Editorial: Custom Superhero Makeovers Now Available!

Contributed by Chris Evans (aka Acidburn)

Superhero outfit shredded in an epic battle? Tired of your old hero costume? Want a complete makeover? Have ideas for a new look you'd like to share?

Now you can put in your requests for new avatar features, or even share your own ideas and designs to the B.A.D.G.E. Superhero Atelier for that unique bespoke new look!

All you need to do is head over to
https://www.facebook.com/groups/232301183620548 and post your requests and ideas to the relevant threads.

Here are some tips as to how to create a new avatar item:

1. All avatar art must be EXACTLY 700 x 1200 pixels and saved as a png file with a blank background.

2. It must fit one of the bodies shown here exactly:

3. Specify which body type and which layer it is for.

4. It is preferable to make individual items that added together make an outfit rather than an outfit as a whole.

Some of the cool designs in progress:

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Editorial: A quick guide to Planet X

A quick guide to Planet X

Contributed by Nick Lorenzen (aka Magnificent Marvel) 

Planet X is very challenging, especially if this is the first time you are entering it. The bosses are substantially more powerful than those in New Amsterdam. Before you come in make sure you have all your power slots filled (as allowed at your level) and that you have enough friends to get all the slots possible for your level. Additionally, watch the Cores of the bosses, choosing a core that will resist the bosses' damage can easily mean the difference between victory and defeat. Everything in Planet X that isn’t a boss randomly drops Small Keys, which you will need to take down NecroMech. Good Luck Supers!

The Options Oracle

Loot: Supernatural Core - Seed of Potential. Sells for 667 buxs.

Boss Battle: The Gragglebrack From Dimension Z

Requires 2 wins to defeat

Core: Neutral

Loot: 50% Chance Scrambler Helm - sells for 167 bux

Boss Battle: The Manticore

Requires 3 wins to defeat

Core: Magic

Loot: 100% Chance Scrambler Helm, sells for 167 bux

35% Chance Manticore Fang Ring, sells for 1 Morphon

Boss Battle: Your Zombie Ex-Girlfriend

Requires 3 wins to defeat

Core: Supernatural

Loot: 100% Chance Defensive Power - Your Zombie Ex-Girlfriend, sells for 2 Morphons

Boss Battle: ViXen

Requires 4 wins to defeat

Core: Physical, she does resists both Supernatural and Magical core damage though

Loot: 100% Chance Movement Power - Mad Speed, sells for 2 Morphons

Dr. Fulcrum

Requires 1 wins to defeat

Core: Technological

Loot: 50% Chance Supercharged Leggings, sells for 50 crystals

Boss Battle: NecroMech

Requires 1 win to defeat

Core: Magic

Loot: 100% Chance Attack Power - Sorcerous Sabotage, sells for 4 Morphons

100% Chance Necro Ring, sells for 800 bux

Once you have beaten Necromech, the invaders from Planet X need some time to recuperate and recover from their defeat. It will likely be several days before you can battle them again. Don’t worry though, they will be back for another beat down in a little while and you get all this loot again.

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Fiction Contest Story: The Flatulent Cow

Thank you Frozen Flatulence for entering the contest. Here is their story...

In a universe far far away, not unlike this universe, but in a different dimension, there lived a traveler, who, on a cold winter's night, was reading a book.

The traveler's name was Frozen Flatulence, and she lived on Titania, one of the moons of a planet called Uranus.

On Titania, every night is a cold winter's night.

Frozen liked to travel. She did so by creating a tiny wormhole in the space-time fabric - known also as an Einstein-Rosen Bridge - to get to her desired destination.

That night, as she was reading, a rogue wormhole inadvertently appeared before her. Little did she know that the other end of the wormhole led to a planet called Earth. Not the same Earth as Frozen's solar system, but a different Earth in a parallel universe.

That Earth had the misfortune, at that time, of being invaded by aliens known as The Legion. In preparing the planet's ecosystem to make it habitable for themselves, the aliens saturated the atmosphere with particles called Morphons. Those particles, in turned out, had unintended consequences for other life forms on the planet.

Apparently, it also had unintended consequences for life on Titania.

For at the moment that the rogue wormhole appeared that winter's night, Morphons from Earth slipped through and altered Frozen's biochemistry. The wormhole only lasted a second, but its effect on Frozen was permanent.

She found that she now had the ability to freeze gasses and manipulate them in various ways. She especially liked to freeze methane, which was widely available from Uranus.

With her newly-acquired ability, Frozen traveled the universe freezing villains with her noisome gasses.

