Raveled

Tona's lips quirked. "I'm taking two classes in history," she said, "because I'm not from this world. And even back home, history didn't seem real important, you know? Everything before getting pulled into the Terminus always seemed... not necessary, you know?" She squeezed the phone as a sudden wave of homesickness and despair crashed over her. "When you're fighting for your life every single day, it really doesn't matter how you got there, especially when the answer is 'A big space demon came and swallowed up the planet.'"

Tona clenched her hands into fists. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to fight back against those guys again and prove that she could do it without any help. She spun around and marched deeper into the bathroom -- and spotted a window just above head height (for her, anyway). She grabbed the sill and pulled herself up; it was plenty wide for them to wiggle out and looked like it emptied out into a dark alley behind the club. "We can get out through here," she said, speaking over her shoulder to the group. She turned and faced the other girls. "C'mon, the big one got away. And shouldn't we find whoever was dealing this... this Max and Zoom stuff? And stop them?"

Jessica stepped away from the wall panel, leaving her smartphone on the table. "Sounds good, Dragonfly." She touched the bracelet on her wrist and in a flash of light and energy, was encased in her Ironclad armor. Jets flared and she rocketed down the hallway, closing the distance with her friend and joining her in a quick ascent. She was still able to converse with her Labmates over the speakers, though. "Supercape, Miss A, you might want to head down and see if you can't catch these guys between yourselves and Voltage. I don't want to think what would happen if they got to the servers."

Tona drew a bodkin arrow and nocked it, but didn't put any draw on the bow yet. "Well their teeth have to be pretty sharp." The young woman turned and stepped into the forest, moving with an easy grace through the underbrush. She turned sideways to slip between trees or ducked under their branches rather than raising a hand to part them, and she seemed to know just where to put her feet so as not to disturb the carpet of dead leaves and sticks on the forest floor. "After all, they have to chew through the metal at the tree's core. I was taught that the tree picks up the metal under the soil and as it grows, it takes the metal with it and so when the branches grow out the metal is thinner and able to be worked." She reached a hand up to brush at an eyebrow stud; the piercing was dark wood and silvery metal, intertwined as a single piece. Any seam was invisible, with the grain of the wood fading smoothly into the surface of the metal. Tona turned in place, her entire body swiveling, and she froze when she saw Sam's expression. "Is... that's not how it works around here is it?" She blushed and turned, quickly hurrying along. "Um. Anyway. I wouldn't mind hitting a rabbit with an arrow, but probably not. If we can find a path, I'll set up some snares. Same for squirrels. Look for a good, long, straight branch on the ground, that's what we need for squirrels."

Tona's head was spinning and she stumbled free of the shadows, leaning against Sam while she got her breath back. All the rapid jumps disorientated her, and for a moment all she registered was the rich, rank scent of garbage. After a moment's searching she did find a street intersection, but her mental map of the city was hazy at the best of times. Still, with the help of her phone she realized that she and Sam were now in the north side of the river valley, miles away from where they had started -- and probably miles ahead of Changeling. There was a bit of park not too far away, with broad trees and grassy rises. Tona walked over to it and sank to the ground underneath one. "That's a pretty neat trick," she said to Sam. "Is that all by, um, magic?"

Tona had no idea who Ray Mears was, but she realized everyone's expectations of food was low. She grabbed her pack and stood, slinging it over one shoulder. "Oh ye of little faith," she said. She opened the pack and pulled out her bow, folded and compact. A quick jerk unfolded it to full size, and her other hand brushed over the arrows in her pack. She hadn't brought the acid or glue arrows, or the Claremont jacket that was as close as she got to a uniform, but she had plenty of broadheads and bodkins. Perfect for hunting, though she wished the weather was better for fish. Tona took a few steps away from the campsite, towards the woods. "I," she said loftily, "am going to get us a proper dinner." With that she turned and made her way into the brush.

Tona shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just that..." Just that for once in her life she wasn't supposed to have to worry about death or dismemberment. She was supposed to be safe here, but there were still people who would come out of nowhere to try to kill her, or carry her off. She inhaled sharply and banished those thoughts. "You said they were on drugs," she said. "I've seen men using opium, and morphine, and penicillin, and chewing willow bark. They don't act like that. They don't get strong or fast or... blurry." Whatever the leader had been on, it sure wasn't the same as the rest of his crew.

