From an email.




When I first got this bird I spent two weeks trying to get him to say "Hello." By the end of the month he was saying
"'lo! 'lo!" But that was about it. So I gave up.




But then I bought a GameCube and, well, every Resident Evil game they've cranked out for it. I played them for hours on end with the lights out. I
won't lie to you -- it sorta put me "off," you know? I started sleeping with the lights on and locking my windows at night.




One night I crawled out of bed to get myself a drink, and I shuffled down the dark hallway between my bedroom and the kitchen, feeling along the wall with my
hand as I went. The kitchen was nearly pitch black until I opened the refrigerator, and then a brilliant wedge of light poured out, causing me to squint.
That's when I heard it:




"Grraaa ... aaaagghhh..."




It was the slow, raspy moan of THE UNDEAD. I wheeled around, panicked, staring into the darkness beyond the fridge. The milk slipped from my hands and
crashed onto the ground, spilling all over the kitchen floor. I didn't move a muscle. Time was frozen for me. And then again:




"Nnyyaagghhhh... glup, glup, glup..."




The sounds were terrifying, and yet ... familiar. Slowly, my socks wet with milk, I stepped gingerly forward toward the family room. I must've left my
Nintendo on, I thought ... but no, it and the TV were both silent. The Resident-Evil noises were coming from elsewhere. Then, from behind:




"GRAAHH!!"




I whirled around and reeled backwards in horror. I smashed into the lampshade and furiously reached over to flick the switch. And there, sitting on his perch
amidst the warm glowing light that filed the room, was my parrot. "'lo! 'lo!" he said to me, cheerfully.




Apparently all those zombie noises from the game had gone to the little guy's head. He could duplicate them exactly! This went on for some weeks, until
finally I got used to it. The groanings and mumblings as I lay in bed at night actually started to get kinda soothing.




Of course, I forgot to warn my friends and neighbors. A couple weeks ago, after a late night partying, Gary crashed on my couch. At 4:30 he came slamming
into my room in his boxers clutching a baseball bat. "SOMETHING'S IN THERE!" he hissed at me, panting.




So of course I had to introduce him to my parrot's habit. He only does it when the lights are off -- I guess I trained him to do that, you know, by
playing those games in the dark. "'lo! 'lo!" he'd squawk, and then we'd flick off the lights and it would be:
"Mmwwwaaahhhhh... *slurping noises*"




One day Gary and Chris and I all stood around his cage one evening talking it over. We dimmed the lights until the bird let out a long, low,
"Grrannggpphhnyayyyaahh" sound, like an oboe being played by an asthmatic's last breath. "See?" I said. "Zombie bird."




"Dude," Chris said, stepping back. "How do we know that that bird's still alive? Maybe he's dead. Or ... undead. Has he eaten
recently?"




"Truth be told, he's been a bit peckish," Gary said.




"Of course he's peckish," I grunted. "He's a bird."




"Grrrraaannnnghh! RAANNNRRRGHGHHHH!"




"You better take him to the vet," Chris said, holding up a crucifix.




The next day at the Animal Clinic, the vet couldn't figure out anything wrong. "That's a fine healthy bird!" he told me.




"'Lo!" the bird cheeped in return.




So I turned out the lights in his office. The room fell silent.




And then, from the cage, a soft low murmur: "Braaaaains..."




"Maybe he should stay for observation..." my vet answered.




The next morning I came in to pick him up, but I found his cage outside the office with a note attached. "Please take bird home," it said.
"Dogs all scared and night janitor quit."

Okay, 2nd Biomods have been discussed already and it seems like it is a viable, if costly, thing to do.

But something has wormed its way into my head and simply will not let go. The mental imagery of Benjamin being pushed beyond his limits and his biomod
suddenly shifting, as did Kazuma's Alter in S-Cry-Ed, to the advanced Shine Brighter form. And even, with much passage of time and usage, the full-on form
in which he anihilated the Big Bad Guy and then again when he goes on to have the big knock-down-drag-out fight with his rival. (God, that epilogue at the
very end sucked.)

An alternative, which I find equally attractive would be called "Paint It Black." The Handwavium in his system is sick of the beatdown he's
taking and decides it's time to let Ben take the gloves off by NOT transfering the Speed Drive field he generates into whatver he hits (in other words,
what he hits will actually be on the recieving end of some serious punishment). As a warning sign, the red portions of the armor turn black to signify the
dangerous nature that his biomod takes on.

