Heroes: The Road of Good Intentions

[LadyTevar]

Argent sighed heavily. "So, I guess that leaves with only one question. Attack within the next hour... or wait til nightfall." She looked around at the team members, one by one, before stopping at Blackheart. Whatever the rest of the team said, Blackheart had the final say.

[frigidmagi]

"I would prefer to charge up using a none supernatural source before we attack. I'm gonna need Hotfoot's help as transport for that." Blast reminded everyone.

[Cynical Cat]

"Hotfoot, can you please help Blast super charge?" asked Blackheart. "We need to hit these bastards at full strength."

[LadyTevar]

Argent gave a heavy sigh, and then shifted to her draconic form. Striking out like a snake, she wrapped Blast up in her coils and vanished with him.

Barely a heartbeat later, she dropped Blast off at the nearest transformer substation. "Call when you're done," she snapped, vanishing again....

... reappearing back at her house, minus Blast. "Hopefully that wasn't the powerstation for this block...." she muttered, once again picking at the food on her plate.

[Haizu]

Listening intently, Tholos could only agree that this was going to be the greatest challenge that this team had ever faced. Pausing to think on Li Na's reaction to linking with his mind, he reasoned that it must be the fact that he was "demon tainted" and the feeling was unpleasant. Taking all of the facts that Gravitas and Blackheart had given to them, he began to formulate a plan of his own, checking it against the one that they had come up with. Not wanting to propose a limited and flawed plan, Tholos decided he would keep quiet until he had a fully hatched plan in mind.

[frigidmagi]

Did... Did I just get tossed out to do my business like a dog into his owner's front yard? Tobin asked himself, snarling. He hoped his anger and annoyance at her high handed manner traveled down the link and smacked her in her self satisfied teeth! No wonder Blackheart seemed ready to kill her half the damn time.

With an irratated sigh he forced himself to settle down and slip into his other sight. Drawing from this one spot would very likely cause the whole block's power bill to sky rocket. So he was gonna have to fucking walk to the other sources! Wouldn't have to if they just listen to me and let me and Hotfoot run out to together, we could hit power sources over half the city away in the same amount of time! God save him from emo teleporters!

Again he forced himself to relax and let it go. No point in being pissy about it now. Concentrate on what he had. He tapped the powerstation and drew carefully, should he go a 1/3rd of the way? 1/4th? 1/2? He never had time to settle down and do decent experiments with his power via the electric bill...

He stopped at 1/3 and just prayed that wouldn't jack up the rates so badly that family would be slammed. What he needed was... Well holy crap. The electric company had an office building down the street, maybe two blocks away. He jogged in (thankfully he was in his street clothes) and went to the bathroom. What were they going to do, put themselves out of business? heh.

From there he drew the power from the hand dryers in the wall. They never showed this in any comic books. Yeah that would make some trailer... SEE THE AMAZING BLAST PULL POWER FROM A HAND DRYER...
Somehow he thought the Superhero life was a bit more... don't know... Out there maybe? Ah well no point in it now.

Fully charged up and with his annoyance buried he walked out and ducked behind a gas station. He was just purely lucky no had saw the earlier performance... What if someone had called the cops on him and he ended up downtown? He shook his head.

"Okay I'm ready." Asshole he left unspoken.

[LadyTevar]

Argent gave the team the courtesy of an explanation this time. "Blast is ready ... and annoyed. I'll go get him, and then we can armor up."

She took dragonform again and vanished from the house, tracking Blast down. Her silver eyes showed first, to see where he was and make sure there was no one near.

"Hopefully you'll get over your annoyance before we leave, Blast." she said from the shadows behind him.

[frigidmagi]

"Hopefully you'll get over your annoyance before we leave, Blast." she said from the shadows behind him

Blast forced a new burst of annoyance down.

"That is none of your concern. Let's go." He said.

[LadyTevar]

"Hopefully you'll get over your annoyance before we leave, Blast." she said from the shadows behind him

Blast forced a new burst of annoyance down.

"That is none of your concern. Let's go." He said.

"It is my concern. I brought you to that substation because for once Hotfoot wasn't moving fast enough. Blackheart wants gone... now." Argent's voice was patient as she explained the facts to Blast. "I don't know why you moved... the substation carries power to several blocks."

