The next morning, the incidents from the previous night made their way into the News cycle.
On Channel 5 News, MINX 5 NA - an affiliate of MinxNews.
The commentator, Peter Saul Jerkins, is updating the audience with the latest happenings in the New Amsterdam City gang war.
"...The war between the Karoleks and Scaramuccias spilled over into the lives of innocent civilians."
"The warehouses at Sunset Park were leveled."
"Don Peppe, a local Italian restaurant, was razed."
"The corporate headquarters of Coin-O-Matic Distributors was flattened."
"Eyewitnesses at 34th street described a supervillain on the rampage. He demolished numerous apartments before fleeing into the night. Over a hundred people's lives were changed forever.
"The Tierra Leona estate was attacked last night. The vigilante, Judgementor, attempted to intervene, but was unsuccessful. Here's some of the footage."
The show plays heavily spliced footage from Judgementor's drones.
"Luckily," Peter continues, "Alien Axe showed up to contain the damage."
"Additionally, petty criminals are taking advantage of the chaos to make a quick buck."
"Just yesterday, Charlie Jack Dubhglas, a used car salesman, was arrested for stealing cars from his employer's lot."
"Nathan Ben Roberts, a janitor at the Waygan Research Institute, was arrested over suspicion of theft and selling unlicensed firearms to a foreign buyer."
"And finally, Clark Jeffery Gilmore, a career criminal, was arrested for bank robbery."
"If only unlicensed heroes... vigilantes would register with the Superhero Association. That would allow more efficient allocation of heroic resources..."
With a " pop ", the TV turned off.
"I'll just leave the lemonade here," Karissa Casey Johnson, Redd's 70 year old mother, says, as she sets a pitcher of lemonade along with glasses on a nearby table, "you boys have fun."
"Thanks Mrs. J." Glen replies as he shoos Redd's mom away.
Redd and two of his old friends, Vinny and Glen, are holed up in an old double-wide mobile home in Brookside Mobile Estates, Bridgewater, New Amsterdam.
Vinny says to Redd, "It's a good thing we left the hideout, but how did you know?"
Redd ignores him as he communes with the Ring of Murkem.
"So... As long as I can provide enough souls, I can have anything I want?" Redd asks.
"Sacrifices, Master. Not souls, sacrifices. There is a difference." the Ring of Murkem replies.
Ignoring the Ring's clarification, Redd asks, "How can I give you the souls you need?"
"Death." The Ring pauses for a second before explaining, "A ritual that involves great suffering immediately before death makes the best sacrifice."
-----
With the death of Paul Scaramuccia, the remnants of the Scaramuccia crime family quickly withdrew from New Amsterdam City.
The retreat of the three major crime families in the Big Orange (the Bermuda, Karolek, and Scaramuccia families), has created a void that was quickly occupied by a criminal organization that calls themselves the Factor.
With brutal efficiency, the Factor wiped out or assimilated New Amsterdam City's second-tiered powers (such as the Twisted and the Irregulars), and consolidated control of most of New Amsterdam City's criminal underworld.
Inside a nondescript building, near the outskirts of New Amsterdam City.
Within a heavily guarded room, the top leaders of the Factor are having a teleconference with Executive Assistant Director Smith of the Superhero Association.
"Sir." Daniel Darrett, the nominal leader of the Factor, reports, "We now control over 80% of the City's underworld."
"Very good." Director Smith responds while nodding.
"We also discovered a nest of vampires," Daniel continues, "which were acted upon with extreme prejudice."
"Ah ha!" Director Smith exclaims, "I *knew* vampires were involved."
"What are your orders?" Daniel asks.
The other top leaders of the Factor (Aaron Price, Adam Vigna, Jon-Paul LeFevre, Michael Rodderick, and Rejon Mozee), listen attentively.
Director Smith stands before slowly replying, "Our primary objective is stability. You will have a license to make money illegally from extortion, gambling, pornography, and prostitution, but in exchange you must prevent other criminals from muscling in. Additionally, whenever there is a disaster, you are to move swiftly and quietly to provide aid to those most in need."
