ic League Rebirth (IC)

[Electra]

Wander, who was always more comfortable when there was something immediately obvious that needed to be punched than in these diplomatic meetings, was entirely out of her depth. She didn't understand most of what Typhoon was saying, just that Erde was acting up again and trying to get some agents on Prime. She'd hoped that changing Erde's timeline might have calmed it down a little, but apparently they were just changing tactics. Maybe it was because they were more desperate now. It was a nice thought, anyway. When Ace and Cannonade started talking about invitations and fancy dresses, she raised an eyebrow and looked at Midnight. Maybe Frank was going to get a new dress onto her after all.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Bah. Typhoon is the storm made flesh and bone! He accepts no invitations, he goes where he likes, when he likes!" He eyed Ace through his mask, only his staring eyes visible. "You are a master of the sly, subtle manipulations, Ace Danger. You and your woman can enter in your own fashion. These others can do the same. I will not give direction to such...mighty young champions. The Chateau Relais in Geneva, in two weeks." He scowled. "Be warned that if you fail, Typhoon will seek a final solution to the question of the Reich." He chuckled, as did Nina a moment later, the sort of courtly hand-over-the-mouth laugh that a princess learned to use when her father was being funny. "You may go. Typhoon shall depart for fair Socotra."

"And I, father?" asked Nina with a trace of hope in her dark eyes. "We shall stand together to organize the defenses of Socotra so that we can defend our-"

"No. You will be Typhoon's subtle left hand in Freedom City," replied the dictator. "I shall send for you when you are needed. Go, my daughter. Enjoy Paris. Your return flight to Freedom City shall arrive in some days." At her father's words, Nina drew herself up, her eyes bright and a little shiny, and bowed wordlessly.

"We'll be there, Lord Typhoon," promised Mark, unable to keep a little bite out of his voice at the look on Nina's face. "You have our word on that. And you know that whether it's Freedom City's heroes or UNISON, when the good guys make their promises, they carry them out. Whoever they have to fight."

"Yes." It wasn't until Mark had turned to follow Nina out that Typhoon said simply, "You remind me of your father." Mark squared his shoulders at that, but kept walking out of the ship and after his charge.

[trollthumper]

Cannonade was still trying to process everything that had happened today. He'd met a childhood hero, kept a Nazi from bringing a plane down in an attempt to get at a tyrant's daughter, met said tyrant on his own private frigate when it pulled into Paris, found out said Nazi was from a parallel universe, and that he and his confidants were planning to take over the world through infiltration and deception. And Grandpa just had to deal with the battlefield, he thought to himself. Can't say I saw things going this way when I got on the plane.

He decided to take it one step at a time. "Looks like I'm gonna have to file for a day off when I get back," he said. "Nazis. Swear to God. No matter how many of them you take down, there's always a few left to crawl out from under a rock. Or another universe, in this case. Man, I can't think of any other time I've wanted to go next door and punch an entire universe in the face."

[angrydurf]

Ace turned to saunter out of the throne room at the dismissal with a cocky smile affixed to his face. "Really?" he asked Cannonade, "I find myself in that predicament with alarming frequency." the ageless hero shrugged, "Nazis are like cockroaches only not as clean and well mannered." he opined as they emerged from the ship and headed down the gangplank. He looked over the gathered heroes with a truly happy smile as the descended before preparations for the soon to be infiltration. "Just like old times." he murmured to himself, the man was surely mad and only happy when peril was in the offering.

[Gizmo]

Midnight made a brief, guttural sound that could presumably be taken to be agreement with Cannonade's exasperation with extradimensional invaders. Trevor had been hoping faintly that the frequent incursions and visits by and to parallel worlds which he and his friends had been swept up in over the past year would abate after thwarting the reality bomb plot of the Terminus, but it seemed they now had other concerns. Perhaps it was a natural side-effect of being near Mark's abilities, but the young man couldn't shake the feeling of being in a bubble with a rapidly thinning membrane.

