TWO WEEKS AGO
"Well, I'm impressed," Penny Arcade muttered in an undertone.
The Nemesis automaton facing her cocked its head curiously, then turned away, continuing to carry the box across the pavement. Another automaton, on a slightly different direction, approached, stared at her for a moment, then continued about its business.
"Don't get careless," Veronica said, her voice slightly tinny in her ear.
"Says the hot-tempered, reckless superhero," she teased back, before picking up a box. It was much heavier than it appeared, and she didn't speak again until she had carried it across and stacked it with the other boxes. The Nemesis automatons took no notice, wandering about their various tasks. Several of them looked at Penny Arcade, but then looked away again, disinterested, their weapons holstered at their sides and across their backs. None of them seemed to notice that the otherwise normal-looking automaton was wearing, in the most bizarre fashion, a welding mask with a face attached to it.
The equipment preparation was impressive. There wasn't enough hardware to trip the alarms of Arachnos or any of the other local gangs. There was enough to cause Penny Arcade considerable concern... especially considering the presence of the portal nearby. Currently unused and dimmed, the automatons were very busy with it.
"They're going to be firing that puppy up soon," Penny Arcade muttered.
"Have you got everything marked?"
"Working on it," Penny Arcade crawled under one of the tanks, inserting a small metal ball deep within its innards. "You know I'm not going to be able to get all this stuff marked before it's moved."
"Just do what you can and get out. Remember you only have twenty-seven minutes left."
"I doubt that," muttered Penny Arcade as several automatons lit a panel and the gigantic round frame made an ominous humming noise. She crawled out again to discover she was looking right at an automaton: it stared at her, then turned away, bored.
"Explain to me again why this is working," Penny Arcade said as she sidled over to a new stack of boxes. "I know for a fact you got the idea for this welding-mask thing from 'Westworld.'"
"'Futureworld.'"
"What? No it wasn't!"
"Yes, it was."
"Are you sure?"
"'Westworld' had the scary cowboy robot. 'Futureworld' was trying to replace people with robots."
"That still doesn't explain why I am doing a bad movie scene and it is working for me."
"Well, the principle is sound enough. We've replicated the recognition frequencies by which the Nemesis androids recognize each other."
"And that's a property of the Mercurite."
"No. That's a property of the... what was it that you called them..."
"Widgits?"
"The 'widgits' should allow you to move freely for half an hour or so."
"Which I could have done invisibly, it's not like I don't have stealth capabilities."
"Not here you don't," Veronica replied. "They've been a little bit paranoid about their stealth-detecting capabilities. I think they are hiding something."
"I know they are hiding something," Penny Arcade moved to another stack of boxes, dropping tiny silver balls in each one, even opening some and inserting the balls in the mechanical parts she found there. "You're sure you'll be able to trace the Mercurite I am laying out here?"
"No - but you will be able to trace it."
"And that is a function of the Mercurite?"
"No, that's a side-effect of the attunement issue."
"Wait - the attunement problem? I thought only the suits were attuned? Isn't this raw stuff?"
"Yes but you will still be able to track it."
Penny Arcade carefully inserted a delicate silver ball into the each rifle barrel in a long line of them. The silver ball rolled and then seemed to lose coherence, and smeared like a liquid, leaving no apparant sign of its presence. "But not Nemesis?"
"No automaton should be able either to detect inactive Mercurite."
Penny Arcade stepped back to survey her work. "Either that, or they are tolerating my presence here as some part of one of their grand schemes, and use the stuff to lure me into a trap."
"In which case, we are still likely to learn more than we know now."
Twenty feet away, the portal suddenly burst into life. "Whoops - time to go!" Penny hastily got clear, stopping at the top of the nearby hill.
It didn't take long for the party of automatons to go through the portal, for the party wasn't that big. Other than the hand weapons, the portion of tank that went through was the most recognizable piece. Penny Arcade had no idea what most of the other bits and pieces were for. "They are taking it all through the portal now. Presumably its arriving on the other side. Are you watching?"
"Yes... but no trace yet."
