Lone Star

Mad Dog took a few steps back, and readied himself for the jump. He leapt forward, his strong legs lifting him off the roof. Mad Dog landed neatly, rolling and in moments was dusting his jacket off. So what do we have here, King of Suits?" He peered over, and had a look inside the building. "Uh, crap. Well, at least the guys with guns won't be too bad. Want to lead, or should I?" he said with a sly grin.

Warlock reached his hand out, gasping as his girlfriend fell. He knew she had her armor, but it was instinct to reach out and help. In moments, she was out of freefall and flying freely. "Crap! Baby, watch out!" he said, and in a moment, she was being held by the gargoyle. He reached inside his robes, and pulled out a small and very ornate helmet. The unearthly metals of the helmet shone against the Paris sunlight, and Blake quickly fit it onto his head. "Let's hope this works." Blake said aloud, and felt out the gargoyle's mind, his third eye already searching for him. "Now...let her go!"

Warlock is going to Power Stunt a new gadget: a Helm of Mind Controlling (Mind Control 11) which he will use against the Gargoyle.

The King of Suits peered down into the factory, and saw about ten men, heavily armed, and two young men wearing suits. They were guarding what appeared to be large white packages- pure Zoom, no doubt. The armed men patrolled the catwalks that were around the second and third stories. They did not notice the King of Suits. One of the men in the suits was talking to the other one, and they both were smoking expensive cigars. Mad Dog stood on the opposite rooftop, waiting for the King's response.

:argh: Wasted a critical roll! 1d20+3=23 Looks like the Gargoyle is up first.

Janis turned around, and raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is a shoggoth? Sounds like some type of fungus. Anyway, lemme fire up the TV and we'll get the games going." She raised her hand, and a spark of electricity turned on her small TV set. "My roommate thinks this is bad for the TV, but I say I don't particularly care. Bwa-ha-ha." She plopped down on her bed, and handed Warren a plastic guitar. "You have played this game before, right? I'm actually kind of bad at it myself."

Mad Dog held out a fist. "Show me your fist if the building is completely empty." A finger extended: his index finger. "One if there's only a few guys." His middle finger stuck out with the index. "Two fingers if we're completely outnumbered." "And, uh. Three if you're being shot at. I didn't think this whole signal system through." He brought his hand back down and slicked back his hair from behind his hockey mask, and grinned behind it. "The simpler, the better though, eh?" He started to adjust his leather jacket, buckling the collar of it. "Oh...how do I look?"

Blake's eye for artistic structure had him dazzled by the sights and sounds of Paris- he was practically a kid in a candy store with a twenty dollar bill. He held Jessica's hand as they walked onto the elevator of the Eiffel Tower, and Blake was as close to the glass as is physically possible, his eyes aglow with the sheer height. "This is the coolest, baby." Blake planted a kiss on her cheek as they walked towards the railing. "My God, it's even more beautiful than I imagined. This is fantastic." They leaned on the railing, and Blake saw the political rally as well. "Hmm...maybe they've got a politician making a speech?" He turned around once more, distracted by the beauty of the Eiffel Tower.

Janis walked the upside-down guitarist back to her dorms. As the rather strange duo walked across campus, the sun set in the distance, giving the sky beautiful shades of red and orange. "Lovely sunset. Do you ever go out to watch the sun set, Warren? I know it's hokey and kind of strange, but I've always found it a calming way to wind down. I know, a chick like me ever winding down? Unlikely, but it's true." She tossed her long blonde hair back, and smiled a little. "Oh, here's my dorms." She walked him up the stairs, and turned back to him. "I don't believe I've ever had a gentleman caller before." she said, putting on a faux-Southern accent. Janis snorted, and opened the door. Her room was fairly neat- her side of the room covered with rock posters, and a small television was placed on her desk. "It's not much, but it's the best I can do."

Blake furrowed his brow, then quickly unfurled it. It wouldn't do well for him to look annoyed. "What else could I have done, babe? I couldn't just sit by and watch priceless artifacts be destroyed. No one but the Fisher King saw me, anyway. If it's at all possible, I'll try to stay in my regular identity." He sighed, and smiled sadly at her. "You know I'm trying the best I can, Jessica. I just can't stand to sit by and watch a crime unfold. It's like a cop off duty, you know? It's my job." He took a sip of the coffee, and felt his mind become at ease. Blake knew he wasn't himself without proper sleep or caffeine. "Still, you do have a point, though. We both have enemies that wouldn't hesitate to track us down if they knew we were here. I really hope I don't make any more than I already have."

