In Dreams to Come 2 - Back to the Future

[Quellian-dyrae]

Flashpoint awoke with a groan.

It took him a moment (which to him consisted of about twenty nanoseconds, but whatever) to get his bearings. Then in a flash his was on his feet. The pyrokinetic speedster was still badly injured, although his hasted metabolism was already repairing the damage to his body.

...The damage to his ego, on the other hand...

Flashpoint's burning gaze lanced upon the Prophet. Unconscious. Passed out from exhaustion. In a blur, Flashpoint stood beside the fallen speedster.

He raised one hand, which vibrated rapidly, the air above it wavering from the intense heat generated by the friction.

He held that pose for several long moments (so...almost a hundred nanoseconds?) before his hand stopped vibrating and he clenched his fist. He grabbed the unconscious speedster by the front of his robe, and reached for the hood that still covered his face.

Hesitated.

Leaving a trail of burning footprints behind them, the two speedsters vanished, coming to a stop at the edge of the cliffs.

Flashpoint looked down at the choppy ocean below, then at the cloaked and hooded Prophet who had not just foretold his defeat, but managed, somehow, to overcome him in combat. Even though he was clearly more powerful. Even though he was clearly faster!

"Nobody will ever know..." he said, though whether his words were meant for the Prophet's ears or his own was impossible to say.

He dropped his enemy off the cliff, watched in the slow motion of a speedster's perception as he drifted languidly down, hit the water with a gradually-building splash, and sank into the sea.

Nobody but you, the Prophet's voice seemed to whisper in his head.

Flashpoint clenched a fist, and raced off. If that speedster had given him that much of a fight, who even knew what trouble Brava was getting herself into?

--

Brava was getting herself into quite a bit of trouble.

To be fair, though, she was loving every second of it.

When Flashpoint blurred onto the field, he beheld a scene that not even a full minute ago seemed completely impossible. The Unmatchable, Unconquerable OMEGA FORCE!!!!!...was losing.

Burnscar was down. Brace was completely hogtied. Deathwish...had gotten her wish, evidently. Even as he watched, a blast of kinetic energy sent Asher - the Sleeper somehow having managed to be the last non-Brava member of the team up and fighting (maybe because he had been deemed too useless to bother attacking?) - staggering back into the crushing blow of the vine-man, leaving the brawler unconscious on the ground. Brava was trading blows with the terrakinetic, and mind-bogglingly, he seemed to be dishing out worse than he was taking. She wasn't down yet, but a crushing combination attack from the rhino and the terrakinetic knocked the wind out of her, she only barely managed to dodge the crackling claws of the rainbow bird, and her regeneration was clearly starting to slow to a stop.

Not a single member of the enemy team had fallen. Not one.

"AH-HA!" Brava extolled. "The Unstoppable Flashpoint returns! You have fought well, but now you shall see what it means to do battle against the the unmatchable combination of ULTIMATE STRENGTH! and ULTIMATE SPEED! Flashpoint! Clear out the lesser foes, the Crumbly But Stubborn Man and Noble Beast of the Great Continent and I have matters to settle!"

"Uh-huh," Flashpoint said, racing through the battlefield in a hasted blur, seemingly everywhere in an instant!

And then the next moment, he, and every member of OMEGA FORCE!!!!! save Deathwish was gone.

Many Hundreds Of Miles Away

Brava blinked as she beheld the open field that Flashpoint had whisked them to. She looked around for a couple seconds, taking in the scene. It was a nice field. A little hilly, with a thick carpet of grass and various patches of white and yellow flowers spread about. A few small trees. The glimmer of a stream off in the distance. She could appreciate it for a moment.

Then she looked to Flashpoint.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?!?!?"

(Warlock kinda stepped away a bit and started trying to work the kinks out of his neck...and shoulders...and really pretty much every joint in his body).

"Um, got you all out of there before they killed us all? Or possibly knocked us out and delivered us to SIDE. You're welcome, by the way."

"Welcome!? When I wish to offer thanks, I will do it! Take me back!"

"So you can do what!? You were losing a fight with one of them, what do you think you would have done when the lot of them started wailing on you?"

"It would have fought them valiantly, with the STRENGTH and skill that has been passed down the Suldoon line for generations! And if I fell it would have only been after bringing many down with me! But it matters not! You, I and the Ineffable Warlock are more than enough to finish them, now that you have defeated their speedster!"

"...It would be-"

Brava's eyes narrowed appraisingly. Even the slightest hesitation was a meaningful thing, coming from a speedster of Flashpoint's level. "You didn't, did you? No...that explains why you would have us flee. Was the Prophet's combined power of oracular vision and super-speed too much for the vaunted Flashpoint to handle? Did he chase you off with your tail between your legs, to inflict your COWARDICE upon the rest of us?"

Flashpoint's fists clenched, and his eyes narrowed. But he did care for Brava, so he took a long, controlled breath. "I did not wish to see you imprisoned or killed. I am sorry if that violates your self-image, but-"

"COWARD! Cowardly weakling! Frail little runner! I had thought you different, but you are just like every other speedster who I, Brava Suldoon, have ever faced! You talk big when you have the advantage, but the very moment you face difficulty, the first thing you think to do...is run away!"

Brava turned her back on him. "I don't know what I ever saw in you."

(Warlock, having subtly edged off to a safe distance, could only wish for a bag of popcorn.)

Flashpoint raced around to face Brava squarely. "Don't you talk to me like some Dreamer you want to beat up! I saved you!" he spat at her.

"You betrayed me, and everything I stand for! Begone, Cowardly Running Man, unless you want for I, Brava Suldoon, to remove you from my presence with MAIN FORCE!"

"Is that a threat? I know that your family's power grows with every generation, but lest you forget, mine has grown constantly since the day I had my Dream, faster than any other Dreamer on record, like everything else about me! Do not threaten me, Brava. I have already regenerated from my battle, and you are still injured, your regenerative abilities at their limits. I could possibly defeat you even now, but even if I couldn't, do not doubt for a moment that I will be more powerful than even you one day!"

"I am certain you will, but it hardly matters," Brava said, simply walking past him. And...there was nothing Flashpoint could really do about that - the only way he could keep her from moving him out of her way, was to get out of her way. "You have shown me your true self today, Cowardly Running Man. Yes, you will one day become powerful enough to defeat me."

And as she strode away from him and out of his life, Brava said without even deigning to look back at him, "But you will never be brave enough to try."

(Warlock abruptly decided the distance he had chosen was insufficiently safe, and teleported away before either of them remembered his existence. He was nice enough to bring Asher and Burnscar along.)

Flashpoint watched her go with fury twisting his features, the glow seeping out from the seams of his costume intensifying to a blazing aura, his eyes burning like two hellish stars.

He raised one hand, which vibrated rapidly, the air above it wavering from the intense heat generated by the friction.

He held that stance, his entire body tense and ready to act...and held it...and kept holding it...until Brava had left his sight.

Brava Suldoon smirked as she heard a wrathful scream rise up behind her, as the entire field went up in flames and all the trees were burned to ash.

Flashpoint has gained the Burning Pride Complication.

OMEGA FORCE!!!!! Is Disbanded.

Battle over! Everybody take a :smallcool: Hero Point for the victory, a second :smallcool: Hero Point for my Fiating their escape, a third :smallcool: Hero Point for altering the timeline to become retroactively responsible for the disbandment of OMEGA FORCE!!!!!, and a fourth :smallcool: Hero Point because after nearly four years we have a NEW IC THREAD YO! :smallbiggrin:

(And no, of course I don't think giving you guys four Hero Points a piece right before the adventure climax is ominous at all. Total coincidence, clearly. None of you should worry about it at all!)

Josh you can awaken at your leisure. When you do, you're in the ocean, lying on the back of a dolphin, surrounded by other dolphins.

[Starsign]

All things said and done before, Sheema was ready to lay the smackdown, or try to, on the remaining powerhouse villain. Not that Sheema believed she'd be very successful at it; she lacked the strength to beat down on someone with super-resilience and still needs more training to pull that off. However, challenging a trial is far better than ignoring it altogether. Sure, Sheema could kick back and let Makhana and the others deal with Brava but that won't give the Heiress any combat experience.

Too bad she doesn't get any in the first place as the powerhouse is suddenly whisked out of there by her... boyfriend. Honestly, how does that Flashpoint guy put up with her?

"...Oh, well I guess that's that then," Sheema mutters, literally shrugging off her fatigue as she walks over to a corner of the room and grabs the first aid kit. She opens up the package and pulls out several containers of lotions. "Anyone need some ointment?" She offers the containers to the others before applying some of the cream on her dark skin. The liquid cream stings and hurts but the relief it provides is unquestionable.

Makhana, on the other hand, simply gives off deep slow breaths as she "sits" on her hooves. The rhino simply does not care for fire or burns; why should she need some silly human cream in the first place? All she needs is a chance to rest up. She does, however, take the effort to look over at Summit. The earthen boy is given a nod and a gentle, for a dire rhino, sound of acceptance to Summit. "Looks like you finally got her respect," Sheema tells her friend, offering him a high five after getting ointment over her arm. "That's worth celebrating over!"

[Born]

Unlike Sheema, Mandragora had shifted straight into panic mode when Flashpoint had arrived without Josh. Sure, they had seen Josh get out of bad situations before, but after a few seconds of him not showing up once Omega Force was gone, Eric was legitimately worried. On top of all that, several buildings had been smashed during the fighting. There was no doubt that the ACC would already be on their way because people's lives were in danger.

Eric was already feeling through the earth for anyone people who needed saving when he frantically blurted out "We don't have time to relax right now. People could be dying! Not only that, but how do we find Josh? Do we even have any way of knowing whether he's alright?" The vine man was frantically praying to the gods in the meantime, both internally and under his breath.

[Grim ranger]

Despite his endurance was somewhat beyond any normal man, Aquila had been close to slowing down from exhaustion by the time Flashpoint absconded with the rest of OMEGA FORCE. His form was still rattling somewhat, earth formerly constantly shaking with shockwaves produced by the clash of earth against invincible flesh finally settling down as Brava was taken away.

He was quickly growing VERY aware of the beating he hard taken, letting out a pained breath and clutching his armor as he slowly fell to one knee. Although he was decently sure nothing life-threatening had occurred to him yet, some of his bones were regardless feeling like broken glass after the battle. Clearly he'd have to get more used to having the tar beaten out of himself if this would keep up: powerful as his talents seemed to be, there were many people with stronger ones still.

Lower portion of his earthen mask crumbling away to reveal his mouth as the armor finally began to properly show the damage super-strong fists had inflicted onto it, Summit returned Sheema's high five before wincing considerably. "G-great...woo, good job...guys" he muttered, apparently likely in condition where he may need a minute. "I feel like I just played alone against entire quarterback team. Let's just...take day off tomorrow. That freak of nature hit me so hard I'll be feeling it for a good while. Still...it's a win."

Casting a look at Mandragora, he sighed, broken pavement rattling with the sound. "I doubt we'd be able to find a speedster one way or another at this immediate instant. IF someone guide me, I can...stabilize the buildings so survivors can be dug out properly."

[manwithaplan]

"He is risennnn!"

The mighty Prophet yelled it to the clouds as he awoke from his slumber, the defeat of the legendary Flashpoint on his mind. His surroundings slowly came to his attention, and he sat up to face the dolphins around him.

"...Oh yeah, this thing. Uhh...greetings, friends! I don't have my...uh, I am not at the moment carrying an enchanted item on my person. Can you understand me?"

[Starsign]

Sheema's happy smile quickly dwindled once Vines mentioned about people dying. "...Oh, right," she answers embarrassingly, looking over at her dire rhino friend. "Those, uh, two buildings got torn down from the fight." Makhana, in response, gives off a grown. She had somehow forgotten that being sent flying into buildings was structurally destructive. This city is supposed to be an urban jungle of steel and brick; why are they as frail as wood and leaves?!

The Heiress gets up off the bed and walks over to Vines. "C'mon, let's hurry then," she tells the others. Sheema can't do much to move rubble off of buildings, as she had shown the first time they had all met. Makhana can certainly help with the heavy lifting but Sheema is better off crawling in smaller places to help find and rescue trapped civilians. At least that in itself is enough to save lives; she wouldn't be much of a hero if she hadn't tried in the first place!

She gives Vines a small pat on the shoulder before heading off. "Don't worry about Josh," she assures her partner. "He probably knew what he was doing, right? I don't think he would've gotten himself killed if he knew who he was bugging." She gives the three time-travelers a quizzed look. "I mean, I figure you all knew what he was doing. Isn't that part of why you came back to this time in the first place?" Sheema still doesn't know what sort of "goal" or "objective" the time-travelers are hiding. Maybe she won't ever know. If today, however, is an indication of the consequences of their goal then she would really like to know why they're actually here in the first place.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The buildings were...okay, gonna be honest, it was bad. The impact of a Makhana-mass projectile at Brava-launched velocities was...substantial. Both buildings had literally toppled. Not collapsed, toppled over like giant dominos and broken apart. Several other smaller buildings in both areas had been badly damaged. The ACC was out in force - Gestalt's team, as it happened, was at the first site, and if he were there Mandragora would recognize some faces at the second. Some Heroes had arrived too, primarily to provide guard and keep an eye out for the attackers in case there was more in store, although they were certainly turning their powers to assist in rescue operations as well. Vanguard IV (sans Veritas, who would not be joining them for another two years) was at the first building, although rather than Phoenix directing them in the way the Heroes who knew her from the future would remember, they were all basically just doing what they could more-or-less independently. Coordinating, but not working as the cohesive, organized team they would be in the future. Yi Achilles and Lauren Sergeant were both their as well, lending their super-strength and potent telekinesis to the cause. The Heroic contribution at the second site was somewhat smaller, but let nobody say they didn't make up for quantity with quality. The legendary Tracer Pulse was racing through the rubble with his vibrational super-speed, seeking people out. A still-full-strength Choir was standing by using her divine voice to speak healing upon the injured, and directing any bodies recovered from the rubble to be placed together in as small an area as possible. And Arcanis himself hovered above the rubble-strewn area, directing Tracer with divinations while telekinetically clearing paths for the ACC. At this point in time, those three represented virtually the single greatest concentration of personal power that Adaros Hero Corps could field. It was a stark reminder of just how much the Heroes of Adaros had truly lost over the past five years, when one remembered that in the present, not a single one of these powerful Heroes was still alive, and the only one remaining with the raw power to equal them was Java.

...And a fresh-faced Test Drive was standing by Choir, speaking with the same divinely-augmented voice to heal those who had been lucky enough to be on the outskirts of the devastation and only get away with minor injuries, so that Choir and the ACC's healers could focus their attention on the people with serious injuries.

--

The dolphins were kinda just chittering and...you know, acting like dolphins. One of them, though, seemed to be paying attention to Josh. Just floating there looking at him as he spoke. It didn't really look any different from the other dolphins (it certainly wasn't any bigger than the rest of them), and didn't like say anything...it might have just found him curious, honestly. It wasn't like dolphins were capable of speech, and as everyone knows, all evidence has indicated that the Dreamer phenomenon only occurs in humans.

...Then again, Makhana sure seemed to understand speech well enough, so who even knows anymore?

[Starsign]

"Wow..."

Sheema expected a lot of heroes by the collateral damage once they arrived at the two toppled buildings. She had, however, no idea just how many there are. She's heard many stories about the members of Hero Corps in Adaros but this is the first time she's actually seen some of them so up-close. Vanguard IV, Yi Achilles, Lauren Sergeant, Tracer Pulse, Choir, Test Drive... Sheema has only heard of them and +now they're all here. It's an amazing scene to behold. This was the group she wants to join; this is Hero Corps. It's such an amazing group to her. She can't wait to join! Makhana, who Sheema rides on, looks up and around the various heroes. To the dire rhino, she sees these heroes as people who have yet to earn her respect. Sure, they may have a long list of accomplishments but until she sees them in proper action, she won't be convinced. Many animals in Peral are all bark, no bite; she always makes sure that humans and Dreamers are no different.

Without waiting for the rest of her team, Sheema grabs Summit's hand and pulls him up on Makhana; the dire rhino gives off a gruff yelp as the equivalent of a large boulder is now on her back. Alas to her dismay, largely at Sheema's request, Makhana tolerates having Summit on her back as she carries them over to the second building. "Thanks," Sheema says to her Perallan friend as she gets off and begins scouting around for any trapped civilians.

"Oh spirits... What a mess," she mutters to Summit as she looks around and in the rubble of the building. Makhana lifts various bits of rubble with her horn to help Sheema get in. "She really did smash with that much worse. Wonder what her powers were..." Omega Force's reputation for collateral damage certainly wasn't just rumors. The group was lucky that the fight hadn't expanded further throughout the city.

The dark-skinned princess pauses slightly before looking at Aquila. "Sorry, I should be happier," she says with a smile. "I mean we're actually working with Hero Corps now! Can you believe it? Even their leader is here!" She looks up and points upward at Arcanis as he uses telekinetic magic to move various bits of rubble off the same building. "I've heard Arcanis is amazing. I know his powers are just... magic, and I mean magic not like the shamanism and spirits of Peral. But he's done so much with them." She looks up at the Regional-Commander with a smile, even if he can't see her. "One day, I want to fight alongside him. I want to be a Hero. I want to be someone in Adaros... I want to do my dad proud with our new life."

Makhana, meanwhile... was busy cleaning off the rubble. Unlike her human partner, the rhino has no aspirations to be a member of Hero Corps even if she approves of Sheema's ambition. It's a long path to fame and reputation and a very short one away from it. What matters to Makhana is that Sheema can go down the path without the tragedy that befell her father...

[Grim ranger]

Accepting Sheema's hand and grunting a bit in surprise as he is pulled atop Makhana surprisingly easily, Aquila looked around and couldn't help but wince. The devastation even this short of a fight had left behind was considerable: it just went on to highlight the dangers of superhumans doing whatever the hell they pleased. Although he was obviously not a big fan of giving himself to the mercy of the government and any politician with dangerous ideas, he was still set on trying to tackle the problem somehow... even if it'd literally mean tackling one supervillain after another to avoid more scenes like this.

How many times would he have to stand in middle of a ruined city block still? It already felt like it had occurred too many times by now.

"I don't know if we should be happy" he muttered, sighing slowly as he watched the heroes arriving in force. Many of them were real big names, larger than life when one heard about them, even for someone like himself. Although many people thought wealth was the way to power, he had never witnessed something like this due to being member of a rich family. No, only now that he had considerable powers of his own his life was turning so exciting. And much to his sadness, he was beginning to realize it was probably not as gilded and glorious as one'd think. "Better part of a city block has just been knocked down due to someone essentially throwing a fit. This...shouldn't happen. I have wondered about how it must be when one has plenty of power and attention, and now that I know, it just doesn't seem like healthy lifestyle anymore."

Looking around, he hunched slightly in tired manner before raising his voice. "If someone can point me towards the trapped people, I can get them out as needed!"

[Starsign]

Sheema's body briefly freezes as Aquila raised his concerns. It wasn't the response she was expecting from him. She sighs from her prone pose, looking through small open spaces between rubble to look for people. "I mean it could've been a lot worse," she tries to reassure Summit. "Omega Force is known for massive collateral damage. Most of their battles probably would have been much worse than this." It's not much for comfort, and Sheema knows it well, but someone has to look at the bright side of things! "Besides, we beat up the lot of them; I don't expect them to try anything for awhile after that."

The dark-skinned princess looks over her shoulder and points out someone stuck within the rubble, giving Summit the chance to lift the trapped people out with his geokinetic powers. She didn't really have an idea how his powers works besides that he can just shift minerals around him. It certainly puts her own abilities to shame, given she's neither a Dreamer nor someone reliant on powerful technology... which is what makes Aquila's comments all the more concerning. "...Summit, are you afraid of being a Hero?" She gives her friend a briefly worried look; her tone softer than usual. Her question isn't one mocking his concerns; she knows there are plenty of Dreamers who don't want to live the life of Hero Corps or a SIDE agent. But she's been toying with the idea of convincing Aquila to join Hero Corps with her, especially after all they've been doing since they first met... Does he not like that?

[Grim ranger]

"I suppose it is true" Summit was forced to agree with a mild smile. "They do supposedly have bit of a reputation for this sort of thing. I just hope this is the last time we have to fight them. It is not only that the fight was exhausting, but it was also amazingly stressful. No matter their faults, they have worrying amount of power. For a moment I was not sure we were going to pull this off."

It was a bitter pill to confess that, but he had never been the sort to lie to himself about such important things. The heroes he had associated with were strong, but they were still not the best. There was always the possibility of insurmountable threat right around the corner.

Carefully guiding the stone and concrete to part and hover out of the way before using sand and earth to gently pull the trapped people out of the rubble, he thought about Sheema's question. WAS he afraid of being a hero? So far the battles had been admittedly stressful, but nothing that would have driven him away from being a hero by themselves: he was not that easily intimidated. The fact he seemed to have the ability to take a train to the face and walk it off didn't hurt in that regard either. So why was he so nervous about the matter?

"...I don't know" he admitted, sliding his hand along his hair and sighing slowly. "I am not afraid to fight, I think, even if I wince when seeing destruction like this that those fights inevitably leave behind. It just feels like... the responsibility is somewhat heavy. Few weeks ago I thought about heroes as just another bunch of public stars while trying to manage my own life into something productive with little success. And moving right to being a hero from that? I don't know if I have EARNED something like that. I suppose I am somewhat scared, of being tested and to fail."

[Starsign]

Sheema pauses as Summit responds. Something about his words struck a chord in the princess... In fact, it reminds her of her past life far away from Ilessia.

"...Summit?" She asks quietly as she continued coordinating with him to move rubble. "Listen. I told this before, but I was once a princess back in Peral; and my dad was a king. He didn't rule a lot, just like a city, but he did rule it. The people loved him but he was... um... bad at negotiation." Sheema's rare hesitance shines quietly through as she continues. Makhana attempts her best to ignore the story which she's been a part of already. "The areas around us teamed up and attacks. Me, my dad and Makhana were all driven out. We're not really rulers or royalty anymore... So we moved here, to Adaros."

She pauses, taking a deep breath in the process. She doesn't like telling her whole story; being forced out of Rivinas was never a fun part of her life. She has, however, a point to make out of all this. "My dad now is doing what I can to give me a good life. I haven't really "earned" anything either. But I have something to earn by doing this. I mean I want to be a hero. I want to make something of my life. And that means I gotta try. And if I fail? I'll try again. My dad's been down from his one great failure; I can't let any failures keep me down either." She attempts to smile, aware that her words certainly don't have the same impact of actually following on it.

"Even if you have powers and I don't, we're both in this together. Don't let yourself be down if you make a mistake. I'll be here to help with that. And you can do the same for me." She reaches out to offer her hand, even if just as a gesture to back her words. "I think you'd make a great Hero, Aquila. I'm going to try and join Hero Corps as soon as I can. I'm sure they'll welcome you as well if you join. And I'll be there every step of the way if you do!" She gives him another smile; her words and expression are hopefully all that he needs right now.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Okay I'mma move things along but Sheema, Aquila, feel free to continue your talk in parallel or in the side scenes thread as suits you!

The cleanup went as well as it could. There were limits to what you could do in situations like this, but certainly fewer limits for powerful Dreamers (or near-equivalents) than most. And the toll was lessened non-trivially when Choir, after as many bodies as she had time to wait for had been gathered in as small an area as they could fit, sang out a word of power almost too pure for the mortal ear to hear. Sacred light beamed down over the corpses that surrounded her, bright as the rising sun, and when it faded...they didn't all stir and awaken, but at a quick count, it was better than half.

Choir herself passed out immediately thereafter, though, as was, you know, probably to be expected. Test Drive caught her, easing her to the ground, and the mimic eyed the remaining bodies intensely for a moment, a burning, hopeful determination in her gaze.

Then she shook her head and went back to healing the merely injured. Some things were best left to the professionals, and the key to Test Drive's success as a Hero had always been that she knew her own limits, and how best to work within them.

The Heroes and ACC spoke to the six in the aftermath, thanking them for their help and getting details about what had precipitated the attack, which they duly passed on to SIDE. "To live to tell of this...Omega Force is no small feat," Arcanis said to them in the aftermath, as they were preparing to take their leave. "Even more to overcome them through force of arms. If you would indulge an old man some advice, I think that people like you would make excellent Heroes, in the future."

If there was a knowing twinkle in the archmage's eyes, it was well-hidden indeed.

--

Weeks went by. Judy's prototype had been completely destroyed by Brava's shockwave, along with...you know, their base. In the aftermath, the Wildling farm wound up becoming something of a new home away from home to the time-displaced Heroes. ...Especially given that like half the group was spending like half their time there anyway. And Judy liked the animals, so that was nice (she had set up shop in an out-of-use barn near the main farmhouse).

It was late one evening on the farm, the sun almost set. Wulther's rich baritone was filling the farmhouse as the former king regaled the group with some of his old stories about Peral, while dinner was being prepared (by Sheema, maybe? Cooking +10 yo!) It was just a warm, quiet Adaros evening.

...Until Judy suddenly appeared in the middle of the room (she actually ended up standing on the table) shouting the words you never, ever want to hear from a high-level artificer, and especially not from one who is Messing With Time. "SOMETHING WENT WRO-"

SILENCE!!!!!!

--

Your senses came back to you...gradually. What exactly had happened was...hard to describe. It didn't really seem to stick in your minds. A bright purple light, maybe? A sort of...turbulence, perhaps? You could remember the silence. Everything had gone very silent.

Perceptions flowed in. You were in some sort of large building, broad and very long. It looked...maybe like an aircraft hangar? But there weren't any aircraft within.

There was an odd sort of...almost static in your vision. It took a moment to realize it wasn't a trick of your eyes. Everywhere you looked, everything but yourselves, had some weird, occasional...static. Little almost pixels of just...blackness. Utter blackness, appearing for a moment and vanishing. It wasn't heavy. Maybe a pixel every cubic foot or so, on average? But it was pervasive. Even the air had the little flecks of static.

You were standing in roughly the center of the building, packed into about a forty-foot diameter circle, its boundaries clearly marked by a pristine circle of runic symbols that had been carved into the ground, inlaid with gold and filled with what might have been molten gemstone, all held within a perfect circular band of purest silver.

About a thirty feet away, there was a cylindrical capsule, made of greenish glass and set into a sleek metallic frame. Various screen-like displays were showing on the glass, and it was filled with...what at first looked like a liquid, but as your senses grew clearer, you could tell that wasn't quite right. It was a flowing, fluid, translucent mass of nanites. The capsule was clearly extremely advanced technology, but it was also carved with magical rules in precise patterns. Even from a distance, you could feel the energy thrumming within its very structure. It was...a power cell. An enormous, nonsensically-advanced power cell. The sheer skill it must have taken to create such a thing...it defied the imagination.

And within it, floating helplessly in the fluid nanite mass, entirely trapped and impotent, was the future Ilessia's Public Enemy Number 1, the most powerful Dreamer augmenter the world had ever seen, Tara Ellens herself.

Behind that capsule, there were two others.

Behind those, three more.

And on. And on. And on... Expanding out in a pyramidal formation, dozens of the things. Maybe scores. Each one holding someone helpless within. They were conscious, every one of them. Crying or begging or screaming. It was hard to make out any individual words, between the glass and the overlapping sounds...but there were three, coming from Tara's own mouth, that reached Gestalt's ears not so much through clarity of hearing, but old familiarity.

"Someone help us!" (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?359852-In-Dreams-to-Come)

Here's the thing? You were not alone.

The future's Public Enemy #1 floated helplessly in a super-Dreamtech power cell.

Numbers 2 and 3 were standing between her and you.

Sheema and Aquila, Wulther and Makhana, likely wouldn't recognize either of them. To those from the future, their faces were clear. Darryll Harrens and Leopold Daniell, Shamus and the Recruiter, each of them a ludicrously powerful summoner. Both of their faces were...largely blank. Not slack, like they lacked wills or anything, just...resigned.

Standing between and a bit behind them was a man in a full suit of sleek black powered armor, covering everything but his head, a crimson cape hanging from his shoulders. Anyone with any sort of serious technological savvy could see practically with a glance that the suit was far more advanced than any normal powered armor from the time they had come from or even the five years ahead of it. But the armor was not so much the concern as the man within it. His shoulder-length dark hair and neatly-trimmed beard were both slate black, and his eyes a stormy gray and a fiery orange, but when you got past those details and looked at his face, his identity was all too clear.

Leviath Cinder.

Gestalt.

...The Master.

It was like your thoughts were moving through quicksand. Nobody had time to react before the Recruiter brought forth an enormous colossus made entirely of diamond, before Shamus summoned forth a quartet of large, muscular, vaguely-translucent warriors, and the Master himself, with a snap of his fingers, brought an enormous iron knight that looked like it would eat Craftiezel as an appetizer - and Cinder 2 as a main course.

"Destroy the speedster and we're safe. Do not let my past self come to harm," the Master ordered. "The rest of them are irrelevant."

Summoned creatures cannot act on the turn they're summoned! Enemy turn begins!

Shamus:
Move: Charge Horde.
Standard: Summon Spirit Guardians.

The Recruiter:
Move: May as well go ahead and draw his GUN!
Standard: Summon Champion - Diamond Colossus.

The Master:
Standard: Summon Iron Dreadnought.
Move: Give orders.

Spirit Guardian 1:
Summoning sickness.

Spirit Guardian 2:
Summoning sickness.

Spirit Guardian 3:
Summoning sickness.

Spirit Guardian 4:
Summoning sickness.

Diamond Colossus:
Summoning sickness.

Iron Dreadnought:
Summoning sickness.

All PCs are on turn. Judy and Wulther will act at the start of next NPC turn.

[manwithaplan]

"...irrelevant?"

Josh grinned, shook his head, and cracked his knuckles.

"I hope you don't think that. We haven't even started and you've already made six terrible mistakes."

He was off, rushing through the summons and their masters without a second thought, flinging punches and kicks at each of them as he went by. The speedster stopped at Tara's pod, hanging out for a moment to look at her.

"Big T, in the flesh. Never thought I'd meet you."

He took a quick note of the data on her screens, and then rushed past her, dashing by to take stock of just how many people were held here.

Standard: Flurry of Blows with Power Attack 5, All Out Attack 2, on all da bad guys.

Shamus [roll0] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Recruiter [roll1] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Master [roll2] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Spirit 1 [roll3] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Spirit 2 [roll4] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Spirit 3 [roll5] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Spirit 4 [roll6] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Diamond [roll7] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Iron [roll8] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.

Move-By Action: After distributing as many points as I have left to Speed and Quickness after getting the needed Everywhere ranks to make that attack, I go to Tara, read everything on her displays, then run as far as I can past her to try and uncover how many folks there are and if I know any of them.

Free Action: Go Insubstantial!

Status: -2 Defence, Incorporeal.

[Starsign]

Sheema was having such a good time...

Things really looked up to her as Arcanis acknowledged her and the other heroes. This was exactly what she wanted to hear as an up-and-coming Hero. Joining Hero Corps is her goal when she arrived in Ilessia and this is the surest sign yet that she'll be able to join. Despite the chaos that happens around these time travelers, things just constantly look up for the Perallan princess.

Very, very briefly, she held Summit's hand as Arcanis left. She wants her friend to join her in Hero Corps. There's nothing more she'd like than to be with him fighting alongside Adaros' other heroes for years to come. She'll make her dad proud joining Hero Corps and undoubtedly Aquila will make his own family proud if he joined too.

---


"Yar har har har har har!"

The loud, boisterous voice booms across the forest, rattling the massive trees as their branches shake from wind and sound. The heavy sound just on the border of the city is punctuated by a massive, clobbering smash from the sharp-scaled right fist of the shark-man as the dire lizard reels from the blow. "And they call ye a dragon?" The long lost accent of the seas seethes forcibly out of Leviathan's sharp mouth as he flashes his many teeth at the lizard. He was, in fact, rather disappointed that the rumors weren't quite true. Yes it's a beast double his size; yes it's a fire-breathing creature; yes it's scorched two other cities and was about to trash Lorinva. But this is not the dragons of old! This is a lizard without wings; this is a lizard without its regal status! This is not the kind of beast that the terror of the seas hoped to face!

The lizard roars in response to the shark-man's wide-mouthed words, breathing its great fire down on the smaller aquatic creature. Flashes of fire and heat wash over around him, frying the grass and plants so overgrown that it goes up to his waist. His own silver scales seem to disappear under the ocean of orange and red against the lizard's rage.

And then the loud, torturing sound of fire blows off as Leviathan's daunting laughter rings out. The musclebound shark-man walks out from the flames, smiling wickedly at the beast. His white-and-blue bandanna is charred by the blast; his wetsuit roasted and partly burnt off; but he, himself, is merely lightly singed. This is the feeling of power he's come to indulge in; he's found unfathomable strength and resilience since the Rite of Sacrifice. His new world, his new home, is in the sea where he is stronger than on land; he'll never abandon the seas between Peral and Paradisia. But this earth, this forest he knows as Peral will always be a part of his world. And he will NEVER let any other beast terrorize it!

With his endless vitality, Leviathan stomps his way to the dire lizard, reaching out and grabbing the beast's jaws with his scaly hands. The reptile, with its massive and numerous teeth, is stunned by the smaller monster's might! "Ain't no kraken nor fish'll be gettin' t' match ol' Cap'n Leviathan!" The shark-man heaves and grunts as he slams the red reptile's mouth shut, bringing their eyes locked as the latter sees Leviathan's battle-loving expression scribbled all over his shark-shaped head. "An' I'll be takin' ye down to the ocean!" he cries, heaving his muscles together as he begins lifting the dire lizard off the ground, planning to give the monster the toss of his life. "An' then t' the Locker with ye!"

In the distance, Lorinva's ancient shaman watches atop the tallest building. Her singing calms the populace down as they are in sight of one monster fighting another. Beneath her mask however, Calliope sighs. She never tolerated Eric since he returned from the ocean as a Beastshifter, much less with his delusions of power and deification. Just what happened to him over all these years?

The page to Sheema's newest book lies on her table underneath the finished copy of Raiders of the Lost. Ever since finishing that book, the Perallan princess wanted to get started on another one. She had ideas and a goal already. While Raiders was a pulp story that introduced the Perallan region and concepts to readers, Sheema wanted to write a book about heroism, about character development, about one of Peral's most mysterious yet important concepts: the Rite. She wanted to write the story of a hero who, while flawed and at points tragic, is also a joy to read, bombastic in personality, and entertaining for both children and adult readers.

Actually starting the writing was, for awhile, quite difficult since Sheema couldn't find a "voice" for the main character. That has changed since; funny how Brava ended up inspiring Sheema...

With a lot of help from her dad, whose first-hand experience as a Beast Shapeshifter is valuable to know, Sheema began the drafting and page-writing process for Leviathan: Titan of the Sea. The story follows 16-year old Erik Clint, a lover of water, the old stories and myths of piracy and corsairs, and the ocean whose bravery, yet jealousy over the power and prestige of Beastmasters, leads him to the failed attempt of rescuing a sinking ship out from his hometown. His sinking into the ocean, leading to his final desperate moments of saving a smaller sharp from a bigger beast, leads to his incredible revival as a Beastshifter who can turn from human to shark-man at will. His adventures after see him, now renamed as Leviathan, scouring the seas between Peral and Paradisia in addition to the lands back home where he confronts danger, villains, even his own distorted views of himself, as he learns and accepts his bravery and responsibility for his form across over a decade of his life. Leviathan, the story, explores the deeper aspects of Peral's traditions and powers, making the protagonist a native instead of a foreigner from Ilessia. Despite the wild protagonist and adventures, the themes of Leviathan touch much closer to Sheema than Raiders did.

Sheema loves the concept, loves the adventure, and loves to make this story all in a novel. Unfortunately it'll be years before she'll be done with it. The new company certainly complicated things.

Life has been good, if calmer and oddly crowded. Sheema didn't have a problem bringing the time travelers over to live on the Wildling farm while they fiddle working on their apparent time machine that got destroyed. Wonder why they were trying to make one in the first place; did they time travel involuntarily? Was it an accident that they ended up at this time? None of them still want to talk about it, to Sheema's frustration.

They have, however, been helpful and kind. While setting up beds in the empty barn was difficult, there was more than enough seats in the living room as Sheema enjoyed the tales spoken from her dad while her food plate rested on her lap. Wulther was always a great storyteller and she loved hearing the tales of her hometown and of Peral. It was great to have other people listen in to Perallan traditions and stories even if these people may be time travelers.

Makhana, at Sheema's behest, started following Judy around since the time travelers moved in. Technically Makhana was supposed to be guarding Judy, as the abandoned barn was less of a secure place compared to the old base. However the rhino took a liking to the time traveler, if nothing more for her reserved curiosity and apparent timidity. She was quite good around animals too, a benefit when you live on an animal farm. As such, the dire rhino, a symbol of Perallan power and authority, was back to being something resembling a babysitter and matriarch to the farm while she tinkered on her little device.

...That was until tonight, where Makhana had suddenly ferried Judy to the house out of some sudden and mysterious horror. There wasn't any time to figure out what happened next.

---

Sheema woke up on the metal ground with her weapons around her. "Ugh..." she groaned quietly, gathering her things together while taking a look around... Wait, where is this? The closest that came to her mind was some mad scientist's place. Capsules are far as the eye can see; power formulating into one person, the biggest capsule among them... surrounded by... several powerful people... and...

"...Wait, what?" Sheema takes several steps back in her boots, drawing Galadhil as she walks next to Makhana who... is no less surprised and is significantly angrier at the sudden events that have occurred. The matriarch is not impressed. Sheema looks over at Gestalt briefly. He... does actually look like a younger version of that black-armored villain. "Hey, is this guy you?" She has so many questions for these time travelers.

A little less confident in her abilities, Sheema looks around again at the capsules and the screens going on. "Hey," she says quietly to the other heroes. "We should probably get these trapped heroes free." It's cute to see that Sheema's just assuming all these trapped people are heroes considering she has no idea who they are. "Any of you know this tech? I'd smash them open but I think I'd hurt those in there." The horror of keeping hundreds and hundreds of people here doesn't have the same impact on Sheema as it might on everyone else. She doesn't know who they are; she doesn't know who they're fighting, and she sure as hell doesn't know what's going on besides that these villains want her and almost everyone else dead.

Going to delay my action until after Donri's and DukeGod's since they can open the capsules.

[Dorni]

Simon's eyes darted around the hangar as he took in the situation at augmented speeds. The hangar. The power cells. Tara Ellens. Daryll Harrens. Leopold Daniell. The Master. The words that flashed across the corner of his vision.

Simon reached out, using his kinetic suit to project his motions. Instead of violent attack, his motions were swift but gentle - and directed at the power cell housing the woman who'd murdered Arcanis. The pod was a marvel of advanced technology, but it was still technology. It didn't come from nowhere - new technologies were rooted in old technologies and inherited pieces of their designs, and Simon recognized no few pieces of the evolutionary tree. On top of that, it had to be created by someone, and people had their own idiosyncrasies that could be exploited - even Leviath's Feynman. "Leviath - start opening pods! They're bio-locked to your signature." Simon, meanwhile, needed mere seconds to circumvent the pod's security and pop open the pod, freeing Tara while he shouted his instruction.

Then his attention turned to Daryll. He was the real question mark here. Tara's drive for revenge was what had sustained her campaign against Paradisia. She wasn't likely to be any less hostile against The Master after being imprisoned and used like that. Daryll was a different creature. His first loyalty was to Tara, and a collapsing timeline was still a threat. But if Daryll could be convinced to throw in with them, it would turn a significant portion of the enemy's combat strength against them.

"Tara! Daryll! I propose a temporary alliance against The Master. We can sort out timeline issues once he's dealt with. Our team's already beaten him before and gotten stronger since - we can do it again. You're never going to get a better chance to take him down."

Move: Assess and Open Tara's pod. Technology 38 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23171412&postcount=1205)
Standard: Convince Daryll to throw in with us:
1. Frame it as both Tara & Daryll's choice (so Tara drags along Daryll)
2. Attempt to take the collapsing timeline threat off the table by addressing it after the Master
3. Sorry, started writing the big 'ol speech building us up and just couldn't do it. Didn't sound good or Simon-like.
4. Close with the probable truth that he'll never be in as strong a position against The Master as he is right now.
And the roll: Deception [roll0]

[Grim ranger]

The transition was...jarring, to put it lightly.

One moment, they were at the Farm, enjoying the hospitality of Sheema's father, some time having thankfully passed since the last superpowered throwdown forced upon them by the world. The dinner with the heroes at such a rustic environment was proving to be quite fun, and things were going smoothly.

At least until a woman appeared right on top of the table, causing Aquila to jump back in surprise and armor up the best he could, Earth rushing through the floor to cover him just before his senses took a momentary leave.

And now with their return, they were faced by quite an awkward situation with yet another murderous supervillain, their cronies and whole lot of hostages who did not seem to be doing terribly well. On top of everything, the bastards were summoning help as well. If he had learned anything from the painful encounters by now, Aquila had to admit that one of the foremost lessons had been to give regenerators and summoners his utmost loathing. This would probably take a while.

Still, he could help with delaying the enemy, or try at the very least.

"Is it too much asked to even have some time for DINNER with friends before another megalomaniac shows up?" Summit asked with tired groan similar to rocks dragging over metal before slamming his open palm against the metal floor. Controlling metal would be a new experiment for him, but there was always earth below it...and besides, he was the STRONGEST terrakinetic. Anyone who'd try to say otherwise would eventually be proven wrong. Perhaps being a hero was just something his talents were excellently suited for instead of an unreachable ideal? He'd have to give the matter some thought.

As he focused his will, the floor around the summoned constructs of all sorts crumbled and bent before raising up in series of rough ramparts all around the summoned beings and their summoners to give them trouble, spikes of earth and metal stabbing out of them as he focused on the attack.

Active array powers: The Earth My Armor, Ramparts
Move: No.
Standard: Hitting all summoned creatures and summoners with Ramparts to try to box them in and injure them with spikes. Damage 12 linked to Create 12.

[roll0] (To hit)

[Born]

Eric didn't even have time to think about just how bad a time machine mishap could be before the world around them melted into something like a scene from a nightmare. Nightmarish capsule machines filled with people crying for help, time and space out of place, and worst of all The Master himself call came together to make for a truly terrifying experience. If he hadn't experienced things like this before in his time with the rest of the heroes, Eric might have tried to run away from this horrible nightmare. The fact that he knew it was all real would have made his reaction much worse if he hadn't already found the conviction to take down The Master the fateful day of the Disappearance.

Without thinking, he instinctively morphed into his vine form. As always, Simon kept a cool head and even managed to hack open one of those pods before the brutal combat would begin. The Master's truly intimidating presence unfortunately kept the man Simon was talking to - Daryll, was it? - ready to attack the heroes. As that fact became evident on his face, Mandragora attempted to sweep out his knees and then readied his resin to bind the man. Maybe once the Master was dealt with, they could better reason with him.


Standard: Trip attempt against Shamus as long as he's vulnerable. Attack: [roll0]; Atheltics: [roll1]. Eric has Improved Trip, but since I have no idea what his capabilities are, let's have him oppose with... Atheltics?

Extra Effort Standard: Binding Resin on Shamus. If he is tripped, Power Attack at -5. Attack: [roll2]. On a hit, DC 26 Prowess vs. progressive impaired/disabled/paralyzed.

Start of next turn: Fatigued.

[DukeGod]

"YOU! AGAIN? I have dealt with you once, and we sure don't know how to quit do you? I had you beat in our last will contest!"

Leviath had nothing to fear here. Time travel mechanics were weird enough, but The Master knew there was a risk that killing him might make himself die aswell. A chance, that however low, he knew the Master would never risk. He could understand why. This version of him was from the future. He was already sure of his victory, for his very existence was the ultimate proof of that. Why take the risk of losing when you already won?

But now, they weren't in The Master's future. This was his present. In here, he could be defeated by more mundane means. Open the pods huh. Well, Leviath's whole schtick WAS indeed bringing more powerful allies into the fray

He moves to the closest pod and puts his hand in it.

More importantly, he tries to remove every doubt from his mind. Indeed, he had defaeted the Master in their last contest of wills, but that time, they weren't actually in existence at the same time. The Master was just a phantom in his mind then, a part of the link. Here he was, in the flesh.

"Yes. He's me. However bad he is, at least that compliment, must be owed. My ideals twisted and corrupted. The same side of the same coin, just seen from a different light"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 1 (PC results and ally turn)

Josh raced through the summoners and their minions, hammering away. Shamus, distracted by his feat of summoning, took a hard punch to the chest, knocking the wind out of him, and one of his guardians got a hasted punch to the face, rattling it, though the other three phased to partial incorporeality, avoiding the blows. The Recruiter's Diamond Champion...just kinda stood there, completely ignoring the attack. The Recruiter's forcefield turned the attacks aside as well, while the Master just caught Josh's blows against his open palm with casual ease. The Iron Dreadnought matched speed with skill, a blurring fast series of parries that even Josh couldn't find a route through.

Summit conjured up his earthen ramparts to try to trap the summoners and their minions. Unfortunately, most of them managed to clear the area before the barrier was fully formed, although the guardian that Josh had hit reacted too slow, and was caught in the trap.

Mandragora knocked Shamus to the ground, and was quick to apply his binding resin, but the spirit shaman managed get an arm in the way. The resin caked on, but didn't really bind him to anything.

Judy looked...flipping terrified, frankly, as she beheld the situation. But with little to do for it, she pulled out her own enchanted pistol and fired on the Recruiter.

Wulther...I mean, look, Wulther might not have exactly known what all was going on, but he knew this much: his daughter was in danger. That was plenty. The Perallan king charged to the attack, coming up against the hostiles with a rapid barrage of fluid strikes, a resounding assault of such power and fury as to allow a lone king to crush an entire enemy army! He sprung back then, getting some distance in preparation for his next charge...

Simon and Gestalt freed Tara and another captive, but as Simon made his proposal, the Master just gave Shamus a look, one eyebrow raised.

"Take him down?" Darryll asked in disbelief. "Your group beat him? Are you insane? Your group managed - barely - to overcome his summons after they had been weakened by the unsummoning process! And even that would not have saved you if you hadn't sundered the entire timeline! And stronger now? Please! You are at the weakest that I have ever seen you, and you have never once even come close to beating him!"

*BOOOOOOMMMM!* The heavy metal door securing the hangar came crashing down like a poorly-secured chain-link fence. Outside, through the dust and the glare, one could see a huge, hulking quadrupedal form with three humanoid figures perched atop its back, and another standing on each side of it. Beyond them, a horde of hulking knights came charging towards the breached doorway.

"And yet, we keep coming back for more," Josh Miles - attired in the same red suit that he had been wearing in Josh's Jenny-granted vision, though not blood-splattered as it had been before - pointed out with an insouciant grin.

"Cyrus, keep the exit clear. I've got the summoners!" Josh directed, racing ahead.

The burning pools of crimson that were Flashpoint's molten eyes narrowed, and though he did indeed blur to engage the approaching knights in a flurry of flaming fists, he shouted over his shoulder, "Don't go trying to give me orders, Miles! I've been this good a lot longer than you have!"

"Cyrus, please!" Josh countered as he charged the summoners and their minions, just a cloud of crimson whirling around them, raining down blow after lightning blow before coming to a brief halt between them and the pods (and, resultantly, Simon, Gestalt, Tara, and his past self), that infuriating grin still steady on his face. He spoke to Flashpoint, but his regard was entirely on the summoners as he said, "You have never been this good!"

Makhana charged forward, and the figures on her back became clear. Sheema stood tall on the dire rhino's shoulders, the indestructible Galadhil held firmly in her hands. And flanking her...

You might have had to see it to believe it, but William and Jenny Cade were standing behind Sheema, the former looking like he had been putting some serious effort into bulking up, carrying a gleaming sword and sporting a nasty-looking scar running down his left cheek. Jenny was dressed all in desert camo, and toting a sniper rifle almost as long as she was tall - which she immediately began laying down suppressive fire with. Well...sort of, anyway. She took a pot shot for one of the spirit guardians, but she didn't lay down a constant stream of bullets. More, she seemed to fire at an enemy every time it was about to move.

Makhana barrelled past the group in a full charge, lunging with her horn at the Diamond Champion as at the same moment Sheema lashed out with Galadhil, the full force of Makhana's charge behind both blows. William darted forward, springing past the Champion to strike at the Recruiter with his blade, focusing his power to attempt to sunder that of the summoner with his blow, before springing back atop the rhino.

Makhana raised a hoof as if to deliver a powerful stomp, but Sheema said, "Ma! We've got a job here!"

...Not that it isn't a fitting nickname, but uh...do you ever actually call Makhana "Ma"? :smallconfused:

The Matriarch of the Rhino's gave a somewhat annoyed snort, but did step back to plant herself soldily between the bulk of the group and the summoners, like a solid wall of grit and muscle. "Okay! Everybody aboard either my Makhana or yours, we are getting out of here before his entire army arrives!" Sheema said cheerily, but with command. "...Hi, Dad," she added.

She sounded...kinda wistful with those last couple of words, and there was a hint of tears in her eyes.

And then there was Tara. Now, Darryll clearly didn't think defeating the Master was a possibility, but you know what? Tara had dedicated her life to destroying the entire island of Paradisia. Vengeance was basically her entire schtick. Darryll had thought that was a bad idea too. It hadn't stopped her.

Of course, she had just been freed from a pod that had actively drained her Spiritual Energy. The other Dreamer that Gestalt had freed barely seemed able to keep his feet. Tara would be a powerful ally to have, certainly, but nobody could possibly expect her to be immediately combat-ready after such a harrowing ordeal.

...On the flip side, Earl Winters himself hadn't expected Tara to develop Dreamer powers at all. And yet she not only did, but she became one of the most powerful Dreamers in the world.

Tara Ellens had never really much cared for expectations.

She laid a hand on Gestalt, and power suddenly surged up within him, unlike anything he had ever felt before. Enough raw power to perhaps, just perhaps, close the gap between he and his future self.

And then the augmenter rushed the Master, lunging for the mightiest summoner on the planet with both hands outstretched and blazing with emerald light, as she invoked one of her persistent rituals to give her the power to rend her enemy not just limb from limb, but atom from atom!

But like seriously, I hope you guys didn't actually think I was expecting you to fight a PL 18 and two PL 14s and also by the way they're all summoners. I mean I know I'm evil but come on! :smallbiggrin:

For those who haven't been in this sort of situation before, please note that your characters' future selves have had their share of differing experiences, and in this timeline in particular they have been through some stuff. So don't be too surprised if they might do things that your characters as you are currently playing them wouldn't. They may have had a similar starting point but they're functionally different characters.

And no they're not all here yet. That does not mean you won't meet them this episode. I have Plans! :smallbiggrin:

That being said, in this particular timeline, your fates are bound. Any time you spend a Hero Point or Luck Reroll, your future self gains one! Gestalt, in your case, any time you spend a Hero Point, Future Gestalt suffers some manner of Complication.

The summoners themselves have a Fiat advantage against NPCs! Each one may reroll one resistance check per round. Future Gestalt may reroll two, except in rounds where Gestalt spends a Hero Point. The summons don't receive this benefit, and it only applies against NPCs; they don't get free rerolls against you guys.

Judy:
Move: Nope.
Standard: Attack the Recruiter with Enchanted Pistol at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll1]) DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage. Hit. Bruised.

Wulther:
Move: Use Totemic Athleticism to get into the fray.
Standard: Attack with Crush the Army. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage.
The Master: [roll2]. Toughness: [roll3]. Miss
Iron Dreadnought: Impervious.
The Recruiter: [roll4]. Toughness: [roll5]. Miss
Diamond Champion: Impervious.
Shamus (+5 for Prone): [roll6]. Toughness (-1 for Bruise): [roll7]. Bruised and Staggered
Spirit Guardian 1: [roll8]. Toughness: [roll9]. Hit. No Multiattack due to Evasion 2. Bruised and Dazed.
Spirit Guardian 3: [roll10]. Toughness: [roll11]. CRIT! No Multiattack due to Evasion 2 but still BANISHED!
Spirit Guardian 4: [roll12]. Toughness: [roll13]. Miss

Future Flashpoint:
Move: Into Close range of the approaching twenty Iron Knight Minions.
Standard: Burning Wake with Hasted Defense. Dodge DC 25 for half, Toughness DC 30/22 vs. Secondary Effect Damage.
Knight 1: Dodge: [roll14]. Toughness: [roll15]. BANISHED!
Knight 2: Dodge: [roll16]. Toughness: [roll17]. BANISHED!
Knight 3: Dodge: [roll18]. Toughness: [roll19]. BANISHED!
Knight 4: Dodge: [roll20]. Toughness: [roll21].
Knight 5: Dodge: [roll22]. Toughness: [roll23].
Knight 6: Dodge: [roll24]. Toughness: [roll25].
Knight 7: Dodge: [roll26]. Toughness: [roll27]. BANISHED!
Knight 8: Dodge: [roll28]. Toughness: [roll29]. BANISHED!
Knight 9: Dodge: [roll30]. Toughness: [roll31].
Knight 10: Dodge: [roll32]. Toughness: [roll33].
Knight 11: Dodge: [roll34]. Toughness: [roll35].
Knight 12: Dodge: [roll36]. Toughness: [roll37].
Knight 13: Dodge: [roll38]. Toughness: [roll39]. BANISHED!
Knight 14: Dodge: [roll40]. Toughness: [roll41]. BANISHED!
Knight 15: Dodge: [roll42]. Toughness: [roll43].
Knight 16: Dodge: [roll44]. Toughness: [roll45]. BANISHED!
Knight 17: Dodge: [roll46]. Toughness: [roll47].
Knight 18: Dodge: [roll48]. Toughness: [roll49]. BANISHED!
Knight 19: Dodge: [roll50]. Toughness: [roll51]. BANISHED!
Knight 20: Dodge: [roll52]. Toughness: [roll53]. BANISHED!

Future Josh:
Move: To the summoners and stuff.
Free: Reconfigure Super-Speed to 20 points of Everywhere (Area 1, Selective) and 20 points of Impossible Dodge (Perception Immunity).
Standard: Attack with Flurry of Blows, Power Attacking for 5. On a hit, Toughness DC 30+Multiattack vs. Damage.
The Master: [roll54]. Toughness: [roll55]. Miss
Iron Dreadnought: [roll56]. Toughness: [roll57]. Resists
The Recruiter: [roll58]. Toughness: [roll59]. Bruised and Dazed
Diamond Champion: Impervious.
Shamus (+5 for Prone): [roll60]. Toughness (-1 for Bruise): [roll61]. Rerolled
Spirit Guardian 1: [roll62]. Toughness: [roll63]. Miss
Spirit Guardian 3: [roll64]. Toughness: [roll65].
Spirit Guardian 4: [roll66]. Toughness: [roll67]. Bruised and Staggered
Free: Swap to Wicked Insults.
Move-by Action: A bit past the summoners, so he's between them and Simon/Gestalt/Josh/etc.
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Wicked Insults, Power Attacking for 5. On a hit vs. Will, Will DC 25 vs. Weaken Offensive Traits, Limited to targeting purposes. Due to the Features on this attack, any penalties it inflicts upon a target also apply to any summoned or mind-controlled creatures under their command!
The Master: [roll68]. Will: [roll69]. Resists
Iron Dreadnought: [roll70]. Will: [roll71]. Hard nope
The Recruiter: [roll72]. Will: [roll73]. Miss
Diamond Champion: [roll74]. Will: [roll75]. -5 PP for targeting
Shamus: [roll76]. Will: [roll77]. Resists
Spirit Guardian 1: [roll78]. Will: [roll79]. -4 PP for targeting
Spirit Guardian 3: [roll80]. Will: [roll81].
Spirit Guardian 4: [roll82]. Will: [roll83]. -7 PP for targeting

Future Makhana:
Move: Well...
Standard: Charge, activating Rhino Charge, and attack the Iron Dreadnought with Horn Skewer as a Team Attack with Sheema, at [roll84] (+5 for contribution purposes if it misses baseline). On a hit, Defense ([roll85]) DC 30+Team Attack vs. Damage, Fortitude ([roll86]) DC 25+Team Attack vs. Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled, Toughness ([roll87]) DC 25+Team Attack vs. Secondary Effect Weaken Toughness. Miss
Free: Swap to Wall of Grit.
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Wall of Grit, attacking the Iron Dreadnought at [roll88]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll89]) vs. Damage. Makhana is Deflected at 1d10+22 for the next two turns, her Toughness becomes Impervious, and she blocks line of effect to enemies. In addition, since Rhino Charge is still active, she gets half immunity to Kinetic and Energy this round. Hit. Resists.

Future Sheema:
Move: All good.
Standard: Attack the Iron Dreadnought with Legendary Charge as a Team Attack with Makhana, at [roll90]. If she hits by two degrees but Makhana misses, its defense rolls above still apply, but are instead against DC 25 Damage, DC 20 Dazed+Impaired+Vulnerable/Stunned+Disabled+Defenseless, and well it's Impervious to her Weaken portion. Hit, but it resists

Jenny:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack whichever Spirit Guardian is most injured but still up at this point with Oracular Suppression, Power Attacking for 3, at [roll91]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll92]) DC 26 vs. Damage. Jenny, William, Future Sheema, Future Makhana, Sheema, Summit, Wulther, and Mandragora are Deflected at 1d10+26, reduced by 1 per point their Toughness exceeds 11. Miss

William:
Move: Use Dreamer Parkour to spring past the Dreadnought and close with the Recruiter.
Standard: Attack the Recruiter with Power Rend, Power Attacking for 3, at [roll93]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll94]) DC 26 vs. Damage, Fortitude ([roll95]) DC 21 vs. Cumulative, Progressive, Secondary Effect Powers Entranced/Stunned/Transformed. Miss
Move-by Action: Back atop Future Makhana.

Tara:
Move: Into Close range of Gestalt.
Standard: Augmentation on Gestalt. However, by Fiat this has an abnormal effect. While the augment lasts Gestalt may now attempt to gain control of all of the Master's summons in a 30' radius area, making a separate opposed check for each. He may roll his PL check twice, taking the best.
Move-by Action: Into Close range of the Master.
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Attack the Master with Ritual of the Disintegrating Touch, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 3, at [roll96]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll97]) DC 27 vs. Progressive Incurable Weaken Toughness. Miss

Enemy turn to come.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 1 (Ally Results and Enemy Turn)

Judy's enchanted bullet cracked against the Recruiter's forcefield, sending a wavering ripple through it, but nothing it couldn't take.

The Master, Recruiter, and their summons more-or-less ignored Wulther's assault, but Shamus and his spirit guardians were not so lucky. The Rhino King hammered one of the guardians with a fist right to the face, and literally tore the head from a second one like it was nothing. Shamus himself, on the ground and still recovering from his summoning, he didn't punch or strike like a warrior. He stomped right on his head, hard enough to crack the summoner's skull. Wulther Wildling was not beholden to honorable combat. Not when his daughter was in peril.

Over half the knights that Flashpoint engaged vanished into ectoplasm, and the rest were all burning.

Future Josh's blow caused sparks to burst from the Recruiter's forcefield belt, although it held firm when William struck with his sword, and he might have finished off Shamus then and there if one of his minions hadn't sacrificed itself to hold off the speedster.

But the Master and his Iron Dreadnought stood unharmed amidst the assaults. Even when Future Sheema and Makhana hammered the dreadnought, its armor held. The Master sidestepped Tara's disintegrating lunge trivially.

"Well, I would have preferred a more full-throated declaration of undying loyalty, but I suppose it will do," the Master commented to Darryll as an aside. "But if you want your paramour to live through this little scrap, you will convince her to fight on the correct side."

As if for emphasis, he summoned another minion. The temperature in the room dropped precipitously as the Witch Queen appeared. And just to make sure it is abundantly clear here:

The Iron Dreadnought.

