Note: this is intended to be a play-by-post role-playing situation, where each person uses their own characters (or ones they are allowed to use by others, if they don't have ones that would work for it) and each person contributes to the story with each post, hopefully becoming something interesting and exciting. As this continues from my comic and is part of Crossover Melee, my webcomic crossover currently running, I do want to later put this into comic form, but the logistics of getting it drawn will be dealt with when we get there (likely mostly drawn by me, since I'm kind of the one driving the thing). As with the rest of Crossover Melee, the comic version is intended to be put into print with the proceeds going to the Hero Initiative, a charity that helps comic creators in need.

Anyways, the first page of the comic is one from Karabear Comics Unlimited and the text afterwards follows from there in the context of this thread:


Locomotive looked up at the TV, with Noggin, Technica and Purple Power near her as well, all at a bar. “Aren't those our friends?” she asked.

“I challenge the ”heroes“ of this world to stop me,” Shai'tan continued on screen. “But remember, you must abide by the rules of fair combat, lest I use drastic measures to obliterate this world.”

“It sure looks like it,” Noggin said. “We should do something.”

Technica squinted her eyes at the TV, her hand out, straining a bit. “I can't make out where the signal's coming from. It's… weird.”

“Well, let's go,” Purple Power said. “Meet the threat, defend the world and save our friends. They would do the same for us.”

“Not just yet,” Locomotive countered. “We need to coordinate. Sparkle's stronger than me and she got taken down. We need to get more heroes in on this.”

“Well, with the four of us, surely we can–” Purple Power started.

“Four?” Technica asked, dropping her attention from the TV. “I'm logistics. I don't fight. Best I can do is trace their signal.”

“They have robots,” Noggin countered. “You're more useful against them than me.”

Locomotive frowned. “Come on,” she grumbled. She grabbed Technica by the hand, pulling her out of her seat. “We need to talk to that Heroes Alliance group that Astral and Sparkle are a part of. Surely you can coordinate with them from there. I hear they have another technopath on staff you can probably gab it up with.”

“Fine,” Technica replied, pulling her hand away. She looked at Noggin. “You coming?”

“Yeah, of course,” Noggin replied, getting up.

“Well, then, speed is of the essence,” Purple Power said, scooping up Technica. “You grab Noggin and let's go,” he said to Locomotive. Then he flew out the door with Locomotive running after him, throwing Noggin onto her back at the same time.

Further note: most posts probably won't be this long, but I wanted to set things up–and I wanted to put up that first page. Also, so people know things about the characters I'm using for it: Locomotive is like the Juggernaut (speed, strength and durability increase with momentum, and baseline strength is still a bit high); Technica is a technopath; Noggin is a telepath; Purple Power flies and shoots energy blasts; Shai'tan uses magic, but most often a form that allows him similar power to Sparkle, but with full control and the ability to shoot energy blasts from his hands, and whereas Sparkle exudes pink sparkles when her power is going, Shai'tan has black and grey sparkles; and Masticator has flying brick powers that are derived from and strengthened by eating human flesh, the more innocent the better.

In Fracture City, Chaos had just finished dealing with a mugger when a grey portal appeared at the end of the street. Improbably wide eyes appeared on his face, one much larger than the other.

'Pru, what do we know about an ugly glowing grey special effect on 5th street?'. ‘Some sort of portal’ he amended as an armed soldier stepped out of it.

Prudence's reply on comms was as crisp and efficient as ever. ‘Extra-dimensional invasion, headed by some guy called “Shaitan”’.

'He's invading *Fracture*?' Chaos asked in mock incredulity as he moved to intercept the soldier. ‘With *our* property values?’.

'He's invading *everywhere*' Pru clarified. ‘Oh, and apparently if we don’t “abide by the rules of fair combat” he'll destroy the Earth.'.

Chaos grabbed a lid from a nearby trash can as the soldier raised his weapon and fired. ‘There are rules to combat? Oh man, I’ve been doing it all wrong!'

