ic Sky-Pirates!

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Secret Location in the Mojave Desert, Nevada

March 26th, 1 PM

Claremont Academy Field Trip to Danger Institute: Mojave Installation

 

The field trip had been announced a bit suddenly, and for a rather varied group of students, spread out across the different squads: Zenith, White Lioness, Ms. Thursday, Gauss, Thunderbird, Salvo, Forever Boy and Veronica Danger, accompanied by their teacher Steph Harcourt. Why they had been the chosen students were anyone's guess, but they were promised it would be quite a treat. And of course, they would have to write an essay about the visit. It seemed that Headmistress Summers would temper any boon with a bane.

 

But still! At first the group of students would get to on a field trip to the Danger Institute's Mojave Installation, hidden in the Mojave desert. The description of the place had been vague. The students had been told that it was a research station where Danger International studied unknown objects found across the world, kept safely away from any population centers in case any of the objects turned out to be dangerous. They would get a tour of the place, and potentially get to see some of the items of interest.

 

As an added bonus, Headmistress Summers had pulled some strings, and the group of students found themselves arriving via teleporter pads, straight from the Freedom League. Quick and easy travel, and they wouldn't miss several days of classes to travel. That was bound to be quite an experience to the students that had not tried something like that before.

 

As the students and Steph Harcourt appeared, they were met with a big cube of a building, 330 feet in each dimension.There were several square windows in different locations all around the building, placed seemingly randomly. As they appeared at the top of the building at the teleport pads on loan from the Freedom League, the students and the teacher could see a pair of helicopter landing pads, and a small cube with a set of doors that led into the building from the roof. At the ground level, two pairs of great doors were situated at equal spacing on each side of the building. 

 

The second thing that the students were met with were sand blowing absolutely everywhere. Not a pleasant experience, by all accounts.

 

The third and last thing was a man with a red scarf tied over his mouth and nose, with thick goggles over his eyes. He was wearing khaki shorts and a dark grey t-shirt, and was shouting for them to get inside, leading the group to the entrance. "C'mon! The storm'll pass soon, but no reason to get caught up in it!"

Edited March 12, 2019 by RocketLord

[Cubismo]

Ms. Thursday

 

As Astrid took in the massive building before her she couldn't help but break into a smile even if it risked getting a gust of sand in her mouth.

 

It had finally happened. An honest to the Gods field trip to someplace interesting in America that she had never been before. She had started to doubt whether it would ever happen with Summers seeming pretty determined to have them all cooped up in Claremont for the whole school year. 

 

Astrid couldn't be more happy to be wrong, though she could leave the sand. She turned to the rest of her classmates before making her way to the entrance. "Alright. Looks get the Hel in there before this storm blows us all over the desert, ja!"

Edited March 13, 2019 by Cubismo

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Veronica Danger was perhaps somewhat less excited than most of her classmates during this trip.  For starters, she had been to Freedom Hall several times in the Fall when she had gone to get flight time in one of the League's Pegasus spaceplanes.  Further, while she had never been to this particular facility personally, as a member of the Danger family had having access to Danger International files, she certainly was aware of its existence before this trip.  Still, it was a chance to get out of the classroom for a bit and on to something somewhat more active.

 

The teenage Danger was dressed in her more usual attire, olive cargo shorts, a black T-shirt over which she wore a loose tan long sleeved shirt that was unbuttoned in the front. And, of course, there were the ever present pair of well-worn in hiking boots on her feet.

 

While the appearance in the middle of a sandstorm was not the most pleasant way to arrive, Veronica had experienced her share of sandstorms in her travels.  Giving a nod to the host that was there to greet them and in agreement with Astrid’s comments, the teenage Danger started towards the rooftop access door.

[TheAbsurdist]

Corinne didn't care.  As this wasn't a goal for her, and as she got closer to graduation the more jaded she became, especially after the Krampus incident.  She wasn't going to sullen, considering she was seeing things she hadn't before... but...

 

Her mind was made up, and barring something catastrophic nothing was going to change her mind.  Still a semi-secret nonpublic facility in the middle of desert gave her all sorts of vibes, so despite her 'not caring,' and no matter how often she repeated the mantra, this was an event.  She was just going to doggedly not admit it.

