Archive Mutants & Masterminds: The Unlikely Prophets - Issue #1: A Gathering Storm

[The Scarlet Samurai]

The great horse whinnied and Kenshin leaped down from its back to rejoin the group. In his head the sword screamed, crying out for more blood and violence. He began to wonder if he was doing something wrong or if his father had had to fight the demon within for so long; if the latter was the case his esteem for his father was much more than he could fathom. "If you can only view a person why not send a scout and view on them? She wishes to go, and we need an anchor for your spell, would that not be equitable?" BLOOD! Kill them! Slay the brutes who dared attack you! Bathe me in their blood! Allow me to drink my fill!

[SalmonMax]

Larissa nods at the Samurai.

"That would work. I'd just need like...a hair or something important to her to establish the connection with."

[IndyPendant]

Sharatur had been silent this whole time, standing off to one side and watching, her mouth gaping wider and wider. Finally, it was all too much, and she abruptly stood up. "I have to...I need to...I must..." She vanished.

To reappear once more in the upstairs room where she had fought those thugs, now empty of all signs of violence; even her father was thankfully gone. She stumbled backwards against the wall, trembling in reaction, her mind just...blank. Shut down. She slowly slid down the wall to the sit on the floor, shaking almost as if in a seizure, the back of her hand pressed against her mouth as the sobs wracked her.

She never noticed the open window that faced down upon the rest of the group, who could hear her if not see her.

[Charlotte]

"Hi, snowflake."

Alexander De Vasch's voice was soft as it came into being behind Sharatur. "Did you want to be alone, or did you want to talk to your old man a little?"

* * *

Downstairs, on ground level, Sam started to fade from view, becoming invisible to all but Necronaut's nether-vision.

"Necronaut... I think I..." He smiled. "I think I'm gonna be going now."

[Necronaut]

The Necronaut managed a brief smile in return to the fading ghost. "Thanks for all the help Sam. Good luck."

Then he turned to the others. "Okay, wait a minute, first: Guys, you just saved the mortuary! Is everyone else registering what we all just did here? And how we all just did it? Because I don't think I'm quite there yet. Thank you all so much! This place is..." a dustier part of his brain fired a second or two late, but better late than never, "...and these people are really important to me."

"As for the Mulcher, I think I can get in and out without being seen as well. And I'm sure I can scare up some, er, people who would be happy to see it go down hard. If we play this right and move in slow-like we might be able to take the whole thing down without the Order knowing what happened... and without anyone getting hurt."

He noticed that his punching-hand had somehow found its way inside the protection of his armpit. He tried to let it swing casually to his side again and managed to avoid wincing.

He gritted his teeth and continued, "If the Order can trace what happened here with what happens there, though, we might have Watchmen storming this place instead of hired goons."

[Charlotte]

"I hope it's not Hell." Sam seemed to... for lack of a better word, disassemble, as he spoke to the Necronaut. He seemed to lose definition in chunks, and whatever tied him to the mortal way of thinking crumbled away. "I mean, I deserve it, but... oh."

He looked at nothing. "Oh."

And then, Sam was gone.

* * *

Blackjack nodded. "That'll be a problem with our friends in the van, since they know what I asked them. Way I see it... we can either threaten them into silence, getting a tape of their confession and telling them they're out of the thug-for-hire business unless they want this sort of thing going up the Order's food chain, or..." He drew a thumb across his neck. "There is that. Unless the Order has someone like Necronaut we haven't heard about. Dead men tell tales that few can hear."

[The Scarlet Samurai]

YES! "Yes! ... Err, yes if we cannot ... that is ... " Kenshin sighed and pushed the mempo up off his face. In an instant his armor was gone, the horse was gone and instead of an impressive samurai there stood a young college professor in over his head. "We don't have the right to kill these people now that they are helpless do we? God knows my sword would readily cut their lives short but ... but aren't we supposed to be better than this? Heroes don't kill cause its convenient, they kill when they have to and even then they don't do so lightly. I think we can't kill these morons without taking a step down the same road the Order once walked; evil deeds and good intentions."

