HenryJonesJr

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

Season 2 CS (need to fill in the catalogue0

A Bunch of A-Holes

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

T H E G U A R D I A N S
O F T H E G A L A X Y

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^{_{T H O R ♦ S T A R - L O R D ♦ R O C K E T ♦ G R O O T ♦ H A W K ♦ H E R O E S F O R H I R E ♦ S P A C E ♦ T H E M S E L V E S}}

C O N T I N U I N G C O N C E P T:

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^{"Let's go save the frickin' galaxy."}

When we left the Guardians, they had just formally became a team after escaping from Warworld. Thor, the team's leader, has reclaimed his old weapon Jarnbjorn. Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, has started to find a true purpose for his life. Rocket and Groot may have found a home. Hawk just found a group that needs to survive as much as she does.

While this group of misfits is anything but a cohesive team at this point, they will need to be in order to survive the coming ordeals. Whoever has destroyed Asgard now has their eyes focused almost exclusively on the so-called Guardians of the Galaxy. They have a price on their head that any bounty hunter will try to cash in on, and their enemy has also dispatched his generals against them. In order to expose who their enemy is, they will have to work together and learn to be a family.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

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Thor's entire aim is to find whoever destroyed his home as well as to draw said person's gaze away from Heimdall's efforts to gather the surviving members of the Asgardian race and find a new home. The other Guardians still aren't sure they can trust a god or each other, and it will take them time to really gel as a unit.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

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The Guardians of the Galaxy

• Thor Odinson
• Peter Quill/Star-Lord
• Rocket
• Groot
• Hawk

Asgardian Refugee Ship

• Heimdall
• Korg
• Miek

S E A S O N O N E S Y N O P S I S:

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After the sudden and premature onset of Ragnarok, Thor Odinson was cast into the depths of space where he found himself unworthy to lift the mighty hammer Mjolnir. While he mourned his failure and the loss of his family and home, Thor was discovered by Peter Quill.

Together, the two traveled to Knowhere. There, Thor located a nearby cache of Asgardian treasures thanks to Knowhere's science officer Cosmo. While there, Quill was approached by his captain and surrogate father Yondu, who told Quill Thor had a price on his head. Quill informed Yondu that Thor had promised him treasure, and he wanted to get that before turning the other man in for a reward. Thor and Star-Lord's time on Knowhere was cut short by the arrival of a Chitauri battle cruiser. The attack forced the pair to flee to where Thor had found the cache.

When they got there however, they found the once ocean world had turned into a vast desert. When Thor discovered the cache, he found it had been ransacked by someone, and now guarded by a cadre of vicious insecticide creatures. Thor and Quill barely escaped with their lives, only to find themselves pursued by a Thanagarian bounty hunter named Hawk. In the chase, the two ships jumped through an unknown jump point.

On the other side, both ships found themselves suddenly in the atmosphere of Warworld, where they crashed. Thor was throne from the ship, while Hawk and Quill were forced to team up before joining with Rocket, a sentient raccoon, to escape. Meanwhile, Thor was reunited with the Asgardian sentry Heimdall who had a plan of escape of his own.

Before the gates of Warworld's capital, Thor slew the gladiator Draaga and defeated Warworld's leader Mongul with ease after reclaiming Jarnbjorn. After the escape, Thor sent Heimdall and his group of gladiators to search for surviving Asgardians, while he, Peter, Hawk, Rocket, and Groot searched for their unknown enemy.

P O S T C A T A L O G:

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_{S E A S O N O N E:}

This section should include a list of hyperlinks to your posts from the previous season. This is both for GM use and accessible for new players and those feelings nostalgia for posts they read three months ago.

_{S E A S O N T W O:}

Same as before, this section is for a list of hyperlinks to your ongoing IC posts as they're created.

Reposting TWS, will edit this depending on what webby decides regarding Cap

The Winter Soldier

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

T H E W I N T E R S O L D I E R

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^{_{R E D A C T E D ♦ A S S A S S I N ♦ E A R T H ♦ U N K N O W N}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

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^{"They aren't ready."}

The Winter Soldier has appeared out of nowhere to test the heroes of the world. Her goals are unknowable, her origins are untraceable, and her memories are lost to time. All she knows is her mission, and her mission is all she cares about.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

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So I hate to pull the "if I tell you too much it will ruin where I plan to go"....but well if I tell you too much it will ruin where I plan to go. GMs, I can PM some stuff if requested. I have some twists and turns planned for the story, and I would love to have a lot of interaction with other players. Especially considering my other characters can't do that much at the moment.

Needless to say I plan on her testing the heroes of the world while also struggling with her own shattered memories and psyche. Over time she will come to discover who she truly is, who is really pulling her strings, and what she truly wants to fight for.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

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The Masters of Evil - A coordinated and cunning team of super-powered individuals that have descended upon the world. None of them know the true names of the others in the group. They only know their mission given to them by their benefactor.

• Crimson Dynamo - A warrior in an armored, high-tech suit.
• Radioactive Man - A man with super strength, speed, and agility and the ability to manipulate radiation.
• Swordsman - An Olympic level athlete and master of hand-to-hand and melee fighting.

The Boss - The enigmatic mastermind behind the Masters of Evil.

S A M P L E P O S T:

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The blinding beam of light woke her from a deep sleep, with a scream tearing through her dreams. She couldn't remember whose it was. It came from no face in her dream, just the blackness of unconsciousness. It wasn't high enough to be her own. It was too deep. A man, more than likely. Who he was she had no idea, but it was the same scream that always woke her up. It was full of pain and loss, the sad kind of scream someone bellowed when one had nothing left to lose and were resigned to their fate. She hated it. Not only because she did not know who it came from, but because of how weak it was.

