(As this story develops, it will be added at the end. *modified 7/21/2004*)

Part One:

In the aftermath of the Rikti Invasion, it was expected and accepted that the number of missing persons reports would be high. When a disaster like that occurs, as morbid as it may sound, it is understood that in time, the missing persons list will likely be reduced more by the recovery of bodies than in recovery of living persons. But people always have hope. And as time goes on, as bodies are found, miraculous survivors discovered, the list dwindles, memorials are held, and lives move on in the only way they can.

Although the heroes of Paragon and their more heroic non-powered police counterparts have done their best to keep the city as safe as they can, every citizen knows that these are nearly lawless times. Thefts and murders are on the rise, vandalism and threats are almost a constant. Some areas of the city are not remotely safe for the common man, and some areas are even worse, unsafe even for superheroes.

Recently, I was contacted by a couple who’s daughter had gone missing. Sarah Reynolds was your average twenty three year old living in Paragon. She was attending Paragon University since it reopened its doors, and working evenings at a local Mega Mart. I had previously made the acquaintance of Ms. Reynolds at Doheeny’s Pub in Atlas Park, the bar above which the Front Page offices reside. She had been picking up the occasional shift as a waitress for extra money, and every three or four weeks, Patrick Doheeny allowed her band, Little Finger, to play.

The Paragon City Police Department had taken the initial missing persons report when Sarah had not been seen for three days. It wasn’t uncommon for her parents to not see her for several days, but when she didn’t turn up for family sunday dinner, with no call to explain her absence, they went to the police. There, Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds were told that they would do what they could, but between the rising crime rate and a rash of missing persons, their resources were stretched thin.

The Reynolds waited three more days giving the Police a chance before turning elsewhere. When they came to my offices, a missing persons case seemed, sadly, commonplace. The clockworks have been kidnapping mechanics right and left, and it seems that anyone in a field of science is a target for any of the criminal elements. But this was the first person I had known prior to them going missing. I contacted Lt. Blake of the QRT to see what she knew.

“The number of missing persons cases right now,” Zoe said almost in a whisper, “are almost as high as they ever were after the Rikti. Its getting out of hand.” I knew from recent talks that Lt. Blake had been working semi closely with the supergroup “nobody’s heroes” of late in an attempt to close cold cases and try to clean up the streets a little. “These cases,” she continued, “right now the best we can do is try to determine if they are just missing or kidnapped. If there is any definite evidence of foul play that we can attribute to one of the known organizations, the case is assigned to the appropriate task force. That’s how the PD is working these days, there are some patrolmen, but most of the personnel have been allocated to task forces allowing them to get familiar with a particular style of tactics used to combat a particular crime unit. They are fairly successful, but anything that doesn’t fit a task force can fall between the cracks.”

Zoe assured me that if she could get away, she’d assist me in any way she could, knowing me well enough to know that I was already planning to take up the case myself. I spoke with the Reynolds and learned that Sarah had last been seen in King’s Row at a night club, Rafters, with some friends. She’d gotten on the train with them, they had gotten off in Galaxy City while she continued on to Atlas Park. And that’s where the trail ended. The Paragon Transit Authority reported no disturbances on the train that night. Sarah’s parents had gone to her apartment and don’t think she actually returned home that night. Sarah’s keys, wallet, and some clothes, presumably what she was wearing, were all they could tell was missing.

With almost six days having passed since her possible abduction, I feared the trail would be cold. And it was. Retracing her steps from the King’s Row nightclub, to the train, and on to Atlas Park, I found no sign of foul play that could be connected to Sarah Reynolds.

I awoke that night to fevered dreams, and had to get out of the office. I got on the train and rode around the city for hours, completing the circuit a dozen dozen times. I had checked the train schedules and search the train she would have ridden, and I had scoured the railway from King’s Row to Atlas Park. And as the train neared Atlas Park again, I heard the operator announce, “Next stop, Atlas Park. This train will continue on to Skyway City, King’s Row, Galaxy City and Steel Canyon.” For some reason, Skyway City stuck in my head. I got off at Atlas and hurried to the PTA offices. As before, the incident logs showed nothing unusual, and I asked the man at the desk about the various log books they kept. “The trains run non-stop, all night and day,” he said, “except when we need to service them. Then we pull them off after Skyway and make the passengers switch trains.”

If Sarah had missed her stop, or decided to go stay with a friend, or return to the club, I thought, and demanded to see the maintenance logs. Sure enough, her train, 17, had been pulled off the tracks for service the night she’d gone missing. I dashed back to Rafters and rifled through their lost and found bins until I came across a jacket with a Doheeny’s waitress slip and a guitar pick in the inside pocket. It had to be Sarah’s.

