Official RP Thread: The Evolutionist's Stone (3)

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Setting==
Chicago

==Dramatis Personæ==

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Morning came and the phone rang in the boys' hotel room.

"H-hullo?" Ivan scratched his behind groggily, "Ye-yeh. I gotcha. I'll tell 'em a'soon as I can...A'right. Bye, then."

"Wha' was tha'?" Fitz pulled a shirt on. He thought to wake Pierce, but remembered that his eyebrows only just grew back from the last time he tried that, and so decided to let him awake on his own.

"Clerk says we got some mail from Wayne and Jack an' them..." Ivan stretched and scratched again, "Guess I'll get it."

"What's this? A message from some friends?" Adam got up, heading for the door. Time for continental breakfast.

"Yeah." Ivan headed for the door after getting dressed, "Wayne said he'd send us word when things was done in Indiana. I bet that's what it is. Hey, Toad, you comin'?"

"Yeah, ah'll be about in just a second...Ah gotta wake up Mark an' get 'im to wake up Pierce."

Ivan and Adam went to the first floor, and Ivan called to the clerk as they approached his desk.

"Oi, mate, you got a message fer us? We're up in--"

"You're Ivan Fisk, right? Tom said some big bruiser guy tried to give him the business yesterday. You kinda fit the description. Am I right?"

"Yeah. I'm the one, mate. You got a message fer me?"

The clerk handed him the note and went back about his business.

Ivan,

Indiana went well. Mover's gone, though not quite as expected. Disappeared into thin air, it seems, but that doesn't matter. His tower's down, and he's nowhere to be found. That means two words: regime change. We're in on the takeover, so we know who the next ruler is gonna be. A reality bender, no doubt.

Main bodyguards: A phaser Jared, a blaster Sophie, a precog Mason and a forcefielder Raye.

Main lookouts: An avian Bobby, a telescopic Ramon, a microscopic Raviv and an accurate Leslie.

Main transports: A hammerspacer Victor and a kid I call Mohawk (he says his name is Colton) who can generate steady portals

Adviser: A supergenius Eddie Bryant (he used to work for the Mover)

She's even taken in another of her fellow experiments, people who were taken in by the Mover for scientific research. Get this. One of them is a girl who can induce calm, and death. Her name is Project L.A.D.Y.; of course, Lady, for short...I know, right?

So, since everything's been settled here, I'm taking Jack, Damien and Flores to New York behind a friend we made here. She's telekinetic. Says she's tired of being surrounded by this place, and personally I agree. Time to see what Parker's like.

Send me word when you can, you big oaf,
Wayne

Ivan closed the note with a smirk. He only wished his endeavor with the Raven Lady had been going so well. Not much could be done since he had so little information on her as yet. He decided it was time to get to work. He and Adam were out into the streets to figure out as much about this Raven Lady as possible.

"You sure you don't want me to bring Anita along? She's pretty good at--"

"Nah" Ivan raised a hand, looking to either side, "I got some connects here from a couple years back."

Connects? In Chicago? Adam thought. But he realized it was best not to question it. It wasn't like HE had so much to contribute in the matter.

"So...what's this guy like?" Adam asked finally.

Ivan only chuckled in response. He put up a hand to hail a cab, and in ten minutes, they reached the stoop of Ivan's special friend. He knocked, and the door was answered by a blue-haired beauty...

"Yeah--oh, HEY, Ivan..." She answered with a smile.

"Hey there, Lara. Mind if me an' my friend come in?"

"Who's that, baby?"

"Nobody, Nina," Lara looked back to her lovely lady friend who reclined on the couch, and then back to Ivan with a smirk, "just an old friend."

She let the two come in, and Adam took a seat next to Nina.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Lara's House, Chicago==

"So...you and Lara? You're a couple?" Adam asked, leaning slightly away from the inappropriately-close Nina.

"Yeah, but three's company..." Nina leaned in further and snorted a warm stream of smoke; her eyes glowed red.

Lara looked back at the couch with a glare, "Is there something you wanted to talk about, besides lurid details of our sexual history?"

Ivan chuckled, "Yeh. I wanted to ask what you know about the Raven Lady..."

"Well, I'm not the girl to ask. You might want to invite over our friend. She's kinda weird, though...her name is Clea, but we call her Witch Girl. All my answers usually come from her. You want I should give her a call?"

Ivan nodded and Lara was on the phone. After a few minutes of assuring the shy girl that she didn't have anything sexy in mind, she agreed and said she would be over within the hour.

"Groovy", Lara smiled, putting her arms around Ivan's neck, "so that means we're just waiting for her. But, I think she lives across town. Could be a long wait. Whaddya wanna do 'til she gets here?" She blew gently on his hair, sprinkling a refreshing cool mist on his face. The word "hoar" came to mind for some reason.

"Eh, I would, but, uh..."

"But what?" Lara pouted, crossing her arms and backing him into a corner, her behind pressed against his crotch, "I'm not enough to get your goat anymore?"

He stammered nervously, thinking back to their good old days and getting a rise, "No, that ain't it, fer sure. It's just, just...I'm here on business...and...I can't be all sticky when Clea gets here...And, I mean...what about Nina?"

"What about her? She's out there hitting on your cute friend."

That was good enough for Ivan. He ran his hands across her hips and finally grabbed her by the waist with all four arms, to her surprise. He pushed her back up against the refrigerator and she pulled him close for a kiss. All four hands were out and about now, groping every place he knew would turn her on. And when the two could stand the sexual tension no longer...

"So? What have you--found out?" Adam's left eye twitched at the sight.

Finally, Ivan used the embarrassment to stop himself. He zipped his pants back up, corrected himself in his pants and sat down where Adam had just sat.

"Psychic should be over here soon." Ivan sighed, wiping sweat from his brow, "Let's watch some TV. Preferably somethin' with old ladies. Very. Unattractive. Old ladies."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Lara's House, Chicago==

A pretty but mousy girl rang the doorbell and finally broke the awkward silence of the earlier fiasco. Adam got the door, and let her in after she announced who she was. She introduced herself to Ivan and took a seat.

"So...uh, Clea, is it? You're one o' Lara's friends? Nice t'meetcha. Name's Fisk. Ivan Fisk."

The shy girl lowered her eyes, "Well, to be honest, we've met before...though you wouldn't remember me. I sat behind you in, well, nearly all your classes in high school, and some in college."

Ivan's mind clanked and whirred to life, trying to register the thought of a pretty brunette sitting near him in any of his classes.

"Uh, nope. Don't ring a bell."

"I don't suppose I should be surprised. Not many people remember me from then." Ivan thought to offer some consolation, but she quickly changed the topic, "So, anyways, enough about me! I'm here for a card reading. And by the looks of it, I probably need the Pokémon cards."

She fished out of her satchel a large deck, kept together with a rubber band. She divided the stack into four more manageable stacks and told Ivan to choose one card from each deck. She assured that she had at least one of every Pokémon, and so the answer was sure to be accurate.

Ivan inspected the decks carefully, wondering what trick the card-reader had up her sleeve, and finally took his pick. He turned them over, and for a second, Clea hemmed and hawed.

"Oooh, this is not good. Machamp represents you, because of its four arms. Gengar represents some source of fear. A shadowy figure, almost like a ghost, but just tangible enough to affect you. And Jirachi. With the power Doom Desire. I'm...not liking this."

"Well, I got one more." Ivan volunteered, uneasy.

"Ah...Smeargle. The Painter Pokémon. That's--"

"Me." Adam volunteered.

"You're an artist?"

Adam nodded, "Something like that."

"Okay then...well, sorry to say, Adam, but you're in danger. Machamp has equal hitpoints to Gengar, but Smeargle's hitpoints are lower. And Jirachi's hitpoints are the same as Smeargle's. I have a feeling that means, well, it's meant for you."

Ivan scooted a foot away from Adam.

"Although", Clea caught herself, "it could mean that both of you work together to overtake Gengar, because Ivan picked Machamp and Smeargle with the same hand, and picked Jirachi and Gengar with the same hand."

Ivan blinked, "Well, what kinda card readin' was THAT? Ya can't just double-talk like that! How the hell are we s'posed to know whose favor the fight's gonna go in???"

Clea cowered under Ivan's outraged yelling, and replied simply, "Well, either way, if you two are on the same side, and work together, it should all mean the same thing. The stronger team with the better strategy wins."

