Heroes Rising Fiction: The Delta Paradox Finale

 EB raced through the thick crowds of the party guests. Dodging under legs, around tables, and over a few shoulders, he came to a stop right next to Chase.

“Hey, babe, I got the Director down here.”

“Good. And don’t call me babe.” Chase walked past EB.

EB hopped along after her. “Okay, sweetheart, darling, cutie pie...which works best for you?”

“How about Chase, or you can call me Chase-who-will throw-you-out-an-airlock if you use one of those names again?”

“Aw, not far.” EB pouted.

Chase found Gar talking with Prime Minister Shizue. “Gar, where is he?”

“He is in the corner over there.”

Chase said, “I’m going to get Nova so he can make sure he knows.”

“Chase, I hope you aren’t running off so soon. I’ve barely had time to speak with you.” Shizue smiled.

Chase gave the Prime Minister a proper bow greeting, as was the tradition for her people. “Sorry, it seems even when I’m supposed to be at a party, I’m still on duty.”

“Don’t overwork yourself. We have all earned a rest.” Shizue said. “My own Second Minister wanted me to go over the legal paperwork for the Osteen case with the head of the United Nations security council and I told him I’m not talking business tonight, not like that.”

Chase said, “oh, that’s right, they’re going to hold Dr. Osteens official trial in your country.”

“Yes. The United Nations will hold the trial while inside our borders. We’ll allow the U.N. to combine his transgressions against our people, as well as what he did for the World Corps. I simply hate that the worst we can do to him is a life sentence.”

Gar said, “his testimony and evidence he had secretly gathered against the World Corps has been wonderful.”

Chase added, “yes, without his testimony, the United Nations might still wonder if BADGE was a willing part of the World Corps plans.” Chase grabbed a champagne flute from a passing tray. “I have some questions about the children you had been protecting, those orphans with superpowers.”

“Oh, things are going great. We’ve established a special school where a few BADGE heroes and one agent are teaching and guiding the children. We also have some adults coming forward who had hidden their powers out of fear of being executed by our former leader.”

“Oh, excuse me for a moment.” Chase pointed across the room. “Gar, go get Peyton and take him to talk with Nova. Tell them I’ll be over in a moment.”

“Oh, sure. Nice to talk to you, Prime Minister.” Gar bowed out and sidled through the gathered officials.

“Excuse me, excuse me, oh, sorry, yes, excuse me. Sorry. Hello. Nice to see you..excuse me...”

“You should be in movies with a face like that.” A reporter said loud enough to grab Gars’ attention.

He turned to find Strange Quark standing with Craig, formerly Arx, as they were talking with the INN reporter.

Craig gave off his amazing smile and puffed up his half naked chest. “So I’ve been told.”

Quark said, “Craig here is a recent addition to our team up here on the station. He’s just learning what he can do.”

“I wouldn’t mind doing a movie or two. I love acting,” Craig said.

Chase joined them. “But BADGE discourages their representatives from getting involved with acting and movies. Our jobs are to protect the planet and that’s a full-time job.”

“Why, yes, it is. And you are?” The reporter smiled at Chase.

“Agent Chase, I work directly with Director Nova.”

“Yes, I thought I had seen you with the Director during some of the League Wars events. Tell me, we’re curious about the condition and current whereabouts of the augmented people left from the World Corps situation.”

Quark answered, “BADGE has no official response to that yet. However, I can say that we are treating them as victims. Even though the few still out there are resisting detention and view us as the enemy, that was programmed into them. They’re innocent people. If we can undo the damage and release the real person under the augmentation, we will.”

“That sounds pretty official to me.” The reporter stated.

Chase added, “Nova will draft an official response soon for press release. Now, if I can leave you with our friend Craig, Quark and I have to speak with the director for a moment.”

She took Quark with her and left Craig to do what he does best, glow for the camera.

Quark said, “are you sure it’s wise to leave him alone? Nova is worried that they’ll find out he was Arx.”

“Trust me, Craig is far more worried about that being discovered than anyone else. He’ll keep his secret. Besides, BADGE needs a good front for meeting the Media. Nova comes across as a grouchy old grandpa. I would rather be much more discreet, you are...let’s face it...strange. Craig is handsome, charming, and knows how to speak well during interviews. He’ll do good in this role for now.”

They continued swimming through the throngs of guests, dodging a few more interviews from other media outlets, requests for attention from dignitaries, and greetings from fellow heroes. Finally, they came upon Nova, who was speaking with EB, Peyton, and Rutkowski.

“Sorry it took so long. There are many people here who want our attention. I still don’t understand why you wanted to invite all these media and UN reps.”

Nova said, “we’ve been on the barrel end of the media’s cannons for months. They’re finally admitting we aren’t the villains. It’s time we reestablished relations with them and the politicians. I hate media and politics, but they are necessary evils for a properly running society.”

EB said, “speaking of necessary evils, what is Rat-kowski doing here?”

“Dats RUTkowski, you little vermin.”

EB threatened with an exploding egg, but Nova stopped him.

“Enough. I asked Rutkowski here for a special reason.” Nova stepped back, guiding them even further from the crowds.

“What’s up?” Peyton asked.

“We’re among the very few on this planet who know what happened in the alternate timeline. We have a special connection. But, we must keep the alternate history to ourselves. What almost happened could start a panic.”

“I ain’t gonna spill, if dats what yer worried about.” Rutkowski stated.

Nova said, “I wasn’t worried that you would, though it’s nice to hear you say that. I wanted to say we have a few loose ends. First, Rutkowski, you may be a low-life, despicable, greedy, power hungry criminal, but you showed genuine heroism that I cannot dismiss.”

“That is the best backhanded compliment I ever got.” Rutkowski said.

“What I’m trying to say is that, even though there is no way I can prove it to the courts, you have gained some trust in my eyes. I know you would rather rob a bank than start a food pantry, but when the cards are down, the safety of this world matters to you. That means a lot to me. As far as BADGE is concerned, your slate has been cleaned.”

Rutkowski looked astonished, maybe even misty eyed. “I don’t know what to say. Thanks.”

“Just try to keep your nose clean when it comes to BADGE related matters. You want to keep your seedy antics going in Neo Utopia. That is between you and the police.”

“I’ll try. Is dat all?”

“No. We have another problem, one that I might need your help with.”

“What now?” Rutkowski’s congenial nature vanished.

Quark said, “Father Time. He never returned the clock.”

Peyton slumped his shoulders. “That clown is still at large?”

EB said, “Father Time is slippery and powerful. He could pass as one of my kind if I didn’t know better.”

Chase asked, “do you think he’ll use the clock and mess with time again?”

“I have no doubt he’ll try. But he’ll wait. He knows we’re on to him. He’ll go deep into hiding and bide his time. I doubt we’ll be able to hunt him down right away. But, we, with time powers, need to be aware that he will try something, eventually. I want all of you to stay alert and inform me the moment you sense something unusual.”

“Dat’s no problem. If I get one sniff of his sorry hide, I’ll let ya know. Now, I want to go an enjoy dis here party. I ain’t no mob boss, I’m a real estate mogul.” He put on his businessman smile and strode away to meet the rich guests.

Peyton followed behind. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Nova watched them leave with Quark, Chase, EB, and Gar around him.

EB said, “Father Time is still out there.”

“Yes.”

Chase said, “the Augments are still causing trouble.”

“Right.”

Gar asked, “The World Corps isn’t gone, is it?”

“Nope.”

Quark laughed, “the world is still a mess, but then we’d get bored if it were any other way.”

Nova put on a gracious smile as another politician approached to greet them. “You know, I think I’d like to try some boring peace for just one day of my life.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: The Delta Paradox Part 16

 Chase existed in a place she couldn’t describe. It was as though time had absorbed her. Soon, she felt others, people who were part of this existence.

