To Save The World!

[Alex Humva]

OOCBlah, why am I up at this ungodly hour? To make my first IC of course.IC [London/Steven]As usual, the universe had it out for Steven. Not a day went by it didn't try to screw him over somehow, and today was no different. His job was miserable, his paycheck was delayed until further notice, and some sort of evil bugs were on the news. Of course, these sorts of things seemed to happen on a regular basis, so he could care less. He just tried to keep out of the way whenever the superheroes or the supervillains or the superwhoevers fought each other.Right now, though, he was walking the streets, undisguised, counting just how many times the universe had tried to kill him in the last few weeks, and ending up with more times than he had fingers for. He wasn't dead yet, so he guessed it didn't really matter in the end. So he just kept on walking, trying to not offend the universe again.OOCSo uh yeah, is the mansion even remotely next to London, and if so if there any conceivable way to get me there?

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: The intern rolled his eyes and scoffed, the most you're likely to get out of any teenager. "Chyeah, following trouble right into this office building, that's encouraging. I know how it works with you supers, you'll probably tell me Mr. Thomas is a supervillain in disguise and use that excuse to blow up half the office, and then I'm gonna get fired for letting you in. Guess if I don't you'll just fly in through a window instead." He tapped a few keys. "Third floor, has his own little office. Ask around there."H-D

[Kumata]

OOCSo uh yeah, is the mansion even remotely next to London, and if so if there any conceivable way to get me there?

OOC: Unfortunately no. It's way up in Manchester.I am assuming Lord Rahl is busy over the Christmas holidays, given that I haven't heard from him in a week or so. Since technically he hasn't claimed his characters back yet, I'll continue controlling Aquarius until he shows up.IC: Aquarius was sitting in a plastic chair. His arms hung behind him, still wrapped in power-nullifying cuffs. He'd been stripped of his supersuit and was wearing some loose, plain clothes. A thick bandage was coiled around his shoulder and a plaster crossed his nose."Sure, I know why you're here - you brought me my latte, right?" It looked uncannily like a beaten-up Loadstone was sneering at Ultionis from across the table, but that was how it was with identical twins. His green-eyed gaze swept over the armoured agent. "So where's the 'good cop'..?" Edited December 25, 2011 by Kumata

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: "He had the day off, and he took your phone call, your attourney and your prisoner's rights with him. I'm all you get. Sucks to be you. But I'll give you one chance to make this easy: Where is Danielle Thomas being held?"(H-D)

[Kumata]

IC: "You didn't let me escape with the others, so how would I know..?"

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: Happy Hogswatch, everyone.IC(Fellwyd): The alien took a second to think about how best to answer the question."Generally omnivorous, so diet is generally left to personal preferences. Personally, rather fond of... hmm. Need a second for an adequate translation. Ah. Seafood and starchy vegetables."

[Half-Dragon]

OOC: Should add that Mystic is taking a look at Aquarius' mind as we speak - not looking in yet, just seeing if he has defenses. NPC: "And here I was, feeling generous. There goes that." He leaned back. His face was unreadable, primarily as he wore a mask over the whole of it, but his body language suggested he wasn't worried. "I'm going to make this very, very simple for you. If I think you're not going to talk, you're useless to me. If you're useless to me, your life has no meaning to me. "Now as much as I'd like to, I can't ventilate your head here and now, and I figure you'd be out of Guantanamo Bay in a week. But you've got a rap sheet longer than my car, and some of it's serious stuff. I figure all I'd have to do is make one phone call to the right person and you'd be facing the death row by this time next week. Won't help us find Ms. Thomas, but it'll make me feel better. And the best part is, the whole thing would be legally safe. I think there's even some states that still use the electric chair. Now I'll ask again: Where. Is. She?"(H-D)

Edited December 25, 2011 by Half-Dragon

[Kumata]

OOC: I honestly don't know if he has psychic defenses or not. I would assume no, since that seems like something that would have to be in a PC's profile, which it isn't.IC: "Good luck keeping me contained for a whole week," smirked Aquarius. "We of the Coalition make prison bars look like revolving doors."IC:" Oh, me too! Well, the seafood part." Smiled Sluice. After a moment a thought came to her. "Er... you did mean Earthen seafood and vegetables, didn't you..?"

Edited December 25, 2011 by Kumata

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Fellwyd): "Those too, though with the number of planets I've been on, I was not being very specific in that matter. The taste of seafood tends to follow a certain pattern, no matter what world you're eating it on."

