RaynnVerse: The Reign IC

[Raynn]

The Raynn-Verse:

'Some Dreams Never Die'

The Reign Issue #1

"Men create the gods in their own image," - Xenophanes

"The Battle of Claremont Academy,"

Isiah Washington spoke with a tone full of his trade mark presence and a sense of great loss

"Many of the older members of the audience will remember when the Skrulls of Erde attacked Claremont Academy. We lost good people that day, but we won.

We all remember why.

MetaSoul, Jake Robin, slew an army with a gesture.

I wasn't lucky enough to see this spectacle first hand but I've heard tell of it again and again. It may one of the single greatest displays of power by a single individual in human history.

I have heard it called the moment where those like us stopped being heroes and started being Gods.

Some find that term a prickly subject for a eulogy. Gods. A sixteen year old who kills a thousand alpha level super beings in a shorter time than it takes me to finish this sentence deserves the title.

MetaSoul had the power to bat aside armies. Think about that, but he died in the line of duty. In the later years of his life I had the pleasure of working with Jake Robin. He never thought to use his power for anything than the betterment of the world. A wise man once said with great power comes great responsibility, but to give a child that much power and then to have him use it selflessly? That is the sign of a capricious universe and the makings of a great man.

I am only sad he was taken from us so young.

SO yes I will call him a God, and I hope up there somewhere Hades, Zeus, Thor, Odin and their ilk learn a bloody lesson, from boy with the power of a God and a heart of gold.

MetaSoul, you will be missed."

At that Isiah Washington descended from the podium and the coffin, forged of carbon nano tubes with an exterior of hard wood, was lowered into the grave, with MetaSoul's statue looming over it.

After a few minutes the heroes and citizens who had gathered for the ceremony started slowing drifting away after paying their respects, some lingered longer than others, some lingered for only a minute.

Ava, Zia and Nathaniel stand to one side, not far from the grave, as representatives of the F.L.I.. Ava had been MetaSoul in-league psychologist, and both Ava and Nathaniel had on occassion worked with the clone's primogenitor Metamorph on F.L.I. missions.

Other heroes, most of whom had been present at the Battle of Claremont ten years ago, stood nearby, including Doctor Dire I, who seemed in no way reduced out of her armour.

Roland Stone, Apollo Iris and Shade are among the heroes who orbit the group. Roland Stone and Apollo were both one time members of the NavigatioN Club alongside MetaSoul while Shade fought beside him on other battlefields.

Claims that MetaSoul was killed on stage during a public anti-post-human rally past through the group in hushed voices. After a few minutes of quiet conversation a familiar face breaks away from the grave and approaches the area in which Apollo, Roland, Shade, Ava and her family are standing. Most of the other heroes have, at this point, wandered away.

Navi, the now wholely depowered human navimatrix that carted the Navigation club around, has obviously been crying. She hugs Roland and Apollo saying

"I haven't seen you guys in . . . too long, How have you been? Where have you been?"

She then outstretchs her hand to Ava, the closest of Ava's family, and too Shade, not sure if she could actually shake it, saying

"I'm Navi, did you know Jake well? Did you work with him?"

***

Emily Cole and Lea Mendez awake in a forest.

Not truely awake, in fact deep asleep, in the dreaming.

In a forest in the dreaming, not a real forest through. You can't see the sky and the light is always that of dawn, or dusk depending on the mood. The mood of what you ask? The mood of the dreaming.

They look at each other and speak but their sentences come out as colours and their thoughts are spoken crudely in haikus, in french. The dreaming, is of course, incoherent.

It takes a minute, but as if forced, the dreaming acclimates to the presence of a conscience human perception. A pantomine of gravity is enacted, light acts like light, and a child's understanding of physics is said to be 'good enough' as a set of physical laws.

When Emily and Lea are finally able to speak and sit up the air no longer feels like custard.

In the corner of their eyes the pair finally notice a woman, sitting on a rock. It is hard to tell whether she had just appeared or if the dreaming had forgotten to let the pair know she was attending the meeting.

When the woman finally speaks her tone is solemn but still ever so slightly jovial

"I'm Death, and we need to talk."

***

WHAT
DO
YOU
DO?

[ripleycat]

Emily Cole

She was in the woods. Except they weren't the woods, or at least, not any woods she knew. Everything was strange, trippy. but her mind wouldn't let her focus and think properly. There was another person there, a woman, strongly built, who looked... well, she looked like another superhero. Or maybe a supervillain? Emily couldn't communicate with her, to find out, though. The wires in her head were all crossed, and things kept coming out wrong. Then, slowly, things began to coalesce, to come into focus, like she was coming out from under anesthesia. She tried to speak again, and this time was rewarded with sound.

"Buh. Guh? H-Hey, words! All right!" Air Ace made a series of rather ridiculous faces as she ran her tongue over the inside of her mouth, getting everything back into working order.

"Hey, so, what's going on? Do you know, um... oh! Hi there." Emily's sentence stopped halfway through as she looked askance at the woman on the rock, who then introduced herself as Death. "It's a... pleasure? I'm Emily, by the way." She offers her hand to her compatriot and the strange new arrival in turn.

"D-Do either of you know where we are? This is strange, to say the least. If you're 'Death'," she puts the name in air quotes, clearly skeptical that a universal, omnipotent power had dropped by for a chat, but willing to entertain the possibility. "Are... are we dead? Is that why I was speaking canary yellow there for a minute? Or is this a dream, maybe? 'Cause I'm telling my therapist about it if it is."

"I'm being rude, aren't I?" And going crazy. But hey, be polite to your hallucinations. She sat cross-legged on the grass. "Sorry. Um, what needs talking about?"

[Ridai]

It had already been too late when Ava heard about what happened to Jake, his very being beyond her reach to return it to his body. Death is the natural conclusion of life, it is hardly evil and she knows that instinctively, but MetaSoul had been taken much too early, for savage reasons with cruelty only known to the sentient mind. She doesn't care if he is declared a god or whatever other grandiose title people can think of, Ava got to know Jake as a kind soul with a heavy burden upon his shoulders, deserving to witness the wonders of life for far longer than he was able to.

Being no stranger to helping others cope with the death of a friend or a loved one, Ava maintains an open presence, lightly conversing and most of all listening. The rumors about the rally and the cause of MetaSoul's death draw a sigh from Ava's lips, having witnessed a similar cycle of events many times in the past, but she still holds her daughter Zia closer in that moment. The thought of a mob coming after their daughter doesn't quite fill Nathaniel's and Ava's minds with happiness, especially after what happened a year ago.

