Because it's been too damn long with no content or discussions going on in here, I give you this little snippet from Into the Great Wide Open for you lot to comment/mock/obsess over. --Mal

Just had an interesting idea. What if Pein and Konan, instead of trying to create an ultimate weapon, kidnapped all the Jinchuuriki at a very young age,
raised them as their own with the goal that they would bring peace to the world? You can't tell me that that would be an uneventful story. With all those
super-powered kids there's never going to be a dull moment and then you're going to have every ninja village trying, to one degree or another, to get
their precious 'weapons' back. It could also be full of WAFF in that all those kids that never had a real family in the canonical story line would
have one in each other in this one.

Thoughts?

Quote:06-20-2008 01:20:54 [Team] Silicon Sabre: *feels mildly invincible*
06-20-2008 01:22:03 [Team] Silicon Sabre: This must be what it feels like to be Terr.
06-20-2008 01:22:07 [Team] Silicon Sabre: In more ways than one
06-20-2008 01:23:29 [Team] Emerald Blast: Well, no offense, but you're not, um, equipped like he is?
06-20-2008 01:24:01 [Team] Silicon Sabre: I'll do my best to substitute his performance.
06-20-2008 01:24:05 [Team] Silicon Sabre: [/deadpan]
06-20-2008 01:24:57 [Team] Gamma Emission: I'm sure we can find compatible interfaces

Woolongs For Nothing

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

Epsilon

Hopefully not vanishing this time.

...The Legendary is now firmly within the ranks of the top 100 supergroups on Virtue.

Yay us!
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

...Silicon, Swift and Nano, who teamed up with Range and went through about 2/3 of the Faultline plotline with me in one night. And helped take down Babbage in
Skyway first.

Oh, and posed for the fellow who went "A Sabre team? Cool! Can I take a screenshot of you guys?"
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v333/ ... msword.png




http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v333/ ... t=mint.png






Romulus broadsword unlockable after most recent patch, appears to require 1x Enhanced Romulus kill.




I think this would be a wonderful addition to Eva, and would like to remind folks that I am available to do ITF whenever possible 8 )
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

So, having recently discovered the quest line to summon Shivan Devastators, I've not been loath to use it if at all possible. However, recently, one of the
most humorous situations ever presented itself.

We stumbled across Jack in Irons in Croatoa last night, in the dead hours. Frantic searching through every zone netted us five players total. The breakup was
something like two 30s, one 23, and two 19s. We tried our best against him, with Shivan backup from me and Quicksilver Nano, but it was to no avail. Jack
kicked our ass.

However, seeing how the Shivans could actually DENT him, we considered the most likely tactic to take advantage of this. The Shivan Blitz.

30 minutes later, we return, all enabled with Shivan summoning. Jack got to face down a team of five determined heroes, and their five bloodthirsty ravening
Shivans. Jack was staggered early, and though the Shivans couldn't quite finish him off, they kept his health regen down so that we heroes could. And
whenever a Shivan went down, another took its place. I burned through two myself, but Jack went down to the Shivan onslaught, and Sword's giant monster
badge collection continues to grow.

Needless to say, in the words of one of our team members, Go Go Shivan Death Squad!
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

Sell-sword recently earned his Watchman badge after a truly brutal three-in-a-row Invasion chase. During which, I guess I
decided to take a shot at describing an invasion from how confusing it must be to them, as much as to us with computers screaming they can't handle it.


****

Everyone knows the sounds of the Rikti sirens. They're generally the first warning most people get, but newcomers don't really know what they mean.
After all, this is America, right? What kind of air raid could we be expecting? Most any newcomer, though, especially if they've taken the tour, recognizes
the War Walls, though. And what they were made for. Thus, there's the second warning: when the Walls turn off.

The sound of it's hard to describe. It's kind of like hearing a massive turbine wind down, mixed with a dull thump. The thump, I've heard
explained, is the air rushing in to fill the space previously occupied by the force fields. But nobody's thinking about that, because seconds after the odd
bluish tinge that the walls project fades away, the sky turns green. That, I've never heard explained. It does it even before the Rikti ships start
appearing, like the atmosphere's restraining the urge to puke from the smell of the weird radiation the Rikti equipment puts out.

I put in a call almost immediately, looking to link up with groups that'll be forming to fight the Rikti off. I get a bomb detail first, running from one
street to the next, doing our best to destroy the bombs that haven't already gone off before they explode and take a good block with them. This generally
lasts about twenty minutes before the Rikti start noticing people interfering with their bombing runs. That's when the fun really starts.

This time, I'm lucky. Due to the small size of the team, we don't attract that big of a squad of Rikti. We have enough time to make it to the usual
defense centering around Hero Corps headquarters. The police drones can't fight all these Rikti off on their own, but they can give us breathing room if we
need it. This group's a little green. I don't see a healer and they're spread out, letting the Rikti surround them. I put my back to the
drones' field of fire and do the best I can, though Headmen and Mentalists take me down a couple of times. I'll have a hell of a headache afterwards,
but for now, adrenaline's taken over. Then the call comes in that Skyway's next on the attack run. The mobs around Galaxy still aren't dealt with,
so while the rest of the group responds to the bombing run, I stay, helping mop up. Once it's clear, I don't take time to take a tally of how tired I
am. It's a straight flight to the tram station and into Skyway, hoping the dropships haven't started teleporting in ground troops.

