City of Heroes

OOC Thread. Read before posting.

Jackal sprinted through the streets of King's Row. He'd recieved word that The Lost were on the move again in the district and he was determined to be there to keep them from causing any more harm. He whizzed by several other costume-clad heroes on the way as he zipped to his destination. To most people he passed, he must have been quite a sight. A very Bohemian-looking Gypsy with knives dashing by with a cocky grin at the speed of a car.

As he came to a corner, Jack leaped up. He dug one foot into the base as an anchor and grabbed the post with one hand loosely, allowing his momentum to naturally swing him ninety degrees. He let go as soon as the turn was finished and hit the ground running. The smell of dust and smoke grew heavier, meaning he was getting closer to the neighborhood he was looking for. The Lost seemed to focus most of their activities on the south end of Kings Row, possibly because it was easier to scrounge for raw materials there.

He skidded to a hault at another street corner and looked up at the sky. The sun would be down in another hour. Much as he loved Paragon City's nightlife, he didn't have any powers to see in the dark, so he needed to see about mopping these slime up while he could still get a good look at them. Setting off in a light jog, Jack began his patrol of the area.

He didn't have to go far before he saw a quartet of Lost smashing a car. Three of them were only mildly deformed, but had the hodgepodge clothes, make-up, and scars that passed for uniforms among these... things. The other one was one of the hulking lieutenants. A large blade with a handslot at one end was slung over its back and it wore street and "ONE WAY" signs as armor for its bulky, muscular arms. The lieutenant was holding the front of the car, restraining it, and the screams from inside told Jack that innocent people were in there. He'd arrived just in time.

"Yo!" he shouted to the creatures. Two of them only looked up at him. He drew his katars and rushed forward. "Let's dance!"

Jack knew right from the start that he had the mobility card. He nimbly danced out of the way of a knife blade from the first Lost that was wearing a "STOP" sign for a breastplate. He parried the blade with his right hand he circled to the man's side, then with his left leg kicked his opponent once in the lower back, then the ass, then the hollow of the knee, bringing him down quickly.

He hopped up on the car's trunk to prepare his next attack, but jumped out of the way when the other two attacked him baseball bats. By an odd coincidence, the strike of the bats and Jack's boots created a familiar beat that caused his eyes to light up. He sheathed his katars and backflipped off the hood of the car just as the lieutenant made a swing with his blade, easily evading the strike. He did several successive backflips to put some distance between himself and his opponents.

When he stopped, he stomped twice and clapped. And again... again. Even as the Lost advanced cautiously, not sure what to make of his behaviour. Then he started singing. "Buddy you're a boy, make a big noise, playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday! You got mud on your face, you big disgrace, kickin' your can all over the place!"

Torch Song

Of all the sections of Paragon City she'd been in, Ellie liked King's Row the least. Everyone here just seemed so beaten down and defeated. It made her sad...and as though her efforts here were in vain. She flew through the streets, about seventy feet up, drawing a few stares from passers-by and a few children looking out their windows. Even the air smelled like depression.

But she was here on a mission. The Lost were busy in King's Row, and she was here to collect blood samples from the mutated thugs. Her eyes darkened as she thought of the foul things. Skulking out of the sewers to kidnap and brainwash the down and out. Targeting those they thought society wouldn't miss. "I won't let you do it anymore," she whispered into the wind.

There! There was a blur of movement, she realized it was a man moving at incredible speed, flipping across the street. Pursuing him was a trio of the oddly armored and armed thugs, with one of the larger mutated Lost leading them. In his hands was a large, hideous blade-like weapon. The man was so fast, they had no chance of keeping up with him. He didn't look like he needed help...but maybe he'd let her take some samples when he was finished.

She giggled as he started singing, taunting his foes. She was about to start the second verse, when she noticed another source of movement. He'd drawn the attention of another group of Lost that had been listening to a rant from another mutated lieutenat further down the street. They were coming up behind the speedster.

Torch Song dove down, rocketing down the road. "Behind you!" As one of them lowered a machine gun at the roguishly grinning man, she sang a single perfect note, holding it for several breaths. The air around the knife wielding warrior shimmered, and as the gun spat bullets, they turned on the protective layer of sound. She alighted on the ground next to him, nodding in greeting, "Mind if I lend you a hand?"

Jack whirled at the sudden interruption, using the momentum to deliver a blind hook kick that parried the bat strike of one of the Lost moving in on him. They stopped in surprise however when the buxom heroine joined the Gypsy hero.

