Gizmo
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Random Encounter! Start hitting me with Initiative checks, folks.
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Introductions were made quickly as the group began trekking through the snow and into the woods, Kimber confidently leading the way. Velkr was particularly interested the colourful patterns of Koshiro's armor and the seamless construction of Sharl's 'plate mail'. For the latter Jotunheim was an eerily quiet void bereft of wireless signals or satellites, only slightly less unsettling for being expected. The former at least didn't have to worry about his origami becoming soggy: his body heat alone wasn't nearly enough to melt the preternatural snow. "Oh, I'm sure nobody's even noticed!" Kimber was assuring Lucy cheerfully, weaving around the impossibly large trees. "We haven't even broken any rules yet! Well, I mean, besides bringing a small army into Jotunheim without using using the Bifröst but Heimdall seemed like such an easy-going guy, he won't mind! Probably!" Further discussion was cut short as a low, primal bellow sounded beyond the massive hill they were climbing up, followed by a thunderous crack of bone on wood with enough force to send a trunk wider that Citizen's robot body was tall careening to one side, knocking loudly against other trees. Between them the heroes could make out fur and curving horns amounting to a creature shaped like a bison and larger than an elephant, battering a path through the woods with its imagination beggaring skull. Behind it two similar creatures replied with bellows of their own. Velkr reached grimly for the great axe strapped to his back. "Aurochs."
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Sekhmet certainly has the robbers' attention! Let me know what Zephyr plans to attempt, shoj!
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Even with literally cat-like reflexes Sekhmet was moving with a purpose such that she came dangerously close to bowling over the abruptly appearing teenager before Oracle could move aside. She still reared up with a suspicious snarl, a solid six feet of muscle rippling as she tensed, the one smouldering golden eye not hidden behind a curtain of black hair studying the glowing girl. It only took the goddess the span of a heartbeat to decide that she wasn't an immediate threat and refocus on the original targets of her formidable ire. "I have not the time for thee, mortal child," she warned in a low rumble that was more growl and enunciation. "Blasphemy most vile demands the holy retribution of an Eye of Ra!" stomping past Oracle toward the jewelry stop with a finger pointing at the end of an outstretched arm. "Hark! Cowardly marauders and false heralds! Thou hast drawn the rage of She Before Whom Evil Trembles down upon thyselves!" The guard at the front of the store swung his staff weapon around to point at her but she continued toward him without any change in pace. "Release these innocents, throw down thy weapons and I shall visit pain down upon thee of which this realm knows only the palest of shadows!" "Uh, don't you, er, thee mean 'or'?" one of the other robbers questioned uncertainly from behind his armored mask, glancing between his fellows and trying to decide whether he needed to keep his wrist-mounted cannon pointed at a hostage or turn it directly on the rapidly nearing goddess. The smile full of slightly too-sharp teeth Sekhmet gave him made him wish she'd go back to scowling.
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"Best behaviour doesn't mean you have to do the fake-happy thing," Kimber began to protest in a low murmur next to Tarva before letting the matter lie with a faint frown. This obviously wasn't the time to get into all of that and if the bravado and forced cheer made the shadow priestess more comfortable around such a large group of unfamiliar people then it wasn't really fair for her to object. "It'll be okay," she promised before speaking up and addressing everyone. "It'll be okay! Animals love me except for the ones that don't! Don't worry too much about the cold, either, the portal should attune everybody to Jotunheim enough that you won't just freeze solid immediately or anything! If anybody's going to remember to plan for exposure it'd be me, eh? Dead girl jokes!" She laughed herself, either oblivious to the macabre nature of the jest or just unbothered by it. "Seriously, though, thank you guys so much. So, so much! I knew I could count on you!" Waving everyone closer, she instructed, "C'mon to the center of the rink. I got it all set up to make it easier to bring through three groups of three besides me." Noticing some of her friends doing a headcount and noticing a discrepancy the phantom coughed awkwardly. "Um. Well. ...Citizen doesn't really count for this. Oh, and you should hold on tight to Hayley, Siobhan! Actually, everybody should probably hold hands, that's not a bad idea!" She closed her eyes and stretched her hands out, feeling for the lines of magic she'd prepared before stopping abruptly and snapping her fingers. "Oh! And hold your breath, if you need to breathe! Almost forgot that bit! Okay, for real now!" Focusing again, Kimber's casual outfit rippled, blurring out of focus for an instant before resolving into a tattered reaper's cloak with the