The Winter Soldier hated anything that projected weakness. If there was one thing that her line of work taught was that any weakness would be turned around against you and would often end with you lying in a shallow grave on some godforsaken spit of land. No, weakness was not to be tolerated. It was something to be expunged from the body.

"Good morning, agent," the voice from the speaker in her room greeted her the same it did whenever she was woken up. It was The Boss, the one that always had her instructions. She had lost count how many missions she had been sent on. The number wasn't important. What was important was that she had never failed The Boss, and she wasn't planning on starting. "How are you feeling?"

"Restless," was her only answer. Her eyes had begun to adjust to the light emanating from the ceiling of her room. It was spartan, but comfortable. Her bed in one corner, a kitchenette across from it, and a door to a bathroom on the same wall as the bed. A small sitting area stood in the center with a comfortable chair and a table. It was all she needed, if she was being honest with herself. Some assassins in the world chose extravagance and luxury when not on the job, but that seemed merely a trifle for her.

"Excellent," the voice smiled. She had never seen The Boss, nor did she think she ever would. But they had a vision for the world, and she was ready to make it happen. "Are you ready for your next mission?"

"Always," she said with an unmistakable hunger.

"Good, for the time we've been waiting for has arrived. It's time for SHIELD to shatter."

P O S T C A T A L O G:

---

A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

<Snipped quote by HenryJonesJr>

If we could get all returning characters updated to this format that would be preferred.

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

@Lord Wraith

And the Winter Soldier one stays as the original sheet format, correct? Just want to make sure I have my ducks in a row.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

Do I need to repost my Guardians CS for Season 2?

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

Leeeeeeeeeeeroy Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeenkkkkkkkkkiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnsssssss (No my second character concept is not Leeroy Jenkins)

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

T H E W I N T E R S O L D I E R

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^{_{R E D A C T E D ♦ A S S A S S I N ♦ E A R T H ♦ U N K N O W N}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

---

^{"They aren't ready."}

The Winter Soldier has appeared out of nowhere to test the heroes of the world. Her goals are unknowable, her origins are untraceable, and her memories are lost to time. All she knows is her mission, and her mission is all she cares about.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

---

So I hate to pull the "if I tell you too much it will ruin where I plan to go"....but well if I tell you too much it will ruin where I plan to go. GMs, I can PM some stuff if requested. I have some twists and turns planned for the story, and I would love to have a lot of interaction with other players. Especially considering my other characters can't do that much at the moment.

Needless to say I plan on her testing the heroes of the world while also struggling with her own shattered memories and psyche. Over time she will come to discover who she truly is, who is really pulling her strings, and what she truly wants to fight for.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

---

The Masters of Evil - A coordinated and cunning team of super-powered individuals that have descended upon the world. None of them know the true names of the others in the group. They only know their mission given to them by their benefactor.

• Crimson Dynamo - A warrior in an armored, high-tech suit.
• Radioactive Man - A man with super strength, speed, and agility and the ability to manipulate radiation.
• Swordsman - An Olympic level athlete and master of hand-to-hand and melee fighting.

The Boss - The enigmatic mastermind behind the Masters of Evil.

S A M P L E P O S T:

---

The blinding beam of light woke her from a deep sleep, with a scream tearing through her dreams. She couldn't remember whose it was. It came from no face in her dream, just the blackness of unconsciousness. It wasn't high enough to be her own. It was too deep. A man, more than likely. Who he was she had no idea, but it was the same scream that always woke her up. It was full of pain and loss, the sad kind of scream someone bellowed when one had nothing left to lose and were resigned to their fate. She hated it. Not only because she did not know who it came from, but because of how weak it was.

The Winter Soldier hated anything that projected weakness. If there was one thing that her line of work taught was that any weakness would be turned around against you and would often end with you lying in a shallow grave on some godforsaken spit of land. No, weakness was not to be tolerated. It was something to be expunged from the body.

"Good morning, agent," the voice from the speaker in her room greeted her the same it did whenever she was woken up. It was The Boss, the one that always had her instructions. She had lost count how many missions she had been sent on. The number wasn't important. What was important was that she had never failed The Boss, and she wasn't planning on starting. "How are you feeling?"

"Restless," was her only answer. Her eyes had begun to adjust to the light emanating from the ceiling of her room. It was spartan, but comfortable. Her bed in one corner, a kitchenette across from it, and a door to a bathroom on the same wall as the bed. A small sitting area stood in the center with a comfortable chair and a table. It was all she needed, if she was being honest with herself. Some assassins in the world chose extravagance and luxury when not on the job, but that seemed merely a trifle for her.

"Excellent," the voice smiled. She had never seen The Boss, nor did she think she ever would. But they had a vision for the world, and she was ready to make it happen. "Are you ready for your next mission?"

"Always," she said with an unmistakable hunger.

"Good, for the time we've been waiting for has arrived. It's time for SHIELD to shatter."

P O S T C A T A L O G:

---

A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

And with that my season comes to an end, and the Guardians begin.

Here's to season 2.

EDIT: As for the ongoing debate, I agree that we have issues snatching up characters and guarding them like they're collectibles. I realize I'm the ultimate hypocrite here playing a team, but if someone came in wanting to use one of the characters I snatched up, it's at the point where I'd be cool with giving it to them. Otherwise we're gonna continue starting these games that are doomed to fail because we gate ourselves off from others.

