ic Teen Romance Superhero Drama

[Gizmo]

"Heh. 'Drama llama'." Set sauntered over to Temperance and Citizen a few steps behind Langstrom, a smile full of immaculate white teeth and a curious sort of look aimed at the Tronik hero. "Adorable." It actually didn't sound like the godling was being sarcastic for once but it was awfully difficult to tell with him. Looking about nonchalantly he remarked to the actor, "Well, tis easy to imagine why you might feel better with us close at hand, aye! I would humbly have the lady speak for the gang as a whole, of course." He punctuated the florid language with an equally florid bow, one arm sweeping out to the side as brick red dreadlocks fell over a grinning face, the toned muscles of his exposed torso flexing attractively.

[trollthumper]

Well. This was going from your average encounter with a madwoman to one hell of an evening. Temperance managed to keep the fangirl rush from going to her head - barely - and managed to put together something approaching her trademark cool composure. "Of course," she said. "Will you be continuing shooting tonight? It may be troublesome getting the crowd back..."

 

"Well," said the AD, "they're all union, we've got all their numbers, and technically, we've ticked into golden time. At this point, we could come under mortar fire and they'd line up for a paycheck." He looked a bit chastened at what he'd said. "But... all the same, we've at least got some idea of how she got in here. We'll be vetting everyone better."

 

Between the senses and the acumen of the various heroes, it was actually remarkably easy to vet everyone who showed back up for the call. Maybe half the extras returned, but that just meant the cameramen had to get creative with their angles. Somewhere in the middle of it, Temperance snuck off to make a call to Janet - just long enough to assure her that she hadn't been trampled in the crowd, but was spending some time with her parents because the story had made the news and they were worried about her. Janet seemed to buy it, for the most part. 

 

Soon, 2 AM had come and gone when the director finally called it a wrap. Langstrom and Gemmen broke off from their cues and walked off the set... towards Temperance and the other heroes. "That was a hell of a thing tonight," said Langstrom. "Listen, we've got a 6 AM call tomorrow, but I don't think anyone's going to be getting much sleep. We've got a suite at the Hilton. You guys wanna come back, wind down until we go back into the fray?"

 

Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out...

[Avenger Assembled]

"Sure thing," said Sharl, glancing at Temperance to make sure she was okay with this, and then at Set to...to gauge his intentions, yes. "Sounds like a fun time." For a teenager who'd been spending a lot of time zipping around the planet giving Communion briefings, catching up with his Claremont friends, or trying not to spend too much time around Gina's place when she and Steve were together, the idea of going to an actual party with people his own age sounded pretty appealing. "Hilton's got a great electronics system in all the suites," he went on to the others, "you'll really like it." Projected like this he could stay awake all night, even if he'd need to crash hard once he got back into the system. "You guys all into it?" he asked the others. 

[Gizmo]

Set looked up from his phone to smirk and reply, "There are precious few things on any plane which Set be not in to." He'd spent most of the shooting schedule snapping photos and typing away, providing a steady stream of content to various social media feeds. Somewhat less obvious was that several of the extras and even a few of the crew numbered among his followers, providing him with an ad hoc spy network between glances at the darkened corners of the club. There was little doubt in his mind that Madame Marvelous would make another attempt to steal the show; it's what he would have done in her place, after all.
 
Stepping away from her self-appointed role as Gemmen's personal bodyguard, Sekhmet snorted, "'Up to' be more likely."
 
The shorter Heliopolian shrugged. "In to, up to, up in, down on, get off..." he innocently ticked off on his fingers, eliciting a disgusted growl from the leonine goddess.

[trollthumper]

Langstrom had been trying to prepare the heroes for the suite on the way over - "We couldn't quite net the presidential, so, y'know..." - but it was still the biggest damn hotel room Temperance had ever set foot in. There was a sizable spread laid out, waiting for them - it was mainly light drinks and small snacks that had had all the calories filleted out of them by a classically-trained chef, but it was still a hell of a thing. Gemmen went for an urn of coffee that was still steaming, while Langstrom stretched out in a way that revealed all the profits of a light diet and a personal trainer. "I'd love to see more of the town," he said, "but after everything that happened tonight, the producers would bite my head off if I went out looking for action at 3 AM. Maybe if we actually manage to get through the shoot, we can see some of the other nightlife before we have to jet back to Vancouver."

