Stopwatch (IC)

[KnightDisciple]

Fenris growled at the realization he couldn't teleport. On the plus side, being invisible while moving through thick snow was going to be hard on those "time cops". So Velocity could deal with them. Fenris needed to concentrate on-

 

Not being hit by the gorgeous skier. He side-stepped with a minimum of effort, giving a polite bow of his head and a slight wolf-y grin as she passed rather closely by.

 

"Apologies, my dear. There's hero work afoot and no mistake, sorry for disrupting your slopes. Enjoy your day!"

 

With that, he started hiking down the slope, slowing down a bit for the moment (he had a good lead) to give himself an even more sure footing.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"$^%£#" shouted back the skiier in a aristocratic German accent. Clearly she was not used to someone interfering with her pampered lifestyle. She shifted her ski's slightly to ensure Fenris got a good showering of snow in his face as she whipped past. 

 

"ughhh...whats happening..." moaned Lord Harrow in the arms of Fenris. 

 

Meanwhile, the Time Agents were not prepared to lose their prize. Each of them dived into a roll, then a slide, as they slipped down the perilous slopes of the Piste. Fast, but dangerous. 

 

Velocity was placed in between them, and became their target. 

 

"Out of the way!" yelled their leader. "We only want the Stopwatch!" he explained, as he carefully aimed and fired. The beams spewed this way and that, but by luck rather than judgement one of them grazed Velocity for a second. 

 

Clearly he had decided to use firepower in case diplomacy was ineffective. 

[Thevshi]

Velocity was able to easily dodge out of the way of two of the blast sent by the invisible time agents, but the third blast sent by the apparent leader still managed to clip her.  But, seeing as she was not being caught unaware and from behind (without her hi-tech goggles and their three hundred and sixty degree sight), the speedster was not quite so easy to stop, managing to twist slight and otherwise resist the stun blast.

 

Now that the agents were apparently sliding down the hill, it was much easier to triangulate where they were as opposed to just footprints in the snow.  In the blink of an eye, the speedster closed with the leader.

 

*CRACK*  Her right hand shot out at supersonic speeds, connecting with the man.  *WHAM*

 

As she focused on her attack, the yellow clad speedster felt her traction give way slightly, but was easily able to rebalance herself to stay on her feet.

 

"I don't know who you all really are, but this is not the way to go about things.  If you had tried to talk things out first, MAYBE we could have worked something out.  But that watch is just too dangerous to hand over to just anyone."  She stated, still somewhat unsure what was going on and whether these were the agents of the older Robert she had "met" earlier.  They certainly were not behaving as if they knew she was helping.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Thevshi

[Supercape]

GM

 

Lord Harrow was coming around in Fenris Arms. The cold air and snow on his face had helped revived him. Clearly, the legendary power of the clean Swiss air had done him the world of good. 

 

"Unhand me!" he groaned, his reflexive aristocratic confidence and authority kicking in. 

 

"You have no right to restrain me!" he continued, as his eyes glinted at the site of the stop watch. The artifact seemed to give of a hypnotic effect on him, as his fingers wormed their way towards his prize, ready to grab it. The bounce and wobble of Fenris' descent down the piste made it somewhat difficult to do so with any finesse, but on the other hand, there was plenty to distract the armored hero...

[KnightDisciple]

Fenris shrugged, and gave a slight grin at Harrow's words.

 

"Okay. I'll catch up in a bit, but you go ahead and enjoy the slopes."

 

And with that, he wound back his arm and chucked Lord Harrow down the side of the mountain, careful not to aim for any rocks or trees. The trajectory was such that the British man ought to start sliding on the snow before too long, so it's not like he'd hit anything before slowing down plenty. He might end up a bit chilly, but life would move on. Stiff upper lip and all that.

 

The armored hero increased his pace a bit, carefully stepping on the rather treacherous ground and navigating a terrain better suited for teleportation. He hoped the strange space-time field shut off soon...

[Supercape]

GM

 

Harrow sailed through the air in a neat - and calculated - parabola.

 

"Let me gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" he wailed in an unfortunately prophetic demand as Fenris launched him. 

 

"ooooo --- ooooo --- ooooo" echoed the piste in a rumbling ominous fashion. 

 

Harrow hit the snow hard, and proceeded to tumble down the piste in a erratic fashion. 

 

The two time agents, still sliding down the slope, try to aim their weapons at Velocity, but it was hard enough to hit her under normal circumstances. Sliding down a ski slope on your backside did not make it any easier. 

 

The weapons were rather loud, this time. And echoes. 

 

The two agents slid past a sign in the snow. 

 

"WARNING! Off piste! Avalanches!"

 

The two agents looked at each other and nodded, setting their weapons to a blazing subsonic boom as they fired...

[Thevshi]

Velocity was a bit surprised when Robert suddenly was tossed through the air by Fenris.  Thankfully, he appeared relatively unhurt as he landed in the snow and began tumbling down the side of the mountain.  Of course, that was not particularly safe either, but for the moment she could not do anything about that.

 

Dodging two more attacks from the time agents, this time louder which caused ominous rumblings, the yellow clad speedster quickly closed the distance between her and the nearest of the two managing to maintain her balance on the slippery snow.

 

*CRACK*

 

Her fist let out a small sonic boom as it connected with the man, knocking him unconscious, but Velocity was already moving past him.

 

*CRACK*

 

A second supersonic punch connected with the remaining man, knocking him out as well. 

 

The speedster continued on down the slope, her goggles allowing her to scan for any sign of an avalanche triggered by the time agents' weapons.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Thevshi

[Supercape]

GM

 

It was off-piste. 

 

Normally, things would have been relatively safe. The risk of avalanches would be small at worst - even off - piste slopes wouldn't allow anything more than a tiny risk of avalanches. 

 

But then, the screeching ultrasonic waves of the time agents had been extremely loud. And calculated.

 

They had, it seemed been well trained. Deprived of the ability to catch up Fenris, or stop Velocity, they had made a desperate gambit. Far above, the rumble of snow indicated the avalanche was now inevitable. It was gathering speed, and gathering mass. 

 

And it was headed their way...

[Thevshi]

Velocity was about halfway to Fenris when she spotted the avalanche that was starting downhill towards them, gaining speed and picking up more snow as it went.  The yellow clad speedster skid to a halt, sending a spray of snow flying as she did as she turned to focus on the gathering danger (something that was really unnecessary thanks to her high-tech goggles three hundred and sixty degree sight, but still habit).

 

Taking a deep breath, the young woman managed to shake off the tired feeling she had felt since pushing her powers during her fight with Robert back in the hotel room, though she was about to push her powers again.

 

Taking off once again in a blur of yellow, Velocity streaked back up the mountainside, nimbly stating on her feet as she sped over slick snow and ice.  As she reached the moving edge of the avalanche, the speedster accelerated, as she began to run in tight circles, faster and faster, until a whirlwind took shape, formed by the speedster’s movements.

 

The young woman then swept across the front of the avalanche, continuing her circling and taking the whirlwind with her.  The vortex created by the whirlwind sucked in the snow contained in the avalanche as it passed, sending the snow up into the air, where it was dispersed over the side of the mountain in an odd sort of snowfall.

 

Velocity moved back and forth, as she moved up the slope, before she had managed to disperse all of the snow that had been dislodged by the time agents' maneuver.  At that point, the speedster stopped her circling, skidding to a halt as she breathed heavily from the effort.

[KnightDisciple]

Fenris sighed in relief as Velocity disarmed the avalanche. Seeing that the pursuers were, for the moment, subdued, he tapped the side of his waist. A small compartment extended out, and the bagged Stopwatch was tucked and sealed inside. 

 

'Should keep it secure until we hand it over to Daedalus and the League.'

 

He stopped for a moment, then smiled and rolled his shoulders. He could feel his major motive systems working properly again. With a grin, he was gone in a flash and rush of air. 

 

Only moments later, he appeared next to Harrow, who had finally stopped sliding. His arms were crossed as he loomed over the man.

 

"Will you come quietly, or do we have to take a couple more trips up and down the slope?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

Cold.

 

Halfway down the slope. It feels so cold. Just...empty. But...I'm thinking clearly. Like I woke up, or came round. Cold. Clear. 

 

Robert Harrow shook his head. It was the first time since the Stopwatch had activated that he had not been within a few yards of the device. 

 

It infected me. He concluded. A not altogether unpleasant infection. But something about him made him feverish. 

 

"I'll go where I please, thank you" he said, not at all fancy to the idea of getting into legal problems. 

 

"After all, I'm not under arrest, am I? What crime have I committed? stealing my own property? I inflicted no bodily damage on anybody. I damaged no property. Just be thankful I'm not going to press charges against you for throwing me down a ski slope. Could have killed me."

 

His eyes glanced over Fenris, trying to spot the Stopwatch, before shaking his head. 

