Mithril_Zeta

Newton motioned quickly and gravity shields formed around each of them. "I'm all set," he said, hovering up a little. "I'll be ready to yank you out, Elisa, and anyone else who needs it. I'll keep an eye and an ear out for trouble." He glanced over at Mystic. "As soon as the shield comes down, I'm going to hold as many of them in place as I can," he said.

He thought a moment. "Zombies really stink, don't they. Let's hope the stench doesn't make us all so sick we can't function," Newton said with a grin.

folks, i contacted cuppa jo. She said she would send me a text file with our posts in it. If you want, I can repost the story with cunningly placed hyphens for the long Ion speeches. That should solve the problems.

Or we can create a new page called 'The Two-Six Missing Pages' Add a link in the midst of the Two-Six posting, and it will take the reader to the missing pages, then at the end of those pages, have another link to the Two-Six page where we are now.

The timeliness of the first is an issue, and with Averick's summary, we might want to do the second option. Let me know what you think.

((Averick has pm a moderator. Hopefully it'll be taken care of soon.))

((occ: I'm sorry folks. My summer job has kicked in. I'm hip-deep in administrative details, and I don't have the time I need to do the research necessary for this particular rp. Maybe in August I'll be able to return. I'll continue reading it, but nothing new from me for a couple months. Have fun.))

[ QUOTE ]
(Still in the casual Germanic)"You misunderstand. These are sensitive agents. Improper application could lead to ... unfortunate results. One might wonder why questioning of your abilities elicits a defense of your intentions, but I am sure that that was simply a detail lost in the translation. I sincerely hope that your mistress pulls through. I would enjoy meeting her."

[/ QUOTE ]

“And she would enjoy meeting you, milady,” the Ancient Doctor continued in his archaic Germanic. “And thank you for your wish, but that will not be the case. She has an illness with no cure. All I can do is ease the pain in her remaining days.”

The old man paid for his supplies, and walked briskly back down the street towards his palatial estate. (sorry. More description next time)

It’s a nice outline. This is the skeleton of a good story.

Time to add the skin, the muscles, the organs, and the senses.

We need to be see what the young man sees, to hear his words and inflections, to taste the bitterness in his mouth when he has to choose between the military and Pam, to feel the motorcycle rumbling as he rides it over gravel roads.

The senses will build some of that connection that Averick mentioned was missing.

[ QUOTE ]
In a relaxed and conversational tone, perfectly masking the veiled accusation to the bystanders, she confronts the old man, "(In Germanic)These herbs are . . . unusual. What guarantee do I have that you will not . . . misuse them?"

[/ QUOTE ]

The old man was impressed that the mysterious shopkeeper was able to keep up with his several languages. At some point, he would have to come back and try out a few more languages, maybe even the language of his childhood, but now was not the time.

The Ancient Doctor smiled gently. “(in Germanic) The only guarantee I can give you is the word of an old healer. As a merchant, you have a good sense of people, or else your shop would fail. Trust your internal guide, and decide whether you think I will use these for ill.”

Newton pursed his lips as he listened to the young man rattle off a long list of upgrades. Newton glanced at Inferno. "We've gone from the 1960's to the 2010's in a matter of hours, boss. I’m not thrilled about my genetic code being recorded by anyone. Besides, it’s already recorded on our superhero card, isn’t it? Can your machine download that information?”

“It must be nice to be independently wealthy, too,” he said, nabbing another donut. “You haven’t seen Sting, eh? I’ll take a peek around for him.” Newton headed toward the door.

((be safe, Ninjin.))

Newton slowly woke up. The noises from downstairs were getting louder. He groaned, glanced at the clock, and rolled himself out of bed. He grabbed his towel, wandered to the showers, and took a nice, warm shower. It woke him up further.

By the time he had combed out his long green hair, pulled it back into a ponytail, dressed, made some toast, popped a Mountain Dew, and drifted downstairs, workmen were scurrying all over the place, putting in cables, internet lines, security systems, and so forth.

In the midst of the chaos, he found Mystic Inferno. “So, boss, what’re we up to today?” Newton asked as he wandered to the big immovable desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a box of donuts. He opened them, set the box on the higher part of the desk so Mystic could grab one if he wanted.

