Akiko Bong's Story

For a few moments, Akiko was wide awake. She was back in her Shinigami Gray form and standing in front of the Boo Crew as she had been before the ground had swallowed them whole. She could see the sand and hear the waves in her right ear. Her Ghostly Gang stood in front of her. The suit felt unusually heavy. There was a calmness Akiko hadn't felt in what seemed like ages.

Then, beeping from her belt followed by a wave of exhaustion. The lantern popped off and Akiko demorphed, leaving her with the conservative black dress she had chosen for the funeral. She opened her mouth to say something but didn't have a chance before she passed out again.

As the ship tilted forwards and began pushing off the timestranded supers and the humans inside the belly of the ship Devon decided to not waste more precious time and took a running jump towards the swirling time portal. Taking one last look behind as he jumped. "Thanks for everything, both of you and may we meet again... In due time." He yelled back the crew of the ship.

He had no idea whether they had heard him or the portal had already swallowed him at that point, since the next moment he was back on the beach with everything in between being a vague mess on the very of a semi-lucid. It wasn't until Henry began speaking that he snapped back into reality, while his body may have been completely unchanged from the adventure he could still feel some fatigue. He quickly searched around in his pockets until he found the orb Chimalma had given him, tangible evidence that what had just happened wasn't some hallucination.

He didn't have long to study the orb though before Akiko drew his attention by slumping over like a sack of potatoes. "I guess it only reverted physical ailments and not so much mental fatigue... Or soul fatigue?... Anyways, going back to the hotel sounds like a good idea." Devon then walked over to Akiko lifting her up and throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman carry style. "If only to drop this one off... More important question, do you have a vehicle or are we gonna have to fly air Freischütz?" He asked Henry.
The others he didn't expect to have used a vehicle, Sasha could just easily morph into something that'd move quickly and inconspicuously, Akiko could turn invisible and fly and well he knew damn well how he got there, but Henry's power didn't seem to have a convenient transportation option that wasn't running around like a cosmic kaiju.

"Akiko!" Henry exclaimed as the phantasmal hero suddenly slumped on to the sands. He looked over to Devon and nodded at his assessment as he went to lift her up. "soul fatigue? Sounds about right. I had one of George's chauffeurs take me. I dunno if the driver'll be so happy to head back so...soon?" he questioned ofr a moment. Soon was technically correct, but it seemed as if they were venturing on the beach for hours. "But this is what the drivers are payed for. I hope. So I'll head back that way. You should hurry on ahead and drop off Akiko so she can get soem rest. And Sasha..." Henry turned to shrug at the morphing hero. "Sasha'll just kinda do his own thing, I think," he said with a laugh.

Moving on, Henry made his way away from the beach, towards where he last rememebred the limo had been parked.

***

And eventually, he made it back to the inn safe and sound. Devon was correct in his assessment of them all being mentally tired, so he made sure to get a brief nap in on the ride back. The others were presumably around somewhere unless they had already headed to the memorial. Nevertheless he felt eager to, at some point, share the most pertinent news of the adventures in the time tunnel; the Artifact of the Beast. ...but, maybe after another nap, first.

"At least there won't be nearly as much traffic on the road back." Devon jested as He watched Henry walk off to his ride before realizing he'd better get a move on as well. "It's probably a good thing you're knocked out, it isn't exactly a pleasant experience for first time flyers." He mumbled to an unconscious Akiko a wisps of smoke began trailing around the both of them pulling them into wraith form. As soon as the smoke had dissolved the both of them Devon set off flying the straightest path to the hotel he could practically follow.

____

At arriving back at the resort one couldn't help but notice the crater in the yard and the debris in the area surrounding it. Though who left such a striking impact from the others that were residing at the resort was a bit of a conundrum to him, there were actually quite a few culprits that he could see able to cause that amount of damage. Might be worth looking into who it was later, but first there were other priorities.

Still maintaining his wraith form Devon made his way to the room he assumed was Akiko's, at the very least he assumed there weren't any others that had brought companions of the feline nature with them. Slipping his way through the cracks around the doorframe he entered the room and with a glance at the cat was was just lazing on the bed he confirmed that it was Akiko's. As he undid his wraith form to deposit an unconscious Akiko the very much unappreciating feline jumped up, hissed and fled the scene for one of the hidden corners of the room, though Devon had a feeling he/she would return quite quickly to the bed and Akiko once he'd left the room. He laid Akiko into the bed and made sure to tuck her in before returning to his wraith form and making his way to the ground floor.

He went almost directly to the buffet for a cup of coffee, as it was quite honestly very much needed. If only to take the edge of the circadian fuck-up-ery that was that bout of time travel. After downing the first cup of coffee he got his hands on in pretty much one big gulp he grabbed a refill and headed back out into the resort, looking for any other sign of life... Well beyond the staff, one couldn't exactly talk esoteric matters to them... Especially since he hadn't even gotten a firm grasp on it all himself.

Henry went to get a snack, feeling exhausted after the adventure in the time tunnels, despite his replenished energy after emerging. He opened the fridge and saw some tuna salad. Not his favorite, but it'd do for a small sandwich. As he made his way to make it, he noticed someone staring at him from his peripheral vision.

One of Akiko's cats. The collar, he squinted to read said Will-o-Wisps.

"Do you....want the tuna?" he asked.

The cat narrowed it's eyes.

"I'm not even sure you can eat anything in here that's not tuna."

The cat's eyes narrowed further.

"Look, I'm not gonna give you anything that could kill you! Unless you're already dead or something...Are you guys even regular cats?"

"Purr...." the cat said, glancing form one side of the room to the other.

"..."

