"...Not too shabby." Experiment muttered quietly as he stepped from the 'elevator,' walking next to Acid's seat quickly. "Okay, so, we are in some sorta ship. 'Kay, all I need to know is how the hell you have not been noticed by... Well, anything, and maybe I will quit bugging you for a while.... Until you pull out some more cool tech."
Damien and Darean scratched their heads at exzactly the same time. Both of their looks could be sold at a priceless art gallery.
"Ummmm......", Damien said.
"Yeah I uhh gotta...." Darean replied to his brothers insightfulness.
"What eczactly are you looking for...." Damien finally spat out.
((Yes, I where New Mu is, but the in-thread me don't. 
That wasn't IC knowledge...I think? 
And dang, I really expected a least Experiment getting sick from the Earth turning from upside-down to rightside-up. I know I almost upchucked when I saw that the first time we went high-altitude. 
))
"The location of the Overhead." Acid answered, ordering a cup of tea after he had crunched down the bone of his ham - probably much to the surprise of several of their guests, though he didn't get it. After all, he had no idea that on Terra you didn't eat the bone.
As he raised a finger into the air above the chart table, Vern jumped up onto the table rim, lying down and gnawing on something ambiguous. The hologram of Terra that flashed into existence a second later, however, distracted from the blue thing in his jaws quite a bit.
"We are here." Acid continued, a flashing red dot appearing right at the tip of his finger, in orbit about the holographic planet, "Where to go from here, however, is a very good question."
Acid spread his fingers and retracted his hand, and about a dozen or so blue dots appeared on the 'surface', "These are centers of population concentration as well as large gathering places of magic and/or technology. Our best guess so far is that the Overhead is somewhere in one of these."
Grinning toothily at the brohers and taking abother sip from his cup, he questioned deviously, "My tower on the surface got knocked over, and it's not exactly Press Day down there...if there even is a free press. And my telepaths are off shoving a moon into a planet, so my information channels are sparse. Care to help me out...?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Darean looked at the hologram of the world. Apperently this Acid fellow had more then a few connections.
"Both of us arn't really that well verced in geography. In fact since after the war we really haven't been well versed in anything but revenge." Darean said. Darean started pointing at the map, "From my sources, the Secret Police have caches and personel, here here and here." Darean continued.
Damien pointed just slightly above Antartica. "Here in the cold barren wasteland is rumored to be their base. Darean and I fought here, and over here and dont forget this one here." Damine continued pointed at spots on the map.
Experiment nodded, as if knowing exactly what Acid was talking about. He listened intently, but caught nothing of the words 'bucket' or 'toilet', so decided to speak up.
"Would you happen to have any bathrooms in this ship? It would appear that I will need one in about... 34 seconds." the hero said, a grumble emanating from his stomach. "Y'know, just in case you didn't want a new floor pattern."
((Pfft, delayed sickness FTW!
And yes, he can actually estimate how long it takes for him to vomit from motion sickness. He is just THAT good. Sadly enough, I do the same thing.))
((New Mu is in France. France, not central Europe or anywhere else. It is standing near Paris, close enough that Paris could be considered and extension of New Mu. That is all.))
[ QUOTE ]
"We are here." Acid continued, a flashing red dot appearing right at the tip of his finger, in orbit about the holographic planet, "Where to go from here, however, is a very good question."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Lies! We're not here!" Kefetasura giggled at Acids simulation, "We are where we aren't anywhere else at the time. And the Here isn't here, but a glowing red dot simulating the approximation of here relative to nearby landmarks. Sheez, everyone's so simple!"
[ QUOTE ]
Acid spread his fingers and retracted his hand, and about a dozen or so blue dots appeared on the 'surface', "These are centers of population concentration as well as large gathering places of magic and/or technology. Our best guess so far is that the Overhead is somewhere in one of these."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Never heard of an Overhead. I think you're being either delusional or flippant, and either one is just as delicious as the other as far as I am concerned," the demon retorted quickly. "However, the great and powerful Overmagus who wrote himself into history as having culled the menace of the metahuman population, if he lowered himself to living in a tiny dot on a megalomaniacs globe, would be living in that one," a long thin finger pointed at a flashing blue dot very near where Paris should have been.
