Adventures Assemble S3E3: The Great Brain Robbery!

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kenseido
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by kenseido »

AEGIS Field Office, Phoenix Bay

The man stares down at the report and grits his teeth. The young punk made fools of them. Again.

Well, this is the last time. Screw Director Powers. He would prove to everyone that these heroes need to be shut down.

He picks up the phone. "Jenkins. I am approving Operation Firestorm. Take down Happy Computer."
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by kenseido »

Moonlight and Nightbird

The two heroes find the girls waiting in the room quietly. They seem to freak out a bit and flee out the fire escape.

It's easy to follow them now as they head straight back for their "base" without any regard for being followed.

Aranel and Imogen are shocked to find a junction area in the sewers blocked off and being used as a giant meeting place. When the two girls arrive the collapse immediately.

They are not alone, all of the missing girls, plus a few older women are all laying there unconscious. When they awake, nobody remembers anything that happened to them.
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Gilliam
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Gilliam »

Nightbird
HP: 1
Condition: Normal


Imogen wasn't subtle about following the girls after they fled the hotel room, she was more concerned that they could turn into demons as well and unsurprisingly when other residents of the area saw her and Moonlight following the girls they suddenly found something more important to do in the opposite direction.

"Something is really off." Imogen muttered to Aranel as they followed the girls "They aren't even trying to hide or get away even though they must know we are right behind them, I don't think they are demons but it just doesn't make sense."

After arriving at the junction in the sewers, Imogen starts to check the unconscious women if they are okay, even giving one or two a gentle shake to try and awake them. Once they start waking up, Imogen askes Moonlight to check if she can sense anything unusual about them before contacting the ambulance.

In between waiting for the medical services and firmly telling any of the women that they have to remain here and can't leave, Imogen used her commlink to contact the rest of the team.

"Nightbird here, Moonlight and I have just encountered a bunch of what looked like demons when we were investigating the girl gang down here. Anyone else having demon trouble?"
Last edited by Gilliam on Sun Nov 27, 2022 12:46 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Psistrike »

Moonlight
HP: 2 LP: 1
Condition: Normal

Aranel followed behind Nightbird as they tailed the girls back to their base. But she agreed with Imogen, something is really off. Why were these girls acting this way, why did they have memory loss about their activities? Magic is an obvious answer after what they have seen, but they are no closer to answers as to who is behind all this or for what purpose. "We need to talk to the police again after all this, find out what the girl gang has stolen, it might clue us into what is being planned."

"It is times like this I wish I could sense magic. I can see in low lighting, I can sense the flow of air around things, but anything unusual here is beyond me." It is like whoever is behind this knew to avoid the notice of Phillip and anyone else who might be able to trace them easily. "Moonlight here, the demons were humans transformed by magic scepters or rods activated remotely. They seem focused on the girl gang and if we hadn't intervened might have abducted them or worse. If we had a way to trace any magical energies left behind we might locate who is behind all this."
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by kenseido »

Moonlight and Nightbird

The police tell you all of the items stolen were simple money or obvious items of value, jewelry, etc... Stuff that can be turned into fast cash. Nothing that leads to any obvious motive.

Over the next few days, through cryptic messages, Philip reveals there is no connection between the two incidents. Ghost Strider's contract to eliminate the Guardian of the Dragon, while was intended for his brother Grant, carried over to him and bound the demon to Earth until complete. He grew tired of failing and setup the ambush. The scrambler used to block his commlink isn't fancy and is readily available on the black market.

As for the hotel and sewer base, Philip says there are no lingering magical energy to follow. This seems to be more troubling to him than anything else.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Amethyst
Condition: normal / HP: 1 +1(end of flashback) = 2

Amethyst makes a face, like really? Was Philip just going to up and vanish like that once he was safe? Now she really had to give him a piece of her mind.

"Be right over," she promises.

She checked the network again before leaving to see if CJ had left any traces that would lead back to himself, but he had covered his tracks well enough. He sorely needed a lesson to drill through his thick skull that this was no way to handle rejection, but it was going to have to wait for next time. Gelert had already settled the staff and guess before leaving, so after briefly letting the hospital's IT know the network was secure, she blasted off and headed for the pier.

Nanobots, electromagnetic fields and spiderbots, muses Amethyst, the wind in her face as she flies low over the rooftops. All told, her foray in the hospital's IT systems had been relatively tame. At least she hadn't had to deal with some ancient computer running Windows ME, or a malfunctioning printer.