"Mind if I lend you a hand?"

"Much appreciated, darling," Jack answered with a wink. He jumped up as the lost lieutenant thrust its grotesque blade at him. He used the blade as springboard to launch himself up higher and pulled a twist in mid-air to land on the lieutenant's back. He ripped the busted TV the creature was using as a helmet and chucked it at one of the knife-weilding thugs across the street.

He then began slapping the lieutenant's bald head and whooping. "Woop woop-woop-woop-woop-woop! Nyuh-uh-uh!" As the brute roared in anger and hefted its blade, Jack pulled its head back and grinned. "Ooh! Don't hit me, Moe!"

He dropped off its back into crouch as the lieutenant swung its blade up to hit Jack and instead struck itself in the back with the flat of the blade, further enraging it.

It had been a long say for Steve. It hadn't really started off that well. He had been working on blueprints for a new flight system for his battlesuit, but every time he kept hitting the power distribution problem. So, like most of the newer heroes in Paragon City, he took the monorail.

Keeping in regular communication with his contacts, Steve found out that there were very few rumers floating around over the last week, with the exception of one - a warehous in Kings Row was thaught to be over-run with Clockwork. It might not be on the same level as the Circle, but right now he didn't really want to go toe-to-toe with the Mages.

Turns out that 'over-run' was an understatement. There wasn't a patch of floor or wall that didn't have Clockwork running all over it, pulling off bits here and there, before leaving to dump them elsewhere. To hell with the numbers, he thaught. There's no way a warehouse is getting dissasembled on his watch!

It was a long, and drawn out series of running battles. He'd draw off a small group before pounding them into the dirt, then moving onto the next group. Several times he had to back off and let them resume their activities, giving his suit buffers time to repower, before surging back into the fray.

That was 3 hours ago

Feeling quite exhausted, Steve sat outside the warehouse, using his tactical helmet to call his contact. "Hey. Took care of that problem.... huh?... yeah. Stuffed full. .... No, not really. Everything was stripped bare. ... eh? Dukes? Nah. Couple of Teslas, nothing I couldn't handle. Yeah... yeah.... uh-huh. Ok. Call me when you got something. Bye"

He hung up. Nothing new at all.

Suddenly, he felt a gust of wind, and saw a man speed by, followed by a small number of the mutated Lost. Whoever he was, he probably had everyhting in hand. Still, could prove interesting to watch his technique. Standing up, Striker jogged after the group, staying far enough away from the largest of the Lost so as not to draw it's attention.

Turned out that the guy was good at his job. He'd been joined by a woman who'se costume was somewhat on the revealing side, but not as much as some he'd seen. While she kept some occupied with sonics, he danced around the biggest of the Lost, taunting the brute into a blind rage. Still, they were outnumbered, and his suit buffers were at full power.

Approaching one of the lesser mutated ones from behind, he tapped it on the shoulder, clearing his throat. "Excuse me, sir" The thug spun around, bat in hand, and was met by an energy charged fist of steel in his face, causing it to staggar back in a daze. "7 against 2? Hardly fair odds!" Striker went into a defensive stance, hoping that his actions would have drawn some of the attention away from the other two, giving them more breathing room

Torch Song

The long haired man was a whirlwind of action! She laughed a little as he forced the blade wielding Lost to strike itself, then let out a surprised gasp as the armored man appeared out of nowhere to send another one sprawling.

"Focus, Ellie," she whispered. She sang the same note as earlier, placing a sonic shield around the newcomer. Then she leaped back as one of the bat wielding henchmen nearly brained her with it. She let out a brief shriek and he staggered back as a wave of sonic energy slammed into him. She took a deep breath, her chest heaving and screamed. The dirty man's cry was lost in the horrible burst of sound, the windows of a nearby rusted out car shattering. He hit the ground, unconscious.

"6 to 2 now," she smiled. She turned to face the hulking brute the speedster was fighting. He was holding his own, but could stand a little help. She focused, trying one of her more unusual powers. Ellie took another deep breath and started to sing, "I've paid my dues, time after time. I served my sentence, but committed no crime." The mutated man began to shake, the sonic vibrations weakening his defenses. "And bad mistakes, I've had a few." "I've ahd my share of sand kicked in my face, but I've come through!"

