Action, Adventure, Excitement, Part 9 Chapter 18 Subject: Re: AAE 9: Apokolips: Endgame (2 of 2) On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 00:34:52 -0800 (PST) Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00011726 >Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00011723 > > "It is I who should be grateful to you, for giving me the ability >to express myself. I am...an extension, of the Source, if you will. >Call me..." Sie smiles. "...the Presence." > The fiery Defender vanishes as Roland's physical self laughs at a >private joke. /*Well spoken, Presence. We are honored.*/ > There is a moment of brief telepathic consultation. Then, all at >once, the Storm Knights that Roland sent on their own mission pull >the central stelae mass, as the Presence restores the Possibility >Energy to the citizens of Earth-9 as the storms recede. Even the area >that would have remained collapses, due to the sundering of the >Darkness Device, and the Presence restores that area as well, >providing this assistance so that the cosmics will not be depleted >when they face future Darkness Devices. Rob wobbles. The sensation of space-time shifting slightly is disturbing, but tolerable. However, this is the first time that he has experienced such an abrupt shift in the "tolerances" of space-time without a teleport or dimensional jump included, and to him, it feels like standing on a rug while somebody gives it a small jerk. [That was odd...] A familiar voice interrupts his thought. ^You will understand the effect, in time.^ [Snip In Which Roland Cleans Up The Mess, And Approaches The Cause Of It All] > "Well done, Defender," Darkseid rumbles. "All is as I wished it." > Defender coils, then swings furiously, knocking Darkseid off his >aero-disc and on his butt. "You unutterable monster," Defender >growls, his entire body crackling with power. Darkseid rubs his jaw >as he regains his feet. "I, of all people, understand the risks we'll >take for love. But you killed dozens, injured hundreds, and caused >chaos across the heart of my world's power just when it was needed >most. None of it would have happened if YOU HAD JUST ASKED." Rob quietly retrieves Woundhealer as he watches this scene. A faint thread of thought flows out: ^King Ghidorah, I think I may be busy for a moment yet. Can this wait?^ ^Wait. Things will improve.^ > Darkseid's eyes flare with Omega Fire as they narrow. Then, >shockingly, the Omega Power vanishes as quickly as it appears and he >almost...deflates. "You know the relationship between a High Lord and >a Darkness Device, do you not?" > Defender boggles. "You..." he starts to say, unable to quite put >all the pieces together on the spot, but nevertheless, on some level, >he clearly knows. Solitaire and Suli float to their respective >beloveds' sides. By this time, Rob is within hearing distance. [Snip In Which Darkseid Recounts His Meeting With the Anti-Life Equation, and What Resulted From That] > "Of course not," Darkseid replies as evenly as before. Defender's >fire winks out as he stares, stunned. "I am Darkseid. I always pay my >debts, both of gratitude," he motions grandly at the CAoL, "and >vengeance," he finishes, gesturing toward the ruined Entity, which is >slowly fading away. (So battered is it that it cannot simply flee. It >is "limping," after a fashion, away from the Earth-9 universe.) > Defender glares suspiciously at Darkseid. "And how, exactly, do >you intend to do that?" > "This 'Gaunt Man' of yours has set up pockets of his despicable >realm across your world, clearly in an effort to divide your forces >and keep them off-balance. We of Apokolips will cleanse your world of >this blight." Rob follows this turn of events with some surprise, then turns his awareness back to the First Kaiju God. ^So the scenes you showed me were based on Darkseid still being under the Entity's control?^ ^Precisely,^ Ghidrah replies, three voices blending into one. ^Without the Entity, he will not be capable of finding and destroying that which I protect. I could not tell you details without altering the situation. Omniscience is paralyzing, some times...but that is not important now. You have saved my world; now you must help save the world you stand in.^ ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Apokolips: Endgame (1 of 2) On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 15:15:53 -0800 (PST) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011727 >On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 15:34:20 -0800 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011722 > > The very power of the Earth itself seems to flow up, free at last >to strike back, enraged at Her violation and the violation of Her >children. Even by the standards of those present, the power is >phenomenal. > From above, a complement to Her power stabs down, bursting through >the dark clouds like a thunderbolt, shining on the heroes like the >might of the Sun itself. Which, as it happens, it is. > While all are bathed in its light, the center of this beam is >Eric, Awakened hero and Solar Exalted. Two golden arms of light >sprout from beneath his jacket, one bearing a spear and the other a >shield, both forged of orichalcum of quality that beggars the >imagination. > (OOC note: While others will be gaining advantages from both >energies [paging Morgan Greywolf, the Goddess is calling you -- on >the green courtesy phone], I leave the matter of Gaia to our resident >Mathemagician. Heh.) Zia's Nemo-fashioned garment-o-rama boils furiously in the sheer power being transferred, finally settling on something akin to her Sorceress in Blue and Green outfit, albeith the green parts appear to be living vinery. > The Entity recoils, truly frightened for the first time...ever. Oddly enough, despite the earlier mindlink, there is no sense of Zia's presence, just a feel for where to target the spear best. > Eric lets go. Thrusting the spear to the sky, he surrounds it in a >nimbus of star-fire in the blink of an eye. "ENTITY!" he roars. >"Yield now, or fall forever!" He throws the spear. > With all its power concentrated on Hydra and shielding against the >others, the Entity can do little to defend itself. The spear strikes >home, and the Entity screams. > (OOC: No doubt Zia/Gaia strike(s) at approximately the same time. >8^) A world's worth of lightning, blazing bright blue and green, ripples across the heavens from all directions, coming to a focus on the spear. All the destructive energy flows, channeled neatly, into the mathematically determined paths Zia had already shown Eric towards splitting the ALE into two beings. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Apokolips: Endgame (2 of 2) On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 15:29:29 -0800 (PST) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011728 >Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00011723 > > Eric looks around, no longer the incarnation of the Unconquered >Sun (much to his relief). "'This is not the end. It is not even the >beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.' >--Winston Churchill." > Roland nods, then vanishes, along with the rest of the Champions >and Storm Knights. (OOC: Persuant to the idea of swapping Zia into her 'pulp' alter-ego, I'm going to do the below. Hopefully, Doc Energy can reassure Eric that this isn't altogether a bad thing. Though how Zia will be make any progress with Steppenwolf remains a bit of a quandry for me...) As Eric looks around, he'll notice that Zia, still in blue and green, is merely floating behind him. She appears to be out cold, despite enough Prime energy (Earthen in nature, of course) radiating to seemingly make the Moon a fertile globe. The Petite Amberite was neither grounded nor Awakened; direct contact with Gaia's power was apparently enough to overwhelm her native ability, Mythic though she is in this Shadow. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Apokolips: Endgame (1 of 2) On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 10:49:37 -0800 Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00011729 >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011727 > > A world's worth of lightning, blazing bright blue and green, >ripples across the heavens from all directions, coming to a focus on >the spear. All the destructive energy flows, channeled neatly, into >the mathematically determined paths Zia had already shown Eric >towards splitting the ALE into two beings. As the lightnings writhe across the spear, and the surface of the ALE, Hydra shifts his efforts. Reinforcing the spear, magnifying the lightnings, and when the spear comes to rest, pouring the life power of ten thousand suns into and through it into the ALE. Aurora's attack shifts from the patient stealthy probe into a scalpel like blade. Cutting the entity from the basic "host" beneath. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Apokolips: Endgame (2 of 2) On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 19:38:11 -0800 Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00011730 >On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 19:41:06 -0800 >Harlock - Bard Extraordinaire Said As CAoL Message # 00011725 > >Erindrea whirls in her father's arms. "Veren," she shrieks, "you're >all raht!" She pulls herself out of Harlock's embrace and drops to >her knees to cover Veren's face with kisses. > >"So...cold." > >The Bard, still smiling slightly, chants a quick phrase and taps his >daughter lightly on the head, transporting her and her partner to >Champions Island medical quarters. He taps his commpin. {Kindly treat >Veren for hypothermia, assuming you can pry Erin loose long enough to >do so.} Patrick walks over. "Forgive me, my earlier attempt to help your friend was too little, too late. Perhaps I can heal him now? I can channel some warmth back into his body, if you permit me too, as well as heal some of his remaining wounds, if there are any." ================================= Subject: AAE9: Storming the Storm (Part 1) On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 22:04:22 -0600 Martin and/or Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011731 I have the strangest feeling that I've posted at least some of this before, oh well... Hydra teleported Champions' Island the second battle zone -- the vicinity of Darkseid's volcano-like Flame Pit near the Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland Border. Roland shouts his command and before anyone else gets the chance to touch the ground, Dhyrclhanc executes a reverse dive upwards, into the air, from the perch he was just previously standing on. As his form was completely airborne, he spread out his arms 145^o away from his body, his and arms and body forming a capitol letter "Y". Then, a blaze of emerald-hued quantum flame ran up the outside his outspread arms and coalesced in his hands into a twin pair of huge twisted hilt-claymores, seemingly constructed of that same emerald green colored quantum-flame, only now in a frozen, crystallized form. The hilt of each blade now rested in the each palm of Dhyrclhanc's clawed hands. The curved, arc-like path that Dhyrclhanc cut through the air came to it's perihelion and Dhyrclhanc began the descent back towards Earth. Not entirely coincidentally, the path took him right straight through the center of the bulk of Darkseid's aerial forces. As he slid down through the sky, Dhyrclhanc flipped his entire body over, using his shoulders as a pivot point, and now his feet were pointed downwards as his multi-hued form sliced downwards through the air, towards the ever fast approaching ground. It is then when, the super-annuated adolescent hatchling began to encounter a veritable swarm of Para-Demons. Two of which immediately fell toe the Lensdragon's beginning onslaught as he reversed his grip on the two Mindwords and stabbed them both, through their backs as he flew by. The twin energy swords do no physical damage to the creatures but the attacks shove a huge amount of energy (Shift X) into the para-demons' flight packs, over-loading the internal circuitry and systems. In addition, the arcing power surges overload the nervous systems of both para-demons, which rendered them both senseless, and caused them both to go spiraling downwards out of the sky. As he flew into the swarm, he reached out with his Delgonian 360^o "Sense of Perception" and "grabbed ahold" of the swarm with a light touch of his TK and his other "psychic" abilities. While Dhyrclhanc began to fend off the attacks of the para-demon's, with his twin Mindswords, he was also mentally dividing the undulating furball into five smaller segments. At the members of the first two groups, he sent an energy spike based on ether his "Cyber-Psi" or TK abilities, against the para-demon's flight packs. These attacks either scrambled or shredded the interiors of the flight-packs, but in both cases sent the para-demons and caused them to join their brethren and spiral down towards the ground, still several feet below. TBC (need I say it?) ================================= Subject: AAE9: Storming the Storm (Part 