EPIC M&M: Issue 6 (IC)

MONSTER POST ALERT!

In the Mountains of Portugal
Just a reminder that the communicators, are now not heard by the bad guys, but are heard by everyone with one within range. That'd be everyone but SJ at the moment, and Neutron of course who doesn't have his and is in his own space time continuum.

The digging process accellerates, with everyone putting their backs into it as Loki continues to talk really, really fast, going between directing traffic and trying to tell Michelle the same things he said before, though the facts are getting more and more wildly divergent by the moment. After fifteen minutes, the flattened armored car is found along with what appears to be some sort of force field generator on the ground some distance in front of it. Another hour after that and you finally break through the finally barrier and find a dirty and badly wounded Vince and a horribly injured, and barely alive, Monica.

With the pair freed, the medics move both of them to the hovership they have for evacuating them to hospital. It's not as big as the ship you flew to the research center in, and once Vincent and Monica are secured, along with Loco who appears to have a compound fracture of his leg among other less serious injuries, the medics are anxious to hurry to Brazilia Medical.

"She and Loco need a doctor badly," one of the medics says urgently. "We can take one more passenger if you like, but we need to leave now."

"If you can get my tractor back to the road, I'll drive it back to the research center," the tractor driver says to Michelle. "If you don't need me anymore that is," he adds.

Rebound is mopping sweat from his face and Tara is trying to clean off the dust and grime somewhat when SJ's dad calls over to Johan.

"Well, that's one crisis over. Now what was the short kid going on about?"

"Holy crap, yeah, I forgot about Sanjay with all the digging," Rebound exclaims.

"Ohmemememe!" Loki pipes up, starting immediately into what is rapidly turning into a fantastical account of possible things that are happening to Sanjay. Tara is quick to clamp down on his shoulder, eliciting a squeal of pain again from him but stopping him from talking.

"Hush," she says sternly to Loki.

Brazilia Medical
Straightjacket
It's been nearly three hours since you arrived and Anna still isn't out of the operating room. Your leg is feeling remarkably better, and you aren't feeling much pain in your chest and stomach at all. You're wondering what is taking the others so long when it happens. You are beginning to wonder why it always happens to you. Heck, even being in another country doesn't seem to stop it from happening.

At least this time, the it in question is rather attractive.

From down the long hall, a tanned woman in her mid twenties is approaching. She is dressed in a short skirt and blouse that you can't help but notice compliments her figure well. While she has no camera or camera crew, a small sphere hovers near her, tracking her movements and in her hand is a microphone. You have no doubt from the moment you spot her that she's a reporter. Apparently, she's done her homework because she makes a beeline right for you.

"You are one of the EPIC members, are you not?" she asks politely in lightly accented english. You notice that the sphere appears to have several lenses and lights on it, but other than hovering along with her, it doesn't seem to be recording, nor does she shove her microphone at you.

Escaping an SAP Facility
Neutron

You slam the stick foward and the car launches with amazing speed. You barely make it through the hole you made, scraping the pain badly on the driver side. But paint be darned, you do make it and rocket into the sky. By the time the gun turrets you saw on your way to the facility come alive, you are out of their effective range.

Driving check (yes I know it's piloting, but meh): 15 barely succeeds

"See, you are safe," Vida says weakly. "You should see Ms. Vaile, ok?" she says as she looks out the front of the ferrari with a glazed look. She appears on the edge of consciousness and the blackness in her veins is quickly becoming more and more pronounced.

In A Cave System Outside Mai Pai, China
"It is best idea," comes the voice of Master Wen from the doorway into the room. "You must stop Mia Toan from escaping." Despite a heavily bandaged hand, he walks into the room without difficulty, followed by Carl. A grumbling Dara is carried in by the huge stone form of Kajo who squeezes through the doorway, Dara in one of his hands. Dara quickly silences when she sees Kevin, and both Carl and Kajo seem disturbed by the sight. Only Master Wen appears impassive.

X12 doesn't need to rely on his knowledge of medicine or anatomy to know Kevin is dead. Pulling the knife from Kevin's chest doesn't even elicit a spray of blood. Shifting his powers like he did with Vince, X12 tries to rekindle the spark of life in Kevin. He closes his eyes, letting his powers guide him and finds himself in a dark place...

"He has proven able to regenerate appendages and organs in subjects," says Prophet. "He should be able to push that ability further."

From within his cell, X12 hears his father talking to the doctor he so hates and watches the two 'work.'

"Perhaps. But I doubt we have enough subjects to continue testing."

