Ari

Indeed you don't. Fiating that Hunter fails his attempt to free himself, and breaks down into a sobbing heap. We are out of rounds.

Marceau followed Gallia's gesture at René with confusion, <"What do you remember him doing Beatrice? Was it to...to preserve Gallia? Protect her from enemies? I know René, he is not one to bind or imprison any creature without unimpeachable reasons."> he declared stoutly, stepping forward and putting a comforting arm on the woman's shoulder <"What do you see right now? Can you tell us what you see as clearly as possible?"> Turning to the ancient painter he said quickly <"My friend, can you use your magic to find out if there is any mystical power in that portrait? Or..or its frame? That might be the key!">

"I say we get 'em." Subito had let the peaceful tranquility of the plateau wash over himself, and thus had missed what he now realized must have been the noise of scaled feet dragging over the stones, and whip-like tails sliding among the rocks. Falling to the ground beside the others, the muscular boy crept forward and peered through the foliage at the reptiles right in front of them. 'I have got to ask Mr. Archer about working on my situational awarenes skills. This is getting ridiculous' Narrowing his eyes as he realized that the Serpent People must be putting some kind of spell over the dinosaurs, Giang's quiet suggestion had instantly got him wondering about the dangers of just letting them go free. Brushing some curly hair out of his face, he had spoken those words with utter confidence. Turning to the Asian teen he added "It's crazy risky, yeah, but what if we can break up whatever evil they've gonna do with those dinos? Their bosses aren't gonna be able to just know what happened, and if we trash those mooks they'll have to send guys to check it out, leavin' fewer at the base for us to deal with and sound alarms and stuff." He abruptly grew silent, and looked back out at the lurching lizards and their new masters. No point giving them all away because he couldn't stop talking. In his mind, a familiar voice asked 'Now you worry about that?', which he did he best to ignore and instead looked at the others "What d'you guys think?"

Going with her backstage? Sure, why not. 'A better place to scheme than an open bar. Much more secluded' Roi thought, taking a lingering moment to give Agnes a suitable head-start before delicately extinguishing his own cigarette with his long tailor's fingers and depositing it in his coat pocket for later. With a cheerful smile and a blithe "Bon nuit, monsieur barman" to Harry, Roi drained the last of his glass, slung his now much drier jacket over one shoulder and began to rise...only for Croak's hand to seize him in an unbreakable grip. Stopping and looking at the man in momentary confusion, he then smiled and patted the hand "Don't worry, Mr. Croak, I have no designs on Agnes." 'Well, no serious ones yet' "Besides," he added calmly while looking into the man's eyes "she invited me for a tour of your establishment's infrastructure. Now please remove your hand from me. Or would you prefer to upset the Wild Joker's star attraction?" He had no idea if that would work, but it was better than trying to pick a fight.

GM The man shrugged, "If you say so" he said, floating a few feet into the air where he began lazily drifting and circling above the two girls, his passing seeming to cause faint murmurs and dart-like whispers at the backs of their minds. "You know," he went on conversationally to Warp, watching the skinny entropy-wielder with care "your negotiation skills are, shall we say, pretty lacking. I can understand why you'd be so quick to get on the offensive though." he rested his coal-and-copper head on his powerful arms as he looped slowly above her. Smiling kindly he said "Being made such fools of, and with robot doubles of all things! I remember you now, you were at that guy's rally in Bayview. That trick with the mass teleport was impressive. Tell me:" his clean-shaven face was suddenly a few inches away from Kat's, gentle gray eyes fired with curiosity "what was it like to fail in your self-appointed mission so utterly, people look up now with fearful eyes as one of you soars above them? Does it keep you awake at nights? The smell of fresh blood, pierced guts, the shrieks and weak, failing gasps, the sound of a bow snuffing out life all around you, the despairing eyes. Are these easy for you to bear?" He stroked her cheek as he asked sadly "Did their lives matter so little you could not even try to stop that bowbot?" The whispers grew even stronger as his eyes bored into her like iron nails. With a warm smile and a chuckle he zipped away, hovering above Glow with a few miles of his legs crossed and arms folded comfortably on his well-defined chest. Looking down at her he said brightly "Well then! I think we should start the regulation fight now Don't worry, I will do my utmost to be a worthy opponent! I'll come at you with all my body and soul!" he added with an eager fistpump. Glancing closer at the sprightly Australian his smile dimmed "Sweet &@#%, a god fighting teenaged girls over a piece of paper, what has my life become?" he sighed and looked up at the cold winter sky "I'm sorry, Susan. These Mob guys pay well, but they are $)#@!&%, I'll get back home as soon as I can." He looked back down sharply, then smiled. "When you're ready."