It was clear, to me at least, that Sarah had decided to head back to the club for her jacket, and been forced to switch trains. Or worse, she might have tried to make the rest of her was to King’s Row on foot.

In Skyway City, the trail was as cold as it had always been, but at least now I could place her somewhere off the train. I will find her, one step at a time, by inches, if that’s what it takes.

But it still puzzled me. Nothing yet indicated a Vahzilok attack, they were usually messy. Most other organizations or gangs would have demanded a ransom by now. Is this a new threat to Paragon that doesn’t fit the bill of any of the task forces? Has it just slipped between the cracks? Could it possibly be a “normal” disappearance that isn’t superhero or villain group related? I won’t rest until I know for sure.

Part Two:

Not wanting to waste more time, I contact First Strike Security about the case. They were interested and had been pursuing a few contracts of their own concerning abducted individuals. Lt. Blake and I met up with Contact, CEO of First Strike Security, and his teammates Wild Rose, Tazina, and Protos.

Contact informed us that we would be entering a Rikti hive in search of some missing military personnel and other hostages. I hadn’t been aware of the level of the Rikti presence still in Paragon City, but I got to meet it first hand as wave after wave of them assaulted us. We rescued Lt. Hildebrandt, who said upon release, “Thank you, Contact! Listen, there are others in danger!” We moved from one hive to the next in search of the remaining hostages.

We recovered the remaining hostages, but Sarah Reynolds wasn’t among them. Contact and I discussed the nature of the Rikti attacks in Paragon, and the pattern didn’t fit my search. The Rikti captured people of knowledge or position for military strategy and leverage. Sarah didn’t fit their bill.

While we had been rousting the Rikti, First Strike Security had been contracted to investigate another hostage situation, two Lawyers in Founders’ Falls. I didn’t have any hope we’d find Sarah there, but with the Circle of Thorns involved, I figured that we might find a lead on other of their operations.

We stormed the law offices and quickly defeated the ill equipped Circle of Thorns. During the raid, I recovered some ritual tomes to take to Azuria of M.A.G.I. Contact made mention that if I felt the Circle of Thorns were involved I should get in touch with the Lightningale, and I made a mental note to do so when I returned to my office.

After conferring with their client, the First Strike Security team learned that the ritual being performed had been part of a pact between the Circle of Thorns, Nemesis and the Rikti. Receiving the location of a Nemesis meeting, they headed out to try to stop the unthinkable union.

In the sewers we found the Nemesis forces and engaged them with all our resolve. I even found myself in the action momentarily when my attempts to take photos drew too much attention. I may be a mild mannered reporter, but lets just say I can pack a punch when the chips are down.

Having put an end to one side of the deal, we continued on with new information leading to a Circle of Thorns base, in part of a cave system that must be a section of the mystic city under Paragon. We met with stiff resistance as we traversed the halls and rope bridges within. Ultimately, we prevailed, temporarily stopping the pact, and I was able to recover a few more artifacts for study.

The Circle of Thorns definitely bear more investigation on this case. They can be stealthy, leaving little to no trace, and their magics feed off the life energies of the very souls of their victims. The Rikti and Nemesis, on the other hand, I am fairly certain can be crossed off the list of suspects.

There is still hope.

Part Three:

The phone rang just after dawn pulling me from a disturbing dream. On the other end was The Sly Fox of First Strike Security. He had more information on Orenbaga, the city of the Circle of Thorns. I welcomed the data and listened to what he had to say, and I was just about to excuse myself and ask him to email me the rest when he mentioned missing people.

I gathered my things and headed for the train to meet up with him and others from FSS. Boscoe, Wild Rose and Kachina were already there when I arrived. Sly Fox had a lead on a Circle member who was going to turn, and promised to hand over secrets and locations of rituals and missing persons. Still, I had yet to prove the Thorns were involved in Sarah’s case, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hope.

We carefully picked our way through dusty halls and across tattered rope bridges into this, another section of the mystical city beneath Paragon. It was quiet, eerie. The torches flickering cast odd shadows on the walls. At last we approached a great hall, and while attempting to disable a single guard, we were spotted, and they we upon us.

The pitched battle drew on forever it seemed. Sly Fox called forth his phantoms and pulled freezing rain from the air around us. Kachina threw up her force fields and fired blasts into the fray. Wild Rose infused the group with energy, healing wounds and restoring vigor. Boscoe charged headstrong into the waves to take them on face to face.