"Or so the fellows on the train believed. They might have been lied to, of course. In fact, they probably were. Maybe not about that, but in general I mean. And speaking of lies," Kefetasura faced Acid fully and giggled a bit, then descended into full-blown belly-laughs.
"Nevermind," he said, "It's too easy."
Keegan stood about as eveyrone flocked into the room and upon Kef's appearance he just stared, he felt the same eerie feeling he had gotten around Moonscribe, except he wasn't exactly as impressed as he had been. He was more awed at the sudden appearance of this funny little man.
Keegan's focused changed as the holographic map of coordinates showed itself, his eyes marked each dot and tried to file them away in his memory, before being deterered yet again by Kef's antics."Will you shut up, jeesus."
"Yes, excellent," Moonscribe said calmly, speaking for the first time in a while. "I do believe you are correct, Pharaoh. . . But it is unlikely to be as simple as merely walking up to his door and declaring, 'Do come and purchase some Girl Scout cookies.'"
"Although, as an acquaintance of mine would have said, that would be most diverting."
[ QUOTE ]
Keegan's focused changed as the holographic map of coordinates showed itself, his eyes marked each dot and tried to file them away in his memory, before being deterered yet again by Kef's antics."Will you shut up, jeesus."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Oh dear, oh my!" Kefetasura gasped, seeming utterly scolded, "It would appear I have been put in my place by a sleeve of meat wrapped around a sliver of might," he sulked his way into one of the very comfortable chairs, and sat.
Essex had maneuvered herself into a seat between Kefetasura and Midas, and watched the colorful demon with wide, inquisitive eyes as her feet dangled carelessly and she slurped the noodles she'd acquired. Her left hand still held the Philosopher's Stone...almost protectively.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"It was a figure of speech." Acid sighed as he threw his empty cup into the slot below the deliverers, the converter chute. He then ordered something purple and fizzy in a tall, slender glass, handing this to Experiment, "Drink, it'll settle your stomach...unless you're an insect, but I don't think I have to worry about that here."
Acid plopped back into his seat, looking to Kefetasura, "So, stress much?"
Acid hoped Baelroc didn't do any damage to him when it erased his memory from the battle planet. After all, he'd never really trusted 'em...except It. But It was a different story.
Acid leaned forward to the dor Kefetasura had indicated, "Paris? That's an odd place for a powermad Overhead to rule from...oh, and Overhead was a guy on Markos V. Did about the same thing as here, except mentally. So now that's our term for overzealous overlords."
Vern nodded, chewing happly on his meal.
"And you know, Dj...I mean Moonscribe, that's not a bad idea." Acid chuckled, "Anyone feel like ringing the doorbell?"
"Oh, my!" SENECA suddenly piped up, "Ace, Archie's the Overhead."
Acid cocked an eyebrow, "Archie? As in Archlich?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Well..." Acid folded his hands in thought, "that complicates the situation..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
[ QUOTE ]
Acid plopped back into his seat, looking to Kefetasura, "So, stress much?"
Acid hoped Baelroc didn't do any damage to him when it erased his memory from the battle planet. After all, he'd never really trusted 'em...except It. But It was a different story.
[/ QUOTE ]
"Only lately," the purple skinned demon confessed, "But I don't think Baelroc hurt my recollection much. I mean, it's not like he invited me to his little game, so he was probably mightily steamed when I . . . Wait, that hasn't happened yet. And even if it did I shouldn't remember it. And I shouldn't know what you were thinking! Oh! I thought I was getting better, but I'm just as bad as him!" he said, pointing accusingly at Moonscribe.
Acid huffed. Dammit, he'd forgotten that Kefetasura was a mindsnooper and apparenly neglected to fully extend his mono shield, meaning it didn't cover his surface thoughts.
Oh well, apparently the little guy hadn't delved deeply, which was good. But someone had sure messed with him, that much was sure. Why the heck was he making such a big deal about Acid if he already knew? Or didn't he know because he knew and it...okay too much thinking, dropping subject.