"Do I need to be closer?"
"To the portal? No way, we don't know where it comes out."
It took a surprisingly short time for everything to be brought through the portal. "Well?" Penny said as the last two robots began dismantling the round frame of the portal, a process which, she knew from previous experience, would take less than five minutes.
"Mmm... nothing yet... wherever that portal goes, it's not anywhere nearby."
"Well we already figured that... I still say I could have taken them all out." Penny Arcade walked away, taking off the welder's mask.
"But then we would never find out where they are taking this stuff, or why," Veronica pointed out.
"We know why - it's Nemesis, it's some machevellian plot to take over the world..."
+++++
ONE WEEK LATER
+++++
"STILL no trace?"
Veronica looked up from her desk. "Oh that's cute! Model it for me!"
Penny, wearing a silver minidress, twirled obediantly. "It all glitters, this mercurite."
Veronica grinned. "That is how you can tell what it is. Has Jason seen it?"
"Are you kidding? He's actually noticed I am a girl!"
Veronica and Penny both giggled together, sounding like schoolgirls, before returning to serious business. "I've been telling him for years that it is possible to be bulletproof and beautiful."
"I love it," she beamed. "But... no trace?"
"You are as bad as Jason," Veronica teased. "No, no trace yet. I've about reached the end of what I can do from here... I will run it through a few contacts... Vanguard... Portal Corporation... Longbow..."
"Just don't tell Longbow what it is for. They all hate me."
"You on duty this afternoon?"
"Yep, bomb duty. I'll be the sexiest soldier there..."
+++++
PRESENT DAY
+++++
[ QUOTE ]
"Good to hear." the Dark Watcher retorted, "We will depart as soon as this division is fully assembled, then. I take it all of you are prepared...?"
[/ QUOTE ]
Penny Arcade sidled over to the assembled heroes and Vanguard personnel and listened. The representative from Portal Corporation had been insistant, to say the least, that she should drop everything she was doing and come at once. Details, however, had been scarce, and now she didn't see where she was supposed to go, or who she was supposed to talk to, although the pass she had been given at the front desk indicated she was in the right spot.
At such times, Penny knew, the best way to learn what was up was to listen carefully, and so she took her spot and listened closely....
"I'm in charge?" Randy grinned, "Heh, wow... I can already see tomorrow's headlines... Look How Far We've Fallen, Omega Group 2... Led by Randall Grey, the Drunk. Man, I almost wish I could be here for that."
Inside, however, he was steaming.
Damn that Wild... I'm gonna have to take a few rounds outta him when I get back. "I need you to pose as a Freedom Corps informant to keep my superiors off both our butts," BULL[you know]! Who the Hell wants to lead a suicide mission like this? Let alone a motley crew like this is sure to be?
It would have helped if he had some assurance that Power Breaker would on the team too. It would have helped mitigate his troubles in dealing with the rogues. However, the recently vindicated Brute was busy spending time getting his family affairs in order... It seemed Old Man Harris didn't survive the last Rikti bombing...
"I guess I'll be busy, though," he muttered as Borea gestured to the meeting area and those surrounding the Portal.
Stepping heavily, he regarded the assembled meta-humans as he absentmindedly thumbed the lapel of his jacket (Current Outfit). He arched an eyebrow at them; some he recognized, others he did not.
Could've been worse. They could've all been green.
"Hello," he rumbled his voice through the clearing, "I'm Randall Grey."
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
Just as Grey had introduced himself, the woman looked immediately to her left.
She smiled slightly, looking at the man whom she didnt seem to recognize. Randell Grey... Randell Grey... Nope, doesn't ring a bell! But that didnt matter now
She looked up to the figure, fairly surprised by his size. She somewhat half-skipped as she walked, stomping both feet just before she got to the man, then stretched out her hand.
Hello! You can call me Night! Night grinned widely, making her seem a bit like a six year old girl.
Outside, she was a puffball of pure, unusual joy. Inside, she was dieing. Maybe she just didnt have enough rest, or she was far too scared to go to another world, and this was just her way of showing it. Those who knew her would probably guess the latter.