“Who is there?” Her voice echoed endlessly across this unknown expanse of nothingness.

Those same three words resounded back to her, but from different voices. She knew them, her father, EB, Father Time, Nova, Quark, Peyton, Rutkowski. They were all speaking. But were they real? Did she simply want to see someone so badly right now that her mind was playing tricks?

“Drochah is dead, but were we too late?” She thought to herself. “Did time itself collapse at the last moment, destroying everything in our solar system? Did we fail?”

Suddenly, a great tunnel formed through this expanse. It was made of energy, spiraling across all existence. Though she could not feel her physical form, Chase could follow this tunnel as it bore through time.

All at once she could see the inside of a conference room. It was a place she had been to once before. It was a room inside the secret compound of the World Corps. Yes, it was certainly that same place. During the attack on Pretoria, Arx had shed his powers and given BADGE what they needed to find the World Corps and finally stop them. Quark had transported her and Gar here, but they were too late. Right now, Judge Alpha, Gamma, and Delta were standing in the room watching screens displaying Ben Talos addressing the UN while the other showed the shuttle coming in toward Pretoria.

“No, this is not right. They weren’t here at that time.” She thought aloud.

Suddenly, the room froze as the rift in time opened. Drochah stepped through and changed his image to that of Delta.

Eight voices spoke in unison, “he is going to break time!”

This caused Delta to look up upon hearing that. “Who is here? Who is watching me?!”

As one, they all said, “Go! Never return! Go! Never again cross time! GO!”

Delta instantly transformed back into Drochah and was thrust into the rift, thrown back into his own time.

Chase left that scene and stood on the stairs in the back of the Operations center of BADGE. Director Nova stood before the screen, watching the shuttle return children to Pretoria in one window and the infiltration of the World Corps on the other.

Director Nova also appeared next to her.

“Director? But...how?”

“We are both outside the flow of time for the moment.”

“What happened? Did we defeat Drochah?”

“Yes, and no. We defeated him in the alternate future. But, in doing so, we were drawn into the time stream he used to alter history. We could stop him from doing what he did to change history in the first place. Drochah, now, never changed history and it will unfold as it should have.”

“Then how come I remember that? Shouldn’t we be back in our normal time frame, unaware of all the changes that will never happen?”

“We are touched by time in a special way, not unlike Drochah. We have time powers. We will recall the alternate history. So will Father Time, Peyton, Rutkowski, Santa, EB, and Quark.”

She asked, “what was that I saw? The conference room and Drochah appeared, and I think we sent him away.”

“That is exactly what happened. We all ended up at the point where he broke time. We could stop that moment from happening. And, together with our time powers, we banished him from using his time power ever again.”

“What now? Why are we standing here? Why are you down there and up here?”

They both looked up at the events unfolding before them. Nova said, “we are coming in sync with real time. Soon, we will both return to the place we should be at this moment when time broke.”

“What is happening? What are we watching?” She saw the shuttle lowering toward Pretoria and Ben Talos on the screen.

Nova quietly said, “we are watching events that cannot be changed. Drochah will not have broken time and things will turn out for the better. But there are dark events that must happen because they are part of real time.”

An icy feeling crawled over her skin. “The shuttle with the kids...”

“It cannot be changed.” He whispered as they both watched the augmented Torrin Wolf blast the shuttle and murder all the children being returned.

Chase covered her eyes and turned around. “No!”

“Why are you yelling?” Gar asked her.

Chase looked up and was now standing in the corridor outside the conference room on the World Corps’ secret base.

Chase looked around. “We’re here. The shuttle..what..where am I?”

Quarks smiled at her. “It’s a little confusing, I know. But this is finally the real timeline.”

“Quark!” She grabbed him in a hug.

“Yeah, yeah, the old duck is still quacking. It’s scary being torn in half, glad that never really happened.”

Gar frowned. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Chase said.

Quark smiled. “I think we’re going to set things straight.” He held up a small computer device. “You just finished hacking into their security system, and I’ll broadcast this live. Hold on to your shorts. This world is about to get a bit of breaking news.”

Across the world, all networks were pre-empted by a hacked signal from the security camera inside the World Corps conference room. Alpha, Delta, and Gamma were oblivious to being observed.

“I don’t care what you tell them. Make sure the media is watching the public schools.” Gamma said.

Beta asked, “when?”

“In ten minutes. We’ll have the augment lay waste to all the Pretoria schools. Our sensors show kids in two buildings that are supposed to be safety zones. Make sure the cameras are focused on that area and then make it clear all the children are dead.”

“What if they don’t all die?” Beta asked.

Alpha said, “Don’t worry, our agents on the ground will slaughter any kids who don’t die in the attack...wait...what is that?”

Their computer systems displayed the fact that they were being broadcast across the planet.

“WE’RE LIVE!” Beta yelled.

Quark, Chase, and Gar came into the room just then. Quark said, “smile, you’re on candid camera.”

“TURN OFF THE SYSTEMS!” Alpha screeched.

Chase said, “good luck, I seriously rigged your systems.”

Quark laughed, “hey, world, check out the actual face of Delta.” He waved his hand, and the camouflage was dissolved, revealing the genuine alien face of Drochah.

“What the hell are you?” Alpha jumped back.

“Damnit!” Drochah reached out and murdered both Gamma and Alpha, and then attacked the computers.

Gar raced toward him. “He’s trying to destroy the evidence!”

“Like hell!” Quark hit Drochah with a quantum energy blast. Drochah screamed, then dissolved.

“What did you do?” Chase asked.

“Just unplugged his tether to our time. He’s back where he belongs. Let’s make sure we get those computers uploaded before the system defaults blow this place to heck.”

One week later...

Nova brushed off his the sleeve of his dress uniform as he watched the news being broadcast all over the world.

“This is the scene at the United Nations as a former member, Ben Talos, has been taken into custody pending criminal hearings after it was discovered that Mr. Talos was a mole for the World Corps. Mr. Talos is charged with treason, sedition, murder, conspiracy, and thirteen other charges that will be brought up to a special court being organized by the UN. After BADGE infiltrated the World Corps HQ, they have presented the United Nations with data taken from the computers of the World Corps, including plans to use the mercenary forces to control nations. In related news, Doctor Jason Osteen has been found and taken into custody. Officials say that he has agreed to a plea deal in which he is providing evidence against his employers in exchange for commuting a death sentence. He has revealed the augmentation program the World Corps used to craft the villain Arx, the attackers against Washington D.C., the attacker against Pretoria, South Africa, and many others. Experts say it will take years to sort out the details. However, it has become clear that BADGE was being framed for many actions they are not guilty of. To discuss this matter, we have a panel of experts who disagree about BADGE’s total innocence. We turn to...”

EB hopped over to him, “Come on, buddy, the party is downstairs and it won’t start till we’re there.”

“Coming.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: The Delta Paradox Part 15

 Krystal Fae charged up all the energy she could muster and took aim at the large orb jammed into Drochah’s massive body. Unleashing her power, she attempted to crack the orb. Her attack was joined by dozens of others. Yet, for all their fury, Drochah seemed unfazed by the whole combat. The giant figure stood there, stoic and still, not even paying them attention. The surrounding heroes swarmed like mosquitoes, looking for a place to land.

Gar flew by with Chase kneeling on his back. She threw her magic blades repeatedly, aiming for Drochah’s eyes. “Any progress?” She yelled.

Krystal shook her head. “I sense no change in his strength.”

“I have the answer!” A man yelled through their comms.

A dirigible came flying through the time rift, Furious Squirrel at the helm. He pulled down a large cone shaped pipe and talked into it. “I have Peyton with me and Time Bender. They have info!”

Krystal Fae swooped around and came toward the large dirigible. “What?”

