trans_9

The Shodan incident had left more than a foul memory, in fact, it was so bad that the details were hazy.

But he knew he'd gone rogue, and he knew that he caused a lot of damage... and hurt people he cared about. There was no excuse, this was were he belonged. That however didn't make it any more depressing. He'd missed the new crew members, and he would miss much of the going ons but Splicer was used to being alone...

He had his team back after all, even if they were back at home. For now, he'd simply sit there, slumped against the cell wall and think of the thing's he'd done.

Man... this is the shit that the other Spectres got killed for... way to lose it cowboy...

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the battle with SHODAN the place looks a little worst for wear, but the crew and even Stacy are trying to be in good spirits. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, and the little stunt in trying to kill off the people in the pods, many are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. They are also told they must read information about their current situation and a survival guide with their new omnicom. New crew-mates might see a tall dragonish guy with wings (but don't call him that), a large afro attached to a smaller girl, and talking ponies among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in. But thankfully this time, there's a system that was set up to aid the new crew members with a few more experienced ones.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies. Big brother/sister, there will be a thread for you as well!]

Gods could be too arrogant. Such was the case of SHODAN, who had turned the Pods into a nightmarish zone where she could freely amuse herself and torture those that had come here.

But arrogance breeds pride which breeds mistakes. Instead of killing everyone off, she had decided to do this more slowly – watch them suffer in a slow agony, and, therefore had not expected them to fight back.

It had been a lucky shot, really, one in a million, But one of the people present that day had accidentally shot a tiny, insignificant object. A tiny little drone, that, once it had been the source of the power damper, had fallen. The tables were turned, and the goddess had been forced to retreat from the pods.

Now she was on a panicked mode, not only because some of the other people on the ship had managed to work their way into her system files, using another AI to send pointless images and sounds to her, distracting her from her task, but they knew how they could defeat her and gain their powers back.

It didn't take long for the message to be sent out, as the word quickly spread. Find the tiny little creatures, and shoot them down. SHODAN couldn't work their shields properly and once they were found, it was only a short matter of time before the powers returned to an area.

It would take time, but, finally, the tide of the battle was turning on the side of the crewmen and women. In vain, she was throwing her all; even more strange robot creatures, attacking in packs, but with hope on their side, they could win this...

[OOC - OKay go for it! NPC players, feel free to NPC as many robots as you like. Players, once your powers return, feel free to make as much scrap metal as you like, no need to have people NPC for you if you just want to write tags of them kicking ass.]

Chancy as it was to move between levels, it was still quite often a necessity. Especially when there was more to try and get out of Medical and the nearby Science Department, before the cogs and wheels hands of SHODAN ran amuck over everything.

It didn't make for easy transitions, on the otherhand. Those traveling upward found themselves abruptly diverted to the second level, at the hub of the pod caverns. This unintentional side-effect of something the wired fiends were doing made it both necessary to stop off and stay out of a larger group's way, as well as finding immediate progress elsewhere inconvenient. Getting down to the MedBay again would be easiest, and with a safezone set up in Contagion it wasn't a bad bet.

The problem primarily being they still needed some contact and transfer of supplies between safepoints, if that really could have been left in more organized hands. Things the ship needed to work on? Possibly a sense of coherency, but Sakura was admittedly biased. It's what she expected from folks at home, and what she'd been made to act on and with during the war. Her war. Her world's war. Might as well apply it to space.

Whatever poor sods had also gotten the shaft and ended up in the hub to the pod caverns had similar options to what Sakura was facing. "They were headed this way. We need to move." Finding someplace to either be out of the way and line of attention, or to use as a stronghold if they needed to, would be important. If the metal and plastic minions were following them into the caverns, they'd hopefully leave soon afterward. If not...

If not, they had even more of the many problems SHODAN had dropped in their deliciously frail buggy hands.

[ ooc: Any and all who wanted to be around before the Pods were known to be under attack/to witness the Pods coming under attack, get in here! Trudy's rallying for a drive of robots out here -- SHODAN will be killing pods in this log. ]

An open-gate policy at Castle Wyvern, as Goliath had feared, wasn't doing them any favors in the event of a shipwide attack

He would have made a comment to that effect, if he'd yet been awake to have the thought.

Fortunately, the gate was mechanically sound and could be opened and closed by the humans who lived there, if they reached it in time.

||Attention, Attention. The following personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. The following personnel please report to the Observation Deck.
( A sweet little trip to Gummiring beginsCollapse )
It was a nice, fluffy planet with a nice, fluffy name. Bound to be as nice as Happy Happy Fun World, right?

Terry's first priority when he'd found himself on the ship for a second time, now with so much changed, had been to touch base with those he'd known before, and get up to date on what had happened while he was away. He still needed to go through the ship's roster in more detail to pick out any more familiar names, and find out a few more of the details on what all had been going on, but he was feeling a bit more at ease now, and could turn to his second priority: making sure he was ready for the war with those damned bugs when it all finally came to a head.

He'd made a lot of use out of the sensoriums before, but it was mostly recreating his city, to have something to hold on to. About a year had passed outside of his pod, though, and he felt that he had to accept that Gotham, for now at least, was gone. His focus had to be on the current situation, not the past, however much he wanted to go back to things as they were.

