Zenith Watch #5: Enter the Millenium Masters [Archive]

sun_tzu

2009-02-08, 05:50 AM

A few weeks have passed since the Megalopolis miracle incident. Things have been reasonably quiet in town. You've been getting a lot of positive attention lately (and some negative from Tracer Pulse, who is convinced you're hiding something).
At the moment, most of the Zenith Watch is patrolling the city. Only Doublethink is at the HQ, retooling some of his tech. In the background, he can hear the TV, where Omni-News is just starting an interview:
"Here with us today is Jeffrey Maxwell, the author of Frontline: A History of the Global Champions. Mr Maxwell, your new book has been pretty controversial, and several people have accused you of trying to drag the Global Champions' name in the mud. What do you say to that?"
"I don't think that's a fair accusation at all. I don't - ever - deny that they're exemplary super-heroes and that civilization as we know would be a thing of the past if not for their actions. What seems to upset people, I think, is that I address the fact - the well-documented fact - that the Global Champions have always had more internal conflict than most people realize. Pretty much from the start, they've had their idealists and their pragmatists, who disagree on the way to get things done. The Avatar, for example, is a die-hard idealist. Tracer Pulse, and, surprisingly, Techno-Paladin, are in the pragmatist camp. This generally doesn't keep them from working together, but..."
While the interview goes on, something suddenly appears next to Doublethink. It's a small moving blob of silvery goo, a few liters in volume, moving about on the HQ's floor. From earlier descriptions, you recognize it as a UCO - one of the Unidentified Crawling Objects that have been showing up briefly at various areas of the globe ((Briefly mentioned several times in previous adventures, like with the Shadow technician who was reading a paper about them)). You can also tell there's zillions of electronic signals coming from this thing - it's almost certainly some form of nanotech.

ZENITH WATCH #5: ENTER THE MILLENIUM MASTERS

mutecebu

2009-02-08, 11:52 AM

sun_tzu

2009-02-08, 06:20 PM

DT raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, hello there. I don't remember inviting you in."

DT immediately scans through all available information on UCOs. Not wanting to waste time before it did something or got away, he sets down the forcefield node he was working on and picks up two of the completed ones, generates a field and attempts to scoop it up and fold the shield into a box.

The UCO seems to be trying to move away from the force-field, but it's clumsy at best. However, as DT scoops it, two more appear in the room. This is rather odd...It seems somehow different from teleportation.

mutecebu

2009-02-08, 11:44 PM

"Oh, now, that's just rude. You come to my house, you kick my dog, you bring your friends and trash the place? No more, I say!"

Jane quieted the moment the UCOs appeared, so DT has to chat with the little buggers instead. Hmm... they appeared too quickly to be constructed right here and now... I think... He sets down the two nodes and leaves the first blob in it's box, and he boots up the Watch HQ's defense systems. He has the ENIAC 2.0 make more shields trapping the other blobs, with orders to do the same if any others appear. DT grabs his railgun and hooks it back into his suit, and looks around his workshop for any way to shock one of them. He mumbles to himself: I know Vacuum Tube left a shock gun in storage somewhere, but the idea of digging through there is scarier than these guys... Now that he thinks about it, this is actually pretty exciting. He has an opportunity to study them, and is already in his workshop. He isn't sure the slugs won't disappear as unexpectedly as they appeared.

An image of the base filling to the brim with slugs goes through his mind. DT shudders. Hopefully that won't happen. He watches too much Sci-Fi. While he hunts, DT turns whatever scanners he hasn't used yet to record as much information as possible about the invaders.

Half way done with his project, DT has another mental image, this time of baby UCOs mourning the death of their father UCO. With a pause, he turns his eyes to heaven, shakes his hands and shouts, "Well, what do you WANT me to do!?!"

Trying to find something on hand, perhaps to use "improvised". If all else fails, he uses the inventor feat to jury rig something. At the very least, though, he should be able to plug in an extension cord and cut the tip off. Preferably DT will try to find a way to control the output; if these are "alive" and sentient he doesn't want to murder a new form of life. Low-voltage at first, to test the response.

I realized we never decided on the base's defenses. I figured, seeing as DT already has forcefield tech and Jane would have her own uses for shields, the base would likely include them as a defense measure. DT activates whatever the base may have as well, including (if they have it): a teleport shield, communications shield/scrambling, auto-turrets, and anything that could shock the UCOs or subject them to extreme temperatures. Turrets are put on stand-by.

Jane talks to the rest of the Watch on patroll.
"Hey, boys. Have you seen any silvery slug thingies around? They're pretty small, you could almost fit one in a coke bottle.

He he! That would actually be pretty funny."

