The Path Less Trodden (RP Adventure)

Saphire broke free from the blows influence,
shouting "Have some of your own medicine!" as she Incadescantly struck the Paragon Protector

((NB - now Saphire is teamed with Grav, she has gained a mag 1 hold resistance from Cosmic Balance))

A Crushshing field (mass immobilize) would distract the medic from it's duties. And propelling a heavy object from her bag should be enough to knock him out (( Propel, heavy dmg, doubled through containment if the medic is immobilized, and a decent knockback ))

The medic's tricorder pulsed over Saphire split seconds before a large canister of tinned peaches smacked him far down the sewer through the sludge. Saphire felt a tingle as her muscles were tickled by the small amount of radiation that got through; and pounded the Protector hard.

The Tank, however, had a clear target on Grav. Aiming his left arm, he prepared to unleash a powerful Photonic Blast straight into Grav's head; but had strayed a little too close to the portal.

A whooshing sound was all that remained of him.

The Protector scrambled to his feet; and seeing that he was the only one left of the team, activated flight and sped back down the corridor.

Grav opened up a Wormhole (teleportation, knockback and disorient) in the PP's path, the exit point picked so he would be smashed into the wall near Grav and Saphire.

She had acted in reflex. Not taking into account the events earlier on the day. She realised this just as she cast the spell.
Luckily she was once again able to summon Sig to her aid, positioning him close to the exit wormhole.

(( Just as a note, as there's two of you in the same team now..I'll tend to only do one reply. BTW, as we're coming towards the end, I'd be interested in new/old players for the next one. I'll be at the Expo if anyone wants to see me there as well ))

As the wormhole opened, there was a strange tension to the air. The Protector avoided it with relative ease, but even she stopped for a moment to look back down the sewer. The proximity between the wormhole and the portal was causing everything to shake. Flecks of dust were falling from the roof tops and even Sig looked mildly worried.

Then a large crack appeared between the wormhole and the portal and the sewage flooded up into it. The Protector swore and shot off towards the exit and Sig exerted itself as part of the roof almost fell on Saphire. The lump of bricks was held inches above her head as more glowing cracks started to form across the walls.

Saphire dived to grab Grav. She became intangible and shielded Grav with her cape, flying at full speed out the sewer...

Grav's mind was working furiously, trying to find a way to prevent the collapse, preferably also of the portal.

A she was about to work her magic to reinforce the ceiling and hope to mend it to sufficient strength, she was surprised as she was grabbed by Saphire and being carried through solid brick and earth to safety.

The tunnel collapsed in a shower of dust and excrement; glowing purple shards of energy fired into the air...

The dust slowly settled...

Then the figures of Grav & Saphire burst out, trailing Kheldian ectoplasm as the phased pair reached the smoky air of Brickstown.

Both collapsed as Saphire's Quantum state wore off; just as shadows formed over them...

"Is this the criminal, Mistress Grav?" said a voice, and Statesman stepped over, the rest of Freedom Phalanx backing him up.

Grav got up, and brushed herself down a bit, taking the time to formulate her response:

"Not really. This is Saphire, but... She... I'd best let her explain."

Saphire stepped forward
"My pleasure," she said "The only trouble is, I'm not quite sure whats happening myself. It seems I've somehow gone back in time, or something, and arrived here. But I didn't realise it had happened for a while... when I found a criminal from the Carnival of Shadows, a group of villains from my time, I arrested them post haste. But here you have no system to immediately take criminals to a prison hospital after they've been defeated... I got held up by a cop and had to make a break for it - he thought I was a street thug of some sort, beating up a carnie - I took the carnie to a hospital myself. But then I heard who were coming, the Crey! - a little heads up by the way, they're evil - so I ran down the sewers, met This woman here, and we battled the Crey together."

((Noooooo! I replied then the forum decided to delete all I'd written, won't be able to do it till this afternoon now))

Saphire's words flowed into the air like a breath of chaos incarnate.

Both women watched, paralysed as the air between them swum with the many possibilites of the information that had just been released.

