ic [Gorgon] Legacy Heroes (IC)

[Raveled]

September 25, 2011

Bayview, Freedom City

Claremont Campus

GM

The Claremont campus was usually calm, no matter what was happening in the city. A Grue Invasion, the dead rising, squadrons of Metaceptors in the sky -- whatever it was, Summers worked hard to make sure it didn't get over the walls. However, the imminent destruction of the world wasn't something any one man could shield his charges from. He'd done the next best thing, though -- the students on teams were assigned around the city, and other students to wanted to were helping as best they could. Next-Gen was standing by at Blackstone; Young Freedom was protecting Freedom Hall while the League was busy elsewhere; the Alterniteens were keeping an eye on the Lab while the city's super-geniuses enacted their plan; and the Irregulars were holding the fort at Claremont. At the moment they were assembled in the zen garden, looking for a last moment of peace before the storm broke.

The uneasy silence was broken by the sound of heavy, clomping boots on the path. Glowstar looked up to see a slim man wearing a black and white jersey shirt, loose slacks spilling over heavy boots. The new arrival took his headphones off an hung them around his neck, waving to the Irregulars. "Hey guys. Summers though you might need a little extra muscle, so." Christopher Beck slammed his fists together, and in a flash of light Megastar was standing there, towering over the group. "He called in the alumni. Cool, right?"

[Aoiroo]

Changeling sat in full costume on a rock in the garden, her legs were crossed and she held her chin her one hands while she read a book with the other. Compared to the rest of the world, she had an eerie calm about herself like the rest of the school itself. Incomprehension of the danger wasn't the cause of it, nor was there that she had no fear of the oncoming invasion of something she had only heard of rumors coming to encase the world into a state of unchanging. She understood such a world well and the horror of it all. The fact of the matter was, that after a day or two the worse part was the waiting. So even if the world were to end, the time in between now and then, before the real beginning was filled with nothing she personally had nothing to do with preperation, it was too complex, or something scientific. She would not be on the front lines, she had neither the powers or the resources to be.

So all she could do for now was wait with her team, as such she met the new person with a flat gaze, her normal smile that lit with every new encounter absent from her face. Her eyes looked at the slight flash of power before the costume restored but it was neither impressive nor outstanding in any light. When she spoke her voice was just as flat and had a tired tone,

"And who exactly are you?"

[Semi-Autogyro]

John was rather precariously perched between two large rocks as he moved the wooden rake with graceful, controlled arcs. Seeing as he had nothing better to do than wait for the inevitable, he had started re-arranging the garden out of the sheer need of having something to take his mind off the current situation. This was his second attempt to hopefully achieve some tranquility that the art of arranging these gardens was supposed to bring. His first had yielded him unconsciously making a miniature battle map of Claremont if it were to be attacked. Scrubbing that, he was now trying to not think of anything in particular as he arranged rocks and raked sand.

He almost dropped the rake as his train of thought got derailed by the rather loud and abrasive entrance by someone he had not met before, and called themselves an alumni of the Academy. John scrutinized the hero. There was no matter to voicing his opinion if it was Summers decree on the matter. John dropped that thought and said, "Greetings," and gave him a small nod in his direction. He then returned to to the task of making a concentric ripple-like patterns in the sand.

[Azuth65]

Wisp paced across the garden, careful to remain outside of the area John had raked. She'd worn no small amount of the grass down, having minimal outlet for her pent up energy. She'd managed to get in touch with her parents, before the lines had been locked down from civilian use, who told her that her home town's local heroes had their problems well in hand.

When Glowstar had returned with company she stopped and gave the boy a wave and a weak smile.

[Quinn]

Crow remained in the somewhat lazy position he'd found over two rocks near Myrmidon, idly watching the rake move and the sand shift; in between his fingers was what looked like a fairly lightweight throwing knife, he'd been rolling it between his knuckles with a casual air. Once Megastar stepped up, however, the weapon vanished with a pass of his hand, and Morgan turned his eyes towards the new arrival with a raised eyebrow. The teen looked the rather bulky hero up and down for a moment, before speaking in a fairly light tone, returning his attentions to the shifting sand.

"Yeah, cool. Hope you brought your own lunch, mate."