Jane realizes with disappointment she can't transmit anime smilies over the communicators. ^_^

sun_tzu

2009-02-09, 02:18 AM

As Doublethink studies the UCOs, they're gradually starting to behave in a more coordinated manner: They seem to be moving toward him, stopping only a foot or two away, as if observing the superhero.
Preliminary scans seem to confirm your suspicion: The UCOs appear to be aggregates of trillions upon trillions of nanomachines. Their coordination seems poor, however...Like somebody took random nanos and programmed them to aggregate, rather than use nanos that were designed to aggregate in the first place.
As you study the UCOs, there's a flash of red light in the room. It appears to be some form of gate. Before you can do much, several individuals dash through it: One is dressed with a purple cape, and wears a sci-fi-ish visor; one is a rather normal-looking (if pretty) girl; one is a girl in a frilly pink skirt; one is a regular-looking black guy.
Also, none of them look a year over 13 at most.

Dorni

2009-02-09, 10:02 AM

Gerit grumbled as he made his way up from the garage. Yesterday, his motorcycle had started making a strange noise as it ran and Gerit had been tinkering with the bike ever since. DT probably could have rebuilt the thing from the ground up several times over in that same time, but Gerit hadn't asked for help. The half-tiger was no mechanical genius, but he could at least do his own maintenance. Still, that didn't mean grease was any easier to get out of fur.

In human form and covered in grease stains, he was making his way up to the showers when Jane's message rang through his communicator. He was about to respond as he opened the door to the main room, but stopped in the doorway as he saw DT and the kids. "Hey DT, you didn't mention you had company coming over." He wasn't certain he'd ever look at a child the same way again after the miracle incident.

mutecebu

2009-02-09, 10:17 AM

Alarmed, DT drops the bag of 'D' batteries he had wired together, turns his gun at the newcomers and activates his shield.
"Woah! Hello there, who are you, welcome to my house, why are you here, and what do you know about these little guys?"

sun_tzu

2009-02-09, 10:50 AM

((I'm pretty sure I specified the rest of the Zenith Watch was on patrol. :smallamused: Eh, we'll roll with it.))

He wasn't certain he'd ever look at a child the same way again after meeting the miracle incident.
((This amuses me greatly, especially considering what's in store for you in this chapter.))

Alarmed, DT drops the bag of 'D' batteries he had wired together, turns his gun at the newcomers and activates his shield.
"Woah! Hello there, who are you, welcome to my house, why are you here, and what do you know about these little guys?"
"Oh, our friends here?" the kid with the cape and visor gestures at the UCOs. "The details of how they can operate in this reality remain a mystery, but I assure you, you'll be seeing more of them soon." He looks carefully at DT, adjusting his visor - your enhanced vision allows both of you to notice tiny flashes of light on his face, suggesting the visor has some kind of electronic display. "Hm...Doublethink, aka James Rod. It would appear that you are the Pillar...somehow."
"Er, Digital, what about the other guy?" the Asian girl in the skirt asks, a bit nervous.
"You and Perfect Girl handle him", he replies, as he raises his suddenly-glowing right hand in DT's direction.

((Combat round, post actions - and we can assume Jane is alerting everyone else, even if they're not in the HQ at the moment.))

mutecebu

2009-02-09, 01:19 PM

DT leaps to the side and a wall forms to give him cover

"...anyways, there's a bunch of them popping up back at base. If you could head on back... hold on, we may be under attack. Um, yep, definitely under attack. If you could come back right now, that'd be great!"

DT sends through the communicators to Gerit: Obstruction pattern Bulldog.

Barbs of forcefield extend from Doublethink to obstruct the battlefield. Following a pre-established pattern, Gerit would be able to move through them, with DT changing the pattern occasionally to accommodate him and hopefully hinder their enemy.

Perfect girl. Hmm... a little pretentious, but perhaps she's extremely skilled? If so, she'll probably dodge my attacks, and I wonder if ricochets would phase her. But...
DT had chosen the second pattern, Bulldog, because he had worked out the most trick shots with it. Gun already pointing at "Digital", DT fires. He picks the trajectory to glance off of a forcefield bramble, and taking another deflection to line up with Perfect Girl, but putting another enemy behind her in case she dodges.

Dorni

2009-02-10, 02:28 PM

Do they have any idea what its like keeping fur clean!? In a flash, Gerit took on his hybrid form and began dodging through the maze of force fields, rebounding in increasingly erratic patterns while closing the distance between him and the group.

They didn't even have the courtesy to introduce themselves before skipping to the fight. We'll just have to see if this force field manuver works. The weretiger closed in on the Asian girl, but in the last moment altered his course to diliver an open-fisted attack to "Digital".

