A Fool's Errand (IC)

[Supercape]

Supercape felt the sweat on his brow and his breathing become heavy. Forcing such massive energies, twisting molecules so out of align, took a stain on his body as well as mind.

His cape dimmed and glittered rather than shone. He was not fooled by Taraxus' bluff, but on the other hand he had put all his effort into that last blow. He could not afford such exertion again.

He drifted backwards, in a stream of radioactive particles.

"Something looks like its fading!" he said, pointing at the dimensional rift.

"And its not just my cape" he added. "I thought that little incandescence would looks far better on you! although green is, I am told, a difficult colour!"

At that point, Taraxus started glowing a very bright and unhealthy shade of purple-green...

[GranspearZX]

GM

"This body... is too weak..."

Further irradiated and cut off from the now closed dimensional rift, Taraxus sank to one knee. He was losing his grip on whatever energies were keeping him together, barely holding onto his form. "You will bow before me, human. And your end will NOT be merciful..."

"Alright. That's enough of that."

There was a brief, bright blue flash of light between Supercape and Taraxus. All at once, there was a young woman in a rather stunning blue dress standing there, facing Taraxus. She gestured and he scowled at her, saying nothing as he disappeared in a flash of blue sparks, teleported to parts unknown. She then turned to Supercape, smiling in a manner that could only be characterized as sinister.

"And what, exactly, are you doing on my property TO my property?"

[Supercape]

Supercape blinked, his plethora of supersenses spinning as they realigned themselves to this new phenomena.

He was too old and wise to be taken in by a beautiful woman, but not so old he did not recognise her beauty.

Enigmatic!

"I..think you will have to refine your question, Madam..." he said, without giving ground or taking it, and making sure his force field did not waver. He was not beat yet, but he had expended considerable effort taking out the burning man.

"...the answer, I suspect, is defending myself. But, as you have refrained from introducing yourself, I am afraid I do not know what your property is!" he said with a polite smile.

[GranspearZX]

GM

The woman stood perfectly still, black hair tied in a neat little bun atop her head. While she did, in fact, look more or less human, there was an otherworldly quality to her that was difficult to place. Despite the scent of brimstone, ozone, and radiation still in the air, the woman seemed largely unaffected. "I see. So you trespassed onto my apartment complex and all the way down the proverbial rabbit hole... to defend yourself."

She chuckled, more amused than annoyed by the situation. "Call me Azel. I own this building."

Trigger frowned, working up enough courage to at least get closer, still behind Supercape. "You did that to Knives... what did you do to him?"

"Excuse me? Oh... I gave him what he asked for. It was a legitimate business transaction, despite being interrupted by... hm. I don't think I got your name either."

[Supercape]

"I wonder if you should get it" replied Supercape.

"The name is Supercape, madam. On account of my marvellous cape. A rather resplendid thing, as I am sure you will agree" he explained, mentally enlarging the said item and getting it to sparkle.

"Azel, I am afraid I had no understanding that this was your building. I detected the trans-dimensional anomaly here, and had no option but to investigate. I wonder if you are aware how dangerous such things are?"

"And as for...Knives was it? or Taraxus? well, he attacked us. In such circumstances..."

He gave a shrug, not taking his eyes of Azel for one second.

[GranspearZX]

GM

"Well then, Supercape, it seems we find ourselves in a very difficult situation. Human laws are such a wonderful thing... It turns out that real estate laws state that when you buy a piece of land, you also own the airspace above it and below it. And as this dimensional anomaly was already here, well... I suppose you see where this is going."

Azel's smile broadened and she clasped her hands behind her back. "It could be argued that closing the rift was your doing, and would constitute damage of private property. It begs the question of why you were even looking for anything here. Lots of unfortunate implications for a lot of involved parties... Now, I'm not an entirely unreasonable person. Litigation, as amusing as it is, seems like a rather... messy and impersonal affair. I suppose you'll simply have to owe me one for not suing you and the city for everything you have."

[Supercape]

Supercape studied Azel carefully. He sensed a bluff, but he was not a lawyer. Nevertheless, he was disinclined to fall for this. If the law really was on her side, and he doubted it, then he would hope that allowances could be made.

