ic Gathering Like Clouds (IC)

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin's face tightened as they planned for what was, in his reckoning, a worst-case scenario.

--By "the rest of you" you clearly mean "all of us". If I have to drag our behinds into orbit, I'm not leaving anyone behind, Midnight.--

He took a moment to breath in, then out, the ever-present warmth and wood-fire scent of his ring's self-supporting "atmosphere" filling his nose and lungs once more.

--Shouldn't come to the anyways. If the Furions don't think they can purify the infection by themselves, I'll pitch in. I've got an ancient artifact overflowing with holy magical fire. I can try to help out with the healing effort, or even just give Erin the ring to put this infection on hold for a while. I'm its master, but Erin, you've got more than enough willpower for it to accept you, even if its only for a little while.--

[Avenger Assembled]

Young Freedom and their new allies landed on a flat, grassy plain that up close seemed to shimmer with faint rainbow colors, the sky overhead a gentle sunless blue streaked with the glowing lines of the Silver Tree far overhead. They were on an island in the middle of that vast silver lake, shimmering chrome against the light of what looked it might be midday, the electric hum in the air suggesting that the sea around them was no ordinary ocean. The only structure on the island was a wide-mouthed cylinder of steel as big as a water tower, the sky overhead visible through the massive hole.

As they got off their bikes, the locals arrived: a small group of Furions in the reds and white robes Trevor recognized as the color of healers among the Furions (white to reassure patients of the familiar embrace of home; red to cover up the blood that was a pretty basic part of most Furion medicine), who raced towards the group with great concern on their faces. The leader, a tall, red-haired man who was probably particularly small and scholarly-looking among his people, flexed the muscles in his massive arms as he studied Wander. "I am Coyshur, the healer. Come with us, Wander," he said, extending his hand. "And all of you. All the Terminus saw your battle, and the terrible source of your wounds. Madrigal has been defeated this day, and no more champions must be lost."

The Overriders hung back a bit at this; evidently even the rough and rowdy bikers had respect for the healers among the Furions.

[Electra]

--It's a thought, Corbin, but I'm not sure that would do more than slow it down. We'll keep it in reserve.-- Erin reached up and groped for Trevor's hand as the bikes landed, squeezing his warm fingers with her cold ones before she moved to dismount the giant motorcycle. She moved slowly, gingerly, more like an old woman than the graceful athlete she'd been an hour ago, but she managed to stand on her own two feet by the time the healers arrived. When Coyshur offered his hand, she hung back just for a moment. "I left Charlie at my apartment this morning," she murmured to Trevor. "Just... if anything happens, take care of him, okay?" She took a step forward and took the healer's hand, waiting for whatever would come next.

[Gizmo]

--Wasn't asking you, either, Templar,-- Midnight responded quickly across the mental link, and if the rebuke was a little terse even for the dark haired young man, particularly toward someone he had no call ordering about, perhaps he could be forgiven given the circumstances. "Going to be fine," he insisted to Erin as she squeezed his hand, glad his expression was hidden and unable to undercut his assurances. He followed along with the healers, making sure to stay within arm's reach of Wander at all times, a roiling trail of mist spreading along the floor where he tread.

[KnightDisciple]

--Yeah, I hear you, Trevor.--

Cobalt Templar's mental voice was stiff, but he was also clearly dropping the argument. He knew his friend was incredibly stressed right now. He just hated the thought of losing a friend, especially if he thought he had the power to save them. That's why he took a single step forward when the healers came to take Wander away.

"Coyshur, if you know of us, you know the nature of my power. If you need the aid of my flame to help heal Wander, ask me. If not..."

He paused only for a moment.

"Just let me know where I can wait, I guess."

[Avenger Assembled]

"We have our own stores of the fires of life," assured the Furion healer gently to Corbin. "You do your friend credit with the service you hope to provide. Tend to the wounds of your friends," he suggested, "and we will return shortly with Wander and Midnight. This will be a private affair," he told the others before they took the pair into the building.