Physical theory behind open vs close fisted attacks aside, Gerit's goal is to avoid opening arteries with his claws but still "Digital" him with enough force to either knock him out or send him flying into the middle of DT's force field maze to let DT handle him.

sun_tzu

2009-02-10, 03:56 PM

As Doublethink shoots his stun bullet, Perfect Girl rushes to interpose herself between the gun and Master Digital. As it happens, she gets lucky and notices the bit of force-field placed there for the ricochet. Realizing what's going on, she flies upward - just in time to avoid the bullet. Said bullet instead follows its course toward the black kid - and is blocked by and object he apparently had in a pocket on his jacket.
As Tiger Claw rushes toward the caped kid, Perfect Girl tries to stop him. Judging from her movements, her agility is quite impressive - almost superhuman. Gerit's agility, though, is actually superhuman, and he evades her attacks. Which leads to her raising her hand and firing a blast of red energy between him and Digital, forcing him to stop in his tracks in order to dodge the attack, which leaves a scorch mark on the wall. The Asian girl then proceeds to shout something in a foreign language before hurling a lightning bolt at Gerit; having just stopped in his tracks to avoid Perfect Girl's blast, he cannot dodge, and gets painfully electrocuted, though he's still standing.
"Think fast, Rod." says Digital, as a blast of red energy erupts from his hand (same color scheme as Perfect Girl. A lot more intense, though). The blast hits Doublethink in the chest, smashing through his force-field, knocking him back several feet away into a wall. Doublethink's last thoughts before losing consciousness is that Digital's shot seemed to have enough power to break through the shield, but not enough to kill Doublethink on the spot...either a lucky shot, or carefully calculated.

Dorni

2009-02-10, 05:08 PM

Fire, Lightning, energy... it was like the elemental knights all over again. Well, not quite. These kids were probably more intelligent than the Midas Gang. Considering the energies the kids were throwing around, brute force wasn't the best option. He needed to find a way to deal with those energy attacks...

Still singed from the electrocution, Gerit shifted stances, lowering his center of gravity and getting ready to move quickly.

Gerit will ready an action - when one of the kids fires any sort of projectile attack at him, he immediately grapples the nearest one (Perfect Girl, unless another is close by). By holding the kid in one hand (via Improved Grapple), he is going to use the kid as a shield against the next incoming attack.

sun_tzu

2009-02-10, 05:35 PM

As the Asian girl prepares another electric blast, Tiger Claw attempts to grab Perfect Girl. Unfortunately, she uses her flight to dodge his move by rotating upside-down and back up - a full 360°.
"You're good", she says, smiling, as she launches a few punches at Gerit. You barely block them, and you feel it; she's disturbingly strong for someone her size, on par with world-class weight-lifters. "As good as me, even", she goes on, launching a kick that you barely dodge. "One-on-one, you'd have decent odds." That's when a blast from Digital hits you, painfully ejecting you across the room. "But, well, this wasn't exactly a fair fight, so don't feel bad."
"He shoots, he scores," the black kid says, clapping his hands while looking at Digital, amused. "Should we take him too?"
"No. He would constitute an unnecessary complication. Doublethink is the pillar; he's the one we need."
As Gerit painfully tries to get up, Digital casually strolls toward the Zenith Watch's leader. "Ah, Doublethink. You've certainly risen quite high, quite fast. But now, you shall be the key to the MILLENIUM MASTERS'S victory."
"Provided, of course, that Master Digital hurries up already," says Perfect Girl, grinning.
He seems more amused than annoyed at her interruption. "Point taken, my sweet. Point..." He then gestures, and a red portal appears in front of him. "...taken."
The Asian girl lifts her hand, says something, and apparently causes Doublethink to fly through the portal. The kids follow through before Gerit can recover enough to stop them.
The moment Doublethink crosses the portal, Jane can no longer detect his connection anywhere.

((So, everyone else can now act. :smalltongue: ))

mutecebu

2009-02-10, 07:26 PM

((Great idea, Dorni. I like it. This may be a wise time to run, however.))

As Doublethink shoots his stun bullet, Perfect Girl rushes to interpose herself between the gun and Master Digital. As it happens, she gets lucky and notices the bit of force-field placed there for the ricochet. Realizing what's going on, she flies upward - just in time to avoid the bullet. Said bullet instead follows its course toward the black kid - and is blocked by and object he apparently had in a pocket on his jacket.*Dang* she's fast! Wait, it hit something in his pocket?!! Some kind of probability control, maybe?

"Think fast, Rod." says Digital, as a blast of red energy erupts from his handHa ha. Very funny. DT's energy readings go off the charts, and the program running his sensors crash. Sweet mother of pearl!

The blast looks nasty, and DT has no idea as to the abilities of the others. He runs "Panic.bat". The program begins dumping everything in his Datalink's memory to ENIAC 2.0 as well as several other servers. The ZeniPrinter begins nonchalantly chugging out the data into a paper hard copy as DT crashes against the wall.

