Paragon: Beginnings

Rated FA18 (Might not seem that right now, but it'll bet there.)

The Carver is based off of the Nip/Tuck character of the same name. Property of FX Network. (Please don't sue me!)

Paragon: Beginnings

"Capture the flag at night? This is retarded. How are we supposed to find the flag when it's pitch black out?"

"It's easy, Liz. The flags are glowsticks." replied Brendan, as he cracked the plastic wands, resulting in an eerie green glow.

"Guys against girls, again?" asked Samantha, or Sam as everyone called her.

"Yea, so we can beat you guys for the third time?" Chimed in Sam's twin Alex. All the girls laughed and high-fived, rubbing in the shame for the guys.

"Whatever, we'll get our win this time. We'll be like ninjas! Hoo-ahhhhh!" said Cam "Gunner" with a karate kid motion.

"Let's go. Girls take cliffside, guys will take deep woods. Same rules as before, no burying the flag, and if you hide it up the cliff or a tree, you have to be able to get it. GO!" Yelled JP, as both teams took off in opposite directions.

This was the third year in a row the "Heard", as they called themselves had camped out at Larchwood Lake. A secluded camping area in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, known to very few, but had everything they loved. A big lake for swimming and fishing, great weather, and of course, the prefect capture-the-flag arena. It had an open field in the middle for no-man's land, with one side dominated by thick woods, the other more open, but with steep shale cliffs, prefect for flag placement.

The men's team crashed through the woods at top speed, and Brendan looked around at his team again, preparing a strategy in his head.

OK, so we have JP, Grady, Coop, Nick, Gunner, and myself. JP knows both sides well since he's been coming here forever, so he can play both ways. Coop and Nick can play defence. Gunner is pretty loud through the woods (City folk, not knowing how to camp...). Run him to the girl's side as a distraction, while Grady and myself go flag hunting.

They all stopped around a large tree near the back of the area, where Brendan relayed his plan.

"Sounds good to me." said JP, "OK G. Up you go"

"You got it, JP." he replied as he put the glowstick between his teeth, and climbed almost to the top of the tree, where he hung it off the branch like a Christmas ornament, before falling out of the tree, landing softly on his feet. Grady was a skilled musician, but an even better rock climber. A natural choice for going against the girl's side.

Brendan and Grady moved through their woods and waited at the edge for Cam. The tall figure of Gunner crashed through the barrier of branches, through the field and plunged into the girl's half like a freight train.

"That's our cue." Whispered Grady. The two slipped like shadows across the moon-light field, dressed in black and deep green, blending in with th juniper bushes dotting the landscape. Grady broke off the the left, heading toward the rocks, while Brendan slipped through the underbrush at a fairly high speed.

It's weird that I haven't even heard the girls yet... "Ow!" grunted Brendan as a small branch hit him in the eye.

"Hey Liz! Over here! I know that voice! B, we're comming for you now!"

"Frick!" Brendan took off through the woods, moving deeper and deeper into the girl's side, before scaling a tree, hoping to hide there.

"OK, he went this way. He should be around here somewhere..."

Brendan's adrenaline was pumping, as the girl came into view just below his hiding spot. It was his girlfriend, Laura. Her light brown, almost blonde hair was tied back out of her bright green eyes. He could see her looking around, hunting him down.

Don't look up. Please, baby, don't look up... He pleaded in his head, holding his breath. Just then, the sound of Gunner yelling and smashing down any branch in his way came closer, passing right by where Laura was standing. She sighed, as she decided to go after Cam before he happened to find anything. Just before taking off, she looked up and blew a kiss at Brendan, with a little "You owe me now" smile. He watched as her small Lulu Lemon clad frame disappeared into the trees.

He quickly climbed down the tree, and looked to where Laura ran off. Damn it... he thought before looking up to the sky. It was clear as he had ever seen it. No lights from the city to drown out any of the stars. He could see them all. One in particular shone brightly. Too bright... And it was getting bigger...

"Jesus!" yelled Brendan, as the meteor came crashing down to earth, not far from where he stood. Curiosity got the best of him as he ran to the crash site.

Maybe it's a Kryptonian. Ha! Like that'll ever happen... he laughed to himself as he approached the meteor at the centre of small crater.

"No way!" the voice behind him startled him. It was Liz. "This is too cool!" she said, as they looked over the small glowing silver and gold rock before them. "Want to touch it?"