As Navi approaches, Ava gives a sympathetic smile and shakes her hand, the healer's touch soothing as invisible life energy flows into Navi's body. "I had the pleasure of accompanying Jake along his path during the last five years and offer him counsel when he needed it. I'm Ava, nice to meet you. These are my husband Nathaniel and my daughter Zia." Ava by now is used to the surprised faces seeing a sixteen years old girl standing next to her apparently 21 years old mother (and those often become utter disbelief when they learn that Zia is in fact three years old while Ava is 32). Nathaniel also shakes Navi's hand, looking like he didn't age a day during those past five years.

"He had a heavy burden to carry, but he bore it remarkably for such a young man, always holding his chin up and looking out for others. And when I look around here, I believe I am not the only one who noticed."

[Green Bean]

Lea Mendez

Lea was used to waking up in strange situations, but this was definitely the strangest. She was in the middle of a forest...maybe. She was having trouble concentrating on that fact; it was hard to think straight with her thoughts flying out of her head in poetic French. There was someone else there who looked equally confused, but like everything else, it was hard to tell. It became clear communication was not an option, so Lea simply breathed deeply and calmly counted to chartreuse until the world began to make sense.

"Lily ladles little Letty's lentil soup." Lea muttered a quick tongue twister to herself to make sure her speech and thoughts were fully in order. Confident she could mostly trust her senses now, she turned her attention to her surroundings.

While Air Ace babbled on, Lea turned her attention to the woman on the rock. She certainly didn't look like Death, but then again, Lea never really expected Death to look like anything. Maybe she really was Death, maybe not. But the strange way the two of them arrived indicated that it'd be a good idea to at least figure out what was going on. Remembrance would not take any rash action, even if it was possible in this bizarre world.

Lea looked "Death" straight in the eyes, and keeps a neutral tone. "What do you want?"

[KaganMonk]

Doctor Dare

Apollo looks at Navi with sympathy. Too many times as a doctor he's had to comfort grieving friends and family. "Hello Navi. It has been too long. But I had to go back to my own universe eventually. I've become a full-fledged hero in my own right, though for the sake of my mission, I keep my head down and don't attract attention. I've even taken my travel with the Club to heart and done a decent bit of my own independent traveling. I came back on my own business, only to find myself in time for a funeral, much to my dismay."

Looking around, he sighs. "It is good to see that the heroes of this universe are still strong. I sometimes lose track of what true tragedy can be, when my universe tends to be a lighter mirror of this one. Even without the Jakes, we seem to be lucky that way."

[Ladorak]

Vagrant kept his face blank as he listened to Washington intone the virtues of Jake's life in ponderous and, to Vagrant's ear, insincere terms. He recalled the battle of the Academy, and in particular Jake's actions in rather different terms.

He knows he's being unfair to Washington. As the man said, he wasn't there. He had not seen the sudden carnage that had sickened even Roland, a child soldier who had seen a whole world burnt to ash. He did not see the manic look in Jake's eyes, the curving sneer of contempt and, as the slaughter reached it's crescendo, the look of barely restrained ecstasy. That was a look Roland was long acquitted with. It was the look of the Fallen. He remembered Riley's night terrors, he remembered her whispering in his ear that Jake scared her, he remembers the trail of her breath from his ear to his lips That was the first day I kissed her he recalls sadly That was the first time I kissed anyone. We were lost and frightened, emotionally damaged, we had no one but each other. Not so much a doomed romance, more a stunted one. He is unaware of the way he wraps his arms around himself, hugging tight. Others see it and mistake it for mourning, no one says anything. Superheroes are inherently and notoriously clique creatures. They gather into their own groups to give comfort where it is needed and receive it in return. Roland sits alone, his eyes distant, his expression troubled.

He remembers the countless days he sat with legs crossed, hovering over the blackened ruins of the playing field, slowly placating and purifying the dread spirit that had taken root in the very air and earth when Jake did what he did. He remembered how all the time apart had practically forced Riley into the arms of another man. He remembered when the Human Spirit had risen from the crater and a rare smile flits across his lips At least I did something right.' He remembered Dark Eldritch's words, that he had slain a whole world to break the barrier Roland had erected, and the smile fades as mist before the noonday sun.

Washington finally finishes his speech and Roland remembers when he first met the enigmatic old man, when he came to this world fleeing the Justice Lords. He remembered how Jake wanted to tear apart the mind of the one they had sent to catch Washington. He remembers the heated debate they had, how it has spilled over, he remembered having to force Jake out of his own mind and how hard it was. He remembered the words he had spoken after forcing Jake out, so similar to Washinton's yet radically different. 'That's all we are, children with power children shouldn't have. Because children can be cruel, because children are self centered, because children do not understand how power should be used.' No one understood that less than Jake.

That had been the start of the death of the Navigation Club. The second nail in the coffin was hammered home later the same day. They had gone to the Justice Lord's world shortly after, and Roland remembers vividly the words spoken by Jake to his teammates Your power is nothing compared to mine, and I will use it in an instant to take you down if you ever speak to me like that. Ever. Again. He shudders as he recalls the look on Jake's face.

On a dozen worlds Roland watched Jake struggle against the restrictions set on him by Metamorph and Metamind, struggle to kill and main without hesitation or restraint. Navi had chosen not to see it, the rest could not turn their eyes away forever. On a dozen worlds the same tired arguments were played out again and again. Roland had failed every time to explain the difference between morality and immorality. To Jake it had always been a numbers game, he was blind to shades of grey.

Lost in his own thoughts he was unaware the assembly had scattered until Apollo approached him. Jake was dead now, and the memory would live on, to tarnish that memory would be foolish at best and desecration at the worst. Let them lionise Jake, let them forget what he had almost become. The world always needed more heroes. With this resolution he nodded to Apollo in greeting. He at least would understand what Roland was thinking. It was good to see Apollo again, he looked as collected and unflappable as ever. He had been the rock that had, temporarily, held together the Navigation Club during the dark times. Just seeing him gave Roland a surge of strength and hope he had not felt since...

His mind wanders in dark places as he searches for the end of that sentence. Before Ellen turned. It seemed a lifetime ago, and suddenly Roland wished Apollo could have been there beside him for everyday for the last five years. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so empty inside, maybe then he wouldn't feel so alone.

He smiles at Navi when he sees her, yet it is little more than a twisted grimace, formed from a terrible empathy. If a lifetime of conflict has taught him anything it's that losing a loved one never gets easier.

'Navi.' he says as he hugs her tight. It is all he says, yet the word is so loaded with sorrow and sympathy adding anything else would be redundant.

Her beautiful familiar face, always welcoming and never judgemental, and her question so innocently asked, threatens to open up floodgates within Roland that would have every terrible event that had happened since their separation surging out in an unstoppable torrent. Instead he clamps his jaw shut and tries to ignore the question. His tired eyes plead with her, but he gives no indication what he is pleading for.

