_Essex_

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((This incredibly Satanic moment brought to you by the Circle of Thorns and Uncle Patches Chicken Basket Barn.))

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((Uncle Patches Chicken Basket Barn - When you need your chicken DEEP FRIED. How deep? Core of the Earth deep! Now seasoned with the souls of the damned!))

"Guh...vas...?" Greta fidgeted desperately, turning her glance to AJ and flushing nearly purple in embarrassment. "I am...nothing of the sort!"

"That is fortunate." West said coldly as he typed away at his panel. "Because, I will inform you now, you make a very poor friend as a spurned lover. I would not enjoy another murderous lunatic in my life, thank you."

At this, the Praetorian turned a little grey.

"What is it, sir?" Essex asked Curtis, now back to her calm self now that they were safe. "Surely you're not thinking of...leaving, are you?"

"They can leave if they like..." West interrupted, finishing his task with a tap of keys and standing. "After all, if Praetorians truly are invading, then the outside needs as much help as they can get. But you..."

Essex suddenly vanished from among the Malta and appeared next to West as he teleported her onto the control panel. "...You are not going anywhere."

A globe of light enveloped the android, and she looked down at her father, wide-eyed.

"What...Papa, but they might need my help...!"

West typed quickly, the globe hovering in midair, lifting the android's feet off the ground.

"I am sure your friends will agree that the safest place for you is here. It is far too dangerous outside, and the ones you are fighting are not your friends. They are the antithesis of everything you know and love about them. What would you do if you had to face a Praetorian Curtis, hm?"

"Mr. Curtis already owned him." Essex offered quietly from inside the sphere.

"Oh. Well, then, a Praetorian Reikoff then, or Toy Dispenser, or even Hallucinogen. No, my girl, I am not risking having you destroyed by your own sentimentality. You are staying here, and that is final."

"But Papa --"

"Final!"

With that, the sphere was enveloped by a laser matrix, containing the android inside. West leaned back in his chair and exhaled, turning around to face the others.

"This laboratory is secure." he said. "If you wish to leave, we must be very careful of entry and exit. I do not suggest leaving the lab without a plan of action."

"I can explain about the security measures." West said calmly, turning back towards his control consoles. "My security system is engineered to go into complete lockdown upon detection of Gretchen's DNA within the boundaries. My apologies for the inconvenience."

"...So that's why it was a Sequence K..." Essex murmured.

"Quite." West said. "And now for you, madame. You may be the Praetorian version of the Zealstorm we know of, but I still do not trust you." It was true, the guns still pointed directly at the woman from all directions.

Greta swallowed uneasily.

"....I saw Selene come through the rift..." she murmured. "And I have always been sure to follow her, and try to fix whatever it is she selfishly destroys in her wake. I suppose this was no different..."

"Leave her ALONE, Hal!" Essex screamed at him from where she banged frantically on a panel. "It's not Zealstorm! It's her evil twin -- er...her good twin!"

Greta just raised an eyebrow at Hal in nonrecognition. "Is this one the cause of the caustic vapors?" she asked as she sprinted through the base with the Maltans.

"No!" Essex cried. "Now come on! This way!"

The little reploid skimmed at top speed, leading the group of the Malta, Greta, AJ and Hal through the base, barely under sliding-shut doors, over and under rows of laser and machine-gun fire, and finally between a group of massively thick siege doors, just as they crushed closed.

The room they now found themselves in was perfectly dark. The siege doors had closed with a hiss, the room hermetically sealed.

One by one, monitor lights and meters began to light up in all sorts of electric colors, illuminating what had to be the control center of the entire base.

Multiple soft clicks broke the silence.

All at once, a dim floor-based blue light illuminated the room.

"Greetings, Gretchen." West spat from his command seat. Wall-mounted, ceiling-mounted, floor-mounted, even console-mounted automatic weaponry bristled from the command center, all aimed with flawless mechanical accuracy at Greta.

"...I am uncertain how you got this far. But I will not allow you to continue."

He turned about in his chair, facing the group, and paused. Standing tall, he took in the people.

".....Commander Curtis? ....Hal? Essex, Arc Jump...Did you two --"

He hesitated, taking a few steps down.

"...You aren't Zealstorm." he murmured at Greta with some astonishment. "You're...You're just Gretchen."

Greta only stared at the Doctor, a faint pink tinge painting her cheeks.

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

Somewhere, outside a courthouse not yet touched by the Praetorians, Evangeline DiBella was eating lunch.

Suddenly, she paused, looking out towards the horizon.

