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Icons: Issue #1 A Day Like Any Other...


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Columbian's statement, verified by the opening of the barrier, made her narrow her eyes in suspicion. Yeah, Colombian was big time, Triumvirate level famous, but how did he know the exact number of..? Whatever. She'd worry about it if she survived today.

"Mega Girl. I'm strong, can fly in space, and take others with me in a pinch. If something's safe to hit into submission, I've got it covered," she offered with a confident jerk of her thumb at herself, "Looks like you were right about that time thing, Columbian."  

 With a snap and a flutter of her cape, the domino-masked young woman burst for the breach in the field, flipping over to pop a light-hearted salute the group's way even as she crossed over into the trap. If he was going to drop the ceiling on the group first thing, better her than the others. Alison's subdermal sensors might give her a heartbeat or two to react to anything wrong. That was the hope anyway...

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“No! Don’t! Come back, Mega Girl! We should stay together!”

Appalled, the erstwhile college professor tried to run after the rapidly departing heroine but couldn’t catch up. He stopped after a few paces, then turned angrily at the patriotically garbed avenger.

“You should have stopped her, Columbian! We don’t know what’s in there, but it seems to straddle both the scientific and sorcerous realms of power. We should enter in pairs, at least. Send in Starsign after her. She’s fast enough and strong enough to watch her back. More importantly, she’s not as impetuous.”

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The twins were rather grateful that the monitor came on when it did.  The whole scene was starting lay out just a bit to weird for them.  As everyone turned their attention towards the sliding door and Mega-Girl's over confident flight to certain doom, the twins hung back, separating themselves from the main group.  Good guys or no, they held the strongest bond as sisters and were more concerned with their own well being than with these complete strangers.

"I don't like this," Autumn whispered to her sister.  "Columbian shows up he knows tried and true that he's the last of us, right as the door opens?  He wants our power profiles on top of that?  Summer, this is all kinds of wicked shiesty.  Something doesn't feel right."

"Dude, this whole group is off kilter," Summer observed.  "I don't know, I can't quite place it.  From the Doc who didn't say anything aside from padding his intellectual ego, to the way everyone is just so... I don't know, like: 'Hey we're all the heroes and fast friends.  We have a city to save, and we're all chummy now'!"  She shook her head.  "I don't know, I just know I like this about as much as you do, but the city still needs us, let's just keep our guard up."

The twins joined the others just as the Doctor was conveying his feelings for Mega-Girls careless impulse to be the first to be squashed.  Summer was floating along side her sister who decided to keep her feet planted firmly on the ground.

"Doc, calm down," Autumn interjected.  "Columbian doesn't lead this group.  We were all summoned here and we'll have to find someway to all work together, but getting your hackles raised at him," she gestured to Columbian. "Doesn't resolve issues, it only creates tension."

"Besides," Summer shrugged.  "If she gets dusted by lasers or the building falls on her, that's kinda her fault.  Sometimes it takes pain to make the brain a little smarter.  I doubt she would have just flow in there if she didn't feel she could handle something more than we could.  Have a little faith."

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"Yeah, you guys work out who should send who in first and everything," Hex said. "Sounds super important. Imma go in next."

With her left hand facing north she made the mudra for exclusion and spoke 'Defendarius.' The shielding spell flickered around her as it stabilized then became invisible.

Hex strolled on up to the entrance then, watching carefully for signs of foul play...and ready to intervene in a hurry if Mega-Girl ran afoul of anything.

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On 6/16/2019 at 10:48 AM, Summer Solstice said:

"Besides," Summer shrugged.  "If she gets dusted by lasers or the building falls on her, that's kinda her fault.  Sometimes it takes pain to make the brain a little smarter.  I doubt she would have just flow in there if she didn't feel she could handle something more than we could.  Have a little faith."

Elastica felt a bit sad, shoulders slumping as she turned her attention from the twins to watch the others enter the building-now-villainous-lair. She had awareness, but was well aware that she was still ignorant of many things. She wasn't stupid even if she didn't have a brain like humans, but she also didn't really feel pain either. Did that mean she couldn't get smarter?

She didn't need to be smart to know what to do now, though. When Doc Psypher turned to her and gestured, Elastica curtsied, her bodysuit shifting to layered skirts for a moment, before snapping back into little more than bodypaint - she thought that was the correct response - then gave Summer and Autumn a glance.

"I might not know a lot, but I do know if villains aren't faced, they can't be stopped." Elastica paused, seeming to reconsider her words. "Well, unless they are very bad about being bad guys. Some manage to blow themselves up or get caught in their own traps." She peered up at the skyscraper and the spreading blue glow. "I don't think this one has done that.

Her gaze went back to the Astoviks, lingering on what little constituted their suits. "I'll protect you if I can." Something like a smirk curved her plastic lips. "I was a very good supersuit."

And with that, Elastica's arms stretched out and out until she was grasping either side of the doorway, then she flung herself inside as though launched from a slingshot.