2) On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:07:07 -0600 Martin and/or Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011732 Dhyrclhanc continued in his controlled plummet through the rapidly deteriorating furball of para-demons. Although the furball's deterioration was primarily the result of his, albeit not so tender, mental ministrations. The reached out with his mind and his Intra-Quantum Forces Forces Manipulation abilities and shifted his attention to a third group of para-demons in the air surrounding him. The third group, Dhyrclhanc neutralized by using his TP abilities to attack the para-demon's Egos. This, of course was no true test of his Teep abilities as para-demons aren't especially known for their tremendous Wills, so Dhyrclhanc met little to no resistance when he locked them into a catatonia-like fugue state. Which, in turn, also caused them to spiral downwards towards the ground. If these particular Para-Demons had any superiors down on the ground, they'll find these Para-Demons have been reduced to listless, automaton-like zombies with little-to-no sense-of-self or sense of self volition and no will, or initiative of their own. OTOH, the argument could be made that their superiors may well not be able to tell the difference. However, these particular Para-Demons will recover after a day, or two. They will also, however, like the others that Dhyrclhanc had attacked in a similar manner, they will also have no memory of the combat. Having shifted his attention to a fourth group of para-demons, Dhyrclhanc used a Teep attack against their neurological systems. This attack was of a magnitude that it simply wipes-out, albeit temporarily, the para-demon's motor-controls, temporarily, but completely, paralyzing them. Then all it toke was a simple Cyber-Psi "spike" to their flight packs cause these para-demons to also plummet to the ground far below. Like their brethren, they too, will recover -- after a day, or two. Lastly, Dhyrclhanc neutralized the final fifth of the para-demons by launching a Teep attack against their memory centers. This wipes clean their short-term memories and reduces each of them into aimless, seemingly mindless, creatures caught in a sleep-walk like fugue. These para-demons won't spiral down to the ground, but each of them do mindlessly fly off in several random directions. *Ah Roland? If you get a spare moment, you may want to get in touch with your friends in UNTIL and have them eventually pick-up those strays {mental image indicating the last group of para-demons}* ================================= Subject: AAE9: Re: This is no time to be playing games On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:01:44 -0800 Reality Hacker AJ47 Said As CAoL Message # 00011733 >On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 23:52:04 -0500 >Saint Dharma / Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011717 > >Doc Energy looks at the Reality Hacker with a mixture of respect and >professional awe. {Well, my problem is this little thing right here." >he says as he shows the crystalline sphere that was once his power >core. It has small cracks where it was once smooth and unblemished, >and where it used to be opaque is now a solid black. {When I was >damaged, I took a direct hit which struck this object you see in my >hands. It also caused a feedback into the power coupling which would >have resulted in a catastrophic failure had Ivana not shut it >completely down and reroute power to the secondary power cells. The >power cells themselves cannot power the suit indefinately, so I had >to shut down all weapons systems and flight capability. The damage is >to the power core that I am holding here and to the power coupling, >both of which are located in the back of the suit} he says into the >commlink, pointing at the large backpack-looking device on the back >of the suit. Avery landed several yards away from the Etherite, covering the remaining distance on foot. "Hmm," he mused, staring at the backpack and tapping away at an invisible keyboard. "These are the secondary cells here, right? I could divert some energy back into them, but they'd burn it a lot faster than they picked it up. Besides, the max carrying capacity is only about half again what it's currently got... which makes sense, it looks like you'd run into diminishing returns in a big way if you'd tried to build them any bigger. Multiple cores the size of your primary tend not to play nice in close proximity..." He straightens up and takes a closer look at the beryllium sphere-- er, that is, the *crystalline* sphere. "Nor does a single core, when they so rudely feed four million volts through it like this. Even if I had a breeder reactor handy, I don't think I could repair this in less than three weeks. Worth the time, though, don't you think?" >{It seems that a 'trip to the dealership' is out of the question >anyway, as Ivana cannot get a good lock on my position to transport >me to my Lab.} he said reservedly. {I would be very grateful for your >help in this matter as well as getting me out of this accursed >bubble. I would do it myself, normally, but I am a man of Science, so >I cannot affect things that are magickal in nature. I can block them, >usually, and can sometimes penetrate them if I study them long >enough, but those times are rare. Reminds me of the time I saved a >colleague of mine from a group of savage Blood Mages at >Stonehenge...but that's another story for another time.} Reaching a hand forward, Avery placed it carefully against the outer surface of the bubble. "Any ideas?" #Energy field is decaying in strength. It will collapse in two.# "...two what? Minutes? Hours?" #Two.# "I see. Well, apparently the bubble will collapse of its own accord at some point, but I'm not sure how long it's going to take--" At that point, however, he abruptly stumbled and fell forward. #Point seven seconds. Update: Energy field has collapsed.# ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Apokolips: Endgame (2 of 2) On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:59:39 -0800 Harlock - Bard Extraordinaire Said As CAoL Message # 00011734 >On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 19:38:11 -0800 >Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00011730 > >>On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 19:41:06 -0800 >>Harlock - Bard Extraordinaire Said As CAoL Message # 00011725 >> >>The Bard, still smiling slightly, chants a quick phrase and taps his >>daughter lightly on the head, transporting her and her partner to >>Champions Island medical quarters. He taps his commpin. {Kindly >>treat Veren for hypothermia, assuming you can pry Erin loose long >>enough to do so.} > >Patrick walks over. "Forgive me, my earlier attempt to help your >friend was too little, too late. Perhaps I can heal him now? I can >channel some warmth back into his body, if you permit me too, as well >as heal some of his remaining wounds, if there are any." Harlock smiles at Patrick. "The offer is appreciated, to be sure, but I'm told Champions Island medical quarters are quite well equipped. Then again," his smile broadens noticably as he continues, "I'm sure my daughter has her own ideas on how to warm him up." ================================= Subject: AAE9: Storming the Storm (Part 3) On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 23:02:21 -0600 Martin and/or Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011735 Next Dhyclhanc encountered a small armada of seven of Darkseid's Flying Assault Carrier Crafts. ------ Five minutes ago Several tons of permafrost in Antarctica disappeared, what was left was a thin layer of top-soil, grass and other plant-life but also left were several depressions, each large enough to hold a regulation foot-ball field inside. ------ Passing by the first grouping of the carriers, Dhyrclhanc concentrated, and, not for the first time, his lens lit-up like a miniature star. Mere moments later, a huge black ring appeared at the mid-way point of every Carrier and instantly pumped enough microwave radiation into each Carrier to split them in two, vertically across the width of each Carrier. However, Dhyrclhanc was careful enough not to attack Carrier Ships that other members of the CAoL weren't already attacking. Karma and Moonstone, for example. Anyone who's seen the "Super Atragon" anime will recognize these black ring microwave weapons. Dhyclhanc continued on towards the ground, rapidly descending past the, albeit relatively slowly disintegrating remains of the Carriers, which continued to collapse upon themselves while they were still in mi-air. He landed, feet first, on the ground in the midst of some of Darkseid's ground troops; specifically, three full platoons of Hunger Dogs, each of these accompanied by and three additional squads of more Para-Demons. The large Ruby Fire Dragon's landing caused the ground to quiver and shake, but he remained standing -- his weight now resting more on his left foot than his right and each of his twin, translucent crystalline, emerald-colored quantum fire, mindswords held in each of hands. Both 45^o away from his body, vertically, and 45^o away from each other, horizontally. As the Hunger Dogs and Para-Demons struggled to get back to their feet, Dhyrclhanc quickly reversed his grip on both of the twin mindswords and shoved each of them, point first, into the ground. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated. The super-annuated immortal adolescent hatchling was immediately surrounded by his emerald colored psychic Aspect composed of quantum flame, and shaped like the shadow of an 150 foot high Elder Dragon. Then Dhyrclhanc "pushed" with his formidable TK and swept the mass of both the Hunger Dogs and Para-Demons, clearing a space of bare land, albeit covered in grass, the size of the surface of the deck of a 20th century naval aircraft carrier. Then, before the Apokoliptian ground troops had a chance to react, in less than the time it takes for an eye to blink, the lensdragon was surrounded by the combined forces of the New Navy, the Megaversal Legion, and, last by not least, his own "Cadre of Light". Colonel Savage had appeared right next to Dhyrclhanc and a swift glance at the Hunger Dogs and Para-Demons that surrounded them all told the Supreme Commander of the Megaversal Legion all he needed to know without the need of any telepathic exchange with the draconian Lensman. "Attack!" he yelled, his shout stretched in a keening drone and, almost as one, both the members of Megaversal Legion present and the New Navy Personel tore into the Apokoliptian troops as one group. A silent look in-between Dhyrclhanc and Synthea told her all she needed to know, as well, and she, and the rest of Dhyrclhanc's "Cadre of Light", soon joined the fray. ================================= Subject: AAE 9: Down to Earth On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 20:25:56 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011736 >On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 15:29:29 -0800 (PST) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011728 > >(OOC: Persuant to the idea of swapping Zia into her 'pulp' alter-ego, >I'm going to do the below. Hopefully, Doc Energy can reassure Eric >that this isn't altogether a bad thing. Though how Zia will be make >any progress with Steppenwolf remains a bit of a quandry for me...) OOC: Well, depending on how many directions Zia's mind can go, you can always have an astral self 'haunt' the New God of War... ;^) >As Eric looks around, he'll notice that Zia, still in blue and green, >is merely floating behind him. She appears to be out cold, despite >enough Prime energy (Earthen in nature, of course) radiating to >seemingly make the Moon a fertile globe. The Petite Amberite was >neither grounded nor Awakened; direct contact with Gaia's power was >apparently enough to overwhelm her native ability, Mythic though she >is in this Shadow. "ZIA!" Eric blurts, and (in an uncharacteristically unprofessional reaction) tries to leap to her side. As they are still in the air, this is spectacularly futile. A split second later, the Hunter reasserts himself, flying to her with alacrity. "Your concern is commendable, Hunter, but unnecessary," an exquisite voice, deep but unmistakably feminine, echoes around them. "Gaia?" Eric asks the...well, air. To Roland's surprise, Morgan turns to answer Eric, her hair changing from deep red to brilliant leaf green. "Aye," she replies, her accent only faintly Scottish. "Fate, as often happens around your Primal beloved, has taken a hand. She is unharmed." "She is defenseless," Eric growls. MorGaia smiles gently. "She has you," the primal goddess notes. That brings Eric up short. "Even I am not certain, but I believe that she _chose_ this route. Or at least, a part of her did," Gaia explains. "Which part?" Eric says, this time not growling. (This _is_ a goddess he honors, after all.) "That will be clear soon enough," she says with a grin. Then Morgan's body shivers gently, her hair returns to its normal red, and she blinks. Roland floats over to