Chronicler of Ko-Koro

IC:Tornado fell backwards and stumbled across the floor. There was panic in his eyes; it looked like Gap's speech had put a little fear of the Coalition into his heart. Hivemind looked just as surprised; she'd been back in the cellar for about half the speech, and thusly had no idea what Gap could have done to terrify Tornado so."Woah... just what did you do to him?" she asked. "It really was the moon this time, wasn't it? I mean, it had to be. Come on, tell me it was the moon, just give me this one-""Aaargghh!"Tornado summoned up one massive gust one wind. The force of it knocked Hivemind and Gap backwards and launched wine bottles from their racks, smashing them in all directions. Tornado leapt to his feet, shrouding himself with a whirlwind to stop Gap from grabbing him again. There was terror in his eyes, verging on madness... but like a caged animal that might just make him all the more dangerous."T-threaten me all you like. You won't be able to kill me. You know you cannot hope to take me on," he said. Tornado sounded like he was trying to reassert his control of the situation, but there was still a tremble of fear in his voice. "As for the Coalition... I'm certain I can convince them to stay away with the right bargaining chips. Thankfully, they've seen fit to play them right into my hands..."He turned, advancing upon Hivemind. She'd taken the gust particularly badly, and was clutching at the makeshift bandages wrapped around her chest."I've collected my share of secrets over the years, of course, but as you've noted all the Coalition can easily silence me to prevent those from spreading. Thankfully, I also like to keep an eye on recent news. I couldn't help but notice your little incident with Danielle Thomas down in DC. Great job on that, incidentally; kidnapping a little girl, the Coalition truly has made a great and majestic comeback. However, I can't help but see they've made the blunder of sending one of the prime suspects in that kidnapping into my lair. Imagine the deal the League might back if they found out I'd managed to capture her?"Tornado laughed at the thought, then swung a kick at the wounded villainess. As Hivemind fell again, he turned back to Gap."But... no. She doesn't look like she's got particularly long in this world, does she? Besides, Mystery and Grand Cross know I can't bargain with the League for much; a reduced sentence maybe, but what's the point of that? No, if I wanted to keep the Coalition away, I'd need something better... something one of them might actually be bothered to care about that," he muttered. "But it's a shame I don't have anything, or perhaps anyone, like that. Especially not anyone like... say, Grand Cross's daughter, here right in front of me..."Hivemind, previously preoccupied with writhing on the floor in pain, glanced up."Wait... who?" she asked, confused, before glancing over to Gap. "Wait... wha... you? Uh... look, I'm sure I've said some things about the old G, but don't think I actually meant-"Tornado, looking deeply irritated, turned and hurled another massive gust of wind, sufficient to knock Hivemind into the air and sent her smashing clean through a nearby wine rack."You annoy me. Do the world a favor, and have the dignity to die quietly," he muttered, then returned his attention back to Gap. "Now... to deal with you..."---"X-Caliber was always thinkin' that maybe tha' brain was the key to stoppin' Frigid and tha' like," suggested Longshot. "Y'know, stop brain activity and the rest 'a the body'll stop functioning. Figured I'd give it a shot; honestly, just as shocked as you it worked.""If I had to guess, when Longshot fired her bow she lodged it directly into the base of Fa- the Fade of this universe's spinal cord," Fade muttered, looking for a word to describe the corpse in front of him besides himself. "The brain can't communicate, so the body dies. Might be permanent, but let's just not touch the body just in case it isn't."Fade rose from examining the body, then turned to Longshot as she climbed down the slope of rubble."You shouldn't have done that," he said. "He wasn't likely to get out of here, not with the lift gone. It's not our job to pass judgment, we're only here to see to it justice is carried out-""You, maybe. In yer universe, of course. But here, we need to survive," said Longshot. "I watched tha' man kill dozens of my allies, and if I left him alive he'd jus' manage to kill more, somehow. I'm nah' gonna let tha' stand."Fade stood silent, glaring at Longshot. However, he had more important things to do than debate with Longshot at the moment, so instead he turned towards Plasmafire."Come on, over here," he motioned, moving away from the rest of the group. "We've gotta talk about this new power I apparently have..."[For Science!]

