Official RP Thread: The Evolutionist's Stone (6)

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Setting==
Cancun

==Dramatis Personæ==

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun, Mexico==

Ben stepped forward, adjusting his bass case on his back, and Francesca stepped out right behind him, checking her phone. Byne stumbled out behind those two and dusted himself off. When the three had gotten their bearings, they looked around, and Francesca cracked a smile.

“What was that you were saying about Mexico?” she smirked.

“Um…Francesca Vera Borges Santos? Is this where I think it is? I think it’s Cancun...” Ben couldn’t hold back his smile…

She pulled up the world map, and sure enough, there they were, in Cancun, Mexico. As though the beautiful tan-skinned people in swimsuits didn’t already give that away... The beach stretched out as far as any of them could see, and beyond that, the beautiful blue of the pristine waters. The winds, uttering a warm, gentle tropical breath, seemed to whisper enchanting temptations, like the Sirens of old. And the sun seemed temperate today; the perfect day to visit the beach…

Byne rubbed his hands together mischievously, wondering what he and the others could get into first, and Francesca immediately began looking for a currency exchange station. The three got settled, their money exchanged, their room paid for at the La Bella Playa Hotel, and began preparations to go out on the town.

“So,” Ben smiled, looking around at all the attractions, “What should we do first? Everything looks good.”

The three passed an amusing mariachi band (a super playing alongside his two dupes), various other street performers (some super, some normal), a ton of designer boutiques and shops, and the open produce market. The buildings were a festive orangey color, looking to be of faux-clay. Various beautiful sounds and smells wafted through the air, seeming the perfect mix of old culture and new.

This was their kind of town.

They continued further, and the crowd grew denser with people, of all shapes, sizes, races and ages. All sorts of faces, and backs of heads, danced past them, until it was hard even to make one another out from the crowd. The three tried to push their way through the inundation of hands and feet and bodies and hair, when Francesca turned around abruptly with menace in her eyes.

“HEY!” She called out, “Come back with my wallet!”

The other two caught her voice over the crowd, and saw her as she began heading back in the direction they had just come from. They couldn’t quite make out what she said, but they decided it was best to follow her anyway.

They exited the crowd with Francesca at their head, chasing after a dark-haired, hazel-eyed Mexican boy with tan skin, a skinny frame and a mischievous smirk on his face. He leapt over carts as they were pulled across the stone streets. He bounded around people, only barely keeping from knocking them over. He ducked under people, pushed through them, and Francesca was still hot on his trail, with Byne catching up little by little, and Ben huffing slowly behind.

Finally, the three had gotten too close for him to avoid them much longer. The first corner that came up, he took it. Francesca turned sharply behind him, with Byne behind her, and Ben behind him. Down the long alley he stayed easily ahead of them, until…he came to a dead halt. He turned around to face them, grinning darkly.

He flipped them a bird, and stuck his tongue out childishly, as the shadows cast by the wall of the dead-end began to sharpen. They became black as pitch and he stepped a foot through, but Francesca snapped out of amazement long enough to lunge for her wallet. Ben got out his bass as he and Francesca struggled. Halfway sticking out of one side, and half on their side, the kid tried as hard as he could to push the ingenious thinker off of him. Finally, he lost his patience and pushed her to the ground.

And as her behind hit the stony ground, the kid was blasted in the face with a powerful burst of colored energy from Ben’s bass. The blast was so hot and concussive, like being hit quickly with a branding iron, that his mind could process no other response than recoiling to the darkness to escape. He forgot the wallet entirely; holding his hand across his pained face, he was gone as quick as he arrived.

Byne looked to them, relieved, and exhaled. And though she was still annoyed at having it happen, Francesca sighed with relief as well, that at least it didn’t end in her losing her wallet. So Ben voiced what they all had begun thinking since the ordeal ended a minute ago.

“So…who else is hungry?”

