Ari

The party was...something special, the young Frenchman could tell. Lucy Diamond, someone whose name was once another term for 'walking hallucination', whose powers had lit up Liverpool and whose lifestyle had been the subject of endless speculation, ill-advised recreation and more than a little ill-guarded jealousy, had politely offered him the gravy on a shiny tray in a very normal dining room. If not for the jolts of unease that accompanied every risk of touching her he might have been chatting animatedly with any well-aged woman from the Twentieth Century. The wine had helped, certainly, and how at ease René was in any situation involving drinking lots of it. The musical was good too, he had no idea the English liked laughing so much, they had always seemed so...earnest when he met them. Possibly because normally he met then when they had little to feel happy about. Waving a polite farewell to their hostess, the costumed detective turned to the Ministry agent. "The place to start," Marceau said with great decisiveness despite his head feeling like the inside of a slate quarry "is where this convention is to take place. Unless I am wholly mistaken our qua-OW. Ow. Our...victim will be searching around the place at first, getting a feel for the area and where she can hide if she needs to evade us without much attention. I have no photographic memory, detective" he added with a grave look "and that picture quality was not splendid, so even if we look her in the face we may not see her, if you understand. Once there too we can ask around, she might have friends who can tell us if she seemed...odd. Or whatever they term it, not as they should be." Turning to his partner he asked "Can you help us there, my friend? paint something or use your magic so we cannot fail to recognize that body-thief when we see her?"

Subito wasn't nearly as used to hospital visits as Young Britannia, making up for it as best he could be being cheerful, optimistic and as sunny as one could be despite knowing a lot of the children he was talking to were probably far beyond the help he could offer, let alone Why-Bee. The two superheroes had one big advantage though: their powers and brilliant costumes lit up the place wherever they went, and that alone seemed to do the patients good, as did Subito's patience for people pulling and poking at his costume and wanting to try on his hat. But the gloomy young faces brightening up with hope was a memory now, and they had their work before them. Malaise had to be stopped for good and all. At Young Britannia's question, the younger paragon shrugged his broad shoulders "I don't know...well," he corrected himself sharply "I mean, don't know for sure. You got a way to carry the thing without needin' to really touch it? Even just a little piece of solid light or something?" Looking at the dangerously unassuming safe, he wondered seriously if it wouldn't be better to just carry the blasted thing in the metal box and have done with it. "We can always hit her with a safe," he said aloud, quite by accident "hitting her with the Chains wouldn't be too smart, 'cause then she'd...uh...sorry, thinkin' aloud" he muttered quickly as he caught Agnus' eye, looking away and feeling more than a little foolish. Why was everyone who had the same powers as him so much older? And smarter for that matter? That wasn't fair at all.

The Tennyson Monster blinked, awe and gratitude stamped as big as a cliffside "Oh th...thank you, thank you both! I will not forget this kindness young masters!" So saying it turned at once and stood still while Heraldo flew up to the cracked crystal, raising the Bandera high and letting the healing power flow from the fluttering ensign into the strange wound. Slowly and majestically the blue-gold waves filled the crystal, halting the bubbling stream and sealing shut the gash Dyrnwyn had carved into it. Flexing its back with a noise like a piano being tuned with flung boulders, the Monster gave a trumpet from its bushy mouth, bowed again and all but leaped back against the island it had torn free of, settling back into its crouched place with a rustle of limbs and leaves. The trees flourished from its knees to reflect the water on their leaves, the cool poplars stood up straighter and the broad oaks had a ruddy sheen in the morning Sun. The parties scattered around Liberty Lake gave a rousing applause at the impromptu patriotic display. Dropping down(gently, so as not to splash) next to Blodeuwedd, Heraldo put the banner back in its holster while admiring the island view. "Pretty good work, Blodeu!" he loud enough to be clear but not enough for his words to go far, nodding at the Tennyson Island's holiday decor "And...thanks for stickin' with me on that. Letting him go, I mean. It means a lot." He smiled warmly where he could hear the invisible girl. Appearing to stretch his arms, which had the fortunate side-effect of underlining how well his jacket fit, he added casually "Want another lift back to the party? We could probably change in the woods and sneak into the crowd pretty easy."