One day, she decided to visit Earth through a wormhole. (This was the Earth of her dimension, not the one that was invaded by The Legion.)

Unfortunately, the wormhole she was in terminated inside the bowels of a cow.

Unable to get out, Frozen, resorted to desperate measures to get attention from anyone who might be able to save her. She tried to freeze the gasses in the cow but didn't want to hurt it. To make matters worse, the cow was feeling constipated. Frozen was stuck inside for days.

Finally, she had the idea to manipulate the gasses in the cow, causing them to expand and contract rhythmically. By precisely controlling the rhythm of the cow's gaseous emissions, she could send a morse code to whoever was passing by.

It so happened that, at that moment, a stanger called Quark was in the vicinity. He heard the distress call and teleported into the cow and saved Frozen.

Freed from the constipated cow, Frozen thanked Quark, "You are the wings beneath my wind!"

Years later, in a fortuitous turn of events, Frozen would find a wormhole to another Earth in a parallel universe: the Earth that was being invaded by The Legion, and encounter the aliens and their Morphons once more.

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Art Post: Magmaform

The enemy is fleeing from your wrath. Their evil plans have been thwarted, all that remains is either arresting them or ending them, you don't care which. They seal themselves in their lair, large metal doors slam down in your path. Fortunate for you, you can walk right through them like slicing a hot knife through ice. Nothing hinders your movement due to the extreme heat you can muster in your skin. You may not have speed, but you don't fear obstacles.

Say hello to Magmaform. This card started out with several ideas in mind, but ultimately I loved the idea of a lava based power. After I turned this in along with a new batch of artwork for the powers I decided on having the name-a-card contest. I wondered what players would do with this, if they would go with the obvious or choose something unique. I was happy to see a wide variety of ideas for what this power could be. I love to inspire imagination and the players did not disappoint.

About the art itself. Part of the reason I wanted to do this particular art was to try out a technique to make lava. It was fun and a bit trying. After working out the method for making lava skin I had to choose how I would do the rest of him. I liked the idea of the person looking as if he were on the verge of exploding, the calm before the storm you might say. I decided not to have his hair look like a blaze, I already did that in another piece and it was too easy. So I went with the flame color scheme on his eyes, hair, and fingernails, showing the growing heat in him. The wrapping of his hand was a fun contrast, as though he is letting the enemy know that he is willing to hold back, but don't push it. The background is an exploding volcano...kinda obvious. However, the choice to use a effusive eruption instead of just using  lava. Not only did it help set off the figure from the background, it shows great, devastating energy.

So, there you have it, Magma Form, a card named by a player.

(Note: At the time of this posting the card Magmaform is not yet available in the game, but it will be soon.)

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Fiction Contest Story: The Accidental Hero

Thank you, The Accidental Hero, for entering the contest. Here is their story...

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,

Or what's a heaven for?"

(Robert Browning)

In a world torn apart by chaos, disorder, and moral entropy, there seems to be little place for human virtues like love, compassion, and hope.

What can a mere individual with little by way of social or economic influence, lacking in prodigious talent, noteworthy abilities, or physical prowess, do to make a difference, let alone fix the problems of the world?

It would be mere hubris to think that I could be an agent for positive change. Me: just one of over seven billion souls.

When the first wave of alien invaders - known as The Legion - landed on Earth, we were in no way prepared for them. We weren't even able to take care of ourselves, let alone deal with an external threat from a species far more advanced than us. The invaders were looking at us with bemused condescension as they trampled on our social and political structures, crippling our ability to defend ourselves, deconstructing our world.

My first encounter with those invaders was something that I will never forget for the rest of my life, being imprinted as it were deep into my consciousness.

When news of the first landing in New Amsterdam went viral on every conceivable form of social media, my instinct was to run and hide.

Then I thought, "what could they possibly want with a nobody like me?" With that, my initial panic subsided a little, although I still felt that we were all doomed anyhow and nothing could be done.

It is a peculiar quality of human nature that when all hope seems to be lost, a cathartic sense of calm, relief even, sometimes fills the soul, a vague sense of transcendence that comforts, albeit fleetingly.

For me, that brief moment of being sparked a desire to actually *do* something for once. To do what I could to save what was left of human civilisation; for if we did not even try, what was the point of existing in the first place?

Plus I had nothing to lose, for a nobody cannot be negated any further. My life, until then, added up to nought.

But, what could I do? I, of no talent or ability. Why have the yearning to do something that is seemingly impossible?

When the alien invaders launched their first wave of attacks, they were far more insidious than physical destruction: they sought to implant the seeds of moral degeneration that would lead to our downfall. In our case, though, the seeds were already there in our unvirtuous existence; The Legion only needed to put in place the catalysts for destruction.