Hmm... Ribs... may be broken. Concussion... let's see... where's Gerit? He was to my right... must be loosing peripheral vision. Right, concussion is probable. So, that means I'm out of the fight, right? I guess. Good luck, Gerit. Man... I'm in pain. I hope I pass out. That was... some blast. Pro'lly fine-tuned to break my shield but not kill me. Interesting. And painful. I hope I...

~~~

The Asian girl lifts her hand, says something, and apparently causes Doublethink to fly through the portal. The kids follow through before Gerit can recover enough to stop them.
The moment Doublethink crosses the portal, Jane can no longer detect his connection anywhere.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGHHHHHH!!!"
Jane is screaming in hysterics over everyone's comlinks.
"Oh God, they took him! I can't believe it! James is gone! They knocked him out, pulled him through a portal, and I can't find him anywhere!"

sun_tzu

2009-02-11, 02:09 AM

Wait, it hit something in his pocket?!! Some kind of probability control, maybe?
:smallbiggrin:

Ha ha. Very funny. DT's energy readings go off the charts, and the program running his sensors crash. Sweet mother of pearl!

The blast looks nasty, and DT has no idea as to the abilities of the others. He runs "Panic.bat". The program begins dumping everything in his Datalink's memory to ENIAC 2.0 as well as several other servers. The ZeniPrinter begins nonchalantly chugging out the data into a paper hard copy as DT crashes against the wall.

Hmm... Ribs... may be broken. Concussion... let's see... where's Gerit? He was to my right... must be loosing peripheral vision. Right, concussion is probable. So, that means I'm out of the fight, right? I guess. Good luck, Gerit. Man... I'm in pain. I hope I pass out. That was... some blast. Pro'lly fine-tuned to break my shield but not kill me. Interesting. And painful. I hope I...
((Well, that'll leave a lot of data for the rest of the Zenith Watch, who should probably be reaching the HQ now.
I'll wait for them a bit before I have DT wake up.))

HellFencer

2009-02-12, 03:06 PM

Nightbane

It had been almost a month since the last big mission, but that didn't mean patrolling didn't need done. Zach had, as always, volunteered for the job, though it seemed everyone but Rod was headed out. Zach took the opportunity to walk the streets.

Jane's distress call was enough to send the hulking brute into full-on panic mode. "Say what!? DT's gone? Aww geez, I can't even leave for a few hours without the world ending! I'm on my way!!" he yelled back into the communicator whilst making his way back to HQ on the double. It wasn't quite as nice, but he'd jump up onto the nearest building and then roof-hop his way home.

Dorni

2009-02-14, 09:46 PM

((Honestly Mutcebu, I expected the Perfect Girl Shield idea to at most buy me another round. This was never a fair fight.))

Gerit rolled to his knees to the sound of screaming. It took him another momment to realize that the screaming was Jane's, and for a moment he considered joining her. His injuries were painful, but more painful was the knowledge that a group of kids had effortlessly broken into their HQ and abducted their leader. And Gerit had been unable to stop it.

He pushed himself upright. Self-pity wouldn't get DT back.

"Jane, DT isn't going to come back if you blow our eardrums out. I'm going to need help with the computers here, I'm not up to DT's level. We need to see if any of the scanners picked up a trace of the portals they used, if it was generated by anything like what Shadow was using, we might be able to trace it the same way we did then. Also, they called themselves the Millennium Masters, so see if you can turn up anything. Tell me what I can do to help."

mutecebu

2009-02-15, 10:52 PM

With a flicker, Jane appears, hair disheveled. "Disheveled" has a slightly different meaning for her, hers is now flat, doesn't move much with her... and is slightly pixelated, as if she isn't bothering to render it fully.

"You're right. I mean, I know you're right. I'm sorry. I better get to work. Contact Checkmate."

With that, the hologram of Jane disappears as she starts digging around, following Gerit's suggestions, speculating on their ages, analyzing the costumes, the energy blasts, portal theory, anything. She looks into the UCOs, and checks if anyone is researching them who could help. Has Techno-Paladin, or any reasonably potent hero or agency shown interest in the case?

Doublethink already had a file full of theories about the Millennium Masters drawn up during the battle, so Jane had a bit of base to jump off from. Jane wasn't so sure that the antagonists were as young as they looked; not only was "Millennium Master" an awfully pretentious title, but their attitudes supported the theory. Digital and Perfect Girl's exchange shortly before they disappeared did not quite fit the age profile, and regardless, they were far too confident and sure of what they were doing. Youth and great power could inspire cockiness, but they seemed to have a mission, and stuck to their plan which evidently went off flawlessly.
They didn't expect to see Gerit, so they evidently weren't omniscient. They were surprised to see him there, so they thought themselves so, or at least had serious amounts of surveillance.
