csyphrett

Re: The Magistracy's Legion epilogue The four men convened around the conference table in Magistracy Tower, drinking coffee, and waving Jerry Silver's smoke away. Jerry, Pointer, Watcher and the Persian had taken a few days to make sure they weren't needed before working on the reports they had to file. The Persian had already talked to his boss, and that was enough for him. "How's the Chemist doing, Silver?." Pointer looked at his notes, hoping that he had glossed over the two strangers that had escaped into the crowd before anyone thought to stop them. A small windstorm had gotten in the way. "He's doing." Silver puffed, sipped his coffee, and looked at the paperwork in front of him. The UN wouldn't give him a budget without a confirmed batch of notes to the threat being world ending. "Any luck finding those other guys?" "No." The Watcher had lifted his visor of his helmet so he could enjoy drinking with the rest. "I don't know how they did it. Somehow they beat my sat network, and got away. I can't even begin to say I know what happened to that Buddy guy." "Well, Enoch got away." Silver ground his cigarette out on the table. "I saw him before Believer busted us loose. His dad sent him away." "Crys couldn't track him." The Persian stood instead of sitting. "She thinks he got shuttled to a dimension that she can't touch yet." "He'll come on strong, wanting revenge for what was done." Silver sat back. "It looks like the only loose ends are Krueger and the money Scriptus owned." "The doctor and his staff are properties of the US Government." Pointer tapped the table slightly. "They want to use him to make more things like Missile Man. Living weapons are so much better than what we have now." "Don't start." Watcher shook his head. "Everything that Scriptus owned in his headquarters in Houston, and around the world was seized. Someone from DOT is running things until the company can be broken and sold off." "DOT?" Silver's face tried to crawl for his hairline. "Department of Transportation?" "Treasury." Watcher saw the blank look. "IRS, Secret Service." "Putting the IRS in charge of money is like expecting a whole hand when you put your fingers in a meat slicer." Silver shook his head. "Scriptus still down?" "Yes." Pointer looked at the monitors around the room. "He's locked up in a cell. Chemist did a number on his brain with that stunt he pulled." "Couldn't happen to a better guy." Silver passed a cd over to the two members of the School and the purple and gold CORPS honcho. "Those are the tapes Maker downloaded from Krueger's lab." "So we don't need the Nazi." Pointer started to smile. "Maybe we can get his deal rescinded." "Maybe we can hand him over to the Israelis for trial." Watcher pulled his helmet's mask down to cover his face. "That should get some brownie points for us." "Your director wouldn't like that." The Persian smiled slightly. "Our director cares more about photo opportunities than doing real work." Pointer grimaced. "He's the guy we would all love to frame for something." "Spoken like field agents the world over." Silver smiled. "Is there anything else, guys?" "I think we got it all covered except that Buddy guy." Pointer rubbed his face. "What do we say about him?" "Nothing." Silver pressed a few buttons on the table. A group image appeared of the assemblage at the castle. "Notice anything?" "Our guy isn't there." Watcher leaned closer. "Why? Wait. Where did you get this?" "I gave it to him." The Persian indicated his false eyes. "It's from my memory of what happened in the castle." "He's not there in any of the pictures of that room." Silver waved a hand to say don't ask me. "Maker couldn't find him." "I remember seeing him, and his advisor," The Persian said. "I can't explain why neither are in my memories, or in the downloads of memories." "Magic." Pointer sipped more coffee. "That's what triggered everything in the first place. Magic explains it all." "Magic is not an explanation." Watcher flushed under his dark skin. "I agree that's what happened. The Director wants a tangible threat evaluation." "Good luck on that." Silver stood. "Sometimes the best you can do is say it's over. Let's move on to the next thing."

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 36 Fred Simpson lived in an alley in Manhattan with a space just big enough for his box. He wore clothes from mission boxes. He ate out of dumpsters when he ate at all. Sometimes he drank for the taste. He certainly couldn't get drunk anymore. Fred had been someone once. He traded that for the privilege of being the protector of the universe. At the time it seemed like the thing to do. He felt he was at a dead end, and needed something to lift him out of all his problems. He didn't realize how much it would change his life, change his timeline, erase everything that made him Fred Simpson. Everything gone, but the memory of what he had signed away on a cold day at the edge of the East River. People called him Buddy, Mac, Mister, and sometimes Wino. No one called him Fred. That was a never was. Buddy stood as tall as a galaxy, as ephemeral as a ghost. His vision took in lines of rotating platters that were the worlds/dimensions hooked to Earth and Ozmikia. The two golden discs touched, fractures running along the edges. Any second they would shatter like clay pigeons in a shooting gallery. Then the other realms would collapse into their vacuum, possibly breaking into their parts as they went. Let me fix that. Buddy placed his hands between the joining plates. He pushed on them as firmly as he dared. The thought that he could pierce the envelopes of the two worlds and destroy them made sure that he was gentle. The dimensions drew back into their ordained places, falling into their slots like beads on a chain. He smoothed over any ripples as best that he could. It wasn't perfect, but he didn't see how to improve things over what he had done. Buddy grabbed the plate that was the universe. He entered it through the top, shrinking as he fell back toward the Earth. He made sure not to disturb other inhabitants of the vast space, some humans wouldn't see ever. His starry form merged with the Milky Way, sank to a sun as he approached the Earth, became normal height as he floated down through the atmosphere. Buddy blinked across several boundaries to reappear over the ruined castle. He floated in midair, watching the duel without interfering. He could easily smash the area like a child with a toy. His impulse was to drop a fist like a meteor in the middle of things to express his ire. Instead he sat on the air and waited. Maybe V was rubbing off on him. He didn't know if that thought deserved more contemplation. He decided to not think about it and watch the fight below. The Chemist and Scriptus formed whole words as they exchanged volleys of death rays, weird creatures, deadly things appearing out of thin air. At one point, blades of glowing letters danced between the two magicians like mad fencers. Sweat rolled from their bodies as their stage shrank, grew, became a thousand pieces of floating rock, settled to sand, bloomed into a man eating plant. The magistrate touched his glasses with a finger tip as he seemed to stagger and fell. Buddy tensed as Scriptus approached with a gloating smile, and half completed symbol. Maybe he would have to do something after all. "Surrender, Chemist." Scriptus smiled. "I'll spare your life." "I was going to say the same thing." The Chemist stared at his opponent. "I don't think so." Scriptus moved to stab with the rest of the letter he had created. Weird light erupted from the Chemist's sunglasses. It enveloped the other writer. He looked around, holding his hands up as if something had slipped through his fingers. He screamed quietly as the light shut off. Only Buddy realized what happened, maybe the glass lady from the CORPS would have if she had been able to see it like he had. A smile crossed his thoughts, but he knew the Chemist had maimed his enemy worse than simply killing him would have done. The Chemist punched the hysterical Scriptus as hard as he could to get him on the ground. Then he put on manacles to keep him there while he dealt with the rest of the fallout. The remaining members of the School and Quick and the sleeping Maker arrived. He went into his counter spell to send everything back the way it had been. Buddy reached into the growing symbol, spurring it on. A town grew around the gathered heroes, became a city of people wondering what had happened. Maker awoke in John Public's arms, laughing with him. Jerry Silver lit one more cigarette as he watched the battleground reverse itself around him. Buddy blinked out. Manhattan was calling him, and he had to make sure his box was right where he liked it. He didn't get any licks in, but at least Scriptus would never work another spell again. All of his magic had gone into the Chemist like light in a black hole. Buddy walked the streets of his home, garbed in his rags, and gave another bum a dollar as he passed. Time to have a better day.