Finally the last of the Thorns and their daemons had fallen. Though weary, the group pressed onward. Protos arrived then, having been on another assignment prior, and we pushed deep into the temple.

In the end, the traitor had been no turncoat at all. He had lured these heroes here with his promises, but attacked them on sight. First Strike Security was victorious, and locations of kidnapped citizens were recovered. Sarah Reynolds was not among them.

After I was returned to the safety of the train station, I boarded and made my way to Skyway City. Rattling the cages of these groups was good, but the trail to Sarah had to be here. I sat on the station steps and sorted quickly through the little concrete information I had. I felt a presence behind me, and suddenly a small stack of papers hit my shoulder.

I took the papers and turned to find Lt. Blake behind me. “These should interest you,” she said. And I regarded the papers she had handed me. A stack of missing persons reports, seven in all. Each of them had one thing in common, they had all been seen last on the same night that Sarah had disappeared. “I did some follow-up on those myself, though you may want to dig deeper,” she continued. “All of those don’t fit the task forces. Nothing to indicate abduction by the usual suspects. But at least one can also be placed on the train that night at approximately the same time as Sarah.”

My jaw hung open until Zoe reached out and shut it for me. We got on the train and headed back to the Front Page offices, where I started making phone calls. By the end of the day I’d been able to place three more of them on the train close to the same time of night. I couldn’t guarantee they’d all been on 17 and all gotten off in Skyway, but the coincidences were enough to make me suspect I was really on to something. One thing was for sure, this wasn’t some random psychotic. This was organized. If they were all together, and had all been abducted, to take eight people at once would require numbers… or powers.

Part Four:

I got in touch with Lightningale of the Midnight Avengers and discussed with her the possibility of the Circle of Thorns involvement. She agreed that kidnapping was definitely up their alley, and agreed to bring some of her team to help me sweep Skyway City for clues.

Lightningale arrived with teammates Rejuvinate, Shriven, Spirit Angel and Sky Mistress. Lt. Blake was, of course, by my side. We spoke briefly about the situation and assessed the groups within Skyway. None of the missing people were particularly proficient in mechanics, so the Clockwork were an unlikely suspect, and the Trolls are less likely to kidnap as they are to rob, but the Lost have been known to take hostages though usually for ransom or political gain. It was, however, the best direction we had.

As we traveled toward the dangerous “Land of the Lost” the Midnight Avengers kept their mystical eyes, ears, and sixth senses open for any clue or detail that might help. A group of five brightly attired heroes doesn’t go unnoticed long on the streets by the criminal element, so it wasn’t long before we were directly challenged.

The Midnight Avengers fought off the attacks, and took the fight directly to them, seeking out the Lost’s street preachers and their listeners. The mutated Lost with their alien weapons and the mind powers of their rectors gave as good as they got, retreating only to return in larger numbers.

As the battles raged on, Lightningale tried to capture images from the minds of our assailants. The insanity within them threatened to tear at her own mind with each venture, but at last she was able to pull an image from one of them. A group of people being herded by others. The image was old and unclear, this Lost’s vision from his hiding place had been dark and his mind didn’t seem to process thoughts the same as normal humans.

Along with the image, Lightningale had sensed that this rector had remained hidden not just because he was outnumbered, but because he was in unfamiliar territory. We began to head north out of the Land of the Lost. As we travelled, Shriven mused about the lack of mystical auras. And not just a lack, but an absolute absence.

It was then that we were set upon by clockworks. Their usual cry of dismantling, assimilating, and reconstructing filled the air. When the last of them was crushed, Shriven and Lightningale gathered around a fallen Tesla Knight. “This clockwork observed seeing a group of trolls directing a rather large group of non-trolls through Skyway recently,” Shriven said at last. “The knight apparently sent a few oscillators to recon the situation, but none returned.”

They had disconnected the head, and severed its connection to the clockwork completely. I took the head then because one of my contacts had mentioned a scientist who might be able to get more from it. Having a few more pieces of the puzzle now, I needed to get back to the books and the police files to do more research. We headed for King’s Row so I could speak with Samual Pierce.

On the streets we spied another gathering of trolls in an alley. My anger toward them was growing. Knowing now that they were involved, I wanted to take action myself, but decided it was best to get to the Row. That is, until I saw one of the trolls wearing a gray tweed coat. I snapped, charging the trolls and laying into them with my fists. The Midnight Avengers and Lt. Blake backed me up and we arrested them. I peeled the unconscious troll at me feet out of the coat, and fingered the faded label. “Edward Levin” was written on it in a faded black ink, one of the missing people. The Avengers assisted Lt. Blake in taking the trolls to the police station as I continue on to King’s Row through the nearby tunnel.

