Once Upon A Midnight [IC]

[alderwitch]

Date: Late November/Early December, 2009

The moon hung full and high in the crisp winter sky, painting the dark back alleys of Lincoln with its ghostly light. It was really the perfect night to meet in the center of some broken down cemetery, Phantom thought wryly to herself, but the chose location had been a more urban and frankly a more nuetral settling.

Gathering the folds of her cloak in her hands, she floated down to the spiderwebbed and cracked pavement. It was possible that she wasn't alone - some of the invitees could hide even to her senses, after all - but the thought didn't concern her over much.

Instead, she glanced around from under the sheild of her hood with slight impatience.

[Avenger Assembled]

Avenger was just a few minutes behind Phantom, appearing atop a nearby mausoleum like a crouching bird of prey. No breath smoked in front of him; he was as still as a statue till he spoke. "Isn't this romantic?" he growled, knowing Taylor would hear the joke in his voice. "Hope the boys appreciate it." He jumped down from his perch, landing near Phantom's feet. "See if this goes better than last time."

[alderwitch]

"Nothing says romance like frostbite and open graves," Phantom responded dryly as she shifted to face him, her cloak writhing before it settled out. She was solid enough that rather than drifting through the ground, the tattered edges flared out and dragged over the stone and grass on either side of the path before settling almost tendril like. She reached up to push the dark hood back from her features enough that she could see him clearly. Her own supernatural nature protected her from the cold which was a darn good thing other wise her thighs would be blue under the cloak. As it was, she still wasn't about to sit on anything.

Her lips quirked in a private smile before she spoke again, her voice pitched low, "Well, I didn't sense any necromantic magics in this graveyard at least. Well, no more than one would expect, really. Of course, everywhere we go, it does seem to end in a fight so I'm only giving us fifty-fifty odds."

[Avenger Assembled]

"If they doesn't show, we'll go back where we started and turn up the heat," hissed Jack, promising things considerably finer than frostbite and open graves at his place. Jack really did look perfectly at ease in the graveyard, his body radiating a faint magical signature, Avenger's costume oddly humanizing in the blackness. "Seems like the best place as any. Not going to be meeting in any space station. Or basement," he added, a little unkindly. Scarab's place had been nicer than that.

[alderwitch]

Her hood was pushed far enough back that Jack could see the flash of her white smile in the shadows. She tilted her head to regard him and settled her booted feet a little wider apart, arms folded under the cloak. The thick folds masked her body shape and posture fairly well as she eased her weight from one foot to the other. "I think you have a flair for the dramatic, actually."

The irony of that statement was not lost on her. One couldn't exactly be out in a graveyard in a costume and not have some flair for the dramatic, after all. "Actually, I know you have a flair for the dramatic. I still think that if we're going to make this a semi permanant thing, we should have a place that has chairs. We could always rent out a hall, between bingo night and whatever event where men show up with moose hats and beer."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Didn't work very well last time," commented Avenger just a little sourly. "Moose hall might work. Just make sure we've got enough to feed everyone." Feeling daring, not to mention in love, he stepped a little closer to her, until he was looking straight down into her cloak. Anyone looking might have seen Avenger glaring down at Phantom, but Taylor could hear the smile in his voice. "So shall we wrestle to decide who leads the team?"

[Geez3r]

It was right around that time that Avenger and Phantom became aware of a shadow that was rapidly growing in size. Atlas landed a little bit away from where Avenger and Phantom were standing. As he stood up to his full height, he immediately looked different from when the two had last seen Atlas. Mostly it was the fact that Atlas was actually wearing clothes, almost. He only wore a brown trench coat and simply pair of jeans, but the amazing thing is that they looked like they actually fit his massive frame.

"So vat is zis I hear about vrestling for leadership?" says Atlas cracking a grin as he strolls over to the two, steam issuing from his mouth. Unsurprisingly, the big Russian guy didn't seem to be affected by the cold either. Who would have guessed?

[alderwitch]

Phantom lifted her chin at the challenge, her expression amused under her mask even as she tilted her face up to look at him. It would have been easier to take a step back than crane her neck. Jack really could loom when he put his mind to it. It helped, of course, that she was almost a foot shorter when they were standing on even ground. She made a mental note to land on a rock or something next time as floating up now would have looked rediculous. Phantom's gaze skittered away first to watch Atlas approach before she flashed a wicked grin at Avenger, as if to say, 'Your suggestion, you wrestle him.'

Phantom shifted slightly to Avenger's side to include the large Russian in their circle, her cloaked shoulder brushing against Avenger's leather jacket. "I assume Avenger is joking. Last time we wrestled, I did throw him into a wall." Her voice echoed out from her cloak, but there was a smile in her voice. "Hello, Atlas."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Left myself open," Avenger commented. He turned to Atlas, looking up at him. Jack hadn't had to look up to many people. It was a odd sensation. "Atlas. Excellent marksmanship. Nice you could make it. Expecting you, then two others. Friend from before, and one more." He did his best to sound polite, which was sincere enough given his desire to work with the man.