Besides, he'd also used the sensoriums for fight practice - like the battle robots Bruce had had made for training back home. But he'd been asleep in a pod for a year, and though he'd only felt like he'd had a very long and restful night's sleep, he had to admit that his muscles atrophied somewhat in the stasis.

So he'd shaped this sensorium session into his own private work-out room. A mix between the Batcave and the gym at juvie. It surprised him, one he'd thought of it, just how much the ship reminded him of the latter.

He started in on a simple, but effective, warm up and then work out. He didn't quite notice anyone come in right away.

Welcome to Kittenland, the most adorable place in Happy Happy Fun World! If you didn't like Kittenland, you probably had no soul at all.

There was the Kitten Go Round, a Merry Go Round where everyone could ride a kitten; the Nyan Cat Coaster, a rollercoaster where the carriages were in the shape of kittens with pop tart bodies, racing along a rainbow track to the constant sound of 'nyanyanyanyan'; the Kitten Petting Corner (with real kittens!); and the Hello Kitty Teacups.

And then there was the merchandise - the Nyan Cat Coaster had a shop of it's own, as did the Hello Kitty Teacups, both with a considerable range in merchandise; there was Kitten Candy, kitten t-shirts, kitten magnets, and more. Oddly enough though, you couldn't buy actual kittens.

[ooc: Feel free to make up any other kitten related rides or merchanise if you want!]]

Two scenarios here, pick your poison!

--
In the Hangar...

Sometime after podpop and the chaos that went with it, Simon found himself down in the hangar. He'd scrounged up a couple of rags, and some soap and water - Gurren and Lagann were here, but they were in good need of a cleaning. Well. More of a dusting and polishing, but if he's gonna go to that much trouble, he may as well go all-out, right? Simon and Boota both are working at it, with the little pigmole taking care of the details and crevices.

--
Anywhere, really. More locations, the better.

So, where-ever you are and whatever you're doing outside of a room or building, you spy an odd sight - a metal face with arms and legs, and an open head--with legs sprawled out of them. It's faint, but there's also a snoring sound coming from the thing. Simon's been exploring the ship, and once he got tired, he's parked Lagann somewhere out of the way in whichever area he stopped in and just zonked out in the open cockpit.

Let it never be said that Stacy was not benevolent toward her crew. Truth was, she loved them, to the point of risking her own life. And thus, she'd been busy for quite some time... silently she had worked, trying to get into her own archives and cross-checking references. She was going to help boost morale and give them a gift - show them people they cared about, wake them up for a single day as proof that, yes, they were there, close by. She was going to give them a day to awaken, to see their loved ones again and to go back, knowing that their time would come one day or another...

It sounded so beautiful and poetic on theory. In reality, it could become a true disaster. Spent of most of the energies doing this task, in complete secrecy to keep it as a surprise, Stacy's never-ending work was only stopped by its own Warden program, which pulled the plug on the ship's search to find everyone at least someone they cared about. That, unfortunately, left her not only spent of energy which was dangerous in itself - but it also meant that some of the crew would be deprived of seeing their close ones, no doubt leaving some of them bitter.

The road to hell has always been paved by good intentions.

Stacy's voice was decidedly more cheerful than normal as she spoke to the entire ship.

|| Transmigration Nine crew, please report to the Observation Deck. I have a gift for you. ||

She repeated the request, and waited.

Once most of the crew had made their way there, she continued.

||I have been working on a...|| she couldn't quite find the proper word and settled on the next one, || present for you. While many of your records are locked to even me, I have worked to find the pods which contain people close to you. I...apologize if some of you may end up with no one, it is not my fault I...|| suddenly Stacy's voice seemed a little less cheerful, ||The Warden stopped me before I could finish everything completely. Please do not feel like I targeted you specifically, I really did my best to get as many of your friends and companions awake as possible for today.||

Now was the hardest part to explain.

||And that is, unfortunately, all that can be given to you. Because their avia are not yet ready to be properly awakened, they'll be here for a single day. Please make the most of it, so you can feel better and continue our mission with renewed vigor . I hope that meeting those that care about you will give you a boost of energy that you all need.|| Spoken like a mother who put her children before herself. ||But if you can...look at it this way, it means that they are here, and one day I will proudly awaken them properly when they are ready.||

Her voice was becoming strange as she went on. Not static-like, but raspy, like someone who was running out of breath.

||And I am afraid that I must go offline for a few hours due to the strain this is putting on...me...|| It sounded really painful for her to speak, completely spent and only going because she wanted to at least give them a proper last word. ||I...hope...you...will...be...happy...a...lit--||

For the first time in a long while, Stacy was completely silent.

[OOC: GO FOR IT.]

Once everyone had had time to read her announcement, Starfire started preparing for the day. There were signs to hang, streamers to wave, and plenty of people to greet with her usual affection. Language would not be a barrier, so the signs simply consisted of drawings of two happy blobs coming together and embracing each other. Arrows below the pictures pointed any visitors to the right place in the city's park, where Starfire's cheerful calls could be heard. She floated above the crowd, that wide smile ever-present on her face.