"Wheeee!"

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And so almost immediately he was bombarded with blame, and a sense of doubt and suspicion. But Columbian had to let that go, there was a city itself at stake. "It seems like a great deal of time and trouble to set this up and then turn it into an immediate death trap." He informed the remaining ladies. "In any case, we don't have much choice." Columbian followed after Elastica.

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With everyone inside the lobby, the door closed behind them and they could hear the hum of the Arclight resealing the the exit.    The voice spoke through the building's intercom. "Excellent, now, we're going to have a little race.   I've prepared three pathways through my tower, as you can see there are three doors, each with a keypad beside it.  Simply punch in your name to register yourself to the path.   No more than three heroes on a given path, if you try for more, well it's the same as any other rulebreaking, the tower will self-destruct and the city will die."

There were indeed three doors, one that seemed to be into a stairwell, One that lead directly out of the room, and another that you actually had to descend some steps to go to.  The keypads shone with the same arclight as the outside of the building, and indeed, the soft blue tint of the lighting hinted that the arclight was indeed used in the building, just as he'd said before.

This of course left the group with a choice of who to team up with, and what path they were going to choose.

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First into the lobby and circling the ceiling as first Hex and then Starsign entered, Mega Girl flashed them  a thumbs up greeting before resuming her patrol of the chamber, attention shifting between the three doors just in case they were how this party was going to get started. Hmmm. She was technically inside the building. Maybe drilling straight up through the floors counted as not rulebreaking..?

Colombian and the twins' arrival sealing the door triggered the announcement which put an end to that pleasant daydream. More tests and probable deathtraps it sounded like.

"So much for the shortest path between two points," she quipped, patting the ceiling once before zipping down to the door next to the  upward stairwell, fully aware that the camera's were probably rolling and now of all times was the time to put the best possible face forward, "I don't know about you all, but I like the feel of this door. Mine. Who is with me?" 

Mega Girl grinned and scratched the back of her head, laughing briefly as she realized she might have overdone the self confidence, "I mean, if three of you don't want it instead. I'm willing to share."

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22 hours ago, Elastica said:

And with that, Elastica's arms stretched out and out until she was grasping either side of the doorway, then she flung herself inside as though launched from a slingshot. "Wheeee!"

"What the hell...?"   Summer looked on in absolute confusion and disbelief.  "Is she serious right now?  We're dead," she said shaking her head.  "We are so dead."

Autumn just silently nodded.  "Yeah.  I'm starting to think it might be best if we handled this on our own.  Professionals or not, these people are either going to get us, or each other, killed."

6 hours ago, Justin OOC said:

There were indeed three doors, one that seemed to be into a stairwell, One that lead directly out of the room, and another that you actually had to descend some steps to go to.  The keypads shone with the same arclight as the outside of the building, and indeed, the soft blue tint of the lighting hinted that the arclight was indeed used in the building, just as he'd said before.

Summer Solstice offered a low whistle of admiration for the size and scope of the large room.  Autumn Solstice looked around and, staying close to her sister, took in the various doors and mumbled a silent headcount to herself.  The arclight seemed to be as much of a weapon as it was a power source, perhaps?  The building seemed to be running off the stuff, that or the building was weaponized with it.  She didn't have enough data to guess what it was or could do, especially since it was apparently some, by Hex's admission, 'god magic'.

Autumn pointed to the door the descended slightly down some steps.  "Three doors, eight of us.  Three-Three-Two should be the teams if we expect to play by his math.  Summer and I will take this one."

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Doc Psypher just barely made it into the AlphaTech Tower before the armored gateway slammed ominously shut behind him.

He still couldn’t believe this group. No plan, no organization. Of course, the firepower existed among this motley assortment of stubborn individualists, but they didn’t – wouldn’t – work together as a team. And teamwork was necessary if they were to stop the death knell for humanity.

Teaching undergrads certainly seemed a much more attractive proposition to Derek at this point.

The novice hero looked around the expansive chamber as did the others. Big. Big and “tech-y”… in a cinematic, summer blockbuster, CGI-ish sort of way. He sincerely doubted that any of the equipment on view down here was important to the scientist/wizard in charge. Damaging anything here would be a waste of energy.

Evidently the keypads worked. *sigh*

“Very well. Mega Girl, Starsign and the twins should spearhead one team apiece as they seem to be the most powerful. May I suggest that each team contain at least one expert on science or magic, too, just in case. With that in mind, Summer and Autumn take the low road, Mega Girl with Hex and Columbian take the high road, and Starsign with Elastica and me take the road ahead.”

“Hex, no offense meant. You are extremely powerful, but I do believe that your occult knowledge is equally important.”

“Please remember that our goal is to find and retrieve the antidote for the Arclight radiation poisoning. Destroying the Arclight alone won’t do the job. While some of us are expendable, enough of us have to survive to complete our mission. Therefore, protecting yourselves and each other is a necessity. Any questions?”

