Spirals of Fate is a serialized work of fiction centering on the intellectual property of City of Heroes and City of Villains. Chapter One centered on two villains, Vincent and Mara, and their breakout from the Zigg, a prison used to house those with super powers. They met another villain named Mosaic and the three headed for Arachnos flyers and freedom. In Chapter 2 Part 1, Charger – a young superhero – was taking his initial steps into the role Paragon City was asking of him while Snowman and Lumiare think abut their roles within Hero Corps.

Spirals of Fate: Chapter Two (Where Heroes Walk)- Part Two
By Michael Lafferty and Matthew Eberle

There was a hint of freshly mowed grass on the warm springtime air as they began to move back toward the hall in Atlas Park.  

“Any idea who they might assign to complete our cell,” Snowman asked, all too aware of how his size seemed to make the tiny Lumiare seem even smaller, “as in, what type of hero?”

“Nothing yet,” she answered, “but I should think we may get a blaster of some type. With some of the these villains now employing flight devices, like the Freaks and especially the Sky Raiders, having the ranged ability would seem smarter.”

“Great,” Snowman said, sarcasm and resignation in his voice.

“What’s wrong with them?” Lumiare said.

“I know some of the more seasoned heroes are not so ‘eager,’ but some of the younger ones I have seen tend to be hotheads – shoot first and think about procedures later. I’m not sure I can take one of those.”

“What it comes down to,” Lumiare began, “is what is inside you. You can only control yourself and be responsible for yourself. The Hero Corps has a battery of tests, including psychological, to prevent loose cannons – pardon the pun – from getting in. Just follow your heart, and the rest will fall into place.”

“I hope so,” was the soft reply, eyes looking upward into the sky, toward the heavens, toward the stars.

- - -

Blah, blah, blah, thought Charger. Say something original, not just the same tired clichés.

It was the same speech replayed different ways, with emphasis on different parts within the rotation, at least from the perspective of the young man seated midway up the mass of inductees in the intimate speaking hall.

It was a good thing that the armored suit he was wearing had a cooling system, otherwise he would be roasting, especially with that blocky humanoid thing three seats down that seemed to be emitting occasional bursts of high heat.

But while the suit was internally cooled, nothing could be done to alleviate the itch he was feeling in his lower back. He knew that his mind was wandering, likely inducing the itch, but squirming would not be appropriate. He was ‘supposed’ to be paying close attention. He knew the monitors were scanning the crowd, looking for those too distracted to continue the path of Paragon City super hero.

Best to think of something else, he told himself. He considered the suit, considered its origin and how he was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, or the right place at the wrong time with access to the right equipment. Doctor Gerald “Jerry” Jones had been an armored hero during the Rikti war. In his brilliant silver armor he had fought valiantly under the call-sign “Sentinel.” Leonard and Jerry still shared jokes about “old silver,” his original suit of armor. It was a shining, clumsy, and awkward piece of equipment. Enemies could see it for miles in the sun, leading to Jerry’s long-standing record as the hero most often shot down by the alien invaders, yet still alive to continue the fight. Eventually his injuries were too numerous and too severe to allow him to continue. He sat out the last six weeks of the war in a hospital bed while his colleagues fended off the fierce invaders.

Even in retirement he couldn’t keep his hand out of it, Leonard thought ruefully. When they first met he had intruded on the old scientist’s workshop trying to find something to do. After a few weeks of occasional visits the two became friends. Leonard and Jerry had spent hours arguing over the best equipment and tactics for the new suits of power armor the doctor was constructing. Jerry was a compulsive inventor. As soon as they got one suit of armor close to completion Leonard would arrive the next day to find it sitting in a corner starting to gather dust while Jerry began construction on a completely different suit of armor.

We built one armored suit for a blaster, a heavily armored suit for close combat, and even a high-mobility suit for medical personnel, he reminisced. When the Clockwork King’s insane minions invaded the workshop Leonard hadn’t stopped to think. He dove into the original power armor suit they had constructed and chased the robotic minions from the lab. He had also damaged several pieces of equipment and nearly gotten himself killed. In the end he had been both surprised and deeply honored when Jerry gave him the armor and told him he was ready to become a hero.

Leonard started when a second instructor appeared next to the podium in a flash of light. The woman - he vaguely remembered seeing her in the entry hall – was handing a written note to the older man giving the lecture. Charger dialed up the magnification on his helmet. He was rewarded with a view of the instructor going pale. Or at least as pale as a man with aluminum gray skin could go.

“A few moments ago we received a priority alert from the Zigg,” the instructor said hastily into his microphone. “An assault force from Arachnos has begun a full-scale attack on the prison. All Freedom Corps personnel are being sent to help contain the situation. Students have been assigned to protect the medical relief fliers and the trauma center.”

- - -

The duo had no sooner begun their walk across the park toward the large building that housed Hero Corps when beepers at their belts went off. Lumiare answered her’s quickly. Snowman glanced at the yellow beeping light on his and paused. This was not good, whatever it was it was not good. He waited for Lumiare to finish her conversation. He could guess what was coming.

“Yes, sir,” Lumiare answered, her voice sharp, alert, crisp. “I’m with him now … understood … yes, sir … we will report immediately.” She hung up and looked at her companion. “Breakout at the Zigg, condition Security Alert Bravo, support only unless otherwise engaged. It’s time to forget your personal problems and serve, my friend.” She allowed a small smile, then turned and was airborne. Paul Carter grimaced; this was sooner than he had hoped. He fixed his sight on the side of Hero Corps, where he could see others beginning to assembly. He folded the distance over in his mind, mentally drawing up an image of himself there and then – in a manner – willing himself there. The place he had been standing blinked, and Snowman appeared in the midst of the other heroes-in-training. Lumiare would find him, he thought; she always seemed to.

“When called, your team will form up with medical units there to assist in the treatment of prisoners and security forces,” the administrator was saying. “You will not, I repeat, you will not engage prisoners or other suspects unless they pose a direct threat to either you or your team. If you do otherwise, you will incur the full administrative wrath of this department. I hope I have made myself very clear.”

Snowman, Lumiare and three medical techs, along with a portable med-evac unit, were stationed outside the northwest perimeter, which – to Snowman’s pleasant surprise – seemed relatively quiet. They had been told the third member of their team was “being sorted out” from the recruits and would join them on site.

After a time, the techs huddled in a corner of the impromptu camp, near the radio receivers, playing cards, Lumiare looked over at Paul. “It will be all right. We do what we agreed to do, remember that … and watch my back,” she said, allowing a smile.

… to be continued
In Chapter 2 Part 3, the heroes respond to trouble at the Zigg.

This is a fictional story is based on the intellectual property of City of Heroes and City of Villains. That property was used as a backdrop for this story with the permission of both Ncsoft and Cryptic Studios. While this story uses that world as a backdrop, it is not meant to reflect either gameplay or storylines with the massively multiplayer online world. Some of the images used with Spirals of Fate have been taken from the game and modified to suit the illustrative purposes of this story. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only.

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