KnightDisciple

"Ya want me ta-OW!" Despite the exclamation of pain, CT didn't seem to feel any true discomfort. Considering how supernaturally tough his ring made him, this should come as no surprise. He spent a moment rubbing the point of impact with a grin. "Fine, I'll go back to "normal". And I'm glad to hear and see you're doing well. As for your worries about rules, Dragonfly...Well, my ring seems to have a fairly solid set of parameters it works under, and I've yet to observe it deviate from those. Typically it's a case of "same tune, different lyrics", as it were. I think by the end of the summer I'll have the translation puzzle unlocked." He shrugged his massive shoulders before casting his gaze towards Gossamer for a few moments. "So, you work with the good Doctor?"

Corbin couldn't help but get caught up in the energy of the day. He might not be graduating, but he had friends who were.He suddenly paused in his efforts to put in an extra couple rows of chairs. 'Not a year ago, I knew no one here, had a mopey attitude about the whole thing, and I'd barely started hero-ing. Now, I'm slated to become one of the senior members of next year's Young Freedom, and I'm friends with a lot of these seniors. Huh. Go figure.' A small smile on his face, he continued placing chairs until the row was complete. Then, he wandered over to one side, surveying the area, trying to see if he was needed elsewhere. 'I hope they like their graduation gifts from me...' he worried self-consciously.

Suddenly, CT's stood there in beat-up coveralls (no shirt underneath), a straw hat, barefoot, and a long toothpick in his mouth; his mask was, of course, still on his face. He gave Jill a cheeky grin, and his next words had a noticeable Southern drawl to them. "Well, you know how I am, Jill. My Ma and Pa make me work for my grits and greens. Tan all day down in the holler." He shifts the toothpick in his mouth even as he starts using smaller pushed of TK to move a section of the sand around, before bringing his bag over and pulling out a couple of extra-large towels. He seems to have created an impromptu easy chair that he casually drops into, still wearing his new "costume". "I reckon classes are goin' alright. I went out with Wander and that Mercury fella a little while back. We wrangled us that there "Toon Gang"; they was coming after some fella who wasn't payin' tha mob or some such. It was some sorta test by Wander; she's lookin' ta fill Young Freedom up for next year, ya know. Keep tha legacy alive. Me, I'm honored ta get to take part in it. Maybe I'll be able ta get onto some super-team or another in a couple a' years. Kind of wanna go to college first, though. For a while, I figgered I'd do the civlian thing with hero on tha side, but the more I do it, tha more I love it." He gave a goofy puppy-dog grin at his next thought. "Speakin' a' love, me an' Quo-Dis have been doing great. Really great, in fact. Had a couple bumps here an' there, but that's life, ya know? Outside a' that, ah been spendin' time with Blake and such on. Helped him with a coupla tight spots." He gave a sidelong glance at Jill and Dragonfly, but seemed to be a gentleman about it and not let his gaze linger. Tempting that it might have been. "Y'all look happier than tha cat that found the cream, I reckon. Things goin' well for the two of ya, then?"

Baron Magnus took a step closer and leaned in a bit, trying to examine it further. His expression was thoroughly curious. "Fascinating! You lot will definitely keep me on my toes in this town! Though, "quantum matter" suggests there's a bit of instability inherent to its nature. I'm guessing you're still working on "pinning it down", as it were?" There was a soft buzz from his coat pocket. The Baron frowned as he pulled out a smartphone, then cursed. "Supercape, Protectron, I hate to cut this short, but I apparently have a couple of critical business meetings I need to attend. I hadn't anticipated the...erratic...nature of today's visit. I've had an intriguing time here. I'll see you both around, have a good day!" He started for the door, then stopped and turned back with a sheepish look. "Er, I suppose I'll need an escort out, won't I?"

