To Save The World!

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:"Uh... unless there was a new Ice Age that no one told me about... yes, almost certainly. That machine in The Technician's lab, it didn't just create a portal: it punched a hole clean through our reality, and we fell through it. Those branches of light we saw in... wherever we just were? If I had to guess, I'd say those were alternate realities splitting off from each other, or... maybe just the closest our minds can come to visualizing them. We fell through a hole in another universe - maybe the machine created it too, maybe we were just really lucky - and now we wound up here. Uh, wherever here is, exactly.""The good news is, the universe is a tough old gal. Once The Technician's machine shuts off, the universe will get to work on sealing up that hole almost immediately. That kind of stuff is theorized to happen all the time with wormholes and the like, otherwise our plane of existence would just tear itself apart," he continued. "The bad news... with that hole sealed up, we're kinda... stuck on the other side."[For Science!]

Edited November 29, 2011 by Chronicler of Ko-Koro

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

IC:Kaname couldnt express anything other than shock: It was the first time he showed this emotion.Although it was all very well and such, he couldnt believe his eyes right now. First they were miles underground, then they get pulled through a portal, they see all kinds of awesome looking lights. And Now they are not only in a frozen winter wonderland, but they were stuck..maybe"Well well...this is very very interesting..ah, wheres my sword?" he looked around a little. He held out his hands saying, "Return." a small flash of Black Lightning charged at him from somewhere and it went onto his hand no more than a second later did it turn into the Card."You know...this reminds me of a game I played: Your Character is living a normal Life until one day, something happens. Then a portal appears and it sucks you right in, then you wake up into a world thats unknown to you." He looked around, "But in this case we wind up in a place we know about."

Edited November 29, 2011 by Kenpachi Zaraki

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:"Really, we should consider ourselves very lucky we wound up on a plane this close to our Earth. Like Plas said, infinite universes for infinite choices. One slight change back in primordial Earth, and the world might not have had an atmosphere we could even breath. The Big Bang goes slightly different, we might even have been dealing with different laws of physics," said Fade. "It looked like this was a close branch to our prime universe, so whatever change happened here had to have been recent."Fade glanced up at the icy spire towering over the ruins of New York City."One guess, I'm gonna say the change had something to do with whatever Snowmizer lives up there. Here's hoping we don't get to meet him," he muttered. "Well, the good news is, if The Technician was working on dimensional travel in one reality, he might have been working on it in another. We know where his lab is, we just need to find it and get the machine in working order. If we can't... well, then we hold elections for Mayor of New York City On Ice while we hope our League gets that device working again."Fade left a concern nagging in the back of his mind unsaid, probably for the best. If they could get the machine over here working - assuming it even existed, and it was in anywhere near the completed state their version was - Fade still had no idea how to get them back to their universe. Assuming he could even work out the code The Technician used to plot the machine's trajectory, they were still trying to hit one universe out of an unlimited number of others.And not all universes were as drastically different as this one; if they wound up in a universe where the only change was that one guy arrived at work on time when he should have been late, would they ever notice the difference? Or one wrong turn, or even one coin flip? The butterfly effect didn't always have world changing effects, just a few little ones they might not even notice until it was too late. But, Fade supposed it was no use worrying about that yet. They didn't even know if there actually was a machine over here, no use worrying on whether they could get it working yet.[For Science!]

Edited November 29, 2011 by Chronicler of Ko-Koro

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

Kaname looked up at the spire, "You have a very good valid point there...I wouldnt want to meet this guy either." he looked harder at the spire, almost like he was trying to burn a hole into it. He didnt like this at all."Lets hope that that machine is over here....wait...ah no impossible." Kaname shook his thoughts out, "By the way Fade, what if bt some chance our little machine friend might be in the spire? I'm just asking, if not we should get moving or something like a Yeti will pop up, and I hate those guys..always screaming..."

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: "I spent fifteen minutes explaining that on the phone," Jona muttered, shaking her head. Out loud she continued, "Okay, I'll give you the condensed version: A federal building was broken into by a speedster. We don't know who it was and no identifiable traces were left. Cameras offline, no fingerprints, the works. But the only thing stolen were seven criminal files. There were a hundred more valuable things the thief could've taken, but he or she took files from seven almost completely unrelated crimes. Our investigation has hit a dead end, so we're hoping you've got some way of figuring out a next step. Superhuman dealings are your department, after all."H-D

[Rumpelstiltskin]

