Lady Grey's Strikeforce

Well, it would seem that Vanguard know which way to turn when a dangerous task needs to be undertaken. I was contacted by Aero at the behest of Vanguard. They required three strike teams to try and penetrate the secrets of the Rikti's new portal and to stop what perhaps is best described as the Apocalypse.

Three teams set out - one completed the objectives first. I have no need to state my own teams supremacy here. My team was as pictured above. From left to right: Randel, Womble, Domenice, Myself, Lady Grey (remained at Vanguard Base to co-ordinate), Buzzsaw MGee, Navi and Dr Liah Phillips (unfortunately, while Doc Bot of ARAD joined us for the initial missions, we was recalled to Grandville to help coordinate Rikti Defense Forces).

It would appear the new portal technology that the Rikti have, unlike that of Arachnos, is unstable and they were attempting several alternate power sources to make it so - mainly psychics as we uncovered. First, they kidnapped some powerful hero psychic kid called Penelope Yin. This, unfortunately, meant that her paramour the Clockwork King came charging in to save her and we had to "liberate" both her and disable the King.

After this, destroying a few Rikti Assault Suits, a Rikti Commander, rescuing some further psychics and two members of the original Omega Team we had to face on of my personal horrors - the Hamidon. Yes, the Rikti were attempting to drain the Hamidon in order to fuel their portal.

While we stopped them in the act, we also had to set forth and destroy the weakened Hamidon nucleous. It was a very tough fight and I was incapacitated more than once until I began to send wave after wave of my own robots to destroy each of the remaining mitochondria before we turned our attention to the nucleous itself.

Finally, we struck at the portal and its generators directly - only to be confronted with something quite abominable. Hero One, who led the Omega Team, mutated into a Rikti and forced to do their bidding.

Still, I was gratified to see that my ZR Autonomous Combat Systems are more than up to the task of beating such a well regarded "hero" down.

Ack - all this saving the world lark is making me sound like a hero...

Armoured Suit Improvement

After a number of skirmishes with the Rikti forces, it has become apparent that the anti-gravity technology I am using for my flight is not sturdy enough for some of the more... intense engagements. As such, I have had to develop a more mechanical method of staying aloft.

And here is the fruits of my labours - ZR Force Wings. I've fitted them to my improved Bane Spider armour. I am also currently working on them further to see if I can induce the membrane field to provide a level of stealth generation like that on one of my other experiments - Assault ZR-Beta (an assassination bot, I must film him in action some time).

Source Identified

I have been contacted by one group I never thought I'd hear of in the limelight again - Vanguard. The UN Metahuman Force tasked with dealing with the Rikti during the first war. And, it seems, this one.

I have no idea how they constructed them so quickly, but Vanguard DPO's have popped up around the Isles and portals that teleport into the heart of the Rikti Crash Zone in Paragon City have been constructed. Perhaps we sould more accurately call it the Rikti War Zone now...

Regardless, I was introduced to the senior members of Vanguard and given a brief tour of their base in Paragon. I was particularly impressed by their robotics technology, even if they did not respond to my commands...

Meeting with Dark Watcher, the head of Vanguard Intelligence (or Helm as they call it), he briefed me on the situation - Vanguard are calling in all metahumans "good" and "evil" to help fight the Rikti.

It seems, according to patchy intelligence, War Leader Hro'Dtohz of the Rikti (intelligence photo attached) has managed to establish at least a partially stable portal back to their own dimension and have been porting in new forces and technology. The portal is located somewhere in the Rikti War Zone hence the "free access" from the Rogue Isles.

What else could I do? I've agreed to help Vanguard, in exchange for access to their research facilities.

On the Front Lines

It's taken me a few hours to get the laboratory in order - activating and developing defenses against Rikti teleportation technology, and scanning so that I may have a safe bolthole during the war. Somewhere for ARAD to regroup.

With that done, I set out to the rest of the Isles to find the invaders. It seems that Lord Recluse is issuing all frequency alerts tied to an early warning system so it was relatively easy to identify an assault on Port Oakes.

Transporting in via the Lab teleporters, I quickly teamed up with more citizens of the isles to create a defense force and began to repulse the Rikti invaders. I managed to capture the following image of some form of formidable Assault Suit the Rikti now have... looks like new technology is being shipped in from somewhere.

