thewizardguy

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

@Teoinsanity
((By agreement of me and Tyki the plot point with Stein attacking the Sergals has been erased))

Stein was, of course, untraceable. It was something he worked quite hard at, his skill matched only by those who killed professionally. He slipped in and out of realities, leaving not even the slightest trace. He used no conventional magic, divine, innate or mana-based. He left no physical trace, besides the ruins of those who would oppose him. His location at any time was nearly impossible to discern even through use of divining magic. He utilized multiple copies stationed around the Multiverse, each equipped with a hero-catching trap. Any who had searched for Stein knew well that he was not an easy man to catch.

The Tetris came to a halt inside Stein's lab, crashing through one of the walls as it did so. Bottles of mysterious substances crashed onto the floor, many of them fizzling, some of them catching fire. Several rather noxious gasses filled the air, and although none of them were lethal, they worsened the already unpleasant aroma of blood and fear.

Stein raised an eyebrow an eyebrow and straightened himself, turning away from the squirming figure on his table. As Teo stepped out, asking for sugar, Stein simply kicked his kneecaps. With a loud crack, bone and metal shattered as Teo's right leg collapsed beneath him dropping him to the floor.

"Let's see. Cybernetic enhancements, a cocky attitude, and a ship that somehow managed to both track me down, and penetrate my lab's shielding. Furthermore, you seem to have a rather powerful Soul to you boy. How quaint." Brown bursts from the Tetris, realizing the danger his ally is in, a raging flurry of steel plated claws. Stein simply catches his arm, before flipping the massive bear to the ground, the impact resounding like dull thunder. "You're a hero, no doubt. A new one, or you would have known better than to come to my lab. Nobody knows you're here, nobody's coming to save you. Your ship could get you out of here, but you have no chance of defeating me in my home territory."

Seeing the fear that suddenly struck Teo's Soul, Stein crouched down beside him, smiling, as he slowly retrieved a cigarette from the pocket of his stitched together lab coat. "So, boy. What are you going to do now?"

Teo twitched on the floor, but his shock was not from Stein's words. It was not from the fact that Brown had been so surprisingly ineffective, nor from the fact that he had been so rapidly taken down. For his leg had not bended, and no comical bump had formed. His powers should have absorbed that much damage with ease, and yet here he was. He could feel it seeping into his skin, into his mind, into the very essence of his being. A weight that held down his arms, that drove him down no matter how he fought it. Here, his powers meant nothing, his manipulation of reality negated in it's entirety.

This was The Lab, where no arcane powers functioned. No mana streamed through the air of this reality. No innate powers were permitted in this dark realm. No reality-warping capabilities could be utilized within it's borders. The only power any could wield was the Soular Art that Stein had so perfected. The only weapon that Teo had access to was his hammer, still powered by his soul, it's destructive power the only thing standing between him and absolute annihilation.

"Don't bother answering. There will be time for talking soon enough. I prefer my conversations to be more.... screamy."

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

WHY DOES EVERYBODY CALL HIM STINE?!

His name is Stein goddamnit! I always write it Stein! It has always been Stein!

Mattaku >.>

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

Tik Tok....

Tik Tok....

A gold-trimmed watch slowly counts down the hours, second by second ticking by. Moments in time, lost forever in the infinite blackness of the past. It was a potent reminder of the limits placed even upon the Gods, the constraints of time that bound all of creation. That each moment was a treasure, likely to slip by without notice, and yet beautiful beyond compare. For in each of those moments, a million heroes stood up for what they believed in. A million new children were born. A million innocents were slaughtered, a million souls were tortured, a million fools proclaimed their ignorance.

Sighing, the man lit a cigar, a plume of smoke slowly floating upwards through the warm air.

Tik Tok....

Tik Tok....

Long shadows were thrown by the flames of destruction. Images of conflict, perfectly accompanied by a symphony of screams. Bloodcurling war cries, screams of agony, and that final sweet cry of death. Neighbour and neighbour held one another at swords end, blades and clubs flashing past as the slaughter commenced. Children strangled one another in the streets, clawing their opponent's eyes out, only to be sliced apart by their former guardians. An inhuman hatred, a maddening resolve to do harm. Sergal slaughtered Sergal, as those houses that still stood were painted red with blood.

Stein smiled, as he witnessed his handiwork, the plague of insanity that would soon wash over the world.

It was a sight to die for.

Tik Tok...

Tik Tok...

Twisted figures, patched together from the corpses of the fallen. Eyes glowing green, remnants of fallen soldiers, families, friends, now nothing more than a shadow. Those corpses that still remained partially intact were dragged away and thrown into a portal. Those whom had been victims, and those who had come to save. After the party, so little remained, but it fell on Stein to tidy up. After all, this world was soon to be his, it was only right that he would keep it clean.

Already, the ships of the Sergal army were gathering far above. They had not yet deployed, awaiting a substantial force to account for the unknown threat far below. After all, their scouts had been slaughtered by the ones they had intended to save. It was the kind of thing that might make one wary.

