Team Legacy: Deadly Beauty

I can’t believe it... Meltdown thought as she looked out from inside the old, abandoned building. The three dozen Exterminators that had chased her into the city were now split up into smaller groups, patrolling the streets as they continued their search. Five of the Exterminators were just outside of the building Meltdown was hiding in, methodically walking back and forth along the street that held her only exit out of the city. Meltdown cringed slightly as an Exterminator Sword came close to where she was hiding, his sword gleaming in the small amount of sunlight that broke through the clouded sky above Recluse City.

There’s no way I could defeat that many Exterminators... Meltdown thought bitterly as she turned away from the dusty window and crouched down onto the filthy floor of the abandoned building. She placed her head onto her folded arms and wept slightly. I’ve been able to do hide for a whole year, and one mistake... A tear ran down her face.Damn you, Recluse...

The tear landed on the arm of her red leather jacket, which had the black insignia of a Spider on it’s back. Under the red leather coat, she wore a black spandex one-piece outfit that stretched down from her neck and covered her whole body, save her hands and feet. Her feet sported black boots, and her hands black, fingerless leather gloves. Raising her head once more, her long, purple hair fell onto her shoulders, still quite filthy from dirt and sweat. The look of desperation and fear in her green eyes seemed unfitting for such a young beauty; and Meltdown was quite young indeed, only 20 years old.

I’ll have to find another way out of the city... Meltdown thought as she slowly rose to her feet. And if they do find me...She clenched her fist, which glowed slightly with green radiation.I’ll make sure to take as many of them down with me as I can!

The "Origins" Saga: The Deadly Beauty, Meltdown

"Listen, Mr. Dimentid, you must understand our position..." The diplomat said, his face red as he sweat bullets, his uneasiness clearly visible as Mr. Dimentid eyed him on his monitor. "Our nation is not powerful enough to protect ourselves; and yet, at the same time, the rest of the world would condemn us if we sided with Lord Recluse."

"Then perhaps you should simply side with Lord Recluse." Mr. Dimentid smiled, taking a sip of his red wine. "After all, you’ve already donated large sums of resources to our Empire in exchange for our cooperation in dealing with your... oh, how did you phrase it?" Mr. Dimentid chuckled slightly, adjusting his glasses. "Your ‘worthless slave rebels’, I believe?" Mr. Dimentid took another sip of wine as he adjusted himself in his seat, the computer monitor in front of him providing the only illumination in his luxurious office room.

The Diplomat sweated harder. "Listen, IF I was to suggest to the politicians about siding with Lord Recluse... well, you must understand, we’d lose all of our previous alliances; alliances that have thus far provided us with valuable goods and equipment that would otherwise make us... BENEFICIAL to your cause." The diplomat narrowed his eyes.

Mr. Dimentid chuckled again, and turned away from the screen for a moment to look out of his office window and into the thriving metropolis that was New Recluse City. "Well, naturally you’d receive... compensation... for your aid." Mr. Dimentid turned back to the screen. "What exactly are you asking?"

The diplomat shifted nervously on the screen. "Several thousand assault rifles... as well as 10,000 tons of food and water to support our troops and populace..." The diplomat took a deep breath. "And we’ll no doubt want to remain an independent nation after the War’s conclusion."

Mr. Dimentid chuckled again. "I’ll discuss it with Lord Recluse." He said, smiling as he took another sip of wine. "He’s the one in charge, after all." He moved to sever the connection. "Be sure to keep in touch." He tapped a key on the touch-pad computer screen, and the diplomat’s image disappeared.

"Another third-world nation come groveling to our feet?" Risk asked, stepping out of the shadows from the corner of the large room.

"Of course." Mr. Dimentid said, looking up from his computer.

Mr. Dimentid, though only 18 years old, was already quite powerful in the Recluse Empire. His expensive black leather suit, complete with extravagant shoes, cost more than the majority of the citizens in the Empire had spent on their entire living arrangements. That wasn’t even including his designer glasses and the price to keep his short, brown hair slick and professional. Even though his profession didn’t call for much activity, he was in fairly good shape for his age, being the youngest member of the Athletics Club that all of the highest business owners in New Recluse City belonged to. He also had his own, personal trainers at his beck and call when need be. He rose from his seat and walk over to Risk, holding her lightly with his white-gloved hands.

"Everyone has their price, Risk." He said, caressing her shoulders as he led her back to his desk. "You know that."

"I do." Risk said, smiling as she stood next to Mr. Dimentid and looked over his shoulder at the computer. "But I just LOVE the way you string them along to get what you want out of them." She leaned down and whispered into his ear. "It turns me on."

Mr. Dimentid smiled as he observed Risk. She was wearing a black, transparent night-gown over her incredibly provocative black two-piece underwear, exposing her incredibly gorgeous body. Her long, blonde hair fell neatly across the sides of her unbelievably beautiful face as he stared into her blue eyes.

