IC: S1:E3a "Yesterday, legs. Tonight? Corps."

[Dave ST]

"Yesterday, Legs.  Tonight?  Corps."

Ahh, Emerald City.  Jewel of the West Coast.  A place where peace and prosperity are allowed to reign for only a 30% protection fee from your business's overall gross.  This evening we find the ladies of Claremont Academy sans their usual male counterparts.  A girl's night out one could call it... after they've all made the mistake of agreeing to work out with the young martial artist, Qi.

A decision they are all swiftly coming to regret...

Qi stood in the traditional 'air chair' position.  A broom handle lay across her lap horizontally while a second lay across her arms lay another broom handle, and upon this one were two silver, unmarked paint cans, filled with water.  She showed only a moderate sign of fatigue... after seven minutes.  Her breathing was simple and controlled, her eyes open and gazing off into the opposite side of the room as if she saw something  there that no one else did.

The other ladies were trying the same thing (minus the paint cans) with various levels of success...

"Okay," Keiko said calmly, lifting up slightly and the handle rolled off her lap.  "I see why you would do this, but seriously... why would you do this?  It's torture heaped upon misery with a slice of torment on the side."

"Maybe if you quit complaining long enough..." Tatyana replied to her Asian 'friend' in her typical dry, attitude laced voice.  It wasn't her sort of workout, she was more the heat up the punching bag kind of girl, but the monk had some really hurtful training techniques... and if it hurt, it must work, right?  Keiko offered her a stuck out tongue as she blindly searched for her fallen broom handle.

Spellstone levitated the broom handle up into Keiko's hands.  While she was certainly not going for a full seven minutes, she was familiar with the exercise, as her people, some 12,000 years ago to teach the strength and discipline necessary to focus sorcery.  She moved past Tatyana and Keiko and reached for her water bottle as she dabbed away some of the sweat on her forehead with the towel around her neck.  "Are yu not going to participate?" She asked Cosima, who was dressed for a work out but had yet to actually do anything except take a bunch of selfies of herself in her workout outfit.

"Probably not," she was half paying attention to herself and half to addressing Spellstone as she clicked off another selfie.  "With the guys gone, we should totally do something other than work out all night... and we all know if we don't act soon, getting Qi out of the gym will require not only your magic, but Bastion's strength.  I hate to say it, but I think she's an addict, maybe we should have an intervention... with... maybe... chicken alfredo and a scary movie or two?  Oh, the mall!  We should totally mall.  After I shower, of course, I'm all sticky and gross."

Her friends all rolled their eyes, even Qi managed a small break in her meditations to smirk at the corner of her mouth.

Spoiler

Ladies, you are here.

 

[齐刘 - Qí Liú]

Qi sat calmly meditating. At least that is how it looked to her friends. In truth she was wondering truthfully what it was that she brought to this group. Other than her skill and discipline she had no powers and if it was inspiration that she was supposed to provide well this exercise was proving the lie to that. Aside from Spellstone who seems to have done this or exercises like it sometime in her past, Tatiana was the only other who was trying and Qi was fairly sure it wasn't because she was meditating no it was because she was trying to prove herself better.

Hmm, does that bother me? Qi thought when the conversation among her companions turned to other activities. Qi listened and decided that they were correct. With a deft movement of her arms she reached out and over catching both cans of water with our spilling any. The shaft fell but with a gentle twist she caught that in her lap where the other lay undisturbed. She set the cans down and stood taking up the broom handles one each in her hand as she stood all in one fluid motion.

"I have never been to a mall. I think this would be an experience I would like to share."

[Princess]

"You never been to the mall? To any mall?!" Cosima exclaimed in the same tones you would use for saying 'you have cancer?!', her head whipping around from her phone. In her surprise, Cosima's phone fell from her hand, but just before hitting the floor, it reappeared back in her grasp with a shimmer of violet light... where it promptly fell again. Cosima glared at her phone, teleporting back to her hand once more and keeping a hold on it, then turned her glare on Qi. "We wasted our time working out when you've never been to the mall?" She shook her head, perfectly styled rose-gold tresses swaying. "No, no, this won't do. We have to remedy this immediately."

"Working towards a sound and fit body is never time wasted," Qi said, somewhat doubtful in the face of Cosima's shock.

"You didn't even work out!" Keiko commented.

Cosima shot her a furrowed-brow glance, then gestured emphatically at Qi. "That is hardly the point, don't you think? One of us has been cruelly repressed, denied a basic necessity of girlhood, and the opportunity to make it right for her is before us."

Her lips formed a contemplative moue. Where to take Qi for her first time to a mall? Her thoughts went to Rodeo Drive, 5th Avenue, perhaps London, Paris, Milan, or Dubai. None were more than a long step away for her and she could take her friends with her. While she knew Tatiana came from money, and suspected Keiko did too, she wasn't sure about Spellstone, and those would be overwhelming to a mall virgin like Qi. Someplace local then. Cosima preferred Yellow Brick Row, but this wasn't about her, it was about Qi. She smiled at the girls.

"I believe a trip to the Cannery is in order. You'll love it, Qi, all stalls and small shops," the princess assured her, then wrinkled her nose. "After we shower and change, of course. Yoga pants make our backsides look fantastic, but we aren't soccer moms and trophy wives running errands. Oh, after, we should totally go out dancing or clubbing or something! Keep that in mind when you get dressed or bring a change of clothes. I'll call us a car and driver to get us around." She smirked and snapped her fingers with a small flare of fuchsia and magenta light. "Unless you all are for going someplace further afield."