Gabriel hovered there, arm still extended, a curious expression plastered on his face. After several long moments, the arm fell to his side, as he tilted his head in confusion. "Did...our foe just turn into steam and blow away in the wind after proclaiming it was the next phase of life on the planet? Huh. That was refreshingly short, really. Most fights typically involve at least a bit more effort. Not that I'm truly complaining, mind. Just seems odd." He dropped altitude until he was hovering about even with Supercape, his gaze wandering around the area as he spoke. "So. I hear tell you're a bit of a scientist as well as a superhero? Must be interesting trying to juggle both. I mean, most of us juggle a job and heroing, but still."

Gabriel nodded as Nick handed out advice; he'd had some grasp of the "ground rules" for such a venture, but it was still good to have a refresher course. He glanced at his thick overcoat and slightly warmer version of his outfit; flying at high speeds in a Freedom City winter meant one had to dress warmly. "Well. Once we're in there, and we've gotten an audience with somebody important...what then? I mean, I've had a chance to calm down a bit since the fight earlier. And I'm pretty sure even a heaping helping of righteous anger won't stop all of the Unseelie realm. So, do we have a rapid exit strategy? And an idea for a way to bend the situation to our favor? Beyond making a Queen of the Fae look stupid and silly in front of her peers."

It didn't take long to get everyone loaded up into the sleek limousine. In less than five minutes, they were rolling along the road at a rapid pace. It was probably one of the quietest automobile rides they'd been on, perhaps ever. The Baron relaxed just enough to let the stress and bone-deep weariness show through when he next spoke. "Thank you all for coming. I...it's been a rough couple of weeks. We've had a very scary near-miss, and Eira's not conscious much these days. Bernhard and Magda have barely slept. I've gotten a bit more, but not much." He gives a bitter chuckle. "You know, I'd had this side project going with medical nanites. We actually made some breakthroughs, but right now, our models say the best they can do isn't anywhere close to enough. Not to delay anything. I just...damn it. If only there was more time..." The Baron seems to be looking at nothing in particular, almost exhibiting a "thousand-yard stare" as he broods over the fate of his beloved niece.

Corbin, he lacks this skill. So...no rolls from me. :P

CT spent a few moments examining the area where they would be setting up cooking. He held his hands up a few times, using them as impromptu "frames" on his vision of the area. Finally, he gave a resolute nod. "Everyone, stand back. This is going to get a little hot." With that, fire flew from his outstretched ring. At first, it simply pushed the sand around, forming it into vague shapes. But then, it started to heat up. In the space of a minute, it was seemingly hot enough to start to melt the glass, and it was getting still hotter. Within 5 minutes, there was a fully-formed cooking area, with a solid circle of black and brown glass holding several solid blocks that they could set things like the grill, pots, food, and so forth on. There was room for 3 or 4 people to prepare food at the same time on the space. It shimmered with heat for a minute, but was quickly cooled down. Meanwhile, CT dusted his hands off and crossed his arms over his chest with a lopsided smile. "I watch those home improvement shows sometimes. I get ideas. Best part is, I'll just grind it up when we're done, it'll be nearly the same as it was." With that, he turned...and saw Doctor de Havilland standing not far away. He was frozen in indecision for a few moments, before he squared his shoulders (an impressive sight on someone of his build) and walked over with a smile. He offered the long-haired-heroin a smile. "Nice to meet you, Doctor de Havilland. I'm Cobalt Templar, but today you can just call me CT. It's nice to meet you." He hoped the mask was enough. Once pleasantries were exchanged, he walked over to Jill, Dragonfly, and Jessica, all laying out on the sand. He gave them a slightly bemused smirk. "See? I can be handy to have around. You girls want me to renovate this area a little, or leave it as-is? And don't worry about sunscreen for me. I don't really sunburn these days."

"You're right, buddy. We're each examples of the pinnacle of macho manly might." There's a cheesy grin on his face as he finished loading things. He glanced at Push's floating pot and ingredients. "Hey, uh, Push? After I get this stuff set down, how about I give you a nice stable cooking surface?" He walked casually to the beach, hauling all the stuff on his improvised sled. It was clear he was feeling less creative this morning. The load was soon deposited gently on the sand, with CT's telekinesis making short work of the arrangement. Having completed that task, he walked over to a small stretch of beach. "Maybe set it up right here?"