--------------------
OOC: Edited! 
((Grey is a hero, Proto. 
))
((Outside, right about where the Rikti Crash Site portal used to be in the game. 
))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
OOC:
[ QUOTE ]
((Grey is a hero, Proto. ))
[/ QUOTE ]
*Slaps Diov*
Why didn't you mention that BEFORE? 
Edit:
[ QUOTE ]
((Outside, right about where the Rikti Crash Site portal used to be in the game. ))
[/ QUOTE ]
I knew it! *Happy dance*
Edit 2: And I edited my first (Third) post.
EDIT 3: I Edited already! >_<
((Randall Grey: Big, ugly Stone Armor/Super Strength Tank, not a villain.))
The big man looked down at Night with a bemused expression on his face. He took her tiny hand within his big, meaty paw and gave it a gentle shake.
"Well, hello, there. And now, I'm reminded I better call my daughter and tell her I'm going to be okay..."
After releasing the young lady, he pulled his communicator from a pocket in his jacket and started walking to take a seat. He was tapping into it a bit more than normal for a phone number. he must have been sending a text message.
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
Jake yawned and took the moment of gathering to survey his traveling companions, still hoping that he'd find someone that he knew, or at least knew of. After a few minutes of scanning and several reassurances that someone he knew must be here, (He assumed it would be extremely boring otherwise.) his eyes finally landed on Penny Arcade, sitting still as stone and awaiting the briefing.
Heh, what luck that she's here. This may turn out to be interesting after all.
Deciding that he'd make himself known after the mission had started, he leaned back in his chair and waited for the big oaf to finish his text messaging.
"You mind if we all make introductions before we jump into hostile territory?" Toy said lightly.
"By all means," the Dark Watcher replied as his shoulders twitched upwards in a miniscule shrug.
"Right then," Toy said as he took a few steps away from the group and then rose half a dozen feet in the air as his anti-grav generator kicked in.
Making a short, sharp whistle, Toy tried to draw everyone's attention to him.
"Yo, assorted heroes and villains, listen up for a second," he began. "Before we jump into the breech, I think it would be a good idea for us all to know each other's names at the very least. I, for one, would prefer to know who I'm going to be working alongside for the next while."
"Hear hear," Solid said absently as he sighted at a cloud through his scope, checking to see if it was calibrated correctly.
Rapping the fingers of one hand on his leg, Toy pointed a thumb at himself.
"I'll start off to encourage the rest of you. I'm Toy Dispenser, mercenary of no small renown if I do say so myself. The mismatched combat drones trying to look inconspicuous over there are mine and I'm also pretty handy with some force fields. Alright, next?"
Solid stuck his hand up in the air as the other twirled his rifle and slipped the strap back over his shoulder.
"I'm Solid Shot!" Solid said loudly. "I shoot guns and punch things till they fall over. I'm also known to make bad jokes at bad times. Next."
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.
"I'm Night Protector." The 21 year old girl announced, while stepping up.
"I hope we..." She glulped slightly, frowning slightly, suddenly becoming nervous as she bit her lower lip. She came back to reality within' a split second, turning back on her joy-aura.
"Welcome, everyone who is here. I'll do my best, that's all I can promise. Besides, we are going to the Rikti homeworld, who can't be excited?!" She said happily.
She turned her head to Ineffable's direction.
Hikaru remained by the wall of the large Portal Corps building, his eyes closed, listening to each person introduce themselves. He didn't seem to move at all, or make any sounds noting he was alive. It was somewhat... Spooky.
"I am Ineffable." The man leaning against the wall said. "My current occupation is that of supporting this wall from falling over."
He blinked.
"But I'm quiting now." He remarked, and walked a short ways away from the wall.
The section he had been leaning on creaked softly, and without fuss, separated from the rest of the wall and fell, shattering on the ground.
"Oh dear." Ineffable said.
Night blinked as she watched part of the wall collapse on itself.
"That's creepy..." She chuckled to herself nervously.
