ic Empire of Emerald and Jade

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Gabrielle frowned slightly. She didn’t understand Gabriel’s hostility, but she did know she didn’t like it. Her shield had been in her hand in an instant, and if Her Majesty has so much as given the vaguest hint of a command, she’d have hit him. Damn hard. She had not, however, done that. Realizing she still had her shield out, she returned it to her back. “Of course.” She poked head out of the door. “Meeting’s over, Dragons. Everyone but the attractive man is going to the cafeteria. Stick with them, please, and stay on the comms.” The Jade Dragons assigned to each hero (Arrow Ace for Hyperactive, Ishanvi for Chrome, Dean and Xianghua for Grim) lead the way to the cafeteria. James and Honoka eased their way into the conference room. The tension was still palpable. “Bathroom, James. But first, may I speak frankly with you, Mister Gabriel?”

 

She didn’t actually wait for him to answer. “A moment ago, I was a half second away from hitting you. The impact of my shield can crack steel, so I don’t swing it lightly. Not all of us think Her Majesty is our wholesome, gracious savior. I’ve been doing the work long enough to know you can’t save the world with clean hands.” It was at this point where Gabriel got a good firm look at Captain Gabrielle Howard. She was not a young woman, and the way she moved suggested she’d been a fighter for longer than most everyone in the room had been alive. “Starvation is gone. War is gone. Disease nears total defeat. Prejudice is in full retreat. We. Are. Winning.” She took in a breath, and let it out. “And you question the price.” She looked very tired all of a sudden. “I will never understand heroes. James, Kyojin. He’s all yours.” She walked out of the conference room, and leaned up against the wall on the opposite side of the hall.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica followed Gabrielle out, but remained in front of the doorway. “It’s quite simple, actually. You are so blinded by good works you fail to see what she had made of you. You may have forged the chains and then put them on yourselves, but you are all her slaves.” She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “Of course, some of you do see, and are content with it. Free will is so hard, after all. It is so much easier to let someone smarter make all the big decisions. She must know what she’s doing. She’s so smart.” The irony was blinding. And it hurt to realize just how similar she and the Empress were. “You don’t have to worry anymore. Goodbye confusion and stress, hello peace of mind.” Just pull out the morals and ethics, and boom, instant Imperial Majesty. At the same time, it was terrifying. It would be so easy to be her. There were days when she wanted this more than anything. She sighed and removed her fingers.

 

She turned her head so Gabriel could hear and spoke quietly. Almost humbly. "I have bad days like anyone else. When I want to give up trying to be a better person. To let go and be just like the Empress. I could, too. It wouldn’t even be that difficult. The thing is…how do I put this?” She pondered for a moment, which was in actuality a lot longer than a moment for her. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m currently by far the smartest person in the building. I find it…difficult to relate to people without superhuman intelligence. I can be impatient with them. Even quite mean spirited. And, if I’m being completely honest, this world doesn’t seem so bad on the surface. I could grow to like it quite a bit, if I learned to ignore what I find unpleasant about it. However, there’s something…missing.” She paused again. “I think it’s…faith. Not necessarily in a deity, but in humanity. I want to believe in them, even if they make it exceptionally difficult not to think poorly of them at times. I could simply be the Empress, but that is the easy way. I decided, a long time ago now, that I wouldn’t take the easy way.”

 

She stopped again and turned around to face Gabriel. “What I’m trying to say is that I understand her. I understand what it means to think that I know best because I have just about the highest level of intelligence on the planet. And while she disgusts me on a fundamental level, we came from similar origins. We’ve thought similar thoughts. Only…she gave up on people. She lost her faith, if indeed she ever had it.” She paused one last time and her sharp tongue showed its face again. “I refuse to do that. I am a teacher, not an empress. Whether that is for better or worse, I’ll let history decide.” She smirked in her usual manner. “Even if I have my own opinion on the subject.” Terrifica turned and followed the other heroes down the hall to the cafeteria.