The cat slowly made it's way backwards out of the kitchen...

The Time Tunnels

Outside the cracked glass that occasionally dotted the walls of the time tunnels sat the Outer Chronoclasm, a realm of pure chaos and destruction. A black void of a realm, constantly moving with unseen forces and energies that few could make sense of, and fewer could even conceive of surviving. It was a torrent of utter destruction, the likes of which even the roaches had learned long ago to respect.

Two soldier roaches guarded this tunnel, waiting for reinforcements to arrive and do a changing of guard. Word had already spread that a massive assault on the tunnels had cost them hundreds of laborers, at least. Work on their war ships would be slowed to a grinding halt as a result, and the Queen… Still living, but the utter disrespect she’d suffered at the hands of those filthy interlopers, it was inconceivable to the roaches, and they would have their revenge.

The two guards chattered and clicked in their insectoid tones, nearly mimicking machines. Topics of conversation had varied from their beloved Queen, the attack earlier, the tastiest fallen comrades they’d consumed, and much more. But soon their talking stopped, having noticed something odd out of their peripherals. Something had been moving strangely, coming from… Behind the glass?

The quiet of the hall was erased by an explosion of noise; glass bursting open, the tinkling and crashing sound of it hitting the floor, the mighty roar of the chaos beyond the glass.

Winds whipped around the hall, threatening to pull the two roach guards to a fate that might be worse than death. A heavy thud was heard, causing them to turn their gazes back towards the now destroyed window. There was a figure standing there.

Twelve feet tall.
Muscular.
Bipedal.
Carrying a sword.
Covered head to toe in armor.
Surrounded by a blue, mist like light.

The armor was shaped intentionally to mimic that of what one would see on a knight, but the material was far from simply ‘medieval’. It was more like a patchwork of a thousand war zones, across thousands of years. Some of it bore the steely look of an ancient warrior, some of it gleamed as though from some far flung, space-age time. And other parts still looked as if it could have been stone.

All of it appeared to have severe cracks throughout it, but they were fused together, like thick scars or fissures. The same was true of the sword in fact. It must have been shattered into thousands of pieces, yet here it stood in one, monolithic piece. A testament to its long journey. And to its wielder.

And the blue light, a strange substance that seemed to be both at once a sort of intangible mist, and light. It glowed a beautiful, vibrant, soft tone of blue, and when touched it might seem as though it were air, or a cloud. At least that is how it currently would feel…

Whoever this individual was, he was what the bugs had seen on the other side. Out of the Chronoclasm. The roaches tried to respond quickly, one opening fire on him nearly immediately, landing every shot on the intruder.

The shots did nothing to the man. He turned to the roach that had shot him, and sent a mighty fist into its skull, colliding the creature’s entire body into the ground beneath him.

The other now began to open fire as it tried to flee, but the towering intruder was able to catch it in only a few mere steps. The knight wrapped a hand around the creature’s neck, lifting it off the ground, before slamming it back down into it. Once. Twice. Thrice.

He lifted it back up in front of him, bringing the roach to eye level with him.

“*klik* Pitiful…. Creature? *kilk* Man… Human! What *klik* ever you are… You cannot… *klik* defeat the Roaches! We are… *klik* the masters…. Of the End of Time!”

The hulking figure was silent a few moments, before a soft, amused sigh could be heard from within his mask. “Well I guess today isn’t your day then, because I’m from the Beginning of it.” Bright blue light surrounded the man and the roach, as he pierced his left fist through the carapace like chest of the Roach, and pulled at its head with his right, removing it with ease.

As he dropped the corpse of the roach to the ground, he walked back to the other that shot first at him, his feet landing heavily on the ground, body swirling with the bright blue, misty light that followed him wherever he walked. It began to pour forth from him, surrounding the other roach and lifting it into the air, screeches erupting from it as it felt its body being crushed down by some kind of incredible pressure.

“I will only ask this once, ‘pitiful creature’. Where is the Artifact?”

The roach looked to him, what little its eyes could show were showing fear. “It was *klik* taken by a human, to another time! We don’t know where *klik* it has gone!” The words were sputtered out as the mountain of a man stood before it, the blue light enveloping the roach pulled it closer and closer to him. “You *klik* fool… You think you can *klik* defeat us? Who are *klik* you to think you can defeat what has *klik* already passed!”

A moment of silence passed as the tall figure held his sword out, feeling the weight of it as the blue light swirled around them. “I’ve fought worse.” His voice was monotone as he lifted the sword and cleaved the roach from top to bottom, it’s thick armor offering up no resistance.

The body fell to the floor, and while the blue light continued to swirl, the giant knight quickly went over his next plan of action. It sounded as though someone either very stupid, or very unaware had gotten their hands on the artifact. Either way, he needed to figure out where they had gone, and quickly. Otherwise…

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of approaching roaches, a group of twenty or so who quickly spotted him, and the remains of their comrades. They lifted their weapons to him, and the blue light cascaded towards them.

No time to waste then.



The Resort

Richard had been on his way to return to the library when he heard some loud noises coming from another part of the resort again. He couldn’t place exactly where it was, but it sounded like there had been some crackling? Like electricity?

He passed by the buffet dining hall, stumbling upon Devon who seemed to be taking advantage of his own coffee routine. But he seemed kind of tired, almost as if he’d had a rough night or something. At least mentally. Richard chose to put it aside and gave a wave to the German. “Hey, George wants to see us in the library. You should come along.”

Richard continued on towards the library, passing through the kitchen first, and once again stumbling upon someone, Henry this time. Strange, he also seemed a little on the tired side. Had others been having trouble sleeping or something? Might be a bit of projection on his part though, he doubted Henry had the same reasons to be losing sleep as himself. “Hey Henry, sorry to interrupt you, but George wants to see us all in the library, you should come with.” With that, he exited once again, Henry in tow, and Devon gravitating in the same direction.