"And losin' means Adam dies, I s'pose." Ivan facepalmed.

Clea collected her cards and Adam turned to her, assuring her that nothing was wrong, that her help was more than appreciated. Ivan could be a bit grumpy and obnoxious at times, Adam assured, but all in all, the big lug was harmless, and his intentions were good. Clea smiled, pleased that he was so much more compassionate than his friend the strongman, even in the face of his possible impending demise.

She stood up finally, "Well, is that all I was needed for?"

"Aww, do ya have to go already?" Lara pouted playfully.

"Well, no, I can stay a while. What about you boys?" Clea smiled shyly at Adam, shuffling her cards in her hand.

"Ahh, I, er, um--"

"C'mon, Adam, we gotta head back to the hotel." Ivan reminded, deflating Adam's thought of spending some more time with Clea.

"Yyyeah. What he said. I gotta go. Sorry."

She assured it was perfectly okay, and the boys got their things together, and said their goodbyes to the girls. Adam noticed it was drizzling outside, and so (with a bit of protest from Lara at first) he drew a pair of umbrellas on Lara's wall. With that, the two were off to rejoin their comrades at the hotel.

As the two left, Clea noticed something fall from the wall. She thought to return it to Adam, but upon looking at it, she realized it was for her. With a smile, she tucked away Adam's cell phone number.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Manning Tower, Chicago==

The door opened, and the gang all filed in, taking seats. Continental breakfast lasted much longer for them than everyone else, what with their reminiscing and jeering and laughing and joking, and so soon it would be time for continental lunch.

Pierce headed off for a shower and Tessa volunteered to join him, and Mark turned the TV on.

Fitz watched with a mix of disgust and envy as Pierce led Tessa into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. With a sigh, he pulled out the laptop Adam left behind and Anita gave him the password.

Nadia rambled through the small refrigerator next to the TV and found a popsicle that she claimed in the name of her sweet tooth.

When Anita saw that the blonde telepath and her bolt-throwing beau were headed off for some intimate time, she decided quickly that now would be the best time to head over to the room across the hall.

"Or, better yet, who's in the mood to go out and do some shopping or something else fun? I'm pretty sure they have a movie place or something around here somewhere."

Mark, Fitz and Nadia looked at her sideways. Suddenly re-remembering that they were in the territory of the Raven Lady, the arch-enemy of chipperness and happiness, she sat back down.

Ella Camphrey was not the kind that one danced and smiled and had fun around. If SHE was sad and miserable, EVERYBODY was sad and miserable. And so, most of the time, EVERYBODY was sad and miserable. And how could they not be? With a motif of gray and black everywhere, the wonder of nature yet to be seen for miles around and a sky that would make the Sun frown, it wasn't hard to keep the people feeling oppressed and downtrodden. And with the highest rate of criminal activity in the whole state (not to mention CONSTANT talk of killers and assassins on the loose), Camphrey had little trouble making sure the people were afraid of her, as well as life without her. It was a win-win for the Raven Lady.

Anita, Fitz, Nadia and Mark contemplated the annoyance of the territory they were in. What kind of mess had they gotten themselves into? Surely, at this rate, they'd go stir-crazy in no time.

Fitz jutted up from his seat, "Ah got it!"

"What, a plan for how to spend our time 'til Adam and Ivan get back?"

"Nah, better than tha'. Ah think ah jus' thought'a how to get ridda the Raven Lady..."

As though the entire hotel were responding to Fitz's plan for insurrection, the electricity began to flux. The TV flickered, the lights dimmed and brightened erratically and--

"AAAH!!!" Tessa burst out of the bathroom with a towel on, with a monstrous bolt of electricity on her tail. It only barely missed her, fizzling into the wall instead.

Fitz ran over to her, "Wha's goin' on?!"

"He-he--something's wrong...This happened last night! And me, and Adam, I was trying to--but my telepathy! And now Pierce--!"

Fitz grabbed her and she sobbed uncontrollably into his arms. Mark rushed for the phone, and Nadia and Anita looked in to see what was going on. Pierce's power had never fluxed out before, and yet here he was, crumpled on the shower floor, unconscious, with the water still going and sparks still dancing off his naked body. Fortunately, his body conducted most of it, but still...what in the world was responsible for the short-circuit in the first place?

Taking care to avoid the occasional involuntary electrical spark, Nadia rushed over to turn the water off and cover Pierce up. Heaven forbid he freak out again and shock the hell out of them if he woke up naked. His eyes fluttered weakly, and he looked around him.

Frantically, he got up, "Mandy!"

He rushed out of the bathroom, and Tessa got up to hug him, when there came a crash. At the door stood the same two light-skinned women Tessa had seen the other day. The one prim, proper and elegant; the other trampy-looking, a borderline slut. And clad in tight black outfits, the both of them. All black...the insignia of the henchman of the Raven Lady.

Pierce whirled around, blocking Tessa, "Just who the hell d'you think you are?!"

The leader, the prim one, tossed her hair back and responded in a British accent, "I was about to ask you the same. We don't take kindly to plots for insurrection. And from what I heard, the Raven Lady would be livid."

Nadia felt a chill in her body and in an instant her hands and feet were stuck to the wall, encased in ice.

"Better do well not to use your powers around me..." the prim one spoke up, catching sight of Nadia's power malfunction, "I tend to have that effect on people..."

Anita looked around in panic, and waited for any of the males to respond. DO SOMETHING, she pleaded desperately in her mind. But the boys were transfixed.

"Oh, and Sirena tends to have THAT effect on people..." The prim one smirked at the horrified look on the girls' faces, "Say, Sirena, why not show them what OTHER effects you can have on people?"

Sirena nodded, and the boys turned on the girls. Pierce grappled Tessa, Fitz pinned both Anita's hands to the wall and Mark held down the one hand Nadia managed to free from the ice. The girls tried their best to break free, but it was almost as though their current mental state was making them slightly more powerful.

"Alright...out with it, then. Are there any others with you?"

Anita looked like she was trying to remember, but she already knew. Ivan and Adam would be back any minute now.

"No", she responded.

The prim one narrowed her eyes. She approached Anita quickly and eyed her as though reading the deception off of her skin. She turned back to Sirena.

"Find the others."

"No NEED!" A male voice cried from a few feet down the hall, before a chair hit Sirena over her head from behind and knocked her on her face.

Ivan and Adam were back.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Outraged at the sight of her comrade downed, the prim one, Minerva, whipped around and put forth her hand. Ivan's extra pair of arms sprouted from his sides, seeming to have a will of their own, and tussled with his first pair, attempting to overpower him; Adam's body reacted as though he were a stranger, and quickly bound him in tattoo chains head to toe, toppling him to the ground.

"That oughta keep you--OOF!" Tessa barged into Minerva's gut, sending the two barreling into the wall, and the two landed in a pained heap beside Sirena, who still rubbed her head in pain.

Minerva grabbed Tessa by the hair as she stumbled to her feet, and was met by a hand. She looked up the forearm, and it was attached to a sizzling mad electrical elemental.

"Either you let her go by CHOICE, or when I MAKE you let her go, I fry the hell out o' you..." He ground out through gritted teeth, his eyes aglow, sparks dancing through his hair, electricity spiderwebbing across the hairs on his skin.

At this, Minerva only smirked. She only wondered what her power would do to him. She snapped her fingers.

At first, Pierce didn't even move. But then he looked down to see the electricity ambling across him like a swarm of insects, flitting and flickering across him uncontrollably. Fitz, Mark, Anita and Nadia looked on from in the room, not sure of whether to take cover or not (or even where they'd go to avoid it).

Without warning, the electricity heightened to a climax, and then finally--nothing.

Not a flicker, not a spark. No more than a pathetic fizzle, and then, nothing. Tessa looked back behind Pierce, into the room at Fitz. Never before had she been gladder to see him afraid of the situation at hand.

Ivan's second pair of arms retracted, and Adam was released from his power gone awry.

Looking around, quite puzzled and annoyed by the whole situation, Minerva made an attempt to make use of her power once more, but it was of no use. Her own disruptive powers fizzled out one last time, and then gave no more.

"How's about we finish these two?" Ivan menaced them cracking his knuckles, "Maybe drop 'em out the window. I always wanted to know what the inside of a scumbag looks like..."

Minerva hissed, "You got a mirror, don't you?"

Ivan flinched momentarily. He knew that accent.

