"Unparsimonious! Not even wrong!" Isaac swore. Can't memetically induce the bad guy. Can't disarm a bomb. And now can't catch the helicopter before the Freedom League steps in.
Resisting the urge to open fire on the chopper and send it crashing down, with all the people inside, on top of whatever was below, he did his best to keep up pursuit.
Maybe they'll need me to wax their tights or do a thousand hours of community service...
As the shockwave of the explosion dies down, she sighs with relief. "Whatever else, we saved them and the building." She'll give Broadway a pat on the back for his part. As she begins to separate out the bomb parts and chemical residue for the forensic team, the rumble of the jet has her looking out. "And the Cavalry's here. Hopefully they'll get the hostages."
Broadway leans over hands on his knees catching his breath. "Yeah, at least we got that much." He gives Waveform a smile in return.
The unharmed nanites reconstruct into his scepter. Techno Priest gives it a nice twirl and plants it firmly in the ground as he inspects the rubble of the blown out room.
"That could've gone way worse." Picking up on the sounds of news choppers, Techno Priest conceals himself against the media and turns around to the other heroes. He extends a hand to each one he hasn't met yet.
"I am the Techno Priest. Job well done".
He nodded at Priest's introduction, "Priest and I are acquainted with one another, but for those of you whom I haven't met, I am Invictus." He looked around at the assembled heroes, "Let me say how honored I am to stand with heroes such as you. Our efforts here saved lives, and that is a victory in my eyes. A message has been relayed to Captain Murtaugh and the 39th Precinct, he dispatched a team when all this began, and they should be on scene in short order."
He tilted his head, seeming as if he was listening to something that nobody else could hear, "It seems Amy Feng from Channel 3 'Action News' has her crew in the plaza below where I dropped off the hostages. Anyone care to join me in speaking with her, before we are debriefed by either AEGIS, the League, or the police?" As he spoke he hovered over the drop that would take them down to the news crew, as he noticed the crowd pointing, some taking pictures with their phones he saluted and waiting for the response of the assembled heroes.
"I'm Waveform. I'll talk with them. I've had some PR training." She'll head to the edge of the drop, treating her side tenderly. "Anybody want a ride down?"
She'll take those that want to go on a wave ride down the side of the building. A suitably impressive entrance, though she strains herself a bit on the landing and has to clutch her injury.
Techno Priest walks towards the blown out hole in the wall and tugs on his cowl to cover as much as he can of his face. He turns back towards Invictus and the others and solutes them as he nonchalantly steps off. "I'm gonna sit this one out, Boy Scout".
Seconds later, he rises up on his glider and takes off.
Not even a minute later, a crackly voice is heard over radio frequency
"Great job, 'vic. Bring our new buds over to my place once everything's settled for celebratory drinks."
He nodded to the departing Priest. "Fly safe Priest, we'll speak at your Cathedral after we deal with the aftermath."
Invictus keeps pace with the young woman, noticing her wince as she lands, he hovers close beside her. Careful to respect her privacy, he examines her side with his super-human senses. Speaking softly before they approached Ms. Feng and her camera man. "Waveform, it looks like two of your left side floating ribs have a hairline fracture, nothing cracked or splintered. No internal bleeding, no excessive tissue damage, but I would speak with the paramedics shortly after our interview."
As he landed and began walking towards the Channel 3 Action News team, he held his arm in such a manner as to support Waveform's weight should she need the support due to her injuries.
OOC: I will take a 10 on a Medicine check, giving me a total of 13. Enough to give any paramedics who treat Waveform a +2 circumstance bonus if she tells them the specifics.
Dr. Quark as you notice the Viper Agents starting to waver Captain Thunder engages the helicopter electrifying the hull and shutting down the entire system.
As the Helicopter loses power Captain Thunder picks up the helicopter and begins to fly back towards the court house.
Golem flies around as fast as possible following possible trails and ducking into all nearby cars, trucks, buildings and sewers, flying back and forth in a spiral pattern, looking for Blaze.
OOC: As he is walking towards the press, Invictus will scan the crowd and the lobby of the courthouse (Extended Vision & X-Ray Vision) looking for his school group, after the press I may have to hold off with the police until I get them back to school, and try to save my civilian ID! Yup dice hate me!
Broadway smiles knowingly, "I'm pretty good with the press, I'll take that ride with you, Waveform." Broadway tries to cover Waveform's injury by moving to that side, so it's harder to see, and then offers her an arm up. He looks over at her with a grin, and says quietly "Well, here's where we either get thanked for saving hostages and building, or crucified for not stopping the villains.
The helicopter jerked in the air as electricity washed over it. Quark felt a moment of roller coaster queasiness as the noise of the rotors deepened and they began to wind down. pleasecatchthechopperpleasecatchthechopper
With a jolt, the chopper settled into the strong hands of Captain Thunder. Confident in his situation, Quark barked orders at the tremulous agents.
Help me get these people out of their cocoons so I can treat them and maybe I will put in a good word with the authorities
She'll take the assistance of both men, but she'll shift to avoid concealing her injury. This was a tough fight, and if they couldn't stop the villains, they'd need to show why.
Amy Feng from Channel 3 news rushes over to you guys with camera crew in tow.
Invictus, Broadway, Waveform I don't know the other two of you who are you?
Waveform have you moved to Freedom?
What happened here?
Is everyone safe?
Did you catch the villains involved?
Before you get a chance to reply you see the chopper coming back without the roters moving with Captain Thunder carrying the chopper on his back and the Freedom Jet landing in the street.
Amy turns from you without a blink and runs towards The Freedom League.
"Change of plans. I guess we're making our report to the authorities." With that, she will head toward the incident HQ to give her statement. "Chances are, we'll still have to talk to the press later, so keep your makeup on."
While she's down here, she's scanning the crowd to see if Alex is around.
Some hero you turned out to be. Tried to choke a dead guy, generally ignored, saved by the A list. And if you're really lucky they might think you are one of the kidnappers.
As Captain Thunder sets down the chopper and the rest of the Freedom League leave the jet
Captain Thunder "Hello Amy are you safe? Is everyone here safe we just saved these hostages is there any more?"
Amy "Not to my knowledge Captain. Were you able to save all the hostages did you capture all the villains?'
Captain "We apprehended the agents we encountered and rescued the hostages that were involved. But we are highly trained and experienced heroes unlike the amateurs heroes today that tried to stop the attack on the courthouse. When amateurs like these get involved it become much more dangerous for all involved luckily no one else was hurt, besides poor Mr. Park who no one could save even though some of these amateurs were very close to the courtroom. Days like today show why only experienced trained heroes should get involved in situations like these."
The rest of the Freedom League fans out around the court house making sure everything is taken care and no other problems are present.
His brow furrowed as he observed the League's behavior, while he and Thunder didn't see eye to eye at the best of times, this was uncharacteristic. He wanted to be the bigger man, he wanted to walk away, he disappeared from Waveform's side only to reappear across from Captain Thunder.
"Except for the fact that the League, the experienced, heroes didn't have the presence of mind to scout the trial of a Viper commander turning on the nest? The plane, and your actions were able to secure two AEGIS agents and the judge, but you weren't on scene until AFTER the bomb had detonated, which would have killed dozens, plus casualties the blast and debris would have caused had we not intervened. I would like to thank the League for their assistance, but I want Freedom City to know that we," and with a sweep of his hand he indicated Waveform, Broadway and Ares, "value the lives of her citizens and I am proud of their actions today. At least these amateurs had the foresight to realize that Viper would attack today, and positioned themselves to intervene. Did we fail to save Ray Parks life? Yes. And that is my only regret, but at least we were there, making an effort, saving lives."
OOC: Oh hell yes! I am activating my Rivalry Complication, yes, Invictus, has a rivalry with Captain Thunder! Also I am trying to use Diplomacy to persuade the media, and the crowd that we at least were effective enough to save lives. . Also, time permitting, I am using my Sight, Hearing & Radio Hearing to see if the league are being manipulated by something my senses can pick up on. Oh hell no! I am spending a Hero Point on that Diplomacy check I am not coming out of this smelling like failure! .
Captain Thunder Some of us don't live on the coat tails of true heroes. We make a name for ourselves though actions and deeds not words and other peoples deeds.
Dr. Quark emerged from the helicopter, feeling the crackle of tension between Invictus and Captain Thunder.
Not to mention that we were tracking the hostages the whole time and had our own agent planted with them to make sure they were unharmed. They seem to be ok, but we could use a paramedic over here. Oh, and there are four viper agents in there wetting themselves. Someone might want to arrest them. Of course, now that the Captain here has "saved" us all, we won't know where they were taking the hostages or what their plans were. But I guess what matters is that you can punch a helicopter, not that you can try to find out what the brains behind a plot are up to. Just wait for them to strike again, not reason to be proactive.
