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Earth in the year 2198 has advanced beyond recognition. With cities being more connected and technology advanced many years thanks to inter planetary relations. Humanity has spread to other systems and made many colony worlds. Life is much more diverse. Earth has even gotten many new life forms living on it. All at a similar level and sentience to humans. As time has gone on several colonies have been set up. One of these has recently suffered a huge tragedy. The colony city of Hantor on a medium sized Earth like world completely burnt up. Over the course of seven days strange thing happened from unexplained fires to disappearances. None of these where shared with Earth or other colonies as they were not seen as dangerous or worth reporting. By the time the colony was destroyed several others had been reported suffering similar fates. Over the course of the year. Eight colonies of different race origins were destroyed. Up to this point they where smaller colonies and had minimum connection. With only the fact they were not home worlds. The cities where all destroyed with higher frequency as time went on. This is what got people discussing it but planets like Earth with their higher security and defense forces where much less likely to suffer anything without detection. But this is what made them arrogant to the idea of attack. But the culprit of these who so far was unknown or even considered to exist due to the end result was targeting earth.

It was Tuesday. Warm at dusk and a meteor shower was expected. Many people turned out to it. They all waited in cars which thanks to the advancement of technology were able to operate with small simple vi. Many people had gathered around to watch the massive display of dropping rocks. As duck came several small meteors began to fly by. Usually they would miss the planet or be burnt up and land no bigger then a small dog. Families gathered to watch.

Up on the lush, green hillside of (whatever town we are in) a young gnollish girl lazily sprawls out on her camping swag staring up into the dark evening sky watching the meteors fly by. Her vibrant pink eyes give a twinkle of awe as she contemplates life outside of Earth. Rhiannon had always been like that; curious, adventurous, daring, there wasn't a muscle in her body that could sit still for more than 10 minutes. In fact here she was travelling the country with nothing but an old-school dirt bike that she picked up for a dirt cheap price and just enough supplies to make it to the next town.

I let out a content sigh as my eyes slowly begin to flutter closed, my long wolf like tail curling up around my torso. Not that I planned on sleeping, but simply enjoying the warm summers night... Just me and the stars..

A young woman was walking on the streets, she was dressed up almost entirely in black leather and was also wearing a black mask that obscured everything except her sharp green eyes. She took off her mask to look up at the sky at the meteors flying by, revealing her long black hair.

The evening has always been the best part of the day for Alma Valentine, not because of the meteors however even she had to admit that she liked watching it from time to time. It was because it was the time when Alma could really be what she always wants to be, mostly in a very negative way and would probably leave a bit of carnage behind her. Remembering her goals for the rest of the evening, she put her mask on before continuing to walk to her destination.

As the chunks of rock and ice flew past the Earth and burning in the atmosphere giving a gorgeous glow people watched intrigued. Small fragments of rock would occasionally hit the ground. But they were typically the size of a small cat at most. However occasionally larger chunks sometimes the size of vans would land. Recourse of this security and emergency services waited on the ready. "We have a large chunk not braking up. It seems to be roughly eight feet long and would weigh roughly a ton. It seems like it will land in the national park outside the city." A man sitting at a monitor informs his superiors. "Ok. Send out teams to clean it up and check for injuries around it." Is the reply. With a nod the man sends out a signal and a fire truck filled with three staff and a medic went out to the landing site.

At the landing site the large meteor hit the ground. Burning in the atmosphere and impacting in a small stream. Blasting dirt and rock away making a crater about ten meters but minimal environmental damage was done. Some small fires started but the shaken up dirt rained down gently dampening the flames. The rock looked different to normal meteors. In fact it looked metallic. The fire truck arrived quickly and was there after two minutes of impact. Jumping out two fire fighters began spraying the area putting fires out. "Funny you rarely get ones this big. Well it will fetch a good price when retrieved." One of them says laughing. "Yea. These space rocks go good in museums and for all the science they enjoy doing up town." They joke. The third firefighter approaches the rock itself. Walking up he can see it is black and looks metal. Almost like a pod. "Odd." He says walking around. Finding what looks like the head of it a faint hum and glow starts. He moves back a bit nervous. "Ugh guys you may wanna see this." He says as the others walk around.