Edited May 13, 2017 by EternalPhoenix

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Mission launch

 

A bit later, well fed and perhaps still musing over the various happenings in the conference room, the heroes and Jade Dragons were assembled not in the teleport station, but in a fairly large helicopter. Hyperactive had gotten his look at the mission file along the way. The craft sped along, easily many times the speed of sound. Perhaps even as fast the two speedsters inside. Captain Howard spoke as they started to blur over Europe. “The location, as you all ought to know by now, is in the Ural mountains not too far west of Moscow. They haven’t hit the city yet, as it does have more than adequate defenders. So they’ve been hitting small towns all over Western Russia, the Ukraine, and even as far east as China and Mongolia. The plan is to drop you off at the force field and let you do your thing. Sort it out right, and we can get you transported home from Moscow. They have the facilities now. Are you ready to get started?”

[Raveled]

Chrome sat in the bucket seat in the transport, the big meal sitting heavily in his gut. Or maybe it was just the reminder of what the Communion had done in this universe that was weighing him down. Either way, he found himself watching the man in gold and white. Gabriel had become the closest thing to a leader the disparate group had. There was just something magnetic how him, how even sitting them he commanded attention. And his words in the meeting room were still going around inside Chrome's head.

 

He stood and shuffled over until he could tap the older man on the knee. "Hey. Um. Back there you said you were, um, riding a horse earlier? And the Empress looked pretty worried about that. What kind of horse were you talking about?"

[KnightDisciple]

On 5/12/2017 at 10:41 PM, EternalPhoenix said:

GM

 

Gabrielle frowned slightly. She didn’t understand Gabriel’s hostility, but she did know she didn’t like it. Her shield had been in her hand in an instant, and if Her Majesty has so much as given the vaguest hint of a command, she’d have hit him. Damn hard. She had not, however, done that. Realizing she still had her shield out, she returned it to her back. “Of course.” She poked head out of the door. “Meeting’s over, Dragons. Everyone but the attractive man is going to the cafeteria. Stick with them, please, and stay on the comms.” The Jade Dragons assigned to each hero (Arrow Ace for Hyperactive, Ishanvi for Chrome, Dean and Xianghua for Grim) lead the way to the cafeteria. James and Honoka eased their way into the conference room. The tension was still palpable. “Bathroom, James. But first, may I speak frankly with you, Mister Gabriel?”

 

She didn’t actually wait for him to answer. “A moment ago, I was a half second away from hitting you. The impact of my shield can crack steel, so I don’t swing it lightly. Not all of us think Her Majesty is our wholesome, gracious savior. I’ve been doing the work long enough to know you can’t save the world with clean hands.” It was at this point where Gabriel got a good firm look at Captain Gabrielle Howard. She was not a young woman, and the way she moved suggested she’d been a fighter for longer than most everyone in the room had been alive. “Starvation is gone. War is gone. Disease nears total defeat. Prejudice is in full retreat. We. Are. Winning.” She took in a breath, and let it out. “And you question the price.” She looked very tired all of a sudden. “I will never understand heroes. James, Kyojin. He’s all yours.” She walked out of the conference room, and leaned up against the wall on the opposite side of the hall.

 

Gabriel stood there and crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed rather unimpressed.

 

"I appreciate that you feel your duty is to your Empress. But I refuse to believe that the best path forward is Hard Decisions. Besides, there is prejudice; it's just against 'stupid' people. People who don't conform. You know what else is gone? Freedom. Free Will. Creativity. Independence. What happens to this great, shining society when your Empress passes on?"

He waves a hand to forestall a response.

"And don't tell me she won't. Death comes for all, in time."

 

He watches her walk away, shaking his head in frustration. He heads to the bathroom ones guided there, before rejoining the others. 

 

On 5/12/2017 at 10:42 PM, EternalPhoenix said:

PC

 

Terrifica followed Gabrielle out, but remained in front of the doorway. “It’s quite simple, actually. You are so blinded by good works you fail to see what she had made of you. You may have forged the chains and then put them on yourselves, but you are all her slaves.” She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “Of course, some of you do see, and are content with it. Free will is so hard, after all. It is so much easier to let someone smarter make all the big decisions. She must know what she’s doing. She’s so smart.” The irony was blinding. And it hurt to realize just how similar she and the Empress were. “You don’t have to worry anymore. Goodbye confusion and stress, hello peace of mind.” Just pull out the morals and ethics, and boom, instant Imperial Majesty. At the same time, it was terrifying. It would be so easy to be her. There were days when she wanted this more than anything. She sighed and removed her fingers.

