Aberrant: The Infinity Hour - Chapter One: Down the Rabbit Hole

[Titan]

At the top of the steps, a flight attendant appeared, whom Jill had met before but whose name escaped her. The young German smiled and gestured for Jill to enter the aircraft. She awkwardly crouched and ducked to fit into the hatch, and worried again that she would be miserable. Once inside, however, the huge Novus was gratified to find that the ceiling was a few inches above her head. In the rear of the pleasantly appointed compartment, an extra large, plush captain's chair had been installed, and Jill allowed the rest of her worries about the flight to dissipate. August's hospitality was exceeded only by his forethought.

While she waited for her compatriots, the attendant offered her refreshments, and offered to show her how to play a movie on a small screen near her seat. Jill checked her watch. She was well within the hour, but she wondered what was keeping the others.

[Thomas Froit]

Figuring out what to take required only enough time to step out of the room as people broke up to pack. It took Thomas a while to dig through his assorted gear and room, though, to actually get it from the mess. Warm clothing, a notebook with fresh paper and both a trio of pencils and pens.

He made sure his bracer was set, and he also made sure to bring along a special iron, yet leather bounded device he'd made, specialized for affecting magnetic fields, charging, repulsing and controlling plenty of metal objects as long as he focused it with his energy. In the event of landing in the very ancient world and unable to not interact with the locals - well copper and meteoric iron had started in use around that time, hadn't it? Self-defense and ways to deter combat.

He bounded onto the plane ramp, spring in his step. What a jaunt this would be.

OOC

Titan permitted the bringing of Gadgets, so I have the stats for the Magnetic Manipulator on his sheet.

[Iron Rose]

Rianna Eschewed communicating with Liz, though she was slightly worried that it might already be too late. Still the NDA was the NDA, and once she'd packed a small overnight bag, she boarded the plane, clad in a simple Teeshirt and Jeans ensemble. "Sorry, figured packing a small bag, just in case, might come in handy."

She waited for Thomas to get inside, and smiled. "What a start.."

[Titan]

Once all the Novus were aboard, the flight crew closed the door and ensured that every Novus had their seatbelt fastened. The pilot goosed the jet down the runway and physics did the rest. They were airborne.

During the three hour flight, two Novus read books. Two watched 'Seven Years in Tibet'. One lucky Novus was able to catch a nap. All of them fretted about the rift. Could they change time? How necessary was this trip, anyway? Did trusting August really entail risking 11,000 years of human history?

Rianna: "You're doing what again? Listen up, sis, NDA be damned. Telling you is the same as telling me, and if this August guy's lawyers think they can sue you for what you think, then he's going to have a tough time of it. You've got it lucky, though. In the last two weeks I've given probably seven pints of blood. I get a CAT scan every morning, and language lessons all afternoon. Yep, that's right, hon. The geniuses at Aeon have decided that I'm perfect for their Utopia project. Keep that hush, though, it's still TBA. How in Dog's name they decided I was diplomatic material is beyond me. I'd rather be working with the Team UNITED guys, but what I do isn't really practical "in the field". Or so they tell me. What you are doing sounds even more fun, though! Gotta break contact, Herr Commandant Dayes wants a debrief on how I think my training is going. Gawd! Love you!"

Rianna snorted. While 'United Nations Intervention Team - Emergency Deployment' sounded good and made a convenient acronym, what they sounded like they were trying to be was the Justice League of Earth. Ria wished them luck, but Liz was certainly not the 'Superhero' type, even if her abilities were up to the task.

Everyone: When the plane landed at the Aeropuerto de Ibiza, the Novus disembarked with no fanfare. A pair of SUVs sat on the tarmac. As the drivers loaded what little baggage the Novus had brought, a massive Oriental man in an expensive suit stepped forward and bowed deeply at the waist, his hands clasped together.

"I am Jin," he said in impeccable English, "Welcome to Spain, to Ibiza, and to my master's hospitality. Please, if there is any need you have, let me know. Come, let us get out of this heat."

The day is indeed abominably hot, for early May, and the air conditioned car was a relief to some of the less adaptable Novus.

Jin sat in the front of one of the SUVs with the driver, and was thus unavailable for questions during the short drive from the airport, through the frenetic streets of this millionaire's party town, to the gates of a beautiful Spanish villa. The gate opened with a word from Jin into a speaker, and the SUVs moved forward.

Suddenly, both cars were rocked by an explosion! The back part of the villa erupted into flames, and every window of the house shattered. Jin leaped from the car, and ran towards the front door.

[Jillian Johnson]

Jill jumped off the car and ran towards the building as fast as she could hoping that her companions would be right behind her. She had no idea what was going on and hoped this was 'only' an accident.

“Jin? Are we expecting any trouble?”, she yelled as she quickly covered ground with strong strides from her large and muscular legs. As she got closer to the building she tried to make out any life signs or possible boogeymen who might be responsible for the explosion...

Perception check

[Joani] 1:54 pm: gonna roll Perception for one of my PCs

Joani *rolls* 2d10: 1+1: 2

[Joani] 1:54 pm: hmm...