Re: The Magistracy's Legion I know it's too cute and all but I was under extreme pressure for a name. CES

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 35- Lord Scriptus felt his anchor snap in faraway Texas. He closed his eyes, knowing that he had stopped one group, but the other had taken Enoch. He needed time to rethink the spell, to rework the parameters so he wouldn't burn up. Of course the two dimensions crashing together out of control had to be stopped. First he had to save his son. The writer formed two symbols in the air while still filling in the slots on the floor as fast as his hands could trace the letters. The summoning brought his injured son to the invisible castle, battered but free. He needed to rethink his strategy. He still had three sources he could use to bolster his own powers for as long as they remained in stasis. He needed to get rid of his visitors. So much for the idea of using them as templates for future soldiers. Better a dead enemy than a live nuisance. The writer raised his hands to sacrifice his victims where they laid bound. That would give him enough of a push to straighten the dimensional balance until he could try again. They would save the Earth, just not the way they wanted. A wave of psychic pressure ripped up the floor in a trench, battering against the spell wall that formed the fulcrum of the merging spell. Lord Scriptus slid back under the mental power hacking up his sanctum from the door. He must have missed one of the defenders somehow. He could fix that easily enough, but first he had to make sure Enoch was safe. Scriptus wrote on the air. Enoch vanished, surrounded by the letters. Everything would be told to him whether the writer made his own escape, or not, in the next few minutes. It was the best he could do while tied to the castle. Believer rolled on top of the pile of bodies. He thought it was some desperate gesture. He sealed the door from intruders with two moves of his fingers. Buying time meant a chance to rebuild his defenses before something worse happened. Believer's pistol roared white flame. Her arms snapped free as the bullet burned away her bonds. The dragon kept going, smashing open the Chemist's cell as it passed. He quivered as he tried to remember what he should do. Believer snapped her pistol forward, firing two more flame throwing blasts at the writer. This was the end for the mage if she could help it. Scriptus wrote build shield mirror wall in quick succession as the twin blasts hurtled toward him. The ground at his feet erupted into a silvery barrier in front of him. He hoped it would stop the flaming doom bearing down on him. The two shots struck the column around the wizard. The spell craft shattered under the impact. The beams hit the mirror, crazing it over into a spider web before bouncing into the ceiling. The barrier over the door came apart under another blast of psychic turbulence. Rocks shattered into pieces and tried to pierce anything in the way. I have to get out of here. This is getting out of control. Believer stood among her allies, pistol leveled, black armor highlighting the white cross on the front into a glowing mark. The Chemist stood to her left, awake and aware. A large group of meddlers stood at the door, a man with mismatched eyes leading the charge, bordered by Triple. Scriptus summoned his gargoyles, filling up the room. That should buy him time to get away. Too bad about the Earth and Ozmikia. There were other places he could go to restart. "Kill them all, Captain." Scriptus ordered as he prepared to follow his son into exile. "Don't let any of them escape." "Run away, coward." Silver looked up, still trying to get his arm wrap off. "We're easy pickings here." Graft's voice sounded from under Cowboy. "Think about it." "I call for a duel, Scriptus." Chemist's voice cut through the turmoil as he wrote on the air. "It's time we meet on the field of honor." The wrappings around the captives fell away, the opponents on each side froze as the dimension spell stopped flowing on the stone. The Persian dropped from the ceiling in an invisible grip. Buddy uttered profanity as he came awake. Crystalmach joined her team leader, standing by his side. "Just you and me, writer versus writer." The Chemist straightened his glasses. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Chemist?" Silver fished out a cigarette and lit it. "Yes." The Chemist looked around. "This is your only chance to escape, Scriptus. What do you say?" "I agree." The writer looked at the assemblage surrounding his soldiers. They would buy time, but he had lost either way. A duel would give him his freedom. "My freedom versus captivity." "I agree." The Chemist flexed his hands. "Shall we?" The two mages wrote symbols depicting the battlefield of their choice. The castle started to fall into ordered heaps, moving spectators out of the way. The gargoyles moved to one side, the conglomeration of three teams to the other side. Silver smoked his cigarette as he brushed the dust off his jacket and khakis. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Pointer stood next to Silver. "I can pop him with one shot from here." "We can let the Chemist handle this." Silver tossed the butt away. "The problem that bothers me is what's happening while we're doing this." "The universes are crashing together instead of simply surfing slowly into each other, young man." A man leaning on a cane seemed to step out of shadow. "I think you can do something about that, Buddy." "Can't it wait?" Buddy's red eyes glowed. "This guy made me into a patsy. I want some kind of payback." "It'll have to wait." V tapped his cane against the platform. "The universe is more important." "I'm going." Buddy seemed to grow until he faded to a shadow of himself. "Give him one for me, pal." Then the protector of the universe disappeared completely.

