Heroes: The Road of Good Intentions

[Cynical Cat]

"Come on," said Blackheart. "Saving the world is much more fun than window shopping. Shall we go?"

[Hotfoot]

The drink had its effect almost immediately on Collin's system, the chemicals altering his perception dramatically. The state between the normal and the supernormal, even if just slightly. Such was the way of high doses of caffeine. He looked around the coffeehouse with certain determination. Poetry was being read off to the side, fingers were snapping as the young teens and ancient twenty-somethings pretended as though Kerouac himself were performing. Most of it was garbage, horrid beat poems about parents or unfaithful lovers or the follies of the government. The beats themselves were off or awkward, those that tried to rhyme did so poorly, either through forced rhyming or forced verses.

Collin stared at the stage with serious eyes, giving what credit he felt was worth giving, playing the part he wanted to play for the moment, the killjoy. Several eyes watched him, whispers darting back and forth under the current of noise in the room. Finally, the stage was clear, and he got up to it.

Life...horrid, fleeting
Don't know how fast
heart stops beating
Blood flowing red
Jagged flesh, snapped bones
Dead and regretting
Choices made wrong
Time wasted whining
Love unrequited
Death comes uncaring
Awaken, get moving!
Seconds have spaces
Slip away between them.

He lowered his head and let go of the microphone, stepping away from the stage as soon as the snapping started. He was in, having tasted the foulest, most caffeine-laden of their brews and involving himself in their poetry. That his poem stood out from the rest added to his mystery. Several of the patrons watched him with interest as he sat down in a secluded booth.

"You're not bad." The voice slided into the booth, followed by a young woman dressed in black. "Given that you just made it up."

Collin shrugged, hiding a small smile. "Thanks."

"You shook up the place. Now all the pretenders will be fuming, the wannabes will be try harder, and the groupies will want you long after you're gone."

"And you?"

"I'm the one that sees you for what you are." She narrowed her eyes and flipped her eyebrows.

"You think so?" Collin smirked slightly.

"Mmhm. I think I've got a bead on you already. Let's stop dancing around the issue. We're both special. Let's slip away, between the spaces, shall we?" Her voice made her intent clear, much to Collin's surprise. She got up from the booth and walked slowly out the rear of the establishment.

He smiled, breaking the solemn exterior he had carefully crafted upon entering the coffeehouse. He got up and followed behind her.


...Meanwhile...


"Blackbird, Blackbird, this is Echelon. We have a problem, over."

"Echelon, this is Blackbird, what now? Over."

"They picked up on the rookie. Units are scrambling for a possible intelligence threat. It's not code M yet, but they are on alert."

"Shit. Do you have what you need yet?"

"Negative. Think the two of you can keep their teams busy without hitting code M?"

"You never make it easy, Echelon."

"That's because I know you love a challenge, Blackbird. Good luck, and keep the rookie from getting himself killed."

...Meanwhile...

Collin wandered back to the house the next day, stumbling around from lack of sleep. He crept back in as quietly as he could, attempting to avoid the others until he made it to his room. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

[LadyTevar]

((NOW... To catch everyone up to the day AFTER Saibot's Trial, so we can get on with this
This is part one... no telling what might happen between Tachy and Argent.))

"Come on," said Blackheart. "Saving the world is much more fun than window shopping. Shall we go?"

And that was the end of the trip to Chicago...
As Argent remeninced about what had happened, she had been dregging the strips of dough into a mix of cinnimon-brown sugar and rolling them up for baking. Nearby, two shadow tendrils were working sourcream and cream cheese together with vanilla and a touch of sugar for the icing once the rolls were done.