IC:"Oh? Big talk from a little girl. I can see it going two ways. Maybe I'm right, and the Coalition's still a fractured mess of power-hungry backstabbers; it's a stretch, I know. O trained half the bumblers in the Coalition, I promise you I can take them," said Tornado. "On the other hand, let's imagine that you're right and not just endearingly deluded, and the Coalition's really is back. I've disapeared once, I'm more than capable of doing it again. Threats work better when you can can actually back them up."The winds grew stronger, threatening to peel Gap loose from the wine rack she was clinging to."More importantly, threats work better when you're not trapped alone with a man in a dark cellar. What chance do you honestly expect to have here?" he asked. "Where I'm standing, it looks like it's gonna be a simple matter to deal with you, go find that useless bee lady and murder her, and be out of here before your pals in the old Coalition are even wise to it-"Tornado didn't get to finish that sentence, because the useless bee lady had found him first. Hivemind had grabbed a bottle of a nearby rack and smashed it across the back of Tornado's head. He dropped to the floor, dripping with a red liquid that, thankfully, was probably just wine. The whirling wind started to die down. Hivemind marched over, still gripping the broken neck of the wine bottle in her hand, and stared down at Tornado."Alright, I'm getting a little tired here. Tornado, here's how thing's are gonna go: you're gonna just sit tight and listen to what my colleague has to say. Also, bear in mind that I'm really sick of your games and I've got plenty more bottles..."---Fade and Otherfade circled each other, swinging and kicking and phasing. The real trouble with their fight was that neither of them were able to land a hit, each of them switching intangible whenever the other tried to land a punch. Finally, as Otherfade tried to bring a wristblade down, Fad caught hold of his arm, swingin him off balance and sending him tumbling down the slope. Fade left fowards and caught up with his doppleganger just as he hit the ground, slamming a foot down hard onto his chest."Y'know, I don't think I noticed when I was dealing with the whole phasing thing, but you're really out of practice," Fade said, grabbing hold of Otherfade to stop him from simply phasing himself free. "When you realized you could walk away from nearly any attack, did you forget how to dodge?""This is pointless, you know," said Otherfade. "You know you can't possibly hold me, and I'm pretty sure you can't kill me either.""I'll think of something. Maybe one of the Leaguers still has one of their special cuffs, or maybe Forcefield still has those power-sensing shackles he caught us with that one time," Fade replied. "Really, I ought to kill you right here and now. You betrayed the world - betrayed everything we believe in - caused the deaths of billions, not to mention everyone you've probably killed yourself. But it's not my place to decide; once we've stopped Frigid, I'm sure we can work out what to do with y-"THWUNK.A projectile shot passed Fade, whistling mere centimeters away from his ear. It passed through his field of vision just long enough for him to identify it as an icicle, before it struck Otherfade in the head, drilling cleanly through his eye socket. Otherfade's body shook and spasmed then - perhaps most shocking of all, although it had some serious competition given everything that had happened recently - it didn't move once more.Fade put a hand to his double's neck to check his pulse; Otherfade was almost certainly dead. Fade whirled about and glared towards who he'd already guessed was the assailant: Longshot, standing in what was left of the basement above, aiming her crossbow down at the lab below. A grin spread across her face, seeming rather pleased with what she'd done.“Wow. Tha' worked. Can't say I expected that...”[For Science!]

IC:"Loyalty? In the Coalition of Corruption? Kid, don't make me laugh. When you've got an ace up your sleeve, you don't play it early in the game," said Tornado, winds continuing to whip around them. "But you, on the other hand... you just gave away your entire hand. That's what this is all about, isn't it? The Coalition's worried the man who sold all the League's secrets is going to turn around and do the same to them? How interesting..."---"Yeah... uh... still working out what the deal is with that, actually..." Fade said uncertainly. "But I've got one thing I need to test first..."Otherfade slashed his wristblades wildly at his double; Fade's body rippled and shimmered as the blades passed harmlessly through."Good. That's working again. So, one mystery solved," Fade said with a smirk, before turning his attention back to Otherfade. "But first, I've got you to deal with..."[For Science!]

IC:"The Coalition wouldn't let someone like me go to waste, really? I suppose that's why they saw fit to dump me in some blasted outpost in Tibet, and left me there to ROT!" Tornado shouted. "Did you know I only learned of Doctor Danger's death when I was being arrested? I wanted the rest of the world to forget about me, but it seems the Coalition saw fit to do the same.Another gust of wind swept through the wind cellar, slamming into Gap."So I must ask, if the Coalition's never cared about me for all these years... why should I believe they've changed now?"[For Science!]

IC:Tornado chuckled weakly, a whirlwind still clutched in his palm."They decided, now did they? They came down from on high to offer lowly ole' Wyatt another chance, then?" he asked. "Spare me the condescension, girl. We both know I was only useful to the Coalition as a spy. That act went up in flames - quite literally, might I add - so I must ask you: just what could they possibly want me back for?"[For Science!]

IC:"Uh, I don't actually think that's the best idea-"Hivemind was just about to explain all the reasons she didn't want to swarm right now. For starters, her suit shifted with her because she'd had it long enough for it to be saturated in residual Omega radiation off her body; the makeshift bandages on the other hand were not, and they were literally the only thing holding her together at the moment. Plus, without full mass to shift back to normal, she had no way of knowing if pulling herself together afterwards wouldn't kill her instantly; she could reform with a collapsed lung, or missing half her brain. There was also the fact her bugs already had proven less than effective against the man who controlled storms, and she wasn't in the mood to lose even more of her swarm.But unfortunately for her, Gap had jumped through the wormhole before she could get a chance to voice any of those concerns. Hivemind glanced at the portal and, remember her tendency to fail spectacularly at landing on her feet coming out of those, figured another jump through one wasn't best in her present state. She slipped through the door as quietly as possible, sneaking towards the light. At the very least, maybe she could get the drop on Tornado while he was distracted by Gap.The other half of Gap's plan was a little more successful, her boot connecting with the skull of a man hunched over a large series of monitors, each displaying a different view of the mansion above. He fell from his chair, collapsing in a heap on the floor. The man raised a gold-gloved hand in defense, creating a miniature whirlwind around him that slammed Gap backwards into a row of monitors. The man she'd attacked rose to his feet. His greying hair looked slightly uncombed, and he appeared not to have shaved in at least a week. His supersuit, a deep crimson with a high-backed gold cape, appeared to have become a little ragged and tattered with age. Overall, it would have been a rather majestic or triumphant look, perhaps many years ago at least."So... you're the one they finally sent to kill me, then?" Tornado asked in a low growl, winds whipping around his arms as he prepared for another attack.[For Science!]