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 34- The Battle of Houston started with Watcher's go ahead. Checking his satellites showed that Maker had entered the building through the roof. She had gone to the floor where the single heat source still sat. The picture went blank from some kind of discharge. Then the guy took center stage again. The Watcher knew that Maker's armor could be blocking his heat vision. If she was down in the room, he couldn't order a full assault. Her boyfriend would have his head, not to mention Silver. Additionally simply bringing down a building in the middle of Houston was out of question. "Granite, Replacement, Fortress. You three enter the lobby and roll up to the thirty-third as fast as you can. Currenta. We need you to come in undercover." Watcher hoped the three heavy hitters could handle things while the elemental was getting into place. "Quick, we're going in first for an assessment. If Maker is down, you get her clear and come back." "Everybody ready?" The heroes nodded. "Let's go." The Replacement swept Granite and Fortress up in his arms and barreled toward the lobby. He flung Granite in front of him, letting the stone body smash through the front doors in a spray of glass. Currenta flowed behind the man in the black, filling the slots surrounding the glass windows. She started up the outside of the building. "Hold your breath, Watcher." Quick took three deep breaths as she watched the others. She grabbed Watcher around the waist as he fiddled with his helmet. Then they stood in the office. Watcher was supposed to identify himself as an officer of the law, ask for a cease and desist all activities, and ask for hands up, face down. He saw that Maker lay on the floor, writing wandered on the floor by itself, and the subject was surprised by their arrival. Maker vanished as he triggered his helmet. He'd risk a lawyer getting the guy off later. A beam bright as a noon day sun lit up the room. Watcher didn't miss the lines of a column rising out of the floor. That made his choice of a flare better than trying to punch through with his laser. Watcher made a split second decision based on his combat experience as a School team leader. He hoped he wouldn't be court-martialed after everything was said and done. "Fortress, I need you to blow the floor out ASAP." Watcher switched to the laser, smiling grimly as the beam splattered against the shield. Quick reappeared at Stark's side, as he went back to the flare. The mage looked like he was recovering his sight. "Get ready." Watcher stepped back to the edge of the room. A giant fist crashed through the floor. The office came apart. The mage looked around, panic erasing his abilities. He fell down the shaft the giantess had smashed through from the tenth floor. A wave of lightning formed a wall as the letters exploded on the remains of the floor. Quick snatched Watcher up and fled. She carried him down past the falling floors, furniture, smashed ceiling tiles, and broken lights while they were still trying to decide which path to follow. The mage's fall took him in the middle of that mess, random objects beating him as gravity exerted its hold. He wrote to clear a bubble of open space so he could work some magic to deal with the meddlers. The Replacement slammed against the mage, smashing him against a wall. Gloved hands punched the writer in the face, snapping his brain around in his skull enough to induce sleep. The black marvel descended with his prize. The debris fell into the lobby, sending Granite scrambling for cover. He winced at the huge pile of junk heading for the street. The rest of the building started down after it. "Overkill?" Quick and Watcher stood outside the monolith, looking at the caving in of the villain's headquarters. "I didn't think it would fold like a house of cards." Watcher's helmet didn't hide the chagrin in his voice. "We have to do something to keep it from falling on the rest of the buildings." A huge bubble of water surrounded the black monolith. It remained in place for a minute, holding the building up. Then it slowly rained down, letting the fragments drop down without harming anything. The Replacement followed Granite from the rubble. Fortress wiped water from the front of her tunic as she stepped out of the pile. The impromptu lake whirled into a woman's form, walking behind the rest. "I'm impressed." Quick smiled behind her tinted faceplate. "I'm surprised." Watcher took a look at the Kansas situation as his team reassembled. "I didn't think Currenta could do that." "Maker's out of it." Quick glanced in the direction where she had hidden her teammate. "I think something has been done to her." "Let's solve the rest of the problem." Watcher didn't state the obvious. If they didn't stop what was going on in Kansas, Maker's sleeping would not be that big a problem.

Re: Help: Folk Heroes. Brick: John Henry. (North Americans, particularly the blue collar type). *FIXED* Energy Projector: Thunderbird, Indian spirits of lightning Gadgeteer: FEBOLD FEBOLDSON a logger who left Paul Bunyan's camp to settle in the west. Martial Artist: Wong Fei Hong. (Chinese, particularly the Cantonese). *FIXED* Mentalist: I can't think of any off hand Mystic: Math, Talisein, Thomas the Rhymer, Mananan Mac Lir Powered Armour: Joe Magarac has been suggested, and he was a man of steel. Speedster: Casey Jones? Weaponmaster Robin Hood? Pecos Bill? William Tell? CES

