TerroirNoir's "Cable Channel of AE!" Reviews. Part 2.

[cranebump]

I am deleting those timers. Just give me 13 and a half minutes…:-)*

 

*wish I could remove them, but would have to unpublish, which -- iirc -- removes the award seals.

Edited Saturday at 12:21 PM by cranebump

[TerroirNoir3]

The next arc on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews will be part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, and is @sponazgul's The Return of Despoticus. (@First of Equals on the AE console.)

 

There are times when I don't know why I get up in the morning.  And when I do get up I seem to be in someone else's apartment.  Still, they have nice drapes and some decent streaming services.  And a floating painting that talks to me.  OMEGOD.

Yeah, that's what it calls itself. Is everyone sitting comfortably?  I'll begin.

 

Mission 1: In the Clutches of the Ultrahorde. Omegod introduces itself ... well actually it doesn't.  It claims to know me and obviously any unawareness I have of that fact is due to Cosmic Awareness.  Yeah, that sounds wrong.  Run that by me again.  Ah, with great Cosmic Awareness comes an equal and opposite Cosmic Unawareness.  Does it?  Ok, it definitely seems to be working then because I have NO memory of you.

Now, for reasons that basically amount to innate curiosity, I decide to play along.  Mainly because it hasn't tried to kill me yet and that's always an up in my opinion. So, Mr. Omegod, or is it Ms?  Mx?  Nevermind, dish the skinny.

 

Do I not remember defeating the Ultrahorde of Despoticus on the Rings of Saturn?

Yes!  Yes I do....no wait, that was a guy called Galaxian and it was on a meteor shard or something.

Ok, no I don't.  Carry on.

Oh I trounced him, did I?  (Remember "trounced" for the autobiography, good word that.)

Except now he's captured some of your champions and you need me to rescue them.  Well, sure.  Let me ...this is definitely not my apartment.  Gimme ten minutes, yeah?  I need to go home and change. You CAN follow me to my apartment?  Oh you can.  Good.  Just not rescue your own people.  No, no, I understand, can't be everywhere at once and all that.

Shortly after all that I'm standing in something charmingly called the Prison Pit. 

My left hand?  No no, it's fine.  Are you sure you weren't talking to Praetorian me?  No?  Ok. 

 

Ion Eyes.  Interesting name.  You apparently need rescuing.  Ally oop!

 

 

A collection of solar-powered bucky balls in a suit.  Hnnh.  Ok, you meet all sorts in this line of work I suppose.  Like, don't feed the Blarf in Pocket D 'cos it'll try to eat YOU.

And yes, I prefer it when I'm at full strength.  And can I recommend the sandwiches at...wait, can you eat?  Forget it.

 

 

There's various minions of the Ultrahorde slinking around.  Meteroid creatures and Murderbots and so on.  Bit of a mixed menagerie really.

Ah, Homeland Securer!  I think I saw you on the cover of Padlock Weekly!  

 

 

More murderbots and little beasties, none timorous so all the more to annoy.  Up you get Homeland Securer.

Talk about me behind my back?  To who?  The Meteors?  Hornet?  Whippy?  Just lay there then. 

 

 

Finally there's Warrior Titan. He too has these Ultrahorde pests around him.  A few selected Rad Blasts clears them off though.

 

 

Ok, WT, what's your deal?

Radioactive you say.  Not ideal but I have a smidgeon of immunity/resistance to that particular ailment.

 

 

And Omegod needs talking to.

 

[Mission 1 = Exactly as the writer's notes set out.  You get to wade through mobs like some sort of super powered being against lesser mortals.  Nice start.  Love the comic book touches too!]

 

Mission 2: Clueless Captive.  Clue Lass has also been captured.  CLUE LASS?  Oy. Despoticus has long wanted her as a protégé but has given up on candlelit dinners and brochures about work benefits.  Well, you would, wouldn't you?  Although I'd just put an advert in the Hero Corps Gazette or something myself.  Or what's that firm in the Rogue Isles?  Minions.  Yeah, there.

Anyway, Omegod, where is she being held and how do I get there?

 

Hmm, very Arachnosy.  

Oh, that's not good.

 

 

Weaker?  Well, despite what Omegod thinks or imagines, I know my limits and I'm still a mid level supe in a city of much more powerful supes.

And..ah fer crying out loud, what is HE doing here? He can be such a PITA.

 

 

Oh.  That's why.  You wait, Sands.  You wait.  I still have Ghost Widow's phone number.  I can make your life hell.

In the meantime...

 

 

...I'm just gonna lie here and get my breath back while I fiddle about with my mediporter and utility belt.  

Yeah, that'll teach you.  OW. While I'm down here, did I see a WIFE OF DESPOTICUS back behind you?  I mean what?

 

 

Ok, I'm back.  I don't want to have to call Marcus or Buddy for this one but I may have to....WAIT!  I have a thing in the utility belt (email)!!

It's an Ultimate Insp!

Ok, it's not much help but it racks my power level back up a bit.

Wait, I missed a part of that!  No, actually I do not want to know!  (Note to self:  Take Nemesis Staff off my rotation! Did not mean to hit that.)

 

 

Funny how the red beam didn't affect you, Sands.  Or is that something to do with you being Arachnos and this place also being Arachnosy?

Yes?  No?

But yes, you're "doing well".  Too well in my opinion.

 

 

Of course doing well against Sands means sweet fanny adam when you get hit multiple times in the back by monsters at the same time that more Arachnos Drones are summoned.  Tsk.