[smuchmuch]

Shade is happy few people could really see her face while she's forced to listen to the speech. Even if you don't know the It's easy to feel an emotional attachement to the gravity and sadness of the situation when it's a painfull reminder of your own mortality, but from the point of view of the observer for which it doesn't mean squat anymore, it's hard to connect to the gravity of the moment.
Good thing she didn't have any imreative to yawn or even blink anymore, made it a loteasier to keep a straight solmen face.

But, really, except being here out of a vague duty to the FLI, and general simpathy, what did she really knew about the newly deceased anyway ?
He was just another guy she had occasionaly worked with in the last ten years. Unlife offers little occupations, makes saving the world as good a way as passin time really and meeting new people was a small treat, but she didn't remember having much discusion witht he guy, he wasn'(t much of an extovert. From what she recalled, he could have been called determined, strong, powerfull, yeah. A kind and gentle soul, though...

The jake she worked the most with, back at the time of the legacy (the first... she thinks.), could get pretty intense behind the goofy cornballness; His dimensional 'brother', Metamind was a lot angrier. And the younger one... well she hadn't interacted that much with him and he seemed rather on the level when she did, but if what she heard of him was true, he came up a long way.
He battled his own demons, as we all do, and came a better person I suppose.That's perhaps, was a much greater acomplishement to remember someone than any victory over armies.
well...
Either that or Washinton's eulogy was just full of s**t. In her experience of the matter they generaly were anyway but it hardly matered so why speak ill of the dead ? Well, in her case, the dead-er anyway.

"I'm Navi, did you know Jake well? Did you work with him?"

"Sorry for your loss." Shade look unpassionatly as Navi hand pass through her own. "I worked with him a few time but I'm afraid I didn't knew him well beyond that. don' tkno wi fhe was a 'god' but for what it's worth he didn't shy from doing what he had to and did his best." Poor girl obvously took it hard, from the tear. she couldn't possibly be a parent since metasould was born in a test tube... no wait were talking metas here. "were you another dimension relative ?" with them, that's a perfectly valid question', even if she doesn't look anythin like them. "Or a friend ?"

[Raynn]

~ At a Place Perhaps You've Seen In Your Dreams ~

"To begin, no you're not dead. As to why we're in the Dreaming. . . "

Death stands and as she does the watercolours of the forest become the hard browns and blacks of yout favourite bars. She starts putting seats up on tables and closing up, checking the register, etc

"Let's just say I know the owner, and he said I could have friends over if I needed a place sometimes."

She pulls up two stools to the bar, the last two left, and pours both of you your favourite drinks, though neither of you remember moving to the stools on which you now sit

"Both of you, needless to say, are uniquely appreciative of time travel. One of you sees the damage it can do, the other sees the good it has done in the past."

She starts wiping down glasses and putting them away

"The reason why I want to speak with you is that there is an Agent of the Time Keepers, a Guardian of Time, who is currently visiting your Earth, at your time. I need you to join him and help him gather a team. The others who are with him will do nicely. Otherwise forces in this universe who are conspiring against him will end him and that will lead to a butterfly effect that no one on this plane of existence will be able to control. Doctor Dare must not die, you must help the good Doctor to form his team, and when the time is right you need to stop the Lord of Space."

Finally Death leans back on the bar

"Any final words? Pardon my phrasing."

***

~ At The Meeting For The Lost ~

In response to Shade's question Navi simply waved her hand to impress the significance of the engagement ring on her finger

"I was going to invite you guys but we'd barely started planning. We were. . . It's great to see you guys again and to meet people who worked with Jake.

Jake was so busy with work and things towards the end we barely saw each other. It's great to see you again Roland, you too Paul. We should all go somewhere to catch up, maybe get a bit to eat at Champions?

It's not far from here anyway, and I'll like to hear any of your War Stories, Shade and Ava too of course.

Come on, what's the worst that could happen if you guys take a night off?"

[ripleycat]

Emily Cole

Emily glances around the forest-turned-bar and regards the Manhattan in her hand with mild confusion, then takes a sip. Unsurprisingly, it is superb. She listens carefully to what Death has to say, the sudden and impressive scene change having convinced Air Ace that she was indeed in the presence of a being of immense power, and should be attentive.

"This is important, I understand. I do have a couple of questions, I suppose. Where are we to meet this Doctor Dare? Will we know, or can you tell us? Also, when you say The Lord of Space, is that one of those vague prophecy names, where we're going to have to figure out who the threat is when we get there, or are we literally going to encounter someone who calls themselves the Lord of Space?"

Emily has read a lot of books, watched a lot of movies, played a lot of games. She knows the cliches, and she doesn't truck with mysterious but infuriatingly ambiguous predictions from powerful figures who should be able to give you a name, date, and a step-by-step walkthrough of what you will need to do.

[Raynn]

~ The Dreaming Where Everyone Knows Your Name ~

"The person is THE Lord of Space, it's a title, like President or Prime Minister. He is the living embodiment of the SPACE part of Space-Time. There's only one of him, it's not a vague prophecy thing; and I can tell you exactly where you are going to meet the Doctor, the Champion's Restaurant, 20:23:46, he'll be seated in the back with the rest of your future would be team,"

with a smile she continues

"De-Vagued enough for you?"

[Green Bean]

Lea Mendez

Lea sips her Shirley Temple as she looks around at their new surroundings. It was delicious, but probably no realer than the bar they were now somehow sitting in. Maybe this was Death, maybe it was just some mutant screwing with her head. Not much she could do either way, but the Guardians of Time sounded like something she should look into.

"What's your angle on this? Suppose we meet the Doctor, stop this Space Lord, all that. What do you stand to gain?" Lea doesn't sound accusatory or suspicious, simply curious.

Lea's questions have less to do with popular media, and more to do with being a cynical SOB. Why would some...being (Lea can't bring herself to think of Death as a lady) go through all this to make sure they met up with this Guardian?

[smuchmuch]

"Sorry. I just came to pay my respects, that's all." Shade answer commes as a little chilly. While she understand the girl needs comfort right now but she'll be better getting her from her old squademates, not from a half gone specter who has been driven for the last ten years

... Maybe if the invitation hadn't been in a restaurant*. She might have appreciated talking aboutt he past (after all if living in thepast was not her very definition...) but here she'd likely be soured for the whole evening. Better to decline politely now

"But.." Shade was hald diseapearing through the tombstone before turning; maybe there was a small way she could offer recomfort. "due to my somewhat particular situation, I sometime get to go ...down there." Shade mark a small pause for ephemism "I understand how painfull it is to loose someone so suddenly so... If you have one last message for the departed..." 'I wish I could have let him known one last time', 'I wished I would have told him before it was too late' How many time had she heard that. And how many had to live with the regret they couldn't. it wasn't much to offer but it would be hopefully a bit of peace of mind.
"I make no promesses but I will try to transmit if I can. Hope you get a better evening."