George heard a soft, English voice pipe up in the library, and upon lifting his eyes from the pages of his book was greeted by Klaus, a man who had the most interesting timing of any man he’d ever met. He smiled back to Klaus, giving a nod in greeting.

“Good morning Klaus, and yes I’m doing as well as can be expected in the circumstances. Thank you for asking. How are you managing? I expect this has taken quite a toll on everyone.” In fact, George had been weighing that on his mind considerably. He’d speak to the others as a group, but felt it was time to offer them some much needed mental respite; someone to talk to.

Before anything else could be said, a flurry of noise erupted from another part of the resort. Sairyn’s library. George furrowed his brow and let out the softest sigh one could imagine, the tiniest loss of composure he could muster given his growing agitation. “Excuse me a moment Klaus.” George briefly exited the library and made his way to the lab.

On the floor in a heap was Sairyn, Pendleton, and Yue. Standing in the room was a nearly shirtless Alex, and some ball he was holding in his hands. George looked to all of them, brow furrowed slightly, eyes that uncomfortable narrowness of someone ready to scold. But rather than do that, he was very simple, brief, and commanding.

“Library, now. Everyone.”



The team was now gathered together in the library, everyone capable of arriving there at least. George was seated back in his seat, and Klaus had remained in his for the time being, still enjoying the steaming cup of coffee he had.

“Now that you’re all here, we have some matters to discuss, namely the memorial, and a… New Mission that’s come to us. But before we begin, how about you all update me on what’s been happening today. Seems you’ve all run a little more loose and wild than I had anticipated.”

His voice carried a little sternness to it, but was not cold or unkind. It was almost like a parent who had come home to find their children drawing all over work documents. Of course, blowing up a chunk of the property was a little more expensive to fix.



Club Shapeless: Atlas City

Maxwell smirked upon reading the response he’d received from Gideon, but chose to disregard the remark. They’d both had their independent successes, but now they were going to have to rely on each other, work together to get what they wanted out of Atlas City, and potentially beyond.

As each member entered the room, he would greet them with an affirming nod, though under his mask he was raising an eyebrow at Spiderblood’s entrance. What were they riding? Was that a dog in a spider costume? He decided not to address it, there had been weirder things to have happened here.

And Scourge… That was a mountain of a man, something he hadn’t anticipated seeing so soon (and in such good condition) from Kiran. But here he stood: The Shape’s response to ‘Balthazar’, or whatever those Witchfinder nuts called the monster they’d bought.

“Thank you for joining me everyone. We have some business to discuss, some of it being… Breaking news. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that what is discussed in this room stays in this room, but I’m going to out of care for our mutual needs.”

His eyes flicked over to Zeke, Kiran, and Scourge before continuing. “At times I believe it is essential to remind everyone that a betrayal of each other is a betrayal of me. I expect you all to protect each other as much as you would protect me, and our business operations.”



The Memorial: Atlas City

Victor followed Cannonade with his eyes as Cannonade passed by with very little regard for their welcomers. He smirked. “There’s that famous confidence I’ve heard about.” He chuckled, speaking mainly to himself and the Attorney General.

She looked on with uncertainty and discomfort. There were other words she could think of than ‘confidence’ that would be impolite to voice out loud. “And you’re thinking about trying to invite them to work for us?” She asked in a tone trying to mask her incredulity.

Victor nodded and smiled. “At the very least inviting. Last I heard they were missing a team, so perhaps we can help them out.”

“If you say so…” Was all the AG could mutter back.

The President briskly followed Cannonade, as did his entourage, as he attempted to make friendly overtures to the hero. “Again, it’s so good to have you here! We’re inviting some of the heroes who were on the beach that day to speak some words of encouragement to the crowd, is that something you’d be up for? We can absolutely get a time slot in for you!”

Devon had barely made three steps away from the coffee maker when Richard intercepted him letting him know that George desired their presence in the library. No rest for the wicked, I guess. Gonna need one more of these then. He thought as he downed the still hot coffee and turned around for another cup before heading to the library.

While the team gathered in the library Devon found himself a seat near Klaus who himself appeared to be enjoying a nice hot brew of black gold. "Do you by any chance know a Captain Ratgarok? Because we've had the strangest run in with him this morning and he claimed to be a friend of yours." He asked to the chronomancer while George got back into his seat.

He hadn't had the time to fill in Klaus with any of the details before George spoke up and immediately got to the business end. While he didn't let go much about what he wanted to discuss leaving that for after he'd been updated on what had been happening, no doubt referring to the damages to the resort more than the things he, Henry, Sasha and Akiko had been up to, if George was even remotely aware of what they've been up to.

Taking the silence after Georges words as a chance Devon spoke up. "Well, Henry, Akiko, Sasha and myself have done a little more investigating on the beach, though it would be better for the others to give an update about that the information from my end needs some lab work before it becomes anything useful. But beyond that and probably most significantly..." He said as he pulled the orb out of his pockets. "... We've had a series of strange encounters of the temporal kind resulting in me having this right here. A blueprint of sorts for a weapon that easily outclasses the weapons the military used against the beast of decay. I have no clue how to decipher the blueprint, but I can vouch for the power of the weapon itself." He said holding the orb up between his fingertips allowing the others and most importantly George to get a good look at it.