She had her arm cross over her midsection, plodding along. Wearing her nominal bucket hat, a printed t-shirt from some old pop culture reference (a la Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China), under her studded leather jacket, with a flannel tied around her waist, a pair of black leggings, and some hiking boots.

At the threat of the storm she moved one arm and summoned her power around her, that scattering light shimmered for a moment, as she summoned her forcefield, just in case stuff started to get real before she made it into the building.

[Tiffany Korta]

 

White Lioness

Àjàṣorò had been little nervous returning to the Freedom League headquarters, as she’d used her fathers pass to commit a less than legal activities. It had all turned out well, but she still wasn’t sure if she’d be allowed back on the premises. Luckily he father had apparently smoothed the waters and not an eyebrow was raised as she arrived to use the teleporters.

 

It had lightened her pensive mood to be able to finish the trip and even the desert sand didn’t bother her much, she’d stood on the sand of the Sahara after all.

 

“This storm isn’t that impressive, but still probably best if we go inside.”

[KnightDisciple]

Micah still found himself...on guard...when Corinne was around and they weren't literally sitting in a classroom or lounge or the like. The Krampus Incident had left him...well, he didn't like Zenith, and Corinne was only just far enough removed he was cordial with her in the right setting. This trip, though, he was less sure about. Everyone else was pretty chill, though. 

 

When they arrived, his eyes slammed shut almost immediately. It might not be the worst sandstorm in existence, but sand in the eyes was no joke. He moved his goggles down his head, then blinked. He took a few moments to look around, then nodded.

 

"Hang on, I think I can make this a bit more comfortable."

 

Thunderbird (a name he was still adjusting to) slammed his hands together, producing a loud clapping sound. More dramatic, though, was how the air around them for a couple of hundred feet stilled, dropping sand to the ground and leaving them unassaulted by the grain substance. Micah's face was pinched in concentration.

 

"Can't do this forever. Walking would be good, yes."

[Zeitgeist Blue]

Salvo

 

"Pfft. Pfft. Pfft!"

 

Nicole spat sand from her mouth as a bubble of calm settled over the whole area. She took her glasses off and wiped the sand from the lenses, putting them back on a second later. That brought her sight back to normal and she glanced at Micah, his face pinched with effort.

 

"Thanks, Micah. Yeah, this is definitely much better." She said as she began to drive her wheelchair forward. Her head swiveled as she took in the whole building and their surroundings, all made easier to see thanks to Micah's bubble of calm. She had to admit that this was pretty exciting and not because the building was in the middle of nowhere Nevada but because of whatever lay inside. Unknown objects galore from all over the world. Not that she wasn't exposed to the exotic and exciting in her work with Archetech but she could never get tired of the prospect of opening something up and figuring how it works.

 

"Do you have any idea what's inside?" She asked Veronica as she drove up beside the other teenager. Contrasting the Danger's pulp adventure attire, Nicole was wearing an olive green bomber jacket, unbuttoned over a white t-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

Veronica had already been moving toward the entrance to the building when Micah had created an area free from the sand.  "Yes, great work Micah."  The teenage Danger replied in agreement to Nicole’s comments.

 

When Nicole pulled up beside her to ask her question, Veronica gave a slight nod and a shrug.  "Well, I know about some of the things studied here.  Members of my family tends to travel far and wide, on this world and others, often encountering all manner of unusual artifacts, devices and technology.  I have not been more fully involved with things at Danger International long enough to be fully up to date on what they have here, but have learned about some.  There are even a few things that have been here close to a century."

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Now, this was exciting. Not just something new to experience, but something that was normally entirely hidden away from anything else. Pan was excited, of course. And the teleporter! He had never tried anything quite like that before. Well, that was not entirely true. He had never tried anything like that before where he actually knew where he was going and was ready for it. 

 

And then they were hit with the sand and yes, that was not really pleasant at all, the way it was flying everywhere and getting everywhere and just blegh. With Micah creating a zone of calm around them, he quickly moved up and slapped his roommate on the back, a huge grin spreading over his lips. "That was amazing!" It was great, really, because he was obviously not dressed for a sandstorm at all. Pan had heard desert, so he had thought hot, so he was dressed in a pair of dark green shorts that went right past his knees and no further, and a lighter green t-shirt with a white wing design on his back. Not really dressed by for the weather at all.