So I mostly agree with @Hexaflexagon. I don't see starting a new thread as a cure for getting new players. I think it could be a start as long as we broadcast players have more freedom, including using characters that others had gated off as "their" NPCs. That's not how a functioning game is gonna attract more players.

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

His father stood in front of him, a lone shining force in the darkness that surrounded the two of them. Even in death Odin appeared to be everything one would think of when they pictured a god. Strong yet merciful, wise yet ready for action, the Allfather stood as a testament to what Thor always dreamed he would be. Yet Odin had died like the rest of them while Thor survived. How could it be that this pillar of strength was no longer there to prop up the God of Thunder when he needed it?

"Quit pitying yourself," the father raised an eyebrow at his son. "You just defeated a mad tyrant and escaped his clutches. You should be reveling."

Thor looked down at himself, still wondering whether these visions of his father were in his head or whether they were real. Part of him wondered if that mattered. This was the place he was coming when he exerted enough of his energy. It must mean something, and he was going to make the most of his visits. Maybe they could help in some way to quell the coming storm.

"Revel? For what?" Thor responded dejectedly. "For harnessing a fraction of my power and passing out afterwards? For falling into a trap that should have never caught me? For falling behind our adversary so far that he plunders our treasures? I see not a reason for merriment, father."

He had won the day. That much was to be certain. There was a time that was all he needed to start feasting and drinking in the halls of Asgard. But that time was not now. Now he still had an anger in his belly towards his still unseen foe. He was furious that he still felt no closer to discovering who had destroyed his home and his people.

"You're looking at the negatives," Odin shook his head and looked down. "Did you not find Heimdall? Did you not discover our people still live? Did you not reclaim Jarnbjorn and harness the lightning once more? Are these not accomplishments worth celebrating?"

"Aye," Thor nodded. "I harnessed the lightning but for a few moments. And then it overpowered me."

"You have lost Asgard," Odin placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "It was where some of your power came from. Until you learn how to ground yourself without it, you will not feel yourself. But you will find a way to harness it once again. You will find our people and protect them. For you are Thor. God of Thunder. Odinson. You were born to lead our people out of the darkness, and so you will. Fare well, my son. And remember who you are."?

He woke with a startle, sending the multiple people around his bedside jumping back. He saw Quill, Heimdall, a small rabbit of some kind, the tree, a Thanagarian warrior, Korg, and Meik. As his eyes adjusted to the light on the ship, he saw he was on a larger, yet not wholly different ship from Quill's Milano, as if someone had merely stretched the ship out slightly. He sat up, and his head spun momentarily before he regained his wits.

"We got off the planet then?" he asked Heimdall. "How many came with us?"

"What you see here, and close to a dozen more on the bigger ship," the former sentry of Asgard reported, not without some satisfaction. He had been stuck on Warworld for too long. Getting off the gladiator world clearly brought him joy, as it should have. "Mongul may not like that we took both his fastest ship and his biggest one. The other is a pleasure yacht, but has potent defenses."

"And this one is a kickass, tricked-out Milano clone," Quill smiled like an idiot behind Heimdall. "I love it so much."

"Yea, and I made sure there weren't any tracking devices operational on either of them," the rabbit shrugged. "We don't need Mongul waking up and sending the dogs after us."

"Yes, rabbits do hate dogs," Thor pondered.

"What the hell is a rabbit?" the furry creature bristled at the word.

"I am Groot," Tree responded matter of factly.

"No I do not care if it means I'm cute and furry. I am an intergalactic killing machine. I ain't cure," snapped back before turning to Thor. "Name's Rocket."

"And I'm Hawk," the Thanagarian put out our hand.

He hesitated to take it, "A Thanagarian ship was the reason we ended up on Warworld. Yours?"

"Yea," she nodded as she took off her battle helmet. A cascade of auburn hair fell from within, draping over her caramel skin. "You guys had a bounty. I'm a bounty hunter. But seeing as I was just seen helping you escape by everyone with access to Mongul's broadcast, I assume I have a price on my head as well. Considering how big the one was on both of you, I assume it's pretty substantial."

"Shit, wait what?" Rocket sputtered. "You're tellin' me I got a price on my head now?"

"Probably," Hawk nodded.

"Great. Out of the frying pan and into the friggin' fire."

"I am Groot."

Rocket nodded, "You're right, pal. It isn't fair, is it?"

"So what's our next move?" Heimdall asked.

As the others chattered amongst themselves, Thor pondered the question. Quill wanted to run back to his Ravagers. Rocket just wanted to run. Hawk wanted to fight. Thor liked that. But as they tried to plot and plan, he came up with the only way he could think of to find his enemy as well as help his people escape harm.

"Quiet."

The request came out of his mouth unlike any other time he could remember. It remind him of his father when he was on the throne. It was not threatening, but it carried power. Until now he had never thought he had the ability to command a room in such a way. He had done it plenty of times on the battlefield, but not in a setting like this.

"Heimdall," he looked at his old friend, "as much as this pains me after being reunited, we must part ways. You said yourself that our people are out there and scattered. They are being hunted as we are, yet we know many of them do not have the skills the two of us do. You must take the gladiators and find our people. Collect them. Protect them."

Heimdall considered the command. It made sense, but Thor saw the trepidation he had with leaving the God of Thunder, "And what shall you do, Odinson?"