Morgan's side as Eric guides Zia's body back to earth (an irony that he does not fail to notice). "Great. I hate it when they're cryptic," Eric mutters direly. (Cue transportation to Champions Island 8^) ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Down to Earth On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 10:20:13 -0800 (PST) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011737 >On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 20:25:56 -0800 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011736 > > OOC: Well, depending on how many directions Zia's mind can go, you >can always have an astral self 'haunt' the New God of War... ;^) OOC: Y'know, that's just too funny to pass up. On Steppenwolf's command bridge, a polychromatic doorway flickers into being. Immediately, Ziactrice steps forth, clad pants, vest, shirt, scarf and sword in finest pirate meets gypsy abushed by the tales of Arabia style. The colors are blazing reds and yellows, with occasional touches of emeralds and a ruby at one ear the size of a robin's egg. An eyepatch covers her left eye, red and pillowy in the shape of a heart outlined in pearls. She rests one palm on the butt of her blade, watching the back of Steppenwolf's chair to see how long it takes for her bizarre entrance to be noticed. > "Great. I hate it when they're cryptic," Eric mutters direly. > (Cue transportation to Champions Island 8^) (Given that word, you _must_ mean me, yes? :-) There is a flash of purple light in their vision that becomes polychromatic, then resolves back into the familiar interior of Champions Island. "My timing was a bit off, but I daresay I had some excuse. And it has been a long time since I've used that ability here." The petite lady clad in violet-hued silk remarks conversationally to the four of them. Pistol grips gleaming with pearl inlays show from under her arms and at her waist, despite the covering cloak, the scarf drawn to mask her face, and the large, floppy brimed hat. The voice is unquestionably Zia's, despite the attire being something it almost hurts the mind to contemplate the Petite Amberite choosing to don. However, Zia is still there, in blue and green, in Eric's arms. ================================= Subject: Re: This is no time to be playing games (Sorry for the long delay) On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 00:56:14 -0500 Saint Dharma / Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011740 >On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:01:44 -0800 >Reality Hacker AJ47 Said As CAoL Message # 00011733 > >Avery landed several yards away from the Etherite, covering the >remaining distance on foot. "Hmm," he mused, staring at the backpack >and tapping away at an invisible keyboard. "These are the secondary >cells here, right? I could divert some energy back into them, but >they'd burn it a lot faster than they picked it up. Besides, the max >carrying capacity is only about half again what it's currently got... >which makes sense, it looks like you'd run into diminishing returns >in a big way if you'd tried to build them any bigger. Multiple cores >the size of your primary tend not to play nice in close proximity..." > >He straightens up and takes a closer look at the beryllium sphere >er, that is, the *crystalline* sphere. "Nor does a single core, when >they so rudely feed four million volts through it like this. Even if >I had a breeder reactor handy, I don't think I could repair this in >less than three weeks. Worth the time, though, don't you think?" The Good Doctor looked at the smoky black crystal sphere. It was once quartz white with gold flecks. He watches with rapt attention as Avery "types" on his keyboard. "That is a very facinating technique you are using, my friend. After this is over, I would be delighted to trade notes with you." he says with sincere fascination in his voice. "As for the time it will take, that is not a problem. I have several generations of the suit in storage, including the last version before this one." he said somewhat wistfully, as if rememebering something from long ago. >Reaching a hand forward, Avery placed it carefully against the outer >surface of the bubble. "Any ideas?" > >#Energy field is decaying in strength. It will collapse in two.# > >"...two what? Minutes? Hours?" > >#Two.# > >"I see. Well, apparently the bubble will collapse of its own accord >at some point, but I'm not sure how long it's going to take--" At >that point, however, he abruptly stumbled and fell forward. > >#Point seven seconds. Update: Energy field has collapsed.# Suddenly, The Good Doctor feels the change in pressure as the field collapses from around him. This allows him the perfect opportunity to catch Avery before he embarrasses himself any further. The nearest effect is like watching ballet being done by Buster Keaton. Pratfalls meeting pirroets. "Isn't it nice when you stumble upon the answer like that?" said the Doc with a impish grin, "That's the thing about the magickal constructs..their unpredictability is what makes them interesting. However you can speed the decay process along provided you have the...ahem...metal for it." As he says that, the metal of the suit glows a silver-blue. "The armor and plating of the suit are infused with a magickal energy absorbing property. Remember I mentioned the Blood Mages? Well, it happened I was testing a new artifact that I had picked up while delving into the Hollow Earth. It was said that any one who wore the Amulet of Sunn-Fahd could never be hexed or fall sway to magickal forces. Of course, the poor fellow I found it with forgot that death doesn't need magick to visit you when a bunch of rocks and an airtight chamber with no heat, light, water or even air can get to you." he paused, as the suit powered down. In a flash of St. Elmos Fire, he transports from the suit to the outside of it. There is a slight smell of ozone in the air as he does this, followed by a crackling sound, like a bunch of static discharges going off at once. #Ivana, transport IVAN Mark 8 to repair bay for the time being. Give me the coordinates of Champions Island and open a conduit there.# #Yes, Doctor Romanov. Shall I begin repairs on the unit?# said a computer voice, sounding somewhat bored. #Yes, but main power core is missing. As soon as Avery is done with the repairs on the power core, he will transport it to the lab where you can continue with the repairs there. And don't worry your electronic brain about it...there are major systems that need to be overhauled if I am to go into battle with major Bad Guys here. Also I need you to make Tesla upgrades to the IVAN Mark 5.# Ivana, the Electronic Brain had no emotions, per se. But her creator endowed her with the ability to learn them over time. The one that came across sounded much like when a child sees a puzzle and is fascinated by it. #Oh, lovely. I eagerly await the Mark 8s return. And the modifications to the Mark 5 should prove...interesting. Do you want the City Stalker or the Super Crazy variant?# #Actually, if you can combine those two variants, that would be lovely, da. I am thinking I am going to need something that disguises well, but has firepower and escape methods as well.# #Very good, Doctor Romanov. Is there anything else?# #No, Ivana. You have done well. Romanov out.# he says, shutting the comm off with a click on the lapel of his tailored suit. Suddenly, a shimmering curtain of energy appears, glowing a white-blue and crackling like the Northern Lights. He turns to his new friend and Virtual Adept Avery. "So, I will see you on the Island, da?" and with that he steps into the curtain and disappears. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Apokolips: Endgame (2 of 2) On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 13:08:53 -0500 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00011741 >On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 16:59:55 -0800 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00011723 > > After a long pause, the leader of the Champions and CAoL nods. >"/*All right, everybody, meeting back at the island. We've got six >realms still to deal with, and a fair chunk of planning to do.*/" He >looks around with mild approval at the landscape, once again rolling >pastoral fields. "/*This was a victory to be proud of, but it's only >the beginning.*/" > Eric looks around, no longer the incarnation of the Unconquered >Sun (much to his relief). "'This is not the end. It is not even the >beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.' >--Winston Churchill." > Roland nods, then vanishes, along with the rest of the Champions >and Storm Knights. Karma frowned slightly to herself, and gave a glance to Moonstone, who rolled her eyes and shook her head with a bemused smile. There seemed little point in raising any of a countless number of objections to this plan, mostly which revolved around their lack of ability to trust Darkseid, both because Roland ought to, and likely did, know these things already, and because they would be trying to argue with a paradigm where good guys and bad teamed up to fight greater evils together, resulting in any bad guy with an honorable bone in his body bowing out at the end with some menacing threat, and the rest turning on the hero only to find the hero had kept an ace up his sleeve all along. So ultimately, in a way, they could trust Darkseid after all. At least to follow his nature, which in this case led him to cooperate at long as it was in his best interest to do so. Moonstone caught Karma's glance and extended a draconic forepaw out to her. "Come on, I'll give you a lift back to the island." As they clasped hands, Moonstone shot skyward, Karma in tow, and were almost immediately back at the Champion's base. Karma caught sight of herself in a reflective surface. "Can't save the world looking like this. Got any spare clothes?" ================================= Subject: Re: This is no time to be playing games (Sorry for the long delay) On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 01:28:48 -0800 Reality Hacker AJ47 Said As CAoL Message # 00011742 >On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 00:56:14 -0500 >Saint Dharma / Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011740 > >Suddenly, The Good Doctor feels the change in pressure as the field >collapses from around him. This allows him the perfect opportunity to >catch Avery before he embarrasses himself any further. The nearest >effect is like watching ballet being done by Buster Keaton. Pratfalls >meeting pirroets. "Isn't it nice when you stumble upon the answer >like that?" said the Doc with a impish grin, "That's the thing about >the magickal constructs..their unpredictability is what makes them >interesting. However you can speed the decay process along provided >you have the...ahem...metal for it." As he says that, the metal of >the suit glows a silver-blue. "The armor and plating of the suit are >infused with a magickal energy absorbing property. Remember I >mentioned the Blood Mages? Well, it happened I was testing a new >artifact that I had picked up while delving into the Hollow Earth. It >was said that any one who wore the Amulet of Sunn-Fahd could never be >hexed or fall sway to magickal forces. Of course, the poor fellow I >found it with forgot that death doesn't need magick to visit you when >a bunch of rocks and an airtight chamber with no heat, light, water >or even air can get to you." he paused, as the suit powered down. In >a flash of St. Elmos Fire, he transports from the suit to the outside >of it. There is a slight smell of ozone in the air as he does this, >followed by a crackling sound, like a bunch of static discharges >going off at once. "Speaking of blood mages," Avery muses, "I once had a passing encounter with a fellow by the name of Nicodemus Whateley. Had at least three different categories of ace up his sleeve - blood magick being just one of those - and if it hadn't been passing, then I doubt I would have survived. The Euthanatos struck him from their rolls, on suspicion that he had fallen to the dark path of the Nephandi, but something tells me it's a good deal more complicated than that..." >#Ivana, transport IVAN Mark 8 to repair bay for the time being. Give >me the coordinates of Champions Island and open a conduit there.# >#Yes, Doctor Romanov. Shall I begin repairs on the unit?# said a >computer voice, sounding somewhat bored. >#Yes, but main power core is missing. As soon as Avery is done with >the repairs on the power core, he will transport it to the lab where >you can continue with the repairs there. [snip visit to Three-Day Suit Broker] >Suddenly, a shimmering curtain of energy appears, glowing a >white-blue and crackling like the Northern Lights. He turns to his >new friend and Virtual Adept Avery. "So, I will see you on the >Island, da?" and with that he steps into the curtain and disappears. Avery inclines his head to the Good Doctor, then sets the damaged core down on the ground. Sitting down next to it, he gestures in the air with both hands, mentally plotting out coordinate systems and locational fixing signals. A few minutes later, both he and the core blink out of sight, only to appear on the Island in the same place where he had left it earlier. He picks up the core and hefts it in one arm, looking around for a spare-parts store from which to rig up some appropriate diagnostic and repair tools. "I could do it virtually, I suppose," he muses to himself, "but given the source, the physical approach will probably turn out to be easier." #Besides, you may need the practice. I have detected a 95.74% probability of a temporary macroscopic transformation of my own form, but the precise nature of this transformation cannot be determined in advance.