ic Lights, Camera, Action! (IC)

[Heritage]

Though she was a superhero who could fly, shoot heat rays out of her eyes and lift several tons, Casey was, underneath it all, still just a teenage girl. And the man who now stood before her was a...very impressive man. She felt her cheeks go pink as she awkwardly got to her feet, her cool, diplomatic manner now somewhat disrupted by good old fashioned hormones. "Okay, good, you're...you're up! All, all of you..." The Claremonter had a hard time looking at the barbarian's physique, opting instead to look at him sidelong, like he was a solar eclipse. "Let's just, um, rejoin my friends. Who are...up the shaft thing."

 

Thankfully there was a loud crackle of lighting overhead to distract her! Shielding her eyes, she peered upward with a mixture of concern and relief.

 

"Hey, guys? What's going on up there?"

Edited June 5, 2017 by Heritage

[Sophistemon]

@Avenger Assembled & @Blarghy

Sea-Devil's armored body is engulfed in crackling electricity and she glows, briefly, with a scintillating blue light that fills the tunnel with a eye-searing luminescence. Power pumps through her, not nearly as much as she's handled before, but enough that she feels it tingling along her skin in a way that would cause a mammal's hair to rise. Somewhere within the complex there originates the sound of great machinery coming back to life or, more likely, waking from slumber. Electric lights ignite and stay lit even as the power wanes, the backup generators taking over for the primary source. The tingling fades with the electricity, leaving Sea-Devil none the worse for wear. Adept blinks the spots from his eyes just in time to see her remove her trident from the wall after having powered through enough electricity to have ended a mundane human being.

 

@Heritage

Electricity can be heard from the tunnel and the barbarian whips his head around and peers through the darkness at the tunnel, where a blue light can be seen. It fades, but other lights take its place and fill the complex with a warm white glow. He turns to stare down at Casey and now, in the light, he appears even more impressive. Firm skin stretches over hard muscle and he appears none the worse for wear after his imprisonment. Forlorn, perhaps, and a little disheveled -- but being disheveled suits him in a way it wouldn't a more civilized man. "The beast awakens," he said. "The bars, my lady, quickly. I'll be no use to you in here when the master of this place returns." He takes a step back and indicates the barrier between them. "And he will return, to set right the disruption you've caused. Hurry, we must make haste to free my fellow captives... and I must reclaim my truncheon."

Edited May 12, 2017 by Sophistemon

[Avenger Assembled]

Sea Devil turned to Adept, her face still invisible behind her mask, and bellowed "THE LIGHTNING-oh!" She croaked and cocked her head back and forth for a moment, then croaked in a more normal volume through her suit's speaker. "The lightning wasss very powerful! But things are working now." She flexed her muscles a few times, blinking away bright light that had been very uncomfortable for eyes designed to see through the darkness of the sea. "Come, let us go this way!" she said, waving a trident. "I think I heard the others down below!" She hopped off towards where she thought she'd seen Miracle Girl go, all the while wondering where Punchline was. Surely the clown would follow them and bless them with his connections to the blessed ocean of chaos that lay between the worlds! 

[Heritage]

"Ohmigosh, I'm sorry!" The poor girl was so flustered she forgot to help the barbarian out of his cell! "Uh, just to be on the safe side, take a few steps back, sir; there might be some flying debris." And with that, she firmly grasped the bars and yanked them apart like they were made of Play-Doh, effortlessly bending several of them to give the big man plenty of space to climb through. "There you go! Now let's go find your truncheon and get your two friends out."

 

Casey took a few steps towards the newly-lit area, once again sweeping the area with her eyes, looking for any more signs of life.

[Blarghy]

Warne dropped down further to get out of Sea Devil's way before she decided to just run him over--he felt like there was a joke about fried fish-sticks somewhere in here, but now was hardly the time--and let his eyes adjust to the new dimness below.  Once he did, he tilted his head back and stared at what he assumed was a bulldozer that once wished upon a star to become a real boy. 

 

"And you would be Rhekgar," he guessed.  "I'm not sure what it powers, but Sea Devil managed to fix the damaged circuitry.  We might've averted a problem, or caused some new one.  Either way, let's find the other captives quickly.  Do you know where they are, sir?"