GM The two entered an at first unassuming brown room filled with conical piles of glittering dust. A willowy and fair woman in fine red clothes like what René had seen once in the court of Poland, with pricked ears and the unearthly eyes of the Fey walked to and fro with an abacus in her arms, watching intently as the swaggering brooms marched past and shoveled their cargo with arrogant flicks into the widening mounds, the dusters showered down the twinkling dust of the castle, or redcaps darted across the floor with incredible speed from other rooms and squeezed out water from their cloths that turned into torrents of sparkling gems. Seeing their approach, she adopted a smile and gave them a quick bow "Greetings, my name is Tasselfoot. What reason would two guests of his Princeship have to visit the humble chamber of a gatherer of dust?" As she spoke, a fly emerged from her hair and went buzzing furiously through the air, finally managing to find the broad doorway and droned off down the hallway. Tasselfoot raised an eyebrow at it when if first appeared, then ignored the insect entirely "Pay it no mind, it must have wandered up from the kitchens" she said lightly with a disarming smile "I have heard foolish things recently, such as that their are traitors to Parsinkle in this very castle, ones who would deny him and Hartfoul their masterful schemes. What do you think of such people, humans? How would you deal with these renegades? The laws against uprisings here in Avalon are strict, are they less so in your world."

With a quick nod the King of Suits dashed forward across the harsh floor, feet nearly silent as he all but leaped into action. Grabbing the soldier under his arms, he neatly tossed the man over his shoulder and slid back into the hidden corner. Disassembling the gun as he went, he tucked the pieces into his belt for storage and to serve as spare parts, raising an eyebrow at the high quality of the magazine. "Dr. Green isn't a cheapskate it seems" He commented dourly to Crusader. Crushing against the wall to hide better he added with a powerful note of admiration "Amazing work. Even grander in the light", voice dipping even lower as another troop of guards stormed past at a light run, rubber soles cushioning their hurried footsteps. Once they had passed, Marceau checked the passages, muttering "We should find a good hiding spot to ask about this place. Let's see if we chance upon any closets." And then he was off, running low and carefully, the soldier bouncing on his back.

That hits. DC21 TOU saves: 19 and 10. Both down! King of Suits moves, grabs one fo them and hustles back to the shadows.

Same on both counts. Let's roll into the finish!

"Wait...Atlantis? I thought you were just from the ocean! You're seriously from the legendary underwater city? Duuude..." Whistling in amazement, the muscular Puerto Rican boy looked at the towering girl with no little admiration. "W-what's it like? Living in Atlantis I mea-" he broke in with an excited look right as Tona began talking. Starting he looked at the young archer apologetically and quickly shook his head, saying "Sorry, what Tona said." Turning ever so slightly to Cerys he murmured "The Order ever meet folks from Atlantis? Find their stuff? I don't remember your organization havin'much to do with the sea." He twirled his cap on one finger, watching the imposing sub-marine girl with anticipation. Whatever reason she had, it had to be a good one! 'Or it could be the king and queen want good soldiers. This place has an emphasis on teaching supers how to use their abilities best Meh, still pretty awesome!'