"Really? Interesting. I suppose you are an expert in civil law as well as interdimensional physics then. Perhaps you would care to show me documentation to demonstrate your legal right to tamper with such energies in this building would you? I know well enough that far less dangerous experiments require considerable scrutiny from civil authorities. I set up a particle accelerator not a few blocks from here and that was a legal minefield that was only just passed. I would have to cast considerable doubt on your legal authority to do what you have done, unless of course you did gain permission"

He smiled, growing in confidence.

"But no. I think you mistake me for someone easily fooled. I think you mistake me for someone easily bluffed. I think you mistake me for someone who has not considerable ability and experience in these matters. I know with certainty that ownership of this building does not give you carte blanche to do what you want in it. "

"By all means bring the lawyers in. I have faced worse. I've saved the Earth from obliteration on more than one occasion. Possibly including this occasion. I can face down a couple of suits and ties. And even call in the financial resources to do it. No no, I am not scared of your bluff. I call it as such. "

"What I am curious about is why you would try to convince me to be beholden to you. What would you want of me?"

[GranspearZX]

GM

"A particle accelerator you say? You're not just a cape and a smile, I see. How adorable."

Azel was having way more fun with the situation that she really had any right to, and behind Supercape, Trigger was getting a little bit agitated by her arrogance. She shrugged nonchalantly, entirely unfazed by the threat of being arrested.

"As I said before, this little dimensional disturbance was already here when I purchased the building. Do you think anyone would bother with a place like the Fens without good reason? Besides... I never interacted with the rift personally. I merely 'sold' the energy to someone else. As for what I want with you... I suppose having a little fun at your expense wouldn't be beneath me, but I'm more interested in the little birdie that sang to lead you here... It seems he's gone into hiding after turning down a rather polite invite from an associate of mine."

[Supercape]

"Here already?" replied Supercape, rather surprised. He had assumed that Azel, whoever she, or it, was, had been the cause of the anomaly. But it appeared he was mistaken. 

 

No sense in assuming anything at this point...

 

"That is less than reassuring" he replied. "Dimensional anomalies in the middle of the Fens? for how long? why?"

 

He circled Azel, trusting her not at all. 

 

He gave a fleeting glance at Trigger, feeling the web of allegiances and trusts shift beneath his feet. 

 

"Whoever it was that sang about this place did so with good reason. And was wise to do so. I find your interest in him - and I find you - ominous in tone and spartan in explanation. But for now, I am going to shut down that anomaly. Such things do not belong here...."

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

"Well... that's disappointing."

 

Azel made a face, but she didn't seem inclined to get into a physical confrontation over it. Rather, she waved a hand dismissively about the entire thing, as if it was no longer worth her time or attention.

 

"Oh well. I've had my fun with it anyway. Plenty more where that came from, after all. I suppose I'll just have to settle for other toys elsewhere." She smiled, blowing a kiss in Supercape's general direction. "I'm sure we'll meet again. Looking forward to it."

 

As she faded from sight, the air physically distorting as she slowly vanished, Trigger snorted and put away his bow. "...I never liked that lady."

[Supercape]

Supercape raised both eyebrows in shock as Azel disappeared in shock, in what he strongly suspected was a flirtatious move. 

 

He sat down, his forcefield flickering out of existence, and took a deep breath. 

 

"I'm not sure I particularly like her either" he answered to Trigger. "And I trust her even less. What disturbs me is the ease in which she seems to create and close dimensional anomalies in the blink of an eye. That, sir, is not safe. "

 

He turned his eyes to Trigger. 

 

"I don't know what kind of mess you and your partner have gotten into. But you helped back there. Know this, I would like to help you get out of it. I don't much mind what kind of crookery or shady dealings you have dined on, but this is a lot bigger than any minor skullduggery you may have engaged in"

 

He paused and gave a look to Trigger. 

 

"So I'm going to ask you what you know about this creature!"

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

"Not much more than you."

 

It was difficult to gauge by Trigger's facial expression whether or not he was shaken by everything that had just gone on. He didn't seem too broken up about divulging any information to Supercape.

