The Good, The Bad and The Spandex

A Dragon in Shining Armour?

Dragon Man grunted a bit from the psychic onslaught Ilene was giving him. He could feel her panic and fear. This was bad. Very bad. She needed to get the mask off, but she was also falling to her death. So, first things first.

I'm coming Ilene. Hold on!

Making a beeline, Aaron picked up speed, arms ready to catch Ilene. She was going down fast, the ground was getting closer and if he missed her...

Calm down. Think. There is just one person you need to save, and one of you. She's right there. She needs you. You need her. So don't focus on what will happen if you fail. Focus only on the now. And what you have to do.

....I have to save her....

Aaron narrowed his eyes, and made the his move. Ilene was right there. She was within his grasp. He could almost touch her. Almost...

He touched her. His arms wrapped themselves around her, and he flew upwards, away from the ground, and into the air, to the rooftop.

Yes! You did it! That was fantastic! Perfect! Brilliant! Ha ha!

As Drakòn continued to celebrate, Aaron smiled inwardly. He had done it. He had saved her.

"Now for the mask," Aaron said, filled with triumph. He reached out a clawed hand, and closed it around the fabric of the mask, yanking it back as he pulled it off Ilene.

In the Arms of the Angel (or Dragon. Whatever.)

Ilene took in a massive breath as soon as the mask was off and feeling started returning to her body. She flexed her hand once, then twice, and kept doing it when she started talking. It was reassuring; she was in control of herself and her body and nobody else was.

"The mask jumped on me. It puts the wearer under the control of the One Eyed King, the leader of the cult- I'm not sure how, it didn't feel telepathic in nature. Possibly mystical. That's probably it. There was something about the walls of reality crumbling and entities crossing over. The One Eyed King is trying to stop that but her methods are questionable and I told her I'm going to stop her and then she made me jump out the window."

Ilene curled up a little in Aaron's arms. They were higher up than she felt comfortable with. "I think we should head back to the museum and get a full list of what was stolen. I can try and get the psychic signature of any of the cultists."

And it would be really lovely to get back on the ground.

Now what?

"I'm glad you're alright," Aaron told Ilene. He tensed up the slightest bit when Ilene curled up to him. This was the closest he had ever been to a girl in his entire life. So, he nodded, and gently, ever so slowly, he settled down onto the rooftop. He was still holding Ilene, and quickly stepped away from her after he let go of her.

"Okay....actually, about that museum? Last night? Turns out, Drakòn made me start that fire because Lancelot's armour was there. So....not my fault." He shrugged.

Drakòn sighed. There is a more pressing matter at hand then what occurred in the past. Namely, why would a One Eyed King be a girl?

Aaron shrugged. He was still holding onto the mask. Then he had an idea. "What if I flew you to the museum? Be much faster then walking," he informed Ilene.

edited 26th Aug '16 7:39:40 AM by Vampireandthen

Outside the Building

Ilene rolled her eyes at Drakon. Yes, upholding traditional gender roles is far more important than the fact that you committed arson. You're lucky I need you.

She gingerly took the mask out of Aaron's hand. "I'll just go put this back in my desk. Keep it out of anyone else's hands while we're away. And you're right that flying probably would be faster."

She went back inside the building, still flexing her hand. I am in control of myself. I am in control of myself. I am in control of myself.

Rooftop

Aaron watched Ilene go. He sighed in....well, he wasn't what exactly he could call this emotion, but it was something. Hope she enjoys flying...

Traditional gender...what? Dragons don't follow human standards exactly the same. Just, that a woman masquerading as a One Eyed King strike as being rather odd. And she mentioned something about the walls of reality crumbling? What? That happens all the time!

Aaron had been listening in for a while, whincing at the rant. But that last part caught his eye.

What do you mean?

Well, the Fair Folk are always travelling between worlds. The Aesir used to do it, until Ragnarok that is. Penalty of beings do it! It's nothing new!

What do you mean, Ragnarok?

