Heroes of Millaine IC 2 - Coming Soon to a Theater Near You!

[Zelphas]

When the Justice asks her to control herself, Waterworks has to suppress a wild urge to laugh. She thinks that this is out of control? Nevertheless, she returns to her human form after a long moment, though bubbles of air still appear to be floating through her every few seconds. She is standing now; the chair is nothing but a small puddle on the floor. "I'm sorry. I'll pay for the chair."

The Justice leaves, and Waterworks is quick to follow suit unless someone stops her. She doesn't have any particular destination in mind, but ends up in the cafeteria, staring blankly into space and carefully controlling her breathing. The Maelstrom, enraged and overjoyed by this newest betrayal from the Pack member it most wished to fight, has been screaming wordlessly in her head since the moment Maestro laid out his reasoning, and it is taking all she has to keep herself from... being cited for destruction of city property.

[Llyarden]

As if I didn't consider both of those, Wilson thought irritably, as Senior scolded him. If a bunch of Archdamn criminals could wrap the justice system around their fingers - at least until they killed a judge's son - does she seriously think a criminal Senator has anything to fear from the courts? The readout from the watch, though, caught Wilson so off-guard that he blinked once or twice before turning around to Copycat and saying, in the 'well, that happened' tone of voice that the Heroes probably ought to have trademarked by this point, "You built your watch...to snark?"

Wilson didn't leave the conference room, but Sean did. He couldn't blame Senior for wanting a break - he certainly knew how she felt. He ended up following Waterworks into the cafeteria, though he couldn't have honestly said whether he was sticking with her to keep an eye on the Maelstrom - he hardly needed his powers to tell how close the Maelstrom was to lashing out - or because she was at that point the person he trusted the most of the entire group. "Hey," he said quietly. "This probably isn't the best time to ask this, but...you knew Wilson, a hell of a lot longer than I did. Was..." Sean stammered slightly. "Was he ever different than...that?" He gestured back over his shoulder to the conference room. "Did we just...not see it until now?"

[manwithaplan]

Tom shook his head at Wilson as people began to leave.

"I built it to scan powers and heal injuries, buddy. I get that you're smart. I get that it's easy to go off your head and make a hunch and just run with that. But in court, evidence beats hunches. The one piece of evidence you just received, a piece of machinery, is in my favour. Now you've decided that it must be...snarking you? Come on, man. You accused me of declaring a conspiracy. What happens when your pride holds you to your assumptions until you're blinded to what's right?"

With his melodramatic statement released, he stood to go for a walk.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks is silent for a long moment after Sean speaks. "I... I don't know." She doesn't look at her teammate. "Wilson was always... solid. Professional. Declan saw Defiant everywhere, and Maestro would fly off the handle every time someone did something he didn't like, and Copycat was--" One half of her body bulges and deforms, before settling back to human shape.

After a moment, she continues as if she had never stopped speaking. "I never had to stop Wilson from fighting, or calm him down, so I never realized how little I knew about him. And then I absorbed an Apex stone and the Maelstrom came, and I got so wrapped up in myself that I didn't notice Wilson getting quieter, more distracted, or Maestro getting more paranoid, or Copycat going from one thing to the next without ever getting better, and--" She shudders. "All the signs were there, and I should have been reading them. And I didn't, and it all ended up like this. If I'd just stopped wallowing in my own problems for two seconds, I might've..."

[Llyarden]

"Not sure why you think it's in your favour. It just 'testified' that it always has Dreamtech in it, and its excuse for not showing up to scanners was that...one part of it didn't? Can you imagine that working in any other situation? 'Ah, yes, the meal I served my wife did indeed have poison in it, but the chilli sauce didn't, so therefore clearly I didn't poison her.'" Wilson scoffed.

"Besides...why? Why are you still pretending? I mean, I can understand putting on the act for Sessions' sake - Arch knows I've seen a lot of criminals lie through their teeth in court - but in case it escaped your notice, Chide, the only people who are still here already know what you did. Are you expecting that if you say something often and loudly enough, everyone's going to start agreeing? Might work on a kid's playground or with the Reclaimers, but that's about it." It was entirely possible that by the time he'd finished talking that Copycat had left, but he didn't seem to notice.

Out in the cafeteria, Sean didn't flinch at the sudden rippling of water across Waterworks' form. He wasn't scared of the Maelstrom; he was cautious of it, certainly, as more or less any sane person would've been, but not scared. And there was a certain part of him - the part of him that the Reclaimers had nurtured into being - that agreed with the instincts that the Maelstrom was obviously feeling.

After a moment, he reached over and put a hand on Waterworks' shoulder. "None of this is your fault," he said, with a sudden, surprising fierceness. "Arch knows you've had your own stuff to deal with - and you did. They should've too. Beating yourself up and wishing you'd seen something sooner never helps. Take it from someone with first-hand experience about that already."

He paused, reflecting that to some extent he had answered his own question (or, at least, the subtext of his own question.) "But..." he said, more quietly, "...what are you gonna do?" It didn't sound quite so much like he was concerned about a Maelstrom 'incident' but more like he was...asking for advice, almost.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks gives a ghost of a smile at Sean's encouraging words, but she sobers up again at his question. "Finally find a therapist, for one," Waterworks answers after another long moment. "As for the rest..." she sighs. "I won't stop being a Hero; it's what I love, and we've done good, despite all of this. We just needed more oversight, or something. Someone whose job is to catch this stuff and nip it in the bud. If we had actually picked a leader for our little group, then maybe..." she slumps again, eyes downcast. "Maybe this Bill is the right idea after all..."

[Quellian-dyrae]

After twenty minutes, Justice Senior returned to the room. Once everyone was back and settled, she spoke.

