"Welcome to 'What's Happenin' Halcyon!' I'm your host, Marcilina Mayweather, as we talk about all the latest news and gossip in the City of Heroes, Halcyon City! Thank you for joining us, because today we've got a doozy of a story for y'all.
"Just days after Halcyon Preparatory Academy shut its doors and its classes to people with powers, a new school -- a super school opens its doors to those kids who can shoot lasers, read minds, or project force fields, and all other kinds of things. They're calling it Daedalus, and there's already a class of nearly fifty students enrolled.
"Now, thankfully, Daedalus isn't just down the block, meaning a stray optic blast won't fry the local Jamba Juice. Which is good, since my insurance rates are high enough, you feel me? Anyway, let's take a caller. This here is Turner from Old Town. Hey, what's happenin, Turner?"
"What's happenin, Marcilina. First time caller. So, anyway, don't you think this is convenient, with the one school known for having openly super powered kids saying no, and now this other school is here all of a sudden?"
"Great question, Turner. I think something's smelling to high heaven, don't you, listeners? Say it with me, y'all: Coincidences don't happen in Halcyon! What do you think's going on, Mr. Turner?"
"Well, it's gotta be something big, right? Maybe they're going to train all these kids for something. Like, the Alliance is out in space, right? Maybe they're going to be fighting in some galactic war or something."
"Man, you might be on to something. Lord, help us if he's right. Now I've--"
"-- Or the government! With the Alliance gone, maybe the government's figured it's time to make super soldiers! Or--"
"--Mr. Turner, you make some great points but I got to go to commercial, all right? People, stay tuned and we'll take more calls from you, right after this."
The team's been invited to speak with the Heralds by Nimbus. The team of twenty-somethings heard the news about Daedalus and wished to speak to the new teenaged team.
"Thanks for coming," Nimbus greets everyone after they stepped through Rendezvous' portal. The Heralds Headquarters is located in a highrise tower on the southwestern side of town. The floorplan is open and large windows give a commanding view of most of Halcyon City's distinctive skyline. The entire team is present and gathered around a comfortable arrangement of couches near the center of the room with the exception of Gothic, who is leaning against a wall near the corner. Half-Pipe is sitting on his energy board, and Tenfold does not have any extra duplicates taking up spots unnecessarily. Ragnarok is sitting next to Rendezvous, speaking rapidly to her in a low voice.
Nimbus gestures to the number of still-open spots on the couches or recliners. "Have a seat, make yourselves comfortable. There's a fridge over there; help yourself to anything non-alcoholic.
"We want to talk with you all about Daedalus. From DD's livestream, we know that most if not all of you were invited to attend. And from what we can gather, most, if not all of the staff there are, well, bad guys. I've been talking with Whippoorwill's guy in the chair, and he's been trying to piece together who or what funded the place. And... we're still not sure at this point, but only because the money is coming from a number of philanthropies that are very good at hiding the identities of their benefactors."
"Sounds like they don't want to be identified. And the types who don't want to be known are generally the kind that don't have the best interests of the people at heart," Ragnarok rumbles in his deep baritone.
Nimbus nods. "Exactly. When the Alliance gets back--"
"If the Alliance gets back," Ragnarok mutters.
"When the Alliance gets back, they'll no doubt want to take action. They have the clout to push back on Halcyon Prep, and get their board to reopen classes to gifted students. But until that happens, Daedalus is the only game in town. That puts us in a tough spot."
"We'd love to crack that place open and find all their dirty secrets," Tenfold says.
"But zhat is not subtle," Rendezvous adds. "And we are tasked with zhe protection of zhe city while zhe Alliance is away."
Ragnarok interjects. "What everyone else is beating around the bush to say is, we think that some of you all are going to try out the school. That's fine. What we're also hoping you all do is go in with eyes open, and maybe even report on what they're up to."
"And be careful." Nimbus finishes.
What do you do??
Sam would have been interested in continuing debating world domination with the professor and the mister (who hasn't contemplated every detail for that), but her matrix informs her that would be Not Good.
So she says her goodbyes, writes up her application with her threads as they continue their tour, then submits before they even leave.
Name (choose one or both):
Given Samantha Murphy
Alias Statian
Powers: None
Personal Contact: Murdock Murphy, Father
Do you require lodging? Y
If yes, do you have a roommate preference? N
If yes, who? ____
Do you have any dietary needs: N
If yes, please explain ____
Classes
Please select:
[]High school curriculum
[]College curriculum
[X]Genius curriculum
Advanced classes:
[]Flight
[]Mystic arts
[]Psionics
[X]Cybernetics/robotics
[X]Advanced Technology
[X]Particle physics
[X]Combat - Beginner
[]Combat - Advanced
[]Combat - Hard Knocks*
At the meeting, Sam stands up. As usually she is in the back, the seemingly normal girl in a room full of bright shiny or strange, almost forgotten.
"No matter its origin or purpose, it is the only viable option being given to us at the moment for higher education. Other than remote learning, which only further isolates us. The institute also has the possibility to challenge us, which is needed." her voice is steady, her green eyes though are bright with eagerness. Then just in case her words are leaving any possibility of doubt "I plan on attending." she pauses for a moment "And will send reports."
Indarius, and anyone else who has ever bothered to read on of Sam's reports, knows they are very long and very details.
|
Indarius coils on his teams 'side' of the room folding his forearms under his torso as he finally understands why cat's Loaf. "I was actually going to suggest something similar to the team Nimbus. I think it'd be good for everyone to go in, and do learn. But also investigate."
Looking around he notes, "They've got several ex-villans on the roster, but... against what is probably my better judgement I want to really believe they want to be better people."
Gui doesn't fill the application through the tablets, since he will be discussing the whole thing with his parents first.
Given: Guillaume Roy-Côté
Alias: Aquarelle
Powers: Create illusions
Personal Contact: Charles S. Roy
Do you require lodging? Y
If yes, do you have a roommate preference? Y
If yes, who? No one, single room, unless roommate doesn't need to sleep
Do you have any dietary needs: N
If yes, please explain ____
Classes
Please select:
[X]High school curriculum
[]College curriculum
[]Genius curriculum
Advanced classes:
[]Flight
[]Mystic arts
[]Psionics
[]Cybernetics/robotics
[]Advanced Technology
[]Particle physics
[X]Combat - Beginner
[]Combat - Advanced
[]Combat - Hard Knocks*
---
Gui nods to Indarius's words. "For all have sinned and come short of de glory of God." He quotes, holding to the crucifix around his neck. "Redempcion is always better dan punishment... even if not always possible." He sighs.
"I can also send reports, but I will not investigate dem... I want to believe dis will be good. If I look at dem as villains, dis is all I will see." Easier said than done, of course.
clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick
Somewhere Chroknight had acquired what appeared to be a clicky pen and was absently pressing and depressing it while listening to everyone. They seemed more focused on looking towards Devil Diva than the rest of the group.
"I think that I've got to pass on the school. Much as I would love to continue to be a pain in the ass for Ms. Doublemint, I really don't want them to have any leverage on me and my secret identity. Then again, they don't really have any classes on 'Temporal mechanics' or 'Secrets of former super-villains' so I'm not sure what I would even take." clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick
"Also, dunno what you all have for protecting yourselves from getting mind-controlled, but they have a bunch of psychics enrolled and a psychic teacher, so you should probably figure that out before attending class." clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick
"Gui, can you help with this? I can't write on tablets."
