A Dark Future

[Feng]

Bone's adjusts his hat, looking up at Joker with his yellow eyes.

"I say, if it isn't Joker. It's been a while."

"Oh, before you ask about my strange behavior, its a long story involving dimension hopping and mistaken identity. I won't bore you with the details."

He looks around, soaking in the environment.

"I have to say, the Deck certainly appears to have outdone itself. No doubt your interior decorator has exquisite taste."

[Bigmouthstrikes]

Bone's adjusts his hat, looking up at Joker with his yellow eyes.

"I say, if it isn't Joker. It's been a while."

"Oh, before you ask about my strange behavior, its a long story involving dimension hopping and mistaken identity. I won't bore you with the details."

He looks around, soaking in the environment.

"I have to say, the Deck certainly appears to have outdone itself. No doubt your interior decorator has exquisite taste."

The figure laughed. "Is that so? Are there a number of traveling interlopers about my streets? For they are my streets now, and it would benefit me to know."

You military types do this every time in just about every world. *He sighs.* Never mind that I'm an immortal magical creature that has survived being present at the end of entire universes I still get treated this way. *Addressing the man.* My business is to see what is going on here. Care to share the info with a man who hasn't located any infolink hubs or the like in the past 30 seconds or so since he got here?

The soldier cocked his head to one side.

"This quadrant belongs to the Heart Master. Would you like to see her?" He asked

Dact nods, and silently follows!

In a short time, the pair arrived at a bombed out building. She looked at what appeared to be a mess of newspapers and cardboard boxes and gave it a kick. At once, they split down the middle, revealing a small trap door. She opened it for the two of them and led him inside.

Once in, she deactivated her hologram. They stood in some sort of underground saferoom. The main room had mattress on the floor, some lockers and a desk covered in some of Julia's trinkets and a computer. In the back, there was an armory of some sort, although it was very small, and a tiny restroom beyond that. The floors, walls and ceiling were all metal, and lit with a number of flourescent bulbs hooked into some manner of old batteries. They looked vaguely nuclear in nature.

"This is the safehouse." She said. "I'll let you have the mattress if you intend to stay."

A horrified look spread across Elliot's face as he listened to the man's claim of now owning Julia, her bakery... and even Elliot himself. He still cuddled the unconscious girl warmly, his cheeks turning red as a familiar looking waitress came into the room. His wide blue eyes looked to her name badge, and he swallowed a deep breath. Easing Julia down onto the pillows, he slowly climbed to his feet, the android girl version of himself proving to be quite a distraction.

"I don't know where she is... but even if I did, I'd never tell you", he said defiantly.

"I doubted you would." The man said in his gravelly voice. "But I know plenty of people who can."

He raised his hand, and a circle grew in the palm. There was an audible "THUNK" sound as a dart flew from it into Elliot's neck. Immediately, he would start to feel woozy as the chemical within began to numb his senses, and put him to sleep.

[Harri-chan]

Elliot started to reach behind himself when he saw the man doing something with his raised hand, but before he could do whatever it was he intended, the dart had struck him in the neck. His head flew back in suprise, and his eyes widened at first, before quickly starting to close. Lifting a hand of his own, he tried to grab at the dart, but his fingers kept missing as he staggered back and forth like a drunk, before collapsing onto the pillows... asleep!

[Jello Shot Mischa]

"You'll know soon enough." One of the guard says

And just like that, his comrade raised his rifle, and a flash took over Mischa's world.

Mischa had been planning to react if the soldiers seemed hostile... but finds his reflexes aren't quite good enough as the one quickly raises his rifle, momentarily blinding him with the flash!

[Raleigh]

Heart Master huh? Okay, lead the way. *Muttered under his breath.* If this ends in a Care Bear Stare event I'm eating someone but with a name like Heart Master I wouldn't be surprised if it does.

[Feng]

"You could say that," says Bones. "A woman wearing a blindfold seems to have opened a portal between my reality and yours, needless to say the adventurers from my realm should surely be walking amongst the streets of the city. You might want to double your guard just in case as I'm sure the heroic types will be after your head."

Bones stretches.