She was about to go into the chorus when one of the other goons, this one swinging his fists wildly, reared up in front of her. Her weakening effect was still in place, even though she stopped singing. Torch Song started to dodge, but it was too late. A large fist smashed across her face, sending her stumbling back. Another blow followed, and she reeled back again. "Ahhh!"

Jack saw hte woman who had helped him earlier get caught by one of the lesser Lost. Giving the lieutenant a swift kick in the ass to further enrage it, he dashed over to his newfound ally and went into a slide placing him beside the woman and her enemy. He swung one leg up directly into the man's groin, using his superspeed to deliver another four blows in less than a second.

The Lost didn't even have the wind left to scream as he dropped to the ground clutching his abused crotch with a bug-eyed expression.

That's when Jack spotted the hulking Lieutenant coming after them. "Shit! Incoming!" He grabbed the heroine and pulled her away just as the blade came whipping by them. "Chalk that one up to carelessness on my part."

Torch Song

She blushed brightly as the long haired man grabbed her, pulling her to him out of the way of the huge slashing blade. His body was all hard whipcord muscle, and it was that more than needing to be rescued that embarrassed her. "It's okay," she replied to his statement, "I should have been more careful."

She let out another scream, and the hulking brute rocked back as though struck a mighty blow. Ellie hadn't been sure if she could hurt him, but with her vibration effect at work, she was able to injure him. "I think he'd almost finished!"

The hulking brute rocked back from the girl's sonic assault. Looked like he had a nosebleed. The lesser Lost were closing in as the long-haired man spirited the girl away. Guess it was time he wrapped up the fight then. "Come get some!"

Striker lept up into the air, and braught down both his fists hard onto the hulking one's head. On any normal person, the sound of cracking bone would have ensured, but with these things, there was nothing of the sort. Luckinly though, it obviously knocked it's brain around enough to cause it to pass out.

Now, there were the other five. No sweat...

"Fuck yeah!" Jack shouted at the sight of the armored hero knocking out the lieutenant. He wheeled on his ankles, drew his kukri, and jurled the crooked blade, chopping a baseball bat held by another Lost thug in two. He winked again at the heroine beside him and made running leap at the man, descending on him with a massive flying kick.

He snatched up his kukri in time to turn and parry another blow. He delivered a flurrying set of upset punches to the stomach and dropped the man like a stone.

"Three more to put on the ass end of an asskicking!"

Torch Song

She smiled at him as he winked at her, nervous at such attention from a man. It was a very new thing for her. He took down two of the thugs so quickly, she was amazed at his strength.

"Pull your weight, Ellie," she muttered. A shriek blasted the thug the armored man had struck earlier, the force of the blow seeming to restore his senses. She stepped up to him, punching him across the face as hard as she could. He clutched at his face long enough for her to drop him with another sonic scream.

The others seemed to have the remaining thugs tied up, so she took a moment to take a look around the street, check for others. "Are there any more?"

Mystic Miss

Maria Masters sat calmly on the couch at home, watching various channels. She had a long day already and was getting bored. She had been going on a simple little patrol, minding her own business when she spotted a man out fighting some Outcasts with a katana. The guy was fairly agile and skilled, but he was just in over his head with this battle.

Maria swooped in next to the guy, using her telekinesis to knock back a thug throwing fire at him. The man with the katana however just ran forward like a crazed person, taking on everyone at once. Maria couldn't help but admire his courage, even though it was a stupid thing to do.

She tried her best to heal the man from the wounds he was taking in the senseless battle. However, he just brought on too much and feel quickly. Before she knew it, the Outcasts were after her. Using her flight, she flew straight up and away to get to safety.

By the time she came back down and the Outcasts were gone, the man's body had already been snatched up by the hospital teleportation system. Feeling sore, she decided to call it a night.

Now, she sat infront of her TV, watching the news. She wasn't that surprised to see a story about a fire down in Steel Canyon where a group of heros came in to put it out. Things were getting rather similar for her since she became a hero. Go out, fight bad guys, come home. Same old same old. She wanted something new, sometime exciting to happen.

Volt Master

The housing projects in King's Row were no stranger to young people starting their professional lives. With his youthful good looks and demeanor, Jason Cross could have blended in well with those young people as he stepped out onto the fire escape of his apartment building, and breathed in the night air.

It was really the spandex costume that made him stand out. The blue and black constasted perfectly, his hands, boots, and chest adorned with the lightning insignia of Volt Master. Jason tugged his mask into place, something he wore more out of respect for tradition than necessity. Sunset meant more criminals would be out, which meant now was when he was needed most. Arcs of lightning rippled over his body, and he rose into the air, slowly soaring to the top of the apartment building.