[Sophistemon]

@Avenger Assembled, @Blarghy, @Heritage

The bars bent, some tearing free of their housing, and Rhekgar the Ravager gazed at his rescuer with a look of... indeterminable emotion. "You have the strength of a giant," he said, with the perfect certainty of a man who had fought and killed giants. "I thank you, great lady." He stepped over the rubble of the former barrier and stood before her, all muscle and leather. He cast his grey eyes across the room, searching for something, and then turned when Adept appeared. "Another," he said, and worked his mouth into the semblance of a smile. "I welcome you, stranger! I am Rhekgar, heir to Eagland of Old. There were two others," he said. "A woman, and a... fop. They were taken elsewhere, deeper into the dungeon. Come, we shall seek them out together and find my bludgeon along the way, should the gods favor our path." He had not yet taken a step when Sea Devil appeared, her bizarre proportions giving him pause. But she stood, nonthreatening, and he turned to Miracle Girl for confirmation. "Friend or foe, my lady?" he asked.

[Avenger Assembled]

Woah - had Miracle Girl been down here mating with this giant Surfacer? No, Aquaria thought, that didn't make sense - Miracle Girl was a juvenile female and too young to do that. Still, Sea Devil made a point to gather up a discarded cloth from the ground, one that looked like a towel that must have been dropped by the jailer at some point, and handed it to the Surfacer. If all those misshapen muscles were going to be a distraction to her flying friend, better to cover them up. "The gods bless our journey," she croaked in reassurance to the big Surface-man. "The ones that lie below this world as well as yours - and know we war to protect all worlds." 

[Blarghy]

"Friend," Adept answered for Miracle Girl.  It occurred to him that this man, foreign to their world in just about every sense, might have more differences than mere diction.  What if he lived by movie logic?  They couldn't stand by while Rhekgar gleefully bashed in the skulls of any enemy they met, leaving behind a trail of bodies like most action heroes.  Even the Fanatic had a right to trial.  At the very least, Rhekgar was from a past age; would any modern laws, beyond the most basic, make sense to him?  Sea Devil herself was proof of how culture clash could lead to serious misunderstandings.

 

The sooner we get him and the others home, the better.

 

"I am Warne," he introduced himself.  "A law officer of these lands.  Please, let us move quickly; if you know the way, then lead.  If not, Miracle Girl has better eyes than us, and we all know she can handle any locked doors we might find."

[Heritage]

"Sea Devil is definitely a friend," said Miracle Girl as she indicated Aquaria with a wave of her hand. "Though she may appear strange to you, she is a friend of the Surface Dwellers, and she's here to help." 

 

And with that, the blonde heroine did just as Warne said she would, turning her eyes and ears to the world around them, straining all her senses for any signs of the other prisoners or the warrior's mighty club, or the Fanatic himself, if he was nearby. She shook her head for a second, recalling for a moment how silly all this seemed at first; but now that she'd met the captured barbarian, she felt a great deal of sympathy for him. How would the other two prisoners react to their strange new world?

[Sophistemon]

"Friends, then, all," said the barbarian, and the muscles of his mouth moved in such a way as to approximate the scant shadow of a smile. It did not suit him. "Very well. The others should be nearby. In the beginning, I could hear them shouting in the distance, demanding freedom." The almost-smile faded and was buried in a scowl. "For the last few nights, though... silence." His eyes darkened. "If the worst has happened, we shall revenge them -- in blood and fire!"

 

In the distance, just beyond the range of normal hearing, there is a hissing crackle. And then another, closer now. Miracle Girl's ears can pick it up. Another. A forth. Finally...

 

Punchline appeared in a burst of static, arms outstretched, fingers wriggling in the air as he made his entrance. Yellow eyes wild, red lips caked with cookie crumbs, he addressed the group. "Howdy, gang!" he crowed. Then he noticed the enormous form of Rhekgar and his smile brightened the room. "Hey, you found him already! That's awesome. How're you doing, buddy? Boy, it's great to meet you; I'm your biggest fan!"

