Chronicler of Ko-Koro

IC:"You don't have to trust me. That's the beauty of it," Sakame said. "You simply have no other choice."X-Calibur had also rushed to Fade's side. His energy machete was inactive, but the fact he was still holding it should have been warning enough."Perhaps you ought to go patrol the tunnels," he said through gritted teeth. "For all we know, Frigid might have picked up on the fighting earlier. Make sure we haven't got an army of Ice Golems marching on us.""Are you sure?" asked Sakeme mockingly. "Aren't you afraid of what I might do if let out of your careful gaze?""Just. Go."Without another word, Sakeme slunk off into the darkness once more. X-Calibur turned to Fade and Plasmafire."I... I'm so sorry about that..." he said, apologetic. "If I had a choice, I wouldn't have even considered working with, with that thing. I've fought alongside Sluice, it just sickens me to see him controlling her like that, but... like he said, I don't really have much choice in the matter, do I? There's barely a League left anymore, I need any allies I can find if I want to stand a chance against Frigid."[For Science!]

IC:"I don't care what the whole story is," Fade said, crossing his wristblades defensively. "There's chain of different events that can make that girl with that katana anything other than bad news."Sluice stepped forwards, watching the two critically."Not to say I'm not flattered by your greeting, but I must ask... have we met?" she asked. "You seem to think you know quite a bit about me, and I very little about you, which frankly seems a little unfair. Of course, you are apparently from 'another universe'..."Fade stopped. He lowered his wristblades, but there was an almost maniacal glint in his eyes. Then, slowly but surely, he started to laugh. His laughter was loud and triumphant, but at the same time as harsh and evil as the worst maniacal cackling from a supervillain."...That's right, isn't it? We never met in this universe, have we?" he said, still laughing as he spoke. "Of course we haven't. That would have meant your plans had come even close to succeeding, wouldn't it? You never had a chance, did you, Sakeme? How long was it you spent plotting? Four hundred years, wasn't it? How does it feel, knowing your plans came so close to succeeding, only to be undone by-"A purple aura glowed in "Sluice"'s hand, lifting Fade into the air and slamming him against a pillar. Iskuken Sakeme advanced upon him, telekinetically restraining him in midair."Undone by some foolish little brat with a some cheap high-tech trinket? How do you think?" he roared. "I spent centuries plotting my rise to power, ages of careful planning, and this... this Frigid does it in less than a year? The land she rules does not belong to her; it should belong to me."Noting X-Calibur's grip tighten on his energy machete, Sakeme let Fade drop down to the floor."For that, she must die. Lucky for you, that means our goals are the same for the moment."[For Science!]