"So, you're a Brit, is ya?"

"What of it?" Minerva narrowed her eyes defiantly, "That's about all we have in common, you brainless wall of meat!"

Ivan yanked her up from Tessa and Adam's hold, "You two get the other one."

The hallway empty finally again, the cleaning lady found it was safe to apologize to the patron whose room she hid in, and leave the floor.

Sirena and Minerva were seated in two of the only three free chairs in the room. Anita sat in the third, and Ivan stood behind her, arms crossed. Anita looked at them sternly, but refraining from frowning.

“I want to know who you are, who are your superiors and why are you here?”

The two remained tight-lipped. The interrogation would last like this for another hour. Even with the occasional strike from Tessa or Nadia, they stayed silent, and their faces did not change from expressions of defiant menace.

A grin crossed Pierce’s face as the idea struck him.

“I got a way to make ‘em talk…”, He grabbed up Minerva, reached for the blow-drier Tessa called for from the cleaning lady and called to Ivan to help hold her, “Since you seem to like f***in’ with electricity so much, we’re gonna do a little experiment.”

He turned on the water and waited until it would be just enough to cover Minerva’s face. The others watched in blank-minded horror, afraid to speak up against what they hoped was just a scare tactic.

“Now, I’ma plug this in”, Pierce continued, “and you, Ivan, tie up her hands and feet with these.”

He handed the brute two pieces of cord he found lying around. Ivan bound Minerva, despite her hardest protest, and held the back of the hand bindings, keeping her slightly leaning forward toward the water.

Pierce plugged in the blow-drier and turned it on high. He looked out to see the terrified look on Sirena’s face, as Minerva bade her from the bathroom not to say anything.

“Don’t tell them ANYTHING! Don’t tell these PIGS--!” Ivan yanked her by the back of her neck to scare her silent. At Pierce’s inclination, her lowered her closer and closer to the water, and Pierce held the blow-drier closer.

“What are your names? Who are your superiors? What do they want with us? And where can we find them?” Despite his suddenly-violent disposition, almost-sociopathic in its expression, sweat formed on his brow. Breath in, breath out. Inhale, exhale.

An audible heartbeat rang in Pierce’s ears, but he knew he had to do it if things didn’t go well; these were the very people they sought to take down (and who sought to take THEM down); if he went soft, they’d easily be the undoing of him and his friends…and Tessa. His expression remained hard, but his heart softened at the thought of harm coming to her. His anger renewed, he feinted letting her fall into the water, making EVERYONE jump, before catching her by her hand bindings (inches from the water’s surface) and finally Sirena gave an outcry.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

“All right! All right! I’ll tell you whatever you want to know…just…don’t do anything stupid.”

“That’s good to know,” Tessa spoke, as Sirena were rejoined side by side in the chairs, “right on time for our powers to come back.”

Fitz grabbed them both by their wrists before they had the chance to react, and administered his power again, focusing it only to them this time, “THEIR powers. Not yours.”

Realizing there would be no escape outside of confession, the two spilled the beans, with Tessa busily scanning their minds to make certain there were no holes in their stories. They checked out.

“And so now we’ve got all the info we need, time to get rid of them.”

The others looked at Pierce horrified.

“What? I just meant drop ‘em off somewhere.”

Adam went to the wall and got to drawing.

“What you doin’? Drawin’ a car?” Nadia tried to discern features of the sketch.

“Nope.” He pulled the device from the wall and thumbed the center button, eliciting a random beep from downstairs, on the street, “A universal car clicker.”

Minerva and Sirena unbound and still powerless, Fitz made sure to hold the both of their hands in case either of them should power back up. Adam’s plan was to take the first car they saw. Naturally, Anita’s keen eye pointed out the lavish limo awaiting them.

Inside the two were blindfolded courtesy of Adam’s power and when the blindfolds were off, they were near a river.

Pierce eyed the two angrily, “Get out.” His hand flared electrical power and they jumped out with haste. No words left to say, their job done, the gang took off, with Mark at the wheel.

The two waited until the limo was out of sight.

“You have the phone?” Minerva asked, relieved to finally give up the scared act.

Sirena shook her head, “Yep.” She pulled it from out of her top and began dialing.

“How did everything go?” The voice demanded at the other end.

“As planned. Turns out your suspicion was dead on. They’re the rebels. And they don’t want you to support their cause. They want you out of the picture, completely.”

A laugh from the other line, “Well, I won’t make it easy for them. If they think they’ll depose me, they have another thing coming. In fact, it’s going to be my pleasure to see each of them psychologically broken. One by one…”

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Camphrey Manor, Chicago==

And, speaking of plans, Ella Camphrey was more than ready for hers to come to fruition. She wondered just how her emissaries would bring about the psychological damage that she would need to take down those pesky rebels.

She arose from the pallid gray throne on which she sat, feeling a bit restless from reading Lord of the Flies for a ninth time. How she wanted to go out, and give her immense collection of books a rest. And yet, leaving her manor right now promised to end badly for some poor soul, who should happen to step on her shoe, or not recognize her and forget to address her properly, or not pick her up in the taxi. And so, today, she would stay in, and put her aggression to better use.

"Manuela? Bring me the notes for the day. Punishment must be doled out, otherwise I'm grumpy around here, and the real bad guys out there run amok."

Manuela rolled her eyes, just out of sight range of the Overlady, and brought her the notes she asked for. She was shooed away, and Camphrey quickly skimmed the bound report.

Ella looked up briefly, noticing Manuela again with the coffee she ordered, and then took a double-take.

"Trio of rebels spotted in the Boston Territory. Undoubtedly in cahoots with Jack Ryder, infamous holder of the Evolutionist's Stone. No word from Mistress Lil about their business, although no hostilities have been exchanged between them. It is likely that they have agreed mutually not to oppose one another."

She reddened slightly, menacing the paper, and then returned to normal color.

"What is it, Overlady? Something wrong?"

Ella inhaled deeply, and then slowly exhaled with an air of annoyance and renewed disdain, "No. Of course not. Why would anything be wrong? I just got word of some treachery in these parts; that snob Lil is obviously in cahoots with some allies of the rebels. And you know how I love treachery. So...go do...something. I'll handle this."

The maid-servant hurried out of the throne-room, and upstairs to one of Camphrey's many supply closets. After making sure no one else was around, she opened it, and looked in on the frightened dark-haired Hispanic girl that she had bound and gagged. A wicked smile crossed her face.

"Sorry, girly, I just need your face for a while for a job. Really, it's nothing personal."

And with that, Alex snatched away the REAL crime report Manuela had prepared (to be disposed of as soon as possible), covered her with a pile of clothes, closed the closet door again, locked it with Manuela's special key and turned back into Manuela.

How he loved using his power to stir up strife. His employer would be so pleased.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Manning Tower==

The group returned to the hotel, more than a bit worried about what exactly had just happened.

"Anybody else think that was more than just a little weird?" Tessa rubbed her head, "That they were right next to us, undetected, and yet THAT easily defeated?"

Fitz sat down on the bed, and exhaled deeply, "Ah know. It was weird. And I couldn't even tell what powers either of 'em had. Ah mean, Ah still d'not know other'n wha' I saw..."

The others looked at him and Ivan spoke up, "Maybe a power cloaker?"

Fitz shook his head, "Nah, ya saw wha' she did t'us. Made Nadia freeze 'erself t'the wall. Made Pierce damn-near fry Tessa. Even made Adam lose control over his artistry...she's somethin' else."

Ivan clapped Fitz on the back jovially, "Christ on a tightrope, Toad, you sound like you're attracted to 'er. I mean, I wouldn't blame ya, but--"

"This isn't the time to speculate." Anita interrupted, " Or to fantasize. This...this is the time to think. And calculate. I despise unpredictability. Now's the time to get...creative."

The others looked at her, and wondered what she had in mind.

Mark tossed the remote back on the other bed. "Well, if you got a plan, feel free to elaborate."

And that she did, "Reinforcements. We need...reinforcements."

Ivan perked up, "Oh, reinforcements? I got those. Remember when I went out? Yeah, that was to go see Lara..."

"OOOHHH, yeah, Snow Bunny...I'd like to--" Pierce stopped mid-sentence, shrinking back from Tessa's flaming menace, "Er, um, anyway...uh, yeah, how's the Ice Princess been?"

"Still hot as ever..." Ivan chuckled.