Given
Alias Andromeda_____
Powers: Telekinesis
Personal Contact: Na__
Do you require lodging? (Y)/N
If yes, do you have a roommate preference? (Y)/N
If yes, who? Resilience
Do you have any dietary needs: (Y)/N
If yes, please explain: high calcium, spicy
Classes
Please select:
[x]High school curriculum - as appropriate to supplementary transcript
[x]College curriculum - as appropriate to supplementary transcript
[x]Genius curriculum
Advanced classes:
[x]Flight
[]Mystic arts
[x]Psionics
[x]Cybernetics/robotics
[x]Advanced Technology
[x]Particle physics
[]Combat - Beginner
[]Combat - Advanced
[x]Combat - Hard Knocks*
***
Andromeda scoffs at Indarius's reply, but mostly keeps quiet since Gui says something not all that different. Grand narratives instead of just Looking, again.
She doesn't hold back for Chroknight, however. "Fine by me, tin can. Fall further behind if you want. You'd look good in green."
"Gui, can you help with this? I can't write on tablets."
"Sure ting." He says, taking the tablet.
"You need spicy food? Or you like it?"
"You sure about taking so many classes?" He asks, unsure. "It seems you will not have time to breath with all of dese."
Nimbus accepts the fact that not everyone is of the same mind regarding attending Daedalus, much less in agreement that it's some sinister plot. "That's all fine." He turns to Aquarelle. "And that's certainly a great approach. With the exception of a few of the students, I'm sure the rest have all been fed the same lines about opportunity, education, growth, and blah blah blah. So they're probably all innocent too."
"Don't be afraid to call us in if you find out it's rotten to the core," Tenfold adds with a smile. "You know, so you don't get to have all the fun."
"I'm here, I'm here. Let's get these figures priced out quick," Chloe says as she rushes inside. She's wearing casual workout gear, since she figured this would be fairly easy and means she'll get back out to try and improve her physical endurance - she was empowered, certainly, but it would be sus if she didn't put up the appearance of working out. Plus she actually did feel stronger for it. And the suit was not as light as she made it out to be.
Mort is drumming his fingers on the counter when Chloe arrives. "Finally. He's in the RPG room with his stuff." He points to one of the rooms next to the shelves of gaming books and minis that are used for the weekly tabletop games.
The ChibiDeck starter tournament has the rest of Mortal Peril filled with young children slapping down their colorful cards and ripping open pack after pack. The RPG room is a quiet oasis in the chaos.
Chloe finds an older man opening up several heavy tackleboxes and setting out an array of figures on the table. He waves his hands over them with a grin. "Are you Cloe? Mort said you could give me a price on these. I'm way out of practice and there's no way I can afford to get caught up. But I was quite the Card-Clicker back then."
"Oh, nice. Let's take a look at what you got here. Doesn't look like you've got anything graded but I figure we can still get a good price on this." She fishes her phone out of her hoodie and cues up her pricing app.
"Let's take a look. Generally speaking you can get more if you do store credit over cash, but we'll work it out. Oh, sorry, I'm Chloe, what's your name?"
"Ned. Hi. I'm still going to have to go for the cash. You know, whatever you can do."
It's clear that he had taken care of each figure, storing them in their individual cubbies and wrapped in tissue paper. He sets out a complete set of the first couple runs along with a couple variant paint jobs that you could only get in store tournaments.
For Chloe, it's like looking into Halcyon's past. The first few sets go all the way back to the Golden Generation, with their simple and clean-cut heroes who fought the Nazis. Silver and Bronze-aged heroes and the giant robots, strange aliens, and crazy monsters needing more elaborate figures to represent them.
Included are the various iterations of the Praetorian, the clunky yet adorable Yeoman robot, the early heroic Dusk and the versions after his descent into villainy.
"Woah. Some of these figures I've only ever seen in catalog pictures. Let's take a look at the market price pricing on these..."
Chloe's considering how the store might flip the collection for a profit. A cash offer will be pricey. She also goes and confirms they're legit using her counterfeit detecting techniques. Hard to do with figures but it's not impossible.
"Okay. I've got a quote for you here." Twenty percent below market value and she could get these on the store website and online marketplace and ensure at least a ten percent profit.
"...wait. Which one is your favorite, Ned?"
"Definitely this," he says as he opens up the largest bin of his carrying case. He slides out a diorama display with spots for figures and the clickable cards that go with them. It's a large frozen pyramid with a spot on top for the big bad enemy.
He unwraps an elaborate figure, sinister-looking with vaguely Egyptian iconography, and sets it on the top slot. Then he unwraps figures showing the classic Alliance heroes of the Eighties, including the Praetorian, Material Girl, Yeoman, Glasnost, Tristan Shout, and Blue Laser.
"I, uh, won the Worlds CardClix several years back. This was my prize. The Alliance vs. Ahk'nathal, the Star Pharaoh."
"Woah. Okay, for this? Definitely worth a bump. Though maybe I'm too young - Never heard of Ahk'nathal before now. Some kind of super powered Egyptian king?" She asks, getting a closer look at the figure.
"He was a big deal in the Eighties. He also showed up in the Forties, I think," Ned says, sifting through the classics line and finding a more brazenly Egyptian-styled figure. "'Space Tut," he reads, chuckling. "Gotta love the Golden Generation and its casual racism. I don't mean that literally."
He pulls out the double-sized card and hands it to her so she can look at it. "Here's the Ahk'nathal card from the set."
Chloe estimates that this particular special set could go for thousands of dollars to the right collector.
Chloe takes a moment to bump up the initial offer. Such a cool collection would easily go for a premium, so best to give what her dad would let her authorize here. "This is the best that we can do as a cash offer." Fifteen percent mark down from market was going to have her dad raise an eyebrow.
She lets him think on the offer while taking a moment to read the oversized card for the Pharoah. It was always fun to read the facts.
The card's numbers are through the roof, which is impressive considering its age and the continuing power creep of the game. His attack and defense are high enough to be broken, but his special abilities are crazy: the ability to summon powerful minions, his "children" once a round; cosmic control over the battlefield (including a confounding ability to change maps once per game); and to spawn a number of fodder pieces that can still tie up a opposing team. Thankfully, he has a weakness to an opposing item, a weapon called the Shopec. It doesn't seem to be included in the set, however.
The lore says Ahk'nathal reappears on various intervals, bringing his powerful children with aims of conquest. The Alliance defeated him and his minions twice, once in the 1940s and again in the 1980s, and his appearance is always preceded by a meteor shower.
As Chloe is absorbing this information, Ned clears his throat. "Hey, ah, I don't think I can part with this, now that I think about it. I wanted to give you a chance, honestly, but I know that if I list this on Infini-bay I can get a lot more. I'll still sell the rest of the collection, if that's okay?"
Chloe pauses for a moment, reassessing Ned and thinking about the sudden switch of his desires.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. My boss would have a fit if I bought this for cash. The rest of the collection though, that's more than feasible."
More out of curiosity than anything, she asks: "What's this Shopec item that the Pharoah's super weak towards? Is that even more busted than him?"
Ned looks a little disappointed that she can't meet his price. He frowns when she asks about the special weapon. "Is that not part of the set?"
He looks through his collection for a bit, then shrugs. "I don't know. I don't think I played with this guy since he was so broken. Maybe they never made the card?"
He starts to pack away the special set. "You sure you can't match my price? It'd be a nice showpiece for your shop."
"...I can go up to this point." Chloe shows him a number. "Figuring in your costs of dealing with Infini-bay's abysmal customer service, plus shipping prices and their ten percent take."
And suddenly, the brilliant idea forms for how to flip this. She thinks she can do this. No risk, no reward. "Can we agree on this price here?" Just a little lower than his ask. Oh, if this blew up in her face she'd never hear the end of it.
Ned bites his lip as he considers the offer. He draws in a breath as if he was preparing to agree to donate a kidney. "Fine. Sure, I'll take it," he says in a rush.
Chloe also feels like she's effectively signed herself up for tragedy. However, she thinks she has an out. "I'll ring it up. Give me a few minutes."
