Totally Fallacious

Reinvigorated by the impressive attack and inspiring words from Edge, Boreas drew his arm back again and prepared to fire another jet of water at Magmar. "On it, boss! I'll turn him to rock if I have to!" He threw another haymaker, which in turn produced another stream directed at the giant lava monster. In his haste, Boreas sent this one flying in the wrong direction again. 'Dammit!' he thought to himself as he watched his attack veer away from its target. 'Get it together, Mickey! He's literally bigger than the broad side of a barn!'

And Boreas goes for a Blast again, rolling an 8. Chalk it up to nerves, I guess?

Mickey walked along at a leisurely pace, whistling to himself as he balanced on the concrete edge of one of the garden beds. He may have been running a little behind, he wasn't certain. But it made it all the easier to make sure he was in the right spot. A few other students about hit age had gathered around in a group closer to the center of the gardens. He figured that meant he was in the right spot. He recognized a couple of them already. He was pretty sure he shared a class with the quiet one with the shaved head, and he'd seen the freckled girl plenty of times around the campus, but they'd never properly met. He didn't recognize the others, but that just meant he got a chance to make some new connections. He sauntered up to the group and found himself a seat. "Hey! Is this where we're meeting up for the extracurricular whatchacallit?"

Aaaand a 14.

"I'm on it!" Boreas called back. He'd stopped suspending himself and sent himself into a free fall in an attempt to dodge the spray of lava. He dodged the brunt of the attack but still managed to get singed by the heat. As he righted himself, he shook his limbs and patted himself, panicked that his uniform may have caught fire at a couple of points. "Owowowowow," he muttered as he shook himself focused again. He quickly realized he was positioned directly in front of the monster's torso, assuming it worked anything like a humanoid. 'Nice big target,' he thought to himself. 'I guess I should call myself lucky.' He cocked his fist back as if he were winding up a punch, then shot it forward. As he did, a jet of water coalesced in front of his fist. "Eat this, ya big ugly punk!"

All right, Boreas is just going to back up and use his Blast, with a Water modifier. Will post IC soon.

All right, let's see. 22 exactly on the Reflex save 19 on Toughness And he moves on 20

Mickey was more than ready to come down for a break. Half an hour in conditions like this was a lot more physically stressful than any training he'd gone through before, but he'd made it. He was getting ready to answer Mark when he heard the ground rumble beneath him. The lake of lava suddenly began to shift and roil, much worse than before. The earth shook and Edge disappeared from Boreas's view. Panicking, Boreas brought the Commlink back up and called into it, "Edge, are you there? Can you hear me? Edge, come on, say something!" His thoughts were interrupted by a huge, humanoid... thing rising up from the pit. Boreas stared with his mouth hanging open as he waited for the thing to finish rising. It finally did about a hundred feet above the ground, twice as high as Boreas was currently floating. He flew backwards, the thing's lava-like skin making it difficult to stay close. He stared at it, taking in its full size and monstrous appearance, and all he could mutter was "Crap." His first instinct was to take off then and there, or at least dive back down to the ground and look for help. But then he remembered what he was there for. The people that lived here needed him to handle this. Besides, all he needed to do was keep it contained. Edge would show back up any time, and he could help take this guy down for real. Right? Reassuring himself that he wasn't alone and that this wasn't anything he couldn't handle, he latched on to the one lesson he was taught thoroughly by growing up with all his rough-and-tumble brothers: Never look weak. Never refuse a challenge. You're always the toughest guy in the room, not matter how big the other guy is! Mickey rocketed himself straight upward, until he was eye-to-eye, or body-to-face rather, with the giant being calling itself Magmar. With a deep breath, he shouted, "Hey, you! I don't know what grudge you have with Atlanteans or wizards or anyone, but a guy like you isn't going anywhere on my watch!"

At Mark's cue, Boreas took a deep breath and thrust his arms out to his side. White clouds began to accumulate around him and he was quickly surrounded with a rush of cold, crisp air, a sensation very familiar and calming for him. "Ahhhh, much better," he said quietly to himself as he took a moment to enjoy the feeling. After a brief tick enjoying the change in atmosphere, he focused and thrust his arms straight out again. Clearing his mind and focusing, he sent a strong gust of wind downward, towards the rolling lava beneath him. Clenching his eyes shut, he willed the air around and beneath him even colder and the wind to blow nearly as hard as he could manage. He could only make an educated guess how hot a pit of lava was and he certainly hadn't tested his abilities on anything near this hot before, so he figured that he'd rather give it too much effort than not enough. He opened his eyes again and saw that the movement of the lava slowing slightly and the glow getting a bit duller. "All right, Edge! It's starting to cool. I'm just going to leave it on full blast up here unless you tell me otherwise."