--------------------
EDIT OOC: Sorry if I start seeming a little absent... My day just spiraled downhill very quickly, so I'm somewhat depressed.
"I'm Danica," she said, wandering up towards the front of the group, nodding to Grey as she did so. "Martial Arts expert."
The man in the suit looked up from the back, as if he had been lost in thought. "Some refer to me as 'Big Thelth.' You may call me Thomas instead, if you wish."
Arc ID: 475246, "Bringing a Lord to Power"
"I'm only a simple man trying to cling to my tomorrow. Every day. By any means necessary."
-Caldwell B. Cladwell
((You guys do realize nobody's said who's in charge of what yet, right? So far, Randall's been told he's in charge of a group, not the whole group (though, if Borea throws that at him, he's gonna be so [ticked]), but he's the only one who's been told.
EDIT: Scratch that... Thanks to a PM from Devious, Randall is slightly [ticked]. However, don't expect him to be turning any of that on any of your characters... There's plenty of enemies out there for him to work his frustrations out on. No "Gone with the Blastwave" tactics here.))
Randy noted each of the individuals as they introduced themselves with a curt nod from his seat on the corner of a sandbag wall.
Ineffable was a new face for his memory, and he seemed to be one of those "interesting" meta types. He'd have to keep an eye on that one.
Night Protector, the bubbly, perky girl who reminded him of his daughter, except for that bit where she seemed to lose her nerve suddenly. He hoped that wouldn't continue being a problem. He so disliked "time-bomb" personalities... Not so much the person, but the situations they caused.
Danica... He'd heard of her. It was hard not to know of one of the more celebrated heroes of the city. She was probably asked to lead if he didn't show (as he had a notorious streak of not doing as the authorities requested).
Toy Dispenser and Solid Shot he'd met a couple of times in his career, and they were quite memorable. The rogue, Toy Dispenser, he met, oddly enough, through pure chance and strange circumstances involving the newly dubbed "Rikti War Zone," where they helped a crew of heroes and rogues deal with some of the top leaders of the new invading forces.
The hero, Solid Shot, was introduced through his second-in-command when Kip couldn't provide proper support against the Knives of Artemis and called in his boss to mop up. Then the girls didn't know what hit them.
That didn't mean he knew either of them very well. Still, they seemed decent in a group of faces he wasn't entirely sure of.
The others who kept quiet or curt... He had to resist the urge to groan. People were already keeping secrets, scheming, and possibly trying to figure out a way to pull off a major scam through this operation. And those were just the quiet ones. People could hide more than enough by yammering on, they only ran a risk of letting something slip. It didn't mean they would...
Dammit, now he was thinking like Kip...
"Well, I'm pleased to meet all of you," Grey grunted finally, "Now, Dark Watcher, if you would be so kind as to explain to us the exact nature of why we're here? I was given a quick gist of what's going on, but I'm a little fuzzy on the particulars."
He paused for a moment and rubbed his chin.
"Unless, of course, we're waiting for others..."
((EDITED to reflect some things Devious made clearer to me))
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
OOC: Keep waiting a bit... Which reminds me, I still need to tell Devious something.
Edit: PM away! 
-Proto Zone
Damn. Jake immediately thought. That was a mistake. The look on that guy's face didn't leave much room for doubt. He suspects us. Probably the quiet ones. I just have to be thankful that I wasn't the only one.
Jake's face minorly adjusted to take that of a more serious tone. As of right now, he could've screwed over his chances of enacting the plan before it even began, and that's something you don't wanna report to Recluse.
He sighed. It was too late now. Introducing himself at this point would only give more reason for suspiscion, so he just sat back, watched, and listened to the rest of the briefing.
The alien knight introduced himself simply yet politely when his turn came, giving them his title of Omega Knight, but saying they could also call him Binro if they preferred.
Despite his monster-like head, Binro spoke with a warm, friendly air that seemed to be instinctive for him. After he was done he listened to the other's introductions, nodding in acknowledgement of each.
"I'd appreciate if you refrained from damaging our hosts' property." the Dark Watcher remarked to Ineffable with a glance in his direction, "And no...on second thought, I'm just going to leave it at that."