 

No. Clear your head. 

 

He dusted some of the snow off him, scanning the slope for Megan...

[KnightDisciple]

"Impersonating Baron Katastrof. Interfering with the safety operations of his company facility. Bringing a potentially dangerous artifact to him for study with less than sufficient warning. I'm sure he could come up with a couple more items, Lord Harrow. Oh, and there's also "resisting restraint by a member of the Freedom League", who was attempting said restraint for your own safety and the safety of others. It's clear this Watch is a dangerous artifact that must be remitted to the care of the Freedom League, before it is eventually disposed of."

 

His arms were crossed over his chest, and Fenris was clearly unimpressed.

 

"And you were in no danger of death. I tossed you such that it wouldn't bring anything more than a bruise or two to your august person. You'll be perfectly fine. Consider me not tasing you again a courtesy."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Ohoho!" laughed Harrow blithely at Fenris face. 

 

"I did no such thing! In case you hadn't noticed, we were just hunted by a group of invisible agents from the future who, it seems, can change their appearance at will. Very admirable - I guess they want to avoid detection and be as subtle as possible. And then you go and accuse me of impersonation? Check the Katsatov records, I was with the watch the whole time. Unless you somehow subscribe to the belief I can multiply myself and be in two places at once, I would engage brain before mouth!" he laughed. 

 

There was no mistaking it. Whilst he was possessed of an aristocrat's confidence, he showed no indication of lying or bluff. 

 

"So, arrest me if you want. And I'll sue you to hell and back. You have absolutely no evidence on me at all. Now, where is Megan?" he asked, ignoring the armored superhero. 

[Thevshi]

Once she was sure the avalanche had been completely dealt with, Velocity started back down the hill once more, scanning the area for a signs of Robert and Fenris.  She spotted the two together, covering the distance in less than a second, arriving just as they were finishing their exchange.  The speedster winced slightly at Robert using her first name, but then, Fenris likely had little reason to know which of the millions of Megans in the world Robert was referring to.

 

Man, this guy is a bit too much of a straight arrow.  She thought briefly.  Of course, it probably doesn't help that I have not been completely forth coming with everything I know about the situation either.

 

With a blur of yellow, Velocity appeared between the two men, holding her hands out to either side towards them.  "Whoa there.  Let's not get carried away."  She stated. 

 

"Fenris," She began, looking over at the armored hero, "I am sorry if I was not clearer, but I was not wanting you to take Robert because I had any intention of arresting him, but because I wanted to be sure that he could get help being freed from the influence of that watch."

 

"As Robert just mentioned, those men that were after the watch are from a possible future.  It is likely they were the ones that impersonated Baron and disrupted the fail safes back in Sweden.  I know for a fact that one of them has impersonated, or maybe even always was, Anders Ekland.  As for the danger the watch represents, despite the abilities it gave Robert, the true danger is in the future."

 

She then looked over at Robert.  "And as for the watch, I am seeing that it goes to Daedalus and other League associated scientists for study.  We have one or more groups from the future that believe this is important, so we need to understand what we are dealing with."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Lord Harrow's eyes glinted slightly in an ambigious manner as the stopwatch was mentioned. 

 

Then he hung his head. 

 

"Yes. Yes. That's probably for the best" he explained. "It has an influence on me I can't quite seem to control. Or shake. It seemed to distort my vision. I..can't quite describe it. And I'm not sure it was malign or benign. It was, well...it was odd..."

 

Clear head...

 

He turned to the sky, still snowing in a rather delightful way from the whirlwind that Velocity had created. The avalanche had been launched to the sky and now was softly coming down. Snow landed on his face and he closed his eyes, feeling the gently drops of cold on his skin. 

 

"Take it away. I have something else to love" he said, without moving. 

[Thevshi]

"I wasn't really asking you permission."  Velocity replied to Robert's comments, though her tone was slightly playful, rather than hostile or angry.  She was quite relieved that Robert appeared to be mostly free of the watch's influence, even if his last comment had her somewhat troubled.

 

"Fenris, the quickest way to get the watch to Daedalus would be to take it to Geneva.  The League has an office there that has teleportals that will take you and the watch up to the Lighthouse.  I will call ahead to let them know your coming, and be along myself shortly."  The speedster then said to the armoured hero.  "I am going to see if I can find any of those time agents I knocked out, though I sort of doubt they are still around."

[KnightDisciple]

"Slipped away, or slipped on a new face. Hopefully us getting this to the League means they won't keep pestering us. I stay busy enough without upstart time travelers mixing it up in my business."