I have a theory that if the sorce material of a biomod (if anything specific is provided) shows that the ability that the biomod is based on evolves, then so
can the biomod. It kinda makes sense to me. The Handwavium would probably go like, "Oh, it can do this too? Well, let's save that for when we
really really need it."

I feel that it can be a moment of extreme stress and duress, a do-or-die situation where it seems that its going to be 'die' no matter how hard you
push. That, or it could be triggered by a massive dose of Handwavium into the system, like the Espresso Strain. Or perhaps maybe a combination of both
(that's probably more likely)?

What do you guys think?

Well, I'm looking for a little advice for getting Shizuru a little more, well, durable in combat. I'll throw up the stat block and let you guys look
it over. I won't say a budget because I'm willing to work for whatever I have to purchase.

Hero Plan
by Mids' Hero Designer 1.4006

http://www.cohplanner.com/



Shizuru:
Level 50 Magic Controller

Primary
Power Set: Mind Control

Secondary
Power Set: Sonic Resonance

Power
Pool: Flight

Power
Pool: Fitness

Power
Pool: Leadership

Power
Pool: Speed

Ancillary
Pool: Fire Mastery



Hero
Profile:

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

Level 1:
Mesmerize

(A) Call of the Sandman - Chance of Heal Self: Level 50

(3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge: Level 50

(3) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

(5) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(5) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50

(7) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 47



Level 1:
Sonic Siphon

(A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50

(17) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50





Level 2:
Dominate

(A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50

(7) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(9) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge: Level 50

(9) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 48

(11) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(11) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50



Level 4:
Sonic Barrier

(A) Resist Damage IO: Level 50

(23) Resist Damage IO: Level 50

(25) Resist Damage IO: Level 50



Level 6:
Sonic Haven

(A) Resist Damage IO: Level 50

(25) Resist Damage IO: Level 50

(31) Resist Damage IO: Level 50



Level 8:
Mass Hypnosis

(A) Fortunata Hypnosis - Sleep: Level 50

(13) Fortunata Hypnosis - Sleep/Recharge: Level 50

(13) Fortunata Hypnosis - Accuracy/Sleep/Recharge: Level 50

(15) Fortunata Hypnosis - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50

(15) Fortunata Hypnosis - Sleep/Endurance: Level 50

(17) Fortunata Hypnosis - Chance for Placate: Level 50



Level
10: Hover

(A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance: Level 38

(37) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge: Level 39





Level
12: Swift

(A) Flight Speed IO: Level 50



Level
14: Fly

(A) Soaring - FlySpeed: Level 50

(37) Soaring - Endurance: Level 50

(37) Soaring - Endurance/FlySpeed: Level 50





Level
16: Disruption Field

(A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50

(31) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50

(34) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50



Level
18: Total Domination

(A) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50

(19) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Endurance/Hold: Level 48

(19) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Accuracy/Endurance: Level 50

(21) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Hold/Range: Level 50

(21) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Accuracy/Hold/Recharge: Level 50

(23) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance of Damage(Psionic): Level 50





Level
20: Sonic Dispersion

(A) Resist Damage IO: Level 50

(36) Resist Damage IO: Level 50

(36) Resist Damage IO: Level 50

(36) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50





Level
22: Health

(A) Healing IO: Level 50

(39) Healing IO: Level 50

(39) Healing IO: Level 50





Level
24: Stamina

(A) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50

(39) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50

(40) Endurance Modification IO: Level 50





Level
26: Terrify

(A) Detonation - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50

(27) Detonation - Damage/Endurance: Level 45

(27) Detonation - Damage/Recharge: Level 48

(29) Detonation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(29) Detonation - Damage/Endurance/Range: Level 50

(31) Fear Duration IO: Level 50





Level
28: Assault

(A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50

(40) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50

(40) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50





Level
30: Tactics

(A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50

(42) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff: Level 50

(42) Adjusted Targeting - Recharge: Level 50





Level
32: Mass Confusion

(A) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Endurance: Level 50

(33) Coercive Persuasion - Contagious Confusion: Level 50

(33) Coercive Persuasion - Confused: Level 50

(33) Coercive Persuasion - Confused/Recharge: Level 50

(34) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Confused/Recharge: Level 50

