TerroirNoir3

Oh cool, thanks!

I'm assuming you've played it then. Still just part way through! Organizing some of the rest of my list as I go.

The next arc on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews will be part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, and is @TheOneTitan's Divinity Quest. Mission 1: Zero Hour. When I was growing up there was a hero called Tachyon operating in Paragon. He was never Freedom Phalanx level but you'd see him on the news doing good deeds. And like plenty of others his time came and went and then, well we just didn't see him around anymore. And I didn't think much of it. It's a thing. Like, whatever happened to Jeanette Vesey? Ok, that one is me using the net to make my point. Pretty much everyone has "seen" Jeanette Vesey even if they didn't know it, seeing as Luminary's look is based on that actress. Anyway, I got a call from Teddy Dafriend, a lecturer at the Steel Canyon campus of Paragon University. That name seemed familiar so I asked Araminta, who had attended PU. (I just took the Inventions module which was part time). And she filled me in. "Oh, Professor Dafriend? Yeah, he used to be Tachyon back in the day. My mom thought he was kinda hunky." Huh. So, why is Tachyon calling me? So I scoot over to Steel Canyon to check it out. And I get shown to his office and...there he is. Standing in his full hero gear. He fills me in on why he is. One of his students has gone missing, Elliot Ealing. Missing persons? Ah, not really my thing but I'm listening. Go on, Dr. Dafriend. Seems Elliot was a brilliant honors student, a great physicist. And other heroes were on the case. Hero Corps probably. I'd lay money that they have a contract with the university. Except no one could find anything so Tachyon here decided to do something himself. That old hero instinct kicking in I reckon. And he triangulated Elliot's location based on some creepy looking surveillance footage. And now the (semi) retired hero needs a hand. And from someone who hasn't already written this off. So Tachyon has pinpointed the location to an outpost in the Appalachian Mountains. What? That's like nearly 600 miles from here! Ok, I've been to space on other missions, and the Rogue Isles is far away and Cimerora is in Europe (although technically I went from just around the corner in Steel Canyon), ok, sure. I'm in. Tachyon has a teleporter. He has to stay and monitor it to get me back, and Elliot when I find him. (I wonder if the PPD TP will work that far?) And as for the kidnappers/abductors? The Circle of Thorns. Yikes. Ok, Doc. Boot it up and let's go! Alrighty then. Snow. Lots of snow. And demons and wizards. Just what a gal needs of a Wednesday morning. Let's have a looksee. Well, they know I'm here now! And let me tell you that skating around a frozen lake fighting magic-wielding wizards might seem like a walk in the park when you see it on TV, it very much is not. Trying to Rad Blast one as you slide by him is not conducive to accuracy! Especially when they are using Ice Magic! I'm thinking that the Batman and Robin movie had some good things in it, like ice skates! Ok, don't hate me for that! After searching for a while I find a doorway to a cave system. No sign of Elliot outside so might as well check here. Oh great, a Behemoth Overlord. (You know it marks a point in my career where I can just recognize these monstrosities as almost a "normal" part of what I do. I say "normal", I'm still nervous of them to be honest.) But I sneak by the frikking huge demon thing and along some tunnels. Nada. Another one? Some wizards who are now nursing radiation induced headaches. Until finally I find Elliot and his captors. They're talking about him like he's got a weird soul or something. Odd. Ok, most of what they do is odd to me! Of course this goes well. I'm joking. You do remember me mentioning the Ice Magic earlier, ya? Course you do. Wish I'd remembered it. But one of the advantages of Radiation powers is heat. So, I'm soon out of that block of ice and taking down the kidnappers. Elliot is pleased to see me. Ok, I reckon he'd be pleased to see anyone who isn't a wizard or a demon right now. Time to get him back to the teleportation point and hope Tachyon can get us both back to Paragon! Come on, Elliot, time to get out of these caves. Stop shivering. Yes, scared, cold, not helping. Keep up. I'll cover you if we get attacked. Along the way we run into ...this thing. An Apex Alpha. Definitely didn't want me rescuing Elliot. Never seen anything like it with the CoT before either. Covered in techno-organic material. Yeah, I shot it in the back. Chivalry or whatever it's called only works if both sides adhere to it and 99.99% of villains do not. (Sirocco is the exception). And with the Apex thing laying smoking on the snow myself and Elliot Ealing head for the TP zone. And we make it. Skating along frozen streams and under a bridge of wizards flinging fire at us, Elliot got hit a few times but my Kinetics healed him as we fought through. Always tricky healing civilians like that. Have to keep them close to me for it to work, yet that brings them further into danger. Oh well. We're here now. And zoom, back with Tachyon. Hopefully he turned the TP off! Tachyon examines Elliot and then sends him off to the infirmary for a thorough going over. Tachyon knows about the Apex ambush. He's more interested in why the CoT wanted Elliot though. There's more to this and Tachyon still needs my help. In the meantime, back to the SG base and to scrape snow out of the vents of my armor. [Mission 1 = Lovely little intro mission here. Good start with a retired hero and definitely filling out the "real world" of Paragon more. I love that. Those into their RP could use this arc I feel, even from just seeing the first mission. Nice!] Mission 2: Into the Void. Well, I went back to the university to talk to the professor and he was a mite agitated. The results of Elliot's tests came back from the infirmary and the readings were very peculiar. Dr. Dafriend says they are similar in some ways to cosmic radiation. Except Elliot seems to have a parasite of some nature. Ok, I'm interested and horrified at the same time. What upsets Dr. Dafriend the most though is that Elliot apparently already knew about this parasite thing! Of course in the middle of this he stops as he gets a message on his earpiece. More of those Apex things have been seen in an old Crey lab. Reckon it's time for me to investigate. Before I go the professor tells me that David Drake, the CEO of META, reached out after Elliot's DNA had been tested. And it seems he knows about the parasite too. Ok, suspicious. Off to the Crey lab! Who on Earth are you guys? Legionnaires from the Imperium? Whose Imperium? I stealth by them and keep moving. No sign of those Apex things yet but plenty of these Legionnaires and what appear to be Soul Magi. Magi? Maguses? Whatever. Not to mention winged people called Scarabs. Are they alien? Or just a form of super power some of them have? I know a few supers with wings. Dunno how they sleep though, must be awkward. I keep the stealthiness going and sneak through the lab until eventually I see this guy. And, let me say that doesn't sound good to me. In any form. That guy is called Void. He looks like a Void person would. Well, ok in MY head. And this is me saying this. And of course I got too close and was spotted! Power up the Radiation Emitters on my suit! (So glad I have armor these days rather than my original flimsier uniform!) And his minions keep coming! Oh I'm starting to flatline on everything here! Inspirations? Oh, I have a Break Free and a Rez. And that's it. Haven't the breathing room to TP Buddy in either. The most I can say is I'm giving Void himself here some serious bruising. And then he's down but his goons gather around him. That's good for me as I proceed to run like the bejeezus, discretion being the better part of valor and there's the line from Shakespeare about leaving pursued by a bear! And I have plenty of those chasing me. I outdistance them though after heading down some elevators before I get a major charley horse in my calf! I don't remember this bit of heroing being discussed in the orientation material I got when I went to that seminar held by Freedom Corps. Back to Steel Canyon then to see Dr. Teddy. The Prof gets it right away. I suppose that's why he's the prof. Yep, another cosmic parasite, this time in the body of that Void guy. Or the parasite was the Void and the body was just some thing to carry it around. Either way, yes. The answer is yes. Of course Elliot has filled in some gaps. His parasite is called "Null". Right. Right. Null and Void. And? And all these other things are after them for some reason. And the Imperium? Sorry, Prof, you can't speculate on that. This David Drake guy already knew about Null though, and that's hella suspicious if you ask me. [Mission 2 = Nice little mission where you learn some relevant backstory while getting your ass almost handed to you! Simple but very effective!] Mission 3: An Empire Annulled. [More ASAP]

