A Hot Time In the Old Town [IC]

[Avenger Assembled]

Aquaria hesitated, suddenly reminded of the circumstances that had sent her to the horrifically dried air of Surfacer prison. That was different - that was stealing from others, this is entering a sealed place because we are hunting apostates and firestarters! One who started a fire on the Surface was an enemy of all - at least those who could not take shelter beneath the waves. When she really thought about it, she wasn't at all sure that stealing to feed herself was worse than breaking into a dwelling place - but there was no need to dwell on the peculiarity of Surfacer laws right now. "Yes," she croaked seriously. "But you must tell that we are superheroes together." She stressed the penultimate word, an alien one that she'd nonetheless had great occasion to learn. 

 

When she and Temperance had made their plans, she opted to enter through the rear door of the firehouse, hopping through the alleyway and testing the back door's lock with her tongue, hanging from the rough red brick above the firedoor before grabbing the steel with a long, thick tongue at least as long as Temperance's arm. 

[trollthumper]

The back door was remarkably open. Aquaria did not even need to whip her tongue to break the lock; the knob yielded easily. As the door swung open, Aquaria could see the depths inside. It was large and somewhat cavernous; yellow draping clothing hung on a nearby wall, with those tiny yet tall shoes that humans used to hold their tiny and fragile feet. The substance of the shoes was rubbery, like... dolphin skin... and the clothing looked like the same fabric as tough yet old fishing net. One of those long screaming red vessels, like the one at the building, was also resting nearby. There were also two empty bays nearby, ones that looked like they could hold similar vessels. 

 

She could hear voices coming from the stairwell. It was hard to make out, but she could get details.

 

"...staying behind... can't believe it..."

 

"...our sloppiness... reason there's a trail..."

 

"...has to happen now?"

 

"If not... notice... the pyre must be..."

[Avenger Assembled]

Aquaria closed her eyes and thought of the teachings of the Gods Below in the hands of mad Surfacers. Aquaria had been many things in her life but she had spent much of her early life as a hunter - and so she took action as one now. She padded her way slowly up onto the walls and ceiling, careful not to betray her presence with the sound of a leap, and headed towards the sound of the voices. A clearer understanding of what they said would give her a better idea of what to tell Temperance - and a clearer idea of what these foul blasphemers were doing with words and stories that did not belong to them. At least they sing no songs of Dagon and Hydra, she told herself comfortingly. Surfacers rarely did - they did not like their place in that spiritual food web. 

[trollthumper]

Aquaria crept along the ceiling, working her way up the shallow incline of the interior of the stairwell. The voices soon grew clearer...

 

"It's a shame that we can't be there to see the arrival."

 

"We have our role. We must keep the texts safe. If - Living Flame forbid - something goes wrong, or the offering is rejected, we must go forth to carry on the work. To make sure that the word survives."

 

The two could be seen through the frame of the open door. One was older for the men, with a salt-and-pepper mustache. The other was younger, with forearms that had that weird sheen of healed burn scars. Aquaria lay close to the ceiling so that her head could not be seen over the small alcove into the stairwell, relying on the shadows to provide cover. 

 

"Will it draw His attention?"

 

"It's the biggest altar in this city. Filled with offerings ready to be made sacred. It has to draw His gaze..."

[Avenger Assembled]

When Aquaria swung onto the rooftop to greet Temperance, she was practically vibrating with suppressed tension. She didn't even bother with bipedal motion, crawling towards the water-shaman on four legs. She had sworn a sacred oath to the Gods Below to punish the interloping Surfacers who had so blasphemed against the Ones Below and Above - but she also knew she could not inflict such a punishment without the help of Surfacers. She was glad Jessie was not here - as loyal as her pod-sister was, she did not think she would understand. "We need to stop them," she croaked quietly to Temperance, her face invisible behind her armor's mask. "They are planning a great and terrible work - the rebirth of their god in the flames of this city." 

[trollthumper]

"Right," said Temperance. "At times like this... subtlety is overrated."

 

She kicked open the door with enough force that it hit the opposite wall, clanging loudly. Just as she'd intended. Sure enough, the echo soon gave way to the echo of boots treading downstairs. As they did, Temperance extended her will, and a thin sheet of frost clung to the stairs. The descent became a lot less controlled as both firefighters landed with a crash at the bottom of the stairs. As they did, Temperance wrapped them in cocoons of ice, holding them in place. 

 

"Now, then. Let's dispense with all lies. We know who you are. We know what you want. Where are you doing it?" 