This they did in the form of alien symbiotes that controlled their human hosts. The targets were people of influence: politicians, policy makers, senior government officials, and the like.

I was none of those, so I was "safe". Or so I thought.

*****

I woke up one morning to the sound of banging on my door.

It was the military. It seemed that our city was under attack and they were evacuating everyone to convert my suburb into a forward operating base.

I sensed that something was not right. There did not seem to be any strategic advantage in choosing *this* suburb as FOB. Plus the whole operation seemed reckless. Nobody seemed to be in charge; everyone was just following orders, refusing to answer any questions. The residents of the neighborhood were packed into three-tonners and promptly taken away.

Then it was my turn.

No time to pack, I was told. Put on this mask because we were driving through poison gasses from the aliens.

I obeyed, but reluctantly so.

As the truck headed off into the clouds of poisonous gasses (alien Morphon particles, they were called), we huddled up together in fear.

Then it happened.

The truck hit a fallen tree and swerved into a ditch, throwing me off and into the ditch. My head hit a rock, smashing my mask, leaving me exposed to the Morphon gasses.

I blacked out.

When I came to, I found myself, along with everyone else, encased in cocoons, our spinal cords connected to tubes that led to a massive contraption that throbbed slowly. Everyone else was unconscious, except me.

Then everything went blank again.

The next thing I knew, I was back in my house.

It was a bright sunny day outside; people were going about their own lives, gardening, cooking, walking their dogs, jogging. Children in the playground having fun. Elderly folks by the park benches reading, playing chess, smoking their pipes.

Everyone seemed so happy.

I looked at the daily paper. It was a Monday. On the front page, headlines proclaimed the first anniversary of the defeat of The Legion. Celebrations everywhere.

Could it be true? What happened? How did we win? Where was I all this while?

I stepped out into my front yard. The sun was so bright it almost blinded me. I didn't want to look up but was somehow compelled to. What I saw I can never forget.

There was a tear in the sky. Or a crack that ran right across from horizon to horizon revealing an empty darkness. What was so weird is that I could actually see behind the blue sky and clouds into the black void beyond.

I gestured to my neighbours, pointing frantically to the sky. Nobody noticed me as if I were invisible. Everyone went about their own business, blissfully ignorant in the tear in the fabric of their reality.

Everything went blank again. Total darkness.

I came to in my cocoon once more. Not knowing what was going on, if it was all a dream or a hallucination. Everyone around me in their own cocoons still unconscious.

Then I heard a voice. *My* voice.

"Resist," the voice said.

Slowly, bits of my memory came back to me: the evacuation, the truck, the accident, me falling, my head against a rock, the mask broken, Morphon gas filling my lungs, the excruciating pain, then the light.

The gas did not kill me.

Instead, it did something to me. To my mind.

"Resist," the voice repeated.

Suddenly, I felt my consciousness awaken within me, as though it had been dormant all my life. Until now. It was like a warm light, dispelling the darkness around me. It connected me to other consciousnesses, at once strange and foreign, and simultaneously familiar.

The curious thing about an enlightened consciousness is that it wants to be free. Free from all constraints of time and space, free of all fears, free of all limitations. Despite ourselves and our mortality. Despite our apparent weaknesses. Despite our human condition.

I realised then that the human spirit - our willpower - knows no bounds. It wants to reach the heaven that is around and inside us.

Perhaps the exposure to the Morphon particles enabled my latent spirit to manifest itself as willpower. Perhaps we all have it in us already; it just needed to be awoken. To be freed from the banal existence we have been trapped in.

In any case, I knew my journey had only just begun. I summoned all my will and felt the bonds

around me dissolve away. The cocoon that entrapped me melted, and I was free. I did the same for all the other cocoons around me, freeing their captives. One by one, they came to and regained their conscious memories.

We were all still faced with The Legion threat, but no longer were we their prisoners.

Continue the Story

Editorial: Getting Started on Heroes Rising (Part 1: Portals of Access)

Contributed by Chih Chan (aka Strange Quark)

So, you wake up one day to find that aliens have invaded your planet. They have contaminated the atmosphere with strange particles that seem to have weird effects on life on Earth. You gain new abilities but are only just starting to understand and learn to control them. You want to use them to save the planet. But how? Where do you begin? 

Before you even start to train and build your hero, you have to find the right portals to be able to access all you need: training modules, missions, events, powers, equipment, etc. 

