Ari
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Mag-Might's Initiative: 18.
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"I will write every day." Leroy smiled back as he stood up, stretching his arms over his head to work out a kink in them. "My mother sees no significance in this time of year, and thus has agreed to my staying on Prime over the holidays. I have heard people without any homes make camps in the Bayview woods all winter. Bringing them light, shelter and energy is the least I can do, when I can carry infinite fire and food to them." The elephant looming over him that was the now-simmering tension between the three women was as studiously avoided as his preferred topic was in earnest, the very idea of being without a settled place drawing a shudder and a solemn mien from the boy with a house on two worlds. "Good luck with your family, Dee. I know they cannot quell your light." Kneeling for a moment to press a last kiss on Judy's lips, the Dragon Prince of Earth-2 rose, bowed politely to Mia and Ashley and took his leave. For someone so tall and broadly-built, Leroy stepped lightly, and soon the carpet muffled his footsteps into silence.
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@Grumblefloof Back at the forefront now that I don't need to buckle down for a couple of weeks. Will get it up and running later today.
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Leroy flinched at the sudden storm burst between the three girls. He stiffened under her fingers, like a rabbit when it hears a hawk's hunting cry. Despite towering over anyone else in the room, the boy seemed to visibly shrink and quail before clearing his throat and tentatively speaking. "This is entirely outside any context I am aware of, but I can sympathize with needing to play a role arranged by others. When your life is not of your own will." Shifting on the bed, Leroy slid into a more comfortable position next to Judy. "However, this is not related to anything I am. A fish cannot imagine life outside water, and my identity as a person will never face such threats. But in this case, I feel the wrong is with the body that gave the command." He shot a look at Judy heavy with should I go too? energy.
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The glassy lass nodded. Tapping her face for a moment she indicated the duo with one hand while with the other curled into a squared fist. With a flex of crystalline muscles, near-black spikes jutted from the knuckles. Taking a casual swing at a wall nearby, Mag-Might smashed a chunk out of it with an explosion of plicrete dust. Her look of pride quickly turned to embarrassment as she saw the damage she'd done. Taking a handful of the space-age building material in each massive paw, she pressed them against the wall and opened her mouth wide. Fiery light within her boiled out in a blaze of green, roaring and lashing the wall! When at last it died, Mag-Might stepped back from a fused and glowing-hot crystal seal.
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Leroy hugged her back. "And you are like no-one else in the omniverse, Judy." he murmured tenderly. "A light-withn-light on this sea of darkness. If we must hide our love for now, then so be it. I trust you." "What do you mean, 'what is up with' my family?" Mia had never seen Leroy more confused, though the bar seemed to rise continually as her squadmate collided bodily with Earth-Prime at every turn. "We are a powerful and wealthy collection of very driven and earnest people, Mustafic-Markov. Beyond that, well..." He shifted uncomfortably, "...my mother, she...she is...unflinching. Accepted wisdom would have it that this world is a bastion of darkness scarce-contained. To remain here indefinitely, in her eyes, would be vile neglect. We must make her understand the beauty and worth of Earth-Prime, or else she may simply take me back home and forbid me from ever leaving again. Out of love, of course." He paled. "Dio knows my mind, and must report to her regularly. We may receive a, a visit from one of my cousins soon, to see what this is about. When that time comes, I would take strength from you being at my side, Judy."
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Leroy shook his head. "No, Ben, it is far beyond my power and entirely outside my wishes to harm Prime. Ordinarily, I would persist for the sake of knowledge, however..." The tattooed boy reached up and gently took Judy's hand, smiling up at her as he lightly squeezed her fingers. "...as Dee wishes for peace and focus, I retract the request, Ms. Velasquez. Please accept my apologies for the disruption, I shall be unobtrusive for the remainder." Regarding the silent crystal, Leroy stroked his chin again, golden eyes boring into its depths. Turning back to Judy, his hand brushed the hair away from her face. "Thank you, Judy. Your good sense rescues me once again from error! I should be alright for now, good luck with your own project."
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"Mother always wanted another psychic, but none of us were. On the one hand, I am envious that both of you have that link to your predecessors, when the only person I resemble is my blood-father Lavernius. But the way it has marked you both, closing as many doors as it has opened...perhaps we were lucky." "Would you like me to help you discover more about these 'Stellarians', Judy?" Leroy looked entirely serious. "Mia, would you object to my delving into the origin of this crystalline substance with you? Even if the answers are not dramatic, they could still reveal much."