"We," he motioned to Quill, Hawk, Rocket, and Groot, "will provide you cover. While you are hunting to save our people, we will be traveling the galaxy, flaunting our living status. Helping those that need it, and, with luck, find who put a price on our heads and destroyed Asgard. And when we do, we'll go and kill him."

His four new potential traveling companions considered what he had said. Thor knew Quill was in, and Hawk seemed eager as well. It was Rocket and Groot who were the wildcards.

"Listen, we ain't usually the joinin-"

"I am Groot," Groot cut him off.

"What do you mean we stand a better chance with them!?" Rocket growled at the tree. "We survived all this time without 'em!"

"I am Groot."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrr," Rocket growled again and ran his hands...paws...whatever through his fur in frustration. "Fine. We're in. But I do not love the idea of flaunting around while someone wants me dead."

Thor stood, before kneeling in front of the small creature. He placed his hand on Rocket's small shoulder, "My friend you have the heart of a warrior. With the rest of us, those who stand against you do not stand a chance."

"Shake the bait, see who bites," Hawk cracked her neck. "Sounds good to me."

"Shit I've been an outlaw this whole time anyway," Quill shrugged. "I'm in."

"Then let us begin," Thor smiled broadly at his new companions. "Our enemy does not rest, and neither shall we."

---

THOR, STAR-LORD, HAWK, ROCKET, and GROOT

ARE

THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

Post will be up tomorrow. Sorry, work was crazy with a bunch of meetings before the holiday week. Planning on catching up on the IC a thread this week too so I can actually write up some awards

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

W E E K L Y A N N O U N C E M E N T S:

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POST CHECK-IN:

As with last week, I'm doing a weekly check-in on players who have not posted in the past seven days. Again, this is not intended to be punitive, just checking in to keep the lines of communication open. The GMs will be doing this weekly going forward.

◼ @Moskau Spieluhr as Vixen - Last Posted 33 Days Ago, 19 Days Overdue.

◼ @IceHeart as Batgirl - Last Posted 21 Days Ago, 7 Days Overdue

◼ @ComradeMaxx as The X-Men - Last Posted 20 Days Ago, 6 Days Overdue

◼ @ComradeMaxx as Dr. Fate - Last Posted 17 Days Ago, 3 Days Overdue.

◼ @Xandrya as Raven - Last Posted 15 Days Ago, 1 Day Overdue.

◼ @Natty as Magick - Last Posted 10 Days Ago, 4 Days Remaining.

◼ @HenryJonesJr as Thor and the Guardians - Last Posted 8 Days Ago, 6 Days Remaining.

◼ Both @Byrd Man & @Roman are on self-stated hiatus until Season Two starts.

@Lord Wraith

Should have a post up wrapping up my season later in the week

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Previously...

roleplayerguild.com/posts/4875293

The four siblings stood over a warehouse along the San Maria Bay as the customary thick, rolling fog of the night flowed lazily along the ground. Lud rolled his shoulders back and forth, clearly itching for a fight only he knew was coming. The other three had come on his request, after Art had called Clara and Bach out. While the visions of his prophetic dreams still rattled in Mozart's head, his larger brother was ready to put the frog's efforts into more tangible efforts.

"So, I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you guys to come with me here," he motioned his large, bullfrog head towards the warehouse.

"Figured you wanted a family stroll along the water," Bach shrugged.

"I was just happy to get away from fixing the water purifier," Clara said absentmindedly, her eyes trained on the building. She was always thinking. She was always working out what would happen next. "Art said something about a fight. Dunno if that's such a good idea, but hey, I'll hear my brother out."

Ludwig's eyes rolled slightly, but he continued, "Yea, there's gonna be a fight alright. You guys know the Bayside Bandits?"

"Those weirdos in the wrestling masks we ran into a few weeks ago?" Art nodded. "They're a Pinebluffs gang who are moving into San Maria. Yea I remember them."

"Well they're using this warehouse to run guns into the city," Ludwig explained. "I took down one of their dealers trying to recruit and arm a bunch of guys in an alleyway the other day. He pointed me towards this building when I asked him where the guns were getting brought in. I figured we could cut the shipments off at the source and clean the city up a bit."

"Sounds like a sweet idea to me," Bach shadowboxed, throwing a few punches. "Ever since our fight with the big lizard I've been wanting to go a few rounds."

Mozart had brought the other two here without knowing Ludwig's plan. His brother wanted to funnel Art's desire for purpose into this, and for that the eldest Frog was grateful. And this was still fighting the darkness like his dream had warned of, albeit a different form of darkness. Making San Maria safer for those that lived in it was a noble goal, and one he would happily support.

"I don't see a problem with it," Mozart nodded. "A safe San Maria is as good for us as it is for the other people who live here."

"No," Clara was unmoved. "We start doing this superhero thing, and we're bound to attract more attention than we already have onto ourselves. I mean look at what happens to all the other ones across the world. They get nonstop media coverage. They get targeted by terrorists and the government more often than not. Their lives are in constant danger. We already have some of the greatest and most dangerous science minds in the world after us. Do we really want to bring down more our way?"

No one said anything for quite a while. Clara's fear was palpable. Not of fighting a group of thugs. Art knew as well as she did they would be able to do so with ease. But she was scared that she was going to lose her family by fighting. By shining the bright spotlight onto themselves, they would be putting each other in danger. He understood how she felt. They had suffered long inside of IDRG, and they had fought hard to get to this point of freedom. But he also knew that freedom meant nothing if all they did was hide from the world around them.