This gave Anita another idea.

"Wait a second. That's perfect. Even better than what I had in mind before. I can't believe I didn't think of this before...Where does Lara live?"

"Well, not far from here, a few blocks--"

"Perfect. I say we all head back to her place. If she agrees to it, things are about to get very interesting."

The supers hurried to gather their things, and were back out of the hotel as soon as they had come back. The limo was excellent for catching attention, but that made no difference. Anita assured they would have room for that as well. All she would need was Lara's cooperation, and Adam's talent.

And Lara could be compelled by Tessa if she refused, while Adam's power took only intermediate effort. So that would solve that.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Lara's House, Chicago==

Lara opened the door, and was stopped mid-greeting, a bit surprised at how many people there were.

"Um, hi...everybody. C-come on in."

The supers quickly filed in, and tried to make room all in the small living room.

Anita remained standing, and shook hands with the blue-haired girl, "Hi, Lara, I take it? Ivan says that you're good reinforcements; reliable, and loyal and all that. I have an idea in mind that I would love for you to be a part of. And I promise you would get something out of it. All I need is your cooperation, Adam's talents, and perhaps some assistance from Tessa."

Lara looked over to the blonde telepath, "Tessa? Oh, yeah, long time no see! I almost didn't recognize you. You filled out since high school."

Tessa chuckled weakly, "Yeah...and your hair's still that...cute shade of blue."

"So anyway", Lara looked over to Anita with a perky smile, realizing that her convo with Tessa had been awkward enough, "Um, what did you have in mind? I'm willing to help, long as it doesn't mean I have to do anything TOO illegal."

"Oh, don't worry. The law has yet to even cover what I have in mind to do... I mean, I doubt it's even verified by any accepted laws of physics. We're going to have Adam help expand on this house..."

Adam looked around at the small room, "And just how do you expect to do--oh! You mean...? But, but I've never done that before, I told you it was only a theory."

"What? What's only a theory? I'm lost..." Ivan looked at the two, scratching his head.

"For the first time, you aren't the only one", Mark blinked, and then scooted away from Ivan's cocked-back fist, realizing he blurted his thought aloud.

"Well, let me explain this as best I can. You all know that Adam's power allows him to create things by drawing them on some surface, right?"

The supers all nodded.

"Okay," Anita continued, "Well, Adam's father had the same power, to a much more powerful extent. Or, if my theory's right, to the same extent as Adam has now. That means, not only could he create portals to different places that already exist, but he could potentially create entire new landscapes, provided they were confined to a space that didn't require him to constantly think up new details."

"Meaning...?" Pierce still wasn't getting it.

"Meaning", Tessa replied, amazed, "He could make one room, and while inside the drawn-up room dimension, he could be the equivalent of a reality bender, creating and manipulating things like he does to create art. A simple wave of the hand, and the new room's physics would be under his control!"

"Precisely. He could draw new rooms, and while within, he could 'edit' them to his desire. Not to mention, he could draw SOME rooms as portals to places that already exist."

"Like Cookie's house!" Mark exclaimed, "I got a taste for some of her chicken 'n dumplins...mmmmm yeah. Chicken 'n dumplins..."

"Or some rendezvous point for us an' Torres." Fitz was liking where this was going.

Now the others were getting plans for ideas of their own. Making the apartment bigger and more roomy. Installing an exercise room. An obstacle course for training. An observatory. A laboratory. A war room. A grow house...

But Adam wasn't so sure. He had never attempted anything this drastic before. It was an amazing idea to be sure, but...he certainly wasn't his father. Papa Jacobs was a true talent. Not only artistic with his power, but even with his power negated, he was an architect, an inventor of art. He looked at the only picture that he had left of his father. It resembled him so, it was almost frightening.

And yet, the same striking resemblance gave him confidence. My dad could have done it, he thought, and so maybe I can, too.

So it was settled. He stood slowly.

"Alright, Anita", he agreed finally, much to everyone's exultation,"What do I have to do?"

Anita's face lit up, "Draw a staircase on that wall."

And that he did. He drew a staircase, and stood up on a footstool, to lead the staircase all the way to the ceiling. And upon reaching the ceiling, he waved his hand across it. The ceiling colored into a mural like the inside of a building much higher than the true dimensions of Lara's home would allow. He hopped off of the stool, and knelt down to the base of the drawn staircase. He touched it, and something happened that had never happened before.

The staircase extended off of the wall, and trailed with psionic animating power, forming into a solid staircase, all the way up to the ceiling. Not Lara's NORMAL ceiling...the ceiling drawn in Adam's mural.

The drawing had become an extension of her apartment, making her living space now four stories high on the inside (while still looking very much like a one-story apartment on the outside).

But Adam wasn't done. He was getting the hang of it, and now he wanted to have a little fun with it. He drew a strange contraption at the corner on the right of Lara's front door.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"Um, what the hell is that?"

"You'll see..." A large lever popped out of the strange contraption, "Ivan? A hand?"

Ivan quickly got up and his second pair of arms extended, "No prob, I got four..."

"Pierce? You, too, and Mark and Fitz."

The boys all crowded around, and took grip of the long, slender lever.

"All right, on three, we're gonna push the lever down as hard as we can. One, two...three!"

The five of them grabbed down as hard as they could, with Ivan's muscle making the task much easier than it would have been. And in a few seconds, something amazing happened. The very walls began to open out diagonally, making its volume twice what it was before. The living room, the kitchen, the bedrooms, all expanded to twice their original size, much to the amazement of everyone (even Adam himself).

When the lever went down as far as it could go, the others released it, and Adam cranked it back upright. He waved his hand, causing the lever to vanish, and then collapsed to his knees.

Tessa and Anita rushed over to him, but he assured them he was okay. He asked only that they help him to his feet, and otherwise, he would be okay.

"I just need a little more practice on a wide scale, is all." Adam declared.

Anita spoke up, "So...Tessa. Here's where you come in. Fitz tells me you're an ace with psychic therapy. How about some of that, to ease Adam's mental fatigue? Or at least help him ignore it until renovations are done."

Tessa looked over to Pierce, who assured that it was more than okay, and then Lara showed the two back into the bedroom to have some quiet. And when Adam was well-rested, the second floor was finished. And the next day, he would finish the third and forth.

There would be bedrooms and bathrooms for everyone, improvements on the kitchen and living room, a gym and a weight room, showers, game room, weapons room, a shooting range, and various other accoutrements and amenities. Things were certainly looking up for Lara and her new roommates.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Lara's House, Chicago==

Ivan stepped out of the shower, and pulled a towel around his waist. After getting dressed, he stepped out into the hallway, greeted by the sight of Fitz and Adam in sweat clothes, headed up to the room on the other side of the staircase.

"Yo, Bruiser, you up for some hoops?" Adam offered, holding the basketball forward.

"Nah, I'm good. Think I'll hit the weight room. Then maybe the steam room."

"Cool; let's go, Fitz." And they were off to their second round of one-on-one.

Nadia was ascending the stair as Ivan finished his sentence, "I thought you and me could practice in the training room. I need to get combat-ready, if we're takin' this Overlady on soon."

Ivan smirked, "Yeah, right, you just wanna see me get all sweaty, and look at my a**."

The two chuckled their heads off, all the way into the training room.

Meanwhile, Tessa and Pierce were in Pierce's bedroom. They had some catching up to do.

"Mandy...what happened the other day...with the Raven Lady's henchman. I was...I was scared I would hurt you..."

Tessa lay on his chest and kissed him tenderly, "Yeah, well, we'll take care of her when the time comes. But for now...I kinda wanna help you burn off some of that excess energy."

"Oh, yeah?" Pierce sat up on the bed with a grin, obviously more than intrigued, "Well, what did you have in mind?"

Tessa leaned in for a kiss...

Mark burst in, "Hey, you guys! I had an idea--oh. Um...Should I come back, or something?"

The two resisted their inner urges to do Mark bodily harm, and retreated from each others' amorous embraces.

"Nah, whaddya want, Mark?" Pierce stood up, pulling on his pants; Tessa straightened her shirt.

"You remember what Anita said about reinforcements? Yeah, we need Tessa's help getting in contact with 'em."

Groaning in unison at yet another romantic moment interrupted, the two got themselves presentable again and entered one of the rooms labeled 'TBA'. Pierce took his seat next to Lara, and Anita led Mark and Tessa to sit at the table in the middle of the room, on either side of Adam.

