That's just a fantastic way of riffing on it for 'in character' consequences. Genius.
-- Acyl

"Excuse me!" The businessman with ice crusting over his moustache and

eyebrows leaned in a little closer and smacked his briefcase into the face

of the armored suit currently trying to freeze him solid. "Can you shut

off the armor, please? You're freezing us out, here!"

The suited figure straightened in his seat with a jerk, and his hands

flailed in front of him momentarily. As the ice sublimed off, his face

faded into view, and he looked around at the other people in the car

hugging themselves and shivering. "Awww, crap, I'm sorry, folks! I didn't

even think of that, and got distracted reading." He opened his mouth to

apologize further, and the train whooshed to a stop. The doors slid open,

and the civilians in the car scattered out into the streets of Talos

Island as if they had been fired from a gun.

"Oops." The blue-and-white armored suit was heard to mutter as it stomped

out the door, before turning it's fields back on and leaping into the sky.

Tales of The Legendary: Back To The Streets

I could feel the hot flush of embarassment in my face as I launched from

the open asphalt in front of the Green Line station in Talos Island. Not

my best showing, but in my own defense, it had only been one evening's

worth of work in over twenty years of idle. Still..

I flew over Talos Island, eyeballing the unfamiliar layout and buildings

as I streaked towards the ferry. Touching down momentarily in the harbor,

water freezing into a solid under my feet, I repositioned and launched

again. A perfect shot put me down on the back deck of the ferry, and I

settled in for the trip to Peregrine.

Peregrine Island spread before me, the island saturated with buildings

like crystals precipitating out of solution. I turned on the radio

scanner, and started off, jumping low arcs over the docks and commercial

district. One touchdown put me in the perfect place to catch a high school

aged girl as she was blown out of a warehouse by an explosion. The force

of her impact whirled me around, and she used the swing to launch out of

my arms and back into a full-on run, back into the warehouse.

"Thanks! Wanna help with this?" She yelled back over her shoulder, and I

found myself sprinting behind her, running full speed into a warehouse

with smoke and flame rolling out it's doors. Combat Jump kicked in and I

went airborne, cruising over the young lady's head and face first into the

inferno.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

The other side of the conflagration filling the door to the warehouse was a monstrous demon, at least fifteen feet tall, streaming fireballs from his
outstretched hands and roaring. I noted idly that his wingtip kept knocking ceiling tiles around, right before I slammed face first into his gut. I bounced off
scaly flesh and landed on my feet, the Combat Jump module keeping me upright, and reflexively lashed out, slamming the good ol' one-two into the
demon's midsection, which was honestly as high as I could reach. The demon hesitated a moment, then roared again and streamed fireballs directly onto me.

This was not, necessarily, an improvement. Fortunately, the armor held off his attack easily, and I leaned into the bastard, keeping him busy with a heavy bag
rhythm I could maintain all day. I was just about to trip a control on the armor when the schoolgirl caught up with me.

"Heee YAH!" She screamed, vaulting off of my shoulders and nearly straight up. I put this together from deduction, as her initial impact put me face
first into demon-belly, making me grateful that the fields included full environmental support. I pushed back from big 'n scaly, and rocked him with my
good left, before hitting that control I had been reaching for earlier. Supercooled atmosphere jetted from the suit legs, forming a short-lived ice slick on
the floor, and the demon unceremoniously fell on his ass.

The schoolgirl had apparently tumbled off to the side and recovered. When the demon crashed down backwards, she lunged in and hewed it into seperate
components, which dissolved into the floor.

"Hi! I'm Evangelia! Let's go!"

With that, she turned in a swirl of gold and blue, and charged into the warehouse. I shook my head and followed.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

I have to admit mixed feelings on seeing Evangelia in so many stories these days -- A great deal of "wow, cool!" predominates, but there's just a
touch of melancholy because my muse has not been forthcoming with Eva ideas... That said, nicely done.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

A preview

Quote:And what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a sorely pressed Circle mage, his ornate robes in disarray and covered in shards of ice, casting ruin upon a gentleman in a hat and a sheathe of ice very similar to my own. He held the mage's attention easily, while another masculine figure, either a robot of some sort or a VERY skinny man in body armor, rained kicks and punches into the back of their target's head. Perched on a crate behind them was a statuesque young lady in green and black, giggling to a cat held in one arm as she rained green fire down on the beleaguered mage with the other.

I stepped forward and made my own contribution, deploying the same Ice Slick that had served for the earlier demon. As the mage fell tuchus over bandbox, my fist, the other ice gentleman's fist, and an axe kick from the martial artist arrived simultaneously on the mage's head. He crumpled, and I tagged him. As he ported out to the Zig, I stood up and stood down the fields, revealing myself.

"Hi! I'm, err, Mag Flashlight, and I'm here to help!"

"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

Quote: Perched on a crate behind them was a statuesque young lady in green and black, giggling to a cat held in one arm as she rained green fire down on the
beleaguered mage with the other.

*snrk* I'm not sure if it's the image you intended to convey, but, to me that reads as though she's sitting daintily -- as in legs
crossed at the knee, ladylike, etc -- on the crate and nonchalantly flinging her blasts down. Kind of a "Oh, look, a Circle of Thorns mage. How... quaint.
Let's blast it, shall we, Mr. Whiskers? Oh, do lets!" *zot zot zot*

I dunno *why* this is the image -- I suspect 'perched', combined with 'statuesque', are triggering the association -- but damned if I
didn't nearly laugh myself out of my chair.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

Quote: while another masculine figure, either a robot of some sort or a VERY skinny man in body armor,

Oh ho! I think I know who this is! ^_^

BTW, great stories, man. Enjoying them!