 

"All I know is that Knives made some kind of deal with her. I guess that was part of it." He shrugged nonchalantly. "..can we get out of here now? This place is still creepy, monsters or not."

[Supercape]

"We can indeed" said Supercape, casting his supersenses over the area one more time to make sure he had not missed anything. 

 

"Hold still for a moment" he added, as he took hold of Trigger with a palm. Space and Time spiralled for a moment, causing a brief distortion that looked most peculiar, and despite all reasoning, looked like it occurred in more than three dimensions. 

 

In a moment, they were outside the building, on the pavement. 

 

"Knives? your friend?" asked Supercape as if nothing had happened. "Or perhaps I should say colleague" he corrected himself. "Whoever he is, he has gotten in way over his head with this Azel. If he knows anything about her, then it is time for him to come clean, before Azel clean's up" he explained, in slightly ominous tones. 

 

"I don't know where your loyalties lie. But if I recall correctly he and I parted on bad terms. We need to find him, and this time, talk rather than fight...."

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

"...whoa."

 

That was the only reaction from Trigger as Supercape teleported the pair of them to the surface. The sudden sunlight surprised him just as much, and he squinted for a minute as his glasses adjusted, the lenses turning from clear to darkened shades in a matter of moments.

 

"Knives is... complicated. I dunno where he is; you saw Azel teleport him away somewhere. I can tell you where his apartment is, but other than that..."

 

As Trigger was writing down the address on a scrap of paper, Smokey came around the corner, a pair of fresh cigars in his mouth. He spotted Supercape and scowled openly, looking next over at Trigger. "...do I even want to know?"

 

Trigger shrugged. "Probably not."

[Supercape]

"Ah, just the man!" smiled Supercape, genuinely pleased to see Smokey and not have a blast of some awful fire or electricity in his chest. 

 

"You probably don't want to hear this, but the world you stand on is in danger. Now, ordinarily I imagine you would be more inclined to sell your services to the highest bidder. But unless you have a secret hideout in a nearby galaxy, or, even better, alternative universe, I would suggest you pay attention. Galactic destruction would suit you no better than it would I..."

 

"Your..friend...Knives just got involved with an entity that seems to play with dimensional anomolies the way you would play with a ball. And right now we need to find him as quickly as possible, and stop this madness..."

 

He gave a raised brow to Trigger. 

 

"Don't we?" he asked. 

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

"He's.... well, he's an acquaintance," Trigger said with a shrug. "He did want this though..."

 

"Wait. What the hell happened down there?"

 

Trigger explained the entire situation that Smokey had missed between their encounter in the basement levels of the apartment complex to the sprawling tunnel beneath. His eyes widened a little as Trigger described Taraxus.

 

"...man, I knew he had metahuman envy, but that's just crazy. But, what, you want us to go on a manhunt for Knives now? Or Taraxus? Or whatever he's callin' himself now... Seems like the devil in the blue dress whisked him away somewhere. You could always go shake her down at her place if you're really that gung ho about it..." He chuckled, obviously joking... but it seemed that he had a pretty good idea where Azel might actually be.

[Supercape]

"Knives...Taraxus...whoever he is, is in a lot of trouble. And I don't mean anything like an arrest warrant or a visit to the headmaster. The kind of trouble he isn't going to be able to handle..."

 

Azel, whoever she is, had backed this fellow into a corner. Seemed he wanted some kind of superpower for himself. Well, he got more than he bargained for, that's for sure...

 

Supercape turned to Trigger and Smokey, doing his best to reason with them. "What do you know of this...Knives fellow? please now, speak honestly, his life may be in danger. As may the lives of all of us. And where is this Azel based? quickly, let me know, I can see what I can do to unravel this. Whether or not you wish to accompany me, I will do my best!"

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

"Are we seriously doing this?" Smokey looked at Trigger, who gave his usual, non-committal shrug. Smokey sighed a puff of smoke into the air between them and shook his head.