They had fairly diverse powers, Digital seemed to rely at least somewhat on technology, Perfect Girl likely mutation or biotech. Jane wanted to guess the Asian used magic, but that might just be the stereotype. She didn't know much about arcane lore, of all subjects there relatively little info online, darn traditionalists. In any case, that usually implied a team or alliance formed with a common purpose, as opposed to the Midas Brothers, united by their origins. The only outlier was Perfect Girl and Digital using similar blasts. Perhaps she could copy powers? The only other case of her using super powers was her flying to dodge. No one else flew, but the Asian made DT fly.... It would not be unreasonable for the Asian to have telekinesis, which Perfect Girl used to make herself fly. The connection was a very tenuous one at best. Jane returns to DT's notes...

Wait.

DT had listed "low level super speed" for a possible power for her. Looking at the videos, though, she didn't actually move *that* fast. Yet... she reacted to DT's bullet? Insane reflexes? And she noticed the ricochet. It hit her. She was copying DT's power! That bitch! That settled it. Jane found what she needed to work through her depression: anger. Those kids were going to get taught a lesson.

A list appears on the wall with a summary of what she's figured it out, which grows at a steady pace as Jane makes more connections. At the bottom is written:

"You boys figure out how to fight it. The holo-room's already working out a simulation of what we've seen so far. Don't talk to me right now. Busy."

((I know there are probably more things to figure out, but that's enough for now.))

Edit: another line gets added to Jane's list: "Gather blood samples from various individuals with degenerative mutations. There are plenty out there. It'll be messy and it's not even guaranteed to work, but these people seem tough, and if it messes with little miss "Perfect Girl's" powers it's worth it.

fireinthedust

2009-02-23, 11:41 AM

((I could've sworn I'd posted here))

EA flew through the window of the Zenith tower, in full costume and... holding a bouquet of flowers with a green teddy bear with an emerald drawing on its belly? The bear looks homemade, its sticking haphazard and made with dental floss, though otherwise the bear seems fine. EA takes in the room, obviously in action mode; the bouquet is held in one hand like a sword.

Finding everyone already there, he smiles sheepishly and puts the objects gingerly down on a nearby table. Sorry! I was patrolling when I heard and... um, well... weird patrol, that's all I can say. Um... So where's cue-ball? And what's going on, exactly?

mutecebu

2009-02-24, 09:35 PM

Another sign pops up, summoned by Jane's holograms.

"Somebody else tell him."

Jane was busy. Social interaction actually took a large amount of processing power, and Jane didn't have time for it.

Blackbird

2009-03-08, 07:54 AM

Eagle Owl swooped into Zenith Tower almost literally on EA's heels. He gave the transmuter a curious look but didn't bother asking. They had more pressing matters at hand. "According to Jane's info on the comm, HQ was infiltrated and the enemy kidnapped Doublethink." He glanced at the list the distressed AI was compiling and added: "Seems to be someone calling themselves 'Millennium Masters'. Anything on them in the HQ's database or are they someone completely new?"

sun_tzu

2009-03-09, 04:02 AM

Bravado rushes inside along with everyone else. "Jane, do you have anything on these guys? DT usually relies on you to look this stuff up, doesn't he?"

Jane: Jane can't find anything on Perfect Girl, Master Digital or the black kid (although upon some further inspection of various sound files, his accent is almost certainly South-African), but the Asian girl actually has a police record: Apparently, she is Izumi Dazai, the daughter of the late Lord and Lady Lightning - a couple of Japanese villains, members of the mystical criminal organization Golden Dawn. They were among Golden Dawn's casualties back when the organization unwisely picked a fight with Global Might - Toxin is believed to have killed them. Their daughter showed up months later, wielding magic in attempted supervillainy, but was eventually captured by the magic-wielding superheroine Silver Tear. She mysteriously disappeared from custody on the same day, and hasn't been seen ever since - and that was several months ago.

EDIT: added some details once I got home and got to check my notes.

fireinthedust

2009-03-09, 04:47 PM

totally metagame thinking, but maybe Jane would be aware: by Golden Dawn, would there be any reference to "the esoteric order of the Golden Dawn" including such persons as Aleister Crowely and W.B. Yeats? Or similarities? Or, with proper research, maybe she could find an actual link to them! If so: nice touch, Sun!

EA quickly went to the Zenith Tower's computer banks and watched what security serveilance he could find. Finally, Kidnapped by attractive super-powered female, Huh? Well, before anyone asks, this has nothing to do with the "birthday surprise" I was arranging for DT later this month: not a one of their costumes was cat-themed or involved bubble-machines and lollipops. My hands are clean.
Any way we could track their teleportation pattern? And are we dealing with technology or magic or what?

sun_tzu

2009-03-09, 05:34 PM

totally metagame thinking, but maybe Jane would be aware: by Golden Dawn, would there be any reference to "the esoteric order of the Golden Dawn" including such persons as Aleister Crowely and W.B. Yeats? Or similarities? Or, with proper research, maybe she could find an actual link to them! If so: nice touch, Sun!

((Yeah, not a coincidence. In the Avatar's World, the order of the Golden Dawn evolved into something pretty sinister after magic returned to the world. They're the world's premier magic-based villainous organization - unless you count Avalon, of course.))

HellFencer

2009-03-16, 12:07 PM

Nightbane