I called Mr. Pierce and he agreed to meet me at the train station in the Row. I filled him in on the latest developments and showed him the clockwork head. “Well, Calvin,” Samual said, “the guy I know, he’s brilliant, but a little weird, and wired. Just warning you okay?” I nodded. “Dr. Waylin’s your guy. He’s got an office in Atlas Park, but spends most of his time in his lab in Galaxy City. He’s fiddled with just about every device ever created. He worked with the Portal Corporation for while, and was involved with the work on the Rikti Portals. He’s even done some scientific work on the Circle of Thorns and Tsoo magics trying to engineer counters for them and put a hard facts face on the mystical. Waylin is out there, but if anyone can help you, its probably him.” Sam jotted down the address and passed me the slip of paper. “It’s not my thing, you know, but I meet the strangest people sometimes. I hope it helps.”

I thanked Sam and headed out to put a few thoughts down in writing. I called Dr. Waylin’s office and he agreed to see me the next day, and reminded me a dozen times to make sure I brought the Tesla Knight’s head. Maybe, I allowed myself to wonder, maybe we’re finally getting somewhere.

Part Five:

This final part of the story comes in late after a bizarre ordeal. I spent the entire night pooring through the books on the Circle of Thorns Azuria had lent me, as I wasn’t sure they weren’t involved. I woke up the following day, gathered up the clockwork remains and headed to Dr. Waylin’s office. What happened when I reached there was, beyond belief, and rather than try to retell the tale myself, I’m simply going to include a transcription of my tape recorder.