That said, we still saw them off with minimal structural damage to the island.

And So, War Begins

24th of July 2007. A day that will stand out in my memory for a long time to come. From all my exploits, achievements and failures, this is the date that will haunt me. I expect they'll call it the Second Rikti War.

I remember the first war - it was what drove me to robotics, to design tools that could fight for man, without man himself being in harms way. Willing tools of destruction, endless in their number the way the Rikti seemed to us during those terrible years before the Omega Team made their sacrifice. I had almost forgotten...

And the Rikti are back in force.

Oh, they never went away - small enclaves of them up and down Paragon City and I am sure around the world. We even had them here in the Rogue Isles where Lord Recluse tolerated them, and even allowed a Traditionalists Ambassador who I have worked with in the past. I have worked and fought alongside the Rikti - I have even liked them.

But now, the Restructurists have got reinforcements and new technology - there must be a new portal open... but where?

I must go, air raid sirens are calling the Rogue Isles to arms - for the weal of Arachnos, and the sake of our planet, I and Arachnos Research and Development must respond.

Released?!?!

NOOOOOOO!

Curse you Aeon! How did you do it? Robotic simulcra? Demonic illusion? No not quite your style even if you do harness the demon Bat'Zul... Time travel, yes! You fiend.

Arbiter Daos wouldn't listen though - oh how I pleaded with the man. Debased myself before him - if only to keep Aeon incarcerated, if they wouldn't let me slay him. All to no avail - the hack has been released.

Dr Aeon, I reaffirm my promise to you that some day, some time in some place I will end you. For this, and all your meddling!

Capturing the Meddler!

Yes! Arachnos have given me approval to haul in Dr Aeon's posterior for questioning. I have him this time - video surveillance of him captured by the ZR Aegis Transponder means that his ass is mine!

Fighting past the disloyal Arachnos troops that were defending him were no issue at all, though I see he has a few Commandos and Scouts now plus a Night Widow or two. Is that hack enlisting help from Ghost Widow?

Still, as I cornered the wretch and he ran around his lab he was protesting his innocence. Truly, what kind of fool does he think me, Master Zaprobo, the true Chief Scientist of Arachnos, to be!

His inventions continue to pale agains tthe might of my robotics and forcefield technology - I barely had to expend any nano-bots to repair the six units I took with me, and the few paltry blasts of energy he hurled at me bounced off harmlessly.

In all? Around two minutes to subdue the duplicitous traitor. Now, he answers the wrath of the Arbiters for daring to interfere with Project DESTINY.

Project DESTINY Begins!

Well, it seems that I have reconciled my dispute with Black Scorpion, who is finally allowing me to work directly on Project DESTINY. The first task, to fine-tune the Arachnos Portal Technology.

It seems Lord Recluse has used his Fortunatas to divine a future where he triumphs over the hateful Statesman. They prophesied that a great portal would allow access to this future, and that the key to zeroing in on this future would be a villain who rose from obscurity to notoriety - the elite of Arachnos.

They say its me. I'm the Destined One. Over the years I've seen thaumaturgy used as blithely as I use electricity - demons, spectres, mages and other manifestations. Back in my day I would have dismissed this out of hand. Now... no, no I stand by my findings. I am no such thing - but if my Lord and Arachnos needs me to assist I shall.

My preliminary tests, however, were strange. The portal would not lock on anywhere but a single point in time, 15 years from now. I couldn't get it to zone in anywhere else.

I had to go through and eliminate the interference. My ZR Aegis Transponder was affected by the machinery there, and the imaging circuits were affected but I managed to capture these images.

Massacring the Rogue Arachnos Troops, I turned and was faced with the one man I could have guaranteed, really, to be trying to foil mine and Arachnos' plans.

Dr Aeon. The one scientist who dares to oppose me, time after time, with only a thin veil of respectability from Arachnos (and his time teleportation technology) to save him each time we clash.

As he did this time - muttering about a ruined city.

Seems that Dr Aeon has been watching me my entire career, and a hand-scrawled journal testified to the fact. Hopefully, this will be all the evidence I need to get Arachnos to let me shut him down for good this time.