Everything gets moving along smoothly, with the Baron's demeanor having shifted a bit since their landing. It's not that he's imperious per se, so much as he's showing an assumption that his orders will be followed. It's clear that, whatever the company's size in America, Katastrof & Sorenson Technologies was a huge company here in Sweden. And Baron Katastrof clearly possessed no small amount of authority. Finally, as the last items were loaded, he turned to the others. "We'll take the limo to get there a bit faster, so we can talk with Eira and her parents for a few minutes, as well as preparing things on that end. In the meantime, the equipment ought to be no more than half an hour behind us." As he was speaking, a sleek stretch limo (at a modest length of double a normal sedan) pulled up near the assembled group. It moved with no more sound than an American electric car, perhaps even less. Yet a civilian electric engine couldn't drive such a large vehicle, could it?

Fenris watched impassively as Thrude hacked away at the World Tree. Cutting off her route home. All so she could prove she and her kind weren't as bad as he thought. 'Except, it's still a pride thing, isn't it? She's mad because we don't revere and worship them. Because we don't "acknowledge the gifts they gave us". Bah. Who needs the gods? Any of them? Especially a bunch of drunken barbarians who championed violent raiders who pillaged the lands?' That his own ancestors likely included some of those same raiders conveniently escaped his contemplations. "I'll give you this, Thrude. You stick to your guns. You want to provide a stand-up example for the Norse gods, hm? Well, have fun with that. We'll see how successful it is." He turned slightly to face FA, giving him a simple nod. "Angel." He then turned towards Dok A, giving a slight bow. "Doktor." With that, he turned and started jogging off, before suddenly accelerating in a flash of white light, heading off somewhere else.

Despite the fait number of tornado touchdowns in KC, I and my family are fine, despite being scattered over the metro. Still pretty crazy stuff. Just wanted to let all know I am fine.

Fenris gave Freedom Angel a cold stare in return. "But those who dare call themselves "gods" should be held to a higher standard, not a lower one. Do not presume to order me, "angel"." He turned slowly to face Thrude once more. His next words came out cold and precise, in clipped tones that spoke of a horrible truth. "While bound as a warrior of the Third Reich, Donar the Thunderer killed...9,565 soldiers and 2 superheroes. The overall organization he was a part of caused overall deaths in the millions. Estimates put total civilian and military casualties for both sides at somewhere between 62 and 78 million. Of note, the Nazi regime in particular focused on the Jews, killing roughly 6 to 7 million of them in all manner of horrific ways. Several million others were killed for various "undesirable" traits. He was bound for approximately 6 years, from the start of the major portions of the conflict, to the very end of the war. As for how long the so-called "Norse gods" have not been widely worshiped, and have not "graced" the earth? It started several centuries ago; today, there's perhaps a few thousand worshipers. You can thank Birdman's boss for that one." He gave an exaggerated shrug. "Even he's not as big of a deal these days, I guess. I dunno. Don't much care for any of it."

Fenris is tired enough to not be fazed by Thrude's rant, though he takes a half-step back when she started advancing on him. "Hey, I'd rather not throw down in the middle of a crowded city, leastways not with a big meta-wolf that can do this." He gestured at the icy destruction around them. "And no, we mortals didn't suffer under the hands of those folks." He paused, then said the words the others were probably dreading. "Instead, plenty of innocents died under the booted heel of your own father, as he joined some of the worst monsters in history. Bound to a mortal or no, it was Donar who fought for them, not Loki." He turned his back on her and went to search for more wounded, intending to make a final sweep of the buildings. "Whatever. Dok's right, there's more important things to worry about than wounded pride."