Re: SoloUberCampaign:Adventures of the Dark Page 2- "The end of the world eh? wow, the third prophecy you said what is that? And what did you expect my father to do about it?" "The third prophecy is the third of seven handed down. They are sometimes called the Seven Days. They predict apocalypses that should be stopped, or at least tried to stop. The timekeeper is one of our number. We had hoped that he would prevent or change the outcome of events. His mastery of premonition has long been held in high regard." The rain slowed with the clearing of the clouds into ribbons of afternoon light and streamers of grey overhead. Frogs hopped away. They looked as big as softballs. The bee sound slowed around the Master Boxer. As it ran to silence, a few rain drops plopped against his wicker hat, and jacket shoulders. "So what your saying is that he is trying to stop the end of the world? So what does this prophecy say? What is coming? And how can I help?" "The third day says In the land of the eagle, under the eyes of its dead kings, darkness and light shall battle with the weapon of Arthur among the remnants of history. None shall know who their enemy is in their war. When the Gatekeeper seeks knowledge, the dead shall walk, the living shall hate and fear, and the keys of U-rai shall unlock the seals. The toad of U-Rai will send forth his minions to cause destruction in preparation. The sleeping will dream death and misery for the waking world. Imprisoned in a cell of flesh and blood, the mind has decided to wreak havoc. Only the touch of the innocent will stir her to mercy once more. Beware the three lines of destruction, the monsters that sprout from the mind, the monsters that awaken from ancient sleep, the one monster that kills with his touch. They will want death for those they see when they return home. Only a hero may ascend over all challenges and make things right, with allies, will, and the knowledge of his enemies' weaknesses. When the three rivals find their common goal, victory requires sacrifice." "Well then, I am so glad you let me know about that.... How can I help? I am guessing it isn't just you and my dad that are trying to stop this stuff. I might be able to help, what needs to be done?" "Now that you know what's coming, you only have to sit and watch." The old man smiled. "Prophecy can't be changed, only endured. Good luck." The boxer turned and walked away, dry slippers gliding over wet concrete. The large frogs hopped to get out of his way, some stared at Tavin with their yellow eyes. "Well, thats what you say. I am going to stop it...." Tavin looked around and then returned to his house well then time to bother dad and see what we can see. When he returned home he went down to his father's studio downstairs. "So, are you going to tell me what that was all about?" "I'm retired, son." Dachi looked at the half finished painting on the stand. "A lot of my former power is gone, lost to age. And the Seven Days are dangerous, too dangerous for me, and too dangerous for you." "The Seven Days? Can you at least tell me what is going on, is it really the end of the world? If so it doesn't matter if it is too dangerous I have to do something either way." "A long time ago, a man named Arthur Woad had a dream." Dachi went to a cabinet. He pulled out a drawer on the side. Canvases hung there. "He dreamed that the world would face threats seven times. These threats should be opposed at whatever the cost. "The council formed to see the world through the Days, two of which have passed." He revealed a picture of a green frog dwarfing the city. "The third day is supposed to be caused by the Frog of U-Rai. A jungle is supposed to be spread across the earth until humanity is gone." "So we just have to stop this Frog, U-rai and the forest will stop? I kind of like humanity, and well I wouldn't like it if it went away. So how do we stop this U-Rai guy, thing, beast, frog, dangit whatever it is." "The belief is this thing will be summoned from outside time and space." Dachi pulled out another picture. It looked like a woman in a loose red dress, belted around her middle. Her curly hair flowed upwards. "I think this is the summoner." "So we just have to stop this summoner person, and then we have averted the destruction of the world by a slimy supernatural menace?" Tavin smiled at his father, this was turning out to be much more interesting of a day than he had thought it would be and, before school started he might actually save the world like the real heroes did. "You're right." Dachi replaced the picture in the cabinet. "Either way you look at it, we have to do the best we can. I want you to go on patrol and pay attention to anything that might seem out of place. The prophecy will provide clues we can look out for." Tavin looked at his father expectantly, nodded and bolted upstairs to don his costume. Chuckling internally, his father had tricked the council and Tavin himself. He wasn't ignoring his powers, or the danger, he was just doing it his way. Things were different, before his father tolerated his patrols even gave him pointers but never had he sent him out on patrol, this was a big deal and he knew it. His father was trusting him with more responsibility and trusting him out on patrol against something that could destroy the world... YES!!! Tavin grabbed his costume and switched then calmly stepped into the shadow of the room and out of a shadow of a house next door which he immediately stepped back into and continued this for a little while until he was back into his rythm and far enough away that no one could assume that he came from his house, and he began leaping about, with his eyes peeled for anything interesting or out of the ordinary. The late afternoon gave plenty of shadows for Tavin to operate in. The sky still retained some of its gray covering, reducing things to twilight. A car sped through the quiet neighborhood. Tavin could tell that it was easily twenty miles above the limit. Then it hit a pool of water and slid into a pole with a crash of metal and glass. Tavin was there in a second he leapt down to see why the car was racing and why it had wrecked prepared for anything and ensuring his defenses were in place he landed a safe 12 feet from the car and cautiously peered in. The driver had smashed her head against the steering wheel. Apparently she had not asked for airbags. Tavin could smell alcohol, saw blood along the wheel and dashboard, heard a little whine from her lips. Dark whipped out the pre-pay throw away phone his father had set up for just a situation and called the police as he warily moved forward. He informed the 911 operator of the situation quickly and disguised his voice just as his father had instructed, as soon as the information was out of his mouth and he ensured the dispatcher had the right adress, car description and liscense plate he hung up. Tavin knew it was better not to move a person who was injured but if the car was a danger to the woman he would have to act, he moved up cautiously and called out to the woman, "Ma'am, can you hear me?" "It is better if you don't move, an ambulance is on its way." Tavin tried to get a better look at the woman as he moved closer and watched her in between quickly examining the damage on the car. The car was totaled, the engine wrapped around a pole. The front window was cracked, shattered like a spider web. The woman was breathing slowly, blood covered her head and hair, her face looked mishappen. Probably the hit from the steering wheel. Tavin found a bottle of Jack in the floorboard on the other side. It had about two inches at the bottom of the bottle. At least there was no gas leaking to the ground.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Mirror of worlds by David Drake. The Kingdom of the Isles has become the Land as a continent has been formed to unite the islands. Garric forces the Coerl to vow to become members of his kingdom, then sets off on a quest to gain aid against the latest menace to his rule. Volumes 1-7 of Buso Renkin by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Kazuki Muto was injured, armed with a weapon that replaced his heart, fought menace after menace, only to be put on a hit list because his weapon can make him a vampire draining all life around him. He has six weeks to find an answer to his problem. CES