"Yeah, basically...we went through a wormhole, helped a talking rat fight some Time Roaches, but most importantly for us right now..." Henry walked into the library, corroborating Devon's tale. "These roaches were worshipping the Beast...or whatever the rest of it's called...actually there's a whole other thing about. Akiko could tell you more, but we had a chat with the ghost of the dude that was chasing the Beast to our world."

Henry took a bite of his tuna sandwich. It was also a crunchy sandwich...but only due to the addition of bacon. "But there was this one super there with us, who ran off and stole something related to these Beasts that the Roaches were worshipping. Her codename's Isotropic but she hasn't come up in any databases when I searched her up. So, hopefully she's in our timeline...'cause she definitely has some explaining to do."

Akiko stepped forward, materializing as she did. She had been a couple minutes late after being accidentally woken up by the staff member assigned to feed Spookmeister. The woman had nearly had a heart attack after walking into the room, only to see a pair of glowing eyes in the dark from a half-awake Akiko. After the screaming died down and apologies were profusely given, the ghost hero had scrambled to make it to the meeting. Along the way, she had become invisible so as to slip in unnoticed and hopefully avoid reproach. If George's tone on his last sentence indicated anything, it was that reproach would be given regardless.

"We did get some explanation from the spirit I spoke to," Akiko added to Devon and Henry's summaries. "His name was Wayland Philips and he was a detective from the Sandrigham Detective Agency. He was investigating disappearances near a swamp where a decaying building was housed. Apparently one of the towers began to glow green and he ended up in a different world? Sort of?"

"Wayland described ending up in a place that had a black, all encompassing sky. A place with lots of planets and colors and a rocky, fiery terrain. A place none us could name but where creatures like the monster of the beach were possibly formed since it was full... of creatures like the beast of decay in various shapes and sizes. In fact, Wayland said our beast was an infant compared to the ones he saw."

"He had no suggestions on how to destroy them," Akiko frowned. "He ended up in our world after the beasts' world, on the beach, and decayed as soon as he did. He said in his time, his team neither had neither the technology nor power to fight the beast. Supers like us didn't even exist in his time."

"So I think Henry has a point in saying we should pursue Isotropic. If that even is her real code name. She told me her name was Polarity at first. There was a cube she had, black with symbols none of us could recognize. It may be the key to the world Wayland was describing."

~*~

Isotropic sneezed again, her superior frowning as he handed her another tissue from across the table. She muttered her thanks before noisily blowing her nose into a tissue, causing a deeper frown from her superior. The wrinkles on her forehead becoming even more pronounced.

"I swear, someone must be going on another long rant about me," Isotropic complained as she tossed the tissue into a nearby waste bin.

"When is someone not?" her superior remarked as she continued to examine the cube on the table before her. Behind her was a young man in glasses, smirking as he leaned on a wooden cane. The board room was empty otherwise but Isotropic knew there guards posted outside the door. She glared at the young man who simply looked even more smug. He had been the first face she had seen upon resuming time in her world, cube in hand, and their lab looking as busy as the moment she had gone off to the tunnels. The president had come after Isotropic had been scanned and scrubbed down to cleanse any remnants of the roaches or time travel business off of her.

"President Arvis, shouldn't Iso go on out? She's done her duty," the young man remarked as he slicked back his reddish hair with his free hand. Isotropic narrowed her eyes.

"Don't be absurd, Lorrus. Isotropic should bask in this moment with us. The moment in which Arvis Industries takes its first steps into its next phase. Perhaps next era once we harness the power of the Artifact," the president smiled. "For the good of the company and for our stocks."

"stonks," Isotropic muttered quietly before being violently glared at by President Arvis.

"You know what, yeah Iso, you should go. We can resume our talk once you've rested."

Marcus stifled a yawn as he pushed open the door to the cathedral, bits of spittle dotting the wrist of his cassock. He hadn’t slept much the last few days - too busy counseling the aggrieved, or volunteering in search and rescue or clean up endeavors. He hadn’t had mass even once since the disaster on the beach had interrupted Sunday’s Latin service. A flawless seventeen year streak, broken in the most unimaginable way possible. Even so, the church had never been empty in the past week. If anything, it seemed to gain new faces each time he opened the door, and thus he’d resolved to resume regular service this morning

The silhouettes of parishioners were visible in the side-chapels of the cathedral as Marcus stepped into the hall, the creak of the heavy wooden door echoing off the walls as it swung shut behind him. It was almost deafeningly silent in the building, despite the number of people in here; the quiet was only kept from becoming oppressive by the soft hiss of distant whispers and occasional muffled sob. The hush of the Father’s footsteps across the carpet was easily the loudest sound in the building as he began to cross between the pews to the lectern in front of the cathedra.

He stopped mid-stride, somewhat slowly, as his attention was grabbed by something he hadn’t noticed immediately. A woman, sitting hunched in the pews, head so low he hadn’t noticed her until he was standing almost directly adjacent to her. It wasn’t unusual for someone to be praying in the pews this early - this was a church after all, and considering recent events, Marcus could hardly blame a woman for choosing to arrive early to mass for a moment of personal prayer.

Except, she didn’t seem to be praying. Her eyes were closed, forehead resting on the pew in front of her, and for a moment Marcus thought she might have been sleeping, if it were not for her left hand gripping the top of the pew so tightly that she crushed the wood under her hand, splinters jutting from between her fingers.

“Ma’am?” Marcus spoke softly, reaching out with his fingers to brush gently against her shoulder. “Are you alright?” She tilted her head ever so slightly, eyes opening to peer at him with dark eyes before his fingers had even reached her, making his hand momentarily stiffen in midair. Despite the tenseness in the woman’s hand, her face seemed utterly impassive. Marcus let his hand drop.