"I'd appreciate if you didn't go snooping around in other people's heads." Acid retorted grouchily, "And that goes for any of you. I've already got several people with that bad habit, and I don't need more."
Then he turned solely to Kefetasura, lowering his head to the demon's eye level, "Now to you, then. What's going on with you? Moonscribe's the same as he always it, but you're not. The Malleus shouldn;t be able to affect you directly, so what did they change that's so integral to you...?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Experiment gulped down the liquid quickly, feeling his stomach settle about 4 seconds before his incident may have occured. At the mention of Archlich, 2.0 shrugged, but a small voice in the back of his head told him he knew this 'Archlich' guy. It also told him he didn't like him.
Or maybe he was just paranoid.
"I know a guy who CONTROLS a Lich... He is annoying and makes lame jokes, and if you shine a flashlight in his eyes, he won't be able to see for hours..." the hero said off-handedly.
Keegan raised an eyebrow in confusion at Kef, not knowing whether he should be insulted, hurt, or satisfied. So in the end the boy settled for confusioin and shrugged it off. He listened intently at the conversation going on between Acid and KEf, and made sure the charms set in to cloack his thoughts were still in tact, though he doubted there would be any reason for anyone to delve in there, seeing as he knew about as much about what was going on as the others in the room,minus moonscribe, kef, acid and the talking stone.
There was a dim flash of light in the void of space surrounding earth. A chunk of metal and circuitry floated there, several massive runes inscribed on its hull. As the four runes started lighting up, one after the other, the other satellite's in the horrendously expensive orbital defense grid started to do the same.
Devices unused since they had been shot up into space groaned soundlessly as panels and slots opened up, transforming the small chunk of metal into a small chunk of alternating laser or missile death. So far they hadn't found the target they were searching for, but commands from the ground had ordered their activation. Hopefully this display of force would fool the enemy into revealing himself prematurely.
************************************************
With a horrible metallic grinding noise, Engine's arms were pulled from their sockets, sending the assassin stumbling back. But the important fact was that it stumbled instead of falling right over. Apparently, the Engine had lied about how long it would take to move. In reality, however, the psionic disruptor had shorted itself out in a burst of energy that immidiately broke whatever psychic hold the machine was under. Unforetunately, this really wouldn't work again, seeing as how the sensitive device was now broken beyond repair.
But the Ivory Engine was still unprepared for the sudden furniture assault and was hit several times. One enterprising chair even slammed right into the head of its head, breaking off a piece of the blank face and revealing a glowing red diode that rapidly swiveled back and forth as it tracked Rosie's movements.
The next object that was hurled was expertly kicked away as the Engine ducked, shifted its balance, and punted the chunk of desk at Rosie.
"Operational parameters exceeded," the Ivory Engine said as Cortianna's fire surge caught the assassin full in the face, blinding it to the next chair that almost knocked it to the ground. "Termination shall resume once this unit has finished repairs."
And then the Engine was gone. No pop, no flash of light; just gone.
************************************************** *
The Atomic Firecracker snapped his cell phone shut and tossed it to one of his aides. The zombie clumsily caught it and managed not to drop the phone.
"The Engine has failed," Atomic said as he looked up at one of the massive Damnwolves. "Inform your brothers that the attack may commence."
The mutant growled something that might have been "For the glory of the Overmagus," if it hadn't been badly mangled by a mouth not designed for talking.
Communicating telepathically with its brothers, the Damnwolf passed along the Commander's words to the other mutants waiting behind the walls of darkness.
With a howling that could be heard from all the way in the Sacred Hall, where most of the rebels were evacuating from, the Damnwolves placed at the other five exits surged forward, salivating at the prospect of blood and battle.
"Now we get to see if your program is as cooked up as you think it is," Atomic said to a nervous looking human clad in a dirty labcoat. "If it is, I forsee great things in your future, Dr. St. John-Smythe."
************************************************
Mr. Stegall dodged away from the phantoms contemptuously and waved the soldiers forward.
