ic Mile in My Shoes [IC]

[Avenger Assembled]

"Hey, pal." On fire, Citizen floated out of the sky on a curtain of blue flame, a spectral figure of azure infernal might. He was the very avatar of the Azure Curtain, he realized in the back of his mind as he glared down at the android beneath him, the thought giving special weight to his words as he raised a glowing fist. "The name is Citizen. They say you're the Ultimate Android, huh? Listen, you primitive screwhead, I spend every second of every day hardly able to touch anything on your planet, but today? Today I can knock you on your jumped-up Bronze Age face!" He threw back a mighty punch and smashed a mighty flaming punch directly across Argo's too-rugged jaw.

[Gizmo]

If Argo had possessed the disgusting flesh faculties to produce saliva, then Citizen's haymaker would have surely sent a spray of spittle flying from the shocked android's mouth as his head spun, his neck stretching a full meter from the momentum.

Nearby, the lightning bolt emblazoned Grab flew back from the center of the fight, well aware of the reach afforded by her usual powers. "Who the @#$% are these guys?!" she demanded in Get-Away's direction, eyes wide as they darted between Sage, Citizen and her fallen teammates. "Would somebody @#$%!^& tell me what the @#$% is going on?!" Creative conjugation of expletives aside, the thief maintained enough of her composure to launch a storm of electricity from her finger tips, blanketing the dazed Argo and his latest attacker with deadly volts!

[KnightDisciple]

Cobalt Templar hadn't panicked when he saw Trap Door grab the Bauble. He had become concerned when his grip started to slip. It almost fell completely when Sage dove right through the space he occupied, but he managed to hold onto it even as she knocked Trap Door right into la-la land.

"Okay, the fact that I didn't even feel that is really, really weird."

He glanced at the developing fight, at his teammates involved...and at the priceless artifact in his hands that held the key to making everything right. He closed his eyes and sighed before sending a message over their mental link.

--I'm...I'm going to get the Bauble away from the fight guys.--

He started moving away, bringing the fragment of space-time in close to his ethereal body, trying not to run, trying to stay in visual range...but trying to get far enough away he'd have time to react if someone tried to come after the Bauble. And him.

[Gizmo]

"How should I know?!" Get-Away snapped back at her remaining teammate, ducking down again behind the crate between her and the worst of the fighting. "At least you got to keep your pan- hey!" The dark haired woman spotted the Bauble floating away from the melee, apparently under its own power. Kicking off from the dock, she found herself flying after it, quickly catching up as she unhooked the net hanging shroud-like from her gauntlets and the back of her bikini top. "I don't know what you are, but you're mine!" she promised, casting the mystically empowered net at the artifact and unknowingly the invisible ghost ferrying it to safety as well!

[April]

A faint smile graced Sage's lips at the confused reaction of the thieves. "We're Young Freedom," the petite paragon announced as she dove at Argo, launching a devastating strike at the Ultimate Android while deftly maneuvering him to be vulnerable to a follow-up attack from Citizen.

"I suggest you all stand down and surrender," she added. "Or things will get just a little unpleasant."

I hope the others get here soon, the white haired heroine thought.

[Avenger Assembled]

"I deny you." Citizen smashed a flaming fist into the Ultimate Android's midsection, trying to keep Argo angry, off-balanced, and focused on him rather than on Sage, who had just left herself open defending him. Of course, she's bulletproof now...best just to not think of it. "I deny your genius, I deny your power, and I deny your terrible fashion sense! Get a real costume if you're going to do this thing! Look at me, I'm in my street clothes and I look better than you!" He dodged another blow, swooped high, and raised his fists into a piledriver. "And today's a special day, Argo, because I am a Citizen of Freedom City and I am ON FIRE!" And with that, he brought his fists down onto the top of Argo's head.

[Gizmo]

"Young--? That doesn't explain anything!" Grab complained from overhead, obviously not handling the chaos of the situation particularly well with Larceny Inc's usual bevy of escape options out of commission. If her hair had still been able to elongate it would have been pulling itself out in frustration. It was perhaps understandable then that she took the arrival of a massive paper airplane soaring toward the battle poorly. "That.... that's a... Y'know what? @#$% that!" Flying up to meet the bizarre aircraft, she let loose another burst of unforced electricity, bolts shooting wildly from her fingertips at the heroic reinforcements.

[Gizmo]

Steering the plane as well as she was able, Ghost Girl gave a pained shout as electricity crackled over them. "Yiee! That hurt!" she exclaimed indignantly even as the orgami armor she'd borrowed from Koshiro soaked up the worst of the damage. Part of her was surprised he was still able to charge into battle with the rest of them if that was all the protection he had but most of her attention was focused on landing the folded craft. Coming to a skidding, graceless halt along the peer, the teen tumbled out onto the dock and immediately tossed a pocketful of flapping vengeance at their attacker, the animated cranes surrounding Grab in a whirlwind of tiny slicing wings and pecking beaks. "Hey! Watch your flocking mouth!" the hooded heroine shouted, hands cupped around her mouth.

