Heroes: The Road of Good Intentions

[B4UTRUST]

Up ahead over the rooftops the fight was continuing. A dozen aerial drones were engaged in battle with the Ultima flyers. Wing-mounted micromissiles were launched, blazing through the air to be detonated by energy blasts and armored fists. Two of the drones exploded in fiery infernos, while another had its wing clipped off and went into a death spiral, crashing into the roof and falling through.

The building rocked on its foundation as mortar rounds detonated into its side, blowing holes in it. Smoke and dust was thick in the air. One of the aerial drones lowered mechanical grapplers from beneath it and thrustered its way in close to the flying agents. It grabbed one of them roughly by the throat and proceeded to turn into a suicide dive. The hero bashed at it with his enhanced strength, armor coated arms denting and crushing the metal. The drone ignored the damage and plunged them both into the rooftop, dragging the hero roughly, leaving a bright red bloody streak across the stones. With his dying breath he grabbed the wings and tored them loose, crashing the drone into the rooftop. It exploded as its internal power supply was ruptured, sending shrapnel and flaming wreckage everywhere.

Military jets flew by at high speed, dropping large payloads into the battlefield. A pair of barrel-armed mechs stormed out of the loading bays. Covers flipped open as the stubby circular arms tilted skywards. Dozens of missiles streaked out, locking onto the jets. They exploded in balls of fire, only a few of the pilots fortunate enough to eject before they died.

More of Ultima's heavy hitters were storming the grounds, rushing to close with the shield units. Bodies battered into the metal, rending it in places trying to break through. The shield units held their ground, refusing to be pushed back as they locked gears and used every bit of torque they could muster. Treads still put up dust as inch by slow inch they were moved. The agents gave another push, finally breaking through the shields and tearing them to shreds. They were met with close range defense turrents loaded with a napalm-like substance, a flaming goo that coated any who were careless to venture too close. It stuck to whatever it hit, igniting it and refusing to be put out even by stopping and rolling on the ground. It burned until all that was left was bone and sometimes tough fire-reistant uniforms.

Inside the buildings weapons were loaded as the mechanially-augmented former human employees had parts changed out. In what amounted to a sadistic plug and play interface arms and grapplers were pulled off and replaced with weapons which ranged from flamethrowers to energy-laced swords to laser-based weaponry. They started stalking from room to room, level to level across the buildings, searching for survivors, killing any who reissted.

Blast's vision was muddled and confused by the vast amount of power circulating around him. Electrical outlets and data cables pulsed and flowed, the data a bright yellow and the electricty and gently glowing bright blue that pulsed and hummed as it cycled. Every line and route was visible, overlaying on top of each other and all leading further down into the building and under it to what looked like a series of interconnected passageways and access areas to a giant reactor of some sort. The reactor was a dark blue, churning and throbbing with the enormous amounts of power contained within. Near it all the yellow data lines came together and turned an angry red as they joined to one point.

To confuse the picture more, the dull blue of the mechanical units were visible as well, yellow auras spiking and flaring as they sent and recieved data. There were quite a few of them, all around the area.

[frigidmagi]

Blast's vision was muddled and confused by the vast amount of power circulating around him. Electrical outlets and data cables pulsed and flowed, the data a bright yellow and the electricty and gently glowing bright blue that pulsed and hummed as it cycled. Every line and route was visible, overlaying on top of each other and all leading further down into the building and under it to what looked like a series of interconnected passageways and access areas to a giant reactor of some sort. The reactor was a dark blue, churning and throbbing with the enormous amounts of power contained within. Near it all the yellow data lines came together and turned an angry red as they joined to one point.

To confuse the picture more, the dull blue of the mechanical units were visible as well, yellow auras spiking and flaring as they sent and recieved data. There were quite a few of them, all around the area.

The sheer amount of data was overwhelming and Blast was lacking in the experience that would help him decode it quickly. But he could tell one thing, the reactor was the most logical, best target. If he could take it down power to the hold fortess would die and he could take it down, he just had to get close.

He took a breath and closed his eyes for a second of prayer and opened them. His shield rolled around him comfortingly. He charged down the hallway towards the reactor, anything that tried to stop him would burn.

[B4UTRUST]

Last time in Heroes: the Millenium Chronicles

*fade in*
"And what do you plan to do with this information, if I get it?"
"I plan to kill him..."
*fade out*

*fade in*
"If you teleport me again against my orders, I will kill you..."
*fade out*

*fade in*
"Who didn't make it," Ghost asked, offering Argent the drink.
"H-how did you-"
"I've been there, I've seen that same look in the mirror."
"It was Legacies," she said softly, the tears coming again.