Arc 25 from our second author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @cranebump's Fallout 2: The Puzzle Box. Mission 1: Noble in Reason. So, one call later and I'm talking to Teknique. And that's not a fun proposition. Last time we really interacted she betrayed us for "the greater good". But all is forgiven it seems. She's still a PITA though. Mr. Finley says jump and she jumps but she grumbles about the jumping, the height, where she has to jump, is there a rope, landing. All the good stuff. I'll just wait for her to calm down and tell me what the hell is going on with the Autumn Wards these days. So after the...can't believe I'm saying this, and I was THERE...transdimensional cyborg Skulls hit the Wards' warehouse and pilfered a lot of stuff, the Wards tracked things down and tidied up all the loose ends. Seems whoever broke in knew every aspect of their security. Ah, inside job, Teknique? Just saying. So, here I am. A rare trusted outsider...ah, I get it. It couldn't have been me so that's why I'm here. Go ahead. So we have a lead involving a symbol of three stylized spheres, like a pawnbroker. You do know there's a guy in the Rogue Isles goes by that handle, yeah? Did you check him? Ok, you need me to check a place. I'm on it. Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes? Well this place is just the best. On we go then. Here snakey snakey. Here...boy? Girl? Enby? Ok, I deal with a few of the slithering kind along the way and then I run into this guy. I mean...you're not seriously telling me that's your real name, are you? Ooop. Held. You bet it's a punch! Your scaly henchsnake can take a nap. Time for you to fess up, "Beau". Sheesh. I need a new line of work. I wonder if City Hall is hiring people for tours and things? I considered that teaching job with Hero Corps but I dunno. Ok, Beau fesses. I mean there's definite fessing going on. I just don't know his jargon, you know. Leech Lizard? Anna? Are those people? I hope so. Time to move further into these scale-infested caves then. Further on I find Anna. Anna Cohnda. Yeah. You thought Beau was bad. And she's a real piece of work too. (Check her bio when you play this) Nope, I don't give a rats ass what your finances are, Anna. I'm just gonna beat the tar out of you until you stop moving. Capice? (Speaking of rats, you never see any...oh wait, snakes eat rats. Never mind.) She's never met any pawnbroker. She did meet some mysterious woman in a trench coat though, who was disguising her voice. Ah, the classics. I wonder is Shadowy Figure still hanging out in Nerva? Where was I? Oh yeah. There's a Leech Lizard to find, or Ms. L as Anna called her. Of course the next person I meet isn't Anna, it's some hired muscle called Ales. Ales? Like the beer? Is ale a beer? Whatever. So, he's a pain too. In fact everyone I've met so far, including my contact, is a bit of a pain. Maybe it's me. You know the saying? If everyone you meet is an asshole, maybe you're the problem? I'm gonna ignore that and carry on with my sterling investigation work. So this Ales. He too is having a bad day. All the more so for meeting me! Snakes? I understand, honestly I do. Oh. Oh wait, it's SCales. As in Scales. Doh. Why me, lord? Why me? And somewhere in here Anna still waits. So you see, things get odd. I'm wandering these damn caves looking for Leech Lizard, and I must have circled back on myself because who do I meet? ALES! Again. Except he's got up and serum boosted himself this time. Oh Jeez Louise. I am never getting out of this hole of a place, am I? Beat you a second time? Well, I'm gonna give it the ol' college try, that's for sure! And I do put him down. A second time. And stay down this time! Wouldn't you know it? Leech Lizard is far more reasonable than anyone else here. She's not exactly polite but she's willing to talk and that's a bonus. 30 seconds, huh? Ok then. So we chat and she fills me in. Finally. The sooner I get out of this scale-infested pit the better. At least Paragon doesn't have snake dens/pits/whatevers. Time to go to see "resting traitor face" Teknique in person I suppose. No, I don't trust her. See my previous interactions with the woman. Though unlike many others she never actually pretended to be nice. I'll give her that at least. And finally, Leech Lizard gave me a name. Rose Ruin. A crazy lady obsessed with Michael White. Not BABs, the OTHER one. Oy. And Teknique says that ...wait for it...someone on the inside must have sold us out. Told ya. [Mission 1 = Despite my in character moaning that mission is a lot of fun. Well done! I recommend it. Now, on to the next one!] Mission 2: Infinite in Faculty. Teknique does lay things out clearly though. She lists all the supers who have worked for the Autumn Wards and their contact/security levels. It can't have been them. None of the PPD liaisons had the right access either. A few names are thrown around, Paula Halmos, Milos Lazkovich and Johann. But access would have changed after their tenure. So that leaves? She doesn't know. So Engineria here is going hunting for Rose Ruin. Seems that woman is obsessed with Marauder from Praetoria. Except HER Praetoria. Wait...oh no, there's more than one Praetoria? Great. Just great. So to put the icing on the cake, Michael White AKA Back Alley Brawler, is AWOL. Yikes. Time to go looking. I thought snakes were bad. But no, back in the sewers. Lucky me. Lucky lucky me. I go stealthy and sneak my way through. I do not see the need to get covered in sewer water just because some punk wants a trophy of a super. Nope. And what's this? A spectral scanner! Let's have a looksee at this beauty. Oh, that looks technical. I'll scribble that down and hope some of the Wards folk have a notion what the hell it means. Although...CHLKR? Chaliker? Those gimboids? Oh I hope not. They were such a pain before. Further on I find a console with various coordinates logged into it. They all seem to be pointing to the same spot. And it looks like Michael and Rose are the targets! Seems like Rose Ruin is intent on getting her man! Well, I found BABs. He's got some Family goons around him but I can deal with those guys pretty quickly. With BABs free he staggers off, saying that I (Engineria) have got this. He's still not 100% recovered after that beating he got from Deadlock. Dunno if he ever will be either I suppose. And there's Rose Ruin herself. Or rather not herself. The real Rose Ruin died years ago, this...this is an echo from the Mobius thingy that clung on to existence after that whole thing went kaput. Didn't go kaput. Never happened. Always happened. Damn but I hate warped timelines. Anyway, yoohoo, Rose! And then I question her. Or I try to. Sheesh. (I can't do this justice so check in the box!) Teknique actually agrees with me! SHOCK! HORROR! AMAZEMENT! The tech was confiscated from the Chalikar. As for the cute little bots and the mention of a witch? Further investigation is required. I'm gonna change my armor and see them in the morning. [Mission 2 = Lots of fun. The "love" story was a nice touch and even captured it's good to see Back Alley Brawler turn up anywhere in an AE, he seldom does. On to the next adventure!] Mission 3: Angelic in Action. Oh, now we're getting into the deep dive of alternative reality. FinnCo has been hard investigating the alt-people who keep popping up, and one "Gunbone", apparently a Skull who deals in magically powered weapons, is on our radar. This popped up because it relates to "The Five", a group of people who saved their reality from something called Battalion. Apparently that was a biggie. So, Gunbone. Time for Engineria to wade in and find him. Pounding the streets and interrogating the ones who didn't manage to get away, I find that he's the junior partner in a duo selling magic style weapons to the gangs. And their latest warehouse sale is on! Ah rats. Spotted. Well, I have to deal with the guard and his companions and I do. Now to go a little stealthier in my hunt for Gunbone. And there he is. And a one and a two! BOOM! How did I find you? Maybe stop taking out ads in the Yellow Pages? Or at least the criminal version of that? And that's Gunbone defeated. Teknique's team can collect him later. I need to find out who this Lady M is. Ah. Lady MacDeath. Now Rose Ruin's Shakespeare in the Park rants are becoming clearer. (Dunno why I thought that to be honest, they're really not.) Poisonous sponge-backed toad? What? I mean what? I've been called plenty of things by villains in my short career as a super, but that's a new one. That goes in Engineria's Big Book of WHAT? Of course she calls in the back up of nearly every single patron of her and Gunbone's little warehouse sale. And it does not go well for me. OW! I'll just lay her for a moment, yeah? Yeah. I could mediport out but they're moving away so I'll give it a minute or two. When they've gotten far enough away from me I sneakily (and painfully) get up and make it to a corner where I rest for a bit and gather my strength. Now, where was I? Element of surprise is back on my side I think. Yep, totally. Totally this again! And she's down. Now to raid her files and find out what the hell is going on. I get them and right in the middle of all that is "PB", which hopefully is the Pawnbroker. Time to get back and report in to Teknique. [Mission 3 = Deceptive! Nice stroll through the earlier parts of the mission and then WHAM, you get hit with a mack truck of enemies that trounce you. Still, good mission! On to Part 4!] Mission 4: Godlike in Apprehension. And Teknique's team have cracked it. I think. One Hans Lobart. With a "legally acquired! warehouse hidden in the books. If they weren't specifically searching for something like that it would never have been found. Lobart. I know that name. Another Mobius era person if I recall correctly. so Lobart either is the Pawnbroker or is connected to them. We will soon find out I suppose. Another warehouse then. This time with all the correct documentation and not some hastily put together yard sale. Oh, that sounds ominous. Ominosity permeates it. On I go! So, the Sorceress. WAIT. WAIT. I am sure I met some called the Sorceress WAAAAY back when. Oh man, I really need to keep a record of...WAIT. I DO! HA! There was a Spectral Sorceress involved in the case I did for Paula Dempsey back in....and Hans Lobart was in on that too. I need to reread my own notes! Anyway, plenty of bots and what have you in this place. I scoot around picking up evidence that will tie things together later and keep looking for our mysterious lady. Oh hellfire. These bots really ruin a gal's day. Electrically caged and my endurance capacity fried. Not a good look for the photo album there. So I just weather it and hit back. Should have stocked some more Break Frees. I normally carry a bunch of Greens and Blues, with a Rez tucked into my boot just because. And a Break Free to use after the Rez to knock me out of the stun. Which is why I'm not using it here! Might need that later! Further ahead ...aha. Well, you must be the Sorceress. Can't say as I remember your actual name being Morganna Mandragora but hey, whatcha gonna do? And in the spirit of things, seeing as you have plenty of friends, I'm calling in mine. Buddy, get yourself in here now. Activating PPD TP! Good to see you, pal. Let's do this! Moments later Morganna is lying on the floor of the warehouse and muttering to herself. She seems to know nothing of thefts and so on and only took employment with Hans because the Wards had cut her loose, leaving her with nothing. Ok then. That's a thing needs addressing I feel. But first I'm gonna check the files here. Yep. Looks like Lobart set her up. And we may have a new ally on our side. Time to chat to Teknique. This thing is going the distance I feel. Talking to Teknique we find that Morganna is on the up. 100% on the up. She's telling the truth. She ain't the magic lady we heard about earlier. Or rather she is but...wait, what? [Mission 4 = Timely mission that does a good info dump without it feeling like one. Good use of the technique here. We're finally starting to see the light and it is all coming together. On to the finale! Great stuff.] Mission 5: A Quintessence of Dust. Now as to the wait, what? that I finished off with after the last warehouse mission? Ok, now it gets META. NOW it gets meta, she says. Sheesh. Deep breath. Okay, See Morganna that we have here is from beyond, the other dimension(s). As is Hans Lobart. But it turns out that the Hans Lobart of -- I'll use the Praetorian term -- Primal Earth (that's us by the way), had a daughter. And ...you're ahead of me, good. Yeah, THAT daughter is Clarissa Mandragora. And her mother was...Primal Morganna. So...Alt-Hans and Primal Clarissa are working together. I ...yeah. No, no idea what's with that. Is is the chance at some sort of familial bond? I dunno. What would you do in that situation? There's also something called the Sacred Flame, but I don't have the clearance to know more than the name, so I dunno why Teknique brought it up, unless she is starting to trust me? Maybe. Anyway, Our Morganna (Alt-Morganna) had been working with Azuria for a while, so chatting to her we find that the Legacy Chain (oh, those guys are so damn annoying no matter what side they are on), have been chasing Clarissa for literally years. And they've given us the likeliest spot of Clarissa's HQ. And off I go. What is it with former Arachnos bases? Or Council bases? For that matter, what happens to all the supergroup bases of retired heroes? Especially the ones who never registered? Are they just sitting out there waiting to be discovered? Note to self, have a chat with Araminta about beefing up our security on the SG base. I rendezvous with Morganna and with have a brief altercation with some of the guardians of this base before proceeding. Seems the bots are confused by Morganna's very existence. Might be to our advantage. GOOD GIRL! Teknique said she would have trouble sending support. So she came herself instead. That's what I like to see! Let's go get these criminals! WE move through the base dealing out pain and misery to any that cross our path. Ok, not really pain and misery since pretty much everything we meet is a bot, but I like the sentiment. Am I a vig? Yes I am. But I'm not a bad person. And then we find Clarissa. She's instantly on the alert and calls for back up. Oh hell, Lobart is on the way. I remember him, he's a total douche. I mean nasty. Even when we were on the same side I remember thinking he was just not right in the head. Lobart appears but between the three of us, me, Teknique and Morganna, we take him out. Although he goes down screaming some serious threats. I don't like the sound of those one bit. We download his database and then we have to search for 3 remote detonation devices. After that it's a matter of using a repurposed Arachnos device to initiate the countdown. And then skedaddle! This base is a goner. As for what we found in the database? Teknique goes over the end result with me. Clarissa is happy to sing like a bird in exchange for some leniency. And Lobart? He's going away for a long time. Snag is, he ain't the one who did all the hacking. He just strolled in after. This Papillon is possibly the real hacker. And that Sacred Flame data is still missing. Engineria here is thinking that she'll be back working with the Wards again in the future to track down this person. Well, let's see. In the meantime, I need a hot shower and a glass of wine. [Mission 5 = Wonderful romp of an end mission. Having Speed Boosted Teknique and Morganna, the three of us sped through the base and mopped up almost everything. Both of the allies are very tough without being uber, which makes for some thrills. Nice.] Verdict. Great follow on from the Mobius arcs (plus some of the Leviathan material). @cranebump is definitely leaning into his own craneverse here and it is paying off. Liking it a lot. Recommended! Just play the Mobius material first if possible. If not, still great. Next up from @cranebump is Fallout 3: Reassembly. And immediately next up on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews as part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, will be @TheOneTitan's Divinity Quest.