"No offense, but given the fact that its a Villainous collaborative, I'm surprised to see that the Deck was able to achieve such a effective victory in such time. You must have pulled off such a scheme to achieve this."

[Knight Errant]

After climbing down, Dact deactivates his hologram. "I'm not exactly sure what I intend at the moment. Can you tell me whats become of this place? It seems... exceedingly unlikely for any one group to have claimed control over muffinville. Especially since last I can recall several factions were all ready trying to do so and failing..."

[Bigmouthstrikes]

Elliot started to reach behind himself when he saw the man doing something with his raised hand, but before he could do whatever it was he intended, the dart had struck him in the neck. His head flew back in suprise, and his eyes widened at first, before quickly starting to close. Lifting a hand of his own, he tried to grab at the dart, but his fingers kept missing as he staggered back and forth like a drunk, before collapsing onto the pillows... asleep!

When Elliot came to, his surroundings were very different. The room around him was metal. The air felt damp, and there was a large machine rumbling next to him. His arms were clamped above his head, and his legs as well. A metal clamp was around his waist as well.

And speaking of that, his waist seemed much narrower than it had before. In fact, his whole body felt weird, and smaller.

"Rise and shine." A man in labcoat said to him. "We have much to discuss."

Light shown off of his glasses, obscuring his eyes. He wheeled a mirror around for Elliot to see himself...and he found a rather pretty young woman instead of his more familiar reflection.

After climbing down, Dact deactivates his hologram. "I'm not exactly sure what I intend at the moment. Can you tell me whats become of this place? It seems... exceedingly unlikely for any one group to have claimed control over muffinville. Especially since last I can recall several factions were all ready trying to do so and failing..."

"They consolidated them." She explained. "Or more specifically, they planted themselves in all of them. Even the CTC had Deck influence in it. They took control of everyone's armies, through one means or another, and by the time Muffinville knew what was happening, it was too late to stop it."

She let out a sigh. "Or at least that's what they'd like us to believe. The resistance really is stronger than it looks. In any case, the Deck has a pretty firm grip on the city right now. They control most of its tf resources and use them brutally. I wonder sometimes what happened to Natasha since they got her. Or Carl...wherever he is. We hear things sometimes out of the Temple. They aren't pretty."

Her eyes seemed a little sad at this thought.

"You could say that," says Bones. "A woman wearing a blindfold seems to have opened a portal between my reality and yours, needless to say the adventurers from my realm should surely be walking amongst the streets of the city. You might want to double your guard just in case as I'm sure the heroic types will be after your head."

Bones stretches.

"No offense, but given the fact that its a Villainous collaborative, I'm surprised to see that the Deck was able to achieve such a effective victory in such time. You must have pulled off such a scheme to achieve this."

"Oh, and what a scheme it was." He said gleefully, "They never knew what hit them, the poor sleeping fools."

He took him to a window that held a breathtaking view of the city. Apart from the damage done in fighting, it seemed normal enough. Just an occasional structure jutting form the landscape that didn't quite belong.

"Do you see those temples?" He said. "That's the real secret of my power. That's where I get rid of people. They raised from the ground on the day we made our move. I can control people in and around them. It's a beautiful thing. Perhaps you'd like a demonstration?"

Heart Master huh? Okay, lead the way. *Muttered under his breath.* If this ends in a Care Bear Stare event I'm eating someone but with a name like Heart Master I wouldn't be surprised if it does.

And lead the way he did. The soldier took him to a large, black building jutting from the ground.

After a long walk, they group found themselves in a lovely looking palace. At its head, on a heart shaped throne, sat a beautiful woman. Over her clothing, she wore a white cape with a red heard on it.

"Hello, traveler." She said in a husky voice as the pair approached.

"You'll know soon enough." One of the guard says

And just like that, his comrade raised his rifle, and a flash took over Mischa's world.

Mischa had been planning to react if the soldiers seemed hostile... but finds his reflexes aren't quite good enough as the one quickly raises his rifle, momentarily blinding him with the flash!

When his vision returned, he was in a very different place. Chained in a leotard not far from her, was Rosetta. She was also chained to a wall.

"Engage the energy confinement device." A woman's voice called out. A thin green light surrounded Mischa, like a bubble.