 

The younger man looked at her with hatred. "No. We see you. We sense what you carry. You hate the Burning Lord. Your antithesis is in his soul. We'll never give you what you want."

 

Temperance turned to Aquaria. "Sadly, this isn't my gospel. Do you feel like deflating it?" 

[Avenger Assembled]

Aquaria raised her leg and kicked the ground, hard, exhaling in a single bellow. She did it again, kicking the ground so hard that she actually cracked the floor beneath her feet. With a faint hiss and the smell of brine, she hopped free from her armor, the eyes of the cultists widening in momentary surprise at the sight of the tattooed Deep One. When she crouched, hard muscle suitable for aquatic depths flexed beneath her skin, the marking of Dagon and Hydra clear as the stars above to anyone with the wisdom to know. Maybe they had no wisdom, mad Surfacers who worshiped the flames of chaos before the Gods Below, but she could teach them wisdom. Oh yes. 

 

"Fools," she croaked, and when she did Temperance could see for the first time the thick, sharp teeth that she knew from Aquaria's stories could bite through the muscle of a small whale. "Puny Surface men, who take the names of All in vain. Kroa! Kroa! You are mad to follow the ones who give you no love, no hate, only death. Your smoke blots out the stars but a wind may banish it. Tell me what you plan and you will be shown the might of the True Gods."

[trollthumper]

The older fireman just stared, defiant, into the eyes of the Deep One. "There is no love. No hate. There is only fire. The ecstasy of the spark. The great ignition that devours and reseeds. We pit ourselves against it every day, showing that we are worthy of his glory. We have been caressed by His touch, and shall repay --"

 

The younger one, however, snapped like a twig in the face of Aquaria's sharp teeth. "Okay!" he yelled. "Okay, fine."

 

His colleague shot him dagger. "James, don't you dare --"

 

"We would crumble before His gaze anyway, Harold. We're already damned." James looked to Aquaria. "They're at Pyramid Plaza. They're supposedly there doing a routine safety check."

 

"But they're planning to..." The sheer scale of it caused Temperance to blanch. Then again, under her mask, that was hard to tell, so she just maintained the icy temper as best she could. "To turn it into an altar to your god."

 

"An inferno of that scale... a most sanctified holocaust... how could He resist?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Aquaria closed her eyes and snorted, shuddering in horror at the blasphemous mockery of the Coming of Dagon and Hydra. Was there anything that fire cultists couldn't destroy? Opening her eyes, she hopped back into her armor - and was vividly struck, as the steel closed around her, of the fate that worms like this would have met in the culture of her birth. The knives, and then the fire they so loved, to cut the sin from their flesh before they could be taken into the maws of Dagon and Hydra. There was a certain satisfaction to the Surface way of letting these men instead rot in a cage - but what would it mean when their corrupted souls passed beyond? Reminding herself that Surfacers such as these surely had no souls and would go nowhere after death, she grabbed their heads and knocked them together, then turned to Temperance. "Come!" 

[trollthumper]

"I don't need to be told twice," Temperance said as she ran for the door. The water swept out from her camelback, forming into the familiar ice sledge already. "Come on. I'll lead the way."

 

In mid-air, Temperance wondered whether she should have said that. Despite her... potential issues blending in, there was nothing that said Aquaria couldn't have gotten a sense for the city. Why did she feel the need to point out she could lead the way to Pyramid Plaza? Because time is of the essence, we couldn't afford to get lost, and you didn't feel like being PC. It happens. You can buy her a coffee when this is all done to make up for it. Or a milkshake. Or... whatever she drinks. 

 

Pyramid Plaza shone in the distance, catching the afternoon sun. Sure enough, two ladder trucks were parked on the street outside... but their lights weren't on. In fact, they seemed to be parked on one of the side streets, in the bus lane. And despite all the foot traffic outside, there was no great mass of humanity that might suggest an evacuation.

 

"They're likely going in under the guise of a practice drill," she said. "Whatever they're planning, they want to have an audience."

[Avenger Assembled]

Sea Devil crashed to Earth alongside the red Surfacer vehicles - armor powered up and green tridents glowing brightly in her hands. The weakness of Surfacer flesh on her mind, she hissed and leaped from truck to truck in a single bound, driving her tridents deep into the firetruck's engines and swinging them back and forth, super-charged plasma cutting through steel and aluminum like nothing at all. Watching it was like watching a hunter at work, fast and deadly, killing great beasts as if stabbing them through the brain. By the time she leaped off the second truck, landing next to Temperance, oil and other fluids were gushing from the now-thoroughly disabled vehicles. 

 

"THEY WERE STOLEN!" Aquaria bellowed at the startled crowd in a bass electronic thunder produced by a gigantic throat and her digital voder, the lie coming more readily than the truth. "WHERE ARE THE FALSE ONES?" She had restrained her feelings of murder but the knowledge that the murderous blasphemers lay close burned deep within her powerful heart. "THEY HAVE COME TO MURDER YOUR SOULS!"

[trollthumper]

The obscenities raging through Temperance's head could not be constrained by mere English. 

 

That was nothing compared to the reaction of the people outside, however. Several were screaming, and many of them were fleeing. One woman, dressed in a manner that suggested a long lunch break, found herself tripped up and backed up against a trash can, one arm upraised in fear. "The - the firemen?" she asked. "I... I saw them go in! Inside! They said something about a fire check in the offices!"

 

"Which ones?" asked Temperance.

 

"Tower 2, I think... Floors 46 on... they were coming in as I was going out for lunch..."

 

Temperance turned to Sea Devil. "Come on. Let's go." 

 

As in all fire hazards, taking the elevator would have been a bad idea. Especially since they'd likely be switching out every so often. Fortunately, they had alternatives. Temperance rode her sledge up to the 46th floor, taking a look into the office. The tint to the windows made it slightly hard to perceive the action... but she could clearly make out the office worker who lay unconscious on the main floor. Sea Devil, meanwhile, could pick up broadcasts over the radio waves. 

 

"This floor's clear. Everyone's in position. All Highest, you're certain they're supposed to be like this? I mean, bound and gagged would've been more effort, but we can handle it..."

 

"What matters is that they're alive. Whether or not they feel His caress is just flavoring. Besides, last thing we want is somebody wriggling for their cell phone and spoiling the ritual." 

 

"I understand. Is everything in position?"

 

"The others are placing the charges. They will be the last to go. First, the flames must lick, and for that to happen, the thermite must burn as bright as it can. Once the ceremony reaches his apex, He will bless us. And there will be a new sun over the skies of Freedom, one that will light the way to a better tomorrow."

[Avenger Assembled]

Sea Devil didn't bother with stealth - not when the righteous blessings of Dagon and Hydra were with her. There was sound strategy behind her actions too - the louder and more threatening she was, the more likely the criminals were to pay attention to her and not their task. She crashed through one of the windows, tridents blazing with the power of the stars, her armor glowing with the burning energy of her fury. She did again what she'd done in the firehouse, stamping her feet and bellowing a challenge. "RUN-tun-tun-TUN-run-tun-tun-TUN!"  She smacked her tridents together as she stalked into the hall, her voice a booming electronic bellow against the hissing sizzle of the bisecting energies. "I have come among you!" she called challengingly, keeping an eye out everywhere for her foes, and just barely remembering to translate her words for the benefit of Surfacer ears. How many of them spoke the tongue of the gods? They seemed like the sort who had learned all they knew of their spells from Surfacer pornography. "Who will come and be tested - in the name of the Gods Below?" 

[trollthumper]

Sea Devil could hear the response in her head. "Intruders!" cried one of the guards. "Breach on 46th!"

 

"Acolytes," called the high priest, "begin the offering. Set the chrism alight. Put the charges at 1 minute. His coming is at hand!"

 

Sea Devil could hear the whoosh of flames rising in the distance. As the flames went up, they were joined by a strange sound, like a distant cry undersea. Muffled screams. 

 

Temperance was in soon after, flying in to the office. The flames started to lick down the halls, and she was quick to meet them with her own water. But she noticed that the trail forked in a number of places, running into individual offices...

 

"No!" She extended her will into the walls, trying to feel out the sprinklers. Nothing on this floor - whoever had set up the ritual hadn't just disabled the sprinkler sensors, they'd cut off the water pressure so that they couldn't access the nearest reservoir. She flew down the hall, over the dying embers. There were workers in the offices, bound and gagged, desperately trying to roll away from the flames. They were still weak, though, which gave Temperance enough time to extinguish them before any harm could be done. 

 

It was lucky that she heard the other scream, then. She ducked just in time as a fire axe embedded in the doorway behind her, nearly taking her head off. Without thinking, she shot water behind her, then solidified it with a thought. The cultist was cocooned against the office wall, frozen thick. 

 

"How many floors?" she demanded. "How many others? Where is your master?"