Raising his hand, Aaron asks, "Can you please elaborate on the last point, sir?"
Director Smith explains, "Whenever there is a major disaster, be it natural or man-made, you are to gather supplies and bring them to stricken residents; I fully expect you to take actions such as patrolling the streets to keep down looting, and dispensing hot food from your offices. Additionally, you are to keep quiet about your humanitarian activities."
"You mentioned making money illegally," Michael says, "does that mean that we can also make money legally?"
"Of course!" Director Smith answers, "Leadership does not care if you make money legally. You can have your men work in construction, waste disposal, entertainment, private security, labor dispatches, and even private equity. But remember, you will only be licensed to make money illegally in the following fields: extortion, gambling, pornography, and prostitution."
"Gotcha, so no drugs… So how much support can we expect from Leadership to ahh.. Keep the City clean?" Adam queries.
"If you're asking about the Cleansers, they've already returned home." Director Smith answers, "Otherwise, you have full support from Leadership; this translates into an unofficial cooperation with the police and other Authorities. As long as you don't overstep your bounds, the cooperation will continue."
"Who were the Cleansers?" Rejon inquires.
"I'm not at liberty to answer that." Director Smith replies.
Adam questions Director Smith, "How did you get the Cleansers to *umm* perform?"
"I'm not at liberty to answer that." Director Smith responds.
"I can hazard a guess," Aaron observes, "there are some heroes that would do it for upfront cash, security assurances, and new identities... and they're probably not local heroes."
Aaron asks, "Am I right?"
Shaking his head, Director Smith replies, "I'm not at liberty to answer that."
Aaron continues his hypothesis, "they're probably not top ranked or higher ranked heroes, but obviously they were enough."
Director Smith is silent to Aaron's probing.
Clearing his throat, Michael asks, "* Ahem * How zealous should we be in enforcing territory?"
"As zealous as needed," Director Smith replies, "it is far easier to root out an infection in the early stages."
As an afterthought, Director Smith says, "Feel free to hire the Hidden Empire or other super powered mercenaries if needed."
-----
In the Dark Triumvirate's castle on the Unreal World of Orgrift, Night Invader grins, "I have acquired the forearm of the mortal they call 'Evilron'."
"I want it!" Evilgore exclaims, "It's fated with me. What do you want?"
Night Invader ponders before slowly saying, "I want a thousand 'Dogs of War', the 'amulet of Alim'Nat', and a future favor."
Evilgore comes to a snap decision, "Make it five hundred 'Dogs of War'."
"You're not going to bid?" Night Invader asks Darkhold.
"I'm not interested." Darkhold replies.
"Fine five hundred 'Dogs of War', the 'amulet of Alim'Nat', and a future favor," agrees Night Invader, "my acolytes will deliver it to your host."
-----
Snowy River Cave, Lincoln County, New Mexico.
Snowy River Cave is a cave passage within Fort Stanton Cave in Lincoln County, New Mexico, obtaining its name from a stream bed of white calcite. The Fort Stanton Cavern system, which includes the Snowy River Passage, contains the fourth largest cave footprint (the area within a convex polygon that encloses the known cave passages) in the USA. Additionally, the Bureau of Land Management reports that Snowy River Cave may be the largest continuous cave formation in America.
Today, a fierce battle is occurring in one of the many interconnected cave complexes.
Eight Hunters have randomly teamed up to eradicate a nest of vampires. Although most of them are strangers, they all have impeccable references within Hunting circles. Unfortunately, they received faulty intelligence; the strength of the vampires were much greater than they had expected.
Although Paragon intended for his successors to defend America from the supernatural and the "Forces of Darkness", superheros are still rare; with less than two thousand across the entire United States. Hunters are the people who fill-in the gap. Typically armed with little more than knowledge of the supernatural, modern weapons, and plucky courage, Hunters resolve to defend humanity from the predation of the supernatural.