Down I go.

Oh, Omegod, there's a special hell for you if I have any say in the matter.

 

 

And Sands makes the mistake of standing too close to the door when I come bursting back in all Rads blazing and him bouncing off my Repulsion field.

Now scuttle off to the Rogue Isles and I don't want to see your greasy hair for a long time.  Oh, Invinci-Belle is it?  Well, maybe I won't mention that to Clue Lass.  Or maybe I will!

 

Still have to find her though.

On I go.

 

 

I scout carefully ahead, watching out for members of the Ultrahorde.  I see a Bride of Despoticus (or two) and a Widow of War.  This is a very strange place.  Not to mention the monsters chatting to each other about the Comics Code.

 

Is that her?  Could be.  All Omegod did was send me a mental image of what she looked like.  And it does kinda look like her.  From over here anyway.

 

 

Now, without Sands and his Drones these Ultrahorde beings are a tad easier.  Not much but a tad.  Ripping Endurance and Health from them using Kinetics keeps me alive, and then I continue to blast them with Radiation. BOOM!

 

Yeah, you're not Clue Lass.  I heard you.  Kinda busy here so see yourself out, ya?  Thanks.

 

 

And it's time for a breather.  A quick examination of the Insp tray reveals...two Break Frees and one of those combo Red/Yellow things.  No idea.

Clue Lass is finally found in an end room, again surrounded by Despoticus's Ultrahorde minions.  

 

 

Ok, same tactic.  These guys aren't smart, and I've taken enough hits to the head today to say that neither am I, so nothing complicated.  Kinetics ripping and Radiation blasting here we go!

 

 

And moments later Clue Lass is free!  And there's flowers strewn across my path, and little birds are putting up drapes and...Ah, I need a lie down.

And this girl needs a better beau than Arbiter Sands!

 

 

Right, time to talk to Omegod I suppose.  

Even Omegod is confused by which girl is which or even if they are clones or different versions of the same person from different points in time.  Sands appears to be cheating on his girlfriend...with his girlfriend. 

I'm glad I'm single at the moment.  

 

But Omegod has become aware (cosmically) of Despoticus's Evil Plan^TM.

 

[Mission 2 = Oh hell that was tough!  I am strong enough to weather someone like Sands normally usually, but not when he has a narrow corridor full of monsters also hitting me.  The Ultimate Insp in my email was a stroke of luck.  Ok, technically it didn't work but it let me weaken him enough so that when I came back my regular attacks dropped him.  Whew!]

 

Mission 3: Facing Despoticus. And even as Omegod and Engineria converse, Despoticus's Stellar Dreadnought speeds to Xennocentia V.  That's where now? No, can't recall visiting.  You say I did many times?  Are you SURE you haven't met Praetorian me? Or some sort of doppelganger at the least?  Because let me tell you, I for one HAVE met them, so...anyway. Cosmic Unawareness is it?  Fair enough. (There was that one that was working with Whipsmart as well.)

Device you say?

You think he has a device that is weakening me?  Well, let's fix that problem.  In my current state?  I've been worse.  No, honestly.  I have. 

So Stellar Dreadnought it is and....

...can you at least let me finish a sentence before TPing me!

Ok, where am I?

 

SEE?!  This is what happens when I get TP'd in like that.  Right into monsters!

And now I'm angry.  And...I don't have an Ultimate Insp in my utility belt either.  Hmm, shoulda remembered to get one of those. 

Will you two stay down!

 

 

Ok, Despoticus is...oh, that's a LOT of Force Field.  A heckuva lot.

And he's not alone in there either. 

 

 

Ok, I have a DIFFERENT plan.  Bear with me, it has some similarities to previous plans in that it WILL involve Kinetics and Radiation, but I'm going to run in (and this is a vital bit) NOT IMMEDIATELY DIE, hit him with Fulcrum Shift, rip his endurance so he can't hit me, Irradiate him and then Rad snipe the bejebus out of him.

All the other things with him?  Repulsion Field is on.  Let them bounce off me. (Hopefully!)

 

AND...GO!

 

 

And engage all the things!

BOOM!  RIP!  BAM!  OTHER SHOUTING!

(Oh hell, it's working!  It's working!  WOOHOO!)

He's getting the bouncy treatment too!

 

 

I cut him down to size and then mop up the rest of the Ultrahorde minions before my armor simply depletes its power cell.

Omegod?  I wanna go home.

 

Ah, hello.  So that's that wrapped up.

One tiny thing.  I'm still weakened.  We need to fix that.  Oh, you know where the Disempowerment Device is?  Why does everything have to be said EPICALLY?

Ok, one of his sstrongholds.  Let's get to it then!

 

[Mission 3 = And Despoticus goes down!  The crowd goes wild!  Engineria for the win!  Good mission with a great fight.  Much more even than Arbiter Sands, but I'm thinking if you didn't have my exact power set or a variation it could be fiddly.  On to the finale!]

 

Mission 4: The Lost Power.  Apparently I have my own Revenge Squad. That I did not know.  Should I be flattered?  Worried?  Is that something in your eye(s) Omegod?  Tissue?  No, not tissue in your eyes, I mean...just TP me, ok?

 

 

Revenge Squad doesn't have Infiltration though or I wouldn't have gotten this close.

 

 

Ok Not-Me, let's see your moves.  Show me what you got!

Nice throwdown!  Is it Dark powers you have?  If you'd trained with MY powerset it might be you bouncing me across the corridor now, but you didn't.  That's a score for OG Engineria I feel.