 

Hearing Nicole's question, he quickly moved up to hear and Veronica. "That's impressive. Guess we will get to see some of all the old things, then."

Edited March 19, 2019 by RocketLord

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The man paused for a moment as the storm calmed around them, looking directly at Micah. "That is, ah, quite something," he managed to get out, before hurrying towards the door again. "Alright, alright, no need to tax the young man unnecessarily, let's head inside!" He went in first, leading the way directly into an elevator. Once Harcourt had made sure everyone was inside she followed, the door closing behind them.

 

The elevator was not overly large, but big enough to hold the group of 8 teenagers and two adults, at least. They could probably have squeezed two or three more inside, but that would have been it, leaving the group standing a bit closer to each other than what some of them might find comfortable, but that was how it was. The elevator itself seemed rather featureless, aside from a panel that the man had hastily taken his place at, placing his hand on a scanner, followed by having a scan taken of his eye, and finally, he pressed a button and the elevator started descending.

 

"Ah, welcome to the Danger Institute's Mojave Installation everyone! My name is Sam Vegas, I'm a researcher here, and I will be your guide on the tour." He made a slight bow towards Veronica, unable to do more with the limited space. "A pleasure to meet you all, and you in particular, Miss Danger. If any of you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll answer to the best of my ability." A short pause, as light began to creep in from the bottom of the walls on the elevator, spreading up and revealing that the walls surrounding the box was actually see-through, giving the group a view of the facility as the elevator descended. "If I'm allowed to answer, of course!" Vegas added.

 

As the elevator descended, the group could see that they were in a large atrium, with at least ten floors around them. Either the building were bigger on the inside than the outside, or it simply went lower than the outside building made it seem. They could several items scattered around the on the different floors as they passed, some held in high tech containment fields, some simply behind glass. Some where being moved around by researchers, others were out in the open, being used for various experiments.

 

Finally, they reached the ground floor, and Vegas guided them out, towards a security booth, a table with some screen in front and a wall behind pointed towards the entrance from the elevator, manned by a pair of guards. An Afro-American man of average height with a bushy, greying handlebar moustache, and a Caucassian woman that stood slightly taller than the man, with  short blonde hair. Both were wearing dark blue dress shirts and pants, as well as dark blue caps. The front of the caps and the backs of their shirts had SECURITY printed in yellow letters. Vegas gestured to them. "Now, if you would please state your name and tell Mr. Wilson and Mrs. Grey that you're with me for the Claremont Tour, then we'll get started!"

[Zeitgeist Blue]

Salvo

 

"Woah."

 

The students descended from the ceiling in their transparent glass elevator and a bird's eye view of the entire atrium was revealed to them. Nicole adjusted the frame of her glasses to get a better look. Mouth slightly agape, her eyes flicked from one item to item. An unassuming disc studded with rubies and diamonds sat behind a glass case as a trio of scientists wrote notes on their clipboards. She could see a silver rod, as thin and long as a person's arm, discharge a brilliant white light that sent the the bars seen in a testing monitor fluctuating wildly. Several metal crates with X marks painted on their sides were stacked on a wagon bed, floating on what looked to be a quartet of repulsor engines. A woman, blindfolded, walked a simple maze as if she were using her eyes while several of her peers observed.

 

"Yeah, like that over there." Nicole pointed out to Pan and Veronica. Near the elevator shaft, an oil painting shifted in time to an mechanical metronome, showing scenes of what looked to be the Western Front of World War 1. "Look at the signature and the timestamp. Elinor Travere's works have always been unveiled in batches. The 1883 series was her smallest and most unusual ever." Nicole pursed her mouth, silent for a moment as her brows furrowed in thought. "Sorry, they are somewhat popular among arcane collectors for having predicted events after Travere's death. and all but one of the paintings were accounted for. Except this is the last one?"

 

The elevator stopped and they were deposited to the security booth.

 

"Nicole Whitfield-Hall," Nicole stated as she drove to the security booth.

 

"Good afternoon, Miss. I hope you enjoy the tour," said Mrs. Gray as she handed Nicole an ID pass, turning to give another to the next student in line.