"....What is this?" she murmured to herself, lowering her sandwich in her left hand and raising her right to rest upon her chest. "...Why do I suddenly feel so....sick..."

[ QUOTE ]
Are you talking about that little infection that primarily risks teens that is transmitted by sharing soft drinks and/or through kissing? I can't think of the name but I do remember some stuff about it.

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Heeeey, I had this. XD Mononucleosis!

I got it in 6th grade, at girl scout camp.

Judge me as you will. <____<

And this thread idea sounds cool. <3

Essex skidded around the corner with the rest of them, very nearly bowling over AJ even as Curtis readied his weapons.

"AJ!" she cried out over the sirens. "Something's set off the security and we're going into lockdown! We have to get to the inner lab..."

Greta, in the middle of the cluster of Malta, was looking around wide-eyed. "Amazing...!" she could only utter at the technology, even as she hurried along. When her eyes fell on Arc Jump, she recoiled slightly. "The fission module!" she gasped. "We are all doomed!"

With a quick glance back, Essex sighed, and then turned back to AJ. "This is Praetorian Zealstorm; she's on our side and she probably thinks you're evil, but I promise she's really nice!"

Pausing for a moment after that statement, she blushed a little.

"And I mean not nice like I usually mean, but, like...really nice. Actually nice, you know? But anyway...We're going to get killed if we don't get Papa to shut down the K sequence!"

With that, she zipped forward through some doors and began working on another control console, calling back. "Make your way through the workshop and head to the lockdown chamber near Mom's garden! It's the most secure area in the base, Papa HAS to be there!"

((*plays FF7 Mako Reactor bombing music*))

Essex clung close to Curtis during the teleport, and Greta glanced around wide-eyed once they were in the laboratory.

"Mein Gott." she whispered. "What a grand facility this --"

The next moment, the teleport chamber erupted in lights and sirens. The sound of swiftly moving machinery and failsafes sliding into place.

"Oh no!" Essex shrieked. "Something set off the security system!"

The little android practically flew out of Curtis' arms and towards a nearby control panel, where she began typing furiously. Red lights flashed around her, and she looked as though she was about to panic.

"I can't disable it!" she cried. "Only Papa can disable a K Sequence - it's the highest security clearance! We need to make our way to the inner laboratory!"

Working frantically, she tossed her helmet back onto her head, and her eyes began glowing green as she attempted to hack into the system.

"Oh, jeez..." she fretted. "I'm going to set off all sorts of firewalls here, but -- I think I can hack the security measures just enough to give us a little time...!"

She glanced behind her at the Malta with a stressed, yet elated little grin.

"Just don't leave me behind!" she teased.

Greta lowered her goggles and quickly tied her hair back and out of her face.

"Ja, we must hurry..." she said, holding her labcoat sleeve over her face. "There are fumes coming from those vents which look terribly caustic...And I do not know my way around here, so..."

Greta looked comically startled at the sound of dozens - no, hundreds - of bullets peppering Praetorian Curtis. Afterwards, she cleared her throat, adjusting her labcoat a bit to regain her composure.

"Well, cowboy..." she said with a moment of thought, "That person whom you so ...efficiently dispatched, was the premier assassin of a small cell of heroic supremacists. They claimed to fight for metahuman rights, but were actually trying to subjugate the non-metahuman population, citing 'survival of the fittest' and using their superhuman abilities as excuses to act below the ranks of the foul."

Carefully nudging the corpse with the toe of her boot, she raised a blonde eyebrow.

"Ja, I suppose it takes one with as swift of reflexes to accomplish this, yes? As far as I recall, he was not himself a biological metahuman, but was considered strong enough to be among their ranks."

Glancing upwards, she took pause.

Essex was finished being repaired, and gave the Engineer a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek before hurrying over to Curtis, giving him a quick burst of nanites, and promptly beginning to worry over his chest wound.

"We don't know if he had any sort of chemical on his sword..." Essex mused in worry. "Let me run a few detoxifying sequences on the wound just in case. In the meantime....what should we do?"

Greta shuffled her feet.

"...I would...very much like to go to Daniel's laboratory." she spoke up meekly. "I may be able to be of some use..."

Greta nearly fell over herself at the sight of Curtis, and frantically felt around her labcoat pockets for what one could only assume was a gun. It seemed, however, that whatever it was, she had forgotten it, and she compensated by furiously pulling the goggles down over her eyes and peering at the gunslinger.

"...So...You are different here as well. What a fascinating dimension."

At the news that Daniel was alive, she looked surprised.