"Now, if my hunch is correct", Anita began, "joining hands should temporarily link your minds. This means that you, Tessa, will be able to receive and project thoughts with diminished difficulty. And among those thoughts, you'll be enhancing Mark's concentration, so he can more powerfully attune to the Astral Realm. And when he picks up on this information, he should be able to perceive information from your highly-voluminous memory banks, about the locations of all of the people you've encountered in the past, that we can consider allies."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The three nodded, and with one last affirmation, they were ready. As the three joined hands and closed their eyes, the room fell silent, fortified even against the booms and bangs of the training room just next door. The lights flickered. The only sound that resonated was the imperceptible rush of thoughts racing to and from Tessa's mind as she linked to Adam and Mark.

Even closed, Tessa's eyelids fluttered as though in REM sleep, and a rush of memories came crashing back into her head. She sifted through them adeptly, and picked out the people who she knew would be the greatest assistance to them.

The first she projected to Mark's mind, to make sure that she could pinpoint their location. Mark perked up his 'psychic ears' and listened out as Cookie had taught him. His eyes flashed with the faces of the spirit world's residents, and their unintelligible moans became distinct and deliberate.

They spoke the location of the rebels' allies, and urged him to reach out. He was expected...

His mind reached out, a little harder than he was used to, and the vision of the ally's residence became clearer and clearer. When Tessa picked up on it, she gave Adam the psychic signal; 'Start the door'.

Combined with Tessa's mental-projection powers and Mark's mediumistic bridging of two locations through the Astral Realm, the door was much easier to draw. Tessa and Mark simultaneous sensed when Adam finished the door, and Tessa took the cue to dissolve the mental link. Almost instantaneously, there came a knock.

Anita walked up to the door, and gently opened it...

There stepped forward a familiar hippie-clothed black lady, and her sour twin sister to greet them.

"Hey, y'all! Knew we'd see each other again."

Mark nearly bowled the blind psychic and her sister over at the overwhelming thought of her home cooking, "COOKIE!"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"Hey, y'all, it's been a while!"  Cookie beamed.

Lara stepped forward, extending a hand, "Hi, I'm--"

"Lara, it's very nice to meet you! I'm Corrina, and I must say, I like what Adam's done to this place! Certainly an improvement on that old layout. It was barely enough for you! But now...I think I'll enjoy my stay in Chicago."

Lara took a step back, blinking vacantly, "Uh, how did you--"

"ESP, dawlin'." Cookie chuckled, "Without it, I can't see a thing. But with it, I can see more than any of you..."

"That is...very cool." Adam stood up to shake Cookie's hand, "And your sister? What can she do?"

"What can I DO? I can POSSESS people..." Ginger started with a devilish grin in her eyes, "Yeah, my soul jumps inside 'em. Turns their consciousness into a pretzel, banishes them to the deepest corners of their own minds, and makes them a prisoner inside their own bodies. My will becomes law..."

Adam blinked, and backed up.

"I can also astral-project." She finished.

Adam turned away from her, thoroughly freaked out by Ginger's incredibly creepy sense of humor, and sat down on the other side of the room, giving Ginger a good chuckle. As though to shut her up, the whole floor experienced a tremor.

The supers looked at Adam, unsure of whether to panic or head to battle stations.

"The Artscape is sensitive to my thoughts. I just felt something downstairs. Somebody's right at the staircase. Time for lockdown."

"Lockdown?!" Ginger exclaimed, "What the hell did you get us into, Cookie?!"

The floor of the Artscape shook again. The rooms were intact, but it jolted everyone around, causing the others to lose their footing. They all hurried outside of their respective recreational activities, to the banister of the staircase, and looked down to see the staircase going back to become part of the wall. The stairs melted back imperceptibly into the paint, and finally, the floor sealed off. The ceiling took its place, and the room went back to its normal size.

Lara looked over at Adam in dismay, "Um, what the hell just happened?"

Nadia and Ivan rushed to the door, and Fitz burst out of the laboratory to see if if anyone was hurt in the tremor.

"Everyone okay?" Ivan looked around.

"What WAS that?" Nadia panted.

Fitz huffed, "I felt Adam's power, but it was all around me! What the hell was that?"

Adam paused, looking down to the space, where the ceiling used to be, with a smile.

"Hehe...I, uh, figured we could use a little 'fire drill', so to speak. You know, make sure that nobody was prepared in the event that we were found out...that, and the fact that I wanted to see the look on Ginger's face...so yeah...false alarm."

The others menaced him playfully, shocked at his clever attempt to get Ginger back, but Adam was really looking to see what GINGER thought of him. And all she could do was chuckle. Finally somebody who could handle her BS, and toss it back, just as strong.

"You mean to tell me, you did all that on purpose? Dang...I like you, man. You're good."

Cookie came to the door finally, "A'right, if you two are done trying to scare each other, I think the others have a job to do. You wanted to get a hold of Charisma next, right, Tessa?"

The blonde telepath exhaled deeply and looked over to Cookie, "Yeah..."

"Good", Cookie responded, "I got a feelin' she's the best option for you to contact next."

And so, with that, the others went inside, leaving only Ivan, who held Adam back to ask a question.

"Er, uh, I got a question, mate. Y'know how you got control over this here, uh, Artscape thing, right?"

"Yeah..."

"And you can sense whatever goes on, on these here floors?"

Adam looked down with a smile; he figured where Ivan was going, "Look, big guy. I gave you guys access to EVERY TV channel, and EVERY website, even ones that you normally need membership or subscriptions to get to. Not to mention, most of us are guys. I know better than to look in on whatever you guys do in the privacy of your own rooms. Rest assured, your secrets, however potentially-kinky or weird, are safe. Now, uh...let's get back inside. I'm needed."

Ivan sighed a sigh of relief and went into the 'TBA' room (now marked 'Common Room') after Adam, to watch him, Tessa and Mark finish contacting their reinforcements.

This time, Cookie joined the three at the table. She looked to either side with a smile, and then closed her eyes. It was just like old times. With no need to be instructed of the plan Anita had devised, Cookie tugged Tessa's hand lightly, and let her know she was ready to begin.

The others closed their eyes, and there came another jolt to the Artscape. Much quicker than before, likely due to the presence of two more powerful psychics, the door began to materialize on the wall. The lights flickered, like last time, and there came a second jolt. The door flew open, and out bounded another familiar face. She jumped onto Ivan, knocking him on his back, and began licking his face like a dog long missing her master.

"A'right, Crazy-Face! I missed you, too!" Ivan laughed, getting to his feet. It was Vicious. Behind her, Kitty, Tock, Eugene, Duke, Delilah, Quentin and the others. There were even a few supers that they didn't recognize.

Lara looked at the ragtag crew strangely, and Pierce took it on himself to introduce them all.

"That there's Vicious. The meanie with the claws...Kitty; Emo kid's Eugene; the musclehead is Quentin. The one pattin' her hip is Bridg-er, Tock. And that is Charisma LeVeaux."

"You KNOW all these people?" Lara smirked, thinking about the funniness of that introduction.

Pierce looked into the crowd, "Er, well, not EVERYBODY. Eh, you other guys mind introducin' yerselves?"

Johnny Long was a phaser; Collin "Cornfield" Fieldman was a plant elemental; Delilah could spin like a mini-tornado; Duke, Delilah's friend, was able to run at about 300 mph; Devon Lee was capable of creating 49 replicates; Xiu Chang could run an entire day without getting tired; Jessica Orabela could induce explosions; Alice Wynters could project realistic holograms; Jeremy Hart was a water elemental; Philip Xaver had superhuman senses; Cosmo introduced himself as a friend of Wayne's party and detailed his outer-space teleportation ability (which he affectionately called Starhopping), and two of them had prehensile tongues; Travis "Lick" Lawler, and Jack Snipe.

"There's more of us back at headquarters, but--"

"Headquarters?" Tessa asked, quizzically.

"Well, yeah. You didn't think I was away just twiddling my fingers, did you? I wanted to help take down the Mover. But, well, after we took over the research facility, Wayne took care of him before I could assemble everyone. So, we just decided to assemble there until we were needed elsewhere."

Adam looked at the group, and his head was aching at the mere thought, "I have to make rooms for all THESE guys?"

But Charisma assured, "Nope, we're good. The facility is nice and cozy, now. We're good with just joining up with you guys here."

