VIRGINIA - THE WAR GOES ON [Finn Shawn Colvin, Walter Shindell, Lisa Chang aka "Tien Lung", Harvey Jones, Gordon Fancher, and Tyler Sterrit all survived the battle at the metahuman research compound in Virginia, but Gordon is unconscious and badly injured, and Tyler is still a prisoner of the Puppet Master's mind control. Finn, with newly discovered healing powers, is trying to fix at least one of those problems.] % Finn % % "Whisper soft in the wind that blows Tell me something I don't know I don't know... Darkness black in the midnight hour Can't find my way through your steely power I'm a lost soul..." % Finn sat back, exhausted once more from the work she had done. Tyler's mind was free ... for now. She wasn't sure exactly what results it might have, but it was the best she could do, without training, without ANYTHING but blind instinct. She opened her eyes and looked around, wondering exactly HOW much time *had* passed while she was "under." "So, how long was I like that?" she asked the nearest available person, besides Tyler, of course. % "I've been looking for a way out for the longest time I've been keeping my eyes on all your danger signs I've been choosing the path that I follow all my life Now I'm walking the jagged edge of the knife." % Once the time was had, Finn turned her eyes back to Tyler. Physical eyes this time, instead of the mental ones. With a smile, she looked at the woman on the hospital bed, and reached out to smooth Tyler's hair back from her face. "I think it worked. No promises now, but after what I did, there shouldn't be anything *immediately* left that would make her follow Euroninja. Puppet Master. Whoever." [of course, this is all provided there still *is* someone else in the room with her. :)] Finn looked at the IV, the one keeping her sedated. "Can we get rid of that? I'll be right here to stop her if she tries anything, though we might want to have Lisa or Harvey on hand as well, just in case. I'm tired enough that it might take me too long to react. "I *think* she'll be fine. But there were some places ... some places in her mind where he had *changed* her, warped her mind so that it became what he wanted. He was turning her evil, slowly, surely, inevitably." % "Brimstone and fire thrown at a child Leaves a young heart feeling wild Feeling wild... (feeling wild...) Angry voices fill my head Loud enough to wake the dead I'm gonna wake the dead... I've been looking for a way out for the longest time I've been keeping my eyes on all your danger signs I've been choosing the path that I follow all my life Now I'm walking the jagged edge of the knife." % Finn's hand played with a corner of the sheet on Tyler's bed, but her eyes never strayed from the woman on it. "I undid what I could see, what I could touch, but there were some places that can't be fixed so easily. And she's very malleable. Or maybe it's just me...Jesus, I could do what *he* did to her, if I wanted. If I *could*. I know exactly what he did ... well, sort of, I don't have the experience, and I don't *want* to ... but I *could* duplicate it. I could turn her into *my* slave instead of his. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph ... I'm like him!" % "Someone's been playing tricks on me Making me feel fancy free Fany free... Walk the line to the danger zone I turn around and I'm all alone All alone..." % Finn entered Tyler's mind once more, worn out as she was. Whether or not they had removed the IV, Finn wanted her, needed her to be awake now. Needed to show Tyler that she wasn't like Euroninja, Puppet Master, whathisname. Needed Tyler to *believe* that she wasn't like him. She concentrated this time on burning out the sedation they had used. Healing that part of her that was being kept asleep, doing what Lawrence had done **I don't want to think about him, I do NOT want him to distract me now!** when he had gotten rid of the sedation after the plane had landed in Boston. Softly, quietly, she called to the woman. "Tyler? Tyler, can you hear me?" % "I've been looking for a way out for the longest time I've been keeping my eyes on all your danger signs I've been choosing the path that I follow all my life Now I'm walking the jagged edge of the knife." % ["Jagged Edge" copyright Cynthia Kerr 1993, from the group Open Mind.] <><><><><> [GM] Exhausted as she is, Finn can't purge Tyler of the drugs in her system, not this quickly. She can, however, rouse enough of the sedated cowgirl's consciousness that she can communicate with Tyler telepathically. Tyler is dragged from the grey ooze in which she felt herself submerged, to "hear" Finn's inquiry. <><><><><> Tyler: Tyler found herself lurching around in one of those dreams that weren't really dreams, half-awake phantasmic mind soliloquies where you made up the events as you went along, and could even go back and try different things, only... ...only, somehow, you always ended up in the same place, some devious hell-trap that you couldn't quite figure out how to defeat. A mind-pit whose sides were slippery beyond your grasp. Somebody up there on the edge was calling to her, but she couldn't make out who and it didn't matter because she was sliding down the sides again, toward some sort of unidentifiable pitch-black Heart of Darkness. Worse, she was singing some sort of New Wave psycho-folk goober music, with that nasty repetitive Nine Inch Nails kind of backbeat that made Tyler want to go rake her own nails along a blackboard, then cue up a Dwight Yoakum honky-tonker and have a beer. Dwight said it perfectly. She well and truly felt a thousand miles from nowhere. Through all this, somehow, like Ingrid Bergman walking out of the Casablanca fog, she head one thing clearly. "Tyler? Tyler, can you hear me?" "Hell, ah reckon," she said. Or thought she said. Or just thought. Thoughts and words had little independent existence, down in that pit. Say 'em too soft, and like alphabet soup dumped in the disposal they growled and swirled and augered out of sight into the black heart, their meaning lost for all time. "Who're y'all? Sound familiar, only like you're shoutin' down a tunnel at me. And turn off that devil music, would ya? It's rattlin' around in mah head like a spoon in a washtub, only it's startin' to make sense and that's *all* ah need. Find me some Patsy Cline, before mah head busts." She shifted unconsciously, and the drug-dulled pain snapped at her, making her teeth clench even though the level of unconsciousness. Her eyes never opened. "S***, ah feel like ah been rode hard and put up wet. Some dream, eh? How'd you get in here with me..." <><><><><> % Finn % % "Well it's a strange old game you learn it slow One step forward and it's back you go You're standing on the throttle You're standing on the brake In the groove 'til you make a mistake..." % Finn laughed at Tyler's request, and thought hard about NOT thinking about music. **>> I'm sorry...I suppose I always have some sort of background song in my head all the time. The only country I know is some Cheryl Wheeler and Mary-Chapin Carpenter. Those work, or should I try and get rid of *everything* here? <<** % "Sometimes you're the windshield Sometimes you're the bug Sometimes it all comes together baby Sometimes you're a fool in love Sometimes you're the Louisville Slugger Sometimes you're the ball Sometimes it all comes together Sometimes you're going to lose it all..." % Finn wondered how much she could play with Tyler's mental dreamscape. She had seen that movie long ago, back when psychic powers really *didn't* exist. And aliens from other planets weren't being kidnapped by psychopathic sociopaths. Or whatever. Anyway, it was time to concentrate on Tyler. She imagined a field of white, something you'd see in a bad movie, for the dream sequence or the "heaven" scene. Lots of dry ice creating a low lying fog, and white sky above. It was an easy way to start, at least. **>> It's Finn. Do you remember me? From the facility in Virginia? <<** % "You gotta know happy--you gotta know glad Because you're gonna know lonely And you're gonna know sad When you're rippin' and you're ridin' And you're comin' on strong You start slippin' and slidin' And it all goes wrong because..." % Finn imagined herself and Tyler on this plain next, then began to add in features. Something Tyler would recognize, so she delved a bit into her memories for a familiar place, something that would put her at ease. Something from *before* all this went down. **>> Tyler...you're safe, for the moment. I think...and let me just repeat *think*...I have gotten you free from Euroninja, or Puppet Master, or whatever you might have called him...Bastard would work just as well too. I think I've gotten you free from his controls. It took a lot of work, and I will honestly let you know that I don't know if I got it all. But if he tries to take you back, he'll have to fight *me*. And believe me...as much as you don't like cryptic folk songs, he hates 'em even *worse*. <<** % "One day you got the glory and then you got none One day you're a diamond and then you're a stone Everything can change in the blink of an eye So let the good times roll before we say goodbye because..." % **>> So, <<** Finn began, wondering idly what Tyler's reaction to all this would be, **>> All that notwithstanding...how do you feel? <<** % "Sometimes you're the windshield Sometimes you're the bug Sometimes it all comes together baby Sometimes you're a fool in love Sometimes you're the Louisville Slugger Sometimes you're the ball Sometimes it all comes together Sometimes you're going to lose it all..." % ["The Bug," written by Mark Knopfler, copyright 1991 Chariscourt Ltd., performed by Mary-Chapin Carpenter] <><><><><> Tyler: **Hell, ah got mah own soundtrack runnin' from time to time, too,** Tyler acknowledged. **Ah just got better taste.