The mysterious man in black kept quiet from then on, giving the tanker a polite, silent nod as acknowledgement for his concerns, along with an unhurriedly raised hand; a gesture requesting patience. Though the sunglasses hid the motions of his eyes, it was clear the man surveyed all of them, taking in their appearances in great, mustering detail.
"The Lady Grey." may have come as a surprise to some, the ageless head of Vanguard making her presence known with a cold, aloof tone. Apparently, she'd been speaking to the assembled Vanguard operatives taking up formation at the portal, as that seemed to be the general direction her steps had guided her from.
"Yes, I'll be joining this expedition." Lady Grey confirmed as she went on, turning for a moment to the Dark Watcher, "Sorry Devon, I still have a bone to pick with 'Lord' Nemesis."
"I understand." the man gave a rare smirk, be it yet so tiny, "I'll make sure to hold down the fort."
"I'd expect no less." Lady Grey gave him a brief nod, then turned so to let her field of view make eye contact with at least most of the group, "Now, we had a request for clarification?"
"Allow me." the Dark Watcher took the word, "As most of you will likely already know, should you choose to accept the assignment, which by your presence I surmise you already have, you will be part of an expeditionary force to the universe the Rikti call their home. The expedition's primary objective is to stop the madman who began this war from assimilating the Rikti populace. Yes, I said assimilate. If your contacts have chosen to omit this information, Nemesis is attempting to spread his consciousness across the Rikti mental network in an insane clamor for immortality."
Taking a moment to observe their responses, the Dark Watcher continued to explain, "Your orders are to ruin his day in any way you see fit, but not at the expense of the Rikti populace. Be warned, however; they will not see you in kind. You will most likely be regarded as the most despicable of individuals, and although the presence Lineage of War is small after their second effort to exterminate us, the remaining units are likely to be composed entirely of elite divisions, their toughest warriors yet. The chances of you having engaged one of these soldiers here is slim, so should you encounter them, I suggest you be prepared for anything."
"Nemesis knows this as well." Lady Grey added to the impromptu briefing, "He won't have brought pushovers with him. Expect to face the worst the Nemesis Army is capable of throwing at us."
Now the Dark Watcher turned to Randall Grey, addressing both the tanker and the group as he spoke, "Mr. Grey, should he choose to accept, which I surmise has already happened, will command your subdivision of the expedition, from here on known as Delta team. Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie are the other divisions of this expedition, composed of Vanguard combat and support personnel. Longbow is attempting to form Echo division, but so far Incandescent has managed to keep their noses out of our business. We hope it will remain so for the sake of our collective sanity."
A few around probably knew well what the Dark Watcher spoke of. Even now, Freedom Corps still seemed to have an obsessive compulsion to keep tabs on the 'villains' who'd volunteered into Vanguard's ranks. More often than not, this cam in the form of shadowing and continuously questioning the target's motives in a way that demanded an amount of patience some heroes couldn't even muster.
"If no one has any further questions," Lady Grey concluded the rehashed briefing, "take position in front of the portal. The other teams have already assembled there, and we are about to dispatch the first probe through the portal. Depending on the condition of the arrival point - secure or hostile - we will then dispatch teams accordingly..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Randall picked himself off the sandbags with a grunt and made his way for the ramp up to the platform before the portal entrance. He tapped a few more buttons on his communicator...
"I got a few more things to add to my last will and testament," he growled, "Char gets the house... Cedric the booze... That sort of stuff."
He tapped the communicator a few more times before turning to the rest of the assembled.
"No, this is not an indication of how I feel this whole operation is going to turn out. None of us would be here if we didn't think we had what it takes to come back from this alive... However... It would behoove you to do get your affairs in order and ensure that your possessions and loved ones are taken care of in the surprising event of your demise..."
He unconsciously rubbed the fingers of his free hand together.
"You never know what will do you in, and who knows if we'll still have the Red Cross Express keeping us in critical-yet-stable condition when we're on the other side."