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: "You're really not taking this seriously, are you? Your buddies are busy with their little kidnapping scheme, plus chatter says something overseas. They'll be too busy to bail you out. I've already taken the liberty of having a friend of mine freeze your assets, the legal excuse being they're stolen anyway, either by you or by the Coalition crook that paid you. The same can be done to any solid funds you bring in. End result: You can't afford an attourney, which means the state gives you one - again, easy to make sure it's the worst attourney this side of California. "I can also have my friends pick the judge and even the jury, all people who'd hate you. You'd be facing the death sentence the minute you're in the courtroom. Then, in a week at the very most, you'll be sitting in that chair, wishing to whatever gods you please that you'd just told me what I want to know. Honestly, if I thought I had any better options, I'd have had it done already because frankly I just don't like you. That means the last thing you want right now is not to be an option. Or do you just think I wouldn't do it?"(H-D)

[Kumata]

IC: Aquarius considered Ultionis for a moment. "Hmm. You're not with the League, are you? They're far too goody-two shoes to even consider fixing a trial like that... no, you're some sort of official person. SOIB or something?" He chuckled. "Some of the Coalition's greatest members got their start as government agents, you know."IC: Sluice nodded. She found it genuinely interesting to talk to someone who'd visited multiple planets, especially when - no offense to Esp - their stories weren't all doomed worlds and unstoppable tyrants."So what do you think of Earth so far, compared to other worlds?" She supposed that Fellwyd would probably rank his own home planet higher, but it would be nice to hear that Earth wasn't the least agreeable place in the universe...

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Fellwyd): "Far too few trees, but the sky's a proper color. Diemawr cities are usually surrounded by forests - some of them artificially enhanced with machines that supplement the capillary action that pushes water up the trunk of the tree, allowing them to grow far taller than normal. We came from the trees, and never quite got comfortable with the idea of leaving them. Still, your cities are not bad, just more gray than green."

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: Ultionis scoffed. "What, Mystery? Or whatever he's calling himself now. Don't know who that psycho had to brainwash to get a job when he should've been in an asylum. But you're right about one thing: I'm not the idealist type. I'm the type that has killed exactly one hundred and seventeen people, twenty-four of them superhuman, and would not think twice before sending you to die. But enough about me. You gonna cooperate, or should I call the crematorium?"(H-D)

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: Wow. Ultionis may be a bit pushy and arrogant when dealing with people on his side, but it's fun to watch him interrogate somebody.

[Kumata]

IC: "Tell you what: while you're on the line, ask them to whip up a tombstone for one Danielle Thomas. I expect you'll need it by the time you find her. Any thirteen-year-old girls on your list yet?"IC: "Well, there are a few deep forests in England. I suppose the League might be able to set up a home for you in one of them, if you don't mind this country's climate..."

Edited December 25, 2011 by Kumata

[Half-Dragon]

OOC: You kinda get the feeling he's done this before... and gone through with the threats, the way he talks. NPC: "So, what, now you're just trying to bug me? Brilliant strategy, there. I told you: You're no use to me, you die. Pretty painfully, I hear."OOC: Should we wait up for CoKK to post for Mystic reading Aquarius' mind? (H-D)

[Kumata]

IC: Aquarius smiled and shook his head, in an expression of submission. "All right. You're right. I've had my fun, but I don't want to die. So I'll cooperate... but on one condition. When you - and however many heroes you need with you to feel safe - go to retrieve miss Thomas, you bring me with you. Soon as you find her, you let me go. So in essence you'd be exchanging me for her. I won't try anything funny when you release me. Heck, I'll even pinky swear on it..."

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: It probably shouldn't be possible to look incredulous through a mask that doesn't even show the eyes, but Ultionis pulled it off. "Trade you for her? Have you not been listening? I'm not offering release. You talk and go to prison like a good little crook or you die. You're our fastest option, but don't think for a moment we don't have others. We're not that desperate yet." (H-D)

[Korkoa]

OOC:

OOC: Happy Hogswatch, everyone.

YES! HAPPY HOGSWATCH! IC: Magneta glared at the snotty kid. Truth be told, she was probably barely older than him, maybe a year tops. But she still saw him as a snot-nosed little kid, as opposed to herself. She headed towards the elevator, pulling Surge and Anais with her. Just before the elevator doors closed, she said to the kid: "Y'know, we're the good guys!"

[Kumata]

IC: "The thing is, I'm sure she's ten times more valuable to you alive than she is dead, and the more time you waste the more likely it'll be the latter outcome. Like you said, I'm your fastest option, and therefore your only shot at finding her before my employers decide they want to take out their anger at losing a top geneticist on their little prisoner. Or, heck, even before someone slips up and kills her by accident. When you employ guys made of antimatter things like that tend to happen..."