** The grin may have been mental, but it was bright and clearly received all the same. **Mary Chapin Carpenter's all right,** she allowed. **And all things considered..."Hot dog, ah feel lucky tonight!" Yeah, Finn. Ah remember you. Different, though; kinda like everything's not covered by a long black veil, you know? It was...well, it wasn't visual, it was more like everythin' was played in a minor chord. Even ordinary inconsequential conversations had a razor edge to 'em, like the people didn't matter. HEll, ah was lookin' at y'all like targets, you know? Sizin' you up as threats, not real people...** Tyler basked momentarily in the allegedly mind-easing unsullied white background tapestry that Finn wove, then muttered **looks like a damn' *slasher* movie set. Ah expect Christopher Lee to walk out of that fog. How 'bout a little wind, then some grass and trees and dirt an' all?** One part of her mind stood back and goggled at Tyler's temerity, complaining about her dreamscape. Still, she didn't exactly *ask* for a White Shoulders ad. It made her teeth grate. **How do ah feel...well, to be honest, ah didn't feel bad before, least 'til ah tried to do something independent, like get y'all out before the raid kicked into high gear. Wasn't no pain,, ah just couldn't *do* it. Sorry. Same as when ah was cuttin' up the dragon lady. Inside ah knew who she was, even felt...anguish, there's a ten-dollar word Outside, ah was gonna do mah damn' best to blow her up, and even enjoy it. **Physically, however...** she shifted tentatively, though again her consciousness never went fully on, **...ah feel only slightly bettern' ah did when ah compound broke mah leg when the horse fell on me.** <><><><><> % Finn % Laughing slightly at Tyler's thoughts and mutters, Finn concentrated her best on changing the landscape. **>> You know, you might be able to change it yourself. This is *your* mind after all. <<** Let her absorb that for a moment, and see what that might have brought about. If nothing came of it, then Finn started whisking the white away, replacing it with a park scene. Something serene ... with a horse or two wandering through it. Hadn't Walt said something about her being a rodeo rider? **>> You're not to blame for what He did to you, what He made you do. However, I think the agents that are here aren't going to be as forgiving. They want to talk to you, but I didn't quite manage to get rid of all the sedation they gave to you. <<** She rolled her eyes, mentally and physically. **>> They want to go after Him. Want you to open up a gate to him, so they can take him down. <<** Finn wondered if Tyler would have the same reaction she did when Slopes had told her that. <><><><><> Tyler: The mental shudder at the thought of giving the Puppetmaster a crack at her again didn't require any physical component to make it clear to Finn how she felt. **What, are they just plain f***ed in the head? Did y'all *see* what all he's got at his command? 'Sides, there's no tellin' whether he's really where ah think he is. And he's got at least one copycat weirdo who can do what ah do, if not as smoothly. Kid was a little sexually f***ed up, but he can look *exactly* like anyone, and absord their...whattayacallit...*talent*, at least for a while. Watch out for anyone with Playboy titties who doesn't look like they've had any practice with 'em. Ah think he's developin' a repertoire; don't know how much he can call up old copies and use 'em again. Or even if he managed what ah do, ah guess." Silent for a moment, Tyler played with the background in her own mind, striving for a kind of sere, pristine West Texas Plains look, flat prairie with tall grass and cattle grazing in the distance. A lone rider along a fence line, looking like a rawhide-tough part of the primitive landscape. "Ah called him the Big Dog," she added in non-sequiturish fashion. Big A**hole was more like it. But he was one BAD Mother F***er. He didn't give a s*** about anyone else...just rounds of ammunition to be used up as needed." <><><><><> [GM] Finn nods. "Yes, I got a much clearer impression of his personality than I really wanted to. He needs to be stopped, no question about it, but you're right, we are not in any kind of shape to do it. I don't think that's going to stop the government agents from trying, though." Your Western background is solidifying slightly, taking on a misty appearance like a prairie set summoned up from the aether and plopped down in the middle of nowhere. Some of the details are wrong, enough to suggest either you're still mind-numbed by the drugs and everything else, or that the actual imagery is being supplied by Finn's imagination, simply trying to reflect your desires. "Listen, I have to check on Gordon...he was pretty badly hurt, and besides everything else, my....powers, seem to be able to heal people. I don't like feeling all this responsibility, especially with the government trying to lay on even more, but I can't let him stay in a coma if there's something I can do about it." "I'll tell the doctors it's OK to take you off the sedatives. Hopefully you'll be conscious in a few hours, and we can all talk then." With another reassuring smile, and the mental equivalent of a pat on the hand, Finn fades, and soon, you feel yourself slipping back into the grey limbo you were floating in earlier, much as you try to resist. [to Gordon] Gordon wakes up, feeling really, really lousy. Which is understandable, after he realizes he's covered head to toe in bandages, with various monitors connected to him (though not IVs, interestingly enough.) A doctor and a nurse are both there, looking at him carefully. "How are you feeling, Mr. Fancher?" the doctor says. His nameplate says "Dr. Cortine." "You're in much better shape than you have any right to be- for that you can thank Ms. Colvin. She seems to have dramatically accelerated your healing process, though I'm afraid you're going to be bed-ridden for quite a while yet. You'll have to give your thanks to Ms. Colvin when she wakes up....she's in a near-coma after her efforts to heal you." [to Harvey, Walt and Lisa] Finn doesn't come back from her healing attempts under her own power. The doctors inform you that she claimed to have succeeded in clearing the Puppet Master's influence from Tyler Sterrit's mind, and they were very cautiously bringing her out of her drug-induced coma. "If you could, Mister Shindell, would you be willing to be at hand as she regains consciousness? So you can neutralize her powers if Ms. Colvin was...less successful than she hoped?" Finn is now in her own room, sleeping very peacefully. Her second attempt, heal Gordon, took everything she had left out of her, and the doctors are actually worried enough to keep her under close observation, though there is no evidence she's actually suffered injury. Agent Slopes speaks to Harvey and Lisa. "You are both welcome to stay, and be close to your friends. Ummm..." he runs fingers through his hair. "We are proceeding, we have no choice. We're going to try to track where this telepathic bastard took the metahumans he stole from our facility, and the alleged alien. We just got a lead, actually..." he shrugs, looks at you helplessly. <><><><><> Lisa: She considers carefully before she replies in an utterly serious voice: " At least one of us should acompany you if you're going to be tracking that monster. I'm willing to help if you'll accept it. " She glances over at Harvey waiting for a moment to see if he's going too. She continues in a much less serious tone. " But I'm going to need some clothes, I don't have a thing to wear to go hunting supervillains. Come to think about it I don't have anything to wear at all except this coat. " <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey thinks for a moment, drawn between his desire to stand by his friends and his desire to be useful. Finally he decides that the best defense he can offer is offense; and that Walt can look after Finn (and vice-versa; Harvey