hood casting shadows over her face. A beat later she shot up into the air, nearly reaching the ceiling before diving straight back down, passing through the exact center of the ice and the pattern of runes as disappearing below. For a long, pregnant pause nothing happened. Just as someone opened their mouth to ask if the spell was working the ice exploded with blinding blue light and a deafening crack, the solid surface under their feet reduced to flying shards and plunging them into frigid water that had no place being under the artificial rink. There was a horrible sensation of being pulled downward, picking up speed as they rushed away from the surface, the flaring light giving way to featureless darkness as cold seeped into the core of even those in the group who should have been immune to such feelings. Just before it could become unbearable the sensation was suddenly gone and the heroes were landing with various degrees of grace on snow covered ground, dry and no cooler than the last days of autumn in Freedom City. The white plain stretched out behind them, making it difficult to judge the scale of the jagged mountains on the horizon, while the edge of a forest dominated the landscape in front of them. The trees might have been rowan or spruce if those trees had had pale white bark dotted with black and hanging with icicles, the smallest trunks as wide around as a small car and tall enough to cause vertigo. Kimber was floating nearby near the shoulder of a young man with blue-tinged skin and dressed in dark furs, perhaps a dozen and a half feet tall. With a wide grin, the ghost threw her arms wide. "Ta-daaah~!"
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REAPED BY HGM Ghost Girl Overhauled the formatting and fluff information on the sheet as a whole. Title of the page should be changed to "Ghost Girl (PL 12 [15]) - Gizmo" 49PP to spend! 2PP: +2 Charisma2PP: +2 Will Save1PP: +5 Knowledge [Arcane Lore], -1 Intimidate (offset by increased Charisma)4PP: Adding additional Alternate powers to her Friendship is Magic Array: 40PP: Adding the Soul Scythe! Full Sheet With Edits
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Jack like to think he was pretty quick on the uptake but after spending the better part of the day chasing his pointy-eared doppelganger around the city finding the bizarre copy breaking into the offices of a dirty politician alongside a chatty young heroine took him a moment to process. He looked between them with an expression that suggested he was willing the absurdity of the situation to take on physical form so that he could stab it before cracking his neck to one side with an audible pop. "Alright, sure. Fine. It's not like I'm a sleep-deprived old man who doesn't need this-- Fine. Fine!" Throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation he brought one down to point at the Meta-Jack. "How do you know about this Bench guy?" "Bench is no good, two bit, horse thief of a varmint!" his imperfect reflect explained animatedly, pivoting from his head to join Echo in righting himself until his feet were again on solid ground. "Ooh, that gonif! The angeber! That one is a real--" "I get the picture, already," the more convincing Jack interrupted, with a thoughtful frown. "My swordy sense tells me something hinky is going on above and beyond stuffing the ballot box and it sounds like I'm coming in late. What've you found out so far, Escher Girl?"
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"Well I'm glad somebody asked!" Kimber enthused, bobbing a little higher into the air. "A soul scythe is an object of power. Remember Cor-- er, Cobalt Templar's ring? Kinda like that! Only not a ring. And also no blue fire or armor or energy constructs or-- Actually, forget that part. The main thing is that it's really strong and really hard to make! It's a piece of the barrier between life and death fashioned into, well, into a weapon, really." She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, an odd motion for someone hanging weightless in the air. This was the part that she was less comfortable talking about. She probably could have figured out a solution for her condition that didn't come with the dangerous potential of the scythe but that wouldn't have done anything to help her protect her friends. It wasn't enough to just clean up after uncaring fate, she wanted the strength to take control of that destiny. Clearing her throat, she nodded toward the nondescript duffel bag Eve was keeping an eye on over by the rink's bleachers. "Normally that means either getting one as a gift from a god or some other big deal type or, um... 'Plan B' is pretty gross. But that's fine because I figured out a better way! See, if you set up a resonance between minor artifacts of relevant quintessence in an intersection of harmonic--" Realizing that half of the room already knew this stuff and the other half didn't actually care about the specifics, she stopped short of launching into a dissertation length elucidation. "We're going to use some stuff I collected in a special spot in Jotunheim to cheat it, basically. And, um, that's where the 'maybe a bad idea' part comes in because there are some... beings that don't really like it when you cheat." Biting her lower lip she looked about the room to gauge how the explanation was going over.