”I’ve never known a priest to interrupt someone in prayer,” she said, so softly Marcus had to strain his ears to hear it. He thought she had some sort of accent… English, maybe?

Marcus’s lower lip quivered briefly before he spoke up again. “I apologize, you seemed to be…” his eyes flickered back to her hand again. “...in some sort of distress. If you’re in need of any sort of counsel-” he was interrupted by the soft clatter of wood shards as she released her grip on the pew in front of her, following Marcus’s gaze to her hand and appraising it as if she hadn’t noticed the damage. She wiped the dust off on the knee of her slacks before standing.

She was tall. So, so, very tall, over seven feet easily, and Father Marcus stumbled back a couple steps, hand pressing against his chest in dull surprise. ”None that can be provided by mortal men, I’m afraid,” she said, still in that soft voice, leaning down to pick up the black jacket of her black suit, then straightened her tie as she rose back up to her full height. ”Thank ye for your concern, Father. Excuse me.”

Marcus struggled to form words as she stepped past him, her stride carrying nearly all the way to the door of the cathedral before he rallied. “Mass begins in-”

”Another time,” she called back over her shoulder, almost at a normal speaking volume. Her voice sounded hoarse, as if it were painful to speak that loudly. The creak of the door as it closed behind her seemed a far easier sound to make.

---

”Sorry I’m late,” Maeve said as she stepped into the meeting room, moving to sit at the Shape’s left side, between him and Pyromancer. Her eyes flicked at the monster behind the doctor briefly, trying to recall if he’d been there before.

---

Sheri leaned againat a bookshelf with her arms crossed, near the back of the little gathering where her new... employer... wouldn't have direct line of sight on her. Time roaches? Ghosts? She scoffed quietly at the recounting of the others' "adventures".

The mention of the other super, though. Polarity, Isotropic... she wracked her brain, trying to remember if they were familiar to her or not. Had she heard either of those names before? Polarity sounded... well, as familiar as any generic super name sounded. If nothing else... she supposed she could put some feelers out with her own contacts, but decided not to volunteer if old Georgie wasn't going to force the issue.

Klaus chuckled softly at Devon's mention of Ratgarok, "A dear friend, I hadn't realized we'd be discussing your adventures in the Roach's Den so soon," his voice was barely above a whisper as he listened to Henry and Akiko speak.

Truth was, he'd hunted down Isotropic shortly after she managed to slip away through the vortex, never managed to find her, but he was certain this group could. Though, their next trip into the Den would truly test them all. Adventures Klaus had experienced three years ago, shortly after taking up the moniker of The Cobalt Clock. It was all beginning to make sense to him now, but back then, the Den was someplace he simply found himself, it wasn't readily accessible nor could he chart a course for them on the Chrono Dialer. Sure, Klaus knew what to look for anomaly-wise, but ever since he found himself in that place out of time he wasn't sure of anything, something still felt very wrong about it all. He shifted in his seat, suddenly hyper-aware of how out of place he was.

The Resort

George listened intently as Devon started off, describing events that frankly baffled the mind. The old man maintained a stoic face, but his mind worked over the information as it came out. Now he was aware of the fact that there were a great many matters he had been unaware of up until now. That both excited and worried him, as the conversation implied potentially new allies, but also enemies.

It was when Devon presented a strange orb that the room seemed to draw in to that one space, George himself carefully studying the strange, arcane device. "It creates a weapon you say? Most peculiar... I urge caution, but this is promising. We will need any and all assistance we can get. With your permission, I can perhaps have some of my own researchers take a look at it, and perhaps some of our more scientifically oriented team mates." He gave a nod of his head to Sai and Klaus in consideration.

Henry spoke next, confirming more of Devon's story, and adding onto it. "Henry, it sounds like your team has had some substantial experience with this... Strange series of events. It concerns me greatly that so many events appear to be coalescing at this time. Whatever these ‘time roaches’ are, if they’re connected to the creature from the beach, they're going to need to be dealt with. As for the woman, I'll see what I can do to locate her as well. I'm worried she could be connected to the soldiers that had appeared on the Beach the day of the attack. Even if she's not, her appearance warrants investigation."

Before George could ask further about the situation with Wayland, Akiko had seemingly appeared from nowhere to explain what had been communicated between her and the otherworldly man.

Richard listened intently, feeling his skin crawl as Akiko described what Wayland had seen. It was bizarre to think he'd stood next to that man only a few days ago, but somehow this girl had been speaking to his spirit? That did seem a little less strange than the Time Roach stuff, which felt completely out of his element. But this.... Felt like a description of Hell itself. "You ahh... Spoke to his spirit?" He asked a little uncertainly. "Did he say anything about getting to that place he saw?"

There was a moment of silence before Akiko and the others made it clear that that was knowledge Wayland hadn't possessed. With what she recounted though, maybe that was for the best.

Akiko continued, now describing the rest of the events with Polarity/Isotropic, and an 'artifact' she'd escaped with. George needed only a split second of consideration before he rose a hand to interject again. He opened Wuthering Heights to a blank page and produced a pen from his jacket.

"Black stone with symbols? Do you think you could recreate some of those symbols for me? Write them down here?"

He nodded to the blank page, placing the pen down next to it. The old man's eyes carried hint of intensity to them now.



Club Shapeless: Atlas City

Maxwell gave a brief nod to Maeve as she entered the room, feeling quite pleased as she took her seat next to him. "It's quite alright, I'm glad you were able to join us." Others may have seen it as presumptuous for her to take a seat next to him, after all she was still very new to the organization. The Shape, however, felt it was exactly what he wanted. She was remarkably powerful, confident, and a sign like this signaled a growing sense of loyalty. There was ambition there for certain, but when ambition and loyalty came together, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Scourge's voice filled the room for a moment, as he remarked upon Maxwell, and his comparably lesser size. He smirked under the mask as he looked in the direction of Kiran's 'child'. "Fearless, and feared." He replied confidently. "Don't worry, I'm quite formidable. I wouldn't be in charge here if I wasn't." Maxwell spoke pleasantly, intent on proving something to Scourge: that the newborn giant of a man could trust The Shape to lead.