* * *

"It's a standard model used in the mercenary business for jamming short-range radios, like military or superhero commlinks," Amethyst says, kneeling and looking over the wreckage of the jammer on the ground, marked with chalk and awaiting classification as evidence. "A forensics lab will tell us more, but prolly nothing more interesting than where that Ghost Strider dude shops at for his villain gear."

She stands, and thinks.

"I don't think you're mistaken," she says to Gelert at last. "That definitely was Celeste's voice we heard. My wild guess is that she was watching over Philip and warned us when he was in danger. So now that he's saved, Philip is now going to find her in turn."

Amethyst almost adds her suspicion that Philip had left to have smoking hot rescue sex with Celeste, but Gelert is too pure for some things to be said in his presence. Instead she says, "Probably to say thanks. It's what I'd do. What do you think?" She tilts her head and touches her earpiece. "And Amy, any idea where they might be hanging out so I can go give him a tongue-lashing?"

"I don't know, Michelle," Amy says, in a perfectly neutral tone. "I have no idea at all."

With all the computing power at the AI's disposal, there was no hint at all that she was doing a million and one other things simultaneously, among them holding a conversation with a certain someone.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by stavaros_the_arcane »

GELERT
Ysariel wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 8:18 pm Amethyst
Condition: normal / HP: 1 +1(end of flashback) = 2

She stands, and thinks.

"I don't think you're mistaken," she says to Gelert at last. "That definitely was Celeste's voice we heard. My wild guess is that she was watching over Philip and warned us when he was in danger. So now that he's saved, Philip is now going to find her in turn."

Amethyst almost adds her suspicion that Philip had left to have smoking hot rescue sex with Celeste, but Gelert is too pure for some things to be said in his presence. Instead she says, "Probably to say thanks. It's what I'd do. What do you think?" She tilts her head and touches her earpiece. "And Amy, any idea where they might be hanging out so I can go give him a tongue-lashing?"
Gelert nods along, "Maybe that's why he's been so secretive and prickly lately. Looking out for one friend means keeping secrets from other friends."

Gelert sighs, "Well anyways, thanks for looking out for the hospital Michelle, Amy. It really means a lot to me to know it was in good hands during a crisis I couldn't help with."
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by kenseido »

AEGIS Central HQ, Today

Agent Barret knocks on the door of Director Powers office.

"Come in."

Barrett enters the room and sees several suits around the desk. He immediately recognizes the Nevex files scattered on his desk.

"This is a very clear violation of the contract and a major security violation. All Nevex contracts should be pulled. This is National Security we are talking about."

"It was an illegal operation that a half dozen senior AEGIS officials are already in custody over. We are lucky the Champions aren't making a bigger stink about this," Barret responds.

The toads surrounding Director Powers scowl. They clearly have an agenda that is being upset by Barrett.

"Malcolm, how are you doing? Settling into the big chair, okay?"

"Just keeping it warm for the next guy."

Director Powers just smiles. Malcolm might think it is impossible for him to get thru Senate hearings, but Powers has other ideas.

"So, what have you got for me?"

Barrett walks up to the desk and hands the folder to Director Powers. The Director's eyes go wide as he thumbs thru them.

"I don't have to tell you how bad it would have been if those got out."

"No, Malcolm. You do not." If the public found out the government had been a part of these experiments, well it would be bad for everyone. "Where did you get these?"

"Jason Maxwell. He secured them from MetaPower Research."

"And what does he want in return?"

"Nothing. Just said he is an ally."

Director Powers' eyes look up from the folder.

"Sir, we need to really move on this Nevex thing."

Director Powers looks long and hard at Malcolm. The suits around him start fidgeting a bit as their long work to get Powers to go after Nevex seems to be unwinding right in front of them.

"What did Nevex say about the systems failure?"

"They claimed it was a flaw in the visual processing of the targeting system, but it's clear..." Powers cuts him off with a look.

"And have they resolved the bug?"

"I mean yes, but we..." Another look.

"And this has been verified?"

"Yes," the third man says, resignedly.

"Fine," Director Powers says as he closes the folder. "I am closing the investigation into Nevex Industries. Stop treating these people like the enemies," he scolds the suits who are in anguish over how quickly their victory turned to defeat. "They are our allies."
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Moonlight's Interlude

Post by Psistrike »

The nightmares had been plaguing Aranel for weeks now. Dragged through a strange portal and seeing her Earth again, yet things had changed since she was gone. The humans had become more aggressive, taken to striping the very forest to root out her people. They were held back time and time by the greatest of her people's warriors, but it was becoming apparent this wouldn't last.

Each time, right as she reached her mother's chambers and called out to her Aranel would hear a voice oozing with sinister intent and cruelty. "Yes, little one, just a bit more and we can finally locate you. Where have you been hiding, knife-ears?" And each time she would jolt awake, her mind rejecting something as it tried to ooze in.

But this time it was different, this time the voice was stronger, more insistent, and wouldn't let her wake up. "No, no. We won't be having that this time, knife-ears. We have almost located you, not on our Earth, yet somewhere. How in the world did you pull that off. It doesn't matter, soon we will know your location and have a new place to conquer." Aranel finally recognized the voice, though had no name to place with it. The most powerful of them all, the leader of humanity on her Earth, the cruel monster who had extended his life unnaturally for centuries with wicked experiments on non-humans. Everyone simply called him the Overmind for lack of a better term, the most powerful psychic ever seen by the human race.

"What have you done? How have you accessed my mind across the divide in your way? For that matter how did you find out I was even gone in the first place?" Aranel demanded, trying to buy some time. "My little knife-ears, those answers will come in time. Just know your cousin is a guest of ours for the itme being." A rage like nothing she had experienced before began to boil within Aranel's mind, fueling her will as she began to push back against the intruder. "What, the little knife-ears thinks she can take on one of my power? Then so be it, I will wrench the secret of your location from you mind even if it kills you!"

An instant later Aranel felt like her mind was on fire, a torrent of raw intense telepathic power trying to tear her apart to learn her every secret. Pushing back against him, each time he would come back with greater power than before. It was taking all she had to keep him from finding the location of her people back home nor let anything slip about this world and its wonders.

Just as she felt weary from the fight, the Overmind made a fatal mistake. "You know, your mother willl make a fine concubine for me." Digging deeper than before and focusing her rage, in an act of will the likes of which she had never done before Aranel pushed back to eject him from her mind. "You will keep your slimy hands and mind off my mother!" With a final push the Overmind was flung from her mindscape, but not before giving one last taunt. "Don't worry, you interest me much more. Be seeing you really soon, little knife-ears."

Aranel awoke in a cold sweat and rushed to wake Imogen. "We have trouble. And I don't know how soon they could be here. The Overmind and the psychic humans of my Earth might have found me here, he invaded my dreams. And what he said last before I ejected him from my mind has me worried. He says he will be seeing me very soon. We need to tell the others." Aranel looks almost pale she says this.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by stavaros_the_arcane »

Gelert's Interlude.

Considering Gelert is a dog he finds himself with a distinct lack of free time, between his superhero duties and his therapy dog job he seems to always have something that needs taking care of. But today he has some time of his own and no imminent crisis so he is spending it with his two favourite humans: Tabitha and Dorothy Sierra.

Currently he's lying belly up in Dorothy's lap getting his tummy fluff scratched, tongue lolling out of his mouth, as he talks to Tabitha about issues of additional funding for the new base.

"So I know the funds the Justice Foundation are a good start, and a couple of the others on the team have businesses and stuff that could be sources of additional funding but I feel like I could be doing more to help on the financial end of things. But up until now I've tried to limit the use of my image to the hospital and specific charities that we've closely looked into. I don't want to hurt the charitable work done with my image while at the same time I want to do my share to keep the team running smoothly. Money stuff is hard."

Tabitha chuckled. "Yes, yes it is. Fortunately you don't have to try and figure it all out on your own. There is a reason I made sure that we had a financial manager for you in addition to the hospital's financial department back when you were first thrust into the spotlight. We'll set up an appointment with both for next week and we can figure out possible plans for expanding your merchandising deals. I'm sure you'll be able to both support the Champions and keep giving to the hospital and other charities."

Dorothy grumbles "Enough of the boring talk. You get to spend the day with us today, so that means we get to have fun together for once."

Gelert raises his head to look at the little girl. "You are absolutely right. Business talk for a business day. Let's go have some fun."

----

They ended up going to a dog park, where the dog and his human got to run around and play to their heart's content.

Dorothy's health had been steadily improving so she only needed to spend brief periods of time in the hospital for her treatments, letting her get back to her normal childhood.