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"Mr. Roebuck, I would never confuse you for a servant. You are conspicuously lacking in scales, wings and tails!" Leroy laughed, apparently oblivious to the other boy's clear anger. "Besides, I would never do anything that might send me back into the box, to call me as careless now would be as if a child stumbled when taking a first step, and every additional try earned them a shove back to the floor. I created a singularity just this winter, when we fought the traitor intruder Krampus, and the world failed to be destroyed." "Traveler," he added chidingly to Claude, wrinkling his nose as he grinned, "all life is in competition, I distinctly recall making that explicit between myself and our good spare Ben. But, as Ms. Vasquez says that additional safeguards are necessary, I shall of course obey." "Is anywhere on campus separated from this dimension, Ms. Vasquez? Or can be? I would ask one of my sisters for a pocket space, but all of them are off on salvation presently."
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"The afflictions of this world are well-known, at least in the Hanging Gardens where they teach us good and evil." Leroy's face for a fleeting moment was uncannily like Judy's at her most pensive, his golden eyes staring at something only he could see. "Many who come to Earth-2 were hideously mistreated on account of their skin or sex. I have been afforded power and respect since birth, so your lightest trials would be agonizing to me. I regret that I cannot yet remove your burdens, Ashley." He turned back to Judy, smiling now, "When you return, we must plan when to see your parents, to tell them the happy news about us!"
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His sandals scraped across the ground as the prince walked beside the other boy, and catching sight of his look Leroy smiled warmly, launching at once into his usual chatter. "Myself? Oh, not much to tell. I have been practicing with the black diamonds, learning a little patience and the beauties of introspection. Judy is wonderful, as ever, though sometimes she looks...ashamed, when we are together? Just for a moment. I worry I am failing her somehow. She claims to be content when I ask and enjoys our dates, yet..." Leroy let out a deep woof of a sigh, golden eyes clouded, "...I envy my sisters, good Nick. With the One Power they have a bond with all things, they can see thoughts at a glance and wash away cares as easily as they extinguish the wicked. I will never have that power, but there is a virtue in our fumblings. Our mistakes teach us better than endless victory ever can. To forgive faults and errors, even evil when there is repentance." Adjusting his grip on the sloshing buckets, Leroy looked curiously around at the underground hallways. "Such a strange place, it looks like some sort of underground fortress, yet empty and silent as a robbéd tomb. Good Basil did say it was a secret, though I cannot fathom how, or why. Over a decade of dozens, perhaps over a hundred students at times, many with the power to step through space or fall through walls or with eyes to pierce the shadows. Knowing the existence and use of this place could avert mischief by demystifying the unknown and forbidden. And such a lovely spot for an ambush!" The last he said with a sigh and a smile, almost exactly how he had looked while talking about Judy. His voice was one of the only sounds in the tunnel besides the footfalls of the two boys and one of the most pleasant. The others were a dry rustling and shifting behind the walls and somewhere in the ceiling, the ever-present hiss of the lights that, up close, looked distinctly unlike anything humans had ever made, harsh and blue. The metal seemed to throb underfoot, pulsing to some distant heartbeat. The security cameras that stared and followed were almost comforting, reminders that someone else was at least watching over them. As they took their last left, the Dragon Prince of Earth-2 scanned their surroundings. "Now, to go 'back'. Should we walk backwards?"
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"There is one thing," Leroy said, breaking the uncertain silence, "something which I have always wondered. Soliton, you have mentioned before, I think, that your powers are inherited? I am not from here, but I cannot see how this is possible. If I cut off my hand, replaced it with a steel hook and was cloned, my clone would not also have a hook." Settling into a cross-legged posture on the floor, Leroy tilted his head curiously, his long braid dangling and glinting in the soft light.
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GM The light raged, sizzling and blooming as the boys below cried out in pain. Most of them fell, convulsing, but the man with the crude blaster managed to stay on his feet, if unsteadily. Casting about, the man punched some switches on the cannon and tossed it to the ground beside the younger C's, where from the barrel emerged a hissing dome of energy that covered the thieves and the armored car. That done, he set off at a dead run into one of the alleys, vanishing into the shadows.
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Opposing DC16 Reflex for the group as a whole: 7. Failed. DC16 Will save, Blaster: 18. Rest of the gang: 9. Blaster sets his device to the Area Protection AP, sets it down to shield the Southside C's and hurries off into the alleyways next to Archer's vantage point. The C's lose their turn. Archer is up again.
