[h1]Interlude 1 - Pipeline[/h1] My life was boring, before it all happened. Tame A waste. I frittered time away with useless endeavours - mostly studying for exams - and yet wasn’t even a very academic person. Coasting through school, college and university, the only redeeming feature I had was my ability to play up a crowd. The only guilty pleasure I had was the debating club. Tearing people apart in front of an audience was exhilarating. Listening to an argument and picking holes in the finer details, the insignificant pieces of information that the speaker didn’t realise contained a hundred different weaknesses, was the only thing I lived for. At least, until I stupidly tried drugs. It didn’t take long for me to be in huge amounts of debt to the local dealers. What was worse, they had a union. Well, it was more of a gang. The Wolfpack. The longer I hobbled on, crippled by debt and desperately trying to stop, the more addicted I became. Then came the offer. Join the gang, they’d waive the debt. Supply me for free. I hated the idea of being a puppet for a bunch of scumbags, but there was no other choice. They had my number. So I agreed. At no point during the time I spent working for the Wolfpack did I ever expect to look back on it fondly. As I sat here with a bag over my head, though, it did seem increasingly appealing. Somewhere around me, a voice boomed. Kidnapped by Imperium after being assimilated from Wolfpack gang. “Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we have a battle between two members of The Imperium’s latest conquest - The Wolfpack!” “Here for one night only - for one of them, anyway - we shall see if there really was any honour amongst these thieves as they attempt to murder one another for your entertainment!” The crowd roared in cheer, so much so that I could feel the vibrations. The bag was removed. Light burned my eyes, as I found myself kicked forward into a caged arena. Across from me was someone I recognised. A complete asshole, who had made my life a misery, despite being pretty pathetic himself. Scattered around the arena was various tools of conflict, ranging from baseball bats to metal pipes. Between us, neither had ever been in a situation quite like this before. It came down to wits, rather than physical strength. So when I stood over his body, watching him gasp and crawl along with a broken leg, I wasn’t particularly surprised. It wasn’t even a shock that it felt damn good. The same principles applied here to debating club, except with actual tearing apart, rather than verbal hyperbole. Someone rose in the crowd and held a hand out, hovering between a thumbs up and down. The crowd reacted, and it was deemed that my competitor would die by my hand. Without hesitation, I brought the pipe down hard on his skull. Afterwards, once the adrenaline had faded, I felt sick. This cycle continued. For how long, I’m not sure. Days? Weeks? Months? Time lost all meaning to me, through the haze of adrenaline addiction and drug withdrawal. In the midst of it all, deep within a red mist of battle rage, something inside me changed. It flushed the drugs from my system, made my grasp on reality much stronger. And, I could make liquid. People in the crowd noticed too, cheering me on even harder. I oiled the floor, causing my opponent to slip, and killed him then and there. The leader of the gang that had kidnapped me came down from his metal throne. Octavian grabbed my hand, pulled me close, and showed me off to the crowd. “Well done, my boy. You lived.” He chuckled. “And now, life will be so much better.” He was passing all my suffering off as a joke with that laugh. Promising me comfort and relief from here on out. My blood boiled. I swallowed my rage causing my words to have an icy-cold edge. “Yes,” I replied. “I couldn’t agree more.” A swipe of my hand scarred his face with acid. He screamed and staggered back, slipping in the oil on the floor. He reached out a hand to use his power - on me, on his bodyguards, on anyone to try and keep himself alive. Instead, I scraped two metal pipes together. The faintest little spark drifted off. And hit the oil. The entire centre of the arena went alight. People watched in silence, as Octavian howled in pain. No-one moved. Not even his elite bodyguards. Not out of fear, either. Octavian had ruled all with an iron fist, making everyone constantly fear him and his power. Now that he was helpless, and them out of his reach, none would come to his side. Slowly, his screams faded to silence once more. “As of today,” I bellowed out to the congregated masses, “the Imperium is no more. Octavian’s passing will mark the end of this farce. Everyone in this room has killed in order to survive. This is a basic fact of life. We are murderers, and society will not accept you back into their fold after breaking their cardinal tenants.” “I offer an alternative. From the ashes of the Imperium ruled by a single man, I will create a new society where the only rule is freedom of choice. A place - the only place- where we can truly fit in. A wonderland for the everyman. Everything will be permitted without arbitrary rules to hold you back. Consequences will mean nothing within these walls, and each and every man will be on equal footing.” “However, that does not mean you will run free. When the heroes realise what we are - a freelance gang of murderers - they will come for us. As each of you have killed before, the price for keeping your freedom may well be to kill again. To counteract this, we’ll set up boundaries for our collective as a whole to follow - which will be the only thing standing between us and complete annihilation at the hands of the Protectorate.” “This is where you decide how much freedom means to you. My offer is open to all. Accept it, and join me in making something we can be proud to call home. Or do not, and wander aimlessly around in the wastes, until a hero claims your bounty. Under my new banner will be your only hope for amnesty.” Each person in the room shiftily looked at one another, considering the words. I could tell that I’d hooked a great many of them. They needed somewhere to stay now that the Imperium had crumbled around them in the course of a single act. Reading people was easy and getting them to do something you want them to is even more so. As for this decision, it had to be their own. So he’d simply given them the facts. All but 7 of the Imperium’s members transferred over to my new Wonderland. Which worked out perfectly. The raw power we possessed was the only way to rival the Protectorate in Boston. As such, we had enough threat that the heroes couldn’t lay siege and kill us all. Since then, we’ve grown as an independent city-state in our own right, attracting the world’s worst scum to stay in a place with relatively few rules and plenty of likeminded individuals. It seems strange to look back on that day and consider that we were the only viable threat in the city. So much has changed in these last twenty years. [hr] [centre][H2] The Van [/h2] [h1]As Far Away From Vector As Parahumanly Possible[/h1] [sub]21st January, 2011[/sub][/centre] As the concrete blocks were knocked clear of the van, it sped forward across the bridge of light and straight through the junction ahead. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the Covenant could breath a sigh of relief. “I’m not going to admit you were right, but I am [i]damn[/i] glad that worked,” Donovan said, unable to hide his grin. “Where to?” The empty black eyes of Sickle’s mask fell upon the two girls. “That all depends. I trust you know who we are, what we’ve done and roughly what we plan to keep doing. You interfered in the conflict today for a reason, I’d hope, rather than as some morbid death wish.” He laughed, slightly. “Not that it would matter either way, I guess.” “My point is than my little group is recruiting heavily. My offer to you is simply. Lend us your help for a little while longer, and in return, you can rest easy knowing you did all you could to support a city buckling under the weight of the filth infesting it.” Reaching under the secondhand couch, he pulled out a box. From inside, a roll of notes were produced. “That is, providing you work for the good of the people. If the alternative interests you more…” The money - roughly $5000 - hit Holly’s lap. “I have plenty more where that came from. So,” he said, relaxing on the sofa. “What’d ya say?” [@knifeman] [hr] [centre][h2]Gladius Border Territory[/h2] [h1]Dorchester[/h1] [sub]21st January, 2011[/sub][/centre] The concrete chunks didn’t even go near the van. They didn’t even have to swerve. Something wasn’t right. A missing factor. The Covenant didn’t have any powers capable of doing that without being obvious. Or at least, they didn’t before. Did she have to update her parameters? More to the point, they’d escaped. “Fuck!” she screamed, as the little green marker on her HUD vanished. They were out of range. Taking a running jump, she dived off the building. Twisting in mid-air, a grappling rope bit into the lip of the roof from a gauntlet-mounted device, and she repelled down to the ground. She strode up to Knight, her voice had an audible edge. “I gave you a single order, and yet we just lost our single biggest chance to kill Boston’s most wanted.” PRT cleanup vans were beginning to appear, along with the local authorities, who had been waiting in the wings for all the parahumans to clear off. “If I were you,” she warned, “I’d start coming up with excuses now.” [@PlatinumSkink][@Banana] [hr] [centre][h2]The Zenith[/h2] [h1]Above Boston[/h1] [sub]21st January, 2011[/sub][/centre] Praetor sat at his desk, face barely hiding his fury. “We lost a VTOL, a Ward is in the medical bay and we have literally nothing to show for it but a couple of unpowered junkies.” “When I heard we’d be welcoming the daughter of Retribution into our fold, I expected that it might just be possible to turn this city around. But as of then, I thought you might be capable of delivering results!” Taking a deep breath or two, he shook his head. “You know what? We don’t have time for this. While you were allowing the most dangerous cape in the city to escape, Wonderland extended an invite to the Circus. And for once, I’m not declining.” “I have too many untested newcomers on my force. I need to know what you’re all capable of so that a farce like this doesn’t happen again.” He pressed a button on his desk. “Send Ifrit to my office, now.” “I’ve already sent your name to Pipeline. And Ifrit’s. Unfortunately, capturing or killing everyone who shows up isn’t going to be possible, so i’m giving you a much simpler task.” The tone of his voice lowered, but remained as powerful. “Don’t make a fool of my heroes again.” He rose and walked to the window. “You won’t win. I don’t need you to. Make an example of anyone you face. Show them what happens when you cross the Protectorate. Meanwhile, I’ll see if the medical team can’t fix your mistakes.” [@PlatinumSkink][@Banana][@SkinnyTy][@OldAmsterdam] [hr] [centre][h2]Unknown Location[/h2] [h1]Boston[/h1] [sub]21st January, 2011[/sub][/centre] [i]“My point is than my little group is recruiting heavily. My offer to you is simply. Lend us your help for a little while longer.”[/i] The Covenant were recruiting. Useful information to know. A phone bleeped somewhere nearby with a message from Maxwell. [i]Change of plans. Head nearby the Circus tonight. Report on everything said. M.[/i] [@ProPro] [hr] [centre][h2]Unknown Location[/h2] [h1]Boston[/h1] [sub]21st January, 2011[/sub][/centre] A message came back in seconds. [i]Pictures unavailable. Data frequently wiped by outside sources. Suggest looking at Circus, Victory Road, Boston, tonight. Target is vain. May make appearance.[/i] [@Migyudon] [hr] [centre][h2]The Circus Maximus[/h2] [h1]Victory Road[/h1] [sub]21st January, 2011[/sub][/centre] The crowd was slowly beginning to filter into the arena through the various doors. Most people headed for the betting booth first to look at the first round matches and see who was actually competing. Maybe even buy a program, or some tacky, knock-off merch whipped up in a hurry by budding Wonderland ‘entrepreneurs’. For the evening’s entertainment, the battles were:- (Ind. tags are used for both Independent Capes and Faction Capes that are not entered as the official faction entries) Automation(Ind.) vs Sickle-Cell(Cov.) Vegas(Cov.) vs Arms Race(Gla.) Geryon(Ind.) vs Nightlight(Con.) vs Askaryan(Won.) vs Vector(Ind.) Switchboard(Fun.) vs Caustic(Won.) vs Fodem(Con.) vs Singularity(Gla.) Knight(Pro.) & Ifrit(Pro.) vs Black Kaze(Ind.) & Talion(Ind.) Funhouse(Fun.) & Pain-Killer(Ind.) vs Achlys(Ind.) & Pipeline(Ind.) [@Duoya][@Lasrever][@PlatinumSkink][@Banana][@SkinnyTy]