 

She turned her head so Gabriel could hear and spoke quietly. Almost humbly. "I have bad days like anyone else. When I want to give up trying to be a better person. To let go and be just like the Empress. I could, too. It wouldn’t even be that difficult. The thing is…how do I put this?” She pondered for a moment, which was in actuality a lot longer than a moment for her. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m currently by far the smartest person in the building. I find it…difficult to relate to people without superhuman intelligence. I can be impatient with them. Even quite mean spirited. And, if I’m being completely honest, this world doesn’t seem so bad on the surface. I could grow to like it quite a bit, if I learned to ignore what I find unpleasant about it. However, there’s something…missing.” She paused again. “I think it’s…faith. Not necessarily in a deity, but in humanity. I want to believe in them, even if they make it exceptionally difficult not to think poorly of them at times. I could simply be the Empress, but that is the easy way. I decided, a long time ago now, that I wouldn’t take the easy way.”

 

She stopped again and turned around to face Gabriel. “What I’m trying to say is that I understand her. I understand what it means to think that I know best because I have just about the highest level of intelligence on the planet. And while she disgusts me on a fundamental level, we came from similar origins. We’ve thought similar thoughts. Only…she gave up on people. She lost her faith, if indeed she ever had it.” She paused one last time and her sharp tongue showed its face again. “I refuse to do that. I am a teacher, not an empress. Whether that is for better or worse, I’ll let history decide.” She smirked in her usual manner. “Even if I have my own opinion on the subject.” Terrifica turned and followed the other heroes down the hall to the cafeteria.

 

"Correction: You believe you are the smartest person in the building. Even with the Empress gone, there may perhaps be someone here as smart. Or rather, as capable as you are with the sciences and the like. Always remember, Terrifica."

He gave her a piercing look.

"Pride goeth before the fall."

He looked out the window.

"I can...to a degree...relate with bad days, though. It's...it's so easy for me to talk to people. Not just my powers, at this point. My experience, my intuition. All of it together. It's so easy. It's not for nothing they consider me the League's Diplomat. When I see people struggling to negotiate, to come to amicable terms, it's frustrating. I could make them talk nicely, you know. I could make...almost anyone talk nicely. Be peaceful. Agree with me. It's so, so, so easy. I'd barely have to think about it. I could march about the world and bring at least a form of peace...but I don't. Because ultimately, it would be me doing it, not them. So...I don't."

He shrugs. 

"This world...the thin veneer of shining civilization hides a pile of rotten garbage. It disgusts and horrifies me. The Empress hasn't saved humanity, she's maimed and mutilated it. It's alive but on life support."

 

As Terrifica walked away, Gabriel was silent for a moment, before softly speaking up, his volume just so such that Terrifica would hear him, but no one else ought to.

"Just remember. Our opinions may not always encompass the entirety of truth."

 

 

On 5/12/2017 at 10:42 PM, EternalPhoenix said:

GM

 

Mission launch

 

A bit later, well fed and perhaps still musing over the various happenings in the conference room, the heroes and Jade Dragons were assembled not in the teleport station, but in a fairly large helicopter. Hyperactive had gotten his look at the mission file along the way. The craft sped along, easily many times the speed of sound. Perhaps even as fast the two speedsters inside. Captain Howard spoke as they started to blur over Europe. “The location, as you all ought to know by now, is in the Ural mountains not too far west of Moscow. They haven’t hit the city yet, as it does have more than adequate defenders. So they’ve been hitting small towns all over Western Russia, the Ukraine, and even as far east as China and Mongolia. The plan is to drop you off at the force field and let you do your thing. Sort it out right, and we can get you transported home from Moscow. They have the facilities now. Are you ready to get started?”

 

Gabriel was riding along quietly, his eyes closed, his lips faintly moving as he ticked through the beads of his well-worn rosary. When Captain Howard asked a question, he opened his eyes and spoke up, softly (for an aircraft passenger).

"I am ready to talk to these people and help resolve this peacefully, yes."

 

3 hours ago, Raveled said:

Chrome sat in the bucket seat in the transport, the big meal sitting heavily in his gut. Or maybe it was just the reminder of what the Communion had done in this universe that was weighing him down. Either way, he found himself watching the man in gold and white. Gabriel had become the closest thing to a leader the disparate group had. There was just something magnetic how him, how even sitting them he commanded attention. And his words in the meeting room were still going around inside Chrome's head.

 

He stood and shuffled over until he could tap the older man on the knee. "Hey. Um. Back there you said you were, um, riding a horse earlier? And the Empress looked pretty worried about that. What kind of horse were you talking about?"

 

Gabriel turned to Chrome and smiled reassuringly.

"Hm."

His gaze moved to the opposite wall, not quite focused on anything.

"Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."

He turns back to Chrome.

"Revelation of Saint John, chapter six, verses one and two. From the Christian Bible, that is."

He gives a slight wink at that, before sobering up.

"Now, that passage speaks of the End Of Days. The Final Judgement. The White Horseman is said to be the first of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. Great and terrible duties. Once, those duties were held by angelic beings, though of course some scholars debate the symbolic meanings of the Horsemen. But those Four...they fell. But not quite straight down, if you catch my drift. They fell at...an odd angle. They became twisted. They were locked out of Heaven, though, and the walls of Paradise stood strong. Until."

Back to staring into the far distance, his face...expressionless.

"Occasionally, things...line up...such that the walls of reality weaken, just a bit, and it's easier for bad things to happen. In particular for these...Former Horsemen to come calling, and try to claim their Horses. Which represent large stores of power and influence. So. They chose temporary Horsemen, to saddle the Horses, guide them, and protect both the Horses, and Heaven itself. Nick Cimitiere was Death. Comrade Frost  was Famine. Wander was War."

He looked at the cybernetic teen with thoughtful eyes that held hints of sorrow.

"I was Conquest." 

[Raveled]

Chrome squeaked out a tiny "Oh." He could interface with the World Wide Web and check Gabriel's words instantly, and in a dozen translations, but their impact on the teen didn't change. He swallowed and asked, "But how do you know you did the right thing? When the, uh, the seals are broken and the Horsemen ride out it's supposed to be the apocalypse -- big T, big A, end of times deal. I mean I'm glad you stopped them!" he said quickly, trying to make it clear that he wasn't trying to argue with the senior hero. "Because you stopped them I can go to prom and buy a car and, and, and go to weird facist worlds and probably punch dragons before today's over. But... how do you know you were right to stop The big-T big-A Apocalypse?"

[KnightDisciple]

1 hour ago, Raveled said:

Chrome squeaked out a tiny "Oh." He could interface with the World Wide Web and check Gabriel's words instantly, and in a dozen translations, but their impact on the teen didn't change. He swallowed and asked, "But how do you know you did the right thing? When the, uh, the seals are broken and the Horsemen ride out it's supposed to be the apocalypse -- big T, big A, end of times deal. I mean I'm glad you stopped them!" he said quickly, trying to make it clear that he wasn't trying to argue with the senior hero. "Because you stopped them I can go to prom and buy a car and, and, and go to weird facist worlds and probably punch dragons before today's over. But... how do you know you were right to stop The big-T big-A Apocalypse?"

 

Gabriel hummed thoughtfully. Which of course sounded way better than a guy humming thoughtfully had any right to sound, but what are you going to do?

 

"Well, a few reasons. One, I was asked to do the job by a literal archangel. Two, the Seals weren't broken; the Horses never left Heaven, and it's not the End Of Days yet. Three, the ones attempting to claim the Horses, the former Horsemen...They were twisted wrecks of their former selves. They would have ushered in the Apocalypse solely to spread destruction and suffering, not because it was Time. Because, ultimately, Four....they weren't acting on orders. They weren't playing their appointed part, they weren't doing what was a necessary step in a greater Plan. The Lord had not said it was time. So, it wasn't time."

 

He leans in a bit closer, a sad smile on his face, as if sharing a secret with a friend.

 

"Frankly, I don't think it'll be Time until the world's gotten a lot worse. And if that takes longer than many of us think, well, that's fine by me. More time to do the Lord's work."

 

He leans back, giving the teen his space again, the conspiratorial air of that tidbit fading.

 

"As for how, beyond all that, I myself knew I was doing the right thing? Because I wasn't doing it for myself. I was doing it for others. And not to force them to do anything. I was just protecting them. The closest I came to forcing people to do anything was when I was utilizing the Horse's power...and that was less like mind control, and more like...influencing how a creek flows. If that makes sense? I was primarily trying to guide what sorts of 'conquests' were going on. I was shooting for the peaceful ones."

 

He shrugs at that. 

[Kolohehonu]

"I'll say Amen to having more time to do the Good Lord's work." Hyperactive added into the conversation. He was still trying to process that he was sitting in the same place as one of Freedom's and maybe the world's finest, who also happened to have been a Rider of the apocalypse. Even his Speedster brain wasn't quite going fast enough. 

 

So instead he switched tracks. He'd come back to processing that he was working with someone who maybe super hero was an understatement. Knowing this Empress, he might not be the only one. 

 

"So, I'm a Speedster: Generally I go about Mach 13 in a fight, I can create tornados with my back draft, I can phase through solid objects and I'm a decent martial artist." Hyperactive said. "I get that you're charismatic? I mean if you were chosen to be conquest I'm sure you'd have to be." He said to Gabriel. "But beyond that, what else can you do?" He looked at the rest. "I like to know what assets a team has, especially one thrown together so quickly." 

 

"Not that I'm volunteering to be leader."

Edited May 16, 2017 by Kolohehonu

[KnightDisciple]

12 hours ago, Kolohehonu said:

"I'll say Amen to having more time to do the Good Lord's work." Hyperactive added into the conversation. He was still trying to process that he was sitting in the same place as one of Freedom's and maybe the world's finest, who also happened to have been a Rider of the apocalypse. Even his Speedster brain wasn't quite going fast enough. 

 

So instead he switched tracks. He'd come back to processing that he was working with someone who maybe super hero was an understatement. Knowing this Empress, he might not be the only one. 

 

"So, I'm a Speedster: Generally I go about Mach 13 in a fight, I can create tornados with my back draft, I can phase through solid objects and I'm a decent martial artist." Hyperactive said. "I get that you're charismatic? I mean if you were chosen to be conquest I'm sure you'd have to be." He said to Gabriel. "But beyond that, what else can you do?" He looked at the rest. "I like to know what assets a team has, especially one thrown together so quickly." 

 

"Not that I'm volunteering to be leader."

 

Gabriel gave Hyperactive a winning smile.

"Yeah, I've heard of your work out in Texas, Hyperactive. You and the Warriors are good folks. Now, as for myself?"

He shrugs.

"I control sound. I've figured out a lot of tricks. Beyond flying around rather quickly, blasting folks, and talking far further than the human voice is capable of, I can, essentially, do all sorts of things to keep someone off-balance in a fight. Out of a fight, they're actually part of what help me talk so well with people."

[Heritage]

Up until this point, Grimalkin had been slouched down in one of the seats, legs stretched out, hands folded on her belly and eyes closed. By her slow and steady breathing, one might have assumed she was sleeping, but in fact, she was conserving her strength and listening to the others. She had nothing to contribute to the discussion about the Four Horsemen, seeing as the Apocalypse was an entirely Christian concept, and her chiming in on that topic wouldn't help anyone.

 

But once the subject turned to the inevitable 'so what do you do' conversation, her eyes popped open and she sat right up, because this stuff was mission critical. The changeling listened attentively to each team member in turn, taking careful mental notes. Once Gabe was finished, she cleared her throat.

 

"Guess I'll go next. I'm a dark faerie, which means I'm good at shapeshifting and deception; I'm also sneaky as hell and pretty scary in a straight-up scrap. I'm good at getting in and out of places, and they never see me coming." She shrugged. "That's about it."

 

Grim avoided going into a lot of details not to keep her own team in the dark,  but for fear of showing too much of her hand to the Jade Dragons.

Edited June 5, 2017 by Heritage

[Raveled]

"Well I'm a --" Chrome paused. The whole 'Communion drone but not the sort you have to worry about' didn't seem like something he should say in front of this group. "I'm a cyborg," he said. "I'm tough, and I can talk to machines, and I can change myself around." He held out a hand and slowly shaped it into a huge, reflective blade, then allowed it to meld back into a hand.

 

"Do we have an idea of what we want to do when we get there? I don't want to fight these refugees, but it sounds like they've only been violent so far."

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica kept her mouth shut while the others discussed what they could do. It was, by this point, fairly obvious what her powers were, after all. Then again…”I have my staff. It has several abilities in addition to simply hitting people with it. Addtionally, I am a skilled martial artist.” The super genius part, as previously stated, more or less went without saying. And, truth be told, now was very likely not the best time to remind the room of her superior intellect. Not that she was feeling particularly superior at the moment.  The Empress had her questioning her innermost self like never before. It was…rather unpleasant. “Gabriel. You’ve been through this before, haven’t you? Meeting the worst possible version of yourself?” She hesitated, which even Gabriel (who really didn’t know her) could tell wasn’t like her. “How…does one deal with that?” There. She said it. “And don’t give me something about faith, a greater plan, or anything of that nature. Letting go like that is something I find myself unable to do.” After all, if she didn’t entirely trust herself, how could she trust anyone else? Even a supreme being. Even her own husband. It was like that old saying. Trust, but verify.

[KnightDisciple]

1 hour ago, EternalPhoenix said:

PC

 

Terrifica kept her mouth shut while the others discussed what they could do. It was, by this point, fairly obvious what her powers were, after all. Then again…”I have my staff. It has several abilities in addition to simply hitting people with it. Addtionally, I am a skilled martial artist.” The super genius part, as previously stated, more or less went without saying. And, truth be told, now was very likely not the best time to remind the room of her superior intellect. Not that she was feeling particularly superior at the moment.  The Empress had her questioning her innermost self like never before. It was…rather unpleasant. “Gabriel. You’ve been through this before, haven’t you? Meeting the worst possible version of yourself?” She hesitated, which even Gabriel (who really didn’t know her) could tell wasn’t like her. “How…does one deal with that?” There. She said it. “And don’t give me something about faith, a greater plan, or anything of that nature. Letting go like that is something I find myself unable to do.” After all, if she didn’t entirely trust herself, how could she trust anyone else? Even a supreme being. Even her own husband. It was like that old saying. Trust, but verify.

"If you think my faith is simply about 'letting go', or that it somehow is not, in fact, part of how I deal with such things, then you don't understand it sufficiently, and any answer I give will be discarded as incorrect by you. But for the record, I have not met the worst possible version of myself face-to-face. I've simply heard of him, and what he's done."

He wasn't irritated with Terrifica, but the dismissiveness with which she treated his faith did not give him much motivation to dance around how much it was a part of his life. The mention of this 'worst possible' version of himself carried some dark implications, however.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica blinked, a little surprised. “Ah. That was…rude of me. I didn’t mean….” She shut her mouth and simply turned away. For all her intellect, those whose faith was an integral part of their lives remained somewhat of a mystery to her. She’d read just about everything she could get her hands on regarding faith in all its variations in order to understand her father. However, knowing and understanding were (as ever) two different things. And damn it, Qiaolian. Gabriel is not your father. He has no insight and he isn’t your personal wisdom factory. Get it together. You have work to do. She spoke quietly, so that no one would hear. No one with normal hearing, at any rate. “I know I’m not one of your finest. But I know you hear me. I think I’ll need a little help to get through today. Please? For my father’s sake, if not mine?”

 

She sighed, trying (and failing) to shake it off, and spoke up so everyone could hear her. “Chrome is right about one thing. We need a plan. And for once, I’m not going to offer one.” She offered a wan smile. She sounded tired. “I don’t think me being a bossy smarty pants is going to be particularly helpful today.” She shut her eyes and sighed again. “Especially after that meeting.”

Edited May 20, 2017 by EternalPhoenix

[Kolohehonu]

"How far can you call Gabriel?" Hyperactive asked. "Cause I can run people in pretty fast. If you and Grim go in we might have a chance of setting this peacefully."

 

"It seems like it would be a bad idea to have all of us show up at once, especially if some of us won't be able to speak their language at all." Hyperactive added. "But if it does come to blows, if the rest of us are nearby we can come in and be the cavalry. Especially if we're out of sight to begin with it won't seem like we're setting a trap. But all y'all won't be really out numbered."