Peyton grabbed the pipe and said, “Drochah is stronger here. This is his time period. I can sense his power. But, I also know that he is slightly outside of our time. It’s hard to explain, but since he broke through time first, he’s ahead of us by just a short time. Our attacks can’t hurt him, just like we couldn’t see his fortress in the ocean.”

Hot Wings yelled through his comm, “how the hell does that help us?”

Time Bender took the pipe, “Peyton has a brilliant idea. Everyone with any level of temporal powers focus your strength on him, and he’ll blast a time beam at Drochah, shoving him a few seconds in time. That’ll bring him to our speed and we can actually hurt him.”

Peyton grabbed the pipe, “the catch is, we gotta hit him hard as soon as he is in our time. He is one powerful mug.”

“Gotcha.” Krystal said and then clicked her comm. “Everyone, on my cue, send your time powers at the pilothouse on that dirigible. Everyone else, pull back and get your best shot ready. I want Drochah to feel this one.”

With a barrage of agreeing comments, it was ready. Krystal flew up, followed by a few others. She prepared herself and then cast a spell at the dirigible that signaled the others to act. A great energy formed around the pilothouse and Peyton became a bright light. He pushed both hands forward and a beam shot out from him. The moment it contacted Drochah, the giant enemy finally displayed some level of emotion. He stumbled and fell back slightly. His body flickered and the shade of him changed slightly.

The next moment came with an eruption of power from all the heroes. Weapons, energy attacks, throwing stars, globs of goo. Every sort of attack they could muster all hit him at once. This time, he almost fell down from the damage.

Peyton yelled into the comms, “he’s in our time. Keep hitting him, now!”

The dirigible unleashed several volleys of missiles, exploding against Drochah’s face.

Not unlike King Kong swiping at airplanes, Drochah went after the surrounding heroes. He hit more than one, but he too was being hit and now it looked like it hurt him.

Chase wore a strange gray glove on the hand that materialized the throwing stars. Releasing them one by one, she nailed Drochah in one eye.

Gar, still carrying her, said, “it’s working!”

“Yeah, somehow this glove is neutralizing the morphon type. He’s feeling this.”

“What about the plan? Where are the avatars?” Gar asked.

Chase looked down at the land far below. “I don’t see them. Look at that place. The world down there is broken like glass.”

Indeed, the land below appeared like a mirror that had been shattered. At the center was a normal land with a compound in the center and large robots around it. But, at a distance around it and as far as the horizon, the land was in pieces. Each piece was a different time, a different era in human history.

“LOOK OUT!” Gar turned hard in the sky.

Drochah unleashed a massive blast of energy that threw heroes away from him. He then held his right hand out and cast a great wave of energy at the ground below.

“Look, the heroes!” Gar said.

Chase watched the heroes grasping at their chests as their bodies emanated different hues. “He still can hurt them through their morphon types. Damn. What the?” She saw armies of mechs were appearing out of the time fractures and attacking the compound. “He summoned his mech armies?”

Gar gasped, “the avatars...he must be trying to stop them!”

Chase clicked on her comm. “He’s trying to kill the avatars!”

“TARGET THE ORB, WE MUST STOP HIM QUICK!” Krystal Fae yelled.

The heroes flew around Drochah, dodging his physical attacks. They joined in a massive flying V with the Dirigible at the lead. Drochah projected another morphon controlling wave and sent more than half of them reeling out of control. The remaining heroes focused their powers and blasted the orb with a strong single attack.

A great crack formed in the orb and that was followed by an eruption of power that toppled even more heroes and nearly crashed the blimp.

Below them, a mushroom cloud exploded upward from the ground as the battle between the mechs intensified.

Drochah stumbled back, almost falling over. The color in his skin and the brightness from his eyes dimmed.

“WE’RE WINNING!” The Wizard called out in glee.

Time Bender yelled, “LOOK OUT!”

Drochah’s body flashed, disappearing and reappearing in the same place he had been. His orb was still cracked, but his body had regained all its color. He held out his hand and the surrounding heroes were locked. The morphon energy in their bodies was under his control. Like the weapons Osteen designed, he was dissolving the heroes one by one by tearing the morphons from their very DNA.

“It is over, heroes! Your pointless war ends now. The Earth is destroyed, Legion shall be reborn!” Drochah declared.

Chase gasped as her body ached. She could feel her blood boiling as the morphons in her were being torn out. Gar held her in his arms, unable to help her. He was one of the few who wasn’t being hurt, but he could not stop this.

The sound of rocket jets caught their attention and seven Mechs rose through the atmosphere, heading for Drochah. This seemed to put genuine fear in him as he let go of murdering them and went after the mechs.

Chase gasped in air and weakly held her comm unit. “Attack...Drochah...now...”

The heroes took this opportunity to go after him again. They were injured and in pain, but they didn’t hold back what they had left. Each unleashed their attacks at his orb again. The immediate taxing of their powers caused many to finish dissolving as they spent their last living breath to save the earth. Hundreds of heroes evaporated around them. Chase watched Hot Wings, Krystal Fae, Peyton, The Wizard, and more simply vanish as they gave their lives for this.

One by one, six mechs flew up and surrounded Drochah. His orb broke further under the onslaught, his power weakening. From each mech, a different color of light came forth. Red, orange, green, purple, blue, and yellow. They made contact with the orb and each drew out that same color from him. Drochah writhed and screamed, but he could do nothing to stop this. Those mechs fell away as the occupants floated out, still drawing his strength from him. The six avatars drained Drochah’s bastardized core.

The orb in his chest grew dark and then broke, crumbling as though it had turned to ash. The color in his body faded, his eyes lot their light, and he screamed an agonizing plea for death. Falling from the heavens, crashing through the atmosphere, and landing in the middle of all the fractures below, Drochah was torn into a dozen different pieces as his body was shredded into different time frames across all the history of this world.

Chase watched this in a state of shock, unsure what to think. Suddenly, the fractures all beamed a bright light, and she was taken away into a realm of nothingness.

“Is this it?” She whispered into this void. “Has time collapsed? ….

… Is this the end?”

Continue the Story

The Hanzo Ninja Clan School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts Presents: Just Charge It To The Game

So, a new consumable has been introduced that is potentially a game changer, Super Charges! Currently, these 3 consumables can be found in the soon to be gone birthday mission, The Cake Is A-Live, found in New Amsterdam, and the BADGE Space Station mission accessed using the Ticket To Orbit found in the previous said mission, or from Birthday Cards collected during the birthday week. Those cards are about to expire on the 27th, so if you haven't used them yet, there's little time to wait before they vanish.

Many of you may be wondering what's so great about these cons. If found in the Black Market, they cost a whopping 20 MP....... for 1 point.... I'm here to tell you these cons are awesome. And have I ever steered you wrong?

These cons provide a new and unique function to the game. There are 3, 1 each for Att, Def, and Move. Using one randomly adds 1 point to one of your power cards. Likewise, EVERY power card of the same exact type, not including tiering status, also gains 1 point.

Now to clarify, what this means is that if you have, for example, 100 "Do You Even Lift", and you use a Super Charge that gives +1 Att to "Do You Even Lift". ALL 100 cards get the +1 Att. That +1 just turned into +100.

But it gets even better. Once fully tiered, the bonus doubles to 2 points. Now, you would still have to tier your cards, to get that double up, and that can cost a lot of MP. But it doesn't necessarily have to. What if the Super Charge lands on a Crystal or Bux card? Then it will only require Crystal or Bux to tier, instead of MP. Furthermore, you're likely to increase your Crystal and Bux card totals far over that of your individual MP cards. By this, I mean that you are far more likely to have more copies of "Mental Manipulation" or "Bulletproof" in your deck than "Do You Even Lift". So if you have 100 MP cards of "Do You Even Lift" and 300 Crystal cards of "Mental Manipulation", you get 300 X that +1 Att, instead of only 100. But you are also more likely to tier the Crystal card than you are the MP card, because it's cheaper to do so. So your bonus now doubles to 6 X that of what you would have gotten from it landing on the "Do You Even Lift" MP card.