feels a little guilty about the way Finn fixed him up when he turned out to be about the least injured). "And I'll come along too. We can cover each other's back" he suggest to Lisa. "You may be short on clothing, but we've still got our lives, which is rather significant" he tries to joke, but it falls flat. The stress, strain, and events are taking a toll on even Harvey's normally overactive sense of humor. Harvey checks his supply of knockout cubes. Although they haven't been overly effective when they were really needed but they are still the weapon he feels most comfortable with. <><><><><> Gordon: Floating in nothingness, I swim my way back towards consciousness. My first encounter with the world is sound, which eventually resolves itself into voices. Not surprisingly, the first word I recognise is my own name. Then comes the pain; not sharp, but a hard ache encompassing virtually my whole body. I guess I'm not dead after all... Again, my name is spoken. After several tries, I manage to crack open one eye. Squinting out at the bright lights, I make out a face leaning over mine. Looking down, I see a nametag, but can't quite make it out. I shift my gaze back to the face. "ungh...," I murmur out through a mouth that seems to be stuffed full of sticky cotton balls. "like the... under... side of...hell." I listen to the doctor, as I struggle to open my other eye and get them to focus in some kind of useful manner. "thanks... to you... both. is... she... ok?" <><><><><> [GM] [to Gordon] "We think she'll be OK after some rest," the doctor says. "She just healed Shindell, Jones and Chang of their radiation poisoning, then managed to deprogram Sterrit, then partially healed you. I think she's overextended her powers." [others] "Well, come with me," Slopes says. He leads Harvey and Lisa to another office, and plays a tape for you from a computerized switchboard. A 911 operator says "911, emergency services." A young woman's voice replies "A man's been shot here. He's dying. There are metahumans involved. Call the government, call anyone. And hurry." Slopes tells you, "That call was from a townhouse in Saint Louis. Yesterday in Saint Louis, one of our metahuman agents was critically injured in a battle with another group of metahumans, accompanied by a teen street gang. We'd been tracking a possible mind-controller- not our Puppet Master, but a kid. And one of the metahumans who showed up to help the kid escape, who nearly killed our agent, was a crystal woman we believe to be Christine Tallin. Remember her? Supermodel, became a metahuman and almost got killed in a battle with Lucretia in New York City, same battle Tyler Sterritt was involved in. She started acting real flaky a few days ago, then disappeared....until now. This voice, we believe is hers. Emergency services arrived there and found no one at the townhouse, but there was blood, and evidence that a lot of men with weapons had been there recently. <><><><><> Gordon: Something nags at the back of my mind as I listen to the doctor's recitation. I can't help but be impressed at all Finn has managed to accomplish while I've been out. Then it hits me. _S***!!! Oh-h-h-h... S***! Lori and the kids are coming! They *might* already *be* at the airport!_ I try to sit up and almost collapse as I sputter, intensity burning in my still-blurry eyes. "doc... what day... time... is it...?" <><><><><> Lisa: She gives Harvey a wan smile, in reply, then follows Agent Slopes and listens to the 911 tape. " If this was Crystal and she was with Euroninja in Saint Louis then how could she make this phone call. Assuming that is Crystal was ever under his control in the first place. From what I saw in the battle with Tyler, she couldn't do anything that was against that monsters wishes. Maybe he's having problems keeping control. Hmmm... Allright we know where he was so what do we do next, go to Saint Louis ? " Lisa asks, curious as to what they can do to help. <><><><><> Harvey: "I have an unpleasant feeling, like I have a target painted on the back of my head. Whatever we do, we'd better do it carefully, because I smell a trap." <><><><><> Lisa: " Yes we should be careful. But remember this monster isn't all powerful we beat him once and at least one other person has escaped from him. That still doesn't answer how she got away from him, if she did or even was ever his in the first place, but the only way to find out is to investigate. " She replies to Harvey. " Well Agent Slopes how do we proceed from here ? " <><><><><> [GM] "We go to St. Louis," Agent Slopes says. "With as many of you as are willing and able to come." [to Gordon] "Same day," the doctor says. "Early afternoon." <><><><><> Gordon: Bad, but not worst. I relax a little, but strive to keep the doctor's attention. "p-please... i need... talk... to agent... please get..." That said, I sink back into the pillows. I fight the weariness that threatens to consume me. I only have to hold out a little longer, and then I can sleep. <><><><><> [GM] [to Gordon] They don't bring anyone immediately, but Agent Smee finally shows up, with a bandage over his eye. "Fancher," he says casually. "Glad you're awake. Docs say you ain't gonna be up and around for weeks, though, unless you've got some speedy healing powers included with your metahuman abilities." <><><><><> Gordon: I manage a small grin. "thanks... Smee. if i... do... i don't know... about it." "listen... please. my... family... arriv... ing at... airport... today. anyone... meeting them?" <><><><><> [GM] "S***", Smee sighs. "Yeah, we'll send someone. You get some rest." <><><><><> Gordon: While distressed (though not surprised) to hear that my family's arrival had been forgotten, Smee's promise to take care of it assuages the worst of my fears. I allow myself to fall back on the bed, falling asleep almost immediately. "Zzzzzz..." <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey is still nervous. And considering how overconfident he's been lately, this means he's pretty nervous! But he doesn't want to offend Lisa so he expresses his worry in the quiet and concise summation "IF she did" (repeating what he considers the most significant part of Lisa's statement). But while his objection is quiet, his expression loudly expresses his determination to 'Let's go for it!' <><><><><> Lisa: " We can leave whenever you're ready Agent Slopes. " She replies then glances over at Harvey and smiles reasuringly. <><><><><> [GM] "Well, not so fast," Slopes says. "We still have to talk to your other friends. And, of course, Tyler Sterritt." <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey nods and gives a small thumbs-up gesture. He's ready to go whenever the rest are. <><><><><> Lisa: " Okay by me. Let's go talk to Tyler. Then we can check on the others and see how they're doing. " Lisa replies. <><><><><> [GM] [to Tyler] Tyler wakes up with the taste of cotton soaked in formaldahyde in her mouth, and feeling like her head is stuffed with just that. Two doctors, three MIBs (with weapons held at the ready, though not pointed at her), and Walter Shindell are all hovering over her bed, looking either curious, anxious, or wary. "Ms. Sterrit?" a doctor says. "How do you feel?" <><><><><> Tyler: "How do ah feel? Like Death eatin' a stale cracker," Tyler grumbled. "Y'all got anything for a major headache?" She tried stretching, decided it didn't make her head feel any worse, but there were other parts of her that felt just like they'd been stomped by a pi**ed off barrel pony. At least *that* was familiar. "Walt, right? Ah think ah remember. How y'all doin'?" <><><><><> [GM] "Aspirin, or advil, no problem," the doctor says, producing a bottle. While you down a couple, Walt smiles. "Ah'm a heck of a lot better now, Miz Sterritt. Ol' Finn just about wore herself out fixin' up the lot of us. I guess you were probably the hardest job of all." He hesitates. "Uh'm, she said she thought she got all that sonova- uhh, that creep's little black threads or what have you, out of your head, but..." he gestures at the armed agents behind him, and finishes uncomfortably, "well, Agent Slopes figured we'd be better safe than sorry. Hope you understand." He pauses. "Do you 'member everything?" <><><><><> Tyler: "Black threads...?" Tyler's nose wrinkled in disbelief. "All ah 'member 'bout the control part, is doin' s*** that surprised the hell out of me, even while ah was doin' it. Didn't matter what you *wanted* to do, you know?" She shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable. "As far as the stuff ah actually *did* while ah was...whatever ah was...hooked, ah guess is as good a word as any...yeah, ah remember every bit of it, pretty much." She became distant for a moment, her gaze unfocusing as she recalled black events and the sheer helplessness of being controlled. Eventually she shook herself and managed a wan smile. "One of y'all got some