Just formally expressing my interest. Boreas is pretty self-taught, so that's gotta count for something.

The sudden change in scenery was, again, a sudden shock to Boreas. The heat didn't bother him very much, since he discovered some time ago that his abilities gave him a limited resistance to heat and cold. It was the world snapping itself into a completely different form around him that was disorienting. He couldn't help but take a moment to take in his surroundings, which he could only describe as barren. On one side he saw a wide, expansive desert, stretching well beyond the horizon. On another side was a mountain range, the only place where there was a notable amount of plants. But in front of him was the reason he was there. A pair of crater-like holes in the rocky ground, with an obvious crack protruding from one of them. 'Oof,' was all he could think. 'Well, no mistaking what we came here for.' He was entranced enough that he almost didn't notice Edge heading in the direction of the volcano. He took off at a fast run in the same direction, then lifted himself off the ground like a plane off a runway and began flying up the cliff, staying fairly close to Edge's path. He slowed and produced his commlink from a pocket and called to his companion, "Got it right here!" He then picked up speed and flew well above the highest point in the area, taking in the scene from above. Mark had been right about one thing. Erta Ale didn't look like any volcano Mickey had learned about in school. But there was no mistaking what it was from up here. He watched the lava roll and bubble within the pit. He saw Edge come close to the crack in the edge of the crater before slowing to a stop. "Just give me the word, boss, and I'll start cooling it down for ya!"

Hearing the knock at the door, Boreas took out his mask and gloves and put them back on. With a deep breath, he opened up is door and grinned at Edge. "Good to see you again," he said. "We ready to go? Or do you need to take care of anything else first?"

Boreas (2) >When a Tornado Meets a Volcano (1) >Class Gambit (1) GM (1) >The Happiest Place on Earth (1)

For reference's sake, PCs in this thread are Crimson Tiger, Merge Trois, Kit, Errant and Boreas.

Aaaaand >threads are >up! I'm going with Tiger, Merge, Kit and Errant for this one. My apologies, Spicy. Introduce your character into the thread however you like, I won't be picky. Boreas will enter in as well, but I'm generally going to be keeping him out of the spotlight.

This is the OOC thread for >this thread. ... Yeah.

Somewhere just off of State Route 4, 7:00 p.m. Maxwell Decker was donning his uniform as he exited his trailer onto the fairgrounds. As his employees expected, he immediately found fault in everything around him. "What is all this?" he shouted to the scrambling carnies. "We don't have time for you loons to be slacking off! Kick it into overdrive! We need to be open before dusk, you schmucks!" Still pulling his cliched red-and-white jacket on (something that he didn't particular care for, but patrons seemed to expect), he marched down the midway barking orders to anyone he met. "Logan, those friers better already be hot! Nobody's going to have time to wait around while you twiddle your thumbs! Hey! I can still see the dang animal cages by the tent! Wolfgang, get over there and give them a hand setting the siding up! Has anyone seen Derringer?" "Over here, Boss," called a stick-thin young man with a long, thick beard dressed in cowboy garb. "Ah, there you are. You made sure everything I asked you to do is ready?" "Yes, sir." The young man faced a wall while Maxwell talked to him. He quick-drew a revolver from a holster on his hip, replaced it, and continued to repeated the process without any variation. "Eh, ease up on that, boy. Save it for the act. Don't want you getting carpal tunnel or something during the show. Oh, and Fabula was looking for you earlier. Said to meet her in her tent. I wouldn't keep her waiting." With that, Derringer holstered his sidearm one more time, nodded to his boss, and made his way to the rear of the carnival grounds. Maxwell shook his head and began climbing a ladder leading up above the carnival entrance. "Yeesh. Always was a quiet bugger." When he reached the top of the ladder, he crouched behind a facade above the entryway and carnival sign, flipping some switches that turned on several lights around the front of the fair and started a track of calliope music which carried for a mile or more in each direction. With the full show going, he stood up and looked down on the crowd that had already gathered in front of the entrance. It was a good crowd, larger than all but a few that he'd seen before, exactly what he was hoping for from Freedom City. Tonight was going to be a good night. "Ladies and gentlemen! And, of course, boys and girls!" he bellowed over the music, not bothering with a bullhorn or microphone. "Thank you for coming out to visit us tonight! Here in half an hour, it will be my personal pleasure to welcome you to the greatest spectacle on earth, in town for one night only! Circuuuuus Maximuuuuuus!" While Maxwell was giving his speech, Derringer had ducked into a purple-and-gold tent adorned with a sign reading "Fabula the Fabulous, Psychic Extraordinaire." Quite a bit larger than most other tents, as was necessary for the performer, the interior gave plenty of room for both Derringer and his partner to stand and talk. "Everything is prepared?" Fabula asked, as she stared into the mirror at the very back of the tent, primping her costume. "Exactly the way you told me to," he answered. "It's gonna be another smooth night. No muss, no fuss." "I should hope so." Fabula turned around to face Derringer. "If things go as well as we hope, with all the traffic Freedom City should bring, we could be set for life after tonight. You're certain you didn't miss anything?" "Totally. You have my word." "Good. Because if anything were to trip us up tonight, instead I'll have your head, as they say." Freedom City, Midtown, at the same time Halfway across the city, a man in a black suit was sitting at an outdoor table at a small cafe. Deputy Inspector McMahon, from the Freedom City Police Department, held a full mug of coffee with one hand as he slowly scrolled down a web page with the other. The page in question was an article on the Daily Word's website about Circus Maximus coming to Freedom this evening. His expression only became more and more stern and focused as he reviewed the page repeatedly. He knew that somebody at this carnival was bad news, a suspicion he'd confirmed with several other members of the force, but had no proof and no leads to follow. Thus the reason he was out here this evening. He'd attempted to get in contact with a few local heroes in hopes of scoping out the fair, and all he could do now was hope somebody showed.