"Clara, I get it," he put his hand on her shoulder. "But if we wall ourselves off from the world, what good was escaping? Having our family is great, but if we spend our lives hiding in our bunker, we're wasting our freedom. We have to have a purpose, and if that purpose is being heroes in this city, so be it."

She returned Mozart's stare, almost angry that he knew exactly what she was feeling. They were close, the two of them. They had the twin-like bond of feeling what the other did, even if they were technically not related at all. She then glanced at her other two brothers, both of which were clearly ready to jump into the fray.

"Fine," she relented with a wave of her hand. "Someone needs to make sure you idiots don't get killed anyway."

"Sweet," Bach laughed.

**********

Dubai

The Jackal sat silently in a chair that was far too plush for his liking, though he found that during time's passage, the world had become more comfortable. Humanity thrived. Too-little food in his time had been replaced by too much. Few struggled to survive. It had made humanity weak. That made him smile. They were lambs ready for the slaughter. Ready to be swallowed by the unfathomable madness the waited to be released.

Still, they had done wonderful things.

The city that laid below the penthouse he now occupied sprawled like the galaxy shining in the night sky. The lights were infinite and the buildings were sleek and rose to the heavens as if they believed they could touch the cosmos itself. It showed their arrogance, their belief that their lives mattered. Still, he was impressed they tried. It was beautiful, their defiance in the face of certain death. A part of him admired them for it.

The apartment he now sat in, the most oppulent in the building he was told was called the Burj Khalifa, was fit for the king he was. From here he could not only see the city, but the world. Once he desired to rule all he surveyed, and had succeeded in doing so. But in the process he had learned of a far greater prize. Not the world. The power to reshape all the worlds.

All he had to do was destroy them all first.

"Is the apartment to your liking, grandfather?" a voice asked behindhim. He turned to find Kemsit, the young woman who had led his recovery. She was now dressed in a form-fitting black business suit instead of the ritualistic armor she had worn during his Resurrection. She was his final, worthy descendant, a fact he could scarcely believe. How had his line failed so?

Yet she seemed to be worthy of his blood. She had found him, after all. He could not say the same about any of his other progeny.

He smiled at her, "Yes, child. It is fit for a king."

"As you are," she bowed to him. "As you will be again."

He studied her. There was a confidence in her he admired, but too much of a willingness to please. She may have been ambitious, but if she deferred to him all the time she could not give good council.

"Tell me," he turned back to look over the city, "how did we come to have such power, yet not use that power to bring about the Eye's rise?"

He could feel her wince behind him. It was a question she figured was coming, but had hoped it wouldn't come up.

"After you were entombed, my ancestors wandered and looked for a new home, hunted by the Medjay the entire time," she began to tell the tale. "We offered our services as mercenaries, and attempted to regain our power wherever we went. We learned from the Greeks, Romans, and Huns, among others. But we were never able to get the foothold we needed to. After a failed attempt to infiltrate Egypt was repelled, we settled in North East Africa. And where we did happened to be rich in oil. As the years progressed, we leveraged that into Iris Energy. My great great grandfather had used the symbol of the Eye in a perverse way to promote his business, ending our true heritage in a mockery."

He had noticed that his family's company had a red eye as its sigul. But it did not have the power of the one he wore into battle. This was merely a stylized human eye, not the representation of the true god.

"In the past we decades we have diversified," she continued. "Two of our child companies, Northern Continental Electronics and Sundra Weapons Systems, helped to make us a player in the defense industry, which in turn helps arm our soldiers in preparation for the cleansing of the planet."

She had a killer instinct and the raw, fanatical drive he desired. That was good. But she still did not know his goals. Not his real goals. Only his priests in the ancient times did, and now they too were gone.

"And how did you discover our true purpose, child?" he asked, fascinated by what she would say. "How did you discover the glorious purpose of the All-Seeing Eye?"

The Jackal turned to face her, and he found a fire burning in her eyes, "It spoke to me. At least I believe it did. The great, red eye came to me in a dream. It told me I was meant for greater things. It told me about the book of our church that my father had kept hidden in his private vault. I read it and began recruiting for your church. Once I had our reavers, our harriers, I came to my father and uncle with an ultimatum. We use our vast resources to bring about you and your dream, or they die. My father refused. He died. My uncle quickly agreed. He lived."

The Jackal laughed. It was a deep, loud crack of rolling thunder that seemed to make the windows of the apratment shake. He couldn't help it. He liked the girl. He was proud of her. To kill ones own father was a grave sin for the sheep of this world. For her to do so and brag about it meant she was surely of his blood.

"And what is my mission, granddaughter?"

It was the question he was most curious of her answer.

"To remake the planet," she looked at him, unsure of why he was asking. "To bring about the world the great Eye showed you."

"It is so much more than that," he turned and put his strong hands on her shoulders. "It is not just to remake this world. It is to remake all the worlds that twirl on the beam."

"All of them, grandfather?" she looked up at him, puzzled.

"Yes, my dear. There are other worlds than these."

**********

Mozart climbed down the fire escape of the North side of the building, as the other three frogs took up position on the other sides of the warehouse. As he got closer to the door, he felt his heart pound in his chest. They had never done anything like this before. Not really. Their attack on IDRG was nothing more than a desperate attempt to save themselves. Otherwise the few times they busted some of the Bandits on the street it was a chaotic mistake.