"There is one thing I would like to make clear before we begin, as I want you all to take the information I give you in the proper light. Punishment is not the primary goal of our country's justice system. It is the position of the Ilessian government that there are better things that we can do for our people when they are victims of a crime than give them the temporary satisfaction of visiting vengeance on those who have harmed them, and we direct our efforts to those places, while leaving the option for more direct claims of justice to the civil court system. The punitive aspects of our legal system are meant to serve as deterrents, not as reprimands, and are designed with that goal in mind. Our primary goal for criminals is to rehabilitate them so that they can re-enter society as functional, law-abiding, and contributing members of it."

"Which occasionally creates the mistaken belief that as long as an individual does 'more good' for society than bad - as long as they are, on the average, valuable and productive members of society - they should be largely immune from punishment. That if the goal is productive citizens, then that is all that should matter. I want to make very clear that this is absolutely not the case. The Deionists have a saying that I find nicely cuts to the heart of this matter: 'Right and Wrong may be in balance, but the Truth uses different scales for each.'"

"While in certain cases, an individual whose incarceration would lead to significant social detriment might receive less incapacitating punishments, particularly for crimes of limited severity, good works do not cancel bad deeds. You are Heroes. You have protected your city from a wide array of disastrous threats, and have saved the world itself. I will not say that this does not matter. The potential harm that might be done to society without you may factor to some degree into my judgment. But your good deeds do not cancel out your bad ones. That you have saved the world does not mean even any single being on it is yours to condemn."

"Mister Mentallo, Miss Sanders, Mister Hyer. The only thing you might call for legal advice on is your decision not to report the prior criminal actions of your teammates to the authorities. Based on what I have been told here, it does not appear that any of you actively concealed evidence of a crime to prevent detection, or obstructed any actual investigations in progress, but merely failed to report a crime. That can be subject to criminal penalties under Ilessian law, but only if another crime is committed that could have been foreseeably prevented by the original one being reported. In Mister Wilson's case, his first crime was brought to official attention. In Mister Reynold's case, I would say that given his established animosity towards the Defiant, future crimes of such nature would have been predictable on your parts, and the only reason I do not hold you criminally liable for your previous failure to report his crime is that he has not committed another such crime since. In Mister Chide's case, I don't believe his initial crime would have given you sufficient reason to expect his later one. Thus, I would not judge you criminally liable for your failures to report them - if only just."

"Nonetheless, hindsight has shown your failure to report them to legal authorities, or even the higher ranks in your own organization, was ill-advised. Particularly with regards to Mister Reynold's crime, your innocence would be predicated on the law, not the facts or merits of the case. I should hope that in the future, if faced with such a decision again, you will put more faith in the systems we have in place to deal with such situations. It is to the benefit of Ilessia that those who commit crimes receive not just punishment, but help so that they can return to society functionally and productively."

"Mister Reynolds. It seems clear that your crime carries the greatest legal weight of all those that have been alleged in this hearing, if perhaps not necessarily the most moral weight. Multiple people are dead at your hand, and others were gravely harmed. I feel that it must be said, to ensure absolute clarity, that Ilessian law does not allow for execution, nor for punishment for crimes that might be committed in the future. There is no legal justification for what you did, regardless of the threat you believed them to be contributing to. Your established - and, I freely admit, not unearned - hatred of those associated with the Defiant movement further complicates the matter, and makes it difficult to judge where your good intentions end."

"Nonetheless, it is at least clear that you regret your actions, and your coming here and speaking honestly about it does show a desire to do better in the future. That you need help is unquestionable. That you need further deterrent against acting on your hatred is probable. But that you are a threat to others - or a greater one than your presence prevents - ...that is less certain."

"My inclination is to request that SIDE begin investigative proceedings against you, and we let a trial determine the consequences of your choices. However, I do not doubt that your confession is genuine. I do feel that you might be able to get the help you need outside of prison, and that the threat you might represent can be curtailed without removing you as a protector of society. And I also believe that there are more effective deterrents for you than the banality of prison life."

"So I am willing to offer you a settlement. If you accept it, you will not be sentenced to jail time. You will be required to attend regular therapy from a court-approved therapist, for at least six hours each week. You will be sentenced to a Societal Debt, with payments not to exceed half your monthly income, to a maximum total payment equal to the costs accrued by the government for reparations and physical and psychological therapy for the victims of your attack and/or their families. You will be required to identify the source of this warning of a threat you received, and if that individual is brought to trial, you will agree to testify against them. Finally, you will return the Dreamtech weapon DAMOCLES to the military until such a time as you have been deemed rehabilitated. In service to your role as a Hero, you will be permitted to acquire replacement weaponry, provided it possesses strictly nonlethal function. But a weapon that powerful and potentially lethal is too great a threat in your hands at this time. I will note, this settlement only applies to criminal court, and your victims or their families may still seek civil proceedings against you."

"If you refuse the settlement, investigations into your attack will be requested by the court, and criminal charges will be brought against you if and when sufficient evidence is collected. You need not give your response immediately; it will be due in one week from today, and you are advised to speak to a private or court-appointed attorney before making your decision."

"Mister Wilson. That you are in extreme need of psychological help seems certain. However, the fact that you show no remorse for the murder you have confessed to committing, and seem to sincerely believe it was your best option for resolving your dilemma suggests to me that you are entirely capable of justifying further such actions in the future, and that there will be little opportunity to predict what will provoke such rationale. You have taken steps to conceal evidence of your crime, although I believe that Miss Sander's testimony, while perhaps not unquestionable, would be sufficient to convict you even if the evidence has been concealed beyond even SIDE's capacity to uncover - and the IIN's, for that matter, as I suspect they will be providing assistance to any investigation into the death of Shara Hartmann. Your lack of remorse also makes me hesitant to offer you a lesser sentence. Beyond that, I expect given your accusations regarding Senator Halwick, you would prefer to have your day in court regardless of the alternative. As such, I will be requesting your crime be investigated, and I will not offer you a settlement. That being said, I would strongly urge you to turn yourself in to SIDE, to get off the streets before you hurt someone else and cause irreparable harm to your organization, and to get the help you need."

