Post by STAFF on Oct 3, 2011 19:31:50 GMT -5
Volume VI: With a Whimper
Part I: "Blowing Smoke"
On the television screen, a scratchy, black and white image appeared. As though a throwback to the time of distant past, a man with a top hat stares, his eyes fixed on the viewer. He appears to be both angry and resolute at the same time. When he speaks, his voice carries through a thousand cries of agony.
"We are the cause of your suffering. We have released the cloud upon Washington. Your government, your friends, and your loved ones are dead because we willed it so. For too long, you have oppressed our brothers and sisters, and now we have paid you back in kind.
But we are not done. Washington was but a taste of what is to come. Cities all around the world will soon taste the bitter sorrow of this cloud. But we will finish our crusade in the United States first. Believe me when I say that the pain of Washington will be but a pinprick compared to the pain the West Coast shall soon experience. We are your Nemesis! We are your downfall!"
Then he smiled. A sinister, frightening smile. "But to my brothers and sisters, I offer a warm welcome. The time has finally come. Our oppressors shall feel our wrath and know our vengeance. For every one of our fallen brethren slain by their infernal Building Twenty Six, we will reap one hundred thousand lives!"
With that last pronouncement, he tipped his top hat, and disappeared from the screen. The sickening reality overtook the viewer, as he turned to look out his window. The toxic clouds blanketing Washington DC were snuffing out thousands of lives at that moment. The viewer felt his cold body going numb. The man in the top hat on television had been quite serious. More were going to die.
He was not just blowing smoke.
UPDATES:
- [li]The re-emerging Company recruits to help counter Nemesis under the leadership of the final remaining founder, Angela Petrelli.
[/li][li]Nemesis brutally attacks genetics engineering and research companies across the country, continuing the fear and panic started by the attack in Washington, D.C..
[/li][li]Citizens across the country petition in parks and at government buildings for assurances from the government for their safety.
[/li][li]Tyche Industries bails out the attacked Genetics companies and saves a financial collapse from occurring on Wall Street.
[/li][li]A Cargo ship explosion in NYC produces rioting in the streets as citizens believe the accident was a Nemesis attack.
[/li][li]The government gives more support to local police agencies, including technology, weaponry and training.[/size][/li][/ul]
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Part II: Bull in a China Shop
"...some kind of power outage on the bridge...traffic has been at a dead stop since..." "...Stan, we're getting reports...a mass failure of electronics..." "...bridge has been inaccessible for...emergency officials urge everyone to stay in their vehicles..." "...Some panic has begun...this could be the next Nemesis attack..."
The television screen fills all at once with a massive explosion. Cars are thrown from the bridge, pedestrians fly into the air. A twin explosion erupts on the far side, and chunks of the bridge fall into the water below, taking dozens of people with them. The bridge sways, but remains standing.
"...Oh my god!..." "...Stan we are seeing explosions at either end of the bridge...we're completely trapped..." "...blocked in...no way out..." "...The man in the top hat...oh my god, he coming for us..."
The reporter drops to the ground, clutching her gut, vomiting blood. The camera begins to sway, until we hear a wet thud, and the camera steadies. One of the police officers is taking off his uniform, revealing an eighteenth century waistcoat beneath it. He reaches out of sight and someone hands him a rapier and a top hat. The viewer suddenly recognizes him; the man in the top hat! He dons the hat, and glances around at the chaos, smiling.
All at once, he turns to the camera, and looks us right in the eye. "Do you yet see? There is no corner of this nation to which you may flee that we will not find you. Our bloody crusade has taken your government, your economy, and now, we will take your hope."
"Do you see these people? They are all human, just like you. They can all be killed," the man in the top hat draws his sword and stabs a panicking pedestrian. The man falls to his knees, draws a single labored breath, and dies. "Just like you."
"Your government cannot protect you. Your heroes cannot protect you. And you could never protect yourselves. We are Nemesis. We are chaos. And you are all dead men walking."
The man in the top hat smiled, and gestured behind him at the chaos. "To my brothers and sisters, I dedicate this display to you. We have been denied what is rightfully ours, but I will take it by blood. I will deliver your birthright to you. This I swear."
The man in the top hat reached up and tipped his hat to the camera, before turning and walking casually to a small group of pedestrians, his sword dripping blood from his last kill. Whoever was holding the camera set it down and laughed, just as someone else behind the camera screamed. The viewer sat down glancing out his window at the San Francisco bridge, which seemed to be on fire. These terrorists were like a bull in a china shop.
And in that moment, all the world was fragile.
UPDATES:
- [li]Noah Bennet faced off against Yomin Breise during the San Francisco attack caught on traffic cameras and some live video.