[SalmonMax]

"There may be another way," Larissa says, her nose still in the Book. "Sorry, I was just looking for better scrying, and I found a formula for a ritual. A ritual that can block out memories."

[IndyPendant]

"Yes. No. I don't know!" Sharatur rubbed her forehead tiredly. "It's just...it's too much, too fast. I know if I could just have some time to get used to this, I would be okay." She took a deep, steadying breath, the trembling abating somewhat, although her voice remained extremely shakey. "Daddy, I don't even know their names! And what they're talking about...it's the start of a war, and they don't even seem to care!"

"I almost got shot a few minutes ago. Hell, for all I know, I could take a bullet now and laugh--but those poor people almost got killed because I screwed up! And now they want to go destroy some kind of...mulching plant! There are people working there, people who just want to do their jobs, people who are going to get hurt or even killed because they're going to think we're criminals or terrorists or something, and they're going to fight us. And none of them care!"

Her words to her dead father drifted down for all to hear.

"I don't know the first thing about any of them, except maybe Norman. But I think...I think they might be all I have left now. I'm scared, Daddy."

[Necronaut]

"Oh." The Necronaut repeated Sam's parting words vacantly as a chill crawled down his spine.

The black-glass lenses over the Necronaut's eyes shifted suddenly and followed blackjack's finger across his throat. He shook himself back to reality.

"Umm, killing them really isn't an option. I've only been talking to the dead since this afternoon, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to have any irate victims following me around." He cleared his throat pointedly. "...and I gather it's preferable for folks to make any amends they're going to make before they cash in. I don't think it's a good idea to deprive people of the opportunity. Karma-wise."

He did a double take at Larissa. "Er. Beats killing them. Still sort of scary when you think about it, but definitely beats killing them."

[SalmonMax]

"Yes, well...there are limits," Larissa admits. "A lot, really. But we should be able to make it work here. Assuming they don't manage to resist the magic. A strong will can sometimes throw off the spell."

[Charlotte]

"I know, snowflake. I know you're scared. God, I wish I could just give you a hug and take you out for ice cream like when you were knee high..." Alexander looked out the window, unsure for a moment.

"Norman's a good guy. Weird, yes... but a normal man couldn't have brought me here to see you. So maybe weird's just fine. As for the others, I couldn't say. But none of the people who work here are dead. None of those men who tried to kill them, are dead. One of them has a sword and even he wasn't cutting them down. If you're worried they're going to go kill-crazy, I think you shouldn't be. I can hear them arguing about it right now, and they're not eager to shed blood even if those scumbags deserve it.

"Now, war, against the Order... that's deep. I wouldn't blame you for a second for backing off of that. Hell, I'd be relieved. But Norman's committed himself to speaking up for those who have no voice, and the Order's taken everyone's voice, so the living and the dead are on the same side, there. Oh, they might let you speak up a little bit, but that's the key. They let you. It's their permission to grant, and to take away. I don't think they're going to hurt anybody if they go to this plant. And if they bring it down, then it'll set the Order's plans for this place back months, even years...

"I know. It's been a long couple of days. It must feel like forever. Go tell them what you think. Let them ease or confirm your suspicions. Ask them their names, when you get a private moment. They'll listen to you. I did. Despite everything that got in the way... I always did."

[z-Gloom]

"Yeah, because swiss-cheesing their memory," Gloom hissed, "is the soft, cuddly option." She sighed. "I'd rather be killed than have someone rooting around in my head, because if you remove my memories, you remove part of what I am. Which is death, if you think about it. You've changed the person I am.

"Besides, how will they have time to tell the Order if we leave them somewhere safe for now, and hit the Mulch-Maker now?"