[frigidmagi]

"It is my concern. I brought you to that substation because for once Hotfoot wasn't moving fast enough. Blackheart wants gone... now." Argent's voice was patient as she explained the facts to Blast. "I don't know why you moved... the substation carries power to several blocks."

He wondered for an instant if that would have been a big enough area that no one would have noticed the power drain or not. There was simply no way for him to tell. He really should have experimented more with his powers at first rather then ignoring them but it was to late for that now. Still... Maybe someday when he had the time and money...

That thought brought up the recent discussion with Blackheart. His mind writhed away from considering that to closely.

"Don't worry about it, however next time don't teleport me like that without even a word. Now since you're so worried about Blackheart's patience, how about we get moving?" He said.

[LadyTevar]

The silver eyes watch him weighingly, Argent 'tasting' his emotions as they swirled around him. "Very well... with your permission, then...." the last was said sarcastically as the dragon emerged from the shadows and carried him away....

... Back to the family room of the house. "I'm going to get dressed," Argent told the room in general. "I have a feeling we will need to load for bear." She turned and faded into the shadows, heading for the Master Suite to change.

[SirNitram]

Gravitas was busy. He had, as promised, wolfed down a large meal and then vanished off with the steel wool.

Removing one of the mystic bonds formed by tattoos had been easy enough; the steel wool had damaged his skin enough that it regrew without the bindings. The first one released, he had spent the next minute or so on the ground in incredible agony as the tiny sphere of flesh in his brain had swelled and began pumping out more energy.

When he finally recovered enough to stand, standing wasn't precisely right. The Aberrations that he had worked so hard to seal away were back. His meglomania was undoutably still present, and he probably was going to suffer from it a bit more. But more noticably to anyone was that his feet weren't touching the ground. He could walk, but he wasn't quite on the floor anymore.

He ascended back into the living room, and his eyes, on first inspection, had become like Argent's, pure black. A moment's longer look, however, would reveal in them a perfect, cloudless night sky, full of stars.

"As ready as I will be. I hope the surge of energies I'm emitting doesn't bother anyone."

[Marcao]

He admitted to himself that he was as ready as he was likely to be.

He had said what he felt had to be said and now all that was left was to carry out the task that was placed before them. He was not thrilled about the prospect of appearing inside an area carved within a mountain knowing only that demons and what not lay within. Still, he had not joined Ultima because it was a safe job. He frowned for a moment looking down at his food and making sure to finish his plate for a multitude of reasons. The thought that it could be his last meal was a sobering one, but he pushed it aside. He was committed now; dwelling on what could go wrong solved nothing at this point.

It was his hope that Blackheart’s intuition was right about this. That going in hard and fast would be enough to grant them victory. He had a great deal of trust for the Meta, working alongside him was like working with a living legend and yet he knew better than most that no one was infallible. They were taking a risk and somehow he had more to lose now than he had when he had first joined Team Mirage. His head moved, his eyes coming to rest on Argent as she picked at the food on her plate. The entire incident with Blast had not gone unnoticed and he wondered what precisely was on Li Na’s mind. He had spent a great deal of time with her, they had established a connection a frail one but something that linked them better than words ever could. Still, he would be lying if he understood what drove the woman. The only way he would find out was by asking.

When Argent excused herself he decided that it was the opening that he needed. He did not rush after her; he waited several moments before he too stood from the table. “I am going to get ready myself.â€

[LadyTevar]

Li Na looked over at him in slight surprise. She was for the most part dressed, having just fastened the dark red skirt over her black catsuit and boots. It seemed for once she wanted to do it normally. The matching red bolero jacket lay on the bed, waiting.

"You're worried," she said softly, her black-on-black eyes meeting his. It was not a question.

[Marcao]

His head turned in order to look at her, her words lingering in the air before he nodded. "We are going to charge into a structure buried beneath a mountain, a place that may very well be crawling with demons of the unpleasant kind. Of course I worry." He said softly. His eyes settled on her face before sliding and catching sight of the red bolero.

He took a step forward and then another, coming to a stop at the edge of the bed before his hands reached out and scooped up the jacket. "How about you?" Moving around in what could very well be a pocket of hell would not be pleasant for any of them but her powers were unique within the team. He remembered her reaction to Tholos' touch. What if she opened her mind and there were dozens like him? The jacket was moved and positioned in his hands, held in such a manner that all she would have to do was slide into it.