[ QUOTE ]
A nod of understanding, then she focuses her attention on the newcomers. Seeing the larger engage in conversation with the ladies, she remains in the background, taking note of what they wish to buy, so that she might be prepared to address their needs, while, at the same time, keeping an eye on the smaller of the two.

* Yes/Certainly
** Speak whichever language you may choose. I will understand.

[/ QUOTE ]

“Really,” the old man said, his sharp gray eyes twinkling. He switched to ancient Babylonian. “ What I am looking for is essence of the poppy, distilled hemlock, Monk’s hood, and very thin needles for acupuncture. ” He switched to Greek. “ My mistress has several maladies. I am trying different combinations to ease her pain. ” And then in Gaelic, “ When it is convenient for you, if the young men and women wish to go ahead. I am in no hurry. ” He spoke the final words just loud enough so the red haired woman would hear it. His accent was that of the Picts of the far north of Britannia. He switched to the Germanic tongue again. “Did you keep up with all of that?” he said with the impish tone of a much younger man.

[ QUOTE ]
“For now I am just surveying your impressive wares. The elder appears to have a clear idea of what he requires, please assist him first, it could be some time before I make up my mind.” She then looked over towards the old man with a warm smile before returning to examining the exotic items within the shop.

[/ QUOTE ]


Glancing at the Celtic girl and the northern shopowner, and remembering the northern woman in the green dress outside, the Ancient Doctor thought, ‘Interesting. I’ve seen more northerners today than I have seen in months, and all in the same place.’

In lightly accented Latin, the old man asked ‘What language are you most comfortable in? I have a lengthy list, and I speak many languages.” The Doctor smiled through the bushy beard. ‘I don’t even know the Latin word for some of the herbs and concoctions I hope you have.”

[ QUOTE ]
As Lucilla returned to browsing, Berit noticed as two young men entered the shop, two that she recognized right away. One was the son of one of a client of Lucilla’s father, Lucius Marius. The other was one of Lucius’ slaves and an apprentice silversmith. Leaning in towards Lucilla slightly, the redheaded young woman whispered. “Brutus and Pyris.”

[/ QUOTE ]

The old man glanced over his shoulder at the pair of men who entered the shop. A quick glance told him that they were related – probably brothers, or maybe cousins. He also recognized that, despite their plain white tunics, they were wealthy. “You have wealthy customers entering,” the Ancient Doctor said in the northern Germanic tongue. “I will browse and shop as you serve them.” His dialect was archaic, but still understandable.

((edited for clarity))

The old man moved easily through the crowd. His white hair was cut short to as was the style with the more prosperous, but he wore a thick beard. The lines in his face were deep, almost crevices, and he looked as old as the earth itself. His eyes, however, were a sharp gray. He wore the toga of a wealthy merchant. He carried a staff with Greek letters and the image of a winding snake carved in it.

He walked to the shop of the ‘barbarians’. They were, of course, the only ones who would have the herbs and ingredients he needed to create his pain-killing potions and healing drafts. It was incredible; as soon as a region became ‘civilized,’ they forgot all the wisdom and knowledge of their forebears. The old man had seen it happen again and again.

Even that cowherd there, carving out a spinning top, probably knew more about healing that most of the doctors in the city. There were times the old man wished he could go back and slap both Hippocrates and Aristotle up along side the head. They both had gotten so full of themselves, and their followers expanded on that gross sense of importance.

As he stepped past the cowherd, he also saw something else refreshing; a young Roman man helping an obviously northern woman up and speaking politely to her. Perhaps there was hope for this civilization yet.

The Ancient Doctor stepped into the shop and looked around for the young woman or the older man.

Newton sheepishly looked up at the ceiling. "I hadn't thought about the weight thing, Coolant. That truly would have been a 'd'oh' moment, wouldn't have it."

"Maybe the basement would be better for three tons of electronics. In all actuality, the basement is a better place for a lab anyway, unless you're trying to harness lightning a la Doctor Frankenstein. It's further from the sleeping quarters, for one, and labs usually have a great deal of tinkering going on in them, plus the occasional explosion."

He looked at the boxes. "I wonder how much weight I have to add to them to send them through the floor..." he glanced at Mystic and winked.