# ================================= Subject: Re: This is no time to be playing games (Sorry for the long delay) On Mon, 8 Mar 2004 10:35:04 -0500 Saint Dharma / Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011743 >On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 01:28:48 -0800 >Reality Hacker AJ47 Said As CAoL Message # 00011742 > >"Speaking of blood mages," Avery muses, "I once had a passing >encounter with a fellow by the name of Nicodemus Whateley. Had at >least three different categories of ace up his sleeve - blood magick >being just one of those - and if it hadn't been passing, then I doubt >I would have survived. The Euthanatos struck him from their rolls, on >suspicion that he had fallen to the dark path of the Nephandi, but >something tells me it's a good deal more complicated than that..." Doc Energy thinks for a moment, "Hmm... You have to be pretty reprehensible for the Euthanatos to strike you from the rolls. But as you suspect, it was probably something more complicated." >Avery inclines his head to the Good Doctor, then sets the damaged >core down on the ground. Sitting down next to it, he gestures in the >air with both hands, mentally plotting out coordinate systems and >locational fixing signals. A few minutes later, both he and the core >blink out of sight, only to appear on the Island in the same place >where he had left it earlier. > >He picks up the core and hefts it in one arm, looking around for a >spare-parts store from which to rig up some appropriate diagnostic >and repair tools. "I could do it virtually, I suppose," he muses to >himself, "but given the source, the physical approach will probably >turn out to be easier." #Besides, you may need the practice. I have >detected a 95.74% probability of a temporary macroscopic >transformation of my own form, but the precise nature of this >transformation cannot be determined in advance.# While in the Conduit, Doc Energy muses on where he should go to take the fight to the Enemy. #Ivana, give probabilities of success in each cosm and rank according to importance and reliability.# #Yes, Doctor.# There is a humming coming from the comm, which upon further listening is actually a few bars from Tchakovski. The Good Doctor chuckled to himself. [Good.. This is a good sign that she is learning to appreciate the arts. Though I recall the time she was singing nothing but American showtunes for a long time. Repeat performances of Guys and Dolls can wear on a person.] #I have the calculations you requested, Doctor. Shall I give them to you now?# #Negative, prepare them for perusal once I reach the Island, and I will call them up on my PDA.# #Compliance. Arriving at Champions Island in three......two.....one...# said the Sentient Ivana. From inside the conduit, The Good Doctor's outline shimmered and lost cohesion, then suddenly he glowed a bright white-blue as the other end of the Conduit opened on Champions Island. To the casual observer (or the nearest gardener). the sudden appearance of two 12 foot tall Tesla towers would seem not that unusual. But to the trained eye, these weren't your typical Tesla towers. For one, there was no obvious power source that they were drawing from, but they still were live and hot. The other thing was that they were discharging between themselves, building in electric field strength as the rings on the tower glowed an energetic yellow/white/blue. Suddenly, the rings glowed brighter, and then there was one final discharge between them which resulted in a pool of cascading electricity forming into a curtain of Northern Lights. A hand appears out of the curtain and pulls them back, as if stepping through a beaded curtain. #We have now arrived on Champions Island. Downloading complete map, and locating other members throughout the island.# "Excellent." said Romanov. He reached into the pockets of his Armani suit and pulled out a PDA device. He touched the screen, and a holographic display came up. It was a list of the cosms and their potentials. 1. The Nile Empire. Timeline approximation: 1930s. Local Axioms: Moderate to High Tech with pockets of Ultra Tech. (Tesla Beams, Tesla Coils, Steam Powered Automatons, Super Science) Magick is Mid-range though MiddleEarth and 7th Sea are considerably higher. Analysis: Cosm is somewhat similar to our own, only with the Law of Drama. Further information is needed to gage accurate pro/con scenario. 2. Tokyo City (The anime cosm): Further information needed. Possible cosm to tackle, but would need someone to tag along from that Cosm to give a lay of the land. 3. Imperial City (Star Wars): Tech axiom sufficient to operate without fear of backlash, Paradox, or disconnection. Magick axiom low to moderate with use of psionics (Jedis and Sith Lords) 4. Pirate Cosm: Totally out, though possibility of swinging from a chandelier is intriguing 5. Middle Earth: Out, due to extreme danger of disconnection 6. Orrorsh: FUrther analysis and information needed. The Good Doctor touches the PDA screen and the holographic display. He adjusts his suit, and smooths out any wrinkles. The suit is a blue-white number, with matching pants and a white shirt. As he adjusts the suit, little sparks of electricity appear and then disappear like wisps in the wind. He walks casually over to the main area, and goes to find the others. ================================= Subject: AAE 9: A Farewell to Arms On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 23:15:34 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011744 >On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 10:49:37 -0800 >Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00011729 > >As the lightnings writhe across the spear, and the surface of the >ALE, Hydra shifts his efforts. Reinforcing the spear, magnifying the >lightnings, and when the spear comes to rest, pouring the life power >of ten thousand suns into and through it into the ALE. > >Aurora's attack shifts from the patient stealthy probe into a scalpel >like blade. Cutting the entity from the basic "host" beneath. Maggedon flies directly into the Entity's endless void, shrinking into the "distance" as it does so. *Prepare for detonation at {} juncture,* it warns emotionlessly. The Entity, desperate against the combined powers, is only able to blunt the terrible, final detonation of Maggedon, ridding the cosmos of the Old Gods' final weapon and rending the monstrous Entity simultaneously. (Continue battle as previously written. ;^) ================================= Subject: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 23:48:46 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011745 >On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 10:20:13 -0800 (PST) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011737 > >>On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 20:25:56 -0800 >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011736 >> >> OOC: Well, depending on how many directions Zia's mind can go, >>you can always have an astral self 'haunt' the New God of War... ;^) > > OOC: Y'know, that's just too funny to pass up. > > On Steppenwolf's command bridge, a polychromatic doorway >flickers into being. Immediately, Ziactrice steps forth, clad pants, >vest, shirt, scarf and sword in finest pirate meets gypsy abushed by >the tales of Arabia style. The colors are blazing reds and yellows, >with occasional touches of emeralds and a ruby at one ear the size of >a robin's egg. > An eyepatch covers her left eye, red and pillowy in the shape of >a heart outlined in pearls. She rests one palm on the butt of her >blade, watching the back of Steppenwolf's chair to see how long it >takes for her bizarre entrance to be noticed. Not long; the flash of light reflected in the ship's screens alerts him to the intrusion. Unfortunately (for Steppenwolf), he doesn't realize who it is at first, so he's spun his chair around, leapt to his feet, and half-drawn his Electro-Axe before he's identified his guest. Then he drops his axe and facefaults. "Oh, Source, not _you_ again..." Meanwhile, on Champions Island... > "My timing was a bit off, but I daresay I had some excuse. And >it has been a long time since I've used that ability here." The >petite lady clad in violet-hued silk remarks conversationally to the >four of them. Pistol grips gleaming with pearl inlays show from under >her arms and at her waist, despite the covering cloak, the scarf >drawn to mask her face, and the large, floppy brimed hat. The voice >is unquestionably Zia's, despite the attire being something it almost >hurts the mind to contemplate the Petite Amberite choosing to don. Roland raises one metal/sapphire eyebrow. "Something tells me I missed a trick somewhere." Then he smiles. "As for your timing, it seemed fine to me." Eric simply boggles. [Is that...Zia? But that's _Ultraviolet!_] (OOC: Ignore the last mental outburst if there were no Ultraviolet pulps on Earth-9, or if her adventures with Doc Eon [who apologizes for his inadvertent slips with Dix] were not recorded in that worthy's own adventures.) > However, Zia is still there, in blue and green, in Eric's arms. Which, of course, is why Eric boggles. He quickly finds a comfortable surface to lay Zia in (this not being the island's first stint as an LZ), then turns to consider the situation. At no time is he more than three feet away from Zia...er, Zia-Prime, anyway. (Rio, of course, recognizes this as his "overprotective" mode. Not that he'd ever call it that. 8^) Meanwhile, Suli and Kanto are present representing Darkseid's forces, and all of Roland's other allies (the Storm Knights and Champions) are also present. Defender takes this all in (as well as the other arrivals), then sighs. /"Okay. Let's review our situation."/ He calls up various strategic maps on the various screens provided by the Champions' ready room. (OOC: See http://silver-gateway.com/rc/earth9/torg-cosms.html for cosm overviews and maps.) /"Obviously, I want to rid my world of these...invaders as quickly as possible. At the same time, we don't dare spread our forces too thinly. The High Lords are too powerful, and that's not even taking their Darkness Devices into account. For a number of reasons..."/ Defender zooms in on the map of Europe and Africa (OOC: http://silver-gateway.com/rc/earth9/eu-na.gif for the visual). /"...I think we should begin with the Middle Earth invasion in Northern Europe, in the green zone, and the Nile Empire invasion in Northeast Africa, in the gold zone. Aside from the strategic imperatives, there are two primary considerations I'm looking at here. One, we've received calls for assistance from the Werewolf tribes in the Middle Earth areas -- apparently, the warg situation there is affecting them directly, and Sauron seems to have the most accelerated timetable of the active High Lords. As for Mobius...I think we can turn him, and I want all the allies I can get."/ Tolwyn blinks and stares at Roland. "Mobius? That dishonorable sand-eater? Are you certain, Blaze?" Roland laughs harshly. /"Lady Tolwyn...old friend...I'm not sure of _anything_ right now, besides my friends. But I doubt we're turning any of the other High Lords, and I'll take what I can get. Even Destroyer is helping out against Mobius, which gives us a position of strength to work with. /"Anyway, to the point. I need to know who feels called where. I can offer suggestions to those who want them, but everyone should make their own decisions based on what they think they can handle in terms of universe rules and personal talents."/ Orchid looks up from a smaller screen, her young face haggard beyond her tender years. /"Defender, sir, it's the Secretary of State on line one. He's on the president's channel."/ "oh bloody nass," Defender sighs. /"Talk amongst yourselves for a while, please. I've got to take this."/ OOC: Take it away. Roland'll be back when he's needed. 