smokes?" <><><><><> [GM] Walt blinks. "Uh, no, sorry, I don't smoke." Agent Slopes (who Tyler doesn't recognize) knocks, then comes in accompanied by Lisa and Harvey. Walt looks at the remaining armed agents and says "Y'all think maybe you could put those things away now? Miss Sterritt seems to be in her right mind, and I bet she'd feel a whole lot better without people looking like they're ready to ventilate her." The armed men lool at Slopes, who nods, and they back out of the room. <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey briefly gets back his normal grin when Walt uses the term 'ventilate', or perhaps he's just glad to see someone who by now seems like an old friend (Walt) even if they only met a few days (is is possible?) ago. <><><><><> Tyler: Tyler seemed resigned to no smokes, considering it was a hospital and she'd been through this scene before. "Who're you?" she said bluntly, regarding Slopes. Whatever Finn had done to relieve the Puppet Master's influence, hadn't done anything to relieve the damage the falling wall had done. She hurt all over, and just sitting up was an effort. <><><><><> Lisa: " Tyler this is Agent Slopes. " Lisa looks a little uneasy as she speaks to Tyler. Seeing the injuries caused by her careless attack disturbs her greatly. " The government is going after Euroninja, Puppetmaster or whatever he calls himself. We need to talk to you about him and Crystal but first there's something I have to say. " Lisa continues embarrassed but determined to have the truth aired. " Tyler I'm really sorry about your injuries. I was just trying to knock you out and capture you but I'm still learning just how strong I am. I ended up hurting you pretty badly when I knocked you out. " Lisa's voice trails off into a whisper clearly upset over having had to injure someone who didn't deserve it. " I'm sorry... " <><><><><> Tyler: "Y'all're the Dragon Lady, right?" Tyler waved dismissively, which brought a grimace of pain to her face. "Hell, ah'm just glad y'all didn't breathe fire on my butt, or some such fantasy bulls***. Ah mean, face it; ah was tryin' pretty hard to smoke *all* y'all, back there. Ah can tell you true ah didn't want to, but that and a dime'd get y'all a bad cup of coffee. Bein' sorry wouldn't of mattered if ah'd of had the time to wish up a *real* gun, 'staid of that pansy pistol ah was usin'." If Tyler thought the weapon that had blown great chunks out of Lisa's dragon-self and nearly killed her was a pansy weapon, then she was a lot more dangerous than she looked. "Anyway, don't y'all worry about it. Ah been hurt worse; ah'll get better, sooner or later." She turned her speculative gaze on Slopes. "So y'all plan on goin' after the Big Dog, eh? That Crystal...'fraid ah did her in, too. She was tryin' to be nice to me after all the bulls*** ah had to put up with, after that Lucretia thing, only she didn't know ah'd already been caught by *him*. All those Crystal sightings, the ranting and raving..prob'ly ain't her. There's a shapeshifter kid with some serious sexual identity problems who's doin' the Crystal impression. He's the one who made that goofy 'I'm lookin' out for me' speech she allegedly made before she disappeared. 'Course, by *now* they could *both* be Big Dog fans. He's pretty tough." <><><><><> Lisa: Lisa was expecting a far worse response to her apology and she wears a relieved expression as Tyler continues. * A real gun ... she's joking ... at least I hope she's joking. * The thought of what Tyler considers to be a proper dragon hunting gun boggles the mind. " He has Crystal and this shapeshifter too. How did she make that call then. He must have lost control of her for a while or it's a trap. " Lisa murmurs just loudly enough to be heard by the others. " Well we can't just ignore him and hope he'll go away so even if it is a trap we'll have to check it out. " " How do you go about catching someone who can read your every thought. " She asks rhetorically looking from Walt to Harvey and then Agent Slopes. " Hmmm... Tyler anything you can tell us about this monster would help. What does he look like ? What sort of personality does he have ? Anything; no matter how small might help us catch him. " Lisa asks worried that they might not be able to catch him but also that they might. " Guys I'm way out of my depth here. Any ideas ? " <><><><><> [Walt] "Well now, ah reckon that we could bring out the big guns. You know; harsh language, rude gestures, the whole nine yards". For all his bravado, Walt looks as frustrated as the rest of them. "Seriously, though, maybe Finn could give us some tips on how we poor little non-telepaths can at least make his life a little more difficult. Maybe theres some kind of thought or mantra or something that can fool him. Heck, fer all ah know thinking happy thoughts could baffle the bastard..." Walt colors slightly at the profanity. "...pardon mah French, y'all". <><><><><> Harvey: Judging by Harvey's facial reaction, he has no faith in the puppet master slipping, he's practically convinced it's a trap. "Even if it isn't, we treat it like a trap. It's much safer and we may get pleasantly surprised." Harvey looks glum, "Only idea I've got for dealing with him, based on our last meeting, is attack from range. But that isn't very nice for hostages and probably not practical." "If it's good for anything, if he's baiting a trap for us, it saves us the trouble fo finding him. We already know where he's laying a trap, just have to spring it on him instead. ...not much help, is it?" <><><><><> "Hell, don't look at me. Ah did *real* good, didn't I?" Tyler shifted uncomfortably. "Ah s'pose ah could wish up some ANTI-mind control helmets; if anything like that exists wherever mah stuff comes from, we could let Finn test it out, see if it stops her. Y'all don't mind me sayin' y'all are looney to want to go back after him straight up." <><><><><> [GM] "We don't have a choice," Agent Slopes says. "He just captured half a dozen metahumans that we'd been keeping in drugged comas....psychopaths, all of them. He was already dangerous; now he has a small army of metahumans, capable of leveling a city...although the fact he already had access to nuclear devices makes the urgency even greater. I don't know if we *can* hunt him down and stop him, but we sure as hell can't sit here and lick our wounds while he's planning God-knows-what. The question is, are you capable of helping, and willing to?" <><><><><> Harvey: "Anti-mind control helmets?! Now that has promise. ...doesn't sound completely impossible...I like it!" Sounds like Tyler has said something to give Harvey some enthusiasm. "And yes we are crazy enough to go after that psycho... or desperate enough. The best defense is an insane offense, or something like that." <><><><><> <<>>> "Hell, y'all are just plain loco," Tyler allowed. "Ah can't even *cough* without nearly passin' out from the pain, and y'all want me to leap up and chase down the Big Dog and his psycho cronies? All this has got me so far is busted up again. Try me out when I've healed up, okay? Maybe things'll look a little less grim by then. "Ah...s***, ah can't believe y'all are makin' me feel bad; could you stifle that whipped puppy look, Slopes? Y'all look like Ronald Reagan about to ask me to win one for the Gipper." She looked around desperately for cigarettes, even though she knew there weren't going to be any in a hospital room. "Maybe...maybe ah can wish up somethin' in a day or two, ah don't know." <><><><><> Lisa: Harvey and Walt's jokes draw an exasperated glance from Lisa. She was being serious about hunting this telepathic monster down. * Tyler still hasn't answered a single question about this puppetmaster. * Lisa thinks with growing annoyance. " Tyler we're not asking you to go and fight him while you're wounded. Except for Harvey and myself _none_ of the metas are able to leave the hospital under their own power until they've had time to recover. What we really need are a few questions answered. Please tell us what you can about this puppetmaster. " She replies keeping her voice calm. <><><><><> <> "Ah don't think ah care too much for y'all's tone," Tyler said bluntly. "Exactly *what* do y'all think ah got, a roadmap of the Big Dog's Master Plan? Ah can tell y'all what he *looked* like, ah can tell y'all what he *acted* like, even what he said, much as ah recall. But he didn't 'zackly share strategy with any of us, you know. We did what he said, and if we somehow got a little frisky, he handled it, y'un'erstand? Didn't make any difference what you *wanted* to do, you did it *exactly* like he wanted, and that included not draggin' your feet, or fakin' a problem. "Now, if how he looks is important, then ah can handle that." Tyler went on to describe the PuppetMaster to the best of her recollection, including as much of a recap of actual spoken commands as she could remember. "If y'all think