 

Then Nicole was on the other side, her eyes already glued to the nearest contraption. What looked to be a bio-organic metal. It shifted in its glass case, creating spheres and ink blots and other less defined forms as a scientist fiddled with a program on a nearby desktop, occasionally looking up to observe the shifting metal. He glanced as Nicole passed by but returned to his work without a word exchanged.

 

"How would it respond to different stimuli?" Nicole wondered aloud, loud enough for the nearest student to hear. "The differences in practices between the Danger facilities and Archetech are huge. We'd segregate the scientists and engineers into different teams to tackle different problems in a segregated approach, but everyone mingles so freely here. It's familiar but different enough I can tell this isn't Archetech even without the Danger brand everywhere."

 

She pointed to the bio-organic metal. "I recognize an alien substance any day. I've seen several come for testing at the Freedom City labs but I haven't taken an active part in them unless they involved exotic energies. Honestly, tests sometimes devolve into zapping the subject repeatedly to see what happens. Depending on what race or its satellite races that thing came from, if you spray pink neon over it, it'd either explode like a ten-pound bag of C4s or emit the best bubblegum perfume you'd ever smell. We still don't know how to differentiate the two."

Edited March 20, 2019 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Cubismo]

Astrid made sure to give Micah a "Thanks" and a thumbs up for his calming breeze before she followed their guide into a seriously cramped elevator. The desert sun hadn't bothered her in the slightest but she was glad to be inside regardless of the current circumstance, if only for the sake of her hair which definitely did not need the humility even if the rest of her body seemed to take it stride. 

 

As they descended down to their destination Astrid couldn't help make a long whistle of astonishment as they passed floor after floor. Sure, the institute looked vast from the outside but this was something else. To think that the whole place was filled from top to bottom with all kinds of magical artifacts and technological wonders took her aback and reminded her of the treasure vaults of Asgard. Both them and the Institute had that overwhelming sense of scale that could someone both parts giddy and awestuck.

 

Astrid lightly nudged Veronica's shoulder. "Not gonna lie, you Dangers found some pretty interesting stuff. I think I even spied one of researchers hauling around a singasteinn. Nice find that." Before she could continue gushing over what she saw their elevator came to a stop and they were escorted by Vegas to two similarly attired security guards. Apparently they needed to know everyone's names, which made Astrid move her lips to the side. Wouldn't they already know them and that they were with Vegas? 

 

The demigoddess shrugged. Given that this place was probably filled with stuff that could be labeled a weapon of mass destruction she couldn't really blame them for wanting to be a bit cautious and thorough. Still, giving up her identity to people in uniform rarely sat right with her. "The name's Astrid Torsten. I hope I'm on whatever list you got because I really don't want to go back to that sandstorm you got brewing outside."

 

[KnightDisciple]

Micah didn't reply verbally as the others thanked him, instead simply nodding while keeping an expression of concentration on his face. Once they all reached the inside of the facility, he let out a large sigh of relaxation and released his power, letting the wind resume just as the door closed. He closed his eyes and did a couple of breathing exercises as their elevator descended, only opening them when they stopped. At which point he blinked several times in surprise.

 

"Whoa."

 

He moved with the rest of the group until they passed one room, where he stopped and stared for several moments. 

 

"That looks like some kind of high-end flight suit! Is...is that armor panels? And the helmet's so smooth!"

 

Micah saw that the group was moving on without him, and he hurried to catch up. On their way to the security desk, he also saw a room with several jetpacks of slightly different models on stable testing rigs. While he could fly under his own power, jetpacks weren't far from planes on his "cool to try" list. He heard a cough and whipped his head around to face the security person in front of him, eyebrow raised.

 

"Oh, sorry! Micah Roebuck.Here for the tour."

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

Veronica gave a small smile as Vegas introduced himself more formally, making particular mention of being pleased to meet her.  "Thank you Mr. Vegas, glad to finally have a chance to make it out here."  She replied with a nod. 

 

Even though Veronica had some idea of what to expect as the elevator descended, and had seen a number of incredible sights around the world (and even a few out in space), she still grinned with excitement and wonder at the scene that greeted her and her fellow students as the elevator came into the atrium.  As her fellow students took in some of the wondrous sights before them, the teenage Danger again smiled, glad to see the excitement and interest of her fellow students. 