Calvin Meeks: Dr. Waylin?
Dr. Waylin: Ah, Mr. Meeks, we meet at last.
Calvin Meeks: I’ve heard much about you Dr. Waylin, I do hope you can help.
Dr. Waylin: Why don’t you fill me in Calvin, I read your paper, but I’m curious to know what it is you know, and how I might be able to help.
Calvin Meeks: Well, as I’m sure you read, this started with a missing girl.
Dr. Waylin: Sarah Reynolds, yes?
Calvin Meeks: Yes. And I began looking into who might kidnap someone and not demand a ranson. First I worked with First Strike Security, and we were able to rule out the Rikti and Nemesis. We found some disturbing news about the Circle of Thorns that bore more looking into.
Dr. Waylin: Really? What exactly?
Calvin Meeks: The Thorns use people, their essence, to transfer into crystals to perform their darkest magics.
Dr. Waylin: Ahh, yes. Of course.
Calvin Meeks: We found a number of books on rituals while searching through some lost halls of Oranbaga. So I decided to seek out some more mystical help.
Dr. Waylin: Is this when you contacted the Midnight Avengers?
Calvin Meeks: Yes, Lightningale to be exact. We spoke, and decided that the best thing to do would be to sweep Skyway City in search of anything mystical.
Dr. Waylin: And your search?
Calvin Meeks: It proved fruitless at first. There was nothing, in fact, more than the usual nothing. The Avengers weren’t able to detect any of the normal trace auras. In my research last night I discovered that the Thorns used to hide themselves and I figure that if someone untrained in the true magic were trying to hide themselves, they might have gone too far, erasing everything instead of just their own trail.
Dr. Waylin: Interesting, I’ll have to correct that.
Calvin Meeks: What was that?
Dr. Waylin: Hrm? Oh, nothing, just thinking about another project of mine. Please, continue.
Calvin Meeks: Alright, well, the Avengers were able to find a few Lost that had seen a group of people escorting other people through Skyway. And then there is this clockwork.
Dr. Waylin: Ah, yes, the clockwork. You wanted me to look at it?
Calvin Meeks: This knight appearantly saw the group as well, and sent a couple of his lesser clocks to investigate. They didn’t return. But, I figured with your reputed knowledge on the subject, you might be able to enhance the data on the video storage and maybe see if we can get a clearer image.
Dr. Waylin: Yes, yes. I could certainly do that. But…
*Dr. Waylin reached over and pressed a button on the nearest console.*
Dr. Waylin: I don’t need to enhance the data Mr. Meeks. Its going to show you a group of trolls escorting the twelve kidnapped citizens. I suppose it might even show them delivering them to my truck, and it might even show me casting some Circle spells to erase our tracks. I destroyed the two oscillators. I should have been more thorough.
*A Tesla Prince came forth from a back room.*
Calvin Meeks: Dr. Waylin, what are you saying?
Dr. Waylin: I can’t let you stop me, Mr. Meeks, this work is too important. Tesla, please restrain him.
*The Prince, under Waylin’s command, reached toward me and electricity crackled around its hands. I tried to run, but it was too late, and I was trapped within a tesla sphere.*
Dr. Waylin: There is a darkness coming, Calvin. One that this city, this world, is not ready for. These heroes, they fight the immediate evils, as I suppose it suits them. They don’t plan, not for the right things. The darkness is coming, and I will make sure we are ready.
Calvin Meeks: You kidnapped these people?
Dr. Waylin: Yes. And more. I needed soldiers, Mr. Meeks. And for this war I cannot rely on volunteers. My soldiers must be ready, they must be trained and knowledgable. They must be perfect.
Calvin Meeks: How many?
Dr. Waylin: Dozens, Mr. Meeks. Hundreds. Over the course of the last ten years.
Calvin Meeks: This darkness. It wasn’t the Rikti?
Dr. Waylin: Oh, I thought it was, but my soldiers fell just like the rest. And when the invasion was over, the darkness was still coming. Its hard to say how long it will be, but its coming. I can feel it. I know it.
Calvin Meeks: The kidnapped, you said you needed soldiers… where are they?
Dr. Waylin: They are among us, Mr. Meeks. They are on the streets and in the skies. They fight side by side with other heroes awaiting my command.
Calvin Meeks: I don’t understand.
Dr. Waylin: I have studied. The sciences, biology, chemistry, computers and mechanics. I studied magics great and small. I studied every villain group that came to Paragon to understand their strengths and weaknesses. I harnessed the Circle of Thorns magic, the experiments of the 5th Column and Dr. Vahzilok, the technology of the Clockworks. I worked for the Portal Corporation. I visited other worlds with heroes and I learned more than any scientist before me. And when I was ready, I started my conscription.
Calvin Meeks: Kidnappings you mean.
Dr. Waylin: This is a war, Meeks. War! They threw me out when I suggested it. They laughed in my face. They stopped laughing after the Rikti, but by then it was I who wanted nothing to do with them. I had to rebuild. I used my science, my magic, my technology stolen from other worlds. I conscripted citizens into my army. I erased their pathetic lives and rebuilt them into real heroes. An unstoppable army to fight an unspeakable darkness.
Calvin Meeks: But, these people. You stole their lives. Sarah… she’s gone then?
Dr. Waylin: Sarah Reynolds, yes. She’s gone. But Templar Flame has been born in her place. And Edward Levin, who’s jacket you found, he is gone, and Jhaer Snow stands in his place, ready to fight to save this earth. You say I stole their lives, perhaps that I killed them, but the needs of the many, Mr. Meeks… the ends justify the means. These heroes will do more good than they would have as citizens. Paragon city is safe today because of them, and in time, they will save the world.
*My cell phone beeped that it was low on battery.*
Dr. Waylin: Tesla, the phone.
*The Prince lumbered forward and reached through the field snatching the phone from my pocket, then handed it to Dr. Waylin.*
Dr. Waylin: Who did you call, Meeks? WHO DID YOU CALL?!?
Lt. Zoe T. Blake: Us, Dr. Waylin.
Dr. Waylin: What? No. You can’t do this. PROTECT ME!

It was at this point the Tesla Knight folded in his field, singeing my suit and killing the batteries in my tape recorder. The walls of the lab seemed to come alive as clockworks of every shape and size descended on the room. The Paragon City QRT poured in through the doors. Bullets and electricity filled the air. Dr. Waylin made several attempts to flee, but was blocked at every turn. Finally, seeing his world collapsing, he sat at a keyboard and entered a few commands before anyone was able to stop him.

Later, after his clockworks had been subdued and Waylin himself was in custody, Lt. Blake, myself and two PCPD computer specialists sifted through his files. “Empty,” one of them finally said, “not a single file left on his soldiers or this darkness. The drives have been wiped clean.”

Despondent, I left waving off Zoe’s attempt to follow me. I roamed the streets until dawn wondering about everything I’d seen and heard. Days passed in a daze while I tried to sort it all out. Last night, I found myself in King’s Row, outside the Rafters night club. Sitting on the steps, I pulled out my recorder and contemplated the tape still within it. A set of unfamiliar shoes stopped in front of me, and a voice demanded my cash. I looked up just in time to see the Skull brute engulfed in fire and struck with a flaming sword. He ran. A woman in red and orange armor stood before me, her hair radiated like fire, and tiny flames did occasionally leap from here to there. The darkness was pushed back by her light. I looked at Sarah Reynolds. Templar Flame looked back. She smiled, and then she was gone.