OOC: I think you just hit a new degree of awesomeness with that one, CoKK. Actually, now that I mention it, I just remembered something of Kumata's from the old RPG. Let's see if I can find it...Ah, here it is. Allow me to present the new and improved List of Awesomeness!-Aliens (Too many to count)-Alternate Realities (Frozen Alternate New York City)-Annoyingly Vague Prophets (Isis)-Atlantis (The Underwater Nation of Atlantea)-Clones (Isobel Steele)-Cosmic-Powered Superheroes (Nemo Leonards)-Cyborgs (Manchine/Technax)-Dinosaurs (Primevil)-Dragons (Dragonhide)-Enormous Explosions (The destruction of the Coalition's Alpine base)-Extra-Dimensionals (Cavalier)-Genetic Hybrids (Lupines/Sharkmen)-Ghosts (Grim)-Gods (Anubis)-Half-Humans (Silver)-Immortals (Several)-Malicious Trains (The Ghost Train)-Mummies (Ankkamun)-Mutants (Raptor)-Ninja (Itsutsu Five)-People from the Future (Elektrik/Harmony/Invisobel)-Pirates (The Jolly Robber's crew)-Psychic Presences (Darkmage/Ikusen Sakeme)-Robots (Technax Armada)-Shameless Movie References (Disney)-Spaceships (Epsilon)-Time Rifts (Godseye)-Vampires (Wraith)-Werewolves (Werewolves of London)-Wizards (Warlock)-Zombies (The Reaper)It seems like all we need are Vikings, Cannibals, and a good ole' fashioned gladiator battle. :biggrin:IC: (Aquarius)The cell was cold and metallic, with no furnishings besides a thin bench welded to the back wall. Aquarius had lost track of the time he had spent locked in the cell. At least they hadn't tried to nullify his powers; Aquarius knew escape was futile. Where was he going to go? There was nowhere in the entire world that he could escape to that would be safe from the Coalition.He paid little attention to the scarlet portal that appeared in front of him, or the hooded figure that stepped from it. Mr. Mystery looked disturbingly like the Grim Reaper, with his bladed staff and obscured face. He could feel the fury radiating off of the Coalition founder as the portal closed with a venomous hiss."Scarlet has informed me of your little deception," he said quietly."Then why am I still sitting here?" Aquarius asked, never raising his head. "Kill me and get it over with.""But that would be so unlike me," Mr. Mystery replied. "If I were to do anything, it would to torture you for the next week and leave you cowering in some far-flung corner of the world, fearing the day that I come after you to finish you off."Aquarius nodded. "I can handle that.""But I won't be doing that, either."Aquarius looked up at Mr. Mystery, peering into his hood. He could have sworn he could see the twinkle of an eye, the flash of a white smile, behind the shadows masking the Villain's face, but he knew it was only his imagination. "What are you going to do to me?""Insubordination, treason, foolhardiness, and failure," Mr. Mystery listed. "Simply unacceptable. I cannot allow you to go unpunished." A flash of black, and Aquarius crashed to the floor, clutching his jaw in pain. Of all the thing Mr. Mystery could do, he had punched him?"You disgust me," Mr. Mystery continued. "You deserve no compassion, even if you did save Plastech's life. I owe you nothing for that."Aquarius climbed to his knees, cradling his jaw. "Plastech?" he slurred. "What connection does Plastech have to you?""That is irrelevant," Mr. Mystery shouted, whipping his staff around and slamming its shaft into the other side of Aquarius' head. The geneticist crumpled, groaning in pain."As much as I despise the thought of letting you walk, in an odd way I owe you my thanks," Mr. Mystery continued. "You failure ensured that the Coalition recognizes our authority, our power. Only the founders can rule the Coalition; you showed them that.""Wha...?""Your failure is my gain," Mr. Mystery said impatiently. "But I think the most important reason I can't do anything to you is because I want to keep this as quiet as possible. If word of this were to spread, the Coalition's name would be mocked for centuries.""You're...letting me go?" Aquarius managed through a swollen jaw."You are to speak of this to no one." Mr. Mystery's voice held no room for argument. "I will aide you in covering this...disgrace...and in righting whatever wrongs you may have caused. But fail me again, or overstep your authority, and I will kill you. Am I clear?""Yes.""Then there is no further need for you to be here," Mr. Mystery said, waving his hand. The world seemed to shift, and Aquarius was standing in a long metallic hallway, a door in front of him. He worked his jaw, and found it miraculously healed. Mr. Mystery's words echoed in his head. Fail me again, or overstep your authority, and I will kill you.Shivering, Aquarius opened the door and found a group of Villains sitting around a table, with Grand Cross standing in the corner. "Sorry if I'm late," he said in a slightly hoarse voice. "Plastech got into a bit of a scrape, and I had to heal him."~Lord Rahl~

[Kumata]

