ic Kingmaker: Queen's Defence (IC)

[Avenger Assembled]

On his feet, Fast-Forward looked at Hologram covered in a stew of psionic and entropic energy and smiled with the broad affection of the long-married. "God, you are so damn beautiful." He considered in a flash, then said, "St. Louis," out loud before turning and running away - all the way out of Bayview and down into some suburb on the edge of town. In the middle of a fast-food restaurant's parking lot, he shot a quick wave at the suddenly-gaping morning patrons staring at him through the window. "Hey everybody! Supercrime!'s tenth season starts this fall!" He winked, pulled up his shades, and looked at his watch - waiting for a psychic signal. 

[Electra]

And you are so dramatic, Paige sent to Richard with a quick burst of affection before concentrating on what was right in front of her. She let the eldritch energies sink back into her skin and wiped away the blood still trickling from her nose. In her uniform she was a recognizable figure to anybody who watched the Discovery Channel, despite being a little more rumpled than usual. She walked towards Louis and his sister, using her telekinesis to gently deposit Roadkill on the ground next to them. Up close it would be easier to tell that the malicious little psychopath was still breathing and not that much worse for wear.

 

"We don't want to fight with you," she told the kids. "Rachel asked us for help. We know that your mom is influencing you with her powers, making you feel things and do things you wouldn't otherwise do. I know what it's like to feel like your mind isn't your own."

 

Paige continued walking forward, slowly and evenly, her body relaxed and her hands open at her sides, completely nonthreatening. "I know how scary it is, and how helpless it makes you feel. My father used to treat my siblings and I the same way when I was growing up. I think he really loved us, but he didn't want us to make any decision he didn't think was the right one. Eventually that turned into 'any decision at all.' We always had to obey him, even when we tried not to. For a long time, it was like we couldn't be our own people." 

She stopped just a couple yards away, well out of arm's reach, but certainly within blast radius. "We believe your mother is heading in that direction, and you shouldn't have to live that way. We don't want to hurt her either, but she can't keep treating people the way she does. We're going to do our best to stop her without anybody getting seriously hurt, and that's going to be easier if you're not fighting us at the same time. Either way, we'll all do our best to protect you." 

[Tiffany Korta]

Merge Trois

Things seemed to be settling down a little but there was always a chance that things could start back up again. Merge thought for a few seconds and decided that for now it was best to reduced potential trouble, if necessary, taking the blame as the rogue elements.

 

She wasn’t planning to cause any harm as she bundled the troopers with a number of herselves, but when she landed on them, they folded quicker and easier than she’d expected. This couldn’t be good.

 

“Well that can’t be a good thing!”

[RocketLord]

Archer II

 

And just like that, they were giving up? To be fair, Connor had only really listened to Roadkill, and the rest of these kids might be more sane than her, but still... poke them a bit, and they they just stopped fighting?

 

Not that he was complaining. Talk it out if you can, the old man had said. No need to put an arrow in anyone if they were gonna stand down anyway. So, alright. Follow the lead of the more experienced heroes, right? Learn what he can, and work from that. The goons were down, just the big guns left, and they were the ones to watch out for. Fine then, he wasn't about to try to ruin Hologram's or Grimalkin's talking, so instead, he'd just pick out a net arrow and get it ready, just in case.

[Shofet]

GM

 

Liteshow jerked at the crumbling of the Speed Troopers, eyes wide. "Hey!" He struggled for a moment, but Mamba's grip on him was tight.  He sighed, and dropped to his knees. The steam was finally out of him. "Sorry, mom," he said up to the ether. "I just can't keep fighting."

 

Unexpectedly, there came a response, echoing in the heard of everyone present. In the voice of a woman boomed the words: "It's okay honey, I understand. I asked too much of all of you. You all have to be very tired. Just sit tight and we'll have you teleported out of there soon enough, okay? Now, I just need to talk to the people you were fighting."