8^) ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: A Farewell to Arms On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 11:02:28 -0800 Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00011746 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011744 > > Maggedon flies directly into the Entity's endless void, shrinking >into the "distance" as it does so. *Prepare for detonation at {} >juncture,* it warns emotionlessly. Both Hydra and Aurora maintain their respective attacks, relentlessly and without any shred of mercy, until the cosmic tick before Maggedon's detonation. In that tick, they combine their powers together to wrap the entity in unimaginably strong containment fields. > The Entity, desperate against the combined powers, is only able to >blunt the terrible, final detonation of Maggedon, ridding the cosmos >of the Old Gods' final weapon and rending the monstrous Entity >simultaneously. > (Continue battle as previously written. ;^) As mighty as the containment fields are they are STILL pushed outwards, to, and past, the breaking point, by the force of the blast. Just as the containment fields are about to fail another Starspawn, Oracle, adds his relatively minor strength to theirs. Even this is not enough. /Child, if you wish this world to live you must assist us./ He tells The Stardragon. What The Stardragon wishes to contain IS contained. The Stardragon applies its might through Oracle to strengthen the fields. The blast is finally, safely, contained and even compressed back to the orginal "volume" of the entity. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Tue, 9 Mar 2004 15:18:42 -0500 "David McMillan" Said As CAoL Message # 00011747 OOC- Gah! This thing completely got away from me. One of these days, I need to learn to keep these mad impulses under control. >Roland X wrote on 3/9/2004, 2:57 AM: > >> "My timing was a bit off, but I daresay I had some excuse. And >>it has been a long time since I've used that ability here." The >>petite lady clad in violet-hued silk remarks conversationally to the >>four of them. Pistol grips gleaming with pearl inlays show from >>under her arms and at her waist, despite the covering cloak, the >>scarf drawn to mask her face, and the large, floppy brimed hat. The >>voice is unquestionably Zia's, despite the attire being something it >>almost hurts the mind to contemplate the Petite Amberite choosing to >>don. Roger floats an eyebrow. "Who knows, what Evil, Luuuurks in the Hearts and Minds of Men?" he mutters sotto voce. "The Fluorescent Shadow Knows!" OOC: Oh, c'MON, I can't be the ONLY person to have that thought... >> However, Zia is still there, in blue and green, in Eric's arms. > > Which, of course, is why Eric boggles. > He quickly finds a comfortable surface to lay Zia in (this not >being the island's first stint as an LZ), then turns to consider the >situation. At no time is he more than three feet away from Zia...er, >Zia-Prime, anyway. (Rio, of course, recognizes this as his >"overprotective" mode. Not that he'd ever call it that. 8^) "No, no, this is my 'just-protective-enough' mode. Hey, I might *need* 50Mt/s firepower, you never know..." > Meanwhile, Suli and Kanto are present representing Darkseid's >forces, and all of Roland's other allies (the Storm Knights and >Champions) are also present. > Defender takes this all in (as well as the other arrivals), then >sighs. /"Okay. Let's review our situation."/ He calls up various >strategic maps on the various screens provided by the Champions' >ready room. (OOC: See >http://silver-gateway.com/rc/earth9/torg-cosms.html for cosm >overviews and maps.) Roger, who's been a little behind the intel curve ever since arriving, studies the map with obvious interest, while his subconscious links into the Island's various datafeeds and speedsucks down all the available data on just what he missed while stuck in traffic. After a moment, he begins to smile -- the classical Roger "I've-got-an-idea" smile, that makes people start checking their insurance policies. The Agent of Change is on the march.... > /"Anyway, to the point. I need to know who feels called where. I >can offer suggestions to those who want them, but everyone should >make their own decisions based on what they think they can handle in >terms of universe rules and personal talents."/ Roger is humming under his breath. Some might recognize it as a Meatloaf tune from "Bat Out Of Hell II," specifically "Good Girls Go To Heaven (But Bad Girls Go Everywhere)." > Orchid looks up from a smaller screen, her young face haggard >beyond her tender years. /"Defender, sir, it's the Secretary of State >on line one. He's on the president's channel."/ > "oh bloody nass," Defender sighs. /"Talk amongst yourselves for a >while, please. I've got to take this."/ Roger grins lopsidedly at the map. "Too bad there's not a Gamer-cosm invading us. I could just drop Largo and Piro into it and walk away." He rubs his chin. "On the other hand, that would probably lead to collateral damage on an Aneglic scale--OW!" A perfect double-whack upside the head from Kei and Yuri interrupt his ruminations. "Oh, hey, Angels. When did you get here?" The Angels sniff disdainfully and turn their backs on him, posing haughtily. "We're not talking to you," Kei says loftily. "Until you apologize... nicely!" Yuri adds, looking hurt. Both girls are watching their beau carefully out of the corner of their eyes, though. Roger, for his part, seems less put out than he perhaps should be. He dupes apart and begins the process of mending fences with his lovely Goddesses of Mass Destruction, who start to thaw out rather more quickly than an onlooker might expect. One might almost get the impression that this is a regular dance for them.... Meanwhile, a third Roger dupes over to Rio, watching his other selves beg for Angelic forgiveness from a distance. He leans down to whisper in her ear. "You know, luv, I have this wicked, *wicked* idea, based on a baaad joke Dad made earlier. But I need three Angels to pull it off. I've got a redhead and a brunette already -- want to round out the set?" He leers at her in a comedic fashion. "You'd certainly do the outfit justice. And I can provide whatever firepower you need to keep up." His voice drops even lower. "Besides, I think you'd be a good influence on them." [Plus, it puts my three Best Grrrls together in one place for mutual support, making it easier to keep them all safe] OOC: I'll let Morgan decide what Rio wants to do. Either way, after the /g/r/a/t/u/i/t/o/u/s/ s/e/x/p/o/s/i/t/i/o/n/ heartfelt romantic interlude is over with.... Roger 'ported into the Danger Room, pulling in all dupes, shadows, and other fractions until he was complete. With the selves he'd lost to the Anti-Life Entity, he was running a tad below 100%, but his typical Immortal resilience (coupled with a few cheats) was more than enough to bridge the gap. Which was good, because what he had in mind was going to be difficult. "Computer. Recognize Greywolf-Phoenix, Roger. Stand by to run Omega-level isolation protocols." "Acknowledged. System Ready." "Gotta remember to change that Majel Barret voice filter one of these days," he muttered. "Computer. Load program: Laboratory of Solitude. Parameters: Zero, Omega, Sixty. Execute when ready." "Program Loaded. Stand By. Program Running With Sixty Minute Safety Limit... Now." Instant Void. He now stood apart from all the realms, alone but for himself... and whatever he brought with him. "Well," he quipped, his voice utterly failing to echo in the emptiness. "Might as well start from the beginning. Fiat Lux!" Where there had been darkness, there was now... a par of headlights. Roger glared at them balefully. "A-HEM!" The headlights flickered apologetically, then vanished. The darkness resumed for a long moment, then bled away as a cool, sourceless light seemed to "soak" into the air, turning the dark void into a soft grey void, above an obsidian "ground" that stretched to infinity in all directions. "Good thing I didn't say 'Fiat Lexus,'" Roger remarked dryly. He knelt to place his hands flat against the "ground," and closed his eyes for a long moment, becoming utterly still. There was a flare of silvery light, and when he opened his eyes he was standing in the center of a five-pointed star. "Step one, complete." He stood again, reaching into his jacket with his right hand to draw out the sword with the "glass" blade. Again, his blood siphoned through the tiny needles in the hilt down into the blade, filling the three-dimensional runes, icons, and circuits, drawing his power along with it until the blade seemed to hum with energies in barely-constrained conflict, surrounded by a faint shimmer as light bent around it. He hoisted the blade to shoulder level, inspecting its length with a practiced sweep of his eyes. His gaze snagged momentarily on an iconic representation of the Amber Pattern, and with a smirk he flipped the blade over. Viewed from the other side, it was the Logrus. He shook his head ruefully and swept the long sword through a scintillating series of arcs, settling the blade's weight in his hand. "Step two." He took a deep breath. "Now the hard part." Holding the sword to one side, he raised his left hand and opened it. He stared out into the limitless horizon, going deep, deep into the most silent places of himself, where time has no meaning. The summons began as a whisper, and ended in a roar. "Come to my hand... BREAKER!" There was light, and there was darkness, and woven into the junction between them there was a chain. His left fist closed around it and clenched tight. It was like grabbing a live wire running the circuit from Alpha to Omega. It was being taken to every personal limit and *bounced* off them like a cosmic ricochet. It was risk beyond all danger, for opportunity without limit. And, as always, it began with a question. "Who Are You?" It always made him think of Kosh, but he thrust the distraction aside, centering around the icy flame consuming his left hand. "I... am...." "Death in the service of Life. Chaos in the service of Order. Crime in the service of Justice. War in the service of Peace. Creation out of Destruction." His eyes blazed with cerulean fire as the force he sought to join did its level best to test him to destruction. He gritted his teeth, mentally dug in his heels, and drove towards the completion of the process. "I am the Fulcrum of Providence, Breaker of Destiny, Changer of Paradigms, the Feral Trump, Fortune's Fool." The storm of song and fire was suddenly silenced, replaced by a hush like unto that before the First Word was ever spoken. "I am The Agent Of Change." Reality was... interrupted, for lack of a better word. And when it resumed, Roger was on his knees in the center of the pentagram, sword driven into the "ground," and a length of chain wrapped tightly around his left arm, through his fist, and beyond for over a meter. He struggled upright, looking a bit wan. "Well... now I remember why I don't invoke that part of myself too darn often." He glanced down at the chain, which *hummed* along his arm with barely-restrained power. It was made of thumb-size links that were an utter, abyssal black, polished to such a reflective sheen as to be almost white. Each link was forged of an alloy of pure, unsullied Order and utter primordial Chaos, pure possibility _in_potentia_... and it was *still* like holding a live wire. "Bridling chaos," he sighed. "You are a real handful, you know that?" If the artifact heard or understood, it gave no sign. "Well, now there's just the second-hardest part left. Breaker, meet Fulcrum. Fulcrum, Breaker." He gestured the two weapons at each other. Small arcs of energy jumped between them, tingeing the air with ozone. He sighed. "One of these days, I'm going to stop coming up with these oh-so-clever crazy ideas." A grin ghosted across his face. "But not today!" He extended Fulcrum straight out in front of him, and began twirling Breaker. "Okay, boys... time to do what we all do best... NOW!" The spinning chain struck the glassine swordblade and barberpoled around it in a tight spiral. Roger had just enough time to grasp the hilt in both hands and drive the blade into the surface between his feet before the combined energies reached critical mass and flashed over their restraints. When the light cleared, there was only the sword, with the chain draped over its guard and wrapped tightly down its blade. But out on the points of the star, five new Rogers stood.... ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Tue, 9 Mar 2004 17:43:48 -0800 (PST) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011748 >"Roger" Said >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011745 >>>On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 10:20:13 -0800 (PST) >>>Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011737 >>> >>> On Steppenwolf's command bridge, a polychromatic doorway >>>flickers into being. Immediately, Ziactrice steps forth, clad >>>pants, vest, shirt, scarf and sword in finest pirate meets gypsy >>>ambushed by the tales of Arabia style. The colors are blazing reds >>>and yellows, with occasional touches of emeralds and a ruby at one >>>ear the size of a robin's egg. >>> An eyepatch covers her left eye, red and pillowy in the shape >>>of a heart outlined in pearls. She rests one palm on the butt of >>>her blade, watching the back of Steppenwolf's chair to see how long >>>it takes for her bizarre entrance to be noticed. > >> Not long; the flash of light reflected in the ship's screens >>alerts him to the intrusion. Unfortunately (for Steppenwolf), he >>doesn't realize who it is at first, so he's spun his chair around, >>leapt to his feet, and half-drawn his Electro-Axe before he's >>identified his guest. >> Then he drops his axe and facefaults. "Oh, Source, not _you_ >>again..." "Too bad the only ardor you have left is solely martial." She shrugs, one pale shoulder nicely exposed from the red silk of her shirt. "Since I'm obviously not welcome nor wanted here - " she steps back, another polychromatic door appearing behind her. He has perhaps two steps before she is gone again. >>Meanwhile, on Champions Island... >> >> Roland raises one metal/sapphire eyebrow. "Something tells me I >>missed a trick somewhere." Violet just smiles at him. >> Eric simply boggles. [Is that...Zia? But that's _Ultraviolet!