They all stand back about six feet watching. The roof of the pod unlocks and the whole upside opens. Looking in a red glow is seen inside. The men look over nervous and scared. "Is there something inside?" One asks moving his head in closer. The glow fades and the men stop for a second. Then a hand emerges. Moving back the medic looks at the occupant. The hand was red with dark purple 'claws' on the fingers. "Are you ok? Do you need help?" The medic asks. "Help?" A deep voice is narrowly heard. The medic moves up pulling a flashlight up and shining it in. A large black lump looking like a black coat is inside. "What is it?" A firefighter asks. "I think you need help." The voice says as a red face with two glowing green eyes looks up. A left hand grabs the medics arm pulling him forward. The left hand grabs his neck as the creature crawls out. Looking like a tall red humanoid it stood about six foot and laughed at the medic. "Oh shit." The fire fighters yell moving back. Lifting his left hand his raises his index finger which stands twice the size of the other fingers. It begins to glow and he touches the medics chest. He pants nervously as he is dropped. He stands up and smiles slightly looking down as he sees glowing on his chest. His whole body glows and starts to blister as he gives off lots of heat and seems to liquidate.

Seeing the horrific site the other men go to run. Picking up a rock the new comer tosses it hitting the furthermost one in the head. He hits the ground as his head bleeds being unconscious. With a spring he leaps forward and touches one of the firefighters like the medic. He yells and quickly burns up. The other firefighter got back to the truck and went for the radio. Fumbling with the radio he looks out unable to see this killer. Looking for the frequency he gets nothing. "Whats wrong?" He asks himself panicked before hearing a knock. He looks petrified as he looks to the door. Seeing the red faced creature he fails to scream in fear. Putting the long finger on the door he begins to walk around the truck. Where he touches the truck begins to melt and catch fire. The firefighter manages to scream as he is burnt alive in the melting truck. Walking over to the last survivor smiling he kneels down. "This is Earth right?" He asks the same deep voice. "Yes." The man says scared. "Good. Your no longer needed." Touching his head the man glows and yells as he bursts into ash. Standing and moving to the pod he runs his finger over it and it begins to burn up and melt. Walking through the forest as he starts to leave he runs his finger along trees. They all begin to burn and soon a large inferno begins. With his spare right hand he pulls out a pair of glasses from his coat and wears them. He hums to himself as he lets go of some trees and walks through the forest towards the city.

Not that I intended too, the cool of the night and peace of the near silent National Park had drawn me into a soft nap, clutching my fluffy tail as a pup would. My ears flicker forwards suddenly picking up a loud crash in the distance, my eyes snap open and I scurry to a seated position. From my position on the hill I could see across most of the park, the flames in the distance standing out all the more in the almost pitch-black night.

What the hell?! I thought the firefighters where meant to be keeping on top of this, the fire should not have gotten that big. I jump to my feet with a sense of urgency and sling my leg around my dirtbike, slamming the kickstart towards the ground the near 100 year old motor growling to life. I don't even think twice as I twist the accelerator, kicking up a plume of dust and grass behind me and leaving my swag behind on the hill.

As I pick up speed I flick on the front light of the bike, the outdated globe illuminating the park before me. My tail and hair stream behind me like ribbons as the wind rushes against me. I had to find out what was wrong...

On her way down to her destination, Alma heard the sound of loud crashing in the distance. She immediately stopped in her tracks after hearing this. She looked for the source of the sound until after a while she finally saw the flames in the distance.

Alma has seen a lot of damage before, but she hasn't seen anything quite like this. She had to admit, she was curious about what happened. She started to make her way over to the burning location at a light jog.

The massive inferno brought large amounts of firefighters and paramedics out. With shuttles filled with them they flew over dousing a perimeter of the flames gulf in water managing to seal the main blaze in. This sealed it to a kilometer and a half area. Smaller fires where caused by the win blowing embers around and these caused problems but where quickly contained. The one who caused this continued walking till he saw the outskirts of the city. With a grin he walked down the hill his 'coat' blending in with the darkness. The outskirts where mainly suburbs and some industrial storage and shops. The storage are was mainly large containers very similar to shipping containers and some buildings for workers. Their were also some large but slow mechs. They wanders around moving crates being programmable cranes. This would make a perfect place to plan and scheme.