The safe has the cash reserves, which she takes an unhealthy amount out and counts it up. Meanwhile she's also texting as Chroknight to Devil Diva.
Chroknight: Hey
Chroknight: Ever want to be the Post Malone of the Cardclix world?
Chroknight: My friend just acquired something that would look awesome for your socials if you bought it
Chroknight: You should go to Mortal Peril ASAP
Chloe calls out to Mort. "I'm going to need you to clear out that display case. We've got something better for it now."
She goes to Ned and counts out the cash, terrified this was a terrible business choice. She could change her mind, rewind - no, she couldn't abuse it like that here.
In a whirlwind span of minutes, Chloe had emptied the cash reserves plus rent and payroll for two months for Mortal Peril, but it now possessed an exclusive tournament prize from the early days of CardClix and several complete sets.
Mort had the display case cleared by the time the transaction was completed. The sinister frozen pyramid took its place of prominence in the display, with Ahk'nathal looming ominously over the hopelessly outmatched Alliance.
Max sees the text from Chroknight and responds.
DeeDee: Sweet! Thanks for the tip, I'll be there soon!
Mortal Peril Comics & Games is in a large brick building on the first floor. There's enough space for a card game room and a room for RPGs, as well as the floor full of products including wall to wall issues of comic books and graphic novels, model kits, and behind the counter card expansions from over a dozen different card games. The singles were shown off in the glass cases.
More prominently, Devil Diva sees a young woman in a hoodie and running shorts with long straight black hair that's just below her chin. She's looking at the biggest display case in the store which contains a Cardclix collection of Bronze Era Alliance members facing up an alien pyramid to a villainous figure standing at the top.
She turns to looking when DeeDee arrives, and freezes briefly as she blushes. "H-Hi! Oh. I, um, wasn't sure this wasn't a trick. You're really here. Um. Hi. No, stupid Chloe, I already said hi..." She blushes and shakes her head, trying to focus.
Max gives Chloe a disarming smile. "Hi! No tricks. I'm here to see the merch."
She leans down and peers at the figure of the enigmatic pharoah. "This is him? Wow, I've never seen anything like him before!"
"Fully mint, been kept safe by a champion player from a few years back. Anyone would recognize its value who plays the game."
She's instinctively holding her breath when Max is this close. She remembers how it was when she first attended Halprep, but she's got a lock on her powers by now, right?
"The whole set comes with the Star Pyramid, and the 80s line up of Alliance members."
DD's tail wags behind her as she studies the set. "That's awesome! How much is the asking price?"
"I won't lie, it's not cheap." Chloe quotes a price that's about twenty percent higher than what she paid for it. It's reasonable enough for a used car.
Frowning, DD takes out her cell phone and texts Angel, asking her what her budget is this month for promoting her socials and if it's worth the cost for the figures when compared to how much they might bring in from a sponsored post about the figures.
DD gets a text back in a few minutes, giving her time to study the miniatures in detail.
Angel: this screams "impulse purchase." Give me some time to run the analytics. I might be able to make it worth it. A week. Two, tops
Chloe tries not to show how much she's desperate to flip this immediately. Instead she takes the moment to observe her under pressure and recall her dad's lessons about salespersonship. "I know you want to clear it with your agent, but this is a one of a kind item that is only going to increase in value."
"You know, it's funny, I'd never heard of Star Pharaoh before Cardclix. Apparently he's only ever appeared twice, in the 40s and the 80s. Everytime after a big meteor shower. But based on his card stats, he would give the current Alliance line up a run for their money, even with Captain Stalwart!"
Chloe zips down her hoodie a bit, feeling hot and needing a little air on her skin. Hard to keep her cool with Max so close.
”Meteor shower? Hmmm...”
Max texts Angel back that this might be related to what they’re looking into and to write it off as a “research expense.” She then swipes her phone to the digital wallet and offers the Taylor Intl Black Card within to Chloe. ”Okay, I’ll take it!”
"Mort! Get the packing material, please." Chloe tries not to tremble as she runs the card and sees how she's turned over a significant profit for the store and gotten back the payroll and rent. "We've got a lot of other new collections that have just arrived too, and...uh..."
She shallows dryly. "Just, this is my biggest sale, so do you mind if we commemorate it with a picture together? I, uh, really want to brag about this."
”Of course!” Max gestures for Chloe to come around the counter and stand beside her. She reaches out and slips an arm around the other girl’s waist and holds out her phone. ”Say cheese!”
Chloe is fairly sure she will melt around Max's arm. But she also gets out her phone to snap a picture together and get the Star Pyramid in the background. "Cheese!"
She glances at Max right after, and lets out a nervous, snorting laugh that's honestly embarrassing for her. "Sorry! Sorry, just, I...never thought I'd get this close to you. Physically. Uh."
Mort comes out of the back with several boxes and rolls of bubble wrap, but stops dead in his tracks when he sees Devil Diva there in the shop.
He sets the stuff down and stays out of view while the selfies are being taken. Then he approaches while fumbling with his own phone. "Wow. Hi, Miss Diva. Pleased to meet your, um, acquaintance." He tears his eyes away from the demonic Star to look at her purchase. "When did we get that?" he asks as an aside to Chloe. He leans in close to examine the CardClix diorama for a moment with almost the same amazement that he had for Devil Diva being in the store. "That guy, he had that?"
He turns back to DD. "Hey, I don't suppose you'd mind if we get a few pictures of you with the figures, huh? To mark the occasion?"
"Bought it from that Cardclix seller. Yeah, more promotional material is good. Don't tell my dad."
Chloe looks at Max. [B]"Maybe one with you holding the Star Pharaoh in the palm of your hand like you're going to eat him?" She suggests.
”Always happy to pose for a few pictures,” Max says with a grin. She holds the Star Pharoah figure in her hand as instructed and opens her mouth. ”Ahhh!”
Mort snaps several pictures of DD and Chloe along with a couple close-ups of the diorama itself to make some promotional materials and for the store's Infini-pages.
He gives Chloe a look when she asks him not to tell her father. "And how am I going to explain the large purchase--" he stops short as he looks at the computer.
"Um, Miss Diva? Your, um, card didn't go through. Could you swipe it again?"
”Oh? Hang on...”
Max checks her phone for any more messages from Angel.
Chloe gets a cold chill down her spine when Mort notices that and takes a look. "We just have to run it again - maybe she just forgot to sign?"
Max finds an alert saying that her transaction was canceled due to exceeding her T-I stipend.
Max sends a text to Angel asking her to increase the stipend, pretty please, just this one time!
Chloe is panicked, looking for a way out - and thinking about a college fund that she could potentially withdraw from in a pinch. This seriously felt like that pinch. But it meant going to her dad and admitting she had done something impulsive and rash.
She watched Max, hoping for a good sign from her...
Angel texts her back.
Angel: I said give me a week. We can't generate any hype with this after-hours fling.
Max frowns and looks up at Chloe and Mort. ”Heh, looks like my funds are a bit frozen at the moment, actually. Maybe you’d accept something as collateral?”
"I will hold it for you at the stated price. But it has to stay in the store until we have a payment." Chloe says, feeling like she needs to lie down. "I mean, I do hope you'll come through with it, because we would really love you to promote the store too..."
”Yes, okay. Give me like a week?”
"Sure. Sure thing," Chloe says as she mentally thinks of the current payment schedules and where the store will be in a week.
Angel is leaning over her sleek, designer desk and the numerous screens displaying focus group numbers, fashion trends, and social media rankings when Max enters her office.
Without looking up, Angel waves her away. "Not the time, Max," she says with a tired warning in her voice.
"Daedalus is all over the news, and your audience is split just about down the middle on whether you should attend. A little fluff stunt like buying a very expensive toy is going to get lost."