"Hmm. Well, I'm thinking we try to take out as many of these guys as we can before they notice us. So ninja tactics would probably work for the best. And if they do find us, and they raise the alarm, well, I'm sure we can improvise at that point. As long as we take out the muscleheads standing at the front first, the rest of them should be a piece of cake. Still..." Mad Dog looked at the roof. "Think you can get up to the roof? It would probably be good to assess what else we've got against us."

Blake ran along with Jessica, hopping into the car as their bags were being loaded. It was an exciting day, but he still moved with the zombie-walk of one who is still tired. ------ On the train, Blake ordered a cup of coffee. As the caffeine hit his bloodstream, he was immediately awake and alert. He looked out the window and vaguely contemplated a sea monster just outside of the Chunnel, waiting to strike. He smiled, and looked over to his girlfriend, who had his hand in hers. Blake squeezed her hand gently, giving her a warm smile. "Of course, babe. It's not a big deal. I was half tempted to fall asleep myself." Blake said as he loaded his coffee with sugar. "I mean, we did kind of have to move quite a bit before we got on the train. I'm glad we were able to get room service to help. My telekinesis ring would look fairly suspicious, I think. Coffee?"

Janis shrugged, already bored with the idea. "Meh. You know, we can always find him another time. I really think it might be time to start unwinding for the day, which means video games and heavy metal." She turned to the guitarist and held out her hand. "You may join me, if you wish, good sir. If you need to practice though, I understand." He seemed like a pretty cool guy. Hopefully she'd have classes with him sometime. "I did just get Guitar Hero on my Wii, though."

Mad Dog nodded sagely. "Yeah, it'd be pretty damn awkward if we burst into an abandoned factory that's, you know, still abandoned. I imagine we'll find something, though. So let's mosey on over there, if that'd be good. I think we'll know better when we can have a good look." ------- The two heroes walked in the pitch black of the night, the moon high above their heads. After about ten minutes or so, they reached the factory. It stood high above them, and sure enough, guards stood at the first floor entrance. The guard's arms were as thick as Christmas hams, and their barrel chests stood out prominently. It was clear that they were no ordinary men. "Crap! They're either superhuman, or they've got that Max stuff that's been going around. Either way, it won't be as easy as a strong left to the jaw. Any ideas?"

Blake heard Jessica knock at the door, and he quickly brushed his teeth, making sure to swish around a bit of Listerine so he'd at least have good breath. "Coming, love!" he mumbled, his words obscured by the toothbrush. He wiped his mouth, and opened the door. Pausing for a moment, Blake took a look at his reflection and pointed at the good-looking man in the mirror. He opened the door and wrapped his arms around Jessica's waist, pulling her into a quick smooch. "Let's roll, baby!"

"We'll have to have a duet sometime, babe. Cheers to you as well." Gregory took a sip, and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. The two retired some time later, when the moon hung high above them. ------ Unbeknownst to the happy couple, an angry rocker sat in a prison cell, fuming with rage. He shook the bars and screamed out. "Let me out of this hell-hole!" At once, a man walked down the corridor, but he was no guard. He wore a sharp suit, the coat and slacks black as sin, and a pressed shirt white as an angel's robe. "Who the hell are you?" Guitarmageddon asked. "Just call me Mr. Infamy." the man said. "Let's make a deal."

Blake awoke at her kiss, and smiled warmly. He had slept well the night before, and was refreshed and ready for a day of exploring London. He peeked over at Jessica, the comforter wrapped snugly around her. Blake smiled and put his hands behind his head. This vacation was already starting out in a great way, and he had no doubt today would be any different. Pulling back the blanket, Blake hopped off the bed, and attempted to put on boxers and a pair of jeans. The boxers were easy, but his lack of manual dexterity in the morning had him doing a strange pant-leg dance for a moment. He was glad Jessica was in the shower, and missed that part of his morning routine. Blake stood up, and slapped his forehead. Magic, duh. He channeled a bit of magic force into his fingertips, and cotton and lace sprung from them, forming themselves into a comfortable T-shirt around his bare chest. He examined himself in the mirror, and grinned like a lunatic. The shirt he made was blue and had "FOR MAGIC!" written in white cursive lettering. Blake hoped Jessica shared his sense of humor.