IC:"They were... nonspecific with regards to what we ought to do if he refused to come quietly. Really, there was less of a concern about re-recruiting the old Tornado and more with making sure he didn't blab his secrets to the League. They'd probably prefer he come back into the fold, but he also can't blab if he's dead, I suppose," Hivemind muttered. "Of course, if you're not down with killing him, we could always beat him to a pulp, lock him in the trunk of my new car, and drag him off to some Coalition prison. I guess that could work..."The stone staircase ended at a pair of heavy wooden double doors. Slowly and carefully Hivemind pushed it open just wide enough to peer through to the other side; the hinges looked old and rusty, liable to creak and groan if she pushed it any faster. It was still dark in there, but Hivemind's eyes had adjusted enough to see through the dim light. The room looked to be a old wine cellar, haistily converted by Tornado into the nexus for his security system. Wires crisscrossed between wine racks still loaded with bottles; this time they looked to serve a purpose beyond mere electrocution, but Hivemind was not intent on testing that theory. The room was large and dark, but as far as Hivemind could tell the wires were all converging on a point at the center, where the glowing flicker of a dozen screens and monitors was just visible in the blackness...[For Science!]

IC:There was a grinding of stone against stone as Hivemind and Gap pushed against it. The panel was starting to slide inwards, slowly as it fought against its own inner mechanisms. Finally, with one last shove the door swung open abruptly, and Hivemind just barely stopped herself from tumbling down the stairs. Once she caught her footing, Hivemind peered over the brim of her sunglasses into the darkness. A spiral staircase, made of slabs of rough-cut stone, made its way downwards underneath the mansion. There was no light save what was coming in from the main hall, and more than a few feet down was little more than pitch blackness."So... a creepy dark staircase leading down to a possibly-crazy old man who's done nothing but try to kill us," she muttered. "Well, what are we waiting for?"[For Science!]

IC:"Well... I'm not gonna pretend it's not risky... but I'm pretty sure going up and down this hall looking for hidden doors while Tornado is just waiting to drop a hurricane on us is just as risky," said Hivemind. "Besides... I can focus a little better... move a bit of mass that's less vital for the transfer this time. Plus, once I took down an Inferno Walker with brains and a bit of blind luck. I can handle risky..."On cue, a few hornets willed themselves free from her palms. Hivemind leaned against the staircase for support, while her bugs flew in and out of every loose crack in the building, searching for a hint of a hidden entrance. They hummed quietly about their job for a minute or two, before finally returning to Hivemind. She looked a little relieved as she reabsorbed them, but only slightly. Hivemind got to her feet, making her way towards the blood-smeared tapestry she'd used to pull herself up. She gave it another strong tug, this time with enough force to tear it down to the floor. Hivemind felt along the wall to confirm what her bugs had shown her: the faint outline of a groove cut through the stone wall."Alright, I've found the door, but if there's a triggering mechanism I can't find it," Hivemind said, starting to push against the door. "Alright, give me a hand with this, see if we can't force it open. Heck, if an old man can do it, so can we..."[For Science!]