 

 

That's exactly what I was saying!  She IS like me!  And I might have guessed there would be more than one person in a squad.  

Ok, where's the rest of them?

 

 

Ah!  There you are!  And OW OW OW!  I was expecting more Dark.  She does not have Dark!  

OW OW OW!

Held!  ACK.  Pop a Break Free.

 

 

I burn through her armor with my eye beams!  (And now that I see that I should test my own armor against them!)

She goes down in a heap and mutters about revenge and avenging.

 

 

But around the corner is the thing I came here for, the Disempowerment Engine...Device...contraption.  Look, that thing there!

I'm very pleased to announce that it is now a bunch of irradiated bits of metal and plastic.  

And I am feeling MUCH better.  Although a bit hungry.

 

 

Omegod is PLEASED.  I think he is.  I'm an INSPIRATION!

Well, I try.  And once I've had a lie down and used my mediporter, I try again.

 

[Mission 4 = Lovely epilog to the arc.  Kudos!  Loved it.]

 

Verdict. @sponazgul hasn't delivered an AE for everyone.  I know folks that will get riled by Mission 2 for instance, but the overall arc, trending from super being, to still being a hero despite being underpowered?  That scores highly for me.  Well done!

 

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.

And immediately next up is @Ankylosaur's All That Glints 3: Super Ego Maniac.

 

 [But due to work I won't be able to get to those for a few weeks, apologies to all.]

Edited Monday at 02:55 PM by TerroirNoir3

[Darmian]

3 hours ago, TerroirNoir3 said:

 [But due to work I won't be able to get to those for a few weeks, apologies to all.]

It happens.  We will see you when you're back.

[sponazgul]

4 hours ago, TerroirNoir3 said:

The next arc on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews will be part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, and is @sponazgul's The Return of Despoticus. (@First of Equals on the AE console.)

 

...

 

Verdict. @sponazgul hasn't delivered an AE for everyone.  I know folks that will get riled by Mission 2 for instance, but the overall arc, trending from super being, to still being a hero despite being underpowered?  That scores highly for me.  Well done!

 

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.

And immediately next up is @Ankylosaur's All That Glints 3: Super Ego Maniac.

 

 [But due to work I won't be able to get to those for a few weeks, apologies to all.]

 

Thank you so much for the playthrough and review. I greatly enjoyed reading about Engineria's cosmic adventure, just like that time she did that thing that was epic -

 

OMEGOD: You mean, when she defeated the UNDEAD MOON?

Me: Yeah! Did she do that?

OMEGOD: Sure. I think.

[TerroirNoir3]

17 minutes ago, sponazgul said:

 

Thank you so much for the playthrough and review. I greatly enjoyed reading about Engineria's cosmic adventure, just like that time she did that thing that was epic -

 

OMEGOD: You mean, when she defeated the UNDEAD MOON?

Me: Yeah! Did she do that?

OMEGOD: Sure. I think.

No problem.  Yeah, there's a violation of the "Ocelot Rule" but Engineria brings her own Ocelots so what ya gonna do?

[TerroirNoir3]

Araminta's Adventures.

 

Hey.  Not everything is about my buddy Engineria.  Some things are about me and my bots.  There's Laura, she's the big one; Mary, Janet and Alice, not so big but still tough girls; then there's Violet and Veronica, all protectory, and last but not least, Keri, my floaty friend.

 

Engineria and I used to share an apartment (we still share an SG base) but there's only so much room when one of you is a Master Mind, so I moved out.  Nice place in Atlas, not far from the cinema. 

 

Anyway, while Engineria is off being famous (yes, I know she says she's a "mid level supe in a city of bigger supes" but she's pretty well known in some circles), Araminta here (that's me) is more laid back and takes things slower.  I've still done a few things though, enough to have some decent contacts, the odd Task Force for Positron and the FP, all that.

 

So, here's a little thing that happened to me recently. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Carve One's Own Destiny by  @Zakur (@seravius on the AE console) 

 

Mission 1: The New Kids in Town.  So I received a message from a hero I didn't know, someone called Storm Warning. And I've been getting more work like that since I stopped sharing an apartment with Engineria.  The two things may be connected but I'm not going to bring it up when we bump into each other while restocking the racks in the SG base.  How many Boresights does one person actually need though?

 

So, I go and meet Storm Warning. She seems surprised that I actually showed up.  And she thinks that I am crazy famous.  I mean compared to herself as she says she's not really known around Paragon. 

So anyway she fills me in on what she thinks is something that could cause big trouble here. 

It involves a weird sale, an abandoned building in Brickstown and a villain named Hollowfrost.

Hollowfrost, huh?  It's, if you'll pardon the bad pun, a pretty cool name actually.

 

I get some background on Hollowfrost from Storm Warning, and with one thing and the other we have a location for him.

Will I help?

Sure.  Let me gather the bots from the SG...no, they'll arrive fast, I don't need to go there.  Then we can go.

 

And we're in.

We being me and the girls.

 

 

It's quiet in here.  For once in my life it seems an abandoned warehouse is actually abandoned.  Novel.

 

No sign of this Hollowfrost.  Storm Warning hasn't seen him either.

 

 

Exactly.  Mysteries can be solved with some investigation.  It's not always shoot first and so on.  Let's have a look around.

Come on.

We examine a computer nearby but it's been wiped.  Scrubbed I believe is the term.  Although it seems quite recently.