"Then...his laboratory is still intact?"

Essex glanced up from the Engineer's work to eye Greta in surprise. For a moment she looked as though she was about to run to Curtis, but the Engineer was nearly finished, so she didn't want to disrupt him yet.

"...Miss Greta, you seem very kind...but your counterpart here is very, very mean. Papa takes his laboratory very seriously, and...well, I don't know how he would feel...I'm sorry..."

Greta was taken aback at this, and tilted her head, lifting her goggles once again.

"Mein Gott, what a demure child." she said in fascination. "If I would have known Selene could have turned out like this..."

After a moment, she sighed. "But it matters little. Liebchen, in the other world...Your father was so occupied tending to Selene that his studies were left by the wayside. I was his laboratory assistant and picked up where he left off - a weapons contract for the Great War - and a few independent commissions. Perhaps there is something there we can work with, or materials..."

"Wait..." Essex said. "What happened to my father?"

Greta took pause at this.

"...Selene always got her way, since...since the accident. He engineered the robot with her DNA to wait on her hand and foot so he could concentrate on his studies, but...she still demanded his full attention. He became sickly and worn down, but still she demanded attention, money, toys...she had no empathy for her own father! ...Finally, he fell ill...and when he could no longer do her bidding, Selene - you see, she developed powerful psychic abilities after being crippled by the accident - crushed his mind to pieces. He was in a coma for months...almost a year."

Wringing her hands, she sighed a little.

"He saved my life after the accident. I owed it to him ...I ..tried my best to take care of him and carry on his research, but...Selene would have none of it. Her robot murdered him in his bed, just when it looked as though he may recover."

Running a hand through her hair, Greta smiled a little in embarassment.

"I suppose, ja, it is fortunate that she grew bored with the laboratory and left....else I might well be dead as well."

Essex turned, half using the Maltan for shelter as she regarded the woman with wide eyes.

"...Praetorian?"

The woman seemed to loosen a little at the Engineer's words.

"...Das is gut...Selene was far too dangerous. Since the accident... ugh. All my fault, it was all my fault..."

She beat her brow a little in frustration, before shaking her head.

"It sounds as if you already know me, but in case there are doubts, I will introduce myself. I am Dr. Gretchen Fleischman, a mere engineer..."

"...You're robotic..." Essex breathed, her eyes still on Praetorian Gretchen.

"Ah...ja." Gretchen said with a small air of embarassment. "Not entirely, but it is a long story, and more important things need to be done. Please...call me Greta."

Standing up, she nodded her head to the Malta.

"I am sorry for rushing, but...this world is becoming a dangerous place quickly. Is ...Daniel still alive?"

"Ahn..." Essex moaned in pain as her systems were jolted back online. Unable to say much else, she leaned forward, quivering and frightened, into the Maltan engineer's arms as he repaired her.

"My garden..." she finally managed to whisper, somewhat paralyzed by it all. "They...my strawberries...and...the orchids....and..."

A hurried crunch of grass sounded at the edge of the garden in front of the Maltan. Should he glance up during his repairs, he would see another figure running, though awkwardly and holding her side as though it held a stitch.

She was wearing a labcoat, and had long tresses of blonde hair. Goggles were pushed up on her head somewhat haphazardly, and she stopped short upon seeing the scene in the garden with wide, soft gray eyes.

"Oh no...she has been here." she fretted in a German accent, panting for breath. Hurrying over, she no doubt stopped short down the scope of the Maltan's gun.

Carefully lifting her hands, she regarded them with concern.

"Are you and the little one all right?" she asked. "I have to apologize for Selene's actions..."

She sighed, deflating her shoulders. "Ja, not that it will do any good. The spoiled little creature does whatever she wants anyway..."

((I think I found the Praetorian I want to stick with. <3))

((^________^

'S like I say, make my lovies unhateable and my haties unlovable. DAT WHAT SHE DO.))

((I don't know how much I'll be participating in this, but....

*grabs Khell under one arm, Soviet under the other, hugsqueeeeeze* ;_; <3))

Perez Park was usually very quiet in places - a very nice area to sit and gather your thoughts. You know, once the Skulls, Clockwork, Lost, Vahzilok, Circle, Hellions, Hydra, and other nonsense was cleared out.

Essex wandered about a small clearing that she had designated her own, rather close to the entrance to the Repliforce Paragon laboratories. The tree branches sat just so it hid the small enclave from view, so she enjoyed using it as a sort of 'secret base.' With shade flowers and a small bench she had brought from a more ruined part of the park, it was a perfect place for her to sit and just...think about nothing. Even Hal and Dr. West didn't really know about it - it was her own secret place; nobody else's.