Ace made a good, if subtle, point about procuring entrance to the gala. The Hunters had carefully placed themselves in a position of considerable but not extravagant wealth by which they would not seem out of place at any high profile event but would rarely be the center of attention. It should be a simple enough matter to attend incognito, giving the heroes the advantage of surprise, especially with well known faces like Danger and Browning to draw scrutiny.

[Avenger Assembled]

The next few days passed quickly enough, with the lingering threat of extradimensional Nazis seeming decidedly fanciful in the city of love. Whatever else could be said for his eventual meeting with Erin and Trevor, Ted Hunter did have the business contacts to help his son and his girlfriend make their discreet way into a party in Switzerland: after all, he did have significant business ties in Switzerland thanks to his work in European international finance. If his relationship with his father and his own son was decidedly rocky, well, he was still a Hunter who knew when it was time to help out with hero work. As for Ace and Talya, while Paris had changed quite a bit since their earlier visits in the years before World War II, it was still at its core the gorgeous, bustling international metropolis it had always been, full of culture and life and art and music, and the dancers at the Moulin Rouge were as beautiful as ever.

For his own part, Mark spent a day and night in the loyal company of Nina al-Darsah: Nina had obviously been hurt by her dismissal at the hands of her father, and in the privacy of the Socotran hotel suite at the Plaza Athenee, she didn't mind taking her frustration out on the UNISON agent assigned as her bodyguard. Luckily, though it had been a long couple of days (particularly with the detailed report he'd had to fill out for his UNISON superiors, stretching his short attention span to the breaking point), Mark was a patient man. Unlike her previous bodyguards, he reminded Nina, he was there for her, not for her father's orders, and he also wasn't subject to her whims: that also meant he could tell her he thought she was very beautiful, particularly after standing up to that Nazi bastard on the airplane. He wasn't sure if it was the compliments that stilled her sharp tongue, or the really good wine he luckily managed to lay his hands on, but either way after that their enforced time together (when he _should_ have been with his friends) wasn't nearly so unpleasant.

By the time Nina was back on the plane to Freedom City, this time with more secrecy and a French military escort, it was a real pleasure to slip back into his uniform, his _real_ uniform, and head out into Paris to find his friends. If they were going to get to the Chateau and have plenty of time to stake it out before the special guests arrived, they were going to have to get there sooner rather than later: luckily, he was confident the others had already gotten that problem taken care of.

[alderwitch]

It was easy enough to find the other heroes, well at least two of them, as Ace had booked the Bell Etoile suite at Le Meurice and sent invitations to the others through his usual byzantine channels of 'old friends'. Ace and Talya certainly weren't the 'all work and no play' types but both had been up to their usual antics while getting a bit of work done. For Talya, that had involved a quick flight too and from Switzerland. She always had preferred the personal recon work and the old habits of working alone did die hard - no pun intended.

It had been a busy few days, not only the quick recon work, but there was still a party to shop for and fortunately for Talya, Ace was around to pay the tab so she didn't have to avail herself of her usual five fingered discounts. So much easier when one didn't have to tailor a stolen dress.

While Ace set about setting out a few appetizers and the like, getting the suite ready for more unusual guests, which was saying something as part of the visit had been about catching up with old friends. Instead of propping the suite's door open, Talya slipped on her silk robe and went to throw open the balcony doors. Honestly, at this point, she was more used to balcony arrivals than people knocking.

[Avenger Assembled]

When Mark appeared on Ace and Talya's balcony, he did so in his familiar Young Freedom costume. Though he was arguably here on UNISON business too, he was a hero first and despite his reservations about the life, he'd missed his old gear. Luckily, he arrived just in time to be greeted by the beautiful Bombshell as she opened the door in her silk robes. Shazam! he thought in the voice of Gomer Pyle. Despite his recent good times with Nina, well, Bombshell was quite a looker. Out loud, he bowed courteously and grinned. "Good afternoon, Bombshell. What a lovely flower to find on a Parisian balcony in a summer afternoon. May I come in?"