Meanwhile the inferno was still burning but as there was yet to be a proper perimeter set other then a water one they could not stop people entering or vice versa. "This was unexpected. Fires rarely get this big from meteors. I have yet to see a fire this size caused by the hunks of rock." A high ranking firefighter says flying over the flaming forest in a shuttle. With six shuttles flying over bombing water they where performing at their best to contain the deadly blaze.

As I approach the crash site, my pupils begin to open, the warm light from the flames flickering in my eyes. Holy hell!! The fire trucks themselves are on fire! How the heck does that happen?! I skid my bike to a halt and jump off, letting the bike just drop to it's side. I dash towards the casualties, intent on helping any way I can.

As I approach the burning trucks I flex my fingers, water beginning to drip from my hands. Magic... Science... Anomaly? Call it what you will, but Gnolls have the unique gift of being able interact with the molecules around them, feel them... Manipulate them. Not to the greatest of extents.. But it was something.

Drawing the moisture from the cool nights air I point my palms at the fire, a single stream of water beginning to drench the fires, looking like a waterfall on it's side. It wasn't doing anything fast... But it was a start.

(Sorry about the late reply!! I didn't even realise it was my go i was watching my notifications for ages waiting and finally realized it was actually me. Soooo sorry guys >///< )

Alma approached the crash site and observed the absolute carnage in that area. This really wasn't a usual day for her, which is something she honestly like once in a while. But even so, Alma was very surprised at how much damage was caused, that certainly wasn't something that she saw regularly. Alma wasn't really focusing on the other people who may have been hurt. She was more focused and interested on what happened.

Alma turned her head and all of a sudden saw Rhinannon putting out all of the fires with a stream of water. Alma seemed to stop in her tracks as she watched her, this was a very strange day for her.

Wandering over to the fence the red being pulled up his finger and as it glowed melted through the fence cutting a hole. Walking in continuing to hum the ominous glow of the cooling metal lit in the night. He wandered up and through the maze of crates and boxes. There where no people walking around but inside one of the warehouses there were some lights. Inside the buildings where some low grade thugs and criminals. There were five of them all guys likely friends. They looked about early to mid twenties and where all human. They had decent builds and could likely hold their own. "That fire seems to be getting close. You guys think we should move?" One of them asks. "Nah it will be fine just." He pauses. "What was that?" He goes quiet hearing humming. The group turns to see the tall red man walk in. "Who the hell are you?" They say getting on guard. "Me? Oh just a tourist looking around to see what I can find." He says smirking. "But I have something to do and you could help me." He says leaning against a cargo crate.

"Help you? With what?" One of them says looking confused. "Oh just a little task. A slight fire of sorts." He says walking closer to them. "You some kind of arsonist? Bet you started that fire then?" One says. "Well look at you junior putting two and two together." He laughs. "Who are you anyway?" He is asked by one of the thugs. "Call me Thrax. So are you guys in or out?" He says looking back at them. "Whats in it for us? Being scapegoats and getting arrested?" "Well your paranoid. Aren't you kids? I won't use you as scapegoats but if you don't help me it would seem like your dead weight and frankly a problems." He says making his finger noticeable. He taps it on his right knuckle. "Screw you man." Of them says as the group gets ready to fight. "You came into our area we are gonna hurt you." He simply chuckles. "Suit yourselves. Maybe you need an example." He says signaling them to come at him. Three of them charge from all angles. Thrax laughs as they come up. Using some impressive gymnastics he kicks two of them down and bends the other guys wrist back. He collapses screaming. "So two options one help me and I promise I won't turn you in. Or two I brake your arm and kill you all." He smiles happily. "Ok ok. We will help you." After a pause he continues. "Boss." Thrax chuckles at the thought and lets him go. "Good."

I grit my teeth and assist the surviving firefighters to douse the flames. I take a moment to just look around at the carnage... Bodies that seem to be melted from the inside out leaving a hole in the middle of their chest. The fire trucks had claw marks dragged down the side of it... Perhaps the cause of all this.

As I look around my pink eyes locking with Alma's, my ears flip against the back of my head. I clench my fist, water still dripping from my drenched fur.