Well, you're going to have to wait a bit before I get around to this one 😄 Not that I won't, but I have a list I'm working through.

Well, if you're picking up any tips from Engineria (and Araminta) then it should be how not to land on your ass or get set on fire!

It'll probably be the weekend before I can get to anything new at the earliest. Apologies to all!

Arc 25 from our first author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glows 1: Nictus Amongst Us. I'm a little bit hazy after the whole trip to Cimerora. See, I ventured into the past to "aid" Terentius in his ordeal, and after all that I return to the present. Except...I don't know if I came all the way back to MY now. Let me explain. I step from the crystal in the Midnighter Club and after I go to the lockers and retrieve my phone I see there's a message from Lt. Buddy Bolton. He's thanking me for returning his call. I don't remember that call. I DO remember a Buddy Bolton though, and he wasn't... Let's just get to it. Be easier that way. Mission 1: Crystal Clear. So Buddy is in the PPD and he appreciates that I can ...bend...the rules a bit to get things done. Nothing illegal, but more practical. He's at the scene of a crime involving a Kheldian citizen. Ok, I'm intrigued already! Seems this guy's store was robbed and what was taken included a book, some crystals and some Nictus weapons. Why would a Kheldian have Nictus weapons? And now for the MOST intriguing part. One of the thieves was overheard saying "When Engineria shows, Stardust goes." Time to visit the store and find out what the hell is going on. Off to Steel Canyon then. Ok, Bolton lets me in and there's our Kheldian shopkeep, Orthas/John. He let's me have a poke around the place and look for clues. Orthas/John explains that the book stolen contained information about a "Dark Comet". Something he thinks is related to the Nictus, possibly a bigger form of Shadow Cyst. Nasty. While I'm looking at the office PC we get an attack by Void Seekers! Not sure exactly how they fit into the 5th Column hierarchy but they do. Nasty pieces of work intent on killing Kheldians. Or capturing them. Time to deal with these punks then! Fortunately I have some PPD back up already here! And Orthas/John also defends his store! We soon take them down and catch our breath. Finally getting to examine the CCTV footage and yep, there's one of the earlier thieves mentioning me by name. Nope. Nada. No idea why they would. Like I say, I'm not even sure I'm all the way back to the right spot in my own timeline. (Which reminds me, is there another earlier me out there...WAIT. Does that explain the other me I met working with Whipsmart? I'll never know for sure.) A last examination of the store's vault reveals the following. What to make of all that? I need to debrief with Buddy Bolton and get his thoughts on this. [Mission 1 = A nice little set up for a mystery. Plenty to go on and I've utilized the previous arc played to handwave that this arc is obviously set earlier 🙂 Looking forward to the rest.] Mission 2: Dancing in the Streets. Buddy Bolton has good news. Well, relatively good news. The thief that mentioned "Engineria" is one Wade Wainwright, a petty criminal. Lots of small potatoes crimes until word on the street says he merged with a Nictus...called Stardust. Ok then. One part of the puzzle clearer. Still no idea where I come into all this though. But a Nictus WOULD be searching for Nictus things, including possible N-Fragments. The crystals. Time to hit the streets and see what's what. Orthas/John says that Steel Canyon has seen a rise in 5th Column and so on presence. Oh great. That'll help. And there dear friends, is one Oberst von Andrian. Seems his gang is looking for the same thing I am, though he seems more general. Grab ANY as opposed to one guy. Do they wear lifts in their boots? Why are the 5th Column always so damn tall? Are the Council that tall? I'll have to check some time. Right now I'm a little busy working on the "the bigger they are" routine. Ah, still works. And stay down. (Examines the Oberst's boots. Nope, no lifts. He IS that tall.) And tucked into the boot is a recruitment list of Nictus AWOL from the Council. Stardust's name is on that list! Plus a map to a Council Void Hunter base here in Steel Canyon. interesting. Oh that's not good! Stardust has been captured and innocent bystanders have been injured in the crossfire! Let's take the fight to these guys! The PPD arrive and help take down the Voids. Stardust is all quiet for now. Let's see what he's up to. I'm going to lead him to a PPD beacon so we can call further back up and get him to safety. Ours and everyone else's. But he's not too enamored of that plan. Thinks I'm setting him up or something. Dude, you just got captured by VOID SEEKERS! What can I do to you that is possibly worse? Seriously. So I boot him a lot until he stays down. He'll be a bit bruised but...oh good. Company. More of these fascists. Like my day couldn't get any worse. (Don't jinx myself!) I jinxed myself didn't I? AH! I have had it with you people! RAD BLAST! BOOM! DOWN YOU GO! And breathe. And breathe. Time to talk to Buddy Bolton again. This idiot had a list of known Nictus. Half in the service of Requiem(!) and the rest independent. Stardust was on the latter list. I'm still no wiser but let's see what's what. Bolton takes custody of Stardust and interrogations will be starting soon. Hopefully that will shed some light on things. [Mission 2 = More interesting developments in the Kheldian sphere. Not sure exactly where we are going with this as my Kheldian lore is a mite sketchy but let's see. Fun mission!] Mission 3: The Hunter's Den. Oh misery. Bolton has questioned Stardust and let me tell you, that guy...that guy. Well, he says he met me 2000 years ago. Ah, MAYBE? For me it might have been last Monday? MAYBE? I dunno. He's been waiting all that time to see me again and says I'm some sort of omen. Oh misery. And he also claims he's going to get to go off world. Ok, that I definitely know nothing about. I've been back in the past but I've never been...oh. The Galaxian thing. Yeah, I've been off world too. Wait, how would HE know about that? Sorry, carry on! Seems the only other lead is that Void Commander base of the Council's. Sigh. More tunnels. Ok, let's go. I go to the location and it's instantly chaos! Ahead of me I can hear Orthas calling for help. They've killed his merged human side, John! Oh, that's very bad! I'm coming Orthas! Hang on! I free him he tells me that he overheard them saying the traitors Shadowfall and Helix are next. So I boost him with Speed. He rushes off taking down Council at a ferocious rate! Vengeance is his motivation I feel. We navigate through the base, taking out more troops and destroying a Shadow Crystal along the way before running into Galaxy Archon Wedekind. After pounding Wedekind into a grease stain on the floor Orthas lets up and we examine a nearby filing cabinet. In it we discover information about a Nictus deserter named The Gloaming, who fled 2000 years ago and was involved in the voyage of Marcus Valerius! Nah, I don't recall them. I mean maybe? Shortly after we find John's body. And we move on. Up ahead is one of the named individuals from the filing cabinet, Helix. They're a prisoner of the Council. Hang on! HELIX? Like PRAETORIAN Helix? She's not a Kheldian. No no no. Either way she needs rescuing so Orthas and Engineria go in blasting. Take that, Council! No more votes for you! Not that you like voting, you fascists! We free Helix and she makes her escape. The Void Hunters are too much for her. Then we find Commander Zane. He rants about me being an omen. Honestly, I really, I mean REALLY have no idea what these people are talking about. No need to look at me like that, Orthas. Get back to your revenge! And then, Shadowfall. And he is NOT helping. Nope, I STILL have no damn idea what you're talking about. Plan? What gawdamn plan? Or is this something that a "future" me is about to have done? He vanishes. What now? Before Orthas and I leave we ransack a computer and find out that the Void Hunters are monitoring the Warriors (the Warriors?) in Siren's Call. They think two of those on the list are hiding in the Warriors' ranks. Well, of course they are. Sigh. C'mon Orthas, let's go talk to Bolton. Bolton commiserates with Orthas about John, and what else need be said? As for Siren's Call? Bolton is going to give the Red and Whites a call, since they patrol there, and see if there's any leads. [Mission 3 =Well, that got heated! Void rifles everywhere! Blasts! Orthas mangling anything that got near him! Ok, the Speed boost and Density effects from Kinetics helped but even so. Next mission please!] Mission 4: Warriors' Code. Been a while since I ventured into Siren's Call. It's...not a nice place. Though you'd think by now the city would have repaired this place. Whatever. For now it remains a hellhole. Arachnos presence, various factions fighting through it. For what? I'm not sure. It's not like there's much to get here anyway. Time to take to the air because (a) it's safer and (b) it's faster. And scooting along I see one of my targets on land on the far side of a semi submerged ship. He seems ...irate? I'll go with irate. You know, I probably will end up doing more time travel shenanigans in the future (my future that is...or wait, my personal future) but right now they're realy starting to piss me off. If you agree with me why are you fighting me? I don't know what you want! Stupid man. An he goes down. As he does a nebulous purple shape rises and speeds away. And now I have an idea where your base is. In the meantime I need to find the other Nictus on the Council's list. Off into the skies again to scan. AHA! There you are! Time to...oh not you too! No, I definitely do not remember you. Or do I? Never mind! Task in hand. Stop this guy punching my lights out. Dark Matter? Well, lights out for you! And he too takes the gassy express and zooms off in the direction of that same building. I think I need to meet with Bolton and have a debrief. I'm a little tired and a lot baffled. Bolton is with Orthas and they muse on the ability to craft N-Fragments and infuse them into things. Even though it costs them part of their own energy to do so. As for their base? Well, we're going to be looking into that soon! [Mission 4= Nice "breather" of a mission. Just the right amount of space while still advancing the plot. On to the finale!] Mission 5: The Gloaming. Well, between one thing and another, me and Buddy Bolton and Orthas all agree that something must be done. So, to a nondescript building wherein hides...well, who can tell? Not my temporal sanity, that's for sure! Buddy is tooling up in PPD Power Armor. Now that sounds familiar! I could call in...oh, maybe I can't. MY Buddy may already be out there with me doing something. Come to think of it he does remember missions we've been on that I have NO recollection of. I used to put it down to concussion. Maybe it wasn't. You know, you people have issues, I mean real needing therapy and possible imprisonment after, issues. Sigh. What's a girl to do in a crazy world only Rad Blast the hell out of them. So I do. You guys just lay there and relax. It's still safer in here than out in Siren's Call, ya know? Now, Orthas. Thought I saw you up ahead. I DID! Hey hey! Let's get this party started. A Peacebringer in action, huh? If it's more actiony than when you were on a vengeance kick after John was killed then I dunno what to say. I wonder what that's about? Doesn't sound good whatever it means. Anything to do with leaving the planet I wonder? Helix? Is it actually you you? I mean ...I am confused now. I didn't think Kheldians ever made it to Praetoria! (Wait! Wait! I've been going on about not getting back to my proper place in time...am I even in my own universe?) Oh my head hurts. I'm going to need some of Araminta's jasmine tea after...ah rats, she moved out...WAIT! If this is when I think it is then she hasn't moved out yet! Excellent. I just have to avoid myself for a bit. We meet again? Oh this will be interesting! And with that Helix is gone. Poof! Hmm. Meanwhile The Gloaming has spotted us. Because more attention from a possibly nefarious Nictus is just what we need right now, right Orthas? There's that speech about me being an omen again. I swear, if anyone and I mean anyone, calls me Damien then there will be trouble. Orthas and Engineria deal with The Gloaming and several Unbound Nictus creatures. And let me tell you those things are a pain in the butt. Ah, no offence Orthas...or...nope, I'll stick with that. Thing is Buddy Bolton is nowhere to be seen which leads me to thinking that he has gotten himself captured. Happens to the best of us. So we scout ahead and sure enough there he is in a pillared cavern. We're on the way, Buddy! Once Orthas and I free him, Buddy Bolton joins in and pretty soon we have the remaining Nictus powered Warriors on the run. It's starting to look like a job well done all round. We finish up and have a ponder. Sure, we "got" them, but Shadowfall and Dark Matter are already gone, and that Dark Comet is still on the way. This will need following up. Over to you, Lt. Buddy! [Mission 5 = Good wrap up here while also laying the seeds for the next arc. Nice! Looking forward to the sequel.] Verdict. Well, this was different! As I said earlier, my Kheldian knowledge is a bit low, but I'm learning as I go. Possibly if I knew better I'd have played this earlier, but I'm having fun with the "time travel" RP! Good stuff.] Next up from @Ankylosaur is All That Glows 2: Nictus Exodus. And next on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE reviews is @cranebump's Fallout 2: The Puzzle Box.