Magnus disappeared up to the cockpit until right before takeoff. At that point, he set himself in a very comfortable-looking seat, looking like a cross between a recliner and an executive office chair. He had a somewhat childlike grin on his face as they started to taxi to the runway. "I'm usually ambivalent about flying, but ever since we built this baby, I've started to love it. Mostly because it's so quiet." Indeed, while the engines are audible, they're nowhere near as loud as other jet engines. More of his company's tech? "Here we go!" They could all feel the not-insignificant acceleration; clearly the pilot was wasting no time with this flight. "And there's the seatbelt sign. Think I'll get a drink; everyone's welcome to have one." He proceeds to a small area with refreshments...including expensive whiskey that he pours over ice cubes for himself. He swallows about half the glass in one go before returning to his seat to nurse the drink and review a few things on his own computer. Within an hour, he'd finished the drink and drifted off to sleep. ********************************************** [sweden, Five Hours Later] The flight had been smooth, as had the landing. Baron Magnus had awoken about twenty minutes ago, going to the sink to run water over his face before they began the final approach. Now, having landed, he bustled up out of his seat. "Right, we've got a couple of top-notch trucks waiting to take everything there. We're about 30 minutes of driving away from the hospital." He stepped down onto the tarmac and began bellowing orders in Swedish. <Get a move on! I want this equipment loaded up within 15 minutes! I want to be at that hospital in less than an hour! Move, people!>

CT tilted his head as Dragonfly arrived in full armor, Jill in her arms. 'Huh. Thought Jill seemed more energetic in classes lately...Glad she's happy.' He raises an eyebrow at a couple of the people showing up, then shrugs. He turns his attention to Blake, lifting his ring hand up and pointing it near the back of the car. Almost immediately, a solid platform appears that will easily hold all the accumulated stuff everyone has. "All right, buddy. Toss it all on here and I'll take it down to the beach and help set up. It'll make everything go faster. And I promise, I won't make you look too wimpy in front of your girlfriend." He winks jokingly at his good friend, before turning and waving his free hand in greeting at Push and Eric. "Hello there! How are you guys doing?"

Fenris took several moments to catch his breath, as the chill of the storm quickly faded. Then he was flashing all over, helping move the worst injured towards the hospital entrance that Doctor Metropolis had created. Finally, as most of that was taken care of, he turned to the other hero present, as well as the two "divine" beings. He first walked over to Doktor Archeville and offered him a handshake. When he spoke, it was in English. "Doktor, it's a great honor and privilege for me to have worked alongside you. I know we haven't met before, but I'm a great admirer of your work. Oh, my manners. Obviously I won't hand out my birth name, but while "on the job", you can call me..." Here the metallic wolf head turns towards Thrude. Despite the fairly static nature of the face and eyes, there was something...different...in them. "Fenris." He gave the good Doktor another nod and marched over to stand about equidistant to Freedom Angel and Thrude. First, he points one clawed finger at FA, as if lecturing him. "You seemed pretty eager to just go ripping up dimensional portals, even when this area was likely already unstable, mister "angel". Bah. At least you helped get that meta-wolf out of here. Next time, watch your portals better." He turned, and all but stabbed his finger at Thrude. There's clear anger and derision in his voice. "And you, you so-called "god". Bad enough you drag your petty "god" wars into this place. Then you had to go and try to attack the meta-wolf when it was finally starting to leave? You're probably what provoked that ice breath attack! You're lucky it didn't just try to eat us all! Probably thanks to your blasted parents. You Norse "gods". All the same." There's bitterness there that's festered for years...

If either Blake or Jessica happened to check the horizon, they'd see a blue speck that was rapidly growing. Soon, it'd resolve itself into the heroic figure of Cobalt Templar, in full costume. Within a minute, he landed on the ground beside them, a grin on his face and a beach bag in one hand. "Great to see you guys! Especially you, buddy! I'm ready to rock the beach party!" He glanced down and fake-frowned. "Guess I'm not exactly dressed for success yet. Hang on..." He concentrated, and in a flash of blue fire that obscured his body, he was suddenly wearing flip flops, knee-length dark blue swim trunks, and his mask. His not-that-small physique was on show for the world. "Quo-Dis wasn't sure if she'd be able to make it, so she told me to go on ahead. Something about calling home or whatnot. Oh, and, uh, could we try to keep with "CT" for the name? I'd rather avoid too many being in on the whole "secret identity" thing right now." He gave them both a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head (and unknowingly flexing his arm in the process).