The end of the world for the Aesir. Earth was almost dragged into it, but I know that there was some kind of alliance between the various mythical races that stopped it. I was still trapped, but I am sure it must have been fun.

Aaron rolled his eyes. You have a weird definition of fun.

'Rooftop

boom

There was a crack like distant thunder as Amethyst appeared in a brighter purple flare than his usual flicker near the Dragon Man and Mindseye. He said nothing, just looking between them, his face twisted into a snarl.

He shouted angrily just a split second later, something like translucent purple fire erupting around him, then another distant crack, a purple flare, consumed him and he was gone.

Sky

Amethyst appear high among the clouds, his head snapping to and fro as he tried to spot the distant retreating figure of a plane.

Rooftop

Dragon Man stared about in confusion. "What just happened?" he asked to no one in particular. Amethyst had been there one moment, and the next, gone!

Best leave it for now. He seems rather angry.

Rooftop

Ilene was spooked enough to almost drop the mask, but she quickly grabbed it and continued to her office. Once there, she locked it in one of her desk drawers.

She leaned against the wall and telepathically reached out to Amethyst. Was there a reason he had suddenly appeared and disappeared to her and Aaron?

Amethyst? Is everything alright?

Above the city, the cargo plane staff had managed to shut down the bay doors, though most of the crates had fallen out already.

On the streets, a police car swerved to a stop as a huge mechanical spider [1]◊ smashed its way past buildings, cars and other obstacles on its way to central park.

"What the f*ck is that!!" one of the cops shouted.

"Whatever it is we can't handle it!" his partner answered, and he used his radio to call for backup.

edited 26th Aug '16 2:50:05 PM by Sijo

Sidewalk Bench

Xy had read finished reading the comic section by now, and was causally perusing the "Help Wanted" section, when her phone jingled in her pocket. Her musculature worked against her in this instance, forcing her to wiggle a bit before she could work her phone out of her pocket. Although she didn't recognize the number, which usually meant the call went straight to voice-mail, she instead swiped her thumb across the bottom of the screen, which accepted the call.

"Hello?" she asked as she brought the phone to her face, the paper in her hand dipping down a bit a she lost focus in the pages.

edited 26th Aug '16 3:49:14 PM by Reservoir

Sky

'I got your message,' He thought spoke back to her. 'But I have a plane to catch.'

Amethyst spread his arms wide, stiffening his body and rapidly, loudly, emptying his longs. It got darker and colder around him, as heat and sunlight, not to mention the earth's magnetic field, the surrounding magical field, the underlying power cosmic, everything, was cannibalized for energy. It was all rather horribly inefficient too, a purple aura flaring and sparking around him.

He shoved what energy he managed to actually catch into his core, took a sprinting position there in mid air. His eyes narrowed at the distant metal bird and he disappeared into a flashbang. He actually briefly experienced the transit as a purple white-out on his vision, his body simply flung in a brute application of instantly focused superspeed.

Rooftop

What the hell is that fool doing?!?

Aaron also sensed what was happening. It was some kind of power alright. In our fight....he was holding back....

Bloody fool! Does he even understand what he's doing?!?

Drakòn was raging and fuming, and Aaron could feel it alright. The power of Drakòn's emotions. It was something.

"Ilene! Where are you?" He shouted out. He wanted to make sure she was alright.

Irving Investigations Office

I'm in my office. I'm fine. But I think Amethyst's in trouble- something about a plane?

Rooftop

"WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO IN THE MEAN TIME?!?"

Plane

CRACK-THOOM

"There you are you blasted bastard! Now why don't you- uh, what the fu-" The plane kept on flying.

"STOP IGNORING ME!"

Irving Investigations Office

I'll be right down and then we can visit the museum, she messaged Aaron.

I trust your ability to handle this, but if you need help, feel free to contact me, she messaged Amethyst.

With that, she left her office and returned outside.

Rooftop

Aaron sighed, relieved to see Ilene. "So, you want to get going?"

He bent over, hunching down so that she could climb on. He spread out his wings, to help her get on.

