Childhood Dream (IC)

[Avenger Assembled]

"Pfft. Like you could get to Star Island with all the defenses we have." Thunder turned pink at that, but just for a moment, and began tugging at his bonds in a very serious way. "Now, let me out of here, so I can beat you to the bloody pulps you deserve!" Overhead, there was the distinct sound of thunder. "NOW!" He was pulling hard at those vines, and if something wasn't done soon he might well be out!

[angrydurf]

Ace smirked, "Oh I dunno cap I think we might just be able to work something out." He replied in a hushed tone, "You tell me what I want to know and I'll make sure your 'comrades' don't find out you helped us." He paused to let that sink in for a moment, "Otherwise I think I'll have to let them know how very very helpful you have been. Besides with them out of the way more for you back home right?" He could only hope the captain missteped again and revealed why they left the dimension they already ruled in the first place.

He glanced to Archeville and Dark Star "Can one of you get this piece of garbage back where he belongs?" He let the threat of Thunder returning home a failure and likely traitor hang in the air as he looked back to the malevolent electric powerhouse.

[Dr Archeville]

"Can I send him back? Pfah!," the Doktor spat, "dat is child's play! De only qvestion is vhether ve are to send him back in von whole piece, von broken piece, or in many pieces...."

Ah hah! Ah hah hah! Ahhh hah hah hah haaahhh!!!

Ooookay, I think you are having quite enough fun for one day.

Archeville was petting the sparking cobra/spider gadget, and smiling very broadly. If he as acting, he was doing a damn fine job of it.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Pfft." Thunder was on firmer ground now. "Once _I_ tell them how Anarchy and Speed went down faster than a drunk Donna Mason, I won't be the one in trouble. We've gone to a lot of trouble to take this dimension, and I'll be damned if I'll let a pack of no-account do-gooders like you do anything about it." He focused his attention on Freedom Angel suddenly and gave a truly malevolent laugh. "Well, waddya know? I'm surprised you haven't cut Johnny Speed's head off yet, Angel."

Freedom Angel gave Captain Thunder a truly stern look. "Whatever sinful reflection of myself you know, I pay him no mind. The justice of Heaven is the same even in a world corrupted by sin."

"As I recall, that's exactly what you said when you stabbed Star Vixen to death," sneered Thunder in reply. "I dare you to try it in Star Island. I know Red Siren's looking for a rematch."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star frowned. And frowned some more. He really didn't like the threats, but he knew enough of his companions to understand it was just an act. But if the Earth itself was in danger, perhaps extreme measures needed to be taken.

"Excuse me, but are you trying to say that there is nothing that will make you tell us what we need to know? Because, and let me be clear here, if not then there is no use for you to be here. And you do seem like a fairly tough man, a definite threat. Far to great to be thrown in prison or even returned home perhaps? I suppose that way you might even return someday. But once I drop you in a star or black hole, there will be no returning for you. And if you can be of no help, that is where you are going. You have just stated, with unequivical determination, that you are going to stop at nothing to take this world over. I'm afraid I can't allow that. I'm truly sorry. If I must destroy you and every other threat to this world, I can do so. If I need visit your own dimension and destroy your entire world to do so, than I suppose you're leaving me no choice. I will feel very bad about committing such murder and destruction of course. I'm certain I'll be sad and depressed over those actions for quite some time," he said earnestly and in all truth. "But it wouldn't even be that hard for me to do. Not that you, or anyone you know for that matter, will be around to see it happen." He shrugged. "Sorry." He reached out with his power for the man. "If you two are done with him? I can toss him in now if you are."

[angrydurf]

Ace managed, barely, not to boggle at Dark Stars words. Indeed in thunders home dimension Dark Star was likely quite willing to do such things it might just work. He shook his head and stood, "I don't think they even tell him whats actually going on, just muscle the people in charge use for disposable grunt work." He looked to Dark Star and Archeville each in turn, "I got no use for him do what you want with him." and turned to wander away seemingly done with his interrogation, but he kept his ears open for any sign of Thunder cracking to give more information, maybe the appeal to vanity would loosen his tongue.

[Dr Archeville]

Yeah! The milksop's finally coming on board! Toss 'em all into the sun!

Oh, no, no, no, no, no....

"Ooh, yes, dat vould be a fascinating experience!," the Doktor exclaimed, far too eagerly for Ace's liking. "To see de immense forces of a singularity strrreeetch out dese invaders like so much vermicelli! Ha-HA! Und if ve do it right, you von't die from it, you'll all be in an eternity of slowed sensations!" The gadget in his hand continued hissing and sparking like an angry cobra.

[Electra]

Stesha's eyes widened as she listened to Dark Star's threat. She knew he didn't mean it, surely. Dark Star would never throw anyone into the sun. He wouldn't even throw Avenger into the sun, and Avenger was demonstrably a monster. Even if everyone seemed determined to ignore that fact, despite all the evidence... Whatever. In any case, she was sure Dark Star was bluffing, but it couldn't hurt to give him a boost. She sent a few more vines snaking around Thunder's body. "I know you'll do what you have to do," she said, "but you know I don't want to see it. I don't like that messy stuff."