Chaos sidestepped as some sort of beam emerged from the weapon, angling the garbage lid. The beam reflected back, knocking out the soldier. He looked at the now smoking lid, incredulous. ‘That *worked*!? Seriously!?’.

'Aren't you glad the city can't afford those new plastic bins?' Pru chipped in, as two more soldiers emerged from the portal.

Chaos launched himself at the nearest soldier, flinging the garbage lid at the other like a Frisbee. The soldier crumpled as the lid bounced off his head with a satisfying ‘CLANG!’.

As the remaining soldier raised his weapon, Chaos dropped out of the line of fire, slid between the man's legs and kicked forcefully upwards. The soldier collapsed with a pained whimper.

Chaos bounced to his feet and brushed himself off.' That wasn't so hard.' He mused aloud ‘Do you think finding some way to close these portals counts as fair rules of combat?’.

Pru spoke in his ear ‘The news report also said something about…’.

Chaos looked up. And up. He finished her sentence with a gulp: ‘Robots?’.

NOTES:
Chaos is described in the ‘submit your heroes’ thread. He's essentially a street-level badass normal whose schtick is total unpredictability. He's also a brilliant scientist and wears a bio-optic suit. Normally it's like a constantly-changing, full body, tie-dyed version of Rorschach's mask, but he can control its appearance within limits (which is how he did the ‘improbably wide eyes’ thing).
I'm not quite sure how much content you want per post. I figure this should be good for two pages of comic.
I've also had to make some assumptions as to the soldiers' power levels and weaponry (and the robot's size). Let me know if any of that needs to be changed…

Size of posts is variable. Logistics for comic pages can be figured later. Heck, I assume my first post would be a few pages. But the end result is that I am likely going to be drawing most of it afterwards, anyways. I resign myself to that in such a situation, of course. This is my idea, of course. But yay, this is moving forward. It seemed nobody was giving it any heed.

Also, as to the power of the soldiers and robots, that's variable, too. There could be different types of footsoldiers, and there's surely different types of robots.

Locomotive thundered down the street, looking at her watch, with Purple Power flying beside her. “We close?” he asked.

“We're getting there,” Locomotive replied. “Astral gave me the location and it's programmed into my–” Her eyes went wide and she skidded to a halt, Noggin flying from her back and into the ocean waves in front of them. "It's underwater?“ Locomotive asked, baffled.

Noggin stood up in the water. ”What was that for?“ he asked, trudging back to them. ”This is why I shouldn't have a white costume,“ he muttered to himself.

”I can help us,“ Purple Power said. ”Get close.“ They all huddled close to him and he strained, causing a ball of purple energy to surround them. ”Takes… a lot of… concentration,“ Purple Power let out.

”I may as well be naked now,“ Noggin continued to mutter, his hands over his crotch.

The ball floated forward and entered the ocean, descending further and further down. ”It's right up ahead,“ Locomotive finally said. Sure enough, the spires of the underwater fortress came into view through the semi-transluscent walls of energy. ”How do we get in?“



The Herculean punched a robot, sending his fist right through it. He ripped it apart and swung the halves apart from each other, smacking them into two other robots and sending those ones toppling. ”You will not threaten this planet!“ he called, though he knew it was likely nobody was listening. ”I am the Herculean and anybody who wishes to overtake this world must go through me first!“

”That is the idea,“ a scratchy voice came from several robots at once. ”Shai'tan does love to challenge you pitiful beings.“

The Herculean grabbed one of the robots and pulled it close, glaring into its ”face“. ”Tell me what's really going on!“ he demanded.

”Oh yeah, threaten the emotionless robot,“ several of the robots again said at once. ”Since it's so obvious we're not being controlled remotely.“ The robots surrounding the Herculean trained their guns on him. ”You should take up detective work. Moron.“ They all fired, pummeling the Herculean with bullets from all sides.