Fitz looked at the group of supers, as they introduced themselves and explained their powers. This looked very very promising. He looked at Quentin.

"Long time, no see, Quent. How about you meet me, Ivan, Pierce and Cookie in the War Room that Adam's gonna make for us?"

Adam's face fell, "Ugh, fine, I'll get on it. But I'll need a boost."

So with that, Tessa followed the group out to the site of where the War Room would be created. The others would accompany Nadia to the huge Training room (of those who didn't remain behind chatting idly).

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Training Room==

Devon the replicator, Duke the speedster, Delilah the gyrator, Jessica the detonator, Collin the agrokinetic and Jeremy the water elemental stood in line. Before them, Nadia, hair pulled back in a ponytail, clad in sweat clothes, face stern as a drill sergeant.

And behind her stood HER team.

Nadia looked back to them with a devilish grin, and then back to the newbies, "All right. Welcome to the Training Room, the masterpiece of Adam's Artscape. It operates on technology that's possible only in Adam's imagination, which allows us to change the environment to be anything from a desert wasteland, to a jungle warzone. For now, though, we'll start in the 'City Anarchy' setting. I'm Nadia, but you will call me Coach while we're in here. Behind me is Cosmo, Charisma, Ginger, Kitty and Vicious. The people next to you will be YOUR team, and the people behind me are MY team. The game? Capture the Flag."

The newbies cheered, sure that the others couldn't possibly have TOO much of an upper hand on them. But Nadia's team would be sure to make sure they knew otherwise by the time the whole deal was finished.

Nadia looked around to make sure her selection was a fair one to go against her friends without being overwhelmed too badly. And when she gave them one last look-over, she called out for everyone to go to their respective sides. She motioned to Philip in the Control Room, and he pressed buttons and pulled levers.

"Let the games begin." He chuckled.

Devon was out first, with his battalion of Dev-clones. Surely one of them would be able to bypass Nadia, he thought, they outnumbered her side by at least ten. Vicious made sure to correct his underestimation.

She leaped out from behind the barricade where she had hidden, kangaroo-jumped right in front of a Dev-clone, grabbing him with the fierce quickness of a mantis. She whirled him around with gorilla strength, and tossed him into five of the other clones, before taking off into the air, and scoping out the land with peregrine eyesight to find the original Devon, who she was sure had to be hiding out there somewhere.

Jeremy made his way over to the middle of the street, as Kitty barreled toward him, and surprised her by raising a blast of water from the faux-sewers below. He then shifted it into a tide of razor-sharp ice blades. He knew she could regenerate, and so there would be no hard feelings, but it still hurt. So Kitty wrenched her shoulder, dislocated it and dislodged the one ice spear. As it healed, she grabbed the deeply-lodged icicles on either side and used them to launch herself toward him, claws fiercely splayed.

Meanwhile, Delilah whirled out onto the field, kicking up dust and winds around her fiercely. Charisma darted out, eyes alight, and launched an optic blast at the Red Blur's whirling mass. The two drew closer and closer; Charisma optic beam grew stronger and stronger, Delilah whirling harder and harder, until finally the two were a foot apart. Charisma blinked for a split second, and Delilah grabbed her up into the whirlwind, spinning her at top speed, before tossing her out into the wall.

Philip, thoroughly enjoying watching the others beat each other senseless, pulled a lever, and various girders from fake buildings began to fall from the faux-foundations they supported. Cars overturned, manholes opened, and plexiglass windows fell from their buildings.

A beam fell between Collin and Ginger, and Collin pulled back a tree with the pure force of his mind; when it was released from his mind, the tree knocked Ginger back full force. Collin watched her body fly back, eyes wide. What had he done? He rushed over to her, as the others continued to battle, and checked her pulse.

"C'mon! Aw, man, c'mon!"

But upon further inspection, he realized she was breathing, her heart still beating. She just didn't seem conscious. By the time he came to the realization, however, it had already happened. His body had been overwhelmed by the might of her mind. Every inch of his body immediate came under her power and things would not go well from here.

His arms reached out against his will, and the tree that had just smacked Ginger silly picked him up, just as dextrous as a hand. Without so much as a polite warning, his arms wrenched upward, and the tree complied, tossing him backward toward his team's side of the training room. He would NOT be getting the flag.

And neither would Jessica. She was far too busy being amazed at how well Nadia took her power. Blast after blast, Jessica would pound her fists together and Nadia would be knocked back, but quickly recover. Nadia's power allowed her to be immune to the effects of heat, and so the only true effects coming at here were effects she could easily absorb and turn back against Jessica. For every blast she took, a blast of spine-tingling cold was returned. The two seemed pretty much at a stalemate.

The only one who truly had a chance? Duke, of course. But even he wouldn't have an easy time. Cosmo had gotten good at teleporting, and it only took him the blink of an eye to do it. Duke headed straight for the flag, only to have Cosmo 'port in front of him and grab him, teleporting him mid-air to crash into Delilah mid-spin. However, instead of crashing, he was gladly taken into the gyrating vortex. When she had reached terminal velocity, he cried out, "Fastball!"

Delilah stopped spinning, and Charisma could only stand by and watch. It was amazing teamwork.

Duke flew through the air, past Devon and Vicious, past Jessica and Nadia, past Jeremy and Kitty, past Collin and Ginger. He hit the ground with skid-marks on the fake road, and took off for the flag. Cosmo ported in front of him, but it was too late; Duke had already gained his momentum. His reflexes kicked in, and Nadia's team abandoned their other combatants; DUKE was the real threat.

Charisma launched a powerful concussive blast; Vicious flea-jumped and took off after him with arms flapping at hummingbird speed; Kitty tossed throwing-knives hard as she could; Nadia blew a super cold breath; Ginger astral-projected and her spirit took off after him; but none could catch him. With one last leap, over a powerful heat beam from Charisma, he slid across the car where Nadia's Team had their flag, grabbed it, and slid off on the other side.

Nobody would get the chance to try to take it back. Philip pressed the buzzer.

"Newbies win!" Philip announced over the intercom. They all gave cheers, and ran up to him, patting him and Delilah on the back. They stopped when they were met by Nadia and her team; their faces fell...Nadia's team did not look happy.

"Hey", Collin spoke up, "Uh, y'all ain't mad 'cause they won, are ya?"

"Yeah, they beat you guys fair and square." Jessica piped up.

Nadia's team broke out into smiles, and Nadia stepped forward, clapping for their victory.

"Good. That was the final test. Gotta make sure none of you are sore winners. Alright, everybody...hit the showers."

Everybody headed to the locker rooms and showers to get cleaned up, back into their regular clothes. That was some good fun, and now the newbies would be headed to some more recreation. Some would join the others chatting in the Common Room, while others would go to the game room, and still others would head to the pool. Nadia and her team, however, would drop in to hear what plans had been devised to oppose Overlady Camphrey.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==War Room==

After the construction of the War Room, Fitz was busy admiring the level of technology that Adam's highly-creative mind had wrought; the fiber optics, the memory of the computers, the strength and speed of the networks, and the amazing surveillance and communications. There were maps everywhere, and even profiles of a few of the baddies they had encountered in the past; Gorak the Geokinetic; the Trelaine Brothers; Phil the Telekinetic; Willis the Size-Shifter, and a few others.

Fitz was testing the motion-sensitivity of the surveillance camera when Nadia, Cosmo, Ginger and Kitty walked in, Vicious trotting in genially behind them.

"Ahh, perfect, take a seat, we're just gettin' started." Fitz invited, as he played with the tech to figure out what did what.

The supers took their seats and Fitz found the clicker to get started. The overhead projector flashed a beam of light, and the table's fiber optics scanned the map Fitz held over it, to configure a pop-up 3D image of the immediate area around Camphrey Manor. It was so realistic that they could even see little trees along the sidewalks, and the dumpsters in the alleyways.

"This is the immediate area outside Camphrey Manor. Now, all we need is a way to get in there. First, I suggest we send Devon's clones out; he makes the same number of dupes as there are routes up to the Manor. Each dupe tries to make his way up to the Manor. Whichever clone makes it there will relay his information to Devon-Prime, so we can know which route is safest."

"And what if ALL of 'em is safe? Or at least manageable?" Ivan looked at the 3D projection, not seeing any locations that looked dangerous or hazardous.

"This map don't show PEOPLE on it, y'know tha', right?