[Joani] 1:54 pm: botch!

[Iron Rose]

Rianna sighed. It was a dangerous game Liz played at, as they'd invariably want a contract from her. Something she'd been advised by their parents to avoid. They were rightly very leery of Utopia.

Thoughts on the matter were interrupted by landing, meeting Jin and then explosively by the erruption of the Spanish Villa. She looked at the others as she climbed out. "Um, this is not exactly the way to start a mission."

Therw was an odd sound and they found she was now made of metal, though still clad in her normal clothes, her bag in the SUV still. She began looking around to observe the scene, tying to get a better picture.

[Long6] 1:28 pm: perception check

Long6 *rolls* 9d10: 9+7+1+7+9+10+1+5+9: 58

Long6 *rolls* 1d10: 10: 10

Long6 *rolls* 1d10: 1: 1

7 successes

[SalmonMax]

The sound of the explosion was immediately compounded by the sound of Keiko shrieking in startlement and terror. She immediately curled into a little ball on the seat, trying to present as small a target as possible. When people actually started to get out she looked at them in disbelief and said, "What are you DOING? We have to get out of here! What if there's more bombs?!"

[Thomas Froit]

Thomas went pale when the explosion rattled everything - but both Jin and Jill had run out. "Keiko, I don't think Jin heard you!" Instinctively trusting the muscular woman could resist another bomb, he got out and fiddled with his bracer.

A field of humming translucently golden energy surrounded him, and he moved after the other two, but more cautious as he looked out. "Jin! Jin, get back here!"

OOC

Awareness roll (Observant quality)

Jeremy *rolls* 6d10: 3+7+4+7+1+10: 32

Jeremy *rolls* 1d10: 5: 5

3 sux

Shapeshift roll with Bracer

Jeremy *rolls* 7d10: 9+2+5+5+4+4+1: 30

1 sux

Applying that to 1 dot of Force Field effect.

Rolling for that to activate:

Jeremy *rolls* 3d10: 7+7+10: 24

Wow, 3 sux.

Soak gets +9/9.

Soak: 11B/10L

HL: Full

QP: 21/26

[Karren Gaunt]

Eeep. Andrea had been rudely jarred from her introspective melancholy by the blast and sat there with her heart pounding long enough for most of the others to get out and towards danger. All but Keiko. The fledgling Idol turned a smile on the older woman, faking a confidence she didn't quite feel.

"Guess we're up earlier than we expected. Catch up when you're ready, Miss Keiko," she offered with a dry little chuckle before 'diving' through the floor of the SUV and into the ground, still dressed in her sundress and trusting her duffle full of warmer things to be safe here. It still felt acutely weird to be doing this, treating, well, everything, as if it was a San Francisco fog except when she wanted it to be, a feeling like static across her skin as she 'swam' towards the source of the blast, periodically coming up for air and bearings as stealthly as she could manage.

She would be brave. She would. It's not like they could touch her, right? Nothing else had while she was like this.

[envoy] 11:08 am: heh. witnesses for my own rolls, then?

[Jordan] 11:08 am: Go ahead Envoy!

[Kamiko] 11:08 am: you have me.

[envoy] 11:08 am: Popping up Density Decrease.

[envoy] 11:09 am: rolling perception plus awareness to try and determine where the blast came from...

envoy *rolls* 9d10: 10+9+8+6+10+2+5+6+7: 63

[envoy] 11:09 am: five successes?

[Jordan] 11:10 am: 5 Successes!

[envoy] 11:12 am: rollign dex plus stealth to get closer to said blast without being spotted...

envoy *rolls* 9d10: 7+5+1+7+4+1+6+5+10: 46

[envoy] 11:12 am: Three. thats' dead average, me thinks.

[Jordan] 11:13 am: I see 3 Successes

HLs: full, Quantum 24/26, Willpower 5/5

[Titan]

Jin ran for the door, ignoring Jill's question. His powerful frame moved quickly, and she was still a stride or two behind him when he reached the door. He wrestled with the doorknob, yanking on the door, bent in its frame. The towering Novus stopped a few steps away, looking this way and that for any sign, but seeing nothing.

Rianna stepped up next to Jill, the afternoon sun glinting off her shoulder. Pupil-less metal orbs gazed this way and that. She saw that a column of smoke was coming from behind the house. "Back of the building," she muttered.

Thomas nodded. "The patio, unless I miss my guess," he agreed. A grayed out shimmer surrounded him, small white flecks flowing through the field, so that he looked grainy, like an old newsreel, but he was quite visible. The field flowed from the bracer on his arm, a golden disk having fanned out just below the elbow. He pointed up at a deck umbrella, charred but still mostly intact, floating down from the sky some distance away.

Jin continued to struggle with the door, but it was stuck fast.

***

Andrea came up for air in the living room, and had a quick look around, only her chin up above ground. The second floor had partially collapsed in here. It slanted down from the front of the house to the rear. Back wall's been blown away, she thought, it came from behind. She took a deep breath.