Stein stared up at the ships, knowing he had been spotted, and knowing with equal certainty that his opponents would fall into his grasp. He was not the hunter, who would stalk his prey to take it down. He was simply the shepherd, showing all the lambs the way to their doom. After all, he was not the one who held the knife.

Tik Tok....

Tik Tok....

Stein walked down the street, flanked by two of his zombies. He had gathered what he needed. Now all that was left was to set an example.

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

There was an answer, although it was a soft one. A tiny voice, tingling the back of the vampire's mind, barely recognizable as the mighty warrior that had once spoken with it. The words, however, still rang with a conviction untouched by the ages. "When the time comes, you will know what to do."

It was then that a particularly foul smell entered Mithias' nose. It was a scent devoid of life, the scent of rotted corpses. It was the smell of fear, helpless horror. It was the smell of blood, freshly spilled, not yet soaked into the ground. It was the smell of a monster, a being of profound evil.

From the ground up rose a figure, forming from the breeze. Particles locking together, forming a chest, an arm, a leg, a head. A figure with the form of a demon, tall and cloaked in Obsidian. His wings stretched behind him, as if they had been cramped, as the face formed itself upon the creature's head. A smile filled with nothing but hatred, eyes holding nothing but contempt, a particularly EVIL nose. Every cell in Mithias' body told him that the being he now faced was truly, unalterably evil.

Slowly, Alucard walked forward, the grass dying beneath his feet. The very trees wilted as he passed them, their life force drained away by his mere presence. Hundreds of tiny lives, extinguished without so much as a thought, serving as nothing more than a meal. In mere moments, beauty had been replaced by death. A graveyard, a testimony of what had been there but moments before. Flowers dropped to the ground, dead before they hit it, and the waters were rife with floating corpses.

"Well aren't you a pretty little thing? Didn't your mother tell you it's not safe to go out alone? It's after dark, after all."

Smiling, Alucard held up one hand, as he stared at his prey, his mouth already watering. Since he had come here he had had nothing but lackluster meals, petty worlds with nothing worthy of his palette. And yet, he now stared at a veritable feast on legs, brimming with the energy of two lives. He would have to savour this meal.

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

Name: Alucard

Appearance:
Normally, he chooses the form of a tall demonic-looking humanoid. In this form his skin is black as obsidian, and his fingers and toes end in powerful-looking claws. A single pair of batlike wings stretches from his back, fully capable of flight. His hair is long and bright white, contrasting his black skin. His eyes are bright red, glowing with steady malice.

Powers:

- Strength of a Billion Worlds
Utilizing the life force of all the beings he's absorbed into himself, Alucard is capable of enhancing his physical strength beyond compare. His speed and strength are unmatched, and his very punches can cause localized hurricanes.

- Mutation
Alucard's body can mutate and change according to his will, becoming anything he needs it to become. As such, his body is always perfectly constructed for combat. He feels no pain, no fear, and no mercy. This comes with the addition of immense regenerative capabilities. Nothing as of yet has been used that is capable of harming Alucard for more than a second.

- Absorption
As his primary means of gaining more power, Alucard is capable of completely absorbing other lifeforms. He drains them of lifeforce, incorporates their flesh into his body, and devours their soul. Quite often, he uses Mutation to affect entire planets at once with this ability.

Alucard may have further, unknown abilities, which will be updated here when they are discovered.

Bio: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaEP4FNl1AM

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

A palace, constructed from the bones of beings from every race known to this world. Braziers lit in the skulls of giants, flames fuelled by the souls of innocents, surrounded by demonic magic. The floor was covered in a thin veneer of dried blood, painting whatever the original material had been a dark red colour. Corpses hung from great meat hooks on the ceiling, many of them tortured to death, some of them not quite dead yet. A visage from the deepest depths of hell, all leading up to the Obsidian throne upon which sat Bur Durrac, one of the Great Lords of Darkness who would lead his armies of demons across the face of the galaxy.

Boring.

An infinite plain, seperated from the concept of space by the very laws of reality. No horizon, simply an infinite stretch of land. No sky, for infinitely far away the land looped back up, the same plain visible far above, mirroring the one below. Farmers walked to herd small groups of spider-like creatures, milking them for the strange green extract they produced, the main source of drink in this waterless, oceanless, rainless reality. Small farmhouses dotted the land, interspersed by large obsidian pillars, chanelling posts for the great magic that retained the stability of this peaceful realm.

Boring.

With nary but a thought, Voidwalker moved from world to work, dimension to dimension. There was nothing to see, nothing to do. Like a looking glass, she stared at every one of them, leaving no trace besides the startled individuals who had seen her. Some had attacked her, some had spoken to her, others had simply stared. All were left behind. Nothing could catch up to her, nothing could contain her. She was untouchable, unmovable.

And yet, with all of existence opened before her, not a single thing could hold her interest. She was sick of it, sick of these places, sick of these worlds. Of the pathetic beings in their pathetic lives, scurrying to survive, to conquer, to kill. The mighty and the weak, the righteous and the malignant, the genius and the brute. They were all nothing, they were all worthless. A page flipped on a book, an image flashing by in the camera.