The Furion healers escorted Erin and (without question) Trevor inside the great steel cylinder, whose purpose became obvious as soon as the great silvery doors irised shut behind them. Inside the tower was a a fountain of glowing white energy, shimmering with pure celestial light like the stuff of Heaven itself. "It is water for the Silver Tree," explained Coyshur as they approached, the light shining on their faces in a soft, clear glow. "The stuff of life itself." He smiled as they approached the fountain, the energy crackling from it enough to make everyone's hair stand on end. The Fountain of Life rested inside a circular bowl big enough to park a car, cascading up into the air over their heads as tall as a house. "Bathe in its light for only a few moments, Wander, and you can be cured of your condition. The speed the Terminus has taken from you will be returned; and your spark rekindled by cosmic essence."

He gestured encouragingly, and he and the other Furions made space to pass through to the Fountain.

---

Outside, as the doors closed, Edge shrugged and said, "Well...I'm sure the Furions can handle that. They know that cosmic mojo better than just about any of us, and we're right here on their turf." He looked up thoughtfully at the tree overhead, ignoring the bruising he'd taken in the battle, and said, "CT, if you do want to start patching people up, go ahead. Even here, we don't want to be anything but strong and prepared in the Terminus. Don't worry, everybody," he told the rest of the team. "Erin and Trevor will be fine, and-aw!" behind them the Overriders were just taking off, their Wyldrides vanishing into the silvery-red sky overhead. "Well, guess they did what they promised."

[April]

Sage leaned against the wall of the building Trevor and Erin disappeared into and then scrubbed a hand through her hair, closing the mental link was she maintaining between the heroes, secreting their thoughts behind a veil of privacy once again. Emitting a quiet sigh, the white haired telepath picked at her once fine (and clean) blouse, feeling as if the untidy condition of the garment was a curious reflection of her own state.

I just want to go home, Eve thought. She didn't know when that would be possible, and that worried her. Lots of things worried her, really, but she wasn't one to give voice to these worries and concerns.

[Electra]

Erin hesitated a moment at the edge of the fountain, looking around at the incredibly strange and otherworldly tableau. She liked Redbird, and Red Falcon had proven himself a trustworthy ally to the last measure, but these were still alien beings. If she'd learned anything from Redbird, it was that Furion attitudes towards things like death were a lot different than human attitudes. But really, what did she have to lose at this point? She could already feel her muscles starting to spasm, locking up one by one before being freed by her overtaxed regenerative powers. Might as well do it now rather than face being tossed in when she couldn't move on her own anymore! It would also she suspected, be considerably harder on Trevor if she clutched now and refused to even try being cured because she was afraid. She'd put him through enough already, even if he'd sort of paid her back by insisting on going toe-to-toe with Madrigal, even though the rest of them were right there...

She was stalling. Taking a deep breath, Erin took one last look over her shoulder and gave Trevor a quick smile, then walked forward, as confidently as she could manage, and stepped through the showering curtain of light into the fountain.

[Avenger Assembled]

Erin stepped into the fountain and vanished from Midnight's vision, even with his mutated eyes.

Erin felt the cosmic flames flash through her like a flood, pouring through every cell, every fiber in a rush as it seemed to crowd out the slowing, draining, freezing magical energy embedded in her body. The glowing energy, its sheer white perfection purer than anything possible on Earth-Prime, permeated her body, her clothes, and even her bat, as it completely overwhelmed Nightmare Doom's curse. But the fountain was more than that; the cosmic energies within far more than a simple curse by a mad mage. She was cured, but the power of the cosmos wasn't finished. She could feel herself 'revving up' as her enhanced body sucked up the cosmic power like a sponge, easily absorbing what would have killed a normal person and more besides, the celestial energy nearly overwhelming in its power!