Now, you might be thinking, that's all great and well, but what card gets Super Charged is random. This is true. It is random. But the odds fit within a framework. Every card has a 1 in Z chance of being the card that gets Super Charged, with Z being the total number of cards you own. So, if between your Att, Def, and Move cards, you have 1000 cards, then each card has a 1 in 1000 chance it gets Super Charged. But EACH card has that chance. Even duplicates. So if you have 300 "Mental Manipulations" then you now have a 300 in 1000 chance, or 30% for "Mental Manipulation" to be the card that gets the bonus. And remember, EVERY copy gets that bonus.

So now we know we have some control over our odds that Super Charge will hit a card we specifically want it to. It's not a lot, but it is something. But how do we use this knowledge to actually manipulate those odds? 1st, you want to sell every card you DON'T want it to go on that you would normally sell or is easily replaceable. For me, this means any Crystal cards I would normally sell, like the ones acquired in FC or Raids, MP cards won through game play that I normally sell, like "Super Laser Eyes" for example, any Bux card I do not want to get Super Charged, etc. Naturally, don't sell cards that aren't easy to reacquire or replace, like store bought or Shuffle won MP cards.

2nd, buy as many of the card you want Super Charged most as you can. Imo, in order to get the most out of Super Charges, you will want them to go on cards you will almost always use lots of and that you can easily get more of and cheaply tier. For most of you, that means Crystal and/or Bux cards. Because you are trying to increase your odds as much as possible, spend every Crystal or Bux you possibly can on that card. Go broke. Seriously. DO NOT tier them. Just spend every bit you can on them. You want as many as you can possibly get. Tiering them will take away resources from being able to buy more, decreasing your chances that this specific card will get Super Charged. You don't want to decrease your chances. You want to increase them.

Now that you have skewed the odds in favor of that 1 card over all others, go ahead and start spending your Super Charges. You can only use 10 of each a day. So if you are using Bux cards, be sure your deficit can handle it till you are done spending all your Super Charges.

Personally, I ran up my Crystal Def and Move cards. I'm not likely ever to use a lot of Bux cards, but I use a LOT of Crystal cards. I bought a LOT of the ones I use the most of. I didn't tier any of them. That can be done after the Birthday promotion ends and these Super Charges are gone...... possibly forever....... Let's take a look at just how much these Super Charges helped me out on just 1 of those cards.

As you can see, I have 750 "Mental Manipulations". Because of the large number, I was able to land 13 Super Charges on them. 13 X 750 = 9750 Stat Points. Tiered, that doubles to 19,500. This is before Skill Point and gear modifiers kick in. Now, most of those Super Charges were free from Patrol play, but some did cost 20 MP from the Black Market. I will admit, I bought every Black Market Super Charge I came across. Not every Super Charge hit my desired target either. Very few disappointed me totally though. So the gamble was very worth it in my opinion. Let's say, for ease of argument's sake though, that it cost me 20 MP each, to get each of those 13 points onto "Mental Manipulation". That's 260 MP, for 19,500 stat points. That comes to 75 stat points per MP spent. That's a helluva deal. Usually, you get around 3 or 4 stat points per MP spent on an MP card. And the beauty is that ratio will continue to increase in my favor over time, the more "Mental Manipulations" I buy in the future.

If you plan to use Super Charge on Bux cards, I advise you save up all your Super Charges until you can't get anymore, first. Then buy as many of the Bux card as you possibly can maintain for the duration of the time it will take to spend all your Super Charges. Remember, you can only use 10 of each per day. After you are done, sell off the excess you don't want to keep and tier the rest up.

Now, there was an early belief that you could donate your cards to the HQ Sentinel and thus dictate exactly which cards your Super Charges would go to. This is completely false. Cards in the Sentinel are still eligible for Super Charging. HOWEVER...... Super Charged cards in the Sentinel DO NOT get the bonus.

Continue the Story

Origin Story: Aɾƈԋαɳɠҽʅ of ♆SOB♆

By: Aɾƈԋαɳɠҽʅ of ♆SOB♆ ID: 35219

In the years of the fallen, after Earth’s atmosphere had been contaminated by the alien invasion an emissary was sent by AO to watch over a society that was rising from the ashes, that emissary was me.

Ordered to lay back and only to observe I watched as the reborn heroes struggled to rise up against the darkness that had once overtaken the world. I took note of a very special group of Heroes . . . or where they villains? Sometimes it was hard to tell. This group formed their own Society and forged a pack to destroy any foe who stood against them, rather they be a hero or villain; they would protect their own and thus became known as the Society of Butchers. I found myself drawn to them, fascinated by this brotherhood that could survive the dark age of the fallen and be reborn anew with nothing to aid them but their own will power. Yes, other groups had begun to form leagues of their own by banding together but there was just something special about this group.

One day as I was watching I heard Nova proclaim that in an effort to make sure an invasion never occurred again or if it did that the world could defend itself, He announced a friendly competition called League Wars. At least that was his intention . . . Since that day many other challenges have faced humanity if we can even call it that anymore. Upon seeing the challenges that the planet faced I was compelled to leave my position as a watcher and joined forces with this Society of Butchers, pledging my life to theirs in defense of one another and of the world. AO will surely be displeased that I am breaking my orders and intervening, but I can no longer stand by and just watch as the threats to my friends strengthen and grow.

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: The Delta Paradox Part 14

 

Gar traveled back through time and found himself in the middle of the arboretum on the BADGE spacestation. For a brief moment, he touched General Nova and was able to deliver his message. Time pulled against this and he was drawn back to the future.

Gar fell and hit the ground. He was now in the command center with both Nova’s and Father Time looking down at him.

“Did you do it?” Father Time asked.

Gar quickly nodded. “I think so. I spoke with you, General, in the past.”

General Nova helped pull Gar to his feet. “Then you succeeded. I remember that conversation.”

“I wasn’t clear. I was so scared and slipping. I hope I didn’t confuse you.”

The General laughed, “it was a little confusing, but we figured it out, eventually. Don’t worry.”

All at once, the whole compound shook, and the lights flickered. The sound of explosions and laser fire immediately grew closer. Again, the place shook, and the power failed, then kicked back on.

Director Nova ran to the door. “Looks like the enemy is taking shots at the base.”

General Nova joined him and both watched the mecha’s belonging to Drochah firing wildly at the base’s defense shields. Friendly Mecha’s were attacking them, but it seemed like they were focused only on the base.

“This makes little sense.” Director Nova said. “Why would they let themselves be destroyed to attack the base?”

The General ran back in and looked at the sensors on the main map. “It makes perfect sense. Those Mecha’s aren’t driven by real people, just clones designed to obey Drochah. They have no fear of death.”

“So?”

The room shook again as more fire hit them.

The General said, “They have been ordered to attack us, and they will do so even at the expense of their own safety. I don’t understand why? I thought they were just a distraction to keep my forces from attacking Drochah directly.”

Director Nova said, “he must realize we have a plan. He will send everything at us to stop whatever we’re doing.”

“He might succeed!” The General yelled over another explosion. He pressed his comm button. “Max! Where are those six mechas?”

“Almost finished! Just tell those jerks out there to stop firing at us. This whole building is about to fall on my head.”

A massive explosion rocked the place, and a brilliant orange ball of fire consumed the main watching post. The General yelled, “hurry!”