Max scowls. "It's not a toy. It's a... collectible."
Angel's head lifts up, her eyebrow arching severely. "A collectible game. I'm aware. I think there's a figure of me in one of the sets. But a game nonetheless."
Max crosses her arms over her chest but doesn't respond.
Max gets a text from Chloe.
ChloeMP: Sharing the pics with you here
ChloeMP: Hope to see you soon
ChloeMP: I'm really counting on you
Max texts back. DeeDee: Thanks for the pics! Don't worry, I'll be back. See you real soon
A long pause, and then:
DeeDee: Oops, finger slipped! I meant
Angel goes back to her screens while Max answers her texts. After a few minutes, she straightens and her wings flap in a stretch. "Now that that's settled, we need to decide about Daedalus. It has real 'Behind the Mask' potential, but unscripted high school drama is extremely risky. Getting you reintroduced to Halcyon by going to a mysterious super school that popped up seemingly overnight could be a real-life BtM, or it could go full Euphoria before you realize it." Angel gives Max a pointed look.
"Do you think you can handle it?"
Max gives Angel a thumbs up. ”No problemo. It’ll be fine!”
Angel's eyebrow returns to its arched position. "Are you sure? Your recent public appearances have all been carefully cultivated. Before that, you stood out because, well, you're drop-dead gorgeous and that went a long way to counter your prior awkwardness. But you'll be going to school where everyone is extraordinary in some way. Without a script."
”Uh... yeah, I think I’ll be okay,” Max says, feeling less confident than before.
"All right, then," Angel says before taking a long look at Max. "I'll have Harper prepare some back-to-school ensembles for you. Your fashion acumen has certainly developed of late, but we need you promoting the styles in Halcyon Haute Teen.. Speaking of, I got a call from the editor asking if you'd be interested in appearing in next month's center spread along with some of your newest teammates. See if they'll be interested and let me know by the end of the week, okay?"
"Will do," Max replies.
Chloe sees the light on in her father's room as she enters.
Chloe knows that she'll have to talk to her dad about what she had done eventually. He might even fire her for it. She hoped that Max was being obstinate and working to get the set as hard as she could. For Chloe, she was going to hope that her dad wouldn't realize what she had done until everything was okay again.
"Hey dad, I'm home!" She calls out. "I have a lot of homework tonight so I'm just going to eat in my room."
"Chloe?" His voice wasn't quite sharp, wasn't more than loud enough to be heard as she tried to rush by. "Don't you think we should talk before you go to your room?"
Oh, no. He knows. "Right. Sorry," Chloe says as she pops into her dad's room. Trying not to feel like her life was over.
"Well? How was work? Anything I should hear first from you?"
Chloe thinks about it for a minute compressed into less than two seconds before replying. "So I might - I have a big sale coming up, I'm just waiting on the buyer to move some money around, they weren't able to make the purchase today."
"Chloe. Why are you being dishonest to me?"
"I'm not being...okay, I might have also had to purchase the item I'm selling from a seller. But it's a significant sale, and I know that it's a lot of money moving around, but I know the buyer is good for it. So..."
"Chloe," he spoke carefully, as if afraid his words might shatter into something with jagged edges, "Do you understand how badly this could go? If that disgraceful 'superhero' doesn't swoop in to save us?"
Chloe goes hot for a moment. "If you want to be upset with me for making a risk, that's fine. But this icon won't just buy, she will promote the store to her followers and give us a huge boom."
"And - you know what? Don't think that because she's got powers that's all she is anymore. She's a person, and a customer, and we treat customers with the Golden Rule. That's what you taught me."
"Chloe, you're young, you don't understand this, and you're focusing on the wrong things because you lack perspective. The shop is a place where our work can put food on our tables and clothes on your back, but only so long as it is healthy. It isn't a game that you can win with one big sale, one viral post, but with this foolishness this... arrogance, we can lose everything.
"What possessed you, Chloe?"
"What possessed me? I get called in on my day off, get offered an amazing piece of collectibles, and I thought that passing it up would be a total waste. And he was going to walk out and try to sell it on the internet!" She's finding herself more and more defensive and angrier the more he talks down to her like a child.
"Every day, all around the world, countless things are sold to countless people who never hear of our shop. This is fine. It is no waste. If he cannot wait for you to take the most cursory precautions for this shop, then it is not business which we want. And instead through your haste we are exposed! What if it is a forgery, a fake? What if it was stolen? What if the Devil you place your faith in takes a week to come back? A month? Longer? What if she sees how desperate you have made us and she uses that leverage to force the price of this nonsense down?
"This work is what provides for us, Chloe. That is not something to be gambled away on a single toss of the dice."
"I did my due diligence on checking for forgery, and this guy was no thief. I'm not a fool, Dad! I'll take care of it. We won't end up holding the bag here."
"Fine. But you will not make another mistake like this. You are not to make another purchase like this without my approval."
"I..." Chloe is struggling not to scream, but bites her tongue. "...I understand. I have to go finish homework," She says, slumping a bit as she steps out of his room.
"Work hard. I'll call you for dinner."
"Gui, can you help with this? I can't write on tablets.""Sure ting." He says, taking the tablet.
"You need spicy food? Or you like it?"
"You sure about taking so many classes?" He asks, unsure. "It seems you will not have time to breath with all of dese."
"I can't really taste most other flavors, unless they're really strong. Side effect." Andromeda smiles, a bit incongruously. "It's fine; it didn't used to be my favorite. The classes will be fine too; I do better with heavy loads, and I don't have anything else to do. Besides, I just want to do GenEd stuff so I don't seem stupid, and I want to finish my doctoral thesis. The rest is all useful or I'll stop."
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"I think that I've got to pass on the school. Much as I would love to continue to be a pain in the ass for Ms. Doublemint, I really don't want them to have any leverage on me and my secret identity. Then again, they don't really have any classes on 'Temporal mechanics' or 'Secrets of former super-villains' so I'm not sure what I would even take."
"Also, dunno what you all have for protecting yourselves from getting mind-controlled, but they have a bunch of psychics enrolled and a psychic teacher, so you should probably figure that out before attending class."
"I think it's fine that you don't want anyone to leverage the person beneath the mask or their loved ones agaonst you." Indarius says while avoiding his want to throw a glare at Andromeda for the backhanded comment.
"I also have a contact who may be able to procure us with devices to help shield from psionic attacks or breaches. Not full-proof, but they'd be useful."
He shuffles just a bit, though it's mostly just wings as the rest of him stays tucked. "I'll be visiting to see some more of their facilities. But I also won't be attending personally. There's a lot of gaps innthe cities defenses with the Alliance gone. And I trust those who will be attending to investigate any suspicious activity as needed."
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"Give me a second-" The clicking of the pen briefly seemed to stop before resuming again. "-okay, just took a few minutes to come to grips on how utterly stupid you're being, Frosty," Chroknight says to Indarius. "Or did you forget that Big Red walked in here laughing about your magical wards? Where do you think she got the solution? Maybe, I dunno, the cool-but-not-in-a-sexy-professor-way magician on her staff?"
They take a moment before continuing. "Friends close, enemies closer. Learn from him so you know how to counter him."
And then another moment. "...Damn. I just changed my own mind with that logic."
Name (choose one or both):
Given _____
Alias Chroknight
Powers: Chronokinesis (Sounds cooler than messing with time)
Personal Contact: No touching please
Do you require lodging? N
If yes, do you have a roommate preference? N
If yes, who? ____
Do you have any dietary needs: N
If yes, please explain ____
Classes
Please select:
[]High school curriculum
[]College curriculum
[]Genius curriculum
Advanced classes:
[]Flight
[]Mystic arts
[]Psionics
[]Cybernetics/robotics
[]Advanced Technology
[]Particle physics
[]Combat - Beginner
[]Combat - Advanced
[x]Combat - Hard Knocks*
"I can't really taste most other flavors, unless they're really strong. Side effect." Andromeda smiles, a bit incongruously. "It's fine; it didn't used to be my favorite. The classes will be fine too; I do better with heavy loads, and I don't have anything else to do. Besides, I just want to do GenEd stuff so I don't seem stupid, and I want to finish my doctoral thesis. The rest is all useful or I'll stop."