Did.

NOT.

VANISH!

In fact, it lashed out immediately, drawing out a length of silvery chain and whirling it a few times for momentum before attempting to lasso it around Future Makhana, to bind her tight!

The Recruiter also summoned a second minion, this one appearing as a stunningly attractive woman of all pale hues, from her alabaster skin to her pastel clothes to her light blond hair. She was small to the point of wispiness. It would not be unreasonable to say that she looked like she was woven from a dream.

The diamond champion, meanwhile, dealt with the obstacle that Makhana presented in the most expeditious manner, leaping up above her and clapping its hands together, sending a booming shockwave crashing down on those below.

Shamus, having quite the bad day, staggered to his feet. His remaining free guardian fired a blast of spiritual power at Josh, while the trapped one assailed its prison with heavy blows. "Tara, please! I am begging you, stop this!" he cried out, with the wild desperation of someone who knows, who absolutely knows, that their plea will go unheeded, regardless of the cost.

The knights that survived Flashpoint's assault formed a line guarding the exit, preparing to strike at any who tried to pass with ready spears.

The Master:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Summon Witch Queen.

Iron Dreadnought:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Future Makhana with The Shackling Chains of the Hunter, ARTEMIS at [roll0], Deflected at [roll1]. On a hit, she's Impervious to the Damage after half immunity, Strength ([roll2]) DC 28 vs. Grab and Cumulative Physically Dazed+Vulnerable/Physically Stunned+Defenseless/Physically Incapacitated Affliction. The second effect is [Material] rather than [Kinetic] so the half immunity doesn't apply. Hit. Resists.

The Recruiter:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Summon the Champion of Dreams.

Diamond Champion:
Move: Leap into the air.
Standard: Diamond Clap. Future Sheema, Future Jenny, Future William, Future Makhana, Judy, Wulther, Mandragora, Sheema, Summit, and Makhana, Dodge DC 22 for half, Toughness DC 27/21 vs. Damage, Athletics or Acrobatics DC [roll3] (reduce by 6 if Dodge succeeded) vs. Trip.
Future Sheema: Dodge: [roll4]. Toughness: [roll5]. Mobility: [roll6]. Bruised
Future Makhana: Dodge: [roll7]. Toughness: Impervious. Strength (Half Immune): [roll8]. Resists
Jenny: Dodge: [roll9]. William will Area Interpose. William Toughness: [roll10]. William Mobility: [roll11]. Jenny crit the Dodge check and William crit the Toughness check. Go little dudes! William's Prone though.
William: Dodge: [roll12]. Toughness: [roll13]. Mobility: [roll14]. Resists
Judy: Dodge: [roll15]. Toughness: [roll16]. Mobility: [roll17]. Bruised
Wulther: Dodge: [roll18]. Toughness: [roll19]. Strength: [roll20]. Prone
End of Turn: Recover a PP.

Shamus:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Stand up.

Spirit Guardian 1:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Spirit Blast on Josh, applying the Weaken to its Limited Enhanced Area. This attack Affects Insubstantial. Dodge DC 22 for half, Toughness DC 27/22 vs. Damage. Josh, these guys are out to kill you dead and powerful enough to do it; you are subject to lethal damage in this fight. Take a :smallcool: Hero Point for the Complication.
End of Turn: Recovers a PP. Regenerates a Bruise.

Spirit Guardian 2:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack the Earthen Ramparts with Spirit Strike, Power Attacking for 5, at [roll21]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll22]) DC 37 after auto-crit vs. an inanimate object vs. Object Damage. Crit resist. Not even a scratch.
End of Turn: Regenerates a Bruise.

Iron Knight Minions:
Move: Form a line.
Standard: Ready action to attack any valid target who tries to move past them with Deler Midor.

More of the Master's forces are approaching. More hostiles will join the battle if you do not escape this round!

All PCs are on turn.

[manwithaplan]

"Woah!" Josh's run was cut short by a bolt of energy through the shoulder, making him tumble over himself and slide over the ground on his back. In the moment of pause, he turned his head to one side, landing an eye on his mighty future self. Once, imagining what atrocities would have to be committed against his person to become Future Josh had mortified him. Now he was looking at the same guy and yet all he saw was himself, but faster and taller. He briefly thought to consider the deeper implic-

Nah, too late, his body was faster than his train of thought and he was running back to the main scrap with one hand covering his open wound. "Hey man," he quietly muttered to his better self as he slid on his knees past the rest of the team. He made a second attempt to wipe out the enemy troops, this time with less concern on his output and more on not getting shot by the Shamus Summon that had just taken a piece out of him while he was incorporeal.

Move back, Flurry of Blows on all the guys with Power Attack 5 and Defensive Attack 3, and then move about 100 feet away from the conflict.

Shamus [roll0] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Master [roll1].
Recruiter [roll2].
Spirit Guardian 1 [roll3].
Diamond Champion[roll4].
Iron Dreadnought [roll5].
Witch Queen [roll6].
Champion of Dreams [roll7].

[Born]

Just when it was beginning to look like the heroes stood no chance of defeating the Master, hope arrived in the unexpected form of future selves. Something must have gone VERY differently in their timeline for Flashpoint to be on their side, but Mandragora was glad to see that he was on the right side. On the other hand, the lack of future himself was a grim reminder that, as he had learned before, he had not made it this far in their timeline. For the sake of everyone, this Mandragora would need to be more resilient.

Chaos broke out, but was that really such a bad thing? It is inevitable in a battle like this, and it could work in the heroes' favor. The Diamond Champion's massive shockwave shot through the air and the ground, but, spurred on by the arrival of incredible new allies, Eric stood firm and unflinching. He would keep the summoners down so that the others could finish this once and for all. Even as Shamus stood up, Mandragora lashed his vines at the summoner's legs once again, in an effort to bolster the effectiveness of the others. He knew now that it would be easy to keep Shamus down, especially if all his spirit guardians went down.


Standard: Trip Shamus again. Accurate attacking for 2. [roll0]. On a hit, DC [roll1] Athletics to avoid being knocked prone.

[Dorni]

"So what you're saying," Simon responded levelly to Daryll, "Is that no matter how many times you've tried, you've never been able to take us off the board."

So. Tara was in the fight. Harrens was wavering. Daniell was not. Both of them were summoning in more forces. Even if Simon's team had more reinforcements on the way, their forces were limited. As long as the summoners were in play, the opponents' force was not. He remembered all too perfectly the veritable army that The Master had 'unsummoned' on Adaros the first time.

The obvious play was to eliminate the summoners before their minions could get too out of control. He was getting a feel for the outrageous power of The Master. They weren't going to beat him into submission while ignoring his lieutenants. Divide and conquer then.

Simon lashed out with a barrage of strikes, once again using his suit to project the energy into the Recruiter. There wasn't any chi involved or even a focus on precise nerve strikes. It was a simple attempt to break the man. And while it was sometimes easy to forget with Simon's fighting style of precise disabling strikes, he was still an expert martial artist with years of experience in the best ways to hurt a man.

"Leviath, keep your summons off of us. Everyone else, take out the Recruiter."


Free: Maintain Kinetics array on Kinentic Mimicry
Move: Charge Focused Assult
Standard: Attack the Recruiter with Focused Assault, AoA 2 PA 4. [roll0]. Rerolling
On hit, Toughness vs Damage (DC 27), Weaken [Toughness] (DC 22), Affliction [Vulnerable/Defenseless] (DC 22)

Free: Change Combat Training Array to Tactics Tactics Tactics
Extra Effort: Aid Josh against the Recruiter. AoA 2 PA 5 applies. Attack Roll [roll1]. Aided individuals get a Team Attack at 1d20+14 and Damage Rank 11. Using Benefit to Aid grant as many individuals a +2 bonus on their attack roll as possible, on a first-come-first-serve basis. First 3 PCs + Josh to attack the Recruiter get +2 on the Attack Roll. Josh gets a Team Attack (See OOC)

[Starsign]

There was a lot for Sheema to take in. She didn't understand what was happening, despite that the time travelers apparently do. Being left out cold like this was becoming a serious problem; now her father was even involved!

On the bright side, her father was involved. She learned a lot from him on how to fight as she watched him run up and SMASH that diamond creature apart. "Yeah! Go dad!" she cried out like a child cheering on her parent in a competition. She couldn't help it! She loved watching her dad fight and compete back in Rivinas; there was nothing she enjoyed more than watching a person she admired delivering a beatdown to their foes. Sheema's excitement came in contrast to Makhana who simply gave a respectful nod to Wulther. Even resigned as ruler, Wulther possessed a strength and skill with the dire rhino respected.

And then... the reinforcements came.

"...Ma?" Of all things Sheema would be surprised about, it's what her other self had just said; never mind that her other self is actually here and in front of her. The other Sheema looks... older; longer hair, a high-tech kevlar suit, no weapons besides Galadhil, and she's even wearing the cloak of the Rivinas guard! The cloak was adorned by the elite guards of the city-state; a dark-green hardened cloth with the symbol of a raging river designed in with silver, draped behind and over the right shoulder. The other Sheema, however, has her cloak tattered and scared around the end, as if it had seen many battles and worn over the years. In contrast, the other Makhana looks... exactly like Makhana. Immortality really doesn't wear her down, does it?

It's hard to describe what's going through Sheema's mind. Here is another version of herself, riding on another Makhana, and both presumably know more about what's going on. Heck, they're working with that Flashpoint guy; what's with that? Sheema has so many questions... But those can wait. Right now they're kinda in the middle of a warzone here.

"Uh, run?" the actual Sheema asks rhetorically. A quick look around gave the impression that no one was really heeding her advice. "I think everyone else has something different in mind." The actual Sheema leaps up on the actual Makhana as the former gives her other self a smile. "Can't be shown up by you, after all!" she says playfully. "C'mon Dad! Makhana! Let's go show them how Perallans fight!"

Following Simon's suggestions, Makhana gives off a growling rhino roar before charging at the Recruiter. In an astounding display of cooperation, Sheema brings her spear out first to mark and disorient the Recruiter as if she was jousting him, just before Makhana crashes into the villainous lot with her massive horn and body! Sheema jumps off her rhino right after, trapping the Recruiter in a pincer attack as the two unleash a flurry of stabs and horn strikes!

Alright, since I delayed my action last round, let's get some attacks out!

Sheema and Makhana are both moving to the Recruiter. Sheema will use Mark Prey on him, Power Attack +2/-2. DC 20 Will vs Impaired/Vulnerable + Disabled/Defenseless on hit: [roll0]

Makhana will use Wild Charge to hit as many enemies as she can with her area attack. DC 26 (I think?) Toughness for all hit.

Sheema will switch over to Frenzied Fighter and attack The Recruiter with Galadhil;. +5/-5 Power Attack. Makhana will Team Attack with Sheema, getting the +5 circumstance boost due to Teamwork. DC 28+Multiattack+Team Attack on hit:
Attack roll: [roll1]
Team Attack roll: [roll2]

[DukeGod]

Gestalt closes his eyes and brings up the images of the originals...

Bruja. She was a surrogate parental figure. His parents were good, but he had Dreamed early, and his unpowered parents couldn't quite understand it all. The wonder of powers, the feeling of discovering how to manipulate spiritual energy. The strictness of one who expected great things of you. Magic and Ice.

Craftiezel, his knight. His greatest shield, to the point it had gained sentience. A summon that came to when he first saw himself in the middle of a crisis in the ACC. He represented a Hero. Indomitable will, stoic attitude and the mettle to jump into the fray. Stalwart and always ready to help. METAL

He reaches through the link. Usually he preffered to command. But if it was like this, he wouldn't be above some direct enforcing of his will

Move: Place himself so he can stare at the Master in the eyes
Standard: Attempts to take control of Summons. Straight PL, rolled twice for each right?
Iron Dreadnought control
[roll0]
[roll1]

Witch Queen control
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Grim ranger]

Chaos. Complete chaos.

The fact that both sides were apparently using time travel to their benefit only added to the sheer chaos of the battle that was about to unfold, with the Master and his cronies adding to it all with their constant summons. If they were going to win this, the flow of powerful reinforcements would have to be halted: even the current summons of the villains were beginning to strain them somewhat. As such, heading directly for the source seemed like the most sensible way to approach this battle.

Making his way through the developing battle, Summit was blasted by the shockwave of diamond champion's clap, his earthen armor cracking slightly and causing him to grunt out loud. Hardly down from such, however, he sent himself blasting forward on wave of earth, aiming for the Recruiter. His friend seemed like she could use the assistance, after all.

"Do you mind if I join in on these festivities, your highnesses?" he asked Sheema and Makhana with a rumbling chuckle, a pillar of rock and dust erupting from the floor in attempt to smash into Recruiter while he was still busy with the two other assailants.

Switching to Earth my Guardian and Ram. Moving over to the Recruiter to hit him with Ram.

[roll0] (To hit)(Damage 12 Linked Affliction 12 (Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless; Fortitude; Secondary Effect, Extra Condition, Limited Degree))

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 2 (PC Results and Ally Turn)

Josh came in hard, but the summoners and their minions were quick and sure on the defense. A blow meant for the Recruiter was absorbed harmlessly by the Diamond Champion. One of the Spirit Guardians got a big ol' dent in its semi-corporeal chest from his assault though!

Future Josh returned his past self's greeting with a casual upnod. "How you been?" he answered. Given he was you from the future, it was hard to say if that was supposed to be a joke or not.

Shamus, more on the ball now that he had recovered from his mass-summoning, conjured up a quick swirl of wind to carry him up over Mandragora's tripping vines.

The deflector field provided by the Recruiter's forcefield belt turned Simon's attacks aside. Shamus answered him with a deadpan, "Well...you run away a lot."

The Recruiter's forcefield deflected Sheema's spear and Makhana's shockwave (which also rolled harmlessly over the Diamond Champion and Iron Dreadnought). When the two of them rushed in together, though, the Dreadnought leaped in the way. Spear and horn crashed down on the knight in fierce tandem - and didn't so much as scratch his mighty armor.

Gestalt focused his will and his augmented power on the Master's summons. The Ice Queen didn't waver, but the fierce loyalty of Craftiezel still slumbered in the Dreadnought, and the sudden conflict left the giant knight, at least for the moment, distracted.

Summit unloaded his pulverizing ram upon the Recruiter, and it punched straight through his forcefield, but at the last moment the Spirit Guardian that Josh had injured body-checked him out of the way, taking the hit in his stead and immediately vanishing to ectoplasm.

"Uh, yeah, great work, guys," Future Josh said encouragingly as he made a quick attack against the Recruiter, not really pressing the offense; he set into a defensive posture, ready to move to intercept any attack that was made against nearby allies (for a Joshian definition of "nearby"), and he wasn't insincere about it but... "But thing is, we already won this fight ten years ago. This whole timeline's going to be different soon, so aside from being great stress-relief, punching these guys in the face doesn't really earn us anything. On the other hand, you're all from a timeline that's still trucking along just fine. If he kills any of you here, that actually sticks. Keeping this battle going is exactly what he wants!"

The speedster looked at Simon. "You're the one who taught me how to choose my battles, man. And you don't fight battles where you have more to lose than you have to gain, right?"

"So, again, all aboard the rhinos, please!" Future Sheema requested, and while her voice was still lighthearted, there was definitely more insistence in it this time. She didn't stop fighting either, though - that would just be silly - springing down from Makhana to attack Shamus with utterly perfect skill, a fluid combination attack that left no valid route to dodge and would outmaneuver even the fastest block.

Future Makhana made a low, vaguely annoyed whuffling sound (although honestly it was tough to say if she was more annoyed about the whole "running away" part or about the fact that the time-displaced heroes hadn't immediately gotten on board with it) and charged the Recruiter, head lowered, fully intending to impale him on her horn. Worse still, Wulther flipped onto his stomach...and came down on all fours, the former Perallan king suddenly a third rhinoceros. He charged in at the Recruiter alongside Future Makhana, his own horn outstretched.

Jenny helped William to his feet, and he followed up on Makhana's attack, coming in hard with his sword. Knocking the Recruiter out would keep him from summoning more creatures, but wouldn't negate his existing summons. However, William's power-rending blows could potentially do just that, severing the connection between the summoner's Spiritual Energy and the summons it fueled. His sister provided supportive fire, scanning instants into the future to take her shot at the best possible time to help her brother overcome the Recruiter's forcefield.

Judy vanished from her position, teleporting atop Makhana (past version; she was a bit leery about teleporting on the Makhana that she "didn't know"), but she didn't refrain from taking a pot shot with her pistol at Shamus (the Recruiter looked like he was well in hand).

Flashpoint, meanwhile, started running in a circle behind the knights guarding the door. A tremendous, flaming whirlwind was quickly spun into being by the incredible friction and air pressure generated by the speedster's passage, pulling the knights in to consume them. "Any time, people!" he shouted.

"NO!" Tara yelled back. "No! It doesn't matter if this timeline is changing! Until it does, what happened here is real! What he did is real! I can teleport everyone here to safety at need, so there is no point in fleeing until we must!
THERE IS NO POINT IN LETTING HIM LIVE TO SEE THE TIMELINE CHANGE!" Tara's eyes blazed with brilliant white radiance, an almost blinding aura flared up around her, and with a snap of her fingers, everybody on the field who stood opposed to the Master and his forces would feel a surge of utter strength and almost blissful euphoria as their Spiritual Energy was directly and massively augmented by the font of pure power that was Tara Ellens.

Future Josh:
Free: Configure Super Speed, putting Area 2 and Selective on the Deflect of Defensive Attack and sticking with Speed 10 for drill.
Move: Sure, he's Josh.
Standard: Attack the Recruiter with Defensive Attack, Power Attacking for 5, at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll1]) DC 30 vs. Damage. All good guys except Flashpoint are Deflected at 1d10+30, -1 per point of Toughness above 10. Hit. Bruised and Dazed.
Move-by Action: Whatever works man.

Future Sheema:
Move: Into Close range of Shamus.
Standard: Legendary Strike on Shamus. Toughness ([roll2]) DC 30 vs. Damage, Will ([roll3]) DC 25 vs. Vulnerable/Defenseless. Uses his free reroll for the turn rerolling Toughness. Resisted.
Move-by Action: Back atop Future Makhana.

Future Makhana:
Move: Solid meh.
Standard: Charge the Recruiter, activating Rhino Charge, and attack with Impale, at [roll4]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll5]) DC 30 vs. Damage, Dodge ([roll6]) DC 25 vs. Grab. If Grabbed, Toughness ([roll7]) DC 25 vs. Progressive (While Grab Maintained) Weaken All Defenses. Hit. +2 Team Attack from Wulther. Still just Bruised and Dazed. Uses his free reroll on the Grab because Bound is bad. Resisted. Weaken doesn't apply. Forgot the charge penalty so call it AoA for 2.

Wulther:
Free: Swap to Rhino Form.
Free: Instant Up (rolled offline).
Move: More meh.
Standard: Charge the Recruiter, activating Rhino Charge, and attack with Impale as a Team Attack with Makhana at [roll8]. On a hit, Makhana gets +2 to the Damage and Grab DCs. On a hit by three degrees, this becomes +5. If Recruiter is Grabbed, he also has to roll Fortitude ([roll9]) DC 20 vs. Secondary Effect Weaken Toughness, Progressive while Grab is maintained. +2. Forgot the charge penalty so call it AoA for 2.

Jenny:
Move: Help William up.
Standard: Aid William's next attack with Predictive Fire at [roll10]. William is also Deflected at 1d10+20 for the next two turns.
Reaction: Team Attack with the Affliction portion of William's next attack at [roll11]. +5 to both

William:
Move: Into Close range of the Recruiter.
Standard: Attack the Recruiter with Power Rend, Power Attacking for 5, at [roll12]+Aid. On a hit, Toughness ([roll13]) DC 28 vs. Damage, Fortitude ([roll14]) DC 23+Team Attack vs. Cumulative, Progressive, Secondary Effect Powers Entranced/Stunned/Transformed. Hit thanks to Aid. Bruised and Dazed. Powers Stunned. Recruiter uses regular Fiat at end of ally turn to remove Stunned. Party gets a floating :smallcool: Hero Point.

Judy:
Move: Teleport onto Makhana with Blink Boots.
Standard: Attack Shamus with Enchanted Pistol at [roll15]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll16]) DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage. CRIT! +2 Multiattack. Bruised and Dazed.

Flashpoint:
Move: Sure.
Standard: Friction Cyclone. The remaining minion knights get Dodge DC 25 for half, Toughness DC 30/22 vs. Concentration Damage, Strength or Dodge DC 25/17 vs. Grab.
Dodge: [roll17]. Toughness: [roll18]. Dodge: [roll19].
Dodge: [roll20]. Toughness: [roll21]. Dodge: [roll22].
Dodge: [roll23]. Toughness: [roll24]. Dodge: [roll25].
Dodge: [roll26]. Toughness: [roll27]. Dodge: [roll28].
Dodge: [roll29]. Toughness: [roll30]. Dodge: [roll31].
Dodge: [roll32]. Toughness: [roll33]. Dodge: [roll34].
Dodge: [roll35]. Toughness: [roll36]. Dodge: [roll37].
Dodge: [roll38]. Toughness: [roll39]. Dodge: [roll40].
Dodge: [roll41]. Toughness: [roll42]. Dodge: [roll43].
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers.
[roll44].
[roll45].
[roll46].
[roll47].
[roll48].
[roll49].
[roll50].
[roll51].
[roll52].
...One survives! It even escapes the Grab!

Tara:
Move: Whatever.
Standard: Note to any NoS players reading along:

FIGHT. TARA. ALONE!

INSPIRE 5! The enemy side gets a bonus use of GM Fiat.

Enemy turn to come.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 2 (Ally Results and Enemy Turn)

The Recruiter's forcefield was having a bad day.

Punched by Future Josh. Hit by both Wulther and Future Makhana's charging horns. Shot by Jenny and slashed by William. The belt sparked fiercely, and the forcefield wobbled like an overlarge bubble...but it held, keeping the worst of the assault from the Recruiter.

Shamus wasn't exactly having fun either, but he hardened his skin to stone and withstood Future Sheema and Judy's attacks, although the stoneskin cracked under the impact.

Flashpoint took out...most of the remaining knights. One of them somehow managed to escape the flaming tornado, extinguishing the flames upon it in the doing. It was actually kinda impressive. Unfortunately, there were more where they had come from. Two teams of summons came flying for the hangar; a pair of red wyverns, each ridden by an iron knight and ice witch, with rainbow birds flying along ahead of them.

"Oh, Tara..." the Master said with a disappointed shake of his head.

"Do you still not understand the difference between us? Yes, yes, you are a very strong Dreamer. But you are an augmenter. Yours is the power to make those allies you manage to acquire stronger. While my power," he gestured casually in example, summoning a huge, ancient wyvern onto the field, controlling all three summons together like it was nothing. "My power provides me with all the allies I could ever need."

"That's what it comes down, Tara. What I have is power. Real power. You merely have energy. You barely managed to complete the first step of your plan before everything fell apart for you. I have conquered all of Ilessia. I am the most powerful Dreamer on Aranth, and you?"

"You are the most powerful battery!"

Down to just one (trapped) guardian, Shamus dismissed it to better focus on spellcasting. "Tara, please! I beg you, see reason! You cannot defeat him! He will kill you if you try!"

"Then I suppose you should try to prevent him from doing so, since you cannot convince me to meekly stand down!"

Darryll...started hyperventilating, actually. The problem was, Tara was vulnerable. She had augmented every ally she had on the field, but she could not simultaneously augment herself. She was a choice target, and worth taking off the field.

With a cry of frustration, Darryll dismissed his remaining summon to focus on spellcasting, summoning the winds to try to teleport Tara to safety - if such a thing could possibly be said to exist.

"Well, I was going to give you another summon, but I suppose that's no longer an applicable tactical priority," the Recruiter muttered in annoyance, before laying a hand on the Iron Dreadnought. Normally, trying to summon off of a summon was ludicrous even for the Recruiter, but the Master's personal summons were so powerful...

Another Iron Knight popped onto the field. It wasn't exactly making full use of the versatility at his command, but it was better than firing his pistol.

"The way your power works really is quite stupid," the Master told him. He said it with a straight face and without irony.

The Diamond Champion and the Iron Dreadnought teamed up against Future Josh, the two enormous brutes coming at the speedster hard, the Diamond Champion striking with rending claws in an effort to distract him from the hewing blade of the Dreadnought.

The Champion of Dreams didn't seem to do anything. Nope. Nothing at all. Nothing changed in the slightest.

The Ice Queen flicked her hands through the precise gestures of a spell, before waving one hand in a sweeping gesture at all before her. "Tormenta Gélida!" she invoked, sending a bitter wave of cold whipping through the heroes, draining the heat from their bodies.

Two Iron Knights, Ice Witches, Red Wyverns, and Rainbow Birds arrive this turn, and will act next round. They are not Minions. More will continue to arrive as the battle goes on!

The Master:
Move: Meh.
Standard: Summon an Ancient Wyvern.
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Use Caped Hero Megalomaniacal Villain! Inspire! 5! (This is seriously the most nonsense battle I have ever had the pleasure to run.)

Shamus:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Begin casting a spell.

Wind Wisk: Teleport 14 (Attack (Will), Perception Range, Secondary Effect).

Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Wind Wisk on Tara. Will ([roll0]) DC 24 or be teleported 60 miles away. VENGEANCE OR DEATH!

The Recruiter:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Bestow a summon on the Iron Dreadnought, summoning an Iron Knight.

Diamond Champion:
Move: Into Close range of Future Josh.
Standard: Aid the Iron Dreadnought's attack at [roll1]. Should have been four lower. Still +5
End of turn: Recovers 1 PP.

Iron Dreadnought:
Move: Into Close range of Future Josh.
Reaction: Attack Future Josh with The Moment Before a Master Strikes, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 3, at [roll2]+Aid, Deflected at [roll3]. On a hit, Will ([roll4]) DC 31 or be Vulnerable/Defenseless against the next attack. Deflected
Standard: Attack Future Josh with Zweihander, still All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 3, at [roll5], Deflected at [roll6]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll7]) DC 36 vs. Damage, Fortitude ([roll8]) DC 31 vs. Weaken All Defenses. Deflected

Champion of Dreams:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Waking Dreams. Everybody give me Dodge DC 22 to negate. If that fails, Will DC 22 vs. Vulnerable/Compelled/Controlled.
Judy: Dodge: [roll9]. Will: [roll10]. Negates
Wulther: Dodge: [roll11]. Will: [roll12]. Vulnerable
Future Josh: Dodge: [roll13]. Will: [roll14]. (Only rolling in case his defenses get weakened above). They didn't. They so didn't.
Future Sheema: Can't fail.
Future Makhana: Dodge: [roll15]. Will: [roll16]. Negates
Jenny: Can't fail.
William: Dodge: [roll17]. Will: [roll18]. Negates
Flashpoint: Can't fail.
Tara: Dodge: [roll19]. Will: [roll20]. Negates

Ice Queen:
Move: Charge Tormenta Gélida.
Standard: Tormenta Gélida on the group in front. I think this is long enough to reach Flashpoint too. So...everybody but Simon, Gestalt, and Tara if I remember correctly. (If you guys don't plan to flee this round I'll make an actual map). Dodge DC 28 for half. Fortitude DC 28/19 vs. Cumulative Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless/Incapacitated. The first conditions of each tier are physical only.
Judy: Dodge: [roll21]. Fortitude: [roll22]. Resists
Wulther: Dodge: [roll23]. Fortitude: [roll24]. Defenseless and Physically Stunned
Future Josh: Dodge: [roll25]. Fortitude: [roll26]. Has successfully humiliated every active summon on the field, having a great day
Future Sheema: Dodge: [roll27]. Fortitude: [roll28]. Resists
Future Makhana: Dodge: [roll29]. Fortitude: [roll30]. Resists
Jenny: Dodge: [roll31]. Fortitude: [roll32]. Resists
William: Dodge: [roll33]. Will: [roll34]. Resists
Flashpoint: Dodge: [roll35]. Fortitude: [roll36]. Resists

REMEMBER, MORE HOSTILES ARE APPROACHING EVERY ROUND, ON TOP ON ANY SUMMONED IN! YOU ARE LITERALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A MILITARY BASE THAT HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY AN ARMY OF PL 12 TEMPORAL SUMMONS, OF WHICH THE MASTER HAS LITERALLY MILLIONS*! I MAY NOT HAVE MADE THAT CLEAR ENOUGH!

*To be fair, they aren't all at this base. Still probably at least a thousand on hand here.

All PCs are on turn.

[manwithaplan]

The might of Tara compelled Josh to level destruction on his foes, but he resisted - carefully he focused his power to dart through the battlefield one more time, making a quick shot on the Recruiter and on Shamus before leaping onto one of the Makhanas.

"Alright, I'm sold," he said, shaking his body off to get rid of some excess energy. "Retreating!"

"Oh! Also, totally already beat Flashpoint," he said to Future-Him. "It's been so good, dude."

Alright, you leave me with no choice. Moving onto the Makhana closest to the fight, then configuring to the big fat 120-foot Selective Burst attack. Excluding all targets except for Shamus and Recruiter.

Standard Action: Flurry of Blows, Power Attack 5.

Recruiter Attack [roll0] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Shamus Attack [roll1] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.

Status: Normal.

[Starsign]

Sheema... still didn't quite understand what was going on. Based on their other selves, she suspected she was in the future. What she didn't figure out was how and why this timeline is apparently "collapsing." What the heck did that mean? The time travelers seemed to know it, but not her nor Makhana, nor her dad, nor Aquila. Seriously, she's going to need an explanation after this is done.

Both her and Makhana braced themselves as they saw the cold wave coming. Shemma twirled Galadhil in front of her to deflect the worst while the dire rhino merely shrugged off the frigid blast. It saddens the dire rhino that she must retreat with the rest. She was enjoying this fight, even though both Sheema and Wulther are involved. She only hopes that there will be another chance later as she checks up on the suddenly-paralyzed Wulther. Like his strength, Makhana also respects his mighty rhino form, brutal and hardy in appearance and about as big as herself. Though, quite clearly, he needs to condition himself to the frigid cold.

Sheema, in all her naivety and lack of knowledge, runs over next to the woman they had freed just a bit ago. "Sorry, but we should go!" Sheema warns Tara as the Perallan princess places her hand on the mysterious woman's arm. "We'll get another chance I'm sure! Next time we can get 'em outside of their base!" As little as Sheema knows, she's sure enough that this battle was being fought on the enemy's home ground; that had to be why the group was summoned to this point and then immediately attacked, right? That and, seeing Tara's friend pleading to stop, it'd help to get him over here before making another attack. "You're welcome to come with us too!" she calls to Daryll in a long shot that he'll agree... which is only if Tara agrees to retreat.

She did seem a bit vengeful after all...

Alright, technically I think I can do this, so Sheema is asking Tara to basically retreat with the rest of them in support that they'll get a better shot at the Master next time. I... THINK this will take a Persuasion check via Standard action, but just lemme know Quellian if it requires something else.

Makhana meanwhile... Uh, I do kinda need to arrange things but I'm thinking she'll be grabbing Tara in case she disagrees with the plan, and possibly grabbing Wulther too. Am I allowed to delay Makhana's reaction until after Tara's response?

[DukeGod]

"Forget his words Tara. Master! I'm still you. Only better! And together, WE WILL DETHRONE YOU!"

Leviath holds his breath and reaches out with his mind towards everything he can reach. Foreseeing hell on his body and mind once this was done, he makes his way to Future Makhana. The retreat was in order. This was just his spite

He targets the Wyvern, the Dreadnought, the Queen and the Knight

"I know you know who I am. I am the original. I am the real deal. I AM THE SUMMONNER. HE IS NOTHING BUT A BAD MEMORY!"

Move: Into Future Makhana
Hero Point: Heroic Feat: Extraordinary Effort. Which means I'm using 2 extra efforts tooo
Add a +2 bonus to my Control Summon roll and then the other effort to boost it to +5
Which leads to...
Standard: Control Summons
+5 Inspire, +5 Extra Effort, rolled twice
Dreadnought
[roll0]
[roll1]
Queen
[roll2]
[roll3]
Knight
[roll4]
[roll5]
Wyvern
[roll6]
[roll7]

[Born]

Eric wasn't sure why a timeline would take time to change based on changes to the past, but he didn't see any reason not to trust the future versions of the others. Someone else could do the math. He sprung into action, now with the goal of evacuating. He grabbed the frozen Wulther to carry him along, then called forth a wall of thick vegetation between the escaping heroes and their foes.


Standard: Grab Wulther (if necessary).
:smallcool: Extra Standard: Plant Growth to create the largest wall possible between the heroes and the villains. Not likely to last more than one attack, but it's one attack not directed at us.
Move: Get out of here!

[Dorni]

Simon responded to Future Josh with a nod. He'd learned, and he had critical tactical information that Simon currently lacked. And the window for eliminating the Summoners before they could call upon insurmountable levels of reinforcements was all but closed.

"Everyone fall back! We're getting out of here. Tara, you too."

Move: To Future Makhana
Standard: Defend

[Grim ranger]

Beginning to agree with Simon's assessment, Aquila went on to hurry over to Makhana: while he could likely burrow to escape by himself, he did not want to risk the matter: staying in group simply seemed wiser when faced with an enemy this strong. But there was still something he could do to help their escape.

Raising his hand suddenly, Aquila focused all of his power to moving earth underneath the building, bringing up sudden solid walls one after another, seeking to stall the Master and his summons for long enough for everyone to evacuate.

Moving to Makhana for a lift and using Earth My Servant + Decree to erect as thick of an earthen wall around Master and other remaining enemies as I can while leaving the pods with dreamers in them untouched.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Josh popped the Recruiter's forcefield another good one, sending more sparks cascading from the belt, but it still didn't break. Future Josh answered him, "Already? Haha, sick. Once we're back at base, I want the details."

Gestalt unleashed everything, all his will and all his power, augmented twice-over by the full might of Tara Ellens, to take back control of his summons!

The attempt was sufficient to disorient the recently-summoned wyvern, and distract the ice queen...but neither of the knights so much as flinched, and none of them obeyed Gestalt's commands. "It is almost painful to watch. Was I really so weak...?" the Master idly mused. If it was a struggle for him to hold off his past self's will, he did not show it.

Mandragora and Summit raised their barriers. Under normal circumstances such defenses would not likely hold for long in the face of the power of the Master's summons, but...

Something was different. Both of them received a flickering vision, just for an instant, of a great stone keep rising out of what looked like some verdant expanse of tropical land, and they felt...something. A presence, a power, not the same as the sheer energy that Tara had invested in them, and perhaps not in itself as strong, but...deeper, and utterly pervasive, and just vaguely familiar.

And the stone and soil answered their call like never before! A veritable mountain of earth and wood sprang up around the Master, the Recruiter, and their summons, doming up around them and tearing through the roof of the building, blocking them off entirely.

There was a resounding clang as the Iron Dreadnought and Diamond Champion struck blows against the mountain from within. The force of the blow sent cracks running through it - but it held. For now.

Now, the problem was that there were still a few of the others in the thick of things with no wait nevermind Future Josh.

Thanks to the speedster, the only summoner still outside of the trap was Darryll - injured and with his summons dismissed. Tara gave him a measured look. Despite her best efforts, retreat was the order of the day, and they could hardly ask for a better opportunity for it. So be it. He would get his due in time. "I understand why you worked with him. I understand why you tried to convince me not to fight. You were trying to protect my life, even at the cost of my freedom. That...is what it is. Now, you can come with us, and we can fight him another day. Or you can remain here, and try to negotiate for my safety. I do not expect that Legion will hear it, but frankly, it is a moot point."

"Because Darryll, I do not care what you negotiate. I do not care what deals you manage to make or what promises you manage to exact. I swear on the Promise that I will not be placed in that pod again. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Darryll just sighed, and dismissed his prior spell, before looking at the group. "You have doomed us all," he had you know, as he (somewhat tentatively) approached Future Makhana alongside Tara. "Although I suppose it's not the first time."

Future Makhana growled lowly at Darryll as he approached. It...wasn't so much a sound as just a low vibrating rumble you felt in your chests. And, uh, maybe a little bit the walls of the building. They seemed to be vibrating. Darryll...wisely shifted course to Past Makhana instead.

Future Josh gave the shaman a...look. It was a very meaningful, and yet very inscrutable look. He glanced at Future Sheema, who seemed to be biting her lip just a bit. But neither of them actually said anything.

Once everyone was mounted, the two rhinos took off at speed, the booming clangs of inhumanly powerful blows cracking into the risen mountain echoing behind them. Future Makhana was...actually even faster than her past self, but that was nothing a quick augment from Tara couldn't fix.

Although she did actually seem mildly surprised that it worked.

Tara's ability allows her to augment powers. While she can augment non-Dreamer powers, such as her magical rituals, and she has proven able to augment natural traits with ritual assistance, she wasn't actually certain whether the augmented physicality of Perallan beasts actually counted enough for her to boost on the fly. But let's just say, it sure ain't physics that lets animals get that large and still move that fast; Spiritual Energy is definitely involved somehow, and if there's enough Spiritual Energy, Tara can augment it.

So, the good news was, everybody got out of the hangar!

The bad news was they were still in the middle of a military base occupied by hostile summons.

The rhinos raced on, Future Makhana pretty much straight trampling any knights that tried to get in her way. Future Josh and Flashpoint ran about the perimeter to take down advancing units, or shot through the air to beat rainbow birds and red wyverns out of the sky as they approached. Jenny provided supporting fire, while Future Sheema sniped anyone trying to come up on their flanks with deadly throws of Galadhil, pulling the weapon back with a practiced tug on a little attached cord of Perallan spider-silk.

William...William had quietly positioned himself behind Darryll. He didn't take any hostile action, but his sword was still in his hand.

The base...had definitely seen better days. It wasn't super easy to make out details at the speeds the rhinos were moving (except for Josh and Simon), but...signs of extensive and crudely-patched battle damage were everywhere. And if one looked out beyond the base, they could see all too clearly.

The city of Adaros, as far as you could see, was in utter shambles.

Since Gestalt spent a Hero Point, Future Gestalt suffers a Complication - in this case, Mandragora and Summit's actions getting a foreshadowriffic supercharge. Mandragora, this Complication also refunds the HP you spent for the Extra Effort.

You guys aren't in the clear yet, but you have a brief respite while the Master's forces get themselves organized - the initial response is mainly Minions that the future folks can take down fairly trivially, but if you want to claim some pot shots feel free, you don't have to roll for it. PL 12 or not, they're still Minions. And between Mandragora, Judy, and Tara, all combat conditions get healed (and Mandragora you can set your Triggered healing back up), but fatigue conditions remain.

If you guys want to discuss anything among each other or the future folks you have enough of a respite to do so.

[Starsign]

Sheema holds on tight to her dad as the two ride Makhana out of the military base. She's a lot more relieved now that escape was the right call of action. She just had to help her dad-turned-rhino-and-back-to-human get on Makhana when he had been chilled by the cold wave. Having others on Makhana made for an exciting experience for Sheema... less so for Makhana. She had already approved of Summit from past battles; but she wasn't quite as accepting to William or Darryll, both of which she gave a small glare to. Were this not a life-or-death situation, Makhana would've rejected both of them. She's a great beast, not a transport!

It's only Sheema's, and the other Sheema's insistence on fleeing that makes Makhana tolerate the others.

Sheema herself grips her arms tightly around her father's chest. She's not used to Makhana going as fast as she currently is; what was that power that Tara woman used on her? Whatever it is, it's awesome! If it weren't for all the monsters around, Sheema would throw her arms up in the air and let the air rush past her dark-skinned and guarded body.

Instead she has to actually deal with the monsters around her, swiping at them with Galadhil when they get close. A quick look over at her other self indicates what she's missing; a grappling line for her spear. Where'd she get Perallan silk? You have to kill then cut open an old dire spider before weaving its silk right out of its body. It's a difficult and complicated process that, if done correctly, yields a soft-yet-sturdy material excellent for both clothing and rope. Sheema should keep that in mind next time she goes back to Peral.

Sheema motions with her legs to move up next to the other Makhana as the two rhinos run besides each other. With a moment to spare, Sheema looks over at Tara and tries to talk to her amidst the chaos of escaping. "Hey!" Sheema yells. "sorry again we had to run. But we'll get another chance! Not like he'll let us just escape freely." The princess talks so casually beyond the yelling to make sure that her voice doesn't get drown out by the stomping of hooves on cement. "Tara, was it? I'm Sheema. Good to meet you!" She briefly tries extending her hand out to shake Tara's before the rumbling of the rhinos send it back to hugging Wulther. "I know this isn't the best time," Sheema continues, "But what was that guy doing to you? He called it something like a battery?!"

The fact that Sheema is trying to talk happily to who would become Ilessia's #1 supervillain is potentially alarming to... just about everyone. Too bad Sheema and Makhana aren't aware of what happens five years later!

[Dorni]

From atop Future Makhana, Simon scanned the skies and swatted enemy fliers from the sky with blasts of kinetic energy. He trusted the others to clear the way on the ground and their group had never had an overabundance of ranged firepower. In the close confines of Adaros it had never been much of an issue. With the devastation to the city... the situation had changed.

Which was a good place to start while they had a lull in the fighting. How much had changed in this timeline? More to the point, the timeline was supposed to have collapsed after they'd uncoupled it following the Disappearance and yet somehow The Master had brought them here.

"Maybe we'll take another shot at him. Maybe victory lies elsewhere," he responded to the perallan girl. They were flying blind and didn't even know their objective. Fortunately, they had a lull in the battle and someone who did.

Simon eyed future Josh. "If the timeline is collapsing, why would The Master bring us here, then drag out a fight and run out a clock? What's his objective here?" It was subtle, but the questions had a different inflection than usual. It was a straightforward request for information, but the inflection was that of one speaking to an equal - or at least a near-equal - rather than an old seen-it-all warrior instructing. Evidently something in the red-suited speedster's demeanor earned Simon's acknowledgement.

[Born]

The sudden, Dreamlike vision Mandragora received shook him somewhat. It was more awe than fear, though. The towering fusion of stone and tree that he and Summit had conjured somehow felt right. It was as though Nature itself had blessed their efforts. He wondered what power had given them the vision. A servant of Nature? Balance or Chaos? Both?

Once the crew had a long enough relief from the barrage of summoned minions, Mandragora asked Summit "Did you see it, too? The stone keep rising from the jungle?" He awaited Summit's response, and then continued "I learned the last time we were in a situation like this to pay close attention to visions like that. I don't know if it's as important as last time, but I thought I should let everyone know as soon as possible. When Summit and I created the barrier around the summoners, I saw a vision of a great keep rising out of a jungle. I could feel something else involved, too, but I'm not sure what it was."

[DukeGod]

"Maybe some level of stability? Maybe as long as we're here rather than the past, he can keep the timeline going? Or he could send Summons back in time again to try to get his timeline to consolidate, and we can't stop it from here?"

[manwithaplan]

"He said he would be safe if I was destroyed," Josh butted in.

"Doesn't leave very much to the imagination, man. If they take me out, I think Lorelei's corrections won't get made. Undo everything we did to stop him.".

[Quellian-dyrae]

Tara looked to Sheema as she addressed her.

There was...just a momentary flicker of surprise on her face. Honestly, mostly at the "it's good to meet you" bit, but kinda the whole thing. By this point in her life, Tara Ellens was...not particularly used to being regarded in a friendly manner.

"Something like that," she answered, a distant look in her eyes, the vague hint of a pained frown on her lips. "I'm an augmenter. A...powerful one, I guess," she said with a shrug, although even discounting her actions during the fight, the mere fact that she was up and talking would have made that clear - the other Dreamer that Gestalt had rescued from the pods had pretty much passed out the moment he was set atop Future Makhana's back.

"I'm not certain of the technological details of how it worked, but fundamentally...you know the basics of how Dreamer powers actually work? Our Spiritual Energy forms certain shapes that, when energy flows through them, produce reality-altering effects? The shape of an augmenter's power...predominantly, what it does is heighten the energy that passes through it, and allow that volume of energy to be directly safely. Those pods stole our Spiritual Energy, yes," her voice wavered just a hint as she said so; it was clear that while she was giving the explanation with technical dispassion, it had been a traumatic experience. "But that was only part of it. They stole it through our powers, heightening it even as it was ripped from us, and funneling it through the next augmenters in line, boosted again and again, maximizing its intensity. Like sunlight focused through a magnifying glass."

"I was the strongest. It passed through me last."

"Well, sort of," Future Josh answered the speculations in between racing off to dispense super-speed beat-downs to various nearby and not-so-nearby summoned creatures.

"Thing is...okay, remember how we actually made the decision to give the information to Lorelei?" he asked his past self. "We basically went through all the possible ways it could go and the salient point was that passing the message on would be better than not. But it's not like we were a Doctor of Temporal Sciences or anything. It was basically speculating as wildly as we could and coming up with way more ways it went right than it went wrong." He might have sounded just a touch sheepish when he put it like that, but there it was.

There was a half-second pause as he went to knock a few wyverns out of the air. "Anyway, thing is? The understanding of the situation that we gained from that? Ten years later, that's still the most comprehensive understanding anybody has on what's actually going on with this timeline. Legion included."

"I don't know how long it's been for you guys since then. For us, it's been a week and a half. Pretty much the moment Lorelei delivered her message, we started seeing those...specs." He gestured broadly at nothing in particular, because the little bits of staticky nothingness were basically everywhere. "Only a few, only every so often. But as time went on, they got more common, denser. Everybody's pretty sure it's the timeline disappearing. All our memories are still normal, so if like...our past-to-us-future-to-you selves have already gone through the full whatever and it's just catching up to us, it hasn't rippled to our memories, anyway. We're pretty sure it'll finish in less than a week, at this point. Or at least, the furthest Jenny's seen since it started was twenty days from the message. But what happens when the timeline disappears...that we don't know."

"Yes, we do," Shamus interrupted sullenly. "This timeline has been rendered a logical impossibility. A paradoxical occurrence. We will all cease to exist. Not merely die. Cease. In trying to save your country, you have doomed your entire world."

Having been exposed to Shamus' fatalistic spiel before, Future Josh took advantage of the opportunity to go kill-steal from Flashpoint a couple times. "That's one school of thought," he picked up when he got back, in a bit of a snarky tone. "My personal hypothesis is that the timeline will simply correct itself to a not-paradoxical version, ideally one where you never went off the deep end in the first place," he said with a wink to Gestalt. "Lorelei speculates it will merge with the least paradoxical timelines. There's a few other theories bouncing around but they don't come from either of the country's foremost experts on the subject, so they're hardly worth discussing," he said with kinda-joking loftiness.

"Far as killing you to stop it goes," he said, again more to his past self, "You're correct that that's Legion's goal. But he has no more evidence that it'll actually work than he has for...well, anything regarding the timeline change. I mean, logically it shouldn't matter at all, since even if he kills you this is the you from after you gave Lorelei the information. Although when Jenny got her vision of this whole thing going down she said something about you guys having been in the past or something? So, if you went further back in time and he pulled you from there...maybe he thought he could trick time into thinking he killed the version of you that had changed the timeline and undo the change? I'm not sure what all's going through his head exactly. Point is, he believes that the timeline is collapsing and that killing you would stop it. Whether he's right or not is irrelevant. Whether this timeline ceases to be, changes, merges into another, or something else, what happens to anyone who's being all staticky isn't going to matter all that much in another eight days. But you guys are still in crystal-clear HD, so what happens to you does, at least as far as your timeline is concerned."

"Long story short, we won ten years ago, Legion's grasping at straws, and the only reason that's actually a problem is that the straws he's grasping at happen to be your throats. But don't sweat it. Lorelei's already working on a way to get you back to your proper time. And once we get to base, we're safe. Even Legion's never been able to take it." For whatever reason, he actually upnodded at Mandragora when he said so.

[Starsign]

Holding on tightly to her dad, Sheema keeps her head down while listening to Tara's response. The augmenter's explanation helped put her importance into perspective. She is the world's strongest augmenter? That's an incredible title to have... Or perhaps the most unfortunate, if her captive situation was any indication. The details of the containment pods made Sheema's dark skin crawl. She's never heard of something so technically advanced and technically cruel. It's a horrifying wonder that Tara was still able to stand, much less fight, the moment she was freed.

It's a miracle that not only is she escaping now, she's doing so with her lover in tow.

"That's..." The Perallan princess desperately tries to find a response to Tara's explanation. Truth be told, there isn't much to say besides the obvious. "That's awful! I can't even imagine how painful it must have been..." The wording is quite literal. What is it like to have Spiritual Energy sucked right out of you? To Sheema, it comes off as if the pods outright sucked out the will to live. That's not containment, that's outright torture.

Sheema pauses, unsure of what to say next. Leaving the conversation as it is will be too negative for what is a really bleak time; the ruined city of Adaros should be a good-enough sign of that. So instead, she tries to look up at what they've already done and smiles at Tara. "Well you're free now, and your boyfriend is here too! Once this is all done and you got your revenge on that Master guy, you two can live happily together!"

Surely Tara and Daryll must normally happen to be powerful but harmless Dreamers that got unfairly captured by the Master.

While Galadhil holds tightly on her right hand, Sheema listens... or tries to listen to the long-winded explaination offered by the other Josh. If this happened to make sense for someone else, then it's merely Sheema being out of the loop; and judging by everything going on, she and Aquila are really out of the loop.

So she gives Gestalt, Josh, Simon, Vines and Judy all a uncharacteristically sharp glance as the princess speaks up. "Alright, so very little of that made sense to me and it sure seems like you got all that. Now that we're sucked into this I think you owe me, Summit, and my family an explanation: who and when in spirits are you people?!'

[Dorni]

"Simon Candler, Josh Miles, Leviath Cinder, Mandragora. Hero Corps Adaros Chapter, 5 years to your time," he responded to the perallan girl. He swatted a dive-bombing summon from the sky with another kinetic blast. "The rest can wait. You picked an awful time to get cold feet."

Still, the possibility of escaping this timeline presented some... considerations. It seemed The Master could Summon individuals under restricted circumstances into the timeline, but he couldn't send himself out of it. Not on his own. Under no circumstances could The Master be allowed to escape this timeline. Or Tara, for that matter. She may be working with them now, but Simon had no illusions that she was reformed. That vengeance streak of hers still burned hot. It just happened to be pointed at their enemy for the moment. All of which meant that Lorelei's device absolutely could not be allowed to fall into either of their hands. Whatever the cost.

"So we either wait it out or escape the timeline. Presumably without Tara, he can't repeat the ritual he used to drag us here?" He glanced at Daryll for confirmation. "In which case we win and hes toast. He'll know it too, so his next obvious move is an all out assault on your base. If it came to it, could you withstand him?"

"Josh, let us know when we're getting close. Leviath, we'll need you to wear a blindfold when we get there."

[Born]

As he raised a knot of trees as a blockade in the face of a line of charging knights, Mandragora added his own thoughts to Simon's response to Sheema's burning questions. "I'm not sure about everyone else, but I wasn't sure what kinds of things might happen to the timeline if we told you too much. Now that we've been summoned into a seemingly-unstable future anyway though, I can't see how it would make any more difference. I just wonder how or if we can get back to our own time at this rate."

The vine man braced for the landing from Makhana leaping over a twisted piece of debris in her way, and took a moment to continue to be impressed at her. She must weigh a lot more than a normal rhinoceros, yet still makes jumping work. He then continued "The Master dragged all of us into this with some kind of mass-summoning-kidnapping-ritual. Well, he didn't summon us, but a lot of other people. Anyway, I guess we foiled him with what we did after that somehow. I'm still not totally clear on the details."

[Grim ranger]

Trying to follow the incredibly complicated discussion regarding temporal theory, people he had never heard about, insane future selves and power theft while ALSO attempting to halt some of the incoming summons with walls of stone was proving to be new and frustrating experience for Summit. Although he had measure of trust in the heroes apparently originating from the future after the battles they had fought together so far, he couldn't help but be somewhat annoyed at the enforced vagueness of answers, necessary or not as it might have been.

Bickering, however, would likely have to wait until they were not all in danger of possibly being retroactively erased from existence by time paradox or destroyed by numerous summons around the place.

"I cannot say I understand most of the temporal stuff being thrown around in this discussion, but I do understand we should likely go" he pointed out, looking at the rest of the motley crew of paradoxical capes. "However, I have absolutely no idea how to escape this timeline, so I will leave that to more capable hands than my own. I will admit, though, that there best be some explanations once we are in less danger of being torn apart because someone has gone insane in the future."

[Starsign]

Sheema stays silent as she hangs on tight to her dad. At this point, finally, finally getting a response from the time travelers is enough for her. She is, however, surprised at the response. Their identities and association sounds... normal, almost too normal for her expectations. "Oh, that's... that's it?" She raises a skeptical eye on her black-skinned face. "You four are Hero Corps? Not sure why you had to hide that." She looks over at Mandagora and smiles slightly. "I mean, telling us about yourselves isn't gonna completely change history or whatever." The princess' carefree thoughts echo a certain naivety, as if the consequences don't seem all that severe to her. Given they helped save her dad, time travel seems more awesome than dangerous.

Continuing, all the while swinging her spear around to get the pursuing summons to back off, Sheema addresses the four time travelers again as she notices Simon made one glancing omission. "Hey, what about Judy?" she asks, looking over at the shy-but-intelligent scientist. "She's Hero Corps too, right? And, uh, what's with this blindfold thing? This got to do with that Leviath-lookalike?"

Clearly still confused, Sheema reaches back a moment to touch Summit's shoulder as if trying to comfort him. They're both in this together and are about as confused as it gets. There's a lot more needed than "some" explanation; they need a lot more than that; these time travelers owe them that much. "Let's just follow their lead," she insists to her friend. "And we'll make sure to get all our questions answered before they go. If not, we'll just nag them about it five years down the line!"

For a hopeful wanting to enter Hero Corps, it'll definitely be exciting to meet these time travelers in the future... After they get out of this alive.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The military base had been left far behind. The group was travelling miles in seconds, after all. But the city of Adaros was enormous, and as they raced through it, it was all the same story - charred, blasted husks of buildings, shattered roads, slain bodies and destroyed vehicles - civilian and military alike - littering the streets. The group passed thousands of corpses, hundreds of ruined tanks, jets, and ACVs, and even the broken remains of three mecha as they rode on. As summons vanished when slain, it was impossible to tell how many of their opponents the defenders of Adaros had taken with them, but they had clearly fought to the last. Leaving the base behind had somewhat slowed the attacks of the summons, but hadn't halted them. Rainbow birds and red wyverns still swooped in from all directions, and many of the buildings they passed had iron knights sallying forth and ice witches sniping from rooftops.

"M-me?" Judy kinda squeaked when Sheema asked if she were Hero Corps too. "No no, not...not at all. I'm just an artificer. Josh rescued me and we've been going treasure hunting together and when I heard they were going to check out a time machine I wanted to see it."

"Will do," Future Josh answered Simon. "I mean, for the sake of clarity, I suppose it's worth mentioning that you guys aren't technically our direct past selves anymore. Like, I don't have a memory of this whole thing from his perspective," he said with a nod to Josh, "Because I didn't go through whatever experiences you guys have since splitting the timeline. Not to say that the blindfold isn't still a potentially good idea though. Not like Legion plays by the rules or anything."

"Legion's never managed to take the base, and it's not for lack of trying," William said.

"Tara's power was key to the Mast- that is, to Legion's greatest feats of power, but at the end of the day he does still have over two-hundred augmenters. I would not rule out the possibility that he might still be able to pull together enough energy to summon things from the past, but certainly not on the same scale as he was able to manage previously. In any case, summoning people from other timelines is not something that I understand him to be capable of regardless of how much energy he puts to the task. The only reason we tried it with you was because my divinations indicated that you would be between timelines entirely if we timed it correctly. Even then, I was rather surprised that it worked at all."

~Incoming, everyone,~ Jenny warned the group. It wasn't...quite telepathy. The knowledge of her words simply appeared in their heads.

Precognition was a useful but not always super-reliable power. In this case, Jenny's warning came in the nick of time and not a single moment sooner, as an enormous avian with rainbow feathers, crackling with an aura of multihued lightning, just...appeared. It didn't teleport in, it flew at them so fast that even Simon's hasted eyes couldn't make it out at all, and even Josh's super-speed perceptions perceived it as little more than a streak of prismatic light until it slowed down as it reached them, hovering several hundred feet up and letting out a piercing shriek, drawing the attention of any permasummon nearby.

~That's Legion's Rainbow Phoenix,~ Future Josh sent, and while his voice may not have shown concern, quite, and certainly not fear, it was definitely just a shade more serious. ~We're gonna have to banish it. Leave it to us, if you guys can deal with whatever goons it attracts that'll be great.~

Unfortunately, the avian summon wasn't the only threat to suddenly appear. The dark-robed, dark-haired man who appeared about a hundred feet from the group with a sudden pop of teleportation was all too familiar.

Because if there was one thing that was certain amidst all this crazy time-traveling shenanigans, it was that you lot simply could not have a single timeline where you didn't encounter Harold Brace.

In this particular timeline, though, Brace was carrying Arcanis' staff. Tara's eyes might have lit up just slightly when she saw it.

~Um,~ Future Josh sent with a bit of annoyance.

~New plan!~ Future Sheema sent, still cheerily, but with authority in her mental voice. ~My time's Josh, Flashpoint, you two engage the Rainbow Phoenix. Jenny, provide them sniper support. Darryll, Tara, assist with whatever magic you've got. William, Ma, we're going to take down any other summons that try to get involved. Warlock's all you guys!~

~No,~ Tara answered. ~I will assist against Warlock.~

~And I will support Tara.~

A sense of annoyed frustration passed through the oracular link briefly, but Future Sheema answered, ~Fine. I'll help the speedsters. Dad, Judy, if you can help William and Ma, please?~

Mechanically, I'm only going to resolve things for you guys (with Darryll and Tara supporting because hey you earned it!) and Warlock. If you want to attack something else you may, but the NPCs can be assumed to handle them every bit as well as you guys handle Warlock - so if you utterly wreck him, they'll utterly wreck their opponents, if you guys have a hard fight they will, etc. Josh, Sheema, if you want, you can call for an assist from your future selves, at the cost of one of their Hero Points (basically their spending a Hero Point gives them enough of a momentary edge that they can dedicate some attention to your fight). I'll control Darryll and Tara but if you guys want them to do a certain thing let me know and I'll at least take it under advisement.

Tara is still at -2 on stats and ranks. All damage and such from the previous fight is gone, but fatigue remains.

Also, Jenny's Shared Awareness power connects you all with Rapid 2, Subtle 2 Mental Communication. While it's active, everyone knows everyone else's positions and status if willing, and as long as you're physically together with another person in the link you may make reaction Perception, Insight, and Expertise checks as Team Checks if you wish to.

Also I noticed while updating the status list you guys had a floating HP leftover. Sheema and Aquila were tied for lowest resources, so I rolled randomly and Sheema got it.

Initiative:
Mandragora: [roll0].
Gestalt (-2 for Exhausted): [roll1].
Simon: [roll2].
Josh: [roll3].
Sheema: [roll4].
Aquila: [roll5].

Darryll: [roll6].
Tara: [roll7].

Warlock: [roll8].

Josh is on turn.

[manwithaplan]

Josh stopped squaring up to fight for a second to glance at Tara, then at Brace, and then he smirked.

"I know what you want."

He leapt from Makhana with such great efficacy that he flew towards and then right beyond Warlock.

"Hey, big man!" He had just enough time to let out a taunt as his body whizzed by.

Half a moment later, leaping from someplace else, he sailed right by the hairs on Brace's skin once more. Five or six or twelve dozen more times in the space of a few seconds he harried Harold from all directions before suddenly slipping in front of the mage, snaking a tight grip around his staff, and then twirling about to plant both feet on his chest.