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*Yeah, inviting the undead incorporeal ghost to a restaurant that's a bit like inviting a blind guy to a paintings gallery or an eunuch to a porno theater. Kind of a faux pas here.
Avoid gym and maternity wards too.

But seriously, as amusing it would be to make the nearly omnipotent nearly omnicient endless Death wrong, Shade will be to the 'Champion's Restaurant at 20:23:46 for one reason or another (I'm sure a reason can be found an all), if it helps for the plot.
jsut not feeling it'd be in character to accept that invitation just right now

[Raynn]

~ The Dreaming & Death ~

"That's a very good question. I'm Death. This Lord of Space is as much part of the natural order as I am. I just don't have a mortal personification. You could say we're colleagues, we don't trade water cooler stories and he works in realestate while I work in Human Resources but otherwise the metaphor holds.

I exist to maintain a certain universal order. Something the Lord of Space intends to do, which I can not digress for the very logical reason that he will do it ahead of schedule and kill you immediately if he discovers you know about it, will permanently upset that natural order if your team is not formed to do something about it.

To narrow it down, you could say I'm outsourcing my own job to others more suited to this specific problem,"

she shrugs and smiles amused

"What can I say I'm slave to the economy of cheap mortal labour and a strict code of intra-workplace interaction,"

She nods over to the exit that has now appeared

"Step through that and you're back to the land of the conscious."

***

~ A Funeral For A Friend ~

At Shade's question of a message Navi seems about to swell up again but she controls herself

"Tell him, wherever he is, that'll I'll see him again one day. . . and that I love him,"

As Shade departs the group is left with the most awkward and depressing silence that they have likely ever encountered until Navi finally forces herself to perk up, trying to bring up her more peppy self that her Navigation Club friends might recognise

"So. . . Champion's? I have a growing need for comfort food. This former robot come astrophysicist is in desperate need of curly fries and nostalgia!"

She says through a forced smile.

***

~ Where The Shade Goes ~

As Shade passed through the city streets she found it was seemingly calm. For once no sirens filled the air and no capes appeared to cross the sky, but Shade had learned during her unlife that thought something quacked like a duck, walked like a duck and looked like a duck didn't mean it was avian, especially in this town.

It didn't take her long to pierce this facade. She passed Liberty Perk and an apartment building during her long walk which had both taken a beating during the day and were already being repaired.

Not long after dark Shade was on a rooftop overlooking a loading bay at the back of a supposedly unused warehouse. She knows that various illegal designer drugs, Max, Zoom, Zombie Power and even a little MGH, was being shipped out of the place regularly.

A rookie hero would just bust the place and call it a night but Shade knew that she could learn more about the criminal organisation that was behind the production if she staked the place out for a few nights first, as much as she didn't like it. She was hoping the Fomorrian Mafia or the Queen of Blood's Clan of Vampires were responsible to help put a little cool down on the gang war that was brewing. If she put enough of both sides away maybe she could save lives before the whole conflict boiled over into the streets.

Finally after what seemed like hours, but likely less, the overseer of the operation walked into the limelight of the back alley, well into Shade's view, as they loaded up one of the trucks. . .

Shade leapt back from the edge, beginning to whisper to herself that what she had seen was an urban myth, the ghost thought to herself that what she had seen was ridiculous, that it could not be real, that it was merely a funny, scary, bloody story that criminals told each other over drinks in the bollews of the city. . .

With her confidence in her sanity built back up Shade took tentative steps back to the edge. . .

Below stands a small cartoon crook in a pinstripe suit flipping a coin in one hand and a tommy gun in his other hand. . . Lucky of the Toon Gang . . . What else was real Shade thought to herself Vam. . . Oh yeah. . .

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What Shade Didn't believe about Lucky & The Toon Gang:

Lucky:

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Lucky is slick and suave (for a cartoon), always flipping a coin nonchalantly. He wears a double-breasted pinstripe suit, and his pencil-thin moustache makes his very angular face seem even more severe. He can’t resist a bet or a pretty face. He’s the planner of the Toon Gang and a sharpshooter with his cartoon tommy gun.

Toon Gang:

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Freedom’s most unusual “mob” element, the Toon Gang was literally
brought to life by Raven’s foe Toy Boy, using a “realizer ray” created by
Quirk. The gangsters originally starred in the popular Keystone Cops cartoon.
While the other cartoon characters brought to life by the realizer
ray faded away after Toy Boy’s weapon was destroyed, the members of
the Toon Gang are still around. It could be the strange forces lingering
in Freedom or simply Boss Moxie’s, well, moxie, keeping them around.
Whatever the case, the Toon Gang remains in Freedom City and its heroes
(and Mob families) have to deal with them.

The problem for their foes is this: The Toon Gang are all still threeto
four-foot tall cartoon characters, virtually impossible to kill or even
hurt for very long. Their idea of a “hit” involves dropping a safe or grand
piano on somebody’s head from a fifth-story window, and their idea of
“organized crime” is running protection rackets and knocking over jewelry
stores and banks. Subtler concepts like money laundering and numbers
schemes—much less drug running, smuggling, and vice—are completely
over their disproportionate heads. The Toons aren’t especially bright,
either, although their logic is so simple and direct it sometimes seems
clever. The only good point is there are only five of them: Boss Moxie, his
moll Roxie, and his faithful henchmen Knuckles, Lucky, and Joey Scars.

[ripleycat]

Emily Cole

"De-Vagued enough for you?"

"Very much so. Thank you for humoring me." There's no sarcasm or snark in Emily's response. She seems very satisfied with having gotten a solid time and place rather than a bit of doublespeak. She repeats "Champion's Restaurant, 20:23:46, in the back." to herself several times. She even tries to write it out on a bar napkin, but the Dreaming doesn't seem to have left any writing utensils about.

Air Ace listens as Death lays out the reasons for this meeting with an extended office metaphor. She finishes her drink with a gulp, winces at the hefty dose of bitters she just gave herself, and takes a few steps towards the door back to "reality" before pausing and looking back at Death.

"So, in this 'office' of yours... isn't there someone, or something, I guess, who could just... fire Mr. Lord of Space for this terrible thing he's planning to do and hire a new one, or is that taking the metaphor a bit too far? I kind of figure what the answer's going to be, since you've already asked us for help, but, well, I'm curious, what can I say?"

