Collaborative Fiction Thread (Open to All) -- The Other Side

[Silver Paladin]

The dark web.

A place for anonymity and secrets. Where conspiracies, evil plots, and dire alliances could be made.

And a place many high-tech heroes surveyed to the best of their ability. Fortunately, those who knew how to wisely navigate the underside of the information superhighway also knew how to avoid those pitfalls. Sometimes heroes could even be useful, if directed to infiltrate the plans of an enemy. With just the right bit of code added, the heroes could be distracted long enough by a hint of a bank heist or kidnapping that the Shadow Spider could put out a message. A call to unite.

"BADGE has been a thorn to us, interfering with our operations for too long. I propose an alliance. If you have received this message, you know as well as I do that things must change. Respond A.S.A.P. if you aren't afraid to make some bad trouble..."

Shadow Spider removed the tendril of webbing she used to connect to the computer station at New Amsterdam Public Library. A year ago, an extradimensional villain threatened BADGE headquarters and was defeated. It was time for the home court to rally the forces and get the job done.

[The Sword of Gerraxia]

    A tall man in a sharp business suit.  Black with silver pinstripes, a silk tie, and fine leather shoes.  His hair was greying and he had a well trimmed beard.  His hands were well taken care of and he had rings on each finger, each had a different precious gem.  He had a cane, though he didn't need it.  There was an air of magic about him.

    "I have received your message," he stated.  The letter swirled within a vortex of air before being deposited in front of Shadow Spider.  "My minion failed to do it's job.  Now, I must finish it."

    "Your minion?" Shadow Spider asked.

    "The Red Cap I sent to spy," The man replied.  "It was changed by the Morphon particles, and started call itself Redd Capp." He sighed, "What a disappointment that was."

    "Who are you?" Shadow Spider questioned.

    "Oh, allow me to introduce myself," He bowed.  "I am Morgothan the Sage."  He smiled a toothy smile.  "Also known as Morgothan the Conquerer, Terror of the Fae, and Goblin Lord."

[Aflima, Warrior of Fire]

A sigh of disapproval came from Aflima's lips as he opened the warehouse door. There was absolutely nothing of interest in the barren building, and he realized not for the first time, that his lead had amounted to nothing.

His quest to infiltrate the Sinners' organization had come to another halt. While this particular rogue faction had seemed to go dormant in recent months, Aflima knew all too well that the threat of a new insurgence was possible. With a majority of powered beings tied up in high-profile affairs such as the crazy incident at the BADGE orbital station and the destruction in Las Vegas in the United States, less visible groups were able to take the opportunity to burrow like rats and drop off the collective radar.

He pulled his overcoat tightly around his body, concealing his suit. He then adjusted his sunglasses, triggering the infra-red scan, and hoped against hope for a clue to reveal itself in the warehouse.

Nothing again, as predicted.

"I suppose, I'll take the rest of the day to unwind and clear my head," he thought as he whirled away and walked along the quiet street.

[Wulfrik MacGregor]

"BADGE has ... interfering ... too long. ... alliance. ... received this message, ... things must change. Respond ... if ... make some bad trouble..."


The message was garbled, coded.  The meaning seemed clear, but without a full accounting, it could be anything.

"Perhaps, this was my purpose?", he mused aloud.  "I was awoken from my stasis for a reason, gained superhuman abilities with technology this time. Clearly this is a tech issue.  Perhaps finally I will learn my calling this time around."

Shade Blade disconnected his consciousness from the feed he was receiving, allowing his subconcious to continue monitoring the chatter. Looking around the MacGregor Headquarters, lovingly termed "Lothlorien", he watched his fellow team mates as they went about their various duties and preperations.

Jeetaur was in the library, head stuck in a book. His wife Isfet played with a pure white cat nearby, often interupting his reading to show him some funny thing the animal would do.  Aisling, or Aisy as she is often called, sat on the couch with her art supplies, cross-stitch, sculpting tools, and her ever-present iPad.  She may have been born a Faerie, but she was certainly born for this timeframe.  The better the technology got, the more she used it to make her art. She was currently talking to her man Lykos, who was over in Star Force HQ, something about putting out a fire. Not that Shade Blade should be reading their Messages, but if it was on the feed, he saw it.

Angelus was, as always, playing with his revolver.  While he could shoot any gun with deadly accuracy, he preferred his revolver. If he wasn't cleaning it or twirling it, he was shooting it.  Thank God they had sound-proofed the training room.