Sudden, inexplicable, sourceless sounds were never a good thing, in Blue Jay's experience. Mind you, most didn't sound like Kimber, either, but that was no guarantee that this wasn't a threat. In a flash she had her bow in hand and an arrow nocked. She peered around, but there didn't seem to be anyone hiding anywhere that she could see. Which probably meant that whoever was speaking to her was truly invisible. That would make fighting the, quite difficult, but the young heroine was ready to give it a go if it came to that. "I got them by hand," she said cagily, still looking around to try and locate the source of the voice. "Why don't you come out, and I can tell you what some of them mean?"

Sam didn't have very long to wait at all. In just a few minutes Changeling extracted herself from her admirers and climbed into a dark sedan. The car maneuvered around the quad and through the gates, and Sam had a perfect seat to watch Tona's roll-and-slap. The young archer watched the car roll down the hill with shining eyes, then turned and found Sam there, watching. If that put her off she didn't show it, punching the air in triumph. "Cars aren't nearly as hard as they look," she said. "You can't barely see out when you're in one!" Terrible idea." She dug out a smartphone, a stylish plate of plastic and touchscreen, and started pecking at it. "Now we just need to... Now we can... If I can just..." Tona bit her lip as she struggled with the device. Electronics were something she always struggled with, and this seemed no exception. Finally, she thrust the phone at Sam. "Here. There's supposed to be a way to track the thing I put on her car, but I cannot seem to find it. Do you know phones?"

Tona frowned as she tried to fit the tent parts together. Everyone insisted life here was a lot simpler, and there certainly were less monsters to worry about, but how great could a world be if it messed up something as simple as a tent? She sat back for a moment, rubbing her cheeks. "I used to hunt squirrels and rabbits a lot," she said. "My dad told stories of hunting deer before... well, before." She glanced over at Subito and the other boy, Elias. Sam and Cerys already knew her secret, and she was sure the teacher did, but she didn't want the other two to find out if it could be avoided. It wasn't that she was ashamed of being from the Terminus or anything, she just wasn't ready to shout it from the rooftops. "Rabbit's pretty tasty," she insisted. "Squirrels are okay, though. More useful in the long run, since you can turn their teeth into arrowheads. They have to have pretty sharp teeth to chew through the metal, after all!"

Tona clenched her teeth and breathed deeply. "I'm fine," she insisted. She strode forward angrily and grabbed her bag, clutching it tightly and wishing desperately for her bow. "I'm just... I'm a little bit..." She slid her free hand down her leg, pretending to straighten her pants. As she did so she found the half of the jelly bean she had stashed there, and popped it into her mouth. She chewed for a moment, and then blurted out, "Are all men here that strong? Or that fast? I didn't... I didn't expect to be..." I didn't expect to lose.

Tona glanced at Sam and a spontaneous smile grew on her face. "Yes," she said, as the day suddenly seemed brighter and the air seemed crisper. "We have to set up tents. Individual tents, I was told." The short woman's brain kept working for a few moments after she stopped speaking, and she suddenly blushed. It wasn't that she necessarily wanted to share a tent with Sam, it was just that, well, they were out of the school for at least a night and she was really pretty and they were technically dating (or something) and wasn't that what technically dating (or something) people did? Tona felt her blush grow hotter as her mind wandered down that direction. Oh mon dieu, I really have to think about something else. The archer sprinted forwards into the clearing and shed her pack, flipping open the top and removing a few nylon bundles. One, which also bore arm straps, she set aside; the other two she dropped on the ground and unrolled, scattering the metal rods and plastic fastenings it held inside all over the ground. "Come on," she said, starting the fit the tent poles together. "Once we get these up I'll show you how to make snares. With some luck, we'll have rabbit to eat tonight!"

GM The entrance of the blue-and-gold clad Arcturus caused the homeless man to pause in his bombardment, which gave the officer time to spring forward and grab the other man by his grubby wrist. "Okay, Leon," the man in blue said, "that's quite enough for one night. I think it's about time you slept it off in the station, okay?" Leon struggled, but between a well-fed and trained police officer, and a malnourished vagrant, there wasn't much of a contest. Still, he protested vocally. "You can't do this to me," he shouted. "I ain't drunk. I just been run out of my home, and you're gonna throw me in jail!? What kinda cop are you?"

As Gabriel moved away from melee, Glowstar moved in to the fray. His upraised fists were surrounded by a baleful black and red glow, the energies reflected in his glowing eyes. "Come one, come all," he shouted in his best carney voice, "to see the amazing, the astounding, Glowstar!" Even dazed and unfocused the shark men had the capability to be dangerous opponents, but the hero was too fast, ducking under an angry swipe and returning the favor with a series of quick jabs to the ribs. "C'mon guys. If you can't fight back better than this, Jaws Jesus isn't going to be too happy to see you in Shark Heaven."