With 7 men in the house, she was baking a LOT of cinnimon rolls, and the first floor was starting to smell of both fresh coffee and baking. It kept her mind off Garth's trial and sentencing, and focused her on another matter she'd been wondering about....

~~~

It was not the smell of baking that awoke Elias, it was something else entirely. His eyes slid open and his body turned, his left arm reaching past and invinsible treshold and finding nothing beside him. Argent was gone and it was strange but the thought did not bother him. He took a deep breath and moved as one, the muscles in his body coordinating in near perfect unison as he sat up and let his eyes slide over his room. Nothing was out of place, except that his mind could vividly recall the feel of Li Na's warmth against his skin.

He sighed softly and rolled out of bed, stretching for a moment before disappearing into the bathroom. He took a handful of moments to prepare, washing his face and brushing his teeth. As he did so, he considered the unusual set of circumstances which revolved around his relationship with Li Na. She cared for him, she had made that much plain and he believed her. He had shared moments with her that where unique to his experience. She was not his first, and he was not her first, but there was a connection there that was deeper than any he could recall. He genuinely enjoyed her company, he enjoyed making her laugh.

Still, she also loved Blackheart or at least cared for him as she cared for him. At first, he had been certain that it was a dynamic that he would not be able to tolerate and yet here he was. He had feared that he would be the third wheel of the relationship, that he would be a back up and his pride had stung beneath that thought. It had not taken him long to realize that he was an equal to Blackheart at least when it came to Li Na's caring for him. It was strange, but he would take her anyway he could. He would nurture her human side as Blackheart seemed to nurture her demon side. He shook his head and laughed.

"Like calls Like after all." He softly whispered.

He dressed quickly, a white t-shirt that outlined his muscles and a pair of loose fitting slacks. Without Li Na here, his room was not nearly as appealing as it normally was. He left and made his way to the first floor, the pleasant smell immediately drawing his attention. He carefully made his way to the kitchen, coming to a stop once he saw Li Na apparently baking.

"I am never going to get used to that you know." He said softly, his eyes watching the shadows do their work.

~~~

That broke her out of her daydream; her head turning to look at him and the shadows pausing as well. The smile Li Na gave him was as welcoming as the smells of home-baked goods. "I hope you can get used to them, we come as a set, you know," she teased, setting the last two pans of rolls into the oven and wiping her hands clean.

Then she stepped around the center countertop, closing on him with that same welcoming smile. "Good morning...," she said, smelling of cinnimon and sugar as her arms slid around his neck.

~~~

He watched her quietly as he spoke, her head turning and even the shadows ceasing their activity. The smile she offered him was radiant, and Elias acknowledged to himself that he could spend hours simply looking at her face just then. Her smile was warm and welcoming, the smells momentarily forgotten as her smile dispelled the room around her and left only her lips in his mind. Her words were met with an amused chuckle before he offered a reply. "Oh, I am certain that I will sooner or later." He paused, his eyes following her as she moved to place aside the pans into the oven.

She had a certain dignified grace when she moved, his eyes unable to resist the temptation and watching her hips as she moved. His eyes returned to her face as she wiped her hands clean, When she approached he took a step towards her and met her halfway. Her smile drew the bulk of his attention, but when her arms slid around his neck his own slipped around her before coming to rest on her back. "Good morning..." He whispered in turn, there was no need to be any louder.

His eyes watched hers as he bent down enough to let the tip of his nose brush against hers. The caress lasted only a moment before he found himself whispering. "I did not know you could bake." He paused, a smile twin to her own dancing on his lips. "Maybe one of these days when there is time you will give me a lesson or two." His mind flickered, memories of some of their lessons together drawing a hint of color to his cheeks. Before she could offer a response he bent down a bit lower, his lips brushing against hers in a kiss that lingered for a second and then another before reluctantly being broken.

~~~

She almost felt like purring. "I hope I never get used to this..," she murmured, rubbing noses with him again, relaxing in his touch, and in the silence of his shrouded mind. "I never knew how much I wanted silence until I met you."

She pulled back lazily, looking up at him with a teasing smile. "If I promise to cook and bake for you, can I keep you?"

~~~

Elias watched her closely after his lips were no longer pressed to hers. It was difficult enough to do much of anything when their lips were joined. He heard her words, his left arm moving in order to allow his hand to brush against her cheek. "You have my word that I will try my best to keep you guessing." He whispered. He felt warmth where her skin brushed against his own, her words met with a smile. "You will have it for as long as you wish it." His words were meant to refer to her words about his silence.

Her final words were met with a blink and soft laughter. "Li Na." He shook his head, his lips brushing against her forehead before he planted a kiss there. "I will remain by your side for as long as you wish it. Although I will take that promise to teach me to cook, after all you don't want to always do the cooking do you?" He whispered teasingly against her skin, the warmth of his breath easily felt against her skin.