"I welcome you all to our offering of friendship! Please join us!" She was not going to give up easily, no. "You do not need to embrace us or each other to participate today. Your kind words of support and open ears are more than enough, but I would like you to open your arms if you are able. Offer your affection to your friends and extend your kindness to new ones!"

That said, she pointed to the arrangement of signs attached to several big trees. One had a rather deformed picture of a smiling Starfire in front of it, and others were left blank for volunteers to draw their own pictures. Those wishing to receive hugs or friendship would walk through the appropriate tree to stand behind.

It was a simple setup, but one that she hoped would be effective. Love for everyone!

((Subthreads are up! Similarly-inclined volunteers can take their own hug tree, and everyone is welcome to visit any of the trees. Tags from Starfire will be sporadic while I am at school, so you may wish to thread with others at first.))

For some odd reason, Sasami found it relaxing to be in the grasp of no gravity, just floating in the air without a care in the world. After spending a few days passed out following her return, Sasami decided to do just that.

Having made her way to the Sensoriums, she let the room stay in its blank state and just kill the gravity. In the middle of the room, Sasami floated there, the only thing flailing in the breeze was her hair (she was glad that she opted for jeans and a t-shirt instead of one of her kimonos - no need to see what was under there...!)

As she did, her mind floated back to Lirath, to how she acted there and how she was compared to the others. She had a long way to go, she knew that, but part of her was actually frightened now that she knew what she did - she actually fought, no, killed the Ohm. And that part was frightening. It was the heat of battle and she particularly didn't enjoy it.

Now she was wondering where she stood with it all...

It has been some time since she first entered the pod caverns. She's lost track of it-- it's hard to tell time in this ship to begin with, and so without any sort of measure here it's especially hard.

Homura can't make out the faces of anyone inside. Just a vague silhouette. She knows she's trying to do something nearly impossible. She could look through these pods her entire life and never find Madoka, but she still looks. She said it herself to the others, didn't she? Giving up is the same as dying. Homura judges from the particulars of these people's bodies, their wrists, their ankles. Their hair. She searches for a glimpse of pink in a sea of green and finds nothing; that's alright, she'll keep looking.

On and on her trek goes, up and down the spiralling walkways and stairs. Pausing at every single pod that holds a glimmer of hope, a human figure of a young girl. Illuminating the insides with the light of her soul gem, she can never get their faces to show. What she can see of their bodies usually shows something Madoka doesn't have. A faint scar, a distinct freckle or mole.

She's started from the bottom and is moving her way gradually up. It's easily been a day since she started looking. She's hungry and she's thirsty and she's tired, so tired. It's nearly too much. But she knows if she moves from this spot to get food or water or sleep she'll lose her place, and she'll have to start all over again. There's no food or water here, but she can at least get some rest.

Exhausted and frustrated, Homura transforms her soul gem back into its compact ring form and sits down. Leaning gently against a pod and feeling the swell of Stacy's breathing, she tries to get some sleep.

After learning from Allenby herself that Zetta was outside on the ship, Lash hadn't wasted time going to the armory and getting Thorn Armor so she'd be able to survive outside, cursing the dumb people (Allenby) who threw team members like it was going out of style. What kind of plan was that? That sounded like something SHE should be doing! Just probably not with Zetta or people she cared--HAD FUN WITH.

It hadn't taken too long for her to converse with Stacy (arguing about her own safety and saying she'd be fine) about the ship's estimate as to the floating book's whereabouts. Thankfully close to the hanger, she was adjusting to using the armor as she continued to run there - still testing out its capacity, unused to it as often as her normal one due to how easily it reacted with her nervous system. No need to covering her head until she got to the hanger either - least someone pass by and not realize who it was. Her pace was slowed down by the wound on her side and the pain in her entire body. Still patched up, she hadn't returned to the ward yet, but the the suit that was quickly covering her body would soon make it hard to see that there seemed to be a bit of new blood seeping through...so she bit her lip and just continued. Black Hole Commanding Officers did not flinch in the face of stupid flesh wounds, after all.

The faster she got the big red demonic book out of space and into the spaceship, the better.

[OOC - The first part is open to those who want to stop her and/or encourage her. The 2nd part is those that want to join her, but it's limited to a few people (Allenby, Starfire, Hit Girl and Ruffnut if they want so far, PM me if you're interested) they'll also probably need Thorn Armor unless they can go into space normally]

This was it. Endgame. The crux of the battle, the turning point, those crucial moments that would decide if the crew won or lost, that would decide if the Ohm would reign victorious or go running with their chitinous tails between their legs.

Did the crew have enough grit to win? Could they defeat a full Ohm fighting force?

With the flagging confidence of the GIA forces, it'd be up to the crew to turn the tide.

And one of the crew would pay the ultimate price to make sure the others walked away alive.

[ooc: everything is up!]

 After dropping off some of the crew at Balisair, it was time for the crew to set course for Lirath. The situation greeting them wasn't the most promising.