Mecha Ogre stood quiet and still, unmoving.  He only activated if there was an emergency, or to run patrols.  It was odd, having a Construct Ogre, based on Magic, not technology.  Instead of circuitry, he had ley lines. Instead of electricity, he was powered by pure magical force.  So weird.  Shade Blade tried to wrap his head around it, but his Tech essence just couldn't work with Magic.  They wouldn't fit together in his head.

Nacho lounged on another sofa eating, well... nachos.  Shade couldn't understand the guy, and wasn't sure what he was.  But Lykos had insisted he join the group, something about knowing him in another dimension.  Something with large metal transporters that fought in massive wars.  It sounded fun, at least to Shade Blades current iteration.  

Shade Blade stood and called the team together. He heard Mecha Ogre activate, but remain unmoving.  The team paused their lives and stood up.  Well, except for Isfet who continued playing with her cat.  He ignored her.



"Something is going on. Something in the dark corners of the feeds is stirring.  Up your patrols. Keep a sharp ear out for anything new.  Watch especially for those who are teaming up, groups of bad guys".  He scanned the group slowly as he turned hsi head to look at each of them.  "I will contact some of the other leagues, talk with the Stewarts.  Let's keep a sharp eye out for any changes in how the Villains are acting."

The group of MacGregors moved off to prepare for patrols, except for Isfet who had not budged from the floor and her cat. Shade Blade knew she had heard every word and that she was already making preparations in her head.  She liked to pretend to not care or be aloof. But she would kill to protect Jeetaur, quite literally.  When Jeetaur came back geared up she stood slowly, stretching in a very feline manner.  When Jeet walked by her, she fell into step with him and followed the others out the door. Mecha Ogre remained silent and still, dormant.



                                                                 ****



The small spider in the corner sat undetected.  It was a harmless little thing, not worth catching or killing, squashing or removing.  Which is what it counted on.  The spider watched with it's multiple eyes and recorded the entire exchange.  Slowly it activated it's comms and contacted its Mother, the Shadow Spider.

"Heroes. Alerted.", it stated in its short minimal vocabulary. "Beware. Mac - "

The transmission was cut off as a pure white paw slammed down on the spider.  Within seconds, the legs disappeared into the maw of the cat.  After licking its lips, it began to groom its paw of the remains.

[Starmaster]

Shadow Spider winced. The destruction of one of her diminutive constructs didn't hurt, but the severing of her connection to one of them did jar her perceptions. Replaying the data-stream from the lost "pet", Shadow Spider discovered it was a cat that slayed her minion.

She delved with her mind, back once more into the world wide web and sought out her hidden data cache. Adding the name, location, and affiliation of the beast to her list of things to kill, Shadow Spider grinned. Number 1,203. Many had crossed her path in the past, bringing her failure and shame. Each one would face fitting retribution.  She left the small mainframe managing the order entry system of a restaurant in Belgium and returned to her body.

Not nearly enough villains answered her first message for aid in bringing down heroes. Since Arx, a foolish hero himself, went nuclear on Hollywood she decided to marshal forces once again.

She sent an email to those who did respond. Encrypted and using relays and false IP addresses to protect herself, of course. One did not dominate the dark web without being skilled at maneuvering on it.

It is time for us to begin our efforts anew
The heroes of BADGE are in disarray. Distracted.
Let us meet and plan the doom of one of these leagues of heroes and begin to instill fear in the rest.
New Amsterdam. This Saturday evening. 10:13pm.New Amsterdam. Gentlemen Rex's new club.
Password: Here kitty kitty.

[The Inkling]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From time not just unknown, but practically unknowable, they have been a faint light in the darkness.

Time and again, they have been brought to the verge of annihilation, only to be forced to rebuild their institution as well as their own bodies, minds, and personalities...

The few who have witnessed such a span of time would hardly recognize that which remains.

Only in the mind of a pair of beings can the truth behind certain events be found... a pair of certain fae goddesses know the truth.

Only within the precincts of a single league, founded by these goddesses, does the proof exist. It has lately been known as Ice Ray Academy.
*************************************
Before the recent events, this group was primarily known as a school of magic, a repository of wisdom.

As a league, their members cared little for honors in the various battle events, prefering to remain mostly obscure to all but a few.

Their purpose has primarily been to protect the innocent, aid the stricken, and to preserve the knowledge and wisdom of ages past.
****************************************
Aphrael, having asked Sehanine to aid in Director Nova's recovery and to assist in locating the captured mythic and morphonic beings, has entered a trance state to recover from her recent exertions.