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

Ben led the way as he and his comrades headed back to the hotel through the crowds of tourists and other colorful characters. Music by Juanes, Enrique Iglesias and other Hispanic artists played in the background, coalescing nicely into the spicy and aromatic atmosphere.

Byne bought a chimichanga, and Francesca watched him devour it in disgust. All in all, only one problem remained.

"Damn it all..." Ben grumbled, "I forgot where the hotel is..."

Francesca finally pulled her eyes away from the horror show of Byne's eating habits long enough to show Ben how to operate the cell phone Adam had designed. Fortunately, when the GPS was back up, they noticed they were already headed back in the right direction.

And so they would enjoy the lovely sights along the way. The beach was lovely this time of day. Though a lovelier sight caught their eye when they came across it. Out of all the houses that they passed by, even the other mansions were dwarfed by a solitary one that stuck out in the distance. It was a lovely oasis in a lovely desert populated with colorful mirages.  And by the looks of it, somebody was hosting a party.

Francesca decided to see who, "Oh...my...crap. You're not gonna believe this."

"What?" Byne checked his watch.

"This...this is the Overlady's Vacation Home. She's having a party."

Ben and Byne looked at one another, and then to Francesca, "So?"

Francesca facepalmed, and then elucidated her idea, "While we're here...why not drop in and say hello?"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

The estate of the Mexican Overlady was lavish and full of life all throughout. Latino music of all kinds played in different sections of the house. And across the front of the manor, a large banner..."¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS, LA DAMA VERDE!"

"Dama Verde?" Byne raised an eyebrow, "The Green Lady?"

Ben looked at Byne with a similar confusion.

"Now is not the time for Spanish lessons. We have to find a way to get in...", He thought for a second, "Hey...either of you feel like bein' the help?"

Francesca scanned the crowd in the distance, and then looked back to her clothes, "Yeah, sure. I think they'd believe we're servants. What do we have to do?"

The buzzer rang in the lobby of the Overlady's manor, "What is it?"

"Three servants...from...Overlady Lisa-Lee Cade." Byne and Francesca gave him a nervous fisheye, but at least if he was going to lie, he decided it would be best to lie on someone willing to vouch for him, "For your birthday?"

The buzzer replied, "Ah, okay, cool." The buzzer died again.

"So, how do you expect us to pass for servants?" Byne sighed, "Got any spare servants' clothes in your instrument case?"

Ben pulled out his bass, and played a long, slow "do re mi fa so la ti do". Little by little, their clothes transformed from civilian clothes to servant clothes. The gate opened right in time for their clothes to finish changing, and they walked in. Ben would be another musical entertainer, Byne would serve food and drinks (and deal with any drink-related incidents) and Francesca would help out with any mechanical issues that needed fixing.

And as they served the people, Ben and Byne would be keeping an ear out, and Francesca would be keeping an eye out, for valuable information about La Dama Verde's rule, and ways to put it to an end.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

As Ben knocked 'em dead, out in the courtyard, with his rendition of various musical numbers from various genres, and Ben served drinks, Francesca busied herself checking out the house's layout.

A lovely manor, Francesca decided, as she ascended the stairs slow and quiet; it radiated vibrancy and style. She scanned the area quickly, rifled through things discreetly and otherwise busied herself just admiring the place. Its architecture stunning, its layout efficient and smart, Francesca couldn't help but be a bit amazed at the logistics of the layout. Almost as though...ah, perfect, Francesca smirked to herself, interrupting her previous thought. This looked promising. Any other mind would have overlooked it, it was so subtle, so clever. Fortunately, Francesca was no ordinary mind.

She knew that bookshelf caught her eye for a reason. Aside from its classy appearance, there was something peculiar about the topmost shelf, which was entirely in English. Of course, she heard Dama Verde claim it was all English because it was a group of the only English books she kept around, but it didn't keep Francesca from being suspicious.

