Mutants & Masterminds: The Unlikely Prophets - Issue #4: "My Own Private Kryptonite"

[Necronaut]

Norman nodded and headed back toward the base.

A few moments passed before he turned back to call over the roar of the plane "You know, when we're done here, your old life will still be waiting for you. It may take some smoothing over but the Grand Canyon isn't going anywhere. And geology is is going to be cool with or without the Order."

He made it a point to turn his attention back to flying quickly, first so he didn't crash into Jack's house, and second so Sharatur couldn't see his next thoughts flash across his face.

Assuming we get done on this side of the netherworld...

[SalmonMax]

Glitch didn't have to ask twice. In fact, even once was probably unnecessary. The moment Hex saw the beeper and realized what it meant, she was busting out a piece of soft chalk and making a beeline for the nearest door.

"Everyone get in behind me and when the door opens just pile on through. We haven't got time for me to explain how it works right now. Just know that it's safe."

(OOC - Linking to whatever in the Australian town passes for a church.)

[Charlotte]

Matthew looked befuddled. "A creature from another dimension? Seriously? ... okay, I guess with medusas and lightning people and whatever Eiko is that's not too far out. A ritual, huh? Yeah."

Matt shuffled a few papers. "One of the first times I realized things were 'off' was when they went after my neighbour for illegal religious practice. The neighbour made the whole religion up herself, too. It was - I don't really remember, something about self-sentient thoughts. She put up a symbol she made up and a few people must have talked to her about it, and.... and they kicked down her door. I don't know where she went. She wasn't down there with me." Matthew shook his head. "All because she made up something to take her mind off of the Order. But really, that's it right there, isn't it? Can't have something to put faith and trust in, other than them."

* * *

Larissa, Tom, and Tom's parents were through the door in minutes. They emerged in the "church" - heavy quotes around the word, because while it was a church, it hadn't been used as one in many years.

"Why's it so warm?" asked Tom's mother in a small voice.

* * *

It was then, that Sharatur and Norman returned to the town. A few of the townspeople shouted and waved at them as they came in.

[z-Gloom]

Gloom shrugged at Matthew's disbelief, though she was privately glad he'd accepted her word in the end. She knew it was true, and she had the two extra arms to prove it, too. But having people accept your truths made it easier to exist with them. Given the status of their lives, everyone here needed to be able to coexist. His words banished such thoughts and left her nodding agreement. "Anyone who disagrees with them is suspect. I know I put away a lot of people who didn't deserve it. That's why I'm going to bust them all out again. Them and anyone else who doesn't belong in the Order's cells."

[Thomas Froit]

"We're in Australia." Glitch told her with a bit of amusement. "Not too far away we've set up shop. Let's go introduce you to the community." He gestured to Hex and began to direct his parents.

[SalmonMax]

Hex leaned in close to Glitch and said quietly, "You should check them for bugs or other tracking devices. Even a cellphone might be bad."

[Thomas Froit]

"Yeah." Glitch looked a mite embarrassed, but stopped his parents. "Alright... give me anything electronic you know you have... and I'll scan you... one sec..." He pulled out the WID, turned down his sensor glasses and went to work.

Datalink and Infravision to make sure there aren't any independent devices on them other than the stuff they have. And he will deal with the cell phones and such.

[Charlotte]

"I'd love to help you bust them out. But something tells me they'll just beat my head in with a nightclub." Matthew looked out the window. "But this town is shaping up nicely. We'd have room to space. Hey - your pal with the see-through plane and that girl I think he's sweet on are back in. I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that thing..."

* * *

For a change, luck was on Glitch's side - his parents, being distrustful of anything too "high tech" didn't have anything more complicated than a car starter on hand. After a quick sweep, he'd confirmed that they were clean.

"Sorry - son, Australia? We were in the Valley a second ago. How - " Tom's father shut up, realizing that things would be explained in time.

[SalmonMax]

When Glitch shook his head, Hex visibly relaxed.