[angrydurf]

Ace stood dusting his hands, "He's given all his meager knowledge." He said dismissively, "Send him back his welcome on his home plane as a failure will be worse than anything we'll do."

He turned and beckoned Archeville over with a glance to Dark Star, "You can take care of sending him home?" He asked he was fairly certain it was within the cosmic heroes abilities but wanted to be sure. Turning back to the good doctor he inquired, "What can you tell me of the device?" He said gesturing at the strange machine they had attempted to steal. After a pause he added, "That won't go completely over my head that is."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star nodded to Ace. "Of course." He gestured, creating a shimmering wormhole that showed only blackness. A black hole... Dark Star shook his head. "I am sorry. I did warn you," he said. With a couple flicks of power, he sent all of the villains flying through the portal into the darkness. A moment later it simply closed up after them. He turned to the other heroes, sliding a little closer to Stesha as he waited for the Doctor's explanation and what their next plan or options were.

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville did a double take between the black hole Dark Star opened and the large device.

He did it! He actually- oh...

Ha! I knew he would not go down that path!

Tsk, I was just starting to think better of him, too.

Yes, well, now they are gone, we do not need your insanity running free, so back in the hole you go.

What? No! NOOOooooo...

"It is..." the Doktor began, then paused as he put his left hand in his labcoat pocket and used his right to convert his gadget's sparking cobra-spider setting back into its traditional wand-like shape. "It is a transmitter, von capable of broadcasting a signal across de entire planet. De signal it transmits closely matches dose of human brainvaves, so de device could be used to interrupt or even override human thought on a global scale."

"Doctor Frank," he turned to the ASTRO Labs researcher, "who made dis, und vhy? Vas it to be part of some new global communications system?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"It, well..." Frank looked uncomfortable for a moment, then said, "Well, actually, yes. I suppose I can tell you all," he said, looking at the assembled heroes, "because you're all heroes. This was supposed to be part of an emergency defense mechanism in case of another Grue invasion, like the one we had a couple of years ago. With the push of a button, you could cancel any telepathic signal on the planet." He sighed. "But now all that's going to take months to fix. I'm just glad you were able to save it at all. I can't believe someone would try and pervert this, it would take someone as smart as Daedalus to do it."

[Dr Archeville]

That... that is actually not a bad idea.

Heh, and they call me mad!

"Und now dis defense is in de hands of de Tyranny Syndicate's Daedalus," the Doktor replied with a sneer. "Und I am betting dat even mitout dis component, dey can still do much mit de system it vould be tied to. Looks like ve go to Star Island next!"

[angrydurf]

Ace nodded agreement with the doctor. Turning to the others he flashed a confident smile, "So we just attack the entrenched Tyranny league in their stronghold before they can execute their nefarious plan. Simple enough." He said with a laugh as if it was as simple as a stroll through the park.

"We'll need to free the Freedom League and destroy whatever their building there." He proposed, defeat of the Tyranny Syndicate being obvious of course, "Stesha think you can get any Intel on the island for us from here? They may not be expecting you're way of spying."

He turned his gaze to Dark Star, "You should be able to keep us all hidden to most senses as we move in. However they will without a doubt have some contingencies." He looks to Archeville, "You up to outfoxing Daedulus Doc?"

[Cyroa]

Dark Star nodded. "I can hide us all of course. They may be able to peirce it however, though it hasn't come up before. We should hurry however, there are quite a few civilians there; all of which are likely in danger. Plus...and I know this applies more to me than to most, but be careful when shooting in there. There's quite a few experiments and such going on there at any given moment." He floated patiently next to Stesha, waiting to go.

[Electra]

"I'll try," Stesha said, a little dubiously. "I haven't got a lot of practice doing it from far away." Still, she closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling all the plants in the city for one overwhelming moment, before she narrowed her focus onto the plants at Star Island, indoor and outdoor. Working as quickly and thoroughly as she could, she began skimming through their perceptions, trying to find any clues as to what was happening there.

[Avenger Assembled]

Things were grim on Star Island, grim indeed. The bad guys, aka the evil reflections of the Freedom League, were mostly in the control room, half-visible thanks to the sad little violet left on one terrified technician's face. A black-armored version of Daedalus was striding around in there like a mechanical god, barking orders at blaster-point to the men and women working for their lives. And at the very edge of the island, something deeply unsettling was happening: a wickedly laughing version of Siren, her scanty costume clad in terrible blood red, was using her water powers to rip the clothes off a very frightened looking man in a security guard's gear with wet tentacles of pain, blowing mocking kisses to him all the way. There was no sign of an evil version of the Raven, and no sign of the good Freedom League...yet.

[Dr Archeville]

He looks to Archeville, "You up to outfoxing Daedulus Doc?"

Archeville glanced at Ace, and smirked.