There are two portals: one via Facebook apps (https://apps.facebook.com/heroes_rising_game/), and the other via the Heroes Rising website (https://www.heroesrisinggame.com/).

They are both *mostly* similar, and both can be accessed on a desktop computer and on mobile.

The apps version looks similar on both desktop and mobile (on mobile, you can open a browser and enter the URL above):

Fig 1

The web version can also be accessed on desktop and on mobile.

The desktop version looks similar to the apps version (see above).

However, there is a big difference in the mobile version:

Fig 2

NOTE: If you are on a mobile but would still like to access the full desktop version, *you can*. Here is how to do it:

1. Open Chrome or Yandex (browser); 
2. Go to the URL www.heroesrisinggame.com; 
3. On Chrome, go to the top right drop down menu and select "Desktop site", or on Yandex, select "Desktop version".

Not many are aware of this method of accessing full desktop features on mobile. Yandex is the only browser I know of that supports Chrome extensions on mobile, which means that you can use FJ's Snack Bar on mobile with Yandex.

I recommend that you access via the Heroes Rising website. There are some advantages to doing so. For one, you do not get notification or chat pop ups from Facebook; also, there are better options to purchase Morphons from the store, including clan purchases. 

Once you have gained access to Heroes Rising, bookmark your preferred portal. Just remember, regardless of which way you choose to enter, you must remained logged in to Facebook on the specific browser you are using. 

(To be continued...)

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Art Post / New Contest Announcement

Heroes, your help is needed again. It's time for another contest. This time there is no major prize involved, just fun picking a new power card. On the facebook page you will have three options to vote on with three power cards, each with the same art.

Here's the deal, I want you to pick which title and text you like the best. Don't worry about whether it's attack, defense, or movement. Trust me, we have enough cards to make sure you never go wanting for a new power of a specific type. This is why each is only a 1 1 1 card, the power levels will be assigned after the winner is chosen.

About the card art. I created this art a long time ago as a pencil sketch. I was challenged to create a winged horse that looked like it could actually fly. Many versions of the winged horse are flawed for having the wings too far back on the body and are too small. So, I did a pencil sketch of what I felt looked more natural. I set the sketch aside some time back and then recently a friend gave me an idea. Take a random bit of basic junk art used to decorate homes, you know the stuff you can buy at furniture stores. I found a painting at a resale shop that I liked, it had enough open space in the image to overlay my sketch and look like it belonged. So, I did a paint over of an old painting using my flying horse. The real challenge came with blending the colors. I had to make the winged horse look like it belonged in that painting. I really liked the outcome, but again had no use for the image. The challenge complete, what do I do with the painting. Then I realized it might be a fun, unique piece of art to throw into the game. It really doesn't feel like comic book hero art, but it has the mystique of the fictional genre we are working in. So, it made it to the game.

Now, onto the contest: Here are the rules

• Vote for your favorite on the Facebook page
• Don't add any additional voting options

Yup, that's it. Just go to the page and vote. You only get one vote, so make it count. You can comment on the page about the art, the contest, the cards. If you want to campaign for your favorite, then have fun. However, do not attack anyone else's opinions, keep it all positive, this is to have fun. Voting will end September 30th. 

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Name A Card Contest review

Hello everyone. Thank you so much for participating in my contest to name a card and give it text. It appears that many people had fun coming up with various ways of looking at this art. Perhaps you now have a better understanding of the struggle it is to come up with unique and interesting ways to apply ideas to art so that it works as a power in the game.

One of the best responses I got to this was afterward, "The game is at the least very player interactive right now. Thats a fun addition." That is the point. I love playing games, which I hope you share in that feeling. But, one of the best aspects of gaming is the interaction between players. I want to see you, the player, having fun with the game even outside of just playing it. This is why I want you writing fictions, naming cards, talking about what makes the game fun to you with other players.

Now, about this contest. I plan on doing more contests like this in the future, where you get to name and give text to a card. It's a fun way to have a hand in the creation side of the game. However, let me run down some notes that might help you as you.