The cracked surface of the moon called Lirath was one of its most unmistakeable features. One of the three moons of the planet Kehoe, it had been terraformed and served as a settlement for a hundreds of different species, some humanoid, some not. Despite occasional class struggles, environmental issues, and speciesism blocking their way, the darker parts of Lirath's past were largely left behind, and an era of peace and tolerance had reigned for quite some time. The only problems they'd had recently were with a terrorist group whose cause for their actions had been a mystery, but they weren't tied to any particular species or social group and had been likened to a cult and had largely gone quiet in recent years.

Now the peace on the moon of Lirath had been shattered by the invasion of the Ohm.

The capital city had been destroyed. Now, all that was left of the peoples of Lirath was evacuating from one of its smaller cities, one known as Smyteval. A desert city, existing in a valley in between a rocky range of canyons and mountains, even though it was in the low ground, the natural channels of rock served as bottlenecks for any Ohm attacking from the ground.

GIA squadrons patrolled in space, locked in explosive warfare, protecting the Bleed-gate that had been activated to see the evacuated ships to the refugee world, and a shield created by massively-powerful shield generators extended around the city and up into the atmosphere, creating a shielded tunnel so ships could escape.

Word had come that there was a vital weapon to be deployed on Lirath, one that needed to be destroyed, hence why the Transmigration 9 had been called in. Given the diverse crew, and the ships that were in its hangar, there was at least someone or something on board that could blow the weapon up if it did show.

There was no sign of it yet. Right now, there was just chaos, streams of evacuees boarding ships, armies of Ohm engaged with GIA soldiers outside the shields, and forcefields that everyone hoped would hold out just a little bit longer.

The crew would be following Leon's orders but finding themselves fighting side-by-side with GIA platoons, full of various species that were currently all getting their asses kicked severely.

[ooc: STAGE 1 is now open! Please do not tage STAGE 2 until it's announced as open as well.]

[ooc: STAGE 2 is now open!]

The day had finally arrived for her big event, and Starfire couldn't be happier---or more nervous, actually. She was certainly not an expert on the inner workings of a prom, but it couldn't be too terribly complicated, right? As long as the people could eat, dance, and talk, it should be a reasonable success.

With that in mind, her decorations sprung from her mind into the large dome all around her, transforming a grey Sensorium into a beautiful underwater world, one with clear waters and free from the possibility of a shark attack.
( Diving into a underwater wonderland...Collapse )

Down on the city level, right by the Kohaku River and near the imposing castle, a modern-looking white building welcomed one and all to its promise of running water and warmth. Maybe even a little socializing was in order.

The ramp led up to the heated roof level, where one and all could sit down and relax in an almost sauna-like environment. Below, corridors contained plenty of towels, places to leave clothes, quick showers, and the baths, a number of them sized for any and all comers.

The private areas were accessed through separate corridors on the outside, but the busier communal baths were just as warm and welcoming. Anyone of any size or species was welcome here, so long as they behaved themselves.

[ooc: it's mingling party post time! Just start a thread or hop in one, and note if your character's in a single sex bath, co-ed, or the sauna level upstairs. My characters will be here to meet some people too.]

"Alright, this" Peter said as the door whooshed open, "is the Science Department. Its got everything from test-tubes, to microscopes, to things we don't actually know how to use and are frankly afraid to test."

The teenager took a seat and rifled around in the cabinets until he'd found a sterile lancet and a microscope slide.

"Okay, any questions before we get started?"

It had come to her just a few days after returning to normal. Why not have a beach party? ...Well alright, her first thought had been 'why not have a war party' but then she wisely realized that not everyone would enjoy something like that. But everyone had enjoyed the time they had spent on the beach a year ago! ...At least until the Ohm came and ruined everything, but it still had been fun!

But her? Organizing a party? On a beach of all places? It would take research. Books. A lots and lots of books. A few days in between all her other usual routines and activities, the wunderkind was unusually quiet, her head stuck in between pages and taking down notes. After reading and thinking herself good enough (of course she was! She was the wunderkind, right?), Lash had finally gone into the Sensoriums and prepared.

The beach itself came from a mishmash of ones she had read up on along with her single experience a year and a half ago. The sand was warm, free of any debris a normal beach might have had and colored pearly white. Seashells dotted the shore, in intervals so that it wouldn't be too annoying to go into the water, some comically large but how could you argue with someone who didn't know about this? The water was clear, slowly fading from view as it got more and more blue reflecting the cloudless sky. A few schools of colorful fish could be easily seen, moving away whenever someone got too close to them.

The sun was warm, but not overly so. Humidity was at a comfortable level. Dreamlike perfect weather. If you looked really closely, you might notice that the sun itself changed from orange to yellow to red once in a while, giving the beach a subtle tint.

Parasols of all shapes and colors dotted the sandy landscape, nestled between palm trees of various sizes and large tropical flowers and a single human-sized large Venus Flytrap. A few hammocks were also strewn between two tree trunks, for those that desired a prolonged rest. There was also a volleyball court in the shade.

Lash had taken a few trips to get as much food slop as she could carry, and had turned it all into typical beach food (at least what the books had explained to her anyway). Hot dogs, hamburgers, tropical fruits, seafoods of all kinds and, curiously, large bowls of chocolate pudding were presented on...well, bare-bones picnic tables with no decoration whatsoever. She wasn't one to make things pretty. Another note stuck nearby told visitors to create more food if they didn't find anything they liked. Next to all of that, a large wheelbarrow filled to the brim with a sweets of all kinds for no real reason (watch out not to eat too many of the poprocks!)