"Okay, I'll leave most of the explanation to your son, since you and he probably have a lot to talk about anyway, but...he's right. You're in Australia. We've got a little settlement going for people who we've helped escape from the Order...which now includes you. I just want to cover a few things before I get back to helping out.

She ticked off on her fingers...

"One...the folks here are of a lot of different beliefs and cultures, and we all need to get along...so please try to be tolerant of other people's differences. We've asked the same of all of them to do towards you too."

"Two, this community is shielded from accidental discovery by the Order. The totem in the middle of town...that wooden tower thing...is part of that protection. Don't mess with it. There's a fence around it...don't climb over, and if you see someone else doing so, stop them. It's not fragile, but it's pretty important that nothing accidental happen to it."

"Three, your son, me, and some of the others you'll meet here, have abilities and powers that other people don't. We're using those powers to try to give control of the world back to the people of the world. We have a long way to go, and we'll need help. This community is our solution to the fact that the people we rescue will be targeted for interrogation by the Order. Those we save, we also bring here. That's why it's so important that this place be protected. It's the only way we can do our jobs without abandoning people to a terrible fate."

"My name's Larissa, but I usually go by Hex these days." She held out a hand. "I brought us here. It's one of the abilities I have. I'm sure you have lots of questions, but I'll let your son handle them...since I'm sure you and he have a lot of catching up to do too." She smiled. "If you want to talk to me later, I'm in the little cabin with the star on the door just down the street."

[Charlotte]

"Uh... got it," said Stephen flatly, still clearly trying to take it all in.

"So - you've built a little society?" At this, Marianne actually smiled. "And it's working? They told us that we needed the Order for everything, and you've just... tossed all that aside?"

[IndyPendant]

Catching the tail end of the conversation as she walked in with Necronaut, Sharatur smiled mischievously. "Also, there's a minotaur running around here. Don't panic if you see him, he's almost certainly harmless. His name's Eiko, and he's a bit of a geek; reminds me of Glitch, here. I'm Sh--uh, Jade. This is Necronaut. Welcome to Sanctuary."

She turned back to Necronaut. "I'm beat. Is it okay with you if we visit my friends tomorrow?"

[z-Gloom]

Gloom looked out the window and nodded. "'scuse me," she grunted, heading out into the sun. She grunted again as she came under the sun's aegis, the light pushing against her like a physical force. When she reached the group, she narrowed her eyes at the newcomers. "Who's this?" she asked, though she had a suspicion. One set of arms crossed, the other settled on her belt. Her right hand was caressing Spartan's gun - her gun now.

[Thomas Froit]

Glitch knew Gloom had suspicion naturally grooved into her, but still he couldn't help but scowl in return. "My parents, Gloom. I did tell you about the events previous to our first meeting, and I wasn't going to underestimate the chances the Order put two and two together and figure out who I was. Hence, I've brought my parents here so they can't be hostages."

[SalmonMax]

"And yes," Hex replied to Marianne. "There's nothing magical about The Order. It keeps people obeying the law out of fear...but it turns out that most people will want to do what's right just because if they don't, they have no place in society. That's not to say we won't protect people if someone living here tries to hurt someone, or risks our protection...but so far it seems like as long as people know each other and are loyal to each other, you don't have to have armed police on every corner to keep...well...order." She grinned.

[Necronaut]

The Necronaut nodded politely at the newcomers and did likewise at Sharatur. "I'm in no rush. If we have more time tomorrow maybe you could give me a proper tour? I've flown over the canyon a couple times now but I've never really had a chance to look at it up close."

[Charlotte]

Stephen visibly tensed as he regarded Gloom. Then he looked at the sidearm she wore, and for a long moment, was silent.

Marianne smiled at Hex. "Well, I've always liked to think that. I'm glad that you've made it - Stephen, what is it?"

"That's Spartan's gun. His old gun, before he got the new one on the news a few days back. Miss, where did you get that?"