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"I'm not sure what you are basing you assumptions on  'Doc', but It sounds ok for the most part. The Only thing I would change is I think Elastica should go with Columbian. " She looks at the two she named, "You two seem to have a history together and I think that may be more important than power balance.

To keep everything within the rules Mega Girl can either join us or the twins." 

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"No objections here. I think I'll go with you two if you don't mind, Doc, Starsign. Unless Summer and Autumn are determined to solo their, unless I'm wrong, first lair, a good set of eyes is a better fit than another pair of fists," the blonde cyborg replied with a wave at the resident spooky spellcaster. 

She chuckled at her own expense, floating there, hoping someone would go with the twins who may or may not be able to be taken out with the press of a button. Too many bad memories...

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The strange, plasticky young woman slithered over to Columbian with her too fluid way of moving, giving Starsign a nod and flashing a grin just a tad too wide to be normal. Her pale lavender eyes considered Starsign for a moment, then her remarkably curvaceous form developed a physique as athletic and muscular as Starsign's own.

"Yes! I met Columbian yesterday. That means we have history now. I'll protect him and Hex as best I can."

With that, Elactica began walking briskly for the stairs heading up. She presumed there would be a lot of stairs to get to the top, but she wouldn't get tired. Like she'd been for Shadowmind, she would be their - could she call them friends? She didn't haven any real friends yet, except for the boy at the grocery store, he'd called her friend, once - first line of defence.

She didn't have a firm grasp of what Starsign meant about power balance, and even less of this 'magic' Hex talked about. Elastica had been made with science, electricity and psionic proximity. She did understand humans were very fragile compared to her, their meat and bone-sticks not as strong and versatile as the unstable molecules she was composed off.

But they somehow still managed to do so much, even wasting all that time putting stuff in their mouth and being unconscious.

Teamwork, she wasn't a nebulous about. She had worked hand in hand - or more accurately body in body (as it were) - with Shadowmind for years, though it hadn't been under her own volition, she hadn't had any at the time. Now she did, and she choosing to help Columbian and Hex and the others to stop the Arclight threatening to kill New York City and all the humans that composed it, like all the individual unstable molecules that composed her.

Hmm. Maybe she could die. At least she had had time to experience being her own... being, even if she would prefer having more.

And she didn't agree with with Doc Psypher - with sentience and self-awareness, she didn't have to. None of them were expendable - she would protect and help the others, regardless of necessity.

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With the three teams decided, and keyed to their doors, the Doors themselves opened, admitting the teams, before closing and sealing behind them.

Door #1 Enter the Dungeon   (Autumn and Summer)

The Astovik twins found themselves in a room utterly discordant with the modern and futuristic building they'd just stepped in from.   The walls were damp and the smell was musty, like an old cave.   There was only a stone wall behind them now, and Torches lined the walls going forward.    They'd stepped from the modern era into a dungeon lifted straight from some nerd's fantasy, and from the depths, they could hear the skittering of some sort of creatures.   The Torches weren't really bright enough to see by as in daylight, they only served to make the darkness even deeper.

Door #2 Office Space  (Columbian, Elastica, Hex)   


The door from the lobby opened into a massive that was lined with the cubicle wall material that was so common in most office buildings.   After they were inside, before their eyes, the Door vanished, becoming one with the wall behind them, and the walls rose to the ceiling.   The entire area was lit, but they were now at the entrance of a cubicle labyrinth, with untold horrors likely lurking within.

Door #3 Ascending Eternity  (Doc Psypher, Mega Girl, Starsign)


The doorway did open into a massive winding stairwell,  easily forty feet across, and closed behind them once they'd all entered.    Almost immediately their field of vision was whited out, and when they could see once again, All they could see around them was an endless starfield, Something they couldn't identify, and seemingly endless.   Even the stairwell seemed to vanish as well, leaving them seemingly adrift in an Eternity of stars.

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"What the hell...?" Autumn said slowly with a soft breath as she took in the dank, musty environment.  "This is so messed up..."

"Wow," Summer laughed with derision.  "This is wild.  It's like those stupid games you and your nerd friends play to disengage from your study crams."  She swept her arms out to the hallway before them.  "Behold, the World of Drokcraft..."

"Summer, shut up," Autumn cut her off before she had a chance to get started.  "Try and focus, okay?"

"Okay, okay," she laughed a bit more.  "Chill.  God."  She took a few steps and inhaled with excitement.  "Hey!  Look on the bright side, at least crazy dude didn't install like, personal hologram projectors or some other weird nerdy crap that put us in silly get ups to support his sick fantasy."

The area flickered and environment wavered and pulsed as scenery remained the same but image inducers shifted their costumes.  Summer was, in the span of a few moments donned in the fur bikini with scant traces of woven in metal scales but with all the adornments it did very little to preserve her modesty, but there she stood a scant clad barbarian of the dungeon.  Autumn found herself in a slinky white and blue silk outfit that, like her sisters', did little to cover her body.  Simple golden symbols were sewn into the fabric here and there as she played valiant healer to her sister's warrior pride.  Summer quickly cupped her hands over her mouth, more to cover the widening smirk on her face than with shock.