(34) Coercive Persuasion - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50





Level
35: Clarity

(A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50





Level
38: Hasten

(A) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50

(42) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50

(43) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50





Level
41: Fire Ball

(A) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range: Level 48

(43) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance: Level 50

(43) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge: Level 50

(45) Accuracy IO: Level 50



Level
44: Fire Blast

(A) Accuracy IO: Level 50

(45) Damage Increase IO: Level 50

(45) Recharge Reduction IO: Level 50

(46) Devastation - Chance of Hold: Level 50

(46) Devastation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

(46) Devastation - Damage/Endurance: Level 50



Level
47: Fire Shield

(A) Titanium Coating - Resistance/Recharge: Level 45

(48) Titanium Coating - Resistance: Level 48

(48) Titanium Coating - Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

(48) Titanium Coating - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50

(50) Resist Damage IO: Level 50

(50) Resist Damage IO: Level 50





Level
49: Maneuvers

(A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50

(50) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50





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

Level 1:
Brawl

(A) Empty





Level 1:
Sprint

(A) Empty





Level 2:
Rest

(A) Empty





Level 1:
Containment

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

Set Bonus
Totals:

6%
DamageBuff(Smashing)

6%
DamageBuff(Lethal)

6%
DamageBuff(Fire)

6%
DamageBuff(Cold)

6%
DamageBuff(Energy)

6%
DamageBuff(Negative)

6%
DamageBuff(Toxic)

6%
DamageBuff(Psionic)

5%
Defense(Energy)

7.5%
Defense(Ranged)

1.88%
Defense(AoE)

2.25% Max
End

2.5%
Enhancement(Held)

4%
Enhancement(Confused)

20%
Enhancement(RechargeTime)

29%
Enhancement(Accuracy)

8%
FlySpeed

64.9 HP
(6.38%) HitPoints

8%
JumpHeight

8%
JumpSpeed

MezResist(Sleep) 3.85%

MezResist(Stun) 2.2%

17.5%
(0.29 End/sec) Recovery

12% (0.51
HP/sec) Regeneration

4.1%
Resistance(Fire)

4.1%
Resistance(Cold)

1.88%
Resistance(Energy)

5%
Resistance(Toxic)

3.13%
Resistance(Psionic)

13%
RunSpeed

1%
XPDebtProtection

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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*********************
In the epic rage of furious thunder
legends create their tales
when the twilight calls and the dark lord falls
our glory will prevail

Taken from http://www.cityofheroes.com/feature_upd ... e_13a.html

Quote:Below is a list of most, but not all, of the Day Jobs available in Issue 13: Power and Responsibility:

Hero Day Jobs

Day Job Name
Log Out Location
Benefit

City Official
City Hall (Atlas Park)
Influence Bonus upon mission complete.

Law Enforcer
Police Stations
Experience Bonus upon mission complete

Commuter
Train Stations
Travel speed bonus.

Shop Keeper
Store Lobbies
Enhancement drop on mission complete.

Intern
Portal Corp Lobbies
Large Inspiration upon mission complete.

Caregiver
Hospital Lobbies
Out of combat regeneration bonus.

Professor
Inside Universities
Random tech salvage drop upon mission complete.

Midnighter
Inside the Midnighter's Club
Random arcane salvage drop upon mission complete.

Banker
Inside a Vault
Influence Bonus upon mission complete.

Clubber
Pocket D
Out of combat recovery bonus.

Fashion Designer
Tailor Lobbies
Coupons that will grant a discount at the tailor.

Mortician
Graveyards
XP Debt Protection


Villain Day Jobs

Day Job Name
Log Out Location
Benefit

Demagogue
Arachnos Building (Marconeville, Port Oakes)
Influence Bonus upon mission complete.

Arachnos Agent
Arachnos Bases and Arachnos Controlled areas.
Experience Bonus upon mission complete

Pilot
Near Black Helicopters
Travel speed bonus.

Smuggler
Ferry Docks
Enhancement drop on mission complete.

Crey Employee
Crey Industries Building in Nerva Archipelago
Large Inspiration upon mission complete.

Pain Specialist
Hospital Lobbies
Out of combat regeneration bonus.

Professor
Inside Universities
Random tech salvage drop upon mission complete.

