Crucible #7 - "If I Could Save Time in a Bubble..."

[GM Mad]

Prologue:

Somewhere beyond space and time she watched the current game unfold. She knew full well that the San Diego Event, as it would later become known, was going to unfold. The results of the event were tragic in the short term, but most beneficial in the long run. And that was what mattered to her most: the long term effects of any temporal incursion.

The time bubble had engulfed downtown San Diego on the afternoon of July 5th, 1986 on Earth AC532D. The bubble was nearly four miles across and invisible to the naked eye. Inside the bubble the past and the future no longer had any meaning. They both existed simultaneously with the present. Beings and creatures that never existed before in history were now side by side.

As the crucial moment arrived, she cast her gaze to one particular area of the game board. As if on cue, a new game piece appeared. It was a man dressed in blue. His right eye glowed yellow with power.

The woman sighed to herself. "Just what the multiverse needs. Another dimension with him in it."

However, the woman was undaunted. In this particular instance, the situation would resolve itself without any influence from her or her agents. All she had to do was sit back and watch the final moves of the current game unfold...


Crucible #7 - "If I Could Save Time in a Bubble..."


Outside Horton's Plaza...


With the fighting seemingly over, Serena steps up to the wounded IT and offers to heal its wounds. IT accepts the offer and tries to reassure the jumpy Yu that everything is okay. Serena bends down and chants the words to her healing spell. At the height of the spell, Serena moves her hands over the gash in IT's chest. One moment the wound is there, the next it has completely healed. Not even a scar remains.

Focusing their attention on the man in the blue jump suit, both Serena and IT move closer to the strange man. "Most extraordinary!", the man proclaims as he looks straight up into the sky. "A fissure in the space/time continuum!"

Yellowish energy flares around his eye and this effect causes the still open rift in the sky to appear translucent yellow. Yellowish energy pours from the open rift and flows out to the boundaries of the bubble surrounding downtown San Diego.

"Do you know what transpires here," Serena inquires. "What is that opening and what is coming forth? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Those same thoughts are echoed by IT. "What are you doing? Explain yoursssssself."

"There's a fracture in the fourth dimension," the blue garbed man casually states. "It's created a static bubble of null time! This is so exciting! I must look closer!" With that, the strange man simply vanishes again as if he was never there leaving behind an equally confused Serena, IT, and Yu.


About a block away from the unusual trio, Goldstar streaks along leaving a trail of sparkling glitters in her wake. The naïve heroine easily catches up to the Silver Avenger. His jetpack was never designed to be a primary source of mobility, rather a supplementary one to be used when needed. Major Star was already far ahead of both Goldstar and the Silver Avenger.

"Hi! I'm Goldstar", the gold skinned woman tells the Silver Avenger. "Does stuff like this happen all the time around here?"

Silver Avenger Rackham is momentarily surprised to find Goldstar flying beside him. The woman surrounded by sparkles is among the most attractive of women that he has ever seen, with the exception of Sheila Grace, who he saw in concert a few months back.

"No, ma'am, things like this don't normally happen in San Diego. I'm not sure what is going on, but I do appreciate your assistance. There's going to be many questions asked later on, but right now I'll take any help I can get. Let's keep after Major Star and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

[GM Mad]

Inside Horton's Plaza...


In one of the main concourses of Horton's Plaza, Brian Walsh has just seen the approaching T-Rex go down courtesy of the Gargoyle. Gargy is publicly known as a super working for PRIMUS as part of his probation. His superhuman strength should be more than enough to deal with the ancient dinosaur.

Brian slows down enough to drop off Krystyna. He's careful to avoid burning her with the jet-thrust coming out of his feet. Once Krys is on the ground, Brian accelerates once more, flying towards the main summoning area.

Behind him, Krys concentrates and tries to will herself invisible once more. After a pause, she succeeds and her body fades from view. Greatly concerned about Black Steel, Krys begins to run towards him, intent on examining the motionless armored man. She takes one step forward and completely vanishes.


Back at the main summoning site, the fighting continues. Nightstalker directs his atomic reconstruction to manipulate the plaza floor underneath Hellfire. The sudden whiteout blocks most of his sight, but the strange reddish energies swirling inside Hellfire stand out like a beacon. The ground twists and turns to his will, changing into titanium. At the same time it surges upwards around Hellfire, leaving only his head exposed in a solid metallic pillar.

Next Nightstalker directs his attention to "Mister White Christmas" in the middle of the blizzard. "You've got the wrong holiday. How about moving your cold front outta here before someone really gets iced. Capiche?"

Locating the speaker, Frostbite quickly lowers his hands in an effort to appear non-hostile. Frostbite responds with, "I didn't mean to do this. I didn't ask for these blasted powers and I'm doing my best to bring them under control! With all due respect, could you give me a little bit of breathing room while I try to put an end to this blizzard?" Frostbite begins to concentrate in an attempt to remove the whiteout he suddenly and quite unexpectdly created.

Realizing that Frostbite is not an enemy, Nightstalker backs off. "Just take it easy, bro," he calls back in an awkward attempt to sound reassuring, despite his appearance and the eerie ring in his voice. "You and I are in the same boat. There are probably others too. No telling how widespread the effects of that spell were. I went through the same deal you are not two minutes ago. Just take a deep breath and do the best you can."


A short distance away, Phaseflux is also inside the blizzard. He senses Rage is very close and shrinks to avoid being struck. A second later, Phase feels movement above him as Rage lashes out with a wild roundhouse punch that completely misses any target.

Ceasing the opening, Phase suddenly grows once more, rising up and slamming his fists into Rage. The berserker is struck, but barely moved at all from the powerful strike.