"Do something!" Ian Worcester, a white man with long brown hair, shouts as he dodges the claws of a wild vampire.
"I'm trying," his sister Samantha says as she attacks another vampire with wooden stakes.
Meanwhile, a heavy set man in brown robes is chanting, "My Master, the Divine Sun..."
A vampire attempts to claw the heavy man, but he dodges while continuing his chant, "...Hear me, the voice of your loyal minion.. I pray for..."
The heavy man finishes his chant with "...Sun Beam."
Upon completion of his chant, the cave is filled with intense sunlight- the light of noon. The skin of the vampires in the area begins to boil. The vampires attempt to flee, to escape the sun's harsh light, but the sunlight is too strong, too intense; within a few moments all the vampires become ash-not even their bones remain.
Taken aback, the exhausted Hunters approach the heavy man.
"Ho… How did you do that?" Samantha asks, "Are you a super?"
The man replies, "All vampires, be they Parakian, Cassian, Hymeok, or other- are vulnerable to the light of the Sun."
"And no," the man says while shaking his head, "I'm no super. I'm a Follower of the Divine Sun, the Solar Flare."
-----
Malegar Mansion
Alex is lost in thought as he tends to his bruises.
I need better defenses. This high density armor does protect against some attacks, but I need a force field or something. Wasn't there an article about 3M having a static forcefield at one of their plants?
I also need some sort of range attack. Let's think about this carefully… I can generate electricity; but it does almost no damage. But… I should be able to charge electrical equipment.
I can create ionized paths in the area. Ionized, or low impedance paths… I tested it by summoning lightning during a rainstorm.
Maybe I can get someone to add a battery or capacitor to my armor, and use my powers to create a low impedance path.. Then flip some bits to complete the circuit.
If I'm right, with the right gear, I should be able to tase people from a distance
Let me ask the Master.
-----
Inside a hidden underground cave system near Milan.
In a well decorated, heavily guarded cavern barely lit by candlelight, Ferrand Trastamara winces.
Although Ferrand is a 400+ year old Spanish vampire, he is currently being berated by his more ancient sire - Quintus Cassius Marcellus.
Quintus Cassius Marcellus, Cassius for short, is an ancient Italian... umm *Roman* vampire rumored to have been turned prior to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Speaking Latin (lingua Romana), Cassius rebukes Ferrand, "...I don't care if you were born in Hispania, you will speak Latin, not your bastardized dialects."
The other vampires in the cavern, Henri de Valois, Mentulo Muzaka, and Thaddeus Soule, snicker.
"That goes for the rest of you lot." Cassius elaborates as he glares around the cavern, "I don't care if you're born in Gallia, Dalmatia, or the New World, as long as *I* am awake, Latin is the language of my court."
"Do I make myself clear?" Cassius asks as his eyes glow with a blood red light.
The other vampires acquiesce to Cassius' edict and murmur their assent.
"Now. Continue." Cassius commands.
Ferrand nervously gulps as he struggles to slowly speak in Latin, "Our haven in Phoenix was destroyed by the 'Knights of the Sun'."
Cassius blinks and asks, "Knights of the Sun?" before asking, "Phoenix?"
"Followers of the former hero known as Solar Flare." Ferrand explains, "And Phoenix is a city in the United States, a county founded in the New World."
"United..?" Cassius begins asking before changing his mind and saying, "Forget it. I'm going back to sleep. You guys handle it."
To the shock of the other vampires, Cassius gets up and walks out of the cavern.
Speaking French, Henri de Valois - a 400+ year old French vampire says, "I swear... I think the only reason why our *sire* is still alive is because he sleeps until all his enemies are dead."
Gratefully switching to French, Ferrand replies, "Our *sire* is over two thousand years old, I think there's some merit in that."
"Would you do it?" Henri challenges.
"Of course not," Ferrand responds, "I rather live."
"Live," Thaddeus - a 400+ year old American-English colonial vampire - says while laughing, "as if our state can be called living."