The next few tables held all the alcohol and juice bottles. Lash, again, had been getting reference from the library's liquor books, trying to pamper to everyone's personal likes. However if you looked closely some of the bottles had unusual names on them; "I guess this is supposed to be vodka? What's vodka?" and "Green stuff! I don't know what it's supposed to be but, it looked cool, tee hee." Empty coconuts shells with rows upon rows of miniature umbrellas acted as drink holders. However if you wanted to use a cocktail shaker or other specialty tools to get all fancy, you'd need to create one yourself, Lash didn't know about them and therefore hadn't herself. Large buckets of ice stood nestled in larger blocks of frozen liquid nitrogen (hey...it was Lash, after all).

A robot band played close by to the food, each sporting a small name tag 'HI MY NAME IS ___', filled out with ones she had found in various music media (Bill, Ted, David, Nigel and Derek) sporting a fine selection of wigs that might remind people of the original musicians themselves. It was possible request a song, if you were able to think of it. Currently, they were playing something that sounded good to Lash's ears. But then when no one was asking anything, they'd play something with a little bit of more of party time.

This almost looked like a typical beach!

...until you noticed the two giant pirate ships in the middle of the ocean, and the giant sand castle farther away from the main beach area. Oh.Of course. Both had everything true pirates could ask for, even working cannons, treasures, hats and weapons. Yeap, that sounded a lot more like Lash's style. Look, she just really needed excitement in everything.

When everything was done, she put on her best swimsuit (and shades) before sending out a message to everyone (well the girls in particular) but didn't bother locking it to just them. After all, what was the fun if the boys didn't show up? Either way, it was going to be fun.

[[OOC - Feel free to jump into each other's conversations if you like or start new threads with an activity like 'so and so serves drinks', 'pirate ship battle' or 'this guy marches into the sensoriums with his speedo' etc. Have fun!]]

Peter sat on the wall of Castle Wyvern's tallest tower, scratching Bronx behind one of the beast's big, fin-like ears.

He'd resolved to tell Starfire about what he'd been felling, thanks to talking with his older alternate and Beast Boy, assuming she'd actually want to talk to him after he'd run off like he had. Taking out his omnicomm, he sent her a message, and repocketed the device.

"Here's hoping she shows." he said to the beast.

It always felt weird not to be greeted by the sun peeking through the windows of the Masaki home every morning, but for Sasami, she was used to it by this point. Despite being on an alien ship and stuck in the middle of a multiversal war, she decided that she'd keep going through her usual routines, especially after finding the Masaki Home.

At the moment, Sasami was busy making breakfast for those who lived in the home - her sisters Aqua, Starfire, Hoshi, Reimi and their new guest Phillip. Darting from one end of the kitchen, the little girl made sure her "family" was well-fed. If anyone did catch Sasami, they'd notice her not only sporting her usual hair ties but wearing Reimi's ribbon on her right pigtail right above the other tie.

Care to visit this quaint little home?

(OoC: Just a simple mingle post here as well for both the occupants of the home and anyone who wants to drop in! I'll make sure not to hog XD)

Paco hopped up on a box to survey the work already done.

It was getting toward “evening” in the City. They’d hung a sheet up on the Great Wall, and a couple people were currently adjusting the movie projector that had been constructed in Engineering so that the picture would fall exactly on the sheet. He’d collected the recordings from the Media Library himself, everything on there was appropriate for pretty much everyone who might show up.

At the other end of the space he’d picked for the party, a few people were testing the sound system (also constructed in Engineering) and arguing with each other, probably about the music. Well, he’d done his best, anyone who didn’t like it could throw their own dance party somewhere else.

In the middle, up against the outer wall of a building they’d hung lights from, Kang and his helpers were putting the finishing touches on the drinks area. And there was plenty of space for people to mingle or play tag or whatever if the shows and music weren’t to their taste.

Paco grinned and cupped his hands around his mouth to form a megaphone.

“OKAY EVERYONE,” he shouted. “TRY NOT TO DO ANYTHING THAT WILL LOSE US OUR PARTY PRIVILEGES AND LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!”

[[OOC: Post-Melting Clock! Mix! Mingle! Make fun of the music, thread with people you haven’t threaded with before! It’s like a Pod Pop for oldbies!]]

After the away team had finally escaped and destroyed the power dampener, Peter's slight concussion had fixed itself thanks to his healing factor, only leaving him with a slight headache, and any other injuries were likewise being healed, making a Medbay stay unnecessary.

He'd managed to keep his cool through most've the fight. After all, it wasn't the first time he'd had to stage a breakout. But things had gone south when he’d gone back for Goliath, and nearly been killed.

For the first time, he’d had to really face his own mortality, and while certain niggling feelings that would definitely cause problems were still going to be left unsaid at the moment, he was still gong to let the people he cared about know how much he appreciated them. And Starfire was currently on top of the list.