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"Well naturally, oh charming champion!" Set crooned, voice smooth as golden honey as he slid gracefully closer to Temperance on the ice sled. "Enjoyment be assured in the company of-- hrm." The godling stopped short of finishing that though, something feeling just off enough to make him uneasy. It wasn't Madame Marvelous being trussed up in ice at the back of the platform; Set did his best work in front of an audience, really. Making a genuine if characteristically effusive pass at the elementalist while Citizen was off racing against time to save an innocent's life, however, seemed... unsporting? You have a higher opinion of Temperance's grasp of object permanence, surely, he chided himself internally. No, she was obviously more than capable of making decisions without the options physically represented in front of her. Still, this felt like settling and Set was not a deity work dealt in half-measures. Instead, he bowed deeply, his smile simultaneously more contained and warmer as he rose. "We three made a team worthy of the telling, aye." Eying the recognizable emblem of STAR rapidly approaching he puffed out his chest in a pose of comically exaggerated indignation. "But hold! 'Shame about the chaos'?! Cutting words to the crown prince of chance! The raja of the random!" He placed his hands over his chest as though mortally wounded, swooning.
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"Eh? Oh! No, no, Citizen just, er..." Kimber blinked as it occurred to her that Sharl was going to read very strangely to some of the magic practitioners present. She'd been a bit worried about the hero of Tronik putting his holographic foot in his mouth over 'primitive superstition' but it hadn't occurred to her that it worked both ways to some degree. She turned her head and did her best not to react to how close Tarva had leaned in to whisper to her. "He doesn't really have... a soul, strictly speaking. And you're going to be nice about that, okay? Promise me?" She scooted back just enough in the air to point a finger at the shadow priestess that was aiming for stern and came across more affectionate than anything. "This is our chance to prove to everybody that you're better than whatever they've heard. Yeah? Yeah." She knew Dimitri would have read a thing or two in the Freedom League's files and Eric's death senses were even more acute than her own, but she was hoping they'd wait to draw any conclusions. The last thing Tarva needed was anyone reenforcing her self-loathing like that 'freedrone' from the park. "Okay, big speech time!" Looking from face to face she started by addressing Lucy's entirely reasonable concerns. "It's not not dangerous," she admitted, trying and failing not to grin in Siobhan's direction for the dry assessment of their overall sensibleness. "But that's why I asked so many people to come! With everybody working together I'm sure it's going to be fine, for sure! And... and it is something I need to do." She took a deep breath, or at least went through the motions for the sake of the affectation and pushed on. "Everybody here knows I'm way to one end of the incorporeal spectrum for undead. If I weren't a poltergeist I wouldn't even be able to move stuff with my mind and I try not to make a thing about it all the time but, well, it's pretty garbage." The translucent blue woman folded her arms over her chest, serious now. "There's all sorts of temporary fixes, like, ahem, shadow magic or the way Avro's innate abilities work but that's more about other people being able to interact with me than the other way around and the other options are mostly walking around in a meat suit and just ew. Seriously. Not everybody's corpse gets to stay all fresh, you know!" She mustered up a grin for Dimitri and Lucy but her expression became sober again soon enough. "So I've been doing a lot of research and then a lot of other work and now I've finally got a plan I'm happy with. That's why I need everybody's help: to forge a soul scythe."
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The OOC!
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July 12, 2015 "Bequeath all of thy paltry trinkets unto my satchel or face the wrath my master!" the armored figure shouted at the terrified sales clerk from behind a gold and sapphire hued helmet styled to be reminiscent of a baboon. The plasma cannons built into his gauntlets, used moments before to blast sizable holes in the lavish skylights of the jewelry store, said that the armor was cutting edge while the style and decoration were obviously nods to a much older aesthetic. Behind him another five brigands in similarly ancient Egyptian themed power armor were busying themselves smashing into glass displays and cowing patrons and employees alike into silence. One stood at the doorway, wielding a massive spear that on a second glance was tipped with an intimidating barrel rather than a pointed blade and making it clear to mall security and good samaritans alike that they would do better to simply wait for the robbery to be over. Already the normally busy walkway of the shopping center's second floor had been deserted by civilians. Licking his lips, the shop's manager, a well dressed man with a shaved head and impeccable goatee, looked at the sack being held in front of him and nodded jerkily. "O-of course. Let me just--" Left hand inches from the silent alarm trigger below the display he abruptly found his field of view dominated by that same wrist mounted blaster, the heat from its first discharge still radiating from it like the hot breath of a predator. "Test not the patience of a servant to the gods, mortal!" the thief snarled, towering almost a full head over his victim. "The jewels! Now!"