Mad Dog nearly sighed in relief- it was good to have some help. "Yeah, I had heard about the Zoom manufacturing that's been going on there too. I was actually going to run a raid on the place tonight. Yeah, I think if you're up for it, we can work together on this thing." He approached the man, and held out his hand. "I'm glad I'm not the only vigilante who works the late nights around here. Like I said, I'm Mad Dog. How exactly do you make a strategy for a raid like this? I really don't know what to expect, but as you can probably tell, I'm pretty good at making myself not seen."

Mad Dog heard footsteps behind him, and he turned around, fists at the ready. "Who the hell is that?" he said, trying to keep his voice down. "Show yourself!" He turned around quickly, and saw a caped figure with a red and white costume. He lowered his fists. "Oh. Well, I assume you're not here to kill me. If you are, then don't try to sneak up on an ex-Marine." Gregory wasn't technically an ex-Marine, but it generally let people know what they were up against. "If you aren't, then greetings! I'm Mad Dog."

Janis helped herself up. "Oh! Well, helping me up is quite another thing. I'm just kidding with you though, man. I'm really not all that versatile in combat. It's more like...hit it with lightning 'till it falls down." She grinned and allowed bio-electricity to manifest itself- and her arm lit up with electrical power. She then shut it off, and put her hands on her hips. "And no, I can't build giant robots, silly goose! If I'm having trouble fixing up an old roadster, I'm fairly certain advanced robotics is out of my league. Now let's get to the Doom Room before we become senile." She teleported a short distance, a smirk on her face.

Mad Dog's powerful Harley roared along the streets of The Fens. It was only a few nights ago that an informant he interrogated gave him the location of a major Zoom manufacturing plant. It was in a building only a few miles away: an abandoned warehouse, where the drug was being made. He knew for a fact that there would be men guarding the warehouse, but he wasn't nervous. His Marine stealth training and incredible strength made him more than a match for men with guns. He parked his bike in a back alley, and locked it down so choppers wouldn't steal the bike's tires. He stayed in the back alleys, making a quiet approach to the factory. It was safely far enough from it that they wouldn't hear his bike coming. He walked at an even pace, knowing that he had all the time he needed. As far as he knew, his guest appearance wouldn't be expected.

Janis blinked, completely and utterly unknowing of what the hell was going on. She sat in her seat on the bus and held her knees close to her, and thought happy thoughts. She thought of Claremont, and going home to Freedom City, and American hot dogs. It was such a strange and alien situation to her: she had never encountered anything mystical, much less anything from neighboring dimensions. Janis reached into her costume's pocket, where she remembered she brought her iPod. Giving it a jump-start with a brief jolt, she relaxed by listening to some music. It would be a long journey, but the first thing she needed to do was take a moment to relax. Moving across dimensions was old hat for any number of mystics, but the new experience would be something worth remembering.

Blake rolled over onto his back to look up at her. "Most definitely. This is going to be great. So what's on the agenda for tomorrow? I could really use a good night's sleep- today was incredibly frickin' eventful." He rolled over again, and flopped onto his back! "Ow." Blake said, stumbling towards her. He wrapped his arms lovingly around her waist and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. "We could check out more art museums, if you're up for me dorking out. Or we could visit some of London's parks, or any number of things. I imagine you know a little more about London than I do, and you've always got some sort of plan." He smooched her again. "While I on the other hand like to..." he waved his hand vaguely. "Improvise."

Mad Dog heard the fighting in the courtyard, and decided to stay put until the combat had ended. "We should probably see what happened. If the assassin won, I'm more than capable of a fight." he said, cracking his knuckles and tightening his leather gloves. --- When the two were in the courtyard, a pile of broken clay was all that remained of the would-be murderer. "Wow, looks like you really got 'em, Changeling. It looks like you're safe for the moment, sir." He stood by, waiting for the others to arrive. Mad Dog stood in the "at ease" position: a habit left over from his Marine training. His body looked relaxed, but his eyes were constantly looking around for signs of danger or other potential assassins.

Janis slyly slipped her hand out of Warren's grip, sticking out her tongue. "Dude, we just met! Come on, you've got to give it a little more time than that before you hold the lady's hand. But yes, if you are curious as to why I'm so eager to visit the Doom Room, the answer is both. I can't deny that I have a gigantic ego in danger of going supernova and taking out the entire block. So impressing the cute guitarist by completely pwning his ass in the Doom Room is a way of stabilizing it. Don't worry though, it's nothing personal. You're a pretty cool dude."