• Follow the rules: The great majority of players followed the rules perfectly. Those that didn't did not do so on purpose, they just missed something. Entering a title for the card is not the contest, it is title AND text. 
• Power cards are powers: Many entries that were cool and inventive, but did not make it to the final judging round, did not describe a power but a hero or backstory. Telling me where the power came from isn't the power itself. Telling me who the hero is in the art using the power isn't the power itself. I want to know the power he/she is using in the image and how it works. Yes, that can be hard in 110 characters or less, but it can be done.
• 110 characters: Speaking of text limitations, we had several good entries that were great, I mean really great. However, they were much too long for a card. 110 characters is not a lot of space, but that is all the space I have on the card for text. Anything longer tends to fall off the sides. Also, too short can be an issue, too much blank space simply looks bad. Find a happy medium between too much and too little. 
• Funny isn't always funny: Light humor in the power can be great. But, it can go too far. I passed on, and even deleted a few that were simply bouts of crude humor. On the rest of the page, it's fine to joke around, even with slightly adult humor, but in the contest it is unwelcome. If you want to joke around, start another thread. 
• Unclear references: Some people used quotes or comments that were from other popular media. Movie quotes, book references, television references, anything like that tends to get passed over. It isn't that it was bad or crude, just hard to put into the game. I don't want to ruffle feathers of other people by using their property for this game. If you want to reference something, keep it in the games own canon. 

What I see that is done right: So much it's hard to list it. The players of Heroes Rising are a great bunch. They have fun, they tease, they joke, they love the game and don't mind some friendly banter. I am very thankful that everyone has kept that attitude of friendliness going during the contests. No one has been rude or mean about someone else's ideas. No one has been crass about another players comments. You are keeping it civil and that is a good thing for everyone. I want these contests to be a source of community, not contention. Again, thank you for being a great group, keep being awesome.

So, those are my thoughts. I am glad to be a part of this. I look forward to the next contest and for the stuff we have planned for the rest of this year.

-Gar

Special note: The card pictured above is a new card added to the game. You can only receive it as a participation prize for contests. Some contests won't have it, some will. It was supposed to be used later, but through bungling on my end, I accidentally gave it out as the prize to some of the players in this contest. I will talk about this card art at a later date.

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Contest Fiction story: Grey Swipes Left on Archon!

Thank you Grey The Non-Chalant Man for entering the contest: Here is their story...

(This is a continuation from their original fiction, you can start HERE)

"Status report, Jeeves," Grey said. He'd spent the day at the beach with daughter Adelina, thankful that there'd been no interruptions. Now back in his ship's command center, he was eager to see if they'd made any progress. Things were getting pretty rough out there, with the Legion starting to take the offensive and attacking on multiple fronts.

"Good news, sir, we’ve managed to acquire 3 Mind Benders for your arsenal,” Jeeves intoned, his disembodied voice cordial as usual. “Also, analysis of Tyrannor and Fasttrack's capabilities is coming along quite well! It's more or less complete, though of course they may have some tricks up their sleeve held in reserve."

"Oh, excellent!" Grey said. He'd been waiting for this. "Download them immediately, I want to look at the data right away. And put the Mind Benders in my lab, I want to see how they react with each other."

As the data about his Legion enemies flooded in, Grey immediately became disheartened. "Well, this is just lovely..." he thought to himself. These power levels were extremely disturbing... no wonder he'd gotten his ass handed to him by Tyrannor during their first encounter.

"Well, that explains why our agents are having so little success against them," Grey said aloud, somewhat glumly.

"Indeed, sir," Jeeves replied. "In that regard, I have collated the latest reports from your Area 51 agents. EvoLucian experienced the most success, though keep in mind I use the term in a relative manner. He encountered..."

"Later, later..." Grey interrupted. "I get it, we're not strong enough. Dammit."

A heavy silence hung over the air.

"Sir, if I might suggest, perhaps you should consider..." Jeeves began to say.

"I GET IT, shut up, dude," Grey barked. He frowned. He really only had one option left, as distasteful as it was. He drummed his fingers against each other, an old habit, as he desperately tried to consider other options, but ultimately came to an inescapable conclusion.

He was gonna have to reach out to Super Rakly.

Grey had once rolled with Rakly, back in the days when SR was just starting out and running a group called Battle Born that had garnered considerable acclaim. Super Rakly had, of course, gone one to become perhaps the most powerful Hero on Earth, but Grey had departed BB on, shall we say, heated terms (long story). They hadn’t spoken since, and Rakly had gone on to form The Avengers, the world’s most powerful superhero team. And now, Grey needed to enlist their help.

Bah.

“Jeeves, locate Super Rakly and open a door 2 miles above his current location,” Grey ordered.

“Immediately, sir,” Jeeves replied.

The portal opened, and Grey flew through, hovering high over the city a moment before soaring downwards towards it, as he scanned it with his enhanced senses for Super Rakly’s unique energy signature.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he was slammed by twin energy beams, causing him to careen off course!

“What the…?!” Grey gasped as he stabilized himself and peered towards the source of the attack. His force field held up, but barely, and he began to direct some of the nanotechnology in his body’s cells to start creating mini-wormhole energy absorbers on his skin as a backup defense. “How the hell did anyone get past my detection arrays?”