This is unfortunate, as only she, or Sehanine, would recognise the surprising form of this mysterious being who now arises once more.

This being, whose appearance would give movie nightmares nightmares begins to speak, in a voice at once as low as a whisper, but also as shrill as nails dragged down a chalkboard.

"W-H-Y H-A-V-E Y-O-U L-E-F-T Y-O-U-R C-U-R-S-E U-P-O-N M-E,      A-P-H-R-A-E-L?"

"H.O.W. C.A.N....y....o...u......c...a..l..l....y..o..u..r..s...e..l..f....a...g..o..d..d..e..s..s.....w..h..e..n.....y..o..u.....a..r..e.....a....l..i..a..r..? R...e...l...e..a...s..e....m..e....f..r..o..m....m..y....c..u..r..s..e....o..r....p...e..r..i..s..h, h..a..g!"

"Th-this is impossible?! How dare she tamper so with the strict laws of time manipulation and chronological order of how things are meant to be?!" Aphrael rightly looks very alarmed as this being was once one she trusted dearly and worked hard to protect from the same forces that have now left it corrupted beyond all but the vaguest mental recollection. "She has sent you to kill me, hasn't she? Her eyes widen suddenly in horror!

"What have you done?! Just by speaking so and appearing so to me, I-I am losing memories!" In desperation, the goddess of innocence without even thinking, casts a spell banishing this being who she can no longer even remember who it once was permanently from the realm and her precious school before more of her memories are lost, or worse corrupted which would make anything she ever had written into books corrupted and now evil knowledge to have as well.

*********************************************************************

From there this being travels through peculiar magical thoughts to the location commonly known as Gentlemen Rex's and introduces themselves to the horrified maître d as "Lich... de... Sade.. password...Here....kitty....kitty..."

[Lykos]

The yellow-green mass surged forward, eating its way through the refuse and organic  materials of the sewers.  It followed the curves and twists of the labyrinth, pulsing and devouring.  Tendrils with sticky pods on the end shot forward, grasping walls and pipes, pulling the bulk along behind it.  

Rats fled its path; alligators sank deep in the muck to avoid it.  Anything too slow was grabbed by a tendril and pulled squealing into the mouthless mass, enveloped in its body to be digested.  

Suddenly it surged skyward, grasping pipes and heaving itself off the sewer floor and along metal tubes of sewage pipes.  Reaching forward to one in particular, it pulled, and raw sewage poured out of the 4” hole.  Reaching deep into the pipe interior, it grabbed hold and heaved, pulled, and squeezed its considerable size deep into the pipe, heading ever upward.

                                                          *********************

“REX!  The toilet is backed up again!  Crap is starting to pour all over the floor!” yelled the waiter at Gentleman Rex’s club.  The reptilian eyes of the owner turned and stared at the small man. The top hat upon the head of the dinosaur was cocked jauntily to the side.  The teeth of the Man-sized T-Rex slowly separated.

“And what do you expect ME to do about, you lout?”, hissed Rex.  “I pay you idiots enough to surely get your hands a little dirty from time to time.”

“Y-y-yes sir”, the waiter stammered as he ran back to the bathroom and the ever-growing mess of waste and filth coming up from the toilet.  He grabbed the plunger, not sure what on earth it was going to do against the onslaught coming up.  As he raised the plunger over the brown toilet water, a yellow pseudopod splashed outwards, grabbing the plunger from the now screaming man.

More grasping, writhing tendrils came up from the toilet, some grabbing the man as he turned and tried to run from the stall, others still hauling more and more of the sickening creature up from the sewer pipes.  The man’s mouth was soon covered in the yellow-green goo as it began pulling him towards the thing.  All screams for help ended suddenly as he was enveloped into the main body mass.

Workers and customers began screaming as the door of the bathroom was ripped from it’s hinges; the creeping, grasping tendrils pulling it from the smaller area into the dark and smoky meeting room.  Gentleman Rex stood quickly and grabbed for his cane, while the Shadow Spider backed away and up onto the distant wall, ready to attack and defend from higher ground.  A gentleman in a perfect pin-striped suit seemed unruffled but surprised by the intrusion.

The thing brought itself into the room, yellow and green arms spreading away from it along the floor like a fan. It stopped and pulsed for a moment before the center of the mass opened in a disgusting, dripping maw, the head of the dead waiter still visible. A terrible and grated voice rose out of the creature.