"As regards your accusations of the Senator, they are quite serious. I will tell you that far more information regarding what information was shared, how it was classified, and how it came to be shared would be required to bring any legal action against him. But a Senator has no immunity from our laws, and he could face prison time, governmental sanctions, and potentially be subject to litigation by you, your family, and SIDE if his violations can be proven. I do not have enough information to properly judge how such cases might go, but the option will be open."

"Mister Chide..."

"I admit, this is difficult. There does not seem to be much in the way of hard evidence for what you have done. And yet, your fellow Heroes speak out against you with surprising vehemence. My own instincts, which I deem well-honed by my years as a judge, warn me to examine your claims carefully. At the very least, I will be calling for an investigation into these allegations, and I will enter your watch into the chain of custody as evidence in the case. The possibility that it could be tampered with or destroyed in the intervening time demands I do so immediately."

"I do apologize if these claims to prove to be unfounded. However, if they are true..."

"What you have done is more than just murder. You senselessly killed an innocent man, to say nothing for the dozens of other lives you placed at risk. You placed the burden of guilt for that pointless death on another through mental influence. And you show no remorse for these actions. At least with Mister Reynolds and Mister Wilson, I can understand their motivations with regards to their crimes, and at least imagine the underlying psychological issues that might have provoked them. But I cannot conceive of any reason that you should have committed such a heinous crime. Which, in itself, I suppose you would quite reasonably cite as further evidence that you have done nothing wrong. It is not often that I find my instincts so at odds with the body of evidence before me, Mister Chide, and I confess that that scares me. You scare me, Mister Chide, and I can count the number of people I have said that about in nearly four decades of passing judgment on hardened and dangerous criminals of all stripes on one hand."

"Regardless, if this crime was indeed committed, it is a murder involving multiple special circumstances, and the circumventing of Senatorial security and the risk to Senators' lives means it brushes up against treason as well. I will not offer you a settlement, because you are either innocent or not worthy of one. But if this crime were to be proven in my court, I would not hesitate to sentence you to an indefinite prison sentence, to only be concluded with Societal Wipe."

"I deeply regret - in every sense of the word - that it is my task this day to pass this sort of judgment on the Heroes that have saved our world. I can only hope, perhaps for all of our sakes, that you can all somehow do better in the future. For now, this hearing is dismissed."

Spoiler

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I'm gonna do another three-day post tracker bit, since again I'm not giving you super-much to actually interact with (although I'd say there's plenty to react to), but if you do have any responses, or want to continue prior discussions in parallel, or for Hyper and Capt if there were earlier things you want to post but didn't get a chance to, or whatever, feel free. And if I should slow down with the movealongs just let me know, I just don't want to leave things hanging where some people might not have anything they want to respond to.

In other news, Hyper, if Declan does agree to the settlement, worry not, you'll be able to replace DAMOCLES. In fact, depending on how things go, it's not impossible that the next mission (which will occur in just a couple days game time, so you'll still have DAMOCLES for either way) will give you a possible option with which to replace it.

The next episode is going to be the adventure climax. I know we probably have more than a few plot hooks dangling, and I'm thinking that after that I'm going to take our usual Sandbox Scenes thing and allow for multiple sandbox scenes so we can resolve everything that we want to resolve on screen. This may also include "back tracking" a bit to see some things that we've let happen off-screen. More on that when we get there.

As befitting its adventure climax status, the next episode is...probably going to be a pretty big "ALL HANDS ON DECK!!!" situation. Llyarden, you've got your buffed Sean, so you're fine; I won't be trying to work Wilson into it. MWaP, I...think we can probably manage to fit Copycat into it on the merit of the sheer scope of the problem that I'm planning to drop into your laps, regardless of whatever trust issues may now exist between he and the rest of the team. That said, I know we're basically operating under the assumption that one way or another Copycat's time as a PC is nearing its end. If you'd rather bring in a new character for this one, rather than do so at the start of the next adventure, you can, although it might be a bit tricksy to work in, depending. But whatever, we'll make it work however it has to!

Also, everybody can go ahead and take two Downtime Actions, and a Hero Point for facing Judgment.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Declan did not join the others in accusing Copycat, nor did he leave the room for a break when the opportunity arose. He simply sit in silence, waiting for judgement to be passed and wondering when the team had started to fall apart like that - and how much of it was his fault.

...

Then, judgment finally came. When Senior remarked that one couldn't be prosecuted for something one didn't do (yet), the old Declan would surely have retorted something along the lines of an angered "that's why in Millaine there's a missile-shaped memorial!"; the current Declan just though it, and more resigned than angry about it.

The settlement, he had mixed feelings about. Therapy and DAMOCLES being sequestered were acceptable punishment, and he didn't care about the money themselves...but having to pay damages to those very people who trained to kill innocents just because they were a little different, that was something difficult to accept. There was also the matter of Holtz...he doubted he would actually end up facing a trial, given how connected he seemed to be, but the though of bringing him down with him had a bad taste. On the other hand, though, going to prison meant the end of everything. No redemption, no more lives saved, nothing. He would just sit there wondering 'what if'.

"I...will think about it." he simply replied, falling back into silence with a conflicted expression.

[manwithaplan]

The time outside did not help. His lies weren't working. They had him.

Tom had spent it all pacing in the bathroom, looking at himself, wondering where he went next. He still had free time, but eventually, there would be a trial. And against the Heroes of Millaine, that trial would be the end of him. Who knew how long he'd be in prison for.

He was remarkably quiet as he returned, and Seniors looked directly at him for his turn.

"At least with Mister Reynolds and Mister Wilson, I can understand their motivations with regards to their crimes, and at least imagine the underlying psychological issues that might have provoked them. But I cannot conceive of any reason that you should have committed such a heinous crime."

He was supposed to come back! I tried to bring him back!

He couldn't exactly say that out loud, could he? What would she or any of them know of what it felt like to reverse death? He couldn't have known it wouldn't have worked this time any more than he knew he could fly when he jumped out of his apartment window. All his arrogant mind could loop around to was the continuous possibility that Arch, or the Promise, or the nature of the universe itself had to personally interfere with his affairs. To think of himself as that important and powerful, in light of the sinking feeling in his stomach as his life drifted away, was endlessly amusing to him. He felt the opposing emotions rise up, and before he could control it, it began to come out.