"You're goin' down, big man!", Rage promises with an angry sneer. "I'm gonna cut you down to size!"

Rage swings once more and strikes giant sized Phaseflux in the left thigh. The force of the blow sends the giant backwards. Phase falls like a tree that had been chopped down and lands with a loud thud. He momentarily blacks out, but just as quickly regains his wits.

Frostbite sees the falling giant and quickly steps away to avoid being crushed. Affrighter isn't as fortunate and Phase lands right on top of him. Nightstalker was far enough away to avoid the crash.


The sounds of wild animals can be heard coming from a nearby skateboard shop. The growl of some cat-like beast can be heard in the far back, while a bear-like roar can be perceived.

Lily watches in wide-eyed surprise as the Carnivore effortlessly leaps over her and makes a new entrance to the store stockroom. Deciding that this lion-like creature is too large and dangerous to deal with, Lily begins to amble back out of the store. She can see that snowstorm engulfing the middle of the summoning circle and plans to avoid it.

However, something strange happens as Lily runs along. She begins to grow once more. But even more than that, the fur on her limbs rapidly recedes along with her paws and talons. In the span of a few footsteps, Lily has changed back into her normal human form.

Normal human form in appearance only. She feels an incredible rush of adrenaline and begins to run faster and faster. Her feet literally become a blur and she whips past the whiteout area in just a heartbeat. Before Lily can realize what's going on, she's ran around a stock still Gray Steel and past Gargoyle and the T-Rex. Up ahead is the exit the dinosaur made into Horton's Plaza and the safety that Lily craves.

Far behind Lily, the Carnivore leaps out of the skateboard store, confused as to where the prey he sensed has run off too. His superior senses picks up Lily's trail. He gives chase alternating between long leaps and great strides.


Gargoyle feels a momentary breeze as something whips past him at superhuman speeds. He pays it little heed as he advances on the dazed dinosaur. Reaching the dinosaur's head, Gargoyle forces its great jaws apart and leaps inside! The T-Rex gasps in surprise as something a bit larger than he can swallow tries to go down his throat!


Far away from all the action, the former Blue Steel huddles in the back of a clothing store, afraid of her new form and terrified that her cravings for warmth will return. She weeps, the tears turning to ice as they roll down her icy blue face.


Green Steel wearily forces himself to his feet. His onboard computer indicates that the rest of the Steel Squadron are not currently active. He looks around in confusion, trying to find his teammates and comprehend what is going on around him.


Brian Walsh flies in over the battle site. His in-flight telemetry pierces the whiteout revealing everyone inside. Rage bellows over the prone Phaseflux. Seeing that neither Nightstalker nor Frostbite seem to be enemies, Brian concentrates on Rage.

He goes through the motions of activating weapon systems as if he were flying a jet fighter. His hands begin to glow in response. Targeting Rage, a blast of energy leaps from Brian's hands and strikes the red skinned man.

Unexpectedly, the blast explodes on impact. The force of the detonation also washes over Phaseflux, Nightstalker, and Frostbite, but does no significant damage to any of them. They are all unmoved by the explosive energy. Rage just roars in anger.


The next thing Krystyna Walsh knows she's standing beside Black Steel. Somehow, her last step had covered nearly seventy yards! Still invisible, Krys bends down to examine the prone hero. Black Steel remains deathly still.

Suddenly, the armor fades in Krys' eyes allowing her to examine the man inside. She can see Black Steel's face. His eyes are open and completely blank. A small trail of drool runs out of the corner of his mouth and down his face. Gazing down his body, Krys can see that Black Steel's heart is unmoving and he is not breathing.

Realizing that Black Steel is dead, Krys looks away. However, something does attract her attention. There's a tattoo on Black Steel's arm. The tattoo is of a large red 'V'. At the bottom of the 'V' is what appears to be a hooded snake in gold with red eyes and fangs.

[GM Mad]

Outside Horton's Plaza...


A few seconds after the man in blue disappeared, something strange happens to the yellowish rift in the sky. The flow of translucent energy out of the hole in the sky begins to slow. It continues to seep out slower and slower. Finally, the flow completely stops all together and then begins to run in reverse. The wisps of yellowish energy are now being pulled back into the rift.

The energy is moving faster and faster now. More and more of the yellowish energy is drawn away from the four-mile wide sphere and sucked back into the rift. The energy around the rift grows more and more intense, while the outer boundaries of the sphere become less and less definable until almost nothing is left. Then like a bubble floating in the breeze, the sphere ‘pops’.

The effect is immediately noticeable as the flow of time rights itself. The bus station reappears, covering what had been a grassy field. The twenty-fifth century version of the Museum of Contemporary Art fades revealing the twentieth century edition. The twenty-second century flying police car vanishes, along with the Mexican banditos.

The rift in the sky grows smaller and smaller, glowing intensely with energy. Finally it too shrinks until it is no longer there. The temporal disturbance has ended.


Inside Horton’s Plaza…


Major Star flies along the inside of Horton’s Plaza after the dinosaur. He barely perceives a blur streak past him. A few seconds later he sees what looks like a cross between a lion and a man approach. The beast is most aggressive, damaging anything in its way. Concluding that the lion-man is a threat, the Major slows and fires a blast of nuclear energy.

Carnivore never saw the attack coming. One moment he was running along chasing his chosen prey, the next he was violently flung backwards. Hitting the plaza floor with great force, the Carnivore is woozy from the impact.

Goldstar and the Silver Avenger catch up to Major Star. Goldstar slows down and hovers, sending a Photon Blast to Carnivore. Her aim is true and the lion-man goes down.