~~~

Even Blackheart couldn't make her name sound that ... sexy. It made her want to agree to anything. "A promise then..." she agreed, smiling up at him lazily. "It will give us something to do once Mirage Team leaves."

~~~

Elias did not move because at that moment there was nowhere else he would rather be. He nodded as she agreed to his request, his mind already anticipating the time they would spend together on something so mundane as baking lessons. It was very normal and somehow that made it even better. They were both powers, both possessing talents that normal people could only dream of. A little normalcy in their lives was just what the doctor ordered. She smiled up at him and he returned it, his mannerisms and touch all assuring one thing. There was no other place he would rather be.

"True." He agreed. His arms moved, his fingers seeking her hands and then trying to intertwine between hers, "So tell me, what inspired you to bake this morning?"

~~~

She squeezed his fingers gently before pulling away. "I needed time to think, and something to do while I thought," Li Na explained. "You should know by now I don't seem to need much sleep," she added, winking at him as she moved to check the rolls.

She said that deliberately, moved away deliberately, and now she was waiting to see if she was right; if the fragile, hair-thin strand she found was truly what she thought it was.

~~~

He felt her fingers squeeze his own for a moment before she pulled away. Elias missed her presence almost instantly although her words kept him rooted in place. His eyes followed her before he offered a response. "I see, perfectly understandable." So when she needed time to think, she cooked. He usually focused on some sort of physical activity, but that made sense to him as well. He was good at those sort of things. It was with those thoughts in mind that she added her comment about sleep. He blinked as she winked, color flooding his cheeks for a moment.

He knew exactly what she meant and with that knowledge came the appropriate memories. She moved to check on the oven, granting him the necessary leeway he needed to regain control over the situation. The shroud which surrounded his mind did not even flicker, but the time that they had spent together had already allowed for certain insights into its workings. Even though he had no control over the shroud and it did an admirable job of seperating his mind from the real world, it was not a perfect barrier. The shroud did not grant him immunity, only serving as a very adaptive and resilient barrier. It offered resistance, making an attempted penetration time consuming and difficult.

It was due to this that he felt nothing even as it became abundantly clear that something was indeed occurring. Maybe it was because it was being emitted and not absorbed, maybe it was because in those long nights that they had shared the shroud had begun to become used to her presence. There was no explanation that he could offer, because he was completely unaware of it. Li Na herself would have to strain to catch it, would actively have to be receptive to it for the whisper to reach her senses. It was faint and weak, akin to sunlight straining to reach its destination after decades of travel through the vastness of space but there was certainly something in the room that had not been there before, something that had not begun within Li Na herself.

The sensation flickered weakly in the air between them, but once snared would manifest as a series of sensations, sensations that Li Na would know quite well. It was embarassment, underlined with bits of pieces of other emotions. The transmission was weak and disjointed, caught only due to physical proximity and sheer talent. As the silken strand that existed at that moment was further explored, she could ascertain a very curious truth. It was linked to her, a pathway that led to his mind and overflow of emotion and sensation that the shroud which wrapped around him could not adequately snuff out.

~~~

Even though she was waiting for it, Li Na still had to strain to touch it. Embarrassment ... and a few other things to faint for her to separate into understandable feelings. But it was enough to have her turn around in excitement.