[Fox]

Wraith managed to jump off the plane just before it hit the ground, letting the forward momentum help to carry her on toward the only target she was confident she could reach. She was almost grateful for her awkward human legs: they weren't quite as good as making your own, but they gave her time to figure out what in the world she was going to do when she got where she was going.

Even then, she was almost within striking range of Argo before deciding that shaping her mind instead of her body was probably more suited to her current strengths. A long, curved blade-on-a-tendril of purple energy unwound itself from somewhere behind her and lashed out, jabbing into the villain like an awful boneless scorpion tail as she closed in on him.

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin tried to escape the net, but it still wrapped around him entirely. He managed to hug the Bauble close to his body, but was otherwise stuck in the air, basically helpless. Lacking muscles to provide muscle power, he knew he couldn't just rip the net apart, and it was too snug to try and slip out.

Instead, he faded to visibility and glared at Get-Away, the air around him dropping in temperature.

"Two can play at this game, lady."

He took a deep breath, and then exhaled, his mouth opening wider than any mortal could manage, and from that mouth roared cold winds like the heart of winter. The air itself filled with sparkling ice, the water in the path of the chilling blast froze, and it slammed into Get-Away with all the force of the Arctic winds in the dead of winter.

[Electra]

After enduring the strangeness of riding his own airplane but not being in control of it, Koshiro was glad to be on the ground again, even if it did mean landing in the middle of a fight! In the distance, he saw Corbin hanging onto the Bauble despite being wrapped up like a ghost dolphin in a tuna net by Get-Away. If he could just get there, surely this metallic body would have something useful to do. Koshiro looked to the singed and flattened airplane and got an idea. He couldn't fold paper anymore, but he could fold himself.

Abandoning the human shape he'd been wearing, he allowed himself to flatten on the ground till he was a giant square, then he began folding. Edge to edge, corner to corner, valleys and creases with rapidly increasing confidence as the others fought around him. In moments, he was a flat and angular figure with a wedge-shaped head and accordion folded back, poised on two triangular front legs. He opened the eyes that had migrated, one to each side of the head, and the origami frog Papercut was complete. Bunching his powerful accordion-legs, he sprang across the landscape as though launched by a massive unseen finger, with the wicked silver point of his head aimed straight at Get-Away. His aim was true, and she hadn't been expecting a shapeshifting origami monster out of nowhere, so the collision was intense, sending them both flying!

[April]

Sage stifled a groan at Citizen's--for lack of a better word--theatrics. The occasional comment or two was acceptable but after a certain point things cease to be a quip and become a speech, and the white-haired heroine wasn't one for speeches. Still, pontificating or not, Sharl's follow up attacks kept the momentum going in Young Freedom's favor keeping the Ultimate Android off balance. Launching her own series of strikes in an effort to bring Argo down, a satisfied smile spread across her face when the android finally dropped.

Then Eve's smile widened. The rest of the crew was here, and Young Freedom should have everything wrapped up in no time. As usual.

[Avenger Assembled]

With Argo down, Citizen floated in the air for a moment as he sized up the situation. Larceny, Inc. was no real threat now that their numbers were down and their members fleeing; the real threat was whoever had the Bauble! In this case, Corbin had it, but it looked like Get-Away had him! Having studied how Siren's powers worked, Sharl decided to skip the pointless battle with the usual speedster and instead rocketed towards her on a column of blue fire. Growing to tremendous size as he approached, he didn't lay a hand on Get-Away, instead reaching out and simply snatching the magic net right out of her sweaty grip. "DON'T STEAL." he told her sternly in a giant's booming voice before he rocketed straight up into the air with a sound like a clap of thunder, higher and higher until he and Corbin were so far in the air that the melee below was almost impossible to see. "TIME TO GET YOU OUT OF HERE!"

[Gizmo]

Sage's atypically powerful fists left noticeable dents in Argo's antiquated armor and robotic face, twisting one side of a look of absolute disbelief with an askew jaw as the Ultimate Android hit the docks. Meanwhile Get-Away, more used to out-maneuvering opponents with blinding speed than trying to keep them locked down with a net, proved unable to deal with Papercut's amorphous attacks and hold onto Cobalt Templar at the same time.

"That's it, I'm getting the @$#% out of here!" Grab shouted, turning to fly away and swatting at the swarm of origami birds assaulting her.

Her remaining partner is crime shouted back as she managed to right herself from the tumble Koshiro's tackle had thrown her into. "Don't be an idiot, we need that thing back!"