Ginna slammed against the side of her cockpit as she took a heavy blow from one of Drochah’s older clone mechs. She turned and blasted a hole in the enemy’s side and then shoved its remains over. Putting one mechanical foot up on the fallen mecha, she showered the enemy lines with hot lead.

“DIE YOU BASTARDS!” She screamed.

A voice came over her comm. “Commander, the enemy is still primarily targeting the Nova Compound. It has taken heavy damage.”

“We have to stop them at all costs!” Pressing down on her controls, she charged forward, all weapons blazing.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING, COMMANDER!?”

Ginna yelled, “what I have to! Follow me! If we succeed, we will never even remember this day. I won’t have happened. If we fail, we’re dead anyway!”

With a last yell of courage, she plowed her mecha into a group of heavy artillery mechs that were attacking the compound. Five Mechas, six including hers, exploded in an amazing fireball.

Her sacrifice was not lost on the others. They may not have understood all she said. They understood the need. In moments, the lines of ally mechas launched themselves at the enemy. One by one, they destroyed legions of Drochah’s mechs at the cost of their own lives.

“All mechas, stand back!” A voice spoke from a distant hill.

The lines of friendly mechs all stood in awe of an old mecha, one of the earliest designs. It had a dangerous, nuclear core that has since been outlawed. The pilot flashed a signal and all the friendly mechas hunkered down. The giant green mecha rocketed up and then slammed down in the middle of the battle zone. The eruption was followed by a mushroom cloud that split the heavens. Enemy mechas and a few friendly were scattered across the area as nothing but debris.

The cheering of the surviving friendly mechas was cut short when a new line of Drochah loyalist came marching over the distant hill, still focused on the compound.

A young man turned on his comm. “CHARGE!”

Director Nova rushed outside to see that mushroom cloud in the distance. The shock wave met the shields of the compound and buzzed across them.

“What the hell just happened?”

EB, still holding his little paws in the air, said, “some big, ugly green mecha just dive bombed those nasty mecha things and blew them to heck.”

Rutkowski, the gangster, added, “them mechas on our side, they are going kamikaze on the enemy. Bravest bunch of numbskulls I ever seen.”

General Nova joined them, “my people know the meaning of courage, sacrifice, and the dangers of failure. I hope their sacrifices won’t be in vain.”

“They won’t.” Director Nova assured.

Father Time stepped out and looked at the clock in his hands. “Time is falling apart. Hurry.”

Director Nova walked over to his scientists. “Are they ready?”

Dr. Henderson gestured to the open bays and the six strange-looking people groggily waking up. “This is the best I can do.”

General Nova tapped his comm. “Max, are you ready?”

“On my way.” As he said this, seven large mecha suits stomped up to the compound and then lowered down and opened their cockpit doors. Max clicked off his comm and smiled at them from the lead mecha. “See, no sweat.”

“We’re sweating hard, Mr. Max.” Director Nova stated. “Dr. Henderson, get them in.”

Both scientists and both Nova’s helped the six avatars into the mechas. It was a strange group, one was just a living book, one looked like he was part lion, another was a beautiful pink woman, yet another comprised mechanical parts himself. None were simply human.

Once they were secured, General Nova tapped his comm unit. “Okay, avatars, I’ll be guiding you from inside my base, and Max will take the lead once you get up there. Listen to us and let the mecha’s work on their own. I am just getting you into position. From there, you know what to do.” With a set of six acknowledgment beeps, they were ready.

Director Nova told his people, “Dr. Henderson, Dr. Osteen, get inside with the General.” He pulled a gun with one hand and an enormous sword with his other. “Gar, you know what we have to do.”

The Gargoyle of this time period joined Director Nova. “Yes.”

The six mecha jets activated, and they rose into the air. None of the avatars were piloting them. The navigation was being handled by the General from inside the compound. Outside, Director Nova and Gar watched with bated breath as their last best hope rose into the sky. Max blasted off as well, rising above them.

“INCOMING!” EB suddenly bellowed.

A volley of missiles slammed into the mechas from one enemy in the distance. Three of the six faltered for a moment, but continued upward.

Gar took off and flew up. He let the next volley hit him in the chest. The explosion sent him flying back, crashing into the ground. He brushed himself off and then rushed right back into the defense.

An enemy mecha raced toward the compound. Nova ran toward it, firing his gun at first, but then meeting its leg with a well-placed slash from his sword. Several important cords were severed, and the mecha crashed to the ground. Nova didn’t stop there. He dashed toward the enemy lines, with only his sword and gun to attack.

Father Time levitated in the air, his eyes glowing a yellow light. The clock he carried hovered in between his hands. When another set of missiles bypassed Gar’s defenses, Father Time turned them into arrows that did no damage. He waved a hand and the lasers on one of the mecha’s turned into old flashlights.

EB laughed, “keep it up, changed them all into old model T’s.”

“I can’t alter time that much, or risk damaging everything.” Father Time said as he turned more weapons into useless antiques.

EB looked up at the ascending mechs with the avatars in them. "I hope to god this works."

Continue the Story

RAID by IKEA

As the leaders of many countries were slain by the forces of the World Corps, it fell upon BADGE once again to pick up the pieces. Unfortunately, chaos breeds its own special brand of difficulty for heroes today.

Having turned himself over to BADGE in hopes of protection from Delta and his nefarious plan, Dr. Osteen developed three pieces of equipment from his anti-morphon tech to combat the newest supervillain. A Neutralizer Glove, an eye-beam emitter, and a neutralizing boot were to be mass produced and given to the waiting heroes by Dr. Henderson's team.

Unfortunately, only one of the three designs made it to the correct place, the Neutralizer Glove. This item was easily produced by the atomic 3D-printers and made easily available to aquire. The neutralizing boot ended up in the division of BADGE that handled reclaimed AMA pieces the heroes had been collecting for the past few weeks/months. Rare to obtain, the several hundred parts from these weapons were required to make just one pair of boots. Few heroes made time to search the world for more of these AMA parts, and those that had them were hesitant to utilize such a rare component for the fight that was already upon them.

The saddest fate went to the eye-beam emitter. The plans were misdirected to outside vendors and while rapidly made, were nabbed by money-hungry black market agents. The only way to get the eye-beam emitters was a costly trip to seedy marketplaces where these mercenary salespeople hid from the law. The black-marketers even managed to obtain and sell some of the neutralizing boots, which in some cases turned out preferable to searching for the AMA parts in the first place.

So, despite Director Nova's order to rapidly get these items out to the heroes for the battle against the now-named Drochah, the distribution went sideways. To make matters worse, the instructions for using these items were generated by IKEA and translated through faulty software apps, leaving those on the battle front bewildered as to how to use them best. Furious Squirrel was seen trying to use the eye-beam emitter as a codpiece and Lykos put the neutralizing boots on a large stick, trying to create a hammer-like weapon. When the battle began, heroes weren't pulled together as a dynamic fighting force to Nova's summons. Instead, the collective "huh" rang out across the vortex calling them forward in time to face the former leader of Legion.

The battle has been joined for just over a day. The heroes are fighting in two separate forces, the mightier group battling Drochah directly, while the newer, less experienced heroes work to contain a temporal shadow of the villain, less powerful than the original, but a threat none-the-less. It does seem like the heroes who have been practicing the art of energy gain are leading the damage curve, based on reports by BADGE scientific teams. Test Subject 6of9 currently leads in damage done against the primary target, while T-3 has the highest total in the lower squadron.

Many of the heroes fighting have cried out "Remove your core" to their companions who seem unaware of the best methods to attack Drochah. Since the foe is using a neutral core, which offers strong resistance to all types of damage, it has been proven that by using no power enhancing core, such as the brazier of the Wielder of the Sacred Fire or the Third Eye, Drochah is more vulnerable to damage not created by the typical elements of Morphon combat: Elemental, Mental, Technological, Physical, Supernatural, and Magic.