And so, she grabbed the book in the very center, and pulled it hard as she could, expecting some sort of mechanical reaction. Maybe an alarm. A computer voice, a buzz, a beep, a ping, something. No such reaction came, to her partial relief. Reaching back up to put the book back on the shelf, however, she would be in for a pleasant surprise (or rather, a welcome confirmation that she was right in being suspicious), as her hand met a strange cold metal gear...

Immediately, Francesca grabbed up onto the strange protuberance, too short to see what it was, but sure it was not the only one. And sure enough, when she pulled all the books off of that shelf, she felt metal protuberances in their places.

"Crap." Francesca scoffed, "This...this can't be what I think it is..."

She looked back. The coast was still clear. And so she stocked the books back on the shelf, each on its rightful metal peg. Only this time, rather than pulling on them, she put her hands on the books at either end, and pushed them forward at the same time.

There came a groaning mechanical creaking, cogs turning, gears clanking, and finally a rocky sliding noise, as the shelf gave way. Before Francesca could react, the bookshelf tipped her forward, tumbling her into darkness, and closed quickly behind her.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA--OOF!"

She staggered to her feet, slightly battered by the tumble. Patting the dust off of her clothes, she reached for a source of light in the dim corridor. A switch, a pull-cord, something--ah, yes, here it was. The switch clicked on...and Francesca was dumbstruck. So THIS was where she kept her War Room.

Time to do some snooping.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

When the festivities of the night were finally winding to a close, Ben hurried to pack up his bass. They would need to get away from La Dama Verde as soon as possible, lest she begin asking questions, getting suspicious, taking precautions. They needed to be as much like normal servants as possible--humble, respectful, reliable, skilled at their jobs-- but they also had to stick together as much as time allowed, until it was time to leave.

Now where was Byne? Ben cursed to himself, hoping he hadn't gotten himself into anything he couldn't get himself out of. Not that he was in any true danger, what with his ability and all, but still. Leaving a person to be brutally tortured and repeatedly killed was certainly not cool.

And where had Francesca taken herself off to? If she had gotten all curious and wandered off to tinker with some of La Dama Verde's technology and mechanical dealies, Ben hoped to God she wouldn't get caught, or do any permanent damage.

Francesca showed up at last, as Ben sat by the front door, awaiting any other orders from the Mexican Overlady. She was out of breath, but nonetheless, unscathed.

"Ben, where is Byne? I thought we were leaving soon."

"We are. We're just waiting for Byne."

The two would wait for about ten more minutes before Byne made it out of the kitchen, yucking it up with some of the other cooks. Some stupid inside cooking joke, and Byne tucked a piece of paper into his back pocket, heading toward Byne and Francesca.

"Okay, I basically got everything I came here with", Byne put up empty hands in jest, "You guys all set?"

The two nodded, and turned for the door, only to have a familiar face step in their path. Dama Verde crossed her arms, her face fallen from classy and coy to sovereign seriousness.

"Um...hola, Dama Verde." Byne offered nervously, "Que paso?"

"Que paso nothing, Mr. Chef." The Overlady put up a hand, "Where do you three think you're going? I thought The Overlady of Louisiana sent you to be my servants. I already had Ramon, Julio and Jorge prepare your rooms. You can pick up your list of tasks in the staff break room."

Ben, Byne and Francesca watched as The Lady in Green strutted off. And when she had gone, Ben smacked Byne on the back of the head.

"Way to go, Big Mouth!" Ben groaned, "Your yakkin' in the kitchen shaved off ten whole minutes we could have used to leave this place without the Overlady's notice! Now we'll likely be stayin' the next few days until we can find a slick way to escape. You just better hope nobody goes through our things while we sleep."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

Having almost been caught communicating with Adam and company up in Chicago, Byne would have to work extra-hard to look like he was actually there to SERVE the Mexican Overlady. The cooks found him most helpful, cooking up things to serve the Overlady's friends. It seemed they were always over, but that was just fine. If nothing else, it helped him pick up on the latest gossip of the region. They chattered among one another, the servers chatted among one another and with the cooks about what they overheard, and Byne would gladly 'not listen' close enough to hear the gory details.