"I was Right!" she crowed, once again crossing over to Elias and hugging him tightly. "I knew I'd felt something last night! I knew it!" She drew back, looking up at him, her head tilting as her hands rubbed over his arms. "I still can't sense you just by touch ... but there's a tiny crack in the shroud!"

~~~

That was his first thought. He didn't take a step back, but there was a ripple of emotion which was carried over to her over the silken strand that she had found. shock, followed by surprise before it scattered into fragments of other emotions far too diluted to make sense. Her excitement dampened some of the discomfort that accompanied her proclamation, it was difficult for it not to. Intellectually, he could understand the appeal of having an avenue like this exist between them. It was something that could be shared, something that was just for them both. Still, the rational part of his mind reasoned that a crack could be widened. What if this was some sort of stress fracture? A weakness in the shroud that would only widen with time?

"Are you sure Li Na?" His voice was softer than before, although her name still left his lips in its usual manner. As the words reached her, she could feel a faint undercurrent not about his inquiry, he had no reason to believe that she was lying to him. No, it was simply about her name. The sensation that reached her as his name left his lips was warmth and contentment. The same warmth that he felt when she was near him.

He had reservations about this discovery, but there was also curiosity as well. This did not have to be a curse. It could be a blessing. He feared losing the ability to offer her silence when she sought it, as well as forcing her to rely on her human senses and intuition rather than her gift when they were together. He felt that was important, that nurturing the mundane or "normal" part of the woman would only make what they shared more special.

"How did you find out?" His voice was calmer than it had been as if he were grounding himself once more. "Tell me everything." He smiled then, forcing some of her enthusiasm into his voice. He did not believe that he was ready for the shroud to fail him. He had grown to used to its presence, relied on the defense that it granted him. They were on a path that would take them to dark places. He had a feeling that he would need every advantage in the future and yet was Li Na not an advantage on her own right? If the shroud had a crack that only she could exploit...maybe he could use her strength as well or he could become hers. It was on that possibility that he focused. Even if worse came to worse, he could turn a weakness into a strength with her help...

~~~

"I felt the thread in my mind," Li Na explained, still smiling, but gentler now. It was clear he was thinking hard about it, and he seemed happy about it, but also ... concerned? She couldn't tell for sure. "All the links to the team are like threads stretching out between. Last night, I felt something new."

She looked down, trying to find the right words before meeting his eyes again. "Ever walked into a spider's web?" she asked, trying to paint a picture. "How it's there ... but you can't see it, and only just barely feel it? That's how the link feels." She looked down again, rubbign his arms for her own comfort. "I'm afraid to touch it, afraid pushing it will break it. Maybe a crack in the shroud is the wrong way to describe it."