Ghost put his arms around her and tried to comfort her as best he could. Argent just held him, crying on his shoulder, mourning the loss and the mess she had made.
*fade out*

*fade in*
"You didn't have to say that, man," Tach said, glaring at the blind Blackheart.
"She's on probation under my charge, released from Ultima into my custody. She's been given second chance after second chance, and every time she screws up, every time the team suffers for her fuckups and failure to obey the orders she was given by the person in charge. How many more chances does she deserve?"
*fade out*

*fade in*
Outside the room the screams of the injured and dying were loud and many. The sounds of the once human machines following their orders was just as loud. Fires crackled and smoke billowed all around. Blast closed his eyes in concentrating before opening them again, looking all around to find the power source for this place.

He finally found it, buried beneath the facility, accessible only by maintenance tunnels. He also saw all the information flying around them, the programming codes sent to the cyborgs and machines, the data all around them. Its source too lay below. He turned to Hydro and Gravitas, telling them what he saw. They left the room, heading further into the bombed out building, destroying anything that stood in their way...
*fade out*

*fade in*
"Come on, hurry! Up this way," Alexander shouted to the three women behind him.
"Are you sure this is the best way," one of them asked breathlessly as they ran past him on the staircase.
"We'll be better off on the roof, rescue teams will be able to find us easier," he said as he followed them up.

He left the 'I hope' unspoken as he ran.
*fade out*

*fade in*
The building shook, plaster and dust falling down. The wall crumbled inwards from the explosion. Ultima assault teams were pressing hard against the defending army, but seemed to be making little headway. The military was overheard, bringing in heavy ordinance to play. Exploding aircraft and assault drones rained shrapnel and debris down on the rooftops. Anti-air units rose up from the storage depots, unloading barrage after barrage of missiles from their barrel pods.

Another round from the rail-gun wielding battlesuit slammed into the building, blowing through it and collapsing more supports. The roof began to collapse.
*fade out*

*fade in*
Hotfoot was pulling anyone he could out of harms way, blazing through the field of battle, dodging in and out of incoming fire like it was standing still. He ran towards one of the buildings, ducking and twisting out of the way as bullets flew through the air. He barely screeched to a stop as a round passed right in front of his face before moving full speed again.

He paused outside the building, looking up at the roof as four figures appeared briefly, one of them battling the cyborgs. The roof was alternating between light and dark like a black and white strobelight as the metahuman created areas of shadow.

Hotfoot took off into the building, intent to get to the roof and provide assistance. He just didn't know what way to take, the stairs that were guarded by troops or the unstable rubble.
*fade out*

*fade in*
Alexander struck out with the makeshift whip, striking down another of the man-machines before disappearing into another field of darkness he created. He heard one fall through the roof as it caved in, and another somewhere else. He held the women behind him protectively, waiting. The cyborgs were getting smarter, sending units one at a time to find the safest path.
*fade out*

*fade in*
"Gravitas, can you come here for a second and look at this?"
"Kinda busy here at the moment," yelled Gravitas over his shoulder as he crushed one of the 'borgs under increased gravity.

Beside Gravitas, Hydro was slamming relentlessly into the borgs, shorting out circuits and crushing them where he could.
"Damn," muttered Blast. "Well here goes nothing, then."

Blast turned to the giant metal door sealed before him and began to try to burn a hole through it. Behind him Gravitas and Hydro kept the enemy at bay at the staircase, allowing him time to work.
*fade out*

And now the continuation of Heroes: the Millenium Chronicles...

[LadyTevar]

Long minutes passed, but eventually tears slowed and ceased falling. Shakes and sobs eased, until she lay quietly in Ghost's arms. The disjointed near-confessional of how she'd tried to save Legacies came to an end, the full truth that no other teammate might ever ask of her. The hallway of bodies that would prove her tale was destroyed. The wounds on her body were already healing, and would be gone in days. There would be no record of how hard she fought, only the visible failure of Legacies' death.

Exhaustion, physical and emotional kept her from leaving the comfort of Ghost's platonic embrace. She could feel all he wanted was to help her, and it was simply easier to let him than try to fight and pretend she didn't want it.

