KnightDisciple

"Maybe you'll find a lady who wants more than a free supermarket sample one day?" He smirked as he stepped onto the roof. He glanced at Jill, quirking an eyebrow. "Better to say that I keep finding myself helping out in dangerous situations. I'm still alive, and civilians are unhurt. Makes it a win in my book. Besides, after nearly getting disemboweled by super-ghouls, a little glancing blow like that is nothing." He turns his attention back to Jack, more serious now. "Nobody gave me a booklet with territory markers, but I'll keep it in mind. Do you have a phone number? A Jack-signal on a rooftop? Some way to contact you, in other words. Today was just a random patrol, but tomorrow could be a gang, or gun-runners. I want to make sure we can take them down hard and fast. As for watching backs, I'm all about that." He offers his hand to Jack with a smile. "We cool?"

Gabriel gave a chuckle as the Wiccan mage sprouted white feathered wings. "Ironic, that. Anyways, go as fast as you can, and I'll pace myself to that." With that, he took off into the air, rising fairly rapidly, but not so much she couldn't keep up. Once she'd set her own pace, Gabriel easily matched her, taking a slight lead. It wasn't long before they were touching down just a bit down the street from the Simmons house. Gabriel stopped for a moment to close his eyes, take a deep breath, and try to calm himself. He then looked to Siobhan, his expression hard to read. It was a mix of anger, frustration, disappointment (but not at her), and even a bit of pleading. "You know more about these things. I will listen to your lead in there when it comes to sorting out what's what, mystically speaking. I'll get us in, and I'll try to get Jolene to tell the truth. But you're here to help me sort that out. And to make sure I don't do or say something stupid, since I'm still kind of angry. You're here to counterbalance possible prejudices I might be carrying, whether I want them there or not. Let's go." With that, he strode up the sidewalk and to the front door, giving it a few firm knocks. "Mr. and Mrs. Simmons? It's Gabriel again. I need to ask your daughter just a couple more things; the emergency I had to leave for has been handled."

Gabriel nods and walks out of the church. He pointedly ignores the police and others surrounding the church, except inasmuch as he notes their locations. Any that try to approach him are given a silent rebuff. He sets a fast pace, his stride falling roughly as a "fast power-walk". As Equinox keeps up with him, she will suddenly hear his voice in her ear. "Do not react to my voice; no one else here can hear it. I'll explain that trick later. We're going to the house of one Jolene Simmons. Principal's daughter. Was a friend of the victim's. I was talking to her earlier, but got...interrupted by all of this. She stated she was a Wiccan, which wasn't cause for suspicion at the time. I saw some odd books on her shelf, but didn't recognize them." There's a brief pause, before his words return, slightly angrier. "But before it shifted form, that demon looked just like her. I want to know why. Come on, we'll duck around the corner and fly over there. Well. Can you fly? If you can, pleas give one firm nod of your head; if not, one firm shake of your head." He glances back at the mage, one eyebrow quirked in a not-quite-silent question.

When Midnight made the remark welcoming Cobalt Templar to "the job", he cracked a smile. "I think I want a raise after this." With that, he climbed into the machine, strapping himself in. He smiled to himself as he realized they were drilling their way to new dimensions. The smile got wiped away as he was pressed back into his seat by the sudden acceleration. Then, suddenly, they were busting through rock until they emerged in air. Shaking his head to clear it, CT took a second to take stock of himself. 'Everything intact. Good.' He smiled as Wander joked, working to release his own straps. "Aye. So, how do we want to proceed from here?" Meanwhile, Corbin had managed to largely calm his nerves at the thought of a.)going into the Imageria, and b.)doing so via something that he'd previously thought was only found on science-fiction television. He offered Midnight a shaky smile as the vigilante confirmed he was coming along. "Glad to hear it. Guess we'll all need to watch each others' backs..." Before he knew it, they were triggering the transporter. There was a moment of sensory overload. And then, he was in the realm of raw imagination and thought. Corbin cast his gaze around, taking in the ever-odder landscape, before settling on the huge structure in the distance. He was about to comment on it when the drilling machine made itself known. Wander handed out orders, and he nodded. Slipping to the back a bit, Corbin made sure he was in a good position to provide fire support; he was fairly well-equipped for such a task. Perhaps especially here. Glancing at the others, he extracted his ring, the subconscious "lock" on his powers. If there was a fight about to happen, better to be prepared. "Fortune favors the bold." With that, he steeled himself for what might be about to happen, and slipped the ring on his finger again, already feeling the rush of power...