Subito nodded and followed her through, doing his best not to let his imagination start running wild at her words. That and keeping calm as blood pounded through him. At least he remembered what he had so easily forgotten, and glancing at the young agent he smiled warmly "Blodeu, I'm gonna hold ya to that promise! I bet we'll be in Cardiff soon on Order business, and that dinner's on you. And no telling! I mean it!" the strongly-built boy added with an adorably serious look as he stepped into the circle. Emerging with a neat roll behind the sheltered bus stop down the road from Claremont, he glanced up at the noon sky with a gleeful "Hoo yeah! More Saturday for us!" and jumped to his feet. Another remebrance of what he had promised sent a fresh thrill of excitement through him. Settling against the bus stop, he waited for Blodeuwedd to come through and then walked up to her, put a hand on her shoulder and leaned slightly up to murmur into her ear"I forgot to return this to you" then he kissed her sweetly on the cheek, looked into her eyes, blushed furiously and stepped back. Clearing his throat a few times he glanced away, mumbling "Uh, yeah...so...we should pro'lly, uh, get goin'" as he quickly set off for the gates of the stately campus. "Thanks for the clothes by the way, they're a little tight but real good. Um...I'll give 'em back wh-" Suddenly he stopped, whirled around and hugged Blodeuwedd enthusiastically "Cerys! That was awesome! I can't believe we got to do that! Like, with the thing, and then that fight, you-you-" he broke away and grinned at the taller girl as he gripped her shoulders, eyes alight with merriment "You let me know right away when I can help you guys again! And tell me about your folks sometime! Your family is sick. I Branwen like that all the time? I bet if we..." Flinging an arm around her shoulders he walked back to school, not stopping an excited flow of plans, future badassery and derring-do until they parted for their floors. Striding back into his dorm room he tossed the backpack onto his bed, casually pulled the fresh clothes off and got his own back on, thinking cheerily 'Aw man, I wonder what Cerys thinks 'bout all this? I bet it's just the same old, same old for her! Hm. You may be righter than you know.

"He took to my suggestion with more...enthusiasm than I expected when I offerred it. This is not a war I like the thought of René, almost as little as the sort we practice on Earth." the towering young man replied, his thin lips pursed and sharp eyes watching the door suspiciously. Leading the way into the mazes of stone halls that honeycomed the fortress he went on thoughtfully "Ah well, we have little choice it seems. If we leave that chef hanging we will have fewer allies when his minions start their havoc, and you are right," he grinned as the two made their way to follow the streams of serving-Fey, Marceau choosing the general current made up of strutting dusters, sinuous brooms and the squat redcaps scrubbing the walls to raucous songs. In a low voice he added between cheerful greetingst to the servants "We are in agreement there my friend. Overthrowing these two plotters might have repercussions we cannot dream of, but it will give the redcaps a taste of true freedom, and perhaps that will be the best we can do here." Clapping the old painter around the shoulders, the costumed detective declared fondly "And I would have nobody else to help me." With a smile, the younger man rapped at the heavy oak door one of the brooms had stepped through, turned the handle and walked into the room.

"But..." Subito visibly deflated before Kat's grim and cutting words. He shrugged, a flicker of helpless anger across his face "It's...yeah, you're right Kat. As always." He curled some of his hair around his fingers, the full impact of what the skinny girl said manifesting as a deep gloom. Looking back up he said "That wouldn't be all that easy, no. And it wouldn't be right to expect it. Suppose we better start workin' overtime to make ourselves trustworthy again." Glancing out one of the windows he added casually "By the way Kat, if we're in danger of turning evil 'cause of people no longer trusting their heroes, you wanna come with me and pick out our black leather pants? I just wanna be ready!" He smiled at his classmate guilelessly. "Anyway, other stuff: those books got what you need? If so," he leaned back against the bookshelf, resting his head on his arms "We're pro'lly good to go. They've got hot chocolate at the coffee counter too."

Yes, just about everyone they'll meet here is a minion.

The two before them are being followed by six others. They have three rounds to get both of them before the other troops arrive.

"I'll take care of them Broken Crow!" Heraldo shouted, hurtling through the air in a golden blaze and slamming into the midst of Malaise's servants. Raising the Bandera, he drew on its power to touch the will and spirit, sending a wave of fear rippling through the crowd of cultists! Standing in the middle of the riot of terror, the flamboyant paragon shouted "GO BACK! Return to your mistress, and do not dare follow us again!" The air around him was filled with distant shouts, like a mass of warriors preparing an unstoppable charge! Turning to Young Britannia he added "YB! Let's get this done!"

"Yeah. she's way more a swordswoman than a puncher. Most of the time she's really focused on not bein' there to get hit in the first place, striking from ambush and stuff like that. Not that we don't work together well, but it's not like we've got much in common when it comes to dishing out justice. Hopefully me learning to punch right will fix that!" Draining the last of his water, Subito stood up and offered a powerful hand to Mali, all smiles "It was great to meet you, Mali! I'll see you later, say hi to the other guys in Young Freedom for me!" Bending close to her he added softly into her ear "And good luck on your secret mission! Hope everythin' goes perfectly." Grabbing his empty tray, he went back to the counter and dumped it into the stack of others waiting to be scrubbed, waving a cheerul goodbye to the powerfully-built girl as he left the cafeteria. Settling into an easy, rapid walk back to his dorm, mind running over the books he would need for this part of the day, Subito glanced over at the gardens and shrugged. He could always go there again, and now that he knew what meditation really was he could get to work on finding inner peace. Of course, he reflected as he started to run briskly down the path, he'd have to wear thicker socks, it was hard finding peace among the stones when they jabbed into your ankles.

GM "Nah, Overthrow's not SPECTRE, that'd be a little high-end for our boys in camo" Director Powers interjected casually, "And that's a wise thing to worry about Gabriel. Luckily there isn't much chance of that stuff finding its way into the ocean, Marlow keeps that mutagen close and tightly overseen. It will be in the deepest depths of that base where he can make sure nobody messes with it or nowhere. Besides, if the crew dumps it after some superheroes come aboard how will they claim innocence? Also yes, those two seem the best suited for the job of taking the ship." Forming some elegant letters on a tablet he looked up sharply "You'll be given pressurized water-proof suits if you need 'em, and I very much doubt you can't control yourself Mr. al-Misri. Worst comes to worst, burn off those super-calories with a little flying." A few loops, and he was back to tapping briskly away, his sole eye focusing intently on the screen "No Omen, you can't have MAX armor on this. If you ever decide to join AEGIS, that'll be a different story. Your transport has a full suite of signal jamming equipment, and you can park it wherever needed so range isn't a real issue. The agents coming with you will have the best mutagen-suppressant distribution system patriotism and science can devise, from multi-use syringes containing the substance, spray canisters for the more ethereal kinds of metas you might engage, to a, and I quote" Powers read from the tablet with very exacting diction "'dimensional stabilizer coupled to a Proteus-nullification proton ray emitter'. Rest assured, they won't be without options no matter what the situation. They'll be right behind you, w" He surveyed the room closely again, especially the very quiet and subdued Russian, who was busily writing in his notebook. Rising to his feet he said gravely "Since that is all-" "My powers allow me to provide medical attention if needed" Aleksander broke in, looking up and smiling warmly, the screen reflecting off his glasses "So supplies will not need to be very numerous there either." the Director inclined his head shortly and resumed "Since that is all, let me finish by wishing you all the best of luck, godspeed, get that bastard, and to follow the yellow/red line to get to the cafe if you want some real food before setting out. Blue/white leads to the launch bay. Good day, ladies and gentlemen, I'm due in Washington in two hours" he scowled and marched out the door, caling back "I wish I could go with you instead!" With a snap, the doors opened and then closed behind him.

"S'okay. I'm not either!" Her schoolboy comrade rolled his eyes and leaned against the opposite shelf, searching above Kat's head. Nope, nothing there. "Come on Kato, 'Not a lot of people worth wasting breath on'? That's gonna be folks like me someday! Have some sensitivity." He frowned "Anyway, that seriously sucks. It must've been hard enough for the folks who were in double-double two, when everyone was all 'Yay you're a big hero wooo!' when you got home." Subito looked utterly confused, and very angry "Wait...why would they do that? It wasn't our fault some space-robot made robot doubles of us!" He glared at the floor ""We did our ******' best. 'Least we weren't tricked into fighting other students or whatever. And I haven't been hearing too many guys at school talking about 'new kinds of justice' and stuff. We didn't do anything..." Rubbing his dark face vigorously, Subito looked back up at Kat, hazel eyes alight with a desperate hope.

GM Just as the last words left Blodeuwedd's mouth a sudden, tearing shriek echoed through the sterile hallway. The alarms that rumbled through the radios in their helmets was added to with the curt declaration <<<Alert: cyborg patient located in medical wing. Armed and extremely dangerous, susceptible to electric shock. All soldiers convene on these coordinates...>>> as the mechanical words droned out of the distant human throat, the two heroes could hear shouts, panicked screams and the sharp blares of SHADOW energy weapons. "Oh. That would be the African boy, I think. I believe he has a chamical imbalance of some kind." The clone said blandly, watching the pair with sharp eyes. The ghosts had not budged, and their wisps moved as before.

For holding this up for so long! Without even a halfways good reason.

Impervious Toughness 10 means those Blasts can't hurt El Heraldo. They do only superficial damage to his costume!

With regards to Dakana's geographic situation, yeah KnightDisciple, that seems to be the case. The Freedom City(2nd Edition, maybe Thevshi can bring up something it misses from the 1st? ) book puts it at the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya, the Congo and Sudan. Of course, the chances that Atlantis has air-worthy vehicles are pretty high! Typhoon would be an interesting guy to have behind the curtain, but he just doesn't seem to have much to gain from it, weakening both nations would make them easier to take over, sure, but from the way he's been written I don't see him as being all that expansionist anymore(and apparently he and his children could totally take Atlantis as is). But that's just me, I bet you could make something grand with it KnightDisciple! #2 could definitely use the Fey touch Aoiroo! In fact, as some of the foremost arcane experts on the board, maybe the Parkhurst gang gets called in to help resolve the issue? Or it could be an early Midnighters thread, perhaps? The recent news about zircon crystals found in the Indian Ocean that are apparently from a sunken piece of continent brings to mind Lemuria. I bet the home of the Serpent Empire had a few smaller tributary lands, they might have escaped some of the utter cataclysm that claimed it and Atlantis. There could be sweet stuff there! And monstrosity...but still!

Reclining against the deep, white chair cushions and sipping delicately from the crisp white teacup, Subito was finding it harder than ever to keep himself grounded. He could hear the movements of things all throughout the house, from the whisper-like tread of the businesslike Millie to the groaning of something harsh and stony on the roof. From the library pages stirred like rasping claws, and the walls thrummed ever so softly with unearthly power. The experience of simply being in a place of human magic was utterly unlike his earlier visit to the glittering land of the Twylyth Teg, or the swampy and hazy domain of Madame Malaise. It was almost like he was on the threshold of home. As a result, it had become quite difficult not to simply spout out whatever he happened to be thinking then. "Yeah, San Juan's the capital, she doesn't really...Ooh!" He looked up from the cup at Nick's words, hazel eyes alight with inspiration "Okay, I get what you mean now, it's like...the spirit of a nation, of a place and people, its home will be, like, an accumulation of what they represent? In that case," he set the cup down on the plate in his left hand "what I'd probably find is a whole lot of stuff about oppression, and the struggle to overthrow it. See, for a lot of years Puerto Rico and the native Taino tribes were enslaved by the Spaniards, and getting out of that and becoming a free country is what hundreds of years of our history is about. It's why I have these eyes, marrying of allll kinds of folks, from Africa to other islands in the Caribbean. Knowing the Dama Azul, she'll probably work a history lesson into everything I do there." '...I am sorry, what were you talking about? What the...you always get mad at me when I get all gooey over- I can appreciate a well-formed soul, Herald, it is well within my rights Suuuure it is' Taking a quick sip of his tea he went on "It will probably be an island or something, something isolated. Lots of sheep, I bet." the husky boy added with a grin.

Listening in rapt attention to Mali's spiel, Subito nodded at the close of each sentence, cleaning off the last shreds of meat and peas left on his tray, commenting around the mouthful "That makes a lotta sense. If I can't hit 'em all that regularly, better make the punches I do land count for somethin'. Boxing does a lot of blocking too, right? Heh, I can do that! I'm not much if not sturdy when the power's around me. I'm almost as tough as some of the adults!" he added gleefully, his broad smile nearly infectious. Glancing outside he watched some of the other students jogging across the chilly campus to class. "Hm. When could we start, Mali? I'm mostly free Thursday mornings and most mornings, unless I'm at the pool." He smiled again, though softer this time, and with a fond look "Cerys wouldn't be too happy if I skipped out on our swimming, ya know?"