[Raveled]

Megastar adopted a shocked expression when Changeling asked him for his name. "Man, I'm Megastar! Original Next-Gen, alongside Bolt and Sonic and Seven, and all of them!" When his forced levity failed to dispel the tension, he fell into a more serious mode. "Okay. What are your guys' orders, then?"

Glowstar glanced at the rest of the Irregulars. "We're supposed to protect the campus," he said. "Maybe not from the Gorgon, but from rioters and villains looking to settle old scores."

Megastar looked at the young heroes, then at the walls of the garden. "Great vantage point," he said sarcastically. "C'mon, Summers told me two of you are teleporters. And the young lady in the dress, you're a mage of some kind?" He nodded decisively. "Okay, the 'porters take the interiors. Make sure there's nothing ungainly popping up behind us. Ms. Changeling, is it? Can you whip up a telepathy spell to keep us all connected?" The alumnus turned to Glowstar and gave him a long look. "I'll bet you're a flier," he said. "The ones with capes usually are." His gaze fell on Myrmidon last of all. "You can summon up weapons? And only weapons? Well, why not settle down at the main gate, that's where any rioters are likely to be. If we need you somewhere else, one of the 'porters can stop by and pick you up."

Megastar stepped back and clapped his hands loudly. "That work for everyone?"

[Aoiroo]

"I cannot do telepathy,"

Etain said it offhandedly as she turned a page in her book. Not really looking up from her book since his first arrival she made it rather clear really didn't care about this person's creditials. She really didn't move much either,

"Anyway, radios are safer, telepathy may be harder to intercept but if someone with proper mental capacities managed, it would do far more damage then simple radio interception. Also, John and myself rely heavily on our mental states it would be counterproductive for either of us to risk a solution that can be solved with simple technology."

[Quinn]

Crow was up and off the rocks within a second of the orders being rapped out, cracking his neck from side to side. On the one hand, he resented this guy immediately assuming authority by dint of seniority, but on the other, the orders definitley made sense; and if Megastar was on the original Next-Gen, then he earned his seniority fairly. Meh. Argue about it later. The teen did make some points clear, however; in turn he pointed to each of them, dryly saying their names for the benefit of the newcomer, and refreshing the alumni's knowledge.

"Changeling, Glowstar, Myrmidon, Wisp, and Crow. Plan works, but you're missing some things. Wisp's got long-range teleports, but hers are loud; mine're short-range but covert. Glow's pretty...bright...so I recommend he sticks to the ground for now until we need him; easier for him to blindside anything that's giving us trouble if they don't see him coming. As for contacts, Myrmidon's cooked up commlinks for us to use before; Myrm, you got a spare earbud for this guy?"

[Semi-Autogyro]

Megastar looked at the young heroes, then at the walls of the garden. "Great vantage point," he said sarcastically.

John grimaced to himself as the newcomers' response caused his nice wavy lines to foul up and intermingle with the ones he had done earlier. Collecting himself, he set the rake down and jumped lightly to the path. A part of him was annoyed with the assumption that he was somehow not tactically aware of the current situation. Another part understood the need for a new commander needing the current intel, so he complied with the orders. Ducking beneath a cherry tree, he collected his bag and handed one of the spare comm-links that Headmaster Summers had provided them to Megastar. "Sir, Frequencies have been pre-set. Channel 2 is connected to the security station, if you want a sit rep. I have been checking in every 20 minutes with the faculty member there, Sir."

He called his armor, and it formed around him before he returned his attention to the Alumni Claremonter. "I'll be at my post in 5 minutes, Sir."He walked out of the garden, but not before stopping by Etain and giving her shoulder a light comforting squeeze. When he arrived at his destination, John took up a guard position just behind the main gate and started a small patrol of waking back and forth covering most of the front wall.