Gelert realized that for today at least he was getting back to just being a dog, a beloved pet without the weight of responsibilities on his back. It was good to get the chance to remember what that felt like, to remember the simple joys that made what he did so important.

It was a good day to be Gelert.

OOC: I decided to go with some easy-going fluff for Gelert's interlude.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Interlude (1/2)

Hong family residence
1830 hours


"Mooooom!" Amethyst calls in a singsong. "I bought your favorite xiaolongbao!"

From across the kitchen table, Mom shakes her head. "Really, Michelle; must you wear that ridiculous thing at home now, too?"

"Please," Amethyst rolls her eyes, walking across the carpet in her armored boots to set the food down on the table. As she does, the battlesuit's hyperdrive vanes fold up and armor plates collapse in on themselves, shunting mass back into hyperspace, reducing the suit to barely more than skin-tight. Then a bright purple (what else) T-shirt and blue denim shorts teleport in over it with a snap. "I'm flying home from work to save money and cut down on emissions. C'mon! Eat them while they're hot."

Amethyst sets out the food while her mother takes a seat; she fills Mom's plate, then her own. Mom eats them the traditional way: nibbling a hole in the skin of the bite-sized, soup-filled dumplings, pouring out the steaming hot soup within into a spoon and drinking it; then dipping the rest of the dumpling into Chinese black vinegar flavored with ginger slices, and eating that separately. Amethyst downs the dumpling in a single bite, predictably scalds herself, and spends the next minute fanning her burnt tongue.

"I worry about you every time I see you in that absurd getup, or spot stories about your escapades in the papers. You are," Mom says gravely, "our only child now that your brother has passed. The responsibility for perpetuating our family line rests entirely on you."

"Absolutely not," Amethyst says. "I refuse to have children. Children are noisy, filthy, smelly, rude, entitled, amoral, manipulative, deceptive, bullying, ignorant, unhygienic, arrogant, repulsive, expensive, inconsiderate, selfish, irritating, slimy, disgusting, dishonest, obnoxious, snobby, psychopathic, hobby-destroying, stretch-mark-causing, bank-account-emptying, career-ending, vacation-wrecking, free-time-depleting, life-ruining, and environmentally-unfriendly. Big nope."

Mom sardonically comments, "aren't you glad I put up with all that to have you and your brother?"

"I know, right?" Amethyst puts down her chopsticks, drags her chair over to Mom's side of the table and wraps arms about her mother. "Your sacrifice is appreciated. Best mom ever."

Mom sighs and closes her eyes, crow's feet deepening.

"I don't blame you," she says at last. "Your father and I failed as parents; we were too fixated on your talent, your genius, that we never gave you a proper childhood. It was always about what university you would go to, what company you would work at, and what we would make of the prodigy. It's no wonder that you don't want to become a mother yourself, and put another generation through that. Our ancestors' bloodlines end with you, but I accept the responsibility for this sin. This... is our karma."

"Mom?" Amethyst says, suddenly worried. "C'mon, mom, don't say that. I wasn't kidding when I said your sacrifice is appreciated. You and Dad never forced me down a path I didn't want to go. When I said I was interested in computers, you supported me without a second thought, and I really treasure that. I think I turned out okay, all told." Mom says nothing. "Look, let me show you something."

She gestures, and a holographic screen appears before both of them. The machine in the image is vast, dwarfing the ant-like engineers scurrying around it, a chrome leviathan with a massive angular port at one end like a stealth fighter's thrust-vectoring engine.

"This is?"

"The test unit for the hyperdrive that will take the UNS Star Strider, now under construction in low Earth orbit, on the world's first interstellar diplomatic mission," she says. "Tests finish next week. Amy and I, and the rest of Happy Science, will be hard at work on the production unit."

She swipes through more images: the hyperdrive glowing blue in one shot, trailing cables into the surroundings like a spider in its web in the next, disassembled to reveal its mechanical guts in a third. "Earth has been visited by a Star God and two incarnates. It can't go on being a little backwater planet any more. We need a presence in space and friends we can call on, and for that we need a ship with an interstellar reach. Hyperdrives aren't new - the first Terran drive was the one Daedalus built in the 70's - but this will be better than any ever built on Earth." She smiles at her mom. "Amy and I will bring humanity to the stars, and a thousand years from now, people will remember our family for making Terrans an interstellar people. That's what I'll leave instead of offspring: a legacy."

"You sound like you've been preparing this speech for a while," Mom wags a finger at her, prompting a sheepish grin from Amethyst. "And it doesn't sound like I have any say in this matter, so you better make sure your legacy lives up to the advertising."

"Look at the bright side, Mom. It's not a kid. It can't grow up to disappoint you."
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Gilliam »

Nightbird
HP: 1
Condition: Normal

The incident with the girl gang and demons did provoke a reaction from Imogen, firstly she made sure that Anabel was still okay staying at her apartment and introduced Anabel to her brother who was back in town for a month maybe before he was off travelling again, he was kind of vague whether it was work or pleasure and Imogen was prepared to respect his privacy and she knew that he knew if he ever needed to ask for help she would be there and woe betide anyone who would harm or threaten her family.

Now it was time to remind the gangs that she was back in Phoenix Bay and there were some things that were off limits in her opinion, trafficking in people especially children and women was a big no-no. Yes the girl gang were all brain washed and controlled by someone or something but it wouldn't take much for another player to run with the idea so the moonless nights were perfect to glide overhead on her bike silently until she needed to make an appearance and it was amazing just how quickly word spread through Kings Landing and the Docks that she was back and not happy.

In less than a week Imogen met up with several local leaders where she explained the line that had been crossed and she also politely asked for any information about White Knight and his supporters whom the gangs were all too willing to share any information they knew.

Another couple of days breaking into secret lairs and exposing some very wealthy members of the Phoenix Bay elite who claimed they were being framed and that they would never associate with White Knight and look at our charity schemes but still no sign or scent of White Knight, the demon may have fled Phoenix Bay and headed elsewhere Freedom City for example.

To relax from her nighttime activities Imogen went out for lunch with her brother and Aranel to some of the new eateries sprouting up especially in the informally called "Alien" quarter where some of the spices used in the dishes were brain blowing, although she didn't spot Grotesk Imogen was pleased to see how everyone was mixing and it gave her hope for the future.
Psistrike wrote: Thu Dec 08, 2022 3:52 am Aranel awoke in a cold sweat and rushed to wake Imogen. "We have trouble. And I don't know how soon they could be here. The Overmind and the psychic humans of my Earth might have found me here, he invaded my dreams. And what he said last before I ejected him from my mind has me worried. He says he will be seeing me very soon. We need to tell the others." Aranel looks almost pale she says this.
A rare night where she was actually in and sleeping like the dead was broken by the arrival of Aranel who usually looked worried. After listening to Aranel, Imoegn smiled gently "It will be okay Aranel, we have beaten Star Gods and evils from the dawn of history and from our future as well, this Overmind if he is foolish enough to come here will be defeated like the rest, I know this in my gut and we will all be here to support you. If you feel like it do you want to tell me more about the Overmind?

Imogen could see her brother in the doorway settling down to listen and resting the baseball bat he must have grabbed after the noise against the hallway wall.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by kenseido »

In a very elite club

Jason is sitting at a booth as the crowd around him talks and laughs as if there wasn't a talented singer on the stage. The young mage is able to tune most of it out and enjoy the music. He would love to close his eyes and just experience it fully, but he knows better. Even with the enforced amnesty AND sanctuary spell in the club, there were plenty of ways for the denizens to mess with him.

More then a couple lost partners and associates to Jason. They would be looking for payback.

"Nice duds," a man's voice says from behind him. Before Jason can turn around, Mace slides into the booth. "Wow. I didn't know she started singing again."

"Hey, Mace. Yeah, Management doesn't allow white after Labor Day. Saw this in Dad's closet, figured it would work." Jason finishes his club soda.

Mace eyes the black gothic coat, black leather paths and vest and blue shirt. "Looks smart," he says with a smile. Jason rolls his eyes as a waitress brings a rocks glass with whiskey and a highball with club soda. She places the drinks on the table and takes away the empty highball that Jason finished only moments ago. She winks at Jason as she walks away.

"She likes you."

"She knows I'm paying." Mace chuckles.

"So are you able to..." Before Mace can finish, Jason flips out a card and taps the edge against the table and then sets it down in front of him. Mace picks it up. "What's this?"

"What you asked for."

"So this is a... spell card? Bet you're great at Yu-Gi-Oh." Jason's eyes move from the singer to Mace. "Magic the Gathering?"

Jason rolls his eyes at mace and returns his attention to the show.

"Look, I'm a little short..." Mace begins as he pats his chest where a breast pocket holding an empty wallet might be. Jason waves it off and Mace smiles, picking up his drink and taking a long sip.

"Leave," a new voice demands. Both men look towards the voice and sees Tyrael standing over them.

"Him or me?"

"You," Tyrael says with a look that says Mace is already late in his exit.

Mace gets up and taps the card on the table. "Thanks again, Jason." Jason nods and smiles to Jason before returning his attention to the stage.

Tyrael glares at Jason, then sits down next to him. "What was that about?"

"Mace needs a locator spell."

Tyrael tries not to look impressed. The kid is pulling out tricks magi with 30 years experience still struggle with. He finally looks at the stage and notices the singer. "I didn't know she was singing again."

"Yeah, she needs a publicist."

"I mean, her Crossroads Demon didn't allow her to sing."

"Well if I understand it, somebody went and dead-ed him for using her to attack a friend."

Tyrael smiled, having been that somebody. "Yeah, but contracts always go up."

"Except in this case, there was a no transfer clause." Tyrael looks confused. "Yeah, apparently back in the 80s, she was infamous for trading agents and constantly pitting them against each other. This particular Crossroads Demon wanted to really lay on the torment thick, so he put that clause in her contract to drive out all hope in her."

"Yeah, he was one of the worst."

"So with him out of the way, her contract is clear. Since he didn't revoke it on account of being busy with the dying and all, she keeps the powers and immortality but isn't subject to anyone's orders any more. She saw this as dodging a HUGE bullet, learned her lesson, and went back to doing what was really important all along."

Tyrael just huffs and sits there. After the song finishes, he turns back to Jason. "But why are you a fan? Her last album was well before you were born.

"Dad was the fan. Played her records all the time."

Tyrael huffs again. "Well as fun as this is, it's your lucky day. You get to do me a favor." Jason raises an eyebrow. "Yes. You're going to deliver a package to the Champions for me."

"Why can't you do it?" His eyes return to the stage as the next song starts. He smiles a bit.

"The base is being watched by bounty hunters."

"Since they are after you, you don't want to put the package... or the Champions under fire."

"Actually their after the package." Jason turns to face him again, both eyebrows raised. "I'm going to be leading them away."

"I assume that's the package at the bar." Tyrael nods. "Okay, we can go after this song is over." Jason returns his attention to the stage. "It's my favorite."

Tyrael huffs again.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Interlude (2/2)

Eight men. Eight members of the local community: fathers, brothers, plumbers, teachers, managers, soldiers. Then, between two and five years ago, one by one they had been inducted into the group over social media. It began innocently enough: a prayer group here, church outing there, day at the shooting range, camping trip with the kids.

All the while, the group's leaders whispered dark things in their ears. Rumors that the Grue invasion that started in the 50's had never really ended, that alien infiltrators still controlled the government. That they put strange chemicals in the water, spreading immorality and ungodly behavior amongst the people, to weaken America that they could conquer it. They saw the invisible hand of the alien in every setback in their life, in every facet of a changing society, and the coals of a deep resentment started to glow with hate.

Eight men. Eight protestors at a rally before City Hall, objecting to the Lemurian delegation's visit, hurling rocks and trash, watching others like them being dragged into black police vans. Resentment became anger, and fear, and violence. The forces of evil were attempting to muzzle them, to take away their voice. The government was under the thrall of aliens, heroes their collaborators. It was up to them, the few, the brave and the true, to save their great nation. Desperate measures were called for, plans made, weapons stockpiled.

Eight men. Eight members of the local community: militants, hostage-takers, terrorists, killers in the making. The targeting reticule in Amethyst's HUD beeps red, and the blaster bolt sends one flying a dozen feet in the air to land unconscious on his back, where he goes sliding across the floor tiles to smash a potted plant. A red X crosses out his portrait on her screen. Now: seven men.

From behind her, gunfire. Amethyst turns and watches bullets, 5.56 x 45mm NATO, flatten against her shields a foot away from her face. She waits, lets the shooter exhaust the entire magazine on herself so there are no bullets left in the rifle for him to shoot anything else, the popup in her HUD dutifully counting down the number of rounds remaining. As he fumbles for a second magazine she reaches out with one hand, turns on the force beam in her suit gauntlet. Invisible beams of electromagnetic energy pick him up like a toy and stuff him, screaming, legs kicking, upside down in the nearest trashcan.

Six.

Amethyst kicks open the door with her armored boot. "It's all over, boys. Lay down your arms and--"

She stops.