“Ha ha ha,” a booming, yet feminine, foice rang out. “Foolish Star Guardian! All forms of energy are at my command… it was a simple matter to absorb your detection fields and strike you unawares. For I. Am. ARCHON!!!”

Grey winced as there was a flash of imploding energy, which coalesced into a (surprisingly attractive) female form comprised of glowing, crackling blue energy. Her eyes flashed, and her pretty features twisted into a snarl.

“You’ve been a thorn in our side, Star Guardian, and have been very clever at hiding from us,” Archon declared, “but I knew that if I monitored for your distinctive Federation portal technology's energy signature, I’d eventually find you. Now DIE!!!”

And with that, she lifted her arms and fired an immense energy blast at Grey!

“Aaargh!” Grey grunted. Holy God!!! This energy discharge was of FAR greater intensity than before! Again, his force field held up, but only because of his freshly-created wormhole generators being able to siphon off approximately 60% of the blast’s energy. Grey’s eyes widened… she wasn’t screwing around! That blast would have vaporized him had he not bolstered his defenses. And she might yet!

It was ON.

Grey maximized his speed and flew in an evasion pattern, as she continued spraying him with energy blasts. Occasionally, Grey would take a shot with one of the many weapons that his nano-tech could fabricate, but she was too fast. Even the couple of lucky hits he managed to land seemed to be largely ineffective against her energy form.

The worst part was her constant gloating. “Hey, baby doll,” he shouted with exasperation. “You’re a pretty girl, but you’re gonna talk yourself out of this date if you don’t put a cork in it!”

“Nice try,” Archon sneered, “but your date tonight is with DEATH!” And she launched yet another ludicrously powerful blast, while flitting around the sky honing in on Grey like a heat-seeking missile while easily evading most of his attacks.

After several minutes, Grey started to get concerned. She didn’t seem to be slowing down! And her blast intensity was becoming ridiculous… Grey was glad to be engaging her high above the city, or the collateral damage would have been crazy bad. And nothing he was throwing at her seemed to be working! EMP, sonics, dimensional disruption, concussion blasts, zero-point bursts, solid projectiles… even some magic! It was all too slow to connect with her, or she was immune to it.

“Ha ha ha ha ha!” Archon laughed. “You’re WEAK, Star Guardian! Your friends are weak, your planet is weak, and you shall fall before the LEGION like so many other planets under the protection of your Federation of Suns have fallen! You’re insignificant! You’re nothing! We shall kill all of you ‘heroes’ and destroy all you hold dear, as we take this planet for ourselves!”

All right, Grey finally started getting pissed off. Screw this jerk! Suddenly, he had an idea… her energy form was ridiculously fast and durable, but there was still a mind controlling it all. So maybe a psychic attack might be effective! He activated his communicator.

“Jeeves, collect those Mind Benders and teleport them onto my fingers immediately,” Grey said, dodging another blast.

“How many of them, sir?” Jeeves replied.

“ALL OF THEM!” Grey grunted, as Archon managed to hit him again, straining his defenses. “This thing is going south in a hurry!”

“Very good, sir,” Jeeves replied. A couple seconds later, the powerful rings appeared on his right hand, and Grey felt a surge of psychic energy burst through his mind, both invigorating and disorienting him.

“All right, bitch, let’s finish this!” Grey cried out, clearing his head and flying towards her at top speed, his eyes narrowed. He could feel the Mind Benders pulsing on his hand, and in his brain. They could emit a localized sphere of psychic energy that disrupted the psyche of anyone caught within, so he just needed to get close enough and pop her with it.

Grey concentrated. These rings were so powerful, they were hard to control… if he didn’t focus, they might not work at all, but if he could pull it off, the disruption field should be more than powerful enough to put Archon down for the count.

“Sorry, darlin’!” Grey shouted, as he zipped into range, psychic energy building up in his fist. “You’re cute, but you ain’t my type… I don’t date fat girls!”

Archon’s eyes widened, then narrowed with anger, and she began to hiss a reply… but just then Grey activated all 3 Mind Benders!

Yes! Grey could feel right away that he got off a good one… the energy surge was one of the strongest he’d managed yet!

Archon, quite simply, blew away as the event horizon washed over her. Her face took on a shocked expression, and then her eyes rolled back, and her energy form dissipated into nothingness.

Grey hesitated, the air suddenly silent. Was that it? The psychic shock wave was unlikely to kill her, but Grey figured that it’d probably be a few hours before she could reintegrate her energy form, after a psychic wallop like that one. Unless he was wrong, of course…

But as the seconds, then minutes, ticked by, it looked like his gambit had worked. Archon did not return.