Let's give this a test run. [bg=lightcyan]Test 1[/bg] [bg=lightcyan]Test 2[/bg] EDIT: Hm. Seems like a decent way to do this.

Gabriel looked up at Equinox after a crossing himself. There was a wan smile on his face. "Thank you. You're right. I think the shock of seeing...this. Along with the fight, just kind of overwhelmed me. He wouldn't want me dwelling on such things." He stood, about to say something else, as Mr. Vigourie strode in and made his highly erroneous proclamation. Equinox is the only one to see Gabriel's expression immediately shift to extreme distaste, and then anger, before he schools it to something even worse: an utterly expressionless face. Then, suddenly, he's standing about 3 feet in front of Mr. Vigourie, hovering a few inches off the floor, arms crossed in front of his chest. Bits of debris floated back down after being disturbed by his passage. His impassive face gazed down slightly at the hack-job "expert". When he spoke, his voice was like a thin layer of velvet over sharpened steel; an exterior of politeness, with a strong undercurrent of threat. "Were you in this room, Mr. Vigourie? When this was done, that is. Were you hiding yourself in here? Or did you just walk in, take no time to gather facts, and make a decision? Like you normally do. Tell me, Mr. Vigourie." He hovered closer, now only a foot away from the man. Vigourie could feel the subtle shift of air and sound around the man in white as he settled to the ground. "How many? How many innocent children have been persectued, abandoned, or perhaps even worse, all because your narrow-minded self can't get past a few outward trappings? How many, Mr. Vigourie?" Before the other man can answer, Gabriel's voice suddenly roars like a lion. "HOW MANY?" Not giving him a chance to answer, he continues. "And now, you come in here, proclaiming to know all the answers, when you did nothing. You know nothing. Do you want to know what happened, Mr. Vigourie?" He uncrosses his arms and points to the stain on the floor. "There was a demon there. Not a man, not a woman. Not a metahuman, even. A demon. A fallen angel. A being that was once dedicated to goodness, light, creation, and beauty, now living only for evil, darkness, destruction, and twisted ugliness. Its breath stank of sulfur, Mr. Vigourie. In the short time it was in here, it utterly defiled a church. A place that should be safe from such things, a holy place. Nearly turned into a house of evil. But not by the hands of any mortal. But you know what happened, Mr. Vigourie?" He crosses his arms again. "We got rid of the demon. "Killed" is too strong a word for simply banishing the mortal form of a creature sprung from the mind of the Creator; a creature originally made of the same creative energies that brought about...everything. Twisted or no, such beings have power. But its power here is gone now. Because we banished it." Only now did he reach out and jab one finger into Vigourie's chest. "Now shut up and stand aside, and let me and my friends finish doing our job here." With that, he started to walk past the man, before turning with a frown. Something was rolling around in his head...until he suddenly had a realization. His expression stayed impassive, but his demeanor shifted further. He looked to Equinox. His voice easily carried, despite the fact that it should have been too soft for her to hear him. "Equinox, could you please come with me? I believe I will need your assistance with something. The others can continue to explain things to the sheriff. You should have little trouble finding us when you're done." He waited, outwardly patient but inwardly chomping at the bit, for Equinox to answer his request.

TT: Duly noted. But there's something else to take care of, first. Mr. Vigourie picked pretty much the worst time to come in and make his "analysis". Intimidate Check: 35. Gabriel's still in a bit of a mood after the fight.

Unfortunately for Tricky Mickey, the hammer just kind of sat there against Cobalt Templar's armor. The young hero clearly wasn't hurt at all. He glanced down at the hammer, then back at the clown, a smirk on his face. "That didn't even tickle." In a blur of blue, he was across the room, and the hand blaster was again aimed and fired at the psychotic clown. Unfortunately, the hit with the hammer seemed to have shaken his nerves a bit, at least.