[KnightDisciple]

"I'd like to try leading the effort to talk to them. If they communicate with spoken word, it should be possible for us to understand each other."

Gabriel thoughtfully tapped the fingers of his right hand on his knee, the ring on that hand catching the light just a bit. A simple silver band, on his middle finger...

"I've yet to not be able to do so with any language I've encountered, but obviously we never say never. If that somehow fails, I can fall back on simpler communication first. As for calling you all in, when I'm focusing my powers on being able to speak with people, I'll have not only the ability to speak to most any language, but range out to 20 miles, as inclusive or exclusive as I like. I can talk with you all without them noticing, and hear your responses without you yelling."

The white-clad hero seemed unconcerned giving this level of detail, though admittedly, any listeners wouldn't be finding out that much useful information. 

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

With plan firmly in hand, the Jade Dragons dropped the heroes off over the horizon from the forcefield. Most of the Jade Dragons stayed inside the chopper. However, Ultrasonic (James Hendricks) and Arrow Ace (Alyson Antonia Arroway) stepped out. James handed out a few walkie talkie devices. He had to almost yell to be heard over the chopper’s rotors.“If you need us, call. We’ll hear you anywhere in Europe or Asia.” He started to get back on the chopper. “Toni?” With that word, he was back on board.

 

The bow slinging speedster flashed a grin. “Rapid response, that’s me.” Then, entirely too fast for anyone but the speedy Hyperactive to even hear, she added. “The Dragons can’t hear me over the rotors. When the job’s finished, just run. Alone. The Freethinkers will find you. Don’t speak of this to anyone else until then. She-“who could only be the Empress “-has ears everywhere, and especially on your group. I’m taking a big chance on you.” Then she was speaking normally again. “I’ll be the first one in if you use those. You guys be safe, all right?” She was super cheerful, genuinely wishing their safety. The chopper lifted off, flying back to Moscow. Toni stayed where she was

 

Just over the horizon stood the force field. It was a dome miles high, with a fiery glow. It was slightly translucent. One could see through it, technically, but anything further than a few yards away was effectively hidden from view.

[Kolohehonu]

Hyperactive tucked away that little nugget of knowledge in his head. Freethinkers. Got it. He rushed up to the forcefield and stuck his arm through. Then he backed off. 

 

"So I guess this is up to you Gabriel. We can hear you wherever we need to wind up." He paused. "I hope." 

 

Hyperactive turned the transmitter over in his hands again and again and again. He was looking for anything out of place, not that he thought he'd actually find anything if it was hidden by the Empress. "Hey Terrifica, Chrome, can you make sure this works the way it should?"

 

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and floated a few inches into the air, and then began slowly moving forward, clearly putting most of his attention elsewhere.

 

"I'm going to see what I can pick up from inside the dome. Give me a few moments, please."

 

With that, he listened. His hearing expanded in a way that always gave him a bit of a rush, but was also overwhelming if his control wasn't ironclad. He quickly pared down the "target area", focusing as best as he could on the can't-miss-it-big dome in the distance, straining to pick up any useful conversations. Or really, any conversations. 

[Raveled]

Chrome gave the device a wary look. "Right, I can hack into the machine. Because I'm a cyborg, and science and stuff." He started to take a step forward, stopped himself, and finally just extended a hand out towards Hyperactive. He knew that his load of nanites could interface with electronic systems -- that was how he communicated through the headsets and comm relays other heroes used. He wasn't entirely sure, though, that he could just tell them to hack something made by some alternate-universe tech-empire.

 

He concentrated and opened a line of communication with the device. Binary information washed through his brain and his ears were full of half-whispered conversations for a moment, but he quickly shook his head and closed the connection. He didn't have the training to begin to make sense of what was going on with that kind of tech. "The, uh, the encryption's too weird for me," he lied. "Who knows what kind of programming language is even used on this Earth?"