 

"Alright. Knives was always a little bit of a loose cannon, even before he started running with us. He wasn't exactly a big guy, so he always had something to prove, y'know? It got worse when some of us started bein' able to... well..." Smokey demonstrated his point by letting his entire arm up to his elbow catch fire, returning it to normal instantly. "Knives got even more crazy just in the name of trying to keep up... the Old Man didn't like it, so he kicked Knives out. Which is a lot more than most people who don't cut it get...

 

"About a month ago, he comes to me claiming he's hooked up with some new gang. Says he's got an angle on some new power he gets for joining up, money, et cetera... Wasn't really interested, but a week ago he says all he needs is someone to keep an eye out while his deal goes down here. I guess if this Taraxus thing is his deal, though... might already be too late for him."

 

"If you really wanna confront Azel though, she owns this upscale bar over in Ashton called The Seventh Chakra. They're pretty restrictive on who they let in, though, so good luck with that."

[Supercape]

"Knives sounds like he is in over his head, to be honest" replied Supercape, as he let the pieces fall together. 

 

He made a deal he shouldn't have...

 

"But lucky for him, I am the kind of guy that prefers to sort these kind of screw ups out, rather than let them fester. Look, I know you guys aren't treading on exactly the right side of the law. Maybe on another day I would have a problem with that. But right now I am more concerned about keeping this planet, and this galaxy safe. So I'm not going to preach sanctimonious on you..."

 

His cape fluttered as he gathered his strength. 

 

"I'm going to save Knives, and I'm going to stop Azel. I'd like your help, but if you want to walk, do so. As long as you don't stop me..."

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

"Don't you think you're exaggera-OOF!" Smokey's quip was cut off by an elbow from Trigger.

 

"If you're really gonna try to get into The Seventh Chakra... you're probably not gonna get in like that." Trigger looked Supercape up and down for a moment, then shook his head. "Besides, you stopped her from using the dimensional what's-it-called here, right? Seems like the day's pretty well-saved to me..."

 

"That and busting down the door of a legit business doesn't really seem like capework. Sounds more like something we'd--OW!" Smokey grumbled, rubbing at his side where Trigger jabbed him again.

[Supercape]

Supercape couldn't help but smirk at the two. 

 

"Look, gentlemen. Time is, as they say, of the essence. I am normally a perfectly decent upright citizen who upholds the law. But at the end of the day, the law is there to protect the citizens. And that protection must come first!"

 

His cape and costume flowed and sparkled, in the blink of an eye turning into a casual hippy costume - jeans, tank top, scruffy denim waistcoat, and vaguely repulsive headband. 

 

"I am afraid I don't know the culture of the Seventh Chakra. But if it is anything to do with the hippy culture of indian mythology that permeated my days at university, this should not be too far off the mark?" he asked, looking like a slightly burnt out middle aged hippy. 

 

"Or would you care to instruct me with more precision as to the attire I should don?"

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

"..." Trigger just shook his head; Smokey's gloved hand met his forehead as he did the same.

 

"Nah, man. I'm talking upscale, suit-and-tie stuff. And you're not getting in without some sort of edge. The test they give at the door is always different but I'm pretty sure there's something involving metahuman stuff... Last time I got in, I had to light a candle from across a room. Failed it though; ended up blowing up the whole table it was on. Not my finest moment..."

 

"And they really are few and far between," Trigger commented, ignoring the look of mock offense Smokey gave him.

 

"If you insist on throwing yourself headlong into a bad situation, I'd better come with. No offense, but... you're gonna need a hand talking yourself into this club. Or out. Probably both."

[Supercape]

Supercape actually burst out laughing. 

 

"It seems I would be lost without your assistance!" he chuckled, before his rags sparkled once more, and he stood there in an immaculate dinner jacket. 

 

"One mistake thankfully avoided. You will not be surprised to hear this garb suits me better. I doubt I could pull off an old hippy..."

 

"As for something metahuman, I am sure I can pull off something. Lighting a candle with infrared radiation, or freezing some wine. I never really went in for the parlour tricks, but it shouldn't be too difficult..."

 

He flexed his knuckles and gently limbered up. 

 

"And for my first trick....!" he concluded, as space and time folded around him once more...