My HUD informs me that the group I was with has gotten bigger. A brief glance reveals, surprisingly, someone I know. Gamma Emission, one of the Legendary.
I've worked with her a couple of times as part of a larger whole, but don't really know much more than what I hear from the various gossip coming from
the girls in Riot Force. As it is, it seems the bombing's spread out. She's dealing with two solo. I drop in with a quick quip of "Is this a
private invasion or can anyone join?" I get a brief smile in response in between waves of hard radiation that could slag a tank being directed at the near
bomb, and then we both get to work.

I've never really questioned how my rifle works, but it seems to link to my HUD and designate a threat level to the bomb. The sound of it's heavier and
louder, barring audio dampeners my helmet slaps on to filter out the sound of the screaming dropships and falling bombs. Apparently it's switched to armor
piercing ammunition. Between the two of us, the first bomb goes down fast enough, followed by the next. We pound a third and are working on a fourth when the
drops begin. This Rikti invasion planner's smarter, it seems. Mentalists and Drones are dropped immediately. I'm darting around the bomb, avoiding
swords as I try to catch the bomb and the Rikti both in the blast range of my grenades. Gamma's focused completely on the bomb itself, even ignoring the
rads that thing has to be pumping out as it's more damaged to take her fists to it directly. I note that she's not bad looking, but file that away as
something not to be said in public. Her boyfriend could probably crumple me into a steel can, and I've yet to figure out if he's the type that can take
someone else complimenting his girlfriend. Her other girlfriend probably could, but then again, there's the cat thing....

We finish the bomb and fight our way clear of the Rikti as the team leader calls us towards the park where Minx and Synapse tend to operate here in the Skyway.
By the time we get there, a mass melee's broken out. Both heroes my HUD registers as part of this team and others that it just registers as drop in
combatants are fighting for their lives against waves of armored invaders. Gamma and I jump in without a second thought, and the madness starts.

In your average invasion, if you're lucky, you can keep track of where you are. Hopefully. As mentioned earlier, drone protection helps. Here in the park,
though, there's no drone backup. Rikti are warping in on every side, and the more of us there are, the more they decide to send. It's madness, really.
I don't so much notice what I'm shooting at as I pull the trigger when my HUD tells me I have a lock. Shotgun bursts, grenade shells, and bursts of
flame rip through without me checking my line of fire, because there's always more Rikti to come and the suit says I'm clear. I back up towards the
green glow I'm assuming is Gamma. I don't know these others, but at least she's someone I'd trust at my back. A laser blast from a Gunman
knocks me flat on my ass and I feel the muscle spasming chill as a healer rapidly repairs both my suit and any physical damage I've sustained, the rapid
repair probably sapping what little post-adrenaline high endurance I'll have when this is over. The ground splits open as one of the heroes nearby commands
earth to envelop the Rikti, freezing them in their tracks. More swarm around their trapped comrades like ants, heading for us. I don't see Minx or Synapse
anywhere, but assume they're somewhere in this massive mess, as confused as I am. Lightning strikes a Conscript as I gun down a drone. The inner ear
warbling of a Mentalist's psychic wavelengths is abruptly cut off by one of Gamma's neutron bombs hitting him hard. I take two seconds to put a sniper
round through his skull, taking him down permanently. I don't even see what knocks me flat this time, just get up and start firing at the next target that
my HUD indicates. Half of the movements aren't even me, but the suit, moving me around as I want it to when I probably couldn't stand without it.
Drone. Conscript. Knocked down. Stunned. Healed. Mentalist. Gunman. A flurry of arrows whips by my face with inches to spare. I set flame to a clutch of Rikti
monkeys. Green light scours my retinas as a passing drop ship fires a couple rounds into our group. A grenade sends Rikti flying. Swords the size of car doors
make slick slicing noises as they swing through heroes. Another muscle spasming heal. Gunman. Drone. Guardian. Earthquakes send friend and foe alike staggering
away. Rad bursts that could sterilize unprotected meat are dropped again and again on Rikti. Laser blasts sear flesh and armor. I lose sight of Gamma, see her
again, get knocked over by Rikti. My head's on fire. Mentalist. Someone takes him out, and I force myself back into the fight.