The next thing that attracts the trio’s attention is the T-Rex that is lying on the plaza floor. Mysteriously, it seems to be choking on something. The three heroes move closer to the beast, trying to figure out just what it is doing.

Before they can act, the time bubble bursts and the T-Rex is dispatched back to the past once more with a nasty taste in its mouth. Left behind covered in dino saliva is Gargoyle. Not too far away from him are the gruesome remains of the man the T-Rex swallowed. Numerous acid burns scar the man.


Further along at what had been the main summoning site, Frostbite’s concentration is rewarded and the whiteout disappears as quickly as it appeared. With the blizzard gone, Phaseflux can see Rage standing close by along with Nightstalker.

Brian Walsh continues to buzz the scene overhead. He tries a different tact with his weapon systems and open fires on Rage once more. Another blast of energy comes from his hands, but this time it only impacts upon Rage, but doesn’t seem to bother the big man any.

Nightstalker leaps at Rage and slashes him with his translucent energy claws. Rage screams in pain and swears bloody vengeance.

However, Phaseflux interrupts the rampaging man’s rants. Back on his feet once more, Phase slams into Rage with his giant-sized fist, blasting the red-skinned man backwards. The former Red Steel is thrown back and is embedded in one of the plaza’s walls. Painfully, he pries himself out, but then collapses to the floor unconscious.

Almost unnoticed in the background, the Neanderthals vanish, returning to their proper place in time.


Outside Horton’s Plaza…

The speeding Lily races out of the hole the dinosaur made and finds herself on First Avenue. She arbitrarily turns to her left to avoid colliding with the stores across from Horton’s plaza.

A second later, Lily reaches the area where the saucer exploded. Metallic wreckage covers the area. In spite of her superhuman reflexes, Lily trips over a piece of debris and goes sprawling to the street.

Regaining her wits, Lily looks up to find a trio of very unusual beings standing before her. One is a woman dressed up in medieval armor complete with a sword in its sheath. Her white tabard has been slashed, but Lily can see a golden chalice emblazoned upon. The woman moves closer and Lily can’t help but feel in awe of the woman’s purity.

In sharp contrast to the woman, the other two beings are most bizarre. One looks like a giant puddle of spit. Numerous tentacles and eyestalks move and look about. The thing eyes Lily as if it was afraid of her!

The last being superficially looks like a lizard, except it has golden fur and cat-like eyes to it.

The woman with the sword moves closer to Lily and smiles. “Are you hurt? Do not fear. I will protect you.”

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

That pretty much wraps up all the combat for the moment. Feel free to converse with each other. There’s a great deal to talk about!

IT, Serena’s heal spell restored your lost BODY and most of the STUN. The rest of your STUN can be regained normally. Phaseflux’s minor injuries will likewise heal.

Here’s where everyone is at now:

IT, Lily, Serena, & Yu are outside where the saucer blew up.

Gargoyle, Goldstar, Major Star, & Silver Avenger Rackham are about 80 yards from the main summoning area.

At the main summoning area are Brian & Krystyna Walsh (who is currently invisible), Frostbite, Nightstalker, and Phaseflux. Close by is Green Steel and the former Blue Steel is hiding in a clothing store. Gray Steel is about halfway between the last two groups.

Anyone getting close to Frostbite will notice the following things:

Anyone within six feet will feel a noticeable drop in temperature unless you have immunity to cold.

Anyone within three feet will begin to feel the cold sapping your strength. Again, if you have immunity to cold, this effect won’t bother you. The damage taken is very minor, but could add up quickly if you linger. Frost begins to cover anyone this close.

Now if you actually touch Frostbite…, well we’ll hold up on that on until someone actually does! ;D

Also, since there are so many characters, it is not necessary for you all to form one large team. You can go it alone as soloists, or in small groups of two or three, or form one large team. The choice is yours.

So now what gang?

[Bruce]

Phaseflux:


Phaseflux looks carefully around the battlesite; seeing no other immediate threats he returns to normal size and density. The man he took to be the Nether Lord and another all white man had conversed together while he was engulfed in the snowstorm. Enough was overheard for him to realize they were not threats.

Likewise the flying man overhead who had just opened fire on the former Red Steel: not an adversary but an ally.

And I was feeling very alone just a second ago, thinks 'Flux!

Pausing to look for the Monster, Afrighter, and Hellfire, Phaseplux now notices the pain in his legs as the rush of battle recedes, but moves to the Monster and checks for motion. He eyes the metal pillor with Hellfire encased inside and asks the dark man, "Your work? Very nice. Can you do it again to him? " he says , pointing to the Monster.

Waving to the normal looking flying man Phaseflux will ask him if he sees any other dangers that need attending to and will look for a phone to call Primus. If Grey Steel ever moves or Green Steel presents himself he will defer to them.

"I hope I won't have to pay for that hole in the ground. My allowance won't cover it" he mutters quietly to himself.

If questioned as to his name he will beleatedly try to recall some of his brother's discourse on his condition: something about mass fluxuation and particle phasing and come up with "Phaseflux." (Note to Gm Mad-This might get shortened to just Flux since no one else's name is close to that.)

[Muskateer]

GREEN STEEL:

The armored combatant shakes his head to clear it and looks around. He doesn't see the strange fiery creature he was fighting and everything seems to have settled down a bit.

Green Steel walks over towards where Frostbite, Nightstalker and Phaseflux are standing (as well as the Walshes). Seeing that most of the fighting seems to have stopped, Green Steel continues to look for his teammates.