And finally, they were drawn back to the matter at hand by Zeke, who seemed to have the embers of resentment still burning inside, directed at Scourge. Maxwell was going to have to find some way to cool them both off later, infighting was not going to help.

"Yes, breaking news, as in only having taken place probably 20 minutes ago. Our 'friends' the Witchfinders have had a little accident befall them." Maxwell pulled out his phone, making a few quick swipes while a screen on the wall flickered to life. On it were images of a collapsed warehouse. "After the attack at Atomic Anne's, I had some of our men collecting intel on where Witchfinders might be storing weapons. We'd had suspicions that this warehouse might be one location, and it seems they've been confirmed."

He turned back to those gathered, clasping his hands together on the table. "I need some of you to investigate it immediately, before authorities catch wind. Everyone's been fairly caught up in the memorial, but it won't be long until someone shows up. Having said that, I'm also concerned the authorities may have been involved in this somehow, but we can't not move on this. Whoever is arming these terrorists, we need to find them and deal with them. Quickly."

"I...can write down what I remember, yeah," Henry nodded apprehensively, taking the book and pen. "Just keep in mind, I wouldn't advise studying it at the earliest convenience. At least not for too long/ Maybe hire some specialists for this kinda thing. Psychics, mystics..." he went on as he began to recreate the symbols he'd see inscribed on the stone to the best of his abilities. Usually when things like this have a language, it's a 'caution' sign for anyone who dares to read it."

"This is all I can remember. Even when I think back to it, the memory's kinda blurry...Weird, when everything else that happened in those tunnels feels so vivid. ...But probably for the best." Henry looked towards the others who had made the trek across the End of Time, turning to a new blank page.. "You guys remember any?"

***
With the arrival of the dragon woman, the meeting proper could begin. Maxwell took a bit of time to intimidate as he was wont to do, but he was quick enough in getting to the business at hand. And what a sordid business it was. Witchfinders...moronic fanatics with no idea of how the world truly worked. Quite the blemish on business, they were, always showing up to throw a wrench in the works. Their recent exploits in Atlas City were no different. And with a third-party supplier in the mix...Gideon was more than willing to get his hands a little dirty with this one.

"I can promise you this much, Shape. The authorities will be off your back as long as you need them to be," Gideon replied, his hologram displayed before the group, scratching his chin in thought. "As for those that may be involved...Perhaps an internal investigation, of sorts, is in order."

The Resort

George placed a hand down on the book, stopping Henry and the others from writing anything else. He gently thumbed back to the page with the symbols and carefully studied them. A moment of silence fell over the room before the old man sat back up in his chair and looked to the group.

"Finding this woman is a top priority. Ladies and gentlemen, I am asking you to use all the skills and abilities at your disposal to find this Polarity, or Isotropic. I need you all to capture her alive, and this... 'Artifact', I need you to obtain it intact. It may be that we need to destroy it, but I want to avoid even the tiniest mistakes until we have a clearer idea of what it is."

He looked to Sairyn a moment, as to several of the others gathered. "Mr. Pendrake, I would appreciate your talents in collecting whatever data you can gleam about this woman. She may have connections to the mystery soldiers from the beach, or not. As for everyone else, whatever you can offer in the search for her, you're welcome to provide that assistance."

"What's got you so spooked about this 'artifact' Mr. Carlisle?" Richard asked bluntly, eyes searching George for the tiniest clue, the slightest tell, that could reveal some of the knowledge he was so intently holding back. "You've seen these symbols before? Where? And what do they mean?"

George remained as stoic as before. "Unfortunately, none of those questions will be of any help to you all right now. You need to stay focused on the tasks at hand, finding this woman, and the artifact. Not to mention the other tasks at hand."



Club Shapeless: Atlas City

The Shape gave an appreciative nod to Gideon. "Your assistance is greatly appreciated Mr. Gauss. And an internal investigation could be very much warranted, though I recommend a cautious approach. If it becomes too obvious that we're looking for Witchfinder agents, or people working for their suppliers, it could drive them more into hiding."

Maxwell chuckled slightly before continuing. "Of course, again, time is of the essence. We need to find information, evidence, leads. The Witchfinders, much as I disdain their antics, aren't what we're worried about. Uncovering their supplier is our goal. Once we do that... Well the rest should be evident."

"I work at a detective agency so I can also assist in finding Isotropic as part of the Scream Dream Team," Akiko offered as she pulled the book away from Henry gently. She took the pen as well and started on a rough sketch of what Isotropic had looked like.

"Though I have to say, Mr. Carlisle, for someone who doesn't want to make mistakes, you sure are being vague about things," Akiko said as she paused from the angry face she had made on her stick figure drawing. "I'm afraid if you aren't more forthcoming with information, we may make much more than tiny mistakes."

She knew it was kind of risky mouthing off like that but Akiko also knew how dangerous a lack of information could be. Richard was right in assessing that George was hiding something. However, she hoped he wouldn't be able to notice her own nervous state as she spoke to George, the pen shaking slightly in her hand. She swallowed loudly, the image of Wayland's ghost clear in her mind.

"This artifact is related to the Beast of Decay and if there is something else you know about it, we need to know. I don't think any of us want to get wiped out because we didn't comprehend that artifact's power."