All of them were expendable.

Another diorama formed itself. It was a gathering of strange characters, gathered from around the Multiverse. A knight of the sun, a clone specialist, a murder taking place before her eyes. A mixtrue of auras and personalities, a group of powerful beings in the same room, each one clashing more than the other. Normally, she would simply have disappeared once more, leaving these individuals in the proverbail dust. But something made her reconsider. Something about these people had caught her interest.

Could it be, she had once more found something to amuse herself with?

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

Sitting atop the mountain, a figure in black mused. It had been so long since he had had a good think.

Where, did he muse, lay the origin of morality? Was it not strange, that one being would feel for another, would fear for another, would protect another? Was it not ridiculous, that one would place one's life on the line for another? What was this force, that had so infected reality, that would cause the powerful to acknowledge the weak?

Did it lie in the heart? But it did not, for the heart was a fickle thing. It went on flights of fancy, jumping from one thing to the next, turning love to hatred, hatred to love.

Did it lie in the brain? But it did not, for the brain was a logical thing. it cared only for what could be measured, for what was to one's own advantage.

Did it lie in the gut? But it did not, for the gut dominated those things closest to nature. And nature is a brutal beast, an arena of life, where only the mightiest may live to see another day.

This morality, this compassion, this strange addiction to the pleasure of others... where did it lie? What was it's secret? What was the answer to this mos intricate of puzzles?

Of course, the answer had always been there, just waiting for him to find it once more. For morality was not an emotion, it was not a thought, it was not an instinct. It was none of these things. Morality was an illusion. A deception placed over reality, a concept drawn over objective truth, veiling the path best walked. It was a veil that clouded the eyes of the mighty, and shielded the weak from their wrath. It was a delusion, an imitation of reality, coloured by foolish beliefs.

Morality lay in the eyes.

Chuckling to himself, Alucard stood, spreading his wings as he stared down at the plains far beneath him, through the clouds and snowstorms, through the petty veils that would bar his vision. For what a pretty pair of eyes he had spotted, so far below him. Filled with the fiery glint of determination, shrouded only by the clouds of morality. A hazy flame, burning bright, and yet the light of it's power forever dimmed.

Unwitting of the gift it would soon receive.

Smiling, Alucard stared down at Mithias, as he engaged on his quest. Then, as if he had merely been snow on the wind, he vanished without a trace, nothing more than a foul reek in the air.

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

Hmm..... all right, plot fixup in the works.

Genocide was killed, or at the very least put out of commission for an indeterminate period of time. Bloodseeker cut his head off (it grew back after), and then proceeded to slice him into pieces when he got annoyed at this jackass not bleeding properly. Then the ship they were in exploded because of the energy Genocide was releasing.

Strygwyrr got out because Plot, and Genocide did not. He is presumed dead, but looking back at the track record of this Multiverse, the heroes are wary for his possible return.

Without a leader to unite them, the Omegans each went their seperate ways. Alucard attempted to step up as acting commander, but he was just too much of a jackass for the others to follow him. He would have forced himself into power, being the most powerful of the Omegans, but unfortunately both Riftwalker and Cosmos would happily support any of the others in overthrowing him, and even Alucard wasn't confident of his chances facing the rest of the Omegans, all at once.

The Omegans were chosen for their destructive tendencies, and most have returned to their ways. Bahamut seems to have disappeared, despite Drac's attempts at finding him, together with 5. The Riftwalker didn't hide, but rather moves around sufficiently rapidly that any attempt at confronting her would be futile. Luckily she isn't linked with any acts of destruction, she seems to be mostly just zapping around the Multiverse, scaring the shit out of random people. Alucard has destroyed a number of locations, and a number of heroes have faced him in battle, but his immense strength and regenerative powers have made putting him down immensely hard. Cosmos more subtly has manipulated entire realms into collapse, causing interstellar empires to devolve into anarchy in a matter of days. However, he has not been put down as of yet.

Despite the eye-witness accounts of the Clayman, as well as most of Drac's family, Mia refuses to admit she was in any way affiliated with the Omegans, and went so far as to carve the proclamation of innocence into Lisa's arm. Even drac wasn't stupid enough to march into her fortress alone, however, especially as Stein moved in to back her up. Facing the two of them in Mia's laboratory was worse than suicide, for at least suicide was a swift death.

This brings us to our current situation. Anyone who wishes for me to make alterations to this chain of events, please tell me.

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

@Teoinsanity
Sure

Which brings me to a rather important question. In my absence, shit has moved on. Should I continue the Omegan storyline, or should I discard it altogether? It seems everyone's characters have moved on, so I'm unsure whether attempting to continue with that plotline would actually add to the story, as opposed to removing from it.

If the story does proceed, I was thinking of having the next seal be on the Sergal home planet, give the Omegans a run for their money. One of the few planets that could fight back against an incursion by the Omegans, especially if the other named characters show up to assist them.

HCL 2: Twisted tinkers' triumph

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack~

So, how's the story going on?