ic Sleeping Worms

[Highwind]

As soon as Revenant said that, Marco blushed a little. He didn't mean it that way. But unlike King of Spades and Revenant, he didn't feel comfortable giving away every talent of his. Given there wasn't much- he was really strong, could jump high, and for some reason was bulletproof yet punches and stabs hurt him still. However, in hostile territory, you wanted every advantage you could have.

"Are you sure you should be announcing every trick up your sleeve?" Marco asked. "A wrestler doesn't show their signature move when the bell rings- if anybody is listening they could be planning specifically for you now. Not trying to condemn you or anything- just being paranoid, that's all."

[Tiffany Korta]

“Oh sports analogies. Personally I’m a team sports kind of girl. As my father use to say Cricket is best, but Baseball will do in a pinch.†a sad look passed across her face and she was glad for the darkness “And for a team to work well the fielders need to know what the pitcher is about do. Or to put it another, non-sport way, you Co-council need to know your strategy so there questions don’t ruin your defence.â€

A slight pause then she spoke again.

“But your right, it never hurts to be a little cautious Mala Suerte. You can be are secret hitter.†She turned and flashed him a little smile.

[Ari]

Keeping an eye on the retreating sewer passage Marceau volunteered "It's hardly paranoid to keep secrets from people you've just met, Mala Suerte. The reason I asked was to break the ice a little, and give us all an idea of what each other's capabilities are. You're also right in that we should be a little more discreet, seeing as we're in effectively enemy territory and the walls might have ears"

Turning slightly to glance down into the passing..sewage, he wondered vaguely what they would do if they encountered any actual enemies down there. He figured that, being common thugs, simply tossing them into the main drainage flow would be enough to take the fight out of them, and then he could snatch them out of the water with his grapple gun. But for now, he once more turned his thoughts to keeping a close watch on their rear, hoping they would meet someone else at least partially friendly to their cause.

[quotemyname]

Keeping an eye on the retreating sewer passage Marceau volunteered "It's hardly paranoid to keep secrets from people you've just met, Mala Suerte. The reason I asked was to break the ice a little, and give us all an idea of what each other's capabilities are. You're also right in that we should be a little more discreet, seeing as we're in effectively enemy territory and the walls might have ears"

"Shhh!" The hoarse whisper shot out of one of the dank, connecting sewer tunnels, "I think I heard voices," Zach told his sister. The two twins had been wandering through the sewers for some time now. Despite their natural ability to always know in what direction north lay, the strange concrete tunnel system of Earth had proven quite confusing compared to the more artistic construction of Tektani tunnel systems. In short, they were lost.

"Want to go up there and see if you can spot anything?" Zach sent the message silently to his sister.

[Heritage]

"Shhh!" The hoarse whisper shot out of one of the dank, connecting sewer tunnels, "I think I heard voices," Zach told his sister.

Jeena froze in her tracks; despite having lived in the tunnels beneath the city for several months, there were still apparently miles and miles of sewer and subway lines they hadn't explored, and they were clearly in one now. For this trip, the twins had opted to break out their stalking gear, brought all the way from Tektan: simple black bodysuits with no loose fabric or fasteners to catch on anything, tucked into knee-high Muka moleskin boots. They wore special tinted visors to protect their eyes in case they ran into anyone carrying bright illumination or explosive devices, Jeena's in violet and Zach's in ruby-red. With their black gloves and the hoods of their suits pulled up to cover their silvery-white hair and most of their faces, they stood out a lot less than they did back on the Claremont campus.

"Want to go up there and see if you can spot anything?"

Will do, she sent back; shrinking down to a mere inch in height, the now-tiny girl hovered on the dank air of the sewer, bobbing up and down slightly as she maneuvered to ride the ripples of pure stench. Tilting forward, she slipped easily down the tunnel, her alien eyes allowing her to see clearly when she soon came upon a rather bizzare trio advancing down the passage. Jeena came to stop and held her position some ten feet away from them and some three feet above the brackish water; at her size, it was almost impossible to spot her form.

Zach, I think they're more of these hero types; two human males, one human female, all dressed up like it's the Feast of Nodin. Suggestions?