[Tatiana Antonovna Balankova]

"Nyet!" Tats sashays over to Cosima and take her phone out of her hand. "If we are truly making this a girls night out we are going to do it in our own style and on our own" She said while thumbing a number. Then as Cosima was about to object she raised her hand palm open to shut her up and spoke into the phone as it was answered.

"Da, Tatiana, Sergey,  принести грузовик пожалуйста." She listened a second before continuing, "Нет, я сам диск," She laughed, "благодаря" She closed the connection and tossed the phone back to Cosima.

"We will take my truck and no entourage. I will drive. After the mall I know a few places we can go." Tatiana said with a sly smile

Spoiler

Da, Tatiana, Sergey,  принести грузовик пожалуйста." She listened a second before continuing, "Нет, я сам диск," She laughed, "благодаря"  Translated "Yes it's Tatiana. Sergey Please bring the truck."She listened a second before continuing, "No I will drive"She laughed "Thanks"

 

[Deezy Klatta]

"Aww. We have to stop hurting and go have fun? It's like we're not even superheroes or something."

Keiko pushed the stick-thingie off her lap and fell back onto her butt, waiting for the burning ache in her thighs to dissipate. Seemed like it might take a little bit though. She'd considered faking this, but a vague nagging concern that she wasn't ALWAYS going to be able to rely on illusions convinced her to actually do the thing. And now she was going to be hobbling through a mall like she had yardsticks in her legs. Thanks integrity!

"Welp, I'm definitely gonna need a shower first. And bionic knees or something. Gimme fifteen minutes and I'll be good to go."

With effort Keiko got to her feet and shuffled out to her room to rinse off and get some decent clothes on. She'd meet them at the truck in a few!

[Princess]

Cosima gave Tatiana a nonplussed looked, pulled her phone to her chest, as though to comfort it after being fondled as it were by another's hand. She pursed her lips doubtfully at the Russian girl. While Cosima could drive, and she had sat being the wheel of various luxury or high end sports cars, she generally preferred having others drive her... Safety after all, taking selfies while driving wasn't advised - you could get in an accident, and your selfies usually turned out bad.

"If you prefer to drive, Tats, I have no objection." Her amethyst eyes almost glowed with interest when Tatiana mentioned knowing a few places to go after the mall, and Cosima wondered if they were places she frequented. Cosima rolled her eyes at Keiko and held up a hand in a restraining gesture. "Fifteen minutes is barely enough time to take a very quick shower, let alone get ready and dressed for an outing. It's early yet, there's no need to rush. Take thirty minutes, forty-five. See you girls out front."

Cosima gave them a small wave then disappeared with a shimmer of pink of purple light, beating them all to shower. The gorgeous, Danish lingered under the hot water, purging herself of the sweat and exertion she had suffered by proximity. 45 minutes was hardly enough time for most celebrities or royalty - actual or social media - to get ready, but you could save a lot of time when you could teleport into your clothing, or teleport it onto you, and could use telekinesis to give yourself as many hands as you needed to do your hair and make-up.

Right on the forty-fifth minute ticked over, Cosima sauntered outside the dorm building with the click the 4.5 inch heeled pumps that cost more than most people's rent, maneuvering in them as easily as though she were wearing flats. She looked like she had just stepped from a salon, dressed in a striking, gem-toned, deep purple dress that ended short of her knees and flattered her curvaceous figure, dark stockings, and a wide,  gold belt emphasized her narrow waist. Her make-up was flawless and subtle, barely noticeable, and her rose-gold hair was styled in an eye-catching updo. There were gold hoops hanging from her ears and several gold bracelets and bangles on each wrist. A large, pink diamond pendant nestled in her cleavage, and over a forearm hung a handbag that could cover a year or two at an ivy league college.

The glamorous princess turned so the slanting sunlight struck her just so and snapped a few pics, #shopoholics #girlsnight. "Are we all ready, girls?"

[Autumn Evermore / Spellstone]

Autumn watched in a mild bit of confusion at Cosima's to Qi's admission of having never visited a mall, and then Cosimas exchange with Tatiana. She had been to a mall before with her adoptive family (usually just her sister), but it hardly seemed like the event they were making it into.

Clubbing, on the other hand, Autumn had been exposed to by her adoptive sister. There was nothing quite like the experience where she was from, and it always made her feel a bit uncomfortable on the rare occasion she went with her sister to one (mostly due to feeling an obligation to her adoptive family). It was not something she would choose to do, but she understood the value of friends and allies in this new world, and that it would take effort to cultivate such relationships.

Besides. She could always just turn invisible...

Autumn thanked Qi for the trained and summoned a large, glowing ring at her feet that rose up over her body, causing her to vanish and appear in her room.

She picked up her phone and dialed her sister.

"Hello?" Tess, her adoptive sister answered.

"Yes. Hello. I do not wish to imposed, but am afraid I need your help." Autumn replied.

"Help? With what? Is everything okay?" Tess asked with concern.

"Yes. It's just... I have made some friends here, and I need some help composing an suitable 'look' as you say. They wish to go 'clubbing'." Autumn explained.

Autumn held the phone at arms length to minimize the impact of her sister's excited 'squeeee!' on her ears...

 

[Deezy Klatta]

Keiko emerged from her room right on cue, clad in...weatherbeaten blue denim overalls worn over a red and black checkerboard flannel shirt? She had on a wide-brimmed straw hat, the edges of which were starting to fray, and had a long wheatstalk poking out from between herlips. Her workboots were caked in mud...or, probably mud. Hopefully mud.