IC:"My apologies for the rudeness of my fellow companion," Mystic said to Ultonis diplomatically. The last thing she wanted was an argument breaking out; not when there were bigger issues to deal with. "There are a few members of our organization who... well, let's just say might not be fond of someone in your line of work. It's just something you need to get used to."---"I'm... not quite sure what you're asking," said X-Calibur. "But Frigid simply cannot die. If you cut her, the Novum will simply replace the damaged cells. Maybe - and this is a very big maybe - she might die if you choped off her head, but no one's ever gotten close enough to even try. For all I know, she could just grow a second one..."Meanwhile, Fade didn't respond to Plasmafire. He didn't need to be told he'd done the right thing; he'd told himself that same thing far too many times since the day it happened. Letting Frigid die had been one of the toughest choices he'd ever had to make, but he'd always been sure he'd made the right choice. But now, could he even say it was really his choice? Did he only make that choice because some think tank at Solanum hadn't made the right breakthrough. If the Novum had worked, if he'd never had to truly confront what Frigid had become... could Fade really say he wouldn't have made the same mistake his double in this universe had?That was the devil of it all, not knowing. Fade could keep telling himself he'd have made the right choice, but until he'd actually lived it he'd have no way of knowing. And it was all because of one faulty drug. Fade didn't like that, the fate of the world hinging on such a tiny detail; if there was one thing Fade refused to consider himself, it was a pawn to fate."Well... no point in worrying about it now. What happened happened; we can't change that in either universe," Fade said, half to convince the others, half to convince himself. "We... what we can do is figure out what options we do have. X-Calibur, the machine that took us here... assuming it exists on this side... it be used to go to any world imaginable. If we can get it working, we could help get you off this world. I don't think you'd be welcome in our universe - there's already people who look a lot like you, after all - but I'm sure we could find somewhere-""No." X-Calibur's voice was firm and final. "This is my home, and I'm not about to abandon it. We've heard rumors of resistance movements elsewhere; in Japan, Australia, plus a few scattered pockets of rebellion across Europe. But they're fighting against constructs of snow and ice; they can't defeat that, just survive another day of it. The few of us still stuck in New York are the only ones who stand even a chance of making a strike against Frigid. Our fight is probably futile, but for the sake of what few human beings still survive, I wouldn't dare give up that fight for anything.""Very well then," Fade said. He could at least honor that sort of dedication. "At the very least, I can help you plan. I've beat Frigid once before, maybe I can think of something. How many of you are left?""Only a few dozens survivors, just about anybody who survived Lionheart's last stand. Only a third of us are superpowered; the rest are mostly civilians, we've trained them best we can," said X-Calibur. "Most of the superhumans are League, plus a few independent agents who joined us for the fight. Also... we've also recruited a few... well... they're... I guess you might say...""Oh, don't dance around the issue, X-Calibur," a voice said from the shadows. "You can call them what they are: supervillains. Anyone in the criminal underworld who wasn't able to flee the city before Frigid came crashing down on it like a wave. You welcomed them into the fold because... well, everyone else was dead, weren't they? There's no shame in that, X-Calibur, you just did what needed to be done to survive, right?"A familiar, raven-haired figure stepped out of the darkness. She'd kept her supersuit and mask, but had conceded to the temperature with a black parka. Fade stepped forward, ready to say hello to this universe's Sluice... then he stopped himself. He remembered just what had happened not long after he'd beat Frigid. He remembered everything before that had lead up to it. And just to confirm his suspicions, a depressingly familiar katana was still hanging from her belt.That katana."Well, I never quite expected to run into you again. Can't say I'm glad to, either," Fade said, wristblades extending almost instantly. "Hello... Isuken Sakeme..."[For Science!]

IC:"Of course; no one here is suggesting you be kept out of the loop on this. Full cooperation is ideal for both of us here. We will take whatever aid your government has to offer - provided you do not obstruct our investigations - and we will fully disclose whatever information we find," said Mystic. She doubted she'd be getting such an offer if their roles were reversed. "Just so it's clear that we will be handling the detention of the prisoner... and supervising any and all interrogations, understood?"OOC: Posting on my phone right now, will add Fade IC later.[For Science!]

IC:Mystic signed as she approached Ultonis. At the very least, this was a situation she could handle."Sir, don't start making this an issue of jurisdiction, not now of all days. At a time like this, we cannot afford to break down into such petty squabbles," she said. "At least three members of that team were known agents of the Coalition of Corruption, which makes this just as much a League matter. If the United States government wished to coordinate with us they are welcome, but the prisoner remains in our custody. We're far better equipped to keep him contained... unless you have facilities you've chosen not to disclose, of course..."[For Science!]