IC: Now that everyone had assembled, Grand Cross took a step back from the wall he had been standing against. It was apparently completely bare, but when he touched a certain spot a large square of colour appeared in its centre, vivid but somewhat blurred, like an image from a projector. Depicted in the square was the face of a strong-faced woman with a short brunette hair and glasses."To begin," said Grand Cross, "does anyone recognise this woman?"Aquarius spoke up. "That's the new President of the United States, the one who got elected after the invasion."Grand Cross nodded. "Evangeline Thomas is her name. So far she has proven to be an effective leader of government, working day and night to restore order after the alien attack. She has spent a short time in office yet has already won the respect of the American public." The image changed to a much younger girl, likely in her early teens, though she possessed the same shade of hair and jawline. "This is Danielle, her daughter. She caught the brief attention of the media last week when it was discovered that she possessed superpowers.""What powers?" Asked Negafire."Unclear. They have only just manifested; she is only able to generate sparks. But we will soon learn - the object of your mission is to capture her. As we have done with so many children in the past, we will train her in our ways and she may one day become a fine servant."The image changed again. This time it displayed some kind of overhead city map, with two points marked."Danielle goes to this school," Grand Cross pointed to one of the points on the map. "Each morning a car drops her off outside its gates. After she has been dropped off you are to enact your kidnap. You will-""Hold on," said Typhoon. "This doesn't seem like the best kidnap attempt to me. I mean, sending six of us to do it in front of a school, in broad daylight-""That is exactly the point," Grand Cross chuckled. "There are dozens of children worldwide who are just beginning to develop powers; we could target any one of them if we wished to add another superhuman to our ranks. Danielle being superhuman is just an added benefit to our capture of her. The true purpose of this mission is for six powerful villains to perform a very terrifying and destructive kidnap right in front of the eyes of dozens of schoolchildren and civilians, burning the incident in their minds forever... for the American media to be saturated for weeks with news of the President's missing girl... for the President to feel the added weight of stress as she works, knowing each day that her daughter is missing and that every mistake she makes is because of that stress... above all, for the world to understand that the Coalition of Corruption never went away, that we are as strong as ever and that no-one is safe from our influence!"... there are a few important points you must remain aware of. You may feel free to cause as much destruction and injury to the surrounding area and people as you like, but Danielle must remain alive and reasonably intact. Alive she is of great use to the Coalition in many ways. Dead, she will evoke a brief period of mourning from the American public, but that is all. If Danielle Thomas dies during this mission I will enact a severe punishment upon all of you. Is that understood?" Grand Cross gave each of the villains a stern gaze, though it lingered on Nihilo the longest. The villains just nodded and murmured their assent. Grand Cross tapped the other marked point on the map. "This is a concealed Coalition safehouse, a disused factory building labelled 'The Foilocution Corporation'. After you make the kidnap you will travel there - not difficult, it is more or less one mile directly south of the school - where Gap can create a wormhole to lead you all back here."Hivemind raised a hand. "Gap can create wormholes?""Yes.""Why can't she just create a wormhole soon as we've nabbed the daughter?""I uh, need to concentrate quite a bit to make them, especially if it's spanning long distances." Gap explained."If you risk waiting for Gap to form a wormhole out in the open, then any nearby heroes will have the opportunity to take her out and trap you there," added Grand Cross. "The safehouse contains a tiltrotor helicopter so that if Gap is disabled, you have a secondary means of escape. Though I would prefer it did not come to that, as tiltrotors can be pursued."Internally Gap cringed. Her self-confidence had just taken quite a blow; evidently her father didn't completely trust her powers to work properly. Grand Cross had deactivated the projection on the wall, and was staring at the assembled villains with folded arms."Now, is the mission quite clear..?"

Edited November 29, 2011 by Kumata

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:"Well, there's always some chance of that I suppose. We're dealing with alternate realities here, anything could have happened on this side," said Fade. "Now, since we don't know the device is in that spire, and I'd really hate to risk alerting whoever lives here to the possibility of other, unconquered realities, let's just check the lab before we start planning a trip there."---Hivemind mentally went through at least seven variations upon "This is why you're dragging me away from my work?" before finally settling on something a little more diplomatic."Oh no, I think I've got it. Kidnap a little girl while causing terror and collateral damaging in spitting distance of a school zone, what's not to get?" she replied. "Just another days work for the Coalition of Corruption. So, when are we leaving?"Hivemind had her share of reservations about this plan. Sure she'd help them steal a doomsday device, rob a bank, heck, she had no problems with most kidnapping jobs. But this... well, Hivemind knew she was bad, she had no illusions left anymore, but this wasn't her style of evil. Not that she was going to say anything about it, of course. Of course she was being sent to literally kidnap the President's daughter, what did she expect she'd be doing when she joined the Coalition? Evil parking violations?? At the very least, they weren't sending her to kill the kid. So there was that, Hivemind supposed, what little it was.[For Science!]