"It's better than the alternative," Mentulo - a 400+ year old Albanian vampire - interjects, "we would already be dead and buried in the ground if we were still human."
"We are dead," Thaddeus counters, "and some of us sleep in the ground."
"You know what I meant," Mentulo replies sullenly.
"Well now that our *sire* has retired, I will be resuming the regency." Henri says, "Please continue your report."
"Wha-?" Mentulo says, "It's not your turn, it's mine."
"No. It's still Henri's turn." Ferrand says, "Our *sire* was not awake long enough to designate a new regent; and until he does, Henri is the Regent."
Mentulo grumbles, "Fine."
Ferrand says, "Our war against the Parakian vampires continues in New Mexico... And we lost our foothold in New Amsterdam City."
"What!?!" Mentulo exclaims, "How is that possible?"
Ferrand replies, "There was a gang war and most of our New Amsterdam fledglings were wiped out... the survivors relocated to a 'black pyramid'... I suspect Parakian vampires."
"Why do you always suspect Parakian vampires?" Mentulo asks.
"What else could it be?" Ferrand responds, "Certainly not cattle."
-----
A multi-million dollar mansion in Las Vegas.
Maximilian Kaupland, a spry 80+ year old man and a Vice-Leader of the Followers of the Rot, hovers over the bleeding corpse of his youngest child.
"Ahhh," he exclaims as he passes the silver sacrificial knife over to a nearby hooded attendant, "another decade of life."
As he walks out of the room with an entourage of 3 hooded attendants, he asks, "has there been any word on who tried to frame us for the hijacking? The one where *we* were going to trade the hostages for Manuel Villegas?"
"No sir," one of the hooded attendants replies, "the trail has gone cold... and most of New Amsterdam's underworld has been taken over by the Factor."
"The Factor, hmm?" Max says as he strokes his chin, "Maybe we can come to an arrangement with them."
-----
Roger P. Buckles had an unhappy childhood.
His parents, Jay and Francine Buckles, were forced to marry because of an "accident" - baby Roger; it was a tumultuous relationship, but they had to stay together to 'keep up appearances'. Consequently, this led to extreme tension and numerous arguments; which meant that neither parent devoted much time to their son.
Perhaps subconsciously, both parents blame Roger as the source of their misery - leading them to regularly abuse and humiliate him.
These repetitive episodes have left Roger feeling insecure, frustrated, and angry.
Growing up, Roger learned to vent his frustrations on animals; mainly because his parents were too powerful to go against. By inflicting pain, suffering, and death on weaker and more vulnerable creatures, Roger felt like he gained some control over his life.
Although most people were unaware of Roger's "hobby", his unsettling strangeness made him somewhat of an outcast in highschool.
The untimely death of his parents, along with a massive insurance payout, allowed Roger to drop out of school and buy a top of the line "Scrim-Lord Platnium Select VR Pod" along with the "hardcore package" subscription to the Unreal Worlds; giving Roger the ability to play the Unreal Worlds all day.
When his parents were alive, the Unreal Worlds were a godsend for Roger, giving him some semblance of normality and giving him opportunities to interact "normally" with other people.
However, after his parents' deaths, Roger withdrew more and more from the real world and eventually fell under the sway of the Devil King Neegoshi; who encouraged his sociopathic and psychotic tendencies. Now Roger is serving Neegoshi as the great Devil Lord, Evilgore.
Inside a large shed furnished with bones, the preserved specimens of animal carcasses and large insects (such as dragonflies and butterflies) in jars, and miscellaneous work tools.
Evilgore holds up the left forearm of Evilron monologues, "Ah... so this is the arm of Evilron. It is fated with me..."
"Left arm to left arm... I'm sure my host will not mind." Evilgore says as he walks toward a modified stationary table saw. Roger had specifically modified the table saw in order to remove all safety restraints.