ah'm holdin' back some secret insight into how the man thinks, or what it is he wants, then you can kiss mah a** right now." With that, Tyler got fed up and concentrated, trying to wish up a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. <><><><><> Lisa: " I'll leave the ass kissing to the government types. " She replies sarcastically. " What you could tell us about his looks and how he acted was all I expected, nothing more. Thank you Tyler. " Lisa gives her a bleak smile before continuing feelingly: " It may be insane but Harvey and I are going after this telepathic monster. Even with the full backing of the government we'll probably get our butts kicked by him. However there's no other way I can think of to protect my family, or anyone else, from him but to stop him as soon as we possibly can. Before he gets too strong and ends up owning the world. " " If it's at all possible we will get him Tyler. We don't have any other choice now, it's gone too far. " Lisa's voice is just as blunt and honest as Tyler's was. <><><><><> [GM] A little blue portal spiraled open above Tyler, and for once, she got just what she ordered- Camels, unfiltered and a "Joe Camel" lighter. OK, maybe not *exactly* what she ordered, but at least they weren't joints or menthols. A doctor looks a bit startled at the interdimensional aperture, then watches Tyler pull out a cigarette. "Uh, this is a hospital, you can't smoke in here," he says nervously. <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey notices, but doesn't understand, an irritated look that Lisa throws in his direction. As lisa explains that 'what we need is a few questions answered' Harvey can't help a depressed alternative 'what we need is a plan, with decent hope of success, for dealing with Puppetmaster...Cause until we get that, we don't go!' Ahem . "While I'm willing to go...I'm kind of hoping someone...anyone...will come up with a plan first. er, Tyler, If you don't know what he was planning, any ideas what he had already done?" <><><><><> Tyler: "Oh, sure," Tyler said, undaunted by Finn's cynicism. "Y'all go off half- cocked, without a plan or even a backup escape route, and the next thing y'know, the rest of us're fightin' him *and* you. What're y'all's kids and families gonna feel like *then*? You get caught, he could make you kill your own kids without even breaking a sweat. "Ah already feel bad enough tryin' to nuke y'all when ah couldn't *help* it; ain't gonna be no excuses if y'all come back under the Big Dog's thumb." She shook out the Camel, and lit it up without a thought. The complaining physician she started to ignore, then finally said, "Medicinal purposes. Ah'm lowering mah stress level here, so get lost." She studied Finn moodily, taking her time with the cigarette. "Look, ah *know* ah took some big ol' bites out of the dragon. But she's good as new, looks like. Does she just heal up, or is there one of you guys who can speed up the healing process? If ah'm gonna try and whip up anything larger than those Camels, ah need to be a hundred percent." <><><><><> Lisa: " Tyler there are at least three ways we can go after Big Dog. Getting a plan together that covers all the possibilities, including everything going wrong, isn't a problem; discussing it in a hospital is. The last time we began planning openly to go after Big Dog it ended in disaster. As far as I know that monster may still have at least one agent under his control so we won't be doing any planning in a hospital where Big Dog might find out what we're up to. " Lisa replies to Tyler in the same calm even voice she used before. " No matter what we try there's always the risk that we might end up as his slaves. I have no intention of taking him on all by myself. That sort of 'Rambo' like thing may look good in the movies but this is real life. One thing I've found is that if several metas attack at once it's very hard for the one being attacked to deal with them all. If we fight smart he won't have a chance to enslave anyone. " She continues slightly more upbeat as she goes along. " Right now most of what we'll be doing is chasing the bad guy and trying to find him. When we do then we'll call in the big guns. Then it'll be his turn to take a pounding. " >>..." Does she just heal up, or is there one of you guys who can speed up the healing process?"...<< " I heal incredibly fast now but only myself. Finn however can heal others. She fixed up Harvey and kept Gordon alive until we got him to a hospital. Maybe she can heal you. " Lisa looks away shuddering slightly as she remembers those minirockets, or whatever they were, slamming into her dragon body and blasting large painful divots into her hide. " Agent Slopes did you want to check on Gordon and Finn before we left? " Lisa inquires changing the subject quickly. <><><><><> Tyler: "Hell, ah can find him right now," Tyler said. "Or at least, ah can open a gate to his place. Ah tend to think maybe he might just expect that, though, don't you? Ah mean, he *does* know most of what ah can do." <><><><><> [GM] Slopes looks at Lisa. "Of course we'll be checking on Gordon and Finn," he replies. "I think you've somehow gotten the impression we're about to go out the door and take off this moment! I do want to get moving quickly....every minute counts. But Jones is right, rushing after the Puppet Master without a plan would be stupid." The doctor looks quite irate at Tyler's cigarrette smoke, but Slopes waves him off. "Leave her be," he sighs. "Sterritt, you said you can open a gate back to the Puppet Master's hiding place. You're right that just charging in like that would probably be walking into a trap, but does that mean you know the address, or an exact physical location?" <><><><><> Tyler: "It's a memory thing, *Slopes*," she said, emphasizing his last name. Call her Sterritt, would he? "Ah can go any place ah've ever been, if my memory is relatively clear. Ah can take you anyplace. Ah haven't tried openin' gates to places ah haven't been, based on descriptions or pictures, or any of that. Ah am *not* a stringently tested, UL underwritten device, ah'm afraid to say." <><><><><> Lisa: " Tyler if you can open a gate to any place you've been. What about trying it with people you've met ? I'm not suggesting you open a gate to where ever Puppet Master might be but could you open a gate right in front of ... say ... someone Puppet Master had taken ? If Agent Slopes is looking for a plan then grabbing back the people Puppet Master has taken and whittling down the size of his forces might be a good start. You've met Crystal and that shapeshifting kid so you could try it with them. Timing would be important so Puppet Master wouldn't be around when we grab ... " Her rapidly spoken words trails off in embarassment. " Damn, I didn't want to discuss plans publicly. " Lisa utters one of her rare expletives at her own thoughtlessness. She shrugs then continues: " Oh well. Do you think there's any chance it might work ? " <><><><><> Tyler: Tyler shrugged, although the idea piqued her interest. "Don't know. Maybe ah ought to try it with somebody not so lethal, if y'all know what ah mean. We can..." she glanced meaningfully at the attendant physician, and then clammed up to enjoy her cigarette. Even the walls have ears, so they said. <><><><><> [GM] Slopes says "Right now, one of our best weapons is Colvin. Frankly, we *need* her powers, we've lost one of our metahuman trackers, and the other one is in New Mexico right now. I hope when she wakes up she'll be willing to help." <><><><><> Harvey: "He probably isn't there any more." "We still might want to reconoiter, but there's no rush as I see it, he's long gone by now." <><><><><> Tyler: Tyler blew a few smoke rings in Slopes' direction. "If she's so all-fired important, and you think y'all's security is about as tight as a busted cinch strap, maybe y'all ought to be thinkin' about puttin' some extra security where she's at, y'reckon? Be pretty embarrassin' to lose somebody first day out, 'cuase some of your vaunted hospital staff couldn't stand down the Big Dog and gave you up." <><><><><> [GM] "We *do* have security around her, and all of you," Slopes replies. "Not that it would do much if another gang of metahumans attacked, but we are not stupid, Ms. Sterritt. Maybe you think we're the Keystone Cops because you and the rest of the Puppet Master's minions trashed us so thoroughly, but we just don't yet have the ability to fight back against that kind of power, except with other metahumans. But we have a small army of investigative agents searching for all possible clues. There's a dragnet out for Crystal right now, and it's only a matter of time before we catch her." He leaves the room, saying, "I recommend you get some rest. Hopefully Colvin will wake up soon. We're definitely going to have to pay that lady some overtime." <><><><><> Tyler: "Naw, it ain't that," Tyler