IC:Well, I can only tell so much about them - when you're looking through someone's eyes you tend not to actually see them - but from what glimpses I've caught the fear-inducer he looks to be wearing armor and some sort of horned helmet, replied Mystic. He's also shooting some sort of green beams to make his abilities work, so you should probably avoid those. Just a suggestion.---"You'd be surprised how intolerant some heroes can be about powers that usually leave people as piles of ash," replied Archmage. "So, uh... thanks but no thanks, I guess."With that she ducked to her the side and started firing disintegration bolts at Shard, trying to sneak one around his shield as she moved.---"If... If you're looking for a hidden door or something... I could try and search it out with a few bugs," Hivemind suggested. "Of course... it'd probably be pretty risky, given the whole... well, y'know..."---Countless universes twisted and spun in Fade’s field of vision. Everything was a blur of orange, yellow and red for a few seconds, until finally it coalesced itself into the infinitely branching tree of dimensions. So he was here again; back in the void between the worlds. But the important question was how he'd wound up there. At first he'd hoped Wingman and the others had figured out the device and were trying to pull them back. But unfortunately, he wasn't being pulled back home. He was just... floating helplessly out in the void.Then, just when Fade was starting to resign himself to a fate of drifting through an endless nothingness until starvation, he found himself hurtling forwards at tremendous speed. A trail of lights seemed to crackle across the void, leading towards another branch of the web of the multiverse. A crack of light began to form on the surface of the branch; within it Fade could catch glimpses of The Technician's lab on the other side.But then Fade stopped. The portal opened when he was trying to phase, and now he was heading back to the lab when he'd thought about it. Maybe... Fade visualized his father's lab in his mind, trying to hold the image as clearly in his mind. He rocketed off once again, this time traveling away from his own branch of reality. A crack of light opened on the surface of the other reality, and Fade shot on through it...---"Oh, well excuse me. You've met me; do I really have anything else?" asked Otherfade. "I'm just trying to occupy you until I can get out of here and let Frigid freeze you solid."He darted back towards the rubble pile, trying to get back out of the lab before Plasmafire got another chance to take a shot at him. But he only made it halfway up before an orange portal crackled open in front of him. Fade came flying through the rift, kicking Otherfade in the gut and sending him tumbling back down the slope...OOC: So yeah, way back when in the old RPG I had a power upgrade that I never used. The whole altverse storyline was where I'd intended to give Fade the upgrade; I'd originally intended for this storyline to happen after the Sharkmen plot in Rio, but then the Technax invasion happened, so that.. well, didn't. Now that that's finally over, I'm finally using that power upgrade; the full details on that will get explained in a few posts.[For Science!]

IC:Looks like only three of them have reached our level; the fear-inducing one, the aerokinetic and the fifth one, who appears to have some form of concussive abilities. He's the one who brought down the lift, said Mystic. It appears that the other two are still occupied near the entrance.---Archmage hadn't forgotten that Shard was still attacking her; in fact, it was precisely why she'd rather have Meltdown still in the fight rather than take on them both on her own. She was honestly a little grateful Shard was trying to attack her staff instead of herself directly; mostly because she didn't want to take a diamond club to the skull, but also because it put his weapon in her direct line of fire. Archmage swung her staff and fired off another disintegration bolt; at closer range and with a bit more power charging through it it did more damage than before, blowing a hole clean through the club and sending deep fractures through the club. With the same sweeping motion Archmage she raised her staff to block the club, hoping the damage she'd inflicted would cause the club to shatter from the force of its own momentum as it struck.[For Science!]

IC:"Well, they've taken an elevator down... apologies, taken down an elevator," said Mystic, feeling this information was best not restricted to psychic channels. "They're a few corridors away from us; I anticipate they'll be upon us within minutes."----Archmage caught sight of Meltdown's struggle with Omega, and spun around to fire a disintegration beam in the hero's direction. Arguably, it was a move for the good of the team, ensuring one of their own was not captured during the breakout, but the true reason was more selfish on Archmage's part. If Omega incapacitated Meltdown he'd likely turn on the nearest villain, which would be her. If she was going to fight two heroes at once, at the very least Archmage thought she ought to try and free Meltdown, evening out the odds just a bit.[For Science!]

IC:"Really can't see how it'd hurt more than it already does- Ohowowahowargh!" Hivemind cried suddenly as the makeshift bandages tightened around her chest.Slowly, Hivemind got back on her feet, tugging on a nearby tapestry for support - and no doubt ruining it in the process as she ran her bloodstained hands across it. There was a lot of wincing and moaning as she moved, but at least she could move again."Alright.... better, but not quite brilliant. Not much more we can do though, I suppose," Hivemind muttered. She had half a mind to pull out of the mission entirely right now, but the one thing she liked less than these missions was having to explain to her superiors why she didn't do the mission. "Alright... I'm almost certain Tornado is hiding in the basement. Come on... let's try and find a stairway that'll take us down there..."[For Science]

IC:Otherfade whipped out what was left of his grappling line as Plasmafire flew upwards, trying to entangle his legs as he shot past. If it worked, either he'd end up grounding the pyrokinetic or end up dragging along after him, both options Plasmafire would probably not enjoy.---The apology had been more for Mystic's own sake than Skyra's. She'd met more than enough people less forgiving of her intrusion than he had been, so she usually wished to keep her intrusion as unnoticed as possible for the most part, and to as much of a minimum as she could manage.I would still advise for a nonlethal takedown, but if it a matter of survival I won't hold it against you, she advised Mr. No-One. Several of the infiltrators are wearing varying kinds of body armor. They can likely handle a bullet or two, but it still ought to hurt them, which is the important part.The League had strict rules regarding killing, and Mystic agreed with them without question. But there was a difference between Ultionis's preferred method of killing - from at least fifty feet away, through the scope of a rifle, without even bothering to give the target the option to surrender or a chance for due process - and simply having no other options. As far as Mystic was concerned it was her duty to protect. Asking a man with no known powers not to use the only weapon at his disposal that could actually hurt these villains was, arguably, more harmful than what these Coalition goons might possibly do.[For Science!]