Although we have set off a Zenith Hoverbot somehow!  It zones in on us from among the racks but the bot girls deal with it in their own special way!

Further investigation finds a used portal projector.  Hollowfrost has definitely escaped. A spot on the floor nearby has a chemical residue of some sort.  That'll have to be analyzed when we get back.

So, no sign of this Hollowfrost but maybe we'll have some leads once we put everything together.  Araminta and Storm Warning meet up to discuss things.

She's slightly embarrassed that things were anti-climatic.  It happens. She suggests looking into the robots might give a solid lead perhaps.

[Mission 1 = Good set up of the mystery.  Contact is characterized well and comes across as more than a "Go here/Do that" cipher, which is always great to see.  On to the next mission!]

Mission 2: The Center of the Plot.  Time to investigate the Council's connection to Hollowfrost. Storm Warning (though she seems to prefer being called Bella), has a contact with (to my mind) seriously good intel.  Within a few minutes of calling him we have information that a known Council base was raided and their robots stolen.  Well, it seems Hollowfrost has no fear of retribution from an entire fascist organization!  That shows he's either supremely arrogant and powerful or supremely arrogant and delusional.  Although I have to say, from listening to Engineria recount some of her more outlandish adventures, those are not mutually exclusive.

So, our plan is to hit that same place and see what intel they have on the theft, find Hollowfrost's footprints so to speak.

Ok, typical Council base.  They seem to like this sort of cave structure.  I'm surprised they haven't fallen into Oranbega actually. Ok, some enemies ahead.  Have to deal with them.

 

The girls take him on and yet he still manages to fire through their protective cordon and hit me!  Not good.  Fortunately I've some gymnastic ability and spring back into a defensive position by the time he's dropped. He has some access codes on him so that'll be useful.

And Storm Warning arrives late.  I wonder where she was?  

 

Ok, Bella, let's explore further.

We run into some resistance along the way but it seems that this Council base isn't at full strength after the Hollowfrost theft.  I mean, I don't know if anyone knows what a full strength Council base is like, or their real numbers, but it seem sparse compared to other ones I've seen.

We deal with them though!

 

Nearby we find a console and the access codes get us straight in.  Excellent.  Plenty of sensitive material but there's a noticeable gap in the data around notes for a reverse-enginered serum of some kind.  Council Super Soldier?  They do like that sort of thing.

We find the Archon, a guy called Keller, who confirms Hollowfrost's presence here.  Between myself and the girls and Storm Warning we beat him down.

He gives up the ghost and informs us that the serum was somehow connected to Marauder!  Marauder is...let me get this right. Marauder is a member of the New Praetorians, but he used to be a Praetor on the enemy side during the Praetorian War.  I've heard he's a doppelganger of Back Alley Brawler. LOL, and you know, I've NEVER seen them together!  Anyway, that's a lead.  Time to regroup and think.

Bella/Storm Warning is well clued up on the Marauder link to the Council.  He had been juiced up on a serum to be able to fight Incarnate level enemies. If Hollowfrost has got his hands on this serum then that's a worrying result.  Not to mention stealing the base's automated defenses, which takes some chutzpah! I agree with Bella. Something needs to be done.

[Mission 2 = The investigation continues. Good pacing and Storm Warning's characterization develops further. Looking forward to the rest of this.]

Mission 3: The Cold Dark.  So, as Storm Warning recounts, Hollowfrost didn't strike at the base alone, he had what is described as a swarm of creatures with him. Bella's "guy in the chair" delivers on intel about these creatures.  I really need a guy in the chair!  Though for Master Minds, I sort of am the "guy in the chair", although also getting shot at.  These creatures were seen in Kallisti Wharf using Ice and Dark powers, identical to Hollowfrost's powerset, particularly near a lab on the East side.  That side has some Arachnos presence which might be a problem.  

To be honest Bella, I don't go to Kallisti Wharf much. I've got mid 30s Security Clearance so while KW is classed as a "peaceful" area, I'm wary.  But if that's where he is then that's where we go. In the middle of our planning I notice Bella is a bit off.  And her guy in the chair seems to behave more like her boss than her backup, so ...yeah.  I've been my own boss for a while, and living with Engineria has helped in boosting my confidence and profile, so I get things done myself.  I wonder if she would be happier purely solo or say working for Hero Corps on a full team, where her boss isn't expecting results from her and her alone.

But on we go.  Despite all that we still have a villain to track down, so we speed over to Kallisti Wharf and straight to the lab.  In a bit of luck, the attack is still ongoing!

Storm Warning is a smart woman though, and has a plan.  We just need to let one of the attackers get away.

We mop up a few minions and then the plan is to let the Swarm Leader escape with the tracker on him.  He's visibly the strongest of them so his escape makes the most sense to me. Although that particular plan nearly didn't work when my girl Laura nearly vaporized him with a blast beam!  Dial it back!

Ok, now to find out why they were even here.  We have to fend off some Arachnos while we're here but you know, are they going to complain to Black Wing or something?  Ask for help?  Actually, they MIGHT.  Just to screw with us!  Not an issue right now though.

And hopefully we'll find what we're looking for in here.

 

The safe contains a drained Incarnate Shard.  And only one.  The rest are missing!  Oh dear.  Incarnate Shards + Super Soldier Serum?  That's not good.  Let's get out of here, Bella.

Talking to Bella later, her mood is visibly somber.  She deliberately perks up a bit when she sees me staring though.  But she's worried about all this.  From what I can see at this point she's never had something this big face her before.  That's understandable. 