If he got into position, he would kick himself off of Brace with such force that the mighty staff of Arcanis came with him, plummeting back down to the rhino he had started on.

Move Action: Agile Feint Brace at [roll0].
Standard Action: Switch to Flight, go to Brace, Aim at him.
Free Action: Extra Effort Surge.
Standard Action: Flurry of Blows on Brace, All-Out Attack 2, Power Attack 5. Attack [roll1] for Opposed DC [roll2]+Multiattack Strength versus Disarm.
Free Action: Go Insubstantial.

Status: -2 Defence, Incorporeal, Fatigued next turn.

[manwithaplan]

Softly landing next to Tara, Josh gave her a smile, twirled Arcanis' staff about in his hand, and then passed it to her.

"Alright, you can have this. Don't waste it."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 1

Future Josh and Flashpoint raced up to engage the Rainbow Phoenix, running along the air because the laws of physics had nothing on speedsters, with Jenny providing covering fire. Now, you'd think Future Sheema would be a less than ideal choice for engaging a super-fast, flying opponent. But look Sheema had survived Legion with no Dreamer powers, no super-tech, no Chi, no magic, not even the totemic augments of a Perallan Hunter. She had some tricks up her sleeve, which she demonstrated by throwing Galadhil into a nearby building, wrapping its spider-silk cord around her arms several times, and running up the wall, past the spear, leaping and swinging out in a high arc and pulling the spear out as she went despite using it for leverage for her swing. Her incredible strength and agility, coupled with the leverage offered by the indestructible spear, sent her soaring up above the Rainbow Phoenix; by the time her momentum brought her down, Galadhil was back in hand and going straight for the summoned creature's back.

Wulther went rhino and charged into the fray alongside Future Makhana as some iron knights came out of a building, while William made use of the high natural Spiritual Energy of an experienced Dreamer to parkour up to the rooftops to engage the witches up there. Judy...stayed planted firmly atop Future Makhana, but she had a pair of wands in hand and used them to launch fireballs and lightning bolts at any knots of enemies she spotted.

But up against Warlock, Josh led the attack, the speedster rushing in and snatching Arcanis' staff from the dark wizard like it wasn't no thing. Brace just kinda blinked a couple times as he looked down at his now-empty hands. "You...are very annoying," he had Josh know.

Tara accepted the staff with a huge, appreciative smile. It didn't look wicked at all! The runes on the device began shining with brilliant white light the moment she laid her hand on it. "Ohh...I've missed this," she said contentedly.

Arcanis' staff was a powerful tool for a magic user, but Harold Brace had gained quite a bit of experience over the past ten years, and there were few powersets indeed that responded as well to study and practice as magic. Of course, it wasn't all about new spells. Sometimes, the oldies were the best. Brace cast his baleful gaze out over the group, assailing the minds and wills of anyone who met his eyes. By now, the heroes had enough experience with the Warlock's magic that they could feel immediately that there was substantially greater force behind his will...and his gaze attack carried with it not only its normal hypnotic power, but a niggling sense of doom, as if it had been imbued with a portion of his warlock's curse.

You notice that Brace didn't say a word or make any gesture other than a swift glace around when using that spell. Evidently, in the intervening years, he had mastered his magic sufficiently to cast spells with will alone. Warlock no longer has a Spell Components Complication.

Tara and Darryll quickly averted their eyes from Warlock's gaze. Once his eyes had passed, they looked him over. Darryll knew a little of what Warlock was capable of, and he shared what he knew with Tara as she appraised him, and she passed their judgment along to everyone else. Tara was, after all, the ultimate team player, when it suited her to be.
~At the peak of my power I would have crushed him trivially. At the moment, I expect he can muster somewhat more raw magical energy than I am capable of. Even so, I would not fear him in single combat. Darryll and I together would have little trouble defeating him. Against all of us? He doesn't stand a chance. His wards have no particular strengths or weaknesses, so hit him with whatever you deem best.~

PL 15+1 (15+2 with the staff, it basically was just a straight 30 PP add-on). No tradeoffs. All stats at PL.

Frankly, Darryll didn't feel like a summon was even required here. He could provide plenty sufficient contribution to this battle with shamanism alone.

Oh, don't get me wrong. He still summoned a towering sixty-foot roughly-humanoid mass of water. I mean, he was a summoner. He wasn't going to just not summon something. He just didn't particularly feel it was required, is all.

Tara, meanwhile, channeling the power of her persistent rituals through the Staff of Arcanis, let loose with her preferred element, sending a storm of lightning bolts crashing down on Warlock.

Warlock:
Move: Attempt to Demoralize Josh at [roll0].
Standard: Hypnotic Gaze. Everybody give me Dodge DC 25 to negate. If it fails, Will DC 25 vs. Entranced/Compelled/Controlled. Failures also cause Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless, Limited to only against Warlock. Tara and Darryll rolled OOC and avoided the effect.

Darryll:
Free: Team Check Tara's Assessment.
Move: Meh.
Standard: Summon the Spirit of the Pitiless Sea.

Tara:
Free: Assess Warlock.
Free: Augmentation on self. With the Staff of Arcanis, her Augmentation is reduced to a free action and gains two additional ranks, when augmenting her magical powers, offsetting the two rank reduction.

48 points to add Linked Affliction 16 (Vulnerable/Stunned/Incapacitated; Alternate Resistance [Fortitude], Multiattack) to Ritual of the Eldritch Assault.
2 points to add Incurable and Precise to the Damage of Ritual of the Eldritch Assault.

Move: Meh.
Standard: Ritual of the Eldritch Assault on Warlock. Variable Descriptor is Electricity. Attacking at [roll1]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll2]) DC 29+Multiattack vs. Incurable, Secondary Effect Damage, Fortitude ([roll3]) DC 24+Multiattack vs. Vulnerable/Stunned/Incapacitated. Bruised

All PCs are on turn.

[manwithaplan]

"Yeah dude," the speedster agreed, swinging through the air to Warlock so that they were close enough to speak.

"On a salary for it!" He yelled his line as he fell past the mage and towards the ground, and then he took to running alongside the Makhanas, keeping a short lead on them as he watched the battles above unfold.

Standard Action: Recover from Fatigued.
Move Action: Move away from the group.

Status: Recover used.

[Dorni]

Simon smiled on the inside observing the rapid tactical back-and-forth among his future teammates. If that thinking was characteristic of other timelines, Hero Corps would be in good hands. But that was a thought for another time.

~Agreed.~ Simon readied a strike but held it for just a moment, studying this version of Brace's movements. Collectively their team had more than enough firepower to deal with Brace, but individually he had enough spiritual energy to be difficult. Still, Spiritual Energy didn't mean anything if the user was unable to apply it.

Simon struck the air in front of him and let his suit deliver the force directly to Brace's nerves.

Standard: Aim at Warlock
Move: Charge Target the Nerves
Extra Effort: Attack Warlock with Target The Nerves, PA 5, AoA 2. [roll0]. On hit, Toughness DC 30 vs Damage & Fort DC 25 vs Weaken [All Defenses]

[Starsign]

Sheema is in awe at her other self.

The Perallan princess has always been skilled and experienced in combat; but that skill of her's is nothing compared to her older self as she performed a mammoth of a trick: using Galadhil to help her run up a damn building and getting distance above the rainbow phoenix. Sheema never believed she can pull something like that off and her older self does it as easy as breathing. It's amazing! She'll have to learn that trick in the future.

Sheema waves off her dad as he transforms and charges forth alongside the other Makhana. Even if he may not be as experienced and as fast as the older Sheema and Makhana, Wulther has enough experience and power to keep up with them. Sheema and Makhana should be more concerned about the wizard halting their progress; that strange, old-looking villain that... looks... familiar...

"Uh, Makhana?' she asks loudly to her dire rhino, "Didn't we see this guy die before?" Makhana just shakes her head nonchalantly, evidently not concerned with the specifics from that battle awhile back. Sheema... just looks at Makhana and then shrugs. May as well not worry about the specifics if she can't quite recall who's who; nothing today is making sense for her anyway.

The dire rhino stomps besides Tara and Daryll as Sheema looks in wonder at the staff. "Wow," she says slowly, clearly admiring the white glow presumably reacting to Tara's magical capabilities. "That originally belonged to you? It looks amazing!" A weapon that amplifies magical power sure sounds like a fantastic weapon to have. Wonder if that staff works with shamanism...

Lacking any use for it, Sheema instead draws out her own Galadhil, pointing it up to the sky as Makhana begins charging forward at Warlock. "Alright, just like we practiced!" she shouts at Makhana. "Get around and pincer him!" At her words, Sheema leaps off her rhino and swipes at Warlock several times to disorient and trip up the villain as Makhana weaves around to crush Warlock with her giant silver hooves!

Alright, Sheema will use Mark Prey and Galadhil against Warlock. Going to Power Attack +2/-2 here: [roll0] DC 25 Toughness + DC 20 Will vs Impaired/Vulnerable + Disabled/Defenseless

Afterward, Makhana will use Defensive Shockwave. She will All-Out Attack +3/-3: [roll1] DC 29 Toughness and DC 22 Fort vs Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated on hit. Improved Critical 2, Evasion 2, and Concealment against all visual senses are active.

[Born]

On seeing the terrifying rainbow phoenix, Eric was reminded why he had become interested in Gestalt's powers in the first place. While the summoner's rainbow bird had reminded him of the stories of some of the great planes of good somewhere out in the multiverse, the rainbow phoenix seemed more like an unholy mockery. What vile patron among the evil gods would create a creature meant to mock a symbol of beauty like the rainbow bird? This evil version of Leviath must have found favor with the corrupt aspects of the gods to summon such a thing. His juggernaut must be a similar abomination.

For now, though, Mandragora put aside those thoughts in order to concentrate on the battle at hand. Amazingly, Josh had already stolen away the staff from Warlock. Even though the mage now seemed able to chant his spells without using gestures, it would still help to take him down if he were thoroughly immobilized. Mandragora snaked his vines around for a trip, then slammed them in on Warlock.


Standard: Attempt to trip Warlock. Accurate Attack at -2. [roll0]. On a hit, DC [roll1] Athletics to avoid being knocked prone.
Extra Effort Standard: Vine Lash on Warlock. If he is tripped by the previous attack, Power Attack at -2. [roll2]. On a hit, DC 26 Strength/Dodge versus grab.

[Grim ranger]

It seemed that the future heroes were quite something else. The difference between Current Sheema and Future Sheema was, as much as he hated to criticize his friend, rather notable. Five years seemed to be enough to change quite a few things by the looks of it... which made him rather nervous regarding the lack of his OWN future self at the scene. Surely he'd have come along for something like THIS... unless something dreadful had happened to him in the future these copies hailed from.

It was not a pleasant though, and the terrakinetic felt himself growing rather anxious about the matter. Still, fighting first.

Trying his best to manifest familiar barrage of rock bullets from the ground at angles where they could not hit his allies, Summit sent a volley of rocky devastation at Warlock to keep him busy.

Keeping Earth, My Armor active and shooting Warlock with Bombardment.

[roll0] (Bombardment)

[DukeGod]

"It never belonged to her."

Gestalt has poison in his voice. Only the thought that it'd be pointless stops him from trying to take it out of Tara's hands...

Also, survival trumps everything right now

They were seriously fighting a lot of mages these days...

Gestalt summons the Ice Witch by his side. Though if Warlock was one of the Master's minions he probably wouldn't be targeted


Move and Standard: Summon Ice Witch

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 2

Tara's lightning bolts were absorbed by Darryll's wards at a minor cost in energy, and Simon's kinetic strike was...mostly held off as well, but it took him a moment of focus to strengthen his wards against it. Blackish purple runes of smoky shadow appeared on his skin as his wards bled off energy, but they seemed to be fading quickly.

He has some sort of ritual active to refresh his wards.

Fortunately, it's a rejuvenation ritual, not a regeneration one. It probably won't do anything about raw physical damage that actually gets through his wards. (That is to say, he regenerates Bruises only).

That being said, given Future Warlock's power and how advanced his wards are, it will also probably allow him to recover rapidly from other forms of maladies, as his wards rejuvenate the energy necessary to neutralize them. (The ritual will also speed his recovery of Weakens and some Afflictions).

But it was the only hint of vulnerability he showed. A flick of his wrist deflected Sheema's spear aside. A raised hand stopped Mandragora's lashing vines cold. And Summit's bombardment came to naught as he teleported away from the barrage of rocks.

Worse still, Gestalt went racing off back the way they came at top speed, and Makhana, rather than lunging for Warlock, slammed her hood down on Tara - or, well, Darryll as he bodily checked her out of the way. The shaman's skin briefly became as stone, and even so Makhana's powerful blow sent him reeling.

The Warlock followed up immediately, unleashing a flurry of bolts of arcane power. He'd always been pretty quick to cast those, but that had been nothing compared to today. He hurled his arcane bolts in a torrential barrage, blast after pulsing purple blast crashing down on all of the heroes (and, you know, the two villains who were working with them. And their little humanoid tidal wave too.)

Tara sniffed, pointing Arcanis' thrice-stolen staff and channeling another of her persistent rituals through it along with her Dreamer power, augmenting the effect even as she cast it. Half a dozen brilliant beams of green energy lanced towards Warlock, packed with disintegrating power. Simultaneously, the Spirit of the Pitiless Sea lashed out with a tendril of water like a firehose, only several orders of magnitude stronger, in an attempt to erode him away.

Darryll calmly chanted another summoning. A sixty-foot humanoid mass of solid stone suddenly appeared.

Warlock:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Eldritch Bolts. Everyone in a 60' cone (which I believe is basically everyone but Josh, and Gestalt if he's Compelled) is attacked. On a hit, Toughness DC 30+Multiattack vs. Damage. Evasion applies to your defense. This attack isn't Selective so even if Makhana is Compelled he attacks her too.
Tara: [roll0]. Toughness: [roll1]. Misses bad.
Darryll: [roll2]. Toughness: [roll3]. Hit. +2 Multiattack. INCAPACITATED! Interposed
Spirit of the Pitiless Sea: [roll4]. Toughness: [roll5]. Miss, not that it's relevant with Darryll down.
Mandragora: [roll6]. Hit
Gestalt (if not Compelled): [roll7]. Hit. +5 Multiattack. But this is an Energy attack so the DC ends up only 25.
Bruja (if she does end up summoned due to rerolls): [roll8]. ...Crit. +5 Multiattack. DC 40.
Simon: [roll9]. Hit due to Vulnerable and AoA.
Sheema: [roll10]. Hit
Makhana: [roll11]. Hit, even after penalties for Evasion and Concealment, but those prevent Multiattack
Summit: [roll12]. Hit. +5 Multiattack. DC 35.
End of Turn: Regenerates a Bruise.

Tara:
Move: Nah.
Free: Expertise (Magic): [roll13]. She'll inform you guys of what she figures out so you can open any spoilers she meets. ...Well yeah you can open the spoilers.
Free: Augmentation on self.

16 points to add Multiattack to Ritual of the Disintegrating Touch.
32 points to add Linked Damage 16 (Multiattack) to Ritual of the Disintegrating Touch.
2 points for...let's say Flight 1, whatever.

Standard: Ritual of the Disintegrating Touch at [roll14]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll15]) DC 30/24+Team Attack+Multiattack vs. Damage Linked Progressive Weaken Toughness. Miss
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Warlock gets Toughness ([roll16]) DC 29 vs. Damage. Bruised

Spirit of the Pitiless Sea:
Move: Whatever.
Standard: Team Attack with Tara using Erode, All Out Attack for 5, Accurate Attack for 2, +5 for Teamwork, at [roll17]. If the Spirit hits without Teamwork but Tara misses, the above roll is kept but the DC is two lower. Hit. Bruised and Dazed.

Darryll:
Free: Expertise (Magic): [roll18]. If he opens more spoilers than Tara you guys can open them too.
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Summon the Spirit of the Impassive Mountain.

All PCs are on turn.

[Born]

When Tara called out the way Warlock's wards worked, Mandragora knew the heroes had to get past them fast. He was nearly overwhelmed by the torrent of arcane bolts, but saw that some of the others were having an even worse time. Daryll took the full force of the bolts and fell, but for now, Eric decided to focus on helping to take out Warlock - healing Daryll would have to wait for later. On the other hand, he had to pull himself up off the ruined street first.

However, Eric also recalled that Warlock was a Deionist. It may have seemed like he abandoned his faith in order to join the powerful summoner, but Eric still believed that a part of it must still be in there - still care. He decided to call out to the mage, and remind him of his faith. "Harold Brace! Why have you joined with the the summoner? In our time, he took your own daughter from you! Don't you remember what you learned about the Truth before now? The gods are still out there, calling out for you to put away your malice and fight for what is Right! You can do better than this, and fight for a future the gods can be proud of!"


Standard: Recover from Staggered. +2 to active defenses until next turn.
Move: Spread out away from the others.

Non-action: Call out to Brace, praying to the gods for help. I'd like to use two successes from my "working with the church" downtime for the prayer, though I'm not certain of the exact effect this should have. Do you want to take care of what specifically happens based on how he feels now, Quellian, or should I be more specific here?

[Dorni]

"Save your breath, Mandragora. He's sided with the same man who used Amanda as fuel for his power." Simon timed his next barrage to coincide with naming Brace's daughter. He couldn't be sure of what happened to the girl's soul on this side of the Disappearance and didn't have a particularly high opinion of Brace's humanity, but if anything was likely to draw a moment's hesitation from him that would be it.

Move: Feint Warlock. We all know he has Uncanny Dodge, but might a well confirm it. Routine Deception 25. Should it succeed, benefits go to Simon, Aquila, Makhana.
Standard: Attack with Focused Assault. [roll0]. On hit, Toughness DC 23 + Multi vs Damage and Toughness DC 18 vs Weaken [Toughness]

[Starsign]

In what was a rather close call, Sheema moves back and holds Galadhil up in front of her to stop the worst of the arcane bolts fired down on her. As a Perallan princess, Sheema is not quite one to know how to block a magic bolt like how she might block an arrow. In a way it's easier to block a magic bolt as Galadhil's miraculous construction causes the spell to fizzle on contact. What she didn't expect was to have so much force thrown behind the bolt that it'd catch her feet off-guard.

The result was several bolts striking her afterward, nailing her shoulder and knees, and sending her tumbling briefly on the ground. Had she not blocked the first one, the rest would've struck her more directly.

Makhana, made of hardier stuff given she's a dire rhino, took up a more defensive position as the bolts came at her. It wasn't herself that she was worried about, though whatever magic that was knocked her and her silver hide around well. Instead she was concerned over it hitting her more-fragile allies... Which is to say, the shaman-like summoner this Tara woman brought with her.

So Daryll has the fortune of the "younger" Makhana coming to guard him; though she is not without a small begrudging attitude toward him. Her rhinoceros head turns to look at him and gives a quick glare as if asking, "Why didn't you dodge?" Her expression is still a far cry from the death grimaces all the others gave him earlier; she's giving him only a small benefit of the doubt which is still more forgiving than how everyone else has acted towards him.

Sheema, getting back on her feet, whistles to call Makhana over as the dire rhino charges forth over to her. Hopping on the matriarch's head, Shemma grips Galadhil tightly as the rhino flicks her head up and sends her up in the air. The large, animal-assisted leap gives Sheema an additional boost of momentum as she dives down with Galadhil's sharp tip aimed right at Warlock!

Makhana will just Aid Sheema as her action. She will use All-Out Attack +5/-5 and Teamwork to try and give Sheema the highest result she can: [roll0]
Using Extra Effort to Aid Sheema again!

Sheema will do an attack on Warlock with Galadhil and Mark Prey. Power Attack +3/-3. DC 26 Toughness and DC 21 Will vs Impaired/Vulnerable + Disabled/Defenseless on hit: [roll1] Add any Aid benefits from Makhana after this.
And using Extra Effort to attack again! This time using Galadhil and Frenzied Fighter with the same modifiers as before. DC 26 + Multiattack on hit: [roll2] Again, add Aid benefits from Makhana's EE.

[manwithaplan]

"Hello, it is me again!"

Josh had leapt up to Brace's position and, with his arms folded, twisted about and about with his legs flailing out in a kick combination that had to consist of at least twenty strikes. His last kick once again propelled him off of the wizard, sending him back down to the ground.

Standard Action: Flurry of Blows on wizard-man, Power Attack 5, Attack [roll0] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Move-By Action: Back to where I was.

Status: Normal.

[DukeGod]

Gestalt blinks away the lost time. He realizes he was caught under Brace's spell

Damnit. This is why he wanted Bruja to help him with avoiding the Magic

Alright. Breath. Start over.

Move: Prepare Summon
Standard: Summon Bruja

Sorry, short post. Gotta pack

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 3

Warlock deflected Tara's disintegrating bolt, but he couldn't block her and the Spirit of the Pitiless Sea simultaneously, and the latter knocked him reeling briefly, even as Tara's storm played itself out with a few more bolts of lightning that wore at his wards. He was briefly distracted as first Mandragora and then Simon brought up his daughter, giving Simon an opening to land a blow, but Warlock's wards absorbed it harmlessly. Makhana forced him towards Sheema - there was no deflecting an opponent as massive as the rhino, necessitating a dodge - but Warlock hurled up a barrier to block her spear. On came Josh, with kick after kick. Physically, Brace couldn't hope to dodge fast enough to avoid them, but with thought-quick casting, he blinked away from the attack. Even if Josh reoriented on his new position, he vanished again, rapid teleportation keeping him just ahead of the speedster, even if to the rest of the battlefield neither appeared as anything more than a faint blur.
Summit swooped in on a disk of earth, flying past Warlock and launching a battering ram of earth at his back as he reappeared from his multiple teleports. He didn't have time to dodge, but he snapped his fingers and the earth launching for him shattered.

And then he looked at Mandragora, and cackled.

"You think the gods want an end to malice? Hah! It's nothing but a fanciful story! The Negative side of the gods is every bit as much and as True a part of them as the positive - where do you think my power comes from in the first place!? Why do you think I call myself the Warlock!?"

"The night my daughter was born, I had my Dream. In it, I was visited by a herald of the Truth, who told me that one day, forces beyond my control would take her from me. Then I was visited by one of the Truth's angels, who told me that if I stayed true to the teachings of the gods, I would have the strength to endure the loss, and turn the pain of it to the benefit of the world."

"But once the angel had gone, I received a third visitor, a demon who offered me an alternative. Not the strength to endure the loss, but the power to save my daughter! And because I made that choice, I was able to serve the Master when he rose to power, and Amanda now gets to live a peaceful, happy, safe life under the personal protection of the most powerful Dreamer on the planet!"

"But you know what the funny thing is, Mandragora? That angel and that demon? They were both servants of the Truth. It's the dirty little secret of the Deionist faith. The gods don't actually care which we choose. Perhaps the Positive path is better for the planet as a whole. But it is an equally valid option to choose the path that is better for us personally!"

"Here is the Truth of the power the gods gave me! Choke on it and die!" the Warlock screamed, pointing an imperious finger at Mandragora. Crackling black energy shot at him, which if it struck, would sear through the phytomorph in wave after wave of agony, before he yanked his hand back into a closed fist, seeking to draw his life force, his very Spiritual Energy, out to consume for his own power.

But the Warlock had erred. He had made one critical mistake.

He had gone on that rant in earshot of Darryll Harrens, former Professor of Magical Ethics.

"That...is the most nonsensical justification for misused power I have ever heard," Darryll patiently informed him (while simultaneously summoning a giant air elemental, because you know, Darryll, and all). And, um, let's be clear, Darryll has heard some pretty nonsensical justifications for misused power in the past. Not to call anybody out or anything. Tara. "The impact that the world at large has on our own well-being is so massively important that to say the one can be pit against the other is sheerest folly. Or does this 'peaceful, happy, safe' life that your daughter now enjoys actually somehow still include all the myriad benefits of the society that Legion has destroyed? I can understand as well as anyone the impulse to take ethically and even practically indefensible choices for the sake of one you love. But let us not pretend it is anything other than a failing of character to do so, however strong our convictions that for all it is the wrong choice, it is the only one we can make."

The nice thing about being a summoner, was that it let you pontificate while your minions continued dispensing any necessary beat-downs. The water spirit gestured, unleashing its magic to try to turn the very air in Warlock's lungs to water. The earth spirit raised a barrier of earthen magic around its allies - they and their attacks would pass right through it, but it would shield them from return fire from Warlock.

Tara regarded Darryll with a fondly-amused smile. She had honestly missed listening to his lectures on ethics (particularly when she wasn't the target of them). Still, it didn't distract her from the battle at hand, as she unleashed the full force of her magic to try to cut the Warlock off from his own.

Warlock:
Move: Dazed.
Free: Monologue.
Standard: Attack Mandragora with Torment at [roll0]. On a hit, Will DC 25 vs. Weaken All Defenses. Miss due to the +2 Defense from Recover.
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Attack Mandragora with Life Leech at [roll1]. On a hit, Toughness DC 30 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 25 vs. Weaken Stamina. Warlock receives Rebalanced Healing at [roll2], with degrees capped by the degrees of Damage inflicted. Mandragora take a :smallcool: Hero Point as he buys off the fatigue. Hit
End of Turn: Regenerates a Bruise.

Darryll:
Move: Nah.
Free: Nitpick the other supervillain's monologue.
Free: Maintain full situational awareness of the pot/kettle distinction.
Standard: Summon the Spirit of the Wild Winds.

Spirit of the Pitiless Sea:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Drown on Warlock. Fortitude ([roll3]) DC 24 vs. Cumulative Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled/Incapacitated. Stunned+Disabled

Spirit of the Impassive Mountain:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Raise Earth. Tara, Darryll, the Spirits, Simon, Gestalt, and Brujah are shielded by a Selective, Rank 14 Created object, which is itself Deflected at 1d10+24. Other allies may pass through it freely, so if you end your turn inside you're shielded too.

Tara:
Move: Nah.
Free: Augmentation on self.

16 points to raise Ritual of the Broken Dream to rank 16 from 12.
32 points to add Linked Affliction 16 (Impaired/Disabled/Transformed; Fortitude; Progressive, Limited [Dreamer Powers Only]) to Ritual of the Broken Dream.
2 points for Flight 1.

Standard: Ritual of the Broken Dream on Warlock at [roll4]. On a hit, Will ([roll5]) DC [roll6] vs. Sustained Nullify Dreamer Powers and Fortitude ([roll7]) DC 24 vs. Progressive Powers Impaired/Disabled/Transformed. Miss

All PCs are on turn.

[Born]

So Warlock really didn't understand. He understood that we're given a choice, but hadn't really thought about the consequences. This is why the gods encourage us to choose what is right - because what is best for the whole is what is best for individuals in the end, even if it causes us pain now. Mandragora was about to respond, but Daryll's rebuttal made him feel like he was out of his league in the dialogue department.

So instead, he showed Warlock his conviction by facing the mage's energy head-on, trusting in his spiritual energy to repel the attack. His dreamer powers and his conviction pulled through for him, dissipating the hatred-infused blast. He then lashed his vines once more at Brace, intent on grasping him tightly so the blows of the others could strike with precision.


Standard: Vine Lash on Warlock. Since Warlock is stunned, All-out Attack for 2 and Power Attack for 1. [roll0]. On a hit, DC 27 Toughness vs. damage and DC 27/26 Strength/Dodge vs. grab.

[Starsign]

As someone who hasn't studied Deionism much, Sheema is left very confused by the spiritual argument Mandagora and Warlock had going. Being from Peral made these discussions sound like fantastical beliefs that she, put simply, didn't believe in. Not that she had to interject; they've got a right to believe in whatever they want.

She is, however, impressed with Daryll's ethics lesson; he gives them out so easily during battle. Which brings the question: how did he think it'd be fine to 'protect' Tara by joining her enemy?

Actually, that's probably a long story that no one has time to listen to.

Instead, Sheema keeps herself in a pincer against Warlock as she and Makhana circle the villain. As if coordinating without speech, the two at once bring forth a quick barrage of attacks on Warlock!

Alright, let's try this again.

Makhana will Aid Sheema on her attack, All-Out Attack +5/-5: [roll0]

Sheema will use Mark Prey on Warlock with Galadhil to try and hit him with afflictions. Power Attack +2/-2. Due to Disabled, DC 30 Toughness + DC 25 Will vs Impaired/Vulnerable + Disabled/Defenseless on hit: [roll1] Add Makhana's Aid depending on her result.

[Dorni]

"And you'd know a thing or two about making ethically indefensible choices for the sake of someone you love, wouldn't you, Daryll? Also, pretty sure the Utilitarianism you're proposing died a swift death at the hands of A Modest Proposal where the value of a life is concerned."

Simon threw more punches into the air, but the barrage he'd been launching at Warlock abruptly cut off. He'd changed tactics. Rather than continuing to throw the released in a continual flurry, he was building it up while watching Mandragora from the corner of his eye. Just as the vine man struck he clapped his hands together and brought the energy he'd built together on Warlock in an attempt to hold him motionless while the vine man wrapped him up.

Free: Continue the philosophical debate with a reference.
Move: Nah.
Free: Set attack array to Tactics Tactics Tactics.
Standard: Aid Mandragora at [roll0] Mandragora gets +5 to hit. Summit gets +5 to Hit. Triggers Reaction Team Attack to boost Grab DC, AOA 3, PA 5. [roll1]

[manwithaplan]

"Alright, that's time, you're done." Josh went to finish Warlock off with a final rush of attacks.

Standard Action: Flurry of Blows, Power Attack 5. Attack [roll0] for DC 31+Multiattack Damage.

Status: Normal.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Warlock...kinda gaped as Mandragora just shrugged off the full force of his power like nothing.

Protip: When you're fighting an enormous water elemental, gaping with your mouth hanging open is kinda the worst thing you can do. The water elemental easily transmuted the air in Warlock's lungs to water, instantly leaving him coughing and heaving.

It was an opportunity the team didn't waste, capitalizing on the momentary weakness with a stunning display of teamwork and tactics. Simon led the attack, wearing at the wizard's wards so that when Mandragora caught him in his vines, he could get several of them wrapped around one. The phytomorph held him up to Sheema and Makhana, the rhino using her bulk to force the bound mage hard against Sheema's spear as she plunged it into his side. Warlock gasped with pain, devolving into another choking fit as his lungs only caught water, his concentration on his defensive magic utterly broken. Josh came racing in to score the takedown, hammering blow after blow on his no-longer-warded flesh, leaving him unconscious in seconds, water leaking from his mouth.

Things seemed to be going as swimmingly as the exact opposite of a land war in Peral for the others as well. The area was covered in swiftly-fading ectoplasm from the various summons that Wulther, Judy, Daniel, and Future Makhana had destroyed. And mere moments after Warlock dropped, a hideous avian screech sounded from the air. Down went the Rainbow Phoenix, plummeting to the ground with Future Sheema basically surfing on its back, her spear planted in the base of its neck and...somehow kinda steering it down despite the fact that its wings were currently dissolving into a spray of multicolored sparkss in the hands of Future Josh and Flashpoint. When the bird impacted, its entire body exploded into a fireworks-like spray, Future Sheema kinda sliding through it along the ground until she planted Galadhil to halt her movement perfectly beside her past self.

"Great job guys," she said, casually as if it had been nothing but a pleasant exercise. "All aboard the rhinos!"

"One moment," Tara said, pointing a green-glowing finger at the fallen Warlock as she focused her power...

Battle over! Everybody take a :smallcool: Hero Point!

If anybody cares to stop Tara you have time to do so, otherwise she will totally disintegrate the guy and sleep like a baby afterwards.

[manwithaplan]

Vroooom!

Warlock's body was gone, and Josh sat cheekily in the position where it had been - now Tara's finger was pointing at him.

"That man is a national treasure, you can't have him."

[Grim ranger]

Left standing and feeling bit useless as the rest mopped the floor with Warlock, Summit went on to quietly board Makhana, looking at the future Heiress with expression rendered unreadable by his stony mask. "...That was quick. Had lot of practice?" he guessed, shaking his head. "...I don't know what I am even doing here, heh. Clearly my future self did not care enough to make an appearance."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Well. There you have it. It's official.

Josh was packed full of enough sheer cheeky irreverence to confound even Tara Ellens herself.

Well played, everybody. Time to pack it in. I guess I'll just start working on the Indelar War Game and...no? We're not done here yet? Okay then.

Tara just stared at Josh for a moment not...entirely sure how to respond to that. Flashpoint shot her a commisseratory look. Without another word, she just climbed back atop Makhana.

Darryll was also eyeing Josh, but not with befuddlement. More with interest. But after a moment or two, he quietly followed his paramour, leaving his elementals to take up a perimeter guard.

Future Josh looked to his past self. "So where'd you put him, exactly? We've got some old SIDE tech at the base that should be able to hold him."

Both Future Josh and Future Sheema seemed to take the whole event in stride. Neither of them called Tara out on what she was about to do, or show any sign of either approval or disapproval for Josh's response. You get the sense that while they're fine with taking Warlock prisoner, neither of them would have been particularly opposed to Tara's solution either.

Future Sheema gave a wryly-amused grin at Summit's quip, although when he brought up his future self, she looked more serious. "That wasn't his preference. But this mission called for a fast extraction force, and he - you - um..." just because she was from the future didn't mean that she was especially used to all this time travel nonsense. "He, I guess? Kinda has his hands full at home anyway. It's not easy for him. But I guess leadership rarely is."

Once everyone was mounted up, the trek continued. There were a couple more close calls on the way, but at the speed the rhinos moved, it didn't take long before the group reached its destination.

The outer edges of the Glade were a charred, blackened ruin, perfectly in keeping with the milieu of this ruined future Adaros. But the ash and destruction gradually gave way to the lush, tropical greenery that the Megablock-sized park was famed for. By fifty yards in, the damage was nothing but a memory - the huge park somehow stood almost entirely in-tact in the midst of the ruined city, a shining green beacon of life and hope.

But this wasn't to say it looked entirely like the Glade of the past. Rising from the center of it was something very, very new - a towering keep of solid stone, honestly looking more like a small mountain that had somehow risen in the rough shape of a castle, towering over even the tallest topical trees in the glade. The keep was the first part of it that had been visible on approach, and it projected a sensation of strength and uncompromising defense better than even the sturdiest of old-school Adaran military architecture.

Mandragora and Summit would both recognize the image of the keep rising up from the tropical landscape from the fleeting vision they had had earlier, when they had raised the barrier to hold back the Master and his forces.

As the group passed through the charred, blasted ashscape that bordered the Glade, they would notice that there was basically a line of trees that created a border between the damaged area and the whole area. Some of those trees themselves showed marks of fire, ice, lightning, and physical weapon alike, but they still stood strong, a barrier against the dangers without that had somehow not been broken even by the power of the Master's armies. There was something about those trees. A pensive, almost watchful quality.

As the group passed beneath their boughs, there was a definite feeling that flowed through them. A buoyant energy. And they could hear a voice. A softly-spoken male voice that seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere, from all around them and right inside their ears. "Welcome, my friends. You will be safe here."

It was unquestionably Eric's voice.

Everybody's fatigue is reset to normal.

[manwithaplan]

"Um, you know the old Gorivido's Pizza on 53rd? The last one before they went bankrupt? Yeah it's still standing, I like, I put him in the arcade machine."

---

"No way!" Josh spun about as he investigated the Glade in its current state, not sure what to think.

"You made it even cooler!"

[Born]

Mandragora breathed a sigh of relief when Josh whisked Warlock away from whatever Tara was planning to do to him. In spite of all Brace had done, Eric believed that the man was just lost and in need of a better way forward. He had the start of a good heart - a love for his daughter - but simply refused to see that what happens to those around his daughter is just as important as what happens to her. Then again, Mandragora may have been the only one to think that.

Seeing the destruction evident in the outer edges of the Glade was particularly horrifying for the vine man, but that horror was soon replaced with hope. The border trees stood proud and strong in spite of their injuries. Though overall the place looked far less natural than it should, it was incredible to see it so well-protected. When he fortress came into view, Mandragora glared in awe for a moment before clarifying to the others "That's the fortress I saw back when we retreated from Legion."

After hearing... himself(?) speak, Eric asked "Did you help us earlier?"

[DukeGod]

Leviath hadn't made a single move to save Warlock. It seemed weird to him, and had got him thinking throughout the trip actually, but he thought he had found the answer

He was seeing this timeline as meaningless. He had long rejected it, as one that was fading away and would collapse. It was the timeline where he was The Master. Of course he didn't care for it. Ignored every event on it

That was seeming incredibly childish now though. Was he really about to let a man die because he thought the circumstances were meaningless? It seemed, like he wasn't nearly as distant from future Leviath sometimes.

"Seems the Earth's champions sure are working together"

Not wanting to spend all his time in silence, he goes back to actually talking with the group

[Dorni]

Simon made no move to stop Tara, and it wasn't because he was frozen or indecisive. It wasn't only because it was futile. What were they going to do? Turn him over to the nonexistent police to be arrested and sent to the nonexistent jail? No. Even if it were practical, that stuff was for criminals. Not for a war. Warlock wasn't a criminal. He was a powerful enemy asset to be removed from the board.

So he was faintly disappointed when Josh made his move, but now wasn't the time.

---------------

Simon smiled as he studied what had become of the Glade. No wonder Legion had never taken it. The fortress that Summit and Mandragora had raised was impressive. Beyond impressive. And also saddening. Their future selves had gained in power, yes, but Legion had become powerful enough to level Illessia itself. Taking Mandragora's current power and growth rate, extrapolating his future growth rate very generously and multiplying for limiting himself to becoming a genius loci... he shouldn't have resulted in being nearly powerful enough to hold off Legion. The Spiritual Energy gulf was just too vast. He'd done something else, something extra to give the transformation even more omph. It was a sacrifice play. Not everything that was Eric had made the transfer.

To see that the kid who had become a Hero after the Disappearance had the strength of character to make that sacrifice... that was something worth honoring. Heros and soldiers alike sometimes boasted about being willing to fall on the grenade, but not many of them could bring themselves to do it when the moment arrived. "Thank you, Eric."

[Starsign]

Sheema and Makhana didn't have much to say or react to as far as Warlock's fate went. Neither of them know this supervillain even as everyone else apparently does. Sheema has to admit that she's a bit... numbed with this timeline. If this is a future not supposed to exist, then any actions taken here won't matter, right? It's not like the death of a villain here will reflect her own world... That... is how time travel works...?

Long story short, Sheema and Makhana weren't opposed to Tara simply offing Warlock, but good on Josh going the extra mile!

---

"Wow..." Sheema gasps in awe as the group comes up to the Glade. She never knew such a place exists in Ilessia, much less one that happens to be somewhat nearby Adaros. It... reminds her of home, of Peral. Makhana agrees as she nods to the respective trees as if they are actually alive. Even the dire rhino has a respect for nature, though the trees in Peral are more massive, hulking skyscrapers than these smaller creatures. Still, for their size they have weathered a lot; that's worth Makhana's hard-to-earn respect.

The voice sure gets to Sheema's head as she hugs her dad tightly. "Hey, wasn't that you? Mandagora, was it?" She points out the voice echoing from... everywhere, as she gives the plant and vine-controller a smile. "Is this actually your place? Now I wish I asked you to help settle and tend a forest next to the farm." Not that such a process is as quick as tending an animal farm but Sheema did hope to make one for some of the animals to rest in, away from the endless skies and plains.

...She misses the place already. Hope the animals are fine.

[Grim ranger]

Entering the Glade was definitely an experience. Whatever devastation had ravaged the surrounding area had apparently been kept at bay...although not without considerable effort. Summit couldn't help but to afford the plant hero somewhat more respect in light of the discovery: it seemed he'd have long way to go still to match any of these people.

Voices in one's head, though? It was still creepy, even if done by someone apparently benevolent.

"We'll see about "safe" I suppose... although only way I can imagine matching this would be to likely dig down until I became heart of some particularly large and unyielding mountain" he mused, trying to reach down into the earth with his senses to feel around some and see if the place held more secrets still in its very soil. "I do recall the fortress as well. Somewhat grandiose invitation, but I suppose it got the job done."

Well, at least his dry, blunt quippage remained continuous as ever. At least it'd cover up some of his uncertainty and insecurity about the entire thing. He didn't really feel he had a place in this cross-chronal adventure at all, having been little more than a spectator before being dragged feet first into all the craziness of Dreamer life.

Turning to look at the elder Sheema again, he tilted his head somewhat quizzically. "I do have to say I don't understand jack about time travel, but I am thoroughly confused about older-me becoming some sort of bigshot. He couldn't just pull away from all this, huh?" he asked dryly, his voice shifting like sand as he sighed. "The idiot."

[Starsign]

Sheema can't help but look back at Summit and try to encourage him. The guy seems really down lately, though he perhaps cannot be blamed. He's stumbled into a time he doesn't know, surrounded by people he doesn't know, does not understand what is going on, and hasn't seen his future self at all.

"Really? You seem like you'd make a great leader Summit." She gives him a smile as her back turns to look at him behind her.
"I mean you keep your cool, you got a great way of talking, and you think before you leap, unlike some people I know." She gives her dad a playful slap on the shoulder. She loves Wulther but sometimes can't help but play coy in a friendly way.

Granted, what she's saying about Summit may not be accurate to what she knows about Aquila. She does believe he's capable of leadership, as fantastical as it seems right now, but might she be putting him on a pedestal?

[Quellian-dyrae]

Eric's voice again came from all around, after Mandragora's question, "I...believe Summit had drawn on some of my power earlier, but projected it beyond my borders. I...think it was fairly recently? Is that what you mean? I'm afraid I have little awareness of what happens outside."

A little bit of a tremor seemed to pass through the soil and rustle the trees when Simon spoke his thanks...or perhaps more precisely, when he addressed Future Eric by name. William shot him a look, and Flashpoint actually cast an angry glare his way.

Jenny said, softly, and not accusingly, but clearly enough so everyone could hear, "We, um, just call him Glade, now." There was...a definite wistfulness in her voice when she said it.

"I'm sorry," Glade said, sounding just a touch sheepish. "It's...the memories they...it's hard," he said, clearly not really able to explain it well. "You didn't know." Although his voice still came from everywhere, it somehow seemed focused on Flashpoint and William. William gave an accepting nod, Flashpoint a dismissive wave.

Future Josh cheering stamped out any awkwardness that the moment might have brought about by chiming in, "I actually prefer Big G, personally. You know, whichever."

Future Sheema didn't contest Summit's words...but she did seem kinda amused by them, biting her lip as if to keep from laughing or speaking. Although she did back up her past self with an affectionate, "He does."

As the group moved deeper into the Glade, the carnage and destruction of its outer borders and the city beyond it almost seemed like it could fade into just an unpleasant memory - although even here, the staticky black flecks of nothingness continued to crackle over everything. Here, everything was green and whole and vibrant. And there was more to it. The air was clean and clear, free of any spoke or other particulates, and the group passed several streams and ponds. Those had existed previously, but they were fed by water from the city's municipal resources. Indeed, the abundance of tropical plantlife that had always been what made the Glade so special required extensive and elaborate use of the city's pipelines - rain wasn't exactly a common thing in Adaros.

But how they kept the water coming became apparent soon enough, as the group crossed paths with a few patrols of its residents - people in medieval-style armor and equipped with archaic weapons, the tabards over their mail displaying colored outlines of what looked like a medical cross.

The Cross, however, no longer appeared Broken.

In time, the group reached the keep proper, its outer walls defended by more Knights, as well as people in powered armor that looked like it might have been based on a sort of hybrid ADE/OUT-SIDE design, though clearly there had been some work done on it in the past ten years.

The doors to the keep swung open at a gesture from the Earth Knights guarding them - they were big enough to allow admittance even to Makhana (the Makhanas, whatever).

Though outside the keep was all solid, craggy rock, like a mountain raised from the group in the rough shape of a castle, inside was smooth stone and modern lights, the occasional Active Crystal screen, and - most important for Adaros - air conditioning. There were also a selection of indoor plants and trees at fairly regular intervals. In the big foyer you walked into...a pretty big crowd had gathered, and they let up a cheer when the group entered. There was somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand people, mostly civilians by the looks of it. There were some familiar faces in the front.

The more familiar of the faces present were gathered near the front, though. Future Aquila was center stage, right across from the door, seeming in command of the crowd even as the attention was focused on you guys entering. Flanking him, like the advisors to a king, were Future Simon and...some other man that most of the group might not recognize. Although Gestalt could place his face as that of the time traveler who had wearing the form of Simon way back when the Master had sent his army to the past. Dr. Annabelle Colt was sitting in her hoverchair behind them, with Lorelei Winters standing beside her.

Aquila would quickly place Javan and his family, standing only a bit aside from his future self. Mandragora could spot a few familiar faces from the Glade, such as Ollie and Cara.

And though she's not up front, you manage to spot Spectre blending in the crowd. She's clearly got an eye on you though, and gives you an approving upnod and little wave when she notices you've spotted her.

But perhaps just as clear were the faces that weren't there. Neither Judy nor Wulther were present, which post of their past selves seemed to immediately notice. Of course, nobody who had vanished in the Disappearance - Mandragora's father and grandfather, Aaron Burke, and Cathy Stewart, most notably - were present. Neither was Mandragora's mother Viviana. And aside from their own future selves, not a single solitary member of either Hero Corps or the Assembly Cleanup Crew could be found among the crowd.

As the cheer died down, it became apparent that it might have been more for the rescue team than you guys, because it seemed like most of the crowd only really noticed you for the first time then. For the most part, they seemed kinda bemused, or maybe a bit weirded out, on seeing you, with a couple notable exceptions. Among the civilians and others who made up the bulk of the crowd, there was not a single gaze that looked upon Mandragora with anything less than a sense of grateful awe.

Just as there was not a single one that looked upon Gestalt with anything but anger, hatred, or fear. From somewhere in the crowd, some random voice popped up in a half-sobbing, angry cry of, "How could you?" (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?359852-In-Dreams-to-Come) only to receive a quelling glare from Future Summit and shocked, "are-you-crazy?" looks from pretty much everybody in a ten foot radius.

Future Josh and Flashpoint led the way in, walking side by side. Without looking at each other, they fistbumped and headed off in opposite directions. Future Sheema hopped off of Future Makhana - who let a kinda tremor roll through her body as a none-too-polite request for everyone riding her to kindly get off - and headed over towards Summit, Simon, and the others with them. Wulther, Judy, and even Darryll (who was earning looks almost as cold as Gestalt was) seemed...a bit uncertain about how to proceed here, although uncertainty was never a trait Tara could be accused of, and she immediately barked to the nearest Knight she could see, "This man has suffered extensive Spiritual Energy drain and needs rest and care," with a gesture to the other Dreamer they had rescued, who was still passed out. Jenny and William hopped down to the floor, but they stayed by you guys. They didn't say anything, but you could kinda tell from how they were looking at you that they were there to help if you had any questions or were just feeling overwhelmed by it all.

After a few brief words with Future Sheema, Future Summit and Simon, and those with them, approached the group.

"Okay, before anything else, I just want to say, I am so sorry for shooting you. Seriously. Mission parameters, but honestly I felt just sick about it," he said to Mandragora, who may or may not have had any idea why this man was apologizing for shooting him.

Okay guys. You have like a dozen or so NPCs here you can interact with or not as you choose, and perhaps a few more revelations about how this timeline went down, so it is all you! Go wild.

[manwithaplan]

Zip.

Josh appeared in front of Flashpoint. The look on his face was almost apologetic for what minor bullying he'd been doling out since his arrival, but he did not look sheepish - this was Josh taking all the time in the world to choose his words and his expression.

"You did a lot of good today, Flashpoint, but I have to know. Tara, for all her strength, can't run or hide from Legion...but I figure you can. Why would you come here? Why would you go straight?"

--

"Hey Simon." Josh did his best to catch his mentor while he was alone.

"I felt like you didn't approve when I saved Warlock. I'd like to know why that was."

--

"Hey, future me!" Josh jogged to catch up to himself. It bothered him how tall the guy was.

"Uh, hey man, so...adulthood. You got any tips for me?"

[Starsign]

Sheema... certainly didn't see what she expected. For one, she couldn't believe the Cross knights are here helping everyone, much less under orders from Summit. That's gotta be a testament to his leadership, however he managed it. The massive batch of people are just as stunning. There's so many people here. She looked around to see where where her dad's future self could be... and didn't see him. Her mood briefly, only very briefly, dies down. her own dad is still with her simply because time travelers helped save him; without them, Wulther would have been long gone in Peral by now.

Both Sheema and Makhana are... also a bit lost, It seems like the actual time travelers know far more about everyone here, as if they've been here before. Why have Hero Corps members five years after Sheema's present been time traveling like it's a Perallan road trip?

A Perallan road trip, worth noting, is like your typical road trip but on an animal capable of smashing trees and hostile dire animals in her way. It's a fun time; Sheema can attest!

Without saying anything, Sheema offers a smile to Gestalt and a small rub of his shoulder to help with the seemingly-unending torrent of anger lashed out by the group of people. She doesn't understand; how did Gestalt become... whatever in spirits that the Master is? Gestalt should be given at least some sympathy for what he hasn't done. The dark-skinned princess also gives a smile to Summit. "Well, maybe you can get some answers now," she says to her friend, nodding her head to future Summit. "As some Ilessians say: break a leg." That's how the term goes, right?

Sheema gets off Makhana as the dire rhino is put in care of Wulther and, again, Judy. It's always amusing for the dire rhino to be like a guardian to the shy super-genius, so long as Makhana does not have to be presented as a beast of burden just for the sake of someone she barely knows. Sheema, meanwhile, takes the all-important action of approaching her future self. "So..." The younger Sheema looks a little coy as she considers whether to ask simply or be very blunt with the nickname. In the end, she compromises. "What's with the 'Ma' nickname? I never thought Makhana took well to being called something so cute."

[Grim ranger]

So...how did one even describe the new sights? Aquila was personally having some trouble, but he tried his best regardless, valiantly trying to make sense of the absolute WRECK of a timeline.

The whole hideout, whilst an exemplary show of cooperation and combined strength, still spoke quite a bit of desperation to his senses. True, they had retained their foothold despite obviously fierce assault against the outer perimeter of the place, but how long could that last? It was obvious that everyone involved had grown stronger, but they were still no match to their opposition. The sheer enormity of the task ahead made him shiver somewhat.

There were some positive surprises as well, of course, and the Knights being present did make him tilt his head curiously, his stone mask observing them quietly as the rhinos tromped on by the ragtag defenders. This sort of alliance was definitely surprising, but also fairly uplifting. Seeing the followers of his element doing something better with their time than attempting to tear down modern civilization almost made him want to congratulate them in person, but he had a feeling such might get weird fairly quickly: perhaps it would be a gesture better saved for less busy time. From the look of things, he'd have lot of people to speak to around here, and knowing their enemy all too little time to do it.

Future Sheema apparently stifling giggling at his words also brought some levity to the situation, causing the earth prince to roll his eyes somewhat. Maybe some things really never changed, and in this case it was a good thing: Sheema had been a good friend of his so far, after all.

Their entrance to the Keep proper had its ups and downs, but Aquila found himself distracted by perhaps somewhat vain and selfish urge, focusing his attention mostly at his future self...and family? Whilst glad to see them all alive along with his best friend, he was definitely surprised by their presence. And as for his own future self...

Somehow, he could feel the man through the stone of the keep like one might feel heat radiating off a bonfire, their identical powers momentarily brushing against each other before he withdrew his sense from the rock below himself. Perhaps he had truly gotten stronger, but how exactly had the whole leadership position occurred? Aquila had to admit he was dying to know. Of course, it'd be a real pain to figure out what about himself his futureself knew and what he didn't. Time travel was bound to be tricky like that.

Sliding off Makhana and nodding to Sheema with "just the one?", he went on to walk forward, still glad in his earthen armor as he approached his older self. Stopping a few steps away as future Aquila turned to face him, he considered what to say.

The two of them stood still, staring at each other for a moment, Aquila's stony suit of armor contrasting sharply with the apparent easy confidence of his casually dressed elderself.

Finally deciding to break the tension, he allowed the mask on his face to collapse into sand, revealing his face. "...So, no eyepatch? As a leader figure of resistance movement in bleak future, I think you have contractual obligation to wear such and maybe a bandanna, along with speaking only in gruff macho whisper" he deadpanned, folding his arms. "I have...so many other questions as well, though. But let's start with few easy ones: just what the HELL has happened to the world and what exactly convinced you to go and keep doing this?"

[Born]

Mandragora looked quizzically at the agent, and said (completely oblivious to the awkwardness he was creating) "Um, I guess I'm not sure what you're apologizing for, but I... forgive you?"

[DukeGod]

Leviath can rather feel the sparks in everyone's staring at him. They'd probably watch his every action like a hawk, analyze his every moment

Well he was still pissed, so let them have it. Simon provided him with a perfect opportunity for being snappy and inviting retribuition. Let them start the arguments so they could move on to more important matters

"I remember attempted homicide on my innocent person, but don't worry, I'd longe forgave you. Ask yourself. You still a Relic?

[Dorni]

"I'm sorry as well." The statement carried multiple levels of meaning, all sincere. That they were so sensitive about Er- Glade's transformation despite being surrounded by so much devastation outside his boundaries also spoke volumes.

As they moved deeper in, Simon compiled a mental catalog. It wasn't hopeless, but it looked grim and the absences were notable. But first things first was to get a better grasp on the situation. This timeline's history came second. Assuming this timeline would continue to exist long enough for it to matter.

Simon approached the dias and shook his own hand. "What's our next move?"

Even as he spoke the words, half of his attention was focused on his neural uplink. It would make for faster discussion with himself.


Going to try and cautiously establish a network connection with Future Simon. Assuming its successful, his first questions are going to be about how secure the connection is.

------------------------

Simon looked over at Josh, weighing his answer. There wasn't any uncertainty in his eyes, just resignation. "What do you suppose happens when Warlock wakes up?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Josh, with Flashpoint

As you zipped over, Flashpoint cast you a withering glare, his lip curling briefly with contempt. All of your experiences with him had been in an alternate timeline, but clearly, the sight of you at your present age brought back some manner of less-than-positive memories.

Glancing aloofly away, he scoffed and replied, "You wouldn't understand..."

...Yeah he's totally just playing up the whole "aloof anti-hero" thing. You don't think he actually has any particular reservations about answering your question if you want to press him for it.

Josh, with Future Josh

"Haha...yeah, man, what a thing. I mean..."

There's a casual amusement in his voice, totally laid-back. It has all the hallmarks of building up to a less-than-serious answer. Some quip or anecdote or maybe a non-sequitur. But then...he hesitated. It was one of those brief flickers of hesitation that few but another speedster were likely to notice.

His voice got a touch more serious, then, tinged perhaps with just the faintest note of regret as he answered, "Just take it seriously, man. You'll do fine."

Main Hall

Much of the crowd began to disperse, as the heroes talked with their future selves and others.

Future Sheema - a woman who, let us not forget, busted right into the Master's inner sanctum with no powers, no hesitation, and no flips given - actually briefly froze when her past self asked her that question, a distinctly deer-in-headlights look on her face. (Not a Perallan deer, mind. The look of a Perallan deer in headlights was rather more "come at me, bro" than that cliche normally alluded to.) After a moment, she replied with a kinda frozen smile and in a slightly-too-high-pitched voice, "Oh! Right! That...!"

There were...a few more moments of hesitation as Future Sheema seemed to unsuccessfully attempt to begin answering a couple times. Then she looked to Wulther, who had silently followed you. "I... Is she, I mean...ready to know this?"

Wulther kinda blinked in incomprehension, "Ready to know...?"

If anything, that reply had left Future Sheema even more flustered. Her eyes widened in shock. "You don't know..." she said softly. It was not a question, for all the dazed uncertainty in her voice.

Weirdly enough, she then looked across the way to meet Makhana's gaze - your Makhana's. There was a silent question in her eyes.

--

"Hmph. They'd have to hit me with enough force to put out my eye first. As for headgear, I prefer a crown," Future Summit replied in a gruff, macho whisper, fixing you with an intense stare that was just, just this side of a glare.

But after a few moments, you could see the twitch of a smile at the corner of his lips. He was clearly just yanking your chain.

Your more serious question, he answered in a normal voice...well, for a certain value of normal. He spoke like he looked and like he moved, with casual confidence. His voice was a clear, ringing baritone, and it seemed less loud than simply present, like he could be heard over the din of a battlefield, or across a whole auditorium. "Short version? Nine years ago, the Gestalt of our time...suffered a tragedy. He became obsessed with undoing it. The others...could go into more detail about that than I can. But as I understand it, he began working in secret. Made deals he shouldn't have." Future Summit's eyes flicked momentarily to Tara as he said so. "His power grew in leaps and bounds, until almost a year ago he was finally able to enact some sort of ritual that...well, it summoned millions of people from the past, melding the calling with his powers to turn them into an army of permanent summoned minions, binding our time to the past and giving him the forces he needed to overwhelm the opposition that had risen up to stop him. Over the past several months, his forces have essentially conquered Ilessia and Limbra both. Most of the other countries of the world are preparing for if he invades them. The fear of him is such that it drove Gil to make a political alliance with Haptarus, and they have jointly conquered Indelar in the name of banding the continent together in preparation for his invasion. Only Marketh retains its independence. For now."

"So, what happened to the world? It fell under siege by a megalomaniacal supervillain with more power than anyone's ever seen. I should hope that also sufficiently answers your second question."

--

"You don't remember?" the agent asked Mandragora in...some disbelief.

"You did shoot him in the back," Future Simon pointed out, a bit wryly, before looking to Gestalt. He gave him just a little upnod at his statement of forgiveness, more a gesture of acknowledgement than appreciation, and certainly not of regret. What they had done to Gestalt might not have been fair, and in the end might not have even been necessary, but he wasn't going to feel bad about it. Just because Plan B had worked didn't mean it hadn't been the best choice for Plan A.

Sometimes, you made the hard decisions. If they worked out, it usually meant you'd have to live with the consequences.

He shook his past self's hand, and when Gestalt asked if he were still a Relic, he actually grinned a bit. As when they had first encountered him in the alternate past, Future Simon did seem somewhat more sentimental - or maybe the better term was nostalgic - than his past self. "Me? I'd say you guys are the relics of the past here," he responded. "Honestly surreal to see you all here. A little disappointed your Annabelle isn't with you, though. I was kind of looking forward to finally hearing an explanation of how she managed to hack our comms. Our version - I kid you not - swears she doesn't remember," he jibed with a teasing glance her way. Future Annabelle just crinkled her eyes at him in a minute glare.

Your uplink isn't accepted...but the reason why is clear. If Annabelle's past self had somehow been able to not just hack Future Simon's communications security, but tap into a communication stream going to another time entirely, there was quite simply no way to guarantee security with personal devices in her presence. Any private discussions you wanted to have with your future self was going to have to wait until you had actual privacy.

"But on to business," he said then, more seriously, in answer to his past self's question. "Lorelei has been hard at work configuring her time machine to take you to your proper times. As of this morning, she was running some final tests, and last I checked she was confident it would be ready in a few hours at most. So it's really just a waiting game. Sit tight, and we'll have you home shortly. Weird timeline mishaps are no longer a matter of concern, so if you have any questions or anything, feel free. Of course, since we're in different timelines now, any future information, from your perspectives, that we provide you shouldn't be taken as reliable for your eventual experiences. But at least we don't have to be arbitrarily cryptic anymore."

[manwithaplan]

Simon

"Well, he wakes up here, contained. Future me will make sure of that. Lots of different kinds of Dreamers are difficult to contain, but mages like him? Come on, man. He won't be doing anything."

Future Josh

Future Josh's answer was a little dissatisfying. Not terribly, but enough to make Josh pause and look at him for a second. He looked at his future self just the way that Simon had been looking at him a few minutes ago. In doing that, he made an observation.

