EV #66 - "Into the Twilight Realm"

[GM Mad]

Eternal Vigilance #65 - "Into the Twilight Realm"

Roll Call: Flux, Tesla, Frostbite, Gargoyle, Xanaphia, Powershift, & Sea Guard

It is July 4th 1986 yet again. A mysterious white bubble of energy has engulfed Horton’s Plaza, yet again. But what is new is that this event does not seem to be tied to the White Event that was prevented earlier in the day. So while this is somewhat familiar, its also new at the same time.

As the Vigilant prepare to enter the bubble, the Gargoyle comes crashing along. The brutish powerhouse is in the employ of PRIMUS as an operative as a form of probation. Even on probation, his personality is gruff.

"We are about to cross the line into the area inside Horton's Plaza. Does the representative of PRIMUS care to join us?"

"DON'T MIND IF I DO! LETS GO CRACK SOME HEADS!!"

Giving Sea Guard a slap on the back, Gargoyle bellows, "YA COMIN, FISH BOY!?!", before bounding off toward the expanding bubble.

“Oh yeah, wouldn’t miss it for the world”, Sea Guard mutters as he regains his footing after being knocked forward several feet by the backslap.


As the group prepares to enter the bubble, the bubble suddenly grows and the group is engulfed!

What lies beyond the bubble is a vast and seemingly incomprehensible realm. The gathered heroes are floating in a realm that does not seem to have an up or a down. Strange shapes and smears of light appear very far away, or they could be close but you cannot realize it. Your normal senses do not seem to function properly in this strange place.

Up ahead, a wall of white approaches you all.

“This a realm of magic!” Powershift tells you all. “Our normal physical laws may not exist here.”

The wall of white passes through everyone like a ghost and then is gone.

“Each of this white pulses causes this realm to grow in size,” Powershift continues. “In doing so, the white bubble we saw on the outside grows in size. Left unchecked, this new realm will grow as large as our universe and replace it!”

While Powershift is unaffected by the passing of the white wave of magical energy, his companions cannot say the same!

Flux’s body begins to fade and reappear seemingly at random. It’s as if he’s shifting in and out of this reality.

The usual electrical arcs that play about Tesla have changed to raw plasma! (Hot ionized gas.) Tesla begins to glow.

Frostbite erupts into icy blue flames!

Xanaphia’s silvery skin changes into gold!

Sea Guard’s skin changes into sea green scales and a fin emerges from his back.

Last, but not least, Gargoyle’s hulking body changes and shrinks to about that of a five year old boy.

In spite of all these changes, no one feels any different and no one is being harmed.

“The magic of this realm is playing havoc with your powers and your forms,” Powershift continues. “None of you have any defense against this as your powers are not magical in nature. I can sense where these waves of growth are coming from. There is where we’ll find the being responsible for all of this. They lie this way.”

Powershift points off deeper into the strange void, but none of you can really see anything. It’s all too disorientating.

[GM Mad]

Roll Call: Tilt-A-Whirl

Back out in the real world, Tilt-A-Whirl just witnessed the capture of the ‘doggy’ by the men in the vans. A woman in Lavender skin tights, who just appeared out of nowhere, assisted them. She then used her powers to capture the doggy, teleporting it into one of the vans.

That task complete, the lavender woman asks, “Can I go now?” impatiently.

“Not yet,” the apparent leader of the armed men answers. “Go and clean up the mess made when the third van crashed a few blocks back. Bring home anyone who might have discovered them for debriefing. This is turning into a disaster!”

Lavender complies, vanishing once more with her unusual style of teleportation.


Roll Call: Menagerie and Covenant

Elsewhere in the Twilight Realm, Menagerie has encountered an apparently guardian of this realm and a newcomer. The newcomer utters a challenge to the guardian.

"Why would anyone want to pay homage to a would-be conqueror who couldn't keep his hold on his own throne!"

“Insolent whelp!” The guardian cries out as he charges and points his trident at the newcomer.

While this is going on, Menagerie changes forms once more, this time to the girl she spent much of the day with: Tilt-A-Whirl. Using the girls’ superspeed, she dashes off down the path towards the center of this strange realm.


The guardian rushes Covenant, but he’s prepared. He spins away from the trident and slams the butt of his sword to the guardian’s chin. The guardian is sent backwards and lands on the pathway. A second attack on the prone figure knocks him out.

Looking around, Covenant can sense many things in this magical realm. The girl he just met is running at superhuman speeds towards the center of this realm where Morjok awaits. Two other groups are noted near the borders of the Twilight Realm. One of the groups’ numbers five and each seems to have some magical ability. The other group numbers seven, but only one of them is mystical in any way.

[GM Mad]

Roll Call: Eldrich

Speaking of the group of five, they all stand on a golden platform that floats through the Twilight Realm. Being magically in tuned, none of them are affected by the disorientating affect this realm has on those who are not mystically touched. The Magus has used his magic to restore the Paladin and Lady Virtuous to their proper forms of the Black Paladin and Lady Bale. Together with the White Witch, the quartet seems to be on the verge of forming a magical alliance. Their first order of business seems to be the overthrowing of Morjok and ceasing control of this magical realm for themselves!

"Magus, I thank you for my restoration. Without your intercession I would remain an unknowing captive. But I do not believe you can succeed here without more preparation. I strongly advise gathering a force of arms fully equipped to deal with the obstacles inherent in this realm."

“And without your assistance, we would not have been able to free the Black Paladin and Lady Bale from the curse they were under. You seem to be familiar with this realm. Who is this Morjok? What kind of power does he possess?”

“We should go and challenge him now!” The White Witch demands. “Before he realizes that we are here and can prepare.” By force of will the White Witch urges the platform towards the center of the Twilight Realm.

“It is foolish to charge blindly into battle without fore knowledge of one’s foe,” the Black Paladin wisely offers.