The next arc on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews will be part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, and is @Jiro Ito's On the Claw-Tipped Wings of Betrayal. Now, have I mentioned that time travel is starting to have me doubt what's real and what's not? It absolutely is. Mostly I blame the Midnighter Club folks and their obsession with that crystal. And now they have a cube thing with access to a Labyrinth! Dear me! Mission 1: Chapter 1. So resting up (like I ever get rest!) after working with Briggs-Hughes, I end up somehow answering a call to return to ancient Cimerora. Not from any mustache bearing gent this time though. It seems that after Romulus was defeated one of his captured generals, Terentius, wants to speak to me. Me? What did I do to single myself out like this? Who can tell? He speaks contritely but not humbly, as far as I can tell. He's more annoyed that all Romulus's plans to "save" Cimerora only led to worse. But he wants peace with his former brothers and will give information on where those still loyal to Romulus are hiding as they no doubt plot to free him. He asks only that his beloved Okythoe, who supplied this information, is spared. Well, we will see, won't we? Why is it always caves? I mean here in the ancient Mediterranean, well it's lovely. But no, caves caves caves. Sigh. Right. First things first. I find Justinus Clarus. Oho! There you are! Well met, and all that. And of course instantly we are attacked! But with my Rad Blasts and Justinus's arrows we see them off. Let's explore further. And I head up around the corner and STRAIGHT INTO THE ARMS OF A MINOTAUR! ("Straight into the arms of a Minotaur"? Worst. Love. Song. Ever.) Justinus is a little behind so I'm facing this guy and his handlers solo. And... ...that did not go well. I think if Justinus can't surreptitiously drag my body away I'll have to use the mediporter. And plan for this. Every time I forget about the minotaurs. And I bet there will be cyclopes too. Now, where was I? Oh, that armor piece will need hammering out or replacing. I don't normally get stood on like that. And I rip his Endurance out so he can't use his abilities to murder me! This is going a little better. Justinus arrives and seasons him with arrows. And take a deep breath before moving on. Justinus and I move further into the caves and deal with a General Cordius. He fights well but we defeat him in short order. Plenty of these renegades that Terentius spoke about throughout the caverns though, all intent on putting me to the sword or whatever the phrase is. Didn't I say? I told you! A cyclops! I KNEW there would be a cyclops after I ran into that Minotaur. And he's pretty angry about something. I could just ask him "Where's the Beef?" But he won't get it. However THIS time (PMT = Post Minotaur Time), we're ready for monster style attacks and the ripping of the Endurance happens first! Down you go, you one-eyed maniac! No eye patches for you! Ok, we've reached an open area now with members of Cimeroran traitors patrolling the place, guarding Okythoe. And this Okythoe... she does NOT look like the sort of woman that maybe Terentius thinks she is. Or if she is then love is definitely blind. Spare her? She has a giant axe and seems intent on our imminent demise so I'm not willing to just stand here and let her hit me. ARGH! Set up! Justinus, we've been set up! She was expecting us! Wait, idol? That was mentioned before concerning the voyage of Marcus Valerius and that DOES seem familiar. What timeline am I in now? Has this already happened for me? Or is now currently have been happening before? Tenses break down with time travel! Ok, I have no idea what you just did, Justinus, but it worked! But Okythoe has fled! Now, run! There's a swarm of Talons intent on picking the meat from our bones, bones and meat that I am very attached to! We leave and I return to Terentiuss's cell. He's a bit glowery and is not the seemingly contrite man I met yesterday. He didn't expect to see me again is what I'm thinking. Well, we're gonna have ANOTHER little chat, my Roman friend. Oh yes. [Mission 1 = Straight into the action. Interesting to have an antagonistic contact. I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops. Good stuff!] Mission 2: Chapter 2. Yeah, Terentius, I survived. Surprised. Oh, you warned her that I was dangerous? Seems she didn't listen to you. Terentius says he allowed his love to blind him. And yes, she's alive. Got away in that last flashy fight. My days, but this guys is full of himself. And I've spoken to Transmuter! He'll tell me where she is now but only because I'm part of her plan. I apparently have no idea what it means to defend, to be the shield for my nation. You're totally right. I don't. And I don't because I don't think I'm Numero Uno. Right, you sack of BS in old timey armor, where is she? Oh, in a cave. Well, seems about right. Justinus is going to be coming with me too. That's good. He's a useful man with a bow! Ah, there he is! Yoo hoo! Justinus! Nice dead Elementalist you got there. Shall we continue the search for Okythoe? Yeah, it's definitely another trap but at least THIS time we know it. C'mon. So Justinus. We're gonna find out what Okythoe's plan is, and once we do we're gonna try and take her down. And while that flash bang thing you did last time was hella impressive, I couldn't see for a few minutes after. So, less of that. Unless we've no other option. Hmm, a mystic portal thing. What does this do? It does nothing. Or at least nothing useful to us. For all I know there's an alarm going off somewhere and even now Talons of Vengeance are rushing to swarm all over us. No, calm down. We'll deal with them. On we go. Clues clues clues. Here clues. Here boy! AHA! Wait, are you supposed to be glowing like that Justinus? You are? Alrighty then. It just looks a little off. Nevermind, let's see what this thing does. MY EYES! THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING! No? Not a fan? Before your...no, AFTER your time. What are "goggles"? Oh this is gonna take a while. (Cue Justinus and Engineria walking carefully through a Cimeroran cave system while she explains to him the intricacies of (a) TV, (b) animation and (c) goggles.) YES! Like those things some of the vampire creatures wear on their eyes! Doh. Should have started with that. Wait. Another thing! Hopefully THIS will have an answer for us. Nope. It's a box with four skulls. Not sure whose and don't wish to know either. We keep moving. We get attacked frequently along the way but Justinus is very capable in dealing with things. (@Jiro Ito, Justinus is very tough! If I was playing this on a higher level I'd be even more glad of him as an ally.) We round a corner and there before us is Okythoe. She's pretty adamant that I reveal the details of Marcus Valerius's plans. Ah, if I DID know I wouldn't tell you. And since I don't know...or maybe I do and I either forgot or the time travel has swiss cheesed my brain...either way I ain't saying diddly squat. Welp, that got me all in a flap. In your own time, Justinus. Nice and easy. Just ....fergawdsake shoot her! SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER! Like now! COLD! VERY COLD! But Justinus comes through and that guy should talk to the Midnighters and join the Big Leagues. He has it in him to be a hero for the ages. Anyway, Okythoe is dead. Once I thaw out we have a look around the cavern and find Okythoe's plans. She seduced General Terentius in order for him to set a trap so that I (yes, me!) could be captured and tortured for any information on Marcus Valerius. If his voyage could be stopped then the Talons of Vengeance could retrieve the Idol of Mot and release the God of Death upon the world. That's a horrible plan. I'd like to say I know Mot is defeated, because I know he was. But...that hasn't happened yet in the now I'm currently in. So, yeah. Let's go and see how Terentius reacts to being told that Okythoe was just using him. He turns away and you can tell he's shaken up. [Mission 2 = The tables are turned and now we see Terentius as the pawn he really is. Time to shake things up. Loving Justinus!] Mission 3: Chapter 3. Terentius has worked himself up into a fit of anger. He rages at me, asking me what I want. All that is left for him is the executioner and he says that won't come soon enough. And then there is panic and mayhem as the alarm bells of Cimerora ring out. The Banished Pantheon are attacking! Terentius offers his sword in defence of Cimerora, it is after all what he vowed to do even though his path was twisted. I head to the Temple and prepare to help in the defence! And talk about serving things up to me on a platter! I'm literally just out the door of the tunnel and I'm faced with several of the Banished Pantheon and one of their captives. Ah...get help maybe? One if by Land and Two if by Sea? Is that how it went? I dunno. I don't even have a horse so there's no point in worrying about it. Let me see. Ah, no? We'll go with a very definite NO. Mainly because I don't have it, don't know where it is and even if I did I wouldn't tell you. I think that covers all the variations of NO. So, NO! And there's my boy Justinus! WOOT! Good to see you by my side! Defend the city? I reckon that's as good a battle cry as any. We climb the hill and cross over to the place before the temple itself and Terentius joins us. He's not a happy man (Ok, he's never been a happy man from what little I've gathered from him so far) and he's about to unleash hell on those who used him. OH MOTHER! Justinus...can you see what I see? Yeah, that's Adamastor. You don't know who he is? You kinda don't need to know really. Just...it's not good, ok? For you, me, Cimerora, the world in general. Ah, I'm gonna free that last Cimeroran over there before girding the loins (what does that always remind me of lamb?) and returning to have a chat with Adam here. DON'T GET SEEN YOU IDIOT! We free the last Cimeroran and take out some of the remaining Banished Pantheon. And then we return. Is he still there, Justinus? I really don't want to look. I mean I just KNOW this is gonna hurt. (Right now I could use Araminta's help with all her bots) Right, Justinus, let's do this. (Check mediporter. Mediporter is a go.) And eye beams! Well, I got his attention at least. Adamastor is dangerous but he's actually not known for being fast. So hopefully we can do this. Get around behind him Justinus! Hit with everything you got! We're doing it! OMG we're doing it! Banished Pantheon is taking a beating! Adamastor Shmadamastor! And we are TRIUMPHANT! (Does weird dance with Justinus! Go with it, it's a "future" thing. Yeah, we all do that in the future. No, really.) Justinus, where the hell is Terentius? I mean I'm not 100% worried right now after we just took this guy out, but I've not seen him for a bit. Back in the cells in the city? Yeah, let's go find him and have another little talk. We don't make it to the cells though. A fresh wave attacks and the three of us (we found Terentius) take shelter in a building. We've hit a snag. WE didn't tell them of the whereabouts of Marcus Valerius and the Idol...but someone did. We need to put a stop to that. Like soonish! [Mission 3 = Great fun! Loved the mission. And that final fight with Adamastor was brilliant. Got some really good shots of it, but not posting more due to my attachment limit.) Mission 4: Chapter 4. And now? Now it's the end. Engineria and Terentius leave to stop the Talons and the Banished Pantheon getting the Idol of Mot and plunging the entire world into a hell, while the others? Justinus, Sister Solaris, Imperious Daedalus and the rest battle the horde of invaders that threaten to overwhelm what remains of Cimerora. We want to be there with them but we can't. On we go. We arrive at our location by boat. (Ok, not this boat, but I really liked the shot!) Sheesh, they're bringing out the Totems, General! That's never a good sign. We're going to have to cut our way through to the end by the looks of it. And we start as we mean to go on. One Totem left cooling on the sands behind us. Terentius has a battle frenzy on him now and he's charging from one Talon and Banished Pantheon member to the other, cutting each down as he goes. I'm blasting where I can and giving support. A Speed Boosted Terentius is a scary thing to see! We move on through and over the bridge, tackling Spirits of Pain and their Elders. At one point we come under attack from seemingly nowhere until I think to look up and there above us is a Reviler! A Harpy! Well, Terentius can't reach her but I can! Eye beams and Rad Blasts! And down she goes! Bit of a fall. Don't care to do that myself. So, it's back through the doors and down the stairs. Up ahead the path forks and we'll see the remains of the 5th Column base in this time. They keep coming at us but we struggle on. (I am low on useful Inspirations and it's my Kinetics HP drain of enemies that is keeping Terentius up, I think, he's pretty tough.) Soon though we're moving among the legs of the giant robots left behind by the 5th Column and hitting the leaders of the invaders. Until finally there is but one left, Podarce....and she nearly gets me! I'm held in place but Terentius comes in like a gawdamn MACK TRUCK and hits her full on! Go General! She did not like that! Once I recover I rip her endurance out and we start cutting her down. Alas, Terentius did not survive that though. Still, he went out fighting. After that there's a few stragglers and then I stagger back down the hill to the ship. It's over. This says it better than I can. [Mission 4 = Great finale! Really well done and wonderful mood. Recommended. And recommended to play on a higher level/bigger team size to fill out the larger maps. I don't usually because I'm doing this and trying to keep track of everything.] Verdict. I can see why this received a Dev's Choice. Great story. Also works as a strange companion piece to @Darmian's Three Sisters arc. But if you want some Cimerora action then play it. Next up on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews as part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, will be @TheOneTitan's Divinity Quest. And immediately next up is @Ankylosaur's All That Glows 1: Nictus Among Us.