Re: Teen Guardians The Guardians 6:15 pm The double date was going well as the two couples talked about anything but personal things when Eric's phone buzzed. Since only three people had the number and two were sitting with him, it was safe to assume that the third person, Pusher, had decided to check in from the hospital. Patty was relaxing--she'd never...well, it'd been years...since she'd relaxed and just...had fun like this; she did push her leg tight against Eric's as she talked with Hard...Anthony's girl friend. "Sorry, business calls," he said picking up the cell phone "Hey what's going on?" Patty nodded and continued to natter, building her reputation as something of a ditz. "Trouble at the hospital." Pusher seemed calm. "She blew him up." The blonde stopped talking as she sensed Eric's sudden tenseness--and she looked at him, a frown creasing her brow. "I see...any idea how?" The hospital was too far from here for him to get too quickly so he was hoping Pusher had more to go with that just the captain was dead. Considering the level of impossibility that it was. She'd of had to been in contact with the captain the day he left or if it was a quick explosion then somehow she knew which hospital he'd go to, which floor. It was as if she was a clairvoyant. Which if that was the case their secret identities were screwed no matter what. "The police are all over the place, blocking the exits." Pusher sounded calm. Of course only another superhuman could block him. "As soon as things die down, I'm going to look around. As far as I can tell, it happened in the MRI room. Any ideas?" "None..Seems I'm tapped out of ideas, man. Keep me posted." Eric switched off the phone looking at the group. "Sorry about the interruption, Hon we might need to go soon." He looked over at Patty. "Don't need your dad getting a better reason to hate me." She smiled wanly. "He doesn't hate you, he won't hate you..." His word of endearment towards her suddenly sank in and she blinked--then blushed. "...but why, oh, its okay, I'm sure you've got a good reason, Eric." She smiled at Anthony and friend. As they moved the door, she looped her fingers through his and whispered, "what's going on?" "Some how she got the captain." he looked at her carefully "She's acting more and more like a mad bomber with no real motive now so I'm having a hard time figuring this out. Authority figures are one thing, but once he was pulled by the police he shouldn't have been a target. Not to mention she either has a very long duration explosive which lasted three days or she really is a mistress of disguise like Pusher guessed." He frowned as they got further away. "They have the hospital on lock down no way in no way out without being seen and checked over carefully." Patty's shoulders slumped. "Darn it." "In short, I get the sickening feeling we're not going to beat her. It's like she's clairvoyant with Precognition." "I just don't know--or Invisible, whatever, we're not going to get into the Hospital--a few weeks ago and twenty years older and I could have--but not now." She jammed her hands into her pockets. "And I don't remember seeing or hearing about any more clues--is this the last one then?" "Yeah, it was the last clue." he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the extra super barn burger handing it to her "I doubt that one burger in there is helping your metabolism but I think right now getting to the hospital should be objective one, even on lock down your speed should keep anyone from trying to sneak out." here he was feeling useless again "I'll get there as soon as possible ... if she's as big a fan as she says she is of Hardball, then maybe she might come out if there was a big target." He smiled a bit. "Anyway get to the hospital I'll try setting up my little trap." Patty took the burger and smiled at him. "Thanks--you're right, I'm still hungry--I'm going to have to refigure this out--my metabolism, I mean." Her smile faded. "Maybe...we could talk Hardball into setting himself up, some big form of challenge against her or something, I don't know." She unwrapped the hamburger, thinking to herself. Eric had a flash of thought, a semi epiphany. The clues detailed who what where and she had struck almost exactly as described in both if she had been one of the detail on the boat guarding the sailor, taking him to the hospital. That was where she planted the bomb. If the bomb was time delayed, she could have made an excuse and left her disguise behind and walked out as someone else. Police radio would have told her about the blown up house which would force her on the street without a cover, so she would have to go to ground somewhere else, somewhere she could be sure no one would look for her. The problem was none of them knew what Blanche looked like. The hamburger evaporated as though it hadn't been there, the only remnants of its passing the sad and empty wrapper; Patty folded it neatly up... Even with that thought it wasn't very helpful, her home was gone, none of them knew her or her 'friends' not that she'd likely go to them. The captain's boat even if she doubled back to use it as a shelter for the night would have police there. So in a sense she'd painted herself into a corner while at the same time they had no idea which corner to look at. Still she had to be getting her supplies from somewhere, these where not exactly the type of explosives that where easily made or produced, maybe there was someone she was mooching off of, someone at the school with access to those supplies. Which if they couldn't catch her meant he just proved himself right that he wasn't meant to be a hero. ...and looked at Eric. With a frown, she hesitated from bursting off towards the hospital and put her arm around his waist. "What's the matter?" she asked quietly. "Your mood just...crashed--I mean, I know we're not doing so good against this Heartbreaker--but..." "Well right about now this heartbreaker just found out we blew up her house which means she has no identity to fall back on. If she is a mistress of disguise this won't last long and she'll need to find a place to stay. Problem is we still have no idea who we're looking for really. Only time I met anyone this thought out in planning was my own mentor." He sighed with exasperation "Her tactics make little to no sense. Supposedly she's in love with Hardball, and yet her very actions, deeds and choices don't even come close to the psychological stand point of a psychotic killer. It's more like she's pretending to be his big sister and wants to make his life miserable." She blinked. "We've ignored something," Patty replied, "and I just figured out what it is--ignore the hospital, because that's done and said, but let's go back to the school--you..." she gulped. "...you can get us in after hours, right?" He nodded "Yeah I can get us back in but wha.." He almost smacked his own forehead "Okay, I feel dumb. They should have our records on file along with photo's. come on lets get going." Patty tagged along--you want me to carry you again--get there quicker..." She picked him up and hit full steam--and headed for the school. The school was still empty and dark from their last visit. The lock on the back door should still be busted from where Pusher had transformed it earlier. Patty put Eric down... Eric noticed the busted lock and opened the door. "Seems I won't need to worry about picking the lock. Come on lets get the office as quickly as we can." ...and patted quickly at the inner thighs of her pants legs. "Ow, hot hot hot, I can't run in jeans, they don't stand running that well, ow ow." She smiled at him. "Okay, let's go..." and interwove her fingers with his after taking a look around. "Library might be good, too, catch the old yearbooks--that'll be a help, too." "Alright then, year books it is." he walked with her to the library taking out his pocket flashlight/keychain. He illuminated the area of the year books. "Hope they have this year's yearbook." "So do I--but even if they do, school records would be a good thing," Patty agreed A shelf behind the counter held yearbooks for the last four years. Last year's were blue and white. Taking the Blue and White Eric proceeded to start looking through the photos for Heart Breakers Alias. He wasn't sure what he was in for but with renewed desire to see this bomber go down he wasn't going to stop till he found it. Patty stood next to him, hands in her back pockets, looking for the picture of Blanche Devereaux... "Eric--once we know what she looks like--let's bounce it off the student ID in the school database--make sure we've got the same girl and she's not faking the name and face." "Good idea Patty." he smiled finding the picture "Well here she is." He ripped the page out not really careing about the book at this moment "Let's go check the ID system." Always the neatnik, Patty slid the book back into its appropriate place on the shelf before following Eric towards the office. The picture in the yearbook was the same as the one in the permanent files. A plain, mousey girl with curly hair looked up at them, smiling just a little. Brown eyes tried to look happy. Thursday the Fourth Nariko 7:30 am Nariko, with a small amount of effort, was able to don her armor and helmet as the door to the other universe yawned open to walk through. The group tied themselves together, with the mechanic girl between Mr. Four, and one of the woman, Sonja. So excited over the whole thing that she could barely *contain* herself, Nariko let herself be tied to the others and waited in almost painful anticipation to cross the dimensional threshold with them. "The path is established, door opening every 24 hours from....now." Mr. Miyama stepped from behind the console and tied on at the head of the line. "Let's go." He led the way into the door. The young teleporter took a deep breath and, nearly shaking from excitement, stepped through the dimensional threshold with the others. The first thing was the sensation of falling. Then balls; multicolored with different features on each, floated by. Ribbons that resembled red lightning drifted by slowly like languid snakes. Her body hit membranes with crinklings of reality. Then Nariko's rope snapped, separating her from the rest of the group, falling on her own.