He reached over and grabbed her left breast, causing her to moan slightly. He began to massage it, causing the most pleasing sounds to begin to utter out of her mouth. Oh, yes... Mr. Dimentid thought, smiling. She was worth every penny.

"Ahem!" Lord Rampage’s face appeared on the computer screen, observing the actions between Mr. Dimentid and Risk with a small grin on his horrible face. "I hope I’m not interrupting, General."

"Not at all, Rampage." Mr. Dimentid sighed, turning back to the computer. "What does Lord Recluse want NOW?"

"It seems like we’ve finally tracked down Meltdown." Lord Rampage said, his voice eerily cheerful. "We’ve sent several Exterminators to deal with her, but Lord Recluse wants you to send those Spine Mercenaries on your payroll after her, as well."

"Hmph!" Mr. Dimentid sneered. "Why should I send the Spine Brethren to deal with a task that Recluse’s Exterminators could take care of easily?"

"Well, our latest report tells us she’s fled into Recluse City." Lord Rampage explained. "And as you know, there are some other... pests... we have to deal with there, as well."

"I see." Mr. Dimentid smiled. "So, you’re expecting Meltdown to lure the last remnants of Chance’s little resistance group out of the woodwork of Recluse City, where the Spine Brethren can finish them all off at once." He laughed. "That’s pretty sly of Lord Recluse. Alright." He moved his hand to the screen. "Tell Recluse it’s as good as done." He touched a button on the computer screen, and Lord Rampage’s image was replaced with that of four Villains with Spines coming out of their bodies as they ate around a table. One of them looked up as he saw Mr. Dimentid.

"Oh, hey boss!" The Villain said, smiling. "Haven’t heard from you in while! I hope you’ve got some people for us to kill, caus’ I was just telling Gash about how-"

"Yes, yes, you can tell me that some other time." Mr. Dimentid said impatiently. "I need you to go to Recluse City. You should find some Heroes there, about 5 or 6 all together. Do what you do best, then report back to me." He pressed another button on the screen, and the image of the four Villains disappeared.

The Spines Brothers looked to the leader of their group, Slash, who rose to his feet and smiled. "Well, this is what we get paid for." Slash finally said, and the four immediately headed out to Recluse City.

All of this time, Risk had been waiting patiently by the door to Mr. Dimentid’s private bed chamber, which just so happened to be adjacent to his office room. She smiled as Mr. Dimentid got up and joined her.

"Sorry about that." Mr. Dimentid said, kissing Risk as she opened the door, revealing the luxurious bedroom. "You know I have a lot of work to do, and it gets in the way sometimes."

"Let’s talk in here." Risk said seductively, leading Mr. Dimentid into the bed chamber. "You know when you’re with me, you can forget all that, if even for a moment."

"Right." Mr. Dimentid said, closing and locking the door behind him. "After all, I know those Heroes in Recluse City almost as much as Lord Recluse does, and they don’t have a chance against my mercenaries. Besides," He turned back and kissed Risk again. "It’s not like there are any other Heroes we need to worry about."

"This place is a dump!" Daisy yelled, kicking a can on the filthy street. She turned to Ken. "Why would your girlfriend be in a place like this, anyway?"

"You sure yell a lot for such a little girl." Dan said, smiling as he leaned against one of the many abandoned buildings in the city.

"DON’T CALL ME THAT!" Daisy yelled, trying to charge Dan but being held back by Ken. "YOU’RE ONLY ONE YEAR OLDER THAN ME, YOU KNOW!"

"One year makes a pretty big difference." Dan said smugly.

"NO IT DOESN’T!!!" Daisy yelled.

"Please calm down, both of you..." Ken pleaded as he held Daisy.

"In any case, if we’re going to be finding your girlfriend, we’ll cover the most ground if we split up." Dan said.

"She’s not my girlfriend!" Ken said for the millionth time. He then lowered his head a bit. "Besides... we’re not looking for HER, exactly..."

Dan and Daisy ran over to him and yelled in Ken’s face. "WHAT?!" They both cried.
The Pain of Team Legacy

By Unknown_Hero "What I mean to say is, we’re looking for a group that will be able to find her." Ken said defensively, trying to calm them down. "There are four Heroes here that should be able to help us, and THEY are who we’re looking for."

"Oh, well you should have said that earlier." Dan said, kicking some dust up on the filthy road they were on. "And here I thought-OOF!"

Dan fell face-first into the ground as he was knocked over by a young woman who had run into him as she rounded the corner of the building he was leaning against. She also fell onto the concrete street, rubbing her back as Ken helped her up.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING, YOU-" Dan began, getting up quickly. He stopped when he got a good look at Meltdown. "You... uh... you..."

"Are you alright?" Ken asked once Meltdown was back on her feet.

Meltdown noticed the swords that Ken and Dan were carrying, and quickly got an idea.

"Oh, you have to help me!" Meltdown said, throwing herself into Ken’s arms, which was quite a surprise for both him and Daisy. "There are Exterminators all over the city that are after me! Would you two big, strong Heroes please protect me from them?"