[rhoenix]

The inky shroud covering the roof, along with the temperature of the roof being high enough to match the normal human body temperature, had kept the AI controlling the cyborg drones confused and cautious, enabling Alexander to shock a couple of them off the roof if they were standing too close. It had not come without a price, however - his right leg had first degree burns at least, and that was with him draining the heat of the flamethrower away as best he could. Moreover, his calf was still oozing blood from where the grappling taser had impaled his leg earlier.

Now however, the AI's displeasure was being shown by the cyborg legion using their new weaponry indiscriminately enough to create holes in the roof. They couldn't see the holes, but Alexander could.

He was feeling very tired at this point. He had never really pushed himself with his "meta" ability with photons until now, and he was rapidly feeling exhausted. Despite this, he still used the AI's impatience to his advantage by leading the drone legion to shoot out specific places in the roof, rendering passage to he and the three women very difficult from their side, where they had arisen from the roof stairs.

That done though, he hobbled to the far side of the roof where the other three still-human co-workers of his were hiding, and collapsed heavily onto the roof next to them. Keeping the shroud up was beginning to cause him to feel faint. He'd done little more than slyly use his vision or more rarely, affect the temperature of an area - today, he had blanketed entire areas, including the entire roof of this building in an impenetrable darkness. Earlier, he had affected the temperature enough to render the cyborgs' thermal vision useless; thankfully, the ambient temperature of the roof was high enough to not need that effect as well. Moreover, he privately doubted he could do both right now.

His head was swimming, and Alexander was feeling very light-headed. One of the women nudged his arm. "The darkness - its fading!"

Opening his eyes wearily, he saw that light was now leaking fog-like through his shroud. Not enough for the cyborgs to see easily where they were, but enough to see across the roof. Using pure willpower to fuel his concentration, he now limited the area of the shroud to just on the half of the roof where the cyborg legion were cautiously moving about, leaving the half of roof where he and the women were open to the sunlight. Two of the three gasped when they saw what had happened to his leg. The third, the one who had rarely spoken the entire time, now did so. "So...that darkness thing - that's you doing that?"

Using all the willpower he could, Alexander wearily nodded his head.

The three women tried to comfort him and take care of his wounds as best they could while Alexander kept up his exhausted vigil through the shroud, keeping his tired eyes on what was happening on the roof.

[Cynical Cat]

Blackheart finished off the last fajita and drank down the beer. His bladder was heading toward the fullish side. He got up, moving around the house by memory, his hands brushing against the walls and guiding him as he headed toward the bathroom.

That was better. He zipped up and washed his hands. His eyes were itching abominably or his eyesockets or whatever. Maybe it was phantom pain. He pulled the bandages off his head and dropped them in the waste basket. That was better. Much better.

He followed around to where he had left his clothes and rumaged through until he found what he was looking for. He opened the case and pulled out the pair of gold rimmed shades. He put them on and went back down through the gray haze.

[LadyTevar]

((Tachyon's part removed per Marcao's request))
****
Argent shifted, slowly pushing her way out of Ghost's supporting arms. "I ... I should be going..." she murmured, feeling a little embarrassed over her breakdown.

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot raced ahead, using what rubble he could to vault himself up into one of the exposed stairwells, using his speed to power through the stairs, hoping that any traps would take too long to trigger and any enemies would be too slow to react to him properly.

[SirNitram]

Battling this many enemies who weren't vunerable to stunning blasts was always taxing. Gravitas could, of course, just begin tapping into the vast stores of quantum energy around him; something damn nearby was emitting radiation, though he couldn't pinpoint it. But tapping into the vast power would bring on the curse of his nature, the dehumanizing Taint.

Another metal-flesh body was flung with great force, and he gritted his teeth. He hoped whatever Blast found would help.

[Marcao]

Under normal circumstances he never would have considered harming an Ultima officer, let alone Blackheart. The moment that had descended upon him was hardly normal however and he was taken aback by Blackheart’s ferocity and the depth of anger that was being aimed at Li Na. Was he still being rational? Or did his link to Li Na run deep enough that he would put his life on the line and his future within Ultima at risk for her? He hesitated for only a moment before he acknowledged to himself that he would burn that bridge if he had to.

He was very silent as Blackheart pressed his verbal attack waiting for a handful of seconds before he replied. It took a fair deal of self control not to respond with venom, but a part of him understood that escalation at this point was ill advised. Even though Blackheart was blind and battered, he was a threat. There were not many beings in the world that could claim that and he was all but out of power. At this particular moment in time, Blackheart still held an advantage. He was not prepared to choose now between his allegiance to Ultima and his allegiance to Li Na. Still, he was aware of a singular truth. His heart would break and turn to ash if he allowed Li Na to die. Watching Blackheart die would only wound it…

“What she deserves is to be given the courtesy to explain her actions, a courtesy that we would extend to any member of any team,â€

[Agent Fisher]

((Tachyon's part removed per Marcao's request))
****
Argent shifted, slowly pushing her way out of Ghost's supporting arms. "I ... I should be going..." she murmured, feeling a little embarrassed over her breakdown.