Meanwhile Ben would play soothing tones to lull La Dama Verde into a dull drug-like stupor. Whatever song he played, she would perceive the scene he had imagined to go along with it, and so his task was an easy one. Shady cabanas on the beach, lovely barrios home to charming and colorful characters, handsome dancers and soulful singers, summertime love and loss, the whole romantic works.

Which left Francesca to do what she did best. Left up to her, things would be fixed to last...at least until later. That way she would be sure to get back to any places she deemed important. Needed to eavesdrop on some chat with the Warlords? The vent in the War Room would get conveniently clogged. Wanted to keep track of the Overlords, emissaries and dignitaries she spoke to from other lands? The entrance gate's electronic mechanism would malfunction almost as though by Technopathy, so Francesca could "have a look at it".

Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad here after all.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

La Dama Verde was quite pleased with the work that Ben, Byne and Francesca had been doing of late. Ben's music soothed her like no other. Byne was fast becoming one of the best cooks in the kitchen. And whenever problems arose, there wasn't a glitch Francesca couldn't fix. And so, it came as a great surprise when the three had been alerted that morning that they were on their way to be shipped off to some other manor.

"Wait, what?" Byne blinked, "I thought you said that we were good workers!"

"You are." The Mexican Overlady replied, putting her hands on her hips with a smile.

"And we really like working here!" Francesca crossed her arms.

"And I like having you here."

"Well, then, why are we gettin' shipped off and shipped out?" Ben demanded, his voice disappointed for a reason different than the Overlady would have picked up on.

"Because", she replied, matter-of-factly, "my house is in ship-shape. I have no malfunctions with my tech, my food is awesome and my music is absolutely wonderful. My girls are jealous, and they want to hire you out temporarily."

The three breathed a collective sigh of relief. They hadn't been discovered after all. Perfect. Things were going all according to plan. Now all they had to do was not mess it up at the home of whoever they worked for, and all would be well. And with things going so ingeniously according to plan, it wouldn't be long before they were ready to take down this Overlady.

Or rather, that WOULD have been the case.

As the supers were well on their way to the house of La Dama Verde's friend, the Mexican Overlady accidentally stepped on a small flash-drive-shaped device. She picked it up, inspected it a second, and then pressed the small green button at the end. A great crash came from the front room, and she rushed in to see that her chandelier had fallen. Suspicious, she pressed the button again, and the microwave in the kitchen began to spark. A third time in the kitchen and the upstairs sink burst, flooding the servants' bathroom.

"Well, what have we here?" La Dama Verde menaced the little device, "Looks like Lisa-Lee's emissaries have been pretty busy around my house..."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

Byne and Francesca weren't so sure about this being 'hired out' business. It was unnecessary extra work. They were supposed to be keeping tabs on La Dama Verde. But then, also, who knew what spoiled, bratty little witch they'd be sent out to serve NOW? She might try to have them do things they had no idea how to do, or work longer hours than normal, or do humiliating odd-jobs. The Overlady might even be setting them up, having maybe called Lisa-Lee and found out they had lied about their employment.

So many possibilities for failure, Francesca realized now, so much room for error. It was terrifying to think that her lax attitude in Cancun had made her less on-her-game. And now it could all come crashing down on them.

Only Ben found a positive spin to put on their situation; if they were on their best behavior here, they'd likely make a good impression; the Mexican Overlady would hear good things about them, and then be set more at ease. It'd be that much easier to take her out.

Here's hoping, they all thought simultaneously.

That following morning, when their work started, things were nervous and uneasy. None of them had to clean, and they were good at what they did, fortunately, but still, what they did seemed all that much more important to carry out correctly. The food would be perfect. The tech would be glitch-free. And the music would be more than mellifluous.

And fortunately, this all paid off. Their new temporary employer was, to their relief, much more lenient...more lax. They took breaks as they saw fit, with only passive suggestions from her that they get back to work. The lady of the house, herself, was too busy with business of her own to stay on top of their business. And Byne would get a hint of just WHAT business she was up to when he was on break.