Brendan held the back of his hand over it. "It's not giving off heat... I will if you will."

"What's that supposed to mean? It's not like it's some sort of alien thing. It's probably just a downed satellite or something." she said.

"Yea, you're probably right. OK, at the same time. 1... 2... 3!"

They both placed their hand firmly on the meteor, when suddenly they were hit with a surge of energy sending them flying backwards, and the world around them went black.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!! TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!!!

pulls hair out in anxiety

Good job Paragon. It was a fun and easy read. Can't wait to read the rest.

nice,hope to see more soon

I just realized I introduced about 10 characters there, so I'll do a quick re-cap on them. This also delays my writing process a bit, buying me time to map out the next post.

Brendan - The protagonist (duh) Want to take a guess who it is?

Laura - The girlfriend of Brendan. Excellent swimmer. Caring, bubbly, light brown hair, blue eyes, about 5'4

JP - Almost a rival of Brendan. They tend to clash on leadership roles. 6'2, brown hair, brown eyes

Liz - JP's girlfriend. Smart, witty, dark brown hair, blue eyes, about 5'8.

Grady - Awesome guitar player. Good climber (Does that mean something!?!) blonde, blue, 6'0.

Sam & Alex - The twins. Always seem to know what the other is thinking. Blonde, blue, 5'6

Coop - Master of sarcasm. Crazy amounts of energy. Should not be allowed sugar... Blonde, blue, 5'11.

Nick - Very chill. A recent addition to "the heard". Nick comes from the big city. Blonde, blue, 5'10

Gunner - Tall, funny, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Another city guy. Brown hair, hazel eyes, 6'4.

OK, I'm bringing the first villain I go after to a vote, only giving names for them though...

The Carver or Tzao Chu

"Ugh..." Groaned Brendan, as he opened his eyes. Laura was kneeling by his side with tears running down her face, reflecting the moonlight.

"Oh my god!" She hugged him tight and tried to wipe her tears off on his shoulder.

"Dude, you alright?" asked Cam, who was standing over them.

Brendan thought about the question for a moment. He had just been thrown through bushes by an explosion from some glowing space rock. Back...Good. Arms... Not broken. Legs...fine... No bruises... "Uhh, yea. Actually, I'm fine."

"You sure? How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked again, holding up his middle finger.

"One. It's the same one I used on your m..." Brendan cut himself short, as he could feel the icy glare from Laura. She hated mom jokes. "Where's Liz?" he asked, suddenly realizing she was caught in the blast too, and may not have been so lucky.

Cam's smile suddenly dropped. "Uhh, dude. Liz didn't make it."

Brendan's heart stopped. Oh my god. It's all my fault. I let Liz touch that thing, and now she's dead...

"Cam! Don't even joke about that! It's not funny!" yelled Laura, punching Cam in the shoulder. "She's back at the campsite, B. She walked back with JP, Sam and Alex."

"Dude!" Brendan punched Cam's other arm. "Uncool."

"Oww... Sorry dude. I had to try it. You should have seen your face though. Haha. Priceless!" laughed Cam. "AJ, I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

A small smile crossed Laura's face. "Well, you can start by carrying me back to the campsite, then you can make all my drinks for me, since you're a bartender." She hopped on Cam's back and the trio proceeded back to camp.

Next Post: Powers emerge! Back to the city!

don't forget to vote for the first villian! The Carver or Tzao Chu!!

nice work again,i say like the sound of "craver" more.

I think the carver sound cool

The campfire blazed long into the night, and the empties piled up. The melodies of Grady's guitar playing echoed through the midnight air as the group of friends sat around the fire, talking about anything and everything.

"OK. OK..." slurred Coop. "If you could have any superpower, what would it be?"

"Pffft. Easy. I'd want to be able to stop time." said Cam. "Like, I could be sitting there watching TV, and all of a sudden the Victoria Secret fashion show comes on, so I mmurff..."

"You're done." Interrupted Laura, holding a hand over Cam's mouth. "Now make me another drink." she ordered him with a smile.

"Hey guys, I'll be back in a bit. Gotta use the tree." said Brendan, standing up. He had drank more than half of a bottle of rum, but he was barely feeling the effects, as though his body had already completely processed the alcohol.

He wandered off into the bushes, away from the campfire, lost in thought about the events of the night. Once he finished his business on the tree, Brendan turned around and headed back to the camp, but not before sensing something behind him. Huh? That's a weird feeling. Probably nothing.