"You can drop me back where we met. I've got time and I need to make a pit stop before I head back to Claremont." After the teleport, Boreas made a point to land and ground himself before taking off again. He adjusted his mask again and turned to face Edge. "I'd better get moving. Guess you know where to find me, though, right?." He gave Edge's hand another shake, then lifted himself off the ground. "I'll see you tonight." He pushed himself further off, then rolled and sped towards Bayview. He began flying lower when he approached the neighborhood and found a quiet nook to dive into. He stowed his mask and gloves, then took to walking the rest of his way to the Day family home. He was greeted enthusiastically, in all the ways he ways he had expected. Youngest brothers Joseph and Dan tugged on his arms and asked him whether he'd had the chance to team up with the likes of Fulcrum or Geckoman. Elder brother Alton asked how many times Mickey had gotten his butt kicked since he left for Claremont. His mother berated him for not checking in nearly enough, and making her think he had dropped off the face of the Earth. And Dad and slightly-younger-brother Kent were just happy to see him. He asked them all to step into the dining room, as he wanted to talk about some news he got today. -------- "So... what does this mean?" his mother asked. "Well, it means that a big name has some trust and at least a little respect for me. It means I get a chance to really prove myself. At least that's how I see it." "Well, yes, but this is a big step. I mean, what are you going to get called on to do next?" "But that's what we wanted out of this, right?" Mickey asked. "This is training, guidance... All the stuff you said you signed me up at Claremont for." "Yes, but I didn't think that meant you'd be going out halfway across the world on a whim." "I'm not just flying off to Africa because I want to, I'm doing this to help other people." Mickey's father, who'd remained silent for the last half an hour, raised both his hands, gesturing for his son and wife to be quiet and relax. "Angie, you're working the boy up with this talk. He's probably all nerves as it is. We agreed when we signed him up for the academy that we knew it would probably lead to something like this." "I know," Angie said with a tinge of guilt in her voice. "This just kind of came out of nowhere." "I'm gonna be fine." Mickey wrapped his arms around his mother. "He promised me it's nothing dangerous. I don't even have to get near the action. I'm just going to tag along, give him a hand, and come right home. Just like if I was going into downtown for a regular old job." "Just promise me you'll get in touch when you get home." "Promise." -------- Mickey sat on his bed, back against the wall, back at Claremont Academy. After he finished his classes for the day, he'd gone back to his room, and did everything he could thing of to get ready, mostly eating his fill and getting some sleep. He now sat upright, his hand outstretched to a glass of water on his nightstand. He twirled his finger above the glass and watched the water lazily swirl in time with his movements. He turned and picked up the clock sitting beside his cup. 12:25. Just don't think about it, he thought.

Rose, that may actually make a lot of sense for the setting. @Absurdist: Should I take that as an official submission?

Ladies and gentlemen! Children of all ages! Come up! Come down! The carnival has come to town! It's hard to not love the carnival. It's got rides! Prizes! A circus! Something for everyone to love! Except for some members of the Freedom City Police, apparently. A couple of members at FCPD believe that Circus Maximus, the traveling carnival setting up shop just off of the highway between Bayview and Southside, is guilty of some illegal activity, but are unable to dig up any actual proof. These agents are out to round up a group of heroes to act as their eyes and ears at the carnival. Are these officers onto something with their hunch? What could a simple carnival be up to? Will the alter ego of any of our heroes be caught off-guard? Find out in the next adventure of... Freedom City Play-by-Post! ---------------------------------------------------- As this thread is going to be on the lower end of the power level structure. I'm looking for a party up to 4 players, running PL 7-10 heroes. Sound off if you're interested!