Edited November 29, 2011 by Chronicler of Ko-Koro

[Kumata]

IC: Shortly after Fellwyd followed Sarah onto the bridge, distanced several paces behind her, she stopped. Fellwyd stopped too, though not of his own decision. He looked down to see that the ice that formed the bridge had risen up to entrap his feet as well. He looked up to see a dagger of ice hovering inches from his face."Two people have died already, so I'm in no mood to mess around," said Sarah, who had spun around, "so just call off those... things, surrender yourself, and maybe they'll go easier on you in court."IC: "At once, unless any of you need to prepare. By American time there is still an hour and a half before school begins..."OOC: Employing my 'time ripples' handwave to explain how several America-based characters are in the day when this mission's going to start in early morning.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Kumata

[King Joe]

IC: "I am prepared." Said Nihilo, feeding off all the negative energy in the room. This is why he loved working with other villains. So much distrust, hate, and anger flying around at any one time. It felt good.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Fellwyd): The alien just stared at Sarah for a few moments as his translator worked out what she had said, and then, slowly, he raised his hands in front of his chest, palms outward. It took him a few moments longer to recognize that the sudden appearance of an alien just might have seemed suspicious."I am Diemawr, I am Fellwyd. They are not mine. I have been in this city for nearly one of your years, escape pod crashed in the bay. I do not want to die."

[Kumata]

IC: Sarah almost immediately felt a flush of embarrassment at the creature's words. She wasn't usually this aggressive, but the whole 'unable to prevent innocent people being murdered' thing tended to rile her up. The mention of an escape pod, coupled with the creature's appearance and unearthly accent, gave her a good inkling as to its true nature. It could easily be a ruse meant to catch her off-guard though. "'Fellwyd'." She went with that, as it was easier to pronounce than the other word he had said. "So you aren't involved with... this," she gestured toward the barge, "in any way..?"

Edited November 29, 2011 by Kumata

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Fellwyd): As before, it took a couple of seconds for the translator to do its job. Fellwyd did not relax, and still held his hands rigidly in front of his chest."Not involved, no. The ship came, with the ship came the smell, with the smell came the shadows in the water, but none came with Fellwyd. I am alone."As he spoke, the alien's eyes flickered back and forth between the dagger and the superhuman that had created it. The creatures in the water were, for the moment, disregarded, as he thought it unlikely that they could jump high enough to be worthy of his concern right now.

[Kumata]

IC: Sarah listened to Fellwyd's response, then considered him for a few more moments. The problem with talking to non-human creatures was that their expressions were unreadable.But the ice dagger evaporated. Sarah relaxed her stance, deciding to trust Fellwyd until there was reason to do otherwise."My name is Sarah," she enunciated carefully. "I am a superhero. Do you know what that is..?"

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Fellwyd): While it took the translator a few seconds to understand spoken speech, Fellwyd needed no help in understanding the removal of the dagger. He relaxed somewhat, though the ice coating his feet was still very uncomfortable, and while his hands remained raised, they were less rigid, and the palms were turned sideways, to face each other."I believe I understand the concept. You are what the other humans rely on when the storm comes."OOC: Considering that No-one is a government agent, would it be unreasonable for him to be present when the kidnapping attempt happens? I know it's the Secret Service, not the CIA, that does protective stuff like that, but considering that he's unlikely to get any action drinking the League's coffee, I'm rather hoping we could stretch things a bit to include a spook at the scene.

[King Joe]

IC: Surge turned to his two new friends. "Okay, so what do we do now? Personally, I would figure out which files were taken and what connection they have, but that's just me. A speedster wouldn't have to nab random stuff to get in a gang or anything".

[Kumata]

IC: "Yes," nodded Sarah with a friendly smile. "I will go onto the ship, and stop whoever has created this danger. There may be a supervillain. They - they are the ones who bring the storm. You must go back, and find a safe place."IC: Grand Cross gave Gap a nod. She got to her feet, face set in a look of concentration. She outstretched her arms with fingers curved inwards, as if clutching an invisible ball. Then there was a splitting noise, followed by a continuous rushing sound as what appeared to be a black hole formed in the centre of the room. It grew to about the size of a small car."You may embark on the mission, then," Grand Cross told the others. "Typhoon is the most skilled of you all so he will act as field leader; if he has a tactical suggestion you will follow it. Nihilo, you had best enter the wormhole first. We don't want you crashing into one of your teammates when you fly out the other end, do we..?"OOC: I've no objections to Mr. No-One being present somehow. Mind you staying at the League base might be a good idea, given that they tend to hear about things like this pretty fast. It's up to you.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Kumata

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: Think It'd be best to go ahead and put him at the scene for it to happen, so he can try (and, unless competence in supervillainy is rarer than I thought, fail) to stop the kidnapping.IC(Fellwyd): "Negative. I am a warrior, it is ones like myself that the Diemawr would send to march against the storm. My duty is the same here as at home."IC(Mr. No-One): The CIA agent had been pulled from his rather comfortable job observing the League a week ago in order to improve security on the President's daughter's school after it was discovered that the child had some signs of superhuman abilities. Officially, he was there to augment the Secret Service detail that was assigned to the children of any US President. In actuality, a big part of his job was damage-control - if there was an accident caused by the child's as-yet poorly understood abilities, he was there to clean up the mess and keep it out of the news as much as possible.

