To Save The World!

[Half-Dragon]

IC: "No," said Omega bluntly. "Much as I like to enjoy my job, I also like to get it done right. You haven't exactly been playing a straight game and I don't expect you to start now without some proof. If you can't find any, then I guess my partner and I just do this the hard way." He crossed his arms, waiting for either some kind of evidence that she could totally be trusted or a twisted reason why he shouldn't need any. If he had to guess, it would be based on how boring it would be to actually know you weren't being lied to.

 

|H-D|

 

NPC: "It wasn't for your work ethic," Ultionis remarked. Behind all the near-indecipherable stuttering, Clearsight wasn't completely wrong. While in point of fact a large majority of the world was pro-hero, there were always elements (aside from the criminal element, that is) that didn't trust them. Usually the same people who didn't trust the government, didn't trust companies, didn't trust the military, didn't trust the police and generally didn't trust anyone who had more power than they did. How the heroes dealt with that he didn't know, but he imagined most of them just ignored it.

 

As for the governments... Well, the original ULTIONIS branch had been intended to combat superhuman threats the League either couldn't touch or couldn't be allowed to know about. So they probably weren't trusted completely.

 

On a more relevant note: The plans to the building had him thinking. There were a few shafts in the ventilation system that seemed large enough for a man to crawl through. Considering the trouble they'd had with the lift and the traps so far, this was almost certainly just another trap. That said, the main hallways weren't much better, if you could even call them that. Mostly they were just rough, rocky tunnels with traps sprinkled here and there. The map had those highlighted, but a nagging concern persisted at the back of Ultionis' head that they weren't all displayed here. Well, they'd just have to be careful.

 

Therefore, as he saw it, there were three ways through the place, at least down to level one: The main tunnels, the elevator shaft or the ventilation system. The elevator itself was out, but the shaft was still useable as long as there weren't any more unpleasant surprises. Or at least none they couldn't deal with. The vents were probably booby-trapped and would be very difficult to move through silently, so those were out. The tunnels... Yeah, that hadn't worked out great so far.

 

They could split up, but with their forces already divided that idea wasn't very tempting. They couldn't all go down the elevator shaft - even with the rough walls, climbing was too precarious and left them too vulnerable. At most two people, those whose powers let them descend fairly safely, could go that route. Everyone else was consigned to the hallways, like it or not. At least now they knew where some or even most of the traps were located and which areas were strategically advantageous.

 

After another minute or so of studying the display he turned around and slammed his armored fist into the back of Clearsight's head. As the world's geekiest superhuman security officer fell to the ground, out like a light, he turned back to the others. "Now he won't be reporting our plans," the soldier said simply. Without waiting to hear their complaints he gestured at the layout on the monitor and started to explain his findings.

 

(H-D)

[Zulu Yankee Kilo Echo]

IC: Epsilon

 

"Aw," Epsilon whined, feigning a look of disappointment, "I was just starting to warm up to the geek."

He listened to Ultonis explain the general layout and placement of traps, etc. to the group. When the agent finished, Epsilon was the first to speak up.

"So, what you're saying is: if we go into the vents, we're screwed, if we take the tunnels, we're screwed, and if we use the lift, we are..."

He paused for a moment.

"Screwed. Any ideas, double-oh-seven?"

Edited December 3, 2012 by The Zytrix

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: Though he probably couldn't tell through the mask, Epsilon recieved a withering look from Ultionis for that assessment. "We are not screwed," he insisted. "Take a closer look. None of the paths are ideal, but that doesn't make them useless. The vents are the only really dumb idea - I'm almost certain they're a trap, just waiting for some hero who watches too many movies. There's no other reason to make them that big.

 

"The main problem with the elevator shaft is that we can't all use it. I can rappel and Lodestone can bring one other with him on the magna-board, but unless you guys have superpowers that let you climb down nine levels of rough, uneven rock without a rope, that's all. It means splitting our forces even further, but those that go will bypass any traps in the corridors and get to any level of the facility easily, save for the last one.

 

"Right now the hallways look like the best option overall. Even if this isn't a complete listing of the traps we should still be able to get through without tripping any more alarms so long as we're quiet, careful and lucky. If not, we at least know the way and where a lot of the traps are. I've also thought up some strategies if a fight breaks out in the halls. There are some decent chokepoints here, so if we're just faced with more dumb sharkmen they won't be any trouble. If it's Coalition goons, we can still take cover and fight.

 

"Ideally we want to hit these points of interest-" He pointed out the armory, holding cells, security antechamber, subject testing facility and a few other places that looked important. "-until we have enough information to figure out what this place is and if it can help us with our main objective. In addition, if the rest of our people are still alive we may be able to find them in the holding cells. The Coalition's never been known for efficiency, so odds are good they weren't just killed as soon as possible."

 

He turned back to the others. "Now, does anyone have anything useful to add?"

 

(H-D)

[Kumata]

OOC: Any reason Caige hasn't joined up with the others in the Robo-Robbers plot?

 

IC(NPC) - Robo-Robbers @ Bank of America

 

In the lobby, the defeated Robo-Robber made no further attempts to resist capture, simply slumping dejectedly onto the floor under the duplicate Centurion's orders.

 

The original Centurion might have wished he'd have waited for the other heroes to catch up with him as he descended a flight of stairs, for no sooner than he had reached the B1 floor an armoured, electrified fist introduced itself to his gut.

 

"Looks like we got heroes coming, boss," said the Robo-Robber to whom the fist belonged. The B1 floor was darkened (presumably the Robo-Robbers' special visors granted night vision) and only the slight glow of a computer terminal could be seen some distance away. A voice from the vicinity of this glow said:

 

"I'm almost done here. Stall them until we can make our escape."

 

IC - Apep @ New York

 

Apep scratched the forehead of her deathmask in mock concentration.

 

"Hmmm... hmm... I guess it is on me to convince you... but truth's just never really been my thing. Give me a minute..." It wasn't clear with all her exaggerated gesturing whether she was deliberately taking her time to think, but eventually she answered Omega with: "Alright then, here's a freebie; a tip-off I've no other reason to give you. There's a Coalition safehouse hidden in Central Park, underneath the reservoir. We built it after the invasion tore the place up. I was supposed to head there to lie low after I'd done my assassination. It's probably empty right now, but I can't guarantee it..."