[Half-Dragon]

NPC: Ultionis clenched his teeth, then unclenched them just as fast. No sense letting Aquarius know he was getting to him. "An accident with anti-matter would crater the entire facility no matter what it's made of. That amount of it would go off like a truck full of nuclear warheads. Your bosses aren't that stupid. You have until the exact moment when I get a call from anyone working on our other angles to change your mind and take my generous offer. After that, you're officially useless."OOC: Okay, now we really should wait for a Mystic IC, see if she's extracted anything valuable yet. Not sure how much longer this can go on...(H-D)

[Kumata]

IC: Aquarius shrugged, or as close to the motion as he could manage with his hands cuffed behind him."You want to be obstinate about this, fine. I can be too. The difference is I don't care much whether the girl lives or dies. Let me know how those 'other leads' pan out, Sherlock..."OOC: Sure, we can wait for CoKK now. This was fun. I'll point out that nothing Aquarius has said was a lie as such. But he doesn't know anything that hasn't been shown in-RPG (IE Danielle's location)

Edited December 25, 2011 by Kumata

[King Joe]

OOC: Yknow, If I had seen it, Surge would have gotten in a little shouting match with the intern punk.IC (Surge): It was all Surge could do to keep his mouth shut while Magenta was talking to the intern. "That kid was a punk. He needs to have his butt saved by a hero sometime. Then he'll change his tune. Heck, maybe we'll do it today if this speedster shows up." Surge used his powers to speed up the elevator, simply because he was a little frustrated.

[Korkoa]

IC: Magneta scoffed, clenching her fists. "Heck, he'd probably act like he's doing us a favor if that happened. That kid can't have been more than a year younger than me, and I had a seriously screwed up childhood. How did I avoid becoming like that?" She began tapping her foot impatiently. She really wanted to hit something.

[Snelly]

IC: SkyraSkyra watched the whole interrogation with great interest, "Wow, this is pretty intense, you getting anything from his mind Mystic?"Skyra still didn't really like Ultionis, but he admired his skills with interrogation.

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:Mystic's voice seemed to rise up inside Skyra's head: Apologies, but I'd rather not risk any distractions at the moment. This is very important.Mystic didn't appear to give any reaction external reaction to Skyra's reaction; she was far too focused on the realm of the mind at the moment. She gazed into Aquarius's aura. As far as she could tell he was either a remarkably good liar or telling the truth; he seemed far too confidant the League would be unable to find Danielle to even bother lying. But perhaps his overconfidence could prove his undoing.Aquarius didn't seem to know there was a psychic listening in on his conversation, and so he'd left his mind relatively undefended. His memories of the kidnapping in DC were still fresh in his mind, perhaps if she could just wind it back a little more. It was a bit like unwinding a thread... slowly his thoughts started to move backwards... Mystic could feel herself standing in Aquarius's place in a lifeless metal corridor... so cold, but that could put it almost anywhere... she had to push further... Aquarius would have to know where this base was.But her manipulations up to this point had been subtle; with all his focus on Ultionus at the moment, Aquarius might not have questioned why he was thinking these thoughts. But Mystic needed to push a little further, if she was going to find any clue to the base's location. Aquarius still had no reason to suspect his mind was being probed, but if her more forceful approach did catch his attention... then she'd find out for sure just how prepared he was to deal with a psychic.---Plasmafire's beam sliced through the snow, widening the tunnel just enough for him to make an escape. But no sooner had he made his way out of the wave of snow than a series of frosty arms lifted themselves out of the snow, jagged daggers of ice seeking to skewer Plasmafire while he was still caught off guard.---Hivemind glanced up towards the foreboding staircase. Gap should have been able to teleport into the attic by now - assuming she hadn't been killed by ghosts, obviously. It only made sense to head upstairs to try and meet up with her. Well, actually, it made no sense at all; Hivemind didn't know the layout of the mansion, so for all she knew she could end up wandering around uselessly looking for Gap, probably alerting Tornado to her presence in the process. But Hivemind didn't like the idea of being stuck alone in some creepy haunted house, so at the very least she welcomed the thought of some company. Cautiously, she started making her way towards the stairs.And then, with a thunderous burst of wind, the windows overhead exploded.Shards of glass flew everywhere, but Hivemind cared little about that as a massive gust of wind suddenly lifted her off her feet. Somehow, she got the feeling Tornado knew she was here. Hivemind twisted out of the way to avoid getting impaled on a spear held by a nearby suit of armor as she was flung left and right across the hall; trying to form a swarm in winds like this would be downright suicidal. She caught hold of the armor as she flew past, clinging on tightly to avoid blowing into anything else sharp and pointy. But it looked like the sharpness was perfectly willing to come to her instead; the glass of the blown-out windows was being funneled through the air towards her by the winds. It looked like her choices were either get flung about into priceless and deadly objects, or get potentially cut to pieces by hundreds of glass shards.[For Science!]

Edited December 26, 2011 by Chronicler of Ko-Koro

[Korkoa]

IC: "SHOOTSHOOTSHOOTSHOOTSHOOT!" Plasmafire cried, flying higher into the air to avoid the icey arms. He looked around and saw Stella battling Ice Golems. He made a beeline for her, right now she could be their last hope...

[Kumata]

IC: The noise of a hallway's worth of windows shattering tended to resonate, especially throughout a quiet and lifeless mansion. Gap heard the sound and immediately bristled; it could only mean that Hivemind had run into Tornado... well that or she'd been clumsy enough to knock something large and delicate over, but Gap didn't think that lowly of her comrade. She sprinted down the rest of her hallway and turned the corner, coming onto a balcony that led up to a wide, curved staircase. It was one of two that curved all the way down towards the entrance hall. The area was very open, and provided many angles at which Gap could be attacked - but it also provided entranceways to most of the hallways within the mansion. Glancing around her every now and then to be wary of any surprise attacks, Gap did her best to pinpoint the continuing sounds of battle. She descended two levels and shot off through a side door. The increased clarity of the noise as she passed through confirmed that she was on the right track...

[Snelly]

IC: SkyraSkyra kept his mouth shut at this point, he didn't even dare to think too loud, it that was possible.

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:Through the windows, dark clouds could be seen forming over the mansion. The winds picked up, kicking the storm up into a swirling vortex. Sudden bright flashes lit up the blackened sky as lightning crackled overhead. A brilliantly bright bolt arced and twisted through the sky, exploding a shower of sparks as it struck a lightning rod on the roof. The air around Gap seemed to sizzle with energy; energy surged and crackled across crisscrossing wires running along the ceiling, previously unseen. The electricity suddenly arced off the wires and through the air, threatening to strike Gap as she ran.Hivemind shoved off from the statue, seconds before its armor was perforated by hundreds of spinning glass shards. She reached out to try and grab hold of a nearby tapestry, only for the winds to shift suddenly. Hivemind was slammed against the wall, the intense winds holding her in place and rendering her immobile. The glass shards spun about like a twister, inching closer and closer to Hivemind as she struggled in vain to free herself. A voice boomed through the hall, carried from parts unseen by the wind."Tell me now if you wish to live another minute... who sent you?"---The icy arms climbed higher to try and skewer Plasmafire as he climbed upwards into the air. However, Stella caught sight of him flying towards her, and responded by launching a stream of fire that sliced clean through the arms. But Frigid wasn't about to give up now, sending tendrils of ice crystals snaking after Stella and Plasmafire. An intense chill radiated through the air around them; if they weren't both pyrokinetics the cold would probably be enough to kill them... and if they got close enough for the tendrils to actually touch them, it just might.[For Science!]

[Korkoa]

IC: Plasmafire gritted his teeth and landed next to Stella. "We have to get to the machine Stella, that's our only chance of getting out of here!" He turned and whipped a handfull of plasma orbs at the ice tendrils, trying to find the hole the house was under...

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:The plasma orbs slowed the advance of the tendrils, but they were approaching all the same. The hole was easy to spot; most of the surviving fighters had gathered around it to slow the advancing Ice Golems. However, there was one person worryingly missing from the fight... Otherfade.---The Supercharger was a whirling blur, orange energy crackling and shimmering at its center. It was almost at full charge; all that was left was to put Stella into the machine and hope things worked out. He turned to speak to X-Calibur... just in time for a cloaked figure to shimmer into existence in front of them, slashing a wristblade across his chest. As X-Calibur fell, the cloaked man turned his attention to Fade."Well now... isn't all this interesting?" asked Otherfade, glancing from his double to the Supercharger.[For Science!]

[Korkoa]

IC: Plasmafire noticed the absence of Otherfade and groaned. "We have to go now!" He grabbed Stella's wrist and started pulling her towards the hole, firing a jet of flame at the tendrils with his other hand.

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:"So... old Dad kept all of this underneath the house all along?" muttered Otherfade, glancing about the laboratory. "Care to explain how you know about this when I don't?""Well, one of us decided it might be a good idea to see if the man who built the Supercharger left his work lying around somewhere," said Fade. "But, to be fair, it's not the only bad mistake you've made, apparently.""Ah, you'd be the other me. Frigid told me all about you. She seemed rather excited by the prospect of having two of me, actually. Please, just... don't ask," Otherfade said. "But me... personally, I'd don't like the idea of having a spare. And since you're standing in the way of that Supercharger, I think I've got more than enough reason to kill you."He lunged forwards, slashing with his wristblades to block. Fade raised his arms in defense, sparks flying as their blades scraped off each other. Fade kicked back, knocking Otherfade through some shelving."Not gonna ask me to surrender first?" he asked."Well, seeing as we're both the same person, I'd like to think I know you," said Otherfade, jumping back to his feet and slashing wildly. "Come on, would either of us really surrender in a situation like this?"[For Science!]

[Korkoa]

IC: Plasmafire burst into flame and flew owards the hole, still holding Stella's wrist. Even if she couldn't fly, he could pull her with him, and there was no way she didn't have the ability to withstand the heat from his flaming hand.

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:Icy claws ripped through the walls of the house as Plasmafire entered it. They reached out at him and Stella as they flew by, trying to drag them into the heavy layer of snow burying the town. Around them the house creaked and groaned, the pressures of the shifting snow around it weakening its aged foundations...[For Science!]

Edited December 26, 2011 by Chronicler of Ko-Koro

[Korkoa]

IC: "We'rescrewedwe'rescrewedwe'rescrewed!" Plasmafire yelled as they flew through the house. He landed in front of the lift and ran inside. "Let's go, Fade's gotta have that thing running by now!"

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

OOC: @TPTI: Okay, i understand XDOkay, so i'm bringing this NPC in, but I have yet to figure out her powers.Also her appearance might change if i find a picture.IC:A little child dressed in rags got closer to X-Blade. His eyes gave off a chilling glare, even the others around would say things like 'hey kid, dont get closer to him' or 'i wouldnt bother him if i were you'. X-blade would have commended them but the little kid got even closer. taking off the hood it was actually a young girl no older than ten or eleven years old. She had mid length dirty red hair, of course the actual hair color was obscured by the garbage remnants."Shouldn't you listen to them? I am a pretty scary guy." he asked. The Girl seemed to ignore him as she pulled the cloth on his head off just a little until she could see his hair and eyes. X-Blade found no urge to push her away when she bent down to his level and was feeling his face with her hands. He saw no fear at all in those eyes, more like a curious child then actually scared. "So, your not afraid of this face then?" she shook her head, "Your not afraid of me in general?" she shook her head again before standing from her spot smiling. X-Blade saw something, this child had a certain light about her.just then someone said, "hey kid, why dont you come with me?" a hand reached out to grab her and she started to resist. as he pulled her away X-Blade just stared. hey, it was nice to see that someone was not scared, but it only lasted a short while. before he could rest, he heard the girl cry out. Then, for some reason X-Blade got up and ran at the man, the man pushed the girl away and tried to reach for something but X-Blade had already landed a punch to his face. The Man was on the ground looking in fear at the white clothed man. his yellow eyes seemed to pierce his soul. it was about now when X-Blade noticed that this guy looked like he worked for someone but it didnt matter when the guy got up and took off running.The Little Girl walked up to him and smiled, "Thank you very much." she said. X-Blade looked at her for a little while before saying, "Why not? Your alot like me in alot of ways huh?" he held out his hand to the girl and she grabbed it enthusiastically while smiling. X-Blade gave a smile, a true smile. Those who are abandoned stay together.

[Chronicler of Ko-Koro]

IC:With a deafening groan the ceiling overhead came in, a flurry of snow pouring down at the basement. Icy claws grabbed at the lift, the mechanisms grinding uselessly as they brought it to a stop. Meanwhile, tendrils of snow wrapped around Stella, threatening to drag her away while she attempted to burn them off.[For Science!]

[Korkoa]

IC: Plasmafire was out of things to scream repeatedly. Instead he just raised his hands, raising the temprature inside the lift as high as he could.Once done with that, he pointed one hand at the snow tendrils, shooting jets of flame at them, while the other hand was pointed at the floor. A tiny, super-concentrated beam of plasma shot out of his finger, essentially creating a plasma cutter. He slowly moved his hand in a wide circle, trying to cut through the floor of the lift.