As the men, undead, and robots opened fire on the illusions, the mad school teacher walked back to his dropship. He pulled out a cell phone and hit the speed dial for 1.
"I got the purple one," he said as soon as the phone was picked up. "But the green one escaped. Do you want me to pursue?"
"What direction did they go?" asked the raspy voice on the other side.
"Toward the Oranbegans," Mr. Stegall answered. "And there was just the one. I placed the other in permanent detention."
"Not with those two," the voice replied. "They are as slippery as eels. But call off the chase for now. I shall inform the God Mage of what he shall do about them."
"Very well," Mr. Stegall said as the line was cut from the other end.
Shutting his phone with a snap, Mr. Stegall cackled quietly to himself and continued walking toward the dropship.
************************************************
"An enemy approaches us!" wailed a Spectral Daemon to its coven-brother.
"Approaching us it is!" the second daemon replied. "We must inform the Guardians!"
The two nearly invisible daemons quickly flew down from their position in the upper atmosphere and made their way toward the nearest Oranbegan outpost.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"[censored] you." the Commander growled, lashing a claw sideways to neatly bisect the chunk of desk.
And with that, Rosalind's berserker status cut and the red faded from her eyes. The were-human slumped down a little, holding her bleeding chest and pulling the brim of her hat down over her eyes.
"Cortianna." she growled between clenched teeth. "Send a pulse to scramble the frequencies. We need to get out now. I'm glad we ran that drill...everyone will know where to go."
With that, she began to lurch towards the door of her office, pausing. She leaned over, resting an elbow on Corti's shoulder.
"...Thanks, C." she murmured, her eyes appreciative under the brim of her hat. "I can always count on you to have my back."
As she hastened her step towards the door, she hesitated as the crumple of paper sounded beneath her feet.
Her wedding photo...
Reaching down, she picked up the photo and shoved it into her pocket, waving it a bit to free it of the broken glass.
"That magnificent sonofabitch." she muttered softly. The next moment, she lost control of her form, and fell to all fours - the commander now in the form of a border collie with a deep, oozing gash along her side. Glancing up to Cortianna with a slight nod, the dog limped off to join her troops.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
[ QUOTE ]
"I'd appreciate if you didn't go snooping around in other people's heads." Acid retorted grouchily, "And that goes for any of you. I've already got several people with that bad habit, and I don't need more."
Then he turned solely to Kefetasura, lowering his head to the demon's eye level, "Now to you, then. What's going on with you? Moonscribe's the same as he always it, but you're not. The Malleus shouldn;t be able to affect you directly, so what did they change that's so integral to you...?"
[/ QUOTE ]
"I suppose I could extend a small courtesy to such a worthy adversary, especially since we seem to be on the same side for now.
"It's not the same as reading minds. Not exactly, but it's the same in the end. So going into specifics is probably not useful at the moment. I'll do my best to reign it in. In any event. . . What did they change you ask? Look at that planet! What didn't they change?! Only the future remains unchanged, and only since it hasn't quite happened yet. But the future is not the one that was supposed to happen! Neither is the present or the past, though moreso than the future, since it might have happened eventually anyway. Hard to tell with the future sometimes."
Kefetasura stood up and slipped out from under Acid's gaze, pacing softly around the room and trying to explain himself in a way that anyone might understand. He stopped and faced the large holodisplay.
"Imagine a clock," he said, and the holodisplay blurred out and showed a twenty-four hour clockface, "At dawn you are born, let's say that's 6 AM. Then you live your life and die at sunset. 6 PM, for sake of arguement." The hands sprinted halfway around the clock, covering it in a pale yellow glow. "You are then reborn at sunrise. Notice that half the day is unaccounted for.
"Well, to say that samsara is the other half of the day is somewhat misleading. Samsara is the concept of the day, and everything that happens within it. Maya is the illusion draped over the daytime half that is life and reality as we see it. I am Asura, one of those appointed to ensure the flow of samsara proceeds as intended. Most often this means that if a minor ripple appears I do what is needed, which usually includes using deceit and trickery to find the truth, and put things back on course.