[quotemyname]

Zach, I think they're more of these hero types; two human males, one human female, all dressed up like it's the Feast of Nodin. Suggestions?

Just observe for now. See what they're up to. Zach shifted his molecules even as he spoke. Send back what information you can. I'll keep up with you, and phase along through the walls to stay out of sight. Once we determine they aren't potentially hostile, we can ask about directions. Inwardly, Zachary chuckled about the lengths they go to just to ask for something as simple as directions in their new home.

I wonder why they're down here? It's not exactly their natural habitat. And then there's the smell. Zach held his nose as he passed through the nearby tunnel wall faster than a Bore Slug could burrow.

[Tiffany Korta]

Revenant carefully pick through the flotsam and jetsam of the sewer tunnel. Taking the King of Suits word to heart she bit down on any comments and concentrated on the sound of the tunnel.

Nothing except their own footsteps, and the sound of rats scurrying in the walls.

She was still blown away that they were all so use to being the hero, whilst she was still struggling to get a handle on all that this entailed.

But she was in the lead and didn’t want either of them to get hurt so she pretended to know exactly what she was doing.

[Ari]

The King of Suits kept his eyes peeled for sights and sounds out of the ordinary coming from the back of the group, and thus missed any sign of Jeena's presence. The seeping sewage flowing past to his left provided plenty of chances for distraction: a drifting carcass of some unguessable creature lond dead, a streak of rainbow-like water that had washed down from some carwash to the north, and the smell was still dire to Marceau's nostrils.

Stopping for a brief moment to check if anything was moving along the opposite tunnel, he wondered how anyone could live in the sewers for any amount of time. Nothing to eat except what you took down with you from the surface, same with drink, living under the thumb of a cruel maniac anarchist, it was no wonder that the few he had fought had refused frantically to talk.

He resumed his backwards walk, shuddering inwardly.

[Heritage]

I wonder why they're down here? It's not exactly their natural habitat. And then there's the smell.

Good question; if they really are heroes, maybe we can help them with whatever they're doing. We've been down here a few months, maybe we've got some clues they need.

Jeena drifted much closer to the oddly-dressed trio, floating just behind the rearmost; clearly they were having a hard time seeing down here in the dark, and she felt a twinge of sympathy for the surface dwellers. If I see something dangerous and they don't, I'm going to send them a warning.

[quotemyname]

That's true, Zach sent back, Though I'd still rather we wait until we know for sure that they won't try to hurt us just for appearing out of thin air, or so they might think. Has any of them said anything yet?

Zach continued to follow along through the walls. Every now and then, he'd peek through a small opening in a drainage pipe or other hole in the wall to make sure he was still on track.

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy continued on down the sewer tunnel for a few more minutes, lost in her own thoughts. Then a change in the ambient sounds bought her back to the present. She chastised herself for not paying attention, a sure way of getting them all in trouble.

The flow of water had changed suggesting that ahead of them another tunnel seems to join onto the main passage they were travelling down. The flow of water

She turned, remembering to lower the torch and addressed the rest of them.

“Up ahead it looks like another tunnel, any idea which way we go?â€

[Ari]

"No sense in splitting up, that's for sure" answered the King of Suits, after he had gotten his jangled nerves back in one piece from backing into Mala Suerte. The labyrinthine tunnels meant that enemies could lurk anywhere they pleased and be at least partially hidden. Meaning, of course, that they had the options of...pretty much anything.

"I'd say we should just go down that way. Not find the lair as fast maybe, but at least we'll have a chance of finding it if it's not on the main road so to speak" he looked to the others "What do you guys think? I'm thinking it would be very weird if the Worm just kept a place in the main tunnels where they might be found by anyone. Of course if they've a large enough force, they might need to keep in the main tunnels and just vacate ahead of inspections"

[Highwind]

Marco stopped when Revenant started talking, and the King of Suits bumped into him. He turned around, looked to see the man hadn't fallen over, and stepped aside. He did notice the bottom of his cape was now drenched in sewer water, and would probably need days of cleaning to bring back to a decent condition. But that was to be expected of superhero costumes. That cape in particular had been damaged or destroyed at least a dozen times.