 

The barbarian recoiled, taking in the sight of sallow skin, yellow eyes, and blue hair. "By Ulfberht's hammer," he shouted. "A corpse!"

 

For her part, Miracle Girl's miraculous eyes spotted another cell just down the hall and around the corner.

[Blarghy]

"We should be so lucky," Warne grumbled in response to Rhekgar.  He shifted from foot to foot impatiently--a cigarette would be delightful right now--and explained before the barbarian could get the wrong idea that, "He is also a...ugh...friend."  Then he demanded of the clown, "But what happened to the people upstairs?  And what do you know of this place?  Since you're evidently indestructible, why don't you lead on, if you aren't distracting those women?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Aquaria felt oddly pleased to be called a woman - not a label she usually got outside of the circles of people intimately familiar with what Surfacers sometimes called "metahumans." 

 

"We could bellow to draw his eye," she croaked as she followed after the group, trusting in her armor and greater-than-human senses to make her a safe choice to take the rear. "Let him know his prisoners are freed from their bonds - and then when he comes, he runs into our spears, and his belly is ours." Not sure if that was too much for Surfacer sensibilities, she snorted, sounding rather like a beached seal thanks to her great size and active lungs, and hopped along after the others. 

[Heritage]

Casey had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing at the barbarian's reaction to their new clownish acquaintance. "Yeah, uh, he gets that a lot..."  Seriously, couldn't he do something about that face? The blonde powerhouse tried not to be judgemental, but surely something could be-

 

Suddenly Casey froze and held up her hand "We've got another prisoner up ahead! You guys wait back here, I'll go check."  Even though she was a Girl Scout not a Boy Scout, it never hurt to 'Be Prepared'; any of the prisoners could be a trick or booby-trapped, and she felt a lot better about catching a face full of nasty instead of say Warne.

 

Not that I'd ever tell him that.

 

Casey quickly darted forward to take a look, staying in a low crouch.

[Sophistemon]

Punchline's face fell, momentarily, but then the smile returned and he stuck his tongue out at the hulking warrior. "Boo!" he said, and then laughed. Rhekgar scowled and turned away, clearly disinterested in the antics of the cavorting jester. "Fine," whined the clown. "Be that way. I've got better friends!" He turned, then, to Warne. "Hey, buddy! The dames are fine; I just didn't wanna let the food go to waste; that mom up there can bake a tasty cookie!" His tongue made an exaggerated trek around his lips, lapping up the crumbs and carrying them back inside his mouth. "Mm," he muttered. "Shame you didn't stick around!" He then raised a gloved hand to his face and palmed a cheek. "I've been here before," he mused. "And I think I saw most of it." He pointed down a hallway, the one Miracle Girl would be moving towards momentarily. "There's another cell around there. Is it strange I didn't notice how weird that is?" He grinned. "As for leading the way... I would, but doll-face is already going!"

[Blarghy]

Warne had to stop himself from following after Miracle Girl--she was technically still a civilian, after all, and young too, but he had to admit that she conducted herself well so far--and then again from telling her to be careful.  He settled for trying to position himself so that he could watch her for as long as possible, and then listened closely with his mental muscles poised for combat.

 

Punchline continued to distract and infuriate the agent; Warne thought back fondly to that time he smashed this clown into a wall, using the memory to calm his mounting frustration.  He kept one ear directed down the hall and hissed quietly, "When you say 'they're fine,' what do you mean?  Did you just leave them alone up there?  They might be enemies!  At the very least, they could be notifying the Fanatic of our presence, if we aren't discovered already." 

 

Even so, he agreed with Sea Devil; if they couldn't get in and out unnoticed with all the prisoners, then he was certainly willing to set a trap.  "You may be right," he told her.  "I would prefer that we locate the hostages first, but we should keep watch for good ambush sites.  If we see signs of our enemy, I would much rather fight them on our terms."

[Sophistemon]

Punchline tittered. "Oh, no, they're good. Don't you get it? They're from a sitcom from the sixties. They won't betray us because nastiness isn't in them. The mom wanted to talk my ear off about gardening and the little sister couldn't stop muttering about how hard math is. They're practically two-dimensional." He cracked a smile, then squinted his yellow eyes. "You don't like me very much, do you, Agent Warne? What's got under your skin?"