[Kumata]

IC: Sarah was quiet for a moment. Fellwyd's knowledge of human culture was clearly limited; it could cause him to make a serious mistake in combat with a supervillain. But his form alone suggested he could handle himself in combat, and truth be told Sarah was glad of help against the vague threat that faced them.The ice surrounding Fellwyd's feet retracted."Stay close to me. I don't know what to expect," she told Fellwyd. The alien walked to her side and they crossed the bridge together. The shadows of the shark-like creatures were still visible in the water below, but as Fellwyd had rightly guessed they were unable to jump high enough to harm them."What... abilities do you have?" Asked Sarah as they walked. "I can control water, as you have probably noticed." That was a simplification, but she was being careful not to confuse the alien...

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: "Way ahead of you, I'm afraid," Jona interrupted. "All were accused of the same thing - kidnapping and murder - all pleaded innocent, said they'd been framed - just like every other crook in New York - and all were convicted. Other than that, nothing I-"At that point there was a knock on the door. Without waiting for a reply, an officer opened the door, waving a file. "Chief! We got something." He tossed the file on her table. "Another file was stolen - they didn't find out right away because it was in a room halfway across the building. This one's different. It's Eisling, ma'am."Chief MacTaggart's eyes widened and she opened the file immediately. "Well, talk about timing. Looks like we've got something for you, boys." She showed the heroes gathered a picture of a scruffy-looking, caucasian man with muddy brown hair and a squint. "Meet Dylan Eisling. Suspected thief, mugger, arsonist, kidnapper and murderer. I say suspected because we've never once been able to pin anything on him. Never even went to court - before we could get a warrant, the witnesses change their stories, evidence gets tampered with, you name it. We've known someone was protecting him for years, but Internal Affairs dragged their feet. Seems our mystery thief was as interested in him as we are."How do you boys feel about a little footwork?"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------At about that moment, in a darkened room somewhere in the city, Dylan Eisling all but fell against a brick wall, supported only by a hand pressed against his chest. The hand belonged to a figure in skintight clothing much like the outfits worn by heroes and villains alike, showing a muscular, athletic figure, but no details could be seen in the darkness. "Talk." The figure's voice grated with anger.The suspect glared, trying to hide his terror. "I got nothing to say to yOof!" The last part was interrupted by a heavy blow to the gut. He coughed and tried again. "You can just... just go back to your League or whatever and tell'em I didn't do noth-""Wrong answer." Suddenly Dylan found himself tossed forward to land across a table nearby. Just as he was about to object, though, the same hand that had held his chest before now gripped his arm, and another came flying down at his hand- CRACK! Dylan Eisling screamed, but was cut off as the figure tossed him back up against the wall and held a hand up to his throat, allowing just enough air to breathe. "You have a lot more bones to break. Start talking."The terrified man nodded mutely. The hand on his throat loosened enough for him to talk, and he whimpered pathetically. "O-okay... Every now and then a guy comes to me, says he's from the DA's office. Says his name's Eliott. I do some jobs for him - my gang and I, we grab some guy and make him vanish. We never get arrested for nothin'. That's all I know, I swear!" If he thought the pain would stop because he talked, he was sadly mistaken, as another blow to the gut informed him, followed by a left hook right to the jaw. Eisling fell to the ground in a heap.The figure stood over Eisling. "What are you more afraid of: Prison or me?" Unable to speak, Eisling gestured at the shadowed figure emphatically. "The police will know I took your file. They'll find you. When they do, you plead guilty." Apparently Eisling was one hundred per cent behind the idea of a thick, concrete wall between himself and the man who had just broken his hand. He nodded vehemently. The figure turned to leave, but paused. "And not one word of our little talk to them, understand?" Another terrified nod. The man seemed satisfied.There was a brief rush of air and the man vanished in a streak of black.H-D

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Fellwyd): "Diemawr warriors are trained in direct combat. I can put down an enemy without much trouble, without death, if you prefer."

[Kumata]

IC: "Yes. Humans do not think it is a good thing to kill anyone, even supervillains." Again, oversimplified, but there was no point in elaborating.Just as the two of them stepped onto the filthy metal of the barge itself they were startled by a noise - the striking sound of metal on stone. In the centre of the barge sat a number of shipping containers, blocking their view of the other half of the deck; it sounded like the noise had come from there.Sarah drew close to one of the shipping containers. Moisture in the air coalesced to form ice daggers, which hovered after her. "Stay quiet," she whispered to Fellwyd. "We might be able to sneak up on them..."