Autumn's lips were twisted in rage as her fists balled at her sides when she looked at their new outfits.  Her breathing swift and anger burned in her chest.  "I hate you so much right now, Summer!  UGHHH!"

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14 hours ago, Justin OOC said:

Door #3 Ascending Eternity  (Doc Psypher, Mega Girl, Starsign)
The doorway did open into a massive winding stairwell,  easily forty feet across, and closed behind them once they'd all entered.    Almost immediately their field of vision was whited out, and when they could see once again, All they could see around them was an endless starfield, Something they couldn't identify, and seemingly endless.   Even the stairwell seemed to vanish as well, leaving them seemingly adrift in an Eternity of stars.

Derek couldn’t quite believe his eyes. Is it possible that they’ve been teleported into space? Wait one minute – SPACE? Maybe Starsign and Mega Girl could survive without oxygen, air pressure or warmth, but him? With no space suit?

Unless this was an illusion of some sort….

Well, he might as well open his mouth, anyway. Death wouldn’t take long for him out in uncharted space even if either Starsign or Mega Girl could transport him to the nearest hospitable planet.

“Ladies, please don’t go zooming around here right away. You might get lost. In any event, this all might be an illusion – perhaps a sophisticated hologram or a telepathic projection of some sort. Of course, we could be drugged in some way, too, but let’s use Occam’s razor and go for a simpler explanation for now. If either of you have any supra-sensory abilities, I would suggest that you employ them now to get a better sense of where we are and what’s going on. I will try my ESP to see if I can locate a technological explanation for our current situation.”

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"Oh, we're not in space. At least without some seriously impressive weirdness going on," Mega Girl answered cheerfully, none of her more exotic support systems having kicked in yet. She decided to test something, first reaching down to try and touch the invisible 'floor' Doc Psypher and Starsign were perched on. Her questing hand met nothing, and she followed up by pulling a full loop de loop over and under her team, pausing below them to give an impressed whistle and wave enroute back to floating in front of them, arms crossed.

"Well. Forgive me, Doc, but just in case the 'floor' stops working..," Mega Girl added with a smile, an invisible telekinetic 'arm' reaching out from her head to gently grab the armored hero and wrap him in the same effect that bore her aloft. He could feel the faintest of vibration encompassing his body, but it didn't do anything else. Not yet anyway.

"There. Gravity proof. Find me a heading, guys, and I'll take point," the masked heroine wrapped up, alert for anything and trying to ignore the fact this was being streamed live somehow if they took their 'host' at his word.   

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Interesting. Mega Girl can speak... in "space", and I can hear her. Ergo, there is air to breathe and enough air pressure to keep my organs from exploding. Well, that makes things a little easier. The ambient temperature also seems to be conducive to human beings and gravity also seems to work in this location.

However, this invisible flooring that Starsign and I are standing upon is finite. That could be a problem.

"Very good, Mega Girl. Thank you for the telekinetic tether. Unfortunately, unlike you and Starsign, I do not have the ability to fly. Starsign, do you detect anything?"

Spoiler

ESP: Detect Nearby Machinery = Awareness/4 + d6 (4) [https://orokos.com/roll/737224]

 

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The door from the lobby opened into a massive that was lined with the cubicle wall material that was so common in most office buildings.   After they were inside, before their eyes, the Door vanished, becoming one with the wall behind them, and the walls rose to the ceiling.   The entire area was lit, but they were now at the entrance of a cubicle labyrinth, with untold horrors likely lurking within.

"Cute," Triessa said, glancing around as the cubicle farm transformed into a maze. "If there's not a minotaur accountant, I'm getting my deposit back. Alright."

She looked at Elastica and the Columbian.

"Just to elaborate a little on myself. I'm Hex, hello, and I can cast spells. Literal spells, as in magic. What that means is that there's not a lot I can't potentially do, if I know a spell to do it. It also means I usually need time to pull it off. You two can fight over who goes first, but I should definitely be second."

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Elastica looked back at Hex, then blinked, once, a slow, deliberate blink. "Minotaur shouldn't be here. I stopped him seven months ago shortly after I first became self-aware. He was was strong, but not as strong as me, and like most humans, even if he was big and had horns and fur, he still needed to breathe."

The pneumatically buxom young woman strode forward, her skintight bodysuit shifting with every stride, the muscle she had copied from Starsign melting back into her sleek, overly dramatic curves. Hex wasn't sure if she was imagining the faint sound of creaking on the edge of hearing, as of stretching rubber. By the time Elastica was several steps ahead of Hex, she was 'wearing' a dark taupe pencil skirt, a cream-coloured blouse, black heels, and strings of pearls at her neck and wrist. Her pink hair slithered up into an updo and she was wearing chic horn-rimmed glasses. She wouldn't have looked out of place as a '50s secretary working at an advertising firm.