IC:Otherfade caught sight of Fade's mysterious disappearance as well but apparently decided it wasn't worth worrying about, at least unless it happened again. As Plasmafire ran over to the sight of Fade's disappearance Otherfade came running too, ready to drive a wristblade into the back of his neck.---"A few of the infiltrators are doing quite a bit of damage in their fight near the entrance," said Mystic. "The others appear to be searching for access to the lower levels. If there was any doubt they were heading after Aquarius, I feel it's safe to say it's been dispelled by now."You're carrying something potentially dangerous and explosive; perhaps he felt a little caution was wise for all our safety. Try not to take it too personally, Mystic suggested into Skyra's mind, wisely blocking these thoughts from her mental link with Ultionis. Sorry for the intrusion, by the way. When you're in people's minds all day, it's hard not to pick up on things...[For Science!]

IC:"Well... ever try and put a jigsaw puzzle together... only you're missing a few pieces... except for the fact that missing those pieces means you're gonna die? ...Okay, that was a horrible metaphor, but I'm dying, so shut up," Hivemind mumbled. "Tornado scattered my storm... it didn't all make it through your portal... tried to pull myself together anyway, but... I came together wrong. Can't do much about it without reforming my swarm... which I can't really do in here. Just gotta try and slow the bleeding for now..."---Of course, Mystic's thoughts began to echo within Ultionis's head. I'm filtering out most of your unconscious thoughts for the sake of privacy, but most of your more important thoughts will still transfer along the mental link. Just try not to think of anything classified, of course...---This time Archmage aimed her staff at the ceiling, cutting a wide gasp through the ceiling with a disintegration beam. Already damaged by the nearby fighting between Omega and Meltdown, chunks of wood and plaster began raining down upon Shard. She hoped it would keep him blinded momentarily to get out of his path... and occupied long enough that should could sneak a shot around his shield. Archmage ducked to the side, firing several disintegration bolts from her staff as she moved.Meanwhile, Dread was struck dead-on by the electric bolt; heavy armor didn't exactly lend itself well to agility. He recovered from the shock quickly, and with an enraged snarl turned his fear-beams on Loadstone, launching twisting bolts of green light down the corridor after him...[For Science!]

IC:Plasmafire was wise to leap for safety, for moments later nearly half the rubble pile came down with a crash. Both Fades were sent flying as debris started raining down; Otherfade struck the ground hard, the sickening crunch of bones breaking could be heard even over the roar of the collapsing debris. Despite this, Otherfade pulled himself back to his feet, twisting his limbs and neck at odd angles to set the bones back into place. Fade fared slightly better on the descent, quickly unfurling his glider cape to slow his descent. It saved him from sharing the fate of Otherfade, one he could not so easily recover from, but Fade still hit the ground hard and tumbled to a stop.He glanced up, just in time to see debris falling in waves from the collapsing slope. Fade scrambled to get away, but a slab of rock came down on his leg, leaving him trapped. He wedged his wristblade underneath the rock, trying to lift it enough to pull himself free, but despite his efforts it was slow going. Unfortunately, it looked like it wasn't going to be enough time before the rockslide of debris came crashing down on top of him. It didn't seem right to Fade, honestly: after all he'd been through, everything he'd survived... and he was about to be done in by a rock.And to make matters worse, he was about to die because he couldn't phase. If he had his powers, this whole problem would have been over in a heartbeat. But he was left without his special abilities, and he didn't even know why. Unfortunately, it didn't look like he'd ever live long enough to find out, since he was about to become a lot flatter in a few seconds. In what might be his last moments, Fade focused in desperation on trying to phase just once more. His powers had broke on him once before, and they'd finally started working eventually; but on the other hand, that had been because he'd overtaxed himself, not... whatever had happened this time. He concentrated as hard as he could, to no avail... and then something he honestly hadn't expected happened.The air around him seemed to sizzle, arcs of orange light swirling in the air around him. As they crackled and flashed, the space around Fade seemed to tear, a crack of flickering light tracing through the air. It tore time and space in two, leaving nothing but an orange-red void where reality ought to be. Fade was sucked through to the other side, the portal flickering shut seconds before a wave of rock came crashing down where he ought to be. When the rockslide settled he was gone, just the faintest crackle of light where Fade ought to have been...[For Science!]

IC:Plasmafire slammed right into Otherfade, throwing him away from Fade and against the rubble pile. Otherfade pulled a smoke grenade off his belt; the heat radiating off Plasmafire's body was enough to detonate the bomb the second he held it up. A thick gray cloud shrouded the two, and Otherfade slipped away in the confusion. As he staggered further up towards the house above, the debris started to shift. Small pebbles and rocks broke loose, tumbling downwards towards the bottom. The rubble they were standing on had already been unstable, and the fighting was only doing more to damage it...[For Science!]