Arc 24 from our second author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @cranebump's Fallout 1: The Unlock. Mission 1: Blink. So I'm resting up from the madness that surrounded the whole "P. Mayhem Goes to Cimerora" thingy, you know, feet up and my coffee laced, and I receive a call from one of my favorite people to work with. That's Lt. Briggs-Hughes. Remember her? Yeah. Scrappy gal who gets things done. One of the good ones. Right. I'm already slipping on my armor as she talks because if she needs help I'm gonna go help. She's keeping it on the downlow though. Doesn't "know" me (wink). But that's government politics for you I suppose. Anyway, she has a spot of trouble at an S&L. It caters to vets mainly ---wait, veterans or veterinarians? I'm gonna assume the former but in Paragon you never know. Lot of Master Minds around with Beasts and so on. Sorry, go on? Briggs-Hughes's trainees are already in the S&L. Things are squirrely though. Closed sign down when it shouldn't be, doors locked. No answer. Yeah, I'll head in and take a look. Okie dokie, let's have a little looksee. Sheesh. First thing I find is a body. Beaten to a pulp. Nasty. No sign of Briggs-Hughes's team though. Next up is a safe. Still with loot in it. Weird. Body pieces nearby. Like they stole it and had a fight over it then they left. Leaving it behind like it didn't matter. Definitely weird. Let's see what's on this. Hmm. An AC crew was supposed to fix some ventilation. Didn't happen. Regular Ghost Town in here. Ok, it ain't Dark Astoria but what is? Ok, further along I find some gas tanks. Empty. But set on wide dispersal. Made by FinnCo. Interesting. Another body. It's the AC repairman. Beaten to a pulp, just like the earlier body I found. There's a baseball bat beside him, like he was using it defend himself. Why does an AC repairman need one of those? And wouldn't you know it, there's a massive hole in the floor leading to...well, I dunno. We will have to see. And there's some folks down there. They LOOK like civilians, angry civilians but still just civilians. Stealth on then and slip by them. No need to go all Justice Vigilante on them until I know what's going on. Ah, of course we're down in the sewers. Like I don't spend enough of my time here already. You know, in all the time I've been investigating things I've NEVER seen a sanitation worker down here. I mean I'm pretty sure the city has taxes for that but I've never seen one. Something to mention to Brighid Moreira when I see her in City Hall. Meanwhile. Trailing along the dank tunnels, avoiding "patrols". I say patrols but these people are a bit blank, like something is controlling them. And they have a captive. Might get some answers if I free them. Looks like I AM hitting some civilians after all, even if I don't want to. Rescue mode engaged! I dive in and drive them away from their prisoner. Sheesh, these people are tough and I'm a super! I'm always saying I'm a mid level supe in a city of more powerful supes, but even so I'm supposed to be stronger than a roided up bank teller! And that's all of them...wait, what the hell is hitting me? I'm still getting shot! Some of them can fly now! Crap. Well, I'm NOT putting up with that! Down you come, lady! Ok, Mister. Spill it. What the hell is going on here? Come on! Well, that's about as useful as a bicycle is to a fish. Wait. You're here to monitor that machine in the corner? Why? Let's have a look at that machine then ---hey! He just ran off! Grr! Ok, machine. This has been altogether odd. I need to talk to Briggs-Hughes about this. The ESWAT team have the remaining bank staff in shackles. They're looking a bit rabid though. Not at all normal. Talking to Briggs-Hughes, yeah, looks like the gas turned these folks into pseudo supes or something. Not gonna lie, it's odd. And maybe we should investigate this FinnCo. That name seems familiar though. [Mission 1 = Great moody start to a mystery with one of my favorite NPCs as the contact. Liking the build up so far. Let's see what's next!] Mission 2: Drive. Some of those Skulls got through the teleporter, apparently along with some of the bewitched (that's what I am calling it) bank staff. And something similar happened in Steel Canyon. Skulls show up, bank staff attack them and chase them though a TP device. Briggs-Hughes is almost stunned when she says "we have to stop people hurting the Skulls". Yeah, you and me both. So, with the aid of a captured techspert I'm gonna scoot through one of the devices myself and see where that lands me. Glorious. Going in blind as usual. And AWAAAY we go! Great, another dingy place. Why don't gangs want to live in NICE places? What's with that? I run into a few Skulls and have to take them down before encountering some of the crazed bank staff harassing a captive Skull. I "rescue" him, but he just hightails it out the door. Can't say I blame him to be honest. On we go. Jeez, the city needs to do some eminent domain on these places and clear them out or patch them up or something. Of course, since the Rikti War, and the the Praetorian War, and all the other whatevers, and lord knows what the cost of running a War Wall is, I suppose there's not a lot of money in the war chest to do anything much. Further ahead I find another FinnCo container. BA332 written on it. Make a note of that. Well, she came out of almost nowhere! And how much steroid type gas does it take to make a Perky Secretary take on a super? I mean actually be able to as opposed to just thinking they can, because the latter is easy. I run into a Bone Daddy Skull boss and his companions. They're not happy with the bank staff but they're also not pleased to see me. Well, I leave them nursing sore heads on the floor and move further in. And success! Or at least I think it is. Who is this person? Ok, let's get to is, Site Boss! And on we go! Wait, they summoned zombies?! Ok, they're with the Skulls, and the Skulls can sometimes use Dark powers, but I've not seen anyone use zombies since I ran into Veles a while ago, and I think he's in the Zig these days. I think. Still, precedent I suppose. But what did you mean by "this world"? Wait, she has implants? A cyborg Skull? That's...peculiar. And she's dead dead. Some sort of neurotoxin released from the implants. No questioning her it seems. Around the corner I find another of those TP machines. It's set for long range but is completely dead power-wise. Right, I'll head back out, figure out where in the city I am and call Briggs-Hughes. [Mission 2 = Oh, @cranebump loves a mystery and this one is not giving up its secrets yet. Enjoying the investigation as I go. Let's see what Briggs-Hughes has planned for Engineria next!] Mission 3: Start with Why. Briggs-Hughes is on the case! Skulls are mostly low rent. Leave aside Veles and the Chernobog thing for now. And normally we'd be less worried. But this gas thing? That amps up the bank staff into Stepfordian Murderdroids? Not a good look. So we need to figure out where they are getting it from. Well, there's FinnCo ALL over the labels, lady! Oh, you thought of that. Go on. Ah, that's another part of the investigation. Skullia and me will be checking out the "gas ring" gang in the Skulls. Got it. Ok, where to? And from the get go we're...no, we're not on the back foot, we're taking the boot to the Skulls! Yep! We have to wade through several patrols of Skulls before we find Deathmoth (Deathmoth?) and "ask" him some sharp questions. Very sharp. Pointed even. Again, Deathmoth? Are you guys running out of scary names? I can think of loads! Like Lord Vengeance! Or The Persecutor! Or...oh, we don't have time for this! Skullia's suggestion is very ...Troll-like. Or Freakshow. Beat the tar out of them and ask questions later. Leave enough breath in them to ask questions later. You know, Skullia, I reckon you're a Vig. Mind you, in Kings Row that's fine. Now we drag ol' Deathmoth out and do some serious questioning. Nuff said. Back with Briggs-Hughes. We relay what we got from the perp. It's the location of the canisters. I