[z-Gloom]

Gloom blinked, a single slide of her eyelids over those black, bottomless voids that she called eyes. "From him," she said evenly, but she wasn't quite able to hide the sardonic smirk that started to cover her lips. "Joint-locked it and took it from him." It hadn't been that easy, of course, but Gloom had been a professional in a job that was still considered a man's world, and it was easy to don a shield of cocky indifference and let people think it had been exactly that easy. "So, just for giggles, what'd the news say happened to the 'old one'?"

[IndyPendant]

Sharatur smiled a little ruefully as her attempt at humour fell flat. Figuring they were interrupting something, she turned to Necronaut instead, walking upstairs. "Okay, I'm going to wash up and relax a bit. Let's meet tomorrow morning and we'll head out to the Canyon, sound good?" She grinned, looking delighted that Necronaut seemed interested in the Canyon. "And yeah, you could say I know just a bit about the place. I've even flown over it a few times--but not the way you and I will! I'll show you all around the place." Then her expression clouded a little. "We should probably visit the Museum first. Make sure everything's okay there."

[Charlotte]

"He upgraded." Stephen coughed. "They said he upgraded. You fought Spartan and lived? How did you - "

"I can see we have a lot to unlearn," Marianne said. "Thomas, is there a house or some place we can settle in? We have had a... a very long day."

[Thomas Froit]

"Yeah," Glitch said to his parents. "I got a place fixed up... come on." Leading his parents through the town to the converted domicile with the garage changed into a makeshift workshop, he brought them in. "To be honest, we killed Spartan. On the other hand, it was seven on one, and we had reason to believe he was going to come back somehow... which he has. We'll have to figure it out and fix that. Meanwhile, I'll point out the spare rooms and you two can pick the one you like."

[z-Gloom]

"No other hand about it," Gloom grunted. "He died. Victory for the good guys. I just wish he'd fuckin' stayed that way." She caressed the gun again, lost in thought. An upgrade didn't sound good. Don't worry, Baby, she thought to the gun strapped to her hip. I'll still love you best. But I'm going to take that one from him too. Just don't be jealous. Grinning at her own silliness, she asked, "So any mention of what this upgrade netted him?"

[Necronaut]

Norman nodded at Sharatur. "We might want to go incognito. If the Order suspects anything your co-workers might not be in danger until we show up."

It had started as an off hand thought. By the time he was finished saying it he had nearly convinced himself The Order would be lying in wait upon their arrival.

[Charlotte]

"They just said it was a better gun." Stephen shrugged. "Maybe they lied about that too."

* * *

The day turned to night, and to another day. Sharatur and Norman prepared for their trip. Thomas helped his parents settle in. Jasmine had resumed digging through the technological stores of the Goldsmith's Vault, while Eiko in turn was researching any possible magical knowledge hidden there.

Matthew and Blackjack met under an open invitation that anyone could join, to finalize plans for several structures and features they were to add to the town...

This will probably be the last day of downtime before the next leg of the game, so use it wisely.

[IndyPendant]

The next day, Sharatur showed up in a light t-shirt and jeans, her hair pulled back into a simple ponytail, wearing sunglasses. "Not sure if this is what you meant by incognito." She said when Necronaut arrived, putting her hat on and letting a camera dangle from her wrist. "But I figure playing tourist will work. You ready to go?"

[Thomas Froit]

Glitch had every intention of helping with the meeting, and so was there, with his parents coming along for the purposes of helping out, even if they weren't sure what they could do yet. In all likelihood, Glitch planned on getting them to the Vault and seeing if he could get them back into the engineer days.

[Necronaut]

Norman stood in the doorway wearing khaki cargo shorts and an eye-blistering Hawaiian shirt, both of which were too large for his wiry frame. With his spectral gas mask still in place he gave the impression that he was planning to take an apocalyptic vacation. "You look good! I had to borrow some, er, 'civies' from The Thortons down the street. Mrs Thorton is washing my coat while we're gone." He let his final statement hang, somewhere between idle chat and an important update. "Oh..."