This was them tapping into the skills that were embedded into them from birth. They knew they were supposed to be warriors. That wasn't even considering their vision from the other night. No, they were bred to be superhuman soldiers in service to the IDRG for some nefarious reason. Now they were going to use those skills for good.

He had never been so excited.

The door leading in from the fire escape opened easily, creaking only slightly at the pressure he put on it. Across the catwalks of the building he could see his siblings enter as well. He motioned down to the floor below, where the men of the Bayside Bandits were moving crates from one large truck to other, smaller vehicles. Ludwig was right, they were certainly moving a lot of merchandise into San Maria.

Most of them didn't look all that important, but two of the Bandits stood out from the rest. One was a hulking individual almost as large as Ludwig. His bare, dark-skinned arms were bare, and he merely wore a tanktop and a pair of jeans, with combat boots. He looked like he could handle himself in a fight. Next to him, a smaller, skinnier man swung his legs off one of the crates and lounged back, his hands behind his head. He wore a tatty vest and a dirty t-shirt underneath. An electric orange mowhawk sprouted from the top of his head. He didn't look like a threat, but an unpredictable energy jumped off him.

Mozart caught the eyes of his siblings, and gave a nod. The four of them dropped down to the lower level, hiding in the darkness along the side of the warehouse. Mozart slid up next to some of the stacked crates. He knew the others were probably doing the same. They all knew what they had to do. It had been baked into their brains since birth.

Suddenly, one of the Bandits turned the corner. At first, he walked right by Art. But once he did, he double-taked and his eyes went wide at the big, blue frog. Before he could yell and alert the others, Mozart snapped out with his nad, delivering a dose of his paralyzing poison. The man crumpled towards the floor, but Art made sure to catch him before the sound alerted the rest of the men.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't matter. He heard a crash from where Bach had dropped down.

"Sanchez!?" the big man in the tank top yelled that way.

"Yea, man!?" Bach responded, putting on a ridiculous ice.

"Well, that's weird," the one with the mowhawk chuckled. "Sounds like you bumped your head and learned English, Sanchez!"

"Oh..uhh..donde esta la biblioteca!?" Bach responded. Mozart covered his face with his palm.

"Kill whoever the hell that is," the big guy ordered.

Art couldn't wait around any longer. Not after he heard the sound of guns cocking. He sprung off his powerful legs and flew through the air, landing in the center of all the Bandits. He rolled, grabbed the closest one by the shoulders, and tossed him into another. The two of them slammed through a crate, spilling its contents and knocking the two of them out. He heard others moving behind him, and a giant crash. He turned to see Lud smash through a tower of crates, causing them to topple down to the floor, creating a blizzard of splinters. Bach and Clara came next, trying to clean up the remaining Bandits.

"Get the merch out of here!" Mowhawk yelled to the men. Those that were still conscious ran for the trucks and sped off. Art tried to cut off the Mowhawk and the Big Guy, but before he could, Mowhawk lobbed a fiery projectile into the crates still in the warehouse. It exploded into a blaze, which quickly started to engulf the entire warehouse.

"Come on!" Lud yelled at Art. "We can still catch them!"

"No, we have to get everyone who's in here out!" he yelled back and picked up two of the Bandits and headed towards the exit. Lud gave him an angry look, but did the same.

Before long, the Bandits left behind were tied up and left for the authorities. Meanwhile, the Frogs headed back towards the hills.

"What the hell was that?" Ludwig spun Mozart around with a sneer. "We could have caught up with the ringleaders."

"We weren't going to leave people to burn to death," Art shook his head.

"They were criminals, Art," Clara added in.

"Who were laying unconscious," he shot back. "I'm not afraid to kill someone who deserves it. But I'm going to do that face to face. I'm not going to leave a defenseless person burn to death."

The four of them stood in silence, allowing the words to sink in. Art meant every word he said. He had no issue killing a human that posed a threat to an innocent or one of his siblings. But he would do it with honor. That much he was certain of.

Ludwig nodded and looked at the ground, "You're right. We're not murderers. Not in cold blood."

Mozart put his hand on his brother's shoulder, "We'll find them, and take them off the street. I promise."

Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within

THOR AND STAR-LORD

IN

RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE

---

Draaga and Thor sized one another up. The alien gladiator had a hideous, gap-toothed, fanged smile on his face as he did so, and Thor knew exactly why. The creature had his old weapon, the battle ax Jarnbjorn, and intended to kill the God of Thunder with it. The weapon was what he sought when Quill took him to the dead planet with the Asgardian cache on it, yet here it was in the hands of a mortal unworthy to hold it. It made Thor's blood boil at the thought of being cleaved in two by his own blade.

"I have no quarrel with you, Draaga of Warworld!" the Asgardian called out to his foe. "Let me pass. It is your master I would have words with."

Talking usually wasn't Thor's thing. He was a being of action, not of discussion. But he needed to keep all the eyes of Warworld on himself for as long as he could. Heimdall and the rest needed the opportunity to get to the spaceport. As long as that happened, he would do what was needed of him.

The gladiator laughed loudly. He was clearly putting on a show for Mongul, "Do not make me laugh! You are not worthy enough for my master to leave his gilded seat and crush you like the insect your are. He has sent me, one who needs to earn his freedom, on this task!"

Freedom? So Mongul has offered Draaga out of the Warworld game in exchange for killing Thor. That made sense. But the way he talked about Mongul, it was like he thought the tyrant was a god.

"Come, cretin!" Draaga called to Thor. "Face your end with honor!"