Re: The New Circle Sombra 1 Ral Sombra checked his equipment again. Everything looked in the green. Time to go. Ral stepped on the launch pad, placing his hands in the grips at the end of metal poles affixed to the front of the gold-green hexagon. The D-Vest powered up as the door in front of him opened on a maelstrom of orbs and tiny stardust. "Target acquisition is green." Dr. Yanez's voice was dry and clear over the announcement system. "Launch power-up is green. Firing sequence starts on my mark. "Mark!" The hexagon slid forward into the stellar whirlwind, piercing the dimensional veil. Sombra felt the buffeting through his protective gear, closed his eyes. The trip took day long seconds of vertigo and stomach torturing before everything settled to calm horizons under a blue sky. Sombra took a moment to catch his breath before starting the job he had been sent to do. When he felt he was ready, he activated his scanner and shrank down to the size of a gly. He lifted into the air, following the signal source. Sombra hoped this would be an easy retrieval. He had captured ten fugitives on this one world, and all of them had been deadly and unwilling to face the Queen's justice. Since summary execution was the sentence, he could understand why they would try to kill him on sight. He might do the same thing if he were in their positions. Sombra reached where the tracking beacon should be. Supposedly the units were impossible to remove once they had been inserted in the convicted. The hunter felt the system had not run into a criminal desperate enough to deal with it. Most tried to block the beacon with native materials. Sombra landed on the roof of a small skyscraper, running the scanner in a circle to confirm the signal. The beacon gave a motionless hello, but he didn't see any body that should be there. An empty roof presented no cover. Sombra followed the signal to a trash can. He grew to his normal size and poured the receptacle out. Among the trash gleamed a bloody napkin. One hand flipped the napkin open. A small chip blinked at him. Then the world exploded. Sombra hit the roof's edge and fell over. The D-Vest uttered a protest as it absorbed the damage from the trap. He activated his flight pods, ordering the devices to hold him in a hover so he could assess the situation. This was a first in his experience. Sombra floated above the fire. A careful inspection revealed that he was alone. It also told him that he would have to spend more time there than he planned. That could be bad. Sombra shrank down and headed back to the insertion point. The loss of signal would be cited as proof of termination. He had to report in before something happened to stop him. If a fugitive could remove a tracking module and use it for a trap, killing a retriever should be a snap. Sombra didn't want to give him the chance. Sombra spotted his entry point. Once he pressed the recall, the door would open and he could pass back through. Ribbons of light erupted from the roof as he descended. Naturally the second part of the trap closing to prevent communication with home. He had to get through. A squad of hunters had to be assigned to this. Phantas, his fugitive, stood amidst the men firing energy weapons. The white haired radical raised one hand, holding a box. One pale finger pressed the lone button on the box. The door home closed for Sombra as he grew to giant size, reaching for his nemesis. Phantas smiled, then flickered out of existence as the large agent crashed into his mob, sending them flying into the air.

Re: (SoloUber) Webs of the Widower This is the link to the list. http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/solouber/?yguid=38103590 youre welcome to lurk or play. CES

Re: (SoloUber) Webs of the Widower The working idea is Spiderman in Smallville. Hopefully it will be okay in action. CES

Re: (SoloUber) Webs of the Widower

Webs of the Widower game created and played by Kevin Schultz, GMed by C. E. Syphrett.

Re: xialin showdown I haven't run into any problems. Liz is a good player. She threw me when she went to the buddhist monks and shrine maidens, but that allowed me to define what shrine maidens can do (based on Inuyasha). The main thing is the setting. Once you have that down, you can put in what you want. Are you using an original Pokemon setting, or what's in the material? CES

Re: Notes from NSU Nightspawn Unlimited, Mark. I'm trying to get my archives down to where my new players can read everything that's happened without having to strain themselves. CES

Day One Jason Ambros worked at the Temple City University Library translating books. He discovered a weird journal and was confronted by Psi Ice and Hexum. He escaped with the book by transforming into nightbane. He researched book as well as he can before returning to the library and talking to Mrs. Keeley, the head librarian. He denied all knowledge. Jason found a map in the journal. An x is over Nebechunezzar Park. He checked with Jim Larraby of the humanities department at school about translating the book. He learned it had 17 languages in its pages. Jason leaves, spotting a flash of light in a bank near TCU. He investigated. He confronted Captain Video believing that he was a more famous villain. Video escaped. Jerry Adams was a student at TCU. He met Cora Lilith. She stated that he was recommended to be her tutor by Dr. Hiram. She gave him an address at 200 Bartholomew Lane. They set a meeting for a study session. Jerry checked with Dr. Hiram via e-mail. He denied knowing her. Jerry checked number and address and found it was in Lazarus Hill, an affluent neighborhood in town. He went to dinner and checked what Hiram's current classes are on. Jerry's apartment was invaded by a Belmont monster hunter. He escaped to St. Thomas, a church near the university. He talked to the priest, and learned the Belmont has a number tattooed to his neck in Chinese. He captured the Belmont and turned him over to the police as a psycho. Simon Poole was having a dinner at the Cross Café, family visiting with in-laws. He was poisoned and loaded into an ambulance. He met Dr. Moto and Nurse at hospital. The problem seemed to be with his DNA. Simon underwent transformation to blood creature and was trapped in a liquid proof tub. Ashlee Summer was at home in an apartment building at the edge of the Catacombs. She heard shots, and police pursuit. She stopped the bad guys, members of the Midnight Wolves street gang. She went back to her apartment, showered, watched television. Her face and name was plastered on the news. Ashlee went to bed. She heard a noise. Wolves break into her place. She escaped, but they trashed her apartment before leading her back to their base. She reported the break-in and the cops give her a lift to the Glory Arms, a flea bag hotel. Ashlee left the hotel for Adam's Rib, the strip club where she worked. She talked to Jake Lowengard, a bouncer at the club, and he agreed to let her stay at his place on the beach. She went there, and cleaned up. Melody Jennings was a doctor partnered with a Dr. Strain, with an office in the Calvin Town part of Temple City. She ran into Harvey Dowd, a PI in her building. She brushed him off. She ran into the villainous Scorpion in the parking lot. Dowd saved her by setting Scorpion on fire. She fled as nightbane self and checked into Beachfront Hilton hotel. She phoned her dad, learned she was adopted. Dowd reappeared and they flew to Nebechunezzar Park on the astral plane. Melody saw the astral tornado for the first time. Melody met Casey Dawson in the park. They talked and she learned that Parsons killed Harvey Dowd while he was trying to save her life as an infant. They talk to Walker Fitch at the All Nite Café. Dawson asked Melody to room at his dojo while he was protecting her. Jessie Rainhawk had a ranch in Macguire, Colorado. She received a note from a Cory Dawson, addressed to her parents who had died in a car accident. She met and battled a Belmont. She fled the ranch, catching a bus to Temple City. She spotted pursuit but felt safe surrounded by people. Jessie arrived in Temple City. She met Moe Shrevnitz, cab driver. He lost her pursuit as he took her to Motel 6 so she could stay for a while.