assured Slopes. "Ah just sorta thought it was gonna be like a good college team gettin' matched up against the Dallas Cowboys. Y'all are good at what you do, ah'm sure of that. He's just...another league, is all." She stubbed out the cigarette, made a fraudulent "see what a nice thing I'm doing?" smile for the doctor, and leaned back to rest, hands behind her head. "Thanks," she added, to nobody in particular but to everyone there. "Ah prob'ly ain't said it enough, but...thanks. It wasn't no picnic, and ah'm damn' glad to be free of that weasel." <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey doesn't get a chance to say, which is probably for the best, that he isn't sure that an investigative agents WANTS to find crystal, unless he/she's suicidal. (He just can't stop thinking those funny thoguhts, but this time he didn't SAY them). <><><><><> Lisa: " You're welcome Tyler. But the person you should be thanking is Finn she freed you after all. " " If we're not going anywhere immediately then I suppose we should get some rest while we can. Before I rest, though, I'm going to see if I can get some clothes. " Lisa gives them all a wry smile then begins walking towards the door " Who knows I might even manage to get dressed before the next disaster hits us. " " I'll be politely harassing the federal agents, for some clothes to wear, if you need me. " Lisa walks out of Tyler's room and begins looking for one of the federal agents she knows by sight. When she finds either Slopes or Smee she'll inquire about getting something to wear when things have quieted down a bit. <><><><><> [GM] A few hours later.... Tyler is resting, watching a TV and eliciting evil eyes from the nurses as she continues to smoke. Lisa has been suitably attired (again). She and Harvey wait restlessly for Finn to awaken. There is not much for them to do at the moment. Who'd've thought being a metahuman in the wake of a catastrophe could be so....boring? Gordon awakes, to be told that his family has been met at the airport and taken to a hotel. The agency is a bit uncertain about bringing them here and risking a security breach, but they have been told that you are all right. (Which is perhaps stretching the truth a bit.) Obviously they can't be kept away from you indefinitely- the agents ask if you want to be transferred to another wing, before speaking to the other metahumans. And finally.....with Walt at her bedside, Finn emerges from her own sleep, still feeling overly tired, and with a faint memory of Ashiya's pleading eyes, but the rest of her dream is thankfully lost within the first few moments of wakefulness. <><><><><> Gordon: "AAAAAAAAuggg" I yawn as I return to the world from the land of Somnus. The cotton in my mouth is matched by the wool in my head. Opening my eyes, I reach up and rub most of the crust out of them. My first sight is the agent sitting across the room reading a magazine from the lobby. Realizing that I have awoken, he moves over to the bed and looks down at me. After informing me that my family was successfully picked up at the airport, I smile. "Thanks." He lays out the situation for me. "Actually, I should probably speak to the rest of the gang first, since they're already here. Then you can have me moved to a different wing so I can visit with my kids for a bit." <><><><><> [GM] With everyone awake, more or less, Agent Slopes arranges a somewhat awkward conference in Gordon's room-- since he is the most severely injured and least movable casualty. Tyler is provided a wheelchair (she could walk if she had to, but the doctors advise against it for at least a day or two), in which Lisa helpfully brings the former minion of the Puppet Master to Gordon's room. Finn and Walt are there, Finn looking extremely bleary-eyed, her hair a mess. Slopes says, "All right folks, some of you have heard this, but for those who didn't, here's our latest lead on the Puppet Master." He holds up a portable casette recorder and presses the 'play' button. A 911 operator says "911, emergency services." A young woman's voice replies "A man's been shot here. He's dying. There are metahumans involved. Call the government, call anyone. And hurry." The voice is quite familiar to Tyler. "That was Christine Tallin, aka 'Crystal'" Slopes says. He looks at Tyler. "From what Ms. Sterritt has told us, we believe she has also been captured by the Puppet Master, though based on this tape, perhaps she's broken free." "The call came from Saint Louis, which Sterritt reports was the base of operations the Puppet Master was using last night. And where several days ago, Crystal severely injured another of the metahumans working for us, while a team of federal agents were trying to apprehend *another* metahuman, a young boy with rumored mind-control powers." "Now we have more news." He clicks a button on a remote, in his other hand, turning on the TV in Gordon's room. You see news cameras panning over the smoking ruins of a large room, then an exterior shot of a glitzy hotel/casino. Slopes talks over the anchor woman's voice. "A metahuman monster, some kind of super-werewolf, just came after another trio of metahumans in Las Vegas. We already had agents on the scene, and had contacted these metas. They survived the battle, barely, and the creature is now basically frozen. It's damn near unkillable. The relevance is that last night, these metahumans had an encounter with some armed terrorists in the desert outside Las Vegas. These terrorists are believed to be connected to the Puppet Master. At least, based on several clues we've put together, and the results of an investigation that's been going on for a while. We are beginning to put together a more comprehensive picture of our nemesis, though there are a lot of blanks." "So, the Puppet Master sends his thugs after one group of metahumans, they fail and the next morning a metahuman berserker shreds several dozen people coming after them. Meanwhile, he's launching an assault on our compound, and captures all our imprisoned metahuman criminals. MEANWHILE, Crystal, one of his minions, has possibly escaped. Hell, this is just the readers' digest version. We haven't yet added in Colvin's supposition that he is also responsible for that atomic explosion in Germany." "We're going after him, folks. We already have agents, including metahumans, in Las Vegas. We're in touch with that teenage girl in California, the one who encountered the Puppet Master before, who Colvin spoke to earlier. We're trying to catch Crystal in our dragnet, and might be able to use your help in that endeavor. But, we ARE going to Saint Louis." <><><><><> Gordon: I greet everyone as they enter my room. Eyeing Tyler suspiciously, I thank Finn for healing me. "Oh, and thanks for carrying me out of there, Lisa!" I watch the videos in rapt fascination. Pieces start clicking into place in my mind. While I hadn't *met* Crystal, I'm familiar with her from her notoriety in the media. The scenes from Las Vegas look almost as bad as 'our place' in Virginia. It's hard to imagine that *one* metahuman creature was responsible for all that. When he finishes talking, I look back at Slopes. "How soon are you planning the trip to St. Louis? According to the doctors, I'm going to be out of action for quite a while. And Finn has just about tapped out her 'magic' for a while, unless I miss my guess." Looking around the group, "How healthy are the rest of you? I don't mean to be rude, but we've *all* looked better." <><><><><> [Walt] "Well now, ah reckon that ah'd just as soon pass on wrestling a bear just now, but give me a day or so; a few square meals and some decent shuteye will see me right as rain". The uncertainty in his voice belies the words, but Walt seems game. "Seriously, can we take a day or so? Ah know that the sooner we move the better, but I bet that we could be a *lot* more effective by then". <><><><><> >> Tyler Sterritt << Tyler just snorted at Gordon's query about everyone's health. How'd he think she felt, in a wheelchair and assorted casts? Not even counting the splitting headache she was trying to pummel into submission with an assortment of painkillers. The doctors probably thought she was tough because she eschewed large doses of the stuff they offered; she was tough, all right, but she had her own preferences as to what worked...a gift from the torturous rehab following her rodeo accident. Which reminded her... She shook out another Camel...these were actually OK, if a little stronger than the Marlboros she normally smoked...and lit up. She followed that by swallowing a small pinkish-gray tablet dry, wincing slightly as it went down. It seemed to calm her considerably. "How do y'all know that's really Christine, and not the kid? Ah don't know how well he could duplicate voices, but from what ah saw, he was pretty good at it." <><><><><> Lisa: Gordon>>"Oh, and thanks for carrying me out of there, Lisa!"