[Necronaut]

"See, that's sort of what I was thinking." The Necronaut nodded at Gloom warily, but offered an obfuscated smile to Larissa. "I mean, I myself would go for a memory wipe given the choice, but it's still sort of horrible. Could you turn them to stone or something?" He staggered slightly, as his brain hit him over the head with the fact that he just said that entirely seriously. "...and release them when the heat is off? Sorry, that might be absurd. Magic. Um. Yeah."

"I guess the issue isn't really if they go cry to the Order. They'll know who we are sooner or later, from the sound of things. It's more that either the Magistrate or the Order could still come down on this place, and its staff, like a ton of bricks if they have even half a reason, which these guys might be able to provide."

[SalmonMax]

"It doesn't erase ALL their memories," Larissa protests, flustered. "It would just be of this particular incident. But...okay, if you really think it's that bad. It was just an idea."

She gives Necronaut a helpless shrug.

"I don't see what we can do to stop that, unless we just sort of make this our official headquarters and protect it until the Order shows up in person. It seems like all we can do is buy the cemetary some time."

[z-Gloom]

"Then kill them and dump the bodies," Gloom said. There was a distressing 'business as usual' tone to her voice, reminding those here that she was once a Knight. "If you want to keep the heat off these people, we need to apply it elsewhere. Give both the Magistrate and the Order something else to worry about.

"Or we blackmail the Magistrate to leave this cemetery for last," Gloom added, "and hope that we free the world of the Order before he gets to them." She shrugged. "The only reason that this place is important is because it's personal to us, right? There isn't a real reason to protect it, is there?"

[Radiance]

Hikari remained silent, waiting to hear what her comrades to figure out what was going to happen. Fianlly she spoke. "Whatever we decide to do, we need to do it quickly. One of our number has gone on ahead, and I'd prefer we don't leave her to handle whatever might be there by herself."

[Charlotte]

If there were any hired goons similar to the ones at the funeral parlor in the surrounding few miles, Cyco couldn't find any.

* * *

"We can always ask them what they'd prefer - death, or loss of a day's memories. But Gloom has a point. These men mentioned the Magistate being up to something that the Order would frown on. Perhaps we can ply more details out of them? There's more men where these dozen came from, but if we get the one giving orders to stop, then we have something."

[Bodhie Armstrong]

"Folks, lets get to business - we can't probably discuss this to the last detail. We need to move on because I'm sure sooner or later some of their friends will show up and check on them.", Bodhie pointed back at the van.

"Killing sounds awefully wrong to me, I side with Scarlet here.", the huge woman looked down at the asian professor. "All we need is something to buy us some time and get to that machine as fast as possible. We're going to be always on the run I suppose - let us do something productive while we can, aye?"

[CyCo]

A rush of air rustling various organic flotsam harkened the arrival of Cyco as she reappeared. Looking at Shiny Gal, "What, you think I'd leave you guys? I'm not stupid, sheesh, I tell ya, heroes these days." She shook her head low, her hands on her hips.

She looked up and zipped to a location that seemed to address the larger group better. As she adjusted her bulging messenger bags, she continued, "There isn't any Watchdorks within a few miles of here, I'm with Muscles though, we should move...Who's the geek? She cocked her head to one side as she thumbed at the professor.

[Necronaut]

"Miss, um, I'm sorry but I don't remember if I caught your name." He addressed Gloom a little awkwardly. A little awkwardly for him anyway, which was quite awkwardly by any other standard. "I guess this place does have some sentimental value to me, and the people here could just run and hide if it came to it. The issue is, though, we can't let places like this get shut down. The dead need them. And I have a feeling the living need them more than they know. Hopefully it'll be a moot point. If we bust up the Druid's machine well enough, well, the dead still need to go somewhere."

He tilted his head toward the window, and the yard of dimly illuminated headstones.

"So Taking out the mulching machine sounds like a great idea. Not killing anyone sounds like the greatest idea. Seriously. I don't want to over-complicate things, but if we could find a way to bring The Order down on the Magistrate at the same time, that'd be just about ideal. Maybe some recon and anonymous tipping in the morning? Assuming they don't just vanish him for letting the mulching project to go pot under his nose."