Of course!

No killing!

"De alternate universe versions of Daedalus, Raven, und Siren are left," he began, "und, mercifully, ve do not haff to vorry about deir Doctor Metropolis coming over, as dey need him to maintain deir stranglehold on deir city. I dink it vould be best if Fleur focused on getting any hostages out, vhile Ace distracts de Syndicate und leaves dem open for Dark Star to trap in his gravity fields. Daedalus' armor vorks on gravitic manipulation, dough, so he may be able to nullify your field, at least around himself. However, a properly modulated blast of electromagnetic radiation should knock his armor out of commission. Fleur, be sure to reassure de hostages dat all vill be vell, dat ve vill stop dis; de shock of being held by dark reflections of de city's heroes is sure to cause emotional trauma beyond a normal hostage situation. I vill vork on undoing vhatever technological mess Daedalus has done. If any of you come across our Freedom League, free dem und bring dem up to speed; Dark Star, your healing abilities may be needed, so try to keep your senses open for dem or for vord from us."

The Doktor stood tall, "Und remember, ve haff von ding dey do not, dat dey cannot haff: trust. Dey barely function as a team, dey are more like a gang. Ace, if you can find a way to sow dissent among dem mit your honeyed vords, I encourage you to do so."

[Electra]

Stesha described aloud everything that she saw to the others, then nodded at Doc's words. "I should be able to get most of them out, but where should I take them? If they're scared already, I don't want to leave them in the plants too long. It's a little, hmm, strange in there for people who aren't used to it. Should I send them straight to a hospital?"

[Cyroa]

Dark Star nodded. "I might not be able to pin him then if his armor is powered by gravity, but I'm betting some pure cosmic energy will dent his armor quite a bit if you need time to disable it." He looked at Stesha, smiling, even if it couldn't be seen. "Could you hold them? We don't know where some of them are. If they are hidden among the crowd, I would hate to simply release them accidentally." He might still believe in the purity and goodness of man not to mention being a fairly direct person, but he had learned a few things since hanging out with some of his friends here on Earth. He looked around at the others, nodding confidently. "Just tell me what you'd like me to do Doctor. I trust you all implicitly. We will prevail. It's what we do after all."

[Avenger Assembled]

After a fierce battle on Star Island, the heroes overcame the twisted reflections of the Freedom League, putting their lives, minds, and powers on the line to save Freedom City from the dark mirror images of their greatest heroes. When all was said and done, the wounds healed and the bad guys defeated, a grateful Lady Liberty embraced Ace as a brother, and shook everyone else's hands. "You all passed the test," she said with a little smile. "I don't think we need to bother with the no-win scenario, seeing as how you all faced it and won. I'm afraid we'll have to wait a few weeks before you get your communicators and ID cards issued you, but in the meantime, on behalf of myself and everyone else...welcome to the Freedom League."

[Dr Archeville]

Hey! I deserve a hug, too!

No. No, you do not.

It was my planning that saw us to victory! And I'm the one who undid Dark Daedalus' machinations!

And Stesha and Freedom Angel are the ones who got everyone out to safety. And Ace is the one who got the Syndicate to fall upon one another, distracting them long enough for Dark Star to locate and free the League, and then- wait... did she just say we are in the Freedom League now?!

... she did! Ha! Ha-HA! Muah hah hah hah hah!!!

Archeville appeared quite surprised at Lady Liberty's words. "I... ve are... ve are in de League now?" He ran a hand nervously through his long blonde hair, "dis... dis is qvite de honor!"

[angrydurf]

Ace assumed a mask of nonchalance to cover his surprise as if he had known it all along allowing only the barest flicker to cross his face for a fraction of a second. He returned Lady Liberty's hug and smiled wide to his companions, "Quite the test isn't it." he said with a grin.

He looked to the Doktor, "We are." he said swelling with pride, "And it is one each of us has proven worthy of."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star looked puzzled for a long moment. "I don't understand. Are you saying this was a test? That we were supposed to fail? But, but, but...the people were in danger. We can't put people in danger for a test. That's not right." He looked at the others, as if to make sure. "Right?" He really wasn't sure he was comfortable with this. "Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm qualified to be in the league. They are the best after all," he said. He'd idolized the heroes in the League for a long time. And he didn't think he was nearly ready to be one of them.

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville chuckled a bit at Dark Star's anxiety, "I believe Lady Liberty meant to say dat de threat of de Tyranny Syndicate vas real, und people vere truly in danger, und seeing us perform as admirably as ve did is better dan any test de Freedom League could devise."

More opportunities to work closely with Ace and Dark Star... and learn their secrets! I shall be an immortal star-god!

No! If we are to join the League, it is not so you can play some Pokemon-esque 'gotta catch 'em all' game with the world's top superheroes!

The Doktor reached over to pat Dark Star on the shoulder, but stopped just short of passing his hand through the intangible hero; he had worked with him before, and knew what to expect. "Und dey are de best, vhich is vhy you deserve a spot on de team!"