[Ridai]

"I can't go right now, but thank you for the offer, Navi. I'll try to drop by later this evening, if that's alright with you. You go ahead and have fun." Ava smiles encouragingly to Navi. Letting her catch up with her friends without strangers around might do her more good. With that, the healer turns to her family. "Shall we?" Soon, the three of them are taking their leave, wishing the others well.

This was Zia's first funeral. The girl, thanks to her heritage, has no problem with understanding and accepting the concept of death (more so than most people), but seeing the reactions of others to it can be troubling, especially with what happened a year ago. So helping her understand and come to terms with it currently is the highest priority for Ava, whose nature means she (and sometimes those around her) often has to deal with issues of mortality.

Their home is a rather nice house in a more quiet neighborhood, not too small, not too big. Nathaniel, Zia and Ava have slowly made it truly their home over the years, filling the place with good memories of times spent together, their friends and their achievements, making it cozy and welcoming. Colors and other impressions seem a little more vibrant within their home, a minor side effect of the life energy constantly flowing from Ava suffusing it entirely over the past few years (which is also doing wonders for their garden).

Changing into something more casual, going over the funeral with Zia, watchign a movie and having dinner together sounds like a good schedule before leaving for the restaurant to get a few drinks with the Navigation Club reunion. Still, she lets Zia take things on her own time, not pushing the issue if she doesn't feel ready.

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Don't want to derail too much (and I'm still not that used to just creating my own scenes), so feel free to move Ava to the restaurant if you don't feel like playing out the scenes at the family's home.

Also, as a note, I won't play Nathaniel and Zia, as that would feel kind of strange. Interacting with them every now and then is among the things I'm looking forward to.

[Green Bean]

Lea Mendez

Personifications of the natural order having some weird office scrap with the whole universe at stake. On the off chance all this was true, this sort of thing was way over her head. But this is what Lea had signed up for - saving the world however she could. She would step up to the plate, even if this was just some bored cosmic being playing at jerking the mortals around.

And in this case, it didn't really matter what "Death"'s agenda was. Find a Guardian of Time, work with him to protect world and timeline? That was pretty much already Lea's plan, albeit with a bit of time saved now that she knew who and what she was looking for. There are plenty of good reasons to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it still bore investigating.

She proceeded briskly to the exit, but stopped for a moment before taking her leave. Lea couldn't think of anything offhand she needed to know. Champion's Restaurant, look for the girl in the pilot outfit and a man named Doctor Dare. But nonetheless, she probably wouldn't get another chance to ask questions like this. She paused for a moment, on the threshold between dreams and reality. "What's something I should know, but don't know to ask?"

[KaganMonk]

Doctor Dare

With a hint of regret, Apollo bids farewell to the other two. It only occurs to him a bit later that he could at least offer to let Shade share his senses. But life moves on, and there are other things to be done.

I guess that just leaves the old Club. I'd be more than happy to accept your invitation, Navi. Champion's is Champion's no matter which universe you're in. Now I know you've been depowered, but do you still manage to have adventures in your free time?

[Raynn]

~ Death & Dreamers ~

Death replies to Emily first

"I called him a colleague, not an employee, let's just say I can't fire him on a whim as much as he can't fire me. There's a zero intraworkplace competition clause in our contracts so to speak."

then in repy to Lea

"How to kill the Lord of Space, the answer is? You can't,"

With that the world for the two girls faded into black. . .

***

~ At The Home of White Light ~

As Ava finished up with Zia talking over the funeral it wasn't long before she rushed off tapping away at one electronic device or another. It seemed despite her accelerated growth she was fitting in well at Claremont.

Nathaniel has a glass in hand, about to pour himself a drink of the non-alcoholic variety. After a moment he spoke leaning back on the fridge behind him

"That MetaSoul kid, Jake something, I was talking to Beacon the other day. Says the kid was only 11 when he died, clone or something. . . Not the much older than Zia, a child. . . I'm not sure about that school Ava. I mean. . . I know Zia needs people like her around her, specially with how fast she had to grow up, but I'm worried about what else Athena and Isiah are teaching those kids.

I mean you worked with some of those kids right? For years? Didn't you tell me about that one kid, Roy or Robert or something with R, who they made beat an alien to death on his FIRST day? I know it was a hologram but it messed him up didn't it? Or that team of kids that they walked right into a room full of bodies on a team trip. . .

I mean what those people are trying to do is noble and all but I'm not sure it's. . . well safe. I'm mean we're not too busy. And even with just one F.L.I. paycheck we could afford this place easy. I. . . I think we should Home School Z. . ."

At that a door is slammed high above and Zia races down to the foot of the stairs

"NO!"

Nathaniel is brought to a pause by the shout from the normally calm Zia before collecting himself and trying his best serious parental tone

"Your Mom and I were just discussing the possibility. . . "

Zia cuts him off with a shout as a teen is want to do

"NO WAY! Even Abby and Athey get to go to Claremont and they're like ten! I mean Mom can come back from the dead anyway, doesn't that mean I can! I have friends there! I HAVE A BOYFRIEND THERE!"

At that last comment Nathaniel seems to half choke on what he's drinking before shouting wide eyed

"YOUR THREE YEARS OLD!"

At that Zia seems even more infuriated

"I'M A TEENAGER!"

Nathaniel looks pleadingly over at Ava for support. . .

***

~ At Champion's Restaurant ~

Navi explained that since being depowered roughly ten years ago her life had been relatively boring save for being a former robot and having more than the average number of friends with super powers. The echo of her knowledge as the Navimatrix meant it didn't take her long to graduate FCU at the top of her class and she now has a Phd. in Astrophysics. Like many others she currently works for Olympus Technologies out of an old building which used to belong to Astro labs before Olympus Technologies hostile take over of that particular competitor.

The party of currently three was shown to it's table relatively quickly and among the many waiters and statues in costume it was unlikely they would stand out in full costume themselves.

After a good twenty minutes of waiting, small talk, and bread sticks a woman in a plastic and felt Doctor Dire costume approaches the table. The girl sounds young and speaks with a nervous tone that implies it's her first day

"How may I. . . I mean. . . DIRE DEMANDS YOUR ORDER!"

***

~ Where Lea Wakes up ~

Spoiler

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Go wild, describe your apartment, or perhaps a gutter you drunkenly come to in, or a library you fell asleep in or even someone else's apartment where you spent the night.

***

~ Where Emily Wakes up ~

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Go wild, describe your apartment, or perhaps a gutter you drunkenly come to in, or a library you fell asleep in or even someone else's apartment where you spent the night.