"It is very hard to have someting else to do if you do not have de time for it." He counters, joking. "I personally tink it is important to have some free time, even if you do noting with it."
"And why do you tink people will find you stupid? You look pretty smart to me." He asks, before throwing his hands up, quite exaggeratedly. "And you need to finish your tesis? Are you in e clock or someting?" She really looks at her. "Slow down, take e breath. Live." He smiles. "I know I am probably painting myself as e lazy hippie with all dis talk, but really Andromeda."
---
Gui sighs at the exchanges. "What is de need of calling each oder stupid? Really?"
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"Give me a second-" The clicking of the pen briefly seemed to stop before resuming again. "-okay, just took a few minutes to come to grips on how utterly stupid you're being, Frosty," Chroknight says to Indarius. "Or did you forget that Big Red walked in here laughing about your magical wards? Where do you think she got the solution? Maybe, I dunno, the cool-but-not-in-a-sexy-professor-way magician on her staff?"
They take a moment before continuing. "Friends close, enemies closer. Learn from him so you know how to counter him."
And then another moment. "...Damn. I just changed my own mind with that logic."
Indarius falls silent at that, no more rustling, shifting of scales, or even movement as he begins to look more like an intricate statue in the scene.
'Seriously, I agree and support their choice and even that blows up in my face? I can't with these people.'
"There are twenty seven statistically possible kill chains to disrupt or circumvent the wards that do not include the improbability of 'magic'" Sam had been watching the others as she often did when not working on her tablet, but now she is focused on Chroknight "To suggest there is only one solution, and that you know what it is, would be... " Sam pauses, tilts her head in her way then discounts the other suggestions "... Stupid"
Indarius gathers who he can back at the base once the tour of Daedelus is over, specifically he calls Andromeda and Phalanx since he had concerns to address with both of them specifically.
"So, Andromeda. You asked if I had 'beef' with every cape in Halcyon earlier. I aim to explain, I've been in this game for a while now. I'd be lying if I said I haven't made enemies despite my best attempts not to, some justified, some justified in their own mind, and others not justified at all."
He settles as best he can and waits for Andromeda to do the same. "Namely the various Mathers', Scythe, Valence, Ms. Vallejo, and Eliana to name a few. Which one would you like me to explain first?"
Indarius inclines his head towards the Reformed, "I just want to reiterate that you should take Great and terrible caution if you want to pursue Eliana. As Abram said, she is fae. That makes interacting with her without precaution inherently risky." He frowns obviously not happy saying that regardless of what context it's in. "Accepting anything from her could potentially bind you to her will. Food, a lock of hair, paper, an eraser, phone number, route to a classroom, anything. If she does indeed share the same binding nature of actual fae. We also aren't sure which court she made a deal with so the nature of her new personality shift is hard to determine yet, but it will likely play a factor in how she attempts to interact to get people to agree to any potential deals."
He shakes his head, "If she had just... waited a few weeks like we'd asked none of this would even be a problem."
"I'm not ignorant. These Mathers are connected with Mathers, William W., Mathers, Constance W. aka Conflux, and Mathers, Quintus W., correct? Some sort of transmissible energy manipulation and dimensional access? Their files are new, but if they're all the same, they are known. Chicle, Valence and Scythe all have files too.
"I don't know Eliana, yet.
"You may know of them, and you may know their powers are in the arcane similar to my own. But do you understand why there's such virulent bad blood between me and all but one of the Mathers brood?"
Archie listens to what Indy has to say about Eliana and seems to understand. He may be foolhardy sometimes, but he wasn't a fool. "I'm not actually looking to get enslaved over a pretty face, but if I did I know where to go." He smiles, mostly to himself. He straightens. "So what exactly happened to you to cause all this bad blood? Haven't heard a good reason yet I don't think.
"Big fight in the middle of Halcyon. Dimensional breach; you were mutated in it. Reports were somewhat unclear if or when Mathers's children turned on him, but allegiances are properly marked as unreliable given the bonds between them. They abducted you first though, correct?"
Indy shifted slightly causing all of his scales to seem to rustle in an oddly metallic way like a hundred jingling keys.
"A good start, and if you were to believe the accusations labored against Mathers senior the correct recounting of events. His son Quincy also shackled my will in his game world after I attempted to act in good faith towards the players. It was during that time that I killed one of those players. Before that however I agreed to carry my 'key' to Quincy in order to seek a way to stabilize their fantasy world. When I attempted to stand my ground on the deal they claimed me an oathbreaker. Horizon gave his key up willingly hoping to rescue another trapped in the world and he himself was lost, in my panic I trued to force my way to Quincy to demand an answer. Chained and bound they broke their half of the oath and stole my key. Reducing me to my more savage emotions causing the aforementioned death."
He sighs deeply, "From that day I swore that none of the Mathers, save Conflux would have my goodwill. It has been nothing but betrayal with them and I am not like to make the same mistakes again."
"You're telling me that because you hate a guy and one of his six sons, that you hate all his other sons, but not the daughter?" Andromeda scoffs. "This is the real reason you have beef with everyone, Indarius. You're too wrapped up in grand narratives to just assess people as they are."
"I can't trust people who are inexplicably bound to one man's will with charms. I can trust the one who has broken from them." He leans down, "Would you trust someone that's been magically brainwashed to follow commands? To ally with the wants of another at almost every turn? Someone who is willing to risk everyone's safety for their own ego? The man who ripped open the fabric of reality and unleashed something worse into the world because I trusted him."
He bristles already having been agitated, "I don't trust Abram immediately because of that, he got a good vouch from Conflux, but it was tinged with be wary. So I'm taking her advice and not going in not expecting to get bitten again."
"Chicle and Valence were under Lovelace's thumb and had a hand in my entire team's capture, put us into tiny little boxes and threatened to alter our minds when we didn't comply with their demands. They did the same to Scythe and thankfully the one who did it just stripped the anger away from her. She's innocent in all this."
The building groans and dust trickles down from above, neatly outlining Andromeda's sheath.
"Do you trust me?"
Indy doesn't flinch at the settling building answering Andromeda with a question of his own
"You're on the team still aren't you?"
"Gui put me on the team, not you."
Archie watches his two teammates with a grin on his face. Man, this is entertaining. "Come on y'all, this isn't really going anywhere. If you've got issues, settle them." He says the last part with a razors edge.
Andromeda bares her teeth in something like a smile, eyes fixed on Indarius. "No need, Archie. I wanted to know why he's pissed off almost every cape we meet; now I do."
Indarius breaths deep through his nostrils and backs away from Andromeda. "Glad I could help your theories." He says a bit forced.
"That's all I've got, so back to patrols."
Without another spoken word he opens a portal that looks like it'd barely fit him. Looks like it's somewhere over Halcyon, and he slips through like a roiling mass of liquid metal before it closes with a pop behind him.
Andromeda, Statian, and Phalanx are returning to Unity Base carrying the boxes of leftover pizza to share with the others when notices a blip on her threat assessment. There's a manilla folder sitting unattended on a bus stop bench. On its front it has a series of dots in the form of a sharp "V" connected to an upside-down "Y".
Inside the folder is a single white sheet of paper with a message spelled out in an old typewriter font.
HELLO TAU-34. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENROLLMENT IN SCHOOL. I AM CERTAIN THE CLASSES YOU TAKE WILL ENRICH YOU FOR YOUR WORK TO COME.