Some of the heroes do seem to have discovered the means to make the Neutral Gear work for them. Damage reports have put unlikely heroes, such as Unearthly Mitch the Lich with equipped boots, gloves, and headgear doing damage similar to much stronger, more experienced combatants like Midgardsormr and IboShin gu, well into the thousands.

Overall, the more experienced heroes are having an easier time fighting Drochah while the others are struggling. How will this all end?

Time, or the end of time, will tell all...

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Heroes Rising Fiction: The Delta Paradox Part 13

 INTO MECHA GALAXY ---

1300 years into the future, the fractures in time glide across the planet like ice bergs. Time is nearly ready to collaspe entirely into a black hole. Max and Ginna are the remaining command staff working for General Nova, who disappeared the moment time broke across the planet. Using a gravity generator, they have been able to keep the base and surrounding area free of time fractures, but that is not going to last. Mech pilots have gathered around the compound, waiting for help to arrive. Gargoyle is in this future as well, since he is timeless, but he is unable to do much help with the problems at hand.

In the skies, looming over the planet, is a giant Drochah who fell through a crack in time hours ago. His movement has been slow as if he is outside of their time. Moments ago, his movement grew faster and superheroes came pouring out of the rift.

Max rushed out, “what the hell is that?”

Ginna said, “I don’t know, but Drochah is moving faster now. He must be getting closer to normal time. We have to move.” She banged on a metal scrap to get people’s attention. “EVERYONE! WE HAVE SHIPS COMING IN TO PICK US UP. I DON’T KNOW IF THEY CAN HOLD ALL OUR MECHAS, BUT WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.”

There was a commotion of people whispering and murmuring in the back of the crowds. Many were not paying her any attention.

“AREN’T YOU LISTENING? WE HAVE AN EVAC PICK UP SHORTLY.”

Just then, General Nova stepped through the crowds with a strange bunch of people behind him. He smiled at her, “leaving so soon? But it’s just about to get interesting.”

“General!” Ginna gasped.

A white blur zipped around the people and ran right into Gar. It was a large, funny looking bunny who was hugging the statue around the middle. “Gar, buddy!”

Gar looked like he was about to cry, “EB...is it really you?”

“Yup, a blast from the past, so to speak.”

General Nova approached and introduce everyone to the man standing next to him that bore a strong resemblance. “Everyone, this is Director Nova...me from 1300 years ago.”

“1300 years? But...then...you...” Max stammered.

“Yes, Max, I am very old. Right now, that’s not the point.” The General stated.

Director Nova said, “we have a situation. Time is collapsing throughout history. Delta...I mean, Drochah has initiated a battle against the last vestiges of superheroes from my time. We have work to do to make sure they win.”

“That makes little sense.” Max said.

General Nova laughed, “of course it doesn’t. But, it is all true. First, we have to make sure we can operate. Nova, are your people ready?”

Director Nova looked back at a tall, old man dressed almost like a wizard, a 1930s gangster who appeared angry to be here, and someone dressed as Santa Claus. “We need to stabilize the time here so we can work without the fractures getting too close.”

The old wizard said, “the time here is horribly damaged. It will take all our strength to keep it from imploding, and I doubt we can hold that for long.”

Ginna approached the younger Nova. “Who are they, and what are they doing?”

“This is Father Time, Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, and Dan Rutkowski. They all have the power to control time. They will keep this place from falling into a time vortex before everything implodes.”

Ginna frowned, “Santa...Easter Bunny...Father Time...I must have completely lost my mind.”

The Easter Bunny hopped up and handed her a chocolate egg he had materialized out of thin air. “Nope, you’re just as sane as the rest of us.”

“Take your places, everyone.” General Nova said. “EB, join them, Father Time, we’re going to need you.”

The legendary people, and the strange gangster, took up positions around the compound and then held up their hands. The broken time fractures moved even further away.

General Nova asked Ginna, “do the sensors show stabilized time?”

She ran inside and grabbed the scanner. Ginna examined the area and then nodded. “With whatever those people are doing and our gravity generator, time is very stable for five square miles.”

“Good. Director, it’s your show.” General Nova spoke to his counterpart.

Director Nova pressed a button on his wrist comm and a hole opened up in the air. Two scientists walked alongside a large hover cart carrying six hibernation tubes.

The doctor came up to the director, “their life signs are all stable, but they’re still very weak.”

“I know, Dr. Henderson. This is our only chance. Get them woken up and we’ll handle the rest.”

“Understood.” She turned to the other scientist, “Osteen, start the animation protocols.”

Max came over to the General and asked, “what’s going on? Who are those people in the tubes?”

“Our only chance of stopping Drochah. Max, I want you to round up six Mecha’s that have flight capability. I have schematics in my computer for special bio-link hook ups. Have them readied to hook into the system in less than an hour. Can you do that?”

“Sure. I’m a whiz at this kinda stuff.”

“Then, get to it!”

Max rushed off.

“Come on, people. We have a world to save.” General Nova led everyone else back into the command center. “Alright, people, we have a task. If we move fast, we might bring this to a proper end sooner than expected.”

Ginna pulled up her calculations. “Time is almost completely broken. It is shattered all over the solar system and those fractures are growing. However, the gravitational center of this time disaster is about to go completely unstable. At that point, it will collapse entirely into a black hole.”

Gar asked, “what did that all mean?”

Father Time answered, “time has a way of managing itself. This universe is on a strange, but stable, temporal constant that only fluctuates mildly in places. When something like this happens, the universe will ultimately correct itself. By collapsing into a black-hole, the time fractures will be destroyed and time will resume normally...or at least as normal as it can around the gravity of a black hole.”

“I still don’t understand.” Gar said.

Director Nova replied, “we have to fix time, or we all die. That’s all you need to understand.”

General Nova explained, “the anchor for all of this time disaster is 1300 years in the past. Drochah went back in time once before and tried to take over the Earth, but failed. In a fit of insanity, he returned to that timeline, replaced himself, corrected the failure. This altered history and broke time. It has taken these thirteen centuries to finally reach the collapsing point, but it is here. If we defeat Drochah while he is in this space of broken time, it will loosen that anchor, and all of his changes will revert to the original timeline.”

Ginna asked, “one thing I don’t understand. If he changed history and time has been breaking ever since, why don’t I remember that? There should be 1300 years of growing fractures in time, but I know nothing about that.”

Father Time said, “time is like a river. It keeps flowing. You are the water that is at the end of the flow. If someone were to throw a stone into the middle and cause a ripple, then only the ripples would know of the stone. Those ripples only reached this time recently. So, you remember the river before the stone, while all those who have been inside the ripples remember a different river.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Ginna said, not sounding too confident.

General Nova said, “the situation is this. Superheroes from the past are fighting the giant Drochah in the sky. Out there, we have six beings called Avatars of the Morphons. They have the combined power to rip the newly crafted power core out of Drochah. They are the only creatures in this universe that can stop him. But they are extremely weak right now.”

Ginna asked, “how do we help them?”

The General said, “that’s where we come in. We will plug the avatars into mecha’s. The mecha’s will be their strength to enter battle. Once we position them, they will do their duty, and Drochah will be deprived of his victory.”

Director Nova said, “however, we must first send ourselves a message back into the past so this all plays out correctly.”

“You just came from the past?” Gar said.

The General smiled, “of course I did, and I heard the message already. This is what they like to call a paradox. I know what must be done because I was there when it was done. If we don’t do this, then we will change history again...and at that point, time will implode instantly.”

Ginna asked, “how do we send a message back in time?”

“That is the part I must play.” Father Time said. “There is one among you who is in the past and present. One who is not human and his body can handle the displacement power that must be used on him.” He slowly looked at Gar.