<< " No problem Gordon. " She replies simply but with feeling. Tyler>>"How do y'all know that's really Christine, and not the kid?...<< " We have to get them both back eventually. So it only matters in what set of powers we're going to be fighting. Either way it could be a trap and probably is. The only way to find out is to go there and very carefully spring it, if it's a trap. If it isn't we might just be able to get Crystal back. It's a risk but one I'm willing to take. " She responds to Tyler. " Personally I'd rather be a moving target. Puppetmaster has limits, we saw that in the fighting at the complex. The more pressure we put on him the better. If we go after him we stand a better chance than sitting around waiting for him to bomb us again. " She says pragmatically. " All we have to decide is whether we wait for everyone to be healed or send who we can now. " <><><><><> [GM] Slopes shrugs. "It could be Langstrom, that's true. But we know that thanks to you, the Puppet Master also has, or had, the real Crystal." He pauses, realizing the last may have sounded rather accusatory. "But if either one of them has managed to break free, and since Langstrom was working with us before, we don't think he's working for the Puppet Master voluntarily either, then we want to catch up to the metahuman before the Puppet Master recapture her...or him." He looks at Gordon and Tyler. "No, neither of you are going anywhere quickly, unless Colvin has a lot more healing power at her disposal. We don't expect either of you to come along anytime soon. As for the rest of you, we could use some support with the teams heading for St. Louis now, particularly from Colvin. Right now we just want to *find* this SOB. If we can pin down his location, then we'll mount an attack." Slopes smiles grimly. "It might not consist of sending metahumans and federal agents in to fight the Puppet Master's forces. We might just decide the most expedient solution is to call in a goddamn airstrike." <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey wrinkles his nose and almost sneers (but tries to control it so he doesn't insult people) at the suggestion that Crystal had broken free, he's really afraid of Puppetmaster and gives the possibility incredibly low probability. "I'm willing to bet that that is _NOT_ a free crystal talking... I'm also willing to be pleasantly surprised, but the bet stands. I'm also willing to bet that Puppetmaster has already moved, but that's just because of the past experience in Chicago..of course he came back then, he might have repeated that because we'd assume he had left." Just a trace of Harvey's normal humor slips in on the last thought. Then Harvey takes a very deep breath, "if I think about confronting puppetmaster for too long I'll lose my nerve. If we're going we'd better move. But we still need a plan for if and when we confront him." Anyone looking very closely would notice a slight glistening of sweat on Harvey's forehead, but people are probably too nice to mention it. "One thing, if we do find out he's there, we can't just watch because he'd merely pick off people one at a time. We need to be set up, prepared and _determined_ to hit him if and when when we find him.....or he let's himself be found." <><><><><> Lisa: " Harvey I have a couple of ideas that we can discuss for dealing with Puppetmaster but this still isn't the place to talk about them. I'd rather do it with a minimun of people around. Preferably on the plane with who ever is coming along. No doctors, no nurses, and no government agents who might be under his control from who he could get information. It's the only way we can do this safely. " Lisa replies to Harvey noticing his nervousness and wonders if he realizes she's nowhere near as blase' about this as she's pretending to be. He isn't the only one who's worried about what a sadistic telepath, with a penchant for enslaving people, might do to her. " Whenever you want to go Agent Slopes, I'm ready. Will you be accompanying us to St Louis ? " She inquires hopefully. <><><><><> Gordon: Walt's positive attitude cheers me up a bit. "Glad to hear you're doing well, Walt. Hopefully, I'll be up to joining you in a few weeks." It's obvious that Finn's magic hasn't done much to improve *Tyler's* attitude. *Then* she starts to light up a cigarette! Cigarettes have always given me problems, even in the best of health - now it's likely to cause me to cough up a *lung* or something. I look her in the eye and ask her in as polite a manner as I can manage under the circumstances, "Would you mind not smoking in here, please?" I suspect I'm in for it on this one... Having never met Crystal or 'Langstrom', and not knowing much about their powers, I stay silent on this one. However, I can't help but smile at Slopes' suggestion of an airstrike - that just might *work*, IF we can catch them by surprise with it. <><><><><> Tyler: Tyler managed a couple of smoke rings, which she eyed critically on their way upward to dissolution. "Ah figure ah can get y'all through, and at least hang around and get y'all back. Ah just don't think ah'll be runnin' any hundred yard dashes any time soon. So if anybody's countin' on me to drag their butt out as well as openin' the door, they better re- read the fine print. Wait..." She laughed. A genuine, almost incredulous 'you'll never guess what I thought of' laugh, and the years rolled away from her somewhat overserious features. "Ah just had an idea. Maybe ah *can* drag somebody out. We'll just have to see, ah guess." "Ah'm sick," Tyler said, blowing another smoke ring. She didn't look sick. Just severely thrashed. "So get off mah back. When I can go somewhere else, ask me then. Ah'll accomodate you. Meanwhile..." She smiled a crocodile smile. [OOC: cough up a lung? You so funny...] <><><><><> Gordon: I just look at Tyler with a sour expression. I'm *really* not impressed by her claim of being sick - it's pretty obvious that her health is a *hell* of a lot better than mine right now. At least she can get around by wheelchair; I haven't been able to get out of the bed yet. Oh well, consideration just isn't in some people's makeup... I suspect Lisa has a point about security. There's not much chance that I'll be able to come along on this trip, so I guess there's little need for me to know the details, though I rather hate to be left out of things. Finn's condition, and obvious need to help, cause me to feel great sympathy for her. I wish that I could do something to help her, but I fear that I am in no condition to help anyone right now. This leaves me feeling a bit sad and morose. <><><><><> Harvey: Silently he hopes they are some very good ideas. And that she's being paranoid in her security precautions, but he wouldn't bet on that. Harvey just stares at Tyler, which probably isn't polite but he's somewhere between shocked and confused. He's mainly trying to figure out what the joke that he's missing is (he hates it when that happens). <><><><><> [Finn] [Message lost] <><><><><> [Walt] "Well, ah reckon y'all been asleep longer than a nap and shorter than a coma; past that I won't say. As for dreams, ah reckon that the lot of us are gonna be having some real doozies for a spell...say the rest of the decade or so!" Her grabbing him, regardless of what comes after, startles him. "Damn, Finn; it's feast or famine with y'all ain't it? Don't y'all reckon you could wait until we can get somewhere privatelike?" His tone is joking, but he also seems concerned that she's acting this way. <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey gets back his old brilliant grin as Walt suggests they will all be having bad dreams for the next decade, since he's been having them all along. <><><><><> Gordon: I looks over at Walt and my expression turns even cloudier, if that's possible. _S***! Just what I need: *more* nightmares!