"You scare me, Mister Chide, and I can count-"

He giggled. For just a moment his mouth opened, and something resembling a laugh came out. Just a tiny moment, then he regained composure.

He didn't say anything for the rest of her speech, and remained silent as she concluded the proceedings. Societal Wipe, then. Thomas Chide would no longer exist. He doubted his parents would care. By the sounds of it, his team already thought he was gone. He couldn't exactly turn to them for help, could he? As soon as he turned to anyone for help, his remaining time as a law-abiding citizen dropped drastically. But the thought of figuring this out alone mortified him.

[Llyarden]

"How exactly would you suggest I prove that Halwick had this information, or gave it to his niece?" Wilson asked. "It might be, legally and morally, the 'right' thing to do, but do you seriously expect he would confess at all - never mind under oath?" He no longer sounded annoyed, more...curious. "Because, with the greatest respect, Justice, if so...I wonder how you could find a position within the Federal Court of Review while clinging onto such naivety."

"Halwick is a manipulator. He - and his niece - let me know they had that information during the Hearing itself; I can only assume to try to dissuade me from speaking against them. If I had the time or ability to investigate, I suspect I would find numerous accusations against his niece of hostile power use that Halwick's had swept under the rug."

"I'm not Maestro Mentallo. I don't have a member of the Federal Court of Review on call whenever I need them - if I had, then I would have considered bringing charges against the two of them in the first place, like you suggested. But I'm not."

"So, no, Justice, I have no intention of having my 'day in court' and testifying against Halwick, even if I thought doing so would hurt him. I trusted you with even this limited information because of your reputation and my own research into you. In the absence of any ability to guarantee precisely who would be in attendance at a trial I have no intention of giving out information to people that might be swayed by Halwick's influence - or outright corrupt - that could hurt my family." He paused for a moment, mostly to see Senior's reaction, before continuing. "As far as I know there are only two people outside of this room that know why Shara Hartmann died, and for various reasons I do not expect either of them to reveal that information. I intend to keep that number as small as possible."

"As you suggested, I will turn myself into SIDE. But thank you for hearing at least my 'case.' It has been a most...illuminating...experience."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: OOC

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Okay, gonna move things along. Capt, you may of course feel free to include any final statements regarding the hearing in your next post if you want to.

Justice Senior did not argue Wilson's claim; it wasn't her job, and she doubted any argument she could make would sway so deep-rooted a mistrust in the system. As the Heroes left, Justice Senior went to begin the process of directing SIDE to begin their investigations.

--

Two days later, as the sun was getting low in the sky and a front of dark clouds were rolling in, two construction workers stood outside the repaired front of Mentallo Industries.

"Looks like we're wrapping up right on time. Saying it's gonna be a bit of a storm tonight," Millie commented.

"Yep. I'll be honest, didn't think we'd be able to do it all in just three days. Heck of a lot of damage," Bruce said.

"Yeah it was. You happen to hear what caused it?"

"Not me. But it's like, the guy's a billionaire and a Hero. Gotta figure he'd have his share of enemies."

"Maybe. I hear they run some crazy experiments in this place though. Wouldn't be surprised if one of them blew up in their faces."

"Who knows? Was just a lucky thing no one was hurt."

"Seriously. Well, whatever it was, I'm sure Mr. Mentallo's already got stuff in place to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. Come on, I want to get home before the rain starts."

--

KRAKKABOOOOOM!

Maestro was awakened from a sound sleep by the distinctive sound of a giant explosion rocking his building. And I do mean that literally. The sheer force of whatever blast had hit it had the skyscraper noticeably swaying.

Mentallo Industries was under attack.

So, interesting trivia fact, I actually have no idea what Luisa's sleeping arrangements are. I don't know if she sleeps with Maestro, or has her own room, or just plugs into a wall somewhere or something. Fortunately, for our purposes, it is irrelevant. In the time it took Maestro to fully wake up, not just Luisa, but all three of the Nym siblings were in his room, standing at the foot of his bed battle-ready and awaiting direction.

~What...the ****...was that?~ Prometheus sent through Maestro's mindlink the moment it came on-line.

Damage reports started popping up on the nearest piece of Active Crystal. The entire front of the building had been blown away to the tune of a gaping hole exposing the bottom five stories. The massive structural damage had compromised several electrical systems, although backup power and emergency systems were on-line. Automated security functions were hit-or-miss throughout the building and-

CRITICAL WARNING! APEX CONTAINMENT BREACH!

--

Everybody else's sleep was helpfully interrupted by the blaring of the Hero App. After last time, Prometheus had taken the entirely sensible precaution of programming an automated alert to the app into the MI mainframe to trigger upon any structural damage to the building.

[manwithaplan]

He hadn't been sleeping. He had been thinking.

Thomas had moved back into his old apartment. Sitting against the desk drawer where he'd once kept his medication, Tom sat with eyes wide open, staring at the chair he'd sat in when he first texted Suzanne. The investigation had started. So far, he'd heard nothing. Maybe they wouldn't turn up much. Maybe his reputation as a Hero would keep him out of prison. But maybe it wouldn't. And as soon as he was inside one of those SIDE facilities, he was dead. Not literally. But the Ultimate Dreamer? Thirty-nine powers turned into zero, instantly. He'd be the same weakling as he was five years ago, before all of this. The thought made Tom shiver.

He couldn't bring himself to directly think it, but he knew he'd already decided he had to go. He had to run, and continue living somewhere else. But it was a daunting thought. He couldn't just go now, could he? More than anything, he needed more time. A thought occurred. Maybe-

KRAKKABOOOOOM!

The Mimic looked to his window. Out to Mentallo Industries, on the horizon, always there to taunt him. Watched as the front end of it came right off, and a moment later, his Hero App went off. He frowned. Regardless of what he was feeling, it would be stupid to just ignore such an emergency. He rolled forward into a lunge, and with one mental effort, he rocketed out of the window at well over the speed of sound. In mere moments he was flying right onto the block, stopping on a dime to hover over the building and take a closer look at the destruction.