"Huh? She what?" Their employer said, "Are you absolutely sure?"

Byne wished for bionic ears as he put his ear up to the closed door of their employer's room.

"Oh, that is SO wrong." she continued, "After all the stuff you've done for her. What a triflin' b*tch."

An outburst of laughter, catching Byne by surprise, then his ear went back to the door.

"Well, if that's how she feels about it, she's got it coming to her." their employer went on, "And don't worry. I've got everything handled on this end. Alright. Más tarde."

Click.

Byne frowned. What the heck was she up to?

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

Dama Verde's friend, the supers' new temporary employer, didn't even care to give her new employees her name. Calling her "ma'am" was good enough, in her mind. And when she called them to the parlor, the following morning, to address their temporary services for her,  she didn't care to know any of their names, either.

"All right, you three." she began, brushing back a tress of thick, black hair, "Verde told me that you three were pretty great workers, and she was not wrong. I loved that lunch and dinner you made for me yesterday, and the breakfast you helped with this morning; the music you played for me was absolutely beautiful; and my laptop is working like it's never worked before."

Francesca, Byne and Ben looked at one another hopefully. All was going according to plan. Their employer continued.

"So, I'm going to give you today off. Have some fun. I'll be giving my best regards to Verde and Lisa-Lee, but I'm having company over. My parents. And they don't approve of any servants they haven't hand-picked. So, um...leave."

There was no need to tell any of them twice. An hour's preparation, and the three were out the door. Right on time for their employer to get about her real business. There was something fishy about these servants, and she had every intention of finding out what that something was, for her friend the Overlady.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

The supers were so relieved to find that their services were not required for very long by Dama Verde's friend. Visiting relatives meant, for them, an entire day of freedom to do as they saw fit. And from what their temporary employer had told them, her relatives visited often. It was a good thing.

"So..." Byne stretched and cracked his knuckles, "Where should we go to first? The beach? The mall? A park?"

"Actually", Ben replied, "I was thinkin' we should check in with the Base first. Now all we need is somewhere to use a computer, away from prying eyes."

"Starbuck's." Francesca said blankly; Byne and Ben turned toward her, confused, and saw that she was looking at the screen of the phone she'd received from Adam.

"Starbuck's, huh?" Ben chuckled, "And how exactly does that count as 'away from prying eyes'? The point was to get away from others' attention, Francesca Vera Borges Santos."

"Actually, no." Francesca looked up from her phone finally, "We need to get somewhere as populated as possible. It's much harder for hackers and spies to isolate a computer's location that way. That, and the signals from cell phones all in the air? We'll be golden."

She began to head westward, and Ben and Byne exchanged impressed glances, before hurrying to catch up.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

The air in the Starbuck's smelled of coffee and cinnamon. College kids and business professionals texted, and chatted and typed on laptops. Neither Byne nor Francesca had ever been in a Starbuck's before. Francesca was barely impressed, but Byne was smitten with the idea. Ben and Francesca sat down, while he went up to try one of those berry refresher things he'd heard so much about.

Francesca got situated and pulled out her laptop.

"Hey, Francesca, how's everything going?" came the voice before Anita's face appeared on the screen, "Hey, wait. Are you in a Starbuck's?"

"Yeah, don't ask." Francesca shook her head, "Anyway, Dama Verde's friend gave us the day off."

"Well, that was quick." Anita raised an eyebrow.

"I know." Francesca said thoughtfully, "I think she might be up to something. But, it doesn't matter. We're just dropping a line to let you know. We're ready for Phase 2 of the plan. We'll be starting as soon as possible."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

When Ben and his crew were out of sight, Dama Verde's friend got diligently to work. Something simply wasn't right about these servants, and the sharp-eyed Verde had pointed it out to her. She had even discovered a device that caused things to fall apart on command! If nothing else, it meant that the Brazilian girl was up to something fishy! And she would find out just what it was...for her friend.