"This is what people wear in an office, yes?" Elastica queried, glancing back at Hex and Columbian over her shoulder. "If the villain is playing a game with us, even if with the city for stakes, we should look like we belong, should we not?"

A practiced look of determination crossed her face as she straightened her shoulders. "And we don't need to fight - I will go first. I don't feel pain as humans do, and am very difficult to damage. And I can shape myself into nearly form." There was a pause and it seemed like Elastica was trying to evoke an expression of tentativeness, but only ending up looking like she was constipated. "I'm still practising this - sometimes there are... accidents. You should be okay, I usually don't turn into something too big, unless I mean to."

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Jess had watched the strange floaty girl as she did her gymnastics and couldn't help but smile at  the exuberance displayed, especially when contrasted with the stilted seriousness of Doc Psypher.

"Let me take a look and see if I can pick up whatever energy source is creating this illusion, assuming it is an illusion."

The Starsign at Jessica's forehead seems to pulse and slowly the young woman turns her head scanning the space/room, a grimace of concentration upon her face, seeking some clue.

 

Spoiler

Energy Detection roll to find the trail to the source of the illusion or whatever it is we are in.   energy detection: 2d6+6 14

 

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Enter the Dungeon

"I do aim to be a hospitable host, in my own way."  The voice came from all around them, but served to remind them that they were on display for all to see.  Then it was gone, and the set of torches nearest to them went out.   Clearly this was a signal to begin moving forward from their starting location, which they took.   So long as they kept moving the torches remained lit, until they passed another set, then the previous would go out.   The first decision came what seemed like fifty feet in, they came to a large room, with three different paths on the far wall.

Beside each of the three new paths, there was a small plaque, with a single letter.  The Left was labeled "C", the middle "D" and to the right was labeled "E."   They had a decision to make here.


Office Space


As Elastica lead the way into the cubicle maze,  Hex followed and Columbian brought up the rear.   What was odd is that there was an odd sort of presence all around them, Hex felt it of course, but the others felt nothing out of the ordinary.   After a half dozen bends, they finally came to a larger room, in which stood a half dozen "people."   At least that's what they seemed to be, but their skin was pallid, their eyes glazed, and they seemed to move aimlessly.  The room looked to be a Lounge of some sort, and the moment Elastica stepped into it, they all turned towards her and the others and growled, and began to slowly amble towards them, akin to zombies.

Ascending Eternity


Doc Psypher's abilities revealed no active machinery Well aside the glaring example that was Mega Girl herself.   Despite the truly odd circumstances they found themselves in, he could breathe, and since he'd not actually moved his feet still seemed to be on solid ground.


For Starsign, the results of her own search were fruitful, as she could sense the Arclight energy all around them, forming a boundary, which was nearly a mile across, More than that, it revealed a stairwell-like path, ascending upwards from where they were, The beginning of which was about ten feet from her.  To her expanded senses it shimmered a faint blue, and Mega Girl had seemingly passed through it twice, without disturbing anything.   What was evident, and more alarming, the diameter of the boundary was shrinking, slowly, but enough for her senses to recognize it. 

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Doc Psypher expands his psionic senses outward as far as he possibly could, trying to detect any sort of technology that might explain what was going on in their assigned death-trap.

The only thing he finds out… is that Mega Girl is possibly bionic. *sigh*

He was afraid of that. It's possible that the puppet-master behind all of this was a master of both scientific and mystical disciplines. Or... maybe this is actually not "space", but merely a parallel universe of sorts.

Well, at least that’s actually rather interesting!

"Mega Girl? Starsign? I'm afraid that I am unable to detect any rational explanation for our present situation. I am uncertain as to our next step. I could try to develop a rough estimate of our current location based on any visible star constellations, but if we are, indeed, somehow teleported to another part of the universe, I won't be able to get us any sort of a useful heading."

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Starsign studied the revealed energy and motioned for her companions to follow her, “I can pick up the arc energy and see the underlying infrastructure it covers. The floor and stairs are still present just…camouflaged, however the boundary is shrinking. Follow me.”

She stepped to the front of her little party and led them to the first step, “There is a step here,” she said before climbing the first in the series. The steps as she could see were about fifteen feet across and set at 1-foot intervals. She was about to relay the description when her foot touched the step and it lit up, appearing literally as a pane of light, with each stair following it spiraling upwards into the infinite.

Jess paused, “These steps seem to be made of pure Arclight, yet…not, there's something different about it but the Starsign can’t figure it out, or if it can, it isn’t telling me.  But it is obviously the way we are supposed to go so let’s get on with it.

Keep your eyes and senses peeled.”  She added as she started to move up the steps alert for any surprises.

 

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"Pretty," Mega Girl commented with a tilt of her head, uncrossing her arms, blue eyes tracing the spiral of light as it receded upwards into the seeming void, "I'll cover the flank."