"Shotgun! Hee hah!" she called happily as she waved and ran over.

As she trotted up to where Tats had parked her Pimp-vee, she did a catwalk turn, posed and snapped a shot of herself...then opened the passenger side front door and slipped right in.

"So, where're we off to today?" Keiko asked in a drawl. "I gots to stop off at Home Depot and buy summa that fertilizer...the good stuff, stinks real good...but after that the sky's the limit. I got a coupon for McDonald's and my Subway card so I can even treat fer lunch."

[Dave ST]

Earth-38...

There must have been a hundred people floating in the space above the massive background of the sapphire oceans and cotton swirls of Earth's clouds.  Creating a blockade were several men and women of various alien species sheathed in a greenish aura in black and green outfits with a strange crest on their chest.  Their opposition were numerous men and woman all of various species in similar attire, sheathed in yellow, also with a strange sigil on their chests.

"You're wasting your time, Jordan!  This sector will be mine!  The Earth will not withstand my might!"  Yelled a thin, but toned purple alien man, who didn't seem to be hindered by the vacuum of space as long as the yellow energy surrounded him.

"Heard it all before Sinestro," A man, obviously this 'Jordan', Sinistro was addressing.  "You practice that same speech in the mirror every morning?"

"Spare me what passes for your wit, you are outmatched!"  The purple man raised his hand and motioned for his troops to attack, but they were still.  From behind them all a ship wavered and decloaked, it's cannons already charging up for a powerful blast aimed that a green barricade.  "Quantum singularity cannons, Jordan.  I didn't come to take over the Earth, I came to destroy it.  I've grown so tired of our endless games..."

"Form up!" Jordan screamed and the soldiers in green all huddled close, held out their hands and a ring forged from a green hued metal glowed with power and a massive shield of energy formed in front of the Earth, just large enough to stop the blasts from that ship, hopefully.

"Bring down that shield!"  Sinistro commanded and his yellow troops al extended their arms and blasted beams of pure yellow energy out from rings similar to the ones the green guys were wearing.  The shield held, but the more power the enemy pushed with, the more strain the green shield bearers exerted to keep it up.

With an explosion of the sound of the quantum singularity cannons pierced the battlescape with the shockwave that staggered everyone but those bracing for the impact.  The purplish-black orbs of pure quantum energy raced towards the shield of green and slammed against it with the power of the meteor that obliterated the dinosaurs.  Energy crackled and blinded everyone on all sides.  The power of Will, mingled with the power of Fear combined with the energy generated by a quantum singularity created a chain reaction and an explosion that sent everyone flying in all directions... but the shield held.  The Earth was safe.

"It held!" shouted a massive alien, named Kilowog.  "Jordan!  We need to take out that ship..." Kilowog looked around.  "Jordan?  Hal?  HAL!"

There was an erie silence and calm across the battlefield... Hal Jordan and Sinistro were nowhere to be seen...

Earth Prime...

Hal Jordan and Sinistro appeared through the event horizon of the singularity created by the mingling of energies.  Unconscious like green and yellow comets they barreled towards Earth.  Their shields held  as they spiraled towards the ground and caught fire in the atmosphere.  Down the plummeted, faster and faster, until terminal velocity became their new cruising speed.

Spoiler

Continue on as normal.  The falling stars are not really noticeable yet.  Enjoy the mall!

 

[Tatiana Antonovna Balankova]

Tatiana watched Sergey and Andrei drive off in the black Escalde then she climbed in to the drivers seat of the huge blue HumVee. She was texting the girls that the ride had arrived whenthe passenger dor opene and Keiko climbed in.

Tats bow furrowed as she studied her friend. "что за черт! Why do you look like the straw man for the Oz movie? And what is that on your boots?!?"

 

[Deezy Klatta]

Keiko went hyuck hyuck and brought a foot up to inspect it more closely.

"Well shoot, little pardner, this here's nature...raw and beautiful. Keeps the crops growing. Keeps the soil humid. Gives them nightcrawlers somethin' to eat so we can go fishin' later and Ma can cook it up. The stuff of life, right here on my boot."

She fluffed her hair under the ridiculous hat.

"As for my wardy-robe, why I just figured we needed some real heartland fashion present, so folks didn't think we were all hoity-toity Hollywood coastal elite types."

Though the image of prairie dirt was convincing to look at, there was a lack of odor that undercut the verisimilitude of the whole thing. Keiko hadn't figured out a clever way to get around that yet. There was only so much messing with electromagnetic fields and radiation could do, after all.

[Tatiana Antonovna Balankova]

"Keiko, aside from Connie and maybe Autumn, we are all pretty much hoity toity coastal elite types.' Tats shakes her head "Look where we live"

[Deezy Klatta]

"Oh shit, yer right."

Keiko's 'hillybilly' outfit evaporated, leaving her in sunglasses and a trendy tanktop with the logo of a downtown club on it and white shorts and sneakers. That was...maybe what she was really wearing?

"Cool. Drive on, my noble savage coastal elite, and turn on the radio so we can hear the music of our people. Top forty! Woo!"

[Princess]

Cosima scrunched up her nose as Tatiana's pimped out ride pulled up the drive. Where she lived and the circles she moved in, she was more than used to seeing customized vehicles, even if she preferred luxury, classical, and sport cars over massive trucks and SUVs, but that colour was just hideous. She really had believed Tats had better taste than that.

But her mouth dropped open in speechless shock as Redneck Keiko clomped into view with her mud-covered boots. Oh, God! That better be mud! Cosima was simply stunned for a moment. Time to get ready for a day and night on the town, and she'd come dressed like that? Where did she even find farm clothes like that? No! No, it was completely unacceptable!