“Indeed,” Lady Bale adds. Turning to Eldrich she says, “Tell us what you know about Morjok so that we can prepare properly.”

[GM Mad]

Roll Call: Backlash & Blackout


Back out in San Diego, Backlash and Blackout are at the van crash site. Backlash tried to question one of the men, but he fell unconscious. Using a headset, Backlash reports the crash and that there are many injured. He gets back a message of “Help is on the way”, before radio silence is requested.

While the pair discusses their options, a pinhole forms in the air close to the van. It grows and shifts as something appears out of nowhere! Blackout realizes who it is first, but Backlash can see a beautiful woman in skintight lavender appear. She takes in the scene with a mirthful grin.

“Somebody sure made a mess!”

“Blackout!” she says spotting the familiar man. “Boy, you sure get around. Who’s your muscle bound friend here?”


Roll Call: Menagerie

Once me back in the Twilight Realm, Menagerie dashes down the hanging paths and finally reaches the central area. All the hanging paths converge here on a small island of rock. Near the middle of the rock stands a figure that can only be Morjok. Several dozen guardians surround him, each superficially resembling the one Menagerie just left.

Morjok himself does resemble the guardians; jet-black skin but he is taller. He wears a hood that resembles a serpent’s head, but has a long cloak as well. Morjok’s garments seem to be of higher quality than those of the guardians.

As Menagerie watches, a burst of white energy emanates from Morjok’s body and goes flying out in every direction. This wave of white energy washes over Menagerie, but does her no harm. It is clear that Morjok is the source of this magical realm and is causing it to grow even larger!


Now what?

[Tilt-A-Whirl]

Tilt-A-Whirl:

Back out in the real world, Tilt-A-Whirl just witnessed the capture of the ‘doggy’ by the men in the vans. A woman in Lavender skin tights, who just appeared out of nowhere, assisted them. She then used her powers to capture the doggy, teleporting it into one of the vans.

Surely this can't be the party she raced all across town for! Ignoring the woman, who teleports away anyway, Tilt walks up to one of the men and tugs on a sleeve or belt.

When the guard hopefully looks at her, she'll say with a pout, "wheresthepartyatmister?"

[Menagerie]

Menagerie:

The guardian of this place moves to attack the newcomer, and Tilt-Lily races off. At the youngster's speed, it doesn't take long to reach the epicenter of the energy waves. What she finds is rather astonishing, causing her to pause and watch.

There is a larger man-creature like the guardian she encountered but moments before. The waves of energy appear to be coming from the entity himself. Clearly, the only way to resolve this situation is to neutralize him; however, he's surrounded by dozens of those guardians.

Transforming back to the form of Goldstar, Menagerie engages the woman's power of increased mass and flies up and toward the larger figure. "Who are you? What are you doing?" she calls down to him.

[Gargoyle]

Gargoyle passes through the rippling skin of the white bubble thinking he’s ready for anything that may be waiting on the other side. Under any ordinary circumstances he might be right. But in this place it would seem he couldn’t be more wrong. While his body has been augmented to withstand an unbelievable amount of punishment, his senses have been afforded no such protection. Falling to his hands and knees on what he ‘thinks’ is the ground, Gargoyle tries to right his balance and bring his senses back into focus. While he takes note of the changes to his companions, he doesn’t appear to have noticed his own transformation just yet.

“WHAT IN BLAZES WAS THAT!?! I ALMOST LOST MY LUNCH!!!”

[Bruce]

Eldrich Arcane

"What I know of Morjok is this: Once the absolute ruler of his own demises, he failed in an attempt to usurp the power of an adjacent dimension and was cast down into defeat. The power there, which I will not name aloud, exiled Morjok to a realm that weakened him due to it's lack of magical energies."

Eldrich pauses briefly, considering that his own punishment was quite similar.

"His downfall is told as an example of overreaching beyond ones strength and skill to those learning the craft."

"As to his power, he was god-like in his own Twilight Realm, and this has much of his stamp upon it here. I would speculate his power now to be as great as four or even five Mages of Power. As well, the effect of this place upon those untrained in the Arts will cause disconcerting physical and mental instability. I mention that last as a caution. Ordinary troops will be useless here unless defended against it."

Eldrich leaves unsaid his belief that Morjok will not be alone. One does not intrude an entire dimension upon another one without force of arms and an expectation of resistance. . .

[Bruce]

Flux

Before Flux can enter the White Bubble it expands again, engulfing him and everyone else.

"Everyone grab hold of something solid!"

Inside the sphere that order seems pointless as nothing looks right at all.

Powershift fills in the blanks quickly, giving everyone time to settle.

"Right. Powershift you are pointman on this. Everyone form up on him. I'll expand to full size and anyone that needs to can get a tow. We're going in to the heart of this now-before it gets any worse."

[Frostbite]

Frostbite

As the White wave grows larger and swallows them whole, Frosty looks out at the new terrain curiously.

“The magic of this realm is playing havoc with your powers and your forms,” Powershift continues. “None of you have any defense against this as your powers are not magical in nature. I can sense where these waves of growth are coming from. There is where we’ll find the being responsible for all of this. They lie this way.”

Looking own at himself Frosty realizes he is giving off Blue flames. Instinctively he begins swatting at the flames. “But Does that means are powers are going to even work here?” he asks curiously as he tried to create an ice ball in his hand.

He then happens a look at Gargy, and stiffles a laugh, "Are you sure your old enough to be here? I mean are you going to jump up and punch someone in the knee cap?"

"Your just a kid!"

[Backlash]

Backlash

Looking to Blackout, Lash takes off the headset and drops it to the ground. “Looks like they are sending help, let’s get ready.” He says evenly as he fixes his gloves.

Within a few moments a pinhole begins to form nearby. Regarding the pinhole curiously Lash makes ready to jump to the fight to whatever comes through. Seeing a beautiful women stepping through wearing skintight lavender clothing.