When they first 'met' in a vision a few months ago, Josh had been terrified of Future Josh. Or, to be more accurate, terrified of the fact that challenges were coming his way that were horrible enough that they could turn him into the man that he was seeing. But then, not longer after that, he took on Flashpoint. Alone, in the middle of the ocean where he'd never be found. And he fought to what might be called a stalemate. On that day, he didn't feel the fear anymore - only peace. But it was a peace that came from superiority - next time he saw a guy like Flashpoint, he would think to himself, I can beat you if I want to. If I need to. He didn't think those words, but he always believed them. He looked at every big challenge and scary opponent with that mentality - he had just now met Past Flashpoint, and the way he dealt with that obstacle clearly said that he believed those words.

"You're dying, Josh."

The reason he was uncomfortable now was that, as he looked at his mighty Future Self, his instincts kicked in - he sized the other speedster up, and he knew in his mind that the words were there - I can beat you if I want to. If I need to. That was informing his choice of words, and it was informing the feeling of disappointment that he couldn't shake.

The very manifestation of everything he knew he had to become was standing right in front of him. But to Josh's brain, constantly hyped on adrenaline and danger after being almost killed however many times, all he could see was another stepping stone that he would overcome if necessary. When had his subconscious mind decided, without telling him, that even the literal Future Josh was just another challenge that could inevitably be beaten? And was it correct?

Questions for later, he figured. For now he just hoped that the other him couldn't sense the condescension he was trying not to feel.

"Pretty soon, after we go...this is where it ends for you. Don't be sheepish with me - if there's something you can tell me, then you should tell me."

Flashpoint

"No, mate, I want to understand."

Josh didn't stop staring, his resolution growing as Cyrus gave him the shoulder.

"I've not been great to you, have I? I went back in time, bullied you, harassed you, and beat you. You're a super-villain, and I'm trying to get you into prison, but it's still abusive behaviour. Now you're here, saving our lives, and I'm realising that you're a human and I'm regretting all of the negative things I've said to you. The...the unnecessary ones, I mean. I once saved the General Commander of Hero Corps by insulting you, I'm not taking that back."

"You don't have to posture around me. You, uh...you can't, because we both know who's who between us, right? Deep down? I'm here to empathise with you. Just tell me why you're here."

[Starsign]

Sheema gives a quizzed look at her older self's hesitation. This isn't like her at all. Sheema isn't one to struggle when she has to say something. As typical, the younger Sheema now wants to know more than before.

She turns her head to look over at Makhana as well; the dire rhino merely keeping an eye on Judy and staring at the scientist's strange devices in skepticism. Sheema simply blinks at her lifelong friend of a dire rhino before looking back at her older self. "Is... there something I should know?"

---

Well... That happened.

Sheema takes a bit of time away from her older self and her dad, letting Makhana keep an eye on them while the heiress gathers her thoughts. How much did pass by these ten years from her own time? It almost feels like opening some box of forbidden information, learning far more than one should ever know.

With Galadhil on her back, Sheema walks forward to perhaps the one person everyone else wouldn't approach: Tara Ellens. Sheema doesn't know better, too naive to realize what'll happen in the future. She just sees Tara as any other person.

"Hey," she greets Tara with a small smile, taking a seat on a reinforced bark bench at the side of the wall. "What a day it's been..." Sheema speaks quietly as she looks around the room. Her eyes fixate on Daryll, the man which everyone here seems to hate alongside Gestalt. Sheema lets silence take over briefly before curiosity gets the better of her. "Hey, Tara?" She looks up to the future-except-already-is supervillain. "Your... friend, Daryll. Do you love him?" The question is sudden, perhaps a little too heavy given the subject. "He really cares for you. Spirits, he seems like he'd die for you (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23323645&postcount=1381) if it'd save you. Do you feel the same for him?" There's no hint of malice in Sheema's voice; she's just curious. Tara and Daryll... do not seem like the nicest people to her. This may be the only time Sheema can talk to Tara like a fellow human being.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Josh and Josh

Future Josh...chuckled. Not mockingly or dismissively, though perhaps a bit bemusedly. Your words didn't crack through his calm exterior to reveal some truth hidden beneath. He really was just that chill.

"I don't believe that," he answered, and he meant it. "And I'm not playing games. That is, straight-up, the best piece of advice I can give you."

"Look," he said, not bothering with the pause that made it look like he was taking time to collect his thoughts. Such dramatics were pointless for other speedsters. "You're a Dreamer. Not just that, but a Hero-level Dreamer. With an advanced super-speed power. You can get anywhere in the world in seconds, and your passport is up to date. You can do anything you set your mind to, because you have literally all the time in the world to figure out how. There is virtually no threat you can't evade, no event you can't attend. You have the ability to make as much or as little money as you wish, whether you want to spend an hour a week just to be able to cover expenses, make a good salary doing good work with Hero Corps or the ACC, or make bank actually spending effort putting your speed to a marketable purpose."

"So when I tell you you'll be fine, I'm not just brushing you off. I mean it literally. You'd have to make a concerted effort to mess up what you have. Barring some stupidly overpowered former-friend summoning an invincible army to threaten your entire country, I suppose, but even in that circumstance it's like...still here, you know?"

"But the thing of it is, while you have it good, you also have it easy. 99% of everything you do is going to be trivial to accomplish. 99% of everything you want is going to be so easy to get it will practically fall into your lap.
And that...you know, it can trick you. Make you complacent. Make you think anything that does take actual effort is more trouble than it's worth, if you're not careful. But the thing is, that 1% that you actually have to struggle for...I don't know, but sometimes I think it might actually be more important than all the rest combined." Again, that faint, faint hint of reflective regret.

Josh and Flashpoint

Flashpoint regarded you for a moment (microsecond, whatever) with an aloof gaze, but an attentive one, as if he were sizing you up. "So it was you," he said. It wasn't a question. "The Prophet. But it was this you, traveling through time. Which explains why the version of you that I know always swore it wasn't him and he had no idea what I was talking about. Hm. Well, that's nice to finally know."

"The fact is Miles that you and I are a lot alike. At the end of the day, we both use our power, our speed, to do what we wish and live the life we want. The only really significant difference is that you have a qualm about hurting others, and I don't."

"Could I have escaped? Sure. Even Legion has nothing short of his phoenix that can keep up with me, and he would have had no reason to hunt me in any event. But I have never been a villain of the likes of Legion or Ellens, or even the Recruiter. I simply didn't mind hurting people to get what I wanted. But the things I wanted were things that society provided. Fine food. Comfortable places to live. Entertainment. Luxuries. Interesting things to keep me occupied.
Even company and conversation. You would be amazed the sort of stories people will tell you when they are terrified for their lives. It may surprise you to learn, this would not be the first time I battled a villain whose goals were sufficiently destructive in scope that I felt they might infringe on my lifestyle."

"...Besides, he killed Brava, so if I kill him I get credit by proxy," he finished with a smirk.

Sheema and Sheema

Future Sheema got a wan look on her face as Makhana didn't offer her any help. The dire rhino may or may not have even been paying attention.

Then again, it was entirely possible that she herself didn't understand what Future Sheema did.

The fact that her father didn't know...impacted the decision, although in all truth she couldn't quite say how. She had deduced that he hadn't told her because he hadn't thought she was ready to hear it, and then after he had been taken...well, there had never been another chance. That he just didn't know changed the equation, took his wisdom out of the calculation. On the other hand...was she ready?

How would she have reacted, if she had learned this when she was only a teenager?

Future Sheema couldn't say for sure. The years of additional experience had taken her too far from that mindset, that time in her life, to confidently model her behavior. All she could say for sure...was that she would want to know.

"Sheema...you're a gifted warrior. A Legend in the making. But Makhana is the Matriarch of the Rhinos. Dad's the Rhino King, sure, but he doesn't have actual dominion over them and he definitely doesn't have dominion over her. It- actually, no, I'm still technically you, so I don't have to ask. I know you've wondered before why she follows you."

"I assume Dad still hasn't told you how Mom died?"

Wulther looked a bit uncomfortable. "Honey...I know I haven't told you much about your mother.
It's...hard for me. But part of what makes it hard is...I don't actually know how she died. She...It was..." his voice grew choked and he trailed off, looking away from both versions of his daughter. As long ago as it had been, that wound was still too raw.

Future Sheema set a gentle hand on his arm. "She had left Rivinas on a hunt, and hadn't returned," she finished for him, before facing you squarely. "Our mother was Chelle Naoumov, daughter of Yolanda Naoumov, granddaughter of Sonowa Yamada, and great-granddaughter of Uri Yamada.
And I could list for you a hundred other names going back generations. That spear," she said, with a nod at Galadhil, "has been wielded by seven of our maternal ancestors. It is a line of great Hunters and warriors, and our mother was no exception."

Quietly, with tears in his eyes and tightness in his voice, Wulther confirmed, "She was the greatest Hunter in Rivinas."

Sheema nodded with a bittersweet smile. "You met Jenny Cade during the rescue. She's a precog.
Well, an oracle, really. About six years ago she started looking into the past as well as the future. She helped me learn about our Mom. Including how she died."

"There had been reports of tyrannosaur attacks on some of our outlying farms. She went to scout, try to locate the Beast's lair so she could assess the threat it presented and return with a full party. When she found it, it turned out that it wasn't a normal tyrannosaur. It was ancient. And it was in the middle of a fight. With Makhana. The Matriarch of the Rhinos had long been...well, not an ally, quite, but something of a symbol for Rivinas. But an ancient tyrannosaur was a more powerful Beast than even she. She was badly injured. Mom jumped in."

Future Sheema fell quiet. Wulter's mouth was hanging open some. There was no need for her to continue. Anyone with a modicum of Perallan lore, and knowledge of your strange bond with Makhana, would know what had happened next.

"I started calling her Ma," Future Sheema said quietly, and there were a hint of tears in her eyes too now, as she gazed fondly over at the two versions of the dire rhino, "Because...at least on some level, that's exactly who she is."

Sheema and Tara

Darryll blinked as Sheema asked her question. "That...is an awfully personal question to ask of someone you only just met," he pointed out, a trifle protectively.

"It's alright," Tara told him gently. A look was exchanged. Something definitely passed between them.

You might not expect it from a supervillain who had threatened entire countries, who had done things previously believed impossible, who had wielded APEX as a weapon, but Tara was not actually particularly averse to talking about her feelings.

(To be fair, though, the sheer volume and vitriol of her posts on the Orphans of Paradise forum might have provided a bit of a clue to some.)

She answered the question openly and without shame. She didn't even seem to mind that Darryll was there to hear it. It was nothing he didn't already know, nothing she hadn't already told him. "Your assessment of Darryll is exactly correct, and quite astute. Although I suppose it is not exactly something he keeps secret," she said, giving him a fond smile. "As far as my feelings for him..."

Tara sighed, and her jaw clenched slightly. Regret fell across her face. "I...try to love him.
And I want to feel for him what he feels for me. I say the words, and take the actions. I rationally recognize his love and his loyalty, and I do my conscious best to return it. But I am not sure that I succeed, and I am quite sure that I do not feel for him what he feels for me. I...can't."

"I'm a broken person, Sheema. I was born on Paradisia. I had a family who I loved more intensely than I could possibly describe. My mother, my father, my sisters and my big brother...they were my world. I can still remember how it felt, to love people like that. And it still-" she kinda cut off as a tear dropped from each of her eyes, and she swallowed hard a lump in her throat. Darryll set a hand on her back, in silent support. And though he didn't even seem conscious of it, he was now glaring at you minutely, as if he blamed you for her pain.

Tara took a shuddery breath before continuing, "And I had believed they loved me as much, but it wasn't true. On my tenth birthday, a priest named Earl Winters came to my house and used his power to divine whether I would be a Dreamer. He had not seen it when I was born, and he did not see it now."

The pain in Tara's voice was slowly morphing into anger, the grief in her eyes to fury. "Only Dreamers may live on Paradisia. Children not predicted to become Dreamers may remain until their twentieth birthday, but Paradisia advises them to be sent away earlier. There are penalties...the functional equivalent of fines, for families that refuse. Fines! My family gave me up, they exiled me to Ilessia at ten years old, for little more than a bit of energy conservation! And then they had the gall to tell me it was for my own good!" she spat those final three words with all the hatred in the world.

It took Tara a moment to calm enough to continue. "And you know what happened the day before I turned twenty? I had my Dream," she said, with the bitter amusement of one who was the butt of some grand cosmic joke. "The priest was wrong. And if they had just kept me, everything would have been fine. They even would have received reparations for the 'fines', by Paradisian law. I could have gone back, but of course I didn't. Why would I? There was nobody there who cared about me."

Tara wound down from her rant. "Rather a detour from the question you asked, huh?" she asked, with a bit of amusement. "More information than you wanted, I'll warrant. But it's the risk you take, when you ask questions so personal. But getting back to the original subject, I know Darryll's love for me is true, and I do my best to act in accordance with that. But I also knew that my family loved me truly, until it turned out that they didn't. So as much as I may want to, I cannot feel for him what he feels for me. My family murdered my capacity for such feelings when I was ten years old. All I can do is act out the closest facsimile I can based on observation of the behavior of others. And though I cannot understand it, he has assured me that that is enough."

"Would I die if it would save him? Again, from a rational standpoint, I would be willing to. He would be deserving of that loyalty, and I cannot but believe that if this world could have only one of us in it, it would be better off by far with him than me. But he has sworn elsewise from me. It is his contention that in that extremity, I could survive without him better than he could survive without me. So in the practical sense, no. I would not die for him. But you may rest assured that his killer absolutely would." That was neither boast nor warning. It was a simple statement of fact.

[Grim ranger]

Aquila & Future Aquila

Looking somewhat stunned at the severity of the news even thought he always knew the answer would hardly be pleasant, Aquila looked around with newfound sense of respect. "...I suppose it does answer that, yeah. I don't suppose you can reveal to me how we fit into all this and how you got to be the head cheese around here? I admit my life is in desperate need of direction, although I still have my doubts about the whole hero thing. But I guess you had them too?"

Leaning bit closer, he continued with a whisper he tried to keep out of the ears of the people around, his cheeks burning just a little. "And I just HAVE to know... you and her?" he wondered, nodding towards Future Sheema.

Aquila & Family

Once he had managed his talk with his future self, younger Aquila walked bit forward, looking supremely awkward in front of them all. "So, I know this might not be ENTIRELY accurate, but... did I ever willingly reveal my extracurricular activities to you? Moreover, where do you all fit into this? I am glad everyone is okay, but there is just so much I don't know about the situation" he admitted before smiling weakly to his sister. "...are you keeping out of trouble, sis?"

[Starsign]

"What?"

The gasping word quietly comes out of Sheema's mouth as she's left in a state of utter shock over the truth. She always believed she would never see her mother again; to have disappeared and never come back for years... In Peral, doing that is equivalent to suicide. Sheema just never knew how or why it happened.

And now she knows.

"The Rite of Sacrifice..."

She's heard about a totemic ritual similar to this. Usually, the Hunter prepares themselves before committing to the death of a Beast, taking in its Spiritual Energy for him or herself. Usually an aspect of the Beast, whether their sharp senses or their sharp claws, is also added to the Hunter in some way. She's seen this ritual done before during a vagrant Hunter's arrival in Rivinas when she was young.

But the Rite of Sacrifice works somewhat in reverse and usually unintentionally. A Hunter, if killed while defending a Beast, can let their Spiritual Energy, or even a part of their consciousness, into the Beast. Sheema's never heard of this happening before, much less seen it firsthand. It's not an ideal end to a Hunter but it is a fate which many may accept to have their energy and a part of themselves passed onto a Beast... and that's what happened with Chelle.

Sheema grips her father's hand tightly, feeling the bond of family more tensely than before. Refusing to look back again at the dire rhino in the distance, she walks over to the future Makhana, looking up at the rhino's steely eyes. "You... You knew what happened? And you never told dad? You never told me...?" Sheema already knows the answer; she wouldn't have taken it well. She always treated Makhana like family. Now Makhana is actually family.

---

Sheema got a lot more information from Tara than she wanted.

The black-skinned princess is left with her mouth slightly open. How do you respond to a woman who has admitted to being a broken, manipulative Dreamer with powers and suffering beyond expectations? She didn't need to ask to know that Tara and Daryll absolutely must not be good people, nevermind the vitriol Daryll since entering the Glade.

Sheema curls up her legs on the bench, quiet briefly before speaking. "I'm sorry." She lacks a direction to continue. This sort of sympathy from Sheema might not exist if she met Tara under any different circumstances. "I can't imagine how awful that must've been. I'm not a Dreamer myself, I don't think I'll ever be getting the Dream. Spirits, I'm not even a Hunter; there are Perallan city-states that won't accept hiers who don't have that aptitude." She pauses again, thinking on what she said, becoming flustered at her poor attempt at sympathy. "And it... can't be like what you must've gone through. Losing your whole family because you told you weren't going to be a Dreamer? That's how it works in Paradisia?" Peral hasn't told of any fond stories about the land that only accepts Dreamers; but it's different hearing it from someone who's been in Paradisia.

Unless rejected, Sheema squats over to the other side of the bench, reaching out and holding Tara's hand. "Tara, I don't know if we may meet when I return from here, or if it's too late to help you when I get back to my time. But thank you, thank you for telling me. I imagine you don't often talk to others about it."

She looks up at Daryll, a little uncomfortable at his glare, then back to the augmenting supervillain. "And i know it might be difficult, and you can ignore this if it pleases you; not like I'm in a position to give advice. But even if you can't love someone the way they love you, if you still love him, do all you can to show it." In Sheema's mind, the advice must sound childish, or perhaps obvious; but the relationship between Tara and Daryll... doesn't seem healthy. The two love each other yet one cannot show it to the other. "I don't think anyone wants to be alone when it all ends, however it ends... Do you?"

The words perhaps speak more to Sheema than to Tara; the revelations about Makhana and Chelle still deep in the princess' mind.

[Dorni]

Simon & Josh

"However you try to minimize it, he's still an extremely powerful mage. He'll require time and attention to keep contained. Those are resources this group has little of, and if there's ever a tiny slip he'll go right back to Legion. But even that's missing the point. He doesn't deserve it. Look at what he's done to the country. He wasn't an unwilling conscript in Legion's conquest, he was an active participant. They've killed millions, overthrown Illessia, enslaved dreamers so they can use them as batteries, and drove the rest of the planet to start forming alliances with Haptarus. And he chose to be a part of that. He doesn't deserve a shot at redemption."

"In our timeline, criminals get arrested because Illessia has a justice system that can imprison, rehabilitate, and release them after they've served their time. This timeline has none of that. Legion destroyed it. There's no society for him to rejoin after he's served his time, and no amount of time he could possibly serve that would make up for what he's done. He'll be imprisoned for whatever remains of his life. If that's the case, you didn't save him from execution back there. You just moved the role of executioner from Tara to Time."

[Born]

"Oh... so that was you." Eric awkwardly answered. He had remembered the others telling him the future agent had shot him in the back while going after Gestalt, but he hadn't even considered that he might actually meet the guy here. "In that case, I'm glad that you aren't still trying to kill our time's Gestalt."

Mandragora headed over to be near Gestalt. He hoped that he would be able to deflect some of the vitriol people had toward the summoner here. It was understandable that they acted as they did after all Legion had done to them, but Gestalt didn't deserve any of this. With how much people seemed to hold this timeline's Glade in reverence, maybe seeing Mandragora walking with Gestalt would help put them at ease?

[Dorni]

Simon to Simon

Simon caught up with his Future self. "Hey, we need to talk."

Once they were alone, he wasted no time. "So. Lorelei finishes the time machine and we get back to our time. What's the plan for everyone else in the fortress? I doubt they all signed on to wait for their deaths when the timeline collapses."

Even has he put the question out there, Simon kept glancing around the room, then back at his future counterpart. The message was simple. Is it safe to converse here?

[Quellian-dyrae]

Aquila and Aquila

Your future self...actually looked slightly pained when you asked him about having doubts about the whole hero thing.
"I'm no Hero, Aquila."

"I don't know what your experience was. Hopefully it was better than mine. But here's how it went down for me. Fifteen years ago, there was an explosion at a hospital (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?359852-In-Dreams-to-Come&p=22223411&viewfull=1#post22223411). When the ACC arrived to help, a bit of a crowd gathered. Javan and I were in it. So were a bunch of Defiant. They attacked the ACC and the other people helping. The ACC fought some of them. I fought the rest. And I killed them all." He said it very matter-of-factually, but you could see the regret in his eyes.

"I was new to my powers. I still didn't really know how to control them. I certainly didn't know my own strength. I didn't intend to kill them but, well, they were killing people themselves, so I can't say I particularly regretted it. Not at the time, anyway. There was a whole SIDE investigation. It could have been pretty bad. My powers weren't registered. I got off, mainly because Dad pulled some strings. Also because I was a minor and it was defense of others. But it was pretty close and SIDE...they weren't exactly friendly about it. Soured me on them, I guess. Dad's lectures if the aftermath didn't exactly help matters."

"He insisted I register my powers so this wouldn't happen again. I refused. I felt like registering them would have meant I had to use them. And I'd be in the system and such. I was being a stupid, stubborn teenager, in other words. Anyway, we had this huge argument about it, and end of the day what it came down to was if I didn't register them I wasn't allowed to use them, period. That suited me fine."

"Or at least, it did until the Defiant came after me to avenge the ones I had killed. Then I had no choice. 'Course, they weren't packing anything that could actually hurt me, so I tried to scare them off. Defiant being Defiant, that didn't work. Since they couldn't hurt me physically, they tried another way. They went after Mariana."

His voice was utterly toneless when he said, "So I killed them too."

"I called Javan, told him to call the police and to look after Mariana and I ran. It was the only thing I could think to do. I still hadn't registered, so I figured SIDE would throw the book at me this time. And that Dad would probably disown me anyway even if they didn't. Besides, if the Defiant were after me, they were in danger."

"I probably wouldn't have lasted long without doing something that got me arrested or killed, if the Knights hadn't found me. I don't know if you've met them. They're a religious group, a Deionist splinter-sect that believes in the Chaos of Nature or some such. Civilization must fall for Nature to flourish, yada yada whatever. Frankly I never paid all that much attention to the details of the doctrine. What I did know is that they took me in, looked after me, kept me out of SIDE's reach. Or at least they said they did, maybe SIDE just didn't think I was worth the trouble. They kept telling me I was this...chosen one, or something. Prince of Earth. They wanted me to perform a ritual, sacrifice three members of the order with powers from the three other elements. I was...skeptical, to say the least. But after a while...I don't know if I'd quite say I started to believe, but I guess I started to see the appeal. Eventually I went through with it."

"And I mean...I don't know if it really did what they said it did, awakened the power of Terras within me or whatever. Simon suggested once that it was an augmentative ritual fueled by the Spiritual Energy of the three sacrifices and sustained by the Spiritual Energy of the rest of the Knights. Something about faith magic or whatever. Who even knows, right? But it definitely made me stronger. Substantially stronger."

"So, I was officially the Prince of Earth, now. I met the other Prince and Princesses, as they called us. There was a whole lot of pomp and ceremony, but the thing is, when we all got together and talked? Turns out none of us were really true believers. We all just kinda got pulled into through various means. None of us really cared about the whole toppling of civilization thing. I guess we all had some beef with our respective local authorities, but there's a difference between that and wanting to go back to being hunter-gatherers, you know?"

"So we kinda hatched a plan to just...take advantage of it. Make use of the Knights for our own ends. We gave big speeches and made big promises and just did our own things. I went back to Adaros and basically took the lead of the Knights in the area as a vigilante movement, focusing largely on the Defiant, but it wasn't exclusive. And we cleared out more than our share of criminals, but...well, we didn't exactly take prisoners."

"We got on SIDE and Hero Corps' radar. There was a skirmish. That's when I met Legion - or Gestalt, at the time. This was after whatever had happened but before he had gone crazy. But I don't know. Meeting me, it kinda triggered him somehow. Not, like, all the way, but he got obsessive about me. Made it personal. Tried to hunt me down. I'm still not entirely sure why he fixated on me. I think he might have been with the ACC back during the whole explosion thing, so maybe he recognized me from there, but it never quite made sense. We were effectively on the same side, so I dunno. Back then, though, he didn't have all his power boosts and I was still riding high from the ritual, so without his full team he wasn't a huge threat to me personally. Less so when I had Knights around. Thing is, trying and failing time after time to bring me down...it was probably a big part of what drove him to go seeking more power in the first place."

"I didn't know any of that at the time. He was just a slightly-more-annoying-than-most Hero as far as I was concerned. Until he hit the motherlode. This was maybe half a year before he summoned his whole army, but his personal power was already massive. I hadn't even known it was growing - he had kinda left me alone while he was going after more power. I had figured he had just given up."

"He attacked at the annual gathering of the Broken Cross. It was our biggest yet, and we were holding it in Arbera. I think the excuse we made was something about the symbolism of the destroyers of civilization being hosted unknowingly in one of the most iconic cities on the planet or something. Really us 'chosen ones' were just tired of middle-of-nowhere camps when wwe could be lounging by a pool in a swanky hotel. Gestalt and his summons attacked and...it was a bloodbath. He killed half the Knights, all the Champions, and both Desta and Almira. Uh, that's the Princess of Wind and Princess of Water. Flynn, the Prince of Fire, he captured. One of Flynn's powers was augmentative in nature, and you've seen what Legion does with augmenters. Most of the rest of the Knights fled. I barely escaped with my life."

"That attack is where he officially crossed the line between Hero and villain, I guess. That attack, between his summons and all the Knights, not to mention the four of us...there was a lot of collateral damage. Honestly, I don't know that Legion was actually responsible for the lion's share of it, but it didn't really matter. The others could tell you better how that whole thing went down, but it ended with Legion summoning an army of millions from the past, all but destroying Adaros, and basically conquering Ilessia."

"And he was still after me. I got my family to...as close to safety as existed, anyway, and joined forces with what was left of the Adaros Hero Corps. It was the only chance we really had to stop him. We went after him while his army was mostly occupied waging war with the entire country of Ilessia."

"We failed. Most of the Heroes died. Legion would have killed us all, but Mandragora...honestly, I still don't know what exactly he did or how exactly he did it. He asked me and the Knights for help, but I'm still not super-clear on what exactly we did. And he...became Glade. Kept us safe. I'd never...the sacrifice that he made, that so many of the Heroes made...it showed me how wrong I had been. And...I think seeing what the fall of civilization actually looked like might have shown the Knights how wrong they had been. Or maybe they just needed a better Deionist for a role model, who knows."

"So here we are. Officially, I'm the leader here because I have the most experience with this sort of thing. Remember, I led an extended mass vigilante campaign under the noses of SIDE and Hero Corps for years. Even Simon's OUT-SIDE experience wasn't quite the same for this kind of war. More realistically, it's because about two-thirds of our standing forces are Knights and nobody's quite sure how they'd respond to someone else being in command. In practice, Simon, Matt, and Annabelle are the tactical brains of the operation. I'm really more the face. But, you know, don't let anyone know that."

"And Sheema? I mean...she's the one who convinced the other Heroes to give me a chance. Honestly couldn't believe it when she did, after all the times I'd fought them. Honestly there were a fair few of them who blamed me for the rise of Legion, and I'm not sure I'd disagree. But Sheema got them to let me help, and probably saved my life in the doing." He didn't seem to actually pick up on the real intent of your question, although that was something of an answer in itself. The way his experience had gone, it seemed there had never been an opportunity to even consider the possibility, one way or another. That was a question you'd have to answer of your own, without any help from future knowledge.

"So. Kinda a long story, but it covers fifteen years so I have an excuse. You want direction, I've got three pointers for you: If you meet the Knights of the Broken Cross, turn and run in the other direction. If you ever have an opportunity to join Hero Corps, do it. They're good people. And finally, and most importantly, don't be a stupid, stubborn teenager and register your ****ing powers."

Aquila and Family

So, the above story probably answers much of your questions, and I imagine might change what you initially ask, so I'm going to hold off on this one in case you want to retcon the approach.

Sheema and Sheema

Future Sheema followed you over, setting a hand on your shoulder and gazing almost searchingly into your Makhana's eyes. "She might not know," she said. "She's never really...talked to me on the subject. And she certainly didn't start acting any differently when I found out. The Rite of the Sacrifice...I read up on it after I found out. A lot. Do you know Dad actually went through it too? Long before we were born, but that's how you become a Beastshifter. It's not really an intentional ritual though, not like the Rite of the Feast or the Rite of the Offering, and even those aren't...super-predictable. The Sacrifice...sometimes the Hunter takes over completely, super-rarely, they become a Beastshifter. But sometimes...sometimes they just make the Beast a bit more intelligent, more empathetic, give them an emotional connection to people or places they had a connection to in life. I don't know how many of Mom's memories or personality traits she has, or how much of her knowledge. All I can really say is that a part of her is in there. Somewhere."

For the record, Makhana's your Sidekick, so I'm leaving it to you to control her reactions or lack thereof. I consider the questions above to be yours to answer.

Sheema and Tara

Tara didn't forestall Sheema from sitting beside her, and when Sheema took her hand she gave her's a grateful squeeze. When Sheema spoke of potentially helping her past self she said, "I...don't know for sure what I may be doing in your timeline. I can admit I have a tendency to take things...personally. And enough power that that tendency can be potentially dangerous." Her voice was quiet with gentle regret.

But she spoke more firmly as she said, "But I do pride myself on being a good judge of character, and I can tell you have a good heart, Sheema. I expect that whatever version of me exists in your timeline would be better for your help, even if she might not show the appreciation for it that she should. And if my experience with Earl Winters and his power of prophecy had taught me anything, it is this: it is never too late."

The Main Hall

Mandragora standing with Gestalt...it definitely earned some looks. Some were shocked. A few almost seemed angry. But several were contemplative. As much as may have happened in the intervening time, whatever their future incarnations had become as Glade and Legion, this was still Adaros, and there were still people who remembered taking inspiration from the sight of the two Heroes, Gestalt and Mandragora, standing side by side.

None of the civilians and defenders seemed to have quite the gumption to actually approach Gestalt, but with Mandragora standing beside him the glares did markedly diminish, and nobody accosted him either.

Simon and Daimon

"Don't tell me you're buying what Legion and Darryll are selling," Future Simon replied. "Truth to tell, you guys being here is the biggest piece of evidence we have that everybody's going to be fine. After all, if changing the timeline killed everyone who was involved in it, you'd be dead too, right?"

Your glances around the room, in addition to conveying your message, might have answered your own question. There was no way this room was secure. Sure, it was improbable that any of Simon's friends and allies were spying on him, but...the walls, floor, and ceiling were made of the same solid stone as the rest of the keep, making the entire room a potential window for Summit. Several technological devices and Active Crystal screens were visible, and while far from guaranteed, it was clearly not impossible that Annabelle could hack even your future self's security. And Future Simon even kept a couple plants in the room, which meant that Mandragora - Glade - was present, either when he wished to be, or possibly whether he wished to be or not.

Come to think of it, there wasn't really any way to make a secure room in a place like this, where every piece of stone, wood, or technology could be a window. Even if he could construct an entire room of, say, metal (did Summit's powers extend to metal? Some Earth-based Dreamers could control it, some couldn't) or inert plaster or something, doing so would be suspicious, to say the least.

Or, at least, that would have been the assessment for most spies. As soon as Future Simon noticed your glances, though, the constant static of the collapsing timeline...stopped.

It didn't clear up, mind. The little motes of empty black nothingness were still there. But they stopped appearing and disappearing at random, just staying fixed in their prior locations and configurations. Everything in the room but for you and Future Simon was an inanimate object anyway, but nonetheless, it was clear that for the moment time was now on pause.

And being a skilled observer of your surroundings, you noticed that Future Simon had not touched his belt.

"Yes," Future Daimon agreed with your first statement. "We do. Do you want to ask your questions immediately, or would you rather I brief you first?"

[DukeGod]

Gestalt and Mandragora

Leviath just sits there with Mandragora at his side. It definately felt better. There is no need for words. Actually it was hard for them to talk at times. He still wasn't into religion the way his fellow Dreamer was. After enough of a while, he looks at Mandragora and just nods.

Hopefully, their time together had done as much for the plant man as it had done for Gestalt.

"I need to talk to Future Simon. And Lorelei"
--
He decides to approach Future Simon first. It'd probably help in other conversation

"Hey. I got a question for you"

He breathes

"You went to the pas to kill me. Who supported your decision?"

[Dorni]

Daimon raised an eyebrow. In their previous confrontation his future self had relied on his belt's teleportation feature, implying a dependence on the technology. His lack-thereof to invoke his temporal manipulation suggested either an alternate source or seamless integration with his neural uplink. That he'd rely on them here to secure the conversation and actively avoided using them when they'd have been advantageous in capturing Leviath suggested that even in this dark timeline was further evidence he was withholding them from his allies. Which wasn't at all unexpected. "Whether I buy it is irrelevant. Those two obviously do. The logical move from their point is to make some sort of play for Lorelai's time machine once its ready rather than risk face what they believe to be annihilation. Daryll's loyalty to Tara extended to first teaming up with, then betraying Legion. I doubt he'll be any more loyal to us."

"But you're right, we have more important matters. Brief me first." Daimon was fully aware that his future self retained his own memory. While their timelines had diverged, the divergence was recent enough that his future version likely knew approximately where his own plans stood at the point in time he'd left his own timeline. More importantly, his future self had a wider pool of information to draw from.

[Starsign]

There's a lack of words from the younger Sheema as her older self confirms about the Rite."I heard a bit about my dad's ritual," she responds, her voice quieter than usual as she holds Wulther's hand more tightly. "It was before we were even born. It was like a legend back in Rivinas." Her voice carries a small tinge of nostalgia. Her days in Peral are long gone but she can't help but remember them fondly. "But I never knew mom was..." She hesitates, looking back at the "younger" Makhana off on the other side of the hall. She's a dire rhino, always has and will been... But just how much of Chelle is in her?

A dark thought comes to Sheema's mind. She... shouldn't need to ask her older self, for the absence should be enough of an indication. Yet the princess has to know. "Hey, older me? I don't want to hear the long story on this, but..." Wulther can feel her daughter's hand held tighter. "Did you ever find dad?"

---

Sheema looks slowly to the ground hearing Tara's words. It's heartwarming, in a way, to hear that. Tara... didn't talk like a villain, act like a villain, often doesn't even talk like one. Yet what she was saying is like she's admitting she had done some bad things before being captured. Sheema's scared to wonder what Tara was like ten years ago.

"Thanks," she says to Tara. Sheema doesn't let go of Tara's hand but loosens the grip slightly in case Tara wishes to let go. "Back ten years ago I don't think your name ever came up in Ilessia. I don't know if that means you haven't met Daryll or if you've been planning... anything. But if there's a chance I'll be able to meet the other you back then, I'll see what I can do." As much as Sheema wants to... she can't make promises. "But until we have to go, or if this Master comes after us, I'll be here if you ever need anything."

Sometimes Sheema wonders if she'll ever regret anything she says to others...

[Grim ranger]

Aquila & Future Aquila

"...god damnit" is all Aquila could really say to such revelations, sounding like he might need a moment to sit down. It all made sense, but...it was just so much WORSE. It seemed that the arrival of their time-traveling friends had altered a lot of things, and some unquestionably for the better. Hearing that he might have caused the current, catastrophic state of the world (however unwittingly) was still a tough pill to swallow, however.

He had wondered for a while now on how bad things could have gotten for him if he hadn't had help...and it seemed those musings had just been answered in rather comprehensive manner. The worst part was, he could see how he would have wound up choosing the same way, under the same circumstances. It was easy to try and blame it on the world, but at some point he was bound to be forced to accept the responsibility for his own choices, as much as they had been pushed on him.

"We are a stupid bastard, aren't we?" he chuckled mirthlessly, idly punching his elder self on the shoulder. "I have met the Knights in my own timeline...I wasn't certain of them, so I asked our time-traveling friends to come along. Lot of them are arrested now, so I hope I can eventually make them see some reason. As for the Hero Corps, Sheema has been encouraging me on that front. Guess she has been right about lot of things" he said with a weak smile. "...I'll make sure it won't come to this next time. I have no idea what future holds for me now that everything has been changed this much, but it can only be better than before. I'm sorry for you, though: you suffered due to circumstances beyond your control while I had help. Universe just isn't fair."

Smiling a little, he lets out a fond sigh. "Still, it has been...an experience. I guess this'll be as close to I can get to having a big brother. I know it won't really be accurate, but...I'll miss you once it is time to go."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gestalt and Simon

Future Simon appraised you thoughtfully for a moment, but it was hard to say what gears were turning in his head. Simon's poker face hadn't gotten any easier to read over the past (future, whatever) ten years, apparently.

After a moment he answered, with the sort of professional brusqueness of a military man giving a debrief, "Josh abstained from the decision either way, and agreed to abide by the consensus. Lorelei and Jenny believed in their plan, so they were against it. Although I suppose Lorelei probably would have been either way. William sided with his sister, to the surprise of precisely nobody. Glade opposed the idea on its merits."

"Cyrus, Annabelle, Aquila, Sheema, Matt, and myself all voted in favor."

Simon and Daimon

OOC-wise, everyone here knows about Daimon's extra-curricular activities, so this discussion isn't secret, strictly speaking. That being said, it may contain certain spoilers regarding plot points of the upcoming adventure. On the flip side, it does also contain a few answers to existing questions and more rambling on the nature and limits of time travel, if anyone isn't sick of that yet :smallamused:. So, while players other than Dorni are allowed to read it, it is kinda at your risk and I will expect the IC/OOC knowledge divide to be strictly maintained.

"Alright. First, it's important that you understand where my information is coming from. In my timeline, I did largely what you did - got access to Lorelei's time machine and cloning technology, used it to create a spy force that I knew would put Ilessia's interests first and work to advance them competently. I also came to learn that SIDE has managed to somehow recover or redevelop the technology that was used to induce artificial powers, or at least a version of it, and secured my own access to that. I tried to use that to get around the limits of Lorelei's technology. It took some doing, but I was able to imbue myself with time-manipulation powers. The belts Lorelei built can do a lot of what I can, but not all of it."

"I've been using those powers to examine other timelines, to a semi-limited degree. I can't just scry wherever I want whenever I want, but I can follow the experiences and access the knowledge of my past and alternate selves, including clones. While that's a lot of information, it's not without its limits. One of the biggest of those is that I can't actually tell any given version of myself its own personal future. I don't know what you will experience until you do experience it. As we saw back in Comody's lair, that can be a serious limitation. What I can tell you is what various versions of us have experienced in various timelines. I've gotten pretty good at using that to calculate probabilities, but at the end of the day my foreknowledge is no more infallible than any other skilled precog."

"That being said, you - this specific version of us - are in a unique position. I can't reveal this to the others since it's information I'm not supposed to have, but I've seen enough of the past from a future perspective to know what's happening to this timeline. Nobody's really entirely right or entirely wrong. The timeline is basically disintegrating. Every moment of this timeline is coming unstuck from every other moment. But they're not ceasing to exist; they're essentially merging seamlessly into a similar moment in a different timeline, in terms of relative space-time coordinates. From what I've seen, the memories and experiences of the new timeline largely overwrite those of this one - they're still there to some degree, buried deep down, but they're overshadowed. But those timelines no longer have any connection to this one. They can't, because every moment in this timeline leading up to that moment in the new timeline has already fused with some other timeline. As far as they're concerned, this timeline is just one of many futures - and an impossible one at that."

"So the only versions of us who can possibly get here are instances from this specific timeline's past, whose moment in this timeline still exists. As soon as their moment ceases to exist, they become native to their new timeline. But you didn't. You retained your full memory of this timeline, and enough of a connection to it that you were able to get here. You're also a very early version of us, and because of the unique ways you've jumped timelines, you're invested with a certain amount of temporal momentum. Your actions in the past timeline that you visited are causing more and larger ripple effects in more futures than any of us have been able to cause through time travel previously."

"All of which is game-changing. My powers at the end of the day give me more flexibility than Lorelei's devices - I can interact with more past timelines, even those that aren't directly connected to my own. But the core difficulty of changing the past is still a hurdle. I can only do so much, and generally only to specific timelines. Most of our alternates can do less. We can sway things, we can make this or that timeline better. I can coordinate our efforts and pool our knowledge. But that isn't enough. Because Ilessia's not in peril in a single specific timeline."

"Ilessia is in peril in every single timeline that I have seen."

"The form that that peril takes varies. Occasionally it's Tara, or APEX, or some big Defiant attack. Those usually get resolved on their own, but occasionally things go wrong and they become the threat. There have been a few random out-of-left-field ones. One event of note, is that somewhere around five years from when you departed your timeline, Nydir falls to Haptarus. That's another thing I've seen universally, even in timelines where we've made a direct effort to stop it. Best I can tell, it will happen. But what happens after is a tossup. Rarely a new status-quo manages to take hold. The rest of the time, the domino effects going out from that point either leads to Haptarus conquering Indelar, or to the fall of Haptarus, the odds of either being roughly even. In the timelines where Haptarus does take over, odds are decent the peril comes through him."

"But like I sent you when you first learned of it, in most cases - something like two-thirds of the timelines I've seen - the War of Broken Dreams is either a direct or indirect cause of the problem. Although I will admit, Paradisia alone being responsible came up way less often than I expected."

"So your being here gives us a unique opportunity. I've always had more success influencing alternate pasts by taking a page out of Lorelei and Jenny's book, providing information rather than trying to interact directly. But we can take it further. This is like the first time we met; our timelines were directly connected, so my actions there could have more of an impact than they otherwise could. In this case, though, you're native to your time. Your actions will always have full impact on your present, even if you're getting some help from a visit to the future. And because of your temporal momentum, the ripples caused by those impacts on other timelines should be pronounced. If I'm right, what we have here is an opportunity not just to alter a single timeline, or even to change the past. We have a chance to change the course of history."

"To do that, you'll need this," Daimon took the high-tech buckle off of his belt and proffered it. "It's got some convenient time-manipulating tech that will prove useful to you, and that you can get reverse-engineered. But more importantly, it contains data. Data about people, about probabilities, about variant timelines and futures. About the Circle and its membership - they can vary by timeline, but there's a lot of probabilities and ways you can easily check on them. And about SIDE's power-inducing technology."

"That has its limits too. It doesn't work at all on about ninety-nine percent of people. And about ninety-nine percent of the remainder experience severe side effects. It happens to work on our DNA. A specific gene we have, evidently. By default, it always grants the shapeshifting power. But what SIDE didn't realize was that that was just step one. With some upgrades, the specifics are in there, someone who has already gotten the shapeshifting can get another exposure to get a different power. Only one, and it actually comes at the expense of the shapeshifting. At first, we had thought the power was random. And we were kind of right. It's based on other genetic markers. Markers which, as shapeshifters, we can change. We can't program whatever power we want, and once we take one that's what we're stuck with, so think carefully before using it yourself. Simon Candler's particular DNA configuration got us the time-manipulation power though, so it's not a bad deal. The belt's data drive also contains a list of all the powers we've discovered and the genetic configurations that allow for them. There's a lot of overlap, minor tweaks on similar themes and suchlike. But it all comes to a couple dozen distinctly different powersets."

"Now, Lorelei's setting the time machine up to send you back to a few seconds after you left. Like I said, I can't tell you your exact future, but what should happen is, Lorelei will be there, and the portal closed. I expect she'll have already passed out from blood loss. Extract her to somewhere you control, but keep her alive. Tell her whatever stories you need to, but the information on that drive will be enough for her to construct the necessary tech, and she's positively disposed towards you and not particularly suspicious. Plus some of it is based on her own work anyway, so she's as good a resource as you can get. The faster you're up and running, the better."

"I've already done some tweaking to Lorelei's machine. Sheema, Aquila, Makhana, and Wulther will go back to their own time, since honestly what happens to their alternate past selves may or may not connect at any point to their present selves and it's safest not to meddle with anything from further back than you'll be returning to. Here's the thing: the rest of your team is a problem. They've all got the same temporal momentum you do, and that means they are uniquely qualified to mess things up. And in all probability, they're going to try to do so."

"See, extrapolating from timelines similar to yours - that is, other timelines branching from the moment where Tara killed Arcanis - about a week after you guys departed, Tara wages an attack on the Adaros prison with APEX-imbued Spirit Warriors from Darryll. In most of those instances, the Task Force gets involved and they manage to save the prison, but there's usually substantial casualties, and several Heroes die. In most of those instances, the Task Force's Prophet then gets a vision of the leadup to Arcanis' death and reveals it to Hero Corps. Simon Candler's reputation usually doesn't recover from that. The way it usually goes from there is that the backlash hits OUT-SIDE hard enough that they call on IN-SIDE to try to figure out what had happened, and IN-SIDE is usually able to provide a good enough cover to clean it up, but the Director of SIDE gets the full briefing. He goes back with Interceptor, so he's not convinced the cover-up is the right call. He reads in the OUT-SIDE director, and brings her and the IN-SIDE director in to debate the matter. OUT-SIDE of course insists that IN-SIDE reveal the truth and burn us. That can go either way, but the Director agrees with OUT-SIDE in a slight majority of cases. End of the day, Simon's identity is almost certainly burned, and your real one is at risk."

"That being said...SIDE as a whole probably doesn't have the stomach to do what we have to do just on the merit of prophecy. Hero Corps definitely doesn't. Even IN-SIDE wouldn't be an easy sell, especially since it would be an uphill battle to get them to trust my information after what happened with Arcanis. So while I'm not saying it would be impossible to head this off, my advice is to let it go and focus on the mission. As far as anyone else will know, Simon - and Daimon - vanish with the rest of his team. That will give you a lot of room to set things up and make your first moves. I've already made some tweaks to the time machine to make sure the rest of your team arrives far enough in the future that you'll have a lot of time to prepare before they even have the potential to become a problem, and considering when and where they'll return at, there's a pretty fair chance they won't survive to become a problem in the first place." That last, he said as matter-of-factly as the entire rest of the briefing. He didn't bother trying to make some further explanation or even say anything else to try to convince you it was necessary. They were potential threats to the mission, and the mission was to ensure the future of Ilessia. Daimon Aimes would not risk that for the sake of any three individual lives.

"So. What additional information do you want or need? And for that matter, do you have any initial ideas or plans that you want to game out while you're here? Or is there any part of mine you aren't certain about? I've gamed it out pretty extensively, but my perspective always means that as good a view as I might have of the forest, I'll never be able to see all the trees."

Sheema and Sheema

Your future turned her face away from you when you asked that question. The long story she did not give you. In fact, her answer to that question was the shortest possible response, just two letters long.

After a few moments, she looked back at you and said, with a faint hint of a wistful smile, "It's nice to see him again."

Sheema and Tara

Tara gave Sheema's hand one final, grateful squeeze before letting go. "That's very kind," she said.

Aquila and Aquila

Your future self gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "Yeah we are," he agreed, shaking his head. He kinda waved a hand dismissively at your condolence. "Plenty of people in the timeline more worth feeling sorry for than me. ...Although actually, could I ask you a favor? Desta, Flynn, and Almira. They're good- ...Well. I guess I can't really say they're good people, quite. But they were good friends, anyway. When you get back to your time, could you seek them out for me? Maybe get them away from that crazy cult? I know it's a big ask, but it'd be nice to think they get more of a chance in some other version of this story."

[manwithaplan]

Josh and Josh

Josh looked at himself, and narrowed his eyes.

"...Okay."

It was a simple thing, but the amount of processing that went into that response, in Josh-time, was worth several months of maturity.

Josh and Flashpoint

"You are not some common beast. Good food, and comfort, and entertainment? Is that really all you are? Really? ...Really? I think a housepet has more complicated desires than that, Cyrus. Years of consideration can pass through that brain in seconds, so surely you have to believe in something. And there's too much passion in there for you to be some nihilist, either."

"So imagine it's prison. A life in solitary, no more speed. And this is the real you, the actual Flashpoint, not the you here that's not got long left anyway. And there's me, there, with the redemption clause. Why should I be there for you? What do you care about? And if it's nothing, why did you never plug yourself into some VR machine and live out your life as a vegetable?"

Josh and Simon

"Fifty feet of rope and a canister of anesthetic gas will keep him contained, and that's not minimising anything."

"I won't let a man be killed, whether he doesn't deserve redemption, or whether he's beyond it. That is a principle of mine, and..."

Josh stopped. There was no mask - he was clearly taking a moment to consider whether he truly believed this sentence before he completed it. It seemed like something that one didn't turn back on lightly.

"...and that is no less valuable than a law. There might be not a lot of sense in it, but I saved that man's life because I don't let men die. Take away all the people who think like that, and you might save your country, but it'll be a landmass full of dead people."

[Dorni]

Josh and Simon

"And a prison cell with a power nullifier is enough to contain you." Except, obviously, it hadn't been. "Confidence is good. Overconfidence is a weakness."

The teaching moment over, Simon looked Josh up and down. He didn't miss that this wasn't some idle comeback. Josh meant it. He was staking a claim, even against someone he regarded as a mentor.

Simon nodded slowly and his weathered face gave way to a smile. "That's a good attitude for a Hero. You'll be a great one. I just hope you never need to be a soldier."

Simon to Simon

Simon accepted the belt buckle. It felt heavy, but there were no better hands for it than his. He looked back to his future self. "What happens in a timeline where the Circle gets exposed? Has there ever been a timeline where the Circle has been either co-opted, or warned of the outcome?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Josh and Flashpoint

Flashpoint gave a light scoff at Josh's reply. "Sure," he said in a somewhat sarcastic voice, before switching to a faux-saccharine tone to add, "I believe in freedom! And happiness!" He gave a little dramatic sniffle, wiped a fake tear from his eye, and then said more normally, "That is, the freedom to do what I want without answering to anybody, and my own personal happiness. But it sounds so much better when you dress up base motivations as grand ideals, doesn't it?"

"That you would ask me why I didn't hook myself up to a VR machine only shows that you don't understand what I am saying. The whole of the planet is barely interesting enough to engage my attention. I would get bored with pre-programmed fakery in minutes."

"As to why you should try to redeem my alternate self...I don't particularly care. You say that I'm not the 'real' me, and I suppose from your perspective that's true. But from my perspective, this hypothetical other Flashpoint is the one that doesn't exist. That being said...I did spend enough time in SIDE's prison to be fully aware of how immensely boring it is. Also I think prolonged exposure to their nullifiers may have stunted my long-term power growth, so that's annoying. I can't speak for the version of myself in your timeline, but if I had been given the choice between buckling down and working with Hero Corps or staying in SIDE's prison, I would have chosen the former. Well, as long as I didn't have to answer directly to Stalwart, anyway. **** him."

Simon and Daimon

"Exposing them doesn't usually amount to much.
Certain members have committed enough crimes that exposing those crimes can impact those members, but as a group the Circle's desire for secrecy is more a matter of convenience than necessity. It typically makes a big enough splash in the media, and there's varying degrees of outcry in the short-term, but at the end of the day, the revelation that there's a group of powerful people using their power to gain more power isn't actually that significant in the grand scheme of things."

"Revealing the War of Broken Dreams itself...that's more of a wildcard. We've tried it in several timelines, and never gotten the same result twice, which is odd. I'd call it an option, but an unpredictable one, so probably best kept as a last resort."

"There have been timelines where the Circle was warned and, rarely, co-opted. In about a sixth of the timelines where I have a good list of their roster, there's a Circle member named Avis Holtz. He usually warns them that the War of Broken Dreams will lead to disaster, but they always deem Paradisia leaving the planet to be the bigger concern. He usually makes a play to try to stop them, but it rarely goes well for him. There have been a couple timelines where he's succeeded though; in both cases, the eventual threat didn't come from the War of Broken Dreams. That's part of why neutralizing the Circle is our go-to plan. It seems to be the most efficient way to prevent them and the Better World Institute from ruining things."

[Grim ranger]

Aquila & Future Aquila

"Maybe it is not a contest" he replied, smiling a little as he looked at his older self. "Maybe...if I will be a hero, I'll want to help everyone. Even if they have done some bad. I mean, if I do that... I think world might be better off for it, huh?"

Clasping Future Aquila's shoulder, he nodded seriously. "And we have already met them, in the timeline I come from. I was worried what it was all about with them and asked my new friends along. The end result was a lot of arrests. But maybe that could help me to eventually try and reform the friendship you have with them. I promise I will try my damnest at the very least."

[DukeGod]

Gestalt nodded. Some names in there he didn't really expect, some people who apparently had a vote he didn't think they'd have.

"Aquila, Sheema and yourself probably being the one that'd know me most. Even if Aquila and Sheema were unknownws until our second foray into time traveling. I can guess you know their reasons for making that choice. Can you tell me what did The Master do that led to this? I can almost understand the pragmatism of it, and that you probably thought I'd rather be killed then become The Master, but certainly attacking so early in the timeline would put any number of events to risk. Why do it?

And...can you give me a rundown of what happened after Arcanis died?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Aquila and Aquila

"Hm," your future self responded, a bit contemplatively. "Might be that's the way to do it," he admitted with a bit of a grin.

"If you can, I'd appreciate it," he said.

Gestalt and Simon

Future Simon eyed you coolly for several seconds as you asked what the Master had done that led to this decision. "Leviath...are you seriously asking me that? He destroyed Adaros, essentially conquered Ilessia, and wasn't inclined to stop there. Yes, we were concerned about the side effects of meddling with the past, and we knew that killing you would have caused a tremendous change in the timeline. It didn't matter. Fact was, if you take all the good you had done and all the lives you had saved in the intervening time and put it all together, it wouldn't amount to the barest fraction of the harm you caused as Legion. That being said, the timeline you've lived through since then and the timeline we lived through aren't the same. Sheema and Aquila only barely knew you as Gestalt in our history."

Your question about Arcanis just seemed to confuse him. "Arcanis vanished in the Disappearance," he reminded, "I guess one of Gestalt's permasummons used to be him, but I couldn't tell you which one. ...Arcanis is dead in your timeline?"

Everyone

Okay, gonna move things along, but if there's any individual interactions you want to continue with, we can do them in spoilers.

You all had some time to rest and talk while Lorelei was finishing her work, but it didn't take too long. Maybe a couple hours. Then, Eric's voice came from whatever plantlife was nearby, "Lorelei is ready. If you head back to the main hall, someone will show you to the time machine."

When you got there, Future Simon, Summit, Josh, and Sheema were there waiting, along with Lorelei, William, and Jenny. Lorelei drew in a long, tight, shaky breath when she saw Gestalt, and looked at him with a sort of aggrieved longing. Her hands dropped unconsciously down by her stomach, and it seemed the only greeting she could manage was a little hint of a smile.

...You know what? Now that you're looking at her, Future Lorelei looks more like, well, Lorelei than the actual Lorelei does. Like, before the Disappearance, back when Lorelei seemed to have some sort of crush on you and be really interested in your powers? She looked more like she does now. When you met her after the Disappearance though, and she didn't seem to know you, that Lorelei seemed just slightly younger.

Since the cat seemed to have Lorelei's tongue, after a couple seconds Future Sheema said brightly, "So, everybody ready to go?"

"We are," answered Tara Ellens, as she and Darryll walked into the main hall, surrounded by...well, if you took Darryll's four giant towering elementals, and compacted them down into the general size and shape of his spirit warriors, they'd probably look about like the four humanoid forms of pure elemental power that were standing around them, their stances non-hostile, but ready.

"We're both very ready to leave this doomed timeline."

[Born]

Eric froze, and immediately a sense of dread crept over him. It wasn't just about having another Tara Ellens in their timeline. He had seen Sheema talking to her, and in person she didn't actually seem that bad. Maybe with time she could even become... a friend? It wouldn't be easy, obviously, but at least the glimmer of hope was there. But he knew that the risk was huge, and that Simon would clearly not stand for it.... He only hoped that this didn't go where he thought it was going.

[Starsign]

Sheema had been very excited to go home. The small calm upon arriving in the Glade was a much-needed relief after the chaos of time-traveling and then escaping from a rampant, evil, future Gestalt. The Perallan princess still wasn't quite sure what exactly was going on. It was like opening a novel and beginning at Page 100. At least she still has her family, her dad and her... mom... It was hard for Sheema to still comprehend it; she's yet to approach Makhana about it. Right now, Sheema wants to get home with her family and with Aquila.

And she had been excited for it, had two people not walk in stating their intent to leave,

Now Sheema's not a leader or negotiator by any stretch of the imagination; and her dad was neither a brilliant diplomat nor tactician. But Wulther had once said that you only bring a heavily-armed force with you when you demand something. And four massive elementals summoned at once is what Sheema calls a heavily-armed force.

With Galadhil resting uncomfortably on her back, Sheema takes several steps towards Tara. An unsteady expression appears on the princess' face as Makhana stomps besides her. "You're... coming with us?" Normally, Sheema would be excited at the prospect, even if her future self may agree. But Tara had said before that she was... perhaps not the nicest person. Is this really someone they should be bringing out of this timeline?

...Only one way to find out: with a simple, vital question amidst a cautious tone.

"Tara, what do you want to do if you come to our time?"

[DukeGod]

"Hmm..."

Gestalt takes a deep breath and sighs

"You can't look at morality in that cold rational way Simon. Shame. My doubts are still there I guess, or maybe I should've asked the question to the ones who voted against. Be seeing you"
--

Gestalt returns to a weird apathy for the timeline. He stays with Mandragora distracting himself until time passes and they're called. He goes along to

Huh...that WAS Lorelei as he remembered her. Before truly meeting her he guesses

"Hey Lore...Miss Winters." - He tests the name with a frown - "Yeah, that one fits you more then it did her. Do you know how much I thought myself crazy? Have you been time travelling all this time?"

[manwithaplan]

"It doesn't matter what her plan is."

Josh zipped by Sheema and up to Tara, staring her in the eye.

"We don't want any more of you. Should've beat Legion if you didn't want to live here. But you can't. And Legion couldn't get through the folks here, either, so you've got very little for bargaining power. Suck it up."

He lunged out to grasp at the staff that he had only just given away.

[Dorni]

"The kid's right, you know." Simon hadn't moved from where he stood when Tara and Daryll entered the room. His grimace was the kind of look one gave at a long-anticipated plot twist finally playing out. "You're not coming with us. We know how strong you are, and Daryll's summons are impressive. Really, they are. Against any other opposition, you might be able to force your way through. But we're not just any opposition, and we anticipated you'd try this. You can't believe we'd just let you escape to the past and take a do-over at murdering every person in Paradisia."

"Walking away here isn't a loss for you. You know your history. We've been through a collapsing timeline before - when we defeated Legion the first time. The timeline collapsed, but we weren't destroyed with it. We were reset to our Legion-less lives. The same will happen here."

Persuasion [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Um," Lorelei's eyes darted a bit nervously between Tara and her forces, and Gestalt. But...well, honestly, Josh had the situation pretty pegged. She had some sense of how powerful Tara and Darryll were, but against everybody in the room? Meh. She followed his lead and basically ignored the confrontation.
"Yeah, that was me."

"...How have you been?" she asked, awkwardly.

Tara calmly lifted one hand, a barrier of telekinetic energy blocking Josh's grasp. She gave him a little "Like, really?" look, but she didn't respond with violence, or any further magic.

If you want to take the staff you actually have to try a Disarm :smalltongue:. Or convince her to give it to you, I suppose.

"Is that what your version of me tried to do?" she asked Simon. She didn't sound...surprised, necessarily, but she didn't sound quite unsurprised either. "Huh."

Looking to Sheema, she answered, "I want to live. It's as simple as that. I understand that the exact fate of the people living in this timeline is uncertain, and you all believe - or want to believe - that everything will be fine. Well, maybe." She nodded to Simon, "I agree, your presence here is evidence in support of that conclusion. But I would not call it conclusive evidence - you jumped timelines at the point of divergence. It is possible that it will happen that way again, but not certain. Not certain enough for us to trust our lives to. The way we see it, our chances are better if we go with you."