Cosima shook her head and with the staccato click of heels, she hustled over to the rear driver-side door. There was just a hint of a pause, as though she had expected the door to open on its own or that someone would open it for her, then she carefully navigated the chrome steps and slide into the hulking Humvee.

Settling into the plush seating, she pointed a finger at Keiko, a soft magenta glow beginning to bloom. "Keiko! I'm 'porting you back to your room! That is not-"

Cosima blinked as Keiko leaned around the front seat from playing with the radio and beamed her an innocent smile.

"Oh! Well!" Cosima harrumphed and folded her arms beneath her breasts. "Okay, then."

"... by Taylor Swift, which moved up five spots on the Top 40 from last week. Before we bring you our next song, some news from Hollywood. Vida Vandersteen, a Danish Princess, model, and actress, has signed with Warner Brothers to play Star Sapphire, a character associated with Green Lantern, in a yet untitled movie. Not part of the main DCEU, early rumors suggest it could be the first in a separate Cinematic Universe focusing on the various Lantern Corps. Vida, one of social media darling Cosima Vandersteen's older sisters, has been known mainly for parts in indy flicks. This is her first role in a potential summer blockbuster. The openly gay Vida first appearances were on The Real Housewives of Emerald City and The Royal Vandersteens. Currently married to Amber Heard, Vida has previously been  linked to..."

Cosima rolled her eyes while tapping away on her phone as the Ryan Seacrest-like host gossiped a bit more about her sister's love life before heading back to the Top 40 with Drake. "Vida is really not that bad. She gets linked to any known or rumored gay or bi woman she's seen with in public. She's only been married, like, twice. Not like Freja." Cosima snorted at the thought of the youngest of her older sisters, a former Olympian Equestrian and now a Top Ten Tennis Player. "Every rumor you've heard is probably true and then some. I'm glad she has the other tower at Sonnenspiegel Castle."

[Autumn Evermore / Spellstone]

It took a moment for the others to recognize that the girl walking toward the humvee was actually Autumn..

For virtually the entirety of the time the other girls had known Autumn, all they had every seen her in was sandals, jeans, simple tees and her green jacket that looked like army surplus, as fashion was clearly never much of a concern for her. Tonight though, somehow, she actually displayed some fashion sense wearing a short, strapless, flowy black romper with faint silver embellishing. The romper did not even reach mid-thigh, leaving her legs bare save for the strappy wedges she wore, while on top her shoulders were totally bare, accented by a set of dangley silver chain earrings and, of course, her every-present necklace bearing the Spellstone, while in her hands she carried a small, silver and black clutch. Autumn had even managed to aptly apply a smokey eye and a nude lipstick, which was simple, but worked for her, and a soft. fruity and flora aroma lingered about her, which Cosima instantly recognized as Poppy by Coach.

She even had on makeup and perfume!

Autumn carefully climbed in and took a seat, pausing for a moment as the others stared at her, unsure if this was their friend or not.

"What?" she asked, turning to look behind and then down at herself, suddenly unsure if if there was a tear, stain or some other issue with her attire. "Did I do something wrong? Am I wearing this wrong?" she asked worriedly.

[Deezy Klatta]

For once, Keiko had no mischief at all in her reply. She leaned around and favored Autumn with a big grin.

"You look amazing, actually. Giving Cosima a run for her money, in my books. Way to go!"

She gave Autumn a big thumbs up...and then another three or four for good measure...and then sat back in the humvee's overlarge, comfy seat.

"Lets get this thing going! Drive over some cars!"

[Princess]

Cosima sniffed as though completely dismissing Keiko's comment about Autumn giving her a run for her moment, but she gave the girl sharing the backseat with her an encouraging grin and appreciative once-over. "You're wearing it very right, Autumn." She shook her head in bafflement, the golden hoops in her ears swinging and glittering in the sunlight. "If you have this in your closet, why do you always dress a bare a step up from a hobo? This is far more fetching."

Cosima snuggled back into the plush seat and crossed her legs, idly swinging a strappy stiletto shoe from her toes as she glanced around the back of the customized SUV to see what options and accessories it had. She rolled her amethyst eyes at Keiko's exuberant exhortation. "So, what do have planned first, for this evening, Tatiana?"

[Dave ST]

While the ladies could have easily sneaked into a few clubs not meant for women their age, it didn't bode well for Cosima, her online image, her friends in tow, or the business that got caught with minors in attendance.  There were, however, plenty of night clubs and hot spots for them to hit where there presence wouldn't get anyone arrested, especially since they were already in hot water with Director Steele anyway (not that knew why, but the guy seemed to hate everyone, so what could one do?).

The sun had long since gone down as the ladies exited one of their hang outs, dying for some food and hydration.  Cosima was insistent that they not stay in one place too long, after all, the whole city needed to see them and adore them in proper measure.  To limit themselves to only area of the party scene did all their (her) adoring fans a disservice.  With wide smiles on their faces and what seemed like an infinite number of things to talk about they made their way down the block to the parking garage where Tat's H3 was parked.

"Perhaps just someplace simple," Autumn said.

"She has a point," Kieko chimed up.  "I mean, I'm greatful your willing to get us dinner, Co-Co, but we don't need a thousand dollar meal."

Cosima sighed an exasperated sigh of defeat.  "Okay, fine, but I am not eating more fast food.  The guys have practically force fed me Big Kahuna Burger like twelve time this week.  They have no sense of taste."