Looks like someone likes spandex a little to much. Though Lash likes what he sees. “They shouldn’t have been driving so recklessly.” He says evenly with a grin.

(more when Blackout posts)

[Covenant]

The guardian rushes Covenant, but he’s prepared. He spins away from the trident and slams the butt of his sword to the guardian’s chin. The guardian is sent backwards and lands on the pathway. A second attack on the prone figure knocks him out.

"Just as I thought."

Watching Menagerie go speeding towards the center of the zone, Covenant just shakes his head, wondering if she has any idea of what she's getting into. It may be true that Morjok's a joke as a dimensional conquerer, but that doesn't mean he's not powerful.

Covenant Picks up the trident from his fallen adversay, feels its weight, balance, and examins it closely. Smiling to himself he continue on toward the center of pocket dimension. (I'll hold onto the trident for now, maybe I'll add insult to injury by using it on Marjok. If nothing else it would make a nice Trophy.)

[Blackout]

Blackout:

Looking to Blackout, Lash takes off the headset and drops it to the ground. “Looks like they are sending help, let’s get ready.” He says evenly as he fixes his gloves.

"Understood," Blackout replies, his hand lowering to his throwing rod. However the arrival of someone recently familiar draws his attention.

While the pair discusses their options, a pinhole forms in the air close to the van. It grows and shifts as something appears out of nowhere! Blackout realizes who it is first, but Backlash can see a beautiful woman in skintight lavender appear. She takes in the scene with a mirthful grin.

“Somebody sure made a mess!”

“Blackout!” she says spotting the familiar man. “Boy, you sure get around. Who’s your muscle bound friend here?”

"Friends of yours?" Blackout asks, indicating the unconscious men. He has his suspicions about the woman, but nothing substantial... yet.

Looks like someone likes spandex a little to much. Though Lash likes what he sees. “They shouldn’t have been driving so recklessly.” He says evenly with a grin.

Blackout notes Backlash's interest in the woman as well. She sure knows how to work the charm. He'll turn to Backlash to determine if he wants formal introductions made.

Regardless of if introductions occur or not, Blackout will add to Backlash's comment. "Just trying to figure out exactly who they are and what's going on. So was this why you were called away, to collect these guys?" he asks her.

[Backlash]

Backlash

“Blackout you old dog you.” He says patting the superhero on his back, leaning in to Black out and whispering, “ Does she have a sister?”

“The name is Backlash.” He said realizing that she might just be a criminal he is all business. “You the help that they mentioned.” He said as he tightened the glove on his right hand.

“What was that thing they were chasing?” he asked curiously ready to go on the offensive if it warrants it.

[Tesla]

Tesla:

As the group prepares to enter the bubble, the bubble suddenly grows and the group is engulfed!

What lies beyond the bubble is a vast and seemingly incomprehensible realm. The gathered heroes are floating in a realm that does not seem to have an up or a down. Strange shapes and smears of light appear very far away, or they could be close but you cannot realize it. Your normal senses do not seem to function properly in this strange place.

Up ahead, a wall of white approaches you all.

“This a realm of magic!” Powershift tells you all. “Our normal physical laws may not exist here.”

The wall of white passes through everyone like a ghost and then is gone.

"Well this is hardly fun," Tesla says as she tries to get her bearings. Then something white passes through her and everyone else. At first, she seems okay, but then...

The usual electrical arcs that play about Tesla have changed to raw plasma! (Hot ionized gas.) Tesla begins to glow.

"Great, now I'm a beacon," Tesla says, seeing if she has any control over the glow, or if it's a side-effect. She'll also see if her powers have changed, or merely the form. Tesla will try something safe (she hopes) like activating her force field, and see if does anything that would be not very force-fieldy...

“The magic of this realm is playing havoc with your powers and your forms,” Powershift continues. “None of you have any defense against this as your powers are not magical in nature. I can sense where these waves of growth are coming from. There is where we’ll find the being responsible for all of this. They lie this way.”

Powershift points off deeper into the strange void, but none of you can really see anything. It’s all too disorientating.

"Right. Powershift you are pointman on this. Everyone form up on him. I'll expand to full size and anyone that needs to can get a tow. We're going in to the heart of this now-before it gets any worse."

Tesla will form up, hopefully pointing the right direction. With any luck everyone can get a handle on their power changes, or this could become very dangerous very quickly.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

Roll Call: Flux, Tesla, Frostbite, Gargoyle, Xanaphia, Powershift, & Sea Guard

The Vigilant and company have entered the white bubble and find themselves in another dimension entirely! It is the Twilight Realm, the magical domain of Morjok the Conqueror. He’s using his powers to alter the physical properties of Earth’s Dimension to make it his own!

Just after entering the Twilight Realm, the heroes are affected by the innate magic that fills this dimension. Each is physically changed in some manner and Powershift tells the heroes that they have no protection from the magical affects of this realm.

Frostbite has blue flames erupting from his body that cannot be put out. The hulking Gargoyle is reverted to the body of a five year old. Flux appears to be shifting in and out of this reality.

Quick experimentation reveals that while Tesla’s powers look different, they still function the same way. (As does everyone else’s.)

The jewel embedded in Powershift’s chest glows amongst the magical energy. It too is enhanced in his magically rich environment. It sparks with an almost human intelligence. A glowing pulse emanates from the jewel and it creates a large bubble around the group.

“This will keep us close together,” Powershift explains. “If anyone moves too far off, even a few feet away, you would be lost in this unearthly void. Let’s get moving.”

Powershift flies ahead, dragging the bubble behind him. The heroes move faster and faster through the void.

After a time, Powershift announces, “I sense the presence of another close by. I think we should investigate.”

Powershift alters course ever so slightly and suddenly a large flat-topped rock comes into view. A battle seems to be waged on its surface! It is a group of tall, jet-black skinned men bearing tridents versus what appears to be a woman clad in a multi-colored purple skin tight outfit. A dark blue hooded cloak covers her head and shoulders.