The world seemed to shift on it's axis as information that could change the future rippled through the past.

As the world's reality altered, a space was opened up; a wormhole that didn't exist before; the distance between worlds became a little shorter; and on the site of the old Portal Industries; a machine long without power started to hum like a kettle preparing to boil.

"It's a good thing we won't be needing you then...", said Statesman as the illusion dropped away from all of them, and the Carnival of Shadows appeared in their place. "Requiem warned us that you might be foolish enough to take on his master plan, but he will be long gone by now."

The 'Back Alley Brawler' threw his disguise off and the Quantum Strongman charged at Saphire.

Saphire sighed, building up to an attack and incadescantly striking the Strongman

Grav was taken slightly by surprise: it was one hell of an illusion, very subtle...
The time for questions had ended: Time for action.

Bringing her powers to play, Grav lay down a Gravity Distortion Field (mass hold)

She then pauses a second to observe in the effectiveness of the field: The Quantum Strongman had to be held, if need be with an other Gravity Distortion (hold).
But a Dispersion Bubble (+def-all +res-stun, disorient, hold, immobilize) would be a close second choice...

The Quantum Strongman screamed as twin Gravity waves held him in place and he grunted loudly. Just before Saphire's strike hit him and he fell to the floor, bouncing off the pavement.

Grav could see that quite a few of the Carnies were held, but there were far too many to hold. Saphire's notice was taken by a few Strongmen who had lost their illusions as citizens and were now trying to get back into the sewer.

Then the illusions started again as formless shapes appeared and started raining energy bolts on the pair.

Saphire went round Incadescant and radiant striking all the strongmen she could - keeping her eyes peeled for a ring misstres...

While dodging as many energy bolts she could, Grav realised something.
A quick look located Saphire, and in the blink of an eye, Grav apeared behind her and grabbed her arond her waist. A moment later they reapeared on the roof of the hospital.

"There are too many of them, and we need to find this Requiem fellow"

Thinking to her self: 'I wonder where Doctor MacAllister is, surely he would have been sent here by now... But then again, he may prevent all of this later...'

Strongmen were sent left and right by Saphire's huge punches; and on one of them she even found a small book on how to Train her accuracy.(())

Grav managed to tuck her away though before her health was battered to nought by the Carnival.

From the top of the building, they could see the Carnival amassing below them. And this mob looked more like the villagers from Frankenstein.

Saphire and Grav felt a worrying deja vu as they swapped glances, wondering which was resembling the Monster more...

Grav looked down on the masses. For a moment, she did indeed see torches and pitchforks, but sadly, the masses were a lot more dangerous than that.

Ducking down behind the ledgewall, dragging Saphire down with her, she began to speak:

"These Carnies are but a distraction, we need to get Requiem. Do you think you can find him if I distract these Carnies?"

Saphire shook her head "No, can't you track his Kheldian energy?"

Grav though for a moment "I'm not sure, but I'll try. Can you keep them away from me for a few minutes?"

"I'll do what I can."

This was not the reasurrance she was hoping for but expected as much, Grav nodded.

Grav sat down in a meditative position, to increase her concentration on the difficult task at hand.
Using her magical senses Grav began to search for Kheldian energy sources.
Concentrating at first on the sewer where the hooded figure disapeared.
Was he Kheldian? It was hard to tell, Saphire's pressence still overwhelmed that area. Grav did her best to filter out Saphire's signature.

Meanwhile, Saphire stood guard over Grav, shining with energy, ready to do whatever she could to stop the Carnival.

[ QUOTE ]
Carnival came by my town today
Bright lights from giantwheels
Fall on the alleyways
And I’m here
By my door
Wating for you

[/ QUOTE ]

Saphire peered over the edge to locate her first target, gulped then ducked down as two rings slammed into the brickwork next to her, sending off showers of sparks.

They were playing for keeps this time...

Grav tried to ignore the crawling mental images that threatened to invade her mind as she reached out for something, anything that would give her a clue...

"Time for a distraction...". Saphire shifted her body and slammed into the side of the roof, sending bricks raining down on her opponents and then leaped from the roof after them.