Qi nodded as she quietly kept pace, almost utterly silent with every step.  "They are creatures of habit and simplicity.  Tatiana, do you have a suggestion?"

"Da.  I suggest you all decide something," she said, irritated as usual.  "Vhy is it so hard, hm?  Every day we have same talk, what to eat, where to go.  Some days, it feels as if we are all married and no one told me.  Pick.  Someplace.  I'm driving, so I don't have to pick."

The elevator dinged and the ladies all stepped out onto the fourth floor of the five level parking garage.  The heated debate over food continued.

Spoiler

 

The cold wind rushed past him as the roar of the fall filled his ears.  The Green Lantern opened his eyes and instinct and training took over.  He shook away the grogginess and saw that Sinestro wasn't too far from him, still unconscious.  Time was short, a few seconds maybe?  Not enough time to save Sinestro and activate his ring's flight.  "Sinestro!  Sinestro, wake up!"  Nothing.  The purple man remained silent and oblivious to the fall that was inevitably going to end his life.  "I'm so gonna regret this..."

Green Lantern twisted himself around and flew into a controlled dive.  Swiftly and with trained expertise he shot towards Sinestro like an arrow shot from Oliver's bow.  The ground was switly coming up on them, he had moments to decide what to do.  Closer and closer he flew towards Sinestro until finally he caught up with him and deftly wrapped his arms around his nemesis.  With just a few moments left he willed a opaque, green shield to surround them both, right as they smashed into the concrete.

 

"Gino's sounds great," Keiko said with a pep in her stride.  "Been a while since I had really good Italian food."

"Gino's it is." Tat said as she pressed the button her dongle and her H3 chirped and unlocked.

The thunderous explosion of concrete and rebar shattered their evenings festivities.  Completely on reflex they each took an evasive maneuver as a solid green oval of energy burst through the ceiling scattering debris and dust in all possible directions.  Keiko spun and weaved through as several beams of light seemed to spring from nowhere zapping and destroying larger chunks that could have harmed her otherwise.  With a series of flips, dodges and backwards leaping, not a single stone managed to touch the deft Qi.  "ḟ◎ґḉℯ ƒḯεʟ∂!" Spellstone was quick with her casting and as a volley of rubble and rebar smashed into the arcane shield that wrapped around her, pushing her back and causing her to slide across the floor but left her unharmed.  A high pitched Banshee's scream pierced the sounds of the rubble as waves of sonic force erupted from Tatiana, her voice literally shredding the stones to dust before they had the opportunity to harm her.  As the roof caved in, Cosima simply wasn't there, having reflexively teleported away from the accident, just out range of the dust and debris, "Oh, no.  Not tonight.  These shoes are Saint Laurent.  I am not getting them filthy."

The shield was gone, and two men could be seen.  One was obviously human, but the other, although humanoid, his skin was purple, his hair black.  They seemed to be wearing uniforms, similar in ways, but the color scheme was different and as were the insignia's on their chests.  The human wore green, the alien wore yellow.  Both were very unconscious and the human appeared to be hurt.  Even the untrained eye could tell his shoulder was dislocated and the swelling on his side indicated pooling of blood indicative with broken ribs and internal bleeding.  The purple guy seemed banged up, but over all he looked in decent shape.

As the dust settled, an eerie quiet fell over the garage.

So much for an uneventful night out...

Spoiler

In case anyone is wondering, they did not fall on Tat's H3.  It's on the opposite side of the garage and still in one piece.   At least... for this episode.  Muahahahahahahahahaha!

 

[齐刘 - Qí Liú]

Qi is amazed at her friends reactions and proud of the way the defended themselves and each other. Taking in at a glance, the two unconscious and hurt beings Qi was first to act.

The one which looked the most human was also seemingly hurt the most with a dash she was beside the green masked man and began running her fingers over his obvious wounds trying to determin the extent and seriousness of his condition. "龍母睜開眼睛 (Lóng mǔ zhēng kāi yǎnjīng)" She whispered.

The man was in excellent shape and was very very well fit, as well as handsome. HIs wounds on a lesser man would have been serious indeed. Drawing upon her Chi, her inner strength, Qi placed her hand on his shoulder and grasped his arm and yanked it back into position. A simple task. His other injuries would require more extensive ministrations.

Qi channeled her chi as she begane prodding and pressing certain pressure points upon the mans body aligning the chakras and letting her chi flow into him.

Spoiler

龍母睜開眼睛 (Lóng mǔ zhēng kāi yǎnjīng) - Mother Dragon open my eyes

Qi will be using Chi mealing on the green one

 

[Tatiana Antonovna Balankova]

"Ебать меня! (Yebat' menya!) said Tat as she looked around and then up at the hole in the parking garage ceiling. "Make sure no one else is injured in here I will check above and see if there are more.

Taking a deep breath she modulated her voice and with a whoosh took off through the hole in the ceiling.

Spoiler

Ебать меня!(Yebat' menya) = Fuck Me!   Tata is going to recon make sure no one else is hurt or trapped in the upper floors and to check outside and see if this is a bigger attack

 

[Dave ST]

Tatiana burst through the open hole in the ceiling, flight asn't really necessary, considering how up the garage was it presented a decent look at the surrounding city blocks.  She landed gracefully on one a the tall lamp posts that lit up the roof of the structure.The night breeze caught her jacket and whipped it about gently with a breeze.  Her hair, twisted in dreads, was a bit to heavy to catch the wind and get that awesome 'super-hero-in-the-wind' pose... not that she cared any.