Each of the men wields a trident and several of them are firing blasts of, presumably, magical energy from them. Each of the men wears a serpentine helm, with the serpent’s mouth wide to reveal the face.

The woman wields a staff with a purplish gem at the top, but what is more remarkable is that her face is engulfed by purplish fire and her eyes are reddish fire!

“The Purple Phlox!” Powershift calls out. “We must assist her!”

With that Powershift moves closer to the floating plateau. The Phlox is outnumbered nearly ten to one!

[GM Mad]

Roll Call: Tilt-A-Whirl


Back in the real world, Tilt-A-Whirl has caught up to the speeding vans. They appeared to capture the ‘doggie’ she spotted earlier with the help of a purple clad woman. The woman has since departed and Tilt moves closer.

Surely this can't be the party she raced all across town for! Ignoring the woman, who teleports away anyway, Tilt walks up to one of the men and tugs on a sleeve or belt.

When the guard hopefully looks at her, she'll say with a pout, "wheresthepartyatmister?"

“What?!” The guard calls out in surprise. “How did this kid get in here? Grab her! We’ve got to contain this now!”

The guards will point their weapons towards Tilt…



Roll Call: Eldrich and Covenant

Back in the Twilight Realm, Eldrich as just told his allies what he knows about the master of this realm. While he speaks, Eldriches own magical senses reach and can detect the barrier between this world and the one outside. Eldrich can sense that it is moving further way, a combination of the platform moving deeper in the realm and the realm growing larger.

"What I know of Morjok is this: Once the absolute ruler of his own dimension, he failed in an attempt to usurp the power of an adjacent dimension and was cast down into defeat. The power there, which I will not name aloud, exiled Morjok to a realm that weakened him due to its lack of magical energies."

Eldrich pauses briefly, considering that his own punishment was quite similar.

"His downfall is told as an example of overreaching beyond ones strength and skill to those learning the craft."

"As to his power, he was god-like in his own Twilight Realm, and this has much of his stamp upon it here. I would speculate his power now to be as great as four or even five Mages of Power. As well, the effect of this place upon those untrained in the Arts will cause disconcerting physical and mental instability. I mention that last as a caution. Ordinary troops will be useless here unless defended against it."

”All the more reason to confront him now before he gains in power!” The White Witch demands.

“Indeed,” the Black Paladin nods. “While the power of this Morjok seems formidable, do not forget that right now all his energies are bent towards the expansion of this realm. That means he is vulnerable. A quick, precision strike may be enough to remove him.”

“That makes sense to me,” the Magus adds. “We were right to restore you to your true state. Your tactical skill will be a boon to us all.”

“There is another close by,” Lady Bale warns. “A being of power.”

Looking out into the Twilight Realm, the mages see a well-muscled man standing about 6’ tall with penetrating, bright red eyes. His head is completely devoid of hair, and his pale skin has a pallor that resembles dead flesh. He’s wearing a suit of tight fitting leather armor that’s somewhat gothic looking in form; the armor is black with blood-red trim. He wears a long, black leather trench coat with a flare at the shoulders that resembling the silhouette of a bat in flight. He carries a trident in his hands.

“Are you in league with the master of this realm?” The Black Paladin challenges.

[GM Mad]

Roll Call: Backlash & Blackout

Once more, back in San Diego, Blackout has joined Backlash as the van crash site. Help arrives in the form of the lovely Lavender!

Looks like someone likes spandex a little too much. Though Lash likes what he sees. “They shouldn’t have been driving so recklessly.” He says evenly with a grin.

“And you wouldn’t have had any influence on that?” Lavender playfully asks.

"Friends of yours?" Blackout asks, indicating the unconscious men. He has his suspicions about the woman, but nothing substantial... yet.

“Sort of, but not really,” Lavender cryptically answers. “They work for the guy that holds my leash, so it’s not like I have a choice in the matter. They’re not my type.”

“The name is Backlash.” He said realizing that she might just be a criminal he is all business. “You the help that they mentioned.” He said as he tightened the glove on his right hand.

“Hi there, Backlash,” the woman purrs. “I’m Lavender for all the obvious reasons.”

“What was that thing they were chasing?” he asked curiously ready to go on the offensive if it warrants it.

“Fuzzy-wussy?” Lavender answers. “It’s a critter called a Maxtik and it’s not supposed to be loose like this. We’re just rounding it up before it causes any trouble. Well, any more trouble.”

Regardless of if introductions occur or not, Blackout will add to Backlash's comment. "Just trying to figure out exactly who they are and what's going on. So was this why you were called away, to collect these guys?" he asks her.

“Yep, that’s why I’m here. I get to clean up all their messes. I am such a lucky girl!”

Lavender gestures and the van and the men close to it shift out of reality, vanishing from sight.

“Except now we’ve got a real problem.” Lavender states apologetically. “You two know too much and this all has to remain a secret. I’m afraid that you’re going to have to come with me. I promise, you won’t be harmed, but you won’t remember any of this once they are done with you.”

It’s clear from Lavender’s voice and body language that this isn’t something she really wants to do.



Roll Call: Menagerie

Menagerie has reached the center of the Twilight Realm. Once there she spies Morjok as is power radiates out in all directions increasing the size of this strange dimension. Dozens of guardians surround him, like the one encountered earlier.

Transforming back to the form of Goldstar, Menagerie engages the woman's power of increased mass and flies up and toward the larger figure. "Who are you? What are you doing?" she calls down to him.

Morjok pays the woman no attention at all, but his guardians do!

“This creature dared to gaze upon the master!”

“It must be punished for her transgressions!”

Tridents are pointed towards Goldstar/Menagerie and burst of energy are fired from them!


Now what?