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"Oh my jams, you're like a big metal teddy bear!" Kimber gaped at Sharl's robotic body, floating around in a wide circle to get a better look at the rotund frame. After what she'd seen during the Curator's attack on Tronik is was hard not to think of this as just a copy of her Sharl, a clone at best, an imposter at worst. But this Sharl had come to help when she'd asked, this Sharl was still her friend and she had to admit that she hadn't been holding up her end of that friendship. This Sharl was also still clearly a huge dork, based on his 'outfit'. As Equinox and Temperance arrived she took a moment to give the computerized hero a mischievous grin. "Bet you my corporeal plan is better, though, even if it does use magic." She looked from Sharl to Koshiro, beaming. "It's so totally great to see you guys again, truly. Thanks for coming." Floating back a few paces and rising into the air overhead she shot Siobhan a grateful look at the encouragement and waved back to Eliza. "I called ahead and asked Velkr to meet us on the other side! The thing with Heimdall and Ymir's heart was kind of a big deal in Jotunheim, I guess!" Looking over the assembled group, she clapped her hands. "Okay, that's everybody who said they could make it! Thank you all so much, everybody, seriously! Not everybody's heard the whole plan yet so I'll go over that real quick but first maybe some introductions? I don't think everybody knows everybody yet!"
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"Probably readier that you, Uncle," Kimber teased Dimitri fondly, a mirror of his scarf in blue snaking itself around her neck before disappearing with as little explanation as it had appeared. Unlike her the jovial draugr took no comfort in the cold and she appreciated the sacrifice helping with this particular errand represented for him. "I set up the runes like you showed me, just scaled up a little bit! If you wanted to double check it all, though, that probably wouldn't hurt?" She gave him the sheepish smile of a student embarrassed to be colouring outside the lines in front of a teacher. She gave Eric and Lucy a big wave when she spotted them near the doors from the rink's lobby but like Indira most of her excitement was directed toward the dark haired young man and his multicoloured entrance. "You made it!" she cheered, zooming over just behind the Kinigosi warrior and bouncing up and down in the air in lieu of being able to wrap their classmate in a hug. "And you're all respectable now! Handsome, even! ...pretend I didn't sound so surprised." Her deadpan didn't make it through more than a syllable or two before it was replaced with a cheeky ear-to-ear grin.
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"Well, this one isn't going to change," the red version of Jack insisted, still hovering upside down in the air, at the same time the one who'd just entered in through the rear door answered, "Yeah, we get a bulk discount, it's swell." The former grinned and tucked into a somersault, dropping to the floor in a three point landing while the latter grimaced and rubbed his temples in aggravation. Echo's gravity defying antics didn't seem to be helping his headache, either. "Dios, save me from white haired girls," he muttered before giving the young woman a more scrutinizing look. "Who are you supposed to be again? Besides the upside down fashion police, 'cause I've got a buddy who sticks to ceilings and wears lime green if you want to go bother him instead. I'm kinda in the middle of a thing, here." He looked around the room as he worked his way down his list of immediate priorities. "Here being... what, a campaign office? You running for office now, you two pound bag of crazy?" he accused his doppelganger.