Ken’s face began to redden in embarrassment. Daisy’s face was also reddening. But not from embarrassment.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU LITTLE HUSSY?!" Daisy demanded, dragging Meltdown off of Ken. "AND GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF KEN!!!"

"Oh, my..." Meltdown said, looking at Daisy. She then turned to Ken. "Ken, was it?" She pointed to Daisy. "Who is this crazy girl? She can’t be your girlfriend, can she?"

Daisy’s anger redoubled. "WHY YOU! I’LL KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE-" Her voice was muffled as Dan grabbed her arms and held his hand over her mouth to stop Daisy.

"Don’t mind Daisy, she just gets a little upset when she sees another woman with Ken." Dan smiled mischievously. "It’s because she secretly loves him."

Daisy shouted in muffled protest as Dan now found himself under attack. In the meantime, Ken turned to Meltdown.

"What exactly does Lord Recluse want with you?" He asked.

Meltdown gasped in fake shock. "How dare you ask a helpless woman something like that!" She said, folding her arms. "I can’t believe you’d assume that a helpless young woman in need would have ANYTHING to do with that monster! Shame on you!"

Ken sighed. "Fine, we’ll protect you." He turned to Dan and Daisy.

Dan shrugged. "I guess it would be wrong to leave her to the Exterminators."

"THAT WITCH CAN ROT FOR ALL-" Daisy began, but stopped when Dan lightly tapped her in the shoulder, and Ken looked at her pleadingly. Daisy clasped her hands in anger, then sighed. "FINE! We’ll help her." She then stuck her tongue out at Meltdown.

"OK, first it would be nice if we knew your name." Ken said.

Meltdown threw herself into Ken’s arms again. "You can call me Meltdown." She said, placing her arms around Ken’s neck. "I’m so glad you’re willing to help me! Maybe tonight I’ll show you how much I appreciate your-"

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HIM, YOU-" Daisy’s outburst was once again stopped by Dan.

"It’s no trouble, really..." Ken said, pushing Meltdown off of him. "Now, how many Exterminators are-" Suddenly, he grabbed Meltdown and jumped to the right, carrying her with him. A grenade exploded where they had been standing a moment earlier.

"What the...?!" Dan looked around him and noticed over 30 Exterminators coming from all sides as they surrounded the small group of Heroes. Meltdown stood back to back with Ken as Dan unsheathed his sword. Daisy put up her arms in her fighting stance, looking around nervously at all of their opponents.

"Well, now I can see why she was so scared..." Dan said, looking around the crowd of Exterminators. "I can take on about a dozen of these guys; Ken, how many-"

In that instant, there appeared to be a flash around the Exterminators, and Dan saw what looked like a blur systematically go from one Exterminator to the next, moving faster than the human eye could follow. In the next instant, Ken appeared in the air in front of Dan, his sword unsheathed and glistening in the small amount of light in the city. Landing in front of Dan, Ken looked back at the Exterminators, sheathing his sword as he did so. The moment Ken sheathed his sword, all of the Exterminators fell down, each one split into two pieces. Ken then turned back and walked over to Meltdown.

"If Lord Recluse sent so many Exterminators after you, you must be pretty important." Ken said nicely as Dan, Daisy, and Meltdown stared at him in amazement. "And I’m sure that no matter where you tried to hide, Lord Recluse would find you." He stared into her eyes. "You will be much safer if we leave you in the protection of the Heroes here in Recluse City." He led her back to Dan and Daisy. "Lord Recluse will probably send more of his minions once he finds out that his Exterminators have failed." He turned and began to walk down the street. He stopped for a moment and turned back to Meltdown. "I see that you’re wearing the same uniforms that Recluse’s Elite Soldiers wear." Meltdown’s gasped as she heard this. "Despite what you said earlier, I know that you’re associated in some way with Lord Recluse. But, since Recluse’s minions did indeed attack you, I imagine you’re desperately trying to escape from his grasp at the moment." He then turned back and began to walk down the street again. "We should hurry."

"What... what is he?" Daisy asked, stunned.

To take down all those Exterminators like that... Dan thought. How did he do that?

He’s incredibly strong! Meltdown thought. But... how did he know... that this is one of the outfits that Recluse’s Elite Soldiers wear?

"Hey!" Daisy had finally snapped out of her trance. "Wait for me, Ken!" She yelled, running down the street.

Meltdown looked down at the ground, concentrating. But I’ve done such horrible things... Meltdown looked up, tears forming in her eyes. If I tell him the truth... if he knew... She closed her eyes.

"Hey, what are you still doing standing here?" Dan asked, surprising Meltdown as he grabbed her arm. "Are you waiting for Lord Recluse to come after you again? If we don’t catch up with Ken right now, we’re going to be lost in this god-forsaken city!" He began to drag her across the street.

"I can walk just fine by myself, thank you!" Meltdown said sharply, wrenching her arm out of Dan’s grasp and then running down the street.

Dan sighed. "I just don’t understand girls." He ran after everyone else.