Zack made his way across the rooftops until finally entering Zenith Tower airspace. He landed and broke into a dead run, making his way down the floors as fast as he could. Finally making his way into the same room as the others, he noted the ongoing conversation.

"Cat-themed costumes? Lollipops? Really?" he asked, giving Emerald Agent a look and a grin. "So, what are our options? Can we watch some surveillance tapes to see what happened, or try to find some evidence that someone else was here? And if so, can we track it? And by we I mean you," he said, pointing at everyone else, scratching his head. "We find what we're looking for, and I'll hit it mega-hard!" he added, trying to make it obvious that he was helpful still.

mutecebu

2009-03-16, 07:57 PM

Jane, do you have anything on these guys? DT usually relies on you to look this stuff up, doesn't he?
Jane appears and turns crossly to Bravado.
"No, I DON'T! Everything I have is on that list. And what are you guys doing waiting around, staring at each other? SOMEBODY CALL CHECKMATE!
Jane freezes for a second. Hold on. Well, there's something. Apparently they are kids after all, or at least one of them is.
Jane adds the Asian girl's police record to her list.

Apparently, she is Izumi Dazai, the daughter of the late Lord and Lady Lightning - a couple of Japanese villains, members of the mystical criminal organization Golden Dawn. They were among Golden Dawn's casualties back when the organization unwisely picked a fight with Global Might - Toxin is believed to have killed them. Their daughter showed up months later, wielding magic in attempted supervillainy, but was eventually captured by the magic-wielding superheroine Silver Tear. She mysteriously disappeared from custody on the same day, and hasn't been seen ever since - and that was several months ago.

After EA and Nightbane say their piece, Jane reluctantly gives a chuckle; EA had a way of joking in crazy situations, and she could calculate DT's reaction. She relaxes a little bit. "Okay, I think that's it. I've done all I can. Turning to nightbane, Jane smiles. You do that, big guy.

fireinthedust

2009-03-16, 09:57 PM

Huh. Well, it seems obvious to me (intuitive leap here) that we should check out Silver Tear. I mean, for all we know she was captured and drafted for some reason. Oh, maybe DT's captured as part of a "we need your help but couldn't bother poking you on Facebook" scheme. He totally would be, with that thirty-pound brain of his. (but do they want chemistry? Nooooo. Feh, whatever).
Jane, can you please-pretty-please pull up some contact info for Silver TEar? I mean, maybe the Zenith Tower has some old files or something. Let's find out what she remembers. Maybe we can find an old base on that Golden Dawn group; realistically speaking, she could be using their old bases if they were pounded by Global Might. Tear could be the only person to know where to look. I mean, other than Gerit here I don't think any of us have even a hint of magic know-how, and the Dawn aren't likely online.

sun_tzu

2009-03-17, 02:06 AM

Quick research results:
Golden Dawn is an infamous international cartel of magicians loosely united by the belief that magic should guide humanity, and that they, therefore, should dictate the law (and thus are naturally the current laws). It started becoming really dangerous in the 50s. It never became powerful or active enough on the world-domination front to be seen as a major threat like Shadow or Avalon, but they are one of the greater criminal organizations around. Or at least, they were. Not all that long ago, they pucked a fight with Global Might by attacking the latter's Cryosphere HQ (the FBSA has gathered clues suggesting that Golden Dawn had perfected superpower-copying rituals, and wanted to use them on Global Might, hence the attack). This backfired for them when Global Might turned out to be out of their league, and half their membership across the world was slaughtered, the rest surviving only because Professor Cryo requested that Global Might avoids finishing them off (he relies on Global Dawn for mystical resources every now and then).
The Silver Tear (real name withheld) is a Japanese magic-wielder and superheroine who registered in the early 90s. Her main activity center is Osaka, and the police there often goes to her when they have magic-based trouble. Jane can find her phone number within a minute.

fireinthedust

2009-03-17, 10:46 AM

Japanese, eh? Sounds hot...ly professional. I say the path of Justice is leading us to Osaka Japan! ...Or to Skype. Can I phone her? I vaguely recall her people have a fondness for green guys who shoot beams of radiation and can smash stuff.
EA rubs his palms together, then looks into the Zenith monitor, brushing his hair back in the reflection. I look professional, right? Nothing in my teeth? "Konichiwa, Silver Tear, we're looking for info on the Golden Dawn." (cough) "Hello, Silver Tear... hey, is that like one of those anime tears for when you're embarassed?" No, that's not right... "As a Japanese superhero, do you make bad guys explode in a massive gush of blood? How many of your villains are androgenous? What's with the ruffled collars? Is there going to be a Berserk season 2, following the manga? Is human tetris your favourite show or extreme elimination challenge? Do superheroes in your setting use the tri-stat system or M&M like the rest of us?" He shakes his head as the questions rush out. Finally, looking over to Jane he nods. Okay, I got them out of my system. I'm ready to make that call!

mutecebu

2009-03-19, 12:53 PM

((I thought I posted here already...))
((RE: Golden Dawn copying superpowers - you're not helping! That tidbit's just cementing my potentially incorrect theories! :P))