[Ridai]

Ava kisses her daughter on the head after the talk about the funeral, leaving Zia's room. Even before she can see her husband, the healer can tell something is on Nathaniel's mind. Heading into the kitchen, she leans against the counter opposite of him. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asks, her tone calm and genuine.

Listening to Nathaniel (and Zia), she can very much understand both sides, a sympathetic but somewhat melancholic look on her face during the fight. Before adressing the main issue, though, she still needs to get one thing out of the way. "Zia, love, you are not at that point yet to come back if something should happen to you. Life is precious, the ability to return from the dead is not a free pass for me to throw myself to the wolves again and again. Even though you will reach the point and death isn't something to be afraid of, I still wish you will never have to experience the return." This is too important for her to skip or summarize. Being the daughter of someone who can just make all wounds, malladies and even death go away makes all of those seem trivial when they absolutely are not.

Ava can feel her daughter wanting to interrupt, but simply inclining her head tells Zia she hasn't finished yet. "What Isiah did to Robert was inexcusable and irresponsible, absolutely. Many of the kids at Claremont have to face or come to terms with things even adults have trouble dealing with, if not more. I would love to just be unneccesary at Claremont, but I can't deny that there won't be more kids like Ashley and Jake in the future." Even though it looks like she is firmly on Nathaniel's side, Ava looks her husband in the eye with a sad smile.

"You know I'd love nothing more than to spend eternity just with the two of you. But we can't just smother Zia with our love. We both want her to have the best life she can, but we also both know how it feels to be isolated and alone. That's why we have to let her breathe, make her own decisions and mistakes, and we should support her as best we can along the way. I know of the dangers, but I know she will be stronger with her friends around her and not just us." It is hard to say those words, the inherent desire to want only the best for her child always nagging. Standing freely now, Ava spreads her arms apart just a little, her posture open, almost beckoning.

"Please, honey. It won't lie, it won't be easy. But it will be alright. We'll be alright. And if I catch that socially retarded 'genius' even considering something stupid again, I can assure you, there'll be hell to pay."

Ava is looking at both her husband and her daughter, hoping they both understand, that harmony could once again return to the family. Her smile is more encouraging, more determined. They have been through a lot together already. They will get through everything else as well.

[Green Bean]

Lea awakens almost instantly, alert and on her feet in seconds. She rubs her eyes and glances around her tiny two-room apartment, almost hoping a dose of normalcy would help her make sense of that dream. Her living room/bed room/kitchen was the same patchy off-white as always, with crates full of surplus military and police equipment scattered over the limited floor space. Her living room was dirty, the bathroom was filthy, cockroaches had all but taken over the kitchen, and she heard the distant thud of a downstairs neighbour blasting speed metal from his stereo at maximum volume. The place was, in short, a rat hole. On the plus side, it was a pittance to rent, and the landlord didn't ask questions as long as she paid in cash. Lea had inherited a little money from her parents, and knew enough about the general pattern of the financial markets from her other selves that her investments weren't doing too badly, but the fact was she had no job and one-woman wars on injustice are not cheap.

Mechanically, she goes through her daily routine, converting her bed back into a sofa and taking out a trash bin filled with wrappers from ramen noodles and MREs. The faucet was leaking again; her improvised repairs hadn't held. Unfortunately, Lea couldn't exactly call in the building super, who might wonder why his tenant had several thousand dollars worth of smoke grenades, crossbow bolts, GPS trackers, and assorted other survivalist paraphernalia.

Glancing at the clock, Lea goes to her closet and gets out her hero costume. She was going to investigate this Doctor, and since the odds of this being an ambush were pretty good, it'd be Remembrance dropping in.

[Ladorak]

The Memorial

When Navi shows the group her engagement ring Roland's already sour look becomes stricken. He reaches out and takes her held out hand in his own. With one hand he grips her fingers tight in mute sympathy. With the other he covers the back of her hand, including the ring, with his wide palm 'Oh Navi' his voice oozes sympathy and pain, it overruns with empathetic grief 'Oh Navi.' His eyes meet hers and in them she sees the mirror of her own lose, Roland's face was writ with a mute understanding horrible to behold. 'Of all the people in all the worlds, none deserve this less than you.'

She feels a sudden heat on her ring finger, not unpleasant but startling. She flinches back, but Roland holds her hand firm. 'Don't be afraid. You know I'd never hurt you.' This sounds more plea than statement and his speech falters, but only briefly 'Memories are important. They are all that links us to the past. You must never forget Jake, and his love for you. This will help. I wish with all my heart I could do more.'

He holds her hand up to her face, the jewel of her ring sparkling before her eyes. In every facet of the gem she saw Jake's face reflected back at her, his eyes full of love, his face one of contentment. He lets her drink in the image before he speaks again, much softer 'You are a queen among women Navi. Riley was the only one I ever met who didn't think so, I hope you can forgive her for that. She mistook fear of travelling with you for fear of you. For the rest of us, we worship your example. For the rest of the club, we love you For myself, I wish I could be like you.'

***********

Champion's Restaurant

Roland takes in the decor and theme of Champions and dislikes it in an instant, he says nothing of course. For a long time he was confused by the trappings of this strange capitalist world, where almost anything can be used to sell almost everything. He had since decided to simply ignore it is best he could. He tried not to judge, after all it beat the hell out of life back home, even during the good times, scratching a living out of the blacken earth and mutated crops didn't really compare to take-out food and electronic cookers.

Still... He considered the possibilities. A Dire Burger. Pain Ribs. A Metamorph Surprise. How food related to superheroes he didn't understand, but he said nothing and tried to ignore it.

Which became impossible when an obviously nervous young lady approached them with the single worst Doctor Dire impression he had ever heard. He forced a smile he hoped seemed genuine and leaned conspiratorially over to her 'We saw the real Doctor Dire today. She doesn't sound like that any more. You did good, but remember being Dire is all about being larger than life, being the centre of attention.' He considered saying more, instead he kept quiet, though his thoughts were unstilled Dire spoke like that to terrify. She focused all attention on herself to instil dread in her enemies. It doesn't really transfer to taking orders.

Then he looked around the restaurant, the place was packed, happy smiling faces everywhere. He was forced to conclude that once again he was wrong and the universe was right

[smuchmuch]

Before

Shade drift through the tomstones.
Somewhere in these there's a tomb at her name. She wonders, Was there as much people at her own burrial ? And what did the obituary says ? even with lots of padding. Probably not much. Silviah had a very normal, rather good if all too short life, but sometime she felt it was just doing the sleeping and eating between the really good parts. Even then it was 'Shade', the silly mask wearing pseudonym, that had all the excitement.