“Here.  Kitty.  Kitty.”

[The Sword of Gerraxia]

    Morgothan was happily dancing in Gentleman Rex's club.  He smelled something familiar.  he looked around for a creature similar to a slime.  He spotted it.  He grinned his toothy grin.  It showed his sharp teeth.

    He calmly walked over to Shadow Spider, "It seems another has joined us with her wonderful scent," Morgothan stated.  He tipped his hat to Yellow Mold.  "It seems she is already on a mission.  Perhaps she would like some assistance?"  He produced a ball of magic energy.

[Silver Paladin]

Shadow Spider sipped at her Long Island Ice Tea, observing the two new players who spoke the password. Both had potential. She nodded at Morgothan. "As we multiply, our potential to bring down these accursed leagues grows as well."

She lowers the cowl over her head and steps over to the clubs two newest visitors. Her face is a pale white and dark goggles hide her eyes. "Greetings. You've answered my summons, so I can only take that as a sign that you too wish to see harm befall the heroes of BADGE. Let us go to another, more private room to discuss our options. Others may join us Rex. Please send those who share the password to join us."

Rex nods while writing into an account book. "One waiter, $1000. Bathroom and hallway cleanup fee, $2500. Air fresheners, $500. Plumbing refit and repair, $5000."

[Madam Marvelous]

A woman in a lavender-colored leather business outfit is heard stepping into the club with staccato clicks from her stilettoed heels. She carried a small clutch in one hand, but it looked quite unusual despite its small size. It looked like a cannonball with a metal handle welded to it and had an old fashioned latch keeping it closed.

The hostess stepped up to the sharply dressed woman, who for all intents and purposes, seemed to be disappointedly sizing up the room. "Can I show you a table?"

"Bitte," she said in German. "I'm looking for a gathering of people."

"Do you have a name?" The hostess said.

"Of course I do, but you do not need to know it," the woman replied. "All I need you to do is find them for me."

"I'm sorry. I meant a name for the group you are looking for."

"Ja. Here Kitty Kitty."

[Krystal Fae (Acidburn)]

(Earlier)

"With Morganna sentenced to a century or so of servitude, and good riddance says I, it has become boring here.", muttered the fairy who had taken, for now at least, the name of Nyx.

She flew through the dismal bog adjacent to a portal ring.

"What mischief, I wonder, is he up to?, she thought, spying Morgothan as he approached the portal.

He activated the runes, each in their turn. "Hmmm... I recognize that pattern... looks like he might be out for something interesting...", thought Nyx, "... perhaps I shall follow."

As she suspected, the portal opened into the dimension designated H-R by travelers between the realms.

Once she had crossed into that realm, she cloaked herself in invisibility and followed where Morgothan led.

                                           

[Silver Paladin]

Shadow Spider, Morgothan, deSade, and Yellow Slime pause as they moved to the separate room to meet when they hear the woman with the German accent speak the password.

"You received my message as well," Shadow Spider said. "Join us if you would, please. You would be???" Her voice trails off as she waits for a response.

"You may call me Singularity."

"Well, it is a singular pleasure to meet you," Shadow Spider says. "It is always nice to find a sister in the dark ways. Come, let's get to know the rest of our new companions. I've asked for cookies to be provided." Shadow Spider lets out a resonant laugh as she makes light of the common villain trope.

Together, the two women walk behind the red velvet curtains and into a corridor that leads to a private lounge. The others are already in the room. A refreshment table sits to one side with a variety of spirits and a sizable offering of non-Keebler cookies.

"Let us get acquainted with one another. I am Shadow Spider, mistress of the Dark Web. Current vernacular defines the web as the invisible, unscrupulous underside of computer technology, but it is far more than that." She envelops herself in strands of black strands of light until she is encapsulated in a impressive phantasmal spider form, with only her upper torso visible. "I seek to bring this age of heroes to an end."

The phantasmal shell dissipates and she drops to the floor, landing with ease. "Next..."

[The Inkling]

*"I..am..Lich..de..Sade. As..you..can..see..I...am....undead..but...have..magical..mental..powers...including...teleportation...removing..memories..from..certainl do-gooder...magic...users... and...being...horrifying...in..appearance..to..give..physical..waking..nightmares..to..my...victims."*

[Lykos]

"Yellow. Mold."