[shadow pridak money gang]

OOC: Other than my thinly veiled inactivity...nope.

 

IC: Caige (Bank of America, Charlotte, North Carolina)

 

"So, how many of those can you make, anyway?" Caige asked Centurion quietly as the group descended. "Just curious."

 

IC: Saosin (Hotel, New York City)

 

"Well, we said we were going to check somewhere Warner held dear to his heart, somewhere where he felt he had enough control to store information he wanted hidden. Anyone got any ideas on, well...where that would be?"

 

-Tyler

[Rumpelstiltskin]

FIC: After Apep revealed the location of yet another Coalition hideout to the League, Mr. Mystery popped up beside her and backhanded her. "YOU REVEALA MY BASE, I BREAKA YOU FACE!" he screamed with a heavy fake accent, shaking his fist. OOC: That is all. Carry on. IC: (Loadstone)Loadstone raised an eyebrow when Ultionis knocked Clearsight out, but didn't say anything. He didn't like it, but he agreed with Ultionis; no matter how harmless Clearsight seemed, he was loyal to the Coalition and would betray everything they said within moments of them leaving. For that matter, even the Coalition members who weren't all that loyal would have squealed on them in a split second. You didn't withhold that sort of thing without unpleasant consequences. He listened to Ultionis' assessment of the base, nodding at appropriate intervals and studying the plans on the screen. Then he did a quick head count and power check, and spoke when Ultionis asked for more input. "If Skyra can levitate himself, then we're down to only one person who can't use the elevator shaft," he began. "I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to leave someone here to monitor our progress and give us a heads up before we run into anyone. Either way, we can't let the Coalition get their hands on what's left of the system." OOC: Unless I'm forgetting someone, we've got Ultionis, Loadstone, Skyra, Epsilon, and Siren. With the first three capable of using the shaft, it's down to whether Epsilon or Siren flies with Loadstone. I think we should leave Siren there and have her relay security updates to us. That gives us an advantage and gives Siren something viable to do, given that she's not very handy in the sort of fights we've been having. ~ Rumpelstiltskin

Edited December 3, 2012 by Rumpelstiltskin

[Half-Dragon]

IC: Omega gave the matter serious consideration. He'd definitely be checking on the Coalition base - you didn't just leave that sort of thing lying there, however dubious the source - but it really didn't do much to prove her willingness to help. All it did was prove she didn't care a whit for the Coalition and would break an agreement in a heartbeat. But still, it sounded like this whole mess was bigger than he thought... He made up his mind.

 

"I'm feeling generous," he decided aloud, "so I'll make you a deal. The SCU prison vans have power-suppressant bracers, like the handcuffs except you can still move your arms. I'll give you one, and you can follow me around like a puppy until this is over for your sick amusement. But there's two conditions: One, you tell me everything you know right here, right now. Non-negotiable. We'll see if it's true on the way. And two..." He leaned in closer and directed his best Clint Eastwood squint at the eyes of the death mask.

 

"If you pull anything at all - if you try to escape, if you lie to me, if you conveniently 'forget' anything, if you attack anyone or if I even think you're thinking about slithering away, I will drop everything and personally toss you in a holding cell for a few long, boring years. Claro?"

 

|H-D|

 

IC: Well, the attack was officially started. Now Centurion had rushed on ahead, Shard followed down the stairs as quickly as he could without tripping. A body of diamond was great for a lot of things, but he wasn't too dexterous, so that basically meant a light jog at best. Why couldn't they have taken the elevator? ...Okay, why couldn't the place have an elevator?

 

Now if only they could see where they were going. After the first flight of stairs the lights were all off and he couldn't see a switch. In fact, he could just see his own hand in front of his face, and only because it caught what little light there was so well. "I don't suppose anyone brought a flashlight?" He asked, slowing down to avoid something embarrassing.

 

*H-D*

 

NPC: Ultionis considered it. "Leaving one of us behind is risky," he said slowly. "If this place gets attacked they'd have to be able to defend themselves from a lot of enemies, maybe including supers. Failing that, a quick getaway, ideally with the system in ruins. They'd also have to figure out how to operate the security monitors and switch between cameras to keep an eye on us at all times." Which wouldn't be necessary if someone hadn't broken half the monitors when they came in. "Anyone here think you can handle that?"

 

(H-D)

[sunflower]

IC: Hanna

 

Hanna felt a hand on her shoulder as she walked past the line, and she turned to the person stopping her. Her eyes widened momentarily at being stopped, but she shook her head all the same. "No, I need to get in there," she said, although, she was too tired to put her power to use on the statement.

[Light]

IC: Nathan readied his gauntlet and pulled out a flashlight hidden in his armor. "Yay for Boy Scouts."

[shadow pridak money gang]

OOC: Sounds fair to me.

 

NPC: Siren (Coalition Hideout)

 

"I can do it," Siren said determinedly. "Reporters are trained to see all kinds of stuff. I'll be able to keep a lookout much more effectively, and Epsilon's more handy in a fight anyway."

 

-Tyler

[Zulu Yankee Kilo Echo]

IC: NPC Centurion, Epsilon

 

"Haven't fully tested my limits yet," Centurion told Caige, "but the most I've ever made is--"

At that moment, Centurion doubled over as an electrified fist slammed into his abdomen. He placed one hand on the floor to steady himself, then glared through his visor at the robber.

"You're going to regret that..." he growled. A red silhouette grew from his currently crouched position and seemed to lunge at the robber, gaining tangibility at just the right moment to go for a solid tackle.

 

"So we're using the elevator shaft, then?" Epsilon asked.

Edited December 3, 2012 by The Zytrix

[Kumata]

IC(NPC) - Robo-Robbers @ Bank of America

 

The Centurion duplicate and the Robo-Robber crashed to the ground. Rather than try to struggle away the Robo-Robber gripped the Centurion duplicate close to himself, activated the electrification of his armour and rolled off to the side.

 

The rest of the group wasn't given a chance to breathe. Immediately came the hiss of another micromissile from somewhere in the shadows; one could only assume it was aimed at the stairway where they all stood.

 

IC(NPC) - Platinum @ Bank of America

 

Platinum frowned at Hanna's comment. "Why? If you've got family or friends in there, I promise me and my allies will do our best to protect them. But going in yourself won't achieve anything, ma'am."