IC:"OoooOOOooo! Grand Cross awaits you in the briefing room!I'm a spooooooky ghost! Ebenezer!" Hivemind shouted, not to any one in particular seeing as at least half of her audience seemed to despise her. More likely it was just for her own amusement. "Welp, that's my bit. Let's got meet the wizard, gang."---Just a little bit away from the scene of the crime, Mystic sat shrouded in silence and darkness. With all the recovery work buzzing about nearby, everyone was far too busy to take notice of her; a fact Mystic could easily confirm with a quick sweep of their minds. She was sitting on one of the swings in the playground, her head hung low and her face hidden under her hands. Nearby, a few bits of playground equipment were broken and twisted, as if some sort of psychokinetic force had bent them in a moment of anger.Aquarius had been right; it had taken all of Mystic's restraint not to slam his sorry face into the pavement for that, but she'd managed to hold back. It wouldn't do well for a member of the League to be seen assaulting a prisoner. Not to mention, they still needed Aquarius for information But he'd had a point, in spite of it all. She'd let the Coalition escape with the President's daughter. She'd failed.Slowly, Mystic rose from the swing, straightening herself up as she stood. She did her best to force those emotions down like she always did; they were all still in the middle of a crisis, there were bigger issues to worry about at the moment. There was always some bigger issue. Mystic felt her way towards the gate, then moved to rejoin the other assembled heroes.[For Science!]

IC:If Nihilo thought he was getting negative emotions off of Hivemind, he was either mistaken or deeply and truly deluded. Hivemind couldn't care less if some Coalition grunts wanted to make fun of her. Let them enjoy their double-digit IQs. She was here for science, not to socialize."Oh no, bugs are totally cool with fire. Ever heard of fire ants? They're pretty fond of fire, otherwise that'd be a pretty dumb name," said Hivemind, turning casually to walk away. "...See, you believed me for a second there. Thus, good actress. I think I might win an Oscar, honestly..."She got maybe ten feet away from them before she stopped suddenly. Hivemind paused for a moment, looking back."...Wait, was that a pun? Did you really just try and insult me with a pun?" She asked. Hivemind wasn't radiating anger, merely confusion. "I mean, it's not even a very good pun; you had to explain it to death just so it'd make even a lick of sense. Look, if you're gonna try and demean me, fine. Just try and show at least a little creativity about it."---Fade was silent for a second. Whether he was being resistant or reflective was something only he knew."...No. I'd have done close to anything to save her, but I'd have never gone that far. It wouldn't have been worth it. Sure, she'd still have been alive - for a given value of alive, at least - but it wouldn't have been worth the entire world," said Fade. "No, something else had to have happened. Frigid is probably going to be keeping an eye out for us, so we can't make a run for The Technician's lab anytime soon. In the meantime, I'm gonna figure out what went wrong. X-Calibur, let's start from the beginning. What do you know about the Solanum incident?""Just what was in the League reports before everything went south," said X-Calibur. "Frigid had been in hiding for years, badly wounded after a fight with you. She sent some henchmen to Solanum Industries to steal samples of a drug called Novum. You - well, our version of you, I suppose - fought them off with the aid of Loadstone and Omega, but one of them managed to escape with a case of samples.""Yeah. Frigid knew about the drug from an incident back in her hero days. It was supposed to bring eternal life, youth, and health. The problem was it only brought the first one; what it did was turn people into zombies," Fade continued. "Of course, that was five years ago, and Frigid thought the scientists at Solanum had made progress. So she took it, and-""Wait, what do you mean, 'thought'?" X-Calibur asked. "Novum worked. It did more than just heal Frigid, it kept healing her. Whatever we tried to hit her with, she just regenerated from.""Ah! There's the split!" said Fade, triumphant. "In our universe, Solanum never made that breakthrough. The drug regenerated cells, but they decayed just as fast. Frigid was nearly unkillable but she was a zombie in all but mind, and even that went by the end. But none of that happened over here, so events had to have progressed differently! What happened next?""Frigid and her forces stormed Logan Industries, the company where the Omega Supercharger was kept in storage. Fade and the others tried to fight her off, but they couldn't harm her with the Novum in her veins, and eventually she escaped with the Supercharger," explained X-Calibur. "We were scrambling to locate her before she could put her plan into action; there was even a team sent after some villain who apparently was her father, not that I know why. But we got a report on the location of Frigid's hideout, and you rushed off to stop her."X-Calibur's paused, his demeanor turning grim."What happened next... all we know comes from the testimonial of a superhero called Sugar Rush, the only survivor of that battle. She was badly wounded and died shortly after, but she tried to warn us about what had happened," he said. "She says when they showed up at Frigid's lair, she had built her own version of the Supercharger, one much more massive and infinitely more powerful. Frigid explained that the device needed your DNA to activate - something to do with your father - and offered you a chance to join her in her new empire.""The circumstances... were a little different, but Frigid offered me that same choice," said Fade. "When I saw her... she was still moving and talking, but I could see she was dead. And I saw that the girl... the girl I loved had died long before, one fateful night three years before. I couldn't do anything else to save her; all I could do was finish what I'd started, and finally let her rest. So then I stopped her. I phased her through the heart of the Supercharger and reduced her to atoms; with the Novum that was the only thing that would kill her."X-Calibur shook his head."Not over here. Not even close. Sugar Rush said you took Frigid up on her offer, killed some criminal called Zap in cold blood. The others tried to fight you, but they couldn't stop Frigid from stepping into the Supercharger," he said. "But no one knew that Frigid's Supercharger was more volatile, that simply activating it would create an explosion powerful enough to level Frigid's entire hideout. Nearly everyone there, League and villain, died in that blast. Sugar Rush barely escaped with her life... but you and Frigid emerged from that inferno stronger than ever. And then you marched into New York City, freezing and slaughtering wherever you went."...And now, here we are."Fade sat, silently, letting this sink in."So, whether or not I chose to betray the entire world," he muttered. "was wholly dependent on whether Frigid had a pulse?"Somehow, this wasn't much of an improvement.OOC: Quick edit... Hold on, do you mean where the end of the portal in the safehouse is (which was where the portal was created), or the end of the portal the villains just came out of? Because not only is the other end too far away for him to "sniff out" (I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be the Coalition's base in the Arctic, but I could be wrong), but there shouldn't be a scent trail for him to follow at all. They went through a wormhole, which is just two points in spacetime folded so you can move instantly from one to the other. There'd be no "trail" to follow because while the wormhole is active there isn't anything in-between those two points. Plus, I'm not really sure what a wormhole would smell like anyway.If I'm mistaken, feel free to correct me[For Science!]