Jane relays the information to everybody, and smiles at EA's antics.

"Okay. I have a phone number. It's dialing now."

The speakerphone system clicks on and the ringing fills the room.

sun_tzu

2009-03-20, 03:26 AM

((RE: Golden Dawn copying superpowers - you're not helping! That tidbit's just cementing my potentially incorrect theories! :P))

((Sorry man, but that's been part of the setting for a while now. Remember Celerity's background? Cryosphere girl, abducted by Golden Dawn to use as a test subject for their mystical experiments; experiment is interrupted by Global Might's speedster Blitzkrieg, and Celerity absorbs some of his powers in the process. That was part of that event.))

Jane relays the information to everybody, and smiles at EA's antics.

"Okay. I have a phone number. It's dialing now."

The speakerphone system clicks on and the ringing fills the room.

A short moment later, a Japanese woman in her late 30s/early 40s, dressed in a silver-colored getup, appears on the videophone screen. Jane can easily identify her as the Silver Tear.
She gives a concerned smile. "Zenith Watch. To what do I owe the honor of this call?"

fireinthedust

2009-03-22, 10:50 AM

sun_tzu

2009-03-22, 11:47 AM

We need information on the Golden Dawn, and a magic-wielding villain in particular. One of our teammates was taken by a group of supers, one of whom was Izumi Dazai, whom I believe you know. We don't have a trail to follow, and magic isn't our forte. Think you could help us find him?

((Well, you could call Checkmate like Jane suggested...:smalltongue:))
Silver Tear blinks. "Izumi? Dazai Izumi? Wow..." She takes a moment to collect her thoughts. "It has been a while since she disappeared. I don't know how much you've researched this, but...her parents, they were dangerous people, but near as we can tell they kept their daughter out of the villain business. We think she didn't know about it until Toxin showed up at their home, killed her mother, then her father escaped with her and did a ritual to transfer their power to her before Toxin got him too. When she showed up again, it's pretty obvious she was trying to live up to their legacy, but...well, she was still a kid. I captured her, and I was holding her in an anti-magic cell in my HQ - you understand, there wasn't really a precedent for such a young supervillain, so the police weren't sure what to do. She disappeared before they could reach a decision, and I never found out how. I had a surveillance camera in the room, but the recording ends at some point - the police say somebody hacked the camera with a datalink. Dazai didn't look like she was doing anything until the point the recording ends, so I'm guessing somebody helped her...
I have been fighting Golden Dawn for a long time, though. I don't remember them being involved with her the way they were with her parents. You're sure they're involved now?"

fireinthedust

2009-03-22, 10:03 PM

sun_tzu

2009-03-23, 01:07 AM

We're not counting them out, if that's what you mean. Someone who's aware of her connection and powers, perhaps. She was with a group of other young women with powers. Could you make it to the Zenith Tower? I don't know if you can sense magic trails the way I can sense matter, but we're open to whatever help you can give.

((Yeah, didn't think of Checkmate (sigh, I *know*, but I didn't. I figured we'd go through the new NPC first. (shrugs)))

((A group of young "women"? There were two girls and two boys.))

fireinthedust

2009-03-26, 09:06 AM

((Edited that last post a while ago. I thought it would register on the site, sorry; should have posted a second post. I re-read the posts up until now, and I gotta hand it to the group: good adventure so far! I really like the shake-up of DT going missing. I thought girls as... I was thinking about girls. Sorry. I like the other NPCs. ))

sun_tzu

2009-03-26, 10:00 AM

We're not counting them out, if that's what you mean. Someone who's aware of her connection and powers, perhaps. She was with a group of other young *teens* with powers. Could you make it to the Zenith Tower? I don't know if you can sense magic trails the way I can sense matter, but we're open to whatever help you can give. Maybe some of the Golden Dawn's old hideouts from before Global Might killed them, could be used by these young folk as a hideout; we're unsure, but we'd like to get whatever info we can before making a move.

((Yeah, didn't think of Checkmate (sigh, I *know*, but I didn't. I figured we'd go through the new NPC first. (shrugs) EDIT: I'll do that in a moment, unless Jane is already on it.))

EDITED the post and added some more.

"Teens with powers?" Silver Tear seems disturbed by the idea. "Were they as young as Dazai? Because...I don't think she's hit puberty yet. Mutations shouldn't manifest at that age, and children getting powers in any other way is...Unless the rest of the group was older than her?" ((They didn't seem older.))
"I'm afraid I don't really see how I can be of help to you. I can fight reasonably well if you find them, but I don't really have any idea on how to find them. Even if they are connected to Golden Dawn, most of my experience with them has been in Japan and Eastern Asia."

fireinthedust

2009-03-26, 02:13 PM

EA nods. One of them was a teleporter, but I think Izumi was the only spellcaster. Frankly, I was hoping you might know of old Golden Dawn bases, perhaps some... I don't know, magical locations or dimensional pockets or something, they might have left behind after Global Might beat them down. I'm not even sure they still exist.