[LadyTevar]

She watched him as he picked up the jacket and held it for her. Such simple little courtesies were one of the reasons Li Na found him so attractive. She stepped closer and let him help her into it.

"I'd like to take another week, try to find floorplans," she said softly. "I'd like to know who the guards are, where they patrol. I'd like to plan this like any heist..." she gave a sound that was half a sigh, half a rueful laugh. "But Blackheart's right. There are no floorplans -- we'll be lucky to find the Fire Exit plans for each floor."

The jacket on, she turned into his arms, sliding her arms around him. Peace. Quiet. It was like the rest of the world faded into the background, even her links to the rest of the team softened to whispers. "I'm afraid I'll be overwhelmed...." she murmurred against his chest, admitting what was truly bothering her.

[Marcao]

His eyes followed her as she moved, her coat slipped into position a few moments after she was close enough. He listened to her as she spoke and nodded. He doubted that anyone would not prefer to know more about where they were going. She was thinking from a logical and rational standpoint, he knew it because it was the way he thought. Still, time was against them.

He felt her turn into him, his arms sliding around her a moment after hers snared him to her. He was used to her, her warmth welcome. His left arm moved then, sliding upwards until his left hand gently brushed against her cheek. A moment later she spoke, revealing what it was that was truly on her mind. His hand settled on the back of her head, fingers gently brushing against her hair.

"I can't imagine what that must be like." he admitted softly. He did not have her powers. "But we will all be there." He said and the words sounded hollow to him. "I will be there." He amended softly. "I will be your candle in the dark. If you get too close to the abyss, I will pull you back." He continued. He had no intention of losing her.

He looked down at her and leaned down enough to plant a kiss on the top of her head. Anything more than that and they might not leave this room for a while. He could not afford the temptation. "That's a promise."

[LadyTevar]

For a moment Li Na allowed herself to nuzzle closer to him, his words and chaste kiss making her wish she never had to let go. Peace. Quiet. Safety. Strength.

"When you see me start getting overwhelmed ... hold me like this?" She drew back as she said that, looking up at Elias. "Whether it's the Shroud in your mind ... or simply something about you ... you seem to chase the bad things away."

[Hotfoot]

Collin scowled, clearly irritated by the outcome of the argument. It was clear he was being outvoted here, so he didn't see the point in continuing. He could take out his irritation on the bad guys soon enough. While everyone else started to scurry about, he slid into his sheath and started preparing a large quantity of food. The blur sped around the kitchen, and before long the smell of bacon, eggs, potato chips, and food that wasn't immediately recognizable spread through the kitchen. Collin sat there wolfing down bite after bite, gazing vacantly out a window.

[Cynical Cat]

"Any other issues or concerns?" Blackheart asked.

[frigidmagi]

Tobin changed into his uniform. but paused before putting on the mask and turned to look in a mirror. He sighed at the sight, this was not quite the future he had planned for himself. Not that it mattered, Blackheart was right, someone had to do it and so far he was doing a decent job of it. He pulled on the mask covering his face entirely.

He turned to leave but stopped... He had time and if there was ever a mission... He turned to his bed and knelt to pray.

[SirNitram]

"I will simply say that a basic layout is possible once we are inside. I would require several moments of uninterrupted concentration.. I do not know if I will be able to have that, even with everyone's assistance." Gravitas tried for a few moments to make his toes touch the ground. "Too long since I was like this." He sighed. "I'm gonna be an egotistical maniac. Well. More than usual."

[Charon]

Legacies looked over at Collin. His heart wasn't in this fight. He would be a liability. The silver figure began to walk over to him when Gravitas began to speak.

"You will have the time, I will make certain of it. We know how strong they can get now, and there's no use attempting to take them alive anymore, this won't be another Abaddon incident until long after we've been fighting."

Legacies looked over at Collin. "If we can move fast enough and hit hard enough, we can stand a good chance of destroying, or at least severly injuring a number of the enemy before they know we're there."

[Haizu]

Seeing that things were about to kick off and still with no real plan, Tholos decided it was finally time for him to speak. "So, has anyone given any thought as to how we are actually getting inside? If not then I have an idea that could work."

[SirNitram]

"I can open a pathway between here and the room closest to the surface." Gravitas said dryly. "I fear anything less will only give them forwarning of our approach. With no offense, your interactions with them suggest you would certainly ensure their knowledge."