The blonde cyborg set off on a spiraling course paralleling the upward path on the outside, keeping just far enough ahead of the group to keep her tether on Doc. She let her attention roam, taking in the false stars, scanning for any signs of things moving against the darkness. She'd learned the hard way that the best way to spot an on-coming bit of space junk was the stars it occluded even if it had any working lights. Somehow she doubted that any obstacles would glow in the dark. Then again, it *would* be pretty, like the video games she'd seen, and this was a show, so maybe..? Hnaaaa. Figuring out which flavor of crazy this was was hard.

Subtle though it was, for now, she could feel *something* leeching away her ability to maintain position in the air, and frowned, masked features darkening with a brief surge of anger. The outward sign of that displeasure was smoothed over by a less genuine smile, but deep down it rankled, old bad memories of helplessness stirring. Guess their host was playing his dirty knowledge. If she got her hands on him, he was soooo in for it. 

Mega Girl shifted course to fly over the steps in tighter curves in case he turned the effect higher. "Guys, I think our bad guy is messing with my flight. If I drop out of the air, don't be surprised if I'm heavier than I look. Sorry."

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On 6/30/2019 at 11:13 AM, Justin OOC said:

Enter the Dungeon

Beside each of the three new paths, there was a small plaque, with a single letter.  The Left was labeled "C", the middle "D" and to the right was labeled "E."   They had a decision to make here.

"Hmm," Summer tapped her finger tip on the corner of her mouth.  "Looks like we have a decision to make here."

"Oh, and whatsoever gave you that idea?"  Autumn shrugged her arms, still thoroughly miffed about the white skimpy robes that preserved little of her modesty while all of Manhattan was tuned in a watching them.  "Was it, oh, I don't know... the three doors sitting right.  Here.  In front. Of us?"  She knife handed in the direction of each door to punctuate her short sentences."

"Well, duh."  Her sister replied with an accompanying look of self-retardation.

Autumn slapped her own forehead.  "I swear, I'll bet Crimson Spider doesn't have to deal with this level of idiocy."

Times Square...
From the massive screens in Times Square almost all of Manhattan was gathered watching the heroes survive the perils of the Arclight Towers.  One New York native was crouched along the side of a building, his feet stuck firmly to the glass some twnety stories in the air.  The spider themed hero, The Crimson Spider took another bite of his coney dog, his mask halfway raised on his face.  While the heroes were doing their thing, he was doing his best out in the world, making sure people didn't go nuts with rioting and looting.  To his surprise, things were relatively mellow.

He chewed as he looked at phone, inspecting his trending social media accounts when he suddenly heard his name from one of the massive screens.  He looked up and smiled.  "She's obviously new to the area.  Her tourist is showing."

Back in the dungeon...
Summer approached the third door.  "I say we go with 'E'.

"Why?"  The water aspected heroine approached her sister.  "All of these are obviously traps."

"Well, yeah, but think about it... 'C' and 'D' are both letters that start off a word that related to male genitals.  Which, look at this place," Summer motioned to the entire tower as a whole.  "Let's face it, he's obviously dealing with insecurity and shortcoming issues.  But 'E'... he probably has some dorky name like, Eugene or Eustace... so, stepping through the other doors are a testament to his manhood, or lack thereof, so they're obviously trapped because has to assert his dominance over us.  But the Eugene door is a subtle trip into his fragile boyhood psyche, that little guy who just wanted his daddy to be proud of him... so, not trapped."

Completely without words Autumn stood there frozen in pure rapt fascination as to how so much stupidity could be bottled up in such a petite frame like her sisters'.  "That's your logic!?  Solstice, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."

Summer crossed her arms and arced her brow.  "Well, do you have any better ideas?"

"Honestly, no.  Let's go."  She said hastily and without another word Autumn marched ahead and opened the 'E' door.

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Behind his helmet's visor, the Nobel laureate frowned. "Mega Girl, while it may be another part of our 'host's' plan, I think it may be more prudent if we both follow Starsign up this energy stairwell on foot. And following your example, I shall create a telekinetic tether of my own to attach to Starsign so that we don't get separated." 

Spoiler

Telekinesis: Tether to Starsign = Willpower/6 + d6 (3) [https://orokos.com/roll/739533]

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Office Space

Elastica lead the way through the cubicle maze with vaguely curious aplomp, unconcerned or unknowing of being filmed for entertainment. She had impressions of having visited other villainous lairs, this one didn't seem so different. Surely there would be some secret way to bypass the level - a Villain wouldn't want to waste time crossing his own labyrinth.

When they encountered the 'office workers', Elastica slowed to a stop, a faint frown crossing her sculpted features. They looked less real than she did - which wasn't something against them. She'd once spent twenty minutes talking to a mannequin in a department store before a clerk kindly corrected her. Elastica supposed that might have been embarrassing.

Unlike being a good listener like she had assumed the mannequin had been, these people were shambling and growling in a way that seemed like it would be menacing to normal humans. Her companions were human, but hardly normal, but these were probably mere minions - they shouldn't pose any trouble for her.