IC:Otherfade paused a moment to glance up and Kaname."Talk is cheap, old man, and in my line of work - well, former line of work, anyway - practically everybody talks tougher than they can sell. Where I'm standing, you're just another loser in a bad costume boasting about how all-powerful you are. Trust me: it was old then, and it carries even less weight when I'm on the side of actual all-powerful," he said. "You've got another problem, by the way. You can't intimidate me me, because I know you can't kill me. I don't care how much voltage is running through your web, or how much it's gonna hurt me. The second I'm on the other side, I can just walk it off and leave you all to freeze out here. Speaking of which, see you round-"Fade grabbed hold of Otherfade, slamming him down into the rubble."Y'know, maybe everybody is right about me," he muttered, raising his fist for a punch. "We talk way too much..."Otherfade caught Fade's fist mid-swing, shoving him aside and jumping to his feet. He kicked Fade in the chest; his armor absorbed the force behind his boot, but nearly knocked him off balance He threw out his grappler, catching on a chunk of twisted steel and stopping a plunge back down to the floor below. Otherfade seized both an opportunity and Fade's grappling line, yanking him forwards right into Otherfade's waiting fist. Fade crumbled from the blow, nearly tumbling off the rubble heap."What's the matter with you? This entire fight you haven't phased a single attack. Unless.. oh, don't tell me you can't, can you?" Otherfade taunted. "Don't tell me I'd have let myself get this weak! Finishing you off isn't even going to be a challenge..."---Hivemind started down the stairs, waving the hijacked eye-camera in every direction. The light in the eye was sparking like crazy as it bounced around on its wires."Alright, something's not right here... We ought to be... uugghh ...ought to be right on top of him. Unless he's crazy enough to try hiding in one of those suits of armor - still not ruling that out, by the way - Tornado isn't... gah! ...in the room with us," Hivemind muttered, wincing as the pain got worse. "Unless... his hiding spot is directly underneath us. Have you seen any stairs that look like they might go down to a basement? Doesn't look like there's one... ugh... in the main hall... gah... but it's gotta... be... tucked around her... somewhere... Arghh!"Hivemind couldn't take much more, dropping to her knees and clutching tightly at her chest as the pain got worse. A reddish spot was growing on her uniform...---Archmage raised her staff to defend herself as Shard's club came down. Impressively - and perhaps surprisingly - what appeared to be a simple oaken staff took the impact of the diamond club without splintering; whatever it was truly made of was tougher than it looked. Archmage, on the other hand, lacked such superhuman durability, and was knocked backwards by the impact even with her staff absorbing most of the force. She flew backwards down the hall, her staff clattering to the floor near her. Archmage quickly scrambled to scoop her weapon back up, spinning about and firing a disintegration beam Shard's way while he was still recovering from his little fall...[For Science!]

IC:"Most of them are surrounded in a dust cloud; right now, I can't tell if they're going anywhere. They do seem organized, though. They're not searching for anything, so they must know what they're looking for. We should be careful," she said, pausing before turning her attention to Skyra. "Provided you are still able to catch them off guard, he will not be prepared to counteract you. Just be careful with that... thing. I'd rather not be responsible for more damage to this base than has already been done."As for the car... it appears to be... erm... a Lincoln. Odd. The only modifications I can see are some attached guns and - this is an assumption on my part, since it went through a wall - armor plating. Still, it's an unlikely choice for a Coalition vehicle, so it's almost certainly modified somehow."---Archmage fired a few shots, trying to break the cracks faster than Shard could repair them. Her beams could disintegrate most things with sufficient power, but occasionally she ran up against something tough enough to absorb the energy. She choice to pick an easier target: namely, the floor underneath him. She fired off a disintegration beam, and the floorboards under Shard's feet dissolved away into nothingness.Dread, satisfied with his work, turned and began launching a few fear-beams to discourage anyone who might try and attack Dirge.---First the eye camera fell from the portal, thankfully failing to break as it hit the steps. Seconds later a swarm of bees came swirling out, forming into Hivemind on their way down. She tumbled down the stairs, eventually coming to a halt at the bottom.Oooh... owowowowow..." Hivemind winced, pulling herself up on the banister.She could tell something had gone wrong. Reformation was a difficult and delicate process, and she'd lost some of her swarm in those winds. She'd tried to reform without her full mass, and some part of her must not have reformed right. Hivemind felt a persistent aching pain in her chest, and it could only get worse. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do until she could form a swarm again, which she was unlikely to do inside this building."Uh... it's..." Hivemind muttered, scooping the eye-camera off the ground, "that way. We're... urgh! ...closer than before this time... should be right... right nearby..."[For Science!]