Spoiler

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Y'know, Emil McBride, boosting Flight up to 11.

This power also comes with a great Senses package for picking up magic, so don't try to slip it by me if Harold Brace is up to his old tricks or something!

[Zelphas]

Waterworks had stayed away from everyone... again... in the past three days. She has done all she can about... everything. She is sure that she had done the right thing.

It doesn't mean that she is happy about everything.

---

Waterworks' sleep has been light of late, so by the time that her Hero App finishes its second beep she is already flying through the pipes towards Mentallo Industries. She exits out of a bathroom sink--

--no, wait, she exits out of the burst pipes of what was, until recently, a bathroom sink, falling unceremoniously to the ruined ground. As she collects herself and looks around, she feels the Maelstrom waking up as well. There's been enough horrible things happening for one lifetime, let alone one week. Whatever this is, it better not have a sob story, because tonight I'm not hearing it.

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception if needed: (1d20+12)[14]

[Hyperbolic sine]

After the Judgement
As everyone was leaving, Declan gestured Wilson to stop. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Spoiler: Wilson (if he agrees, of course) + who decides to eavesdrop (though OOC you're free to look, it's not anything sensitive)

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"I'm...not really good at this, so I'll get straight to the point. Look, I don't know what will happen to you, but I still think of you as a teammate and a friend, regardless of of what you've done or what everyone might be saying. And, honestly, I don't know if I'll accept that settlement, but if I'm not going to serve prison time while you do...what I mean to say is, I don't know if you trust me, but if you want someone to look after Mary and Sarah while you're gone, you just have to ask."

Two days later
If Declan was sleeping soundly it was only because, the night before, he purposefully tired himself to death at the poor gym equipment's expenses; if he hadn't he likely would have been in the same predicament as Copycat, as he was still torn over whether to accept the settlement or not - despite the former being clearly the better option.

Thus, it took a while longer for the blaring alarm to wake him up, so he grabbed his clothes and broke in a shirtless run towards the teleporter room, finishing to don them along the way. Once there he looked at the location of alert, and cursed. Did the time travelers return to kill Maestro?

"What is that kid going to Archdamn do to merit this?" he muttered, retrieving DAMOCLES and stepping on the teleporter platform.

[Llyarden]

Spoiler: Declan

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"I do trust you," Wilson replied. "And...thanks. I'd appreciate it. For what it's worth, though - I'd say take the offer. I can't imagine many Defiants are gonna sue you, and DAMOCLES isn't what makes you a hero."

Sean had, once or twice, in some of his bleaker moments over the past few days, reflected with a slight sense of irony that right at that moment he trusted someone who was a former Repentant - and still not all that well-adjusted to society in general - more than he did almost half of the Heroes of Millaine. Aside from continuing to visit Sameera, he'd started going back to work with the ACC again, as much for the opportunity to be with Emily beyond the occasional moments their somewhat-chaotic jobs found for them to spend time together as to try to return to the old days, back when the Heroes of Millaine were still...Heroes.

He and Emily were both well used to the Hero App (or, at least, the version of it that the ACC had) going off at annoying times, so it was within but a few moments that he was stepping onto the teleporter and vanishing across to Mentallo Industries. I swear, if this is Copycat trying to make Maestro seem unreliable or something...

Spoiler: OOC

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So I know it got mentioned earlier by...I think the time travellers?..but is it public knowledge that Maestro had a lump of APEX stored in Mentallo Industries? It seems like the kind of thing he'd try to keep hidden.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Spoiler: Wilson

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"It's not that, it's...the reparations. If my money is used to fund the very thing I was trying to stop, then...then really all I'd have achieved would be making things worse. But thanks, I'll take your advice into account." Declan replied, then sighed, his shoulders drooping.

"...I think I know your answer, but...if you could turn back time, would you do it again? Or would you search for another way?"

[Llyarden]

Spoiler: Declan

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"If it wasn't your money, it'd be the government's," Wilson shrugged. "And there's no guarantee you wouldn't get sentenced to societal debt anyway. Not taking the settlement isn't going to stop them getting funded, and this way you'd be able to fight back when they actually attack."

"And...I don't know. With just the information I had then, I'd do the same thing again - I knew full well what would happen, though I wasn't expecting Darla to get involved. If I'd known that Mentallo had the pull to get the attention of one of the most notable judges in Ilessia, though, maybe I'd have tried to do things the legal way. But..." he offered another shrug. "I guess I should've known that he wouldn't trust his supposed teammates with the full resources the marvellous Mister Mastermind can bring to bear."

[Hyperbolic sine]

Spoiler: Wilson

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Declan looked a bit cheered up by Wilson's replies. "I see. As for Maestro...I mean, that's not something that comes up during small talk, but yeah. I wonder when we stopped being an actual team..."

He let his voice trail.

"Well, whatever. Sorry for keeping you, and...thanks. This was...a good talk."

[Capt. Infinity]

Maestro had said nothing after the watch.

He couldn't say anything. It was honestly all he could do to simply hold in a roar of angry tears.

Nothing ever seemed to work out fro him when it mattered. To the young genius, it felt as if he were the endless punchline of some sort of twisted joke: The ridiculously successful man who fails at basic tasks.

He's built a company from the ground up, but can't build meaningful relationships without acting like an angry child. He's made friends with some of the most influential people in the world, but everyone he trusts personally turns out to be a monstrous killer. He's fought and defeated a giant alien brain in space with his thoughts, but he's been stonewalled beyond counter by an ARCHDAMN WATCH.

He barely heard Senior's passing of judgement. In many ways, he didn't so much as acknowledge it as what it meant. It was a good thing. Heck, it was a great thing. It was unbelievably close to what he'd genuinely wanted this whole time through. Justice for the unjust, a bit of glass ripped out of the bleeding wounds in his soul. But Maestro Mentallo had learned what "good things" meant in his life. He knew the cruel jokes fate loves to play in his world. And he knew, in a way he could not, and likely will never be able to describe, that this good deed would not go unpunished. And if any justice were to enter the life of one Maestro Mentallo...