Rooftop

Ilene nodded, flexing her hand. I am in control of myself, I am in control of myself, I am in control of myself...

"If you're comfortable with this," she said, getting on Aaron's back. She considered offering to pay him, but decided to save it for later- potentially offending him when they were in the air was not a good idea.

Easton City Park

Lodestone noticed a purple streak in the sky headed for the plane. He looked over to Axel and questioned, "Friend of yours?" He didn't care where the metal boxes landed, if a person died, they died, if no one died, no one died. It's all up to fate that a person got crushed under the metal boxes, he thought.

Sky

The pilots were nearing the airport when they heard a loud noise outside of the plane. They had tried to filter it out as the plane was starting to slow, but not stop. Not until the airstrip was within sight and path. They tried to figure out what would cause the cargo to have a sudden jettison. One of them joked about it being the cause of one of England most dangerous super-criminals, Lodestone, but the other was gave a disapproving look.

Plane

Amethyst blurred with smaller bursts. He felt a crackling ache in his body, his last little boost must've nearly decimated the crystal population in his body. Fortunately, far more closer to the factual definition of 'decimated' than the common one. Still, he'll be spending time waiting for it to repopulate after this.

He caught back up with the plane, attaching himself to the top and climbing his way toward the front. First window he saw, however, he'd peel down to and knock, very irritated.

Rooftop

Aaron adjusted himself so as to allow her to get a better grip on him. "Hold on," he told her, before slowly beating his wings, lifting off the ground.

The Roof of a Not-Yet Relevant Skyscraper.

While the rest of the city was already up and much of it engaging in super-activity, Isaac had only just woken up. An old... friend was in town and he'd made what was probably a mistake but certainly seemed like a good idea at the time. Trying to make something productive of the day, he made his way up to the roof and looked for anything that needed his attention; as he finished buttoning up his shirt, a flock of pigeons flew over a giant mechanical spider.

"Sure. Why the hell not?"

The Charge Beak flew - not out of the sky but up the stairwell - towards him as normal, a stray sock draped over it plummeting down to the basement as it ascended.

"Flock in."

Corvid took off as the armour formed, making his way towards the giant spider. He was reminded of a move his mother had sometimes used; jumping first and transforming in mid-air. It unquestionably looked cool but just seemed reckless in retrospect. As the bird hero soared through the sky, his pigeons homed in on the spider. He'd missed the other things going on but reached it quickly and flew up. Not sure what to do about the mechanisms on the limbs, or indeed aware of what the robot was actually trying to do, he dug his feet into the central portion and tried to claw open the top.

Fracture's SUV

Sally waited for a few moments as the phone rang, outside the car she could still hear Xy's end as she waited for the thralls to get moving. Normally she'd be happy to talk in person, but there was business to attend to and she didn't want to leave Twelve along with Fracture. At least not until she was sure he wasn't going to become another mindless puppet. Finally 'Xandra' answered, "Ah, hello!" The musician responded, a little awkward pause as she gathered herself, "This is Sally - Sally Bowles. I think we met at the Charity Concert? I got your message from the front desk... I'm sorry I missed you." Saliha began.

The SUV

Twelve slipped inside with Sally and looked around the vehicle, feeling the seats. He nodded thoughtfully at Fracture's business proposal, mulling it over. He was going to say yes, probably. He always did. But it was smart to see the stuff he'd be running into.

"So I... take it you're not gonna just brain-wipe me or anything like that?" he said to the driver, then looked at the other thrall confused.
"Are you... still in there?"

The SUV - Please Keep Your Hands and Feet...

The thrall didn't seem to pay either of them any heed as it rattled off what blatantly sounded like a prerecorded line. "Please ensure your seatbelts are on. In the event of an emergency, check under the seats in front of you for emergency tools." It started the vehicle and began driving in a very binary way; it would be going at full speed, and then it would suddenly stop as a traffic light turned red, or a car got in the way. It slowly got better at driving, learning to create a smoother experience, until it was only mediocre instead of absolutely terrible (this process took several minutes).