Midnighter
Inside the Midnighter's Club
Random arcane salvage drop upon mission complete.

Thief
Inside a Vault
Influence Bonus upon mission complete.

Clubber
Pocket D
Out of combat recovery bonus.

Fashion Designer
Tailor Lobbies
Coupons that will grant a discount at the tailor.

Mortician
Graveyards
XP Debt Protection


Accolades
An Accolade is obtained by earning two Day Job badges that work in conjunction with one another. In other words, earning multiple badges unlock Accolades. These Accolades will grant an even more enhanced set of powers and benefits. Additional ‘charges’ can also be earned for your Day Job Accolade powers by logging off from either of the areas associated with the two badges that unlocked the Accolade. Below is a list of some, but not all, of the Day Job Accolades available in Issue 13: Power and Responsibility:

Hero Day Job Accolades

Day Job Accolade
Day Job #1
Day Job #2
Benefit

Police Chief
Law Enforcer
City Official
Baton Power: Melee Minor DMG (Smashing) For Stun.

Security Chief
Law Enforcer
Banker
Tear Gas: Ranged AoE Hold.

Scientist
Professor
Intern
Sleep Gas: Ranged AoE Sleep.

Physician
Professor
Caregiver
Ally Resurrect

Alchemist
Caregiver
Midnighter
Ally Heal


Villain Day Job Accolades

Day Job Accolade
Day Job #1
Day Job #2
Benefit

Web Weaver
Arachnos Agent
Demagogue
Web Grenade: Ranged Foe Immobilize, \-Rech, \-Fly, \-Speed

Black Ops
Arachnos Agent
Thief
Smoke Grenade: Ranged AOE Foe \-Perception, \-To Hit

Crey Scientist
Pain Specialist
Crey Employee
Sleep Gas: Ranged AoE Sleep.

Physician
Professor
Pain Specialist
Ally Resurrect

Alchemist
Pain Specialist
Midnighter
Ally Heal

Quote:On Patrol
In addition to all of the Day Jobs, every character is "On Patrol" after they log out of the game. When players log back into Paragon City or the Rogue Isles they will gain 1 bar of double experience (when defeating enemies) for every 24 hours they are logged out. A player can earn up to 10 bars of double experience this way. Double experience is shown as a blue portion of your experience bar. One thing to note is that if a player has any experience debt, the debt will be removed first before any double experience is applied.

If your character has a number of bars of double experience that exceeds the number of experience bars you need to level up, then this double experience will carry over to the next security/threat level.

Giving you guys a heads up - I won't be online tonight for City of Heroes. Most probably tomorrow either, or even Sunday.

My Dad went into surgery on Tuesday to have his knee replaced (they did the other one a few years ago.) and there have been complications.

The original plan was he was going to be out of the hospital today and I would've spent the evening tonight and Saturday over at his place helping out with
things (like reaching up to a top shelf or helping him move around).

But - well, my Dad has been on blood thinners for years due to high blood pressure. And for some reason - I'm not clear on the details - he had to have a
blood transfusion today. A good friend of his has been with him at the hospital and says he's been "shaking". I'm not sure what that means.

I called Dad the other day, he seemed to be okay, if a little woozy (to be expected). But I called him today and he was -really- out of it. I called Sharon up
- the friend I mentioned - and she went up there to check on him. I called later while she was there and got the above description. He's conscious, but NOT
feeling well. So I'm headed up to the hospital to stay with him there tonight. My brother will take over for me later, but I'll probably be back there
again tomorrow.

I believe I may have mentioned before - Dad's been beating the odds of his family medical history to the tune of about 25+ years of when his father and
grandfather died of either heart attack or stroke. Miracles of modern medicine and all. But shit like this makes me worried sick to the pit of my spine.

So, even if I'm back at my house, I'm likely not going to be in the mood for playing City of Heroes or anything this weekend. But I'll check back
when I can.

In the meantime - for those of you who believe in such things - send a prayer on my Dad's behalf? It can't hurt, that's for sure.

I'll check back when I can. Hopefully this isn't anywhere near as serious as I'm making it sound.

*YOINKED* Shamelessly from a friend's
Live-Journal post:

Quote: For those who think small-market local TV is the sole domain of broadcasting's losers, has-beens, and never-weres, think again! Here's an extremely
clever and funny intro for the local Channel 13 TV news in Fairbanks AK that shows how much talent there really is in local TV.