[Gizmo]

The sound of the hotel room's door unlocking and opening drew attention back inside the room, where Midnight was letting Wander in from the hallway. Just how the black clad vigilante had managed to get inside with the door locked and Talya watching over the balcony was something of a puzzle, but the nod he gave the immortal heroine as he quietly shut the door again was at least courteous even if his entrance was not. "Focus," he flatly intoned toward Mark, the inflectionless echo through his featureless mask making it difficult for those less familiar with the shadowy figure to tell if he was amused or reproachful.

[Electra]

Wander hesitated for a moment before following Midnight into the room, hoping that they weren't intruding on anything. Getting into locked hotel rooms wasn't really her thing, but Trevor sort of seemed to feel like he had something to prove to the heroes who had worked with his illustrious grandfather. When she saw that everyone was dressed and they were already entertaining visitors from the balcony, she relaxed a little. "Thank you for having us over," she told Ace and Bombshell politely, even as she cast an assessing glance at the food.

[angrydurf]

Ace was lounging on the divan in the corner sleeves rolled up over an even tan as the other heroes arrived, "Welcome and Bienvenue." he said with a smile and gestured to the spread of light pastries and assorted fruit and cheeses he'd had set out. There was a decanter of wine breathing on the side table that he gave a small nod, "I just set out the Bordeaux likely needs a few more minutes before it's hit its peak but help yourselves." he encouraged as he sat up seemingly nonchalant about Midnights entry, after all if he was as Ace suspected the legitimate heir of his legacy Ace would expect no less of him.

"Talya has managed to get some initial recognizance of the Chateau." he offered as explanation of why he had called them all together. "I've made some discrete inquiries myself and signs point to what Typhoon has said being true." he acknowledged as well. He took a small slice of apple and a sliver of a firm cheese and popped it in his mouth with a smile. "I'm sure you all have been busy as well." he added and looked about to see who wished to start the meeting in earnest.

[alderwitch]

"Dear boy, how many times must I tell you to call me Talya when I'm underdressed? Bombshell is just for formal affairs," she flashed a wicked smile at the young man and held the balcony door open for him by way of invitation inside. Her eyes twinkled merrily at Midnight's entrance, and she inclined her head to Wander with affable warmth, "Do come in and sit down... as you prefer. I assume your companion will lurk in the nearest shadowy alcove. I'm not sure I ever DID see your predecessor sit down."

She tipped her head to the side as if trying to sift through her memories and then moved one shoulder absently to dismiss it along with Ace's commentary, "It was cursory. I didn't have much time but I think my grasp of the layout is solid enough for some actual recon-work. Although I think, if I recall, we have one more guest en-route."

[trollthumper]

Cannonade finally slid into the room, a bit later than everyone else. He carried in his hands a black garment bag, the kind of thing one would usually carry an expensive suit in. It had required a small chunk of his checking account, the juggling of American dollars to francs, and a desperate search for a formal wear store where someone spoke English, but after a few hours, he'd finally managed to get his hands on a tuxedo.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry 'bout that, just wanted to make sure I wouldn't stick out at the party. We got any probable targets for our Munich-ian Candidate?" It was only after the words left his mouth that he cringed. "Yeah, I apologize for that one, that was awful."

[Avenger Assembled]

"I hadn't noticed you were underdressed," replied Edge with a wink. "You look very fine to me." He coughed discreetly at Midnight's warning, though, and paid attention to what was going on, though he couldn't resist shooting Trevor a look that seemed to say I was! "Hey guys!" He looked around, glad to see Trevor and Erin first, particularly since he'd hardly had a chance to talk with them. He couldn't resist the urge to go over there and give them both a big hug. "Wow, looks like we really did get the whole gang back together!" To the others, he added, "Princess al-Darsah's safely back in Freedom City, so all we have to deal with is, well...everything else," He shrugged a little. "Anyway, ah, I've checked with UNISON. As you know, their policy is that the United Nations should have responsibility for dealing with interplanetary threats. And since I'm the most powerful UNISON special agent," he coughed, suddenly feeling his age. "That means we have authorization to go. I didn't tell them the specifics," he added. "Just in case Typhoon was right about the infiltrations."