A loud growl behind him proved his thoughts wrong. Brendan turned around just in time to see a large black wolf lunge at him. He could do nothing but brace for the impact. Suddenly, Brendan was blinded by a bright flash, and heard the wolf give a slight yelp, but from father away. What the hell... Brendan's vision returned, and he realized he was not where he was standing before. That's weird. I don't remember moving... The strange sense he felt before the wolf's initial attack returned, but this time, there was no saving flash. The black dog had tackled him, and held a firm grip on Brendan's forearm. It's angry red eyes smiled in victory, knowing it would eat tonight.

The pain was unbearable. Brendan just wanted something to end it before the wolf would rip way his flesh.

WHAM!

The wolf yelped, letting go of Brendan's arm, allowing Brendan to kick the animal off of him.

"Liz! Thank god you're here." he said in relief, holding his bleeding arm. "Look out!" He grabbed Liz around the waist as the wolf attacked again, and there was another bright flash and the pair appeared another ten feet from where they originally stood.

"Ummm... What the hell just happened?" asked Liz, with a confused look on her face.

"I think the rock did..." Brendan was interrupted by the danger sense comming back, but it abruptly stopped, unlike the other two times. He turned around and found himself eye to eye with the bloodthirtsy hound. It was snapping and snarling, but somehow was suspended in mid air. Brendan turned around again to look at Liz.

"Yea, I'm doing that. At least I think I am." said Liz, looking from Brendan, to the wolf, and back to Brendan. A look of extreme concentration crossed her face, as the wolf lifted higher into the air, and flew off into the distance. Liz looked tired and drained. "I don't think he'll be back for a while." she smiled as she looked up at Brendan. "Are you OK?"

"I think so." replied Brendan, as he pulled his hand off the wound. Blood continued to gush out. "Or not." He pulled off his tshirt and wrapped it tightly around his arm.

"Oh my god. Come on back to the camp. I think Laura knows first aid, since she's a lifeguard."

"So do I."

"Well, you're kind of useless right now with your only good hand being your left one, B. What are you going to do, tape it with your teeth? Come on."

The two hurried back to camp in the pale moonlight, discussing what the hell just happened. The only conclusion they could come to was that when they had touched the meteor rock, it had given them powers.

"We can't tell anyone about this." explained Brendan. "Not JP, not Laura, not your parents. No one." Liz nodded in agreement.

"Whooooaaaa! What were you two doing?! Haha." Joked Grady, as he saw Liz and the shirtless Brendan approach the fire.

"Not that." replied Brendan, giving a reassuring glance at Laura. "Actually, I was getting attack by animals." he said, motioning to the bloody shirt on his arm. "Still have your med kit here, honey?"

"Oh my gosh." Laura sprung from her chair and pulled Brendan by his one good hand to their tent, where she proceeded to disinfect and bandage up her boyfriend's arm, as he told her what happened.

"Were you scared when you saw it?" she asked wide eyed, as she wrapped his arm.

"Not really."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm serious. I saw it coming, so I side-stepped it, but then it caught me off guard, and took me down."

"Lucky for both of us, Liz went out looking for you. It was weird, though. She just stood up and left not long after you did. Then when you came back without a shirt..."

Brendan interrupted her, knowing where she was going. "Babe, you know I'd never cheat on you." He pulled her close and kissed her lightly.

"You're right. Maybe it's just the alcohol thinking for me..." she smiled back at him. "But you need to go to a hospital as soon as we get back to the city. I don't want it getting worse. I'm kind of tired now anyways. Want to go to sleep?"

"Yea it do. It's been a crazy night." he replied. "Hey guys, we're going to sleep now, so keep it down." he announced to The Heard.

"Sure you are! Whoooooo!" called back Cam, causing everyone to laugh. The couple just shook their heads, and cuddled together until they finally fell asleep.

Next post: To the city (For real this time)! Who is the Carver?!

Umm...a little late, but I vote The Carver. Sounds cooler.....

And fantastic stuff, dude.

OK, so there will be a post comming. Just as soon as I can overcome this writer's block. Any ideas for Liz's alter-ego?

What powers does she have?

Liz is psychic. Pretty much like Jean Grey.

Cortex? (Like the Cerebral Cotex)

Mindwave?

Then we need to know whether she is good or evil...that could decide a name as well.

Cerebra?

Psyche?

Psychodrive?

Psy?

