Avenger Assembled

"Excellent." They made plans to rendezvous at the building across the street the next day in the late afternoon - the 'shroom-selling clerk would be on duty, and they could reconnoiter the site before launching their combination sting-prank. They could see the offices of YOUR CHOICE MEDICINE across the street, shuttered against the night, with images of happy families on the glass that belied the reality of their false cures. "Message me when you are there." Angelic spread her wings, ready for the take-off. "How will you be dressed?"

The robot and the hologram glared at each other, then glared at Mette, then glared at each other again. The organics in the crew had the distinct impression that a conversation was taking place they couldn't hear, and then Kay said "Oh, very well. This is the Studio, where I make all the holograms you see around Rurland." She gestured to the 'roof', which briefly displayed the sky overhead, then all around them. "Holograms provide education, entertainment, and security for our people - and I don't have to answer to anyone for what I make That is one of the finest things about this place," she added, pride in her projected voice. "We need not fear the censor. You can explore the Studio and its grounds, or do...oh, what you will outside." Eira looked a little chastened - but only a little, as she stuck her hands in her pockets and seemed to stare unfocused at the projection of her friend. "I can stay here and interface with her systems - if she will let me." Kay nodded at that, and Eira walked over to one of the nearby walls. With a sudden gesture of near-violence, she drove her dataspike into one of the wall's ports and stared at the wall, eyes wide open and unfocused.

"Oh, he must!" croaked Daedalus distinctly - and then, with a vibration in the air, the appearance of the armored figure changed. She now was female (though by her tales had always been so) - tall and brawny, wearing blue bib overalls and tall black waders that went up to her knees, with a bright green scarf around her neck adorned with what looked like a bright yellow flower (it was hard to tell, the way it was tied, exactly what that yellow sign was.) She gazed, goggled-eyed and open-mouthed, at the crowd before she declared to the others - "Behold! And all living! Such a world this must be!"

That will make the 'set' and the subsidiary characters disappear - but Danica will remain. As will, well, go ahead and post and you'll see.

"We have lost communication with the prom crew," said the professor, sounding concerned but not particularly alarmed - the way one does when an expected crisis comes? It's hard to tell with al-Salaaf, especially now. "And the doors appear to be jammed. As you know the Doom Room has the ability to counter most superpowers from the inside, but not so much from the outside, hmm? Perhaps you would care to execute a jailbreak for your friends and comrades? And, ah, my fellow faculty members, of course. My own abilities to do things like pry open doors and bend steel are unfortunately lacking." al-Salaaf glanced back at the room behind them and said, "I think Clock Queen's tales will keep the younger students distracted for a while..." - Outside, there didn't seem to be any cause for alarm on-campus - lights were on and the buildings secure, though most students were by now either bunking down or at the party proper. They did have a brief encounter with a disconsolate-looking Sun Dragon and Dio, who reported nothing of interest happening at the prom before their departure - the latter pair heading off to make sure the alarm was sounded if the Claremont students couldn't handle it themselves.

Eira's eyes snapped open wide and her mouth fell open. Without moving her lips, she declared "Jag har inte organiska delar!" before abruptly sitting up. "And I died years ago, Danica." Her metallic silver hair was flat and lifeless behind her and she was distinctly leaking a blue fluid from the interior corner of her eyes. She grabbed Pan's hand tight and said, "Could not have gotten out if you hadn't...cut the walls, good thinking...du är så vacker hur mår du så vacker." She shook herself all over, not a muscular contraction but an actual internal vibration, and said aloud "They're in the walls; they're in the walls..."

"No!" declared Angelic, sounding deeply annoyed. "We are-" She looked away, walking to the edge of the building, then turned back to Gimmick. "We are in Ashton," she hissed. "The scars of the invasion were burned into these people's souls, and into the land itself. Their children are often Terminus mutants. Not the pretty sort like Psyche or Phalanx,' she sneered, "but sick, weak ones who die in pain. There is a small company here that skirts the law by selling colored water and crystals to people with sick children." One of her metal hands had curled into a fist by the time she was done talking. "One of their employees is selling his own drugs on the side. If we happen to catch his masters doing something worse while we watch him, I call that good news."

You distinctly spotted a flicker in Danica - so fast you almost didn't catch it.

"I have already called her," said Angelic, tapping the side of her head with a smirk on her quicksilver face. With her seemingly-organic appearance dismissed, her artificial voice was distinctly low and throaty. "She was very interested to meet two real superheroines." She put some emphasis on the last word, looking Danica up and down, and offered, "You look...cute. She will...underestimate you." That sounded like praise? It was hard to tell with Eira, who didn't seem to praise much of anything at all. Still she helped Danica get her Segway down from the back of the car, and led the way as they headed inside the hotel and to the elevator. Alpine wasn't Freedom City - they got startled exclamations (and a distinct photograph snapped) from the desk clerk as they headed inside. The hotel room turned out to be occupied by "Katie Luvara", as Zuumer420 introduced herself, a statuesque woman who looked distinctly like someone who'd had some good enhancement surgery in the recent past. She was all smiles for the two young heroines at her door, cameras running behind her as she said "Hello and welcome to my special guests, the amazing Angelic and the adorable Chelone!" Cameras and gear aside, Luvara's room was immaculate - not even a wrapper in the trashcan as Angelic and Chelone headed inside. "They're here all the way from Freedom City investigating the real mystery of the Big Bend! You two look _darling_," she said cheerfully, big brown eyes wide. "Is this your first time fighting crime together?"