YOU MAY THINK THAT BY LEAVING THE PROJECT AND SURROUNDING YOURSELF WITH THESE CHILDREN THAT YOU HAVE ESCAPED ME. LET ME DISABUSE YOU OF THAT NOTION. I KNOW YOU, TAU-34. YOU WILL CONTINUE TO DO WHAT I REQUIRE.
AT 17:45 TODAY, TRAVELING EASTBOUND ON PRAETORIAN PARKWAY, AN ARMORED TRUCK WILL BE TRANSPORTING A VALUABLE ASSET. YOU WILL INTERCEPT IT. OR YOU WILL STOP THOSE WHO ARE ATTEMPTING TO ACQUIRE THE ASSET. OR YOU WILL DO NOTHING. WHICH WILL IT BE? I KNOW. DO YOU?
:D
The paper begins to immediately deteriorate in Andromeda's hands, giving her only enough time to read its message before it becomes wisps of fibers floating away in the wind. Checking the time, Andromeda sees that it is 5:20.
What do you do??
Beebee accidentally presses her nose against the glass when she leans in to get a good look at the diorama. "Sorry," she says, and tries to rub away the oils she smeared on the glass. "Hard to believe that this was a battle that supposedly happened back in the day. The Eighties were cool, though. God knows we do enough marching routines to 80's music, anyway."
She slips back behind the counter and sits on the small stool in the corner while adjusting the straps on her sling keeping her arm in place. "So, that really costs that much? Insane. I hope the demon girl comes through. Though with what they charge for those microskirts she wears she's gotta be able to pay triple that price."
Beebee pulls out a phone and starts scrolling through Infini-tok while Chloe handles a number of customers checking out. Once they're taken care of, a wild-eyed man in a dirty hoodie appears at the counter. "I'll take that. That. In the display case. He shouldn't be seen yet. It's not his time, but soon. So I want it. Now." He nods to the diorama nervously.
What do you do??
"There are twenty seven statistically possible kill chains to disrupt or circumvent the wards that do not include the improbability of 'magic'" Sam had been watching the others as she often did when not working on her tablet, but now she is focused on Chroknight "To suggest there is only one solution, and that you know what it is, would be... " Sam pauses, tilts her head in her way then discounts the other suggestions "... Stupid"
"Also pretty stupid to pass up any chance to improve your knowledge by learning from someone who's been practicing that very skillset much longer than yourself. Which is why I'm going for combat classes, because that I can learn something new AND I can keep an eye out for any suspicious ongoings."
They look to everyone else. "Look, I gotta jet. I'll get my appy in. Call me if you need me." Then they are a blur, vanishing from sight.
"Oh, sir, you have a great eye for things, but I'm afraid that we're holding it right now for another customer until next week. If they haven't gone through with the sale by then, we can give you a call to give you an opportunity to buy - can I get your name, number and email address?" Chloe asks as she takes out a contact form. Sure, he might look like a contractor in that dirty hoodie, but maybe he had a buttload of savings he wanted to invest in collectibles to hold.
"It is very hard to have someting else to do if you do not have de time for it." He counters, joking. "I personally tink it is important to have some free time, even if you do noting with it."
"And why do you tink people will find you stupid? You look pretty smart to me." He asks, before throwing his hands up, quite exaggeratedly. "And you need to finish your tesis? Are you in e clock or someting?" He really looks at her. "Slow down, take e breath. Live." He smiles. "I know I am probably painting myself as e lazy hippie with all dis talk, but really Andromeda."
"We're all on the clock, and I spent years doing nothing good with it. I need to finish what I started, and that includes Predictions to the Plasma Environment of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. First, I need to see if I was wrong about anything. Second, I need to get the rest of my degree on track since I can't afford to skip the stupid stuff anymore. Third, I need to figure out what comes after that. Fourth can be free time."
***
Andromeda immediately beelines for the folder without saying a word, but its disintegration is easily visible to Sam and Archie. "A message for me. There's a package moving along the Praetorian Parkway soon. Important one. Armored truck. It will be attacked. I don't know who the sides are, who should get it, but if I don't go, I can't figure that out. Also, it is a trap. Maybe just psychological though."
Sam frown as Andromeda destroys the folder by touch "Either of us could have read it for you, in case there were trace evidence to track where the folder came from." the brainiac pointed out, but her head is already in her tablet, pulling camera feeds throughout the Parkway, searching for armored trucks.
"Found it." only then did she look at the telekinetic "Can you carry us? Phalanx, could you create flight chairs... with safety restraints." there is the slightest wobble in her dead pan voice, just a fraction but enough to know the idea of hurtling through the air with nothing to protect her, would scare her from her toes to her nose, if it wasn't for her mental protection against that kind of thing.
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Archie pauses from eating leftover slices of pizza, his mouth full. "Huh? Fwight chairs? Chairs that fwy? Unwike you I'm not a technowogical genius." He sets the pizza boxes on the bench and swallows.
He places his hands on his hips and stares off into the distance for a few seconds. "ohhhhhhh." He realizes. Then he slips on a mask and all of the sudden four identical copies of Phalanx just appear, almost like they were somehow always there.
"I'm gonna make safety chairs. Cause that probably what you meant, cause she can fly." he sounds almost embarrassed that he didn't pick up on it quicker. Phalanx begins crafting pieces of what resembles a gaming chair with a harness and a spherical steel cage. His dupes do all the heavy lifting as he assembles the chairs. He finishes it off by making two helmets
"This work?"
Chroknight: Don't knock it until you've tried it
Chroknight: And I'd feel more comfortable if you were there
Chroknight: Instead of looming in the background
Chroknight: They might prevent you from coming onto grounds if you aren't a student
Chroknight: And the team needs a leader who is available
Chroknight: So be that
Chroknight: Also are you and DeeDee exes?
The responses come far faster than a human would normally be able to type.
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Indarius: Not the point, and I've dealt with Mathers before.
Indarius: Team doesn't seem to want me around at all so gonna doubt that with the way everyone's been vocalizing their obvious distaste for my flavor of trying to lead.
Indarius: Key word Trying, like f!!~ me I've got so much s!+% on my plate and all the negativity and lizard comments are not helping.
Indarius: Also no? I'm Ace and Dee's just a friend...
Indarius: Please if you try and get with her, do Not bring any of that dating drama into the team. We had some major issues with that sort of stuff in the last squad.
Indarius: I'm also just now realizing I Never was able to get around to explaining that rule that I wanted to lay down in our first gathering. Probably because people keep interrupting, or dipping out, or ya know.
Sam looks up from her tablet, assessing his chairs with her overly critical eyes. And answers "Yes" with no criticisms, which is her way of saying Great Job.
Chroknight: Do you not see your own self-defeating prophecy?
Chroknight: "The team hates me, so I'll do nothing and stay away."
Chroknight: F*#+ing come to school with us and HAVE. FUN.
Chroknight: Make new friends, play games, party, join the Alphabet Gang
Chroknight: And learn more magic
Chroknight: He'll, maybe ask if they have leadership classes
"I didn't destroy the paper; the paper did," Andromeda corrects, eyes focused on the Phalanges' construction.
"That should work. Good idea, but can you make it all one piece for grabbing? Or stick them together? One heavier thing is easier than two light things."
"Uhhh, yeah sure." Archie replies to Andromeda.
Phalanx crafts a long metal bar and fuses it to the top parts of the metal cages forming a sort of handle between the two spheres.
"Alright, it should work. It is a worst case scenario kinda thing, just incase y'know. " he smiles at his comrades. "Let's go save the day, or something like that."
Phalanx jumps into his protective device and fastens the harness. His dupes vanish and he waits for "takeoff."