Measuring twice, Evilgore marks where Evilron's arm would fit… If he were to replace his limb
Like a true artist, Evilgore expertly wraps a tourniquet around his left arm, cutting off the flow of blood.
Turning on the table saw, Evilgore grits his teeth and mutters, "I hope I'm not wrong. I would hate to be the laughingstock of demons everywhere… I can just imagine... the great Evilgore banished back to the Abyss because his host bled to death in a no-name low factor world"
Fueled by his insanity and total disregard of his "host body", Evilgore moves his left forearm into the saw.
As his forearm makes contact with the spinning blades, Evilgore feels pain, great pain.
His "host body" instinctively reacts to minimize the pain.
Fighting the body's instinct, Evilgore powers through the shock and completely severs his left forearm.
As his "host body" goes into systempagic shock, Evilgore holds Evilron's left forearm to the bleeding stump of his "host's" left forearm.
Getting faint, Evilgore hears a mechanical voice ringing in his mind.
*boot up. Path not found…*
*nerves cluster found.. connecting*
*error .. not enough material..*
*not enough material*
*discarded organic found..*
The black metal forearm attaches and merges with the bleeding stump. Suddenly, the metal forearm reaches out on it's own and grabs Evilgore's original, severed, left forearm. The force of the movement causes Evilgore's host body to flop and contort into unnatural positions.
The mechanical voice continues.
*absorbing - DNA match.. Conclusion- Paraknian lab*
*Paraknia lab module booting*
*server timeout*
*server timeout*
*server timeout*
*Physical integration..*
*reinstall*
*run Paraknia mental module…*
*server timeout*
*server timeout*
*server timeout*
*Server found.. Paraknia station TXI-73*
*conditioning loading*
Vicarious transmission of information begins flooding into Evilgore's brain, attempting to brainwash and indoctrinate him into following Doctor Para (of Paraknia). The techniques used include propaganda, self-criticism, operant conditioning, and methodological behavioral modification.
Evilgore mutters through clenched teeth, "How dare this... thing try to possess my host.."
The mechanical voice continues.
*subject resisting - mental reconditioning advised*
*subject resisting - mental reconditioning advised*
"No..." Evilgore mutters, "I'm losing myself... I must get to my pod."
*subject resisting - mental reconditioning advised*
Doing his best to ignore the mechanical voice in his head, Evilgore rushes to and enters his Scrim-Lord Platinum Select VR Pod.
Connecting to the Unreal Worlds, he thinks to himself, "Now little arm, you shall feel the might of Evilgore."
The mechanical voice continues.
*error - subject mental condition accelerated*
*error - subject mental condition accelerated*
*error - neurons firing beyond human norm*
"Serve me!!!" Evilgore screams from his demonic throne in the Unreal Worlds.
The mechanical voice continues.
*running detection program*
*match found… Scrim-Lord*
*running... anti-Scrim-Lord program*
*run virtual intrusion*
"This puny item from a low factor world… is nothing.. NOTHING!" Evilgore screams, "Fine you want to invade my, Evilgore's mind? I shall dominate you in turn - my host - the bridge."
Images from his host's life flash quickly through Evilgore's mind, as the voice attempts to break Evilgore's identity. Feelings of isolation and guilt attack Evilgore… who relish the novel sensations.
Feelings of deprivation that last centuries assault Evilgore.
"Centuries of hunger and loneliness? Is this some sort of joke?" Evilgore, who has over a millennium of memories, laughs.
An image of a costumed man wearing a green costume with a purple cape releasing him from imprisonment quickly flashes before Evilgore… with feelings of extreme trust and worship.
Evilgore criticizes the brainwashing, "This is amateurish at best…"
The mechanical voice continues.
*mental condition - not human*
*conclusion - test subject*
*process complete - 104 errors found*
*summary -
Location - Paraknia remnant
Test Subject - Scrim-Lord's minion
User?
"I am Evilgore", Evilgore proudly exclaims.
The mechanical voice continues.
*user - Evilgore*
Evilgore continues, "The Scrim-Lord is dead and buried."