***

Jin finally pulled the door free of the frame. Without a word, he rushed inside, ignoring the protests from the Novus. They started forward.

***

KTCHA-

Andrea jerked her head underground.

BOOOOM!

***

Jin flew backwards through the doorway, as the concussive force blew through the remaining supports of the house. More debris blew through the windows and wall as Jin slammed into Jill's chest. The kinetic blast wave smashed into the three Novus, shredding clothes a bit on the two woman, and knocking them all stumbling back.

Keiko shrieked as the windows exploded in the SUV. She covered her head with her hands, crouching half on the seat, half on the floor. When the vehicle stopped rocking, she slowly unlinked her fingers and sat up. The rumbling echo of the blast could still be heard rolling away. Squares of shattered glass fell from her hair and shoulders as she looked around.

Jill and Thomas and Rianna seemed unharmed. Jill held up Jin, whose nose and ears were streaming blood, but incredibly seemed to be hanging on to consciousness.

***

Andrea started to come up for air. The muted blast had still been deafening, but it seemed over, and she felt like her heart was beating out of her chest. She began to 'swim' up through the blackness, when her head burst into light and air.

She was in a large blackened crater. It had been carved into the side of a rolling hill. The bottom of the crater was below her, and water was running into the bottom from a ruined pool at the opposite edge. She looked up. She was still almost eight feet underground. Or, under ground that had most likely been there only seconds ago.

[Jillian Johnson]

The huge giantess turned around and knelt down holding Jin as gentle as she could. She could sense his life… force? as she held him trying to protect and shield him with her large body. She focused on the Novus trying to get an impression of how badly wounded he was while she wished she could do more than just hold him. A blue light engulfed her and then spread from her body to Jin’s covering him briefly in the bluish glowing light which seemed to be absorbed by him. Some of his wounds closed and the bleeding slowed down a little and Jill smiled a bit relieved that he was stabilizing – she could actually feel it.

“I’ve got you Jin… don’t wory, I’ve got you.”

Actions and Rolls

QP 30/29

Using Healing on Jin spending 1 QP – I’m assuming he has lethal damage and that’s what Jill is trying to heal. If he has only bashing damage, then I spent 2 QP to heal 2 HL of Bashing.

[Karren Gaunt]

Andrea didn't want to go up there.

She *really* didn't want to go up there.

But if something was flinging explosions around up there, possibly *at* someone, while she lurked down here... Someone could get hurt or a fight could breakout when the others got back here... She couldn't live with herself especially knowing she could have tried something. The fledgling Idol took a deep breath and called up out of the hole, pushing more of herself into her voice in the hope of making what she was saying stick. "If whoever's making things explode would kindly stop doing it, I'd really apreciate that. I'm sure we can work out whatever the problem is without anyone having to get hurt."

Andrea 'pulled' herself out of the dirt and stood there quite untarnished and water pooling through her insubstancial feet as she waited for an answer. Or failing that, a chance to steady her nerves enough to climb all the way out of the hole.

Density Decrease still up. Adding Persuader to the mix. HLs: full, QP: 23/26, WP: 5/5

[Iron Rose]

Rianna scowled. This was not how one started a job. "Alright, does anyone have anything pertinent to finding the attackers that won't potentially get them killed?" She could take to the air, but skylining like that made her an all to tempting target, and she didn't want to see if she was bulletproof yet.

[SalmonMax]

"We should get out of here now," Keiko babbles. "We should definitely get out of here now. Someplace where people aren't blowing everything up. Why is everyone going outside when there's BOMBS outside?!"

[Titan]

Novus scanning the sky and surroundings see nothing. The debris has settled, and all seems still. In the far distance, there are the wee-ooop - wee-ooop sirens of approaching emergency units.

Jill and Thomas look at Jin closely. They are startled when his eyes fly open and he lunges forward. Jill restrains him, but just barely in time to keep him from running back to the house.

"Hana! Hana!" He is frantic, struggling against Jill's grip.

There is a loud keening crunch sound, and Rianna leaps backwards as what remains of the second floor collapses into the first.

***

Andrea looked around the ruined hillside behind what was left of the villa. Her plea echoed in the crater and against the collapsed walls. She strained her senses in anticipation of an incoming attack. A sound, to her right. She turned.

A stone pillar, overturned but outside of the blast radius. The sound was muffled, but...

"Mmmph! ThooAtchi...Fayaal! Tyoo...Sipseyo! Mmph..."

***

Keiko peeked over the side of the door at the collapsed villa, shaking her head in disbelief. Behind her, she heard murmurs. She turned, incredulous, to find a group of people gathering at the gate, chattering to each other like they were at a particularly gruesome exhibit at the museum.

What is wrong with you people? she couldn't help but wonder.

[Karren Gaunt]

Andrea remembered reading about soldiers in World War One who had to go up and over the trenches into certain death on the shriek of a whistle, and wondering how they could do that. That kind of suicidal courage... The situation was probably nowhere near that bad, at least she hoped it was, but the image still struck her as the house collapsed behind her.