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Sam pulls the helmet over the red hair and she hurries into the chair, despite the sliver of uncertainity in her green eyes. Her threads pour out and wrap around every surface of that chair.
Then she blinks at Phalanx's smile, tries to find her own, but instead just says "Ready" quickly before takeoff, she switches her tablet to voice.
Across group chat
Statian: phalanx andromeda statian engaging an attempted robbery of an armored truck on praetorian parkway coordinates are <coordinates> it is a trap please ass f$&& f~#% f!$@ ---- assist is cut off and the string of other words come due to taking off. Profanity is meant for the proper moment and this is the proper moment to Sam.
With the pair of makeshift seats and harnesses ready, Andromeda prepares for liftoff.
Andromeda rockets across the Halcyon skyline like someone shot out of a cannon, her two passengers clinging to their harnesses for dear life. In short order, the busy thoroughfare comes into view with its steady stream of traffic pouring into and out of the city.
As the wind whistles in their ears, the trio spy a large heavily armored vehicle taking an on ramp into the eastbound lane. A moment later, a number of high-tech drones but in out of the sky and surround the vehicle!
What do you do?
The man shakes his head nervously. "No, no no no. No emails, not good to wait."
He steps away from the counter, still shaking his head and muttering to himself.
Beebee looks up from her phone that she had been very intensely staring at during the exchange to mouth a Wow, to Chloe. She watches him walk back over to the display case then turns to her. Whispering under her breath, she says, "Okay, If you're worried about the celebrity not coming through, why not just let freaky guy there--"
Beebee is cut off by the sound of glass smashing! The guy in the hoodie grabs up the diorama and races towards the door!
What do you do?!?
You are all invited to a photo shoot by Halcyon Haute Teen to showcase body positivity and embracing nonconventional beauty standards!
What do you do?
No way we are getting robbed today!
Thirty seconds prior, Chloe now goes around the counter and stands in front of the display with clipboard and pen, blocking his access to smash in the glass without having to go through herself.
"So if you want to write your name and phone number here we can give you a call. What's your name? You probably work hard, probably drywall?" She asks. "Maybe I can interest you in some of our other Cardclix figures. What's your favorite Alliance era?"
Sam's dampeners are working overtime to battle the very sane fear of being dropped out of the sky, but she still managed with a semi normal tone to say "I'll create a jamming field around the truck to prevent the drones from destroying it." the computer nerd says, as she bounces an EW signal off every surrounding car to create a mini dome around the truck.
The signal is easy to trace, so she hopes her teammates have an idea about how to protect them. The act of doing instead of remembering how the college almost went up in a fireball clears her muffled her and despite being hurdled through the air... she feels better.
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Indarius:I'm not doing nothing, I'm helping to cover the city while the Alliance is gone.
Indarius: Sure you saw the absolute s~%! show that was my attempt of making new friends at the school the other day.
Indarius: "It's no fair he gets to be a dragon and have magic."
There are several ...'s to indicate he's typing again over the course of the next minute or so, before a last message to the chain finally blinks through.
Indarius: But you're right, I can't just shut everyone out. Not sure how many times I have to hear it before I believe it on my own. I'll reconsider the school, but no promises.
Indy is not comfortable in front of cameras and there's an increasingly paranoid part of him nagging about how this is some ploy. When it's his turn to rotate out he moves to check the communicator after it buzzed, since they'd asked for him not to wear it, or his armor in favor of some custom outfits they'd prepared. He sort of liked how the suit looked honestly.
Statian: phalanx andromeda statian engaging an attempted robbery of an armored truck on praetorian parkway coordinates are <coordinates> it is a trap please ass f~%$ f+~* f$#$ ----
"Oh..." He intones outloud to all the others present. "Hey," he manages to flag over one of the photo people. "Any chance we can take a five? Something may have just come up."
He plinks back a message to Statian, "How serious is it right now? Can you three handle it? If things go south we can be there very quickly."
Andromeda whips her teammates through the air, only Archie's seat cushioning them against an acceleration not dissimilar to a rocket achieving escape velocity - and then taking a hard right! Seeing how much she's rattled and battered them en route, Andromeda scowls. "I'm just a weapon, not a taxi."
The drones were familiar, a variant on the Hoplitidae class. Green, green, green. They were agile, designed for close range work rather than simple destruction from on high, but what made them unique was their pseudo-autonomous piloting. A single controller usually directed a swarm such as this, but the drones themselves possessed a limited autonomy in how they achieved their tasks. It could be overridden of course; the pilot was ultimately in control, but the coordination and reaction of a skilled operator was like watching a balletic octopus or... Statian's tendrils. Later notation recommended.
"They'll be coordinated; there's a single mind controlling them, but they'll act without the pilot's direct input. If there are too many high priority objectives though, they'll struggle."
The Smiler might be pulling the same trick on me. This isn't just an attack; it's a trap. I need to zero in on what's really important.
Andromeda notices the drones have a modification on their nose, likely some kind of powerful cutting torch. They seem intent on using them as they swarm the armored vehicle, latching on and starting to tear into the reinforced metal like it was tissue paper.
Seeing that, Andromeda clearly recognizes the armored vehicle as being in the most danger.
The guy in the hoodie blinks in confusion as he finds himself standing in front of Chloe again who is now out from behind the counter.
"Okay, if you're worried about the celebrity--" Beebee starts to say when all of a sudden the customer pulls out a stick with glowing runes all over it!
"You must give it to me! He shall not be known yet!" he shouts, pointing the device at Chloe! A burst of energy strikes her, attempting to freeze her in place!
The photographer and art director seem to panic when Indarius looks for an excuse to leave. "We're just now getting the lighting right! You can't leave now!"
Oh, this isn't just an addict looking to boost merchandise, this guy has some magic stuff to him. Chloe had been totally unprepared for this guy to pull a weapon on her. The store's cameras would catch this, so maybe insurance would come through? There was no way now she could see to stop him from taking it...though as frozen as her body was, her mind at least could take everything in slow enough to try and plan.
The drones were too close to the truck to hit without getting her hands on them. They were fast; there were lots of them. Hands on would be too slow to catch them, and too slow to stop them.
So she split the air asunder.
A booming, thundering column of force tore through the air next to the truck and the drones, just the shockwave of it enough to scrape the lightweight drones off of their target.
"The drones are EMP shielding" the red head hacker mutters as she types in her chair. "Close ranged weapons... why? Either they don't wish to risk what is in the truck, or they need them near enough to the truck and they think we won't risk hitting the truck with our own rang---" she stops thinking out loud as the booming thundering column of force tore through the air next to the truck. "Which they are wrong about. But the theory was sound, which would mean they want us close to the truck." Sam's brain has reached a conclusion, so she turned to Phalanx and said "Use ranged"
Devil Diva is no stranger to photoshoots at this point. She shows up to the shoot with her hair and makeup on point, along with a mobile wardrobe full of various outfits for herself and her teammates depending on what vibes the photographer wants to go for.
"Do what you have to do," she says to Indy as he gets engrossed in his communicator. "But come back so we can finish the set!"
As they hover in the air, with combat drones tearing apart a truck, Sam's tablet dings. She quickly looks to see Indy's message. Since she is busy with her fingers trying to create scenarios to help her teammates, so uses voice to text answer
Statian:combat drones are dissecting an armored truck on a crowded parkway no one hurt yet not attacking us yet
Sam gives a small frown, wondering at the question from their leader, then adds.
Statian:are you busy
"I can meke en illusion of Indarius while he is gone." Gui offers as he tries to escape the girl with the make-up.
"I have told you, de make up will get covered by de illusions, so I do not need it!"
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Devil Diva is no stranger to photoshoots at this point. She shows up to the shoot with her hair and makeup on point, along with a mobile wardrobe full of various outfits for herself and her teammates depending on what vibes the photographer wants to go for.