IC:"...Maybe I'm really a brilliant actress who's pretending to be a bad actor pretending to be a compulsive liar," said Hivemind with a smirk. "A mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a second, more enigmatic mystery. You'd never see it coming."[For Science!]

IC:"Fighting? What would give you such a silly impression? God, you're just so whacky!" asked Hivemind "No, no! We're all best of friends in this ca-ruh-ruh-razy Coaliton of Corrupti-okay i'll stop now."---"I'll take a few dull moments, honestly," Fade muttered. "The dullness ought to break up the monotony of adventure a bit."They ascended the stairs, emerging in the dimly lit terminal of Grand Central Station. The nearest tentflap opened, and Ash peeked her head out once more."Is... Longshot..." X-Calibur asked, practically worried for the answer. "...she, she's not...""No, she'll live," Ash replied. "She'd not in a good state though. If she hadn't got here when she did, I don't know if I'd have been able to save her.""Probably best to let her rest. Odds are good she'll try and murder Kaname when she wakes up - long story, I'll explain some other time," said Fade, noting X-Calibur's worried expression. "In the meantime, we've got another long story that needs to be unraveled. Namely, I think it's time we figured out just where these two universe's split..."[For Science!]

OOC: Nightwatch's senses might be a little off; the Coalition already skedaddled through a portal after Mystic started busting down their door, and now everyone's threatening Aquarius, who got left behind by his teammates.[For Science!]

More specifically, the closest standard the MPAA has for profanity (they tend to be fairly vague in their standards, mostly as excuse to just do whatever they want), is a film can keep a PG-13 rating with anywhere from one to four F-bombs used strictly in an expletive, non-sexual manner. This, of course, makes complete sense and is not a completely arbitrary restriction with no basis in logic used by actual humans. The guidelines on profanity tend to vary from case to case however, as per the aforementioned "do whatever we want" approach. Of course, the word doesn't get through the filters regardless of context, so it's a bit of a moot point either way. :rolleyes:And on that note, I'd better get to work figuring out just what my entry's actually gonna be...[For Science!]