''Course I will, once I see it your way everything will be fine' Heraldo thought bitterly. He was less than assured that anything about this situation was going to end up fine. He was distracted very quickly from gloomy subject by the sudden appearance of the storm. Rain pounded at him like a hail of frozen spikes while the wind lashed and buffeted him about, forcing him gradually lower and lower as the ground below sank into the gloom of a tropical storm. Whatever good it did the Caribbean ecosystem and atmosphere, it made flying utter misery. "Atlantis" the powerful young man growled to himself, eyes burning with blue fire as he soared over the island arcs and God only knew how many other scattered battles, routs and veiled atrocities "they used to control half the world, weather control wouldn't be a problem. It hampers us and conceals them, no planes or boats are gonna go through this anytime soon." There was nothing else to do but go on, following the trail of landmass breadcrumbs by the shape of mountains, bays and what little else he could make out far below. Subito wondered why he couldn't just be there and get it over with. The thought baffled him before he was done thinking it. This was the real world, things weren't just going to happen for his convenience.

MY EYES! Curse you, spawn of the Light! Aoiroo, by my count there's the three current Vanguard members, two guys from the Ministry of Powers, four thugs in the van with two crime bosses and a wacko vigilante, and five suspected criminals on the ground more or less within range. So that's six known criminals and six suspected ones. Five of them(Nelson and the thugs) are armed.

Making a harsh grinding noise at the back of his throat, Wave-Eye allowed himself a little grin that seemed to open a white gash in his head "As you wish Temperance! I shall follow your excellent example." With that he lunged straight into the spawn of the Void in a storm of steel-hard nails and iron limbs, after a vicious struggle twisting an arm around its torso and shoulders with force that would surely have killed any even remotely normal human, while his free, spined fist crashed into its face with a sound that was hideous to hear. Tucking the body against himself Wave-Eye dashed across the flooded marble with explosive footsteps towards the bit of darkness that Silver Spider had managed to still, repeating the procedure that its brother had suffered with the added flourish of a brutal headbutt to what could have been its nose. With both monsters in his bulging arms, the grotesque triton turned to the two humans, slammed his fists together with a wet crack and growled "Let us kill these abominations and have done"

Alright...and only now do I realize I never asked you for an Initiative roll. Great work Batman. So without further ado, if you could do that for me TiffanyKorta I would be deeply grateful.

Happy birthday HG_Morrison! Congratulations on having beheld a quarter century! May you see the rest of one, and I hope it's a wonderful adventure as you return to this part of the Orbit time and again. :toot:

Alden crashed heavily against Tony as the vehicle stopped with a jerk, growling in muted frustration as momentum sent him crashing back into the seat. He had forgotten about the cuffs until it was too late, and banged his wrists against hard metal. Rubbing what little of them he could reach with his fingers, he glanced briefly out the window, eyes narrowing behind the lenses as he took in the situation. "Don't jump to conclusions Nelson" he advised the crime lord "especially now. Whoever they are they might want my double brought in as much as you. Vigilantes aren't popular here." Taking another look outside his eyes lingered wretchedly on the man who seemed hurt far worse than the rest. Disquiet grew as the pieces filed into place in his ordered mind 'Someone sends somebody who looks like me to...deal with this, draw attention and people here. But who? The middleman has me if his spy network's half what it appears, is there someone else at work or is my oldest foe just arranging my shocking death at the hands of frightened officers or gangsters? Or could it be-no. Don't be stupid, he wouldn't dare be in London or anywhere this far from the coast...would he?' Aloud he said, very softly "We need to help them that's hurt. They die, someone gets blamed, things explode and whoever did this gets away" glancing at Bullet Tony he added "Send us."

Osprey's rolls in case they net him something handy/problematic: Notice(with Low-Light Vision) 23. Knowledge(Streetwise) 16.

No worries Thevshi, inertia is deep problem! And I'm excited to see where this goes.