From her vantage though, everything looked okay.  People were starting to gather around the structure and sirens could be heard way off in the distance, but near as she could tell, these two were the only two that decided to do a swan dive into a parking structure this evening.

Them man in green convulsed as his body's chakra's opened up and the flow of chi sped his metabolic processes.  Qi knew it would hurt.  Without the proper training involved with prepping oneself for the sort feats the human body wasn't designed for, the average person sometimes could feel like they were being wrung through a meat grinder.  Still though, a bit of pain now would save the man's life, and for Qi it was a fair trade.  A glob of filtered blood spat from the man's mouth as his body calmed and his muscles grew tired of fighting.  "Stay with me," Qi said softly as a warm glow pulsed from her palms and lit up the inside of his body with a soft golden light.  His nerves all seemed glow through skin, and within a matter moments the soft light subsided... he was breathing.  He was stable, but still unconscious.

"Jordan," the purple man in black and yellow coughed as he regained consciousness and rolled achingly to his knees.  He was dizzy and groggy, barely even aware that there were other people around him.  "Always the hero.  You could have been rid of me.  You could have finally won," he rose to his feet, staggering a bit but he regained his balance with practiced grace.  "But instead it is I who will finish you!"

He thrust out his clenched fist, apparently in an attempt to brandish something.  But nothing happened.  He suddenly bore a look of pure shock mingled with dread as he brough his open palm to his face and looked to his hand.  "My ring!  Where's my ring!"  Ignorant of any onlookers, the purple man began to frantically look around...

[Autumn Evermore / Spellstone]

Autumn listened to the man and watched him gesture, raising her own hands up, her fingers contorting in arcane gestures, reinforcing her shield. Once she sees the purple man is unable to do whatever it was he was trying to do and began to panic, looking for his ring, she spoke.

"I apologize, but seeing as you seem to bare this man ill intention, so until we are sure of the situation, I am afraid we must restrain you." Autumn said as she gestured, causing the Spellstone around her neck to glow and radiate beams of light.

"Ƹƪȡяiדּƈħ  ճяɐչᵱ" she spoke in an unknown tongue and then closed her fist as if yanking on a horse's reins causing rings of light to form out of thin air encircling Sinestro's wrists and ankles. Though the glowing rings of light hovered several inches off of his wrists and ankles, they felt as strong as any restrained of mundane mundane metal.

"Wha?" he uttered as the bands restrained him.

"What are you doing? My ring! Where is my ring?" he exclaimed as he wriggled in the bindings, clearly beginning to slip free of them with his panicked effort, much to Autumn's chagrin.

[Princess]

With Tats taking a look up top, Qi seeing to the guy in green, and Autumn taking care of Panic McPurple Guy, Cosima took care of what she considered the next most troublesome thing. A faint pinkish haze filled the parking structure level, the light intensifying with yellows and oranges as it condensed into a ball, collecting all the dust in the air.. After all, guys falling from the sky or not, they'd still want to look good - there was still time to have fun tonight.

She tossed the ball of light over the side of stepped over to Autumn and Qi, her heels clicking on the concrete. The soft glow appeared again, filling the area, reinforcing the ceiling and support columns to stave off any potential collapse. She gave the man in green and the purple man in yellow doubtful looks, then glanced around for the ring the purple man seemed so desperate for. The man in green was pretty cute, though his tiny mask looked silly to her. The purple man had a douche-stache. It wasn't a goatee, so he wasn't automatically a bad-guy - but he probably was a prick.

"Is the ring purple, too?" Cosima asked Mr. Purple curiously. She did like the colour purple. She nibbled on a lower lip at the two men who had fallen from the sky then at her friends. "They didn't cover 'it's raining men' in school and what do with them after they hit the ground. Do we, like, take them to the Sentinels or something? They're kinda old to be exchange students."

[Dave ST]

"We will be taken nowhere, child," the purple man said.  He flexed his chest out from within the bindings and squirmed within them.  "Neat trick," he mumbled as they fell off of him in a ring at his feet before fading away.  "But I know real sorcerers, and your technique could use some work."

He sighed, looking at the broken man Qi was tending to.  "That is the Green Lantern, I am Sinestro, and judging by the fact that I do not recognize this place at all, I'm assuming we're on one of the myriad of alternate Earths... it's enough to make me vomit.  Can we just die in violent explosions like everyone else?  Noooo, it has to be alternate Earths or dimensions."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, then opened one eye to look at the ladies, then Green Lantern, then closed his eyes again.  "Where we're from, Green Lantern and I are mortal enemies, in fact, I was in the process of trying to kill him wen we ended up here.  However, our rings are what got us here, so our rings are needed to get us home.  The blast and the phase shift must have forced my ring off.  It would not have gone far, unless in his foolish attempt at heroics he barred it from returning to me... in which case it could have fallen anywhere.  Thus for the time being, the Lantern is safe, but the authorities are right out of the picture.  How do you say it?  'That's drama we don't need'."

"No doubt you're completely inadequate for what I'm about to propose, but, like you, I used to be naive and foolish and one of 'the good guys', so I'm loathe to say this aloud... but if that ring ends up on the wrong hand your Earth is in for quite a bit of trouble.  I must find it."  He rubbed his mustache.  "Obviously you're gifted.  Meta-humans, I believe you call yourselves, hm?  We have to hunt for where my ring could have fallen.  It is not purple, it is yellow.  Where am I?  Where is this place?"

[Princess]

"He doesn't look like Ryan Reynolds and you don't look like Mark Strong," Cosima muttered, having met both actors at various award shows and after parties. Her sister Vida had even been in a movie with Mart Strong.