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Incursion Incursion: Prologue Praetorians: Awakening Incursion: Three If By Space Incursion: Holding the Fort Incursion: Phase One Incursion: Blood in the Water A Lor refugee cruiser has become separated from the evacuated fleet! Can our heroes defend it from Communion fighters long enough to make it to safety? Featuring: Paradigm, Kharag, Deep Freeze and Seika Incursion: Meaning in Destruction The world-killer has set course for another world. The clock is ticking as our heroes try to discover why and escape with their lives! Featuring: Dragonid, Moon-Moth, The Traveller and Solar Sentinel Incursion: The Conquered Flesh The Stellar Khanate has been silent since the Communion first arrived in known space. Cavalier recruits blockade runners to find out the terrifying reason! Featuring: Cavalier, Eclipse and Rock Incursion: Opportunists and Opposition The remaining Star Knights are spread thin and pirate attacks have surged! But are interstellar brigands the worst our heroes have to fear? Featuring: Corona, Mechanized, Memorial and Galvanic Incursion: Backwater They came for a bounty but our heroes much deal with a corrupt sheriff, overcrowded refugees and rising tensions if they plan to make it back to civilized space! Featuring: Bliss, Roulette and Ruby Voxx Incursion: Phase Two The silent night of December 25th is broken by the arrival of a threat from the stars! The worst has come to pass and the Communion has come for Earth! With attacks on every corner of the globe the heroes of Freedom City must leave the familiar rooftops of their home city behind to defend their planet from utter destruction! Incursion: Stop-Thrust The members of the Freedom League organizing the defense of Earth from aboard the Lighthouse find that something is trying to turn their own weapons against them! Featuring: Comrade Frost, Fleur de Joie, Gabriel, Gaian Knight and Velocity Incursion: Drop the Needle The Communion's arrival has awakened something buried deep beneath Seattle's Space Needle and it might take three Erin Whites to save the day! Featuring: Cannonade, Cobalt Templar, Edge, Midnight II and Wander Incursion: That's Amore Dragonfly and Miss Americana have a plan for a defensive weapon using the Farsider's moonstone as a focus. The Communion has a plan to blow the moon into itty bitty pieces! Featuring: Dragonfly, Geckoman, Harrier, Jack of all Blades, Miss Americana and Willow Incursion: Uploaded to the Cloud As news of the invasion spreads and threats reveal themselves, a charismatic cult leader in Rio de Janeiro is on the rise! Dark magic or cosmic charlatans?! Featuring: Equinox, Ghost Girl, Nick Cimitiere, Nightingale, Phantasmo and Wraith Incursion: Spirit of the Blitz Communion needleship drones focus on the UNISON HQ in Geneva, which houses may of Earth's space flight capable combat craft! The Vanguard and their allies stand in the way! Featuring: Coiled Lightning, Foreshadow II, Myrmidon, Synapse, Ulysses and Young Britannia Incursion: God Squad Typhon plans to usher in the apocalypse by turning nanotech drones near the Naqada necropolis into cyborg versions of mythical monsters! Who ya gonna call? Featuring: Arrowhawk, Meatheral, Miras, Set and Sun Walker Incursion: Mind Over Matter The Communion's broadcast is laying siege to the psychically receptive minds of Earth! Our heroes use the Arecibo Observatory to meet the threat head-on on the astral plane! Featuring: Blue Fox, Hologram, Miss Grue and Nano Angel Incursion: Matter Over Mind While the psychic heroes fight the broadcast, their bodies are vulnerable! A second team must defend them against waves of Communion drones! Featuring: Fast-Forward, Grimalkin, Net Fly, Queenie, Silver Magus and Triakosia Incursion: Science Team Go! A computronium bomb hits the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia, converting everything it touches! Our heroes race to stop a grey goo scenario! Featuring: Asad, Citizen, Hronos, Maxima and Terrifica Praetorians: Ghost in the Machine Incursion: Phase Three While Earth has lay under siege the rest of the galaxy has burned with war. The Communion continues to sweep over world after world, converting most into horrific server tombs to fuels it insatiable hunger to expand its intellect and destroying others outright to create wormholes for some more diabolical purpose. It does not do so unopposed, however, as the Galactic Coalition fights back at every turn! Lor mentats soldier on shoulder to shoulder with Grue Arcane while Khanate pirates take up arms alongside newly awakened Praetorians in a battle for their very survival! They are outnumbered and overpowered but they have a plan. Legends are about to be born and one way or another the galaxy will never be the same. Incursion: Black Sheep For months Star Knight Kyle Steward has been a one man armored thorn in the Communion's paw. An ally arrives to help and catch him up on what he's missed in the meantime. Incursion: Red Five The Communion's machinations on Earth have been thwarted but the world-killer still looms near Pluto's orbit! Can our heroes destroy the superweapon before their home joins Lor-Van? Featuring: Argonaut, Cavalier, Geckoman, Hronos and Sun Walker Incursion: Merciless At the Coalition's secret base a final, desperate stratagem is being planned. It becomes much more desperate when the communed Star-Khan arrives to quash the resistance once and for all! Featuring: Galvanic, Paradigm and Rock Incursion: Troopers Behind enemy lines on a cyberformed server world our heroes must lead grudging allies from the Lor, Grue and more in an assault on a key communication relay before time runs out! Featuring: Corona, Eclipse, Roulette and Wander Incursion: Blockade Runners To get vital intelligence regarding the location of the Communion mothership back to the Coalition our heroes will have to fight their way off world and through an enemy blockade! Featuring: Bliss, Dragonid, Ghost Girl, Kharag and Wraith Incursion: Interstellar 66 With another world targeted for destruction to form another wormhole a risky deal must be struck. Are our heroes sure they're aligning themselves with the lesser of two evils? Featuring: Dragonfly, Deep Freeze, Ruby Voxx and The Traveller Incursion: Only Hope There's just one chance to infiltrate the Communion mothership and disable it from the inside, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance! Featuring: Citizen, Mater Vyrdna, Moon Moth, Seika and Temperance Incursion: Aftershocks
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The OOC! To start off with the DuTempts Building crew are already at the ice rink with Kimber any everyone else can begin arriving! Nick, Equinox and Frost should all have a general idea of what Kimber's been working on since she'd have asked them for their professional opinions along the way. I'll leave it to each of you how complete a picture of the final goal you think they'd have. She'd have likewise let Temperance know she needed help with something involving Jotunheim and made a weak attempt to coach the whole thing in technobabble for Citizen's peace of mind. Papercut and Revenant may only know that Kimber asked for their help and that there's a non-zero chance that there's going to be some monster fighting involved. Kimber's friends from True North are stuck dealing with another Igneous (lava men) crisis, which Frost and Blue Fox would certainly know about, if it comes up.
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July 11, 2015 Kimber finished etching the last rune into the surface of the ice with a telekinetically controlled chisel before floating a few meters into the air to survey her work critically. After the better part of two years of preparation and careful work she wasn't going to let the arcane ritual equivalent of a typo ruin everything now, especially now with so many of her friends on the way to help pull off her plan. Indira and Eve were already waiting on the bleachers on the other side of the plexiglass, the latter having been convinced to rent out the indoor ice rink for the day with only a minimum of pleading. Kimber had asked Tarva to head up to the announcer's booth so that she could double check the complex circles of inscribed sigils that made up the first step of the day's undertaking. Satisfied with the results, the poltergeist nodded and turned to her friends, hands on her hips. "Good to go! Just in time, too! Everybody should be getting here pretty soon!"
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Fitting himself against Erin, Trevor rotated their intertwined hands to make sure that the ring was indeed on her finger and he hadn't somehow dreamed the whole thing. "He would be," he agreed without hesitation, turning his head to look out at the darkening sky over the water. Thinking about his grandfather in the past tense still felt like being held underwater, tightness in his chest and the disorientation of not knowing which way was up. The solid, reassuring presence of the woman beside him, however, was all he needed to bring his world back into focus and air back into his lungs, safe in the knowledge that being worthy of her surely meant that he had grown to be the man Travis had raised him to be. Reaching over with his free hand, he pulled his sunglasses from his hat and tucked them away in a jacket pocket before lifting the fedora itself and placing it atop his head, where it sat comfortably indeed.
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"I'm like eighty-seven percent worry by volume," Kimber groaned, letting her head fall backward through the empty air to look at Indira upside down. Avro made a demanding little sound and the ghost accommodated him by reaching a hand down to the tent's floor to scratch him fondly behind the ears. "Yes, I heard about the rodent, thank you! Did you have fun? I bet you did!" Playing with the manticore seemed to cheer her up a bit and she helped him up onto her chest where a night of scampering about with the indefatigable Kinigosi seemed to catch up with him all at once. With a yawn that revealed a mouthful of shark's teeth, the kitten hunkered down and promptly began dozing while Kimber continued to run her fingers through his quills with a tired laugh. "I guess things aren't so bad, no. Good point." Morning came soon enough and the hike back through the woods felt very different in the light of day. Kimber was noticeably quieter than usual, almost reticent, but she maintained a characteristically cheerful disposition whenever anyone asked her a question. Eve and Becky had plans with the latter's family once they made it back into Thunder Bay while the others killed time around the city as inconspicuously as possible until their flight back home. As they jet took off from the runway Kimber considered the bone floating above her outstretched palms with mixed feelings.