Quote: I'm sorry - that's just effing cool.




***

I'm trying to find the story about the launch of the Ptchitka, but it is successfully eluding my attempts. Can you kindly point me at it? Thanks!
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

One of the shows of the fall season.

Now this turns the girl in a power suit sub-genre on it's head. Is she piloting a robot or is she wearing a power suit?

Check out also the Kung-fu battle between Kemeko and the giant rice cooker.

http://randomc.animeblogg...napshot-kemeko-deluxe-01/
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

Am I the only one that wants this election over with? I'm almost at the point

of saying that after this one I won't vote ever again I'm that tired and disgusted

with it. So am I alone?

Copied from the Snippets thread - this is too big to be a snippet.




The paperwork landed on Nene's desk with a thwack, and she looked up to see the normally stoic face of HE-AT, her cybernetic boss, creased into a frown.
The abnormal sight raise Nene's eyebrows, and she quickly scanned the file in front of her.




"Concerned Statement: This Freakshow elite, 'Sp33d Fr3@k', has caused sufficient damage that PPD management has authorized excessive force in
his apprehension."




Nene cranked her eyebrow even further, and looked up at HE-AT. "Why's that such a big problem, H-E? We've had two of those orders come in this
week alone.."


HE-AT maintained her concerned expression, and mutely pointed at a line on the file in Nene's hands. Nene followed her prompt, and her eyes widened at
the amount of zeros in the 'damage caused' category. "I.. I think I see the problem now."




"Statement: Even with medical assistance, I do not believe detective McNichol can accomplish the apprehension of this fugitive."




Nene nodded, her brow furrowed in thought. Her face smoothed, and she gestured towards the phone. "Then I think we need some backup."




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




Terrence Knight, Scourge of Cimerora, General (Commanding) of the Lady Grey Task Force, Lead Tank to The Legendary, Heralded as the Angry Death by the
Banished Pantheon, spoken of in hushed tones by the Freakshow, rolled over, flailing his arms in the air as the blankets bound his legs to Lisa's,
causing his momentum to twist him off the mattress. As his face sailed towards the floor, Terrence managed to grab his cellphone, bringing it with him on his
short downward trip.




"Hihi, Terrence-chan! I hope I didn't wake you, but I need some help!" Chirped the bright voice of Nene Romanova. Terrence shifted the phone
slightly and tried to focus his thoughts.




"Whrt hnrgle nrrd?" he managed.




"Uhm.. I've got a little Freakshow problem, and this time, when I say 'excessive force' is authorized, I mean it.. And I've got a plan
that shouldn't destroy _too_ much of Skyway.. "




Terrence blinked. If the little redhead was talking that casually about destroying sections of Skyway, this was likely to turn out to be more interesting
than another afternoon spent on the Parapets of Rommy's stolen castle...




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




"No, d00d, you don't seem to understand what I'm saying here - if you don't come up with those leg upgrades, you'll never have to worry
about your inventory again!" Sp33d Fr3@k slammed the phone down hard enough to shatter the glass desk he was sitting at, which exploded into shards and
splinters. His raucous laughter stopped short as a quiet chirp came out of his pocket, and he slipped a compact radio into his hand, turning it up and
listening intently. "So the heroes think they can send a pathetic team of low speed losers to deal with the Sp33d Fr3@k, that's awesome!" The
radio went back in a pocket, and the Freakshow speedster shot out of his ersatz office, blasting through the abandoned industrial building.




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




Amberlee floated in the zero-g meditation chamber, folded into a full lotus, her wings moving just enough to caress the air. The soft sound of her breathing
was the only sound audible in the heavily shielded chamber, deep in the protected core of the Legendary base. Far away, under one of the countless overpasses
in Skyway City, Lord Admiral Emet glared down at the stocky figure of Mag Flashlight, who was watching Terrence. Terrence, for his part, was happily pounding
Lost, averaging 2-3 of the massive mutants downed with any given blow.




"I hate the wait." Emet grumbled, in a voice like a concrete truck inside another, larger, concrete truck. "How can we even be sure the little
jerkoff is gonna run through here?"