IC:"Yup, that was sure nice of me, wasn't it? Gotta stick up for my buddies, y'know?" Hivemind replied. "My buddies such as Grand Cross, for example! You remember Grand Cross, don't you? The one I'm going to give a report to! Well, golly, I sure hope I've got nothing bad to say about any specific member of the team in that report! Wouldn't that just be a bummer?"Nihilo was unlikely to get much negative energy off a statement like that. Hivemind had nothing but positive thoughts about the report she'd be giving to Grand Cross, although Nihilo might not feel the same way.---Mystic stepped forwards past Ultonis, moving towards Aquarius. Wisps of light glowed her palms as she prepared to hurl her full telekinetic force at the aquakinetic the second he made a move."It's all over, Aquarius. Your team has abandoned you. I highly doubt they'd even care enough to come back for you," she said. Her voice was close to its usual level of polish, but there was something dark beneath its surface. "I'd advise you to surrender now. We can negotiate a shorter sentence for you, provided your forthcoming with information about your team's plans for this kidnapping."And if you're going to make a break for it, go ahead. Try me, Mystic added to herself. I'm just looking for an excuse right about now...OOC: Fade IC in a moment, hang on...[For Science!]

OOC: Sorry about that, Korkoa. I'd meant to edit a response in, but got a little sidetracked by new posts and forgot about it.IC:Hivemind groaned slightly as she pulled herself up off the floor. That psychic lady had sure packed a mean telekinetic right hook... or... right lobe, Hivemind supposed. She adjusted her shades, glancing over at Nihilo. Almost casually, she rolled through her list of insults for a suitable retort, but stopped herself. This guy fed off negative energy or something, no use in insulting him. Well, in that case, time to be a big frickin ball of sunshine, rainbows, and puppy dogs made of ice cream and friendship."Well gang, now that that's done, I guess I've got nothing better to do than go talk to Grand Cross about the mission, huh?" she said, a wild smile spreading across her face as she stepped past Nihilo with an exaggerated stride. "Oh my god, isn't that just wonderful?"---"Don't start thanking me just yet," X-Calibur said glumly. "You're in the same lot as the rest of us, and the odds aren't exactly good, mate. Plus, it's not like there's much I can do to help you get back to your universe."The tunnel gave way to faint light once more as the group entered Grand Central once more."Well, I'm sorry, I didn't bring my Supervillian Day Planner, so we can't exactly compare schedules," said Fade. "But by my estimates, I'd have to say maybe five months ago. I've been very busy, hard to keep track."[For Science!]

OOC: I suppose controlling them in an NPC capacity would be okay (especially since I really don't have personalities for altverse characters planned beyond the ones I already intended for the plot, so that makes things easier for me). I'm just trying to limit an overwhelming flood of characters beyond my control getting awkwardly shoved into this (remember kids, it can't be post-apocalyptic without everyone dying first, sorry to say ).[For Science!]

OOC: I'm pretty much going on the rules from way back when with the whole Kingdom of a Thousand Tears sequence from the old topic; you can probably request an altverse character to appear (but let's not have everyone making requests like that, seeing as nearly everyone is dead in this universe), but you can't control them if you're not in the plot. So you can probably request I include an altverse character and I can try to fit them into the plot, but just know cause this is an alternate reality they're probably gonna die horribly. :PIC:Mystic sent the door blasting off its hinges, her eyes aglow with energy... just in time to see the portal snap shut. She was silent for a moment; then, with a wave of her hand, blew a fairly sizable hole through a nearby wall. She didn't say a word to anyone as she exited the building, but the bottled-up fury was unmistakable.[For Science!]

IC:Practically on cue, Hivemind slid across the floor, coming to a stop at Gap's feet."here i am..." she mumbled between groans, staring up at the ceiling. "we've got a psychic on our tail, by the way..."'[For Science!]