Lessee. DC 27? Hardcore. Toughness: 31. Cobalt Templar is not impressed by the hammer. EDIT: Time for CT to fight back! I think we'll stick with Blast for now, after moving back even further, probably to the other side of the room. Attack Roll: 17. If that manages to hit, DC 22 Toughness save.

Notice Check: 21

Even as the demon was crying out as it vainly struggled against Push's mighty blow, Gabriel's voice rang clear and true once more. And be ye now cast out of Earth back to the Dark Places, even as ye were cast from Heaven. Be ye thrown down from this Shadow of Paradise, even as ye were thrown down from Paradise Itself! After the demon was gone, the hero in white settled to the ground again. Slowly, he walked forward towards the spot where it had been. As he walked, he spoke, and as he spoke, his voice changed back to normal, bit by bit. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. He paused, all the glow gone from his eyes now. "Amen." He then continued on, before coming to rest in front of the ruined pulpit, table, statue, and other marks of an old church. He fell to his knees, tears flowing from his eyes, hands held to the side in a pose of supplication, grief flowing in his now quiet voice as he beheld the desecration before him. "Forgive me, Oh Lord, that I was not swifter. Forgive me that this was allowed to happen. Take my tears and turn them to joy, my weeping to singing, Oh Lord. May Your Might be know, Your praises be sung, and Your justice be done." He lapsed into silence, a few tears still rolling down his face from his closed eyes.

FYI: Going to a movie with some of the fellas tonight. I'll be on for a bit before I head out for it, and a bit after I get back. Saturday's pretty open, and then Sunday's gaming day. Per usual, I'll be on for a bit in the afternoon there, then gone, then maybe on for a touch of time afterward.

Light still shone from Gabriel's eyes as he suddenly pointed both his hands at the demon. Concentrated sonic waves roared forth, striking at the demon's skin. Ripping and tearing at the unholy hide, attempting to make it easier for Gabriel and his fellows to bring the beast down. As he poured the attack into the creature, his voice picked up, loud and clear, from the very phrase where Nick stopped. It still had all the unusual undercurrents of before, albeit at slightly less volume than a moment ago. Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers One hundred million angels singing Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum Voices calling and voices crying Some are born and some are dying It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come!

Okay. At the very beginning of the round, I'm setting Gabriel's array to Drain Toughness. Gabriel won't be moving. I will, however, be Surging, and using an HP to negate the negative effect. That gives me 2 attacks. Ranged Attack: 28. That'll be DC 22 Fort save, with a Rank 12 Drain Toughness behind it. 16. Ugh. HP to reroll. 27; that's much better. DC 22 Fort save, with a Rank 12 Drain Toughness behind it. So, 2 HP spent. Have fun making the fort saves!