He peeled away his mask. The bulk of it shimmered and evaporated, leaving only the cracked lenses held together by a few strands of decaying rubber. Underneath Norman was not looking very healthy. His skin was pale and waxy, his features sunken. But then, he rarely took his mask off... maybe he had always looked that way.

"Let's rock!" He grinned. "Get it? Because... geology... and... yeah."

[Charlotte]

"Thank you all for coming," said Jack, to those assembled. "You probably all know this, but in case you don't - the knowledge of the Goldsmith's Vault has proven invaluable, and Jasmine Gold has extracted quite a bit of useful technology - and useful arcana, but you'd have to ask Larissa about that." He waved towards Matthew.

Matthew took the hint. "So we need to protect the town, that much is obvious. We've already got a cloak of sorts in place, to ward off the Order's satellites - everyone knows not to throw out anything beyond the town borders unless they absolutely must. Now we need to - "

"Ah, did he just say 'magic?' Should we even be here?" Stephen turned to Glitch. "This is all over my head, son."

* * *

Hex was quite willing to help Sharatur and Norman on their merry way, and before long they were standing in a familiar place (to her) - Grand Canyon Village, after dark.

She'd never quite noticed all the security cameras before - but at least it wasnt' far to walk. Half a block to the museum, and it was a quiet night.

[z-Gloom]

Gloom had been thinking much the same thing about Glitch and his parents, but for now she was silent. Thus far, neither parents nor son had done anything to set off her copdar. "Matt, it's clear you have a thought about what we need," she rasped instead, trying to get the meeting back on track. "How about we cover that?"

[Thomas Froit]

"Relax." Glitch told his father without even moving his head. "The tech stuff you'll get, or will soon given enough time. It's amazing what the Goldsmith's done..."

[Charlotte]

"Right, yes. I'm hearing a few grumblings about our, er..." He coughed. "Plumping situation."

Blackjack barked out a sharp laugh. Matt ignored it. "While the outhouses are... ah, functional, in this heat there is a smell factor, and - we're just kind of wondering what's involved in getting functional sewage treatment back online, if it's at all possible...?"

"Oh, surely, son." Blackjack's grin never faded. "We'll have Hex rig up portals in every water closet that link to the Dimension of Shit or whatever there is, all so you don't have to breath through your mouth for three minutes twice a day."

"Hey, I'm just relaying complaints," replied Matthew. "It's not like we have anywhere to go - "

"The Order catches us out here and where you shit will be the least of your concerns - "

"I know that, pops, it's not like I wasn't aware I was stuck as a statue for the last eight fricking years - "

Blackjack and Matthew's voices grew in volume as the argument progressed.

[Thomas Froit]

Glitch rubbed his eyes with annoyance at the argument over a relatively petty thing- Jack was right, but he didn't need to get so wound up over this. He got up and walked over with a voice of an umpire who had enough from two baseball coaches or even parents. "Do you boys need a timeout in the D-Pocket with no sensory input for an hour? Can we move on to any major concerns from everyone?"

[Necronaut]

Norman looked at Sharatur with a half-smile. "Oh right. Time zones. I guess we won't be seeing much of the canyon for a few hours..."

[Bodhie Armstrong]

Bodhie knew these kinds of arguments. When family was involved rational thoughts had the habit of leaving straight through the window and come back some time later that day to apologize... if you still loved each other that is.

She tried hard not to intervene and hoped Jack would somehow find the right words to de-escalate the argument. The huge woman found herself edging somewhat closer to Jack, just to give him some physical support which in her case was not to be underestimated.

At least this argument brought her out of her own reverie. She was dwelling too much on her own past and the options she now had. Going back seemed too soon but when would be the right time? When would they find enough peace of mind to not have the Order constantly chasing their trail?