Unresisting, though mainly because his vision was still shaky and blurry from the blow to the head, Subito had stood dumbly as the harsh voice of their jailer rang out, catching one word in four. Feeling the restraints on his arms suddenly fall away the stocky teen gasped in surprise as a familiar rush of noise swept in and around him like the waves of the sea battering a cliffside far below them. '...-erald...My Herald! Speak to me! What happened? Blah, whuh...oh...s'you Dama...I'm fine, got hit in the head, where you been? Good! You are alive and awake, now let us clear your mind How you gon'do th-ah! Ow, ow ow my head, ow that hurts. Whoa, what is this place? Are those force-fields? Wait, a prison! I remember now, we're being held by that underhanded, pompous Chinese b- Ahem Sorry. Let's get cracking, now I can channel your might again La Dama, Lady Shen is going down! Indeed! Focus, my Herald, let us find a way to free ourselves and your comrades' Coming to himself he surveyed their prison critically, noting with a gleam in his eye the tell-tale sound of footsteps receding into the distance. His attention soon shifted however, drawn to Giang as his schoolmate explained her part in sealing their plight. The last words had him all but slack-jawed. "Dr...Sin?" One good thing about Claremont Academy's curriculum was that it gave its students a good overview on the major players in the world, including the evils of the past. Suddenly a look of total disbelief and anger swept over Subito's handsome face, this was too unfair "But, but he's dead! He died years ago fightin' the first Raven, his airship fleet blew up and he went with it! Everyone knows that! He can't have survived, this must be some other guy who took his name...and..." the outburst trickled away, disbelief replaced by horror "Oh my God, he is immortal. How do you fight someone like that?". Sitting down on the hard bed with a dull thud, the young paragon was silent for a while, staring at the shimmering door through a dull throb of pain. More quietly he said "So this is what you didn't want us to know." Looking back at Giang he smiled awkwardly if kindly "Sorry your family's so messed up, Giang, don't blame yourself for any of this. We'll get out of here, stop whatever they're plannin' cold." Getting to his feet with more of his usual energy he started in on the rice and veggies, scooping it up with the chopsticks and swallowing with relish. The long flight, long walk and tension had combined with him being a teenaged boy to ensure a powerful hunger that overcame any fears that it was drugged or full of foul-tasting poisons. Already the ache at the back of his head wasn't as bad as it had been, his mind buzzed with plans and he was ready for action. As he chewed he called over to Serge "So, Surge, glad you're lookin' better man! You had me worried. Got any ideas what we can do to put these"he gestured at the force-fields "on the fritz so they'll stop harshin' our collective mellows? And to sum up: we got nabbed, flown to some island, and the old woman Giang named Lady Shen is in charge here, holding us for some crazy evil scheme. Eat up, let's get some energy." Frowning thoughtfully he added "What exactly do they want you for?"