 

IC - Apep @ New York

 

"Hnk... heh... a ha ha hahahahaha!" Apep couldn't contain the eruption of laughter that followed Omega's words. "... eheh... boredom, that's what you threaten me with? You're actually endearing me to cooperate with you. I'll spill the beans, big guy, but get those cuffs on me first so you can feel safe enough to get rid of all this orange, eh?" She gestured at the energy bubble surrounding them. "I'm starting to forget what other colours look like."

 

IC - Gadgeteer @ Los Angeles hotel

 

"In my experience, men in a position of power with things to hide often store the evidence at home if they can, in a secret basement or safe or other similar thing." Gadgeteer neglected to add that in his experience had come from gathering information from corrupt CEOS for blackmailing purposes. He finished eating and his faceplate slid back into place. "I am sure that the location of General Warner's house will not be hard to come by. We would be foolish not to expect security measures, though..."

Edited December 4, 2012 by Kumata

[Rumpelstiltskin]

IC: (Loadstone)

"Looks like," Loadstone replied to Epsilon, waving a hand in the direction of the dead Sharkmen lying on the floor. One of those strange, bulky blasters sailed through the air and into his hands. He looked it over for a moment, then tossed it toward Siren. It magnetically levitated into her hands. "If anyone tries to get in here, blast 'em."

 

Even as he had said the words, Loadstone was looking over the monitor controls, brushing off shards of glass and ignoring the sparks that showered onto him. Not only did he work in the field of technology design, he was trained to pilot League Jets, and very few control panels could be more complex than one of those. It was a matter of moments before he was flicking switches and alternating between cameras.

 

"This is pretty straight forward," Loadstone explained after motioning Siren over. "These two panels here are fried, so ignore them. This keypad toggles between monitors, and these switches choose the camera. Each row corresponds to a different level of the facility. This panel over here is damaged, but these buttons let you split the screen between different cameras. You have to push them twice, because the first time..." he demonstrated, and sparks flew from one of the broken monitors. "You got all that?"

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

Edited December 4, 2012 by Rumpelstiltskin

[Light]

IC: There was a barely audible hum and a rippling in the air (if anyone could see it in the dark) and the micromissle exploded. Nathan shined the light into the darkened room, trying to figure out where they were.

[Half-Dragon]

IC: Omega shrugged, unconcerned. "Boredom doesn't sound like much," he agreed, "until the first week is up. And the month after that. And the year after that. And the decade after that. With the charges against you right now you'll be bored for a really long time." It was true. In particularl dangerous cases some supervillains weren't allowed more than one hour of activity per day outside their cells, and always with powers suppressed and heavy surveillance. On his brief visits to the prisons he'd come to understand the boredom was probably the worst part - short of scratching the walls of your cell with your teeth there wasn't anything to do but wait.

 

"But back on topic..." He gave her a 'you're not very bright, are you?' look. "I'm not sure we're communicating here. I'm in charge. You're not. What part of non-negotiable is it that confuses you? You tell me everything - now - or you take your sentence and I do this the hard way. That is your only choice here." He glanced back at the street. "I wouldn't take too long thinking it over, either - I think I can hear sirens."

 

|H-D|

 

IC: Shard was pretty tough, but he didn't want to test his odds against a missile, micro or otherwise. Unfortunately, since it was dark, he didn't really know which way it was coming from and probably didn't have the aim to take it out even if he did. He'd have to spray- Wait. Why not?

 

Stepping in front of the others Shard raised his arm and projected a thousand tiny, diamond needles at high speed. They wouldn't do much damage in and of themselves, but they should have just about enough punching power to detonate the micromissile before it hit. Probably. Hopefully. Unless he just misunderstood how missiles work, in which case they were screwed.

 

*H-D*

 

NPC: Ultionis nodded. At least now they had a plan of action. He wasn't sure just how good Siren would be in a fight, but from what he'd seen she didn't have much of a combat-based power. If she actually survived as a hero, she had to be at least a decent fighter. Hopefully that laser cannon was easier to use than an actual gun, though. Civilians always thought using guns was as easy as 'point and shoot.' Well, he'd heard lasers didn't have recoil issues, so as long as she could figure out how to aim it...

 

With his mental complaining about finished for now, the soldier paused to remember the most direct route to the elevator shaft. With the way back to the level nine opening shut their only option was forward, down to level eight the hard way. With the decision reached he gave Siren some last-minute orders. "Keep those plans on one screen," he said. "When we come on a trap, tell us. Have these two screens focused on the ways into this room so you're not taken by surprise. All clear?"

 

(H-D)

Edited December 4, 2012 by Half-Dragon

[sunflower]

IC: Hanna

 

She flinched momentarily at the sudden spike of pain from inside, thankfully the feeling was weakened by the distance from the source. "I need to- I need to stop it," the extended use of her power still making it hard to think straight. Her mind was fuzzy from all the people in the area, as their emotions piled up inside of her.

 

She could usually ignore it, but it was becoming increasingly difficult now.

[Kumata]

IC(NPC) - Platinum @ Bank of America

 

"Stop wha- hey, are you all right?" Said Platinum, noticing the pained expression on Hanna's face. "You're not a psychic, are you?"

 

IC(NPC) - Robo-Robbers @ Bank of America

 

After Soundsmith dealt with the first micromissile, Shard's needle spray triggered the premature detonation of a further two. These and the torchlight illuminated the entire basement area; it was filled with wiring, objects that looked like computer towers and several large cooling fans. At the computer terminal at the end of the room stood a man dressed in modified Robo-Robber armour; clearly he was their leader, and he appeared to be using several pieces of equipment to hack into the database of which this entire room consisted. Between him and the heroes stood eight more Robo-Robbers, not counting the one that had rolled off wrestling with the Centurion duplicate.

 

Immediately the robbers went into action. An electrified one swung a fist at Soundsmith; two with machine guns opened fire on Shard and the 'true' Centurion. Another held out his hands to summon a bluish forcefield that stretched the entire length of the room, cutting him and the leader off from everyone else.