 

"We'll see what we can do," said Temperance, somewhere from miles away, in the land where celebrities didn't ask her what to do in Freedom City at an ungodly hour. She instead turned her head to what she knew. "I highly doubt everyone's favorite TMZ terrorist is going to leave well enough alone. I'm going on a security detail. Be back soon."

 

She walked from the main room through the first bedroom - itself three times the size of her dorm - and then to the balcony. She cast a glance to the roof above and the balconies of the rooms next to them... but froze when she saw Freedom, looming out before her, the few lights that were still on at this hour making the city a dance of light and shadows. She had sometimes flown up this high, but it felt different to have an actual floor beneath her, a building behind her. She rested her arms on the railing, lost in the sight. 

[Avenger Assembled]

Sharl stood with her, gazing out at the Freedom City night. "It's so quiet here," he murmured, putting his hand on hers on the rail as he marveled alongside her at the railing. "It's hard to believe so much happens in a city this empty. But at least the company is-" Suddenly, in clear view of the others, he vanished - then reappeared with a noisy fritz and visible 'stuttering' in his visible image. Which, on closer inspection, was exactly what he was. "Ah, frack it, the projector's screwed up." He headed back to the 'smartphone' he had left on the second bedroom's bedside table, picked it up - and promptly dropped it through his fingers again. Muttering alien curses under his breath, he bent down and started working on the 'phone', sliding his fingers right through the plastic to directly interface with the interior circuits. 

 

"I've got this," he reassured Temperance, "This is just some overclocked boards I need to work the current around. Shouldn't be more than a couple of minutes here." 

[Gizmo]

Slipping out onto the balcony as Sharl came inside, Set leaned his back against the railing next to Eliza and watched the holographic hero tinker with his projector with unconcealed curiosity. Sharl's apparently artificial nature certainly answered a few questions but it raised even more. "Now there tis a streaming service I'd yet to hear about," he remarked to the masked elementalist with a sly tilt of his head, dreadlocks swaying in the night air. Counting the earthly exploits of his elder self this was hardly his first encounter with artificial intelligence but Sharl was easily the best at passing for organic. "May anyone subscribe or does one need an invitation?"

[Avenger Assembled]

He noticed me! 

 

Sharl did his best to quash that annoying little inner voice and went on, "It's one of Miss A's models - smaller and more portable than anything else on this planet. She said the hard part is getting my projection matrix to react to stimuli enough so I can sense things through my body." He cut out again as he slid open the phone's case, which certainly didn't look like any iPhone on the inside, but soon had reappeared to continue his work. "I'm not a robot, if that's what you're wondering," he went on as he fiddled with a tiny set of tools inside the open case, "I mean, I have a steel suit I wear sometimes, but I didn't get made in one of your factories. I'm pure AI." 

[trollthumper]

Eliza didn't know to what degree Sharl would be comfortable having elements of his true nature doled out - especially to Set. Then again, given that he was speaking for himself, she decided to leave that matter to him. She knew he could hold his own. "He's always managed to cut a dynamic presence," she said. "And I've got a feeling you may have questions about how 'that' works, Set. Any numbers of 'that,' in fact. It works just fine. And that is all there is to say on the matter." 

She looked out at the horizon. "Incredible view, isn't it? The whole city, stretched out like flickering candles. You hardly want to take your eyes off of it..." She blinked. "Then again, we probably should, at some point. We are bodyguarding, technically. Though I suppose one of us could always try to make sure no one leaps in from the adjoining balconies..." 

[Gizmo]

"Any number?" Set asked with exaggeratedly innocent curiosity. "Be you suggesting four, mayhaps five...? Double digits?!" The godling made a properly scandalized expression, covering his mouth with and open hand and sending an intent sideways look Sharl's way, if not Sharl's face, per se. "Tis a battery life or extension cord jape in there somewhere, I am sure. Well! Don't feel embarrassed by your projection anxiety on my account, Sharl; tis a common experience among many men, so I'm told." The teasing had taken on a playful, singsong quality in stark contrast to the dry tone with icy undercurrents the Heliopolian had used in their first meeting.

"I do not believe the balcony to be a likely point of attack, Temperance," a rumbling voice answered from above the balcony. In leonine form, Sekhmet was perched vertically on the wall above them, fanged face downward and claws digging deeply into the building.

Set blinked. "Ah, how did you get up there, oh She Before Whom Evil Trembles?"

"I climbed."

"Ah. Quite. Carry on, then."

 

[Avenger Assembled]

"I can project anywhere you want," said Sharl confidently as he finished his repair, snapping the projector shut with a click. Sure enough, his image did seem to noticeably stabilize. Wandering outside to look up at their escort, he waved to Sekhmet a little cautiously. "Uh, hi there! Nice to know you're on the case." He certainly had no quarrel with the cat entity, who was far less of a troublemaker than Set. Who was paying a lot of attention to him right now, which made him feel..."Anyway, somebody who spends as much time on the 'Net as you do should know that technology can do almost anything these days. Even Terran technology," he added. 

Looking out again, he added to Eliza, "You make this look like a real city." 

Edited April 23, 2015 by Avenger Assembled

[trollthumper]

"That is for me to know and you to never learn," Temperance said, looking out at the city. She wasn't very surprised that Sekhmet was able to scale a hotel, but it did impress her somewhat. She smiled as Citizen commented on the view, looking back to him. "And you make the lights shine brighter, and help me understand the beauty of the secret song of the city."

Even after a while, the beauty did start to get overwhelmed by the nagging sensation they were there for a reason. "All right, the other balconies aren't likely points of ingress. Should we move back into the suite to look for other weak spots? Or were those already evaluated?" 

[Gizmo]

"'Never' tis a terribly long time, oh beguiling oasis. Believe me," Set pointed out with a sly smile that faltered slightly toward the end, prompting him to hastily turn his attention to Sekhmet and give Eliza and Sharl a small measure of privacy on the balcony. "Ahem. Barring exterior incursions one might look to the interior, aye? Mayhaps a member of the hotel staff coerced or convinced into the service of our spotlight stealing sociopath?"

Sekhemt shifted her vertical stance thoughtfully, claws dislodging little bits of the wall as they released and dug in again. "Many in this age seem willing to sell their honor cheaply," she agreed with a low growl.

"Fool yourself not, Sekhmet," Set sighed, placing his hands behind his head of dreadlocks. "Many in any age."

[trollthumper]

Temperance took one last look at the view, then headed back inside. Langstrom and Gemmel were already seated on the couches, enjoying some drinks. When she walked in, Langstrom raised his bottled water. "Was wondering where you got to," he said. "All clear?"

"It looks like," she said, trying to hold down the flutters at the fact that a celebrity had toasted her. She had to maintain a certain image, after all. "But that's for now. Madame Marvelous tried kicking the doors down once. While I wouldn't past her to be flashy, she may try going for something more subtle --" 

"We had the same thought," said Gemmel. "I placed a call to the production coordinator. He was able to find some cash in the budget to get guards on this floor and every other. I can't believe this city has 24/7 security firms."

"You really haven't been here before, have you?" 

"No, but... I'm kinda taken. If we weren't committed to the schedule, and there wasn't a madwoman after us, I might --"

She was cut off by a grunt from Langstrom. "Harry, you all right?"

"I'm fine, just... you ever see the splinters in the light?"

"What?"

"The splinters." Langstrom rose to his feet, swaying as he did. "Little cracks. Like electrical angels, swords cracking the air..."

The bottle slipped from his hand. As it did, the phone in the main room began to ring. 

[Avenger Assembled]

Citizen, guessing what was happening quickly, let the others tend to the hallucinating actor, making the connection between the bottle and the man that seemed the most likely thing under the circumstances. "He's drugged! Frak it!" He headed straight for the telephone, his mind going into overdrive as he visualized the primitive Terran technology and everything it connected to, thinking about the being that had to be on the other end of the line, the being that had put herself within communications range of the heroes. Put herself within range of ME - Fiber optics inside the hotel at least - surely not still on copper wire? In the name of all reason, why don't they just string cans of nutrient broth together with fiborous cord and talk that way? He picked up the phone and declared "Who is this!?" in a sudden inspiration of mock-confusion. 