 

"I bet you all think you've won here, beating up on a bunch of teenagers. But you haven't, not yet. We're going to go away for a little while, but we'll be back, and I will reunite my family no matter what you do. I have one of the most brilliant minds in human history on my side and more than that, evil people like you never, ever prosper. So just keep that in mind, okay? I'm not going to lose to selfish people like you."

 

"To my old friends, my family. Serena, Rachel... Adrian. I am sorry you've all been brainwashed against me, but I promise, we're going to fix this. We're going to be a family again. I am sorry I have done some things that I regret, but it's... I am going to make it up to you. I promise. When we're back together it will be like when we were kids... Except we'll have our own, too! A big family."

 

"Mr. Archer, I don't blame you either. You're young and impressionable and I know you're just doing what you think is right. Trust me, I get it. But your mentor, he's a bad man and he'd led you astray. more than that, you're not helping Serena. She's very, very confused right now. Please, just let her come home. If you want, you can even join us."

 

"AND AS FOR THE PSION, I know what you people are like. You and your junkie husband might have everyone else fooled, but you are not going to manipulate my friends and family against me. Do you understand? If you EVER try and talk my babies into hating me again, I will consider turnabout fair play, do you understand me? I will not have your bad influence ruining everything for me."

 

"Facsimile... You already hurt my little Jenna. You are on my list, young man. Merge Trois? You're just tacky. And Black Mamba... What I said to the Psion about turnabout? That applies to you too. I am not afraid to punch below the belt if it means protecting my kids. And as for Grimalkin... Well, what can you say about a grown woman who pretends to be a teenager that isn't already on everyone's minds?"

 

"So!" chirped the voice. "I think that covers everyone. Say goodbye to the grown-ups, sweethearts, I will be teleporting you out of there now."

Edited October 28, 2019 by Shofet

[Heritage]

"And who sent a bunch of teenagers out to fight for them, while they stayed behind and watched," snarled Lynn up at the shy; she hated self-deceiving hypocritical bad guys more than any other kind. "For someone who says they love their family, you sure are willing to put them in harm's way! Louis here is a child! Why not put a gun in his hand and drop him in a f###ing combat zone! Only an insecure zealot sends a child to fight their battles for them!"

 

It had been a long time since Righteous Indignation Grim had been in the field, but she was roaring back.

Edited October 28, 2019 by Heritage

[Exaccus]

"You really disgust me, Heather." Facsimile rumbled as he wrenched himself out of the ground and cricked his neck a little his metal body clanking ans clicking as he did.

 

"You've become an abuser yourself instead of rising above what Wu did to you unlike every single other member of the delinquents, sad...rebuilding your broken nest with bits and pieces of the past whilst you do these terrible things to your test tube babies..I bet that's how Wu reeled you back in isn't it?" He laughed humorlessly "you're too pathetic to frighten me....Rest assured." He scoffed.

 

"That's why you'll always be a lacky, Heather, but worse still you insist on dragging others down with you, a venomous violator of minds and now bodies and souls."

[Electra]

Rage was a fine black mist in Paige's mind, but she had decades of experience in turning her emotions to productive ends. If that bitch wanted to threaten her family, Paige would be more than happy to make things very, very personal for Heather. Images of what her father had done to Jump with his powers haunted the back of her consciousness, the idea of it happening to Will or Holly or Bryant... Paige shoved it down and concentrated on honing all her anger into a blade she could shove deep into Heather's skull-

 

Her attention was fully diverted by burst of precognition. She could see the devices above the hearts of each kid, the way they were about to engage and pull them away, the way Heather would win. Letting go of the blade, she spread her power like fingers, throwing a tendril at each teenager and grabbing hold of the little gadgets. In a moment, they were pulled clear of their bearers and hanging in the air like strange bubbles in front of Paige. 

[Avenger Assembled]

Fast-Forward bolted back onto the scene at super-sonic velocity, stopped in the middle of the group of kids, and snapped his fingers. 

