"The place I'm selling isn't really for you, anyway. The guilty, the purposeless, the downtrodden and depressed...I've made it my mission these last ten years to build something for them. It's astounding what you can get done when you turn all your attention to something besides ending your own eternal unlife."
Curses? Do-gooders? The weird speech sets off alarm bells. Max Looks at Sandstone with his Sight wondering if there is more than meets the eye.
"Real Estate? The mage asks Deadman, while multi-tasking. "Are you a realtor now? We've got new digs now, so are not in the market."
As Max opens his gaze, he finds that reality is woven through with magical fibers completely different from what he expects. Spells swirl around Max, Gracie, Dead--er...Gylfir, while a different sort of magic seems to fill the forms of the bystanders, Sandstone, the thugs.
Max quickly realizes that he is not in Freedom City or even in his native dimension.
Max's own enchantments, and those of Calesvol appear as Max would expect.
Grace frowns, as her wisps of memory strain to match the hard-nosed soldier to the costumed villain she sees here. "'Curses'? 'Do-gooders'? Alex, you drunk or something? Why are you doing this anyway?"
"Why?! How else would I be able to maintain my Sand Castle and pay all of these goons?"
Max inhales sharply when he realizes that they are not on their native dimension, "Gylfir, Gracie, we're not in our own dimension. Calesvol and our enchantments appear as they should, but everything here is glamored."
When the Sandstone gets more agitated again, illuminated runes begin rotating around his wrists as he gestures and then the mage whispers again, "The Mists of Morpheus muffles minds."
"Because you're a mercenary, not a thief..." Gracie trails off as Eldritch informs them. "Glamered?" She frowns.
She sees nothing but the bank and the goons. "Are you sure?"" Nonetheless she knows Max is well versed in such things. While she isn't sure what is happening, she taps into her ability to see as an Avalonian would. Used to fey being the source of illusions in her experience, perhaps it would help.
Sandstone sags and then settles to the marble floor of the bank as Max's magic overtakes her.
Just then, sirens approach outside as police arrive.
Nothing in your immediate vicinity appears to be of fey origin. But there is something floating in the air. Something like a scent in a Pepe le pew cartoon. It leads out of the bank doors.
"Truly? Whatever magic did this must be quite powerful to ensnare all of us without our noticing."
"The police are here." She looks at Sandstone. "Alex, I don't know what's gotten into you, but we offered you help before and we will do what we can again... but you've attacked these people so we have to leave you in the hands of the authorities."
She turns to Deadman and Max. "It's good to see you Gylfir, but... well, these are weird circumstances. I can't imagine how we'd be in another dimension, but there's sort of a... well, wisps of something Avalonian leading that way. I think once the bank robbers are safely taken away we should go see what it is."
Two uniformed officers walk through the doors.
Maybe a part of you wonders why they aren't wearing tactical gear or using any sort of safe entry procedures. Maybe you realize they have nothing to worry about with heroes like you around.
They survey the bank and move to the unconscious Sandstone. One says, in an Irish brogue, "Looks like Sandstone had a visit from the Sandman." He slaps her cheek lightly and says, "Wakey Wakey, Sandstone." and as he eyes flutter open, "That's it. Now I'm going to put these cuffs on and we are going to go for a ride downtown."
He places his cuffs on the villain and walks her out of the bank while his partner gathers up the minions.
Maybe it occurs to you that Alex could easily break the cuffs in her stone form, or flow out of them in her sand form, or pick them as the highly skilled merc that she is. Or maybe you realize justice is served.
At that, haired beauty Calliope Summers strides through the door, moving to greet you. She beams, "You’ve saved the bank and all these helpless citizens! We are in your debt, heroes. Freedom City thanks you!”
After Sandstone is in "cuffs" Max heads toward the source of the odd scent from the bank doors.
He ignores Calliope Summers as if she is some kind of automaton on an amusement ride. "It's this way."
Gylfir frowns.
"Hrm. How did I not notice we were shifted somewhere? It must be incredibly subtle magic."
"Well then. It appears we're in this together, at least until we're out of this illusory prison. Lead on, 'officers'."
Grace is still confused, but nods toward Calliope. "Danger's in the air, Madam Mayor, please stay in a safe place."
After they leave the bank, she leads the group to follow the strange fey magic trail she is sensing.
The strange fey "scent" hangs in the air, leading Gracie through town. In the distance, you see Star Knight, Captain Thunder, and Johnny Rocket in a battle with Tom Cyprus.
Cyprus catches JR as he throws a series of high speed punches. The giant plant zombie man hurls the smaller speedster skyward, hitting Captain Thunder in the chest and sending the two of them tumbling through the sky.