But she's obviously smart.  Yes, I'm smart but it's mainly with robotics and AI, not with this sort of thing.  She thinks Hollowfrost is probably working on an Incarnate Serum.  Well, used on himself that would be terrifying enough, but suppose he sold it like Superadine or something?  Imagine Incarnate Trolls?  Oh dear.

[Mission 3 = The building of tension continues.  Really enjoying this.  It's driving along at a good pace and each mission is linking and adding to the mystery.]

Mission 4: Hollowfrost.  Bella answers her phone.  Guy in the chair?  It seems like it.  Hollowfrost is hiding out in an abandoned Crey laboratory. Bella is anxious.  This is the time to apprehend Hollowfrost and the big moment is facing her.  Well, facing us. (And my bots). She gets a little bit fan girly with me and says it's an honor to have worked with me.  Thanks!  You're not so bad yourself! She's still worried that this could all go south though.  I don't tell her I step into EVERY mission feeling like that.  And if she ever meets Engineria, then...well, let me say it wasn't just lack of space that caused me to move out of the apartment.  The ozone of burnt armor and hair.  Blood all over the bathroom. Plus finding her friend Buddy asleep IN FULL PPD ARMOR on my bed.  MY bed.  Anyway.

We get to the place and it's cold. The unnatural cold from certain powers. He's here. Bella gives me a warning. 

Spoiler

We run into several of Hollowfrost's swarm minions.  At least they don't seem to have been upscaled to Incarnate level!  That would be bad!

 

The lab is devoid of any visible Crey presence.  But's it's not derelict yet.  Things are still running.  I wonder how many of these places Crey actually have across Paragon?  More than are officially listed with the Securities and Exchange Commission I'm betting!

And there he is!  Our efforts have paid off.  Ok, let's see if he has powered himself up yet or if (fingers crossed) his serum is still in the development stage.

 

And we get lucky!  His serum isn't ready yet! 

And you've been expecting me?  I don't like that at all. So we tackle him and do him some serious damage before he takes to the air to snipe at us! I was not expecting that!  Cold blasts rain around me but the bots knock him out of the air and he falls to the ground.  He's been muttering about Storm Warning for a few minutes too. 

Hollowfrost's last words were about his master claiming him.  And then he died.  I didn't hit him THAT hard!  Weird. Once we've taken him down we get into a fight that shouldn't have happened. I thought we'd wiped out his minions but he had unexpected back up.  I deal with it but Bella goes down and gets out via mediporter. Then it's time to leave. On the way out I find an empty crate.  It used to contain the Incarnate Serum, quite a lot of it in fact.  And now it's empty! Not good.  With Hollowfrost dead who has it?  

Bella is distraught though.  I get a teary and sincere explanation of her time as a hero, how new she really is at this entire thing, and she's ashamed of herself.  But she has a determination in her I've not seen before. Something beyond the "perky junior hero" that I first met. One of her issues is she thinks she's on borrowed time and it sounds like she wants to do at least one great thing, or even one GOOD thing before that chance is lost to her.  Good for you, girl!

[Mission 4 = Great mission. Loved the resolution and looking forward to the finale.]

Mission 5: The Chains we Loathe.  It seems that Crey base wasn't ENTIRELY abandoned.  Guess who has the Incarnate Serum?  If you said Crey R&D you're not getting a prize because that was too easy.

This time I'm going in on my own.  Well, me and the bots.  Bella can't be there.  We have the location so it's time to take the fight to Crey. 

Paragon Protectors enhanced to Incarnate Level.  That's not good.  I mean as far as most of the public is concerned, they're just supers who work for Crey.  And I think some of them might actually be just that.  At least the ones who appear on TV to talk about their work.  That Erin West is on a lot these days talking about the Altruist people.  

This lot here don't seem particularly altruistic though.  Positively antagonistic to me!

Finding that serum is paramount.  Not to mention any recorded method of making it.  I hack into one of their databases. 

No sign of that intel here.  Time to move further in.

 

Well, I suppose it had to be here.  I'm in a large open laboratory surrounded by what appear to be cloning vats.  And yes, there's a Paragon Protector guarding the place.  I'd better deal with her before searching further.

 

My god but this one is tough.  And my Scans say she's only a Yellow!  Does Crey grade their colors differently than everyone else?  If they do then no wonder people have trouble with them!

 

OOF!  That got me right in the chest!  Thrown back.  Fortunately the girls continue firing on the Protector and bring it down.  

As Engineria would say, ACK!

 

With the Paragon Protector's weird final words ringing in my ears, not to mention all the actual ringing in my ears, I stumble over to a safe and open it up.

Jackpot.  

Now? Now I have to decide what to do with this stuff.  For the time being no one, not even Bella, knows I have it.  I'll stick it in the SG base for now.  Engineria is already an Incarnate so she won't even look.  

As for Bella.  I hope I see her again.  That little hero did good. She just needs to build her confidence.

 

[Mission 5 = Excellent finale.  Can't say more without spoilering things.]

Verdict.  Play this.  Go and play it now.  I mean RIGHT NOW.  Yes, it does take a few liberties with the so-called "Ocelot Rule", but in my opinion the arc is well worth that.

Signing off of now.  Araminta Levin's Adventures are not so regular as her friend Engineria's.

(@Zakur, I hope I haven't spoiled anything here.  Great work and hope to see more from you in the AE!)