Reaching out, Grav avoided the chaotic thoughts as Saphire's distraction rained hurt on them; perhaps it was enough time to get a thought through whilst they were distracted.

An incandescent strike knocked one of the pretty zombies clean off her feet and into a lampost as Saphire went to work. Yelling her battle cry at the top of her lungs, the Kheldian seekers leapt after different attackers as the mob slowly started to react to her presence.

Grav sensed something and leapt her eyes to the Phantom Warriors standing behind Saphire; a small spell....then on with the work..

Three bolts leapt from behind Saphire and slammed into the figure to her left as she breathed flame; and the sudden shock caused an intake of breath; which slowed the burning across Saphire's back. Saphire turned and the Phantoms were torn in half by her enraged blow.

Grav felt something: A Wormhole : No? : A Portal...The same energy that flowed through Portal Industries in her time... But there was no Portal Industries yet....Perhaps...

Saphire slammed into the side of the building, thrown off her feet by a mental command. Blood had started running down her face already, and fear was starting to creep in above the anger. If she collapsed here, it would take more than an awaken...

Grav felt the shockwave as something slammed into the building and looking over the parapet, she saw that Saphire was making a good job, but she was hopelessly outnumbered. Concentrating, she summoned Sig and sent it down to help; and looked around for the energy signature...

The post box that slammed into the Dark Mistress would never hold letters again; but it looked like the Mistresses mouth would hold even less teeth.. Saphire grimaced as the pain in her side cried out from that last throw; but still she located another target and strode forward, limping slightly.

Underneath the hole where the Strongmen were digging was the wormhole...and it was stable....Perhaps that's what allowed the Rikti to get in? And there was another signature...A Warwolf....but one of such immense power... Requiem?

Saphire's head rocked as another image of her death was forced into her mind... Tears mingled with the blood now, and she'd lost sight of what she was attacking.. two more blows, each one harder than the last landed, but had it been enough time to help Grav? [/color]

It must be him, or atleast someone with answers... Can warwolves talk? Time to find out.

But first, Saphire got in more trouble than she could handle for her. Time to get her out.

Focusing her controle over gravity she lifted a lot of debree into the air. Bricks, throwing discs, air vents and more all hovered over the battle field, untill Grav send them raining down around Saphire at such speeds that craters would not be hard to imagine.

The resulting debree was also put to good use, as Grav took that allong in creating a whirlwind-like barrier of various objects.

Just as she was about to give the command to send the barier outward, she staggered and fell on her knees. 'Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to use that much in one go...'
Her hold on the objects faltered, and they were once again subject to normal laws of inertia and gravity.

Saphire desperately huddled into a ball to avoid the falling objects, making her Shining Shield as strong as she could.

Grav put a hand out to steady herself, resting on the side of the wall: the wall that Saphire had weakened on her way down...

Irony overrode Gravity for a split second...

The blood stained Saphire felt something was wrong and looked up to see a body hurtling towards her as well as the debris.

The Shield flickered for a moment as she caught Grav in her arms, bending her knees to soften the force on her arms, and they both fell to the floor together as Saphire's shield went back up; the remaining debris causing Saphire's teeth to clench everytime they struck onto the remnants of her shield.

Devastation lay around, over 20 Carnies were splayed out like someone had just emptied a collectors size box of Carnie figurines across the area. Some were in a worse state than others, but the Crey Support team heading towards them from the Ziggurat would probably be able to patch them up when they got here.

If they really wanted to....

Saphire coughed, flecks of blood flicking onto the pavement beside them; and Grav drew in great gasps of air to make sure her lungs were still there. This was no time for rest, but both felt like sleeping for a month.

"What the hell do we do now then? fight or flee? I'm in no mood for either" Said Saphire through gritted teeth.

Taking a moment to catch her breath Grav assesed the situation and spoke:
"Relocate, it's Requiem that we're after"
With that she took a hold of Saphire and teleported them to a tunnel that would lead them to where she felt the warwolf pressence.