Essex lay in the flowers, her eyes closed. It was warm, and breezy and shady...and the aroma of the garden combined with the chirping of birds gave her ample backdrop for daydreams.

Crunch.

Blinking a little, the android sat up, and her electric green eyes widened.

A pair of figures stood at the edge of the garden...or rather, one floated.

The floating one looked roughly fifteen or sixteen years of age, with blonde hair tied in a loose braid down her back. She had blue eyes that regarded the resting android with smug defiance. Essex could tell that the floating girl was physically incredibly weak - her skin pale, and her limbs very thin and frail. She was dressed very nicely, however, in a cute pleated skirt and blouse, Mary Janes framing her feet even as they hovered a foot off the ground. Psychic resonations were very evident from the girl...but what caught Essex's attention was the other figure.

The second figure was an android that looked almost identical to the girl, except armored heavily in pink. Her hair was done up in blonde buns, little wisps of blonde hair shimmering in the wind near her pink audioreceptors. Her green, glowing eyes belied no expression, and the crunch had come from the sound of her armored boot crushing a snapdragon near the edge of the garden.

Essex stared, stumbling to her feet. "You're me....!" she barely gasped. "But...older. Or something..."

The floating girl raised an eyebrow at Essex.

"It's still here." she cooed, floating nearer to the middle of the flower garden. "Worlds apart, and my flower garden is still here. Even if it is a small, amateur imitation at best."

Behind her, the android followed, eyes scanning the area. "Affirmative." she chirped. "The coordinates have been matched. This is your garden, Mistress Selene."

"Ah!" Essex clasped her hands together, her eyes excited. "You mean...You're Selene! And that's me, right? But you're from another world! What's going on, did Delphi mess up the dimensional anchoring prototype again, or --"

"S6?" Selene interrupted, her eyes on Essex. "What is this little...thing, doing here?"

S6 lifted into the air, skimming mechanically over to Essex. Before the smaller android could react, she had lifted her into the air.

"Scans are forthcoming." S6 said. "It seems this unit is this world's pale imitation of your radiance, Mistress. I am reading near identical statistics to my own design...except much younger."

Selene drew her lip out in a pout, and reached forward to grip Essex's cheek. "This is me, here? This disgustingly meek little robo-child? Please. Don't make me sick. Get it out of my face, S6."

With that, the larger android's eyes flickered. "I obey." it intoned, and suddenly drew its arm back, flinging Essex forward. The smaller android found herself cracking through several trees with the force of the throw, her sensors screeching with damage. "Ugh!"

At the base of a tree she had failed to break through, she began to wobble into a seated position, when a shadow fell upon her. Selene and S6 stared down at her, the girl smirking with an air of perfect superiority.

"We don't need you any more." she taunted. "I will be taking this garden now. I want my garden back....and I always get whatever I want. Daddy makes sure of that."

S6 stared down at the younger version of herself, trembling at the base of the tree in trepidation.

"P-please!" Essex sputtered. "Can't we share?"

"Share!?" Selene scoffed. At that, Essex found herself grabbed around the throat and slammed into the tree behind her, S6's lifeless stare boring into her.

"I don't know who you think you are." Selene said, staring the small android down. "But I don't share. And you know what? I dont' think I even want your filthy little garden anymore. But then again.... I don't want -you- to have something -I- can't have. Because that wouldn't be right, would it?"

Essex grasped for words, but all she could do, reflexively, was twitch her fingers, nanites glowing about her as she tried to restore herself. Selene's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What are those? Nanites?" she barked. "Why, you -- you don't even have any missiles, do you? How in the world are you supposed to protect ME, without missiles?"

"P-please..." Essex whispered, frightened. "In this world...I'm afraid you died...about eight or nine years aggGGH!"

Her words were choked by the constriction of S6's fist around her neck, and she gasped in pain as her sensors once again began to show in the red.

"Dead..." Selene hissed to herself. "So in this world, that accident killed me. And so now Daddy replaced me. Isn't that lovely." Fuming to herself, she glanced down at her hands.

Essex could feel psychic waves resonating from the girl, as she turned her vicious glare on the android again. Then, a smirk lit up her face.

"Release the android." she said, calmly. "This is her garden, after all....and if anyone destroys it, it should be her."

Essex felt herself released, and then...something else take hold of her, something she couldn't explain. Her mind was suddenly so cloudy. All she could see in her mind was Selene's eyes...her dark, petulant smirk that seemed to seep with condescension.