With a groan of frustration, the red-haired woman stopped her retreat to fling another arc of lightning at the hooded youth on the ground "If I have to deal with this @#$% I'm taking it out on you, brat!"

[Gizmo]

Reflexively, Kimber rolled along the dock and out of the worst of the electric attack while a few of the origami bird's heeded her subconscious call and intercepted bolts before they could test what happened to a ghost who died twice. Rising back up to her feet stiffly, the temporarily revitalized teen found herself mildly offended by how outrageous the aches and pains of bruised muscles were. "Brat?! If anybody here has an attitude problem...!" she sputtered indignantly, pulling back one hand as she marshaled the willpower that directed her borrowed creations.

The remaining origami cranes stopped pecking erratically and formed one each other in a tight squadron of folded doom, whipping about Grab in a tornado of slicing and bludgeoning wings. The villainess shrieked and threw lightning about haphazardly to no avail until one of the birds caught her solidly across the back of her head and sent her unconscious form toppling down to the ground.

Sniffing in satisfaction, Ghost Girl outstretched her arms as the paper cranes flew down and landed along the sleeves of her hoodie like woodland creatures in a fairytale. "Good work," she congratulated them with a pleased nod.

[Fox]

As soon as Argo hit the ground Wraith was off running again, this time covering as much distance toward the fleeing Get-Away as her human legs would take her. Which, as it turned out, was pleasingly fast: she didn't make it anywhere near close enough to attack her prey directly, but it was close enough.

Whips and barbed tendrils of faint purple energy sprouted from her head and back, striking out toward the distant figure and fading away as they got too far from her body...only to reappear around Get-Away, a dozen of them fading back into view to lash around their target and hold her in place. "Cobalt! Papercut!" she shouted, both mentally and not. "Last one - get her!"

[KnightDisciple]

With Argo down, Citizen floated in the air for a moment as he sized up the situation. Larceny, Inc. was no real threat now that their numbers were down and their members fleeing; the real threat was whoever had the Bauble! In this case, Corbin had it, but it looked like Get-Away had him! Having studied how Siren's powers worked, Sharl decided to skip the pointless battle with the usual speedster and instead rocketed towards her on a column of blue fire. Growing to tremendous size as he approached, he didn't lay a hand on Get-Away, instead reaching out and simply snatching the magic net right out of her sweaty grip. "DON'T STEAL." he told her sternly in a giant's booming voice before he rocketed straight up into the air with a sound like a clap of thunder, higher and higher until he and Corbin were so far in the air that the melee below was almost impossible to see. "TIME TO GET YOU OUT OF HERE!"

"Sheesh, stop shouting, Sharl. Don't let it get to your head so much; you ride the wave too high you'll wipe out."

He shook off the surfer vibe that had washed over him for a moment and shifted in the all-too-solid net; its shining folds fell away, and he managed to slip free, still holding the Bauble. Right at that moment, he got Wraith's message. He frowned and thought back to her for a moment.

--I'm too far up; Sharl dragged me too far. I'll start heading back down, though. I've still got the Bauble.--

He turned to the fire-giant beside him, a distracted frown on his face.

"We've got just one more; I'm heading back down, but you go on ahead, I'll keep the Bauble safe."

He spoke with a bit of finality, his confidence shaky but still present. True to his word, he began moving back downward, quickly but not at a breakneck pace, keeping his eyes open for any new threats.

[Gizmo]

Finally having a moment to concentrate on the Bauble itself, Cobalt Templar heard the strange clockwork ticking clearly once again, regular and orderly until, as if in response to his attention, it abruptly began click as if the tooth of a gear had come loose. The strange object gave the temporarily deceased youth the impression of straining machinery. The, with a great crack inaudible to anyone who hadn't been exposed to the cosmic gear box of the multiverse the dimensional cogs began running freely again as the Bauble let loose a blinding cascade of light that swept over the battlefield.

As vision returned, the heroes and villains alike found themselves back to normal, in familiar costumes and form. The origami creatures about Ghost Girl fell lifeless to the dock, no longer animated by her will and Sage could once again hear the background hum of the city's many minds. Wraith's substance returned to its fluid, uniform state while Papercut once again possessed real flesh and real clothes. High up in the sky, Citizen's emitter was set loose from the mystical ring, which slid through his holographic form toward the water below... well out of reach of the suddenly very corporeal and very mortal Cobalt Templar, plummeting through the air with the once again dormant Quantum Bauble in hand!

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin clenched his eyes at the flash of light, for all the good it did...until suddenly it was doing some good! His eyelids were solid, as was his body! A grin split his face as he opened his eyes and looked....

To see his ring falling through the air in front of him. He instinctively reached for it....and missed.