Angelic studied the camera and said, "There is a group of vultures in Ashton who are feeding off the fear and misery of the people after the invasion - selling them false cures. I want to take them down, and I want to be filmed doing it." She cocked her head and said, "Your technology is acceptable. You may join me if you like. I can arrange payment for you, better equipment, connections, etc. I only need your recording and your promise to delay release so that I may show it first, privately. The recording is...a present."

Daedalus made an awkward noise that sounded distinctly like a mechanical croak as she fastened on her vambrace. "I do not know many of those words - but I am sure they are very important. I am quick, and clever, and I have Daedalus's armor and I can do some of what the shamans do. I don't know their big secrets because they said I was _perverse_ for wearing my armor!" She struck her trident against the ground and added, "Which is not fair! I _found_ it! It is _mine!_" Seeming to notice that she'd gotten louder than the others, she shrunk herself down to four legs and added, "I can breathe in water and in air, and I can jump far, and fly in the armor, and I once killed a whale myself! Oh it had such guts...youuu should call me Daedalus. You could not say my other name."

"I require the services of a cinematographer," replied Angelic. As she spoke, she began cracking her knuckles, chunk-chunk-chunk, her wings folded behind her like a long steel cape. "one capable of capturing the dimensions of a superheroic engagement." She cocked her head with a faintly audible click, then said, "On February 7 you fought a Russian mafiya cell producing illegal guns for the black market. What was the rig you used?" She opened her hand, revealing what looked to be a flat, holographic playback of said video (complete with tinny audio) emerging from her palm, as if to jog his memory.

Not long after his landing, he was joined on the rooftop by a bolt from the black sky above. The robot came down like a silver streak, coming to a landing just above the rooftop with a distinct crackle of blue-white electricity. Her wings were spread, an angel's wings cast in steel and lightning, and she looked him over with a distinct smirk on her mirror-bright face before she spoke in a throaty whisper. "Hmph. I thought you would be taller." The voice was feminine, probably, as those flat white eyes looked him over speculatively. "I am Angelic. I seek your technical expertise."

The OOC

May 2020 Radikal2002 has been a frequent and active presence in the comment section of Gimmick's videos for most of the year - her memes are dank, her counter-trolling epic, and her support for noobs real as long as they don't ask anything too stupid. Her avatar is an atomic symbol, a hydrogen atom, and she's a frequent commenter on various heroic Youtube channels. She doesn't normally extend invitations, or reveal anything about herself. So it's a bit of a surprise when she posts "If you think you have enough, meet me tonight at - and then what looks like a string of random numbers - if you aren't smart enough to decode things like that. From Rot-13 to binary with a trip through a substitution cipher based on the Anarchist's Cookbook comes "323 Carlton Street, Ashton, 9PM." Ashton isn't exactly no go territory but Gimmick knows it's no joke there. Well, that's not true - just not always a very funny one. Much of the suburban community burned during the last Terminus invasion, and though it's been rebuilt, the ground is still haunted by the ghosts of the past - and this area is Ground Zero for the next generation of Terminus mutants. Sometimes strange powers manifest here. Sometimes strange people live here.

Angelic stood up and stabbed the wall under Pan's sword, her dataspike sinking deep into the Doom Room's artificially projected wall. Pan saw her organic shell seem to fade away, her dress hanging awkwardly on Angelic's chrome frame, the robot's lidless eyes glaring with an almost maniacal intensity. For a time she was silent, and when she spoke she hissed from between clenched teeth, and a distinctly blue liquid began leaking from the corners of her eyes as she said, "Jag...tappar...inte." And then, quite unexpectedly, the wall Pan had partially cut away faded entirely, restoring the two of them to the rest of the party - such as it was these days. With the deed done, she briefly collapsed on the floor at Pan's feet. "Um, um, um," said Judy, on the verge of panicking but not quite there yet thanks to Robin's timely intervention. "We know it took Ashley, and the other ad-the other chaperones," she stuttered quickly, "and-" she scrubbed the back of her hand over her eyes, smearing her carefully applied makeup. "And it hurt people when Pan cut the wall, and..." The little knot of people from the squads he knew seemed like Davyd's best bet, particularly the way some of them seemed to have cracked under the strain as they bounced pastries off their feet. "Excuse me!" sneered Shields at Robin, "for all we know, you're part of this! You're Nighthawk, from the class that was all criminals. What are the odds things go wrong the moment someone from _that_ class shows up?" Casanova wasn't nearly as clever as he thought but that didn't make him dumb - it just meant he had a very high opinion of himself. "What did you do, come back for revenge?"