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Okay First round proper. Octoman: Injured(x1), 5HP Red Lynx: Unharmed, 2HP Ms. Thursday: Unharmed, Flat-footed, 2HP Viper Star Crew: Unharmed(10), Grappled/Bound(x1)-GM White Lioness: Unharmed, Flat-footed, 2HP Artificer: Unharmed, Flat-footed, 2HP Dio: Unharmed, Flat-footed, 2HP Sun Dragon: Unharmed, Flat-footed, 2HP
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"What-" Leroy looked utterly nonplussed, though from the glance between Mia and Judy it was hard to say which had more to do with that. "Yes, Mustafic-Markov, I am from another dimension. We call it Earth-2. There are dragons and whalesquids and...many other such things. Throughout my formative years I was taught that Prime was a dominion of evil, a cold and harsh planet where greed rules and only a few heroes hold back everlasting darkness. But you have shown me, Judy, that kindness, purpose and joy can be found here. Such as I never knew at home" He frowned "This is very confusing, even troubling, but...I cannot agree that my mother is evil." "Amatuken Ransome-Conte has a higher duty: the unity of all Earths to one dimension and the creation of a truly equal and just paradise. Where she has gone, the oppressed are liberated. Where the shadow of her dragon fell, tyrants have perished in blood and fire. Her daughters have carried on the work, learning to wield and shape the One Power that binds realities. Their children, and others, hasten the embrace of worlds to us. Realms of such number and variety that I cannot describe them, all bent to feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, empowering the weak and overthrowing the wicked." Leroy became very quiet for a moment, staring at his hands linked tightly around Judy's. When he spoke again, it was low and mournful. "She has done cruel things. All my family save Oloroo, my little sister, have done so when made wroth at the wrongs done across the omniverse. Evil things, I must call them in light of my faith. But...if her aims are so high, her devotion so wholly for others' betterment...can those make her evil? My second fathers, Nova and Night? My sisters, cousins, nephews and nieces? The many who follow them into battle? The dragons?" For someone always so careless and confident, Leroy was the picture of agonized uncertainty, eyes wide and body trembling. "Even if we do not agree...they are my family, Judy. I love them, and if they met you they would love you, I know it! However, if you think it best to break from them, it shall be done." He shook like a leaf, but his grip and golden eyes were steady. "I love you more." He cracked a smile. "After all, Dee: now I know you."
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Leroy looked downright awestruck, even as he quite willingly cuddled up against Judy. "I have never met a sworn shield. I know my sisters have them. Deadly, loyal warriors who channel the One Power in complement to their liege. I never dreamed I would meet one, let alone here on Prime! I know you do not always see eye-to-eye, and being around less mature students again must be torture, but it is good Judy has someone by her side. The children of the powerful are tempting targets." His scars flushed crimson, and he looked abashed, "That was why you reacted so badly when I pledged myself to Dee." "But...you will not be so highly-placed forever, is that right, Judy?" He frowned "I recall there is still some protection for former presidents and their families, but surely there has been none of such radiance and might. We should plan to visit the Skies sooner than later. Even if you have a life on Prime, Dee, I know my family would welcome you there whenever you wish. Perhaps they can even restore your human body, while retaining your powers! The Chimaera could do it, my sister knows life like nobody else in the omniverse!" "Wait...Ashley, Judy darling, you have not told me, do others know?" Even lit up by Judy's shining self, Leroy's face was shadowed with worry, "The secret will not pass my lips without your will, but if there are others here so trusted, it would be wise for Mia and I to be forewarned."
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Winter is when things condense and conserve their energy, when things are boiled down to the base. All possibilities contract and people have to face the reality of themselves and their world like never before.
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Let's see, September/October was changes over time. How about the Winter Vignettes are about the things that don't change, that are integral to who the PC is as a hero or a person. The things that weaken or strengthen them that they can't do without.