As I pounded after the blue-and-gold figure, she chattered incessantly, apparently status updates. A hand to the side of her head revealed a likely earpiece,
and I deduced a radio link back to the group. I was in the midst of setting for wide-spectrum RF scan when my hud chimed a 'team invite', part of the
systems I had received as part of hero registration. I signalled yes, and Evangelia's chatter dropped into my ears via radio, instead of the nearly
unintelligible sound I was getting from running behind her.

"-o go now, I think. I found another tanker, he's an ice, like Entropic, so he should work right in. I gotta jet now the family is calling bye!"

With this pronouncement, Evangelia skidded to a stop and whipped around. I stopped as well, by the simple expedient of grabbing an upright pipe of some sort,
and letting momentum slam me face first into the wall. It's the little things about running around in powered armor, you know?

I rebounded off the wall, and ended up facing Evangelia, who looked rather startled.

"Errr, right. Down the hall, take the second left, listen to Cyberman, this is his mission, I gotta go, bye!" And with a flourished gesture down the
hall behind her, Evangelia sprinted back the way we had came, and a blink from my HUD showed her as having left the team. I blinked a few times, then got back
up to speed. A modification of the pipe manuever whipped me around the appropriate corner, and I bounced straight up an internal wall, landing on a mezzanine
at about the second story level.

And what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a sorely pressed Circle mage, his ornate robes in disarray and covered in shards of ice, casting ruin upon a
gentleman in a hat and a sheathe of ice very similar to my own. He held the mage's attention easily, while another masculine figure, either a robot of some
sort or a VERY skinny man in body armor, rained kicks and punches into the back of their target's head. Perched on a crate behind them was a statuesque
young lady in green and black, giggling to a cat held in one arm as she rained green fire down on the beleaguered mage with the other.

I stepped forward and made my own contribution, deploying the same Ice Slick that had served for the earlier demon. As the mage fell tuchus over bandbox, my
fist, the other ice gentleman's fist, and an axe kick from the martial artist arrived simultaneously on the mage's head. He crumpled, and I tagged him.
As he ported out to the Zig, I stood up and stood down the fields, revealing my face.

"Hi! I'm, err, Mag Flashlight, and I'm here to help!"

The lady in green waved cheerily, then made the cat, who was stuffed, wave also. "I'm Emerald Blast, and this is Mr. Whiskers. You have good
timing!"

The other icy figured apparently shut off his fields as well, since his ice shell had just finished subliming away into the air. "Greetings. I am the
Entropic Avatar. Will you be performing the duties of the Tanker class for us tonight?"

I nodded, and he bowed his head in response. "Fare well then, Mag Flashlight. If you continue your association with The Legendary, I would like to sit
down and discuss the technical aspects of ice armor operation, at some point."

With no further words, Entropic casually activated and tossed a small item onto the floor, which blossomed into a shimmering golden portal. I blinked again as
he stepped onto it and disappeared, just as his entry in my HUD fell off the 'team' listing. I looked up at the last remaining figure, a mechanical man
with a surprisingly human face. I wasn't certain, but I believed him to be either entirely or largely cybernetic, as he had the characteristic
'stillness' that only mechanicals and undead could achieve. Regardless, he was a valued teammate to these people, and I didn't have any issues with
mechanoids anyway. I stepped forward and held out a hand. "Hi! I'm Mag Flashlight."

This time, my 'Super Name' rolled off my tounge. The old reactions certainly come back fast. The mechanical man twitched his head downward to watch my
hand, and quivered momentarily before relaxing, with an almost audible click. "exiting combat mode" a tinny voice said from around his midsection.
"processing" the voice continued. "pr-", and was interrupted by the man himself.

"I am Cyberman 8, multifunction law enforcement artifical intelligence unit. I am pleased to meet you, sir." He intoned, and grasped and shook my
hand with a surprisingly natural grip. Emerald Blast tittered from her seat on the crate, and I glanced past Cyberman's slim form to fix her with a gimlet
stare.

"Sure thing, there, chewie." I wised, cranking the gimlet eye onto the impassive mechanical face. "And if you're an AI, so am I. Matter of
fact, if you aren't just a plain ol' 'person', I'll go buy a hat so I can eat it."

There was one of those moments of silence, where the inveterate prankster, here played by myself, begins to fear that he has misread his audience, which will
soon lead to gastronomic ingestion of footwear. Cyberman let me hang for a second or two longer, and as my face fell, his lit up in a grin that transformed his
entire visage.

"Good call there, Mag. My name's Pete, and while I'm 100% mechanical, there's a human in here, all right." Cyberman clapped me on the
back and turned to face Emerald. "And are you ready to carry back on, Emerald?"

Emerald leaned down, looking at the cat in a 'listening' posture. "Mr. Whiskers says he's recharged and ready to go! Let's go finish off
those demons!"

She jumped down from the crate, and I turned to face Cyberman more directly. "Alright, Cyberman. You wanna lead, or shall I?" Pete responded with a
rather graceful 'after you' gesture, and I struck a straddle pose as my hands wiggled. My fields started snapping up, and as the ice crusted around me,
I slapped an audio burst out the speakers. A thunderous shout of "FOLLOW ME!" echoed back from the walls as me, Cyberman, and Emerald hurtled forward
into the next room of the warehouse, and the future.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies