Sophistemon

"I didn't start that way," admitted Sam. "I was all thumbs when I was a kid; it drove my father crazy. It wasn't until I got into my former career that I learned how to handle a toolbox." He smiled, wistfully, lost in memory. "I used to build my own props back then, before my agents started hiring people to do it for me." He took a bite of a pizza that was decidedly non-Kosher and polished off a beer to wash it down. "I can't thank you guys enough for this," he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Really, I don't know what to say. I'm overwhelmed." He chuckled. "I mean, if there's anything that I can do to repay you, just name it and it's done. I'm not without resources, after all."

I like where this is going. @Exaccus Barring any conflicting opinions, and due to my having dropped the ball on this more than once already, I'm content with assuming Dr. Deoxy successfully jury-rigged his tracking device while the others were busy with their side-plots. He would have had at least an hour (probably closer to three) to work on it while Miracle Girl and Sea Devil were scouring movies for the clown, so the timetable shouldn't be an issue. Does that sound good to you? Your skill-ranks would make rolling for success a borderline redundancy regardless.

"Roger that," buzzed Upgrade. He enhanced the energy flow to his thrusters, picking up speed so as to overtake the Horned Dragon. He flipped his radio to external and his voice boomed out into the sky. "Horned Dragon! You are wanted for questioning! Records show you as a suspect in no fewer than three unsolved crimes. Reduce your speed, land, and come peaceably or I will be forced to fire upon you. This is your one and only warning!" Ethan reached over and keyed in the authorization code that unlocked the AMP's various weapon systems. A low, menacing hum permeated the cockpit as the X-09's full military might was readied to engage the enemy.

Samuel motioned with his hand and the confidentiality agreement reappeared between his fingers exactly as it had been, save for one minor detail: now, it was signed. He handed it back over to agent Warne with a sly smile. "If you could," he said. "I'd appreciate it. Alton and I aren't so different, I think. Magic is... seductive. Alluring. There's a desire to have more and a willingness to do things that you normally wouldn't to get it. I wasn't lying when I said it was like a drug. Starlight was just more... literal than is normal." He reached into a pocket and withdrew a paper rectangle. When he passed that over to Warne, the AEGIS agent could see that it was a tarot card. Specifically, it was the Magician. "My card," he explained, and chuckled. "This was... not fun, Warne. But it was interesting, and it feels good to have done something worthwhile. If you need my help again, just give me a call." The sorcerer smiled, whispered a word and vanished into thin air, which closed around the suddenly empty spot with a faint pop. When Warne looked back down at the card in his hand, he could see that it had changed -- now it appeared to be a plain black rectangle with the words SAMUEL STEINER, MAGICIAN embossed across the center in silver type, with a phone number printed underneath. Should he turn it over, he'd find three more words in bold, brash print: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED.

Samuel breathed deeply as things unfolded around him. The night was cool, and a pleasant breeze blew by with just enough force to gently ruffle his hair. He had removed his mask, securing it away in the same secretive pocket that held his wand, and had ordered his magical suit to resemble nothing more ostentatious than business casual. His good mood was darkened when he saw the captured magicians led away, their guilt by association already being determined, but he managed to shake those feelings from his mind as the pixies were brought out and loaded up for transport. As they smiled at him, he raised one hand in a wave and smiled back. He felt good. Baku was defeated, and so soundly that he would likely think twice about trying for revenge. Even if he did, Presto would know to be prepared; creatures like Baku tended to be defined by their nature, stuck in a rut dug out by centuries of ritualistic tradition and unlikely to change. That gave the magician an edge, and he would exploit it if necessary. When Warne approached him, Sam's smile faded. The agent's face was as grim and dour as it had been at the beginning, and Presto wondered if he'd made any kind of positive impression on the man at all. By the end of the conversation, he doubted it. He took the envelope and the free sheet of paper, cast a quick glance over the latter, and then made them both vanish into thin air. No real magic, that; just a simple trick of the hand -- but impressive nonetheless. He nodded, voicelessly stating his understanding, and then turned to look at the house. "I'm sorry he got away," he said. "I just... as stupid as it sounds, I just forgot he was intangible. When I cast the spell that let me hit him, I could have nailed him with anything and I chose the one that went boom. It was a stupid, rookie mistake, Warne." He sighed, then turned back. "But, don't worry about the confidentiality. Trust me, I know all about keeping secrets. You don't have to worry about that from me." He pause, thinking. "What about Bailey? As much trash as I talked, he's not well. He needs to speak to someone; just throwing him in a cage won't help him. Eventually, he'll get back out and we'll have to dance this waltz again; there's no telling what he'll do when that happens."

Presto eyed the stationary body of their enemy, sighed, and dismissed his wand back to the dimensional pocket from whence it came. "I can't believe that," he said, and took a splashing step towards the AEGIS agent. "I've never seen anything like it in all my life, and I used to fight people like you back then. Whatever Alton's gotten himself involved in, it's heavy magic." He shook his head. "I pumped enough electricity into him to power a city block, not to mention all the other damage he took. My God, if I could absorb hits like that, I'd have never gone to prison." He chuckled, nervously, and then cleared his throat. "What did you do to him, Warne? He was just laughing at us until you... well, I couldn't see it, but I know that you hurt him before knocking him out."

Sam watches, horrified, as Adept does something inside of Alton Bailey, his invisible powers of the mind reaching in and squeezing. The mercenary's eyes bug out with pain, and the spell that had begun in Presto's mind fizzles out. He jerks his wand to one side, another blast of freezing air staining the wall with alien ice, and narrows his eyes at the agent. "What are you doing? Look at him! It's over, Warne; this man needs a hospital and... and therapy!"

Attack Roll (Elemental Cold): 1d20+10 13. For Pete's sake.

Sam lowered the wand, aghast. "Bailey, what have you done to yourself?" He looked at Warne. "Agent, I can't... we can't keep wailing on him like this; we might kill him!" He paused, considering his options. Another spell, something less damaging but still powerful enough to pack a punch. Ah, of course. He spoke a few short words in careful succession and then slashed the wand through the air in front of him, tearing open a short-lived breach between this world and the depths of the sea. A gout of water escaped the tear at a ferocious speed, barreling out at Bailey as though sprayed from a particularly powerful fire-hose.

One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and here we go. Attack Roll (Elemental Water): 1d20+10 23.

Sam shook his head. "For what it's worth, Alton," he said. "I'm sorry. I wish this could have ended differently." He spoke the word again and the blazing blue bolt of electricity sparked across the room in a hissing spear of light, aimed dead-center at Bailey's rippling, mutagenic forehead.

More of the same. Attack Roll (Elemental Lightning): 1d20+12 28. Nice!

Presto is going to use his Standard Action to ready an Aim at range. If it succeeds, he'll make his next attack with a +2 bonus to hit.

The magician nodded, then lowered his wand so that the silver tip was centered on the mercenary's forehead, right between the eyebrows would be if Bailey still had them. He was careful, and held his position for a few seconds to steady his aim. "Alton," he said, his voice low. "Alton, it's over. Even if you got out of this, Baku's gone -- I sent him through the wall. If he wasn't knocked out, he's already made his escape by now. That means he left you here, do you understand?" His mouth narrowed to a thin line. "We can end this one of two ways. The first is the hard way. That's how things have been going so far, and it means that you get hurt and carted off to prison. The second way is easier. If you surrender, we can get you help. I know... I know how seductive magic can be, Alton. I know how good the power feels. It's like a drug, and you're addicted. But you can be stronger than that. You can master it, and be a better person than you are. I've done it, and so can you. Give up, take the easy way, and I'll do what I can to help you. Will you do that?"

Punchline starts to chuckle, his guise slowly falling apart as he loses his composure. His lips are first -- the slightly rounded scales that encircle his muzzled maw lose their green and grow pink, then red. The teeth within his mouth change as well, dulling from long, sharp triangles into pearly white squares. As he changes, his voice shifts with him. It goes from Leviathan's recognizable growl into something just a little too high, a little too manic to be natural. By the time he's doubled over, clutching his stomach and belching laughter, he's back to his normal self -- or whatever it is that passes for 'normal' when Punchline is involved. Except... when he looks up, barely containing his giggles, Leviathan sees the pupils in his eyes are the same reptilian slits as his own for just a few moments more, before they vanish into the slightly glowing yellow orbs that he'd had when the young genius first saw him. "Don't you get it, Jolly-Green?" he asks, his voice still shaking with guffaws. "We're out of the toy-store, but we're inside the toy-box!" He flings his arms wide, fingers splayed, and crows. "I'm game!" he shouts. "What's next?"

@Avenger Assembled, @Exaccus, & @Heritage The projectionist raises a hand to gather attention. "Here," he says. "Let me show you; I've got the time-codes written down." He leaps into a computer chair and inserts one of the DVDs -- the one starring Rhekgar -- into a disc-drive, keying up the movie and locating the proper frame. There, half-hidden in the crowd, is the clown: white face, tattered clothes, ratty sign, and all. "I've never seen this before in my life," explains the man. "And I've seen this movie, man, it must be a thousand times. It's like a yearly tradition for me to watch it around my birthday." He ejects the disc, inserts another, and keys in his second appearance. "He shows up like this in every movie. Same clown, same sign... when he has a sign, that is. Sometimes he's more beat up, sometimes less, but he's always there." He turns to face the assembled heroes. "I mean, is that the creepiest thing in the world, or what?" @Blarghy Chalmers sucks air through his teeth in a sort of auditory shrug. "Hell if I know, Warne; last I heard the two girls were watching movies and the brainiac was tinkering down in the labs. Somebody might have sent me a text with a progress report or something but I can't work this damn thing to save my life. I miss memos. Heck, if we went back to the beeper system that would be something but now I have to figure out these cockamamie smart-phones and I'm completely out of my element. Oh, speaking of which, here comes a digital warrant. That'll get you in her apartment without any lawyers breathing down your neck." Warne can hear the Colonel typing away, sending an email attachment. "So far as I'm concerned, you can handle this alone. You're the psychic juggernaut, right? If you can't get answers out of one nerdy shut-in, I'll have to reconsider your usefulness." There's humor in his voice, but it's hidden behind several feet of granite. Warne can probably empathize. "Find out if Brown knows anything, or if she knows anyone who does know anything, and we can count this particular loose end tied off."

Presto grinned, pleased at the damage that he'd wrought on Bailey, and lowered his wand for another blast. He spoke a word of power to conjure up another bolt of mystic lightning, but then Warne telekentically clobbered the shape-shifted monster forward, and out of the line of fire. The bolt sizzled through the air, narrowly missing the AEGIS agent, and left an arcing scorch-mark that bled molten metal on the far wall. Samuel winced and made a face, eyes wide, and then attempted to replace his embarrassment with indignation. "Warne! Be careful where you knock him around; I've got to get a bead on him to land a hit and I could have taken your head off with that one!"

Another bolt of elemental lightning, then. Attack Roll (Elemental Lightning): 1d20+10 13. Well gosh-darn.

Samuel paused, a spoonful of soup suspended in midair halfway between the bowl and his mouth. He smiled, then shook his head. "Thank you, really, but that's unnecessary. To be frank, I've been living below my means now for a while. I don't know that I could have moved out, but I could have afforded a few more luxuries that I just never got around to. It's been busy, you know?" He grinned. "Anyway, don't think me so down on my luck; in case you've forgotten, I've had more than my fair share of hedonism for one lifetime. This is more like... being brought back down to normal, really." He drank the soup, then returned the spoon to the bowl. "In any case, it's about time that I started handling my own affairs. You've both been so generous... I don't want to get dependent!" He chuckled, then sighed. "I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you. Going through Al-Kazar's things is more of a privilege than a job... but don't worry, I'll think of something!"

"Roger," Upgrade boomed, his voice crackling through the radio. "Will comply; we'll rendezvous after intercept. Keep an eye on the Gas Man -- don't let him get away!" Inside the AMP, Ethan's fingers tapped out a few commands on a control panel and then initiated pursuit. He devoted enough energy to catch up to the unknown individual without overtaking him, the X-09's thrusters powering up and projecting him speedily through the sky. When he got in range, he switched his radio to external broadcast. "Stop right there!" he called, voice masked by the mechanical filter. "Halt, by order of AEGIS!"

Despite having just barely avoiding a super-powered pummeling at the flailing limbs of Alton Bailey, Presto was more aghast at the mutated man's inhuman durability. "My God, Alton," he breathed. "That was the Wind of Ithaqua! What on Earth are you made of?" And then Warne motioned, ever so slightly, and the monster was knocked silly by an invisible force. Presto cast a glance at Warne when the older man issued the order and muttered something under his breath. "Mister Johnny-Come-Lately," it might have been, but it wasn't really important in the grand scheme of things. Presto took a few steps back, hoping to make the most of his enemy's fugue, and leveled his wand at Alton's enormous heaving chest. "You ran a good race, Alton," he said, his smile reduced but still present on his face. "But it wasn't quite good enough. It's time to close the curtain." He spoke, and thunder boomed as a bolt of lightning streaked from the silver tip of the wand. Electricity split the air, crackling, as the scent of ozone permeated the room. The sizzling electricity barreled across the distance between magician and monster, zig-zagging towards Alton's abdomen.

Okay, here we go. Attack Roll (Elemental Electricity): 1d20+10 23. Hey, all right! If the last one hit him, this one is sure to!

@Avenger Assembled, @Heritage, & @Exaccus The two heroines leave the viewing room and rush as fast as their legs can carry them -- with Sea Devil in particular making her way through the hallways by literal leaps and bounds -- through the winding corridors of the AEGIS complex. They are followed by the hapless projectionist, who has had the foresight to gather up the relevant tapes and rush after them, pausing only for roughly three seconds to assemble a half-hearted sandwich for himself out of the contents of the abandoned snack tray. The three of them reach the elevator and, using the code provided by Colonel Chalmers, make haste to the lower levels and the labs contained therein. Doctor Deoxy's conversation with Doctor Marley is interrupted when the doors to the room slide open with an annoyed pneumatic hiss. The two heroes and one bespectacled agent of AEGIS bundle into the workstation and home in on him like heat-seeking missiles with something clearly on their minds. @Blarghy After leaving the final electronics depot, Agent Warne's phone begins to buzz insistently within the confines of his pocket. The device rattles against a ring of keys, two quarters, one stick of gum, and three extra-strength breath mints that he carries to reduce the unfortunate aftermath of his frequent smoke-breaks. When Warne answers, Colonel Chalmer's gruff, bulldog voices starts barking in his ear. "Sorry for the delayed response; we've had some of the eggheads look into it," the bureaucrat explains. "And they're pretty sure that they've located the website's owner -- she lives in the city, which is weirdly coincidental. Not that I'm complaining, of course; it means that you can head over there and find out if she knows anything about what's going on. Her name is Gabby Brown, and she lives in Grenville. I'm emailing you the address now." There's a pause, and then a muffled swear. "Hold on, Warne, I mis-clicked something and CC'd the entire department. One second." A moment later, a small ping indicated that an email had arrived. "There. Modern technology, Warne. I'll never understand it. Remember when we did everything with a pen?"

@Exaccus With Miracle Girl and Sea Devil on their way to show Doctor Deoxy what they've found, I imagine that he's going to be busy with that, unless you have other plans? @Blarghy I think that the others will be busy dealing with the clown in the films for the time being, which should affords you enough time to play Lone Wolf and do some investigating of the more traditional sort. Everyone, expect a fresh post in within the hour; I'm already typing.

Ethan, from his position on-high, is somewhat at a loss for what to do. If he intervened, the element of surprise that they'd been so carefully cultivating so far went right out the window. Upgrade's mechanical voice crackled through the radio. "Upgrade to Adept -- this wasn't in the plan! Repeat: mission is going FUBAR. Requesting course of action?" With the man airborne, Stone hoped that he wouldn't fly high enough to get a good look at his battlesuit. He could ascend to even greater heights to avoid detection, but that would bring the Gas Man out of sensory range. He could intervene, leaving Gas Man to Bonfire and Adept, but doing so would violate established mission parameters.