If anyone tells you they can tell when an invasion is winding down, they're telling you a bald faced lie. I just notice there's suddenly no more Rikti
standing up and shooting. Looking around, the ground's littered with bodies, teleporting away as the Rikti head out to lick their wounds. The group stands
around, most of us probably in the battle haze still as we look for the next target to hit. Eventually, it occurs to someone that there are no more Rikti left.
Wounded and exhausted heroes exchange words of congratulations and recriminations now that we're not fighting for our lives. Others tensely listen to the
Vanguard net, waiting for the next hit. I see Gamma again, and she gives me a tired wave before heading off, probably looking to get what little time to rest
she can between these and other heroing duties. I don't blame her, as I fly my way to a building top. The suit handles the downturn in my body's
reactions with careful skill as I let my mind shut down for a few minutes. I don't know if the other heroes realize it, but this is war in a sense none of
them have really encountered before. Even Arachnos plays by the "rules of the game". But the blood, sweat, and mind-searing suddeness of Rikti
invasions are war in a way that Paragon'd probably hoped to forget.

A Vanguard alert strikes across my senses as I wake myself from the half-contemplative sleep I'd been in. Talos Island this time. I make good time for the
teleporter, hopping to the Legendary base. I run past someone and don't even notice who on my way to jump into the Talos porter. A quick broadcast nets me
another bomb team, and we spend a few minutes fighting bombs. Listening to the tac net, I hear discussion about grouping even more heroes together on a hill
near the tram station. It seems they're determined to end today's invasions here by forcing the Rikti to expend more resources than they can back up
against a solid wall of heroes. My suit logs a congratulations message and notification of commendation from city hall for bomb squad work and I ignore it as
we fight through a swarm of drop troops to the last bomb. Blowing it sky high, we make our way as fast as possible to the melee that's erupted. I take in
the sight from the air and admit it's a tempting target. All those heroes represent a good portion of the city's defense in this area. The Rikti could
have free reign if they took them out here. And it's a proper looking last stand. I fall into the mass, and the madness begins again. Deadly force flies
both ways, and I lose myself in the battle haze as my body performs like it's trained to do. The thing that shakes me out of it is the thing I'd
expected but hoped wouldn't happen. Someone cries out as heavy hover engines suddenly add to the calamity of noise about the hill. Heavies. I jump back and
turn around, and for the life of me I can't help but stare in silence for a second.

Good lord, they dropped five.

Shaking off the shock, I continue fighting. The battle goes back and forth. Heroes fall, teleport out, and return. Porters on the team work overtime to make
sure our numbers stay constant. I continue shooting at target after target. The first five heavies are down. Three more take their place, with advanced honor
guard alongside them. Chief Soldiers, priests, and Mesmerists. Swarms of monkeys scramble under foot, psychic attacks taking heroes unaware. The Heavies,
weapons designed specifically to kill metahumans of all stripes, fire again and again into the waves of heroes, with an outpouring of fire and brute force
returning it in kind. Drones explode like popcorn as heroes fly either under their own power or propelled by gunfire. There are probably more Headmen on the
battlefield than grunts now, and the Rikti psychic barrage has to be making this area of Talos a screeching feedback of pain to any telepath in range. I see a
Heavy turn and begin flying off towards the city. I'm not the only one, and a good ten heroes break off to pursue it. Some for the glory, but most because
they know what that thing could do to unprotected civilians. Five minutes of hell later, it goes down, and we run back to the group. The Rikti are falling,
we're falling. Everyone's falling. The teleport noise is a constant grinding in my head. And then, just like before, it's over. A Mentalist drops
to the ground, his body shimmering away in a teleport effect. Guardians and Conscripts retreat back out of range before they do the same. A weakened Chief
Soldier avoids an arrow aimed at him by seconds as his molecules return to wherever the Rikti retreat to. I notice all these things and none of them at the
same time. Someone pats me on the shoulder, thanking me for the help. I nod and stagger away sorely.

The tactic worked. The sheer number of Rikti sent to that deathzone ground down their available troops. No more Rikti alerts happen for the rest of the day.

Not that I'd know if they were. I'm already on the trail of another villain group alongside the archer kid that just joined the Legendary. Just another
day in Paragon.

- Transcripted statement from official Rikti Watchman, Liscensed Hero Sell-sword, 6/18/2008. Copyright "The Second Rikti
War: Tales of the Front Lines"
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

Over on Usenet, one of the semi-regulars posted a link to a story about a "kissing robot" that's about to go on sale in Japan. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/06/12/ne ... rom-japan/]This story, to be precise.) My first thought, which I didn't post there, was "that doesn't look a thing like the one Kaolla Suu built..."

However, Abraham Evangelista posted a question checklist:

Quote:From a technical standpoint:

• How many servos?
  
• How many points of articulation?
  
• Putting aside the built in AI, is it programmable?
  
• Method of control? (Wifi? Infra-red? Other?)
  
• Memory?
  
• Battery life?
  
• Any sensors? (Motion? Weight? Distance?)
  

More importantly:

• Does she have a compartment for a cat brain?
  
• Is she willing or able to protect me from Sister Jill and the Panther Claw?
  
• Is she fully certified for domestic AND combat work?
  
• Can she host a radio show?
  
• Do I need to wind her up on a regular basis? If so, do I have any guarantee that she won't destroy the universe?
  
• Will she make 30,000 friends?
  
• Is a 33-S model available? If so, do I have any guarantee that she won't destroy the universe?