Newton watched Sting menace Ion. He was definitely interested how the armored man would deal with an annoyed insect man. Ignoring him seemed to be working thus far.

Bossing around others was one of those ‘genius’ tendencies. So was presumption. The personal interaction was going to be soooo interesting.

Sting was certainly not bossable. And neither was Newton. A question or suggestion was a much more effective way to get something done. Mystic had intuitively already figured that out – he was a better boss than he gave himself credit for. His nephew worked with humor and suggestions as well.

Newton fought the urge to make the genius so light a single step would launch him into the ceiling.

[ QUOTE ]
"So I don't suppose any of you possess super strength abilities...," then a thought struck him, "Hey Newton, what about you? Could you wormhole these suckers upstairs?"

[/ QUOTE ]

“I suppose I could,” Newton said smiling. “The thing is, my wormhole effect is kind of hard on sensitive electronics. But it could be interesting to see how well shielded all the electronics are…” he raised his arms.

“Or I could just make the boxes so light that they just float and we can push them.” He turned to the robed mage. “What do you think, boss,” Newton asked.

[ QUOTE ]
In other words I am a genuis.

[/ QUOTE ]

Newton’s eyebrows shot up, and a grin slowly stretched across his face as the straightforward young man listed off his accomplishments. ‘A lot of book learning, and no time in the real world.’ Newton thought. ‘Quite sure of himself, and a bit overconfident. Heh-heh-heh. Oh, this is going to be fun.’

[ QUOTE ]
“So we have a meeting to plan for. I suggest that someone case the place today, rooftops, alleys, parking lots, bus routes, train routes, sewers, all that sort of thing. I will arrange that the doors for the building be replaced tomorrow, so there will be construction here. I’d like more information on this Brander fellow. The third floor specialized detectives and mini crime lab haven’t been touched in terms of cleaning, nor has the evidence locker in the basement. We could use some equipment for surveillance. And it wouldn’t be a bad idea to set up watches. Additionally, it seems we’ve run out of tea.”

[/ QUOTE ]

“The store at the end of the street has quite a selection of teas,” Newton said. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I didn’t pick any up earlier. I’ll stick around here and make the cleaning go faster – you know, making things lighter and such. With our larger group, we are going to need a few more spaces. I’ll head up to the detectives’ floor first, but feel free to call me for anything else. The mini-lab might be the place for Flux” He took another swig of Mountain Dew. “And, Cool, can you create some ice cubes for me. My head still hurts, and we’re out.”

Newton listened to the others' abilities and the enemies they had fought.

[ QUOTE ]
"After Newton fills us in on his capabilities, I suppose we'll prepare for the mission, and fill Brian in."

[/ QUOTE ]

Newton cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Well, I’m your friendly green-haired mutant. Everything I do has to do with gravity. I can make things lighter and heavier. I can make enemies so heavy they can’t move. Well, they can still shoot things, but can’t change location. I can pick people up and slam them to the ground. I can create gravity bubbles around people to help protect them from getting hurt. I also can generate wormholes. I can push and pull things and people through them. I actually own a storage unit and a junkyard that is just outside of Paragon City’s limits; I can pull large, heavy items from there and throw them through the wormhole.” Newton started to blush a little. “I can also create many little wormholes that I can sense and hear through.”

“The problem I have is that I burn up a lot of energy, and need to eat lots and lots to keep power going. Sugar and caffeine. Another personality quirk is that I like to have three or four back-up plans in case something goes wrong – and something always does. I think quick on my feet, but I sometimes make the wrong decision. If I’ve thought about it first, I can keep from making a mistake.”

“As far as enemies I’ve fought, I’ve spent way too much time in the Hollows – stupid trolls and ‘ooga ogoa’ guys. I know the path between the Hospital in Atlas Park and the Hollows all too well. I also was in Independence Port – that’s where I irritated the Family and Judge Wonker. ((since the name I originally gave him was censored. Didn’t notice that before. Sorry.))”

“The one thing at least two of us have in common is an instinctive distrust of authority figures,” Newton said, leaning back and looking at the police detective. “Just thought I’d warn you about that.” The green-haired man grinned at Brian.

[ QUOTE ]
"I guess that makes it my turn."