[Gizmo]

Trevor's exasperated expression was fortunately hidden by the black mask and ruby lenses of Midnight as he did indeed take up a potion in one corner of the room. It just made sense - from there he could see everyone and was in a position to act quickly if necessary. If said corner happened to be the least well lit, well, he could hardly be blamed for the hotel's quirks of design.

Admittedly, he was a little on edge around Danger and Browning. Their extravagant style would have been a little off-putting to the reserved young man regardless, but knowing that they had actually worked with his grandfather and had something to measure him against opened up a list of other issues he hadn't really had to deal with before.

[Electra]

Erin assembled a plate of snacks, heavy on the fruit, and chose water instead of wine to carry with her to the chair nearest Trevor's vantage point. "I don't know exactly what the plan is, or how to behave at one of these parties," she admitted. "But I'm ready to look the part, and, you know, hit anything that needs to be hit." She was perhaps a bit less uncomfortable than Trevor around the luminaries from the past, but it was obvious that the two veterans had far more experience with this sort of operation than the rest of them. "What's the layout inside?"

[angrydurf]

"Not to worry my young friend." Ace assured Cannonade with a gesture to the spread, "Help yourself." he suggested and glanced to bombshell and Marks minor flirtations with a small laugh as if at some private joke. Regaining his composure he Leaned forward, "As I was explaining my inquiries have found nothing to contravene Typhoons accusations." he explained quickly, "I have taken every effort o be circumspect so as to avoid spooking our persons of interest." he added the assurance almost by rote. "Taurus' Labrirynth has been stepping up its arms trade. Suggest a new supplier and who better than Erde. Sin has enough troubles that he is quite likely to jump at any chance to reaffirm his stature." he spread the news with a casual air. "NO confirmation that they will be at the chateau but the bank is certainly the sort accustomed to dealing with Nazi plots." he finished with shrug.

He flashed an earnest smile to Erin and nodded, "Well that will be a most welcome advantage to us when the time comes." he said honestly. "Well since we're all here why don't you lay it out for us Talya?"

[alderwitch]

Talya's response to Edge's commentary about her outfit was a slow smile full of all sorts of wicked promise until she caught Ace's bark of laughter. The smile she dimpled back at Ace was unguarded, down right mischievous, and brief as summer lightening, but it was a flash of genuine emotion that for those looking for it, made it clear that most of her other reactions were their own mask. It took less than a heartbeat for her femme fatale airs to slide back into place with the comfort of a well worn robe and she nodded her head at the request. Crossing over towards the briefcase, she extracted a small sheaf of papers and padded back over to the center of the room.

Kneeling, she spread the obviously hand sketched maps over the low coffee table, "As I said earlier, dearest, it was a cursory foray but enough - I hope - to get a brief feel for the lay of the land for actual recon work. No interesting secret doors or hidden lairs but despite what the pulp serials would have you believe, those take the work of more than an afternoon to uncover. The Chateau itself, not including outbuildings is five full stories. It's a veritable mansion. The region it's in - Valle Relais - is a bit unsteady although there's not been an avalanche their in a decade or two."

Talya said decade or two as most people referred to months, never mind the fact that there likely hadn't been an avalanche there in the lifetime of some of the younger heroes. As she talked, her aristocratic accents became more clipped, almost military in precision. She might look delicate, seated on the ground in the folds of a peach silk robe but her mannerisms would have been better suited for a war room. It was not the first 'Bombshell, report' request she'd had, nor likely the last and she focused her description more as someone planning a siege than a vacation.