Mag looked away from Terrence's joyful mayhem, craning his neck to look up at Emet's towering height. "We can't be certain, but Nene says he
should, and HE-AT backs her up. Leon's got a PPD response force in the wings to be rapid deployed most anywhere, and besides.. we're just that good.
It'll be fine." Emet shrugged it's massive shoulders, then turned away from Mag to watch Terrence, who was almost out of Lost.




As the last of the mutant homeless slipped through the Medicomm network towards the Zig, Terrence turned and strode towards the other two waiting tanks. Just
shy of the pair, he stopped momentarily, and a blur flashed in front of him, resolving into Cyberman 8 and SSC Thrust, both rotating around a lamp post to
shed excess momentum.




"We're ready." Cyberman stated, and Thrust nodded beside him. Mag gave them a thumbs up, and the two speedsters shot off into the labyrinthine
depths of Skyway City. Terrence hopped up to sit on the concrete wall that Emet was leaning on, and angled his gaze at Mag.




"They're ready. We're ready. Anyone heard from the Inside Team?"




"Not yet. I'll check." Mag replied, and keyed open the Coalition radio channel. "Quicksilver, Mister Catorce, are you folks ready?" A
moment passed, and then a voice crackled back over the radio link.




"Most assuredly so. This bright-eyed young lady and myself are ready to do our part to bring holy Justice to this demented Freakshow!"




"Alright, then, we're just waiting for Nene's call."




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




The final PPD Fast Response unit signed into the commnet as ready, and Nene Romanova flipped over to the second channel on her radio control.
"Legendary, this is Net. Spectrum is Green. Repeat, Spectrum is Green." Nene released the transmit button, and sat back to watch the situation
unfold.




The situation opened with Numero Catorce, who punched the warehouse door clean off it's hinges, sending it tumbling into the depths of the building.
"Come out, you snivelling curs, and face the Kick of Justice, if you dare!" Numero bellowed, and charged into the darkness. Quicksilver Nano
giggled and powered up, her incandescent glow backlighting Numero as she charged after him. An outside observer would have heard screams and electric blasts
echoing out of the warehouse doors, as the pair chewed their way through the Freakshow.




Quicksilver laughed outloud as she punched a Freakshow, flipping it over the top of a crate, and Numero kicked it back towards her. The Stunner Captain
crumpled to the floor, senseless, and the lambent figure slapped a tag on him. As he vanished, Quicksilver peeked her head around the crate. Finding Numero
in the act of tagging his Freak, she leaned up against the box and waited.




"I think that's the last of them before the final door, Mr. Catorce." She said, curtsying.




Numero regarded her gravely, and bowed. "It is an honor to work with you, Miss Nano, I consider you a friend. You, you call me Numero."




Quicksilver giggled and curtsied again, and the two of them charged off towards the final door. As it rolled up, Quicksilver dodged backwards, knocking
Numero to the ground as a crackling blur streaked across the opening, bouncing off the doorframe to resolve itself into a Freakshow. His tall, lanky form
stretched even further by the cybernetic legs crackling with energy. Numero sprang to his feet with a roar, and lunged forward with a punch. The Freak
blurred out of the way, stopping at the far side of the doorframe, leaning casually against it.




"You punkz are gonna have to work a lot harder than that to lay hands on TEH SP33D FR3@K!!1" he declared, posing. As he beat his fist against his
chest in manly rage, Quicksilver Nano came up from behind him, and favored him with a solid kick between his cybernetic legs. As he crumpled to the floor,
crying out in agony, Numero met him with a solid punch to the gut, which bounced him back into the wall. Sp33d managed to catch himself against the wall, and
pushed off, blurring into the corridors. "Nice try, lo5erz!" echoed from his retreating form. Numero grinned at the departing figure, and started
after him at a steady, ground-eating lope, Quicksilver's luminous form close behind.




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




Emet closed its fist again, powdered conrete leaking out from between its fingers. Turning to Mag again, Emet shook its head.




"This is taking too long, they should have herded him out by now." Emet intoned. Mag shrugged.




"Hey, all I'm here to do is slow down some hyper jackass, I don't have anything to do with the plan, and anywa-"




Mag's complaints were cut off by the Coalition channel opening up. "This is Catorce. Sp33d Fr3@k is rabbiting. He is headed for front door.
Out."




"Cyberman here, vectoring to intercept. Out."




"SSC Thrust acknowledges. Incoming. Out."