Now a slight frown as she thought more, following belatedly upon his own thoughts, in her own way. "If it's a true crack, it can be used against you. If it's just an opening for me ....."

~~~

[SirNitram]

Gravitas hadn't been city-hopping or engaging in deep moments. He had been slogging away at the problem before him, single-minded as ever. It was perhaps easy to see why he wound up travelling between timelines alone.

Each layer of it was painstakingly pulled away, shell companies examined, false individuals burned away by the light of truth shone into shadows. With the implacable search, each false led was cut away, until it left one facility. There was no such address, but he could figure out where it would be.

Dulce, New Mexico. Further examination turned up the population being mostly Native Americans, Apaches. The facility was somewhere inside their territory, it seemed. A legal black hole; the US government didn't rule there, the locals did.

The Nova groaned quietly. "Yea... This is not gonna end well." Too many people nearby. He'd be going in as he was now; half-crippled, against who knows how many demon-bonded.

[Cynical Cat]

"What's up?" Blackheart asked Gravitas as he entered the room. "You don't look so hot?"

[SirNitram]

Gravitas stood up from the desk, in the basement. It was a dominatrix's dream come true, but the Nova had apparently gone there for the seclusion. He gestured at his laptop. "Been slaving away at that thing since I got back from the Underworld and dealing with Tasat's fate." He said simply. "Technically, I can go for days without sleep or sustenance, but it's not pleasant. I found the most likely place for RCE, though."

[Cynical Cat]

"You too huh?" said Blackheart. "About going without sleep, I mean. Not that I've been able to get much the last few days. So, Raising Cain. You think you've found them? Where?"

[SirNitram]

"New Mexico, place called Dulce. It's Apache land, and no actual address. Found where it'd be, though." Gravitas pulled up the map and shrugged. "But yea, me too. Exempt from the fifteen course meals most of my species need, but trust me, there's enough headaches to go along." The Nova cracked his back. "People all around it for miles. Just once, I'd like to find an opponent I can actually let myself loose on, you know?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Maybe, maybe not. That's not a densely populated area and we don't know the real address. Could be fairly removed from anywhere with people. You may get your wish," said Blackheart.

[SirNitram]

Gravitas shook his head. "I'm afraid it'd need to be miles and miles of deserted area before I'd consider loosing my full power." He sighed. "Look. There will be members of my species here, on this world, most likely. If I start going full power, I'll trigger them; this world does not need even more metahumans cropping up, many of them far more powerful than most."

[Cynical Cat]

"No, you won't," said Blackheart. "Not more than they will anyway. It's too late for that. Plenty of Quantum users already here. You're not the first from your world and too many metas have powers that can trigger the whatchamacallit node."

[SirNitram]

The stare was unnerving. "....When the fuck did you figure out this much about me?" Gravitas openly gaped. "And how many more came from my world here? How do you know?" There was, perhaps, a hint of desperation there. And something deeper.

Fear.

[Cynical Cat]

"Not much," said Blackheart. "Negative empaths don't do debrief. What I know is second hand. We've had multiple visitors from other worlds/timelines. Some of their powers are like yours, others not. I can't do the science. I do know that some of them are fucked in the head, that their stories aren't reliable. That there powers were observed and studied. That the US spends billions and billions on creating and understanding metahuman powers.

"I just know the outlines. Some metahuman powers, yours included, can trigger similar powers in nearby potentials. Yours are something like "noetic quantum manipulation" if I remember the technical shit right. Some kind of brain node linked to it in some cases? Anyway, some of them are home grown and we have a few other worlders. Most of the other worlders moved on. Some were really fucking strong, like you, some were a lot weaker. That's about it, other than that thing that's now in my skull can feel your energy bleed."

[SirNitram]

Gravitas was badly shaken by this news, but nodded dully. "It's a bad side-effect. I had to scale back my power in a big way to keep it at this low level of bleedoff. You've seen the stuff on my skin, the markings? Spells and mystic shit, trying to contain it." A deep inhale. "...Enough of my paranoia. We need to handle Raising Caine." He said, trying to shove the terror down.

[Cynical Cat]

"Yeah, while I'm still a useful member of the team. Enough speculative bullshit. Let's do some recon so we can make a plan of attack."

[SirNitram]

"Well, we can try and round up the others, or do aerial recon. Your call." Gravitas offered simply. "I'm fine with tracking from the skies."

[Cynical Cat]

"The skies work. Let's do it."

[frigidmagi]

Meanwhile in the Living Room

"Enough Shooters and RTS games. You're to fast for me. We're gonna do a turn based game. something I got a fair shot at." Tobin declared. Collin shrugged, it wasn't his fault that Tobin couldn't keep up.

"What you got in mind?" He asked.

Tobin held up a box with a brightly colored logo and a gathering of cartoon like characters under the logo.

"Remake of an old game, called Ogre Battle, has a 2 player head to head version. Let's do it." Tobin declared confidently as he put the CD into the system. The intro music, a mutli-intrument peice trumpeted throughout the living room has Blast selected the 2 player battle mode. The screen split into two with a list of units on both sides. Tobin grinned.

"Now we chose our units and begin our own private little war." he told Collin.

[Hotfoot]

"Phew, for a moment I thought you were going to pull out Pokemon or something. I think a little Ogre Smash might be in order...." Collin started to select his forces and looked over the statistics for them, asking key questions as to what did what and so on. "We'll have to have a practice match first, of course. Gotta get used to the game and all that." Collin's selections involved a heavy raw melee power and a touch of speed, with magical support that amounted to mostly enhancement spells.

[SirNitram]

Gravitas adjusted his suit a little bit, a purely human reaction, considering, and opened the portal to the New Mexico skies. He stepped through, mostly because he had a knack for showing off and standing on thin air. Once Blackheart had followed, the portal shut, allowing the two to soar gently and hopefully unnoticed over the suspected site.

[Charon]

Legacies stepped into the living room and looked at the two sitting playing video games. The silver figure said nothing as he continued to walk. Plopping down in a couch the old hero watched the two play their game.

[LadyTevar]

"I felt the thread in my mind," Li Na explained, still smiling, but gentler now. It was clear he was thinking hard about it, and he seemed happy about it, but also ... concerned? She couldn't tell for sure. "All the links to the team are like threads stretching out between. Last night, I felt something new."

She looked down, trying to find the right words before meeting his eyes again. "Ever walked into a spider's web?" she asked, trying to paint a picture. "How it's there ... but you can't see it, and only just barely feel it? That's how the link feels." She looked down again, rubbing his arms for her own comfort. "I'm afraid to touch it, afraid pushing it will break it. Maybe a crack in the shroud is the wrong way to describe it."

Now a slight frown as she thought more, following belatedly upon his own thoughts, in her own way. "If it's a true crack, it can be used against you. If it's just an opening for me ....."

