Event Horizon

Wrath of the Watchers
Message In A Bottle / Spirits of Atlantis / Chaos Unleashed (Kane Versus Nova) / Freedom-Striker/Liberator - He Who Laughs Last.. / Avenging Angel / Event Horizon

Event Horizon is an upcoming story involving Kane, Nova and several other characters - it is in the early production stages as of now so stay tuned for more updates.

The story's title comes from the "Event Horizon" - a point near a black hole in which nothing, not even light, can escape.. it is also a metaphore for a point of no return.. which is kind of the theme of this story (plus it keeps up with the celestial phenomena theme of the Nebula / Nova conflicts)

Prologue
Kane sat alone in a darkened room as he thought over recent events, he had watched the rise and fall of would-be-vigilantes in what would be known as the "Avenging Angel" incident - he even helped to push the tide in favor of the nihilistic Watchers, ancient and unfathomable horrors that had once existed prior to the physical world and now danced eternally in a realm beyond life or death: a realm that continually tried to emerge into our own and snuff out the mortal races.

Kane stared at a wall as he made shadow-patterns with his fingers, frowning as he thought back further to when he first met.. her.. she claimed to be a goddess.. yet Kane scoffed at such ideas.. what fun was there in worship when one could simply destroy?

Yet she was different.. she had danced with him.. the whole thing was like a dream.. no.. a nightmare.. Kane spat slightly as he turned away from the wall and frowned deeply: he didn't want this..

This was unnatural, sickening.. he was actually missing this wretched creature.. her voice, her features, her mere presence.. Kane raised his arms and quickly slammed his head into his palms as he bowed down as the realization sunk in: he *cared* for her..

"Ugh.." was all Kane could mutter, he didn't expect this at all.. sure he had taunted Freedom-Striker with his so-called "love" of Nova, yet it was just to see the look of confusion on his face - the idea there was any truth in those words made Kane deeply ashamed..

Kane was the champion of the Watchers, the one who would purge the Multiverse of mortal life - yet he was allowing something as base as physical attraction distract him from his work.. he shook his head and took a deep breath as he finally stood up and headed out of the warehouse he had been frequenting.

In a lightless dimension floated the Empyrean goddess of magic, Nova. To say that she was in a foul mood was an understatement; her fury suddenly manifested in the realm as an infinite expanse of fire.

"I HATE IT!" she screamed. "I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE IT!"

Being trapped in this prison of a dimension was really taxing her patience and her sanity- what was left of it, anyway. And when their faces came into mind, her fury flared up again once more.

"Making a fool of the goddess of magic... crashing my party... ruining my fun... I'LL KILL YOU, ALAN RYDER!"

No... she relented. She wouldn't kill him... no, she'd make him squirm... make his body burn with agony... drag him into the deepest depths of despair... she'd make him beg for death... of course, she'd deny it... instead, she'd grant him pain that would pierce him down to his bones... then force him to watch as she crushed his little friends... the thoughts made her feel warm and cozy on the inside, and slowly, her wrath died away, to be rekindled at a random time later... and so the cycle would repeat... over and over and on and on for years and years...

Suddenly, a glowing rift tore itself open, and she stared with wonder. The rift engulfed the entire dimension, and suddenly...

She was floating in a dark cave, lit only by flickering torchlight, hovering above a stone table and surrounded by an assortment of figures. Most of them were grey, translucent wisps that floated about with hollow eyes, but others included vampires, lycans, humans, and gorgons.

Only one figure dared to speak; a female with serpent-like eyes and a forked tounge- a gorgon. "Mistress Nova... you've returned."

Nova looked around. On the stone table beneath her was the bloodied remains of a hapless sacrifice. She laughed.

"Come now, Zmija." She grinned. "Human sacrifice is so one-hundred years ago..."

"It was necessary," Zmija said, drawing out each 's' with a small hiss.

"Pish, I know, I know..." Nova said.

"What will you have of us now, Mistress Nova?" Zmija asked.

"What now? We do what we do best. We throw one hell of a party... but this time, we invite everyone..."

Chapter 1
The scene suddenly shifts to a small apartment filled with several colorful figures, amongst them Freedom-Striker: who was currently frowning immensely as he wore a pink party hat and sat in front of a cake shaped like a green dinosaur.

"..This is embarassing.." Freedom-Striker protested as Liberator, dressed in a surprisingly casual manner, gave him a playful hug and kissed him on the cheek.

"Come on Striker, it's your birthday! Have some fun!" Liberator said.

"Yeah, lighten up Striker.." a masked figure said as he played with a decorative candle.

"Blight, why are you even here? Do you enjoy seeing me in pain?" Freedom-Striker frowned.

"Yes - I do.. but that's beyond the point.." the masked figure replied.

"You two boys behave, we're just trying to show you how much we care - Striker.." a winged woman said, sitting on the sofa.

"Avian's right, you should be grateful to have friends that care for you.." Liberator said.

"Yeah, yeah.." Freedom-Striker sighed - only to jump as the door of the apartment suddenly burst open: causing everyone to leap to their feet.

"SURPRISE!" came the sound of a somewhat familiar voice as a rather small dragon entered the room alongside a floating magical figure.

"Oh my, Murk - I think we should of knocked first.." Mr. Z said, observing the damage.