 

IC - Apep @ New York

 

"At least move this thing in the direction of Grand Central station," said Apep, once again gesturing around at the energy bubble. "We've wasted some time chin-wagging but unlike you and me she can't descend sixty-something hotel floors, or at least not without being noticed. I imagine she already had a train booked for an emergency like this, but if we get going now we might catch her before she gets too far.

 

"Anyway, story time. She was once a member of the Coalition called Shockhead... and a care worker called Diane Scholz... and an agent of the German secret service known as Clara Christensen. Of all the names she's used Clara's the real one, or at least it's her birth name. She was a secret service member initially, then she quit and joined the Coalition. I dunno what happened there, she might have been fired actually, but I wasn't told so who knows. Regardless, at the same time she came to us as Shockhead she created the identity of Diane Scholz and joined a care home for mentally challenged - you know, retarded - kids, and worked there when she wasn't doing missions for us. She needed to, really, 'cause her power... we thought it was electrokinesis, and she wanted us to think that, which was why we didn't even know about her stints at the care home as 'Diane' until recently. See, during the big alien war against Techno-whatever his name was Clara decided to fake her death as Shockhead and Diane. I guess she got fed up of villainy. She pulled it off anAHM! HEM! KOFF KOFF KOFF!"

 

Near the end of her last sentence Apep's voice had gotten increasingly raspy until she was forced to break down into a coughing fit. "... hem... man, all this talking really dries out your throat," she wheezed. "Let me get my voice back a sec. You following me so far, big guy? I'd hate to have to repeat myself..."

Edited December 4, 2012 by Kumata

[Light]

IC: Nathan rolled to the side, firing a bolt at his attacker and a few at those behind the forcefield. One thing most forcefields overlooked was sound, as they needed to let it through to give orders and talk.

 

Time to figure out if this one did.

[Half-Dragon]

IC: "I follow," Omega said impassively, lifting the orb into the air. He could move for Grand Central Station easily enough, and the sight of a glowy, orange sphere usually kept the citizens at bay. Well, it did for a little while. Most of them, anyway. On second thoughts he decided to keep himself a couple dozen feet in the air for privacy reasons. This was New York, after all - people here were tough and crazy even without superpowers. On the way he touched his comm, still set to the SCU. "This is Omega. I am moving the villain to a location just above the street in front of Grand Central Station in pursuit of leads suggesting a related crime. Over."

 

After being told that they heard him and complained at for a minute as they'd just about gotten through the traffic between the precinct and the old spot (technically police vehicles had right of way, but it was rush hour - there was no way) followed by a snappy comeback from Omega, he turned his gaze back to Apep, still hovering in a very 'cosmically dispassionate but totally in charge' way. If you've ever read a comic with the Beyonder in it, you know the one. "You about ready to keep going? She faked her death under both IDs during the war. Then what?"

 

|H-D|

 

IC: Gunfire. This, at least, was fairly simple. Now Shard couldn't tell the difference between a machine gun and some other gun that fired really, really fast but apparently wasn't a machine gun (who knew guns were so confusing?) but he figured one of the two was being fired at him right now, and for the most part those bullets that actually hit him just sort of bounced off. That wasn't to say they didn't hurt - there were cracks and chips from every impact - but they failed utterly at actually penetrating or seriously damaging Shard's body.

 

It helped that he didn't give them much time to. The moment he saw the other Robo-robbers in the light of the exploding missiles he launched himself forward, fists swelling into diamond clubs, through a very brief hail of bullets and straight into one of their chests, club-fists first.

 

*H-D*

Edited December 4, 2012 by Half-Dragon

[Kumata]

IC(NPC) - Robo-Robbers @ Bank of America

 

The sonic bolts hit the forcefield, causing a slight ripple as the noise was safely dispersed. These were high-tech suits of armour, a soundproof forcefield was no issue when you had built-in communicators.

 

The bolt aimed at the Robo-Robber was a bit more successful though; it made him recoil momentarily from the impact, but a few seconds later he was swinging again. And now another Robo-Robber was coming at Soundsmith, aiming a heat-beam weapon.

 

"Ooof!" Went the Robo-Robber who'd received a diamond club to the chest. He doubled over and dropped his gun, wheezing. Another came at Shard with apparently nothing but his bare fists, and the hero responded with another swing of said club... only to have it punched upwards and off its intended path. This Robo-Robber's suit of armour was apparently calibrated for super-strength.

 

"Bring it on," taunted the man inside the suit, and aiming a kick at the hero's chest.

 

IC - Apep @ New York

 

"Sure thing, big guy... well, the Coalition thought she was actually dead for a while; she did a good job of faking it. But then we learned that ol' Clara was alive and kicking, having created another identity for herself; Abigail Ostermann, big-name businesswoman of a company that doesn't exist. She's been moving around the states and meeting up with CEOS of every sort. My higher-ups have guessed that she's searching for something; something that only very powerful or very rich people have access to. No idea what. Thing is though, no matter how well-forged her credentials are, moving in such high-profile circles was bound to get her noticed sooner or later. So the Coalition noticed her, and decided to investigate her old self a little more closely to try and figure out what she was up to. That's when we learned of Diane the care worker and Clara the secret agent. I think the word 'spy' must have set off alarm bells 'cause I was given the order to assassinate her right after that."

 

Apep stared up at Omega; again it wasn't clear what her expression was, but her voice afterward made it sound as if she were grinning.

 

"Now the fun part. Remember what I was saying about her powers? As Shockhead she was able to pass as an electricity-user, but the stuff had some weird properties. When the Coalition was looking into her past they questioned some of the people at the care home where 'Diane' worked. And they, well... see, Shockhead's electricity comes from burning up the electrical charge that exists in the brain, that we use to think or access memories or whatever - I can't remember the exact explanation they gave, I'm no brain scientist. Anyway, what she was doing, heh, to 'refuel' after missions... she was draining it out of these kids she worked with. The process is permanently damaging, like a scar-free lobotomy, and probably painful too. And most of the kids were normal before she sucked 'em dry! And she picked the perfect victims too, I mean who's gonna believe anything a retard says? She got away with it for years.

 

"So that's who we're after Mr. final-letter-of-the-Greek-alphabet, now why don't you try to justify, within your morals, why this woman doesn't deserve to be killed. Let me know when you can't, 'cause I'll be happy to help with the deed..."