It would be followed by a fall greater than any he'd seen before.

---

Maestro woke up bolt upright in his bed.

He hadn't been sleeping well lately. Not in the traditional sense. In truth he hadn't been able to get the entirety of his brain to STOP for some time now. And his new version of "sleep" was an arrangement wherein sections of his brain was allowed to relax, whilst other portions mulled over the day. Like a dolphin in the ocean, remaining alert at all times, lest the terrors of the deep rise up to end you.

But the man didn't need to be in a trance-like state to be awakened from his slumber by the explosion which shook his entire waterfront manor. The force of the blast could have woken the DEAD. A state which Maestro began to silently envy as his eyes focused on the blast's source, and the reason for it began to sink in.

He levitated to the window facing the tower, one he'd placed specifically for that purpose. His nanite suit wordlessly forming around him as he offhandedly received the alerts technopathically. Pointless answers to a question he already knew. As Luisa quickly dressed herself, and her siblings ran into their bedroom in a frantic hurry, Maestro turned to look at the assembled trio once they'd formed up in line, and once he himself was ready to face them.

He spoke the same thing across both his vocal range and his telepathic link, addressing all concerns in a concise, deeply grave manner. "~APEX Containment Breach. Best case scenario, someone's trying to steal the apocalypse. Worst case scenario... I've killed us all.~" And with that, he flew off. Bursting through the window behind him as he surged towards the remains of his poor, broken building. Only sparing the quickest thought to activate the teleporter in his home, such that the Nym siblings can arrive at the front of Mentallo Tower alongside him.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: In a not so distant future, in a not so different world

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"He stopped him. It's done."

...

"Is anyone different?"

...

"The future hasn't changed. The timelines are still converging."

...

"There's nothing we can do to stop it now."

Spoiler: OOC

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This post is meant to be read alongside the one I've likewise posted in In Dreams to Come. These posts are divided into numbered sections. I believe that best effect will be achieved by reading them back and forth section by section, IDtC first. It is suggested that players in all Aranth games read both posts, even - or, perhaps, especially - NoS players.

Also this might help.

Also also, Capt: What do you think? Should I show them the thing?

Spoiler: Section 1

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The Heroes, along with Prometheus and the Nym siblings, assembled in...the remains of the Mentallo Industries lobby. There were no bodies, but that should not necessarily be taken as an indication of a lack of casualties. Anyone who had been caught in an explosion of this magnitude would have been vaporized.

The air was filled with dust and ash. The smell of o-zone was thick, cloying, particularly to Sean's heightened perceptions. There was enough static electricity in the air to set hair standing up on end, create a faint sensation of vibration along the skin, and bring Waterworks annoying but not debilitating pain. With his arcane senses, Copycat could see ambient magic everywhere, the fading remnants of the ungodly powerful and destructive ritual that had torn through the building.

Spoiler: Expertise (Magic) DC 15 (Copycat only)

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The ritual was a powerful electrical evocation designed to punch through pretty much anything it came in contact with.

Spoiler: DC 20

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From what you can tell, it wasn't just a direct energy evocation. Someone channeled the full power of the night's earlier storm into a single blast. Indeed, outside, the sky is clear, even the rain and clouds gone, consumed to power the ritual.

Spoiler: DC 25

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Even with Emil's magic sense, you just can't really properly benchmark the precise power of the ritual from only the lingering energies, beyond massive. A major ritual working like this is as far beyond normal spells and common rituals as an APEX-irradiated creature is beyond a normal animal. Consider this effect to be X-rank.

Spoiler: Section 2

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The course of the blast was clear, leading into the heart of Mentallo Industries, punching through every fortification and security between the front of the building and the APEX storage. Whoever had done this was obviously tremendously powerful, but frankly, that didn't matter, couldn't matter.

Prometheus pulled out several scraps of metal and wires and set them on fire. The Nym siblings fanned out, hand cannons pointed forward. Even Eiran Andres' shadow stepped from the nighttime murk, perhaps not fully aware of the true significance of the threat, but nonetheless understanding the situation well enough that an ebony blade was already in its hand. "I will say, this is not quite what I had been expecting when I agreed to your offer of protection, Mister Mentallo. Regardless, I take it this is a situation it would behoove me to assist with?"

A silhouette became visible, striding through the dust and murk. A feminine form, certainly, though the shape suggested she was wearing some form of modern body armor. Behind her, its crimson glow shining through the lead-glass casing it was entirely contained within, floated the hunk of APEX meteor stone.

The Heroes of Millaine and the defenders of Mentallo Industries were a powerful force themselves. Whoever this was, they could not be allowed to lay claim to the chunk of APEX meteor. We had already seen the (admittedly adorable) chaos that could be caused by the exposure of a few lab mice to a hunk of APEX stone orders of magnitude smaller. If that meteor rock gets out into the world at all, let alone in the wrong hands...

Monsters will rise.

Spoiler: Flash Forward

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"And whose fault is that!?"

"You're blaming me for this?"

"I'm not the one who brought APEX back to this planet!"

Spoiler: Section 3

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Tara Ellens approached closely enough to be visible despite the murk of night and dust-choked air.

The augmenter was just as seen in photos and wanted posters, a beautiful blond-haired, tan-skinned woman wearing a sleek suit of white body armor. Unlike in the photos, she was carrying a rune-carved, crystal-topped staff. That...that was not a weapon that any Hero would fail to recognize, for it was not just any staff. That staff had belonged to Arcanis, the Archmage of Hero Corps, Regional Commander in Adaros until his tragic death (mysterious disappearance? Maybe nothing because I wouldn't put it past Daimon to somehow trick everyone into thinking he's fine? Whatever) during the final battle against the Ten Wolves, months ago.

How had Tara Ellens gotten Arcanis' staff?