[Blackout]

Blackout:

“Sort of, but not really,” Lavender cryptically answers. “They work for the guy that holds my leash, so it’s not like I have a choice in the matter. They’re not my type.”

"Really?" Blackout asks, "I didn't peg you for being that type. I figured you for a woman in charge of her own destiny."

“Yep, that’s why I’m here. I get to clean up all their messes. I am such a lucky girl!”

Lavender gestures and the van and the men close to it shift out of reality, vanishing from sight.

“Except now we’ve got a real problem.” Lavender states apologetically. “You two know too much and this all has to remain a secret. I’m afraid that you’re going to have to come with me. I promise, you won’t be harmed, but you won’t remember any of this once they are done with you.”

It’s clear from Lavender’s voice and body language that this isn’t something she really wants to do.

"Not really sure what we know too much about," Blackout says, acting confused, "and although the idea of going with you is extremely tempting, I don't think it's what you, or us, really want to do at this point."

Blackout is hoping to stall, but if her stance or body language changes, he will go full defensive. He really doesn't want to hurt her, but if it comes down to them or her, he's not about to get captured and mind-wiped.

[Gargoyle]

He then happens a look at Gargy, and stiffles a laugh, "Are you sure your old enough to be here? I mean are you going to jump up and punch someone in the knee cap?"

"Your just a kid!"

The toddler formerly known as Gargoyle rises to his feet. Initially, he ignores Frostbite’s jibes, not having the slightest idea what it is he’s talking about. But then he realizes he’s suddenly looking up, way up, at the rest of the group.

“HEY… WHAT THE… OH! FER… LET’S GET MOVING! I NEED SOMETHING TA HIT, AND IF WE DON’T FIND IT SOON IT’S GONNA BE THE ICE PRINCESS OVER HERE!”

Thankfully, Gargoyle doesn’t have to wait long to find his opportunity.

“The Purple Phlox!” Powershift calls out. “We must assist her!”

“YA DON’T HAVE’TA TELL ME TWICE!!”

Gargoyle bellows as he surges his strength for +20, all levels to OCV. Gargy flexes his miniature muscle bound legs and launches himself into the fray. Selecting a target that will potentially clear some of the other guardians away when it’s knocked back without hitting The Purple Phlox, Gargoyle will perform a move through on his target.

[Covenant]

“Are you in league with the master of this realm?” The Black Paladin challenges.

Covenant regards Black Paladin and his cohorts scornfully. As if in answer he grabs a hold of the unconscious warder and hurls its limp body in their general direction, then spats into the void glaring defiantly.

“PFT! Morjok is no more worthy of My service than You are!”

With the trident in his left hand, Covenant is ready to missile deflect any attacks that are hurled his way with the blade in his right. If he is attacked, he will attempt to position himself so that anyone charging to attack melee will obstruct the vision of any who lag back, not giving them a clear shot.


What can I discern about the approaching group? And have I learned anything is studying the trident? Any abilities it may possess and how to trigger them perhaps?

[Menagerie]

Menagerie:

The guards turn to attack, apparently in defense of the one they refer to as "the master". Could this master then be the one the other referred to as "Morjok"?

Menagerie doesn't have time to ponder further as the guards point their tridents toward her and unleash some kind of energy bursts from them. Still in her Goldstar form at maximum density, Menagerie does her best to fly out of the way of the attacks. Should she survive the assault, she'll attempt to fly through as many of the creatures as she can.
________________________________________________________
Dodge. Then attempt Move-Through.

[Backlash]

backlash

“Yep, that’s why I’m here. I get to clean up all their messes. I am such a lucky girl!”

Lavender gestures and the van and the men close to it shift out of reality, vanishing from sight.

“Except now we’ve got a real problem.” Lavender states apologetically. “You two know too much and this all has to remain a secret. I’m afraid that you’re going to have to come with me. I promise, you won’t be harmed, but you won’t remember any of this once they are done with you.”

It’s clear from Lavender’s voice and body language that this isn’t something she really wants to do.

“Who holds your leash?” he asks curiously. “Smart beautiful women such as yourself has a master, what do you have that is being held over your head.”

“Your going to have a lot more then me and him to worry about. Primus and the Viligant have already been notified about this mess.” He lied evenly. “ As well as the local authorities. They have your company’s name and location. Should tell your boss to pay them better, they squealed like a bunch of pigs. So, why don’t you do the smart thing, help us put an end to this, And Ill see no harm or charges come against you.”

Backlash will stay his ground but if her stance or gestures change he will do a superleap at her, activating full density right before he hits, if he hits.

[Tilt-A-Whirl]

Tilt-A-Whirl:

“What?!” The guard calls out in surprise. “How did this kid get in here? Grab her! We’ve got to contain this now!”

The guards will point their weapons towards Tilt…

"kid!?! hmmpphh!!" Tilt says unbelieving. "sotheresnoparty?isitbecauseyounastyguyswithallyourweaponschasedthemoff?"

She'll hit the guard right in front of her with her topsy-turvy power. If she has time, she'll then race around behind something, the vans, a building, whatever. Tilt will circle around objects and race up behind a guard, hit him with her power and then race away. Repeat until all down or they run off.

[Frostbite]

Frostbite

Knowing when enough is enough Frostbite follows the others into bubble. Soon enough they come across the Purple Phlox battling for her life as ten assailants bombard her with rays from tridents.

On it! Moving forward Frostbite gestures at the armed men producing icy shards(RKA, Armor piercing) he will try not to hit the Purple Phlox or any of his comrades, If this is not possible he will go with an ice ram.

[Bruce]

Flux

The viewpoint of everything in this place is strange. It doesn't help that Flux is phasing in and out at irregular intervals. The others are afflicted oddly too. Gargoyle perhaps the most of all.

"Hm, let's keep an eye on each other until we know if this is the extent of the effect or not."