"Aye!' Thor called back. "An end it shall be. But not mine, gladiator! You have brought the wrath of Thor, and thou shalt rue the day thy did!"

The two combatants rushed at one another. Thor was surprised to see how fast Draaga was. The video highlights that Mongul played night after night of the gladiator killing others were misleading. Thor had assumed that his foes were just normal, which was why he seemed so unstoppable. But here, face to face, Thor realized that the warrior merely was incredible. He was the planet's champion for a reason.

Draaga swung Jarnbjorn with ferocious strength, missing Thor by a hair. He rolled beneath it and drove his fist up into the chin of Draaga. The blow was usually enough to send a mortal dozens of feet into the air, but instead Draaga merely stumbled back a few feet. He growled at the God of Thunder, and swung the ax again in a horizontal, circular sweep that almost disemboweled the Asgardian.

Thor tried to close the gap between the two of them, knowing that if he could stop Draaga from swinging Jarnbjorn with his full strength, he could win this fight. He delivered a few body blows to Draaga's exposed midsection, and the gladiator panicked and swung the blunt end of the ax around, catching Thor below the chin. The blow sent stars flying through his vision, and his body flying through the air.

He landed a few yards from Draaga, and had to roll out of the way of another axe swing that would have cleaved him in half. He felt something, deep inside, that he had not felt in a long time during a fight.

Fear. It was just the smallest flicker, but it was there.

He pushed it down and stood, "You want to kill me, warrior!? Then come and kill me!"

**********

Quill took a giant, relieved breath as he climbed out of the manhole and into an alley of Mongul's imperial capital city. Sure, it still smelled of piss, but at least he wasn't wading through it any more. He looked down and saw a strand of...something hanging from his boot, and gagged for the millionth time in the past half hour.

"Okay, that is the last time I ever let you come up with a plan," he said to the raccoon that had been sitting on his back the entire time. "Seriously that was disgusting."

"Oh I don't think it was all that bad," Rocket chuckled to himself and hopped to the ground. "Just a little smelly."

"Easy for you to say when you're a trash panda," Quill gagged again. "That's probably like a five course meal for you."

"What the hell is a panda?" Rocket's nose scrunched up.

"Would you two shut up?" Hawk grumbled as she climbed out as well. "Might as well alert the whole damn city we're here."

She was right of course. The whole idea of coming through the sewers was so they could enter the city unseen. Squabbling amongst one another would do nothing to help.

Still, Quill looked around and saw that there seemed to be no one out on the street next to them. In fact, the entire city seemed quiet.

Silently, he siddled up to the side of the house closest to him. Peering into the window, he saw that the inhabitants were all huddled around their view screens, watching some kind of fight.

"Mongul must be pushing some big pay per view fight or something," he hissed in a whisper. "Looks like everyone in town is preoccupied."

"Well then it's our lucky day," Rocket grinned broadly, which looked wholly unnatural coming from a raccoon. "Should give us less to worry about in the city."

They started to move in a single file, keeping to the alleys when they could. What little guard presence they saw seemed to be just as distracted by the prize fight as the citizens were. They were all looking down at their personal, hand-held screens rather than paying attention to their patrol routes. Whatever had possessed Mongul to do this today had clearly worked in their favor.

They snaked their way through the city, keeping an eye on the tyrant's palace in the distance as it continued to get closer and closer.

Suddenly, they turned a corner and came to a huge crowd, all watching a gigantic view screen. While Rocket and Hawk kept moving, what Quill saw stopped him in his tracks. There was Thor, his new traveling partner, going toe-to-toe with Draaga, the champion of Warworld. From the looks of it, both fighters had gotten their licks in on one another, but Thor certainly seemed to be taking the worst of it so far. And that wasn't surprising considering Quill could see that the gladiator was wielding a gnarly-looking battle ax.

"Peter," Hawk half-whispered, half-yelled. "What are you doing!?"

He motioned up to the screen, "That's my...friend? I dunno. But he's my meal ticket. I gotta go help him."

"Are you crazy! We're getting so close!" Rocket protested.

"You guys can keep going if you want," he shrugged. "I'm going back there."

"No way," Hawk grabbed him. "I'm at least getting the bounty on one of you."

"Would you two stop it!" Rocket pleaded. "You're gonna draw too much attention!"

"Hey you!"

The three of them froze and looked up to see five of Mongul's guards coming towards them through the crowd. They were clad in purple and yellow riot gear, and to Quill they looked like what Prince's secret police would look like if he became a Nazi. The thought brought a smile to his face right before he ran, with Hawk and Rocket on his tail.

"Freakin' humies!" Rocket yelled. "Always messin' up my plans!"

Another pack of guards cut off their escape, but were shredded by fire from Quill's Element Guns and the pistols Rocket was packing. The two gunslingers looked at one another with wry smiles.

"Okay, not bad," Rocket had to admit.

They turned to find Hawk engaging the first group of guards. Her mace made short work of them, and before long there were no guards standing.

But Quill noticed something off. As the sun poked through the clouds above, a glint on a rooftop drew his attention, "Hawk get down!"

His warning came out just in time. The Thanagarian hit the ground as a blast sailed right past her shoulder. Quill responded with a shot of his own, and a dead sniper fell from a third story window down the block.

From the ground, Hawk looked up, "You...saved me."

"Yea, well, you're good in a fight," he helped her up. "Come on, we need to get to cover."

The three of them headed back into the alleys of the city, hoping to get towards the main gate where Thor was fighting for his life. Unfortunately, they found themselves face to face with a whole battalion of troops. They turned to retreat, but found their way back had been cut off by another group.