He really liked this little rundown neighborhood. There were good people here, and even though he'd only been here a month, he felt at home here. His move to King's Row had been another thing he and his parents had fought about. Most young heroes lived in subsidized housing in Atlas Park or Galaxy City, bright, clean, and safe. They couldn't understand why he'd want to live in King's Row, a decaying section of town on its way to becoming a war zone. Of course, that was exactly why he lived here.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the street below. A group of rough looking men in white clothes were harrassing two women, bone white face paint declaring thier membership in the Skulls. "Just hand it over," said one, a wicked hatchet in his right hand.

Another, wielding a switchblade, took a feinting stab at one of the ladies. "This is our turf, an' you gotta give us our due."

Jason dropped into the middle of them like a stone, causing the thugs to back off a few feet. "I've got your due right here." "All 50, 000 volts of it." He brought hsi hands up over his head, then down, and electricity exploded out of him. It arced and lanced past the cowering women, slamming into the Skulls. The thugs began to twitch and convulse as it fired and misfired their nerves.

He wheeled to face the chopper, blasting a lightning bolt into the stunned punk. The smell of ozone filled the air, along with the screeching hum that always accompanied his blasts. Volt Master followed up with a series of furious punches, his fists wreathed in coruscating electricity. Even as that one fell, Jason released a one handed bolt that slammed into the knife wielder's chest. He staggered and Jason pointed both hands at him, slamming back into a brick wall with another lightning bolt. The third, who appeared unarmed, took off running. Volt Master gestured and rings of crackling blueish purple sprang up around him, halting his flight. Then the man was hurled to the ground by another lightning bolt, lying there barely conscious.

Volt Master stood over him, and pulled him to his feet. "Listen to me, listen!" "I've got a message for you to take back to Marrow Eater and all the Bone Daddies." "This is MY block." "I see any of you here, if anyone tells me you've been here, I will forget every other bad guy in this city to come after you." "You get that?" The thug nodded, and Jason threw him down. "Get out of my sight."

He checked on the two women, who were unharmed and very grateful. They wre also exceptionally cute. Not for the first time, he wished it would be appropriate to linger with a rescuee or two. But there was work to do. "Ladies, I would love to stay and get phone numbers, but the night's young and there's a lot more good that needs doing."

Volt Master rose up into the air once more, faster this time. He looked down at the two women and shook his head once more. There was never time for a social life, it seemed. That was the one thing he missed, that he wanted. This was a very lonely lifestyle, and man could not live on zapping villains alone.

Oh well. He shot off into the night, flying past the rotting tenaments. As he did so, he raised a hand to his communicator. "Hey, it's Volt Master." "Doing okay at the moment." "You got anything for me tonight?" He listened for a few minutes, then grinned. "Paula, you don't disappoint." "The Lost it is."

Striker looked around at the woman's comment. Didn't seem like there ware any more in the darkness of the alleys, and the setting sun made it difficult to spot any more. Activating his night-sight systems built into his monacle, he scanned the area.

Nothing.

"Can't see any more. There are two manholes nearby that could hide some, but I'm not detecting any movement"

He flipped off the night-sight, and tapped a couple of buttons on the side of his helmet. "Just gimmie a sec and I'll call in a PPD pickup"

After a few more button presses, his cell built into his helmet connected to his contact's phone. "Hi Johnny, it's Steve. Yeah, yeah not bad. Say, I've bumped into a cell of Lost near the King Garmet Works. Think you could send a meat waggon for them? Excellent! I owe ya one! Oh, hey, don't forget Saturday! Ok, see ya" He hung up.

"10 minutes."

Jack made a show of sheathing his kukri. He tossed his hair back with a flick of the hand and strode over to the other heroes. "Nicely done." He hefted one of hte unconscious up slightly by its collar and for a moment, his cocky smile faded and a look of supreme disdain crossed his features before he tossed the man back down with a sniff. His facial expression returned to normal as if nothing had ever happened.

"I'm Jackal, by the way. Jumpin' Gypsy speed demon, and kick to the nuts of all that which is evil in Paragon City."

"I'm Jackal, by the way. Jumpin' Gypsy speed demon, and kick to the nuts of all that which is evil in Paragon City." The waify-looking guy was just tossing around the beaten Lost, and sniffing the odd one. Quite strange. Oh well, when you've seen a four-foot guy running around in spandex calling himself the 'Pink Avenger', stuff like this is normal...