 

As Astrid nudged her slight, Veronica turned back to look at the other girl with a grin.  "Well, there have been quite of few of us scouring the world and beyond for over a century.  You should hear some of my Uncle Ace’s stories."

 

As the group reached the two security personnel, Veronica gave a small smile as she stepped up to one of the officers.  "I have my own pass, thanks."  She stated as she pulled out her Danger International ID badge and hung it around her neck.  "Veronica Danger." 

 

The security guard paused a brief moment, looking at the teenager before giving a small nod.  "Thank you Ms. Danger."

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

"Amazing!" Pan could barely contain his excitement. As the elevator descended, there were just so many things to see! On one floor, he spotted a group of researchers running after a jumping stone, on the next a beautiful painting that seemed to shift and turn, with colors that did not seem quite right, like they were from something not quite from this world.

 

Was this what life for Veronica's family, then? Adventures around and beyond the world, gathering the strange and the amazing, then figuring out what it all did? He kind of wanted in on that, wanted to see it all!

 

And then, they reached the ground floor, and it was time for formalities again. Alright, he wanted to see things, then he should stay grounded. Probably. For as long as he could, at least. Moving up to the guard station once it was his turn, he produced his greatest, most innocent smile and stated his name. "Pan Barrie." The last name Barrie still felt a bit odd, but he could at least appreciate the reference in it.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

As the group went through the security booth one by one, they were each handed a small ID card on a strap, while being informed to have it visible at all times. So far, so simple. Once they were all through, Vegas made a show out of displaying his own card to one of the guards before following them into the open area, quickly getting in front of the group and leading them through a door into a corridor. They were probably below ground now, but just like the elevator, the corridor was entirely see through, with multiple rooms of varying sizes all around them, all with different researchers and artifacts.

 

"Well then! Once again, welcome everyone! I must admit that I'm not really used to giving tours of this place, so bear with me, alright? And speaking of bears!" 

 

Vegas chuckled at his own joke as he led the group to the left, into a small room. There were just a pair of researchers inside, both dressed rather casually, aside from their white lab coats. The group could only just fit inside the room as it was, not made easier by the presence of a life-sized golden bear statue in the middle of the room. 

 

"Just look at this! It was found in Kansas of all places! We believe it might be connected to the myth of the golden bear that several people claimed to have seen in the 1840'es. Exciting, right?"

 

One of the researcher piped up. "Or maybe just someone's art, Sam. Nothing paranormal about it yet, at least." He sounded rather disappointed.

 

Vegas waved him off. "Sure, but better safe than sorry, right?"

 

Vegas led them on through several rooms, showing them several artifacts and items of interest along the way. There was much to see, some of the students was even invited to have a closer look at the things. After about an hour, having gone around much of the building and approaching the atrium again, Vegas led them towards another room, the same size as the first. "Now, this is a good one! Its a pretty recent find, too. It was found in London, but we're pretty sure that its from another world! Exciting, right?" As they moved closer, a distinct TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK sound started becoming ever louder, from only barely audible to the volume of a normal speaking voice. And inside the room, the group found a single researcher standing over a table that held the face of a clock, at a size that could roughly fit in a palm. It was rather Victorian in design, with roman numerals that counted up to XIII at the top. Despite not appearing to have mechanics connected that could make it run, the arms were moving, slowly edging forward to the number XIII.

 

Pan recognized it immediately. "I know that! It is a Horologium, from Neverworld!" He could barely contain his excitement, starting to move towards it before Vegas stopped him.

 

And the second the arms struck XIII on the Horologium, alarms began blaring through the facility, blinking red lights filling the room.

[Tiffany Korta]

 

White Lioness

Àjàṣorò was lost in her own thoughts as the others appreciated the wonders housed in this facility, she been spoiled slightly by similar stuff housed in the palace back in N'Gome ya Watu where she’d grown up. The Dangers and the White Lion Clan, as the whole people of Dakana, had a long, most friendly, relationship. Indeed she could see the small carved token of friendship that her grandmother had given the Danger when he first help protect her land.

 

“I am Àjàṣorò Tafari Nyeupe Simba Ukoo, though that might not fit on you little badge so Àjàṣorò will do!” she smiled at the man, showing her natural charm.

 

She had fallen a little behind so rushed to catch up, standing quietly at the back allowing the other to talk and appreciate the wonders of this place. At least for a few moments before the alarm began to start.