[CyCo]

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Cyco said, excitingly as she hopped up and down like a super-speed pogo stick. "Why don't we leave the wankers there and try to use them to frame the Magistrate for destroying the Corpse thingy? Two ugly birds, one heavy stone, yeah?"

[IndyPendant]

Sharatur thought about it for a little while, and then nodded. "I don't really have much choice, I guess." She stood up, found the staff bathroom and allowed herself a quick wash to wipe away most of the effects of her tears. "You shouldn't be here, dad. It's too dangerous. Move on now, okay? And...thank you."

She stepped silently back to the group, ending up only about four inches above the ground this time. She stepped--normally, this time--down to the ground as quietly as possible, hoping to herself that no one noticed her absence in this crowd. For now, she just listened quietly.

[Charlotte]

"All right. Here's what I want to do. I want to get these bloke's license plate numbers and the ID cards from their wallets, then tell them we'll be keeping an eye on them, and that if they so much as look at a job offer from the Magistrate again we'll hound them through the gates of Hell.

"Then I want to find out from them just what the Magistrate's been up to on the side, since that'll stop him from sending any more after these fine folks.

"And finally I want to destroy these machines as utterly as possible - without loss of life, don't worry about that. If my plan sounds like utter piss, let me know." Blackjack tapped his cane on the ground for emphasis. "Otherwise, it's a plan and it's better than no plan."

[SalmonMax]

"Look," Larissa says. "They think, or thought, we were from the Order. It's only natural...and I think we can use that."

She nods at Jack. "What if, instead of we telling them not to work for the Magistrate...the Druid herself did? Or even Archon?"

"I have a spell that can create a glamour; a convincing illusion. It works on the mind, so it wouldn't show up on cameras of any sort. No possibility of being recorded, and I can control who sees it and who doesn't so it won't panic anyone or start awkward rumors."

[Charlotte]

Blackjack tenses slightly at the mention of Archon's name, but it's gone as fast as it came. "Now that is fantastic. When we get back to safer ground we'll have to go over everything you lot can do... right, Archon or the Druid it is. I've never seen any of the Order... with... one exception... but I'm sure you have. Whoever's good at acting can do the trick.

"Rest of it sound good - find out what the Magistrate's up to on the side, blackmail him out of causing trouble, sabotage the plant?"

[SalmonMax]

Lari nods and pats her satchel. "I know just the spell for that."

[Radiance]

"Then let's get to it. Do you have some way to get us to the machine quickly together by chance?"

[SalmonMax]

Larissa shook her head apologetically.

"Not really," she said. "Magic can't do everything. Or at least...my...I mean, I'm just starting out. The only reason I can do even this much is because the book sort of transferred some knowledge to me."

She looks at the others. "It might be a good idea for us to split up."

[Necronaut]

"I like it. Secure the mortuary. Turn the order against itself. Demolish the mulcher. I can take one passenger, reasonably quickly. If we do intend to split up I have a particular interest in the demolition. However I'm sure I could find some, um, like-minded netherworldy individuals who would be happy to help with information gathering at city hall too."

[Necronaut]

"I like it. Secure the mortuary. Turn the order against itself. Demolish the mulcher. I can take one passenger, reasonably quickly. If we do intend to split up I have a particular interest in the demolition. However I'm sure I could find some, um, like-minded netherworldy individuals who would be happy to help with information gathering at city hall too."

[Bodhie Armstrong]

It looked like the plan was heading to the mulching machine in the south and trash it - at least that's what her goal was. Bodhie would wait for the others of course before she'd made her move.

"Like I mentioned earlier, I think I can carry at least two of you and cover the distance to that machine in 2 to 3 hops... or maybe...?", the huge amazon looked over to the vehicles.

"Maybe you can get into the van, I pick it up and then jump over there. I think I could carry more people that way."