reckon I know where we're heading next! [Mission 3 = Short and sweet. Good simple mission, in and out and no fuss or running all over the place. Like it!] Mission 4: Stealing Fire. More ASAP]So we're convened in the ESWAT offices. Me, Briggs-Hughes, Pep Becktrees (Hiya Pep!). What's the skinny? Me and Skullia pay a visit to the canister site. But I'm to keep a watch on Skullia because Briggs-Hughes thinks she's not telling us everything. Sure. No worries. Briggs-Hughes and the rest will be the decoy. Rounding up the "usual suspects" and taking names in Kings Row, making a big enough noise that attention iss away from the real team. So, we rest up and prep then we go in. Not frenzy but...hmm. Anyway. There's a lot of clocks getting cleaned here! With Skullia leading the way! None of these schmoes are getting away from her. Wait, FUTURE TECH? I do not like the sound of that! And that earlier woman mentioned "This World". What the hell is actually going on here, Skullia? We can chat later but in the meantime hit them! Jeez Louise but that Gun Drone of hers is dangerous! We hammer them down and when a closer look is taken at the equipment the familiar name of FinnCo can be seen. Tsk. Have to look into that. And then it gets, well not weird but very...niche? Yeah, niche. We find Dentine (As in teeth? Like in teeth? Or was that a gum back in the day? What do I know?) And the niche bit? Well, his musical tastes are era specific. I'd have pegged the Skulls to be listeners of Norwegian Death Metal. So after promising NOT to smash his face in he spills his intel. I think Skullia broke several of his ribs though. In her defense he only said not in the face. Shortly after we come across ---I swear, these people need a thesaurus --Philogrief. And she's all "I didn't do nuttin" and "I was only following orders" and "Not in the face". Which has me grinning at Skullia after the Dentine thing. So yeah. Elmo (Elmo?) met some new people who promised weapons and a gas that would pacify people, and they would make more money than with the Petrovics. Ok, how stupid are you? Morana will skin you if she finds out about this. No, I'm not gonna tell her. No, don't thank me. Enough of you bozos have loose lips that she probably already knows. And just behind Phil here is a forklift with a box of beam pistols! No name, it's been removed but dollars to donuts they're from FinnCo. Skullia and Engineria move further in. She's still smiling to herself. Odd woman. Oh Hi Mark...I mean New Site Boss. And Skullia's Gun Drone minces him. I don't have much to do here. Go though his shredded pockets I suppose. And up around the corner we meet Waldo. Who goes by a different name. I'm sticking with Waldo. (You know what I saw referenced the other day? A Where's Waldo? audiobook!) We take Waldo down like the rest. Seems there's an attempt at some new Skull leadership going on. We've got all the kit so time to get back to ESWAT. Briggs-Hughes is pleased. We're to swing by the PPD and confab there. There's stuff to discuss. [Mission 4 = That was very funny. All the odd names and weirdoes. Really getting across the "while the cat's away the mice will play vibe" from the Skulls after the Petrovics went to the Zig, apart from Morana who can't be everywhere at once. Liked it!] Mission 5: Future Presence. Right. Briggs-Hughes informs me that most of the FinnCo materials were the property of the Autumn Wards. (Hey, I know those folks!) Some heavy duty details there! The Mobius Strip and "leaked" interdimensionality. However, their operations were scaled back and their equipment stored carefully, BY TOP MEN. TOP MEN. At least that's my take on it. So the Skulls stole it? Not exactly. Probably someone on the inside. We'll have to worry about them later but for now we need to deal with the Skulls. Me and Skullia will be taking one site while Briggs-Hughes and the rest of ESWAT will cover the others. No effect. Hmm. Well, hopefully! What the holy moly?! A Skull with spine powers? Also, OW! Spikes! Not good! I do not like! You, sir, are getting a Radiation Bath! A tasty one! Once I drop this douche I find Skullia. She's ready to go and handily came prepared. She has a mask to filter out the gas. I'm wishing I had thought of that. Oh well. If I lose it then Skullia will no doubt try to drop me! On we go. We have to take out as many canisters as we can, and then eliminate the leaders here. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy! Or not. Anyway, we get started on the canisters. One down, some to go! And then we run across the first of these Lts! We're both hit with some sort of confusion! Can't hit them! Trying not to hit Skullia as my Rad Blasts go wild. Should have brought some Break Frees. Next time! Come on! Shake it off, Engineria! Nope. Didn't shake it off in time. I fumble for my mediporter and get the hell out of there. The last thing I see before porting out is Skullia is also down. Sorry, kid, looks like we were outclassed here. I'm stocking up on Break Frees before I come back in though. Okay then! Skullia is still in the medbays. I'm stocked up on Break Frees and heading back in. I have some asses to kick. Or Rad Blast. Or whatever I can use to take these guys down. I take those guys down and then move on to the next Lt. Being more careful now, I take them out from long distance. And that worked. However, that Grave Walker managed to summon a Spectral Terror that hangs around for a bit. It keeps trying to attack and terrify me while I'm unable to touch it at all. Shoo! Go away! Shoo! It disperses. Finally. I reckon I can expect more of that. Unfortunately. On the way to find the rest of the canisters and bosses I find a Spectral Sensor. Looks like the Skulls were going to TP out later. I need to shut down the control console for this when I find it. Hmm, more of those gas tanks. And BOOM! That's you dealt with. Slowly whittling down the numbers. Still have some bosses to find and deal with though. I wish Skullia hadn't been taken down earlier, some back up would be useful now. Especially with that Gun Drone of hers. Down around the corner I find Koli talking to someone about the "Pawnbroker". Whoever they are. And...hey! Minion of orthodoxy? Minion of orthodoxy? What in the blue blazes are you talking about? One, I'm nobody's minion, unlike some of the goons I've met in here already; and two, orthodoxy? Ok, you got me on that one. I can't respond adequately because I don't know your context and frankly I'm not your friendly neighborhood Engineria here to quip with you, I'm gonna kick your sorry ass into next week for all you've done. Who knows when poor Skullia is getting out! Last thing she said to me was it hurts. Well, let's see if that applies to you! See, I called Skullia as being a Vig. But what I didn't tell her is that I most definitely am one too. So, let's do this. Ah rats! She was about to say something interesting! Then again, if I hadn't hit her as hard as I could she'd be Lil Miss Gloaty McGloatface right now. And I'm not having that. And she's down! Engineria for the win! I clean up the rest of the canisters and once I find the TP console it too gets destroyed. Time to see Briggs-Hughes. She informs me that some fall out from the Mobius missions meant that these guys aren't from "around here". And that's trouble with a capital Trub! Skullia is on the mend too. Next up, finding out the insider in the Autumn Wards and dealing with them before they unleash who knows what on us. [Mission 5 = Great wrap up. Really looking forward to seeing what the next part of this is. Looks like there's a Craneverse to complement the Ankyverse!] Verdict. @cranebump remains the master of intricate, noirish tales set around the dingy streets of Kings Row and environs. Play this. But maybe play the Mobius missions first! Next up from @cranebump is Fallout 2: The Puzzle Box. And immediately next up on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews as part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, will be @Jiro Ito's On the Claw-Tipped Wings of Betrayal.