"Pff.. They love it when I throw a surprise.. don't you?" Murk replied, grinning as he wagged his tail like an excited puppy.

Freedom-Striker just sighed as the others stared at Murk with varied expressions ranging from anger to confusion - "..gonna be one of those days.." Freedom-Striker thought to himself..

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Meanwhile at a different location Kane sat alone at what was once a busy cinema - only now virtually empty due to a lack of interest, the V-Net being the preferred place to experience the latest movies: the emptiness suited Kane fine as he stared at the blank screen and sunk down into the seat.. thinking on everything..

"..snap out of it Kane.. you're embarassing yourself.. there is a whole multiverse out there waiting to be erased and you're missing all the fun.. why? because you've gone and done something stupid.. ugh.." he thought to himself.

Suddenly, in a burst of green light, Nova appeared, hanging in midair upside down. She blew a noisemaker inches from Kane's face.

"Surprise!" she exclaimed. "We're blowing up this place!"

Kane somehow manages to ignore this sudden appearance, in defiance of common sense - giving Nova a strangely apathetic look as he stands up and puts his hands in his pockets before he starts moving away:

"..oh.. alright.. have fun kid, I'm going to go get something to eat..".

Giggling, Nova vanished into thin air. Mere moments later, the building burst into a green fireball.

Kane didn't even react as he walked down the street, the explosion casting a green light behind him - hands still in his pockets as he looks at the ground, his expression slowly getting more and more angry until he finally takes his hands out his pockets and clenches them into fists as he stops:

"HOLD EVERYTHING! NOVA! GET YOUR METAPHYSICAL ASS HERE RIGHT NOW!" Kane yells out.

The flames from the green explosion seemed to freeze as if time stopped; Nova reappeared in front of Kane, hanging upside-down in midair and grinning manically. "Yeeeeeesssssss?"

Kane pokes Nova's nose as he points at her "..do you want to know something sickening? something that will ruin any party?".

"Oh? Do tell."

"When you end up falling in love with someone.. that's what.. it gives life some kind of meaning and that's just not fun.. not fun at all.." Kane says.

"That's odd that you would think like that, Sir Kane," Nova said with a suddenly serious demeanor. "Falling in love changes nothing about the meaning of life. So all that really matters in the end... is having fun..."

"Love is the first step to caring about something.. caring gives something a meaning.. meaning creates purpose.. bleh.." Kane protests.

"Who says that's the way it works?" Nova asked. "If you are powerful, you turn this meaningless universe into something that you want it to be..."

Kane frowns "..I don't want to turn this universe into something meaningful.. I want to watch it disappear.." - he forms one of his arms into a long tendril - "..you see this? this is what I am.. a monster.. love has no place in my being..".

"If that's what you want to do with this universe, then do it- you are powerful, so you can write the laws how you want them to be... or better yet, destroy them!"

Kane sighs and flops down on the ground, "..pff.. been done.. destroy.. raise Hell.. become God.. where's the fun in that?" - he twiddles his thumbs, looking up at the sky as he lays on the street - "..unless..".

"Unless what?" Nova asked, still hanging upside down.

Kane suddenly leaps up and grabs Nova, spinning her so they are face-to-face: "..we do something different.." - he grins widely as his eyes spark with renewed malice - "..Nova, take us someplace quiet.. I have an idea you're going to love but it needs to be a surprise.. trust me.. their going to love it..".

"Hm... Okay dokay lokay!" Nova exclaimed, and in a green flash of light, the pair disappeared, hurtling through space, until suddenly...

Kane and Nova appeared on a grey, barren world with only the ghost of life left within it; plants were withering, water seemed to dry up, and the ruins of a city jutted up into the skies.

"Quiet enough?" Nova asked.

Kane nods a little, a purple aura forming around himself as he brings Nova closer and says "..this should do.. now.. here's the plan..".

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(ooc: was thinking this portion could introduce Sangria, Karma (if she's around) or other heroes, continuing in Striker's place: maybe some are aware of Nova / Kane or just happen to see a building randomly explode)

"There!" Alan called out, pointing to a dark mass that turned a corner and headed down an adjacent alley. Fleur was already in hot pursuit, a machine gun in each hand, firing point-blank at the creature. By the time Alan had caught up, the beast was gone and Fleur was standing, pointing her weapons at thin air.

"It's hiding again," she said quietly. Alan nodded. Tapping into his psychic prowess, he slowly scanned the alley with the force of his mind, attempting to discover the location of the creature.

Suddenly, the dark mass sprung as if out of the shadows, pinning Alan to the ground and knocking Fluer aside with a swipe of a tail.

This was the first time they had actually seen the beast up close; it had no eyes, it's body seemed to be comprised of shadow, and it bore a single maw that loomed over Alan, breathing putrid breath that smelled of rot and decay.

Focusing at a point in space between himself and the creature, Alan created a psychic bubble that expanded like a forceful burst of air, throwing the monster off of himself. The continuous blasts of Fleur's machine-guns split the air, and the beast recoiled as scores of bullets sank into it's body. It suddenly seemed to melt into a shadow that slunk away, fleeing from the battle.

"Goddammit, it's escaping again!" Fleur exclaimed, already hurrying after the shadow. With a groan of frustration, Alan followed.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (ooc: Any heroes feel free to enter here, if we don't cut back to Freedom-Striker and Co. Alan and Fleur will likely crash your party.)