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Fellwyd): The alien acknowledged the order silently, and held still, waiting for the superhero's plan to go through. Privately, though, he rather suspected that whoever was on this barge would not be the sort of people you could just surprise, not when they pretty much appeared to be on the attack.

[King Joe]

IC (Surge): Surge looked at the file. "So, we go check out this guy and see if he can tip us off to who the speedster is? Sounds good to me."IC (Nihilo): Nihilo stared emotionless at Grand Cross. "It is possible that I could adjust my velocity, but I agree to go first. As is said, 'Better safe than sorry.' I await your order, Typhoon."

[Kumata]

IC: Sarah and Fellwyd edged along the shipping containers. As they did Sarah couldn't help but ponder the fact that after one alien companion had dropped out of her life, another had entered it. Well, Silver had only been half-alien...No. She told herself not to think about him. She'd only get upset and distract herself. She needed to focus on the present.They reached a corner in the row of shipping containers. Sarah wrinkled her nose - the stench was even stronger now. She counted, one, two, three, then dived around the corner and mentally flung the ice daggers. They shattered against a sight that caused her to immediately stagger in horror.Corpses. Dozens of human corpses, all in varying states of dress and decay - some little more than cloth-covered skeletons, others wearing lumps of rotted flesh and mangled organs. They were shuffling out of an opened shipping container, heading down a wide metal gangplank that had been lowered onto the docks with enough force to have cracked the stone beneath (evidently the source of the noise they had heard earlier). The ice daggers had caused one to stumble slightly, but the body of the crowd prevented it from collapsing. It continued slowly with the others as they trickled onto the docks. Lucky it was that most civilians had fled, for the sight was not a pretty one."What's this then?" Demanded a voice. Sarah and Fellwyd looked up to see a figure hovering above the heads of the zombies. His supersuit was coloured deep black, with a batlike cape, skull-shaped helmet (that matched the image painted on the side of the barge) and spiked shoulder pads. His costume had changed, but Sarah knew who he was all the same."The Reaper!" She exclaimed."Ah, so you recognise me!" The Supervillain smiled at Sarah. His gaze then strayed to Fellwyd. "I presume you two are heroes come to stop me. Good. I was hoping to find some lieutenants for my army."The zombies had ceased their dockward march and began moving towards the pair, jaws slack and arms outstretched, revealing their clawlike nails and teeth...

Edited November 29, 2011 by Kumata

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: "More or less," Jona agreed. "You track him down, see what he knows and why anyone would steal his case file. He probably has enemies. Aside from us, that is. Normally I'd do this one myself, but if that speedster shows up there'll be nothing I can do."H-D

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: "You have orders," Typhoon said with a roll of his eyes, "Through that portal. Go. Now."

[King Joe]

IC (Nihilo): Nihilo was tempted to salute, and push Typhoon even further, but he decided against it. Better safe than sorry and all. So he simply entered the portal. He was right about adjusting his velocity, he was able to slow to a stop almost immediately after exiting on the other side. He moved away from the entrance to avoid a very painful collision, for both himself and the unfortunate villain who would go second.

[Kumata]

IC: After Nihilo went Typhoon, then Aquarius, then Negafire. Hivemind was about to enter when Grand Cross grabbed her by the arm."Keep an eye on Nihilo."Hivemind nodded, then carried on into the wormhole. Only Gap remained."I shall do my best, father," she announced. Grand Cross merely nodded. Gap turned away and leapt into the wormhole - she experienced the usual sensation of swirling blackness before landing. She'd gotten the knack of ending up on her feet after a trans-spatial journey, but the others might not have.They had emerged in a shadowed alleyway; coupled with the darkness of the early morning it was difficult to even see the wormhole behind them. Gap made a gesture and it closed noiselessly...

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Fellwyd): As the translator finished with the conversation between Sarah and the Reaper, several possibilities ran through Fellwyd's head. The first was based on years of combat training - target the officers first, leave the troops disorganized and demoralized. That idea was discarded - it was unlikely that reanimated corpses could be demoralized. The second possibility - fighting through the corpses - was equally flawed. Too many corpses, too few to fight through them, no tactical advantage. The third - making an honorable retreat - was contrary to duty. The storm-bringer had mentioned an army, which implied an intent to wage war. That could not be allowed, not if it was someone like this at the head of an army."I am thinking," Fellwyd said, glancing at Sarah, "about the human dislike for killing. Can an exception be made, for this?"

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC(Fellwyd): As the translator finished with the conversation between Sarah and the Reaper, several possibilities ran through Fellwyd's head.