The small android tottered towards the garden, and began ripping up plants, handful by handful - kicking them over, ripping petals from blooms, shredding leaves.

Selene watched this in mild amusement for a few minutes, S6 by her side. "Hm, she really isn't very useful for destruction, is she?" she mused. "S6, help her."

"Affirmative." S6 intoned. "I will destroy the garden for you, Mistress."

Her busters opened, and a chain of small missiles ratcheted into place, ready to be rapid-fired.

"Go."

A shrill whistling erupted in the air as the garden almost immediately went up in flames. Psychically held, Essex could only stand amidst the destrution as her secret base was utterly destroyed around her. Through the flames, she could hear Selene's voice.

"Oh, and take her nanites. I want them for myself. I always thought it would be cute to play doctor."

S6 skimmed forward obediently, towards where Essex stood, stock-still. The older android stared down at her for just a moment before grabbing her shoulder in one hand and her upper arm in the other.

"Uaaaghh!"

A horrific screeching and the sound of bending and snapping metal ripped through the air over the roar of the flames. S6 dully tore the smaller android's arms from their sockets, holding them a little ways away from itself to avoid the sparks.

"Now get rid of it." Selene said smugly. "I don't want to look at it any more. It's almost cuter than I am, and you know how I can't stand competition."

S6 glanced at the nanite-generating busters in her left hand, and the trembling android before her. "Yes, Mistress Selene." she said obligingly, swiftly knocking Essex to the ground and holding her there with one knee, among the flames, even as her right fist drew back and beat her savagely.

Essex stared up at the sky, almost as she had been before. Selene and S6 were gone. She hadn't had the strength, or even the presence of mind to fight them. As her garden went up in flames around where she lay, her arms gone and her legs disabled, a feeling of dread descended on her even as smoke ascended into the heavens....

"...The Praetorians...." she barely murmured, before her servos went offline.

Wait, what? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? XD;;

No srsly, wut? You want another story? O_o

Oogh....that's rough. =/

For a while I kept one of my rusted-out rotors from when my car brakes stranded me across the state for three days.

And I really should have asked the engine guys to give me one of the old pistons from my magical exploding engine...

Regardless, that sounds like quite an ordeal. Here's hoping you can avoid them in the future! XD;

((Hurrah!

I enjoyed this. D: Creepiness. Look forward to seeing Is at school!

-Ess))

o_o

<_<

>_>

*Rosalind desperately tries to keep herself from fangirlsqueeing*

Essex looked down at the doll in Devin's hands.

"...Of course." she said, taking Veronica gently and cradling the doll. "I will take good care of her, and make sure she gets plenty of sleep."

Smiling at Devin a little, she stood. "And you should do the same, Devin. A doctor must have plenty of rest, or he won't be able to do his job..."

((Hal, you already had Percy show up this morning. Percy = R(Percy +1)? XD XD))

"NICHOLSON!!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaat!?"

Penny swivelled around in her office chair, her eyes rather twitchy behind her thin glasses. Coffee Number Seven was down the hatch.

Never again will I pull an all-nighter involving explosions, hospitals, and cookies. she thought.

Her manager, Don, was leaning over her desk while the others in her cubicle worked.

"Listen, Penny." he said stormily. "I don't know what happened last night, but you were the last one from this office in the building. And as such it is YOUR responsibility to type out the report for Mr. Tharomar."

"Are you kidding?" Penny asked wryly, raising an eyebrow. "So it's my fault that you loaded me up with overtime on my day off, might I add, and almost got killed last night with Milly and the Janitor in the crossfire between terrorists, Angels of Death, and a MECHA, so I have to write your GOD DAMN MOTHER [censored] [censored]-FACED [censored] [censored] SON OF A [censored] REPORT?"

The last statement ended up a little louder than Penny had intended...and for once, she felt a little self-conscious.

Don glared at her openly, and her cubemates glanced over quizzically, giggling amongst themselves.

There was only one way to mitigate this situation.

"Great, no problem!" she said with a toothpaste-ad smile, her fingers twitching a bit. "I'll have it typed up in two shakes!"

((I'd say that's a slew of positive votes! Let's get this corporation up and running again!!

...I'll wait for someone else to post in character before I get posting again. And one thing I liked about this - we really laid off this thread, you know? Let's keep up a moderate pace so we don't leave people behind. *wags finger at those of us (and self) who are prone to posting quickly*))

((OK, I'm sorry for necroposting to such an extent, but...