Edited May 30, 2017 by Raveled

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica examined her device. It didn’t prove fruitless. It was a radio transmitter. Reception capabilities, as well. Your basic walkie talkie, but with easily 100 times the range of a normal one from Prime. She had designs for something like this at home. “Hyperactive, I’m not certain I could find it, not in the time and with the equipment we have with us. Remember, essentially I designed this. If I were to put something that was able to track its location inside it, it would have been a part of the design from the start and would not stand out anymore than any other component.” She turned it over and looked at the back. The power supply was just a rechargeable battery. Solar, if she wasn’t mistaken. Yes, there. On the top. Hyper efficient solar panel. Similar to those calculators that ran on light. “I can tell that they’re solar powered, with a battery in the back that holds excess energy. The range appears to be incredible, but not impossible. The man who handed them out was likely telling the truth.” She took her eyes from her device to Hyperactive. “I can take it apart, if you like. See what I can find. Though, as I’ve said, I very likely don’t have what I need to find anything.”

[Kolohehonu]

"No that's fine." Hyperactive said to Terrifica. He could just keep this to himself. They could dump the transmitters when the time came. But for now the task at hand lay with the dragons. At the same time...

 

"Hey Gabe, fancy hearing and all. You getting this, or anything Speedster speech spoken earlier?" Hyperactive asked through his mask which would have meant that no one could really see his lips move. He was hoping the older hero had heard, and if so could give him an idea of what might be a good idea. On the other hand, it seemed straight forward. Do the mission and get to these Freethinkers. 

 

"Hey Terrifica, better use of time." Hyperactive had snatched a map up before leaving the transport. "Where are we going to try and meet them? If we get that luxury. Probably won't you know, but hey off chance right? Where do we try to meet them in case we need to get the drop on these guys?" 

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica took the map from the young speedster and gave it the once over. “Two things. I would not speak so cavalierly about that subject. Big Mother is listening.” Hyperactive was not the only one with a super fast mind. Though she did doubt any recording would catch Arrow Ace’s speech and at any rate she didn’t know what the speedy Dragon had actually said. It was clearly very important that her Imperial Majesty didn’t know, either. Therefore, it had to do with the resistance. Because if there was an Empire, there was always a resistance. The question was, what did she want Hyperactive for?

 

“Second, I don’t quite know who you’re talking about meeting. The Jade Dragons? I assume they have minor bases all over Siberia, with a major one near the Arctic Circle. And, of course, the one in Moscow. As for the dragon people, I don’t have enough data to hazard a guess. I simply don’t know enough about them to predict their lairing behavior.” It was true enough. The force field blocked most of the Imperial satellite views. Magic and person sized tech hadn’t fared any better. “There is a cave network here.” She pointed to a spot on the map, very close to the center of the force field. “That is the main opening, though there are others scattered around the area.” She shrugged, and gave a slight impish smile that momentarily chopped ten years off her age. “Dragons like caves, don’t they?”

[Heritage]

Without anyone really noticing it, Grimalkin had sort of...disappeared; it was amazing how hard she was to notice when she wasn't drawing attention to herself. The fact of the matter was, she was pretty crappy at anything having to do with tech, so she didn't have much to offer in this area, so she'd faded out of sight so as not to distract the big brains. She guessed one or two of her team still knew were she was, but that didn't bother her much

 

But now that they were starting to discuss tactics, she suddenly reappeared at Terrifica's elbow. "I've always wanted to sneak into a dragon's lair!" She lost a full foot of height as her boots melted away to reveal a pair of hairy feet  "As an expert burglar and investigator, I volunteer for any sneaky missions." She tucked a clay pipe in the corner of her mouth and looped her thumbs through her suspenders, neither of which were present a few seconds ago.

[Kolohehonu]

"Wait if she's big mother does that mean we can call you mom?" Hyperactive deflected, he did not want to be talking about fighting the Jade Dragons, that would blow Ace's cover! "No mom I'm not going to be picking fights with our host or her army."

 

"Seriously though, caves. That seems like a good place to start, but of course that means we have to walk into their place, which means ambush. I don't like that. I mean it's like Return of the King buy Frodo and Sam some time level bad idea." He tossed a wink at Grim. Which she probably couldn't see through the face mask. Smooth Hyperactive. "Any thought on how we could draw them out mom?" 

 

"Gabriel you hear anything?" Hyperactive asked before beginning to tap his foot at hypersonic speed. Sitting still was starting to worry him.