 

"It doesn't matter. None of it matters. You'll see soon enough. Everything burns."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Voiding-eating cowards!" boomed Sea Devil with great force as she leaped and bounded towards the sounds of the distant screams, immediately putting the trapped Surfacers above her desire to punish the mad cultists. For now, anyway. Her revenge could wait - and if she was honest, could probably wait in particular until no other Surfacers were around to see it. Flames were nothing before her armor, which had taken the ultimate heat and ultimate cold of the Sea of Stars without so much as a scar. As for the threatened explosion, well, she was confident about whose hands guided her leaps and bounds down the corridor to the trapped hostages. 

[trollthumper]

Aquaria found the hostages, trapped and gagged just like the ones Temperance had found. She had a remarkable lack of axe-wielding cultists to deal with, which is why she was able to extract the individuals quickly. Also helping was the strange metal that made up her armor; one of the benefits of armor that had been made to repel cosmic radiation was that it wasn't highly conductive to heat. She was able to find an area that wasn't burning... just yet. The humans could stay safe there, hiding close to the ground from the choking smoke, but it was only a matter of time...

 

And then, the roof opened up. Water came pouring down from the sprinklers that had been shut down earlier. Temperance came rushing from around the corner, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Had to... feed my own water in... but did it." The flames were giving way to steam around them - and once the flames were out, Temperance extended her will, collapsing the steam back into water, if somewhat less than before. "That's always taxing," she said. "Needed, though. We've got to find the leader and stop this."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Godless voidings of the underworld!" bellowed Aquaria gutturally, her fury at the cowardice of her enemies boiling like the sea before a volcano. Her shout, even mediated by her armor's vocoder, was loud enough to nearly rattle Temperance's teeth. The sacrifice, with no sacred markings, no chanting drummers, and Surfacers dying of no will of their own, had been bad enough - but that they hid from her was truly infuriating. "Can your spirits catch their foul scent?" she demanded. Crouched low, her armor smeared with soot and ash, she didn't look like an aquatic Deep One - but she didn't seem human either in her righteous fury.

[trollthumper]

"They aren't exactly at my beck and call," said Temperance. She didn't intend for the arrogance to leak out into her voice... but it was meant primarily as a cover for panic. To her eyes, there were no spirits hiding backstage. It was as if the place had been driven out... or prepared. Either they were clearing space for when the great fire in the sky came down, or nothing that hung around here normally wanted to be within a mile of the place when it showed up. But there was a sense of something - that swirling precipitate, like air growing thick and heavy before a storm...

 

"Upstairs. Now." 

 

The stairs were gone in a flash. Stealth was no longer a concern. If what Temperance found below enraged her, what she found up top confused here. The floor she'd arrived at was more of an open plan - desks without cubicles, and corner offices at all side. If there were any people here, they were likely away in the offices. For on the main floor were four firemen, stripped to the waist, kneeling at the cardinal points of the office, holding brass daggers pointed towards the sky. In the middle stood a man who was likely the fire chief, clad in the full regalia of his trade - but with the traditional hat swapped out for some sort of hideous headdress. 

 

"My men sent word of you," he said. "The children of water. One who speaks to rain drops and one who suckles at Hydra's teat. Water boils, children. It sublimes and dies at His hands. It has a will and whim you cannot begin to imagine. When the Lord of Fomalhaut comes --"

 

He was met with a blast of water that caught him at his midsection. 

 

"I am getting quite tired of pronunciations and promises," Temperance said. 

 

The fire chief locked eyes with her - eyes that burned. "No promises. Only guarantees." The center of the room turned hot white as the suit - no doubt the finest fire protection equipment Freedom City was willing to pay for - turned to ash and dust in a second. Fire wreathed the man's body as he took to the air. "He comes! I shall be his spark! We shall be his kindling! This city shall be baptized by fire!"

[Avenger Assembled]

The fire-thing was ablaze - and so was Aquaria. Ablaze with fury at her god's name in the mouth of this Surfacer. "HYDRA HAS NO TEATS YOU STUPID MAMMAL!" she bellowed, tridents burning the green of alien stars in her tri-fingered hands. She vaulted into the air and kicked off the ceiling of the office, landing on the other side with tridents drawn and teeth flashing behind her translucent helmet - the first time Temperance had seen the Deep One flash her massive, triangular teeth in combat. Other Deep Ones might have gone mad with fury now, but Aquaria's fire burned with a cold, terrible rage as she jabbed her tridents at the beast, forcing it backwards towards Temperance. "BIND HIM!" she bellowed, "BIND HIM!"