"Hm," Tara sniffed, beholding the assembled Heroes and defenders. "Good response time," she complimented them, before rapping Arcanis' staff against the ground.

The blast of telekinetic force that exploded out from the point of impact was a greater physical force than anything even the Heroes of Millaine had faced before. It sent the gathered defenders flying every which way, slamming against walls, to the floor - in Eiran's shadow's case, even flying straight out the building, until it reached the limit of its range and vanished - leaving them all reeling and disoriented, and several of them senseless.

Spoiler

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The Nym siblings and Prometheus are treated as Minions against Tara and Incapacitated. Eiran's shadow, as a Projection Extra Limb, is immune to most conditions, but the Move Object effect launches it beyond its maximum Elongation range, ending the power. Everyone else give me Toughness DC 31 vs. Damage (DC 23 for Declan). Regardless of the results, everyone is Stunned until they can pass a DC 26 Fortitude save (as per recovering from an Affliction). Everybody take a Hero Point for Tara's attack being Fiated against you.

Spoiler: Section 4

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"I am sorry," Tara said. "Nothing against you guys. Saving the world was great and all. I mean, my one critique would be you could have thrown the meteor at Paradisia and sank it once and for all, but whatever. If my small-scale experiments were any indication, this will do just as well."

With that not-at-all-ominous statement, Tara left the Heroes to gather their wits, striding for the gaping hole in the front of the building that had obviated the need for a door. As soon as she was outside (and thus certain that there wouldn't be any projection blocker in the way), she vanished with a soft pop of displaced air.

The APEX rock in its lead-glass casing vanished with her.

Spoiler: Section 5

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As the Heroes struggled to recover their wits, a beep came from Maestro's pocket.

Mentallo Industries did not skimp on security, or on redundancy. There was absolutely no reason the APEX rock should ever have been taken outside of the building. But if it ever was, it would need to remain contained. So it was just sensible to build GPS tracking functionality into the casing.

It wasn't hopeless. There was still a chance to stop her. That was the good news.

The bad news?

When Maestro got a chance to check the GPS ping that was being output by his Active Crystal device, it would take him to a location in the depths of the wilderness.

In Peral.

That stone contained thousands of times more APEX radiation than the tiny fragments that had led to the creation of the giant monkey, or the dire wolves, or the Maelstrom. What it could do to a Perallan beast...it wasn't that Maestro couldn't imagine it, it was that he could come up with too many possibilities to choose from, each one worse than the previous in its own special, terrifying way. What will happen if Tara Ellens is able to unleash the power of APEX on Peral is impossible to say. Only one thing can be certain.

Spoiler: Section 6

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Aranth will never be the same.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks should have been surprised, or afraid. Even mildly concerned would make sense, as one of the most powerful rogue Dreamers in Ilessia walks towards them with APEX in tow. Tara's words buzz in the air; Waterworks doesn't hear them. Then the staff fires magic...

And the Maelstrom lets it wash over it with hardly a dent. Sure it lost some water, but that will come back. More important is the fact that it holds the Maelstrom in place for just long enough for Tara Ellens to turn and run, APEX meteor in tow.

In mere moments, The Maelstrom shakes free of the blast's influence. Waterworks turns to Maestro one second later, the excess water from the Maelstrom collapsing all around her. "Where," she asks, her voice deadly calm.

Waterworks is not afraid. She is not worried. She is simply done.

Spoiler: OOC

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Standard Action: Jump back to Waterworks form.

Free Action: Regenerate 1 Bruise.

Status: Done.

[Llyarden]

The telekinetic blast from Tara's - Arcanis's - staff sent Sean flying backwards to slam into the wall of the containment room. Perhaps ironically, while the security of the room had been wholly inadequate to deal with a ritualled-up stormblast from Tara, it was more than sturdy enough to withstand Sean flying into it, leaving him woozily struggling to stand from his prone position on the floor as Tara teleported away, taking the APEX rock with her.

Perhaps it was the after-effects of the massive blow, or perhaps he was still not quite awake enough to consider his words before saying them, but when he was finally able to stand without wobbling and focus on anyone in particular, he fixed Maestro with a baleful gaze. His words were still slightly slurred, but clear enough regardless. "I don't know...what will happen next. But whatever happens...whatever Ellens intends to do to Paradisia..."

"...this is your fault."

He paused for a moment, standing up a little straighter and looking a little more alert (possibly partially due to getting soaked from Waterworks returning to her normal form).

"And people call you a genius."

[manwithaplan]

"Leave him alone."

Tom had been wedged into a corner by the blast. By the time Sean was up he had also moved to an upright sitting position, healing his own injuries with a golden glowing hand.

"Nobody could ever have accounted for...whatever just happened."

"Now isn't the time for interpersonal issues. I realise I could be at fault, there, but...let's just deal with whatever's about to happen."

[Llyarden]

Sean gave Copycat a kinda...disbelieving look, for a lot of reasons. "Let me get this straight. You guys have encountered APEX a lot of times. And somehow, you think that Maestro bringing home a massive chunk of APEX, hundreds of times more powerful than the shards responsible for nearly killing all of you - twice - could never possibly have any bad consequences?"

"But you know what concerns me more? Those time travellers mentioned Maestro having kept the APEX stone. They must have known what was about to happen." Sean paused, and looked across to Maestro. "If they were right about this - what else were they right about?"

[Zelphas]

"I should have thrown that chunk into the sun months ago," Waterworks said. "We're out of time now. Where is it, Maestro?"

[Capt. Infinity]

Maestro was beyond words.

His brain was in many ways a curse when times went bad. As its nigh-unto infinite capacity allowed him to parse and pass over every problem to an excruciating degree. What failings caused it, what machinations lead to it, and what consequences will come as a result. And never has this negative spiral grown more harsh, or more unbearably horrid, than in the wake of his first look upon the shimmering armour of Tara Ellens.