[Electra]

Within the fountain, time lost all meaning, matter lost all meaning. Her awareness of her own body began to slip away, subsumed in the overwhelming flood of life and energy. She thought that perhaps she should be frightened, but fear seemed absurd; what could possibly harm her when she was surrounded by and full of and becoming life itself? she was no longer constrained by the bonds of a single form, a scant handful of years, she was everywhere and she was eternal, and there was nothing to be afraid of and perhaps now she could finally learn the answer to all the questions that had haunted her about where life went after it escaped the fragile human form and if she just followed the stream of life that flowed through the roots of the tree she could at last reach the place where all the people she loved had gone-

The people she loved.

In that timeless space Erin turned, looking through her own eyes out through the shimmering fountain to the dark and indistinct blur that waited for her outside, his worry palpable in a cloud of mist that nearly reached her even here. Thought with her own mind about the ones further away who waited, who she'd fought with and lived with, the ones who'd shared their world when her own was gone. Her future with them was bound up in that scant handful of human years, with all its fears and its limits. And maybe the answers could wait till afterwards...

Ten seconds after Erin disappeared into the fountain, very long, quiet seconds, she was back, pushing her way through the light and sputtering slightly as though it were real water she walked through. She stepped out of the fountain and stood on the lip, wiping her face and looking a bit lost. The red and black mottling was entirely gone from her skin, which now shone ever-so-slightly with the light from the fountain. Her clothes were unchanged, still in tatters from the fight, but her bat had gone from matte black to shining silver.

Dropping her hands, Erin looked around. "I feel... better," she ventured tentatively.

[Aoiroo]

Etain wandered a bit, mostly keeping her head down as the events unfolded around her. The medics arriving offering aid, the offer of Corbin's own aid, the leaving of the riders, and Mark's cheer and reassurances that everything would be just fine. He could probably insure that was so, just by wishing, which in itself reassured her at least a little, but even as she heard them, she moved quietly and seperately fromt he companions she had just fought with. She knew no words to offer up, she had provided the information that was useful, but otherwise she was of no use. It was one of the advantages and disadvantages of her powers, she could not bring about geniune change on her own. That and her status to this group was more of an outside view then anything. She knew most about them second hand, even seeing them fight as they did would not give her a big enough picture. So she ended up drifting to the side the only one she did know, who had also withdrawn to a distance against the wall.

Eve was not one to readily hide her emotions, or at least she was not one so easily trained to do so. Her weariness showed in her stance and her face. Etain didn't smile, but she did not look as weary as she leaned in, pushed back Eve's soft hair, which was floresent in the light around the tree and brushed her lips against the girls cheek.

"Would you like to go someplace warm? A beach perhaps, or a lake, with water that reflects a blue sky, and trees that are green."

She held out her hand and the scene appeared in it, contained in an orb, but glowing with natural sunlight against the silver of the tree.

"Or, where the roses are in bloom."

The scene didn't change, it just disappeared and in her hand instead she held a white rose made of ribbon. Etain pushed the back up revealing a clip and pushed it into her hair.

[Gizmo]

There was a moment's pause as Midnight quickly assessed Wander's condition, a fraction of a heartbeat before he was abruptly several steps forward with his arms wrapped tightly around her, his masked face buried in the top of her auburn hair. Trevor only released his grip to bring one hand to Erin's cheek and use the other to unfasten his mask, the light of the fountain behind her illuminating the lines of his face as the as the last faint wisps of mist stopped rising from the back of his neck. Leaning down, he kissed her with the intensity of desperate relief, pointedly aware of the warmth of her skin after the deathly chill earlier. Finally breaking away, he left his forehead resting against hers, quietly murmuring, "Close one."

[Electra]

Erin returned the kiss with equal fervor, holding onto him with an embrace strong enough to nearly take the wind out of him for a moment. She laughed, a sound that was nearly giddy with relief and the last remnants of nerves. Already the memory of her interlude in the fountain was fading away, even as the glow began to ebb from her skin and leave her still warm and strong, but normal-looking again. She lifted her hands to his cheeks, looking into the darkness of his eyes. "I'm sure we've had closer," she told him, then grinned and kissed him again. It was a few moments before she could pay any attention to the Furion healers that still surrounded them, and even then she couldn't bring herself to feel embarrassed. "Thank you all for your help," she told them. "I'm in your debt."