"One a' you guys wanna tell me what the hell just happened? I hope all of you are supposed to be heroes. And where's the rest of the Squadron? Come on, speak up!"

Anyone who looks at Green Steel will notice that his armor is not all green. It is actually two-tone green with gunmetal as well. His talon-like claws are dark gunmetal grey with golden accents.

[Bruce]

Phaseflux:

"Yes sir. Grey Steel is up that way. That man was Red Steel over there. I saw Black steel fall out of the air but I lost sight of him after that. Stay away from Red. He's been severly affected by events and is not rational. Are you the second in command?"

[GM Mad]

From his vantage point, Green Steel can see the unmoving form of Black Steel lying on the floor not that far away. The shredded remains of Red Steels armor is laying on the ground in the immediate area. Gray Steel can be spotted about 60 feet away doing his statue imitation. There is no sign of Blue Steel.

[Muskateer]

GREEN STEEL

As the armored figure starts to head towards Grey Steel's location, he notices the scattered remains of Red Steel's armor. He wanders over that way slowly and picks up a few pieces of shattered plas-steel. He examines them for a few moments concentrating closely, then as he looks at 'Rage', he lets them drop slowly from his fingers.

He pauses again and finally catches the fallen form of Black Steel, the Squadron's leader. He heads to the sprawled body and upon reaching him, grabs the ebon figure and shakes him. He stops and looks at him intently for a few moments and then lets him lay back down. "Holy spit. Ace is dead," he says quietly. Then he looks back at Rage/Red Steel.

Raising from one knee, Green Steel activates his flight pack and covers the distance to Grey Steel. His teammate is motionless, as if a statue or his joints have been frozen. As Green Steel lands, he reaches out to his armored comrade. "At least you're in one piece. What's the matter, Grey? Something fuse your armor..?"

As Green Steel touches his grey armored friend, to his utter amazment, Grey Steel seems to shatter and fall apart in his hands. Under his helmet, Green Steel's eyes go wide for a moment as the armor for Grey Steel collapses into pieces.

Green Steel steps back from the remains of his comrade and looks on in amazement. Then he realizes that he is still holding part of the arm of Grey Steel's armor. He quickly drops it, as if it were painful.

Green Steel takes one more step back and then looks around. He tries to pick up Blue on his onboard computer, but she is still off-line, like the others.

[Goldstar]

Goldstar

Goldstar flies after the Silver Avenger and easily catches up to him. I ask if stuff like this happens all the time around here and he answers with, "No, ma'am, things like this don't normally happen in San Diego. I'm not sure what is going on, but I do appreciate your assistance. There's going to be many questions asked later on, but right now I'll take any help I can get. Let's keep after Major Star and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"Questions?", I ask back. "What kind of questions? I’ll help as best I can, but I really don’t know much of anything. I know how to use my powers, but not a whole lot more. Do you know me? Where do I come from? What’s a San Diego?”

The Silver Avenger shakes his head at the strange responses I give. “I don’t know who you are or where you are from. You came out of that flying saucer and have much to answer for. Don’t you remember anything? San Diego is the name of this city.”

As I consider that bit of information we catch up to Major Star. He’s already engaged in battle against a strange looking cat-man. I wonder if he and the kitty woman are related. The Major just blasted him, so he must be a bad guy. So I happily add a Photon Blast, calling out the power's name as I fire.

After that I just hang in the air, wondering what to do next. The big lizard disappears and the creature we encountered earlier appears. What did Serena call him? A troll? I’m not sure what that means, but it does seem to fit.

With nothing exciting going on here, I continue to fly on deeper into this place. Not too far along I see a man in greenish armor touch someone wearing gray armor. I’m also shocked when the gray armored guy just collapses into pieces. I can’t help but gasp in response.

Not being able to think of anything appropriate to say to the man in the green armor, I continue to fly on. Somehow flying up to him and say, “Hi! I’m Goldstar” seems inappropriate.

Continue onward I see a whole bunch of colorful characters gathered together. There’s a guy with jet-black skin, another that looks like he was frozen alive, and a man in camouflage. A few other normal people are in the area along with several unconscious men.

Not sure what to make of all of this, Goldstar waves as she flies in and lands close to these strangers. Perhaps they know who she is.

“Hi! I’m Goldstar! Do any of you know who I am?”, she asks in all sincerity.


Goldstar stands about 5’9” in height and wears a skintight red and dark blue costume. She has long blonde hair and is attractive. The most noticeable feature, apart from her gold colored skin, is the glitters that flutter around her. They just further enhance her looks. There’s a noticeable look of innocence and naivety to Goldstar’s face.

[Frostbite]

FROSTBITE
After the chaotic moments that passed I begin to look at the remains of the battlefield. Notcing all the damage to the stores as well as the gaping hole in the floor one cant help in disbelief did we do all this? As Im contemplating how and why this things have happened, a frost begins to form on the black skinned man and the size changing man. "Guys I wanted to apologize about the blizzard I hope it didnt hurt you guys." Turning to the Black skin man, "To you I wanted to say thanks for believing in me ,as well as not smashing my head in." Looking back at the size changing man. "Thank you for trying your best to save all those people.

As the green armored figure of green steel approaches his words are lost on me except one, Heros. I cant help to shrug and say "Heros, I dont think so. Freaks is more like it." "As for your friends I dont know where they are."

[Bruce]

Phaseflux:

'Flux is mildly taken aback by the "Nightstalker's" reaction to being called a hero.

"Take it easy on him, sir. He just lost two friends, maybe more" with a glance at the former Red Steel.

"Everybody's going to be shaken up by these events. Don't let it take you away from yourself."