"Oof. A volcano's a few steps up from what I've practiced with before. So is saving a village. But I shouldn't have any problems getting it cool enough for you to handle." He took a moment to digest this information. This was his first "big job" as it were, and while Edge made it sound like a nice and simple task, Mickey wasn't able to tear his thoughts away from the consequences if the two of them came up short somehow. Don't worry about that, he told himself. Getting worked up like this ain't going to help you at all. Besides, it's no different than when I've practiced, right? You've done this a hundred times before, just do it like practice." He realized he'd been staring at the landscape out the window this whole time and got the feel that Edge was staring at him. He cleared his throat, adjusted the shirt of his Claremont uniform and shook the thoughts from his head again. "How soon do we leave?"

"Well, lucky for us, cold is what I do best." Mickey began slowly pacing, a habit he'd picked up from his own father. His mother had commented to both of them on several occasions that even though neither of them liked to bring up personal issues with the family, she always knew they were deep in thought, because they always took to the same habits. "How big of an area are we talking here?" he asked. "I can sure get the temperature down that low, but I don't think I can, say, make it snow over a whole city at the same time." He looked out the window and motioned to the shore of the lake nearest to them. "A little more than hundred yards past that shore is as far as I can reach." He took a deep breath and stopped his pacing, looking straight ahead at Edge. "I'll be honest. All of this is shaking me up a little bit. But if a man like you say I'm the guy for the job, I figure I must be the guy for the job."

It took Boreas a moment to orient himself after their little jaunt to the other side of the world. He was doing his best to push the fact that he was, without warning, on another continent out of his mind. Don't question it. Roll with it. That's probably not even the weirdest thing you're gonna see today. He chuckled in an attempt to ease himself up. "Man, when I asked if you wanted to go somewhere else, I figured we'd go to a coffee shop down the street or something." He looked around the office while listening to Edge. The simple setup made it feel more a little more comfortable, almost homey. Definitely not the sanctum-sanctorum that Boreas had expected a hero of this stature to work from. "Yeah, they taught us about UNISON a while back," he said. "All the other big outfits too, like AEGIS. Covered them enough that I don't think I need the crash course." He had turned to the family photo, and was attempting to silently figure out who was who in the picture (So, is he the father here? Or is it from when he was younger?) when Mark removed his mask and formally introduced himself. Boreas warmly returned Mark's smile. "Great to meet you, Mister Lucas," he said with a grin. "I appreciate you being so open and everything, but I hope you won't take it the wrong way if I keep the mask on for now." He pulled his mask down further over his face. "It's nothing against you or anything, you know. Just gotta play it safe."

Boreas looked with fascination for a brief moment when Edge's megaphone seemed to just instantly disappear. He quickly shook his head and returned to a more friendly expression. Come on, Mickey. Can't go getting knocked off your feet by some little thing like that. He was still wrapping his head around the highly varied powers of other supers. He'd heard vaguely about Edge's abilities, but all that told him was that the full extent of his powers weren't really common knowledge. But the idea of getting some direction with using his powers definitely grabbed his interest. "You have my attention," he said. He took a quick glance around and reminded himself of his surroundings. "You want to move this somewhere a little less... busy? Or are you okay?"

Being Boreas was, funny enough, rather calm work right now. When he felt like escaping a bit, Mickey would occasionally don his mask and fly across the city to his destination rather than walk or take a bus. The wind as he flew always felt awesome, and he loved getting a view from above of different parts of the city. The bird's-eye view also granting him a chance to scope out smaller-scale crimes to bust was another advantage. But most of all, it was the temporary escape. While he always had the opportunity to hurry to where he was headed or swoop in and act as the hero, he wasn't known enough to be called on specifically while he was out, and when it felt like he was always running around, obligated to do something for one reason or another, he enjoyed the extra bit of freedom that granted. Which made it all the more awkward when he heard a stranger's voice calling him by his alias in the distance. He stopped above the river and turned to face the direction the call came from. He saw another super standing on top of the bridge, waving at him. Intrigued, he glided over towards Edge and hovered next to him. "Well, you sure don't mess around when you want to get a guy's attention." He stopped and tried to piece together what he remembered just from the uniform. "You're...Edge, right?"