OOC: Incidentally, "Sarah and the Reaper" is the name of my Blue Oyster Cult tribute band.IC:Hivemind was most certainly not an expert on wormhole travel, and was thus sent flying head over heels out of the portal. She wound up sprawled upside down in a pile of garbage bags and discarded cardboard boxes, waiting for the world to stop spinning. Hivemind picked her glasses up off the ground and looked up at Gap as she closed the wormhole."That. Was. Awesome!" she exclaimed to the teleporter. "Oh man, let's do it again!"Hivemind picked herself out of the trash jeep, shaking an old banana peel out of her hair. Not giving Gap time to catch up to her train of thought, she turned her attention to Typhoon."Alright, everyone's through the Stargate, so... what's the plan?" Hivemind asked. "I mean, beyond just charging in and grabbing the girl. It's just that if we rush in guns blazing... well, they have actual guns. The kind with bullets in them. I'm not saying we can't twos them, but it might be wise to see if we can't catch them off guard instead..."[For Science!] Edited November 30, 2011 by Chronicler of Ko-Koro

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: "We don't exactly blend in, so we can't hide," Typhoon mused out loud, "We need to act quickly. You two, Negafire and Nihilo, get up high. I want you in the air so you can hit fast and hard. Hivemind, get some bugs out there as scouts. Tell us what we'll be up against. Once I know guard positions I'll relay them to you two. We can take 'em out and grab the girl."

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Mr. No-One): The CIA spook sat on a bench near the front entrance of the school, apparently reading a newspaper. The cheap suit he wore easily concealed the pistol he carried, and the thin, nearly transparent wire snaking to an earpiece would be all-but impossible to spot from any distance greater than arm's-length. Really, he had no idea what the headlines on the newspaper were - he was watching everything over the top of the paper. Passing cars, random pedestrians, the occasional bee, that sort of thing. The comm. channel he shared with the Secret Service agents indicated that everything was clear - no sign of intruders (not that they were expected - with the apparent destruction of the Coalition in the invasion, there was a bit of a shortage of lunatics skilled enough to be any kind of a bother to the Secret Service), so he kept himself busy with observing the world.He couldn't see into the alley the Coalition members had appeared in, but he was positioned so he could see one exit from the alleyway.

[King Joe]

IC (Nihilo): Nihilo nodded silently, (he wasn't too happy with Typhoon at this moment, but he enjoyed the negative energy he was getting from himself) and lifted himself up. Not too high that the alley wouldn't continue to conceal him, but high enough that he had a better vantage point. There he waited for the command to strike. He didn't know how it would come, though. Maybe a signal from Typhoon? One of Hivemind's bees buzzing in his ear? He had no idea. He just knew he would be ready when the time came. He was already picking out secondary targets, after the guards. A fire hydrant ceasing to exist should make a water geyser that should obscure their movements as the group went for their primary objective, while blasting the cement in front of people's feet was enough to cause panic. He had to make sure that he didn't come into contact with the geyser. That would be painful. Every single droplet like a flaming bucket of acid. It was how his more 'heroic' double had weakened him the last time they met.It was never going to happen again.

Edited November 30, 2011 by King Joe

[Korkoa]

IC: Negafire risked a mock salute to Typhoon before igniting his body and rocketing upwards. He came out of the top between the two buildings, streaking through the sky. People generally didn't notice flying supers anymore, except tourists. As long as he stayed moving, nobody would notiethe similarity to Plasmafire he had. Looking down,, he could see a few of the Secret Service agents and a few pedestrians . One guy he saw sitting on a bench reading a paper... Kind of suspicous, you didn't see that a whole lot. Oh well, he could always just torch the guy.IC: Magnetas eyes narrowed when she realized the detective seemed to be excluding her. She kept calling the small group 'boys'... "I'm sorry, but these two men here aren't the only League heroes here, I'm also in the room. Anyway, where can we find this guy?"IC: Plasmafire groaned and shook his head. "Leah's gonna kill me... Anyway Fade, you seem to have the best grasp on where the lab was, so let's get out of this frigid wasteland"