[Avenger Assembled]

"We live to heal," answered Coyshur, "especially those warriors who have battled the Knight of Entropy himself." The healers led the pair of lovers out of the building, Coyshur pausing near the door to add, "There may be some changes brought by the infusion of cosmic energy," he cautioned her, "but nothing that would injure you. The power of life itself can be potent, particularly when infused into the flesh of a human." Outside, the doors swiveled open again and Wander and Midnight were reunited with Young Freedom outside, a faint, gradually attenuating white glow around Wander's body the only visible sign of the cosmic infusion she'd taken. There was certainly no more mark of evil magic on her, not even to Etain's senses.

"When you have finished with your reunion, we have a dimensional gateway," offered Coyshur to the heroes. "Removing you from the Terminus now will help deflect further attention from you. And increase the Madrigal's humiliation, if she cannot pursue even an attenuated vengeance." He smiled faintly. "We observed your combat."

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin had done what he could to help the others with any injuries they had, though thankfully Erin was the only major issue. And she seemed to be in good hands. It hadn't taken long for him to settle down next to the neat pile of parts for Trevor's bike; Corbin had silently elected himself the watcher of that reminder of the fight. When Erin emerged, a box popped up around the pieces with nary a thought as he stood and walked over.

It was plain to see on his now mask-less face that he'd been worried, but the worry was quickly replaced by joy at the sight of his healthy, decidedly not-dead team-mate. Erin and Trevor were close enough, and good enough at reading body language, to see Corbin had almost gone for a bear hug of happiness, but decided to refrain out of respect for the couple's inherently reserved nature.

"Erin, so glad to see you're okay. We've all been waiting and worried. Ah, Trevor, I...I've got all the stuff still, over there in the box. I'll carry it on through. I can take it wherever you want me to, it's no trouble. Least I can do to help a friend."

When Coyshur announced a portal was ready to take them home, he stepped back a bit and looked at the others.

"I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready to go have Eve open my present for her, and have some cake. I'm starving!"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Oh man, this is great!" said Mark excitedly. He clapped Erin and Trevor quickly on the back, delighted to see his friend recovered and everyone looking so happy (well, as happy as Trevor ever looked), and gave Corbin a hug. What the hell, it looked like the big guy had wanted one. "I can't believe we got sucked into the Terminus, took out the most dangerous soldiers in Omega's army, helped save Wander, and we're going to make it back in time for Eve's party. I should never have doubted you guys." It wasn't that Mark wasn't conscience of the magnitude of what they'd achieved; if anything, that made it all the more special! "The interdimensional hellspawn, kidnapping, and the death curses were tough, but this part is great. I think I'm ready to get out of here," he added to the Furions.

[April]

Despite herself, Eve smiled.

"Sounds wonderful," she murmured in quiet reply to her girlfriend. Slipping her arms around the illusionist's waist, the telepath pulled her into a hug, resting her cheek against Etain's shoulder. Eve said nothing for several heartbeats, content to just hold Etain close and draw strength from her proximity.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the reappearance of Trevor and Erin, though unlike the others she left them alone, unwilling to intrude upon the moment. She knew how worried Trevor had been, but right now she didn't need the mental link with him to see how he was feeling now. What they were all feeling, to some degree or another.

"Let's go home, people."

[Avenger Assembled]

A flash of light and a tunnel in the sky transported Young Freedom home from the Silver Tree, the scene at the Martel estate looking for a moment as if they had never left. If you ignored their battle scars, the faint silver sheen now fading from around Wander, and the confused Martel servants wandering around looking for any trace of their mistress. They hadn't been gone that long in the grand scheme of things, just an hour or two when all balanced out, the battle for their lives against the multiverse itself had just seemed to take a hell of a long time! Edge excused himself a few steps away upon their arrival, muttering, "I promised to call my mom if I got kidnapped into any other dimensions today, so I gotta do this. I'll be back with the party in just a second."