Nothing for it. There was someone up there, and she was good at talking to people. Right? Of course. She could do this. Even if she had no idea what the person was saying.

The fledgling Idol dove into the side of the crater and swam up to the surface where she could see and be seen by whoever was speaking, hands clearly visible at her sides, a disarming expression on her face, her hope for a peaceful resolution in her eyes even as she looked around for clues to whatever was behind the blasts. Project harmlessness. Spread serenity. Everyone getting to win. That was the goal here.

[envoy] 9:29 pm: okay, time to roll perception as andrea swims up to see what the hell's going on.

envoy *rolls* 9d10: 3+5+5+8+4+8+6+1+9: 49

[envoy] 9:30 pm: three successes?

[Long6] 9:30 pm: ya

[envoy] 9:30 pm: yay averages.

Density Decrease still up, HLs: full, QP: 23/26, WP: 5/5

[Jillian Johnson]

"We should get out of here now," Keiko babbles. "We should definitely get out of here now. Someplace where people aren't blowing everything up. Why is everyone going outside when there's BOMBS outside?!"

“But there might be people who need our help, Keiko!”, Jill shouted back not knowing what to do. She felt confident enough to go to the ruins and search for any survivors butif Keiko was right and another bomb blew up...? Would she be able to withstand the blast?

Feeling invulnerable didn’t necesarrily mean you were... but just standing there and watch felt wrong, too. Why had she become Novus in the first place if she remained passive?

Jill walked back to the car and put Jin down imploring him to stay. “You’re hurt, Jin – let me look for Hana and any other survivors. I think I can take a blast from another bomb – or at least we’ll know if I can...”, the huge woman reached with one hand under the car searching for its steelframe and smiled when she sensed the metal in her fingers.

She briefly closed her eyes and focused on the power that flowed through her as quantum rearranged her DNA to assimilate the properties of the metal she touched. Jill’s already impressive frame got larger and larger as she absorbed matter and fueled her frame with even more power.

Keiko could see how Jill “hulked out” to easily over 10 feet in size gaining size and mass which defied logic and then her body turned into a deep steel like blue as she transformed into living steel.

Her weight had increased considerably which Keiko could feel as Jill got up and turned around to dash back towards the ruins. Each step causing a mini earthquake as she moved her massive body leaving deep foot marks in the ground.

Rolls and Stat adjustments

QP 30/24

SOAK: 16 B / 11 L and 6 EXTRA Bruised HL.

Activating Matter Chameleon which is linked to Growth – spending 5 QP

Current Soak:

[Asarasa] 4:06 pm: Stamina (5B/2L) + Mega Stamina 2 [+1 from Growth] (+4B/+2L, including Resiliency), Armor (+3B/+3L), Density Increase (+2B/+2L) = 14B/9L

[Joani] 4:12 pm: ah, I get to roll Quantum

[Asarasa] 4:13 pm: 14B/9L

[Joani] 4:13 pm: then it's 5 dice - here we go

[Asarasa] 4:13 pm: Made a mistake

Joani *rolls* 5d10e7: 4,10,6,8,6. Successes = 2

that makes a total of 16B and 11 L and 6 Extra Health Levels Bruised

Activation Roll:

[Joani] 6:56 pm: rolling for Jill in ItB - Matter Chameleon first dice is Mega.

[salmonMax] 6:56 pm: A +1 cold iron weapon is at least 3 or 4 thou

Joani *rolls* 10d10e7: 9,8,2,5,8,9,3,10,8,6. Successes = 6 + 2 for Mega totals 8

Stat Allocation:

[envoy] 7:04 pm: plus two str and +2/+2 soak. no stamina boost.

[envoy] 7:05 pm: we're also limited to the natural strength of steel.

[envoy] 7:05 pm: whatever that is.

[Joani] 7:05 pm: ok - then I need to boost Stamina

[envoy] 7:06 pm: found it, steel has a soak of six and ten HLs/cubic meter.

[Joani] 7:07 pm: So Density Increase 2 dots - then I'm maxed Strength

[Joani] 7:07 pm: I take armor 2 dots to get the six Soak

[Joani] 7:07 pm: and the last dots could go into Extra HL?

[envoy] 7:07 pm: one dot armor, you're getting two soak from increase.

[Joani] 7:08 pm: ah, ok - then one dot Armor

[Joani] 7:08 pm: 2 Density Increase, 1 dot Armor and 5x Extra Health Levels - does that

sound reasonable?

[envoy] 7:09 pm: sounds good to me.

[Joani] 7:09 pm: yay - I put that in a PMfor Titan - he can veto it if needed

[Iron Rose]

Rianna took to the skies to look around, knowing they wouldn't have long now. "We do need to get out of here. Jin, where is our objective?"

[Titan]

Jin gripped the side of the car in his hands, wrenching it from side to side, trying to tear the car apart with his human strength, his face a mask of despair. Hair hanging in his red and sweating face, he bared his teeth and screamed in rage. He did not run towards the house again, but began to beat the side of the car with his fists.