Glowstar Free Action: Switching Array to Entropic Strike. Move Action: Getting up close and personal with, let's say Shark 3. Standard Action: Glowstar's melee attack check, vs Shark 3's Def. DC 27 Tou, DC 22 Fort (1d20+12=24) So that's DC 22 Fort to resist the Rank 12 Drain Tou effect, and DC 27 Tou to resist the Strike.

As the thug raised the knife high, an arrow streaked out of no-where and snapped the blade off from the hilt, leaving a pathetic stub of metal attached to the plastic. Blue Jay stepped into the light and nocked another arrow, drawing it up to her chin. "Test. Okay. IQ test. Minus five for threats in public." One of the thugs charged her and she loosed the arrow, taking him in the calf and dropping him to the ground. "Minus twenty for attacking solo." The second miscreant attacked as the archer lazily drew another arrow from her quarrel. He lunged at her, she spun and dodged the blow, and used the momentum of her spin to deliver a resounding ax kick to the small of his back. He went down, whimpering. "Minus fifteen for telegraphing your attack." She nocked the arrow and glanced around for the leader -- only to see him hauling ass down the street, bag in hand. Blue Jay sniffed, slotting the arrow back in her quiver. "Okay, plus thirty for diversionary tactics." The young heroine raced after the young criminal, the pair keeping neck and neck through the twists and turns of the alleys. She caught sight of him and skidded to a halt, pulling the bow to full draw -- but that span of breaths, he kicked in a boarded up door and disappeared inside. Blue Jay swore under her breath and raced in after him.

GM Arcturus ventured down the street, keeping his eyes and ears open. The hints he had picked up were non-specific, but dire enough to warrant this check. Still, it seemed the neighborhood was dreary but basically quiet... "Hey! Stop throwing things, dammit!" "Get away from me, copper. I ain't done nuthin', you can't take me away. This is my home!" Arcturus sprinted around the corner to see one of Freedom City's finest being pelted with empty tin cans by one of Freedom City's homeless. Or rather, pelted with a tin can; as it rebounded off the officer's peaked cap, the vagabond capered around to pick it up and throw it again. The officer was trying to protect his face from being cut by the rusty edges of the can, and didn't seem to be able to catch the vagrant. "You can't take me away from my home," the homeless man insisted. "I know my rights! You can't take me away!"

Toan Baudin stepped into the clearing, a broad smile on her face. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of the forest; loam and leaf, wood and animal spoor, all the smells of a biome busy with life and hidden movement. She could almost, almost tune out the acrid stink of the bus' petrol fumes and believe she was back home, on the place the Freedom League had called Earth-Pastrol. Which wouldn't necessarily be a good thing, as the planet was firmly in the grip of the Terminus, but apparently even those who grow up on caustic death worlds can get homesick. She felt her spirits lift just being out of the city and in a more natural environment. The young woman hitched her backpack, a load that looked far too heavy for her, and turned back to the two friends she had dragged along on this expedition. "Sam, Cerys, c'mon! Hustle, or we won't get our tents set up before nightfall!"

The bathroom was empty and Tona filled a washbasin with water, splashing some on her face. Those men were so damn fast! And that one was almost stronger than an Omegadrone! She was being expected to fight that? No wonder the Furians thought that studying here would teach her how to fight anything, if this was a casual battle. And then there was the fact that she had utterly failed at the battle. She'd shown some moves at the end, but before that? Being carried off just like some -- -- bodies, sleeping bodies, stuck with darts filled with some foul concoction. She wants to go back for them, the need burns in her gut, but her head says to turn and run and so she does. Those bodies, those people are going away to be twisted and corrupted and turned into weapons and some day she'll have to fight and kill them, so a tiny voice in her mind asks what the difference would be if she killed them now... She tasted bile suddenly and swallowed, hard. The very last thing she wanted to do was throw up, in a bathroom, right after her first major fight in this dimension. It would hardly leave the correct impression. Tona heard the door open and straightened suddenly, blinking away the water drops in her eyes as Mali walked in. "Hey, Mali. I was just. Um. Going to the bathroom," she lied, lamely. Her eyes slid off to the side and she tried to change the subject. "So. Is that what normally happens in a club?"

