Ari

"I didn't think he was nearly that dangerous." Heraldo admitted, looking ashamed "Otherwise I'd have gone along. I'm sorry that happened to captain Meddows, we'll do all we can to catch El Sierpe and make this right!" he said with a determined look. He nodded in understanding when Glow asked him to get what they needed for finding the crime boss while she arranged to have the lawyer kept safe, relieved that one of them knew what they were doing. He looked fully at the station chief, resting his arms on the bar "What is the situation sir?" he asked gravely, taking out a small piece of paper from one of his pockets and a pen from a nearby mug. His poised the pen over the paper, ready to copy down the basics of what the two young heroes were dealing with.

As it happened, Subito was in mid-stroke, the muscular boy about to comment on Kat's excellent progress(again) when she very suddenly asked the question. This meant that he plowed serenely head-first into the end of the lane with a sharp and spluttering bark of pain, rubbing his dripping head and spitting out the water that had flowed into his mouth while hoisting himself onto the side. Looking at the smaller girl with a wince, he said "I...wait, "are we an item?"" hazel eyes darted over to Cerys for a lingering moment before he hastily turned back to Kat, blushing nervously as he stammered "W-well not really. Um, we..I-I mean, I like Cerys a lot, and she likes me. Er, I dunno if we're like a boyfriend and girlfriend or whatever, b-but..um...we're just friends right now. That's all." he concluded lamely, giving Kat an embarrassed shrug. Dropping back into the water with a splash, he tread water with smooth and even strokes of his arms and legs, the stocky teen trying desperately to think of how to proceed. Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Hey Cerys! Hows about we meet with Kat tomorrow at lunch, introduce her to some folks? I mean, if you aren't busy, which...might be likely." he asked the pretty girl cheerfully, coloring even more as he corrected himself.

The words that he could make out filled Marceau with horror, and his eager look of anticipation had melted away under the realization into a mask of raw terror. Stepping away from the door with creeping footsteps, the younger man bent over to René's ear. Hoarsely he whispered <"My friend, they know. Parsinkle has planned all this, along with some other Fey called Hatfoul, this is part of some plot they have lain to begin seizure of power for the Redcaps!"> he looked desperately around the castle <"They anticipate we will look for trouble, and are prepared lest we attempt to find out their plans. For all I know they know we are here..."> The King of Suits turned anxiously to the painter <"What do we do? Play right into their hands? Try to break character?">

I would prefer to have Young Britannia perhaps gain a recurring foe, with them healing and spiriting away Broken Crow and defeating most of her soldiers(maybe using the chains to snag her followers and dragging them to the fort?), then running off to take care of Jenkins before he does some crazy madness of evil. Madame Malaise then uses her fell powers to gather strength with one aim in mind: REVENGE! On the British!

The Herald remained outwardly calm and reserved, despite the deep unease settling into him as the horror underlying the Maiden's words grew on his mind. The mention of 'frantic fornication' got a brief wrinkle of his mouth and a slight blush, and he was deeply grateful that he wasn't the one talking to the strange woman. Throughout the creepy exchange the inclement annual dumbass had been sending a faint halo of gold around Young Britannia, lending her words and gestures a slight otherworldly edge, which he guessed would make their hostess that much more inclined to listen. As they were hustled away deeper into her territory, however, he realized that hadn't actually been necessary at all. 'Note to self: don't assume you can contribute to every single situation Yes.' he thought ruefully, certain that he would soon forget that very valuable advice. Brushing aside being called 'colourful little monkey' with a shrug of his broad shoulders, he fell in step behind Young Britannia as they were led to Broken Crow, his calm shattered by the sight of the suffering man in the cage, and it was only with tremendous difficulty that he held himself back from running forward and trying to free the Master Mage then and there. 'It won't do any good to try something crazy when she's right here' he thought, glancing at the Maiden with a vicious eyes before stepping a little backwards. Casting about for something he could do he lit on a crazy idea "Maiden of this marsh" he said respectfully in his young voice, kneeling on the sodden dirt with his magnificent pants, a red-gloved hand flat on the earth "Your might is clearly great, and your swamp yet greater. Let us tend to the Broken Crow. If you let him live, you will show your strength to the world and all will fear to trespass here. If he dies, what messenger will be more believed that can send word of your victory?" he looked up hopefully at the Maiden.

That works for me. Thank you very much.

I doubt that very much.

Gladly following 'Harper' through the police line 'Why does that name sound so familiar?', Heraldo looked a little surprised and abashed at the confidence "Well sir, this looks like some kind of transformation to me. When did this happen, and did anyone see how exactly it turned into..." he waved his free hand at the blocky and ugly looking house "...this?" he was about to ask another, also highly pertinent question when he turned and saw Harper letting Arcturus through the yellow tape, and started at the sudden call of Kat's nearby voice. Spinning around to face Warp, the stocky Puerto Rican boy all but jumped over to her side, walking with her up to Arcturus. "Glad to see you, Warp!" he told her warmly, sheathing the Banner on his sky-blue and gold back "With all three of us" he nodded at the runemaker respectfully "We're bound to find out what happened!" When they reached Marcus the young paragon greeted the magician with a raise of his wide-brimmed hat "Hello Arcturus! Any clues about this..." he waved vaguely at the transfigured house "...event. Thing? Is this magic?" he asked curiously. He glanced around the perimeter, hazel eyes resting with a jolt of nervousness on the reporters before he hurriedly looked away. 'Geez, this was bad enough when just guys like Jack Jackson were wanderin' around...' He smiled reassuringly at Harper.

Heck yes! No random fight scene before stuff happens!

Yeah, just getting that out of the way. Post forthcoming. Sorry for how long this has dragged on for.

Tagging!

Same as TiffanyKorta, if you need a spare GM for anything I would be happy to help that way. As for characters...well, Heraldo's a friend of Warp's, that could justify them and other Claremonters teaming up and dealing with aspects of this corruption scheme. King of Suits often deals with people dealing street drugs, so he might work that angle pretty well? EDIT: Also, seeing as he works(albeit at an extremely low level) for the Grant Conglomerate, this might be a good time for him to cut his ties to them.

'Huh. Must have been through a lot together. Subito thought, the whispers from the two girls echoing in his superhuman hearing. Sitting back up he watched the two become three as Sam joined in. He scowled openly at Tona's attempt to convince Cerys and Sam to let her go alone, and wrestled with whether or not to say anything before getting up and walking over to the bevy, carefully rescuing one of the squirrels from getting too close to the fireplace. Drawing closer he called over "Tona, the only way to make sure they don't follow you is if y'don't go at all. Look at it this way: if Sam was goin' into horrible danger and you knew it, and she told you not to go, would you listen?" he shrugged, looking awkwardly between the Terminus survivor and the thief, glancing anxiously at Cerys as he went on "I know you don't want me involved, and I'm sorry for butting in like this, but you gotta understand. You won't save anyone any pain by making them stay behind if you die, an' the fact that you're this scared for their safety doesn't really bode too well. They'll wish they had been with you, they'll wish they could have done something, even if it doesn't make any sense." He paused for a moment, looking suddenly straight at Tona, his voice strained with an undercurrent of irritation "Besides, what good will it do to go back without at least gettin' some people to back you up? Even the most powerful heroes this world has ever known didn't do everything by themselves, they banded together because that let them fight things they could never beat on their own! I-grrrrgh..." he threw his hands into the air and walked back to the tents "But hey! I don't know what you're dealin' with! Maybe we can't help at all, and that was a bunch of useless crap!" he glared back at the heavily pierced girl "Sorry for shootin' my mouth off, Tona. I wish you the best of luck. May God and the saints be with you." he snapped, stalking over to the small container of spices around the food prep are, searching for the spiciest thing he could find.

Subito darted a curious glance at Cerys before reluctantly nodding, breathing "Good luck." and slipping over to nearer the elder two agents. In a low voice he murmured "Hey. Blodeu wants you guys to know that this is a 'Tylluan situation'. Dunno what that is, but apparently this is one." he gave the slightest of shrugs before sliding fully back into his chair, watching the Queen with his merry smile that hadn't dipped for even a moment. He was quite surprised when Cerys offered to help out the weirdo faerie Queen, but guessed that the subtle and skilled young woman was up to something. 'Whatever it is, I sure hope it involves swords.' he thought grumpily 'This has all been going on way longer than it should Or else this is all quite necessary, and the time spent gathering information and learning about your enemy will lead to better things than charging her Yeah, sure. I bet by now at least her family could do something with that stuff, like knowing what kind of troops she's got and what they can do, but I can't' He felt a momentary stab of anger at how in the dark he really was here, and his smile flickered. He turned his eyes away from the hateful Queen and back to the slender girl nearby, trusting that at least she knew what she was doing.

Aid roll: 15.

GM "You know?" the Queen asked, with what Blodeuwedd saw was well-played surprise, clasping her hands in excitement "We were afraid you might never ask! Your young comrade was quite uninterested in Us or why We had him captured. While we were in the palace, at least" she added with a fond look to the Puerto Rican teen, suddenly turning with a brilliant smile to the young agent as she began at once. "Well it is quite simple really: we had heard from a little fish that a great treasure lay in this water. We, of course, desired this treasure for ourselves, and at once we moved our palace, arms, soldiers and the beauties of our Court here, that we might find this thing, and add to the wonders in our possession. Sadly," her voice and face fell "it seems that that Afanc has some strange and unnatural love for the treasure, and all our magic has done nothing but send it deeper into a rage for all who dwell nearby. Quite the opposite of what we intended, of course. We are sorry that all this trouble has been caused," she added as the Queen slid into a more restful position across the seat of her throne, her feet pointed at the sky and her gleaming smile turned to its full power "but accidents happen! If you can help me get this treasure," she added graciously "we will honour the good name the people of Cymru have given the Twylyth Teg, and grant you a measure of whatever treasures you care to name, saving only that you can carry it, of course!" the Fey woman qualified with a sly wink.

GM The clone stared at the King of Suits for a few moments after the Frenchman's speech, the gun slowly lowering from the staring and terrified nurse's neck to dangle at his side before clattering to the floor. "So all might as well be lost." he said calmly facing the squad, one of whom darted forwards and began handcuffing him behind his back "But do not worry, the Hunter will rid this city of the criminal scum that plague it, all-grah!" he cried out sharply as he was struck in the gut by another of the guards who had walked briskly up to him while he spoke. The would-be assassin slumped partially to the ground before he was caught under the arms and borne away by the two guards, one of whom paused and clapped the young adventurer on the shoulder, telling him "Thanks for that, kid. I don't think we could have snagged this guy if you hadn't softened him up first. Good work!" she added cheekily as the two guards bore their gasping prisoner quickly out of sight. The guard captain breathed a sigh of relief, leading the nurse back to his seat and giving him a handily-forgotten glass of water with an apologetic "Here, drink this up. Sorry that happened, it looks like our new guests have more going on than we thought." he added with a raised eyebrow at the King of Suits. After making sure that the quivering man was steadied for the moment, he led the hero over to a corner of the room, looking grim "We can't hold those aliens where they are now if that" he thumbed at the nurse "is what we can expect. And as for you two..." the captain removed his helmet and wiped away sweat from his glistening forehead before replacing the headgear "...if you two could go and do what you can to stop this..whatever-it-is crazy plan. This night has been long enough." he added with a world-weary look.

Reaction post would be good, we're not going straight to rounds, no worry.

GM The Frenchman's keen ears detected at once the brisk and energetic tones of Parsinkle. This time the prince sounded anything but happy. Strident, harsh and imperious his voice rang out, answering some unheard challenge "...and yes! I know they will come searching for trouble. I am certain of it! Humanity has not become so impenetrable to us because they kept their peace and never grew curious. What do you think they'll assume, my dear Hartfoul, when they hear of my ambition? What dreams of horror you do suppose they will come up with all on their own? I promise you, my oldest friend," the prince's voice had grown much softer, almost kindly. With a few faint steps(the young adventurer felt more than he heard Fey footsteps) the prince moved closer to something a little further into the room "there is nothing they can do by now. Everything has fallen out in my favor, from those rebels I have as a sign of my competence to the red lords and ladies, to the fact that now I have witnesses. Those two humans will be sure to talk, they will tell every-" "Everyone who can put a stop to you, yes." sneered a much older-sounding voice, rasping and cold "Parsinkle, you have done astounding much to serve the turn of the Redcaps, but do not put carts before horses, those humans will not just tell everyone, they will seek out those who can do something with such news. That young witch who defeated your your kinswoman is not the only warrior they have, there are dozens yet who can stand against us." A strange chill settled into the air at those words, and it was several seconds before either Fey spoke again. At last Parsinkle's voice gently drifted through the air and into the door with total clarity "Yes. You are right. I am sorry for what I said, my brother-in-arms. Do not worry, they will see only petty dreams and foolery like an old dictator from their world, not the Fey who shall bring our race to its final glory." Hartfoul's cool rasp cut the air "I know you will do rightly, brother. I would have no other for such a task. Your arms, Parsinkle." "Here, Hartfoul." There was a rustle of cloth and a soft scrape of metal on the red stone floor, followed both a gentle thud as the two Fey embraced.

Swooping out of the sky with a trail of golden smoke in his wake, El Heraldo, who bore the national spirit of Puerto Rico, landed with a thud and a click of his Banner on the pavement. Dusting off one deep blue sleeve of his truly resplendent costume, he waved cheerily to the gathered citizens, saying with great confidence "Never fear, Freedonians! Your heroes arrive!" All smiles, he walked with firm strides directly up to the band of police officers, extending a broad hand and asking "Excuse me, but what appears to be the situation? Heraldo, at your service!" he glanced at the bizarre sight of a house rendered into something he'd seen only in retro video games, shuddering despite his outward composure. Unlike a lot of the Claremont students he still was quite inexperienced in the strange things they were called upon to deal with, and something like this affected him much more than it ought. He had heard over the police chatter in a passing car about the incident while on patrol, and had raced over as quickly as he could.

Her listener nodded in understanding "She likes pranking people, got it." He examined the squirrel carcasses with interest as the archer explained what she wanted to do with her life after graduation, looking suddenly up in surprise when she mentioned wanting to go back home and "take care" of something. He frowned at the fire, mulling over the surprising coincidence and wondering how to respond when Cerys spoke. "Yeah Blodeu, they might start thinkin' you're, I dunno, weird or something." the stocky boy commented cheerfully, smiling up at Cerys and moving aside when she approached Tona. He was abruptly struck with the impression that this was something that had been going on for a while, and momentarily felt irritated that Cerys hadn't at least mentioned it to him, quelling it with the remembrance that he hadn't asked 'I need to talk to her more...we don't really do much together', it probably wasn't any of his business 'Quite so' and the best thing to do would be for him to offer his help with whatever trouble Tona was having. Aloud he said warmly "If there's a chance you need some lughead to take a whole bunch of hits for ya, I'm in if you'll have me. Besides," he added crashing on his back onto the grass "no way anyone who goes to Claremont could say 'no' to the chance to help!" He lifted his head up and looked at Tona "Anyway, just wonderin'. Lots of other people at school talk a whole bunch about how they want to join the Freedom League when they graduate. Except Sleet-Saru, she hardly ever says so much as "Hi, nicetomeetyoubye"." he said, uncannily mimicking the Earth-Ape transfer student's subdued speech and accent. With a thud his curly head dropped back onto the grass.

Feel free to chat, I won't ask for it closed until you guys are done with it.

GM The super-powered siblings weren't too thrilled at the concept of being Philotherian and the King of Suit's attendants, but they saw the reason in it well enough and hastened to take their posts at the edges of the lot. Wreak did by far the most of the damage, staring curious Freedonians coldly down and treating their polite questions with silence and disdain. Most of those who tried to come in from his end of the dirty parking area went of their own accord, only a few having to be tersely ordered from the place. Nobody had to be told twice when the imposing man spoke. Archetype,by contrasts, was happy to engage passers-by when they asked such things as "Who are you and why are there a bunch of chimps and oh my goodness is that a buffalo?" or "Are you all superheroes?" or "Should I...call the police?", soon gathering a small gaggle of citizens nearby her who kept a respectful distance after she gave a particularly visceral and gleeful description of what African buffalos did when they fought. The noise from the chimpanzees did its part as well, an omnipresent racket that did nothing to quell the mood of the female quadruped glaring Philos down, her tail flicking irritably at the swarm of flies that had started to trickle in upon smelling what the chimps had left behind. It had been stifling in the container, but at least it had been warm and held some smells from her native country. This new freshness and chill brought with it a wave of stenches she had never before even dreamed of, and confinement next to a pack of monkeys would make anyone cross and suspicious. She gave a low rumble of anger, her horned head peering up at the lofty stranger.

GM The first anathema sphere hit Silver Scream square in her back, just as she was turning to address the very unladylike and frivolous use of the word 'Hell'. With a hollow shriek that echoed out into the street, the ghost grasped her side, eyes wide with horror as she felt her very being being torn asunder, the sensation of her soul truly burning away striking a mortal terror into the dead diva. With a tremendous force of will the Silver Scream gathered the threads of herself and halted the worst of the fire, shivering with terror and beginning "Wait! I-" only to fall into an ear-splitting scream as the next fireball shot clean through her. In a flash of monochromatic power the ghost of Lauren Hammond flung aside her frail ghostly body, her spirit hurtling out of the theatre and back to the cinema that was her true home and domain, leaving behind a wailing cry that rose and fell horribly before being abruptly silenced. Outside, the police started at the cry, clutching their heads before the shriek was stilled. Their leader nodded slowly to Warp "That your doing, miss? If so, I think she just pitched her last fit. All in, men!" he barked, leading the charge into the empty theatre, the squad looking in surprise around at the spotless room.

Blinking at the charm, Subito asked curiously "Why is it called-" and then Parkhurst emerged like some magnificent ship from Freedom City's past and left him speechless in amazement. Iron-wrought decorations curled around the stately oaken and pine front porch, depicting the railway engines and vast American plains that had made James Astoria's fortune years ago, gleamed and twining in the frail light, the mist of the Hill circling the Hotel. Thick Corinthian-style pillars held up the austere gray porch roof and held small electric lights. The house itself was a classic Victorian-style mansion, its roof many-peaked peaked and its eaves tilted to send water and snow spilling onto the ground. Silent and arched windows peered out into the foggy Lantern Hill day, surrounded by marble floral decorations in the form of orchid petals. The gutters around the House were marked by gnarled and twisted faces who spat out the rain through their gaping mouths, and their brother gargoyles leered and slunk against the walls. The structure of old Parkhusrt reared above the rune-maker and the newcomer, silent as any grave. "I..whoa" breathed Subito, staring with wide hazel eyes up at the house of magic. At last he managed to come back to himself, got to his full height, took a deep breath and gestured to the solid iron and wood front door that bore the gentle face of Mildred Astoria among its tangled roots "You first, Morg." he said with a polite smile, his eyes now dancing with excitement. Following the runemaking demigod inside, he looked around in quiet awe at the restrained yet sumptuous interior. "So...who's in right now Morgan?" he asked hesitantly, his voice slightly lower now that the hush of the mage santcum was around them, instead of something standing in front of them.