From the sky, Rianna could see the devastation of the villa. Behind the house, two concentric craters overlapped one another almost exactly. Further down the hill, a dozen or so bodies were sprawled all across the lawn. No aircraft of any kind, however Rianna could see police vehicles approaching quickly on the streets behind the villa.

Andrea came up next to the stone pillar and saw a young Asian woman writhing on the ground. She was several months pregnant, and the chest of her dress was wet with blood. Andrea couldn't see what had caused it, but there was very clearly a bullet hole in the woman's thigh, also streaming blood.

[Iron Rose]

"Okay, we've got police inbound, and a half dozen bodies on the lawn, with no signs of aircraft." She frowned this was going to look very bad. "We need to make a decision here, now."

[SalmonMax]

Keiko gingerly opened the car door, trying not to touch broken glass on the seat or floor as she did. She gripped her camera tightly in her other hand.

She was still afraid, but...she was a reporter too. This could all be made to disappear. She couldn't let that happen.

With effort, Keiko pushed the panic back, and took a step towards the remains of the house. The step stretched, the world around her slowed and dimmed into a surreal red parody of itself. With a little practice, she could slow down to a normal point, snap a shot, and immediately speed up again. She was fairly sure that she could get away from an explosion if she was accelerated. Fairly.

But she hurried anyway, documenting the blast. The victims. Everything she could. She couldn't save them, but she could make sure they didn't just vanish down an investigative black hole. This wouldn't go unanswered!

[Karren Gaunt]

Even if she had been in a position to hear her new employer's shout, Andrea had eyes for only one thing soon as it appeared safe: the wounded woman. She took a deep breath and dropped fully back into synch with the world as she closed the distance. The woman continued to writhe, too absorbed in her own pain to give Andrea much mind. "It's going to be okay. Be still and I will help you," the fledgling Idol instructed as she knelt and rested one hand on her improptu patient's shoulder, finally getting her attention.

The woman stared up at her with a pain hitch of breath and renewed babbling now interspersed with repetitions of Jin's name. So she knew him?

"Be still. I will help you," Andrea repeated for emphasis, in French, *and* Japanese in the hope they shared at least one of those languages, drawing on a deeper reservoir of calm as she reinforced the words with a matching look and touch, hands coming up sticky with blood. The woman stilled enough for Andrea to get a quick examination. While larger than most of the patients she was in training to treat, it was obvious enough was looked wrong, bullet holes in her leg and chest, lots of blood loss.

Oh, god. Lots and lots of blood loss.

She took a deep breath and started binding the worst of the wounds with strips of cloth and crude compresses to hold in what blood was left and generally stealing the woman minutes of life from the death coming for her. Hopefully even long enough for better help to come along.

envoy] Dropping Density Decrease

5:44 pm: rolling charm+command, last two mega.

envoy *rolls* 10d10: 8+9+9+5+6+10+6+3+8+3: 67

[envoy] 5:51 pm: perception+awareness.

envoy *rolls* 9d10: 10+8+3+7+4+7+9+2+8: 58

[envoy] 5:57 pm: medicine+int and burning will for an automatic success.

envoy *rolls* 5d10: 9+4+4+5+3: 25

HLs: full, QP: 23/26, WP: 4/5

[Jillian Johnson]

It didn’t take long for Jill to catch up to the site and make a quick assessment. Everything went so fast and she had trouble deciding what to do first and... There’s Andrea!

She was glad to locate the exceptionally beautiful woman but she could also see that she was trying to help someone... and was that blood she saw?

“Andrea!”, Jill shouted not quiet where the blood came from but a quick nod of Andrea suggested that she was fine and the woman needed help.

Jill dropped to her knees with a heavy thud and carefully reached out to the young asian mother.

“Here... let me try to help you.”, she said as her body was starting to glow with a bluish light which flowed through her limbs, down her arms and then reached over to engulf the young woman. Jill hoped that this would stop the bleeding and with some luck stabilize the woman until professional help arrived.

Actions

Quantum : 30/23

Soak: 16 B 11 L and 6 extra Bruised HL

Applying Heal to the Woman – either 2 Bashing or 1 Lethal – depending on how badly hurt she is.

[Thomas Froit]

Thomas went over to Jin and laid a hand of his shoulder. "Please Jin, stop. She'll be alright, I promise." He sighed, as this seemed a wreck of a situation, no pun intended at all."Compose yourself, we need to keep the police back for a bit, and we'll need your help. Do you know where your boss is?"

He looked up to Rianna and called out, "You too, come down here so we can keep the police busy - Jill, Keiko and Andrea can handle things." Though if there were more people inside..... the field of hazy gray vanished, the wing emitting it folding into the bracer. Thomas toggled it again, and it extruded a rod of metal straight up, from which a monocle folded out.

He took a walk closer to the mansion, viewing the area around overlayed with crackling energy and through walls. If there was anyone or anything else important out in that front area, he'd call the other girls.

OOC

Shapeshifting again, the Force Field is gone.