Pressing the "Send" button, he sighed. That would go to his lawyer, who would keep it safe. Since that was all the way in Kingdale, New York, there was a low probability the poor guy would get hit by anything or anybody.
"I already had this one on hand, minus a few issues I hadn't gotten around to, yet, when I was doing work for Portal Corp before. You still never know when you're going to wind up stuck somewhere... I'll understand if the rest of you need to take some more time."
He took position next to the ramp as he rummaged through his pockets, making sure they had the various items he'd need... Quik-Med, Berzerk, Focusyn...
(He set the yellow-labeled Focusyn cartridges on the ground next to the ramp. He didn't need it, but somebody else might.)
...N-R-G, and Armor-Plus (the purple-labeled ones...), all in cartridges with jet-loaded syringes for quick use in the battlefield. Each product was, sadly, from Crey Pharmaceuticals, but even an evil corporation has its strokes of benevolence. The concoctions themselves were single-use nanotechnology and chemical combinations that produced near-instantaneous results, results that largely were similar to the names of the products themselves.
Berzerk, for instance, made heroes and rogues that used it much more powerful in battle.
"I should be just about ready," he finally grunted when he was satisfied. He clicked the various devices he'd acquired from his super group's tech man. A Defensive Matrix, an Aggressor Matrix, and a Focus Matrix (hence the lack of need for the Focusyn). Each device ran off BTUs and emitted nanites capable of enhancing the capabilities of Randall's nearby allies slightly, and every little bit helps in situations like this. The machines themselves were nigh-perpetual, as they kept recirculating themselves through their power plant every couple of minutes. The emitters all seemed to be working, so he shut them down and let them regain their potency.
Finally, he closed his eyes and felt for that odd little bundle of energy... He could almost feel the "stone" waiting to engage when he "flexed." A gift he'd learned of shortly before the Rikti War, though he couldn't remember exactly who or what had given it to him, he was able to grow bizarre, rock-like growths across his body (and within it) that protected him from the assaults of just about everything. The whole sensation still felt like a new muscle, just waiting to flex, hence his terms for it.
Satisfied, he turned to Dark Watcher and Lady Grey and gave a thumbs-up.
"All good here."
My money's on things being messed up on the other side... he thought grimly, Just a hunch.
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
Having no real connections or 'loved ones', Binro moved to stand by the portal entrance, the sash of feathers attached to his shoulder rustling a bit in the slight breeze.
He'd been on a Rikti inhabited world before, though probably not the one they were headed to now. While certainly not friendly, they had at least been tolerable of his prescence.
Of course, the Rikti he'd encountered so far on Earth seemed to have a very different disposition.
Jake safely ignored Grey's advice, hopping up and out of his seat to stroll over to the portal. Performing a double check of his items, he concluded that he was optimal, and decided to lean against a nearby wall until the time came.
Ineffable was in front of the portal. There hadn't been any apparent movement in the space between him and the wall. One moment he had been in one space, the next moment he had been in front of the portal. That was all there was to it.
Oddly enough, he made extra sure to specifically make sure nobody else was making contact with his body, and that he wasn't touching anything.
Thelth muttered, "Insanity," when Grey told them of Nemesis's plan, his face one of shock.
Danica looked at him carefully, and with her trained eye could tell it was forced. He knew all this already. Why he would pretend not to, however, confused her.
When Grey mentioned settling affairs, she took one longing glance back in the direction of Steel Canyon. Immediately though, she set herself and remained firm, walking forward toward the portal. "I'm ready when you are."
Arc ID: 475246, "Bringing a Lord to Power"
"I'm only a simple man trying to cling to my tomorrow. Every day. By any means necessary."
-Caldwell B. Cladwell
Penny Arcade's face was grave... but, then, her affairs had been settled long ago.
Quietly she walked to the portal and waited, flashing a brief smile at Jake.
She looked very different than she had before: the power armor was gone, replaced by a delicate-looking, glittery minidress that emphasized her curves. She looked just as happy to get rid of the clunky armor and be feminine and pretty, at least for a while.
((OOC:
I twitch every time I see that avatar... O.o))