"As far as getting a reversal of these effects is concerned I doubt it will come from this bunch. They were trying for something else entirely and when it didn't work about half of them left the scene. What we've got here are the ones too stupid to flee when they could. Maybe we need an expert in....magic"?

Only after saying that does it occur to 'Flux that it might not have been the best time to express that opinion. These people were not used to this kind of stress, were pinning their hopes on a chance of a cure and might react badly to a suggestion that it wasn't going to happen.

Turning to the ice-covered man Phaseflux replies: "You're welcome sir. I'm sorry I couldn't do more. Did you know any of the other people in the circle? Do you know where they all went?"

When the young sparkly woman flies up to them, announces her name as Goldstar then promptly asks if we know who she is, Phaseflux feels his own stability slipping.

One of us may be hysterical. I can't be sure it's not me! But that just didn't make any sense, he thinks to himself. He wisely refrains from asking if anyone saw a bear. He's not sure himself what he saw.

[Muskateer]

GREEN STEEL -

::Backing up a few steps::

Green Steel ignores the black-skinned man's initial outburst, as he looks toward where Phaseflux points to Grey Steel's location. 'Flux then indicates Red Steel/Rage and Black Steel as well.

The white-skinned man makes his 'freaks' comment and Green Steel responds, "You can be a freak if you want to, as long as you aren't one of the twits responsible for this mess, then I don't need to bother with you."

"Naw, I ain't second in command. That was always Blue's job." Green Steel looks in the direction Phaseflux points, then towards the large reddish creature that is claimed to be Red Steel. He looks back at Phaseflux, unsure what to think.

"Naw, I ain't the second in command. That was always Blue's job. Who are you supposed to be?"

Tentatively, Green Steel looks at the unconscious form of what used to be his crimson armored teammate. "Doesn't look much like him," the green armored figure mutters.

But as Green Steel is about to head to check on the other members of the Squadron, the dark one's rants catch his ears.

"What did you say, you goofy-looking freak?!" Green Steel steps up in the face of this unknown oddity spouting far too much attitude and too much venom in his words. As he criticizes and taunts Green Steel, the Steel Squadron member attacks!

[Menagerie]

Lily:

The bear's relief at being able to escape the predator turns to surprise and confusion as it's body begins to shift and speed up. Hair withdraws, teeth and nails become shorter, head and bodily proportions shift. The physical changes force Lily to shift from a four-limbed gait to a two-legged stride as she accelerates to inhuman velocity.

Along with the physical transformation comes a mental one; a foggy kind of awareness returns, as though waking from too-short sleep. "Huh..? Wha--?" She seems to be moving, but has no idea how she got where she is.

As her awareness slowly grows, Lily realizes that she is running - running at an impossibly fast speed! Confusion changes to terror and alarm. "Aaaaaaaaa..." she screams, the sound trailing after her as she continues on. She doesn't dare try to slow down or stop as that could lead to disaster. Afraid of slamming into a wall in the confining area inside the mall, Lily manages to change course and heads out through a giant hole in the wall to the street beyond, still yelling as she goes.

She is dimly aware of a 'popping' sound ahead and to the left of her and instinctively turns in that direction. The environment changes as buildings appear and disappear in the area, but Lily doesn't really have the time or wholeness of mind to comprehend it all. What she does notice is a small group of strange beings ahead and debris all over the ground. However, at this speed, she is unable to avoid the debris and trips, sprawling across the ground in a most unladylike fashion.

Shaking her head, Lily's initial reaction is to be amazed that she isn't more hurt after such a spill. Then a strange feeling comes over her and she looks up into the eyes of a woman in medieval garb. There is something holy and pure about her; could this be one of the saints her mother spoke of so often?

Shifting her gaze, she can't help but note the other two beings: a tentacled horror and some bizarre lizard-man. Shrieking in panic, Lily begins to scrabble backward away in a kind of inverted crab crawl. Then the saintly woman steps forward and her peaceful aura washes over Lily, causing her terror to recede. Only half conscious of the woman's words, Lily tries to respond.

"Aah... I-- I don't know... I don't think so..."

Lily finally looks around at her surroundings from her position on the ground. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

=========================================
I sure hope there are psychologists specializing in metahumans around here. Lily's likely to need years - if not decades - of therapy after this!

[GM Mad]

Post Update:

Infuriated by Nightstalker's irreverent words, Green Steel attacks! 'Stalker tries to dodge, but Green Steel has him locked in and unloads with a tremendous punch! 'Stalker is sent flying backwards and violently collides with a wall between stores. He's seeing stars, and I don't mean Goldstar.


GM Notes:

And here I thought the fighting was over...

Nightstalker - 2 of 44 STUN, Stunned.

Using a Transform to fuse moving parts is most definitely NOT a Cosmetic change. A Cosmetic Change would be changing Green Steel's armor to purple in color. Such a thing is Minor Transformation at least.

Now what?

[GM Mad]

Serena

Serena listens intently as the man in blue rattles on about time rifts, dimensional fractures, and static bubbles having absolutely no clue what he is talking about. Perhaps a comprehend languages spell would have helped?

At any rate, the blue man then disappears and shortly after that the yellow hole in the sky seemingly closes. Buildings and people begin to disappear and reappear. Serena never realized that they were wrong in the first place, so it does come as a bit of a surprise to her.

"Do you have any idea what that was all about," Serena asks of her furry companion.

The sound of someone crashing to the ground attracts Serena's attention. Turning, she sees a woman sprawled on the ground who was not there before. She's human, but not of a race Serena is familiar with. Nonetheless, she looks frightened and like she's in need of aid.