"What was that, girl?" Not-Mark-Strong inquired.

"Oh, nothing! Just commenting to myself," Cosima chirped brightly, flashing the purple man a wide grin, while privately miffed. His eyes hadn't even wandered. Since she'd lost the fat and gained her curves, boys and men, even men old enough to be her father and more, let their eyes wander when they glanced her way. Women too, for that matter, but that was usually to check out what she was wearing - she was very popular on social media.

"And you fell down in Emerald City." When that didn't seem to enlightened Sinestro, Cosima added. "On the West Coast. California? America? It's on Earth, the third - fourth! Fourth planet from the s-"

"I am acquainted with the celestial object you quaintly call 'Earth,'" Sinestro cut in, giving another look around, especially at the sky. "If not this particular one."

"Riiiiiight, okay." Cosima planted a fist on a cocked hip, her other hand gesturing animatedly. "While I'm sure we'd love to help you get back home and all, there's a least two, teensy-weensy, issues I have first. You've been rather forthright and upfront and all, Sinny, but by your own words, it seems you've left good for the bad side of town. So if this ring - yellow you say? - is as dangerous as you claim in a... hmm, neophyte's hands, how much more dangerous would it be on your finger, and what assurance do we have you wouldn't use it on us and decide stick around here instead of going back home?"

Casually, she snapped a few pics of Sinestro and this other Green Lantern with her phone. She didn't remember if Green Lantern was Marvel or DC or something else, but her sister was going to be in a superhero movie that had something to with Green Lantern, if she recalled correctly. If these guys came from someplace where they were real, she figures pics could offer some real verisimilitude. She smiled at Sinestro, demonstrating how it was done, but he couldn't seem to figure it out.

"And two, being nemesises - nemeses? - to each other or not, I'm not so sanguine about helping you find your ring if you are going to continue your process of killing sleeping Green here. I doubt the rest of us, especially Qi, there, who's has her hands all over him, would be fond of the idea either."

Cosima tossed her head to toss rose-gold hair from her face and nodded at Qi.

"Three - okay, I have three issues, not two - do you have any idea of how to find your ring? You two fell from pretty far up - it could have fallen anywhere in the city, or the bay. Depending on how yellow you mean, it could have even landed on Yellow Brick Row, and not be noticed."

She quickly tapped out a text to Tatiana, <u c yello ring up there?>, then straightened her shoulders and raised her chin to a regal angle, though it was hard to look down her nose at the purple man when he stood so much taller than she, even with her heels. "And I don't call myself a meta-human. I call myself Princess."

[Deezy Klatta]

All the while, Keiko just stood there, watching everything attentively, but staying quiet.

Anyone who knew her would know that meant trouble.

That Keiko was just a construct of psionically controlled light...refracted and bent and wavelength-altered so that it looked like Keiko was there. A trick. The actual Keiko had stepped backwards while fading to invisibility, shedding her image like a lizard shedding its tail when threatened.

And while Autumn captured the weird purple guy, and Princess did the yap yap yap, Keiko went a'huntin'. Her eyes were just for show at this point, but her powers of vision were much better than human eyes could ever be. She could 'see' in a wider spectrum, with more sensitivity, and take in light from every direction at once if she chose to pay attention to it all.

Right then she was looking for a ring. A band of yellow, from the sound of it...possibly on the ground, or in the rubble, or maybe someone had picked it up. She cruised around in an expanding ring, shielded from sight while her holographic clone nodded dumbly along to the conversation she wasn't paying attention to.

Perception: 1D20+7 = [16]+7 = 23

[Autumn Evermore / Spellstone]

Autumn's eyes narrowed at Sinestro's comment of her mystical abilities.

"Dying in a violent explosion can be arranged." she said dryly as her fingers shifted into a new gesture, summoning destructive, arcane energy to gather and swirl around her hands.

Cosima shot her look and Autumn rolled her eyes, shifting her fingers and letting the energy harmlessly dissipate.

"Your ring, is it magic?" she asked.

[Dave ST]

""Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," Sinestro said.  "But no, the ring bears no enchantments.  It is a product of something even I barely can quite place into words.  Now, on to the age old question of 'how can we trust you?', he smirked at Princess.

"Simply put, young lady: you can't."  He sighed again and looked to Green Lantern.  "The best I can offer is my word.  I want to go home, and only GL and myself are capable of doing that, as he can not use my ring, and I can not use his.  Trust me, we've been in situations similar to this over the years.  My ring, however, can replenish itself by feeding off the fear of others.  Only those of particularly strong wills and good hearts are capable of recharging his ring without our lanterns present."

"Yeah, Princess conceded somberly.  "Definitely a shortage of those in Emerald City.  We're at an all-time high in crime and public disapproval.  This city is wrapped in nothing but fear and misery lately."

"Great, a West Coast Gotham," he muttered under his breath.  Children, you have no reason to trust me.  Yes, I was going to kill him, but I had no idea where we were at the time.  Were I to kill him here, I would be stuck here, and I assure you, that I do not want.  Assist me in locating and reacquiring my ring and he and I will be on our way.  No double crosses, no villainous plots, no maniacal laughter.  I offer you only my word that your world is safe from whatever war the Green Lantern are engaged in and he is safe as long as we are here."

"Si...Sinestro is many things," the Green Lantern muttered.

Qi placed a hand on his chest, attempting to comfort his pain (or cop a feel, it's open for debate from Princess's point of view).  "Mr. Lantern, you mustn't talk.  You are bleeding internally.  The healing is going... slow."