~~~

Her smile dulled his fear, his eyes watching her own mostly although they drifted over her face. He had memorized every line and he could see her face clearly even when he closed his eyes. He was silent throughout most of her explanation. He remembered the night before very well, it took a fair amount of self control not to concentrate on those memories and stay grounded in the present. He had not felt anything amiss, but he did not have her talents either.

"I have, I think I know more or less what you are talking about." If this bridge that existed between them was as she described then it was barely perceptible, at least to the untrained. His mind did not have her ability to perceive such things. She rubbed his arms and his own hands moved lightly stroking her skin in turn. The touch was meant to be reassuring for her sake as much as his own. She seemed to be as nervous about the prospect as he was.

"Then let's hope its the latter, I have a feeling we can't afford weakness in the days ahead." His voice was soft. The future worried him for now he had more to lose than he had before. Still, she was more than able to take care of herself. He had seen her anger first hand. He hoped that was enough however. "So what can you feel through these gossamer strands you feel?" His left hand moved, trying to guide her own hand to his chest. His eyes watched her closely and he sought the emotions and feelings that she brought within him. There was the contentment and warmth when their bodies were touching, the genuine pleasure he felt when her laughter echoed through the hall. It was all there, tied as neatly as he could manage. Could she feel that?

~~~~

Her hand followed his easily, resting on his chest, over his heart. Her eyes half-closed, listening for the thread to vibrate, but wondering if the warmth and pleasure was his or her own. She hoped both, and the thought made her smile.

~~~~

"I am not upset that it happened Li Na." He said softly. "It can be a useful thing, a precious thing but only if you are the one holding the strings. If it is a true crack, I want your help to close it until we find a way to open it safely. I want you to have a way in, but I don't want you to rely on your gifts to the exclusion of all else." His left hand left hers and was pulled gently away from him before his right moved slowly and came to rest above her heart. "I want you to use this too."

~~~

Her eyes opened fully, rising to meet his gaze. Under his hand, her heart almost seemed to skip a beat or two. He was open to her, honest with her, trusting and perhaps at this moment even loving her ... and it was all the barest whisper in her mind. "I promise," she whispered, closing the slight distance and stretching up to seal the promise with a kiss.

Of course, that's when the timer for the rolls went off, causing her to giggle in the middle of the kiss. Shadows went to work behind them, removing the cinnimon rolls from the oven and even starting to frost them as Li Na finished kissing Elias thoroughly before breaking away with a sigh.

With Blast and Hotfoot playing video games in the livingroom, with Blackheart and Gravitas suddenly out of the house (from the way the links stretched), and with the not-so-subtle presence of Legacies, it seemed that the personal moment of privacy was over. "Tonight. We'll work on it tonight," she promised, stepping reluctantly out of Elias' arms to finish putting together a continental style breakfast for the team.

"Do me a favor and check the basement?" she asked. "Gravitas and Blackheart were down there... but I don't think they're in the house anymore." Her tone of voice stayed light, but the look she gave Elias was clear -- the vacation was about to be over.

[B4UTRUST]

When the pair exited the portal they hovered above New Mexico. The area below them was, for all appearances, largely untouched by the hand of man. The town itself of Dulce was tiny, a small permanent mark on an otherwise flawless natural reserve. The mountains rose around them and the ground was a wave of green trees.

[frigidmagi]

"Phew, for a moment I thought you were going to pull out Pokemon or something. I think a little Ogre Smash might be in order...." Collin started to select his forces and looked over the statistics for them, asking key questions as to what did what and so on. "We'll have to have a practice match first, of course. Gotta get used to the game and all that." Collin's selections involved a heavy raw melee power and a touch of speed, with magical support that amounted to mostly enhancement spells.

"Pokemon, what are we 5? Besides this is a better game." Tobin asked as he selected his own units going for tough melee units suited for holding a defensive line and magical blasting units, along with some air units.

[SirNitram]

Gravitas flew slowly; it helped that he didn't so much truly fly as simply adjust gravity to hold him aloft. It let him ignore things like forward motion. His senses extended downwards, into the rocks and soil, seeking the tug of denser material, the patterns of mass that would indicate something large and manmade...