She headed to the phone.

On the other end, the phone rang...and rang...and rang....

Curious, there came no response.

"Hey!" Verde's friend called out, "Della! Get in here!"

The quiet, mousy girl entered, avoiding eye contact with her employer, "...Yes?"

"What the hell is this?" Verde's friend put a hand on her hip, "I can't get in contact with Lisa-Lee! She's a freaking Overlady; I know she doesn't have to worry about paying her phone bill! What gives?"

The servant thought to speak, and then decided it was just smart to let the TV answer her question.

"In other news, the Overlady of Louisiana has recently gone MIA. After an unanticipated assault on her manor, leaving the entire estate in shambles, the Overlady seems to have vanished into thin air. Initial reports indicated that she may have been killed in the crossfire, but to the cautiously-optimistic relief of the people of Louisiana, an email came, hours after the initial reports, that the Overlady and most of her staff are fine. Purportedly, the message was sent by Bellissima Gianotta, Overlady Cade's friend, adviser and Overlady-in-Waiting, from an undisclosed location, but reports cannot confirm the validity behind it. More news at 11."

Verde's friend sighed in annoyance, and cursed to herself. It seemed that Lisa-Lee was out of commission. She would be unable to confirm that the three were, in fact, emissaries of Louisiana's Overlady, until further notice.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

As Ben and Byne settled in to what would hopefully only be a temporary base of operations for them, Francesca found herself busy thinking. In all honesty, when the three of them arrived in Cancun, it had been she who suggested that they visit her manor, and masquerade as servants. And by extension, it was her fault that Ben lied about their employment with Lisa-Lee. Not to mention, she had dropped one of her gizmos, hurrying to leave for Verde's friend's house; it would certainly be her fault if that gizmo had been discovered, and gotten their cover blown.

So, like any other thing that was broken, Francesca would take this spur-of-the-moment plan, and fix it.

"Hey, Ben. You got the number to Dama Verde's Manor?"

Ben turned around, "Um, I might; lemme find my phone--"

"Here; I think I saved it in mine." Byne volunteered, retrieving his phone from his pocket.

"Thanks."

"Hey, wait." Ben was curious, "What are you gonna call her manor for?"

Francesca dialed the phone, smiling, "You'll see..."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"Hello?" A familiar female voice came, "Who is this?"

"Hello?" Came another familiar female voice.

Francesca looked over to Ben, and he propped up his bass, before plucking at the strings. Strangely, there came no sound, but only a thick, tangible vibration in the air. The strange, audible silence of the reverberation sent a tingle down everyone's spine, except Ben and the people to whom Francesca spoke.

Francesca inhaled.

"Hello, Dama Verde.", she spoke calmly, "This is The Brazilian."

"The Brazilian?" Dama Verde repeated.

"Who?" Verde's friend sounded worried, "You know, whoever this is--"

"You and your friend on the other line think you know who I am", Francesca interrupted, "You both think you know who I am--you even know my name--but you won't, in just a little bit. In just a little bit, you and your allies will have no clue who me and my allies are. You'll forget you ever met us. That is, until we reintroduce ourselves."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Verde paused an instant, but then became bold, "What the hell kind of threat is this? You think I'm afraid of some vague rebel threat? That I'm going to cower in fear or go into hiding or something--?"

"No." Francesca chuckled, "Not at all. I just thought it fair that you at least get the warning. Even if you won't remember it."

Verde was becoming agitated, "Won't remember--?"

"Why do you keep saying we won't remember--?"

But when their questions came, Francesca set down the phone, her and Byne's ear buds already secured, and another note came through the air, still and silent, and yet loud...resounding. Ben drew out the note long and slow, with all the finesse of a lover's touch, and it seemed to speak of its own accord.

Ben, Byne and Francesca do not exist yet You've never met them before in your life. You will not remember any previous encounter you had with them. Not in this conversation, or any previous conversation. When you next hear the dial tone, you will feel incredibly sleepy, and go straight to bed.