Ivan sat back, "Oh, well, uh, in that case, yeah, probably WOULD be the best thing to do...Send in the replicator. I second that."

Nadia rolled her eyes at Ivan, "I think the real question is, 'what if NONE of the routes are accessible?'"

Fitz looked at the map, "Ah'm glad y'ask. If none of the above-ground routes accessible, then we go underground. Through the sewers. Ah'm hopin' tha' option ain't the one we hafta take."

The others leaned back.

"Well, um, now I think about it, I think Ivan may have a point." Ginger looked at the map, and then to the others, "Camphrey isn't the Raven Lady for nothin'. Her power is Psychic Intimidation, right? Well, what if she's so arrogant that she doesn't think she needs much security outside of her house?"

Cookie looked up from her seat with a smile, "Oh, no, dawlin'. You NEED some kind of backup. Don't be silly. Send the foot soldiers before you just have the Calvary charge in."

"Then there's something you know that we don't know?" Adam leaned forward.

"Well, I know a lot of stuff you don't know..." Cookie chuckled, "Do you know the single longest word in existence, even longer than pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? Or if a tree falls in the forest, whether or not it makes a sound? Or maybe why a raven is like a writing desk? I could tell you any of those answers, but some things are just not meant to be revealed."

Adam blinked, and was silent.

"So...Fitz is right. We definitely DO need to send the Dev-clones to the Manor first. Test out all routes of entry." Tessa spoke up.

"Yes. And you need to develop your mental fortitude. Greatly. Things to come will be very frightening."

Pierce leaned forward, "Like what? I ain't scared o' nothin'."

Cookie leaned forward with a grin, "Oh, really? Wanna know when you die?"

Pierce gulped, not sure whether or not she actually knew the answer, "Uh, well, no. But like I said, ain't MUCH I'm scared of..."

The others chuckled, and Cookie stood up.

"All right. I think that's enough strategy for now. If y'all don't mind, I'm a li'l hungry. Long trips always take a lot outta me, even if they're made shorter by bridgin' space-time."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

When the supers headed for the door, they bumped into Xiu, Alice, Jessica and Travis' heads, and greeted them with menacing glances.

"I promise we weren't spying...or at least we didn't hear much." Travis smiled nervously, "Mostly just the part about Cookie making something to eat?"

"Well, Nosies", Cookie smiled, "I ain't nearly done with food yet. Adam has to get me my cooking supplies and such, which will take some drawing, AND a recipe book. So...go out and have some fun. We'll call you when things are ready."

"How would you call us?" Travis pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, "I thought you said this place was off the grid."

"It is...which is why I went through the trouble of making these." He handed Travis a box full of peculiar-looking phones, "It gives you access to any normal phone number, as well as internet access, with full capability to see videos if you flip it over to the other side."

"Oh, snap, that's awesome", Johnny walked up at the mention of free stuff, "We get free phones? Well, do we have to put in each others' numbers?"

"No. All your numbers automatically register as 000-000-0000. They can't be called back by any phone except another one like it. Even technopaths shouldn't be able to reach it. Just look through your contacts and pick which phone you want to get a hold of. And if you wanna call back here, press the HQ button in the middle."

The newbies admired their amazing new phones.

"So...um, since we have these kick-a** phones", Jeremy spoke up, grabbing the box from Travis, grabbing a phone, and laying the box on the Common Room table, "I say we go out on the town."

The others, who were anxious to see the city, eagerly agreed. Though they were wise enough not to go out all in one big group.

Jeremy, Collin, Johnny, Devon, Philip and Travis would all go together; and Xiu, Alice, Jessica, Duke, Delilah and Jack (who would from then on be referred to as Snipe) would go together.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Jeremy's Group==

Jeremy and Collin strode ahead of the others, sharing the differences of Jeremy's home state, California, and Collin's home state, Alabama. Their views on politics, other races, and numerous other facets of society. They found one another fascinating, and seemed likely to be good friends.

"Dude, seriously, this is super-boring. Let's go to a club or something." Johnny pouted, playing Angry Birds on his phone.

"This early in the day? You won't find any club YOU want to go to..." Travis scoffed; The others turned back to him with accusatory glances, "What? I meant YOUTH clubs..."

The others picked up pace again, and Philip consoled Travis, "Hehe, don't worry, I'm sure they already knew..."

In a few minutes, they would reach the park.

Travis sat next to Philip and talked of the squirrels and the lake and the grass and the trees. Johnny and Devon tossed the football back and forth. Meanwhile, Jeremy was fascinated with the extent of Collin's ability. Jeremy leaned in, waiting to be amazed, and Collin did not disappoint.

Collin plucked a leaf from a tree. Jeremy leaned in, inspecting it, as though it could maybe be a trick leaf. And in the blink of an eye, the leaf began changing before his eyes. Its tip split into five tips, and the leaf's texture changed. It changed into a different shade of green, and a familiar smell wafted to Jeremy's nose.

"Wha...Weed? You turned a normal plant into WEED?" Jeremy's eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped, "You're like a human grow house! Dude, you know how much money you can make off this? I mean, seriously, I can smell it from right here..."

Collin chuckled, "Yeah, well, it sure came in handy when the family was havin' that drought."

Travis popped in between them with a giggly grin, giving them both a scare, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Christ, Lick! You wanna give a guy a warnin' 'fore doin' that again? I damn-near pissed ma'self."

Travis giggled, "Hehe, sorry...Oh, hey, wow, is that what I think it is? Pickin' some flowers from Mary Jane's garden, are we?"

The two grabbed his mouth, shooshing him in unison.

"Dude, you're gonna get us arrest--NEEEAAAAAGGGGHHH!" Jeremy retracted his hand when Travis started lathing his tongue between his fingers, "We just, uh, need to keep it hush-hush."

As Jeremy rubbed his hand dry on his shirt, Travis took the leaf from Collin, "Man, if I were a stoner, this thing would make my mouth water..."

"Did somebody say something about Mary Jane's Garden? A guy could get in trouble talking like that..." Philip chuckled, giving Collin and Jeremy another scare.

"Man, ain't you listenin' to Lady Gaga full-blast? How the hell did you hear us?" Collin gave Philip an amazed fisheye.

"Hehe...Rihanna now. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excite me!" Philip went back to head-bobbing, and headed back to the bench. Behind him, Travis walked trying to keep pace with Philip's long legs and still hear the song. The two would go back to talking about the squirrels and the lake and the grass and the trees on the park bench under the largest tree.

"Aw, dammit, we're surrounded by blabbermouths..."

"Hey, dude? Izzat what I think it is?" Collin's nerves had settled this time, and so he didn't jump, but he didn't recognize the voice either.

"A'right, now who izzat?" He got up, and to his surprise there stood a trio of boys who seemed like they were looking for trouble.

The biracial guy, the second tallest, scrappy with deep waves and hazel eyes, spoke first.

"Des. Des X. Machina. This my boy Snake, and his cousin, Trick."

"Uh, Trick?" Jeremy snickered.

Trick held out his left hand, and a diamond ring appeared in his hand. Across the park, a woman cried out in dismay at the sudden and mysterious loss of her ring. Jeremy marveled silently, and reached for the ring, only to have it disappear. The woman had it back.

"Um, nice...trick."

Trick remained silent, only nodding in response, proud of his power.

"So, um, lemme holla atcha real quick...what you want fo' dat green? That look like some quality stuff..."

Collin backed up with the leaf. "Um, you sure you want this stuff? I mean, I ain't got no more right now. To make it, I'd need a whole garden..."

Des motioned for Jeremy and Collin to follow him, but Snake wasn't so sure.

"Man, hol' up. I see yo' boy over there wit the headphones, and he lookin' at y'all like he know somethin' we don't know." Dark-skinned Snake backed up from Jeremy and menaced him with malice, "Y'all 5-0?"

"Uh...no?"

"Man, I don't buy that. I think y'all 5-0, tryna do a sting or somethin'! Trick, man--!"

Quicker than a rattlesnake, Snake whipped out a knife and menaced the two, running his other hand across it to coat the blade with his especially-potent venom. Des backed up, holding his hands to both pockets cautiously. Trick materialized a baseball bat and swung at Jeremy, just missing his forehead. Jeremy stumbled to the ground, bumping into the drinking fountain behind him, and drew the water from it as a geyser-like burst.