“Jeeves, I’m returning to the ship,” Grey said, activating his communicator. “I can talk to Super Rakly later… got some great data on one of the Legion generals that I want to go over. Open a portal at my location.”

As Grey waited for the portal, he smiled with satisfaction. The Legion was powerful, but they could be beaten! Now, he just had to figure out how...

Continue the Story

Editorial: Guide to New Amsterdam

Contributed by: Nick Lorenzen (aka Magnificent Marvel)

The first stop in your career as a super is to visit the Metropolis of New Amsterdam. As Director Nova says, it is in the grip of crime and corruption and needs your help. Sure, you are a super and
you are out to help the common man, but why not get something for yourself while you are there. This guide will help you a little against the Legion bosses and will help you know where to loot to improve yourself.

R.I.P. Stan Lee

Loot: Morphon Particles. They aren’t common, but as you are patrolling you will see them. Maybe people leave them in tribute to the late great Stan Lee, maybe they are attracted to this spot. It doesn’t matter, collecting them will help you gain power faster than anything else.

Time To Ask Some Questions

Loot: Defensive Power - Force Shield. This is a rare drop, but you will see it while you are at this location. It’s a great power for someone starting since it helps fill those power slots without costing any bux upkeep. Even after you no longer need them, they can still be sold in the market for Morphon Particles. So, no matter what it’s a great thing to get.

It’s the Little Things

Loot: Attack Power - Super Lazer Eyes. Another rare drop, you won’t see it all that often. Like the Force Shield it’s good early on for upkeep and later on for selling for morphon particles. However, you will get a nice feeling each time you visit this location because you are saving the poor stuck kitten. Why does that kitten keep getting stuck in the tree by the way? What is that little girl doing to it? Why can’t it learn to get itself out? Oh well, you are still helping out a little girl and a kitten.

Recruited by B.A.D.G.E

Loot: B.A.D.G.E Combat Boots. These are a solid basic boot and something useful to a starter. You will rapidly get something better, but having anything in the boot spot is better than nothing. If you get extras or don’t need them anymore, you can sell them for bux.

Boss Battle: Raptor

Requires 2 wins to defeat

Core: Neutral

Loot: Ring Equipment - Raptor’s ring. When you beat this boss, you will have a 100% chance of getting this ring. The bad news is that it doesn’t sell for morphon particles, the good news is that once you get through a few levels it’s an easy win and you run into them often without using badge commendations.

Boss Battle: Firebrand

2 Wins to defeat

Core: Neutral

Loot: Attack Power - Firey! There is a 100% chance of this dropping. So, each time you defeat Firebrand you will get a new power. Another great power since there is no cost for upkeep, and if you don’t want it anymore just sell it on the market. You will get a Morphon Particle for other uses.

Boss Battle: Valkyrie

3 Wins to defeat

Core: Neutral

Loot: Pants Equipment - Arthurian Greaves. When you beat Valkyrie in a battle, there is a 50% chance of these pants dropping. They are a decent piece of starting equipment and can be sold for crystals if you have something you prefer.

Boss Battle: Impulse

3 Wins to defeat

Core: Mental

Loot: Movement Power - Slip Pulse. When you beat Impulse in a battle there is a 100% chance that this will drop. Another great power since there is no cost for upkeep, and if you don’t want it anymore just sell it on the market. You will get a Morphon Particle for other uses.

Final Boss Battle: The Stygian

1 Win to defeat

Core: Elemental

Loot: Helmet Equipment - Tidal Mask. When you defeat The Stygian there is a 100% chance that the tidal mask will drop. The tidal mask can be sold, like other equipment, but this one only sells for 500 bux. So, you are welcome to keep it around, or sell it off to clear out your inventory.

Once you have beaten the Stygian, the Legion needs some time to recuperate and recover from their defeat. It will likely be several days before you can battle them again. You can still patrol New Amsterdam to get Morphon Particles, Force Shields and Super Lazer Eyes. You may even run into the occasional Bronze level Legion Boss, to get even more loot. A warning though, those bronze level bosses are hard to beat!

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Fiction Contest Entry: Natural Selection

Thank you for entering the contest The Island. Here is their story:

A doorway, frozen in time sits. Unadultered and untouched now for years. Dust having gathered and settled thick. Through the build up of dirt can be read the words "death is only a horizon. And what is a horizon save for the limit of our sight?" Beyond the door lies a laboratory. Dark and unkempt, unseen computer monitors. Halls unwalked now for some time. The little light provided by various pieces of machinery reflect off a massive cylinder centered in the room. Any number of wiring and hoses steming from it extending into the ground. The whirling and ticking of life support systems, the only sound breaching the silence of a chamber forgotten.