Gar pointed at himself. “Me?”

Director Nova said, “yes.”

“You’re going to send me into the past?”

General Nova nodded, “that’s the plan. You’ll take a message back with you. It’ll be short, but you’ll deliver this to me in the past.”

“What message?”

Director Nova said, “there are six beings who we need to stop Drochah, who we call Delta in the past. If...”

All around them, claxon and sirens blared.

Two mecha pilots rushed in, “General! The giant Drochah just sent some kind of energy wave across the land. His old Mechas are popping out of the time fractures all over the place.”

General Nova swore under his breath. “Just what we didn’t need.”

Director Nova said, “if Drochah’s mecha’s join the battle against the heroes, this could be bad.”

The General said, “this is going exactly as I remember Gar telling me.” He slammed a button on the table and spoke into a mic, “all mechas launch! We have incoming enemies. Keep this compound safe! I repeat! All mechas launch!” Ginna ran out of the room, heading for her own mecha.

Father Time said, “we have little time. It is going to take some focus and power to send Mr. Gar back.”

Director Nova held Gar by the shoulders and spoke sternly, “Go back, tell them that the six are who we need to save us. The fight must come to the future. We must defeat him in this time or it won’t work.”

A voice yelled over the comm, “there are so many mecha’s!”

Gar trembled as he looked at all the people. “I can’t...I don’t...”

“Yes, you can.” General Nova said, “you are a great hero, Gargoyle, and my oldest friend. I know you can do this. I have already seen you do it.”

Father Time held up an enormous clock in his hands and stood before Gar. “Be ready, Mr. Gar. Once you go, it won’t be long before you will be drawn back to this present.”

Gar squared his shoulders and wings and nodded, “do it.”

Continue the Story

The Hanzo Ninja Clan School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts Presents: How To Kill A Mock King, Bird.

Player ID: 10950

Many may already be frustrated with this raid, thinking, "I can't seem to do any damage and there's guys in there doing 3k a hit! How can I compete?"

As you know, this raid boss is 99% immune to any element type damage. That means 1st and foremost, remove your core to make your base damage neutral.

You want to increase your base damage with X Damage. Now, something very interesting seems to be happening with X Dam on this raid. It's acting like it did ages ago in the very beginning, before the Mindbender nerf took place. For those who don't remember or weren't around, in the beginning, all X Dam could go off at once, rather than be limited to the highest type.

Add gear that increases your Att.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I don't know for a fact that the X Dam is stacking, but it seems to be. When I run a 98% 3X Dam suit and no other X Damage type, my highest damage was around 1.5k. When I added multiple other X Dam types, my top hits increased to 3k.

Lastly, you can add neutral gear with AMA Power. This is like Plus Damage but without an element type. There are currently 3 types. The head seems to only be found in the patrol black market for 30 MP The boot can also be found there for 30 MP or in the Scrapyard for 200 AMA Parts. The arm can be found in the Gear Shop for 300 Crystal.

Don't forget, you have cons that increase Att, Energy, and even X Dam.

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: The Delta Paradox Part 12

 Fires burned in cities along a line from Yokohama, Japan, to Daegu, South Korea. Air raid sirens blared across Seoul. Citizens ran for cover, not sure what was coming next. Some yelled about more augments possibly attacking, while others were worried that the World Corps was sending in Mercs.

Krystal Fae flew as fast as she could, along with the other fastest fliers of the BADGE heroes. They were leaving the slower heroes far behind, but they could hardly even see Drochah in the distance.

“He’s heading for Seoul!” Nova said over the comm.

“We’re trying to intercept, but I doubt we’ll arrive in time.”

“Do something. That city has ten million people in it.” Nova said.

Sunspark flew up hard next to Krystal. “That monster is going to murder millions if we don’t stop this. I’m going in. Make sure I don’t die in vain.”

This caught her by surprise. “Wait...what?”

Sunspark charged his body until he was glowing as bright as a star. He shot off at near light speed, casting amazing sonic booms in his wake. He met Drochah mid-air and plowed the villain into the earth. The explosion from the impact shattered the land for miles and sent a massive cloud of dust and debris into the atmosphere.

The flying heroes were all stunned, knowing that Sunspark had just killed himself to stop Drochah. Finally, Quark came through the comm, “don’t slow down. Get to him, make sure he got Drochah!”

When they reached the crater, they found a single person standing at the epicenter. Drochah was glowing bright yellow with that orb in his chest as though someone had shoved it into his body. Flames burned at the edges and no remains of Sunspark were to be found.

The heroes raced toward him, ready to fight, but he merely held up his hand and the heroes were stopped. In a single, effortless motion, he slapped everyone to the ground.

“It is finished, my core complete. I am god. Whatever you thought you were before, you now are nothing but insects.” His body grew in size, dwarfing even Midgard at his greatest.

Krystal Fae had dirt in her mouth and her nose pushed against the solid ground. Next to her lay Strange Quark. His body flashed odd shades of blue, fading in and out of this reality.

“Krystal....I...I have to stop him.” Quark said.

She pushed her arm over to him. “You can’t, no one can. He is...too strong.”

“I can. Just...tell Gar...he was my best friend, and he needs to tell...Chase...the truth...”

“No, don’t do it.” Krystal had tears in her eyes.

Quark screamed as he ripped something off of him, peeling away Drochah’s power. He grew in size, his body swimming with colors and lights.

“What’s this? Some pathetic little mortal wishes to challenge me?” Drochah looked Quark in the eye, seemingly amused.

Quark shoved his hands right into Drochah’s chest, attempting to rip out that orb. He screamed and had actual tears in his eyes as his own power was being shredded.

Drochah put his hands on Quark’s neck to rip his throat out. Both of them phased in and out of reality. The heroes on the ground slowly regained control of themselves.

Suddenly, Drochah lurched back as Quark almost pulled the orb out. Drochah jammed his hands into Quark’s chest and ripped his body in half. Quark screamed and turned a bright shade of blue that exploded in a beam of light. Somehow, Quark had used his own body, even in that state, to emit one last beam of strange quantum energy.

Drochah was thrown back, crashing through a broken hole in the air. He fell into another place...or really, another time. The heroes rushed in to finish him. As they reached the rip in the sky, they passed into the future.

***

Moments before:

Nova walked into the largest medical laboratory on the station. The six Avatars lay on beds around the room. Dr. Henderson and Dr. Osteen checked data in a computer station.

“Report?”

Dr. Henderson turned to him. “Sir, the Avatars regained their cores a short time ago. All of them are showing immediate signs of life.”

“Good. How soon will they be able to join the battle?”

“Give em a month or two.” Osteen crassly stated.

Dr. Henderson said, “sir, they are extremely weak. I was worried about this. They were in suspended animation for months, their energy reduced to almost death. Recovering from that will be a slow process. I don’t see how they will stand up today, let along actually fight anyone.”

“Find a way, Doctor. Our enemy is making his ultimate move.”

Father Time appeared next to Nova. “Our enemy has made his move and we are out of time.”

Nova was more than shocked to see this villain appear next to him. Then he turned to find EB, Santa, and Rutkowski in the room. “What’s going on?”

EB said, “you need to see this.”

Nova raced back to Operations, where he found the General watching the screens. The view of Earth was unbelievable. Time was falling apart. A great hole hung in the skies near China. From it, fractures were forming in time, shredding the planet.

“What happened?” Nova demanded.

General Nova said, “Drochah gained full power, but Quark tried to stop him. Their unstable energies caused a rift in time. Drochah has fallen back into the future through that rift and your heroes have followed to stop him.”

“What happened to Quark?” Nova whispered.

EB sniffed, “he didn’t make it.”

General Nova said, “Drochah ripped him apart. His power...is...is unbelievable.”