_] >> (OOC: Ignore the last mental outburst if there were no >>Ultraviolet pulps on Earth-9, or if her adventures with Doc Eon [who >>apologizes for his inadvertent slips with Dix] were not recorded in >>that worthy's own adventures.) (OOC: Um, well, according to the punctuation guide, that was internal/privately thought. Why UV can certainly see Eric's a bit boggled, she'll have no idea he recognizes her as a Pulp Heroine of this world's history, yet. And since Doc Eon and UV have been written about in chapters, and the covers of the book described, even, I have no problem with fanboy - er, Eric, or maybe even Roland or other assorted locals knowing about the book. Of course, reading about a fictional character and realizing Zia actually was scooting about that far in the past might take a little pondering. I'll wait until Eric either asks, or bursts out with a 'So THAT's why you asked me about the pulps before!') >>> However, Zia is still there, in blue and green, in Eric's >>>arms. >> >> Which, of course, is why Eric boggles. >> He quickly finds a comfortable surface to lay Zia in (this not >>being the island's first stint as an LZ), then turns to consider the >>situation. At no time is he more than three feet away from Zia...er, >>Zia-Prime, anyway. (OOC: By color is how I plan to track. Zia Blue-Green. :) Otherwise known as the Gaian Sorceress. Ultraviolet. Zia of the Red is the Captain Heart, or Lady Arcademon (not a title friend's would normally use, however... maybe I'll do swashbuckling - it'd be beyond fun to see Steppenwolf and Co. along for that ride.) > Roger floats an eyebrow. "Who knows, what Evil, Luuuurks in the >Hearts and Minds of Men?" he mutters sotto voce. "The Fluorescent >Shadow Knows!" "I am not of shadow, nor am I that Shadow." The Just Violet observes. "I am of the light beyond vision, the heat from the heart of stars, and a wave upon the Ether. I doubt even you, young man, made jests upon meeting my beloved Kent. The Shadow does know, and the weight of his knowing fills his regard." Her lips quirk. "They say that behind every good man is a woman. Well, behind a number of bad men, I'm lucky enough to be the woman." She adds the latter part while grinning right at Eric. >> /"Anyway, to the point. I need to know who feels called where. I >>can offer suggestions to those who want them, but everyone should >>make their own decisions based on what they think they can handle in >>terms of universe rules and personal talents."/ "I daresay," the Just Violet remarks, "my choice has been made fairly easy, under the circumstances." She looks at Eric. "I think that between Nemo and the infrastructure of this Island, my Dreaming self can be secured for the duration necessary." ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 21:45:58 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011749 >On Tue, 9 Mar 2004 17:43:48 -0800 (PST) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011748 > >>"Roger" Said As CAoL Message # 00011747 >>>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011745 >>> >>> Not long; the flash of light reflected in the ship's screens >>>alerts him to the intrusion. Unfortunately (for Steppenwolf), he >>>doesn't realize who it is at first, so he's spun his chair around, >>>leapt to his feet, and half-drawn his Electro-Axe before he's >>>identified his guest. >>> Then he drops his axe and facefaults. "Oh, Source, not _you_ >>>again..." > > "Too bad the only ardor you have left is solely martial." She >shrugs, one pale shoulder nicely exposed from the red silk of her >shirt. Steppenwolf manages to keep his eyes from bulging. Much. He scoops up his Electro-Axe and puts it back. "That sounds like a challenge, young woman," he says, though it sounds perfunctory -- the sort of thing he says because he can't think of much else _to_ say. >"Since I'm obviously not welcome nor wanted here - " she steps back, >another polychromatic door appearing behind her. He has perhaps two >steps before she is gone again. OOC: Ooo! Poor Steppenwolf. He can hold his own against a Lensman army and bat Earth-9's deadliest martial artists around like pinatas -- but talk about being out of his element... "What -- wait!" he blurts. Then he realizes what he said. [What am I DOING?!] >>>Meanwhile, on Champions Island... >>> >>> Eric simply boggles. [Is that...Zia? But that's _Ultraviolet!_] >>> (OOC: Ignore the last mental outburst if there were no >>>Ultraviolet pulps on Earth-9, > > (OOC: Um, well, according to the punctuation guide, that was >internal/privately thought. OOC: Well, yeah, but he wouldn't have thought it if the data wasn't there to work from. >And since Doc Eon and UV have been written about in chapters, and the >covers of the book described, even, I have no problem with fanboy - >er, Eric, or maybe even Roland or other assorted locals knowing about >the book. Well, this is sort of where Eric and Roland/me diverge. Roland's the comic geek. Eric got into his dad's pulps as a kid. Unlike Roland, he's not a walking encyclopedia on "fictional" subjects -- he satisfies his need to be obsessive/compulsive by being insanely good at his job. ;^) >Of course, reading about a fictional character and realizing Zia >actually was scooting about that far in the past might take a little >pondering. I'll wait until Eric either asks, or bursts out with a 'So >THAT's why you asked me about the pulps before!') OOC: Well, you _did_ say that it's Zia's voice. And IIRC, while the face is fully concealed, that costume doesn't leave much regarding those "sine curves" to the imagination, which means Eric doesn't need said imagination to match UV's morphology to Zia's. The latter alone wouldn't have done it, but together with the voice the relation is clear. Seemingly. Co-location is nothing new to the Hunter, to be sure. OTOH, Zia is in his arms -- _unconscious_ -- at this point, and as mentioned, it does almost hurt the mind to think of Zia wearing so...unmistakable...a color. So he's confused, to put it mildly. >> Roger floats an eyebrow. "Who knows, what Evil, Luuuurks in the >>Hearts and Minds of Men?" he mutters sotto voce. "The Fluorescent >>Shadow Knows!" > > "I am not of shadow, nor am I that Shadow." The Just Violet >observes. "I am of the light beyond vision, the heat from the heart >of stars, and a wave upon the Ether. I doubt even you, young man, >made jests upon meeting my beloved Kent. The Shadow does know, and >the weight of his knowing fills his regard." Her lips quirk. [Beloved Kent? I wonder what Margo has to say about this?] Eric ponders. [Then again, maybe Margo's part of the family. Maybe Zia _was_ Margo. My head hurts.] All he says, however, is: "Roger. Shut up." > "They say that behind every good man is a woman. Well, behind a >number of bad men, I'm lucky enough to be the woman." She adds the >latter part while grinning right at Eric. Eric's eyebrows skyrocket. "I happen to be _very_ good. At what I do." The shades go back on, and he seems to...move, without exactly moving, to cover Zia Blue-Green more closely. > >>> /"Anyway, to the point. I need to know who feels called where. I >>>can offer suggestions to those who want them, but everyone should >>>make their own decisions based on what they think they can handle >>>in terms of universe rules and personal talents."/ > > "I daresay," the Just Violet remarks, "my choice has been made >fairly easy, under the circumstances." She looks at Eric. "I think >that between Nemo and the infrastructure of this Island, my Dreaming >self can be secured for the duration necessary." "Your...dreaming self?" Eric asks evenly. OOC: Assuming plot exposition goes here... "Ah. In any case, I have Zia...you...your body...covered." He stamps his boot lightly against the floor, transferring the kinetic energy into a chair, which slides over to him. He sits, sliding one of his machine pistols out to examine it minutely. Roland pauses at the door on the way out. "You know, Eric, she'll be perfectly safe at the island--" "I'm staying here," Eric replies simply. Roland sighs and pauses. "Eric, she's not--" he stops dead at the tiny red dot that blossoms in the center of his forehead. "I'm. Staying. Here," Eric says flatly. "With Zia." Roland raises his hands and smiles gently. "Fair enough. Just one question." "Shoot," Eric replies dryly, the gun snapping back into position for him to examine. "Which Zia are you staying with?" Eric considers this, looking from Zia Blue-Green to Zia Ultraviolet. "I hate you," he growls softly. Roland chuckles as he leaves. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 19:58:48 -0500 Saint Dharma / Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011752 >On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 21:45:58 -0800 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011749 > >> "I am not of shadow, nor am I that Shadow." The Just Violet >>observes. "I am of the light beyond vision, the heat from the heart >>of stars, and a wave upon the Ether. I doubt even you, young man, >>made jests upon meeting my beloved Kent. The Shadow does know, and >>the weight of his knowing fills his regard." Her lips quirk. > > [Beloved Kent? I wonder what Margo has to say about this?] Eric >ponders. [Then again, maybe Margo's part of the family. Maybe Zia >_was_ Margo. My head hurts.] > All he says, however, is: "Roger. Shut up." As Doc Energy approaches the gathering area, he hears this discussion going on. He also hears a very familiar voice clear as a rainbow after a lighting storm. He quickens his pace, in the hopes of learning if what he believes is true. He approaches the entrance to the room, recognizing that the voice is indeed The Just Violet herself, since the armor he made for her, or rather her other-self, many years back. [Hmmm... Looks like she's made some modifications in my original design.] he thinks to himself, nodding slightly in approval. > "Your...dreaming self?" Eric asks evenly. "Actually," said The Good Doctor, entering the room confidently, "this version of the Amberite is her, but in a different form. Many years ago, Violete explained to me that her True Self was not there with me at the time, but rather in another location elsewhere. It seems that the Amberite can dream herself into any form that she wants, but her waking self is completely unaware of the other. This allows her to perform many interesting things, such as not really needing to sleep at all. However, there are many things about it that I don't understand, so I will leave it to the Just Violet to explain it better than I could." OOC: Violet, you're on. > "I'm. Staying. Here," Eric says flatly. "With Zia." > Roland raises his hands and smiles gently. "Fair enough. Just one >question." > "Shoot," Eric replies dryly, the gun snapping back into position >for him to examine. > "Which Zia are you staying with?" > Eric considers this, looking from Zia Blue-Green to Zia >Ultraviolet. "I hate you," he growls softly. > Roland chuckles as he leaves. The Good Doctor laughs heartily at Defenders' remark and The Hunter's reaction to said remark. After a few minutes, he catches his breath. "Anyway, allow me to introduce myself, Gentlemen. I am Dr. Emil Romanov, but you probably know me better as....Doctor Energy." ================================= Subject: AAE 9: Flirts with Wolves On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 19:06:15 -0800 (PST) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011753 >On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 21:45:58 -0800 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011749 >>On Tue, 9 Mar 2004 17:43:48 -0800 (PST) >>Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011748 >>"Since I'm obviously not welcome nor wanted here - " she steps back, >>another polychromatic door appearing behind her. He has perhaps two >>steps before she is gone again. > > OOC: Ooo! Poor Steppenwolf. He can hold his own against a Lensman >army and bat Earth-9's deadliest martial artists around like pinatas >-- but talk about being out of his element... OOC: Superior tacticians always force an enemy to meet them on their own ground, and fight in the manner which is the enemy's weakest. ;) > "What -- wait!" he blurts. > Then he realizes what he said. > [What am I DOING?!] The Petite Arabian Amberite pauses on the verge of her (for want of a better term) magical doorway, giving him a raised eyebrow, a certain flashing of her eyes (that would give Nemo pause, as he has more experience with Zia), and a slightly jerky tilt of her head that sets her large, gold hoop earrings to tinkling slightly. She regards him silently. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 19:23:57 -0800 (PST) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011754 >Saint Dharma / Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011752 >> Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011749 >> Eric's eyebrows skyrocket. "I happen to be _very_ good. At what I >>do." The shades go back on, and he seems to...move, without exactly >>moving, to cover Zia Blue-Green more closely. "Oh," the Just Violet purrs in a voice that tries to send shivers down every male spine within hearing distance, "you are, indeed. Very, very good. _Every_ thing you do, you do quite well indeed." The scarf still covers her lower face, but her eyes are smoldering from the smile no doubt concealed by it. >> "Your...dreaming self?" Eric asks evenly. > >"Actually," said The Good Doctor, entering the room confidently, >"this version of the Amberite is her, but in a different form. Many >years ago, Violet explained to me that her True Self was not there >with me at the time, but rather in another location elsewhere. It >seems that the Amberite can dream herself into any form that she >wants, but her waking self is completely unaware of the other." > >"This allows her to perform many interesting things, such as not >really needing to sleep at all. However, there are many things about >it that I don't understand, so I will leave it to the Just Violet to >explain it better than I could." "Speaking of things not understood, Doc, I never told you I was an Amberite. Has Mercer been spilling beans again?" She says, in an exasperated, but also amused, tone. The Just Violet shrugs, then she turns to Eric. "It's not really all that difficult. I cannot Awaken because no Shadow is truly real to me, but I know the truth. This paradox apparently forced the Paradox force here to find some loophole. So, I'm a Sleeper, technically, but also a Lucid Dreamer. Which means I function as Awakened, but only when I'm asleep. Knowing I am Dreaming, I can control my dream - which to you is your Awakened Reality." She cocks her head. "This might be rather illogical, save that I'm also a Paradoxical Mythic by Blood and Being. Unicorns are magical creatures - who are immune to magic, after all. Quite the paradox. They're also known for their elusiveness. It's hard to kill a hero who just vanishes into thin air - when her Dreaming self wakes up. It seems to work out. Save that I can't remember these Dreams consciously when I'm awake - or, if you like, being a Sleeper again." >> "Which Zia are you staying with?" >> Eric considers this, looking from Zia Blue-Green to Zia >>Ultraviolet. "I hate you," he growls softly. >> Roland chuckles as he leaves. > >The Good Doctor laughs heartily at Defenders' remark and The Hunter's >reaction to said remark. After a few minutes, he catches his breath. >"Anyway, allow me to introduce myself, Gentlemen. I am Dr. Emil >Romanov, but you probably know me better as....Doctor Energy." "It's all right." Zia commented to Eric as the doc was laughing. "He is Russian - and has a strange sense of what is humorous." Rainbow-Brite Zia, to the Power of Three ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 20:28:06 +0000 Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00011755 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011745 > > /"Anyway, to the point. I need to know who feels called where. I >can offer suggestions to those who want them, but everyone should >make their own decisions based on what they think they can handle in >terms of universe rules and personal talents."/ > Orchid looks up from a smaller screen, her young face haggard >beyond her tender years. /"Defender, sir, it's the Secretary of State >on line one. He's on the president's channel."/ > "oh bloody nass," Defender sighs. /"Talk amongst yourselves for a >while, please. I've got to take this."/ While Eric, the Just Violet, Roger, and Doctor Energy chat, Rob pulls up the files on Middle Earth and the Nile Empire. Unlike most of the people here, he isn't capable of "breaking the rules." What can and can't happen in a Dark Lord's domain affects him. [I suppose I should look at the bright side. I won't be guessing at what I can do.] After a few moments, he begins muttering under his breath. "Extensive wilderness... high Magick, almost exclusively... specialization the norm..." A few moments later, he turns away from the console. "Nile Empire, here I come," Rob says as he leaves the ready room. In spite of the whirlwind tour that Orchid gave him, he knows where he needs to go first; there's a room full of various clothes, and he needs something a little more suitable. [There was a leather jacket that was about my size...] ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 00:02:46 -0500 Saint Dharma / Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011756 >On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 19:23:57 -0800 (PST) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011754 > >>Saint Dharma / Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011752 >> >>"Actually," said The Good Doctor, entering the room confidently, >>"this version of the Amberite is her, but in a different form. Many >>years ago, Violet explained to me that her True Self was not there >>with me at the time, but rather in another location elsewhere. It >>seems that the Amberite can dream herself into any form that she >>wants, but her waking self is completely unaware of the other." >> >>"This allows her to perform many interesting things, such as not >>really needing to sleep at all. However, there are many things about >>it that I don't understand, so I will leave it to the Just Violet to >>explain it better than I could." > > "Speaking of things not understood, Doc, I never told you I was >an Amberite. Has Mercer been spilling beans again?" She says, in an >exasperated, but also amused, tone. The Just Violet shrugs, then she >turns to Eric. The Good Doctor was prepared for this eventuality. "Elementary, my dear Violet. Some years ago, I was contacted by a personage of some intelligence to assist him in the design of a sentient computer. Since my Ivana A.I. was fairly well known among certain esoteric circles, I was intrigued by this stranger, who initially contacted me with just the name of M. He was working on something he called "Ghostwheel" which I assumed was just a code name for some secret project a Virtual Adept was working on. You can imagine my surprise when after several messages back and forth, the fellow just pops into my lab in much the same way you did all those years ago. He introduced himself as Merlin....which I initially took to be a very good joke. All laughter ceased when he showed me the designs for what he was working on. I studied the blueprints (or what passes for them anyway) and told him that I would be able to show him some things that might help. I offered the uses of my lab, and while he was intensly working on the "Ghostwheel", I ran some scans on his physiology and energy patterns. What I found was astounding, because his energy signature was similar to your own. In a roundabout way, I asked him about his place of origin, and he told me about this world being a "shadow" of the world that he was from. Being no stranger to cross-time travel myself, I was very interested. He didn't pursue the matter further, which I took to mean that it was a sore subject with him, so I didn't press. I did further research which led me to some very strange places. Including a fairly well known author from New Mexico writing about a place called Amber. Thunderstruck I was. When I talked to Eon last, and asked him directly about this, he swore that he knew nothing, but he also told me that my research was sound. So there was no confidence broken dear." "By the way, I was ultimately unable to help Merlin with his design, but I did put him in contact with some people I knew from the Virtual Adept chantry. What happened after that was a mystery." >>The Good Doctor laughs heartily at Defenders' remark and The >>Hunter's reaction to said remark. After a few minutes, he catches >>his breath. "Anyway, allow me to introduce myself, Gentlemen. I am >>Dr. Emil Romanov, but you probably know me better as....Doctor >>Energy." > > "It's all right." Zia commented to Eric as the doc was laughing. >"He is Russian - and has a strange sense of what is humorous." The Good Doctor becomes somewhat serious for a moment. "Actually, the tone that Eric used was similar to the one I heard in a....what do you call it.... Warner Brothers Cartoon. Little fellow about 3 feet high with a red beard and a fetish for guns. That's what I found funny." Doc Energy "Duck Season!" ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 11:50:06 -0500 "David McMillan" Said As CAoL Message # 00011757 >Samatha Cooper wrote on 3/9/2004, 8:48 PM: > >> Roger floats an eyebrow. "Who knows, what Evil, Luuuurks in the >>Hearts and Minds of Men?" he mutters sotto voce. "The Fluorescent >>Shadow Knows!" > > "I am not of shadow, nor am I that Shadow." The Just Violet >observes. "I am of the light beyond vision, the heat from the heart >of stars, and a wave upon the Ether. I doubt even you, young man, >made jests upon meeting my beloved Kent. The Shadow does know, and >the weight of his knowing fills his regard." Her lips quirk. Roger looks mildly offended. "I'll have you know that not only did I crack jokes to Allard, I'm the only person I know of who ever ever managed to make him laugh (really laugh, not that pysch-weapon he uses) when 'on duty.'" He crosses his arms, his expression darkening. "It wasn't *my* fault he laughed so hard he fell off the building and broke his leg. I didn't mind filling in for a month, but the Darkwing Duck costume was just pure pettiness." > "They say that behind every good man is a woman. Well, behind a >number of bad men, I'm lucky enough to be the woman." She adds the >latter part while grinning right at Eric. Roger toys with the idea of zapping Eric with something to make him start singing Michael Jackson's "Bad," but decides it would be too far in excess of good taste. Hey, even Roger has limits! ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 11:54:36 -0500 "David McMillan" Said As CAoL Message # 00011758 >Roland X wrote on 3/10/2004, 1:03 AM: > > OOC: Ooo! Poor Steppenwolf. He can hold his own against a Lensman >army and bat Earth-9's deadliest martial artists around like pinatas >-- but talk about being out of his element... > "What -- wait!" he blurts. > Then he realizes what he said. > [What am I DOING?!] OOC: ROFTL! > [Beloved Kent? I wonder what Margo has to say about this?] Eric >ponders. [Then again, maybe Margo's part of the family. Maybe Zia >_was_ Margo. My head hurts.] > All he says, however, is: "Roger. Shut up." Roger smirks. "C'mon, bro, I know you've got a sense of humor. Exercise it." OOC: Why do I think this is a BAD idea? > Eric's eyebrows skyrocket. "I happen to be _very_ good. At what I >do." "The best there is," Roger chimes in, all Helpfulness and Sincerity. > "I'm staying here," Eric replies simply. > Roland sighs and pauses. "Eric, she's not--" he stops dead at the >tiny red dot that blossoms in the center of his forehead. Roger rolls his eyes. > "Which Zia are you staying with?" > Eric considers this, looking from Zia Blue-Green to Zia >Ultraviolet. "I hate you," he growls softly. > Roland chuckles as he leaves. "Hey, Eric," Roger chimes in cheerfully. "Now that you're one of the Immie set, I might be able to teach you a way to leverage my multipresence trick. That is, *if* you're interested?" He moderates his grin in Eric's direction, but obviously knows he's got Eric over a bit of a barrel. OTOH, Eric ought to appreciate that Roger isn't rubbing it in... ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 16:57:08 -0800 Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00011760 >On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 23:48:46 -0800 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011745 > > /"Anyway, to the point. I need to know who feels called where. I >can offer suggestions to those who want them, but everyone should >make their own decisions based on what they think they can handle in >terms of universe rules and personal talents."/ "I will go to the Nile Empire; I spent several years in Vassagonia, which is a desert country, like Egypt." ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 01:34:40 -0500 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00011761 >On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 16:57:08 -0800 >Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00011760 > >>On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 23:48:46 -0800 >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011745 >> >> /"Anyway, to the point. I need to know who feels called where. I >>can offer suggestions to those who want them, but everyone should >>make their own decisions based on what they think they can handle in >>terms of universe rules and personal talents."