"That being said, you have quite misinterpreted our position here. Yes, we are aware that we cannot secure your assistance with force of arms. These elementals are not here as a threat. They are here as an offer."

"An offer, huh?" Future Aquila asked skeptically.

Tara looked to Jenny. "Would you like to tell them?"

Jenny...just looked confused.

"Ah. You know, this is why I have always preferred rituals of divination to powers of prophecy.
At least with rituals, you know you will be getting information that you want, when you want it."

"The M- that is, Legion is on the way. According to our divinations, he will be arriving shortly. The Glade is a tough nut for even him to crack, admittedly. Our plan to do so, if it ever became absolutely critical, was to swarm the Glade's protections with permasummoned forces to occupy the entire perimeter. It was our belief that it would take dedicating more than half of the permasummoned army to overwhelm the Glade's defenses through weight of numbers. To supplement this, we would concentrate his summons and all other elite forces to attack a single point, to punch through the perimeter. Once we had an opening, our army could swarm in and attack the guardians from both sides, while also streaming through the Glade to annihilate those sheltering within. Since the Glade would need to keep forces distributed all around the perimeter to hold off the army, it would not have sufficient fighting power at any one point to keep back the elite concentration. That task, then, would logically go to all of you."

"I'm sure we can all agree that if Legion is able to acquire the time machine, it would be far worse than our using it. To say nothing of the threat to those of you from the other timeline if he breaches before you have left. Perhaps the Glade can hold off his army, and the rest of you can defeat his elite forces. Perhaps not. These elementals were summoned and augmented ritually, and will persist on their own for the next eight hours, as will the next eight augmentations I place. With them, your chances of defeating his elites and holding your perimeter will be substantially improved. Allow us to travel with them to another timeline, and we will direct the elementals to fight at your direction before we leave, and I will augment eight of your number to improve your odds further. But we are not threatening you - refuse, and we will simply teleport away and take our chances."

Future Simon's face didn't reveal anything, and Future Josh looked just idly contemptuous of the warning and offer. Jenny and William both looked concerned though, and Future Sheema and Future Aquila were clearly at least taking the warning seriously.

It's a tough call since you don't know the exact composition of forces here, but judging by what you've all seen...yeah, Darryll's description of Legion's plan seems solid enough. You doubt Legion would just roll over the Glade no problem, but you also doubt the Glade and its defenders could just effortlessly stop an attack like that cold. Four augmented elementals and eight persistent augments from Tara would absolutely be odds-shifting, in a fight like that.

She looked to Sheema again, meeting her eyes. Her face and voice were calm, outwardly composed. But you could just see it, behind her mask, the flickering fear in her eyes that she was suppressing. "I do not know what the version of me from your timeline did. I have done enough that I am not proud of that I can only imagine your friends concerns are justified. But I am not her! I swear to you, Sheema, on my Dream, I only want to live, and for Darryll to live. I...please, I am asking for your help."

Tara's swinging a Persuasion check result of 36, or 41 if Attractive applies. PCs are immune to direct social influence. However, if you wish, you may forego that immunity as a Complication and receive a Hero Point. If you do, roll Insight, Persuasion, or Will against a DC equal to her check result. If you fail, for the rest of the scene, you have to advocate for Tara. If you fail by three degrees or more, you have to do your utmost to try to get the others to let her come along - obviously you don't have to like use or threaten violence or anything, but maybe make ultimatums, try to sneak Tara along somehow, etc.

If you believe Tara might be lying, you're welcome to Evaluate her. If you Evaluate her and succeed, then if she is lying, you ignore her Persuasion attempt, but if you want to try this before taking the Hero Point you won't be able to take it if you succeed. If you Evaluate her, succeed, and she isn't lying, you take -5 on your opposed roll if you accept or have already accepted the Complication.

[Starsign]

Sheema had no right to accept this offer.

The Perallan princess would've been skeptical of the offer if she hadn't talked with Tara. Even if being stuck in a tube, used as a power source for 5 years, then released in suddenly poor conditions was an awful life, no one here seemed keen on letting anyone else besides the time travelers go back to their respective time. Since Sheema does know, she's skeptical because Tara must have some giant grudge on her shoulder over Paradisia. Tara said it herself: she's a broken woman. As the other time travelers had said, their Tara tried to destroy Paradisia; it wouldn't be out of belief that the one Sheema knows wants to do the same.

...And yet... what proof does Sheema have? Even if the worst-possible outcome may be true, Sheema has no belief that it is true; that's the sort of nonsense you read in fictional novels. From what Sheema knows, everyone who doesn't come back with them will cease to exist soon. Everyone else seemed fine with that; but for someone hooked up to a machine for years and years and only just got free? Anyone wants to live after something like that.

And then there's Tara's offer. Sheema expected there to be threats and ultimatums, not a plea in exchange for extra reinforcements. This place needs as much as it can afford if what Daryll says is true.

Sheema looks back at her older self momentarily, then at the older Aquila. Sheema imagines them risking their lives for her sake, potentially dying in the process. No matter how many are here, if Legion does come at them with everything...

Sheema can't simply go back believing they may die.

"Guys?" Sheema first speaks, gathering courage as she looks to the time travelers and their older selves. "I think we should listen to her."

A big, devestating roar suddenly interrupts Sheema as she looks to see Makhana in extreme disapproval. The sudden intrusion rattles the princess; she's never seen her longtime companion be so aggressive in response. "Makhana, please," she insists, being among the rare few willing to talk back to an ancient dire rhino. "I want to believe Tara. And I want this place to be as protected as possible. You heard them Makhana; they all could be wiped out."

The rhino simply gives another heavy grunt. For an experienced Perallan warrior, Sheema is being quite naive...

She looks back at the time travelers to try and convince them. "Look, whatever your Tara has done, that's not this one! It's like with Gestalt; the one here is not the one trying to kill us. Whatever your time's Tara did, that's not what this one has done!"

[Dorni]

Simon chuckled at the offer. From Tara's position, it was a good offer. With force not a realistic option for her, it was about as good a trade as she could proffer. The immediate gains were negligible, but the long term prospects were intriguing. Simon had no doubt that Tara wasn't about to take a second chance and give up on leveling Paradisia. Her past self was considerably powerful, but nowhere close to a match for an entire nation of Dreamers let alone the Better World Institute. If this Tara and Daryll with their considerable power growth and additional decade of experience were to join forces with their past selves, that would shift the calculus. The Better World Institute would still have the advantage, but Tara would be in the realm of a plausible threat. Even if she failed, she'd no doubt cause them considerable damage and occupy their attention for a time. It might even provide the opening he needed to stop the Broken Dreams.

But an unleashed Tara was hardly a precision weapon. She'd caused a prison break, lent her power to the Ten Wolves and slain Arcanis in pursuit of power. If she felt she needed an edge, she'd have no qualms about causing Illessia further harm to gain it. Even if Tara were completely successful in sinking Paradisia back into the ocean, Illessia wouldn't remain unaffected. The amount of long-term damage that massacre would cause to Illessia's growth just wasn't quantifiable. Turning her loose in the past just had too much risk of creating problems worse than the one he was already faced with.

"You've got a good heart, Princess, but don't be naive. She's playing you."

"Tara, your offer is sound, but you've overlooked something. Whether Legion breeches the perimeter or not, if our future selves obliterate the time machine once we're gone then Legion won't be able to get his hands on it regardless of whether or not he breeches the perimeter. He'll have already lost before the battle even starts."

[Grim ranger]

He had never known Tara much at all, so the entire conflict regarding her past deeds did not really register with Aquila...but by the sounds of it, she had not exactly been a paragon before. There were undoubtedly fair few risks involved when it came to returning alternate-future villain to another timeline, with the possibility of them returning to their old tricks being only the most obvious one. There was no real reason to accept her offer that he knew of...

...And yet, that was what made him listen.


While it was true that she might cause a problem, that had been the case with everyone in this timeline. Gestalt had gone mad by the looks of it, and he himself had fought the law along with the other rulers of the elements. Circumstances had changed, people had grown... but it was not like time travelers could truly appreciate depths of such changes. So did they truly have the right to deny someone an escape from quite possibly doomed timeline?

Was abandoning someone to their torturous fate right even if it might end up never occurring at all?

"Would you say the same if someone else asked to come along?" Aquila noted neutrally. "I may lack perspective towards her, but I also lack prejudice, and I agree that this Tara is not the same one as one you may have had contact with. Thanks to your arrival I am already different person than what I would have obviously become otherwise. And isn't it the job of heroes to give everyone a chance, even if they end up wasting it?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Destroying the time machine after you have all gone through it would indeed keep it out of Legion's hands," Tara replied agreeably. "And of course, with their two speedsters, doing so wouldn't even be a meaningful distraction from the battle. But if they don't win, everybody here will die. Does that not matter to you? Are you so willing to condemn these people to death, just because...what? This timeline is ending?"

"Because that doesn't change things from an ethical standpoint," Darryll said. "Consider, we believe that when the timeline ends, we will simply cease to exist. The consensus here seems to be that we will move on to some different and hopefully better timeline. Perhaps it will be something even more wild, like our consciousnesses will merge with some alternate timeline, but lacking any knowledge or memories of this one. We don't know what will happen, only that it will happen."

"And that is precisely the state that every person in every timeline lives in. Facing a certain end with uncertain results, with the leading contenders being oblivion, afterlife, and reincarnation. Your friend is correct: Heroes give people a chance. They also save lives when they are in peril, even knowing that those lives will eventually end.
Whether that end will come in weeks or decades is ethically irrelevant. If they live and wish to continue to live, you bear moral responsibility for the choices you make that impact their ability to do so."

"I am playing no one," Tara said, meeting Sheema's gaze frankly. "I'm selfish. I admit that. Darryll is obsessed with my well-being to the exclusion of all other concerns. He admits that. We are flawed people, as is clearly evidenced by our willingness to offer our assistance only as leverage to achieve our personal goals, rather than committing it unreservedly."

"And we are asking you to save our lives, and in doing so offering to help save theirs."

"I contend that timeline doesn't matter. That past and present and future, or lack thereof, are irrelevant. What matters is the impact your actions have on the lives of those around you. Take us with you, and lives will be saved. Refuse, and they will be lost."

Your future selves did not respond. It was your timeline, your decision. Future Aquila and Sheema were stoic, not without concern, but not showing fear either, trusting you to make the right call. Future Simon's face was a mask of utter neutrality, showing no indication of what he felt. Future Josh stood with confident ease, his relaxed posture dismissive of the very premise that they would need the help. There was a readiness in all of their stances, clearly prepared to intervene if Tara and Darryll tried to force the issue.

Tara and Darryll's words did seem to have some effect on William and Jenny though. They didn't speak, but they were squeezing each other's hands tightly, and while they schooled their faces to calm, there was tension in their body language, and their eyes were just slightly pleading as they looked to the six of you.

The temperature rose a couple degrees as Flashpoint blurred into the room. He swept his gaze briefly over the confrontation. "I don't know what's going on here, but we don't have time for it. We have hostiles approaching from all directions, and all four of Legion's summons have been sighted."

"We have to get you out of here. Come with me," Lorelei said, starting for one of the hallways.

Tara and Darryll neither moved immediately to follow her, nor immediately teleported away. They fixed the six of you with firm looks.

"Choose."

Tara and Darryll will follow if a majority of the party allows them to. If anything less than a full majority actively allows it, the future PCs will stop them from following. Assuming you guys follow Lorelei yourselves, obviously.

[Born]

In spite of all the destructive things Tara had done in their own timeline, Eric was moved to pity for her. Though he didn't like the idea of granting what she admitted was a selfish request, he still believed that she deserved a chance at redemption. Everyone deserved that. That's why he had been so persistent in visiting with the Wolves and the Knights of the Broken Cross when they were imprisoned. He knew that this was a big step to take - both because of the potential timeline issue and the things Tara was capable of doing. He had to believe that somewhere beneath her cold exterior was the ability to care for people again.

He also knew that the only way that potential for selflessness could return for Tara is if people start to treat her like a friend instead of just a danger to society. It was easy for him to see at this point that no matter which side he chose he would probably end up regretting it at some point. However, at least if he gave her a chance then he wouldn't be forever wondering if he let the good in her die with this timeline. He thought carefully about how to word his response, then answered "I support giving you a chance in our time if it will give these people a better chance to live. When we're back in our time, though, I hope I can listen to more of your story. Maybe even be another friend to you. I know you have felt a lot of pain because of your past, but that does not need to be who you are going forward. I know you're not just going to suddenly change, but I'd like to help to repair... your relationship with the world, I guess."

Eric looked around at everyone's faces to gauge their reactions. In particular as he looked at Simon, he gave the old soldier a face that said "Sorry". The experiences of Eric's time with Simon were inwardly screaming "Don't do it!", but his faith was telling him that this is the right course of action.

[Starsign]

Sheema... knew, somewhere deep down, that this was a bad idea. She shouldn't keep listening to Tara like this. They're all supposed to stay behind; that's how this timeline worked. None of them are supposed to come back to her own timeline. But it's so hard to ignore the reality. If she, her family, Aquila and the time travelers go back then everyone else will be left on their own. Never mind if the machine is destroyed afterward; never mind if this timeline disappears; Sheema was worried about all the other future versions of the heroes gathered here.

This is one great reason for her smile of relief to Aquila and Eric. She wasn't crazy in being the only one who wanted to take the offer. However it may displease the others, she isn't the only one considering it.

...This heavily contrasts Makhana's extremely agitated roars. Unlike Sheema, the dire rhino has no temptation to agree with a deal made by a suspicious Dreamer. Makhana looks at Sheema, Aquila and Eric like they're kids. What are they thinking?!

Aquila's words also ring heavily on Sheema's mind. There was something wrong about just bringing Tara and Daryll back. There needs to be people left behind to deal with Legion but... why can't they all come? What would that take?

"Wait, is the Master coming too?" The thought suddenly comes to Sheema's mind as she speaks it loudly to Flashpoint. "Look, this is crazy, but why don't we all work together to take him out? Then we can all return instead!" Makhana's rhino head gives a look of skeptic shock. This young girl's plan is desperate and naive; everyone can see it plastered on her face. For someone who's lived through Peral and got over losing everything there, Sheema hasn't been hardened enough, has she?

[manwithaplan]

"There's real people here. You can't hide behind an old man's ethics."

Josh hadn't moved from in front of Tara, although he spoke to Darryl.

"You know what? Someone with fifty years to live, it's more important to save them from tragedy than someone with five hours. Their life has more to offer. Maybe that's not ethical. But it's real. The other thing that's real are the millions of people you could hurt again. I'm not buying it."

[Dorni]

"Neither am I." Simon met Eric's gaze with his own look of concentrated disappointment. He gave weight to the potential benefit of this Tara and Daryll as yet another plausibly deniable spear pointed at Paradisia, but he knew the rest of his team wasn't even considering that. Without that part of the equation, letting those two through the portal was sheer madness.

"You two of all people don't have the right to declare that the past is irrelevant just when its convenient for you. And don't try to lecture me about responsibility. We're responsible for the impact our choices have on other people's lives, and that includes the impact on the lives that your 'personal goal' is going to destroy."

"You want to make this about saving lives? Prove it. Do your enhancements. Once you're done, I disable your powers before you're allowed through that portal. Resist and the deal's off. When we're through, we take you into custody. You'll still get to walk away from this timeline with your lives."

[DukeGod]

"I'm saying we let them come. But I agree with Simon. This isn't a negotiation. If you think this is your best change of survival you do this our way."

Gestalt turns around to follow Lorelei. It'll help if they can't see his face during this

"And don't make it about ethics. Don't you forget that I already DID kill half this city. World for all that I know."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Tara and Darryll exchanged kinda questioning looks with each other, though perhaps more curious than searching.

"I...believe they would still work. The ritual should be persisting the energy even if our own is cut off."

"It might depend on how he intends to do it. If he's blocking the flow of Spiritual Energy to the shapes, yes, we won't need a continuing flow. Would dispersing the shapes negate them, though?"

"It...shouldn't. The alteration to reality should already be complete; precluding further ones should not undo that which already exists. Like how some physical enhancements retain a charge through nullification."

"But does SIDE technology block the flow, or disperse the shape?"

"That...I have never quite been clear on. I believe the only way to counter the ritually-applied powers once placed should be to negate them directly, or for us to intentionally withdraw them. Travelling to another timeline should otherwise be analogous to any form of negation that would target us. Short one that uses the shape to draw back power produced through it, I suppose, but the only examples of something like that I've ever heard of were in Indelar."

"Hm...yes, I concur. The risk is low, and in any event, if it happened, it would likely still happen when we went through the portal."

Tara nodded. "Very well. We accept your terms. Bear in mind, we can still choose to release the ritual, and the elementals will be capable of taking us from here. Do not try to betray your side of the bargain." With that said, she went about quickly placing a series of augmentations on the future heroes, while Darryll ordered the elementals to assist the defense of this area and obey the orders of the heroes unless he gave a conflicting order.

[Starsign]

One held breath finally gives way to a small sigh of relief as Tara and Daryll agree to Simon's terms. To her, the time traveler's offer is as good as it can be. It's both relieving to see a compromise and, to a degree, vindication for Sheema's opinion. "Thank you," she says to everyone; first Tara and Daryll, then to Simon, Gestalt and Eric.

Makhana did not get any thanks, not that she wanted any. The dire rhino still thinks this is a horrible idea but she's not going to go to war with Sheema over this. Instead, the rhino gives a low growl in a warning of what's about to happen.

"Oh, right," the Perallan princess says as she unsheathes Galadhil from her back. "So are we just going to leave things to everyone? Or are we gonna help the rest fight back Legion?" She gives a sincere smile. Sure, the time travelers are supposed to return right away; but isn't it supposed to be a hero's job to face villainy instead of running from it?

Besides, Sheema's whole family is here. She's happy to fight alongside her parents.

[Grim ranger]

Sighing slowly as the situation seemed to de-escalate for the moment, Aquila glanced at Sheema, also apparently pondering the same question. "While there may be some measure of personal satisfaction to be gained from that, I have to point out that our elder, more experienced counterparts have not been able to halt Legion in any way whatsoever so far" he pointed out, looking bit uncomfortable. "Although it might be just my self-preservation talking, taking risks that might prevent us from returning and making Legion to never exist in the first place just seems reckless."

[Born]

Eric was glad Tara and Daryll had voiced their compliance with Simon's terms. After all, he knew that even if the rest of the group agreed to allow them to come, Simon would not settle for anything less than his demands here. The biggest thing he had made perfectly clear was that he works for the safety and security of the country.

Even though he relaxed for now, he would also remain vigilant. After all that Tara had done in their own timeline, he couldn't be certain that she was going to keep her word once they passed back to the other timeline. He hoped with all his heart that they would, of course, but enough of Simon's watchfulness had passed on to him that he was still a little bit worried. Nonetheless, he allowed himself to smile.

As for the question of whether they should stick around to help fight off Legion or just leave, Eric just wished he knew more about this timeline business. The team's future selves seemed convinced it would be best if they left now at least, so maybe that is the best course of action. He began to ponder the possibilities.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"While under ordinary circumstances I would be thrilled to kill Legion before we go, we will be of limited personal use in a battle this scale; the ritual will be using our energy for maintenance for as long as it can, to maximize the duration. While it is doing so, I cannot place any more augments, and Darryll is unable to summon any more creatures. Besides, our divinations indicate that Legion is still in his base. He isn't risking himself by joining the rest of the army," Tara said.

"More to the point, as we said before, we all have a get-out-of-timeline-free card. You guys don't," Future Simon said. "And the fact is, in a fight like this, having to worry about keeping all of you safe is going to be more of a hindrance to us than your fighting power would be a help." The old soldier put it bluntly, not apologizing for what he deemed a simple statement of fact. This wasn't about ego.

"And even if that weren't the case, the plan is to destroy the time machine after you all leave so that even if we can't stop Legion's army, he can't get access to it. As long as you're all here, we can't do that, which means that your staying to help opens up a the possibility that Legion escapes to another timeline. No amount of assistance you could provide is worth that."

"Yeah we've got this one, don't sweat it," Future Josh said.

Future Sheema gave her past self a smile at the offer, but said simply, "Get Dad home safe, okay?"

That all said...there wasn't really much time to discuss the matter in detail. The future heroes headed out after giving their advice, to go join the battle. If you guys did choose to stay and fight with them...well, they couldn't exactly afford to waste the effort trying to stop you, now could they?

[Dorni]

Simon watched the discussion between Tara and Daryll with a level stare. Tara and Daryll accepting his condition willingly had not been an outcome he'd assigned a high probability to.

"Us keep our word?" Simon snorted as Tara's not-so-subtle threat. "Remind me again which one of us is the Hero."

"Future us are right," the old soldier added to his team. "I know you all want to help, but the best way for us to help here is to get gone."

"The technique is physiological. Forgive me, but we need to move and I don't have a lot of time to be gentle," he explained as he approached Tara. His tone took on a distinct shade of a doctor reciting a clinical evaluation. There was no apology to be found. "You feel weak, numb, and experience loss of Spiritual Energy's natural strengthening. That's normal. Your powers will return with a few hours' rest. Mandragora! When I'm done, help her through the portal." With that, he took a stance and started.

Attacking Tara with Target the Spiritual Energy Pathways followed by Target the Nerves. Same with Daryll.

[Starsign]

The words of everyone else comes through to Sheema as she watches her future self take off. Aquila's words had an impact on the present-day Perallan. He was right: how much was she going to help her future self with experience gap of ten years? He knew it; everyone else knew it; Sheema was the only one who wanted to reject the fact.

A slow but comforting huff from Makhana comforts Sheema along with the words of her older self. The present-day Perallan princess takes a deep breath and puts Galadhil on her back. "You're right Makhana," she says. "You're right. We've... done all we can here."

She takes another breath before putting on her big smile. Her hand rubs tightly on the dire rhino's silver hide. Sheema looks over to Aquila and Wulther next. "Alright, time to go home," she says to them, ready to leave with the others.

To the time travelers, this place must just be some soon-forgotten nightmare they'll forget a minute after leaving. To Sheema, it's slightly different. She's leaving a war-torn place with it apparently unresolved. It reminds her of her old home; it reminds her of Rivinas.

At least, this time, she's leaving with her full family.

[Born]

"Right." Mandragora nodded in acknowledgement at Simon's command. The vine man readied his tendrils, preparing to be able to grab at any moment. He didn't intend to drag her through the portal, but was ready to intercept if she tried to escape on the other side.

[DukeGod]

Gestalt takes one last look back, and then runs into the portal at high speed before he can change his mind

He hopes his thoughts of having already defeated The Master in his own way are true

[Quellian-dyrae]

Tara and Darryll offer no resistance as their powers are suppressed (the two look rather uncomfortable, but don't complain). The portal isn't open yet - you don't just leave a time portal up unattended, after all! - but by the time the group has all gathered Lorelei is inputting commands. "Sheema, Aquila, Wulther, Makhana, you four will go through first, then I'll reset the coordinates so everyone else can get back to-" she started saying.

Her explanation was interrupted by the arrival of the Master.

There was no flash or fanfare, no impressive display. There was just a soft pop of displaced air, and Legion was suddenly standing not six feet from Gestalt. Lorelei's explanation cut off with a startled cry, and the scientist boggled at him in shock. "That's not- You can't- Projections aren't- You can't do this! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=17714335&postcount=1)"

"Come now, my dear. Of course I can," Legion replied drolly, his voice pedantic. "Projection blockers can be overcome if you can smuggle the right sort of beacon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21599974&postcount=1115) inside. I simply summoned myself," he said with a cool smile, his eyes fixed on Gestalt with a subtle, appreciative menace, "to my own position."

Legion has not attacked yet. It looks like he might be building up to a monologue. If you guys want to steal the first strike, all PCs on on turn. If you'd rather be a bit cautious about attacking the stupidly-overpowered summoner and see how things play out a bit, let me know and I'll post more dialog. Of course if your characters have anything they want to do or say in the interim feel free.

This is the climactic challenge of the episode and as such of the adventure. Hero Points are use 'em or lose 'em.

[Dorni]

Simon stared at Legion in shock.

Summoning oneself past a projection blocker was impossible. His timing - appearing just as the team was about to open the portal to escape and after Daryll and Tara had their Powers blocked - was perfect. His earlier concern that Legion might try spying within the Glade hadn't been unfounded, just based on false assumptions. He'd screwed up. If Legion prevailed here, Legion could escape his doomed timeline and reach the prime timeline. The damage he'd cause would be irreparable.

Then the moment ended. In the space of a heartbeat after Legion's appearance, Simon recovered from his shock and lashed out, striking as hard as he could and willing his suit to gather as much of that kinetic energy and launch it into Legion as he could. "Don't just stand around! Get him! Don't let him open the portal! Summit! Him your best shot!"

Standard: Aid Summit with Tactics Tactics Tactics, AoA 5. Aid: [roll0]. 6 Degrees of Success. Summit gets +5 to Attack, Mandragora gets +5 to Attack.
Triggers reaction Team Attack with Summit, PA 5. [roll1]. +2 to DC. Effect rank 11.
Free Action: Change combat array to Focused Assault
Move: Charge Focused Assault
Extra Effort: Attack Legion with Focused Assault (AoA5, PA 5): [roll2]. 35, Crit (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23652330&postcount=1295) On hit,
DC 28 33 + Multi Toughness vs Damage & DC 23 28 Linked Weaken [Toughness] & Linked Affliction [Vulnerable / Defenseless]

All rolls assume Inspire. -5 defenses this round.

[manwithaplan]

Seeing what Simon was doing, Josh zipped in front of Tara and laid his hands back on the staff.

"Look, really...you do gotta give it back now," he smirked.

Then he went loud, engaging with Legion to throw a flurry of opening punches and kicks in the space of a moment. The combo wasn't super important, though - he disengaged quicker than he got in, and moved to his desired position - directly behind Aquila. If he had successfully stolen it, the speedster would slip the staff into Summit's grip.

"All eyes on you. Give this thing a try."

Resolving this turn after Mandragora, before Aquila. Considering the possibility that Legion's defences will be lowered by Mandragora's action.

Standard Action: Flurry of Blows! Power Attack 5.

On Legion: Attack [roll0] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
On Tara: Attack [roll1] for DC [roll2]+Multiattack Strength or Disarm.

Move Action: Get behind Aquila, give him the staff if I have it.

Status: Normal. Inspire Bonus applied to rolls.

[Born]

Mandragora, too, was caught off-guard by the immediate appearance of Legion. Nonetheless, he lashed out immediately on Simon's call. He knew that this moment could be the crux of everything. It was now or never in the stand against Legion. The fallen potential future version of Leviath had already proven that he cared nothing for Life, Joy, Purpose, or Right. For this one there would not be time for redemption and reform. The vine man put everything he had behind his next strikes, intent on hammering the fallen summoner into a state where he could no longer defend himself from the others. In a rare moment of sheer emotion and mercilessness, Eric cried out "This is for father!" as his vines struck out.


Standard: Vine Lash on Legion. Power Attacking at -2. Includes Aid from Simon. [roll0] plus Multiattack. On a hit, DC 28 Strength or Dodge versus grab. If this misses, I will :smallcool: reroll it in OOC.

Extra Effort Standard: There are two possibilities here.
1. If the first Vine Lash fails to hit or fails to grab, Vine Lash again to go for the hold (I'm assuming this one doesn't get Aid). [roll1] plus Multiattack. On a hit, DC 26 Strength or Dodge versus grab.
2. If the first Vine Lash gets a grab, attempt a trip against Legion for even further bonus goodness for the others. Not sure if I need to roll an attack roll if I'm already grabbing, but if so this can use the attack roll from the first possibility (since that won't happen). DC [roll2] Athletics check to avoid being knocked prone.

All actions Inspiration.

[Grim ranger]

Aquila was left staring at the enemy suddenly in their midst just as dumbstruck as anyone else. While he had been expecting some attempt from Legion to prevent their departure and inevitable erasure of this timeline, the villain suddenly appearing right on top of them had not been one of them. As far as underhanded surprise moves went, that one struck badly below the belt.

And then Simon spoke, and the surprised tension was replaced by frantic action.

Blinking somewhat to himself, Summit felt the staff being slipped into his grip by the resident speedster, his awareness suddenly expanding through the mountain. His power flowed easily through the thing even though he had never laid a hand on it much or even paid that much thought about the matter, a small shiver passing through the stone as he took a slow breath, his eyes fixed on Legion. And this time, he was far less intimidated of the man than during their first encounter.

"I think I speak for all of us..." he noted, his stony armor rising from the ground and clamping onto him to shroud him in his usual combat attire, the rocks and dust moving practically as one "...when I say we have heard QUITE ENOUGH ABOUT YOU."

Smacking the end of the staff against the floor, Summit commanded the mountain around them, the ceiling and floor suddenly sprouting jagged spikes of volcanic rock that stabbed at Legion from all sides, the slight shuddering and compression of the walls making the attack a spitting image of mountain itself attempting to chew out the supervillain.

Activating Earth my Armor and Besiege, using the staff to add the following to Besiege: Concentration on the Weaken Toughness (16 points), Improved Critical 4 to the overall power (4 points) and Reach 10 to the overall power (10 points). After that, attacking Legion with Besiege.

[roll0] (Besiege, Inspiration and help from Simon added in)

[DukeGod]

Gestalt goes in front of the portal. He isn't surprised or shocked. It seemed easy to him to get behind the idea what his future version could have done something

He covers as much of it as he can with his body

"You'll have to go through me first, Master. And, know that you shall not pass"

He flares his light cape and stares defiantly at his self

Edit: Oops, formatting

Move: Get in front of the Time Portal
Standard: Activate Caped Hero
:smallcool: HP Spent. +5 to everyone

[Starsign]

Sheema had been all set to return home, for real this time.

Alas, some things are never easy, are they?

She nearly stumbles as the very-much-not-Gestalt suddenly comes in out of nowhere, explaining that he entered in some... way which Sheema doesn't understand. Okay, just how long were these time travelers here last time? Seriously, they seem like they've been hiding a lot more than just being heroes five years from the future.

Not that they are her enemies as the Perallan princess draws out Galadhil. "Tara, stay back!" she warns the de-powered augmenter. Sheema almost groans at the thought of fighting with the machine right next to them. On the other hand, this is their chance to take out Legion! Maybe all will be as well as can be in this world if they defeat him here.

"Mom! Dad! Follow me!" she cries, suddenly taking Makhana's identity rather lightly as Sheema vaults on top of the dire rhino. She pulls out Galadhil before looking over Legion's power armor... He didn't actually have much of a weak point on his armor. Instead, she sheathes Galadhil and brings out her high-frequency blade. Sure, it may not have the sheer sharpness but it'll disrupt the machine's functions if it can self-repair.

In a stomping pound, Makhana leans down her head and charges forward with her horn! Closing in, she suddenly gives a short leap, bucks Sheema off her back and forward to skewer Legion in tandem with Mandagora's vines. Makhana then lands down hard on her front hooves, sending a disruptive quake in front of her and bringing rubble briefly up in the air. Sheema follows up right after, slicing into Legion's armor with her blade.

So Sheema already rolled to Team Attack with Mandagora. She will now EE and use High-Frequency Blade and Frenzied Fighter together. Power Attack +5/-5 and All-Out Attack +5/-5. Inspire and Concealment cancel each other out. DC 28+Multiattack Toughness. Incurable, Affects Insubstantial 2, and Improved Critical 2 apply, where allowed: [roll0]

Makhana is going to EE and attack Legion twice with Defensive Shockwave. Power Attack and All-Out Attack +5/-5. DC 34 Toughness + DC 27 Fort vs Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated on hit. Concealment 4 vs Visual Senses, Evasion 2, and Improved Critical 2 apply:
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 1

The time travellers may not have been the single most powerful team of Heroes in Ilessia. They may not have been the best-known, or the most-feared. But what you had to remember was that as a general rule, there weren't very many cohesive Hero teams. Certainly, Heroes would work together when the threat warranted it, but for the most part, they operated more as a loose affiliation. They had each other's backs, but they didn't regularly work together. Sometimes you'd get an outsize group for a given city that worked more closely, or maybe a group with a prior association that all joined the Corps together, but still, of the give-or-take a thousand Heroes that protected modern Ilessia, it was fair to say that fewer than fifty were part of anything that could be considered a team.

And Arch smite it if any of those groups could claim to have the sheer level of tactical coordination that the Heroes of Adaros did!

Without any help from their future selves, the Heroes took the fight to Legion in a display of teamwork and tactics that would make any SIDE officer stand up and applaud. Gestalt, taking full advantage of the fact that Legion couldn't risk harming him, put himself squarely between his future self and the portal, extolling his allies to greater heights of valor. Simon directed their assault, developing and communicating a field strategy in moments even as he loosed the telekinetic forces of his super-suit on the villainous summoner. Josh hammered on their foe while simultaneously requisitioning the necessary materiel, Tara just blinking in surprise as Arcanis's staff was yoinked from her hands and placed in Summit's so swiftly and easily that it appeared to have been teleported. Mandragora locked their enemy down, his entangling vines grasping and crushing, and opening the way for their heavy-hitters.

Summit, Sheema, and Makhana took full advantage, hammering Legion with crushing power and deadly skill, leaving Legion's armor heavily damaged, and the summoner himself off-balance and winded in Mandragora's clutches.

Legion was a horrifyingly powerful summoner. But he didn't have any summons with him now!

...Well. Sort of.

From the first, Legion had commanded the same four types of creatures that Gestalt did. The Red Wyvern, the Ice Witch, the Rainbow Bird, and the Iron Knight. These were the minions he had transformed the victims of the Disappearance into. The warriors he had unsummoned back in time to do his bidding. The army he had whelmed to conquer Ilessia in this future. And the personal champions he called forth to battle his foes. Since then, Gestalt had earned the services of a fifth summon, but the Feynmen Series PX-30 Nanite Swarm had never been seen among Legion's forces. It would be reasonable to assume that since Gestalt had only discovered that summon once leaving this timeline, it simply wasn't part of Legion's repertoire.

Legion's powered armor revealed otherwise. The Heroes inflicted severe damage to Legion's armor, but an assault like that would have torn any normal suit of powered armor - even the cutting-edge, ultra-modern suits used by ADE elites - to shreds. An assault like that would have brought some mecha to their knees.

But Legion's suit absorbed it all. Not without harm, but better than any mere technology, even with another ten years of advancement, could have hoped to do.

And the Feynmen Series PX-30 Nanotech Powered Armor was not without its tricks, either. As soon as the nanite swarm's advanced AI detected its wearer in a vulnerable position, it released a concealing cloud of nanites that projected holographic duplicates all around Legion to supplement its deflective fields. It wasn't enough to turn the assault aside, but every little bit helped.

It also began initiating nanorepairs.

And while his armor was damaged, Legion was anything but out. In an instant, he vanished from Mandragora's coils, summoning himself to a new position and attempting to likewise escape Summit's crushing stonework. Then he raised a hand towards the group, prepared to unleash a devastating attack that would-

Lorelei moved.

Seeing Gestalt standing between Legion and the portal, she took a quick breath and darted away from the portal's console, getting more-or-less in the midst of the group and facing Legion directly.

With a tap to her belt buckle, she deactivated her forcefield.

And stood her ground.

"If you want to blast them, you'll have to blast me too, Leviath," she told him simply, firmly, one hand resting unconsciously on her stomach. Actually, it was about the spot where your Lorelei had been shot during the ill-fated time jaunt that had begun this whole misadventure. "Maybe that won't be so hard for you, anymore. ...Or maybe it's a little different when you're not just ordering a minion to do it."

Legion's expression was obscured by his helmet, but he retorted, "What makes you think I was planning to use an area attack?"

And then he went blinking around the room, summoning himself to one position after another. The gauntlets of his powered armor grew into claws...no, into distinctly bird-like talons, which he lashed at one Hero after another in the fraction of a blink he stood beside them, before whisking himself to another part of the room.

As soon as he had halted, Wulther charged. He didn't take his rhino form. This was already a kinda cramped environment and frankly, he was the least powerful warrior here and knew it. He wasn't a Hero, he wasn't even a Dreamer, and even in a contest of straight ability, his daughter had surpassed him in skill, and it would appear, his wife - or what remained of her - in sheer physical power.

This was not a battle that Wulther could contribute to as a warrior, nor as a beast.

So he would fight as a king. Not directing tactics as a general, nor dispatching enemies as a champion, no. He would lead by example and from the front, emboldening any unit he fought beside even as he shielded them from harm.

Besides, he knew exactly what sort of openings a dire rhino could exploit, when they were offered.

So Wulther got right up in Legion's face and went at him with nothing more than his noble spirit, his fearless will, and his two bare fists!

Judy swallowed hard as battle was joined. Her power was great and her creations potent, but a warrior she was not. She hung back, hesitant, debating the merits of fleeing outright, her eyes wide with fear.

Which made her a perfect target.

What was it that made Tara Ellens the most feared villain in modern Ilessian history?

It was not her tactical ability. Tara's plan had been...workable, certainly, but as Simon himself had had occasion to note, it was hardly a flawless work of genius. It had enacted the first breakout in SIDE history, which wasn't nothing, but it had more-or-less completely fallen apart in the aftermath, and Tara had never really recovered the initiative since.

It wasn't her drive for vengeance. Certainly, her single-minded determination spoke of a formidable will, and added to the threat she presented. But even her paramour Darryll had openly admitted that her uncompromising drive to destroy those who had wronged her was more a flaw of her character than a strength of it.

Her Dreamer power? Certainly it was formidable, easily qualifying her as one of the most personally-powerful Dreamers in the world. But for all the phenomenal power she could bestow, Legion was not wrong to note that her power was useless on its own. A massive amount of raw energy, for certain, but merely energy nonetheless.

Perhaps her mastery of ritual, then? That certainly got closer to the truth. Her persistent rituals were incredible feats of spellcraft on their own, and gave her a channel through which to use her Dreamer power personally. And even discounting those, her ritual mastery had sundered SIDE's strongest fortifications. To say nothing for the incredible results that she had achieved combining her rituals with APEX power. It would be fair to say that all of her greatest personal feats were expressions of her ritual magic.

But then...even with her ritual to shatter their fortifications, Tara could not have overcome the full defenses and security of the SIDE prison alone. Even with her rituals to persist her augmentations long-term, merely adding power to the escapees would not have provided the cover she needed to avoid SIDE's Task Force for so long. Her assault on the Adaros prison would not have come as close as it did if she hadn't somehow gotten Chlorine to accept the taint of APEX.

At the end of the day Tara was an augmenter, her power always best expressed through her allies. And so throughout it all, Tara's greatest strength had never been cunning or will, had never been the power of her Dream or her magic. It had been the skill that had kept her alive and allowed her to thrive since she, a mere ten year old girl with no powers to speak of and abandoned by her family had been cast from the only home she had ever known to a foreign country and forced to rely on the kindness of strangers to survive. The skill that had allowed her to direct the anger of Rin Kidora, to inflame the curiosity of Evans Ayers, to guide the battle-lust of Brava Suldoon. The skill that had earned her the undying love and loyalty of Darryll Harrens. The skill that even today had won her Sheema's support and gotten her a chance to return to the past even from a group of Heroes who knew what she was capable of.

The skill to tell people exactly what they needed to hear, to get them to do exactly what she needed them to do.

"Judy...we can't give Legion the opportunity to recover. He will kill all of them, all of us. And if he makes it back through the portal, nobody will be safe. They aren't powerful enough to defeat him themselves. With my power they can. I've seen what your potions can do. Help me!"

"I..." Judy replied uncertainly, but she reached for a vial of her healing potions, and for her pouch of nanite dust.

First off, have a map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x983jNdGcjPu-Mf6_frfkXujX3kIXYh8F0LUT8FJ4iI/edit#gid=0).

Lorelei:
Move: Into J6.
Free: Deactivate her forcefield.
Standard: None.

Legion's Lost Love Complication triggers. He is unable to bring himself to target any non-selective Area attack such that its area comes within 10' of Lorelei. This uses up the remaining pending Complication that Gestalt had imposed.

Legion:

Non-Action: Buying off Dazed with GM Fiat. The party receives a floating :smallcool: Hero Point.

Free: Reconfigure the dynamic points of his Supplemental Systems, including the 15 bonus points from his Ritual. 10 points to the Regeneration 10 of Nanotech. 10 points to the Limited Concealment of Nanotech. 23 points for Power Augmentation - Summon Self, minus the Increased Mass and Change Direction extras. 2 points for the Critical Immunity of Impenetrable Armor.

Move: Precise Teleport into J2, escaping the Grab.

Standard: Attempt to Counter Legion's Concentration Damage by teleporting out of it. Since his Weapons Systems array had to be on Greater Augmentation - Targeted Summoning, the Enhanced Teleport rank applies. Counter at [roll0] after -2 for Impaired vs. [roll1]. If Legion rolls a 10 or lower, he'll reroll and Summit will get a :smallcool: Hero Point. Summit may spend points to reroll his check normally if desired; Legion's opportunity to reroll expires once Summit's result is known. Countered. Summit could reroll this but since ties go to the higher bonus he'd need a 20 to do it, so probably safe to say countered.

Move-by Action: Use the Feature of Power Augmentation - Summon Self to function as movement and start teleporting between several of the heroes, finally ending in E9.

Free: Swap his Weapons Systems array to Emulation Mode - Raptor Attack.

Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Use the Feature of Power Augmentation - Summon Self to divide a Multiattack among teleports and attack Simon, Sheema, Aquila, Makhana, and Wulther with Emulation Mode - Raptor Attack, Defensive Attacking for 4, Accurate Attacking for 2, Multiattacking for 4, and at -2 from Impaired. On a hit, Defense (including the penalty from your All Out Attacks) DC 26 vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless Affliction. Use Fortitude to recover from this Affliction.
Simon: [roll2]. Crit. DC becomes 31.
Sheema: [roll3]. Crit. DC becomes 31. Legion really does have awfully good luck...
Aquila: [roll4]. Hit
Makhana: [roll5]. Hit due to AoA Nope, strike that, miss from Concealment
Wulther: [roll6]. Defense: [roll7]. Miss! Who says Wulther's the weakest? Who says!?

End of Turn: Fortitude to remove Affliction (DC 27, -2 for Impaired): [roll8]. Regenerates a Bruise. Recovers a point of Toughness. Still Impaired

Wulther:
Move: Into F9.
Standard: King's Cover, using the attack to Aid Makhana at [roll9] minus whatever from Legion's attack. He Deflects for anyone within 30' of him, while they are within 30', at 1d10+20, -1 per point of Toughness above 10, and minus whatever from Legion, assuming he isn't Defenseless. Critical Aid! Not that crits are actually useful on Aid but still! WHO SAYS!!!!?
End of Turn: If necessary, Fortitude to remove Affliction: [roll10] minus whatever.
EDIT: Also, he did all that without me remembering the +5 for Inspire. :smallcool:

Tara:
Standard: Persuade Judy to help her get her powers back at [roll11]. Since Judy's not exactly "up" on the news, her default reaction to Tara is Indifferent, so Tara can't fail to bring her to Helpful. That's...I'll be honest, that's gonna be tough to beat.
Move: None.
End of Turn: Attempt to remove the Disabled+Defenseless portion of the Affliction (DC 23, -5 for Disabled, -13 for Weaken): [roll12]. Recover one point of defenses. LOL

Darryll:
Standard: Ready an action to leap in the way of any attack made for Tara, effectively giving him an additional Interpose for her this round.
Move: Nah.
End of Turn: Can't remove the Affliction even on a 20 currently, but recovers one point of defenses.

Judy:
Extra Effort - Power Stunt off of Artificer's Arsenal.

Nanite Infusion: Healing Potion gets +2 ranks, +8 ranks Restorative, and gains Linked Nullify Afflictions 15 (Broad, Simultaneous, Effortless, Reduced Range [Close], Limited [Counters Only]).

Standard: Ready an action to use Nanite Infusion on Tara. This action will trigger if anyone attacks Tara, or if the PC turn ends with nobody stopping Judy from doing this. Stopping Judy can be done through main force, or as a Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion check that beats Tara's roll. On a two degree success, Judy will instead redirect the action to the worst-off PC. Attempting the check is a standard action, or a move action at -5.

Move: Meh.

All PCs are on turn.

Glade battles the majority of Legion's forces. The majority of the defenders of Glade are dealing with the concentrated force. That leaves your future selves to deal with Legion's summons. Josh vs. the Rainbow Phoenix, Summit vs. the Iron Dreadnought, Simon vs. the Ice Queen, and Sheema/Makhana vs. the Ancient Wyvern. Each round each side rolls a PL check, DC 10 + opposing PL. Glade and Legion's army fight on four separate fronts, and both swing at +30. Since you guys accepted Darryll and Tara's offer, your future selves count as 3 PL higher for this fight from the assistance of a summon and the effect of the augments, setting them even against Legion's summons.

For each degree of success, the DC lowers by 1 in future rounds (2 per degree for the Glade/Army matchups, due to the large numbers and wealth of area attacks available). AT YOUR DISCRETION, your future selves can spend the Hero Points they get from you to reroll their check, or to increase their DC for the round by 1d10 (as if rerolling a natural 10 with a Hero Point). If your future self goes down, the relevant summon is able to punch through and join Legion in the next round. If the summon goes down, the relevant future self is able to disengage and join you guys in the next round.

If Glade or an enemy force reduce their opposition to half points (+15) or less, they get a stacking +1 offense bonus per round on that front. For each front fully defeated, all allies on the victorious side get a stacking +1 offense bonus per round.
If Glade is defeated on all fronts, you guys will have two rounds to finish Legion and get the flip out of Dodge before you are swarmed by his army.

If the fight keeps up at the rate your going none of this will matter literally at all because Legion will probably be down in another, like, round or two or something. But whatever! We'll see how it goes!

Josh vs. Rainbow Phoenix (DC 28): [roll13]. No effect. Not enough walls around out here, obviously.
Summit vs. Iron Dreadnought (DC 28): [roll14]. Two degrees
Simon vs. Ice Queen (DC 28): [roll15]. No effect
Sheema vs. Ancient Wyvern (DC 28): [roll16]. No effect

Glade North vs. Army North (DC 40): [roll17]. What
Glade East vs. Army East (DC 40): [roll18]. The
Glade South vs. Army South (DC 40): [roll19]. Flip
Glade West vs. Army West (DC 40): [roll20]. Glade?

Rainbow Phoenix vs. Josh (DC 28): [roll21]. Two degrees
Iron Dreadnought vs. Summit (DC 28): [roll22]. No effect
Ice Queen vs. Simon (DC 28): [roll23]. No effect
Ancient Wyvern vs. Sheema (DC 28): [roll24]. No effect

Army North vs. Glade North (DC 40): [roll25]. One degree
Army East vs. Glade East (DC 40): [roll26]. No effect
Army South vs. Glade South (DC 40): [roll27]. No effect
Army West vs. Glade West (DC 40): [roll28]. One degree

[Dorni]

Simon smiled his wolfish smile. Legion was a terrifyingly powerful and capable Dreamer. His raw power dwarfed any of theirs, and he'd taken them by surprise. And the team had responded admirably, recovering themselves and tearing into the sociopath in a coordinated. It was enough to make him proud even before taking into account the results. Legion remained far from defeated, but he'd taken a considerable beating. The fact that he'd switched to fighting very defensively told Simon that even Legion was now wary of them.

It was enough to make him wonder when was the last time Legion had fought himself without relying on his Summons.

"Judy, don't listen to her! We've already got the advantage! Everyone, keep it up!"

Simon suited his own words. Legion was on the defensive, so rather than try to project the kinetic energy from his own attacks at the already on guard summoner, he reached out with his suit and harnessed the kinetic energy of the summoner himself and the nanites swarming him. With brutal effeciency he simply condensed it and slammed it into the traitor.

Free: Set Kinetics Suit to Kinetic Sunder
Move: I think I'm good
Standard: Attack Legion with Kinetic Sunder. Perception attack. DC 25 Toughness vs Damage. This attack carries Secondary Effect and Penetrating 6.
Extra Effort: Attack Legion with Kinetic Sunder. Perception attack. DC 25 Toughness vs Damage. This attack carries Secondary Effect and Penetrating 6.
:smallcool: to buy off Fatigue

[DukeGod]

Their opening move done, Gestalt makes the familiar gestures, and summons his own Feynmen.

His nanoswarm is different of course, all their summons are. Liquid metal seemingly pools around and drips around his armor.

[manwithaplan]

"Oh damn. Watch the legs, not the hands."

Josh was tangible again, and right in Legion's grill with a leg sweep, a shoulder charge from the opposite direction, and hands around the throat.

At the same time.

But he briefly disengaged from the melee to kneel beside Judy.

"Hey. We talked about this. We don't let big strong people tell us what to do."

Before she had responded, he knew it wasn't enough, and he sighed.

"Sorry Joo."

With a flicker, the pouch of nanites were in his hand. Another flicker, and he was a little displaced, and the pouch was gone altogether.

Move-By Action: Up to Legion, switch to Flurry of Blows, and Aid Mandragora at Accurate Attack 2 [roll0]. Finish on Lorelei's side of Judy.
Extra Effort - Standard Action: Switch to full Speed ranks and Counter the Power Stunt at [roll1].

Spending a floating Hero Point to buy off the Fatigue from this Extra Effort.

Meanwhile, Future Josh will reroll his power check against Rainbow Bird [roll2].

Status: Fatigued next round.

[Born]

By now, Eric was used to villains slipping his grip with a teleport. Nonetheless, he wasn't about to give up yet. Even if Legion could slip out again, the vines themselves hit hard enough to damage that fancy power suit, and the others could take advantage of the brief moments when the enemy was captured. So he watched intently, looking for a moment to strike, when he just caught sight of Josh giving him the moment he needed. Vines surged forward again at the summoner, intent on locking him down again, if only for a few moments.


Standard: Vine Lash on Legion. Includes bonus from Josh's Aid. [roll0]. On a hit, DC 26 plus Multiattack toughness versus damage, and DC 26 Strength or Dodge versus grab.

[Starsign]

For all that Makhana is about bulk and size, she knows how to use the environment to her advantage. She had no way of reacting to Legion's teleport attacks. In fact, this reminded her of how to fight dire birds in Peral. Their diving attacks with their talons are simply too fast for her to dodge. So she usually tears off a tree or a piece of the earth to block the blow.

So all she had to do was to use her horn and throw up a large chunk of rubble torn out from her prior shockwave. Happily for her, his energy talon, gauntlet... thing (how do humans make these things) shatters the heavy stone chunk without slicing at her face.

Sheema was slightly less fortunate. While fast on her feet, she wasn't wielding Galadhil to help deflect a talon-like strike that would otherwise slice through her. She considers herself fortunate, then, to backstep just enough that the swipe merely slices through her kevlar around her stomach.

With slightly haggard breaths, facing down an enemy significantly more powerful than her, Sheema gives a quick flick of her blade as a signal to Makhana as the dire rhino encircles around Legion. Putting the villain in a pincer, the dire rhino tears up more of the ground with her horn to help cover her before bringing her hooves high up to crash down on Legion!

Sheema, meanwhile, recalls one move she remembers way back in Peral as she exchanges her blade for Galadhil. The elite soldiers of Rivinas were skilled with a spear move fast and accurate enough that dodging it was impossible for a grand majority of fighters. She knew the basics of it but not enough to utilize it consistently. Against an enemy like this, whose strange armor keeps him protected from many forms of defense, she might need to use that technique. So recalling the training, Sheema puts her right foot back, spear placed low, then thrusts with impeccable speed!

Alrighty, so:

Sheema will power stunt from her Hunter's Tricks array: Instant Strike. (rolls to come in OOC)

Makhana will do Defensive Strike again, taking her +5 bonus from Wulther. She will also All-Out Attack +5/-5 to get a hit in on Legion. DC 29 Toughness + DC 22 Fort vs Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated. Makhana has Concealment 4 vs Visual Senses and Evasion 2: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Legion and his army was basically a force of nature. It had brought the entire nation of Ilessia to its knees.

Legion with the full power of his personal summons was in all probability the most concentrated force of personal Dreamer power that Aranth had ever known. Even the Emperor of Haptarus might not have compared.

Legion on his own? He was still a grade-A threat, a combatant with sufficient raw combat ability to take on a battlemech solo and comfortably come out on top. I do not want to in any way diminish the sheer power he represents.

But let's be clear: he had nothing on the Heroes of Time.

Forced immediately on the defensive, Legion had tried to recover his footing, but there was just no opportunity to do it. With precision telekinetic force, flawless personal skill, and augmented dominion over the earth, Simon, Sheema, and Summon hammered his defenses, his armor buckling under the assault. Josh not only made Judy's infused nanite dust vanish like a magician, but he also provided the perfect distraction for Mandragora to lay in with the finishing blow. The phytomorph's crushing vines smashed through the nanotech armor and wrapped around Legion like a family of anacondas. And as powerful as Legion's spiritual energy was, he was at the end of the day still a summoner, his power wasn't physical in nature the way Mandragora's was. The crushing vines pushed past even his significant physical resilience, leaving him unconscious in a matter of seconds.

Lorelei gasped in shock.

Darryll Harrens stared blankly.

And Tara Ellens herself, midway through her next appeal to Judy, fell abruptly, completely, and uncharacteristically silent.

Without any help from even one of your more experienced, more powerful future selves and in a comfortable ten seconds, you had utterly trounced the most powerful villain in this entire timeline. The sum total damage Legion managed to inflict upon you was that Aquila got kinda shocked a little bit. Aquila and Gestalt aren't even breathing hard.

Everybody take a bonus Power Point for overcoming Legion in personal combat. Then take another, because seriously that was nuts.

Into the sudden utter silence that had descended over the room, Judy Kavanaugh said, pointing an accusatory finger at Tara, "I'm not listening to you anymore!"

Battle over! Everybody take a :smallcool: Hero Point.

This is pretty much it for this adventure. We are heading into the final adventure of the game next. In addition to the two bonus Power Points above, everybody take 5 Power Points for completing the adventure. As always, you may edit your sheets to your heart's content at this time.

I'll be kinda moving us through the portals with my next post unless anyone has any objections, but take this opportunity for any final bits you might want to do here. To make up for my lagging so bad this round I'm probably going to post in the next few days unless anyone requests otherwise, since I'm not sure how many if any of you will indeed have much you want to do.
But I wanted to make sure you had the chance just in case.

As the final adventure of the game, all downtime action awards for this next adventure will be doubled. Although the next episode will begin immediately after you come out of the portal so there's no actual downtime, you may each take 5 10 Downtime Actions to reflect the results of temporal ripples for actions you've taken in the past. Sheema and Summit, you two will be returned to your original timeline and reaching the time period of the next adventure the long way, giving you much more time to do things actively. As such, you may each instead take 15 30 Downtime Actions. If you want to let me know some things about what your characters are doing in the intervening five years I'd love to hear it.

In addition, you all have a pretty tidy Hero Point total since you somehow managed to take freakin' Legion down in two flip turns. Those are resetting, but as always, you may spend those for setting Edits (which may reflect temporal ripples) or Inspiration, or for more Downtime Actions (it's 2:1 now, but it likewise costs 4 to get a Hero Point). However...

Bringing Tara and Darryll back with you...I'll be honest, it could come back to bite the NoS team in a big way. It might now, since you guys did take some solid precautions, but it's not impossible. If you wish, you may invest some or all of your remaining Hero Points in a fund for them. If this decision does come back to bite them, they will receive however many Hero Points you invest in a floating pool as if from a Complication. Who knows, if you invest enough, maybe it would even wind up as a net positive for them. Or you can spend your remaining HP on your own stuff and the NoS team can deal with whatever mess they get into. Totally up to you.

For the record, after the above reward, the remaining available Hero Points stand at:
Mandragora: 5.
Gestalt: 5.
Simon: 4.
Josh: 4.
Sheema: 6.
Summit: 4.

And last but not least, as always, while I'm always open to it now is an especially convenient time to give me any thoughts, critiques, feedback, requests, ideas, criticism, whatever! (Although I'm aware I've been lagging lately.
I mean, you're still welcome to yell at me for it, but yeah. :smallamused:) In addition, if there's anything of particular note or significance you'd like to see resolved in terms of like loose ends, character arcs, etc in the final adventure, let me know!
I shall do my best to fit it in!

[manwithaplan]

"Boom, roasted!" Josh pointed at Tara, encouraging Judy for her outburst. The defeat of Legion was spectacular, but to the world he knew, this woman was a much more tangible threat.

"But also, yeah, she's too right. I don't think any of us should be listening to you. We were in danger for, what, five seconds before you convinced Judy to give you all your power back. Didn't ask Simon to consider your tactical value. Didn't politely remind the team of your willingness to aid them. No, you forgot all of us were here and went straight for a woman who doesn't know how to say 'no'. It's getting a lot harder to put faith in your noble intentions."

Immediately Tara was accosted by several lengths of chain, but Josh didn't move when it happened - evidently that speed-flicker thing was just a way of letting people know that he was doing something, and he was far too serious right then to bother with it.

"Who was it that insisted on bringing her back, again?"

This time I will actually attack Tara with Hogtie, Power Attack 5, All-Out Attack 2. Attack [roll0] for DC 21+Multiattack Prowess or Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless.

Edit: Oh, right...Selectively excluding everybody! :smallwink:

[Starsign]

It had taken all of two strikes before it ended. Not that she could've done it on her own; in fact she questioned whether Galadhil had even pierced Legion's nanite armor. Yet all she got in was a slash of her blade and a stab from her spear before the great, big bad foe had fallen from the onslaught of the time travelers.

...Or maybe that was Mandagora's vines doing all the work. Even Makhana winced at just how easily those vines ruined Legion.

"Whew, that went well," Sheema says with a sigh as the dark-skinned princess places Galadhil back on her back. Her hand briefly reaches over to rub Makhana's forehead, only to stop before touching her silver hide. It... doesn't feel right to touch Makhana like just a pet anymore, does it? She's Sheema's mom, even if only in spirit. So instead the Perallan princess wraps her arms around Makhana's head and huge the matriarch of the rhinos.

...Much to Makhana's dismay. Seriously, she's a dire rhino; she should be treated with more respect.

Sheema's head had turned at just the right angle to see the local speedster try wrapping chains all around Tara. Were this done before the battle happened, Sheema would be rather disapproving of Josh's actions. Alas, he made a good point when Tara tried breaking out of the deal right when they didn't need it. Even Sheema had to note that there was something off about it.

Slowly, Sheema approaches Tara with a worried look. "Tara, why? You couldn't even just ask us first?" Sheema gives the augmenter a chance to explain herself. The princess, however, isn't as charitable as she was a minute ago.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Josh had very little trouble wrapping Tara in chains.

She eyed him flatly for a moment, and with a single sudden movement, shattered them into their constituent links. While Tara was no powerhouse, she was still one of the most powerful Dreamers on the planet. Even with her Spiritual Energy pathways disrupted, she still had massive amounts of Spiritual Energy in her body. It allowed her to exert tremendous amounts of physical force, albeit only in short bursts. Such as, you know, to punch someone. Or shatter chains.

Evidently the affront was sufficient for Tara to collect herself. She looked to Sheema and answered calmly, "What are you talking about? I did ask you. I mean, I asked Judy. She seemed uncertain of how best to act, I knew she possessed the capability to restore my powers, and the rest of you were, it seemed to me, rather busy at the moment. I legitimately believed that my powers would be required to overcome the threat. Just because I was wrong does not mean I was trying to circumvent you. I assumed, rather logically I felt, that neutralizing Legion was more important than keeping my powers tamped down, especially considering there is no reason that you could not have renewed the suppression after the fight in any event." She sounds...honestly kinda befuddled here. Like she can't quite understand what the big deal is.

[Starsign]

Sheema is taken rather aback by Tara's defense. It wasn't that Tara was lying in what she said... But Sheema knew that Judy was a rather shy individual. Forget that everyone else bravely fought Legion, people have a right to be scared and prefer to stay out of combat. You can't just yell at someone to do something that they may not be sure of.