Powershift seems fully in his element, forming a protective bubble around the rest and towing everyone in a direction only he can sense is meaningful.

Time passes, or seems to, and distance is covered, or appears to be, when Powershift announces the presence of another close by that bears investigating.

"Lead on, Powershift we're doing fine back here."

Powershift changes direction to come up upon a large flat-topped floating rock with a pitched battle going on!

One woman and ten men and none of them look familiar to Flux. Powershift identifies the woman as The Purple Phlox and moves in closer to render aid.

"Split up! Pick a target and draw their attention off Phlox."

Flux dives right at a foe on the edge of the flat topped rock still in giant size.

Now if a giant flying man coming up from behind a fellow doesn't get him to turn around then reality here is more bent out of shape then I can believe. . .

[Bruce]

Eldrich Arcane

In spite of my warnings they appear set upon this course. Is it the intoxicating effect of magic in abundance here or are they just as driven to conquest as Morjok? Regardless, until some other impediment to Morjok's invasion appears, I must cast my lot with these and hope for the best outcome. They may not care for the dimension they just left but I remember the City or Wonders, the strange folk that befriended me and the High One who came to reside in the bay. I remember. . . for now.

“There is another close by,” Lady Bale warns. “A being of power.”

Looking out into the Twilight Realm, the mages see a well-muscled man standing about 6’ tall with penetrating, bright red eyes. His head is completely devoid of hair, and his pale skin has a pallor that resembles dead flesh. He’s wearing a suit of tight fitting leather armor that’s somewhat gothic looking in form; the armor is black with blood-red trim. He wears a long, black leather trench coat with a flare at the shoulders that resembling the silhouette of a bat in flight. He carries a trident in his hands.

“Are you in league with the master of this realm?” The Black Paladin challenges.

The man regards Black Paladin and his cohorts scornfully. As if in answer he grabs a hold of the unconscious warder and hurls its limp body in their general direction, then spats into the void glaring defiantly.

“PFT! Morjok is no more worthy of My service than You are!”

Another challenger for the Twilight Realm? Or a defender of his own? Now I I may be forced to reveal my true intent in order to assist this one. My chances for success render down from slim to none. Yet I must attempt to preserve his life if I can.

[Tesla]

Tesla:

Quick experimentation reveals that while Tesla’s powers look different, they still function the same way. (As does everyone else’s.)

Seeing her force field acts like the electrical one did, Tesla is relieved. However, she still is shining like a beacon and wonders how long it will take for that to get her into trouble.

“This will keep us close together,” Powershift explains. “If anyone moves too far off, even a few feet away, you would be lost in this unearthly void. Let’s get moving.”

"I always knew you liked it cozy," Tesla teases Powershift. She's grateful that he's able to navigate this realm. She has no doubt they would all be hopelessly lost otherwise.

She would like to say she enjoys the trip, but it's too difficult to figure out just where they are going, if anywhere. Suddenly Powershift calls out that he's spotted something - a battle happening not far from them.

One woman and ten men and none of them look familiar to Flux. Powershift identifies the woman as The Purple Phlox and moves in closer to render aid.

"Split up! Pick a target and draw their attention off Phlox."

Tesla does just that. She flies a little away from the others and sizes up one of the trident-wielding foes. She fires an electric, err, plasma, um, a blast to see what it does against the man.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

Roll Call: Flux, Tesla, Frostbite, Gargoyle, Xanaphia, Powershift, & Sea Guard

Somewhere in the Twilight Realm, the Vigilant and guests have come across the enigmatic Purple Phlox! She is a mystical heroine who wields the Crystal Staff. Her attire is a patchwork bodysuit of various purples and purplish flames obscure her face. Spots of red fire indicate her eyes. Powershift is familiar with the heroine. Now she has been located inside the Twilight Realm, under attack by guardians of Morjok! The heroes go the Phlox’s aid.

Powershift surges forward, dragging the bubble holding his passengers behind him. The Jewel of Krin embedded in his chest glows and sparkles with an almost human intelligence. Upon nearing the floating rock where the Phlox is being besieged, Powershift dissolves his bubbles and his passengers are free to act. Powershift settles on the ground near the Phlox and reforms his protective bubble around them. The bubble blocks any further blasts from the tridents.

Once on the ground, the little boy Gargoyle bulks up and fearlessly leaps into the fray! He takes out on the guardians with a flying tackle and they in turn pile into three others. The whole group goes sprawling on the flat rock floating in the Twilight Realm.

Sea Guard joins the conflict. The aquatic hero points his ring at one of the attackers and a giant fist of water explodes outwards! The watery fist slams into two of the attackers, forcing them off the floating rock completely! Sea Guard looks at his ring in astonishment!

“I guess this realm has supercharged my ring!” He remarks, mostly to himself.

Close by, Frostbite unleashes a stream of razor sharp icicles that tear into his target. The tall, jet-black skinned man is forced backwards, blackish fluid leaking from his wounds.

Tesla followed by Xanaphia flies close and hovers. Tesla’s normal electrical powers have magically been shifted to red-hot plasma. She glows almost like a miniature star. A blast of plasma is fired and it strikes one of the attackers. The man screams as the plasma burns him! He runs off and leaps away from the platform. He’s lost from sight after a few moments.

Xanaphia’s adds her own energy blasts and another attacker is knocked away.

Flux, still giant sized, closes in and brings his open hand down on the last two attackers. He smacks them both into and through the rock! They both come tumbling out the other side and are quickly lost to the void. The floating rock quickly shatters and millions of pieces that begin to drift away. Powershift expands his bubble once more and draws everyone back inside.

“Thank you for your help, Powershift,” The Purple Phlox says to the mystical hero.

“Anytime, Phlox. I assume you are here to investigate this magical incursion?”

“Yes, the same reason you are here.”

“The let us continue on.” Powershift surges forward once more, his magical bubble carrying everyone along for the ride.