[/ QUOTE ] ((sorry. Simultaneous posts))

[ QUOTE ]
"My frail, old man body can't take the pounding that you younger heroes can at all. I have a tendency to over extend myself when I see someone in trouble, and I'm slow to run away. I've been working on that, though. What about the rest of you?"

[/ QUOTE ]

He held up his hands. “I meant no disrespect,” Newton said. “You are far more experienced than I am. I was just trying to thing things out before we got ourselves into trouble again.”

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"That sounds just like you Uncle Al. Nice to see some things haven't changed after all this time. Of course when they said you were helping bring this old dump back to life, I just had to see it for myself."

[/ QUOTE ]

Out of the corner of his eyes, he tried to get a better look at younger man’s badge. “I take it you two know each other, ‘Uncle Al’?” Newton said, needling Mystic just a little bit.

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”I suggest we infiltrate the bar and blend in with the local populace.”

[/ QUOTE ]

Newton choked on the Mountain Dew and went into a coughing laughing fit that hurt his head even more. He leaned back on the couch.

[ QUOTE ]
“Haha! Blend in! Good one boss. Maybe we could just camp outside and watch the place. When he goes in, we follow and tear the place down? Hmmm, I guess we could go in and beat the crap out of everyone first, and then wait for him to show.”

Sting shrugged. “Either way I’m good with it, but we may want to cover the exits to the place. No need to let him run out the back door.”

[/ QUOTE ]

Newton studied Sting carefully. Good strategic planning. Not necessarily something Newton expected from the insect-man. The green-haired mutant began to reassess Sting again.

[ QUOTE ]
“Of course, very good. I’ll go in to flush him out, everyone else covers the front and back. Newton, you should be overlooking the structure, so you can cut him off if he runs. Coolant, out the front, where he will only feel confident going if he is leaving in force and quite powerful. Sting, watch the back, where he will go if he’s running and scared. Does this sound right to everyone?”

[/ QUOTE ]

“It does put you in a great deal of danger there, boss,” Newton said as he held another can of Mountain Dew to the lump that was still growing on the back of his head. “You’re not bullet-proof, and my grav shield will only protect you so much. Should we send in the one of us who can really take the damage?” He looked over at Coolant. “Or is this one of those ‘I-set-up-the-meeting-and-Chilled-will-get-freaked-if-anyone-else-goes-in’ things.”

((occ: just so you know, the helmet is really a medieval half helm –open face, doesn’t even really cover the ears))

[ QUOTE ]
“Well, you know your name apparently, and you are responding. Those are good signs. Do you know what today is? Where you are?”

[/ QUOTE ]

Newton opened his eye again. “Today is Wednesday, I think ((occ: what day is it really?)) I’m in the Two-Six, and you’re holding up fourteen fingers.” He shut his eye again. “I’m fine, Cool. I’ve been hit on the head before.” He opened both eyes this time. “But thanks for caring.” Newton shut them again with a half smile. He heard Mystic and Sting coming back downstairs.

[ QUOTE ]
Coolant never waited for an answer as he ran over to the injured Newton and emitted a cool aura around his head. "Are you alright, my friend?"

[/ QUOTE ]

"No," Newton said, opening an eye. "I'm lucky though. They hit my least vulnerable spot: my head." Newton's eye focused in on Cool. "Because of the helmet, of course." He tapped the metallic cap. His eye unfocused and shut again. "Ouch. Please tell me that you hurt them just a little bit for hitting me on the head."

[ QUOTE ]
Mystic flared off another bolt at a would-be ambusher and then swooped down on Newton’s position. He grabbed him up with great difficulty. “Wow, can make… everything… lighter… but him… gah!” Settling for a close place of relative safety, Mystic unceremoniously deposited Newton on a nearby couch which was in plain sight of Coolant but out of the main fight. After Newton hit the couch like a sack of potatoes, Mystic quickly opened a box of donuts that was sitting on a coffee table near the couch and heated them to a temperature very close to that of “fresh from the oven” before flying out one of the windows that was boarded up and into the second story through a different boarded up window.

[/ QUOTE ]

"mmm, donuts," Newton murmured.