We've got some other leads to follow up on, but we'll call if it looks like a bigger knock-down than we can take on. Do you know of anything we should be warned about before finding her? A psyche profile could help. I'm not 100% on my Erikson, but knowing if she hates, like, spiders would be good. Also, any magical weaknesses? Like, um, Silver bullets or Iron manacles?

((totally only going to call for help if we need magical backup; maybe she could enchant our fists or something))

After the phonecall, EA will contact Checkmate using his card. That DT is missing suddenly dawns on him, at least cognitively, fully, and his arms cross, hands balling into fists.

sun_tzu

2009-03-26, 03:24 PM

mutecebu

2009-03-28, 12:21 PM

I don't suppose you have a video of what happened? I could look into it..."Yes," Jane says into EA's communicator.

Offscreen from the videophone Jane, made semi-corporeal using a portable forcefield generator, borrows a checkerboard card from someone. She taps on it, and says, "Hey, genius! It's me, Jane. Some pre-teen supers abducted DT.

sun_tzu

2009-03-28, 12:48 PM

The Silver Tear looks at the video with concern. "All of those children look too young to be mutants. I'm really not sure what to make of it. But that portal they left through at the end? It didn't look normal to me. With a regular teleportation portal, you can see what's on the other side. Here you just had red light. Very strange. I'm sorry I can't find anything more useful to say..."

((I think we can assume the conversation with Silver Tear is more-or-less over...)

Once Jane and Emerald Agent ((other players are also welcome to post!)) attempt to contact Checkmate, about half-a-minute passes before the electronic voice echoes through the cards. "What seems to be the matter?"

mutecebu

2009-03-28, 10:21 PM

Jane opens her mouth to give an angry response, but closes it again. The hologram takes a breath as Jane composes her thoughts,

"Like I said, a couple of super-powered middle-schoolers teleported INTO our base and abducted DT, just like that. They called themselves the 'Millennium Masters.' Thought you'd like to know. I've put together a packet of all the relevant data I've gathered, plus some speculations and extrapolations. They seemed to want DT specifically, didn't care about anything else here. This could be big, I don't know, but we've got to get DT back."

Update on Jane's theories:
She now considers it more possible they are youth, though she expects some of the powers are from mutation, which means something's fishy either way.

((Jane doesn't think "Children with mutant powers" is what's going on, though from a metagaming perspective it seems more likely.))

fireinthedust

2009-03-28, 10:54 PM

After the conversation with Silver Tear (and the above-mentioned emo-moment focusing on the problem at hand), EA speaks while waiting for Checkmate to come online.

Hey, you guys think there could be some sort of cyberspace world they went to? Like, if that was a portal, we'd see the other realm, right? So if this digital kid is hiding *in Cyberspace*, like in a Myspace page or something, maybe that's it? I mean, obviously not the real internet, but some kind of... spacial warp he can access. Like a pocket dimension made with technology. Anything like that possible, Jane?

He's speaking with his card next to his mouth, in case Checkmate can hear them; no sense not sharing information.

sun_tzu

2009-03-29, 04:07 AM

"Cyberspace is an abstract term, and cannot house solid matter" says Checkmate, "but the rest of the theory...The fact that DT's datalink was no longer detectable as soon as he went through the portal suggests that it was, in fact, an inter-planar portal. These require rather advanced technology or magic to open.
Concerning the Millenium Masters. The Asian girl - Izumi Dazai, I see - appears to be a semi-standard, albeit unusually young magician. Perfect Girl's abilities are unclear, but seem at least partially related to Master Digital's. The presumably South-African boy...I'd give 30% odds that he possesses some manner of probability-altering powers. I'm only giving such a low number due to how exceedingly rare such abilities are - by which I mean, their existence remains unproven ((There are theories that the Avatar and Upstart have some level of probability control, but no solid data)).
And then...there's Master Digital. That energy blast of his is very odd. If you look closely, you can see the energy was generated near his hands rather than directly from them - so, it's not a biological process. Not a mutation. He doesn't appear to be wielding any technology capable of generating this energy (albeit he did have a datalink). This would suggest magic...but the blast had a certain precision to it that suggests, again, technology. Additional data may be necessary.
Yet another interesting detail is the UCOs that appeared shortly before the Millenium Masters. From Doublethink's examination, they appear to be nano-technological constructs - which goes back to suggesting impressive technological resources.
But, on the practical matter of locating Doublethink...The difficulty will be in locating the plane of existence he's currently at. He has his datalink, but without satellites and relevant networks, it will be limited. If you take a large enough emitter-receiver, though, you ought to be able to locate him in any given plane. Unfortunately, that would require testing planes one-by-one - a gargantuan task ((Venture Industries explores other planes, and even other dimensions. It's considered very, very cutting-edge stuff)). It could take days, possibly weeks..."
As he says that, a red portal appears next to you, similar to the one the Millenium Masters escaped through.
"...or not."