IC:Hivemind clung to a display case, but since it appeared nothing in this hallway had been bolted down - which made sense, she supposed, Tornado had a long time to set up traps - it was quickly sucked out the window along with her. Fortunately, it appeared Gap had had the common sense to create a world hole. Less fortunately, it appeared Tornado had grown wise to this, and was redirecting his winds to try and carry Hivemind around it. She twisted and turned in midair to try and nudge herself into the wormhole, but without a method of propulsion she was literally fighting air. With no other options, Hivemind burst into swarm form and made a beeline for the portal. Her swarm was being scattered by the intense winds, but finally she managed to pull herself through the portal to the other side.---Omega's first bolt missed Dread by a good yard, then he leapt over the second; he whirled around to see Meltdown getting dragged off by the hero. Dread had grappled with Omega before and wasn't eager for a rematch, but he was confident the dust cloud would keep him concealed. He sent a fear beam snaking off in Omega's direction, trying to occupy him enough for Meltdown to free himself.Archmage, on the other hand, looked a little nervous as Shard made his approach. She fired a few shots at his shield, aiming to break it before he could get in range of her with that club. The first shot sent deep cracks through the barrier, growing wider with each shot.---"Uh... one of them appears to have some sort of fire power, possibly plasma... another appears to induce fear somehow..." Mystic said, focusing her attention through their optic nerves. "There's one kicking up a dust cloud, potentially air-based abilities... and another shooting energy bolts. The fifth hasn't used his powers yet, but he may merely be their driver."[For Science!]

IC:Hivemind was alternating between carefully watching every single object they passed in the hall, and stubbornly pretending they weren't there. At first she thought it would be important to figure out where the hidden cameras were, but then it occurred to her that Tornado had stuffed his hall with so much junk that the cameras could be literally anywhere. They'd spend more time looking for monitoring devices than they would Tornado, so the best she could do was ignore it and get on with her job.But then it occurred to her that no, that was absolutely crazy. Just because she couldn't find the security devices didn't mean she could just ignore their existence entirely, that would just endanger both herself and the mission. But then it also occurred to her that hey, shut up, they were in mortal peril either way, and if she didn't have any choice in the matter she might as well make what little choices she could, and since when did she ever care about the mission anyway, so just pipe down back there... erm, herself.The storm out there was getting worse outside. The winds were starting to pick up, and a thick sheet of rain had begun beating against the windows. This was bad news as far as Hivemind was concerned; the rain was limiting their visibility, meaning they couldn't see if Tornado was making a break for it, and with the high winds they'd be most likely unable to follow him. Almost instantly afterwards, she noticed a much more important problem: the cracks appearing in the glass as the wind pounded against them. Just as Hivemind spun around to warn gap, the windows shattered once more. But rather than rushing inside and wreaking more havoc, the winds outside were threatening to suck them out of the mansion entirely, where'd they be lost in the swirling storm above.---Mystic spread her psychic influence across the mansion, zeroing in on where the villains had entered the facility. There were five of them, by her count, but she could also detect the minds of other League heroes as they moved to intercept the attackers. She recognized one, Omega, from a battle with Sharkmen several months back in Rio, but the rest were largely unfamiliar to her."There's five of them that I can detect, approaching at the entrance. Several our ours have intercepted them; they are being engaged as we speak," she said to the others. "I am hopeful they will be dealt with there, but we must still be on guard should the defenses there fail."At the same time, Mystic focused some of her attention back on Aquarius's mind. She wasn't looking for information this time, although she was certain Aquarius would not react well to the return of the nagging sensation his mind was being intruded upon. As far as she could tell, no one had remained to keep an eye on their prisoner, and while he was secure and powerless, she still thought it was wise to keep someone watching in case the whole thing was a diversion. Fortunately, her powers gave her the unique opportunity to keep watch over him while still maintaining a defensive position.---Dread stepped out of the car next, his horns scraping KILL's roof and sending a few sparks flying as he got out. He rose to his rather-imposing full height and strode forwards, a ill green light radiating from the palms of his gauntlets. A heroine wearing a white cloak and a golden helmet swooped in to intercept, firing beams of light from her headgear. Dread turned, responding with a twisting and arcing bolt of sickly green energy, which snaked its way through the air and struck the helmet like a lightning rod. The heroine recoiled, clutching her head and screaming something about spiders. Dread left her to her nightmares come to life, and moved on after Dirge.Archmage stumbled out next, very nearly jabbing Impact in the gut with her staff on the way out. Once she had clear footing on the ground, she took note of the defenses. She spotted a man made of what appeared to be diamonds and took aim with her staff; he didn't appear to have engaged in combat yet, but she decided it would be better to ensure he never did. It crackled with energy, before sending a sparking purple bolt zooming down the hall. It missed Shard by inches and struck a wall instead, a large chunk vanishing in a violet haze as it was reduced to individual atoms. She didn't know whether Shard's diamond form could withstand her disintegration bolts better than the wall had, but she was more than willing to find out...[For Science!]