 

Miracle Girl made her way down the hall, scanning this way and that, until she reached the second containment cell. This one was made of a clear, thick plastic with breathing holes drilled through. Inside was a man in a slightly scuffed white tuxedo, his flawless features marred only by a split lip and black eye. He turned his head and regarded her, eyes scanning to take her in, before he spoke in a voice thick with British inflection. "Is it Halloween already, then?"

Edited July 1, 2017 by Sophistemon

[Avenger Assembled]

"We are your liberators," croaked Sea Devil, hopping beside Miracle Girl and shoving her trident through the side of the cage. She kept her faceplate opaque this time, the better not to alarm the Surfacer inside the cage. "You have been taken by beings from beyond, oooh!" she said as she carved a hole big enough for the man to exit through. "But we will return you to the world of your birth. You may see strange things in the land beyond," she added as a final caution. Hopping aside to let the man free, she croaked, "We seek your captor's soft white belly. Have you seen him?"

 

I am a diplomat to creatures from other planes! What a great day this is! she thought pleasantly to herself. 

[Heritage]

"Dirk Saber, I presume?" Casey's father loved watching his movies, and though she'd never admit it out loud, the dashing agent was one of her earliest cinematic crushes. Well, after Captain Phoebus from Hunchback of Notre Dame... "I'm Miracle Girl, sir. As my friend said, we're here to rescue you; you've been an imprisoned by a villain not of your world, and we're looking to send you back home." She was about to scan him with her X-ray vision for any injuries, but then her face got real warm and she thought better of it.

 

"Um, are you hurt, sir? Any internal injuries?"

[Blarghy]

Adept rolled his eyes at Punchline.  "Don't take it personally; I don't like anyone very much."  He wondered whether the women upstairs were from the same dimension as the hostages, then; Rhekgar seemed real enough, so what made them different?  Either way, they weren't his targets, and time was of the essence, so he'd figure it out later.  Warne followed after Sea Devil as she bounded off, hoping that it was safe.

 

"Yes," he agreed with Aquaria, "do you know where your captor is now?  Or where your fellow prisoner resides?  There is supposed to be a third hostage here.  Please, sir, tell us whatever you can about this bunker and its owner."

 

Let's hope you've got your movie skills.  I could use a fellow agent at my back, so long as you don't spend your time flirting and drinking martinis. 

[Sophistemon]

Dirk nodded, and cast his eyes over Casey's costume. "A miracle indeed," he said. "Dirk Saber, of the Bureau of National Defense, at your service." He reached up to touch his busted lip, felt that the blood had dried, then shook his head. "A little worse for wear, but I've had worse in my time." He looked at Sea Devil and smiled. "You're an odd one," he said. "But thanks for the help. You're talking about the space-man in the armor, right? The one with the red cape? Yeah, I've seen the scoundrel; he busted my face then locked me away. I'm looking forward to giving him what-for in due time, believe me. I'll need my kit for that, though -- I've got some judo belts but I can't punch through that metal hide of his. I'll be wanting my gun and a great deal of rounds." Then, to Adept, he said: "I can tell another agent when I see one, though you're doubtlessly American. Need to work on your style, friend." He stuck out a hand. "Still, nice to have the back-up. Now I'm free, I can start working on a way to get out of here." He looked about himself, then spotted Rhekgar approaching with Punchline in tow. His mouth soured. "Right, found the big one too, then? That's fine; there's a filly left to rescue and we'll be good as gone. Haven't seen her, have you? Mere slip of a thing, all battered up and covered in some green gunk that might be blood?" He gave Warne a nudge with his elbow. "If I had a type, she'd my mine. You know what I'm talking about."