Does anyone else miss this thread as much as I do? T_T

I've been reading through it and I remember how much fun it was to play with everyone....Mithril Zeta, Ninjin...the people I don't usually get to see.

Is anyone interested in starting this up again? If so, who wants to GM it? Has anyone talked to Nin? T___T))

1125. I will not fall in love with the chaotic evil drow refugee, ESPECIALLY if I am the maiden paladin of three seperate virgin goddesses, two of whom have a penchant for pissyness.
1126. If something I do makes the DM start to giggle, I will duck and cover. Immediately.

"I see...." Essex said quietly, thinking.

Devin was very disturbed, this was obvious. Isolating him would detach him even further from the other children - he would learn right and wrong best by observing his peers. But it wouldn't do to leave him unattended...

"...Devin..." the caretaker said, leaning forward a little. "Thank you for telling me about Blightlord bullying Burning. You're right; bullying is wrong. But you mustn't punish him - that is my and Archlich's job, you see. We will take care of it."

She smiled to Devin in gentle encouragement.

"And you should listen to yourself..." she said with a calm nod. "You're right - killing people is wrong - very wrong. Life is precious....and we should do what we can to preserve life, not destroy it." Essex's smile broadened a little. "You said you wanted to be a doctor, right? I think that's wonderful - though you mustn't go around operating until you have a license."

She sat back after that, and thought.

"And about Veronica...If you like, I will make sure she can sleep either in the girls' room or in my room. But keep in mind, if she stays in the girls room, you won't be allowed in until the morning. Is that all right with you?"

Essex thought a moment.

"Though, if you'd rather have her with the girls...I believe I know someone who would take care of her very well while you are asleep. But you would have to meet her and say OK first...."

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

Rosie gaped a moment. "You turned 'em PINK?" she whispered harshly. "That is AWESOME. Maggie, I'm glad you're on our team."

The little were-human gave her a thumbs-up, grinning.

"I was gonna have a secret meeting in the treehouse tonight, but...I'm so tired. We'll have to do it in the morning." she yawned.

Raffa: <_< Lat's kreyzi.

Anyway, rawr. A female Supa-Troll is an AWESOME concept for a character.

As Soviet said, I have a female troll character - Raffa, a 'dyne baby who stuck a fork in a toaster and is now an elec/elec Brute.

Personally, I think the physical builds do more for the "OMG it's a Troll" factor, but if you take a look at Soviet's characters, they're a Dom and a Corruptor. It's all in what you make it.

Height shouldn't be an issue. The one costume thing I would probably suggest though is that you make her somewhat bulkier than normal. I don't mean "physique" slider to max, I mean just the thought of a waifish female Troll flittering about is a little...weird, I guess.

Trolls klomp. And the dyne gives them muscles to do so.

If you want to MAKE her a squishy, then feel free to roleplay their physical strength instead of having to represent it in powers. Traditional Troll build would be, I'm guessing, SS/Invuln. Though if you wanted to go with a Scrapper/Stalker, Regen is very Trollish.

But again, the above is just my opinion - it is what you make of it. :3

Essex took Devin's hand and led him out of the room gently.

The house was huge - full of rooms for the children to play with. But there were a few rooms that Essex and Archlich had mostly to themselves.

One of these was a small reading room that was obviously Essex's bedroom - except the android did not sleep. Her recharge pod was off in the corner, but the rest of the room was full of books, art supplies, and a pair of computers.

The overall affect of the room was very calming - fabric hanging everywhere decoratively, and cushions and beanbag chairs on the ground. Essex sat Devin down on a cushion and knelt opposite him.

"...What has been going on in the room, Devin?" she asked. "It seems like everyone is getting upset. And why on earth were you restrained like that?"

Essex hurried into the boys' room, and flicked on the lights.

She sighed.

"Everyone settle down." she said calmly, tapping a button on her buster. A slight magical dampening feeling occurred a moment later, and the illusions dissolved, leaving the children back in their normal clothing.

"Honestly, if you all don't get some sleep, you're going to be miserable tomorrow," she said with a little smile.

Then, her eyes fell on Devin's "bed."

"....?"

Hurrying over, she pulled down the 'walls' in disgust and unwrapped him from the blankets.

"Devin, will you come and speak with me a little before you go to bed? I'd like to talk to you."

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

In the meantime, Rosalind had hopped out of bed once again and run over to Magda.

"I dunno what you did, fairy kid." she muttered, her ears perked. "But if you can make the boys cry like that, you're okay with me!"