Alternate Identity: None Identity: Public Birthplace: Zultas Occupation: Heir to the Stellar Khanate, Affiliations: The Stellar Khanate, the Star Khan, alien criminals Family: Kinan Khan(The Star Khan, father), Kegin Ar(mother), Khania Khan(sister, elder), Kaveh Khan(sister, younger), Keri Khan(sister, younger), Kortex Khan(half-brother, younger), many cousins and extended relations. Description: Age: DoB: 1990 Apparent Age: Mid twenties Gender: Male Ethnicity: Blue-skinned(Zultas nobility). Height: 6'4" Weight: 200lbs. Eyes: Gray Hair: Silver Kessallo is...striking, at the very least. In contrast to the generally slender Zultasians who favor utilitarian clothing, the prince wears colorful clothes that accentuate more than conceal his heroic build. His handsome face framed by a head of luxuriant silver hair is almost always warm and kind, and matched with a strong, rich voice used to making commands that are swiftly obeyed. His attitude is confident, even a little cockily self-assured, and he carries himself with an air of grandeur just short of preening. In battle he wears armor that looks vaguely Grecian, along with several bronze-colored high-technology pieces that glow a deep green when activated. Power Descriptions: The Headgear surrounds Kessallo's head with a faint shimmering energy field that supplies him with breathable air, while his Belt and Bracers's energy coils visibly pulse when activated and form a glittering sheen around his body, especially his feet. The Weapon Modulators are two red disks mounted to the Belt that attach to his hands, allowing him to manifest and control the energy stored within them. The Million Blades create a semi-circle of various alien hand-weapons around him in the form of bright red energy before he chooses one, causing the rest to vanish. The Meteor Maze creates a whirling circle of solid blue energy rods that try to bash away people he targets if they get too close. The Comet Lance is a blazing white spear that arcs off at whoever he targets, flowing like a stream of quicksilver. History: Kessallo Khan is the second child born to Kinan Khan in his first marriage, to the Zultasian queen Kegin Ar, the first child his daughter Khania. Ordinarily she would have been the one raised as heir, Zultas traditionally choosing leaders from the strongest females, but the Star Khan was curious: could history repeat itself? After all, despite his genius the conquests he'd amassed had never been a sure thing, what if the boy could be trained and molded to surpass even him? Like Khania the boy grew up with an interest in the flamboyant and show-boaty, eager for attention and love, but there the similarities ended. From his earliest childhood Kessallo was instructed in the art of war, in conducting battles, commanding the myriad legions of the Stellar Khanate, in the long and proud history of Zultas' military exploits. This had the dual result of both forming the young alien into a competent leader at an even earlier age than his father, and giving him a taste for finer things. Raised on a steady diet of mythologized epics and somewhat more factual history Kessallo quickly proved his preference for the poetic rather than realistic, avidly seeking out the ruins of his homeworld's past glories and whatever music teachers his father would allow him(and some he learned from on the sly), developing a considerable talent for Zultas' archaic stringed instruments. His father indulged the young man up to a point, but after his sister was exiled the Star Khan sent a terse message: no more games. From then on he would be heir in fact as well as hope. With the intent of making sure that he wouldn't be hopelessly lost in managing the wildly disparate parts of the Khanate, the Star Khan sent him out as captain of a small 'peacekeeping' force to the outer sectors. Luckily Kessallo had always been good at making friends, and the busy task of learning to rule the endlessly diverse empire was made easier by his winning nature and open desire to learn. The Star Khan was soon relieved to hear of his son's exploits among his subjects, though some of the rumors that came to surround him worried the tyrant, particularly how little interest Kessallo, deliberately raised in mostly male company, had in the eligible princesses who "happened" to cross his path, preferring dueling on the rowdy streets to romance. With even greater freedom than ever before the prince blossomed, the previously lean and soft-spoken boy returning to the Khan's flagship incredibly well-built and boisterous for a man of Zultas, roundly shunning the crisp uniforms he was offered in place of the brilliant and eccentric attire he'd come to love. Appearing before the throne dressed in the brief and flowing costume of a bard, he boldly offered his father the gift of Daedalus' head and the world of Earth as proof of his love. To everyone's surprise, this was accepted at once. Personality & Motivation: Kessallo was raised to be better than the greatest military strategist and leader in recent memory, and as a result has adopted a somewhat superior and condescending attitude when speaking to people he thinks his inferiors. He enjoys flaunting his ability and presence for nothing more than the attention of others, and his strict code of ethics seems to mostly be for show to those who don't know him. Despite that he maintains a cheerfully civil atmosphere, making his faults and strengths seem less deep-set then they are. Kessallo knows all too well how much a simple and easily-grasped personality can do for one's reputation. He only opens up when with his siblings, and then only so far. Like his father he hates the Star Knights for their dogged opposition to the Khanate, and sees the Lor Republic and Grue Unity as nothing more than especially tenacious challenges to be overcome, knowing that someday his shall be the name feared throughout the galaxy! Earth and its super-powered denizens is but the first rung on that ladder to him, and he makes it plain to any who ask. When approached more personally he's energetic and passionate about his likes and dislikes, eager to make friends and understand others. He honors bargains made with good faith and never goes back on his sworn word. But like everything else, this also has an ulterior motive: learning what people are like so he can control them when he is Khan. The difference is that he doesn't know that yet, and will be horrified when he does. Powers & Tactics: A swift and graceful combatant, Kessallo prefers to deal out quick, light strikes rather than rely on brute force. In practice that means either keeping out of reach as he sends a rain of energy blasts at his opponent, or ducking around them as he slashes with energy blades. More powerful foes he tends to try and subdue with the windmilling Meteor Maze if he can't evade them outright. Mainly, of course, he tends to just send in a platoon of soldiers or squadron of ships and shoot at them until they've perished. He will honor a request for single-combat however, without a qualm no matter who asks it, and fulfill its terms with complete respect. What they're about: Kessallo is more or less the Token Good Guy of the Khanlets. He's(normally) friendly, kind and honest in his dealings with others, open to reason and other points of view, and his rampant imperialism and deeply-ingrained narcissistic vanity only infrequently mar that surface gentility. He's the one who more or less holds the band together thanks to the fact he actually loves his siblings and isn't consumed by some vendetta or gnawing grudge, which may partially be because Star Khan sees something of his glorious mother in the young man, and hopes that high responsibilities might bring it out. To Kinan's frustration, the boy is more interested in the idea of battle and its abstract glories than in turning himself into a practical tactical genius. While an able and experienced commander of fleets and armies despite his years, he's still nowhere near as good as he'd need to be to hold the Khanate together after the Star Khan's death. Something his father knows could come at any time in the chaotic confederacy. This is especially bad because the people of the Khanate absolutely adore him. For years he's been the handsome, sensitively artistic prince in the minds of Star Khan's subjects, and his outgoing, generous nature along with patronage of the fine arts has won him friends even among his fiercely competitive brothers and sisters and the Khan's bickering vassals. The last thing Star Khan wants is a 'nice' successor who loses everything he fought for because Kessallo was too gentle and weak to hold it against rivals. To his mind the boy needs a lesson, and a sharp one at that. So when the young prince offered to lead the forces nearby Earth's sector, the Star Khan happily agreed. Kessallo would either succeed or fail on his own merits and in the public eye against enemies his father had been foiled by time and again, which could only instill humility and caution or else draw him to even greater heights of battle prowess. Relationship with the others: As I said before, he's the brotherly glue that binds them together. He plays no favorites and never lets a grudge fester, acting as peacemaker when the others clash. He's especially close with Kortex Khan(the Son of Mind and Soul), his half-brother. He knows that the rest of the family doesn't see Kortex as really one of them(even their father considers him more a useful tool than a son), and does what he can to counter that. Kortex, for his part, puts his considerable mental resources to work making sure Kessallo doesn't end up dead due to trusting the wrong person at the wrong time, and psychically testing the strategies of his brother before letting them on to the troops to bolster his elder's image as a master tactician. Kaveh(the Daughter of Death and Riches) is as withdrawn and apathetic around him as anyone else but admires his easy way with people and talent for leading. Keri(the Daughter of Shadows and Steel) adores her big brother and throws herself wholeheartedly into gathering information and augmenting the quartet's technology to aid their cause, knowing that when they win he'll be so eager for someone to confide in she can play him like a fiddle.