[Geez3r]

"Avenger. Phantom." said Atlas nodding his head to the two of them in turn, he made a weird move with his hand like he went to go shake their hands, but thought better of it. It was only when he got right up next to them that he really notice how much bigger than the two of them he was. It was still a weird sensation to be this much taller. Heck, he was like 3 Phantoms standing shoulder to shoulder - standing on top of 3 other Phantoms.

"Hokay. Iz zere anyzing I should be knowing about zese two, or did you zink it vould be funnier to keep me guessing? " Altas stooped down when he was talking, and took at step back so the others wouldn't have to crane their necks to look at his face. He debated asking about their previous wrestling match, but decided that under the circumstances that it would be really awkward.

[alderwitch]

"Deadhead, who we've all worked with before, and Hellion, who I don't believe you've met." Phantom volunteered easily, being the more talkative of the two, at least in costume. "Avenger believes, and I agree, that we have similar enough outlooks on our guardianship of the city and, also, similar enough - hmm - situations."

She hesitated over the last word, slanting a glance over at Avenger to see if he wanted to move the topic away from the matter at hand until the others arrived. She lifted one shoulder in a shrug, and volunteered aloud, "I don't mind repeating. I wasn't a fan of the formal format of our last groups meetings, either."

[Cyroa]

James walked around the corner into the alley, almost strolling. Dressed in his usual high end fashionable clothing, he was definitely out of place; for the alley as well as for the meeting. One of these days he'd have to get a costume. "Sorry I'm late. I was...detained." He hadn't exactly been his normal self of late; he'd spent a lot less time socializing and partying and a lot more of it practicing and studying. He hadn't quite come to terms with it all yet...but he was trying.

"What you should know...Besides some recent training with Phantom, I almost destroyed the world last month," he said he sarcasm laden self-recrimination. It wasn't something he wanted to share or anything but it was better to get it out of the way up front. The keeping secrets thing had damn near cost everything and was not something he was willing to risk again.

[Geez3r]

Atlas was a bit taken aback by the new arrival. "I vas zinking of somezing like a name, but da causing ze end of ze vorld is somezing to know about da." Atlas took a moment to look the newcomer up and down. Not really what he was expecting. He looked like some rich kid. But seeing as how Avenger and Phantom invited him, there had to be more than meets the eye for the kid. It made the end of the world thing seem almost possible. "Atlas by ze way."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Atlas. Avenger. Hellion. Phantom. And soon Dead Head." Avenger perched on a tombstone again, crouching easily on the narrow edge. "All have talents in our own special way, and we all have reasons we can't bring them to bear along with other super-teams." He was as still as one of the statues for a moment, politely not looking at James as he spoke. "Will work miracles when Dead Head arrives. Will even speak in complete sentences."

[alderwitch]

Something that sounded suspiciously like a snort of amusement echoed from under Phantom's hood at Avenger's miniature speech. She shifted again, folding her arms up under her cloak and silently envied Jack's perch on the tombstone. The cloak writhed accross the ground as she settled her booted feet into a braced stance that she hoped would be comfortable enough for the duration of the meeting. Really, they were going to have to look into at least folding chairs. "That's one way of putting it, I suppose. 'Does not play well with others' is what I've always heard."

Her tone turned sardonic but she flashed a quick smile and nod at Hellion, "I still think that sounds a bit too like a support group saying, however. You'd be surprised how many people have almost destroyed Freedom City."

[Cyroa]

James nodded. "Yeah. I'm Hellion. Nice to meet you. I've...met Avenger before, and Phantom obviously," he said in flawless Russian. He glanced over at the vampire and reverted back to English. "Complete sentences? How will we adapt to the shock," he said with a slight chuckle. A corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile without any humor in it. "Almost destroyed the city? They're not trying hard enough I suppose, since I did it without too much effort. Failed at the world conquering bit...thankfully," he said half to himself. What would he do without his friends? It wasn't a pleasant thought.

"So...we always going to meet in cemeteries? 'Cause honestly, not a good spot for me most of the time obviously."

[Geez3r]

"In Soviet Russia, vorld takes over you!" interjects Atlas. This had to be just about the motliest crew of individuals in Freedom. However, he was glad that none of them seemed to take themselves too seriously. "Da..." said Atlas nodding in agreement with Hellion. "Ve should get some chairs next time. Zat way, ve can talk almost face to face. Unless you like looking at zese iron-hard abs, and be honest, who vouldn't?" says Atlas as he does a few mock flexes and poses.

[alderwitch]

"I think we'll have to get something a bit sturdier than cheap folding chairs," Phantom opinioned, glancing up (and up, and up) at Atlas. Her lips quirked with amusement as he went through the body-builder poses and she shook her head, her hood rustling with the movement, "I voted for renting some bingo hall on an off night but that does lack the ambience."