He looked ahead, and noticed the water flow. Deliberating, Marco said "We should probably check for further wall scratches, then go down the smaller of the two tunnels. It would make sense for them to slowly move further and further away from the main lines. Otherwise the other sewer residents may have gotten whiff of them. If there are any besides rats and gators."

[Tiffany Korta]

Revenant gave a sly smile “Rat’s don’t bother me, and I’d like to see a gator try and chew on me. I’d probably give it indigestion.â€

She looked at her boots, who seemed to have been surviving quite well; maybe they’ll survive this little encounter. Still they still had to find this guy.

“Yeah the side tunnel seems a better bet. I’m no expert but it seems to funnel people towards him, so we better be careful.†She shrugged “Well a little more careful than we have been so far.â€

She had a quick look around she wasn’t sure but something seemed a little off, but she just couldn’t place it…

[Heritage]

That's true, Zach sent back, Though I'd still rather we wait until we know for sure that they won't try to hurt us just for appearing out of thin air, or so they might think. Has any of them said anything yet?

Jeena shook her head as she tried to piece together the trio's mission based on the bits she'd heard. It sounds like they're hunting for someone or something called 'the Worm', some sort of bad guy that lives down here; look for any scratches on the wall, it seems like that's a clue if the Worm's been here. We should also keep our eyes open for any traps or ambushes, since it sounds like it's smart and has been down here for some time.

Despite herself, the Tektani girl began to feel very protective of the three mysterious heroes, like a tiny Shard sprite out of one of her storybooks. By the Shard's Light, I'll watch over you, at least while you're down in my world. She smiled as she looked up towards the surface. Up there, you're on your own.

[Ari]

Marceau glanced over at the wall next to him on Mala Suerte's advice, and saw the markings that oh-so-subtly showed the crowned worm leading two hooded figures over a dead body while pointing at the side-tunnel. For some reason the markings had the tunnel baring fangs. Said markings were easily spotted by the three humans and Jeena.

"Well" said the King of Suits brightly "Let's get a move on then, no sense hanging about" and he politely gestured for Revenant to lead the way, resuming his place behind Mala Suerte. He caught a glimpse of his soiled cape and cringed at the inevitable laundry bill he would run up with it. He wondered dismally why he even bothered wearing a cape, until he recalled that he kept many supplies in sleeves scattered evenly on the underside.

[Tiffany Korta]

Poor boy Lucy couldn’t help to smile at them both looking dejected at the stains on their capes, feeling extra chuffed about her new sturdy boots. She was feeling extra confident about the boots survival; it wasn’t to end up like the sun dress all over again…

Enough of my recent fashion faux pas. Time to go.

Letting out an unneeded breath she gathered herself together ready to step again into possible danger.

“Well no time like the present. Let’s go.â€

With that she began to stroll purposely down this new tunnel.

[Ari]

As the three humans and the unseen Tektani approached the side tunnel, and were about to step throuqgh the round pseudo-doorway that led into it, a slight rasp of metal sounded from above in the darkness. With a harsh scraping sound, a gigantic three-bladed guillotine came crashing down towards the floor directly before the open mouth of the tunnel.

It took only a decent amount of athleticism to evade it, so much had the rust and grim decreased its speed, but the blades forced aside a massive amount of air as they traveled, causing a vortex of air to form above it that blew air through the tunnels for the first time in centuries, and attracted a large amount of the lighter debris to it, and even began sending Jeena hurtling towards the blades!

[quotemyname]

"No!" Zach yelped, seeing his twin sister in danger. Before he even knew what he was doing, he found himself rushing from the small sewer pipe that he'd compressed his gaseous form into. The movement of his molecules through the air under the power of his own flight managed to counteract that of the air current vortex. Jeena was pulled no further toward the deadly blades. Zach on the other hand was less fortunate. The magnitude of his sacrifice became clear as the rusty, yet deadly bladed trap.

The rusty guillotine crashed to the ground with a sickening, metal wrenching sound. It has passed directly through Zach's semisolid form leaving him completely unharmed, yet standing out in the open before the tunnel, his sister, and the heroes they had been observing.