He realized that he was being overly prickly, but it was one thing to beat himself up over his failures. It was another thing entirely to have an icon do it in front of cameras.
Invictus took a deep breath, any who were watching him closely could see his right hand balled into a fist. "Because of the respect I have for the League, you get a pass on that. Once. We saved lives today. Our experience or inexperience notwithstanding, I am glad we were here, and able to do what we did. If the League wishes assistance in the future, you know how to find me."
With that he turned and stalked away from Thunder, his heart pounding, his jaw firmly set against the emotion that was seething inside him. Riding the coat tails ... He was a product of another man's dreams, the dreams of Mars wrapped in the flesh of Centurion. Walking back towards Waveform and the others, he whispered the words, "I'm sorry, I did more harm than good. Once we're done with the police follow me, our friend Techno Priest, wishes a meeting, and I'd like take the time to get to know all of you as well."
Inches from the command post, she turns to hear the playground spat. *Oh great. Mom is so going to give me the "I told you it was hard out there" stare.* Still, she put on a professional face and went in to give her report.
It would have been easier if the agent wasn't staring at her the whole time. Sadly, one of the side effects of seeing somebody's circulatory system was seeing when the blood flowed south. Of course, it was sometimes handy when it was the right guy interested.
Afterwards, she went over with the others, "So, you wanted a meeting?"
Ares stays to the background, preferring to be out of the limelight. He's a god of war, that is all the attention he requires. Besides, he's not the kind of hero that belongs plastered all over a TV screen. Instead, he does his best to avoid attention altogether, and finds some excuse to be away from the cameras and reporters.
As Capt. Bulldog Maddicks, STAR SQUAD COMMANDER barks out orders trying to keep the area contained find either Blaze or The Phalanx and keep the metahumans out of police business.
There is a police officer at the commander center ready to take all your reports.
Golem has been standing back quietly unsure of his own role and possibly taking Captain Thunder's words to heart. After hearing Invictus's speech he would move to stand at his side, offering his silent support. He leans in to whisper to Invictus.
"My apologies, Invictus is it? But I am afraid Blaze was able to escape. It seems despite my scan of the three surrounding blocks, he was able to get away faster than I had anticipated. I am afraid I do lack the experience in combating such formidable foes, but new enough to be prepared should something occur and such an obvious target."
As Capt. Bulldog Maddicks, STAR SQUAD COMMANDER barks out orders trying to keep the area contained find either Blaze or The Phalanx and keep the metahumans out of police business.
There is a police officer at the commander center ready to take all your reports.
Ares sighs and approaches the nearest police officer to give his report. Greetings, Officer Sherman. I am Ares. I, and my comrades, were alerted to this situation here when Phalanx and Blaze attacked....
He continues, giving as detailed a report as he can about the situation.
We saw the room with hostages and bombs, and attempted to disable the devices while also maintaining the safety of the civilians.
Sometimes, he really hated the chain of command and authority.
Broadway maintains his gigawatt smile while Capt Thunder and Invictus puff out their chests. "Guys, guys, really. He chuckles lightly, "We're on the same side here. Capt Thunderous is right, we are inexperienced, but we also managed to get here before the experienced heroes. We are new, and yes, we were overmatched, but that did not stop us from placing ourselves in harms way to stop innocent bystanders from being hurt. We stopped the destruction of a monument to Freedom City's strength, at the cost of countless lives. While not the size of the twin towers in New York, it still would have cost the city not only in money, but morale. He looks at Capt Thunder, "But you're right, we're new. Given that you didn't show up until after the attack, and after the villains that, even though overmatched us, we still fought until more pressing concerns," He looks back pointedly to the building, "needed our attention, and we were able to delay them long enough for heroes with more experience to show up. Heroes that should have been powerful enough to catch those villains to do so." He looks around, not saying anything, but making it plain that he's noting the lack of villains caught. "Thankfully, Freedom City's premier heroes were able to catch the chopper, and save those two hostages we had to make the difficult choice to let go, in order to save the building full of innocents, including several school field trips worth of children who were here today. So, Capt. Thunderous, you are correct, we are inexperienced, we are new, but I'm willing to put money onto the fact that the Freedom League were inexperienced once, and probably didn't "win" every fight they ever got into, especially when they were...new." Broadway smiles easily, naturally to the cameras, especially Amy Feng's "Amy given that Freedom League didn't show up until the fight was over, I'm sure that they were busy with something else equally important, which simply begs the question on whether they have enough coverage to look after the city completely. So yes, we may be New, Freedom, but we are here to help keep your people safe." He puts an arm around Invictus and Capt Thunder, pulling them into the shot. "All your heroes can work together to ensure that."
Broadway fumes inside about Capt Thunder's treating them like kids, but keeps it from showing, Argue with any of that Capt. 'Thunderous' and now you are the bad guy not willing to work with heroes to help protect the city.
Captain Thunder: Young man its Captain Thunder, as I said from the beginning I am glad no one was injured and I am sure between the Freedom League and the fine Freedom City police we could of rescued all the hostages that were trapped in the courthouse with out putting as many people endanger as you 8 amateur heroes did here today. But the Freedom League does thank you for doing your part but please in the future when there is this kind of danger contact the league and let us handle it.
Captain Thunder pulls away from both Invictus and Broadway,
Thank you Amy I have to take care of League business I am sure some of these amateurs would love to give you all the details of their heroics today.
As Captain walks off to deal with matters at hand.
Seeing The Captain stalk off like an over muscled five-year old, she is so temped to soak him. But years of hiding herself had given her good training in smiling through the pain.
Steeping up after Captain Thunder leaves, she smiles brightly. "Hello Amy! As you asked earlier, I have relocated to Freedom City. While I enjoyed training and working with my mother and the rest of the Chicago Justice Authority, there comes a time when a girl has to leave home and face the world on her own. I've trained for this all my life and it's time to put that into practice."
The smile changes to a more serious expression, "But as Captain Thunder said, the people of Freedom City deserve to know what almost happened. Two dozen people were wired to barrels full of explosive. I believe it was Tektonite, but the forensics teams will need to confirm this. While we wanted to continue fighting these terrorists, saving the building from collapsing and killing hundred in the area came first. They had planned on this to get away from us."
"A few of us had met the other day, but we knew little of each other's abilities. Still we didn't have much time. We each let each other know our strengths and we came up with a plan with seconds to spare. Invictus used his speed to rescue the hostages, moving faster than the electric signal of the detonators. I then flooded the room with an energy-absorbing water matrix while Broadway reinforced the walls with vibrational force. At the same time, one of the shyer heroes disarmed the electronics. We were fortunate to avoid any further casualties."
"Captain Thunder is correct that we don't have much field experience. But he'll find that the League aren't the only ones willing to put everything on the line to protect their neighbors. America is based on the ideal that everybody needs to do their part to make this place better. Today I saw citizens helping each other in the face of immense power. A few brave souls led people out of the building. Law enforcement and emergency services ran here to help. We were on scene and we used our gifts to help. That's what anybody would do. Thank you for your time, Amy."
Golem steps up behind Waveform and nods briefly. He salutes the rest of the team then moves to the balcony and leaps out to a nearby rooftop, and then to the next. He ducks down and vanishes from site.
In actuality, upon landing on the second rooftop, Golem causes his form to disperse into the aether and flies back to his body in the office of the Director of Art in the building. He quickly reanimates the body, coming to his feet.
"Oh, I am sorry, I think I fainted. I heard, a scream? something? I am sorry, I hope I ohhh...my head.
Attempting to bluff her into thinking I was passed out.
What a disaster Techno Priest thinks to himself as he tunes in to the news broadcast.
What a complete disaster. That Captain Steal Your Thunder is an ass.
Below him, the streets of Freedom City blend together, turning into one massive blur of concrete gray. The Techno Glider gleamed in the morning's sunshine as he banked left towards the harbor. If only I'd have done more. He pitched the glider towards the harbor and made a smooth entrance through a sewer duct. Despite their not-so-bad results, he couldn't let it go. Negative thoughts clouded his mind. If only...
The Alcorn's had tidied up the Cathode Cathedral before they left. What a strange time in his life, he thought. No visitors in years, and now, I'm practically the party man!
It's true. Within the last ten years, he'd lived his life in solitude, communicating behind monitors, through pay phones and Internet chatrooms. His people skills have been put to the test, and it seemed he hadn't forgotten much from... before. The last decade, he had been Techno Priest, the mysterious Internet phantom, master of machinery, demigod of all things digital. Now, soon to be in the company of others, who was he? What was he? He'd be lying if he said he'd forgotten his name, the one given to him--he tried to many times-- but in reality, he forgot how to respond to that name. That wasn't him any more. He is Techno Priest... But is that normal?
Priest reached into the fridge and pulled out chicken breasts, onions, jalapeños, lemongrass and a few vegetables and then started to prepare lunch for his new comrades. He prided himself in his prowess around the kitchen. It was his most human quality, he thought. It was a nice one to hold on to. It reminded him of his childhood in England, the holidays spent in India visiting family, his teen years in the states where he was introduced to hot dogs. Food was the ice breaker, the cultural bridge.
Nearly done with lunch, the security sensors chimed. ok, here we go
eventually, Techno Priest hears a knock at his door. Ares stands on the other side, looking bored and rather unbothered about standing in a sewer. Hail, friend!. He holds up two massive coolers in his hands. I bring provisions.
As he stalked away from Captain Thunder and the rest of the League, he look around at the assembled heroes who had stood shoulder to shoulder with him against VIPER today. "Our friend, Techno Priest invites you all to his Cathedral so we can discuss today's events. I am sure that all of us have some other priorities to attend to this morning, I will be hovering in the sky above Riverside Park in an hour and, at his request, I can lead us to his location. I hope to see you all there."
With that he rocketed off, declining to speak with the press any further. He knew he would have to make an appearance and speak with Captain Murtaugh later that afternoon, but right now he had too much to sort through.
He entered the Courthouse the same way he exited, through a window on the 21st floor. His vision assured him the bathroom was empty and his clothing was still safely stashed away in the bathroom stall. At superhuman speeds it took him less than the blink of an eye to change back into his khaki's and cardigan. Slipping on his horn rim glasses he shuffled his way down the stairs, towards the school group.
"Oh. My. God. Can you believe Captain Thunder?!", Aurora at least was defending her hero, "I caught it all with my camera, when I get home I am gonna post it Youtube!" Josh laughed at her, "Heh. You know your mom is gonna kill you for running around with that thing during this whole mess. Did you really get shots of the Viper dudes?" "Totes! And then when Ms. Belanger took us into the lobby, I even got a vid of that goth guy landing on that car across the street before he took off!" The other boys all stared at her, "NO WAY!" She nodded, smiling as she showed them her phone, "Seriously."
Markus coughed slightly as he walked up behind Aurora, "Seriously Ms. Swift, do I need to confiscate your phone?" She spun her head to look at him, mouth agape as she was caught in the act, "No! No! I'll put it right away!" "Please see that you do, getting pictures like that certainly risks your safety, and the safety of the rest of our students, correct?" She nodded, "Yes Mr. Anthony." She looked up towards him, her brows furrowed curiously, "Are you alright, last we saw you, you ducked into a bathroom, still feeling sick?" Markus coughed again, "Irritable bowel syndrome, I am sure you don't want the specifics. Luckily, I was able to hunker down under the sink until this whole situation was dealt with. Though I think I gave myself a goose egg when the explosion shook the building." His jaw set as he spoke, "Luckily the League was here to protect us." Aurora just stuck her tongue out and marched away.
Markus walked up towards Ms. Belanger, holding his stomach, luckily the effects of the confrontation with VIPER and Phalanx had left him looking as ill as he proclaimed he was, "I'm still feeling a little queasy Carol, perhaps we should do a head count, and contact the children's parents. The bus will take them back to school, and I am sure with all the excitement, that they can have the rest of the day off." Carol and Markus spoke back and forth about the rest of the days schedule, and Markus' health, which ended up with him promising her he would go straight home, and get some rest.
~
An hour later found Invictus hovering above Riverside Park, he kept the Sentry Statue to his left as he looked towards downtown, his back to the Bay, he used his super human senses to spot his friends as they arrived.
OOC: Waiting for the other heroes, and then we can proceed to the Cathedral, and what appears to be a yummy lunch!
Once gathered, the heroes arrived through the abandoned subway lines, and arrived at the Cathedral. Invictus studied the door a moment, found what he was looking for and spoke towards a hidden speaker. "Ubermensch requesting access." With a sigh, the young hero turned to his gathered allies, "It seems our friend has a sense of humor."
OOC: Rather than do a scene as we gather at the park, and then re-do introductions for T.P.'s sake, lets just assume we gather and head there, and do it all together as one scene. Less time wasted!
As the group gathered in the park, Waveform had a bag with chips and ranch dip. As they slipped under the city, she silently kept track of the way the water lines passed around them to keep her bearings. Just in case.
Once inside the cathedral, she see food laid out and smiles, "It looks like some of you are going to deal with the full-mask issue. It's awfully hard to eat with them. For those of us that do eat."
Dr. Tom Praxis takes his leave of the Art Director's office offering her calm assurances that he will not hold the day's events against them and that she should look over the paperwork and get back to him. He again offers his apologies, "I am so sorry about my attack, I am afraid my artistic sensibilities make me more vulnerable to the aetheric disturbances that accompany such momentous events."
He will then quickly return to his office, having left the model with her to study in detail. Golem then leaves his flesh behind and flies out to riverside park to join Invictus, and then onto the Cathode Cathedral.
As soon as he floats into the cathedral, the group sees a Golem shape of iron out of thin air, again additional time is spent getting the details just right.
Invictus nodded off Ares' offer of refreshment with the wave of his hand, "No thank you my friend, perhaps at the conclusion of our discussion." He smiled at Waveform's comment, "I've already passed up on one of Priest's meals today, I would encourage those of you who are hungry to make the same mistake." He walked towards Waveform, "How are you feeling? Your ribs were causing you some discomfort earlier."
Invictus watched in awe as the form of the Golem solidified, cast in iron in front of them. Curious, he watched the event with intensity, trying to discern if the material was in fact, organic or inorganic. He whispered, almost to himself, "Interesting."
Turning once again to the assembled heroes, and to their host, "I want to thank you for inviting us to your cathedral Priest, and to the others. We did not have time for introductions earlier, nor during the press of the media and authorities on the scene. As such, allow me to introduce myself, I call myself Invictus, and it is my great honor to meet heroes such as yourselves."
OOC: As a reminder, we are an hour to wrap up Secret ID stuff, so unless my 2E fails me, most Bruises and damage conditions should be gone, and since we got a Power Point, anyone who spent Luck will have it back! YAY! :D
Derek wouldn't realize it until later, but he completely forgot to tell anyone that he was alive and hadn't been blown up in the explosion. He hustled to the park and headed into the sewers with the his fellow heroes.
I'm thinking my hero name is Dr. Quark. I've been a hero for about 12 hours, and no one has really asked yet. Techno Priest, I believe I have you to thank for this fancy headgear. Gosh, you guys might not even have noticed me at the courthouse. I was there running around and tried to choke Blaze, who is dead by the way. Then I stowed away on the hostages and Thunder saved us. So...yeah, was I even invited to this thing? I didn't bring anything, but I live pretty close to here. I could go pick something up. Shoot, I probably shouldn't have said that. Ignore that part, right? Secrets and all that.
Hey, young lady, if that rib is giving you trouble I can probably help out. The Dr. isn't just a code name. I can get in there and knit things back together.
So, are you guys thinking of working together?
"That explains why his bodily fluids weren't moving." she says with a shrug. "A little help would be nice. I've broken ribs before, but anything that makes the pain go away faster is good in my book."
[ooc]It was only staggered, so it's technically recovered by now. But it's good RP and just because I'm stable doesn't mean it odesn't still hurt.[ooc]
Invictus nodded off Ares' offer of refreshment with the wave of his hand, "No thank you my friend, perhaps at the conclusion of our discussion." He smiled at Waveform's comment, "I've already passed up on one of Priest's meals today, I would encourage those of you who are hungry to make the same mistake." He walked towards Waveform, "How are you feeling? Your ribs were causing you some discomfort earlier."
Invictus watched in awe as the form of the Golem solidified, cast in iron in front of them. Curious, he watched the event with intensity, trying to discern if the material was in fact, organic or inorganic. He whispered, almost to himself, "Interesting."
Turning once again to the assembled heroes, and to their host, "I want to thank you for inviting us to your cathedral Priest, and to the others. We did not have time for introductions earlier, nor during the press of the media and authorities on the scene. As such, allow me to introduce myself, I call myself Invictus, and it is my great honor to meet heroes such as yourselves."