 

And almost immediately collapsed. "Son of a _bitch_," he said as he dropped to the ground like he'd been hit in the balls. "Jesus Christ!" he added as he rolled over onto his back. "That is exhausting." That turned out to be a glowing dome of silver-streaked neon light that surrounded the captured meta-teens without actually including their teleportation beacons. 

 

"Okay, they're on pause. Even if she shows up here, she can't...Ugh, my freaking back..." Richard laid down on the pavement, looked up at the ceiling, and reflected on what Clock Queen had done to super-villains who threatened her child to her face. Well there was a reason why nobody in the Crime League had done that more than once. It was easier to think about that than putting his fist through Heather's face at super-speed, anyway.

 

"Ugh, maybe I am old." 

[Shofet]

GM

 

There was a distinct electricity to the air as Hologram destroyed the devices allowing them teenagers to teleport away, back into their mother’s care. A crackle and a pressure.

 

“Psion, what did you?” boomed the voice. “No, no… I can’t… We can’t… NO.”

 

Suddenly, there was a low, anguished moan. The pressure grew thicker, and all the remaining cars on the street raised up into the air, holding for a moment, before suddenly crunching into tiny little cubes. Windows in every house in the cul-de-sac shattered, and for a moment, everyone lifted off the ground before lowering them back

“No, no, no! You can’t do this! Give me back my babies!” Heather wailed. “You can’t take them from me! They’re all I have! You can’t take them! You can’t! You’re evil!”

The air around them shook, mailboxes bending and lamp posts suddenly bursting with electricity.

 

Now, it sounded like Heather was audibly sobbing directly into their brains. But Louis looked unsure. He shifted uncomfortably, looking around himself. He hugged himself, and looked at the ground, eyes misting up. “Mom… I love you a lot, but I think you need help, and I don’t think I should go home until you get it.”

 

“What are you saying? Honey, no. Please, no. Honey, come on. These people, they’re not… You can’t… No, why are you doing this?”

 

Louis choked back a sob. “Mom… I’m sorry.”

 

“Jenna, come on. You can pick them all up. Things are crazy right now but I need you to do that for me. No one’s in trouble or anything, but you all need to get home.”

 

Jenna looked over at Serena, then up at the sky. She frowned deeply. “You lied to me, didn’t you? About my other mom. She didn’t abandon us. She didn’t even know about me.”

 

“Jenna, I would never lie to you! Honey, please, you’re being silly!”

 

“I’m… Sorry, mommy. I need some time so I can think,” Jenna replied.

 

“...Casey?”

 

Liteshow sighed, and nodded. “I’m coming home soon as I figure out how to get free, don’t you worry. I’ll get them back too.”

 

“Oh, you’re such a good boy, Casey… I… I understand things are crazy right now, all of you. I’m not mad, I’m just… a little hurt right now…”

 

The psychic chatter suddenly devolved into what sounded like hysterical sobbing. Liteshow took the time to look at his two siblings who had refused to listen to their mother. “You’re both traitors. You’re making mom cry. I’m disgusted with both of you. Can’t even believe we’re related. Absolutely no loyalty at all.”

 

“I… I’m going to go… I need to think about some things… Casey, you get them back as soon as you can.”

Edited October 28, 2019 by Shofet

[RocketLord]

Archer II

 

Yelling in his head, everyone yelling up at the sky. She threatened kids, she tried picking all of them apart with words. Connor scoffed at the idea, even as she seemed to mostly let him go, only railing against the old man. Yeah, sure. His answer was a simple "Screw you". No need to start yelling at the sky. The others were taking good care of that already. Still, she did call the old man evil, and he wasn't about to let that stand. Not that he was in any position to do anything about it right now. Let the ones that actually could do something do the talking, and he would make sure to save an arrow for Heather for later.

 

The fight was out of the kids, so that was something at least. No one had died, hell, they'd barely gotten hurt, aside from Roadkill, which Connor didn't terribly mind. If any of them deserved it, she was probably the one. Only Rayburst seemed like he hadn't defected, so that was a win, at least. 