"Mischa! Do something!" Rosetta pleaded.

[Harri-chan]

Elliot was never quick to wake naturally, and it seemed the same was true when the sleep had been forced upon him. His squinted as his eyes opened, and he looked around in confusion, before he went to rub at his eyes and found his arms were held above his head. He went to try and sit up, but realised his legs were locked down too. The real shock came however, when he glanced down at the clamp around his waist... and saw his body.

A horrified scream came from the young woman's lips. It was easy to make Elliot look like a girl, but the skin-tight swimsuit made it obvious this was more than just dressing up. As the mirror was wheeled over, she started at her reflection and moaned, squirming desperately, trying to cover up, which was impossible with her body chained in place like this.

"I've had enough now!", she yelled at the top of her lungs, although she wasn't looking at the man with glasses, she was staring at the mirror still. "I want to come out!".

[Raleigh]

Greetings. I suppose you must be the Heart Master this fellow was talking about. Any chance you would care to fill me in on what is going on around here?

[Knight Errant]

Dact nods. "Well I cant sit by while such an injustice exists... this may not be my land, but my sword will still swing in the name of it.."

He pauses. ''I heard on the loudspeaker that the version of me here had been captured. Can you tell me anything about that? If he has the same abilities as me, I'd rather the capture scenario not be repeated."

[Bigmouthstrikes]

Dact nods. "Well I cant sit by while such an injustice exists... this may not be my land, but my sword will still swing in the name of it.."

He pauses. ''I heard on the loudspeaker that the version of me here had been captured. Can you tell me anything about that? If he has the same abilities as me, I'd rather the capture scenario not be repeated."

A look of admiration crossed Julia's pretty face. "You just heard you'd been captured and you've already decided to help. I'll be damned..."

It was quickly replaced by a frown when the conversation turned to his capture. "I can actually tell you all too much about that. I was with you when it happened."

"We'd been doing some operations together." She told him. "Blew up some ammo dumps, one of their research facilities. We'd been talking a bit and decided that the only targets that were really worth out time where the 13 temples. So we went after one. Inside, they have power over anyone. We'd heard the rumors, but taken them for exaggerations. We thought we could take it. They let us sneak in...got us to think that everything was okay. Then once we were inside, we got ambushed. They'd been following our movements and biding their time all along. We ended up bottlenecking them in a hallway and you went down so that I could get out."

She grew quiet. "I don't know what happened to you after that..."

Greetings. I suppose you must be the Heart Master this fellow was talking about. Any chance you would care to fill me in on what is going on around here?

"The organization known as the Deck has taken over the city," She told him. "I assume that my wretched blind sister led you here. I know she'd threatened it. Is there anything specifically that you'd like to know?"

Elliot was never quick to wake naturally, and it seemed the same was true when the sleep had been forced upon him. His squinted as his eyes opened, and he looked around in confusion, before he went to rub at his eyes and found his arms were held above his head. He went to try and sit up, but realised his legs were locked down too. The real shock came however, when he glanced down at the clamp around his waist... and saw his body.

A horrified scream came from the young woman's lips. It was easy to make Elliot look like a girl, but the skin-tight swimsuit made it obvious this was more than just dressing up. As the mirror was wheeled over, she started at her reflection and moaned, squirming desperately, trying to cover up, which was impossible with her body chained in place like this.

"I've had enough now!", she yelled at the top of her lungs, although she wasn't looking at the man with glasses, she was staring at the mirror still. "I want to come out!".

"Alright." The doctor said. "I'll let you out very easily. But first, I need answers to a question...and an important one at that."

He pushed up his glasses and stood up more strait before bellowing his question in an authoritative tone. "Where is Julia Kovacs?"

[Knight Errant]

Dact listens quietly... as she finishes he nods. "I see... well if I was working with you, you must be a good person." He smiles a bit. "Right. I need to find out where I am... err.. the other me. I think its time for a self rescue..."

[Bigmouthstrikes]

"I know exactly where you are." She said brightly. "And I'll help too. It's only fair, after all..."

[Knight Errant]

Dact grins. "Wonderful... tell me what you know on where I'm being held... if you have had any plans beforehand I'll be sure to listen."