Akiko felt cool but she also felt very, very exposed. She could feel George's stare and she started panicking internally. Her last couple of lines were accompanied by her trying to not look too desperate for someone else to speak up and draw George's attention.

~*~


"I swear I need to carry like a pouch of tissues," Isotropic sighed as she wiped her nose, having sneezed for like the fifteenth time. She looked down at the detailed drawing in front of her, noticing how the artist had even managed to get the hair just right. The drawing of Henry seemed pretty accurate, or at least, as accurate as her memory of him was.

"I'll have to give her a raise," she said as she sat back in the office chair, putting the drawing back on her desk. Movement drew her gaze to the leather couch where a young man sat, dressed in a heavy looking, black coat. His dark gray eyes came up to meet hers and he looked away quickly.

"And you as well, of course!" Isotropic exclaimed as she jumped out of her chair, laughing rather loudly. Her office door was shut thankfully. "Thanks to you, it was a clean getaway. Be proud! Lunch is on me...tomorrow."

The young man looked up as Isotropic walked over to where her coat lay on the couch, picking it up as she jangled the keys in her other hand.

"If the boss asks, I took a half day. Told me herself I needed to rest," she said with a mischievous grin. "Get that drawing over to her, would ya? I'm already running late for my nap."

The door slammed closed and the young man sighed, walking over to the desk. He looked down at the drawing, a few other drawings underneath. Rough renditions of Shinigami, Freischütz, and Koshchei. They weren't very accurate in some parts however. He gathered them up diligently and with another sigh, headed off to do Isotropic's bidding...

"I can run a basic records search," Sai mused, through the tinny speakers of a data slate. Yue had wheeled it in zip-tied haphazardly to an IV pole earlier. Sairyn rolled into view from off screen on an office stool with a fire extinguisher. He sprayed it loudly onto what appeared to be some kind of cybernetic which had been burning uncontrollably on screen for the past few minutes. "Beyond that, until I have some kind of tangible evidence I can work with... I do have other duties," he finished, after a noticeable pause. It looked like he was going to say something else, and then changed his mind after seeing who was gathered in the room.

Yue had found a corner to lean in quietly, and watched the rest of the attendees from behind her blank face-mask with her hands stuffed solidly into her hoodie pocket. Her dark hair spilled out of the hood haphazardly, and she chose to remain silent for the time being.

"On another note, mass hysteria is a topic of interest for me so...," he turned the camera towards a corner of the lab where an MRI machine had been set up. "Just come downstairs to get scanned at your leisure. I'll be here all week."

The Resort

Richard interjected again to draw George's attention away from the increasingly anxious Akiko, though she did her best to hide that. "The more we know about what's going on, the more helpful we can be. Besides, you have us working for you, so there really isn't any reason to hide things like this from us."

George's eyes darted to Richard again, and the old man let out a soft sigh. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. You are working for me, certainly, but I've reasons enough to worry you could be working for others as well. Namely, the Soldiers in Black. Furthermore, there are other items of business to attend to. Whatever information I have for on this 'artifact', knowing it now won't be of any use to you. If you're going to persist on the issue, I will tell you all more about it. Later. For now, we've other matters to attend to."

Richard, arms crossed, rapped his right hand's fingers across his upper arm. He wasn't entirely pleased with the answer, but perhaps George was right. Maybe it would be better to hear it all later? "Other matters?" He repeated back in query.

George nodded, before looking to both Sairyn and Akiko. He'd noticed the Tinker was being represented by an IV pole mounted screen. The old man felt... Less than enthusiastic about that. But Sairyn was at least 'attending' the meeting, so George supposed it was best to just go along with it. "Mr. Pendrake, we can worry about the Polarity matters later. I certainly believe there are better ways your skills can be utilized in that search, so before we worry about it I'll do some information gathering of my own. I'll make sure you, and everyone else, is immediately informed when we do have more tangible information. Right now however, I have work that you could be of more immediate assistance with. Your NAHLA comrades as well, for that matter. Miss Bong, I will appreciate your assistance in the search for Polarity as well, but the same applies: your detective skills could be of use on this immediate issue. And... We can discuss the artifact later."

Having clarified those matters, he continued with the business at hand. "I received word from the Attorney General just before I called you all in for this meeting. There's been an incident within the city, a warehouse collapsed in on itself, under rather suspicious circumstances. The warehouse was apparently being used as a storage space for weapons used by the Witchfinder Generals. The AG has asked for our assistance in this matter. She wishes to keep this matter more discreet, to avoid public concern, and because of other concerns she has. Concerns of potential 'leaks' within NAHLA."

"Mr. Pendrake, I'll let you and the other NAHLA members decide how you wish to participate in this, though I will say that the AG personally thought your technical skills could be of use as a 'handler', if you will. If you feels that's the best use of your skills, I'll make sure everyone is equipped with the necessary communications equipment. As for the rest of you all, you may either attend to this investigation, or join me at the Memorial Service. I'll leave that up to your discretion."

George raised his hand before anyone could speak to call for a final brief moment of their attention. "Ah yes, and Mr. Pendrake, you've reminded me. Given the circumstances, and all that has occurred, I've taken the liberty of calling in an employee of mine to work with you all. He's a doctor of sorts, someone you can all speak to, open up to. Just so we're clear, it's entirely optional whether or not any of you speak with him, but I hope you will consider it. Perhaps along with Mr. Pendrake's assistance, he will be able to offer some peace and respite from all that has occurred. Though I must ask everyone, let's all be respectful of what is a very personal matter." He spoke to the group, though the last part had particularly been intended for Sairyn.

"Now then, unless there are any further questions, ladies and gentlemen, let's get to work."