Jeremy *rolls* 7d10e7: 4,4,6,8,6,4,10. Successes = 2

Ok, using the 2 sux to pick up High-End Electromagnetic Scan and Electromagnetic Vision, activating them, and looking around the joint:

Perception+Awareness (Observant quality):

Jeremy *rolls* 9d10e7: 5,9,8,1,7,3,1,6,9. Successes = 4

Soak: 2B/1L

HL: Full

QP: 16/26 (I miscalculated the expenditure last time, so I think this is the proper amount by now)

[Titan]

The sirens continued to swell as the woman Jill believed was Hana sucked breath in between her teeth. Andrea could see the glow around Jill's hands, she saw the glow sink into Hana's skin. Her eyes darted to the hole in the woman's thigh. Had it shrunk a fraction? Andrea couldn't tell. It had... filled- some anyway, with some foul looking goop that seemed to be trying to make itself a scab. Hana let out her breath in a long sigh. The Asian woman lost consciousness in Jill's arms.

Andrea rocked back on her heels, wiping her forehead with a shaky hand. A motion caught her eye, and she turned her head. Keiko darted here and there, up and down the hill, like a hummingbird.

Keiko knelt over a man with grey in his hair, face down on the lawn. The back of his plaid shirt had five neat holes in it, and he was on his knees, cradling his arms to his chest. She moved him slightly, to reveal his face, and he slumped over onto his side. His wide blue eyes stared at her sightlessly, his mouth open. Dismayed, Keiko snapped a picture of his face. He would be remembered. She turned, then checked herself. The man clutched a leather satchel, slick with blood but for the most part intact, a corner of yellow legal paper peeking out above the zipper.

***

Jin struggled to compose himself. He straightened his suit coat, heaving breaths wracking his huge frame, and ran quick fingers through his hair. He nodded hesitantly, and rubbed his eyes with a massive hand.

"Yes. Yes, I must call the Master. " He took a cell phone shakily out of his coat pocket, started to open it, hesitated, and looked at Froit. "Thank you." He opened the phone, and turned away.

Thomas placed his eye to the monocle. Rianna hovered just above and behind, watching this way and that intently. He scanned the house . Nothing living in that wreck. He sighed slightly. Something caught his eye, and he adjusted the angle of his view. A large underground structure, the walls too dense for his High End scan to pierce completely, but he saw shadows moving within the walls! One..two... Five. There were five people alive in the basement, he was sure of it.

[Karren Gaunt]

"You're going to have to teach me that trick someday, Jill. I think my parents would kill to be able to do that," laughed Andrea in relief at the fact the young mother-to-be wasn't going to die, stareing at her hand and realizing she had just managed to get blood on her forehead.

The fledgling Idol exhaled and rose to her feet, looking up at Jill with a grateful smile, sunlight reflecting off her hair, "Think you can keep an eye on her while I go see if there are a few paramedics in with those sirens? Whoever did this could come back and the police are going to need talking to."

[Iron Rose]

Rianna nodded, Resuming her non metallic form, and preparing for dealing with the the police. "Jin, can the police be trusted to be discreet?" Considering why the group was there, and what else might be seen, well, it seemed to be a good question. "Keiko, are you almost done? We're liable to need help, as it's far more than one incoming officer."

Then she added. "And I do not speak spanish, does anyone else here?"

[Jillian Johnson]

Jill would've flushed beet red at Andrea's comment but thanks to her current Steel-like skin her complexion remained unchanged. Yet her face did give away how flattered she felt by that comment, "I'm not really sure I know what I'm exactly doing here myself - it did heal Jin's wounds and I had no better idea what else to do."

She could've talked to Andrea for hours but the situation demanded a different focus and Jill picked up what Rianna said, too. The huge hulk-like woman nodded at Andrea and picked up the pregnant woman, holding her like an infant in her massive arms. Should another explosion go off, Jill would shield the woman with her body.

"I got her.", she simply stated and waited for further instructions by her team-mates.

[SalmonMax]

Keiko stared at the satchel for what seemed to her to be a long moment before moving, hesitantly, to find some spot she could gingerly take hold of that wouldn't slick her fingers in another human being's blood. Horribly though it was partly pinned under his body, forcing her to push him up a little to yank it out. When it came free she immediately zipped over the yard to Rianna, holding the satchel out for someone else to take and squeaking almost too fast to understand, "ewewewewewewewewewewewewewew..."

[Thomas Froit]

Thomas pulled his eyes back, and started digging around for a cell phone- then he realized that he still didn't have one. I really need to catch up with the times for once. "Rianna? I'll try and delay the police with Jin. Go find and tell the others that five people are alive in the basement and they need help, please?."

[Iron Rose]

Rianna nodded, but Keiko'd already come to her. She took the satchel "Okay calm down a moment" She nodded after a few moments passed. 'Down in the basement, there's five more people.that are still alive, can you go ahead and get down there to help them? I'm going to try and find Jill while I'm at it, Jin and Thomas are going to handle the cops."

She looked at the satchel and nodded. "What's this, something you found on one of the others?"