With enough diligence and care, Starfire firmly believed, it was possible to learn most any skill. She wasn't always as firm with herself as she needed to be about learning things such as preparing palatable food for her crewmates, correctly understanding English idioms, or backing away when someone needed to be cheered up, but for a friend? Anything was worth the effort for a dear friend.
( Even this, the most frustrating grind she knew.Collapse )
((ooc: Open to volunteers, children, and anyone really. It takes place during the early stage of the Galileo's Burden mission, before she knows Peter is captured and about to be sacrificed.))

Sunglasses on.

Engine roaring.

Music blaring.

Accelerator depressed, gears engaged, and he was off.

The 2023 Ferrari Infinity streaked like a bullet through the City, down corridors, across the obs deck, anywhere it could reach, a black blur to those with slow vision, accented by a red streak where the flames of the Overlord's hair trailed far behind the convertible in wind-tossed delight. A smug grin on his face, left elbow propped firmly on the door, the Overlord did what any teen demon -- or, demon de-aged to about 1700 or so -- would do.

He was cruising for chicks.

Ladies, look out; Teen Zetta is looking for you.

For Peter, getting out of the City had been an extreme chore. He'd had to avoid Zetta and Superboy's fight, which was a lot harder than it sounded given the collateral damage caused by the pair. Not only that, but his arm, now broken, had definitely not gone through a clean break.

Carrying the shattered arm in a makeshift sling, the boy made his way, slowly and weakly to the medbay. Once there, he leaned on the doorframe with his good arm.

"A little help here?" he said weakly.

Peter had already run into a bit of trouble. Parking the Spider-Mobile for a bit to check out a camera shop, he exited in just enough time to see two people start it up and drive away, tires squealing.

"Sonuva....THAT'S MY CAR!" he yelled, running after it.

"Note to self, add better security systems to the shopping list," he muttered as he flipped onto a building to continue his chase on higher ground. If nothing else, at least the semi-populated streets would be enough to slow the joyriders down.

That is, if they were going to avoid pedestrians at all.

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. New crew-mates might see a tall man in green armor and snake girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

( It always started out the same...Collapse )

Sasami's eyes open up as she comes to from the dream. Her pink eyes dart around the room, seeing where she was. Still in the Med Bay. There was no sign of Hit Girl - probably went off for awhile. Stuck in here for so long after that incident, she was starting to feel restless. There was so much she needed to get done, so much she needed to see...

"Negi-kun...!" Sasami whispered. She needed to find Negi, see how he was. Maybe she could sneak out without anyone noticing. Attempting to slip off of the bed, she found herself losing her balance a bit, still weak from everything. As she did, she held her head as a slight pain struck her. "Ow... what's... going on....?"

Beastboy sighed and his sigh echoed much louder then he'd have liked in the pool area of the Outsider's headquarters.

He'd just found out that Katara wasn't just missing, she'd been re-podded. Needless to say it was a blow that had sent him reeling.

Katara was one of the first people who had spoken to him. She'd always supported him and encouraged him. Her energy and optimism had kept the Outsider's coming back together time and time again to attempt to socialize and train.

And now she was gone and he was the last man standing so to speak. The Outsider's were his responsibility now. Not something he'd been hoping for.

He kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the side of the pool dipping his feet in. He'd go for a swim in a minute but for now he just needed to think about what he was going to do next.

Why does it seem like every girl I really like get's put back to sleep? He mused his ears drooping with annoyance.

In roaming the ship, out of an increased sense of irritation and impatience, Zetta had discovered someplace new to him.

Most of the murals and paintings and sculptures in the place, disturbing though they might be to a mortal mind, gave the Overlord no pause whatsoever. In his thousands of years, he had seen the death of worlds, the descent into madness of some truly great minds, the greatest depravities of the Netherworlds, and Mickey in a feather boa. These 'alarming' sculptures couldn't dare disturb the mental integrity of the Overlord! Hyaaa ha ha ha ha!

...What DID shock him, though, was the statues beneath a giant head-sculpture thing. Two of them, in fact: the first an obstinate Overlord, arms crossed and looking stubborn, his back to the second; the second a woman walking away, stoic despite tears.

"What the... What the HELL is THIS crap?!" Zetta demanded of the room in general and the cosmos at large.

[I wanna bendy time this to two days after the announcement, so it won't seem too random.]

She felt guilty that she had taken this long. They had met several weeks ago, and she had made a promise to get to training as soon as she could. Sadly, things came up that had forced her to take some time for herself: she was in a better place now, and it was time to get back to business. uh

When it came down to it, the marriage planet had been good for couples, but her interest was with what happened with the people who hadn't participated. Once again, there was an attack,and when it happened, despite them being strong, capable people, it regressed to arguments and pointless infighting, and this was a problem. Then of course there was the idea of how to compliment one fighting style and another. After thought, the best thing to do seemed to have all the guys come here, show what they could do, and start organizing training that way, get some input, trade different information, relay tactics. It would be unorganized for this meeting alone, but afterward they could start and tailor the training to their strengths, add in situations that played on their weaker points for good measure.

This would be a good way to get other people talking, really start to learn about how they fought and where they came from. The Sensorium would be blank for now: she figured Beastboy should be the one to add a little flair to their surroundings.