"This is strange. Captain Thunder isn't really active these days," Max remarks.
The mage waves at Tom Cyprus, "Hey Tom! It's Eldritch! Can I return you to your home, like I did last time?" He ensures to keep Tom out of melee range.
Gracie stands with a defensive stance in front of Max as he attempts to reason with Cyprus. She's concerned about the speedsters tumbling through the sky, of course, but she isn't going to abandon her teammate.
She adds to Max's reasoning. "The soil here's notoriously low in the minerals you need to sustain yourself, you'd be much better off elsewhere."
As you move close enough to talk to Tom, you can see that he is another magically animated construct. The heroes, on the other hand, appear to be the real deal.
Max continues to see the falseness of this dimension. "Nothing here is as it seems, except for us. Let me take another look."
The mage floats up to a cross-legged position. "By the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn." Illuminated sigils rotate around his wrists as his hands make gestures until he stops and opens his eyes. But it is clear that he is not looking here.
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Grace almost wraps her head around the illusion but then succumbs to it, and she does her best to rationalize. "Maybe there's some kind of event happening and that's why everyone's dressed up weird... or someone's testing out some new automatons for city security or something..."
Cypress turns away from his opponents to those newly arrived. He crouches and leaps in a great bound toward you, landing with an asphalt breaking crash in front of you.
He bellows, "Yes, ground hard and no taste good. YOU TAKE TOM CYPRESS TO BLACKSTONE PENITENTIARY! THERE TOM CYPRESS LEARN TO REFORM AND BE GOOD TOM CYPRESS."
"Tom certainly is well-behaved these days. His vacation in the swamp must have done him a lot of good."
"Uh, Tom, that's... well, unusually cooperative, but you need to be taken in by the authorities and go to trial before you go to prison... we don't have the legal authority to do that. Max was just going to send you back home. You understand, right? Home?"
[dice=Will]1d20+12
Max continues to see the falseness of this dimension. "Nothing here is as it seems, except for us. Let me take another look."
The mage floats up to a cross-legged position. "By the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn." Illuminated sigils rotate around his wrists as his hands make gestures until he stops and opens his eyes. But it is clear that he is not looking here.
[dice=Perception]1d20+10
Max opens his third eye and extends his perception. And sees the whole of the world...
In fact, the entirety of existence is Freedom City and maybe 20 miles outside of its borders. Beyond that is a shimmering dimensional barrier. The heroes are real. Captain Thunder and the other Leaguers. Even the Mayor is the real Mayor Summers (formerly The Raven). But the villains are simple magical constructs. This is not the Tom Cypress that you know. And the SandStone you know is not the one sitting in a jail cell.
Still, this isn't an illusion. All of this is real enough in its own way. In many ways, it reminds you of something like Elysium or Valhalla. A paradise for heroes. It isn't actually one of those dimensions, but something quite like them.
"This is weird. It appears we and the other heroes are real, even the mayor who used to be a superhero. But, the villains are magical constructs. And the extent of this plane extends about 20 miles beyond the borders of Freedom City. Like we're in a plane like Valhalla or Elysium."
"I'm of two minds here. We could wander around and see what brought us here. Or, we need to return right not to our dimension, because if all of the superheroes are real and here, then there are no superheroes protecting our dimension. What do you think?" Max looks around to his companions and nearby heroes.
"I..." Gracie looks around, "I've no idea what's going on. This feels real, but I don't know a time your senses have failed us. Can we go back to the Nexus?"
She pauses. "Or if you're right, shouldn't we try to bring the other heroes with us?" She goes over to check on Captain Thunder, Starknight, and Johnny Rocket.
Gylfir frowns.
"Another plane? Impossible. Surely I'd sense if something so close to what I've been working toward was right underneath my nose."
"Good idea. Let's take the other heroes back to the Nexus." Max uses some magic to get the attention of the mayor and other heroes.
If they can herd the heroes, Max will use the keys of Azog to open a portal to the Nexus
Mayor Summers is a few miles away at City Hall, but it is easy enough to get the attention of the other three.
Almost before Max unleashes his magical beacon to attract the League members, Johnny Rocket is right in front of him. The speedster wears a red costume with yellow accents and a pair of goggles. "Hey there, Eldritch, right? I think we have the whole Tom Cypress situation under control, but thanks for the assist."
If you know anything about heroes or pop culture, you know that Johnny Rocket is a member of the Freedom League with a public identity. He is married to a paramedic named Chris and the two of them have an adopted daughter.
Grace continues going over to Captain Thunder and Starknight to see if they are injured from being tossed by Tom Cyprus. If they are conscious and not badly hurt, she asks them to listen to them.
"Max, you're the one who understands best what's happening, so perhaps you should explain."