Re: Awareness.exe I tried to build a power like this years ago. The best thing I could think of was clairvoyance and retrocognition, based on public records, using a computer link to public databases. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... The implication that he's done the same thing multiple times is kind of staggering. Still the return of Dinky Earnshaw and Brautigan and others from other stories was welcome. CES

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 33 Ray Hammet hoped he was doing the right thing. There were plenty of those winged monsters on watch, but it looked like they were calming down. Maybe he could sneak into the invisible castle now. The question of a disguise crossed his mind. Ray kicked the snorer in the head to make sure he didn't wake up at the wrong time. He took the guy's smelly shirt and switched his dirty, flaked, shirt for it. His skin covered his plates again. Hopefully the big things couldn't tell one human from another. Ray walked from the hut, using it for cover as much as possible. The idea was to act like a villager deciding to sneak up to the castle. The main problem with his plan was anticipating what the guards would do. He needed to look like a low priority target next to everything else that had happened so far. Ray smiled as he crossed from one shadow to another until he reached the hut nearest the hill the castle sat on. Here came the hard part. He crept along, bending over double, forcing himself to keep low, and go slow. He reached the hill unchallenged and forced back a laugh of relief. Ray worked his way around the hill until he came to the main gate. A hole had been punched through it by someone. He pulled on the edges, glad the wood came away in his hands without much of a struggle. Silent feet carried him into the courtyard. Ray looked for a door, avoiding what looked like a white patch on the courtyard floor. The rest of the stones were a universal grayish brown. A white patch could mean anything. He decided not to test it and find out. Ray found a door leading into the central keep. Up and to the right was the room he had seen from the air. He didn't know if the way was clear to get up there. The floor had looked wrecked the few seconds he had been able to look at it. On the other hand, he didn't have anything better to do, and couldn't exterminate all the gargoyles by himself. He might as well look to see if he could find steps leading up there. Worse came to worse, he could climb the outside if he had to do it. Ray checked the door, not surprised that it opened to his touch. He entered slowly, hoping he was doing the right thing. Heroes had broken in ahead of him. He didn't hear a fight going on. That usually meant bad news for the good guys. Ray searched the lower level, glad to find the hill of debris that confirmed his guess. He looked for a stairwell, and one presented itself in a column to the left of the collapsed floor. He started climbing, alert for any guards. Ray reached the top. He listened before stepping out on the floor. Low voices talked to each other. He hoped it was somebody he knew. Ray stepped into the hall, not quite activating his transformation. A man in a jumpsuit stood next to a group of wrapped heroes. Something about the free man's profile reminded him of his past. "Stand and be recognized." Ray stood in shadow, ready to step forward and swing an arm, or to dodge back into the stairwell. The free man turned. One eye seemed normal, the other bulged the socket. The narrow face beneath drew down in sharp angles. Then he smiled in recognition. "Ray! Ray Hammet." Mr. Rickert laughed like pebbles falling into water. "I thought you were dead." "Not yet." Ray stepped out in clearer light. "I heard you still worked for the government." "I had to turn in my notice." Rickert's good eye clouded with memory. "Something came up and I had to clear out my office." "I thought you would be a company man until you wound up in the ground." Ray smiled. "I did too." Rickert turned back to the man he had been talking to when Ray interrupted. "I think we have a good chance to end this." "I don't have a problem with that." The tentacles around Phaeton squeezed as he shifted. "Break out the Saint first."

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Finished the Dark Tower by Stephen King. I don't know what to say. Roland always arriving at the tower and being sent back to save it is harsh punishment, except at the end there's hope that he will fix the mistakes he made the next go round. CES

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 32 Aaron Stark walked the halls of the underground lab, glad that something had gone right. His people and Quick had surprised the techs. That meant their powers and weapons had herded the underlings into takedowns and on site arrests before they could escape. Even Dr. Krueger, the big fish, had been taken with very little violence. The only fly in the ointment was Maker taking off on her own. Stark checked the location she had sent over. His agents in the sky had a view of a skyscraper in Houston. No people in, no people out as far as they could tell from orbit. Stark had the local feds coming to take over for his team, bothered that Maker hadn't radioed back. He didn't know her very well, but she would have at least called Quick with information. He knew she hadn't. His combat rig sifted radio transmissions automatically, even encrypted ones. Stark had to make a combat decision based on limited information. That was something he didn't like to do. Someone had to stay behind to guard the scene, especially the vaults. He decided that Poster Girl would have to do it. Her limited power may, or may not, come in handy. In any case, she could catch up after the place was handed over. Time to round up the troops and get going. "Maker went after someone connected to the lab on her own." Stark told Quick after finding her near the elevator access. "I'm going to post a guard, then go after her." "I'll talk to Reilly and get a step ready." Quick took one last look around for any hidden surprises. "We'll get there as soon as he can aim the beam on us." "Right." Stark started away. "I'll get the others together so we can go." Stark rounded up the members of his team quickly. A check with his lookouts told him that their relief was rolling along a few miles away. "Quick is arranging for us to track down the rest of whomever was involved in this place." Stark checked Houston again. "Poster Girl, I want you to stay behind until our back up gets here. Then I want you to head to Kansas, unless you hear different before then. This place has to be taken care of first. Do not let anyone open those vaults until we get back." "Got it, boss." Poster Girl gave a salute. "I talked to Kevin." Quick appeared at their side. "He's ready." "We're ready too." Stark looked over his team. He didn't like going from one battle to the next, but couldn't think of any options. "Do we have to be outside?" "It'll make it easier." Quick disappeared, leaving a fading image to point the way she had gone. "Let's roll." Stark tried to call Pointer to relay what they were doing. Static replied. That couldn't be good. The School climbed up the elevator shaft and out to the ruined cover house. Quick stood out on the grass. She didn't look happy to the Watcher. A stray transmission told him she was trying to call someone on her network. "What's wrong?" He had a feeling that she was having the same problem he just did, and not liking it. "No one is answering in Kansas." Quick looked around. "I don't know if it's because of that field, or because no one is there to answer. I'm worried." "No one is answering my call either." Watcher aimed his spies at the flat plains of Kansas. "I can't see anything but these winged lizards in the air." "That can't be good." Quick tapped her foot against the ground, wearing a pattern in the grass. "We have to check this other thing out." Stark knew exactly how she felt. "Pointer can handle his end." "I hope you're right." Quick triggered her com. "Kevin, we're ready to go." The now familiar flipping whirled Stark's stomach for a second as his systems paused to reboot. He held his hand up to keep everyone in place. He wanted to be able to see again before he went into a battle. Finally his agents made their connection. He should have expected that. Nothing was really hurt by it, but he would remember next time, if there was a next time. "I'll have to do some recon before we go in." Stark told his team. "I want you guys to spread out and get ready to hit that building right there." He pointed to the black monolith sticking out against the skyline. "Stick with me, Quick." Stark moved to a corner, aligning his sight on the building. "I'll need fast transport if Maker was right." Quick nodded, rubbing her hands together as she followed him.