Gabriel jogs to catch up with the others, pausing to cover his eyes as Equinox summons, for the briefest of moments, a small sun. When the blinding light clears, he steps into the church. And halts in place, his whole body frozen in shock. Even as the others taunt the being that at first seemed to be a human, but soon revealed itself to be a demon, a fallen angel, he simply stood there. Observing. Processing. Listening. Letting his righteous anger build slowly, like a fire that was tenderly cared for. Until it exploded. His voice rang out, the sound easily audible to the cops outside, and perhaps people beyond. Beneath the clear, ringing sound of the words, there was an undercurrent. It was like the roar of a lion, the rasp of sharp steel being drawn forth, the sounding of a trumpet, and the cry of an eagle, all at once. I cast you out, unclean spirit, along with every Satanic power of the enemy, every spectre from hell, and all your fell companions; in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Begone and stay far from this creature of God. For it is He who commands you, He who flung you headlong from the heights of heaven into the depths of hell. It is He who commands you, He who once stilled the sea and the wind and the storm. Hearken, therefore, and tremble in fear, Satan, you enemy of the faith, you foe of the human race, you begetter of death, you robber of life, you corrupter of justice, you root of all evil and vice; seducer of men, betrayer of the nations, instigator of envy, font of avarice, fomentor of discord, author of pain and sorrow. Why, then, do you stand and resist, knowing as you must that Christ the Lord brings your plans to nothing? Fear Him, who in Isaac was offered in sacrifice, in Joseph sold into bondage, slain as the paschal lamb, crucified as man, yet triumphed over the powers of hell. Begone, then, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Gabriel took one step forward and up, now hovering a few inches above the floor. His body was wreathed in sonic energy, the very air warping around him. Against all odds, his eyes were shining with white light. Just this once, perhaps he had a bit of help from on high. His hands were almost invisible behind the concentrated sound. Nevertheless, his left hand rose, a single finger pointing at the demon. Begone, now! Begone, seducer! Your place is in solitude; your abode is in the nest of serpents; get down and crawl with them. This matter brooks no delay; for see, the Lord, the ruler comes quickly, kindling fire before Him, and it will run on ahead of Him and encompass His enemies in flames. You might delude man, but God you cannot mock! It is He who casts you out, from whose sight nothing is hidden! It is He who repels you, to whose might all things are subject! It is He who expels you, He who has prepared everlasting hellfire for you and your angels, from whose mouth shall come a sharp sword, who is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire! Finally, he threw both his hands into the air, and a sound like a hundred trumpets crying out sounded. IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, BEGONE!

I'm still trying to work out my Epic Post, but I'll go ahead and post initiative. 16; respectable. We'll say his anger makes him swift, but he's delayed by the verbal torrent I'm about to unleash. EDIT: Per chat, adding an Intimidate roll in here. 33, +5 from circumstance, becomes 38.

Earth-Paragons Cobalt Templar stood and listened to Daedalus explain the outline of the situation. A few things clicked in his mind. "Wait, so that portal, it was basically the raw stuff of the Imageria? No wonder my powers went wonky!" He frowned at a further thought. "So, if we're going in there..." On impulse, he reaches down and pulls off his ring. Immediately, his "armor" fades away, as does all the glow of his powers. The metaphorical breaker had been flipped, and Corbin Hughes was now a slightly-more-than-human teenage boy, standing there in a basic version of the Claremont boy's uniform. He tucked the ring into one of the front pockets of his shirt. "I should flip the switch on my powers until we have more data. The last thing we need is for me to go berserk or something right as we cross the border. This way, we can slip in, set down, and then I can open the floodgates." He crossed his arms over his chest, a determined glint in his eye. "So how are we tossing ourselves into the Great Unknown?"

Gabriel just nodded at her statement. It was roughly what he expected. "That's something like what I thought you would say. I can understand why you've kept it hidden; it's not a widespread belief, and there are many misconceptions. Many of them not helped by my spiritual brothers and sisters..." He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment, before turning his sincere gaze back to the girl. "I won't tell anyone without your permission. Even though I don't share your belief structure, and disagree at the level of philosophy and worldview, I will not try to force you to change. That, too, goes against my beliefs. Give yourself time, and perhaps you will be able to tell your friends and family. I'll leave a couple of numbers with you...just in case." Suddenly, something she'd said came to the forefront of his mind. "Wait, "the others"? What "the others" are you-" And then: Gabriel barely kept from grinding his teeth in frustration. He couldn't keep his eyes from clenching shut and his hands from rubbing his temples. Somehow, he knew one of his companions was responsible. Eric and Equinox were pretty much assured to not be the culprits. Marcus...maybe. But he didn't seem like the type to rocket across the sky like that. That left... "Stone. I'm going to strangle him with that hideous scarf of his." He began walking out of the room, then stopped to face Jolene for a moment. "Stay here. Stay inside. Tell your parents to do the same. And...just be careful. I have a bad feeling about this." With those ominous words, Gabriel all but runs out of the house, coat trailing behind him. Before the adults at the home can ask why he was leaving, he took to the sky. He made sure to keep his speed at about 400mph, and take a nice sharp angle up and down, to minimize disturbance. Gabriel landed in a flurry of white coat just as someone cried out that there was a fire. It hadn't been hard to determine where to go; it looked like every officer of the law in the county was gathered around the church. He jogged over to the Sheriff, Eric, and some of the others. "How long until the fire department gets here?" He lowers his voice so that only the sheriff and his fellow "investigators" can hear him. "Are we going in, or waiting it out? I'm not well-equipped to handle fires."