"Um...Hi!" Zach smiled nervously.

[Tiffany Korta]

Revenant stood over the strange arrivals happily wiggling her toes in her still attached boots.

“Well I guess we know what the marking means. These… two seem to be okay, and ones see-thru. Well that’s new!â€

She looked down at the twins and smiled at them.

“Well then. I’m guessing you’re not on the Conquering Worms payroll.â€

She squatted down to around there eye level. Giving her friendliest cheery smile she addressed them directly.

“Hello there. Would you like to tell us who you are and why you’re down here? Don’t worry we’re the good guys.†She beamed.

[Highwind]

Marco did a jump backwards as the guillotine crashed down on them. The thing was rusted over, which meant even if they had gotten scratched, a tetanus booster would be in order. The jump put him about 25 feet behind the rest of the group, and he began walking forward again once he wasn't in danger of dying. Suddenly, there were two new people alongside them.

Revenant handled the niceties, and Marco looked them over. One seemed to be rather small. His mouthless mask betrayed no expression, but Marco was a tad surprised at the new arrivals. He must be a super-magnet.

"I am Mala Suerte," he said to them. "Are you also investigating?"

[Heritage]

Inch-high Jeena was quite shocked by the sudden arrival of her brother; she'd felt a quick rush of wind and made a correction, but then there was a second rush and her brother was flailing about, and then they were caught. At first, Jeena bumped herself up to six inches, not quite ready to admit to the full range of her capabilities, but then she figured busted was busted, and she assumed her normal proportions, an embarrassed smile on her face. "Hello! Uh, my brother and I were down here in the tunnels, like we are from time to time, and we...saw you looking around, hunting for this Worm creature, and we thought, 'Wouldn't it be nice to help those three mysterious people?' But we're sort of new at this, and we weren't sure..."

Do we use our real names, or those code names we were talking about?

[quotemyname]

Code names! Please let's use the code names! They go with the outfits we're wearing!

Zach stepped in to help out his sister, "What she's trying to say is, we weren't sure what side who all was on. I'm Covalent. This is Cubic. If you're the good guys, then I guess we made the right choice." Zach folded his arms and smiled, "These tunnels are like a second home to us, we can't have some nasty worm rooting around down here."

Hope they'll take it the surface was my first home.

[Ari]

"My feelings exactly, Covalent!" said the King of Suits merrily, though with a slight edge of nervousness that revealed his rattled nerves. He had heard the grind of metal as the guillotine fell as soon as the other two, but had spent the fractured second Mala Suerte and Revenant had used to leap away looking wildly in nearly every direction but up. Thus he had leaped away from the guillotine more to avoid Mala than to dodge the falling blades.

"I'm the King of Suits, pleased to meet you two. The Conqueror Worm is an anarchist who wants to hurt people for no sound reason. I would raise a fuss about such young people as you wandering the filthy sewers alone, but that would be deeply hypocritical. We would welcome your help in capturing the Conqueror Worm, do you have any idea where they are, or where their bases in the sewers might be?" he smiled politely, carefully wiping a piece of some unnameable filth from his left sleeve.

[Heritage]

."I'm the King of Suits, pleased to meet you two. The Conqueror Worm is an anarchist who wants to hurt people for no sound reason. I would raise a fuss about such young people as you wandering the filthy sewers alone, but that would be deeply hypocritical. We would welcome your help in capturing the Conqueror Worm, do you have any idea where they are, or where their bases in the sewers might be?"

Jeena frowned as she pulled back her hood to scratch her head, allowing her short, silvery-white hair to spill out. "Oh, so the Worm is a human? That is, a person leading other persons?" She looked to her brother thoughtfully. "Well, we have seen groups of rather scary-looking people down here now and again; obviously we were able to hide from them fairly easily, using our abilities." She continued to describe them as she would giving report to an officer back home. "They appeared to be armed with pipes and other crude weapons, traveled in groups of five to seven, and were dressed like street people." She sighted along her arm back down the tunnel, like a surveyor. "Mostly we've seen them south by southwest of our current location; wouldn't you say, Cov?"

Is that okay for a 'nickname', or should I use something else? You can call me 'Cube', if you want.