When the heroes are gathered around, Max explains, "The only thing real in this dimension are the superheroes. The villains are magical constructs. And the extent of this plane extends about 20 miles beyond the borders of Freedom City. Like we're in a plane like Valhalla or Elysium."
"If you haven't discovered what brought us here yet, we need to return right not to our dimension, because if all of the superheroes are real and here, then there are no superheroes protecting our dimension. Understand? Ready to go?" Max looks around for consensus.
Grace feels the breeze as JR moves past her. She finds Captain Thunder and Starknight have dusted themselves off and are waiting for her.
Thunder places his fists on his hips and flashes her a million dollar smile. "Good Knight! How good to see you!"
And once she has asked him to join the other, "Of course. At once." Thunder and Starknight fly toward Max post haste.
-------
Captain Thunder raises one white eyebrow, "But that doesn't make any sense. Starknight was on Voltara Prime just yesterday, and a 20 mile radius isn't nearly wide enough to hold Johnny. Johnny, check it out."
Rocket vanishes in a burst of speed and the reappears in the same place. He shakes his head, "Sorry, Eldritch, but I just ran to Emerald City and back, and everything was definitely where it was supposed to be. Something must be messing with your mind."
Max frowns at Johnny, "Perhaps. For those who want to return to our dimension, let's go."
With illuminated runes encircling his wrists and complex gestures, the mage commands the keys of Azog to open a doorway to the Nerian Nexus causing a pinpoint of light to expand into a portal. Or at least he attempts to.
A familiar Victorian sitting room appears on the other side of the portal.
As far as your senses can determine, it is the Nexus and not some sort of simulacrum.
Max strides through the doorway eager to get home and confirm his hypothesis. He maintains the open portal to bring the others home, too.
He looks around for any tell-tale signs that he really is home vs another simulation.
Gracie frowns, concerned, and not exactly sure who to be concerned for.
"If we're wrong, you know us at least by reputation and that we wouldn't mean harm. If you come with us and then find nothing's wrong, you can come right back here afterward. If we go to the Nexus and then realize either something's up with Max or anything else, then we can handle it from there." She says, looking imploringly at the assembled heroes. She also figures the logic holds for herself: if this is the real world, then she should be able to return to it without Max's help.
Regardless of how the others respond, she will go with Max, because either's something wrong with the world or with him, and either way she needs to help her teammate.
Captain Thunder places his thumb and index finger on his strong chin. "What you say makes sense, Good Knight. Johnny, you and I will go through. Star Knight, stay here to defend the city."
The lightning bolt on his chest flickers with power and he floats through the portal.
Johnny Rocket is through the portal almost before he can be asked.
Thunder breathes deeply and shakes his head. "I feel different here. It would appear that you might be right. But what does that mean? Our entire existence is a lie?"
"I don't think so... What's the last thing you remember before you were fighting Tom Cyprus?"
Here in the Nexus you feel suddenly heavier. Old scars ache, gravity weighs you down, your nose itches. All of those tiny, subtle annoyances of inhabiting a body that you didn't even notice were gone.
His brow furrows. "Dr. Simian was robbing the natural history museum, and before that Megalodon was robbing a cruise ship, The Green Man was robbing a fertilizer factory...and the mayor and police took them all to jail. That doesn't make sense, does it?"
He concentrates, "I remember I was reading reports from Star Knight."
Rocket, too, "I was whipping cream for a mousse. Then I was chasing Red Rocket."
You, too, remember seemingly endless battles with a parade of villains, each one dispatched with relative ease. Good times with friends, generally happy times.
And before that, a dark cavern, a battle with vampires, a broken mask, a flash of light.
"Saleh! We have guests." Max calls for the Master of the Nerian Nexus. He feels more human than in that other dimension confirming his suspicions.
He sits down in a high-backed, leather chair gathering illuminated sigils around his gesturing hands, "By the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn." He concentrates on scanning Freedom City for anything out of the ordinary sensing magic.
Max finds that he can't see into the Prime dimension at all.
After the mage opens the portal into the prime dimension, his shoulders sag as smoke and noise drift into the Nexus. "Right. This is bad. Maybe worst case scenario. Anybody recognize that three-faced titan?"
"Alright we need information about what happened and what's going on here. And, I think we need to recruit more heroes from that Heroic dimension. Who's best to take those leads?" Max looks around his new and old companions.
Gylfir staggers as the strange hold of the pocket world is broken.
"What power is responsible for this?" he wonders, only for his question to perhaps be answered by Eldritch's open portal, and the devastation beyond.
He wracks his brain to see if anything in his centuries of experience gives hints as to the identity of the creature beyond the door.