 

OOC: Shockhead's power isn't exactly like Darkness' force psychic lightning technique, I'm no thief!

Edited December 4, 2012 by Kumata

[Half-Dragon]

IC: Omega was silent for a while. Throughout the explanation his expression had shifted from shock to horror, then rage. Now it was a cold mask of fury. Even his aura (which normally didn't do much besides burn orange) seemed fiercer, as if it too was angry at the knowledge. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm, but it was a calm that promised a storm in the very near future. "No," he said simply. When this earned what was probably a look of confusion behind the mask, he elaborated. "I'm not going to bother. She does deserve to die. Her and more than one other scum I've cleaned up. But I'm not going to kill her."

 

If Apep was actually paying attention to the buildings passing by she might have noticed they were now near Grand Central Station and that, furthermore, there was an SCU van parked out front with a small area cordoned off. Apparently there was less traffic to get here, despite that contradicts everything known about Manhattan rush hours. Or they were just close by, whatever. Either way it made Omega's job easier as he brought them down into the handoff area. And that was when he did something Apep almost certainly hadn't been expecting.

 

Omega walked out of the shimmering bubble of energy as if the wall wasn't there and, without warning, it started to contract and shift, going from a ball to something more like a coffin (and just for ironic effect it was in fact shaped like a sarcophagus) that would hold her tightly, linked by a line of energy to his left hand. Immidiately the officers moved forward with the power-dampening cuffs. Trained professionals all, they could get them around her arm the moment he opened a small hatch on the side, right above the wrist and too high for a hand to come out. Of course a bandage still could, but for that he had a bolt of energy charged in his right hand.

 

"Don't struggle," he advised. "You'll only go to prison tired."

 

|H-D|

 

IC: The blow landed solidly with a small network of cracks emanating from the point of impact, causing Shard to skid back about a foot. He grunted in pain - that one actually hurt. After a moment of focused damage control, not quite repairing the damage from the bullets and the fist but ensuring they wouldn't get any worse, the hero shifted to a fighting stance. Or, well, the best fighting stance he could given that he'd never learned much in the way of hand-to-hand combat. Most techniques relied on a human body with fluid, human motions and muscles and joints and such. His body was more like a solid chunk that only moved when he told it to.

 

None of this of course stopped him from stepping forward and swinging a right hook at the robber's torso. This guy was strong, but how tough was that armor? Probably not as tough as he was. With no hostages and no distractions, this would be over quickly.

 

*H-D*

[Transairion]

OOC: Back from my long, unnannounced hiatus everybody! Apologies to Kumata and Ymper specifically, since I stalled their characters. Sorry!

 

IC: "Should I not be able to? I'm different, not crippled" Silver took Sluice's request as outright questioning his capability to combat another psychic, something the mutant felt should never be placed in question. He'd helped take down Darkmage, had obliterated Saskeme from existance... with his new power level challenging Darkness's metal attacks were barely worthy of effort. "Let's just get this over with before he can slip away again..." the psychic grumbled, ascending Esp's boarding ramp to secure his arch-enemy.

 

"Fellwyd, your new translator has been completed and is ready to be used" Esp cut in through Fellwyd's earpeice, giving him directions to where his new translator would be waiting for him to examine.

 

OOC: Basically if I don't describe it Ymper, you can make the translator look and function any way you wish

[sunflower]

IC: Hanna

 

Hanna glanced up for a moment, and simply nodded in reply. More spikes of pain were dulled by the rest of the emotions she was feeling, but it hurt none the less. Passing out wouldn't be such a good idea, and probably wouldn't help her situation much. She needed to-

 

She needed to...

 

She needed to rest. Get her power under control again. She knew there was a reason she stayed away from crowds, and she was beginning to remember why. She made a mental note to not visit cities anymore, especially those with some kind of attack going on. Hanna placed a hand on a nearby wall for support, as she felt a sudden pain in her, as if someone had punched her. This was soon followed by another, but from a different source.

 

What was going on in there?

[Light]

IC: Nathan's armor started taking the heat beam, draining him of energy as it constantly reformed itself. He dodged out of it, firing another few blasts at the electrified robber.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

OOC: I've finally settled on a new fourth character, so I'm going to attempt to set him up within the next couple of posts, starting with this one. I realize no one has any interest in reading through a massive IC like this, but some things I just can't seem to summarize quickly. After a number of revisions, this is the short version.

 

IC: (NPC - ???)

The man who called himself Garret Glenn strode into the coffeehouse with a vexed expression, though no one so much as glanced in his direction. It took only a fraction of his power to ensure that, but in his current mood he would rather have made them all writhe with pain. He may, before everything was said and done.

 

His coffee was waiting on the counter by the time he reached it, and he picked it up without so much as glancing at the employee who had made it. The man offered him a courteous nod anyway; formalities were to be observed, even if Garret was in a foul mood.

 

It was quite simple to find the man he had come here to meet; the bone-jarring discrepancy in his senses that told him that the older man sitting in the corner simply wasn’t there was signal enough. It always unnerved him when someone possessed an immunity to his powers; when you could sense everyone’s mind, could feel it the way you could see or touch them, meeting someone whose mental presence didn’t seem to exist was disorienting.

 

The man looked up with a mildly surprised expression when Garret sat down across from him. He had a grandfatherly appearance, with a mischievous twinkle in his green eyes and noticeable smile lines around his mouth. It was impossible to tell what color his hair had been before it turned pure white, but his face looked like it had been ruggedly handsome in his youth. He was still handsome now, technically, though in a much more mature way.

 

“Can I help you?” he asked, his voice laced with a soft rasp that emphasized his age.

 

The sour thought that Garret had mistakenly assumed that this was the man he was looking for simply because the man was immune to his powers crossed his mind. That was another hazard with people immune to mental persuasion; you simply couldn’t tell anything about them. The life story of everyone in the room lay at his feet, but this man was an enigma.

 

“If you aren’t the man who was so desperate for my attention that he left a very pointed note in my hotel room – the room he didn’t have a key to, I might add – then I am incredibly sorry for bothering you,” Garret said irritably.

 

The man laughed, emphasizing both his smile lines and the rasp in his voice. “Quite direct, aren’t you?” he chuckled. “I must say, I had expected more from you, Wiper. The way you have both the League and the Coalition on edge, I expected a man with more … presence.”