IC:"She's just been through a lot; we all have. We've lost far too many fine folks the last few months, and we lose more every day," said X-Calibur. "But if your Fade is really what you say he is, I'll do everything in my power to see that no harm comes to him."Fade, meanwhile, picked himself up off the ground, brushing soot and ash off his armor. He immediately darted for the exit after the others. Even if Stella had halted her assault, the ceiling still had to be dangerously unstable. Not wise to stick around.[For Science!]

IC:Stella spun around, whirling to face Plasmafire. Just for a few seconds, her control over the flames seemed to falter."What trickery is this, now?" she asked. "You're sending dead men to fight your battles now, Fade?""Not as a rule, no," said Fade. "But if they want to help, I've got no problems with it."Flames flared in Stella's hands, ready to blast Fade regardless of Plasmafire's intrusions. Fade was just about to wonder if he'd even get a chance to begin explaining himself before he got reduced to a crisp, when-"Stella! Stand down!"X-Calibur jumped through the gap Plasmafire had made in the firewall, arms raised to shield himself from the blaze. Stella brought the fire down slightly for his protection, but still left just enough burning to prevent an exit."But we've got him!" Stella said. "Think of how many good heroes have died at his hands? Justice must be served.""Yeah... well... he might not actually be the right guy," said X-Calibur. "We're taking him back to base, and then we'll find out just who he really is."'With a great deal of reluctance, Stella's let her fires burn down to embers. With a suspicious glare towards Fade, she marched off down the tunnel. X-Calibur made a motion towards Fade and Kaname with his energy machete, suggesting it might be wise to follow."God, I hope your right about this," he whispered to Plasmafire. "Otherwise I can't imagine this ending well for anyone..."---Hivemind buzzed overhead, circling the safehouse. She spotted the entrance Typhoon had used, and descended like a twister to the ground. Since she didn't have nearly as minute control over her bugs to work a door, she reformed, opening the entrance and-CRUNCH.An unseen force slammed into Hivemind, hurling her through the entrance and sending her tumbling across the floor. Further down the street, the culprit of the telekinetic strike came charging towards the safehouse. Mystic had apparently chosen to ignore Ultonis's; she was nearly there and time was of the essence. With barely more than the sight of the assembled villains to guide her at the moment Mystic was rapidly clearing the distance to the safehouse, mentally forcing the doorway to remain open with her mind. She wasn't going to let these villains go without a fight.[For Science!]

IC:Stella chuckled, motioning to the roaring wall of flames blocking the exit.“If you think you can simply leave, then I invite you to do so,” she said. “Of course, as you’ve pointed out, if you’re in league with Frigid she’ll soon be aware of what’s going on here. All the more reason of trying to dispose of you quickly...”Another groan, much louder this time, echoed through the station as white-hot flames licked at the ceiling supports. The roof likely wouldn’t last more than a few more minutes if this kept up. Unfortunately, as much as Fade would like to explain things to Stella, he was far too busy dodging a near-constant bombardment of fireballs. It looked like Stella didn’t particular want Fade to stop long enough to talk; understandable, considering the Fade she knew wasn’t the sort you’d trust to have a nice chat.---As Plasmafire shot down the tunnel, a glow appeared further down. Not faint, as what dim light remaining in Grand Central had been, but a brilliant glow casting the tunnel in shades of orange. As he got closer it became easier to identify; a swirling wall of fire covered the entrance to the subway tunnel, waves of heat rippling and melting train tracks as they went. This likely wasn’t much of a problem for Plasmafire, but the same probably could not be said of X-Calibur...---Mystic hadn’t been fully prepared for Nightwatch’s vision; when she’d said his eyesight would be useful, she’d meant simply in the sense that at least one of them could actually see. But clearly he possessed vision enough for the both of them; merely riding on his eyesight was nearly a sensory overload for Mystic.But she did her best to cope; between Nightwatch’s senses and her psychic trail, she could feel how close they were right now. Mystic wasn’t about to let herself fall behind in her duty; she was not going to let those villains escape.[For Science!]