"You think you can walk into Mongul's city undetected!?" the leader of the guards called to them. "He knows all! He is the god of Warwo-"

Before he could finish, his head became a smoking crater, courtesy of Rocket Raccoon. Without another word, the guards charged towards the three fighters, who all looked at one another before starting the fight. They knew this was the end for them, but they would go down fighting.

The guards were on them quickly, and even Hawk's sweeping flight couldn't keep them off. Quill took down a few, but before long he was dogpiled, and was being beaten and kicked repeatedly. He would surely die here, on the ground, being pummeled by these glorified backup dancers. This was not how he ever thought he would go out.

Then, suddenly, the kicks and punches lessened, and he heard the guards yelling. He managed to get to his knees. What he saw made him sure he had suffered brain damage. A tree, a pile of rocks, a bug, and another dang space Viking were tearing through the guards' rear flank. Quill managed to pick up his guns and rejoin the fray, taking revenge for the beating, and Rocket and Hawk did the same. Before long, the two groups of off worlders met in the middle.

"Groot! Buddy! You're okay!" Rocket said to the tree, with genuine happiness in his voice.

"I am Groot," the tree responded.

"No, my flying did not get us into this," Rocket snapped back. "How dare you."

"I am Groot!"

Quill approached the new Viking warrior, "You have to know Thor."

"Aye," he smiled warmly. "The God of Thunder is a very old friend."

"Well we need to go help him," Peter motioned to the large screen. "He's getting his ass kicked out there."

The new friend just smiled, and pointed to the sky, "For now. Thor can take care of himself. We need to get to the hangar. He will meet us there."

As the newly assembled group started off, Quill noticed the clouds in the sky were thickening quickly, swirling into an inky black layer.

In the distance, thunder rumbled.

*********

With every strike Draaga landed, Thor could feel himself losing the fight. He had been too overconfident coming in. He was sure of that now. The gladiator was a formidable opponent, but he believed the mortal did not stand a true threat to him. His over confidence had always been his downfall. It was why he couldn't see Ragnarok coming. It was why he could not stop it. It was why his family was now dead along with most of his people. Thor, the God of Stupidity was more like it.

Quit your self pity.

The voice was so distant, but so familiar. His father's voice had echoed into his ears. He was not sure if it was a hallucination from the pain, or if his father was truly reaching out yet again through some ancient magic that could pierce the veil of death. In truth, it did not matter which one it was. It was right. He was the God of Thunder. This rock would not be his grave.

Draaga missed with another potential death blow with Jarnbjorn as he had the entire battle. But he let go of the ax with one hand and back handed Thor with it as the Asgardian dodged the blade. The blow did nothing but harden Thor's resolve.

The gladiator brought the hand back around, but Thor caught it. The two warriors snarled at one another, and Draaga kicked out, catching Thor in the midsection. The god rolled back, and regained his footing with a smile. He did not know how, but he felt the electricity rolling through him as if he held Mjolnir in his hand once more. Every blow now seemed to energize him, more than cause pain.

"You have fought well, Draaga," Thor admitted. "But now is the time for you to surrender. Or die."

Draaga laughed, "You have not been paying attention to this fight. But one of is is about to die."

The gladiator rushed at Thor, holding Jarnbjorn above his head, sure that this would be it.

Thor felt the lighting coming. He couldn't control it as well as he could when he had Mjolnir, but in the moments since it started calling to him once again, he knew he could call it down. Every footfall of Draaga's sprint brought him closer, and with each one Thor waited. That is until he could not wait any longer.

With a blinding flash of light and a deafening crack, Draaga of Warworld was no more.

Jarnbjorn clattered to the ground, before it was picked up by a hand, glowing blue.

**********

The new, motley crew of Warworld rebels stood in the hangar of Mongul. The seven of them stood shoulder to shoulder. On the other side of them, blocking their path, was ever last guard that remained in the city.

At their head stood Mongul himself. His large, imposing frame dwarfed everyone in the room.

"Impressive," the tyrant admitted. "No one has ever made it here before. But here is where it ends."

"No," Heimdall assured him. "This is where your empire ends."

"Fool," Mongul seethed. "I am Warworld."

He waved his hand, and the guards charged. The escapees charged as well.

Before the two groups could meet, however, a bolt of lightning crashed through the ceiling of the monstrous hangar. It struck directly between the two groups, but exploded out towards the guards. The seven tired fighters covered their eyes as the energy dissipated, revealing Thor, cloaked in arcs of electricity and holding the battle ax that Draaga had wielded. In front of him, all of Mongul's army lay motionless, with only the leader of Warworld still standing.

"Bad. Ass," Quill smiled broadly.

Thor strolled confidently towards Mognul, his ax jumping with energy. The alien warlord fired his weapon, but every shot was deflected by Thor. When he reached his enemy, he cleaved the gun in two, and grabbed him by the throat. Thor lifted Mongul off the ground by his neck, "Mongul of Warworld, you have angered the God of Thunder. For that, I leave you to the people you force to kill one another for sport."

With that, he raised his ax and called down another bolt of lightning. He directed it with the ax towards Mongul's chest, and the alien, seemingly shot from a canon, flew from Thor's grasp and through the ceiling once more. The group watched as his body disappeared over the horizon.

Thor turned to the rag tag group and smiled, "Shall we get off this rock now?"

And with that, the God of Thunder passed out from the exhaustion, and hit the ground hard.