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"Is this one? Reckon it must surely be so! Wie peinlich!" Crouching slightly the bright red skinned figure suddenly blurred into a royal blue streak as a surge of superhuman speed took him across the office floor, straight up the back wall and over the ceiling to stand face to face with Echo. It took the journalism student a moment to realize that the shapeshifter's feet weren't actually stuck to the ceiling; rather he seemed to simply be floating upside down, floating under his own power. "Bench is a fershtinkiner, bro-sis! This one will bring him and his posse to justice!" While the strange figure posed righteously to underscore his assertion, the back door swung open again as another man burst in, looking slightly winded and extremely annoyed. He wore the same costume as the shapeshifter but the rapier of solid flame in his right hand and the lack of pointed ears certainly matched what Echo had been expecting of Jack of all Blades more closely. "There you are!" he exclaimed with a scowl. "What the hell are you doing in here?" "Howdy, other Jack!" the shapeshifter greeted genially, waving to the newcomer. "This one is having a team-up!"
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"Hold that thought," Trevor asked with a short snort of amusement. Jogging over to the edge of the platform he placed a hand to the side of his mouth and called downward, "She said yes." There was no way any human ear could have caught the words over the sound of the wind and traffic below but immediately the door panels of the sedan parked below erupted with a neon red wing pattern and the back end reconfigured itself into a collection of skyward facing tubes. With a chorus of thumping discharges the cannons sent streaks of brilliant red, vivid blue and impossible violet into the air where they exploded into cascades of beautiful sparks high above the bridge. Faintly the newly engaged couple could hear a bellowed, "HUZZAH!"
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"Preaching to the choir," the Latina lesbian drawled, putting a dome shaped force field around the unconscious man rather than risking trying to remove his bomb vest before the experts could arrive. That done she gave Wildcat a look that made it clear his little lapse in control hadn't gone unnoticed even if she seemed uncommonly unconcerned about it. Considering for a moment, she reached into the back pocket of her black pants and produced a small white rectangle of cardstock, then rummaged around in her crimson jacket for a pen. "Here," she told the feral rookie as she scrawled an address on the back of the card before handing it to him. The front side was dominated by an embossed capital letter I with a phone number printed underneath it in an off-white that was only readable from certain angles. The address written in quickly drying red ink on the reverse side he recognized as belonging to a street in the West End. "You run into something you need backup on, give the number a call," Jill explained, folding her arms across her chest to make it clear that it had better be a real emergency if he took her up on the offer. "The address if for a self-defense school in the neighbourhood. They offer... advanced classes, might help you get a handle on that tabby rattling your cage. Or not," she added gruffly, with an airy wave. "I'm not your mother."
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Thin wisps of midnight mist were stinging Trevor's eyes by the time Erin broke off the kiss but the corners of his mouth hurt more than that from smiling. With long, lean fingers that could strip sensitive electronics in the middle of a fire fight but shook ever so slightly now he removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto Erin's finger. Even after all of the times he'd checked and double-checked his measurements he still let out a soft sigh of relief to find that it fit perfectly. Cupping her hand in his own, he stared at the gleaming impervium and dark diamond against pale skin for a moment to convince himself that what he was seeing was real before bringing his opposite hand to her cheek and laughing happily pulled his fiance into another kiss.
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For once Trevor's immaculate deadpan faltered, Erin's expression pulling his lips into a smile. He took a deep breath, forcing those lips to form far more words than he usually deigned to give over to any one topic. "Erin, you are the most courageous, determined, beautiful, relentlessly wonderful person I have ever and will ever meet." There was a matter-of-factness to his explanation that would have suited quoting the measurable qualities of a new engine or armor weave. "There is no part of my life -- of me -- that you don't make infinitely better." Speaking this way, transmuting emotion into sentences wasn't something that came easily to him but on the subject of his love he could write sonnets if need be. "I can't begin to imagine any future where I'm not by your side." With his thumb he pushed up on the lid of the box, which snapped accommodatingly open with a soft click. Inside was a graceful loop of impervium polished to a radiant shine, catching and reflecting the glow of the sunset. The arms of the metal curled around to clasp a perfect black diamond, delicately cut so that some of its facets refracted the light while others seemed wrapped in velvety dark. Mouth dry, Trevor pushed forward. "Would you do me the immeasurable honour of agreeing to marry me?"