Smiling, I bend down to speak to the woman. "Are you hurt? Do not fear. I will protect you."

"Aah... I-- I don't know...," the woman responds. "I don't think so... Where am I? How did I get here?"

"Those are questions that I too seek answers for," Serena explains as she offers a hand to help the woman to her feet. "I too am a stranger in this land, but there is much evil afoot! I've encountered demons on this day. It is my sacred duty as a Knight of the Order of the Golden Chalice to hunt down these abominations!"

"But those are battles yet to come. Come, perhaps my newly gained companions here can help you uncover the answers you seek."

[Frostbite]

FROSTBITE
A blonde women lands nearby and introduces herself as Goldstar. Noticing the "fireflies" around her as she asks, "Do any of you know who I am?"
Sadly I cant answer her question. "Unfortunitly not miss. I have never met you before. At least not that I can recall. Do you remember anything at all?"

Looking in the camouflaged man, "I didn't know any of the hostages. As for their where I lost them in the confusion. Oh and pease don't call me sir; Frostbite will do."

After watching the black-skinned man get knocked silly, I step between Green steel and his recent victim. Hoping to reason with him, "Go see to your friends. I think they are a little more important than him," as I motion in the black-skinned man's direction.

Remembering the knocked out Whitehaired man, I will move to him and see if he is alive. Regardless of his condition I will see if he has any marking(tattoos) as well as anything that could possibly ID him. If I am able to I will look for his weapon and examine it as well.

[Krystyna Walsh]

Krystyna Walsh

Once in her invisible state, Krystyna prepares to sneak her way over to the motionless Black Steel in order to examine him. She takes a single step forward when suddenly, in the blink of an eye, she's now standing right next to him! Not just in mind this time, but in body as well! Shocked and amazed, Krys can't believe what has just happened. "How did I get here??" she wonders to herself, but there is no time to waste.

Krys kneels down to take a closer look at the leader of the Steel Squadron, when again the unexpected happens, and the view of the metal battlesuit encasing his body is peeled aside to reveal the horrific truth within. Black Steel lies silent and deathly still. His eyes are cold and empty, his mouth agape with drool still running down his cheek. His chest does not rise nor fall. His heart beats no more. The definitive realization that he is dead catches Krystyna off guard. Sadness and disbelief well up inside of her. She covers her mouth in sorrow and looks away as the tears run down her face. For the first time Krystyna realizes she had only been holding her breath in the hopes that he was still alive. Gulping down her sadness she quickly wipes away her tears. Turning back toward Black Steel's lifeless form, Krys notices something else. Something unusual. There's a familiar shaped tattoo in red ink imprinted upon his arm. As she examines it more closely, the outline of a large red 'V' comes into focus. Continued study of the design reveals what appears to be the image of a hooded snake in gold with red eyes and fangs, at the base of the 'V'. Krystyna rubs her chin, pondering the meaning of the symbol and where she could have possibly seen it before....

As Krys considers this new development, she suddenly notices movement from the corner of her eye. Someone is heading towards her. Looking up, she sees Green Steel is rapidly approaching. Krys quickly rises to her feet and begins to slowly back away for fear that her presence may have been detected. She watches Green Steel with wide-eyed caution, anticipating any movements that might indicate he's aware of her standing there and poised to attack her. When suddenly he stops, lowers himself to one knee, grabs the lifeless Black Steel and begins to shake him. Krystyna holds her breath and stands completely motionless as he does, then lowers the body back to the ground. Vaguely, she catches the quiet words uttered from his lips. "Holy spit. Ace is dead." Krystyna's heart sinks a little more, hearing those words that confirm her findings. Feeling a bit surreal, she watches him fly off in Grey Steel's direction.

Krys forces herself back to reality. Remaining invisible, she cautiously approaches the group of people ahead of her and gets within earshot, in the hopes of overhearing something and getting some answers as to what's happened there while she and her husband were gone.

As she listens, Krystyna quickly realizes that noone present has any clue as to what has transpired here today. The information she gathers is broken and sketchy at best. At least she can ascertain that everyone here is pretty much in the same boat.

Unnerved to see everyone arguing, Krystyna begins to panic. "It's bad enough we've all been changed into God knows what, now these people want to have a pissing contest? Who ordered the testosterone platter with an extra helping of ego?" No sooner does Krys finish this thought, Green Steel lets loose a punch on Nightstalker that sends him across the plaza. Krys immediately yells out, "STOP IT!" Instantly, she steps forward again and teleports herself to the ebony skinned man's side and becomes visible. Crouching down to get a look and see if Nightstalker's been wounded, she shoots Green Steel a look of immense anger. "How dare you!" she shouts, standing up with fists clenched at her side. "He was right! How can you call yourself a hero when you act like such a spoiled child! Your leader is dead! Do you hear me?! Dead!! And you're worried about your wounded pride?! Hasn't there been enough bloodshed and death for one day?!" Krys is all out enfuriated at this point.

Krys will remain on her guard if Green Steel decides to attack her too.
_____________________________________________________________
Krystyna is an highly attractive women who stands roughly 5 foot 7 inches tall. Her body is lean and toned. It is obvious she keeps herself in good shape. Krys has beautifully smooth sun-kissed skin and is wearing a peach lace trim cami, white capris, white sandals and hat. She has long wavy, golden blond hair. Her eyes are stormy blue in color and almost seem grey at times.

[Krystyna Walsh]

Krystyna Walsh

"I'm alright now, Miss." Krystyna hears the jet black man behind her say as she turns to see him rising to his feet. "Save your concern for Green Machine over there. He just started something he's not nearly man enough to finish."