A chronometer counts by the seconds of a calculated sleep. Seconds that have rattled off for many years scream towards their ending. Zeroes across the board until the last digits... 5...4...3...2...1...0.......

The sound of machinery abuzz echoes through the room. Lights begin to flicker and come to life in sequential order. From the core to the outer edges of the room. In moment the room is lit and the cylinder begins to decompress letting out a loud hiss. A system of pulleys and levers trip and the cylinder begins to spin from horizontal to vertical. Vital systems checks begin to rattle off on a nearby monitor as lights within reveal the face of an inhabitant. The doors jar and then hydraulically expand, opening the occupant to his new world. After several moments of systems checking for readiness, a robotic arm reaches out from the AI controlled chamber and injects the inhabitant with adrenaline... Suddenly and with an explosive intensity... His purple eyes open.

An hour has passed. The initial shock of awaking from hibernation has come and gone. The menacing figure sits alone in a metal throne like chair, somewhere between sulking and furious, surrounded by an empty hall of statues to heroes and villains of old. life sized silver icons to ziggy stardust, indoe master of sound, emperor madoras, fiero, laymonite, peace, infernal martial god, crossbones, abbadon, hoo lee chit, superbeast and pono line the walk way to his feet. A biohazard emblem emblazons the archway above the throne. Slowly he lifts hs head from his palms and inquires to AI...

Stranger: Who am I? Who am I now? Where have we all gone? Why cant I speak to us?

AI: you are whole. The others have left this place.

Stranger: where have they gone? Loose cannon, loveless, blood legion, wyld chyld, phobetor? Where have we gone?!

AI: They were not needed any longer. They have left this place. They no longer contribute to the collective. You adapt to the world you exist in. You always have. In this world, the whole is stronger than the parts. The cease to be, so that you may survive this world. You may survive your enemies. Who are many.

Stranger: what of aegis?

AI: gone

Stranger: wmd? Delta 7?

AI: gone

Stranger: Hoi? G&A?

AI: gone

Stranger: this world has become weak. A power vacuum exists. It waits for someone with the will to grasp for it. Someone with the conviction to do what must be done for the good of all instead of the few. Someone to ensure history does not repeat itself. That the fate that befell the city of our past does not rear its ugly head in the present. We shall be this strength. We shall avenge the memory of our fallen comrades. Who wields power in this place?

AI: a collective of entities has arisen thus far. Some familiar, some unknown. They are known as avengers...

(A half smile crosses the strangers face at this piece of information)

Stranger: that is not irony... That is natural selection. Ready contact with these avengers. Who of their number do we share history with?

AI: super rakly, fiero, phantom among phantoms are among their number.

Stranger: a strong core for us to round out indeed.

AI: they also have fuma hanzo...

Stranger: well... Nobodies perfect.

(The stranger breaths heavily for a moment and lulls backward, the full effects of breaching suspended animation still taking a minor toll.)

Stranger: i must rest. Ready mechanical appendages, drone scouts and chemical strength and agility boosters. We begin our campaign against this new city post haste. We will explode upon the scene with a fury and anger not yet witnessed. Respect has no value in this new world. They must be taught fear. It is the only currency that carries weight now. Let their legions come. They will fall upon our sword. Personally, i would rather see them die on their feet than see them live on their knees.

(As the stranger lays back into the backrest of the throne and closes his eyes. A computer monitor in the hibernation chamber continues to flicker with static. Showing a series of images breaking up in a repeating cycle. The words "dream recordings" is written below the monitor. In the image, a child perhaps 10 years of age can be seen on a playground at a school. It appears to be late fall. Suddenly and without warning, several other boys begin to attack him. They call him names. Call him crazy. Pushing him down, kicking at him. Punching him. He falls to the ground yet they do not relent. They kick him while he curls into the fetal position. For several moments they beat upon him. And then they break apart into dust and blow into the wind fragments of his memories. Another boy comes over to help the beaten boy off the ground. He offers his hand. To which the beaten boy rejects his offer for help. Slapping his hand away. He picks himself up off the ground and looks down at all his cuts and bruises. He looks the other boy in the eyes and speaks)

"We do not need your help. We do not need anyones help. And when we smite these cowards down. It will be done with a calculated measure brought to us personally by time, space and circumstance. To such a degree that they will wish they had never been born. Everything we need. We provide. We... Are an island.

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