I'm up for kicking more butt.

Cobalt Templar squinted his eyes a bit, carefully studying the figure. Right up until the moment the shriek sounded through the house. At that point, he put his hands over where his ears would be, reflexively wincing. "Crap that's loud." After a moment, he seems to adjust, his expression even more stern. "I'm guessing Mr. Smokey over there is probably bad news bears. Can't tell if the necromancer's done, or if this is Stage 1 of 5. Either way..." He suddenly manifests a huge fist wreathed in blue flame. "I say we charge in and smack him upside the head. He'll never expect so bold an attack!"

"Juju sense? Radioactive playing card? I see." Gabriel was astute enough to tell Jack was likely putting at least some truth in his "origin story", cheeky method or no. He shrugged, then blinked at Nick's origin. "That's...hm. Well Nick, I think you can beat us for "most extreme origin". And yeah, I bet we can get you excused. Though..." He pushed off the wall and paced a bit. "Is this it? I mean, what do we do with the faerie women here? And what about whoever sent them? Won't they just send more? Shouldn't we confront this at the source?"

Magnus gave a smile that didn't quite erase the tension in his eyes. He offered his hand first to Sharl, then to Dragonfly. To both, he gave a firm (but not too firm) handshake. "Sharl, nice to meet you. Fascinating; any other day, and I'd want to talk for hours over this. As it is, I'm going to be trying to catch up on some sleep on the flight over. Though I'll try to make sure you all won't have to be bored. But...thank you, Sharl. For stepping up to help Eira during this time. Dragonfly, no, I don't believe we've really met. I stopped by the Lab once, but didn't get a chance to see you. It's a pleasure, for sure." At Dragonfly's reminder of time, the Baron nodded. He turned to the staff that was finishing up loading the plane and snapped his fingers. They turned to him, nods were exchanged, and their pace increase. The Baron glanced at his watch. "Probably about ten minutes before we take off. We'll have to wait until we hit the ocean to go full speed. That said, shouldn't be too loud." With that, he gestured for them to follow him on board the plane, the Baron himself taking the lead.

"Nick, if you'd like, I can also pitch in. I've been known to be somewhat convincing in my speech. Between Grim and myself, we'll get you covered. And unless you think there's no more threat, you might want to consider staying out for a bit longer. Not sure, though." He turns his gaze to Jack, quirking one of his eyebrows at the question. "Yes. Several years ago, in fact. It was the Archangel Gavriel, sometimes pronounced "Gabriel". Hence my name. But it's not angelic in source, if that makes sense. I had Miss Americana examine me; she determined that it was an intentional genetic mutation. So my power's completely from my own body and biology. Like he kick-started something latent, maybe. Point is, someone pops up a field to disrupt magic and the like, thinking I'm part-angel or something...and it won't matter a bit." He shrugs. "Just how it is, I guess."

Gabriel realized what the Fae woman was trying to do. Ensnare him. Like that she-elf had done to poor Finnegan. Well, he wouldn't have it. So when she stared deeply into his eyes, he stared right back, the fires of defiance roaring within them. Yet his voice came out eeriely quiet and calm, still audible to everyone present even as he ceased his booming accusations. After all, the fight was all but one. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. The armor of my faith stands strong, seducer. Can you say the same for your "armor of sin"?" Right at that moment, Jack of All Blades struck the final telling blow, leaving only the heroes standing in the room. Gabriel spent several seconds casting his eyes around, trying to determine if anything was still amiss. When he saw that they were safe, he sighed, and his shoulders visibly sagged. He walked over to the nearby wall, leaning against it to look up at Jack with a small half-smile. "I am still among those free of will, Jack. For whatever that's worth."