 

“Don’t call me that,” Garret said, grimacing. “That name was given to me by the simpletons who hunt me. I cannot say that I like it any more than the connotations that accompany it. Now I demand to know, who are you, and how did you find me?”

 

Garret expected that the sly smirk that had settled on the man’s face was his natural expression; it seemed to fit him like a glove. “I’m a fan of your work,” he said, evading the question. “As for how I found you, well, even a void leaves traces. A hotel room booked, with no record of payment or name registered. A flight seemingly filled, though the manifest shows the plane is one passenger short of capacity. There’s a trail a mile wide for those who know what to look for.”

 

After a moment, Garret nodded slowly. Up until now he had been banking on his slights being overlooked; clearly he would have to be more careful from now on. “You took something of mine,” he continued. “I want it back.”

 

“I only took it because I knew your first instinct would be to run,” the man replied. “It’s very hard to have a conversation with someone who won’t meet with you.”

 

Garret leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “If you want to talk, talk. I’ll decide if it’s worth my time.”

 

The man inclined his head graciously. “Your work in the field of memory alteration is unparalleled. I’ve made a hobby of studying those whose minds you’ve reconstructed, and quite frankly, it’s awe-inspiring. You can build entire lifetimes from scratch, change the very fabric of a person’s being. But what I have yet to see you do is transfer the memories of one person into the body of another.”

 

Garret fought to control his eyebrows and failed miserably. “Why on Earth would I do that? Creating new memories for a person is one thing, but giving them the memories of another who clearly knows that it isn’t his body? The illusion would shatter the first time he looked in a mirror, if the paradoxes didn’t unravel his mind completely.”

 

“And if he were aware of the tampering?” The man was very earnest now, leaning forward with a gleam in his eyes. “If you left him knowledge of who had wanted his mind placed in another body, and why? What if you took the mind of, say, a SuperHuman, and put it in a powerless body?”

 

Drumming his fingers on the table, Garret took a sip of his coffee. “You seem to have given this a lot of thought,” he said finally. “I take it you have personal reasons for this, and a candidate already in mind.”

 

“Naturally,” the man replied. “And I would be more than willing to give you whatever you wish in return.”

 

And that was what he had been waiting to hear. Garret stood up, making no attempt to do anything but look down his nose at the man. “I’m afraid I’m going to decline. My abilities are not for sale, nor do I meddle in the personal affairs of others. Now if you would be so kind as to return what is mine, I’ll be off.”

 

The man shifted in his seat, a stubborn cast to his jaw. “I hardly think that something you stole qualifies as yours, you know. Perhaps I’ll hang onto it until you’ve had time to reconsider.”

 

With a stern frown, Garret reached his mind across the coffeehouse, to each of the minds that were already being subtly told not to look into this corner or listen to what was being said. Every patron rose to their feet, and those already standing turned with them to glare daggers at the man who thought he could haggle with Garret Glenn.

 

“My patience is at an end,” every mouth said in unison. Garret never so much as quirked his lips. “You will either give it to me now, or I will take it from you. Be grateful I won’t take more.”

 

The man looked around impassively; had Garret not known better, he would even have said the man seemed satisfied! “All I ask is an old-fashioned favor,” he said quietly. “You do something for me, I do something for you.”

 

“The only thing I ask of you is peace,” Garret snarled, his expression mirrored on the faces behind him. “Give me what is mine, and never let me see your sorry excuse for a face again.”

 

“Perhaps if I told you who I am, and what I can offer you, we can come to some form of agreement,” the man added, ignoring Garret’s temper.

 

As the man continued to explain, Garret found his anger cooling. After a moment he sat back down, the rest of the coffeehouse resuming their lives without remembering a second of what had just occurred. The prospects of what the man suggested were intriguing, to say the least. If he could deliver on his promises…

 

When the man finished speaking, Garret smiled darkly. “Perhaps I am interested in performing a memory transfer…”

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

[Kumata]

IC(NPC) - Platinum @ Bank of America

 

Platinum was starting to understand what was going on with Hanna. He put a hand on her shoulder again, squeezing it supportively.

 

"I can get you out of the area fast, if you like," he offered. He was assuming, since she'd said she was psychic, that she was an inexperienced telepath and that the large crowd of people nearby was causing her pain.

 

IC(NPC) - Robo-Robbers @ Bank of America

 

The heat-beam user tried a different tactic; melting upwards into the ceiling, he loosed a metal support beam that swung down towards Soundsmith and the electrified Robo-Robber. The electrified Robo-Robber, after twisting to avoid Soundsmith's bolts managed to grab hold of the hero's arm. His plan was to just stand there and grip hard, electrocuting the sonic hero, but he was unaware of the support beam that was about to hit them both.

 

Shard's blow connected, and he had guessed right; it hit hard enough to cause a series of cracks and a slight fizzle from the chest portion of the armour. It wasn't enough to disable his opponent just yet though - the super-strong Robo-Robber gave an angry grunt, grabbed Shard's right hand and yanked hard, attempting to toss him the length of the room and into a wall.

 

IC - Sluice @ League HQ

 

Sluice was so surprised at Silver's taking offense to her statement that she was temporarily speechless. It was a reaction so unlike him... she realised with a heavy heart that it was probably an attitude she would have to get used to.

 

She boarded Esp and carried on to the room where Darkness was being held, whilst Fellwyd was presented with his new translator. Darkness was suspended in a tube of gel-like liquid, though at Sluice's request Esp drained the fluid, allowing Sluice to surround the villain in water molecules quickly enough to cocoon him in ice.

 

"By the way, you might want this," said Esp, as a mechanical arm extended from one of the walls. "I found it in his possession, but unlike his clothing, it isn't composed of the same substance that makes up his body."

 

Into Sluice's hand the mechanical arm dropped a small metal object. She turned it over and examined it curiously.

 

"Odd... it looks like... like half of a key," she murmured. "Well... it doesn't seem overly special, but he must have been holding onto it for a reason. We can ask him about it at a later date." She put the half-key into the concealed back pocket of her supersuit, then, exerting her influence on the ice cocoon, levitated it steadily out of the holding bay and then the ship itself. There were no hints of a psychic assault upon her mind, so Silver was clearly doing his job, and for that she was grateful.