Ghost let her push out of his arms. "I understand. If you need anything, let me know." He said. "And don't be too hard on yourself. You did all you could. Sometimes our best just isn't enough, and there's no shame in that."

[LadyTevar]

"Unless it's Blackheart," Argent answered bitterly, the agent's stinging rebuke and threat echoing in her ears. When she looked up, her featureless eyes seemed haunted. "He ... " she trailed off, not quite wanting to tell Ghost how far Blackheart had merged. "He's hurt bad too... and -it- is stronger."

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost tilted his head. "It? You mean the tumor thing?" He asked. "Don't worry about that. You just finished a tough mission, everyone is going to be high strung for a few days." Ghost said to her. "And as for Blackheart being hurt, well, he heals quick. He grew back his arm, remember?"

[LadyTevar]

"Yes," Argent answered flatly. "Just add food and beer," she added bitterly. He grew back his arm, he'll grow back his eyes, as well as the busted ribs. Was it worth going back, when Blackheart was just going to rip into her again? "He ... he didn't even ask what happened, Ghost. He just... blamed me."

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost nodded, sighing. "That sounds like Blackheart. Just give it time, Argent, he'll come around." The spook said.

[LadyTevar]

"he's changed, Ghost," There was no way to explain just how much. "He's ... not thinking human anymore. He will kill me next time."

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost frowned. "Stick with Tachyon, or Blast, or Gravitas, they'll protect you. And if it gets too bad, get out so you don't get hurt by him." He told her.

[LadyTevar]

When Ghost mentioned Tachyon, Argent blushed, complete with a tremor of emotion that passed onto Ghost. Hearts and Flowers would be the best way to describe the feeling.

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost titled his head then chuckled. "Oh, you like Tachyon now, do you?" The man chuckled a bit more. "Ah, young love." He said then fell silent, his mind returning to his first and only love, his deceased wife. He looked down at her. "Just stay safe, Argent." He said.

[LadyTevar]

Argent blushed, embarrassed, as thoughts of just how much she'd come to 'like' Tachy in only a week. There was one thing she knew with a certainty that nearly glowed inside her. "He'll keep me safe, Ghost."

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost smiled softly, nodding. "Then that'll do. Stick with him and he'll protect you from Blackheart." He said.

[Dark Silver]

Dressed back in the black, temporary costume Garth was flying towards Ghost' apartment. He had gotten some information, maybe enough to help his friend. It would cost him though.

All worth it if Ghost got his revenge on Gazer.

He was hovering infront of one of the windows, suffused in his gentle blue forcefield, his face covered in a black mask. He didn't see Ghost immediately, but decided to enter.

He held the ring up, concentrating as a small beam flashed out, razor thin, and cutting through the glass. When the circle had been cut, the beam encircled the glass, and caught it, sliding it out.

A hard light hand reached in throguh the glass, unlocking the window, and opening it, once it was done, Garth floated through the window, cracked his neck, and with a slip of his mind, the glass panel he cut slipped to the ground, and shattered on the floor.

[Cynical Cat]

"I don't kill lightly or without good reason," said Blackheart as he came back down the stairs. "Be sure of that, if nothing else. The blood doesn't wash off and I have more than enough of it on my hands, but so does she. I will not permit her, or anyone else, to destroy lives and then allow her to do it again. Twice she has disobeyed orders and teleported me against my will with no good plan and twice people have died and I wasn't there to prevent that. That blood doesn't wash out either. When the time comes, if the time comes, I will do what has to be done."

[LadyTevar]

Argent reacted instinctively, slipping into a shadow to hide. It wavered a little, her exhaustion showing once again, but she did not fall out. She kept her voice soft, just barely over a whisper, "I will cover you...."

Weakened or not, she would try.

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost stood, walking towards the living room where he heard the glass break. There were two possibilities, and he could handle both easily. "No, leave now." He said, picking up his pistol as that was laying on a small table next to the door.

Ghost didn't know if she left or not, but he pressed his back up against the wall, ready to swing around and confront whoever it was.

"That you Garth?" He called out.