[trollthumper]

"It's me, darling," said Madame Marvelous's voice through the phone. "I'm me a lot these days. Unless I get bored. And oh, did I get bored before my apotheosis."

Langstrom rolled off of the couch and began to convulse on the floor. Temperance rushed forward, half-remembered first aid classes at the Y springing to the fore as she tried to keep his airway clear. "Poor Harry. I'm afraid he's been getting bored, too. I try not to pay attention to the media, but it's like not paying attention to the weather - you can try it, but every so often, it pours down on you. And all I saw was that weariness in his eyes... that dulled spark in the press junkets... that less-than-enthusiastic affect in the behind-the-scenes pieces... he wants something more. As did I. And I've given it to him."

Langstrom's back arched from convulsions, lifting him almost off the ground. "Well, that's the problem. I've given part of it to him. It was so hard for me to get the process together, and I'm afraid it's multi-part. So, I'm afraid you have only a few choices. You can bring him to me so that he breaks from his rotten old cocoon... or you can have just another dead celebrity." 

[Gizmo]

Set looked as startled as any of them when Langstrom collapsed in a twitching pile but once the phone rang his pursed lips spoke of annoyance more than shock. "She's performing some variation on the 'And I Have The Only Antidote' routine, I expect? Ugh. Tis one thing to draw from the classics but don't try to sell me water and call it beer. Sekhmet?" The last was called over his shoulder toward the window where the goddess in question had already dropped down onto the balcony, shifting into human form an the way down.

She wasted no time stalking quickly into the room, looking between Langstrom and Gemmel. "Be thee well?" she asked the actress insistently before turning her attention to the star of The Guardian. The statuesque woman's hands glowed like miniature suns as she laid them upon the convulsing entertainer, her expression one of concentration. Within moments he had stopped shaking but his eyes did not open.

After a quiet pause, Set asked, "...be that all?" The taller Heliopolian growled up at him before returning to tending to her patient. The redhead raised his hands in a calming gesture. "Not a criticism, naturally! We may need to deal with that travesty of taste after all, however," he admitted, giving Sharl a look and small shrug where the holographic young man was holding the phone.

[Avenger Assembled]

Citizen shoved his hand right into the telephone - only to withdraw it, cursing, seconds later, as the line practically closed on his signal. "They closed the link, damn them, they're using Skype. Didn't even feel like her on the other end - she must be using a confederate." Hate this woman; hate her culture, hate the way they let the psychologically unbalanced walk around without any genetic correction, hate lousy Terran supervillains... He looked over at Set, returning the godling's gaze, and with a slight smile handed Set the phone. "I'll get her next time - but now I think this one may be your department. You're better at crazy than I am. Just keep her talking," he offered, pacing the room, "and I can track it without her noticing."

[trollthumper]

"The night," said Langstrom. "Do you see the night? Truly see it? There's velvet and thunder out there, and --"

"Is there anything we can do for him?" Gemmel asked, trying to keep him supported; judging by her posture, she was a woman used to handling people on bad trips. "I mean, what you did, that was good, but if it's not working --"

"I don't know," said Temperance. And she really didn't. That was the most painful part of it. She studied the bottle Langstrom had dropped; water of this volume didn't usually have a spirit to it, but there was a slight sense of resonance, that little tinge that came with attunement to the ephemeral. And it didn't feel like anything good. 

The phone rang again. Set picked it up. "I do read the trades, you know," said Madame Marvelous. "Plus, I saw that little light show you pulled at Eclipse, and figured, it couldn't hurt. I mean, it's a shame for the connection, but... anyway, where were we? Oh, yes! Bring the good actor puppet to me so that he may see the true glory of the universe, or watch his wings run and melt under the klieg lights." 