[Raveled]

GM

Megastar caught Myrmidon's arm as he was leaving the garden and propelled the soldier-turned-hero back to his perch. "Okay," he said, lowering his voice from the parade-ground shout he'd been using earlier. "I came off a little strong. I'm sorry. I know you're freaked out about the Gorgon -- I am to. It's big and scarey, and even though we face big, scarey things on a regular basis, this is a step beyond... anything. And it's not a threat we can punch in the face, and it doesn't have a lair we can track it to, and I'm pretty sure that they won't be putting the Gorgon in Blackstone anytime soon." He leaned against a wall and folded his arms. "It's hard. You want to be out there helping, but instead Summers kept you back here. It might seem like a crap assignment but trust me, the headmaster's not the kind of guy to waste resources." Megastar let the words hang in the air for a minutes before he spoke again. "So then. Tell me what your plans are."

[Semi-Autogyro]

Johns' helmet snapped to look at the object impeding his progress before facing the taller alumnus of Claremont. "Permission to speak freely, Sir?" John asked while extracting his arm from the others grasp. Dismissing the faceplate of his helmet, he laid it on the line with his voice "You do not have to apologize to me sir, or be concerned with my mental state. The ramifications and consequences of the current situation I am prepared to accept no matter the outcome." John looked between the sector of the the sky where the Gorgon would come from and then back to MegaStar. "However if you do want to know, I would prefer to face my potential annihilation on my own terms. But that does not matter now since I have been given my orders, and I will carry them out irregardless of my personal feelings on the matter."

"As to the plans, I did indeed have a reason for the five of us to be here in the garden. Since it is centrally located on the campus, and with an open comm to the security station, we can respond to any suspicious activity rapidly. Wisp can take two people along via her teleportation powers, and Crow can take an additional person with his. That would also allow us to rapidly respond to for multiple security breaches. Every hour or so, each of us would cover a pre-assigned perimeter of the campus and walk it, in the off chance something got past the cameras and sensors." John focused his gaze on the taller hero. "Do you need any more clarification or information, Sir?"

[Aoiroo]

Etain closed her book and folded her hands with her head down she counted for a few seconds before standing up,

"This is all true, and the situation is so very bad but the waiting does not make it much better."

She glanced at the sky for a second,

"The walking perimeter is good for checking most, I usually go to check for any magical anomallies. So far there have been none around the campus except for old trails left by students. It has been really very quiet so far."

Too quiet really, the campus was emptier now then it had been during the summer and that was saying something.

[Quinn]

Crow rubbed his chin below the bandanna, several thoughts running through his head as he looked at the newcomer. The Irregulars'd been working together for a while now, the group'd gotten used to working just amongst the five of them (with the occasional watchover in the Doom Room). Megastar arriving and taking command was...surprising, to be sure. But then, Summers' had no reason to believe the crew could easily handle things by themselves. A veteran student, especially one of 'star's caliber, was a godsend, really.

Even if it was a bit uncomfortable to deal with.

Morgan sighed and gave Megastar an apologetic look, leaning back on the same rock he'd been reclining on earlier.

"Sorry if we came off a bit terse, 'star. Err...Mega. Heh, usually call Glow 'star. None of us are exactly...we're used to working in our own little group, y'know? You startled us a bit, but we should've been a bit, well, nicer. But hey, you're the vet; you say jump, we'll start flying."

He smiled underneath the mask and gave a thumbs-up; his best attempt to dispel the tension.

"C'mon, Freedom League's on the ball here, we've got our own job to do; and hey, if we do things right, maybe Summers'll let us patrol again!"

[Azuth65]

Wisp stopped pacing when Megastar started ordering them around. Her first response was to tell the older hero off but she held her tongue, by biting it.

She stretched and said, "Every ten minutes or so I've been doing a teleport tour around the school's walls. You might have seen the red and white smoke on your way here, that would have been me."

After Crow spoke she poofed to sit behind his head on his large rock and lay her hand idly on his shoulder, "That'd be nice."

[Avenger Assembled]

Suddenly, Megastar was gone. There was no flash of light, no puff of sound; the cosmic paragon was simply gone as if he had never been there. But his absence didn't last long. Before the teens could do more than begin to look around, Megastar reappeared, now flying directly over Glowstar's position. It was immediately obvious that something was wrong: Megastar was glowing with repressed power, blue dots of energy rising from his skin to burst like bubbles behind him, his eyes glowing an almost blinding shade of white. He seemed to speak in two voices as he pointed at Glowstar, one booming and imperious like a wrathful god, the other the controlled fear of a young man urgently confronting the apocalypse. "CITIZENS OF EARTH getawaygetaway I AM MEGA, WARRIOR OF THE PRESERVERS hunting for T-mutants AND I HAVE COME TO CLEANSE YOUR PLANET OF THE TAINT OF ENTROPY! stopstopstop. STAND ASIDE AS I PURIFY YOUR PLANET IN THE NAME OF THE GORGON! activatedhiddenprogramoorsomethingcantcontrolitgetaway!"