Philip and Travis were about to run over, but Jeremy waved them back, keeping upright a snaking pillar of fountain water. Devon and Johnny stopped tossing the ball, and braced themselves (Devon even made four dupes), but Collin assured they could handle it, as a tree lowered its branches, ready to grab anyone who dared get too close. Patrons in range of the would-be showdown left, either casually pretending not to notice it, or fleeing in a panic.

But the supers remained at bay. They did NOT want to hurt these guys. Nor did they want to attract that much attention. Jeremy was sure that there would be consequences if they got caught fighting. If not by Camphrey, then surely their mentors...

"Look, man, we don't want any trouble..." Jeremy held a hand out to show he wasn't trying to atack, "let's just stay calm. My friend. He's agrokinetic. He can help you...he just would need some plants to use his power on."

The boys looked at one another, unsure, but Des seemed to like it, his hands falling from his pockets, "You for real?

"Yeah, yeah, for real, dawg. No worries..."

Trick laughed, "Dawg? Man, I ain'tcha dawg..." His bat disappeared.

"Cool, bro, whatever. Just...don't wanna get off on the wrong foot." Jeremy let the water fountain water go back into the fountain, and the tree Collin held under his power went back to swaying in the gentle breeze. Snake put the blade away at last, and the others reluctantly went back to what they were doing.

"Yeah, me neitha, bruh. Just we gotta problem wit the Overlady...we don't do EC. She put e'rybody on edge." Des moved his hand across his wavy hair.

Collin and Jeremy exchanged glances, "EC? Ella Camphrey?" They asked in unison.

"Yea, you know 'er, right? I mean, I know y'all prolly ain't from roun' here, but--"

"'Course we know 'er. We wanna take 'er down, too..." Collin offered.

The boys looked at one another, and then at Jeremy and Collin.

Des leaned in, even more intrigued, "What you mean? Y'all got people can take her out?"

Collin leaned in, "Uh, can y'all keep a secret?" The boys leaned in, their interest piqued to the utmost.

"You know us..." Des chuckled, "No snitchin'."

"A'right, good...we're out here right NOW, but back at headquarters...our superiors are plannin' on how to get ridda Lady Raven as we speak."

The boys exchanged glances again, and then stepped off to the side for a quick huddle. When it had been decided, Des responded, "Man, we can roll wit y'all? At least if y'all ain't relly takin' EC down, we can get some o' whateva y'all smokin'..."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Duke's Group==

Delilah followed behind her friend Duke, wondering where he had in mind to go before it got too late. There were no clubs open, and the park didn't seem his style. Too open and too social for his taste.

Alice looked at a map of the city on her phone, and the only thing that seemed to suit her fancy was the mall. But Duke definitely wouldn't go for that, and for some reason or another, the others acknowledged him as leader.

So when they could stand walking no longer, Xiu blurted, "Why not go back in the other direction? The hotel Ivan's friends stayed at had a pool..."

Duke stopped, and turned on a dime, gesturing forward, "You feel like leadin'? Well, by all means..."

Xiu paused, visibly a bit intimidated, but then noticed, as Duke stepped back, that he was actually offering. The speedster reached in his pocket, and began texting Delilah about how bored he was, and how he wished Cookie was done with dinner. Texting a couple dirty jokes, and some ridicule of Xiu's hair to Delilah, and he would satiated for the long walk.

When a fruit stand vendor had his head turned, Snipe snatched an apple from the stand, chameleon style, and from behind everyone else, could be heard crunching on the juicy red fruit.

Alice turned back, to see who potentially was hiding food, and didn't even notice when Xiu bumped into a blond haired male who happened to be coming out of the alley just in front of them. When he spoke, it was so angry an outburst, it immediately caught the attention of their entire group.

"Watch where you're goin', dumba**!"

He stormed away in a huff, but was stopped mid-stride by an eaten apple core to the back of the head.

"YOU'RE the dumba** if you didn't see THAT comin'. Dick." Snipe smirked, but his face fell when he noticed the blond kid headed back toward him, "Enfoncer de porc arrogant!"

Delilah and Duke smirked. Louisiana had made them all too familiar with that kind of language.

"What the f**k did you say, dips**t?"

"Alright, alright, alright..." Snipe continued, "Let me go SLOW for the weak of mind...Enfoncer...de porc...arrogant. F**king. Arrogant. Pig. It's French. Look it up."

He did not get the chance to finish his taunt, for the second he began again, the blond kid struck out, pounding the ground, and sending a pillar up out of the ground to uppercut him. The hit pounded his jaw so hard, it sent him flying backward.

Alice ran to his aid, and noticed he was out cold. Now was fight time.

Delilah pirouetted into a vehement whirlwind, and riposted every rocky pillar he erected in her path. Duke zoomed behind him and caught him under either arm, holding him for Delilah to tornado-punch. But he wouldn't be harmed easily. He nudged behind the speedster and a rocky hand raised up to grab him from behind. It pulled Duke to the ground, dividing into shackles for his hands, feet and neck.

Delilah, caught off guard by Duke's sudden capture, stopped whirling, and was abruptly caught in the same manner.

When he had regained the upper hand yet again, the blond kid brought stone tendrils forth from the ground to grab Jessica and Alice as well, barely missing Xiu. He had run toward Snipe to make sure the blond kid could do no more harm to him.

Jessica struggled to get free, and finally could stand the restraint no longer.

"Alice, turn the other way." When Jessica was sure no debris would get in Alice's face, she localized a small explosion to free herself, and went charging for the blond kid. She had no intention to kill him, but harm...? Oh, yes, she wanted to do him some serious harm. Her anger was nearly visible as heat rippled off of her hands.

Every construct he erected from the ground, she punched through with explosive brute force, until finally the two came face to face, and she had grabbed him by the hand.

"One TWITCH and you're fertilizer." She cocked back her fist, and he cowered, wondering if she intended to make good on her threat.

Realizing just how dangerous a situation he was in, he quickly relinquished the bonds on Duke and Delilah.

"Look, I...was just playin'. A little rough, but just playin'." He pleaded.

"A little rough?!" Jessica looked back to Snipe, still being coaxed back into consciousness by Xiu, "You nearly killed--"

Duke sped behind him yet again, this time catching him in a neck-breaking position as he got ready to attack Jessica again, "You just don't know when to give up, do ya, Rock Man? What's your name, anyway, so I can know whose neck I'm breaking?"

"G-Go-Gorak. David Gorak."

"Alright, David Gorak..." Duke smirked, "You're comin' back with us. You're a little too dangerous to just let go. I think our superiors might wanna meet you. If not to recruit, you'll make awesome target practice in the training room."

"Hello?" Alice answered her phone, "Oh, hey guys! Right on time! Cookie says dinner's done!"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Camphrey Manor==

Ella drew the curtains closed and clicked on the video chat.

"Overlady Camphrey."

"General. I trust you've been busy. You seem fatigued." Already, Camphrey was reading him for signs of uncertainty, weakness and deception.

"Oh, yes, Overlady, I'm a busy man. Speaking of which...?"

"Yes, your subordinate should have my 'preferred profile' chart. My demands are reasonable, no?"

"Overlady...you requested particularly violent people. You even called out a number of known murderers by NAME. Are you sure you can go through with an attack like this? Based solely on hearsay?"

Ella took no heed to the Generals futile warnings, his hesitance toward senseless violence falling on deaf ears, "Black Eden is no one to trifle, General. She looks like a hedonist...an aristocrat with a silver-spoon upbringing. But I know her type...hell, I AM her type. Deep-down, we're oppressors by nature. And we oppressors do not like others encroaching on our territory. We all want to be on top, and to do THAT, we must push a few others to the side."

As usual, The Raven Lady didn't fail to creep the hell out of the General. He exhaled, "So, when and where do you want your force deployed?"

"Spread out. Not within a mile of her home. Have them convene about a half-mile away, and look out for optics. Your main obstacles will have sight-based powers; Superhuman Accuracy, Telescopic Vision, Circumspect, whatever, but her surveillance is everywhere. And they have big mouths. Meaning you take them out first."

The General looked back to Secretary Spinelli, who was scribbling furiously, and then back to Ella, "Okay, so we have your demands. They should be deployed later on tonight...You have a nice night, now." The video chat went back to the blank screen.

The Raven Lady turned and headed back to the Throne Room, returning to her hardhearted poker face, "I have a feeling my night will be excellent, General. I'll be watching a good horror show soon..."