"××”, מצב מטריד."

With that dry proclamation, he began falling through the air. He tried to spread his arms and legs out to maximize drag, before thinking hard at Sage and, hopefully, the rest of the group.

--So, guys, I could use some help. I'm back to normal for me, but the ring's out of reach. So I'm falling from pretty high up. And can't fly. In any capacity.--

[Avenger Assembled]

A hand closed around Corbin's wrist; not the flaming-blue grip of Citizen with the ring, but the familiar holographic grasp of Citizen himself. "Gotcha!" Sharl grinned at Corbin behind his shades, enjoying the role reversal for a moment. "Let's get that ring!" he encouraged, before he and Corbin began zooming their way back down to Earth to collect. "Grab my shoulders!" he called, "I can carry a person easily with my projector running. I'm not going to lose another vital artifact to that stupid ocean full of fish again!" he added as they swooped low. Over everyone's commlink, he used his wonderful, delightful, so-glad-to-be-back powers to shout, "Hey, somebody try and grab the ring before it hits the water! I'm inbound from way up with Cobalt Templar, but the ring is going down fast!"

[Fox]

Wraith was off like a shot, her human guise melting away with glee as she became a long-legged silver streak hurling across the ground so fast it was hard to track what shape she was in - something aerodynamic, with far more joints in her legs than normal and clawed feet that were doing minor damage to the ground she was running across.

She didn't bother to stop when she hit the water's edge - her momentum carried her as she hurled herself into the air, body stretching into an elegant, graceful spiral of metal that barely managed to snag the ring before falling - significantly less gracefully, but with the gleeful laugh of an athlete who had just had a cast taken off - and sinking like a rock.

There was silence on the comms for a few seconds before her humming voice broke through. "Got it."

[Electra]

It wasn't as jarring to unmelt as it had been to melt in the first place, but it still took Koshiro a few moments to orient himself to the reality of having a solid body once again. He stood carefully and shook himself, looking around at the others as they, too, pulled themselves together and got out of trouble. He pursed his lips as he watched Wraith racing effortlessly across land and sea, and wondered for a moment if he'd have learned to do that eventually. Better not to find out, really! He was happier as a human, even if the Kinigosi form had offered its share of advantages.

With only a trace of hesitation, he raised a hand and beckoned to the pile of fallen cranes at Kimber's feet. For a moment they were quiescent, then with a soft rustle of paper, the pile began to move. Like tiny Phoenixes, the cranes rose, cracking and shaking off the black coating them like ashes, wings gleaming white again as they formed a phalanx and zoomed back to their master. "And we're back!" he announced, a broad grin cracking his features.

[KnightDisciple]

"Thanks for the save, Citizen. Good catch, Wraith. Everyone, looking good. Glad we're back on track."

Corbin was smiling slightly as he was deposited on the ground by Sharl, before walking over to Koshiro.

"Papercut, would you mind doing us all a favor and putting a few layers on this thing, then maybe putting it in the box? I'm sure the League will have better long-term methods, but I'm still a bit jumpy about the thing, myself. Also, probably a good idea if we get some backup keeping the villains wrangled..."

He kept a firm grip on the Bauble as he held it out a bit, clearly hoping for Koshiro to encase it in paper constructs. His eyes were on the mostly-unconscious villains, though; the fact that he was still noticeably dressed in his civilian clothes and lacking his ring likely made him more uncomfortable in the situation.

[April]

Eve felt that familiar presence return to the back of her mind let out a quiet and content sigh. There was a time when she wished she could cut herself off from psychic tapestry that overlaid the world, when she would have traded anything to not sense the minds of others, but now she fully realized that this was no longer the case; because Eve felt whole again.

"You know," Sage said as she readjusted the fit of her gloves, "just once I'd like to go on a trip where something doesn't go horribly awry."

[Gizmo]

Kimber watched the paper cranes fly back to Koshiro with a quiet sigh, holding up a translucent hand and watching the sunlight pass effortlessly through her ethereal substance. Although she was happy to see her friends celebrating the return of their natural states, she was uncharacteristically subdued as they rounded up with defeated villains and called in the cavalry. Fortunately the authorities were already mobilized and relatively nearby, having picked up the better part of the Factor Four from the museum and managing to juggle the appropriate containment measures when their elemental forms had abruptly reverted to normal.

Explaining the situation had taken some doing, particularly when an argument had briefly broken out between two of the STARS officers on the scene about just what they were looking at when the team produced the Quantum Bauble, but eventually it too was safely contained and earmarked to join the rest of the Lucas Collection too potentially dangerous for public display. With that taken care of the teenagers moved to return to Claremont, but neither Eve nor Corbin could say for certain if they'd imagined a faint ticking of clockwork springs being rewound as the STARS truck drove off.