They are indeed Minions, and that hits! DC25 Toughness save: 20. One-hit Minions, so they're down. Knockback is 10. 1000ft. interrupted by the Guard in front of them. Their comrade's DC19(EDIT: actually, that should be DC25, whoops!) Toughness save: 23! It hits their armor, and badly surprises them and their fellows. EDIT: nope, they are out of the fight. Blodeuwedd is up. Then combat proper will begin.

Anyway, for a focus, I believe you've already said in Paying it Forward that Eve intends the team to deal with underhanded corporation shenanigans rather than more high-stakes and public threats to human life and happiness. In that case a whole lot of possibilities open up given the ties some of the larger companies in Freedom City have to organized crime, not to mention the Grant Conglomerate & El Laberinto del Toro. However, a problem emerges. The characters you already have pegged as perfect for the team(Crimson Tiger, Ghost Girl, Wraith & Blue Fox) will be more than a match for most of the goons that can feasibly be fielded against them by their enemies without the PL-scale going absolutely crazy. Ideally the big guns won't need to be employed right away to present a physical challenge, and that wouldn't be the only kind they face. This wouldn't be an issue ordinarily, but the Birds of Prey were notable as being a remarkably low-powered team for the most part. Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, Oracle, for a while the biggest bruiser was Black Canary. Of course the easy way to avoid that is just have enemies they can't reach to beat into submission...when dealing with a psychic, an infiltration-monster, and a ghost. Putting their foes initially beyond the reach of the law, with the team needing to slowly gather evidence as the Magnate of the Year puts them through a gauntlet of hired baddies from Conundrum to Warden could work but might take a freaking long time. Am I off-base on this?

Grue in the setting sourcebook are described as liking infiltration and deception over main force(except when they don't), so to my mind the power to shield themselves from unfriendly eyes, noses and psionics fits them pretty well. Flight is more iffy(and sorry Tiff for not thinking of that earlier!), as Pseudo, the archetypical Rogue Grue has no native Flight power, but their shapechanging talents mean any of the race could grow wings or air sacks or whatever at will. One niggle(fluffwise) I have is that normally all Grue have a mental connection to the Meta-Mind unless they develop an ego(Meta-Grue) or psychic contact with others awakens their dormant personality(Pseudo), and while an immature specimen could probably have that connection broken more easily than its elders, it's important to make clear that DID happen. Unless that's not the case and the Meta-Mind decides they want to see where Daphne is going with this. Also, I'm guessing the ship blower-uppers were the Lor? Also also, how did she get into college without any prior history in Earth's databases?

Tsunami is first up then, take it away Thevshi. And to refresh everyone, they're in a very confined hallway with negligible cover. Queenie's at the front with her royal guard and Subito, with the other Serpents on her heels in a big rectangle formation.

Grue Gal! Star Lass! Ms. Starry! Manifold! Princess Celestia! Extra-Celestial! I love characters like these TiffanyKorta(which is why I don't make any myself...huh...), so I'm biased to Heaven and back, but I'll try and give you some good advice. First, does she have a costume? M'Gann had/has her in-between form, does Daphne have a similar kind of deal? Second, if she's 16 the DoB ought to be 1997, shouldn't it? Third, Blaster Pistols from the Core Rulebook are only rank 5, so that's a DC20 Toughness save rather than a DC24 save. 15+rank for damage. Also I think a mention on how she feels about using a weapon like that could be neat, seeing as she already has a load of really useful superpowers! Density needs bolding, and as it's 3PP-rank with 6 ranks and a feat, that's 19PP, not 20. A whole PP to work with there! Same PP deal with Growth, Morph and Shrinking. Dynamic Array, so there's that, but making that clear could be helpful in the future. For now I'd suggest putting it as 18/20PP or whatever in the counts.

What: A fairly brief mostly skill & social thread, with possible combat. Where: The Lands Beyond(around the Spanish side of the Straits of Gibraltar). Who: Cobalt Templar and one or two others, with heavy preference for former members of Young Freedom. From Spain word reaches Corbin: the Indigo Ring has been sighted. Elusive and seemingly in ceaseless movement, its new bearer has cloaked themselves in darkness, but the light that shines from their hand into the minds of the few eyewitnesses, and the ethereal power it wields leaves no doubt. Along with a handful of those he trusts, he moves to meet this new player. Links: '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> IC. '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> OOC.

As they're another League hopeful, would you be alright with >Wave-Eye as a comrade-in-arms? Thevshi, would that be acceptable? Also, I'm free to GM if you're up for another thread thomasdm3.

That's fine by me Supercape. Makes sense they wouldn't want to risk him just beating everyone up and taking them in. Also adds to the chance for that so-precious adrenaline surge.

Swirling around the boy, the reptile observed its enemy for a little while, seeming to drift rather than swim in a leisurely sort of way. Circling to keep Greenscale in view, Subito somehow felt the attack before it began, darting to the side as the snake lunged for him, jaws swinging open to uncover its fangs that scored the water! Hissing with rage, Greenscale began to whip back out of range, but it had made a fatal error. Grabbing the snake with his left hand Subito drew back his right fist and smashed it into the skull of the venomous beast, tossing it away from him and swimming back himself, breathing quickly as his eyes bored into the monster. 'Gotta have an openin' in my defense somewhere, but what is it?' His still-agonized chest and newly throbbing knuckles at least kept him on his toes, reminding him how all-too human he was in this world. The snake twitched, and his reverie instantly broke. Dropping into a ready position, the muscular teen's mind spun through what it might do now. Attack from the side? The back? Grab him by the head? The green water clung to his throat as Subito gulped nervously. 'Man, I wish I WAS better at fightin', wouldn't have so much to worry about...here it comes!' Greenscale suddenly thrashed out to his full length, glared at its young foe, and swam straight past him, quick as an arrow. "The rest will be more of a challenge young ox" he snapped, vanishing into his lair with an emerald flash. Subito relaxed, staring after the lizard for a long time before he dared move. Shaking his head with a grimace as pain lanced through him, he set to work combing the pond-bed for the wretched key that had caused him so much trouble. The water blocked and amplified light maddeningly, but at least he didn't have to deal with the sun dazzling his eyes. Pausing before a skeleton half-buried in the mud, he shuddered. "I mighta joined him, and done nothin' good here at all" he murmured uneasily "maybe this wasn't such a good idea, huh?" he asked the world at large, lips quirking glumly at the silence that followed. Beginning to turn away, a flash caught his eye from somewhere within the depths of the dead skull. Remaining still as he gathered resolve, the Hispanic teen turned back, swam up to the corpse, and very gingerly slid his hand into the skull, fishing about until he closed on a hard ring of metal. Dragging it out with all haste, he sighed in relief at the sight of an ancient, rusted key ring clutched in his fist. "How'd you get this in ya? Guess I'll never know. Thanks though, whoever or whatever you were, hope you're restin' peacefully" Subito said to his deceased benefactor, making the sign of the Cross over their body before kicking off for the surface. Emerging with a splash, the glistening youth took a second to adjust to the feel of breathing air instead of water, and air drifting over his body instead of liquid pressure. Putting back on his clothes after sunning for a while on a drier part of the pond's bank, the young paragon approached the door, steeling himself for the next part of his journey. The door was overgrown with moss and strewn with vines sprouting the serrated leaves of the Hypolepis, soft pink flowers dotting the ground before it. Clearing away some of the plant growth with his less painful hand, he slid the key jerkily into the rusty lock and twisted it sharply. With a creaking groan the green door slid back, revealing a rocky mountain plain under a stormy sky dominated by an enormous fortified stone bridge. "Well," Subito said quietly "'least I've got a chance." With that, he walked towards the forbidding structure.

Well then, since somebody is too hoity-toity to accept a proffered conch, Wave-Eye will grab the nearby Depthshade with Accurate Attack(+2 Attack, -2 DC): 11. That misses, so rerolling (1HP left): 10. +10 from the Hero Point. That hits for a DC33 check to resist the Grapple, and a DC21 Toughness save. Moving over to the second Dazed Depthshade, SURGing for another Standard Action to try and grab this one too! Same Accurate Attack as before: 29, hits! DC30 opposed Grapple check, and another DC21 Toughness save. Wave-Eye is now Bruised and Fatigued.

This has gone on so long even I've lost all interest. Greenscale shakes off the daze and decides to go kill something that's less bothersome(tip: when dealing with wild animals, remember that very few of them actually fight to the death or until they win, even crazed bloodthirsty carnivores or intelligent magical ones that technically only exist because somebody's too much of a fool to perceive them accurately). Taking 20(2 hours in Dreamland time) allows Subito to locate the key amid the mud. On he goes.

GM Freedom's Finest were used to all kinds of weird calls in early morning, but dead dwarves on Lantern Hill still go their attention. After a few carefully selected questions(mostly about the cause of death and exact state of the body), the officer on the other end of 's antique iron rotary phone thanked Blodeuwedd for her civic service, and hinted that as little should be taken away as was physically possible from the crime scene before they could look it over. Then it was off to the informants. Hopefully they would prove less dead than their luckless comrade. One of the enormous benefits of fairies and the lesser spirits living in the material world was how sedentary they had to be. In Faerie the inhabitants changed their location with maddening frequency, sometimes moving their palaces or cottages in the time it took you to turn your back. In the physical world that was no longer so convenient, and that shock alone had made some of Crow's contacts nervous wrecks for their first few months in exile as they relearned much of their roaming habits. The elementals at least had consistent dealings with Earth, and grew accustomed more readily as a result, but going from the Cradle of Stars to suburbia was rarely easy. So calling on Mrs. Elaine Summers of 430 Herge St., formerly Duchess Elaine of the Golden Fields in high Avalon and one of the few people who knew the old Dvergar and could stand him, was at least a safe bet. mid-Autumn meant there was little risk of her being off dancing in Wharton Forest or on Liberty lake. The Fey woman answered the green door of her and Mr. Summers' Victorian gingerbread house in her glamour of a middle-aged human blonde with bright green eyes and kindly face, marred by unfeigned tiredness and suspicion. Glancing quickly over the odd duo, she urged them inside wordlessly and led the way into the well-appointed sitting room. Lighting the fireplace with a brisk snap of the fingers, she sat down in one of the several available chairs, shook out the sleeves of her crisp white bathrobe and regarded the humans warily. At last she said in a high, strained voice "What is it? My husband will not be awake for hours, but be quick."