Yeah, well I reference this as part of the "Ankyverse" and any divergence is fine 🙂 And the M3 thing? I dunno! I think it ADDED to the severity of the mission. It really made it tough but it wasn't "smash keyboard in frustration tough", which frankly is a mistake that some writers make in an attempt to outdo in game high end stories.

Engineria was delighted to meet Second of Equals!

Arc 24 from our first author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glints 3: Super Ego Maniac. Mission 1: A Meeting of the Minds. Sometimes you need to kick back and meet with your friends, especially since Araminta came back from helping out some newbie hero called Storm Warning and has been worrying about her. A coffee with Hornet from Wyvern was on the To Do list. Been putting it off for a while. You know how it is. Busy busy busy! So we're having a coffee in the Arrow Diner in Atlas Park's Downside. It's not the best part of the Park but it's great coffee. "Dhahabu?" Asks Hornet. Yeah, that's a place. Pretty but so different to here. And I woke up a while back to find a floating painting talking to me! He mutters something about being thoroughly sick of Nerva and maybe a few floating bits of artwork are just what he needs. And then Aurora Pena just...appears. She's immediately all bidness. I dunno. Do Praetorians EVER take time off? I suppose they have so much to prove after the war. She recounts how she took the Soothseer stone to Dr. Frost at S.E.R.A.P.H. The same one she's planning to use to disrupt the Apparitions we encountered before. Hornet is puzzled by me talking to thin air but he's piecing things together from my side of the conversation. Then Aurora vanishes. Not that Hornet ever saw her according to him when I gave him a quick rundown on the chat. He offers to give me a lift to Steel Canyon in his Arachnos Flyer. His what? That's you and the Meteors now. Is Recluse having a yard sale or something? Nevermind. Off to Steel Canyon! Hornet lands and says he'll wait for me before putting his feet up. I get a PING mentally from Aurora telling me that some of the 5th Column have captured her while she was waiting for me! You'd think a psychic would be impossible to sneak up on! Ok, I'd better go rescue her------WAIT! Is Hornet angling for a date?! Waiting for me? No, no. Eyes on the prize, Engineria. Go rescue Aurora. Ah, there she is. Ok, Vamps can be trouble even for psychics. But vamps don't take well to being irradiated! (Nor does anyone else for that matter) Ok, 5th Column nada and Engineria FTW! Aurora, what's the skinny? She was taken completely off guard. Hmm, you Praetorians need to lighten up a bit. You're so super focused on your thing that other stuff gets lost in the peripherals, you know? Ah, she's not listening. Well, let's go find Dr. Frost then. Again in this S.E.R.A.P.H. building. Hang on, I checked this out earlier for my own curiosity. I just need to scroll a bit through my phone to find the shot. SEE?!! It's a bank half the time! Ok, it's a mysteriously closed bank. And there was that one time that I was doing a job with the Meteors when it WAS a bank, but they gave me some goggles so I could see the S.E.R.A.P.H. entrance. So we go inside and I see Officer Butler from Longbow. She's waiting for us. Ah, that's nice. You do know there's random 5th Column literally outside? Anyway, let's go see Dr. Frost about this stone thing. Or stone. "Stone thing" sounds like a pillar or monument or something. She too is straight down to bidness. We're gonna monitor things from here while Aurora heads out to start the disruption. Scanning on a nearby console we can see that as Aurora does her thing that in fact the appearances do decline. That's good. But in the middle of the overall decline there are spikes in Skyway and Boomtown. Boomtown? Oh that's not good. Lots of Clockwork there. And here too it seems! Blast. And then some actual blasts! How the hell did they get by Butler? And Aurora has been blindsided by Clockwork! See? Too much focus on one thing and out of left field you get bopped on the noggin! Not that that hasn't happened to me too over my career. Hang on Aurora, I'm a coming! She's thankful though and after clearing around us suggests that we jet back to Hornet and get out of here to regroup. Sounds like a plan. Climbing into the flyer we see Hornet has slept through all of that. Lucky man! We lift off and I fill in Aurora about the spike in activity...and then both Engineria and Aurora see Katie Douglas. Another psychic projection. Hornet glances around as the chat changes before shaking his head and keeping his eyes on the controls. Katie wants to know what's going on. Aurora fills her in. [Mission 1 = Classic. Classic @Ankylosaur intro mission. Small scale but lots of set up. Good stuff! On to Mission 2!] Mission 2: Mental Highways. So with Katie filled in on Aurora's op, we get an update from Katie. As the Apparitions started to lose their grip on Primal Earth, they latched on to anyone with some psychic ability. And with defences weakened these folks were safe ports for the fleeing spirits. As for the Clockwork, they are already infused with psychic energy and some sort of mental magnetism happened, causing them to be hosts too. Ok, we have Boomtown and Skyway to check out. Aurora is going to gather her allies and check Boomtown. Katie will come with Engineria to Skyway. Hmm. You know, "Divide and Conquer" doesn't mean we split up. But on we go. Hornet drops us off in Skyway and heads for Boomtown. Skyway is chaotic. Possessed Citizens and Clockwork are causing havoc everywhere. And they've stunned and grabbed Katie! I free her and we proceed to look for allies. In particular Synapse and Mynx should be here in the park, but they're missing. That's not ok. No no no. Somethiing that can take out Synapse is mucho bad. Hang on, Katie. I gotta call Buddy and tell him about this. One of the Freedom Phalanx getting captured is rare. Well, rare-ish. And I took a pic of it. Right, let's go rescue him. I'm sure he'll be fine about that. Not in the least bit arrogant or anything. Task Force? I did one with you last week! (I think it was last week) Did that not work? Or is this an escalation? Anyway, there's our next target, Colonel Bolton of the PPD. Let's get him! I wonder what happens when you speed boost Synapse....oh. Well, Buddy Bolton is rescued. Engineria and Katie stroll up and join Synapse and Bolton. We're fine, Synapse. Feel free to zoom around smashing everything. You know, I don't even know why you need other people for a Task Force! Now, didn't you have a companion in the park? Where is Mynx? Ah, over there. Let's go collect her. Why? Well, it's the right thing to do and also I'd like some more numbers when taking on Babbage. Yeah, Babbage. Spotted him lurking....can something that big actually LURK? Well, attempting to lurk. Lurkage was implied. But first Mynx. She's a bit ungrateful. Ok, maybe not ungrateful but that comment about Bobcat? What's with that? Also, I need to talk to Marchand. Me helping the New Praetorians while not a secret, isn't fully public. Now that the gang is all here, well, the Skyway gang, we'll find out what Aurora is up to in Boomtown later, let's go kick Babbage in the nuts and bolts. Yah. Hmm. This will be tricky. Or not. I knew speed boosting Synapse would be an issue. I just knew it! Ok, everyone follow the blurry man! And BOOM! We dismantle this version of him pretty fast actually. Or rather Synapse is pretty fast, Katie whacks him with psi and me and Mynx do our thing. And clickety clack, down he goes. Skyway is free for now of the threat. C'mon, Katie. Let's leave these to sort it out. We need to meet Aurora. Still mysteries involved though. Aurora projects herself to us. (I will never get used to that.) She, Marauder and Riptide are in Boomtown and have entered a warehouse where a VERY powerful psychic presence is manifested. Then we get a crossed-line call! Another projection appears! Praetorian Vanessa DeVore! She too is hunting Penny Mayhem but not to destroy her, but to save her daughter. Complications! [Mission 2 = Need I say classic @Ankylosaur again? I will anyway. Good stuff. Plot develops and the world building continues. Plus the by now almost trade marked technical moments of allies leading you to other things. Liking it!] Mission 3: Clockwork Madness. Vanessa is mentally hitching a ride! She can see what Aurora Pena sees in the warehouse. (I wish I could see it, but I'll be there soon enough.) The details are that Clockwork parts are everywhere. It seems Aurora's attack on the Apparitions left the Clockwork weakened enough that Panny Mayhem was able to control them. Oh goody. Katie needs to recover so it's just me to assist the others...and Aurora reports that Marauder and Riptide are down! Awakened are there too! Then Aurora's voice is gone. Ah clackety! Time for Engineria to mount a rescue. Oookay. I'll just scoot carefully around this corner and...ah. Hmm. Time to call Buddy. And it's early in the day too! I mean calling the cavalry BEFORE it gets heinous is a bit odd but...well, you look at what's facing me! Oh hell that was intense! Whew! Deep breaths, Buddy. Ok, now let's find our friends. Penny can lay here for a bit. Buddy, old pal of mine, I think...bear with me now, I think...we may have counted some chickens before they were hatched. Just saying. More of her! I mean sooo many more of her! Not good! Not good at all. Buddy, get your ass out of here. I'll go stealth and take to the air to find the others. Call you again if I need you! And I skim over them and soon find Aurora Pena