[Raveled]

Glowstar stood up abruptly as Megastar vanished. His first instinct was that this was a prelude to an attack; villains getting rid of the most experienced person on the ground. When the alumni returned a moment later, the young hero relaxed -- until 'Mega' began talking again. "The Gorgon? Megastar, what are you on about? That's who we're supposed to --"

Glowstar never finished his thought. Mega dropped down to the ground, his boot soles scorching the wooden planks of the zen garden, and delivered a thundering uppercut that Glowstar never saw coming. The teen took off on a parabolic arc, quickly vanishing from view. The self-proclaimed warrior of the Preservers turned to the rest of the Irregulars, radiating power. "BEWARE, ALLIES OF THE TERMINUS. STAND DOWN OR YOU SHALL BE DESTROYED AS WELL!"

[Semi-Autogyro]

Faceplate of his helmet snapping into place, John started barking orders in the face of the threats of the newly-made Herald of the Gorgon. "Changeling! Mind Spike Him! Full Power!"

He grabbed the discarded sand rake from earlier and sent a large plume of the fine white sand in the direction of Megastar, in theory diverting his attention towards himself and leaving an opening for Etain to take advantage of. Myrmidon readied a baseball style swing to coincide with the attack Changeling hopefully would make, knowing full well that he was about to hit something that had taken a fifth of their forces down in an instant with a normal wooden rake.

[Aoiroo]

Changeling was already moving when the sand was in the air, her dress flared as she pushed herself in a low crouch next to the muscular metalic pocessed former ally who had just punted there physically strongest member off campus. She had to keep herself from shaking because afterall, she was not stupid but it did not stop her from creating a double sided battle axe in her hands with the blade twice as large as her head. Regardless she swung it with ease while using the opening Jo... no Myrmidon had given her to slice clear through the abdomin of the now sinister figured. She hoped to god he would go down, that she could be the one to bring them down. At least nothing she did was long term, just pain and then unconciousness. She really did not want to hurt this person who was acting so clearly against his will.

[Quinn]

For a few seconds, Megastar's savage blow to his roommate and friend replayed over and over in Crow's mind. He heard Brian's sentence cut-off with the sickening crack of fist on skull, saw the teen go soaring away to land who-knew-where. And Morgan Crowe saw red.

A rune on the back of the coat smoked and burned as he spat a harsh word in Gaelic, and he stretched his arms outward. From his sleeves came a torrent of fog, filling the entire Zen garden with thick, icy mist; to his comrade's eyes, it was clear as day, to Megastar, only indistinct shapes and outlines seemed to loom here and there. Crow, for his part, crossed his arms and misted away himself; he took up position at another corner of the garden and tapped the earbud he'd recieved so very many weeks ago. His tone was cold, very cold. And determined.

"Wisp, you've got a longer teleporting range than I do, can you retrieve Glowstar? Myrmidon, is there a channel we can use to give Summers a heads-up? Changeling, we've got to keep him distracted; we've got to...incapacitate him or find a way to lock down whatever's messing with his mind. He doesn't want to fight us, let's keep that in mind!"

[Azuth65]

Wisp tapped her commlink with shaking fingers, "On it Crow," she said, nervousness tinging her voice. Ruby eyes tracked his prone form's arc as it soared towards Southside. Before had made it more than a mile and change, she narrowed her eyes before vanishing in a plume of her characteristic crimson and snow smoke.

She'd made the estimates right and appeared above where Glowstar was heading. Tucking her arms in she allowed gravity to pull her into an intercept course with her friend. Reaching out she grabbed his uniform's cape and after summoning her will up again, brought them both back to Claremont. Landing the both of them on the roof of the Edward Jon Carter dorm, she laid Glow back and checked to see how injured he was. "Got him, he doesn't look too injured but he's out cold," she relayed into the comm.

