For some time now in Paragon City, veteran heroes have been taking a sideline in the fight against evil in order to help train and better prepare other heroes for the battle yet to come. One of those veterans, Positron, takes heroes just earning their security levels under his wing, and when a group of them is ready, he bands them together under a task force name to investigate more serious matters. Having earned the appropriate security level by exam myself, I joined up with one of these Task Forces, codenamed Manhattan, to get a more in depth look at the business of being a superhero.

At Positron’s suggestion, I met up at midday with my soon to be teammates, E-VAC, Major Disorder, and Calvino Italo, no relation. Immediately, Positron set them about their first mission of the day. “I’ve been hearing a lot about you youngsters lately. Your contacts have put the word on the street that you are all forces to be reckoned with. I’m sure that by banding together, you can really put a dent in the crime here in Paragon City,” he said. “Statesman has asked me to test out the new groups to see if they are ready to take on bigger and tougher challenges. Are you ready to test your mettle?”

Eagerly, the group I was with responded with an affirmative. Positron continued, “Recently the Vahzilok tried to poison the water of Paragon City. I’ve done a little recon in the area, and I came across a nest of Vahzilok led by an Eidolon called Epidural. I was planning on taking it out, but since you’re here, I’ll let you have the honors. If you find any evidence that they are planning to revamp their poisoning plot, let me know immediately.” With that, the heroes moved quickly, wasting no time getting the sewer Positron had indicated was Epidural’s lair.

The noxious air formed an oily vapor that stuck to everything. The Vahzilok made no effort to conceal themselves, and the heroes were set upon immediately.

Task Force Manhattan kept up the fight against the sometimes overwhelming odds. As Epidural was taken into custody he cried out, “This plan will be even greater than the last!” We recovered a number of barrels of chemicals which were turned over to the PCPD, however we kept a sample to take to Positron for analysis.

Positron took the sample gladly, curious as to what it could be, and what this plan Epidural had spoken of might entail. “Thank you for all your hard work,” he said, and without hesitation, continued, “Up for another test? You’ve really proven yourself as a team, and I think I can give you a tougher mission. I have examined the Clockwork pieces at DATA and SERAPH, and I’ve made some interesting discoveries. But I need to know more. Can you find me a piece of Clockwork that is still functioning? No one else has been able to recover a piece like that.” The Task Force members were quick to accept the mission. “I scanned the area,” Positron informed us, “and I found an abandoned warehouse that’s infested with Clockwork.” He gave Major Disorder the location and the team headed out.

We quietly entered the warehouse we’d been sent to. The grinding of Clockwork gears was almost deafening. It seemed we had stumbled onto a major operation. Following the source of the sounds, the Clockwork were easy to find. Dismantling them was another story. With each that fell, I examined the chassis for any remaining functioning piece, but none was ever able to be retrieved. Attempts to capture one were fruitless as well, each clockwork fighting down to their last spark of their electronic existence. Calvino Italo noticed a pattern their defences, as if they were trying to herd us away from a particular section of the warehouse. The rest of us followed as he led the team the other direction, into the heart of the clockwork nest. The Clockwork became more fervent in their fighting, and as they finally cleared the warehouse of the last of the mechanized pests, we discovered some strange parts. Definitely not clockwork, but interesting none the less.

We returned to Positron with the evidence we found. “We found these parts in the Clockwork nest, but they’re clearly not from any Clockwork construct,” I explained. “The robots defended them with vigor, so the parts must mean something to them.” Positron took the parts and began to examine them, then seemed to remember we were still there and put them away for later.

“I must say, I’m impressed with how you’ve handled the work I’ve given you. Teamwork is really your strong suit. In fact, I think you’re ready for another challenge! States just radioed with a crisis. The Circle of Thorns are attacking the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Skyway City. I need a group to save the FEMA workers. Can you help us?” Positron need not have even asked, of course the answer was yes, and Task Force Manhattan headed out for Skyway City.

“Positron just radioed,” Major Disorder said as we stood outside the FEMA offices. “They think the leader is named Rollister, and our priority is to take him out.” I’d heard a lot of horrifying rumors about what the Circle does to its victims, and even seen some of the evidence myself in the halls of Oranbaga with First Strike Security. But knowing the Thorns had been bested in the past didn’t make me any less nervous entering that building.