Elastica raised an arm towards the lead office minion, then stretched it out across the intervening space, and with strength able to crumple steel, she went to slam it against one of floor-to-ceiling cubicle wall.

 

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Triessa winced at the sight of the 'zombies,' and slid the scrying crystal she'd charged up outside the building back around in her fingers to point at them.

"This is embarrassing to see. Zombie workers in an office shaped like a maze? This guy has all the power of a godling or demon lord and he's using it to make LARP Dilbert cartoons? Lets see what we're dealing with here before we get too rough..."

The crystal lit up from within as she cast her spell and waved it around between herself and the zombies, counting on her teammates to give her the space she needed to do the spell.

 

 

Casting Detect again...that effect is still 'prepped' from before, so no need to create the effect with Spellcasting. It's a rank 6 Detect; Detect 6: 1d6+6 8

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Enter the Dungeon


As the twins opened the door standing in front, they heard a faint sound and Autumn had only a moment to dodge.  By some miracle, she heard the noise and moved to the side, and just as she did, four propeller-like blades shot out from the door,  impaling vertically in the wall opposite to the door.  Each had two arms to a side, all  and they were obviously very sharp.  It was a narrow miss, but even so several locks of her hair were somewhat shorter, as a bout three inches of her hair was now laying on the floor.

"Clearly that was not the right door.   There were however still two more to chose."  Came their host's disembodied voice.  He seemed quite amused despite Autumn's narrow escape.

 

Office Space


Hex's magic revealed these entities were indeed zombies, but little more beyond that.  Their first inclination that things weren't quite right, was when Elastica stretched out to move the zombie aside.  The move was easily accomplished, and with her strength, she actually succeeded in literally breaking the zombie in half.   There was no gore however, and after a moment the upper torso and arms which were still attached, began to move towards her, even as the other zombies turned their full attention to her.
Columbian moved in, and lashed out with his trademark weapons, smashing the head from the torso, which did seem to have the desired effect, ending its advance.  "The old tried and true method of stopping zombies still works."

 

Ascending Eternity

With the three of them tethered to each other, they began the trek up the stairwell.  Around them it seemed that the stars began to move, and the stairwell spiraled upward farther than they could see.   After nearly five minutes of ascent, All three noticed something.   There were several stars that were growing closer.   they began to grow in size, and soon they revealed themselves as small meteors, each the size of a football, and they passed through the space between the steps,  harmlessly, but the Starsign was quick to inform Jessica.  "Had those struck any of you, you would have suffered significant injury."   Clearly there was much more going on, and the Stairwell wasn't a haven from danger.   

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3 hours ago, Justin OOC said:

Enter the Dungeon

As the twins opened the door standing in front, they heard a faint sound and Autumn had only a moment to dodge.  By some miracle, she heard the noise and moved to the side, and just as she did, four propeller-like blades shot out from the door,  impaling vertically in the wall opposite to the door.  Each had two arms to a side, all  and they were obviously very sharp.  It was a narrow miss, but even so several locks of her hair were somewhat shorter, as a bout three inches of her hair was now laying on the floor.

"Clearly that was not the right door.   There were however still two more to chose."  Came their host's disembodied voice.  He seemed quite amused despite Autumn's narrow escape.

Witty quits and sarcastic banter were nothing more now but silent, slow breathing as shock took an icy hold over both of the sisters, Autumn for almost having just died and Summer for almost having lost her sister.  The sudden, harsh reality of the situation they found themselves in set in as Autumn withheld flying into a panic.  They couldn't do anything but stare at each other as they tried to manage a complete breath.

"A-are you o-okay?"  Summer stuttered through a frightened breath.  She still hadn't taken her eyes off her sister and both stood too paralyzed to move.

"A-am I okay?"  Autumn glared at her sister.  Her body shivered and quaked with fear as she tried to form words with the wave of fear and shock that overwhelmed her.  "Summer.  I almost got sliced into pieces."  She still stood, too frightened to move.  "Pieces, Summer.  Pieces!  I'd say I'm pretty god damned far from 'okay'!"

The sudden death experience continued to hold them both in stillness for an untold amount of moments while the people sitting at home, powerless and in fear for their future, watched them both try to cope with the gravity of the situation.  This mad man was not playing games or pulling punches.  He was hell-bent on killing them or the city, or possibly both.  A torrential fire burned with Summer.  Her hair slowly grew warm until it began to ignite with wisps of ember until it was completely aflame.

"No,"  Summer said through gritted teeth.  Her fists clenched at her sides, and her eyes exploded into a purplish flame.  "We're not choosing any more doors.  No games, no hologram costumes, and certainly no more death traps.  You want a piece of us, ass clown, then you come face us!  Because we're done playing!  Because even if you push whatever mad button you have up there and waste this whole city... all that will be left is you, and us... and then where are you gonna run too, huh?  Because when you wipe everything out, jerk-off... we won't be heroes anymore, we'll just be bitches with a vendetta.  So get your panties in a knot, psycho.  We'll wait."