Ashton, Freedom City, United States The suburbs didn't seem like Blue Jay's normal territory. Not any tall buildings to swing off of, far too many lights at street level to stay hidden in the shadows. Which made it a challenge for the archer's skills, which is why she made it part of her normal territory. She crouched in an alleyway and watched a line of cars roll through an intersection. That was another thing; not so many cars and buses, not so many strange, modern machines. She wasn't used to all of them, and it could get confusing for the poor girl raised in the forest. The suburbs were less overwhelming, a bit more relaxing for her. Once the cars cleared she dashed out, timed her steps carefully, and got to the other side of the street by exploiting a break in the traffic. The Century Mall was just a strip of shops, but the brightly lit parking lot dissuaded her from going around the front. Instead she scurried around the rear, keeping out of the lights spilling off the loading dock. A cry caught her attention. At the edge of the lot, pushed up next to the chain-link fence, was a woman only a few years older than Blue Jay, dressed in a red-and-white striped uniform. She had a parka on against the cold and was swinging her purse furiously at a trio of thugs in leather jackets that had her cornered. "Get away from me, creeps," she shouted, trying ineffectually to fend off all three at once. The encounter was sadly predictable. The biggest thug timed her swings and ducked in, knocking the woman's bag to the side and closing to body-check her into the fence. She hit hard and went down, and the tough stepped in close. "You gotta learn to handle this smarter, lady." His hands moved fast and a flick knife appeared in them. "Or this is going to end up being an even worse night for you."

Voltage won't see any combatants right away, but there are a lot of security people on the floor.

The OOC for thread which is totally in Port Royale because of my mistake, not because the story will end up there. No sir, no how.

GM 6:42 PM Saturday, December 8th, 2012 Port Royal, Freedom City, United States Port Royal was not Arcturus's usual patrol route. It was too far outside the city, and too posh for most street criminals to bother with. Lately though, there had been rumblings in the arcane community. Something was out on the fringes of the city, something dark and heavy laying over the neighborhood like a smog. The bed-and-breakfasts looked more empty and neglected than usual, and the residents scurried about, always looking over their shoulders. It was a definite issue, which is why the big man was prowling around the community after the sun went down.

"It'll be awesome, Cerys! We get to sleep outside and hunt things and eat grubs! It's so cool!"

Jessica rolled her eyes at the comment. "Yes, we've pretty well thoroughly debunked the idea of blondes being idiots. Though it'll be nice to get some extra color around here." She tucked a strand of red-blonde hair behind her ear and walked over to the food tray. She began building a cold sandwich as she spoke. "We should get you an office. You'll get a dorm room gratis with everything, but if you don't want to use it that's understandable. Still, it's nice to have when experiments run late!" Down at the lobby, the doors parted for a trio of men preceding a cart with a plastic box on it. A woman was pushing the cart, and another pair of men followed her. The group gathered some looks for their uniform jumpsuits, upright bearing, and quick, lockstep pace. The group walked -- marched, actually -- up to the front desk, where a receptionist turned away from the phones to speak to them. "Yes? Do you have a delivery to make to the Lab?" The man in the lead smiled slightly and nodded. "You could say that." He unzipped his jumpsuit, reached in, and pulled out a pistol that wouldn't have looked out of place on a Flash Gordon set. The bolt of energy it spat was very real, though, as was the reaction from the receptionist; she flew back and slammed against the wall, slithering the ground bonelessly. Every man pulled out a similar weapon while the lady extracted a long knife and went to work on the box. Five quick shots and the security personnel in sight were down, and the top of the box was open to reveal distinctly futuristic-looking rifles wrapped in packing paper. Before long all seven were armed and the leader was glancing at his watch. "Team Zenith should be hitting the top about now," he said. "That leaves Team Root for the basement and the generator, and we've got the labs." He nodded at the rest of the team. "Alright, Cleaners: move out!" Jessica had rejoined the group and was talking animatedly, gesturing with the sandwich as she did so. "Of course I had no idea what we were going to do with all that sand, but it turned out not to be all that fine at all and we could store it pretty easily. It's very useful for molds and the like; that's why there's so many glass weights around, really." The story was interrupted when the lights in the meeting room flashed red twice and a muted klaxon sounded through the halls. "That... sounds like a security alarm." She put the plate down on the conference table and brought out her smartphone; in moments she was accessing the Lab's internal security. "Oh. Oh god, it is. Intruders on the ground floor, moving up, and a second team in the hanger moving down." She glanced at her follow scientists, her fellow superheroes. "Sorry to cut this short, Voltage, but it seems like this will be a working lunch."