He held out a gauntletted hand. "Codename: Striker. Former U.S. military and Rikti war veteran. So, which one of you is the sidekick?"

Torch Song

Ellie smiled, though a bit nervously as Jackel tossed the unconscious Lost down on the ground. "Uh, neither of us is a sidekick, as far as I know, Striker."

She shook his hand, "I'm called Torch Song." "It's very nice to meet both of you." "You're both so powerful." "It's pretty impressive."

She knelt down beside one of the fallen mutated brutes, gathering the blood sample her contact had asked for. "Are you guys just patrolling or are you here for a purpose?"

Striker chuckled. "A pleasure, Torch Song" He waited for her to recover a blood sample. "In anser to your question, I'm not here hunting Lost. I got a tip about a warehouse swarming with Clockwork, and had just finished clearing it out when Jackal here rushed by. Figured I'd lend a hand"

Torch Song

She looked up at him, "Wow, that's a lot of action real close together." "You really have some staying power, huh?"

As soon as she words were out of her mouth, she realized the double entendre. She blushed, but didn't try to explain herself. She was sure they'd understand what she meant.

"I came here to get blood samples on the Lost, see if we can identify the mutagen they use to turn innocent people into," she gestured at the unconscious hulk, "that."

"Damn useful if we could find that out. These things ain't talking, that's for damn sure. Personally, I came down here because I'd recieved word that the Lost were stepping up their kidnapping activities. I was sent here to investigate." He looked down at the fallen Lost again and shook his head. He remembered all too well what it was like to find...

She shook his head to clear it. "Anyway, I could use some help. The two that escaped are undoubtedly on their way back to the sewers, so that's the next logical place to go looking."

Without waiting for an answer, he strode right over to a manhole cover and lifted it up. He started to climb in before turning to Torch Song. "By the way, if you aren't joining me on this little expedition, I'd like your phone number."

Torch Song

"My phone...number?" She blushed, taken aback by the question. She wasn't used to men responding this way to her. Wait. He must want it for team-ups. That made sense. "Uh, sure, Jackel." "I'd be glad to give you my number."

"But I do want to come along." She stood, her expression determined. "I despise the Lost, and I don't want anyone else to fall victim to them." Torch Song walked over to the manhole, and smiled down at Jackel. "I'm with you." "Although...do you think we'll be enough?" "Maybe we should get some more help."

Striker followed along behind the other two. "We'll be enough, you can count on it. My suit runs on a self-perpetuating energy sorce" He scanned the area again, just to be sure about there not being anyone nearby who could ambush them. He never liked venturing into the sewers. Mostly because that was where you tended to find the Circle...

Torch Song

Ellie nodded, swallowing nervously. She hated the sewers. The smell, the cramped quarters, the darkness...it was a nightmare. Of course, that was when she went in alone. It would be better with others.

"If you say so, Striker." "Let's go then." She followed Jackel down the slick rungs of the ladder, jumping down on one of the walkways rather than in the gross water that ran down the middle of the passage. She was always amazed at just how wide and tall the sewers were. God, that smell though! "I hate this place," she sighed. "I just know I'm going to get sewage all over me."

Jack waded through the sewage as he peered around a corner. His boots were water-sealed so he didn't really care. "That's what they make showers for, darling. If you really need help getting the smell out, my sister can loan you some pachoulli oil."

He gestured for Torch Song and Striker to follow him. He stepped on a ledge and kneeled down. Sure enough, he found a couple tracks of Nikes that must have had the soles in bad repair. "Somebody went this way, that's for sure. This track is still fresh."

Torch Song

She had no idea what he was seeing, but she trusted him. Besides, he seemed much more confident and at ease down here than she was. "I might take you up on the oil." Her voice was a little embarrased, "I usually just throw away a costume if I have to wear it down here."

Ellie kept close to Jackel, not wanting to get seperated. It could be awful easy down here. "Can you tell how many there might be?"

Normally, Jack would have taken thiss opportunity to flirt even more, but he was focused on the mission at this point. Although... "I'd be more than happy to help you dispose of the costume when we're done here." Never let it be said he passed up an opportunity.

"Anyway, it doesn't seem like there were very many of them. Not enough tracks. I'd say from three to six of them came through here. Whoever they may be."