"However, the weilder of the Malleus Mundi has crumpled up the normal illusion of maya and replaced it with one of his own. To continue the clock metaphor, he has jammed 8:15 in the morning right next to 4 in the afternoon and nailed down the second hand.
"And that is why I'm acting so funny."
The holodisplay represented the catastrophic damage to the clock Kefetasura described, then he sat back in his chosen chair, the image faded and the display returned to normal.
"With that said, though I understand if you don't trust me (after all, that just proves you've been paying attention) know that I will not rest until I have found a way to undo the terror this particular "Overhead" has wrought on the world."
Essex just watched Kefetasura's explanation with wide, blank, green eyes, noodles half in her mouth.
She broke the silence with a loud slurp, finishing off the mouthful she'd started.
The little girl had no idea what was going on.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
The convoy made its way deliberately through the French country side. Life was simpler in the fields and forests. Secret Police had no interest there save the occasional helicopter or patrol, and the people we free to do as they would. Feliks watched out the window of the black SUV quietly, taking in the sights. He hadnt been outside for so long, and the chance to go to southern Europe on a moral boosting tour was a perfect chance. He had had his fun in Spain and lower France. Despite that, the towers of the Overmagnus building on the horizon was a welcoming image. As they neared the city the atmosphere seemed to change. The sky was darker with smog from the large unchecked industry. Buildings became far more plentiful and ugly. And as they grew nearer to the city line a single large sculpture came into view. A granite impression of Archlich, standing with both arms spread wide to welcome any traveler.
At its base a military check point had been set up. Every person was required to present I.D and be cataloged in the city. Anyone caught in the city who was not cataloged faced heavy retribution. The car was stopped and the driver showed some I.D with a paper. Feliks watched from the back seat as the guard looked both the paper and card over carefully. Suddenly realizing the person being driven, he stood up straight and saluted. He handed the papers back and smiled.
Welcome back to New Mu, sir.
Feliks leaned into the front of the car and smiled to the guard.
Always great to be back.
Without another word the windows were rolled up and the car set in motion again. Slowly working through the outskirts of Mu, Feliks eyed all the statues. Some were busts of Archlich, others intricate carvings of re enactments of great battles. Most were carved of black marble. In the center of one city block was one of white marble. A single soldier was shown standing, his head on his chest and a look of despair on his face. One hand was bandaged and the other clutched a pistol. Before him was a body covered in a cloth. Words were carved in its base.
In tribute to those who died fighting for what they believed was truth.
Below is was carved the names and flags of the nations that had stood against the Overmagnus forces. A single number, with out explanation was written.
36, 924, 000.
The number was rough estimate of course. No one knew exactly how many people had died fighting the Overmagnus. Eventually the statue fell out of view. In its place now stood the impressive towers and structures of the Overmagnus Headquarters. The seat of the world government itself. The buildings were separated by court yards but connected by underground rail ways. Stone towers stood atop all the buildings, increasing in size until they all met at a single massive tower, well armored and foreboding. At the base of each building was a statue of the branches respective leaders. Jack, Malevolith, Deaths Right Hand, and Toy Dispenser looked upon passer by in various heroic poses.
Separate from the massive complex was the low, unspectacular headquarters of the Secret Police. Feliks had no statue, no heroic bust or quote. A single bronze plate screwed to the wall in front of the entry doors was his only recognition. The convoy split apart at the building, the trucks and armored vehicles returning to their respective depots. Feliks stepped out of the car and worked his way up the stairs to his office. Set in the center of the three story brick building his office was well protected from prying eyes or ears. On his desk lay pictures of propaganda posters in the works, slogans crying in bright red or white text Remember what we fight for!. Above that was a list of The Underground atrocities, some real others fictional. A single image emblazoned them all. A child, shot dead in street near her mother, shot to death as well. The two victims had be slain during a fire fight with Underground rebels. He shoved them all aside with complete apathy. Instead in their place he let drop a thick manila envelope. Inside were records of all the messages he had missed in his absence. He scanned them as quickly as possible searching for a message from Thuel. He saw that he had apprehended a Underground member, but that it had yet to be delivered. He quickly called the local office in Thuels area. He left a short message saying that he demanded the captured man be delivered IMMEDIATELY.