IC:Mystic still thought it was foolish to open with such a taxing attack; it left him at a disadvantage for a critical moment, leaving defense almost solely in the hands of someone who needed the aid of others to function effeciently. Still, Mr. No-One had joined their ranks, and he'd at least proven himself capable of fighting supervillains on one occasion, if only briefly."Fine. Just... do be careful," she said, focusing her powers to try and detect the psychic patterns of the incoming attackers. "Try to wait until you're sure you can catch most of the suspects in the blast; we do not want an attack like this to be wasted."---"Hey... you are me, y'know," snarled Otherfade as he dragged himself to his feet. "Can't you just figure it out?"Fade kicked him again as he tried to rise, knocking him back down into the dust."That's just the thing... you aren't me. You can't be me," Fade said. "I loved Jen, but I'd never become what she became. I'd never sell out the entire world just to be with her."Otherfade grabbed hold of Fade's leg, driving his wristblade through the joints in the armor plating. Fade winced in pain and recoiled; Otherfade to the opportunity to get back to his feet."Maybe you're just afraid to admit it," he said, driving an armored fist at Fade's skull. "Afraid to admit that you could have been weak, could've let your emotions get the better of you, could've doomed the entire world."Ducking the fist, Fade grabbed hold of Otherfade's arm and slammed him against the slab of rubble. Clouds of dust poured down as the debris shifted."You did do those things," he said. "Don't even think about trying to lecture me on them.""True... but we're two of a kind, you and me," replied Otherfade. "You just don't want to admit it, but if things had gone a little differently you would have been me. We're the same guy; one of us just hasn't been pushed far enough yet."He tried to phase and escape Fade's grip, but he had been ready for it. He'd been phased along with Otherfade; taking advantage of that, Fade shoved forwards and they both tumbled through the rubble pile. They emerged out of the debris and crashed to the floor, knocking a shelf full of circuits and wiring over. More rubble was still falling; it would not be safe to remain in the lab much longer."Then what pushed you?" Fade shouted. The fire burning in the lab was reflected in the intensity of his glare. "What exactly drove you over the edge! Tell me!""As if you don't know?" asked Otherfade. "They sent out a team, looking for Perception. He... he told them... he said Jen wasn't real. Just a fake personality... an illusion he'd created. The Frigid wreaking havoc was the real one. I... couldn't take that. When she offered me the chance to join her... if the woman I loved was gone, then she was all I had left... all I had to live for..."Fade's expression shifted from anger to digust. He grabbed Otherfade and threw him against a wall."That's it? That's it?" he roared, advancing on his duplicate. "Are you mad? ...No, I take that back, of course you are! You gave up the fight for a love that died years ago. She's gone, you fool! I don't care how bad you feel, or how much it hurts, you're supposed to keep fighting! For god's sakes, get over her!"Otherfade smirked as he got up again."Oh, really? As if you have?"A crack overhead, and another chunk of rubble came crashing down between them. Fade jumped back to avoid it, while Otherfade broke into a run. He made his way towards the pile of rubble, trying to climb his way out of the lab and escape. Fade leapt over the rubble and through blazing flames, determined to catch up with him.[For Science!]

IC:Plasmafire's powers were slowly burning a hole through the slab of concrete. However, it became clear that there were two possible dangers with this plan. The first was that it would risk dripping burning plasma down onto Fade. Secondly, the large slab was holding up a good deal of the debris; cut through it the wrong way, and Fade would end up flattened. If Plasmafire was going to make a path through the rubble, he'd need to do it carefully.---Fade circled his double, letting his wristblades retract. The second Otherfade made a move, he lunged forwards and punched him in the jaw. As the duplicate staggered, Fade followed up with a kick to the chest that knocked Otherfade off balance."Alright, so it's just you and me now. Seems like as good a time as any for the big question," Fade said, punctuating his words with more punches. "You know the one. It's the one that's been bugging me for quite a while: why? Why would you do it? Why would you sell them all out to Frigid?"---"...Perhaps it might be wiser to hold back just a bit," said Mystic, incredulous. "Strategically speaking, it makes more sense to have two people guarding this corridor than to let one expend all his energy in one shot, leaving only one person to defend should his quite risky assault fail. One blind person, might I add."[For Science!]

IC:Plasmafire succeeded in destroying some of the debris; of course, that only meant that there was now burning-hot slag falling on the group in addition to the falling rubble. Fade dove and rolled to the side as it crashed down, filling the room with a vast cloud of dust. Fade hit the ground, covering his head as debris and dust rained down on him. When the rumbling had stopped, Fade stopped and looked up. A large chunk of the debris had landed slantwise against the wall, creating space enough to move around, but at the same time leaving him trapped from Plasmafire and the others. If he could still phase this would be a piece of cake, but at present it meant he was trapped.Thankfully, fate was more than willing to provide him with more immediate problems. Otherfade came crashing out of the rubbles, wristblades drawn, and slammed Fade down into the dirt. Fade elbowed him in the face and scrambled to his feet, swinging a kick at his duplicate on the way up.--- CRASH! The sound snapped Mystic out of Aquarius's head almost instantly. She clutched a hand to her forehead, reeling slightly from the unexpected disconnection. Once she'd regained her senses, she stood up and followed Skyra out of the observation room, at an orderly but hurried pace. She clenched her fists, a swirl of white energy glowing in her hands."I will assist you. Whatever hold I might have had on Aquarius's mind is gone now," she said. "An immediate danger to this facility has presented itself. My primary goal should be to neutralize it, ensuring the security of our prisoner and the safety of this base."[For Science!]