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Ascending Eternity

Even with all the toughness and raw power she could deliver, Alison didn't want to try and tank one of those hits. Hmmm. At least not unaided... Hadn't he said..? 

"Hey, Doc. Think you could slow down the next one of those to come by enough for me to catch it? Want to know what our bad guy is shooting at us," the blonde cyborg chuckled, floating there inches above the steps in her amateur costume and literal mask of unshakeable confidence, "Might even be able to chuck it back at whatever is firing them when we find it. Help a girl out here?"

She kept her head on a proverbial swivel, ready to try for a catch even if Doc said no. The trick to surviving any impact was to extend the moment of impact much as possible, so she'd just have to fall back before going for the grab. Deadly dodgeball was one of Shen's favorite 'games', after all.

Spoiler

Don't know what you want me to roll, Justin, but if attacked will go for an intercept attempt.

 

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On 7/8/2019 at 2:18 PM, Justin OOC said:

Ascending Eternity

 

With the three of them tethered to each other, they began the trek up the stairwell.  Around them it seemed that the stars began to move, and the stairwell spiraled upward farther than they could see.   After nearly five minutes of ascent, All three noticed something.   There were several stars that were growing closer.   they began to grow in size, and soon they revealed themselves as small meteors, each the size of a football, and they passed through the space between the steps,  harmlessly, but the Starsign was quick to inform Jessica.  "Had those struck any of you, you would have suffered significant injury."   Clearly there was much more going on, and the Stairwell wasn't a haven from danger.   

Doc Psypher's mind raced over all the possible negative permutations of acceding to Mega Girl's request, but... the scientist in him simply could not ignore the seductive allure of data acquisition. "To be completely honest, Mega Girl, I don't think I have the power necessary to do as you suggest. I've never even tried to use my telekinesis to do two things at the same time."

Spoiler

"Activates telekinetic force field" = Force Field/5 + d6 (5) [https://orokos.com/roll/741674]

"However, unless Starsign has any other ideas, I am willing to try to assist you in trying to capture one of these meteors."

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Office Space

"If you say so, The Columbian."

"Columbian," Columbian sighed. "Just... Columbian, no 'the'"

Elastica gave Columbian a doubtful look. She knew humans were mainly sacks full of various liquids and other bits. None of that had leaked out of the what Columbian called zombies that she and he had disabled. She didn't see what destroying their heads would impede them. Losing her own head would only be a minor inconvenience, until she could reform a new one - she was composed of a mostly undifferentiated substance that she could form at will.

But Columbian seemed to believe it would work and Elastica presumed he had more experience with such things, so she would follow his lead. She glanced at her outstretched arm, blinked, then her face went inhumanly still as she concentrated. Her hand and forearm seemed to liquefy, then flow into a long, dark pink blade, looking hard and shiny as though it was made of dense plastic, or perhaps enamelled metal.

Elastica twisted at the hips, just a tad too far to be humanly possible without serious injury, and swept her arm across the lounge, this time taking the effort to try for a decapitation.

Spoiler

Unstable Power Roll: 1d6 6 = Power is fine.

Slashing Attack, Called Shot to Neck (1d6 + Prowess -2): 1d6+5 7 (Called Shot Penalty already included)

 

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Enter the Dungeon


There was no answer to Summer's outburst, no change in the room, only silence, as the two Superpowered Sisters stood there.   Clearly, not playing along was a choice he was prepared for.  Their foe wasn't on a clock, the heroes were.   While they sat, the videos of them sitting there were still being broadcast, though the view count wasn't ticking up as it had been.   In fact it was actually starting to fall, as people began to see that they really were just not doing anything.

Office Space


Elastica managed to catch one of the Zombies, but not the others, and Columbian actually managed two with his weapons.   Meanwhile Hex caught the last two with a powerful eldritch blast, removing the threats from the room, and revealing that there were two different paths from the room, that they'd missed before.


Ascending Eternity

Working together, the trio was prepared for the next group of four meteors that came by after another five minutes.  With Starsign's shield to begin arresting the speed,  Doc Psypher latched on with his Telekinesis, just as her forcefield broke.   With all his might, he held back on the  meteor, which was slowed enough for the Incredibly strong Mega Girl to reach out and grab the meteor and she could feel some discomfort as it  hit her hand, but with their combined efforts they were able to bring one in, and the Starsign began analysis.

"This Meteor is made of Roughly forty percent Iron,forty percent Nickel, and a tungsten core."   It was nearly the recipe for a railgun round.    They were  being periodically peppered by a railgun, and it was only by luck they'd not been hit.

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Jess looked at her two companions, "We can't let this slow us down. I thing both Mega-girl and I could take a hit but not sure about you doc. So the stairs are wide enough for us to climb as a compact group, the meteors are coming from one direction, so far, if Mega-girl and I climb on the outside with you, Doc beside us on the inside, I can use my force-field to deflect any that come close and if one gets past it will hit one of us."

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