Mag stared up at Emet, one eyebrow lifted as he powered on his armor. Emet finally shrugged, and turned away to poke Terrence with one stone finger.




Terrence jerked upright, grabbing Emet's finger with his left hand and levering himself across it to smash a wild haymaker into Emet's skull, burying
his fist over an inch deep into the rocky surface. Emet calmly reached up with its other hand, peeling Terrence's clenched fist from around its finger,
and patted him on the side of the face. "Wake up, grumpy pants." Emet pronounced, before pulling Terrence's fist out of its skull and brushing
the chunks of rock off of it. "Catorce and Quicksilver flushed the dude out of his hole, Cyber and Thrust are setting him up." Emet poked at the
rapidly filling depression in the side of its head. "Geez, remind me to wake you up with a stick next time."




Mag shook his head as Terrence rubbed his eyes. Emet disappeared in a flash of portal energy, and Terrence vaulted off the wall, shaking his coat into place.




"We ready?" Terrence asked, cracking the stiffness out of his bones joint by joint.




"Yup." Mag replied, slouching sideways and eyeballing sightlines. "Right about.. here, I think." Terrence slowly looked over the road and
pathway they stood on, paying close attention to sight lines and curbs.




"I do think you're right. You want the first hit?"




"Sure. You'll get the last?"




"Better believe it, old man." Terrence said with a chuckle. Mag hunkered down and brought up the map on his HUD.




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




Cyberman 8 felt joy pulsing out of his metal heart as he broke the sound barrier and kept accelerating, streaking across Skyway City at his rarely used top
speed. Slowly drawing away from SSC Thrust, he curved out to the left, dropping a waypoint for her off to the right. She followed it, and Cyberman pushed
harder, drawing a line of fire across Skyway City. Numero Catorce's icon on his HUD pulsed, and Cyberman spared a moment's worth of attention to open
the channel.




?




5 seconds, Cyberman.




K




Cyberman sent the info on to Thrust, and the two reduced speed dramatically. They were still travelling well in excess of Mach, however, when Sp33d popped
out of the ruined warehouse door. Cyberman hit him high, knocking him off his feet as he blasted by, and Thrust hit him low, bouncing him face first into the
wall of the building he had just ran out of. Sp33d recovered, and streaked off into the deepening twilight gloom. Cyberman felt a grin splitting his face as
he accelerated again, caroming off a wall, and began the first run in this high speed game of cat and mouse.




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




Mag shuffled his feet as he watched the HUD, digging in and fine tuning his position. Cyberman and Thrust were operating at full unlimited speed tonight,
thanks to PPD's Excessive Force authorization. They drew lines across the map like strategic plots, blasting back and forth across Sp33d's path,
herding him towards the one place he shouldn't go. Mag squatted deeper as Sp33d made the final turn, and flew down the road towards him. Mag surged to
his full height with a roar, sinking one armor clad fist into sp33d's stomach. The massive momentum of the Freakshow speedster shoved them both backwards
a full ten feet, Mag's boots scraping sparks off the pavement. Terrence came out of nowhere in the gathering gloom, roaring his rage as he blasted the
Freak into the air with a massive uppercut. Sp33d was on a path to make an easy twenty feet of vertical distance, when a flash of portal energy and a stone
foot, slamming down onto his chest, changed his trajectory for the worse.




As he hit the ground and bounced, once, Sp33d was met by Cyberman and Thrust, coming in reversed this time, with Cyberman knocking the already-senseless
Freak asprawl, and Thrust dropping in with an overhead strike that crushed him into the asphalt. Emet touched down with surprising grace, landing from a
teleport, between Terrence and Mag, who were bookended by Thrust and Cyberman in a semicircle around the downed Freak. Sparks dribbling from his tattered
legs and overloaded cybernetics, Sp33d pushed himself to his knees, and looked up into the merciless masked face of the just-arrived Numero Catorce. The
runic patterns on his mask and tattoos on his chest seeming to crawl in the flickering light given him by Quicksilver Nano, Catorce looked down on the
crippled Freakshow and, shaking his head, smashed him into the pavement.




Quicksilver Nano slipped around the luchador, and planted one armored boot in the small of Sp33d's back. As the Freak tpushed himself up yet again, she
pushed him back down, and slapped a transit tag on him. With a silent sigh, Sp33d Fr3@k slipped into the medicomm network, bound for the Zig.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies