::I...I dunno, maybe? I don’t know much about your church or whatever. Are there any extremist factions?::
"Not that I know of... I'm not really involved with them. I don't... you know I don't think I'm a God, right? There are just so many people who when they learn what I can do, their first thought is that I'm some terrifying willbending monster, or that I'm some incredibly valuable weapon. Everyone I've ever met from the Church just... thinks I save people, and I guess I help inspire them to do good in the world.
"Every faith has extremists, but I haven't really gone looking to find... mine."
Being a new "faith," the Church of Psyche is made up of a fair number of 'super' fans that jump from one hero to the next, but also a core adherent that claim that Psyche is going to elevate all humanity to the next level of consciousness. It's a lot of new-agey fluff for the most part, even though the church backs a number of legitimate and semi-legit charities.
The congregations lack any real cathedrals, again being very new. Most meet in converted office buildings and closed down retail spaces. The largest is in downtown Halcyon, inside the Sienkiewicz Mall.
The Church sounded more and more like a cult to Shin. He was more than aware of how bad men could make people do bad things in the name of someone revered. His father had escaped Japan to avoid that very fate.
"Regardless of anything else, they're the most common thread we can find towards why Eternia disappeared. I dont think we should show up with Kylie as their icon, though. It might be better to pretend to be super fans, use that cover to investigate from the inside," Shin said, glad that at least no one would recognize him in the Church if he went civilian. He just needed to wear the stuff Rory got him.
"I think that I and anyone who doesn't have a public face should probably do the investigation. But there's probably other leads to follow up on. What do you guys think?"
She could taste Shin's uncomfortable dread in the back of her throat, but she replied like nothing was wrong.
"Luckily they only know Psyche. I should be able to go as Kylie without any real problems. A lot of them do weird meditations and other things that make their minds hard to passively read, but I still might be able to find something if I get in close enough."
"If you're sure you can blend in..." Shin hesitated. He couldn't help his negative thoughts. His gut just had an awful feeling about this, even before he'd dreaded the Duskguard being involved.
Which caused him even more worry, because he'd expected his future self to be making another play for a while. But nothing since the lighthouse. He was sure Kylie knew about his dread there even if he'd stayed quiet. He was glad she didn't ask unless he wanted to bring it up.
"Isaiah should come too, since he can blend in and scan for any trace of Eternia. I think everyone else is too high profile to get away with the undercover work...well, actually, maybe Holly? She's got acting experience, and I'm sure she knows how to go out in disguise when she wants piece of mind."
”I’m coming too.” Mattie adds. ”So far no one knows my face. I can blend on”
To Holly’s question, Kayla just shrugs with a sniffle. ”We don’t have much to go on yet except the vids...”
"I can certainly help with infiltrating. I'd suggest we keep Psyche herself out of the spotlight, with how hard Apotheosis seems to be trying to snag her. We may want to consider that if we are dealing with some sub-group, they might be secretive compared to the rest."
Psyche bristles at the idea of being left behind, especially on a mission like this, especially to keep her safe. "I won't Be in the spotlight, Isaiah. Besides, if we're worried about a surprise attack, wouldn't it be better for more of us to be together?"
No way am I letting Shin and Mattie go off together where I can't protect them.
"All right, I guess then that should be good enough. Four people, Mattie, Isaiah, Kylie and myself, we will pose as normal students interested in joining the Church of Psyche. We should make some preparations for disguises and get ready to head there in the morning." Horizon nodded, happy to see that people were willing to put themselves out there.
He turns to Kayla, speaking to her. "Can you pursue a different angle? I'm concerned that the Church might be in league with another group like the CADRE. I'd like it if you could follow the money trail...uh." Dammit, I'm acting like the leader again. Not good. "Or uh, whatever you think is best here, boss! Yeah, I mean, I've made my suggestions...I should go prepare..."
Shin backs up, trying to escape after his perception of trying to take the reins of the team again. He just wanted to resolve this efficiently as they could...
Kayla wipes her eyes and looks to Holly and Rory. ”Here,” she says as she brings them both over to separate computer terminals on either side of her, ”Let’s see what else we can find and possibly do to help.”
She shows them quickly how to use the system, which has a very intuitive user interface, and then proceeds to begin searching for extra clues herself. Specifically tracking background information on each of those folks identified on the system, looking for commonalities in their backgrounds and routines.
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"Is there a reason for this concern that your girlfriend's church is in league with the bad guys or are we just grasping at straws? Don't get me wrong, it is something that we should either confirm or rule out, but is there something specific that makes you suspicious?"
A slight thrum of satisfaction ran through Psyche's mind at Rory's question, but she contents herself with saying, "It is a link we should investigate, but thank you for keeping an open mind, Rory."
Not everyone who is happy about what I can do is crazy.
In their mundane disguises, the quartet go to the Sienkiewicz Mall -- commonly called the 'Big S' mall by locals. When one of the largest retail chains went belly-up a few years ago, it had been a big empty space for a while. The Church of Psyche had bought it recently and rumor has it that a lot of the interior was redone so it barely looks like what used to be a three-tiered retail center.
The front of the church is the main throwback to its roots, still broad and facing the interior of the mall, with large glass doors and windows. There's not much to be seen within, though. Where the mannequins would usually stand showing off the latest trends, instead large posters and video screens display the various charities that the church is involved in. One of the posters mentions how much is collected and donated to research into dementia and other degenerative diseases.
A chipper woman at the receptionist desk beams brightly at the four youths entering. "Greetings! Welcome to the Church of Psyche! Are you here for the special service or new visitors?"
Making a quick decision not to be stuck in the receptionist's mind as a foursome, Kylie fiddled with her glasses and gave a giggly smile.
"Play along, please."
"Oh I don't know about them." She smiled vaguely at Shin and Isaiah, "But we're new visitors." Her smile gained warmth as she intertwined her fingers with Mattie's. "Would we be able to see the special service? It sounds really interesting. I promise we'd be super quiet and respectful and everything." She looks between the receptionist, Shin, and Isaiah, as if expecting that any one of them could be the one to give her the yes she deserves.
The coughing mask that he'd gotten was pretty useful for concealing his features without seeming out of place. Adding some sniffling made it seem like he had a cold and was trying not to infect others. It was strange to him Kylie would want them to pretend not to know each other.
He sniffed and spoke quietly, his voice muffled as well by the mask. "Ugh...I'm a new visitor too. I've been curious about this place. It seems pretty cool that you're devoting yourself to the ideals of a superheroine...is this special service only for full members, because I guess I'd be interested...do we need to do anything for it?"
Mattie smiles as she feels Kylie's fingers entwine with her own and gives a small squeeze that she hopes is reassuruing. As Kylie makes the request, Mattie giggles along with her and smiling shyly at the receptionist. "We really would love to see it!" she adds, smiling sweetly and hugging Kylie's arm."We'd be ever so grateful!"
A spike of irritation ran through the link "Until you followed the same script as me, we could have seen if the special service was only for full members Before locking you and Isaiah into a story."
The broad smile does not leave the receptionist's face as she gives you the bad news. "I'm sorry, but the special service is only for members of the Third Circle or higher," she explains.
Turning to Shin, she brightly reports, "I'm so happy you approve! There's a lot of people angered by what we do here."
After Mattie chimes in, the woman's wide smile appears to grow even wider. "We cannot allow you in, as I've said before. Third Circle or higher. But we have a place for new members and those interested in joining, on the Outer Circle. If you're willing to meditate, you can give assistance to those further in!"
The trio who remain behind pour over the scant information, still unable to find anything more than what's already been collected.
First she considered wiping Shirley the Receptionist's mind. Just hit reset on the conversation and actually coordinate their plan.
Instead of getting mad at Shin for not reading my mind...
People's minds weren't really built to be erased though; you always had to do it carefully. Maybe if someone really wanted to forget something horrible it would be easier... I wouldn't be working against their mind then... A banal interaction like this should lift out more easily, but it was still looking at this woman's mind like a nail in need of a hammer.
"Isaiah, if I feed you the right intel, would you be comfortable masquerading as a Third Circle member?"
Even if Shirley's had some psychic experiences in the past, or even had me in her head, I should be able to sift out enough information to make this credible without her noticing...
"Yeah, I guess that a lot of mainstream religions might think this is not appropriate. Then again, Christ had superpowers too. I don't see this as any different than being the disciple of Psyche." Shin said, standing awkwardly on purpose. Show he wasn't anyone to be concerned with here.
"I'll join the meditation, if you please. Um...is there, maybe, a chance I might meet her? I want to see what it's like, having my mind touched by another..." He asks, letting the others do what they will. He was keen on just integration with the church. Best play it as a crush. Though he had the real deal.
...Did I do something wrong? His head asks Kylie. He feels he upset her. He doesn't want her to be annoyed. Sorry...I'll make it up to you, okay?
"No, Shin, you didn't do anything wrong. It was my mistake. It's fine." Of course, he didn't do anything right either... He's not serious about that whole mind-touching thing is he? That's the last thing I need, everyone thinking that the Church is just a bunch of Telephiles.
Probably. As long as they don't check for psychic potential or anything. They seem tight-knit, though; I'd probably need to mimic a specific individual, if you could get name an appearance for somebody there wouldn't be a second copy of. Either knock somebody out and replace them, or find someone who's conveniently not currently present.
"I'd love to have the opportunity to help out!" Mattie gushes, nodding excitedly. "Wow. This is really exciting!"
"Anyone else running into a massive wall of all the same info?" Rory pushes away from the computer, "I'm gonna grab some water and give my eyes a break, either of you want anything?"
”Ya...grab me whatever...” Kayla mumbles in reply. As Rory steps out, Kayla spins around and leans back in her chair. She looks down at the armor covering her, starting to feel silly with it up inside her own house. ”I’m gonna go change. No sense in leaving this active here.”
She goes to her room and lets the armor fade away. Beneath it she had been wearing a small sports bra and underwear, so the extra clothing wouldn’t show behind the less covering version of her armor she had active earlier. She rummages through her dresser and slips on some plain black leggings and a baggy t-shirt that had a Horde logo on it from World of Warcraft.
She comes back and begins wrapping her hair back into a ponytail. ”Find anything?” she asks Holly as she makes it back.
The chipper receptionist seems pleased that Mattie is interested in the Outer Circle. She buzzes someone, and after a series of "yes's" and "uh-huhs" she looks up at her smiling. "Someone will be here to take you in."
In a few moments, a young, energetic man comes out to greet you. Also smiling widely and showing off very nice teeth, he shakes everyone's hands vigorously. "Hey, everyone! I'm Brad. So glad you're here and interested in expanding your mind! Let's get started, shall we?"
Psyche takes this moment to make her mental move, and Brad looks at Isaiah with a blink. "Oh! Didn't see you there. The ceremony's going on, and we need all the minds we can get. Go on ahead; I'll guide these new folks into the Outer Circle."
Brad escorts everyone inside, where they can see the interior of the old shopping center has been thoroughly remodeled into a series of wide circular hallways. Brad points Isaiah to a door that leads further in, while taking the others away, circling to the right.
Mattie, Kylie, and Shin are taken into a quiet carpeted room. A few other people are kneeling on the floor, some humming while some are quiet. A rhythmic chanting is piped in through speakers, and a projector is throwing soothing, pleasant images on the far wall.
Isaiah, you open the door and see a narrow corridor leading straight into the center of the shopping center.
What do you do??
Time passes as the trio left behind face dead end after dead end. After taking a break, the three come back a little fresher and ready to try again.
Just then, an alert sounds! The Tower's computer system flashes an ongoing robbery at the Halcyon Central Bank building. Video feeds show a number of identical men wearing heavy turtlenecks -- very out of season at this time of year. The ones in charge of overseeing the hostages have apparently pulled off their hands, revealing some sort of projectile weapon in their stump.
Praetoria and Frostbite immediately recognize them. Androidians.
Kayla looks at one of the monitors in the situation and catches up on the video feed. ”Androidians!” she says as she looks to Rory and Holly. ”Come on! We may not be able to help out on the undercover mission, but we can do something about this!”
Seeing as everyone else was doing the meditation, Shin figured that he should definitely do the same. Even if he was still simmering with doubt and anger, he wanted to try and keep it together for Kylie's sake. Still, he hated this.
He knelt resting on his heels, closing his eyes and meditating for now. Did these people think doing this would get them closer to their goddesd? That Psyche would hear and answer their prayers? Or that they could become like her?
Regardless, he simply imagined 'Psyche' in his head. He didn't want to screw up in case some of these people were actually psychic.
Okay. unguided meditation. Nothing too sinister going on there. The room doesn't even smell like feet.
Sinister or not, it was a little distracting. The version of Psyche they had in their heads was enough different from how she really was that it wasn't like their thoughts were aimed Right At Her, but it was like a hot tub where the jets had just been turned on. The different conceptions and thoughts just kept bubbling up beneath her; they kind of tickled...
Focus! You're here to find out if they know anything about Eternia, remember? If it turns out that there really is nothing shady going on, then maybe you can come back later.
Slightly chagrined, she tamped down her link to Mattie and Shin to a bare trickle. If I'm wrong, I don't want them to know that this was kind of fun Then, she followed the pulsing, journeying thoughts of her worshipers to make sure there was nothing awful waiting at the end.
Isaiah stepped into the passage. As he walked, his appearance and 'clothing' shifted to more closely resemble the one who had greeted them; not close enough that he would be mistaken for Brad, but matching the general theme in order to blend in. He also restructured his surface thoughts to try to best imitate a devout worshipper, just in case they were going to be scanned. Hopefully his disguise would hold up at least long enough to find out what was going on; if he was lucky, he'd get through this without any of them being any the wiser.
Confidently, with a posture that indicated he belonged here, Isaiah strode forth to see what lay ahead.
Mattie smiles widely as she vigorously shakes Brad's hand. "It's sooo great to meet you!" she says, "It's great to finally be here! We've been wanting to come along for ages!"
When they are lead through to the carpeted room she looks around with interest and then turns to Brad "What should we do?" she asks, keeping her voice low. "How does this help the people in the other circles do,.. whatever they're doing?"
Brad gregariously answers Mattie's questions. "So glad you summoned up the courage to come! Of course you'll be helping. And, learning to train your mind to explore the realm of the psychic!"
He has everyone kneel down in an empty spot on the floor, which is carpeted and quite comfortable. "You see, just like the hero Psyche, everyone has at least a little psychic potential. It just takes some of us a little help to tap into it. By meditating here, those of the upper circle can draw greater strength from the Astral Plane. Try it."
Roll Freak. On a hit, you tap into the collective consciousness of The Church of Psyche. This stuff is real! Choose one. On a 10+, choose two. On a miss, you spend a period of time saying "Ohmmm," and feeling foolish.
• You tap into the collective intelligence of the Church of Psyche. You may learn one secret about it.
• You shield your own identity from the collective consciousness and remain an anonymous mind floating in the Astral Plane.
• You can disengage from the meditation room, slip away, and go exploring without anyone noticing... for a time.
• You notice Isaiah's mind in the ether and can somehow follow what he's doing -- maybe even help him out if you're lucky!
Isaiah, in disguise, moves ahead and enters the Inner Circle. The whole place is dimly lit and filled with people. They are zeroed in on a large dais in the very center. Large curtains are draped down from the ceiling, and what might be a fog machine is pumping out a hazy mist, causing differently-colored laser lights to be illuminated as they pass through it. A deep, rhythmic bass rumbles throughout the chamber, perhaps a sonic attack against beings with vulnerabilities to high-amplitude vibrations?
Whatever the purpose of the thumping bass sounds, it is having a definite effect on the crowd, which is swaying in time with the beats.
Isaiah's psychic shields are being heavily pummeled, as each beat of sonic energy is reflected in a pulse of psychic energy. It's intensely localized, however. He'd need to bring Inquiry in closer to do a focused scan to get more data -- the limitations of the Isaiah vessel too apparent in this place.
Isaiah, what do you do??
Psyche senses a lot of psychic turbulence in the area. The entire structure is built with cold riveted girders...with cores of pure selenium. The whole building is a huge super-conductive antenna that was designed and built expressly for the purpose of pulling in and concentrating spiritual turbulence. Before your mind gets pulled in too many directions, you realize you're in Spook Central.
Mattie nods and eagerly takes up a position kneeling on the floor. Glancing around at the other worshippers, she casts a surreptitious nervous glance at Kylie before closing her eyes and doing her best to clear her mind. For several minutes she feels nothing and then, an echo of Psyche almost seeming to vibrate in tune with the small mote of Psyche's power within herself. Slowly she becomes aware of a,... power?, an energy? surrounding her.
Cautiously, she opens her eyes and glances around at the other meditators. Seeing them all occupied with,.. whatever it is they're sensing, and realising that she's seated close enough to the door to leave without being noticed, she quietly stands and slips out of the room.
Shin had been brought up Buddhist by his mother. It was a philosophy that believed in meditation to clear one's mind, cleaning out the mind of impurities just as one would clean their body.
However, this was anything but that. In fact, it was a little insulting to call this meditation when it was too damn noisy. Artificially created ambient noise didn't exactly help him concentrate.
This is supposed to open my mind? Why is a communal church operating on the idea of there being unequal positions between members? The temple was much better for meditation than this. The light show is too distracting...
The mindscape was so easy to slip into. It was like riding an expertly broken horse, or the effortless 'fit' of her psychic webs against her body, the feel of Mattie's lips on hers, the flow of thoughts between her and Shin, or the horrible ease of planting an idea in Kayla's mind.
Though for a moment she flirted with the idea of revealing herself, or at least a vision of herself, Psyche kept herself carefully shrouded as she floated in that welcoming abyss. Just imagine what it would feel like for them all to thrill at your presence...
Before she could do anything like that though, she let her mind follow those channels of thought to the heights, looking for her real reason for being here, looking for Eternia.