Kay blinked, staring hard at Dee's abdomen for a visible moment. "I...hadn't heard about that. Congratulations." She smiled and embraced Dee again, then greeted the others, switching to Danish for Mette, before shifting back to English. "I'm so glad you are all here. Whichever one of you decides to traipse around while you are here," she said seriously, "please make sure you don't do any permanent damage to a resident. Talos won't do anything worse than arrest you when he catches you, but actually breaking the law would earn you punishment." "What _is_ this?" asked Eira suspiciously, casting her gaze on the blue ocean nearby . If Kay looked at home here Eira seemed the most ill-at-ease, hands in her pockets like a sulky teen dragged along on a vacation. "This is...Cornwall. I remember this beach." "I thought the team might enjoy a familiar scene when they were in an unfamiliar place," said Kay with an easy laugh. "And to see the new me!" She did a little twirl, dropping her beach towel to show that she had indeed grown several inches in height - and seemed to have traded up to a physique closer to a teen beach volleyball player. Eira frowned, looking Kay up and down. "This is why you left?" "I was not the one who left," Kay shot back at Eira. The robot and the projection stared at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment - then the room seemed to flicker before shifting to rows upon rows of holographic projectors - with Kay, faintly flickering, the only thing left. "You see? Total honesty," she said, her tone like someone finishing half of a conversation that the organics in the room had not heard.

"Ready! I eat adventure for breakfast, just like my WHEATIES!" Daedalus croaked cheerfully. Now standing fully upright, she seemed to reach behind herself and produce as if from nothing a trident, green like corroded bronze but barbarically shaped like wrought iron. She struck it against her armored gauntlet, producing a distinct ringing sound. "The stars will be right!"

Eira hesitated as she studied Pan, eyes unfocusing in that look he knew only too well. Her grip was firm as always, and warm, all too human as they touched. They made eye contact and she said, the beginning of bold promise in her voice - "I was watching you before. This time I will be able to follow."

Alas! There's definitely something familiar about the Phantom (not that Phantom) Ice Cream Headache, but you just can't put your finger on it, metal or otherwise.

Oh, and @Fox, give me a DC 25 Notice check too, about a different thing.

"Hah!" said Anna, brightening at the question. "I did that, yeah, back in '68! And you know what, maybe the diamond I won from Set turned out to have a giant snake in it, but that was just the kind of thing you had to take into account when dealing with the Destroyer back in the day." She grinned. "You know, some people who will rename nameless said that was a 'stupid waste of my God-given powers' that 'could have torn the universe apart', but they were crazy, I sure as hell didn't get my powers from no Supreme Being, that's for sure. Kid, you made my day just now." She considered Danica's other comment visibly, adding, "Slow powers, huh, that's...that's quite a thing, sweetie." She took the opportunity to pivot and say "I knew Hepcat! You don't look like some kind of beatnik, though, so I dunno - is there some new one running around these days-" Suddenly, Professor al-Salaf entered and said in a serious voice, "Your pardon, Ms. Cline. Are there any sophomore or junior students present?" Seniors interested in not going to prom usually weren't the sort to sit and watch a distance learning lecture. "I need to speak with you in the hallway. There has been a small, minor incident at prom, and the school could use your services."

@alderwitch, give me a DC 25 Notice check - this one's a toughy!

Pan drove his sword deep into the wall, and indeed the Forever Blade could be clearly seen emerging on the other side like a sudden shaft of light penetrating the room. Eira watched, eyes unfocused, making a cautiously approving noise in the back of her throat. But suddenly Masque, Horrorshow, Nighthawk, and a few others in the suddenly quiet dance hall felt a sensation like they themselves had been stabbed (or had a severe migraine, anyway) lance through their heads - producing gasps and cries from some. Danica seemed to feel the effects too, stumbling slightly just after her declaration, but otherwise looking none the worse for wear even with all eyes briefly on her. The crowd of semi-trained heroes wasn't exactly panicking but they were certainly on edge; some staring at Danica in the wake of the shockingly loud outburst, others going into disaster response mode, others trying to use various superpowers to escape but seeming to find no immediate way out. The murmur was growing, on the edge of something serious. For her part, Judy looked to be near-panic, glowing visibly as she stepped away from the small knot of people around Danica. "We're looking at a trap, Danica! A big, scary trap closing us in! We-we have to get out of here!" she yelled, not seeming to notice Elizabeth, Davyd, or Robin. "The room ain't real!" she said, nuclear energy gathering behind her fingers as she focused on a nearby wall. "If we just blast it hard enough, we'll have to get out of here!" "That's right!" declared Casanova, moving to Judy's side. "We can do this as a team - if we're willing to work together!" Toxin, behind him, wasn't saying anything - instead she was watching Davyd, Elizabeth, and the others feeling the effects of the sudden wall-stab.

Everyone who rolled 15 or below on their Will saves: (Horrorshow, Masque, Nighthawk,