 

“Is that suppose to happen?”

 

[TheAbsurdist]

"Corinne Conrad.  Claremont Senior, hear for the tour."  She was curt to Security, lingering near the back, but she wasn't really doing anything negative.  Yet.  She didn't want to rock the boat, she might see something amazing.  But she wasn't a hero.

She told herself.  Over and over.  And over.  A mantra.

Her normally ebullient self mitigated by her surrounding, and the most recent talking to by Summers, who had impressed that her antics where unwanted, most of the time.  So here she was, the artist stuck on a science trip.  While one might view her powers in a lens that let her manipulate matter around her in a scientific way, she simply did. What she wanted in the end product happened.

 

Then alerts, and she lifted her head, brows knitted together.  "No.  Something's wrong."

[KnightDisciple]

Micah had blinked a couple of times at the golden bear. On the one hand, that was a lot of gold, but on the other, bears. And one that might come to life one day? Sheesh. Then they came to a...clock? His head tilted as he realized it was ticking and moving with no mechanism. Not a hidden one, but no mechanism at all. He was no matchmaker (yet), but that was impressive! Presumably it was some kind of mag-

 

And then Pan recognized it, it struck the hour, and an alarm sounded. Micah closed his eyes and said something in Cheroke that would have his mother up in arms, before he sighed. 

 

"Pan, buddy, any chance these holo-things happen to be tied to someone, someones, or something or things? Seems like...convenient...timing."

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Pan was puzzled and excited. How could a Horologium be here, of all places? It was a rarity on Neverworld, and to find it on Earth? It should have been impossible! He moved forward after his statement, before he was stopped by first Sam Vegas, and then the alarms. No, he was quite inclined to agree with Corinne, something was indeed wrong, and perhaps Micah had the right idea of it.

 

"Sometimes. A Horologium bonds for as long as its owner lives. As far as I know, it is all but impossible to find one that has not bonded, unless the owner has recently died." He paused for a moment, even with the alarms blaring, he could not resist some theatrics. "I am not sure quite where they come from, but I have seen a few, always in the possession of someone mighty. I have seen them do a great many things. Heal mortal injuries, transport armadas over great distances, contain maps to impossible treasures, hold prophecies and warnings of danger to come." 

 

He knew a bit more than he was telling. In particular, he knew of someone that often sought the Horologiums, but no reason to share that quite yet.

Edited April 4, 2019 by RocketLord

[Cubismo]

The moment Astrid heard the sirens go off and the saw the blinking red lights blast the room her whole body turned tense. Whereas before she was as causal as could be looking around the faculty for things that caught her fancy, now the demigoddess had her guard was up and her eyes focused.

 

Trouble wasn't far ahead. She could feel it in her bones. Porrklubba was with her as always but Astrid didn't draw the weapon quite yet even though she was itching too. 

 

There was still a chance this was wrong but Astrid's instincts told her that Micah was probably right on the money. Weird magic artifact from another world starts ticking and immediately afterwards the alarms start going off?  That was way too much of a coincidence for her liking. 

 

She turned towards Forever Boy. "Right, so. These things are super powerful and plenty of people would want one if they found where it was. Can you think of anyone from Neverworld who would have the balls to try to take one from here?" She asked.

[Zeitgeist Blue]

Salvo

"Always in the possession of someone mighty. How mighty are we talking about here?" Nicole asked as she touched her eyeglasses, turning on the built-in magic sight. Then she looked at the Horologium as its ticking became louder and louder. "Because you might want to start there if you're looking for someone to blame, Astrid."

 

In truth, Nicole wasn't so much worried as she was entranced by the Horologium. She squinted to look at the tiny, un-analog clock tick even as the alarms blared around her, sending her fellow students on edge. Her ears rushed with a sound much louder than the alarms but her thoughts were the clearest they had ever been. Free of distraction and time. Free of anything in the periphery, she only had eyes for one item.

 

What had Pan said they were capable? Healing, mass transportation, prophecies and impossible treasures. She wondered what this Horologium held within its clock hands. She found herself closer, having seemingly driven her wheelchair up to the nearest she could get to the table and the Horologium. If she could, she would reach out and take it into her hands and look at it closer, try to understand what made it tick in as much time as she could with her magic sight turned on.