[Karren Gaunt]

"I got it. The building could fall down more if we put too much pressure on anything, right?" Andrea announced warmly as she wandered in earshot in time to hear Rianna's announcement, the bloodstained fledgling Idol taking a deep breath as she descended into the ground like it had a set of invisible stairs, head disapearing below the ground entirely by the time she reached one of the remaining walls of the estate and began her search for the basement and it's survivors, still radiating friendliness and utter lack of intent to harm. A saved life had done wonders for her confidence so far, nearly glowing with pride in her small part of the rescue amid the horror.

Triggering Density Decrease, First Impression still up.

[envoy] 12:05 pm: okay, awareness+perception in the search for survivors.

envoy *rolls* 9d10: 3+7+6+7+7+3+3+7+6: 49

[envoy] 12:06 pm: 4. better than average.

[Long6] 12:06 pm: witness

HLs: Full, 21/26 QP, 4/5 WP

[SalmonMax]

"The basement?!" Keiko gaped, astonished. But it never occurred to her to question. "I'll go right now!"

Then she was gone.

An instant later she was back.

"Yeah, it was on some guy! I don't know who it was, but...okay, I'm going to check the basement!"

...and gone again.

She ran in the dark, reddish, unnaturally still world. Sounds rumbled in slow motion around her as she made her way down into the crater to look for the basement, a way in. Something where walls and ceilings...or what was left of them...wouldn't collapse on people. She was painfull aware that, while time was slower for her, it was still moving. Still running out, no matter how quickly she tried to keep up.

[Titan]

Rianna had no sooner taken a step, when Jill rounded the corner of the rubble of what had once been an elegant Spanish villa, and Jin's eyes widened until it seemed they would fall out of his head. He ran, still holding the cell phone firmly to his ear, until he was at her side, and peered into the face of the woman Jill carried. He gently touched the side of the woman's neck, and silent tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Yes, Master," he said softly, his voice steady, "I will do it."

His hand moved to her swollen abdomen. He felt for a moment, then moved his hand. He left it there for a moment, then moved it again. Suddenly, his face lit up, and he grinned through his tears.

"As you say, Master. I will tell them. Until then."

Slowly, deliberately, he closed the phone. He took a long breath, let it out slowly, then bowed deeply to Jill.

"Mistress Jillian, I am honored for you to meet my wife, Hana," he said, his voice now full of emotion, "Whatever I can do for you in this life, I will do. There is no thanks I can give that is adequate for what you have done."

He turned to Jin and Rianna, including them.

"The Master says that there are thirty nine minutes until the rift once again opens. When it does, it is imperative that you go through. Now, more than ever, he says. We are to delay the police in whatever way we can until that time, without revealing ourselves. He says he will call someone who may help us, but does not know if she will answer, or if she will agree to help."

***

Keiko examined the edges and sides of the rapidly filling crater. There seemed to be no way into the basement from here. She frowned, and considered. It couldn't be a large underground complex, but if there were an external entrance, it was certainly further away from the house. She looked around. What was here? What was here that someone blew up? The rift? Could it even be blown up? She shook her head, and kept looking.

***

Andrea fished around underground, here and there, until she found herself coming through a wall. She stepped out into a small room, low-lit with emergency lights, the overheads were out. A bank of monitors were against one wall, an abandoned computer chair in the middle of the room. A hallway went left, a door against the right wall. She considered, and then heard low voices drifting down the hallway.

"Está inconsciente." said a woman.

"Sí. No me gusta el aspecto de este. ¿Qué pasa si no podemos salir?" responded a male voice.

"Cierra la boca, el tanto de ti!" A different male voice cut in sharply, "El Conde no nos abandona nunca, y este terrorista obtendrá lo que viene a él muy pronto. No sé por qué ni siquiera se molestan en atender su herida."

***

Keiko hit paydirt at last, she thought. A small outbuilding, locked, was on the far side of the hill from the explosion point. It may be a shed, but it might also have an entrance to the basement, she thought. At this point, anything was possible. She cocked her head. The sirens were getting closer.

[Karren Gaunt]

Andrea fished around underground, here and there, until she found herself coming through a wall. She stepped out into a small room, low-lit with emergency lights, the overheads were out. A bank of monitors were against one wall, an abandoned computer chair in the middle of the room. A hallway went left, a door against the right wall. She considered, and then heard low voices drifting down the hallway.

"Está inconsciente." said a woman.

"Sí. No me gusta el aspecto de este. ¿Qué pasa si no podemos salir?" responded a male voice.

"Cierra la boca, el tanto de ti!" A different male voice cut in sharply, "El Conde no nos abandona nunca, y este terrorista obtendrá lo que viene a él muy pronto. No sé por qué ni siquiera se molestan en atender su herida.

That *sounded* like Spanish. Could be some of of the staff who were supposed to take them through the rift or accompany them. Andrea kept up her intangability and walked towards the voices, hoping that everything she'd heard about European multilingualism was true.