 

He was now simply ignoring Harrow, giving Velocity one final nod before taking a moment to orient himself. Velocity could feel the beginnings of his suit systems powering up; it seemed like he was rerouting power from its normal paths. He went down into a runner's stance...

 

And suddenly the only trace of him was some snow that was kicked up, a slight *crack* that echoed through the air for a moment, and a disjointed trail of lights flashing off into the distance. 

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Agents may well have been knocked out, and half buried under snow, but they were no longer here. Even at top speed, examining every square inch of them, Velocity could not find them. They had gone. Presumably, back to their own time stream, or wherever they had come from. 

 

All they left were their impressions in the snow. 

 

Robert came wandering up to Velocity, looking somewhat morose, but with a serenity to him that Megan had not seen since...well, since they were back at university. 

 

"So I guess this is all over, huh? They tried to get the stopwatch, but failed. Whoever they where. Whoever sent them. Part of me wishes they had taken it away, to be honest. Now, it will haunt me..." he sighed. 

 

"If you want to keep it away from, there can be no record. Records are kept, and they can be tracked in the future. No history, no clues. As few people know about this, the better. And keep the lips sealed, eh?"

 

"I'm sorry" he said simply, giving her a smile. 

[Thevshi]

Velocity had not really expected to find anything in her search for the time agents, but she felt obligated to do so, in order to make what she had told Fenris a little something more than just an excuse to stay behind.

 

The young woman looked over at Robert as he caught up with her, sighing slightly at his words.  "I know that seems like it might have been the best possible outcome, but I am not entirely sure it would have been for the best."  She replied, allowing her vocal inflection and speed return to normal.  "I am not certain about the ones here, but back in Sweden, I was kidnapped by some that were working for a future version of yourself who said he was working to try to stop our son from being born."

 

"At the moment, I don't really know what to believe."  She then added, feeling rather tired and drained.  "But you have nothing to feel sorry about Robert, you were not in complete control of your actions."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Am I ever when it comes to you?" he asked gently. 

 

"Because right down in my core, even when stripped of the watch, I realise I have been wondering about you a lot Megan. About our time together, why you left. Perhaps it was this that consumed me, perhaps it fed the watch. But stripped of its lies, I realise what a spell was over us. I realised I loved you"

 

"And I think I still do"

 

"I want to feel that again, Megan" he said, approaching steadily, arms raised for embrace. 

 

"After all that's happened, I want to feel that pure love, that pure humanity, once more. To make me feel myself once more. I just had my spirit stripped from me. And I want it back. With you. The one I love..." he explained, his face leaning forward for a kiss. 

[Thevshi]

Whether it was because she was feeling tired or the thoughts about Robert that had haunted her the last nine months or so, Megan did not stop him as he embraced her and their lips met in a kiss.  In part it was likely because his words were ones she had dreamed or hoped to possibly hear from him in the months following their break up.

 

For a few moments, Megan felt the still somewhat familiar feeling of excitement she had always felt with Robert.  As was often the case for her, those moments seemed to last forever as she returned the kiss.  But then, she thought about Kyle, and Siphon, and about the Stopwatch and the son that could destroy the space/time continuum. 

 

Still, it was with some reluctance that she pulled away, slipping free from Robert's embrace as well.  "I'm sorry Robert, as I said before, things are just not that simple."

 

"I have spent a lot of time thinking about us over the last nine months or so, trying to deal with the pain that followed our break up.  I did love you Robert, and perhaps I still do.  I certainly was not mad with you about how things turned out, after all I was the one who lied and kept 'this," she gestured to her costume, "a secret from you.  I particularly handled things badly after I disappeared for that long weekend.  I should have told you the truth, but sharing this secret has never been particularly easy for me.  Even my parents and brother and sister don’t know.  I would very much appreciate it if you would help me keep it that way."

 

"But like it or not, Velocity is part of who I am.  And this entire incident with the watch has reminded me that there are still some things I have put off learning about how my powers might have affected me."  Megan paused a moment, a slightly pained look on her face.  "I mean...beyond everything with the Stopwatch and our possible son, it may just simply be unsafe for me to ever have children."

 

One of her hands came up to gently touch Robert's lips, in anticipation of his response.  "I'm sorry, but this is something I need to do on my own."  She stated.  "Please take care of yourself."

 

Then with a blur of yellow, she was off, kicking up a bit of snow as she went.  Megan was not even halfway down the mountain before the first tear came down her cheek.