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:Hivemind nodded, calling a few of the local insects buzzing about to float around the area. She of course, kept a few in reserve, ready to keep a compound eye on Nihilo when things started going down. She doubted he'd notice them once things started getting action-y, and even if he didn't, he couldn't say Hivemind was spying on him. She couldn't be held accountable for what every insect in the world was doing, could she?"Alright, the target car is a few blocks away; there's a van trailing it that's probably carrying the security detail. I'd imagine there'd be at least one bodyguard in the car, maybe more assuming they've got brains at all," said Hivemind. "There's maybe... oh, five people in suits along the route trying to look inconspicuous; more Secret Service, probably. There's a man reading a newspaper near us, he's almost certainly a government plant; really, if you're reading a newspaper in this day and age you're either a spy or waaaay out of it. Point is, he's got a good enough view of the alleyway to see us when we come out of it, so proceed with caution, gang. They might have a few other aces up their sleeve, but none that I can see."A singular firefly floated over Hivemind's head, lighting up as she was struck with an idea."Typhoon, know how you said we couldn't blend in? Well, it's just the way my powers work, when I don't have enough insects to fully reform, that missing mass just sort of exists in a kind of potential... well, let's call it a hypothetical 'Beespace' until I have enough bugs to pull myself back together. The field tends to rub off on whatever I'm wearing after a while, so the same rules apply to that as well," she said. "Point is, usually I have a change of civilian clothes waiting in Beespace in case I need to make a stealthy retreat... and totally not just so I can get dressed faster in the morning, no sir, that would be an irresponsibly mundane use of my special talents. I could switch to civie gear, make a little commotion, and get the Service goons distracted for when you strike. Sound like a plan?"---"Right, let's get moving. You know, I'm kinda starting to wonder just what The Technician was doing with a dimension-jumping machine in his basement," Fade said as they began to head across the rooftops. "Actually... no, I think I kinda get it. I mean, the Technician's were a family of geniuses, but they also kinda... well, suck. If you're smart enough to figure out how how to cross the barriers between realities, wouldn't you want to try and see if you could escape to a universe where all your plans really did succeed-"Fade's voice cut off as he spotted a solitary figure standing on a distant rooftop. Dressed in a green parka, they raised what - even from this far away - Fade could recognize as a crossbow. A bolt sped across the air, headed straight for Fade. He phased instinctively... and was shocked when the crossbow bolt struck him square in the chest. It wasn't lethal - he was wearing heavy armor and the cheap bolt had shattered on impact - but the force was still enough to knock him off his feet.Fade coughed as he rolled in the snow. What just happened? He should have phased, but... he didn't, for some reason. Naturally, his powers had picked the most inconvenient time to stop working. However, this was a mystery he'd need to solve later. At the moment, the rooftop figure was reloading the crossbow, ready to take another shot at Fade while he was down...OOC:

so let's get out of this frigid wasteland"

...heheh...hehehehehehehahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAMUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! A-HA-HA-HA! ......Perhaps I've said too much. [For Science!] Edited November 30, 2011 by Chronicler of Ko-Koro

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Mr. No-one): Really, there were two groups who noticed everything - tourists and spies. As the man on the bench happened to be the latter, Negafire was noticed pretty quickly - though no connection to a specific individual was made. With no reason as of yet to think that the fellow was anything but a superhero out for a gaudy stroll, Mr. No-One did the responsible thing - he immediately informed his supervisors of the intrusion. Raising the newspaper slightly higher so his mouth wasn't visible, he tapped the earpiece once."Watchdog Lead, this is Ulysses. Unauthorized super in an alleyway. Advised to proceed with caution and question the intruder. Over.""Ulysses, this is Watchdog Lead, we copy. Watchdog Six moving to investigate."Moving quietly but directly, one of the suits made his way towards the alley, looking directly at Negafire. No direct sign of hostility was made, though the man did have his hand on a holstered pistol.

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

IC:Kaname was just as shocked as anyone could be: here we are, finally found someone. Bit the Problem? whoever it was was shooting at Fade. "Awaken." the sword appeared and Kaname jumped in the way just before the figure fired the Crossbow again and deflected the bolt.Black lightning surged around Kaname a little while he slashed at the figure with a Lightning slash, "Kuro Flash." a small wave/bolt of black lightning went at the figure "Well Fade, I think we found someone."That wave would have enough to at least Stun this person whoever it was. As long as he wasnt grounded to anything.OOC: i worked up a habit that the NPC controoled by another person needs room to respond to my attacks.

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:The second arrow sounded like shattering glass as it bounced off Kaname's sword; close inspection of the broken remains revealed that their attacker had just shot at them using an icicle. Well, Fade had to give his assailant credit for inventiveness and innovation, at the very least. The attacker was in the process of loading and firing another shot when Kaname's electric wave struck, shocking them and throwing off their aim. The arrow shot of wildly, trailing sparks through the air as it went, striking a window on the building the group was standing on. This wouldn't have been a problem if the explosives strapped to the arrow hadn't gone off, blasts shredding the roof they were standing on."Oh, for the love of god," Fade muttered bitterly as he flung himself to the side of the blast. He looked up to see their attacker, still jittery from the shock, loading another explosive arrow; by now he'd seen enough of their attacker to figure out who they were, or more specifically who she was. "Can I find just one universe where Longshot hasn't tried to kill me?"[For Science!]

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

Kaname looked at the roof as it started to explode. he sighed, explosive arrows alright. Kaname back flipped to another rooftop as it exploded, grabbing Plasmafire and throwing him in the process so that he didnt die with the blast.he heard Fade's comment and said, "Is she an old Girlfriend?"