[Radiance]

Hikari had been watching as well, content to be silent in matters that largely didn't concern her. She hadn't strayed to far from Jack, providing him support in the same way as Bodhie. To her there were other concerns that mattered more, but it was best to let them settle this before moving on to them.

[Charlotte]

"Do you boys need a timeout in the D-Pocket with no sensory input for an hour? Can we move on to any major concerns from everyone?"

"I'm fine," Matthew said, his voice a little smaller. "Just fine. Look, yeah, let's move on."

"Hex, Glitch," asked Blackjack. "You two know more about what we've put in place than anyone. How self-sufficient are we? How strong is the means of cloaking the town, and what's going to pierce it? If they fly a drone over here will they pick us up?"

[SalmonMax]

Hex blinked, startled to be back at the receiving side again, then cleared her throat.

"The illusion will work on anything overhead. Even birds can get confused if they fly too high now. It masks all sight, which by my reading would include things like infrared which is just another kind of sight. As to what would pierce it...well, it doesn't stop sound, but you'd have to be very noisy for that to matter. It doesn't stop radio waves, but that's Glitch's department. I guess if they used some kind of radar mapping, they might see any new structures, but I don't think even radar mapping is fine enough detailed to give them anything conclusive. It measures landscape features. Mountains and valleys."

She frowned, thinking. "The easiest way for them to find us would be to actually send someone here. A helicopter could fly low enough to get under the umbrella. They could also see individual people who stray outside the town lines. Beyond that, the biggest threat is either that they have access to equipment or senses that I've never heard of and couldn't ward against, or that they have some kind of magic detector that can 'see' the glamour. It's a big spell. Big and powerful. If they can sense magic, all they'd have to do is get reasonably close to feel it."

[Thomas Froit]

Glitch stepped back, and let Hex talk. Once she was done, he ran over her words in his head, and found nothing wrong with that summation. "If that covers technological sights, then yes... most of that stuff is covered. Radar isn't that powerful, but just in case, I set up some systems that jam by mimicking the kind of signal noise produced by natural background thermal radiation. That way no one has reason to attribute their lack of observation to anything but the heat. I've got similar stuff made for the off-chance of chemical or biological sensors... lots of free time. Let's hope no watchers get too close to figure things out, that's our Achilles Heel."

[IndyPendant]

After some moments, Sharatur settled for a disappointed "...yeah. Sorry about that. Well, we can still take a look around, wait until morning. Again." Her mercurial smile came through again. "There are places around here that are amazing by starlight! Come on, may as well kill some time."

Jade will show Necronaut around for a while, returning when morning comes and the place opens.

[Charlotte]

"That's security, then. How self-sufficient are we?" asked Matt. "Can we grow all our own food and use the condensers to get all our own water yet, or do we still need to make runs?"

"Something else I wanted to bring up." Blackjack twisted his hands around his cane. "When it was just me, hell, I wanted them to come. I'd have buried this cane in a Knight eye socket, no offense, Gloom. Even with the group of us, we could repel invaders. BUt with all these people... tell me. Do we have an evacuation plan in place, should it come to that?"

* * *

Jade and Necronaut had little difficulty seeing sights while they waited for the museum to open. There was a lot to take in, and not enough time, sadly.

When it came time for the museum to open, the two of them approached it again. They waited, and their patience paid off - because there were Francis and Terry, who Sharatur recognized and Norman didn't.

The two of them didn't see the two superheroes from where the latter were hiding, and they went down the walk talking to each other, turning up the steps to open the museum.

[z-Gloom]

"I doubt we have one at this time," Gloom said softly, her voice rasping softly. "So let's make one. We've had to create everything else. Honestly, once again, we need to rely on Hex. When they come in, they'll block air and land escapes. They'll plan for them. Problem is," she continued, clearly musing, "that if we use magic to send people to somewhere safe... so where's safe? We don't have another hiding place to flee to. Maybe we stay and fight instead of running, especially if we don't have anywhere to run."