The last note played, the last word of the compulsion delivered, Ben set his bow to the side, and motioned to Francesca, to hang up. It wasn't the suicide compulsion Francesca had suggested, but his work was done.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

"Well, as far as I'm concerned", Francesca sighed, running a hand through her hair, "We have everything we need, as far as intelligence goes. We know the number and identity of spies and double agents and assassins, spy rendezvous points, assassin check points, access codes to records she's gathered on Overlords and rebels...even how to get back into the database for anything else we missed. Now, I'm ready to rest."

"Same here." Byne said, sighing deeply, "The beach isn't far."

Ben sighed; he could go for a nice relaxing day off, too. Would be good to hear some music that he didn't have to play, himself.

"Okay, fine." He said, "We can take the day off...But we gotta make the most of it. This intel we have, I'll put away for safe keeping. And first thing tomorrow, we get back on our job. Taking into account all her spy and assassin checkpoints, it should be all the easier to get over on her system of operation."

Francesca and Byne sighed in joint relief; Ben wouldn't be the wet blanket, after all. So, with that, the three got their things together. Ben propped up his bass, readied his bow, and drew out a quizzical, erratic note. The papers they had taken slowly rose into the air, whirled around in a tight, controlled windy matrix, and then began disappearing into the depths of nowhere. Ben's fail-safe, in the event they were caught.

And now that that had been taken care of, the three headed for the door. They stepped out into the street, most appreciative to what gods may be, that they still had some bit of sunlight left. Though, the thought quickly turned to dread when, in the next instant, there came a devastating--

BOOM!!!

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

Dama Verde's servants rushed out to the pool, where the Mexican Overlady was out entertaining guests. Frantic, they urged their employer to hurry inside, and see what they were seeing.

"Overlady!" cried one girl, "Come see this! Rebels are in town!"

Dama Verde looked to her friends, chuckled, and then looked back to the servants, "So what? Rebels are always in town...protesting, tagging my buildings...What else is new?"

But the male servant replied, "This isn't like before! They're wreaking havoc! Really, you should do something!"

Dama Verde groaned, and then reluctantly got out of the pool, wrapping herself up in a big towel, and telling the servants to keep her friends satisfied and entertained until she returned. She made her way to the parlor, where the most of the Overlady's other servants were already crowded around the TV to witness the fiasco, and joined the spontaneous watching party to survey the damage. And the show would not disappoint.

The vantage point was from the roof of a building, as that had been the only place that the flier reporter and her wallcrawling cameraman could find to safely avoid the carnage. Left and right, citizens and rebels scattered through the streets. Strongmen tossed cars and people, fliers divebombed citizens and threw things at them, blasters blasted, chargers charged, ferals attacked, kinetics weaponized the elements; it was complete and utter bedlam.

And yet, that was only part of this disturbing development. As these rebels committed these crimes, assaulted law enforcement, harassed citizens, vandalized and looted and showed off various powers with frightening flourish...they all wore green. As in, Dama Verde's favorite color. The color that she had used to define her kingdom, that she integrated stylishly into every facet of the life and culture she had made for the people of Mexico. The color that she valued as one of fertility, growth, abundance and good fortune. And then came the final straw.

"Viva la Dama Verde!!!" came the cries, scattered through the crowd, "Long live the Green Lady!!!"

It startled the Overlady to the utmost, making her nearly jump out of her seat. It was as though she had heard a gunshot instead of a voice. She couldn't believe it. Were these rebels...mocking her? Oh, it certainly seemed so. And she, for one, would not stand for it. Dama Verde glared at the screen a couple seconds longer, and then shot up from her seat, and stormed back to the War Room. Time to show these rebels just how she came to power.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

In all the chaos, the three supers found themselves simply stunned for a second. When they recovered from their surprise, though, they immediately braced themselves for a fight. Overlady of Mexico or not, The Green Lady had absolutely no right to be sending out people like this, to terrorize the people into submission. They would stop these green bandits as best they knew how.