”Moron? You're the ones shooting at a bulletproof man," he said. Still, he thought, I can't exactly move right now, either. He looked up. Got to jump clear of these tin cans, else I'll be stuck here for a while. He crouched and sprung into the air. Dang, that was a little too much power, he thought as he flew over the city. He crashed to the ground and looked around. “What city am I in now?” he mused. His eyes glanced over a building that said Shard Savings and Loan on the marquee. Shard City? he thought to himself. I jumped that far?



I'm sorry I didn't introduce this guy earlier. The Herculean is super strong, kind of an homage to Golden Age Superman. He even was shown in my comic as being able to be brought down by a green rock. He's not as strong as Sparkle, but he's smarter, for sure. And bulletproof, of course.

Sorry, name change: Shard City is now Fracture City.
Seehttp://www.drunkduck.com/forum/topic/175529/ for more info.

Name change noted. I'll use Fracture from here on out.

Also, I'm reviving this. Hopefully more people will contribute. After all, we need to find a way to have the characters win this, and I would love to see where the plot goes towards that. I don't think my characters necessarily need to be the prime victors.

“Purple, let me touch the metal,” Locomotive said. Purple Power moved the bubble closer to the side of a tower, touching it. Then the purple parted to allow metal to be exposed to the air inside the bubble while still sealing the water outside of it. Locomotive took a breath and punched the wall, a loud clang reverberating around the bubble and a dent made in the metal. Locomotive punched a couple more times before a hole was made. She grabbed the sides and, straining heavily, tore the metal to make an opening big enough for them to get through. “Hard… without… momentum,” she huffed. “Let's get in there.” Purple Power extended his bubble into the base as everyone climbed through the hole and onto it, now hovering some distance above the floor. Locomotive grabbed the metal sides when everyone was through and pulled the hole shut with great strain. She looked at Purple Power. “Can you seal it?” she asked.

“Sure,” Purple Power replied. His hand glowed purple and he shot a beam at the beginning of the crack, slowly sautering the wall together. “Done,” he said when it finished. He lowered the platform he had them standing on until they were at the floor, and then made it disappear entirely. He looked around. “Wonder why no alarms sounded?”

“That would be because of me,” Technica said, concentrating. “Their tech's advanced. Hard to get into it. But… I think I can get out of there now.” She relaxed. “Whew, I think there's some safeguards against technopaths.”

“But where is everybody?” Locomotive asked. “Noggin, is there anybody here?”

Noggin's hand was up, two fingers at his temple. “Yeah. In the conference room.”

“Then that's where we go,” Purple Power said.



“I can honestly say I've never been to Fracture,” the Herculean mused. He looked back in the direction he'd jumped from. “Gotta get back to–” A bullet pinged off his back, cutting him off. “Or they invaded here.” He whipped around to see a soldier dressed in green, aiming a gun at him, others amassing around him. “Why invade Fracture City?” he asked, advancing on them. They began to fire, bullets bouncing off his chest. “And why do they keep shooting the bulletproof man?”

What the hey, this could be fun! I'll give it a go.




Meanwhile, as Shaitan broadcasts his declaration, another
seething, yet quieter power witnesses this and growls from deep within his
throat. His blue-grey eyes record the visage through the monitor like one
predator sizing up another. His disguise is not of spandex or metal, but a
simple dark navy suit and a calming, voice of rationality framed by well-groomed
blonde hair. A statesman. From the bowls of his hidden confines he commands
with a cool voice that barely manages to contain his hatred for this new scavenger
in his feeding grounds.
“Grunt, patch me into the broadcast stations. It's high
time i made my own proclamation.”
the Grunt answers “yes, sir Exis. I'll put you
through.”

about an hour following Shaitan's harrowing announcement,
Exis's own face appears on the sets of those across the world. His voice is low
and cool, his features schooled and only the slightest of smiles makes his
cheekbones more pronounced.