 

The process of having Darkness detained in one of the mansion's force-cells was an unremarkable one, and one that the trio carried out in near-silence. Sluice was a little apprehensive about trying to start small talk with Silver, and was eager to get Darkness out of their hands so they could leave the mission and head for the xenobiologist Mentor had pointed them towards. That might lift Silver's spirits, she thought.

 

So absorbed was Sluice in these thoughts that it wasn't until they were re-boarding Esp that she realised she'd been ignoring Fellwyd.

 

"Sorry, Fellwyd, I didn't even bother to ask if your new translator is working okay! I was miles away... er, that means I was thinking a lot."

 

IC - Apep @ New York

 

"Hey - HEY! What is this?!" Apep's deathmask glanced to and fro as the energy bubble shifted into a sarcophagus shape. Her paper tendrils streamed outward and struck the edges of the container repeatedly, but to no avail.

 

"Don't struggle. You'll only go to prison tired."

 

Apep looked at Omega. After a few moments she spoke. "... well played, big guy. Nicely done, touche, yada yada. Either I underestimated you or you deliberately amped up the goody-two-shoes aspect of your heroism, but either way, didn't see this coming." She crossed her arms, and her paper tendrils appeared to retract. "I'll come quietly. I know when I'm beat. But it's a shame I don't get to watch you go up against Shockhead, y'know? I was particularly looking forward to watching her suck those silly little principles right out of your head..."

Edited December 5, 2012 by Kumata

[sunflower]

IC: Hanna

 

Hanna glanced back up, finally managing to get some form of control over what she was feeling. The lack of conflicting emotions helped her clear her head somewhat, and she nodded in reply. "That... would be good," the empath she said shakily, taking her hand off of the wall.

[Dibble Flubwibbler of DOOM]

IC:(ozo,NYC) with an earsplitting CRACK! the sheer shockwave of ozo's bikuritan hitting the bubble made a small opening allowing ozo to grab a handful of Apep's tentacles and jump back, carrying Apep with him. moments before hitting the ground, his bikuritan transformed back into a hoverboard, and ozo flew off dragging Apep behind him by the papyrus tendrils.

[Ichthys]

Real Name (The name of your character when in 'Citizen Mode'): Bobby RedmanAlias (Your characters Superhero name): Captain JusticeAppearance (What your character looks like): He's 17, he has a pale complexion, red hair, and he's about 5 feet five inches; he wears a regular BLACK hoody and jeans, and a mask he bought from a costume store. He's also not morbidly obese.Power: He can release short bursts of energy from the palms of his hands that, while not lethal, can physically push other objects.Allegiance (League, Coalition, Solo Hero, Solo Villain): Solo hero (but he wants to join the League)Area (Where your character comes from): New York CityBio (Useful information about your character's personality and history): Bobby discovered his powers in high school when facing against some bullies. He's really excited that he has powers, and dreams of joining the League of Salvation, who are his heroes. Bobby's mother raised him alone after his father died, and she loves him very much. She is unaware that Bobby has been sneaking out to fight crime. He named himself "Captain Justice" because he wanted a cool, heroic sounding name, but the name does not really suit him; he's just a kid who probably shouldn't be doing what he's doing.

Edited December 8, 2012 by bluefish

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Solo hero (but he wants to join the coalition

 

 

I'm assuming you mean the League there...

His power is basically just Iron Man's repulsors in-built right?

Edited December 6, 2012 by Lord of Adders Black

[Light]

IC: Nathan swore. The voltage was diluted by the part plastic material of his armor, but it still hurt like heck. Seeing the support beam coming, he made his arm vibrate, making it impossible to keep a good grip. Soundsmith tore his arm loose and jumped back.

[thelonewander]

IC: (Tragedy)

 

 

Alex had morphed into a mouse when they got to the bank. He quickly and quietly made his way down to the vault level. when he arrived, Alex shifted inot his combat form, sticking to the shadows, till the rest of the team started to fight. With most of the robbers distracted, Tragedy jumped on one of them, and started to claw the Robo-Robber to no end.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: Also, (I am in no way staff for a variety of reasons, all of them very good and most of them having to do with that incident with the pencil sharpeners a few years back) costume stores tend to stock a variety of masks, so it might help to say what this one looks like. Hoodies also, as I recall, do not have a default color, so that would be a good thing to throw in, as would something about this guy's body type, because in the absence of other information I find it amusing to assume that characters are morbidly obese.

 

IC(Whistler): The businessman had kept pretty quiet through this planning session, as while he knew rather a lot about where CEOs would keep things they didn't want other people getting into (safe deposit box), he had a feeling that generals trying to hide apparently very-questionable documents would take an entirely different approach. Or a safe deposit box in a more-secure-than-usual location, like hollowing out a gold brick in Fort Knox and sticking the documents in there.

 

As he suspected that most of the world's militaries had rules about that sort of thing, he did not voice this suggestion.

 

IC(Fellwyd): The new translator was somewhat less durable than the previous one had been - while he'd been essentially holding it together with duct tape prior to the telephone pole incident, it had managed to survive a crash-landing from space into Cardiff Bay - but it was, mostly because of the relative lack of armor plating, much lighter.

 

The alien spent most of the time it took to transfer Darkness into his new cell to adjust the translator, which came with a rather handy speaker that he had placed on the right side of his mouth, nestled against his jaw. The main unit of the translator was clipped onto his armor (OOC: I honestly don't know what else to call it. It sounds a bit like false advertising to call it armor, since it's mostly just rather loose, thick leather, but clothing generally doesn't have bits of steel sewn onto it.) near his left shoulder.

 

When Sluice asked if the translator was working, the new translator worked a little bit more quickly than the old one, as it had been made by someone familiar with both English and Welsh, and the speaker transmitted the translated sound through the alien's jaw-bone, which had helpfully agreed to evolve along similar lines to those of vertebrates on Earth, meaning that it was connected to the series of bones that functioned as the meat-and-potatoes of the ear.

 

"The translator is functioning adequately, though I am concerned about its ability to survive a combat situation."

[Ichthys]

 

Solo hero (but he wants to join the coalition

 

 

I'm assuming you mean the League there...

His power is basically just Iron Man's repulsors in-built right?