 

The attention of Vegas and the researcher and the other students on this field trip were split between the Horologium and the alarms, and if only she could...

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"Yes, it does seem rather convenient." Sam Vegas had stopped, listening as Pan explained and his friends asked questions. He sounded suspicious, gently rubbing his chin with his right hand without really realizing he was doing it. "We've been looking at this thing for weeks trying to figure out what it was, aside from a fancy clock, and the moment that you show up, it hits thirteen for the first time, and the alarm starts? Pretty convenient." And then he saw Nicole reaching for the Horologium, quickly moving forward to place a hand between them, but too late to stop her from taking the watch into her hand. "Hey, don't touch that!" He was worried, his voice was showing as much, but he was too slow, and the watch was in Nicole's hand.

 

And nothing happened. Not at first, at least. Nicole could see something like magic, but not quite magic. Almost like if magic was a naturally occurring thing, and what she was seeing was someone's attempt to replicate it, but without using actual magic. It was very much like it, of course, but also very different in certain places. And to Nicole, the ticking seemed to grow ever louder, as she saw something else too. A distinct impression, an image engraved directly into her mind. Perhaps it was the owner of the item, perhaps it was merely related in some way, but if she remembered the story that Pan had told at Thanksgiving, and the images he had shown, she would recognize it: A giant, a beast of untold proportions: The Crocodile. 

 

"Alright, that's it! Put the clock down and everyone with me, right now!" Vegas was at least trying to take charge of the situation. He had a hand on a bluetooth earpiece he had produced from somewhere. "All communication's down, and I want you kids somewhere safe! Back to the entrance, figure out what's going on, then get you into the safe rooms! Go, go!" With some help from Harcourt, he began guiding the teens back down the hallways towards the atrium where they had first entered.

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger
 

Veronica had been moving slowly forward with the other students, making sure everyone had been able to get through security before picking up her pace slightly. Thus she was a little ways behind when the alarms started sounding off in the facility.  This caused the teenage Danger to jog forward, catching up with the front of the group as they were talking about the Horologium, which Pan apparently recognized as being from his dimension.

 

Vegas seemed a bit out of sorts as the confusion and uncertainty of the situation seemed to mount.  While Veronica could understand his immediate reaction, which was to order the group to seek shelter, she also realized he did not fully appreciate the resources he had at his disposal.  Luckily she did, and there was something she could do about it.

 

"Actually Mr. Vegas, I am the senior member of the Danger family present at the facility at this time."  She stated in an even tone.  "We can be far more useful helping than hiding in a safe room."

 

"Astrid, Micha," she continued, looking over to the two teens, "how about you two head over to the security detachment and see if they have any information about what is going on.  If they don’t then maybe head up topside to take a look."  Veronica than glanced over toward Àjàṣorò,   She asked a bit more diplomatically.

 

She then glanced back to the rest of the group.  "Pan, Nicole, can you two figure out what is going on with this thing?"  She asked, then finally she looked to Corinne.  "Your choice Corinne, stay with us or head to a safe room with the other staff."

 

The teenage Danger then looked back to Vegas.  “I want everything else into containment and all support staff to safe areas.”

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Pan could think of quite undesirable persons that would be looking for a Horologium, but if they had been driven enough to follow this Horologium to another world, then there was but a few it could be, and he was well aware of who was at the very top of that list. "Very mighty. All but two persons that has changed the fate of Neverworld has been in possession of a Horologium. Depending on what they have learned to do with their Horologiums, they could change the face of the world, level entire cities or worse. A Horologium owner has almost always meant changes to the world." He was not smiling as he was talking, a rarity.

 

Pan had folded his arms over his chest, holding them in place as he looked at the others solemnly. "There are plenty that would want a Horologium, but I can only think of one mad enough to chase it across worlds: The Hooked Man." He shook his head. "But, I have no idea how he would even have arrived on Earth. I still don't know how I ended up here in the first place, after all! It is probably just a coincidence after all, or the Horologium is trying to warn us about whoever is attacking!" No, he did not quite believe that either, but it was worth a shot, was it not?

 

He looked to Veronica, a weak smile playing over his lips. "Whoever is coming, it would be best to keep the Horologium away from them. A safe location, or safely with someone."