The creature slowly shrinks in form to a more humanoid appearance.  The substance does not change, nor forms anything that resembles clothes; just a genderless, vaguely human-shape.

"Need. Food.  
Capes. Stop. Mold.  
Must. Stop. Capes."

From its back a pseudopod darts forth and grabs a tray of cookies, whipping them back into the mass.  The empty tray clangs loudly to the ground, not being organic.

"Need. Fresh. Food."

[The Sword of Gerraxia]

    "Hi, ya, Yellow Mold, I'm Morgothan, The Goblin Lord," Morgothan introduced himself.  "I love your scent." He smiled at the creature.  

    "I'm a powerful goblin magi," He then looked at the Lich.  "Probably not as powerful as you, but I can hold my own against Elves and Fae.  Not mention many minions."

    He fiddled with his rings.  If the others noticed them as magical they did not mention it.  Each of his rings held different abilities.  His own magic was amplified by these.

[Krystal Fae (Acidburn)]

Nyx had had to flit around near the ceiling, remaining invisible, to go unnoticed in this room with all the activity.

Morgothan finally noticed a fairy-shaped 'hole' in the smoky atmosphere near the ceiling. Was he being spied upon? Were the 'capes' these other worried over so on to them already?

His sight-line followed the invisible disturbance as it sought out an unused corner near the ceiling.

As Morgothan stared, a darkish fairy faded translucently into view where only he was looking.

She grinned, mimed a 'shush', and faded again from sight.

[Madam Marvelous]

"I am a scientist. I werked in Cern with their supercollider. When Morphons began affecting the people of this world, I was changed like many others." She unlocks the clasp on her strange purse and opens it. A small violet orb appears floating out of it. The air in the room seems to shift, being pulled in her direction. "What they feared the supercollider might create, I can now bend to my will."

She waves her hand to the mess left on the floor by Yellow Slime and the orb flies rapidly to the location. All loose items fly up the the orb and disappear as the shift in the air's movement grows slightly stronger.

"As I have said to some of you, you may call me Singularity." She smiles warmly at the group. "One day, I shall grow bored of this world. When it lacks further entertainment for me, the planet will be devoured by my pet here. So, please, for your own sakes, make this undertaking pleasurable for me. Ja?"

[Silver Paladin]

"I think we have sufficient capability to engage in some anti-heroic mayhem, to test our capabilities. Most recently, one of the various leagues has enlarged, forming a second branch to their loathsome concept. I would like to test our abilities out on their headquarters." Shadow Spider said. "They would make an excellent first target for us to smash beneath our might."

She looked at the gathered operatives, who all showed varying interest in her machinations. Yellow Slime seemingly gurgled with anticipation as his pseudopods flailed in the air and struck tables and chairs into chunks of debris.

"If we are in agreement, all we need is to travel to their HQ and teach them what failures they are." Shadow Spider said as she picked up a stack of papers and handed them to everyone in the room, except for the invisible Nyx. The sheets contained a roster of The MacGregors league, a map of their HQ, and other information vital for an incursion into their home.

"If anyone encounters a small, white kitten while we are there, please. Do not harm it," Shadow Spider says. "My pets would like to play with it first."  

[Krystal Fae (Acidburn)]

"This promises to be interesting...", thought Nyx,"... I think I'll tag along and see if I can 'scare up' some fun out of this."

As Nyx listened invisibly, the group began to brainstorm ideas for the mayhem they intended.

[Madam Marvelous]

"When you are ready to go, I can transport us there," Singularity said. "It will not be pleasant for you, but you shall recover."

"How do you propose we do so," Shadow Spider asked.

"I can do this," Singularity said. "I cannot make you understand how I do so. I can give example, if you like. Look at the slimy yellow one."

Shadow Spider and the others turned to the ameboid. Singularity motioned for her "pet" to move toward it.

Yellow Slime raised a pseudopod in protest just as the violet orb flared into a 5-foot diameter sphere, instantly engulfing Yellow Slime. At the same instant, precisely the same instant, an identically sized white orb formed at the other side of the room. The light receded at both locations, but Yellow Slime now puddled where the white orb shifted from alongside the small, hovering purple orb.

The area where Yellow Slime's head might have been erupted and a trail of slime spilled onto the floor. "OUCH. HURT."

The spillage on the floor slowly crept back and melded with the original mass.

"You must be tough if you plan to stop heroes." Singularity said as she opened her strange clutch and let the small purple orb fly back into it.