[Raveled]

GM

Glowstar was breathing easily, but he didn't stir when Wisp laid him on the bed; he was out cold.

Down in the garden, Changeling's immaterial hammer struck Mega square in the skull, causing the large man to stagger back several paces. He looked to be on the verge of collapse, but he didn't fall. After a moment he glared into the fog, the energy burning off of him making a striking corona in the fog. "Fools! Servants of the Terminus! It's not enough it's not enough! Do you really believe such tricks will save you? He can hear you! He still knows where you are! None can hide from the Gorgon! None can stand against her herald!" The self-proclaimed herald turned and loosed a blast of blue-white light, catching Changeling square in her gut. With a surge of power, Mega leapt from the ground and hovered in the air, scanning the garden. "You are all as insects! And you shall be CRUSHED!"

[Semi-Autogyro]

Discarding the shattered remains of the rake, Myrmidon flipped over to the preset emergency frequency on his comm-link. "Myrmidon to anyone who is receiving on this frequency. We have a foothold scenario. Attempting containment. Repeat we have a foothold scenario. Requesting immediate support and instructions, over." John then focused on the Gorgon empowered hero as he managed to hit Changeling, and realized that the one who wasn't in control told him how to hinder the hijacker. Focusing his mind, something that looked akin to the old-style World War Two era flamethrower sans pilot light appeared on his back and in his hands.

He braced himself for the recoil, depressing the handle while sweeping the nozzle up and down. A large swath of off-white foam hurtled in the direction of the hovering herald of the Gorgon. Not sticking around to see the results of his attack, Myrmidon further retreated into the interior of the zen garden.

[Quinn]

Despite Crow's fury, his mind started working into overdrive; chains of logic flying through his mindscape. How long it'd take Megastar, a veteran hero with who knew how much strength, augmented by the power of that giant floating tin can in the sky, before he broke out of the foam. Right now, the crew was running at best on borrowed time; they needed more. More time to get their heavy hitter back in the game. More time to organize, get backup. More time to make a plan.

The teen winced. This was probably going to hurt, big-time. Improvising every step of the way, he rapped out orders over the com, doing his best to suppress the red. Remember the motto: fighting smart hurts less than fighting stupid.

"Changeling, keep him off balance, try and cut what's controlling him! Myrmidon, medigun on Glowstar, I can't use the coat! Wisp, back me up, we gotta buy time for reinforcements!"

The cloaked teen took a deep breath and spoke in a booming voice, the words echoing around the garden from different directions as he sought to distract the cosmic-powered Megastar.

"...You hurt our friend. You stole another friend's mind. And you're right in the middle of a place stuffed to the nines with heroes ready and willing to fight back. Let. Him. Go."

[Azuth65]

Wisp watched her friend take several deep breaths. Despite having been knocked one heck of a distance, Glowstar seemed relatively ok. Once the Gorgon-empowered-Megastar situation was under control, she'd be sure to get Crow onto the roof and see if that coat of his had a rune of healing somewhere on it.

Steeling her resolve, she looked back towards the gardens and vanished in a swirl of smoke. When she reappeared, her hands and eyes were alight with azure energy. "Burn bright, not hot," she muttered to herself as she raised her right hand, palm forward, fingers outstretched. The energy rushed forward in an almost graceful beam, as if eager to strike at Megastar. As the energy washed past him however, the hero was nigh unphased by the blast.

Well..., at least he's still okay, trapped in his own exo-suit but okay, she thought to herself, bracing for a counter attack.

[Raveled]

GM

Myrmidon's glue gun succeeded in trapping the cosmicly empowered hero, and while Changeling stumbled around in a daze and Glowstar rested in the bed, the rest of the Irregulars launched their assault. Unfortunetly there was too much goo in his ears for Crow's taunt to take much effect and Wisp's energy beam seemed to just bounce off his body without leaving a mark; all in all, not the most decisive of assaults.

Mega roared as he applied his monsterous strength to his bindings, ripping holes in the foamy substance and glowing more brightly than ever. "FOOLS," he boomed. "None can stand before the Gorgon! None can stand before her Herald! Stand aside and accept your fate, or be destroyed!"