I can keep going on with these ;D

It had been three days since the Heard had returned from the camping trip, giving Brendan time to work on fine tuning his powers by himself. There were a few teleportations where he had left behind a shoe, or his shirt, but for the most part, he was getting the hang of it. His arm had also head quite nicely, and surprisingly fast. It showed no sign of scarring, or even any evidence that he was even attacked at all.

The classroom he now sat in was sweltering from the summer heat. Brendan was taking summer classes at the local university before re-joining the luge community in the winter, where he would travel all over Europe and North America along with Gunner, and Nick. The professor's monotonous voice droned on through the lecture, as Brendan struggled to stay awake, before drifting into a daydream about himself and Laura.

In the daydream, they were making out, waist deep in the ocean, when suddenly Liz appeared. "Awesome." said Brendan, as he went to pull Liz closer, only to have his hand slapped away.

"Don't even think about it." she said, with a glare.

Why would I even let that happen in a daydream? Brendan thought. Worst. Daydream. Ever.

"I'm not a part of your little daydream, B. I'm using my powers to talk to you. Apparently I'm telepathic on top of my telepathy." A smile crossed her face. "Cute fantasy."

Quickly, everything around them dissolved into blackness, leaving only Brendan and Liz standing there. "New rule. Knock before you enter, Liz."

"I'll try to remember that next time." She smiled. "Figured out what all your powers are yet?"

"I think so." he replied. "There's the teleporting, obviously, which is really bright, so I think I need to wear my sunglasses when I do it. Then I think I heal faster too, since my wolf bite seems to be fully healed. Definitely stronger and faster too. Found that out at the gym this morning. What about you?"

"I already told you. Telepathic and telekinetic. Pay attention."

"I would, but I'm also trying to pay attention to the class going on right now. Stupid chemistry has the rules that everything follows, and then a list of a million exceptions! It's ridiculous!"

"Well, when I got here, you seemed to be really focused on it." replied Liz, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'll leave you alone then. Call me when you get out. Then we can talk more about this." she said as she faded out.

Brendan snapped back to reality, just as the professor was finishing up the lecture.

"Alright, any questions? Good. We have a test on this tomorrow."

Great.

Awesome again, dude.

Brendan sat on the couch of his apartment, with his guitar on his lap, and homework spread out on the coffee table in front of him. He was casually plucking at the strings, playing a slow blues number as he read over the notes he had from the class. Even doing something as simple as reading, Brendan was always doing something with his hands, whether it was playing guitar, or just twirling a pen between his fingers. He claimed it as a way to build his hand-eye coordination, while other would call it a result of the gears turning in his head.

His studying was interrupted by a loud squeak comming from the door. A side effect of the lock being too tight. The door opened and in stepped Liz.

"When did I give you a key?" asked Brendan, still on the couch.

"You didn't." said Liz with a smile, as she closed the door behind her. "I used my powers."

"What if I'd been naked?"

"But you weren't. I knew that anyways, since, you know... I can get in your head." she said smugly, tapping Brendan's temple.

Brendan exhaled, looking a bit annoyed. "Well, you still have to knock. What are you doing here anyways?"

Liz sat down on the couch, next to Brendan. "I wanted to talk about our powers. I want you full attention on this too, so..." She levitated the guitar out of Brendan's hands, and set it down on the other side of the room. "Now. What are we going to do with them?" she asked, staring him down with her piercing blue eyes.

Brendan began to drum his fingers on the couch. "I was thinking about that too. I mean, there's not a Super Powers For Dummies book... But I'm sure we can figure our powers out together."

"Well yea, I knew that was a given, but how would be use them? Like for us, for good... You know? Honestly, I don't think I would use them to rob banks or anything (As easy as it would be), and being hired to use them wouldn't be too good either, since we might not always he hired by the right people. I figure we use them to help people."

"So we just take up crime fighting? Running around in spandex and such?" asked Brendan.

"Not any different for you, luger. You should be used to that. But not spandex, for sure, though some kind of disguise would be good, you know, keep JP, Laura and our families out of the mess." Liz explained as the two of them walked out to the deck, overlooking downtown Calgary before them.

"Good point." Brendan leaned on the railing, as the cool summer night breeze blew through his hair. "So what would we wear? It's not like one of us is a billionaire with a bunch of technology and money at our disposal. We're a couple of broke students..."

Liz looked down at the street below them. "I dunno. I guess we just go in something comfortable and easy to move in for now. We'll need masks of course."