It was Judy's reaction, right at the end, yelling at Tara, which threw Sheema off from her trust with Tara.

"Tara, look, I understand you want to help," the princess begins. Her voice is sterner than usual. "And I want to believe you're everything you've said to me. But people don't scream in rejection after you ask them. I've never heard Judy raise her voice like that before." Sheema frowns. She wants to trust Tara, so, so badly.

Makhana walks over to check on Judy as Sheema kindly asks the quiet gadgeteer, "Judy? Was she just asking?" There's nothing like learning from the witness to understand what's missing. Sheema just hopes she's not putting Judy on the spot...

[Quellian-dyrae]

Tara opened her mouth to reply, but closed it when Sheema spoke to Judy, letting the artificer answer first without attempting to prejudice her.

Judy...kinda shrank in on herself a bit. Yeah, she couldn't help feeling a bit on the spot here. She just didn't have the mental and emotional tools to really deal with conflict. "She...um...I mean, she said you wouldn't be able to win without her help. And...Bad Gestalt was really scary and I thought she was right. But Josh said-! I mean, um. I...I guess she was just asking. But...but Ollie always asked too." That last she said with a tiny flinch.

The look she gave Sheema was more like that of a young child expecting to be punished than a magitech master who could comfortably solo 95% of the Heroes in the Corps. "I'm sorry I let her tell me what to do..."

Tara and Darryll exchanged one of those communicating-a-lot-without-a-single-word looks of theirs, and Tara said gently, "I'm sorry, Judy. I'm sorry I scared you and made you feel pressured.
I was scared too. I should have trusted your friends."

Judy didn't reply, her eyes kinda darting between Josh and Sheema, as if looking for direction.

Tara gave a little sigh and stepped closer to Sheema, saying softly, "I swear, Sheema...I knew she was scared, but I didn't realize she was so...broken."

[manwithaplan]

Josh was sitting next to Judy again with a hand on her shoulder.

"No no no no no, it's okay, you're alright. You did the best you could. Just take a minute."

Then he glared at Tara as she got closer to Sheema.

"Sheema, she tried to execute Harold Brace. We had to stop her from murdering him. Ask her when she's gonna apologise for that one."

[Dorni]

"Tara, don't give me that." Simon's reply was ice. "With a split-second's time to consider, you knew exactly what to say to get Judy's help. That was no accident. I remember that you got ahold of Arcanis' staff and Comody's cloning ritual right after Hero Corps took down the Ten Wolves. You had an alliance with Comody. You knew exactly what you were doing when you manipulated Judy to go along with you."

He let that accusation hang in the air just long enough for the ramifications to sink in before he continued, "Just like you're deliberately taking advantage of Sheema's good heart and ignorance of your crimes to gain her sympathy and manipulate her. You didn't even offer your help in the first place simply because its was the right thing to do, or with any kind of gratitude for your rescue. You even deliberately waited until Legion was approaching before making your offer so that you'd have maximum leverage to try and force a 'bargain'. You're not trying to turn over a new leaf."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Judy gave Josh a little, grateful smile when he said she did her best and it was okay.

Tara didn't shy from either Josh's or Simon's reproach.

"I do not intend to," she answered Josh simply, without hesitation. "And while I frankly think you are both making claims and judgments by applying either the rules or the history of your timeline to this one, the specifics don't really matter. I could argue your specific points, but if you do not trust my word then it would be a waste of breath and time alike. I did not profess to be a Hero, or even much of a good person, though I should like to think that I am not as awful as the version of me from your timeline seems to be. I did not say or insinuate that I was trying to turn over a new leaf. The only claim I made was that I want to live, and for Darryll to live. That has not changed."

"You don't trust me. That's fine. You do not need to take me at my word. The battle...may not be strictly over, but it is for all intents and purposes won, and yet both my augmentations and Darryll's summons remain in force to contribute to the wrap-up. We both remain under the influence of your power suppression. Chains were not included in the original bargain, but you have all the leverage now, so if you wish to add them I suppose I cannot gainsay you. You think I am manipulative? Fine. Gag me as well."

"But my word is no longer relevant. Our leverage is gone. We have held up our end of the bargain. Now we stand before the portal. Would it be 'taking advantage of anyone's good heart' to ask if you all intend to do the same?" There was not fear, but there was certainly tension in her face and voice as she asked that last.

[Starsign]

"Arcanis'... staff?"

Funny that of everything said here, that is what sticks in her mind. There's a painful, slimy twist in her stomach hearing his name. Her head slowly turns to her right where Aquila clutches Tara's former staff tightly. The design is... familiar. Actually, she's seen it before. She's met the original damn owner! "...The one you missed (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23317153&postcount=51)," Sheema says quietly to herself. She recalls Tara's words back when they stole the staff from Warlock. Sheema thought it was Tara's to begin with. Looking at it now... No, there's no way she was the original owner.

A comforting-yet-nervous groan comes from Sheema's left as Makhana speaks to her. These last couple moments have been a difficult game of trust. Sheema only knew Tara for a few hours and the time travelers for a few weeks. It's not a lot of time to put one's faith in any of them. Yet, Makhana has been around since Sheema was born. The princess has always put her trust in the stern-but-concerned dire rhino. This trust runs deeper than a mother-daughter bond; these two are lifelong soulmates. THAT runs deeper than blood ever could.

So to hear Makhana communicate eases Sheema greatly. It's not pleasant, not fun to hear, and not what Sheema wants to hear... And yet it clears the situation up. Slowly, Sheema places her hand on the staff and gently pushes it closer to Summit's stone chest. "Aquila, don't give it back."

That's all Tara needs to hear to see that she's lost.

"Tara," Sheema begins; her voice trembles slightly. She doesn't like what she's about to say. "I understand your fear. I'm hoping that with Legion done, there won't be a collapsed world, that maybe this can stay and you all can live." Evidently Sheema had not been listening about time travel physics. "You're honest to me, and I thank you for it. But it's all because you need me, don't you?" Makhana's eyes slowly turn to look away from Tara and to Sheema. The rhino, befitting her nature, is nothing but straight and not gentle in her words to Sheema. "You want to go back to our time to survive. But there's more than that, isn't it? They've talked about what your other self has done. That staff, the Regional Commander's, was never yours to begin with." She looks over at the magical stick in Aquila's hands. "And you 'missed' it?" There's a sense of dread and retribution in Sheema's prior words.

A tear slowly begins to swell in Sheema's right eye. "Tara, I'm... sorry. Anyone wants revenge for being cast out of their country for some false reason. Anyone wants revenge on a man that locked you up for years." Her eyes look over at Judy, then to the staff, then to Tara again. "But you want to meet your other self, don't you? You both want to get back at Paradisia. And if they're right about your other self? That she stole Arcanis' staff?" The thought of that sure seems like it holds water. "You'll be a threat to Ilessia, my home. I can't allow that." Sheema climbs up on Makhana; neither of their expressions indicate they are enjoying what feels like being betrayed and being a traitor at the same time. "I've barely known you or the time travelers. I... shouldn't be trusting any of you. But I know that staff isn't yours and I know you want revenge. I'll do whatever I can in the five years I have to save your other self. But I don't trust you, yourself."

She sinks her head slowly downward. "Call me what you want; I'm deserving of it... But you can't come back with us." The mood ruins Sheema's normal, upbeat nature. All she wants now is to go home.

[Grim ranger]

Watching the unfolding situation in somewhat detached manner, Aquila couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved. Legion had been set up to be a massively problematic foe to fight...and yet there he was, defeated thoroughly at least for the moment. The team of time-travelers had ultimately taken him down in little more than an instant, and their way back to the only timeline he knew seemed more or less secured.

But now, there was the matter of possible tag-alongs to consider. And considering he lacked much of the information necessary to make judgements regarding them, he could regardless make certain moral decision: would he allow the others to leave these people behind, and why?

Even as a person who had always been curious about superheroes and villains, he had never truly had much knowledge of Tara, and while her pleas seemed genuinely heartfelt and argument at the very least casting shadow of doubt regarding the decision to leave her behind...it did not seem like the team was about to budge on such a matter. The discussion had turned somewhat heated in quite short order, and while it really was not his decision on who would pass through the portal, it wasn't anyone else's either...and he didn't really agree on leaving someone behind on suspicion. They did not, after all, have certainty on what'd happen to those left behind in this timeline. However, there was the danger present in saving Tara to consider, as her actions were apparently somewhat notorious for the other members of this little expedition. Of course, he was aware they could still be wrong and could be making the wrong decision based on wrong biases and resisting such a decision could be the right thing to do in the end. However...

Was it worth instigating discord among the team here? He knew that with the additional power boost, he might have been able to at least somewhat contest the issue... but the factors arranged against being so rash were also considerable. Ultimately he had to believe in SOMEONE for the entire thing to make any sort of sense. And out of all the people he had fought alongside so far, he definitely trusted Sheema the most. Perhaps it was due to the fact they had been both left out of the loop regarding great many things, or something else equally small but significant. Whatever it was solidified his decision in the end, allowing him to stop his inner turmoil regarding the question of Tara.

Holding the staff in tight grip, Aquila nodded at Sheema's words and let out a slow sigh. "I do not like these sorts of necessary evils, but... in this case, this may be the way to save countless civilians" he said, definitely not sounding happy about it but on board the majority decision all the same. "And any method that make sit more certain this timeline never occurs is, as regrettable as it may be, likely ultimately worthwhile."

[manwithaplan]

Josh sucked his teeth.

"Alright. Sorry, T. And good luck. You...might still make it."

Not wanting to make anymore words, he turned to Simon.

"Can we go?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Tara stared hard at Sheema as she spoke out against her, followed by Aquila to make abundantly clear that the group's collective opinion had turned decisively against her. The look on her face was one of shock but not surprise, of fury but also of familiarity, of bitterness mingled with a hint of bemusement. It was a look of met expectations set by hard experience.

It was the look of one who felt betrayed, and was used to it.

"No..." Darryll guttered, shaking his head in denial. "This is wrong! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=17714335&postcount=1) It isn't- We fulfilled our end of the bargain! Nothing has changed!"

"Enough," Wulther decreed, staring the summoner down. "The decision has been made."

Lorelei keyed in the first set of coordinates for the portal. A doorway of blue-green light, looking almost like it was opening into the ocean or something, sprang open in the device.

"Tara, hurry! You can make it through! I'll hold them-"

"It is over, Darryll," Tara said quietly. With their Spiritual Energy pathways still blocked and the forces assembled both within and outside this room, she knew such an effort would be futile. She didn't even try. She just kept staring at Sheema.

Darryll's fists clenched and his face twisted with fury. "What kind of Heroes are you!? You condemn two people to death because of what they might do? Do you know what that is? Evil! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=17714335&postcount=1) Pure and simple! A willingness to sacrifice the lives of others owed to nothing more than your own prejudices and fears!"

"Sheema, Aquila, Wulther, Makhana, you four go through first. You should return to the moment you left," Lorelei said, ignoring Darryll's ranting.

"Monster! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=17714335&postcount=1)" Darryll snapped, pointing imperiously at Sheema. Tears were streaming down his face as he yelled. Tara remained icily composed. "She asked you for your help! You went to her with overtures of friendship! She told you who she was even then! Why would pretend? You didn't intend to let her come in the first place, so why pretend? Just to secure the benefits of her power? Is that it? Are you just one more in a long line of people who see her as nothing but a battery to be used and discarded!?"

Tara gave a little, resigned sigh, and turned and walked away.

As the first group made their way through the portal, they could hear Darryll yelling behind them, his voice more a wail than a shout, "You don't know her! You don't know who she is! You don't know what she's been through! SHE IS NOT A VILLAIN! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=17714335&postcount=1)"

...That was it.

It was over.

--

The first group's passage through the portal went smoothly.

The second group's went anything but.

Before, it had been like walking through a door. This time was oddly different. It was like walking down a tunnel. Or maybe more like falling down a bottomless pit.

The transit lasted for what felt more-or-less like two minutes (but who even knew? Did it even make sense to measure how long something took when you were moving backwards in time?), before a high-pitched beep came from Simon's belt. Simon nodded and looked to the three teammates with whom he had fought beside for months, saving an entire timeline and taking down one of the most notorious criminal organizations of Adaros in the process.

"I want to thank all of you for everything you have done. It has been an honor."

Just that and nothing more, neither explanation nor apology. And then he reached into his pocket. A shockwave burst out from him, and though he kept falling further into the past, the passage through time bucked and rippled around Mandragora, Gestalt, Josh, and Judy.

And then it tore apart.

Daimon Ames has left the party.

--

Just to note, I'm writing a fair bit of this kinda from Sheema's PoV because I know she joins Hero Corps in the intervening five years. This is not to indicate that Summit's in any way left out of the events described below. I just don't know if he actually joined Hero Corps or what, and didn't want to assume, but Summit certain may be involved to whatever degree Grim wants.

As Lorelei had promised, Sheema, Summit, Makhana, and Wulther reappeared in the kitchen of the Wildling farm, to a table set for many more guests than they now had (well, Makhana appeared back in the barn, where she had been when Judy's time portal had...exploded, maybe? It wasn't there any more, but there also wasn't any sign of damage to anything, so...?)

Arcanis's staff made the transit along with them...but even here, fifteen years in the past and who-knew-how-many timelines away, it was still flecked with regularly appearing-and-disappearing motes of that strange black static. In the end, the time portal wouldn't have kept either Legion or Tara from whatever fate the people of that timeline had to look forward to.

Though it might perhaps have delayed it - as the future Heroes had alluded to, time moved differently in different timelines. While they had expected to have about another week before the timeline finished whatever it was doing, the staff stuck around for a little over four months.

But when it did finally vanish, it didn't just vanish in a puff of smoke or disintegrate or anything. Summit felt a tug on it, as if someone was taking it from him - not like yanking it away, but taking it as if he were handing it to them or something. He briefly heard an aged, male voice say, "Ah, thank you. Now then, let's-" before it trailed away and the staff was gone.

Five years went by the long way.

Sheema had joined Hero Corps in this time. And...you know, it was kinda odd, but for whatever reason, circumstances were just such that she never...actually wound up having any significant interaction with the Heroes she had met in the past. Sure, she'd heard about them and saw them like on the news occasionally or whatever. But Adaros was the biggest city in the country and had the biggest and twistiest Hero Corps base, after all, and their paths just never really happened to cross. Or possibly circumstances actively conspired to ensure their paths didn't cross even if she tried intentionally to meet them. Weird.

Even the whole war with the Ten Wolves she ended up only learning about after the fact (because certain time travelers hadn't actually told her anything much about the future, not to name names or anything), since it happened that a trip to Peral took place just a bit before it and...had wound up going long. (Evidently there had been a tyrannosaurus making itself at home in Makhana's territory. They're friends now. Kinda. Sorta. ...Not really.)

But then came the day they vanished. It was, obviously, pretty big news in Hero Corps, since they were not only well-known Heroes, but included two of the three contenders for the Regional Commander position after Arcanis's tragic death during the final battle against the Ten Wolves.

Except...they were supposed to have reappeared pretty much immediately after they disappeared. So they never should have "vanished" in the first place, at least not to the perception of the present time.

Something had gone wrong.

--

And then came the Battle of Adaros (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?389321-The-Nightmare-of-SIDE&p=22408570&viewfull=1#post22408570), where six Heroes died (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?389321-The-Nightmare-of-SIDE&p=22562833&viewfull=1#post22562833), Treetop was crippled, and a powerful Prophet had broken the news to Hero Corps (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?389321-The-Nightmare-of-SIDE&p=22606720&viewfull=1#post22606720) about Simon Candler's role in the death of Arcanis (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?359852-In-Dreams-to-Come&p=21895391&viewfull=1#post21895391).

Needless to say, it was a hard day for the Adaros Hero Corps.

--

In the aftermath of the Battle of Adaros, it seemed like things were falling apart entirely. Frostburn, already struggling with trying to manage the duties of Regional Commander, was plagued by doubt in the aftermath, and his leadership slipped precipitously. Many of the Heroes were demoralized to learn that the man they had accepted as their field commander, who had led them to victory against the Ten Wolves, had betrayed Arcanis and all of them, and speculation and rumors grew more bitter with every day that Simon and his team remained missing. If it hadn't been for Sheema's leadership and upbeat attitude, the stalwart defenders of Adaros may have broken altogether. But finally, they got some good news.

Phoenix had returned.

The former leader of Vanguard IV, virtually right-hand to Arcanis, and one of the most renowned Heroes in Adaros, had been killed in ambush by the Ten Wolves. But evidently, her codename wasn't appropriate just because she liked to wear red. Like her namesake, she had risen from the dead, and pretty much immediately strode into Hero Corps and demanded a status report.

She was named Regional Commander within a week.

--

There had been extensive deliberations at the highest levels of SIDE leadership to decide what to do about the Daimon Aimes debacle. IN-SIDE, of course, wanted to keep their secrets close. OUT-SIDE, rightfully furious about being used as a cover for a spying mission on Ilessian soil, insisted that IN-SIDE admit to their misdeeds and deal with the consequences. Both, uh, sides argued long and hard before the Director of SIDE, and the debate might have still been ongoing.

Except that an agent who went by the codename Spectre pieced together the murders.

Over the past few months, there had been a series of...subtly strange happenings. Throughout the country, a couple dozen wealthy, powerful individuals - almost all of them known or suspected to be Dreamers of Nation-class personal power - had done things...slightly out of character. It wasn't anything obvious. In fact, most of the oddities were not things that the public or media noticed so much as occasional notes in tabloids, or wild conspiracy theories, or Truthspeaker ramblings...backed up by the rare, occasional statement of surprise or confusion by their closest friends or nearest family. It wasn't anything that anyone would have cause to be suspicious about.

Unless you were the handler for an agent who was investigating a list of wealthy, powerful Dreamers.

Unless you knew that the list included every person who had been reported as having acted out of character in recent months.

Unless you knew the agent in question was capable of shapeshifting.

Of doing so without Dreamer powers.

And had vanished mysteriously months ago.

Spectre had investigated thoroughly. Had done all necessary due diligence. If she hadn't known how Daimon Aimes worked better than anyone alive, she might never have found any conclusive evidence.

But she did know him that well. So, say you're Daimon. For some reason, you've decided to assassinate and somehow replace members of the Circle of Shared Dreams. Maybe you've somehow acquired their roster. Maybe you're just targeting suspected members. Regardless, you've faked your disappearance, you've been preparing and carrying out these murders for months since then, and you know that the organization you work for will disapprove in the most strenuous possible fashion. What does that mean?

It means you absolutely don't go after any of the ones whose identities you had already previously confirmed to IN-SIDE until you've already worked your way well into the list, and when you do go for them you spread them out so nobody in IN-SIDE notices the pattern.

It gave her only a chance at an opening. It still took her nearly a month of surveillance. And even then, the truth was she got lucky.

But she was in position to catch Daimon - weirdly, still in the guise of Simon Candler - along with four other people she didn't recognize, attack and kill Wynona Jordan, one-star General, a commander at one of Adaros's military bases, and a Nation-class energy controller. Intangible and imperceptible, she captured the entire battle on camera, watching with dawning dread.

One of the people with Daimon shrouded the battle in illusions.

Two of them who looked like they could have been twins worked together to counter Wynona's powers with their own energy commands.

One of them fought with every bit as much martial arts skill as Daimon himself was capable of - and in fact, to Spectre's experienced eye, a nearly identical fighting style.

And Daimon himself, still appearing as Simon Candler, wielded Time itself as a weapon.

When the general had been killed, Daimon caused her body to vanish with a gesture - casting it outside of time and utterly removing even the slightest trace of evidence.

The martial artist took the shape of Wynona Jordan, and went on her way.

Not a single, solitary one of them detected to her SIDE scanners as possessing even the faintest hint of Dreamer powers.

Once she turned the video over to her superiors, it did not take long for the Director of SIDE to reach a decision.

--

When the Director of SIDE requested a meeting with the Commanders of Hero Corps, Phoenix had asked Sheema to come as well. The two had struck up a solid friendship since Phoenix's return, and the new Regional Commander had been deeply impressed by both Sheema's leadership abilities, and her capabilities as a Hero - particularly given her utter lack of Dreamer powers.

In that meeting, the Director had revealed the truth about Simon Candler - or, more accurately, Daimon Aimes. He revealed how he had been installed into Hero Corps to investigate the secretive organization that those who were aware of its existence called the Circle of Shared Dreams. He revealed the evidence suggesting that Arcanis was a member (a claim met with some shock, but not really any surprise by the other Commanders - none of them had any idea that Arcanis was a member of the Circle and most of them hadn't even been aware that the Circle even might theoretically exist, but as Lucid put it, "Really, if Corbin hadn't been a member of at least one secret society, I would have been disappointed.") And he revealed what they knew of how Daimon had received information that led to him making his attack on Arcanis, and given Tara Ellens the opportunity to kill the Archmage - while stressing that this version of events had come from Daimon himself, and so could not necessarily be taken as reliable.

And then, he had ceded the floor to the agent with him, a woman who went by the codename Spectre, who revealed what she had learned of Daimon's activities in recent months, and showed them the video.

Which all meant, depending on who else she had told of her past experiences with the time traveling Heroes, that Sheema may or may not have been the only one in the room capable of making the obvious connection.

Simon Daimon had, evidently, returned to the present immediately after they had originally time travelled to the past, just as he had been supposed to.

...So what had happened to the rest of the Heroes?

--

It was a week later that the answer to that question - or at least, a path to an answer to that question - came to the heroes, in the form of Jenny Cade.

The young Deionist oracle had gone to Hero Corps saying she had a vision for "someone named Spectre" - and figured since that sounded like a codename, it was probably a Hero, or someone the Heroes might know. After a bit of back-and-forth with SIDE, Spectre had been sent down to receive the vision - which indicated that Simon's team would be returning to the present...oddly enough, in a small town in Peral, on the fifth of Decender. Given that they might well have information about Daimon's killing spree, SIDE and Hero Corps requested that Sheema, Spectre, and Summit travel there to meet with them, and either enlist their aid in stopping Daimon, or if they proved to be in collaboration with him, to bring them back to Ilessia to face interrogation and stand trial.

And so, after a trip to Peral aboard a cargo ship (Makhana didn't really, you know, do planes) and perhaps a little detour or two for sightseeing or...other reasons, the group was on approach to the town at more-or-less the appointed time.

...But it seemed like something had beaten them there.

Spectre has joined the party.

--

As it happened, there was another event of perhaps (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480288-Heroes-of-Millaine-IC-2-Coming-Soon-to-a-Theater-Near-You!&p=21902783&viewfull=1#post21902783) some (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480288-Heroes-of-Millaine-IC-2-Coming-Soon-to-a-Theater-Near-You!&p=21919536&viewfull=1#post21919536) modest (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480288-Heroes-of-Millaine-IC-2-Coming-Soon-to-a-Theater-Near-You!&p=21953141&viewfull=1#post21953141) significance (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480288-Heroes-of-Millaine-IC-2-Coming-Soon-to-a-Theater-Near-You!&p=22062216&viewfull=1#post22062216) that occurred on the fifth of Decender.

Mandragora, Gestalt, Josh, and Judy were sent on a buffeting, bruising, bouncing ride through the timestream after Simon released his shockwave. Blue-green light and utter darkness went whipping and whirling chaotically around them. Judy screamed. It took an eternity. It took an instant. It never happened at all.

The three Heroes and one very in-over-her-head artificer did not appear in Lorelei's lab. They appeared in a small, quaint little village that seemed to be in the process of dying a spectacular and messy death. The sky was blood red for maybe a mile in every direction. Giant humanoids with glowing red eyes were running through the streets, smashing buildings and crushing people with every step. Nearish the center of the town there was little more than a charred, devastated crater, a few giant bodies and numerous human ones strewn about...and the Heroes of Millaine standing within, doing battle against...

...Ah. Well. You know, you would think that the words "doing battle against a flipping-I-kid-you-not-Dragon would be, you know, sufficient on their own to get across the scope of the matter at hand. "Dragon" does not generally need any further hype. But this dragon...it wasn't that it was huge. I mean, yes, it absolutely was on a mind-boggling scale, but again, it was a dragon. Being huge is kinda what they do. There was more to it, though. There was a full-scale freaking tornado surrounding the thing, and even as you managed to collect your wits from the disorienting time-travel, the dragon raked at the enormous, whirling water elemental that was the Maelstrom with its claws, causing a deluge of rain to pour over the area, and a bolt of lightning to come flashing down from the crimson clouds, chaining among the Heroes of Millaine.

This was more than a dragon. It was a force of nature.

And projecting an air of utter dismissal towards perhaps the most renowned group of Heroes in Ilessia, it just turned and flew away at breathtaking speeds. The Heroes of Millaine went after it - the Maelstrom evidently getting telekinetically hurled after it, after which the rest of them gathered together and teleported away with no flash or fanfare other than a soft pop, presumably to rejoin the battle. But, uh...

Well, that kinda left this poor, helpless down almost entirely undefended against the horde of rampaging giants.

Unless I mean, I dunno, maybe you guys had something to say about that?

Told you I'd be throwing you pretty much right into the next episode! All fatigue and other conditions from the previous episode is removed. Remember, it's a new adventure so your Hero Points are back at 1, and luck rerolls are reset. Josh and Gestalt still have Mandragora's Triggered Healing on them.

I'll have a map up for ya'll probably tomorrow. For now, feel free to assume there are giants within a move action in more-or-less every direction and you can probably hit at most four in an Area 1, nine in an Area 2, and sixteen in an Area 3. There's a total of 45 APEX giants active on the field, although they might not all focus on you guys, at least not immediately. That being said, they are not Minions.

Sheema and Mandragora, since you two are the ones who have invested the most downtimes in it, you may spend successes from the Working on the Wildling Animal Farm Downtime Action to assist with this battle! The two of you can decide jointly how many total successes you wish to spend. Sheema, you may also spend successes from the Fight a Rhino Win a Prize Downtime Action. For each three successes spent, Sheema and Makhana roll up to town with enough Perallan Beasts backing them up to account for one of the giants themselves, functionally removing them from the field! If either of you still have Downtimes you want to spend adding more successes for this you may; other PCs may not (I mean, they're welcome to spend their Downtimes for farm stuff if they want, but those successes can't be spent here).

Anyone who still has sheet updates and stuff to make, now's the time!

All PCs are on turn.

[manwithaplan]

Everyone overthinks things. Speedsters get to overthink them the most, though, because of the way their brain works. If they are truly masochistic, they can spend 'hours' in each second of their life, turning everything into a patient nightmare. Josh had done it once or twice, when he was desperate to process something to a complete degree. But it was unhealthy - the first time he seriously tried it, he had a breakdown and ran off on the team. Or tried to. And you grew to live without that whole part of your powerset, because it wasn't worth the effect on your mental health. In other words, sooner or later, everybody realises that overthinking things is meaningless. But speedsters, as usual, learn it much faster than everybody else. This was a common sentiment in academia, too: "We will never find out exactly how many thought-hours a speedster can fit into a minute, because their rational minds would not survive the experiment."

So Simon threw everyone for a loop in the middle of the timestream. Then they all landed in the middle of the apocalypse, where the Heroes of Millaine were taking on what was surely the mightiest beast he had ever seen. Finally, they were left on the rank against several dozen monstrosities.

But Josh was a speedster. So he rolled his eyes, he chuckled, and he didn't stop to think about it.

Then he engaged! Through the windows, over the rooftops, and down the streets he ran about, punching down the monsters that looked like they were in the best position to hurt somebody. He kept going to the end of town, and then he...he kept going?!

Back in Ilessia

Zoooooooom!

Josh rumbled right up to the third floor of Cathy Stewart's apartment building and knocked with some restraint on her door.

"Cathy?! CATHY?! I'm totally alive! And I didn't do anything bad this time! But I'm still sorry!"

Standard Action: Huuuuge Area Attack! Flurry of Blows, Selective Burst 3, Power Attack 5.

Giant 1 [roll0] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 2 [roll1] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 3 [roll2] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 4 [roll3] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 5 [roll4] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 6 [roll5] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 7 [roll6] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 8 [roll7] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 9 [roll8] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 10 [roll9] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 11 [roll10] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 12 [roll11] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 13 [roll12] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 14 [roll13] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 15 [roll14] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 16 [roll15] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.

Move Action: Switching my whole Array into Speed and going straight back to Cathy in Adaros.

Status: Triggered Healing ready.

[Born]

Prior to heading through the time portal

Mandragora looked on at the fallen summoner, and felt two very different things. The first was the relief that came with the conflict ending and knowing that Legion would no longer be menacing any timelines or summoning innocents to make into his soldiers. The second... was a little bit of sadness that the summoner had ended up the way that he did. He could have had such a bright future, as evidenced by the Gestalt that Eric knows, if only he had not given in to his obsession. Heck, if he could have been stopped sooner, maybe he even could have been brought back. After all, even the supposed villain who had begun his obsession in the first place had reformed.

What could have triggered such a change? Could it happen to anyone? Why had it become such an obsession in the first place? Surely not just because some earth manipulator was going around doing whatever he wanted. Mandragora thought about it for a few minutes as the conversation carried on around him, then at last said a Deionist prayer for him beneath his breath: "May you find your peace in the realms beyond."

He barely had time to comprehend the conversation regarding Tara's fate before it was the squad's turn to return through the time portal.

--

Back in his normal timeline

It was uncertain whether Mandragora had had any time to think about what had happened with Simon during transit, but he very quickly decided that dealing with the current situation was more important. He had no idea how the Heroes of Millaine of all people were in the same place he was, or why there was Apex everywhere, but those were other things that could be figured out another time. He focused his thoughts on the plant life, and willed it to grow in a protective barrier around the innocents under attack.


Standard: Plant Growth to create a barrier between the Apex giants and their next targets. I don't remember just how large those things are, but Mandragora will be trying to protect as many people with one wall as possible.

[Starsign]

Well this had been quite the five years.

Sheema suspected absolutely nothing when she and Makhana returned to their little farm with Wulther and Aquila. She didn't question the disappearance of Arcanis' staff; she figured there was some sort of time law nonsense that forbid them from keeping it for the rest of their lives.

And of course, the very first thing she did upon returning is sign up for Hero Corps. One could not believe how ecstatic she was when she and Makhana got accepted. And one could not believe how ecstatic Makhana wasn't. Hero work simply never interest her that much. Alas, she was not leaving her effective daughter to work alone. Besides, there's always time for a hero to fight villains.

Sheema was rather a eccentric person to the rest of Hero Corps when she joined. Having a tale about time travel is gonna do that. And telling her story to the then-living Arcanis, while a memorable moment for her, didn't have the impact which she had hoped on him. Her cheerfulness, however, and her ability to lead made her stand out among the heroes. She never... really met the other heroes she knew years back. Instead she formed friendships with heroes she did know, especially Treetop.

It also helped that, among other things, her farm became a gathering place for heroes and a place to relax (the animals didn't mind, honest!). She also struck big with her novel writing after finishing and publishing Leviathan: Titan of the Seas. Something in her creative mind found its potential shining in these pages she wrote and edited. She knew she had a thing going by making it a Peral-focused book that readers in Ilessia could relate to. The fact that someone posted a picture online of Stalwart reading the book left a small chuckle from her.

She would've gotten her next one out by now had... things not happen. Unfortunately the Adaros prison break was one such thing.

---

So it was now that Sheema and Makhana were returning to Peral in what was actually years to meet with the time travelers. Sheema had told Hero Corps from the moment they disappeared that they had traveled back through time, that they were five years in the past during this time, that they should be back at any time. That, uh, clearly was not the case. So now these three other time travelers are gonna be in hot water if they are involved with what transpired while they were in the past.

The Perallan princess has changed over these five years. While her hair is still kept short, her body has been toned athletically over her years of hero work. She's stopped using most of her weapons, preferring mastering her skill with Galadhil like her future self. She also upgraded her typical kevlar armor with a nanofiber version designed by Hero Corps. The armor's futuristic design is more prevalent over her thick cloth clothing. Makhana on the other hand doesn't seem like she's changed a bit. Immortality kinda does that to you.

As she's lived much of her life here, Sheema leads Summit and their new agent to the destination point. "You wouldn't want to travel here without proper boots," she warned, preferring to ride on Makhana and offered the others the same benefit. While serious, Sheema's voice is still cheerful to Summit. It's... less so to Spectre. Sheema has her reservations bringing along an INSIDE agent after what happened with the last one they tucked into Hero Corps. Spectre has a ways before she'll earn Sheema's trust.

It is comfortable being back in Peral. She knew these rainforests well, nevermind how long Makhana has lived here. "We should be there soon," Sheema comments with a small smile. "I've been to this city once way back. I'm hoping it's been thriving. Though there's not much nowadays that can sur...prise..."

Her voice gets cut off as she looks up to the sky and sees that mutated freak of a flying scaly thing causing chaos in the skies. Makhana's rhino face flashes a wild smile. She wants to hit that thing real hard. "Wow, uh, wow. First dragon I've ever seen!" Sheema speaks as her eyes look in awe at the dragon. And here she thought she hyped up dragons too much as mythical beings in her stories.

The cries of help in the near distance propel Sheema to pat her dire rhino's head. "Mom, the town!" Makhana rears her head and charges through the rainforest, groaning slightly that she won't be able to fight the dragon as the group reaches the town under siege by giant monsters.

Boy, they must have missed something important today.

Sheema stares briefly at the massive allotment of giants surrounding the city. "...Alright, time for desperate measures," she claims, looking back at Summit and Spectre. "This'll get a bit rowdy, so hang on!" Strangely, she says this even if they aren't riding on Makhana.

They are about to find out why as Sheema puts her gloved hands to her mouth and gives a loud, distinctive bird-like whistle. Makhana gives a great roar as the dire rhino charges forward with Sheema in tow. The two smash into the giants; Makhana tramples on and through while Sheema causes a massive series of swings of Galadhil all around her.

The two Perallan heroes end up inside the town, conveniently right where Gestalt, Judy and Mandagora are. "Hey! ...Where's that speedster guy?" Her reaction is perhaps not the warm welcome they had hoped from the young woman now five years older. Makhana's glare to them is equally cold, even to Judy. The two had warmed up to each other way back. Suddenly it seems like that development withered away.

Big post here!

We're definitely gonna use those downtimes to rally some of the beasts against the giants. We'll handle that in the OOC with Born. :smallsmile:

Makhana will attack first. She will be going after four of the giants Josh attacked. She'll be using Dire Trample with Rhino Charge. Due to being giants I'm gonna assume that they're heavy Toughness-shifted, so she will Power Attack +3/-3. DC 30 Toughness across a Cloud Area 2. Gonna make the rolls:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

Sheema will also use Frenzied Fighter with Galadhil, using her Move Action to move alongside Makhana (since she's riding Makhana).
She'll Power Attack +5/-5 here. DC 28 Toughness + Multiattack across a Cloud Area... Yeah that's her best area ability without Takedown.

[roll4]
[roll5]

[Dorni]

The young woman floating beside the former Perallan Princess seemed more amused than offended by the latter's open lack of trust. Trust would be appreciated and would make their job easier, but it wasn't required. They were here for a mission - not a girls night out. If it helped her, it suited Spectre just fine if Sheema didn't trust her as long as she trusted Spectre's loyalty to the mission.

As for the last INSIDE agent in Hero Corps, he'd fulfilled his duties as a Hero admirably. Saved dozens or hundreds of people. Lead arguably the top Hero team in the city. Trained dozens of other Heros and recruited no small number. Organized the chapter into the arguably the most effect pound-for-pound Hero Corps chapter in the country. Ably managed an Apex monster outbreak in the middle of a major city. Directed the wholesale dismantling and uprooting of a feared, deeply entrenched crime syndicate. The Adaros underworld was so intimidated that the city's stubbornly high crime rate had seen a marked and measurable drop. If anything, the Heros of Adaros needed more contact with INSIDE, Spectre had finished explaining with the most polite and agreeable smile.

Spectre paid Sheema's reminiscing half a mind as they neared the town and half kept a watch on the surrounds. Why were the time travelers appearing here an now? Nothing against Peral, but this was a no-name town half a world away from Adaros. It was possible that the time travelers were appearing here by chance, but in Spectre's line of work one didn't trust coincidence too heavily.

The sight of the dragon ravaging the town also ravaged Spectre's faith that the time travellers appearing here and now was a coincidence. Spectre stared in shock. The dragon was awe-inspiring. A terrible, destructive force of nature... but still awe-inspiring. And almost certainly why the time travelers were appearing now. But was it because the time travelers were key to stopping the dragon? Or were they supposed to be casualties?

Spectre shook off the thought. She needed to save them, or her best lead went up in smoke. And save the town, if they could.

"I've got your back. We need to find them!" She shouted back to Sheema.

Spectre raced after the rhino while gaining some altitude for a better view of the town. She drew her combat knife as she soared and scanned the town. There they were. And Sheema was right on course.

Spectre dropped back to the ground to shadow the rhino, darting between several giants and delivering precise, lighting quick slashes as she flew by.

"Hun, he's Josh Miles, the Fastest Man Alive. He's probably already back in Adaros. Give him a second or two and he'll be back. I've half a mind to ask him to grab a coffee on his next trip. Do you want one too? I'll buy."

Free: Activate Combat Incorporeality, Set Spectre Movement to Ghostly Glide
Move: Enter the town
Standard: Attack giants with Bounding Assault. Rolls in the OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23754670&postcount=1359).

Status: Deflected at 1d10+22

[DukeGod]

Gestalt was surprised with Simon's actions...betrayed? Just like that? So in the end, he had changed nothing from where he first started had he...

Still, that was for their confrontation. For now, it seemed they had actual problems to deal with. Civilians in danger.

Still riding a high from the revelation that yes it was over. The Master's story was done and his world gone. The future was his again, he prepares to charge into the fray, summoning his oldest friend to help

The red scaled wyvern appears in the middle of Peral, reducing a couple of things to ashes...before riding in his master's sensations and giving a very happy grin...

That looks rather scary on a dragon actually

I'm making sheet modifications

So. Move and Standard; Summon Cinder Two

I'm so glad my first turn is often simple

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 1

For a moment, the poor people of this tiny Perallan village wondered what they had done to so anger their ancestors. As if the most horrifying Beast in either modern record or ancient Myth was not enough, as if the raising of scores of their neighbors and friends into gargantuan abominations was not enough, now they had a small army of Beasts rushing on their village? Seriously, what could possibly be next!?

(Actually, judging by historical precedent, the answer was probably "an APEX meteor", but I suppose let's not go there.)

But then...it was like something out of stories. The Beasts did not join the giants in ravaging the village. No, quite the contrary. They crashed down upon the APEX giants like the vengeance of Peral itself. A howling, roaring, shrieking horde of fur and fang, of horn and hide, of scale and stinger, the smallest of them easily thrice the size of any similar animal from elsewhere on the world, tore into the giants like a tidal wave.

And look, it wasn't like APEX was anything less than a massive power boost. The giants punched and smashed and wrestled the behemoths of Peral and they gave as good as they got. Had it been a straight fight, APEX monster against Perallan Beast, they might even have won.

This was was no ordinary rural village. This was a Perallan village. In a frontier town like this, on a continent where giant Beasts roamed, there was not a single solitary adult who couldn't fight to defend his or her homeland with ferocity. As the animals assailed the giants, rout turned almost immediately to charge as the people of Peral struck back. With sturdy rifles and shotguns, lovingly-crafted bows and spears, razor-sharp knives, or where they had to, nothing but sticks, stones, and their own bare fists, the people of Peral entered a battle of giants. Individually, their attacks were trivial. Even collectively, they would have been lucky to bring down half a dozen of the giants in total, if they fought to the last.

But when the people and the Beasts of Peral teamed up to defend their continent, no matter how numerous, how powerful, how technologically advanced their foes had been, there had only always and ever been one historical constant:

For the enemies of Peral, it did not go swimmingly.

There were, in fact, two constants to Peral's history of fending off invaders. It was a truth lost to the lifeless histories of paper and screen, but kept alive over the centuries mouth-to-ear, in ancient Keeper tradition. Few knew their names. Almost none knew the full scope of their deeds. But the living memory of Peral knew: every time an outside force had invaded the Great Continent, the Beasts of Peral had joined its people in their defense.

And every time, the Beasts were led by a living Legend.

After Sheema and Makhana brought a "few friends" to the party, there were really only about eight giants still on the field who remained more-or-less unengaged.

Josh went ahead and punched all of them. And an equal number of their embattled buddies, while he was at it. Because you know, Josh and all. Most of the giants weathered his blows well enough, but one of them I dunno I guess he just kept coming back to, considering his work, and hitting again before going back off or something. It crashed unceremoniously to the ground.

Josh was in Ilessia before you could hear the thump.

Mandragora raised a wall, cutting off the nearest cluster of giants from joining their embattled brethren and attacking the Perallan civilians without Beasts to guard them.

Sheema and Makhana and a-smashing and a-stabbing through a quartet of giants. With their sheer size and strength, the giants help up fairly well against Makhana's assault, but Sheema's was another matter.

The humble spear was still widely considered one of the most important weapons on Peral. Oh, sure, it lacked the range and penetrating power of a gun, but against Beast-scale opponents, guns only did so much. Many Beasts could shrug off all but the largest of rounds, and more than a few could close from a gun's maximum effective range to face-chewing distance as fast as a skilled marksman could reload. But once a Beast was in close, a spear offered reach, it offered leverage, and most importantly, it offered a long enough haft and a sharp enough tip to set against a charge. A Beast may have been tremendously physically powerful, and may have had a certain amount of professional disdain for the laws of physics (not nearly as much as Dreamers, but still), but they were still at the end of the day creatures of flesh and blood. When you took that kind of mass and power, and rammed it into a well-placed spear, it was going to cause some serious damage.

And the whole equation only became so much worse when the spear in question was completely indestructible.

Spectre ghosted in after the Perallans, laying into the giants with her deadly knife. Big as they were, the giants were still fundamentally human; Spectre laid open some serious wounds, the worst of which a severed artery that sent blood gushing like a fire host from one of the giants' legs, an injury only more severe for such a large creature.

And then, because we haven't had enough dragon, Cinder 2 entered the fray!

Deeming the cluster of giants well in hand, Summit approached the nearest one at a steady walk. With every step, he conjured and hurled a piece of earth its way; crushing boulders, piercing stalactites, shearing shards of shale. He pounded at its defenses with a brute force bombardment that left it holding its arms up to protect its face as best it could.

And then there was Judy. The mighty artificer had been whisked through time, facing peril and adventure at every turn! She had stared down some of the most powerful villains in Ilessia! This was not the Judy of old, but a more savvy, more experienced Judy! She knew what role her mighty technology could best play in such a battle as this!

She turned invisible. Because all that experience had helpfully told her that giant superpowered monsters are scary and dangerous and sensible people should try to draw as little attention from them as possible!

So, you know, I suppose that makes her the most sane person in this entire village. Well done, Judy.

But the APEX-fueled giants weren't going to let a few scratches, bruises, and horrible gaping, bleeding wounds stop them! Two of the giants went for Spectre with the instinctive coordination of pack hunters, lunging in to grapple and rend her, while the other two came at Sheema and Makhana with huge fists swinging! The sole unwounded giant leaped into the fray against Gestalt, Mandragora, and Cinder 2, coming down with such force that it sent powerful shockwaves rolling over the three of them. The giant facing Summit reeled back to try and punt him from the field. The final giant...mainly seemed to be looking around to find whatever had hit it!

Judy:
Free: Swap to and activate Cloaking Device.
Move: Obscure position/take cover.
Standard: Defend.

Giant 1:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Sheema with Crushing Blow at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27/22 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness, Strength or Dodge DC 22 vs. Fast Grab. Miss

Giant 2:
Move: Staggered.
Free: Swap to Pack Tactics.
Standard: Aid Giant 3 against Spectre at [roll1]. Yeah only way it could have failed was a 1, Aid is easy.
Reaction: Pack Tactics triggers. Perception-Close attack. Spectre roll Will DC 19 vs. Vulnerable/Defenseless against Giant 3 only. This attack has Instant Recovery.

Giant 3:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Spectre with Crushing Blow at [roll2] after Aid, Deflected at [roll3] minus any penalties from Pack Tactics. On a hit, Toughness DC 27/22 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness, Strength or Dodge DC 22 vs. Fast Grab. Crit immunity is a glorious thing.
Still hits though.

Giant 4:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Makhana with Crushing Blow at [roll4]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27/22 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness, Strength or Dodge DC 22 vs. Fast Grab. Hit

Giant 5:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Summit with Heavy Slam at [roll5]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27 vs. Damage, Strength DC 16 after Half Immunity or be sent flying Distance Rank 10. Miss

Giant 6:
Move: Into AB21.
Standard: Shockwave Strike. Mandragora, Gestalt, and Cinder 2, give me Dodge DC 19 for half, Toughness DC 24/19 vs. Damage and Fortitude DC 19/14 vs. Vulnerable/Stunned.

Giant 7:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Ready an action.

All PCs are on turn.

Josh

In Peral, it was a bright and sunny day, dragon-weather notwithstanding.

In Ilessia, it was kinda the middle of the night (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480288-Heroes-of-Millaine-IC-2-Coming-Soon-to-a-Theater-Near-You!&p=21902783&viewfull=1#post21902783).

Jolted awake from a sound sleep by the sudden and surprising return of her months-missing boyfriend, Cathy of course immediately responded in the way that anyone would!

"Bluh-whuh...?"

EPIC ROMANCE!

[manwithaplan]

Ilessia

He shook his head.

"It's Josh! I was in a different time zone, I mean, timeline, I mean...I'm also in a different time zone. Hang on, I'll be right back."

Peral

"Ceiling fan!"

There was a loud crash and bang as Miles shoved what looked like several metallic fanblades into the back of one of the remaining monsters. He was back, and he announced it with punches and kicks and tackles. His route around town finished on top of a flaming house, a perch adjacent to Makhana and Sheema. His eyes were locked, however, on Spectre.

"Hey. You SIDE? Where's Simon?"

There was what looked like several recent news printouts, crumpled and stashed in his belt. The roaring flames drew closer to him across the rooftop, but before they could reach, Josh winced and turned his molecules insubstantial with that typical red glow.

Move Action: To AN22.
Standard Action: Flurry of Blows on all fools with All-Out Power Attack 5.

Not sure if I can hit everybody but I will put a roll in for all of them just in case.

Giant 1 Attack [roll0] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 2 Attack [roll1] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 3 Attack [roll2] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 4 Attack [roll3] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 5 Attack [roll4] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 6 Attack [roll5] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
Giant 7 Attack [roll6] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.

Free Action: Go Insubstantial, if that's okay. :smallwink:

Status: In Peral, -5 Defences this round, Insubstantial.

[Dorni]

"That's actually my question for you. Your farmer friend here says all of you have been time travelling with Simon." Spectre answered, her tone conveying her not-quite-disbelief-but-not-quite-belief-either. "Which means you're technically the last ones to see him, and both I and SIDE have questions for you."

She paid the giants rushing her only half a mind. They were threatening, certainly, but seeing an APEX-breathing dragon that dwarfed a skyscraper in the eye of both a cyclone and sentient whirlpool under a blood-red sky had a way of resetting one's view of the world. Compared to that, the giants were merely unpleasant. That, and while the veritable circus that Sheema had brought with her had made for an uncomfortable trip, they were making short work of the giants.

As things stood it was possible to contain the rest of the giant outbreak and save these villagers. Securing the time-travellers came first, but they probably didn't pose a flight risk. If they had, they wouldn't be fighting right now. If their reputations were correct, helping them protect the villagers would be a good way to make a good first impression and gain their cooperation. Her gaze lingered on the villagers, fighting for their lives and homes with whatever makeshift weapons they had on hand while a terrified kids huddled. Helping them was the right call.

It was at that moment of inattention that cost Spectre. When the pair of giants rushed her, she mis-timed her phase. Not by much, but enough for one of the giants to briefly grab her in his huge fist. However, she hadn't reached her position by being a glorified go-between for field agents. She reacted instantly by finishing her shift and gliding right out of the giant's hand before he could follow up his lucky grab. She followed it up by flickering between the nearest giants and continuing her onslaught of quick, precise slashes.

"But how about we save these people first? We can settle this after."

Standard: Attack with Bounding Assault, AoA/PA 5. On hit, DC 30 Toughness vs Damage.
Giant 1: [roll0]
Giant 2: [roll1]
Giant 3: [roll2]
Free: Change main array to Full Spectre
Move: To AI17

Status: -5 Defenses, Incorporeal

[Starsign]

Look at them all!

Even in the heat of battle, Sheema took a moment to watch the incredible horde of beasts rush in at her call. She'd never seen the sheer amount of them together, much less fighting alongside the people of the village. It's like a story out of Perallan legends, how a living Legend led the beasts and people to fight back together against invading enemies and monsters.

...Wait. A living Legend uniting beast and human against enemies?

...

...

Nah, it couldn't be... Could it?

There isn't any time to think about it as Sheema leaps off and rolls across the ground to avoid one of the giant's large fists. Getting hit by that would probably hurt a bit. Another one of the remaining giants slams its leg down between the two, separating the princess and her dire rhino. Not that Sheema's worried; Mom knows her way out of these messes.

It's probably for the best that Sheema couldn't see, as one of the other giants slammed and knocked over and bound the dire rhino with its impressive strength. Now Makhana has no experience fighting APEX-radiated creatures but in front of a lot of beasts, she has no excuse for being this clumsy.

On the other hand, fighting in Peral is always a fun challenge. It'd be lame if they couldn't hit hard enough!

As far as strategies go, Sheema keeps her current course, now darting through and between the giants' legs on her own feet, striking and stabbing at the giants with Galadhil. Almost coincidentally she passed over Makhana without catching eye on the dire rhino's plan. A mutual bond can mean a lot.

In this case, it means Sheema should stay back as the dire rhino gets to her knees under the giant's fist. Makhana lifts her front hooves and smashes them into the ground. A shockwave emerges, quaking the ground and threatening to bring the giants surrounding her to their knees!

Alrighty! Sheema will use Frenzied Fighter, run away from Makhana, and attack Giant 1 and 2. I believe this also causes the cloud effect from last turn to go off, so they have to roll for last round as well. Power Attack +5/-5. DC 28+Multiattack Toughness on hit:
Giant 1: [roll0]
Giant 2: [roll1]

Makhana will use Shockwave Stomp with Sheema hopefully away from the Burst Area. This should hit Giants 1 through 4. Makhana has Deflect 8 (Secondary Effect, Reduced Range [Close]); Concealment 4 (All Visual Senses), Enhanced Advantages 2 (Evasion 2) for this turn. DC 27 Toughness for all four giants.

[Born]

The vine man almost wouldn't have recognized Sheema charging onto the scene if it weren't for two very important and obvious things. One was the spear that she had made a clear point of bringing with her after disarming its previous owner. The second (and more important) was the massive dire rhino she came charging in on. Mandragora had seen other dire rhinos in documentaries before having met Makhana, but even if not for the size difference, there was no mistaking any other dire rhino for the majesty presented by the queen of rhinos.

Before he could call out, though, Mandragora was forced to take evasive maneuvers by launching himself out of the path of one of the giants' shockwaves. Thankfully, he managed to catch only the spray of rocks, dirt, and uprooted plants at its edge. He then planted himself in place, and called out "Sheema, Aquila," as he flung his vines at several of the nearby giants, "I'm glad to see you again, but when are we?"


Favored Environment: +2 circumstance is going toward attacks this round.
Move: To AG20.
Standard: Use multiattack to Vine Lash giants 1, 2, 3, and 6. All-out attack 2, power attack 3. On a hit DC 29 Toughness vs. damage, and DC 24/21 Strength/Dodge vs. grab.
Giant 1: [roll0]
Giant 2: [roll1]
Giant 3: [roll2]
Giant 6: [roll3]

[DukeGod]

Well this was a problem. Now that he thought better about it, the jungle was no place for Cinder Two really.

Might aswell make the best of it. So he couldn't order him to breath fire, well he still had a lot of dragon muscle

So, uncaring of the trees in his way, Cinder Two picks out the closest target, conveniently arranged in front of him, and takes him for a ride through breaking trees

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 2

WHUMP!

WHAM!

THUD!

In less time than the telling would take, three more giants went down under a barrage of punches and kicks, slashes and stabs, crushing vines and...ceiling fans? Huh. Two more were badly injured, and one of those then had the misfortune of taking a wyvern to the midsection. With four-fifths of the giants engaged by Perallan Beasts, half of the remaining incapacitated, and half of the rest badly hurt, this battle was looking well in hand! This day could pretty much be written off as saved!

...Until a well flooded over.

You'd think that giant elementals would be kinda hard to tell apart, but while the water elemental that Darryll had summoned in the future had been a roughly-humanoid form composed of water...this was more like a monsoon that had learned how to hate. A roiling, frothing waterspout towering over a hundred feet tall, with five writhing tributaries whipping around it like tentacles. All along its mass, the foaming water briefly formed dozens of human faces, appearing and disappearing. They howled, snarled, and cackled silently in the brief seconds before they vanished.

The monster roared like a storm at sea...and fixed its attention on Cinder 2.

"Good! I'll kill my own dragon!" it snarled, three of its tributaries reaching out to grasp the wyvern, heave it into the air, and slam it back down upon Gestalt and Mandragora, two more simultaneously lunging towards Makhana. If they managed to grab her, they would dangle her briefly before the giant elemental, before it casually said, "Huh," and tossed her aside - unfortunately, into the same general vicinity as Sheema.

The giants roared in joyous fury and attacked with renewed vigor, two of them getting on either side of Aquila and trying to stamp him to rubble, while the other two charged and swung at the incorporeal Josh and Spectre with...well, with all the tactical acumen that APEX creatures are known for.

So. Historically speaking, the Demi-Maelstrom AKA Copycat After He Done Got Controlled+Transformed By The APEX Dragon's Breath went on to slaughter thousands of people. Now, ya'll are PCs. You should know by now that I'm not one to arbitrarily preclude PC actions. I play fair. By which I mean I cheat without hesitation, but hey I pay you for the privilege in Hero Points so it's all good!

If you guys actually took the Demi-Maelstrom out here, it would kinda make a mess of another game's continuity, so of course I have a vested interest in that not happening. You may, thus, expect that I will Fiat especially freely to make sure that doesn't happen, and get him out of here once he's been beaten down badly enough. What this means for you guys is, the Demi-Maelstrom is basically a pinata full of Hero Points! Only, you know, one that will fight back with devastating APEX-fueled hydrokinesis. But close enough.

Now, while preventing the Demi-Maelstrom's rampage might make a mess of continuity, the actual details of it...eh. If the Demi-Maelstrom slaughters thousands of people, does it really matter to history if it was 5,000 or 10,000? Not so much. You know how it is. Numbers get exaggerated, the news media reports before they've fact checked their sources, initial estimates get repeated over and over on social media until they become accepted as fact, etc.

So, if you guys can chase the Demi-Maelstrom off in three or fewer rounds (i.e. he leaves on or before my Round 5 post), the beat-down you give him will prove hampering enough to halve his official kill count, saving thousands of lives. If you somehow force him to flee on his next turn (look you guys two-turned Legion I put nothing past you), it will quarter his official kill count.

Don't forget, the giants are still in play! Enemies who don't feel sufficiently engaged may take their wrath out on civilians instead!

Also, for those keeping score at home, the Demi-Maelstrom is under a the Transformed condition from an APEX effect; he is not using the exact PC stats of Copycat with his Maelstrom powers.

With that all said!

The Demi-Maelstrom:
Move: Arrive using Follow the Current.
Free: Swap to Maelstrom Fling.
Standard: Attack Cinder 2 with Maelstrom Fling at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 31 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 26 vs. Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless, Strength DC 26 or be thrown at Gestalt and Mandragora. The Affliction is Contagious, so if they get hit they also take Toughness DC 31 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 26 vs. Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless. ...Wow Cinder 2 has a Parry of -3? Uh, hit.
Gestalt: [roll1]. Hit if Cinder 2 fails Strength
Mandragora: [roll2]. Hit if Cinder 2 fails Strength
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Attack Makhana with Maelstrom Fling at [roll3]. On a hit, same as above. If thrown, he throws Makhana at Sheema at [roll4]. The Demi-Maelstrom buys off the Fatigue; Sheema take a :smallcool: Hero Point. Miss since Makhana's got some defensive buffs up

Giant 5:
Move: Attempt to Demoralize Summit at [roll5] vs. [roll6]. Impaired this round
Free: Swap to Pack Tactics.
Standard: Aid Giant 7's attack on Summit at [roll7]. +5
Reaction: Pack Tactics triggers. Summit rolls Will ([roll8]) DC 19 vs. being Vulnerable/Defenseless against Giant 7's attack. Resists

Giant 7:
Move: Into U4.
Standard: Attack Summit with Crushing Blow at [roll9] unless the Aid botches. On a hit, Toughness ([roll10]) DC 27/22 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Staggered and -7 PP of Toughness (-4 Toughness -3 Impervious) after Impaired unless Grim wishes to reroll.

Giants 4 and 6:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Charge Spectre and Josh. Miss because they're incorporeal. -5 Intellect will do that to ya sometimes.

All PCs are on turn.

[manwithaplan]

"It's Lurday!"

After having another one-sided boxing match with every giant on the field, Josh checked on Gestalt and Mandragora just in time to hear the latter ask his question.

"Um, fifth Decender. We missed a few months. Simon's gone, SIDE knew we were gonna be here, so they came to question us about him. Call out if you need help, I'm gonna keep going-"

Then he was up in the air, engaging the Demi-Maelstrom by throwing a spinning kick into what looked like its centre of mass. And then he did that a dozen more times before leaping away, perching himself atop another house.

"Who are you meant to be?"

Move Action: Move to AF15.
Standard Action: Punch all bad guys! Defensive Attack 2, Power Attack 5.

Giant 4 [roll0] for DC 26+Multiattack Toughness damage.
Giant 5 [roll1] for DC 26+Multiattack Toughness damage.
Giant 6 [roll2] for DC 26+Multiattack Toughness damage.
Giant 7 [roll3] for DC 26+Multiattack Toughness damage.

Demi-Maelstrom [roll4] for DC 26+Multiattack Toughness damage.

Move-By Action: Switch to maximum Speed and land in S17.

Status: +2 Defence this turn.

[Starsign]

Sheema was hoping that this would be a quick, "wrap-up-and-go-home" kinda deal. In truth, she really had little understanding of why there are giant... er, giant-er creatures in Peral. So it comes as a surprise that there's a giant watery abomination that charges forth into the town with some unfortunate semblance of sentience as it begins attacking the group.

"Oh spirits, where did this thing come from?" Her voice, along with her expression, is a mix of surprise reaching closer to dumbfounded denial. After all's said and done today, she's gonna need an explanation on how some water beast found its way into Peral.

...Hey, wait, this might be good inspiration for her next book!

Not losing her attention from the giants, Sheema waves over to Makhana and points her at the two remaining giants in the distance. The Perallan princess gives a quick twirl of Galadhil before dashing through the remaining giant near her. It can't have much left in it and she would prefer the giants gone while this watery beast isn't trying to drown every single person in town. So a rapid fury of slashes and strikes should hopefully down it in an instant.

Makhana, following Sheema's cue, charges over to the remaining two giants tragically cluttered together. Not to let her harm her allies, the dire rhino picks and tosses Summit quickly in the air before slamming her hooves down to create a brutal shockwave!

Sheema will use Mark Prey on Giant 6. She'll Power Attack +5/-5 again. She may EE to take it down it if needed. DC 28 Toughness+Multiattack and DC 23 Will+Multiattack vs Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless, Extra Condition:
[roll0] That's a crit!

Makhana will charge forth to Giants 5 and 7 and will use Shockwave Stomp with Rhino Charge. Gonna be Selective so none of the PCs or (preferably) houses get damaged by it. DC 27 Burst Area with Deflect 8, Concealment 4 and Evasion 2 on the giants.