Before leaving, she stop in front of another grave. Concentrating, she makes a few flowers levitate from a nearby vase and make them glide over to the stone.
“See ya Jen”
As if her her own grave wasn't bad enough, there's the increasing number of her friend's.

Well she sure feels moody now. moodier anyway. Maybe she should have accepted this invitation after all. The restaurant couldn't be and some company might do her good too. Talking to people a bit might distract her from mopping alone.

Maybe later, once she'd one with some 'business' first.

--------------
Now

Shade is totally shocked
The toon gang ?! That feels pretty pretty irreal

In a serious world of powered armored megalomaniac mad scientists, ex criminal speedsters, teleporting time travelling detectives, battle computer implanted teens, cloned shape-shifters, hedge magicians turned vampires, electricity shooting power armored socialites, vengeful ghost vigilantes, robot building no less megalomaniac but less charismatic still mad scientists, life controling turned vampire hunter barmaids, amazing molemen magicians, kinda bland magnetic controllers, advanced nanotechnologic humanist robots, angry alternate dimension cloned psychics, green lantern firemen, Conan Doyle reading dinosaur detectives, angry cloned teenage and now dead overpowered mental shifters, bad romance novels' love powered medieval knights, weird chaotic phenomenon turned human sorcerers, angsty psychics with fmaily issues, object creating blue ring wearing teens, nice under a rock hard exterior powerhouses, time and dimension traveling badass normals, bright light emitting mutants, density shifting invisible teens, legacy light controllers, nanotechnologic not so humanist but oh so very asimovian anime looking robots, nanotechnologicaly enhanced agaisnt their will teen, commando trained orange ring wearing powered armor teachers, light sword wearing jedi knights wanabes, invocating telporting ordinary slacker teens, object animating goth schoolgirls, hallucinogenic drugs secreting stonners, clonned secret project brutish looking but sensible inside minotaurs, bubbly with dark secret origins luck controlers, sullen secretive time manipulating (in more way than one) immortals, emotionaly scarred alien shapeshifters, 'ultimate psychic' teens, dragon riding flying magic artificiers, angsty german electricity controllers, living embodiment of platonic philosphy possessed teens, sword wielding reincarnation of legendary king, dinosaur shapeshifters,
In this serious world in a serious universe, silly gangster toons just don't fit.

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yes I just had that strange impulse to list them all. Just for the hell of it.
Maybe I shouldn't try to post a three Am ?

... so little game here: try to associate a name to all of those description without consulting the respective OOcs.
Rembered 'Glowworm' or 'Magnetized' ? That's okay me neither.


------------------------

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How come she gets to meet the toon gang; unfair !

But seriously is there any setting/plot reason for Shade to freak out like that ?

(I mean she's a ghost herself, who meet robots, fae and vampires on a semi regular basis, in a city who is a magnet for all the weirdness int eh setting, so she's got a pretty big tolerance for weird (doesn't means she necessary like it, mind). And It's not like Jill existence was a big secret in the last game and the bigger reaction she got (out of that one character in a simulation) were a few bemused glance and that's all, (and the toon gang has been here way longer).

So should I put her reaction on a sudden attack of arbitrary skepticism and selective forgetfullness for the sake of amusement or is there something else to it ?

Anyway, the real post:

----------------------

The shock passed, shade decide to think a little more calmly about the situation. If the hushed rumors she eharare true, this toons aren't very smart, sane and not particularly subtle.
Well, make sense to her. No one remember bugs bunny for his firm grip on reality or Will E. Coyote for his great common sense and how he snuck up efficiently and quickly on the road runner and spared himself lots of unnecessary effort and pain, do they ?

A smugling operation does not fit their suspected modus operandi, something strange here. They could be hired pasties for someone else of course or there's a rat.
Before movng fromt he roof, Shade scans around for other onlooker that would seem to lay low at the

Once her paranoia is satisfied, shade drift through the roof and the different floors of the building until she is almost at ground level then step into the alley Lucky just left she could just waltz in here, as far as she knows none of these towns are particularly mystical in nature, but in case (likely) they aren't alone, just to be sure she still advance prudently, staying close tot he walls,making sure not to get into anyone line of sight and ducking though if anyone seems to notice her.

she first try to make her way to one of the truck, trying to see exactly what is being shipped in those crates as it might give her a more precise idea of the nature and size of the operation.
Then she'll take a look inside the warehouse.

[ripleycat]

Emily Cole

"How often does the train go by?"

"So often you won't even notice."

"I'll take a room for three nights."

With that, Emily had used nearly all of her meager funds to check into the Stanwick Ave. Hotel and Boarding House, and it was here that she woke with a groan in the late afternoon. The old brick building was smack in the middle of the Fens, and it was just as run-down as the rest of the neighborhood, but it didn't seem like the sort of place that asked its many come-and-go tenants many questions.

More importantly, it was cheap, buying Emily a few days to find a job or get in touch with AEGIS to get her timeship back or track down whatever versions of her friends existed in this timeline before she ended up out on the street. All of those options were somewhat hamstrung by her new situation. "I left my ID in my other dimension" would be a hard pill to swallow for most potential employers. Maybe she could work at Claremont or ASTRO Labs. They might believe her tale. Or maybe Camelot, which seemed to be on everyone's lips as it hovered above the harbor, though that would mean meeting its ruler, and she wasn't sure she was ready for a conversation that awkward.

For now, though, there were bigger fish to fry. She spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening prepping to meet this Doctor Dare. The last of her money was spent on a few supplies from a store down the street, and then every bit of leather was buffed, every bit of chrome polished, until her costume positively gleamed. A good first impression was important, after all. Looking downright heroic for once, she slipped up to the roof and enjoyed the sunset for a while before gearing up and rocketing off towards Midtown, where Champion's, and this promised rendezvous with a soon-to-be superteam awaited.

[KaganMonk]

Doctor Dare

As they come into the restaurant, Apollo stashes his mask and makes his coat turn a more normal color than brilliant white. And as always, Champion's makes him laugh. Seeing so many people actually enjoying the presence of world crushing powers is incredible. Even normal humans were incredibly resilient.

When Doctor Dire comes to take their order, he suppresses a laugh of delight. As Roland gives her tips and looks around the restaurant, he leans over to him. "Don't worry, if grandmother were to come in and start shouting at them, they'd all be kneeling before her before they registered her words."

"As for me, I went home with permission to become an active superhero. Mostly I did solo work for awhile. Occasionally I got called in for Freedom League duty, but you only really need a limited number of technical geniuses or ritual casters. Until I realized the true value of being an unknown. One guy got the smarts and slipperiness to go back in time and convince grandma not to rebuild the Freedom League. Fortunately, I managed to follow him and wasn't effected. He barely recognized me and underestimated me, while I beat him and reversed the anomaly. That's when I met another dimension hopper who called himself a "Guardian of Time." He recruited me to help protect the integrity of our timelines. Since then, I've been keeping a low profile and recruiting others to be Guardians, while guarding my own. And this one a bit. I really need to find someone to do the work here. So what about you, Roland?"