EB said, “but we still have our weapons. The six can stop him, right?”

Director Nova shook his head. “They’re too weak. They can’t go out there like this. They are going to need help even standing.”

General Nova turned with a shot and said, “that’s it! That’s the answer!”

“What is?” Director Nova asked.

The General said, “Gar from the future said several things. First, the six are our answer. However, he also said the battle would take place in the future. I didn’t understand that until now. They knew Drochah would end up there. That’s where he must be defeated.”

Father Time, standing with Santa and Rutkowski, said, “it is true. Drochah is tied to the future, that is where he is from, and where he started this time disaster. If he is defeated there, then time might fix itself, might return to the point before he broke it. We must travel to the future to stop him.”

Director Nova said, “but the avatars...”

“Are still the key.” The General interrupted. “You say they can’t hardly stand right now. What you need is the ability to give them legs. I just happen to have the technology to put them in mechs, give them strength, and put them in the battle. That must be it, that has to be it.”

Director Nova turned to Santa, who once was a great general of his people. “Is this a good plan?”

“I believe it is our only hope. There is just one issue you might not like.”

“What?”

Father Time stepped up. “ We cannot simply go through that rip in time to the future with the avatars. We would be thrust right into the battle with Drochah. We must create an alternate rift to travel through. I am the most proficient among us at time travel. But I need the clock you took from me.”

Nova stepped over to Father Time. “I agree. I don’t like this. But I know it is our only choice. I also trust that even while you have evil intentions for that clock...”

“you can trust me in this, Director Nova. I may have ideas about time that you don’t like, but I have no desire to watch this planet be crushed into a black hole.”

Director Nova said, “General, EB, head down to Medlab 1 and help the doctors to get those avatars ready for transport. Santa, I’m trusting you to watch Father Time and keep us safe.”

Everyone gave Nova a quick nod.

Nova pressed his all-comm button. “Heroes, those who can still hear me, head for that rip in time and follow it to attack Drochah. We’re going to need everyone for this. Time is against us.”

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Post Faction War Fan Fiction - "A visit from EB"

#20314 Gatekeeper

After the end of Faction War EB showed up and asked me what that was he heard jamming over here it made him extra hoppy. As we were talking I introduced him to my War Music playlist and told him if he came back tomorrow I'd have a copy ready for him to jam to. We talked for what seemed like the rest of the day about all kinds of things he wanted me to go check out but as normal I didn't make a list and forgot half the things he told me about. EB also told me that different music gets him in different moods but really liked a few of the beats I showed him. Looking back now I guess I should have made a list or recorded the conversation because the music list I made for him made him blood thirsty. EB went bonkers.... I tried to stop him but he is crazy fast... When he put on the first song and put on his headphones he changed, the music transformed him into a psychopath. He hopped to the river and started biting a single chunk out of each fish before throwing it back at the water hard like a boss. I tried to stop him but got a Spartan Bunny kick to the chest and was out like a light. After I came back to I knew I had to get my music back from EB but how? This guy hit like a train wreck. With no plan on how to catch him or even where to find EB I was patrolling around everywhere looking for him.

 About the time I got to ole McDs farm I was about out of hope but that's when I seen EB again he was drinking the blood of a cow while it was grazing along completely ignoring EB.

 
EB stop it this isn't you give me back my music it's warped your mind... Running up to him to take it I thought he couldn't see or hear me till her spun around in one jump landing a stellar left hook dropping me in my tracks again. Damn it EB now you're pissing me off. I picked myself up out of the pasture covered in cow manure irritated like a little child and getting petty plans in place. I'm going to get that sneaky rabbit tricks are for kids.... After setting up traps all over the city and county side for EB I started looking for him again. Weeks went by and still no sign of EB till I heard my jams playing over in the bushes and I thought for sure I got him finally just to find the music box dangling on a branch but that wasn't all I found. EB lead me to his breach through time. I hesitated for a second but then jumped in like why not.

 
On the inside everything was different. Morphon particles floated in every centimeter changing and influencing everything it touched.

 
EB spoke up finally " You really shouldn't be here Gatekeeper it will warp your mind like your music did to me."

 
Me " I came to find you to retrieve my music because it changed you in a very bad way there is traps set all over the city I set trying to get my music away from you. You left the city in a state of panic everyone thinks you are trying to kill them."

EB "I don't remember anything after getting that music from you until I ended up in here how is that possible?"

Gatekeeper "Umm well for me when I turn on my War jams it puts me into the fighters Mindset maybe that's what it did to you. I'm sorry EB but you have to come back and make things right is there anything I can do to help?"

EB thinking about it for a bit hops around for a bit and finally comes up with a plan. " Yes but I'm going to need alot of help and you might not like the idea! "

Gatekeeper "Well something needs to be done and I helped get us in this position so tell me what I must do and I'll do my best to make it happen."

EB comes close and whispers the plan and kicks me right out through the portal back to the city. Wtf is he mad insane that plan could destroy the whole planet. Well I guess he did have a point so I'm committed now like it or not .

 
Ok 1st off the traps around the city need to be found and disassembled. Let's get groups out looking for the traps but be prepared they come with a major kick that was the only way to catch EB it won't be a easy obstacle to overcome so be prepared.

 
Ok step 2 need to get this music out into the city so it doesn't drive him crazy because he can hear the city even in his dimension so it will give him time in a safe place to learn to control himself safely away from the city. Here it goes going to get this music distribution going here it is hopefully this stunt works and EB comes back normal.

# War Music playlist
Mercules-Nerves
Mercules-This is What Happens
Mercules-Havana
Mercules-Sucker for Pain
Mercules-In My Sleep
Mercules-Yellow Tape
Mercules-Mood
Mercules-Inside My Head
Mercules-Givin' Up
Mercules-See Thru

So if you run into one of these tunes help out EB and turn it up in hopes of his recovery. Any areas not explored check out for traps set to catch EB! Best of luck to everyone and game on.

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Osteen's Accessories --- New from B.A.D.G.E.

 Hello once again, Heroes Rising Fashionistas. It's Chained Angel, back once again to help everyone dress for success. At this very moment, what you are wearing is SUPER important. I mean, you've been following the news, right? 

First off, let's get our hands into one of the most often neglected pieces for any hero's costume. Gloves aren't just for boxers anymore. Every hero should have a pair of these Neutral Gloves, or several pair, depending on how many hands you might have. 

This isn't your average Power Glove, even though it looks like they are. These gloves are available in the Armory, where over the last few months, multiple high-quality items have been popping up.

I like the slimming black fabric highlighted by gray lines. Who said high tech couldn't be high glamour at the same time. I'd wear these down any catwalk from New Amsterdam to Paris. Easily, one of the most accessible accessory, don't miss out on stocking up on these and keep that pimp hand strong!

Of course you knew that shoes would be my next topic of conversation. Even if you fly everywhere you go, people will still be looking at your feet, so why not make them unforgettable. With this stylish footwear, Wolfman will never forget when you kick him in the nads.

These are a bit harder to come by. So far I have either seen them fashioned by heroes who have collected many AMA parts and taken them to the Scrapyard, or purchased on the Black Market. But aren't they worth it? Aren't they just to die for?

The stylish lines combined with the perfect shade of blue will help these go with any outfit, whether on the town or fighting a supervillain in the far future.

Lastly, we can't forget the crowning jewel of any outfit, the headgear. This accessory is so sought after, I've only been able to find it in a Black Market. Isn't it stunning. That ruby-red lens, the polished silver frame. It puts the optic back in hypnotic. Well, with a bit of creative license, it does. 

So, when heading out to fight in the latest cataclysmic event facing our planet, which should be happening pretty soon based on the latest news stories, be sure to get out there and pick up what you need to look the part of Earth's most fabulous hero.

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