Edited Monday at 10:28 PM by TerroirNoir3

[sponazgul]

Great recap, especially how you avoided talking about some stuff

 

My character (a level 50 Earth Domination/Martial Assault dominator) also got clocked by the final boss, a well built opponent.

[TerroirNoir3]

Ok, I'm back on some awful work hours for a bit.  I only got @Zakur's lovely arc posted because I actually ran it yesterday (Sunday).  Later for a little while fellow AE lovers!

[Zakur]

2 hours ago, TerroirNoir3 said:

Araminta's Adventures.

 

Hey.  Not everything is about my buddy Engineria.  Some things are about me and my bots.  There's Laura, she's the big one; Mary, Janet and Alice, not so big but still tough girls; then there's Violet and Alice, all protectory, and last but not least, Keri, my floaty friend.

 

Engineria and I used to share an apartment (we still share an SG base) but there's only so much room when one of you is a Master Mind, so I moved out.  Nice place in Atlas, not far from the cinema. 

 

Anyway, while Engineria is off being famous (yes, I know she says she's a "mid level supe in a city of bigger supes" but she's pretty well known in some circles), Araminta here (that's me) is more laid back and takes things slower.  I've still done a few things though, enough to have some decent contacts, the odd Task Force for Positron and the FP, all that.

 

So, here's a little thing that happened to me recently. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Carve One's Own Destiny by  @Zakur (@servalus on the AE console) 

 

Mission 1: The New Kids in Town.  So I received a message from a hero I didn't know, someone called Storm Warning. And I've been getting more work like that since I stopped sharing an apartment with Engineria.  The two things may be connected but I'm not going to bring it up when we bump into each other while restocking the racks in the SG base.  How many Boresights does one person actually need though?

 

So, I go and meet Storm Warning. She seems surprised that I actually showed up.  And she thinks that I am crazy famous.  I mean compared to herself as she says she's not really known around Paragon. 

So anyway she fills me in on what she thinks is something that could cause big trouble here. 

It involves a weird sale, an abandoned building in Brickstown and a villain named Hollowfrost.

Hollowfrost, huh?  It's, if you'll pardon the bad pun, a pretty cool name actually.

 

I get some background on Hollowfrost from Storm Warning, and with one thing and the other we have a location for him.

Will I help?

Sure.  Let me gather the bots from the SG...no, they'll arrive fast, I don't need to go there.  Then we can go.

 

And we're in.

We being me and the girls.

 

 

It's quiet in here.  For once in my life it seems an abandoned warehouse is actually abandoned.  Novel.

 

No sign of this Hollowfrost.  Storm Warning hasn't seen him either.

 

 

Exactly.  Mysteries can be solved with some investigation.  It's not always shoot first and so on.  Let's have a look around.

Come on.

We examine a computer nearby but it's been wiped.  Scrubbed I believe is the term.  Although it seems quite recently.

Although we have set off a Zenith Hoverbot somehow!  It zones in on us from among the racks but the bot girls deal with it in their own special way!

Further investigation finds a used portal projector.  Hollowfrost has definitely escaped. A spot on the floor nearby has a chemical residue of some sort.  That'll have to be analyzed when we get back.

So, no sign of this Hollowfrost but maybe we'll have some leads once we put everything together.  Araminta and Storm Warning meet up to discuss things.

She's slightly embarrassed that things were anti-climatic.  It happens. She suggests looking into the robots might give a solid lead perhaps.

[Mission 1 = Good set up of the mystery.  Contact is characterized well and comes across as more than a "Go here/Do that" cipher, which is always great to see.  On to the next mission!]

Mission 2: The Center of the Plot.  Time to investigate the Council's connection to Hollowfrost. Storm Warning (though she seems to prefer being called Bella), has a contact with (to my mind) seriously good intel.  Within a few minutes of calling him we have information that a known Council base was raided and their robots stolen.  Well, it seems Hollowfrost has no fear of retribution from an entire fascist organization!  That shows he's either supremely arrogant and powerful or supremely arrogant and delusional.  Although I have to say, from listening to Engineria recount some of her more outlandish adventures, those are not mutually exclusive.

So, our plan is to hit that same place and see what intel they have on the theft, find Hollowfrost's footprints so to speak.

Ok, typical Council base.  They seem to like this sort of cave structure.  I'm surprised they haven't fallen into Oranbega actually. Ok, some enemies ahead.  Have to deal with them.

 

The girls take him on and yet he still manages to fire through their protective cordon and hit me!  Not good.  Fortunately I've some gymnastic ability and spring back into a defensive position by the time he's dropped. He has some access codes on him so that'll be useful.

And Storm Warning arrives late.  I wonder where she was?  

 

Ok, Bella, let's explore further.

We run into some resistance along the way but it seems that this Council base isn't at full strength after the Hollowfrost theft.  I mean, I don't know if anyone knows what a full strength Council base is like, or their real numbers, but it seem sparse compared to other ones I've seen.

We deal with them though!

 

Nearby we find a console and the access codes get us straight in.  Excellent.  Plenty of sensitive material but there's a noticeable gap in the data around notes for a reverse-enginered serum of some kind.  Council Super Soldier?  They do like that sort of thing.

We find the Archon, a guy called Keller, who confirms Hollowfrost's presence here.  Between myself and the girls and Storm Warning we beat him down.

He gives up the ghost and informs us that the serum was somehow connected to Marauder!  Marauder is...let me get this right. Marauder is a member of the New Praetorians, but he used to be a Praetor on the enemy side during the Praetorian War.  I've heard he's a doppelganger of Back Alley Brawler. LOL, and you know, I've NEVER seen them together!  Anyway, that's a lead.  Time to regroup and think.