Earth-Prime CT was glad Dr. Atom kept things fairly simply; his head was swimming with all the theory he'd just been exposed to, but he had a fairly solid grasp of it. Of course, now they were going to put them all in a metal tube and shoot them between dimensions. "So...wait. I get the basic idea of what's going on. Even more, I'm all about helping out. But...Are we really going to have to strap ourselves into a little metal cylinder, and get shot into the space between parallel universes? I...really, I have so many questions, and we have no time, do we? Right. Well, I'm in. Though, sorry, I don't know how to fly a plane, just myself." Embarrassed, he shifted until he was at the back of the group of small heroes. Hopefully one of the others could do better.

For several long moments, Gabriel was silent. He stood there, arms crossed over his chest, not saying a word. When he did speak, his tone was grave, but not condemning. "You know, I work with a lot of teenagers in Freedom City. Many of them enjoy few of the luxuries you have here; more than a few of them have made decisions that will haunt them for decades. You could say I've learned to read teenagers pretty well, as chaotic as their minds and hearts can be." He narrows his eyes and takes a single step forward. "Which is why I can tell you're lying. There was no "accident". Or if there was, it's not what the boy was helping you through. Now, you're a teenager. I'm an adult. Further, I'm one with rather blatant symbolism all over my costume, and even in my name. Perhaps that's causing you to make some assumptions. But I assure you one thing; so long as what you tell me isn't placing a life in danger, it will remain in total secrecy. I may suggest, even recommend that you tell another. But I won't force the issue unless it's truly dire. Understand that, while I am firm in my beliefs, it does not retract from my ability to respect others as human beings. I've worked with angels, revenants, geomancers, plant controllers, and fairly recently, several mages of varying philosophies. Just to name a few. I'd like to think I'm a nice person, even if I don't agree with someone's worldview." He uncrossed his arms and held his hands in a gesture of supplication. "So please. Be truthful with me. Not for your sake, or my sake. For Harris's sake. So that we can keep anyone else from dying, and so that we can stop whoever did this."

Right then. Diplomacy, and I won't apply attractive, at least not from my end. Cause...yeah. Diplomacy: 36

Sense Motive, I have. And it's not soul-crushingly high, either! Sense Motive: 22. I'll take it.

Gabriel made sure to reassure the parents again that Jolene was in no trouble, and that he was merely trying to get a better picture of things. Currently, he was looking over the titles on her shelf, his voice somewhat distracted. "You seem to be a prolific reader. That's good for someone your age." He shook his head and turned to face Jolene. His expression somehow managed to mix "serious" with "compassionate". "In the last week to month, did you notice Harris changing behavior patterns? Picking up interest in something he'd never touched before? Was he spending time with a notably different group? Was there anyone who showed up in his life that wasn't there before? Basically, I'm trying to determine what changed. I need the best picture possible of the last week of his life, so that I can help find the person who did this."

Gabriel spent less than five minutes going over a couple of details with the police. A handshake and nod were exchanged, and Gabriel walked back into the empty space near the pile of scrap. Then he was suddenly floating in the air in front of the siblings, coming in for a gentle landing with a smile on his face. "Okay, so you managed to kiss her longer. Bravo. But..." He waves the card in Jack's face. "I got a number." He tucked the paper away in a pocket, cleared his throat, and got down to the more serious issues. "So. Thank you again for your help, both of you. Was there anything you wanted to ask me? I'm not huge on being territorial in Southside, but I understand other heroes are more picky. I don't want to step on your toes more than I may have already done. Incidentally, Yes, I've met Fleur a few times. Sometimes, it's even when she's not repairing serious injury to my pale self. Thankfully, none of it's damaged my, how did you say it? Ah, yes, my "man-pretty" voice."

Don't have that skill, Jack of All Trades, or Eiditic Memory. ...I'm probably going to put points into these knowledge skills soon, though. Unless you think Well-Informed might come into play.