Edited July 4, 2017 by Sophistemon

[Avenger Assembled]

"I know things with green blood," croaked Aquaria seriously. "It might be from one of the Children of the Gods Below." With those words, innocent enough from Aquaria's perspective given the clear reality of the Gods Below that waited for the souls of Deep Ones who had been especially squamous in their eyes, she led the way forward again, seeking out their final prisoner while straining her own superhuman senses to their utmost to find clues. She knew that the other being had to be from one of the other worlds that their foe had accessed - but she also knew that Dagon and Hydra lay beneath the waves of any world that had the vasty deeps that had once been her home. But that was a depressing thought to have, especially when she was in the middle of saving the day from a dangerous enemy, so she put the rubbed-smooth thought of all she had lost back in its usual place in the twisty recesses of her mind. 

 

 

[Blarghy]

Oh, this is sure to end well, Warne thought sarcastically to himself.  He wasn't having second thoughts about re-arming the other agent, because his first thought was already that it was a bad idea.  Dirk might have an even bigger body-count than Rhekgar across his various films. 

 

"So you don't know where the third hostage is?" he asked, ignoring Dirk's last innuendo.  "We'll have to keep searching, then.  Miracle Girl, you know the drill by this point; you're still our most effective scout.  And for our interdimensional friends, I'll point out to you gentlemen, just for clarity, that we need the Fanatic alive.  He's your ticket back home, after all."

 

Sea Devil seemed to have the right idea; Warne followed after her, careful to watch behind them.  This was going relatively smoothly so far, so pretty soon, something was probably going to go wrong.

[Heritage]

...and now Casey remembered why she stopped watching Dirk Saber movies when she started high school; ick.

 

"Let's go rescue this 'filly'; if she's anything like she is in the movies, she should be able to take care of herself once we break her out." 

 

She began to scan again, but her face was troubled. "I was kind of hoping we'd have run into the Fanatic by now; I've got a bad feeling he's got some kind of 'deathtrap' waiting for us."

[Sophistemon]

Dirk smiles pityingly at Sea Devil. "There's only one God, madam," he said. "And I'm pretty sure He doesn't bleed like that." Rhekgar straightened his spine and squared his shoulders when he heard the Brit's blasphemy, but kept his mouth shut. There was very little point, at this time, to invoke the Five Gods of Eagland. Instead, the barbarian turned to face Miracle Girl.

 

"The Fanatic. A good name for him, for how he ranted and raved following my... capture. Still, one warrior can tell another. We've more to fear from the armor than the man inside. To think, I thought him a magician when first we fought. I know better, now; he is powered by his machines, but lacks any true strength of his own." Then, to Adept. "You want him alive? After what he's done to me, to us three? After what he has planned to do to you, and to your world?" He shook his shaggy head. "Best to crush that devious skull and be done with him. It's safer that way, for all worlds." At that, the sci-spy nodded his own head.

 

"Too right! But, I'd say this is their jurisdiction. One obeys the law of the land, yeah?" He looked at Miracle Girl and winked. "Still, I have to say it's more up to him than me whether he ends today in cuffs or a coffin. If he doesn't quit when the quitting's good, well..." He arced a thumb at the barbarian. "I'd say a good head-crushing might be in order after all."

 

Punchline blanched, growing even paler, and stuck out his tongue. "Eugh! Guys, come on -- let's keep things PG. This is a family picture!"

 

Miracle Girl, for her part, spots yet another cell with her superior vision. This is a solid metal cube; iron slabs bolted together and scarred with welding lines. There are no windows, and the door is barred from the outside.

Edited July 10, 2017 by Sophistemon

[Blarghy]

With a frown, Adept said more sternly, "Agent Saber has it right: our laws are ironclad, and if we can take this villain alive, then we will.  Rest assured that he will see justice, but it will be done in accordance with our traditions.  The Fanatic is a citizen of this world, and we must treat him as such."

 

...Or is he?  What if this person, whoever they are, is from one of these other realms instead?  We're almost certain that it's a member of the Brown family, but until we know for sure, then well, we don't know for sure.  What will we even do if we're wrong?  Send four travelers back instead of three?  Technically the kidnappings weren't committed in this reality, so Rhekgar might have more legal standing than I do, in such an event.

 

Warne shook his head a little to himself and said aloud, "What did he say when he spoke to you, Rhekgar?  Did your captor detail his motives, or his plans, beyond intending to ransom the three of you for money?  By your words, I gather that the Fanatic's ambitions may be a little grander than that."