He hung up the phone and set to work.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cause of death: Suicide.
The coroner looked over the body in the street, while photographers took pictures of it from al angles. Two secret police looked on silently. The two had found the body in the alley a few hours after his death. The I.D was of a Doctor Daniel West. He had been in some trouble with the Overmagnus for minor infractions before, but never anything serious. When they were done photographing and writing reports, the body was zipped up and moved into an ambulance. The two secret police stood and waited for the ambulance to leave the alley. The two spoke.
I suppose we should check with the widow West then.
The other nodded.
I guess so.
They made their way to the address, not so far from the body.
((Grar for math! Finally, I can post!))
"Ah yes, the Hour 13 Scenario." Acid shook his head, "Terrible thing. But I don't think it's that far along. After all, I still have..."
"Hey, Sir." one of the bridge crew interrupted him, namely the one monitoring sensor readings, "Ya might wanna have a look at this."
The holodisplay formed the planet again, and a ridiculous number of green dots appeared all over low orbit.
"What am I seeing?" Acid wanted to know.
"Remember that cordon of space junk in low orbit the mass detectors gave us?" SENECA joined in, "Well, they're not space junk. Near as I can tell, they've got energy."
"Oh wow!" Acid grinned. He seemed almost excited, "It's an orbital defense network. Achie's actually got an orbital defense network...does it work?"
"Loos like it." SENECA returted with the voiced qeuivalent of a shrug, "It's got power, that's all I know."
"How much?"
"Not sure. Let me see...okay...okay...uh-huh...alright. Looks like some sort of pulse laser battieries mixed with rocket pods. Lasers are about a dime a dozen, but I can't tell with the missiles. Doesn't look like they're able to fire more than six at a time each, though?"
"Type?"
"None we're familar with. Nuclear, though, decay gives 'em away. I'm thinking about 500 kilotons each...they look like they're capable of up to four Gs in acceleration...and I'm gonna put each laser battery at about 3000 kilowatt."
"How many?"
"Five thousand seven hundred twenty-eight. Total."
"That was a fast estimate."
"I try."
Acid now stood up, inspecting the picture, and remarked, "Looks like it's still under construction. I see a few blank spots here and there. Pretty small holes, though. For someone who hates tech, Archie sure did well with it."
"I'd say so."
"Interesting." Acid sat back down, turning to his guests like the whole discussion had meant nothing, "Now, where were we? I swear I'm so scatterbrained one day I'll forget my head somewhere..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"Like in the vacuum of space?!" 2.0 cried, hearing the conversation entirely, "Did you hear any of that or were you listening to some kind of song in your head? They have nuclear missiles, lasers, and... Dear god, what was that number? How can you just shrug that off?!"
"Cause he knows something you don't," Kefetasura said blandly. "In fact I'd wager he knows quite a lot that you don't. On the other hand, I bet there are plenty of things you know that he doesn't. Like how many times you can explode an experimental device before it works. . . "properly." Or, heh, your mother's maiden name. Or perhaps even your shoe size. He might be able to guess, but then again . . . If he were the shoe size guesser at the carnival I imagine a lot of people would be going home with free keychains."
((It's kinda fun to play Kef this way, I just let my mind wander and type it out. 
))
[ QUOTE ]
))
((Yes. As per earlier:
[ QUOTE ]
((Location of Midas, Essex, Damien, Darea, John, Tam, Keegan, and Acid is about 42,000 km over Paragon right now.))
[/ QUOTE ]
Bronze Way, 4th Street, and 42k clicks straight up, give or take.
But yeah, we'll be coming back down as soon as I can squeeze some info outta everyone and actually find out where New Mu is.
[/ QUOTE ]
((New Mu is in Central Europe, I beleive. Also Khell, Im where Lyden, and Xey are, currently, In the small town, waiting for more orders...))