IC:Mystic didn't turn to face Nightwatch or slow her pace in the slightest. She was in a bit of a rush at the moment, so introductions and niceties were not the most important issue at the moment. Nightwatch would simply have to live with her momentary rudeness... assuming he could keep up."I am attempting to follow them at the moment, if you haven't noticed," she said. "If you could stick close by for a moment, that'd very helpful. Your eyesight ought to be useful."---The glow of the flames shone reflected in Stella's eyes as she turned to face Kaname."And if it does collapse? You two are the ones trapped in here, not me," she said. "The tunnel will have been sealed by the collapse; if Frigid turns her attention here, it will not lead her to the others. Meanwhile, I've robbed her of her second-in-command... and whatever you are to her as well, I suppose. Pardon me for failing to see the downside here..."[For Science!]

IC:Mystic hid the urge to wince as Skyra went down. It wasn't just that she could tell it hurt; she actually could feel that it hurt. However, she'd picked up his message before, and she knew without question it was right. She'd come here for a reason, and she wasn't about to let anything get in the way of that mission."We need to leave now. Don't worry about Skyra, in maybe five minutes this place will be crawling with emergency personnel. He will live," she said to Loadstone. "But if we delay any longer, we will lose Ms. Thomas, possibly forever. The time to act is now."With that, Mystic broke into a run, using the sight of those around her to guide herself around the obstacles and debris in the street. She honed in the fleeing minds, following the fading trails of thought overhead. Unfortunately, on foot she probably wasn't the fastest, but she had pretty few options at the moment. For obvious reasons commandeering a vehicle would be difficult for her, and at the moment she didn't know if she could count on Loadstone to give chase. But she could see the hideout visualized in the fleeing villains' eyes, and she knew she had to get their fast.---"Seems like a plan to me... provided you don't go too far ahead that I lose sight of you," said X-Calibur. "I'd rather not risk the possibility of you sneaking off on me in those tunnels, just in case."With that his energy machete ignited once again, and X-Calibur darted down towards the subway platforms once more.---"You just... met him outside? This is not a man one simply meets out on the street... and not the sort one usually survives meeting, either," Stella said. "No... seems far more likely you're in league with this traitor."Over the roar of the flames, Fade swore he heard a creak. He stared up at the ceiling. All this heat couldn't be doing much good for its structural integrity, especially in its current state. If the flames didn't kill him - unlikely as that seemed at the moment - several tons of falling steel and concrete seemed like they'd do the job for certain.[For Science!]

OOC: There's no real problem with saying Kaname used to be On A Team in the past, just remember that it'd have to a be a smaller superhero team as opposed to a League-sized organization (for example, Loadstone used to have the New York Four, Fade had his Trio, etc.).IC:"Thank you! Thank you very much!" Fade shouted, leaping as another fireball tore up the floor beneath him. "I'd have never figured that out on my own!"Fade flipped over a turnstile, seconds before a jet of flames melted it behind him. He needed to try and explain the situation to Stella, let her know she was trying to kill the wrong guy. But the pyrokinetic was relentless, not letting up her assault for even a moment. Fade was lucky to even get a word in between dodging deadly fireballs. And of course, even if he did get a chance to explain himself, there was no guarantee Stella would actually believe him. Not everyone might be as accepting of his situation as Longshot had been....Wow. Fade had never expected there was a universe where he could say that.Meanwhile, a ring of fire started to encircle Kaname, slowly drawing closer to him. He might not be the one Stella was looking to kill, but it did look like he was helping him. As far as Stella was concerned, that made him a threat as well. And super speed was utterly useless when flames were blocking your escape at every path...---"I was patrolling the tunnels with Stella. I assume you've heard of Stella in your universe; if our worlds split when you thought they did, things couldn't have been that different before," said X-Calibur, standing up. "If she sees your Fade down there, it's almost certain she'll try and kill him. She'll succeed, too, if we don't do anything. I might be able to convince her to stand down, but we have to hurry."[For Science!]