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OOC thread for this thread. Legatus, Dio and Sun Dragon tangle with a private security kill squad targeting the homeless of Freedom City. @secondling
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November 28th, Thanksgiving Day, 2019, 8.45AM, The woods of Bayview, overlooking the lake "Felix, they are...they are dead." Leroy whispered, as if he was afraid to awaken the two men under the leaves. Both were stiff, face-down and swollen, wearing soaked and muddy winter coats, hats and scarves to ward off the approaching chill of another polar vortex. Standing over them in his loving recreation of a Puritan's costume, hat crushed between two slender fists, the chatty Dragon Prince of Earth-2 was at a loss for words for the first time all morning. Felix and Leroy had set out on a mission of mercy. With his power to conjure the mysterious black diamonds growing, Leroy had decided to set up a shelter in the woods at a homeless community he'd heard about on the Bayview Slack. "Think of it, Felix!" he had told the other boy over lunch the other day, "Heat, food, water, cleaning supplies, building materials, clothing, medicine, in any amounts and at any time! That is what being a hero should be about, changing lives for the better!" So the two had set out into the woods with samples of all those things after a trip to Bayview Mall. At Leroy's passionate insistence, they had dressed up like Puritans. Now they were standing over two ice-cold corpses, the chill wind off the Atlantic Ocean rattling in the skeletal trees above. Finding his voice, Leroy murmured "Felix...their heads...twisted around. Someone killed them." On a closer look, that suddenly became very apparent. The faces were turned to the hard earth, but their bodies faced the flat grey sky.
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Leroy stared at Judy for a long time, face utterly blank. Taking a slow, deep breath, he looked out the dorm window, brow furrowing as he considered the world outside, the fading trees, the greying skies, the few remaining bundled-up Claremont students on the paths, hurrying to wherever they were going. "Well, I have a confession as well, Judy." Leroy looked back at her, his golden eyes clouded. "I utterly forgot what a president was for a moment." Bursting out laughing, the slender boy hugged the newly-revealed First Family daughter tight, planting a kiss on her lips. In her ear he murmured "You needed not tell me. But I am glad that you have. I will never betray your trust, as you have never mine." Over Judy's hair, Leroy's scarred face grinned merrily up at Ashley. "Do you also have a secret name, Commander?" Suddenly his smile dimmed. "Who else knows? I assume the Headmistress Summers must, but who else"
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"Oh, it is not worth such concern Mr. Roebuck! I have been put in a box before for unsafe practices of manipulating space-time!" Leroy waved away the whole matter with a rueful laugh. "I was merely wondering, as singularities theoretically preserve all that goes into them, at least on the base level, what would happen should a singularity be created inside the space permeable to this," he tapped the dark crystal, "and I entered that same space, whereupon a third party attempted to retrieve me." "It is outside the scope of this contest, admittedly, yet I feel the test would help answer many questions about the nature of singularities, life and how precisely these crystals function." "May I please, Ms. Vasquez?" he asked, the smiling, shining picture of innocence and eager curiosity.
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"I know you are kind, Judy. That you are generous and act where others would dream." Leroy tenderly slipped the joie du soleil into Judy's hair, "You have shown me love and looked past my innumerable weaknesses. Whatever else you are, wherever you are truly from, it cannot overshadow that. Not to me." Taking the younger Smith's hands in his, the Dragon Prince of Earth-2 held her gaze "If you are, as my squad leader suggests, aliens from another world, then so be it. I cannot hope to match her power, but I will gladly do all I can to help." "Whatever your name, you will always shine in my eyes."
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"Ashley! Judy! So glad to see you before you depart! Leroy was on the other side, hands behind his back, dazzling in a black robe shimmering with blue, red and white stars that stood fixed despite how the cloth billowed around them. He was all smiles, and seemed to almost vibrate with energy, surrounded by a gentle and refreshing smell that was like the best parts of lavender and lemon. "May I come in? I have brought gifts!" he said, revealing his hands and their contents with a galactic flourish! "This one was very difficult, but well worth it." In his right hand was a gold-white flower, like a daisy but with narrower petals and a slim brown stem. "I call it the joie du soleil, for it needs but the gentlest of electromagnetic radiations to thrive and bloom. Any earth may be its bed, any time it may be plucked without harm, and wherever it is planted all life flourishes the more! Its scent you already know, calming and sweet, which may become a powerful knockout drug at the pluck of a petal!" "Ashley, I alas could not think of anything you would appreciate and find useful. So I made you a knife that can bypass most forms of detection." He handed the taller girl a slim, guardless blade made from the black crystal that had gone so haywire at Vasquez's meetup weeks back. The hilt was shaped like the snarling, leaping body of a Vietnamese ridgeback dog, the blade jutting from its jaws like a huge, serrated, vicious tongue. Even without testing it, Ashley could feel how sharp it was. That it came with a plain black sheath was rare foresight on Leroy's part. Leroy watched Ashley's face anxiously "I hope they are sufficient?"