 

Yep and yep. He's not really all that cut out to be fighting crime, but he's enthusiastic about it. His powers get weaker as he gets more tired. His powers draw upon his own energy, so using his powers makes him tired. After a good 30 minutes, for example, he's pretty much out. Even if he spent a day doing physical labor, or staid up all night doing homework, or whatever, if he's exhausted, for whatever reason, his powers are also exhausted.

 

Also I have made edits to his description about his hoodie and body-weight.

 

One last thing to note about the character is that I have no ultimate goals in mind for him. What this means is that he is extremely pliable; I will just let his story tell itself, and conclude itself when it seems natural. For example, if he finds himself in a situation where it is likely that he would die, he will die if I can find no plausible way out for him. If that means he dies within two posts of being approved, then that's what it means.

Edited December 8, 2012 by bluefish

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

That all seems in order. Captain Justice is approved

[Half-Dragon]

OOC: Sorry this took a while, the server ate the post. Several times. It gets kinda discouraging.

 

IC: Despite her assurances that she would go quietly, Omega stuck around to watch Apep get cuffed and hauled into the van. It wasn't until she was securely inside that he dissipated the energy bolt and relaxed a bit. Paranoid? Definitely. But she had shown cunning and ingenuity well beyond expectations already. Underestimating her now would be just plain stupid.

 

Once he was sure she wouldn't be escaping, he picked up a spare pair of handcuffs and turned to leave, but paused to say something. "About my silly little principles," he said seriously. "I wasn't lying before. She doesn't deserve it. Neither do you, I'd bet. Or a hundred other scumbags I've put away. But I don't hold back for your sakes. I'm just not going to become a murderer because of thugs and psychos like you. You're not that important." Then he flew off before she could retort.

 

He didn't go far, though - mainly he just went up, over the lip of the station's roof, where he set down out of sight of the street below. Normally he would've felt pretty good about outsmarting a villain like Apep - some villains just did not realize that the good guys could be underhanded too, it was like they hadn't opened a comic in twenty years - the knowledge of Shockhead's crimes had put a damper on the entire day. Plus he didn't even know what she looked like, so stopping her was going to be a pain. But he did have one option open.

 

The hero set his communicator to call a League office that dealt with legal affairs. Most heroes didn‘t even know it existed – not because it was secret or even that obscure, but they only used it when the villain wasn‘t doing anything obvious and they needed an actual warrant for the arrest. He also pulled something from his pocket – a small recording device he kept on him at all times. Useful for those underhanded hero tricks. The word of a villain wasn‘t proof, of course, it wouldn‘t be enough to convict, but it should be evidence enough for an arrest. Once he had the warrant he would work with the station authorities to know when one Abigail Ostermann tried to take a train and blend in with the crowd until they contacted him. And then the real fight would start.

 

|H-D|

 

IC: Shard was very much used to standard punch-ups. He took a punch, usually to little effect, then he threw a punch and the fight was over. He was also more or less used to non-standard punch-ups, which were a lot less one-sided, but generally revolved around punching anyway. This judo-flippy tossy stuff? That was new. Most people who had the strength to move a bulk like his didn't bother being fancy about it.

 

Thus it should come as no surprise that he had zero defense against getting tossed halfway across the room. He only managed to slow himself down enough not to seriously damage the strong but brittle form of his body. Instead he just got a few painful cracks and a nasty feeling that his back was going to ache in the morning.

 

The hero landed on his feet and glared at the robo-robber that had tossed him. Feeling that this sufficiently conveyed the message that they were not friends he dispensed with further attempts at communication and returned to the simpler language of charging forward with a strong gut jab leading. At least this time he was prepared to stop himself if there was more judo-flipping.

 

*H-D*

Edited December 9, 2012 by Half-Dragon

[shadow pridak money gang]

NPC: Siren (Coalition Base)

 

"All clear," Siren affirmed with a nod.

 

IC: Saosin (New York City)

 

"N-Ber is gone. Most of us don't have particularly offensive powers, or any powers at all, beyond a battle suit. If we're going up against the kind of security measures we're expecting, we need to be smart about this. And we need to be cohesive."

 

-Tyler

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Uh, Half-Dragon you might want to look at stargatestatic's post even if its just to tell him whether he could or couldn't break the bubble. He has been trying to interact with you guys since Apep first appeared

[thelonewander]

IC: (Lone)

 

"If we try anything, we need to hack through the defense measure this guys is going to have. Anyone want to do it?" Johnathan was able to the hacking, that much was sure, but he wanted to be on the front-lines of this fight.

[Kumata]

OOC: I will address the Robo-Robbers & Apep in my next post, promise, haven't time to read through everything just yet!

 

IC - Gadgeteer @ Los Angeles hotel

 

"It might be relevant to mention," said Gadgeteer, "that the recent upgrade I applied to my armoured battle suit incorporated both a Stealth Mode and Artillery Mode."

 

To demonstrate he stood up and gave the mental command for his armour to shift. A silvery cloud of nanorobots enveloped him momentarily, but unlike his transformation into Deep Sea Mode he appeared to be losing mass, shrinking in size and bulk until he was only just above the normal proportions of a human. The nanorobots retreated into the suit, and Gadgeteer's sleek black Stealth Mode surveyed them.

 

He raised his right hand and extended what looked like a thin spike with several nodes jutting out of it. "My adaptable connection port becomes a skeleton key in this mode. I have not properly tested it, but - in theory - this device should be able to fit any physical lock." His entire body then became translucent all of a sudden. It wasn't quite invisibility - more like he'd turned into a glass statue of himself. "This mode is also far better suited for stealth requirements." He returned to visibility. "The capabilities of this mode combined with Lone's hacking skills gives us the potential means to disable every kind of security measure we may be faced with. If said security measures are too difficult for us to disable this way - or if we are confronted with guards - then I can switch to my Artillery Mode at the appropriate moment."

 

The nanorobot cloud came back and Gadgeteer gained mass, becoming just a little bulkier than his default Urban Mode. Now a green giant of sorts, Gadgeteer willed gunbarrels to extend from both shoulders and both forearms.

 

"In this mode I have great strength and wield many guns," he said simply...

 

OOC: Here're Gadgeteer's remaining two modes. It should be obvious which is which: