Ari

"I didn't feel any water rushing into the ship Edge" Wave-Eye explained in his harsh and grating voice "and I would have seen a sign that the craft was damaged from below. I saw no such marks. I will see if-" he was cut off by the sudden jolting of the spaceship that tossed it slightly upwards, whirling around to confront the presumed threat and staring blankly at the bobbing craft for a second. "...Ah. I do not think the ship did that. I will see what that is" he gurgled, approaching the ship slowly and bent a little in case he needed to leap out of the way of...something. The appearance of the orb stopped him dead in his tracks, and he stood at his usual relaxed height, observing the sphere with interest. The words that suddenly echoed from the ship put slightly more of his eyebrow around his enormous eyes. "Some kind of sightseer. Called us 'interesting animals'" he added with a sneer. He glanced over at Jubatus and Edge "I would say we need worry little about our new guest. I shall see to whatever did that." So saying, he dove unceremoniously into the bay with a riotous splash as his bulk slid into and under the water. 'Now then,' he looked around in the gloom, the very ebb of the waters a part of his senses as he searched 'Where is our trespasser...?'

Seating with his usual general lack of finesse, Subito quickly set to the meal after a quiet and discreet prayer. Quickly getting the hang of the food(mostly fresh-water fish and potatoes), he ate as politely as he could manage in the informal setting, deeply nervous about accidentally making some blunder that would put him in disgrace before the grim Welsh. He managed to not make a fool of himself in the eating department, his table manners surprisingly refined and ably suited to dining in close proximity to others. The words of Medraut did a lot to relax him: 'Oh good! Cerys wasn't lying about that. They really are her family!' He was munching happily on a hunk of stewed potato when Blodeuwedd whispered to him: He stopped chewing, and looked over at her with no little surprise in his eyes for a few moments. Swallowing he answered softly " For your secrets Blodeu? You can count on me" he declared solemnly, putting his right hand over his heart "I will never tell a soul about this, or anything else you don't want me to. If only to keep you from having to sword me. What else are friends good for, eh?" he asked with a warm smile.

Notoriety of White Knight: Reputation block. Pop Culture: DC5: DC10: Current Events: DC5: DC10: Streetwise" DC5: DC10: History: DC5: DC10: Arcane: DC10: DC20:

GM "That looks good, Young Britannia" Maddicks agreed guardedly "I'll send word to Gabriel. Asad, if you would. Good luck, Silver Spider" Maddicks tapped on his secure-frequency radio and a short code into it. That done, he nodded to the nearby heroes "Good luck to all of you. Don't take any risks stupider than you need to," he added sharply with a stern look "we need all of you to do this" The spokesman stared at Gabriel for a while, utterly speechless. A brief look of deep regret flickered in his eyes before vanishing. At last he spoke, though with difficulty. "I'm sorry we don't see eye-to-eye. I would love to be able to see the situation that way, but everything I've observed speaks rather..differently. The continued and uncontested tyranny of New Freedom, the inability of you and your comrades to halt the attacks and evil of SHADOW, Socotra..." he shook his head "I do not share your optimism, if such things are allowed to continue as they are. Regardless," he went on more loudly, the regret gone from his face "I agree with your broader point. We will drop that request from our list." Suiting action to the word, he tore out the relevant place on the page listing OVERTHROW's demands and burned it with a small lighter. Suddenly one of the negotiators tapped Gabriel on the shoulder, whispering in his ear "Mr. Schultz called. He wants to start the attack now" he sat back onto the bench, calmly scribbling into a small book. As one, the quartet pulled out short swords and charged at Omen, aiming their blades to tear and rend his exposed head and neck.

GM Looking thoroughly wretched after his brief imprisonment in the dumpster, the Crusader made a listless attempt to clean off some of the garbage that had gotten stuck to him and his clothes, realized it was hopeless, turned shamefacedly to Crow and began in a low, defeated voice. "I'm Frank Jones. There are about five other groups scheduled to attack later tonight when we were supposed to get back. They're hiding out in the basement of an apartment building a mile west of here, it's called the 'Blanche Heights'. Old place built in the 20's, its name in a huge wire thing on the roof, can't miss it." Glancing away from Crow's iron face and into the impassive eyes of Farridah he shuddered and hurriedly went on "There's maybe ten guns for all of us, mostly knives. The real threat are these eight big guys. The big guys were our secret weapon, Max-users or something. They were gonna fend off any supers or masks we ran into crazy enough to try and police the Fens. Then there's.." his voice sank to a whisper that the King of Suits and Tenebrous could barely hear "...The White Knight. He's the brains behind the scheme: we were to rough up the people, he'd torch and smash their places. He said it would drive out the-" he launched into a brief listing of slurs describing the manifold nationalities and ethnic groups this operation was supposed to drive from the city, with especial note of the Hispanics in West End and the African-Americans in Lincoln who were the primary target of the White Knight's fury. "...and the Jews in Midtown. He really wants them gone." Frank concluded at last, bringing the racist list to a close. He cringed at the look in the eyes of his captors, mumbling "Don't hit me." Farridah had produced a slim pipe from one of his pockets, and was quietly smoking. The incense-like smoke curling into the air.

'Bah! If they get scared so easily, it will take more than that silver tongue to win them over' the sphere of water splashed back into the ocean. The triton shrugged his massive shoulders and leaped down from the craft, landing heavily on the floating path Edge had made. "Hail" he gurgled to Jay briefly "I am glad to meet you Jubatus. What do you make of..." he gestured to the crashed ship with a spined claw "...this?" he had never met or even heard of Edge before, and supposed him to be a professional representative of some kind. He nodded quietly at the suggestion to stand ready to help the newcomer in case they had problems with getting the alien or their craft to safety. 'I wonder, do they not have water on the planet this thing is from? I have heard that there are many worlds where my mother does not hold sway, and Tezcatlipoca rules unquestioned and unopposed. We shall see' he sat on his haunches and waited for some opening seal, puff of steam, whirr of motors or any other signal that the ship was being opened to admit its passengers. "With luck, they will have protection against this world's diseases and the chemicals in the air" he commented drily "I doubt it, though."

Wave-Eye had first realized what was going on when a small school of wandering cod had fled past him, wailing about impending doom. Before he could as what the problem was he felt the Farsider vessel slam into the dark water, sending reverberations throughout the bay and a plume of roiling water from its hull. He was hardly fearful as he swam towards the bobbing craft high above him, curious and excited, in fact. 'A glorious day! Let us see what wonder has fallen from the stars. Hopefully they can understand me as well as natives of this world do...' dragon's tail lashing powerfully back and forth, he slid noiselessly up beside it, inspecting the silvery spacecraft for a moment. 'Yes....yes, unlike anything humans would make. This is alien' he thought gleefully as he surfaced. Glancing at the shoreline he gauged the distance he might need to carry it, noticing to his surprise that two figures were walking on some kind of platform floating on the water. "Ah, this something of interest" he muttered, drawing a large conch of almost equal antiquity to himself that was slung at his side, and in a flash of light was clambering onto the ship with four red-scaled limbs with long nails. Atop the ship he looked for something resembling a hatch or door, at last deciding to just knock on the roof and yell. "HELLO, DOWN THERE!" he thundered at the cold metal "I BID YOU WELCOME TO EARTH! IF YOU WISH, I CAN TOW YOU TO SHORE!" as demonstration, he puts his lips to the shell horn, blew powerfully enough into it that the noise was heard from the beach, and lifted out a sphere of water from the sea near where he hoped the bridge was placed. "Well, I doubt I can do much as it is if these humans can make paths across the sea" he said aloud, sitting on top of the ship and knocking with rhythmic thuds on the roof "But, ah well, I can hope."

GM The Double Decker turned out to be two buildings. An administrations office and a depot for trucks, with the office partially overlapping the depot and garage. It was mostly in red, with a cartoonish double-decker English bus on one of the walls, its apparent insignia. A knock on the glass and steel door was answered by a chipper security guard with bulging arms and twinkling brown eyes. Through the door he called out "Hello there, Gabriel! You need something? We're just about to change the shift here so I can't talk long, sorry" he looked apologetically at him, glancing nervously at the fishman lurking in the background "Er, we didn't lose someone, did we?" he asked anxiously.

GM "Quite correct, Blodeuwedd. We're not going to attack the Llyn Brenig Afanc unless we have no other option." Medraut said, though a little absently as he walked noiselessly down the slope "We think the Twylyth Teg are trying to rile it, though the reasons for why they are doing that is of course a substantial mystery. All we know so far is that it has something to do with an old grudge between our people and theirs. When we get to the picnic, I'll be able to tell you more" with a soft rustle, the quartet seemed to leap from the cool green darkness of the forest into a world of light, which resolved itself into a beautiful land of squared green pastures, with a vast lake not far below them. To the east on a hill the whirring blades of a wind farm could be seen, slicing the air. At the edges of sight were the thin white roads that weaved over the countryside from town to town, with faint dots of color the cars and trucks that drove along them. After a walk of around fifteen minutes through the fields and trees, they came to a stout outcropping of rock on which a few tables and benches were set, around which were seated the familiar faces of the Order's agents. Supervisor Medraut waved briefly in response to their grave welcome, with more than a few frowns directed to the rather expressive Puerto Rican and his bright fashion sense. There were many birds stepping, whistling, cawing, clacking and screeching at a small pile of food nearby, and at a word from Medraut Red Stripe jumped from his shoulder and began the serious business of getting her share. Directing the two teenagers to a free space on one of the benches that overlooked the lake, Medraut introduced them to the other(most much older and of a very serious mien)agents. "Friends, agents, friends of agents, welcome to Llyn Brenig! We are gathered today in honor of our familial mission to battle the forces of our fabled ancestor Lleu Llaw Gyffes' mother Arianrhod, and other mystic threats to our homeland Wales. The latest challenge to our family duty are the Otherworld forces that are disturbing the Afanc that dwells in that lake. Let us eat, and share what we have learned about this matter." Glancing at Subito he added "Also I would like to welcome a schoolmate of our sister Blodeuwedd, Subito Sondo! A student at Claremont Academy brought specifically by her for assistance on this mission. Let us eat!" a smattering of applause spread through the agents of the Amddifyynner, and was silenced as they settled down to eat. It was solid and healthy food, with little seasoning or taste enhancement.

Following the others into the dining hall, Marceau took a moment to admire the close aesthetics and lines of the room, nodding in appreciation of the gentle curvature, the elegant lighting, the impeccably-made chairs, the table loaded with bountiful food... He waited until who everyone who had entered before him was seated before taking his place between Jay and Young Britannia, and in moments had pulled back his cowl from his head and managed to gather a heap of vegetables and fruit onto his plate, gladly accepted a slim glass of white wine and settled vigorously into the task of devouring the food piled before him. 'This is wonderful! I haven't had a non-ridiculous salad since that time in Carcassonne!' "Many thanks for your hospitality, Captain Silvia" he said to Stormbreaker earnestly, wiping a stray spray of blueberry and tomato from his lips "fruit where I live is hard to come by, and good vegetables even more difficult. Do you have gardens or farms where you hail from?" he rolled lettuce around some strawberries and kiwi slices, causing it to vanish into his mouth between blinks without disturbing his bright and pleasant smile.

'This..this guy...this guy is one of the dudes in charge of her family's evil-fighting stuff! Oh man, I can't wait to meet the others!' 'Calm yourself, Subito! There is some deception afoot, cannot you see?' 'Dama Azul, normally I think you're right, but I think in this case you're reading too much into what they're saying' Shaking Medraut's hand eagerly with his own powerful hand the strongly-built teen said "I'm Subito Sondo, sir! Blodeu's told me a lot about her family, you guys do great work!" Falling step with the other two, he could hardly help but overhear Cerys' words "It's the second thing, thanks to the personification of Puerto Rico I have the gift of bein' able to understand any language i hear, though i can't speak more than a few yet. I'll have to learn Welsh some time" he commented happily as he slid down the wooded hill, pushing ahead of his feet small avalanches of loose twigs and dirt not gripped by the grass or bushes "it sounds like a beautiful language!" Squinting his eyes he could make out the glittering water far below them, and sudden excitement gripped him. Turning to Cerys he said almost reverently "We're seriously going to do this, Blodeu, we're gonna fight a lake monster!" Red Stripe swooped down from her perch, landing neatly with a long whistle on Medraut's shoulder for a change. He smiled at the bird, stroking her head lightly as he said <"Good work, little hawk. Keep alert for any of the Otherworld that might try and steal up behind us."> the Adar Llywch Gwin bobbed, and instantly turned its gaze to the forest around them.

Removed a rank of Improved initiative, bought a rank of Regeneration(Resurrection), with the caveat that she must not be staked or beheaded for it to work. EDIT: Removed the other rank to buy another rank in Super-Senses for Psychic Awareness.

Marceau sought hard not to wince 'Well, that was a terrible plan of mine. Hopefully this man will talk quickly enough. Young people shouldn't have to be so...driven...' "Indeed? I would be deeply grateful if you would share what you know, as this is the first I have heard about this." he turned his bright blue eyes to Tenebrous, adding kindly "Don't worry, give it a few months, take time to read the maps once in a while, you should learn the ins and outs of this place quite easily. I was an immigrant once too, a few years back. I was in precisely the same situation. About your informant.." he glanced sharply at the dumpster as it vibrated with a particularly furious onslaught, and the Crusader within shouted faintly "Lemme out! I'll talk, I'll talk!" the King of Suits smiled broadly, nodding to the masked youth "If you would do the honors, Crow. Anyway, Tenebrous, did your informant mention anything specific? Any extra details could be tremendously helpful." He grinned winningly, and not a little hopefully, from under his mask.

GM "None of the people in there were injured during or after our acquisition of the city hall," the spokesman said proudly "though otherwise yes, that seems quite reasonable. One of our soldiers will escort any such civil servants out of the building, and must not be molested or detained in any way. One moment" he took out a small radio and spoke quietly into it "How many older than 50? No, I can wait.....Really? That many? Jesus..." he clicked the radio off, turning to Gabriel and saying "By our count there are around twenty or so collaborators past the age of 50 inside. They will exit first, of course. As for what grievances..." he stood up, and gestured around at the city, at the towering skyscrapers and statues to heroes gone by "Look at this place! A monument to greed, filled with corruption and the exploitation of the many by the few, a place where anyone wearing a mask is granted nigh carte-blanche over the very lives of others! I mean no disrespect to you, Gabriel, but surely you know how irresponsible and lackadaisical your fellow vigilantes can be when fighting those rebelling against the loathsome laws of the state! We want to replace all of it, all the city fathers and mothers who smile indulgently at such horrors as are unleashed regularly, when even those powered by the Terminus itself are given free reign!" Turning back to Gabriel he added "That doesn't even get into the likes of al-Misri, who doesn't even have the decency to hide his face when he goes out and oppresses those less fortunate than him! How do you excuse such behavior?" The drably-clothed people looked nervously at each other, their hands falling away from their concealed weapons. After a whispered conversation one of the women stepped forward, saying "We'll drop them, just don't be surprised when this little sting of yours doesn't get you what you wanted" she tossed her briefcase at his feet and stepped back, followed by the others quietly following her example. At last they stepped further back from him, watching tensely. The loading ramp creaked slightly.

Blinking in surprise at Crow's rapid takeover of the Crusader, the King of Suits wondered anxiously if he had accidentally triggered some deep hatred in the boy "I take it you have some experience with this work?" he asked mildly, wandering closer with long steps to the dumpster. "I would speak up, if I were you!" he called down to the Crusader "Your fellows and then your name would be a good start. We can move on from there" he smiled brightly at Morgan "I don't think it will take him long to see reason" he said confidently, resting against the wall beside the trash container that, like all other such things in the Fens, was utterly filthy at all times('Except late Autumn, it seems'). "So, Tenebrous, I take it you came here quite by accident, heard the call for help from the good Mr. Sallhid"(he gestured respectfully to the shopkeepr) "and leaped to his assistance? I was patrolling just down the block when i heard the cry" he jerked his head in the southerly direction that he had been just a few minutes before.

GM With a roar of air, the two Claremont students fell for an incredible distance, the tunnel seeming to twist and turn faster than they could react to, the world around them flashing by in vague blues scattered with grey rock and brown earth, the small hawk clinging to Blodeuwedd's shoulder with all of its surprisingly considerable strength and tenacity. At last, after what felt like hours, they fell out onto a a green and wooded hillside with enough speed to send them slamming and tumbling down a short ways through the wet grass, sliding to a halt just short of a large and ancient tree stump. Red Stripe had been tossed much further than them, narrowly missing a heavy branch that it stumbled rather than flew onto. It gripped the tree with renewed vigor, the world reeling around her as much as it did for the two teenagers. The air was crisp and damp, filled with the heavy throb of the distant windmills and the sounds of animals bolting into the underbrush at the sudden arrival of unknown entities. Everything else was still and quiet, which made the appearance of a professorial-looking man with a a trim goatee wearing glasses, a thick sweater, boots and a rucksack around a tree all the odder. Looking at his watch for a moment before stooping down and offering the two teens his hands he said cheerfully to Cerys in Welsh <"Excellent timing, agent. We just got everything set up for the investigation"> he looked with interest at Subito <"Ah, and you brought a companion! I trust he's capable?"> helping them up and switching to English he said to Subito "Welcome to Wales, young man. I am Supervisor Medraut, your guide and commanding officer on this mission. Let's get out of this sodden wood and have a little picnic by the lake. Some friends of yours managed to come along, agent Blodeuwedd" he said merrily, walking downhill comfortably through the forest towards a distant patch of glittering light far below "you remember the agents Efnysien and Nisien, I believe?" the wood did not crack under his tread.

GM Staring into the eyes of the creature before him that seemed to consume the light around them, the Crusader felt a horrible sensation of unreality, like when you realize that you're in a horrible dream, and that doesn't do you a bit of good. "There was only us, I swear! None of the other guys were up to it, they wanted to wait for a better time, when they could be sure they wouldn't get caught like during an attack by Sky Lord or something. The rest of us are..they're.." a sudden look of defiance came over his face "No, I won't give 'em away. You can do what you want to me, I won't betray them to you!" He sounded much surer than he looked. Farridah came out of the shop with a jangle of the bell, looking not a little pleased at the sight that met his eyes "Commendable, wretch" he told the Crusader brightly "but I don't think your honor counts for much when it doesn't frown on attacking unarmed men for the crime of darker skin and a different birthplace." To the heroes he said "I have called the police, they will be here shortly, and I think they will want me as a witness, so I will say here until they arrive." Sitting down on the sidewalk, he settled in to wait and watch.

Dr. Green's initiative: 21. Limber! The two monstrosities: Immaterial: 17. Angcrist: 12. Using the Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz Oddball for Dr. Green, the other two are a secret for now.

GM The air bullet did its job flawlessly, slamming into the monitor and splintering the screen, punching a hole through it and dissipating into the wall behind it. Jumping back and shielding his face from the burst of shards that flung from the sparking, smoking screen, Dr. Green landed ungainly on the floor, taking a few seconds to get back up. The two monsters beside him didn't move a muscle. He looked accusingly at Stormbreaker "Do you know how hard it is to get good monitors here?" he demanded angrily "They don't come nearly as cheap as you'd think!" smoothing out his lab coat he went on "And yes, this was meant to gather data from you, and I now have all I can get from you while you live. After my two newest experiments in hyprothized metatoxine have battered you into the floor I will dissect you two, and find out what makes you so..unique. Buenos dias, as they say here, and goodbye." He turned and walked to the door at the rear of the lab "It's a shame your development was unable to support my hypothesis on electromagnetic powers, Thomas," he added wearily to Voltage, tapping a short code on a numberpad next to the exit "but I suppose my expectations were a little higher than warranted." The door slid open, sunlight streaming in and blotting out all but his silhouette. Over his shoulder he said "Code five-oh-gamma" The silent monsters awoke, and turned on the two heroes.

"Of course, Serge, I'd be glad to get you some copies of those old photos too if you'd like" Pavor said brightly, nestling his plate filled with rolls and fruit on one side of the weathered wood table. He glanced with a frown at Rodrigo after his comment, but the others payed little attention, least of all Subito. Serge's joke did a lot to ease the tension he felt in the room though, with Rodrigo grinning outright at it, saying "Well, it all adds up, you know? First you Serge and then..the world!" he exclaimed in exaggeratedly grandiose tone. Once they were all seated and had begun the serious task of eating, Galanta took up the conversational lead, saying casually to Victoria "Say, at Claremont they teach you how to fight evil, right? You do a lot of fighting, Victoria?" she asked with a mild smile. Subito coughed furiously at that, turning quickly to Serge and telling him "Hey Surge, what was that new thing you were workin' on? I think you called it a 'resonance suppressor' or something? Could you tell us how it works? Rodrigo loves hearing about new tech, ain't that right?" he turned to his cousin for confirmation. The cousin chewed slowly for a few seconds before nodding once "Sure" he said quietly "that would be good"

That misses. Round 2 Same order, no HP loss or gain. Using Super-STR to life up one of the cars nearby, going to throw it at Blue Jay. Attack roll: 19! Miss, though ruling that it instead hits the car she's concealed behind. DC25 TOU save for the car: 25, heilege. Blue Jay's turn. Oh and Darksider, feel free to make a Notice check to try and hear the commotion going on.

Smiling broadly at Victory's blazing entrance Nochehuatl waved to the cyborg. "Ah, welcome, Victory! You are well in time, and no, all of us that were here before have returned" he engaged the AEGIS representative in light conversation, asking about modern tactics and military movements throughout the world... Wave-Eye had jumped to his feet the instant the change had been felt, the air thrumming around him with the strange powers that could tear paths between worlds. He donned his ceremonial armor with all speed. Adjusting the ornate breastplate when the General Lapidern arrived out of the black circle, he bowed politely to her, saying "We will do what we can, General. If fighting your enemies helps with that, we would be fools to pass by such a chance" loosening a strap across his shoulder he added drily "There are few better paths to a mutual love between peoples than that" with a sigh he rolled his arm experimentally, nodding at the soft clanks and stretching of ancient leathers. Glancing at the humans he said "I will go first, as I offered before." he walked with heavy and softly ringing steps nearer the portal, peering into it with his black eyes.

GM It took the Crusader member only a few seconds of looking from the black man with the cowl and vicious weapons, the Hispanic woman in black that used black rays of horror that seemed to sap the life out of people, to the weird knife-wielding kid in the iron mask to blurt out to Crow "I-I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything, just don't hurt me!" straining against the tight grip on his collar he babbled "We weren't gonna hurt the guy too bad, just scare him! People like him don't belong here, me and the guys, we-we just wanted to get 'im to leave!" He looked imploringly up at Morgan "I'm telling the truth! Us in the Crusaders, we're not murderers!"

Subito knew enough about being around unfamiliar situations to stop when Cerys stopped. He watched in mild confusion as she donned her goggles with the glowing lenses and stared intently at the sidewalk, holding his tongue and looking suspiciously at little Red Stripe. 'Yeah, this is probably why people get so creeped out by magic guys. This stuff is just weird' 'Is that so?' 'Alright, fine, I get what you mean' Taking the goggles when they were offered he squinted through them at the hole in the ground in the blue circle "...Whoa. Your people do not mess around. That's pretty awesome, let's go!" he said gleefully, putting his arm snugly around Blodeuwedd's. Looking down at the hole in the ground, he tensed and jumped the same time as Cerys did into the circle!

'...I never thought of it like that. None of the drowned..they never said anything like that either' "I understand what you speak. It was..perhaps not the kindest way of treating u-of treating you, I should say. I am glad to hear you have welcomed your gifts so thoughtfully, Gabriel, and that the giver was so generous. But why have communication and relationships with beings that, by their very nature, you cannot understand? I never understood my mother, the Queen of All Oceans Chalchiuhtlicue of the Jade Skirt, because she stood on a higher plane than I and saw farther than many even among the Teotl. She never loved me, though as her child I of course adored her, and I was never less worthy because of it. In the underground lakes that were lost in the Shift of the Great Walls, we played among her watery train, hundreds of us tritons. She never smiled or frowned once, though we all sensed her approval or her anger..." lost in the reverie, Wave-Eye nearly missed his footing and shot forward with a sharp hiss from the roof, claws scrabbling on the building concrete before he hauled himself up and over the lip, where he once again began running, casting an apologetic look up at the other hero "Agh! I yammer, and those years are lost. I ask your pardon, Gabriel. How close are we to the Double Decker and Mrs. Scallop?"