 

He lowered his bow, though still holding on to both it and the arrow, and looked at Casey. "Think about your siblings, Casey. You think its a good idea to bring them back to someone that sounds as crazy as that? Only a matter of time before she decides that Louis betrayed her and gotta pay."

[Tiffany Korta]

Merge Trois

Merge tried not to smile at the insult, it might seem strange but it was her whole stick so being underestimated was a good days work. Telepath were always a gamble to dig the power behind Merge, but this time they didn’t seem to have gotten a clue here.

 

“Yeah well I might be tacky, but I make tacky looks good!” she brushed off fictional dust from her shoulder to emphasis the point.

 

Looking around she added with a degree of seriousness.

 

“Now the rest of these people they don’t deserve the insults, so you bet I’m going to help them take down your skinny ass!”

[Shofet]

Corona

 

Serena dropped to her knees, gasping for breath in between sobs. Hearing Heather's voice again had been too much. How had things come to this? How had everything gone so wrong in the intervening years? Was this her fault? She wasn't sure anymore. Once, she wouldn't have blamed herself for this, but Heather seemed so very convinced that somehow Serena had abandoned them. But what could she have done? There would have been no easy way to find her, and even then, in the intervening years she had been imprisoned, things had already moved on.

 

Her crying was interrupted by the sound of sirens.

 

Her eyes settled on the girl that was supposed to be her daughter. She had two kids now. Whether she was ready or not. Jenna seemed young, too young to go to jail. Too mixed up. How much of this was even her fault, with a powerful psychic like Heather as her mother? She felt a sudden and heavy responsibility for this child. She sighed, wiping at her eyes.

 

"Okay," she said. "Before the cops come... I think I... I think I'd like to... Jenna, do you want to come live with me for a while?" she asked, trying to obscure the 'or go to juvie' as the alternate option. 

 

Jenna stared at her. "I... I guess. What will happen to the rest of us?"

 

Serena looked over at Roadkill, Liteshow and Louis. "I... Louis, you have a dad... I think. Lester. I think he could probably... If he isn't able, I will. Do you wanna come?"

 

Louis nodded. Her eyes moved to Liteshow, and she got a snarl in response, much as she expected. Looking at Roadkill, she knew that the girl was probably too old for the possibility anyway. She looked back at the destruction her arrival had caused, and realized that she probably didn't want Roadkill around anyway. The girl was pretty vicious and she didn't think she could help with that one. 

 

"...Well, I guess that's that, then," she said as a fleet of cop cars arrived, all looking pretty tense.

[Shofet]

GM

 

The police were touchy, to say the least. Roadkill's speed troopers had caused millions of dollars in damage and quite a few injuries, though mercifully no fatalities. Corona explained the situation to the best of her abilities, and the police were a little more understanding once they heard the whole story. Roadkill was loaded up into a fairly heavily guarded ambulance, while Liteshow had nullifier cuffs slapped on him and he was loaded into the back of a cop car, screaming and cussing the entire way. Everyone received their own personalized insult.

 

Serena rode down to the station with Louis and Jenna. There, they were put on a sort of probation, having them wear portable power nullifiers and tracking bracelets until they could be more properly processed. Lester came to pick up Louis, and Serena was able to take Jenna home after filling out a veritable mountain of paperwork. 

 

After that, it came down to a time of rest. Soon enough, they would be going to the Moon itself to take the fight to Heather. Until that time, it was up to the members of this unnamed team to prepare. Hopefully, when the time came, they'd be ready.

[Tarrakhash]

Black Mamba was angry, very angry these people had threatened his family and his kids? They were going to pay, they would learn that the Black Mamba was not someone who took threats to his family lightly. He watched as the law did what they were supposed to, moving up to the speedster he sighed,"How are we getting to the moon, you can't carry us there....is there anyway we can borrow a space ship?"

 

His fists were clenching and unclenching as he growled through his radio system++Akhona, get the kids to the Auxillaries HQ, tell them we have a crazy telepath that might be after them. I want them safe so I can crack this nut.++