[Gizmo]

"Oh, child, just stop," Set sighed into the receiver, conveying an exaggerated eyeroll with his tone. "Be this truly what passes for avant-garde in this age? Tis a jest about 'phoning in' here but I expect the wordplay to be wasted upon your narrow, pedestrian sensibilities." In the hotel room the godling shot Sharl a significant look, eyebrows raised, looking for some indication of how long the trace was going to take. "Do you know who was to blame the last instance I had to suffer through this sort of 'poison a celebrity' tripe? The Tik Tok Doc's little minions. Not even the man himself, Marvelous. He could not be bothered and he literally had as much time as he liked. Truly, what theme are you clumsily grasping for here?" He let a brief laugh of derision bubble to the surface. "Worship of false idols? Addiction? You be no Pollock, girl; you cannot toss random colours against the canvas and charge admission. Tis all a waste of both our time. Feel free to call back when you have something of interest to say." Receiving a nod from Sharl he unceremoniously hung up the phone without letting Marvelous make a rebuttal. "And not a word a lie," he told the others in the room conversationally.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Got her. Waterfront," said Citizen with a nod as he pulled his hand free of the handset, turning to look back at the other heroes in the room with a smirk of victory on his face. "Looks like 505 Carver Street. Terran systems are easy," he commented, "the connections just aren't..." His voice trailed off as he made eye contact with Set, having had to move very close to the godling to maintain his link to the system. "...just aren't that tough!" He slid away and back over towards Temperance, suggesting (without volunteering himself), "Somebody better stay here and watch our patient. Marvelous seems like the type to have somebody standing by to try a kidnapping, or just snipe him through the window."

[Gizmo]

It took Set a moment to switch gears between the aggravating confidence he'd adopted to get under Madame Marvelous' skin back to the hopefully charming confidence he's been maintaining around Eliza and Sharl and in the intervening breath the glance he exchanged with the latter seemed to belong much more to a surprised young man than to the ancient personification of storm and chaos. With an imperious clearing of the throat the moment passed quickly enough and he leaned nonchalantly against the hotel room wall. "And you only required two attempts!"

"I shall stay to watch over the playactors," Sekhmet spoke up, taking Langstrom from Gemmel with an unusually gentle manner and forcing the man to lie down on the nearby couch. "My healing talents may be needed and any sellswords shall not approach undetected." It wasn't a boast but a stated fact and her expression made it clear that there was little room for discussion.

Set nodded and ran his fingers backward between his brick red dreadlocks, tossing them lightly. "Very well! Let us be off then, pretty people."

[trollthumper]

"All right," said Gemmel, watching as her fellow actor writhed on the ground. "I... I'm sure you can keep this stuff down. Just get this thing from that bitch before... before it gets really bad."

---

The warehouse, like many others in Freedom City, looked like it could be used for a rave, a criminal operation, or some dread occult ritual - or, knowing this city, all three at once. To Temperance's spiritual senses, there were the echoes of music and states of ecstasy, indicating a mixture of the first two options. To Citizen's digital senses, the warehouse was more alive than it should be - not only was there power still running into it, but it was extensively wired. Judging from the pulses he was receiving, it was wired for both cameras and sound. And to Set's senses...

...it was just so very basic.

"Infiltration, or kick in the door?" said Temperance. "I am in favor of either, at this point." 

[Gizmo]

"Oh, you know me," Set drawled, sidling up beside Temperance and managing to flex every muscle in his exposed chest in an enticing manner without coming across like he was trying too hard. "I be easy and I go either way. Truly, why choose when one may have both at the same time?" Making a thoughtful sound in the back of his throat the godling considered the warehouse. "I expect I might hold the misnamed Madame's attention long enough for your binary beau to slip into her computer systems," he suggested, tone turning slightly more serious as he thought about Langstrom's condition. "I doubt she mixed the psychotropic herself; mayhaps the relevant information be upon her hard drives?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"She knows she's dealing with a technopath - so she probably has someone watching their systems. You'd better be really distracting." Sharl sounded completely confident in Set's abilities in that regard as he looked away from Set's chest towards Temperance, his emitter resting in the palm of his hand. "She thinks she's smarter than us - so let's give her a show. I'll hit the computer systems - but while Set goes in the front door, you go in the back door and stir things up. That way she can feel smart for figuring out our plan, while we show her what smart really is." He smiled, showing teeth. "And if she figures out where we all are, then we just have to kick her ass and take the cure by force. You guys ready?"