The Circle of Thorns put up a desperate fight, their minions trying to prevent Task Force Manhattan from reaching Rollister. But in the end, they were unable to hold out, their defensive lines were broken, and Rollister destroyed himself in an explosive cloud of green magic. I managed to get the following statement from one of the FEMA workers: “That Horror dude kept going on and on about how he was wantin’ the plans to the city dam up in Faultline. I ain’t got no ideas why they would want that!” None of the Task Force knew what they would want with those plans either, but figured we needed to inform Positron immediately. Once all the workers were safe, and the few Thorns captives were in custody, we returned to Steel Canyon.

Positron took note of our report, but immediately changed the subject to the parts we’d found earlier. “There seems to be an increase in the Clockwork population. I’m beginning to worry that the Clockwork King has big plans. I was out fighting the Clockwork earlier and I planted a homing tracer on one that I allowed to get away. Can you track down that Clockwork minion? I want to learn more about the strange mechanical part you found in that Clockwork den.”

We followed the homing tracer to a warehouse in King’s Row. From the sound of the machinery, it was a major assembly operation. The clockworks defended their plant down to the last mechanical drone.

On a desk in the warehouse, we found blueprints for the Paragon City Dam. Task Force Manhattan rushed back to Positron with this new evidence, unsure of what the Clockwork King would want with the blueprints.

Positron seemed curious as well, but turned the discussion to the Thorns from the FEMA office. “Ok, Task Force Manhattan, listen up. I know that ever since I sent you against the Circle of Thorns at the FEMA office, you’ve been dying to find out why those mystics are so interested in the Paragon City Dam. Well, you might just get your chance to find out.” Eagerly we waited for more information. “MAGI just contacted me; some of their mystics have divined the location of the Book of T’Jer’imikanu. According to MAGI, it’s a really powerful spell book. Their visions indicated that it was in the possession of the Circle of Thorns. I made a pass just now with my ground penetrating radar and discovered a cave that would be an ideal Circle hideout. I need you guys to check out that Circle of Thorns hideout. If you find the Book of T’Gerima… T’Geruni… the magic book, be really careful with it. It’s the only known copy. It was thought to be destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871.”

Positron’s directions were flawless. We’d already caught sight of several Circle of Thorns acolytes as we entered the cave system. The caves smelled of candle wax and incense, and water dripped from the ceiling down into murky pools of stagnant slime. As ever, the Thorns fought with religious righteousness. Thorn wielders were left unconscious and bound. Mages exploded in bursts of green as a final attempt in this world to stop the Task Force. Finally we came upon a mage named Tarses, who was holding the book we sought. Task Force Manhattan was once again victorious, as the mage fell before them, and I snatched the book from his grip. At Positron’s request, we took the book to Azuria so that it could be studied to learn what the Circle had been up to.

Returning to Positron, we learned that he had analyzed the Vahzilok chemical and found that it was extremely complex. One of the chemicals in the compound, however, was polyfluidic morscarpium, a very specialized and rare chemical. “Only two distributors in the area even make it. I checked their shipments for the past couple weeks, and traced one to a company in Skyway that doesn’t exist, a Dr. Morben. Will you check out the fake company and arrest him if you can?” The Task Force agreed, and made its way to the office in Skyway City.

A chemical odor burned my nasal passage, but not thoroughly enough to make me immune to the stink of the Vahzilok. Task Force Manhattan immediately took up the fight and began putting down the abominations, hopefully for good this time. Dr. Morben was captured according to plan, and E-VAC was able to extract a blood sample from an unfortunate test subject that we had been too late to save.

Positron was glad to see us on our return. “We’ve got a lot of balls in the air, huh? The Vahzilok poison, the Clockwork’s interest in the Paragon City Dam, and the Circle’s Strange ritual of power. I just need you to collect a little more info for me.” He’d given the strange clockwork parts to Paula Dempsey in Kings Row, and wanted us to talk to her about it. As well, Azuria and Numina apparently had a theory about the book that we’d recovered, so we would need to head to City Hall too. I offered to hit City Hall and speak with Azuria, while the rest of the team went to King’s Row.