"Wait!" she calls out trying to get Nightstalker's attention, but his mind is focused elsewhere. Krys follows behind him back towards the group, trying to calm herself as she goes. Once there, and after listening to what Nightstalker has to say, she proceeds to interject her two cents' worth. "Look, I realize something catastrophic has just occurred to each of us in one way or another, but we all need to calm down and start behaving rationally. Everyone's been affected by this differently and we all want answers. Fighting among one another isn't going to solve anything, and is making a difficult situation worse. If we help one another, I'm sure we can get somewhere with this. If you frankly don't care and would rather go your own way, then that's your business and nobody is stopping you from leaving. Personally, I would rather we team up and solve this mystery together."

Looking quite stern by this point, Krystyna will wait and see what everyone's reaction will be, while remaining cautious herself in the midst of all these high flaring tempers.

[Muskateer]

GREEN STEEL:

Green Steel feels an andrenaline surge as the battle commences once more, this time with the big-mouthed black-skinned mutant. Green Steel smiles under his helmet seeing the result and watches his foe struggle to shake off the effects of his first punch. He begins to advance on the surly, venom-tongued opponent, ready to teach him a thing or three about manners and the consequences of a big mouth.

As Frostbite steps in front of him, Green Steel starts to push past, but the white-skinned man's words are true. And Green Steel appreciates that someone else realizes his foe is just a punk. "That's right!," Green Steel yells toward Nightstalker. "You are not important. You're just a loud-mouthed pimple with more attitude than brains."

Waiting to see whether Nightstalker has learned the error of his ways or would rather continue the rumble, Green Steel's armor picks up some movement near his prone opponent. The visual clues are there, but nothing appears at first. Then suddenly there is an attractive woman crouched beside the loud-mouthed biker.

Green Steel is prepared for an attack and moves forward brandishing his claws. She doesn't attack, but tries to angrily chastise him, apparently unaware of the reasons for the conflict between him and her 'friend'. "Look, Toots, I didn't start this. That loud-mouth, snotty-nosed pimple laying there did. I just gave him a lesson in manners. Tell him to shut his yap and maybe I won't clean up the whole place with him. I ain't in the mood for anyone's crap right now."

Waiting for Nightstalker to make a decision on whether to keep flaping his gums or not, Green Steel is surprised, somewhat pleasantly, that his black-skinned opponent still won't shut up.

"Man, you just keep asking for a butt whoopin'. Well, I am man enough to kick your tail all the way to San Fransisco. If you're stupid enough to keep provoking me, then I'll sure as hell oblige you!"

Green Steel has no idea what the fool means about glass houses, but when he moves in towards him and smiles, Green Steel realizes that the only way to rid himself of this annoying jerk is to beat him senseless.

"Since you already admitted you're no hero, I'm just doin' my job cleaning up the neighborhood by bashing your ugly, goofy-looking face in." Green Steel will lean in as well, and then...

[Bruce]

Phaseflux:

Phaseflux is annoyed by Nightstalker's attitude and shocked at Green Steel's violent attack!
Before he can react in any way a second woman appears out of nowhere, berating Green for his action. The man calling himself Frostbite also steps forward with calm words.

Phaseflux grows to full and grabs at Green Steel, lifting him up off the ground.

"That's enough now!! You have a duty to your team to fulfill. Ignore the mouthy civilian: we need police, paramedics, and a Primus containment team here ASAP! If you have a radio in that suit use it and call them. If you don't then go bring them here."

Phaseflux shakes Green slightly with that statement and looks over his shoulder to see Nightstalker's condition.



I must be typing too slow. When I started Nightstalker, K. Walsh and Musky hadn't posted that last bit yet
No problem Bruce! When I started, Krys hadn't posted the one before GS!

[Krystyna Walsh]

Krystyna Walsh

Frustrated Krys thinks to herself, "I can not believe these two." Tired and exhausted from the whole ordeal Krys prayers for a quick resolution without violence, just as another man dressed in a t-shirt and army fatigues approaches. The man begins to grow rapidly in size to Krys' amazement and grabs a hold of Green Steel's armor lifting him above the group. "That's enough now!! You have a duty to your team to fulfill. Ignore the mouthy civilian: we need police, paramedics, and a Primus containment team here ASAP! If you have a radio in that suit use it and call them. If you don't then go bring them here."

Impressed with his words Krystyna steps back to let the giant man handle Green Steel. When asked if the man in black is hurt, Krystyna turns towards Nightstalker and tries to scan the dark skinned man's body with her newly found power, in an attempt to see if he has any open wounds or broken bones.

If he doesn't Krystyna will respond, "No worse for the wear. He is fine."

If she discovers that he is injured badly she will ask for immediate medical attention. "Can someone please call for an ambulance, he is badly hurt." While doing what she can to assist Nightstalker with his wounds.

[Menagerie]

Serena

The sound of someone crashing to the ground attracts Serena's attention. Turning, she sees a woman sprawled on the ground who was not there before. She's human, but not of a race Serena is familiar with. Nonetheless, she looks frightened and like she's in need of aid.

Smiling, I bend down to speak to the woman. "Are you hurt? Do not fear. I will protect you."

"Aah... I-- I don't know...," the woman responds. "I don't think so... Where am I? How did I get here?"

"Those are questions that I too seek answers for," Serena explains as she offers a hand to help the woman to her feet. "I too am a stranger in this land, but there is much evil afoot! I've encountered demons on this day. It is my sacred duty as a Knight of the Order of the Golden Chalice to hunt down these abominations!"