She did have to compose herself a little though: she hadn't been happy to hear Tavros was gone. He had been a nice person, and he was Alex's roommate.

For once, things just seemed peaceful for Sasami. Nothing awkward or dangerous or outwardly crazy going on and...

...it made her bored. She enjoyed the craziness of home, the arguments, the yelling, the fighting, the random explosions due to the fighting. The ship didn't give that wonder to her - if it wasn't the laws that the crew voted on long ago, it was Stacy herself keeping everyone in order. She had a feeling that, if they were here, Ryoko and Ayeka would have either been given punishments or just gone bonkers from not fighting over Tenchi. Or at least, that's what she thought.

Her listless wandering lead her over to Awesome World, the theme park Rock designed before his repodding. Though a lot of the rides were active and being maintained, there were other areas around that were left untouched. Curiosity got the better of her and she ran over to the incomplete roller coaster, bypassing the robotic guards still standing there. It seemed to be a basic coaster of sorts, so there were no loops or sharp turns that would get in her way of just walking along the tracks.

Maybe that's all she needed - just to do something a bit dangerous...

Sofia rose above the city, riding on the wind. Even though a lot of the city was a mess, there was something calming about seeing everything from the air. It brought her a sense of peace and perspective. But mostly she liked using her powers, especially after thinking she would never be able to use them again.

[[OOC: If your character can't fly they can just say hi after she's settled on the ground.]]

Those left outside the city would find their experience to be far less exciting, but at least it was still relaxing for the most part.

The accommodations they were given were relatively spartan but well maintained, and the locals seemed nice enough. The food was good, and they were treated fairly well despite refusing to undergo the rituals.

But strangely, by the time night started rolling around, the locals began hurrying to finish up whatever they were doing, cutting conversations short and rushing back inside. By the time the sun fell, none of the locals were outside.

...Well. That certainly wasn't ominous.

[ooc: secondary plot is go! try to keep everything in one thread for now]

Those who had decided not to undergo the rituals were given the option of staying near the observation deck, or in the small settlement near the edge of the trees.

The buildings of the settlement were made of the same stone as the wall, complete with the tribal markings, and people filled the streets, mostly consisting of those waiting for friends. Several more Moai could be seen, oftentimes around groups of Rapa Nui, dwarfing them in size. There were many more Rapa Nui scampering through the crowds, fixing things up here and there, or cleaning messes.

[Go forth and socialize!]

Starfire had to consider herself fairly lucky. Yes, they had damaged parts of the City, and she would have to find Beast Boy as soon as she was cleared to leave and comfort him, but it was over and no one had died. Her dear friend would be all right.

Even she would be all right soon. The burns on her arms and legs were somewhat extensive, but with some care they had healed nicely, protected by wrappings. The other change was in her hair, now sporting an uneven cut and coming to just below her shoulder blades due to burn damage.

Ordered to stay in bed, she satisfied herself by rebelliously floating up under the blankets, seeing how far she could go before being told to touch back down. It didn't hurt too much anymore, luckily. The pain was more of a phantom than a physical reality by this point.

"When will I be allowed to leave?" Starfire was impatient. Her body was healed enough, so she felt the calling to begin the emotional healing.

So the word had gotten around again, and she knew that if the place was going to be anywhere near its usual glory, they'd have to work on it immediately. Katara decided, just to not add the extra work to leave the hotel lobby in Water tribe regalia. She could always get rid of that stuff later, and she'd likely relocate it wherever she was staying. She started with the outside steps and the lawn around it: it was likely during the demon possession that it had gotten so messy.

In any case, the rest of the Outsider's headquarters had to be taken care of: the floors needed to be swept, the beds needed to be made, she had to look over the monitors to make sure they were working and then there was the pool in the back and the shining of the statues of B5 and Cassie.

She was already starting on it, but she was hoping to have Maydril, Beastboy and whoever got here early to lend a hand.

There was going to be quite a lot to cover.

Like so many who had been involved with the dark soul possessions Beastboy was feeling particularly lousy. But he knew sitting around feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to make anything better so he set out to find Starfire and apologize.

And if he were run into anyone else, well he was a bit of a social butterfly these days.

[[OOC: This right here is required reading if you're going to tag. OOC organization is here

For too long the firstborn son of Satan's demonic soul had been trapped, denied his rightful control over Daimon's body. Now, thanks to Mei-Xing, he was finally free. The next course of action was obvious- he would have to take control of one of the beings on this ship. He could start with the vulnerable and move on to the more powerful. He had to act fast before that fool recovered. Fortunately he needn't go very far. The city was full of potential victims.

Now, now. Who to possess first?

Billy had just launched another portal in that maze of mazes, exhaustion setting in. Surely this time he would land on another moving platform of death?

Nope, just the exterior of the finished bathhouses. All polished, systems running, and just about ready to open! Given how sore and exhausted he was, that sounded like an excellent idea at the moment.

With a quick message to the rest of the crew, he set out the 'Open' sign for the first time and took advantage of his owner status---the prime waterfall spot could be his!