Calvino Italo met up with Paula Dempsey and found that the piece from the clockworks was actually a modified support structure used in large scale construction. Since we’d also found the clockworks in possession of the dam blueprints, it was easy to see what they might be after. “If this piece was outfitted with an explosive and placed in the dam, the destruction would be catastrophic. All of Faultline would be flooded, and Paragon City would be without power for weeks,” Paula said. “Take this piece back to Posi, and tell him I’ve done everything I could.”

Over at City Hall, Azuria greeted me and immediately put myself and Task Force Manhattan into a mind link with Numina. “Great hereos, I, Numina, have translated the book you recovered from the Circle of Thorns. It speaks of a ritual that transfers the energy of a lightning storm to those who perform it. The text implies that the larger the conflux of lightning and rain, the more powerful the ritual will be. I have contacted agents of Ignis, the Entity of Travel, who governs the weather. There are no storms of a proper magnitude approaching Paragon City in the foreseeable future. We may be safe for a time, but you must be watchful. The Circle may have had the book long enough to transcribe a copy.”

Positron has also been in on the link, but before he could get his words out, Task Force Manhattan had already beaten him to the punch. The dam in Faultline isn’t just a dam, but a full hydro-electric power plant as well. Water and Electricity. The Circle of Thorns had been after the dam plans as well. It began to look like the Clockwork and the Thorns were on a collision course to see who could use the dam for their nefarious plans first. Positron was pleased with the work the Task Force had done, but already had something else that needed looking in to. “I talked to the manager of the company that sold the Vahzilok the polyfluidic morscarpium for their poison. He just got another order for it. I told him that since Task Force Manhattan took the Vahzilok down the first time, Task Force Manhattan could do it again. Here’s the address of the company that ordered the chemical.”

As we stepped into the office building, I was stunned by what I saw. The Vahzilok had turned what was once a place of business into an abattoir of horror. Under the control of an Eidolon named Cortex, the Vahzilok abominations, reaper and mortificators made their best effort to stop Task Force Manhattan dead in their tracks. Their best effort simply wasn’t good enough.

Cortex had been in possession of blueprints for the Paragon City Dam as well. Their devastating plan to poison the water supply of the city became clear. Now three factions were spiraling toward the dam, one to destroy it, one to poison it, and one to harvest it for devastating power.

Positron delivered to us scanning devices to help triangulate the clockwork base in Perez Park from where he believed they were organizing to destroy the dam. Major Disorder and Calvino Italo made a quick patrol of the park, and the devices homed in on the clockwork nest. As we entered the building, we heard the familiar sound of Clockwork, but the smell of decaying flash really grabbed our attention. Fighting both Clockwork and Vahzilok, who were also fighting each other, Task Force Manhattan made its way through the office and recovered a blueprint of Substation 7. Marks on the blueprints indicated that this was where the Vahzilok intended to introduce their poison to the city’s water supply.

A radio transmission from Positron sent the Task Force headed to a cave believed to be where the Circle of Thorns were gathering for their march on the dam. The caves were emptied quickly, but Positron contacted us again immediately with an urgent situation. “It looks like these villains are really going for each other’s throats. I want you to get over to the sewer junction 8B right now so the battle between the Circle and the Vahzilok doesn’t escalate and endanger civilians.”

Task Force Manhattan was able to successfully stop the fighting from spilling into the streets, but it was clear now that the three opposing factions were aware of each other’s plans, and all were stepping up their time tables to beat each other to the punch. Positron called again with a report from the dam, Substation 7 was under attack!

We rushed to the substation, knowing that every second counted. Twisted metal arms laid on the floor along with the still-quivering remains of Vahzilok zombies. Positron was trying to contact Statesman and the rest of Freedom Phalanx, but Task Force Manhattan saw that the situation couldn’t wait, the threat had to be stopped immediately.

At last the final villain fell to his knees in surrender. Dam workers began to come out of hiding. The explosives were disarmed. The poison was carted away. And the copy of The Book of T’Jer’imikanu was destroyed. The Paragon City Dam and the city’s water supply were safe thanks to the tireless efforts of Task Force Manhattan.