[Starsign]

Ending her rush of attacks on the giant, leaving a streak of slash marks on its feet, Sheema plants Galadhil's tip down into the ground next to a house, heaves herself up to the blunt tip, rests one of her feet comfortably on it, then leaps up and grabs the edge of the roof, climbing onto it with general ease.

All the world's like a jungle when you live in Peral long enough.

"Hey!" she waves over, approaching Josh. "Thanks for helping." Her voice and tone have lightened since entering the village. She really shouldn't have doubted the three time travelers. It's a genuine relief to see that they're still the same as she knew them five years ago.

She rests in a perching position similar to Josh, looking at at the big watery creature. "Jenny said the three of you would be here. I kinda wish she knew about that... thing..." Where in the world did this Maelstrom come from anyway?

A thought crosses her mind. She had something she wanted to say to the time travelers for a very long time. No better time than now. "Oh, right. I'm... glad we didn't take those two back." She's embarrassed to say their names out loud. If she could go back five years, she would have strangled her younger self for trusting Tara. What was Sheema thinking?!

[manwithaplan]

"Hey, how ya doin'?" Josh addressed Sheema coolly, never taking his eyes off the monster.

"Oh yeah, that thing from a few minutes ago? No big deal. How is Jenny, anyway? It's been a while."

[Starsign]

Happy to answer the easier question, Sheema replies with a chirpy, "I joined Hero Corps once we got back." She always did say she'd join as soon as she can. She wouldn't have been able to if they never saved her dad. "So I guess you could call me your senior now," she chuckles playfully. "Had time to write too. My new book kinda took off. I've been getting letters to write a sequel already." She doesn't see her writing as much more than a hobby when she's not busy with hero work or the animal farm. Funny how much she can get out of a hobby.

Her black-skinned smile slips to a frown, looking on at the big monster, as she begins talking about Jenny. "She's doing fine," Sheema responds uncharacteristically plainly. "She's just like the rest of us. We're all hanging in there since the funerals and-"

She cuts herself off, a visible shiver goes down her spine. This isn't an easy part to talk about. "You three missed a lot these past few months. Do you want me to start at any particular place? Or do you wanna hear it once we've wrapped this water elemental up?"

[Born]

When the well exploded into a storm of dampness and fury, Mandragora couldn't help but be reminded of the story of Ezethel and the Tempest, a tale often told in Deionist temples as a prime example of Chaos gone too far. The way that thing moved, Eric feared his vines wouldn't be able to hold it. So for now, he focused on finishing off the remaining giants.


Favored Environment: +2 circumstance is going toward attacks this round.
Move: To AC13 (which looks to have cover from the maelstrom).
Standard: Vine Lash the remaining three giants, using multiattack to hit all of them. Power Attack 2. On a hit, DC 28 Toughness versus damage and DC 23/21 Strength/Dodge versus grab.
Giant 5: [roll0] Huh, fairly uniformly
Giant 6: [roll1] craptastic
Giant 7: [roll2] rolls

[Dorni]

"Oh no, lets catch up now!" Spectre called, getting in on the chatty mood. The tone didn't match the efficiency with which she continued to dart and strike the monsters at all. "It'll be great! We can catch up on all the latest gossip while this entire town burns to the ground and monsters run wild! Although maybe this thing can put out the fires."

With the sudden appearance of the water monster spectre broke off from the giants and wheeled towards it. Whatever this thing was, if it could toss Cinder 2 and Makhana around like ragdolls it was capable of a lot more damage than the giants if left to run wild. While it was the opposite of what she normally did, she could also be pretty good at occupying the bad guy's attention when she needed to be. She ghosted in circles around the watery beast, slashing at any face that took shape while she looked for a way to kill this sea monster.

Even as she worked, she called to the nearby Josh, "You Heros didn't bring this thing back with you from whatever time you were in, did you?"

Move: To Q28
Standard: Attack with Piercing Thrust. Attack [roll0]. On hit, DC 25 + Multi Dodge vs Damage.

Deflected at 1d10+22

[Grim ranger]

The years after the entire time travel fiasco had been...troubling for Aquila. Of course he was no longer in situation where he was about to be torn to shreds by time-traveling madman, but apart from lessening immediate danger he had not really managed to solve his longstanding issues.

Having kept in mind his promise to his alternate self, Aquila had taken time to try to persuade his earnest if misguided followers to change their focus to one less focused on destroying civilization as they knew it. It had been difficult, doubly so as he really had not had much in way of anyone to advice him on how to approach the entire matter, and as a result had simply been forced to take the time to try and get to know them before trying to show them a way less focused on combating the inevitable march of civilization. The talks with his champion had been doubly difficult, but he had made sure to make the time for them. Although some might have called it foolish way to approach the entire matter, Aquila had made it fairly clear to SIDE that he would have such discussions with her, either in visiting room or in ruined heap of whatever building she was contained in.

He had gotten those visitation rights fairly fast, even where expedited bureaucracy was concerned.

Slowly but surely, his focus had shifted out to finding the other elemental "royalty", knowing they were too powerful for anyone to simply leave be. Heroes he had been formerly fairly interested in took a backseat, and with the existence of his power-related life simply exploding in importance after they were finally returned back in time...well, most people might have dropped their studies for less. Focusing more on mending at least measure of fences with his family after keeping the secret from them for quite some time, Aquila had several somewhat uncomfortable discussions with some of the few people he truly cared about, eventually accepting a measure of compromise of tentatively working with SIDE when it came to superpowered activities. Letting a teenager run around with city-shaking power was obviously not something that the authorities would have been willing to ignore, and while he was not enthused about the publicity or taking orders, the matter did allow him to at least seek out his fellow elementalists.

One thing had led to another, and he had eventually become somewhat more accepting of SIDE, even if never above simply noting he could leave any time he wished were someone to sufficiently annoy him. And as for the rest of the events of the passing years-

A flurry of strikes from gigantic enemies snapped him out of contemplation, Summit felt himself lean back somewhat, startled...by the roaring of the massive beings, his eardrums thoroughly abused by now.

"Does nobody have courtesy to let a man finish his damn THOUGHT anymore?!" the earthen cape yelled out in bit shaken annoyance, walls of rock having popped up from the earth for brief seconds to protect him. "And you all have some nerve just showing up like this again. It has been overdue for some time, so after this we all need to have a talk!"

His earthly mantle sending roots of his presence through the surrounding soil, Summit raised his hand hastily at one of the pair of giants assailing him from both sides, directing pillars of earth to strike at the thing. Not stopping there, the controlled earth spread out from the newly created foundations, forming first a wall before looping in protective dome of earth over Summit to help avoid further attacks. A modest measure of protection against something as powerful as these gigantic brutes, but it did allow him to attack simultaneously.

While his technique might not have been developing too much throughout the years, certain things had certain ageless proof of guarantee. And it was hard to get more ageless than a rock to the face.

Attacking Giant 7 with Ramparts and forming a protective dome around Summit with the full power of Create 12 that comes with it.

[roll0] (Ramparts attack with penalty for Impaired.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 3

Josh Miles punched Copycat in the face!

Err, also some giants. Sorry. There are some lines that as a GM you just look forward to writing. Moving on!

Sheema lunged in, plunging the mighty Galadhil into the remaining nearby giant. Skewered from below, the giant wavered and collapsed. Makhana, meanwhile, charged through the town like a bull in a chinashop!

(No, seriously, I saw it on Mythbusters, they just kinda moved through the aisles without touching like anything. It was practically dainty.)

She went smashing and stomping past the two giants battle Aquila. As before, where Sheema's agility and precision allowed her to strike the giants in ways they were poorly equipped to defend against, they were better able to stand up to Makhana's brute force. Although she still left one of them battered - APEX-irradiated or not, this is still the Matriarch of the Rhinos they're dealing with.

Mandragora lashed out with his vines, but as effective as they were against even superpowerfully opponents of human size, the sheer size and strength of the APEX giants allowed them to slap them aside with relative ease.

Spectre lashed out at the Demi-Maelstrom, but while hitting the living seastorm was trivial, it was still made of water. Spectre's blade passed through it harmlessly. She could feel a certain resistance, a sort of surface tension taken up several notches holding the thing together, so it presumably could be damaged by physical attacks, but its fluid form still just kinda flowed around her blows rather than resisting them directly.

The APEX giant met Aquila's pillars of earth strength to strength and smashed them aside - but though the attack was foiled, it gave the terrakinetic all the time he needed to shield himself with a barrier of solid earth.

Gestalt focused his power, charging it through his bond to his summon, and Cinder 2 unleashed an inferno from his mouth, setting one of the giants battling Aquila alight and searing the other badly.

The two giants still standing struck back with mindless fury, heedless of their wounds. One smashed its fist into Aquila's barrier. The other lashed out with a powerful kick into the dust cloud obscuring Makhana to try to drive the rhino back.

The Demi-Maelstrom, its watery form sealing over the "injury" Josh had inflicted like it was filling a bucket, reached up with its tendrils, towards the sky, towards the clouds. And in a tremendous feat of raw hydrokinesis, roaring in gleeful fury, it brought it crashing down like a liquid comet upon the greatest mass of targets in range - hero and giant alike! Driven by the rage of APEX and the pride of the upstart challenger, it cared nothing of friend or foe, but only that it could show its dominance of the field!

Giant 5:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Makahana with Heavy Slam at [roll0] after Total Concealment, Deflected at [roll1]. Amusingly it does have Precise Attack, but for Cover, not Concealment. On the off chance it hits, Toughness DC 27 vs. Damage, Strength DC 22 or...well, be knocked back like a square, really. Natural 20 auto-hits, Deflect negates the crit.

Giant 7:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Aquila with Crushing Blow at [roll2]. On a hit, first the barrier rolls Toughness DC 27/22 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. If it fails by two degrees or more, Aquila does the same, otherwise the barrier blocks the blow (taking a Bruise and maybe some Weaken if it fails by one degree). Hit

The Demi-Maelstrom:
Move: Attempt to Demoralize Spectre at [roll3].
Standard: Water Control a cloud and throw the entire flipping thing at pretty much everyone in the north-western quadrant of the map. Perception-range area attack. Everyone but Spectre and Sheema, give me Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage. Summit, as long as your barrier didn't fail the above by three degrees, it rolls first for this as well.
Giant 5: [roll4]. Bruised
Giant 7: [roll5]. Bruised and Staggered
End of Turn: Regenerates a Bruise.

All PCs are on turn.

[manwithaplan]

Josh furrowed his brow.

"Do people still send letters? Isn't that a little-"

Wham!

...Okay, he was down. Unconscious on the roof, with water spilling out of his open mouth.

[Dorni]

While the Demi-Maelstrom was an incredible force and rightfully was a terrifying creature of awe, Spectre was still a creature of INSIDE. Just like she'd been trained, she cut out all that baggage and made sense of the monster by reducing it to a tactical assessment. And right now, her assessment was that the time travelers took priority. Saving the town would be ideal, but if they died in the process she'd lose her only lead to vindicate Daimon.

"Don't worry! I've got him!" Spectre deftly raced around the maelstrom, weaving between its tendrils to where Josh lay and snatched up the unconscious hero before racing away and flying down the coast, looking for a safe spot to deposit him until this maelstrom ended.

Free: Swap main array to Full Spectre
Move: Grab Josh and take him somewhere on a tranquil beach far, far away where he won't be slaughtered by copycat, thank you very much.
Standard: move-by-action to grab Josh
Using Fast Hands to surreptitiously plant a mini-tracer on Josh in the process. Routine Stealth 30.

Free: Change main array from Full Spectre to Piercing Thrust
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack. Rolls in OOC. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23820468&postcount=1395)

[Born]

Water crashed down from the sky, pummeling Mandragora and leaving him off-balance. However, as he wobbled from the crushing water, the speedster caught his notice. It seemed that even his prepared healing seed had not been enough to undo the damage of the brutal flood that had crashed over him. The vine man concentrated all his efforts on overcoming his own affliction, then reached out swiftly to bring Josh back to consciousness.


Favored Environment: +2 circumstance is going toward defense this round.
Standard: Recover to remove Staggered. +2 bonus to active defenses this round.
Extra Effort Standard: Embrace of the Woods restorative healing on Josh. [roll0]
End of turn: Fatigued.

[Starsign]

Sheema didn't need to budge as the Demi-Maelstrom lashed out in all directions. She could tell that she was currently out of his range so she simply waited for it to blast out nearby her so she and Josh can strike it together. "It's a long story. So maybe I should-" She turns her head and sees Josh out like a light. Her reaction is a sigh and slightly-remorseful, "...Well this certainly is a day." She can only imagine just how much the three time travelers have gone through if they've gotten no rest from when they last saw her.

She helps adjust Josh's position to Mandagora can heal him. The princess gives a wave to the vine user before running back to where she jumped on and leaps off. She pulls Galadhil from its rooted position and gauges her options. There's only two giants left and Makhana's right next to them; she'll be fine. So instead the Perallan warrior parkours herself up to the wide building, runs across it at full speed, then makes a grand leap, skewering Galadhil into the watery beast!

...No, she has no idea if a spear can stab water, but she will try anyway!

Makhana, dealing with the more-mundane-let-no-less-extraordinary giants, weathers the storm of attacks from them and the watery beast's reckless rampage. Her rough and heavy mouth almost try twisting into a smile. This has been one of her more exciting battles in a long time. She loves fighting in Peral! Not one to hold back, the dire rhino leaps slightly into the air, trying to keep Summit on her back, before slamming her body at the giants' legs and tramping over their feet!

Sheema will use Legendary Charge against the Demi-Maelstrom. Power Attack +4/-4. DC 29 Dodge/Parry & DC 22 Fort vs Dazed+Impaired+Vulnerable/Stunned+Disabled+Defenseless (Extra Condition 2) and DC 22 Fort vs Weaken Toughness (Secondary Effect) [roll0]

Makhana will use Dire Trample, moving from her position over opposite to the giants. Since it is a Targeted Cloud area, she will Power Attack +2/-2. DC 29 Toughness, Secondary Effect. Should hit both giants.
Giant 4: [roll1]
Giant 6: [roll2]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 4

Spectre struck again, this time phasing her blade into the Demi-Maelstrom's body, before resolidifying it to tear open wound after gaping wound. Water poured out in a drenching, battering rush, threatening to sweep the IN-SIDE agent away, and the creature actually seemed to shrinking down for a moment before it took...something that vaguely resembled a deep breath, pulling itself back together. It was just too big for even the phasing strikes to really deal that much damage to it, though.

Mandragora's vines extended across the field, and the healing power of nature flowed into Josh, mending his wounds and combined with the energy Mandragora had invested in him previously, bringing him back into the fight!

But even heavily wounded, the giants seemed emboldened by the presence of the APEX prince. They moved with a shocking speed that belied their size, avoiding Makhana's trampling stomps, batting aside Aquila's hurled boulders, and leaping away from Gestalt's energy beam. Not to be outdone, the Demi-Maelstrom flowed around Sheema's spear, and whipped out a tendril to quench the bolt of flame Cinder 2 breathed at him, reducing it to nothing but harmless steam.

The massive elemental's laughter howled over the battlefield like a monsoon. "ANTS! YOUR STICKS AND SPARKLERS ARE NOTHING TO ME! I HAVE TASTED DOZENS OF POWERS, AND THERE IS NONE THAT CAN COMPARE TO THIS!"

The giants struck again, one of them swinging another crushing blow at Aquila, while the second hammered away on Makhana with more focused force.

The Demi-Maelstrom:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Spectre with Jet Spray at [roll0], Deflected at [roll1]. On a hit, Toughness DC 31+Multiattack vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 26+Multiattack vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated. It was close, but Improved Defense with the save. Deflected.
End of Turn: Regenerates a Bruise.

Giant 5:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Summit with Crushing Blow at [roll2]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll3]) DC 27/22 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Hit. Bruised.

Giant 7:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Makhana with Crushing Blow at [roll4]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27/22 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Hit

All PCs are on turn.

[manwithaplan]

"Alright folks, I'm back."

Josh returned to his feet with a limber manoeuvre, fixing his gaze on the massive water beast.

"You did, uh...you did half a job!"

Then he was airborne, and he was engaging the monstrosity with a hands-on combo that was very similar to the one from just a moment ago. When he was through with that, he...left, again.

Ilessia

"Okay, hey, I'm at your door again! Are you up now? Sorry, I totally just got knocked unconscious."

One Flurry of Blows, please, with extra Power Attack!

Attack [roll0] for DC 26+Multiattack damage.

[Born]

The massive deluge was proving to be difficult even for the heroes to weather. After all they had been through though, this could not be the end of them. Aquila's rocky armor had been quickly eroded away by their new apex-powered foe, but Mandragora had the means to restore it. He reached out his green vines for healing once again, this time to mend Aquila's broken armor and body. Meanwhile, he prayed to Balance, for the strength to weather the storm.


Standard: Embrace of the Woods on Aquila. Restorative Healing at [roll0] Well, at least it heals a bruise? And a little bit of Toughness drain?

[Starsign]

While Sheema has never fought a living storm of water before, she has to admit that her skills could be sharpened as her spear fails to make its mark. Really, what is this thing? Trying to strike from a rooftop may help but this is a giant creature with tendrils that extend well beyond a giant's swing. She isn't leaving much of a mark on her own.

Which is why she always works with her dire rhino.

Still on the roof, Sheema gives a loud whistle. As if on cue, Makhana charges out from between the remaining two giants and at the Demi-Maelstrom. Together the two strike through the creature like a cross, like daughter and mother: spear in one direction, horn in the other!

Apologies for the short post here. Sheema and Makhana will attack together.

Makhana will go first. She has Rhino Charge and will charge with Horn Skewer, no Power or Accurate attack. DC 27 Defense + DC 22 Fortitude vs Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled linked with Weaken Toughness 12 (Incurable): [roll0]
And then Makhana will EE to do it again! [roll1]

Sheema will attack after Makhana, moving through the Demi-Maelstrom with Frenzied Fighter. She will Power Attack +5/-5 here. DC 28+Multiattack Toughness on hit: [roll2]
And she will also EE afterward too to repeat her action. With any luck we'll have this battle wrapped this or next turn, so better now than never: [roll3]

[Dorni]

Tasted dozens of powers? In retrospect, she should have made the connection sooner. They'd just seen the Heros of Millaine battling with a massive dragon - a group that included the barely controlled monster called the Maelstrom. This creature wasn't the Maelstrom though - maybe he'd been trying to be noble or maybe he was just that greedy and stupid - Spectre couldn't remember the exact details right now - HoM's resident power-mimic Copycat had tried to copy the Maelstrom and succeeded in becoming a slightly smaller version of it. Which was now apparently going out of control. How wonderful.

If there'd been any chance that Daimon's hero group reappearing here and now had been by chance, this had to eliminate it. Which, Spectre reflected, didn't change her priorities.

Spectre redoubled her attacks, continuing to fly circles around the water torrent and slashing at any target she could reach. Although this form was made of water, the creature wasn't immune to physical attack. As she flew she drew on her powers further - even in the brief moments where she returned to corporeality to attack, she kept her limbs so immaterial that even light would pass through. It was a simple trick, but it made her motions that much harder to follow.

Move: Attempt to Feint Copycat because why not? [roll0]
Standard: Attack Copycat with Focused Assault, AoA 4, PA 4. [roll1].Crit. On hit, DC 29 34 Toughness vs Damage & DC 24 29 Fort vs Weaken [Toughness] (Secondary Effect).
Extra Effort: Do it again. Attack Copycat with Focused Assault, AoA 4, PA 4. [roll2]. On hit, DC 29 Toughness vs Damage & DC 24 Fort vs Weaken [Toughness] (Secondary Effect).

-4 Defenses, Deflected at 1d10+8

[Grim ranger]

The surprisingly elusive giants made Aquila more annoyed by the moment, Aquila grimaced as the strikes against his earthen armor continued unabated, steadily bruising his body more and more despite the considerable level of protection. Well, there was little he could do about it: his enemies were able to avoid or block the strikes, and his attention could only ever be focused on one...

Blinking suddenly as moment of clarity hit him, Summit suddenly felt rather foolish. All the earth around them was under his spell: all he would need to do would be to THINK about it, and he could do so much more. With just a little...nudge.

The earthen armor EXPLODED off Aquila sending out shockwave that shook the earth and made it surge up in howling maelstrom of upturned soil as Aquila began to re-decorate the landscape ever so slightly, the sudden upheaval striking against all three enemies left standing.

Using Earth my Servant and Decree to Area attack all three enemies, damage 11

[Quellian-dyrae]

Josh's fists passed harmlessly through the fluid mass of the Demi-Maelstrom. Mandragora's healing cured a bit of the damage Summit had received, but also fully restored the integrity of his earthen armor.

Sheema and Makhana went at the Demi-Maelstrom with a devastating charge in a dazzling display of teamwork, Sheema's strikes leaving the elemental open to Makhana's crushing blows. Just as it turned its focus to that threat, Spectre struck from behind, sending great gushes of water splashing away from the creature's body.

Summit unleashed the fury of the earth, bombarding the Demi-Maelstrom and both of the giants with tons upon tons of rock, injuring them all and dropping one of the giants unconscious.

Then Cinder 2 unleashed another tremendous blast of flame. Beset from all sides, the Demi-Maelstrom couldn't defend in time, a full third of its body evaporating into steam under the terrible power of dragonfire. Gestalt fired another laser beam at the giant, injuring it further.

"RAHHHHHHH!" the Demi-Maelstrom roared in rage at the injuries it had been subject to. Water surged from all around, swelling up in its form, frothing like it was boiling, as dozens of faces appeared and vanished at random, shrieking in discordant fury. "RAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

And then, suddenly, the face of Copycat appeared kinda at the top, sort of there a human's head would be if the thing were at all humanoid. With a deadpan look, it said, "Dragon breath sucks. I'm going somewhere else." One tributary extended back to the well it had come from, and the Demi-Maelstrom kinda poured into it and was gone.

And so it was, the last remaining threat on the field, a single, heavily injured giant. Any rational being would have surrendered, or perhaps tried to flee, being so obviously outmatched. But this was no rational being! This was a creature of APEX! It did not know fear! It did not know surrender! It knew one thing, and one thing only! How to raise its fists, and bring them crashing down on anyone fool enough to stand in its-

Yeah we're not even going there. The Demi-Maelstrom hydroports away, and the giant goes down in comfortably under three seconds. Battle over! Everybody take a :smallcool: Hero Point! And since you did manage to chase him off for what would have been my round 5 post, your heroic efforts managed to halve his official kill count, so everyone take a second :smallcool: Hero Point for that!

In Ilessia

Cathy had managed to get her brain more-or-less functioning (if grudgingly and under protest) by the time Josh returned. She was even standing up. "You're...back," she said, a little needlessly but like I said her brain was only more-or-less functioning at the moment. "This...I'm not dreaming?
Where have you- Wait, did you say another timeline? Did you run so fast you time traveled!? I thought that only happened in comic books!"

[Starsign]

"...Huh." Sheema lacked much of a reaction seeing the Demi-Maelstrom's... head before it took off in the distance. As great as it would be to follow, neither Sheema nor Makhana lack the speed to keep up with it in Peral's dense rainforests. Instead the princess walks up to the wounded, remaining giant, stabs Galadhil down on its toe, and let pain and gravity take care of the rest as the last foe tumbles over and out of consciousness.

Hoping on another roof, Sheema waves to the many giant animals now leaving, thanking for their assistance and coming to her call. It's more than just being home; she feels like the animals recognize her for something more. Makhana down next to the building gives an almost happy look from her rough rhinoceros facial features.

The princess drops down onto Makhana's back as the two head back to the rest of the group. "That was sure a surprise," Sheema says, relieved and yet riled up in excitement. "Thanks for helping, both of you." She nods to both Gestalt and Mandagora. Josh should be back in a moment so he can be thanked too. Her eyes look around at the Perallan town, damaged but not destroyed, thankfully. "I'm a bit of a softie for my country, sorry Spectre," she speaks in advance; Makhana gives a small sigh at what is a diversion. "The mess here isn't our problem, but I'd like to help clean it up," She points over to the spread of wood, steel and brick from half-destroyed houses and some of the sealed food that flew from refrigerators and freezers. "Up to help, Gestalt? Mandagora? We can explain what's going on in the meantime." She offers the two a genuine smile.

Five years, she thought to herself. It feels like forever since we last met. Was it really only a couple minutes for them?

[manwithaplan]

"I love that you said that! I was totally going to do it actually. I sort of like, I foreshadowed it, and I did all of this research, and...there was this bit at the end where I was going to stay in the future, to stop Tara Ellens from coming back, and then I was going to come back anyway my own way, but I didn't end up having to do any of that. So I just went through the time machine. Oh yeah, Lorelei made a time machine, so-"

Ding!

"Hang on baby, that's my toast!"

He was g...no he was back. Now he was eating buttered toast.

"Seriously, we were in 120, and then we went to 132. And Simon is..."

His face fell.

"Simon's missing. I think we're suspects in some sort of SIDE investigation, but there was a distraction because we're fighting a..."

His eyes pointed up to the ceiling. His mouth hung open. He looked at Cathy, then back to the ceiling, and then he shook his head.

"There's a fight going on in Peral."

...

He blinked.

...

"What have you been up to though?"

[DukeGod]

"Well...that'll be blast from the past. Reconstruction after a Dreamer fight huh. Sure. I'm guessing it's not a good idea to chase down that guy?"

Gestalt touches Cinder Two, letting him disappear before summoning Craftiezel. Cinder was helpful, but not really good at reconstruction. And the knight was almost just as strong. He sets him to do the heavy lifting, while Gestalt

[Dorni]

Spectre frowned at the Maelstrom's escape. Those final words seemed unusually coherent for someone overwhelmed by Apex. Maybe he wasn't under its control? If he'd been hurt enough to snap out of the Apex's influence, why would he immediately run? Details to add to Thomas' file later. Spectre floated over to Daimon's last known associates.

"Not likely. That was Thomas Chide, likely mimic'ing Darla Sanders' Maelstrom form. We're right on the coast line - with his hydroportation he could be miles away in any direction right now. Unless you've got a means of tracking him, its best to let him go. I'm not a fan of sticking around here though - there's still that dragon from earlier that could double back, and I have a lot of questions to ask you all."

[Born]

As the last remaining giants were brought down, Mandragora reached out to heal the battered combatants, and even the . He agreed wholeheartedly with Sheema's proposal to clean up here, saying "Yeah, it doesn't matter whether it's our problem or not; we can't just leave these people with their village in shambles like this. Besides, if there's still any apex around somewhere, there could still be more trouble."

The vine man felt through the jungle floor for any trapped victims, but also answered the SIDE agent. "If the dragon does come back, we're better qualified to destroy it than anyone else around here right now. Though, if those were really the Heroes of Millaine following it, they can probably take care of it." In a moment, he felt a young man trapped beneath a pile of debris being crushed by a pair of trees that the apex dragon had removed from its path. Mandragora asked Spectre "Can you phase others with you? There's a man trapped in that rubble, and it'd be a lot faster and safer than moving debris out of the way."

[Quellian-dyrae]

In Peral

Don't look at me. There's a grand total of three people there who A) know what's going on and B) are capable of human speech. None of them are NPCs.

What?

It's called delegating.

In Ilessia

"Well mostly I've been worrying because you just disappeared without any warning for three months!" she answered, sharply enough that it was clear she wasn't joking but still lightly enough that it was also clear that she wasn't really mad. Or at least, if she was really mad she was also more relieved so it balanced out. "At first I thought it was like last time and you'd just be back in a few days but then you weren't and wait a minute were you time travelling last time too!? Is this like a regular thing for you? And if you were time travelling why didn't you just come back when you left? Is it some sort of like relative time thing? Like you can only move through time a fixed amount, so when you come back you're still ahead any time that passed in the other time, or something?" Cathy was dating a Hero. She thought about this stuff.

[manwithaplan]

"Nah, last time I was just in a different timeline. This time I went to the past and future and everything."

"Umm...nah. The EPS junction is pretty stable so you can osmotise your jump points among the thera-magnetic wavelength. Relativity isn't really the same in this kind of sphere so you don't have to worry about it."

He shoved a piece of toast into his mouth.

"But Simon did something to us when we were halfway through the loop. Dumped us out into Peral. SIDE caught us at the jump and they're looking for him. Um, actually, can I come right back? I better make sure it's all alright."

Peral

"Hey."

There was a doormat in the middle of the street, covered in grit, seemingly blown away from someone's home. Miles stood on it, wiping off his shoes after finding his team.

"Okay, uh...agent from SIDE?" He folded his arms as his gaze fell upon Spectre, his face unusually inquisitive.

"Simon dropped us off here on the way back home. He was talking like it was goodbye. We don't have any information. But I'll help you find my mate."

[Starsign]

Sheema holds off a long sigh as John returns and gives his side of what happened coming back to this time. "I think we can cross off, 'deliberately working with him,' as a probable cause," she says to Spectre, walking up to the two with slightly trembling hands and a small, sad frown on her face. The exhilaration of battle in Peral has given away to the harsh truth of reality; it was like that one person once said, life really is easier when all you have to think about it punching villains.

The dark-skinned princess takes a deep breath, Galadhil resting slightly uncomfortably on her back, as she begins speaking with a somber tone. "Josh, I'm not going to sugercoat it," she looks over at Gestalt and Mandagora, "and neither to you two. But Simon doesn't exist anymore." She holds off a cold gulp in her throat. "He's a INSIDE agent who went undercover in Hero Corps. Now he's gone rogue and has been rogue for months. You three only just came back now, in the middle of a horde of giant beasts, in Peral. I've talked with Hero Corps about our time travel escapades for five years; we all expected you three back as soon as you left. And while you four were gone, Tara attacked our SIDE prison in Adaros with Arcanis' staff, damn near succeeded, we lost a half-dozen heroes in the process, and then was told 'Simon' had an active hand in Arcanis' murder. And now we've got proof he's going around, murdering people." Sheema's temptation to raise her voice is almost palpable. She'd been training during the boat trip to not do that. No sense trying to be deliberately antagonistic. "We actually are here to assess whether you're in league with him or not. But I don't think we had to ask. You helped us and this village; no need to detain you four." She tries flashing a small smile at Josh, small help that it is now. "You probably don't believe us. You five seemed pretty close when me and Aquila met you five years back. But we've got evidence we can show when we get back."

Makhana, in midst of clearing rubble and boringly assisting in rescuing Perallan residents, looks around seemingly aimlessly and gives off several small roars. Where is Judy?

[manwithaplan]

Josh glared.

"Do you know how to find him or not?"

[Starsign]

Sheema steels her look toward Josh.

"Ask his apprentice," she gestures towards Spectre.

[manwithaplan]

His heavy gaze twisted slowly onto Spectre.

"I think she heard me."

[Dorni]

"He's right, Princess."

Spectre turned her attention back to Josh. "On the contrary, we're not questioning whether you're in league with Simon - If you were, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. But what she said about Simon is true. Simon's disappeared, or rather, he's reappeared, and he's killed more than a dozen people that we know of, and I would like your cooperation in identifying his next target.

You said that Simon did something to you before you arrived here? Then the fact that you arrived here at the exact moment that those things attacked can't be a coincidence. Maybe you were sent here because Simon had reason for you to protect this town, but I also can't overlook the possibility that Simon sent you here to silence you. If it was an attempt to silence you, that may mean he thinks the group of you know something that could interfere with his plans, whether you realize it right now or not. So I need you all to think hard about everything Simon did while you were in the past.

Sheema has told us about your adventures up to defeating 'Legion'. After you stepped through the time portal, did you go anywhere else before arriving here? Did Simon say anything unusual or investigate anyone while you were with him?"

[manwithaplan]

"Nah he knows the team. He wouldn't send us here to die, he knows it wouldn't work."

Josh stopped for a moment, his eyes pointing up and to the side as he went over the last few months.

"...not that I know of. We were just trying to get out of there. Do you have a more specific question?"

[Starsign]

Sheema takes a look around the familiar terrain, minus the destruction, of the Perallan city. "Spectre, he's got a point," the Heiress points out, lightening her tone while staying factual. "Supposing that Simon decided where they could drop them off, he would've kept in mind that one of the heroes happens to run around the world about as fast as most people walk down the street. In a worst-case scenario, Josh could've taken Mandragora and Gestalt and bolted back to Ilessia." She looks over at the giants. Their numbers certainly would have been more of an issue for just three heroes. "If I wanted to get rid of heroes, and I could pick the time and place, I'd choose something like the end of time, in a black home, or right in front of Haptarus' throne."

She gives Josh a big smile. "Though in that last case, I'd expect you sooner to spit on Haptarus' face and get away, giggling like a madman."

Sheema walks over to the destroyed ruins of a nearby building to move the debris. "Josh, Mandagora, Gestalt, what do you remember Simon doing right before or when you went into the portal? The only ones there after my family and I left was him, you three, Legion, and Lorelai, the woman who was maintaining that time machine." She briefly turns her dark-skinned head over to the heroes. "Anything that happened that you didn't expect or seemed a bit 'off'?"

[manwithaplan]

"He thanked us for our service, like some military honour of some sort. Then he did something and he wasn't gone, he kept going through time, but we were the ones that just got spat out. He clearly knew it was goodbye, but I didn't think he was up to anything that wasn't alright. Just part of some plan."

[Starsign]

Sheema stays quiet briefly, keeping Josh's words in mind and visualizing how his description might have played out.

...She really should have read up on time travel throughout these last five years.

"So he kept going and you four got spat out?" she says in repeat, keeping in mind that Judy came back with them even if she isn't part of Hero Corps. "That... sounds like he was the only one who came back as expected." The dark-skinned princess shakes her head and sighs. "If you'd like to hear what I know since joining Hero Corps... well... I've already told Spectre, but I've got nothing." Her voice becomes unusually sheepish. "I've been in Hero Corps ever since we went back to our respective presents; that's a good five years now. But not once did I see Simon, you, Gestalt or Mandagora. I even tried searching for you four when the other heroes talked about you but I couldn't find any of you." She shrugs, evidently not making a big deal of it. "So I've got nothing I can add to what Simon did since he was with Hero Corps."

There is a distant groan as Makhana gives off a low, load groan. "Hm?" Sheema turns to look at her gigantic rhino of a mother. "You can't find Judy?.. Oh spirits, I hope she didn't go to the forest. She won't find her way out." She looks over to Spectre. "I'll just make sure Judy's still here. I'll be right back!" Unless there's objection from Spectre or the time travelers, the princess with Galadhil checks around the damaged city with Makhana to find the invisible gadgeteer.

[Grim ranger]

Following the discussion with half an ear as he carefully directed earth to shore up enough to prevent further disasters after the battle thanks to sudden landslides, Summit turned to face the time travelers as well as he continued to feel around with his power for survivors. "I admit, I don't understand much about time travel...but at least this future is not hellscape like the other place was, so there is that" he murmured, folding his arms. Compared to his earlier very utilitarian hoodie and casual clothes combination, the present summit has adopted neat granite-hued bodysuit underneath the stony armor...and apparently grown up a fair bit. Plenty could happen in few years, after all.

"I'll admit, after this whole traitor business became apparent, I was bit leery about you all as a result...but if this was part of same ruse, it'd have to be a really complicated one. By all hopes we can sort through this mess together, hm?"

[DukeGod]

He kicked us out. Fiddled with his belt and did something. Should've figured that belt could do nonsense with time. The future version of him that tried to kill me could also mess with time using HIS belt..."

"Well, maybe this place couldn't kill us but it could do worse. Apex is all around here apparently, we could end up corrupted. Hmmph. I actually trusted him!"

[Born]

Mandragora stuck himself in cleanup mode to save as many as possible and clear the worst of the debris out of the way. It was only partially his usual motivations that kept him going, however. He was also trying not to think too hard about what Simon had done. And now this SIDE agent said Simon had murdered dozens of people seemingly out of nowhere? Something wasn't right, but Eric had always thought of Simon as a mentor, someone to look up to. How did he suddenly become a serial killer?

He tried to keep his mind on his work here, but it wasn't entirely working. When Sheema went off to find Judy, Mandragora felt through the ground to search for her, and offer what he could. Another task to keep from thinking about what the former hero was up to.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I'm here!" Judy's voice came from the empty air not far from the group. A moment later she reappeared. "Sorry, I um...wasn't sure if the dragon was coming back or not," she said, a bit sheepishly.

The cleanup assistance was greatly appreciated by the people of the village, although even then, not quite so much as, you know, the rescue assistance was. The townsfolk seemed to regard Sheema in particular with a certain sense of awe. Evidently leading a giant horde of Beasts into battle...meant something.

--

Mandragora

Things were different at Hero Corps.

Phoenix had returned, evidently returning to life just like her namesake, and assumed the mantle of Regional Commander. But that good news was quite outweighed. Lightweaver, Burner, Overwatch, Gordon Wright, Traveller, and Toby Keller had all been killed in Tara Ellens' attack on the Adaros prison, and Treetop had been crippled, practically every bone in her body crushed by the APEX-infused summons that Tara and Darryll had brought with them. She had lived thanks to her sheer physical durability and prompted attention by healers, but even Aranthian medical science and Dreamer curative powers had only gone so far. The prognosis was that she would never fight again.

When Phoenix had returned, she had tried herself to heal the damage, without success. But Erin Wallace was not the sort to give up easily. Your return had basically doubled Hero Corps' healing resources. She had requested that you come with her to see Treetop, reasoning that the two of you together might be able to do the job.

Gestalt

In all the hubbub of Simon's betrayal and your return and all that, there was one thing that had kinda slipped through the cracks.

Lorelei Winters was missing.

As far as everyone else was concerned, she had disappeared along with you guys, and hadn't been seen since. Of course, she had passed right back through the portal she opened after being shot in the past, which had caused that whole problem in the first place. By all logic, she should have just returned to her lab in the present. Something must have happened. The question was...how you could determine what.

The answer, conveniently enough, came to you.

"Leviath Cinder?" The man who approached you had mid-toned skin and sandy hair, a short, neatly trimmed beard, and hazel eyes. He was rather tall, his slender build somewhat obscured by a white overgarment that...seemed unsure whether it wanted to be a labcoat or a robe. "My name is Leonard Mohren, I work at the Better World Institute." That was Paradisia's biggest scientific organization, actually the ones responsible for raising the island in the first place. They were also spearheading the Paradisian space program, so you had some familiarity with them from your past work supporting the project.

When he reached you, he extended a hand to shake. "We could use some assistance from a summoner with your particular skillset. And my understanding is that you might have some questions in need of answering? I'm a precog myself, and I was hoping we might be able to make an exchange of services."

Josh

Razorlock the White was vanquished. Look you're a PL 11 speedster with an only-mostly-cowardly PL 12 magitechnician as backup. Razorlock's a really big and ornery shark. It was an epic and glorious battle but let's not pretend it could have gone any other way.

The dolphins had held up their end of the bargain, sharing with you the secrets of the Perallan seas. They had led you here, to a tiny island in a lagoon off the north-eastern coast of Peral, a place on no modern maps, for no sailors who ever approached this place had returned alive.

(They were sailors. You were, for those who have forgotten in the past two paragraphs, a PL 11 speedster with an only-mostly-cowardly PL 12 magitechnician as backup. The dire octopus was a legitimate threat, but it wasn't exactly a kraken. Those dire starfish, though...those guys had given you a round.)

Now you stepped foot onto the island, which if your information was correct would hold the treasure you had sought through time itself! Light mist rolled over the beaches from the lagoon, not really inhibiting visibility much but lending the place a certain ethereal quality. Not far from the beach, huge trees rose up in a dense jungle. The air was hot and humid this near the equator. Rumor and legend suggested that this island held perils beyond even those of the seas around it. (How those rumors and legends had come about when nobody was supposed to have returned from the place I couldn't tell you, but that sort of stuff was kinda classic Peral.)

Sheema, Guest Starring Kenta

A Hero's work was never done, particularly in Adaros, particularly these days. Adaros was already understaffed in the Hero department even before the Ten Wolves. With a dozen Heroes having fallen since then, there just wasn't ever enough.

Fortunately, it hadn't been all losses. After the battle of Adaros, one of the members of the SIDE Task Force, originally a member of the Verdania Hero Corps, had elected to stay on and do his part to help the Adaros Corps get back on their feet.

Your legendary skill - and utter lack of Dreamer powers - made you rather unique among the Corps, moreso with Simon having defected. But while it wasn't quite the same, Kenta had a fairly limited Dreamer power himself - nothing but a raw boost to Spiritual Energy. He made good use of that with Dymaran Chi training, but still. There was also Cyra Jacobs, whose Dreamer power was immunity to Dreamer powers. A potent ability against the right sort of enemy for sure, but without any offensive powers she had to rely on skill to fight...and of course, not all dangers a Hero faced were Dreamers.

Phoenix had kinda started treating the three of you (well, the four of you, counting Makhana) as a sort of unofficial task force. When there was some high-powered threat that she felt wasn't best engaged raw power-to-power, you guys were her first choice to handle it. Since none of you had full-scale Dreamer powers to fall back on, she knew you were better equipped to approach such problems from more creative angles.

Today, said problem was that what had been a small-scale gang of thugs had suddenly had one of their members Awaken as a reality warper, and they were currently well on their way to taking over an entire Megablock by the simple expedient of killing every police officer in it and possibly in a one-Megablock radius around it, they haven't decided yet.

Summit

Fun fact, in Ilessia, the school year basically goes the same as the calendar year. There's about a one-month break from mid-Decender to mid-Inidawn, covering the big chunk of holidays around the new year. Why this matters for our purposes is because we're in mid-Decender and this particular school year is also the year that Mariana graduates high school. Good for her!

So you, your parents, and Javan (who had agreed to come along because he's a good friend and nobody had actually used the words "moderating influence" out loud) were just arriving at the school, waiting in line as the crowd of friends and family members of the various students filed into the auditorium to be seated.

Spectre

Because of you, Daimon had lost the advantage of surprise. Even for him, ambushing some of presumably the most powerful Dreamers in the nation was a dangerous play. If those Dreamers were aware that their lives were at risk, it became more challenging still (the case wasn't public and obviously nobody knew the potential victims, but I mean it's the Circle of the Shared Dream we're talking about so let's just take it as a given that once the information was in files, even IN-SIDE files, they could acquire it). It was hard to say for certain that Daimon's killing spree had slowed or even stopped since you had revealed your findings, but the patterns suggested it had, likely because he had to take a lot more time to prepare if he was going to take out aware and prepared opponents of this level.

But evidently even Daimon Aimes wasn't perfect. He had made another attack, and he had missed.

Maryanne Hobbs was one of the biggest directors in Arbera and a powerful Dreamer. Her power of Puppeteering allowed her to control the movements and actions of others. She had been attacked in her home two nights by several attackers with what appeared to be Dreamer powers (the security system in her home had power detection and hadn't picked anything up, but then again it also had alarms and cameras and neither had they, so it was kinda a wash). She had managed to hold her own, forcing them to flee, although her entire security team had been killed in the fighting and she hadn't been able to actually capture any of the attackers. Neither could she positively identify them. You had learned of the attack through your channels, and while there didn't seem to be much in the way of actionable intelligence, nobody knew Daimon better than you. Hopefully, you could either find evidence in the scene or glean something from Hobbs' recounting that would help you track down your former mentor.

[manwithaplan]

Josh nodded along at his own inner monologue as his eyes swept over the intimidating Perallan island.

"Ahright."

Looking over his shoulder, he nodded at Judy.

"Uh, yeah, see you in a bit."

Zip!

I, uh...I Search the island. :smallwink: Perception [roll0].

[Starsign]

When Sheema signed on to Hero Corps five years ago, she never could have predicted she'd be asked to deal with a reality warper. Granted, no one could have expected a member of a small gang suddenly getting those sort of powers. Sheema reminds herself that some days, you get opportunity; other days, you get sucker punched. Today certainly feels like a case of the latter.

Not that the Perallan princess minds. She actually had been walking down to the specified Adaros Megablock with a smile on her face. She's quite happy to get her mind off of some of Adaros Hero Corps' bigger management issues; Sheema's combat and hero experience doesn't translate well to the paperwork tasks Phoenix is embroiled in. A reality warper, ironically, is more straightforward because it's fieldwork. A little creativity is always better than a bureaucratic mess stemming from a dangerous criminal group and INSIDE's overreaching incompetence.

Makhana is... less than amused. Her silver hide looks dull under Adaros' gentle sunlight. Her expression on her thick, heavy rhino head is a gloomy frown stemming from personal concern of boredom. As far as the matriarch is concerned, she's been brought on this task group as an emergency weapon. She is raw power; she's there for when things go horribly wrong. And she'd be happier about it, except she has the utmost confidence in Sheema's capabilities. If anyone can handle a delicate situation without starting a fight, it's her.

Sheema can't see a battle with a reality warper as any kind of ideal outcome, which is why she wears a sweatshirt and sweatshorts underneath her nanofiber armor. As someone who has lived in Peral's forests, she's used to the uncomfortable heat provided by her armor and clothing. The point, however, is to be inconspicuous. The best chance of success comes first from not looking like heroes. While there is an element of stealth considered, neither Makhana nor Kenta are particularly well-versed. Instead, another suitably heroic strategy must be used.

Diplomacy!

Riding on the dire rhino, Sheema turns around to look at the two heroes with her."Alright, time to go over this one more time," she says with a joyful look on her dark-skinned face. "So the last thing we want is to run up and hit someone that can just erase us...I think." She tries recalling how reality warping works. "We've got no idea what she's like and how much control she has. And the rest of her gang may have high expectations for her. I imagine they'd be discouraged if we can 'prove' that they don't work." She looks at Cyra. "If she's not the angry type, we can discourage her and cuff her before she realizes what's happened. If she is... Well we try and capture her before she starts something." The phrase "know thy enemy" does not apply here. Hopefully nothing may go horribly wrong.

[DukeGod]

"Now, see here. I had some brushes withs ome bad stuff lately and I'm afraid I can't quite trust strangers approaching me when I'm alone and out of nowhere."

As a matter of fact, it was bad enough that he was readying himself to drop his Knight in between the two, even stepping back a bit once the man had stopped to increase distance

"I'm guessing you have at least some manner of verifying those credentials? "

[Born]

Mandragora had been overjoyed to hear that Phoenix had come back to life, and thanked the gods for their generosity. When he finally got to see her in person again, his relief became even more deep and personal, to the point where he had almost hugged her on the spot. Even in a world full of dreamers, not everyone gets to come back to life.

Of course, he wholeheartedly agreed to see if he could help heal Treetop. Though he knew Adaros had some pretty amazing medical dreamtech that he figured he couldn't quite match, he at least figured it would be worth a shot. Although, it may have caught Treetop off-guard when one of the first thinks Mandragora asked following introductions and such was "How is your tree doing?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Josh

It did not take you long (and that might have been the most obvious phrase I have ever written) to search the island. You passed no fewer than three packs of dire predators (and a sufficiently large ecosystem of oversized herbivores to support them) in your explorations, but at your speed you bypassed them without problem.

You came to the ruins of some sort of structure, evident by pieces of vine-tangled hewn stone strewn about the area. Whatever structure had once been here no longer was, but where it had gone became evident as you searched the area. It soon became clear that the ground you were walking on wasn't quite as solid as it appeared; in fact, it was a floor made of interwoven roots from several of the huge trees around the area, covering an opening - a sinkhole that had swallowed the entire structure, some time far in the past.

It was on the matter of a bit of effort to force your way through. Beneath the roots was a great cavern, within which stood the remains of a fortified stone keep. Parts of it had been cracked and broken, but it remained more-or-less in-tact, though the wooden doors had long since rotted to uselessness.

Searching within, it seemed to have been a relatively spartan place, more designed for defense than luxury. What few paintings and tapestries there were were largely ruined, victims of the mosses and molds that had crept into the place, clinging to the walls and ceilings, some hanging like delicate cobwebs from the ceilings. In the light of whatever lightsource you had brought in, they came in a variety of colors, and some even gave off their own gentle bioluminescence. Little patches of mushrooms seemed to be growing in almost every corner. The air was damp, with the musty smell of earth and vegetation, and just a faint trace of salt.

Finally, you reached your goal. The treasury stood untouched and unclaimed. It at first seemed more modest than the legends had suggested, just two large chests. But like so much other organic matter in this place, they had warped and rotted, and so the small piles of gold, silver, and gemstones had spilled out onto the floor.

On two shelves on the side walls, though, were a series of small figurines. They were crafted in extraordinary detail. Many of them appeared to be made of ivory, but some of them were of some sort of gleaming alabaster material you couldn't quite put your finger on, and others of a jet black substance to matte to be obsidian.

Standing behind and between the two chests was a statue. It had not toppled in whatever calamity had sunk this castle into the earth, nor cracked or chipped, nor worn with time. The marble statue was still pristine. This must have been him. Tao Sempers.

And in its hands was the axe...

Sheema (And Kenta? Are you with us?)

As a student of Dreamer Lore, you were aware that when it came down to it, all Dreamer powers, even down to Kenta's own "I don't really do anything except have lots more Spiritual Energy", were fundamentally a form of reality warping. Different shapes of Spiritual Energy altered reality in different ways.

Those shapes could be detected by the right technology, and analyzed, and compared to databases. Such that even obscure powers like Vision of Life, Cosmic Embodiment, and Avatar Summons had been identified, quantified, and could be recognized. So what, then, did it mean when a Dreamer was said to be a "Reality Warper"?

Well, more-or-less, it meant that modern scholars couldn't really pin down exactly what they were doing, and also that they may or may not have been breaking all the rules.

Dreamer mages, like Arcanis, had been known to say that magic was fundamentally about manipulating the shapes of their Spiritual Energy to produce the reality-altering effects - the spells - that they desired. Reality Warpers did something similar, but it wasn't really an active, conscious thing in the same way. It wasn't a skill to be practiced. Their Spiritual Energy reshaped itself according to their minds. How it worked varied. Somewhere between most and all Reality Warpers had deep innate assumptions about what they could do, or mental blocks, limiting their options to specific classes of manifestations. It was theorized that such blocks were necessary for the human mind to contain the power - the less limited a given Reality Warper's powers were, the harder it would be to control. Imagine any stray thought, any fleeting desire, suddenly warping the world around you - that was what could happen to a Reality Warper with no limits. But what made them different was that those limitations were not structural to the power. They were not restricted to certain shapes like most Dreamers, or even to specific spells they could figure out like Dreamer mages. In theory, their Spiritual Energy could form any shape - they could do anything that they could generate sufficient power to accomplish - and it was their own mental limits that restricted them.

Unfortunately, this did mean that even the most knowledgeable scholar of Dreamer Lore could not predict the exact capabilities of a given Reality Warper. There were limits to their power - what mental blocks they operated under, and how much raw power they could actually produce. But where those limits stood for any given Reality Warper was impossible to say without direct evidence.

"Given how violent their takeover has been, I can't say I like our odds of talking them down, but it's worth a shot," Cyra said. "If it does come down to a fight, I'll try to keep the warper engaged. Whatever they can do, it shouldn't be able to affect me."

Gestalt

"Oh! My apologies, yes, of course. Ah..." he patted around his labcoat-robe-thingy for several seconds before plucking a Better World Institute ID card from its front pocket.

Nobody ever said that precognition came with improved memory.

"There you are!" he said, holding it out to show you. It did confirm his name, face, and position.

Mandragora

Treetop was in the hospital - that she was still there after this long suggested she was in constant need of care. When you and Phoenix arrived, her eyes flickered towards the door and she smiled, but she didn't shift or turn her head at all. Without any movement on her part, though, the bed rotated a bit more towards you, and bent upwards so that she was in a somewhat more sitting position, though still reclining.

"Well, look who's back!" Treetop said brightly. "I'd give you a hug but, well..." she added with a little chortle. Because of course, Treetop wasn't going to just lie around moping all day. If all she could do about her condition was joke about it, then by the Promise she would joke about it.

She grinned at your question. "It's actually doing really well. They planted it outside my window," she answered. "So where have you been?
I've been hearing rumors about time travel? Are Gestalt and Simon and Josh back too?"

Summit

??

Spectre

??

[manwithaplan]

"Uh...no." Josh stood with a pointed finger at the statue of Sempers with his mighty weapon.

"That's a booby trap. I'm not falling for that."

He strolled with confidence to the shelves with the smaller statues on them, plucking two that were made of something unidentifiable - an alabaster-like one, and a black one.

Zip! Back to the shore.

"Hey Judy. What do you think these are worth?"

[Starsign]

Still on Makhana's back, Sheema leans over at Cyra with a slightly more serious look. "I'd rather hope we don't have a straight up fight," the dark-skinned princess emphasizes. "We're not the best for it against someone supposedly very powerful. We don't even know she could do. That's why we're taking this approach." She gives another smile to Cyra and Kenta. "I'm wearing this for a reason," she points to her sweatshirt and sweatpants which are dully brightened by the sun. "We're going to meet them not as heroes, but as people excited to see these powers of her's, even if to just get an idea of what she can do." She looks over again at Cyra; Sheema's frown deepens slightly. "We need her to use them on you, at least enough that her and the others start doubting her abilities. I don't think they've actually met something that can stop them." She adjusts Galadhil on her back and gives a slight sigh that she'll have to leave it with Makhana.

The dire rhino looksd about as unimpressed as she usually does. Waiting is not her preferred action. But when you're a massive beast asked to handle a delicate situation, you're kinda stuck as the backup for if things go wrong.

With a little time left, Sheema looks over at Kenta while bringing her smile back. "I know you're kinda happier with a fight. And if it comes to it, you're the only one of us who can fly. Can you try and contain the collateral damage if things go south?" Makhana suddenly stops, turns her thick head towards Kenta and grumbles. Sheema rubs her longtime friend's forehead before saying. "Oh, sorry Kenta, Makhana wants to know how you can fly and do all those crazy things. She only understands superpowers as Dreamers and totemic abilities." She chuckles a little at Makhana's expense. To Makhana's credit, she doesn't react in any sort of displeasure; she just doesn't know as much as Sheema. "All your powers are from Dymara, right? That crazy 'ki' place?"

[Born]

Mandragora went over the basics of what had happened since the group had disappeared into Lorelei's time portal. It was strange and awkward to explain, especially the part about the Master being an alternate-timeline version of Gestalt and how they had met Sheema and Summit. He felt as though he might be giving too much information, but after Sheema had expressed her displeasure with the group for keeping so many secrets. Besides, Simon wasn't around anymore to keep secrets.

It was strangely relieving to tell someone else about what had happened. Who knew how much of it she'd actually believe, though. Most of the world didn't even remember the Disappearance once they had fixed the timeline the first time. In fact, he wasn't sure if he'd have believed the story himself if he hadn't been involved in time travel already.

[Dorni]

The trip to Peral, Spectre reflected, had yielded a very different kind of value than she'd expected. At the start of the trip, aside from perhaps amusing herself fencing with the perallan, she'd hoped that maybe Daimon would have left a clue with his former team. Some parting words, a statement that only made sense if you knew Daimon's real mission, maybe he revealed his identity in a moment of crisis. Ok, that last one was a bit unrealistic. Daimon had always been professional to the point of insanity. It wasn't his job, its what he was. So it had been a disappointment that he hadn't tried to recruit his hero team, but not an unexpected one.

But that didn't mean the trip was a total waste. Two facts stood out. First, there was very little the procession of disasters that struck that town shouldn't have been able to obliterate. Second, of all the places for Daimon's old team to reappear, they'd appeared right there and right then. Spectre didn't believe in coincidences where Daimon was involved. Which mean that either Daimon had been hoping his old team would be killed in that village, or he'd needed them to protect that village. Either way, his old team was important, so she needed to keep close to them.

Which was all well and good, but it didn't get her any closer to Daimon right away. His killing spree was certainly slowing down thanks to his targets preparing themselves. And now one of them had fought him off. It was a chance to get some real insight into his plan, perhaps even determine who he was working with that he was able to get backing from an arsenal of highly trained dreamers with the perfect powers to neutralize his targets. SIDE already had an investigation going, but if there was a clue they'd never see it. They didn't know what to look for, but that was where she came in. So, she took the one action that could start unraveling Daimon's plans, reveal his whereabouts, and put an end to his killing spree!

Specter rang Maryanne Hobbs' doorbell.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Josh

...So. That was odd.

I'll grant, searching the entire island wasn't instantaneous or anything. It had actually taken you on the order of tens of seconds. Not actually hitting the minute mark, but still, time that could be measured by normal people. Even so, it hadn't exactly taken long.

But when you got back to where you had left Judy...she wasn't there.

You also noticed a scorch mark on the ground.

Sheema

"Right. We'll have to hope they don't recognize us. I guess Makhana will have to hang back, right? I mean...they will recognize her, unless they've been living under a rock or something."

When you asked if Kenta could contain any collateral damage, he just gave a firm, determined nod and an affirmative, "Hm."

At your second question, though, he kinda brushed his hair back and explained, "Well, technically I have a Dreamer power. It's just that all it does is supercharge my Spiritual Energy. My other 'powers' are really just about controlling the flow of energy through my body. I can move it as I move to do things faster, use it to add more force to my attacks or hold up heavy things, channel it outwardly as energy blasts, or if I just move it upward it'll carry me with it and I can fly. It's not really anything unique to Dymara, it's just that pretty much everyone over there knows how to do it."

Mandragora

Treetop seemed more flabbergasted than skeptical at your story. However strange it may have sounded, she trusted your recounting. Which of course just meant she had to take it as true and thereby do the actual hard work of wrapping her brain around it. Even in Aranth, time travel was kinda nuts. Though maybe not quite as nuts as the idea of some alternate version of Gestalt turning into a country-conquering super-villain.

Or Simon being a traitor. But at least that one she had already had some time to come to terms with.

Phoenix had already heard the story in briefings and such, but listened again while you recounted it. Once you had finished, while Treetop was trying to figure out some manner of response, she said, "So.
Shall we give this a shot?" A gentle glow like from a hearth's fire had begun emanating from her hands.

Spectre

A few seconds after you rang the doorbell, a video screen above it turned on. It showed Maryanne Hobbs sitting before it, flanked by two bodyguards whose posture, hair cuts, and carriage suggested former special forces. You could just barely make out what looked like faint strands of what may have been silvery light or some sort of reflective material dancing between her fingers, although there were no strings connecting to the guards themselves, so you could deduce that she was just preparing her powers for use in case of danger. This likewise suggested that she had a sufficient combination of raw power and control that she could use her powers upon targets she could perceive even only through a camera or other indirect medium. That took both a lot of oomph and a lot of skill. Made sense that even Daimon and his forces hadn't been able to take her down.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she asked with a level of blunt impoliteness that came with having good reason to be more concerned with matters of survival than propriety.

You noticed a pair of rifles pointing down on you from behind the curtains of two upper-story windows.

Gestalt

??

Summit

??

[Starsign]

"...Oh, so that's how it works," Sheema responds. Her voice is slightly dull, having expected slightly more extravagance from Kenta's powers. "Well that's still better off than me," she chuckles. "Sleeper and all; I don't really get the joy of flight or ki. But that's what all my other training is for." She slides over on Makhana's back back to her rhino's head. "You got all that?" The daughter's voice is a little playful to the grumpy rhino, who nods and gives a huff that's understood as, "Yeah, sorta, but not really."

The group gets over to a corner of a street that's just next to a small alleyway. "This should be it," Sheema says, pointing over at the alley. "We split here Makhana, as we talked." The dire rhino gives a groan as Sheema hops off the hardened silver back. The great beast heaves her front hooves forward and back hooves behind as she eases down upon the sidewalk. Sheema pats Makhana's forehead. "Don't worry, we shouldn't be long. Besides, anything goes wrong, you get to do what you do best!" With a nod from the rhino, Sheema sets Galadhil down for Makhana to watch over while the princess and her companions go to meet this gang and their reality warping Dreamer.