"Parlez-vous français? Je suis là pour vous aider. Mon nom est Andrea Nast," she called ahead, keeping eyes and ears out for the source of the voices, friendliest smile possible on her face.

First Impression still up, no change otherwise and translation 'Do you speak french? I'm here to help. My name is Andrea Nast.'

[Jillian Johnson]

Jill knelt down reaching almost eye-level with Jin while she still held his wife Hana gently in her arms. The huge Novus didn’t know what do say, she wasn’t really good at this and Jin’s emotional breakout increased her own insecurities.

“I... I’m just trying to help.”,s he managed to say and glanced back where sh e last saw Andrea. I hope she’s doing fine...

“I don’t know what else to do? I’m not really good at hiding.” – that was a gross understatement. Currently Jill was a staggering 11 Feet tall and easily several tons heavy mountain of muscles made of industrial strength steel. Hana looked like an infant in her massive arms.

“Do you want me to stay with your wife or...?”, Jin could tell how lost Jill actually felt. She had these incredible powers but now that they were supposed to act and put them to good use Jill didn’t know what to do. There was no real target she could’ve tackled and her healing powers were something she wasn’t really sure how or why it worked.

[Titan]

"Yes, Mistress Jillian. Please, stay with Hana, if you will. Thank you."

Jin kissed his wife quickly on the forehead, and turned, strode to the rear of the black SUV. He pulled a laptop case out of the trunk, scattering broken glass on the driveway. He carried the bag to the hood of the car, unzipping it as he walked. He removed the laptop, dropping the case on the ground, and put it on the hood and opening it in one smooth motion.

The screen flickered, then steadied on. Jin clicked the mouse, pressed a key. Streaming voices came from the speakers.

"Historia Uno está en marcha, lo repito, Historia Uno está en el aire."

"Entendido, Historia Un ... Historia de Dos, que son claras para despegar."

"Todas las unidades, todas las unidades, se informó. Unidad de Pesado irá en primer lugar. Los terroristas están en el lugar, tenga mucho cuidado ... Unidad Cuatro, caer hacia atrás y dejar que la Unidad de Pesado, maldita sea!"

Jin looked gravely at Thomas. "They are launching helicopters, and ground units are coming quickly, ready for terrorists. This...this could be a problem. We are to remain here until the rift opens in...thirty seven minutes."

***

"Qui est-ce! Qui est là?" Who is it! Who's there?

A fiftyish Latino in an expensive suit stepped into the hallway, swinging his gun up to cover Andrea. He continues in French:

"[Where did you come from? The stairs are blocked... or, are they?]" He peered into her face, and lowered the gun slightly. "[Who are you?]" he asked again, his tone less sharp, his gun just away from pointing at the young Idol-to-be.

Before she can speak, a young Latina and a very old black man burst into the hallway behind him.

"Javier! Se está muriendo, se está muriendo!"

[Iron Rose]

Rianna scowled. "That's a long time without revealing ourselves, and even more difficult without killing any of them." She wasn't at all happy at that possibility. Still She looked at the building. "Jin, where does the rift open? Is it in the building? If so, I may be able to get us all into the structure and collapse parts of it that will buy us the time we need until the rift opens."

She was already analyzing the construction that she could see, moving toward it, yet remaining in earshot.

[SalmonMax]

Keiko jogged over to the shed and tried the door; feeling it stubbornly resist her for a moment until whatever power let her move normally in this slowed-down world took hold over it as well. Unfortunately, the door joggled in the jamb without opening. Locked!

She was flummoxed. The power of time at her disposal, and it did nothing to help her get past a simple locked door!

Fortunately, she had a couple of hairpins.

Back in college, Keiko had dated a guy named Carl. A beat cop, fresh out of the academy. Carl's life had been...colorful, before he'd put on the blue uniform, and one of the things he'd showed her how to do, because she'd kept pestering him about it, was how to pop cheap locks with pins. It wouldn't work on good ones, with deadbolts or complicated internal pin arrangements.

But for the kind of lock someone would put on a shed?

Maaaayybe,,,

[salmonMax] 7:20 pm: Keiko lockpicks - roll.

SalmonMax *rolls* 5d10: 7+3+10+3+7: 30

[salmonMax] 7:20 pm: lol...are 7's successes in Aberrant?

[Carver] 7:21 pm: Yes

[salmonMax] 7:21 pm: Hahaha! Lucky!

[salmonMax] 7:21 pm: Thanks.

[Jillian Johnson]

Jill nodded at Jin and remained in her crouched position, her huge frame protectively hunched over the pregnant Hana. "I'm staying with you, Hana - I'll protect you.", she tried to sound reassuringly as she spoke.

Her mind kept wandering back to Andrea, though - She hoped the young woman would be safe, too. She didn't know if she could forgive herself if Andrea got hurt while she was waiting. That thought made her feel bad the moment she formulated it. Hana needed her more than Andrea - she was pregnant and Andrea was a Novus - why was she being so selfish? What was this strange attraction she felt for Andrea? Jill forced herself to focus on Hana and forget about Andrea... for the moment at least.