IC:"Well... yes, we patrol the tunnels regularly. It's a necessity; we need to make sure none of Frigid's permafrost has made it into the underground, and seal off any tunnel where it has," X-Calibur explained. "I was on patrol when I found you, actually. Of course, I broke off to go investigate the light from your plasma orb. But... if your Fade is taking the same route we were patrolling, that means he'll run into- ...Oh-no."Even with his face concealed behind his helmet, X-Calibur looked clearly worried."Your friend may be in grave danger."---Fade didn't have to strain his eyes in darkness for long, for moments later the world erupted into a shower of orange and red. Flames burst up from the walls and ceiling, the heat burning at Fade's skin. A ball of fire streaked towards Fade's hiding spot; he dove out of the way seconds before it blasted the pillar to rubble. Fade staggered, fighting the heat, trying to make it back up the stairs. He was almost there when he had to recoil, a wall of fire bursting forth from the earth and blocking off his only route of escape. Even if his phasing powers were working, Fade wasn't sure he could make it; the heat would probably kill him even while he was intangible.He backed up, watching the flames on the walls begin to encircle the station like a whirlwind. Fade turned around just in time to see a figure step from the maelstrom of embers, unharmed by the fire and heat around her. Standing in front of Fade was an African woman, her suit colored with a vivid pattern like fire itself, white-hot flames burning in each of her palms. Fade immediately recognized the superhero who had come to kill him."It's high time you faced justice for your crimes, traitor," said Stella, her voice cold in spite of the burning room. "How about a trial... by fire?"[For Science!]

IC:X-Calibur leaned against the nearest wall, letting the energy field surrounding his weapon switch off. This could probably be taken as a sign he was willing to risk trusting Plasmafire... although the fact he still kept the weapon in hand suggested he was only willing to take that trust so far."A universe where Frigid never took over... I still can't quite believe it. I suppose it's a small comfort knowing there's a world that was spared all these horrors... a small comfort, mind you, since it still happened on this world," he said. "I've never been to your world, so I can't say if that's true. I suppose we'll only find out when your Fade gets here, then?"---Fade reached the bottom of the steps, taking a look around the nearly pitch-black ruins of the subway station."You think you're worried about them killing you?" he muttered. "Apparently, I've sold this entire world out to a megalomaniac. Given how Longshot reacted, I can't imagine their gonna welcome me with open arms. Let's just hope Plas puts in a good word for me; I can't imagine why they'd want to kill a guy they think is already dead-"Fade stopped completely, standing silent and motionless. Just the faintest aroma caught his attention, the slightest smell of smoke wafting in the air. But wait... this entire city ought to be frozen. Why in the world was something burning?"Get down!"Fade shoved Kaname to the side, and dove for cover himself. Seconds later, a streak of flames shot out of the darkness, erupting in a massive fireball that tore up chunks of the platform and ripped tiles off the walls. Fade ducked behind a pillar to avoid the rain of shrapnel, eyes scanning the room as it plunged back into darkness, searching for their flame-throwing assailant."So..." he called out to Kaname. "Which one us do you think they want to kill more?"---As she awaited Loadstone's response, Mystic saw in Skyra's eyes the danger he was in. Mystic was almost hesitant to intervene; she was trying to avoid confrontations with minions that distracted her from their main target: Typhoon. But it wouldn't be right to abandon him like that, so the least she could do was help out. She telekinetically tore a tire off the same car she had before, and let it fly loose on Nihilo. If it hit, the resultant interaction of matter and antimatter ought to at least hurt a bit; if not, it'd at least prove a momentary distraction that Skyra could use to his advantage."Please, we can't afford to waste any more time," she said to Loadstone. "We need to go now!"[For Science]

IC:"Well... no. You said that you're from another universe, so things could have gone different for you. If I asked you a question to prove your identity and you got it wrong, it might just be because you didn't have the same experiences as the real Plasmafire," said X-Calibur. "So, I sort of figure if you do something to betray us all... then I kill you. If you don't... then I don't kill you. Probably not the best test out there, but I don't have many options..."[For Science!]