[Born]

The sudden suggestion caught Eric off-guard a bit, but he fumblingly replied "Oh, right. Yeah," then suggested to Treetop "Try to hold still. This is probably going to feel strange. I haven't done joint healing before, so I hope our powers work together well. I *think* the worst thing that can happen though is they just cancel each other out."

Following affirmation from Treetop, Mandragora reach out his vines carefully to begin the healing.

[Grim ranger]

Although he had been somewhat unamused by the notion he needed moderating influence (as he has never been that unbearable, surely?), Aquila had decided to be on his best behavior anyhow: it is not like he'd have any reason to try and act up during such an important day. He had also been learning a lot more about responsibility as of late, which...really had made him rather more thoughtful about certain things. The time-traveling adventure of sheer distilled confusion had probably also helped, but trying to wrangle the world of elemental nobility and superhero stuff opening before him so unexpectedly had probably given most of the learning experience comparatively speaking.

"Do you think there will be much in way of ceremonies?" he wondered quietly to Javan as they ambled along with others on the line, wearing fairly nice-looking suit for the occasion: although he usually dressed casually, sometimes there just was no escape from having to dress well for certain situations. Besides, considering the wealth of his family, he'd have definitely stuck out like sore thumb if he'd worn anything less. "I admit I have kind of forgotten all about this stuff lately, somehow..."

[manwithaplan]

Josh sighed.

"Judy?!"

...

"JUDY?!"

...

Whoosh!

I Search the island again!

Perception [roll0].

[DukeGod]

"Hm. Alright."

Gestalt raises his hand to shake

"Leviath Cinder, or Gestalt, whichever you prefer, my identity isn't a secret one. Now, you have a problem uniquely suited to a summoner? That seems...unusual"

[Dorni]

"Hello Ms Hobbs. I'm Agent Gray." She kept her tone carefully neutral. Official. She left off which SIDE agency she belonged to for the moment; SIDE officers would have every interest in capturing her assailant while knowing nothing about the Circle. Spectre had little doubt that a group as powerful as the Circle would have the resources to learn about INSIDE's investigation, but having the resources to learn about something didn't neccessarily mean it had been learned. If she did know, it was hard to predict how she'd react to an INSIDE agent's presence. It was a potentially useful card, but one best not played right away.

"I understand you were attacked 2 nights ago. I'd like to examine the scene and ask you a few questions."

Spectre glanced up at the curtains where the snipers were stationed and held it for a second or so. Long enough that even if Hobbs didn't have any experience with violence she'd notice that Spectre had noticed. When Spectre shifted her eyes back to the monitor she showed no alarm. With any luck, Hobbs would pick up the message of competence.

Persuasion: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Sheema

Kenta took to the air, both to provide overwatch and to help ensure the gang didn't feel immediately threatened; with his chi sense he could keep tabs on the situation from much too high up to be personally observed. Cyra followed you into the alley, wearing civvies like you and a baseball cap to help keep herself from being immediately identified. Her collapsible staff was tucked away in her jeans.

The alley was between a restaurant/bar and a cheap motel, and led into a large lot behind them. From the front neither of the buildings had appeared occupied or open for business. But when you reached the other end of the alley, instead of stepping into a parking lot...it was like stepping into some sort of grand ball. A lavish buffet table was situated on either side of the lot, filled with all manner of delicacies, and each one was backed up by a well-stocked bar. About a dozen people were milling about eating, drinking, and dancing to music that filled the air with no apparent source, dressed in elaborate finery and waited on by a small staff in crisp suits. The ground beneath your feet was pristine white tile rather than asphalt, and somehow it was nighttime in that parking lot, and not only that, but you could see the stars as clearly as if you were in the middle of a Perallan field (normally the bright lights of the city of Adaros almost completely washed them out).

But there were subtle inconsistencies to the glamorous scene. While the attendees all wore expensive clothes and had elaborately styled hair and makeup, you could see that beneath the finery they had rough, rugged appearances, complete with a broad selection of scars and tattoos. The wait staff stood at attention and promptly responded to any request, but their smiles were brittle and you could see terror in their eyes.

And the entire scene had a certain...orbit. The tracking of gazes, the flow of movement and dance, it all seemed almost choreographed to draw attention to a red-headed young woman wearing an elaborate, shimmering green gown, sitting on an ornate, thickly-cushioned chair that gleamed like mother-of-pearl. When you and Cyra arrived, it took a moment or two before she noticed you, but the second she did, she shot you both a sudden look and everyone's heads jerked to look in your direction in eerie simultaneity. The two guards standing before the exit from the alley (...had there been guards there a second ago?) crossed their rifles between them, to block your passage.

"Who the void are you?"

Mandragora

You began your work and...ah, well, no wonder no healing had been working! Treetop wasn't actually injured at all!

...Wait.

You realized something was wrong and managed to pull away just before the defoliant mine that had been hidden under the blanket triggered, wasting both it and the charge that "Phoenix" had imbued into it. And you knew, through sheer instinct, that the next attack would be coming immediately, allowing you to ready to defend yourself properly, negating what might have been a devastating surprise advantage.

But even predicting the attack didn't mean you were fast enough to prevent it. "Phoenix" pulled some strange raygun-looking thing out of her pocket and pointed it at you, firing a thin beam of brilliant green light at you. "Treetop" leaped from her bed and drew some kinda sea-urchin-looking spherical device, pressing a button on it and sending waves of electrochemical disruption washing over you.

Then both of them vanished.

The grounds outside the hospital include a fairly extensive lawn. If you can lure them out there, your touchsight should allow you to negate the benefit of their cloaking devices.

If you hit this DC, you can manage to get a bead on their general positions based on environmental clues even though they have Total Concealment from All Senses. This is enough to let you target them, but you take -5 on the attack roll for Concealment as normal.

You managed to beat their Deception Team Check with your Insight, so you managed to avoid their Triggered attacks and are not surprised. Fortunately for you, your Perception skill is too high for them to have risked attempting to use their Assessors prior to engaging, since you'd have auto-detected the attempt. They won initiative though.

"Phoenix":
Standard: Attack Mandragora with Disintegration Ray at [roll0]. On a hit, Defense DC 25+Multiattack vs. Secondary Effect Damage.
Free: Activate Shun Space. Hit
Move: Reposition.

"Treetop":
Standard: Attack Mandragora with Electrochemical Suppression Wave. Dodge DC 18 for half. Will DC 18/14 vs. Cumulative, Progressive Entranced/Compelled/Controlled.
Free: Activate Shun Space.
Move: Reposition.

Mandragora is on turn.

Summit

Javan shrugged. "The usual, I imagine. Announcements, speeches, and then watching everybody collect their diplomas one at a time," he said, a bit dryly.

It took several minutes, but eventually everybody made it into the auditorium and found their seats. A few minutes after that, music started playing. I'm not saying Ilessian graduations play "Pomp and Circumstance" but if that's the music you want to imagine anyway go for it, no skin off my spleen. The graduating class began filing in from the three entrances, going up to take their place on the stage, until something around a hundred and fifty teenagers were up there.

The principal entered stage right, going up to the center of the stage, and said...something, but the speakers didn't seem to be working so you couldn't make it out.

That was the first clue that things were about to go wrong.

The second was three short, loud retorts of gunfire, that drew an answering series of cries from both the crowd and the students.

It's a little hard to tell in the dark auditorium, but you're pretty sure the muzzle flares came from the right-hand side of the middle section of chairs.

More precisely, fourth chair from the right, fifth row from the front.

"Congratulations to the graduating class of 124!" a kinda snide male voice came from the speakers. "Our sincerest apologies for the interruption. We want you to get back to your ceremonies just as quickly as possible. So, everybody listen up! Your cell phones are being jammed, and that includes the Hero App, so nobody try anything funny. I have a dozen guys with automatic weapons scattered throughout the auditorium. You have your children all standing in a tightly-packed cluster in the only brightly-lit area in the room. I'm sure you can understand how any funny-business would play out."

"Now, here is how this is going to work. Six of my guys are going to be taking card readers up and down the aisles. Everybody is going to swipe their card and enter their passcodes, at which point ten thousand credits will be transferred from your accounts to ours. Once everybody has done so, we will leave and you can all get back to your celebration. Any questions? No? Good."

You could make out some movement near the front of the auditorium, but in the dark, it was hard to discern any details. Most of the students on stage looked terrified. Mariana was one of the few exceptions. She looked like she was trying not to smirk. She knew something these thieves didn't know - that you were in the audience.

"What do we do?" Javan whispered, his voice tight but not panicked. His power of Object Animation wasn't anywhere near as strong as yours, but it wasn't trivial either.

Josh

Racing all over the island, you couldn't find any sign of Judy. Huge insects, enormous trees, Flashpoint, giant animals, but no Ju-

Wait.

What was th-

Even with the -12 penalty from Harry Flashpoint, he managed to win initiative.

Flashpoint:
Move: Into Close range of Josh.
Free: Swap to Hasted Defense.
Standard: Attack Josh with Flash Barrage at -3 from Harry Flashpoint at [roll1]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage, Will DC 22+Multiattack vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless/Incapacitated, with the first two degrees Limited to Against Flashpoint. His attack roll is considered two lower for purposes of determining Multiattack bonuses due to his injured hand, can you believe I actually remembered that? Flashpoint is Deflected at [roll2] for the next two rounds. Hit. Deflect did not need to be rolled now but I guess that's its first result.

Josh is on turn.

Gestalt

"Oh not at all! Summoning has a vast array of applications. In this particular case, though, what I am looking for is dismissability. And...I suppose to a lesser extent expendability. My team needs to interact with a potentially hazardous material, and well summons are cheaper than drones. We need something that can-"

But before Dr. Mohren could finish his explanation, another voice - from above - interrupted with a yell of "Eyes on the target!" Hovering some fifty feet up, two people in what looked like old-model powered armor pointed their hands down and unloaded blasts of flame down on the both of you! Shortly thereafter, an ACV came flying in, half a dozen people in an eclectic assortment of paramilitary equipment rappelling down to the ground and pulling out heavy-duty shotguns, unloading a barrage of shots while the ACV fired its autoguns.

You were all too experienced enough to recognize a Defiant attack on sight. The question was, were they after you, or Mohren? (Their attacks didn't exactly help you figure that out - in usual Defiant fashion they were fairly indiscriminate).

Note: The Defiant are half immune to nonlethal damage, but you may choose to deal lethal damage to them freely if you wish. The regular Defiant are Minions.

Power Armored Defiant 1:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Flamethrower at Gestalt and Mohren. Dodge DC 18 for half, Toughness DC 23/19 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. Gestalt you lower this to DC 19/17 due to Half Energy Immunity.
Mohren: Dodge (+5 for Evasion 2): [roll3]. Toughness: [roll4]. Bruised

Power Armored Defiant 2:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Flamethrower at Gestalt and Mohren. Dodge DC 18 for half, Toughness DC 23/19 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. Gestalt you lower this to DC 19/17 due to Half Energy Immunity.
Mohren: Dodge (+5 for Evasion 2): [roll5]. Toughness: [roll6]. Resists

ACV:
Move: Arrive.
Standard: Attack Gestalt and Mohren with Homing Machine Gun, critting on 16+. Targeted Area, so Evasion applies to Defense. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage. On a miss, Homing 1.
Gestalt: [roll7]. Hit
Mohren: [roll8]. CRIT! I forgot to roll his Toughness will do that in OOC.

Defiant 1-6:
Move: Rappel down and spread out.
Standard: Three attack Gestalt, three attack Mohren, with Spreading Shot. For each hit, Toughness DC 19+Multiattack vs. Damage.
Gestalt: [roll9], [roll10], [roll11]. Three hits, two of which get +2 Multiattack, but Minions can't crit non-Minions.
Mohren: [roll12], [roll13], [roll14]. I'll roll his Toughness OOC on the off chance they manage to hit. Straight miss

Gestalt is on turn. Mohren will act at top of the next NPC turn.

Spectre

After a few moments, the door opened, allowing you entry. It closed behind you once you had entered. Nobody was in the living room when you first entered, but Hobbs came down the stairs shortly thereafter, with a bodyguard in front of and behind her.

...And just a couple steps behind them walked Simon Candler.

"We need to talk," he said, calmly but firmly. He was wearing an odd, high-tech-looking belt that you were pretty sure you'd never seen him wearing before. Of some note, similar but not quite identical devices were also being worn by Hobbs(?) and her two bodyguards. Those three stood in a line between Simon and you. Their stances were non-threatening, but conveyed a readiness to act at a moment's notice.

[manwithaplan]

A skip-step, and then both feet landing together, and then a long jump - Josh flew. Between two trees and over an uncomfortable growth of roots, he rolled through the dirt and onto his knees behind a wall of foliage.

The Speedster checked over his shoulder and then bolted through the woods - no jokes to tell today. Past the improbably large durian tree, between the hills of the spike ants, and through the folds of the thrice-laced spider net, he ran straight back to the sink hole, into the keep, and all the way back to the treasury. As he crossed the threshold, he dragged his foot through a trip-wire across the doorway.

Snap.

Then he finished in front of Tao's statue, the mighty frame like an outline around his own body. The booby trap moved fast, but not fast enough to catch a Speedster. It might get someone just behind him, though, if they were in hot pursuit.

And knowing this guy...

Harry Flashpoint Edit Scene to have a trap
be at the treasury entrance. If I can choose, a slow-you-down trap rather than a damager, but...not Defence-resisted, please. :smallwink:

Standard Action: Trick Flashpoint into blundering after me [roll0].
Move Action: Seeya! Running back to the axe. Intentionally hitting the trap so Cyrus will run into it if tricked.

Status: Hyped.

[Starsign]

Sheema takes an active pause as she comes across what is an inexplicably lavish party. She hadn't actually been sure of what to expect, but this certainly was not one of those things. She feels so out of place, as if a typical kid on the street looking through the window into some massive rich party.

Evidently, she's well in over her head. This reality warper must be well-used to her powers already. Everything is like an illusion so well-established that it's real.

Given casual street clothes are an especially poor choice for an "event" like this, the Perallan princess attempts to make the most of her plan, however much it can be salvaged. "We heard about the new queen," she speaks for herself, Kenta and Cyra. "Queen," is perhaps a strong word to describe the reality-warping woman. Yet it is almost fitting for someone who has so artistically made this big "party" all about her. If nothing else, it might get her attention. "We wanted to see for ourselves what she can do," Sheema continues, giving a small smile. "Though it's quite incredible already. I've never seen someone transform the world into something else entirely..."

Beneath the praise and the wonder is a kernel of truth spoken from a certain point of view. Though Sheema's meeting with Tara in that bad future was tragically-lived, the Perallan princess did get an idea of how to manipulate through persuasion. It's actually quite scary to say something that is so true to you that you believe it yourself. All it takes is the right tone, the right use of words, and the right expression to get what you want in a genuine way.

...Not that such a skill is easy, of course.

Alright, so here's something I wanted to try. Hoping a Persuasion check may apply here: [roll0]

[Dorni]

Spectre hesitated.

Sure, 'Daimon uses his shapeshifting to set a trap' had been on her list of possibilities for how this could play out, but it had been way down at the bottom near the stuff of Truthspeakers. Why would he reveal himself? Daimon wasn't without emotion, but she'd never known him to let sentiment compromise accomplishing his objective. Which meant he wanted something from her.

If so, he'd gone through a lot of trouble. The matching belts confirmed they were working together - she was likely looking at a portion of the the strike team that Daimon was using in his assassinations. Of course Daimon knew her Dreamer abilities - odds were good that the pair of guards had Powers meant to counter her much like his team countered his targets' abilities in case she attempted to bring him in by force. Even if not, she appreciated the compliment.

Daimon was gambling another asset here - Hobbs was both extremely powerful and well-connected. To see her on Daimon's side was revealing a powerful ally. If she didn't leave with Daimon then SIDE would bring her in and INSIDE would immediately start digging into her life. That is, assuming the "Hobbs" in front of him wasn't another of Daimon's new allies with a shape-shifting ability. Spectre assigned that scenario reasonable odds - Hobbs was certainly a capable individual, but her mansion's defenses weren't nearly enough to slow down Daimon and Hobbs herself was a director, not an experienced fighter like Wynona Jordan had been. After the way Daimon had handled Jordan it would be comparatively easy for him to kill Hobbs and have her replaced. The Jordan attack had already revealed that one of his allies had a shape-shifting power.

Although... she'd dismissed the detail at the time, but now she had a pattern. In both the Jordan attack and now, Daimon had his martial artist ally handle the job of impersonating the target after they'd been slain. Why would Daimon have his ally handle that job when Daimon could do it himself? And for that matter, both then and now Daimon had worn the guise of Simon Candler. If there was a tactical benefit to doing so, she didn't see it. If anything, it carried the disadvantage of tying his current activities to the Candler identity. Putting his old identity and former operations at risk seemed like an unnecessary one. She filed the thought away for later.

"I'm listening." Two simple words. Beneath their calm surface, emotions boiled. She'd looked up to Daimon, worked alongside him for years. He was one of INSIDE's best, the most patriotic agent in the agency. What could justify going rogue and embarking on this campaign?

[Born]

It didn't occur to Eric who the people attacking him might be just yet. Rather, as Simon had taught him, he focused first on the situation, and came up with a quick-and-dirty plan to turn the situation to his advantage. The plant man bolted for the window, vines reaching forward and to throw it open on the way, then leapt out and glided softly to the ground. Immediately after hitting the grass, he erected a barrier of wood between himself and the building to keep the assailants from attacking him from anywhere on the building.

He hoped that they were desperate or foolish enough to step onto the grounds so that he could feel their presence, but considering the weapons they had used against him he knew he had to be ready for more calculated attacks.


Move: Get out of the building, and glide down to the lawn.
Standard: Use Plant Growth to create foliage between Mandragora and the building.

[DukeGod]

Gestalt sure was happy for that quick activating Power Armor he had.

As quick as it is on him, he moves to summon Raptor Attack, pulling the man close to himself

Since his summon is still reeling from the summoning, Gestalt uses the mental link to assume control for a moment, performing the crude calculations necessary to call down lightning on the bunch

1 HP :smallcool: to reroll the defense that left me staggered.
[roll0] vs DC 25. +10 on 20 or less. This does mean that at worst it'll bruise. No change in the other rolls

Because of their immunity AND his Hatred, Gestalt is going for lethal damage for the moment
Movement: Activate Summon
Standard: I actually don't remember if my first summon is supposed to use up this one aswell, but I think it does

Extra Effort so that my summon can act in the summoned turn

Rainbow Bird
Standard: Chain Shocks the person in the rough center of the group
[roll1] on hit Toughness vs DC 25. Contagious with Reach

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 2

Flashpoint was hot on Josh's tail, and apparently he hadn't learned from last time. Or...had forgotten in the five years since last time? Was that in this timeline, actually? Maybe this Flashpoint merely wasn't aware of last time and...

...

Nevermind!

Point being, the pyrokinetic speedster went blundering right into Josh's cunningly laid discovered trap, blundering straight into the thick cloud of noxious gas and plunging helplessly through it!

Flashpoint coughed.

Once.

Politely.

Then he started racing all over the room, coming at Josh from multiple angles at once, too fast for even speedster eyes to perceive, filling the room with a flurry of violence that left no escape - except through the noxious cloud filling the entrance!

(Or, okay, like the walls and ceiling. You're both speedsters we can be real here.)

Flashpoint:
Move: Chase Josh, hit the trap, don't care.
Free: Swap to Dodge Anything.
Standard: Attack Josh with Burning Flurry, Accurate Attacking for 2, at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage. This attack fills the room as a Cloud Area and carries a Secondary Effect, but as a Targeted Area attack Evasion applies. CRIT! Which will almost certainly be force rerolled, but whatever. Flashpoint is bringing his A-game -3 penalty or not. No Multiattack thanks to Evasion.
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Deflected again.

Josh is on turn.

Sheema

Your Persuasion check is sufficient to shift her from Unfriendly to Indifferent.

The reality warper kinda raised an eyebrow, but then she chuckled. The two guards with rifles were gone again. "I wasn't expecting outside visitors. Kinda rude to crash someone's party, but sure, you can hang around if you want. The more the merrier, right?" she asked, with a self-satisfied smirk.

"This is a formal affair though. You'll need nicer clothes than that," she said, gesturing with her hand.

She's using a Transform power on your clothes to turn them into formal attire. That includes your armor. If you want to resist, it's Will DC 22, but if you do she'll become Unfriendly again.

Spectre

"Alright. You were the one who discovered what I was doing and reported it to SIDE." He said it as a statement of fact, not a question, although whether he had found that out for himself somehow, had just deduced it from what evidence he had, or was simply giving you the credit he knew you were due, who could say? You could hear just the faintest tinge of disappointment in his voice. It was like back when he was training you; whenever you had made some mistake during his tests and lessons, he hadn't generally reprimanded or berated you. There was no point to that. He just explained what you could do better next time, or what you had done wrong.

But that note of disappointment only tinged his voice when it was a mistake he thought you should already have known better than to make.

"It's become problematic. Fortunately, there's a way we can fix it. May I get right to that, or do you need me to explain why I'm doing what I'm doing?"

Daimon was a hard man to read, when he wanted to be. When he wanted to get a point across, he didn't need many words to do it, particularly with you. You could tell that he was entirely convinced that he was doing the right thing, and he felt that you should know him well enough - and trust his judgment enough - that the mere fact that he was taking such obviously extreme measures to accomplish his goals should have been evidence, to you, of how critical it was that he achieve them. Nonetheless, he was willing to explain things if it was necessary to get you on board.

Mandragora

Pop! The two people wearing the faces of your comrades simply appeared beside you, on the other side of your wall, though at least they were visible again so evidently whatever cloaking devices they were using was mutually-exclusive with their teleporters. They appeared on either side of you. Both of them had those weird sea-urchin like devices in hand now, and they activated them simultaneously, sending more waves of biochemical disruption rolling out over you - and each other, although they seemed unaffected - even as the disintegrating energy that had hit you previously continued trying to turn your physical structure to dust.

"Phoenix"/"Treetop":
Free: Swap to Fold Space.
Move: Teleport into Close range of Mandragora.
Standard: Biochemical Suppression Wave as a Team Attack. Give me Dodge DC 20 for half, Will DC 20/15 vs. Cumulative, Progressive Entranced/Compelled/Controlled.
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Give me Defense DC 25 vs. Damage.

Mandragora is on turn.

Gestalt

The goons were too spread out to hit more than one, but the power-armored Defiant were side by side. Raptor Attack blitzed them both, damaging one suit but the other seemed unharmed.

"You know I must say, of all the myriad reasons Dreamers are better off on Paradisia than in Sleeper nations, the fact that your country continues to allow maniacs like this to exist is a particularly egregious one," Leonard said, and though he had been caught by both flame and bullets, he sounded more annoyed than hurt. He didn't seem physically damaged at all, but some runes had appeared on his skin, glowing about as brightly as a computer screen as they bled off the energy they had absorbed. You knew from your time around Arcanis that his personal wards would be somewhat weaker now, until they had expunged the absorbed energy.

His eyes began to glow with orange light as he began scanning the immediate future, and with a gesture and an arcane word you could see a sort of hazy orange overlay go over your own vision, showing you where shots were about to be taken. Raptor Attack's eyes were also glowing. Oddly enough, a similar orange glow seemed to be coming from the visor of one of the power armored Defiant, but it seemed brighter and almost...sharper, and the person within let out a cry of surprise - or maybe pain.

It didn't stop the Defiant from continuing to fire at will. The power armored Defiant shot their autoguns, one at each of you, while the ACV loosed its kinetic cannon at Raptor Attack. The goons kept on firing, two each taking aim at you, Leonard, and Raptor Attack with spreading shots.

Leonard:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Armored 2 with Dread Secret, using Dreamcaster to Link it to Predict Attacks. Armored 1 gets Will ([roll1]) DC 28 vs. Lethal Damage. The three of you are Deflected at 1d10+23. Armored 2 Bruised and Staggered

Armored 1-2:
Move: Meh/Dazed.
Standard: Attack Gestalt and Leonard respectively with Autoguns. On a hit, Toughness DC 23+Multiattack vs. Damage.
Gestalt: [roll2], Deflected at [roll3]. Miss
Leonard: [roll4], Deflected at [roll5]. Toughness: [roll6]. Miss
End of Turn: Secondary Effects trigger. Gestalt give me Toughness DC 19 and Toughness DC 17 vs. Damage. Leonard has to make two DC 19 checks.
Leonard: [roll7], [roll8]. Resists

ACV:
Move: Sure?
Standard: Attack Raptor Attack with Kinetic Cannon at [roll9], Deflected at [roll10]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 20 vs. Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled. Miss

Mooks:
Move: Various jockeying for position.
Standard: Attack with Spreading Shot, two on each. On...I mean, if they somehow manage to roll a 20 since they can't otherwise beat the Deflect, Toughness DC 19+lolMultiattackcan'thappen vs. Damage.
Gestalt: [roll11], [roll12]. Huh, one of them gets lucky again.
Raptor Attack: [roll13], [roll14].
Leonard: [roll15], [roll16].

Gestalt is on turn.

Summit

??

[manwithaplan]

Josh parried and deflected his way through the flaming-hot murderhouse that he had trapped himself in with the madman. The clash ended in front of Tao's statue, where he paused for a moment to wipe the sweat off his brow. Looking into Flashpoint's eyes, he shook his head.

"We aren't talking today?"

For a fraction of a moment, his head peered over his shoulder, at the legendary weapon that Tao was holding. In his eyes, he seemed to decide on something.

Then his hand cracked out like a whip, his fingers were wrapped around the prize, and he unceremoniously ripped it out of the other hero's grasp. A sound filled the room as if a thousand-ton metal rod had been unsheathed from the peak of an obsidian mountain. A few pieces of Tao's poor hand came along for the ride, clattering against the mossy stone. Looking back at Cyrus, he grinned. With his clothes drenched in sweat and a murder-weapon in his hands, it looked a bit less pretty than his usual smile.

"I'll make you talk."

Then Josh Miles jumped, and he jumped high, clearing the statue and flipping over himself to perch behind it. He hadn't even landed before the explosion went off, and it was a big explosion - not sympathetic towards grave robbers, the beautiful sculpture was rigged to blow up in their face. Unfortunately, it got the wrong guy.

Crouching behind what was left of the statue after it blew, Josh held onto the haft of the enchanted weapon with white knuckles. He peered around each corner of his cover like he didn't expect his attack to have slowed the enemy down at all.

"Come on...come on..."

Another Edit Scene using Downtime successes. This time, Josh's earlier prediction was right, and the statue has a trap for people that take the axe.

"What kind of trap, Manwithaplan?"

I'm glad you asked! It's rigged with a concussive bomb that weakens your defences and sends you tumbling back into the room with the noxious gas.

Standard Action: "Ready" to move behind the statue when it blows. I attempt to use the remains of it to break line of sight.
Free Action: Claim Jarivadell, triggering the trap.
Extra Effort - Standard Action: Ready an action to use Flurry of Blows on Flashpoint if he enters my line of sight, Charging if necessary (can I say that lol?). Power Attack 5.
Free Action: Changing Super Speed to Quickness 21, Speed 3.

Status: Fatigued next round.

[Starsign]

When you arrive at a ball uninvited, the second thing you expect, first being stopped by the bouncers, isn't to be allowed in and 'offered' a change to formal clothes. Sheema was not one to object to such a... generous offer. She would have preferred otherwise, for she relied on her nanotech armor for protection and already left behind Galadhil. Yet there is no benefit to trying to resist when she's subjected to a largely cosmetic change. A less fortunate hero might have just been transformed into a tiny bug to be stepped on.

...Though the disappearance of the two guards was a bit more than unnerving.

So it is by the reality warper's will that Sheema's casual sweater and pants, and armor beneath, transform into a frilly, formal white Ilessian-style dress to contrast her dark, Perallan skin. The dress, unfortunately, came with dainty high heels that fit awkwardly onto Sheema's feet. How do people walk in this sort of footwear?! The discomfort is almost as bad as if her toes are broken.

The change, however, is enough to help get her understand a bit of what and how this reality warping is actually happening.

[roll0]

Nevertheless, Sheema ignores the rather painful ache of her high heels and walks into the party, approaching though not closing in on the reality warping woman running the show. "Oh, thank you!" Sheema says with happiness to the woman. There's absolutely no point to opposing someone while they hold presumably unimaginable power. "It's a wonderful dress, though not as glamorous as your own, Sheema continues, both as a compliment and a matter-of-fact. Why would this reality warping woman, after all, give a more beautiful dress to some random nobody she just met? Sheema takes a look to see whether Kenta and Cyra have adapted to their new outfits before asking the reality warping woman, "May I ask for your name, please? I bet it'll be talk of Adaros in the month."

---

Makhana lazes about out of the alley, casually keeping an eye on Galadhil and blissfully ignorant of Sheema's sudden change of wardrobe. No violence yet, so that's something going right!

[Born]

Those urchin-like things were clearly bad news here. Eric hadn't seen anything like them before, and they were certainly the strangest weapons he had ever seen. On the other hand, the assailants were holding onto them somewhat carefully, so perhaps they could be removed from service. The vine man looped his vines around the attackers confusingly to strike at them, but more importantly, to nab those weird devices straight out of their hands.


Move: Dazed.
Standard: Vine Lash the fake Treetop, assuming Fast Grab allows him to grab the devices (and definitely keep them faced away from him!) while he's at it. Accurate attack 2. On a hit, DC 24 + Multiattack Toughness vs. damage, and DC 24 + Multiattack Dodge or Strength vs. a grab attempt to take away the urchin device. [roll0]
Extra Effort Standard: Do the same thing to the false Phoenix (not sure if I get the "all limbs" bonus to the grab DC if I'm holding a device in one vine?): [roll1]

End of turn: Fatigued

[Grim ranger]

Tense as well, Aquila surveyed the situation. It did not seem that shootout was imminent on the spot at least: thieves tended to care more about getting their money than executing hostages on a whim, after all. Still, as long as people in there were in danger of catching a bullet, he couldn't really start a fight with the robbers. It was time to try something he had not tried before...a trick that had strained him to point of gasping the first time he had done it, and as such had been reluctant to employ so far. But if this situation didn't scream "special occasion", none would.

Glancing at Javan, he went on to reply quietly, patting his friend's shoulder somewhat to reassure him. "I will be drawing attention: if any of them seems like they try to focus on people around them rather than on me or on trying to escape, try to stop them. I think I have their number, but I can't protect everyone here AND fight. And if they hurt my family... bad things will happen. Just keep them safe, alright?"

Sparing the rest of his family a reassuring nod, Aquila focused before making an imperious, beckoning gesture. The effect around the stage was immediate, air itself seeming to tremble and tense for a split second as the Prince of Earth gathered his will...before suddenly disgorging rapidly amassing pile of stone, sand and metal. The students on the stage disappeared from view as a solid dome formed around them, protecting them quite well from anything man-portable. Although the effort had left him already wincing somewhat from the strain, Aquila refused to show the matter as his earthen armor formed over his suit from nowhere. Stepping up on top of the seat on front of him, he went on to imperiously make his way to the stage in the stunned silence that followed. It was quite important for him to get all the attention now.

"This was a bad time for you to try this. I suggest that you throw down your guns now, get on the ground with your arms behind your back, and wait for the more kind and gentle enforcers of the law to show up and arrest you. If not... you will be waking up in well-guarded hospital wing instead. If you try me, I have both reason and incentive to make this personal and come after each and every one of you for threatening to kill kids. So, care to test what your guns are worth against me, after I have already been punched by a giant and found it lacking? If you do, I'll be SURE to hit back."

Aquila stunts Earth my Army to use Create 12 (Continuous, Impervious 7, Innate) and create a barrier of earth with metal coating (and enough air holes out of enemy sight to avoid complications) between the targeted students and the robbers.

After that, using Intimidate on the robbers.

[roll0] (Intimidate)

Edit: The Earth my Armor is active from Earthen Servitors array.

[Dorni]

Spectre answered Daimon with an expressionless mask. She could also be hard to read when she wanted to be, but under the mask she was much less serene.

She couldn't not see the tactical considerations at play. He was aware that she had discovered his campaign and reported it to SIDE. He'd engineered this encounter, and he'd chosen to meet her in front of his new allies. Knowing him, he very probably could have met her alone. It would have been a sign of trust and strengthen his message. He'd instead chosen to meet her like this, which could mean he was taking a sensible precaution, or it could mean that he wasn't able to - perhaps his new allies didn't want him meeting her alone. Was there friction between them that she could exploit? Or was he counting on her to pick up an underlying message? Daimon would never allow himself to be strong-armed into a campaign he didn't believe in, but it was possible his new allies were an alliance of convenience. The way they were positioned put his new allies between them. Or perhaps they weren't shielding him from her, but barring him from her.

But that tone... he clearly believed in his campaign. And expected her to understand his motivations and support him. Seeing his disappointment affected her more than she'd expected. As a trainer he'd set the bar extremely high and never gave out praise he didn't mean. It had meant something to her to earn his approval. Her time as a trainee ended years ago, but the feeling hadn't fully faded. Which, she was aware, Daimon had to also be aware of. Which made her question whether his disappointment was genuine or an attempt at manipulation. She didn't wan't to believe it, but she couldn't discount the possibility.

"Hahaha. Oh sure, now that we're here it makes total sense why you disappeared, made no effort to contact Inside after you returned from your time jump, then enlisted help and are carrying out a campaign of assassinations." She deliberately avoided mentioning the Circle in front of Daimon's allies. Not until she confirmed their identities. Whoever they were, they were highly trained and in possession of a wide array of Dreamer powers that were carefully selected for each of their targets. There were vanishingly few organizations on the planet that boasted that combination of training and power variety.

"Why, if you haven't gone rogue, you've done an amazing job of appearing to have done so. I'm going to need more than 'just trust me' on this one."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 3

Josh

Josh pulled his trick perfectly, drawing the axe just in time to catch Flashpoint fully with the concussion trap, sending him flying back through the noxious cloud to crash against the wall in the hallway beyond!

The noxious smoke slowly faded to reveal-

Flashpoint. Standing completely unharmed.

"I'm curious. Do you honestly think this pitiful little island has anything on it capable of so much as inconveniencing me?"

The next moment, he was right in front of Josh, lashing out with a single blurring punch. It was...slower than usual, for one of Flashpoint's attacks, as if the air was resisting its passage even more than normally, the strike invested with an especially high amount of friction - which it would force into the target on a hit, "OR ARE YOU JUST TRYING TO STALL!?"

Flashpoint:
Free: Swap to Dodge Anything.
Move: Into Close range of Josh. This triggers his readied action.
Standard: Attack Josh with Invest Friction at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 20 vs. Weaken All Speed-Related Traits. Miss. Josh gets to keep his resources this time around!

Josh is on turn.

Sheema

Cyra's attire was transformed as well - her power could have negated the effect, of course, but she followed your lead and allowed it to affect her. You knew Cyra well enough to know that she wasn't exactly a fan of constrictive formalwear, but outwardly she gave an appreciative smile, looking down to admire the dress. Cyra had a good poker face.

Evidently you had guessed correctly that with this reality warper, flattery would get you everywhere. She made a beatific gesture, answering with precisely zero modesty, "A trifle. My name...well. I used to go by the name Sybil Parker. But that was in a previous life. Now I am known as Majeste."

She paused for a few seconds, just to really crank up the melodrama, before asking with a sort of politely disinterested air, "And what do you call yourselves?"

Mandragora

Dreamcatchers won their battles through cunning and preparation, tricks and traps leading to overwhelming assault. But when those didn't work, they could generally trust their powerful supra-military-grade weapons technology to deal with their opponents, at least for long enough to recover their advantage.

Heh. Or so they thought.

Against a Dreamer as powerful as Mandragora, though, it didn't come close. In seconds, he had shattered both of their forcefields, knocked one of them clean unconscious, and swiped their Biochemical Suppressors - which, unfortunately, were currently holding the power cells that they swapped between all of their weaponry, which would have kinda left them virtually helpless even if their forcefields had held strong.

The fake Phoenix kinda boggled for a moment, but fortunately, their warp systems used a separate power source. She grabbed her unconscious cohort and they both vanished; on the grassy ground, Mandragora could tell that they hadn't just disappeared. They had teleported away.

...That went well for them. Mandragora take a :smallcool: Hero Point.

Summit

HahahahahahaWOW! Did these poor guys ever not know what they were walking into.

As Summit's wall went up, the previously snide voice coming from the speakers let out a kinda unconscious, "Wait whu-?" A few of the goons, either less disciplined or just more trigger-happy, took some shots at the wall, but the bullets basically just splattered against it. There were a few scared cries from the audience, was all.

Then Aquila went up on stage and made his announcement. Most of the crowd cheered. Among them was some nervous shuffling. The leader seemed to collect himself though. "Oh you think you're so clever do you? But you forget! I have a dozen guys with automatic weapons! You might have been able to shield the kids, Hero, but can you protect the entire crowd?"

It was a serious threat. Or...you know, it would have been if it weren't immediately followed up by the sound of a dozen automatic weapons being thrown to the ground in abject surrender. Evidently the goons found your threat more persuasive.

"Um..."

There was the sound of someone trying to force his way through the seats, but the leader's attempt to use the cover of darkness to escape was kinda foiled as the lights suddenly came on.

"Found the lightswitch!" Javan called over to you cheerily. He was still sitting in his seat, far away from any switches. But, you know, object animation, and all.

"Crap."

Summit take a :smallcool: Hero Point.

Spectre

I believe the general premise was that nobody had really told anyone about the original Disappearance timeline, so I'm figuring Daimon hadn't informed Spectre or IN-SIDE about it previously.
If he had, let me know and just figure instead of explaining it here he just mentions what he had told her about it.

"Alright," Daimon answered, his face and voice entirely neutral. Evidently, if your answer had continued to disappoint him, he didn't see any benefit in making you aware of it. "This wasn't the first time I have been to an alternate timeline. Early this year when I had been out of contact for a few days, there had been a temporal anomaly. In the timeline I experienced, a tenth of the people of Adaros had vanished overnight. They had been bodily summoned into the future by a future incarnation of the Hero Gestalt, using ritual and technological enhancements including the captured powers of over two-hundred augmenters, Tara Ellens among them. This had connected that present with that future in a way that as I understand it basically broke all the rules. My team and I discovered how to retroactively prevent that future timeline, which altered our present and as a side effect caused us to retroactively disappear for the elapsed time between the initial Disappearance and our stopping it. Or that's the closest thing to a version of what happened that makes some manner of sense, anyway; some of the specifics may not be entirely accurate. You can confirm all of this with any of Simon's former team if you feel the need to."

"During that time, I had an encounter with my own future self, who had been trying to thwart his present's Gestalt. I also came to learn about a scientist, Lorelei Winters, who was working on a time machine which was in some way responsible for that future. After the matter was resolved, I began laying the groundwork to make sure that once it was completed, Lorelei's technology would be made available to IN-SIDE."

"As time went on, I began periodically receiving communications from my own potential futures. The first came during the incident with the APEX meteor. Their information was limited though. During this most recent misadventure, we ended up getting sent back to the future we had prevented, and I had a final encounter with my future self from that timeline."

"He revealed to me that the timeline he had experienced was just one of many possible ways that Ilessia - the entire country - could be threatened. He had used time-manipulating technology derived from Lorelei's work to witness and even influence various past timelines. In every timeline he looked through, Ilessia faced a grave threat, one capable of ending the country as we know it, if not ending it outright. In the majority of these timelines, the Circle of the Shared Dream was a significant cause of the threat." It probably wouldn't escape your notice that this was a lot of information he was giving you, but his associates didn't seem to have any objection to it.

"So. Ilessia is in peril. The most effective way to remove that peril is to neutralize the Circle. I would have preferred to bring this to IN-SIDE, but you've seen the Circle members just in my reports. They wield too much political power. And at the end of the day, IN-SIDE is still restricted by bureaucracy. My future self also warned me of the trouble I'd be facing as a result of Arcanis's death, and that in all probability IN-SIDE wouldn't even have my back on that, let alone on dealing with the entire Circle. And beyond that..."

"You saw what happened on 'Meteor Day'. The full might of the Ilessian military, all of our scientists, all of our intelligence networks...they were useless, Kim. They were worse than useless! The most helpful thing they did was get out of the way!" For the first time since you had arrived - and honestly one of the few times since you had known him - Daimon actually betrayed some legitimate emotion as he spat those words. "That meteor was an existential threat to this nation and our organizations and our bureaucracies were powerless to prevent it. And something worse in coming."

"So yes. I went rogue. I had to, to have any chance of neutralizing the Circle before they do whatever they are going to do that will create the next existential threat to this nation. But now they're alerted. I need you to help me sell a story. That you've captured me, that the threat is over. Once things have calmed down, I'll be able to get back to work. I'm not asking you to join me. You don't have to do any of the dirty work. But Kim...your actions have put Ilessia at risk, and I need you to fix that." His voice was firm, demanding, almost like back when he was assigning you a critical test. But...there was something different. Something about how he said 'your actions have put Ilessia at risk' that changed it from a request or even an assignment. It was something you had rarely heard from Daimon Aimes before, and never towards yourself.

It sounded like a threat.

Although we all know that Daimon's leaving out more than a few things, for Spectre to be aware of that IC requires a DC 32 Insight check. She'll still be aware that he's largely speaking the truth as he sees it, but that'll detect that there are certain key details that he's omitting. Insight cannot, however, reveal what those details are.

Gestalt

??

[manwithaplan]

Josh saw his unharmed foe around the corner and nodded to himself, still trying to catch his breath. The gas didn't work. The blast didn't work. The gas didn't work again. He tightened his grip on Jarivadell, resting his back against the smoking stone of Sempers' statue.

"Sorry about that," he muttered to the remains of the former hero. "It's fine, I always end up doing this alone."

Flashpoint yelled, Flashpoint charged, Flashpoint lunged...and Josh caught his hand, holding it not too far from his face. There was a moment of eye contact, and then for another moment Josh was calmly thinking about something. He nodded to himself again. He exhaled, calmly rolling his weapon around in his fingers. He spoke, uttering something as if he had just figured it out for the first time, but was already writing it off as something that should have been obvious for a long time.

"I'm on this island."

He'd never been so cold. SLASH! Swinging Jarivadell felt like taking a truncated plane of the sun to a sphere of rotten wood. He released his grip, turning to the right and lashing out again with the axe, this time attempting to draw it from the wrist to the shoulder of Flashpoint's extended arm. His hand seemed to know where to go, sketching a perfectly straight line along the tendons and veins. Coolly, Josh walked away, turning his back and going to check out one of the artefacts that hadn't fallen from its shelf when the statue exploded.

"I'm trying to get my companion back. Would you care to help with that?"

Standard Action: Pressure Point Surge with Jarivadell, All-Out Power Attack 5. Attack [roll0] for DC 21+Multiattack Fortitude against Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated. This effect is Progressive.

Crits on 32+. On a 24 or lower, HP Reroll [roll1].

Move Action: Walk away.
Free Action: Reversing Super-Speed to Speed 21, Quickness 3.

Status: Fatigued, -5 Defence.

[Starsign]

Sheema almost wanted to smirk a bit. Her meeting with Tara way back in the bad future is paying off in ways she hadn't quite imagined... Though perhaps one should warn Sheema that Tara might have been a bit too much of an influence on the Perallan princess. A little persuasion, however, is all dependent on the speaker, isn't it? Sheema's simply trying to get on Sybil's good side and look for the smallest of points that this reality warper can be manipulated.

Sometimes, all a ruler wants to hear is how important they are. Sheema... unfortunately knows this from her dad's personal experience.

"Oh, my name's quite irrelevant compared to yours," she continues, dodging the question while also adding a little more praise. "I can't imagine this party being for anyone but you Majeste. Or would it be better if I called you..." In her new dress, Sheema carefully grabs the sides and pick them up as she bends her kneels and kneels her head gently over. "Your Majesty?" The gesture is one Sheema practiced a little back in Peral when she was young to the other rulers of Perallan city-states. The metaphorical rust still shows; her legs bent awkwardly, her dress crooked in the pose, her head slumped a little more than bowed. Any actual royalty would've scoffed at the lacking 'elegance.' Though Sheema suspect Sybil would care less about the form and more about the act itself.

Besides, this party is all about Majeste, is it not? Sheema's name and identity should be irrelevant, making it easy to dodge the question.

From here, the way forward is clear, if risky. "Though I can't imagine my bow has the same release as other people doing so, say, officers or heroes. We," she gently holds Cyra's hand; The upbeat tone of Sheema is almost impressive given who she's speaking to, "know a bit about the city if you'd like our information on expanding or certain people of interest." As a Hero, and someone who's been in Adaros long enough, Sheema can theoretically give pointers and places that might be very useful to Sybil if she wishes to expand. Now actually doing so will be an impressive violation of trust and morality. But the simple truth that Sheema has info might be truth enough.

"Although, I'm a little concerned speaking in front of..." Sheema looks around at the various too-well-dressed gang members... and especially the terrified "staff." "...These people. I feel you might be the only one we can trust you with this information." She bows again. "Your Majesty." Here's the make-or-break; the goal of separating Sybil from the rest of her gang. Sheema wouldn't think of being able to go one-on-one with a reality warper. But having Cyra with her would be a blessing for the Perallan princess. Sybil just needs to nab the bait...

[Grim ranger]

"Well then, I would hate to keep this graduation on pause for too long, so if the criminals among you would be so kind as to march to one side and sit down against the wall? And please don't try to make a run for it, I would catch you. It would just irritate me somewhat" Summit asked remarkably politely, although his voice still rumbled as ever before addressing the crowd. "Please don't touch the guns they have left behind, as we would not want any accidents and I imagine the police would appreciate having their evidence remain unsullied. Thank you."

Waiting for the criminals to walk their way over to the side and checking in cursory manner none of them had retained their grip on the guns, Summit pressed his hand against the earthen wall, causing it to seemingly rush into his armor and disappear without a trace. This new application wasn't something he planned on doing often, tiring as it was, but it was definitely quite visually impressive. "As you were, ladies and gentlemen. Congratulations for your graduation" he noted to the students, giving them a humble nod before making his way over to the villains of the day.

"Now, please stop jamming the phones so calls can be made for your arrest. It is that or I wrap you into earthen coffins and haul you to station, and from what I have heard it can be a TERRIBLY unnerving experience, especially if you have fear of being buried alive."

[Born]

When the mysterious assailants disappeared, Eric took a long look around to make sure there were no more before dismissing his wall of vegetation. He glared with disdain at the devices he had managed to plunder from the attackers. So distasteful, using some horrible device resembling something from nature. To Eric's increasingly-plant-minded thoughts, it seemed an abomination. He didn't know for sure who it was that had attacked him, but there weren't many organizations that well-armed or bold enough to attack a hero in broad daylight.

He once again fumbled awkwardly with his phone to get into contact with the Hero Corps to report what had happened . His mother of all people had managed to add a quick-access icon for him. Getting someone to look at these horrifying devices was also a top priority.

When he got the chance, Mandragora also tried to contact Phoenix. Was she really back, or had even that been orchestrated by whoever it was that was trying to pull this off?

[Dorni]

Spectre put aside her shock and absorbed the briefing. Daimon's allies' lack of reaction indicated that all this was old information to them. Daimon was paranoid about secrecy, but he clearly had a high degree of trust in these allies to reveal so much. There was no way they were simple mercenaries.

Daimon was not and had never been prone to emotional outbursts. He'd always been calm and collected, and he'd done his best to drill that into her too. So to see his fury at the very institutions that guarded Illessia stunned her. He was being unguarded in a way that Spectre had never seen prior.

And the way he laid out the threat against Illessia... the situational analysis he laid out wasn't without logic.

But saying that he'd received information from his future self during the APEX meteor incident was a roundabout way of saying he'd gotten it during the final siege on the Ten Wolves, where Arcanis had died. It might explain some of Daimon's recklessness that night, but it didn't track with his goals. Arcanis' death and Tara gaining both the archmage's staff and Comody's APEX supply had been the worst disaster in the case. So he'd either been lying to the Overseer that Arcanis death had been an accident, or...

...or the information he'd received then had been incomplete. Fallible. If that information was incomplete, then his strategy for dealing with the Circle of Shared Dreams was probably also built on incomplete information. And besides, not every situation could be reduced to lives in a balance sheet.

"That's a lot to absorb," she answered at last. "And it still leaves us with a problem. My orders are to take you in for questioning. INSIDE has tremendous respect for you - they won't be convinced any threat you may pose is over until you're in custody. If I'm going to sell anything, you'll need to come with me." She didn't think it likely that he'd turn himself in, but he seemed to know her orders were to capture him. He couldn't be expecting one of his shape-shifting allies would take his place, could he? If so, then at minimum it gained her time. Time that Daimon would need to halt his killing spree, and time for her to follow up. And if not...

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 4

Josh

"No."

Flashpoint spat blood, and it boiled to vapor as it hit the ground. The mighty war-axe Jarivadell wielded with Josh's sheer speed had done critical damage to the pyrokinetic speedster. By all rights, he should have fallen.

He did not. He was Flashpoint. He was in the top one percent of the top one percent of Dreamers on the entire planet. His blood spat and hissed in his wounds, burning, cauterizing them.

The blow had given even Flashpoint pause. He had to take a moment to gather himself, but he took the opportunity to speak.

"I can hardly believe I have been given the opportunity to say it, but you underestimate me, Miles. Oh, don't get me wrong. I understand it. I do. We are speedsters. We're used to everything being so easy, to being able to win before our opponents have even begun to fight."

Flashpoint settled into a low, ready stance, his fists raised in...an actual guard position. For what might have been the first time in his life, the arguably most powerful speedster on the planet wasn't just idly waiting for his enemy to get halfway through an attack before bothering to defend. He wasn't just charging in fists blazing and trusting his speed to resolve everything in his favor. He was looking at Josh in a way he might not have ever looked at anyone before - not even Brava Suldoon, not even Stalwart himself.

He was looking at Josh like he was an actual threat that he was going to have to take seriously to defeat.

"You don't get to defeat me that easily!"

Flashpoint:
Free: Swap to Hasted Recovery.
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Recover from Staggered.
Free: Heal one point of Weaken.
End of Turn: Regenerate one Bruise. Recover one point of Weaken.

Josh is on turn.

Sheema

Majeste gave a petulant frown as Sheema declined to give her name. She was very subservient about it but even so Majeste had asked the question and who was she to decide what Majeste should or should not find important!

Sheema would actually start to feel a bit of a weird urge to say her name. Not quite the pounding impulse of a telepathic compulsion as...almost a sort of itch, a sense that not answering was wrong and she should fix it, as Majeste's subconscious desires began twisting reality. But before the power to fully manifest, Sheema turned the discussion to matters of business, and Majeste's attention was redirected elsewhere. "Hm. Yes. I see," she said with a slow nod. She didn't...honestly seem to have much of a sense about the value of what Sheema was offering, but apparently Sheema made it sound like something she should be interested in, because she then said, "Leave us!" with a wave of her hand. All the other goons and such just kinda arbitrarily vanished.

"So!" she said with a beaming smile. Suddenly the parking lot had become a high-rise office building with an extraordinary view (despite the fact that you were totally still at street level and definitely hadn't teleported...?) And you were all wearing business suits instead of party dresses now. You were now sitting at a long table, Majeste at the head. She steepled her fingers and said, "Let's talk business!"

Summit

There was a bit of grumbling, but the would-be thieves did as they were bid, even the leader. At your request for them to stop jamming the phones, the leader sighed, took a little device out of his pocket, and pushed a button on it. Javan checked his phone, gave you a thumbs up, and dialed the police.

Applause went up from both the audience and the stage. Nobody seemed...quite able to call for the ceremony to continue, though. Everyone seemed kinda shell-shocked. The police arrived after several minutes and began taking away the criminals and collecting some statements. It didn't take too long, maybe twenty minutes or so.

The principal went up to announce that given what had happened they would suspend the ceremony. The graduates were hastily handed their diplomas as they filed down from the stage, and the audience started exiting into the lobby so their children could join them when they got out.

And while there were a lot of tearful hugs and worried questions from parents, siblings, and friends, when Mariana found her way back to you guys, she kinda punched your arm and said, "Okay, I'll admit it, that was pretty cool."

Mandragora

The Hero Corps staffer manning the phones took your report down professionally. When you described the sort of tech they had attacked you with, he seemed a bit shocked. "Um...I mean, I could be wrong, but that kinda sounds like Dreamcatcher tech to me." You could hear in his voice that he was impressed. Dreamcatchers...they were basically the bogeymen of the Dreamer community. There were even some Heroes who had nightmares about them.

Thankfully, Phoenix picked up her phone on the second ring. "Hey. What's up?"

Spectre

"I can work with that. But obviously, if you just brought me in from what was supposed to be a routine interview with a survivor, it would prompt questions. You can leave here, report that Hobbs gave you information that might be a useful lead, and follow up on it. Meet me at the warehouse lot at MBC148. You can pick me up there."

It was straightforward tradecraft, the sort of narrative-building move that was second nature to spies like yourselves. But the tactical ramifications were clear. If you were committed to working with him, this was a perfectly reasonable setup. But it allowed Daimon to retain full control. That was to be expected from Daimon, so it was hard to say whether he set things up this way because he wasn't sure he could trust you, or just out of built-in habit. Either way, if you refused or tried to alter the plan without a very good reason, it would be a clear a sign of reticence as if you had said you weren't sure out loud.

Gestalt

((Get well soon man!))

[manwithaplan]

Josh chuckled.

"You gotta learn to keep up. Me, beating you..."

Lunging forth, he dragged his weapon along the frame of Flashpoint'a chest, letting it guide him between the ribs and through the lungs.

"It was prophesied years ago!"

His physical form devolved into a connected bunch of vibrating molecules, his cackling laughter becoming a symphonic nightmare as he mockingly leapt about the room.

Standard Action: Aim.
Extra Effort Action: Attack with Pressure Point Surge, Power Attack 5. Attack [roll0] for DC 21+Multiattack Fortitude against Progressive Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated.

On a 26 or less, 10 Success Reroll [roll1].
On a 32 or more, crit!

Move-By Action: Leap around the room a bit, finishing in the doorway.
Free Action: Go Insubstantial.

Status: Fatigued, Exhausted next round, Incorporeal.

[Starsign]

"Wow..." Sheema says quietly as the scene and world changes all around her. Reality warping on this level was nothing she could imagine. It's still the same area and place but the sheer change feels too great to be true. She's still not sure whether this is true reality warping or if this is the most devious, clever illusion in existence. That said, the unnatural temptation earlier to speak more resembles actual manipulation of the world and the people within it. If this didn't make Sheema a little nervous, nothing could.

Not letting her mind trail too far, Sheema responds to the gang member-turned-supervillain after giving a small nod to Cyra. "Ahem, indeed. You have no need of your gang anyway," Sheema begins, standing up both to gaze at the window outside... nevermind that it's pointing only to the weathered brick wall of the alley, and to take a look at her business suit. The quality and pristine nature are both unnaturally fitting. Most people can't find a suit in Adaros, much less own one. Though she cannot fathom why one would wear one; the suit is painfully stiff and tight, uncomfortable to wear, much less fight in. She actually would have preferred the dumb dress instead.

Because, let's face it, Sheema isn't devious enough to get Majeste to teleport and walk into SIDE prison herself. This was gonna end in a fight. And if she had commissioned some SIDE handcuffs, they would've disappeared when her outfit first changed. Hopefully Cyra can follow along with what is a rather improvised plan.

"So! Let me show you the best places to hit and how you can do it without skipping a beat. Could you please bring up a map, your majesty?" While Sheema could say very important things about Adaros' law enforcement and Hero Corps that she has absolutely no right to tell anyone, she was never here to use her info as a bargaining chip. Instead, asking for a map of Adaros gives Sheema a reason walk up next to Majeste to get a better look at the map and provide the best form of negotiation:

A very painful and crippling elbow strike to the villain's neck.

I think we're in a good enough spot to deal with Majeste now. Provided more rolls won't be needed, Sheema will use Crippling Blow on Majeste, Power Attack +5/-5. DC 28 Toughness vs Damage and DC 23 Fortitude vs Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled on hit: [roll0]

And now to EE to do it again! [roll1]

[Grim ranger]

Letting out bit of an awkward chuckle as his sister decided to pay him an unexpected compliment, Aquila did away with his armor and dusted his suit slightly. "Yeah, well... I have had practice as of late" he said modestly: considering what an absolute rollercoaster of surprises and life-or-death struggles his makeshift hero career had been before he'd gotten some actual training, such drills had felt downright relaxing sometimes. Of course, there were still situations of quite real and potent danger when it came to occupation of a hero, and he had to assuage his family's concerns quite often...but things were still looking up.

Of course, if some of those men had managed to hurt his sister or her class...well, there would have been blood, and damn the consequences. Thankfully, there had been no need to resort to such extremes this time around... but if someone would ever do something similar with more of a killing intent, he knew he might never recover from a failure, should he not be up to the task of protecting her. It was a sobering realization to say the least.

Pulling his sister into a hug, Aquila let out bit of a sigh but never lost his smile. "Not too shaken up I hope? This was supposed to be...well, less of a hostage situation. I think we could use ice cream, so how does that sound?"

[Born]

Eric handed over the strange devices to the Hero Corps scientists for them (and presumably also SIDE) to take a look at. He had wanted to get the horrid things away from him as soon as possible. At the same time, he was still rattled by the fact that the apparent Dreamcatchers had disguised themselves as members of the Hero Corps. As a result, he tried to be more observant than usual, keeping a close eye for unusual behaviors or shadows moving in the corner of his vision. In spite of how quickly he had scared away the assailants, their targeted weaponry still made him more on edge than usual.

When Erin answered the phone call, Eric began the conversation in a way that he felt very awkward doing, but he needed to know for sure that he was talking to Phoenix. "Sorry, but I need to be sure you are who I think you are. During the Disappearance, what were Harold Brace's (aka Warlock's) demands?" Mandragora asked. It made him nervous just to ask the question, and a little guilty for suspecting at all.

[DukeGod]

"Oh well, you know how this ilk are. Try as we might to eliminate them, it seems the cockroaches keep finding a way to make it through"

Well they were too spread out for lightning to reallly work now. That said, he calls upon Raptor Attack to hit them again with the lightning strike, before recalling the bird to his side and dismissing him, and trusting the Paradisian to fend off for himself, Gestalt flies to the top of the ACV where he'll be out of reach of its guns

And there, he begins to...flake, dropping a grey goo on the ACV that seems to cling and spread

Right. QD, not sure if there was defenses I didn't roll last time, I think I did it all, please let me know if I missed anything. Nothing pending in my status line in the OOC either

Raptor Attack
Move: Nah
Standard: Hit again with Chain Shock, [roll0], on hit Toughness vs DC 25. Contagious up to 5 feet

Gestalt
Trades Standard action for a Move action
Move: Flies towards the ACV, tries to land on top
Move 2: Change summons array, to the Nanobot Swarm

[Dorni]

That request had met far less resistance than she'd expected. That Daimon was willing to surrender himself... by any angle she considered it was a win. Taking Daimon into custody would meet her objective. It was possible that Daimon's new allies would continue his campaign, but by his own admission they would need to pause the campaign. It would buy a few weeks reprieve to dig for information on just who he'd allied with. Even if his newfound allies did resume the campaign, Daimon was clearly operating like a field commander - surely his loss would make their strike teams less effective.

And refusing posed a problem as well. Daimon had prepared for this encounter. It was certain that the allies he'd selected had powers that would provide them advantage over her own. It would still be hard to prevent her escape if she acted fast, but the odds of victory by combat seemed extremely long. Daimon's deal seemed like huge win compared to that option. That still left...

"That'll work for you, but what about them?" She nodded towards Daimon's allies on the stairwell. "How do I know they can be trusted?"