"Acquiring more subjects is not an issue," Prophet says, walking over to a chained boy. Holding his hand over his chest, dark tendrils shoot out. The boy screams for what seems like an eternity. When he stops, his face is frozen in a vissage of terror. "Attempt number eighteen, X12," Prophet says. "If you manage to restore him to life, I won't have to continue on the rest of his family," he says with a cruel smile. The faces of several other 'subjects' look on with horror from the confines of their cell.

You are released to try to bring the boy back to life. After thirty minutes of trying you think you are near succeeding when suddenly you lose contact. Too much time has passed. The test is deemed a failure and you are put back into your cell. Prophet pulls out a slightly older female child from the holding cell.

"Try, try again, I suppose," Prophet muses aloud and the procedure begins anew.

...you shake the memory off, but the dread it leaves you with remains deeply imbedded in you. Your normal powers fly away from you and you can feel a spark somewhere in the body beneath your hands. With a sudden lurch of your stomach, you feel it start to slip away!

Ressurrection check (DC25): 18 fails

You try to push your powers to their limit, struggling to hold onto the spark of life only. Darkness sweeps in on you...

"You never did manage to master that, did you," Prophet says, sitting in a high backed chair a few feet from you. Behind you, you can feel a fire crackling, but everywhere else is in shadow. "Though I think you may have done it today. What do you think? Can you bring him back?" Prophet asks as Kevin appears standing beside the chair. "I can see in your eyes that you think you can. I am impressed. Your powers have grown more than I imagined possible. Very well then. Take his hand and you can have him back," Prophet says and Kevin reaches his hand out to you.

You reach for it and just as you are about to grab it, Kevin vanishes in a puff of shadow. Prophet smirks and laughs at you as you...

...snap back to reality. You look down and realize that you have failed.

HP spent for a new ressurrection check.

Ressurrection check (DC25): Fails (unlucky) ... you also don't have your powers at the moment.

"I need him more than you," the shadowy voice of Prophet ripples through the room, audible to everyone.

Jackal lets out a low and ominous growl as the final remnants of the door crumbles beneath Xi's touch. "That... bitch!" he roars and he whirls towards the now open tunnel and bursts down it, claws kicking up pieces of the floor as he launches himself after Mia Toan.

Xi looks at Kevin, then turns and runs after Jackal. Li weeps openly as it becomes apparent that Kevin will not live and Dara suprises you by doing the same, a complete turnaround from her actions before, then surprises Raisa by the fact that she can't hear Dara in her head.

"I'll go fly around outside in case she gets out," Carl says, a hint of emotion in his voice as he turns and leaves the room the way you entered.

In a Secret Lair Somewhere
"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

The scream echoed through the room for a long time as New York writhed on the ground in apparent agony.

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Tank, rushing over. "Kid, what is it?"

"Ascension," came Prophet's voice as the Anarchy leader entered the room.

New York stopped writhing and lay gasping in breath on the floor. "Holy crap," he exclaimed in his New York accent. "Does that mean he's..." he breathed out. Prophet nodded. "Then I'm..."

"Kevin York," Prophet said with a cold grin. "Heir to York Industries."

New York... Kevin York... sat up and matched Prophet's smile. "I haven't been home in a while," he said, affecting a british accent. "Maybe I should go and see my family."
 

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"Screw that, we're both safe. You hang on, Vida. We're home free, don't you dare leave me now." He looks around on the dashboard, looking for any kind of communications device.

I would think a car like this, a flying one, no less, would have some sort of On Star type of thing for emergencies and directions?
 

"Prophet has taken him... the Kevin we knew is dead," X12 says flatly. "I had him... and he took Kevin's life from me," he says as he reaches down and makes sure Kevin's eyes are closed. He snatches up Mia's dagger, looking it over a moment, then starts after Xi and Jackal.
 
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Raisa is quiet and avoids looking at Kevin's body as she turns and without a word gives chase behind the others.
 

Dirty, sweaty, sore and relieved that Monica is still alive. Michelle stands when approached by the medic and tractor driver.

Calinon said:
"She and Loco need a doctor badly," one of the medics says urgently. "We can take one more passenger if you like, but we need to leave now."

She activates her communicator, "Medics are leaving, they have room for one more in case anyone needs it but you need to let me know right now." If no one says anything she will tell them to go, even as her injuires continue to throb.

Calinon said:
"If you can get my tractor back to the road, I'll drive it back to the research center," the tractor driver says to Michelle. "If you don't need me anymore that is," he adds.

"No I don't think we need you anymore, thank you for your help though." She tells the man giving him a half hearted smile. She will fly into the air and attempt to move the tractor to the road.

Once that is done she will return and join the group. "Anyone know why Loki seems to be on a constant sugar high? And just what is he talking about?"
 

