From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

Typhoon Warning

Whispering Typhoon had enough of his mother. She kidnapped him from a nice academic life at Dartmouth, killed hundreds of athletes and spectators in order to kidnap him, and forced him into a life of crime. All that Whispering Typhoon wanted to do now was go back to his home in Paragon City. He wanted to be the Cobalt Claymore again. So, when a contract came to the family looking for a scout or pathfinder to Grandville, Whispering Typhoon volunteered. He recognized the opportunity to escape. What he didn't expect, though, was a trip back to Paragon City.

Statesman called out for volunteers to strike at Lord Recluse's newest superweapon, the fully completed Web. Whispering Typhoon quickly negotiated a price with Statesman: get him back permanently, with immunity from prosecution in regards to a bank robbery he deliberately tried to botch, and in return, the safest routes to Grandville by sea would be mapped out and placed in the elder hero's hands. The only problem was getting the information past Arachnos.

On a predetermined day, Whispering Typhoon set out to Bloody Bay to make his escape. His entire future hinged on getting his notes to Freedom Corps. In one of the meteoric ore-processing bunkers, the notebook containing the newest routes for heroes was handed over to a recovery team. Unfortunately, the influence of Mother Aoi's shadow manipulation proved to be stronger that he hoped, stranding Whispering Typhoon in the Isles. He went to ground, trying to find a better opportunity to leave.

The Phoenix Force leadership put their heads together to try and come up with a rescue plan. Terra Skye, one of the resident archmages of the group, concocted a ritual to sever any mystic domination that Mother Aoi might have over her son. They'd need to prevent the spellcasters of both Arachnos and Jizoku no Himitsu from providing a counter-ritual, so a strategy of diverting their attention with a missile attack was put into action. Gathering forces from other supergroups, the Phoenix Force headed to Warburg. Fate was not kind to the heroes, as Mother Aoi mounted a defense of the Warburg launch pad. (How she knew of their strategy is a mystery still to be solved.) The launch window closed for their missile strike, and the spellcasters of Arachnos and Jizoku no Himitsu were able to barely defeat the incoming missiles. The launch, though, still managed to distract the mages enough to weaken the shadow-enhanced bond between mother and son.

During the confusion, Whispering Typhoon slipped away, managing to steal a small powerboat from an Arachnos patrol station. He managed to evade Freedom Corps, Arachnos and the Coast Guard on his way back by using navigational tricks he'd used while sailing in various parts of the Great Lakes. He eventually beached his craft in Siren's Call. In the middle of a huge fight, Whispering Typhoon was secreted away by his friends in the Phoenix Force to safety. The Cobalt Claymore had returned to his place in the City of Heroes, and Mother Aoi was left to ponder why her son would not accept the mantle of leadership required of him.