She gestured up and around at the moonlight bathed cemetary. "Its very picturesque and this time there's no one stealing corpses. At least, that we've noticed, yet."

[Cyroa]

"Unless you like looking at zese iron-hard abs, and be honest, who vouldn't?" says Atlas as he does a few mock flexes and poses.

James raised one hand. "You could put on an eye with those things. Like one of the Centurian Statue's eyes." He shook his head and looked over at Phantom. "A bingo hall? Seriously? Why don't I just buy a warehouse or something if we're just looking for a place to meet. That way we can get a forklift for gigantor to use as a chair," he said with a grin. He was only half joking about the warehouse. "It's not like we're going to need it for much besides meetings and such right? Really not interested in setting up the whole 'secret base' thing." He'd already helped do that with YF anyway.

[Geez3r]

Altas pauses for a moment, and then looks in his trench coat for something. He pulls out a small business card with the phrase "BLU" written on it. "Vell I've been freelancing for ze Builders League United for a little vile now; doing some of ze heavy lifting for zem obviously. I might be able to pull a string or two if ve vould vant some place a little more special. Not saying ve have to, just somezing to maybe zink about. Zey are ze ones helping vith my new house."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Have a place. But first...we talk." In a sudden, dramatic gesture, Avenger jumped to the ground and pulled aside his mask, tossing his head as his glossy black hair cascaded down to his shoulders. The grim, gritty avenger of evil was revealed as a beautiful man, tall and elegant, his face fine-boned and pale like china. "Good evening," he said in a low, dramatic voice. "My name is Jack. For almost a year now, I've been active as the superhero Avenger. My last team, the one Phantom and I were on, fell apart because we didn't...well, we didn't quite know how to deal with each other. But I think the people here have a good grasp of how to handle outsiders. We're on the outside, keeping the bad from breaking in on the people inside." He looked around at all of them, his voice grave.

"Also, if I learned anything last time, it's the danger of secrets. With that in mind...I'm a vampire."

[Geez3r]

Atlas leaned forward and squinted, concentrating on Avenger's - Jack's - face, as if the word "vampire" was suddenly going to appear on his face. He then leaned back on his heels, rocking back and forth surverying Avenger. There was a few mixed feelings about this revelation. "Vell... zat's somezing alright. Figured you vere a little off. No offense. Vhat vith ze being really spooky and stuff." Besides looking Avenger weird, Atlas was looking over Phantom as if she might spontaneously turn into a mummy or something else like that. "Any ozer secrets to get out in ze open? Maybe zere is like a verevolf in ze family, or one of you is part robot?"

[alderwitch]

Phantom laughed, reaching up to the gem at her throat that winked with fell light between her fingertips. Her cloak fell away like vanishing shadows and a young woman of Asian ancestry smiled up at Atlas, revealing dimpled cheeks that seemed very out of place with the entire mysterious mystic look that she frequently sported. Actually, she didn't look much older than James and without the cloak and boots, barely topped five feet. In jeans and a thick turtleneck sweater, she looked rather like the college student she was. The only common thread was the necklace that still glittered around her throat.

"Neither werewolf, nor robot. I suppose technically you could call me a witch, but I prefer mystic. It's a bit more accurate. Witches tend to be hereditary. I've also been mistaken for a ghost before, but I'm quite alive." She tucked her hands in her jean pockets, her breath steaming out in a quick puff, "Interdimensional guardian is the easiest way to describe what I do. I put things back where they belong, dimensionally speaking. Sometimes it's objects, sometimes it's people."

[Cyroa]

James stood relax, and mildly amused, as Avenger did his 'big reveal'. "Did you spend a lot of time in Drama class? 'Cause you're really working that angle hard," he said with a grin. James wasn't surprised about the information revealed; he already knew about Avenger and Phantom. Atlas he didn't know much about; he'd make a few calls later just to fill in the gaps.

"I think I was pretty clear on my big thing. Kind of new to this whole being a hero angle. But I'm also with another group. They definitely are more the 'costume heroey' types. They don't particularly need me, but they're my friends," he said calmly, even though inside he was anything but. That last sentence was just packed full of emotial upheaval for him, another thing he had to come to terms with, but he had a great poker face and kept it from spilling to the surface.

[Geez3r]

Atlas stuck his hands on his hips and looked over everyone assembled around him. He paced back and forth for a moment, mulling things over. He stopped in his pacing, and stared up at the sky for a moment before returning to the group. "My turn, da? Vell... I'm Samael Nitorvich, from Russia. I own deli in Fens. But now... I am Atlas. And zat... is all I know." said Atlas defeatedly as he sat down on the ground. "Ze gangs, zey shot me, zey killed me, and I died. Zen, I got back up, looking like zis. Ze changes lasted a vhile at first, but zen zey kept getting shorter, but vhen I returned to normal, I vas stronger and tougher. Now, I can't change back. All of you, you know vat you are. It is somezing you can can to terms vith. I can't do zat, at least, not yet."