Bredan looked at Liz and raised his hand. "Actually, no mask for me. I need to wear my sunglasses, since whenever I teleport, it's usually in a really bright flash, and it kills my eyes. They're the only thing that keeps me from being blind after."

"Touche." said Liz as she looked him in the eyes, probing his thoughts again. "Wait. You've already picked out a codename?"

"Yup. Haven't you?"

"No, not yet." They sat in silence for a minute. "Paragon? Isn't that getting a bit full of yourself, B?" she scoffed with a half smile.

"At least I have one."

I'd do more, but the Office is on, and my attention span is shot...

The warm summer rain beat gently against the window, as Brendan lay sprawled over the couch, watching a re-run of The Office. It had been another long day of school and training, but both were getting easier and easier for him. His memory was greatly improving, making classes a breeze for him. The old weights he had been lifting a week ago were now becoming quite easy to move, and he was quite close to lifting almost 1.5 times his body weight with little effort. So far, the powers were awesome.

Hey, B! I figured out a codename, finally!

Liz's voice echoed loudly through Brendan's mind with her announcement, startling him enough that he fell off of the couch.

"Holy crap, Liz. Fine tuning is off. Sounds like you just blasted an air horn in my head..." groaned Brendan.

"Sorry. Anyways, as I was saying, I figured out a codename finally. Minerva."

"Roman goddess of wisdom? AKA Athena?" Brendan asked. "And you called me full of myself for 'Paragon'. If that's not the..."

"Pot calling the kettle black... Yea I know. But if you get "One having no equal" I think being named after a goddess is keeping with the trend." She interrupted. "What do you think of the costume?"

Brendan looked over to some bags by the door, containing the start of his disguise. "Meh. It's OK."

"Have you even opened the bags that I brought you?"

"Yes." lied Brendan.

"You realize you can't lie to me anymore. Now put on the stuff and flash over here. I want to see how it looks."

Brendan sighed. He knew there was no point in resisting, since Liz's powers had also been increasing over the past few weeks. She was able to levitate objects about equal to what Brendan was physically lifting, and the range of her telepathy was increasing as well. He slowly peeled himself off of the couch and made his way over to the bags. The first item on top was a new pair of sunglasses. Bright white Oakley Radars with gold lenses. Obviously a custom model, since he had never seen that colour combination in store. The next Items were a tight, white long sleeved shirt and black  pants with a gold stripe down the side. Brendan quickly got dressed in what would be his super-suit, as they had called it in "The Incredibles", and with a flash he was on his way to Liz's.
______________________

"Looks good, Paragon." said Liz as Brendan appeared in her family living room. She was dressed in her outfit; tight deep purple, almost black pants with a silver stripe, a matching sleeveless top, and a domino mask over her eyes.

"You too. But is a tiny mask like that really going to conceal your identity? I mean, it's just covering your eyes."

"Probably about the same as you wearing sunglasses. And there's one more thing for you." she said, tossing Brendan a long black overcoat.

"Wow, where in the Matrix did you get this?" Brendan joked, as he put on the jacket.

"Laugh it up, Chuckles. But I've got a feeling there's something going on downtown, and this could be our chance."
_____________________
Downtown

"What are you doing? Please! No!" Screamed the man as the assailant jammed the needle into him, injecting a fluid and the drug made it's way through his system, removing his muscle control, making him go limp.

The moon reflected off the white mask of the assailant while the mask's cold black eyes stared at the victim, while the eyes behind it smiled with pleasure. "The anethetic should be taking hold of you now, though it's not the type to numb the pain..." started the masked figure. Their voice was heavily distorted through what must have been a device in the mask. "I am sure you have heard of surgeries in which the anesthetic only paralyzes the patient, though they are still awake and able to feel? Well, I've managed to make one that does just that, and that is what is in you right now." The figure slapped the man across the face, but received no reaction. "Did you like that? It will only be getting better." He slowly removed a surgical scalpel, and held it to the helpless victim's face.

"You will be the first to witness the art of The Carver."

Nice man, just caught up and didn't know you had continued this. It looks good man and I'm looking forward to seeing how they tangle with the Carver.

Alright, post coming tomorrow for this (70% chance...). Any comments and/or critiques would be appreciated! (Always looking to improve)

"This is the place?"

The couple of would-be vigilantes stood amidst a darkened penthouse, after another teleportation. "Yea, I'm sure this time." whispered Liz. "I can feel two people in the next room. One is in a lot of pain, but can't call for help, and the other is way too happy."