"Hello my good people. Like you I find i cannot abide
this new menace. My name is Exis and I would like to offer my aid. Through feats
of engineering I have amassed a retaliation force of my own. Call me an enthusiast.I
would like to extend my resources-all of them, and they are vast-to a strike
effort. Whats mine is yours. As I speak, I have dispatched Grunts; my own loyal and willing soldiers to meet
with whosoever would like to join the defensive effort. We will supply you with
what you will need. After all, why should we depend on the efforts of the super
powered alone when we ourselves are superbly powerful in our own right? I hope
to see you soon. As for you Shaitan-I advise you either submit now, or revise
your plan of action.

Farewell my citizens. And stand by.

The broadcast ends and Exis chuckles dismissively to himself
as he turns to relay his marching orders. The people of Earth are to be HIS
prey alone.

(A little on Exis- Hes the main villain from my comic
Putrid Meat. Hes a mutant who feeds on the life force of others. He has the
ability to such whole populations of life in moments. Sort of like how it works
in the movie The Dark Crystal but on mass levels. However to do this he needs
to earn the trust of the people before he can devour them. Hence the faade of
being a supportive politician type. For all intents and purposes, he seems
human. But hes actually a mutant. Like the main character of PM, the only way
to destroy him is to destroy his brain. His skull though is of the very hardest
substance in the known universe. He also
commands massive fleets of pig-men soldiers called Grunts with well advanced
technology (though its terrestrial based). His right hand man is a shark man
named General Warhead who is also very near invulnerable and can shape shift
into a giant megalodon.
Heres Exis: http://pit-face.deviantart.com/art/page-126-156711776
These are Grunts and General Warhead: http://pit-face.deviantart.com/art/page-98-125004276
And Warhead as in his Megalodon state: http://pit-face.deviantart.com/art/page-101-127260170


Dont mean to info-dump. Sorry guys. I just havent
introduced this cast to HA before so I figured I mine as well be thurough.)

LETS GO YOU PUKE FACES!!!!

I'm waiting for a response that opens it up for me again. I have my characters at Heroes Alliance headquaters and established that somebody is there. That was my opening for somebody to jump in and have their character be the one there (there can be more than one character there). Oh well, I may as well go with something–but it would be nice to see some actual Heroes Alliancing (you know what I mean) going on.
“Lord Shai'tan, I trust you saw the broadcast?” a voice came from Shai'tan's earpiece.
“Yes, 1337,” Shai'tan said. “Most interesting. Do we have any data on this ‘Exis’?”
“Based on variants of this world that we have observed, Exis is a very powerful threat, but he can be a most advantageous ally.”
“We shall see,” Shai'tan said. “Trace his signal. Patch me in to him. I want to talk to him personally.”

“Big… place,” Noggin huffed, bringing up the rear of the group, who all looked back to see him stop, his hands on his knees. “I'm not much of an exercising kind of person.”
“We need to get going,” Purple Power said.
“Look, he's right,” Technica said, wiping sweat from her brow. “We're not used to the physical side of crime fighting. I mean, for Chrissakes, I don't even have a costume, and he's wearing all white. Not exactly a costume one wants to get dirty.”
“Look, we–” Locomotive started, cut off by an electronic clanking sound. “What's that?”
Technica squinted her eyes. “I… ah… seem to have forgotten to lock out one of the security redundancies.” Wall panels opened up to reveal guard robots. “Sorry.”

The Herculean advanced on the soldiers. “You do know this is stupid, right?” he asked. He grabbed the gun of the nearest man and broke it in a clenched fist. “Bullet. Proof. Can't you…” He saw a soldier hefting a rocket launcher onto his shoulder. “Well, at least you learn.”

“Exis,” Shai'tan stated, knowing the comm channel was open on a secure line to just Exis, “I seek an audience. An alliance may be in order. We must meet to discuss terms. But first, I must test your mettle. Meet me in fair, singular combat. Bring your soldiers if you want, but know that I shall bring mine. What do you say?”