/ > >"I will go to the Nile Empire; I spent several years in Vassagonia, >which is a desert country, like Egypt." Moonstone swept into the room, having changed into a white gown, roughly circa the 12th century, and a purple cape with white fur lining. A moonstone hung about her neck, as lusterous as her dragon-form's scales, with a ring of sapphires circling it, as cobalt blue as her eyes in either form. In her off-hand was a largish book, with what appeared to be inked scratches on the cover. "I think I'd be best suited to pay Sauron a visit," Moonstone said, striking a small pose, then held up the book, "And I happened across my old spell book in one of my cloak pockets, so I'll just be studying in the corner before we go." She sat down and put a hand to her necklace, /Tink and David dropped in briefly, still waiting on the Sevens, but she disguised the link a bit before she left. She said they'd stopped by mostly for Karma's sake./ /They didn't stay long,/ Karma thought, /Just dropped off a change of clothes, disguised my link as well, and gave me a new toy./ Karma stood in the doorway decked out in a pair of faded blue jeans, brown boots, a blue gingham shirt, and a brown duster with fringe running across the chest, back and sleeves. Her hair'd been pulled back into a small, raven ponytail tied with a gingham ribbon and a Stetson kept her bangs out of her eyes. The Isher pistols rode low in brown leather holsters on her hips, her M1911a hung under her left arm, on her left wrist shown a titanium band with a polychromatic lens. A full cartridge belt was slung across her chest. And resting on her right shoulder was a rifle, longer than normal, with a telescope-like sight mounted on the top, shining steel and polished wood. "Doctor Emmit L. Brown meets Quigley's modified Sharp's. Good for targets up to a mile away," Karma said, slinging the rifle's strap so it hung opposite the cartridge belt, "Nile Empire sounds promising. I'm told all this should fit right in." ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Flirts with Wolves On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 20:48:56 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011762 >On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 19:06:15 -0800 (PST) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011753 > >>On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 21:45:58 -0800 >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011749 >> OOC: Ooo! Poor Steppenwolf. He can hold his own against a Lensman >>army and bat Earth-9's deadliest martial artists around like pinatas >>-- but talk about being out of his element... > > OOC: Superior tacticians always force an enemy to meet them on >their own ground, and fight in the manner which is the enemy's >weakest. ;) OOC: Ohhhh boy. If Step catches on to _that..._ Then again, Z does like her game dangerous, doesn't she? ;^) (Someone's been studying their Sun Tzu, huh?) >> "What -- wait!" he blurts. >> Then he realizes what he said. >> [What am I DOING?!] > > The Petite Arabian Amberite pauses on the verge of her (for want >of a better term) magical doorway, giving him a raised eyebrow, a >certain flashing of her eyes (that would give Nemo pause, as he has >more experience with Zia), and a slightly jerky tilt of her head that >sets her large, gold hoop earrings to tinkling slightly. She regards >him silently. Steppenwolf stops, carefully examining her, wondering what trap he's just fallen in to. She obviously does not want to re-start hostilities now that their leaders had called a truce, and yet she had to want _something._ His gaze falls on the outrageous eyepatch. His eyes bulge _again._ [You can_not_ be serious.] And yet, clearly, she was. Aside from that patch, her flamboyance does not particularly surprise Steppenwolf, who has seen everything his universe has to offer from Superman to the Forever People. Her intent, on the other hand... [When was the last time a woman made a pass at me?] He couldn't even remember when he'd last made use of those trained to pleasure Apokolips' elite. In spite of his protestations to the contrary, a vestige of honor remains to the ancient warrior, and their fearful, abject obedience produced no desire in him whatsoever. Privately, he despised Desaad, and Granny Goodness even more -- Desaad, at least, focused primarily on Apokolips' enemies. This, on the other hand, is a free-willed woman, coming to him of her own accord. With a start, Steppenwolf realizes that the last time a woman showed interest in him unbidden had been before Darkseid was even born. And _she_ had been trying to use him in a scheme against his brother, Darkseid's father. The general suddenly discovers that a flame he'd long thought extinguished was beginning to burn inside of him. She is attractive, but maddening. Enticing. Dangerous. Exactly, he realized, what the few opportunities he'd had lacked. [She _is_ enticing but maddening, beautiful but dangerous. Which is exactly what a woman _should_ be.] Steppenwolf smiles. It is a rather predatory smile, but not -- exactly -- threatening. "Well. I should not even be entertaining this notion. I should treat this...appearance...with caution -- but Pits take caution. Walk with me." This last is deliberately imperious, challenging but not antagonistic. He's seeing how she reacts. "Baraeon. You have the conn." One of his commanders blinks. "Sir?" Steppenwolf looks at him coldly. "You. Have. The. Conn. All words of a single syllable. You _do_ know how to follow simple orders consisting of one-syllable words, yes?" "Aye, SIR!" Baraeon barks, saluting crisply (almost braining himself in his swift desire to show unwavering obedience) and strides as quickly as decorum allows to Steppenwolf's seat. Steppenwolf walks to Zia's side, his brow furrowing for a moment. Then, with a rather ungainly start and a quick recovery, he offers her his arm. -- Steppenwolf Hungry like the... ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 21:23:15 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011763 >On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 19:23:57 -0800 (PST) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00011754 >>Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011752 >>>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011749 >>> >>> Eric's eyebrows skyrocket. "I happen to be _very_ good. At what >>>I do." The shades go back on, and he seems to...move, without >>>exactly moving, to cover Zia Blue-Green more closely. > > "Oh," the Just Violet purrs in a voice that tries to send >shivers down every male spine within hearing distance, "you are, >indeed. Very, very good. _Every_ thing you do, you do quite well >indeed." The scarf still covers her lower face, but her eyes are >smoldering from the smile no doubt concealed by it. Eric swallows, but remains otherwise placid. [Well. That answers THAT question.] >>> "Your...dreaming self?" Eric asks evenly. > > "It's not really all that difficult. I cannot Awaken because no >Shadow is truly real to me, but I know the truth. This paradox >apparently forced the Paradox force here to find some loophole. So, >I'm a Sleeper, technically, but also a Lucid Dreamer. Which means I >function as Awakened, but only when I'm asleep. Knowing I am >Dreaming, I can control my dream -which to you is your Awakened >Reality." She cocks her head. "Hrm." Eric considers. "Well, our universe allows for a _lot_ of odd things. Take Defender, for example." Orchid's eyebrows go stratospheric, even on the other side of the room, and she spins in place so fast it's as if she teleported to reverse her facing. Her hands are on her hips (oh, _now_ he's in trouble 8^). "And what exactly is _that_ supposed to mean?" Eric smiles indulgently. He manages to avoid being condescending, but to Zia it's clear he has to work at it. "Ask _him_ if he minds being called weird." Orchid glares for a moment, then spins back around to her console with a "hmph!". Eric grins. >"This might be rather illogical, save that I'm also a Paradoxical >Mythic by Blood and Being. Unicorns are magical creatures - who are >immune to magic, after all. Quite the paradox. They're also known for >their elusiveness. It's hard to kill a hero who just vanishes into >thin air - when her Dreaming self wakes up. It seems to work out. >Save that I can't remember these Dreams consciously when I'm awake - >or, if you like, being a Sleeper again." "Should I tell you, when you wake up, or not?" Eric asks. "I hesitate to twist your own strengths and weaknesses around -- never know when a 'weakness' is going to be a strength, after all -- but I could make a Lens record of your actions, and even thoughts (I think) if you so desire." Privately, Eric examines his newfound grasp of raw Prime, the fundamental Probability source of the Consensus, to try and makes sense of Zia's current state by Earth-9's odd "rules," such as they are. He gives up before the headache sets in. [That's our Zia, all right...plays by her own rules, even when the rules are "make your own."] >>> "Which Zia are you staying with?" >>> Eric considers this, looking from Zia Blue-Green to Zia >>>Ultraviolet. "I hate you," he growls softly. >>> Roland chuckles as he leaves. >> >>The Good Doctor laughs heartily at Defenders' remark and The >>Hunter's reaction to said remark. After a few minutes, he catches >>his breath. "Anyway, allow me to introduce myself, Gentlemen. I am >>Dr. Emil Romanov, but you probably know me better as....Doctor >>Energy." Eric nods. "I do indeed, sir. My father was something of a fan, back in the day. An honor." > "It's all right." Zia commented to Eric as the doc was laughing. >"He is Russian - and has a strange sense of what is humorous." Eric chuckles. "I've never met the good Doctor, but I think I know what you're talking about." Aaaand... >On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 00:02:46 -0500 >Dr. Energy Said As CAoL Message # 00011756 > >The Good Doctor becomes somewhat serious for a moment. "Actually, the >tone that Eric used was similar to the one I heard in a....what do >you call it.... Warner Brothers Cartoon. Little fellow about 3 feet >high with a red beard and a fetish for guns. That's what I found >funny." Eric considers this for a long moment, and narrows his eyes as if he just realized something. And he walks over to Doc Energy, menace in his step. "If you want trouble with me, though, there's something you should know..." And suddenly, he grows enormous drooping mustaches and a huge cowboy hat as tall as he is -- but they only exist as Quintessence. Any Mage with Prime 1 (and all other beings with the ability to sense Platonic constructs/chimerical objects/ideas given Probability form) can see them, though. The mustache _does_ appear bright red to those who translate the energy visually; others get an "impression" of red. And the Hunter bursts out, "I'MMMMMMM the roughest, toughest, rootinest, tootinest hombr‚ north, south, east, AAAAANNND west of the Pecos!" Now it's _Rio's_ turn to whirl from her console and face Eric. "OK, that's it." She smiles. "Just who _are_ you, and where is the pod with my brother in it?" Eric points immediately at Zia-UV. "Ask her. _I'm_ me, and I'm _still_ trying to figure that out." ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 9: Dividing Lines On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 21:31:05 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011764 >On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 11:54:36 -0500 >SkyeFire Said As CAoL Message # 00011758 > >>Roland X wrote on 3/10/2004, 1:03 AM: >> >> [Beloved Kent? I wonder what Margo has to say about this?] Eric >>ponders. [Then again, maybe Margo's part of the family. Maybe Zia >>_was_ Margo. My head hurts.] >> All he says, however, is: "Roger. Shut up." > > Roger smirks. "C'mon, bro, I know you've got a sense of humor. >Exercise it." > OOC: Why do I think this is a BAD idea? OOC: Mueh-heh-heh-heh. Because you know Eric. By the time you read this, you'll probably have _seen_ Eric exercise his sense of humor. >> Roland chuckles as he leaves. > > "Hey, Eric," Roger chimes in cheerfully. "Now that you're one of >the Immie set, I might be able to teach you a way to leverage my >multipresence trick. That is, *if* you're interested?" He moderates >his grin in Eric's direction, but obviously knows he's got Eric over >a bit of a barrel. OTOH, Eric ought to appreciate that Roger isn't >rubbing it in... "First, I am _not_ immortal. Just especially long lived -- about three thousand years if I eat my Wheaties and don't blow up," Eric explains definitively (not emphatically -- he saves _that_ for special occasions). "As for multipresense, that will require Correspondence Sphere training. I have a long way to go on that." OOC: For the record, for fellow Mage nuts, Eric's Spheres are: Entropy 1, Forces 2, Life 2, Mind 1 (3 with the True Lens), Prime 5, Spirit 1, Time 3 (thanks, sis ;^). He can still use Solar Exalted powers, though that may change. =================================