Maestro didn't move an inch in the wake of the Augmentor's telekinetic blast. As had been made clear time and time again, Maestro was always a cut above his psychokinetic peers. But the sheer magnitude of the force, combined with the physical deadlock of his own brain as it tore into just how utterly screwed he had just made everyone him, left the super genius incapable of action until the supervillainess had already portalled away.

Maestro didn't really hear the words of mockery uttered by his teammates. After all, what was one more admonishment of his intellect in and amongst the literal monsoon of self-hatred he had echoing in his brain? So it was by no will of their own that Maestro's wide-shot eyes stared blankly forward, and from his lips came a quiet, but damning phrase.

"It's.... It's all over." The young man, once so full of pride and power, falls quietly to his knees, staring at the cracked floor of his poor, shattered building. "I've doomed us all. She's going to kill everyone. Everyone and everything..."

After five seconds of utter silence (a lifetime of thought by any other means), Maestro shuts his eyes, and clenches his fists. Speaking once more, now through the edge of gritted teeth. "But I'll be damned if I'm not going down without a fight." Maestro floats back up to standing with a pyschokinetic push. Not so much for the sake of efficiency as it was done in the knowledge that, had he used his legs, he would have lacked the the strength to not fall over.

He turns to the people he at various point called friends. The people who've time and again left him betrayed. And yet the last few people alive he could well and truly believe in.

"She's in Peral. She's going to use one of the Peralen beasts as the host for the APEX stone. From there, she'll likely augment its power as far as it can go, in the hopes that she can command it to do her bidding. Or, worst case scenario, she plans to enhanced it with APEX, and then BOND with it in order to gain its power, possibly augmenting it beforehand. A scenario which not even I can anticipate the sheer consequences therein." He looks between the Heroes. "If the meteor was suicide, this is the next step above. The THING that's going to come out of this is going to rip the planet in half, so our best bet is to try and stop Tara before she can get anywhere close. Tom, I need you to wake up Prometheus. Because if there was EVER a time that I needed one of his inventions, it would be now." He gestures to his unconscious longtime friend, his commanding actions and words tainted by a look of absolute emptiness within, as if all that had just happened had forced Maestro to drain away a part of his soul, lest it suffocate him where he stood.

He turns once more to his team, or what was left of it. "And guys? ...I'm sorry. I'm sorry beyond words, and I'm sorry beyond reason. If anything bad happens... I want you to know that I'll bear the failure for the rest of my life. And if, in the process of dealing with this, I don't make it the whole way through..."

"I want you to rip that b*****s guts out and shove them down her throat."

[Zelphas]

Waterworks does not say much in response to Maestro; she will have more to say afterwards.

All she says is: "If you're going to head in expecting to die, Maestro, stay back and out of the way. We're going to win this fight."

[manwithaplan]

Without another word Tom moved over to Prometheus, reaching out with his healing hand to remove the other man's injuries.

"How does she possibly plan on controlling a monster like that?" He mused, closing up wounds one by one.

"It'll destroy her too, surely."

[Hyperbolic sine]

It all happened so fast. Declan had barely the time to process what was happening, to recognise the Tara Ellens he saw back then at Dadram, before the blast from the staff hit him - leaving him unwounded, but reeling from the sheer force of the impact.

Once he recovered, he looked at Maestro with an undecipherable expression. There were several things he'd have liked to tell him, but...that was not the moment. With the world at stake, they couldn't afford a team even more divided.

"I'm with Darla. Failure is not an option." he thus simply declared. "Stop bawling and prep an Archdamn jet."

For the first time in a while, his mind was completely clear and his heart calm - quite paradoxically, given the situation, but in truth it was exactly because of the situation. Nothing else is going to matter, if the world ends.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Prometheus came to a bit groggily, but with his augmented brainpower, he processed through that and observed the scene.

Last thing he remembered, freaking Tara Ellens herself had come waltzing through his home with the flipping APEX stone in tow!

As of now, she was not present, the Nyms were unconscious, the Heroes were looking grim, and Declan wanted a jet.

There were only a few possible conclusions he could come to. None of them good.

(Okay, one of them was good. It was technically possible that Declan, using the mighty antimatter weapon DAMOCLES, had physically annihilated both Tara Ellens and the APEX stone after a hard-fought battle, the Heroes regretted the necessity of having to take her life to stop her mad scheme, and Declan had quite rightly decided they deserved a vacation. However, given the other possibilities in his probability space, he discounted that one as infeasible.)

"Forget the jet. Here," he said, gathering some of the scattered metal and wires as he stood up. He didn't thank Tom for the healing. Or even really look at him, honestly. Certainly due to being entirely focused on the crisis at hand and having no time for such social pleasantries. Certainly.

He invoked the Fires of Creation. As it always did, the power not just engulfed the materials in flame, but seemed to set his mind afire. Prometheus was a highly intelligent, creative super-inventor, his brain filled with millions of possibilities just waiting to exist, but in his normal mind it felt like he was exploring an endless cavern filled with treasures, but with only a candle for light. With the Fires going, though, the blaze illuminated every corner of his mind, let him see all the wondrous possibilities therein.

He found the one he needed, found its shape and structure in his mind, and threw it into the fires to be consumed. The blaze both in his head and in his hands burned brighter and extinguished itself all at once, the flash of inspiration, he liked to call it. (Not out loud in front of most other people, though. Maestro ribbed him about it quite enough, thank you).

Where once was just metal and wires, was now a device...not entirely unlike the watch that was currently sitting in SIDE's evidence warehouse. He tossed it to the mimic offhand, explaining to Maestro. "He just has to punch the coordinates in there, it'll handle all the hard stuff accounting for planetary orbit and rotation and such. Will make it easier to teleport long ranges. It'll also account for gravitation shift, so capacity won't be as much of a factor."

Spoiler

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Teleporter's Watch: Enhanced Accurate Teleport 4; Teleport gains Extended and Limited to Extended; Teleport gains Increased Mass 8.

Should be sufficient to get you to Tara's coordinates with either a Power Mastery'd Precision Teleport or Flash (you do need to use an Accurate teleport here).