The Memorial

The President felt incredibly uncomfortable at seeing the rather personal matters of interest the Gravity Wielding hero had unwittingly informed him of, but tried to maintain his composure. He began to try to come up with some kind of a response, but feebly stumbled over his words. Cannonade saw a hand gently clasp itself onto the President's shoulder, giving him an easing, reassuring pat on the back. The hand belonged to the Secdef, who grinned confidently and seemingly unafraid.

"I wouldn't say that, not at all! Sure, we can't really get into specifics here, but we do have leads, enough leads we can start pursuing. Perhaps even with a little... Aggression." He sighed slightly as he looked around at the crowds, taking in the mixture of emotions that overwhelmed the people. "America got a sucker punch to the back of the head. Unfortunately for the person punching, they aren't counting on our ability to punch back with about a million times the force. When push comes to shove... Well let's just say our enemies won't be getting back up from this one."

He turned his gaze to Cannonade, a look of sincere concern, not so much for the hero, but for the people they needed to inspire right now. "What do you think though? What would you need to hear to feel that 'we got this' feeling?"

Meanwhile at the stage, Captain Valor waved to the gathered crowds, dismissing a few attempts at autographs by (as politely as he could) reminding the requesters that today was about the victims, not about fame and flashiness. The emcee worked to get the playlist set up and time properly to coincide with the speeches, double and triple checking to make sure they had their very finest patriotic tunes set up for the right moments. It was a mixture of music for mourning the fallen, and empowering and emboldening the American people, letting them know they were ready to fight back in full force.

"Well, I think I'll go on and head to the Memorial then," Henry spoke up as he stood from his seat. "If anything happens at the warehouse, we should all keep in touch..." he thought for a moment. "Or vice-versa, for that matter."

"George," Sairyn began, quite curtly. "Matters concerning the Witchfinder Generals are strictly the jurisdiction of NAHLA. There is an open and ongoing investigation concerning them, and there is a high probability that a NAHLA investigation team will be dispatched to the scene, if they haven't already," he explained. Yue clenched her fists noticeably inside her hoodie pocket at the mention of the Witchfinders.

"That being said: due to the nature of my agreement with the Attorney General, I am not able to refuse, nor am I able to stop anyone from joining at the scene. I'll be providing support remotely, and can cover both teams from my lab. My only request is that anyone aiding in the warehouse investigation cooperate with NAHLA should they arrive on scene, and take care not to contaminate evidence."

When he was done Yue pushed herself out of the corner and left the meeting without saying anything. A couple of minutes later a crimson streak lanced out of the resort towards the city, chased by a trio of drones.

---

---

Yue slid to a halt about half a block from the ruin of the warehouse, partially to let the drones catch up to her, and partially to prevent her shockwaves from disturbing the scene. The afternoon sunlight glinted off the polished, gilded metal of her dress uniform, which was nearly identical to her Mk 1 suit. It lacked the shoulder protection of its parent suit, and had a long white tabard bearing the NAHLA crimson cross the back. The suit was made of polished, lacquered aluminum rather than the protective tungsten: little more than an under-suit with some shiny decorations. At least her helmet was still fully functional.

She brushed a speck of dust off the fitted breastplate, lamenting that though she had taken care not to damage the suit while running, the loose ends of the tabard had already begun to fray from the short trip. With a flicker of crimson, Yue leapt to the rooftop of an adjacent building and looked down at the site. Her eyes squinted as she took in every detail, and with a few quick gestures she tagged a number of points of interest and outlined a perimeter for the drones to scan.

Tracer arrived first, heralded by its screaming repulsors, breaking away from its twin, which shrieked towards the memorial deeper in the city. It took a high observation position over the scene, lowering a device from a bay opening in its belly. The rapid fire snap of its magnetic accelerator cut through the silence, and a tiny black disc snapped to the ground in the corners of Yue's perimeter outline. The all opened simultaneously and extended a thin pylon about 1 meter in height. In synchronous harmony, they all activated, and a glowing yellow and black ribbon of holographic crime scene tape flickered to life around the ruin.

"Scan the designated area, and create a 3d render of the scene. Highest resolution," she commanded, as the wasp shaped Investigator drone rumbled up to the rooftop. It folded its appendages haughtily and blurted something curtly at her. "...Please?" she replied, raising an eyebrow behind her mask.

They stared at one another for an uncomfortably long minute, the drone's ocular shielding narrowing slowly at her. It buzzed something eerily like a snort in her direction and then bumbled noisily down to the ruins to make its scan. Yue hopped down as well to get a closer look at some of the things she had tagged, and Investigator blorped a little work song as it scanned. She stood and considered the largest part of the ruin for a long time while she waited for the drone to finish.

"Are you able to... overlay the city blueprints of this building?" She asked uneasily, feeling quite awkward speaking to a machine in such a manner. It was just one of those things that had become "commonplace" since she started working with Sairyn, though she hadn't quite gotten used to it yet. Investigator chirped, and the two drones communicated something she couldn't understand.

Tracer plopped a black disc about the size of a dinner plate in roughly the center of the scene, and a prismatic orb on a tall stand emerged. Working in tandem with the pylons that had been deployed previously, it constructed a faintly glowing, simplified holographic overlay of the undestroyed building based on the blueprints on record with the city. It flickered lightly as she touched it experimentally, and then overlaid Tracer's bird's eye view in a corner of her HUD.

"Hmm. Investigator, would you please scan for debris matching the building composition in a...," she hesitated, trying to visualize the way that the building had collapsed. "Um... start with a 300 meter radius, please," she requested, and then approached the rubble for a closer look, careful not to disturb anything.