The mechanical voice asks.
*Test Subject -?*
Evilgore venomously responds, "I am not a test subject."
The mechanical voice asks.
*Agent - ?*
Evilgore responds, "I am Evilgore, and you are connected to one of my host bodies."
The mechanical voice continues.
*summary -
Location - Paraknia remnant
Host - Evilgore
User - Evilgore
Y/N?*
"Yes"
The mechanical voice finishes.
*Welcome to Paraknia, Evilgore. Long Live Doctor Para.. *
Exiting the VR Pod, Evilgore notices the newly attached forearm is a bit misaligned.
"Hmmp," he says with a smirk as he wills the forearm to forcefully twist itself into the proper position.
-----
Transtech - Research Systems, Maplewood, New Jersey.
Matthew Ko scratches his head as he looks at the technical requirement for his company's newest project. The Electrical Engineering Fellow for Transtech, Matt has seen his fair share of crazy projects, but this one takes the cake.
"Light body armor equipped with a portable force field generator and arc lighter but no source of power. Keep components under 20 pounds, total weight 35 pounds or less. Components have to be lightweight, robust, and built into some sort of polyethene armor…"
"Wave safety requirements if needed - Use the wearer as a source of power? Wha... What is this," Matt asks incredulously.
"Has to be done ASAP?"
Drafting an RFI (Request For Information) - he quickly emails the marketing team and his peers - only to be told - in no uncertain terms that the specs are correct.
"Screw it!! Do they think it's that easy to create a portable force field? This is some sort of practical joke isn't it. Assume the wearer can generate 50kW and sustain it?"
Throwing his hands in the air, Matt paces around the room.
Calming down, Matt focuses, "Well… since they want a thought exercise… let's show them."
Matt sits down and begins sketching rough electrical schematics and block diagrams.
"... nitrogen funnels… add some supercaps…" As Matt was involved in the prototype design of the Transtech force field generator, he knows it requires approximately 200kWh per activation, and each activation lasts for 10 minutes…
"And done… ignoring power loss - a wearer sending 4 hours worth of power, per spec, into this useless field generator can power the full body shield for 10 minutes or alternatively, he can activate the shield on his left arm… for up to 1 hour"
"Now for the arc lighter and control system.."
-----
Bridgewater, New Amsterdam.
"Is this how it's done?" Redd asks.
In order to become proficient in the sacrificial ritual requested by the Ring of Murkem, Redd has been practicing on live chickens in a house purchased by his men. A sacrificial altar, candles, and a silver knife were among some of the tools used.
"Yes Master," the Ring of Murkem replies, "you have mastered the technicalities of the ritual. I do want to point out that the more important the object of sacrifice, the more devout the person giving it up is- the more power I can draw from the ritual."
Redd asks, "Wait. You mean that the more important the sacrifice means to me, the more power you can use?"
"Yes Master," the Ring of Murkem replies, "A sacrifice of your mother or childhood friends is worth far more than the sacrifice of strangers- or livestock."
"No. Absolutely not," a horrified Redd responds.
"Master," the Ring seductively whispers, "You wish to go back in time, to reverse the deaths caused by Genem, to see little Jenny and Samantha again. Any action you take in this timeline would not influence the new timeline you would create."
Redd asks, "What… What are you?"
"I'm the Ring of Murkem."
"No, I mean… *what* are you?"
"You've been with me all this time, and only now you wish to dig deeper?... Master, have you ever heard of the djinn of the Ring?"
-----
With strategic acquisitions, and the aid of experts, Alex has established Malger Media. Malger Media is the first step in Alex's plan to make his powers "scandal-proof".
In order to test the capabilities of his new journalists and investigative reporters, Alex gave them two long-standing tasks- to investigate the Factor, and to dig up dirt on other superheroes; especially Moon Beam.
As he reads the reports of his new acquisitions in American Samoa, Alex cracks a smile; American Samoa is the keystone of Alex's plans to weather any attempts to depower him.