Re: Ripping off the Late Roger Zelazny... Yes the summoning is teleport other, but also you couldn't teleport someone if you weren't talking to them. Some aspects of the deck reached across shadow. That implies extradimensional movement. CES

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 31 Lord Scriptus frowned. The castle guards should have multiplied enough to handle the possible threats to his world building regime. Instead it sounded like they were in the castle. He should have installed Higgins as his major domo instead of leaving him with Enoch. Time to take a personal hand in matters so he could get on with his real business. Lord Scriptus wrote on the floor to keep the flow moving. Then he wrote on the air. Heroes had invaded his lair. A television screen in the air told him that much. That taught him to rely on gargoyles. He definitely should have brought Higgins with him once he got started. One group was inside the castle, using the wreckage caused by Cowboy as an entrance. The other bunch charged his front door. They didn't seem to have detected the outer wall yet. One thing at a time. Scriptus wrote on the air. Tentacles exploded out of the walls he was watching. The limbs wrapped around the group in the castle. The Saint touched the appendages, bursting them with white light. The Schooler went to help his comrades. The mage made a quick gesture. Stone wrapped around the man in white, locking him in place and away from the semiliving things the writer had summoned. That seemed to take care of the intruders. Scriptus turned his attention to the front gate. Once he dealt with them, he could go back to executing his plan. He should call Enoch and check on the boy. They were too close to foul up after the long effort to secure his training, and the rule of the other world. What could he use that would hold the mighty School and Magistracy? As John Public punched a hole in the gate, he decided the best ways were the tried ways. He could improvise later if he needed to do that. He wrote on the air again. Whirling octopuses dropped on the heroes from above. As soon as they secured a grip, the trapped person in their clutches collapsed as their powers drained away and normal strength didn't equal his spell craft. Luna stood alone. Somehow she had rammed her fingers through the summoned monster and killed it in a lightning flash. He couldn't let that go unanswered. Scriptus wrote on the air. The captives joined their friends out in his hall with a bend of reality. That made Luna pause to plan her next move. That pause turned into a shattering of wood and metal as she punched through the castle's invisible gate and stepped into the revealed courtyard. The writer smiled as he sketched symbol after symbol on air, and in his ongoing ritual. Maybe he had avoided confrontation for too long. He would do something about that when he was done. First he had to deal with his opponent. He watched as spears of lightning rained down in the courtyard. Luna stepped to avoid them as he knew that she would. She stepped on one stone near the middle of the yard. It gave way, sending her down a chute to a room of sludge under the castle. "Let her try to fight her way out of that." Lord Scriptus knew he had bought some time, just not how much. Three teams had shown up on his doorstep. He could expect the Odd Squad next, maybe the Strikers. Then the individuals might show up in their own good time. Hopefully he would get done with his plan before he had to fight the whole planet. Once the balance had tipped far enough, any foe would be forced to deal with the new reality before they could try and deal with him. And he wouldn't be tied down with his spell working then. Lord Scriptus looked over his prisoners. Jerry Silver was eyeballing him. He didn't like that at all. "Something I can do for you?" The writer filled in more slots before they drifted away. "Just wondering how good it will feel to punch you in the face." Silver shifted on the pile, smiling at the magician. "I don't think I have to worry about that any time soon." Scriptus smiled. "All your assistance is captured and I am able to continue. There's nothing you can do to stop me."

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 30 Maker walked through the digital world she had created when she hacked into the security of the secret lab. Switching off alarms and cameras were a snap. Her colleagues seemed to be having an easy time dealing with the scientists and technicians. Changing the vault combinations certainly helped. Maker found phone calls in a stray memory. A few moments of concentration and she knew everyone who called, where they were, and partial records except for one number who always called in. That number had to be the head honcho. Maker turned her tech on the problem, surfing through the communications grids of the world. Node after node revealed false leads along with the one trail she wanted. Focusing her scan allowed her to pick up the scent again and again. No one went to that much trouble if they didn't have something to hide. Maker smiled when the trail stopped cold. "Watcher." Maker waited for the radio to hook up. "I have a lead. I'm putting it in a file to send over where you can find it later. I'm going to track it down if I can." "Take someone with you." Watcher was theoretically in command. He knew he couldn't stop a magistrate short of arresting him, or her. Diplomatic immunity would stop that ploy in a second. "That's okay." Maker gutted Dr. Krueger's records and sent them back to the Tower. "Everyone is busy. Security is shutdown, and the specimen cages are locked. Have a good time." "Be careful." Static marked Watcher's laser gun firing. "This should be an easy takedown." Maker left a shadow to watch out for the School team and Quick before she disconnected. Maker dialed the Tower's Step. The satellite couldn't lock on to the exact location of the phone number. She frowned under the featureless helmet. That was almost the same as the spot in Kansas. Definite connections to the problem made her happy. Maker triggered the beam. The flipping motion left her standing outside of an office building. She looked up, knowing that her quarry must be on the upper floors. Villains tended to do that. Maker decided to enter through the exterior after a quick scan. No sense triggering alarms while she had to make her way through the building. Busting through an outside wall should just be as easy. Her factories built a scanner over her eyes. A beam sliced through the wall, revealing the innards to her computers. She smiled when she found a room that seemed to be an office containing one person in the middle of the floor. That had to be her man. Maker looked for an entrance to keep the violence to a minimum. The man in the office didn't seem like much of a threat physically. A quiet approach should work. Maker ascended to the roof. She landed gently, already changing her finger to a lock disabler. Two turns of the knob and the door popped open without a protest. She slipped inside, calling up the glooper. That should be more than enough until she figured the exact problem. Maker made her way down to the office floor. She liked the way there weren't any personnel around. That made it easier for her to do her job. Maker kicked the door in. She took aim with the glooper. The dancing letters on the floor were enough to confirm her suspicions. "Hands up." Maker advanced into the room. "Higgins!" The man didn't stop writing on the floor. "I need you to see this lady out please." The butler appeared out of thin air. A cloud of sulphur drifted around his feet. The look on his face was a bland dismissal. "You heard the young master." Higgins waved his hand, indicating go in front of me. Maker shot him with the glooper. Two problems for the price of one was not something she had counted on. At least one was down for the moment. Time to switch up. Higgins pulled the white stuff apart with ease. He stood up, fire burning in his eyes. He smiled. Maker shot him with a light gun made from her other arm. Higgins looked down at the hole blown through his torso. Maker shot him again, not liking the fact he was smiling. "That's a very lethal choice of weaponry." Higgins took a breath, letting his body pull itself back together as he walked. "Unexpected from such a lovely lady." "Not lethal enough." Maker aimed for his legs and blew them out from under him. That was a temporary solution based on his ability to regenerate. Time to think of something else. Maker stepped back as Higgins braced himself on his hands, getting his stumps under his body. The laser cannon switched to something his demonic brain didn't understand. The butler looked at it with a raised eyebrow. Maker fired a sphere of energy at the butler. He took it in the chest, sure that it would barely affect him. The bullet boiled him away as it rotated in place. The orb sank to a point and then disappeared. "Where were we?" Maker turned her black hole gun on the sitting man. "Go to sleep." The apprentice made a sign with his hands. Maker dropped to the floor.