Well, this was certainly worrying. There was no easy way to slip Inquiry in close enough to get a scan; someone would be sure to notice. Inquiry kept as close by as it could without being obvious, but that wasn't close enough to get a look at this local phenomenon. He had expected there to be some psychic shenanigans going on, but not at this scale; it was probably only a matter of time before his barriers started breaking down faster than he could repair them. Which meant he needed to act quickly. At least the mesmerized crowd didn't seem to be paying much physical attention.
And he did have the right kinds of sensors to pierce through the darkness and haze here.
Isaiah didn't have as powerful of scanners as Inqiury, but there was much he could still do. He did an active scan, avoiding visible wavelengths but checking most everthing else. Eternia's aura signature should be strongly different from the rest, and she may well be x-ray opaque, considering the invulnerability package. And he could check for other things as well; an EM scan should reveal the local power lines and electronics setup, in case he needed to cut the lightshow to cover an escape. And he might as well look for any church members that looked like they were the leaders of this group; people acting differently, apart from the masses; all that should take was upping light capture to see clearly in the dark. The curiosity of the odd psychic phenomenon here could wait until after he made sure they weren't going to ritually sacrifice anybody or anything like that.
"Let's get after it then, hopefully the others are making headway..." Rory says matter-of-factly. Heading to the rhino he tries to shake of some nerves, missions haven't really been going his way lately and it felt strange to be heading into one without Scorch but he could just let a bank get robbed simply because he was feeling 'off' today. Arriving back at the rhino he sees the crate in the back and think to himself, you know if I took the hoverboard I could fly with the girls and not have to deal with traffic... Nah I'm probably in enough trouble already.
Scorch slips from the room while everyone is busy meditating. She moves through empty hallways and slips past other churchgoers (though there's not a lot of them that she's seeing). A thumping, pounding bass draws her deeper into the complex.
Mattie ends up in the same central chamber as Isaiah had reached a few minutes earlier. It has the feeling of a rave, with heavy bass and a laser light show drawing all eyes to the center dais.
The press of bodies all swaying to the beat make it hard for Mattie to see what's going on up there, but she's pretty sure she's seeing someone laying down on an altar of some kind.
Psyche projects her consciousness into the sea of thought, staying anonymous amid the broad numbers of minds drawn in by the ceremony. She weaves in an through the mental energies, plucking strands of thought to get an answer to her question, where is Eternia?
For a moment, she's not sure if the Church knows. However, she gets the sense that the collective mental energies are focused on something they're calling "The Vessel." After sifting through more thought regarding the identity of The Vessel, she comes to the realization that Eternia is The Vessel! And she's at the exact center of the complex!
Meanwhile, Shin is frustrated by all the noisy distractions to truly meditate.
Isaiah shifts to other means of scanning to filter out the distractions. He gets a fairly detailed analysis of the construction of the place, and is surprised at the non-traditional materials used. The entire circular layout seems designed to funnel various energies -- including psychic as well as mystical and ley lines -- into the center towards the dais.
Turning his attention there, he identifies the denser physical structure of a metahuman on an altar at the center of the entire complex. In a fraction of a moment, Isaiah consults his databanks and confirms that the metahuman fits the profile of Eternia.
However, he also detects a psychic breach -- something strangely akin to the breach on the island involving the pirate Captain Trenchard. The energies of the ritual are actively opening and keeping the portal open, and focused directly on Eternia!
What do you do??
As Rory pulls up in the Rhino, Praetoria and Mosaic arrive outside the bank building. The large front window is busted inward, allowing the heroes to see inside, where Professor Mecklenheim's androidians are busy securing large bags of cash from the vault. There are a number of bank employees and customers being held at wrist-gun point towards the back of the bank.
What do you do???
Mattie stares at the scene for a few moments, trying to figure out what might be going on. Quickly, she decides that she needs a better view of the figure on what looks like an alter of some sort. Moving forward she joins the onlookers, doing her best to mimic their swaying movements as she makes her way forward through the crowd.
As Praetoria and Mosaic arrive on the scene, she guides Mosaic to land with her behind the police line. They land just as Frostbite is pulling up in the Rhino. As the three make their way towards the policeman in charge, she studies the scene inside. Not able to see much, she turns to the captain and asks ”Any information you can give us, sir?”
__________
Psyche tried really hard to think of some kind of reasonable explanation. Maybe they've just thought of a way to fix her dementia? That they didn't want to tell anyone about.
No. This is... wrong. I have to stop it.
She put off contacting the rest of the team right away, rationalizing that with the psychic latticework in place here, it would be too easy to be overheard over too much distance.
"Shin... She's here. Follow me, I'll keep anyone from thinking we're out of place."