((ooc: The bathhouses are now open! Feel free to mingle around, relax, and have a party. Or cause trouble, but that might invite more trouble. Just start a subthread with your character's location and have fun. For reference there are individual showers in front, followed by hot tubs centrally located, saunas further back, and private baths along the side. The showers, tubs, and saunas have smaller sex-segregated units along with a central group unit that's larger.))

They'd been played, utterly, and yet somehow, they'd managed to survive. Not without scars, both physical and mental, but they'd survived.

All because of a cheap bet made between two god-like beings.

They hadn't even gotten the chance to thank the townspeople that had stood up for them. No, the townspeople wouldn't even remember the crew; it'd be as if they'd never been there. The last thing they saw before appearing out of thin air on the Observation Deck aboard Stacy was a dismissive wave of a hand, and a bright flash of light.

[OOC: They're back! Multiple threads here, and thread-jacking is encouraged, since everyone is going to be trying to process wtf just happened.]

They had all changed back. They had their memories again, although they still remember most of their fake lives, but those memories now seemed as hazy and false as they were.

They were themselves again. The problem with that is that it meant much of the group transformed back into draconians, Vikings, mutants, and other people that just generally did not fit into Fairplay at all. Even those that looked normal, their families and the people they interacted with every day now realized their minds have been altered by something and that the meatcrew hadn't always been there.

While some of their fake families still wanted to help, others recoiled in horror, and the townspeople had started to turn against them, terrified of the strangers in their midst. These people were something other, something that had been planted in the town right under their noses, obviously aliens or some other horrifying thing. Shot guns were being grabbed out of cabinets, people were snagging flashlights, and the night air around the town rang with cries of anger and panic.

The authorities had been called and the police were amassing the entire town police force to try to control the situation while they waited for the National Guard to come in--yes, the National Guard.

All the while, the group was almost drawn by instinct to a place in the woods, that could be reached by crossing some fields, a clearing, that somehow they knew would lead the way home. They might straggle in by themselves, or paired up with others, but in any case, somehow they all knew that was where they were supposed to go...

And then they got there, they found a fire burning right in the middle of the clearing, ringed with blue, and with no source of fuel, just floating the in the air, spreading a glow through the clearing. On the one hand, it was a horrible floating, deadly fire. On the other hand, some instinct they all shared, some indistinct notion was telling them this was somehow the way home.

Whatever they decided to do, they had to do it soon, because the angry voices were getting closer.

[ooc: More subthreads will be added, but since the reaction of the townspeople kinda depends on what the group is like when they arrive, I'm letting those subthreads happen first.]

It was inevitable for all of them. Something would push them, there would be cracks, and then the truth would find its way in.

How it changed for each of them would be different, but the end result would be the same.

The world would change.

Because they would change.

[ooc: I figured out a really good way to organize this with help from chat rather than a big messy communal post or spamming the comm with individual posts. Post each character with a blank tag with just the character's name in the subject. Underneath it, run as many subthreads for events as you need to set up for your specific character's change back. Hiccup's will be up as an example.]

This was Alison Truesdale's shot at popularity glory. She had invited, like, the entire school to her parent's giant house while they were away in Aspen for Christmas, leaving the entire house to her. (She'd purposefully wanted to stay home to throw a party, because they'd left all her presents and stuff, right? And beyond that, it's not like she wanted to hang out with her parents over the holidays. Booo-ring).

Okay, so maybe she hadn't invited the entire school, but most of the people in the junior and senior class and the invite was in turn, open to anyone they knew. She'd even discreetly made it seem like the nerdier kids could come, too, but, like, that was sort of a joke, you know, that they'd show up and think they were welcome, and then everyone else could pretend to like them and have a good laugh about it.

There was tons of food, good music, she'd even managed to get a ton of liquor and a keg thanks to her friend Ashley's older brother, and everything was just...perfect.

This was going to be, like, the party of the year, omg. Even the nerds there nerding it up could be part of the fun, especially since all the popular kids were totally in on the joke, and it seemed like none of them were.

[ooc: This is sheerly for teen mingling, though I am going to tag into various conversations with the weird reality bendy hallucinations and all, so get to tagging so I can!]

Ah, the Fairplay Christmas Pageant. It took place in the Fairplay VFW Hall every year, which, due to the regular needs of the town had received enough money to expand the hall to use it for most community events. People filtered in and out all night so that most families in the town made an appearance at some point. There was punch, egg nog, Christmas snacks, a guy who dressed up as Santa, little kids doing the Nativity play, the mayor's speech, Christmas raffles...

Everyone was expected to attend. Everyone. Parents dragged their kids and teenagers sulked in the corners, presents were exchanged among members of the town, people who did business together used it as a time to talk shop and be a little social, and parents talked about how great their kid's grades were or how little Johnny was doing on the football field.

What a wonderful celebration of townish togetherness, right? People talking about gifts they'd gotten their family members as the status symbols they were, people trying to compete with others in a competition of "Who has the most impressive child?," people sniping each other because of what happened at the last PTA meeting or because they were jealous of another person's success with their business. Funtimes, funtimes.

And as sad before, everyone was expected to attend. Everyone.

[ooc: Follow the rules for each subthread that are in the ooc notes.]

Just another day at Fairplay High School...