_ It's nice to see Finn and Walt acting libidinous under the circumstances, and it lightens my heart a fraction. [Needless to say, Gordon isn't going anywhere anytime soon (except to another part of the hospital to talk to his/my family), and may well fall back to sleep during or after the meeting ends...] <><><><><> [GM] Following the meeting at Gordon's bedside, Finn does her best to heal Tyler and Gordon some more. Her efforts are partially successful; Tyler is gratified that her injuries are diminished to the point that she no longer needs painkillers, though she'll still be carrying her arm in a sling for a while. Gordon feels better, but he's still going to be out of action for a while. Agent Slopes assembles Lisa, Harvey and Tyler the next day, early in the morning. "We're going to Saint Louis," he says. "At least, I am and some more agents. Jones and Chang already volunteered; Colvin and Shindell declined. Sterritt, are you with us on this or not? We don't intend to engage the Puppet Master there; I doubt we'll find him. But, who knows what we'll find? So we're going in prepared for possible confrontation with other metahumans." <><><><><> Gordon: As I watch the others file out at the end of the meeting, I feel tired and look forward to further rest. A little while later, Finn enters my room and gives me the benefit of her special brand of 'magic' again. Whatever it is that she is doing, it seems to boost my spirits as well as my body. "Thank you, Finn. I *really* appreciate you doing this for me. I hope that I find some way to repay you someday." Next time one of the agents enters my room, I ask him, "Any idea when I can get moved to the other wing so that I can meet with my family?" <><><><><> [GM] [to Gordon] You're barely ambulatory, and only if you disobey doctor's advice, which is to stay in bed. You will definitely not be engaging in testing, much less hazardous missions, in the near future. One of the agents who came with you to Virginia arrives in your room after you ask the doctors about your family. "I'd like to go over a few things with you first, Mr. Fancher," he says, an odd, drawn look on his face, which makes you a bit uneasy. "Can you tell me *exactly* what happened back at the complex, before you went down?" <><><><><> Tyler: "Ah told you..." Tyler said it through gritted teeth; she was using a pencil to try and scratch under the cast on her arm with little success. "Ah am goin' along, leastways to get y'all back and forth. Ah got no idea who he's got, or what they can do, or for that matter, even where he is. But ah'll try. Ah figure y'all ought to let me do a little warmup wishin', just to see how ah do, after bein' nearly crushed. Cigarettes and lighters ain't much use, unless we catch him hidin' behind a barrel of gasoline." <><><><><> Harvey: "We should be so lucky." <><><><><> Lisa: " Agent Slopes, if Tyler can wish up something to help us I say let her try. She needs to know what she's still capable of, in her wounded state, before we get into trouble not after. I learned that lesson fighting the velociraptor/blob thing. Once we know what we have to work with then we can get down to planning how to find puppetmaster and deal with him. " Lisa says optimistically, trying to hide just how nervous she really is. <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey says nothing at the news that they are now going to St. Louis, the last known location of the dreaded 'puppetmaster'. He just begins to sweat silently. <><><><><> [GM] Slopes nods to Tyler. "That makes sense. Should we take you somewhere else so you can try to activate your powers? We didn't plan to use you to take us to St. Louis, by the way. A plane will do that. But once we're there, if your powers can home in on where the Puppet Master was keeping you, it might provide corraborating evidence to some details we have already put together." <><><><><> Tyler: Tyler shook her head. "Nah, ah don't need no special place, 'less y'all were lookin' for an elephant. Y'all want hardware, or gates? Don't know how much I can do, or how many; ah know it gets me a little tired if ah go for lots of huge stuff, or a lot of gates in a row, but ah ain't ever *quantitatively* figured out how it burns up energy, 'zack'ly." <><><><><> Gordon: I watch as the agent enters, looking forward to my reunion with my kids. His words catch me by surprise, and the look in his eyes slows me down a step [figuratively]. I search his face carefully for a few moments, trying to discern what's on his mind. Of course, I'm unsuccessful. "Umm... *Everything* that happened? Well, OK. My memory is a little foggy at this point, but I'll give it a try. How about if I start when I was woken up after going to bed?" [Assuming this is OK with him... BTW, to simulate the passage of time and all of the things that "I" have been through since then, I'm doing this from memory and not looking anything up.] "Alright, well, the first thing I remember upon waking up is one of the black-clad commandos opening my door and tossing in a grenade, then shutting the door. I grabbed the mattress to use as a shield, but it wasn't much help. Fortunately, my own defenses were up to the task. Dropping the mattress, I threw a blast through the door, which I discovered had taken off about the top half of the commando." "I remember stepping out into the hall. I saw a couple of our agents get cut down at the end of the hall, so I proceded down to their position. I spent the next few minutes working my way down the halls fighting various commandos. Then I was attacked by a giant man who seemed to be made out of concrete. We fought for awhile, and I managed to drive him off. I pursued him for a while and eventually lost track of him. Just about then, I got hit by one of those anti-tank type rockets. I was hurt pretty bad, so I burned a way out of the building, and went and rested for a bit." "When I started to feel a little better, I headed inside to the infirmary. When I got there, I found that everyone in the area had obviously been electrocuted to death. It was *hideous*, and the smell was *worse*. I was collecting stuff to bandage my wounds when the b****** returned. He stood there in the doorway with electricity sparking all over him. My first blast missed, but I got him by sweeping through the wall. I went over to check on him, but I made the mistake of getting too close, and he *wasn't* unconscious. He grabbed my ankle and zapped me but good. As I started to lose consciousness, I remember releasing one of my so- called 'Nova blasts'. Then I hit the floor and blacked out. That's all I remember until I came to here." <><><><><> [GM] [to Tyler] "Why don't we find out if you can still open a transportation portal first?" Slopes suggests. Taking a cautious couple of steps back. [to Gordon] Agent Dicer listens to you expressionlessly, then says "I was afraid it was something like that." "The metahuman who electrocuted our agents was already neutralized downstairs by Special Agent Jason Little, who was one of OURS. Unfortunately, it seems the two of you both mistook the other for one of the bad guys." With that, he opens the door. "Your family will be here shortly." He leaves. <><><><><> Gordon: Dicer's words hit me like a ton of bricks. "Wait a minute. *Wait* a minute. Are you telling me that I walked into a room full of dead people, who had *obviously* been *electrocuted*, a guy walks in spraying electricity all over the place, and it's *the wrong guy*?!? I fought *the wrong guy*?!? S***!!! G****** it! That kind of crap is only supposed to happen in cheesy made-for-TV movies - not in real life! Oh, god, no...." I collapse back onto the bed. Not even Katy and Taylor's imminent arrival does much to cheer me. <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey decides to emulate slopes and takes a few steps back himself, purely as a precaution you understand. He also tries to suggest to Lisa that she do likewise, without being to blunt about it. <><><><><> Tyler: "Sure," Tyler said. It would serve 'em right if she opened one right on top of the Big Dog, but then again...maybe that wouldn't be so humorous after all. Instead, concentrated on a site she knew well: the training ring behind the horse barns on the ranch in Celina. As familiar as the back of her hand, she focused on the aspects she knew so well...the near- rectangular oval of plowed earth, the paired chutes, all the pipe and cable fencing, the tack room, the well house, all the accoutrements of a working horse ranch with rodeo aspirations. <><><><><> [GM] The air in front of Tyler shimmers and then the familiar blue disc spins into existence, widening in an instant from dime-sized to large enough to step through. Of course, as usual, it is opaque, and thus whether Tyler has successfully opened a gateway to where she had in mind remains to be tested.... <><><><><> Tyler: "Well, guess ah be back," Tyler said. "If ah did it right, ah bring y'all some souvenir." She stepped through the disc without hesitation. <><><><><> Lisa: " Wait for me. There's no telling what's on the other side of it. " Lisa steps through the gate following Tyler. <><><><><> Harvey: When the 'gate' opens Harvey merely stares at the opaque surface for a few seconds just getting used to its existance, and then a few more seconds trying to get up the nerve to volunteer to step through. Before he can, though, Tyler steps though, completely shocking Harvey. Then while he's shaking off the idea that Tyler may still be under Puppetmaster's influence (she's not, Finn took care of all that, we hope) Lisa adds to his shock even more by stepping though herself! As Lisa blinks out of existance here Harvey calls to slope, with alarm ringing in his voice, "I'm going after them, don't panic...yet". This may not be the best way to end a conversation but it's short. Then he walks briskly to the gate, pausing just before entering to brace himself, and vanishs too.