Bella/Storm Warning is well clued up on the Marauder link to the Council.  He had been juiced up on a serum to be able to fight Incarnate level enemies. If Hollowfrost has got his hands on this serum then that's a worrying result.  Not to mention stealing the base's automated defenses, which takes some chutzpah! I agree with Bella. Something needs to be done.

[Mission 2 = The investigation continues. Good pacing and Storm Warning's characterization develops further. Looking forward to the rest of this.]

Mission 3: The Cold Dark.  So, as Storm Warning recounts, Hollowfrost didn't strike at the base alone, he had what is described as a swarm of creatures with him. Bella's "guy in the chair" delivers on intel about these creatures.  I really need a guy in the chair!  Though for Master Minds, I sort of am the "guy in the chair", although also getting shot at.  These creatures were seen in Kallisti Wharf using Ice and Dark powers, identical to Hollowfrost's powerset, particularly near a lab on the East side.  That side has some Arachnos presence which might be a problem.  

To be honest Bella, I don't go to Kallisti Wharf much. I've got mid 30s Security Clearance so while KW is classed as a "peaceful" area, I'm wary.  But if that's where he is then that's where we go. In the middle of our planning I notice Bella is a bit off.  And her guy in the chair seems to behave more like her boss than her backup, so ...yeah.  I've been my own boss for a while, and living with Engineria has helped in boosting my confidence and profile, so I get things done myself.  I wonder if she would be happier purely solo or say working for Hero Corps on a full team, where her boss isn't expecting results from her and her alone.

But on we go.  Despite all that we still have a villain to track down, so we speed over to Kallisti Wharf and straight to the lab.  In a bit of luck, the attack is still ongoing!

Storm Warning is a smart woman though, and has a plan.  We just need to let one of the attackers get away.

We mop up a few minions and then the plan is to let the Swarm Leader escape with the tracker on him.  He's visibly the strongest of them so his escape makes the most sense to me. Although that particular plan nearly didn't work when my girl Laura nearly vaporized him with a blast beam!  Dial it back!

Ok, now to find out why they were even here.  We have to fend off some Arachnos while we're here but you know, are they going to complain to Black Wing or something?  Ask for help?  Actually, they MIGHT.  Just to screw with us!  Not an issue right now though.

And hopefully we'll find what we're looking for in here.

 

The safe contains a drained Incarnate Shard.  And only one.  The rest are missing!  Oh dear.  Incarnate Shards + Super Soldier Serum?  That's not good.  Let's get out of here, Bella.

Talking to Bella later, her mood is visibly somber.  She deliberately perks up a bit when she sees me staring though.  But she's worried about all this.  From what I can see at this point she's never had something this big face her before.  That's understandable. 

But she's obviously smart.  Yes, I'm smart but it's mainly with robotics and AI, not with this sort of thing.  She thinks Hollowfrost is probably working on an Incarnate Serum.  Well, used on himself that would be terrifying enough, but suppose he sold it like Superadine or something?  Imagine Incarnate Trolls?  Oh dear.

[Mission 3 = The building of tension continues.  Really enjoying this.  It's driving along at a good pace and each mission is linking and adding to the mystery.]

Mission 4: Hollowfrost.  Bella answers her phone.  Guy in the chair?  It seems like it.  Hollowfrost is hiding out in an abandoned Crey laboratory. Bella is anxious.  This is the time to apprehend Hollowfrost and the big moment is facing her.  Well, facing us. (And my bots). She gets a little bit fan girly with me and says it's an honor to have worked with me.  Thanks!  You're not so bad yourself! She's still worried that this could all go south though.  I don't tell her I step into EVERY mission feeling like that.  And if she ever meets Engineria, then...well, let me say it wasn't just lack of space that caused me to move out of the apartment.  The ozone of burnt armor and hair.  Blood all over the bathroom. Plus finding her friend Buddy asleep IN FULL PPD ARMOR on my bed.  MY bed.  Anyway.

We get the the place and it's cold. The unnatural cold from certain powers. He's here. Bella gives me a warning. 

  Hide contents

We run into several of Hollowfrost's swarm minions.  At least they don't seem to have been upscaled to Incarnate level!  That would be bad!

 

The lab is devoid of any visible Crey presence.  But's it's not derelict yet.  Things are still running.  I wonder how many of these places Crey actually have across Paragon?  More than are officially listed with the Securities and Exchange Commission I'm betting!

And there he is!  Our efforts have paid off.  Ok, let's see if he has powered himself up yet or if (fingers crossed) his serum is still in the development stage.

 

And we get lucky!  His serum isn't ready yet! 

And you've been expecting me?  I don't like that at all. So we tackle him and do him some serious damage before he takes to the air to snipe at us! I was not expecting that!  Cold blasts rain around me but the bots knock him out of the air and he falls to the ground.  He's been muttering about Storm Warning for a few minutes too. 

Hollowfrost's last words were about his master claiming him.  And then he died.  I didn't hit him THAT hard!  Weird. Once we've taken him down we get into a fight that shouldn't have happened. I thought we'd wiped out his minions but he had unexpected back up.  I deal with it but Bella goes down and gets out via mediporter. Then it's time to leave. On the way out I find an empty crate.  It used to contain the Incarnate Serum, quite a lot of it in fact.  And now it's empty! Not good.  With Hollowfrost dead who has it?  