"But those are battles yet to come. Come, perhaps my newly gained companions here can help you uncover the answers you seek."

Lily:

As bizarre as this situation is, Lily can't help but trust this woman. Accepting the proffered hand, Lily rises from the ground and begins to dust herself off. "Thank you, uhm... what did you say your name was?" Her clothes and hair are a mess. 'Good thing I bought some new clothes...' she thinks to herself.

Just then, it occurs to her - where are her bags?! She had them just moments before! Only half hearing Serena's comments, Lily begins to search about wildly. "Have you seen my bags?! I had spent well over a hundred dollars on clothes before I was grabbed by that purple monster!"

[Bruce]

As bizarre as this situation is, Lily can't help but trust this woman. Accepting the proffered hand, Lily rises from the ground and begins to dust herself off. "Thank you, uhm... what did you say your name was?" Her clothes and hair are a mess. 'Good thing I bought some new clothes...' she thinks to herself.

Just then, it occurs to her - where are her bags?! She had them just moments before! Only half hearing Serena's comments, Lily begins to search about wildly. "Have you seen my bags?! I had spent well over a hundred dollars on clothes before I was grabbed by that purple monster!"

There we go! Mall Therapy! Nothing like losing good fashion purchases to focus the mind!

[GM Mad]

Serena

"My name is Serena, milady. May I inquire as to yours?"

Lily's following comments definitely get Serena's attention. "You say that goods of yours were grabbed by some purple monster? Show me where this foul creature performed this act of thievery! I will personally see that the miscreant is brought to justice!"

Serena will draw Blessed Salvation once more and eagerly follow where ever Lily may lead.

[Goldstar]

Goldstar's responses to the various people who talked to her.

Nightstalker:

"Goldstar? Like the people who manufacture those household appliances?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I don't know how to make appliances."

"Say, weren't you one of the Solid Gold dancers?"

Goldstar will touch her arm in confusion with her hand. "No, I don't think so. I'm not made out of solid gold and I don't know how to dance."


Frostbite:

"Unfortunately not miss. I have never met you before. At least not that I can recall. Do you remember anything at all?"

"Well, I know everything there is to know about how to use my Stellar powers. You see I have a Photon Blast, an Ion Blast, a Radiation Blast, a Plasma Blast, can create a Solar Flare, and increase my density like a Neutron Star. I can survive in deep space and fly faster than the speed of light. What kind of powers do you have?"

Goldstar will also do here, "Hi! I'm Goldstar!", routine for the Walsh's.

As for the rest of it, Goldstar doesn’t understand what is going on and stays out of the way.

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

Okay, I've weeded through all these posts and here's what I have as far as various characters actions go:

Since 'Stalker was stunned by the punch, there is a few moments before he gets to act.

Frostbite steps in front of Green Steel and tells him, ""Go see to your friends. I think they are a little more important than him," as he motions in the black-skinned man's direction.

Green Steel's armor will insulate him from the coldness emanating from Frostbite. I'm also assuming that no physical contact was made between the two.

As a note to Frostbite, Affrighter is a fairly well known villain, so ID'ing him is not a problem. Not that he's been particularly successful as a villain, but has been around for decades.

The weapon is a hand-held scythe with what looks like a skull holding the blade to the weapon shaft. You can check it out on Affrighter's picture in the Gallery on the main portion of the site.

Krystyna teleports herself beside Nightstalker and finds that he is not physically injured. (No BODY taken.) Krys remains on guard, but is not taking any direct action herself.

Nightstalker is up and keeps on talking, moving back to where Green Steel is. Krys follows him and tries to get everyone to simmer down.

Green Steel goes to move past Frostbite, but stops upon hearing his words. He exchanges words with Krys as well, and moves towards Stalker with the intent to attack again.

Phaseflux enters the picture and attempts to grab Green Steel and reason with him. (He was already at full height when finishing up Rage, so he should still be fully grown.)

Lastly, I have Nightstalker attacking back should Green get too closer or show more signs of hostility.

Does that about cover everything?

Goldstar is staying out of this and Brian Walsh has yet to post. Everyone else is not in this immediate area.

[Bruce]

Ok, I posted back on page one (!) that Phaseflux returned to normal size/weight. Other than that it looks right to me. Phaseflux tries to keep his excess mass off his bad knees!

[Muskateer]

NOTICE:

All non-game posts have been pulled from this thread.

Muskateer the Moderator

[Menagerie]

Lily:

Serena's words catch Lily's attention and she turns back to the woman in gold. "Ah... forgive my manners. I'm Lily Pak.

"Actually, the creature grabbed me, not my 'goods' as you call them. It's touch felt like it was sucking the life out of me and I passed out. The bags fell from my hands."

Lily looks around at her surroundings and finds that she is just outside the mall where she had been shopping. Still unsure how she got here, Lily raises her arm and points at the building. "I was in there at the time, just in front of Maxi's Boutique.

"You know, they have the nicest selection of summer dresses - and they're on sale right now." Figuring that the most likely place to find her bags is where she dropped them - assuming they haven't been stolen by now - Lily turns and begins the long walk back to where she last saw them.

[GM Mad]

Ok, I posted back on page one (!) that Phaseflux returned to normal size/weight. Other than that it looks right to me. Phaseflux tries to keep his excess mass off his bad knees!

Thanks for the correction Bruce. Guess I didn't go back far enough in the post! My bad.

[GM Mad]

Post Closed

For those who didn't get to responsed in time, do not worry. The next post will not cover all that much, so you're not going to miss much of anything. More than likely if you had a response ready, you'll be able to use it as it in the next post.