held in some sort of mental energy chains. Oh, I'm wishing I still had Buddy with me, but he doesn't do stealth and his armor would be shredded by the time we'd got through however many Pennys (Pennies?) I just flew over. Ok, nothing for it but to land, Atomic Blast her, rip her Endurance out to stop her hitting me and then hope! Oh! I have a thing! A quick scrabble in the old utility belt brings up a set of Envenomed Daggers! Yay for tiny tiny advantages. Or something. However...pat on back. Careful to avoid smoldering shoulder pads, that actually worked and now Aurora is with me! The Soothseer stone? You couldn't figure out a way to use it on her BEFORE that? No? Rats. Ok, that's my life. Venturing further into the warehouse we find Marauder and free him from yet another pissed off Penny! Also, so sleepy now. In a minute, big guy. Snoozing here. Ok, so who is left? Riptide? I love that guy. He's not a fish, you know? Calling him one will not go down well. You will not get invited to the Annual Praetorian Remembrance Day celebrations. And there he is. With a speed boosted Marauder and Aurora beside me we soon have him free. But up ahead somewhere is the Clockwork Queen! And by up ahead, I do mean just around this here corner. Have a look? Buddy, tell Araminta to come over to our old place and get the regeneration engine online, plus coffee. And some Drenched Donuts. I'm gonna need all of...oh, a hot bath! (Both of them are gonna hate me later.) Ok, with everyone charged with speed boost and density from my Kinetics, we dash in. Bravely. I say bravely but I mean in a blind panic. I have just downed about 4 Break Frees just in case. Not getting killed while snoozing! Argh! Cornered! And why is she calling me Rusty? Playtime friends? Hey, Marauder and Aurora? Can you help me and Riptide? Any time now would be good. Thanks. And with a mighty clackety clack the Clockwork Queen is in pieces! Deep breaths. Deep, deep breaths. And just for the record, JEEZ LOUISE, Aurora! We wander out. Getting Marchand on the phone with a text. Across Paragon the possessed citizens are returning to normal. Ok, that's good. Despite the fact she is standing beside me, Aurora does her mind visiting trick...oh, it's a conference call because Katie and Vanessa arrive in my head too. I barely have room for me in here! Vanessa is shouting. Inside my head. Ok, not at ME, at Aurora, but I'm the one who is going to get a migraine! What has been done with her daughter?! Ah, it might be my head but over to you, Aurora! [Mission 3 = Well, that was a drag out, knock down, free for all of a mission! Great stuff indeed! Loved it. Very challenging!] Mission 4: Madness Takes its Toll. Eeeesh. It's all getting a bit crowded in the Engineria headspace. Aurora explains that Mother Mayhem used the Soothseer stone to effectively trap Seers inside in their own personal reality. And Aurora thought this was a kindness to Penny, as opposed to her devastating the city. Now she's in her magical kingdom with her Playtime friends. Yeah? And I'm Rusty. Whoever that is. Vanesa is still pissed off. Her husband gave up all his memories so that Penny could be healed, and now? Now it may be possible to project into the stone and help her. Or so says Aurora. So yeah. Time to go rescue Penny from the kingdom of madness. I need a new job. Sooo, inside the mental projections generated by the Soothseer thingy with Penny Mayhem. And all is well. All is well. Blah. All is not well. I mean TECHNICALLY I'm still sitting in Hornet's Arachnocopter but I could still get seriously hurt here. Time to find the others. Ok, take to the skies and do some recon. Nope! Nope nope nope. Not going over there. Not unless I REALLY have to. Ok, found Vanessa and freed her. That's good. Now, Aurora and Katie should be somewhere. Oh, what are you? A friendly spirit of some kind. A Trapped Augur Psyche, whatever you are. And you're leading me where? To Katie! Excellent! Another friend freed! Ok, after this I'll look for more of those spirit folk. And we find another Auger spirit that leads us to Aurora! Success! Ok, she IS guarded by three versions of Penny that do NOT want to let her go, but we deal with them. I mean, it still hurts when I walk, but we deal with them. So, searching for Penny...and you know I said I'd avoid Arakhn? Yeah. Well, I did. I did it by not avoiding this guy. Sigh. On the bright side it turns out that Penny is near by! But busy right now! And he and his SEVERAL War Walkers are so much fun. I really must go to Boomtown and kick some of them again. You know, why not? Just me and Katie here now. Where the hell are the other two? So Ms. Douglas and Engineria take out the War Walker...only to find that Aurora and Vanessa have subdued Penny! Well, that's handy. Although they have drawn attention to us. RUN! As in REALLY REALLY RUN! And we run for it! Exiting somehow we find ourselves out of the Soothseer thingy and weirdly breathless, despite that all being in the mind. Psychosomatic? I have no idea. Let's hear what Aurora has to say about all this. Not much. However Vanessa shares that she managed to implant the memories of Penny's father. Now we just have to check. Wait, what? I am not going back into that hellscape! It'll be different? Can you guarantee that? I didn't think so. Still, nothing ventured nothing et cetera et cetera. [Mission 4 = Another romp of a mission from @Ankylosaur! Great stuff. Looking forward to the finale of this.] Mission 5: Imagination. Katie is drained, too drained to go herself but she's willing to project Engineria into the Soothseer stone. So, it's me and Aurora and Vanessa visiting Penny's newest reality. Yeah, it's been mere moments for us but time is different inside the stone. Who knows how long Penny has had to remake the interior? Ok then. We coalesce in...Cimerora? I know Cimerora when I see it. I've been there recently...well relative to my timeline. Relative to the world? A long time ago. And we hear Penny's voice telling us that someone has captured "Daddy". I reckon that girl needs help. Ok, just a short while ago she wanted to flay us all alive but hey, this is what it means to put the costume on and try to be the best you can be. Isn't it? It is. Ah, hello Vanessa. You seem calmer now. That's a good thing. I do not need another psychic mad at me. One is enough. To be honest none is enough. None is far too much actually! Soon we pick up Aurora and she voices her opinion that this world is based on MY memories. Ah, that means Penny scanned me and I'm not at all comfortable with that. Then again can any psychic do that? What stops them from scanning anyone in the entire city? I'm surprised that no one has attempted to make a "Minority Report" sort of society. I definitely think Ms. Liberty might consider it. I think it was her inherent morality that prevented Sister Psyche from doing it back in the earlier days of the Freedom Phalanx, if I think about it. Although I know a few supers, particularly those with certain Dark powers, who seem to have a resistance to this. I'm (ha!) overthinking this. Let's find Penny. And we do. Now we need to find "Daddy". And there are "rules" to this mindscape. Ah, I was afraid of that. It seems that her new reality has been invaded by her own fears. So Mother Mayhem and others have invaded and captured "Daddy". You couldn't just have a nice fantasy? I mean if I think of it, think about what little I know of this Praetorian Penny, of course she couldn't. Her life was pretty grim. She has no frame of reference for what we would consider nice things. Or even relaxing things. We free Wu Yin, who is Penny's father. Or rather Penny's memories of Wu Yin. Or Wu Yin's own memories transplanted into Penny's mind. I think. I may have gotten confused somewhere in there. I think. Because somewhere in the Rogue Isles the physical Wu Yin is out there doing whatever he does. Go with it. ARGH. Malaise! JEEZ LOUISE. Malaise. I haven't run into this guy much, and as far as I know he's actually dead now in the real world but even so he's STILL a major pain in the neck. And of course I'm put to sleep. Everyone else hit him! I'll be with you in a moment. Mind you I need the rest. Any second now. We smack that miserable sonuvabeach down though and move on. But you see Malaise is always, always, accompanied by Mother Mayhem. (Kind of an echo of how Primal used to be with Sister Psyche and...Malaise....hmm.) And she has to be one of Penny Mayhem's biggest fears. But if we take her down then maybe, just maybe Penny will find peace. Not to mention Vanessa. Aware of the entire sleepytime thing that Malaise just subjected me too I keep circling Mayhem and hitting her from the sides. It seems to help, especially as the others hit her with psi attacks. She's weakening! Excellent. And then Mother Mayhem is dealt with and we are free to go. Penny is at peace, or as much at peace as a troubled soul like her can ever be I suppose. A final loose thread of the Praetorian War is resolved. [Mission 5 = Not as challenging as the previous two missions but definitely the right capstone to the arc. Great stuff there @Ankylosaur.] Verdict. This arc is a thoughtful examination of the fate of Penny Mayhem that doesn't descend into just hitting her a lot until there's a "win". Not easy to do but it works. Good stuff here! Next up from @Ankylosaur is All That Glows 1: Nictus Amongst Us. And next on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE reviews is @cranebump's Fallout 1: The Unlock.

Yes, though my Demorecord skills are very rudimentary.

One last one then, just to watch Araminta's eyebrow rise!