Byne and Francesca positioned themselves at either side of the door with their phones, fashioned into secondary taser function by Francesca's ingenuity. Ben sat on an empty wooden box, and brandished his bow. Laid the bow against the strings of his bass, and the strings of reality.

Barely scratched out a rickety C sharp, when a presence suddenly made itself known. A lithe girl, dressed head to toe in green, bounded in front of the door like an acrobat, vaulted up onto the door's frame, swung herself upward, and clung to the wall above the door.

"Hey!" She said, her voice a bit too cheerful for her frightening athletic prowess, "What are you guys doing in here? The party's outside!"

"Party?!" Ben shouted, almost more than he'd wanted to, "The hell are you talkin' about?! Y'all are causing chaos out there! And--! Get down from there, before I blast you!"

"You'd have blasted me already if you wanted to", the girl giggled, "Rebels don't hold back if they see a threat."

"How do you know we're rebels?" Byne blinked absently, "We haven't made ourselves known here..."

"Oh, you're just as cute as I thought you'd be." the girl blushed, "But seriously, if you guys are coming to help us take out the Green Lady, then you'd better hurry and change into something green. It's green or bust, today."

And as quick as she had run in, she scrambled out, to rejoin the bedlam.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Cancun==

Though reluctant at first, at the thought of potentially being faced with a mob of unruly supers, the group quickly found that things were much more tame than they originally looked. True enough, the supers were harassing law enforcement, but they were emissaries of the Overlady, known for their tendency to harass and assault people. And the green-clad crazies only screamed in peoples' faces, tapped them on the shoulder from behind before running, sneaked kisses from unwitting passersby. They seemed fairly harmless, obnoxious though they were.

Francesca looked at Byne, then to Ben; realizing neither of them would move, she groaned, rolled her eyes and headed out first. A speedster zoomed past her, kicking up a wake of dust and wind, but she was none the worse for the wear.

"C'MON, YOU TWO!" She shouted above the chaos, "They aren't even worried about trying to fight or hurt us! They look like they're just trying to stir up trouble! And, if you ask me, I'd say that's pretty close to what we came here to do!"

Ben watched the crowd for just a second longer, before turning, and realizing that Byne had already gone out to join Francesca Vera Borges Santos. Though he couldn't believe what utter danger he was allowing himself to be pulled into, the bassist groaned, and followed his teammates into the fray.

And he was not disappointed. In the midst of the chaos, it seemed that the supers and normals clad in various shades of green were almost...putting on a show. Agiles leapt from lampposts and tree branches and various other perches; fliers wove around and around one another, jetted high, dove low; ferals let out roars and caws and sceeches and squeaks and squeals; blasters let off beams and rays into the wild, distant nowhere; kinetics rode on their elements, turned them into slides and ramps and more. When they got used to the rhythm of the chaos, Francesca, Ben and Byne saw fit to join in.

Francesca threw back her head, let out lupine howls not befitting somebody of her lean frame. Byne let out an exultant whoop, and pumped both fists into the air, and was subsequently grabbed up and carried off by a pretty blonde flier. Even Ben found himself letting off short musical blasts at random things, changing trees into plastic, starting cars up, animating parking meters, turning cars different colors and more. Whoever the hell these rebels were, they weren't so bad, and they certainly knew how to have a good time.

Though, Ben wondered...who was that, who had just appeared on top of the building down the road? She was wearing green, too. A pretty girl, from the looks of it. Clad in the same tight green, long legs, lovely bronze skin, dark hair bound neatly by a green headband. She was raising her hands, maybe to catch everyone's attention--?

By the time her hands lit up with that vicious, bright green energy, though, it was too late. Ben hurried with Francesca through the crowd, now even more frenzied than before, to find where Byne and the pretty blonde flier had fallen. They would be able to save few others from the powerful energy assault.