The pounding of his head quickly overcame the olfactory input. He tried to sit up and open his eyes, but fell back down and off the couch. All he could see were stars and the sort-of the floor. Heavy footsteps, explosions, waves of heat and cold, and the sound of something wooden hitting something kind of like plastic overwhelmed his senses again and he struggled to keep himself out of the complete darkness.

[ QUOTE ]
Sting just watched Mystic limp off, wondering what the hell he was talking about. Then he turned to Newton. “Was that an inspirational speech?”

[/ QUOTE ]

Newton stared after the robed Mystic. “I think we’re all feeling a bit guilty about how that first battle went. We are all owning our part of the mess up.”

[ QUOTE ]
Sting stood and stated; “I’m going out for a little air, be back in a bit.”

[/ QUOTE ]

Newton found himself sitting alone in the outer office again. His handy little singularity had allowed him to listen in on all the conversations, but he silently cursed himself about guarding his own expression; he was an actor, he should be better than that.

And it was certainly better that Mystic was leader than any of the others, including Newton. He preferred to be the comic relief in the background. He thought back on what he overheard Coolant say –

[ QUOTE ]
“At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Newton could read minds. The little guy seems to be able to do everything else,”

[/ QUOTE ]

Pretty soon they would see his shortcomings. He sighed and cynically thought that he would probably be the first knocked out and sent to the hospital.

A creak in the floor alerted him that someone had snuck up on him. He half turned in time to see a baseball bat coming at his face. His world exploded, and then darkness.

[ QUOTE ]
“What’s up man? What ‘things’? If you have dirt to spill, let me have it!”

[/ QUOTE ]

"Let's just say that I don't think you are the only one who has trouble controlling your emotions," Newton said thoughtfully, looking in the direction of where Mystic and Cool were meeting. "I'm not sure how cognizant you were of the whole fight, but there was a little girl in the midst of the fire, and Cool lost his cool when she got hurt." He nodded slowly. "That was right before he collapsed. It does make sense now."

[ QUOTE ]
“So I’m thinking we might need a few more to round out this little gathering of misfits. Sure you got the bubbles, and the gravity stuff, I’m thinking we could use some more firepower and a little healing. Sure the boss-man can dish it out, but it would be nice to have some support for him.”

[/ QUOTE ]

I’m definitely with you on the healing part,” Newton said. “That’s where we just kind of fell short.” He turned the open end of the bag to the insect-man.

[ QUOTE ]
“I can’t believe there are not any other hard luck or sucker for a sob story heroes out there that would want to help.”

“Plus, we almost got our butts kicked in a little scrap; pretty sad for our first real fight.”

[/ QUOTE ]

“We did at that, didn’t,” Newton said, licking his fingers and then trying to brush the orange powder out of his green mustache. “We didn’t work as a team at all. We all arrived at different moments, and our efforts individually were brave and heroic to start with, and then degenerated into a series of ‘oopses’.” Newton shook his head. “And I’m no better than you in that,” he said, seeing the expression forming on the insect-man’s face. “I completely exhausted myself instead of pacing it all. Between my showing off with gravity and the wormhole, I’ve stretched myself way to thin.” He held up his Mountain Dew. “Thus the influx of sugar and caffeine.”

They sat there for a few moments, and Newton seemed to be spacing out a little. His expression changed a little from mild surprise to comprehension to concern. He glanced over and realized Sting was watching him. “Sorry, just thinking about things…” Newton said, a little embarrassed.

[ QUOTE ]
Then to Newton, “You were the glue today. Without you, it would have gone really wrong.”

[/ QUOTE ]

Newton grinned as Mystic hobbled off upstairs with a cane, Newton wandered to the big desk in the front room. He sat at the chair, put his feet up on the desk, leaned back, and fell promptly asleep.

Sting’s question to Mystic woke him up later.

[ QUOTE ]
“Hey boss, I’m thinking since Brander was moving in on this guys turf, he might be willing to sell him out without too much effort. What’cha think?”

[/ QUOTE ]

Newton looked around blearily, and saw that Coolant’s chamber was shut, and more of the Two-Six was straightened up. Sting and Mystic must have been busy. Newton stretched, reached under the desk, and pulled out a bag of Doritos. He wandered upstairs to find out what Mystic and Sting were doing.