Bodhie went over to the vans and tentively picked one up. She wasn't sure how heavy the vehicle would be so she concentrated on making a safe lift but the van felt incredibly light to her. It felt like picking up a can of soda. Her large muscles easily applied enough pressure and strength to keep the van safe. After pushing it briefly over her head she placed the van down without even breaking a sweat.

"I think I can do this.", she said confidently.

[z-Gloom]

"Or we fuckin' drive," Gloom sighed. "Just because we have the super-duper powers doesn't mean that we should use them for everything. Hopping around like a bunny on steroids is just going to draw attention to us." She rolled her shoulders and said, "The first thing that you learn in Knight School is to use the minimal amount of effort for the job - save your energy for when you need it.

"Jack, you've got the right ideas. Let's fix the thugs and take out the mulching station."

[Bodhie Armstrong]

"Ok ok...", Bodhie raised her arms in defence. "No reason to come down on me like that." bitch

"I was just making a suggestion and I thought time is of the essence. Driving there will take longer I suppose.", Bodhie tried to remain calm. She didn't like being bossed around like that. She slowly walked over to the van where the thugs had been locked up and peered inside checking out if they were still there while she waited for the next decision that moved them forward and away from this place.

[z-Gloom]

Shit. Gloom sighed to herself. 'Acid Andi' does it again. Still, she'd learned to cope with this and so she followed Bodhie. "Sorry," she said when she caught up to the massive woman. "I'm not used to working like this. This isn't how we did stuff on the Knights. And it's been a long day. Didn't mean to snap atcha."

[Bodhie Armstrong]

Bodhie actually smiled and nodded at Gloom's apology. "It's ok - I may have gotten a bit too excited there. You see it's really hard to explain how I feel. This van here.", she placed a hand under it and briefly pushed it up. "Feels next to nothing - almost weightless and I'm not sure if I should freak out or take it like it is and enjoy it, you know?", she let go and the van came down with a rough noise sending the thugs inside into an unexpected shuffle.

"My name is Bodhie.", she offered her huge hand to Gloom and smiled at her expectantly.

[The Scarlet Samurai]

"How much time do we have before they come to plow under the cemetery?" Kenshin felt odd without his armor but with it off and his sword inert in his pocket he felt more clear of mind than he did with the sword's constant calls for blood and mayhem. "If time is limited, as it seems to be, then I agree that we should split up so as to act quickly. If not then my all means let us to see dealing with these ruffians before moving on to dealing with the machine."

[Necronaut]

"It was supposed to be a month or so before they actually close things down. Even if the Magistrate decided to move up the time table a little we shouldn't have to rush. I think stemming the goon-tide is the right way to start."

[z-Gloom]

"Erm, uh, Gloom, now," Gloom said, uncertain. She should have said Andi, right? But she didn't feel like Andi, not anymore. She carefully shook Bodhie's hand, hoping to get all of her fingers back when it was done.

[Bodhie Armstrong]

Bodhie gently shook Gloom’s hand and nodded at her sensing the other woman’s uncertainty – or maybe she was just scared that Bodhie would crush her hand. The large muscled amazon carefully retracted her hand and smiled at Gloom

“Gloom it shall be.”, she replied and briefly looked over to the rest of the gang. They were really a very weird bunch of people from all over the world. Yesterday Bodhie would’ve never dreamt of doing anything remotely comparable to what happened in the last few hours.

“I think we’ve all been through quite some changes lately – I understand if you feel stressed out and… weird.”, she looked at Gloom’s arms for emphasis. “But what are we supposed to do? There must be a reason for this and Cyco has been sent by an Angel – so I guess what we’re doing has some kind of divine righteousness – doesn’t it?”

Bodhie slowly crossed her arms over her broad chest striking an unintentional heroic pose. Her appearance was quite impressive and unreal – very much like someone who had four arms – or lightsabers as weapons – or was faster than the eye. They were freaks – or heroes. Real superheroes.