"I do not know the source of his accelerated mental and physical capability, but I believe I have pieced together what he is talking about."
Johan engages in a detailed yet surprisingly compact explanation of his theory (found on the previous page just before Johan noticed connection to Vince).
 

Flying Without A Pilot's License
Neutron
The HUD is visually activated and has several menu options available, including a detailed mapping system, and a satellite communication system. There is a general and emergency assistance command, along with a detailed personal phone book, obviously tailored by Vida for use in this vehicle. It has numbers in it for what must be many contacts of SAP as well as officials of the company and Ms. Vaile herself.

So intent on navigating through the HUD that you very nearly slam into a ridge, ending up skimming some trees as you drive the ferrari upwards to safety. You glance at the speed indicator and realize you are flying easily as fast as Vince could run, and you haven't opened up the throttle fully yet. You figure you're starting to get the hang of aiming this thing...

In the Mountains of Portugal
"Woah woah woah," Loki says when Michelle starts to lift the tractor intent on carrying it the several kilometers back up the chasm and to the road. "Incaseyoumisseditwe'reafewmilesoverimpossibleterrainfromourvanowwww!" he says until Tara reapplies the pressure to his arm.

"I think he doesn't want to go mountain climbing to the van," Tara says with a grin.

"I'll go with the hovership back to Brazilia," SJ's dad says when nobody steps up to do so. "Someone's gotta do the paperwork." The door is just closing behind him with a click when you hear him say, "Missy." The ship is already in rapid ascent mode before you can react.

In A Cave System Outside Mai Pai, China
While Kajo, Dara, Li and Master Wen remain behind, the rest of you rush into the cave network to try to catch Mia Toan. Jackal is by far the fastest of any of you and keeping up with him turns out to be not an option. Luckily, it turns out to not really matter.

After about five minutes of twists and turns, basically following the only lighted path, you emerge some distance from the entrance you used before. At the bottom of a wooded path is half vanished motorcycle of Mia Toan. It appears to have been disintegrated. A few minutes of running ahead, Mia is trying to hold off both Carl and Jackal, but with Carl's several ranged attacks, and Jackal keeping her off balance, it is over by the time you make it to the scene.

Mia Toan lays on the ground under Jackal, cursing him in her native tongue. Her armor is gone and she's dressed in a blood stained, white, body suit. She gives you all a hateful and rather insane glare when you come towards her. The blood on her face and in her hair is just starting to lose it's sheen.
 

"Hold her still, Michael. I want to cut her black heart out like she did to Kevin - slowly," X12 says, advancing on the subdued Mia, turning the dagger over in his hand.
 

"Damn, I think we're home free, so long as I don't kill us both," Sanjay says, sweating the near miss. Making sure to keep an eye on the...um...sky, he dials the number for Ms. Vaile. "Sure can't trust anyone else at this point," he thinks.
 

Flying Without A Pilot's License
Neutron

The communication system dials up the number for Ms. Vaile and a vid screen emerges from the center of the dashboard. But the face of the person on the screen is not who you are expecting, but rather a dark skinned man you do not recognize.

"Mr. Mohan," he says in greeting. "And I see Miss Cortez is with you. I had wondered how long it would take you to call in. I see Miss Cortez is not faring very well. You seem to be rather healthy, however," he says with an air of superiority about him, and no actual concern.

In A Cave System Outside Mai Pai, China
While Raisa, Xi and Carl make no move to stop X12, Jackal growls at him warningly.

"You can't do that. It's not right," he growls.

"Oh, my hero," Mia Toan says in a honeyed voice. Jackal responds to her by slamming his much harder forehead into hers.

"Shut up," he snaps at her as she slumps into unconsciousness. Jackal gets up and turns to face all of you, his bones cracking as he shrinks down to his normal, human form.

"What is wrong with all of you? I'm hurting too," he says, pressing his hands against his chest. "I feel like part of me is dying too. Kevin helped free me from the Jackal; he was my friend. But this isn't what he'd want! This is a road that I was forced down by the Jackal, and this isn't something any of you should want either.

"What will you tell your parents, Raisa? That you stood by and watched someone get killed? Or just lie to them about it?" he says to Raisa, trying to convince her. "Or you, Carl. I thought this was your big chance to get away from being a thug and make something of yourself. This isn't the way to do it! And you two," he says to Xi and X12. "This is just what Prophet wants you to do! This is your programming at work, isn't it?" he asks pleadingly.

Carl snorts. "You know what? You can take your stupid speech and shove it. I hated Kevin but he didn't deserve to die; but you know why he's dead? He's dead 'cause we didn't off the bitch last time! The cops got her and she got off or got away and I don't want her coming back to do pull the crap again. So shut up and get the hell out of the way so we can put her out of our misery," he snaps at Michael.
 

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