[Ladorak]

When Apollo makes his, likely correct, prediction of what would happen should Dire wander into Champions Roland's false smile slips away. The grin becomes smaller, little more than an upturning of the corners of his mouth, but much more genuine. 'I've missed you Apollo.'

He says nothing more until his former team-mate is done updating the group. The question, innocently asked, is not an easy one for Roland to answer. Secrets within secrets spun around his head as he decided what he would and wouldn't say. I'm a guardian as well. I was before you left, I'm sure you remember. Things were different then though. Earth had a Master Magus, Ellen, remember her? We rescued her from the Skrull.
'With her the planar barrier was secure, and Earth's magical forces had a leading light, someone to rally around. The cosmic powers-that-be were content to let me travel around the multiverse with you, despite my appointed position, because I was surplus to requirement. Ellen was enough to protect Earth from invading Dark Lords or demons foreign to this plane of existence.
'That all changed when she turned.' He wondered how up-to-date Dare was on current events, probably not very 'A vampire bit her. Now there's no Master Magus, I should know, I've spent years looking for them. Since then things have been... tough. The mystic balance has been shifted and I cannot right it. I used to be surplus to requirement, now I'm inadequate to requirement. The magic world has gotten...' He trails away, searching for the right words, visibly frustrated at how hard it was. 'Dark.' He eventually finished 'A lot of very ugly things have crawled out of the woodwork, sensing the absence of a Master Magus. The minor pantheons that deign to speak with me are scared, and don't mind saying it.
'Still, it's not all bad. The planer barrier is safe for now. That doesn't stop the homegrown terrors, but it's a hell of a lot safer than we were before. And I've been offered a teaching position at Claremont. I start in a few weeks, I'm really looking forward to it.'

[Raynn]

- Air Ace - Remembrance -

As Air Ace and Remembrance swoop in over the skyline near Champion's restaurant they see finally definitive proof that their dreams were more than just dreams. Though suited up in superhero regalia they both immediately recognise the other as the girl from their own dreams.

Scouting around the rooftop of the restaurant building doesn't reveal any obvious threat and the sun is setting in the distance.

***

- Doctor Dare - Vagrant -

It didn't take long for the poor quality doctor dire to return with the table's orders and when she finally did Navi finally got a word in

"At least you guys get to keep your powers, do you know how old I am? Much older than I look. Now I have a life expectancy of less than a century. Most things I knew before becoming human are lost to me now and when I asked the F.L.I. if they could restore my powers and keep me human they just dismissed me asking why they'd bother,"

she lets out a sigh

"And with Jake gone I bet soon most of my superhero friends won't even answer my calls. I'm just one of the 'normals' now. So try not to complain too much about being badass Space-Aurors or time travellers. My greatest adventure since the Navigation club tanked was my thesis review,"

her face becomes the same downcast mask it was at the funeral

"I just wish . . ."

At that she seems to shudder violently. Suddenly she clutches her hands over her ears, her face showing her obvious pain

"Agh. . . Do you guys hear that. . . ?!"

The other restaurant goers begins to stare worriedly and apprehensively at Navi as the rest of the restaurant falls silent.

***

- Ava -

The family embraces, only briefly, before breaking apart as Nathaniel asks worriedly but trying to sound humourous

"So boyfriend. . . ?"

At that Zia groans

"It's fine Dad. He's nice Dad, he's an older guy so he's not a pig."

As Zia leaves the room to go get ready for dinner at Champion's Nathaniel shouts up at her

"You're three, EVERY GUY is older than you! And older doesn't fill me with confidence!"

Zia closes the door to her room, less annoyed and more just not feeling the need to respond. Nathaniel slides down against the fridge to the kitchen floor as he finishes his drink. He lets out an exasperated sigh

"Kids."

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Hero Point to Smuchmuch for pointing out the out of characterness of that reaction, and in such a comical fashion.

Also Stealth Check please.

- Shade -

As Shade approaches she checks the crates to find just what she had anticipated, drugs, primarily those to do with post human abilities. Within the warehouse Shade spies nothing more than a few spare thugs loading up the trucks with more crates like the ones Shade had just checked out.

[KaganMonk]

Doctor Dare

Muttering to himself, Apollo pulls his mask and some tools out of his coat and starts fiddling. This wasn't a medical problem, so go for the technical approach. "What do they always tell you at Claremont. Never wish, never wish, never wish."

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2 Rounds: Adding Hear Dimensional Communications, and Hear Temporal Communications to the mask. Probably can't hear anything directed at Navi alone, but it's worth a shot. And a roll to check for mishap, if necessary.
Electrical - (1d20+32)[43]

"Stay with us Navi. Roland, you got anything?"

[Green Bean]

A populated restaurant in the middle of the city during daylight hours is hardly a suspicious environment, but Remembrance is thorough, checking exits, performing head counts, even listening in on a few employees taking a smoke break in the back. When Air Ace arrives on the roof, Remembrance sizes up the new arrival before revealing herself. She keeps her distance, though, and near to cover, ready to bolt and hide if necessary.

"Hello. I don't suppose you're here for the same reason I am."

[ripleycat]

Emily Cole

Emily seems less worried about their surroundings. Part of it probably has to do with her means of transportation. If potential enemies somehow missed the roar and burning light of the rocketpack touching down, then it was safe to assume they probably weren't much of a threat. There's a strange flash of recognition as Lea takes off her mask and Emily registers a face she knows, but has technically never seen before.

"Um, crazy dream, goth girl who turned out to be Death herself, directed here to meet man named Doctor Dare, need to form superteam to stop Lord of Space from mucking up life, the universe, and everything?"

The retro-tech rocketeer removes her helmet and offers Lea a grin and a handshake. "'Cause that's why I'm here. If you're not, then, well, Air Ace, at your service, or Emily, Emily Cole if the superhero name business isn't your style, but I guess you already knew that. nice to meet you in the flesh." She checks her watch. "Almost time. You know, being predestined to do something is a really weird feeling. I don't like it much."

[Green Bean]

Remembrance shook Emily's hand firmly, now slightly less wary of the whole situation. "As days go, it's one of the stranger ones. Not the strangest, though. I go by Remembrance." She peels back a glove and checks her own watch.

"I know what you mean. Part of me just wants to wait until eight thirty before we go down. To see what happens." She doesn't smile.