Alma looked back at Rhiannon, it was a while before she did anything as she was thinking about what she was going to do. Eventually Alma said "Interesting power you've got going there". It was then when Alma noticed the claw marks on the sides of the fire truck.

"Did you see what happened?" Alma asked, changing the subject. She had a feeling that she already knew the answer but she asked anyway.

As the fires where controlled and the flaming wreckage found. The men killed seemed in a fragile state. Their bodies left with severe melting and damage to the flesh. A key factor is the look. The bones seem to be barely remaining their structure. If touched they would basically fall through into a thick tar like soup. The truck had melted over and was like the people just keeping its shape. A pile of ashes could be seen with some gear from a firefighter. This gave more variety and oddness to the scene. Some men seemed to be burnt alive in their skins, one seemed to have burnt in the melted truck and the other burst into ashes. The smell of burning flesh and ash filled the air. The fleshy smell left but was closest to the bodies. The burning fuel and giving it's own scent and the melted rubber the same. It smelt awful but the sheer mystery would gain anyone's attention.

Rhiannon lifts her sleeve to her nose, her powerful Gnollish nose drawing in every last scent. It made her want to puke...
She looks up to Alma and shakes her head "I.. Have no idea... It was all like this when I got here. Eugh the stench us wretched!!"
Glancing around the scene she tries to spot anything that could have caused such a disaster, using her keen eyes.

Alma stepped closer to the wreckage in front of her. Looking around her she said "We could just ask any survivors what happened". Alma didn't know what to do but that seemed like a good place to start. She seemed to be suddenly focussed on this and going through the possible ways that it could have happened.

The five thugs which Thrax managed to 'recruit' where giving him information on the near by city and area. "So there are several suburbs of housing for about fifteen kilometers outside the main city. The city itself is massive and filled with millions of people and thousands of cops and things." One of the says placing a map on the table showing it off. "What about underground? Sewage systems or something?" Thrax asks tapping his knuckle as he did out of habit. "Yea around the outer city suburbs it is weakest. But in the city it is much higher secured." "Secured?" Thrax asks at the statement. "Yea. Cameras, drones, bulk head doors. Your lucky to get in. It was to stop trafficking down there and it worked efficiently." The oldest guy says. "Well seems like it shouldn't be too hard. The Eastern suburbs is where we should head. Would be best to move around the city and head in. It seems there are several parks their too. Could be useful for sneaking in." He says with a deep chuckle. Meanwhile back on the scene police and fireman shuttles landed to look at the area. "The hell happened?" A officer says walking up to the girls. "You two know what happened here?" He says geared in standard police gear with basic armor and a hat with the logo on the front.

I let out a sigh, my arm still covering my nose in an attempt to block the foul stench. "We have no idea officer. I saw the smoke and the fire and came right away... was pretty much a disaster zone from the moment I got here." She glances over to the dwindling hot ashes of some of the wreckage's, drenched in water from her attempt. "I... I did what I could.." After staring at the wreck her eyes focus in on the claw marks "This all seems really fishy though... a simple asteroid could not have caused this.."

(Sorry I forgot to reply)

Alma observed the wreckage and has seen the claw marks and can only imagine what had really happened. "Well, do you have any theories?" She asked. She had some theories but maybe they had some of their own. It was probably because of something living, there's no way it could've just been from a meteor.

The officer approached Alma. "Look we are just starting to look into this. Frankly it is police business and you girls should not worry about it. In fact leaving and letting us do this. For your own safety." He says hinting with his arms for them to move on and go. Back in the warehouse Thrax was preparing to head out. "We will head off in ten minutes. Using the dull period between night and dawn will let us get over most efficiently." He says moving over to a grey van with tinted windows. "You sure we should trust this creep?" Two of the men say. "Yea I don't know. But he seems like he has a plan and frankly walking out may be worse then going along with it." A third says shaking his head. Thrax however is standing in the doorway listening. "You guys know better. Now into the van so we can get going. You will get your just deserts don't worry." He says showing off the same extended boney finger pointing to the van were the others where getting in. "Yes sir." They say heads down and entering. Hopping in the back Thrax taps his knee as they drive out and onto the exposed, ash covered road.