[/li][li]Yomin Breise's name was released as the man behind Nemesis.
[/li][li]Bureau of Alternate Research (BARD)was announced as a privately funded (by Tysche Industries) government anti-terrorism task force.
[/li][li]The President, Rebecca Hudson, was abducted during a press conference and an assassination attempt was made on Destiny Tysche's life. Nemesis is suspected.[/size][/li][/ul]
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Part III: Chaos Theory
When the President awoke, she did so crouching down low and thinking she was still reacting to a gunshot that went off near her on the stage at her White House press conference. She expected there to be screaming, as there had been the second before as her secret service agents surrounded her, using their bodies as a shield and trying to usher her off the stage and into safety. Now, where there should be chaos, there was silence; where there should be light, there was darkness; and, where there should be hundreds of people around her, she was all alone.
Rebecca Hudson stood slowly, taking in her new environment and wondering if she was dead. She could be, she supposed, but that would be quite a let down. There were big plans for her and her position within the government. There was yet a lot to be done, not the least of which was to set BARD into motion and push the detractors from her scent. Too many had accused her of dragging her feet. That was not going to be an issue anymore. No, it was simply too inconvenient to die right now, so this had to be something else.
Lights came on almost as she thought it and Reba startled in what she now made out to be a cell. She looked around anxiously but saw only a one-way mirror on the wall and no windows along the plain white walls. It gave her pause and Rebecca stood still, a statue of fear. It wasn't until a woman entered her prison that composure restructured itself on the chiseled featured of the politically savvy woman.
"You're surprised?" the older woman taunted Rebecca as she stood between her and the exit.
"Of course I am," Rebecca replied, laying on her best brave face. After all, one moment she was at the White House, and the next minute she was here. Terrorists were pretty efficient these days. Her eyes narrowed. "You're not what I expected."
The older woman, a matriarchal line on her lips simply stared at the President. Reba looked back, her eyes determined. "You'll never get away with this. I'm the President of the United States!"
The older woman smiled with obvious satisfaction. "But, my dear, I already have. She looked her up and down. "Besides, we both know you're not really the President, now don't we?" The woman moved so Reba could look into the mirror beyond her.
The President's eyes narrowed on her reflection as realization dawned in her mind. She frowned with menacing guile. "They'll come for me!" she said trying to hold in her anger. Making her lose control was what they wanted. They wanted her to think she was in their grasp for good. No, she needed to think clearly. She needed to know this was not the end.
Then it occurred to her. This would work into their plans nicely! This woman had just gone all-in in a game that was far beyond her. A small, knowing smile played at the red-head's lips as knowledge seeped into her consciousness. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know where she was now, or who she was with. The others would know soon.
"You just signed your death warrant... Angela."
UPDATES:
- [li]Matermind (David Johnson) uncovers a plot to sell Nemesis the materials for numerous bombs by the arms dealer known as the King of New York, Lucas King.
[/li][li]Angela Petrelli is under suspicion due to her relationship with Bennet as his employer and CEO of TCE. She is under house arrest.
[/li][li]Hana Gittleman and a squad of allies take down the Company's computer systems and TCE building, destroying all information on Specials that they had gathered and stored.
[/li][li]The Company is dead.[/size][/li][/ul]
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Part IV: "Apocalypse"
[/li][/ul][/blockquote]The news fizzles into static, and every channel follows suit. A blackout of television quickly replaced by an all-too-familiar dread visage. Here was the man in the top hat: the bringer of chaos and suffering. He was angry now. His face twitching with a barely restrained sneer. Or was it a grin?
"There is no respite, no peace, no escape from us. We are legion. We are unstoppable. We have your lives in our grasp, and at our whim, they are snuffed. Even as we speak, your greatest cities around the world are suffering our wrath, crying out for mercy, and receiving none."
The man in the top hat leaned closer to the screen, his eyes ablaze. "You dared raise your hand to me? You dared resist? In taking Noah Bennet, you have only hastened your demise. Release him, and I may spare your precious president for last."
Leaning back, the man in the top hat adopted a more official tone, and announced, "This is our declaration of war. All who have persecuted my brothers and sisters, all who have dared strike their betters, you are marked for extinction. Nemesis will rise. The apocalypse is at hand. For Bennet!"
With that, the image of the man in the top hat raising his fist in anger vanishes, replaced with news of terrorist attacks on more than a dozen cities. The viewer feels his eyes growing wide, watching the fires, the bombs, the bodies...
The man in the top hat was right. The apocalypse is at hand.
UPDATES:[li]In the wake of the Apocalypse event, those who fought the Nemesis terrorists regroup in Odessa at the Hideout and form the Liberators.