OOC: As a reminder, we are an hour to wrap up Secret ID stuff, so unless my 2E fails me, most Bruises and damage conditions should be gone, and since we got a Power Point, anyone who spent Luck will have it back! YAY! :D
Ares' jovial tone turns grim. You are seasoned by battle, but it is not wise to not consider the needs of the body.. He gives a polite now to Techno Priest. Thank your for welcoming us into your home. You honor us with your hospitality.. He takes a small protons of everything offered, and leaves the coolers open for anyone who wishes to take. They hold beer, wine, sodas, and assorted all-natural juices. Aye, this is a wondrous assemblage of noble heroes. We are but yearlings, yet, 'tis true, but we accomplished much this day. Despite what that blowhard may say.
Priest takes a cooler from Ares, staggers a bit under the weight, and sets it on the kitchen island. He then motions for Ares to set the other cooler there as well. "A hearty thirst for the God of War. I am honored to be in the presence of such a legend"
He then notices Golem's entrance, but plays it off uninterested. What a talent, Dr. Praxis. Perhaps we can work together...
Techno Priest raises a hand and halts Dr. Quark. "No no, Doctor. Please, allow me."
A fleet of microscopic robots swarm over Waveform's rib area, healing her of her affliction.
"I've prepared some Thai-inspired chicken sandwiches for lunch. I hope you've brought an appetite and an open mind. We'll discuss business later."
Isaac was late. He burned off his frustration with the flying equivalent of a vigorous run, which turned out to be entirely different and nowhere near so satisfactory. Then he lost ten minutes weighing the risks of showing up without T.I.G.H.T.S. He got halfway to his apartment for new clothes before he remembered that they probably missed him in the audience at the trial.
Hi, I'm T.I.G.H.T.S. Trust me...
On arriving, he hovered just short of touching anything in the sewer and hoped nothing dripped on him that the defenses would miss. Sure, he knew how to clean the suit. But he hadn't had to do it yet.
"Uh, hello everybody? Didn't know you could be a hero cuckold before today. Why is that even a thing?"
Priest takes a cooler from Ares, staggers a bit under the weight, and sets it on the kitchen island. He then motions for Ares to set the other cooler there as well. "A hearty thirst for the God of War. I am honored to be in the presence of such a legend"
He then notices Golem's entrance, but plays it off uninterested. What a talent, Dr. Praxis. Perhaps we can work together...
Techno Priest raises a hand and halts Dr. Quark. "No no, Doctor. Please, allow me."
A fleet of microscopic robots swarm over Waveform's rib area, healing her of her affliction.
"I've prepared some Thai-inspired chicken sandwiches for lunch. I hope you've brought an appetite and an open mind. We'll discuss business later."
Ares lets the emphasis slip by. He will not violate the sacred laws of xenia, no matter how loosely his host holds to them. Besides, he's the first one to agree that the idea of a real and true Greek God of War walking around the sewers of Freedom City is a tough pill to swallow. Yes, it is a shock to learn that what is truth has become legend, and what was legend, has become truth. He pulls out a beer and takes a long drink. But, are not superheroes, such as Captain Thunder, or us, simply modern legends, themselves?
Isaac...
Techno Priest props himself up and sits on the island between the two coolers. He reaches in and grabs himself one of Ares' "provisions". The bottle cap gets popped off and goes flying elsewhere. He takes a big gulp of the brown ale and lets it settle before he begins to speak.
"My name is Techno Priest." a slight tinge of a British accent shows itself now more than before.
"I've... modified... myself over the past decade to combat corruption in all it's forms. Initially, I did this "in the shadows" as they say. I fought my battles behind the scenes, protected by anonymity. I felt that it was now time to "step into the light", fight corruption and villainy head-on. Today, I learned that it was not possible alone."
He lifts the brown-tinted bottle up and lets the liquid pour down into his mouth. Another deep gulp, and he begins again.
"I.. have been monitoring you. Not all of you, but some of you. Dr. Swift, I'm glad you enjoy that location. I thought it was a good one, personally. That brownstone happens to be right above us, too. Location certainly is everything.
Isaac, you've always been of interest to me. I am glad that we can finally meet face-to-face.
Dr. Praxis, a true artist. I hope to collaborate in the future with you.
We all have potential to be great. I saw it today, in the court room. It is true, that with great power comes great responsibility, and we all leaped for it, ready to meet villainy head-on, to protect those innocent" he takes a brief pause "and repentant.
I am not the best with words, but what I saw today was evidence that we could be more than just ourselves. Together, we could be greater. You saw how the League responded. Had we not been there, many lives could've been lost. We made a difference. Let us continue to make a difference, not as gods perched upon our thrones, but as people...as uh..level-headed...people...who look out for other people.. but without the complex... I really had something going there."