Bella is distraught though.  I get a teary and sincere explanation of her time as a hero, how new she really is at this entire thing, and she's ashamed of herself.  But she has a determination in her I've not seen before. Something beyond the "perky junior hero" that I first met. One of her issues is she thinks she's on borrowed time and it sounds like she wants to do at least one great thing, or even one GOOD thing before that chance is lost to her.  Good for you, girl!

[Mission 4 = Great mission. Loved the resolution and looking forward to the finale.]

Mission 5: The Chains we Loathe.  It seems that Crey base wasn't ENTIRELY abandoned.  Guess who has the Incarnate Serum?  If you said Crey R&D you're not getting a prize because that was too easy.

This time I'm going in on my own.  Well, me and the bots.  Bella can't be there.  We have the location so it's time to take the fight to Crey. 

Paragon Protectors enhanced to Incarnate Level.  That's not good.  I mean as far as most of the public is concerned, they're just supers who work for Crey.  And I think some of them might actually be just that.  At least the ones who appear on TV to talk about their work.  That Erin West is on a lot these days talking about the Altruist people.  

This lot here don't seem particularly altruistic though.  Positively antagonistic to me!

Finding that serum is paramount.  Not to mention any recorded method of making it.  I hack into one of their databases. 

No sign of that intel here.  Time to move further in.

 

Well, I suppose it had to be here.  I'm in a large open laboratory surrounded by what appear to be cloning vats.  And yes, there's a Paragon Protector guarding the place.  I'd better deal with her before searching further.

 

My god but this one is tough.  And my Scans say she's only a Yellow!  Does Crey grade their colors differently than everyone else?  If they do then no wonder people have trouble with them!

 

OOF!  That got me right in the chest!  Thrown back.  Fortunately the girls continue firing on the Protector and bring it down.  

As Engineria would say, ACK!

 

With the Paragon Protector's weird final weirds ringing in my ears, not to mention all the actual ringing in my ears, I stumble over to a safe and open it up.

Jackpot.  

Now? Now I have to decide what to do with this stuff.  For the time being no one, not even Bella, knows I have it.  I'll stick it in the SG base for now.  Engineria is already an Incarnate so she won't even look.  

As for Bella.  I hope I see her again.  That little hero did good. She just needs to build her confidence.

 

[Mission 5 = Excellent finale.  Can't say more without spoilering things.]

Verdict.  Play this.  Go and play it now.  I mean RIGHT NOW.  Yes, it does take a few liberties with the so-called "Ocelot Rule", but in my opinion the arc is well worth that.

Signing off of now.  Araminta Levin's Adventures are not so regular as her friend Engineria's.

(@Zakur, I hope I haven't spoiled anything here.  Great work and hope to see more from you in the AE!)

Thank you so much for the review! I loved reading your recap and you definitely managed to keep the main story spoilers hidden under wraps while going over the main points of the plot. I'm glad you enjoyed the story, and I enjoy your unique review format, too! I'll definitely want to put together more story arcs in the future, so I'll be sure to post about them when I get the chance.

[TerroirNoir3]

3 minutes ago, Zakur said:

Thank you so much for the review! I loved reading your recap and you definitely managed to keep the main story spoilers hidden under wraps while going over the main points of the plot. I'm glad you enjoyed the story, and I enjoy your unique review format, too! I'll definitely want to put together more story arcs in the future, so I'll be sure to post about them when I get the chance.

Appreciate that!  Unique review format?  Well, if you look at my early reviews they're a little more traditional but I decided along the way that my Main, Engineria, would progress to 50 primarily through these AEs, so I leant into them all being her adventures rather than me TerroirNoir reviewing as a player. Obviously there's a few out of character asides and spoiler hides (as in your arc) but that's how things evolved mainly. And Araminta Levin was announced a while back as a future Main (if you read through some of the reviews you'll see why) and this is her first foray.

 

Hoping you do write more.  There's no TerroirNoir AEs out there but I think I've learned a few things from the writers here along the way.

[sponazgul]

1 hour ago, TerroirNoir3 said:

 

 

Hoping you do write more.  There's no TerroirNoir AEs out there but I think I've learned a few things from the writers here along the way.

I immediately went looking for any AE missions from Engineria after you clobbered Despoticus. I hope you make one one day. Your reviews are very engaging.

[TerroirNoir3]

4 minutes ago, sponazgul said:

I immediately went looking for any AE missions from Engineria after you clobbered Despoticus. I hope you make one one day. Your reviews are very engaging.

Re-reading some of my reviews (vanity) I think I've picked up some phrasing from the three main writers I've been playing through, all to their credit, just by osmosis exposure to their work. 

[sponazgul]

40 minutes ago, TerroirNoir3 said:

Re-reading some of my reviews (vanity) I think I've picked up some phrasing from the three main writers I've been playing through, all to their credit, just by osmosis exposure to their work. 

if you are re-reading your stuff and enjoying the read, it’s a big win.

[TerroirNoir3]

1 hour ago, sponazgul said:

if you are re-reading your stuff and enjoying the read, it’s a big win.

Well, I look at them on my tablet, which unlike my main computer has a phone level screen, so the images look so much better!  Much sharper in detail.

[TerroirNoir3]

Just before I really get in to this week's work 🙂

 

[cranebump]

A well-deserved respite!

[TerroirNoir3]

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

 

 

[Darmian]

22 hours ago, TerroirNoir3 said:

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

 

 

Demorecord I'm assuming.