[GM Mad]

Roll Call: Tilt-A-Whirl

In downtown San Diego, Tilt finds that there is no party and that the men from the vans are not very friendly!

"kid!?! hmmpphh!!" Tilt says unbelieving. "sotheresnoparty?isitbecauseyounastyguyswithallyourweaponschasedthemoff?"

Tilt hits the guard who spoke to her with her Topsy-Turvy power and he’s suddenly very disorientated and has trouble standing. Tilt then runs off once more before the other guards can react. Bullets from their automatic rifles chase after her, but none hit their mark.

Tilt races in from the other side and disorientates another guard. She then runs off before the others can target her. This continues on for a few minutes and in short order all the guards are down on the ground.

The head of the guards, the first to be made dizzy, calls out on his communicator, “Lavender! Get back here now! We’ve got a super among us!”

Tilt ignores this as she notices the van containing the ‘doggie’ is rocking violently. It is growling loudly inside.


Roll Call: Eldrich and Covenant

Back in the Twilight Realm, the golden platform holding the Dark Masters has encountered another. The Dark Masters is an alliance of those interested in magic and the acquisition of power. Their members include the fearsome Black Paladin, his consort Lady Bale, and the husband and wife duo of the Magus and the White Witch. The recently restored Eldrich is an ally of theirs for the time being.

On their way through the Twilight Realm, the group has come across an unusual being. Black Paladin demands to know if he serves the master of the twilight Realm. The strange being responds.

Covenant regards Black Paladin and his cohorts scornfully. As if in answer he grabs a hold of the unconscious warder and hurls its limp body in their general direction, then spats into the void glaring defiantly.

“PFT! Morjok is no more worthy of My service than You are!”

”Such arrogance!” The White Witch declares disdainfully. “This dog needs to be taught some manners!”

Reaching out, Black Paladin touches the white clad woman’s shoulder. “Stay thy hand, fair one. It is clear that this being is of no consequence to us. Let us save our energies for a worthy adversary. Continue our journey to the heart of Morjok’s realm.”

Provided nothing happens to the contrary, the golden platform moves deeper into the Twilight Realm.

[GM Mad]

Roll Call: Backlash & Blackout

Meanwhile back in San Diego, Backlash and Blackout are speaking to the mysterious Lavender. She has just revealed that she has no choose but to bring the heroes in so that this incident can be erased from their minds. It’s clear that Lavender doesn’t want to do this but someone or thing is forcing her.

"Really?" Blackout asks, "I didn't peg you for being that type. I figured you for a woman in charge of her own destiny."

“Yeah, who knew?” Lavender nervously laughs.

“Who holds your leash?” he asks curiously. “Smart beautiful women such as yourself has a master, what do you have that is being held over your head.”

“I can’t say,” Lavender answers defensively, “But do continue with all the lovely compliments! All I can say is that I was made this way.”

"Not really sure what we know too much about," Blackout says, acting confused, "and although the idea of going with you is extremely tempting, I don't think it's what you, or us, really want to do at this point."

“You’re going to have a lot more then me and him to worry about. Primus and the Vigilant have already been notified about this mess.” He lied evenly. “ As well as the local authorities. They have your company’s name and location. Should tell your boss to pay them better, they squealed like a bunch of pigs. So, why don’t you do the smart thing, help us put an end to this, And Ill see no harm or charges come against you.”

“You’re not making things any easier on me”, Lavender begins to complain, when she suddenly stops talking. Thanks to his enhanced hearing, Blackout catches another message coming in for woman.

“Lavender! Get back here now! We’ve got a super among us!”

“Oh, thank the maker!” Lavender mutters in relief. “I’d just love to play with you guys some more, cuddle, and share deep, dark secrets, but I’m needed elsewhere. Don’t be here when I get back.”

With that Lavender shifts out of reality once more, leaving the heroes alone on a now deserted street. All that remains is the damage caused by the accident, but the van and the injured men are gone.


Roll Call: Menagerie and virtually everyone else!

In the heart of the Twilight Realm, Menagerie has reached the heart of the Twilight Realm and located its master Morjok himself! Morjok’s guardians move to defend their master. Blasts of magical energy are fired from numerous tridents and Menagerie in the form of Goldstar flies to avoid them. Once blast catches her in the shoulder and forces her twisting backwards, but otherwise does no permanent harm.

Turning back, Gold-Menagerie flies forward towards the guardians. She smashes fists first into one of them and drives him deeper into their ranks. At least half a dozen go flying from the pass.

But as Gold-Menagerie begins to rise up and fly off once more, a trident fires a blast that encases the heroine in a globe of magical energy! A second trident hits and its power just increases. Menagerie pounds on the globe, but her effort just seem to rebound. More and more tridents attach to the globe and it is being dragged back down.

As Menagerie tries to escape, she notices a large glowing bubble rapidly approaching. As it gets closer she can see Powershift, Tesla, and Flux among others! The Vigilant has arrived!

Almost unnoticed in nearly the opposite direction, a floating golden platform starts to come into view…


Now what?

[Tilt-A-Whirl]

Tilt-A-Whirl:

Tilt races in from the other side and disorientates another guard. She then runs off before the others can target her. This continues on for a few minutes and in short order all the guards are down on the ground.

The head of the guards, the first to be made dizzy, calls out on his communicator, “Lavender! Get back here now! We’ve got a super among us!”

"hmmppphh" Tilt huffs in satisfaction, brushing her hands in exaggerated movements in show of how she dealt with the party crashers. One of the men is calling out someone, but she pays it no mind as something else draws her attention...

Tilt ignores this as she notices the van containing the ‘doggie’ is rocking violently. It is growling loudly inside.

"awww, poordoggie. theygoingtotakeyoutothepound?" Tilt says. "thosebadmenarecertainlynofun!"

Tilt will look for a latch, handle, knob or other way to release the doggie so he doesn't have to be hauled away and put down...