"Do what you have to do," she says to Indy as he gets engrossed in his communicator. "But come back so we can finish the set!"
Indy worries that he's giving up a once in a lifetime opportunity here, but Diva's right he's gotta do the right thing before he does this sort of stuff.
"I'll wrap it up quick. Drones trying to attack an armored vehicle, Andromeda, Statian, and Phalanx are on the scene. Thanks for covering Aquarelle."
Statian:combat drones are dissecting an armored truck on a crowded parkway no one hurt yet not attacking us yet.
Statian:are you busy
Indarius: It can wait, needed to know how hot the scene was gonna be. Dropping in now
Indy incants and opens up a portal on the side of the room opposite the shoot, turning towards the crew and heading towards it rather quickly. "Sorry promise this won't take long I won't rip the suit okay bye!"
Then he's out and dropping from the sky above Praetorian Parkway in his humanoid guise. He opens his wings into a high glide while he searches the bridge for the scuffle.
"Use Ranged." She says, simple enough. Phalanx spawn two dupes on the outside of the cage and they lock their legs around the bars. Phalanx pulls out three FN FNC Paratrooper Rifles with mags loaded with PMC X-Tac 5.56 armor piercing rounds and hands two to his dupes.
Phalanx ejects the mag and gives it a look over. "Lovely green tipped rounds. Perfect for killing robots." He slides the magazine back into the rifle and adjusts his short range scope. He takes a deep breath.
"I love my job." Phalanx and his dupes unleash a barrage of accurate bursts at the drones, painfully placing shots to avoid any stray shots hurting civilians.
Andromeda effects a telekinetic clap that sends shock waves through the drones, flipping them off the armored vehicle like skeet. Statian's prediction and recommendation to Phalanx had him prepped with duplicates armed with perfect weapons for the target practice. A staccato of gunfire sounds as the drones' rotors are shredded by the armor piercing rounds and they drop out of the sky!
Horns blare as the traffic on the parkway react to the fighting just overhead, and tires screech as drivers have to slam on their brakes or swerve to avoid the drones falling into the roadway! Still, the efficient elimination of the threat allows Andromeda to level out her flight and throw up some telekinetic guardrails so that accidents are prevented!
Unfortunately, all attention is on the road, so the heroes don't see a second wave of drones flying in on their six! A spray of weapons fire peppers the figures holding obvious guns!
Just then, Indarius appears high in the sky, catching sight of a large armored vehicle caroming down the highway with a flying group of heroes being accosted by a swarm of drones!
What do you do??
The makeup girl blinks in astonishment at Aquarelle. "So, those tats aren't real?" She frowns, holding her brush laden with the powders that were to make sure his complexion doesn't come across as too shiny in the cameras. "Well, you tell me. What can I do?"
Meanwhile, the art director is nearly pulling his hair out. "Where 'as your dragon gone?!? 'E was to be zhe centre-piece! You!" he turns to Empyrean. "You go to ze centre! I want to see wings! I want to see glory!"
Chloe is frozen in place unable to stop the crazed man from moving toward the display case! Stuck as she is, she can only consider her options: Letting the man take the diorama will make sure everyone in the shop is safe. Stopping him without giving away her secret will be difficult, so it means using mundane methods to stop him. Like the taser the store has to--
Chloe sees Beebee grab up the taser and move to intercept the man before he reaches the diorama! The device crackles with energy as Chloe's friend hits the button and makes a move at the robber, but he sidesteps the thrust and jams his rune-covered stick down on Beebee's forehead! The arcane sigils flare red for a moment, causing her eyes to glow a similar color as she stops fighting him!
The man smashes the case one more time and snatches up the diorama, then races to the exit! Beebee follows him until she reaches the threshold, then turns around with her taser at the ready, looking to stop anyone trying to pursue! Just then, Chloe's paralysis wears off and she's able to move again!
What does she do??
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"Beebee, snap out of it!" Chloe shouts, turning to head into the back. It looked like she was under some kind of command, but she hoped it was as temporary as her own. Heading out into the back alley where the broken down cardboard boxes were set out, and away from the prying eyes of the store cameras, she activated her ring.
"Chronal Shift Transformation!"
A split second later, Chroknight is zipping around looking for the blighter that stole the diorama, hoping to get it back intact and without damage. And hoping that it wouldn't take much more of their time today. Considering he was on foot and she could cover far more distance, it didn't take long to find him. But the biggest danger was that wand.
"Can't help but notice you don't seem to have a receipt with that. Mind if I take a look for you?" Chroknight asks as they blitz in front of the robber.
Having been swept along in the excitement, Empyrean is simply enjoying living, something apparently new to her, but then she is caught a bit off-guard by the art instructor yelling at her. She flexes her shoulders and spreads her arms, and her wings spread out behind her as well, feathers stretching.
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Indy tucks his wings and whips his tail and legs upward to bring himselfninto a steep dive towards the group. Still quite a ways away when he sees the secondary group of drones behind the group. He quickly keys his comm which blares with his voice and the whipping wind.
"On your flank guys more bots."
As he descends he weaves his clawed hands pulling a latticework of aether from the area and weaving it into a protective concave shell of force behind the trio to better shield them from the oncoming fire. However instead of the bullets richocheting or whipping around the safety net seems to bow and stretch to catch and slow the projectiles.
DD is a natural in front of the camera. She puts her hands on a hips in a heroic pose and turns towards Empyrean, looking at the camera over her shoulder, her long hair falling strategically over one of her yellow eyes. Her full lips turn up in an enigmatic smirk.
The newest drones to arrive have more tricks to them, so when Indarius shows up and throws up a magical shield around Phalanx, the automatons react by shooting globs of rapidly expanding foam that encases Indy's wings! With the already rapid speed of his descent, there's no way the dragon can pull out of his dive before he crashes into the pavement!
Andromeda, Statian, and Phalanx continue to move with the armored vehicle that is still swerving back and forth down the highway, but with more drones incoming! They once more target the armored vehicle, this time foregoing the attempt to latch on and using cutting torches. Instead, they unleash a barrage of missiles at their target!
What do you do?!?
Chroknight leaps from rooftop to rooftop, rapidly covering the distance between them and the man in the hoodie. Once they find him rushing down the steps to the nearest subway station, they blitz him!
In a flash, the strange rune-covered stick is knocked aside, leaving the man in the hoodie grasping only the stolen diorama! "Raaaah!" the man shouts in defiance as suddenly Chroknight feels a drive stun being jammed into their back sending currents of electricity coursing through them! Chroknight spins just in time to see Beebee, crackling taser in hand, drive it at them again!
The angel and the demon draw much of the director's attention, not to mention the photographer! But the other heroes aren't going to stand idly by, will they?
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"Dey are e disguise, but I do put enough tought on dem, so can we say dey are semi real?" He jokes, taking the brush off her hands. "Ok, give her your hand." He says, taking her right hand and tracing a finger of hers against his skin. With that, a faint color shift occurs on his skin, the same as the color in her brush. "Tell me de colors and I will make my illusions answer to your touch." Yes, it would have worked the same if she used a dry brush instead of her fingers, but she was cute and he was weak.
When he was ready for the photos, Aquarelle creatures a mighty illusion of Indarius, even if he adds a couple touches... If there was someone out there with a kink for dragons, they'd be pleasantly tickled.
While this has been good first time in a photo shoot, he knew what to do to draw and divert attention. DD was getting too much of it and that wasn't going to do. Taking the small knowledge he absorbed from his time with his own makeup, he undos the work done on DD.
"The combat engagement remaining in a congested non combatant zone will result in needless injury" Statian explains outloud "We need to provide replace their targeting parameteres..."her fingers like hyper spiders on her tablet "They are resisting..."