Brendan snickered under his breath.

"Oh grow up." scolded Liz telepathically.

"Fine. But seriously, if this is the wrong place again, I'm not going to be happy." he whispered back. They crept silently down the darkened hallway to where the voice could be heard.

"... And now for the finishing touch. The Carver's art will be world famous!" came the heavily distorted voice from the other room. Paragon poked his head around the corner and was horrified by what he saw. A tall menacing figure, wearing an eerie porcelain mask, stood over a limp, seemingly lifeless body.

"Oh my God..." said Liz "I know the man on the floor. I'm pretty sure that's Harvey Romo."

"The rich old playboy? I barely recognize him. What the hell did that freak do to him? Look at his face!"

Romo's face was now horribly mangled. A slice done with surgical accuracy went from the edges of his lips and across his cheeks, giving him the appearance of a smile. Cuts just under his eyes made him look as though he had been crying blood, and his tongue, which was hanging out, had been cut down the middle, making it like a snake's.

"This guy's psycho! I'm taking him out, right now." said Paragon, as he ran into the room, ready to tackle the Carver.

"Wait! We don't know what he can do..."  Minerva tried to explain, but it was too late. Paragon had teleported in with a bliding flash, causing The Carver to turn, just in time to see the young man plough into him, sending him across the room. The Carver was quick though, he had fallen by his bag, and quickly pulled out a needle. He plunged the syringe deep into Paragon's right thigh, and released the liquid.

"B!" screamed Liz, as she ran into the room. Using her telekinesis, she threw the Carver's bag across the room and out of his reach, before he could pull out another tool. Next, she removed the needle from Paragon's leg, as he collapsed to the floor next to Romo. "You!" screamed Liz as the masked man. "Don't you dare hurt my friend!" With that, she picked up two rather large statues, and hurled them at The Carver using her telekinesis. The first statue went wide right, but the second ended up a direct hit, sending the man flying across the room and pinning him against the wall behind the sculpture.

"Hahahahahaha." he laughed maniacally, as he tried to free himself. "You are quite the work of art, my dear." he said, looking up at Liz as she walked closer and closer to the madman.

Paragon suddenly stirred, and struggled to his feet. "Holy crap. What kind of anathetic cocktail was that." moaned Brendan, holding his head. "It's like the worst hangover ever times ten!"

"What!?" shouted The Carver, turning his attention to Paragon. "You should have incapacitated for another six hours! Remarkable..." He continued to struggle with the statue pinning him down. "It seems you are both quite remarkable specimens. It will be so much fun to mould you into wonder pieces of art like Mr. Romo here..."

"Yea, I doubt that, ya freak." sneered Paragon as he loomed over the man. "Now let's have a Scooby Doo moment, and see if you actually are the creepy old guy who runs the haunted amusement park." he smiled, as he reached for the Carver's mask.

"No touching, boy!" said the Carver, as he suddenly freed a leg and kicked Paragon in the face, causing blood to pour from his nose. The Carver then pused over the statue onto Liz, and sprayed the two with a gas, fired from small tubes hidden in his wrists. The two were temporarily blinded, as their eyes welled up with tears, while being simultaniously sent to a coughing fit. Brendan was the first to recover, and saw The Carver had made his getaway, and left behind his mask on the floor, smiling it's creepy smile at up at them.

"Bas@#$% signed his work..." mumbled Paragon, before turning to Liz, who had just lifted the statue off of herself. "You all right, Minerva?" he asked, helping the brunette to her feet.

"I guess. But we blew it." she said, dusting herself off. "That freak got away, and we just trashed the penthouse of the richest guy in the city for nothing!"

Paragon shrugged. "Meh. He's rich. He can buy new stuff, considering we're going to get him to a hospital ASAP to save his life. I'm sure he won't mind. Isn't that right, sir?" he asked the motionless body.

"You do not want to hear what's he's thinking right now, Paragon." said Minerva, with a half smile. "I don't think he appreciates your brand of humor."

Paragon smiled. "His loss. I'm halarious. Before we go, I just want to take a look at this mask. Maybe we can find something out about this Carver guy." he said, picking up the white mask. "Oh s@#$..."

Inside the mask, was a small digital countdown timer.

[0:05]

Nice Paragon, I'm glad you got more wrote out again.

Thanks Andy. Hopefully I don't have another 3 month gap between posts...

Post on the way.