[Blackout]

Blackout:

“Oh, thank the maker!” Lavender mutters in relief. “I’d just love to play with you guys some more, cuddle, and share deep, dark secrets, but I’m needed elsewhere. Don’t be here when I get back.”

With that Lavender shifts out of reality once more, leaving the heroes alone on a now deserted street. All that remains is the damage caused by the accident, but the van and the injured men are gone.

Turning to Backlash, Blackout says, "I heard someone in her communicator say that there was a super involved wherever the owner of that voice was. I'm guessing maybe the other vans have been engaged. Was there anybody else with you tracking them?"

Unless there is a clear direction to go, Blackout will start swinging off in the direction the vans were last headed. He knows it's a bit of a long shot, but it's better than doing nothing.

[Tesla]

Tesla:

Tesla followed by Xanaphia flies close and hovers. Tesla’s normal electrical powers have magically been shifted to red-hot plasma. She glows almost like a miniature star. A blast of plasma is fired and it strikes one of the attackers. The man screams as the plasma burns him! He runs off and leaps away from the platform. He’s lost from sight after a few moments.

Tesla's aim is true and the plasma burns into the attacker. It's more than he wants to deal with and leaps off the platform rather than continue to face her. Within short order, the rest of her teammates have taken down the other attackers.

Shortly after, Powershift provides another bubble for us and we're off again. Soon they come upon another scene, with more of those trident-wielding foes encasing someone in an energy bubble of some kind. Knowing that person will need help, Tesla gets ready to begin attacking once more as soon as they are close enough to do so.

[Gargoyle]

As the bubble approaches, Gargoyle sneers in disgust at what he sees. Several dozen large burly guards dog piling a lone heroin.

“GEEZE! YA GUYS THINK YA’CAN HANDLE'ER?!? OR YA GONNA CALL IN FER BACKUP?!? CREEPS! WHY DON’T CHA TRY PICKIN’ON SOMEBODY MY SIZE!?!”

With Strength Surged to +20 the miniature Gargoyle leaps high into the air with his hands knotted into a double fist behind his head. Coming down on one knee just about underneath Menagerie, Gargoyle will attempt to time a double fisted blow with his impact to whatever passes for the ground here trying to setup a shockwave that will knock her captors off their feet in hopes of setting her free. (HtH Levels to DCV since I shouldn’t need them to hit my hex ).

“NO NEED TA FORM A LINE!! COME’AN GET IT!!”

[Menagerie]

Menagerie:

As she tries to avoid the energy beams fired from the tridents, one manages to tag Menagerie. Fortunately, it doesn't do much damage to her in her Goldstar form.

Her retaliation is swift and no doubt painful for those on the receiving end. Still, it's not enough as others of these guardian creatures point their tridents at her. A globe of energy snaps into place around her; almost immediately it is reinforced again and again as others join in.

Pounding at the shell proves ineffective, even with Goldstar's formidable strength. As she considers her predicament, Lily notices her friends arriving. Her cheer is short-lived, though, as she sees another group coming in from another direction. Who could they be and what is their objective here?

An idea occurs to Lily, and she shifts into a form that mimics her team leader Flux exactly. Then, accessing his powers, she attempts to become insubstantial and ghost her way out of the energy sphere.

[Bruce]

Flux
And that finishes that. . .

The floating rocks fragments go every-which-way and the combatants with them.

"Quick introductions all around. I'm Flux, leader of the Vigilant. This is Tesla, Frostbite, Sea Guard and Powershift who you seem to know already.

The elf is named Xanaphia and the short gray fellow is PRIMUS' representative on this opp. Anything you can add in the way of information will be a big help, Phlox."

Time passes again, and distance is covered, again until another scene of combat comes into view. Goldstar and a large crew of Morjok's followers with those tridents.

That can't be Goldstar here. Could it be Menagerie?

"Get us in there 'Shift! The ugly one must be Morjok and I have a complaint to lodge-right where it will do the most good!"

In spite of his statement, Flux intends to work on the underlings first. Too many of them firing off shots, and they might get lucky.

[Frostbite]

Frostbite

Seeing the now small gargy launch himself into the sky towards the trident carrying men, He can’t help but wonder if gargy had his lunch money taken from him as a kid. Perhaps the guy isn’t so bad. Frosty thought as he to moved into the fray.

Frosty will try to assist Gargy the best he can, picking off the trident warriors with an Ice ram that is not within Gargy’s reach.

[Backlash]

Backlash

Turning to Backlash, Blackout says, "I heard someone in her communicator say that there was a super involved wherever the owner of that voice was. I'm guessing maybe the other vans have been engaged. Was there anybody else with you tracking them?"

Unless there is a clear direction to go, Blackout will start swinging off in the direction the vans were last headed. He knows it's a bit of a long shot, but it's better than doing nothing.


“Not that I am aware of. I lost my com link, so I couldn’t tell ya.” He says obviously frustrated. “Who ever it is, they are going to need help.”

Unsure of which way to go, Backlash leaps into the air(superleap) and begins looking for signs of the vans.

[Covenant]

”Such arrogance!” The White Witch declares disdainfully. “This dog needs to be taught some manners!”

Reaching out, Black Paladin touches the white clad woman’s shoulder. “Stay thy hand, fair one. It is clear that this being is of no consequence to us. Let us save our energies for a worthy adversary. Continue our journey to the heart of Morjok’s realm.”

"Fool!" Covenant mutters under breath as he watches the group depart.

"Still", he ponders to himself, "Even a fool and his companions have their uses. Perhaps they may yet best Morjok and make my life that much the easier. If not I'll enjoy watching the self-proclaimed 'Lord of the Twilight Realm' crush the life from their bones ere I have to deal with him."

Covenant is content to follow stealthfully at this point, watching and waiting.

[GM Mad]

Post Closed