"The style is Tyrolean, and it's carried through the staff although they actually come from a hodge podge of various middle eastern ancestry so about as authentic as Disney World - and far more expensive. The ground floor of the main building includes the ballroom, dining and a kitchen. That's likely where the face of the party will be held but the rest of the complex has luxury suites and meeting rooms. It's well suited for a clandestine meeting or seven."

Talya flipped the drawings over, spreading them out to give the heroes a better idea of the layout as she sat back on her heels. "As for the outer grounds, some variety of the usual sorts. More private meeting areas and then there's support for the ski lift. They have the capability of creating fake snow and likely will be utilizing that for the party. The economy has been impacting the chateau quite a bit of late and most of the chatter about the upcoming gala among the lovely but vapid staff revolved mostly around milking tips rather than anything of use for our purposes. Not too surprising. I might have gotten a bit more but I'm afraid most of my fluency is in European languages and my Tyrolean is simply atrocious."

[Avenger Assembled]

With uncommon seriousness, particularly in the presence of a beautiful lady, Edge listened with interest as Ace and Bombshell made their presentations. But then, that was another trait he had in common with Jimmy. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you," he offered, looking at Wander, Midnight, and Cannonade, "but I'm ready to do this. I've got a suit waiting for me in my apartment in Geneva, and from there we can get out to the chateau. It's probably better if we arrive there separately and meet up, given that they may not be expecting an entire super-team to be there to confront them." He remembered the camaraderie they'd all shown in the fight with Meistermann on the plane. "And I guess we are a team," he added, looking from face to face in the crowd. "We all have personal reasons to fight Nazis, and we've all been in the business, or had family in the business, for a long time. Some of us have even been to Erde, and seen what a Nazi victory would be like." He put his hand on the table. "Let's do this. Not just for us, not just for the future...but for everyone who's come before."

[trollthumper]

Cannonade's brain temporarily forced its way past the words "my apartment in Geneva" - Of course he does, he's with UNISON - and onto the rest of Edge's statement. This wasn't exactly new territory to him - hell, it wasn't new territory to anyone in Freedom. The boneheads, the Crusaders, the ritualists citing the names of gods old, new and profane in the name of a "pure" Earth, the Wunderwaffen relics... everyone had some experience with the Nazis, whether they were scum dressing themselves up in swastikas or antiques of the fallen Reich.

This was different, though. This wasn't some fanboy or someone who didn't know when to quit. This was a world where they'd won. Where they'd wiped the fields clean of soldiers standing up to their brutality. Where they'd been free to run their camps, and - as much as it made him sick to consider it - might have succeeded in enacting the "Final Solution." And they were ready to break into this world and claim power.

"Gladly," he said. "For everyone. In our world, and theirs. We're gonna make 'em pay."

[angrydurf]

Ace smiled wide at the enthusiasm of his fellow heroes, "Without a doubt we'll vanquish the threat soon enough." he agreed roundly, "Of course it may take a bit more subtle touch if we wish to unravel the whole of the conspiracy rather than just this meeting I would think." he suggested without reproach. He poured himself a glass of the wine and took a sip as he gestured to the crude maps, "I will most likely be a person of interest as soon as I step foot in the resort." he explained with a shrug, "Though I suppose I could go under disguise." he waved off the thought as a matter to deal with later, "regardless I think we'll need a a bit more of a plan than charge in and punch Hitler. Much as I do like that idea." he looked to Midnight where he stood int he corner, "So whats the plan?" Ace of course assumed the shadowy hero's taciturn looming was due to a plan percolating somewhere under his stylish hat.

[Gizmo]

"Legerdemain," Midnight responded in a gravelly bass with the quality of gravel being pressed through a paper shredder. "Go as yourself, Danger. Draw attention. While eyes are on you, others can gather information unnoticed." A subtle shift in the black clad figure's body language vaguely suggested a grimace behind his unreadable mask. "Know too little. Typhoon's account... may be coloured. Unreliable. Don't like working blind." Trevor's training had actually included a considerable amount of practice in pitch darkness, naturally, but knowledge was indisputably power.