The six remaining men are armed with an assortment of sawn-off shotguns, pistols, illegally modified sporting rifles, aimed at the twenty or so hostages behind them, a mixture of mall staff and shoppers huddled among cleaning implements and supplies. Some faces light up with wary hope; others watch on nervously or keep mouthing prayers.

"What do you want?'

"The immediate release of all five protestors arrested in last week's demonstration and a fueled helicopter, for starters," says the one in the center. The HUD tags him: terrorist-in-chief. "You can radio that to the authorities right now. Once you've done that, lay down your arms."

Amethyst immediately gets a knowing look on her face. "Oh, I get what this is about," she says with a coy smile.

"And remove all your armor. I know you can teleport in guns and -- what are you doing?!"

Amethyst strips off her bikini top. Faces turn bright red across the room. The men and most of the hostages drop their jaws. One terrorist also drops his gun ("Idiot!" hisses the leader). She does it slowly, sensually, as though for a lover, shaking her pink hair loose as she pulls the garment over her head.

"Stay where you are," the terrorist-in-chief turns back to hiss at her. "Not a step closer!"

"I mean, my armor is my weapon. But that's not what you really mean, is it?" she asks and smirks, wadding up her bikini top and throwing it at one of the men, hitting him right in the face; he staggers back a step. "You may pretend to be full of righteousness and holiness, but deep down you're no different from the rest. Telling me to take off my suit is just your way of saying you wanna see the goods." She hooks her thumbs in the waistband of her bikini bottoms and peels them down her thighs, exposing the pink G-string she wears beneath.

"She's trying to distract us from something," one says. "Keep your eyes on her hands!" barks another.

They are so focused on her, none of them notice the six drones that have been soundlessly creeping up behind them all this while. The drones open fire in unison, shoot them in the backs of their heads, and all the remaining portraits in Amethyst's HUD flash red X's.
Ysariel
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Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2016 2:14 pm

Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

(continued)

"Why did you do this?"

Amethyst has put her bikini back on. Her suit isn't especially provocative, by the standards of the beach. It's the fact she wears it as outerwear that makes it transgressive. Her arms and legs are sheathed in futuristic powered armor. But from throat to mid-thigh, she is nearly bare, the soft curves and tanned skin of her body a stark contrast to her angular, high-tech suit. The terrorist leader, handcuffed, avoids looking anywhere near her, eyes sullenly turned aside, his head heavily bandaged with an ice compress applied.

Amethyst remembers how, when she was 14, so long ago it felt like a different life, a fellow student at Stanford had tried to look up her knee-length skirt in the lecture hall. She hadn't even been dressed provocatively then, hadn't asked for the unwanted interaction, hadn't known how to deal with it at an age where she was permanently miserable and struggling with a body that seemed to change in dramatic, awkward, snicker-inducing ways every season. She remembered the feeling of intrusion, of violation, as though someone had tried to peek at a very private journal, followed by anger - how could a surreptitious look have this much power over her? Then the sense of helplessness that followed - would anyone even believe her if she made a fuss over it? Would they just think she was lying, or being a drama queen?

Now, her body is bared, while his eyes are averted. Now she is the dangerous one: an expensive sexual harassment lawsuit in the making, or in this case, a paragon of immorality here to tempt him away from the straight and narrow. Now his face is red with embarrassment at the power his desire gives her over him. Amethyst secretly enjoys the reversal. It feels like revenge for the years lived in fear.

"I have nothing to tell you," he growls, still looking away. "You are everything that's wrong with this country and the world. Go back to your Godless, self-serving hedonism and fornication. How many men will you take to your bed tonight, I wonder?" he taunts.

"You're wrong," Amethyst says. "I care, because I don't believe in God. I fight crime, because I believe there's no afterlife where the wicked will be punished and the righteous rewarded. I help, because I believe nobody is answering prayers, but we still have each other." A pause. "Fornication, though, that one's spot on," she adds.

She tosses a printout at his feet. "The 'patriots' who contacted you over the internet? Agents of the Anarchy Command. They got you to stage this act of yours while they attacked the chemical facility across the Bay. Amy's drones are mopping up there even as we talk. Your faith, and your fear, were taken advantage of by unscrupulous, evil people. Think about that, and everything else you've done today."

He doesn't say anything. She turns, steps across the police cordon, and leaves him to contemplate the truth.
Last edited by Ysariel on Mon Dec 19, 2022 3:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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