"He smiled warmly at Qi, a good person only trying her best to help him.  "But he is a warrior above all.  Trust his... word."

Sinestro knelt, scowling at Green Lantern.  "You should have let me die, Green Lantern."

"You're welcome, old friend."  His breathing swallowed and he slipped back into the silence of sleep.

They all knew the look of sentiment suddenly plastered on Sinestro's face, but they said nothing.  His vile veneer retuend in an instant.  "There, he vouches.  Let us retrieve my ring already."

[Kitsune & Tats]  From where they scouted, Kitsune in motion and Tatiana perched aloft the parking structure they both saw a golden shooting star fall to Earth, streaking swiftly and slowing its own decent at is crashed into a well lit and crowded area of the city: Yellow Brick Row.

"Ну, дерьмо. (Well, shit.)" Tatiana mumbled under breath.

Kitsune looked and winced in acknowledgement of their typical luck.  "Not good.  So not good."

[Deezy Klatta]

"Oh boy," the fake Keiko said back at the crash site, with everyone there but Tats. "So, just saw the ring, I think. It's over on Yellow Brick Row. The good news is that it looked like it slowed down, so I don't think we'll be dealing with a crater and smoking bodies. The bad news...it's on Yellow Brick Row. I'm heading there now!"

Then the illusion dissolved in a flash of white light.

Meanwhile the real Keiko replaced invisibility with an illusion of her Kitsune costume...much easier to avoid people when they could see you coming!...and bounded in great, power-assisted leaps towards the spot she'd seen the ring come down to!

(TK array to Speed and Leap, and gettin' there asap!)

[Tatiana Antonovna Balankova]

Tatiana her phone in her hand from reading the test princess had sent quickly typed a message but paused before he hit send. A flash of color caught her eye and she spied Keiko vaulting in the direction of the Yellow Brick Row. She dropped her phone into her pocket and with a sharp scream rocketed back into the air and off toward where the yellow star had fallen at full speed!

[齐刘 - Qí Liú]

"I have done what I can but I am not sure it is enough. Princess, we need to get him to a hospital." said Qi

[Princess]

Cosima click-clacked her way carefully over to Qi, using a bit of psychokinetic effort to ward off dust and debris shaken loose by Tats screaming her way into the sky. She gave the man in green laying supine under Qi's hands an unrepentant once over. He was still weaving in and out of consciousness, but he didn't look that bad. He'd actually look quite fine, if he had fallen from outer space through a concrete structure. Then again, Cosima had never taken first aid.

"I dunno, Connie," Cosima replied, nibbling on a lower lip. "A hospital, that'll bring in authorities and questions for sure. Not to mention all the sensation of a number of supers always bring. I suppose we can bring Gee-Ell here to the infirmary at school, but..."

She turned to glance out the parking garage the way Keiko and Tats had gone. "If the ring is as dangerous as Mr. Sinister -"

"Sinestro, just... Sinestro," the purple man interjected with succinct firmness.

"My pardons. Sinestro," Cosima apologized graciously, flashing a winning grin. "If the ring is as dangerous as Sinestro claims, then Kitsuna and Tats may need our help. Not to mention, Sinestro is the only one who can reclaim this ring with a modicum of safety. I think we should go after them. Here, help me get our masked, half-sleeping Prince up."

Cosima bent to get one of Green Lantern's arms around her shoulders as Qi did the same on the other side, making a show of helping while Qi actually did most of the heavy lifting. "I suppose we can drop him off at the infirmary, or hide him in my room at the Castle before we follow. If I strain, I think I can step all of us over to catch up with the others at Yellow Brick Row."

[Dave ST]

Green Lantern coughed.  He regained his footing and stood, as well as he could, on his own, still leaning against Princess.  He reached over to his other hand and slid the green power ring from his finger.  The uniform he wore faded away, his mask disappeared.  A regular man in denim jeans and a flight jacket that read 'Jordan'.  True to their suspicions The Green Lantern was certainly quite handsome, his dazzling green eyes, although weary, were nonetheless captivating.

"Hal," Sinestro said sternly.  The hint of concern in his voice was not lost on the present ears.

He gently placed the ring in Qi's hand, closing her palm gently.  "In brightest day," the words wheezed through broken ribs.  "In blackest night."

"Hal Jordan, don't be a fool...," Sinestro snapped.

"No evil shall escape my sight," he continued, undaunted by what his nemesis was saying.  "Let those who worship evil's might."

Sinestro clenched his fists then presented an out stretched arm towards the bright yellow explosion in the distance.  "These are but children!  You have the experience, the knowledge.  It takes years to master a power ring!"

Hal Jordan tightened his grip on Qi's fist, signaling he was quite sure in his choice of heroes.  "Beware my power.  Green Lantern's light."

The ring suddenly spoke.  [Jordan, Hal.  Green Lantern of Space Sector 2418.  Deputation mode engaged.  Transference of authority accepted.  Ring power at 21 percent...]

[Connie Liu.  You have the ability to overcome great fear.  Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps.]

Connie's clothing burned away as the uniform of the Green Lantern Corps. formed from light around her.

"This is insanity, Jordan,"  Sinestro approached his old friend.  "That ring was the only thing keeping you alive and you put it in the hands of a child!  What makes you think you'll live long enough to regret this stupidity..."

"Hope," said Hal Jordan, softly.  "I have time."  The attractive man in front of Qi looked at her with positive a appraisal.  He nodded his head towards Yellow Brick Row.  "Go."